Author(s): Bruce Watt

History

'Curious eyes' brings another perspective to the simplistic convict origin story of Australia. It introduces three non-British visitors to the colony of Port Jackson in the first decade or so of its establishment and asks questions about Australia's origin and historical authenticity. Spain's historical claim to the Pacific stretches back hundreds of years. However incumbency demands enforcement. In the late eighteenth century Spain was the aging super heavyweight defender of the title, pitched against a younger, more powerful and assertive opponent. Both Spain and France had been played by Britain by establishing a colony at Port Jackson. This demanded action to counteract it or to accept the situation. Spain had failed to stake a claim by establishing colonies on the Australian continent as had France. Britain's audacious claim on half the continent sparked a rush to ascertain its true intentions.Two little known but epic expeditions by Spain and France cast light on the fledgling colony. The fate and ruined reputations of the two great Spanish and French explorers, Alexandro Malaspina and Nicolas Baudin who led these expeditions is tragic. A theme common to the visits by the Spanish, the Americans and the French to Port Jackson is the curiosity about the Aboriginal inhabitants. The frank written and pictorial descriptions add greatly to our understanding of their culture and practices at this critical time.This is a book for the historian, the scientist, the anthropologist, the artist, the conspiracy theorists and any Australian who seeks fresh insights into Australia's colonial history.