Gundungurran

The Gundungurra, also recorded as the Gandangara, are an Aboriginal people of south-eastern New South Wales, whose country took in Goulburn, the Southern Highlands and much of the Blue Mountains. Their name is said to combine the words for east and west, and their language was close to that of the Ngunawal.

The explorer Barrallier met them in 1802, and they later persuaded Governor King to protect their yam beds. As land grants spread after 1811, drought and hunger drove the Gundungurra into a frontier war alongside the Darawal and Dharug, timing their spear attacks to the slow reloading of muskets.

In 1816 Governor Macquarie sent Captain Wallis against them, and on 17 April his troops surprised a camp on the Cataract River near Appin, shooting at least fourteen and driving others over the cliffs; the chief Cannabaygal died there.