Historical Information About the 1780S in Australia
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The information supplied in this document was sourced from the Decade timeline section of MY PLACE FOR TEACHERS website: www.myplace.edu.au Historical information about the 1780s in Australia Cultural differences On 26 January 1788, the British government through Governor Arthur Phillip (1738–1814) claimed sovereignty over the area that Captain James Cook had named New South Wales. They also claimed ownership of the land through the legal concept of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one), ignoring the already existing land ownership and lore of the Indigenous peoples there. Land was at the centre of the conflict between the Sydney clans and the British colonists. In 1787 Lord Sydney of the Colonial Office had officially recognised the presence of Indigenous inhabitants by giving instructions to Governor Phillip to open friendly communications with them and encourage the convicts and marines to show them kindness. His instructions included measures of protection for the local Indigenous people, and punishments for those who harmed them. The British did not, however, acknowledge Indigenous ownership of the land. The people of the First Fleet did not understand the ways of the local Indigenous peoples they encountered, and their diaries and journals record the lack of respect that many members of the First Fleet had for local Indigenous people. The colonists did not understand the diversity of Indigenous Australian nations, each with a distinct language and culture, or the complexity of Indigenous systems of lore. For example, an important understanding is to seek permission to enter another group's country. On seeing the First Fleet, the Cadigal people ran down to the water's edge and shook their spears at them. But the Cadigal people were outnumbered and overpowered by the technology the strangers possessed. Within a few days of landing at Port Jackson, the new colonists cut down trees, erected tents to house more than 1,000 people and tethered animals. They had claimed the land as Crown land and believed they could take and use anything on the land. The British Government did not acknowledge that Indigenous people had any rights to the land. A good supply of fresh food was important for the British and when they brought back to shore their large catches of fish they could not understand the expectations of the Cadigal people to receive a portion of the catch. The Cadigal people had a very different way of working, with different value systems to the British. When fish were caught or other food sources gathered it was often customary to share a portion of this with others. The Cadigal people did not have the same concept of private property as the British and shared things communally. They placed less value on possessions that the British highly valued. It was easy for cultural misunderstandings to take place as their world views and languages were very different. First attempts at communication Almost a year after their arrival at Sydney Cove, Governor Arthur Phillip (1738–1814) and his officers had acquired very little knowledge about the Eora people. Phillip had been instructed to open communications with the local people. Records from the time document that the people were perceived to be shy and mostly kept away from the new settlement. This was most likely to avoid the gunshots and the attacks. On 29 January 1788, Phillip attempted to communicate with the local people. According to a young officer, William Bradley (1757?– 1833), the local people invited the newcomers to join them in dancing together with much laughter and friendliness. Bradley later captured this scene in a series of drawings. © Australian Children's Television Foundation 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material. The information supplied in this document was sourced from the Decade timeline section of MY PLACE FOR TEACHERS website: www.myplace.edu.au Governor Phillip ordered the capture of an Aboriginal man in order to learn more about the local culture, the country and its resources such as water and food. At this time of severe food shortage, he hoped to learn which plants were edible. Arabanoo (c 1759–1789), a Cadigal man, was captured at Manly Cove in December and taken to Government House. He was fearful at first but then amazed at seeing the settlement. According to the First Fleeter Captain Watkin Tench (1758?–1833), Arabanoo was very angry at finding that the handcuffs, which he originally thought were an ornament, restrained his movements and made him a prisoner. He remained restrained and accompanied by a convict until April 1789 when Governor Phillip decreed he was free to move around the settlement. Arabanoo learnt some English and taught those around him some of his own language. Soon after his release, Arabanoo became ill with smallpox and died in May 1789. An epidemic had spread through the colony. Governor Phillip, who had been fond of him, attended his funeral, ordering that he be buried in Phillip's own garden. In November 1789 Bennelong (1764?–1813), a member of the Wangal people, and Colebee, a Cadigal man, both Elders within their distinct language groups, were captured. Watkin Tench described them as fine young men. Within a week Colebee escaped, but Bennelong remained and became familiar with British customs and language. His age was estimated to be about 26 years. Bennelong assisted Governor Phillip to learn about his culture and language after a friendship developed between the two men. Bennelong called Phillip 'Beanga' (father). Barangaroo, Bennelong's second wife, opposed her husband's familiarity with the colonists and the governor. She refused to fraternise or integrate with the colonists. It is reported that when Barangaroo was to give birth she wanted to reconnect with her land, which at this time was where Governor Phillip's house was erected. Phillip refused her entry and encouraged Bennelong to take her to the hospital, which she thought of as a place of death. She died shortly after giving birth. William Dawes and Patyegarang Lieutenant William Dawes (1762–1836) was the Officer of Engineers and Artillery on the First Fleet. His daily task on the voyage was to be in charge of the flagship's chronometers. These clocks were vital to navigation because the accuracy of their timepieces allowed ships to measure their longitude. On the recommendation of Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), the Board of Longitude provided instruments and books for an observatory and asked Dawes to watch for a comet that was expected in the Southern Hemisphere in 1788. Dawes built his observatory, the first in the Southern Hemisphere, in a hut at Point Maskelyne, now known as Dawes Point. Dawes made astronomical observations but the comet did not appear. Dawes was an engineer and a surveyor and constructed the earliest batteries on the points at the entrance to Sydney Cove. He designed the government farm, and laid out the first streets and allotments in Sydney and Parramatta. Dawes was one of the few marines who wished to remain in the colony after his term had expired. But, after the governor's gamekeeper was killed, Dawes came into disfavour when he refused to join a punitive expedition against the Aboriginal people who were suspected of the crime. The gamekeeper was known for mistreating Aboriginal people. After this refusal, Dawes was not allowed to remain in New South Wales. Patyegarang, a young Indigenous woman, befriended Lieutenant Dawes and each taught the other their first languages. Dawes was the first European to make extensive written records of an Indigenous Australian language. He captured not just wordlists, but phrases concerned with personalities, actions and feelings. Records of his conversations with Patyegarang reveal an increasing level of frustration by local Aboriginal people that the colonists were not moving out of their land. William Dawes was one of the first colonists to appreciate that the languages and cultures of Aboriginal peoples differed in different areas. He also was one of the few who had genuine relationships with Cadigal people. He became a European authority on the language of the Eora people living around Sydney Cove. © Australian Children's Television Foundation 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). You may use, download and reproduce this material free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material..