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On this #InvasionDay eve, allow me to tell you the story of my ancestor William Broughton, who was one of the invaders who landed on Eora country on 26 January 1788, and hopefully explain why I think we should #changethedate
William Broughton arrived in this country as surgeon’s assistant on the Sirius, making him one of the few free civilians on the First Fleet. Family lore has nothing to say on why he chose to leave England on this expedition, but it couldn’t have been anything good
Once ashore, Bill began working for the Government Store, and quickly rose to the position of Quartermaster at seemingly every settlement nicknamed ‘hell on earth’ (Seriously, he was at Norfolk Island, Port Arthur and Newcastle).
The only impediments to his rise were the frequent accusations he was misappropriating government property for his own use or profit - he was court-martialed four times for theft, but happily for him, was acquitted all four times.
Now, the official explanation for this is that he was the victim of false accusations from jealous rivals. On the other, the family silver and china is stamped ‘Government Stores, Sydney’, so you can draw your own conclusions.
So, I guess moral is that if you’re going to be a thief, be good at it and have friends in high places. Probably also explains how my ancestors managed to acquire large tracts of Wiradjuri country in the 1830s.
Now, it’s one thing to be a descendant of a man like William Broughton - I can admire his commitment to the grift while still recognising his culpability in the dispossession and slaughter of the Eora and Witadjuri people...
..but it’s another thing entirely to have a national holiday celebrating his moral ambiguity and highly situational sense of ethics.
If it’s challenging for me to process, I can only imagine the pain the annual reminder of my ancestor’s misdeeds causes the descendants of the Eora and Wiradjuri people. Let #InvasionDay be a day to reflect on the crimes men like Bill committed. #changethedate
