Van Diemen's Land; The First Bushranger; Mike Howe, the King of the
Ranges; The Raid on the Blacks; The Black War; Musquito; Outrages
by the Blacks; Brutal Treatment of Blacks by Bushrangers; A War of
Reprisals; Gigantic Scheme to Capture the Blacks; A Cordon Drawn
Round the Disaffected District; Details of the Scheme; Its Failure;
Only Two Blacks Captured; Estimated Cost; Fate of the Blacks.
The first settlement in Van Diemen's Land was founded in 1803, when
a penal establishment, to which the more refractory of the prisoners
in Sydney might be despatched, was founded on the banks of the River
Derwent. Subsequently other penal stations were opened, and of these
we shall hear later. The island continued to be the chief penal
establishment of New South Wales until 1825, when it was erected into
an independent colony. The first shipment of convicts, direct from
England to Van Diemen's Land, took place in 1823, and from that date,
until transportation to the island finally ceased, in 1853, 64,306
convicts were sent to that colony from the British Isles. The number
sent previously from New South Wales was not large, nevertheless
it included the majority of the most turbulent of the convicts and
relieved the mother colony of their charge and control. The island was
in fact "nothing but a jail on a large scale."[16] The early conditions
in the colony appear to have been favourable to bushranging. In 1805
there was such a dearth of food stuffs, owing to the non-arrival of
store ships from Sydney, that a famine appeared to be imminent and,
to relieve the store, the Lieutenant Governor ordered the liberation
of the convicts and sent them into the woods to catch kangaroo and
other wild animals for food. When the stores arrived and food became
plentiful, the attempts to recall the convicts were only partially
successful. Many had learned how to subsist in the bush and disregarded
the proclamations issued by the Lieutenant Governor ordering them to
return to work. At first the bushrangers or bolters were similar to
those of New South Wales and contented themselves with petty thefts.
The first proclamation in which reference is made to "a gang of
bushrangers" was published in the Hobart Town _Gazette_ by Lieutenant
Governor Davey and dated September 10th, 1810. It offered rewards and
indulgences to convicts for the capture of any members of a gang which,
under the leadership of a convict named Whitehead, had been committing
depredations on the property of settlers and farmers in the vicinity of
Hobart Town.
Whitehead, therefore, was the first to organise a gang which combined
highway robbery with burglary and petty larceny. Bushrangers were not
at that time specialists. From time to time other proclamations were
issued in which this gang was mentioned, but it was not until May 14th,
1813, that a special proclamation was published, calling upon the
"bolters" to surrender. Those who neglected to obey this order were to
be proclaimed "outlaws" on December 1st.
Very few particulars are published about this gang in the newspapers,
and the proclamations rarely specify the facts in connection with the
robberies committed. The newspapers of the time seldom mention the
names of the bushrangers, and appear to have been quite as averse to
mentioning the Christian names as the modern English papers are those
of professional cricketers. Thus Whitehead is referred to as "the
convict Whitehead," or the "notorious bushranger Whitehead," and so
on. He is debited, however, with one horrible crime. The gang captured
a half-crazy fellow named John Hopkins, and accused him of trying to
betray them. As a punishment for this offence a pair of moccassins,
roughly made of bullock hide, was fitted on to his feet, and in these
were placed a number of the great red ants, commonly known in Australia
as "bull-dog" or "soldier" ants (_myrmecia gulosa_). These ants are
an inch and a quarter long, and of most ferocious appearance. They are
the dread of the colonists. They sting quite as severely as a bee or a
hornet. But a bee stings only once, while a soldier ant will continue
to sting until removed. It is always ready to fight, and never lets go
when it has taken hold; hence its popular names. The horrible barbarity
of such a punishment can be best appreciated, perhaps, by those who
have inadvertently stood on a "soldier's" bed or nest. The victim is
said to have died in agony.
Whitehead was shot by a party of soldiers in October, 1814, and Michael
Howe, commonly called the "First of the Australian Bushrangers,"
was elected captain of the gang in his stead. Mike Howe, as he was
usually called, was transported from England for highway robbery, and
soon after his arrival at Sydney "got into trouble," and was again
transported to Van Diemen's Land, where his violence caused him to
be repeatedly flogged and otherwise punished. He made his escape
and joined Whitehead's gang, and soon, by his superior education,
gained an ascendency over his comrades. His previous experiences as
a footpad in England no doubt tended to fit him for the leadership
of the gang, and he is still regarded as one of the most notable
of the revolters against law and order in the colonies. One of his
earlier achievements was to organise a raid on a tribe of blacks for
the purpose of providing himself and his comrades with wives. This is
said to have been the first act in the tragedy which closed with the
complete annihilation of the blacks of the island. The savages, of
course, resisted, and many of them were shot, and the women were forced
away to the bushrangers' camp. In revenge, the blacks attacked, not the
bushrangers' camp, but the houses of settlers who had no connection
with the bushrangers, and fights between the settlers and the blacks
became frequent. Some of the black women seem to have become reconciled
to the change, and Howe's "wife," Black Mary, is associated with him in
most of the stories told of him. It is said that it was her knowledge
of the bush which enabled him to escape so frequently from the military
bands sent out to capture him.
Howe addressed a letter "From the Bushrangers to the Hon. T. Davey,
Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land," in which he protested
against the charge, made against himself and his mates in the
proclamations, of having been guilty of "horrid and detestable
crimes." He asserted that he had never committed murder and had only
used violence when it was necessary to avoid capture. The letter was
conveyed to Hobart Town by an American whaler named Richard Westlick,
who had an interview with his Excellency, and was sent back with a
verbal message that the Governor "did not wish to take the life of any
man," but merely to preserve order. If, therefore, Howe, or any of his
comrades, would surrender no charges should be made against them for
their acts while "in the bush." No notice was taken of this generous
offer, and the depredations continued. Later on Mike Howe addressed a
letter "From the Governor of the Ranges to the Governor of the Town,"
and sent it to Lieutenant Governor Sorell, who had succeeded Colonel
Davey. In this the bushranger offered to give himself up on condition
that he received a free pardon. He demanded that some recognised
official should be sent to meet him at an appointed spot, so that they
might "confer as gentleman to gentleman." The fact that this insolent
offer was accepted affords incontrovertible evidence of the power of
the bushrangers, and shows the anxiety of the Governor to put a stop
to the robberies which harassed the industrious settlers and made the
roads of the colony unsafe. Captain Nairne, of the 46th Regiment, was
sent out to meet the bushranger, and the result of their conference
"as gentlemen" was that Howe accompanied the Captain back to Hobart
Town. On his arrival there he was informed that the Lieutenant Governor
had no power to grant pardons, but that he would write to Governor
Macquarie in Sydney and urge him to grant a pardon without delay. Howe
agreed to wait in Hobart Town. He was liberated on parole, and soon
became very popular in the city. Then a rumour began to spread to the
effect that Howe had committed no less than four murders, not reckoning
the blacks he had killed, and that, therefore, the Governor declined
to grant him a pardon. As soon as Howe heard this rumour he, without
waiting for its confirmation, broke his parole and returned to the
bush. A proclamation was immediately issued declaring him an outlaw,
and offering one hundred pounds reward for his capture, dead or alive.
Smaller rewards were offered for other members of his gang, whose names
were known.
The estimates of the strength of his gang vary extremely from time to
time. Sometimes he is said to have a hundred or more followers, while
frequently he is represented as acting alone or in company with only
one or two others. The facts appear to be that many men, who merely
"bolted" into the bush as a relief to the monotony of their lives,
became bushrangers; and, when hard pressed, or when they tired of that
pursuit, returned to the town, gave themselves up, and were punished as
ordinary bolters. One day, not very long after his escape from Hobart
Town, Howe was surprised while asleep by two ticket-of-leave men named
Watts and Drew. They captured and tied him. Howe fought like a lion and
contrived to break the rope with which he was tied. He snatched a knife
and stabbed Watts. He then seized Watts' gun and shot Drew dead. Watts
ran away, while Howe was employed in re-loading the gun, and managed
to secrete himself in the scrub for a time. When the way was clear he
crawled to a farm and gave information. He was cared for as well as
circumstances permitted, but he died from loss of blood before a doctor
could be brought to him. Howe was followed by the military, but escaped.
Several skirmishes took place between Howe and his gang and the
soldiers, and more than one of his accomplices were shot, but the
chief always contrived to get away. At length a kangaroo hunter named
Warburton led William Pugh, a soldier commonly known as "Big Bill," and
a seaman named John Worrall, to where Howe was camped under a gum tree.
A terrific fight took place, Howe's brains being beaten out before it
was over.
In his review of this period, Mr. J.T. Bigge said: "The excesses of
the bushrangers in the neighbourhood of Port Dalrymple, and likewise
near Hobart Town, had attained their utmost height and most sanguinary
character at the latter end of the year 1813. They had been joined
by two persons who had held subordinate stations in the commisariat
department, named Peter Mills and George Williams, and continued
a system of violent depredations upon the homes and property of
individuals of every description. So great was the intimidation
produced by their combined efforts, that the inhabitants of several
districts abandoned their dwellings and removed for safety to the
towns.... Colonel Davey issued a proclamation offering rewards for the
apprehension of a party of nine, and with the advice of Mr. Ellis Bent
another proclamation calling upon them to surrender before December
1st.... The effect of this was the reverse of what was intended. It
increased the crimes and audacity of the bushrangers during the six
months that it allowed for their return; they profited by the pardon
by making a temporary surrender, and then resumed their habits of
plunder.... Hector McDonald, the leader, was shot by two convicts sent
in pursuit of a gang of four. Another was shot by a soldier of the 48th
regiment, and the other three were captured and on conviction flogged
and transported."[17]
For the time, bushranging in Van Diemen's Land was said to have been
put down, but "the Guerilla War" between the whites and the blacks,
inaugurated by the bushrangers, continued. Mr. Gilbert Robertson was
appointed conciliator, with a view to arranging terms of peace, but he
was not very successful. Several proclamations were issued assuring the
blacks that if they would come in and make peace the Government would
endeavour to protect them against their enemies the bushrangers; but,
as was pointed out at the time, issuing proclamations to savages who
could not read was absurd. Then a pictorial proclamation was issued. In
one portion the governor was shown shaking hands with a blackfellow;
in others blacks and whites were exhibited mingling together in
friendship. In the two bottom compartments a white man was shown being
hung for having shot a black, while a blackfellow was being hung for
having speared a white man. Copies of this pictorial proclamation
were posted on trees and other places where the blacks might see it.
Lieutenant Governor Arthur in fact, on his arrival in the colony, tried
by every means in his power to appeal to the blacks and whites alike.
He endeavoured to restrain the settlers from attacking and driving the
blacks away from their farms whenever they appeared, as had become the
custom, but some new outrage by the bushrangers gave a new impulse to
the feud, and the settlers were compelled to fight in self-defence. In
one of his despatches to the Colonial Secretary Governor Arthur said:
"It is not a matter of surprise that the injuries real or supposed,
inflicted on the blacks, have been avenged upon the whites whenever
an occasion presents itself; and I regret to say that the natives
led on by a Sydney black, and by two aborigines of this island, men
partially civilised (a circumstance which augurs ill for any endeavour
to instruct these abject beings), have committed many murders upon the
shepherds and herdsmen in remote settlements.... I have long indulged
the expectation that kindness and forbearance would have brought about
something like a reconciliation, but the repeated murders which have
been committed have so greatly inflamed the passions of the settlers,
that petitions and complaints have been presented from every part of
the colony, and the feeling of resentment now runs so high that further
forbearance would be totally indefensible."[18]
The Sydney black here mentioned was known as Musquito. He was
transported to Van Diemen's Land for the murder of a black gin
(presumably his wife, which is no crime according to native law) in
1823, and having been employed on a cattle station in New South Wales,
was appointed stock-keeper. Later, he was employed as a tracker, and
aided the soldiers in capturing some of the bushrangers. For this he
was so persecuted by his fellow convicts that life became a burden
to him. He appealed to the authorities for protection; but, as this
was not accorded to him, he became a bushranger himself. "Perhaps
taken collectively the sable natives of this colony are the most
peaceable creatures in the universe. Certainly so taken they have never
committed any acts of cruelty, or even resisted the whites, unless
when insufferably goaded by provocation. The only tribe who have done
any mischief were corrupted by Musquito, a Sydney black, who, with
much perverted cunning, taught them a portion of his own villainy, and
incited them after a time to join in his delinquencies."[19]
Knowing, as we do, the general character of the Australian blacks, it
seems strange that one of them should prove himself so much superior
to the Van Diemen's Land blacks as Musquito is represented to have
done. But however that may be, there can be no doubt as to his skill in
organisation. Some of his attacks on settlers were so skilfully planned
and carried out, that many persons believed that the blacks had been
led by a white man. After about two years of bushranging, Musquito and
Black Jack, the two leaders, were captured. Musquito was charged with
the murder of William Holyoak, and Mr. Gilbert Robertson appeared in
his defence. Mr. Robertson urged that the murders committed by Musquito
were in self defence. Had he been protected by the Government, as he
should have been after the services he had rendered, he would never
have taken to the bush. He related many instances to show the skill of
the black, and among others, said that he had seen him "cut the head
off a flying pigeon with a crooked stick."[20] This seems to indicate
that however intimately Mr. Robertson might be acquainted with the Van
Diemen's Land blacks he had no acquaintance with the boomerang. In
spite of the conciliator's efforts Musquito was convicted and sentenced
to death. When the sentence had been pronounced Musquito said, "Hanging
no---- good for blackfellow." Mr. Bisdee asked him "Why not as good for
blackfellow as for whitefellow?" "Oh," exclaimed Musquito, "Very good
for whitefellow. He used to it." Black Jack was convicted of the murder
of Patrick Macartney. The only English known by Black Jack was of the
"old hands oaths brand." The two blacks were hung in Hobart Town, but
"The Black War" continued.
"The deadly antipathy which was excited between the aborigines and
the bushrangers of Van Diemen's Land provoked a series of outrages
which would have terminated in the utter extinction of the whole race,
if the local Government had not interposed to remove the last remnant
of them from the island; an act of real mercy, though of apparent
severity."[21] Before proceeding to describe this attempt to save the
remnant of the race we may perhaps give a list of the "Atrocities
committed by the blacks." It is not a very long one, taking into
consideration the time occupied in the war. In March, 1820, forty-nine
natives attacked Mr. Broadribb's house. They were divided into several
parties which came up from different points simultaneously. One man was
speared in the thigh before the blacks were repulsed. They all went
away together and stripped Mr. Thomson's house of everything portable.
They then proceeded to Mr. E. Denovan's and robbed his place. On April
1st John Raynor was speared and dreadfully beaten at Spring Bay. On
May 18th a party of blacks attacked two men employed by Mr. Lord. One
was dangerously speared and the other beaten. The hut was stripped.
On June 1st Mr. Sherwin's hut, at Weasel Plain, was plundered, and on
the 15th, Den Hut, at Lake River, was stripped bare, and Mary Daniels
and her two children murdered. On August 7th, S. Stockman's hut, at
Green Ponds, was plundered. On the 9th, some muskets, powder, and shot
were stolen from the huts of Mr. Sharland, a Government surveyor. On
the same day the Government hut, between Borthwick and Blue Ash, was
robbed, several horses stolen from Mr. Wood and Mr. Pitcairn, and a man
wounded at Mr. Purvis's. This party consisted of about forty blacks.
They were met by Mr. Howell's party, and the blacks were driven off
after a fight. A woman living near was wounded with a spear. On the
23rd, the huts of Mr. J. Connell and Mr. Robertson were attacked, and
the latter plundered; Mr. Sutherland's shepherds were robbed of their
arms and one of them wounded; some arms were taken from Mr. Taylor's
hut. The next day James Hooper was killed, and his hut plundered. The
huts of Lieutenants Bell and Watts were attacked, but the blacks were
repulsed. On September 8th Captain Clark's shepherd was attacked, but
contrived to escape. On the 13th one man was killed and another wounded
on the banks of the Tamar River. On the 14th a man working at the
Government lime kilns at Bothwell was attacked, but escaped. On the
18th a private of the 63rd Regiment was speared and two other soldiers
wounded. One of the savages was killed. On the 27th Francis Booker was
killed with spears, and on the next day three men at Major Gray's hut
were wounded. On the same day two men were killed at Mr. G. Scott's
place and their bodies thrown into the river. A third man was wounded,
but escaped into the bush. The house was stripped of everything. This
robbery was so systematically carried through that it was believed that
the blacks had been led by white men. A hut on the opposite side of
the road was also stripped. On October 16th the settlement at Sorell
was attacked, one man being killed and another severely wounded. Four
houses were stripped. On the 18th Captain Stewart's shepherd was killed
and a settler, Mr. Gilders, was also speared and died. On the 19th,
Messrs. Gatehouse and Gordon's house was attacked, but the blacks were
repulsed. They were also driven away from Mr. Gaugel's place, but not
before he was severely wounded. On November 19th two huts were robbed
on the Ouse River. Captain Wight's shepherd was killed and dreadfully
mangled. His body was found later. On the 27th a hut on the Esk River
was stripped bare. On February 3rd, 1821, an attack was made on Mr.
Burrell's house on the Tamar River. Mr. Wallace was severely wounded in
several places, and a child was also wounded by a spear. L. Knight's
hut was plundered, three horses belonging to Mr. Sutherland were killed
and three others were wounded. His hut at North Esk was also plundered.
Mrs. McCaskell was killed near Westbury, and her hut plundered of
everything. An attack made on Mr. Stewart's house was repulsed. On
March 8th, two sawyers were wounded, and two huts near New Norfolk were
plundered. On the 12th, Mrs. Cunningham and her child were severely
wounded, and her hut at East Arm plundered. Mr. Lawrence's servant
was wounded, and three men were wounded on Norfolk Plains. On April
5th, T. Ralton was killed with a spear while splitting wood. On the
16th, Mr. Fitzgerald was sitting at the door of his hut reading, when
a blackfellow sneaked up and drove a spear through him, after which
his cottage was plundered. On the 17th, another attack was made on
Fitzgerald's house. On May 10th, the Government store at Patrick Plains
was burned down. Mr. Kemp's establishment at Lake Sorell was attacked
by a large mob of blacks. Two men were killed, one wounded, the
buildings were burned down and the firearms carried away. On June 6th,
several huts were attacked at Hunter's Hill. Mrs. Triffet was speared
and her house plundered, the huts of Messrs. Marnetti, Bell, and Clark
were robbed, and Mrs. N. Long was killed. On September 5th, Thomas
Smith was killed at Tapsley, and his hut plundered; John Higginson
was killed and his hut robbed, and a sawyer's hut was plundered. On
the 7th, Mr. B.B. Thomas and his overseer, Mr. Parker, were murdered
near Port Sorell, while endeavouring to carry out the conciliatory
policy of the Government. Mr. Stocker's hut was attacked, a man named
Cupid killed, and a child wounded. On the 27th, Mr. Dawson's hut on
Bushy Plains was attacked, and a man severely beaten. On the 23rd, Mr.
Dawson's man Hughes was again beaten with waddies and nearly killed. On
October 13th, the natives, armed with muskets, attacked and robbed the
house of Constable Reid, and afterwards that of Mr. Amos Junior.[22]
This report covers only a portion of the time during which the war
lasted, but it sufficiently indicates the character of the war. When
the blacks attacked the cottages, or huts as they are called in
Australia, of shepherds, sawyers, splitters, and other workers, they
were frequently successful, but were generally repulsed when they
attacked the residences or houses of the employers. The manner in
which the blacks fought struck terror into the hearts of the settlers.
No one was safe. At any time, day or night, a party of blacks might
sneak up and, with wild yells, spear men, women, and children, old or
young, without warning. Their patience in tracking was indomitable.
If they could not effect a surprise they withdrew and waited. No
doubt, as the advocates of the cause of the blacks said, the number of
whites killed was much smaller than the number of blacks slaughtered
by bushrangers in their lust and by settlers and soldiers in defence.
But it can be readily understood that the position of the settlers was
intolerable. Every attempt to drive the blacks away from the settled
districts only provoked fresh reprisals, while every attempt at
conciliation failed until at length it became evident that the blacks
must be either captured or killed. It was therefore with a view to
saving the blacks that Lieutenant Governor Arthur urged the necessity
of capturing and removing them from Van Diemen's Land to one of the
Islands in Bass's Straits. In his despatches to Governor Bourke and to
the Colonial Office, he said that it was utterly impossible to restrain
the colonists, so great was their rage at the murders of peaceful
citizens, and especially of women and children, while all his attempts
at conciliation had failed in consequence of the continual outrages
committed on the blacks by the bushrangers. Mr. Gilbert Robertson said:
"One day a settler was riding across his grounds looking for cattle.
He jumped his horse over a log, and while doing so caught the sparkle
of a pair of eyes gleaming from the shadow of the log. He pulled
up, wheeled his horse round and dismounted, thinking he had found a
kangaroo, but on pulling some brush away saw a poor cowering black
trying to hide himself, but there was no mercy in the heart of the
settler. He cocked his gun and shot the black in cold blood."[23] The
story is a very pathetic one, but perhaps the settler had had reason to
know that "the poor cowering black" was sneaking up to the settlement
to murder any unsuspecting man, woman, or child he might come across.
Hiding behind logs, crawling through brush, was the ordinary method of
fighting employed by the Van Diemen's Land aborigines, and had he not
been on the war path he would not have resorted to this secret manner
of travelling but would have stood out boldly. The blacks are not
cowards, and are not afraid of showing themselves, as a rule, after
their first superstitious fear of the white man passes away. This being
the general experience of bushmen, the settler may have been justified
in killing the black. He may have been simply treating him according to
the blackfellow's own rule in war time. But although we may acquit the
settler of blame by such reasoning, the existence of such conditions
as to necessitate such a war is not the less deplorable. The whites
all carried arms when travelling, and even while working about their
homes. Shepherds and other workmen went in pairs. There was no safety
anywhere outside the cleared lands round the larger towns. Reviewing
the whole situation from our present standpoint, it is difficult to say
what other measures could have been adopted than those tried by the
Government. The authorities were apparently incapable of controlling
the bushrangers, nor could they prevent convicts from running away,
and these outlaws appear to have always considered the blacks as
fair game. Mr. Robertson tells us that a convict known as "Carrots"
boasted shortly before his death that, "having killed a native in his
attempt to carry off the black's wife, he cut off the dead man's head
and obliged the woman to go with him carrying it suspended round her
neck."[24] Is it any wonder that even such "passive and inoffensive
creatures" as the Van Diemen's Land blacks are said to have been,
should have been aroused to fury by such methods? But although the
Government had no control over the convicts in the bush, and such
outrages as this were not known of until long after they had occurred,
it can scarcely be said that even Governor Arthur, in spite of his
earnest desire to protect the blacks, was altogether blameless. The
whole policy of the Government in relation to the blacks was weak and
vacillating. Governor Arthur promised a native, known as Teague, a boat
on condition that he should assist in the capture of some bushrangers.
The black performed his share of the work, but he never got his boat,
and is said to have fretted himself to death in consequence. The Sydney
black, Musquito, was forced "into the bush" by the failure of the
Government to protect him against the persecution due to the manner
in which he had been employed in the service of that Government. In
September, 1826, two blacks were hung in Hobart Town "to impress the
others." Nothing could be more absurd than this, and it was far more
barbarous a method of reprisal than the shooting of a "poor cowering
black." But the Government was not even consistent in its savagery.
At the trial of Eumarrah Mr. Robertson pleaded that the black was
justified in resisting the invaders of his country in any and every
way; and, on his undertaking to remove Eumarrah to Flinders Island,
where he had collected about thirty-eight blacks under the charge of
missionaries, the plea was accepted and the prisoner was handed over to
him. By this time, however, the war had become so vindictive that even
the authorities in London recognised that the blacks must be captured
or annihilated, and consequently permission was granted to Governor
Arthur to put in practice the most extraordinary project perhaps ever
attempted.
In April, 1828, a proclamation was issued which, after describing the
state of tension which existed between whites and blacks, exhorted
all well-disposed persons to assist the Government in attempting to
establish peace and order. The proclamation went on to explain that a
cordon was to be drawn round the disturbed area and that this was to be
gradually contracted until the natives were either captured or driven
across the narrow isthmus which connects Tasman's peninsula with the
main portion of the island. "But I do, nevertheless, hereby strictly
order, enjoin, and command, that the actual use of arms be in no case
resorted to, by firing against any of the natives, or otherwise, if
they can by other measures be captured."
The force employed in this gigantic scheme is said to have been about
two thousand two hundred men, of whom five hundred and fifty were
soldiers belonging to the 63rd, the 57th, and the 17th regiments. The
whole force was divided into parties of about ten each, and one of
these was appointed a leader. On October 7th, a chain of posts was
established from St. Patrick's Head along the rivers St. Paul, South
Esk, Macquarie, and Meander, under the command of Major Douglas, of
the 63rd regiment. A similar chain of posts was formed from the Derwent
River along the River Dee to the Lakes, under Captain Wentworth, of
the 63rd regiment. A third party, under Captain Donaldson, of the 57th
regiment, was stationed in the rear to capture any blacks who might
escape through the front line. Captain Moriarty, R.N., in charge of
a party, was appointed to scour between the lines and to drive the
natives forward or capture them. Mr. Gilbert Robertson and other
friends of the blacks acted with this group of parties with the object
of persuading such natives as they might meet to surrender quietly.
For about three weeks the posts were advanced slowly, and frequent
reports were circulated that the beaters had seen parties of blacks
and that they were going in the desired direction. On the 25th Mr.
Walpole reported that he had come on a camp of blacks and saw them
lighting their fires and cooking as if nothing unusual was going on.
He watched all night, and just before daybreak crept up slowly and
found five blacks asleep. He seized one and held him after a desperate
struggle, during which the black bit him severely on the arm. A boy
of about fifteen was captured by another settler who was with Mr.
Walpole, and these two were handed over to the authorities and conveyed
to the nearest police station to be kept until the remainder were
captured. On the 26th Lieutenant Ovens saw a black with a firestick
apparently trying to sneak through the lines. He ran forward and the
black retreated into the bush. Several other blacks were turned back
from other points in the line. These also carried firesticks. On the
27th the cordon had been drawn so close that the escape of the blacks
within the line was considered impossible, but as no reports had been
made for some time of any blacks having been seen, some discontent was
manifested by the hunters. On the 31st an order was issued from the
camp at Sorrell rivulet to close in, and hopes were expressed that no
blacks would be permitted to escape in the final rush. The following
day the lines closed in, and no blacks escaped. There was none there
to escape. They had slipped through the lines as soon as they became
aware that they were being hunted, and the man and boy caught by Mr.
Walpole's party were the only blacks captured. A proclamation was
published next day, in which the Governor thanked the settlers for
their services, and regretted that their efforts had not been more
successful. In a despatch sent to the Colonial Secretary, Governor
Arthur said, "I regret to report that the measures which I had the
honour to lay before you terminated without the capture of either
of the native tribes,"[25] and that was all that was said about it
officially. It has been estimated that the scheme cost the colony some
£35,000, but no particulars were published, and therefore all estimates
of cost are mere guesses.
From a humanitarian point of view it is to be regretted that it did
not succeed, but the fact that it could be attempted proves how little
was known of the blacks by the authorities. The fact that the blacks,
who were said to be endeavouring to escape through the lines, held
firesticks in their hands proves that they were then unaware of the
intention of the whites, and they were probably outside the lines very
shortly after it had been thus intimated to them that they were being
hunted. But it is doubtful whether the race could have been preserved
if they had been removed in large numbers from Van Diemen's Land. Mr.
Gilbert Robertson and his successor, Mr. G.A. Robinson, succeeded in
removing about 130 blacks to Flinders Island, where, although they were
under the care of missionaries, they gradually died off. It was not
recognised in those days that compelling the blacks to wear clothes
induces skin diseases which soon prove fatal. The only way to preserve
the Australian blacks is to leave them alone, and the knowledge of this
fact came too late to save the Tasmanians.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 16: History of Van Diemen's Land from 1820 to 1835.]
[Footnote 17: Commission of Enquiry into the state of the Colony of New
South Wales, 1822-3.]
[Footnote 18: Despatch dated April 17th, 1828.]
[Footnote 19: _Hobart Town Gazette._]
[Footnote 20: Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons,
1838.]
[Footnote 21: Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons,
1838.]
[Footnote 22: Despatch from Governor Arthur to Earl Bathurst, dated
October 13, 1831.]
[Footnote 23: Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons,
1838.]
[Footnote 24: Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons,
1838.]
[Footnote 25: Despatch dated June 27th, 1835.]