Wongar has received criticism to the point of being labelled a fake, literary hoax and accused of cultural appropriation. Australian novelist and playwright Thomas Keneally has said, "Time might prove him to be a highly significant Australian writer, but his deception has soured his reception in the English-speaking world." Much of this centres around his identify, as there are many discrepancies regarding the identify of Wongar in the forewords of his books. In his book, "The Track to Bralgu", the foreword states that Wongar is part Aboriginal, while in his book "The Sinners", the foreword states that Wongar is in fact a mixed race American Vietnam veteran.