List of Indigenous Australian historical figures

• Cumbo Gunnerah – 18th century leader of the Kamilaroi people near Gunnedah, New South Wales

==1788–1888==

• Alurrpa Pananga (c.1870 - c.1840) an Eastern Arrernte and Wangkangurru man and a leader of his people
• Arabanoo (c.1758 - 1789) Cammeraygal man forcibly abducted by the British to facilitate communication between the two groups
• Walter George Arthur (c.1820–1861) Indigenous Tasmanian survivor of the Black War and pioneering Aboriginal rights activist
• Ballandella (1832 - 1863) – Wiradjuri girl taken by Sir Thomas Mitchell, who later became a notable member of the Hawkesbury River Aboriginal community
• William Barak (1824 -1903) ngurungaeta of Wurundjeri, police tracker, then artist
• Barangaroo (c.1750 - 1791) prominent Cammeraygal woman during the first period of British colonisation
• Baulie (c.1835 - 1860) resistance leader and co-organiser of the Hornet Bank massacre
• Beilba (c.1825 - 1866) resistance leader and co-organiser of the Hornet Bank massacre
• Bennelong (c.1764 - 1813) representative of the Dharug people and pioneering interlocutor with the British
• Beetaloo Jangari Bill (1910 - 1983) a Warumungu and Gurindji man who worked as a labourer and became an elder of his people
• Billiamook (c. 1853) a Larrakia man and one of the first people to interact with white settlers in Garramilla (Darwin)
• Billibellary (1799–1846) ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri-willam clan
• Biraban (c. 1800–1846) Awabakal man, who was employed by the British as an interpreter and interlocutor
• Bob Barrett (c.1795 - 1833) convict hunter
• Boorong (c.1777 - c.1813) Burramattagal woman who was the first Indigenous female to establish communication with British colonists. Third wife of Bennelong
• Botany Bay Colebee (c. 1763 - after 1790) a Gweagal man who interacted with early colonists in Sydney
• Bungaree (c.1775 - 1830) pioneering Dharug sailor and explorer who travelled with Matthew Flinders and Phillip Parker King.
• Burigon (died 1820) prominent Awabakal man whose murder resulted in the first legal case of a European being executed for the killing of an Aboriginal person.
• Calyute (c. 1833 - 1840) leader of the Pindjarup people at the time of the Battle of Pinjarra
• Johnny Campbell (1846–1880) a Kabi man and bushranger
• Cannabaygal (c.1770 - 1816) Gandangara resistance leader who was killed during the Appin Massacre
• Thomas Chaseland (c.1800 - 1869) famous sailor and whaler who married a Maori woman and resided mostly in New Zealand
• Colebe (c.1754 - 1806) abducted with Bennelong by the British, later becoming an intermediator between the Gadigal and the colonists
• Colebee (Boorooberongal) (c.1800 - 1830s) Dharug man who worked with the British and obtained a land grant at Black's Town
• Cora Gooseberry (c.1777 - 1852) wife of Bungaree and designated Aboriginal 'Queen of Sydney'
• Cowits (c.1832 - 1868) Western Australia's first Indigenous policeman, and a member of a number of early exploratory expeditions.
• Derrimut (c.1810 - 1864) Bunurong elder during the British colonisation of Melbourne
• Dick-a-Dick (c.1834 - 1870) Wotjobaluk tracker and cricketer
• Dick Barkinji (?) Explorer and guide who assisted in the Burke and Wills expedition
• Dundalli (1820 - 1855) resistance leader in South East Queensland during European Settlement
• Eumarrah (c.1798 - 1832) Indigenous Tasmanian resistance leader and guide
• Joe Flick (c.1865 - 1889) Indigenous Australian outlaw who shot dead a Native Police officer
• Gajiyuma (? - 1909) Marra man, Aboriginal elder and maritime pilot
• Gnunga Gnunga Murremurgan (c.1773 - 1809) Eora man who was the first Indigenous Australian to travel across the Pacific Ocean
• Jackey Jackey (1833 - 1854) assisted Edmund Kennedy expedition into Cape York and awarded solid silver breastplate for heroic deeds.
• Jandamarra (c.1873 - 1897) – Bunuba man who resisted European occupation
• Kikatapula (c.1800 -1832) – Tasmanian Aboriginal resistance leader and guide
• William Lanne (c.1835 - 1869) - also known as King Billy, last surviving male of the Oyster Cove clan of Tasmanian Aborigines
• Maria Lock (c.1808 - 1878) - Boorooberongal Dharug student of the Native Institution who won first prize in the NSW examination for the year 1819
• Luggenemenener (c.1800 - 1837) Tasmanian Aboriginal woman who survived the Black War and was taken captive by John Batman who shot many of her people
• Tommy McRae (c.1835 - 1901) a Wahgunyah man and artist
• Mahroot (c.1795 - 1850) a Kamaygal man from Botany Bay who successfully pioneered a lawsuit through the colonial British legal system and was a Sydney identity
• Mannalargenna (c.1770 - 1835) Tasmanian Aboriginal leader of the Plangermaireener people
• Mathinna (c.1835 - 1852) Tasmanian Aboriginal girl who lived with Governor Franklin
• Maulboyheenner (c.1816 - 1842) a Tasmanian Aboriginal resistance figure
• Robert Hobart May (c.1801 - ?) massacre survivor and first Aboriginal Tasmanian to be baptised and live in British colonial society
• Mijanu (c. 1900 - 1978) a stockman and police tracker from the Newcastle Waters region of the Northern Territory
• Minyana Tjakamara (c. 1882 - 1969) a Warlpiri leader and Elder
• Mokare (c.1800 - 1831) Noongar guide and peacemaker
• Montpelliatta (c.1790 - 1836) an Aboriginal Tasmanian resistance leader
• Moorooboora (c.1758 - 1798) an Eora leader after whom the suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales is named
• Moowattin (c.1791 - 1816) guide and assistant to the botanist George Caley. He was the first Aboriginal person to be legally hanged in New South Wales.
• Jupiter Mosman (1861 - 1945) discoverer of gold at Charters Towers, with Jupiters Casino being named in his honour
• Johnny Mullagh (1841 - 1891) an Aboriginal cricketer who was known for his remarkable performance in the 1868 Aborigine cricket team's tour of England.
• Mullawirraburka – a Kaurna leader preserving his language and culture during colonisation
• Multuggerah – a resistance fighter of the Ugarapul nation from South East Queensland
• Musquito (c.1780 - 1825) a resistance leader originally from Sydney, became a bushranger following transportation to Tasmania
• Nanbaree (c.1782 - 1821) a Gadigal man who survived the smallpox epidemic as a child to become an important interpreter and sailor
• Nanya (c.1835 - 1895) one of the last Indigenous Australians to live a tribal traditional lifestyle in New South Wales
• Nora Hood ({{circa|1836}}–1871), Aboriginal Australian religious figure
• Patyegarang (c.1780 - ?) a Cammeraygal girl who was the first to teach an Aboriginal Australian language in detail to the British
• Pemulwuy (c.1750 - 1802) member of the Dharug people (Botany Bay) area who had a leading role in resisting British colonisation
• Piper (c.1810 - ?) a Wiradjuri explorer who guided Thomas Mitchell in his 1836 expedition
• Pul Kanta (c.1815 - ?) a Maraura man who survived the Rufus River massacre, gave evidence at a magisterial inquiry and later became a guide for Charles Sturt
• Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834 - 1905) the first Tasmanian Aboriginal Person born on Flinders Island
• Tarenorerer (c.1800 - 1831) a female rebel leader of the Indigenous Australians in Tasmania. She led a guerrilla band against the British colonists during the Black War.
• Tedbury (c.1780 - 1810) an Aboriginal resistance fighter
• Moses Tjalkabota (c. 1869 - 1954) a Western Arrernte man and evangelistst from the Hermannsburg region. He worked closely with Carl Strehlow and Ted Strehlow
• Tjintji-wara (c. 1860 - c.1950) was a Matuntara woman (Luritja) and leader of her people
• Tongerlongeter (c.1790 - 1837) a Tasmanian Aboriginal resistance leader
• Topar (1826 - ?) a Barkandji man who led Charles Sturt into the Barrier Ranges, pioneering the establishment of Broken Hill
• Towterer (c.1800 - 1837) the leading man of the Ninine people of south-western Tasmania whose daughter was Mathinna
• Truganini (c.1812 - 1876) the last "full-blooded" Tasmanian Aboriginal person to have survived British colonisation
• Tullamareena (c.1820 - ?) also known as Tullamarine, a Wurundjeri man who burnt down Melbourne's first jail while escaping from it. The suburb of Tullamarine is named after him
• Tunnerminnerwait (c.1812 - 1842) a Tasmanian Aboriginal Australian who acted as a guide for George Augustus Robinson and was executed for resisting British colonisation.
• Turandurey (c.1806 - ?) a Wiradjuri woman who became a guide for the explorer Thomas Mitchell
• Wild Toby (c.1840–1883) – Aboriginal bushranger from central Queensland
• Willemering (c.1755 - c.1800) a Dharug man who speared Governor Arthur Phillip
• Winberri (c.1820 - 1840) Taungurung man who led an insurgency against the British in central Victoria and was killed during the Lettsom raid
• Tommy Windich (c.1840 - 1876) Western Australian Indigenous explorer
• Windradyne (c.1800 - 1829) Wiradjuri man, also known as "Saturday", a notable figure of the Aboriginal resistance during the Bathurst War
• Simon Wonga (1824 - 1874) a ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri people around Melbourne who secured land at Coranderrk, and the suburb Wonga Park was named after him
• Woretemoeteryenner (c.1795 - 1847) a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman and sealer
• Woureddy (c.1790 - 1842) an Aboriginal Tasmanian warrior and cleverman
• Wylie (c.1825 - ?) an Aboriginal guide who stayed with Edward John Eyre in their crossing of the Nullarbor
• Yagan (c.1795 - 1833) a Western Australian Indigenous leader of the 1830s
• Yarramundi (c.1760 - c.1819) a prominent Dharug man, also a karadji
• Yarri (c.1810 - 1880) a famous flood rescuer from Gundagai
• Yemmerrawanne (c. 1775 - 1794) a Dharug man who, along with Bennelong, was the first Aboriginal person to travel to England.
• Yilbung (c.1815 - 1846) a Turrbal man who actively resisted British colonisation in the Brisbane region
• Yuranigh (c.1820 - 1850) provided vital assistance to Thomas Mitchell's 1845 expedition. Highly honoured by the Wiradjuri

• Alyandabu (c1874 - 1961) a Kungarakany woman and senior elder (Almiyuk).
• Undelya (Minnie) Apma (c. 1909 - 1990) was an Arrernte woman from Horseshoe Bend Station who worked as a domestic servant for Herbert Basedow
• Ayaiga (c. 1882 - 1952) also known as 'Neighbor', was an Alawa man who was the first Indigenous person to receive the Albert Medal for Lifesaving{{cite news |date=8 March 1911 |title=AN ABORIGINAL S BRAVERY |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207225806 |access-date=8 November 2017 |newspaper=The Evening Star |location=Western Australia |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=13 |issue=3996}}{{cite news |date=8 May 1912 |title=THE ROPER RIVER |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206527507 |access-date=8 November 2017 |newspaper=The Evening Star |location=Western Australia |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=15 |issue=4356}}
• Dolly Gurinyi Batcho (c. 1905 - 1973) was a Larrakia woman who served on Aboriginal Women's Hygiene Squad, 69th, as a part of the Australian Women's Army Service. She was also a signatory of the 1972 Larrakia Petition
• Beetaloo Jangari Bill (c1910 - 1983) a Gurindji and Warumungu Elder from Elliott, Northern Territory.
• David Burrumarra (1917 - 1994) a Yolŋu man who was a philosopher, diplomat and leader
• Richard (Dick) Butler (1908 - 1987) a Wugularri/Jawoyn sportsman, soldier and gardener from the Northern Territory
• William Cooper (c.1861 - 1941) political activist and community leader, first to lead a recognised national Aboriginal movement
• Joseph (Joe) Croft (c. 1925 - 1996) was a Gurindji and Mudburra man who was a member of the Stolen Generations and went on to become the first Aboriginal person to attend an Australian university
• Barbara Cummings (1948 - 2019) was a Nanggiomeri woman and member of the Stolen Generations and she was instrumental to the development of the Bringing Them Home report
• Jack Patten (1905 - 1957) was a civil rights activist, journalist and led some of the first organised Aboriginal protests
• Hobbles Danayarri (1925 - 1988) a Mudburra lawman and ommunity leader who was involved in the Wave Hill walk-off
• Billy Drumley (1853 - 1951) a community leader
• Bill Dunn (c. 1911 - ) was involved in the Pilbara Strike, and the first Aboriginal man to be granted a pastoral lease in Western Australia.
• Charlie Flannigan (c. 1870 - 1893) stockman, artist and first person legally executed in the Northern Territory
• Nellie Flynn (1881 - 1982) an Aboriginal and Māori woman who was the matriarch of her family and a community elder around Batchelor, Northern Territory
• Kapiu Masi Gagai (c. 1894 - 1946) pearler, boatman, mission worker and soldier who served in World War II.
• Rona Glynn (1936 - 1965) was the first Indigenous Australian school teacher and nurse in Mparntwe (Alice Springs)
• Jimmy Governor (c. 1875 - 1901) a famous outlaw with his brother Joe Governor
• Douglas Grant (1885 - 1951) a massacre survivor and soldier for the AIF during WWI
• Nipper Kabirriki (c. 1910 - 1987) was a Kundjey'mi man and stockman and research collaborator; he was instrumental to the establishment of Kakadu National Park
• Doreen Kartinyeri (1935 - 2007) was a Ngarrindjeri historian and activist who had a key role in the Hindmarsh Island Bridge controversy
• Alec Kruger (1924 - 2015) was a Mudburra man and member of the Stolen Generations for which he unsuccessfully sued the government for compensation. He is the author of 'Alone on the Soaks' (2007)
• Amelia Kunoth (c. 1880s - 1984) was an Arrernte woman who grew up at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and went on the develop numerous Central Australian cattle stations
• Lazarus Lamilami (1908 - 1977) a Maung man and Methodist preacher
• Gloria Ouida Lee (1908 - 1995) was a Chinese and Western Arrernte woman who worked as a miner
• Vincent Lingiari (1908 or 1919–1988) a prominent Australian Aboriginal rights activist
• Dexter Daniels (c. 1938 – 1999) was a Numamurdirdi (Yugul Mangi) man, union organiser and pioneering Aboriginal activist
• Maurice Jupurrurla Luther (c. 1945 - 1985) was a Warlpiri man and leader of the community of Lajamanu, Northern Territory
• Eddie Mabo (1936 - 1992) an iconic Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for successfully championing Indigenous land rights into Australian law.
• Joe McGinness (1914 - 2003) a Larrakia and Kungarakany man and Aboriginal rights activist
• Val McGinness (1910 - 1988) a Larrakia and Kungarakany man and Aboriginal rights activist
• Cissy McLeod (1896–1928) was the first Indigenous woman to receive a bronze medal from the Royal Humane Society an act of bravery in Darwin
• Nayombolmi (c. 1895 - 1967) was a Badmardi (Bininj) and Jawoyn man who was a rock artist and bark painter
• Nemarluk (c. 1911 - 1940) a leader of the Chul-a-mar, who fought European and Japanese around Darwin in the early 20th century
• Douglas Nicholls (1906 - 1988) the first Aboriginal Australian to be knighted and hold a vice-regal office
• Charles Perkins (1936 - 2000) a pioneering Indigenous activist, sportsman and academic
• Hetty Perkins (c. 1895 - 1979) was an Eastern Arrernte elder who worked for The Bungalow; she is the mother of Charles Perkins
• Reg Saunders (1920 - 1990) the first Aboriginal Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army
• Bob Randall (c. 1934 - 2015) was a Yankunytjatjara man and member of the Stolen Generations who became an advocate for his community and a well-respected elder
• Darby Jampijinpa Ross (c. 1905 - 2005) a Warlpiri man who became a well-known artist for Warlukurlangu Artists and often referred to as one of the last 'old people' at Yuendumu
• Daisy Ruddick (1915 - 2002) a Gurindji woman and member of the Stolen Generations
• Marion Leane Smith (c. 1891 - 1957) was a First World War nurse
• Tiger Tjalkalyirri (c. 1906 - 1985) a Pitjantjatjara man who was a guide, Elder and land-rights campaigner for Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
• Umbarra (died 1904) a late 19th century elder of the Yuin around Bermagui, New South Wales
• David Unaipon or David Ngunaitponi (1872 - 1967) a Ngarrindjeri preacher, inventor, and author, who is featured on the Australian $50 note
• Len Waters (1924 - 1993) the first Aboriginal Australian military aviator, and the only one to serve as a pilot for the RAAF during WWII
• Ronnie Wavehill (c. 1936 - 2020) a Gurindji stockman from Wave Hill Station who took part in the Wave Hill walk-of
• Nipper Winmarti (c. 1920 - 1993) a Pitjantjatjara man and Traditional Owner of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. He worked as a tracker and provided evidence at the inquest into the Death of Azaria Chamberlain.
• Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda (c.1900 - c. 1934) a Dhay'yi and Yolngu man accused of murder whose sentence was overturned by the High Court of Australia in Tuckiar v The King. He then disappeared, with foul play suspected, after his release.

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Indigenous Australian historical figures

Historical figures