ADAM HILL's work Bennelong Had a Point is now part of the permanent collection for the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA.
This work is a typically witty play on a cultural pun by Adam Hill.
Bennelong Point, the stretch of land where the Sydney Opera House now sits, is the site where Bennelong (a senior man of the Eora Aboriginal (Koori) people) was originally captured by Europeans in an attempt to create ties with the people of the land.
Rather than succumbing entirely to the colonial forces of the Europeans, Bennelong maintained a relationship with these figures, while trying to change the behaviour of Europeans on Aboriginal lands.
He spent many years as an interlocutor for the Europeans, and travelled to London. But did not relinquish his ties to his people or their land. His forethought into the potentially mutual impact that Aboriginal and European peoples could have on one another is...a fair point to be considered.