Boonthamurra People
Boonthamurra people are the contemporary descendants of two apical ancestors: Kangaroo and Dick Ray.
Kangaroo was a man from the Kyabra Creek area. He and his brothers Burrakin ‘Pumpkin’ and ‘Melon Head’ were present when members of the Durack & Costello families first forayed into their country in the late 1860s in search of permanent waterholes to establish cattle stations. These pastoralist families formed Kyabra and Thylungra stations, and in 1874 the Tullys formed Ray station, where Kangaroo’s sons Tippo Ray and Basil Tully, and their children and grandchildren lived and worked their entire lives.
Dick Ray was born in 1878 in the Mt Margaret area. He married Rosie Braddle, Kangaroo’s daughter who was born at Ray station in 1896. Dick and Rosie spent their lives working on their traditional country, particularly at Ray, Terrachie, Congie, and Bellalie stations, where they raised a large family. Dick Ray also had children to Millie before his death at Quilpie in 1948.
Today, the descendants of Dick Ray and Kangaroo reside in Quilpie and Charleville, but also further afield across Queensland and New South Wales. These families have maintained a strong connection to their ancestral country through continued work in the pastoral industry.
