Batman's Treaty was a treaty made on 6 June 1835 between John Batman, Australian farmer and businessman, and a group of Wurundjeri elders, for the sale of land around Port Phillip Bay, near the present site of the city of Melbourne. It was one of the few attempts made by white settlers to negotiate with Aboriginal Australian people, although it was later declared void by the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke. A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... John Batman John Batman (21 January 1801 - 5 May 1839) was an Australian farmer and businessman who was one of the first settlers of the Melbourne area. ... The Wurundjeri are Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who occupied what is now Melbourne, Australia prior to European settlement of the area. ... There is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. ... City of Melbourne Local Government Area State Victoria Lord Mayor John So (since 2001) Area 36 km² Population (2001) 57,960 Density 1,601/km² (1999) Greater Melbourne Subdivisions Local Government Areas Area 7,694 km² (1999) Population 2001 census (2nd in Australia) 3,555,321 Density 462. ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ... List of Governors of New South Wales See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Bourke KCB was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia between 1831 and 1837. ...

Making of the treaty

Batman was the head of an expedition sent from Tasmania by the Port Phillip Association, a group of businessmen and farmers, which aimed to gain legal control over the area of Port Phillip(at the time still part of the colony of New South Wales). The expedition included five Aboriginal men from Parramatta, outside Sydney. The party sailed into Port Phillip Bay aboard the Rebecca on 29 May 1835, landing at Indented Head. Over the next week, they explored the area around the Bay, first at Corio Bay, near the present site of Geelong, and later moving up the Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers at the north of the Bay. Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... The Port Phillip Association was an early nineteenth century investment and pastoral company. ... Port Phillip seen from Frankston on the eastern shore of the bay. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Parramatta is a suburb in the City of Parramatta in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australias largest and oldest city (founded in 1788). ... There is also Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Indented Head is a coastal township in Victoria, Australia. ... Boats on Corio Bay, overlooking Geelong Corio Bay, one of numerous bays in Port Phillip lies in the southwest part of Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria, Australia. ... - - Nickname: City by the Bay Geography Area: 1,240 km² Coordinates: Time Zone UTC +10:00 Population (2003) 200,067 Among Australian cities: Density: persons/km² Political Mayor: Shane Dowling Governing body: City of Greater Geelong Geelong is a port city of 200,067 people (2003 census) located on Corio... The Yarras lower reaches travel through central Melbourne. ... Maribyrnong river at West Essendon The Maribyrnong River rises about 50 km north of Melbourne Victoria (Australia), near Mount Macedon. ...

Batman's party met with Aboriginal people several times, presenting gifts of blankets, handkerchiefs, sugar, apples and other items, and receiving gifts of woven baskets and spears in exchange.

On 6 June, Batman met with eight elders of the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of the lands around the Yarra River. The meeting took place on the bank of a small stream, although the precise location is unknown. A likely location is Merri Creek, in what is currently Northcote. After another exchange of gifts, including blankets, knives, scissors and flour, he produced treaty documents, which he signed, and which were then supposedly signed by the eight elders. For a purchase price including more scissors, flannel jackets, red shirts and a yearly tribute of similar items, he obtained about 400 km² around Corio Bay, and about 2,000 km² around the Yarra River. The total value of the goods has been estimated at about GBP 22 in the value of the day. June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... The Wurundjeri are Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who occupied what is now Melbourne, Australia prior to European settlement of the area. ... The Merri Creek The Merri Creek is a waterway in Melbourne, Victoria. ... Northcote is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contests, of submission or allegiance. ... GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ...

Batman returned to Launceston on 14 June. Several days later he wrote to the Governor of Tasmania, George Arthur, informing him of the treaty, and of the Association's plans to run 20,000 sheep on the lands purchased. Arthur was not pleased, and wrote to the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke. Not only had Batman attempted to negotiate with the Aboriginal people, whom the British did not recognise as having any claim to any lands in Australia, he had purchased the lands for the Association, and not for the Crown. Launceston City Council, Coat of Arms Launceston City Council, Tasmania Launceston is a small city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, population of approximately 98,000, located at the juncture of the North Esk, South Esk, and Tamar rivers. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... List of Governors of Tasmania Note that Tasmania was called Van Diemens Land until 1855 (see History of Tasmania). ... Major General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet, (21 June 1784 – 19 September 1854) was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras (1814–1822), Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania Australia) (1823–1837) and later Upper Canada (1838–1841). ... List of Governors of New South Wales See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Bourke KCB was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia between 1831 and 1837. ... The Crown is a term which is used to separate the government authority and property of the state in a kingdom from any personal influence and private assets held by the current Monarch. ...

On 6 August, Bourke issued the Proclamation of Governor Bourke, a document which formally declared that the British Crown, relying on the doctrine of terra nullius, owned the whole of the continent of Australia, and that only the Crown could distribute or sell any land. It voided any contracts or treaties made by any person without the consent of the government, and declared any person attempting to rely on such a treaty to be trespassing. It was the ultimate absolvement of Batman's treaty. The proclamation was approved by the Colonial Office on 10 October 1835. August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman Law meaning empty land or no mans land. Modern applications of the term stem from 16th and 17th century doctrines describing land that was unclaimed by a sovereign entity recognized by European authorities as land that was not owned at... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

John Wedge, another member of the Port Phillip Association, had left Launceston on 7 August 1835, to make a settlement on the Association's land. They had left before Bourke had invalidated their purchase. After stopping at the Barwon River, Wedge moved on to the Yarra River, where he encountered a party led by John Pascoe Fawkner. Wedge told Fawkner of the treaty, but Fawkner would not leave, dismissing the treaty as worthless. Ultimately, however, both men were trespassers, since they did not have the authorisation of Governor Bourke. August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... The Barwon River is a river in New South Wales, Australia. ... John Pascoe Fawkner John Pascoe Fawkner (20 October 1792 - 4 September 1869) was an early pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Disputes over the treaty

The validity of the treaty has been widely disputed. It is possible that the marks which Batman claimed were the signatures of the eight Wurundjeri elders were instead made by one of the five Aboriginal men he had brought with him from Parramatta, since they resemble marks commonly used by Aboriginal people from that area. Furthermore, since neither Batman, the Sydney Aboriginal men or the Wurundjeri men spoke anything approaching the same language, it is almost certain that the elders did not understand the treaty, instead probably perceiving it as part of the series of gift exchanges which had taken place over the previous few days. In any case, the European system of understanding property was entirely alien to almost all Aboriginal peoples. Nevertheless, the treaty has been praised as one of the few times any attempt to reach an agreement between white settlers and the local Aboriginal people for land use was made. The Wurundjeri are Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who occupied what is now Melbourne, Australia prior to European settlement of the area. ... Parramatta is a suburb in the City of Parramatta in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... if (window. ...

Batman maintained until his death in 1839 that the treaty was valid. 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Batman's Treaty

• Image of John Batman's Treaty. National Archives of Australia. URL accessed on September 27 2005.
• Clark, Manning (1998). History of Australia (abridged by Michael Cathcart), Melbourne University Press. ISBN 052284523-1.
• The story of Batman's treaty. Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation. URL accessed on September 27 2005.
• Governor Bourke's Proclamation 1835. National Archives of Australia. URL accessed on September 27 2005.

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikisource, The Free Library, is a Wikimedia project to build a free wiki library of primary source texts, along with translations of source-texts into any language and other supporting materials. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Manning Clark (1915 - 1991) is one of Australias best known historians, recognised for his mammoth seven volume work simply entitled History of Australia. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australias highest civil honor, in 1975, and was Australian of the Year in 1980. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Batmania: a fun way to explore the people and events surrounding the foundation of Melbourne, images of the Batman Land Deed and other historical documents at the National Museum of Australia.