Here is a new booklet with an invitation to join in! We particularly welcome responses from Aboriginal readers.Present State Final

This booklet takes a look at Robert Dawson’s encounters with the First Australians in the 1820s. Dawson was the first Chief Agent of the Australian Agricultural Company, but he was sacked within a few years of being appointed. One of the main reasons for his sacking was that the Company thought he had spent too much time with the local Aboriginal population of the Port Stephens area.

The booklet is full of Dawson’s interactions with indigenous people and it seems that many of the features of the relationships between Aboriginal and European Australians had their beginnings back then.

How to participate?

If you know any oral history that reflects the things that Dawson has written about here or in his full book The Present State of Australia (available free as an e-book on Google Books), let us know by making a comment. We’ll include your comments in the next version.