Print this page Clash of Cultures on the Hawkesbury-Nepean (Oxberry) River

This course explores one of the most significant early contact zones in colonial New South Wales, centered on the Hawkesbury/Nepean River at Windsor. Through place-based history, we examine encounters between First Nations peoples and European settlers, focusing on conflict, survival, misunderstanding and resilience. By reading the landscape and its stories, participants gain deeper insight into frontier life and the long-lasting consequences of cultural collision in Australian history.

Meet at Windsor Train Station 10 minutes before the tour starts so it can commence on time. Please check the Transport NSW website for further travel information on how to get there.

• Be prepared and able to walk for 4 hours (Grade 2, footpaths, small sections of parkland, 7 kms)
• Adequate walking gear needed: walking shoes, sunhat, sunscreen, backpack, 2 litres water, morning tea and lunch, clothing as befits the weather

This walk will go ahead whatever the weather, except where the guide deems there to be a threat to health and safety. In this situation you will be contacted with an alternative date. Please ensure your mobile phone number is up-to-date with WEA before enrolling and ensure that you have it with you on the day in case the tutor needs to contact you.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Karskens, G. (2009) The Colony: A History of Early Sydney, Allen and Unwin ISBN 978 1 74237 364 5
• Karskens, G. (2020) People of the River: Lost worlds of early Australia, Allen and Unwin ISBN 978 1 76029 223 2
• Gapps, S. (2018) The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the early colony 1788 - 1817
• Stewart, L. (2015) Blood revenge: Murder on the Hawkesbury 1799, Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd ISBN 9781925078466 (paperback) also available ebook
• Tench, Watkin 1788 Comprising A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay and A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson various editions and online
• Cochrane, P. (2018) The Making of Martin Sparrow, Viking ISBN: 9780670074068

COURSE OUTLINE

• Windsor’s preserved history: McQuade Park (“the Great Square”), St. Matthew’s church and cemetery, the rectory, the Macquarie Arms hotel
• Dynamic river: feast and flood
• Characters of history: Yellahmiendi, Watkin Tench, Governor Phillip, Governor Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie, Andrew Thompson, Richard Fitzgerald, Robert Forrester, Thomas Arndell, Macarthur, Little Jemmy & Little George.
• Renaissance of Darug language
• 1999: Reconciliation ceremony on the banks of the river

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Bring alive the history and geography of Dyarubbin/ the Hawkesbury River
2. Learn some Darug words
3. Understand conflict at the frontier of settlement
4. Apply these understandings to present day
5. Support a healthy lifestyle by walking