7Antipodean Contact: Perceptions and

Misperceptions of the Australian Aborigineson Captain Cook’s Endeavour Voyage

by Claudia Lang

In 1770, Captain Cook sailed the ship Endeavour up the eastern coastof Australia, then called “New Holland,” on a voyage of science,exploration, and imperialism. This part of the world was previouslyundiscovered to the Europeans, yet was home to around three-quarters of amillion people now known as Australian Aborigines.’ As a result of thisexpedition, in 1788 the “First Fleet,” eleven ships carrying over a thousandpeople, arrived and established a settlement in the area that is todaySydney. Over the next two hundred years the settler population grewrapidly while the numbers of indigenous inhabitants plummeted due toEuropean diseases. As the settlers claimed more and more land, theAborigines were forced westward. Racial tensions and discriminationtowards the Aborigines grew, and government treatment of Australia’sindigenous inhabitants became increasingly repressive. By the 1950sgovernment policies were described as “worse than the pre-Mandela daysin South Africa.”2 Australia has finally emerged from a dark age of racialintolerance, and according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics theAboriginal population is on the rise.3

Although the travelers on the Endeavour spent only a relativefragment of the voyage observing and interacting with the Aborigines, theperceptions they formed during this time would prove crucial to the futureof the Aborigines, and to the future of Australia. The men aboard theEndeavor were not only explorers, scientists, and scholars out to seek newinformation about the world. They also were viewing the land and itsinhabitants from an imperialist perspective, asking whether “this land [is]suitable for settlement? Is it already inhabited?” Their conclusion was yes,leading Joseph Banks, a gentleman botanist and significant journal keeperon the voyage, personally to advocate the settlement of Australia.4However, the Endeavour voyagers were not conquistadores — they weremen of the Enlightenment, men of science and learning. They had nomalicious intentions toward the Aborigines, nor did they plan for them tobe conquered and wiped out by Europeans. While the voyagers were notactually antagonistic toward the Aborigines, their failure lay in their

Smail Macintyre, A Concise Histo,y ofAustratia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 14.2 Margarette Lincoln, ed,, Science and Exploration in the Pacific (Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 1998), 206.Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Bureau ofStatistics, various dates [websiteJ;available from http://www.abs.gov.au; Internet; accessed April 25, 2006.Lincoln, Science and Exploration in the Pacific, 39.

8 • Ex Post facto XVIgeneral lack of understanding. The voyagers lacked information, and thepatience and effort required to obtain real knowledge about the inhabitantsof Australia. Instead, the voyagers were content to make judgments andassumptions based on superficial observations, and then to use theseassumptions to justify settlement.

The gentlemen aboard the Endeavour kept meticulous journals,which consequently have been subjected to rigorous historical analysis.5Glyndwr Williams, an important scholar in this field, interprets Cook asnotably forward thinking and open-minded for his time.6 Alan Frost hasalso written on this subject, and agrees that “Cook and Banks werepercipient, tolerant of racial and cultural difference, and empathetic to aremarkable degree, far beyond the generality of their contemporaries.”7While Cook and the gentlemen of the Endeavour were liberal for theirtime, this must be reconciled with the outcome of the voyage: the claimand settlement of Australia and its subsequent settlement without theconsult or permission of the inhabitants.

The British Admiralty gave Cook two sets of instructions. The firstwas the official and published mission to observe the transit of Venus inthe southern hemisphere. The second mission was classified as secret, andcame in a sealed envelope. Cook was ordered to travel to Latitude 400 andto seek out the great southern continent believed to exist somewhere inthat region. The secret document went on to instruct that

[ylou are likewise to observe the Genius, Temper,Disposition and Number of the Natives, if there be any, andendeavour by all proper means to cultivate a Friendship andAlliance with them, making presents of such Trifles as theymay Value, inviting them to Traffick, and Shewing themevery kind of Civility and Regard.8

Cook was then instructed, “with the Consent of the Natives to takepossession of Convenient Situations in the Country in the Name of theKing of Great Britain.” In addition to these directives, Cook was alsogiven a list of ‘hints’ from the president of the Royal Society, a code ofconduct with regard to the treatment of the natives they anticipated that hewould encounter. These hints display the Society’s concern that

The term “gentlemen” is used to refer to the scholars, artists and scientists aboard the ship,whose journals are the primary sources for this paper. Specifically, journals referenced in thispaper are those belonging to James Cook, Joseph Banks, Sydney Parkinson and JohnHawkesworth. There were altogether eight gentlemen-scholars aboard the ship including thefour mentioned, as well over 150 non-journal keeping crewmembers. Any reference to the“crew” in this paper is specifically referring to the gentlemen aboard the ship, as opposed to thesailors. Beaglehole, 588 gives the entire list of the ship’s company and their roles.° Glysidwr Williams, “Seamen and Philosophers in the South Seas,” Mariner’s Mirror 65(1979): 13.Alan frost, “New South Wales as Terra Nullius: The British Denial of Aboriginal Land

Rights,” ifistorical Studies 19 (October 1981): 523.Grenfell A. Price, ed., The Explorations of Captain James Cook(New York: Dover Publications, 1971), 18-19.

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Ex Post Facto XVI • 9indigenous populations not be mistreated, injured, or disrespected by thevoyagers, and demonstrate the Enlightenment and humanitarian outlook ofthe time, which was

[tb exercise the utmost patience and forbearance withrespect to the Natives of the several Lands where the Shipmay touch.. .They are human creatures, the work of the sameomnipotent Author, equally under his care with the mostpolished European; perhaps being less offensive, moreentitled to his favor.9

However, this letter of recommendations, while romanticizingindigenous peoples to a certain extent, shows no doubt about ultimateEuropean supremacy, stating that “[t]here are many ways to convincethem of the Superiority of Europeans, without slaying any of those poorpeople.”t° The letter then specifies the kind of information that should beacquired regarding any natives encountered. Cook was asked to observeand record their temperament, level of progress, physical appearance anddress, habituations and weaponry, and finally religions, morals, and typeof government.

The crew aboard the Endeavour were not the first Europeans to comeinto contact with the Australian Aborigines. In 1688, Englishman WilliamDampier landed on the northwest coast of Australia, and recorded hisexperiences with the Aborigines in his journals. Dampier’s publisheddescription of the Aborigines is disparaging to say the least, asserting that“[t]he Inhabitants of this Country are the miserablest People in theWorld.. .And setting aside their Humane Shape, they differ little fromBrutes.”11 Banks, in particular, frequently referenced Dampier’s journaland compared his impressions with Dampier’s descriptions. In fact, thedescriptions in Dampier’s original manuscript had been significantlydoctored and sensationalized to make them more exciting for the readingpublic. Dampier’s original document actually was sympathetic to theAborigines and did not use derogatory terms in describing them)2However, on the first day that the Endeavour’s crew first sighted peopleon the Australian coast, Banks reported that “so far did the prejudiceswhich we had built on Dampiers [sic] account influence us that we fanciedwe could see their Colour when we could scarce distinguish whether ornot they were men.”13

J.C. Beaglehole, ed., The Journals ofCaptain James Cook on his Voyages ofDiscovery (NewYork: Cambridge University Press, 1955), 514-515. Hereafter referenced as “Cook Journal.”‘° Cook Journal, 514.“William Dampier, A Nesv Voyage Round the World (New York: Dover Publications, 1968), 312,2 Diana & Michael Preston, A Pirate ofExquisite Mind (New York: Walker & Company, 2004), 175.“South Seas Research, “Banks’s Journal: Daily Entries,” The Endeavour Journal of JosephBanks, 1768-1 771, 2004 lwebsitel; available from http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jml-banks17700422; Internet; accessed April 26, 2006. Hereafter referenced as “Banks Journal.”

Antipodean Contact

10 • ExPostfactoXVlFor the crew of the Endeavour, interaction with the Aborigines was

the exception rather than the norm. During most of the journey, forming aconnection with the natives proved to be much harder than anticipated.Despite their efforts, the travelers more often than not were subject toindifference, fear, or outright hostility. On numerous occasions, uponseeing the Europeans for the first time, Aborigines reacted by shouting,brandishing their weapons, and taking on a generally aggressive andunwelcoming attitude. A week after first sighting the Aborigines on thecoast, Cook and his colleagues attempted to interact with them. However,“as we approached the shore,” Cook recounts, “they all made off excepttwo Men who seemd resolved to oppose our landing.”4 The incidentresulted in a minor scuffle, with the Aborigines throwing stones and dartsand Cook firing his musket, causing the Aborigines to run away. Thefollowing day, another group of “the natives” approached members of thecrew at a watering hole on the coast and “made a stand.” Cook reports,“Mr Hicks who was the officer ashore did all in his power to entice themto him by offering them presents etc. but it was to no purpose, all theyseem’d to want was for us to be gone.”15

Another common reaction of the Aborigines was to flee immediatelyon sighting the Europeans. The sight of these intruders frightened many ofthe Aborigines, who felt threatened by their presence and reacted with atypical “fight or flight” response. The Aborigines ran away so frequentlythat Banks commented in his journal that he was “now quite void of fearas our neighbours have turnd out such rank cowards.”16

While the aggressive reactions of the Aborigines at least providedsome form of interaction, and their fear and flight represented someacknowledgment of the uniqueness of the travelers’ presence, morefrustrating and disappointing to the voyagers was the frequent indifferenceand total absence of curiosity the Aborigines displayed towards them. Thenonchalance of some of the Aborigines in their response to the ship wasparticularly difficult for the travelers to understand. Disappointment anddejection are evident in Banks’ journal as he observes that

[n]ot one was once observed to stop and look towards theship; they pursued their way in all appearance intirelyunmovd by the neighborhood of so remarkable an object as aship must necessarily be to people who have never seenone.’7

As the ship sailed up the coast the crew continually sightedAborigines, who continued with their everyday lives. In general the

“ Cook Journal, 305.‘ Cook Journal, 306.6 Banks Journal; httphttp://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks-17700504; accessed January 13, 2008.‘‘ Banks journal; http://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks-17700515; accessed January 13, 2008.

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ExPostfactoXVl • 11Aborigines would only respond if the crew attempted to come ashore, butwhile sailing up the coast the ship was largely ignored. Thus, any instancein which the Aborigines showed interest was considered noteworthy, suchas the entry stating that “we saw with our glasses about 30 men, womenand children standing all together and looking attentively at us, the firstpeople we have seen shew any signs of curiosity at the sight of the ship.”18

The general lack of interaction between the Aborigines and theEuropeans hindered any deeper cultural understanding, and disappointedthe ever curious travelers, many of whom considered collectinginformation and artifacts to bring back to England to be a significant partof their mission. Banks exemplified this regret as the ship left NewHolland, writing that “I much wishd indeed to have had betteropportunities of seeing and observing the people.”19

The only constructive interaction between the Aborigines and theEuropeans took place while the ship was harbored for repairs in the‘Endeavour River,’ after a close call on the Barrier Reef had severelydamaged the hull. Perhaps it was only because the ship and crew wereforced to remain in one place for an extended length of time that there wasany communication with the Aborigines at all. The level of interactionattained at Endeavour River suggests that the Europeans could haveestablished relations with the inhabitants anywhere along the coast hadthey considered communication with the local inhabitants importantenough to invest the time and effort.

While Cook was instructed to win over the friendship of nativeinhabitants with presents, and to “invite them to Traffick”, the Aborigines’total lack of interest in European manufactured goods was a constantbarrier to developing a commercial relationship with them. TheAborigines simply did not put such a value on material items, a fact thatwas very hard for the voyagers to understand and accept. The voyagersrepeatedly gave the standard trinkets of nails, beads, and cloth to theAborigines, only to find these same items later abandoned. As Cook notes“we could know but very little of their customs as we never were able toform any connections with them, they had not so much as touch’d thethings we had left in their hutts on purpose for them to take way.”2° InBanks’ final description of the Aborigines he comments that “[tJhesepeople seemd to have no Idea of traffick nor could we teach them; indeedit seemed that we had no one thing on which they set a value equal toinduce them to part with the smallest trifle.”21

On the other hand, the Aborigines put great value on gifts of food, afact that the travelers may have been able to utilize to make contact,especially since it appears that the gesture of giving food was more

“Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks-17700608; accessed January 13, 2008.‘ Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks_remarks-259; accessed January 13, 2008.10 Cook Journal, 312.2 Banks Journal; hup:/fnla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jml-banks rernarks-285; accessed January 13, 2008.

Antipodean Contact

12 • Ex Post facto XVIimportant than the quantity of food offered. On one occasion, after muchencouragement, a group of Aborigines wearily paddled their canoealongside the ship. Banks relates that

Cloth, Nails, Paper, &c &c. was given to them all whichthey took and put into the canoe without shewing the leastsigns of satisfaction: at last a small fish was by accidentthrown to them on which they expressd the greatest joyimaginable, and instantly putting off the ship made signs thatthey would bring over their comrades.

The next day the Aborigines returned and “brought with them a fishwhich they gave to us in return.. .for the fish we had given themyesterday.”23 This gesture also indicates that the gift of food was a symbolof friendship and reciprocity to the Aborigines, a sign of goodwill thatthey understood far better than the strange and apparently useless articlesthey had been given so far. However, just as giving food signifiedgoodwill, Aborigines perceived withholding food as an act of enmity. Justas European-Aboriginal relations were beginning to develop, an incidentoccurred that nearly destroyed the fragile relationship altogether. A groupof “Indians” visited the boat and gestured that they had come to get one ofthe turtles that the crew had hunted and that now lay on the deck of theship. Finding their request refused the Aborigines responded with greatanger. Banks writes of “one who had askd me on my refusal stamping hisfoot pushd me from him with a countenance frill of disdain and applyd tosome one else.”24 After unsuccessfully trying to take a turtle by force, theAborigines abruptly left the ship and headed to the shore, where they setfire to the Europeans’ camp. The dispute was eventually settled in atentative truce. It would have been prudent, for the sake of diplomacy, toallow the Aborigines to take one of the turtles, but the travelers saw theturtles as just too valuable to give away. As Hawkesworth writes, “theyseemed to set very little value upon any thing we had, except our turtle,which was a commodity that we were least able to spare.”25 This incidentillustrates that forming amicable relations with the Aborigines was not theprimary priority for the Endeavour crew.

The voyager-scholars managed to compile rudimentary word lists,which are entertaining for the reader because they bring to life theenvironment in which the words were attained, as the words were gatheredby pointing to surrounding objects. The word lists are all nouns, and startwith parts of the body, and are so thorough in their identification that they

22 Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks-17700710; accessed January 13, 2008.23 Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jml-banks-17700711; accessed January 13, 2008.24 Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks-17700719; accessed January 13,200$.25 South Seas Research, “John Hawkesworth: An Account of the Voyages undertaken by the orderof his present majesty for making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere,” 2006 [websiteJ;available from http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jrnl-hv23-583; Internet; accessed January 13, 2008.

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Ex Post facto XVI • 13matter-of-factly include the Aboriginal words for penis and scrotum,indicating that the Europeans were at ease enough at this time to point attheir subjects’ private parts inquiringly. Even so, more prolongedinteraction would have been required for the scholars to develop enoughknowledge of the language to have a conversation about Aboriginalculture. Therefore, most of what they learned of the Aboriginal way of lifewas either through observation, or through the limited level ofcommunication they could attain by gestures and signs. One example ofcultural knowledge attained in this method pertains to the large scars inregular patterns that some of the Aborigines bore. Banks noted that“[t]hese as far as we could understand by the Signs they made use of werethe marks of their Lamentations for the deceasd, in honour to whosememory or to shew the excess of their grief they had in this manner weptfor in blood.”26 This comment demonstrates that complex meaning couldbe conveyed to a certain extent, by the use of signs. However, culturalknowledge about the Aborigines remained extremely limited. When therewas an absence of knowledge, the Europeans willingly filled in the gapswith conjecture, and where social, political, and cultural structures werenot readily apparent they were assumed not to exist. It is remarkable thateven after learning about the meaning of the scars, the Europeanscontinued to believe that the Aborigines had no form of religion, despitethis clue into their inner world.

Both Banks and Cook go to great lengths in describing theAborigines’ physical characteristics. Although some level of judgmentcreeps into both reports, Banks and Cook are not consistent with eachother in their perceptions. While Cook remarks that “[t]heir features arefar ftom being disagreeable and their Voices are soft and tunable,”27Banks’ first comment on their appearance is that they are “compleatlycoverd with dirt.” 28 He goes on to disclose that “I tryd indeed [to removethe dirt] by spitting upon my finger and rubbing,” an admission that showsthe extent to which the Aborigines were inspected. Furthermore, Bankslists exact height measurements of a number of “the tribe,” indicating thatthe Aborigines had allowed themselves to be measured, no doubtwondering what exactly these peculiar visitors were doing. In contrast toCook’s perception of the Aborigines’ voices, Banks describes them as“shrill and effeminate.”29 Overall, Cook’s attitude to the Aborigines’appearance is more objective than Banks’. For example, he unemotionallyreports that “[t]he men wear a bone about three or four inches long and afingers thick, run through the Bridget of the nose.”30 Banks, on the other

26 Banks Journal; hup:ulnla.gov.aulnla.cs.ss-jrnl-banks_remarks-287; accessed January 13, 200$.27 Cook Journal, 395.Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.ca-sa-jml-banks_remarks-282; accessed January 13, 2008.

29 Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.aulnla.ca-sa-jml-banks_remarka-283; accessed January 13, 2008.° Cook Journal, 395.

Antzodean Contact

14 • Ex Post facto XVIhand, describes the same ornamentation as “making in the eyes ofEuropeans a most ludicrous appearance.”31

The Aborigines’ total absence of clothing shocked and bewilderedEuropean eyes, and the journal keepers mention this fact repeatedly intheir daily journals, and again in their final descriptions. Europeansperceived nakedness as another example of the Aborigines’ “lack ofcivilization.” Cook writes that “[t]hey go quite naked both Men andWomen without any manner of cloathing whatever, even the women donot so much as cover their pnvities.”32 This and other journal entriesindicate that Cook regarded the uninhibited nakedness of the women aseven more shocking than that of the men. Banks tries to explain theAborigines’ nakedness, however none of the reasons he can think of arepositive, and he does not consider for a moment that nudity may be a validalternative to European dress. Banks wonders “[wJhether this want of whatmost nations look upon as absolutely necessary proceeds from idleness orwant of invention is difficult to say.”33

Notably, European clothing was equally hard for the Aborigines tounderstand. Parkinson reports an encounter that he had had with a group ofAborigines, explaining that

[tJhey became, at length, more free when only three of uswere present, and made signs for us to take off some of ourgarments, which we did accordingly. They viewed them withsuprize; but they seemed to have had no idea of cloaths; nordid they express a desire for any; and a shirt, which we gavethem, was found afterwards tom into rags.34

Hawkesworth describes another occasion when a crewmember, whohad been separated from his party, came across “four Indians” who“considered him with great attention and curiosity, particularly his clothes,and then felt his hands and face, and satisfied themselves that his bodywas of the same texture with their own.” Occurrences such as these offera small window of insight into how the Europeans appeared to theAborigines. Perhaps the Aborigines wondered what nature of creaturetheir pale guest was, and whether he too was human like them. It would befascinating to know what the Aborigine’s concluded from their inspection,but sadly the only information available as to how the Aboriginesperceived the Europeans is what can be discerned from the Europeanaccounts.

Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jml-banks_rernarks-284; accessed Januaty 13, 2008.32 Cook Journal, 395.Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jrnl-bsnks rernarks-283; accessed January 13, 2008.South Seas Research, “Sydney Parkinson,” Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas, in His

Majesty’s Ship, The Endeavour, 2006 [websiteJ; available from http://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jmlparkinson-195; Internet; accessed January 13, 2008.Hswkesworth; http://nls.gov.aulnla.cs-sa-jrnl-hv23-582; accessed January 13, 2008.

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Ex Post facto XVI • 15In addition to their difference in perception of the Aborigines’

physical appearance, Cook and Banks also differ in their interpretation ofthe Aboriginal temperament. Cook describes their temperament by writingthat “I do not look upon them to be a warlike People, on the Contrary Ithink them timorous and inoffensive race, no ways inclinable to cruelty.”36Meanwhile, Banks takes the opposite stance by proclaiming “[t]hat theyare a very pusilanimous people we had reason to suppose from every partof their conduct.”37 This difference of perception is intriguing given thatboth Cook and Banks both had an almost identical experience of theAborigines. Given, that many of the Aborigines felt threatened by theEuropeans and frequently reacted in a fight or flight response, Cookappears more sensitive to their fear, while Banks was more aware of theirhostility.

Within the general summations written by Cook and Banks as theEndeavour left Australia for good, are philosophical sections in whichthey analyze the lifestyle of the Aborigines and compare it to that of theEuropeans. These sections of analysis are similar enough to each other ingeneral content that, perhaps, Cook and Banks conversed on the subjectbefore they put pen to paper. Both conclude that the Aborigines’ lack ofmaterialism is a desirable quality, and that perhaps the Aboriginal way oflife is more enjoyable and less stressful than the modern European way oflife. Of the Aborigines, Banks observes that “{tjhus live these I had almostsaid happy people, content with little nay almost nothing, far enoughremovd from the anxieties attending upon riches, or even the possession ofwhat we Europeans call common necessaries.”38 However, Banks thenfocuses much more on the European way of life and its problems, andcomments little more on the Aborigiiies. Cook’s writing style differs fromhis usual practical outlook, and could even be called romantic. He wrotethat

[f]rom what I have said of the Natives of New-Holland theymay appear to some to be the most wretched people upon theEarth, but in reality they are far more happier than weEuropeans; being wholly unacquainted not only with thesuperfluous but the necessary conveniencies so much soughtafter in Europe, they are happy in not knowing the use ofthem.39

As he continues, Cook focuses primarily on the Aboriginal way oflife and its benefits, rather than merely writing an indictment of Europeansociety. Cook himself came from a working class background. He was aman of simple tastes and led an austere life, and so perhaps he

36 Cook Journal, 396.Banks Journal; hftp://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jml-banks_remarks-303; accessed January 13, 2008.

38 Banks Journal; hftp://nla.gov.aulnla.cs-ss-jrnl-banks_remarks-295; accessed January 13, 2008.Cook Journal, 399.

Antipodean Contact

16 • ExPostFactoXVlsympathized with the Aboriginal lifestyle. Even so, this type of writing isunusual for Cook, and almost seems out of place. He may have beenimpressed by concepts of the “noble savage” that were circulating duringthe Enlightenment or, perhaps, he was influenced by the writings of othervoyagers and their descriptions of the native inhabitants of distant lands.The Endeavour carried a copy of George Shelvocke’s A Privateer’sVoyage Round the World,40 in which the description of the indigenousCalifornians is fairly similar, stating that “they seem to enjoy a perfecttranquility, to the happiness ofwhich nothing could be added.”4’ However,despite Cook’s sympathy and romanticism of the Aboriginal way of life,he did not regard them as equals worthy of the same rights and status.

Cook and Banks were unimpressed with the technologicaldevelopment of the Aborigines, and based on their disdain for Aboriginalinnovations, perceived them to be at a lower level of progress. Aboriginalshelters are described by Cook as “mean small hovels not much biggerthan an oven,” and their canoes “are as mean as can be conceived,” yet healso concedes that “bad as they are they do very well for the purpose theyapply them to.”42 Banks believes that the Aborigines would benefit fromsome innovation and improvement, saying “how well therefore worth thepains for them to stock themselves better with boats if they could do it!”43Aboriginal tools and other items were feeble to European eyes, and Cooknoted that “[tJhey have not the least knowledge of Iron or any other Metalthat we know of, their working tools must be made of stone, bone andshells, those made of the former are very bad.”44

Both Cook and Banks note the Aborigines’ apparent lack ofagriculture or domestication of animals, and based on the assumption thatthe Aborigines were not tied to the land in this respect, they concluded thatNew Holland was indeed terra nullius, “land belonging to no-one.” TheAborigines lived a nomadic existence, and Banks described them as“wandering like the Arabs from place to place.”45 Banks also commentson the low population density and speculates that the interior isuninhabited, though the reasoning behind this conjecture is not alwayssound. He argues that all known inland nations engage in agriculture ofsome sort, and that if such an inland nation were to exist, the coastalpopulations would have learned the “arts of cultivation” from them. Hegoes on to state that if the coastal population could not manage at least toimitate a superior inland nation, then “their reason must be supposd to

Glyndwr Williams, ‘Far more happier than we Europeans’: reactions to the AustralianAborigines on Cook’s voyage,” Historical Studies 19 (October 1981): 507.41 George Shelvocke, A Privateer’s Voyage Round the World (New York: Jonathan Cape &Harrison Smith, 1930), 262.42 Cook Journal, 396.Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jml-banks_remarks-307; accessed January 13, 2008.Cook Journal 397.Banks Journal; hftp:f/nla.gov.au/nla.cs-as-jml-banks_remarks-292; accessed January 13, 2008.

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Ex Post Facto XVI • 17hold a rank little superior to that of monkies.”46 Banks also suggests thatthe Aborigines’ low numbers may be a result of warfare. Cook describesthe land to be “in the pure state of Nature, the Industry of Man has hadnothing to do with any part of it.”47 In this same passage Cook clearlyviews the land with an imperialist eye, stating that the land “doth notproduce any one thing that can become an Article in trade to inviteEuropeans to fix a settlement upon it. . .but what most sorts of Grain,Fruits, Roots etc of every kind would flourish here were they once broughthither.

As Cook approached the Torres Strait he acknowledged that, whilethe Western side had already been discovered by the Dutch, the Easterncoast which he was now leaving had been previously undiscovered byEuropeans. He goes on to state that

I had in the Name of His Majesty taken possession of severalplaces upon this coast, I now once more hoisted EnglishCoulers and in the Name of His Majesty King George theThird took possession of the whole Eastern Coast.. .by thename of New South Wales.49

There is no mention of a negotiation or agreement with any of theAborigines before making a claim to this land, despite the instructionsfrom home to acquire the “consent of the natives.” While there is no doubtthat the land was inhabited, the way it was habited — the Aborigines’ lowpopulation density, their way of life, and their relationship with the land —made the issue of their ownership and right to the land a matter ofinterpretation for Cook and his crew.

The assumptions Cook and his crew made about the Aborigines — thatthey were not tied to the land, that they had no religious beliefs or politicalstructures, that their level of social organization was minimal — weresimply incorrect. It is not surprising that the crew came away with only thefaintest understanding of Aboriginal life, given the brevity of their stayand the meager amount of meaningful interaction achieved during thevisit. Aboriginal life was just too different, too alien, for the Europeans tocomprehend, and it did not appear worthy of further investigation. Thusthe travelers’ own preconceptions served as a barrier to genuineknowledge and understanding.

Historian Alan Frost argues that during this time the Britishgovernment was cautious to follow a convention of negotiating withindigenous inhabitants before settling foreign land. He contends that

Banks Journal; http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-jml-banks_remarks-280; accessed January 13, 2008.n Cook Journal, 397.Cook Journal, 397.Cook Journal, 387-398.

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1$ • Ex Post Facto XVI.had [the British government] known that the Aborigines

were not truly nomadic, that they had indeed mixed theirlabour with the land, and that they lived within a complexsocial, political, and religious framework — that is, had theBritish not seen New South Wales to be terra nullius, thenthey would have negotiated for the right to settle the BotanyBay area.5°

The observations of the Endeavour’s scholarly team provided theinformation from which the British Government worked. These reportswere gathered during the four months it took to sail up the coast, but onlyabout two weeks was spent forming the most basic of relationships. Itbecame a matter of priorities as the crew of the Endeavour wanted to learnabout the Aborigines, and form relationships, but they considered theirsuperficial observations to be sufficient. Looked at more cynically, it wasnot in their best interests really to study the Aboriginal way of life, lestthey reach the conclusion that Australia was not terra nullius — that thesepeople did own the land and that the establishment of any settlementwould require their permission.

50 Alan Frost, “New South Wales as Terra Nullius: The British Denial of Aboriginal LandRights,” Historical Studies 19 (October 1981): 522.

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