1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this document may
contain images or names of people who have since passed away

Burtt, John Wesley Batman's treaty with the aborigines at Merri Creek, 6th June 1835. , 1875. On
display in Australian Manuscripts Collection, State Library of Victoria

Batmans Treaty
Lachlan Meagher

John Batman, born in Parramatta, Sydney in

Association tasked Batman in 1835 with

18001, was a settler and grazier, who in 1835

leading this expedition into Port Philip.

headed an expedition into Victoria with the

Batmans treaty, signed with the chiefs (as

goal of acquiring land for grazing. Earlier, an

he called them) of the Kulin nation, represents

association was formed for the purpose of

a unique occurrence in Australian History as it

secretly ascertaining the general character of

is the only time that such a treaty has been

Port Philip as a grazing and agricultural district

made with the traditional owners of the land.

2. The association, known as the Port Philip

However, Batmans treaty also had a

2
significant impact of the dispossession of

Philip as the most beautiful Sheep Pasturage

Indigenous lands both through how the treaty

I ever saw in my Life5. On the 6th June,

itself was conducted but also in the response

following a wet and windy night, Batman and

to the treaty from the Crown.

his party set off early in order to find the

Natives that they had been tracking the
previous day6. Having caught up to a small
group of Indigenous people, and exchanging
gifts, the man that Batman referred to as the
Chief lead them on saying he would take us
to his tribe7. Batman and his party were
eventually lead to eight Chiefs amongst them
who possessed the whole of the country near

Portrait of John Batman: John Batman.

[ca. 1885-ca. 1920], 1900. http://
handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/261309

Port Phillip8, or so Batman thought. But who

were these men?

Expedition
It was on the 29th of May 1835, that Batmans
party first caught sight of Port Philip, having

The Kulin Nation

travelled from Van Diemens Land. This

Prior to European settlement, Australia

morning as soon as day light appeared [we]

consisted of 500-700 Aboriginal nations, each

saw the Heads of Port Philip"3, Batman

with their own systems of government,

exclaimed in his journal. It was not until the

cultural practices, religions and languages9.

1st of June that the party began to truly get

The area where the city of Melbourne and all

underway, examining the land of open plains

of the City of Yarra, as well as land extending

and rolling hills as they trekked inland4.

north into central Victoria towards Geelong,

Batman, businessman as he was, saw nought

are the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation10.

but profit and described the plains of Port

The Kulin nation consisted of five cultural-

3
language groups, Woiwurrung, Boonwurrung,

roughly 600,000 acres of land, Batman

Wathawurrung, Daungwurrung and Dja Dja

offered:

Wurrung11, each separate but closely related

communities.

Twenty Pairs of Blankets, Thirty Tomahawks,

One Hundred Knives Fifty Pair of Scissors,

Batman described in his journal the eight

Thirty looking Glasses Two Hundred

chiefs with some sense of awe ad wonder,

Handkerchiefs and One Hundred Pounds of

particularly the three brothers Jaggajagga:

Flour and six shirts15

three Brothers, all of the same name are the

As well as a Yearly rent or Tribute of one

Principal Chiefs, and two of them men of six

hundred Pair of Blankets, One Hundred Knives,

feet high and very good looking the other not

One Hundred Tomahawks, Fifty Suits of

so tall but stoughter, the other 5 chiefs were

Clothing, Fifty looking Glasses, Fifty Pair

fine men12

scissors and Five Tons of flour16

And it was the land of the Kulin Nation that

These goods that Batman offered as annual

Batman sought to purchase.

rent or tribute, in exchange for the

exorbitant amount of land that he wanted,
came to a value of about 100, a tiny fraction

Treaty

of the lands value17

On the 6th June, 1835, supposedly on the

banks of the Merri Creek near present day
Northcote, Batman signed a treaty for the

This treaty is a significant point in Australian

history, due to the simply act that it was the
only treaty ever extended to Aboriginal

13

purchase of land with the Kulin nation .

people in Australia18 and as such represents

In fact, Batman drew up two deeds which

the only time in Australian History when the

were signed, one for the land around present

Indigenous population was consulted for the

day Melbourne, and the other for the area

settlement and dispossession of their land.

surrounding Geelong14. In exchange for

However, to say that the treaty was a simple

4
and straightforward purchase of land would

That is, for the Wurundjeri, ownership of land

be a mistake, as both sides of the agreement

was a foreign concept, at least in the

had very different views of what actually took

European sense of private property. As

place.

Richard Broome argues, how could a clan sell

its religious and social birth right to strangers
who did not know the country, its stories, nor

Tanderrum

how to care for it21.

To Batman and his party, as well as the Port

Phillip Association that Batman was

Having signed the treaty, the Eight Chiefs

supposedly poured dirt through Batmans

representing, the treaty very much conformed

to the typical European view of the purchase
of land. Batman, as evidenced by his Journal
believed that the Kulin elders had given him

hand, which he saw as the giving of

possession, however this was most likely part
of a traditional ceremony known as
tanderrum. Tanderrum is a ceremony

19

full possession of the tracks of land and

thus began referring to the land as my land.
However the members of the Kulin nation had
a very different cultural concept of ownership
when compared to the typical European idea
of property ownership. One such difference
comes from the Wurundjeri, who were part of
the Kulin nation.

performed among the Kulin to allow entry to,

and use of, the land for a temporary period22.
This ceremony acted much like a temporaryprotection visa, bestowing welcome upon
strangers as well as allowing temporary usage
of the land. For Batman however, he saw it as
the elders observing the archaic European
ritual of enfeoffment23.

The Wurundjeri have a deep connection to

the land that is both cultural and spiritual in
nature. The Wurundjeri did not own the

Despite the misunderstanding between the

parties to the treaty as to what the treaty
actually entailed, does not mean it does not

land in the European sense of the word, but

20

belonged to, or were owned by the land .

hold a significant place in Australian History.

5
The treaty had meaning for the Kulin, not as
a purchase, but as a hospitality and perhaps
as an agreement regarding the use of
resources24.
Despite this, the signing of the treaty itself
had an impact on indigenous dispossession,
due to the cultural misunderstanding
between both parties. Whether knowingly or
not, Batman believed that the land was now
his and that he owned it, thus contributing to
the dispossession of the Kulin Nation. It would
also be a mistake to believe that Batman and
the Port Philip Association conducted the
treaty solely out of some altruistic notion to
do what is right and acknowledge the

Proclamation
Having left Port Philip, Batman and his party,
overjoyed by the proceedings arrived back at
Launceston in Van Diemens Land on the 11th
June, only five days after signing the treaty.
However, not all was to bode well for Batman
and the Port Philip Association, as word had
spread of their unique treaty with the Kulin
Nation in Port Phillip. On the 6th August 1835,
two months after the signing of the treaty,
Richard Bourke, the then Governor of New
South Wales, issued a Proclamation26.

Indigenous people as the true owners of the

In this proclamation Governor Bourke stated

land. Batmans treaty was a calculated

that:

commercial transaction designed to establish

Now therefore, I, the Governor, in virtue and

his claim over choice land that lay beyond the

in exercise of the power and authority in me

governments declared boundary of

vested, do hereby proclaim and notify to all

location25, as settlement and recently been

His Majestys Subjects, and others whom it

restricted. Despite this, the treaty itself

may concern, that every such treaty, bargain,

represents a unique part of Australian History

and contract with the Aboriginal Natives, as

and early European settlement and invasion

aforesaid, for the possession, title, or claim to

of Indigenous land.

6
any Lands.is void and of no effect against

British Law, Aboriginal and Torres Strait

the rights of the Crown27

Islander people did not own or inhabit the

This proclamation, which was approved by the

Colonial Office on 10th October 1835,
explicitly voided not only Batmans treaty, but
also any treaty that was made with the
traditional owners of the land, as well as
declaring that the British Crown had
possession of or owned the entire Australian
continent and was the only party that could
sell or distribute land28. The claim made
within the proclamation was that His
Majestys Subjects have taken possession of
vacant Lands of the Crown29, reinforcing the
position that the British Crown had possession
of the land and no one else.

land. For the British Crown Aboriginies were

incapable of possessing any pre-existing or
residual customary rights that could be
recognised as legitimate and lawful31. This
proclamation made by Governor Bourke only
served to reinforce this doctrine of terra
nullius and the concept that all of the land on
the Australian continent belonged to the
Crown, and was therefore Crown Land. This
denied any recognition of the Indigenous
population that had lived on the continent for
more than 40,000 years, and was a process by
which Britain could claim ownership and
sovereignty over their settlements. The major
contribution of Governor Bourkes
Proclamation was to not only void Batmans

Terra Nullius

treaty, but also to ensure that no such treaty

The concept of terra nullius is a key part in

or negotiation would ever happen again.

understanding the dispossession of

Significance

Indigenous Australians. Terra nullius refers to

Land that is unoccupied or uninhabited for

Batmans Treaty of 1835 has had a significant

impact on the dispossession of Aboriginal

30

legal purposes . This was used by European

settlers to justify the dispossession of the
Traditional owners of the land, as according to

land, not only in Victoria but throughout the

entire Australian Continent. The treaty itself

7
represents a cultural misunderstanding

Bibliography

between Batman and the Port Philip

Association and the Kulin Nation. For Batman
and the Association, it was a simple and
straight forward purchase of land that served

Primary Sources

Batman, John 1835, The Batman deed

to transfer ownership to Batman. But for the

[Melbourne], 1835 June 6 http://

Kulin People it was an ancient ceremonial

handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/249301

tradition to welcome strangers but also to

permit them to use the land for a temporary

Governor Bourke's Proclamation 1835

period32. The response by the British Crown to

(UK), Colonial Office of the British

the treaty also had a major impact on the

Government, National Archives of the

dispossession of the Indigenous population.

United Kingdom:

The proclamation made by Governor Bourke

http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-

served to reinforce the concept of terra

sdid-75.html

nullius and not only void the treaty but also

ensure that a similar event would never

Batman, John 1835, Journal, http://

happen again. As such, whether or not

handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/249297
Batmans intentions behind the treaty were
good or not, as it was the only treaty of its

kind extended to Indigenous Australians, it

Burtt, John Wesley Batman's treaty

with the aborigines at Merri Creek, 6th

still had a significant impact of the

June 1835. , 1875. On display in

dispossession of traditional lands both in the

Australian Manuscripts Collection, State

treaty itself, as well as the response from the

Library of Victoria

Crown.

John Batman. [ca. 1885-ca. 1920],

1900. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/
10381/261309

8
Andrew Roberts (eds.), Mistakes of
Australian History (Sydney: University

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of New South Wales press ltd., 2006)

Broome, Richard, Aboriginal

terra nullius." In Australian Law

Victorians: A History Since 1800,

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(Allen & Unwin, 2005)

: Oxford University Press, 2010.

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ary.latrobe.edu.au/view/10.1093/acref/

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New approaches to batman's treaty

9780195557558-e-3278.

and indigenous dispossession in

Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora, Vol.

48, No. 1

Van Toorn, Peter, 'Transactions on the

Borderlands of Aboriginal
Writing', Social Semiotics, vol. 11, no.

Day, David, Claiming a Continent: A

2 (2001), 209-227

New History of Australia (Sydney:

HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996)

Warner, George and Edge-Partington,

Flannery, Tim, The Explorers

J., 31. John Batman's Title Deeds,

(Melbourne: The Text Publishing

Man, Vol. 15 (1915), pp. 49-51

Company, 1998)

Wurundjeri Tribe Land and

Roberts, David Andrew, They Would

Compensation Cultural Heritage

Speedily Abandon the Country to the

Council. An Aboriginal history of

New Comers: The Denial of Aboriginal

Yarra [online]. Agora, Vol. 48, No. 4,

Rights in Martin Crotty and David

Dec 2013: 59-65

George Warner and Edge-Partington, J., 31. John

Batman's Title Deeds, Man, Vol. 15 (1915), pp. 49

18

19

Ibid.

Batman, John 1835, Journal, http://

handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/249297

Richard, Broome, Aboriginal Victorians: A History

Since 1800, (Allen & Unwin, 2005) pp.
Batman, John 1835, Journal, http://
handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/249297
20

Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation

Cultural Heritage Council. An Aboriginal history of
Yarra [online]. Agora, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2013: 5965

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Richard, Broome, Aboriginal Victorians: A History

Since 1800, (Allen & Unwin, 2005) pp.

Ibid.

22

Ibid.

21

Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation

Cultural Heritage Council. An Aboriginal history of
Yarra [online]. Agora, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2013: 5965
10

Joanna, Cruickshank, Treating history: New

approaches to batman's treaty and indigenous
dispossession in Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora,
Vol. 48, No. 1

23

Peter, Van Toorn, 'Transactions on the

Borderlands of Aboriginal Writing', Social
Semiotics, vol. 11, no. 2 (2001), 209-227

Ibid.
24

11

Richard, Broome, Aboriginal Victorians: A History

Since 1800, (Allen & Unwin, 2005) pp.

Richard, Broome, Aboriginal Victorians: A History

Since 1800, (Allen & Unwin, 2005) pp.
25

Batman, John 1835, Journal, http://

handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/249297

David, Day, Claiming a Continent: A New History

of Australia (Sydney: HarperCollinsPublishers,
1996) pp. 110

13

26

12

Peter, Van Toorn, 'Transactions on the

Borderlands of Aboriginal Writing', Social
Semiotics, vol. 11, no. 2 (2001), 209-227
14

Tim, Flannery, The Explorers (Melbourne: The

Text Publishing Company, 1998) pp.169
15

John Batman, 1835, The Batman deed

[Melbourne], 1835 June 6
16

17

Ibid.

Joanna, Cruickshank, Treating history: New

approaches to batman's treaty and indigenous
dispossession in Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora,
Vol. 48, No. 1

Joanna, Cruickshank, Treating history: New

approaches to batman's treaty and indigenous
dispossession in Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora,
Vol. 48, No. 1
27

Governor Bourke's Proclamation 1835 (UK),

Colonial Office of the British Government, National
Archives of the United Kingdom:
http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-75.html
28

Joanna, Cruickshank, Treating history: New

approaches to batman's treaty and indigenous
dispossession in Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora,
Vol. 48, No. 1

10
31
29

Governor Bourke's Proclamation 1835 (UK),

Colonial Office of the British Government, National
Archives of the United Kingdom:
http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-75.html
30

terra nullius." In Australian Law Dictionary,

edited by Blunden, Audrey. : Oxford University
Press, 2010.
http://www.oxfordreference.com.ez.library.latro
be.edu.au/view/10.1093/acref/9780195557558
.001.0001/acref-9780195557558-e-3278.

David Andrew Roberts, They Would Speedily

Abandon the Country to the New Comers: The
Denial of Aboriginal Rights in Martin Crotty and
David Andrew Roberts (eds.), Mistakes of
Australian History (Sydney: University of New
South Wales press ltd., 2006) pp. 30
32

Joanna, Cruickshank, Treating history: New

approaches to batman's treaty and indigenous
dispossession in Colonial Victoria [online]. Agora,
Vol. 48, No. 1