La Perouse 2036

Maria Nugent’s book entitled Botany Bay: Where Histories Meet, encapsulates the history of La Perouse Headland and our most southern, storied suburb.

The continuous occupation of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this continent is a wider narrative that is reflected in a concentrated form, in our local history of this most southern tip of Randwick City. This is both a story of resistance and resilience.

The La Perouse headland, named for the doomed French explorer Jean-Francois de Galaup, Count of Laperouse, was known by Aboriginal people prior to colonisation by various names. Nugent explains, " the area was a node in a coastal 'beat' and continually used by Aboriginal people. They called it Currewol (Curriwal, Cooriwal), which is now spelled Koorewal, Guriwal or Gooriwaal”. La Perouse arrived within a week of the British colonisers led by Captain Arthur Phillip. The French expedition spent around six weeks on the northern shores of Botany Bay. Pere Receveur, the Catholic priest on this voyage, died of his wounds at La Perouse, after a battle the expedition had waged with the Samoans before arriving at Kamay. Receveur was buried at La Perouse. His tomb is still the site for Bastille Day commemorations by the local French community. When La Perouse’s party sailed in L’Astrolabe and La Boussole they were never seen again. It was not until 1826 that the wrecks of his two ships were found off the coast of the Solomon Islands. The anchor from his ship has been recovered and recently conserved as explained by the La Perouse Museum in the video below. 
 
Many of the landmarks and monuments that remain on this peninsula, reflect the early years of first contact. The Macquarie Watchtower, Bare Island Fort, Cable Station Building (now La Perouse Museum) and Yarra Bay House (now the La Perouse Land Council) are all reflections of the need to fortify the colony from outside invaders but also remain in contact with the outside world. All these buildings have been repurposed for uses that expand their historical significance. A useful resource for further historical information is the NSW State government’s La Perouse Headland Conservation Plan of Management.

By the twentieth century the peninsula was opened up with the arrival of the electric tram line from Sydney in 1902. The La Perouse Line was the second longest tram route in Sydney. The advent of the Kamay Ferry Service from Kurnell from the other direct across Kamay. This made La Perouse an accessible day trip for Randwick and the wider Sydney population. The La Perouse Snake Pit and Howe’s Refreshment Rooms and resort at Yarra Bay established the La Perouse peninsula as a tourist destination. The Cann Family, especially John Jann, were critical to the endurance of the snake show. Local Aboriginal populations saw the opportunity to supplement their modest existence to the visitors. Many women sold traditional shell art, like that by that of renowned artist, the late Esme Timbery.  Joe Timbery’s boomerang shop sold boomerangs to the influx of visitors. Even Queen Elizabeth II visited his premises when she visited Sydney. These traditional crafts have been passed down by the generations and are practiced to this day. Boomerang throwing was also an established tourist attraction by the post World War Two era.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s times were tough all over Sydney. The La Perouse peninsula saw an influx of homeless and disadvantaged peoples from all backgrounds. These makeshift shanty towns were dotted all over the peninsula and the south Randwick municipality. More detail on this topic can be found at Shanty Towns. They remained until well after World War Two. 
The shanty towns are not to be mistaken for the La Perouse Aboriginal Mission that was established under government control in 1883. The Aborigines Protection Board erected tin houses, with police, government officials and missionaries all administering regulatory control over Aboriginal inhabitants. In 1895, seven acres for this purpose was officially gazetted at La Perouse (more accurately close to Frenchman's and Yarra Bays). By 1929/30 the La Perouse Aboriginal Mission was relocated to the area around Elaroo Avenue and two bedroom homes were built with a kitchen and a stove were built by the governing authorities. Communal facilities included a laundry and showers for men and women.

The history of the Aboriginal Missions at La Perouse can be explored in greater depth in the selected reading list below. There is also an executive summary of the history of the La Perouse Aboriginal Mission and Yarra Bay House histories provided by the Dictionary of Sydney. The Colebrook Memorial Church in Elaroo Avenue La Perouse is now in the custody of the La Perouse Land Council.  The Land Council have recently undertaken restoration and landscaping works around this significant place of worship. 
There is still so much research and documentation to be undertaken about the history of La Perouse and its peoples, in consultation and partnership with knowledge keepers.

Selected further readings:
 
La Perouse: the peoples, the place and the sea, a collection of writing (Matraville, NSW: Individual Heritage,1987)
Irish, Paul. Hidden in Plain View: the Aboriginal people of coastal Sydney (Sydney, NSW: New South Publishing, 2017)
Curby, Pauline. Randwick (Randwick, N.S.W: Randwick City Council, 2009) 
Nugent, Maria. Revisiting La Perouse : a postcolonial history. Thesis submitted for award of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Technology, Sydney 2000 (Author self published 2000)
Nugent, Maria. Botany Bay Where Histories Meet (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 2005)
Nugent, Maria. Captain Cook was here ([Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press],