Discovery and early History of New South Wales--Becomes a Penal
Settlement--Its state, moral and religious, on Mr. Marsden's
arrival.
The colony in which Mr. Marsden was now entering on his labours, and on
which he was to leave the impression both of his holy zeal, and his
far-sighted practical wisdom, is one of whose history our readers may
naturally wish to have some account. We shall therefore suspend our
narrative for a few pages, and lay before them a brief sketch of the
earlier days of the great Australian colony.
Europeans are indebted for their first knowledge of the existence of the
vast country which now bears the name of Australia, to the enterprise of
Spain and Holland, when these nations were at the head of the world's
commerce, two centuries and a half ago. In 1607, Luis de Torres, who was
sent out by the Spanish government on a voyage of discovery, passed
through the straits which still bear his name, and which separate New
Guinea from the greater continent of Australia; but he was not aware of
its vast extent, and merely concluded that the coasts along which he
sailed were those of a group of islands. Just about the same time, the
Dutch explored the eastern shores of what has since been termed the Gulf
of Carpentaria; and their knowledge of Australia was extended by
subsequent voyagers, of whom the chief was Abel Tasman. In 1642, he
discovered Van Diemen's Land, which was long supposed to be a part of
the great continent named by the Dutch New Holland--the Australia of
modern times. Known as Tasmania, Van Diemen's Land now immortalizes the
great sea-captain. But these discoveries led to no immediate results of
importance; and for upwards of a century New Holland was laid down, in
charts and maps, as a region whose coasts were not defined, and whose
interior was utterly unknown. Early in the reign of George the Third a
noble spirit of enterprise animated the British government. Voyages of
discovery were undertaken in the Southern Seas, under Captains Wallace,
Carteret, and others; and at length the celebrated Captain Cook may be
said to have retrieved a new world from romance and fable, and to have
made it over to England and to the best interests of mankind.
On the evening of the 19th of April, 1770, unknown land was descried
from the mast-head of the "Resolute," of which Cook was the commander.
The rugged coast of a vast continent seemed to extend far beyond the
sweep of the telescope; and as the sun went down, the vessel, after
soundings, dropped her anchor within a spacious bay. The smoke of
distant fires told that the land was not without inhabitants; and it was
determined, if possible, to open a communication with them. In the
morning, a boat was rowed on shore, and the first Englishman set his
foot upon Australia. A forest extended to the beach, and dipped its
branches into the sea; while an abundant variety of beautiful flowering
shrubs delighted the eye; and from this circumstance "Botany Bay"
received its European name. A dismal solitude prevailed; for the
natives, one or two of whom had been observed crouching behind the
rocks, fled in terror to the woods as the boat approached. After
spending a few hours on shore in search of water and fresh vegetables,
and in the vain attempt to communicate with the savages, the boat
returned at night. The bay was found to abound with fish; and the
sailors were glad to relieve the weary monotony of their many months at
sea, as well as to provide an agreeable change from their diet of salt
meat and mouldy biscuits, in fishing both with nets and lines. Fish too
was a wholesome diet for the sick; and at this period, even in the navy,
sickness, especially from the scurvy, almost invariably attended a long
voyage.
The natives, seeing the men thus employed, discovered in our sailors
some tastes common to themselves, and at length ventured towards the
fishermen in a couple of light canoes. After paddling about for some
time in evident suspense, they ventured to approach the boat, then came
still nearer and shouted, and having caught a few beads which were
thrown out to them, immediately retired. Gaining courage from the
peaceful conduct of our sailors, who were instructed to continue their
fishing without any attempt to follow them, the natives soon returned
with a canoe laden with fine fish, which they readily bartered for such
trifles as the boat was provided with. They were invited, by signs, to
come on board the ship lying in the offing, which they soon ventured to
do in considerable numbers. At first, they seemed harmless, scarcely
understanding the use of the various novelties on ship board, and not
much surprised by them; and honest, until the sight of ten or twelve
fine turtle crawling on the deck proved too great a temptation. First,
by signs they begged for some of these, and then, not succeeding, made a
childish attempt to carry them off by force. They set little value on
the beads and baubles which generally have so great a charm for savages.
Nothing tempted them to barter but turtle or iron tools and nails,
neither of which could well be spared. On shore it was found almost
impossible to approach them; such was the distrust and dismay with which
they evidently regarded the intrusion of their strange visitors. On
further acquaintance the savages were discovered to be a singularly
helpless and timid race. Their country appeared to be very thinly
peopled, and that chiefly along the coast, for fish were plentiful and
wild animals were few. Of the latter, the largest was scarcely bigger
than a greyhound, and the first sight of it caused great amazement to
the sailors, one of whom rushed into the tent which had been pitched on
the shore for the use of the sick, declaring, with horror depicted on
his countenance, that he had seen an evil spirit. He described it as
having assumed the colour of a mouse with two fore-paws, but that it sat
upon its hind quarters "like a Christian." An animal answering this
description was soon after shot, and the flesh, when roasted, proved
excellent food; it was called by the natives the kangaroo, and had
hitherto been quite unknown to Europeans. There were no beasts of prey;
unless wild dogs deserved that title, but the long grass concealed vast
numbers of snakes and scorpions. At night, the forests were disturbed by
the hideous flight of huge bats; by day, they echoed to the whooping of
cockatoos and the screaming of innumerable parrots. Crows and a few wild
pigeons were occasionally seen, and the rocks abounded with wild fowl,
while now and then an eagle might be seen soaring far above. Such were
the first impressions which Englishmen received, from their great
voyager, of that vast continent.
On the return of Captain Cook, the accounts he brought home of New South
Wales suggested to the government the idea of making it a vast
prison-house for convicted felons, who had now become a sore burden, as
well as a cause of grave uneasiness, to this country. Its distance and
its solitude recommended it to their choice. It would effectually rid
the mother country of a dangerous class--this was the argument of the
selfish; and it would afford the lost the opportunity of starting afresh
in life--this was the hope of the few benevolent and humane who cared
for the welfare of convicted felons. No one thought of the future
grandeur of Australia. None wrote or spoke at present of our duties to
the aboriginal savages, or probably wasted a thought on the subject of
their conversion.
In 1778, Botany Bay was selected by Sir Joseph Banks, who had sailed
with Captain Cook as a naturalist and scientific observer, as a most
eligible site for a penal settlement. But the project was no sooner
broached than it had to encounter the most determined opposition from
the public, to most of whom it seemed no doubt utterly chimerical and
absurd. The "Gentleman's Magazine," the great organ of literature and
science at that time, led the van. At first the editors affected to
treat the scheme as an extravagant hoax; afterwards they tell their
readers "with what alarm they read in the public prints that so wild a
project was actually to be carried into execution." However, "it could
never be countenanced by any professional man after a moment's
reflection. Not only the distance, but the utter impossibility of
carrying a number of male and female felons across the line, without
the ravages of putrid disorders sweeping them off by the score, must for
ever render such a plan abortive. The rains, the heats, tempests,
tornados, and mountainous seas to be encountered, were enough to deter
the most reckless of human life from such a hazardous enterprise. If any
such desperadoes could be found, they ventured to foretell that their
fate would for ever be a warning to others not to repeat the attempt."
The subject was not suffered to rest; a few months afterwards SYLVANUS
URBAN--for under this name the editors of that able journal have for
upwards of a century disguised themselves--returned to the charge. "The
ostensible design of the projector," they say, "to prepare a settlement
for the reception of felons on the most barren, least inhabited, and
worst cultivated country in the southern hemisphere, was beyond belief."
Moreover, "Botany Bay was beyond the reach of succour or assistance from
any European settlement."
Then again the lavish expense of such an establishment was another
serious objection. "It was said that it was to consist of a
post-captain, a governor, with a salary of 500_l._ a-year, a master, and
commander. A lieutenant-governor, with 300_l._ a-year, four captains,
twelve subalterns, twelve sergeants, and one hundred and sixty rank and
file from the marines; a surgeon, chaplain, and quartermaster. The whole
equipment, army, navy, and felons, were to be supplied with two years'
provisions, and all sorts of implements for the culture of the earth,
and hunting and fishing. Some slight buildings were to be run up until a
proper fort and a town could be erected. If such a report could be true,
the expense would equal that of an expedition to the South Seas against
an enemy." If such extravagance were repeated with every freight of
felons, "it would furthermore extinguish all hope of paying off the
national debt."
We leave the reader to smile while he muses on the short-sightedness
even of wise men, and the strange fluctuations of human opinion. The
government persevered in spite of these prophetic warnings; which
probably represented the general state of feeling on the subject among
educated men in England, with whom, in those days, _Sylvanus_ was no
mean authority. Accordingly, in March 1787, eleven sail, consisting of
the frigate Sirius, an armed tender, three store-ships, and six
transports, assembled at Portsmouth, having on board five hundred and
sixty-five male, and one hundred and ninety-two female convicts, under
Captain Arthur Phillip, an experienced officer, who was appointed
governor of the new colony. The fleet set sail from the Mother Bank, on
the 13th of May, 1787, and after a tedious voyage of eight months, the
whole convoy arrived safely in Botany Bay in the middle of January,
1788. But Captain Cook's description of the country surrounding the Bay
was found far too flattering--the harbour being exposed to tempestuous
gales, which often rolled a heavy sea upon the beach, while the land was
deformed with swamps and barren sand banks. On pressing forward to a
neighbouring creek, marked by Captain Cook as a mere boat harbour,
Governor Phillip had the satisfaction to find one of the finest havens
in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in safety.
It was then called Port Jackson. The different coves of this harbour
were examined with all possible expedition, and the preference was given
to one which had the finest spring of water, and in which ships might
anchor so close to the shore that, at a very small expense, quays could
be constructed where the largest vessels might unload. This cove is
about half a mile in length, and about a quarter of a mile across at the
entrance. In honour of Lord Sydney, the governor distinguished it by the
name of Sydney Cove. On the twenty-sixth of February, 1788, the British
colours were displayed on these shores; the plan of an encampment, the
first rude outline of the metropolitan city of SYDNEY, was formed. The
spot chosen was at the head of the cove, near a stream of fresh water,
which stole silently along by a thick wood now the site of crowded
streets, the stillness of which for the first time since the creation
was then broken by the rude sound of the labourer's axe, and the hum of
busy men. The anniversary of this great event has for some years been a
festival in New South Wales. Governor Phillip landed with a thousand and
thirty souls; his live stock consisted of six head of horned cattle and
seven horses. The town and district of Sydney has now a population of
three hundred thousand souls; every year the increase is enormous; and
the ratio of each year's increase exceeds the last.
These figures, however, make but a feeble impression upon us at a
distance. The colonists feel a warmth of enthusiasm such as only the
sight of the marvellous contrast can create. We copy the following
extract from the Sydney Herald on one of these anniversaries--"the
nativity of the city of Sydney and of the colony of New South Wales."
"When we compare the town and the country as they are now with what they
were then, we may well be proud of British enterprise, and of the local
resources which it has so rapidly and triumphantly developed. How
forcibly are we reminded of the miraculous transformation foretold by
the inspired son of Amoz--'The wilderness and the solitary place shall
be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.'
Let the imagination attempt this day to realize the enchanting contrast.
As we look upon the noble ships riding in our harbour, and the steamers,
yachts, wherries, and boats innumerable, gliding to and fro amid the
joyous excitements of the regatta, let us picture the three humble boats
which, this day fifty-seven years,[A] were slowly creeping up the
unknown waters of Port Jackson, in quest of a sure resting-place for our
first predecessors. As we cast our eye over the elegant buildings which
now skirt our shores on either side, and over the crowds of well-dressed
men, women and children, who are keeping holiday on this our national
festival, let us think of the dense woods which then frowned on Governor
Phillip, of the profound silence that reigned around him, of the awful
sense of solitude with which he and his little band must have been
impressed, and of the exultation they would have felt could they have
foreseen that, within so brief a term, the wilderness they were
approaching would have become 'replenished' with a teeming population,
and have been 'subdued' to the beauty and affluence of civilized life."
[A] This was published in 1845.
But the dark side of this romantic picture must not be withheld. The
infant colony was chiefly composed of the worst class of felons; they
were the days of barbarous justice even in England, and it would often
be difficult to say why some convicts were sentenced to transportation,
while others for lighter causes were punished with death. There was, at
that time, a fearful indifference to human life in our penal code.
Punishment was its sole object; amendment was seldom if ever
contemplated. Amongst the convicts there was every shade of crime, but
scarcely any corresponding gradation of punishment. The truth is, true
religion was at its lowest ebb, and pure philanthropy, in consequence,
all but unknown; a formal, heartless religion prevailed; and, as one of
its fruits, a stern and iron code of law. The convict-ship, which has
now become a reformatory school, was rivalled in its horrors only by the
slave-ship; indeed if the physical suffering was greater in the latter,
in moral torture and mental defilement the hold of the convict-ship had,
beyond all doubt, the bad pre-eminence.
The prisoners consisted of the most abandoned persons of all nations;
British, Dutch, and Portuguese sailors, the polite swindler, and the
audacious highwayman, with their female accomplices. They were shipped
off in chains; during the passage outward a detachment of soldiers was
constantly on guard; and the voyage was seldom accomplished without
bloodshed. The secret plots, in which the prisoners were continually
engaged, broke out into open mutiny whenever circumstances offered a
chance of success; for this purpose a storm, a leak, or a feigned
sickness, was readily taken advantage of. When signs of such
disturbances showed themselves, the ringleaders were seized and tried in
a summary way by court martial; but the sailors often refused to enforce
the sentence, so that it became necessary to compel obedience with
loaded muskets.
The hold of a convict-ship presented a melancholy picture of human
depravity. In the course of the voyage most of the felons survived the
sense of shame: the sounds of ribaldry and boisterous mirth, mingled
with catches from the popular songs of the day, issued unceasingly from
the prisoners' deck; this uproar was ever and anon increased by more
riotous disturbances, blows and bloodshed followed; and occasionally the
monotony of the voyage was broken by mock trials among the prisoners, to
show that even in the most profligate and abandoned the principle of
justice was not altogether destroyed. When a prisoner committed an
offence against his fellows, a judge was appointed, advocates were
assigned to the prosecutor and the accused, a jury was sworn to try
according to the evidence, witnesses were examined, and the prisoner,
being found guilty, was sentenced to an immediate and brutal punishment.
From such elements the society of New South Wales was formed. Most of
the convicts, after a short servitude, obtained tickets-of-leave, and
settled upon the parcels of land allotted to them by government; and by
the improvement of such opportunities they easily drew a subsistence
from the soil; others devoted themselves to the care of cattle; while
many more, as the colony increased, betook themselves to trade, by which
means large fortunes were frequently acquired. Many of the convicts in
the course of a few years contrived to amass great wealth, which was
expended in the extension, or improvement of their property. The results
of such industry were to be seen in the cleared inclosures, the neat
orchard, and the trim garden that here and there surrounded a well-built
brick-house. Even here honest labour seems to have been crowned with
success.
Free settlers were at present few in number, and the convict on his
plot of land had many advantages over them. From acquaintance with the
climate and the modes of cultivation best suited to the soil, as well as
the easiest method of carrying on agricultural operations, he had
learned to avoid many fruitless experiments. He understood the habits
and character of the servants who assisted him, for the labourers were
all of them felons; and he himself had probably shared the same cell,
and worked in the same gang. He understood their principles of action;
and they were infected with his prejudices. They lived together, ate at
the same board and slept under the same roof. Thus a good understanding
was maintained between them by his connivance with their follies or
their vices. The men themselves always preferred a master who had been a
prisoner to a free settler of stricter virtue, and a disposition less
akin to their own; and for such an one they would make extraordinary
exertions, of great importance at seed time and harvest, which a better
master could not obtain at any cost.
A brotherhood and close fellowship, the fruit of old associations,
sprang up among the convict population. Many considered themselves as
martyrs to the vengeance rather than the justice of the law; others,
transported for political offences, regarded themselves in the light of
patriots. In short a unity of interest cemented them; and each newly
arrived convict ship was heartily welcomed. When it anchored in the
harbour boats swarmed around it, the decks were crowded, the new comers
were loaded with presents of fresh bread and other luxuries. They were
pressed with eager inquiries after absent friends, the comrades they had
left in English jails. They were greeted with the heartiness of old
companions, and without reluctance exchanged the close confinement of
the convict ship for the fellowship of their old acquaintance on shore.
The colony at this time abounded with Irish who had shared in the
rebellion of 1798, and who generally brought with them a fair knowledge
of agriculture without very industrious habits. They attached little
turpitude to their offences, considering themselves rather as sacrificed
to the cause of freedom. Indeed it is well ascertained that some of them
had been banished without even the formality of a trial, some without
any specific sentence as to the term of their transportation, victims to
the angry spirit of the times. They are described as, for the most part,
conducting themselves with great propriety in the hope of one day
regaining their freedom, and being restored to their long absent
friends. Such men as these proved excellent colonists, and successful
settlers.
The criminal history of the colony in its first years discloses a
dreadful list of both crimes and punishments. Small bodies of the
convicts occasionally broke loose, fled to the woods, and there, setting
all restraints at defiance, became reckless and ferocious. The dread of
punishment did not restrain them from robbery, murder, and the most
appalling crimes. The risks were well calculated, for the chances of
conviction were few, and punishment was uncertain. If they were
detected, a convict, being dead in law, could not be summoned as a
witness. The jury would probably be composed of men who had been sharers
in crimes of equal magnitude, perhaps old associates. The prisoners
would be defended by convict attorneys, a nefarious class with which the
colonial courts were filled. Ineffectual attempts were made to exclude
these men, but the influence they had been suffered already to attain,
made this impracticable. Amongst the most notorious of them was one who
obtained a large practice by dint of his ingenuity, and managed the most
important business in the colony. He had been some years previously
sentenced to transportation for life, for forging a will. He had
resorted to the ingenious device of putting a _fly_ into the mouth of a
dead man, and then guiding his hand to trace his signature to the
writing; and, upon the trial, he swore, with audacious assurance, that
he saw the testator sign the will while _life_ was in him. In passing
sentence, the late Lord Ellenborough took the opportunity of
congratulating the profession on getting rid of such a pest.
The records of the court are scarcely less painful than the history of
the criminals themselves. The punishments adjudged were frightfully
severe. If they did not reclaim the prisoner, they must have hardened
him beyond recovery, if indeed they did not in many instances torture
him to death. The men thus punished were already convicts it is true,
and more than usual severity may have been justified. But no penal code
emanating from a people professing the name of Christ may inflict savage
and barbarous penalties. They recoil with disgrace upon the legislation
which exacts them, and a whole nation is degraded in the person of its
own malefactors; while God's displeasure is evident both in the increase
and audacity of criminals on the one hand, and in the loss of humane and
virtuous sentiments throughout the community on the other. We have taken
three cases as a specimen of the method in which justice was dealt out
to criminals in the early days of the colony in New South Wales.
"John Allen, stealing in dwelling-house to the value of forty shillings.
Publicly whipped, hundred lashes, confined in solitary cell at Paramatta
on bread and water for six months, and hard labour at Newcastle three
years."
"Michael Hoare and James Gilchrist, feloniously and burglariously
breaking and entering Schoolhouse at Kissing Point, and stealing from
there divers articles of property. Twelve months solitary confinement at
Paramatta, two years hard labour in jail gang, then transported for life
to Newcastle."
"John Hale, Robert Holton, and Peter Allen, killing a bullock with
intent to steal the carcase. Solitary confinement on bread and water for
three years in Paramatta jail, afterwards two years labour in jail gang
there, and afterwards transportation for life to Newcastle."[B]
[B] See Wentworth's Colony of New South Wales, second edition, 1820.
Such was the sphere of Mr. Marsden's labours, such the difficulties with
which he had to contend, and the system, too, which, as a magistrate, he
was even called upon to administer. A more hopeless task could scarcely
have been undertaken; but he set himself vigorously to work, looking to
the Strong One for strength, and the fruit was "seen after many days."