“What was the impact on White Settlement on Indigenous life between 1788- 1861? Describe the meeting of two cultures that we see in Bennelong and William Buckley.” 1. Early years in Sydney- Arthur Phillip and Bennelong
In 1788, led by Captain Arthur Phillip (Australia’s first governor), the Europeans had arrived in Australia with the first fleet. They saw no sign of life and had no idea that the Indigenous people had been living in Australia for thousands even tens of thousands of years. But the Indigenous people were very aware that they had come and were deeply fascinated by them. At first they thought they were ghosts or evil spirits but they soon realized that these white-skinned and strangely-dressed people were planning to stay, and that they were. These “white-skinned’ people were in fact convicts who was shipped to do hard laborious work for their committed crime.
Life before Europeans had settled in Australia was a very different place. There was either clear land and/or lots of bush. There were no boats, building or roads, in fact the Indigenous people probably had no idea there was such thing. This was probably why Arthur Phillip presumed the land could be theirs because no-one held sovereign right. But the Indigenous people were living there. The Indigenous people lived happily and peacefully with guidance from their elders who knew local dream time stories and customs. They comfortable living together, helping and sharing with one another and stayed alive by eating animals and berries from the bush. They didn’t need fancy clothes, building or roads unlike the Europeans to live a good life.
On the 25 November 1789, Captain Arthur Phillip, captured elder Bennelong and used him as a way to learn about the language and customs of the indigenous people. Bennelong willingly liaised between the cultures, and adopted European dress and other ways. 2. Victoria- Buckley and batman After convict William Buckley’s escape from the