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Published On: Jun 23, 2007 08:38 PM
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The Albany Connection
It's not chronologically correct, but so far my
story of Captain Collet Barker's life has begun with his death, explored his
first months at Raffles Bay on New Holland's northern coast, and jumped back to
the aftermath of his death. Now I have travelled to Albany in Western Australia,
where he was posted after his Raffles Bay appointment had concluded, with the
abandonment of that settlement.
Barker's death has come first, because as a South
Australian, I have been aware of his death by spearing at the mouth of the
Murray River at the hands of Aboriginal people, from a very young age. As I
periodically lived in the Mount Barker, South Australia, region as I grew up,
was born in Mount Barker, and I am resident in Mount Barker today, the interest
has remained. A few years ago I discovered a book of his journals of Raffles Bay
on the north coast, and at King Georges Sound (Albany); and for almost two years
now, I have been working on a film script about his life. I am currently staying
at Albany, in an effort to flesh out the period when he was the Commander here,
from late 1829, to the early months of
1831.
Stirling
RangeHere, as at Raffles Bay, Barker
nurtured a close relationship with the local Aboriginal people, interacting with
them on a daily basis, respecting their culture, and venturing into the bush
with them whenever the opportunity arose. He formed a close relationship with
Mokarre, (as did other early settlers) a traditional owner of the region, who
spoke tolerable English, and possessed a keen intelligence and a desire to learn
from the strange ways of the newcomers, and to pass on his wisdom and knowledge
of country in return. This is not to say that that the interaction was confined
to Mokarre - in fact Barker welcomed all who visited the settlement, and apart
from showing his displeasure at ritual spearing customs, was open to their ways,
and comfortable in their company.
My contact with the region really
began with my stay at Mount Barker, W.A., the first 'mountain' to bear his name,
and to consequently have a town named after it. The W.A. Mount Barker was named
by Barker's friend Surgeon Braidwood Wilson, who set out with a small party,
(including Mokarre) after arriving with Barker on the
Governor Phillip
on 29th November, 1829. Wilson had stayed
with Barker at Raffles Bay after being shipwrecked in the region, and he was
keen to do some exploration during his three weeks at King Georges Sound before
he departed. His explorations 'discovered' and named among other places, the
Sleeman River, the Denmark River, the Kent River, and Mount Barker. As with the
summit named after him in South Australia, Barker never set foot on these
monuments to his name. Nor could he have imagined the thriving towns and regions
which would still be bearing his name, if not his story, to this
day.
Mount Barker
Summit
Porongurups from the
summitThe Albany of today, with its
picturesque town nestled beneath heavily wooded hills, and overlooking the
sheltered King Georges Sound, Princes Royal Harbour, and Oyster Bay, obviously
has many physical similarities with the settlement of Barker's period, although
in his time there were less than 100 residents, the majority of them convicts,
and the remainder the soldiers to guard them. The population has of course,
grown considerably, the Albany of today bearing the status of a city, and the
property values in the stratosphere.
Albany
Albany
Apart from my extensive explorations
of the physical lay-out of the region, my other satisfying discoveries so far
(just four days) are as follows. Firstly, there is the full sized replica of the
brig, Amity
which served both the Raffles bay and the King
Georges Sound settlements, (among others) as a contracted supply vessel for
outposts under the governance of the New South Wales administration. This
replica is dry docked close to the water where the original used to berth, and
the experience of crawling through the hold and observing and photographing both
the exterior and interior of the brig was very
satisfying.
Salty
dog
Secondly, I found the life sized
statue of Mokarre just off the main street - a fine depiction of this marvellous
man (based on the only portrait of him). What a pleasure to pose beside him for
a photograph!
Mokarre
And friendYesterday I drove to the
coastal town of Denmark, some 50ks to the west, crossing some of the rivers
named by Wilson, and photographing the inlet which bears his name.
Approaching Wilson's
Inlet
Wilson's
Inlet
Denmark
River
The Sleeman
RiverI have also made contact already
with some wonderfully helpful people, beginning with Steve and Ira Casserly of
Mandurah, who have made a car and a house available to me for this adventure.
Local historian Harry, a fine elderly gentleman I met in a bar in Mount Barker
was a pleasure to share a story with. I have also had much assistance from
Malcolm Traill and Julia Mitchell from the history section of the Albany
Library. A major breakthrough occurred tonight though, (Friday 3rd Nov) as I
shared a game of pool with Rasheed and Doris. Rasheed is a refugee from Iraq,
and Doris is of Palestinian descent, and they are both wonderful examples of
what it is to be truly human - as well as shooting some great pool. Doris had
lived in Albany previously, and has just returned after spending some years in
Perth. When I told her what I was doing in Albany, she rang some Aboriginal
friends, and soon Olivia, Glenda, and Justin, who work with Aboriginal health,
were sharing the table with us. Although they are not familiar with Barker, they
have supplied me with names and phone numbers of people who can probably be of
assistance, and in any case any insight into the Noongah point of view in this
region is invaluable to my story. All in all, off to a pretty good start. Watch
this space.
Posted: Sat
- November 4, 2006 at 01:41 AM
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