_NEW COLONY ON SWAN RIVER_.
We have abridged the following very important and interesting
information respecting the New Settlement on the Western Coast of
Australia, from the last Number of the _Quarterly Review_. The writer
appears to have profited by access to official sources, and thus
enhanced the value of his paper; but, disposed as we are, generally,
to coincide with his views on the subject of _Emigration_, we do not
think it necessary to detail them in this place. We have, however,
retained the "Regulations," as issued from the Colonial Office, and
made occasional quotations from Captain Stirling's Report; besides
availing ourselves of a pamphlet lately published, entitled "Hints on
Emigration to the New Settlement on the Swan and Canning Rivers."[2]
The Report of Mr. Fraser, the government botanical surveyor, from
Sydney, who accompanied Captain Stirling, is not so easy of access.
The _Quarterly_ writer, by some coincident opinions and references,
appears to be acquainted with the above pamphlet, although it is not
mentioned in the review. The official Regulations are as follow:--
1. His majesty's government do not intend to incur any _expense_ in
conveying settlers to the New Colony on the Swan River; and will not
feel bound to defray the expense of supplying them with provisions or
other necessaries, after their arrival there, nor to assist their
removal to England, or elsewhere, should they be desirous of quitting
the Colony.
2. Such persons who may arrive in that settlement before the end of
the year 1830, will receive, in the order of their arrival, grants of
land, free of quit rent, proportioned to the capital which they may be
prepared to invest in the improvement of the land, and of which
capital they maybe able to produce satisfactory proofs to the
Lieutenant Governor (or other officer administering the Colonial
Government,) or to any two officers of the Local Government appointed
by the Lieutenant Governor for that purpose, at the rate of forty
acres for every sum of three pounds which they may be prepared so to
invest.
3. Under the head of investment of capital will be considered stock of
every description, all implements of husbandry, and other articles
which may be applicable to the purposes of productive industry, or
which may be necessary for the establishment of the settler on the
land where he is to be located. The amount of any half-pay or pension
which the applicant may receive from Government, will also be
considered as so much capital.
4. Those who may incur the expense of taking out labouring persons,
will be entitled to an allowance of land at the rate of fifteen
pounds, that is, of two hundred acres of land, for the passage of
every such labouring person, over and above any other investment
of capital. In the class of "labouring persons," are included
women, and children above ten years old. Provision will be made by
law, at the earliest opportunity for rendering those capitalists, who
may be engaged in taking out labouring persons to this settlement,
liable for the future maintenance of those persons, should they, from
infirmity, of any other cause, become unable to maintain themselves
there.
5. The license of occupation of land will be granted to the settler,
on satisfactory proof being exhibited to the Lieutenant Governor (or
other officer administering the Local Government,) of the amount of
property brought into the colony. The proofs required of such property
will be such satisfactory vouchers of expenses as would be received in
auditing public accounts. But the full title to the land will not be
granted in fee simple, until the settler has proved, (to the
satisfaction of the Lieutenant Governor for other officer
administering the Local Government,) that the sum required by Article
2 of these regulations (viz. one shilling and sixpence per acre) has
been expended in the cultivation of the land, or in solid
improvements, such as buildings, roads, or other works of the kind.
6. Any grant of land thus allotted, of which a fair proportion, of at
least one fourth, shall not have been brought into cultivation,
otherwise improved or reclaimed from its wild state, to the extent of
one shilling and sixpence per acre, to the satisfaction of the Local
Government, within three years from the date of the license of
occupation, shall, at the end of three years, be liable to a payment
of sixpence per acre, into the public chest of the settlement; and, at
the expiration of seven years more, should the land still remain in an
uncultivated or unimproved state, it will revert absolutely to the
crown.
7. After the year 1830, land will be disposed of to those settlers who
may resort to the colony, on such conditions as his Majesty's
Government shall see occasion to adopt.
8. It is not intended that any convicts, or other description of
prisoners, be transported to this new settlement.
9. The government will be administered by Captain Stirling, of the
Royal Navy, as Lieut. Governor of the settlement; and it is proposed
that a bill should be submitted to parliament, in the course of the
next session, to make provision for the civil government of the New
Settlement.
_Downing Street, 13th January, 1829_.
The intended settlement is designated, in the "Regulations," as the
"New Colony on the Swan River;"[3] but this is a name, we think, not
sufficiently comprehensive for the extent of territory meant to be
occupied. What its future designation is meant to be, we pretend not
to know, but if its soil should prove as fruitful as its climate is
fine, the position and aspect of this part of the coast might justify
the name of Southern, or Australian, _Hesperia_; under which might be
included all that line of coast from Cape Leuwin, the southernmost
point of New Holland, in lat. 34 deg. 30 min., long. 115 deg. 12 min.
east, to the lat. 31 deg. (or a degree or two more northerly) long.
115 deg. 15 min. east; and from the former point easterly to King
George's Sound, where an English colony has already been established.
This extent of territory, between the sea-coast and a range of
mountains parallel to it, hereafter to be described, may be estimated
to contain from five to six millions of acres, the greater part of
which, from the general appearance of the two extreme portions (the
only ones examined) may be considered as land fit for the plough, and,
therefore, fully capable of giving support to a million of souls. The
description we are about to give of this territory is mainly derived
from Captain Stirling, the intelligent officer who explored the
country, and of which he has been appointed the Lieutenant Governor,
and from Mr. Fraser, an excellent botanist, who accompanied him, and
who was well acquainted with the soil and products of New South Wales,
on the opposite side of Australia.
Captain Stirling, when commanding the Success frigate, was sent to New
South Wales on a particular service, which the state of the monsoon
prevented him from carrying into immediate execution. He determined,
therefore, on the recommendation of General Darling, the governor, to
explore, in the meantime, this western part of Australia, which was
omitted to be surveyed by Captain King, on the ground that it had been
_visited_ by the French in the expedition of Captain Baudin: the
result of that visit, however, is so unsatisfactory, and so very
inaccurate, that we are rather surprised that Captain King should have
passed over so interesting a portion, geographically considered, as
the south-western angle of this great country. Captain Stirling
arrived at Cape Leuwin on the 2nd of March, 1827, stood along the
coast, and anchored in Gage's Roads, opposite Swan River, which he
afterwards ascended to its source in boats, and sent out exploring
parties to ascertain the nature of the surrounding territory.
"We found," he says, "the country in general rich and romantic, gained
the summit of the first range of mountains, and had a bird's-eye view
of an immense plain, which extended as far as the eye could reach to
the northward, southward, and westward. After ten days' absence, we
returned to the ship; we encountered no difficulty that was not easily
removable; we were furnished with abundance of fresh provisions by our
guns, and met with no obstruction from the natives."
Captain Stirling describes the weather as very different from that
which the French experienced; but the latter were on the coast at the
commencement of the winter season. They were apparently so alarmed at
the gales of wind, the rocks, and the reefs, and the banks, that they
hastened to leave behind them this part of the coast unexamined, with
all convenient speed. The strong westerly winds that prevail
throughout the year in the southern ocean to the southward of the
tropic, appear to assume a northern direction near this part of the
Coast of Australia. These winds are here found to be cool and
pleasant, and were generally accompanied by clear and serene weather.
The summer winds from the N.W. are not infrequent; and, coming charged
with moisture from a warm region into a colder one, they are
invariably accompanied by rain; but, in the immediate vicinity of the
shore, land and sea breezes are constant and regular. The climate
appears to be delightful. While the Success was on the coast--that is,
in the autumn--the average height of the thermometer was 72 deg., the
extremes being 84 deg. and 59 deg., the first occurring before the
sea-breeze set in, the latter at midnight. The French found the
temperature when at anchor, in June, from 14 deg. to 17 deg. of
Reaumur, or 63 deg. to 70 deg. of Fahrenheit. On the mountains,
Captain Stirling says, the temperature appeared to be about 15 deg.
below that of the plain. The alternate land and sea breezes create a
moisture in the atmosphere which renders the climate cool and
agreeable; the mornings and evenings are particularly so; and the
nights are almost invariably brilliant and clear. Such a climate, it
is almost unnecessary to say must be highly favourable to vegetation,
which was accordingly observed to be most luxuriant. "The verdant
appearance," says Captain Stirling, "and almost innumerable variety of
grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees, show that there is no
deficiency in the three great sources of their sustenance, soil, heat,
and moisture."
The general structure and aspect of the country may be thus
described:--from Cape Leuwin to Cape Naturaliste (the southern head of
Baie Géographe,) which is not quite a degree of latitude, the coast is
formed of a range of hills, of uniform and moderate elevation. From
Geographer's Bay to the northward of Swan River, the whole coast line
is a limestone ridge, varying in height from twenty to six hundred
feet, and extending inward to the distance of from one to five miles.
Behind this ridge (whose occasional naked and barren appearance
Captain Stirling also thinks may have caused the early and continued
prejudice against the fertility of this western coast) commences a
great plain, which occupies a space, from south to north, of
undetermined length, (reaching, perhaps, to King George's Sound,) and
varying, in breadth, from twenty to fifty miles. The eastern boundary
of this plain skirts the base of an almost continuous and abrupt chain
of mountains, to which Captain Stirling gave the name of "General
Darling's Range." One of the points, the highest seen and measured by
him, was about three thousand feet high, The average height is stated
to be from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet. The base is
granite; the sides, in many parts, naked; and the soil supports but
little vegetation, except the Stringy-bark and some hardy plants.
Captain Stirling observes, that coal was not found, because it was not
particularly sought for; but he is of opinion that the general
character of the country is such as to warrant the belief that it
might be found; "for," he observes, "all the concomitant strata or
members of the coal formation are exposed on different parts of the
surface, below which I had no opportunity to explore. Indeed, the
carboniferous order of locks is that which is most frequently
exhibited throughout this territory; and I have no doubt important
results would arise from a proper examination into its mineralogical
resources."
With reference to a supply of fresh water, so indispensably necessary
in every settled country, the researches made by Captain Stirling and
Mr. Fraser were attended with the most satisfactory results. The
former observes, that the clouds which are impelled against the
western side of the range of mountains are condensed into rain, the
water of which is conducted across the plain to the sea, in numerous
streams, but chiefly by three principal rivers, terminating in
estuaries, or salt-water lakes. These are--the Swan River, opposite
the Island Rottenest; the Rivière Vasse, and Port Leschenault, in
Geographer's Bay. "We found," says Captain Stirling, "a great number
of creeks, or rivulets, falling into Swan River, more particularly on
the eastern side; and I am inclined to think, that the country
generally is much divided by such water-courses. Its supply of fresh
water, from springs and lagoons, is abundant; for we found such
wherever we thought it necessary to ascertain their existence. At
Point Heathcote," he adds, "we met with a remarkable instance; for
there the beach of a narrow rocky promontory is a bed of springs, and
by tracing the finger along any part within four inches of the edge of
the salt water, pure and fresh water instantly occupied the trace."
Mr. Fraser's testimony leaves no doubt of the abundance of fresh
water. "I was astonished," he says, "at the vivid green of the
Eucalyptus, and other trees and shrubs, so distinct from those of New
South Wales; but, on digging the soil to the depth of two feet, I
found the cause to arise apparently from the immense number of springs
with which this country abounds; for, at the depth above mentioned, I
found the soil quite moist, although evidently at the latter end of an
exceedingly dry season; and from the same cause must arise the great
luxuriance of the herbaceous plants on the banks, which exceeds any
thing I ever saw on the east coast. They consist principally of the
_senecia_ and the _sonchus_, which here attain the height of nine
feet."
He further observes, that numerous active springs issue from the rocks
of the limestone ridge, and particularly in Geographer's Bay, the
whole coast of which, he says, "is a perfect source of active springs,
discharging themselves on the beach in rapid rills of considerable
extent, every six or seven yards."
Between the two heads which form the entrance into Swan River, there
is, unfortunately, a bar, made by the continuity of the limestone
ridge. Over this bar, the depth, at low water, is but six feet, and is
therefore practicable only for boats or rafts. About a mile inside the
heads, the water deepens; and then commences a succession of cliffs,
or natural wharfs, with four, five, and six fathoms at their bases.
The same depths are extended over a magnificent expanse of salt water,
to which Captain Stirling has given the name of "Melville Water;" and
which, in his opinion, wants only a good entrance to make it one of
the finest harbours in the world, being seven or eight miles in
length, by three or four in width, and having a depth of water from
four to seven fathoms. This narrow entrance of the river, he thinks,
might be made navigable by ships of burthen, without difficulty or
great expense.
When the town begins to rise, and substantial buildings are required,
the blocks of stone procured by quarrying this entrance will go far
towards paying the expense of excavation.
Into this expansive sheet of water fall two rivers; one from the
north-east, which is properly the Swan River; the other from the
south-east, called Canning's River. Captain Stirling examined them both:
the former to its source, the latter beyond the point where the water
ceased to be brackish. They are both sufficiently convenient for boat
navigation, even at the end of the dry season; and any obstruction might
easily be removed to make them more so, by which the productions of an
immense extent of country might be transported by water-carriage.
Mr. Fraser remarks that nothing of the mangrove appears along the banks
of the Swan River, the usual situation of this plant being here occupied
by the genus Metrosideros. The first plain, or flat, as it is called,
contiguous to the river, commencing at Point Fraser, is formed of a rich
soil, and appears, by a deposit of wreck, to be occasionally flooded to
a certain extent. Here are several extensive salt marshes, which Mr.
Fraser thinks are admirably adapted for the growth of cotton. The hills,
though scanty of soil, are covered with an immense variety of plants;
among others, a magnificent species of Angophera occupied the usual
place of the Eucalyptus, which, however, here as on the eastern side,
generally forms the principal feature in the botany of the country,
accompanied by Mimosa, Correa, Melaleuca, Casuarina, Banksia, and
Xanthorea. The brome, or kangaroo glass, was most abundant. On a more
elevated flat, a little further up the river, the botanist observes that
the "magnificence of the Banksia and arborescent Zamia, which was here
seen thirty feet in height, added to the immense size of the Xanthorea
near this spot, impart to the forest a character truly tropical." He
says that about five miles to the eastward of the river, there is an
evident change in the character of the country: extensive plains of the
richest description, consisting of an alluvial deposit, equalling in
fertility those of the banks of the River Hawkesbury in New South Wales,
and covered with the most luxuriant brome grass. The Casuarina, so
common near the limestone ridge of the coast, here disappears, and is
succeeded by a pendulous species of Metrosideros, which continues to the
source of the river.
"From this point," says Mr. Fraser, "the country resembles, in every
essential character, that of the banks of those rivers which fall to
the westward of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, varying
alternately on each bank from hilly promontories of the finest red
loam, and covered with stupendous Angopheras, to extensive flats of
the finest description, studded with magnificent blue and water gums,
and occasional stripes of Accacias and papilionaceous shrubs,
resembling the green wattle of New South Wales."
The higher the river is ascended, the more extended the flats become,
and the better is the quality of the soil. Here the country is said to
resemble in character that on the banks of the Macquarrie River, west
of Wellington valley; and though marks of occasional floods appeared
on the lower plains, the upper flats had evidently never been flooded.
The sides of the mountains were bare of underwood, and their summits
covered with large masses of iron stone, among which were growing
enormous trees of Angophera, and some straggling plants of Hakea. On a
careful examination of this part of the country bordering the two
rivers from the sea-coast to the mountains, Mr. Fraser says, "In
giving my opinion of the land seen on the banks of the Swan River, I
hesitate not in pronouncing it superior to any I ever saw in New South
Wales, east of the Blue Mountains, not only in its local character,
but in the many existing advantages which it holds out to settlers.
These advantages I consider to be,
"First, the evident superiority of the soil.
"Secondly, the facility with which a settler can bring his farm into a
state of immediate culture, in consequence of the open state of the
country, which allows not a greater average than two trees to an acre.
"Thirdly, the general abundance of springs, producing water of the
best quality, and the consequent permanent humidity of the soil; two
advantages not existing on the eastern coast. And,
"Fourthly, the advantages of water carriage to his door, and the
non-existence of impediments to land carriage."
[2] Published by J. Cross, 18, Holborn, opposite Furnival's Inn.
[3] The _Rivière de Cygnes_ of the French is a translation of the
_Zwanen Rivière_ of Vlaming.
(_To be concluded in our next_.)
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