Plaque for Cora
UNVEILING OF A PLAQUE AT CAMP COVE TO HONOUR CORA GOOSEBERRY (KAAROO) – BY THE MAYOR OF WOOLLAHRA, COUNCILLOR SUSAN WYNNE ON AUGUST 11, 2023.
Cora Gooseberry or Kaaroo was an acknowledged Aboriginal leader in the coastal Sydney area, recognized as a holder of cultural knowledge, including ancestral stories. She lived at Camp Cove during the 1820s and 1840s and her name was given to her by the colonists. It is recorded that Camp Cove was a place of sanctuary, where many Sydney Aboriginal people lived.
It is known that Kaaroo was a wife of Bungaree and in the egalitarian society of pre-colonial Aboriginal communities, where men and women were relatively equal it is not a surprise that the daughter of a clever man would have the confidence to be the leader that she is renowned to be. Her father, Moorooboora, was a leader of the coastal people and as such had certain cultural knowledge that Kaaroo absorbed and used to earn a living in later years.
Kaaroo spent her final years living around Hyde Park with extended family engaging in cultural displays for colonial entertainment and money. She befriended publican Edward Borton, who encouraged her to stay overnight in the relative warmth of his pub’s kitchen and it was there that Kaaroo passed away on 30th July 1852. There are obituaries to “Her Sable Majesty” in various newspapers mentioning that Borton and others paid for Kaaroo, a knowledge keeper of the coastal Sydney and the Gadigal peoples, to be buried in the Presbyterian Section of Devonshire Street cemetery with a sandstone headstone. This cemetery was eventually closed in the 1860s and the land gazette for the expansion of the nearby Central Railway Station. All the loved ones who were buried there had to be removed and it is documented that Kaaroo was reinterred at Bunnerong.
It is hoped that the plaque to Kaaroo in Cove Street will encourage others to look further into her history as Aboriginal people like Kaaroo played a pivotal part in the development of the colony.
This is a brief summary of historical information provided by Melissa Jackson, Indigenous Engagement Officer at the State Library of NSW.
Woollahra Council Plaque Scheme – The Woollahra Council Plaque Scheme honours exceptional people or events associated with our local government area that have made a significant impact on life in the area or Australia as a nation. The scheme is driven by community suggestion and relies upon the public making interesting and eligible nominations. For any inquiries contact: Danuta.masso@woollahra.nsw.gov.au.
by Elizabeth O’Connor (Honorary Secretary)
L-R: Corinna Pierce, Manager, Library & Learning Futures at Waverley Council, Melissa Jackson, Indigenous Engagement Officer SLNSW, Aunty Maxine Ryan who gave the Welcome to Country and Cr. Susan Wynne, Mayor of Woollahra.