The LieutenantAs a boy, Daniel Rooke was always an outsider. At school, he learned to hide his clever thoughts from his cruel peers; at home, his parents were bemused by their bookish son. Daniel could only hope - against all the evidence - that he would one day find his place in life. By 1788, Daniel has become Lieutenant Rooke, astronomer with the First Fleet as it lands on the unknown shores of New South Wales. As the newcomers struggle to establish a settlement for themselves and their cargo of convicts, and attempts are made to communicate with those who already inhabit this land, Rooke sets up his observatory to chart the stars. But the place where they have landed will prove far more revelatory than the night sky. Out on his isolated point, Rooke comes to know the local Aboriginal people, and forges a remarkable connection with one child, which will change his life in ways he never imagined. |
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon asked astronomer Astronomer Royal blanket Boinbar Boneda Botany Bay breath Brugden bushes Cadigal called Captain Carangaray caught comet commodore Cove Daniel Rooke dark Dr Vickery English Harbour eyes face feel felt fingers fire gamekeeper Gardiner gestures girls Goodbye governor hand harbour hatchet head hear jacket kamara Kangaroo Ground KATE GRENVILLE language laughing Lennox Lieutenant Rooke looked Major Wyatt moon mouth musket natives never night notebook numbers observatory perhaps picked Portsmouth prisoners rocks Rooke heard Rooke knew Rooke saw Rooke thought Rooke watched Rooke's Rose Hill Secret River seemed seen settlement sextant ship shoulder shouted Silk Silk's Sirius skin smile sound South Wales speak spear stars step Sydney Cove Tagaran tell thing told took trees Tugear turned voice waiting walked wanted Warungin Weymark Willstead woods words Worogan