Royal Opera House

Here we are in the heart of the old theater district; the Royal Opera House has existed here since 1732. Many Indigenous visitors attended plays at places like the Royal; here, for example, Bennelong, the Eora man from Australia, came to see a performance of Faust in 1793. Given British audiences' predilection for spectacle, Bennelong was probably as much of a show as Faustus was. Bennelong was captured by the British at Sydney Cove in 1789 with the intention that he would teach the colonists the language and customs of the Eora, who kept their distance from the settlement. Although he escaped, he did learn English, and travelled with his compatriot, Yemmerrawanne, to London in 1792. They lived at fashionable Grosvenor Square until Yemmerrawanne became sick, at which point they moved to Eltham and were tended by the Sydney Colony Governor, Arthur Phillips, and his wife. Yemmerrawanne died in Eltham and was buried there, but the exact location is no longer known. Bennelong also fell ill, but was tended by the surgeon George Bass on the return voyage to Australia. He recovered and taught the surgeon enough Dharuk to enable communication between the British and the Eora. It is likely that Bennelong was brought over with the hope of a Royal presentation—a means by which colonists could demonstrate their success—but it is not believed that any such presentation occurred. He did, however, tour many of the major tourist sites in London.