Skip to main content
Menu
What's on Prizes The Portraits Watch
The Gallery Governance & Board Circle of Friends
Learn Access Search the website
close close
What's on The Portraits The Gallery Learn Watch More O

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Heads of the People

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Previous exhibition
from Friday 30 June until Sunday 29 October 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history.

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney
Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney, 1836 William Fernyhough

This exhibition examines the development of portraiture in colonial Australia that led to the emergence of a National Portrait Gallery.

13 portraits
view all

Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe
Tommy, Broken Bay tribe
1 Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe, 1836 William Fernyhough. 2 Tommy, Broken Bay tribe, 1836 William Fernyhough.
Home Contact Media Privacy statement User agreement Social media and community guidelines
© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency