The Visitors by Jane Harrison

The Visitors by Australian author Jane Harrison tells a story of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour from the point of view of the First Nations people, who watched the eleven sailing ships arrive on Gadigal land on January 26, 1788.

On the day, seven Aboriginal Elders from seven different clans gathered on a high cliff overlooking the harbour where the ships had anchored, which were larger than any bark canoe the watching Elders could ever have imagined. The seven men then spent their day trying to come to a unanimous decision about whether the unwanted visitors should be welcomed to country or made to leave.

Based on their experiences from an earlier visit by people in sailing ships, initially most of the Elders wanted to repel the unwanted arrivals but as the day went on, even though the visitors were demonstratably cruel, ignorant and rude, the Elders continued to talk and argue their points, as they changed their minds about what to do.

The first thing that threw me was when one of the characters, Lawrence, rolled up his loose cotton pants before wading into the sea to collect mussels. The reference was only in passing, but I rolled my eyes, thinking that the author had made a silly mistake. When the Elders wore their best suits to attend the meeting and followed formal, long-established protocols I realised that the European clothing along with the Elders’ English names Walter, Gary, Gordon, Albert, Joseph and Nathanial had been deliberately chosen to demonstrate that the First Nations people had culture, history, laws, ceremonies and traditions, one of which was welcoming visitors to their country.

The author’s descriptions of the Gadigal area (Sydney), which included the sea, beaches and land were truly beautiful and the character’s knowledge of the birds, fish and animals as both food sources, weather and season forecasters and as cultural totems was interesting. The characters seemed very real and I liked that although the Elders who gathered on this day were all men, that was only because the women were already engaged in their own important business that same day.

The before and after of the Aboriginal people following the First Fleet’s arrival was particularly jarring.

This story was originally written as a play, which showed in the character’s dialogue. I would love to see the stage play of The Visitors in future.

My purchase of The Visitors continues my New Year’s resolution for 2024 to buy a book by an Australian author during each month of this year (February). I purchased The Visitors at The Bookshop in Queenscliff.