Who they were
Bennelong belonged to the Wangal clan of the Eora people, who lived on the south shore of Sydney Harbour. In 1789 he was captured on Governor Phillip’s orders and in time formed a friendship with him.
What they did
He learned English and settler customs and served as a go-between for the two peoples. In 1792 he sailed to Britain with Phillip and spent several years there, one of the few Indigenous people to do so and return.
Legacy
The point where the governor’s house stood was named Bennelong Point after him, and the Sydney Opera House stands there today. His life symbolises both the meeting and the tension of two worlds.