 Upon returning to Van Diemen's Land, Batman's treaty was deemed invalid by the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke, under the "" in August.It was the belief of Governor Bourke, as well as the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, George Arthur, that the Aboriginal people did not have any official claims to the lands of the Australian continent.The proclamation formally declared, under the doctrine of "terra nullius", that The Crown owned the whole of the Australian continent and that only it alone could sell and distribute land.