"Looking for Blackfellas' Point"

I have just finished reading this book. It is a look at the history of place, a story that needed to be told about the history of what happened on the far south coast after the arrival of Europeans. It tells the history as it was - not as it was perceived. It places the history of the area into 4 parts: Dispossession, Forgetting, Abandonment, Confrontation.

The impact is enormous. It tells, using a lot of source material and oral histories, of the dispossession of the aboriginals from there land. It was a movement both open and by stealth. Then it moves into the realm of the way in which the whites conveniently "forgot" about the way in which they tried to wipe out the real locals. The interesting thing about the book is the way it deals with both sides. Part 3 looks at the how the non-Aboriginals felt about their circumstance - they largely had a sense of abandonment. They were at the frontier - a long way form what they saw as civilisation. There was almost no moral/ethical well being.

It wasn't till 30 years after settlement that there was any Christian Church that looked after the people.

And on some occasions the church didn't help the Aboriginal people.

And also, not every one was against the traditional locals. Chapter 6 is the story of Oswald Brierly, a young artist who came to the area with Ben Boyd to manage Boydtown. But he also came with paints, and pencils and made many observations. He tells the story of the locals: black and white. He has a strong empathy with the Aborigines, and often condemned the actions of the whites. "He was a pioneer of understanding rather than a pioneer of industry" (p 134)

Part 4 - Confrontation. (And it was)

Looks at the new history - the forgotten past - the real history. The pasted shaped now by the memory of what happened, about who we are (black and white). It is interesting that in 1967 Bega had the distinction of recording the 2nd highest rejection rate (voted no in the referendum for aboriginal equality). This section is challenging and very confronting as it reflects a lot about us all as a people (section 8 - "we are all one" p 162 ff). It reflects fear and discrimination, it shows heart and compassion.

Above all it showed a way forward. It tells of the move to reconciliation - of the need to be aware of and sensitive to the shame and pain of the white past.

Even though I (we) were not there does not meant that I/we can not have real regret about what happened in the past.

Even though the book is set about the south coast, it tells a story that is mostly true for all the country - there was good and bad everywhere.

It is now that we must understand and walk together. The past may be gone but the future beckons...

One amazing book - well done Mark McKenna.

Book details: Looking for Blackfellas' Point: an Australian History of Place, Mark McKenna , 9780868406442, UNSW Press, August 2002

I came across this interesting link.
It is the blog site for a Sydney Uni History unit about Land, Memory and Place in History (It will probably vanish after the end of semester which will be a shame). Yep it has a new link: http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/writingplace/2007/04/the_relationship_between_place.html (as at 7/3/2008)

Expansion with a difference - Batmania

in contrast...

3 March 1837: 'Melbourne' it is...

The history of the founding of melbourne is one dominated by a man who was either a hero or a fraud. History is divided.

John Batman, was a fellow who tried something different and 170 years later the dispute continues. What ever way the arguement goes, he shall go down in history as the man who founded the site of Melbourne - and he has statues and plaques to support his memory.

For, me the interesting thing about him is his deed/treaty with the local Aboringinal people in the Port Phillip Bay area in what is today the Melbourne metropolitan area. Whatever his real motive, at face value he wanted to achieve access to the area, to settle, without bloodshed. This is in sharp contrast to the events read about in Blood on the Wattle.

If only more people had tried to talk to the locals.

To discover more about John Batman go to the National Museum of Australia's collection on Batmania. Batmania home page Included in the collection is the transcript of the deed and much more beside. for the FLASH version (Flash 6 compatible)

Whatever the outcome of the discussion, at least he appears to have had some respect for the locals in that at least he appears to have accepted the fact that they had claim to their country. The fact that he talked to them in British legal terms and they in their local country law, misunderstandings aside, at least it was peaceful.

An interesting website:

Worth a visit, virtually and physically

Depressed - 150 years of injustice

Last Saturday I had a fairly relaxed day, that is till I took to finishing the reading of Blood on the Wattle (Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and Maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians Since 1788, 3rd Edition; Bruce Elder; isbn: 174110008-9). This spoilt my day. It is depressing, really horrifying what was done in the name of so called civilisation.

I think the real shock was reading about people I thought had been the "good guys" in early (white) Australian history. William Cox built the the road over the Blue Mountains without losing a single convict labourer. We have always seen him as a humane person - he looked after his workers.

"William Cox took six months to complete the construction of the 101 miles of roadway. It was a great engineering feat for that time in history. He had convicts and soldiers assigned to him and although justice was hard in those days, the men were pleased to work for William, which resulted in their freedom, on completion of the task"

Reference: BLUE MOUNTAINS ROAD FROM PENRITH to BATHURST PLAINS

However, that image is shattered by reading of his life in the Bathurst area, land given to him as a reward for the road. On page 58 of Blood on the Wattle is a quote attributed to Cox: "The best thing that can be done is to shoot all the blacks and manure the ground with their carcasses..." disgusting.

Then to read that William Lawson (one of the 3 explorers that crossed the Blue Mts) had similar sentiments. Too much!

On talking to a friend as we wandered along a track in Faulconbridge that was possibly an Aboriginal highway in times long gone, we discussed the horrors that were perpetrated against these people. The feelings reflected the major injustices that were dealt against these people just wanting to survive in their country.

In promoting better times from the past:

Circles in the Blue Mountains.

A possible meeting place?