How did Bennelong respond to contact with European culture?

Answer 1

Bennelong quite enjoyed the attention and the prestige he received from his contact with European culture, and his acceptance into white society. He enjoyed the food and the alcohol to which he was introduced, and he enjoyed the company of Governor Phillip. Travelling to England was particularly exciting at first, but he soon experienced terrible homesickness and ill health as a result of the English climate.

It was when Bennelong returned from England that he encountered difficulties. He was no longer accepted by his own people; nor was he really part of the European culture. He found himself an outcast, stuck between two cultures. He died prematurely from a combination of Alcoholism and being wounded in tribal battles.

Answer 2

Bennelong was captured on 25 November 1789, for the purpose of being used to mediate between the white and Aboriginal cultures. The Governor of New South Wales, Captain Arthur Phillip, wished to learn about the language and customs of the indigenous people. Bennelong willingly liaised between the cultures, and adopted European dress and other ways. His intervention was crucial when Phillip was speared by local Aborigines as, by persuading the Governor that the attack was caused by a misunderstanding, further violence was avoided.

While Governor Phillip's intentions were honourable, the Aborigines were not people to be captured and used for white purposes. Bennelong travelled with Phillip to England in 1792, and returned to Australia in 1795, but in the end he suffered ostracism from the Aborigines after he found it too difficult to integrate into the European culture, and sought to return to his own people. He died on 3 January 1813.