Bundle and Timelong, 1781

Contents

Sally Bundil, a native of Kissing Point, c.1810.

Introduction
Biographies
Chronology
Other Bundles?
Conclusions
References

----------------------

Abstract: Mystery surrounds the Aboriginal men known by the English name Bundle and variant spellings such as Bon-del and Bundell, who featured in events during the early colonial period (1810s - 1840s) of New South Wales, Australia, specifically around Sydney, Camden and Campbelltown (then known as the Cowpastures), and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions to the south. Bundle is perhaps most famous for his association with fellow Aboriginal explorer Broughton (Tho-Tho-It), whilst one of the Young Bundle - Timelong - is known for his association with Kangaroo Valley. This article attempts to clarify the identity of those individuals utilising contemporary historical sources. It looks at the various activities of those identified, their places of residence over time, service as liaison between community and government, leadership in Indigenous communities, and membership of family and/or tribe. It reveals there was most likely two (father and son), if not three by the name of Bundle.

--------------------

1. Introduction

A brief biographical article entitled Bundle (c.1781 - c.1844) was published anonymously as part of the Macquarie University Journeys in Time series between 1998 and 2009. It features an Aboriginal male born prior to the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney in January 1788, and who was said to have died sometime after 1843. There are problems with this article in that it seems to include reference to a child of that Bundle also known by that name - with both father and son variously known as Young Bundle - along with a later Bundle most likely unconnected to the original Bundle. Confusing? Indeed. As such, information on these three or four individuals will be presented below in order to seek clarification as to who was who, and who did what. Within the present article there are a number of spelling variants, such as: Bundle, Bon-del, Bundal, Bundell. The main character featured in the Journey in Times article led an adventurous life, from Sydney orphan to sailor, explorer, government informant and tribal chief. But did he?

---------------------

2. Biographies

In order to help us answer this question, below are reproduced three biographical articles and an obituary. The first is a copy of the Journey in Times article which sets the stage for our investigation. A detailed discussion of its content, and of additional historical information included in the Chronology section, will follow.

Bundle (c.1781 - c.1844)

A colourful and important figure among the Aborigines of the Cowpastures area. Originally referred to as 'Young Bundle.'

'Young Bundle' was an orphan who attached himself to Captain William Hill of the New South Wales Corps. He accompanied Hill to Norfolk Island on board the brig Supply on 22 March 1791 and returned to Sydney in September 1791 on the transport Mary Ann. Watkin Tench Journal: 1791 records that:

"A little native boy, named Bon-del, who had long particularly attached himself to Captain Hill, accompanied him, [to Norfolk Island] at his own request. His father had been killed in battle, and his mother bitten in two by a shark: so that he was an orphan, dependent on the humanity of his tribe for Protection. His disappearance seemed to make no impression on the rest of his countrymen, who were apprized of his resolution to go. On the return of the Supply they enquired eagerly for him; and on being told he was gone to [a place] afforded plenty of birds and other good fare, innumerable volunteers presented themselves to follow him; so great was their confidence in us, and so little hold of them had the amor patriae."

Similarly, David Collins records [Journal: September 1791]:

"Bondel, a native boy, who went thither with Captain Hill, to whom he was attached, in the month of March last, came back by this conveyance to his friends and relations at Port Jackson. During his residence on the Island, which Mr. Monroe said he quitted reluctantly, he seemed to have gained some smattering of our language, certain words of which he occasionally blended with his own."

Then the historical record appears to fall silent until 1809 when there is a report in the Sydney Gazette of 3 September 1809 that:

"A man of the name of Tunks in company with another was attacked near Parramatta by three Blacks, among whom was young Bundle and Tedbury, the son of Pemulwoy, who was shot some years since on account of his murders, and the barbarities he had exercised on many solitary travellers."

David Dickinson Mann, was a successful emancipist settler who had first arrived in the colony in July 1799 on board the convict transport Hillsborough, having been convicted of fraud. He received an absolute pardon on 18 January 1802 and returned to Britain in March 1809 on board the Admiral Gambier. In 1811 he published an account of life in New South Wales in the period 1799-1808 in the book The Present Picture of New South Wales 1811. The work (completed in October 1810) presents an illuminating description of the colony prior to the arrival of the Macquaries. It also includes a brief reference to Bundle and his activities as a sailor:

"Yet there are many of the natives who feel no disinclination to mix with the inhabitants occasionally - to take their share in the labours and the reward of those who toil. Amongst these there are five in particular, to whom our countrymen have given the names of Bull Dog, Bidgy Bidgy, Bundell, Bloody Jack, and another whose name I cannot call to recollection, but who had a farm of four acres and upwards, planted with maize, at Hawkesbury, which he held by permission of governor King; and the other four made themselves extremely useful on board colonial vessels employed in the fishing and sealing, for which they are in regular receipt of wages. They strive, by every means in their power, to make themselves appear like the sailors with whom they associate, by copying their customs, and imitating their manners; such as swearing, using a great quantity of tobacco, drinking grog, and other similar habits. These natives are the only ones, I believe, who are inclined to industrious behaviour, and they have most certainly rendered more essential services to the colony than any others of their countrymen, who, in general, content themselves with assisting to draw nets for fish, for the purpose of coming in for a share of the produce of others toil." [The Present Picture of New South Wales 1811 p.47]

When he first met Macquarie in 1810 'Young Bundle' must have been in his mid-twenties, perhaps even as old as twenty-nine years of age. Keith Vincent Smith has suggested a biographical framework of c.1781-1844 for Bundle, but this must be considered as remaining an open question.

There is a report in the Sydney Gazette for 21 July 1810 in which Bundle is recorded as assisting James Squire, the district constable at Kissing Point, in tracking the robbers who had broken into the house of Richard Jenner. Three men were subsequently arrested and punished on the strength of Bundle's skills as a tracker; he had identified that the footprints left by two nails in the sole of a shoe led to a nearby hut whose owner had lent the shoes to a labourer by the name of Kean [Patrick McKane]. He was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to 100 lashes and two years hard labour, whilst his accomplices each received 50 lashes each.

In late March 1812 Bundle accompanied Surveyor George William Evans on board the Lady Nelson in the party sent to explore Jervis Bay, on the southern coast of New South Wales, and to determine a possible inland route back to Port Jackson. After surveying the southern and western shores of Jervis Bay Evans prepared, on 3 April, to return overland to Appin - a distance of approximately 90 miles. The crossing the Shoalhaven River at Cabbage Tree Flat (west of present-day Nowra), presented logistical difficulties and it would appear that Bundle assisted in constructing a bark canoe to ferry Evans, his party, and their baggage across the river. It took 6 hours to prepare the canoe and make the multiple crossings to the northern side of the Shoalhaven.

The steep mountainous terrain forced Evans and his party to travel northward along the coast, passing present-day Port Kembla and Wollongong, before finally turning inland on 13 April and ascending a ridge close by Mount Kiera and along the watershed dividing the catchment areas of the Cordeaux and Cataract reservoirs. They reached the area near Wilton, and turned N.E. towards Appin. Eventually they reached William Broughton's hut at Lachlan Vale on 15 April. It had been a hard and arduous journey, with limited food, equipment, and means of conveyance. This journey was never publicised by Macquarie, perhaps because it almost ended in disaster for the members of the exploration party. Furthermore, Bundle's efforts and contribution to the journey were not recorded in any detail.

In 1816 Bundle and his kinsman, Bootbarrie, were with the guide John Warby when Captain Wallis (46th. Regiment) was mounting an expedition in the Appin region to take Aboriginal prisoners. Both Bundle and Bootbarrie absconded on the night of 11 April when the nature of the military expedition became apparent to them, while Warby refused to assist in the mission.

Two years later (in March 1818) Bundle, with another Aboriginal named 'Broughton,' accompanied Charles Throsby on his exploratory expedition into the southern region. Bundle acted as interpreter between Throsby and the Gundungurra people.

On 26 May 1821 Bundle/Bundell sailed on board H.M. Brig Bathurst, (formerly the India-built merchant brig Haldane) under the command of Phillip Parker King, on a surveying voyage to the northern coast of Australia. Bundle replaced, at short notice, Bungaree, who had sailed with Flinders. For, despite having agreed to sail on the Bathurst, Bungaree disappeared into the bush a few days before departure. Bundell was accustomed to sea life after having sailed on a number of colonial vessels, and despite having lost one eye to a spear wound, he was an active and quick-witted seaman. However, he had no head for heights and never ventured up the ship's mast above the lower ratlines. Similarly he proved to be a failure as a go-between with the tribes on the north-west and south-west coasts of Australia, much to King's frustration.

After surveying the northern and north-western coastline of Australia, King sailed the Bathurst to Mauritius for repairs and an essential refit; thereby making Bundle perhaps the first Australian Aborigine to visit the island in modern times. The Bathurst departed from Mauritius on 14 November 1821, and finally completed her survey work of the western coast of Australia in the months January-March 1822, returning to Sydney on 25 April 1822.

For a short period in 1822 Bundle (now spelt 'Bundal') was a constable at Upper Minto (Narellan) and received half a pound of tobacco per month as his pay; later, in 1825, James and William Macarthur tried, unsuccessfully, to have him (and another young Aborigine named 'Johnny') appointed as constables on the Camden side of the Nepean (on full pay and rations). At this stage Bundal was said to have been 35 years of age.

There were at least three occasions in the period 1825-26 when Bundal assisted the authorities in the capture of thieves and runaway convicts; and in 1826 he was given a blanket as a reward for his services.

By 1838 he had been given a brass plate, as his badge of office, and he was the last individual to be nominated as 'chief' at the Cowpastures. An 1842 listing refers to 'Old Bundal', or 'Burreach' (or 'Burryatt') and records his age as being about 50. At this stage he was also described as possessing two wives, three young sons and a daughter.

Bundal was still alive in 1843, when there is a record of him attending one of James Macarthur's election meetings; and there is also a reference in the same year to 'Bundle' and his wife applying to the magistrate William Howe for the issue of blankets (though it is unclear whether this man is the original Bundle, as his Aboriginal name was said to be 'Cuddeban').

An Old Bundle died in 1838 as a result of a fight between members of the Wollongong and Shoalhaven tribes, in a drunken skirmish at Elizabeth Bay, Sydney. A report of his murder was published in the Sydney Gazette on 11 September 1838:

Murder.- An aboriginal named 'Old Bundle," well known about Sydney for several years past, was killed last week under the following circumstances. - In the early part of the week two tribes assembled at Elizabeth Bay, the tribe of Shoalhaven and that of Wollongong. On Monday evening while the greater part of them were in a state of intoxication a quarrel ensued, in the course of which, Old Bundle who belonged to the Wollongong tribe was struck on the head with a nulla nulla by one of the other party. The blow was so severe as to cause a considerable fracture of the scull. The native who struck the blow immediately disappeared. Old Bundle had his head tied up with some rags and no more notice was taken of the circumstance, until Thursday when information reached the Police, and a party was sent out who removed the wounded man to the Hospital, where he died on Saturday or Sunday. A strict search has been made for the murderer, but up to the present moment without effect.

An inquest into his death was held and reported in the Sydney Gazette on 13 September 1838:

Coroner's Inquest.- An inquest was held at the "Bunch of Grapes," King street, on the body of an aboriginal black named " Old Bundle," who was reported to have come to his death in consequence of the injuries he received by the blows of a nulla nulla, on the 3d instant. The only evidence that could be adduced on the inquest as to the nature of the transaction that led to tho death of the deceased was the evidence [of] one of the gins, interpreted by another of the tribe. She stated that blows had been given on both sides before the deceased received the blow, from a native of the Shoalhaven tribe, which fractured his scull. In the absence of satisfactory testimony, the Coroner informed the jury that the only conclusion they could arrive at was, that the deceased came to his death in consequence of blows that he received in an affray on the 3d instant. A verdict to that effect was returned. "Old Bundle" was a king among his countrymen.

The above is a comprehensive account of the life of Bundle between 1781 and 1844, but also somewhat confusing when the information we have in regards to him since this article was written in 1998 leads one to wonder whether there was more than one Bundle? A brief summary is also found in the Dictionary of Sydney as follows:

Bundle - Aboriginal man who was an elder of the Cowpastures people. As a child he was orphaned soon after the colony was established and is often referred to in early records as 'Young Bundle'. Over four decades he travelled extensively as a guide to coastal explorers, often assisting as interpreter. He also worked as a tracker and native constable. His name was also written in English records as Bondel, Bundil, Bundell, Bon-del, Bundal, or Burreach.

The third biographical account comes from Peter Botsman's 2020 article Barbarity of our own Countrymen, which draws heavily from the Journeys in Time article.

Cuddeban (Bundle) (c.1781 - c.1844) was a renowned, quick witted sailor and guide (Throsby 1816). Like Tho Tho It did with Alexander Berry, Bundle negotiated the survival of his community on John Macarthur’s Camden property (Atkinson 1988). In later life he lost one eye due to a spear wound and appeared at critical junctures in the early history of the colony. In Bundle’s early life he is referred to as Young Bundle. Records then show he appears to have a son and name sake in Wollongong in 1834 and 1836.

'Young Bundle’ was an orphan who attached himself to Captain William Hill of the New South Wales Corps. He accompanied Hill to Norfolk Island on board the brig Supply on 22 March 1791 and returned to Sydney in September 1791 on the transport Mary Ann. Watkin Tench [Journal: 1791] records that: “His father had been killed in battle, and his mother bitten in two by a shark...” David Collins records [Journal: September 1791] that “During his residence on the [Norfolk] Island ..he seemed to have gained some smattering of our language, certain words of which he occasionally blended with his own.” Bundle was a friend of Pemulwuy’s son Tedbury and was involved in an attack on a man named Tunks in 1809 (Gapps: p. 190).

In 1810 Bundle assisted Constable James Squire as a tracker. He had identified that the footprints left by two nails in the sole of a shoe led to a nearby hut. Three convictions resulted (Sydney Gazette, 21 July 1810). In late March 1812 Bundle accompanied Surveyor George William Evans on board the Lady Nelson in the party sent to explore Jervis Bay, on the southern coast of New South Wales, and to determine a possible inland route back to Port Jackson (Sydney Gazette, 3 September 1809). Bundle, Bull Dog, Bidgy Bidgy and Bloody Jack are noted as useful sailors and potential farmers in 1811 (David Dickinson Mann The Present Picture of New South Wales 1811 p.47).

Young Bundle was mentioned in Charles Throsby’s letter of April 5, 1816 as taking shelter at Glenfield Farm. Bundle and his kinsman Bootbarrie were with the guide John Warby in the lead up to the Appin massacre. Bundle and Bootbarrie absconded on the night of 11 April when the nature of the military expedition became apparent to them and Warby refused to assist in the mission. (Gapps: p. 230; Sydney Gazette, 3 September, 1809; Organ 1993a, p. 33).

Jacques Arago, Broughton, 1819.

Bundle along with Tho-Tho-It was a guide for Charles Throsby in 1818 and was an interpreter between Throsby and the Gundungurra people. On 26 May 1821 Bundle/Bundell sailed on board H.M. Brig Bathurst, under the command of Phillip Parker King, on a surveying voyage to the northern coast of Australia. After surveying the northern and north-western coastline of Australia, King sailed to Mauritius for repairs and an essential refit; thereby making Bundle perhaps the first Australian Aborigine to visit the island in modern times. The Bathurst departed from Mauritius on 14 November 1821, and finally completed her survey work of the western coast of Australia in the months January-March 1822, returning to Sydney on 25 April 1822.

In 1822 Bundle was a constable at Upper Minto (Narellan) and received half a pound of tobacco per month as his pay Later, in 1825, James and William Macarthur tried, unsuccessfully, to have him (and another young Aborigine named ‘Johnny’) appointed as constables on the Camden side of the Nepean (on full pay and rations). At this stage Bundal was said to have been 35 years of age. There were at least three occasions in the period 1825-26 when Bundal assisted the authorities in the capture of thieves and runaway convicts; and in 1826 he was given a blanket as a reward for his services. By 1838 he had been given a brass plate, as his badge of office, and he was the last individual to be nominated as ‘chief’ at the Cowpastures. An 1842 listing refers to ‘Old Bundal’, or ‘Burreach’ (or ‘Burryatt’) and records his age as being about 50. At this stage he was also described as possessing two wives, three young sons and a daughter. Charles Throsby Smith refers to Old Bundle as Wollongong chief, Illawarra Mercury, 1876 (Organ 1993a: p.133). Bundle Senior and Junior are listed in the blanket return for Wollongong of 1834 and 1836 (Organ 1993a: p.186, p. 200). Bundal was still alive in 1843, when there is a record of him attending one of James Macarthur’s election meetings; and there is also a reference in the same year to ‘Bundle’ and his wife applying to the magistrate William Howe for the issue of blankets.

From the above we can see that we have scant information on the family of the original Bon-del orphan child. There are no known images of a Bundle from the early colonial period. All that exists is a drawing of Sally Bundil of the Kissing Point tribe, from circa 1810-1822. She was perhaps a sister. The following discussion will hopefully clarify some of the ambiguity around the Bundle name and add to what is contained in the above biographies.

-------------------

3. Chronology

The following chronology of the lives of Bundle includes material from the above articles, plus additional historical information, primarily being copies of contemporary records.

c.1781

- Bon-del is born. This is a tentative date only. He was possibly a member of the Kissing Point tribe, located on the north shore of the Parramatta River, west of Sydney Harbour and near present-day Ryde and Sydney Olympic Park.

1788+

- Following the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney in January, Bon-del, aged about 7, put himself under the wing of Captain William Hill (1760 - 1793) of the New South Wales Corps. This follows his father being killed in battle and his mother being taken by a shark. It is possible the young boy was seen bundled up in a possum skin rug and as a result given the English name Bundle by Hill. Members of his tribe expressed concern for this, but he remained with Hill for a number of years. His Aboriginal name is not mentioned in any records at this stage, or the specific tribe he was a member of. It was assumed that Bon-del was a Native name, and Bundle an English spelling. It is also possible that there was a Sydney-based Bundle and a Shoalhaven-based Bundle around the same time, though they also may have been one in the same.

1791

- 22 March: Bon-del travels with Hill on the brig Supply to Norfolk Island. Recorded in the journal of Watkin Tench.

- September: the Supply returns to Sydney and Bondel rejoins his tribe. Recorded in the journal of David Collins.

1793

- Captain Hill dies.

1809

- 3 September: Young Bundle, Tedbury and another Native attack a man called Tunks at Parramatta.

1810

- Bundell is referred to as a sailor.

- Young Bundle meets Governor Macquarie at Bundie, near Camden.

- 21 July: Bundle assists Constable James Squire in tracking robbers at Kissing Point.

1812

- March: Bundle accompanies surveyor George William Evans on the Lady Nelson to Jervis Bay (Evans 1812). Relevant text:

... Despite the fact that he had an Aborigine, Bundle, in his party, none of the Jervis Bay natives had let themselves be seen until Friday, 3 April when Evans had been in the vicinity for a week, and had started his trek inland, leaving from the site of Huskisson. When he did encounter a group of Aborigines, Evans found them friendly when they gave him some "very fine oysters". In return he gave two of the men tomahawks, a blanket, tobacco and fish hooks, and before they left, Bundle gave his shirt to an old man (Clark 1993).

- 3 April: Bundle and Evans travel overland to Appin via the Shoalhaven River. Bundle helps construct a canoe for the party to cross the river. Extracts (Evans 1812):

Friday 3rd. Landed for our departure from the South side of a Salt River at the West extremity of the Bay, on landing saw several Natives who were very friendly, they presented me a Number of fine Oysters, I gave away two Tomahawks, a Blankett, some Tobacco, and Fish Hooks, on taking my departure an Old Man to whom Bundle gave his Shirt cried very much, I shortly after left them, going off in a N W direction thro several Brushes, swamps, and bad Land, untill I met the River which was too deep to cross, I followed its course for some distance round several Lagoons untill it was too late to go over.....

Monday 6th. It was dusk last Evening before we crossed the River, I ventured to Swim but felt the Cramp coming I returned to the shore, two of the Men could not swim which Bundle conveyed over in the Canoe, I remained till last fearful if I had used it first my weight might swamp her, as it was very bad and leaked much, I striped myself and sent my Cloaths over, it rained hard, and was in that situation nearly an hour, at last it came to my turn. I ventured into the Canoe and brought it down within two Inches of the Water, thank God I landed safe, we were 6 Hours making the Bank and conveying ourselves and Baggage over, it continued wet the whole Night and we were very uncomfatable;

1816

- April: Bundell, Bootbarrie and Warby are forced to assist Captain Wallis of the 46th Regiment in the campaign to round up Aboriginal people around Sydney.

- 5 April: Charles Throsby to D'Arcy Wentworth - ..... Boodbury, young Bundle, with their families and several others are now here - the whole of whom I also have heard threatened. They sought refuge at Throsby's Glenfield Farm.

- 11 April: Bundell leaves Wallis upon hearing of his intent.

- 17 April: Appin massacre.

- May: Bundle is one of the Aboriginal men rewarded by the governor for assisting with the military expeditions as guides.

* According to Auntie Frances Bodkin, a descendant of Canabayagal - the leader of the group of Dharawal people who were murdered in the Appin massacre - the following outlines the actions of Bundle. Frances Bodkin, a Bidigal Dharawal person is a descendant of Canabayagal and has to date provided the only detailed account from an Aboriginal viewpoint. She outlines her knowledge of the massacre in a 27 February 2014 interview: Appin Massacre, April 1816. The transcript below is includes some editorial comments and additional material found in the account in Foley and Read (2020):

In 1813 there was a drought and in drought times the Gundangara were allowed [by the Dharawal] to come down from the high country and live on the plains because their country, having been high, dried out first. And of course because Canabayagal was living with the Gundangara and their leader at the time – he was a Dharawal man – he came down [with them] to start the proceedings, the requests. And of course the requests were made and the Gundangara were allowed to come down to the plains.

But what happened then was, the Gundangara are a very war-like mob – still are – and they came onto the plains and they expected them to be as they had been in the last drought, many years beforehand. But there were fences, there were strange animals, and they began a war of attrition. So much so that in 1815 there was a request made to Governor Macquarie to rid of the lands of the troublesome blacks. And so he vacillated on it, because many of these people were friends.

Anyway, the rule to be able to use the lands was that as soon as it rained the Gundangara had to go back to their own lands. And this particular night it began to rain, which meant that the Gundangara had to go back. Well, Canabayagal was at the Dharawal encampment speaking to his brothers and talking with them and discussing about thanking them for allowing them to come down and apologising for the trouble. And that was when the …

What it was – it’s really quite strange – a declaration of war was made, and it was made by a man called Thomas Davey, who had been Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania at the time, and it wasn’t signed by Macquarie as it should have been. [NB: This is not correct. Macquarie made the declaration of war in his secret orders; Davey was in Tasmania at the time and sought to ameliorate the local people. MO]

So, anyway, the troops were sent out, the marines were sent out, on this declaration of war, to rid the lands of troublesome blacks. And what was happening – there were three contingents went out – one led by a man called Schaw who went to the north west. He did not find anyone. A Dawes went to the west and he found a family of Gundangara who were very sick, and they gave him their child and he brought it back to the Macarthur lands on his way back.

But the one Wallis led the troops down south west, and one of the people who was asked to guide - he was employed by Macquarie at the time - his name was Bundle. And he led the troops down to Glenfield Farm where Throsby lived. And he got to the farm and Throsby warned him that the troops were actually going to / came with the specific order to kill the Dharawals, not the troublesome [Gundangara] blacks.

So Bundle and Warby – John Warby who was his best friend – took off to go down and warn the Dharawal people. But, because there were three separate camps – there was the men meeting, the senior men meeting; there was the boys, or the young noisy teenagers; and then there was the women and the children. They went first of all to the children’s camp so that Bundle could take the yarra – which is a special implement, a very sacred object – and give that to his oldest son [D’haramuoy / Garramal] who at the time was 14 and tell him to go and hide it so that no one can find it.

So young D’haramuoy / Garramal took off with the yarra. They warned the women and the children. They were starting to get stirred up, but by the time they got to the men’s camp the troops had already arrived, because the troops were on horseback, and with the kids they were running. And the most senior men were killed and had their heads removed. And Canabayagal's head is still to be returned to us. And we are still waiting for a decision to be made on that.

From this, we can see that Bundle was complicit to a small degree in the Appin massacre, whether by force or choice. It is nevertheless likely to have had a major impact upon him.

1818

- March: Bundell and Broughton accompany Charles Throsby on an exploratory expedition from Liverpool to Jervis Bay. They meet Timelong en route. Extract from Throsby's diary:

28th March. At daylight cloudy, wind from the N.E. At 8 o’clock passed through a very good forest (Sutton Forest), to the place appointed, at 12, to leave the carts, at which spot we were met by Timelong and Munnaana who had been in search of us. They are two natives whom I have seen at Five Islands. Munnah is one of the two strangers whom myself, Colonel Johnson, his son George etc., met at the River Macquarie, Five Islands, the first time the Colonel was there, and which was the first time he had seen a white man. On our meeting them they had many jaged spears etc. but on my telling them through Bundell that the Governor required the Natives not to carry spears when with white people, they very readily consented to leave them, in fact they threw them away and assured me that the carts and other things we left would be safe. Meeting with the natives and being determined to travel with the horses as long as possible this evening, I thought it prudent to halt for a short time longer.

Bantanoon, 29th March, 1818 ... The two strange natives we met yesterday cannot be prevailed on by those two we have had with us to taste pork, say it is salt one of them Timelong is a robust man, very dark, with a very long beard, the other Munnana, a thin man, more of a dirty brick colour than black, with a beard only on the chin, on the upper lip and under the mouth it appears to be kept cut or most likely burnt off as is their custom, both are perfectly naked and not even provided with the most trifling covering for the night. ...About half an hour after we halted for the night several natives joined us most of whom I have seen at Five Islands, they were most women and children, only three men. I conceive them to be three familys the whole perfectly naked and slept round fires like as many dogs, they all approached us without spears or weapons of any sort except one stone axe and one small tomahawk.

8th April 1818 .... They now passed through a locality called Boolaa where Timelong left them in a rather unexpected manner. By evening they reached a stream running into Parronrah (Kangaroo Valley). (Cambage 1921).

- 28 September: Bundle informs Charles Throsby that he has been told that a massacre had taken place the previous day at Yallah, instigated by a vigilante party led by Cornelius O'Brian and Lt. Weston.

1821

- 26 May: Bundle / Bundell sails on HMB Bathurst under Phillip Parker King surveying in the north coast of Australia and sailing to Mauritius.

1822

- 25 April: Bundle / Bundell and the Bathurst return to Sydney.

- Bundal works as a constable in Upper Minto (Narellan).

- Bundle aged c.35 years.

1823

- Old Bundle held Bennelong's son Dicky, baptised as Thomas Walker Coke, in his arms the day he died aged nineteen in 1823.

1825

- James and William Macarthur unsuccessfully seek to have Bundal appointed a constable at Camden.

- Old Bundle referred to as chief of the Camden tribe.

- Bundal assists authorities in the capture of thieves and runaway convict.

1826

- Bundal receives a blanket.

1829

- 1 April: Old Bundle and Young Bundell each receives a blanket or rug at Wollongong.

1830

- 7 May: Old Bundle, Chief of Wollongong, and Young Bundle each receive a blanket or rug at Wollongong.

1833

- Bundal, age 30, receives a blanket at the Campbelltown and Cowpastures distribution.

- 30 July: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following at the top:

Bundle | Woolmarry | 60 | 1 | 1 | Five Islands

1834

- 21 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

Bundle Senr | Woolmarry | 40 | 1 | 1 | Wollongong

Bundle Jnr | Temarang | 20 | 1 | |

1836

- 20 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

Old Bundle | | 40 | 1 | 1 | Five Islands

Young Bundle | | 23 | 1 | | & Kiama

1837

- 8 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

Young Bundle | Turramalong | 30 | 1 | | do.

1838

- Bundle is given a brass breastplate, and identified as Chief at the Cowpastures.

- 7 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

Old Bundle | Wolmorry | 57 | 1 | 1 | Five Islands

- 11 September: report on the death of Old Bundle at Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.

1840

- 1 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

English names | Native names | Age | No. of wives |

John Bundle | Trumelong | 45 | 1 |

- 1 May to 1 September: the blanket list for Berrima lists the following:

Jacky | Bundle | 28 | 1 |

1842

- listed as Old Bundal / Burreach / Burryatt and aged 50, with 2 wives, 3 sons and a daughter.

- 1 May: the blanket list for Wollongong lists the following:

English names | Native names | Age | No. of wives |

John Bundle | Treemelong | 47 | 1 |

| Timelong |

1843

- Bundle attends one of James Macarthur's election meetings.

c.1844

- Bundle stated to have died around this date.

1863

- Old Bundle was the name of the chief who at some stage claimed Wollongong as his domain (Charles Throsby Smith reminiscences 1863).

-------------------

2. The name

At the beginning of this research into Bundle, the present writer initially posed the question: Is Bundle an Aboriginal name? It had generally been assumed to be an Indigenous language word, as had the various historic English language spellings such as Bon-del, Bundal, Bundell or Burreach. It appeared to be comprised of Aboriginal root words such as the phonetic elements outlined below (Organ 2022):

burʊ = noisy, quick, energetic, awake | ɲuɲ = someone's (plural) | dulu = straight, extended, separated

bu: ɲ : dul = energetic person

bu : n : dl

This translation is based on the research into the Proto-Australian language by the late Dr. Chris Illert (Illert 2013). It was thought possible that it was also an English spelling of the Aboriginal word Boondal.

However, on researching the blanket lists issued by the New South Wales government to Aboriginal people between 1826 - 1842, references therein indicated that Bundle was the English name.

Due to the orphan origin of the person Bundle as described in the Anonymous article above, and the fact that the Wollongong blanket issue lists of the 1830s included in the Chronology above referred to Bundle and its variants, it was therefore English. Fortunately, it was usually therein accompanied by a Native name,. Bundle therefore refers, in this instance, to something wrapped up, such as the orphaned young boy subsequently cared for by Captain Hill, and after 1791 taken back into his family tribe.

-------------------

3. Other Bundles?

Despite all the above information regarding Bundle, it remains difficult to distinguish between the Kissing Point / Cowpastures / and Illawarra and Shoalhaven Aboriginal people mentioned. Whilst there appears to be a single Bundle in the early 1800s (i.e. the Kissing Point young boy), by the 1820s it becomes difficult to distinguish the Country / tribe of origin of the Bundle's referred to. We can, for example, identify the following:

English names : Native names

* [born c.1780] Bundle, Old Bundle, Bundle Senior : Woolmarry, Wolmorry, Wolmorry. Associated with the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, and specifically Wollongong.

* [born c.1790] Bon-del / Young Bundle / Old Bundal / Bundle : Cuddeban / Burreach / Burryatt. Associated with Camden / the Cowpastures, and possibly the Kissing Point tribe, having moved there for safety as development around Sydney increased.

* [born c. 1800] Young Bundle, Bundle Jnr, John Bundle : Timelong, Treemelong, Trumelong, Thurmolong, Turramalong, Temarang. Associated with the Shoalhaven, and specifically Kangaroo Valley.

* [born c.1810] Jackey : Bundle - likely a younger Bundle of Wollongong, or Young Bundle.

It would therefore appear that there are three distinct Aboriginal men with the English name Bundle during the early colonial period:

Woolmarry (Old Bundle) of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven - likely the famous Bundle (c.1781 - 1838) who was an orphan and later became Chief of Wollongong and informant to Charles Throsby.
Timelong (Young Bundle) of the Shoalhaven - the son of Woolmarry and later the Chief of Kangaroo Valley.
Burreach or Cuddeban (Bundle / Bundal) of the Camden / Campbelltown (Cowpastures) area - who was declared Chief of the Cowpastures in 1838.

Which one of the three was the sailor, or the collaborator, or the explorer? This remains unclear.

Date	Age	Location	Name	Name	Name	Timelong
1781	0	Sydney	Bon-del
1791	10	Sydney / Kissing Pt	Bon-del	Bondel
1809	28	Parramatta	Young Bundle
1810	29	Camden / Kissing Pt	Young Bundle	Bundle
1812	31		Bundle
1816	35	Cowpastures	Bundell	Bundle
1818	37	Shoalhaven	Bundell	Bundle		Timelong
1821	40	Sydney	Bundell	Bundle
1822	41	Minto	Bundell	Bundle	Bundal
1823	42		Old Bundle
1825	44	Camden	Old Bundle
1826	45		Bundal
1829	48	Wollongong	Old Bundle	Young Bundle
1830	49	Wollongong	Old Bundle	Young Bundle
1833	60 / 52	Wollongong	Bundle
1833	30 / 52	Cowpastures	Bundal
1834	40 / 20 / 53	Wollongong	Bundle Snr	Bundle Jnr	Woolmarry	Temarang
1836	40 / 23 / 55	Wollongong	Old Bundle	Young Bundle
1837	50 / 30 / 56	Wollongong	Old Bundle	Young Bundle	Woolmarry	Turramalong
1838	45 / 57	Wollongong	Old Bundle	Young Bundle	Wolmorry	Thurmolong
1840	28 / 45 / 59	Berrima / Wollongong	Jacky	John Bundle	Bundle	Trumelong
1842	50 / 61	Cowpastures	Old Bundal		Burreach	Burryatt
1842	47 / 61	Wollongong	John Bundle		Treemelong	Timelong
1843	62	Camden	Bundle		Cuddeban
1844	63

NB: Italicized ages are guess estimates commencing at the assumed birth date of c.1871.

From this table we can see the discrepancies between presumed ages and identities. There is no clear connection, as there would be with non-Indigenous people who had traditional records such as birth,death, marriage and census data.

-------------------

4. Conclusions

The mystery surrounding the Aboriginal man known by the English name Bundle who featured in events during the early colonial period (1810s - 1840s) of New South Wales, specifically around Sydney, Camden and the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions to the south, is partially solved. There seem to have been three individuals associated with the name Bundle and its variants. They engaged in a wide variety of activities, had various places of residence over time, one engaged in service as liaison between community and government authority, all three achieved leadership in specific Indigenous communities, and they all had families. Woolmarry appears the most famous of the three. Whilst there is no real confusion between him and his son Timelong, there is between Woolmarry and the Camden / Campbelltown based individual known as Bundle or Bundal. For example, that latter person may have been the one involved in the assault against the settler Tunks in 1809. It is fortunate that we are able to differentiate the three through association with their Native names as seen on the various blanket lists available from 1826 through to the early 1840s. Further research main lead to a clearer distinction between the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Bundle and the Cowpastures Bundal. Clarity around Timelong has been revealed through the research to date.

-------------------

4. References

Anonymous, Bundle (c.1781 - c.1844), Journeys in Time, Macquarie University, 1998.

Arago, Jacques, Broten, Nlle. Hollander, 1819, charcoal on paper, 6 x 8.5 cm. Signed J.A. l.r. Collection: State Library of New South Wales. Shoalhaven Aboriginal man - Broughton / Tho-Tho-It.

Atkinson, Alan, Camden, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1988.

Bodkin, Frances, The Appin Massacre, 2014, in Peter Read, Aboriginal Narratives of Violence, Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues, 18)1), 2015, 75-85.

Botsman, Peter, Barbarity of our own Countrymen, Academia.edu, Peter Botsman's Working Papers, 27 November 2020.

Bundle, Dictionary of Sydney, State Library of New South Wales, accessed 14 October 2025.

Cambage, R.H.,Exploration between the Wingecarribee, Shoalhaven, Macquarie and Murrumbidgee Rivers, Journal and proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 7(5), 1 October 1921, 217-288.

Clark, Alan, Historical Tales of Jervis Bay, The Author, Nowra, 1993, 32p.

Collins, David, An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Volume 1, Reed, Sydney, 1975, 147. Originally published 1798.

Evans, George William, Journal of an expedition from Jervis Bay to Mr. Broughton's Farm near Appin, 25 March - 17 April [1812], State Library of New South Wales.

Foley, Denis and Peter Read, What the Colonists Never Knew: A History of Aboriginal Sydney, National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra, 2020, 236p.

Gapps, Stephen, The Sydney wars : conflict in the early colony 1788-1817, UNSW Press, May 2018, 432p.

Horden, Marsden, King of the Australian Coast: the work of Phillip Parker King in the Mermaid and Bathurst 1817-1822, Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 1997, 275, 333, and 335.

Illert, Chris, A mathematical approach to recovering the original Australian Aboriginal language, PhD thesis, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Western Sydney, 2013, 277p.

Kohen, James, The Darug and Their Neighbours, Darug Link, Blacktown, 1993.

Liston, Carol, The Dharawal and Gandangara in Colonial Campbelltown, New South Wales, 1788-1830, Aboriginal History, 12(1), 1988, 58-59.

Mann, David Dickinson, The Present Picture of New South Wales 1811, John Booth, London, 1811, 46-48.

McDonald, W.G., Earliest Illawarra: By Its Explorers & Pioneers, Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, 1979, 66p.

Organ, Michael, Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines, 1770 - 1850, Aboriginal Education Unit, University of Wollongong, 1989, 640p.

-----, Australia's first officially sanctioned massacre of Aboriginal people - Appin 1816, blogger.com, 7 April 2016.

-----, Bundanoon - Notes on Aspects of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage - Part 1 to 1850, 29 October 2022.

-----, Dr. Chris Illert's Proto-Australian Aboriginal language, 20 December 2022.

Richard Denner, Dictionary of Sydney, State Library of New South Wales, accessed 14 October 2025.

Smith, Keith Vincent, Wallumedegal: an Aboriginal history of Ryde, City of Ryde, Ryde, 2005, 23.

-----. Sally Bundle, Dictionary of Sydney, State Library of New South Wales, accessed 14 October 2025.

-----, Sally Bundil, circa 1810-1822, pencil and wash drawing on paper, P2/424, State Library of New South Wales. From the collection of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Stokes, Karen, Stone, Sources and Social Networks: Tracing movement and exchange across Dharawal country, Southeastern Australia, BA(Hons) thesis, University of Sydney, 2015, 170p.

Sydney Gazette, 3 September, 1809 and 21 July 1810, 2a.

Tench, Watkin, Sydney's First Four Years. Library of Australian History, Sydney, 1979, 218.

Throsby, Charles, Letter to D. Wentworth concerning Governor Macquarie’s proposal to take steps to punish the natives; the natural retaliation of the natives against white men’s brutality; the friendliness of Natives on his property, 5 April, 1816, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

-----, Journals & letters re exploring expedition with James Meehan to Jervis Bay, the Wollondilly, 3 March - 20 May 1818, Archives Office of New South Wales, Reel 6034, 9/2743 pp.9-76; Fiche 3276, SZ1046 pp.1-77).

Turbet, Peter, The First Frontier: The Occupation of the Sydney Region, 1788 to 1816, Rosenberg, 2011, 302p.

Weatherburn, A. K., George William Evans: Explorer, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1966, 23-25.

-----, Exploration of the Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven and Illawarra District, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 46(2), 2 June 1960.

-----, The Exploration and Surveys of James Meehan between the Cowpastures, Wingecarribee River, Goulburn Plains, Shoalhaven River and Jervis Bay 1805, 1818 and 1819, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 64(3), December 1978, 167-181.

Wolmorry Bundle (abt.1781 - 1838), WikiTree, accessed 14 October 2025.

--------------------

Last updated: 17 October 2025

Michael Organ, Australia

Search This Blog

My research

Bundle and Timelong, 1781 - 1844

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Michael Organ - publications

Michael Organ - webpage index

Metropolis Japan 1929 release