to examine the country between Perth and King George’s Sound, which was
then unknown. I and some other gentlemen entitled to select land
accompanied him, also some surveyors. A couple of drays drawn by oxen,
and loaded with provisions and some surveying instruments, accompanied
the party. The character of the country was very variable. After a few
days’ travelling, the cattle fed on some poisonous plants and several of
them died, at our camping place, during the night. One of the drays,
some provisions and instruments, were necessarily abandoned there.
Shortly afterwards, we struck on a river, then named the Williams,
situated in a fine and apparently extensive district. Some of the party
proceeded up the valley about twenty miles the following day, and camped
for the night. I and another gentleman, however, strolled a couple of
miles from the camp, in a southerly direction, and returning northerly,
we felt satisfied that the river would bring us up and that we could not
miss the camp, even at night. The bed of the river at that time,
however, was a succession of pools, and the long intervals between them
were thickly grassed. We thus crossed the river without knowing it,
after dusk, over one of those intervals, and lost ourselves. Thinking
there might be some extraordinary bend of the river, we walked on until
midnight, and then lay down to rest. There was no water and nothing
eatable except a morsel of cheese the size of a walnut, which we
divided. After consultation, we started at daylight on a due west
course, hoping to cut the track made by Sir James Stirling’s party
travelling south. This we happily discovered towards evening, and rested
for the night. On the evening of the third day we rejoined the main
party, which had been searching for us, and had almost given us up as
lost.
It was arranged that on the following day those entitled to select land
should again proceed up the Williams River for that purpose, accompanied
by a surveyor, Sir James Stirling and the remainder of the party
proceeding in a south direction to accomplish the chief object of the
expedition. On reaching a selected point on the river, the measurement
was to commence. The surveying instruments, chains, &c., had been
abandoned where the bullocks died. The surveyor had a compass, but
distances had to be paced. Long frontages to the river were desirable,
and long legs possessed an advantage—subject, however, to a final
survey, when any surplus would be struck off from the back land. The
general course of the river was from S.W. to N.E., but very winding. A
tree was marked on the river’s bank, from whence the surveyor started
due east, the paces being counted; but after pacing a mile, the river
still receding, a due north course was taken to strike the river again,
and so on alternately east and north, until the required due east
direction was attained. This process gave me about ten miles of river
frontage, although the due east measurement was scarcely half that
distance.
The Williams district was undulating, well grassed, and the soil in the
vicinity of the river excellent, producing abundance of sandal wood. A
mob of about 200 kangaroos was started during the day, and some of the
party had a good gallop after them. About three days were occupied in
making the selections, after which the surveyor was instructed on his
return to Perth to explore a new country westward of that already
travelled.
The party started accordingly on a west course, and crossed Sir James
Stirling’s track. On the third day we passed over the Darling range—an
elevation under 2,000 feet—a rough, stony country, heavily timbered, but
with little arable land. The following day we reached the coast, at the
mouth of the River Murray. This was the third day the party had been
without water, and the men made a rush to the river to drink, but found
the water to be salt. No efforts could avail to dissuade two of the
party from drinking immoderately, and one of them shortly afterwards
became insane. Fresh water was soon found, and after two more days the
party reached Perth. The character of the land traversed on this
occasion was very variable, but the proportion of bad country was in
excess.
In the early stage of the colony the deficiency of a circulating medium
was severely felt, and consequently few transactions could take place,
except by means of barter. The Government regulations entitled settlers
to claim land in consideration of the importation of servants,
provisions, agricultural implements, live stock, &c.; but no claim could
be made on account of capital in the shape of money. The settlers
therefore invested almost the whole of their resources in such articles
as would entitle them to claim land. If you required a team of horses,
the person desirous of selling one did not want what you could offer in
exchange, but wished for sheep. You then applied to an owner of sheep,
who desired something you did not possess; and frequently two or three
exchanges were necessary before you could procure the articles you
wanted—generally losing something on each exchange.
Under such circumstances, I proposed a scheme for the formation of a
local bank, and was ably assisted by Mr. George Leake and a few other
friends possessing influence and property—but no cash.
We depended on the Commissariat issues for the Government expenditure
for supplies of coin. The necessary nominal capital was subscribed, and
the shareholders assembled to make the arrangements required for opening
the bank. At their request, I undertook the management of it, with a
Board of Directors. They issued their notes, and the benefits derived by
the public became manifest immediately. The bank was very successful. A
sufficient supply of coin was gradually obtained from the Government
expenditure, and the shareholders for some time divided profits of forty
per cent. on their _nominal_ capital, which was simply the credit of
their names.
The system which enabled settlers to obtain enormous grants of land was
found in practice to be neither advantageous to those persons or to the
colony. They could not make a profitable use of them; they became a drag
upon their resources to meet necessary expenditure, and the lands were
locked up from those who might have turned them to better account. One
settler, Mr. Peel, obtained 250,000 acres, with a right under certain
conditions to claim a like additional quantity of land. The early
settlers introduced a large number of servants at their own expense,
generally articled to serve for three years at moderate wages. Their
employers were inexperienced, not knowing how to apply their labour to
the best advantage. For a short time provisions reached famine prices,
flour selling at two shillings and sixpence per pound. Servants would
not then accept their discharges, but when prices fell they broke their
engagements, and instances have occurred of masters having become the
servants of their former ploughmen.
The local Bank had been in existence about five years, to the great
benefit of the colony, when the Bank of Australasia proposed an
amalgamation; and, after due consideration, it was thought advisable for
the interests of the colony to secure the co-operation of that important
corporation. The Manager sent from London died before the Bank was
opened, and the management of the new Bank was conferred on me.
An opinion prevailed in the colony that the interests of religion would
be greatly promoted were Western Australia erected into the See of a
Bishop, and I proposed a scheme to create an endowment for that object
by means of subscriptions of land, to which I contributed 500 acres.
After an interval of several years the object was happily accomplished
by the appointment of an excellent man, Dr. Matthew Hale, formerly
Archdeacon of Flinders, in South Australia, to be the first Bishop of
Western Australia.
After an experience of another five years the Bank of Australasia came
to the conclusion that their business in Western Australia was too
limited to justify their maintaining an isolated branch at Perth. It was
therefore ordered to be closed, and I was offered the management of
their branch at Adelaide, in South Australia, which I accepted. Thus it
fell to my lot to open and also to close two Banks.
It was with feelings of much pain that I made up my mind to leave a
colony in which I had resided for sixteen years. The interest felt in
the formation and progress of a new settlement became a tie binding
society together. Being situated on a western coast, where the sea
breezes prevailed for nine months in the year, the climate was
excellent; and, although the average of the land was of an inferior
quality, yet there was abundance of rich land for purposes of tillage.
Previous to my departure, I was gratified by receiving a flattering
address, signed by all the members of the Executive Council, the
magistrates, clergy, and many others, testifying to my zeal in promoting
objects of public utility.
In April, 1846, I and my family arrived in Adelaide, and assumed charge
of the Bank of Australasia at that place, at that time temporarily
situated in Hindley Street. A new and excellent site was obtained in
King William Street shortly afterwards, on which handsome premises were
erected. This ground, about ninety feet square, was purchased in
exchange for 640 acres of excellent country land. To avoid the
difficulty of proving the signatures of a corporate body frequently
changing, the mode of conveyance chosen, being remarkable, is here
mentioned. It was the old feudal system of “livery of seizin.” I went
upon the land, pulled a twig off a tree, which I presented to the
purchaser in the presence of witnesses, using a few formal words. The
transaction was recorded and registered, and thus conferred an
indefeasible title in law.
At the period referred to, Adelaide was in a very primitive state and I
actually lost myself for a short time within its boundaries. The streets
and pathways were generally in their natural state, and from the traffic
in wet weather foot passengers were up to their ankles in mud. St.
John’s Church was like a barn; and, on my appointment as warden, I
collected a considerable sum to build a vestry, plaster the walls, and
make other improvements.
No superior school had been established for the education of boys at
that time, and I devoted all my spare time towards the attainment of
that object. I assembled a meeting of gentlemen, representing various
religious bodies, to consider the question, which met on two or three
occasions. Several of them, however, strongly urged as a principle, that
there should be no religious teaching whatever. This principle was
rejected by a large majority. I then secured the co-operation of a
committee of twelve gentlemen, of which I was elected chairman, who
agreed to form a proprietary grammar school on Church of England
principles, but open to all denominations. I collected £2,000 from
eighty subscribers of £25 each, and after a delay of four or five months
the school was at length opened in the school-room of Trinity Church.
The Revs. W. J. Woodcock and James Farrell and Mr. G. W. Hawkes were
most energetic coadjutors.
Shortly afterwards I suggested to Captain Allen—a munificent friend to
education—that as the school had made a fair start, I hoped some of our
wealthy friends would push it on, as I wished to secure a good site and
erect buildings. In this he concurred, saying he would give £1,000 and
thought Mr. Graham would do the same. I pointed out that Mr. Graham was
in England and not accessible, but hinted that the £1,000 might be
increased to £2,000, which Captain Allen at once agreed to. He
afterwards increased his donations to upwards of £7,000.
The Lord Bishop of Adelaide arrived about this time from England. He had
obtained a grant of £2,000, from the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, which he agreed to place at the disposal of the School
Committee—provided accommodation in their new buildings was set apart
for four theological students. This arrangement was concluded
accordingly, and the school was afterwards, by Act of Parliament,
incorporated as the “Church of England Collegiate School of St. Peter.”
A very valuable site of about thirty-seven acres of land close to
Adelaide was secured, on which extensive and handsome buildings have
been erected. The late Mr. DaCosta bequeathed a reversionary property to
the Institution, valued at £23,000; and the late Dean Farrell bequeathed
his estate, valued at £15,000, to the College, subject to a few
annuities. The school has attained to a high reputation, many of its
pupils having attained first-class honours at the English Universities,
including the degrees of Wrangler at Cambridge, and its staff of masters
is believed to be unsurpassed in the Southern Hemisphere.
Through the munificent liberality of Captain Allen a school for the
education of the middle classes was also established, and suitable
building erected in Pulteney-street, the property being vested in the
then Governors of the Collegiate School, and on similar principles, the
object being to cheapen the cost of education to suit the circumstances
of that class. Mr. Masters endowed this school with three country
sections of land; the Government of that day also contributing £500. The
property of this Institution is worth about £3,000, and it has been
eminently successful.
Having been formerly stationed in the Island of Zante, one of the Ionian
Islands, I became aware of the great mercantile value of the Zante
currant, and while in Western Australia succeeded in introducing the
plant into that province. Its history was remarkable. After a long
correspondence in establishing agency, the Curator of the Government
Garden of St. Antonio, in Malta, received an application from London for
a supply of cuttings, which reached him a month after the pruning
season, but the request being urgent he pruned a second time. The
cuttings were then rolled in damp flannel, packed, and soldered in a tin
case, and forwarded to Dr. Hooker, Curator of Kew Gardens, near London.
That gentleman planted them in a glazed case, but many months elapsed
before an opportunity occurred to forward them to their destination.
They at length reached Western Australia, but at the wrong season.
However, Mr. Mackay, the Judge of the Supreme Court, had a conservatory
in which they were planted and most carefully attended. In the following
spring they were removed and planted out, the roots being like fine
white Cambric threads; but in the second year a few tolerably strong
shoots were obtained. To save time, the double system of budding and
grafting was adopted on old grape vines, and in the following year about
400 rooted plants of the Zante currant were established. None other
existed in Australia. Mr. McArthur, of New South Wales, wrote to request
a few plants, which I had the pleasure of forwarding, and distributed
others to several gentlemen in South Australia.
As kindred to the above it may be here noticed that, during my residence
in Western Australia, in conjunction with Mr. Richard Nash, we formed a
Vineyard Society, the object being to prepare and trench a nursery for
vines, to procure a collection of the choicest varieties, to preserve
their names and identity, and to distribute them _gratis_ to all who
engaged to plant them in trenched ground. Some gentlemen reduced the
rents of their lands to their tenants in proportion to the extent of
their vineyards. The Society procured a collection of 400 varieties from
Mr. Busby’s vineyard, in New South Wales, but the progress in
distributing plants was rather slow, until a few of the settlers
produced wine, which gave a rapid impulse to the operations of the
society, and within a few years some of them were enabled to distribute
a pint of wine daily to the men in their employ. The society also
published a pamphlet containing instructions for the formation and
cultivation of vineyards and for making wine.
Some time after the Lord Bishop (Dr. Short) arrived in Adelaide, a
Conference of the several Australian bishops was summoned to meet the
Metropolitan at Sydney. A new dogma was declared at that conference to
be an _article of faith_, after some opposition, namely, baptismal
regeneration. The Bishop returned, and on the day previous to the annual
meeting of the “Church Society” (the then governing body of the affairs
of the Church of England in South Australia), the proceedings of the
Sydney Conference became known. The Governor, Sir Henry Young, presided,
and after routine business being disposed of, I strongly protested
against the Sydney Conference assuming authority to impose _a new
article of faith_ in addition to the Thirty-nine Articles.
Unfortunately, I had not had time to give notice of my intention or
secure a seconder of my motion, and a pause ensued. Sir Henry Young then
said that as it was not seconded he would not put it to the meeting,
when Mr. G. S. Walters stood up and said he would not only second, but
support it. Sir Henry immediately left the chair in anger, and
retired—the Bishop then presiding. The meeting was greatly excited; but
after some discussion, His Lordship promised to call a general meeting
of the members of the church in a fortnight, to consider the subject, on
which the business of the day terminated.
The meeting referred to was held in the Pulteney-street schoolroom,
which was crowded, and the subject of the new dogma was fully discussed.
The resolutions opposed to it were carried almost unanimously, there
being only two or three persons who voted against them. These
proceedings were afterwards commented upon with approval by the
Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords, and were similarly
noticed in the House of Commons.
An address of thanks on this occasion, most respectably signed, was
afterwards presented to myself and Mr. G. S. Walters.
At this time the position of the Church of England in the colonies was
very unsatisfactory. The Ecclesiastical Laws of England were declared to
have no force, and the Church appeared to be cast adrift. A meeting of
the “Church Society” took place, at which a committee was
appointed—consisting of Major Campbell, Messrs. G. W. Hawkes, R. B.
Lucas, and myself, of which I was named chairman—to consider and report
upon “the best means they could devise for drawing the clergy and laity
into closer union.” The constitution of a Diocesan Synod appeared to me
to meet the requirements of the case, and I drew up a full scheme to
accomplish that object, which I submitted to the Committee, and
afterwards laid before the “Church Society.” This scheme was considered
to be extremely bold, as there was no precedent of such plan having been
adopted previously by any branch of the Church of England, except some
approach to it in the diocese of Toronto in Upper Canada; and the only
guide for such a system was that of the Episcopal Church of America. The
subject was discussed at great length, and for several months. It was
adjourned, however, as the Bishop proposed proceeding to England, where
he could consult the highest legal authorities, including the
Attorney-General. The scheme was declared to be perfectly legal, and on
His Lordship’s return to the colony it was inaugurated by a _consensual
compact_, and has now, in the year 1871, been in operation during
seventeen annual sessions with the happiest results, and has been also
adopted in all the other Australian colonies and New Zealand.
Subsequently, another subject affecting the Church of England attracted
much notice. The colony was visited by a very eminent and much respected
Non-conformist minister, the Rev. Thos. Binney. He was cordially
received by all classes of society, and was for a short time a guest at
Bishop’s Court. The Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, was desirous that
he should be invited to preach in the Church of England pulpits, and
procured his own election as a member of Synod, for the purpose of
proposing it, of which he gave due notice. A preliminary meeting of the
Standing Committee of Synod was held to consider the subject, and I was
requested to oppose the Governor’s motion by an amendment, moving the
“previous question,” and thus defeating it. At the subsequent meeting of
Synod, Sir Richard MacDonnell delivered a long address strongly urging
the adoption of his motion, which was discussed at great length; and I
moved the amendment agreed upon, which was carried by a majority of
about two-thirds. The consideration that the Synod had only recently
bound itself by its _consensual compact_ to abide by the laws and usages
of the Church of England, had a powerful influence with the majority. An
address of thanks from the “Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Church
Union,” dated 18th August, 1859, was afterwards received by me as the
mover of the amendment on this occasion.
About the year 1848 a monetary pressure occurred, and the merchants were
calling in their advances made to the sheepowners. I felt that if this
course was continued it would probably lead to a commercial crisis,
which would depreciate the securities held by the Bank. I therefore paid
off the liabilities of those whom I considered safe to the extent of
about £70,000, taking up their accounts, which prevented the expected
crisis, greatly increasing the business of the Bank, and nothing was
ever lost on those accounts. The London Directors became alarmed,
however, at those large transactions, and remonstrated with me. It is
difficult, however, for gentlemen residing at so great a distance to
form an accurate judgment on such transactions.
In the year 1849, I received a letter from Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
afterwards Lord Raglan, Military Secretary to the Commander-in Chief the
Duke of York, forwarding to me a war medal and clasp. The Duke of
Richmond had called the attention of the House of Lords to the fact that
no medals had been granted to the army for certain distinguished battles
and sieges, and moved an address to the Crown upon the subject, which
was carried. A Board of General officers was appointed to consider and
report upon the matter, and their recommendation was adopted.
The discoveries of gold in the Province of Victoria were so rich that a
perfect exodus of all classes of the male population of South Australia,
except the old and young, took place. It was a time of great anxiety, on
account of the numerous helpless families which were left slenderly
provided for. The Adelaide men were generally successful, and having
collected large quantities of gold, began returning to their families in
about six months, when the scenes occurring in Adelaide were quite
marvellous. A dozen weddings almost daily taking place; the bridal
parties driving in carriages about town and country, and clearing the
drapers’ shops of silks and satins.
At the time of the exodus the notes of Banks were presented in large
quantities for payment in specie, of which the Bank of South Australia,
although wealthy, was nearly drained; but the demand was so sudden that
there was no time to procure supplies from abroad. The Bank of
Australasia held at that time about £90,000 in gold, and was prepared to
aid the other Bank for mutual protection, when fortunately the scheme of
the “Bullion Act” was brought into operation, and effected an immediate
and wonderful change.
This Act was devised by Mr. G. S. Walters, a gentleman of great
experience in monetary affairs. It provided that the gold dust already
deposited in the Treasury, amounting to a large sum, should be smelted
into ingots of various sizes, stamped with the Queen’s head, and the
accurate assay, and declared to be legal tenders at the rate of £3 14s.
per ounce—gold dust then selling in Melbourne at £3 7s. This immediately
stopped the demand for sovereigns, caused large additional quantities of
gold dust to be introduced from Melbourne, and quieted the public mind.
Some of the gold was so pure that it afterwards realized over £4 per
ounce in London.