June 1788 to July 1788
Particular description of Sydney Cove--Of the buildings actually
erected--and of the intended town--A settlement made at the head of the
harbour.
There are few things more pleasing than the contemplation of order and
useful arrangement, arising gradually out of tumult and confusion; and
perhaps this satisfaction cannot any where be more fully enjoyed than
where a settlement of civilized people is fixing itself upon a newly
discovered or savage coast. The wild appearance of land entirely
untouched by cultivation, the close and perplexed growing of trees,
interrupted now and then by barren spots, bare rocks, or spaces overgrown
with weeds, flowers, flowering shrubs, or underwood, scattered and
intermingled in the most promiscuous manner, are the first objects that
present themselves; afterwards, the irregular placing of the first tents
which are pitched, or huts which are erected for immediate accommodation,
wherever chance presents a spot tolerably free from obstacles, or more
easily cleared than the rest, with the bustle of various hands busily
employed in a number of the most incongruous works, increases rather than
diminishes the disorder, and produces a confusion of effect, which for a
time appears inextricable, and seems to threaten an endless continuance
of perplexity. But by degrees large spaces are opened, plans are formed,
lines marked, and a prospect at least of future regularity is clearly
discerned, and is made the more striking by the recollection of the
former confusion.
To this latter state the settlement at Sydney Cove had now at length
arrived, and is so represented in the plan annexed. Lines are there
traced out which distinguish the principal street of an intended town, to
be terminated by the Governor's house, the main guard, and the criminal
court. In some parts of this space temporary barracks at present stand,
but no permanent buildings will be suffered to be placed, except in
conformity to the plan laid down. Should the town be still further
extended in future, the form of other streets is also traced in such a
manner as to ensure a free circulation of air. The principal streets,
according to this design, will be two hundred feet wide; the ground
proposed for them to the southward is nearly level, and is altogether an
excellent situation for buildings. It is proposed by Governor Phillip
that when houses are to be built here, the grants of land shall be made
with such clauses as will prevent the building of more than one house on
one allotment, which is to consist of sixty feet in front, and one
hundred and fifty feet in depth. These regulations will preserve a kind
of uniformity in the buildings, prevent narrow streets, and exclude many
inconveniences which a rapid increase of inhabitants might otherwise
occasion hereafter. It has been also an object of the Governor's
attention to place the public buildings in situations that will be
eligible at all times, and particularly to give the storehouses and
hospital sufficient space for future enlargement, should it be found
necessary.
The first huts that were erected here were composed of very perishable
materials, the soft wood of the cabbage palm, being only designed to
afford immediate shelter. The necessity of using the wood quite green
made it also the less likely to prove durable. The huts of the convicts
were still more slight, being composed only of upright posts, wattled
with slight twigs, and plaistered up with clay. Barracks and huts were
afterwards formed of materials rather more lasting. Buildings of stone
might easily have been raised, had there been any means of procuring lime
for mortar. The stone which has been found is of three sorts: A fine free
stone, reckoned equal in goodness to that of Portland; an indifferent
kind of sand stone, or firestone; and a sort which appears to contain a
mixture of iron. But neither chalk, nor any species of lime-stone has yet
been discovered. In building a small house for the Governor on the
eastern side of the Cove, (marked 1 in the plan) lime was made of oyster
shells, collected in the neighbouring coves; but it cannot be expected
that lime should be supplied in this manner for many buildings, or indeed
for any of great extent. Till this difficulty shall be removed by the
discovery of chalk or lime-stone, the public buildings must go on very
slowly, unless care be taken to send out those articles as ballast in all
the ships destined for Port Jackson. In the mean time the materials can
only be laid in clay, which makes it necessary to give great thickness to
the walls, and even then they are not so firm as might be wished. Good
clay for bricks is found near Sydney Cove, and very good bricks have been
made. The wood, from the specimens that have been received in England,
appears to be good; it is heavy indeed, but fine grained, and apparently
strong, and free from knots. The imperfections that were found in it at
first arose probably from the want of previous seasoning.
The hospital is placed on the west side of the Cove, in a very healthful
situation, entirely clear of the town; and is built in such a manner as
to last for some years. On the high ground between the hospital and the
town, if water can be found by sinking wells, it is the Governor's
intention to erect the barracks, surrounding them with proper works.
These were to have been begun as soon as the transports were cleared, and
the men hutted, but the progress of work was rendered so slow by the want
of an adequate number of able workmen, that it was necessary to postpone
that undertaking for a time. The ground marked out for a church lies
still nearer to the town, so that this edifice will form in part one side
of the principal parade. The design which demanded the most immediate
execution was that of a storehouse, which might be secure from the danger
of fire. In a country exposed to frequent storms of thunder and
lightning, it was rather an uneasy situation to have all the provisions
and other necessaries lodged in wooden buildings, covered with thatch of
the most combustible kind. On the point of land that forms the west side
of the Cove, and on an elevated spot, a small observatory has been raised
under the direction of Lieutenant Dawes, who was charged by the Board of
Longitude with the care of observing the expected comet. The longitude of
this observatory is ascertained to be 159° 19' 30" east from Greenwich,
and the latitude 32° 52' 30" south. A small house, built by the
Lieutenant Governor for himself, forms at present the corner of the
parade; the principal street will be carried on at right angles with the
front of this building. Instead of thatch, they now use shingles made
from a tree in appearance like a fir, but producing a wood not unlike the
English oak. This, though more secure than thatching, is not enough so
for storehouses. For these, if slate-stone should not be found, tiles
must be made of the clay which has been used for bricks. The principal
farm is situated in the next cove to the east of the town, and less than
half a mile from it. When the plan was drawn it contained about nine
acres laid down in corn of different kinds. Later accounts speak of six
acres of wheat, eight of barley, and six of other grain, as raised on the
public account, and in a very promising way.
Sydney cove lies open to the north-east, and is continued in a south-west
direction for near a thousand yards, gradually decreasing from the
breadth of about one thousand four hundred feet, till it terminates in a
point, where it receives a small stream of fresh water. The anchorage
extends about two thousand feet up the cove, and has soundings in general
of four fathoms near the shore, and five, six, or seven, nearer the
middle of the channel. It is perfectly secure in all winds; and for a
considerable way up on both sides, ships can lie almost close to the
shore: nor are there, in any part of it, rocks or shallows to render the
navigation dangerous. Such a situation could not fail to appear
desireable to a discerning man, whose object it was to establish a
settlement, which he knew must for some time depend for support on the
importation of the principal necessaries of life.
It is supposed that metals of various kinds abound in the soil on which
the town is placed. A convict, who had formerly been used to work in the
Staffordshire lead mines, declared very positively, that the ground which
they were now clearing, contains a large quantity of that ore: and copper
is supposed to lie under some rocks which were blown up in sinking a
cellar for the public stock of spirituous liquors. It is the opinion of
the Governor himself that several metals are actually contained in the
earth hereabouts, and that mines may hereafter be worked to great
advantage: but at present he strongly discourages any search of this
kind, very judiciously discerning, that in the present situation of his
people, which requires so many exertions of a very different nature, the
discovering of a mine would be the greatest evil that could befal the
settlement. In some places where they dug, in making wells, they found a
substance which at first was taken for a metal, but which proving
perfectly refractory in a very strong and long continued heat, has since
been concluded to be black lead. The kind of pigment called by painters
Spanish brown, is found in great abundance, and the white clay with which
the natives paint themselves is still in greater plenty. The Abbe le
Receveur was of opinion, that this clay, if cleared from the sand, which
might easily be separated, would make excellent porcelain.
The climate at Sydney Cove is considered, on the whole, as equal to the
finest in Europe. The rains are not ever of long duration, and there are
seldom any fogs: the soil, though in general light, and rather sandy in
this part, is full as good as usually is found so near the sea-coast. All
the plants and fruit trees brought from Brasil and the Cape, which were
not damaged in the passage, thrive exceedingly; and vegetables have now
become plentiful, both the European sorts and such as are peculiar to
this country. In the Governor's garden are excellent cauliflowers, and
melons very fine of their kinds. The orange trees flourish, and the fig
trees and vines are improving still more rapidly. In a climate so
favourable, the cultivation of the vine may doubtless be carried to any
degree of perfection; and should not other articles of commerce divert
the attention of the settlers from this point, the wines of New South
Wales may, perhaps, hereafter be sought with avidity, and become an
indispensable part of the luxury of European tables.
The rank grass under the trees, unfortunately proved fatal to all the
sheep purchased by Governor Phillip, on his own and on the public
account. Those which private individuals kept close to their own tents,
and fed entirely there, were preserved. Hogs and poultry not only thrive
but increase very fast; black cattle will doubtless succeed as well, and
it will be easy in future to secure them from straying. The horses have
not met with any accident.
The last dispatches from Governor Phillip bring an account of his having
sent a small detachment up to that ground at the upper end of Port
Jackson, which he discovered in one of his excursions to be so highly fit
for cultivation. This party consisted of a captain, two lieutenants of
marines, with twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates: about
fifty convicts were added as labourers. This spot is very pleasant, and
has been named by the Governor, Rose-hill. The flax-plant, which was seen
at the first arrival of our people, has not been found since in any great
abundance. A most ample supply of this valuable article may, however,
always be obtained from Norfolk Island. Governor Phillip, when he judged
the seeds to be ripe, ordered them to be collected, but at that time very
few of the plants were found, and not any in the places where the
greatest quantity had been seen. It is thought that the natives pull up
the plant when it is in flower to make their fishing lines.
On the whole, notwithstanding the difficulties and disadvantages at first
experienced, which, though great, were not more than must naturally be
expected to occur in such an undertaking; notwithstanding the sicknesses
which from various causes prevailed for some time among the people, the
settlement at Sydney Cove wore a very promising aspect at the time when
the last accounts were sent; and there can be no doubt that it will be
found hereafter fully to answer every expectation which was formed when
the design was projected. The scantiness of the streams of fresh water
was thought at first unfavourable, but good springs have since been found
by digging. The house built for Governor Phillip stands about fifty-six
feet above high-water mark, and there, by sinking a well about fifteen
feet in the rock, an excellent spring of pure water has been obtained.