The gathering sought to celebrate the lives of James and Charlotte Bugg and their eight children.

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Attendees had the opportunity to connect through activities such as kangaroo skin cloak making, meet the author talk sessions, dance and language workshops, and a family tree project.

Bus excursions also took attendees to Buggs Creek and Djanaba Farm, which was part of the farm agisted by James and Charlotte Bugg in the 1800s from the Australian Agricultural Company.

The Sunday excursion took family members to the original Australian Agricultural Company headquarters, Stroud House, where owners Johnathon and Jane King hosted the family.

Gathering organiser Uncle John Heath told News Of The Area, “The Gathering was also embraced by members of the non-Indigenous community, including Reverend Maree Armstrong and her congregation at St John’s Church Stroud, where a blessing of a plaque commemorating Charlotte and James’ life occurred as part of the Sunday Service.”

“The event’s success was obvious through the positive interactions of all, and the joy of many who got to meet fellow descendants, their kin, for the first time.”

“These initiatives are small but essential steps towards real Reconciliation, based on Truth Telling and Treaty,” he said.

Organiser Aunty Donna Kemp said, “There was a palpable feeling of joy throughout the gathering; younger, older and those in-between, coming together as families have always done.”

“It was wonderful to see, despite James and Charlotte’s humble beginnings, where the members of the family they created have gone and continue to go on in their lives.

“I’m sure that every one of the ancestors on our wide-ranging family tree would have been pleased indeed.”

By Joshua GILBERT