1 Alison Page, Nik Lachacjzak, Shane Youngberry , The Eyes of the Land and the Sea (2020)
2 Theresa Ardler and Julie Squires Nawi (canoes) (2020)
3 Tupaia (c1724–1770) [Polynesian high priest and navigator who joined the Endeavour voyage in the Society Islands ]
Australian Aboriginal People in Bark Canoes April 1770
pencil and watercolour
A www.nla.gov.au Diary of Joseph Banks (28 April 1770)
By noon we were within the mouth of the inlet which appear’d to be very good. Under the South head of it were four small canoes; in each of these was one man who held in his hand a long pole with which he struck fish, venturing with his little imbarkation almost into the surf. These people seemd to be totaly engag’d in what they were about: the ship passd within a quarter of a mile of them and yet they scarce lifted their eyes from their employment.
“...brings together different perspectives on our shared history – the bones of a whale and the ribs of a ship – and sits in the tidal zone between the ship and the shore where the identity of modern Australia lies. The first encounter between James Cook and the First Australians was a meeting of two very different knowledge systems, beliefs and cultures. The abstraction of the ribs of the HMB Endeavour and the bones of the Gweagal totem the whale, speaks to the different perspectives of those first encounters, providing a conjoined narrative of two very different world-views.”
C smh.com.au Dillon Komumberri, architect
"The devastating impact of colonisation, with its disruption to Aboriginal landscape, people and cultural practices, has over time created a collective amnesia regarding this history." Mr Kombumberri said generations of built-up cultural bias meant people were unable to see systems of managing the land that were right in front of them, such as the growing of native grasses and traditional fire burning."The thing about cultural amnesia is this idea that Country is still speaking, but we may not be able to hear her," he said.
The sculptures commemorate the first encounters between Aboriginal Australians and the crew of the HMB Endeavour, 250 years ago and represent the beginning of our shared history.
In vino veritas, In aqua sanitas* Part 2— Liminality #6 •
The year 2020 is the 250th anniversary of first contact between Captain Cook on his secret mission to “discover” Terra Australis and the Gweagal at Kamay (Botany Bay). Here’s a salient extract from the text of Cook’s secret instructions:
You are also with the Consent of the Natives to take Possession of Convenient Situations in the Country in the Name of the King of Great Britain: Or: if you find the Country uninhabited take Possession for his Majesty by setting up Proper Marks and Inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors.“ [My emphasis]
Cook’s attempts to engage the Gweagal at Kamay amounted to: firstly, construing Gweagal warnings to stay away as invitations to come ashore; secondly, the exchange of missiles — spear vs musket shot; and lastly, offering beads as barter or gifts, which were left untouched by the Gweagal.
Otherwise, Cook spent his time taking possession: possession of shields, of spears. And one more possession…
This post expands on themes discussed in KOBH #0079, and akin to that image, this post has a slightly different point of view on essentially the same subject. Here again is Bare Island and even though this is the same cliff face, the sandstone striations are smooth like cream instead of crusty and crenelated. A slight shift in viewpoint can reveal a markedly different perspective.
The discussion in this post was prompted by the story of how a Gweagal shield became part of the British Museum's collection, apparently acquired by Cook at Kamay 250 years ago, and further, discovering a discrepancy between the narrative in the podcast versus the book text in explaining the acquisition.
The BBC podcast “A History of the World in 100 objects” constructed a history narrative using items in the Museum’s collection. The podcast was presented by the Museum’s director Neil MacGregor. Here is a quote from the book version of “Chapter 89 — Gweagal shield”:
When [Captain James Cook] reached the northern tip of Australia, Cook formally declared the whole east coast a British possession … This was not Cook’s usual procedure when land was already inhabited. His normal practice was to acknowledge the rights of existing populations to the land they occupied, for example in Hawaii. Perhaps he failed to grasp how intimately the indigenous Australians occupied and controlled their continent. We do not know what lay behind this momentous first step in expropriation. Not long after the expedition returned to England, Banks and others recommended Botany Bay as a Penal Colony to the British Parliament, so beginning the long and tragic story that for some indigenous Australians spelt the end of their communities. [My emphasis]
(p 584, “A History of the World in 100 Objects”, Allen Lane)
The highlighted portion in bold was not included in the broadcast/podcast version. This point is easily verifiable as both the audio and the transcript are still accessible.
Whatever the reason for this editorial difference I would observe that such an opinion would be deemed highly challenging (or highly favourable) to a particular side of Australia’s history wars. Such is the distinction in historical-political views between the former Colonial power versus the former colony’s current Conservatives. That observation is further underscored by this subsequent quote — methinks it would trigger Australian Conservatives and the right-wing commentariat:
The bark shield stands at the head of centuries of misunderstanding, deprivation and genocide.
One of the big questions in Australia remains how or indeed whether any meaningful reparation can be made.
(p 585, “A History of the World in 100 Objects”, Allen Lane)
After the Gweagal shield was discussed in the podcast it became an minor Australian cause célèbre. The podcast and hence the Museum relied on British eyewitness accounts to describe the provenance of the shield. The British claimed to not know the identity of the shield’s owner and when found, the shield was seemingly abandoned. So for the British, it was fairly acquired. (Refer to the podcast episode or book chapter for exact details.)
Not long after the podcast series ended, a Gweagal man and political activist Rodney Kelly asserted that:
Almost 250 years ago, Captain James Cook and his men shot Rodney Kelly’s ancestor, the Gweagal warrior Cooman, stole his shield and spears, and took them back to England in a presciently violent opening act of Australian east coast Aboriginal and European contact.
(Guardian, 25 September 2016)
[Note — this Guardian article includes both the Gweagal’s account and the British account of first contact. Highly recommended reading.]
Rodney Kelly’s appeal to moral rights to repatriate the artefacts was refused by the Museum.
Further, the British Museum subsequently re-calibrated its provenance story for the shield — it is different to what had been published, thereby avoiding the need to directly consider Rodney Kelly’s claim. The Museum suggests that perhaps this shield was not the shield Cook and Banks described.
Net effect — status quo — the Museum retains possession of the shield and Kelly’s claim is rejected.
However, given the a priori facts — the shield was definitely acquired in Australia by a British naval officer; the shield was made by an Australian Aboriginal, almost certainly a member of the Gweagal people. 240-odd years later, a Gweagal descendant has made a moral rights claim of succession and repatriation for said shield and other artefacts held by the Museum.
To paraphrase an earlier quote taken from the book/podcast:
One of the big questions … remains how or indeed whether any meaningful reparation can be made.
One may wonder out loud — given the context, what practical contribution could the British Museum itself make towards such an endeavour?
[*In wine there is truth, in water there is good sense (or good health).]
