.....Inspired by the notebooks of astronomer William Dawes, The Lieutenant is a remarkable story about the poignancy and emotional power of a friendship that defies linguistic and cultural barriers, and shows one ordinary man that he is capable of exceptional courage......
... William Dawes (1762–1836) was an Officer of the British Navy, an astronomer, engineer, botanist, surveyor, explorer, abolitionist and colonial administrator. He traveled to New South Wales with the first fleet on board HMS Sirius.
Slavery Abolition Act 1833
Long title - An Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies; for promoting the Industry of the manumitted Slaves; and for compensating the Persons hitherto entitled to the Services of such Slaves.Citation3 & 4 Will.4 c.73DatesRoyal assent28 August 1833Commencement
Repealed19 November 1998Other legislationRepealed byStatute Law (Repeals) Act 1998Relates toSlave Trade Act 1807, Slave Trade Act 1824, Slave Trade Act 1843, Slave Trade Act 1873
Source: Macquarie pocket dictionary fourth edition
Lieutenant William Dawes (1762–1836) was the Officer of Engineers and Artillery on the First Fleet. His daily task on the voyage was to be in charge of the flagship's chronometers. These clocks were vital to navigation because the accuracy of their timepieces allowed ships to measure their longitude. On the recommendation of Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), the Board of Longitude provided instruments and books for an observatory and asked Dawes to watch for a comet that was expected in the Southern Hemisphere in 1788. Dawes built his observatory, the first in the Southern Hemisphere, in a hut at Point Maskelyne, now known as Dawes Point. Dawes made astronomical observations but the comet did not appear.
Dawes was an engineer and a surveyor and constructed the earliest batteries on the points at the entrance to Sydney Cove. He designed the government farm, and laid out the first streets and allotments in Sydney and Parramatta. Dawes was one of the few marines who wished to remain in the colony after his term had expired. But, after the governor's gamekeeper was killed, Dawes came into disfavour when he refused to join a punitive expedition against the Aboriginal people who were suspected of the crime. The gamekeeper was known for mistreating Aboriginal people. After this refusal, Dawes was not allowed to remain in New South Wales.
Patyegarang, a young Indigenous woman, befriended Lieutenant Dawes and each taught the other their first languages. Dawes was the first European to make extensive written records of an Indigenous Australian language. He captured not just wordlists, but phrases concerned with personalities, actions and feelings. Records of his conversations with Patyegarang reveal an increasing level of frustration by local Aboriginal people that the colonists were not moving out of their land.
William Dawes was one of the first colonists to appreciate that the languages and cultures of Aboriginal peoples differed in different areas. He also was one of the few who had genuine relationships with Cadigal people. He became a European authority on the language of the Eora people living around Sydney Cove.
Text Source : https://myplace.edu.au/decades_timeline/1780/decade_landing_22.html?tabRank=4
Image Source : https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/british-redcoats.html
