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On the 12th of August, 1806, Governor King was succeeded in his
command at the settlement by Governor Bligh, who arrived from
England for that purpose; at which period the colony was in a state
of growing prosperity, notwithstanding the progress of cultivation
was considerably retarded by the frequent overflowings of the
Hawkesbury, which never failed to produce such extensive injury to
the settlers on its banks, as would have been sufficient to
discourage men of much more industry and perseverance than many
amongst them.
The death of Mr. George Barrington, who, for a long time, was in the
situation of chief constable at Parramatta, ought to have been
previously adverted to, as his decease took place some time before
this period. During his residence in the colony, he had conducted
himself with singular propriety of conduct; and, by his industry,
had saved some money; but, for a considerable time previous to his
death, he was in a state of insanity, and was constantly attended by
a trusty person. The general opinion of those around him was, that
he brought on this malady, so destructive to the majesty of man, by
his serious and sorrowful reflections on his former career of
iniquity. His death, however, was that of a good man, and a sincere
Christian. He expressed a very considerable degree of displeasure,
when he was in a state of sanity, at his name being affixed to a
narrative, which he knew only by report, as being about to be
published, and which subsequently did appear, under a deceptious
mask.
The Blue Mountains have never yet been passed, so that beyond those
tremendous barriers, the country yet remains unexplored and unknown.
Various attempts have, at different periods, been made to exceed
this boundary of the settlement; but none of them have been attended
with the wished-for effect. M. Barrallier, a French gentleman, late
an ensign in the New South Wales corps, has been further across than
any other individual; but he was compelled to return unsatisfied,
before he had obtained any knowledge of the trans-mountainous
territory which he longed to behold. I myself made an excursion to
these mountains, in the year 1807, accompanied by an European and
three natives; but after mounting the steep acclivities for four
days, until I found my stock of provisions sensibly diminishing, I
thought it most prudent to re-trace my way to the habitable part of
the settlement, and to leave the task of exploring them to some
person more qualified, mentally as well as physically, for the
arduous undertaking. In fine, from the specimen I had acquired
during this journey, of the difficulties which surround this task, I
think that, after traveling a few miles over them, their appearance
(although so amazingly grand) is sufficiently terrific to deter any
man of common perseverance from proceeding in his design.
In the progress of my undulating, I ascended about four or five
stupendous acclivities, whose perpendicular sides scarcely permitted
me to gain the ascent. No sooner had I attained to the summit of one
of these cliffs, flattering myself that I should there find the
termination of my toil, than my eye was appalled with the sight of
another, and so on to the end of my journey; when, after mounting
with the utmost difficulty a fifth of these mountainous heights, I
beheld myself, apparently, as remote from my ultimate object, as at
the first hour of my quitting the level country beneath. Some of
these ridges presented to the eye a brilliant verdure of the most
imposing nature, while others had the appearance of unchanging
sterility, relieved by the interposition of pools of stagnant water
and running streams; there shrubs and trees enlivened the scene, and
here barrenness spread its dreary arms, and encircled the space as
far as the eye could reach. On my return, in sliding down the steep
declivities, I so completely lacerated my clothes, that they
scarcely contained sufficient power to cover me. I saw no other
animals or reptiles, during this excursion, than those which are
common throughout the country.
Were it not for the existence of such insurmountable obstacles, is
it to be supposed that persons who have resided above twenty years
within sight of this Alpine chain of hills, would have so long
suppressed a curiosity, of the existence of which every day gives
some evidence, and have remained so totally uninformed as to the
nature of a country, from which the most distant part of the
settlement is far from being remote? Or is it probable that the
settlers, who reside at the very base of the mountains, would so
long have remained ignorant of the space on the other side, if such
impassable impediments did not intervene.
In the commencement of the year 1808, a new market was established
on a part called the Old Parade, near to the Orphan House, and every
exertion was made to expedite the building of the shops. The market
days are Wednesdays and Saturdays, when a considerable number of
farmers, from the districts between Sydney and Parramatta, as well
as from other quarters, attend with the produce of their lands: they
also bring poultry, vegetables, fruit, &c.; and to prevent, as much
as possible, the too frequent impositions practiced, a clerk of the
market has been appointed, to weigh all things that may be required.
Of late years, a number of vessels have been seized and carried away
by the convicts, amongst whom there must ever be numbers who will
eagerly grasp at any project of emancipating themselves which occurs
to their minds. Lately, the Venus, a brig belonging to Messrs.
Robert Campbell and Co. laden with a quantity of provisions and
stores to supply the settlements to the southward, and a very
handsome brig, called the Harrington, from Madras, were seized and
taken off. The former, when she had reached her place of
destination, after coming to an anchor, and landing the master with
dispatches for the Lieutenant-Governor, was seized by some convicts
who had been placed on board, under confinement, aided by part of
the crew, and was carried beyond the reach of re-capture. She has
since been heard of, but without a probability of her recovery. The
latter was cut out of Farm Cove, and was carried out to sea, before
any information was received on the subject. This transaction was
planned in a very secret manner, so that all the convicts boarded
her about twelve o'clock at night; and, although the vessel lay in
sight of some part of the town, and within the fire of two
batteries, yet nothing was discovered of the circumstance until the
following morning. Upon the representation being made to Colonel
Johnston, that officer ordered several boats to be manned
immediately, and a party of the New South Wales corps, with a number
of inhabitants who had volunteered their services, to use every
means to re-take the vessel, put out to sea; but, after rowing and
sailing for several hours, they were at length obliged to return,
without ever coming in sight of the Harrington. Other means were
subsequently tried for the recovery of the vessel, but all to no
effect; the convicts had managed their matters with such secrecy,
promptitude, and skill, as totally prevented every endeavor to
counteract their intention.
The natives and our countrymen are now somewhat sociable, and there
are not many outrages committed by either party. I believe that some
of the white men would frequently be more severe with the
Aborigines, when caught in the very act of committing depredations,
but the circumstance of several settlers being capitally convicted
of the murder of a native boy, in January, 1800, acts as a check on
their violent dispositions, and prevents the recurrence of such
sanguinary proceedings. Some years previous to this period, the
Europeans at the Hawkesbury suffered considerably from the marauding
inclinations of the natives, several of their huts being burned, and
themselves severely wounded; their corn-fields were also frequently
despoiled, and their future promise blasted. On these as well as
subsequent occasions, the settlers, in defense of their persons and
property, were compelled to have recourse to arms, the natural and
necessary consequence of which was the destruction of some of the
plundering tribes; but, in these instances, the circumstances
justified the deed, and the governor sent assistance to them, rather
than the contrary. In fact, so many atrocious deeds were committed
by one of their leaders at Hawkesbury, who had long been a
determined enemy to the Europeans, that Governor King found it
necessary to issue an order, offering a reward to any person who
should kill him and bring in his head. This was soon accomplished by
artifice, the man received the reward, and the head was sent to
England in spirits by the Speedy. Those practices, however, had now,
in a great measure, been done away with, and it was seldom heard
that any steps of violence were pursued on either side. But when
thus speaking of the general good understanding which exists between
the Europeans and natives, I must be understood to confine my
meaning to the vicinity of the principal settlements; for about the
remoter coasts they are still savages, as may be gathered from the
following narrative of an occurrence in April, 1808:--The Fly,
colonial vessel, being driven into Bateman's Bay by bad weather, had
occasion to send three of her crew on shore to search for water; and
it was agreed, previous to their departure, that in case of any
appearance of danger, a musket should be fired from the vessel, as a
signal for the immediate return of those who had landed. Shortly
after the boat had reached the shore, a considerable body of natives
assembled round the boat, and a musket was accordingly discharged.
The men returned to the boat with the utmost precipitation, and
without any obstruction; but they had no sooner put off from the
shore, than a flight of spears pursued them, and was succeeded by
others, until the whole of the three unfortunate men fell from their
oars, and expired beneath the attacks of their enemies. The savages
immediately seized and manned the boat; and, with a number of
canoes, prepared for an attack upon the vessel itself, which
narrowly escaped their unprovoked fury, by cutting the cable, with
all possible expedition, and standing out to sea. The names of the
unhappy men who were thus murdered, were Charles Freeman, Thomas
Bligh, and Robert Goodlet. This melancholy circumstance affords a
sufficient illustration of the dispositions of those natives which
are remote from the settlements; and as no such occurrences have
taken place amongst the neighboring inhabitants of the country, it
is but a fair presumption to conclude, that an association with
Europeans has in some degree polished their native rudeness, has
softened the cruelty and natural violence of their dispositions, and
inculcated into their breasts some principles of humanity. By
observing the conduct of the new settlers, the savages have learned
to imitate their actions, and to discard a portion of that barbarity
of manners, which allied them to the material creation.
Just before I quitted the colony, two persons arrived; one as master
of the female Orphan school, and the other to superintend the boys;
but as the school for the latter was not yet erected, an
advertisement was immediately given out by government, to ascertain
the numbers of the youth of that description, in order that some
correct idea might be formed of the extent of the projected
building. The female school was established and occupied by the
children, who were considered as proper objects of the charity, in
the early months of the year 1801, soon after Governor King took the
command of the settlement, and is a fine institution; and the late
committee have so acted, as to reflect honor on the task which they
have so feelingly undertaken. Nor can the children of that
institution ever be sufficiently grateful to Mrs. Paterson, and
Major Abbott, as well as to some few others of the several
committees, whose judicious measures and well-adapted plans, have
not only contributed to their present comfort, but laid a foundation
for their being brought up in a life of virtue and industry, instead
of becoming the objects of prostitution and infamy. It is supported
by different duties levied on merchandize--by fines, fees, &c. (as
may be seen by a reference to my abridgment of the General Orders),
and is of no expense to the crown. The establishment of these
benevolent asylums for the offspring of misery, confers a high
degree of credit on their originators, as well as on the people
amongst whom they flourish, and afford a powerful argument to combat
those weak and obstinate prejudices which have been raised against
this colony, by persons of little information and less liberality,
who, reasoning on narrow principles, and with obscure views of the
subject, are incredulous of the good which exceeds the horizon of
their own bounded perspective, and are ever amongst the foremost to
exclaim, "Can any good come out of Nazareth?"
About the same period, a complete range of storehouses was completed
on the banks of the Parramatta river, and another had been commenced
close by the wharf at Sydney. The necessity for some new buildings
of this description had been evident for some time, as the chief
part of the King's storehouses, which had been previously erected,
were unfortunately so remote from the water-side, as to occasion
much superfluous labor, as well as to render the unloading of ships
extremely burdensome and expensive. These inconveniences have,
however, been considerably lessened by the new arrangements; and the
pursuance of a similar system will speedily render the port
infinitely more commodious, and effectually remove those grievances
which were calculated to restrict the influx, and increase the
estimated value of merchandize.
Some short time also before I left the settlement, two murders were
committed, by men named Brown and Kenny; the former of whom had
killed several men at the southward, and was brought from thence to
Port Jackson for trial, where he was convicted, executed, and
subsequently hung in chains on Pinch-gut, a small island in the
centre of the harbor leading to Sydney Cove. The latter was
arraigned for the murder of a woman named Smith, who, after he had
perpetrated the deed, endeavored to consume the body of his victim,
by thrusting it in the fire. He was executed, and hung in chains at
Parramatta.--Several other murders have been committed; but as it is
my intention to touch only on the most particular occurrences, I
have forborne to name more than those I conceived to be the most
atrocious.
Such is as accurate a sketch of the progress of the colony as it
comes within the compass of my limits or intention at present to
depict. I have omitted numerous occurrences of a trivial nature,
considering their detail altogether superfluous, as the interesting
narratives of Governor Hunter and Lieutenant-Governor Collins, are
sufficient to give the minute inquirers into the rise of the colony
a perfect acquaintance with the nature of the general occurrences
therein; a continuation of which details would, in fact, be little
more than their repetition. I believe I have touched upon the most
interesting points in the history of this yet unmatured settlement,
subsequent to the valuable relations of these esteemed officers,
except such as relate to politics, and other topics, which may
hereafter be subjects of contemplation; and my principal object has
been, to carry to the mind of the reader an idea of the progressive
maturation of the colony, without fatiguing his eye with minutioe
which might render the work tedious, and induce him to regret the
hour which he has devoted to its perusal. It now remains for me to
depict the state of the colony, at the close of the autumn of 1809
(March), when I sailed for England; and, in the execution of this
part of my task, I shall endeavor so to arrange my subject as to
preserve an interest, unbroken and unfailing, throughout the whole.
By a rigid adherence to facts, I shall enable the reader, by a
comparison of my various statements with the previous details of the
luminous narrators above mentioned, to form just and indisputable
estimates of the increase of the settlement; of its growth in
population and extent, as well as in the means of supporting its
increased members. This division of my subject will also afford the
political philosopher new materials for calculation, on a subject so
interesting, so important to the civilized world, as the
colonization and cultivation of those remote parts of the universe,
which may, at some future period, be made the seats of new empires,
by draining off from the old world that superfluity of population
which, like an insupportable burden of fruit on a tree, unless
removed, would tend to depress and destroy the trunk which produced
and supported it.
The Present Picture Of New South Wales, 1811 |
