People

Portraits of local Aboriginal men and women were sketched or painted by a number of resident and visiting artists. By combining these images with personal letters, diaries and official documents it is also possible to glimpse the personal stories, family connections and adventures of some of the more prominent local characters. The first small pencil sketches of the local inhabitants were made in 1770, by Sydney Parkinson, a young Scots artist employed by the wealthy botanist Joseph Banks.