The Bennelong Letter – Voice of a Wangal Diplomat

Communications | 25 May 2015

01_11_2010_Bennelong_Letter_photo_by_Kylie_Martin_p01-72ppi

The Bennelong Letter Photo: Kylie Martin.

The AIATSIS Collection holds a very precious copy of what is considered to be the first known use of written English by an Aboriginal Australian. It is a copy of what is known as the ‘Bennelong Letter’ and represents a seminal work in Australian Aboriginal literature and an authentic Aboriginal voice. It is also the first time that an Aboriginal author has appeared in print.

The letter is contained in the 1801 German publication: “Monatliche Correspondenz zur Beforderung der Erd and Himmelskunde” (“Monthly Correspondence for the Promotion of Geography and Astronomy” edited by Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach. Von Zach was a Hungarian astronomer who accepted the letter for publication from the German anatomist Johan Friedrich Blumenbach having received it from Joseph Banks who in turn acquired a copy from Governor John Hunter.

The original letter was dictated by Bennelong on August 29 1796 from Sydney and is addressed to “Mr. Phillips, Steward to Lord Sidney [sic]”. Historians have not been able to find a steward to Lord Sidney named Mr Phillips and this has led to speculation that the letter may in fact have been aimed at former Governor Phillips as his second wife nursed Bennelong when he was ill in England and this is referenced in the letter.

Woollarawarre Bennelong was a Wangal man from the south shore of the Parramatta River, who is believed to have been born about 1764. He formed a friendship with Governor Arthur Phillip who took him and his kinsman Yemmerrawanne to England in 1792. He spent three years in England where he took reading and writing lessons and would have been exposed to various other elements of English cultural life.

John Hunter points to Bennelong’s fascination with writing when at Governor Phillip’s one night “Bannelong went into the house as usual, and finding the governor writing, sat down by him” (Hunter, Chp XIX).

FNAWN members Jeanine Leane and Samantha Faulkner with AIATSIS Collection Manager Barry Cundy on a visit to view the Bennelong Letter. Photo: Kylie Martin

It is believed that the letter was dictated to a scribe rather than written by Bennelong himself and it states:

“Sir, I am very well. I hope you are very well. I live at the governor’s. I have every day dinner there. I have not my wife; another black man took her away. We have had muzzy doings; he speared me in the back, but I better now; his name is Carroway. All my friends alive and well. Not me go to England no more. I am at home now. I hope Mrs Phillips is very well. You nurse me madam when I sick. You very good madam; thank you madam, and hope you remember me madam, not forget. I know you very well madam. Madam, I want stockings, thank you madam. Send me two pair of stockings. You my good Madam. Thank you Madam. Sir, you give my duty to Lord Sidney. Thank you very good my lord, very good. Hope very well all Family, very well. Sir send me you please some handkerchiefs for pocket. You please Sir send me some shoes. Two pair you please. Bannelong.”

Whilst the letter is written in English, the Aboriginal voice of Bennelong comes through in expressions such as “his name was Carroway”. As Smith points out ‘’carraway” or “caruey” (white cockatoo) was a young uninitiated Cadigal man who appropriated Bennelong’s wife Kurubarabula (Smith, 2012, pg 3). The word “muzzy” is thought to represent a transcription error of the word “murri” which means “big” in the Sydney language.

The request for stockings, a handkerchief and shoes may seem inappropriate in this context, but from an Aboriginal etiquette point of view it reflects the practice of reciprocity and gift exchange that he would have expected from his English hosts.

Smith has successfully argued that Bennelong was a master politician, brokering alliances among various factions via marriages for himself and his sisters in order to secure, and later extend, his leadership within his Wangal clan (2009). This account challenges the oft told story that Bennelong was shunned by Europeans and his own people alike on his return from England.

Bennelong died in 1813 and is buried in the orchard of brewer James Squire in the present day suburb of Putney in Sydney.

The original of the letter has never been found.

You can listen to the story of the AIATSIS Bennelong Letter.

References:

Hunter, John 1793. An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, John Stockdale, Piccadilly. <http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00063.html#ch-20>

Smith, Keith Vincent 2012. Bennelong’s letter expresses authentic Aboriginal voice. The Australian, Dec 29. < http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/bennelongs-letter-expresses-authentic-aboriginal-voice/story-fn9n8gph-1226544151916>

Smith, Keith Vincent 2009. Bennelong among his people. Aboriginal History, Vol. 33, pg <http://press.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/Aboriginal+History+Volume+33/9921/ch01.html>

Communications | 11 May 2015

The inaugural First Nations Writers’ Australia Network National Workshop was held in 2013 in Brisbane at the State Library of Queensland. Our goal is to hold this event every two years.

2015 National Workshop

Us Mob Writers at Noted Festival

Communications | 14 Apr 2015

Us Mob Writers (UMW) recently participated in Canberra’s first ever experimental writing festival, Noted held from 20-22 March. UMW held a workshop session on Sunday 22 March in the Mabo Room at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

The workshop – Where the Deadly Words Are: Us Mob, began with an ochre ceremony by Kerry Reed-Gilbert. UMW members also participating included: Lisa Fuller, Michelle Bedford, Samia Goudie, Jeanine Leane, Marissa McDowell, Joyce Graham and Samantha Faulkner.

About 50 people attended and participated in writing exercises, sharing their poetry and listening to readings from By Close of Business by UMW.

Thanks go to Russell Taylor, Principal of AIATSIS for providing the venue and Rita Metzenrath for her assistance with the workshop.

Dr Jeanine Leane also spoke during Noted Festival on Indigenous Literature Today.

Albany Writers Workshop – Kim Scott with Jim Everett

Communications | 14 Apr 2015

Jim Everett and Kim Scott were guests at the Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany, Western Australia last month. Here is Jim’s round-up of their very busy and wonderfully engaging time.

Sunday 22nd February – 5.30 pm to 7 pm

Kim and Jim interviewed by local author Sarah Drummond at the Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany. This was an interesting interview where Kim’s background differed from Jim’s, and the discussions covered writing to politics, to family history and Country. Questions were taken and the ensuing discussions could have gone on for some time if not for the time limit for others to take the room.

Monday 23rd February

Kim and Jim held a 2 hour workshop with students from 4 schools – 19 participating students and their 4 teachers/carers. Kim has a teacher’s experience and led the workshops, which worked very well. The students were very attentive and showed great interest. We all enjoyed this first day of short story writing, and sharing stories written by students.

Tuesday 24th February

2 hour workshop – Kim led the workshops again, with Jim taking a role with writing exercises. The students came with some ‘homework’ for the workshop exercises of the day. Included music and song writing as a means of introducing a form of creative writing. Other writing exercises were undertaken on poetry, and discussions on ‘why write’, and ‘finding ways’ to write, ‘triggers’, and family characters etc.

The students were well pleased with the workshops, and said they wanted more, and longer workshops set on Country, and camps. I can say that we all enjoyed the experience of writing in a workshop, and that the whole event was well worth doing.

There was also a bit of a write up in the local press:

Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta

Featured: Marissa McDowell

Communications | 18 Mar 2015

This piece originally appeared in Overland as part of their Emerging Poet Series. Thank you to Marissa McDowell, Peter Minter and Overland for permission to reproduce here.

Marissa McDowell, a Wiradjuri woman born in Cowra NSW, grew up in Canberra where she began writing poetry at sixteen. In her mid-twenties she shared a poem called ‘Caged’ as a father’s day gift, and started writing seriously again after joining the ‘Us Mob’ writing group in Canberra. She enjoys working in all forms of creative media. After completing a Bachelor of Arts Honours with the University of Canberra she went on to produce ten short documentaries for National Indigenous Television NITV. During this time she was the recipient of a solo photo exhibition with PhotoAccess. She is a radio producer for 2XXfm, and on game-day works at GIO Stadium Canberra as an audio visual assistant for the Brumbies and Canberra Raiders. Her poetry was recently published in the Maori literary journal Ora Nui, in a special issue featuring work by Aboriginal and Maori writers.

Burning Bridges

I aint burning all my bridges
Been walking down this road for far too long
Got no voice, got no song

Paid my toll
With everything except my soul
Nothing left but dust for beggars and thieves

It’s not a walk in the park
Or a Sunday stroll
Just genocide

Justified by religion
Over a land that no-one owns
Leaders that follow
And followers that can’t lead

It’s all the same
When it comes to playing this war game
The rich get richer and fame becomes their throne
A life of the uncompassionate with no ration for change

I aint burning all my bridges
They’ve already been burnt
I aint leaving my home
It’s already left
All the humble lies amongst the rubble
And the rubble piles towards the sea

Walking down this road alone
Past the fighting
Past the wrong
Towards the meek, towards the strong

No blue left in the sky
Only clouds that bleed, scream and cry
For the dying in the streets
Nothing left but the smell of rotting meat
No more pitter-patter of tiny feet

Anger turns to rage
And rage turns to hate
It remains until we forgive but not forget
A vicious cycle of pain and self-destruction
Is the path some choose in the end we all loose
Vengeance is a force that shouldn’t be forged
Into our bodies and into our souls

I aint burning all my bridges
They’ve already been burnt
I aint leaving my home
It’s already left

Who are you reading now and why do they turn you on?
I am currently flicking in-between books for different reasons. At the moment when I want some relaxation and down time I’m reading Tiddas by Anita Heiss. Tiddas is about the relationship between a group of female friends who are all experiencing different emotions and challenges from their past to present. The relationships between the women have a realness to them and touch on the type of struggles most women who read the book have either encountered or can relate to. The other book I am reading, Photoshop Compositing Secrets by Matt Kloskowski, is for learning purposes. I am teaching myself how to better composite photographs, which is a hobby of mine. I love writing and mixing up words with music and images to create a whole audiovisual experience.

How often do you write? Do you have a writing practice?
I think of myself as having two kinds of poetry writing styles. The first is emotive writing, the second just having fun, being creative and at times laughing at myself for being ‘lyrically challenged’ as I like to put it. I write what I am feeling, which helps me to reflect and deal with things that affect me emotionally. I usually don’t share my thoughts and feelings with others so writing poetry is a way for me to externalize and let go of those thoughts and feelings. I carry a notepad around with me wherever I go. I also have a notepad in the console of my car, when I stop at a red light or in car park I jot down my thoughts and feelings. My poetry is mostly emotional and sometimes lyrical, I write to the beat of music or to the tune of nature, footsteps on a pavement, whatever sounds happen to be surrounding me at the time. Sounds and colour affect me in the same way that words do. They release me emotionally.

When you think of Australian poetry, do you see an elephant in the room? If so, what is it?
The elephant in the room is many different things. I think, touching on deeper feelings, is the reality of cause and effect, with such things as religion, genocide, poverty, the treatment of First Nations peoples worldwide, climate change, sexual and physical abuse and sex. Australian poetry brings an openness and rawness to words and feelings and unleashes it in a creative way where everyday people can feel free to express themselves about the many elephants in the room.

A Passage to India: Reflections on Bangalore and Mysore

Communications | 18 Mar 2015

The wonderful Jeanine Leane attended the Bangalore Literature Festival with other First Nations Australia writers. Read her reflection.

September 2014 was to be my second visit to India – despite having majored in South Asian History in a Bachelor of Arts degree in the early 1908s. In 2012 I travelled to Hyderabad for a conference on Patrick White – and so I was prepared to some extent for the crowds and the traffic.

I travelled to Bangalore and later Mysore with three deadly Aboriginal writers: Marie Munkara, Dylan Coleman and Brenton McKenna. Conversations had and time spent with Marie, Dylan and Brenton was first and foremost the best and most valuable part of my journey to India.

Marie, Dylan, Brenton, Mridula and I arrived in Bangalore late on a Thursday evening. I was tired and eager to get to the hotel – but there is no point worrying about time in India because all things there take longer – a bit like Koori time and I quickly get used to the tranquil, clam atmosphere of those around me – our hosts in Bangalore and Mysore and it was a great way to come to know people better.

On first sight the Bangalore Literature Festival looked huge. There were large stages and marquees in a very scenic park just across the road from where we were all staying. What I like about the BLF is that it was very warm and friendly and there is a tremendous amount of interest in Aboriginal writings and scholarship. I enjoyed panels I did with Dylan and Marie and with three very impressive Dalit writers. Brenton’s presentation for children on his graphic novel was great to sit in on. And despite the initial appearance of being large – there was lots of space and time to get to talk to Indian writers and activists.

FNAWN’s 2014 US Road Trip

Communications | 04 Feb 2015

Cathy Craigie with Tim Tingle, a Choctaw writer at the US National Book Festival.

In late August last year, the Executive Director, Cathy Craigie and FNAWN’s Tony Duke did a 10 day road trip in the USA. Here is Cathy’s Report:

FNAWN had previously identified the USA as a key market and we were keen to pursue opportunities to promote our writers. We met with publishers, festivals, writing centres and other literary organisations and met with much enthusiasm and interest. We met so many interesting people on the trip but for me there were a couple of highlights.

We visited Poets House at Battery Point, a magnificent centre right on the water and funded entirely from philanthropic and private funding. We wondered what could be achieved at home with the same kind of philanthropic support. We also attended the US National Book Festival in Washington. The sheer size and scale of this one day event is hard to image back in Australia. With over 200,000 people attending, I was overwhelmed by the number of families who came and the interest in encouraging kids to read.

FNAWN are now working on getting our writers exposure in the USA and will be following up on the contacts we made in the USA. We are hoping to facilitate a program beginning in 2015 so keep an eye out for news on our US projects.

Anita Heiss and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Communications | 04 Feb 2015

Last month, Dr Anita Heiss with ARIA award-winning performer, composer and didgeridoo player William Barton joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to perform Peter Sculthorpe’s Beethoven Variations and Barton’s Birdsong at Dusk. These performances were highlighted with poetry and prose readings by Anita.

Anita performed Shake by Romaine Moreton, Unity by the late Kevin Gilbert, Sydney Real Estate for Sale by Brenda Saunders, and A New Day Dawning by Richard Frankland.

Anita says

I felt very blessed by the experience and was honoured to share the stage with Uncle Max Eulo, William Barton, Mayrah Sonter and conductor Johannes Fritzsch.

Yellamundie: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Playwriting Festival 2015.

Communications | 10 Jan 2015

Every time a story by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is told, the story itself and the act of telling that story is a very real confirmation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that our culture is alive and strong and continuing to survive.

Moogahlin Perfoming Arts with presenting partner Carriageworks, is delighted to announce the launch of Yellamundie: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Playwriting Festival 2015.

Yellamundie [a Dharug word meaning storyteller] is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture and is an initiative of the National Indigenous Theatre Forum held in Cairns, Queensland in 2010.

The central aim of the Yellamundie Festival is to discover, develop and promote new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander playwriting that displays potential for further creative development and/or production. Yellamundie provides both emerging and established playwrights with a meeting place to have their work developed within a supportive and nurturing artistic and cultural context, showcasing their skill and talent and gaining access and connection to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal theatre industry networks.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander playwrights from across Australia, will have the opportunity to submit new work, with a final six scripts chosen for creative development, with a director, dramaturge and actors.

Each script will also receive a public reading to an audience of community, general public and invited industry.

Yellamundie 2015 will run from Monday 27th July to Saturday 8th August 2015.

Applications open on Wednesday 3rd December and application and guidelines forms will be available to download from the Moogahlin website (www.mooghalin.com).

Applications close on Wednesday 4th February 2015 and successful applicants will be notified by Friday 6th March 2015.

For further information please contact festival artistic director Frederick Copperwaite at either yellamundie@moogahlin.com or 0422 049 333.

Click to download the following documents:

Echoes …. of Knowing Home by Alexis West

Communications | 07 Jul 2014

FNAWN would like to congratulate member Alexis West on the successful June run of her play Echoes …. of Knowing Home at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.
Continue reading →