Captain James Wallis arrives as third Commandant in Newcastle

Captain James Wallis arrives as third Commandant in Newcastle two months after he commanded his 46th Regiment against Aboriginals near Airds and Appin and received the thanks of Governor Lachlan Macquarie for his “zealous exertions and strict attention to the fulfilling of the instructions”.

During his two-year term in Newcastle, the penal settlement undergoes extensive development and resource extraction. As well as an ascendant colonial administrator, Wallis is an amateur artist. He uses his new camera lucida when hunting and exploring, often in the company of local Aboriginal leaders, especially Chief Burigon (“Long Jack”):

“poor Jack the black savage ministering to my pleasures, fishing, kangaroo hunting, guiding me thro’ trackless forests with more kindly feelings than I do many of my own colour, kindred & nation.” (James Wallis, Memoir c1835, SLNSW, quoted in Ellis, 4).