Kurrburra the Boonwurrung ‘Wirrirrap’ and Bard (1797-1849): A Man of High Degree

Kurrburra (aka Mr Ruffy) (1797-1849), Aboriginal ‘wirrirrap’ (doctors, healers, bards), sage counsellor of his people, consultant with koalas, and heroic slayer of a feared orangutan-like cryptid that lived in the ranges north of Western Port, is believed to have been born in 1797, and was a member of the Yawen djirra clan, the eastern-most group of the Boonwurrung People whose Country stretched from Wirribi-yaluk (Werribee River) to Wammun (Wilsons Promontory) in Victoria. His moiety was Bunjil and in the early 1840s he had two wives: Kurundum (1819-?) and Bowyeup (1823-?), and two children, whose names are not known. Kurrburra’s traditional Aboriginal name is the Boonwurrung word for the iconic marsupial Phascolarctos cinereus, more commonly known as the koala.

CULTURAL WARNING: 

Readers of this article should be aware that some of the archival records and publications of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries contain words that are now considered offensive. Such words may appear in the article where a quote is made from these archival records or publications. The history also refers to persons who have passed away and to incidents of a distressing nature.