How to Pronounce John Batman
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Jan 21, 1801 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia Died on 06 May 1839 (aged 38)
Australian settler and explorer
AquariusJohn Batman - Place of Birth, Date of Birth, Age, Wiki, Facts, Net Worth, Birthday, Biography and Family
John Batman, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About John Batman
- John Batman (21 January 1801 – 6 May 1839) was an Australian grazier, entrepreneur and explorer.
- He settled in the north-east of the Van Diemen's Land Colony in the 1820s, and later as a leading member of the Port Phillip Association he led an expedition which explored the Port Phillip Bay area on the Australian mainland with a view to establishing a new settlement there.
- He is best known for his role in the founding of the settlement on the Yarra River which became the city of Melbourne, eventual capital of the new Colony of Victoria, and one of Australia's largest and most important cities. Batman is a controversial figure due to his dealings with Aboriginal peoples in Van Diemen's Land and Victoria.
- The artist John Glover, Batman's neighbour in Van Diemen's Land said Batman was "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known".The treaty Batman negotiated with local Aboriginal peoples in 1835, to acquire land in the Port Phillip area, was a matter of controversy in his day, and has remained an event of great historical interest and debate. Batman offered tools, blankets and food in exchange for thousands of hectares of land stretching from Melbourne to Geelong, but the colonial government in New South Wales did not acknowledge the treaty.
- Although his proposed transaction was exploitative, Batman's treaty stands as the only attempt by a European to engage Australian Aboriginals in a treaty or transaction rather than simply claiming land outright.
