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Fort Wellington: The British in North Australia 1827-29

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The Iwaidja woman, her belly opened by a bayonet, slipped below the dark water. Her 6-year-old daughter, Reveral, watched in terror. Her baby sister was already dead, hit by a slug in the first volley or drowned, but a young man lying on the sand with his intestines spilling out had to be finished off - out of mercy! Reveral, wounded in her side, was carried back to the fort in triumph, for she was worth a £5 reward from Commandant Smyth. Capturing an Australian was how the British sought to make friends with the Iwaidja, on whose lands the new British garrison of Fort Wellington was being built. It was an appalling start, but eventually, with the remarkable Captain Collet Barker in charge, friendships were established. At last, it looked like a successful trading settlement would follow, the British would live in peace with the local tribe, and they would welcome, and protect the Macassan fishermen, who came annually to the peninsula for trepang. But then, a twice ship-wrecked captain struggled ashore with the order to abandon the north coast altogether, and the soldiers, Royal Marines, convicts, their families, and even Reveral herself, wearily packed up the settlement and moved on, leaving the fort and its gardens to the Iwaidja. ‘Another of our sweet, nice, wise, profitable, gingerbread, out of the way playthings is to go’, rejoiced The Australian, in 1829.  This is the extraordinary forgotten story of the second attempt at settling Australia’s north coast. ‘an absorbing and detailed narrative’ 

Derek Pugh lives in Darwin with two rapidly growing sons. He grew up in the Australian Capital Territory and moved to the Northern Territory nearly 40 years ago, so he claims to have been a ‘Territorian’ all his life. He has had a long career in education and in a number of contexts: from large urban senior schools, to tiny remote homeland centre schools in Central Arnhem Land, and several International schools. He now teaches part time and writes. He has published ten books: two YA fiction, a memoir, a self-help book for teenagers, and travel/science exploration and five, history books on the Northern Territory. Tambora took out the Territory Read Best Non-fiction Award for 2016. See derekpugh.com.au. Derek Pugh is an educator and award-winning author writing books in several genres: NT history, science, adventure travel and YA fiction. He is most well-known for his series on early European settlement of the Top End, Tambora, and the novels Tammy Damulkurra, and Schoolies. He lives in Darwin. See www.derekpugh.com.au.

* History of Australian settlement on the north coast, by award winning author, Derek Pugh

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