A novel that you can't put down. The Lieutenant.... Kate Grenville.

R

redblood

Well-known member
A work of fiction but inspired by recorded events.

A story of a brilliant young English boy William Dawes who was introduced to the Naval Academy in Portsmouth at the age of eight.
By the time he was on board the Sirius as part of the first fleet to New South Wales in 1788 he was a master of astronomy,
language and navigation.

His story is an amazing and admirable one and should be read by all.
 
"When The Fighting is Over" - Captain Robert Lawrence.
His account of Tumbledown on the Falklands.
Gripping and harrowing at the same time.
I`de love to meet him and listen to his experiences first hand.
 
r00fie1 said:
"When The Fighting is Over" - Captain Robert Lawrence.
His account of Tumbledown on the Falklands.
Gripping and harrowing at the same time.
I`de love to meet him and listen to his experiences first hand.
Click to expand...
Same thoughts for me regarding Dawes however as he died in 1836, that's not possible.

When I worked on the Sydney harbour bridge I had a birds eye view of Dawes Point and the observatory and like most Sydneysiders only
knew of it's existence and nothing about the man until reading The Lieutenant, and yet, we all knew the story of Captain James Cook.

This man should be proudly remembered by us English people equally alongside the name of Cook for his work and legacy.

Unlike most settlers that came in the first fleet, Dawes befriended the Cadigal aboriginal people and showed them things of wonder to them
and taught them English words and they taught him their words to describe things of importance to them.
The record that he left is to this day the most extensive that we have and includes conversation, word lists and grammatical structure.

The experience of sharing his life with these people and the respect that he had for them changed his life forever.

After he returned to England, he spent the rest of his life fighting for the abolition of slavery in England, Africa and the West Indies
where he died but not before he established schools for former slaves.

If for that alone is not worthy of his name being alongside greats such as Cook and Banks etc then I don't know what is?
 
redblood said:
Same thoughts for me regarding Dawes however as he died in 1836, that's not possible.

When I worked on the Sydney harbour bridge I had a birds eye view of Dawes Point and the observatory and like most Sydneysiders only
knew of it's existence and nothing about the man until reading The Lieutenant, and yet, we all knew the story of Captain James Cook.

This man should be proudly remembered by us English people equally alongside the name of Cook for his work and legacy.

Unlike most settlers that came in the first fleet, Dawes befriended the Cadigal aboriginal people and showed them things of wonder to them
and taught them English words and they taught him their words to describe things of importance to them.
The record that he left is to this day the most extensive that we have and includes conversation, word lists and grammatical structure.

The experience of sharing his life with these people and the respect that he had for them changed his life forever.

After he returned to England, he spent the rest of his life fighting for the abolition of slavery in England, Africa and the West Indies
where he died but not before he established schools for former slaves.

If for that alone is not worthy of his name being alongside greats such as Cook and Banks etc then I don't know what is?
Click to expand...
Is this the chap?

William Dawes (British Marines officer) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Whats the title of the material? Wouldnt mind a read. (y)
 
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