Embedded Files
Encounters
Encounters
Imagine
Imagine
Teacher read to students: It is early in the morning on April 29, 1770. You are spending time with your family walking down to the beach when you hear your mob causing a commotion and looking out to the ocean. They are looking at a giant shadow floating on the water that appears to be coming closer.
By the middle of the day it has found a place on the water not far from us, and nobody knows what it is! You have never seen anything larger than the canoe that can float on the water. You are filled with fear and curiosity. Later in the day a smaller shadow begins to travel close to the shore. You see people, but these people do not look familiar. They have very pale skin, they almost look like ghosts! You do not know who they are, what they want or why they are coming closer to you. There are lots of them, wearing different pieces of bright coloured material and holding big metal weapons.
[This is an interpretation of the first encounter between the Aboriginal people and British people in Kamay Botany Bay.]
Reflection questions: Think, Pair, Share
Reflection questions: Think, Pair, Share
- How do you think the Aboriginal people felt as this was happening?
- Has there been a time when you saw something strange and did not know what to do? How did you feel? How did you respond?
- How can people communicate if they speak different languages? Work with a partner and try to communicate with them without using words.
- How do you think the Gweagal felt when the British men came ashore and acted as if the land was theirs? (Note: the visitors took 80 or more barrels of fresh water, many boatloads of cut wood and grass, and they hauled in huge quantities of fish and several massive stingrays.)
Varying perspectives
Varying perspectives
Imagine youself in Kamay Botany Bay during this time in 1770.
Imagine youself in Kamay Botany Bay during this time in 1770.
'Two of the Natives of New Holland, Advancing to Combat' | British Library. This artwork is based on sketches. It gives an artist's impression of what the two men might have looked like to the landing party on 29 April 1770.
Consider feelings
Consider feelings
When the British people landed in Kamay and approached the shore in their small boat, they were met with some resistance and tension. The Aboriginal people threw rocks. The British people responded by firing warning shots.
Aboriginal peoples treat their land with respect, and take great care of the Country in which they live. In 1770, with the arrival of the Endeavour, the Aboriginal men who faced the arrival of the people on the Endeavour were trying to protect their country.
- If you needed to stand up and protect your land, how would this make you feel?
- How would you react if strangers came onto your land or into your home uninvited?
First impressions
First impressions
Sydney Parkinson was an artist on the Endeavour. He sketched people, places, objects, animals and plants. He planned to use these sketches later to create artwork. He wanted to give people back in Europe some visual images of what the men on the Endeavour had encountered during their voyage.
Parkinson died on the way back to Europe. Other artists then used his sketches to create paintings and other artworks. We know now that some of the details in these artworks are not accurate. For example, can you see the round shield in the artwork above? We know that the shield would have been a different shape.
Page from Sydney Parkinson's sketchbook, Botany Bay, 1770. British Library | Public domain
Australian Aboriginal People in Bark Canoes sketch by Tupaia | National Library of Australia
Consider your perspective:
From the shore
From the shore
- Banks wrote that the British were “signing that we wanted water and meant them no harm”. Experiment with gestures that they might have used, then ask someone to try to understand your gestures.
- Think of some adjectives to describe how you would be feeling as the British men began to walk ashore and look around your home and land without being invited.
- How would you react as you watched this unfold? What would you do?
- Looking at the sketch of the three men in the canoes, what do you notice about them?
Consider your perspective:
From the ship
From the ship
- Why did the men on HMB Endeavour need to come ashore?
- How would you feel entering an unknown place?
- How do you react when you are trying to land ashore and you are faced with men holding shields and spears?
- Looking at the people on the land, what do you notice about them?
Gift Giving
Gift Giving
'Mr Hicks, who was the Officer ashore, did all in his power to intice them to him by offering them presents; but it was to no purpose, all they seem'd to want was for us to be gone.' – Lieutenant James Cook
Cook's journal, 30 April 1770, National Library of AustraliaWhen the HMB Endeavour arrived in both Tahiti and New Zealand, they were met with curious, albeit sometimes hostile, locals. The method that Cook developed to make contact with the locals was to offer gifts which proved to be extremely successful, particularly in Tahiti where the locals would give anything in exchange for a single iron nail.
However, when the same process was tried in Kamay, the Gweagal showed no interest in the gifts. Cook and the rest of the crew left beads and other small items over five days that went completely untouched by the people of Kamay.
Discussion
Discussion
- What do you think the rejection of the gifts by the Gweagal People might have meant? Disinterest or disapproval, perhaps?
- Should Cook have tried a different tactic to try build a relationship with the Gweagal? If so, what could he have done?
The Gweagal might have watched HMB Endeavour sail into their bay from this point on the southern shore. It is said that some of them thought it was a floating island, while some thought it might be a low-lying cloud.
Language and spirituality
Language and spirituality
Explore the Aboriginal languages on the map and see what you can find out about Dharawal language.
Explore the Aboriginal languages on the map and see what you can find out about Dharawal language.
Understanding language
Understanding language
When the Endeavour arrived in Kamay Botany Bay, the people aboard encountered the Gweagal on Dharawal land. Communication was a large barrier for the Aboriginal people and British people. As they did not understand one another, it was difficult to communicate effectively.
- Do you speak another language?
- Have you been to a place where people didn't understand one another's languages? How did people communciate?
- What do you think the Gweagal people were trying to say when they first made contact with the British people from the Endeavour?
The Dreamtime
The Dreamtime
Aboriginal peoples have a strong connection to their spirituality. Information and beliefs are passed down through stories, dances and songs from generation to generation. Common Dreamtime stories involve how things were created and that everything has a reason and a purpose. The story from the State Library of New South Wales below helps to represent what life was like following the arrival of 'The People From The Clouds.'
You can explore Aboriginal Dreamtime stories if you like.
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