18/07/2026
Tomorrow marks the 256th anniversary of one of the most significant moments of the Endeavour's 48-day stay on Waalmbal Birri (Endeavour River).
On 19 July 1770, conflict arose between the Guugu Yimithirr Bama and the crew of HMB Endeavour over turtles. During the confrontation Bama set fire to the European camp twice, warning shots were fired and the Endeavour crew collected a number of Bama spears.
What happened next has been preserved in the journals of Joseph Banks and James Cook.
Banks recorded how a Guugu Yimithirr Elder, he described as the "Little Old Man," approached carrying a lance without a point. He described the Elder pausing several times to collect moisture from beneath his arm before drawing it through his mouth.
The Guugu Yimithirr know this ritual as ngaala ngundaamay - a ceremony calling for protection and peace. As an Elder, it was his responsibility to resolve the conflict that had arisen and restore peace in accordance with the cultural governance of Waymburr.
Cook later recorded the outcome in his journal:
"โฆwe now return'd the darts we had taken from them which reconciled every thing."
This remarkable act of reconciliation remains one of the defining moments of the story of the 48 days. It is a story we are honoured to continue sharing each year through the Cooktown Re-enactment and the retelling at Reconciliation Rocks, ensuring that this important chapter of our shared history continues to be remembered.
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฒ. ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ, ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฒ. ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ.
Photo courtesy of Alison Page.
