FURTHER PROGRESS OF THE COLONY TO 1821.
The month of August, 1795, was marked in the annals of New South Wales
by the arrival of the second governor of the colony, Captain Hunter, who
continued five years in power, and returned to England in the year 1800,
after having seen the colony over which he was placed prospering and
thriving enough in worldly matters, though in other more important
points it continued poor and naked indeed. It was a great object with
the new governor to check and restrain that love of liquor, which he saw
working so much mischief among his people; and several private stills
were found and destroyed, to the great regret of their owners, who made
twice as large a profit from the spirit distilled by them out of wheat,
as they would have been able to have gained, had they sold their grain
for the purpose of making bread. So common was the abuse of paying
wages in liquor,[107] that it was pretended that the produce of these
stills was only to be paid away in labour, whereas it was sold for a
means of intoxication to any person who would bring ready money for it.
At the commencement of harvest, in the November immediately following
the arrival of Governor Hunter, a regulation was made by that gentleman,
which showed that the infant colony was now making rapid strides
towards that point of advancement and independence, from which
ignorant and designing men are at present labouring to thrust down the
mother country. New South Wales was, in 1795, just beginning to supply
its inhabitants with corn, and Governor Hunter wisely thought that the
increasing abundance of the produce would now bear some little decrease
in the high prices hitherto paid for new grain at the public store.
England, in 1843, is able to supply its inhabitants with food, (except
in scarce years, when corn is let in at prices varying with the degree
of scarcity,) and many Englishmen unwisely think that this advantage and
independence may be safely bartered away--for what?--for _very low
prices_, and, their constant companions, _very low wages_, and _very
great and universal distress_![108]
[107] The crops of the first settlers were paid for by the Government
in spirits, but Captain Hunter endeavoured to put an end to this
practice, for it was not possible that a farmer who should be idle
enough to throw away the labour of twelve months, for the purchase of a
few gallons of injurious liquors, could expect to thrive, or enjoy those
comforts which sobriety and industry can alone procure.
[108] It may not be out of place to quote in support of this opinion the
sensible words of an Australian writer. "I confess I like to hear of
high wages, and of good prices of provisions--of the productions of the
country,--for where they prevail for any length of time, the country
must be prosperous. Paradoxical as it may seem, it is no less true, that
the poorest country is always that where provisions are sold at the
cheapest rate. To the same purpose is the testimony of Sir G. Gipps, the
present Governor of New South Wales, appointed by Lord Melbourne in 1837,
who says:--'The total amount of the grain' (imported) 'even at these
prices, amounted to the fearful sum of 246,000_l._; but that, it must be
remembered, was only the prime cost in the countries where the wheat was
grown, and to that must be added the charges for freight, insurance, and
commission, probably as much more, so that in two years the colony would
expend upwards of half a million of money for foreign bread. _The
distress of the colony was owing to these immense importations._"--See
Speech of Governor Gipps in Council. Australian and New Zealand Magazine,
No. iii. p. 163. See also ROSS'S _Van Diemen's Land Almanac and Annual_,
1836, p. 177.
Another addition to the means, which the country was beginning to
possess of maintaining its inhabitants, was made by the regular,
though far from rapid, increase of live stock, which, in spite of all
obstacles, and notwithstanding great carelessness and ignorance on
the part of many of those that kept it, continued to thrive and
multiply.[109] But, besides the cattle to be seen upon the various farms
and allotments in the settlement, a considerable herd of wild cattle
were found, soon after Governor Hunter's arrival, on the banks of the
Nepean River, about thirty miles from Sydney, in a district still
bearing the name of the Cow Pastures. These animals were clearly
ascertained to have sprung from a few tame cattle which had strayed away
from the colony at its first foundation; and the governor, pleased at
this discovery, himself paid a visit to the Cow Pastures, where he found
a very fine herd, upwards of forty in number, grazing in a pleasant
and rich pasturage. The whole number of them was upwards of sixty,
but the governor's party were attacked by a furious bull, which, in
self-defence, they were obliged to kill. The country where these animals
were seen was remarkably pleasant to the eye; every where was thick and
luxuriant grass growing; the trees were thinly scattered, and free from
underwood, except in particular spots; in several beautiful flats large
ponds were found, covered with ducks and black swans, the margins of
which were fringed with beautiful shrubs, and the ground rose from these
levels into hills of easy ascent. The advantages of having an increasing
number of wild cattle within so short a distance of the settlement were
obvious enough, and the government resolved to protect them to the
utmost of its power. Accordingly, it was ordered that no part of the
fertile tract of which these animals were in possession should be
granted out to settlers; and at length the herds became too numerous
even for the 60,000 acres, which the district was supposed to contain.
But, in 1813 and the two following years, so severe a drought prevailed,
that vast numbers of them died; and afterwards the government consented
to grant away the land, and the remainder of the herds betook themselves
to the mountainous ranges beyond.
[109] About the time of Captain Hunter's taking the reins of government
a cow was sold for 80_l._, a horse cost 90_l._, and a Cape sheep 7_l._
10_s._ Other prices were in proportion; fresh meat was very scarce, and
the various attempts to import live stock had been far from successful.
Still a _beginning_ had been made, and it is astonishing how rapidly
rural wealth began to multiply in New South Wales, after the difficulties
of the first eight or ten years had been overcome.
Captain Hunter was rather fond of exploring the unknown country which
extended behind, or to the northward or southward of, the narrow limits
of the British colony: and during his administration its boundaries were
considerably enlarged, and some valuable discoveries were made. One of
the most important of these was a discovery which served to prove the
claim of the colony to be called New South Wales, from its resemblance
to the country whence its name was taken, in one production at least. In
1796, some persons returned from fishing in a bay considerably to the
northward of Port Jackson, and brought with them several large pieces of
_coal_, which they said that they had found at some little distance from
the beach, lying in quantities on the surface of the ground. This was
the first knowledge obtained by the settlers of the value of the
productions of the coast at the mouth of the river Hunter, and at the
place where coals were found so abundantly there now exists a township,
furnishing the whole colony with a supply of that useful article,
besides having a large trade in lime, which is made from the
oyster-shells that are found there in immense quantities. The
appropriate name of this township is Newcastle.
Many needful and praiseworthy regulations were made by Captain Hunter,
who endeavoured to enforce attendance on Divine service, and the proper
observance of the Sunday; and who took great pains also to discover and
punish those encroachments upon the public stores which had been
continually made. The convicts whose time of punishment had expired,
but who were unable to get a passage to England, were frequently more
troublesome and ill-disposed, being less under authority than the others
were. These emancipists, as they were called, would occasionally indeed
withdraw from receiving the ration allowed by Government; but then it
was only in the hope of avoiding labour, and living by pillage. Or else
these men, together with others not less ill-disposed than themselves,
would play every possible trick to obtain their allowance from the
public stores, when they were not entitled, or to get more than their
allowances, when they had a certain claim. To put a check upon such
practices, the governor, in 1796, had a general muster of all
descriptions of people in every part of the colony at the same hour,
so that it would be no longer possible, as on former occasions, for
one person to manage to answer to his name in two different places,
and to draw provisions from both stores. Very shortly after this
general muster, the governor made a journey to the banks of the River
Hawkesbury, where there is some of the richest land in the colony, but
on his return, he had the mortification of seeing a stack of wheat
belonging to Government burnt, containing 800 bushels, and it was not
certain whether this fire was accidental, since the destruction thus
caused made room for as many bushels as were destroyed, which must be
purchased from the settlers who had wheat to sell. In reading of these
atrocious acts--for if _this_ fire was not intentional, _others_
undoubtedly were--the inhabitants of England must not plume themselves
upon their superiority to the outcasts of their country in New South
Wales. Unhappily, the word _incendiarism_ has become familiar to English
ears, and, ever since the evil spirits of agitation and rebellion have
been dallied with, they have made their deeds of darkness visible, from
time to time, by the awful midnight fires which they have kindled in the
land.
But it was not only in checking the outrages of the British inhabitants
of New South Wales, that the governor was actively employed; the natives
were also exceedingly troublesome, especially at the valuable farms on
the Hawkesbury. Vigorous efforts were made to prevent that disorder, and
disregard of private property, which seemed so prevailing; and certainly
Governor Hunter appears to have been an active and energetic, but, as
might be expected in a colony like that over which he was placed, not
altogether a _popular_ ruler. The vices of the lower classes were, in
too many instances, found profitable, more or less directly, to those
who are termed the upper classes in the settlement; and since both
classes became to a fearful degree sensual and covetous, the evil was
doubly aggravated by example and contagion. And when we consider, that,
at that time, the population of the colony might almost have been
divided into those who _drank_ rum, and those who _sold_ it;[110] when
we recollect the covetousness of all classes, the hardened wickedness of
many of the convicts, the idleness of the settlers or soldiers, the
peculiar character of the natives, and the infant state of the British
colony, it must be confessed, that the requisites of every good
governor,--a wise head, a stout heart, and a steady hand,--were
preeminently needful in the governor of New South Wales.
[110] Promissory notes were given, payable in rum instead of
money.--JUDGE BURTON _on Education and Religion in New South Wales_,
p. 7, note.
The list of crimes, which were continually occurring during the five
years of Captain Hunter's being governor, was a fearful and appalling
one; nor can we wonder at the wish expressed by the historian of the
early days of the colony, that future annalists may find a pleasanter
field to travel in, without having their steps beset every moment with
murderers, robbers, and incendiaries. Twice during Governor Hunter's
administration was a public gaol purposely destroyed by fire; once the
gaol at Sydney suffered, although there were twenty prisoners confined
there, who being mostly in irons were with difficulty saved; and the
second time, the Paramatta gaol was destroyed, and one of the prisoners
was scorched to death. Several of the settlers declined to pay anything
towards the building of a new gaol, and it was not long a matter of
doubt which article would be most likely to bear a productive tax; so a
duty of one shilling per gallon was imposed upon spirits, sixpence on
wine, and threepence upon porter or strong beer, to be applied to the
above purpose. Building gaols is, beyond question, a necessary thing,
especially in a colony chiefly formed of convicts: and perhaps a tax
upon intoxicating liquors is no bad mode of procuring the means of
erecting them, for thus the sober and industrious are not heavily taxed
to provide for the support and punishment of the profligate and wicked.
Nevertheless, if Christ's religion be true, there is a surer and better
way of checking crime, than by trusting to gaols and police alone; but,
unhappily, this more excellent way of reforming the morals of mankind,
has, in modern times, found little favour with the great ones of the
world.[111] Certainly the power of the Gospel and Church of Christ had
no scope allowed it for its blessed effects, when to a population,
consisting in 1803 of 7097 souls, and constantly on the increase,
besides being scattered over an immense tract of country, _one clergyman
only_ was allowed during seven years to wage, single-handed and alone,
the war against evil. There were, indeed, many Irish Roman Catholics
among the convicts, and one of these, named Harrold, was a Romish
priest, but his character was too little to be trusted for him to be
of any great spiritual advantage even to those of his own communion.
[111] Thus writes the Bishop of Australia in 1840.--"Neither can I
comprehend or approve the policy which thus leaves multitudes without
moral or religious guidance, under every inducement to commit acts of
violence and rapine, which are not only the sources of infinite misery
to the unhappy perpetrators, and to their wretched victims, but
_actually bring_ upon the government itself ten times the pecuniary
charge which would be incurred by the erection of as many churches, and
providing for the support of as many clergymen, as the necessities of
every such district require."
In the year 1800, Governor Hunter left the settlement for England,
and was succeeded in his office by Captain King, who had been
Lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island, and had conducted with great care
and success the establishment of that smaller colony. However, Norfolk
Island was abandoned altogether during the government of Captain King
and his successor; and it is said this step was taken in compliance with
the advice of the former gentleman. It was a saying attributed to him,
that "he could not make farmers of pickpockets;"[112] and whatever truth
there might be in this maxim, certainly it appears that the progress of
agriculture was unfavourable, and that the colony continued still
subject to seasons of scarcity, approaching to famine, and obliged to
put up with coarse loaves, which were feelingly called _scrubbing
brushes_;[113] and was always in a state of dependence upon foreign
supplies for daily bread. But if there were no _corn laws_, there was
abundance of discontent and misery in the colony of New South Wales; and
during the time of Captain King's government, a rebellion broke out
among the convicts, who had been induced by some of their number, rebels
from Ireland, to _strike for their liberty_. The revolt was soon crushed
by the military, but not without the loss of life to some of the unhappy
men who had been partakers in it.
[112] "More labour would have been performed by one hundred free people
from any part of England or Scotland, than had at any time been derived
from three hundred of these (convicts), with all the attention that
could be paid to them."--COLLINS' _Account of the Colony of New South
Wales_, p. 415.
[113] BARRINGTON'S _History of New South Wales_, p. 376.
The six years during which Captain King held the office of governor
of New South Wales, under the crown of Great Britain and Ireland,
were rendered remarkable, as has been already stated, by the partial
abandonment of the colony of Norfolk Island; and, it may be added, yet
more remarkable by the commencement of another settlement, the first
ever attempted in Van Diemen's Land.
Norfolk Island, which is situated about 1000 miles from the eastern
shore of New Holland, was settled almost immediately after the first
foundations of Sydney had been laid; and although but a speck in the
ocean, and without any safe or convenient landing-place, the first-named
colony was altogether more flourishing in its early days than the other.
The natural fertility of the land, the abundance of food supplied by the
birds of providence,[114] the number of free settlers, and the wise
arrangements of Lieutenant-governor King, may all be recollected among
the reasons of the superior prosperity of Norfolk Island. However, its
career of prosperity was doomed to be but a very short one. Partly upon
the plea of its having no convenient harbour, and partly because of its
very limited extent, it was decided by the home government that it
should be abandoned, and this decision was acted upon in 1805 and 1807,
when the free settlers were compelled to leave the island, which
remained unoccupied for about twenty years, and at the end of this
time it was made a penal settlement for the punishment of refractory
convicts, which it still continues to be,--one of the finest spots upon
earth degraded into the abode of the vilest of human beings,--the scum
of the outcast population of a great and civilized nation. And, to
heighten the horror of the contrast between things natural and things
spiritual in Norfolk Island, there was not, until recently, a single
minister of Christ's Church resident within its bounds; so that where
Nature's sun was shining most beauteously, and Nature's sights and
sounds were most lovely and enchanting, there the outcast souls[115] of
a rich and _christian_ population were left to perish, without being
able to catch a ray of the Sun of Righteousness, without a chance (so to
speak) of hearing the sound of the gospel of Christ: they might there
listen in their lonely wretchedness to the rise and fall of the tide of
that ocean by which their little island is surrounded, but they were
shut out for ever, it would seem, from the voice of the great multitude
of the faithful, "as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth!"
[114] At a time of great distress, when 270 additional inhabitants had
just made good their landing at Norfolk Island, whilst the ships and
provisions sent with them from Port Jackson were almost entirely lost,
these birds of providence, as they were justly called, furnished a
supply for the necessities of the people. Mount Pitt, the highest ground
in the island, was observed to be crowded with these birds during the
night, for in the day-time they go out to sea in search of food. They
burrow in the ground, and the hill was as full of holes as a
rabbit-warren; in size they were not bigger than pigeons, but they
looked much larger in their feathers. Their eggs were well tasted
enough, and though the birds themselves had a fishy flavour, hunger
made them acceptable. They were easily taken, for when small fires were
kindled to attract their notice, they would drop down faster than the
people could seize them. For two months together, it is said, that not
less than from two to three thousand of these birds were taken every
night, so that it was with reason that the starving population of
Norfolk Island called them birds of providence.
[115] A peculiar language prevailed in this horrid place. It is said
that a bad man was called a good man, and that one who was ready to
perform his duty was generally called a bad man; and so, in other
respects, language was adapted to the complete subversion of the human
heart there existing. See ULLATHORNE'S _Evidence before the Committee on
Transportation_, 1838, No. 271, p. 27.
The relinquishment of the settlement at Norfolk Island, under Governor
King's administration, after the money that had been spent upon it, and
the success which was attending that expenditure, might well appear to
be a hasty and imprudent act; but, undoubtedly, in its consequences it
turned out beneficial to Great Britain. Instead of Norfolk Island,
another much larger, and far more important spot, which might otherwise
have been occupied by foreigners, was colonized by British subjects; and
Van Diemen's Land, from the extent of its present wealth and population,
besides its nearer resemblance than other Australian colonies to the
climate of the mother country, may justly be esteemed one of the most
valuable possessions of the British crown. The history of the foundation
of this new colony may here be shortly detailed. It was resolved that
a fresh settlement, which might be free from the objections brought
against Norfolk Island, should be formed; and, in 1804, Port Phillip, an
extensive harbour on the southern coast of New Holland, was the spot
chosen for this purpose. But Colonel Collins, who had the command of the
party of colonists, found the eastern side of Port Phillip very little
suited to his object; and without examining its western side, which has
been lately very rapidly and successfully settled, the colonel sailed at
once along the western coast of Van Diemen's Land, took possession of
that extensive island in the name of his Britannic Majesty, and, after
various surveys, decided upon the spot where Hobart Town now stands,
for his headquarters. The little settlement then consisted only of a few
gentlemen holding official situations, fifty marines, and four hundred
prisoners. The place selected for headquarters was well chosen, being
upon the Derwent, a beautiful and navigable river, and having a good
supply of water. In the same year, 1804, another settlement was formed
on the opposite, or northern, side of Van Diemen's Land; it was situated
at the mouth of the River Tamar, near George Town, and was called York
Town, but it was afterwards abandoned. The usual trials to which
newly-planted colonies are exposed, fell also to the lot of that settled
by Colonel Collins in Van Diemen's Land; but its struggles into life
were by no means so intense, or so prolonged, as those of its sister
colony. At one time when a disappointment occurred in the usual
supplies, the hind-quarters of kangaroos were received into His
Majesty's store, at sixpence per pound, and it is said that in six
months no less than 15,000lbs. of this meat were there tendered. After
some years of occasional scarcity, during which, once, even kangaroo
flesh was sold at one shilling and sixpence the pound, and sea-weed, or
any other eatable vegetable, was equally dear, the colony began to take
root and to increase, still continuing, however, its original character
of a penal settlement--a place of punishment for the convicted felons of
New South Wales. Cattle and live stock rapidly increased, land became
more and more cultivated, houses were built, farms enclosed, free
emigrants began to arrive, Hobart Town became a place of some trade and
importance, and at last, in 1821, or thereabouts, _only seventeen years_
after the first establishment of the colony, St. David's Church, at
Hobart Town, was, we read, "completed and opened."[116] What attention
was paid to the spiritual welfare of the poor creatures in this new
penal colony during the long interval that elapsed before the occurrence
of that great event, it seems hard to say; but, judging from what we
have already seen, we may be quite certain of this, that _no less care_
was taken of them, than had formerly been bestowed upon those of a
similar character in Norfolk Island.
[116] See Montgomery Martin's New South Wales and Van Diemen's
Land, p. 257.
While Captain King held the government of New South Wales, a subject
began to attract the notice of the colonial authorities, which
afterwards proved to be one of the highest importance, both to the
settlement and likewise to the mother country, namely, the introduction
and increase of free settlers. According to Dr. Lang, the first free
settlers who emigrated to New South Wales arrived there during Governor
Hunter's administration, which began in August, 1795; but by other
writers it is stated that five settlers and their families arrived by
the _Bellona_, in January 1798, so that these may justly be considered
the first free emigrants that removed from Europe to Australia.[117] The
conditions under which they engaged to settle were, that their passage
out should be provided by government, that an assortment of tools and
implements should be furnished them, that they should be supplied for
two years with provisions, that their lands should be granted free of
expense, and that convicts should be assigned for their service, and
provided with provisions for two years, and clothing for one. Besides
these few emigrants, many of the soldiers and officers, and some of the
released convicts, had grants of land given to them; but, generally
speaking, their agricultural efforts were not very successful, and
_military men_ seemed as little capable of becoming good farmers as
_pickpockets_ were. Yet, as if to show what _might_ have been done
by prudence and thrift, in many cases, a few instances of proper
carefulness and attendant success are recorded; and one man, to whom, in
common with many others, Governor Phillip had given an ewe for breeding,
in 1792, having withstood all temptations to part with this treasure,
found himself, in 1799, possessed of a flock of 116 sheep, and in a fair
way of becoming a man of property.
[117] Compare Lang's History of New South Wales, vol. i. p. 71,
and Collins' Account of New South Wales, p. 197 and 201. See also
Barrington's History of New South Wales, p. 115.
But there was an individual, whose name and history are upon record, to
whom the claim of a yet earlier settlement, as a free person, must be
assigned. His history is instructive, and may be worth repeating, since
it is, probably, a specimen of what afterwards occurred in a vast number
of instances. Philip Schoeffer was a German, who had been sent out with
the first fleet that ever sailed to New South Wales, in the capacity of
an agriculturist, and chiefly with a view to the cultivation of tobacco
(to supersede that of Virginia,) in the proposed settlement. His first
grant of land was one hundred and forty acres; but, unhappily, he fell
into habits of intemperance, and got rid of it all. Afterwards, he
obtained another grant of fifty acres, in what now forms a very valuable
situation in the town of Sydney; but this he was induced to give up to
the Colonial Government for public purposes, about the year 1807,
receiving in return twenty gallons of rum, which were then worth 60_l._
and a grant of the same extent with his former one, but situated at Pitt
Water, one of the inlets of Broken Bay--a large harbour to the northward
of Port Jackson. Schoeffer then married a wife, a Scotch woman and a
convict, and settled on his farm at Pitt Water, where he lived many
years; but old age, poverty, and intemperance induced him to sell it by
piecemeal, and he died at last in the benevolent asylum or colonial
poor-house. This short history may serve to show upon what mere
accidents the foundation of wealth frequently depends, and especially in
a new country; for, if the German could only have kept his farm of fifty
acres in Sydney for about thirty years longer, he or his successors
might actually have sold it for 100,000_l._!
After the landing of the few free settlers already mentioned, which took
place while Captain Hunter was governor, the next arrival deserving
of notice appears to have been about a dozen families of Scotch
Presbyterians, who established themselves under similar conditions with
the first emigrants, and whose place of abode was near Portland Head, on
the banks of the Hawkesbury. These men seem to have been a quiet and
orderly, as well as a prudent, set of people; and their industry was
rewarded by success. The zeal and devotion which were exhibited by
them in religious matters were also very praiseworthy, and not less so
because, according to Captain Bligh, it was the only case of the kind
he had ever heard of, during his government of the colony. A building
for public worship was erected by them,[118] at a cost of upwards of
400_l._, and altogether the conduct of these Scotch emigrants reflected
credit upon the country and religious body to which they belonged. But,
while we award to these persons the praise which is their due, we are by
no means entitled to place to the account of their being Presbyterians
the good order and right feeling which they exhibited. Scotchmen are
proverbially more fond of colonization than Englishmen, and hence it
naturally occurred that almost the first respectable settlers were
Scotch farmers; but there is no reason to question,--nay, experience
has since proved,--that Englishmen of similar character, and placed
in the like circumstances, can conduct themselves not less piously and
properly, and will not yield to the disciples of John Calvin or John
Knox in their reverence and devotion for a more apostolical Church than
that of Scotland. However, it must be owned with sorrow that these
instances of religious feeling and zeal were by no means common among
the first settlers; nor is this a subject of surprise, when we recollect
that, even now, Australia is frequently looked upon as a last refuge for
those who can do well nowhere else; and if it be thought so now, much
more must this impression have prevailed in the days of its earlier
settlers. But, from whatever class, or with whatever failings, they
might come, a few fresh settlers continued from year to year to find
their way to the shores of New Holland; and, in due time, the tide of
emigration was destined to set full into that quarter, carrying with it
a portion of the population and wealth of the mother country, together
with all its luxuries, its arts, its vices, and its virtues.
[118] "The first religious edifice that was ever reared in the
great Terra Australis, by _voluntary_ and _private_ exertion." See
Lang's Narrative of the Settlement of the Scots' Church in New South
Wales, p. 8. The Doctor, in his Presbyterian zeal, had forgotten Mr.
Johnson's church.
In August, 1806, Captain King resigned his office, and was succeeded in
the government of New South Wales by Captain Bligh, also of the royal
navy. His name is well known from the history of the mutiny of the crew
in the ship _Bounty_, which he had formerly commanded; and he was not
less unfortunate on shore, in the art of governing his fellow-creatures.
With many good qualities and excellent intentions, his manner of ruling
men was not either happy or successful. But before we proceed to the
great event in colonial history, which brought to a sudden termination
the reign of Governor Bligh, it will be well to notice a remarkable
occurrence which happened soon after he came into power. The banks of
the river Hawkesbury have already been stated to be distinguished for
their fertility; and at this time they formed the chief source from
which the supply of wheat for the colony was drawn. Many acres of land
had been cleared there, and the whole district, with smiling farms
scattered about upon the rising banks of the beautiful stream, offered
one of the most pleasing scenes in the whole settlement. But, within
the first year of the government of Captain Bligh, the farmers on the
Hawkesbury, and indeed the whole colony, were doomed to undergo a severe
trial.[119] In March 1799, the river had been known to rise suddenly to
the enormous height of fifty feet, and the destruction of property which
had been then occasioned was very great.[120] But now, without any
considerable rains having fallen upon the eastern side of the Blue
Mountains, between that range and the sea, the river rose, in one
place at least, to the enormous height of ninety-three feet, so that
buildings, stock, or corn, which were not secured upon rising ground
equal in height to that of an ordinary church-tower, must have been
overwhelmed and borne away by the flood. It is said that a settler,
whose house stood on an eminence at a beautiful bend of the Hawkesbury,
saw no less than thirty stacks of wheat at one time floating down the
stream during a flood, some of them being covered with pigs and poultry,
who had thus vainly sought safety from the rising of the waters. The
consequences of this unexpected disaster were very calamitous, and
before the ensuing harvest could be begun, wheat and Indian corn
attained an equal value, and were sold at 1_l._ 8_s._ or 1_l._ 10_s._
per bushel. Even eleven years afterwards, when a similar overflow,
though not equal to "_the great flood_," occurred, prices were raised
enormously, and but for an importation of wheat from Van Diemen's Land,
they would have been very little short of those in the year 1806.
Governor Bligh appears to have done all that a governor could do to
lessen the distress that prevailed, by ordering a number of the cattle
belonging to government to be slaughtered and divided among the
sufferers, and by encouraging, to the utmost extent of his power, the
cultivation of a large breadth of land in wheat for the ensuing season.
By these means, under Divine Providence, the colony again became able to
supply itself with daily bread; a capability of which, like many other
blessings, nations scarcely know the value and importance, until they
are deprived, or deprive themselves of it.[121]
[119] One of the vain attempts of the present age is that of
entirely preventing the various fluctuations to which, from accidents,
bad seasons, &c., the price of bread is subject. It did appear as though
a certain average of moderate prices was established in England; but,
recently, the system has been again altered, and time must show how it
works. Certainly the changes in the value of corn in New South Wales
have formerly been violent enough, supposing the following statement to
be correct: "I have nine years been a landholder in this colony, and
seven years have cultivated my own farm. In this time I have twice given
wheat to my pigs, because I did not know what else to do with it; twice
I have known wheat selling at fifteen shillings per bushel, and once at
twenty shillings!"--ATKINSON _on the Encouragement of Distilling and
Brewing in New South Wales_, p. 3, ed. 1829.
[120] It is said that the natives foresaw the approach of this
calamity, and advised the colonists of it, but their warning was not
regarded.--_See Barrington's History of New South Wales_, p. 310.
[121] For the particulars here related of the floods of the river
Hawkesbury, see Lang's New South Wales, vol. i. pp. 98-101; and also
Wentworth's Australasia, vol. i. p. 67 and 448-9. The latter writer
speaks of wheat and maize being sold at 5_l._ or 6_l._ per bushel, but
that seems to be a mistake.
From whatever cause it might arise,--whether from his opposition to the
practice of all the chief persons in the colony making a profit by the
sale of spirits,[122]--or from his dislike of the New South Wales
Corps,--or from his own harsh and tyrannical conduct,--whether, in
short, we listen to Governor Bligh's admirers or enemies, thus much is
certain: he was excessively unpopular with a large and powerful party
of men in the settlement. Without entering into the particulars of the
extraordinary treatment to which his Majesty's representative in that
distant colony was subjected, it may be sufficient to state that, in
consequence of the imprisonment of Mr. Macarthur, an old officer, and a
rich and influential settler, great disturbance was excited, which ended
in the seizure of the governor's person, and in the occupation of his
office and authority by Major Johnston, the commanding officer of the
New South Wales Corps, who assumed the authority of lieutenant-governor
in January, 1808, and issued some proclamations ordering various changes
among those in authority. In one of these proclamations a day of
thanksgiving is appointed to be kept for the recent transactions; and in
the same precious document the Rev. Henry Fulton is suspended from
discharging his duty as chaplain to the colony,[123] because, whatever
may have been the faults of his former life,[124] like most other
clergymen of the Church of England, on most other occasions, he had at
this time stood fast to his loyalty.
[122] Still later the following evidence was given upon a trial: "The
governor, _clergy_, officers, civil and military, all ranks and
descriptions of people bartered spirits when I left Sydney,--in May,
1810." What a handle do such practices give to those that love to
"despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities."--_Jude_ 8.
[123] Here is an example of the need of a bishop in every colony of any
size or importance. What right or power had a usurping military officer
to suspend from clerical duties _one_ of the _two_ or _three_ clergymen
who were then in the settlement, and that without any crime alleged, any
trial, or proof of his misdemeanour? Would not a bishop, to stand
between the mighty major and the poor chaplain on this occasion, have
been a guardian of "civil and religious liberty?"
[124] Respecting these, see the assertions in Ullathorne's Reply to
Burton, page 6.
The confusion resulting from the seizure of the governor was lamentable
indeed in a colony at the best of times so difficult to be managed. All
public meetings were forbidden by the party in power, and our old
friends, the Presbyterians at Portland Head, whose loyalty to the
governor on this occasion was very creditable, had well nigh got into
trouble from their meeting together on "the Sabbath" for public worship.
The object of the intruders was to get rid of Captain Bligh as well as
they could, and accordingly he was sent off to England in command of
the _Porpoise_, but he remained from March to December, 1809, off the
coast of Van Diemen's Land, daily expecting despatches from the home
government, until at last, on December 28th, his intended successor,
Colonel Macquarie, arrived at Sydney. This last gentleman was ordered to
reinstate Captain Bligh in the government of the colony for the period
of twenty-four hours after his own arrival; but in consequence of
Bligh's absence from Sydney, this was not done. However, Major Johnston
was sent home under strict arrest, and, after various delays, he was
tried for mutiny, by a court-martial, in May 1811, and found guilty, but
was only sentenced to be cashiered, the court considering the peculiar
circumstances of the case sufficient to excuse him from a more severe
punishment. Captain Bligh was, upon his return to England, immediately
promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, and employed in active service;
while the New South Wales Corps, which had certainly been long enough in
the colony from which it drew its name, was ordered home, and the 73d
regiment sent out to supply its place.
The first acts of the new governor, Colonel Macquarie, were to declare
the king's displeasure at the late mutinous proceedings, and to render
null and void all the acts of the usurping party, most of whose measures
were, however, ratified, their bills upon the Treasury honoured, and
their grants of land confirmed. The continuance of Governor Macquarie
in power for no less than twelve years, during which peace and
tranquillity, undisturbed by any very severe trials, prevailed
throughout the settlement, offers but very few of those events which
make a figure in the history of the past:--
"Famine and plague, the earthquake and the storm,
Man's angry passions, war's terrific form,
The tyrant's threatenings, and the people's rage,
These are the crowded woes of History's page."
During the period of which we are now treating, vast improvements and
extensive discoveries were made in New South Wales; and in all these,
or similar, arts of peace the governor delighted to bear an active and
leading part. Availing himself of the means at his disposal, and of the
abundance of convict-labour, he made, it is said, no less than 276 miles
of good roads during his administration; and, when the nature of the
country along which many of these were carried is taken into account,
this exploit alone reflects no small credit upon Governor Macquarie. In
the year 1813 the colony was enabled, by the courage and perseverance
of three gentlemen, to burst those bonds by which it had hitherto been
hemmed in within the limits of a narrow strip of land running along the
sea-coast. In that year a passage across the Blue Mountains, hitherto
thought insuperable, was at length made good; and the hungry sheep and
cattle which had been suffering from the prevailing drought in the
settlement, were speedily driven over the hills to enjoy the less
withered pastures and green plains of the western country. No sooner was
this district thus opened than the governor commenced making a road over
the mountains, and in this he succeeded after no very long delay, so
that a good communication was formed between Sydney and Bathurst Plains,
a distance of more than 100 miles, about 50 of which cross an extent of
country the most rugged, mountainous, and barren, that can be imagined.
In public buildings Governor Macquarie showed no less activity than in
road-making, although his efforts in the former line have not met with
unmingled and universal approbation. Certainly, the means by which,
what was then called, "the Rum Hospital" was built were, if they are
correctly reported by Dr. Lang, disgraceful and mischievous in the
highest degree.[125] However, the improvements that were made in the
rising towns, especially in the capital, of the colony, may well demand
our admiration, even though, as usual in estimating the deeds of fallen
man, we must allow that much evil might have been avoided, and that a
large proportion of moral mischief was mingled with the improvements.
[125] See Lang's New South Wales, vol. i. pp. 168, 169.
The great and distinguishing feature, after all, of Colonel Macquarie's
government appears to have been the studious, and not always judicious,
patronage extended by him to the emancipated convicts, whom he generally
considered in preference to the free settlers. In consequence of this,
the last-named class were thrown into the background, a kind of check
was given to emigration, and, what was worst of all, two parties were
set on foot within the settlement, altogether opposed to each
other;--the _exclusionists_, who were free settlers, refused to
associate at all with those that had ever been convicts; and the
_emancipists_ considered that a convict, after his time of punishment
had expired, was just as good as any other man. It was absurd, indeed,
although no more than usually happens, to see men of the _humblest_, if
not of the _lowest_, classes in the mother country, suddenly aspiring to
become _exclusive_ and _grand_ in the colony. And, on the other hand, it
was a pretty sure sign that the convicts, though emancipated from their
shackles, were not well rid of their vice or impudence, when they laid
claim, even with the aid of a governor's encouragement, and often of
great wealth not very scrupulously acquired, to the highest society and
most important offices in the settlement. Undoubtedly, one great object
in a penal colony should be that of gradually purifying the population
from all disgraceful or vicious associations; but the hasty attempts of
a governor to elevate a class like that of the emancipated convicts
were sure to end rather in their depression. Time, and a succeeding
generation, would have done quietly what Colonel Macquarie, with
all his power, was unable to accomplish. If a governor cannot make
pickpockets become good _farmers_, still less likely is he to succeed in
endeavouring to make good _magistrates_ of them; but a few years, under
judicious management, might easily produce from among their children
admirable specimens of both. And nothing can be a greater hindrance to
this desirable result than hasty and ill-timed, though well-intended,
attempts to force out of their proper sphere those persons, who, if they
are really possessed of any sense, would, of all men, desire to keep
within it.
In reckoning up the principal occurrences during the twelve years in
which Colonel Macquarie ruled the colony, the vast additions which were
made to our knowledge of the country are by no means to be overlooked.
Bathurst Plains and the pass to them through the Blue Mountains were,
as we have already seen, discovered; the district of Argyle to the
south-westward was also made known. Two rivers, named after the
governor, who was (it is reported) fond of such compliments, the Lachlan
and the Macquarie, were traced westward of the Blue Mountains, until
they were supposed to lose themselves in endless and impassable swamps.
Northwards, the River Hastings, and a large extent of country suitable
for flocks and herds, called Liverpool Plains, were discovered. Besides
which, three penal settlements for the punishment of unruly convicts
were formed, one at Emu Plains, another at Newcastle, near the mouth of
the River Hunter, and a third at Port Macquarie, at the mouth of the
Hastings.
But the mention of new penal settlements, in which the punishment and
removal of gross offenders were the only objects, while the reformation
and salvation of those poor men were never thought of, forcibly recalls
us to a subject of which we have for some time lost sight, and which
must be once more noticed before the history of the rise and early
progress of the colony of New South Wales is completed. Where was the
Church all this time? What was the Church of England doing in the now
flourishing settlement of Australia? How far did the state follow at
once both its duty and its interest, and employ in the work of
reformation in this land of criminals those heavenly instruments, the
Bible and the Church? The reply to all these inquiries is briefly made,
but the national sin and shame involved in that short reply it might
need volumes to unfold.
In 1821, at the end of Macquarie's government, there was scattered about
in the colony a population of 29,783, of whom 13,814 were convicts, and
among these were found ministering _seven_ clergymen of the Church of
England, with no bishop of that Church to "set things in order"[126]
nearer than the Antipodes,--the very opposite side of the habitable
globe! Nor, if we look (as unhappily now in every English colony we must
look,) beyond the pale of the English Church, shall we find either
Romish superstition or Dissenting zeal working any of their usual
wonders. Though the number of Romanists from Ireland was very great in
the colony, yet they had, in 1821, only _one_ priest residing among
them; the Presbyterians at Portland Head had a catechist only, and with
respect to the other "denominations" little or nothing is recorded:--the
_establishment_ had taken as yet so poor a hold of the soil of New
South Wales, that the _voluntary system_, which seems often to need
its support, as ivy needs the support of a tree, had scarcely been
transplanted thither. One observation, before we quit for the present
this painful subject, forces itself upon the mind. How utterly unlike
are the ways of an All-Perfect God from the ways of imperfect fallen
men! The King of kings desireth not the death of any sinner, and has
wrought miracles upon miracles of mercy to provide for his salvation;
whereas man regardeth not the spiritual life of his brethren, earthly
monarchs and nations care chiefly about the removal of the offenders out
of their sight, and, so long as this is effected, they trouble not
themselves about the future lot of those outcasts; money is more
willingly parted with for "penal settlements" than for religious
instruction, and, although the earthly wants of the criminals are
attended to, here humanity stops short;--if their _bodies_ are not cast
out to starve and to perish _their souls are_. And who cannot read in
holy Scripture the just doom of those that have acted, or are acting,
thus? "The wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I
require at thine hand."[127]
[126] See Titus i. 3.
[127] Ezekiel iii. 18.
Having now brought down the history of the colony of New South Wales to
a period when it might be said to be firmly established and flourishing,
both party feeling and needless details may best be avoided by stopping
here, yet it will not form an unsuitable conclusion to this chapter to
borrow General Macquarie's account of his own doings, although this may
be somewhat tinctured with that vanity, which is said to have been his
greatest weakness:--"I found the colony," he states, in a Report to Earl
Bathurst, "barely emerging from infantile imbecility, and suffering from
various privations and disabilities; the country impenetrable beyond 40
miles from Sydney; agriculture in a yet languishing state; commerce in
its early dawn; revenue unknown; threatened with famine; distracted by
faction; the public buildings in a state of dilapidation, and mouldering
to decay; the few roads and bridges formerly constructed rendered almost
impassable; the population in general depressed by poverty; no public
credit nor private confidence; the morals of the great mass of the
population in the lowest state of debasement, and religious worship
almost totally neglected.[128] Such was the state of New South Wales
when I took charge of its administration on the 1st of January, 1810.
I left it in February last, reaping incalculable advantages from my
extensive and important discoveries in all directions, including the
supposed insurmountable barrier called the Blue Mountains, to the
westward of which are situated the fertile plains of Bathurst; and
_in all respects_ [?] enjoying a state of private comfort and public
prosperity, which I trust will at least equal the expectations of His
Majesty's Government. On my taking the command of the colony in the year
1810, the amount of port duties collected did not exceed 8000_l._ per
annum, and there were only 50_l._ or 60_l._ of a balance in the
Treasurer's hands; but now (in 1822,) duties are collected at Port
Jackson to the amount of from 28,000_l._ to 30,000_l._ per annum. In
addition to this annual colonial revenue, there are port duties,
collected at Hobart Town and George Town in Van Diemen's Land, to
the amount of between 8000_l._ and 10,000_l._ per annum."[129]
[128] How could public religious worship be attended to, when, in the
year after Governor Macquarie's arrival, 1810, a widely-scattered
population of 10,452 souls, mostly convicts, were left in the charge
of _four_ clergymen? And in what respect were things improved at the
time of that Governor's departure in 1821, when, to a similarly situated
population of 29,783 souls there were _seven_ clergymen assigned:
and the Romish church had _one_ priest for New South Wales and Van
Diemen's Land, while the Presbyterians at Portland Head had their
lay-catechist?--See BURTON _on Education and Religion in New South
Wales_, pp. 8, 9, 12, 16.
We may add, by way of illustrating the regard paid to religious worship,
even in Governor Macquarie's time, that Oxley's first expedition
into the interior was permitted to set out from Bathurst on a Sunday!
See his _Journal_, p. 3. Sunday, indeed, seems to have been a favourite
starting-day with Mr. Oxley. See p. 37.
[129] See Governor Macquarie's Report to Earl Bathurst, in Lang's New
South Wales, vol. i. _Appendix_, No. 8, p. 447.
[Illustration: NORTH VIEW OF SYDNEY.]