MAJORCA.
MAJORCA FOUNDED IN A RUSH--DESCRIPTION OF A RUSH--DIGGERS CAMPING
OUT--GOLD-MINING AT MAJORCA--MAJORCA HIGH STREET--THE PEOPLE--THE
INNS--THE CHURCHES--THE BANK--THE CHINAMEN--AUSTRALIA THE PARADISE OF
WORKING MEN--"SHOUTING" FOR DRINKS--ABSENCE OF BEGGARS--NO COPPERS UP
COUNTRY.
In my school-days Majorca was associated in my mind with "Minorca and
Ivica," and I little thought to encounter a place of that name in
Australia. It seems that the town was originally so called because of
its vicinity to a rocky point called Gibraltar, where gold had been
found some time before. Like many other towns up country, the founding
of Majorca was the result of a rush.
In the early days of gold-digging, when men were flocking into the
colony to hunt for treasure, so soon as the news got abroad of a great
nugget being found by some lucky adventurers, or of some rich
gold-bearing strata being struck, there was a sudden rush from all
quarters to the favoured spot. Such a rush occurred at Majorca in the
year 1863.
Let me try to describe the scene in those early days of the township,
as it has been related to me by those who witnessed it. Fancy from
fourteen to fifteen thousand diggers suddenly drawn together in one
locality, and camped out in the bush within a radius of a mile and a
half.
A great rush is a scene of much bustle and excitement. Long lines of
white tents overtop the heaps of pipeclay, which grow higher from day
to day. The men are hard at work on these hills of "mullock," plying
the windlasses by which the stuff is brought up from below, or
puddling and washing off "the dirt." Up come the buckets from the
shafts, down which the diggers are working, and the dirty yellow water
is poured down-hill to find its way to the creek as it best may.
Unmade roads, or rather tracks, run in and out amongst the claims,
knee-deep in mud; the ground being kept in a state of constant
sloppiness by the perpetual washing for the gold. Perhaps there is a
fight going on over the boundary-pegs of a claim which have been
squashed by a heavy dray passing along, laden with stores from
Castlemaine.
The miners are attended by all manner of straggling followers, like
the sutlers following a camp. The life is a very rough one: hard work
and hard beds, heavy eating and heavy drinking. The diggers mostly
live in tents, for they are at first too much engrossed by their
search for gold to run up huts; but many of them sleep in the open air
or under the shelter of the trees. A pilot-coat or a pea-jacket is
protection enough for those who do not enjoy the luxury of a tent; but
the dryness and geniality of the climate are such that injury is very
rarely experienced from the night exposure. There are very few women
at the first opening of new diggings, the life is too rough and rude;
and some of those who do come, rock the cradle--but not the household
one--with the men. The diggers, however genteel the life they may have
led before, soon acquire a dirty, rough, unshaven look. Their coarse
clothes are all of a colour, being that of the clay and gravel in
which they work, and the mud with which they become covered when
digging.
There is a crowd of men at an open bar drinking. Bar, indeed! It is
but a plank supported on two barrels; and across this improvised
counter the brandy bottle and glasses are eagerly plied. A couple of
old boxes in front serve for seats, while a piece of canvas, rigged on
two poles, shades off the fierce sun. Many a large fortune has been
made at a rude bar of this sort. For too many of the diggers, though
they work like horses, spend like asses. Here, again, in the long main
street of tents, where the shafts are often uncomfortably close to the
road, the tradesmen are doing a roaring business. Stalwart men, with
stout appetites, are laying in their stores of grocery, buying pounds
of flour, sugar, and butter--meat and bread in great quantities. The
digger thrusts his parcels indiscriminately into the breast of his
dirty jumper, a thick shirt; and away he goes, stuffed with groceries,
and perhaps a leg of mutton over his shoulder. In the evening some
four thousand camp fires in the valleys, along the gullies, and up the
sides of the hills, cast a lurid light over a scene, which, once
witnessed, can never be forgotten.
There were, of course, the usual rowdies at Majorca as at other
rushes. But very soon a rough discipline was set up and held them in
check; then a local government was formed; and eventually order was
established. Although the neighbouring towns look down on "little
Majorca"--say it is the last place made--and tell of the riotous
doings at its first settlement, Majorca is quoted by Brough Smyth,
whose book on the gold-fields is the best authority on the subject, as
having been a comparatively orderly place, even in the earliest days
of the rush. He says, "Shortly after the workings were opened, it
presented a scene of busy industry, where there was more of order,
decency, and good behaviour than could probably be found in any mining
locality in England, or on the Continent of Europe."[6]
The contrast, however, must be very great between the Majorca of
to-day and the Majorca of seven years since, when it was a great
gold-diggers' camp. It had its first burst, like all other celebrated
places in the gold-fields. As the shallower and richer ground became
worked out, the diggers moved off to some new diggings, and the first
glories of the Majorca rush gradually passed away. Still, the place
continued prosperous. The mining was carried down into deeper strata.
But after a few years, the yield fell off, and the engines were
gradually withdrawn. Some few claims are doing well in new offshoots
of the lead, and the miners are vigorously following it up. Two engine
companies are pushing ahead and hoping for better things. Over at the
other side of the creek, in amongst the ranges, there is still plenty
of fair yielding quartz, which is being got out of mother earth; and
the miners consider that they have very fair prospects before them.[7]
Indeed, Majorca has subsided into a comparatively quiet country place,
containing about 800 inhabitants. It is supported in a great measure
by the adjoining farming population. And I observed, during my stay at
the place, that the more prudent of the miners, when they had saved a
few hundred pounds--and some saved much more--usually retired from
active digging, and took to farming. The town consists, for the most
part, of one long street, situated on a rising ground. There are not
many buildings of importance in it. The houses are mostly of wood,
one-storied, and roofed with corrugated iron. There is only one brick
shop-front in the street, which so over-tops the others, that
malicious, perhaps envious, neighbours say it is sure to topple down
some day on to the footway. The shops are of the usual description,
grocers, bakers, butchers, and drapers; and the most frequent style of
shop is a store, containing everything from a pickaxe and tin dish
(for gold washing) to Perry Davis's patent Pain-killer. We have of
course our inns--the Imperial, where the manager of the bank and
myself lived; the Harp of Erin, the Irish rendezvous, as its name
imports, even its bar-room being papered with green; the German Hotel,
where the Verein is held, and over which the German tri-coloured flag
floats on fete-days; and there is also a Swiss restaurant, the
Guillaume Tell, with the Swiss flag and cap of liberty painted on its
white front.
I must also mention the churches, standing off the main street, which
are the most prominent buildings in Majorca. The largest is the
Wesleyan Chapel, a substantial brick building, near which still stands
the old wooden shanty first erected and used in the time of the rush.
Then there is the Church of England, a neat though plain edifice, well
fitted and arranged. The Presbyterians worship in a battered-looking
wooden erection; and the Roman Catholics have a shed-like place, which
in week days is used as a school.
Our inns and our churches will give you some idea of the population of
Majorca. I should say the most of it--the substance--is English. The
Irish are hard workers, but generally spendthrifts, though there are
some excellent exceptions. The Irish hold together in religion,
politics, and drink. The Scotch are not so numerous as the Irish, but
somehow they have a knack of getting on. They are not clannish like
the Irish. Each hangs by his own hook. Then there are the Germans, who
are pretty numerous, a very respectable body of men, with a sprinkling
of Italians and Swiss. The Germans keep up their old country fashions,
hold their Verein, meet and make speeches, sing songs, smoke pipes,
and drink thin wine. Lager-beer has not reached them yet.
The building in Majorca in which I am, of course, most of all
interested, is that in which I officiate as "Accountant," the only
other officer in the bank being the "Manager." You will thus observe
that there are only officers in our establishment--all rank and no
file. Let me give you an idea of our building. Its walls are wooden,
with canvas inside, and its roof is of corrugated iron. The office
fronts the main street, and is fitted with a plain counter facing the
door, at one end of which are the gold-weighing scales, and at the
other the ledger-desk. Two rooms are attached to the office, in which
we sleep,--one behind, the other at the side. There is a pretty
little garden in the rear, a verandah covered with a thickly growing
Australian creeper (the Dolichos), sheltering us as we sit out there
occasionally, enjoying the quiet cool of the evenings, reading or
talking.
You will thus observe that our establishment is by no means of a
stately order.[8] Indeed the place is not weather-proof. When the wind
blows, the canvas inside the boards flaps about, and, in my queer
little sleeping-room, when the rain falls it runs down the sides of
the canvas walls, and leaves large stains upon the gay paper. But I
contrived to make the little place look tolerably comfortable; hung it
round with photographs reminding me of relations and friends at home,
and at length I came quite to enjoy my little retreat.
A look up and down the main street of Majorca is not particularly
lively at any time. Some of the shop-keepers are in front of their
stores, standing about under the verandahs which cover the pathway,
and lazily enjoying a pipe. At the upper end of the town the
blacksmith is busily at work shoeing some farmer's horses, in front of
the blazing smithy fire. Five or six diggers come slouching along,
just from their work, in their mud-bespattered trowsers and their
shirt sleeves, a pick or spade over their shoulders, and a tin "billy"
in their hands. But for the occasional rattle of a cart or buggy down
the street, the town would be lapped in quiet.
Here comes a John Chinaman with his big basket of vegetables. And let
me tell you that the Chinamen, who live in the neighbourhood of the
town, form no unimportant part of our community. But for them where
should we be for our cabbages, cauliflowers, and early potatoes? They
are the most indefatigable and successful of gardeners. Every morning
three or four of them are seen coming into the town from their large
gardens near the creek, each with a pole across his shoulders, and a
heavily laden basket hanging from each end. What tremendous loads they
contrive to carry in this way! Try to lift one of their baskets, and
you will find you can hardly raise it from the ground. Then you see
the "Johns" moving along from house to house, selling their stuffs. It
takes a very clever woman to get the better of one of the Chinamen in
a bargain. I found, by watching closely, that those got best off who
chose what they wanted out of the basket, paid what they thought a
fair price, and stuck to their purchase. John would at last agree, but
go away grumbling.
Of course there is not much in the way of what is called "society" at
this place. Like all the new towns in Australia, it consists for the
most part of a settlement of working people. Australia may, however,
be regarded as the paradise of working men, when they choose to avail
themselves of the advantages which it offers. Here there is always
plenty of profitable work for the industrious. Even Chinamen get
rich. The better sort of working families live far more comfortably
than our clerking or business young men do at home. The respectable
workman belongs to the Mechanics' Institute, where there is a very
good circulating library; he dresses well on Sundays, and goes to
church; hires a horse and takes a pleasure ride into the bush on
holidays; puts money in the bank, and when he has accumulated a fund,
builds a house for himself, or buys a lot of land and takes to
farming. Any steady working man can do all this here, and without any
difficulty.
Where the digger or mechanic does not thrive and save money, the fault
is entirely due to his own improvidence. Living is cheap. Clothes are
dear, but the workman does not need to wear expensive clothes; and
food is reasonable. Good mutton sells at 3_d._ a pound, and bread at
6_d._ the four pound loaf. Thanks to the Chinamen also, vegetables are
moderate in price. Every one may, therefore, save money if he has the
mind to do so. But many spendthrifts seem to feel it a sort of
necessity to throw away their money as soon as they have earned it. Of
course, the chief source of waste here, as at home, is drink. There is
constant "shouting" for drinks--that is, giving drinks all round to my
acquaintances who may be present. And as one shouts, so another
follows with his shout, and thus a great deal of drink is swallowed.
Yet, I must say that, though there may be more drinking here than in
England, there is much less drunkenness. I have very seldom seen a man
really drunk during my stay in Majorca. Perhaps the pure dry
atmosphere may have something to do with it. But often, also, when
there is a shout, the call of many may be only for lemonade, or some
simple beverage of that sort. It must also be stated, as a plea for
men resorting so much as they do to public-houses, that there are few
other places where they can meet and exchange talk with each other.
That everybody may thrive here who will, is evident from the utter
absence of beggars in Australia. I have not seen one regular
practitioner. An occasional "tramp" may be encountered hard up, and in
search of work. He may ask for assistance. He can have a glass of beer
at a bar, with a crust of bread, by asking for it. And he goes on his
way, most likely getting the employment of which he is in search at
the next township. The only beggars I ever encountered at Majorca are
genteel ones--the people who come round with lists, asking for
subscriptions in aid of bazaars for the building of churches and the
like. Nor did I find much of that horrid "tipping" which is such a
nuisance in England. You may "shout" a liquor if you choose, but
"tipping" would be considered an insult.
There is an almost entire absence of coppers up country; the lowest
change is a threepenny bit, and you cannot well spend anything under a
sixpence. I never had any copper in my pocket, except only a lucky
farthing. Many asked me for it, to keep as a curiosity, saying they
had never seen one since they left home. But I would not part with my
farthing.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: The following is from Mr. Brough Smyth's book:--
"I need only now speak of Majorca. Here a prospecting shaft
was bottomed in the beginning of March, 1863, in the middle
of a very extensive plain, known as M'Cullum's Creek Plain.
The depth of the shaft was 85 feet, through thick clay,
gravel, and cement. The wash-dirt was white gravel,
intermixed with heavy boulders, on a soft pipeclay bottom;
its thickness being from 2 to 3 feet. It averaged in some
places 3 oz. to the load. Finally, a rush set in, and before
three months had elapsed there were more than 15,000 miners
on the ground. The sinking became deeper as the work went
on, and was so wet that whims had to be erected; and at one
time, in 1865, over 170 might have been seen at work, both
night and day. Subsequently steam machinery was procured,
and now no less than ten engines, varying from 15- to
20-horse power, are constantly employed in pumping, winding,
and puddling. The lead in its lower part is 160 feet in
depth, and is evidently extending towards the Carisbrook,
Moolart, and Charlotte plains, where so much is expected by
all scientific men."--_Mr. E. O'Farrell, formerly Chairman
of the Mining Board of the Maryborough District.--Brough
Smyth_, pp. 98, 99.
]
[Footnote 7: Since my return home, letters from Majorca inform me that
things have recently taken a turn for the better. Several of the
alluvial mining companies are getting gold in increased quantities.
New shafts have been bottomed on rich ground, and the remittances of
gold are gradually on the increase.]
[Footnote 8: Since I left Majorca a neat and substantial brick
building has been erected for the purposes of the bank, in lieu of the
former wooden structure.]