Gambu Ganuurru

Who is Gambu Ganuurru?

Gambu Ganuurru, or Cumbo Gunnerah in an older spelling, also known as the Red Chief, or Red Kangaroo was a Kamilaroi [Gamilaraay] man who lived in the area that is now the town of Gunnedah in north-west New South Wales in the 18th century.

He had a reputation as a warrior and wise leader of the Gunn-e-darr tribe.

He was buried in the mid 18th century in a manner befitting a Kamilaroi man of great importance; in a sitting position, backed by a tree carved with totemic designs. The stories of his unsurpassed bravery, achievements and adventures were handed down through the generations and his burial place was treated with great respect.

In 1887 the town's doctor arranged for the remains of Gambu Ganuurru to be dug up, and later sent them, along with a slab of what was locally known as The Blackfellow's Tree, to the Australian Museum.

As custom demanded his silence, "Old Joe" Bungaree [born ca. 1817], the last full-blooded Aborigine of the Gunn-e-darr tribe, was unwilling to talk about his great leader. It was only just before he died that he decided to confide in his friend, J P Ewing, the local Police Sergeant.