This is a piece I wrote for The Conversation back in April 2020 as part of a series on the British Colonisation of Australia. I spoke on my perspective gained from producing The Message, a film commissioned by the National Museum of Australia to coincide with 250 years since Cook arrived.
While researching the film, I spent a large part of the year travelling Australia’s east coast interviewing historians, curators and Traditional Owners, piecing together stories from the ship and the shore. This piece reflects on the stories that had stuck with me.
I acknowledge the Gumbaynggirr people on whose land I live and work.
Sovereignty was never ceded.
I acknowledge the Gumbaynggirr people on whose land I live and work. Sovereignty was never ceded.