This wax relief, one of a pair by Theresa Snell Walker, depicts the Aboriginal leader Mullawirraburka (1811–1845), otherwise known as Kertamero (here anglicized to Kertamaroo), "King John," or "Onkaparinga Jack." He belonged to the Kaurna people, the traditional occupants of the Adelaide plains in Australia. When the first British colonists arrived in 1835, he learned to speak English and established friendly relations, becoming a well-known figure in the new colony. Depicting Mullawirraburka in European dress, his hair and beard neatly trimmed, this sympathetic portrait speaks both to the colonists’ respect for him and the way this respect hinged on his ability to successfully navigate European cultural norms. When Mullawirraburka died, likely of tuberculosis, at just thirty-four years old, his obituary recorded his refusal to convert to Christianity and his unconquerable "love for wandering in the bush."