We don't know who most of these people are, least of all the man sitting with his back to the Indigenous Australian. The Indigenous Australian is said to be Bennelong, but could just as easily be Yemmerrawanyea. Whichever he is, he is clearly the centre of fascinated attention, and is pictured taking part in an active conversation - except, of course, for the bloke in the chair.
HMS Brittannia, the ship which took Phillip, Bennelong and Yemmerrawanyea to England. This was a massive and powerful fighting ship, which had already taken part in several battles and was to go on to fight several more, including the Battle of Trafalgar. At the time of this voyage she was already 31 years from her launching. She is not to be mistaken for a convict ship called Brittannia which carried out one of the most appallingly cruel convict voyages in 1794-95.
Yes, but what about Yemmerrawanyea?
Phillip regarded his greatest success to be a man called Bennelong. He initially proposed to take just Bennelong back to Britain with him. The decision to include Yemmerrawanyea appears to have been a fairly last minute decision, perhaps in the rather obvious realisation that Bennelong would need some company.
It seems clear these two were chosen because they spoke some English, could wear English clothes with aplomb, and had such an understanding of English habits, customs, and manners that they could circulate among “society” in London without making what could be seen as idiots of themselves.
Yemmerrawanyea was written of as being a good looking, good tempered, "upright" young man, with a “lively” manner, who apparently particularly enjoyed having his hair cut and combed (?!).
The young man, estimated to have been 19 at the time of the voyage, appears to have been initiated into manhood when he was estimated to be 16, by Bennelong, in a traditional ceremony.
This ceremony involved smashing a couple of his front teeth (and part of his jaw) with a wumera, or "woomera", being a brilliant device ordinarily used to assist in the hurling of spears. This woomera was specially designed and cut for this purpose.
Yemmerrawanyea suffered greatly from this process, as one can well imagine, but withstood it in a “manly” manner, or so he later claimed.
Bennelong and Yemmerrawanyea managed to survive the trip to England, despite an attack by a French privateer, arriving in England in May, 1793, some 6 months after leaving Sydney.
We don’t know exactly when in May they arrived, as there is some discrepancy among the sources.
It seems clear these two were chosen because they spoke some English, could wear English clothes with aplomb, and had such an understanding of English habits, customs, and manners that they could circulate among “society” in London without making what could be seen as idiots of themselves.
Yemmerrawanyea was written of as being a good looking, good tempered, "upright" young man, with a “lively” manner, who apparently particularly enjoyed having his hair cut and combed (?!).
The young man, estimated to have been 19 at the time of the voyage, appears to have been initiated into manhood when he was estimated to be 16, by Bennelong, in a traditional ceremony.
This ceremony involved smashing a couple of his front teeth (and part of his jaw) with a wumera, or "woomera", being a brilliant device ordinarily used to assist in the hurling of spears. This woomera was specially designed and cut for this purpose.
Yemmerrawanyea suffered greatly from this process, as one can well imagine, but withstood it in a “manly” manner, or so he later claimed.
Bennelong and Yemmerrawanyea managed to survive the trip to England, despite an attack by a French privateer, arriving in England in May, 1793, some 6 months after leaving Sydney.
We don’t know exactly when in May they arrived, as there is some discrepancy among the sources.