This week, with Australia Day just behind us, Roy wanted to visit somewhere important in Australia's early history. There were plenty of choices of places to visit, but Roy wanted one which not only was important, but which his online friends might visit without realising its history. We discussed a number of places, but Roy was all for the beach, despite the recent soggy weather, and so I suggested Camp Cove. He thought this was a great idea. Even the weather was perfect!
If you would like to visit Camp Cove it is located on inner South Head near Watsons Bay. You can stop to see The Gap on the way, and perhaps even try the famous Doyles fish and chips. There is also a kiosk at Camp Cove beach where you can buy drinks and ice creams. On a nice day, parking can be difficult to find, so be prepared to walk a little to get to the beach. There is a monument in the park above Camp Cove to mark this first, important visit to the Cove, and Roy and I are sitting on it in the photo above.
Camp Cove may be a popular beach today, but it is also a very important place in the history of Australia. Originally it was used by the Cadigal (Gadigal) people as a place to launch their canoes and camp. There was a fresh water pool behind the beach, which Roy thinks was probably in this little park we found, and there was easy access to the harbour waters which made it a perfect place to live. In fact, some people think that the Cadigal name for Camp Cove was Cadi, and that this is where the name Cadigal comes from, though this is controversial. It was to be a place where some of the earliest interactions between Aboriginal and European Australians occurred though.
On January 21, 1788, after declaring Botany Bay unfit for settlement, Captain Phillip sailed around South Head into what was to be called Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). The first place he landed was in Camp Cove. At the time is was nearly dark, and the cove with its freshwater pool provided a good place to make camp. This was the first landing of the First Fleet in Australia, and the camp set up in the area is why the cove is now known as Camp Cove. Although the settlement didn't stay in Camp Cove, it was often revisited by people who came on the First Fleet. In fact, only 2 days after the settlement at Sydney Cove was declared, Bradley and Hunter returned to Camp Cove where they met with the local Aborigines. This meeting was described as 'cordial' by Bradley and Hunter, but later meetings were not to go so smoothly. In March, David Collins met with another group of Aborigines who were much more unwilling to approach. When he finally encouraged one of the men to approach he discovered that he had been beaten and hurt by escaped convicts or sailors. Later still, in July, Bradley revisted Camp Cove again and found Aborigines in bad health, starving, fearful and hostile towards the Europeans. If you would like to read more about Camp Cove, click here.
