A critical foundation of the modern Guringai/GuriNgai identity claim is the purported descent from “Sophy” (sometimes identified as Bouranger), through Charlotte Ashby, and allegedly to King Bungaree of Broken Bay. This narrative has been repeatedly advanced by members of the Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation and their supporters as evidence of traditional ownership and continuous connection to the Central Coast and Northern Sydney. However, comprehensive forensic analysis by independent anthropologist Natalie Kwok (2015) systematically debunks this claim.

Anthropological Connection Report: Family history & contemporary connection evidence.

Kwok’s review of historical documents, birth and death certificates, blanket returns, and oral histories reveals that Charlotte Ashby’s records consistently identify her parents as John Smith, a white shingle splitter, and Sophia (surname unknown). There is no reliable archival or community evidence linking Charlotte to Bungaree, nor any indication that Sophy was Bungaree’s daughter. The ambiguous appearance of the name “Sophy” in the 1835 Brisbane Water blanket return, sometimes interpreted as an Aboriginal woman associated with the area, is more accurately read as “Sally” in the authoritative version, who is identified as the partner of Jack Jones, not as Bungaree’s daughter or Charlotte’s mother. Kwok finds that suggestions of Sophy’s appearance in earlier returns are based on secondary interpretation rather than primary records, and no direct connection to Charlotte can be established (Kwok, 2015).

Tracing the Bungaree–Sophy–Charlotte Ashby Fiction: From Fabrication to Institutional Laundering

The narrative that Charlotte Ashby was the product of a rape by settler James Webb is also shown to lack any credible documentary basis. While the adoption of settler surnames by Aboriginal people was common in colonial contexts, there is no evidence of familial or legal relationship between Charlotte and James Webb. Furthermore, Charlotte’s recorded places of birth and residence—Sydney, Hawkesbury River, and Brisbane Water—are not consistent or specific enough to support claims of an unbroken ancestral link to either Bungaree or a specific “Guringai” group (Kwok, 2015).

Charlotte Ashby, Charlotte Webb, and Charlotte Smith

Kwok also addresses the oral histories cited by claimants. These narratives, derived from recent generations, center on family life in Balmain, Wyong, and the Central Coast but provide no corroborating genealogical or community evidence for descent from Bungaree or any apical ancestor associated with an original Guringai group.

Charlotte Smith/Webb/Ashby, the not so long lost documents

Kwok concludes that the assertion of traditional association relies more on contemporary family tradition and social memory than on any documented Aboriginal descent line (Kwok, 2015).

The report’s professional assessment is unequivocal:

• No credible genealogical link exists between Charlotte Ashby and Bungaree.
  
• The historical record does not substantiate the inclusion of “Sophy” as either Bungaree’s daughter or Charlotte’s mother.
  
• The claims advanced by the Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation and associates are unsubstantiated by primary evidence and reflect recent invention rather than authentic tradition (Kwok, 2015).
  

These findings have significant implications for the legitimacy of Guringai/GuriNgai identity claims in the Central Coast and Northern Sydney regions. In the absence of evidence for descent from Bungaree or from any original local Aboriginal group, the continued assertion of Guringai/GuriNgai status must be regarded as a form of genealogical fabrication and settler simulation, not as recognition of cultural authority or historical truth.

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Reference (APA 7)

Kwok, N. (2015, October). Anthropological Connection Report Part 2: Family history and contemporary connection evidence: Awabakal and Guringai People NC2013/002.