A single, damning obituary by the unsympathetic Sydney Gazette perhaps did more than anything else to cast Bennelong as an ungrateful, uncivilised outcast - a pariah who rejected British benevolence and the benefits of British civilisation.
Obituary
Bennelong died on Sunday morning last at Kissing Point. Of this veteran champion of the native tribe little favourable can be said. His voyage to and benevolent treatment in Great Britain produced no change whatever in his manners and inclinations, which were naturally barbarous and ferocious. The principal officers of Government had for many years endeavoured, by the kindest of usage, to wean him from his original habits and draw him into a relish for civilised life; but every effort was in vain exerted and for the last few years he has been but little noticed. His propensity for drunkenness was inordinate; and when in that state he was insolent, menacing and overbearing. In fact, he was a thorough savage, not to be warped from the form and character that nature gave him by all the efforts that mankind could use.
Sydney Gazette, 9 January 1813
He was much addicted to spirit-drinking, and for the last five months of his life was seldom sober.
Sydney Gazette, 29 March 1817
Much of Bennelong’s life and career has been coloured by a single Sydney Gazette article that appeared on 9 January 1813 announcing his death. As an obituary it is both patronising and scathing. Its significance lies in its accessibility for later researchers.[1] Almost four years later the same newspaper printed a lengthy article by a correspondent using the name Atticus. This facetious piece attempted to draw a parallel between Bennelong and the Greek hero Theseus. The writer stated that Bennelong ‘was much addicted to spirit-drinking, and for the last five months of his life was seldom sober’. Where Atticus obtained this information is unclear, but given the nature of the article the information cannot be considered trustworthy.[2]
[1] Bennelong died on Sunday morning last at Kissing Point. Of this veteran champion of the native tribe little favourable can be said. His voyage to and benevolent treatment in Great Britain produced no change whatever in his manners and inclinations, which were naturally barbarous and ferocious. The principal officers of Government had for many years endeavoured, by the kindest of usage, to wean him from his original habits and draw him into a relish for civilised life; but every effort was in vain exerted and for the last few years he has been but little noticed. His propensity for drunkenness was inordinate; and when in that state he was insolent, menacing and overbearing. In fact, he was a thorough savage, not to be warped from the form and character that nature gave him by all the efforts that mankind could use. ( Sydney Gazette 9 January 1813)
[2] He was much addicted to spirit-drinking, and for the last five months of his life was seldom sober (‘Atticus’ in Sydney Gazette 29 March 1817: 2)
| Aboriginal History Vol 33 | |
| Aboriginal History Vol 33 |
Kate Fullagar - Woollarawarre Bennelong: rethinking the tragic narrative |
| Aboriginal History Vol 33 |
Keith Vincent Smith - Bennelong among his people |
| Aboriginal History Vol 33 |
Kate Fullagar - Bennelong in Britain |
| Aboriginal History Vol 33 |
Emma Dortins - The many truths of Bennelong’s tragedy |
| Attenbrow, Valerie |
‘Aboriginal placenames around Port Jackson and Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia Sources and uncertainties’ in Aboriginal Placenames. Naming and Re-naming the Australian Landscape Aboriginal History Monograph 19 Edited by Harold Koch and Luise Hercus ANU E Press 2009 |
| Attenbrow, Valerie |
Sydney's Aboriginal past: investigating the archaeological and historical records, Sydney, UNSW Press, 2002. |
| Dictionary of Sydney |
Contains biographical entries for many of the people mentioned in text |
| Eora | |
| Powell, Michael and Hesline, Rex |
‘Making tribes? Constructing aboriginal tribal entities in Sydney and coastal NSW from the early colonial period to the present.’ Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society |
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