TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON
December 1790 to February 1791
-The depredations of the natives.--Bannelong's
behaviour.--The Supply sails for Norfolk-Island.--The quantity of
provisions brought in the Waaksam-heid from Batavia.--The
appearance of a prodigious number of Bats.--The return of
Bannelong.--The manners of the natives further
described.-
Several of the natives who had been pretty constant visitors
at Sydney for some weeks, were detected stealing potatoes on the
28th of December; and, on the person they belonged to,
endeavouring to drive them out of his garden, a fiz-gig was
thrown at him.
These people had lately made a practice of threatening any
person whom they found in a hut alone, unless bread was given to
them; and one of those who were suspected in the present
instance, had, on several occasions, shown himself to be a daring
fellow, who did not seem to dread any consequences. As it was
necessary to prevent these depredations in future, a serjeant and
six privates were sent out in order to secure the three natives
who had been digging up the potatoes, and particularly the man
who threw the fiz-gig; but not to fire on them, unless they made
use of their spears or other offensive weapons.
Governor Phillip, accompanied by two or three officers,
followed the party to a place where the natives had retired and
made a fire; at which, the serjeant, who arrived there a few
minutes before, found two men, one of whom he laid hold of, and
the other was seized by the surgeon's mate of the Sirius, who
went with the party, as he knew the men they were in search of:
both these men, however, got away; and a club, which at first was
taken for a spear, being thrown by one of them, three musquets
were fired. Two women and a child were found at the fire, but as
it was then dark, it was in vain to look for the two men, though
one of them was supposed to be wounded. The women were brought
away, together with several sticks, which the natives use for
digging roots, and some other articles, in order to learn more
fully who were the aggressors.
The women, though alarmed at first, yet, when they got to
Governor Phillip's house, appeared under no concern, but slept
that night in a shed in the yard, as much at their ease as if
nothing had happened; though it was impossible for them to know
that the men fired at were not killed; and one of them was
husband to one of the women: the other woman was she who had been
left at the governor's house, when her husband took away a former
wife.
The fiz-gig, which had been thrown at the man in the garden,
being shown to these women, they said it belonged to a native who
has already been noticed as a daring fellow; indeed he was so
much so, that though Governor Phillip thought it necessary to
watch for an opportunity of checking his insolence, he could not
but admire his spirit. Some bread and fish being given to the
women the next morning, they went away, well pleased with their
reception.
On the 29th of December, Bannelong made his appearance at
Governor Phillip's house, after an absence of ten days, and
brought his wife with him: he said he had been with a great
number of the Cameragals, and they had drawn the front tooth from
several young men, and had raised those scars which the natives
regard as ornaments. The largest of these scars are made by
cutting two lines through the skin, parallel to each other, with
a sharp shell, and afterwards stripping off the intermediate
skin: this operation is repeated till the wound rises
considerably above the flesh, after which, it is suffered to heal
over. These scars, or ornaments, are not very common among the
women, yet some have them on the arms, back, and breasts.
Bannelong had a throwing-stick, which he took pains to show
had been cut for the purpose of knocking out the front tooth, and
there was some reason to think he had performed that office: it
seems, he was now on good terms with the Cameragals, as he said
they were all good men; and being asked if he had seen the man
who threw the spear at Governor Phillip, he said yes, and had
slept with him; nor was there any reason to suppose he had ever
beat, or even quarreled with him on that account.
Bannelong's wife, who had been with him on this excursion, was
painted in a different manner to what she had been seen before,
and it appeared to have been done with a good deal of attention:
her cheeks, nose, and upper lip, were rubbed over with red ochre,
on which, and under the eyes, some white clay was laid in spots;
the small of her back was likewise rubbed with red ochre, and she
seemed to be sensible that she was finer than common.
After dinner, this couple went away, and the girl who had been
desirous of living with the governor's servants, wanted to go
along with them, which she was permitted to do. This girl, who
might be about eighteen years old, stripped herself before she
went away, but kept her night-cap to sleep in, as her head had
been shaved when she was first taken into the governor's family:
she never had been under any kind of restraint, so that her going
away could only proceed from a preference to the manner of life
in which she had been brought up, and which is rather surprising,
as the women are certainly treated with great cruelty; this,
however, the custom of the country seems to have perfectly
reconciled them to.
Two colonists, who had been in a boat fishing, returned with a
piece of intelligence very little to the credit of Bannelong, who
had robbed them of what fish they had caught; and, as they had no
arms, and he had several spears in his canoe, along with his wife
and sister, they were deterred from making any resistance. In
consequence of the fishing-boat being robbed, orders were given
that no boat in future should go out of the cove unarmed, and the
natives were forbid ever going to the western point of the cove,
where they stole the potatoes and threw the fiz-gig.
Three convicts, who went into the woods contrary to orders,
were lost for several days; and when found, they were pretty
severely punished: this, however, did not prevent one of these
men from going out again, and he had now been so long absent,
that there was no doubt but that he perished from hunger: another
fell into the brook at Rose-Hill, and was drowned.
The number of deaths this year, 1790, were,
From sickness, 142
Lost in the woods, 4
Executed, 4
Drowned, 6
The total number of deaths, 156
On the 3d of January, 1791, several of the natives came to
Governor Phillip's house, and told him that the native who had
been fired at on the 28th of December, was wounded and would die;
it was explained to them, that the reason of his being fired at,
was, his attempting to wound a white man: on this, they did not
appear dissatisfied.
Bannelong and his wife came in soon afterwards, and Governor
Phillip charged him with taking the fish from the two colonists,
which he denied; saying he had been a great way off; but when the
two persons were sent for, and he found himself known, he entered
into a long conversation, the purport of which was, an endeavour
to justify himself; and this he did with an insolence that
explained itself very clearly: he frequently mentioned the man
who had been wounded, and threatened revenge; but appearing to
recollect himself, he offered the governor his hand, which not
being accepted, he grew violent, and seemed inclined to make use
of his stick. One of the centinels was now called in, as it was
much feared he would do some violent act, that would oblige
Governor Phillip to order him to be put to death; for his
behaviour was the height of savage insolence, and would have been
immediately punished in any other person; but this man had so
often made use of the word _be-ah-nah_, that they wished to
bring him to reason without proceeding to force; especially, as
it was suggested by an officer who was in the room, that he might
not be understood clearly, and the governor was very unwilling to
destroy the confidence Bannelong had for some time placed in him,
which the slightest punishment or confinement would have done: he
therefore told him to come near, for he was then standing at some
distance, but he refused and went away.
Bannelong had not left the governor with any intention of
returning; for, in passing the wheelwright's shop, the workmen
being at dinner, he stole a hatchet, with which, though pursued
he got clear off.
In the afternoon of the 3d, the surgeon and some others went
to the place where the wounded native was said to be, having
directions to bring him to the hospital, if there were any hopes
of his recovery.
When they got to the spot to which the native boy and girl,
who were in the boat, directed them, two natives appeared; one of
whom, having been concerned in stealing the potatoes, kept at a
distance; the other came near enough to converse with them, and
said, the man they were in search of was dead, in an adjoining
cove, whither they went and found his body. The ball had passed
through the shoulder, and had cut the subclavian artery: the body
was warm, and as his friends had left it covered with some boughs
and fern, it was probable they did not intend either to bury or
burn it. It proved to be the man who had thrown the fiz-gig; and
as there was a necessity for firing on him, the taking place of
the ball was rather to be wished for.
The woman who had been deserted by her husband, after
remaining eight or ten days at Governor Phillip's house, went
away on the 5th of January, and was reconciled to him again; his
first wife now lived with another man, but she frequently visited
Sydney, and was said to have granted favours to several of the
convicts.
All the wheat and barley was now housed, except what was sown
very late, and yielded better than could have been expected after
the long drought. On the 18th, her Majesty's birthday was
celebrated with the customary marks of respect. The Supply,
having been put into thorough repair, sailed out of the cove on
the 19th, with provisions and stores for Norfolk Island; but the
wind coming round to the south-east, she was obliged to anchor,
and did not get out of the harbour till the 22d.
The game-keeper, who was wounded on the 9th of December, as
hath already been related, died on the 20th of January: his death
was sudden, as at one time he was thought to be in a very fair
way of recovery, being able to walk about. On opening the body,
it appeared that the lungs on the left side, which had been
wounded, were entirely wasted away: the pleura firmly adhered to
the ribs for some inches round the wound; several of the small
stones with which the spear had been armed, were found adhering
to the side, and the rib against which the spear had broke, was
splintered.
A considerable quantity of ground was now cleared, and large
enclosures were made for cattle, which there was reason to hope
would be brought from the Cape of Good Hope, by the ships daily
expected to arrive with the remainder of the corps raised for the
service of this country, and the convicts from Ireland.
The person who had hitherto superintended the labour of the
convicts, died on the 28th of January. This man left England with
Governor Phillip, as a servant; but he had employed him in the
public service from their first landing, and few men, who may
hereafter be placed in his situation, will attain that ascendency
which he had over the convicts, or be able to go through so much
fatigue. He was replaced by a superintendant who came from
England in the last ships.
The Dutch vessel, which had been hired at Batavia to bring
provisions purchased for the Colony, and which arrived at Port
Jackson on the 17th of December, 1790, was cleared, and was ready
for sea by the 5th of February. The provisions brought in her
consisted of one hundred and seventy-one barrels of beef, one
hundred and seventy-two barrels of pork, thirty-nine barrels of
flour, one thousand pounds of sugar, and seventy thousand pounds
of rice: five pounds in the hundred were to be allowed as loss on
the rice; and after that deduction, there was a deficiency of
forty-two thousand nine hundred pounds; for which, the master of
the vessel would only allow the commissary at the rate of one
halfpenny a pound; or, if paid in butter, at the rate of one
pound of butter for eighteen pounds of rice: he had rice and
flour on board, which he called his own property; and as he was a
foreigner, and particularly circumstanced, the commissary was
ordered to accept the butter in lieu of the deficiency of
rice.
This vessel was hired by the officer, who commanded the Supply
armed tender, and who was obliged to accept her at three hundred
and fifty tons measurement, though she did not measure three
hundred tons: the freight for bringing the provisions was fixed
at twenty-eight thousand rix-dollars; bills for which had been
given at Batavia. The master on his arrival, said, that after
leaving Port Jackson, he should proceed to New Guinea in search
of spices, which that island was supposed to produce; he was also
to stop at Timur and several other settlements before he returned
to Batavia: at the same time, he offered the vessel for sale, or
to lett her on freight; but as he conjectured that the colony
wanted such a vessel, his demands were exorbitant. He first
valued her at sixty thousand rix-dollars, and before he was ready
to sail, he offered her for two and thirty thousand rix-dollars.
If she was hired, he talked of eleven pounds sterling per month;
but no attention being paid to any of these demands, he came down
to forty shillings sterling a ton per month, if let on freight to
carry the officers and seamen who had belonged to the Sirius to
England; that freight to be paid until the vessel should return
to Batavia. He was now ready to sail, and finding no attention
would be paid to any such proposals, he offered to sell the
vessel for thirty thousand rix-dollars, or to go to England on
freight at forty shillings per ton; the vessel to be continued in
pay for two months after her arrival at Portsmouth or Plymouth;
or to have twenty thousand rix-dollars for the voyage.
A considerable time had passed since Governor Phillip had
reason to expect the arrival of some ships from England, and he
wished to secure a vessel for sending home the officers and men
who had belonged to the Sirius, or to send for a farther supply
of provisions, should no ships arrive before the month of March:
the Dutch vessel was, therefore, hired at twenty shillings per
ton.
Two native youths who had frequently left Governor Phillip's
house, in order to have their front teeth drawn, had now been
absent several days for that purpose. They were seen in a bay
down the harbour on the 8th of February, where a considerable
number of the natives were assembled, it was supposed not less
than a hundred, including women and children. Most of the men
were painted, and it should seem that they were assembled for the
purpose of drawing the front teeth from several men and boys.
Soon afterwards, the two youths returned to the governor's; they
had their heads bound round with rushes, which were split, and
the white side was put outwards: several pieces of reed were
stuck through this fillet and came over the forehead; their arms
were likewise bound round and ornamented in the same manner, and
each had a black streak on his breast, which was broad at one
end, and terminated in a point. They had lost their front teeth,
and considering their manner of drawing teeth in this country, it
was not surprising to see that one of them had lost a piece of
his jaw-bone, which was driven out with the tooth.
Both these boys appeared to be in pain, but they would not own
it, and seemed to value themselves on having undergone the
operation; though why it is performed, or why the females lose a
part of the little finger, could not as yet be learnt.
The weather was very close and sultry, and the natives having
fired the country for several miles round, the wind, which blew
strong on the 12th, was heated to a very extraordinary degree,
particularly at Rose-Hill, where the country was on fire for
several miles to the northward and southward.
Great numbers of parroquets were picked up under the trees,
and the bats, which had been seen frequently flying about
Rose-Hill soon after the evening closed in, and were supposed to
go to the southward every night, and return to the northward
before the day broke, now appeared in immense numbers: thousands
of them were hanging on the branches of the trees, and many
dropped down, unable to bear the burning winds.
The head of this bat strongly resembles that of a fox, and the
wings of many of them extend three feet ten inches: Governor
Phillip saw one which measured upwards of four feet from the tip
of each wing. Some were taken alive, and would eat boiled rice,
or other food readily out of the hand, and in a few days were as
domestic as if they had been bred in the house: the governor had
one, a female, that would hang by one leg a whole day without
changing its position; and in that pendant situation, with its
breast neatly covered with one of its wings, it ate whatever was
offered it, lapping out of the hand like a cat. Their smell is
stronger than that of a fox; they are very fat, and are reckoned
by the natives excellent food. From the numbers which fell into
the brook at Rose-Hill, the water was tainted for several days,
and it was supposed that more than twenty thousand of them were
seen within the space of one mile.
The dry weather still continued, and many runs of water which
were considerable at this season the last year, were now dried
up; but the brook at Rose-Hill, though greatly reduced, was still
a run of water that would supply more inhabitants than that
settlement is likely to contain for many years; and in all the
ponds there was plenty of good water; nor had the dry weather
affected a spring that rises on the side of a hill, the water of
which is better than what the brook affords. At Sydney, the run
of water was now very small, but was sufficient for all culinary
purposes; and should it hereafter be found necessary, wells may
easily be made: a well at Governor Phillip's house was very
little affected by the drought.
The natives continued to visit Sydney after Bannelong stole
the hatchet, and behaved in a manner that gave every one reason
to think he never would return; this, however, was not the case;
for, after having frequently visited the fishing-boats, and made
many enquiries to know if Governor Phillip was angry, and would
shoot him, he ventured to go to the hospital, and seemed very
desirous of knowing if he might come to the governor's house; at
the same time, he named a man who, he said, had stolen the
hatchet, and denied having ever used any threats: however, not
being satisfied with the answers which were given to him, he went
away.
But some days afterwards he came to the governor's, who,
happening to be in the yard when he came to the gate, ordered him
away. He was seen soon afterwards, and as he appeared very
desirous of being received again, and disclaimed any knowledge of
the hatchet, or any intention of revenging the death of the
native who had been shot, Governor Phillip appeared to believe
him, and he was permitted to come into the yard, which was always
open to the natives, and some bread and fish were given him; but
he was no longer permitted to enter the house; this was putting
him on a level with the other natives, and he appeared to feel
his degradation; but it did not prevent him from repeating his
visits very frequently.
-By-gone_, who has been mentioned as the daring fellow
who lived with Bannelong, and was in campany with the man who had
been shot, ventured to come to Rose-Hill; and as Governor Phillip
wished for a friendly intercourse to be kept up with the natives,
he was well received, and no notice was taken of past offences,
so that he soon became perfectly at his ease.
A second store-house of brick was now tiled in, and though the
crops in the ground had suffered from the very dry weather for
the last eight months, it had been favourable for the buildings.
The barrack at Rose-Hill was nearly ready to receive the men, and
one wing of the officers barracks was ready for tiling.
The Supply returned from Norfolk Island on the 26th of
February, with the officers and seamen who had remained there
after the loss of the Sirius; and the Dutch vessel being hired to
carry them to England, she began to prepare for the voyage.
In the night of the 27th, they had very heavy rain, which was
highly acceptable. On the 28th, it blew very fresh, and a fishing
boat, in working up the harbour, filled; fortunately, she was an
English cutter, and did not sink. A young woman, a little girl,
and two children, (all natives) were in the boat when the
accident happened: the young woman had the two children on her
shoulders in a moment, and swam on shore with them; the girl also
swam on shore, as did such of the boat's crew that could swim.
Several of the natives seeing this accident as the boat drove
towards the rocks, gave them every possible assistance, without
which, in all probability, one of the crew would have been
drowned. After clearing the boat, they collected the oars and
such articles as had been driven on shore in different places;
and in these friendly offices, Bannelong was very assiduous: this
behaviour gave Governor Phillip an opportunity of receiving him
in a more kindly manner than he had done since his bad
behaviour.
Though our colonists had never been able to learn the reason
for the females losing two joints of the little finger, they now
had an opportunity of seeing in what manner that operation is
performed. Colebe's wife brought her child to Governor Phillip's
house a few days after it was born, and as it was a female, both
the father and mother had been repeatedly told, that if the
finger was to be cut off, the governor wished to see the
operation. The child was now two months old, and a ligature was
applied round the little finger at the second joint; but two or
three days afterwards, when she brought the child again, the
ligature was either broke, or had been taken off: this being
mentioned to the mother, she took several hairs from the head of
an officer who was present, and bound them very tight round the
child's finger. After some time, a gangrene took place; and
though the child appeared uneasy when the finger was touched, it
did not cry, nor was any attention paid to it after the ligature
was applied.
It has already been observed, that this operation always took
place on the left hand of the females; but this child was an
exception, for it was the little finger on the right hand on
which the ligature was applied: this bandage was continued until
the finger was ready to drop off, when its parents carried it to
the surgeon, who, at their request, separated it with a
knife.
Making love in this country is always prefaced by a beating,
which the female seems to receive as a matter of course. The
native girl, who still resided occasionally at the clergyman's,
had been absent two days, when she returned with a bad wound on
the head, and some severe bruises on her shoulder; the girl whose
life Governor Phillip had saved, returned with her; she also had
a wound on her head, and one of her arms was much bruised by a
blow with a club: the story they told was, that two men who
frequently visited the settlement, wanted to sleep with them, and
on their refusing, had, as usual on such occasions, beat them
most unmercifully.
Bannelong, after an absence of several days, returned to the
settlement; and the services he had rendered the boat's crew when
they were in danger of being lost, being considered as an
atonement for his past offences, he was admitted into Governor
Phillip's house; in consequence of this reconciliation, the
number of visitors greatly increased, the governor's yard being
their head quarters.