Cook's Change of Heart

Aboriginal culture developed despite visits at various times by Europeans, Asians and Africans from the 1500 onwards

The English adventurer Capt James Cook made a visit to the South Pacific made a visit to the east coast of Australia in 1777, although he declared the land to belong to Britain and subsequently encouraged the British government to form colony using the convicts, from the overcrowded prisons, as fodder for bulking up the numbers back in the so called Australia,

Governor Phillip was sent to the Great South Land with a number of gifts and soldiers and convicts, Among the gifts was the tapa cloth embroidered by Elizabeth cook, wife of James Cook, Embroidered objects were a highly revered in British society,

As Governor Phillip studied the embroidered cloth he noticed a bible text embroidered on the reverse which was so common in embroidered gifts of the time stated ‘love one another as I have loved you', Phillip took to heart thinking of Elizabeth Cook making such an object of love for her husband James, with this spirit he gave the gifts to the aboriginal people inhabiting the area,

The gifts were given, and due to the spirit of the giving of gifts and an understanding of the aboriginal culture developed and was admired, There was no exchange of land, Some of crew were taken with and deeply inspired by the religious beliefs of the people, However the aboriginal people were not keen to allow the British to stay and passively rejected further advances leaving the British to their own devices. Due the lack of knowledge of farming processes by the convicts and starvation persisted, Occasionally aboriginal people tried to help but arrogance by the British hindered their development of the colony,

The gifts were stored away in a cave in the mountainous range to the west of the beleaguered colony, Their existence became almost like a mythological to the British whose culture on the other side of the world had suffered a downfall not long after the ill fated colony failed. The stories of aboriginal culture also enjoyed a ... memory,

The story of the lush east coast became a search for Eden/Paradise by subsequent would be colonists over the next 100 years, And many times searchers landed in the North West of the continent trying to search for the embroidered textile and seeking enlightenment,