What’s Going On?
Five letters, written in 1858, by the Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld have come to light after 170 years. Threlkeld, along with Biraban, leader of the Lake Macquarie & Newcastle peoples now known as the Awabakal, were Aboriginal language preservation pioneers, ensuring the ancient language of this land and region was preserved for future generations.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s Heritage Team will be featuring the newly found letters at their Exhibition, Endless Now: Decoding the Past through the Letters of Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld which will be launched this Saturday, 4 July 2026 at 11am at Swansea Library.
Why It Matters?
The Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld and his Aboriginal mentor and tutor, Biraban (a.k.a M’Gill) undertook the first systematic study and documentation of an Australian Aboriginal language of the Aboriginal people living in the vicinity of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle New South Wales. It was the first systematic study of an Aboriginal language anywhere in the country.
They also were the first in the world to publish verses of Bible, translated into the Aboriginal language from the Gospels of Luke and Mark.
This is significant, because at the time, Aboriginal people were not recognised by Europeans as being “human”. Their testimony was inadmissible in a Court of Law, as they could not swear an oath on a bible. Therefore the act of translating elements of the most Holy Bible into the language of the Aboriginal people was the most significant step towards recognising the humanity of Aboriginal people in the eyes of European who had invaded and taken possession of their lands. It also served the purpose of Threlkeld’s Mission to convert the Aboriginal peoples to Christianity.
The Deep Dive
This event marks Lake Macquarie City Council’s recognition of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Bahtabah Mission by Reverend Threlkeld.
The exhibition will feature the collection of previously unseen letters written by Threlkeld, and include a display of Awabakal cultural objects and artefacts, generously loaned by the Bahtabah Local Aboriginal Land Council. You can reserve a spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/exhibition-launch-the-endless-now-tickets-1989974112138?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Biraban, Chief of the Newcastle Tribe (now known as the Awabakal) and the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld published their work in a series of books from 1826 to 1858. The primary works were later edited and republished by John Fraser in 1892.
For more information on the work of Biraban and Threlkeld check out the Hunter Living Histories post and film by the Stories of Our Town
These letters were penned one year before Threlkeld’s death. He died at his residence at 195 William Street, Woolloomooloo on Monday 10 October 1859 at 2 am in the morning.
He was originally buried at Devonshire Street Cemetery on the 12 October 1859, but his remains were relocated to Rookwood Cemetery in 1901. see: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189624878/lancelot-edward-threlkeld
“Mr. Threlkeld devoted his time to those classes whose condition cuts them off from ordinary sympathy, and whose affliction leads to no worldly renown. Beside his duties in connection with the Mariners’ Church, he was to be found regularly at the bedside of the sick, in the hospital, and in the cell of the prisoner. By persons in these circumstances he was greatly honoured, for they distinguish at once the mere functionary from the friend. The perfumed preacher of a fashionable congregation may preach self-denial and loll away life in social luxury, or intellectual amusements ; it is such men as Mr. Threlkeld, who display Christianity as a living power, and preserve the ignorant and guilty from casting away their faith m the religion of Christ. – Ref: THE REV. L. E. THELKELD: (1859, October 13). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13031839
Gionni Di Gravio OAM
University Archivist & Chair, Hunter Living Histories