Bidgee Bidgee (c. 1787–c. 1837), a leader of the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, joined a number of sealing and whaling voyages to Bass Strait in the early 1800s, and acted as a tracker to an 1816 expedition aimed at quelling attacks against settlers in west and north-west Sydney. Bidgee Bidgee is held to have succeeded Bennelong, his half brother-in-law, as leader of the community centred near present-day Ryde on the Parramatta River, and in June 1816 Governor Macquarie issued him with a kingplate declaring him ‘chief of the Kissing Point tribe’.
This engraving is one of fourteen portraits published in the atlas accompanying the second edition of Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes, the official account of Nicolas Baudin’s expedition. An English edition of the same portrait describes Bidgee Bidgee as ‘a well known character at Sydney, [who] speaks very good English and mimics the manners of every officer and person in the colony’.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Accession number: 2017.30.5
Currently on display: Gallery Four (Liangis Gallery)
Copyright image request form
Request a digital copy of an image for publication
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Explore portraiture and come face to face with Australian identity, history, culture, creativity and diversity.
Timed ticketing, location, accessibility and amenities
We depend on your support to keep creating our programs, exhibitions, publications and building the amazing portrait collection!
Principal sponsor
Strategic partner
Cultural partner
Media supporter
Beverage partner
Imaging partner
Digital partner
