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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.

Search / trukanini

Trukanini

Biography

Trukanini (c. 1812–1876) is arguably nineteenth century Australia’s most celebrated Indigenous leader.

6 portraits in the collection

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836 Benjamin Law

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836 Benjamin Law

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land, 1835 Benjamin Duterrau

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land, 1835 Benjamin Duterrau

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2009

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s) Charles Woolley

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Allanah Dopson & Nicholas Heyward 2009

Trukanini, n.d. Charles Woolley, J.W. Beattie

Trukanini, n.d. Charles Woolley, J.W. Beattie

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Allanah Dopson and Nicholas Heyward 2009

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania, c. 1866 Henry Frith

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania, c. 1866 Henry Frith

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Aborigines at Oyster Cove, Tasmania, 1858 (printed 1890s) Francis Nixon

Aborigines at Oyster Cove, Tasmania, 1858 (printed 1890s) Francis Nixon

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Benjamin Law

Biography

Benjamin Law, sculptor and lithographer, arrived in Hobart in 1834 aboard the Sarah.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Woolley

Biography

Charles Alfred Woolley (1834-1922), photographer and sketcher, ran a studio on Macquarie Street in Hobart from 1859 to 1870, producing numerous portraits along with views and stereographs of Hobart and surrounding areas.

6 portraits in the collection

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land, 1835 Benjamin Law

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land, 1835 Benjamin Law

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Burnum Burnum

Biography

Burnum Burnum (1936-1997), Woiworung-Yorta Yorta activist, storyteller and writer, was taken from his family as an infant.

2 portraits in the collection

Burnum Burnum, 1987 (printed 2010) Bruce Postle

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

William Lanne, c. 1866 Charles Woolley, J.W. Beattie

William Lanne, c. 1866 Charles Woolley, J.W. Beattie

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by
Allanah Dopson & Nicholas Heyward 2009

Burnum Burnum and Guboo Ted Thomas, 1984 Juno Gemes

Burnum Burnum and Guboo Ted Thomas, 1984 Juno Gemes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Wurati

Biography

Wurati (active 1830s, d. 1842), was a Nuennone man from Bruny Island, a skilled hunter, boat builder and renowned storyteller who spoke five dialects.

2 portraits in the collection

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island, 1835 Benjamin Duterrau

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island, 1835 Benjamin Duterrau

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2009

Elegance in exile Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.