Stack Annex DU 178 B462st STORIES OF ID- SYDNEY BY CHARLES -H- BERTIE ^ILLUSTRATED BY^ SYDNEY VRE SMITH STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY lirct \orth, the Site of Robert Campbell's (,'arcieii STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY By CHARLES H. BERTIE Illustrated by SYDNEY URE SMITH SYDNEY ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD. 89 Castlereagh Street Printed by W. C Penfold & Co,, 183 Pitt Street, Sydney (or Angus & Robertson Limited. London : The Oxford University Press Amen Corner, E.C- StacJ? IDtl 176 PREFACE I am indebted to Messrs. John Fairfax and Sons for per- mission to reprint " The Ghosts of Hunter Street " and " A Ramble round Old Sydney," which appeared, in part, in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney Mail respectively. To the Fditor of the Sydney Mail and to Dr. G. H- Abbott, Mr. Smith is indebted for the loan of the original drawings of several of the illustrations. Our united thanks are offered to the officers of the Mitchell Librarv for their assistance. CONTENTS PAGE ONE SUMMER'S NIGHT - 11 THE GHOSTS OF HUNTER STREET 15 THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY 27 A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY - 49 A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR 75 FIFTY YEARS AGO 89 ILLUSTRATIONS GEORGE STREET NORTH, THE SITE OF ROBERT CAMPBELL'S GARDEN - r>-n,,tispiece THE "ENDEAVOUR" - 11 FORT DEN1SON 12 CLUB HOUSE HOTEL, HUNTER AND CASTLEREAGH STREETS- 17 "A PARTY OF DISTINGUISHED POETS" 21 A DARLINGHURST MILL (PROBABLY CRAIGEND MILL) 31 WINDMILL ON SITE OF GROSVENOR HOTEL, CHURCH HILL fachiK 36 BOSTON'S MILL IN BOTANIC GARDENS 37 MILL ON MILLER'S POINT 40 MILLS NEAR DARLINGHURST ROAD AND ROSLYN STREET 41 MILLS NEAR DARLINGHURST ROAD AND LIVERPOOL STREET 42 HOUGH'S MILL. WAVERLEY - 43 CUMBERLAND PLACE, CUMBERLAND STREET 50 OLD HOUSES IN CUMBERLAND STREET NORTH - 31 IN CUMBERLAND STREET. NORTH OF ARGYLE CUT 52 CUMBERLAND HOUSE, CUMBERLAND STREET 53 BETTINGTON STREET, MILLER'S POINT, IN 1906 55 MILLER'S AND DAWES POINTS IN 1906 57 OLD STABLES, DAWES BATTERY 58 REAR VIEW. DAWES BATTERY 59 SIDE VIEW, DAWES BATTERY 60 IN TRINITY AVENUE, MILLER'S POINT - facing 61 PAOE AT THE CORNER OF ARGYLE AND CAMBRIDGE STREETS 62 OLD SCHOOL HOUSE, PITT STREET 63 A RELIC OF OLD KENT STREET 64 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, BRIDGE STREET 65 OLD STORE IN SUSSEX STREET 67 A MACQUARIE STREET MANSION 70 THE LAST STAGE 71 "I FOLLOWED," SAID CAPTAIN GILBERT - 79 "AND LEFT THEM AT THREE IN THE MORNING" 83 "I WALKED OUT TO LOOK AT THE CITY" 89 THE MAIL COACH 90 A MATTER OF BUSINESS 91 A MATTER OF DRESS 92 A MATTER OF STATE 93 CIRCULAR QUAY 94 HOWELL'S MILL, PARRAMATTA 96 WHEN GRANDPA WAS YOUNG 97 AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING 99 AN OLD SYDNEY DOORWAY 100 IN THE DOMAIN 101 ROYAL HOTEL AND THEATRE ROYAL IN 1838 102 THE COLONIAL TREASURY. LANG STREET 103 ROYAL VICTORIA THEATRE, PITT STREET 105 The ' ' Endeavour ' ' ONE SUMMER'S NIC PIT When evening's hush comes on the laud And day's last legions flee, I fain would sit and see the hand Smooth out the wrinkled sea. And then I see the island lights Shoot out from night's black cave, Like founts of fire, 'that ft 'are to heights Of fury with each zcave. And there beyond the bridge are'ships, Asleep in even' s breeze, Whose prows have kissed the white-green lips Of many hungry seas. And as I sat one summer' s night. And saw the beacon's gleam. There came to me a noble sight, In substance of a dream ; For zchen Ike span swung out from shore, I heard a far-off song, And through the bridge with sail and oar There came a stately throng. And first, as 'twere that timid bird, The little " Dove " comes through, And steals away with her unheard, ( 'nknown, but honoured crew. The next a Spanish galleon. Which brought to birth our land, And on her poop, 'mid frowning gun, Torres and Quiros stand. And then came strange and wondrous barks, With crews both rough and brave, The men on whom were heavy marks Of tempest, war and wave. And last there came with song and cheer, The ships Pd waited long, And from the decks there floated clear An old, an /English song. 'Twas there I saw our nation's pride, The men who ne'er forsook The call that came to danger's side, /irave Dumpier and Cook. I-'rom men and cities caught, I 'or in the lands these men have found A nation hare we wrong/it. THE GHOSTS OF HUNTER STREET The Ghosts of Hunter Street T is a very pretty difference ! Cook having announced a personally conducted tour from Olympia to Australia at very reasonable rates, a large party undertook the journey. On arrival at Sydney, Sir Henry Parkes, much to Cook's disgust, took charge of a party of distinguished poets, including Shakespeare, Burns, Spenser, and lien Jonson, and conducted them round the City. They were shown the site of the " Empire " building the office in which was published " Murmurs of the Stream " the principal public schools, and finally Parliament House. It is not my purpose to chronicle their conversation, al- though one remark of Ben Jonson's caused Shakespeare to smile. The party came to an intersection of two streets, and there was an inn on each of the four corners. Ben remarked that as he always travelled in an arc when he came out of an inn, he couldn't see how he'd ever get out of that intersection. Late in the afternoon, after the main sights had been viewed, Judge Roger Therry gathered together a small party of men who had lived in Hunter Street to renew their associations with the street. 16 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY At the top of the road the Judge introduced Mr. Tawell, a genteel-looking Quaker, who (he explained) had lived on one side of the street, while he lived on the other. " Tawell,'' said Sir Henry, " I seem to remember some- thing about you.'' " I hope it's in the middle of my career," said Tawell, hurriedly. "Ah ! 1 have it. Didn't you empty gallons on gallons of good rum into the harbour once?" " 1 did." said Tawell, piously. " It is one of the things I am proud of. Friend, such a lesson in practical temperance Sydney lias never seen since." " F)tit a shameful waste of good rum," muttered Sir Henry, passing down the street. The Judge whispered to his neighbour. " He came out as a convict for forgery, made a lot of money, led a most exemplary life, went home to England, poisoned a woman, and was hanged. Most extraordinary character! \\nen he was winding up his affairs in the colony before going to England he had about 7,000 worth of bills. As he could not wait until thev were due he called on Mr. \Yilliam Barton, the sharebroker, who had an office down in Macquarie Place, and asked him to get offers for the lot in cash. 5,000 was the highest Mr. liarton could get. This Tawell refused, and took the' bills away. Mr. Uarton forgot all about him, but one day Tawell walked in and said: 'Friend, I have been thinking it THE GHOSTS OF HUNTER STREET was not thy fault that I would not accept the highest price that thou couldst, by thy labour, get offered for my bills ; thou didst thy best, so here is one per cent, for thee on the highest offer that thou didst elicit/ Tawell left 50 on the desk and walked out." Several old gentlemen became very excited when the party reached the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh Streets. " Dear, dear," said one of them, " they couldn't even leave the old Club House Hotel. Man, do you remember what nights we had in the old place?" " Ah, yes ! those were the days. The best ' stone fence ' in town to be had there." " Well, I must say I preferred a ' spider/ ' : " Mine was always a ' Lola Montez/ " chimed in another veteran. " Excuse me," said a young man, "what was a ' stone fence,' a ' spider,' and a ' Lola Montez?' " ' There you are, Mr. Josephson, even the old names gone." " A ' stone fence/ my dear sir, was a ginger beer and Club House Hotel , Hunter and Casilereagli Streets i8 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY brandy ; a ' spider,' lemonade and brandy ; and a ' Lola Montez ' was compounded of Old Tom, ginger, lemon and hot water." " And if you knew the lady it was named after, my boy, you'd see the connection," chuckled a jovial-looking old gentle- man. " I lived in the old house many years before it descended to a lodging house and an inn," said Mr. Josephson, a hand- some old gentleman, " and I believe that I planted one of the pine trees that grew there." " Well, they were there, Mr. Josephson, when I bought the property," said a stout-looking person, who answered to the name of Kite. " I knew- that property would be very valuable, so when I made my will I put in a provision that it wasn't to lie leased for more than seven years at a time, but I met a man the other day, and he told me that my heirs got round me. What d'ye think they did? Put a special Act of Parliament through to enable 'em to lease the site for twenty-one years! Rank ingratitude, I call it." At the corner of Hunter and Pitt Streets, Captain Brookes pointed out the site of his house, as did the Honourable Richard Jones. " Why." said Mr. Beale. " that's where the ' Currency Lass,' that I kept in the forties and fifties, stood. Stirring days they were, too: why. I used to get a new vest nearly every day in the f an historian who writes that convicts would wait up all night to catch their turn to have wheat ground. On many occasions the morning tap of drum, summoning him to work, would come before the unfortunate man received his flour; then his choice was no breakfast or raw wheat. THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY 35 A delightful little commentary on the period is provided by a letter written by Governor Hunter on the 1st of June, 1797, in which he makes reference to the mill we are discussing. The Governor writes: " I will not fatigue you with an account of what steps I am pursuing for bringing this turbulent and refractory colony to a proper obedience to the laws and regula- tions established for the general welfare. You will see what I have thought it right to say in my public letters. I will, however, mention a circumstance which has just happened, and which may serve to show how great a number of trusty people are necessary for looking after the worthless villains we have here to manage. Our windmill, which has just been finished, and is now at work, was the other day employed grinding some wheat for people who had some time past been obliged to pay almost one-half their grain to have the other ground. Whilst the miller was absent, and left these very people for whom the mill was then at work, in care of it. during his absence they were clever enough to steal away some of the sails from the vanes or fans, and we have not been yet able to discover the thief. The mill, for want of its sails, was consequently stopped." This is somewhat reminiscent of the eighteenth century story of the thief, Jonathan Wild, who on his way to the gallows picked the pocket of the clergyman sitting in the cart with him. In a report of the 13th of August, 1806, it is stated that this windmill was then useless. A second and more imposing mill THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY Boston's JMill in Botanic Gardens huntsman with two dogs in the upper portion of the Botanic Gardens. Mr. Smith has shown the mill tower in its sere and yellow age sans sweeps sans sails. In the left- hand corner the battlements of Government House stables are visible. This mill brings into our view an interesting figure who played a small part in the drama of our early days. His name was John Boston, and he owned the mill shown in the drawing. The first reference we have to Mr. Boston is in a letter written by him on the 5th of December, 1793, to the Under-Secretary of State in which he offers himself as a settler in Xew South Wales. In detailing his qualifications Boston says : " I was brought up as a surgeon and apothecary, but have never since followed that profession. I have since made my particular study those parts of chemistry that are more particularly use- ful in trade and business. Have, therefore, a knowledge of brewing, distilling, sugar-making, vinegar-making, soap- making, etc. I have been in business as distiller, but was un- 38 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY successful. I likewise have a theoretical and some practical knowledge of agriculture." "With such qualifications, united with the fact that " my views are not ambitious," it is not sur- prising that Mr. Boston was accepted as a settler and arrived here in the ship Surprise, being one of the first three to arrive in New South Wales as settlers. Instructions were sent out to Governor Hunter to assist the newcomer, who pro- posed to undertake the curing of fish. Our next view of Mr. Boston comes through a pig not a particularly heroic medium, but 'twill serve (did not the " sow business " of 1644 affect the destiny of Massachusetts?). Now Mr. Boston owned some pigs in the year 1795, and these were wont to root on a close, the property of Captain Foveaux. The Captain did not object, but Quarter-master Laycock, who differed with Boston in the matter of a cash transaction, determined to adjust that difference to his satisfaction. To this end he instructed a private to shoot a pig when next they strayed. This was done, and of course the unfortunate porker happened to be the best of the tribe. Mr. Boston appeared on the scene, blows followed words, and the subsequent proceedings were transferred to the- court. The offended and damaged owner claimed 500 damages from the quarter-master, the private (William Faith- full') and two other members of the N.S.W. Corps who happened to be present. The trial lasted seven days and aroused the intense interest of the whole community. The THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY 39 verdict was for Boston against the first two with damages at twenty shillings each. The mill erected by Boston passed, before 1807, into the possession of Commissary John Palmer, who built another which stood near the site of the Governor Phillip statue in the Botanic Gardens. Further south, and occupying the land on which Governor Bourke's statue stands, a small post wind- mill was erected by Henry Kable, one of our early merchants. This mill was removed afterwards to the heights of Darling- hurst. Mr. Palmer had a bakery also on his grant. Our next view carries us down to Miller's Point, and de- picts the last of the three windmills which, at various times, graced the Point. The mill in our illustration stood on the site of Messrs. Dalgety and Company's store in Merriman Street. A little to the north a terrace of three large houses marks the site of Underwood's mill, and to the south " Jack the Miller" (after whom the Point was named) had his mill. Mr. Xorman Selfe, in writing of this individual, says : " 'Jack the Miller ' was a real historic personage about whom many interesting legends exist. On landing in Sydney in January, 1855, I went at once to live at Miller's Point, and have subse- quently resided a good deal in that locality, where, in those days, tales of Tom Cribbs the butcher and Jack the Miller were current. One story says that the Governor offered the miller the whole of the Point if he would put a fence across the neck, but he declined the expense and thus lost the land. 40 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY His name was John Leighton, and he died in June, 1826, at the age of fifty-seven." The mill in our picture was existing in 1842, as it is shown in Front's drawing of that year. It was Mill on ^s Point acquired ultimately by Mr. Davis one of the heroes of 1798 and donated by him for church purposes. The drawing with two mills takes us across the city to the district once known as Woolloomooloo, but now as Darling- THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY Mills near Darling hurst Road and Roslyn Street hurst. The ridge following roughly the course of the present Darlinghurst Road provided an ideal spot for windmills, and in the thirties this was the miller town of Sydney. In the Mitchell Library is an old panorama showing six windmills on this ridge. Mr. Smith's view, taken from an old woodcut, sho\vs two stone mills which stood near the junction of the Roslyn Street and Darlinghurst Road of to-day, and north of where Kellett Street now runs. According to Mr. Selfe, the one on the right was erected by Mr. Thomas Barker, and the other by Mr. Girard or Mr. Hyndes. The latter mill at one time was known as Donaldson's mill, Kellett House, the residence of Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson, standing in close proximity to it. Within a short distance of these mills was found the finest windmill erected in Xew South Wales, and probably in Australia. It was known originally as Craigend mill, and stood to the east of the present Ximrod Street, near the corner of Darlinghurst Street, on the estate of Craigend, owned by Sir Thomas Mitchell, the explorer and Surveyor- General of New South AVales. The mill was known in 1845 as Hill's mill, afterwards as Fiddon's or Hope mill ; in 1857 as 42 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY Jenkin's ; and in 1865 Captain Robert Towns became the owner of the building and proposed to convert it into workmen's dwellings. The sails or sweeps of this mill were fully forty feet long, and the total height to the top of the arms was one hundred and five feet. This fact was preserved for us because a young architect was fond of yachting. The late Horbury Hunt was preparing the plans for its reconstruction in 1865, and JMills near Darlinghurst Road and Liverpool Street in his diary of the 17th of January of that year is this entry: " Old windmill got up on top platform, climbed out on shaft, as one of the arms was standing perpendicular climbed up it and with Jack knife cut a strip of wood off the arm, pointed it, and stuck it into the end of the arm at 105 feet from the ground." His observation on this entry in later years was " Heing a yachtsman in those days accounts for the feat." Of Hough's Mill, Waverley THE WINDMILLS OF OLD SYDNEY 45 the other windmills on the Darlinghurst ridge, two small wooden mills stood to the north of Liverpool Street, and another with a stone tower, known as Clarkson's, occupied a site close to the present gaol. The last three mills are shown in the drawing. Our next picture shows a good type of the old post mill. These were constructed so that the whole might be turned to allow the sails to catch the wind. The mill was erected by Mr. Hough about 1846 in Waverley ; Mill Hill Street is a reminder for all time of its existence. It was demolished, according to Heaton's Dictionary of Dates, on 1st October, 1878, but a pencil note on the picture from which Mr. Smith's drawing was made gives the year as 1881. This was the last of the old Sydney windmills, and with it ended what was the most picturesque period in the history of Sydney. I have read somewhere that an ardent lover of wind- mills in England is preparing a map on which a cross marks the spot where once a windmill stood. " There," he said " I will show them what they have lost by steam," and in sym- pathy with him I feel somewhat disposed to head this chapter " What Svdnev lost bv steam." A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY A Ramble Round Old Sydney T has been objected that the adjective " old " does not, cannot, apply to Sydney. " Your city is but a century and a quarter old, and as cities go, it is but an infant," our critics have urged. We cannot boast of history " twelve coffins deep," but we can remind our critics that time and age are comparative things. This morning certain insects were born and to-night they are dying of old age. One man has lived a year of pleasure, another one of pain ; 'twould be idle to say they were of the same duration. And, above all do we not read " a thousand years in His sight are but as a day?" Charles Kingsley, in one of his charming essays, says that there was no need for him to travel across to Switzerland to see the Alps, or to journey to India to see nature " red in tooth and claw," for on his own moorland, when his eyes were rid of the " tyrannous phantom of size." he could see Alps in the hills, and in the grass at his feet he could find as great a warfare as ever raged in Indian jungle. In like manner we must apply a comparative test for age as well as size, and in this test we shall find Sydney an old city, in fact, so old that Paris and Berlin must need hide their diminished heads, and even London must defend herself with obscuritv. For how manv STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY cities in the world can claim that the national history begins with them? This is the proud boast of Sydney, for the shore of Sydney Cove was the cradle of the Australian race, and her old buildings and streets are invested with a dignity beyond that of mere age. With this by way of preface and preparation, we shall begin our ramble round the city. The old building shown in the first illustration to this chapter stood, until a few months ago, in Cumberland Street. It was the birthplace and boyhood home of David Scott Mitchell, the donor of the magnificent Mitchell Library. In the early thirties of last century Bishop Broughton -Aus- tralia's first and only bishop was the tenant. Surely such connections should merit some consideration but a. timber var( l is now adorning the site. The three pictures follow- ing are all views in Cumber- land Street, the main street of that intensely interesting portion of Sydney known as " The Rocks," where we find the most instructive relics of a bygone Sydney. It is somewhat difficult to realize A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY 51 that the dilapidated houses in the second drawing were, in the forties, residences of men of fashion. The stream of life that flowed down this portion of Cumberland Street sixty years ago carried some men who left marks in our history. Somewhat later we have a picture of a small boy playing in the vicinity, for he lived just north of the buildings, Old Houses in Cumberland Street North and the footsteps of this boy led him in after years to the chair of the first Prime Minister of Federated Australia and to a seat on the Federal High Court Bench as Sir Edmund Barton. In the picture " In Cumberland Street, north of the Argyle 52 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY Cut," we have in the centre cottage a type of the building adopted in the very early days of the city. It has wide eaves and is built of plastered brick. When the house was erected the street was not formed ; in consequence, the tenant now steps down into his abode. Not far away our artist has found an old building known in /;/ Cumberland Street, north of the Argyle Cut the days of its grandeur as Cumberland House. I stood one day in front of the house with an old gentleman who had resided therein for over 40 years, and he brought before me forcibly what a connecting link this old mansion is between the convict regime and our da}'. Soon after becoming the A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY 53 tenant he noticed a well-dressed, prosperous-looking- man standing in the yard and gazing at the building. My friend spoke to the visitor and asked if he knew the house. " Yes," was the reply ; *' I have good cause to remember it. I worked at its erection, and was flogged here one day." Cumberland /- ^i.V ~ Cumberland House, Cumberland Street House was built in the " twenties " of the nineteenth century, and had as tenant in 1833 Captain Joseph Moore, who was, I believe, also the owner. Captain Moore was the founder of the family so intimately associated with Miller's Point and 54 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY the owners of Moore's Wharf. A later tenant of the building was Mr. Francis Mitchell, a partner in Mitchell and Co., one of the prominent early mercantile firms of Sydney. Our next pictures carry us out on to the neck of land known as Miller's Point. The first is a view of the locality of Merri- man and Bettington Streets, as it appeared in 1906. This is close to the site of the windmills which are referred to in another chapter. In the same year Mr. Smith made the draw- ing of the wharves on Miller's and Dawes Points. A visitor of to-day would find some difficulty in identifying this picture. So rapidly is old Sydney disappearing before the army of im- provers that the view has completely changed. Gone are Towns' and Moore's wharves, links with the whaling days; a broad street runs where the old stores once held goods gathered from "China to Peru.'' and the military barracks, in the background of the picture, also have been swept away. " Suppose you were to give me your idea of a monument to a Lord Mayor of London; or a tomb for a sheriff; or your notion of a cow-house to be erected in a nobleman's park. Do you know now," said Mr. Pecksniff, folding his hands, and looking at his young relation with an air of pensive interest, '' that T should very much like to see your notion of a cow- house?" Something of the feeling of surprise, experienced by Martin Chtixzlewit at this artistic indifference to the object upon which his art was to be exercised, comes over me when I view another drawing presented for my pen by the artis^ r^ f- miller's Point Betting ton Street in 1906 A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY ]\ Filler's and Data's /'oints in 1906 " The Old Stables, Dawes Battery." If one could write of this as the stable of some mighty racer of yore, as Jorrocks, Bennelong, or The Barb, it would open a page of history full of fact and fancy. Alas! from the absence of fact or knowledge, I know not even one racer who has graced the building with his presence, so we must let the picture pass with the comment that the subject is one of those old STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY pieces of Sydney artistic enough to chain the eye of an artist. The two draw- ings following are side and rear views of the old building known as Dawes Battery. This received its name from Lieutenant Dawes, who built the first battery on this site to protect the port from foreign invasion. It is curious to read to-day a report in which the chances of an enemy's ship escaping the fire of this battery are discussed. I am pleased to record that it was proved to the satisfaction, at least of the writer, that the " raking fire " from the battery would devastate any ship daring enough to venture within its zone. In the year 1798 to be more exact, in June of that year A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY 59 a man arrived in Sydney who was destined to occupy a considerable place in the mercantile annals of the colony. His name was Robert Campbell, and he came to Syd- ney as a partner in the Calcutta firm of Campbell, Clark and Co., to spy out the land. Mr. Campbell saw such good pros- pects that he pur- chased " the lease of Baughan's house and Rear I'iew, Dawes Battery and another lease granted to Captain Waterhouse. On these lands wharves and a residence were erected, and the garden was cultivated. Campbell's Wharf, in time, became the centre of the mercantile life of the port, and from it in January, 1805, was depatched the Lady Barlow with the first large shipment of goods exported from Australia. This was a fateful cargo. In it the great East India Company saw a menace to its trading monopoly, and the goods were seized at the instigation 6o STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY of the officers of the company. The aid of Sir Joseph Banks was invoked by Mr. Campbell's agent in England, and after some months' delay the agent was allowed to sell the cargo, but for exportation only, involving a loss of some 7,000. This appears a somewhat dubious victory, but victory it was. for from this cargo dates the emancipation of Australian trade. If my readers will turn to the frontispiece to this book they Side View, Dawes Battery will see a portion of the historic lands of Air. Campbell. The building that appears to be climbing up the hill is the Harbour View Hotel, and marks the boundary of Baughan's lease. To the left of the hotel was Air. Campbell's garden, and on the water front his wharves. The building in the middle distance was a ladies' school in the days of its gentility. A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY 61 One of the charms of wandering in the older portions of Sydney is the unexpected pictures one comes upon. Mr. Smith has preserved one of these artistic spots in his view of the cottage in Trinity Avenue, near Trinity Church. Some short distance from the site of our last picture stands (or perhaps it would be better to use the past tense, as the roof was falling on my last visit) an ancient-looking building on the corner of Argyle and Cambridge Streets, at the entrance to the Argyle Cut. This old place has witnessed some curious scenes during its life of 70 or 80 years. For many years it was the shop where the ladies and gentlemen of the " Rocks " lodged their worldly goods, in the care of Mr. Con. Duffy, to be redeemed when the exchequer had a fleet- ing surplus. At the time of the drawing one could see occasionally a foreign-looking sailor entering its door with a parrot or other bird brought from some far-off country to convert the feathered curio into coin of the realm. It was, however, in the early days of its career that the pageant before the house was interesting. Some years before 1843 the Government of the day determined to cut a pass, on the line of Argyle Street, through the rocks from George Street to the north-westerly parts of the city. Each week-day morning the chain gang, composed of convicts who had committed some real or fancied offence against the local laws, was marched down from the Hyde Park Barracks, and put to work on the excavation, which was abandoned by the 62 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY Government after reaching Cumberland Street.. A few years later the City Council took the work in hand and carried it to completion, but not a convict pick was used again. Strange to say the destiny of the Argyle Cut was affected by the insignificant buildings shown in the drawing. The City Sur- veyor of the time, in reporting to his council, stated that he J&1TO* '&!. i -'- - V-riX^ At the corner of Argyle and Cambridge Streets could not lower the roadway of the Cut to its proper level as it would leave these buildings perched up in the air. If you would like to see a fine old crusted Tory of a build- ing, let me invite you to Pitt Street, opposite the Water and Sewerage Board's offices. Calm and serene, one can almost hear the building say: "For nearly one hundred years I have stood here and watched men come and go. I A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY have seen them build up and pull down and build again, and to-day my life is threatened by the cry of ' room for our high buildings,' but I am still here. And the old days were the best." To read the description of this part of the city by a writer of 75 years ago is to make us consider if we have not lost something in street improvements and skyscrapers. He says : " From the crossing of Park Street to its southern termination, Pitt Street, although less occupied by expensive buildings, is remarkable for the neatness and cheerful appear- ance displayed by most of the cottages with which it is lined on either side. The small garden plots here and there, their shaded verandahs, and the regularity of design which many of them display, taken altogether, not only please the eye and gratify the taste, but also have a direct tendencv to * recall the rustic beauties of Old England to the memory of everyone who can think of the land he has left, and re- joice in the land now his home." This building has a claim to distinction in that it was, in the thirties and forties of last century, a school- Old School Honse ^ Piti Sfreef} op p osife Water and Sewerage Board Offices 64 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY house under the charge of John Henry Rucker, and amongst the scholars were a number of boys whose connection with it will make the place historic. The brilliant but eccentric Daniel H. Deniehy was one, and George Richard Dibbs another; while the genial father of Australian amusements, John Bennett, can be added to the list. \Yhen one views the manner in which old landmarks are being swept away, one wonders if the antiquary of a century hence will have anything but memories to engage his ardour. This reflection is engendered by the sketch of the offices of the Public Instruction Depart- ment. Like a man stricken with a mortal disease it awaits dissolution. Erected in 1815 as the office of the Secretary to the Governor, the building, the portal of which many of our famous men have crossed, is now. within a few years of its centenary, to be torn down. Eheti ! Our ramble now leads us down to Kent Street where we find a relic of the twenties, wearing a lofty and superior Department of Public Instruction, II ridge Street Old Store in Sussex Street A RAMBLE ROUND OLD SYDNEY 69 air in the presence of young but dingy neighbours. When this old building was young, in the locality resided a number of Sydney's merchants with a sprinkling of old salts. An artist was asked on one occasion to paint a picture of " Peace.'' He drew a rushing, roaring, foaming waterfall, and, on a branch overhanging the water, a bird with her young in a nest. A modern artist could find the same symbolism in Sussex Street to-day. Surrounded by grain and produce stores, with the bustle of men receiving and delivering goods ; with the ceaseless, heavy vehicular traffic of. Sussex Street passing by, the old store, shown in our illustration, rests calm and placid. Moss is growing in the guttering of the eaves, here and there plaster has fallen off, shutters bar the lower windows, and broken panes repay their absence on the upper floor ; on the walls may be picked out. in strata, the remains of various signs, and on the door is a mysterious " X," the meaning of which I know not. It is difficult to understand the reason for the neglect of what must be a valuable frontage, but, as lovers of the picturesque, we make no complaint. We cannot do better in concluding our ramble round old Sydney than slop at the Macquarie Street mansion depicted in our last drawing. It is a type of the colonial mansions in favour with the financial magnates of sixty years ago. The house illustrated is the home of the T'urdckin family, and 70 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY during the period when the late Sydney Burdekin was a mem- ber of Parliament Sir Henry Parkes, the Premier, held meet- ings of his Cabinet within its hospitable walls. A Macquarie Street Mansion 77/i? Last Stage A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR A Mysterious Affair An Episode of the Thirties NE Sunday morning in the month of April, 1831, the good people of Sydney were astonished to see the ship Edward sail into port. A week before, this vessel had departed from Sydney bound for Batavia, yet here she was returning to port, and soon after her captain landed rumours of piracy and mutiny on the high seas ran through the town. A reporter from the " Sydney Gazette " waited on Captain Gilbert, the commander of the ship, and this was the mournful and tragic tale told by the captain. The Edii'ctrd had sailed from Port Jackson on the 26th of March, 1831, in company with the ship York, which was bound for Madras with a detachment of the 57th Regiment. The York was commanded by Captain Leary, who was un- familiar with the passage of Torres Straits, and had arranged with the captain of the Edzcard for the two ships to keep company until the Straits were cleared. Here we will allow the editor of the " Sydney Gazette " to take up the tale. His account was written the day after the return of the Edward, and has therefore the charm of freshness. From him 1 have borrowed also the heading of this chapter. 76 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY " Having very little wind, their progress was slow, and on Tuesday last, the 29th, they had reached no farther than the latitude of Port Macquarie, and were about four degrees off that coast. Both vessels were sailing E.N.E., the course which had been mutually agreed upon until day-break on the Wednesday morning, when they were again to consult for the day. " So anxious, indeed, was Captain Leary to act in concert with his fellow-voyager, that on Wednesday he wrote a note to that gentleman minutely stating what he understood to be the arrangement for the night, and expressing his determina- tion to adhere strictly to it. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the hour at which the military gentlemen dined, the York was observed suddenly to change her course from E.N.E. to S.E., without any sort of intimation to Captain Gilbert of her reasons for so doing. Tier stern sails were set, and it appeared that she was pursuing her new tack with all possible despatch The ships, at the moment this alteration took place, were about two or three miles apart, the Edivard being in advance; but the latter being by far the better sailer, Captain Gilbert instantly pursued his comrade to demand an explanation, and at about 11 o'clock at night came within hail. When his approach was observed, the York again shifted her course to S.W. Captain Gilbert remonstrated against this strange conduct, and called loudly for Captain Leary, but without receiving one word of reply, the York continued to sheer A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR 77 off. Gilbert, however, still pressed after, and on again coming up, renewed his calls for Leary, when a man dressed in a long frock coat was seen to leap upon the York's poop, and cried out in a strange voice ' What do you want?' ' I \vant Captain Leary,' was Gilbert's answer, ' and you are steering wrong.' ' No,' replied the same voice, ' we are going through Bass' Straits.' ' Then,' said Gilbert, ' if you have no chart you had better come on board of me, for you are steering wrong for the Straits. You are not Captain Leary. Where is he? li you don't bring to, I'll run you down.' They again sheered off. ' I followed/ says Captain Gilbert, ' and came up a third time, and hailed them the same as before. They backed the main-yard, and endeavoured to get round me, as I supposed, to have boarded me. Finding what they were about, I filled my main-sail, and left them at 3 in the morning of Wednesday the 30th. They were then steering towards the S.W. of New Zealand. T heard two guns go off, and saw the flashes. In the afternoon I signalled him that if the wind changed in the night to steer N. ; he directly up stick and steered S. When they did this they hoisted Alarryat's signal, Under orders, bear away, conic up. I'oth myself, officers and men then thought the ship was taken, for Leary was most anxious that I should not leave them on an}- account.' " Nothing now remained for Captain Gilbert but to put back to Sydney and report the extraordinary transaction. To have attempted to take the York by force, filled as she was 78 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY o-ss* 9 * r "-27Fr* 9- t :.:r -i%i ,=. - - ;:^S**;---- . ' ' -x"~ . , ,, ."J--- -.r.: x ,-i*-j=- --''- /1- - with armed soldiers, would have been madness, and the only way in which he had it in his power to serve the cause of humanity and his country, was to interrupt his own voyage by returning with the mysterious tidings." At this point our editor indulges in some speculations. What could have led the unhappy men to so desperate a measure, or by what means so large a body of British troops could have been inveigled into so sudden a conspiracy, or in what part of the world they could dream of rinding an asylum from justice, it is not easy to conjecture. The only suppos- able cause of the mutiny is that aversion to the India service which the militarv in general feel but this, for an act so full A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR " / follozv ed, " said Captain Gilbert of peril, is a most inadequate reason ; the dangers of the climate of India were nothing to be compared with the fear- ful hazards of seizing the ship. To what part of the globe could they go with any chance of finding a secure home? If they went to any of the South Sea Islands, their numbers would expose them to famine, or to the fierce jealousy of the natives. If to South America, they would be almost sure to fall in with British ships of war, which are continually cruising off the whole line of the coast. To remain long at sea was out of the question, for their provisions would soon fall short. Nothing, then, was before them but the extremest 8o STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY danger, and the most probable of their dreadful chances was, that they would, sooner or later, be apprehended." To maintain the interest of the story, and to build up the dramatic situation, it is necessary now to pull out the quiver ing, sorrowful tremolo stop. Here I find my editor at his best, and 'twould be but vanity on my part to disturb so much as a comma. ' The fate of the officers and their unfortunate ladies is wrapped in the most appalling" uncertainty. We derive some consolation, however, from the fact, that cold-blooded butchery is the reverse of the long-established character of British soldiers. They are humane and forbearing, even to their foes ; and to their friends, their countrymen, their officers, and their countrywomen, it is difficult to conceive them capable of brutality or assassination. One thing appears but too certain : if they retained possession of the ship, it would be essential to their own supposed safety to get rid of all who were not in the plot. The mildest mode of disposing of these would be to land them at New Zealand or some other island, with a liberal stock of provisions and conveniences ; but even this would be a cruel lot, attended with privations, hardships, and perils which one shudders to imagine. " 1-5 ut there is yet a gleam of hope from the consideration that out of so large a body of soldiers as one hundred and sixty privates and non-commissioned officers, with fifteen women and thirty-nine children, it is impossible to believe A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR 81 there were not a considerable number who remained faithful to their duty. This would add seriously to the embarrass- ments of the mutineers, and it is by no means impossible that cool reflection might convince them of the madness of their conduct, and that such conviction, seconded by the entreaties of those around them, might issue in a penitent surrender. Nor would it, indeed, be at all surprising, were the loyal party to conquer in their turn, and, in a few days hence, to re-enter Sydney Cove." A few days after this account was published the good people of Sydney received another shock. One part, at least, of the editor's prophecy came true ; the York did " re-enter Sydney Cove," and this is the story of Captain Leary : " On Sunday, the 27th ult.. Captain Leary of the York dined with Captain Gilbert on board the Edzvard, and re- turned to his own ship in the evening, after arranging for the signals to be made during that night. This was the last personal intercourse they had. The wind was then N.E. " On Monday, the 28th, no communication took place, and the wind continued steady from the N.E. " On Tuesday, the 29th (the memorable day on which Cap- tain Gilbert supposed the York to be captured), about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Captain Leary, rinding the wind so unchangeably contrary, began to think seriously of putting back for T'ass' Straits. Not willing to act unadvisedly, he called a meeting of the military officers and stated that, the 82 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY wind appearing- to have settled in the X.E., they might be kept where they were for a length of time ; but that if they steered to the southward, they would in four or five days be carried through Bass' Straits, with every prospect of a good passage, and without the anxieties and dangers of Torres' Straits. Major Hunt and the other officers being exactly of the same opinion, the alteration was at once adopted and acted upon. Signals were immediately made to the Edivard, announcing, as plainly as such signs could, the change that had been determined upon. The first was to this effect 'Ex- cuse me, I'm under orders to go through Bass' Straits.' The second was the hoisting of the ensign, the usual signal for parting, equivalent to the word ' Farewell.' The third was the discharge gun, the ordinary accompaniment, at sea, of the ' Farewell ' ensign, being, we suppose, the best substitute for a hearty shaking of hands. These intimations completed, the I'.dward hoisted her pennant, the sign that the signal had been understood. Leary, not doubting that he had made his companion clearly acquainted with his intentions, now put his ship about, and steadily pursued his course to the southward. ( )bserving that the Edward had put about also, the gentle- men df the York believed that Gilbert had come to the same conclusion as themselves, namely, that it was better to make for Bass' Straits than to contend with a settled foul wind; and Leary good-humouredly remarked to the officers, 'In- stead of Gilbert's leading me through Torres' Straits, I'll lead +-l>id left t lie in at three in the morning A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR 85 him through Bass' Straits.' At night, as was stated by Gil- bert, the Edward neared the York and hailed her; proper answers were returned, but the former being to windward, and the sea running high, Gilbert could not hear them. " On Wednesday morning, about 3 o'clock, the York was hailed again, when Captain Leary, Major Hunt, and the chief officer of the ship went on to the poop t'o know what was the matter. The ' man dressed in a long frock coat,' whom Gilbert took for one of the mutineers, was Major Hunt. Gilbert called out that Leary was steering wrong, and told him to lower down a boat and come on board of him, that he might point out where he was wrong. Leary was rather nettled at such an imputation of ignorance, and replied that he (Gilbert) must suppose him mad, not to know so simple a navigation as that to Bass' Straits ; and, taking Major Hunt down to the cabin, he pointed out to that gentleman on the chart the exact spot they were then on, and the course they were steering. " It never entered their heads that Gilbert could be ignorant of their intentions, taking it for granted that their signals had been distinctly understood by him. His repeated hailings, his calling so vehemently for Captain Leary, and his persisting in telling them they were wrong, appeared to those on board the York quite as puzzling as their own proceed- ings appeared to him, and at length they determined to get as near him, as, in so rough a sea, the safety of both vessels would permit, for the purpose of holding more intelligible communi- 86 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY cation. Their effort was frustrated, as our readers know, by Gilbert's supposing them to be a set of mutineers, and that this was a manoeuvre to board and take possession of his ship. Away, therefore, he went, each party wondering at the strange conduct of the other." Thus did the mysterious affair lose its mystery, and the honour of the 57th remain untarnished. Unfortunately, the Edward had sailed before the York returned, and I have little doubt that the story of the mutiny of the 57th, told by the officers of the Edward in Batavia, is still rolling round the world, for truth can never catch a lie. Our editor pours out half a column of healing oil to the " brave men of the 57th," and concludes by " wishing them a prosperous voyage and every happiness in their future life," which, let us hope, they had. FIFTY YEARS AGO Fifty Years Ago \IS address is No. 2 Cave, Domain. Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. in winter, 8 p.m. to i a.m. in summer. May be consulted on any subject under the sun, from the comparative warmth of the Sydney newspapers as bedclothes to the fallacies of prag- matism. He is jolly enough to be twenty, has a voice a hundred years old, and confesses to eighty. My tobacco is of a brand he fancies. I am in a position, therefore, to gii'c yon some of his old Sydney stories. I was a young man of twenty when the ship Marion dropped her anchor in Sydney Cove. That was in the year 1852. I was alone; had just left Oxford, but was bent on seeking fortune in the new El Dorado. I did not know when I landed where to go, so I asked the boatman, a wiry and wrinkle d old sal t, w ho was r o w i n g m e in his wherry from the ship i out to look at the city STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY to the landing place, if he could tell me a good board- ing house. " If it's lodgings you want, I'm the chap as can plant you on out-and-outers. Don't go by no means to put up at a pub., for the landlords and landladies '11 think yer allers a-robbing on 'cm 'cept yer allers as drunk as a fiddler. And don't go to none on 'em 'ere cribs vere 'em calls it ' Board the worsest places for prog take yer to a first-rate place it's nothing much to look at, and Residence ' ; them's in the town. But I'll in Kent Street; altho' it's a rattling place for grub ! It's kept by an old wot keeps cows, and pigs, 77/6- Mail Coach 'ooman named O'Callaghan, goats, chickens, and other domestic reptiles. I'll take yer and introduce yer to the old 'ooman. Yer'll find her rough and ready." After leaving the Circular Quay, the waterman took me along George Street, down Druitt Street, and round into Kent Street, till we came to a house perched upon the rocks, just at the rear of the Town Hall. FIFTY YEARS AGO A i\ fatter of Business In the window was a card, and on it was inscribed some- thing like this : Bord haii Log gin here for singil ginthilmin han their i^'ii'cs han childer, if so be they've got hany. Judith O'Callaghan. The boatman introduced me to Mrs. O'Callaghan, a big, powerful Irishwoman with a face brimming with good humour, and she promised to look after me as if I were " her own blessed born son." The day after my arrival, I walked out to look at the city. I glanced over a wall coming up Druitt Street, and found we had a cemetery next to our back yard. That's where the Town Hall is now. Passing along George Street I was sur- prised to see the fine jewellers' shops, quite up to Bond Street, and in Pitt Street the drapers' shops. In George Street I saw a big man with a clean-shaven, rather rough face, wearing a white waistcoat, ordering some men round who were rolling casks into a wine and spirit store. I was struck with his appearance, and asked who he was. The man replied: "Oh, that's l)ill Long." I came afterwards to know him well, but STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY as the Hon. William Long. At the corner of Market Street the Coopers had a big store with a line of posts and chains in front of it. Of course the streets were not like they are now. Mud was much in evidence, and ruts were frequent. This was not to be wondered at, as teams of bullocks were con- stantly passing along. Down in Lower George Street I saw an amusing sight. A cab rank was there ; the old four-wheelers principally, with two horses, with a few of " Mr. Hansom's cabs," as they were called. I was standing by this rank when a small boy came up and said to a cabby named Rill Broughton, " Father wants you," to which Bill replied. " Then want will be his master." Off ran the boy into a hotel, and presently out came an exceedingly fat man. weighing about 30 stone, who made for the rank. Im- mediately Rill saw him he whipped up his horses and drove away followed by all the other cabs. The fat man was Mr. James Ewen, the licensee of the hotel, and when he saw the A Matter of Dress FIFTY YEARS AGO 93 A Matter of State cabs disappear he waxed very wroth. After a time the cabs ~" came back, but out came Mr. Ewen, and away drove the cabs. This occurred three times, and each time Mr. Ewen was hotter, and "wrother," and ' redder. Finally he shook his fist at them and disappeared. I saw in the papers afterwards that he summoned Bill Brough- ton and obtained a verdict of one shilling against him, despite the fact that a gentleman named McCarthy swore that he had engaged Bill to take him to a funeral but Mr. Bowling, the magistrate, said he ought to have explained this fact to Mr. Ewen. Circular Quay was a very different place then from what it is now. The water and mud extended up a part of what is now Pitt Street, joining on to the very dirty Tank Stream. Wharves were on both sides, but the vessels did not lie close up to them as at present. The ship was moored some distance off, and two heavy timbers were run from her to the wharf. The space between was boarded over, and up this gangway the wool was hauled, not with a windlass, but with a capstan and all hands eoincr. 94 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY Circular Quay Then there were bullock teams every- where. The drivers were known by their pipes and language. The pipe was a "cutty" of any shape and size favoured by the owner. Some were nigger's heads, others were Rus- sians or Turks, or mermaids. or Margaret Catchpole. The blacker-looking As to their language the pipe, the prouder was the owner. \vell, here's a story : There was a good man who was horrified at the bullock drivers' vocabulary. He said to them: "Why don't you try kindness? the bullocks do not understand that brutal language. Try kindness." They removed their cutties, and told him to try it. So one day the good man demonstrated. A team was handed over to him and he started the bullocks. They pro- ceeded along the Quay until a slight hill was met. Here the driver had to use his voice for the first time. " Come up, Strawberrv; forward, IHossom,'' he said. With one accord Hoivelfs Mill, Parramatta FIFTY YEARS AGO 99 the bullocks stopped, turned their heads and looked him up and down in a ruminating- way ; then the leaders started, des- cribed a semicircle, and the team calmly returned to its guffawing owner. When I made enquiries about the goldfields, I was not at all impressed with my chances. The Turon, I was told, was done, except for experienced men, and the Tambaroora was not recommended. An opportunity of seeing the fields arose, however, of which I shall tell you later. At the time when I arrived, the successful digger was much in evidence. Many times at night I would hear a regular babel coming down the street. Two or three cabs filled with diggers and women would tear past me, everybody on board, including the drivers, being drunk, and shouting at the top of their voices. The party would stop at every public house and refresh themselves. The police had a very con- venient method of rounding up these parties. They would wait until the diggers and their ladies were comfortably settled As it was in the beginning 100 STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY Sydney Doorway in a cab after a visit to a hotel, then mount the box, take the reins from the driver, and drive round comfortably to the nearest police station. "When the vehicle stopped, the fares would roll out in expectation of more refreshment and be gathered in. Next day one of the diggers would haul out a roll of notes and pay the whole of the fines. These celebra- tions became such a nuisance ultimately that the mayor, speak- ing from the bench after fining a party, threatened to deal heavily with any more offenders. Air. Stubbs (Old Stubbs, as he was called) was the In- FIFTY YEARS AGO In the Domain spector of Xuisances at the period, and the prosecuting officer. He was wont to ride round the city on a dilapidated old horse on the look-out for nuisances. One night, however, a nuisance came to him. Mr. Stubbs opened his front door one morning to see a grinning crowd gazing at a deceased bullock planted on his very doorstep. He was quite angry and offered 1 reward for the perpetrators of the outrage. Having decided not to go to the goldfields, I looked round for a situation, and found one in a bank. I tired soon of the confinement, and requested to be sent out on the goldfields STORIES OF OLD SYDNEY staff. The request was granted, and for the next ten years I got all the excitement I was looking for. The bank premises on a new field usually consisted of a 10 ft. x 8 ft. tent with a counter of bark. In the early days, moreover, we would be without a safe of any kind, and the knowledge that hundreds of pounds worth of gold was under your stretcher was not calculated to induce slumber. \Ve had many an exciting adventure in those days. I can recall a number, but the incident that stands out clearest in my memory is a story told me by a fellow official. We were riding to the Meroo diggings, and one afternoon, after travelling over some ranges, we came out on a lovely plain on the C'ollaroy Station. To my surprise I saw a cottage standing near the road. \\ e rode over and found it uninhabited, with all ""I* the doors open. " This will be a fine place in which to camp to-night," I remarked. F don't agree with you," said mv companion. " Bnt lo k < it