Contestability

Contestability occurs when particular interpretations about the past are open to debate, for example, as a result of a lack of evidence or different perspectives. Contestability gives history a distinctive strength and value: in history, as in life, certainty remains elusive but nonetheless worth the pursuit. - ACARA

A small boat arriving in Botany Bay, at night, full of black soldiers wearing the Royal Navy military red coats and flying the Aboriginal flag, approaching shore and firing guns at the white people standing in the shallows

From a series, 'Black B___ Are Coming' by Gordon Syron, 2013

Source A

Gordon Syron’s raw, ironic painting re-imagines the arrival at Kamay Botany Bay by shifting expected roles and power relationships. Syron is asking us to look at this historical encounter from another perspective. He uses his art as a way of reclaiming and retelling erased Aboriginal histories.

"This painting highlights the need for Australia to recognise the pre-existing history/rights of Aboriginal land ownership. We must always remember our elders who fought gallantly and bravely in the Aboriginal wars to keep our land. If we don't remember and paint these stories, and teach our children this history, then who will?"

- Gordon Syron

Courtesy of ANMM

An aboriginal man dressed in an 18th century European naval uniform stands on a beach with HMB Endeavour behind him.

Michael Cook, Undiscovered #4, 2010

Source B

Michael Cook’s Undiscovered series unsettles the notion of ‘discovering’ Australia – an idea which is central to historical narratives surrounding James Cook’s Australian voyage. The artist re-envisages the encounter by presenting an Aboriginal man as an imaginary explorer who confidently surveys the land before him.

By reversing expected roles, Michael Cook asks us to consider how the encounter may have been different had Cook and others had been able to see through the eyes of Aboriginal people and to understand Indigenous culture and law. What position would Indigenous people have been in if the land was not perceived as ‘undiscovered’?

Courtesy of ANMM

An alien spaceship with a giant eye that is covered in electrical poles and other technology, hovers over Botany Bay with the Aboriginal People waiting on the beach

Reg Mombassa, 'Close Encounters of the First Kind', 2013

Source C

Reg Mombassa provides an allegorical account of the Kamay Botany Bay encounter. He compares the overwhelming strangeness of the Endeavour’s arrival to the appearance of a battered alien spacecraft hovering ominously over a group of startled Aboriginal warriors. The massive vessel – half machine and half human with its huge staring eye – comes burdened with the weight of ‘civilisation’. With its scowling skulls, crowded houses and factories, tangled telegraph wires and architectural icons of Sydney we are presented with a vision of what will follow.

Courtesy of ANMM

Use the TOMACPRU acronym to analyse sources A-C. Click the drop down menu to see each step:

T - Type What type of source (image, diary entry, artefact and so on) is it?
O - Origin Is the source primary or secondary? When was the source created? Who created the source?
M - Motive Why did the author create the source? Was it to document an event, write a historical summary of an event, express an opinion and/or to sway an audience? Why was the source created? Here you can also bring in bias if appropriate.
A - Audience Who is the intended viewer? In what context would they arise? Where would they be likely to view this? What would they do with the information?
C - Content Tell the reader what the source contains: What is in the foreground? What is in the background? How are the figures positioned? What kind of symbolism has the composer used? What do these symbols represent?
P - Perspective What opinions or belief statements are evident in the article? What is the source’s or the composer's context? Would another source/composer have a different point of view depending on his/her background experiences? What opinions does the source/composer express for a reader? What facts are missing? What words and phrases does the source/author use to present the information? Why is the source presented in such a way, or why does the author present it in such a way? This considers whether a source is objective or subjective.
R - Reliability Is the source consistent with data available about the topic? Are there other sources which could validate the information given from this source? Does it have scholarly credibility? Where was it published? How was it published? Does the source fulfill an agenda? (That is, was the source produced for an opinion/stance, or was the stance a product from the source?)
U - Usefulness Is the source relevant to what is being asked? Has the source revealed an insight into the question? Is the source reliable in providing the information required to answer the question? Does it have any limitations?

The images and text in this section are all from the project East Coast Encounter that is the focus of the film study activity on the 'Historical empathy' page of this site.

Extended response

Using sources A, B and C, and your own knowledge and research, examine the contestablility of the encounters between the Gweagal and the individuals who arrived in Kamay Botany Bay on the HMB Endeavour in 1770.

Research and respond

Historical writing

In pairs carry out research, from records in the Endeavour journals (from Cook and Banks) and elsewhere, then write an informative article of about 400–500 words, responding to this question:

Was there any real communication between the two groups of people who encountered one another in Kamay Botany Bay in 1770?

Use the following questions to guide your response:

How did the two groups relate?
Was contact friendly?
Were there misunderstandings, problems, arguments, acts of violence?
How did these events lead to future issues between the British settlers and Aboriginal Peoples?

Photo essay

The Aboriginal people of Kamay and the crew members of the HMB Endeavour had differing perspectives of the first contact in 1770. They were unfamiliar with each other and the differing languages, cultures and ways of life. Create a photo essay that details the arrival and first contact from either the British or Aboriginal perspective. The starting images of an example photo essay are included below.

Things to consider:

The Gweagal and the Europeans would have contested versions of the eight days the Endeavour spent at Kamay Botany Bay.
Why is it important for a historian to consider both perspectives when analysing these eight days?
Oral history can sometimes be quite difficult to access. Why does this contribute to the contestability of the contact?

The HMB Endeavour enters a wide, sheltered bay, hoping to find water and other supplies.

The landing party see two men armed with spears on the shore.

The landing party cannot communicate with the local men.

Revision

Now that your have explored the eight days at Kamay Botany Bay, test your understanding of the concepts covered throughout the resource.

Suggested answers available in Teacher notes.

1. What is the name of the people who were living on the southern shore of Kamay Botany Bay in 1770?

a) Gweagal

b) Cadigal

c) Bidjigal

d) Wangal

2. Who of the following was NOT on board the HMB Endeavour in 1770?

a) Lieutenant James Cook

b) Sir Joseph Banks

c) Matthew Flinders

d) Sydney Parkinson

3. For at least how long had Aboriginal peoples inhabited the continent before 1770?

a) 6,000 years

b) 16,000 years

c) 30,000 years

d) 60,000 years

4. On what date did the HMB Endeavour land at Kamay Botany Bay?

a) 26 January, 1788

b) 29 April, 1770

c) 1 January, 1901

d) 8 June, 1770

5. Describe why the HMB Endeavour decided to stop at Kamay Botany Bay. (3 marks)

6. Explain the first contact between the Aboriginal people and the crew of the HMB Endeavour. (5 marks)

7. Write two short accounts of the first contact of these two cultures, one by a Gweagal, the other by someone on the Endeavour. Include the landing itself, and then the activities carried out by the crew of the Endeavour over the eight days, then compare these two perspectives of the eight days in Kamay. (6 marks)

8. Compare the different ways that James Cook, and the arrival of the Endeavour, is viewed in today’s Australia. (6 marks)

9. Assess the long-term impact of the HMB Endeavour visiting Kamay Botany Bay in 1770. (8 marks)

Page updated

Report abuse