Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1790, 1793 and undated (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 volumes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
A British expedition which embarked in 1787 to start a penal colony in Australia settled at Port Jackson (later Sydney). The indigenous people were the Eora. William Dawes (1762-1836) was Lieutenant (Royal Marines) on HMS Sirius, the flagship of the 'First Fleet'. He was a pioneering student of the language of New South Wales. His interests also included astronomy and in Australia he directed the building of an observatory under the instructions of the Board of Longitude. For further information see the entry by his friend, Zachary Macaulay, in the Australian Dictionary of National Biography, volume i: 1788-1850 (1983). See also A Currer Jones, William Dawes, RM, 1762 to 1836: a sketch of his life, work, and explorations (1787) in the first expedition to New South Wales (1930), and Arthur Phillip, The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay [with] ... plans and views ... by Lieut Dawes ... (1789).
Archival history
Formerly part of the library of the Orientalist and linguist William Marsden (1754-1836), a portion of which he presented to King's College London in 1835.
GB 0102 MS 41645 1790, 1793 and undated Collection (fonds) 2 volumes Dawes , William , 1762-1836 , Lieutenant
A British expedition which embarked in 1787 to start a penal colony in Australia settled at Port Jackson (later Sydney). The indigenous people were the Eora. William Dawes (1762-1836) was Lieutenant (Royal Marines) on HMS Sirius, the flagship of the 'First Fleet'. He was a pioneering student of the language of New South Wales. His interests also included astronomy and in Australia he directed the building of an observatory under the instructions of the Board of Longitude. For further information see the entry by his friend, Zachary Macaulay, in the Australian Dictionary of National Biography, volume i: 1788-1850 (1983). See also A Currer Jones, William Dawes, RM, 1762 to 1836: a sketch of his life, work, and explorations (1787) in the first expedition to New South Wales (1930), and Arthur Phillip, The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay [with] ... plans and views ... by Lieut Dawes ... (1789).
Formerly part of the library of the Orientalist and linguist William Marsden (1754-1836), a portion of which he presented to King's College London in 1835.
Marsden's manuscripts were transferred from King's College London to SOAS shortly after its foundation in 1916.
Notebooks of William Dawes, one dated 1790, comprising grammatical forms and vocabularies of the language spoken in the neighbourhood of Sydney, New South Wales; short vocabularies of the language of natives of Van Diemen's Land, collected by the officers of the French frigates La Recherche and L'Espérance in 1793.
Unrestricted.
No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English and aboriginal dialect
Described in Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, ed Phyllis Mander-Jones (1972), p 362. The manuscripts also feature in the Museum of Sydney exhibition catalogue, Fleeting Encounters: Pictures and Chronicles of the First Fleet (1995), p 111.
Microfilm copy in the State Library of New South Wales.
The Royal Society holds a manuscript on Port Jackson by William Dawes, 1788-1791 (Ref: MA146), among its meteorological archives. The Royal Greenwich Observatory archives, held at Cambridge University Library, includes accounts of the Board of Longitude by William Dawes, 1800 (Ref: 545 ff 202-4), and his correspondence, 1786-1792, during the establishment of an observatory at Port Jackson (Ref: 576 ff 237-308).
Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Sources: Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, ed Phyllis Mander-Jones (1972); Fleeting Encounters: Pictures and Chronicles of the First Fleet (1995); British Library OPAC. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Apr 2002 Armed forces Australia Austronesian and Oceanic languages Colonial countries Colonization Cultural interaction Dawes , William , 1762-1836 , Lieutenant Ethnic groups Geographical exploration Geography Grammar Indigenous populations International relations Languages La Recherche , French frigate L'Espérance , French frigate Lexicography Linguistics Military organizations Naval personnel New South Wales Oceania Organizations Political systems State security Sydney Tasmania Travel Travel abroad Unwritten languages Van Diemen's Land Vernacular languages Vocabularies
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Marsden's manuscripts were transferred from King's College London to SOAS shortly after its foundation in 1916.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Notebooks of William Dawes, one dated 1790, comprising grammatical forms and vocabularies of the language spoken in the neighbourhood of Sydney, New South Wales; short vocabularies of the language of natives of Van Diemen's Land, collected by the officers of the French frigates La Recherche and L'Espérance in 1793.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted.
Conditions governing reproduction
No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English and aboriginal dialect
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Described in Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, ed Phyllis Mander-Jones (1972), p 362. The manuscripts also feature in the Museum of Sydney exhibition catalogue, Fleeting Encounters: Pictures and Chronicles of the First Fleet (1995), p 111.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Microfilm copy in the State Library of New South Wales.
Related units of description
The Royal Society holds a manuscript on Port Jackson by William Dawes, 1788-1791 (Ref: MA146), among its meteorological archives. The Royal Greenwich Observatory archives, held at Cambridge University Library, includes accounts of the Board of Longitude by William Dawes, 1800 (Ref: 545 ff 202-4), and his correspondence, 1786-1792, during the establishment of an observatory at Port Jackson (Ref: 576 ff 237-308).
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- State security » Armed forces
- Austronesian and Oceanic languages
- Political systems » Colonial countries
- Political systems » Colonial countries » Colonization
- Cultural interaction
- Ethnic groups
- Geography » Geographical exploration
- Geography
- Linguistics » Grammar
- International relations
- Languages
- Lexicography
- Linguistics
- Organizations
- Political systems
- State security
- Travel
- Travel » Travel abroad
- Languages » Unwritten languages
- Languages » Vernacular languages
- Lexicography » Vocabularies
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English