THE COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Monument to Captain Cook at Sydney. THE COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA 1788 TO 1829 BY IDA LEE (Mrs. CHARLES BRUCE MARRIOTT) WITH FIFTY- FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS AXD A PREFACE BY THE RIGHT HON. THE MARQUIS OF LINLITHGOW, P.C., K.T. First Governor-General of the Comniomuealth LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 1906 Oil M34. PREFACE. Australia has reached an interesting stage in her history. She has completed the first five years of her Hfe as a Commonwealth, a sufficiently long period for her to gain a consciousness of her duties and her destinies as a united nation. The volume of her annals up to the ist of January, 1901, while she was still composed of separate Colonies, is finished. But it is not closed and done with. On the contrary, its early chapters have acquired a new meaning and value. Australians should look, back- wards as well as forwards. They will find in the records of the discovery and settlement of their country guidance and inspiration for the future. They will understand more clearly how their land and people have been moulded and fashioned in their present shape by climate, soil and circum- stances. They will also be reminded, should that (vii) 893C61 viii PREFACE be necessary, how old and close and intimate are the ties that bind them to the Mother Country. The narrative of the Old Colony Days, which the author has prepared, will be found fascinating in style, accurate in statement, and fair in judgment. The tale of the first discovery and settlement of Australia is one long romance of pioneering. We share the enthusiasm of the early voyagers, as they trace the outlines of the island continent. We read of the first impressions made on the mind of Dampier and of Cook by the peculiar flora or fauna of the country, and by the not less singular appear- ance and customs of the aborigines. Then we are introduced to the early Governors, all of them sailors or soldiers. To them Australia owes much, for they laid deep and wide the foundations of the future Commonwealth. Mrs. Marriott describes the foundation of the early fortunes of some of the older settlements, and the beginnings of Victoria and Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. She has notes on the first churches ; the first regiments ; the bushrangers and the police of the good old PREFACE ix times. She gives a vigorous sketch of the physical features, and of the animal and vegetable life of the country. To Australians, the volume should be of absorb- ing interest ; to other citizens of the Empire, much pleasure and profit should come by a perusal of it ; and, as an educational work for the rising genera- tion, it should be most valuable, as it appears to be specially adapted for a reading-book in schools. ^j^LU^ HiGGINSFIELD, Cheshire, Aprils 1906. CONTENTS. PREFACE Page vii CHAPTER I. THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION. Australia — The country disappointing to its first explorers — Captain Arthur Phillip — The first fleet — Botany Bay — First meeting with the natives — Removal to Port Jackson — Founding of Sydney — Arrival of La Perouse — Phillip's voyage to Broken Bay — The planting of the first grain — Description of the kangaroo — The aborigines — Their character and mode of Life — Attack on the Fly — Opossum hunting — Gathering honey — Native method of fishing — Canoes — Native weapons — Rock Paintings — Native beliefs — Attempted attack on the settlement — Disaster to H.M.S. Guardian — Governor Phillip wounded — Matthew Flinders and George Bass — Captain Vancouver — Tasmania visited — Bass reaches Port Western — Discovery of the Mount Keira coalfield — Flinders and Bass circumnavigate Tasmania ...... Page i CHAPTER II. THE EARLY GOVERNORS. Arthur Phillip — His early career — Appointed by Lord Sydney — Lord Howe's letter — Success of the voyage — Proves to be an excellent ruler — Francis Grose — William Paterson — John Hunter — His previous career — En- courages exploration — His hunt of the wild cattle — Philip Gidley King — His difficulties with the New South Wales Corps — William Bligh — His incompetence as a ruler — Prosecution of Captain Macarthur — The governor deposed and sent out of the colony — George Johnston — Joseph Foveaux — William Paterson again acts as governor — Lachlan Macquarie — His masterful ways and enlightened policy — His attempts to reform the currency — Thomas Makdougall Brisbane — His distinguished career as a soldier — His devotion to astronomy — Founds Parramatta obser- vatory — Encourages immigration — Improves the breed of horses — Difficulties with the currency — William Stewart, acting governor — Ralph Darling — His troubles with the press — Encourages exploration — Attacked by Wentworth — Peter Cunningham's eulogy of Darling . Pagf 55 (xi) xii CONTENTS CHAPTER III. SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Site of the city — Its narrow streets — Parramatta — The first land grants — The first settlers — Flocks and herds begin to flourish — The printing press first used — Architecture — Storehouses and factories — Peron's de- scription of Sydney — Froude's impressions .... Page 83 CHAPTER IV. THE LADY NELSON, BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION, AND THE INVESTIGATOR. The Lady Nelson — Built with centreboards — Her voyage out under James Grant — Traces the north coast for some distance west of Western Port — Ordered to continue his explorations — John Murray appointed to the command — Discovery of Port Phillip — The French expedition — Na- poleon's objects — Voyage of the Geographe and Natnralistc — Flinders reaches Australia in the Investigator — Surveys the coast from Gape Leeuwin eastwards — Meeting with the French in Encounter Bay — Arrives at Sydney — Sails to survey the eastern and northern coasts — Returns to Sydney — Wrecked on the voyage home — Returns to Sydney in a boat of his own building — Again starts for England and is imprisoned at Mauritius — The French claims to his discoveries fortunately disproved by prior publication Page 98 CHAPTER V. CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. The mountains described — The many attempts to cross them — Phillip — Tench and Arndell — Dawes — Tench and Dawes — Tench — Paterson — Hacking — Bass — Caley — Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth at last succeed — Evans reaches the Bathurst Plains . . . Page 112 CHAPTER VI. MAKING THE ROADvS, FOUNDING OF BATHURST, FURTHER EXPLORATION. Macquarie's road-making policy — His methods contrasted with the old colonial ways — The Great Western Road — The Great Southern Road — The Great North Road — Macquarie selects the site for the town of Bathurst — Evans ordered to survey the Macquarie River — Oxley's ex- CONTENTS xiii pedition — Discovers the Wellington Valley — His second expedition — His description of a native burial ground — Allan Cunningham north of Bathurst — Oxley explores the Brisbane River — Sturt and Hume discover the Darling River — Sturt explores the Murrumbidgee and reaches Lake Alexandrina — Mitchell's explorations ..... Page 136 CHAPTER VII. THE NEW SETTLEMENTS. The old parishes — The Cow Pastures — The Hunter River and Newcastle — The Hawkesbury floods — Macquarie's townships — Liverpool — Campbell Town — Goulburn — Parramatta — Bathurst as a centre of exploration — Governor Darling's visit in 1829 — Wellington — Western Port — Tas- mania — The Tasmanian natives — Mosquito, the native bushranger — Governor Arthur's attempt to localise the natives — Robinson's remark- able scheme succeeds — Hume and Hos'ell's discoveries — Second attempt to reach Port Phillip by sea — Philip King's voyage to North- Western Australia — Port Essington — Melville Island — Voyages of the Mermaid — A very much ship-wrecked mariner — Western Australia — Norfolk Island Pane 160 CHAPTER Vni. THE PIONEERS AND THE NATIVES OF THE INTERIOR. The early settlers — Their houses and estates — .\ttack on Campbell's house at Goimbla — A cattle station in the bush — The natives of the Bathurst district — Their primitive beliefs — Their intelligence and character — Disputes with the settlers as to ownership of the land — Cattle stealing — Native method of cooking mutton — The chiefs at Bathurst — The corro- boree mourning customs — Native modes of burial — Native songs — Canoes — A commissioner of Crown Lands crosses a river — The natives as hunters Page 212 CHAPTER IX. THE FIRST REGIMENTS, THE BUSHRANGERS AND THE POLICE. The Marines — The New South Wales Corps— The 73rd — The Roval Veteran Corps— The 46th— The 48th— The Buft's— The 40th— The 57th — Death of Captain Logan — The 39th — Bushrangers — Poaching of cattle — Bush constables — Mounted police— Appointment of Captain Forbes Page 241 xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER X. THE FIRST CHURCHES. The first chaplain — Richard Johnson — Builds the first church — It is burnt down — Services held in a store — Service held at the Orphan School — Samuel Marsden arrives — Building of St. Philip's — The first church at Parramatta — Henry Fulton — Marsden visits England — William Cowper — Robert Cartvvright — Marsden as a farmer — Marsden founds a mission station in New Zealand — St. Philip's at Sydney enlarged — St. Matthew's, Windsor — Christ Church, Newcastle — The first churches at the Castle- reagh, at the Hawkesbury, at Campbelltown, at Port Macquarie, at Bathurst — St. James's, Sydney — Archdeaconry of New South Wales formed — Bishop Heber — Thomas Hobbes Scott appointed first arch- deacon — Number and character of the churches^Prominent laymen — Captain Wallis — Sir Edward Parry the arctic explorer — His life at Port Stephens — Lady Darling — Roman Catholic churches — Presbyterian churches — Dr. Lang — The Wesleyans .... Page 263 CHAPTER XI. AUSTRALIA'S PHYSICAL FEATURES; ITS ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE. General view of the continent — Traces of volcanic action — Its harbours and inland valleys, due to marine denudation — Snow on the mountains — Bush fires — Grain and the weeds — Gardening — Gardens of Port Jackson — Trees — Grasses — Wildflowers — The horse and its riders — Mustering cattle — Hunting — The dingo — Fruit-bats and their devastations — Birds — Familiar names of unfamiliar species — Conclusion. . Page 294 APPENDIX. List of towns and stations and the distance in miles from Sydney Page 321 INDEX Page 327 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I'AGE Monument to Captain Cook at Sydney . . . Frontispiece William Dam pier 2 William Dampier reaches Australia ...... 3 Captain Cook 6 The First Known Pictures of Australia. Wreck of the Dutch Ship Batavia near Geraldton, West Australia, in 1628 . 7 Captain Cook lands in New South Wales. {From an old print, 1807) 10 Sydney Heads 15 Natives fishing at Port Jackson 25 Sydney Natives climbing Trees 29 Tracing of an Egyptian Missile which was supposed by some old Writers to resemble the Boomerang .... 32 Natives of Australia smoking out the Opossum • • • 33 Natives fishing with the Fiz-gig ....... 37 Captain Phillip finds the Carvings on the Rocks at Sydney. (From an old print, 1807) ........ 40 Cave Drawing discovlred by Sir George Grey in West Australia . 41 Cave Drawing discovered by Sir George Grey in West Australia 42 Count de la Perouse, the French Navigator who reached Botany Bay Six Days after Captain Phillip had anchored there, and afterwards landed in Tasmania .... 50 Arthur Phillip, Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of New South Wales 56 Bennilong, one of the Natives who accompanied Governor Phillip to England 60 Captain John Hunter ......... 63 6 xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Captain Philip Gidley King 65 Captain William Bligh. {By kind permission of Messrs. H Graves <&■ Co., Ltd.) 67 Major-General Lachlan Macquarie 71 Sir Thomas Brisbane 75 Sir Ralph Darling 79 Sydney Cove. (From an early painting) ...... 89 Sydney. (As Peron saw it) . . . . . . . . -93 The Lady Nelsoa'. (By kind permission of Messrs. Longmans, Green, &• Co.) .......... 99 An Exploring Party with Phillip and Hunter. (From a sketch by Captain Hunter) . . . . . . 115 Australian Natives spearing Parrots in the Blue Mountains 128 Sketch Map of the Country West of the Blue Mountains. (Discovered by G. W. Evans) . . . . . . .134 A Native Chief of Bathurst. (From " Oxley's Ext>lorations") . 143 Devices carved by the Natives on the Trees at Wellington 148 Lachlan River at Condobolin 155 The Tank Stream, Sydney i6i Captain Cook landing at Adve.nture Bay, Tasmania. (By R. Caton Woodvillc) 185 Vlamingh's Plate Giving an Inscription of Hartog's Plate Found by Him on Dirk Hartog Island, and also a Second Inscription of His Own as Shown in the above Copy 202 Natives of Australia on Trial 227 Native Burial Ground near Wellington, N. S. Wales. (From "Oxley's Explorations") ....... 231 Natives spearing the Kangaroo 237 The 3RD Regiment of Buffs in 1823 249 St. Philip's Church, Sydney 266 St. John's Church, Parramatta 267 Windsor Church .......... 272 Holy Trinity Church, Kelso (Old Bathurst) .... 273 Richmond Church .......... 275 Bishop Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, under which See the Diocese of New South Wales was placed by Royal Charter in 1823 ........ 277 St. Leonard's Church . . . . . . . . .281 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Rear-Admiral Sir VV. Edward Parry The Scotch Church, Parramatta The Opossum The Vampire The Duck-billed Platypus The Wonga-Wonga Pigeon The Giant Kingfisher The Emu .... PAGE 283 291 2gq 312 313 315 316 CHAPTER I. THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION. The colonisation of Australia has been entirely the work of the British, Whatever may have been the nationality of its first discoverer, its subsequent de- velopment has been under the British fiag alone. Thevet, the French geographer, as far back as 1550, tells us of the discovery of an Austral Land by an English pilot, but who the pilot was, is not easy to affirm, nor is there as yet positive proof that the Austral Land was Australia. So far as is known the first Englishman to visit the continent was William Dampier who arrived on the north-western coasts in the Cygnet^ commanded by Swan, the buccaneer, in January, 1688. Following him after a long interval, in 1770, came Captain James Cook, in H.M.S. Endeavour, who, as has been told so often and with so much detail, after circumnavigating New Zealand, examined the whole of the eastern coast of Australia and gave it the name of New South Wales from a supposed resemblance to the South Wales of Great Britain. Australia appears, however, to have been dis- appointing to its first discoverers. Not only was it much smaller than had been imagined by geo- 2 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA graphers, but it was found wanting in the natural productions necessary for the welfare of Europeans. Compared with the first points of land reached in America, it was barren and unfruitful. The Dutch would not have neolected their discoveries on the west coast had they not believed the descriptions of their seamen, who spoke of the " barren, sandy William Dampier. shores and wild, rocky coasts inhabited by naked black people, malicious and cruel ". Besides these rocks and barren sand hills there seems to have been little for the Dutch to describe ; the other details in the old journals only tell of mishaps to their ships, and the difficulty of finding fresh water. Dam pier's account is more interesting. In it we obtain glimpses of "the land of indifferent height with many gentle risings neither steep nor high — William Dampier reaches Australia. T * THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 5 with white sand near the shore, but further inland red, — producing grass in great tufts, with heath and shrubs about ten feet high having their tops covered with leaves . . . and bushes of divers sorts with yellow flowers, or blossoms, some blue and some white — most of them with a very fragrant smell ".^ This description answers to many a spot on the western coast. Yet neither the Eno-Hsh nor the Dutch (after 1628) attempted to colonise it. In the log of his first voyage Cook has told us simply and faithfully in sailor language what the eastern coast appeared to him. He saw its long low shores "all white with sand" fringed with foam- ing surf and farther off the Blue Mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range, which as they roll back from the moving waves, appear a finer sea of richer blue although they here "look out upon the greatest and deepest mass of water on the globe — the Tasman Sea and South Pacific". It was not until twenty- eight years after Cook and Banks had seen and written so favourably upon the newly discovered land that the British Government attempted to make use of their discoveries. The loss of the American colonies induced the authorities to turn their attention to these distant possessions. The first proposal, made by Mr. Matra, afterwards British consul at Tanoiers, to form a ' Trigonella suavissima. " Exactly resembling new mown hay in perfume which it gives out even in the freshest state of verdure. \\'hen at sea off Cape Leuwin in September, 1827, after a three months' voyage I was sensible of a perfume from the shore " (see Mitchell's East Australia, vol. ii., p. 65). <.- 6 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA settlement as a home for the loyal Americans who, during the War of Independence, had lost their for- tunes in supporting the king's cause, was favoured by Lord Sydney. The latter, however, saw its /^*- usefulness for another purpose, and suggested it as a suitable region for the reception of criminals con- demned to transportation, a class formerly sent to the American plantations. THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 9 The French, at this time, were also preparing to form settlements in the Pacific. Owing to their activity, the Sydney scheme was the more readily accepted and, in August, 1786, orders were given to equip an expedition. Captain Arthur Phillip, R. N., w^as selected by Lord Sydney for the command, and appointed "governor and commander-in-chief of the territory of New South Wales and of his Majesty's ships and vessels on that coast ". No time was lost and a fleet left England in 1787, consisting of H.M.S. SiJ^ms,^ frigate. Captain John Hunter, and H.M.S. Supply, tender, under Lieutenant Ball, with three store ships and six transports carrying the prisoners, making about 1,163 persons. H.M.S. Hycsna bore the vessels company for some little distance, returning to England with despatches from Captain Phillip, while the fleet, touching for supplies at Teneriffe, Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope, directed its course to New South Wales. At Rio plants and seeds, amongst others, of coffee, cotton, banana, orange, lemon, guava, tama- rind, prickly pear, pineapple and ipecacuanha were obtained. At the Cape other seeds and fig-trees, sugar-canes, bamboos, Spanish reeds, various grape vines, apple, pear, quince and oak-trees, myrtle shrubs and strawberry plants were placed in the ships, and in the space of a month 500 domestic animals, chiefly cattle and horses, were taken on board. ^ The Sirius was originally The Berwick and intended for the East India Company. Meeting with an accident by fire she was purchased by the Government and her name changed. She was of about 520 tons burden. lo COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA On 25th November when eighty leagues east- ward of the Cape, Captain Phillip left the Sirhis, and went on board the Supply, taking with him Captain Cook lands in New South Wat.es. {From an old print, 1807.) Lieutenants King and Dawes of the Marines, with all the best engineers and artificers, to hurry on and choose a place for the reception of the fleet. The THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION ii three fastest vessels followed in his wake, while Hunter, in the Sirius, took charge of the remaining transports. Since Cook coasted the eastern shores no ships had visited that part of Australia. The natives had probably forgotten all about the coming of the white men in the Endeavoji)- until, early one midsummer morning, on 1 8th January, 1788, the 5//// /j/ arrived. The first impressions of the place were disap- pointing. The green meadows described by Banks were found to be barren swamps and sterile sands, owinor doubtless to a droutrht that had befallen the country ; and the bay itself, although extensive, was exposed to the full sweep of easterly winds which blew violently and rolled a heavy sea that broke with tremendous surf against the shore. Owing to the many shallows the Supply was com- pelled to anchor a little distance from land. Some forty natives were fishing near the south shore. When they saw the ship they ran along the beach and appeared to be greatly frightened. Dragging their canoes out of the water, the men placed them upon their backs and ran off with them into the bush, while the women saw that none of the little children or any fishing tackle was left behind. A few bolder spirits remained and ventured down to the water's edge, brandishing spears of amazing length, clubs, sticks and wooden pommellers of a vast weight, and in threatening attitudes shouted " Warra, warra," " Warra, warra" — "Begone, begone" — at those in the ship, exactly the same words that Captain Cook had heard the natives use years before when the J 2 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Endeavour anchored in Botany Bay, words which neither he nor Tupia could understand. On the north side of the bay only six or sev^en natives were observed, so it was at this point that, during the day, Captain Phillip with Lieutenants Ball, King and Dawes of the Marines, prepared to land. In consequence of the hostility of the small band of blacks who kept up a continuous attack with stones, the sailors, to avoid a quarrel, rowed along the shore for some little distance until the boat came to a spot where Phillip thought he would find water. The search was unsuccessful, and about sunset the party re-embarked and rowed back to that part of the beach opposite which the Supply had anchored. More natives, armed with spears and waddies, had gathered there and gazed in wonder at the ship. Phillip beckoned to them and by signs told them that he wanted water ; but they still gazed on. Growing impatient Phillip sprang out of the boat, handed his musket to the man nearest him and, without showing the slio-htest fear, walked towards the black men, offering presents in order to show them his friendly intentions. Seeing at last that the o-overnor fre- quently waved his hand to his own party to retire, one of the oldest blacks came forward and giving his lance to a younger man advanced alone. When the natives understood what Phillip wanted they placed their spears and clubs upon the ground and led the governor and his party to a rivulet of fresh water. This party of blacks appeared peace- ably inclined, but on Phillip's return to the beach THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION ij Other natives were found orathered who seemed to resent the landing strongly, and to reach the boat it became necessary to fire off a gun, which quickly dis- persed them. On the following day, 19th January, three trans- ports, which the Supply had outsailed, arrived, and reported that the hay for the cattle on board was almost exhausted. A small party was conse- quently sent to cut grass for the animals and Captain Phillip made a tour of the south of the bay, his visit of the day before having been to the northern side. In this second expedition the governor saw the inhabitants again and advanced alone to meet them. A green branch was used by both parties as a sign of friendship, and the blacks also threw down their lances to show they were amicably disposed. Mean- while the sailors gave the natives pieces of coloured flannel, red baize, paper cut like stars, and beads, with which they promptly adorned themselves, binding the baize round their heads and causing considerable amusement to their comrades. They showed that they were excellent mimics and could take off the marines to perfection. The sound of the fife delighted them ; but when the drum was played they hastily fled into the woods and would not return until it ceased. The headeear of the strangers seemed also to please them, and se\'eral hats were stolen from their owners' heads, and when- ever an Englishman took off his hat they gave shouts of approval. The governor displayed great energy in his attempts to conciliate the Australians and to explore 14- COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA the country. With two boats he coasted along the shore for twelve or fourteen miles and found two rivers, one running in a north-easterly direction, the other seeminof to trend to the south-west. As he was going up the former stream for some six miles numbers of natives were seen, some fishing in their canoes, others drying the fish on the banks. A few large fish (snapper), were hanging from the trees. The natives ran away as the British approached, and made a curious noise as they hid themselves in the wood. For the first time it was noticed that they possessed dogs covered with long shaggy hair. As the boat returned down the river the blacks re- appeared on the banks, running and shouting " Warra, warra " as before. There were some miserable huts to the south-west, and the country beyond appeared to be very mountainous. '* Heavy in clouds came on the day " (20th January) of the arrival of Hunter in the Siriits with the re- mainder of the fleet. " To us," wrote Captain Tench, " it was a great and important day and I hope will mark the foundation . . . of an empire." The stream of fresh water on the north side of the bay which the natives had shown Phillip proved a fairly good one, but the approach was so narrow and covered with underofrowth that it was with diffi- culty the boat could be forced along. The banks proved soft and spongy and unfit for building opera- tions. Point Sutherland, where the best water was to be had, was unapproachable by the ships. For these and other reasons Phillip determined to find a better and more convenient landing spot. Accompanied "^t/sk-v THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 17 by Collins and Hunter, he set out from Botany Bay on 2 1st January, in three open boats to survey the coast higher up. An opening marked Port Jackson on Cook's chart first attracted notice, and the governor determined to explore it. The weather was mild and clear, and the boats sailed close to the land until they reached the two rocky headlands which guard the entrance. Both the headlands were very steep, the sea breaking on the rocks with great force and sending showers of spray into the air. The wild cries of the natives on the cliffs above were heard as the white men entered the harbour. Gesticulating and shouting the natives followed the boats for some distance. But the long heavy swell of the ocean subsided and the shouts of the blacks and the deafeninQ^ roar of the surf Q^rew fainter as the sailors found themselves crossing smooth clear water and beheld in front of them a most beautiful harbour around which were bays and coves with yellow sands and rocky points, many of them covered with soft pfreen foliag-e to the water's edo-e. Farther away were hills on which grew tall trees with leaves of faint green like those noticed along the outer coasts. The governor was struck with the love- liness of the scene, and as he had found a safe har- bour and both wood and water he decided to make it the site of his settlement. The spot chosen was at the head of the cove near a spring which stole silently through a thick wood, the stillness of which was for the first time broken by the sound of an axe. The cove was given the name of Sydney in 1 8 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA honour of Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, then Home Secretary in Pitt's government. To him Phillip wrote: "We got into Port Jackson early in the afternoon and had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security ". He called the stream of fresh water the Tanks, known later as the Tank Stream. Three days were spent in surveying Port Jack- son and many of the aborigines grew well disposed towards the white men, while a chief, who went along with Phillip to inspect the camp where the men were boilins: meat for dinner, o-ave evidence of both intelligence and courage. At another point a party of twenty natives waded into the water to receive the gifts offered them, and showed such manly trustfulness in the British sailors that the governor afterwards gave the spot the name of Manly Cove. On the evening of the 23rd Phillip returned to Botany Bay and directions were given to prepare to proceed to Port Jackson. On the following- morning there appeared in the bay two strange vessels the arrival of which in this far-off" land caused great surprise. They were not, as some at first thought, Dutch ships or store ships, but two French men-of-war, the Boiissole and Astrolabe under the Count de la Perouse, then on a voyage of discovery. Phillip recollected that they had left France in 1785, some two years before the English fleet had sailed. La Perouse knew of the intended settlement at Port Jackson and told Phillip that he THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 19 had heard of it at Kamchatka and expected to find a town built, and a market estabHshed. Visits were exchanged, and the British prepared to move on to Sydney, while the French remained at Botany to overhaul their ships and take in water and provi- sions before continuing their voyage. They had last left Samoa where at the island of Maouna they had lost De rr\na-le, commander of the Astrolabe, with several other officers and seamen and both their long boats in an attack made by natives while search- ing for water. La Perouse had sailed thence to Botany Bay guided by Cook's chart, which lay before him on the binnacle, and on his way had anchored off Norfolk Island but had not landed on account of the surf. During their stay the French were not idle. The officers pitched their tent on shore, set up a small observatory, and put together the frames of two large boats which they had brought from Europe. Their chaplain, Pere Receveur, who had acted as their naturalist, shortly after landing died of wounds received at the hands of the Samoans. They nailed two pieces of board to a tree as a memorial, and when in time these fell off, Phillip replaced them with a plate of copper which, in turn, gave place to the present monument, the expense of which was partly defrayed in 1825 by the French officers in the expedition under De Bougainville. After a stay of seven days at Botany Bay, Phillip sailed in the Supply to Port Jackson. Captain Hunter followed next day. and the passage taking only a few hours, the convoy entered the harbour on 20 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA a bright and beautiful evening and anchored in deep water close to the head of Sydney Cove, On the following day, 27th January, the landing was effected. The first undertaking was to clear the ground and erect houses, the framework of which had been broutrht from Eno^land. Meanwhile the settlers en- camped in tents and under the trees " in a country resembling the woody parts of a deer park in Eng- land " ; and, to begin with, there was a good deal of confusion mingled with amusement at the novel experiences. In one place were "a party cutting down wood, another setting up a forge, a third dragging a load of provisions ; here stood an officer pitching his tent, with his troops parading on one side of him and a cook's fire blazing furiously on the other ". On the Sunday after landing divine service was held under the shade of a large tree at which the Rev. Richard Johnson, chaplain to the settle- ment, officiated. On 7th February, the judge advocate read before the whole community the proclamation and took possession of the colony of New South Wales in the name of Great Britain and appointed Captain Phillip governor-in-chief with Major Ross as lieutenant- governor ; at the same time letters patent were issued for establishinof courts of civil and criminal judicature and a vice-admiralty court for the trial of offences committed on the hioh seas. Phillip, having seen that his orders were being carried out, started to explore the country along the coast, and, in March, with a long boat and cutter, made an expedition to Broken Bay ; but the rain THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 21 and the difficulty of working among deep mud and sandbanks prevented him from making a detailed survey. The land there appeared to be higher than at Port Jackson ; a fine harbour was discovered, and some interviews with the natives took place. On loth March, amid the regrets of the whole com- munity, the French ships sailed ; their course took them to Tasmania and ended in their being wrecked on the coral reef off Vanikoro, north of the New Hebrides, where their remains were found in 1826, their fate having been a mystery for nearly forty years. One of the first orders Captain Phillip gave, as soon as land enough had been cleared, was to plant the rice, wheat and barley purchased at Rio and the Cape, the first land cultivated being at Farm Cove. The harvest was bad, and none of the larger plants throve or came to maturity. The pasture was so thin and poor that of their forty-four sheep, thirty- four died before the ships which had brought out the expedition left Sydney, and the cattle, much reduced during the voyage, did little better. Six of the herd, through the neglect of their keepers, strayed into the bush in June. Five hundred men were sent in ])ursuit for some fifteen miles, but no trace of the cattle could be found and the general opinion was that the natives had driven them farther up into the country. All the stock were kept upon the East Ridge of the cove. The natives took a lively interest in their disembarkation and cried out " Kangaroo ! " again and again when they saw the sheep. The 2 2 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA pigs seemed to thrive better than the other ani- mals, and multipHed exceedingly ; twenty-eight were originally landed, but five of these, which were in a pen beneath a large tree, were soon afterwards killed by lightning. Thunderstorms were very frequent in this year (1788) and the effect of the lightning visible on every hill was most startling. During the first six months three earthquakes were felt, the most severe happening on 22nd June, in the forenoon, when the settlement was clouded in sulphurous vapour for some time after the shock. On 4th June, 1788, that portion of the settle- ment lying between the northernmost point of Broken. Bay and the southernmost point of Botany Bay, and extending westwards to the Lansdowne and Car- marthen Hills was named the county of Cumberland. At the same time in honour of the king's birthday the usual salutes were fired, and, as there was plenty of timber, bonfires were made in the evening, accord- ing to the old English custom, to celebrate the occa- sion. From time to time many large birds appeared in the harbour, and brown wedge-tailed eagles from the interior were seen as well as parrots and other bright plumaged birds, but all of them kept well out of danger. Near Sydney, the fish locally known as bream and mackerel were commonly caught, and they formed the chief food supply. To the British when they first arrived in New South Wales, as to Dampier when he visited the western coast, the most remarkable animal was the kangaroo, quaintly described as "a quadruped as THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 23 large as a sheep, the neck, head and shoulders small in proportion to the remainder of the body, the tail long and going off to a point. . . . The fore-legs only measure eight inches long and are kept bent close under the breast and seem to be only used for dig-ainp- in the oround, for the animal never walks but leaps like a frog in an erect posture ; the hind legs are near twenty-two inches long and serve to make a seat for the animal which is always discovered in that posture when he is not leaping along. The skin is grey, of a mouse colour, the ears are like those of a hare, and the flesh is like venison only with a brackish taste." The great grey kangaroo, the finest of the group, is probably the one thus described. It feeds upon the native grasses and the leaves of shrubs, possesses an acute sense of hearing, and is wonderfully swift in its spring ; the older ones are very wary, and it is seldom that an "old man" kangaroo is taken. The skin, when tanned, is valu- able for its elasticity and softness. The rock wallaby is smaller, being only about three feet in length, while the kangaroo rat is about twice the size of an English watervole. We learn from the earliest records that the Australian aborigines at Sydney Cove varied in height from about five feet four inches to five feet nine inches, but some would measure six feet. The men were of slight buikl and fairly well made, the women scarcely so tall. Generally speaking they had the projecting brows, broad noses, wide mouths and thick lips which led the colonists to compare them to the negro ; but their hair and beards were 24 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA short and curly, not woolly, their eyes dark hazel, and their skin a deepish brown. They appeared to practise curious ceremonies such as punching out the two front teeth on the right side of the upper jaw of the men, and the amputation of the joints of the' little finoer of the left hand of the o-irls who were appointed to catch fish for the tribe ; while scars upon the body seemed to be considered ornamental. In course of time the colonists became acquainted with the character and mode of life of the Australian natives at Port Jackson. They made no attempt to cultivate the ground, but depended for food wholly on the fruits, roots and animals the country produced. Fishing, indeed, seemed to occupy most of their time, probably because it yielded their chief sustenance, and also because it afforded them sport. They seldom ate food raw unless pressed by hunger ; and broiled their meat, fish and vegetables, many of the last being poisonous to white men. The natives appeared to feel the cold acutely, and when not round the fire sheltered themselves in bad weather amono- the caves and rocks. In winter they slept in round huts constructed of boughs and bark about four feet high and open on one side only. Many quarrels occurred between the settlers and the blacks, and the white men would, perhaps, have been more severe upon the aborigines for their de- predations had not several settlers been convicted in the year 1 800 of the murder of a natix'^e boy. Before that year Europeans at the Hawkesbury River had their huts burned, their stock stolen, and their corn- fields despoiled by members of the tribe. The THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 27 settlers were compelled to use their firearms and a reward was offered for the head of the chief of this tribe, and was afterwards claimed when his head was brought into Sydney. In April, 1808, the Fly, a Government vessel, sought refuge at Bateman's Bay from bad weather, and three of her crew were landed to search for water ; it was arranged that in case of danger a musket should be fired. The men had left their boat when the seashore became suddenly thronged with natives. The musket was accordingly dis- charofed, and the sailors, reachino- the boat, were putting off when they were assailed by a flight of spears. The three unfortunate men fell back dead from their oars. Seizing- the boat the savages went off in it together with several canoes to attack the ship ; and they were so numerous that the crew cut the cable of the Fly and made for the open sea. Once the natives grew familiar with the presence of the Europeans, they gave less trouble in Sydney. Their principal acts of hostility were to expel the white men from the fishing grounds which they justly believed to be their own property. Crops were sometimes set on fire, possibly more through ignorance than malice. A settler at Parramatta once noticed a chief passing too near his haystacks with a lighted firebrand. He called to him and spoke to him about the danger of fire, but the chief calmly replied: "The countr)- is ours, we must have our fire, so you must take care of your corn ". Wlien Cook saw notches in the trees he probably 28 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA did not know that they were made by the natives when searchino- for food. This method of huntinof is only practised by the Australian aborigines. The opossum, kangaroo rat, flying squirrel and other animals which live in the trunks of hollow trees were obtained in this manner. Most of them, being nocturnal in their habits, sleep during the day, and therefore become an easy prey to the hunter, who can tell by the freshness of the scratches on the stem of the tree when the animal ascended it. What expert climbers the aborigines were may be guessed by the height of the trees, the blue gum, measuring sometimes over sixty feet in one smooth shaft. Un- slino-ino; his stone hatchet from his belt the native prepared to climb the tree, cutting notches as he ascended. The first and second notches were cut as he stood on the eround, the first notch beino- level with the thigh on the left hand, the second opposite the right shoulder; the two cuts were made with the hatchet to form each notch, one slanting, the other horizontal. Into these the big toe of each foot was inserted while the climber, stretching his arm round the tree, made the ascent to the upper- most outlet, where he waited until the rest of his party had set fire to the dried grass or reeds which filled the lower part of the trunk. Then the animal, in its endeavour to escape from the smoke, rushed up the hollow trunk through, the hole at the top, to be promptly killed by the native watching for him. When cuttino- the notches the whole weight of the climber rested on the toe, and in moving upwards he held the hatchet between his teeth. The hatchets Syunky Nativks ci.iMBiNi; Treks. THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 31 used before the coming of the white men were of stone, but afterwards iron ones took their place. Of all the natural produce of the forest there was nothing- the natives liked better than wild honey, and in traversing the woods, their eyes were almost always looking up into the trees in search of it. This almost black honey was the produce of a small stingless bee which made its hive in the hollow trees. It was obtained in much the same fashion as the opossums, but when the bees made their hives in the slender branches the gin (or woman) being the lighter climber usually did the work. She would wind her left arm round the body of the trunk, hold- ing the hatchet between her teeth, and would, if she could reach the hive, place the honeycomb in a sort of calabash slung round her neck, but if not she would lop off the branch, letting it fall at her hus- band's feet. The natives ate the honey as they found it and made a beverage of the refuse comb called " bull " which possessed intoxicating properties. Throughout New South Wales the throwing stick and spear served the purposes of the bow and arrow of other nations. The natives at Sydney also carried shields, painted red and white, oval or tri- angular in shape, made of the outside of hard wood, the bark being left on, making them almost impene- trable. The best known weapon was the boomerang of which there were several kinds, some for throwin^r at birds or animals, some for war, some so contrived that after circling" through the air for several feet they would return to the thrower if they did not strike anything in their course. Some writers have 32 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA dwelt on the similarity between the boomerang and a missile used by the ancient Egyptians for killing ducks as represented on the walls at Thebes. The annexed illustration of this missile may therefore be of interest as showing that the resemblance, if any, is somewhat distant. When only a small child the x'\ustralian black learns to notice the faintest tread on the ofrass, or on the bare soil, from a stone upturned or from the Tracing of an Egyptian Missile which was supposed by some old writers to resemble the boomerang. broken dry leaves, to know how many men have passed and how long since. As a child he is taught to catch a native bee at the waterside, to attach to it the soft tiny white feather or thistledown and when he sets it free to follow, running swiftly to find the hive. Hiding' in the orass or reeds he lies waiting" patiently for hours for the wood pigeon or brush kangaroo, while the men of the tribe spread them- selves in a circle at some distance, hidden by the Natives of Australia smoking out the Opossum. THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 35 boughs of the trees, until they can with certainty spear the marsupial, when the boy rushes in to help deal the deathblow. In the rivers where the large fish gleam the black boy learns to swim and dive and sometimes spears a fish, taking his aim from the white boulders in the middle of the stream. The natives, according to the old reports, caught their fish in several ways ; first by the hook and line, in which sport the females also joined, one girl in each family being entrusted with the duty ; secondly with a net or seine ; and thirdly by means of weirs. The hooks were of pearl oyster-shell, cut or ground to the required shape, and the lines were made from the bark of trees, beaten until it was fibrous, when the finest strings were drawn out and twisted into strands of any length. The best bark for this purpose was that of the currajong tree {Stcrculia diversifolia). From the same fibrous bark the nets were constructed, the meshes being knotted like, and sometimes quite as neatly as, those of European fishermen. The natives also fished with the fiz-gig or fish-gig, a jointed spear which could be made any length from three up to fifteen feet, and was armed with two, three or four prongs, each barbed with shell or fishbone. The canoes of the natives were made of bark in the south, and of hollow tree-trunks in the north ; those of bark had the ends securely lashed together with vine trailings and were cemented with yellow- resin ; they were stretched to the proper width, some- times having small ribs of wood or thwarts to keep them open. Occasionally they were made large enough to carry four persons, and two small paddles 3 * 36 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA were used in propelling them. These canoes were seldom seen on the fishino- orounds without a fire burning, a heap of seaweed or a sheet of wet bark and mud placed at one end of the canoe serving the purpose of a hearthstone. Hunting the kangaroo was the chief sport of the natives around Port Jackson. The animals were so wild that it was only with great difficulty the hunters were able to approach them. A number of natives would, therefore, surround some well-known haunt, and armed with spears try to drive in the kangaroos which would go springing off, bound after bound, from ten to twenty feet at a time, and by clearing the bushes many were able to escape. If the hunters were fortunate enough to catch them they afforded a sumptuous feast. The brush kangaroo was the species most hunted by the aborigines of the interior, where, the climate being less mild, it was prized not only as food but also for its skin. The spears were made chiefly from young shoots from the root of the yellow gum, selected with great care ; those most easily made were from the reed or stalk of the grass tree. The spears of each tribe were of a special pattern recognisable by other tribes. Some were simply pointed ; some were barbed six or seven inches from the point with from half a dozen to a dozen sharp bits of stone, shell, or bone like a fish-gig ; others had a star cut out of a fishbone at the end. The natives were expert marksmen and rarely failed to hit their object at fifty or sixty yards. By the aid of the womerah or throwung-stick, which was a short piece of wood twenty-four to thirty THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 39 inches long with the end a Httle hooked like the point of a crochet needle to fit into a hollow formed at the base of the spear, great v^elocity was given to the weapon. The womerah was generally orna- mented profusely, back and front, and was held horizontally in the right hand, the stout end of it passing between the first and second fingers while the finger and thumb supported the spear in a line above it. The left hand adjusted the elevation, and the aim was instantaneous, the spear being discharged with a sudden jerk. One of the simplest Australian weapons was the nulla-nulla, in shape like a child's rattle, with a sharp rim round the end of the knob, the wood from which it was made being either myall or myrtle. The leaves of the wild fig were used for polishing the thro wing-sticks, the points of lances and other weapons ; such leaves biting the wood almost as keenly as the shave grass used by joiners in Europe. Upon many of the rocks around Sydney and at Broken Bay were examples of the artistic efforts of the aborigines. Figures of men, birds, fishes, etc., were cut upon them, but the designs were in gen- eral extremely poor and rude, the best, perhaps, be- ing some which showed the natives either dancing or fighting. Governor Phillip mentions in his dis- patches one drawing, that of a kangaroo and a figure as if beginning to dance as uncommonly well done, and Bennett mentions the representation of a sperm whale on a rock opposite Dawes Battery at Port Jackson. The figures were cut on the smooth surface of large stones and representations of them- selves, canoes, fish and animals were tolerably good 40 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA drawings. In other places there was only a single hand upon a rock; the "white hand" most often met with was, the natives declared, executed with a Captain Phillip finds the Carvings on the Rocks at Sidney. {From an old print, 1807. ) mixture of ashes, burnt shells or pipe-clay ; the " red hand " showed the hand large and brick-red with the fingers widely extended, the pigment, as an old THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 41 aboriginal explained, being a mixture of blood and ashes. Mr. Westall, the artist who was with Captain Flinders, saw similar rude drawing re- presenting turtles, kangaroos, etc., and human hands on the north coast near Cape York and the islands close by. Sir George Grey found others in West Australia which are supposed to have been drawn C AVIi Dk.wvi.ni i\ i;ki-:i> i;v Sii^ ijKf)Rc;E (juF.v in Wkst Australia. by shipwrecked mariners, as one face is that of a European and a figure is garbed as a priest. The first aborigines seen by the white men knew nothing of the origin of these curious paintings, and said that they were the work of "old people," mean- ing people of a race extinct before the arrival of Europeans, and perhaps destroyed in early wars or 42 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA driven out to another country. It is possible that these native artists dipped their hands first in red pigment, then placed them against a rock and left the impression there. "Red hands" were usually Cave Drawing discovered by Sir George Grey IN West Australia. found in dry caves or rock shelters among the harbours of Port Jackson and Botany Bay. Various animals such as emus, kangaroos, dingos ^ and opos- ^ The only domestic animal the people possess is a dog which in their language is called dingo (see Phillip, History of New Holhifid). THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 43 sums, as well as fishes (snapper and sting-ray), weapons of war, sacred circles, dances and deities formed picture stories in these rock shelters. They were drawn as a rule on the fine-grained sandstone which afforded excellent opportunities. These rock shelters were generally far from trees or under- growth ; the carvings were sometimes found upon the tops of cliffs near the sea, and, if in the interior, among the ridges of hills on the higher tablelands. Occasionally, however, the bare smooth ledge of a rock on the mountain side or the stepping-stones in the bed of a river were used by the artist whereon to display his skill. In these outdoor pictures it would seem as though the object (in the case of a man or woman) had been traced on its shadow, the stone being punched or pricked with small holes from one to three inches apart along the outline and then a groove cut from hole to hole. In the sandstone drawings, the stone being porous, charcoal and red ochre seemed to have been most frequently used, white pictures being rarer. The outlines were at times drawn in a brown tint and fairly broad, the rest of the figure being- filled in with charcoal or red lines on solid black or red colour. It is difficult to arrive at the age of these drawings, the rate of decay differing in different rocks and different localities, but many hundreds of years have undoubtedly elapsed since they were made, and the colouring matter must have possessed some power which time could not destroy ; in this respect the rock pictures of America and Australia are alike. 44 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Many of the natives painted their bodies with pipeclay and adorned their hair which was greasy and matted, A curious way of keeping a calendar by the aborigines in the southern portion of New South Wales was to number the days in red pigment upon the body of a man. Beginning with the fore- finger of the right hand, the marks were passed up the whole length of the arm and over the head, then along the left arm to the tip of the forefinger of the left hand, and it was the duty of this living calendar to keep the tribe informed of the lapse of days. The character of the aborigines at Sydney after they came in contact with Europeans was by no means attractive. Their unprepossessing appearance — their indolent habits — their cunning and duplicity gave them a degraded social position from the first ; their history was uninteresting, and they had no records which to Europeans seemed worthy of study. Jt has been asserted that no country yet discovered is without some trace of religrion, but apparently the natives of New South Wales are an exception. They worship neither the sun nor the moon, nor the stars, nor could there be found, says an old writer, any object that impelled them to do good or deterred them from committing evil. People, however, learned that they possessed some idea of a future state, from the old belief among them that when a black fellow died, " He," as they expressed it, "tumbled down a black man, but jumped up a white one ". Colonel Collins, our earliest historian, tells how in order to gain more insight into their theories upon religious subjects, he ques- THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 45 tioned Bennilong, a native who had journeyed to England with Governor Phillip, as to the black fellows' ideas about death, and another existence. Bennilong replied that, "The black fellow came from the clouds and returned to the clouds," but further than this his answers appear to have afforded Collins little satisfaction. When the natives saw that the white people had taken up a permanent residence in their land, their behaviour changed. They withdrew altogether from the settlement, and seemed to give themselves up to fishing, probably because they had had so many quarrels with the PVench during the stay of La Perouse. During the following five months they paid only one visit to Sydney, when, according to Captain Tench, in the middle of the night the sentinels on the East Ridge were alarmed by the voices of aborigines near their post, and orders were given to take necessary precautions. When the bells of the ships in the harbour were struck and the sentinels called out " All's Well " the natives observed a dead silence for some minutes, though a moment before they had been talking with earnestness, and soon afterwards quietly de- parted, having evidently guessed that the settlement was prepared for an attack. Port Jackson prospered greatly under the wise rule of Phillip. At first no serious attempts at agri- culture could be made, and grave disaster through want of provisions more than once threatened. It had been arrano-ed that the settlement should never be left without twelve months' provisions, but H.M.S. 46 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Guardian^ a forty-four-gun ship commanded by Lieutenant Riou, despatched from England in the autumn of 1789 carrying stores, convicts, "and a complete garden for the colony, prepared under the directions of Sir Joseph Banks," was nearly wrecked after leaving the Cape of Good Hope. Her enter- prising commander on Christmas Eve met with an icebero- from which he determined to fill his water- casks, but unfortunately the ship struck one of its submerged promontories and began to leak so heavily as to be in danger of sinking. Next day Riou sent away some of his boats to try and reach Table Bay, but only one of them survived. This was picked up by a French merchantman, the Princess of Brittany, carrying troops, and landed at the Cape on i8th January, 1790. By skilful sea- manship Riou brought the almost helpless Guardian within sight of land, and on 21st February two whale boats came out from Table Bay and towed her in. Her preservation was attributed to the casks in the hold pressing down the lower deck, the hatchways of which were caulked down, so that she practically became a raft. With those who remained on board was Mr. Pitt, afterwards Lord Camelford, to whose influence her commander probably owed his promotion, he being "the gal- lant good Riou" of H.M.S. Amazon, mentioned in Campbell's poem, who was killed at Copenhagen and buried in St. Paul's. In the meantime the people at Sydney reached the verge of starvation, and only kept themselves alive by shooting and fishing. Vessels were de- THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 47 spatched to Batavia for supplies, and the Sirins was sent to the Cape ; but the whole of the valuable live stock which had been brought to the colony at so much expense had to be killed to sustain the population. It was not until the 3rd of June that relief came, and the safety of the settlement was assured. Three months afterwards Captain Phillip was present at a whale feast in the harbour, and whilst Bennilong was presenting to him some other abori- gines, the governor was wounded by one of them who imagined he was being taken prisoner. The spear which entered above the collar-bone and came through on the other side was immediately broken by Mr. Waterhouse, and though the affair took place some five miles from Sydney, in two hours Phillip was back in his house where the spear was extracted. I n ten days he had completely recovered, and hearinof from Bennilongr that the man attacked him from fear Phillip forgave his assailant and made a present to the natives as a token of goodwill. Hunter returned to Sydney in command of the Reliance, landing on 7th September, 1795. With him were Matthew Flinders, midshipman, and George Bass, surgeon, who rank among the most able and daring of Australian navigators. Within a month after they arrived at Port Jackson they fitted up a boat, only eight feet in length, called the Tom Thumb, in which they set sail and explored George's River for a distance of twenty miles beyond Captain Hunter's Government survey. In March, 1796, they again put to sea in the Tom T/utmb, with a boy to bear 48 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA them company, and gained a minute knowledge of the coast south of Botany Bay. They explored Port Hacking and met with many adventures, falling in with some savage tribes unseen before, but their poor equipment forced them to curtail their journey. The dangers they escaped were many. When their light boat was tossed on land, their muskets rusty and their powder wet, Flinders cleverly amused the natives, who were inclined to be hostile, by clipping their beards while Bass dried the powder and laid in a store of fresh water. Fortunately they did not know what the powder was, but they became so excited when their visitors began to clean their mus- kets that the muskets had to be left as they were. The next year, 1797, Lieutenant Shortland, also of the Reliance, while in pursuit of some run-aways, came upon an unknown river about one hundred miles north of Port Jackson, to which he gave the name of the Hunter, and also a harbour where, in the cliffs, a stratum of coal was found. Here a settlement was formed named Newcastle — afterwards, but only for a time, known as Kingstown. Meanwhile further discoveries of the Australian continent were made by Captain Vancouver, who had sailed from England in December, 1790, in command of H.M.S. Discovery and Chathavi, and reached the south coast of Western Australia. He took possession of King George's Sound. Having anchored on the anniversary of Princess Charlotte's birthday he called the place Princess Royal Harbour. " To commemorate our visit," he writes, " near the stump of one of the trees we had felled, in a pile of THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 49 Stones raised to attract any European, was left a bottle sealed containing parchnient inscribed with the names of the vessels and their commanders with the name ^iven to the Sound and the date of their arrival and departure. Another bottle was deposited at the top of Seal Island and a staff erected to which was attached a medal of the year 1789." In 1789 Captain Cox in the brig- Mercury had entered several bays in Tasmania, and on account of its numerous oysters named one of them Oyster Bay. Captain Bligh, in the Bounty, on his voyage to Tahiti had also touched at Tasmania, anchoring and planting fruit trees near Adventure Bay, which he visited again iri 1792. Tasmania was next visited by the French in search of La Perouse, an expedition having been sent out under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in the Recherche, and Esperance, for the purpose of learning the fate of the Boussole, and Astrolabe, and making further discoveries. The admiral anchored in Storm Bay in 1792, and discovered the river Derwent which he called Riviere du Nord, giving his own name to the channel between Bruni Island— also called after him — and Tasmania. Labillardiere, the botanist to the expedition, m his Voyage in Search of La Perouse mentions the prodigious height of the trees, some being one hundred and fifty feet, and says that dur ing an expedition inland the fruit trees that Bligh had planted were noticed, as well as the name and date of the expedition, cut into the forest trees, but only one native was seen. They found no trace ot the lost ships or of their crews, but in the year 4 50 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA 1809 when Captain Bunker of the Venus put into Adventure Bay in Bruni Island he noticed the stump of a tree car\"ed with French words which he de- ciphered sufficiently to induce him to dig in the ground beneath. There he found a sealed bottle containing three letters left by La Perouse — one to the French Government, the others merely mention- COUNT DE LA PfiROUSE, THE pRhNCH JsAMG AIOK WHO KtACHED Botany Bay Six Days after Captain Phillip had an'chored there, and afterwards landed in tasmania. ing his voyage, all three being dated a month after their departure from Sydney in 1788. In December, 1797, while Flinders was absent at Norfolk Island, Bass made another adventurous voyage. Gaining permission to take a whale boat manned with ei^ht volunteers from the Reliance he coasted along to the south and saw Shoalhaven, THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 51 Jervis Bay and Twofold Bay, Continuing his course he found the coast more exposed, and became con- vinced that a channel existed between the mainland and Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania), He touched at Wilson's Promontory ^ and Port Western, but, in spite of the fish, birds, and seals obtained for the crew, want of provisions compelled him to turn back from surveying the "very good harbour" which he had found, otherwise he would have reached Port Phillip (Melbourne). He returned in the following February, and on approaching one of the small islands at the south-east angle of New South Wales was surprised to find seven convicts who had escaped from Sydney, two of whom, as they were suffering from illness, he brought home with him, the others being given provisions and firearms to help them on their way back to the settlement. Meanwhile the colonists in Sydney were much interested in other discoveries of which they had heard, Mr. Clark, supercargo of an East Indiaman from Bengal to Sydney named The Sydney Cove, which was ashore on Preservation Island, one of the Furneaux Group, attempted with a portion of the crew to reach Sydney in the long boat. They were wrecked at Cape Howe, some three hundred miles ^Mr. William Wilson of H.M.S. Reliance was one of the crew in this expedition. After passing the straits named in honour of Dr. Bass, a headland of the Australian continent was sighted, and Bass and Wilson went off in the cock-boat to ex[)lore the coast. When they reached the small beach on its northern side ^\'ilson jumped ashore first and the point was henceforth called Wilson's Promontory. 4* 52 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA from Port Jackson, and were compelled to walk to their destination. Several perished by the way, some being cut off by the natives, and only three, picked up by a fishing" boat, reached Sydney, although others were afterwards rescued. The three who first arrived told of a number of rivers they had crossed on their way along the coast, one or two of which they had had to explore for some distance inland in order to cross them. They also reported that while endeavouring to light a fire one night they found coal among the stones on the beach. This was an important discovery, and eventually led to the opening up of what is now known as the Mount Keira coalfield. The voyage of Bass, just referred to, extended along three hundred miles of coast ; and, to complete the exploration, he and Flinders set off together early in October, 1798, in a small schooner of some twenty-five tons, built of Norfolk pine and named the Norfolk. Touching first at Twofold Bay, where they took refuge from a storm, they surveyed it, and running south saw many of the small islands north of Tasmania afterwards known as the Kent Group. Sailing along the northern shores of Tasmania they discovered Port Dalrymple, and the mouth of the Tamar. Driven back by gales to Furneaux Island on 2 1 St November, they left again for the south on 3rd December, and on the 6th discovered Circular Head, where they saw the wombat for the first time and numbers of petrels. On the 9th, while passing south of Three Hummock Island, a long swell was perceived to come from the south-west, THE DAWN OF AUSTRALIAN COLONISATION 53 and Flinders hailed it as " the completion of our long - wished - for discovery of a passage into the Southern Indian Ocean ". On the day on which Cape Grim was seen and named the land was observed to be washed by ocean breakers, which proved that a navigable open channel separated Australia and Tasmania. The channel is still known as Bass Straits. Following the west coast first to South-West Cape and past South-East Cape they saw the opening of Storm Bay and the river discovered by D'Entrecasteaux and called by him Riviere du Nord which in 1794 Captain Hayes had named the Derwent. Bass and Flinders sailed up this river, anchoring at its mouth on 21st De- cember. On 3rd January, 1799, they resumed their exploration of the eastern shores, and Tasmania was completely circumnavigated. They reached Sydney on 12th January after a voyage of five months, during which they had obtained much information about the island. Traces of inhabitants were observed, and important facts were gleaned about the fauna. Dr. Bass gave such a flattering description of the country that it was formally tarken possession of by Lieutenant Bowen in 1803 and a settlement was established there in 1804. Later in the year Flinders again set forth from Sydney to explore the east coast. He left on 8th August to sail north to Moreton Bay, so named by Cook, but his ship sprang a leak a few days after leaving Port Jackson and he was compelled to put into a bay where many aborigines were seen of finer 5+ COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA physique than those at Sydney. They turned out to be expert fishermen, living in villages consisting of circular huts, the framework of each being made of vine shoots crossed and bound over with orass to keep out wind and rain. Glasshouse Bay and Harvey Bay were also explored. After his return to Sydney from this expedition Flinders sailed for England almost immediately, reaching home at the end of 1800. The charts of his discoveries were published, and the home authorities, for the further exploration of Australia, fitted out an old ship of 334 tons, the Xenopkon, bought into the navy some years before, and renaming her the Investigator appointed him to her command. CHAPTER II. THE EARLY GOVERNORS. Upon the walls of many of the public buildings in Sydney and in various rooms at Government House may be seen the portraits of the first governors of Australia. One glance at these old pictures will show that the first orovernors were either sailors or soldiers and were taken from the quarterdeck of a man-of-war or from the head of a regiment. Being little encumbered with administrative councils or advisory committees, much had necessarily to be left to their discretion and therefore a short sketch of the career and character of each officer will help us to better understand the fortunes of the colony. The first four, Phillip, Hunter, King and Bligh were naval officers, possibly because the maritime position of Sydney made it at that time either the starting- point or the head-quarters for every voyage to the southern hemisphere whether English or French. Macquarie, Brisbane and Darling were soldiers, and were appointed when attention was turned from the surveying of the coast to the exploration of the in- terior. Captain Arthur Phillip was born in London where his father, a native of Frankfort, tausfht the German language. His choice of a profession and his early 55 56 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA success are perhaps due to the influence of his mother who had been the widow of Captain Herbert of the Royal Navy. Educated at Greenwich, he Arthl'r Phillip, Captain-General and Commandlr-ik-Chief OF New South Wales. joined the frigate Bitckiiighain and saw service first under the flag of Admiral Byng. In 1776 he offered his services to Portuoal, but hostilities breaking out between Great Britain and France he returned to THE EARLY GO^^ERNORS 57 England to fight for his own country, and was made commander and master of the Basilisk in Septem- ber, 1779. In 1 78 1 he was promoted to the rank of post-captain; and in 1786 he became governor of New South Wales. Lord Sydney, who selected him, evidently thought him a capable man, but the appointment seems to have surprised Lord Howe who wrote to Sydney a curious letter containino- somethinor like a remon- strance : " I cannot say that the little knowledge I have of Captain Phillip would have led me to have selected him for service of this complicated nature, but doubtless you know more of his abilities," etc. Lord Sydney, however, had no occasion to regret his choice. No sooner was Phillip appointed than he began preparations for the expedition, and urged the admiralty to grant the necessary rations and medi- cines and to provide the needful accommodation so that the fleet might reach its destination with little sickness or loss of life. The voyage proved an un- qualified success, and the commanders and officers well earned the credit it brought them. Never be- fore had so large a fleet been taken so skilfully half round the globe to an almost unknown shore. Its safe arrival was at the same time a tribute to the draftsmanship of Captain Cook, by whose charts Phillip was guided. From the first the governor's actions were tem- pered with discretion, firmness and kindliness. On the day he landed, at no little personal risk, he secured the friendship of the blacks ; which he retained throughout his stay in the colony. 58 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA During the years of famine his energy reHeved the settlers and helped the colony to tide over calamities until relief came. Collins assures us r " The scovernor from a motive that did him immor- tal honour in this season of distress gave up three hundred- weight of Hour which was his private pro- perty as he did not wush for more at his table than was received in common from the public store " ; to this resolution he strictly adhered in order that " want should not be unfelt at Government House " and rich and poor alike were cared for, and upon those occasions when the established etiquette rendered it necessary that he should invite the officers of the colony and their wives to dine with him at Government House, he usually informed his guests that they must bring their own bread as he had none to spare. It is told how he jokingly wrote upon the invitations to Captain and J\Irs. Macarthur, " There will always be a roll for Mrs. Macarthur ",^ The colony under Phillip was of comparatively small dimensions, but fresh arrivals, mostly prisoners, necessitated the formation of new settlements, which until the Blue Mountains had been crossed were generally near the coast. In 1790 and subsequent years large reinforcements reached the colony, and the gfovernor had instructions to make free g^rants of land to discharged marines and others who were willing to reside there permanently. The powers entrusted to hini have seldom if ever been conferred ^ See Rusden. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 59 upon any other in the British dominions. He could sentence, fine, pardon those under his charge as he thought fit ; he could regulate customs and trade, bestow money or land, create monopolies ; all stores, grants, places of honour or profit, and even justice itself were placed in his hands. The friendly tone of the dispatches to Captain Phillip showed the con- fidence which the home authorities placed in the colonial governor. In 1792 Phillip's health, which had been much tried during the term of office, gave way, and he asked the Home Government to be allowed to re- turn home. Leave was grranted with much reluc- tance and he left Sydney in the Atlantic on iith December, 1792, and took with him to England, besides kangaroos and other native animals, many beautiful birds, and numerous specimens of native workmanship. Two natives who accompanied him were well received among all classes of society. In London Bennilong, clothed in the garb of civilisa- tion, was a great favourite. On returning to Sydney with Governor Hunter, however, while keeping upon good terms with the British, he discarded his clothes and took again to the bush where he lived with his tribe. Captain Phillip was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, and died a vice-admiral in September, 1814, at Bath, in his seventy-seventh year. Between the departure of Captain Phillip and the arrival of the second governor, Captain Hunter, there was an interval of about two years and nine months during which the settlement was administered 6o COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA successively by the senior officers of the New South Wales Corps. The first of these was Major Francis Grose, eldest son of the well-known antiquary of the same name. He continued in office till Decem- ber, 1/94, when, finding that his authority among the settlers was weakening, he resigned and sailed for England. His successor as lieutenant-governor Bennilong, one ok the Natives who accompanied Governor Phillip to England. was Captain William Paterson who was popular with all classes. In early life with the 98th regi- ment he had seen service in India and had been at the siege ot Caroor, afterwards becoming a lieutenant in the 73rd foot. He had arrived in Sydney three years before and was therefore well acquainted with the condition and the wants of the THE EARLY GOVERNORS 6i colony at the time of Grose's retirement. The latter had practically suppressed civil government and in its place set up a system under which the admin- istration of justice was entrusted to the officers of the New South Wales Corps. Paterson made no attempt to reform these errors, but he did useful work in exploring fresh territory and also in pro- tecting the settlers around Port Jackson and on the Hawkesbury River from the raids of the natives. Commercial dealings had, however, become com- plicated. When vessels arrived with stores to which all the free setders should have had access on equal terms, the officials, having the control of the customs, easily obtained advantages over the rest of the community. This monopoly caused widespread evil. In those days coin was scarce, not only because the settlers were poor, but because, in accordance with well-known economic principles, it was difficult in the circumstances to keep money in circulation or even to retain it in the colony. Things of daily use, and even landed property, were therefore valued and paid for in spirits and other commodities. Such was the state of affairs when on 7th September, 1795, Captain John Hunter arrived and assumed authority as governor. Hunter, the son of a captain in the merchant service, was born at Leith in 1738. His parents intended him for the Church, but, nevertheless, he was entered on the books of the sloop Grampus, and subsequently served in the Neptune as a mid- shipman under Jervis, afterwards Lord St. Vincent. 62 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA After various experiences he was appointed to com- mand the frigate Sirius, with the rank of post-captain, but when that vessel was assigned to Captain Phillip for the expedition to New South Wales, Hunter was, for the time, second in command.^ Upon assuming the governorship Captain Hunter had instructions to reinstate the civil magistracy ; to direct the judge advocate to discharge his duties rela- tive to the administration of justice and to endeavour to suppress the illicit traffic. But the governor soon discovered that, although the officials received him with great respect, they were inwardly deter- mined that the regulations of trade which had become common in the colony should not be materially altered. His orders were not always carried out. Reforms he tried to introduce were often opposed. He perceived that inHuences not in accord with his own views were workins" against him and with sue- cess. It became clear that his action was deliber- ately clogged by military opposition, and in one of his dispatches home he wrote, " There exists I believe a jealous antipathy against naval govern- ment " ; and he advised that the New South Wales Corps should be relieved of their duties and their place taken by marines. In the meantime the fortunes of the land began ^When the colonists were landed he resumed his post as captain of H.M.S. Sirius, and held that appointment until the vessel was wrecked at Norfolk Island in 1790. Afterwards he returned to England in a Dutch ship, but early in 1795 again voyaged to New South Wales. This time he went in the Reliance, on board of which was his nephew, Lieutenant Kent. THE EARLY GO^'ERNORS 63 to improve ; the forests were cleared and cultivated, wheat-offowinsT extended and Indian corn was found to be wonderfully productive. The white population increased by leaps and bounds, for the immigration Captain Iohn Hcntek. scheme recommended to the authorities by Phillip was being" carried out and new settlers made their home in the Hawkesbury River district at Portland Head. Hunter made voyages of exploration along 6+ COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA the coast, travelled into the country, marked out districts, and encouraged further discoveries. He took the greatest interest in the voyages of Shortland, Flinders and Bass. He praised the hard woods of the colony. One he thought similar to Indian teak, and most of the gum trees he declared to be not only fit for ship's timber but for blocks, gun carriages or anything else subject to great friction. He himself raised the frame of a vessel of i6o tons which for want of strength he could not finish, " but she stood in the frame upwards of two years exposed to the weather, apparently without the smallest decay ". He recommended the native fiax, the indiofo, which grew " spontaneously," and the astringent bark of trees "well adapted for tanning". He presumed that furnaces would soon be erected for smelting- the abundant iron ore by means of the equally abundant coal. Five years passed, and being still dissatisfied with the results of his rule and the way in which his wishes were carried out Hunter determined to return to England and represent in person to the Govern- ment the state of the colony. He sailed in the Buffalo in September, 1800, leaving- the administra- tion in the hands of Captain King, who, when Hunter did not return from England, was appointed to succeed him. Captain Hunter subsequently rose to the rank of vice-admiral. He spent his declining years at Leith, the scene of his boyhood, and, in the enjoyment of universal esteem, died in London in his eighty-third year. The new governor. Captain Philip Gidley King, THE EARLY GOVERNORS 65 was a native of Cornwall who had passed a con- siderable portion of his naval career under Captain Phillip. He first served under him in the East Indies as far back as 1783 where he had been lieu- tenant of the Europe ; and accompanied Phillip in his voyage to New South Wales ; Phillip had sent him to make the first settlement in Norfolk Island, had appointed him commandant there in 1788, and (Captain Philip Gidley King. had despatched him as special envoy to England to lay before the Home Government the needs of that island, with commendation as " a very steady officer ". On assuming office as governor. Captain King found himself in a difficult position. He was honestly desirous of effecting improvement, but the conditions required sagacity and skill, and King pro- ceeded with a high hand. He made strict regula- 66 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA tions and any disregard of them was punished. The monopolists were enraged at what they con- sidered an interference with their rights, but their discontent did not burst out until the rule of his successor, Captain Bligh. Governor King possessed a fiery temper which sometimes tended to put him at a disadvantage. On one occasion the Rev. Samuel Marsden happened to be present when a violent dispute occurred between King and the commissary-general. Mr. Marsden could not leave the room, but retired to a recess at a window so as not to witness the storm. In the heat of passion the governor seized the commissary by the coat-collar and the commissary in turn thrust him away, " Did you see that, sir ? " King shouted to the chaplain. " I see nothing," said Marsden in solemn tones, still looking throuoh the window. Fortunately the words were accepted by both dis- putants as a dignified remonstrance, good humour was restored, and the incident closed. King gave much encouragement to exploration which made great advance during his term of office, and while John Franklin, the youthful officer in charge of Captain Flinders' observatory, was at Syd- ney, spent much time in assisting him with his wide experience and knowledge. He jokingly christened Franklin Tycho Brahe. Captain King retired from the governorship in August, 1806, and died in Eng- land two years afterwards. The new governor, Captain William Bligh, ar- rived in August, 1806. Like Captain King he was a Cornishman, and had seen service in various parts THE EARLY GOVERNORS 67 of the world. He had fought with distinction in two naval engagements, and his name had become famous in connection with the mutiny of the crew of the Captain William Bi.i(;h. [By kind permission of Messrs. H. Graves df Co., Lid. Bounty, which had been despatched under his com- mand on a semi-scientific mission to the South Pacific. The mutineers had sent him and about twenty officers and sailors adrift in the long boat, and the skill and 5* 68 COMING OF THE BRLTISH TO AUSTRALIA resourcefulness which he displayed in navigating this frail craft over 3,500 miles of ocean to the island of Timor gained him considerable reputation. To the British Government he seemed to be the very man to pilot the Australian settlement out of its sea of troubles into quiet waters, and he entered on his new duties under the most hopeful auspices. But to succeed in this task required tact and a temperament which he did not possess. As he had lost command over the mutineers of the Bounty, so he very soon ruffled the military officials at Sydney into a commotion which he could not control, and most of the settlers engaged in the practical work of the colony, in tilling the soil and reaping the harvests, rightly or wrongly sided with the military faction against the governor. Yet he was their friend. When the settlers had produce to dispose of there was no market for them except in Sydney, no purchaser except the dealers there, and no hope of payment in sterling coin. In exchange for wheat the dealer gave, with immense profit to himself, tea, sugar, or other goods which the farmer required, and oftener rum, a fruitful source of mischief. Bligh went round among the colonists learning what com- modities and how much they required for their own use, and also what produce they would be able to supply to the Government stores in return. He then fixed the rates at which the various productions were to be exchanged for the needful necessaries. Among the poorer classes of the community these proceedings effected some improvement, but in other quarters they stirred up resentment. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 69 In January, 180S, the great friction between the miHtary and the governor led to the arrest on a trirting charge of Captain Macarthur of the New- South Wales Corps. The regiment naturally sided with Macarthur. Directly after the trial, erroneously assuming that Governor Bligh intended to set aside the criminal court altogether and to invest the magis- trates with its powers, Colonel George Johnston put the seal to the act of revolution and assumed the governorship. Orders were given for the regiment to form in the barrack square and, with the band play- ing martial airs, the soldiers marched to Government House where the governor was arrested. Johnston then took the reins as lieutenant-governor and soon afterwards Macarthur was appointed colonial secre- tary. Governor Bligh was kept within his own house for twelve months by a military guard, his daughter Mrs. Putland, widow of Lieutenant Putland, R.N., remaining with him. When Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Foveaux arrived in the colony on 28th July, on his way to take up the governorship of Norfolk Island, he learned the turn events had taken, and being senior officer assumed the governorship. He in turn was succeeded by Captain Paterson, who arrived from Tasmania, where he had been acting as commandant. Otherwise few changes were made in the a"eneral administration of affairs. The three officers. Johnston, Foveaux. and Paterson, appear to have endeavoured to obey the instructions found in the dispatches from the Secre- tary of State. Bligh, however, had sympathisers who 70 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA wished for his reinstatement, and Paterson in 1809 decided to send him as well as Johnston and Mac- arthur to England to account to the authorities for what had happened. In accordance with Bligh's wish he was placed on H.M.S. Porpoise a sloop-of- war of which he took command, and in which he promised to proceed direct to England. But instead of doing so, he landed at Derwent River in Tasmania and was still at Adventure Bay in that colony when Governor Macquarie arrived at Sydney, on 28th December, 1809. Macquarie had been instructed to send Johnston home for trial and to reinstate Bligh for twenty-four hours, the latter order he could not, of course, carry out, since the ex-governor was not there. Lord Castlereagh, Secretary of State for the Colonies, in- formed Bligh by letter that this arrest had excited a strong sensation among his Majesty's ministers and he was empowered to carry home to England with him all such persons as he should think necessary to strengthen his case. Bligh was received by Eng- land with open arms, and died in London— a vice- admiral — in 181 7. Colonel Paterson left the colony in 18 10. He is one of the best known and most popular of the lieutenant-governors, but his kindliness of heart often prevented him from doing useful work for fear of giving offence. When he left Sydney ten boats crowded with people followed his pinnace to the ship "cheering him all the way". He died during the homeward voyage. Lachlan Macquarie, the new governor, came of THE EARLY GOVERNORS 71 the old Scottish family settled at Ulva, his father being the sixteenth, and last, chief of the clan, and a tendency to rule and enforce obedience was part of young Lachlan's natural inheritance. He entered the army in 1777, and saw service in America and in India, where he was present at Cananore and both sieges of Seringapatam, and he was in Egypt at Alexandria in 1800. He returned from India to Eng- Major-Gen'eral Lachlan Macquarie. land in 1807 to take command of the 73rd and in 1809 received orders to proceed to New South Wales with that regiment, his further promotion to major-general taking place while he held the governorship. His first step was to issue three proclamations with which he had been charged by his Majesty's ministers. The first was to declare the king's dis- pleasure at the late proceedings in the colony. The 72 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA second rendered void all acts of the interim oover- nors. The third invested the governor with power to act at his own discretion with regard to the past and future. The governor had thus a free hand and adequate means of carrying out the measures he deemed expedient. The affairs of the colony had been much neg- lected ; commerce was in its earliest stage ; there was no revenue ; several districts were threatened with famine ; and Sydney was distracted by faction. Public buildings were in a state of dilapidation ; the few roads and bridges were almost impassable. The whole population was depressed by poverty ; there was neither public credit nor private confidence ; the morals of the mass of the population were debased ; public worship had been abandoned. Indeed there is nothingr more dismal in the storv of Australia, and it is refreshing to read how, under Macquarie's able guidance, the country started upon an entirely new and improved career. His energies found scope in many directions. He found the town of Sydney composed of mean houses or huts scattered about or huddled together on no particular plan. Under his hand it began to be a fair city with well-ordered streets and handsome public buildings. He aimed at the formation of aoricultural settlements, not so much by the introduction of free colonists as by grants of land to deserving men already settled there. These grants were of small extent, thirty or forty acres of forest to be cleared and occupied by the men to whom they were allotted. Food stuffs were still a medium of exchange. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 73 The economic difficulty had not been overcome ; coin was scarce so that workman were paid, at least to the extent of half their wages, in commodities, a system wasteful to the workman and injurious to the whole community. There could hardly be said to be any coin in circulation, but English shillings and copper coins an ounce in weight were sometimes available. The money within the colony was either English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch or Indian, every coin having an official value. There was no export of merchandise in those days, and no import of coin except in Government ships. Payments began to be made by means of promissory notes which passed from hand to hand. These were easily forged, and in 1 8 10 Macquarie issued a proclamation requiring that for promissory notes of five pounds and under printed forms should be used. The governor's next step towards a currency was the introduction, in 1 81 3, of 10,000 dollars from India for the retention of which within the colony elaborate precautions had to be taken. A small circular piece of silver was struck from the centre of each of the coins ; the coin was then stamped on one side with the words " P ive Shillinofs " under which was a branch of laurel ; on the other side was " New South Wales," and be- neath it the date, 18 13. This coin became known as " the holey dollar ". The small piece knocked out of its centre was dealt with in a similar manner. It was impressed with the words " Fifteen Pence," with the name of the colony and the date. Its popular name was " the dump ". It would be difficult in a short space to portray 7+ COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA the character or do justice to the work of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. He has received, perhaps, more praise and more blame than any colonial governor before or since. He has even been likened to Napoleon in his methods, and has been called narrow by one and broadminded by another. But no one can read his correspondence with the home authori- ties without admitting that he possessed an aptitude for ruling, and that he used the gift wisely and well for the land the destinies of which he had to guide. Passionate, punctilious, obstinate he may have been, but he was strong and capable ; a man ot foresight who used the best means in his power to obtain his object, even if in so doing he exposed himself to con- demnation. H is aims were always high, and he always set before him the good of the people. Industry particularly appealed to him. If a man were indus- trious and endeavouring to live honestly, whatever he was, Macquarie would reward him and raise him in the face of all opposition. No one was more gener- ous or liberal in praise to those who deserved it, more watchful for miscreants ; but all who endeavoured to escape from what he considered to be their duty, or their particular work, paid the penalty for their misdeeds. In his last speech at Sydney he openly stated his strong attachment to the settlement. His governorship, which extended over twelve years, was of greater importance to the colony than that of any of his successors. He died in London, two and a half years after his departure from Sydney in December, 1821, and was buried at his old home among the Argyllshire Hebrides. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 75 Macquarie's successor was another Scot, but of an entirely different type. Scholarly, humane and an experienced officer, Sir Thomas Makdougall Bris- SiR Thomas Brisbank. bane, although perhaps he had the oood of the country as much at heart, lacked those character- istics which won for Macquarie the people's love and at the same time guided the colony out of its 76 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA difficulties. He was a son of Thomas Brisbane of Brisbane House, Ayrshire, who had fought at Cul- loden. Gazetted to the 38th regiment in 1789 he had been sent to Ireland where he met Arthur Wellesley and the two became lifelong friends. During- the Peninsular War Wellington asked for his services, and he held a command with Picton's division. He made himself useful during the cam- paign by taking regular observations with his pocket sextant, and, as Wellington remarked, " kept the time of the army ". While a student at Edinburgh he had distin- guished himself in mathematics and astronomy ; and when he returned from the West Indies in 1805 he devoted his leisure to building an observatory at Brisbane House, little thinking that he was destined to build another on the other side of the world. In 1 82 1 he was appointed governor of New South Wales. Soon after he arrived in the colpny he built the observatory at Parramatta at his own expense, obtaining valuable instruments for it, and the skilled services of Messrs, Runker and Dunlop. It was opened in 1822. Here Sir Thomas spent most of his spare time and Parramatta soon began to be called in Europe "the Greenwich of the Southern Hemisphere" . But Brisbane's fondness for his favourite science somewhat lessened his popularity with the people who, having been accustomed to seeing Governor Macquarie so much among them, considered that he was neglecting their interests. Dr. Lang described Brisbane "as a man of the best intentions but defi- THE EARLY GOVERNORS n cient in energy ". The finances of the colony became involved and the revenues diminished. Yet many improvements were made, and institutions which afterwards formed the basis of self-government were founded during his governorship. Under the New South Wales Judicature Act, which received the royal assent in 1823, the supreme courts, each with a chief justice and if necessary two other judges, were created for both New South Wales and Tasmania. The Legislative Council then instituted was to consist of five, six, or seven mem- bers nominated by the Crown on the recommendation of the Colonial Office, the governor being left with powers to act as he thought best, irrespective of the advice of the council, and any serious difficulty or disagreement between the governor and his council was to be referred to England. One of Brisbane's first actions has earned the gratitude of numberless colonists. He had fixed to the rock on the very spot where Captain Cook first landed at Botany Bay a brass tablet in com- memoration of that navigator's discovery of Australia's eastern shores. It bore the following inscription : "a.d. 1770. Under the auspices of British Science — these shores were discovered by James Cook and Joseph Banks — the Columbus and Maecenas of their time. This spot once saw them ardent in their pur- suit of knowledge ; now to their memory this tablet is inscribed in the first year of the Philosophical Society of Australasia. Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C. B., corresponding member of the Institute of France, A.D. 1821." 78 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Sir Thomas Brisbane also encouraged immigra- tion, and the population of 23,000 people which he found upon his arrival in the colony had increased to 36,000 when he left for England. He was most successful in advancing new industries. He pro- moted the cultivation of tobacco, sugar-cane and the grape. 1 The biographer of Sir Thomas Brisbane writes that Sir Thomas always regarded two acts of his in New South Wales with " great gratification ". These were the laying of the foundation stone of the first Presbyterian church in Sydney, and, in 1824, the removing of the censorship of the press. Brisbane also praised the country. He had himself seen the stone of a peach placed in the ground and in three years had eaten ripe fruit from it — he had seen fields which produced white crops for twenty-eight years successively without any artificial manure or stimulant. Horse owners in New South Wales owe much to him, for on his arrival, finding the breed of horses inferior, he took measures to import, at his own expense, the best bred Arabs he could obtain at Mocha and Calcutta. Explorations of importance were also carried out. The Monaro plains were reached, the Great Stock Route to Queensland was established, the first over- land journey to Port Phillip was accomplished, and 1 He made several tours into the interior, and in 1822, ac- companied by Major Goulburn and Mr. H. Grattan-Douglas, crossed the Blue Mountains. The county of Roxburgh and the village of Kelso on the banks of the Macquarie received their names in honour of Lady Brisbane's home in Scotland. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 79 the Goulburn, Brisbane and Murrumbidgee Rivers were discovered. Brisbane left Sydney in December, 1825. During the three weeks' interval which elapsed between his departure and Darling's arrival, Colonel William Stewart of the Buffs acted as governor of the colony. On his return to Scotland Brisbane lived principally at his home in Ayrshire and died at the ripe age of eighty-seven in the very room where he was born. Siu Rai.i'U Darmng. General Ralph Darling had joined the 45th regi- ment after serving in other regiments, and was in command of the 51st when it formed part of Sir John Moore's army at Lugo and fought at the battle of Corunna. After much administrative experience on the staff he became lieutenant-general in May, 1825, and in the following August was appointed governor of New South Wales. 8o COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA He arrived at Sydney on i8th December, and landed in state on the following day, the streets being lined with soldiers from the King's Wharf, then the chief point of embarkation, to the gates of Govern- ment House. His rule was unfortunately full of unpleasantnesses — the greatest troubles that he ex- perienced being occasioned by the freedom of the press. For the heavy punishment meted out to deserters popular feeling was excited against him. The accusations became so persistent that they were eventually brought to the notice of the House of Commons and discussed in England, where the governor was pronounced free from blame by the committee appointed to investigate the charges, and he was afterwards kniorhted. At the head of the opposition was William Wentworth,^ then a young man whose ability had ^ He was born at Norfolk Island, and was the son of D'Arcy Wentworth, an Irish gentleman who had arrived in the colony in 1790, a scion of the great Yorkshire family of Wentworth. When he was only twenty he joined Gregory Blaxland and William Lawson in their exploration of the Blue Mountains. Each of the three was presented by Governor Macquarie with a grant of a thousand acres of land as a reward for their success. But even before this Macquarie had been struck with young Wentworth's capacity and had actually made him deputy provost-marshal. In 1 8 16 Wentworth, who had as a boy been sent home to school at Greenwich, returned to England and spent several years at Cam- bridge, where in 1823 he competed for the Chancellor's Medal for the poem on Australia, the prize for which was awarded to Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Wentworth being placed second out of twenty-five competitors. He was called to the English Bar in 1823, afterwards returning to Sydney, where in 1828-29 he concentrated his energies on overthrowing the governor. THE EARLY GOVERNORS 8i already won for him a prominent position in the colony. It was probably due to his influence and power that General Darling was recalled. General Darling is often described as a rigid disciplinarian, exacting in trifles, exclusive and re- served. But on the other hand we are told that to the people with whom he came in contact he was a firm friend — " a just and good man " — and gave most liberally to the needy. He embarked for England on 2 1 St October, 1831. Neither joy nor regret was manifest at his departure. The six years of his rule were, however, rich in geographical discoveries, due not only to the energy of Captain Sturt who was his military secretary, but to Darling's active support and patronage. Darling encouraged the explorations of Sturt. He visited many of the settlements, made journeys through the different districts and inspected many of the homes of the colonists. He was always deeply interested in the improvement of land, the increase of cattle and sheep, and the beautiful fruit and flowers grown in the gardens. In 1827, in company with Captain Rous ^ of H.M.S. Rainboiv, he made a tour of the settle- ments in the north, and instituted much-needed re- 1 This was the Rous who brought H.M.S. Pique across the Atlantic without a rudder, and afterwards, as Admiral Rous, became so well known in English racing circles. Even in those early years he showed interest in the turf and became a member of the Parramatta Jockey Club. One horse which he imported to Sydney named The Emigrant or (Rous's Grey Emigrant) is still famous in Australian sporting annals. 6 82 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA forms and improvements in order to attract European setders. Captain Rous discovered the Richmond and Clarence Rivers in 1829. Ipswich (in Queens- land), Stradbroke Island and the county of Rous were named in his honour, he being a son of the first Lord Stradbroke and a native of Suffolk. Dr. Peter Cunningham's eulogy in the preface of his work is perhaps one of the most flattering the governor ever received. " I have," says Cunning- ham, "travelled over the greater part of the colony and resided there for two years, so that I may claim some acquaintance with the manners, pursuits, etc., of the various classes resident in Sydney. The justice of the laws governing the colony and the wisdom displayed in their administration have greater influence upon the prosperity of an infant state than even the resources of climate and soil. The ad- mirable system pursued by the present governor must be encouraging to those who purpose to emigrate. ... I found my opinions almost solely upon the official orders promulgated by him, to which every one has access, but it is only individuals who know how much his efficient reforms were wanted by whom their value can be appreciated. ... In New South Wales ... as yet immature . . . although destined perhaps to become the seat of a powerful empire we require a governor possessed of ability to discern and activity to awaken its dormant ener- gies ; and although Lord Bathurst conferred many benefits upon the colony during the period of his hold- ins; office, a o-reater could not have been conceded by him than the appointment of General Darling." CHAPTER III. SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. In a setting- of hill and valley, at the head of a magnificent stretch of water, Sydney is endowed by nature with all the requirements of a great port. When Phillip called the harbour, "the finest in the world," his praise was rather that of a sailor behold- ing the waters of a great haven, than of a discoverer commending the site of a future city. Extending in- land for a distance of some twelve or thirteen miles from the Heads that guard the entrance, around its shores are over a hundred bays and coves, inter- sected by slender well-wooded promontories affording shelter from every wind. From the Heads to the site chosen for the city is a distance of about four miles with an average breadth of some three miles, but the navigable waters extend nine miles beyond the cove to the Parramatta River. The old saying, " Where nature gives most, man does least," does not apply to Sydney's early existence. Although the beauty of the spot first made it famous in Europe, the work of the colonist soon became known and appreciated. Lanes, cut on shore for the passage of timber, developed into streets ; the woodmen's huts were replaced by 83 6* 84 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA houses ; and the building of the town proceeded according to the plan designed in England, with materials brought to the colony for that purpose, sup- plemented with native woods. Parties sent out to examine the soil, found earth from which bricks could be made and dry marl and chalk which yielded lime. From some fireclay sent to England, Wedgwood caused a medallion to be modelled representing Hope encouraging Art and Labour under the in- fluence of Peace ; in allusion to which medallion Erasmus Darwin wrote the well-known lines be- ginning with : — Where Sydney Cove her lucid bosom swells. A portable canvas house for the governor's resi- dence, with the framework all ready to be fixed, was erected on the east side of the cove, and upon some ground near were planted fruit trees which had been collected at Rio and the Cape of Good Hope. The town, built on the banks of the Tank Stream, spread over the space in the valley between the two ridges lying to the east and west. At first the houses were rudely designed and lacked regularity, but the narrow streets were kept in good order and fairly clean. The chief street was twenty feet in breadth and was named George Street after King George HI. Another was called Pitt Row after Mr. Pitt. George Street ex- tended from the sea along the hollow between the two ridges and was rather more than a mile long, the other streets either intersecting it at right angles and extending up the hills, or else running parallel to it, so that rain water drained into the Tank Stream. SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 85 The portion of the town built upon the eastern ridge near the water's edge contained most of the principal buildings and residences. The live stock had been removed to the head of the adjoining cove, called Farm Cove, which had been cleared for farm- ing purposes. The west ridge was called the Rocks, and here many of the prisoners lived ; the place where the colonists first landed was known as the Camp. The more valuable portion of the ground was that close to the harbour, and was much sought after and closely built on.^ Meanwhile a settlement was made at Parramatta in 1788. On the 2nd of November the governor and three officers with a party of marines visited the spot and named it Rosehill after George Rose, then Secretary to the Treasury and the intimate friend of Pitt. The same year the governor's land at Farm Cove, which had been sown with seed, produced only twenty-five bushels of barley. In 1790, as already related, the stock of provisions from England failed. So great was the anxiety that a flagstaff was erected at the South Head to be ready to make known to the people the first appearance of a vessel from home. The signal flags, however, were afterwards stolen by the natives, who used them as coverings for their canoes. Sydney soon became the head-quarters of the English race in the southern hemisphere. Thence, while the city was yet in its infancy, the exploring 1 Mr. Alt, who came to the colony with Phillip and afterwards Mr. Grimes, his successor, were the chief surveyors and architects of Sydney's first buildings. 86 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA expeditions of Phillip. Hunter, Bass, Flinders, Murray and Shortland by sea, of Tench, Dawes, Caley. Wentworth, Blaxland and Lawson by land, went forth, many of them with only such rude equipment as the colony could provide. Here, too, in the small observatory established and given into his charge by his cousin Matthew Flinders, the young midshipman. John Franklin, worked out those difficult problems of navigation which after- wards helped him during his arctic voyages. Here also came Napoleon's expedition with Baudin and De Freycinet in the Geographe and Naturaliste to seek refuge and provisions for their weather-worn ships, and to gain the knowledge of the new continent of which so much is made in their journals. It has been said of England that she orave to Australia only her worst in those early days ; but the mother country also ga\'e the young country some of her very best as the deeds of the pioneers bear testimony. Rarely in history can be found types of men more patient than Phillip, more heroic than Bass or more persevering than Flinders. There is nothing brighter in maritime discovery than the story of these few British seamen in a distant land, planting the flag of Great Britain over a large portion of her present empire. Whatever else was then wanting at the settlement it certainly was not the spirit of enterprise or courageous loyalty to the motherland ; and it was among such scenes and in such stirring times that the seed of Australia's first history was sown. The first step to render Sydney self-supporting SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 87 had been to grant land to settlers for agricultural holdings. In December, 1792, when Phillip left, there were sixty-seven settlers who held 3,470 acres, of which 417 were under cultivation, but the greater part (now of course within the city) proved miser- ably barren. These settlers were clothed and fed from the public stores, furnished with farming imple- ments, with grain to sow their land, and with such stock as the orovernor saw fit to mvQ them, — the young animals raised from this stock having to be offered in return to the Government authorities at market prices. Every man also had a hut erected on his farm at the public expense. After Hunter's arrival an extension of land for cultivation by settlers along the rich banks of the Hawkesbury River was made, and this district became one of the first, if not the very first, to yield a good return, it being so fertile that it became known as the granary of New South Wales. Flocks and herds also began to flourish. In 1796 Captain John Macarthur obtained from the governor's nephew, Captain William Kent, R. N., eight sheep which had been brought from the Cape of Good Hope in the S^ipply and the Relimtcc. They were part of a fine-fleeced flock belonging to the widow of Colonel Gordon, a Scotch gentleman who formerly resided in Cape Town. The original stock had been presented by the King of Spain to the Dutch Government, who had sent them out to their South African colonists. In the same year a few English sheep and others from Bengal were crossed with these, the result being a great improve- 88 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA ment in the breed. Macarthur, who took infinite pains to form his tiock, was thus the founder of the Australian wool trade, for the sheep brought out by Phillip had been eaten during the famine. The houses were mainly detached cottages of white freestone or brick plastered over. They were built one or two storeys high and surrounded by verandahs ; in many instances they had well-kept gardens enclosed by wooden palings or hedges. The streets were as yet unpaved, but at night were well lighted with lamps. Government House, in brick and plaster, was also built, its gardens and shrubberies extending over four acres. In the garden was a huge pine tree originally brought from Norfolk Island, and a flagstaff used for sig- nalling: between the shore and the men-of-war at anchor in the cove. The high road to Parramatta led through the Barrack Square. Immediately below the barracks, which were well built, were a large warehouse and the residence of Mr. Simeon Lord, known as the White House. In 1 80 1 a range of storehouses was completed on the banks of the Parramatta River, and another was commenced close by the wharf at Sydney, These were urgently required, as most of the Government warehouses were built so far from the waterside as to render the unloading of ships burdensome and expensive. A factory had been established this year for coarse woollen blanketing, rugs, and a linen called drugget which was much bought by the settlers ; but the progress of this industry was re- tarded by the destruction of the building by fire. o ■s. U ■$> >> Isi 1^ Z Q s; >< « 73 s SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 91 The leather made from the skins of cattle, kangaroos and seals, and tanned with the bark of the wattle tree proved good. Several potteries were estab- lished, and many articles of crockery manufac- tured. Salt was taken in abundance from the salt water, the pans being at Rose Bay and Newcastle. During Hunter's governorship the printing press was first used, and the newspaper called The Sydney Gazette was instituted. Of the work accomplished by the first settlers in New South Wales much has been written ; perhaps justice can best be done the colonists by quoting from an author who saw Sydney soon after their work had commenced and knew well the nature of their hardships : "A single glance is sufficient to show that the hills upon the southern shore of the port, now covered with houses and spires, must once have been gloomy woods. The labour and patience re- quired and the difficulties which the first settlers encountered must have been incalculable. But the success has been complete — -a very triumph of human skill and industry over Nature itself The cornfield and the orchard have supplanted the wild grass and the brushwood, a flourishing town towers over the ruins of a forest, the lowing of herds has succeeded the wild whoop of the savage, and the stillness of the once busy shore is now broken by the busy hum of commerce." Francois Peron, the naturalist of the G^ographe, in his Voyages published in 1824, described Sydney and the harbour, and though he was a member of a rival expedition, his account is entirely impartial. 92 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA He dwells on the pleasant and picturesque position of the town, its natural advantages, defences, hospital, warehouses, public buildings and gardens. " The wooden bridge at the bottom of the valley," he tells us. " has been removed to make room for a new stone bridge ; at the same tirne a water mill has been constructed at this spot by the Government, and strong sluices have been made to keep back the fresh water and to restrain the incursions of the tide which used to flow a considerable distance up the valley. Beyond and towards the bottom of the port is a dock called the Government Dock on account of its being exclusively appropriated for Government vessels. The wharf adjoining this dock naturally slopes in such manner that without any labour or expense on the part of the English the largest vessel can be laid up without danger. Near the Govern- ment Dock are three warehouses. In one are stored articles required for domestic use, such as crockery and furniture, the property of the English Govern- ment, who deal in these articles for the purpose of supplying the settlement at stated prices, some being even less than those given for the same articles at home. Kettles, farming utensils, etc., are kept here. The second storehouse contains clothing, sail-cloth, etc., for Government ships. The third is where prisoners are taught trades. Behind these stands the Government House, built in the Italian style, surrounded by a colonnade and having in front a very beautiful plantation which slopes to the sea- shore. In this plantation are a great variety of trees. A Norfolk Island pine and the superb SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 95 Columbia are seen growing side by side with bam- boos of Asia. Farther on the orange of Portugal and the fig of the Canaries ripen beneath the shade of apple-trees from the banks of the Seine. Not far from a neighbouring cove, at a spot called by natives Woolloomooloo, is the residence of Mr. Palmer, the commissary-general. The great road to Parramatta passes through the middle of a brickfield where numbers of tiles, bricks and squares are made. This is also crossed by a small rivulet before its fall into the end of a neighbouring cove. Between this village and Sydney Town is the public burial ground.^ ... In port we saw several vessels from different quarters of the world, the majority destined for new and hazardous voyages. Here were some from the banks of the Thames or the Shannon ready to pro- ceed to the shores of New Zealand, and others after landino- freiofht about to sail for the Yellow River of China ; some laden with coal intended for the Cape of Good Hope and India. Many small vessels were ready to depart for Bass Strait to collect furs and skins, obtained by men left on different islands to capture the seals which made them their resort. Others of o^reater burden were intended for the west- ern shores of America. Others again busily fitting out as store-ships for the Navigator or Friendly Islands and Society Islands to bring back pork for the colony. At the same time Captain Flinders was preparing to resume his great voyage round New Holland. This assemblage of operations, this con- ^ Where the Town Hall now stands. 96 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA stant movement of shipping impressed these shores with an activity which we were far from expecting in a country so lately known to Europe, and our interest increased our admiration." It is interesting to compare with this description of Sydney in the early times, written by a French- man, Froude's impressions eighty years afterwards. He quickly found the secret of Sydney's charm for his countrymien. " One sunset evening in the ex- quisite botanical gardens, warm with the scent of tropical flowers, the vessels at anchor in the cove, their spars black against the evening sky, with their long pennants drooping at the masthead, the Nelson in the midst like a queen with the admiral's white flag flying ov^er the stern, and steam launches gliding over the glassy waters which were pink with the reflection of the sunset," he looked upon the harbour, and was evidently fascinated by its beauty, while the boats brinorinof off the officers and men of the men- of-war who had been on leave on shore reminded him of the old order and discipline in the new land of liberty — "the shield behind which alone the vaunted liberty is possible ". And he found the reason why the Briton of the north is attracted to this city of the south. "These are the associations of home . . . we are among our own people ; in a land which our fathers have won for us." In that quiet sea garden — which is perhaps more like home to the Englishman than any other spot in the southern hemisphere — those scenes are teaching the youth of Australia another lesson. We who have witnessed them, who have watched the sunset SYDNEY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 97 as Froude watched it and seen the red glow reHected in the waters and spreading over the broad leaves and green grass, do not forget them when in the motherland we gaze on similar scenes in the old harbours of Portsmouth, Plymouth or Harwich, and as we think of our country re-echo Froude's refrain : " We are among our own people — we are in the land of our Fathers". CHAPTER IV. THE LADY NELSON, BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION, AND THE INVESTIGATOR. News having been received of the intention of the French to send an expedition to the Australian Seas while the Investigator was being prepared for her voyage, the Admiralty quickly fitted out the Lady Nelson, a brig of sixty tons, which differed from other exploring vessels in having a centreboard keel. This was the invention of Admiral John Schank, the inofenious Scotsman who had submitted his idea to the Admiralty after attaining captain's rank in 1783, and so well was it thought of that two similar boats had been built for the navy, one with a centreboard and one without in order that a trial might be made. The result was so successful that the Cynthia, sloop, Trial, revenue cutter, and other vessels were constructed on the new plan, one of them being the Lady Nelson, which was chosen for the service because her three sliding centreboards enabled her draught to be lessened when in shallow waters. She left Portsmouth on i8th March, ,1800, her commander Lieutenant James Grant having orders to sail through the newly discovered straits between Australia and Tasmania. The Lady Nelson reached BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION 99 the shores of Australia on the morning of 3rd Decem- ber, t8oo. Grant sailed along the coast and saw two capes which he named Cape Banks after Sir Joseph Banks, and Cape Northumberland, after the duke who then commanded the army. He also noticed and named Mount Gambier after Admiral Gambier, and Mount Schank, after the centreboard's inventor ; farther east he named Cape Bridgewater, Portland Bay and Cape Otway. He passed during G u u The " Lady Nelson ". \By kind permission of Messrs. Longmans, Green, (5r» Co. the night from Cape Otway to Cape Liptrap without exploring Port Phillip although he described the land as running northward and judged it to be a bay which he named after Governor King. Having traced the coast from 141° E. longitude to Western Port he continued his voyage to Port Jackson, and arrived there on the evening of 1 6th December, 1 800. While passing through Bass Strait he made land 4"^ farther to the westward than Flinders and Bass. loo COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA The commanders of two other vessels, Captain John Black of the Harbinger, from the Cape of Good Hope, and Captain Buyers in the Maj^garet, which arrived from England shortly after the Lady Nelson, had also sighted land on their voyage through Bass Strait ; and the governor, convinced of the need of a thorough exploration of the south coast, now ordered Grant to return and carefully survey the bay between Cape Otway and Cape Schank, besides the land which had been seen by Captains Black and Buyers, then to sail to King George's Sound and, in returning, to explore the whole south coast to Wilson's Promontory, going to the head of every bay or inlet as far as possible. Mr. Caley, the botanist, and Ensign Barrallier of the New South Wales Corps, one of the governor's aides-de-camp, went with the expedition. The Bee, a decked boat of fifteen tons and formerly a ship's launch, was also fitted out to accompany the Lady Nelson, but, being unable to keep pace with her and proving unseaworthy, was sent back before leaving New South Wales. The Lady Nelson returned in May, 1801, after a voyage of about two months, having failed to explore Governor King's Bay. Lieutenant Grant retired shortly afterwards and went back to England, whereupon Lieutenant John Murray, Grant's second in command, a former Lieutenant of H.]\LS. Por- poise, took over the Lady Nelson, and in October, 1 80 1, was ordered to make the explorations which Grant had left unfinished. He was instructed to follow the coast between Cape Schank and Cape BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION loi Otway, to take soundings and make notes of every- thing he saw. Portland Bay, named by Grant, was to be explored, and a look-out was to be kept for Flinders from whom further instructions would be taken. The French ships Geographe and N^atiiral- iste were then known to be in these waters, and Murray was warned how to act if he fell in with them. The Lady Nelson left Sydney on 12th Novem- ber, 1 80 1, and while the vessel was at Western Port on 7th December, seeking refuge from the heavy gales, natives were encountered. One old aborgi- ginal leader incited his followers to show resistance, but on a shot being fired they dispersed. At the entrance to Port Phillip on 5th January the bay within could be plainly seen, but as the waves broke high on the rocks it was thought wise to take the brig out to sea again. Next day, however, King's Island was explored and, on the 31st, Murray re- turned to Western Port and anchored there. Eventually, on ist February, Murray sent Mr. Bowen, his mate, with five men — in a whale boat — to survey Port Phillip harbour. The boat returned on the 4th and Bowen reported that he had seen "a most noble sheet of water," but nothing^ of the aborigines, although some huts were examined ; and he so highly praised the new discovery that Lieu- tenant Murray wrote in the log : "It would be unpardonable in me not to give this new harbour a strict overhaul". On 15th February he himself entered it in the Lady Nelson and recorded that he had named it " Port King," in honour of the governor, I02 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA P. G. King, "under whose orders I act," — a name which the governor changed to Port Phillip. A meeting with the natives took place on 17th February. The sailors in their endeavour to make a good impression and in order to find out where fresh water could be obtained, made many overtures . to the blacks ; but they were thoroughly hostile and threw spears at the sailors, so that Murray ordered small shot to be fired among them. They were believed to be of the same tribe which had threatened Bowen at Western Port, but were not met with again though their fires were frequently seen. On 9th March Murray hoisted the British flag, and land- ing under a discharge of three volleys took posses- sion of the port in the name of King George III. On nth March the Lady Nelson weighed anchor, and arrived at Sydney thirteen days after- wards. On 29th March Governor King sent off his report on the discoveries made by Murray to the Admiralty, and on that day there arrived at Port Western the French ships whose proceedings now claim our attention. When Napoleon turned longing eyes upon Aus- tralia his interest in the new country soon became known in England. It is said that he took with him to Egypt the newly published volumes of Cook's Voyages, and, soon after he became First Consul, he gave orders for the equipment of an expedition to explore and claim for France the yet unknown por- tions of New Holland. The full text of his scheme was never made known ; but the map accompanying the volume of French voyages, published by the BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION 103 Imperial Press at Paris, claimed quite half the Aus- tralian Continent for France. Two French vessels left Havre on 19th October, 1800. The Gdographe, commanded by Captain Nicholas Baudin, was a corvette mounting thirty guns, and the Natiwaliste, Captain Hamelin, a ship specially suited in every way for her task. They reached Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia by way of the Canaries and Mauritius on 27th May, 1801. Here they landed and explored part of the coast, visiting and giving its name to Geographe Bay. The ships parted company on 8th June, in a storm. The Geographe went north to Eendracht's Land and entered Shark's Bay. The Natu7^aliste entered Swan River and waited three weeks for her consort, then continuing a northerly course she also bore for Shark's Bay, missing the Geographe by one day. The ships met and wintered at Timor, whence they sailed to Tasmania, which they saw first on 13th January, 1802. Here they spent three months, but parted in a gale off Cape Pillar. Peron writes that on 6th March the largest boat from the Gdographe, was sent off to survey the south and east coasts of Tasmania and, a storm arising, the ship was blown out to sea. The Natm^aliste by violent squalls was separated from the Gdographe during the night between the 7th and 8th ; Captain Baudin being ill at the time De Freycinet, his first lieutenant, took over the command, with orders to pursue the search for the lost boat which with its crew was eventually picked up not by the French but by Mr. Campbell of the brig Harrington, who IO+ COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA afterwards met the N^atitralistc in Banks Strait off the north-east of Tasmania. The N^aturaliste awaited the Geographe in Banks Strait, but not meeting her sailed to Port Jackson, where eventually the two ships met. The Geo- graphe in turn had, after parting- company with the Naturaliste, entered Bass Strait, crossed to the Aus- tralian coast, and traced it as far as Encounter Bay in the hope of finding that the continent was divided by a long strait running from north to south. When no indication of this was discovered the Geographe turned eastwards and arrived at Sydney on 2Gth June, 1802. The French officers appeared delighted with Sydney, and Peron, to whom we are indebted for the history of their voyage, who liked new enter- prises, marvelled that no new expeditions were being- planned to ensure the crossing of the mountains. Before the close of his stay he induced Governor King to issue orders for another journey of ex- ploration, the command of which was given to Barrallier, an English officer of French extraction and an expert engineer. Peron, however, was not granted permission to accompany the explorers, who proved no more successful than their predecessors. Baudin's inquiries, before he left Sydney, as to the extent of the British claims in the Pacific were so pointed that they elicited from Governor King the definite statement that the whole of Tasmania and Australia was British territory. King also notified the Home Government of the suspicious actions of the French, and when they left Sydney BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION 105 on 17th November, 1802, to explore the southern and western coasts, a ship was sent to watch their proceedings. The Geographe accompanied by the tender Casuarina, which had been built in New South Wales, arrived in Bass Strait on 7th December and anchored at Kino's Island. The Ena"lish there hoisted their colours during the stay of the French ships, and these colours were saluted daily as a sign of prior possession, the reason being that the French commander told Governor King that his Govern- ment had no designs upon Tasmania, but wished for a whale fishery in Bass Strait, and he did not know what their plans were with regard to King's Island. It was upon seeing the British riag Hying at this island that Baudin is said to have observed "that the English were worse than the Pope, for whereas he grasped half the world the English took the whole of it ". The instructions given to Flinders were to examine the southern coast of Australia and then proceed north-west and survey the Gulf of Carpen- taria and Torres Straits. He left Spithead on i8th July, 1801, accompanied by Westall, the landscape painter, and among his officers were no less than eight midshipmen, one of whom was his cousin John Franklin. The Investigator arrived at Cape Leeuwin on 7th December. Flinders anchored in King George's Sound, where he stayed to careen his ship. He searched for a bottle containing the parchment re- ported to have been left by \'ancouver, but saw no io6 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA trace of it, although he found a sheet of copper recording the visit of the ship Elligood in 1800. The Investigator was taken into an inlet called Princess Royal Harbour to refit, whence Flinders attempted to explore the interior but was stopped by a chain of marshes. Many kangaroos, emus and lizards were seen, similar to those described by Dampier. Leaving King George's Sound on 5th January, 1802, he voyaged along Pieter Nuyt's Land, which had also been coasted by D'Entre- casteaux, and filled up occasional omissions in his charts. From Fowler's Bay (named after his first lieutenant Robert Merrick Fowler) Flinders pro- ceeded along the south coast, sometimes on land as well as by water, and explored and named Spencer and St. Vincent Gulfs (after Lords Spencer and St. Vincent of the Admiralty), named Mount Lofty, near which Adelaide now stands, and disproved the existence of the supposed strait dividing Australia from north to south. He thus annexed the whole of South Australia for his country. After making these interesting and important discoveries he met the G(^ograplie under Baudin. The meeting on 8th April, 1802, took place in Encounter Bay, east of Kangaroo Island, so named because of the numbers of dark brown kangaroos that were seen there. Flinders hailed the French ship and inquired if she was one of those the news of whose departure from France had reached New South Wales. He afterwards went on board, paid his respects to the French commander, and gave information regarding portions of the country sur- BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION 107 veyed by him, and of Bass's voyage in the open boat. The whole coast from Cape Leeuwin to the place where the Gdographe and Investigator met had been explored by Captain Flinders, and the French made no geographical discovery in the country they called Napoleon Land. This should be borne in mind, as Flinders found years after- wards on his return to Europe that French charts had been published by the Government of Napoleon, ascribing all his discoveries on this coast to Baudin. "My Kangaroo Island," he says, "a name which they openly adopted in the expedition, had been converted in Paris to L'Isle Decres ; Spencer Gulf is named Golfe Buonaparte, the Gulf of St. Vincent, Golfe Josephine, and so along the whole coast to Cape Nuyts, not even the smallest island being left without some similar stamp of French discovery." At the interview, Captain Baudin conversed in English upon the new discoveries, and informed Flinders that he had coasted along from Port Western and found no inlet whatever ; and his first lieutenant, De Freycinet, afterwards went so far as to remark to Flinders when they met at Government House in Sydney : "If we had not been kept picking up shells and catching butterfiies in Van Diemen's Land, captain, you would not have discovered the south coast before us ". After leaving Captain Baudin, the English com- mander's attention was turned to a fine harbour which he found near the western entrance of Bass Strait. He imagined it at first to be Port Western, surrounded by beautiful country and capacious enough io8 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA to admit the largest fleet, but detected his error, for the latter port could be seen to the south-east from the hills round the coast ; he was then unaware that Lieutenant John Murray in the Lady Nelson had seen it ten weeks before. Flinders grave names to the various hills ; Murray's Bluff Mount, more than i,ooo feet high, he named Arthur's Seat, because he fancied it resembled the hill near Edinburpfh, and he placed the name of his ship upon a pile of stones at the top of what he named Station Peak. He left on 3rd May, and reached Sydney Cove on the 9th of that month. On 22nd July, 1802, the Investigator, with the Lady Nelson, left Sydney to survey the eastern and northern coasts of New South Wales, and carry out the instructions which Flinders had received before leaving England. On 7th August, Port Curtis was discovered and on the 2 ist Port Bowen, but the Lady Nelson had become so unfit for service that on 1 7th October she had to be sent back to Sydney. Flinders rounded Cape York and sailed along the shores of the whole of the Gulf of Carpentaria. In Malay Roads, a strait in a group of islands called the English Company's Islands, he saw several Malay proas. After stopping at Cape Wessel to repair his ship, he returned to Sydney by way of the west coast, calling at Timor, and reaching Port Jackson on 9th June, 1803, where the Investigator was con- demned as unseaworthy. Captain Flinders desiring to lay his charts before the Admiralty embarked on loth August, 1803, for England in H.M.S. Porpoise, commanded by BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION 109 Lieutenant Fowler, who had been his first lieutenant. At the same time the Cato of London and the Bridge- water, a vessel belonging to the East India Company, under Captain Palmer, left Sydney, all three vessels sailing northwards. After being a week at sea, when 200 miles from land off the north-east coast of Aus- tralia, the Porpoise, followed by the Cato, but two cables away, struck on a coral reef called afterwards Wreck Reef, the Bridgeivater]ust clearing the danger. The Cato went down in deep water, but the Porpoise only heeled and fortunately a portion of the reef, although only a few feet above the sea, was dry sand and afforded a resting place for the crew. Flinders almost directly after the ship struck started in the gig to inform the captain oi x\\^ Bridgeivater of their plight, but seeing that it was impossible to reach the vessel he returned to the wreck and found that the Porpoise still held together, so he was able to board her. It is difficult to say whether Captain Palmer of the Bridgezvater saw what had happened to the two ships. Flinders believed that he did see them strike the reef, and that he bore away without attempting to render aid to the wrecked crews or work up to them in smooth water, and those of the Cato also thought that he was unwilling to help them, for his ship made straight off on her voyage to Batavia ; and, as Flinders prophesied. Captain Palmer reported the loss of the Porpoise and Cato upon his arrival in India. Flinders was not the man, however, to sit still and wait for passing vessels to rescue him, but immedi- ately set to work to build a cutter out of the disabled vessels. The cutter was launched on 26th August, no COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA and named the Hope. On that day the ensign with the Union downwards, which had been hoisted in the first instance as a signal of distress to Captain Palmer, was lowered and immediately re-hoisted with the Union in the upper canton. Flinders sailed in the Hope to Sydney, taking with him a young officer named FitzDaniel and thirteen seamen ; they arrived safely at Port Jackson on 8th September, after a wonderful voyage of 800 miles in the tiny craft. For the relief of the ship- wrecked men Governor King despatched the ship Rolla and two schooners, the Cumberland and Fran- cis. Flinders reached Wreck Reef in eight days, and the crews were taken on board the vessels. The Francis with some of the men returned to Sydney, and the Cumberland and Rolla sailed together from the reef, the latter going to China, while the Cumberland, with Flinders on board, directed her course to Torres Straits. Lieutenants Fowler and Flinders (brother of the commander) and John Franklin had embarked in the Rolla. They after- wards took their passage from China for England in the Earl Camden an East Indiaman, and when Commodore Dance fell in with the French Admiral, Linois, Fowler took command of the upper deck while young Franklin was in charge of the signals, and they undoubtedly contributed to the success gained by the British over the French.^ ^ The success was highly appreciated in England. Captain Dance was knighted. Fowler was presented with £,2i^o by the East India Company for the purchase of a piece of plate and the Patriotic Society presented him with a sword of honour. BAUDIN'S EXPEDITION iii Flinders, meanwhile, on his voyage to England, through the leaky state of the Cumberland was, on 17th December, forced to put in at Mauritius where he was kept prisoner by the French for seven years, the treatment he received from Decaen, the Governor, forming a striking contrast to the hospitality shown to Baudin and his brother officers at Sydney. He kept the English commander two hours in the streets waiting an audience, pretended to disbelieve that he was the officer named in the passport, and seized his vessel and all his books, charts, manuscripts, etc., and sent them to France. It is said that several French officers applied for his release and that in- structions were sent out to Mauritius to that effect which Decaen disregarded ; but, anyhow, his base conduct was approved in Paris, and the motive soon became apparent. The issue of the French Voyage of Discovery was pushed forward, and Napoleon granted a considerable sum to hasten its publication. French names were gfiven to all the EnoHsh dis- coveries, but fortunately Flinders had succeeded in sending a duplicate of his charts and papers to England before reaching Mauritius, and the whole imposture was exposed. Flinders died in England in July, 1 8 14, four years after his release from the long imprisonment which hastened his end and a few weeks before the publication of his Voyage to Ter7'a Australis, which holds a foremost place in the history of Australian exploration. CHAPTER V. CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. The first governor soon discovered that though he had been set over a vast country there was only a narrow strip within his grasp. Within a few miles of Sydney Cove there ran a range of mountains rising in places almost perpendicularly to a height of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet. Curving above Broken Bay on the north and below Botany Bay on the south, in the form of a crescent, they com- pletely hemmed in the settlement and cut off all advance into the interior. From the heights of Sydney on a clear day glimpses could be obtained of their level line of cobalt. They formed part of the chain of the Great Dividing Range which runs with scarcely a break down the eastern side of the continent from Cape York — the most northerly point — to Wilson's Promontory at the southern ex- tremity. Seen at a distance these mountains present the appearance of a bluish curtain raised but a little above the horizon ; twenty-five miles nearer, their bare summits appear less regular, and at intervals a few peaks are perceived. The different tiers rise in height as they recede deeper into the country beyond. Cook and those with him in the Endeavour caught glimpses of these hills through the clear atmo- CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 113 sphere when their ship lay becalmed off the coast on her way northwards. The Blue Mountains had a wonderful charm for the colonists ; the rocks, precipices, and thick scrub might repel them ; but when days bright with sunshine revealed gleaming torrents and smooth green plains among the ranges, the desire to ex- plore them became irresistible. Time after time expeditions left Sydney to penetrate into the forest, increasing" in number as fresh vessels arrived bring- ing more settlers desirous of becoming farmers. The boundaries of the colony were enlarged to their utmost to sustain the flocks and herds which increased with marvellous rapidity and from the sea coast on the east to the river Nepean on the west, a distance of between forty and fifty miles from the capital, little or no land remained for grazing pur- poses. Fields of wheat, lucerne, and clover bordered one bank of the Nepean ; on the other stood the mountains. Water, as well as grass, became hard to find. Where no rain had fallen, the power of an almost tropical sun and the sandy nature of the river beds rendered drought inevitable and the settlers were compelled to look beyond the narrow coast line for sustenance. Many and various were the specula- tions as to what might lie on the other side of the ranges. Some believed that a white settlement would be found there, others that there existed an inland sea, or a country unfit for human habitation, and some condemned all projects of exploration as foolhardy. A few only were of opinion that open 114 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA grass country would be discovered suitable for pas- ture. No warnings could prevent the colonists from trying to force a passage into the unknown bush. Many perished in the attempt. Sometimes an escaped prisoner in search of freedom, sometimes a visionary or too ardent explorer, starting without proper equipment, disappeared for ever in the laby- rinth of forest ; but their disappearance caused little surprise, and the Bathurst Plains remained undis- covered. It was held as a fact that there was no break or pass in the mountains and to surmount their un- broken ridge seemed almost impracticable. There is a legend to the effect that a freed convict really penetrated the barrier and discovered the Lachlan River, having learnt the way from a black fellow ; but Cunningham says that "the first known aborigines declared that there was no pass over the mountains, and held a tradition that malignant spirits resided there ". The first attempt to explore the Blue Mountains was made long before by Governor Phillip who on 1 5th April, 1788, set out with provisions for four days, attended by several officers and a small party of marines. In three days they passed the swamps and marshes near the harbour and found themselves in a rocky barren country, the hills of which were covered with scrub, but the rocks and dense bush made as- cending and descending difficult and often impossible. Fifteen miles from the coast Phillip had a fine view of the country and he gave names to several moun- tains, calling the most northerly the Carmarthen Hills, An Exploring Party with Phillip and Huntkr. (From a sketch by Captain Hunter.') CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 117 those to the south the Lansdowne Hills, and one between Richmond Hill. On the 22nd he started ao^ain, takintr with him some small boats in order to cross the river, and found good country, densely wooded, but after spend- ing nearly a day in fruitless attempts to make his way through it, he was obliged to return. Setting out afresh on the morrow, the party by keeping close to the banks of a small creek continued their course westward for three succeeding days. On the fifth day they ascended a small eminence whence they saw the Carmarthen and Lansdowne Hills, the farthest point reached being called by them Belle Vue, but even there they were still apparently thirty miles from the mountains which it had been their object to visit. Having only six days' food with them they were obliged to return, having fully proved the extra- ordinary difficulty of penetrating into the interior. Unexpected delays from deep ravines and other obstacles had frequently forced the travellers from the direct course, and bafiled every calculation as to the time required for passing from one point to an- other. The distance covered by the expedition was not more than thirty miles, and it took five days. The return was easier, the track being made and the trees marked, so that the explorers reached the boats in a day and a half. In June, 1789, Captain Watkin Tench and Mr. Arndell, the surgeon, reached the bank of a river "nearly as broad as the Thames at Putney" to which the governor gave the name of Nepean, but it was not until the month of December that Phillip ii8 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA resolved seriously to undertake further exploration. Lieutenant Dawes was despatched with a detachment of troops and a stock of provisions for ten days ; but after much fatigue and many dangers he returned to Port Jackson, having penetrated only nine miles more. Eight months later, in August, 1790, Tench and Dawes set out with a strong escort, carrying ropes and other appliances for the attempt to pass the mountains ; and they failed. Next June Tench went westward to find out whether the Hawkesbury and Nepean were one river. Twenty-one persons were of the party, which included the governor and Dawes. According to Tench : " Every man except the governor carried a knapsack (which contained his provisions for ten days), a gun, a blanket and canteen : these weighed not less than forty pounds. Slung to the knapsack was a cooking kettle and a hatchet to cut wood to kindle the nightly fire and build the nightly hut. Every man was garbed to drag through morasses, tear through thickets, ford rivers and scale rocks." The march began at sun- rise and halted an hour and a half before sunset with only an occasional pause. Preparations were then made to camp for the night. The method of trav- elling was to steer by compass, noting the different directions taken as the party proceeded, and counting the number of paces, "of which 2,200 on good ground," says Tench, "were allowed to a mile. At night, when all were resting, these courses were separately cast up and worked by a traverse table in the manner that a ship's reckoning is kept, so that CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 119 by observing this precaution we always knew exactly where we were and how far from home — an un- speakable advantage in a new country where one hill and one tree is so like another." This arduous task was allotted to Dawes and he performed it with wonderful precision. Whenever Colber, a black fellow who had been taken with the party, was asked the names of the tribes who lived inland he would answer with a shake of the head, " Boorooberongal," and add in English "bad"; "whence" adds his chief, "we conjectured that they sometimes made war upon those on the sea coast ". The expedition proved successful, for Tench ascertained that the Nepean was an affluent of the Hawkesbury. For some time little was done to scale the barrier, but on Captain William Paterson of the New South Wales Corps calling the attention of the Home Government to the Blue Mountains, and to the press- ing need of more pasturage, he was placed in charge of a new expedition which was fitted out with much care. His plan was to ascend the Hawkesbury River as far as possible, so that he might reach the foot of the range, and he took with him two boats and a strong escort of soldiers. Among them were many Highlanders who, like Paterson himself, were accustomed to the Scottish hills. Some natives acted as guides, and it was thought that Paterson, whose extensive travels in South Africa had brought him fame, would succeed. The river Grose, so named after Major Grose, was discovered and traced to its junction with the Hawkesbury above Richmond Hill, and the advance was then made up the river, but did I20 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA not continue far on account of the numerous cataracts, one of which fell sheer down some 420 feet, and the precipitous ground made further progress impossible. In 1794 Quartermaster Hacking of the Sirius with some companions started with the idea of forc- ing a way over the barrier. They spent ten days in searching for a pass, and eventually travelled twenty miles beyond any previous attempt, but tiers of forest and thicket compelled their return. During the journey they saw a red kangaroo and also one of the natives, who, catching sight of the white men, fled in haste. Two years afterwards Mr, Bass, the discoverer of Bass Strait, made the next attempt, with a few men on whose courage and skill he could depend. On this expedition he used iron boat-hooks on his hands and feet in climbing the steep sides of the rocks, and when stopped by ravines caused himself to be lowered by ropes, but after fifteen days of danger and fatigue he also returned to Sydney, declaring these singular mountains to be impassable. In 1805 the Government botanist, Mr. George Caley, then in Sydney collecting new plants and seeds for Sir Joseph Banks, was seized with a desire to explore the western ranges and applied for per- mission to Governor King, who provided him with the four strongest men in the colony to help him cut a passage through the bush. He succeeded in gain- ing a footing on the dividing range at Woodford, as the place is now called, close to the spot where the railway passes, and after very trying experiences his party reached Mount Banks twelve days after they CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 121 had left Richmond. Caley here looked westward, " I saw no large valleys," he says, "except the one close to us from which the ground rose gradually as far as the eye could reach. In a few places there appeared swamp, in others no trees and very scrubby ground. By these appearances the country might be imagined easy to travel over, provided the inaccess- ible valley close at hand was crossed, yet there is no doubt others of a similar nature would present them- selves as I am too well conversant now with their rugged impassable state which at every step becomes a ha-ha." It took him several days to cut a path from the spot where he had left a pile of stones, now known as " Caley's Repulse," to the Hawkesbury River, a distance of less than nineteen miles. Deep gorges were frequent. Sometimes upright walls of rock would suddenly confront him ; at others, the ground under his feet would crumble away. In despair, he at last returned to Sydney, where Governor King sympathetically stated that in his opinion the idea of attempting to cross such "a confused and barren assemblage of mountains with impassable chasms between was as chimerical as useless," and that "no- thing but enthusiasm could have enabled Caley, well equipped as he was, and with the strongest men in the colony to assist him, to perform the journey ". The route taken by Caley across the mountains was in 181 3 chosen by a fresh band of explorers to whom his experiences were doubtless of great ad- vantao"e. On his return to Enoland, he rave it in evidence before a committee appointed by the House 122 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA of Commons that New South Wales was bounded on the west by a range that was impassable. Lieutenant William Lawson of the X'^eteran Company was in London at the time, and frequently discussed with him the possibilities of finding a pass through the barrier. Lawson soon afterwards returned to Sydney, and evidently did not forget these conversations. In the year 1813. three years after Governor Macquarie arrived, a severe drought such as Australia has since, unfortunately, too often known, carried off numbers of sheep and cattle, and the scarcit}' of grass threatened to ruin the settlers. This induced Law- son, with William Charles Wentworth and Gregory Blaxland as companions, to follow up the efforts of Bass, Barrallier, Dawes and Caley. and before the marks cut by them had disappeared from the tree- trunks, to try once again to find fresh countr}-. Starting at four o'clock of the afternoon of 1 1 th Mav, 1 811, from Blaxland's homestead at South Creek, near Penrith, with four servants, five dogs, and four pack-horses, the explorers crossed the Nepean at Emu Island, some thirty-six miles west of Sydney, to find a way between the Western River and the Grose. Passim^ a largre laoroon full of coarse rushes and some thick scrub they were soon entangled among intricate gullies and deep ravines. " Narrow, gloomy and profound, these rents in the bosom of the earth (as Count Strzelecki describes them) are enclosed between gigantic walls of sandstone rock — sometimes recedinof from and sometimes overhanofinof the dark bed beneath with its black, silent eddies or its foam- inor torrents of water." CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 123 In one of the gullies was found a dead kangaroo which had just been killed by an eagle. Numbers of the brown wedge-tailed species made their nests in these mountains whose rocky ledges with over- hanging foliage sorely tried the patience of the men. When through the gullies, good grass country, ex- tending apparently as far as Grose Head, made a pleasant change in the travelling. Europeans had evidently marked the trees, and here and there were native huts. But two miles farther on a deep im- passable precipice compelled them to turn back to the spot where they had left the thick brush-wood. It seemed then as if the expedition were doomed to fail when fortunatelv Lawson thouo-ht of a method which had never yet been tried. While gazing despondently around him he noticed that the spine of the mountains trended westward and believed that if only his party could gain the top of the ridge and push their way along it, success would ultimately attend their efforts. He at once decided to try ; but the small party were then worn out with the exertions of the morning and it was thought wise to encamp at four o'clock and rest for the night. Lawson pondered over the direction their path should take on the morrow, and thought it best to cut a road to what he believed was the Main Dividing Range, and, if possible, ascend it near the Grose River, keeping in sight the heads of the gullies which were supposed to empty into the Western or Warra- gumba River on the left hand and into the Grose River on the right. There were, however, other difficulties, and what troubled the explorer most was 124 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA the way in which the horses travelled. From the first they had stumbled continually, and, so far, the start had to be postponed each morning on their account until nine o'clock when the dew was well off the grass. And he knew that the rocky hillsides, difficult enough for the men to climb, would prove still more trying for the animals. Next day he finally decided to leave them, as well as the provi- sions and five muskets in charge of two men, while the rest of the party (taking with them only two muskets) cut a way through the bush. The work was unflinchingly got through, although there was not a man who was not wearied, nor a hand that was not blistered and sore. On this memorable day, Friday, 14th May, a path extending for five miles was completed, wide enough to allow the pack-horses to pass, and at five o'clock the ex- plorers returned to camp. On the following day, leaving the camp as before in charge of the men, they cleared two more miles, but as there was no sign of grass for the horses they returned again at five o'clock. On Sunday they rested. The whole party pushed on and encamped on a narrow mountain ridge between two very deep gullies, where some of the men descended a preci- pice to a depth of 600 feet to look for water, but none could be found. On the i8th, two miles farther on, their path became buttressed on both sides with precipices. Creeping along the narrow edge of the ridge, the men removed some of the larger pieces of rock, and eventually got over in safety, but in the evening returned to the camp tired and out of spirits. CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 125 Next day, on their leaving camp and looking back from the second ridge, a distant view of the settlement now a minute speck beneath them, met their eyes. Not far from this spot, while busily cutting trees along a narrow ridge, they came upon a cairn of stones, shaped like a pyramid. One side of it had been opened and the stones scattered around, evidently by natives. Lawson thought then that it had been built by Bass to mark the end of his tour and that they were following in his tracks ; but Governor Macquarie explained afterwards that this pile of stones was Caley's work, and called it Caley's Repulse. As they gazed around them the three leaders might well have been overawed by the task that they had set themselves. What lay beyond Caley's Re- pulse was mystery ! Possibly the explorers remem- bered the old stories of the blacks at Port Jackson who said it was the abode of evil spirits who hurled thunder, floods/ and burning winds upon them, or the pleasanter fables that a white people dwelt there upon the banks of a great lake, a people who dressed like the English and had large towns with houses built of stone. Yet all was not mountain and forest. In the midst of what was to English eyes perhaps weird and strange there occasionally opened amid the transparent atmosphere scenes which would have lent grace to many a garden in a civilised land. In 1 The blacks held a tradition that once long ago the floods had overtopped the Blue Mountains and that only two men of the tribe there had escaped alive in a " Koboa Noe " or large ship. 126 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA parts of these mountains, both in the deep gullies and upon the high slopes, ferns and rare plants are to be seen growing in their native state. Groups of tall tree ferns tiourish beneath the shadow of massive rocks, their rough brown trunks contrasting strangely with their delicate green fronds and deeper tinted leaves ; and numerous species of maidenhair fern hang down over the pale-faced sandstone or creep round the bronze-green moss which covers the dripping ledges. Here is also to be seen growing upon the heights of the mountains the waratah, or native tulip. The crimson colour of the flower gives the plant its name of " Telopia," meaning " seen at a distance". The trunks and branches of the eucalyptus trees are often overgrown with creepers, and many descriptions of palms fill the crevices among the rocks, and give an almost tropical appearance to these bush scenes. Such scenes, after journeying over tracts of uneven country, after scrambling up and down stony hill- sides and cutting paths through the scrub, must have often appeared a restful sight to the first explorers. From Caley's Repulse the travellers were able to advance four or five miles a day, and soon noticed with delight that the ridge was widening before them. New birds, parrots of varied plumage, attracted them. Emus were heard calling, and once the sound of a native chopping wood near at hand excited their curiosity, and told them, although they could not catch sight of the black fellow, that the mountains were inhabited. The next day, 25th May, the track of a wombat was seen ; later they saw the smoke of fires curling upwards through distant trees and ap- CROSSING THE BLUR MOUNTAINS 129 parently thirty natives moving about, but so far off that it was impossible to ascertain with certainty anything regarding them. On Friday, 28th May, to the explorers' joy, they beheld grass country in the valley below them. It was clear of trees and covered with loose white pebbles and stones. At first it looked barren and sandy, but they soon perceived that it really was grass of a light straw colour, and in the evening they descended the mountain which was high and steep in order to examine it more closely. On Saturday, 29th May, at seven o'clock in the morning they began the descent of the valley through a passage in the rocks, thirty feet wide, which they had discovered the day before. A low slanting trench had to be cut with a hoe along the mountain side for the horses to walk in as there was no sort of foothold for them. The grass proved to be green underneath, and there was also a clear and rapid stream of water. The natives were evidently still moving^ before them, as smoke was a«-ain seen to the west ; on the 31st remains of their old fires were found and traces where they had been sharpening their spears, and from the marks on the trees they did not appear to climb like the blacks at Sydney. There were two streams here and the explorers encamped by the faster fiowing one at a short dis- tance from the Hioh Hill. This hioh mountain was afterwards called Mount York by Governor Mac- quarie, although it became more familiarly known to travellers as the "Big Hill". It rose sharply 798 feet from the valley below, which Macquarie named 9 I30 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA the \"ale of Clwyd, The passage was afterwards ofiven the name of Cox's Pass, but Blaxland in a letter to Governor Macquarie, dated 15th June, 181 5, stated that the passage was actually discovered througfh a suof^estion of Wentworth's, and that the river was found by Lawson, while the others were bringing the horses down the mountains. After once more surveying the newly found pas- ture the explorers, now sorely in need of provisions prepared to return to Sydney, For a time they satisfied their hunger by eating the flowers of the honeysuckle tree which are shaped like a bottle brush and are full of honey. The natives still camped a little distance away, evidently possessing no huts, and would not allow the white men to approach them. On Tuesday, ist June, the party again as- cended the mountain ridge and started homewards, carefully marking the trees to show each mile of the road, and reached their home on Sunday, 6th June, 18 1 3, with all their party well. There may still be seen on the Old Bathurst Road the tree called the "Explorer's Tree" upon which Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth carved the initials L. B. W. Stand- ing on a high point of the mountain it is plainly visible from the windows of the railway carriage. Thus the mystery concerning the Blue Mountains was solved, and the discovery of the new territory soon led to important results. On 20th November, 18 1 3, acting on instructions from Governor Mac- quarie, George Williams Evans set out from Emu Island to make a survey of the road, and to explore the country from the point where Lawson's party CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 131 had turned back. On the fifth day he reached the valley containing the rapid stream, the limit of Law- son's expedition. On 27th November he discovered another valley with fine grass. Leaving his horses in this valley with some of the party, Evans set out to select a track where they could more easily ascend the mountain. Curious high ranges to the south were seen from one point, the pasture covering their tops and sides being very green, but no better road was found, and the party again set forth over hills as steep and stony as the others. Some small clear streams and grassy valleys were passed, and from a high hill Evans perceived a peculiar mist in the distance, so unlike smoke that he believed a river would soon be reached. From this point a clear view of country for forty miles to the west was obtained, and the travellers began to meet with good sport. Each day many ducks were shot and the fish in the streams were both large and plentiful. Other high hills appeared, and on ist December he reached a remarkable mountain with a stone on the top like a sugar-loaf or as some have described it an Indian fort, which was called after the discoverer Evans's Crown. He walked to its summit and looked down upon the western landscape for a distance of some fifty miles. The trees grew farther apart but the pasturage was thick and the soil looked fertile ; the wide expanse still farther off afterwards gave rise to the story that, when he first saw it, he believed that he was gazing upon a vast inland sea. That his pleasure was very great is evident in his writings. " I am more pleased 9 * 132 COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA with the country every day," he says, "it far sur- passes in fertility and beauty any I hav^e yet seen." His first sight of the river almost inspired him to be poetical. "The river winds through fine flats and round the points of small ridges which gradually descend towards it. They are covered with the finest grass intermixed with the white daisy as in England. It is a most picturesque spot with gentle rising hills and dales well watered. The distant hills, which are about five miles south, appear as grounds laid out, divided into fields by hedges. There are few trees on them and the grass is quite green. I still keep near the river, and at times I walk a few miles south or north as seems to me requisite ; I now find the mimosa in clusters on the banks. The country continues good, in some places overrun with the shrub amono- the orass the same as on the cow pasturage at Stone Quarry Creek. I shall not name the river until I am certain of its real course." At this time Evans had met with no natives, although he had observed their tracks. On 4th December the night was very wet and the party suffered much discomfort from the rain, the thin leaves of the eucalyptus trees affording litde shelter. After a violent thunderstorm the clouds dispersed and a fresh westerly wind blew throughout the day. The horses benefited by the good pasturage, but their backs showed signs of soreness, as the saddles had not been lined and the straw stuffing in them was so hard that the party were forced to use their blankets as saddle cloths. Evans called the first track of clear land O'Connell CROSSING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS 133 Plains alter the lieutenant-oovernor. Here numbers of wild geese were seen, and the discoverer writes : "This place is worth speaking of as 'Good and beautiful' it surpasseth Port Dalrymple (Tasmania) and the clear land occupies about a mile on each side of the river ". Farther on he found another plain still more pleasing and very extensive which he named Macquarie Plains. In this region he saw numbers of wild geese and fish were abundant and easily caught. This river Evans named the Fish River. It fiows westward from the Clarence Range. He wished to cross it, but it was too deep, and as he could see no signs of a ford he contrived a bridge. The diary states that " By driving two forked logs into the mud as far as we dared venture and by laying a piece of wood in the forks we formed a gallows : a party swam across the stream and did the same on the opposite side. We then felled trees as large as six of us could carry and rolled them down the bank. As soon as one end of the trees was in the water the current sent it round and the ropes which had been made secure round it prevented it being carried too far down. We lifted two of these trees up, which reached from one fork to another, and placed two more trees from the banks on either side to join the forks, over which we passed our necessaries and then swam the horses, first tying ropes to them and drawing them to the opposite bank ; otherwise the force of the water might have carried them a great distance down the stream as it did some of the men who swam over." At sunset they reached another stream which 13+ COMING OF THE BRITISH TO AUSTRALIA Evans called the Campbell. The two streams soon joined and formed what he called the Macquarie. /«; "''4