Bundawal was also known as Bobby Brown. He was a Tatungalung man who attended the 1884 Jeraeil and shared some of his cultural knowledge with Howitt and John Bulmer. Bulmer believed Bobby may have been a songmaker, from his name Bunjil Koonyoroo that Bulmer had been told.
Bobby performed at times for non-Aboriginal audiences, such as at the Bairnsdale District Hospital Carnival and was well-known around the Bairnsdale and Sale area. This resulted in Bobby being given a brass plate and the title King Bobby - Howitt recorded that he was pleased with this and used it to lever advantage amongst colonists. It was noted that Bobby asserted his right to Country and compensation, regularly requesting 'tikpens' from colonists as payment for his loss.
In 1906 Bobby died of debility at the Bairnsdale Hospital. He was around 76 years old.
References:
'The Advertiser', Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle, 8 November 1906, p. 2, accessed 30 June 2020,
Bundawāl
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85132518.
Bain Attwood 1986 ‘Off the Mission Stations: Aborigines in Gippsland, 1860-1890’, Aboriginal History, vol. 10, no. 2, pp.130-151, p. 137.
'The Gippsland Times', Gippsland Times, p. 3, accessed 30 June 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62310113.
Board for the Protection of the Aborigines, Forty-Third Report, J. Kemp, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1907, p. 8.
‘Bairnsdale District Hospital Carnival’, Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle, 30 March 1895, p. 2, accessed 10 March 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86387466.
Bain Attwood 1986 ‘Off the Mission Stations: Aborigines in Gippsland, 1860-1890’, Aboriginal History, vol. 10, no. 2, pp.130-151, p. 137.
'The Gippsland Times', Gippsland Times, p. 3, accessed 30 June 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62310113.
Board for the Protection of the Aborigines, Forty-Third Report, J. Kemp, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1907, p. 8.
‘Bairnsdale District Hospital Carnival’, Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle, 30 March 1895, p. 2, accessed 10 March 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86387466.
Found in Transcriptions
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Field notebookPages 29Registration Number XM761Author Howitt, Mr Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Notebook, black, hard-covered, undated. Entries in pencil and ink. 120 sheets, 205 pages. Condition: extremely fragile; broken metal clasp; binding coming apart; loose pages; cover is badly worn with sections missing along the spine. -
Information from John Bulmer, n.d.Pages 3Registration Number XM98Author Bulmer, Reverend JohnPhysical Description Notes and a table, handwritten, undated. One large sheet folded in half with an additional smaller sheet, six pages. Notes are possibly a letter. Fragile condition, insect damage upper edging. -
Bulmer to Howitt 4/12/1880Pages 6Registration Number hw0395Author —Physical Description Covering letter signed and dated with six additional pages referred to a as report of an interview by Rev Bulmer. -
Notes by Howitt on Omeo 'tribe' and letter from BulmerPages 24Registration Number hw0436Author Howitt, Alfred StephenPhysical Description Correspondence, notes and language lists concerning Aboriginal Tribes of Victoria. The first ten pages are authored by John Buntine recording information about the Omeo tribe. Includes an incomplete and undated letter by Rev. John Bulmer and notes on his findings.
Also found in
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Chapter VI Tribal GovernmentsRegistration Number XM689Author Howitt, Mr Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Draft notes, typed and handwritten, undated. 59 pages consisting of 47 foolscap sheets, 8 half-pages, and 3 slips. With annotations, attachments and corrections throughout. Condition: some sheets with torn and tattered edges; some with foxing. -
Letter from John Bulmer 8 February 1904Registration Number XM91Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet; two pages. Condition: good but the paper is thin and the handwriting from one side is visible from the other, making reading difficult.