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Kurrburra the Boonwurrung wirrirrap and bard (1797–1849): A man of high degree
journal contribution
posted on 2021-06-30, 00:55 authored by Ian D Clark, Rolf SchlaglothRolf Schlagloth, Fred Cahir, Gabrielle McGinnisKurrburra (aka Mr Ruffy) (1797–1849), Aboriginal wirrirrap (doctor, healer,
bard), 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 2 wives: Kurundum (1819–?) and Bowyeup (1823–?), and 2 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.