Nlle. Holland Port Jackson: Sauvages des environs de Sydney: Nani, Taran, Abinghou, Broten, Timbere, 1825

These five men, of whom two – Broughton and Timbery – are described in the historical record, were sketched by French artist Jacques Arago in Sydney in 1819. Broughton (bottom left) (1798–c. 1850) was the name given by surgeon and explorer Charles Throsby to Toodood (also Toodwick and Toodwit), a Dharawal man who acted as a guide and interpreter to Throsby and others in their explorations of south-east New South Wales. Born near present-day Berry, Broughton accompanied Throsby on various journeys during 1818 and 1819. In 1822 Throsby recommended Broughton to Alexander Berry, writing that ‘he is well acquainted with every inch of that part of the country, speaks good English, and I think may be useful to you’. Broughton, consequently, was among the party who sailed with Berry from Sydney in June 1822 and then assisted in the surveying of a land grant near the mouth of the Shoalhaven River. Berry considered Broughton ‘a steady discerning individual’, awarding him and two other local men breastplates for their loyalty and service. In the 1830s Broughton was described as the ‘Constable of Shoalhaven’, and by 1842 Berry had come to consider him ‘the virtual Head of the Shoalhaven Aboriginal Aristocracy’. His breastplate is held in the Australian Museum’s collection.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015