Initial confrontation and resistance 1788-1790
The King’s instructions to Governor Phillip were to ‘live in amity and kindness’ with ‘the natives’. However, from 1788 – 1790, the Governor sent several armed parties to abduct Aboriginal people to exchange language and to ‘reconcile’ them to the colonisers, and on punitive expeditions.
After Captain Cook’s journey to Australia, when he ‘took possession’ of the eastern coast of Australia in 1770, the British Government sent Captain Arthur Phillip to establish the colony of New South Wales (, ).
The King’s instructions to Governor Phillip required him to ‘open an intercourse with the natives’, to ‘conciliate their affections’ and to ‘live in amity and kindness with them’. The instructions also authorised the Governor to make land grants and required the Governor to bring to justice those who gave ‘unnecessary interruption’ or ‘wantonly destroy[ed]’ any Aboriginal person ().
In Governor Phillip’s early letters to Britain about the colony, he states he found the Aboriginal people ‘friendly’ and was persuaded they were ‘not the aggressors’ (, , , , ). He also wrote ‘nothing less than the most necessity should ever make me fire upon them’ ().
Taking Arabanoo, Colbee and Bennelong
On 31 December 1788, Governor Phillip sent men out to take one or more Aboriginal people by force. They kidnapped an Aboriginal man, Arabanoo, to exchange language and to ‘reconcile’ Aboriginal people to the colonisers (, , , ). Arabanoo was locked up and kept under guard at the governor’s residence. He helped nurse and comfort the Aboriginal victims of smallpox who were brought into the town, but died of this disease in May 1789 (, , , ).
In August 1788, a party went to the harbour to try to take another Aboriginal person ‘if a good opportunity afforded’ (, ) and two more Aboriginal men were taken in December 1789 (). One of these men, Colbee, escaped. The other, Bennelong, remained at the Governor’s residence for several months.
The Governor wrote that Bennelong ‘lives with me’ (, ), however accounts show that Bennelong was shackled throughout that period (). When the chain Bennelong was shackled with was eventually removed from his leg, he returned to his people within a month (, ).
Attacks on the British
In February 1790, Governor Phillip wrote to Lord Sydney, the British Home Secretary, that ‘the natives having been robbed and ill-treated, now attack those they meet unarmed’. He said Aboriginal people had killed one convict and wounded ten ().
In another letter in the same month, Governor Phillip said he believed this only happened when the ‘convicts have been the aggressors’ and he maintained the opinion he had first formed of the Aboriginal people. He also discussed the size of the military the colony will require and says ‘a less force will be wanted for the security of the settlement’ than he originally considered necessary ().
In September 1790, Governor Phillip was speared in the shoulder by Willermering during a whale feast at Manly ().
After the Governor was taken back to the settlement and had recovered, Bennelong told the Governor that the person responsible had been punished (). According to Collins, who published an account of the early years of the colony, the ‘accident gave cause to the opening of a communication between the natives…and the settlement, which, although attended with such an unpromising beginning, it was hoped would be followed with good consequences’ (). Indeed, after this Bennelong and his people did ‘come in’ to Sydney (, ).
A few months later, on 10 December 1790, the Governor’s gamekeeper (a convict called John McIntyre) was wounded by a spear thrown by an Aboriginal warrior named Pemulwuy and later died ().
Punitive expedition
Governor Phillip saw this as a breach of the peace reached after his spearing and ordered an expedition to punish Aboriginal people in response. Following the spearing in December, Governor Phillip made an order for a party of officers and soldiers to capture twelve natives, put ten to death, and cut off and bring back their heads ().
Tench, the marine officer in command, had the order amended so that the order was to bring in ‘six natives of those natives who reside near the head of Botany Bay, or if that should be found impracticable, to put that number to death’ (, ).
The party of 50 soldiers left on 14th December 1790 (), and they returned after three days ‘without having wounded or hurt a native, or made a prisoner’ (). The Governor sent soldiers out on a second trip, which was also unsuccessful ().
On 13 December 1790, Governor Phillip also issued a ‘general order’ which ‘strictly forbid’ any soldier or other person from firing upon any Aboriginal person, except in their own self defence, or to ‘molest’ any Aboriginal person in any shape including taking away any spears or other articles belonging to them. The order said ‘the natives will be made severe examples of whenever any man is wounded by them’ ().
For more information
Towards Truth focuses on the Government orders made during the Frontier Wars and does not tell the whole story of frontier violence (see SUB0546: Introduction for more). For further detail and commentary on the first few years of the Colony, refer to the Discussion and Analysis documents (, , , , ).