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www.australiaonthemap.org.au I s s u e Map Matters 1 Issue 21 June 2013 Inside this issue Welcome to the Autumn 2013 edition of Map Matters, the newsletter News p.1 Welcome From the of the Australia on the Map Division of the Australasian Hydrographic New Editor Society. p.1 The Unveiling of the This is my first issue of Map Matters as its editor. First Contact Memorial, In an unguarded moment I agreed to take it on Mapoon when Frank Geurts expressed his wish to retire. p.4 Publication of The Duyfken: Unveiling of the Like Frank, I was born in Netherlands, so English First Contact Memorial is my 2nd language (actually my 4th I learned p.5 The German Take on three other languages first). However, I did study the First Fleet and work for many years at an American university, so I’ve had plenty of practice writing in p.8 Search for the Deadwater Wreck – What English. the Remote Sensing Found Even so, American English usage is a bit p.9 Yet More different from Australian, and although I think I’ve Unrecognised Voyages to assimilated rather well, some Dutch or American Australia in the 17th and influence might show. 18th Centuries I hope that this will not reduce the interest and enjoyment you will get from reading Map p.10 A Window on Australia Matters. I certainly intend to enjoy editing it. p.10 AOTM Division If you have any contributions or suggestions for Map Matters, you can email them to me Monthly Meetings at: [email protected], or post them to me at: PO Box 1696, Tuggeranong, ACT 2901 Contacts Marianne Pietersen p.10 How to contact the AOTM Division Editor News The Unveiling of the First Contact Memorial, Mapoon, 27 May 2013 On 27 May, a warm balmy day at Mapoon in the north of Cape York, I had the great privileged of witnessing a very historic moment, the unveiling of the First Contact Memorial. This Memorial is a tangible acknowledgement of arguably the most significant event in Australian history, while at the same time incorporating a fundamental expression of the ideals of practical reconciliation. The Memorial signifies the arrival of Europeans in Australia, when the Duyfken, under the command of Skipper Willem Janszoon and Supercargo Jan Lodewijkszoon van Roosengijn, visited the coast of west Cape York in 1606. They made landfall at the mouth of the Pennefather River, just south of Mapoon, and charted almost 300 kilometres of the coast, the first chart of any part of Australia. During that and subsequent voyages there was a degree of contact between the Aboriginal communities of Cape York and the European visitors, which at times ended in conflict. The First Contact Memorial (Photo: Rupert Gerritsen) Later, the British, and then non-Indigenous Australians, progressively intruded into the area, again producing conflict, disrupting traditional ways of life and imposing upon the local population. A mission was established at Mapoon in 1891 but in 1963 the Queensland government forcibly removed the traditional owners to a new settlement near Bamaga, 200 kilometres to the north, close to the tip of York. But in the mid-70s those families began to move back of their own volition and they began to rebuild their community. In the meantime the voyage of the Duyfken in 1606 began to gain wider recognition in the Australian community. The Royal Australian Navy in 1957, at the request of the Royal Australian Historical Society, erected a stone cairn, with a plaque, commemorating the voyage at Duyfken Point, just north of Weipa. The construction of the Duyfken replica, completed in 1999, was a further manifestation of this growing recognition. As part of the Duyfken replica's first voyage, they re-enacted the original journey from Banda to Cape York in 1606. When they reached in Pennefather River in June 2000 they were greeted by representatives from the west Cape York Aboriginal communities and a dramatic ceremony was conducted, in which the past was acknowledged and peace was made. In 2002 the communities of Aurukun, Mapoon, Napranum and Weipa founded the Western Cape Cultural Centre and decided upon a regional theme of 'First Contact Country'. During the 400th anniversary commemorations of the original Duyfken's voyage in 2006, a Dutch Parliamentary delegation visited Mapoon and the President of the Dutch Senate, Yvonne Timmerman-Buck, suggested in a speech that there ought to be a permanent memorial to first contact. The local community took up this suggestion and a committee was formed. Because Mapoon is the closest settlement to Pennefather River it was decided to place it at Mapoon. Following lengthy discussions and consultations between the Mapoon community, and the Dutch and Queensland governments, the nature of the Memorial was agreed upon. The actual site was nominated by two Tjugundi Elders, Mrs Harriet Flinders and Mrs Alma Day. Considerable thought went into the design, which not only depicts a stylised outline of the Duyfken but has plaques outlining some of the local contact traditions. As part of the memorial complex plants that have spiritual, symbolic and practical significance for the people and places in the region, have been planted and will form a garden. Some large companies, such as Rio Tinto Alcan and Van Oord Australia, the Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council as well as numerous small businesses, local organisations and individuals contributed financially and in-kind to the erection of the Memorial and the creation of the memorial precinct. As a representative of the Australia on the Map Division of the AHS, and editor of the booklet published in association with the unveiling of the First Contact Memorial, I was invited to attend the unveiling. I travelled to Weipa on 26 May and joined the official party in Weipa. The following morning we drove 80 kilometres along a gravel road to Mapoon where we were greeted by Mayor Peter Guivarra and senior Council staff. From there we proceeded to the First Contact Memorial for the formal unveiling. What gave this event special significance was the fact that it was taking place at the beginning of Reconciliation Week. The Unveiling of the First Contact Memorial (Photo: Rupert Gerritsen) The formalities began with a welcome to country by the Mapoon Elders and the singing of the Australian and Dutch national anthems, which was followed by a series of spectacular dances by local school children, culminating in a dramatic gesture in which any evil spirits were cast away evil. Following a prayer, speeches were then given, firstly by the Governor of Queensland, Ms Penelope Wensley AC, followed Mr David Kempton MP, representing the Premier of Queensland, Mr Fred de Graaf, President of the Senate of the Netherlands, and Mayor of Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council, Mr Peter Guivarra. The Memorial was then unveiled by the Governor, the Mapoon Elders, Mr de Graaf and Mr Kempton. It was a very moving moment. At the conclusion the Mapoon Campus Western Cape College Children's Choir sang a traditional farewell hymn in English and the local language. With the ceremonials over, many photos were taken before we all adjourned for a sumptuous morning tea. [l-r] David Kempton, Elder Alma Day, Ambasador Ruigrok, Governor Wensley, Fred de Graaf, Peter Guivarra and members of the Descendance Dance Group (Photo: Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council) The unveiling of the Memorial was not the only important event in Mapoon that day, after morning tea we attended a landmark event for the community, a handover ceremony of the Deed of Grant in Trust. This vested control of the community's lands in a community corporation. After lunch the official party then visited the local school, where awards were handed out by the dignitaries, then the Land and Sea Centre, a wetland and the shores of Port Musgrave, before returning to Weipa late in the afternoon. It was quite a long, but immensely satisfying day. Rupert Gerritsen Publication of The Duyfken: Unveiling of the First Contact Memorial Last December the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherland requested the assistance of the Australasian Hydrographic Society in the production of a booklet, intended to be published in conjunction with the unveiling of the First Contact Memorial. The Embassy made funds available and it was agreed by the Executive that the Australia on the Map Division would take responsibility for this, and I was appointed editor. Some contributions had already been sought and provided, including one from me, when I took on the role. However, as with any publication, a lot of work is involved. There was much negotiation about style and content, additional contributions had to be solicited, graphic design arranged and printers contacted for quotes. But, with the deadline for the unveiling of the First Contact Memorial looming, the booklet was completed and printed. Cover of The Duyfken: Unveiling of the First Contact Memorial The booklet contains a series of introductory texts by the Governor of Queensland, Ms Penelope Wensley, Ambassador Annemieke Ruigrok and the Mayor Mapoon, Peter Guivarra. These are followed by two historical essays relating to the Duyfken by historians Colin Sheehan and Evan McHugh, and then an extended account of a local contact tradition by Jack 'Spear' Karntin. The final three contributions are by myself, on the growth in awareness of the Duyfken's voyage from first contact to the present, Graeme Cocks on the building and adventures of the Duyfken replica, and finally historian Geoff Wharton, on how the Memorial was conceived, developed and built. To promote awareness of the First Contact Memorial and its historical and cultural significance, it has been arranged, through the AHS, for me to undertake a series of lectures in Canberra and all state capitals in coming months.
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