the problem with history is that they teach it at schools.
today, piero and i headed to watson bay - one of the entry points to sydney harbour. these days, the place is famous for doyles' fish and chips and breathtaking views of sydney city. but 223 years ago it was here that the first fleet passed on their way to landing at port jackson.
learning about the first fleet in school is important but the sheer scale of what the british achieved in taking 8 months to transport 1,400 people in 11 ships 12,000km to the other side of the world is often lost. standing on the headland staring at the ocean which stretches until it touches the sky, it struck me what a truly miraculous feat it must have been, how terrifying it must have been for so many of the convicts and soldiers, and how peculiar it must have been for the aborigines watching the ships arrive.
i think history crosses the line from school-yard-yawn to stop-you-in-your-tracks-fascinating when you stop thinking about it as events that happened and think about it as something that was once happening to people like you and me.
what they would have seen 223 years ago
piero with the city in the distance
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