Becoming “Brave and Gallant”: decolonising the myths of Burke and Wills Cross-cultural exchanges and the co-production of knowledge during the Victorian Exploring Expedition and the subsequent Relief Expeditions i Peta Jeffries BA (Visual Arts) Honours, Grad Dip (Environment and Planning) This thesis is submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Federation University PO Box 663 University Drive, Mount Helen Ballarat, Victoria 3353 Australia Submitted June 2015 ii ABSTRACT The history of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (VEE), also known as ‘Burke and Wills’, has commonly been told as a story of ‘brave and gallant men’ who ventured into an unfamiliar landscape and became victims of the ‘ghastly blank’ interior of Australia. Visual artists and historians have memorialised these men as solo-hero explorers who sacrificed their youth and life potential for the sake of Australian nation. The myth of Burke and Wills is a constructed narrative and symbol of glory and achievement that denies the involvement of significant others in exploration and geographical knowledge creation. The path the VEE created through the centre of Australia opened up the broader continent for rapid colonisation and imperial expansion. The tragic legacy of the deaths of Burke and Wills is part of the Australian identity, however, some major aspects of the VEE successes and failures have been sidelined, silenced and even completely ignored in many historical accounts. The historical and visual art accounts that contributed to the memorialisation of Burke and Wills often denied the involvement of other exploration team members, the relief expeditions who went in search of the missing explorers, various intermediaries, guides, go-betweens and significantly Aboriginal peoples’ close involvement and or resistance to interior exploration. Yandruwandha people have been remembered as a friendly and accommodating community who assisted the explorers in their last days and who cared for John King. Within the archives and social memories are examples of agency, power, resistance, and varied perspectives of Burke and Wills. This ethnographic history asks why relations between the explorers, Aboriginal peoples and landscape have been told the way they have and provides examples of encounter and exchange, mutual adaptation and the co-production of knowledge as a way to decolonise the myths of Burke and Wills. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners past and present of those whose Country1 the VEE and each of the subsequent Relief Expeditions travelled through. These expeditions covered a large expanse of eastern Australia and the implications of these expeditions are tremendous. In particular I would like to acknowledge Muthi Muthi (Madi Madi/Madhi Madhi) and Wemba Wemba people and their Country, specifically Mary Pappin and Verna Eade who welcomed me into their homes and shared personal details about their lives. My conversations with Mary have guided this thesis. It is an absolute privilege and honour to be given such responsibility and I hope that this work improves some people’s experiences of ‘whitefella’ history. I thank Yvonne and Bruce Mitchell for all their kindness and support. I would also like to acknowledge Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka and thank Barbara Allen (nee Kerwin) and Faye Nicholls who also warmly welcomed me into their homes. These two women generously shared some of their memories and many wonderful stories of being on Country. Meeting each of these women has taught me a great deal about how to approach the historical past in the present. I wish that I could have met more people throughout this respectively short project to hear and learn about their experiences of colonial histories. For some people these exploration and scientific 1 Country (as opposed to country) refers to a popular definition of Aboriginal Country developed by Deborah Bird Rose – country is a ‘nourishing terrain’, ‘a place that gives and receives life’ (Rose, 1996, p. 7). v expeditions do not represent a peaceful and friendly encounter or experience and I hope that this thesis begins to reconcile some of the previous injustices of how this history has been memorialised, remembered and commemorated. I would also like to acknowledge Federation University; my supervisors Professor Ian Clark and Associate Professor Fred Cahir; the Royal Society of Victoria; Dave Phoenix the president of the Burke and Wills Historical Society and the creator of the very helpful Burke and Wills website; and the Australian Research Council for making this project possible. Additionally I would like to acknowledge Maxine Briggs and Shane Carmody of the State Library of Victoria for their support and introducing me to the work of Greg Dening, which subsequently led me to Tiffany Shellam and the methodology of ethnographic history. I am most appreciative of the invaluable feedback, advice and guidance from Tiffany Shellam and Martin Mulligan. I would also like to acknowledge Luise Hercus for guiding me through the extensive archives at AIATSIS and identifying the recordings made in 1977 at Mutawintji of Lorna Dixon whose Country the VEE passed through. Also, I thank Jeannette Hope, who has welcomed me into to her home and life and introduced me to amazing people and places. I would also like to acknowledge Barkindji and Paarkinji people past and present whose Country I have been inspired and nurtured by for many years. Thank you to my wonderful friends and family for all the support and inspiration. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vii Table of Figures ix Prologue x Chapter One: Introduction 1 Background 2 Personal background and influences 2 Statement of problem or concern 15 Purposes 17 Significance and Scope 18 Notes on Terminology 21 Literature of Burke and Wills and the missing archives 24 Chapter Two: Research Design 28 Methodology 29 The role of culture: Past & Present, Strange & Familiar 33 Ethics and Limitations 37 Chapter Three: Literature Review 40 Introduction 41 Burke and Wills: heroes or failures? – The creation of the myth 49 Myth and ‘erasure’ 62 The portrayal of landscape 87 Summary and Implications 101 Chapter Four: Tracing Colonial Attitudes 105 The Ghastly Blank and the advancement of Science 113 Men of science and the race to the Gulf 119 Aboriginal skill surpassing European ability 126 William Wills in Baraba Baraba country 133 Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment 137 Making way through Aboriginal Country 139 ‘Black fellow make grass grow’ 147 Story-telling, yarning and Corroboree 149 Chapter Five: The psychological frontier 160 Storied landscape 161 Death of Burke and Wills on the Cooper 176 Oral histories and social memories 184 Meeting with the women of the Cooper in Broken Hill 188 ‘What for whitefellow not send horses and grub?’ 191 Captain Cook and the ‘wild people’ 197 Chapter Six: Mutual adaptation 206 Burke and Wills Relief - Aboriginal Police Troopers and guides 208 Jemmy, the Queensland Mounted Police Trooper from Deniliquin 217 Historical traces of reliance on Aboriginal guides 219 Stories that influenced encounters with people and place 226 Wittin – guiding through his Country 247 Chapter Seven: Influence of Aboriginal Country 264 vii Becker’s sublime sentiment: a link between art and science 270 Humboldtian influence 273 Embracing Indigenous knowledge 277 Interpreting Mutawintji 280 Influence of art theory 284 Modern art: Australia’s unique art movement 289 Chapter Eight: Telling Stories –writing history 297 Establishing a foundation for analysis and interpretation 299 In Balranald 300 Acknowledging Aboriginal ownership 301 ‘Captain Cookism did a good job’ 302 Tin Tin Bidara Road name change to Burke and Wills Road 303 How do we teach this history? How do I tell these stories? 305 Camping on the site of a Corroboree 306 Missionary Management 308 Revisiting the archives and reflecting upon methodology 309 Managing the land 312 Misrepresenting Landscape and Story 314 Aboriginal Guides and Intermediaries 316 Discussion 327 Chapter Nine: Discussion – closing analysis 329 Learning from the myth 331 Burke and Wills – death and belonging 339 Concluding remarks 341 Bibliography 344 Primary sources - manuscripts 344 Primary sources - published 346 Newspapers, gazettes, magazines and art exhibition catalogues 348 Diaries, Journals, Field Notes, Proceedings, Directions, Letters and Memoirs 351 Oral history interviews and linguistic transcriptions 355 Secondary sources – published 356 Articles 383 Films and Music 393 Secondary sources – unpublished 393 Websites, Radio and Audio-visual material 394 viii Table of Figures Figure 1 ‘Johnson’s Australia’ Geographicus – The unmapped centre of Australia ................................................................................................................................................................ xiii Figure 2 Map of Queensland and unclaimed territory ...................................................... xv Figure 3 The new Queensland boundary following Landsborough’s expedition ... xvi Figure 4 Depot Junction: The Bamamoro Cr. with the Darling, 7 miles from Menindie .............................................................................................................................................. xx Figure 5 Burke and Wills Track .............................................................................................. xxiv Figure 6 Portrait of Dick, the brave and gallant