Capture and Life in The British Settlement
Bennelong was brought to the settlement at Sydney Cove in November 1789 by order of the governor Arthur Phillip, who was under instructions from King George III, to establish relationships with the indigenous populations. At that time the Eora conscientiously avoided contact with the newcomers, and in desperation Phillip resorted to kidnap. A man named Arabanoo was captured, but he, like many other Aboriginal people near the settlement, died in a smallpox epidemic a few months later in May 1789. Bennelong (married at the time to Barangaroo) was captured with Colbee (married to Daringa) in November 1789 as part of Governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip's plan to learn the language and customs of the local people. Colbee soon escaped, but Bennelong stayed in the settlement for about six months. He then escaped also, but renewed contact with Phillip as a free man.
About three months after his escape, he organised for Phillip to visit Manly where he was speared in the shoulder, most likely as payback for the kidnappings. He maintained ongoing good relations with the colony and in a gesture of kinship, gave Phillip the Aboriginal name Wolawaree. He learned to speak English.
In 1790, Bennelong asked the governor to build him a hut on what became known as Bennelong Point, now the site of the Sydney Opera House.
Read more about this topic: Bennelong
Famous quotes containing the words capture, life, british and/or settlement:
“Writing prejudicial, off-putting reviews is a precise exercise in applied black magic. The reviewer can draw free- floating disagreeable associations to a book by implying that the book is completely unimportant without saying exactly why, and carefully avoiding any clear images that could capture the reader’s full attention.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“In European thought in general, as contrasted with American, vigor, life and originality have a kind of easy, professional utterance. American—on the other hand, is expressed in an eager amateurish way. A European gives a sense of scope, of survey, of consideration. An American is strained, sensational. One is artistic gold; the other is bullion.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable facts, he always goes to the British Museum.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
“Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers, the present may be hailed as the epoch in our history the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to our Republic and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)