HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEW
SOUTH WALES
Atlas Page 4
By G. B. Barton
 
|
ON the departure of Governor Phillip, the
government of the colony passed into the hands of Major Francis Grose, commandant of the
New South Wales Corps, who had arrived in 1792, bearing a commission as
Lieutenant-Governor. Events soon began to show that he was not qualified for that
position. The good order established by Governor Phillip speedily disappeared. The source
of Grose’s misgovernment appeared to lie in his sympathy with his brother officers.
He superseded the civil magistrates and appointed officers in their place; disregarded the
express instructions of the Imperial Government, not only in making extravagant grants of
land to the officers, but also in allowing them an excessive supply of convict labour
—thirteen servants each, instead of two; and permitted them to pay for labour with
spirits instead of money, in order that they might make enormous profits on the sale.
Spirits were sold to the officers at the Government stores at prime cost, and were
retailed by them at any price they pleased. It had always been Phillip’s policy to
prevent the convicts from obtaining spirits, knowing that otherwise he could not hope to
preserve discipline among them —still less to reform them. But no sooner had he left
the colony than the military and civil officers of the establishment eagerly seized the
opportunity for money by this traffic; the result being that habits of drunken debauchery
spread through the settlement, everything being sacrificed to an insane craving for drink.
The officers made it their business to import spirits and wine, not only from England, but
from India, the Brazils, and the Cape of Good Hope. As soon as it became known abroad that
a good trade could be done in Sydney Cove with spirits, cargoes were shipped from all
parts of the world. Indian merchants, in particular, at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras,
exerted themselves to secure as much of the infamous trade as possible just as in later
years the merchants of that country exerted themselves to extend the opium trade with
China. The difficulties occasioned by this misrule severely taxed the energies of the
three Governors who next succeeded. The Home Government having become aware of the state
of things in Sydney under Major Grose and Captain Paterson —who succeeded Grose as
Lieutenant-Governor in December, 1794 —determined to remedy the mischief by
suppressing the traffic in spirits altogether. Captain John Hunter, formerly of the
"Sirius," was appointed Governor in 1795, with express instructions for that
purpose; but although he honestly endeavoured to carry out his instructions, he was not
strong enough to resist the official ring by which he was surrounded, and gradually
allowed himself to sink under its influence. The result was that his feeble efforts at
reform ended in signal failure, and he was recalled in 1800.
After the wreck of the "Sirius" at Norfolk Island, in March, 1790, Captain
Hunter had sailed from Sydney to Batavia in March, 1791, in a Dutch vessel which had been
chartered by Governor Phillip. From that port he sailed for England, where he arrived in
the following year. While there, he wrote and published his "Historical Journal of
the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island." During his subsequent term of
office as Governor, he took an active interest in the work of exploration and discovery.
Incapable of fear, the gallant Surgeon Bass, accompanied by Lieutenant Flinders,
explored the coast in a little open boat, only eight feet long, called "Tom
Thumb," in 1795 and 1796. In the following year, they sailed south again, until they
entered Western Port, when they were compelled to return to Sydney. In their next voyage
they discovered the straits since known to the world as Bass’ Straits, and sailed
round the coast of Van Diemen’s Land. |
Another discovery was made
during Hunter’s time, which has since been identified with his name. In June, 1796,
some fishermen were driven by stress of weather into a small bay, as it seemed to them,
but which was really the mouth of a large river. Landing there, they found coal lying on
the surface of the ground. The town of Newcastle now stands at that spot; and the river
—well known as the Hunter —was discovered one year later by a military party
sent in search of runaway convicts.
Hunter’s administration was marked by the restoration of the civil magistrates,
whose functions had been usurped by the military men during the time of Grose and
Paterson. The Governor referred to this singular proceeding in a despatch to the Secretary
of State, in which he said: "After the departure of Governor Phillip, a general
change took place. All his plans and regulations were completely laid aside. The civil
magistrates were superseded entirely, and all the duties respecting the distribution of
justice, and every other concern of that office, was taken into the hands of the
military." At the same time they had taken into their hands a complete monopoly of
trade. They were not only magistrates, but they were general merchants and importers as
well; and by this means they had made themselves so powerful in every direction that
Hunter found it difficult to exercise any kind of authority over them.
The progress of
settlement in the colony at this time was checked by the spread of this degrading traffic.
Everything was sacrificed to the dealers in rum. Out of 10,800 acres cleared in 1800, only
7195 were under cultivation. The reason will be found in a despatch from Governor King,
written in December, 1801: " It is notorious that since Governor Phillip left this
colony in 1792, the utmost licentiousness has prevailed among this class (settlers who had
been convicts), although they have used the most laborious exertions in clearing land of
timber. Unfortunately the produce went to a few monopolising traders, who had their agents
in every corner of the settlement, not failing to ruin those they marked for their prey by
the baneful lure of spirits. It can scarce be credited that, in a soil and climate equal
to the production of any plant or vegetable, out of 405 settlers scarce one grew either
potato or cabbage. Growing wheat and maize, which are the articles required by the public
stores (and which were paid for in spirits), was their only object; and when that has been
attained, it has often occurred that one night’s drinking at the house of one of
those agents has eased them of all their labour had acquired in the preceding year."
Such were the evils which Hunter saw around him, but vainly tried to remedy.
I
NTRODUCTION OF WOOL.
JOHN
MACARTHUR arrived in the colony in the year 1791, as a captain of the New South Wales
Corps. He was a man of unusual sagacity, energy, and perseverance, and was well qualified
to gain distinction in a much larger sphere than that of Sydney, at the end of last
century. While his brother officers contented themselves with the miserable traffic in
rum, he devoted himself to the cultivation of a totally different industry. He saw the
capabilities of the new country for grazing sheep and cattle, and having a few head of
both, he determined to utilize the advantages which free grants of land, free labour, and
the command of a market offered him in his new home. At that time, the English woollen
mills were supplied with the finer sorts of wool from Saxony and Spain, where the merino
sheep had been highly cultivated. But although the Saxons and Spaniards possessed the
finest breed of sheep in the world, they were not large woolgrowers, and consequently the
supply of wool in the English market was very limited. The first thing to be done was to
introduce the proper breed of sheep —not an easy matter in those days, when the pure
merino was a rare animal everywhere except in Saxony and Spain. When Governor Phillip
landed in 1788, he brought ashore with him twenty-nine sheep, which he had taken on board
at the Cape of Good Hope; and when he left in 1792, the little flock had increased to 105.
It was in the following year that Macarthur commenced his operations. The story will be
best told in his own words, as we find them in the report of his evidence before Mr.
Commissioner Bigge in 1820: —
"In 1794, I purchased from an officer sixty Bengal ewes and lambs, which had been
imported from Calcutta, and very soon afterwards I procured from the captain of a
transport from Ireland, two Irish ewes and a young ram. The Indian sheep produced coarse
hair, and the wool of the Irish sheep was then valued at no more than ninepence per pound.
By crossing the two breeds, I had the satisfaction of seeing the lambs of the Indian ewes
bear a mingled fleece of hair and wool. This circumstance originated the idea of producing
fine wool in New South Wales."
Two years afterwards, two sloops of war were sent from Sydney to the Cape of Good Hope,
and their commanders being friends of Macarthur’s, he requested them to ascertain
whether there were any wool-bearing sheep at the Cape. When they arrived, they fortunately
found in the market, for sale, some merinos bred from animals of the celebrated Escurial
flock, which had been presented by the King of Spain to the Dutch Government, and sent to
the Cape. About twenty were purchased, and of these, said Macarthur, "I was favoured
with five ewes and three rams. The remainder were distributed among different individuals,
who did not take the necessary precautions to preserve the pure breed, and they soon
disappeared. Mine were carefully guarded against any impure mixtures, and increased in
number and improved in the quality of their wool. In a year or two after, I had an
opportunity of augmenting my flocks by the purchase from Colonel Foveaux of 1200 sheep of
the common Cape breed. The results soon made themselves manifest. In 1801 I took to
England specimens of the wool of the pure merino, and of the best of the cross-bred; and,
having submitted them to the inspection of a committee of manufacturers, they reported
that the merino wool was equal to any Spanish wool, and the cross-bred of considerable
value. Thus encouraged, I purchased nine rams and an ewe from the Royal flock at Kew, and
returned to this country determined to devote my attention to the improvement of the wool
of my flocks."
Then began negotiations
with the Imperial Government for the purpose of obtaining sufficient pastures for the
increasing flocks. Macarthur presented a memorial to the Privy Council in 1804, when he
was in London, praying that he should be allotted 60,000 acres and thirty convicts as
shepherds. The Privy Council summoned him to attend in person before them, and give
evidence as to the nature of his project. He made a favourable impression, although the
Council did not recommend that his proposals should be accepted. But the woollen
manufacturers of England supported him, and their influence fortunately settled the
question. Lord Camden, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, sent a despatch to
Governor King, under date 31st October, 1804, in which he desired his Excellency to have
"a proper grant of land, fit for the pasture of sheep, conveyed to the said John
Macarthur, Esq., in perpetuity, with the usual reserve of quit rents to the Crown,
containing not less than 5000 acres." The land now known as the Camden estate, which
had been really selected by the cattle that had strayed from the settlement in early days,
and who had made tracks for the sweet grass in the whinstone country, was chosen for the
purpose. Macarthur died in 1834, and was buried at Camden, the scene of one of the most
successful enterprises that ever blessed the industry of man.
G
OVERNOR KING
HUNTER’S successor was Philip Gidley King, who came out with Governor Phillip, and
had been sent by him to establish the settlement at Norfolk Island in February, 1788. He
had served as Lieutenant-Governor there until his appointment as Governor of New South
Wales. He and Phillip had been brother officers; they had always worked cordially together
in establishing the infant settlements under their charge; and it was a piece of singular
good fortune that both of them were admirably qualified for their Posts. When King
superseded Hunter in 1800, he found the official monopoly in full swing; but warned by the
fate of his predecessor, he set himself resolutely to the work of reform. The Royal
instructions required him "to order and direct that no spirits be landed from any
vessel coming to Port Jackson without your consent." He accordingly issued the most
stringent regulations in order to prevent the landing of spirits from ships arriving in
the port, beyond certain specified quantities; and in many cases he actually sent back the
ships without allowing them to land any. In 1806 when he left the colony, he had thus sent
back no less than 69,484 gallons of spirits, and 31,293 gallons of wine. The quantity
which he allowed to land was sold at prices fixed by his order, ranging from four to ten
shillings per gallon. The ruling retail price at the time of his arrival was £2 per
gallon —its prime cost to the importers not being more than seven and sixpence to ten
shillings. In Governor Hunter’s time £8 per gallon had been recovered by the
plaintiff in open Court, and the judgment was affirmed by that Governor on appeal.
Whether Governor King was absolutely successful in carrying his policy of reform is not
altogether clear, historical authorities being divided on the subject; but there can be no
question that he succeeded in doing so to a very large extent, and that under his rule the
settlement made extraordinary progress. It may be said, indeed, that the success of the
experiment made by the Imperial Government in sending out the first fleet, dates from the
first year of the century and there can be little doubt that the result was largely due to
the energetic and intelligent administration of Governor King.
Industry and order
took the place of drunkenness and crime. The convicts, restrained from unceasing
indulgence in drink, strove hard to earn their freedom by attention to discipline and good
conduct; while the settlers, no longer compelled to take spirits in payment for their
produce, were; enabled to extend and improve their farming operations. Schools, churches,
and other useful institutions were established by the Government; children were educated,
divine service was attended, and the blessings of social life made themselves felt among
all classes. Trade and industry began to spread their branches in every direction. Captain
John Macarthur, the bright particular star of his regiment had discovered a source of
fabulous wealth in the growth of fine wool. His flocks of sheep were now attracting
admiration, and the great mill-owners of England had begun to look forward to shipments of
Australian wool. Coal had been found in 1796 at Newcastle and Bulli. The banks of the
Hawkesbury and the Nepean had revealed their richness to the settlers, and neither sudden
floods nor savage blacks deterred them from taking up the land. Sydney Cove was full of
shipping from all parts of the world; vessels were fitted out in Sydney for scaling and
whaling voyages in the adjacent seas; trade was opened up with New Zealand and the South
Sea Islands. Such, indeed, was the animation of the scene, that a Frenchman named Péron
—one of the naturalists who had arrived on board two French ships of discovery, the
"Geographe" and the "Naturaliste," which dropped anchor in Sydney Cove
on the 20th June, 1802 —recorded in his journals with surprise the many evidences of
unexpected progress which he witnessed in the infant settlement.
It was under the administration of Governor King that the first settlements were formed
at Van Diemen’s Land and at Port Phillip. In August, 1803 two vessels were despatched
from Sydney for Van Diemen’s Land, under the command of Lieutenant Bowen, a naval
officer. The party landed at Risdon Cove, and formed a settlement there. It was about the
same time that Lieutenant-Colonel Collins —who had come out with the first fleet as
Judge-Advocate —was despatched with another large party in two ships from Sydney, for
the purpose of establishing a settlement at Port Phillip. Collins reached his destination
on the 9th of October, 1803; but he sent such unfavourable reports as to the nature of the
surrounding country, that Port Phillip was declared by the Governor to be "totally
unfit in every point of view" for the purpose of a settlement. The whole party were
soon after removed to Van Diemen’s Land and on arrival there, Collins selected a site
on the banks of the Derwent, at a place named by him Sullivan’s Cove; but on the
transfer of the settlement under Bowen to that spot, it was named Hobart, and subsequently
Hobart Town, in honour of Lord Hobart, then Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Alarmed by a rumour that the French intended to form a settlement in Van Diemen’s
Land, in October, 1802, King sent a party under Charles Robbins, in an armed schooner, the
"Cumberland," in order to assert his Majesty’s claims to the territory, and
dispossess and remove any party that may be landed there. " The Surveyor-General
accompanied the expedition; their instructions being to sail to King’s Island, Port
Phillip, and Storm Bay, "taking care to hoist his Majesty’s colours every day on
shore during your examination of those places, placing a guard of two men at each place,
who are to turn up ground for a garden, and sow the seeds you are furnished with."
A naval engagement, which took place off the Sydney Heads, in November, 1804, deserves
mention as a remarkable incident of the times. An English whaling-ship, the
"Policy," carrying letters of marque and six twelve-pounders, came up with a
Dutch ship, the "Swift," with six eighteen-pounders, and after two hours’
fighting compelled her to strike her colours. The prize, with 20,000 Spanish dollars on
board, was taken into Port Jackson, condemned, and sold.
When Governor King left the colony in 1806, the population numbered 9462, of whom 5172
were males, and 1701 females. The total area of land under occupation was 165,882 acres,
of which 11,691 acres were cultivated, and 144,805 were used for pasture. The number of
sheep in the hands of the settlers had increased to 10,389; while cattle numbered 2128;
horses, 518; pigs, 6797 and goats, 2283. These figures include Norfolk Island and Van
Diemen’s Land. Among other evidences of progress, it may be mentioned that a public
brewery was established at Parramatta in 1803, which King hoped would prove useful in
"preventing the thirst for spirits." Factories for the manufacture of wool and
flax were also set at work, and salt was made in pans in Sydney and Newcastle. The
development of industrial enterprise was at all times warmly encouraged by King.
G
OVERNOR BLIGH.
WILLIAM
BLIGH, a post-captain in the Navy, succeeded Governor King in August, 1806. His name is
associated with the romantic event known as the mutiny of the "Bounty." He
sailed for Tahiti in 1787, in command of his Majesty’s ship "Bounty" for
the purpose of transplanting the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies. But he stayed so
long at Tahiti that, as some say, his crew fell in love with the dark-eyed beauties whom
they found under the bread-fruit trees, and they were seized with a desire to spend their
lives among them. Others assert that the men were driven into rebellion by his extreme
harshness and severity of discipline. Be that as it may, when they put to sea again they
organised a mutiny and succeeded, under the command of a young officer named Christian, in
getting possession of the ship. Bligh was put into the ship’s launch, with eighteen
of his crew who remained faithful to him, and set adrift on the wide ocean. They had a
compass and quadrant, but no chart or sextant, and there was very little chance of
sighting a ship in that part of the ocean. They steered for the Indian Archipelago;
although they might have made for the new settlement at Port Jackson, which had been
founded just a year before, had they known anything about it. After a voyage of more than
three thousand miles, during which they suffered every kind of hardship, the survivors
—twelve in number —landed at the Dutch settlement of Timor, and ultimately made
their way back to England.
But although Bligh could steer an open boat through almost unknown seas without a
chart, he could not steer the little ship of State which was placed under his command when
he received his commission as Governor of New South Wales. He was a rough and ready sailor
of the old school, without any idea of tact or conciliation; accustomed to absolute
command, and utterly impatient of contradiction. Perhaps, too, the memorable voyage of
three thousand miles in the ship’s launch had not sweetened his disposition. Here is
a picture of him drawn by Captain Macarthur, in the course of his evidence before the
court-martial on Major Johnston: " I went to the Government House; this was about a
month after he had taken the command. I found him walking in the garden, perfectly
disengaged and alone; and thinking it a proper opportunity to speak to him on the subject
of my affairs, I inquired if he had been informed of the wishes of the Government
respecting them. I particularly alluded to the sheep, and the probable advantage that
might result to the colony and the mother-country from the production of fine wool. He
burst out instantly into a most violent passion, exclaiming, ‘What have I to do with
your sheep, sir? What have I to do with your cattle? Are you to have such flocks of sheep
and such herds of cattle as no man ever heard of before? No, sir!’ I endeavoured to
appease him, by stating that I had understood the Government at home had particularly
recommended me to his notice. He replied, ¨I have heard of your concerns, sir; you have
got 5000 acres of land in the finest situation in the country; but, by God, you
shan’t keep it!" ...... We immediately after entered the Government House, where
we found Governor and Mrs. King, and sat down to breakfast. He then renewed the
conversation about my sheep, addressing himself to Governor King, when he used such
violent and insulting language to him that Governor King burst into tears."
The quarrel
between Bligh and Macarthur soon became serious. The officers of the regiment naturally
sympathised with Macarthur, and Bligh found himself standing alone. His bitter experience
when he was put over the ship’s side into the open boat was lost upon him; but it was
about to be repeated in a still more extraordinary manner. Macarthur had a vessel named
the "Parramatta," from which a convict had made his escape —a fact which
rendered the owner liable to the forfeiture of a bond for £900. Bligh seized his
opportunity; declared the bond forfeited, arrested Macarthur, and put him in gaol. The
officers of his regiment immediately took him out, and knowing that open war between
themselves and the Governor would be the result, they determined to turn the tables on him
at once. Major Johnston, the commandant, was accordingly persuaded to place him under
arrest, and take the government out of his hands until a new Governor should be sent out.
The soldiers were marched to Government House, with band playing and colours flying. Bligh
was captured while trying to hide himself in a back room, and was kept in arrest for some
time until Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson, the Lieutenant-Governor, put him in command of a
ship of war, under a written agreement to sail straight to England.
G
OVERNOR MACQUARIE.
COLONEL LACHLAN MACQUARIE, who succeeded Bligh, arrived in Port Jackson on the last day
of the year 1809 bringing with him a detachment of his regiment, the 73rd. He also brought
a despatch from Lord Castlereagh,
announcing that Major Johnston was to be sent
home under arrest on a charge of mutiny; that the New South Wales Corps was to be relieved
by the 73rd; and that Bligh was to be reinstated as Governor for twenty-four hours by
Macquarie, whom he was then to recognise as his successor. But as Bligh was not in Sydney
when Macquarie arrived, he could not reinstate him, so he began to administer the
government at once. He set aside everything that had been done by the mutineers; sent for
Bligh, who was cruising off the Tasmanian coast; received him with military honours on his
return, and sent him to England in the following May. In a despatch to the Colonial
Office, written in that month, Macquarie said of Bligh, that "he is a most
unsatisfactory man to transact business with, from his want of candour and decision,
insomuch that it is impossible to place the smallest reliance on the fulfilment of any
engagement he enters into." At the same time, he said he had "not been able to
discover any act of Bligh’s which could in any degree form an excuse for the violent
and mutinous proceedings pursued against him."
Macquarie had no sooner settled himself in the chair of State, than he adopted a line
of policy which soon brought him into conflict with all the free settlers in the colony.
He had conceived the idea that the colony was established for the benefit of the convict
population, and that the first aim of the Government should be to offer them every
encouragement to reform and rise in the scale of society. The convict who had served his
sentence, or had gained a pardon, was to be treated as if he had never been a convict at
all; he was to be received into the society of the free on equal terms, and rewarded with
public appointments and other marks of honour. This policy naturally excited the
indignation of the free settlers, whose minds were embittered by the knowledge that the
head of the Government was always on the side of the convicts. In a despatch written when
he had been scarcely four months in the colony, Macquarie expressed his surprise at
"the extraordinary and illiberal policy" which had been adopted by previous
Governors respecting the emancipists, adding: "These persons have never been
countenanced or received into society. I have, however, taken upon myself to adopt a new
line of conduct." In 1813 he wrote to the Secretary of State that "free people
should consider they are coming to a convict country, and if they are too proud or too
delicate in their feelings to associate with the population of the country, they should
consider it in time and bend their course to some other country." He added that
"free settlers in general, who are sent out from England, are by far the most
discontented persons in the country, and that emancipated convicts, or persons become free
by servitude, made in many instances the best description of settlers."
Macquarie’s policy in this respect produced such unpleasant complications, that at
last the Home Government was obliged to interfere. They sent out a Special Commissioner to
conduct an inquiry into his administration, and the result was that he was recalled in
December, 1821.
Macquarie devoted a great deal of
attention to the construction of roads and public buildings, on which convict labour
largely employed; and many of the principal edifices erected in his time still remain
—peculiar though useful monuments of his architectural taste. Many of our most
important public institutions were established in his day, among them being the Supreme
Court, the Bank of New South Wales, and the Infirmary. He was pre-eminently the building
Governor. St. James’s Church was erected, the foundations of St. Mary’s
Cathedral were laid, and the first wharf, called the King’s wharf, was constructed at
the Circular Quay.
Mrs. Macquarie contributed her share towards the adornment of Sydney, and her name has
been handed down to us in connection with the beautiful reserve on which "Mrs.
Macquarie’s Chair" was cut in one of the rocks overlooking the harbour, the
winding Carriage road which leads to this spot having been planned by her.
The great achievement of Macquarie’s day was the discovery of a passage over the
Blue Mountains. Until 1813, these mountains had been regarded as impassable, all previous
attempts to penetrate them having failed. The infant colony was thus deprived of all
natural means of expansion, and the belief had almost become general that its resources
were confined within the narrow limits of the county of Cumberland. But on the 11th of May
in that year, an expedition formed by Gregory Blaxland, Lieutenant Lawson, and William
Charles Wentworth (at the age of 22), with four servants, four horses, and five dogs,
started from the South Creek, near Penrith, with six weeks’ provisions, for the
purpose of exploring the ranges. They were forced to clear their way through the thick
scrub, to clamber up and down the rocky precipices, and to find their way across the
gloomy chasms and the densely-timbered gorges, which make up the now famous scenery of the
mountains. They had to cut grass wherever they could find it, and carry it on as food for
their horses. On the 31st Of May, when they had travelled fifty miles, finding themselves
in fine grass land, they conceived that they had "sufficiently accomplished the
design of their undertaking, and on the following day they bent their steps
homewards." A tree was marked on the old Bathurst Road, at the heights of the
mountains overlooking the Kanimbla Valley, and still stands a monument of a gallant
enterprise.
In the following November Macquarie despatched a surveyor and five men, with two months
provisions, to follow the track which Wentworth and his companions had cut.
He followed it to the end, and
continued his exploration for twenty-one days, passing beyond the ranges and on to the
edge of the western plains. The country he discovered was described by him as "equal
to every demand which this colony may have for extension of tillage and pasture lands for
a century to come." Convicts were soon set to work at making a road across the
mountains, which was completed and opened in April, 1815. A site for a town —now
known as Bathurst —was selected by Macquarie, who paid a visit of inspection to the
new territory. The settlers were not long in availing themselves of the fresh pastures for
their sheep and cattle flocks and herds were sent to occupy the grassy lands watered by
the western rivers, and the colony entered on a new and still more prosperous era.
Notwithstanding his errors of policy, Macquarie’s administration is entitled to
take high rank in our history. It was distinguished by his energetic endeavours to promote
the prosperity of the settlement, and the social as well as the material well-being of the
people under his control.
cont...
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