Portrait of Bennilong; a native of New Holland, who after experiencing for two years the Luxuries of England, returned to his own country and resumed all his savage habits

Woollarawarre Bennelong was an Australian Aborigine who belonged to the Wangal clan of the Eora people. The Eora were the indigenous people of the coastal area around Sydney where the British established a colony in 1788. The following year the Colonial Governor Arthur Phillip kidnapped Bennelong and other members of his clan because he wished to learn more about Aboriginal language and customs. During his incarceration Bennelong learned to speak English fluently. He managed to escape from captivity after five months, but returned to visit Phillip voluntarily in an attempt to promote better relations between the settlers and his people. Bennelong was also a shrewd politician and used his relationship with the British to bolster his own position within the clan.

In 1793 Bennelong, and another Aborigine Yemmerrawanie, sailed with Phillip to London and in doing so became the first indigenous Australians to visit Britain. During their stay Bennelong and Yemmerrawanie were presented at the court of George III and visited the Houses of Parliament. Yemmerrawanie died in England and was buried at St John the Baptist Church in Eltham. Bennelong returned to Sydney with Phillip's successor John Hunter in 1795.

In this print Bennelong is depicted wearing the clothes of an English gentleman against a backdrop of spears and other weapons. He is described as a 'native of New Holland', as Australia was known in Britain before 1824. The inscription below the portrait suggests that Bennelong's visit to London and his exposure to polite English society had a temporary civilising influence, but that once back in his natural environment he reverted to savagery. This racist stereotype of Australia's indigenous people informed the attitudes and policies of the British colonial administration. Ironically it was Bennelong's taste for alcohol, which he acquired whilst spending time with the British at Government House, that may have contributed to his death in 1813.