Miago's reception by his countrymen.
Whale Fishery.
Strange ideas entertained by Natives respecting the first Settlers.
Neglected state of the Colony.
Test security of Owen's Anchorage.
Weather.
Celebration of the Anniversary of the Colony.
Friendly meeting between different Tribes.
Native beggars.
Personal vanity of a Native.
Visit York.
Description of Country.
Site of York.
Scenery in its neighbourhood.
Disappointment experienced.
Sail from Swan River.
Hospitality of Colonists during our stay.
Aurora Australis.
Gale off Cape Leeuwen.
Stormy passage.
Ship on a lee shore.
South-west Cape of Tasmania.
Bruny Island Lighthouse.
Arrive at Hobart.
Mount Wellington.
Kangaroo Hunt.
White Kangaroo.
Civility from the Governor.
Travertine Limestone.
Leave Hobart.
Singular Current.
Appearance of Land in the neighbourhood of Sydney.
Position of Lighthouse.
Entrance and first view of Port Jackson.
Scenery on passing up the Harbour.
Meet the Expedition bound to Port Essington.
Apparent increase of Sydney.
Cause of Decline.
Expedition sails for Port Essington.
Illawarra.
Botany Bay.
La Perouse's Monument.
Aborigines.
Meet Captain King.
Appearance of Land near Sydney.
MIAGO'S RECEPTION BY HIS COUNTRYMEN.
We were considerably amused with the consequential air Miago assumed
towards his countrymen on our arrival, which afforded us a not
uninstructive instance of the prevalence of the ordinary infirmities of
our common human nature, whether of pride or vanity, universally to be
met with both in the civilised man and the uncultivated savage. He
declared that he would not land until they first came off to wait on him.
Decorated with an old full-dress Lieutenant's coat, white trousers, and a
cap with a tall feather, he looked upon himself as a most exalted
personage, and for the whole of the first day remained on board,
impatiently, but in vain prying into each boat that left the shore for
the dusky forms of some of his quondam friends. His pride however could
not long withstand the desire of display; yielding to the impulse of
vanity, he, early the following morning, took his departure from the
ship. Those who witnessed the meeting described it as cool on both sides,
arising on the part of his friends from jealousy; they perhaps judging
from the nature of his costume, that he had abandoned his bush life. Be
that as it may, the reception tended greatly to lower the pride of our
hero; who through generosity (expending all his money to purchase them
bread) or from a fear of being treacherously speared, soon convinced his
former associates how desirous he was of regaining their confidence. He
did not, however, participate in the revelry then going on amongst the
natives at Fremantle, where, at this period of the year, they assemble in
great numbers to feast on the whales that are brought in by the boats of
a whaling establishment--which I cannot allude to without expressing an
opinion that this fishery, if properly managed and free from American
encroachments, would become one of the most important branches of
industry.
During the time that Miago was on board we took great pains to wean him
from his natural propensity for the savage life by instilling such
information as his untutored mind was capable of receiving, and from his
often-expressed resolutions we were led to hope a cure had been effected;
great was our disappointment then on finding that in less than a
fortnight after our arrival, he had resumed his original wildness, and
was again to be numbered amongst the native inhabitants of the bush. To
us he had been the source of great mirth, by the absurd anecdotes he
sometimes related about his countrymen. His account of their conjectures
respecting the arrival of the first settlers may amuse the reader; he
said, "the ships were supposed to be trees, and the cattle large dogs
(the only animal besides the kangaroo known to them) whose size and horns
excited such alarm, that one which strayed into the bush being met by a
party of natives made them climb up the nearest trees in the greatest
terror."
STATE OF THE COLONY.
It may give some definite idea of the neglected state of this infant
colony, to mention that during the entire period of our absence--a space
of six months--there had been but one arrival there, and that not from
England. The solitary visitor was H.M.S. Pelorus from the Indian station.
The want of communication with the mother country was beginning to be
felt severely, and in matters of graver moment than mere news. Many
necessary articles of home manufacture or importation, scarcely valued
till wanted, were now becoming almost unattainable: one familiar instance
will illustrate at once how this state of things presses upon the comfort
of the colonists; the price of yellow soap had risen to four shillings
per pound!
OWEN'S ANCHORAGE.
The usual winter anchorage in Cockburn Sound, being seven miles from the
town of Fremantle, the colonists were naturally very anxious to see
tested the equal security of one which we had chosen within half that
distance. The point was fairly tried, and very satisfactorily determined
during the heavy weather which we experienced on the 31st of March, and
11th of June, which did not raise more sea than a boat at anchor could
have ridden out with safety. These gales lasted about forty-eight hours
each, commencing at North by West and gradually blowing themselves out at
West-South-West. In each instance a heavy bank of clouds in the
north-west gave us a day's notice of their approach. The indications of
the barometer were less decisive; its maximum was 29.3.
The weather in the interval between these gales was wet and unsettled;
but afterwards, until our departure, it continued remarkably fine with an
average temperature of 60 degrees.
The winds at this season prevail from the land, the seabreezes being both
light and very irregular.
ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLONY.
We were just in time to share in the annual festivities with which the
inhabitants celebrate the formation of the colony. Horseracing, and many
other old English sports showed that the colonists still retain the
tastes and habits of home. Some of the aborigines took part in the
amusements of the day with evident enjoyment: and we were surprised to
find that in throwing the spear they were excelled by an English
competitor. We hardly know how to reconcile this fact with our own
favourite theories upon the perfection of the savage in the few exercises
of skill to which he devotes his attention, and were obliged to take
refuge in the inadequate suggestion that the wild man requires a greater
degree of excitement than his more civilised competitor, to bring out, or
call into action, all the resources of his art. Among the natives
assembled were a small party from King George's Sound: they had come to
Perth, bearing despatches from that place. The good understanding which
appeared to exist between them and their fellow-countrymen in this
district, led me to believe that by bringing different tribes more
frequently together, under similar happy auspices to those which convened
the meeting of to-day, much might be done to qualify the eager and deadly
hatred in which they are too prone to indulge.
The natives in the town of Perth are most notorious beggars: the softer
sex ply this easy craft even more indefatigably than the men. Their
flattering solicitations and undeniable importunity seldom altogether
fail of success, and "quibra (i.e. ship) man," after the assurance that
he is a "very pretty gentleman," must perforce yield to the solicitation
"tickpence give it um me."
There was one amongst them, who from some accident had lost several of
his toes. When in conversation, if he fancied any person was observing
his foot, he would immediately endeavour to conceal the part that was
thus disfigured by burying it in the sand. Another instance, exemplifying
how prevalent is the frailty of vanity in the heart of man in his
primitive condition.
VISIT YORK.
As a little time was required to give the ship a slight refit and the
crew some relaxation, it afforded an opportunity of visiting York,
situated about sixty miles east from Perth, and at that extremity of the
colony. Accordingly, one murky afternoon a small party of us were wending
our way over the Darling Range. Long after dark the welcome bark of dogs
rang through the forest in the still dark night, assuring us that shelter
was at hand, and we soon found ourselves before a large fire in the only
house on the road, enjoying, after a dreary wet ride, the usual fare at
that time at the out-stations--fried pork and kangaroo. About this
tenement was the only spot of land along the whole line of road that
could at all lay claim to anything like fertility; at which I was the
more surprised, as our route intercepted the direction in which patches
of good land are generally found in this part of the continent. The soil
of this little piece was of a rich black mould and well watered by a
neighbouring spring. Our road lay in some places over tracts of loose
white sand, and in others round and over low ironstone hills. Descending
from one of these heights to a rich narrow flat, the presence of three or
four houses informed us we were within the township of York. The position
of the level it occupies forms the western bank of the river Avon, which
is now and has been for some time past nothing more than a chain of
waterholes. In this neighbourhood the hills lie detached from one another
in irregular directions, and are composed of granite; from the summit of
one on the western side of the town we looked over a vast expanse of
undulating forest land, densely wooded, with scarcely a grassy patch to
break the monotony of the view. To give an idea of the personal labour
early settlers are obliged to undergo, I may mention that we found Mr.
Bland, the most wealthy colonist in Western Australia, engaged in holding
the plough. I was disappointed in my visit to this part of the country as
it did not leave a favourable impression of its fertility--still it
afforded me an opportunity of judging by comparison of the quality of the
soils in Western Australia and on the banks of the Fitzroy, and I was
happy to find I had not overrated the latter.
The odium of a recent murder in the vicinity committed by natives had led
to their absenting themselves just now from York, but a few of their
numbers too young for suspicion were employed in the capacity of servants
and appeared sharp and intelligent lads.
SAIL FROM SWAN RIVER.
On the 20th of June we took leave of our friends in Western Australia,
proceeding out of Owen's anchorage by a passage recommended by the
Harbour-Master, in which we found half a fathom less water than the one
through which we entered. During our stay there, nothing could exceed the
kindness with which we were welcomed, and we experienced that proverbial
hospitality of colonists which in this instance we shall ever remember
with feelings of the most sincere and heart-felt pleasure.
It may appear out of place inserting it here but on our first arrival at
Swan River in November last, we saw the Aurora Australis very bright.
At midnight of the 23rd of June we passed Cape Leeuwin, the south-western
extremity of the continent; named by the first discoverer in 1622, Landt
van de Leeuwin or the land of Lions. The wind which had increased since
the morning to a fresh gale from the northward, now suddenly veered round
to the westward, accompanied with rain and causing a high cross-sea.
GALE OFF CAPE LEEUWIN.
These sudden shifts of wind frequently raise a very dangerous sea off
Cape Leeuwin.* This made the third gale we had experienced since the 30th
of May, and is recorded here from its commencing at North-East instead of
at north, the usual point at which gales in these regions begin. During
the stormy weather which prevailed throughout the passage, we were
unceasingly attended by those majestic birds and monarchs of the
ocean--the White Albatross (Diomedia exulans) which with steadily
expanded wings sailed gracefully over the surface of the restless main in
solemn silence, like spectres of the deep; their calm and easy flight
coursing each wave in its hurried career seemed to mock the unsteady
motion of our little vessel as she alternately traversed the deep hollows
and lofty summits of the high-crested seas.
(*Footnote. In a gale off this Cape in 1836, H.M.S. Zebra was compelled
to throw her guns overboard.)
July 6.
It was our intention to have passed through Bass Strait, but finding we
were unable to weather King Island bore up on the 6th for Hobart. On the
evening of the same day we were by a sudden change of the wind placed in
one of those perilous situations in which both a good ship and sound gear
are so much required; the wind, which had been northerly throughout the
day, about 8 P.M. veered round to west, blowing a heavy gale with a high
sea; and since we had now run about halfway along Van Diemen's Land, left
us with an extensive and dangerous shore under our lee. Through the
dismal gloom of the night, during which there was incessant rain with a
succession of heavy squalls, the angry voice of nature seemed indeed to
be raised in menace against us, and it was not until the close of the
next day that a slight abatement of the weather relieved our anxiety for
the safety of the ship. During the night the wind backed round to the
North-West and the sky became once more partially clear. Early on the
morning of the 8th we descried the south-western extremity of the land of
Van Diemen, discovered in 1633 by the celebrated Dutch Navigator, Abel
Tasman, and so named by him after the Governor of Batavia, under whose
authority the voyage thus crowned with success had been performed.
TASMANIA.
To this portion of Australasia I shall systematically apply the name of
Tasmania, in honour of that adventurous seaman who first added it to the
list of European discoveries. The same principle appears to have been
recently acted upon by the Government in creating the Bishopric of
Tasmania, and I may therefore plead high authority to sanction such
innovation:* higher perhaps than will be required by him who calls to
mind that hitherto the navigator who added this island, and the scarcely
less important ones of New Zealand to the empire of science, has been
left without a memorial, the most befitting and the most lasting that
universal gratitude can consecrate to individual desert. The insular
character of Tasmania was not fully ascertained till the year 1798, when
the intrepid Bass, then surgeon of H.M.S. Reliance, while on a whaleboat
cruise from Sydney, discovered the strait which bears his name.
(*Footnote. Mr. Greenough, late President of the Geological Society, in
his anniversary address to that body on the 24th of May, 1841, remarks
that, "It is much to be regretted that Government has not recognised
Tasmania as the name of that island, improperly denominated Van Diemen's
Land. The occurrence of a second Van Diemen's Land on the northern coast
of Australia occasions confusion; and since Tasman, not Van Diemen, was
the first discoverer of the island, it would be but just that whatever
honour the name confers should be given to the former navigator." Journal
of the Royal Geographical Society of London volume 11 1841 part 1.)
SOUTH-WEST CAPE.
Towards 10 A.M. steering East by South before a long rolling sea, we
passed about six miles from the South-west Cape of Tasmania. There was no
opportunity at the time of determining exactly the amount of error in the
position assigned to it in the present charts, but we were satisfied that
it was placed at least five miles too far south. The Maatzuyker Isles, a
group a few miles to the south-east of this cape, are also incorrectly
laid down. The view of this headland was of a very impressive and
remarkable character, and to add to the usual effect of its lonely and
solitary grandeur, a heavy sea still vexed and swelling from the
turbulence of the recent gale, was breaking in monotonous regularity
against its white and aged face; rising a thousand feet precipitously
above the level of the sea, and terminating in a peak, rendered yet more
conspicuous by a deep gap behind it.
The adjacent coast had a singularly wild, bare, and storm-beaten
appearance. We beheld the rugged and treeless sides of barren hills; and
here and there, where vegetation struggled with sterility, its stunted
growth and northern inclination caused by the prevailing winds testified
to an ungenial clime; high, bare-faced peaks appeared occasionally
through the thick clouds that girdled them, and the whole coastline
forcibly reminded us of the dreary shores of Tierra del Fuego.
BRUNY ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE.
On opening d'Entrecasteaux Channel, we observed a splendid lighthouse
erected by Sir John Franklin, on the South-West extremity of Bruny
Island, and which serves to guide entering vessels clear of the shoals in
the mouth of that channel, formerly fatal to so many a luckless voyager,
wrecked within sight of the hoped-for shore, upon which he might never
set his foot. The situation of the lighthouse appears admirably chosen,
and it may readily be seen in the daytime, a wide gap being cut in the
woodland behind it. In alluding to the great improvement in the
navigation of d'Entrecasteaux Channel, by the erection of the lighthouse
on Bruny Island, it must be remembered that we are indebted to the
indefatigable exertions of Lieutenant Burnett, R.N., who had been
appointed Marine Surveyor to the colony by the Admiralty, for a knowledge
of the exact position of its dangers. In prosecuting this service, I
grieve to say, his life was lost, by the upsetting of a boat in one of
those sudden gusts of wind which sweep down the steep valleys on the
sides of that channel. This sudden termination of Lieutenant Burnett's
labours has been deplored alike by the colony, and by the profession of
which he was so bright an ornament.
We entered Storm Bay after dark against a strong North-West wind, which
quite vindicated the title of the bay to the name it bears, and so much
delayed our progress, that it was morning before we were abreast of the
Iron Pot lighthouse at the entrance of the Derwent River, and after dark
before we reached Sullivan's cove, Hobart.
Although the passage up the river was tedious and annoying from the
adverse and squally wind that prevailed throughout the day, we were
almost repaid for the delay by the scenery each tack brought to our view,
and to which the remembered aspect of the shores we had so recently
quitted, seemed by contrast to add a yet more delightful verdure.
As we proceeded, we noticed since our last visit, several bare patches in
the woodlands, where the axe and the brand of the enterprising colonists
had prepared the way for that cultivation under the influence of which
the landscape wore in places an almost English aspect. This fancied
resemblance--inspiring by turns delightful anticipation and fond
regret--was heightened by the occasional addition of many pretty little
cottages scattered along the sloping banks of the river, and adding to
the luxuriant appearance of the country, the peaceful grace and sanctity
of home.
July 19.
We were detained at Hobart till the 19th, the bad state of the weather
rendering it impossible to complete the requisite observations for rating
chronometers, etc.
MOUNT WELLINGTON.
We had two or three snowstorms during the time, but even in fine weather
the proximity of Mount Wellington, towering above Hobart, and throwing
its strange square-headed shadow across the still waters of Sullivan's
cove, must always render Fort Mulgrave an unfavourable spot for
observations, from its arresting the progress of each passing cloud. The
pleasure of our return was very much enhanced by the kind hospitality
with which we were received by the inhabitants, and the officers of Her
Majesty's 21st regiment. From Sir John Franklin the Governor, we
experienced all the attention and courtesy--all the frank and generous
hospitality which it was in his power to bestow. Had we been without the
claims of previous acquaintance to have recommended us to his best
offices, the fact that our voyage was intended to advance the cause of
science, would have been quite sufficient to interest in our welfare, one
who has achieved a reputation as enduring as it is honourable, amid the
perils and trials connected with an Arctic campaign of discovery.
The unfavourable state of the weather also prevented us from visiting and
enjoying the alpine scenery in the neighbourhood of Hobart.
KANGAROO HUNT.
We did, however, get a few miles from the town upon one occasion, when
the fox-hounds of a gentleman, Mr. Gregson, who will be long remembered
in the colony for his pedestrian and equestrian performances--met in the
neighbourhood to hunt the kangaroo. A thoroughly English appreciation of
all that promised sport, led a large party of us to join the meet, at a
place called the Neck. The turnout was by no means despicable: the hounds
were well bred, though rather small--perhaps an advantage in the sort of
country over which their work lies. A tolerable muster of red coats gave
life and animation to the scene, and forcibly reminded us of a coverside
at home.
The hounds found a large kangaroo almost immediately upon throwing off,
and went away with him in good earnest. There was a burning scent, and
from the nature of the country, over which we went for some distance
without a check, the riding was really desperate. The country was thickly
wooded, with open spaces here and there, in which fallen trees lay half
hidden by long grass. Riding to the hounds was therefore as necessary as
dangerous, for once out of sight it was almost impossible to overtake or
fall in with them. Most of the field rode boldly and well, yet I remarked
one or two casualties: early in the run, a gentleman was swept off his
horse by the projecting branch of a tree, under which he was going at a
reckless pace, and another had his hat perforated immediately above the
crown of his head. Yet notwithstanding the annoyance of ferrying our
horses across the Derwent, we returned to Hobart, very much pleased with
the day's sport.*
(*Footnote. In the first volume of the Tasmanian Journal, will be found
an animated description of Kangaroo-hunting with these hounds, by the
Honourable H. Elliot, who mentions that on one occasion a large kangaroo
gave them a run of eighteen miles.)
WHITE KANGAROO.
In a gentleman's house there, I saw for the first time, a specimen of an
Albino or white variety of kangaroo, Halmaturus bennettii.* Another
object that interested me greatly was a quarry of travertine limestone,
in the neighbourhood of Hobart, where I saw the impression** of leaves of
plants, not in existence at present, and of a few shells of ancient
species.
(*Footnote. One of this rare kind, was presented by Sir John Franklin to
her Majesty, in whose menagerie at Windsor it died, and was sent
afterwards to the British Museum, where it now may be seen.)
(**Footnote. Drawings of these impressions, together with the shells will
be found in Count Strzelecki's scientific work.)
SAIL FROM HOBART.
We sailed from Hobart on the 19th of July and carried a strong fair wind
to within a few days' sail of Sydney, when we experienced a current that
set us 40 miles South-East in 24 hours; this was the more extraordinary
as we did not feel it before, and scarcely afterwards; and our course
being parallel to the shore, was not likely to have brought us suddenly
within the influence of the currents said to prevail along the coast. The
ship's position was 40 miles east of Jervis Bay when we first met it.
July 24.
This morning the clearness of the atmosphere enabled us at an elevation
of 50 feet, to distinguish the light near the entrance of Sydney Harbour,
while at a distance of thirty miles from it. Its site has been admirably
chosen for indicating the position of the port from a distance at sea,
but it has been placed too far from the entrance to be of much service to
vessels when close in shore.* The low land in the vicinity of Sydney and
Botany Bay, presents a striking contrast with the coast of the Illawarra
district, a little further southwards; where the sea washes the base of a
lofty range of hills, which sweeping round some distance in the rear of
the two former places, leaves an extensive tract of low country between
them and the sea. Upon the summit of these hills there rest almost
invariably huge clouds, which serve even through the gloom of the darkest
night, to assure the anxious navigator of his position.
(*Footnote. Some years since a ship with convicts was driven at night by
a South-East gale, close in with the light, and was obliged to run for
the harbour, but being then without anything to guide her into the
entrance, was wrecked on the south point. The loss of life was dreadful.
The light lately erected near the Sow and Pigs reef, has in some measure
remedied the evil here pointed out: but being too far within, and on the
south side of the entrance, it is not made out till, with southerly
winds, a ship has approached dangerously close to the North Head.)
APPROACH TO SYDNEY.
On approaching Sydney, a stranger cannot fail of being delighted with his
first glance at the noble estuary which spreads before and around him.
After sailing along a coastline of cliffs some 200 feet in height, and in
general effect and outline not unlike those of Dover, he observes an
apparent breach in the sea-wall, forming two abrupt headlands, and ere he
has time to speculate upon the cause of that fancied ruin, his ship
glides between the wave-worn cliffs into the magnificent harbour of Port
Jackson. The view which solicits the eye of the sea-wearied voyager as he
proceeds up the harbour, is indeed well calculated to excite a feeling of
mingled admiration and delight--the security and capacity of the
port--its many snug coves and quiet islets with their sloping shores,
sleeping upon the silver tide--pretty white cottages and many
English-looking villas peeping out here and there from their surrounding
shrubberies, and the whole canopied by a sky of ethereal blue, present a
picture which must at once enchant the most fastidious observer.
We found lying in the famous cove of Sydney, H.M.S. Alligator and
Britomart, commanded by Captain Sir Gordon Bremer, and Lieutenant (now
Captain) Owen Stanley, going to form a settlement at Port Essington on
the North coast; an expedition of much interest, particularly to us, from
having some old shipmates engaged in it.
CONTRAST WITH SOUTH AMERICA.
On first arriving at Sydney from South America, I was much struck with
the strange contrast its extensive and at the same time youthful
appearance presented to the decrepit and decaying aspect of the cities on
that continent. We had then been visiting colonies and settlements
founded centuries ago, by a nation at that time almost supreme in
European influence, and planted with every circumstance of apparent
advantage upon the shores of a fertile and luxurious continent given by
the immortal Genoese to the crown of Spain. We had found them distracted
by internal commotions, disgraced by ignorance, debased by superstition,
and defiled by slavery.
COLONISATION.
In Sydney we beheld with wonder what scarce half a century had sufficed
to effect; for where almost within the memory of man the savage ranged
the desert wastes and trackless forests, a noble city has sprung as
though by magic from the ground, which will ever serve both as a monument
of English enterprise, and as a beacon from whence the light of Christian
civilisation shall spread through the dark and gloomy recesses of
ignorance and guilt. The true history of our Australian possessions; the
causes which have led to their settlement; the means by which they have
been established; the circumstances by which they have been influenced;
and the rapid, nay, unexampled prosperity to which they have attained;
present some of the most curious and most important laws of colonisation
to our notice. Without attempting so far to deviate from my present
purpose as to enter here on a deduction from the data to which I have
alluded, it cannot be denied that, in the words of an eloquent writer in
Blackwood, "a great experiment in the faculty of renovation in the human
character, has found its field in the solitudes of this vast continent:
that the experiment has succeeded to a most unexampled and unexpected
degree: and that the question is now finally decided between severity and
discipline." What else remains, what great designs and unfathomed
purposes, are yet reserved to grace this distant theatre, I pause not now
to guess. The boldest conjecture would probably fall very far short of
the truth. It is sufficient for us to know that Providence has entrusted
to England a new empire in the Southern seas. Nor can we doubt that there
as elsewhere throughout the various regions of the habitable globe, the
same indomitable spirit which has achieved so many successes, will
accompany those whom heaven has appointed as pioneers, in that march of
moral regeneration and sound improvement long promised to the repentant
children of earth.
QUARANTINE ESTABLISHMENT.
We were sorry to find that it had been necessary to form a quarantine
establishment in the North Harbour, in consequence of the diseases
brought to the country by emigrant ships. A number of tombstones,
whitening the side of a hill, mark the locality, and afford a melancholy
evidence of the short sojourn in the land of promise which has been
vouchsafed to some.
EXPEDITION TO PORT ESSINGTON.
It not being the favourable season for commencing operations in Bass
Strait, we remained at Sydney until November, and embraced the
opportunity of clearing out the ship. Our stay was undiversified with
incidents, and it may as well therefore be briefly passed over. Among the
few occurrences worth mentioning, was the departure of the expedition
sent out to form a settlement at Port Essington on the northern coast.
Its object was simply military occupation, it having been deemed
advisable about that time to assert practically the supremacy of Great
Britain over the Continent by occupying some of its most prominent
points; but as soon as its destination became known in the colony,
several persons came forward as volunteer-settlers, and expressed the
greatest anxiety to be allowed to accompany the expedition. Their views
extended to the establishment of a trade with the islands in the Arafura
sea; and certainly they would have been far more likely to draw forth the
resources of the country, than a garrison, whose supplies are brought to
them from a distance, whose presence holds out no inducement to traders,
and who are not impelled by any anxiety for their own support to discover
the riches of the soil. For these reasons the determination of Government
not to throw open the lands, and their refusal to hold out the promise of
protection to the individuals who expressed a desire to accompany the
expedition, are greatly to be regretted. In a vast continent like
Australia, so remarkably destitute of fixed inhabitants, it would seem
that every encouragement should be afforded to persons desirous of
locating themselves on unoccupied tracts. There is a great difference
besides, between giving rise to delusive hopes--inducing people as it
were under false pretences to repair to new settlements--and checking the
spirit of colonisation when it manifests itself. Every young
establishment must go through a certain process. It is necessary that
some should pioneer the way for others; and endure hardships the
beneficial results of which may be enjoyed only by their successors. Had
advantage been taken of the enterprising spirit that prevailed at the
time of which I speak, the germs of a fresh settlement would have been
deposited at Port Essington, which must ultimately have risen into
importance. A great stream of emigration was pouring into the
south-eastern portion of Australia, and it would have been wise to open a
channel by which some portion of it might have been drawn off to the
northern coast. But such were not the views entertained by the
authorities concerning this matter. They seemed apprehensive of incurring
the blame of encouraging the speculating mania which raged so extensively
at Sydney, and which has reacted with so pernicious an effect upon the
colony.* the expedition accordingly retained its purely military
character. However, I may add, that the Bishop of Australia attended to
the spiritual wants of the settlement by sending with it a church in
frame.
(*Footnote. On our arrival at Sydney in 1838, we found speculation at its
height: land-jobbers were carrying on a reckless and most gainful trade,
utterly regardless of that revulsion they were doomed soon to experience.
Town allotments that cost originally but 50 pounds were in some instances
sold, three months afterwards, for ten times that sum. Yet amid all this
appearance of excessive and unnatural prosperity there were not wanting
those who foresaw and foretold an approaching change. To the withdrawal
of the convicts, solely at the expressed wish of some of the most wealthy
colonists, has been traced much of the decline that followed; and the
more recent pages in the history of Sydney will fully bear out the
opinions expressed by Captain Fitzroy when he visited it in 1836: he
says, "It is difficult to believe that Sydney will continue to flourish
in proportion to its rise. It has sprung into existence too suddenly.
Convicts have forced its growth, even as a hot bed forces plants, and
premature decay may be expected from such early maturity.")
BOTANY BAY.
During our stay at Sydney we paid a visit to Botany Bay, which from the
circumstance of its being the point first touched at by Captain Cook,
naturally possesses the greatest interest of any place in the
neighbourhood. Our way thither lay over a sandy plain, into which the
coast range of low hills subsides. There is little or no verdure to
relieve the eye, which encounters aridity wherever it turns; and the sand
being rendered loose by frequent traffic, the foot sinks at every step,
so that the journey is disagreeable to both man and beast. These
inconveniences, however, were soon forgotten on our arrival at our
destination, amidst the feelings excited and the associations raised by
the objects that presented themselves.
MONUMENT TO LA PEROUSE.
Within the entrance of the bay, on the northern side, stands a monument*
erected to the memory of La Perouse, that being the last spot at which
the distinguished navigator was heard of, from 1788, until 1826, when the
Chevalier Dillon was furnished with a clue to his melancholy fate by
finding the handle of a French sword fastened to another blade in the
possession of a native of Tucopia, one of the Polynesian group. By this
means he was enabled to trace him to the island of Mannicolo, on the
reefs fronting which his ship was lost.
(*Footnote. On the eastern side is engraven: A la Memoire de Monsieur de
la Perouse. Cette terre qu'il visita en MDCCLXXXVIII. est la derniere
d'ou il a fait parvenir de ses nouvelles.
Also: Erige au nom de la France par les soins de MM. de Bougainville et
Du Campier, commandant la fregate La Thetis, et la corvette L'Esperance,
en relache au Port Jackson, en MDCCCXXV.
On the western side: This place, visited by Monsieur de la Perouse in the
year MDCCLXXXVIII, is the last whence any accounts of him have been
received.
Also: Erected in the name of France by MM. de Bougainville and du
Campier, commanding the frigate the Thetis and the corvette the Hope,
lying in Port Jackson, A.D. MDCCCXXV.
On the north: Le fondement pose en 1825; eleve en 1828.
On the south: Foundation laid in 1825, completed 1828.)
Close by, on the same point, stands the tomb of a French Catholic priest,
named Le Receveur, who accompanied La Perouse, as naturalist, in his
circumnavigation of the globe, and died at this great distance from his
native land. A large stump of a tree rising near, "marks out the sad
spot" where lie mouldering the bones of the wanderer in search of
materials to enrich the stores of science. No doubt many a hope of future
fame expired in that man's breast as he sank into his last sleep in a
foreign clime, far from his home and friends and relations, such as his
order allowed him to possess. The applause of the world, which doubtless
he fancied would have greeted his labours at the end of his perilous
journey, he was now robbed of; and he must have felt that few would ever
recollect his name, save the rare voyager who, like myself, having
encountered the same dangers that he had braved, should chance to read
his short history on the narrow page of stone that rests above his grave.
CAPE SOLANDER.
Another object of greater interest to the Englishman is observable on
Cape Solander, the opposite point of the bay. It is a plate set in the
rock, recording the first visit of the immortal Cook, to whose enterprise
the colonists are indebted for the land that yields them their riches,
and which must now be invested in their eyes with all the sanctity of
home. Surely it would become them to evince a more filial reverence for
the man who must be regarded as in some respects the father of the
colony. Let us hope that they will one day raise a monument to his
memory, which to be worthy of him must be worthy of themselves--something
to point out to future generations the spot at which the first white
man's foot touched the shore, and where civilisation was first brought in
contact with the new continent.
ILLAWARRA.
But though Botany Bay is interesting from the associations connected with
it--I am quite serious, though the expression may raise a smile on some
of my readers' lips--the tract of country best worth seeing in the
neighbourhood of Sydney, is Illawarra, commonly called the Garden of New
South Wales. By a change in the formation from sandstone to trap, a soil
this here produced capable of supporting a vegetation equal in luxuriance
to any within the tropics. In the deep valleys that intersect the
country, the tree-fern attains a great stature, and throwing out its rich
spreading fronds on all sides forms a canopy that perfectly excludes the
piercing rays of even an Australian sun. It is impossible to describe the
feelings of surprise and pleasure that are excited in the mind of the
traveller as he descends into any one of these delightful dells: the
contrast in the vegetable kingdom strikes him at once; he gazes around on
the rich masses of verdure with astonishment, and strongly impressed with
the idea that enchantment has been at work, involuntarily rubs his eyes
and exclaims, "Am I in Australia or in the Brazils?"
ABORIGINES.
Few only of the aborigines of the neighbourhood of Sydney are now to be
seen, and these are generally in an intoxicated state. Like most savage
tribes they are passionately addicted to spiritous liquors, and seek to
obtain it by any means in their power. Out of a sugar bag, with a little
water, they manage to extract a liquor sufficient to make half a dozen of
them tipsy; and in this condition, as I have observed, they most
frequently presented themselves to my view. They are in every respect a
weak, degraded, miserable race, and are anything but a favourable
specimen of the benefits produced by intercourse with polished nations on
an uncivilised people. However, the natives of Australia vary as
strangely as its soil; the members of the tribes that dwell about
Shoalhaven and the small southern ports, and come up in coasting vessels,
are good-looking, useful fellows, and may hereafter be made much of. I
noticed also, in my circumnavigation of the continent, a remarkable
diversity in the character of the natives, some being most kindly
disposed, while others manifested the greatest hostility and aversion. My
whole experience teaches me that these were not accidental differences,
but that there is a marked contrast in the dispositions of the various
tribes, for which I will not attempt to account. I leave in the hands of
ethnologists to determine whether we are to seek the cause in minute
variations of climate or in other circumstances, physical or historical.
This I can say, that great pains were formerly taken to civilize the
natives of Sydney, gardens were given them, and numerous attempts made to
inculcate habits of order, and communicate a knowledge of European arts;
but no advantageous results ensued, and it was at length deemed
impossible not only to improve them, but even to prevent their
deterioration. I cannot determine whether this evinces a natural
inaptitude in the savage to learn, or too great impatience in the
teachers to witness the fruits of their labours, and a proneness to be
discouraged by difficulties.
"IS THIS GRASS?"
In the journal of my residence at Sydney I find as the result of one
day's experience, the following laconic and somewhat enigmatical
memorandum: "Is this grass?" The question implies a doubt, which it would
not be easy for any person unacquainted with the circumstances of time
and place, to solve: but the reader, when he has seen the explanation,
will understand why very pleasing associations are connected with this
brief note. I was going down to the jetty late one evening, when I met a
party just landed, evidently complete strangers in this quarter of the
world. Their wandering and unsteady glances would have convinced me of
this fact, had their whole appearance left any doubt about the matter:
among them were some ladies, one of whom suddenly detached herself from
her companions, and directed as it were by instinct through the gloom,
hastened towards a few sods of turf, pressed them exaltingly with her
foot, and exclaimed in a light, joyous, happy voice--through which other
emotions than that of mere gladness struggled--"Is this grass?" The words
were nothing. They might have been uttered in a thousand different tones
and have not fixed themselves on my memory; but as they fell in accents
of delight and gratitude from the lips of the speaker, they told a whole
story, and revealed an entire world of feeling. Never shall I forget the
simple expression of this newcomer, whose emotions on first feeling the
solid earth beneath her tread, and touching a remembrance of the land she
had left in quest of another home, will be incomprehensible to no one who
has crossed the ocean.
CAPTAIN KING.
We met several persons at Sydney from whom we received valuable
information, and particularly Captain King, who, as the reader may
recollect, commanded the first expedition on which the Beagle was
employed. His great scientific attainments must ever attach respect to
his name, and his explorations on the Australian coast, previous to the
survey in which we were engaged, together with his father's services as
Governor of New South Wales, give him and his children a lasting claim
upon the country. The information he furnished on this and subsequent
occasions was extremely valuable.
RISING OF THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT.
An observation of his gave rise in my mind to very curious conjectures;
he told me that where he used formerly to anchor the vessel he commanded
in the head of Sydney cove, there was now scarcely sufficient water to
float even a boat. As the deposits of the small stream that flows into it
could not have produced this change, I was led to examine the shore of
the harbour, when I found what seemed to me to be the marks of the sea
higher than its present level; this, coupled with the decrease in the
soundings we found in Darling Harbour, leads to the legitimate inference
that this part of the continent is rising; and my reader will recollect
that it is a prevalent theory that the whole of the vast plains of
Australasia have but recently emerged from the sea.