The language documented by William Dawes has frequently been called ‘The Sydney Language’, following Jakelin Troy (1994). The language spoken at the coast and that spoken a little inland were probably dialectal variants of one language, with other, more distinct languages spoken further afield (as were ‘discovered’ during a 1791 expedition into Australia's heartland).

Although there is no consensus amongst historical sources, and the actual name given to the language by its speakers is not recorded, it is widely known as Dharuk (and other variant spellings of this name, such as Dharug or Darug). The Aboriginal people encountered by Dawes used the term ‘Eeōra’ to describe themselves, but this was a term for referring to themselves as people, not the name of their language (see Book B, page 6). Today the two names co-exist; for example, in A handbook of Aboriginal languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (Jim Wafer & Amanda Lissarrague, 2008), the authors chose to retain ‘“Eora” as an alternative name for the coastal dialect ... and “Dharug” as an alternative name for the inland dialect’ (cf, page 141). See also the Wikipedia entry for Sydney language.

Today, Aboriginal communities in the area provide more comprehensive descriptions of the various clans and their areas (see, for example, the Wikipedia entries for Darug and Eora people).

For academic descriptions of the language, see Jakelin Troy's items on the Sydney language and the Dawes notebooks, and Jeremy Steele thesis on the notebooks.

The Sydney Language is the source of many words borrowed into Australian English and several other languages. Examples, with spellings in today's Dharuk (courtesy of Richard Green) include:

English	Today's Dharuk	Meaning	Notebook reference
boobook	bubuk	owl	Book B Page 3
corroboree	garriberri	dancing event	Book C Page 8
dingo	dingu	dog	Book C Page 16
cooee	guwawi	call of location	Book B Page 15
waratah	warada	type of flower; now emblem of NSW	Book C Page 20
woomera	wumara	spear thrower	Book B Page 22

 

WILLIAM DAWES

William Dawes (1762–1836) was born in Portsmouth, England. At the age of seventeen he joined the Royal Marines. Two years later he was wounded on board HMS Resolution in the battle of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War, which ended in a strategic victory for the French.

 

Prior to arriving in Sydney, Dawes had become a recognised astronomer and was recommended by the Astronomer Royal to join the ‘First Fleet’ to New South Wales. Dawes was assigned to make astronomical observations during the voyage and, upon arrival, to set up an observatory to monitor a comet that was expected to appear in the southern hemisphere in 1788. Once in Sydney, Dawes built his observatory, in a hut on what is now known as Dawes’ Point, under the south pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There, he made many observations, although the comet itself never appeared.

From today’s perspectives, William Dawes was a pioneer. He was the first to make extensive written records of any Australian language, and the first to do so using ‘an orthography which indicates he had some level of training’ (Attenbrow 2006). Unlike others who collected simple wordlists for newly encountered items like weapons and animals, Dawes recorded conversational snippets that tell of the cultural and social contexts, personalities, and the actions and the feelings of the people he interacted with.

Dawes was a member of the 1791 expedition party to the Hawkesbury River which came to understand – for the first time amongst Europeans – that the languages and cultures of Aboriginal people differed in each area (Wilkins and Nash 2008). Previously, the colonists had assumed that words collected earlier in north Queensland would also be used by the peoples of Sydney and indeed throughout the continent (see Troy 1994 for further information).

Dawes was the first European to be recorded as defending Aboriginal rights. His refusal to join a punitive expedition against Aborigines ordered by Governor Phillip in December 1790 was most likely the first example of a ‘European act of conscience in defence of Aboriginal interests’ (Jones 2008:342). In retribution for the death of his game keeper, Phillip had ordered several marines, including Dawes, to capture two Aborigines from the Bideegàl tribe (who lived on the peninsula at Botany Bay) and to sever the heads of ten males. Dawes‘ senior officer and friend Captain Watkin Tench managed to convince Phillip to reduce the toll to the capture of six men, or, if they could not be captured, then shot. Initially Dawes refused to participate, but after being arrested for disobeying the order, and after talking with Reverend Richard Johnson, he finally consented to take part. Fortunately the expedition failed to find any Aborigines. Dawes subsequently declared to Phillip that he regretted having been persuaded to take part, and afterwards refused to make the apology demanded by Phillip. These incidents poisoned their relationship and prevented Dawes from fulfilling his long-held wish to continue living in the colony.

Despite his repeated requests to remain, Dawes was not granted leave to remain as a settler in New South Wales and he was sent back to England in December 1791.

At Sydney Cove, Dawes had acquired a reputation as a scholarly, scientific and conscientious ‘gentleman’ – a reputation which stayed with him after he left Sydney. Soon after his departure, he became involved in the international campaign to abolish slavery; its leader, William Wilberforce, wrote of Dawes in 1794: ‘I don’t believe there is in the world a more solid, honest, indefatigable man, more full of resources and common sense.’

Dawes made many contributions in the fields of astronomy, meteorology, surveying, mapping and exploration of early Sydney, but none of these achievements surpassed his unique and enduring documentation of the language of Sydney and its people.

 

Patyegarang

Patyegarang, a young woman aged about 15, appears to have been Dawes’ main language teacher. She was to prove vital to his understanding and documentation of the Sydney Language.

 

In the colony’s early days, Governor Phillip had several Aboriginal people captured in a largely fruitless attempt to learn their language and foster communication between the Aborigines and colonists. Dawes would have started to learn the language from captured men such as Arabanoo and Bennelong. Most Aboriginal people were afraid to enter the colony’s main encampment at Sydney Cove. Eventually, many people, both Aboriginal and English, came to regard Dawes’ small, relatively isolated hut as a safe and welcoming place to share friendships and knowledge. It was here that Dawes was able to spend time with – and learn from – many different people.

The notebooks record Patyegarang’s frequent visits to Dawes’ hut and their increasingly complex and intimate conversations. Expressions she shared with Dawes, such as Putuwá, suggest a warm and trusting relationship:

Putuwá. To warm ones hand by the fire & then to squeeze gently the fingers of another person (Book B Page 21)

Evenings saw them together in Dawes’ hut, speaking together in her language:

Taríadyaou “I made a mistake in speaking.” This Patye said after she had desired me to take away the blanket when she meant the candle (Book B Page 30)

Patyegarang: Nyímuŋ candle Mr. D. “Put out the candle Mr. D.” (Book B Page 34)

Dawes: Mínyin bial naŋadyími? “Why don’t you sleep?” 
Patyegarang: Kandúlin “Because of the candle” (Book B Page 36)

In Australians: Origins to Eureka, Thomas Keneally describes Patyegarang as the “chief language teacher, servant, and perhaps lover” of William Dawes (page 166). Keneally also attributes Dawes’ refusal to take part in the 1791 punitive expedition to Patyegarang’s influence (p 167).

Whatever their relationship, Dawes’ notebooks clearly show that he and Patyegarang spent time in each other’s company and shared emotion, humour, intellectual discussions, and mutual respect.