'John Batman's famous treaty with the blacks', c1914

Educational value

• This asset depicts John Batman signing a treaty with representatives of the Wurundjeri people - Batman 'bought' 200,000 hectares of land, on behalf of a Van Diemen's Land property syndicate, from Indigenous Australian elders in exchange for £25 worth of blankets, knives, scissors and clothing, thus paving the way for the establishment of the colony of Port Phillip and the settlement of Melbourne; Batman promised to pay an annual rent in material goods.
• It shows members of the Wurundjeri people - the Wurundjeri belong to the Kulin nation, who occupied the Yarra River valley and its tributaries in what is now Melbourne and they spoke the Woiwurrung language; the Woiwurrung country extended from north of the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to the Werribee River.
• It represents an important moment in the history of the development of Melbourne, but one which had vastly different meanings for the two parties involved - while Indigenous people may have believed the treaty signified that whites could camp on their lands, they had no concept of private property and could not read or understand English.
• It depicts farmer and businessman John Batman - Batman was the head of an expedition sent from Van Diemen's Land by the Port Phillip Association, a group of businessmen and farmers; the expedition aimed to purchase land in the Port Phillip district, which was then part of the colony of New South Wales; the intention was to raise sheep on the rich grasslands in the area.
• It represents one of the very few instances in which white settlers attempted to negotiate with Indigenous people in Australia, thereby recognising Indigenous ownership - the treaty was later declared void in a proclamation by the Governor of New South Wales, Lieutenant-General Richard Bourke (1777-1855).
• It was the incident that directly provoked the passing of Bourke's proclamation - the proclamation, approved by the Colonial Office in October 1835, formally declared that the British Crown owned the whole of the continent of Australia.
• It shows that, prior to contact with Europeans, Indigenous people wore little or no clothing - traditionally, clothing was worn as protection from the cold and consisted mainly of cloaks made of animal skins or woven grasses; flannel jackets and red shirts formed a large part of Batman's payment to the Wurundjeri, which indicates the interest and curiosity surrounding the clothing that Indigenous people observed being worn by the newcomers.
• It is an engraving by George Rossi Ashton - the brother of famed artist, teacher and founder of the Sydney Art School, Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942); the image, produced nearly 100 years after the event, is a romantic view of the occasion; engravings, in which grooves to hold ink are cut into a metal plate, can produce both fine lines and dense colour, and so were considered perfect for printed publications.

Year level

2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics Aboriginal peoples Dispossession Aboriginal land rights Tankers Ownership Engraving