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william bradley : aboriginal canoes, 1788 |
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As we were going
in to the first cove on the east side called Spring Cove, we were joined
by three canoes with one man in each.
They hauled their
canoes up and met us on the beach leaving their spears in the canoes.
We were soon
joined by a dozen of these and found three amongst them with trinkets &c.
hanging about them that had been given to them a week before by the governor
on his first visit to this place.
Our people and
these mixed together and were quite sociable, dancing and otherwise amusing
them.
One of our people
combed their hair with which they were much pleased; several women appeared
at a distance, but we could not prevail on the men to bring them near us.
We had here an
opportunity of examining their canoes and weapons: the canoe is made of
the bark taken off a large tree of the length they want to make the canoe,
which is gathered up at each end and secured by a lashing of strong vine
which runs amongst the underbrush.
One was secured
by a small line.
They fix spreaders
in the inside; the paddles are about two feet long, in shape like a pudding
stirrer; these they use one in each hand and go along very fast sitting
with their legs under them and their bodies erect and although they do
not use outriggers I have seen them paddle through a large surf without
over-setting or taking in more water than if rowing in smooth water.
From their construction
they are apt to leak when any weight is in them; the man nearest that point
of the canoe, where the water lies, heaves it out behind him with a piece
of wood in the hollow of his hand, still keeping his body erect as when
rowing.
They are by far
the worst canoes I ever saw or heard of.
I have seen some
so small as eight feet long and others twice that length.
In these canoes
they will stand up to strike fish, at which they seem expert.
2. Notes on
Sources, page 337.
WILLIAM BRADLEY
(1757-1833)
A naval officer,
Bradley assisted with the surveying of Port Jackson, Broken Bay and Norfolk
Island. Bradley's journal is in the State Library of New South Wales.
It was reproduced
in facsimile as
"A Voyage
to New South Wales: The Journal of Lieutenant William Bradley
RN of HMS
Sirius 1786-1792 ",
The Trustees
of the Public Library of New South Wales
in association
with Ure Smith Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1969.
3.
Notes on Illustrations, page 348.
William Bradley,
"Position
of the encampment & Buildings, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, as they stood
1 March 1788 ", from
"A Voyage
to New South Wales: The Journal of Lieutenant William Bradley
RN of HMS
Sirius 1786-1792. "
Ink and watercolour.
Courtesy of
the Image Library, State Library of New South Wales.
2. The "paddles" are one handed blades with none of the mechanical advantage of an oar.
3. The crew kneel in the canoe... " sitting with their legs under them ".
4. Bradley's observation that " they do not use outriggers" indicates some knowledge of Polynesian canoes, perhaps more than his knowledge of " the maidens of Tahiti" (as noted by Flannery).
5. Although William Bradley's conclusion,
"
the worst canoes I ever saw or heard of ", appears to be vindicated
by the basic construction, the proficiency and familiarity demonstates
a high degree of skill.
Note...
5.1 They " go along very
fast "
5.2 " In these canoes they will
stand up to strike fish,"
5.3 Not reported here, but
noted by Curby,
page 13 and illustrated above, is the carrying of fire in the craft..
5.4 The impressive ability
to ...
" paddle through a large surf without
over-setting or taking in more water than if rowing in smooth water."
was further confirmed by Bradley, page
100. In following days he ....
6. Whatever the structural deficencies of the craft, the design (as illustrated c.1790) features a substantially curved bow and stern that would be advantageous to negotiate surf conditions.
7. William Bradley's account of
canoe use demonstrates that the Eora had a remarkable level of skill in
piloting these basic craft in extreme (surf) conditions.
Without further explicit desciption, surfing
experience would indicate that the canoes returned to the beach with the
assistance of the waves.
Athough there is no evidence that riding
waves was explicitly sought as amusement (as related by Cook in Taihiti,
circa 1770?), this could be described as surfing, in a basic sense.
Finney
and Houston note similar examples in Africa and Peru, page 26.
8. Ed Rountree emailed May 2006,
a link to the following ...
"Watkin Tench's journals record
him seeing two Aboriginal women bodysurfing on bark from Milson’s Point
to Bennelong Point."
Barani - Indegenous History of
Sydney City.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani/themes/theme1.htm
Ed Rountree also emailed, July 2006 ...
I spoke to a Bundjalung elder named
Lawrence Wilson of Coraki and Evans Head and he knows of stories
of his people as far away as Casino coming to the beach and body
surfing and riding the waves on flotsam during tribal gatherings.
Image, Top of Page.
Detail from...
Port Jackson Painter's depiction
of Aboriginal Weapons and impliments, c. 1790.
Copyright : The Natural History Museum,
London.
Reproduced in ...
Curby,
Pauline : Seven Miles From Sydney - A History of Manly
Manly Council, 1 Belgrave Street, Manly,
NSW 2095.
Printed by Headland Press, Brookvale,
Sydney.
2001. Page 13
Ed Rountree emailed May 2006, a link to the following
...
"Watkin Tench's journals record
him seeing two Aboriginal women bodysurfing on bark from Milson’s Point
to Bennelong Point."
Barani - Indegenous History of
Sydney City.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani/themes/theme1.htm
Webmaster, 'Barani'
re : Barani - Indegenous History of Sydney City.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani/themes/theme1.htm
"Watkin Tench's journals record him seeing two Aboriginal women
bodysurfing on bark from
Milson’s Point to Bennelong Point."
I am researching surf-riding history and was recently directed to this
as a possible report of early aboriginal surf-riding.
An internet search found Watkin Tench's published works online at the
Adelaide University.
The documents have a great deal of information relating to aborigines,
however on first reading I could not locate the quotation there and I assume
that it possibly comes from his unpublished journals.
Is it possible to confirm this?
If you wish to link 'Watkin Tench' to these documents, they are located
at ...
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/t/tench/watkin/botany/index.html
At this stage, without access to the original document, I am inclined
to think the account maybe somewhat misleading in the terminology.
In discussing Australia, Tench often refers to Cook's published accounts
(that included the first report of surf-riding in Hawaii) and may have
taken the 'bodysurfing on bark' concept from there.
More realistically, from "Milson’s Point to Bennelong Point" is basically
the span of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which could not be described as a
surfing location, the activity does not appear to incorporate what is commonly
understood as wave-riding.
I take it that Tench's meaning is 'paddling a slab of bark from Milson’s
Point to Bennelong Point', and not an easy feat.
While not an example of surf-riding, the report may set an historical
precedent (1788?) for the
Australia Day Surfboard Challenge
Man O War Steps at Sydney Opera House to Blues Point Reserve, McMahons
Point
8.45am – 11:30am18 January 2006
http://svc050.wic027p.server-web.com/sydney_harbour.html
Many thanks,
Geoff Cater.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au.html
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