Significant People

Captain Arthur Phillip was chosen by the British Government to be the first Governor of the new colony of NSW. A Governor is someone who represents a king or queen. He was also given the job of leading the First Fleet. This was an important event, as it was the first time the English would establish a permanent settlement in Australia. It would also mean significant change for the Aboriginal people, the traditional owners of the land.

Captain Phillip sailed in the Sirius leading 11 ships, carrying around around 1,500 people as well as all the supplies needed to survive in the new colony. The voyage took around 9 months and stopped at a number of ports to bring aboard more supplies.

When he arrived in Botany Bay, the area Captain Cook had recommended, Phillip found it unsuitable and searched for a better place to start a new town. He explore further north and found Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, the site of Sydney today.

Phillip ruled the colony for four years from 26th January 1788 to the 10th December 1792. In the early days of the colony life was very difficult. Supplies ran low and it was hard to survive on the small amount of food they had brought with them. It took some time to establish gardens and to raise animals that they could eat.

Some of the soldiers also challenged Phillips orders. Phillip gave orders that the local Aboriginal people were to be well treated but that did not always happen. Phillip captured an Aboriginal man called Bennelong to use him as an interpreter so that both groups could better understand each other.

Did you know?

One reason why many Aboriginal people are thought to have paid respect to Governor Phillip was because he was missing a front tooth. This small detail was important because the tooth that Governor Phillip was missing was the same tooth that Aboriginal people knocked out of their young men's teeth in their initiation ceremonies.

Woollarawarre Bennelong was a member of the Wangal clan and was kidnapped with Colebee, a Cadigal man, while they were fishing at Manly Cove. Governor Phillip hoped he could learn the local Eora language and understand Aboriginal culture and way of life from Bennelong.

Although being kept in chains for many weeks, Bennelong eventually developed a close friendship with Governor Phillip. Bennelong called Phillip 'Beanga', meaning father in the Eora language, and Phillip in return called him 'Durung', meaning son.

In 1791 Governor Phillip built a brick hut for Bennelong on the site where the Opera House is today. It became known as Bennelong Point but is called Djubuguli in Gadigal language.

When Phillip's time as NSW Governor finished in 1792, he took Bennelong back to England with him. Phillip and Bennelong met King George III in May 1793.

Bennelong's became homesick and arrived back home in September 1795 with Governor John Hunter (1737–1821). He found that while he was away, his hut had been demolished and his wife, Barangaroo, had left him. Because Bennelong had adopted many English ways, he found it difficult to fit back in to his culture. He died on 3 January 1813 and was buried at Kissing Point on the banks of the Parramatta River.

Did you know?

Bennelong's grave was discovered at Kissing Point, near Gladesville in Sydney in 2011. The NSW government bought the house and land that the grave is found in for nearly $3million.

Listen to the Australian folk song 'We're bound for Botany Bay' which was written as part of a stage show in 1854. The plot of the song describes the period during the 18th and 19th Century, when even a small crime would get you a sentence for up to seven years. The first verse of the song explains how being sent to Australia was an alternative to prison in Britain. The second verse describes the convict ships and the final verse warns English boys and girls (referred as Dookies and Duchesses) not to steal or they might end up in Botany Bay.

Imagine what it must have been like for the Convicts on the First Fleet to spend 8 months at sea, with very little space, heading to an unknown land as prisoners!

Lieutenant William Dawes was a very intelligent officer in the NSW Marine Corps (Red Coat Soldiers). He was a soldier, scientist, astronomer, linguist (studied languages), engineer, botanist, surveyor, explorer and a government officer. He volunteered for service with the First Fleet to New South Wales.

Dawes was attached to the marines in the 'Sirius', the lead boat of the First Fleet. From March 1788 he was employed ashore by the government as an engineer and surveyor, and by early July had been discharged from the Sirius. He had already begun to build an observatory on what is now called Dawes Point (under the Harbour Bridge).

As an engineer and surveyor, he constructed batteries (a type of fort) on the hills overlooking Sydney Cove. The ruins of his battery are still there. He drew plans for the first government farm (the Botanic Gardens today) and the first streets and home sites in Sydney.

In December 1789, he was sent by the Governor on an expedition across the Nepean River to the Blue Mountains. William Dawes explored many areas between Sydney and the Blue Mountains. His training and skills in making maps were very valuable and opened up the way for other settlers to follow.

Lieutenant Dawes was interested in scientific studies and in the Gadigal Aboriginal language. He became one of the few officers or convicts who could speak the Gadigal language. He learnt the language from a Gadigal girl called Patyegarang who visited him in his hut. He also taught her English. He wrote the Gadigal language in his notebook, which is how we still know Gadigal words today, such as 'Tallowoladah' which is Gadigal for 'The Rocks'.

• View other pages of William Dawes Notebooks

• Find out more about William Dawes and Patyegarang Pocket OZ Pocket Guide to Sydney

Did you know?

William Dawes refused Governor Phillip's order to capture and shoot Gadigal people, as punishment for them spearing a settler. When he returned to England he became a leader in the movement to get rid of slavery in England.

Patyegarang was a young Gadigal girl who learnt English from a Marine called Lieutenant William Dawes. Patyegarang was just 15 when she met William Dawes in 1789 at his observatory at Point Maskelyne, now called Dawes Point (which is under the Harbour Bridge in The Rocks). William Dawes was very interested in Gadigal Aboriginal culture and wanted to learn their language. She became his language teacher and was often seen at his hut, possibly living with him there. He learnt Gadigal by writing down their conversations in his notebook. She also told him about the concerns of the Gadigal Aboriginal community including their concerns about the English settlement taking over their traditional lands, and their fear of the colonists’ guns. It is because of Patyegarang that many Gadigal words have survived today.

Did you know?

Gadigal baby girls had string tied tightly around the first two joints of the little finger of their right hand. This part of their finger eventually fell off and was thrown into the sea. The Gadigal believed that this meant the child would always be lucky in fishing.