Bungaree, or Boongaree ( – 24 November 1830), was an Aboriginal Australian from the Guringai people of the Broken Bay north of Sydney, who was known as an explorer, entertainer, and Aboriginal community leader. He is also significant in that he was the first Australian born person to be recorded in Matthew Flinders' Diary as a resourceful Australian, and the first Australian-born person to circumnavigate the Australian mainland. Biography When Bungaree moved to the growing settlement of Sydney in the 1790s, he established himself as a well-known identity able to move between his own people and the newcomers. He joined the crew of on a trip to Norfolk Island in 1798, during which he impressed Matthew Flinders. In 1798 he accompanied Flinders (and his brother, Samuel Ward Flinders, a midshipman from the Reliance) on the sloop on a coastal survey as an interpreter, guide and negotiator with local indigenous groups. Despite the lack of a common language, the indigenous people persistently sought Bungaree out to speak to instead of Flinders. His mediation skills were greatly appreciated by the Europeans with whom he shared the ship. In 1799, to reach an agreement with local people in one particular situation, Bungaree gave them a spear and a spear thrower as gifts, showing them how to use them. It is referred to by Bronwen Douglas as a "cross-cultural act, signifying a reciprocal rather than a hierarchical relationship and challenging the reified notion of 'cross-cultural' as contact between opposed, homogenized 'cultures'”, adding that "the Moreton Bay people probably took Bungaree for the leader of the expedition and the white men for his followers". He was recruited by Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia between 1801 and 1803 in . Flinders was the cartographer of the first complete map of Australia, filling in the gaps from previous cartographic expeditions, and was the most prominent advocate for naming the continent "Australia". Flinders noted that Bungaree was "a worthy and brave fellow" who, on multiple occasions, saved the expedition. Bungaree was the only indigenous Australian on the ship – and as such, played a vital diplomatic role as they made their way around the coast, overcoming not inconsiderable language barriers in places. According to historian Keith Vincent, Bungaree chose the role as a go-between, and was often able to mollify indigenous people who were about to attack the sailors, by taking off his clothes and speaking to