Batman's Treaty

In 1827, John Batman and Joseph Gellibrand, applied for a grant of land at Port Phillip, which was at the time part of the colony of New South Wales. The petitioners stated that they were prepared to bring with them sheep and cattle to the value of £4000 to £5000. ==Location of treaty signing==

The meeting with the Aboriginal elders took place on the bank of a small stream, which Batman described in his diary as a "lovely stream of water". Although the precise waterway and location is not given, 20th century historians suspect a likely location to have been Merri Creek, in what is currently Northcote. Alternative locations have been suggested on the Plenty River near Greensborough, Edgars Creek, and on Darebin Creek. These were generally based on analysis of the description of the journey given in the diary. However, there have been some suggestions that the critical period in the diaries was manipulated to allow for a larger tract of country to be obtained. Harcourt identifies the treaty signing location as "West Bend", a bend in the Merri Creek at the western end of Cunningham Street, Northcote and opposite Rushall Station. . He relies on a range of evidence including oral traditions, the description of the signing location in John Pascoe Fawkner's accounts, previous commemorative markers and ceremonies, interpretation of landmarks in contemporary descriptions, and later depictions such as Burtt's painting of the event, which may have been prepared following discussions with participants in Batman's expedition. The Yan Yean Reservoir was named after the Aboriginal leader who signed Batman's Treaty in 1835 with the name "Yan Yan" ("young male"). ==Return to Tasmania==

On 8 June, he wrote in his journal: "So the boat went up the large river ... and ... I am glad to state about six miles up found the River all good water and very deep. This will be the place for a village." The last sentence later became famous as the "founding charter" of Melbourne, and named the land "Batmania". After leaving eight of the men, three of whom were white, at Indented Head with three months supply and told to build a hut and start a garden, Batman and the Rebecca returned to Launceston on 14 June. Here Batman showed John Helder Wedge where he had explored and, from these details, Wedge prepared the first map of Melbourne (published in 1836), showing the location Batman had chosen as the site for the "village" and the division of land between association members. Several days after his return Batman 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. According to Batman's petition to George Arthur, Batman and Wedge would proceed immediately to the district with stock and only married servants (with their wives) would be allowed to accompany them. Arthur was not pleased with the Association's actions and wrote to the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke. Wedge left Launceston on 7 August 1835, to set up a settlement on the Association's new lands. After stopping at the Barwon River, Wedge moved on to the Yarra River, where he encountered a party sent by John Pascoe Fawkner. (Fawkner himself arrived only in October.) Wedge told Fawkner of the treaty, but Fawkner would not leave, dismissing the treaty as worthless. ==Disputes over the treaty==

On 26 August 1835, Governor Bourke issued a Proclamation which formally declared that agreements such as Batman's Treaty were "void and of no effect as against the rights of the Crown" and declared any person on "vacant land of the Crown" without authorisation from the Crown to be trespassing. Also, Batman had purchased the lands for the Association, and not for the Crown. 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 amounting to a tanderrum ceremony which allows temporary access to and use of the land. In any case, the European system of understanding property was entirely alien to almost all Aboriginal peoples. Nevertheless, the treaty has been praised as the only documented attempt to reach an agreement for land use between white colonists and the local Aboriginal people. The treaty is significant more broadly as it is the first and only documented time when Europeans in Australia have negotiated their presence with Aboriginals. Batman maintained until his death in 1839 that the treaty was valid. Some historians continued to assume that the treaty was a forgery, however Aboriginal elder Barak, who was present at the signing of the treaty as a boy, states that Batman, with the aid of New South Wales Aboriginal peoples, did in fact participate in a signing ceremony. ==See also==