The axe had never sounded. place, people and heritage of Recherche Bay, Tasmania

Transcription

1 The axe had never sounded place, people and heritage of Recherche Bay, Tasmania

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3 The axe had never sounded place, people and heritage of Recherche Bay, Tasmania John Mulvaney

4 Published by ANU E Press and Aboriginal History Incorporated Aboriginal History Monograph 14 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Mulvaney, D. J. (Derek John), The axe had never sounded : place, people and heritage of Recherche Bay, Tasmania. Bibliography. ISBN (pbk.) ISBN (online) 1. Aboriginal Tasmanians - Tasmania - Recherche Bay. 2. Cultural property - Political aspects - Tasmania - Recherche Bay. 3. Recherche Bay (Tas.) - Discovery and exploration - French. 4. Recherche Bay (Tas.) - History. I. Title Aboriginal History is administered by an Editorial Board which is responsible for all unsigned material. Views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily shared by Board members. The Committee of Management and the Editorial Board Peter Read (Chair), Rob Paton (Treasurer/Public Officer), Ingereth Macfarlane (Secretary/ Managing Editor), Richard Baker, Gordon Briscoe, Ann Curthoys, Brian Egloff, Geoff Gray, Niel Gunson, Christine Hansen, Luise Hercus, David Johnston, Steven Kinnane, Harold Koch, Isabel McBryde, Ann McGrath, Frances Peters-Little, Kaye Price, Deborah Bird Rose, Peter Radoll, Tiffany Shellam Editors Ingereth Macfarlane and Kaye Price Copy editor Geoff Hunt Contacting Aboriginal History All correspondence should be addressed to Aboriginal History, Box 2837 GPO Canberra, 2601, Australia. Sales and orders for journals and monographs, and journal subscriptions: T Boekel, sales@aboriginalhistory.org, tel or fax: ANU E Press All correspondence should be addressed to: ANU E Press, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia anuepress@anu.edu.au, Aboriginal History Inc. is a part of the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University and gratefully acknowledges the support of the History Program, RSSS and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, The Australian National University. Cover design by Teresa Prowse Printed by University Printing Services, ANU Apart for any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. This edition 2007 ANU E Press and Aboriginal History Inc

5 We were filled with admiration at the sight of these ancient forests, in which the axe had never sounded Labillardière 1792

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7 Contents Foreword Introduction Acknowledgements xi xvii Chapter 1. Setting Out 1 The Officers 3 The Savants 5 Ships and Stores 10 Chapter 2. Recherche Bay 13 Recherche Bay, revisited summer Chapter 3. Naturalists Ashore 25 Chapter 4. Botanising 31 The Garden 36 Chapter 5. Measuring and Charting 41 Chapter 6. Seeking the Tasmanians 53 Chapter 7. Meeting the Tasmanians 63 Chapter 8. An Archaeological Heritage 75 Chapter 9. Labillardière s Luck 81 Chapter 10. Retrospect: Recherche Bay, History and Anthropology 87 Chapter 11. The Chaotic Years 93 Whaling 93 Piracy on the Brig Cyprus 96 Chapter 12. Lady Jane at Recherche Bay 103 Chapter 13. Good and Bad Times 107 Coal Mining 110 James Craig 113 Chapter 14. The Concept of Heritage 117 Chapter 15. National Heritage Nomination 127 The Dénouement 134 References 137 xxi

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9 Illustrations Aerial view of northern area of Recherche Bay, Recherche Bay, north-eastern peninsula from the air, Map 1: South-eastern Tasmania. Map 2: Recherche Bay, showing places mentioned in the text. Recherche and Espérance under way. 1 Antoine-Joseph-Bruny d Entrecasteaux, Jacques-Julien Houton de Labillardière. 6 Recherche Bay entrance from Bennetts Point. 14 Looking towards Mt La Perouse from the 1792 beach. 16 The enigmatic stone structure at Bennetts Point. 18 Beautemps-Beaupré s chart of the northern harbour. 21 Type specimen of Eucalyptus globulus (blue gum). 33 The garden in 2003, outlined by rocks. 38 The dip needle used by Rossel. 42 de Borda s cercle répétiteur (left) and cercle de reflexion (right). 43 Beautemps-Beaupré s chart of Rocky Bay, southern Recherche Bay. 46 Beautemps-Beaupré s chart of D Entrecasteaux Channel. 49 View of Rocky Bay from 1793 watering place. 50 Aborigines of Van Diemen s Land preparing a meal, [ Sauvages du Cap de Diemen preparant leur repas ], Jean Piron, Tasmanians preparing a meal from the sea, [ Peche des sauvages du Cap de Diemen ], Jean Piron, Quiet Cove, Imlay shore-based whaling station. 94 Fisher Point pilot station and pub, Woodcut of Cyprus castaways attributed to W. B. Gould, Machinery at Leprena mill site. 108 Leprena timber mill site. 109 Timber mill remains, Cockle Creek. 110 Base of coal storage bin, Evoralls Point. 111 Overturned tram engine near Evoralls Point. 112 James Craig (then the Clan Macleod), New York harbour xi xiii xiv xv ix

10 The axe had never sounded James Craig submerged, 1960s, Recherche Bay. 114 The logging track through Southport Lagoon Conservation Area, Mulvaney addressing the April 2005 rally. 129 x