“…The timing of the earliest Asian visits remains an important and controversial debate in the archaeology and history of northern Australia. There are a number of contrasting views relating to the chronology based on documentary and/or archaeological evidence.

...Macknight initially placed the origins of the Macassan trepang industry between 1650 and 1750 AD. He later revised his evaluation, arguing the industry was not in full swing until the 1780s, with some possible earlier excursions to northern Australia occurring from the 1750s. Macknight’s initial evaluation was based on a number of written sources that date the industry to the eighteenth century, including historical accounts, personal journals and government records, while his re-evaluation (Macknight 2008) is based on evidence presented by Knapp and Sutherland’s (2004) study of detailed trade 1. Understanding the Macassans: A regional approach 3 data for Makassar.

At the same time, a number of archaeologists have questioned Macknight’s document-based theory and point to his own archaeological work as evidence for earlier visits. Radiocarbon dates on wood charcoal found in the remains of trepang boiling fireplaces returned dates several hundred years older than ages inferred from documentary evidence. These three geographically separate sites (at Anuru Bay, Entrance Island and Groote Eylandt) returned radiocarbon dates with ages ranging from 1170 to 1520 AD.

Due to the discrepancy between these dates and historical accounts, Macknight argued that there must be a source of error in the archaeological dates. Indeed, Mitchell (1994) argued that the radiocarbon dates were unreliable and that they result from technical problems with radiocarbon analysis of mangrove wood. In addition to the work of Macknight, a pottery shard at Dadirringka rock shelter on Groote Eylandt was found below where a calibrated radiocarbon date of between 904 and 731 BP was obtained (Clarke and Frederick 2011, p. 151).

Clarke (1994, 2000) argues that she found further evidence to support earlier contact from an analysis of material excavated at Malmudinga. Importantly, however, Clarke maintains that ‘this initial contact was not necessarily of the order of magnitude of the later trepang industry, organised from the city of Macassar and may have been both sporadic and small scale’ (Clarke 1994, p. 470). Recent rock art and archaeological work undertaken in northwestern Arnhem Land has contributed to the ongoing debate. This includes the radiocarbon dating of a beeswax figure overlaying a painting of a Southeast Asian sailing vessel in the Wellington Range (Taçon et al. 2010; see also Taçon and May, this volume). Results indicate this sailing vessel, most probably a prau, was painted prior to 1664 AD, and there is a 99.7 per cent probability that the overlying beeswax figure was made between 1517 and 1664 AD. Recent archaeological excavations and re-evaluation of earlier excavated materials at the Anuru Bay site have also provided insights into the timing of Macassan visits (Theden-Ringl et al. 2011).

The team analysed two skeletons excavated by Macknight in the 1960s and confirmed Macknight’s argument that the skeletons were of Southeast Asian origin (Theden-Ringl et al. 2011, p. 41). They also suggest that one of the individuals died before 1730 AD (Theden-Ringl et al. 2011, p. 45). Overall, we are entering an exciting new era of archaeological research into Macassan sites and new findings will almost certainly rewrite our understanding of the timing and the nature of early Asian contact with Australia. (Understanding the Macassans: A regional approach Marshall Clark and Sally K. May)…”

Trepang & Tamarinds

Precepts:
​Professor Charles Campbell Macknight's 'The Voyage to Marege' is the principal work on Macassans and the trepang trade. Although pitifully little has been done since the fieldwork of the mid-1960s there have been significant contributions by Baker, Wesley et al - a great deal is yet to be learned about the activity of the Macassans prior to what Macknight calls 'the industrial phase'.
Macassans - a useful corruption of Makassar & Makassans to retain the focus of identity whilst recognising Muslim fishermen from a much wider area. 
​Makassar - Ujung Pandang, on S/W Sulawesi Island, Indonesia - the home port of the trepang fleets & latterly the residence of Chinese merchants who purchased their catch. 
When the Portuguese formally established a sandalwood trading colony at Oecussi on Timor in 1515 - they landed on Makassar Beach where they encountered seafaring trepangers from the Bugis/Bone Empire centred upon Sulawesi. Within 50 years the Sandalwood was gone - the Portuguese knew of Australia as the cloud covered coast three days sail to the south. It is reasonable to assume that from 1500 the Portuguese were scouting for trade opportunities and aware of Macassar trepangers. Yolngu report that it was the Portuguese who initially brokered the trepang trade with the Chinese and introduced the Macassans to the Marege coast. 
​It is generally conceded that Macassans may have visited North Australia from the 1650s - perhaps driven south by winds, pirates or simply on spec to gather turtle shell, hardwood timbers, freshwater, pearls and wax. 
Industrial Trade: - 1750s accords with the date given by Pobassoo to Flinders & to the appearance of trepang in the records, Chinese cuisine etc.