March 1788 to May 1788
Three of the transports cleared--Two excursions made into the country, on
the fifteenth of April, and on the twenty-second--Huts of the
natives--Sculpture, and other particulars.
25 March 1788
On the 25th of March, the Charlotte, Lady Penrhyn, and Scarborough
transports, having been cleared of all their stores, were discharged from
government service, and left at liberty to proceed for China, whenever
their commanders should think proper. The other ships were of necessity
detained till the store-houses could be finished.
15 April 1788
The month of April was not distinguished by any events that deserve to be
related, except two expeditions of Governor Phillip for the purpose of
exploring the country. On the first of these excursions he set out on the
15th with provisions for four days; attended by several officers, and a
small party of marines. They landed at the head of a small cove, called
Shell Cove, near the entrance of the harbour on the north side.
Proceeding in this direction they arrived at a large lake, which they
examined, though not without great labour. It was surrounded by a
considerable extent of bog and marshy ground, in which, in the course of
their progress, they were frequently plunged up to the waist. On this
lake they first observed a black swan, which species, though proverbially
rare in other parts of the world, is here by no means uncommon, being
found on most of the lakes. This was a very noble bird, larger than the
common swan, and equally beautiful in form. On being shot at, it rose and
discovered that its wings were edged with white: the bill was tinged with
red.
In three days, with great difficulty, they passed the swamps and marshes
which lie near the harbour. Nothing can more fully point out the great
improvement which may be made by the industry of a civilized people in
this country, than the circumstances of the small streams which descend
into Port Jackson. They all proceed from swamps produced by the
stagnation of the water after rising from the springs. When the obstacles
which impede their course can be removed, and free channels opened
through which they may flow, the adjacent ground will gradually be
drained, and the streams themselves will become more useful; at the same
time habitable and salubrious situations will be gained in places where
at present perpetual damps prevail, and the air itself appears to
stagnate.
On leaving these low grounds, they found them succeeded by a rocky and
barren country. The hills were covered with flowering shrubs, but by
means of various obstacles the ascending and descending was difficult,
and in many parts impracticable. At the distance of about fifteen miles
from the sea coast Governor Phillip obtained a very fine view of the
inland country and its mountains, to several of which he now gave names.
The most northern of them he named Carmarthen Hills, the most southern
Lansdown Hills; one which lay between these was called Richmond Hill.
From the manner in which these mountains appeared to rise, it was thought
almost certain that a large river must descend from among them. But it
was now necessary to return, without making any further examination.
22 April 1788
On the 22d another excursion of the same kind was undertaken: Governor
Phillip landed with his party near the head of the harbour. Here they
found a good country, but in a short time arrived at a very close cover;
and after passing the chief part of the day in fruitless attempts to make
their way through it, were obliged to relinquish the attempt, and return.
The next day, by keeping close to the banks of a small creek for about
four miles, they contrived to pass the cover, and for the three
succeeding days continued their course to the west-ward. The country
through which they travelled was singularly fine, level, or rising in
small hills of a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. The soil
excellent, except in a few small spots where it was stony. The trees
growing at the distance of from twenty to forty feet from each other, and
in general entirely free from underwood, which was confined to the stony
and barren spots. On the fifth day they ascended a small eminence,
whence, for the first time in this second expedition, they saw Carmarthen
and Lansdown Hills. The country round this hill was so beautiful, that
Governor Phillip gave it the name of Belle-vue. They were still
apparently thirty miles from the mountains which it had been their object
to reach, and not having found it practicable, with the tents, arms, and
other necessaries, to carry more than six days provisions, were obliged
to return. Even with this small stock, the officers as well as men, had
been under the necessity of carrying heavy loads. Water for the use of
the day was always taken; for though it happened in every instance that
pools of water were found which had remained after the rains, yet this
was a supply on which they could not previously depend. The extraordinary
difficulty of penetrating into this country had now been fully
experienced; where unexpected delays from deep ravines and other
obstacles, frequently force the traveller from his direct course, and
baffle every conjecture concerning the time required for passing a
certain tract. The utmost extent of this excursion in a direct line had
not been more than thirty miles, and it had taken up five days. The
return of the party was effected with much more ease; the track was made,
and the trees marked the whole way where they had passed; with these
assistances they reached their boats in a day and a half.
It was still the general opinion that the appearance of the country
promised the discovery of a large river in that district, whenever the
line now taken could be fully pursued. Another expedition was therefore
planned, in which it was determined, if possible, to reach either
Lansdown or Carmarthen Hills: and the hope of so important a discovery as
that of a river made every one anxious to go, notwithstanding the great
fatigue with which these undertakings were attended. But this design was
for the present unavoidably deferred. Governor Phillip, who had not been
perfectly well even at the time of setting out on the excursion to Broken
Bay, had then contracted a severe pain in his side, by sleeping
frequently on the wet ground. This complaint had in the two last journeys
received so much increase, that he found it absolutely necessary to allow
himself the respite of a few weeks, before he again encountered so much
fatigue.
The country explored in this last journey was so good and so fit for the
purposes of cultivation, that the Governor resolved to send a detachment
to settle there, as soon as a sufficient number could be spared from
works of more immediate necessity. But notwithstanding the goodness of
the soil it is a matter of astonishment how the natives, who know not how
to avail themselves of its fertility, can subsist in the inland country.
On the coast fish makes a considerable part of their food, but where that
cannot be had, it seems hardly possible that with their spears, the only
missile weapon yet observed among them, they should be able to procure
any kind of animal food. With the assistance of their guns the English
gentlemen could not obtain, in the last six days they were out, more than
was barely sufficient for two meals. Yet, that these parts are frequented
by the natives was undeniably proved by the temporary huts which were
seen in several places. Near one of these huts the bones of a kanguroo
were found, and several trees were seen on fire. A piece of a root
resembling that of the fern tree was also picked up by Governor Phillip;
part of this root had been chewed, and so recently that it was thought it
could not have been left many minutes. It seemed evident by several
marks, that the natives had only fled at the approach of the English
party, but so effectually did they conceal themselves that not one was
seen.
The number of the natives in these inland parts must, however, be very
small. Whether these reside by choice where they must encounter so many
difficulties, or whether they are driven from the society of those who
inhabit the coast, has not yet been discovered. The huts seen here
consisted of single pieces of bark, about eleven feet in length, and from
four to six in breadth, bent in the middle while fresh from the tree, and
set up so as to form an acute angle, not a little resembling cards set up
by children. In the plate inserted here, not only the huts, but some of
the spears of the natives are introduced. It was conjectured, that the
chief use of these imperfect structures might be, to conceal them from
the animals for which they must frequently be obliged to lie in wait.
They may also afford shelter from a shower of rain to one or two who sit
or lie under them. The bark of many trees was observed to be cut into
notches, as if for the purpose of climbing; and in several there were
holes, apparently the retreat of some animal, but enlarged by the natives
for the purpose of catching the inhabitant. The enlargement of these
holes with their imperfect instruments, must itself be a work of time,
and must require no little patience. In some places, where the hole was
rather too high to be reached from the ground, boughs of trees were laid
to facilitate the ascent. The animals that take refuge in those places
are probably the squirrel, the opossum, or the kanguroo-rat. At the
bottom of one of these trees, the skin of a flying squirrel was found.
In many places fires had lately been made; but in one only were seen any
shells of oysters or muscles, and there not more than half a dozen.
Fish-bones were not found at all, which seems to prove, that in their
journies inland these people do not carry with them any provisions of
that kind. Kanguroos were frequently seen, but were so shy that it was
very difficult to shoot them. With respect to these animals, it is rather
an extraordinary circumstance, that, notwithstanding their great shyness,
and notwithstanding they are daily shot at, more of them are seen near
the camp than in any other part of the country. The kanguroo, though it
resembles the jerboa in the peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in
progression, does not belong to that genus. The pouch of the female, in
which the young are nursed, is thought to connect it rather with the
opossum tribe. This extraordinary formation, hitherto esteemed peculiar
to that one genus, seems, however, in New Holland not to be sufficiently
characteristic: it has been found both in the rat and the squirrel kind.
The largest kanguroo which has yet been shot weighed about one hundred
and forty pounds. But it has been discovered that there are two kinds,
one of which seldom exceeds sixty pounds in weight: these live chiefly on
the high grounds: their hair is of a reddish cast, and the head is
shorter than in the larger sort. Young kanguroos which have been taken,
have in a few days grown very tame, but none have lived more than two or
three weeks. Yet it is still possible that when their proper food shall
be better known, they may be domesticated. Near some water, in this
journey, was found the dung of an animal that fed on grass, which, it was
supposed, could not have been less than a horse. A kanguroo, so much
above the usual size, would have been an extraordinary phaenomenon,
though no larger animal has yet been seen, and the limits of growth in
that species are not ascertained. The tail of the kanguroo, which is very
large, is found to be used as a weapon of offence, and has given such
severe blows to dogs as to oblige them to desist from pursuit. Its flesh
is coarse and lean, nor would it probably be used for food, where there
was not a scarcity of fresh provisions. The disproportion between the
upper and lower parts of this animal is greater than has been shown in
any former delineations of it, but is well expressed in the plate
inserted here.
The dimensions of a stuffed kanguroo in the possession of Mr. Nepean,
are these,
f. in.
Length from the point of the nose to the end of the tail, 6 1
-- of the tail, 2 1
---- head, 0 8
---- fore legs, 1 0
---- hinder legs, 2 8
Circumference of the forepart, by the legs, 1 1
---- lower parts, ---- 3 2
The middle toe of the hind feet is remarkably long, strong, and sharp.
The natives of New South Wales, though in so rude and uncivilized a state
as not even to have made an attempt towards clothing themselves,
notwithstanding that at times they evidently suffer from the cold and
wet, are not without notions of sculpture. In all these excursions of
Governor Phillip, and in the neighbourhood of Botany Bay and Port
Jackson, the figures of animals, of shields, and weapons, and even of
men, have been seen carved upon the rocks, roughly indeed, but
sufficiently well to ascertain very fully what was the the object
intended. Fish were often represented, and in one place the form of a
large lizard was sketched out with tolerable accuracy. On the top of one
of the hills, the figure of a man in the attitude usually assumed by them
when they begin to dance, was executed in a still superior style. That
the arts of imitation and amusement, should thus in any degree precede
those of necessity, seems an exception to the rules laid down by theory
for the progress of invention. But perhaps it may better be considered as
a proof that the climate is never so severe as to make the provision of
covering or shelter a matter of absolute necessity. Had these men been
exposed to a colder atmosphere, they would doubtless have had clothes and
houses, before they attempted to become sculptors.
In all the country hitherto explored, the parties have seldom gone a
quarter of a mile without seeing trees which had been on fire. As violent
thunder storms are not uncommon on this coast, it is possible that they
may have been burnt by lightning, which the gum-tree is thought
particularly to attract; but it is probable also that they may have been
set on fire by the natives. The gum-tree is highly combustible, and it is
a common practice with them to kindle their fires at the root of one of
these trees. When they quit a place they never extinguish the fire they
have made, but leave it to burn out, or to communicate its flames to the
tree, as accidental circumstances may determine.
Governor Phillip, on his return from this excursion, had the
mortification to find that five ewes and a lamb had been killed very near
the camp, and in the middle of the day. How this had happened was not
known, but it was conjectured that they must have been killed by dogs
belonging to the natives. The loss of any part of the stock of cattle was
a serious misfortune, since it must be a considerable time before it
could be replaced. Fish affords, in this place, only an uncertain
resource: on some days great quantities are caught, though not sufficient
to save any material part of the provisions; but at times it is very
scarce. An account of the live stock at this time in the settlement is
subjoined to this chapter.
The three transports bound to China, sailed the 5th, 6th, and 8th of May;
and the Supply having been caulked, sailed on the 6th to Lord Howe Island
for turtle, in hopes of giving some check to the scurvy, with which the
people were still so much affected that near two hundred were incapable
of work.
From the great labour which attended the clearing of the ground it proved
to be impracticable to sow at present more than eight or ten acres with
wheat and barley*: and it was apprehended that even this crop would
suffer from the depredations of ants and field mice. In the beginning of
May it was supposed, as it had been once or twice before, that the rainy
season was set in; but in about a week the weather became fine again.
[* Besides what was sown by the Lieutenant Governor and other individuals,
for the support of their own stock: to assist whom, the labour of the
convicts was occasionally lent.]
AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIVE STOCK IN THE SETTLEMENT AT PORT JACKSON, MAY 1ST, 1788.
Government
Stallions 1
Mares 2
Bulls 2
Cows 2
Sheep:
Ram 1
Ewes 12
Wethers 3
Goats 1
Hogs:
Boar 1
Sows 19
Governor
Mares 1
Colts 3
Cows 2
Sheep:
Ewe 1
Lamb 1
Hogs 10
Rabbits 3
Turkies 5
Geese 8
Ducks 17
Fowls 22
Lieutenant Governor
Goats 1
Hogs 1
Pigs 7
Turkies 5
Geese 6
Ducks 4
Fowls 9
Officers and men belonging to the detachment
Cows 1
Goats 12
Hogs 10
Pigs 17
Rabbits 2
Turkies 6
Geese 9
Ducks 8
Fowls 55
Chickens 25
Staff
Sheep 11
Goats 5
Hogs 7
Pigs 1
Turkies 2
Geese 6
Ducks 6
Fowls 36
Chickens 62
Other individuals
Hogs 1
Totals
Stallions 1
Mares 3
Colts 3
Bulls 2
Cows 5
Sheep 29
Goats 19
Hogs 49
Pigs 25
Rabbits 5
Turkies 18
Geese 29
Ducks 35
Fowls 122
Chickens 87
(Signed,) ANDREW MILLER, Commissary.