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==Plot==
Daniel Rooke (loosely based on Dawes) is a self-possessed boy whose parents seek to better his prospects in life by having him brought to the attention of important people, and thus given opportunities others of his station
After graduating from the [[Royal Naval College, Portsmouth]], he takes up a commission in the Royal Marines. During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he is almost killed by a falling [[spar (sailing)|spar]], and takes several years to recover.
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Just before the First Fleet sails for what is to be the [[penal colony]] of New South Wales, he is invited by the Astronomer Royal to take instruments and observe the passage of a predicted comet. He accepts, and is also in the company of another officer (Silk) who he had known during the war.
As the astronomer, Rooke is given considerable freedom and
Rooke
A member of the colony is speared by aboriginals after what may have been an attempt to kill aborigines. The [[Governor of New South Wales]] orders Silk to lead a party to
On the first night of the expedition, after Rooke found out their true intent was to behead six aboriginals, he left the party in horror. Upon arriving back, he makes it clear to the governor how wrong his orders were and, as a consequence for refusing to follow them,
In England, Rooke is spared and spends the rest of his life in [[Antigua]] where he frees slaves.
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