The Lieutenant - Kate Grenville

Kate Grenville imagines the First Fleet and Lieutenant Dawes, the astronomer soldier who set up on the point now named for him at the southern end of the Harbour Bridge, near where the Sydney Observatory stands.

His great legacy - that little knowledge we have of the language of the Sydney mob - was born of his friendship with an aboriginal girl. Grenville portrays her as a child, curious about the European and quick to communicate.

In that way she is as different to her peeps as Dawes (Daniel Rooke in this story) is to his fellows. Grenville writes the indigenous people as aloof, the Europeans 'just another tribe' - to the chagrin of the Brits keen to impart their civilisation. This perceived disinterest is noted many times by Cook and Banks in their journals.

Watkins Tench (Lieutenant Silk here) is drawn as counterpoint to Dawes. He wants to fit 'first contact' to an epic narrative he has already determined, Dawes is keenly aware of the unknown unknowns. It's to regret that he left the colony so soon.

Language is a window to culture. I like how Kate Grenville has added to the picture.