Elizabeth Pulley Sets Sail VI: fourth stop Botany Bay/Kamay
’is this it then?...an’ ‘oo are them wi’ spears?...‘ope thez gunna be
no trubble'(Photo: descendant A. Maie)
Drawing: A. Maie
On Saturday 19th January 1788 the Prince of Wales, carrying Elizabeth Pulley, and the remainder of the Fleet arrived at the
entrance to Botany Bay/Kamay.[1] There was great
excitement and relief at having arrived safely.
The joy everyone felt upon so long wish’d for
an Event can be better conceiv’d than expressed, particularly as it was the termination
of the Voyage to those who were to settle at Botany Bay, & it is 10 weeks
on monday since we left the Cape of Good Hope;
the longest period of any we had been at Sea without touching at any
Port.
The ships were eagerly awaited by the forward party, which included
Anthony Rope on the Alexander. The forward party had not gained much in
their effort to arrive early, saving only one day, and the Supply with Governor Phillip on board had only saved another day.
Later, David Collins, Judge-Advocate and Secretary of the colony also
remarked on their feat, writing that it was
as much matter of
surprise as of general satisfaction; for
in the above space of time’ (eight months and one week) ‘we had sailed five
thousand and twenty-one leagues; had
touched at the American and African Continents;
and had at last rested within a few days sail of the antipodes of our
native country, without meeting any accident in a fleet of eleven sail, nine of
which were merchantmen that had never before sailed in that distant and
imperfectly explored ocean: and when it
is considered, that there was on board a large body of convicts, many of whom
were embarked in a very sickly state, we might be deemed peculiarly fortunate,
that of the whole number of all descriptions of persons coming to form the new
settlement, only thirty-two had died since their leaving England, among whom
were to be included one or two deaths by accidents; although previous to our departure it was
generally conjectured, that before we should have been a month at sea one of
the transports would have been converted into a hospital ship. But it fortunately happened otherwise.
That evening Elizabeth on the Prince
of Wales ‘Lay too off the opening of the Bay...All Night’ and the next day,
Sunday 20th January, ‘At. 4 in the Morning Made Sale, Entred Botnay
Bay at. 8 Oclock AM’. They noticed
several ‘Natives, runing amongst the trees...they called to us, some of them
walked along the shore & others kept setting on the rocks’. Established villages were also remarked upon. Cpt. Tench writes, 'On the northern arm of Botany Bay stands a village, which contains more than a dozen houses, and perhaps five times the number of people.' [2]
By the time the ships began to tack into the bay the forward party had
already been on shore and seemed to be slowly gaining the trust of the original
inhabitants [3]. It did not begin welcomingly - ‘we saw
several of ye Natives running along brandishing their Spears’.
After landing on the North side of the bay to explore the shore, the
landing party returned to their boats to find some of the Aboriginal people
waiting, probably the Kamaygal. They ‘immediately got up &
called to us in a Menacing tone, & at the same time brandishing their
spears or lances’. Phillip ‘shewed them
some beads & orderd a Man to fasten them to the stem of the Canoe’ and that
seemed to appease their anger. Other
gifts were given and taken hesitantly and gradually the Indigenous Australians
became more confident.
Explorations for a settlement
site begin
The landing party began to explore further and noted that the
Aboriginal Peoples were happy to leave their belongings (canoes, weapons,
and fishing implements) around unprotected.
By the time the remainder of the Fleet had arrived on the 20th
January the Indigenous population ‘had much the appearance of being well
disposed toward us.’ and ‘by Noon we saw that our People and the Natives were
mixed together’.
Some of the Lieutenants split up into a number of parties to explore
further along the inlets and rivers (re)naming landmarks as they went. Phillip had named ‘the South side of the Bay
near the Watering place’, Sutherland Point.
In spite of the earlier confidence, not all of the Indigenous People
were happy with these explorations. Some ‘halloo’d & made signs for us to
return to our boats’. Others refused to
take the gifts and threatened by making menacing gestures or throwing warning
spears. The unease continued for the time the Fleet remained at Botany Bay/Kamay.
In spite of their explorations Governor Phillip and the officers were
unable to find a suitable settlement site.
The bay was too shallow for the ships, there was insufficient fresh
water, and the natural environment was unsuitable for building or
agriculture. They were astonished that
the seemingly lush undergrowth and ‘lofty’ trees, which went right to the
water’s edge, hid the reality:
the trees very large & in general hollow
& the wood itself fit for no purposes of buildg. or anything but the fire
-- The Soil to a great depth is nothing but a black sand wh. when exposed to
the intense heat of the Sun by removing the surrounding trees, is not fit for
the vegitation of anything even the grass itself...add to this that every part
of the grown is in manner cover’d wt. black & red Ants of a most enormous
size
So Governor Phillip ‘judged it advisable to examine Port Jackson’.
Work continues
While he was away, Phillip organised for the officers to continue with
their explorations as well as to begin clearing the land in preparation for
settlement, just in case Port Jackson proved to be no better. The Indigenous
Peoples did not like this new development - ‘The Natives were well pleas’d
with our People until they began clearing the ground at which they were
displeased & wanted them to be gone’.
But on the whole the officers' diaries record that they seemed curious and wanted to know more about the
new arrivals, especially about their gender.
They all exprefsed great curiosity as to our
sex having our beards shaved & being clothed they could not tell what to
take us for...& made themselves understood by bringing some of their Women
down, pointing to themselves, our people & the Women alternately, who as
the Men were entirely naked, they were immediately satisfied in this particular
by one person in the Boat which served to convince them all were the same. The Natives that appeared on the N. side of
the Bay exprefs’d. the same wish...after being satisfied...One of them...in
amongst the Bushes, made himself a Belt of Grafs. & came Dancing out with
it round his waist with leaves hung over it
The First Nations Peoples were also astonished by the amount of fish
the new arrivals could catch in their sein - ‘when they saw the quantity of
Fish brought on shore at once were much astonished which they expressed by a
loud & long shout, They took some of the Fish (which the Officer permitted)
& ran away directly’. The curiosity
was on both sides. The diaries detail
the living, fishing, hunting, and eating habits of the Aboriginal Peoples,
including the kangaroo - ‘Sometimes they feast upon the Kangaroo...There are
great Nos. of Kangaroos but so extreamly shy that ‘tis no easy matter to get
near enough to them even to shoot them’.
There are also detailed descriptions of the Indigenous Australian’s appearance
and markings but there was one major difference. Underneath the surface friendliness of the
newcomers there was quite a different attitude.
‘The Governor’s plan with respect to the Natives, was, if possible to
cultivate an acquaintance with them without their having an idea of our great
superiority over them, that their Confidence & Friendship might be more
firmly fixed’, and ‘but I believe them to be too stupid & indolent a set of
people’. However one did say, ‘I must do
them justice to say that I believe them to be concientiously honest’.
In spite of the newcomers belief that they were the superior race they
were not at all confident when confronted by the Aboriginal People or if they
became lost during their explorations - ‘I lost myself & cd. not find my
way back to the Wooding Party, which threw me into no small panic least I shd.
meet with any of the Natives before I cd. extricate myself from the Labarynth I
had got into’.
Port Jackson preferred
Meanwhile Phillip had taken three open boats to Port Jackson and found
it ‘the finest harbour in the world’.
The different coves were examined and ‘the one that had the best spring
of water, and in which the ships can anchor so close to the shore that at a
very small expence quays may be made at which the largest ships may unload’ was
chosen as the site of the new settlement.
He and his party returned to Botany Bay/Kamay on 23rd January with
the good news. By then ‘Several trees
had been cut down at Point Sutherland, a saw-pit had been dug, and other
preparations made for disembarking’. These
preparations were no longer needed.
The French arrive
The Fleet began to prepare for departure but before they could get
underway two alien ships were seen outside the heads, taking everyone by
surprise. Although these ships were too
far away to determine their nationality the ‘Governor had English Colours
hoisted on Sutherland Point. He warned
everyone to keep away from ‘the Ships if they came in, as he did not wish to let
them know particulars, especially that we were upon the eve of leaving this
place & going to Port Jackson’.
As usual Phillip went ahead ‘with a party of marines, and some
artificers selected from among the seamen...and the convicts’. Then a storm broke and the rest of the Fleet
was stuck. The following day ‘every one
was in a bustle to depart’ but ‘the storm that had begun the day before with ‘a
good deal of thunder & Lighteng’ continued ‘the wind being directly against
us, blowg. very strong & rather increasing.
At 2 o’Clock p.m. it blew almost a hurricane, Thunder’d Lighten’d &
rained very much’. After three attempts
to depart the bay the Fleet once again gave up, anchored, and stayed put.
The following morning the two alien ships came into the bay and ‘proved
to be French Ships on Discovereys’ commanded by Monsr. La Perouse.
A hasty departure
After exchanging greetings and ‘civilities’ with the French, the Fleet
again attempted to depart. The exit was
a circus.
The Charlotte was
once in the most imminent danger of being on the Rocks -- The Friendship &
Prince of Wales who cd. not keep in stays came foul of each other & the
Friendship carried away her Jib Boom -- The Prince of Wales had her New
Mainsail & Main topmast staysail rent in pieces by the Friendships yd. The Charlotte also afterwards ran foul of the
Friendship & carried away a great deal of the Carv’d work for her (the
Charlotte’s) Stern...however at last the whole fleet got clear of the Harbour’s
mouth without any further damage being sustain’d, Every one blaming the
Rashness of the Governor in insisting upon the fleets workg. out in such
weather, & all agreed it was next to a Miracle that some of the Ships were
not lost, the danger was so very great.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
c. Annette Maie, 2020
[1] In 1770 James Cook had given the name Botany to the bay because of the large number of botanical specimens gathered there.
[2] A similar observation was made by Joseph Banks eighteen years earlier travelling on the Endeavour with Cpt. James Cook; that on the southern shore of Botany Bay at Kurnell there was a village of six or eight houses.
[3] The first party from the Fleet landed at Yarra Bay on the north side, the traditional land of the Kamaygal. On the south side around Kurnell is the traditional land of the Gweagal band of the Dharawal nation and it is accepted that the area along the bay between Cooks River and Georges River is the traditional land of the Bediagal. It appears as if the Kamaygal were more accommodating to the new arrivals in contrast to the southern Gweagal who just wanted them gone. James Cook on the Endeavour had called into the bay 18 years earlier and had shot and injured two Gweagal warriors when attempts were made to prevent him landing. Cook and company had also plundered one of the Gweagal camps and carried off the booty, began chopping down trees and polluted a spring. These events would not have been forgotten. Cook had also given the name Cape Banks, after naturalist Joseph Banks, to the north head of the bay and Cape Solander, after botanist Daniel Solander, to the south head.
It was difficult when I initially wrote this story to decide how to name Australia’s
First Peoples as a collective. There were
hundreds of nations and clans who seemed to work cooperatively and independently. Until the local people identified themselves
as being from a particular clan, nation, or language grouping, which did
eventually occur, it is a bit of guess or an assumption to accurately pinpoint
what particular group a person came from. This became especially the case after
the smallpox epidemic the following year when so many First Peoples died that the clan and nation groupings broke down. In the text I have used various terms
including ‘Original Inhabitants’, Aboriginal (in the dictionary definition of
‘indigenous’), Indigenous, or First Peoples if the particular clan or nation was not mentioned and is assumed. If the
journals or other sources have mentioned or pinpointed the clan or tribe I
usually use that in the text. ‘Native’
which the British used, can also be defined as ‘first people’ or
‘indigenous’. However, as is clear in
the journals and this story, the attitude of the British, like most Europeans
at the time, was usually to dismiss and look down on indigenous cultures. Their use of ‘native’
was not to respect but to degrade. Although initially the British had no idea
of the differing cultural structures and languages, Surgeon George Worgan, Captain Tench and Judge Advocate Collins were among those who were interested enough to
write about Indigenous life and notate the local language. I hope my usage and this explanation is
respectful. For more information, https://www.sydneybarani.com.au/sites/aboriginal-people-and-place/ and regarding terminology https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/GL2019_008.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1I2jGOjJ2eFcri7LBq0CI6_Odgnd7W7lG8G0LqTAMQjKojymRR9_oPjEY
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