1. Part Six -The Secret River Josephine Savage, Teaghan LeBusque, Harry Burford, Tamara Cook, Will Ross, Molly Staite

2. Brief Summary  Thornhill catches the blacks stealing the corn from his property.  He fights back and threatens them with his gun  At the end of this confrontation, Sal tells Thornhill she has had enough and is leaving with or without him.  Thornhill noticed something odd at Saggity’s and takes Ned and Dan to investigate.  They discovered the ‘blacks’ have speared him and burned down his hut and murdered his dog  Later on Saggity dies from the spear wound after they take him to the hospital in Windsor

3. Brief Summary  Ned, Dan, Loveday, George Twist, Spider & Smasher Sullivan convince Thornhill to take the Hope down to Blackwood’s Lagoon where the ‘blacks’ have been welcomed by Blackwood.  When they arrive, a massive, violent and aggressive attack is made on the ‘Blacks’ by the settlers which results in the death of Smasher Sullivan after the men had slaughtered the group of ‘blacks’ in the area.

4. Characters - Thornhill  Thornhill – The main characteristic of Thornhill in part 6 of the book is portrayed to have an internal conflict of sorts this is shown in the beginning; “Thornhill could not think of what to do….He looked away from the boy. He wanted to turn his back and leave all this, let someone else come across it later. But somehow he could not.” (Page 277) In the eyes of other characters such as Ned and Dan, Thornhill is highly regarded and respected. This is shown when the two men have captured a young aboriginal and boy, asking Thornhill what they should do with him. Thornhill however, at Sal’s request asks them to let him go, to which they oblige hesitantly; “Let him go Will, Sal shouted. But Dan only looked at Thornhill. Let him go, Thornhill said.” (Page 283)

5. Characters – Smasher  Smasher – Has tendency to over exaggerate situations and has ability to rally up and persuade the other men to do things to his will, as shown when he convinces the men to kill the Aboriginals.  He is portrayed as the ‘protagonist’ in the eyes of the men as he boasts of his ‘proud’ efforts at taking down Aboriginals however he is the antagonist overall throughout the novel.  “Men were buying Smasher round after round. His face was a flame and he had whipped himself up almost to tears. Nothing Smasher could invent was as bad as what had really happened” (Page 296)

6. Settings  The land being one of the main elements to portray a message in this novel makes no absence in part 6. It is linked to the longing and desire of Thornhill who desperately wants to keep and prosper on the clearing he ‘worked’ so hard to acquire.  It is also where a demonstration of violence and conflict of ownership is developed > They was here, Sal said. Seeing the place had made it real to her in a way it had not been before. She turned to Thornhill. Like you and me was in London. Just the exact same way." p.287 > When the Aboriginal clan finally moves on from Thornhill's Point, Sal ventures into their camp for the first time. She sees their huts and the carefully swept floor of the camp and realizes that it was a real home to them. Just because they do not wear clothes or cook familiar food does not mean that they have not created a home in the same way she creates a home for her family. While Sal had previously wished the Aborigines would go away and leave them alone on their land, she now understands that Thornhill's Point and all of New South Wales is their home. Just as she wants to return to her home in London, she knows that the Aborigines will return to their home on Thornhill's Point. This realization only reinforces her desire to leave Thornhill's Point and widens the divide between her and William.

7. Themes  Clash of Civilizations  The Secret River explores the clash of civilizations that began when Captain Cook first stepped foot on the land that become known as Australia. Throughout the novel, Grenville juxtaposes British and Aboriginal understandings of several important social concepts: personal property, clothing, hunting and farming, family relationships, and relationship to the natural environment. The incomprehension with which each culture regards the other leads to the majority of conflicts in the novel. The British concepts of private property and settlement, backed up by the guns and might of the Empire, eventually win the battle between the two civilizations. The Secret River