Content warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander riewers are advised this article may contain upsetting content and names of people who have died.
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Dr Marlene Longbottom has dedicated her research to unraveling the truth behind Alexander Berry.
Berry invaded Aboriginal lands on the South Coast and set up camp in Cullunghutti in 1822, and is falsely portrayed as a pioneer, Dr Longbottom said.
"He's viewed as someone who braved the elements and expanded the British empire, but the Aboriginal side of Berry is overlooked, and perhaps not known," Dr Longbottom said.
"There are people who have done work who have totally omitted the fact that Berry displaced Aboriginal people, or even invaded Culunghutti. And that followed a displacement of Aboriginal people onto missions and reserves.
"There's an assumption that it was all very peaceful, and it wasn't. There was a lot of trauma involved."
Dr Longbottom is a Yuin woman from the Jerrinja community and Associate Professor with the University of Wollongong's Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre.
She will co-present an online seminar alongside former UOW archivist Michael Organ, titled Clandestine dismemberment: The reality behind the invasion of Shoalhaven on Thursday.
The seminar will bring to light truths about Berry, including his involvement in removing skulls and bones from Aboriginal burial sites in Australia and sending them to universities at Edinburgh.
"As we've found in Michael's archival work, letters and correspondence of Berry tells a story of his sinister side," Dr Longbottom said.
"He exhumed Arrawarra's skull after he had passed. He was also a supporter of phonology and craniology ... meaning he was in discussions in this industry around the removal of skulls and bones and body parts from Aboriginal communities."
Dr Longbottom said this year's NAIDOC theme of 'Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up!' was fitting with the seminar, as it provides the opportunity for others to learn from an Indigenous perspective 200 years on from a significant moment in her people's history.
"My loved ones come from Culunghutti ... I'm living proof that we're still here and we're not going anywhere," Dr Longbottom said.
"The stories I grew up with were never spoken about or written about in history books. People went to school learning about Alexander Berry, but not hearing about local Aboriginal history."
Clandestine Dismemberment: Alexander Berry and the Indigenous Body will broadcast on Thursday from midday to 1pm. Attendees can register a this link.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
