James Bugg: Overseer of Shepherds AACo
English born James Bugg arrived in Australia as a convict in 1826 and a year later was in the employ of the AACo…
Purfleet Gum Leaf Band
Gum leaf playing is deeply linked with the culture of First Australians who have always played this unique instrument. It is believed gum leaves were used in hunting, signalling, rituals, as spiritual instruments and even toys…
Girambit
Girambit ‘Saltwater’ with its natural beauty and waterways has always been a sacred and spiritual place. It is the home of the Birrbay ‘Biripi’ people and it is a place of healing…
Kevin Gilbert: activist, artist, author, playwright and poet
Kevin Gilbert was born in Wiradjuri country near Condoblin in 1933. While in prison for murder he asked for books on…
Harry Combo: The Valley’s Greatest Showman
At the age of 42, buck-jumping champion Harry Combo from Dingo Creek, was considered the “old man” as he took centre stage at the 1920 Wingham Show. With the grandstand full to overflowing…
The establishment of Purfleet Mission
By 1900 the NSW Aborigines Protection Board had decided that it was better for Aboriginal people to live separately from Europeans. It was to ‘protect them from the worst excesses and corrupting influences of European society’…
Young Ping
Although Young Ping was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1860, his family were likely of Chinese origin. Ping came to Australia in 1879 aboard an American mail boat…
Gathang Guuyang (Gathang Canoe)
On 20 May 2012 at Bungwahl, for the first time in over 150 years the guuyang builders, led by Steve Brereton, a Warrimay (Worimi) man, with strong connections to country and culture took a canoe from Gathang country…
Massacre at Belbora
In 2017, the University of Newcastle began documenting massacres of Aboriginal people at the hands of early settlers. One such massacre occurred at Belbora…
Boomerang Theatre
“Drum roll please! Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight at the Boomerang Theatre…Blind-folded Boxing!” In 1921, Taree Theatre was open for business…