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A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook
Title: Western Australia: a history from its discovery to
the inauguration of the Commonwealth
Author: J.S. Battye (1871-1954)
eBook No.: 0500301h.html
Edition: 1
Language: English
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Date first posted: March 2005
Date most recently updated: March 2005
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In view of the prominent part taken by Australia in the recent war, and the enthusiasm which the achievements of the Australian Forces have aroused throughout the Empire, the story of one of the great States of the Australian Commonwealth may not be without some general interest.
The work has been the result of over twenty years' research, undertaken, in the first instance, in conjunction with the Registrar-General (Mr. M.A.C. Fraser) and his Deputy (Mr. W. Siebenhaar) for the purpose of checking the historical introduction to the Year Book of Western Australia. It has since been continued in the hope that it may prove a contribution of more or less value to the history of colonial development. In the prosecution of the work, the files of the Public Record Office, London, were searched, and copies made of all documents that could be found which related to the establishment and early years of the colony. These copies are now in the possession of the Public Library of Western Australia, which contains also most of the published matter in the way of books and pamphlets dealing with the colony, as well as almost complete files of the local newspapers to date, and the original records of the Colonial Secretary's Office up to 1876. All of these have been at my disposal.
I have had, further, the opportunity of consulting official documents of the Government, and, by permission of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, secured through the kindness of his Excellency Sir F.A. Newdegate, have had access to all dispatches from the Colonial Office to the colonial authorities up to the year 1901. So far as possible every statement has been verified by documentary evidence, and every care exercised to make the whole work strictly accurate.
In addition to those mentioned, I have to express my obligation to the heads of Government Departments, more especially to the Under Secretary for Lands, Mr. C.G. Morris, and the Surveyor-General, Mr. H.S. King; to the Honourable J.W. Kirwan, M.L.C, for information concerning the federal movement in Western Australia; to Professor Ernest Scott and Dr. R.C. Mills for much helpful criticism; and to Miss M.E. Wood, of the Public Library of Western Australia, for invaluable assistance in checking references and in preparing the manuscript.
J.S.B.
PERTH.
September 30th, 1921.
CHAPTER 1. DISCOVERY OF AND EARLY VOYAGES TO AUSTRALIA.
CHAPTER 2. DISCOVERY OF AND EARLY VOYAGES TO AUSTRALIA (CONTINUED).
CHAPTER 3. ANNEXATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
CHAPTER 4. 1829 TO 1830. COLONISATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENT.
CHAPTER 5. 1831 TO 1838. ADMINISTRATION OF SIR JAMES STIRLING.
CHAPTER 17. FEDERAL MOVEMENT IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
1. DISPATCH FROM SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES TO CAPTAIN STIRLING, 30TH DECEMBER, 1828.
2. PROCLAMATION BY CAPTAIN STIRLING, DATED 18TH JUNE, 1829.
3. CONVICT SYSTEM.
4. STATISTICS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1829 TO 1900.
5. PROSPECTUS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COMPANY AND DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIND.
[MAP OF SOUTH-WEST SHOWING GRANTS OF CAPTAIN STIRLING, THOMAS PEEL AND COLONEL LATOUR.]
PLATE 1. DIRK HARTOG'S PLATE, 1616.
1616. DEN 25 OCTOBER IS HIER AEN GECOMEN HET SCHIP D EENDRAGHT VAN AMSTERDAM DE OPPER KOPMAN GILLES MILBAIS VAN LUCK. SCHIPPER DIRCK HATICHS VAN AMSTERDAM DE 27 DITO TE SEIL GEGHN NA BANTUM DE ONDER COEPMAN JAN STINS DE OPPER STUIERMAN PIETER DOORES VAN BIL ANNO 1616.
Translation of the original inscription: On the 25th of October, 1616, arrived here the ship Eendracht, of Amsterdam: The first merchant, Gilles Milbais van Luyck: captain, Dirk Hartog, of Amsterdam; the 27th ditto set sail for Bantam; under merchant, Jan Stins; upper steersman, Pieter Dockes, of Bil; A.D. 1616.
PLATE 2. VLAMING'S PLATE, 1697.
1697 DEN 4 FEBREUARY IS HIER AEN GEKOMEN HET SCHIP DE GEELVINCK VOOR AMSTERDAM DEN COMANDER ENT SCHIPPER WILLEM DE VLAMINGH VAN VLIELANDT ADSISTENT JOANNES BREMER VAN COPPENHAGEN OPPER STUIERMAN MICHIL BLOEM VAN T STICHT BREMEN DE HOECKER DE NYPTANGH SCHIPPER GERRIT COLAART VAN AMSTERDAM ADSIST' THEO-DORIS HEIRMANS VAN DITO OPPERSTIERMAN GERRIT GERITSEN VAN BREMEN TE GALIOOT HET WEESELTIE GESAGH HEBBER CORNELIS DE VLAMINGH VAN VLIELANDT STUIRMAN COERT GERRITSEN VAN BREMEN EN VAN HIER GEZEYLT MET ONSE VLOT DEN VOORTS HET ZUYDLANDT VERDER TE ONDER SOECREN ENGE DISTINEERT VOOR BATAVIA. 12 (DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY LOGO ?)
Translation of the original inscription: On the 4th of February, 1697, arrived here the ship Geelvinck, of Amsterdam: Captain commandant, Wilhelm van Vlaming, of Vlielandt; assistant, Jan van Bremen, of Copenhagen; first pilot, Micheel Bloem Van Estight, of Bremen; the hooker Myptangh: Captain, Gerrit Collaert, of Amsterdam; assistant, Theodorus Heermans, of the same place; first pilot, Gerrit Gerritz, of Bremen. Sailed from here with our fleet on the 12th to explore the South Land and afterwards bound for Batavia.
1606:
Duyfken in Gulf of Carpentaria. First authenticated voyage to Australia.
1616:
Dirk Hartog in the Eendracht. First authenticated voyage to Western Australia.
1619:
Discovery of Abrolhos Islands by Houtman.
1622:
Voyage of Leeuwin.
Wreck of Trial.
1627:
Nuytsland discovered.
1628:
Discovery of De Witt Land.
Voyage of Pelsart in Batavia.
Pelsart wrecked on Abrolhos Islands.
1644:
Voyage of Tasman to North-West and North coasts.
1688:
Dampier in the Cygnet.
1696 to 1697:
Discovery of Swan River by Vlaming.
1699:
Dampier's second voyage.
1772:
Voyage of St. Alouarn.
1791:
Discovery of King George's Sound by Vancouver.
1792:
Voyage of D'Entrecasteaux.
1801:
Flinders' voyage in the Investigator.
Voyage of Geographe and Naturaliste.
1802:
Geographe joined by Casuarina.
1817:
Voyage of Freycinet in Uranie.
1817 to 1822:
Lieutenant King's survey voyages on the North-West coast.
1826:
Occupancy of King George's Sound by convicts from Sydney under Major Lockyer.
1827:
Examination of Swan River by Captain Stirling in H.M.S. Success.
1828:
Syndicate formed in London for colonisation of Swan River.
Decision of British Government to found colony.
Captain Fremantle in H.M.S. Challenger dispatched to take formal possession of Swan River.
Captain Stirling appointed Lieutenant-Governor.
1829:
February. Parmelia leaves England with officials and first settlers.
May. Formal possession taken by Captain Fremantle.
Act 10 George IV ch.22, authorising establishment of Legislative Council.
June. Arrival of Parmelia. Proclamation of colony.
August. Foundation of Perth and Fremantle.
1830:
Legislative Council constituted by Order in Council.
Executive Council constituted by Instructions under Sign Manual.
1831:
Lieutenant-Governor Stirling appointed Governor.
Convict settlement at King George's Sound withdrawn.
Agricultural Society established.
First newspaper issued.
1832:
Executive Council, Legislative Council, Civil Court established.
Duel between Clarke and Johnstone.
1833:
First issue of Perth Gazette--now West Australian.
1834:
First definite petition for convicts (from Albany).
Native disturbances--Battle of Pinjarra.
1837:
Bank of Western Australia established.
1837 to 1840:
Lieutenant Grey's explorations.
1838:
End of Governor Stirling's administration.
1839:
Arrival of Governor John Hutt.
1840:
Western Australian Company constituted to form settlement at Australind.
1841:
Eyre's overland journey to King George's Sound.
Bank of Western Australia amalgamated with Bank of Australasia.
Western Australian Bank founded.
Arrival of first Australind settlers.
1845 to 1848:
Expeditions of A.C., F.T., and C. Gregory.
1846:
Retirement of Governor Hutt.
Arrival of Governor Clarke.
Discovery of coal.
New Norcia Mission established.
1847:
Death of Governor Clarke.
1848:
Arrival of Governor Fitzgerald.
Discovery of lead and copper.
1843 to 1849:
Petition for the introduction of convicts.
1849:
Western Australia constituted a penal settlement.
1850:
Arrival of first convicts.
1851:
Commencement of pearling industry.
1854:
Austin's expedition to the Murchison.
1855:
Retirement of Governor Fitzgerald.
Arrival of Governor Kennedy.
1856:
A.C. Gregory's expedition from the Northern Territory to Victoria Plains.
Anglican Bishopric established.
1857 to 1858:
F.T. Gregory's survey of the Murchison and exploration of Gascoyne.
1861:
F.T. Gregory's expedition to the North.
1861 to 1868:
Settlement of the North-West.
1862:
Dr. Hampton succeeds Sir Arthur Kennedy as Governor.
1864:
Roebuck Bay Pastoral Association.
Camden Harbour Pastoral Association.
1865:
Denison Plains Association.
1866:
Hunt's expedition to Hampton Plains.
1868:
Cessation of transportation.
Resignation of Governor Hampton.
1869:
Arrival of Governor Weld.
First telegraph line erected.
John Forrest's expedition in search of Leichhardt.
1870:
Representative Government established.
John Forrest's overland journey to Adelaide.
1871:
Municipalities Act passed.
Elementary Education Act passed.
First railway built.
A. Forrest's journey to Esperance.
1872 to 1873:
Expeditions of Giles, Gosse, and Warburton.
1874:
John Forrest's expedition to the north.
Departure of Governor Weld.
1875:
Giles' overland expeditions.
Arrival of Governor Robinson.
1876:
Escape of Fenian convicts.
1877:
Sir Harry Ord succeeds Governor Robinson.
1879:
Exploration of Kimberley district by A. Forrest.
1880:
Kimberley district opened up.
Sir William Robinson succeeds Governor Ord.
1883:
Sir Frederick Broome succeeds Governor Robinson.
1885:
Federal Council Act passed.
1886:
Kimberley Goldfield proclaimed.
1888:
Yilgarn Goldfield proclaimed.
Pilbara Goldfield proclaimed.
1889:
Great Southern Railway opened (built on land-grant system).
1890:
July. Imperial Act conferring Responsible Government passed.
October. Sir William Robinson succeeds Governor Broome.
Responsible Government inaugurated.
December. First ministry appointed, John Forrest Premier.
1891:
Murchison Goldfield proclaimed.
1892:
Coolgardie Goldfield discovered.
Fremantle Harbour commenced.
1893:
Hannans (Kalgoorlie) Goldfield discovered.
1894:
Menzies Goldfield discovered.
Midland Railway opened (land-grant railway).
1896:
Great Southern Railway purchased by Government.
1899:
Goldfields Water Supply commenced (completed January 1903).
1900:
July. Federal referendum taken.
1901:
Commonwealth of Australia inaugurated 1 January.
DISCOVERY OF AND EARLY VOYAGES TO AUSTRALIA.
Although a large amount of research into the documentary annals of the world's history has taken place during the past half-century it is still not possible to assign, with any degree of accuracy, a definite date to the discovery of Australia.
From earliest times there have been traditions, probably engendered more by the spirit of prophecy than by fact, of the existence of a Great South Land. Aristotle, Strabo, and others have expressed the opinion that there existed south of the Equator areas of land at least equal in extent to those above it, and in the Astronomicon of Manilius (1:238 to 239) we find the lines:
"...Austrinis pars est habitabilis oris, Sub pedibusque jacet nostris."
These statements, however, were merely essays into the region of probabilities, and had not any known basis of fact. But to come down to a later period, it is possible to show from early manuscript maps and other sources that this belief in a southern continent was entertained long before the discoveries made during the sixteenth century. The Vicomte de Santarem, in his Essai sur l'histoire de la cosmographie et de la cartographie du moyen age, gives a list of these maps, upon which are to be found vague markings of an inhabited country described as the "opposite earth," which could not be reached owing to the torrid zone; and he points out that "the cartographers of the Middle Ages have submitted that as a reality which, even to the geographers of antiquity, was merely a theory."* Unfortunately, every effort to discover manuscripts that would bear out the assertions of these maps has so far been without success. Marco Polo, in the thirteenth century, as the result of his travels, certainly did advance the claims of the Chinese to the discovery of a Great South Land, and there is perhaps some justification for the statement, as we know that for centuries prior to the European advent that nation had established extensive trade relations with the islands of the East Indies. That the country mentioned was Australia is, however, out of the question. Marsden's** explanation is probably the right one--that it refers to a portion of Cambodia, the products of which are gold, spices, and elephants.
(*Footnote. Major, R.H, Early Voyages to Terra Australis pages 14 to 15.)
(**Footnote. Marco Polo, Travels: translated by Marsden (Bohn's Library) Book 3 chapter 8 note.)
From the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, evidences of a more definite character are available. By this time the Portuguese and other navigators had found a way by sea round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies, and were opening up avenues of trade in all directions. This meant the continual passage of ships to and fro, and it is not unlikely that many ships on their way to Java or other islands of the East came within sight of portions of the western Australian coast.
A claim to the discovery of Australia has been made on behalf of Magalhaens or Magellan, a Portuguese,* who sailed from San Lucar in 1519 by order of the Emperor Charles V, on a voyage round the world which lasted until 1522, and during the course of which Magellan himself was killed. Descriptions of this voyage were published by Maximilianus and by Pigafetta in 1536, and the information contained therein was used by Fernando Vaz Dourado in his atlas made in 1570.** In one of the maps in this atlas there is shown a coastline which is stated to have been discovered by Magellan in 1520 and which is claimed to be that part of Australia. This claim has been examined by Major and Dr. John Martin, and the result of that examination published by Major.*** Dr. Martin came to the conclusion that the coastline was not part of Australia, but was really part of New Guinea. He was strengthened in this belief by an old map of Mercator, upon which he found some names upon the coast of New Guinea similar to those upon Dourado's map. In Major's opinion the tract laid down as discovered by Magellan "is, in fact, a memorandum or cartographical side-note of the discovery by Magellan of Tierra del Fuego and, from its adopted false position on the vellum it was subsequently applied to New Guinea by Mercator."**** He admits that this surmise may possibly be incorrect, but considers that the only alternative is that the tract laid down is New Guinea and is clearly not Australia.
(*Footnote. Ayala, A. compendio geographico estadistico de Portugal, Madrid 1855 page 482. Quoted by Major Early Voyages page 21. See also ibid page 22 to
(**Footnote. Major, R.H. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 21.)
(***Footnote. Ibid pages 22 et seq.)
(****Footnote. Ibid page 26.)
Further support to the Portuguese claim, though not to Magellan, was given by M. Barbie du Bocage in a paper read before the French Institute in 1807 concerning an atlas drawn at Dieppe in 1547 by Nicholas Vallard, an extract from which paper is given by Major.* Having compared this atlas with other contemporary atlases, Barbie du Bocage came to the conclusion that all must have been copies from original Portuguese maps, and consequently that the discovery of the continent of New Holland belonged to the Portuguese. When, at a later date, Major considered the question of the discovery of Australia, six maps bearing upon the matter were known. Of these, four were in England and two in France.** Upon these there is shown a large coastline to the south and south-east of Java, separated from that island by a narrow strait, and to which the name Java la Grande is applied. A portion of this coastline bears a distinct resemblance to the north-west coast of Western Australia. This forms presumptive evidence, as the maps are all sixteenth-century maps, that navigators of some nationality had come within sight of the mainland of Australia during the first half of the sixteenth century.
(*Footnote. Ibid pages 35 to 45.)
(**Footnote. Ibid pages 26 et seq.)
In many respects the maps are similar, and give evidence of having been derived from the same source. From the fact that although admittedly French they contained names that looked like gallicized Portuguese, Major argued,* following Barbie du Bocage, that in all probability the original discovery was Portuguese because the Portuguese predominated at that time in those seas, and also because the French were not likely to have given Portuguese names to territories which they had themselves discovered. These considerations led him to "regard it as highly probable that Australia was discovered by the Portuguese between the years 1511 and 1529, and almost to a demonstrable certainty that it was discovered by the Portuguese before the year 1542."**
(*Footnote. Major, Further facts relating to the Early Discovery of Australia page 6. Archaeologia volume 44.)
(**Footnote. Major, Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 44.)
A seventh map, by Pierre Desceliers of Arques, dated 1550, which came into the possession of the British Museum in 1861, appeared to bear out this contention.* Upon this map there is shown an island, occupying the position of the Abrolhos Group off the west coast of Australia. Mr. Delmar Morgan, in a paper on the discovery of Australia read at the Berne Congress of Geographical Sciences in 1891 and reprinted in the Proceedings of the New South Wales branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia for 1892, referring more particularly to these islands, stated:
"The Portuguese navigator, Menezes, is commonly reported to have visited this part of the Australian coast in 1527, but it is most unlikely that he ever did so. Some authorities go so far as to declare that he actually charted these islands and reefs. They were charted, however, if not before, soon after his voyage, as they are marked on all these old Australian charts, although the word Abrolhos appears on Pierre Descelier's chart alone (1550). When the Dutch undertook their voyage to the East Indies by way of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1595, Frederick Houtman, although merely commercial chief of the expedition, assumed the title of Captain-General, and history falsely conferred on him the glory of having conducted the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies. In the same way his name was prefixed undeservedly to the Portuguese discovery on the western coast of Australia, but at what period it would be difficult to determine."
(*Footnote. Major, Further Facts in the History of the Discovery of Australia page 3.)
There are two points about this statement which detract from its value as evidence of the Portuguese discovery. Menezes, during his voyage in the year 1526 or 1527, from Malacca to the Spice Islands, was carried by currents to the coast which has since been recognised as the north coast of New Guinea,* but there is no allusion in any reference which we possess regarding this voyage to a discovery of a great southern land. Secondly, the name marked against these islands on Descelier's map is Arenes and not Abrolhos. Collingridge** attempts to establish Arenes as a corruption of Abrolhos, which is a Portuguese term for rocky projections arising from the sea. This suggestion, which is scouted by Heeres,*** can scarcely be regarded seriously. It certainly does not in any way add to the merit of the Portuguese claim.
(*Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 44.)
(**Footnote. Collingridge Discovery of Australia page 192.)
(***Footnote. Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal by J.E. Heeres Amsterdam 1898. Life and Labours of Tasman page 97 note 1.)
The conclusion reached by Major was accepted by geographers and, as he says, "passed into history."* It was upset by Major himself in 1873 after an examination of an engraved map of the world by Orontius Finaeus, dated 1531, which had recently come into the possession of the British Museum. In the light of this new discovery he reexamined the names on the six maps referred to and decided that they were in Provencal French and not in gallicized Portuguese. This led him to "the inevitable conclusion that Australia was discovered by Frenchmen, and chiefly by the men of Provence, in or before the year 1531."**
(***Footnote. Major. Supplementary Facts in the History of the Discovery of Australia page 15. Archaeologia volume 44.)
(****Footnote. Major. Further Facts relating to the Early Discovery of Australia page 8. Archaeologia volume 44.)
On the whole, whilst the evidence points towards the acceptance of Major's conclusion that the French were the first discoverers, it is not sufficiently strong to enable it to be laid down as a fact. It does, however, seem to establish the point that something was known of the Australian coastline prior to what is regarded as the first authenticated discovery, which was made by the Duyfken in 1606. This contention is strengthened by the statement to be found in Cornelis Wytfliet's Descriptionis Ptolemaicae Augmentum, published in 1598:
"The Australis Terra is the most modern of all lands, and is separated from New Guinea by a narrow strait. Its shores are hitherto but little known, since after one voyage and another that route has been deserted, and seldom is the country visited except when sailors are driven there by storms. The Australis Terra begins at 2 or 3 degrees from the Equator, and is maintained by some to be of so great an extent that if it were thoroughly explored it would be regarded as a fifth part of the world."
The remainder of the sixteenth century was allowed to pass without any definite step being taken to increase the knowledge of the new country. That there were courageous spirits imbued with the thirst for discovery, who sought fame rather than the mere accumulation of wealth, is not to be doubted, but there is no record that Australia ever claimed their attention. The great majority of the adventurers, of whatever nationality, found more than sufficient occupation in exploiting the treasures of the Indies, and preferred rather to gather in the riches that were certain than undertake the search for those which were vague and chimerical. Those who were not content with the mild excitement of profitable trade found ample outlet for their buccaneering tendencies in looting one another.
Still, the spirit of discovery was not dead. The seventeenth century had scarcely opened when the tail was once more taken up, and resulted in the discovery of Cape York Peninsula by the Dutch vessel Duyfken about March 1606, followed by the discovery of Torres Straits and a portion of the mainland by Torres in a Spanish vessel, the Almirante, about August of the same year.* From this time we may safely say that the existence of a southern continent was definitely known, although its coastline was still indefinite and unexplored.
(*Footnote. Major. Early voyages to Terra Australis pages 74 to 75 and 80.)
Western Australia was, and indeed from its geographical position must have been, the first part of the continent to become actually known, lying as it does just off what was then the main trade route to the East. No better evidence can be found of this statement than a study of the map showing the prevailing winds. We notice that south of the Tropic of Capricorn the general direction of the wind is from the west, while just above the tropic we meet the south-east trades and monsoonal disturbances. Mariners but doubtfully acquainted with the seas in which they were sailing would have a tendency, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, to go east as far as possible before bearing northward to Java and Timor, thus hoping to secure the benefit of the wind in both directions and to avoid, if they could, the area of disturbance. This would apply particularly to the Dutch, whose information of the route was first gained by the study of navigation and not by its actual practice; and it explains in great measure the frequency of Dutch names on the west coast of Australia. It is more than probable that the first knowledge of the new continent many of them had was when they felt it under their keels.
It is curious to note how great a part the struggle for the control of the East Indian trade played in the gradual determination of the coastline of the continent. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and French in turn endeavoured to come from the commerce and resources of those regions of marvellous wealth, and from the possible discovery of the Abrolhos by Menezes in 1527 we have the same procession of nationalities in the progress of Australian discovery.
Early in the seventeenth century we find important changes taking place in the political conditions of Europe. The great naval strength of Spain, and the mighty influence consequent upon it, had made her, in the sixteenth century, the dominant power in the Low Countries, and a successful rival of Portugal in the trade of the world. With the new era, however, the glory of Spain was rapidly to wane, and the nation so long trodden under the Spanish heel was not only to become free but to challenge both her naval and commercial supremacy.
The long-striven-for and hardly-won independence of the Netherlands had roused all the strength and energy of the people, and the dogged determination that had ended Spanish oppression found continued opportunity in the desire to lift Holland to a proud position among the nations. The northern provinces were free, but Spain had for the time regained control of the southern, and had made her implacable hatred felt by repeated acts of cruelty, from which many of the inhabitants sought relief in flight. Among these were a number of Antwerp merchants who had for many years been indirectly connected with the trade to the Indies. The opposition of these men was strengthened by two of the most potent of human passions--the bitter hatred of exiles and the fanatic attachment to religious faith. They saw that Spain could best be crippled by curtailing her overseas trade or by depriving her of it altogether, and that in the result the southern provinces might be freed and the Protestant faith strengthened.
This, at first the idea of a few, gained general support when the Spaniards forbade Dutch traffic with Spain, which even during the wars had never altogether ceased. Geography, hydrography, and navigation became subjects of earnest study, and schools were formed with the express purpose of endeavouring to find a way to India and other Spanish possessions. The outcome of this movement was the foundation in 1602 of the Dutch East India Company, under whose flag many important voyages and discoveries were to be made.*
(*Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis pages 76 to 78.)
Of the Dutch voyages prior to this time no certain information is available. The English Ambassador at the Hague in the time of Charles II, Sir William Temple,* gave it as his opinion that "a southern continent has long since been found out," which he said was "as long as Java and is marked on the maps by the name of New Holland, but to what extent the land extends, either to the south, the east, or the west, we do not know." To the same authority we are indebted for the declaration that the Dutch East India Company "have long since forbidden, and under the greatest penalties, any further attempts at discovering that continent, having already more trade than they can turn to account, and fearing some more populous nation of Europe might make great establishments of trade in some of these unknown regions, which might ruin or impair what they have already in the Indies."** This statement has been vigorously denied by the Dutch, but the fact remains that of the voyages made by the Company little was known until the publication of the instructions issued by the Governor-General at Batavia to Tasman, on his second voyage in 1644. This curious document was found by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770 when turning over the old archives at Batavia, and was published by Sir Alexander Dalrymple in his Collections Concerning Papua. From it we learn that in 1606 the Duyfken made the first AUTHENTICATED discovery of that great land*** which at the instance of the famous navigator, Matthew Flinders, is now designated Australia. The Captain of this vessel, Willem Jansz, prepared a careful chart of the voyage, showing that he sailed along the coast of New Guinea, then went southward along the coast of Cape York Peninsula to Cape Keer-Weer (Turn again) but was prevented from landing even for water owing to the cruel and treacherous nature of the savages, who murdered some of the crew. The results of Torres' voyage not being known at the time, the captain considered that the whole coast traversed was a portion of New Guinea.
(*Footnote. Temple, Sir W. Works, London 1720 volume 1 page 163.)
(**Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 163.)
(***Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 3.)
The second voyage, according to the Book of Dispatches, was that made in a yacht from Batavia by order of the Fiscal d'Edel in 1617. Of this, however, nothing certain is known, as the journals and remarks could not be found.*
(*Footnote. In the portion relating more particularly to the Dutch voyages, the author is chiefly indebted to the following authorities: a. Major, R.H. Early Voyages to Terra Australis. b. Heeres, J.E. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia, 1606 to 1675, London 1899. c. Historical introduction to the Official Year Book of Western Australia, 1902 to 1904. The last named was submitted to Dr. W.G.S. Byvanck, the Chief Librarian of the Royal Library at the Hague, who made various corrections which have been incorporated in the text. Dr. Byvanck's original letter is filed in the Registrar-General's Department of Western Australia. 530/97.)
No further attempts at discovery were made from Batavia until 1623, but in the meantime outward-bound ships touched at various portions of the coast in 1616, 1618, 1619, and 1622. Of these voyages but little information is now available. The most important of them all, from a romantic as well as from an historic point of view, is that of Dirk Hartog in 1616, commanding the ship Eendracht, of some 360 tons burden. Having entered the roads leading into Shark Bay (so named at a later period by Dampier) this navigator discovered and named Dirk Hartog Island. The large island at the entrance to the bay then, or subsequently, named Dorre Island was also discovered by him, as well as the portion of the mainland opposite which, if not then named, was certainly known as Eendrachts-Land as soon afterwards as 1618.* On the north end of the island bearing his name Hartog left a tin plate as witness to his visit. This was nailed to a post and remained in position for nearly a century before being again seen by the eye of civilised man. It bore the following inscription:
"On the 25th of October, 1616, arrived here the ship Eendracht, of Amsterdam: The first merchant, Gilles Milbais van Luyck: captain, Dirk Hartog, of Amsterdam; the 27th ditto set sail for Bantam; under merchant, Jan Stins; upper steersman, Pieter Dockes, of Bil; A.D. 1616."
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 8. Some doubt as to the authenticity of Dirk Hartog's voyage, based chiefly upon researches by Mr. George Collingridge, has been raised by the Reverend J. Bryant in the Scottish Geographical Magazine for March 1917 volume 33 pages 120 to 121. Mr. Collingridge's argument, however, scarcely seems to combat the evidence of Heeres (Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia) or the fact that Eendrachtsland is marked on the chart of Gerritz made in 1627.)
To continue the history of this plate, it may be said that when Van Vlaming, captain of the Geelvinck (of whose voyage it will be necessary to speak later) visited the island in 1697--the first visit, so far as we know, after the erection of the plate--he took the original plate away to Batavia, replacing it by a new one, on which the old inscription was copied and the following new one added:
"On the 4th of February, 1697, arrived here the ship Geelvinck, of Amsterdam: Captain commandant, Wilhelm van Vlaming, of Vlielandt; assistant, Jan van Bremen, of Copenhagen; first pilot, Micheel Bloem Van Estight, of Bremen; the hooker Myptangh: Captain, Gerrit Collaert, of Amsterdam; assistant, Theodorus Heermans, of the same place; first pilot, Gerrit Gerritz, of Bremen. Sailed from here with our fleet on the 12th to explore the South Land and afterwards bound for Batavia."
(The above are translations of the original inscriptions. See Plates 1 and 2.)
Still another century later, in 1801, during the French voyage of discovery made by Baudin in the Geographe and Naturaliste, Van Vlaming's plate was seen. The two vessels became separated, and Captain Hamelin, of the Naturaliste, sent three men onto Dirk Hartog island for the purpose of signalling the other ship. The boatswain on his return from the island brought back the tin plate, which he had found on the north point half buried in the sand and close to an oaken post to which originally it seemed to have been attached. Hamelin copied the inscription and then replaced it in position on a new post. He also placed on the north-east of the island a new plate giving the name of his ship and the date of arrival.* The old plate remained for a while longer, but was not to be found when King** made a careful search for it in 1822. It afterwards transpired that Freycinet had removed it in 1818 and had deposited it for safekeeping in the museum of the French Institute at Paris. This fact is recorded in the minutes of the Institute for 1821, but apparently the plate has been lost, as every effort since made to discover it has been futile.*** The same fate was believed to have befallen the original plate of Dirk Hartog, which had been carried to Batavia. Fortunately, however, it was found in 1902 in the State Museum at Amsterdam by Mr. F.F.L. de Balbian.****
(*Footnote. Peron. Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes 1801 a 1804; Historique volume 1 pages 194 a 195.)
(**Footnote. King, P.P. Narrative of a Survey of the Inter-tropical and Western Coasts of Australia 1818 to 1822 volume 2 page 180.)
(***Footnote. See letter from Dr. A. Grandidier, Secretary of the Institute (filed in Registrar-General's Office, Western Australia.)
(****Footnote. Western Australia Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 4.)
Reverting now to the historical narrative, it would appear that in July 1618 the outward-bound ship Mauritius* made some discoveries on the west coast, more particularly of "Willem's River" (probably the Ashburton) near the North-West Cape. As the journals and remarks were lost, no further particulars of this voyage are available.
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia pages x, 12 to 13.)
In the following year, 1619, a fleet of eleven vessels under the command of Frederick Houtman, in the Dordrecht, claims to have discovered a series of reefs lying off the west coast, to which the name Frederick Houtman's Abrolhos* was given. These consist of a cluster of rocky islets with surrounding reefs, and are situated west and north-west of Champion Bay. It is very doubtful whether this was really the first discovery of these islands.** It will be remembered that on at least one map of the sixteenth century they are vaguely defined, and the term Arenes given them. Major*** is of opinion that there is no evidence that Houtman ever visited the group at all, but that the islands were named after him, in 1619, by Jacob d'Edel, to whom their discovery was really due. This view, however, must give way before the researches of Professor Heeres,**** who prints two letters from Houtman, both dated Jacatra, 7 October 1619, the one to Prince Maurice and the other to the managers of the East India Company. In these he describes his visit to the islands. "On the 29th" (July) he writes, "deeming ourselves to be in open sea, we shaped our course north-by-east. At noon we were in 29 degrees 32 minutes southern latitude; at night, about three hours before daybreak, we again unexpectedly came upon a low-lying coast, a level country with reefs all round it. We saw no highland or mainland, so that this shoal is to be carefully avoided as very dangerous to ships that wish to touch at this coast. It is fully ten miles in length, lying in 28 degrees 46 minutes."
(*Footnote. The term Abrolhos is a contraction of the Portuguese abri vossos olhos (keep your eyes open) a most necessary precaution, and a term applied by them to outlying coastal dangers.)
(**Footnote. See supra.)
(***Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 86.)
(****Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia pages 14 to 16.)
The supercargo of the Amsterdam, one of Houtman's fleet, was Jacob d'Edel, or Dedel, after whom the portion of the coast between Shark Bay and Champion Bay, then discovered, was named Edel Land. The letter forwarded by this supercargo from Jacatra to the managers of the East India Company, bearing the same date as Houtman's, has perhaps a peculiar interest for Western Australia, as it contains the suggestion, certainly the first, that the new land from its general appearance might prove to be gold-bearing. In it, inter alia, d'Edel writes, after describing his meeting with Houtman at the Cape and their journey together till they "came upon the south lands situated behind Java":
"We anchored in 14 fathom in 32 1/2 degrees latitude, the bottom being level and hard; in full sight of the land the sea was 100 fathom deep. We used our best endeavours to make a landing, which, however, could not conveniently be done owing to the steep coast...We then made all sail, and the wind coming round a little we stood out to sea, not deeming it advisable to continue longer inshore in this bad weather with such large heavy ships and such costly cargoes as we had entrusted to our care, and with great peril to lose more precious time; but being contented with having seen the land, which at a more favourable time may be further explored with more fitting vessels and smaller craft. We have seen no sign of inhabitants, nor did we always keep near the coast, since it formed large bays which would have taken up much time. Still, we kept seeing the coast from time to time until 27 degrees we came upon the land discovered by the ship Eendracht, which land in the said latitude showed as a red, muddy coast, WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE SURMISES OF SOME OF US, MIGHT NOT UNLIKELY PROVE TO BE GOLD-BEARING, A POINT WHICH MAY BE CLEARED UP IN TIME."*
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 16.)
The next voyage of interest was that of the Leeuwin in 1622. This vessel rounded the cape since known as Cape Leeuwin at the south-west corner of the continent, and continued along the coast as far east as King George's Sound. The name Leeuwin's Land was applied to the portion then examined, and on Gerritz' map it is said to consist of "dunes with trees and underwood at the top" and "lowland seemingly submerged by the tide."*
(*Footnote. Ibid page 17.)
On 5 July of the same year there arrived at Batavia a boat containing ten men, who formed part of the crew of an English ship, the Trial; this was followed some few days later by the pinnace of the same ship with thirty-six men on board. The men stated that they had lost and abandoned their ship with ninety-seven men and the cargo on some rocks in 20 degrees 10 minutes southern latitude and in the longitude of the western extremity of Java, that the ship ran on the rocks at night time in fine weather, and that they had met with the accident through following the course of Dutch ships.* It is probable that while right as to latitude the sailors were considerably at fault in their longitude, as the rocks have since been identified as the south-west portion of Monte Bello Reef, which runs north and south to the north of Barrow Island. A Dutch yacht, the Hasewint, was instructed to search for the place, but for some reason it never made a start. The instructions given to the commander of the yacht are of a most interesting nature, and had the voyage been carried out in accordance with them, the history of Australia, or at least the western part of it, might have been entirely different. The captain received orders to give names fitting and worthy from a Dutch point of view to the places he should visit, and to take possession of them in the name of the United Provinces. That of course, had it been done, would have meant annexation by the Dutch of practically the whole of Western Australia, as the orders embraced the whole coastline south if necessary to 50 degrees southern latitude, and eastward as far as possible if the coast turned in that direction. From the standpoint of future British settlement it is perhaps fortunate that the voyage never took place. Apart from that phase of the question, however, the voyage would have been productive of great results, and a more or less definite knowledge of the possibilities of Western Australia would have been known to the world nearly two centuries earlier. The thoroughness with which the voyage was conceived and the advantages hoped to be gained may be gathered from the following extract from the instructions:**
"The main object for which you are dispatched on this occasion is that from 45 or 50 degrees, or from the furthest point to which the land shall be found to extend southward within these latitudes, up to the northern-most extremity of the South Land, you will have to discover and survey all capes, forelands, bights, lands, islands, rocks, reefs, sandbanks, depths, shallows, roads, winds, currents, and all that appertains to the same, so as to be able to map out and duly mark everything in its true latitude, bearings, and conformation. You will, moreover, go ashore in various places and diligently examine the coast in order to ascertain whether or not it is inhabited, the nature of the land and the people, their towns and inhabited villages, the divisions of their kingdoms, their religion and policy, their wars, their rivers, the shape of their vessels, their fisheries, commodities, and manufactures, but specially to inform yourselves what minerals such as gold, silver, tin, lead, and copper, what precious stones, pearls, vegetables, animals, and fruits these lands yield and produce."
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 18.)
(**Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 19.)
Farther on they were directed to inquire as carefully as possible into the question of whether the land would yield gold, as had previously been suggested, and also to endeavour to procure and bring back to Batavia some of the natives.*
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 21.)
The expedition failed to set out owing, it is said, to unforeseen causes,* but the existence of the instructions is particularly valuable, giving as they do a complete and comprehensive statement of the Dutch colonial policy of the time. The principal end in view may have been, as was stated, that of discovery, but there is ample evidence that commercial interests were not lost sight of, nor were possible political results altogether overlooked.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 21 note 1.)
The next mention we have of the new land was that made by the captain of the Wapen van Hoorn in the same year, 1622. This vessel had left Texel for the east in the previous December, and on arrival at her destination reported having been "in extreme peril near Eendracht Land."*
(*Footnote. Ibid page 15.)
The knowledge of the west coast was extended during 1623 by the Leyden and the Tortelduyff, both of which reported having sighted the South Land. In the same year Arnhem Land, including the present Northern Territory of the Commonwealth, was discovered by Jan Carstensz. During an attempt at exploration some members of the party were killed, and the expedition returned with the information that "in this discovery were found everywhere shallow water and barren coasts; islands altogether thinly populated by divers cruel, poor, and brutal natives, and of very little use to the Company."*
(*Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 45.)
Nothing further is known until 1627, when the Gulden Zeepaard, under the command of Francois Thyssen, sighted the south coast just beyond Cape Leeuwin and made an exhaustive examination of the coastline for about one thousand miles eastward, giving to the part explored the name of Nuyts Land,* in honour of the chief passenger, Pieter Nuyts, who was afterwards Ambassador to Japan and subsequently Governor of Formosa. In Nuyts Land was embraced all that territory lying at the head of the Great Australian Bight.
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 51.)
In the second half of the same year, on 22 July 1627, the Governor-General of the Dutch Indies sailed from Table Bay with the ships Galias, Utrecht, and Texel. All went well up to 10 August, when the rudder of the Galias broke, and the ship becoming unmanageable, the other vessels passed out of sight. Repairs being effected, the next day she proceeded on her course alone, and on 5 September came suddenly upon the Land of Eendracht, which by the reckoning of the chart should have been nearly 350 miles farther east. The Governor's experience on this voyage and his nearness to shipwreck led him to request the Company to give particular attention to correcting the miscalculations in the chart--a work that seems to have been very urgently required. Accuracy of observation and charting was therefore enjoined upon succeeding captains, with a result beneficial alike to navigation and geography.* Towards the end of 1627 the Wapen van Hoorn, which had been in peril near the coast of Eendracht Land in 1622, again sighted the same portion of the coast, although, according to the chart, the land should have been in quite a different direction. This fact led to observations being taken which helped to make the chart more correct.**
(*Footnote. Ibid page 52.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 53.)
Early in the following year Captain de Witt in the Vianen, homeward bound, touched the shore on the north-west coast in the neighbourhood of the present town of Roebourne, and after making a cursory examination for some fifty miles gave it the name of De Witt Land.*
(*Footnote. Ibid pages xi, 54.)
The same year, 1628, was also to witness the commencement of one of the most important and exciting voyages made to the new land. On the whole, the history of early Australian discovery is a calm and quiet story, without trace of adventure, recording nothing of an eventful nature beyond the sighting and superficial examination of stretches of isolated and uninteresting coast. But there are some exceptions, and perhaps the greatest of these is the tragic voyage of the Batavia, whose passengers and crew formed the first white settlers on Australian soil, albeit involuntarily, and for many of them with dire results.
The relation of this voyage, probably compiled from Pelsart's Journal, was first published in Dutch at Amsterdam in 1647, and was repeatedly republished during the succeeding few years. It was used by Thevenot in 1663 in compiling a French version for his Receuil de divers voyages curieux, and all English accounts were merely abridgements of this until 1897, when Mr. W. Siebenhaar, of Perth, undertook a complete translation of the Dutch account. The description of the voyage is taken from that document.* Pelsart's Journal was recently published by Professor Heeres, but the fact and particulars of the shipwreck were omitted as being already sufficiently known.
(*Footnote. This was printed in the Western Mail (Perth) Christmas Number 1897.)
In 1628 General Pieter Carpentier returned safely from the East Indies with five richly-laden merchant ships, and this, combined with the fact that the Government had recently succeeded in releasing three ships from an embargo laid upon them by the English a year previously, led the authorities to determine to send another fleet of eleven ships to the East, with which General Jacob Specks was to sail. Two ships and a yacht being soon ready to sail, the senate sent them to Texel so as to lose no time. These vessels were the Batavia (under Francois Pelsart) the Dordrecht (under Isaac van Swaenswyck) and the Assendelft (under Cornelis Vlack). They left Texel for their destination on 28 October 1628. With the details of the first part of the voyage we need not concern ourselves. Nothing out of the ordinary happened except that the ships became separated, which was so usual an occurrence as to cause little excitement. The Batavia continued her course alone, and on Whit-Monday, 4 June 1629, reached southern latitude 28 degrees 28 1/3 minutes, about nine miles from the mainland. Here the ship was amongst the perilous banks of the Abrolhos, and shortly before sunrise she struck the reef. The usual trials and tribulations attendant upon shipwrecks occurred, intensified by the drunkenness and lawlessness of the soldiers and sailors, but eventually the whole company was landed on two small islands situated about three leagues from the ship. After considerable difficulty, provisions and merchandise, including treasure, were landed, but it was impossible to secure sufficient water. The forty people on the smaller island had only eighty cans, and the 180 refugees on the larger had even less, so that from the beginning the scarcity of water had to be faced. On this account a great deal of dissatisfaction arose, particularly as there was no water to be found on the islands, and very little hope of securing any until rain came, or unless the ship went to pieces and some of the barrels were to float to the islands. Some of the crew desired to take the boat and search the other islands and the mainland, but Pelsart was not at first favourable to this idea, feeling that he was responsible for the safety of both the people and the merchandise. Ultimately after much pressure he yielded, and it was decided that they should try the mainland for water, and if they found none to continue the voyage to Batavia to seek assistance for those left on the islands.
Before carrying this resolution into effect, the commodore (Pelsart) wished to sail across to the other island to acquaint the people there was the decision arrived at. The crew at first objected to this, but at length were induced to start. When nearing the other shore, however, they renewed their objections and definitely refused to land, evidently afraid of some untoward result. Pelsart was therefore compelled to return to the first island. The next morning, in company with some others, he set out early, after leaving a note of their intentions, to search for water. For three days they sought among the islands, but without success. Such fresh water as there was in the rocky holes of the islands round about had been spoilt by seawater during the storm. Then, on 9 June, they steered for the mainland, but were not able to land owing to the roughness of the coast and the persistence of the storm. Many efforts were made to effect a landing, but without avail, "for the breakers were too strong and the coast too steep and jagged, without any foreland or inlet, as is usually found on other coasts, so that it seemed to them a bare and cursed country, devoid of green or grass." The current bore them farther to the northward than they desired, and on the 14th, on approaching the coast, they observed a good deal of smoke, and endeavoured to run in, hoping to find men and water. To land being impracticable on account of the breakers, six men determined to swim for the shore, and all succeeded in reaching it. A day's search left them exhausted and unsuccessful. In the evening "they happened upon four people, who were creeping toward them on their hands and feet." These fled upon the approach of the sailors, who on their return to the boat described them as "black savages, quite naked, leaving themselves uncovered like animals." The next day they were fortunately able to land, and managed to collect about twenty gallons of water. They next resolved to go farther inland in the hope of securing more in the mountains, but the search was vain, as there was no appearance of water, "for behind the mountain chain the country was flat again, bearing neither trees nor vegetation nor grass, and being everywhere covered with high anthills built of earth, which in the distance were not unlike Indian huts. There were also such multitudes of flies that one could not keep them out of one's eyes." They next saw eight black people, each carrying a stick in his hand. These approached them to a musket shot's distance, but "when they saw our people coming toward them they took to their heels and would neither speak nor stop."
Oppressed by a sense of his own danger and fearing for the safety of those left on the islands, Pelsart followed the coastline in the hope of reaching the river of Jacob Remmessens,* which according to his charts was close at hand. North-easterly winds prevented him from reaching it, and finally he determined to try to make Batavia for assistance. This difficult task he accomplished and after sighting Java on 27 June, reached Batavia on 5 July. The next day he made his appearance before the Court, and having informed the Governor-General and Council of his misfortunes, requested speedy help to save the shipwrecked people, and to secure as much as possible of the merchandise. In a few days the frigate Sardam was assigned to him, and after manning and victualling her he left on his return to the Abrolhos on the 15th of the month.
(*Footnote. No definite date can be assigned to the discovery of this river. As Heeres points out, it must have been known before 1628 or 1629 as it is mentioned by Pelsart, but could not have been much earlier as the name is not found on Gerritz' charts of 1618 and 1627. Modern maps show no river of any size at that point. It is possible that Exmouth Gulf was mistaken for the mouth of a river. J.S.B.)
In the meantime, however, there was great trouble among those left behind on the islands. After the shipwreck the supercargo, Jerome Cornelisz, with several accomplices, had formed the intention of refloating the ship and using her for piracy, a trade which in those days was far from being unremunerative. To this end they remained on the vessel for some ten days, until, in fact, she began to fall to pieces, and they had considerable difficulty in gaining the shore. Cornelisz then, as supercargo, took command of the company, which at that time was spread over three islands. This distribution on three islands rose from the fact that a few days previously some of the men, in charge of a soldier, Webbye Hays, had gone off to a third in search of water.
Realising that the Batavia could not now be used for their purpose, Cornelisz and his associates determined upon the murder of all those opposed to their schemes, and upon the seizure of the yacht in which they expected Pelsart to return from Batavia. Selecting those upon whom he could depend, a contract was made out to which they agreed. The wording of this bond, really an agreement to commit wholesale murder, is so curious that it may be interesting to insert it in full:
"We, the undersigned, in order to take away all distrust that exists or might exist amongst us, bind ourselves herewith, ON THE SALVATION OF OUR SOULS, AND ON THE SOLEMN OATH THAT GOD SHALL TRULY HELP US TO BE TRUE TO EACH OTHER IN EVERYTHING AND TO LOVE EACH OTHER AS BROTHERS; also promising not to do each other any injury whatsoever in person or possession without first verbally declaring to each other the breach of the peace, in knowledge thereof we have signed this contract on the 12th July, 1629, on the island Bataviae's Kerkhof."
The signatures followed. They then proceeded to murder all those on the island with the exception of thirty men and four boys, so that the name of the island as set down in the contract--Batavia's graveyard--was both sinister and significant.
Meanwhile, Webbye Hays and party, who were away looking for water, were after twenty days successful in finding it, and made three fires as a signal. As this happened to be on the day of the general murder, Cornelisz and his friends were probably too busy to notice them. Some who escaped the carnage managed to get across to Hays on rafts and take him the dreadful news. Having with these reinforcements some forty-five men under him, he resolved to place himself in a position of defence from attack. Those on the remaining island, either not being aware of what had transpired or being too weak to defend themselves, were attacked by a party of Cornelisz' ruffians, and all but seven boys and six women were murdered. The chests of merchandise were then opened, and the worthy band attired themselves gaudily in scarlet cloth, with gold and silver embroidery.
The ringleader, however, recognised that there could be no safety for him until Webbye Hays and party were put out of the way. Consequently, having assumed the title and authority of Captain-General, he sent an expedition of twenty-two armed men against them. These were successfully repulsed by the practically defenceless band. Cornelisz then had recourse to strategy, and by letter secretly offered some of the men large rewards in return for treachery. These letters were shown to Hays, and a trap was accordingly laid. Cornelisz was induced to come to the island to settle the terms, and on arrival he himself was taken prisoner and some of his men killed.
At this stage, 13 September, the Sardam with Pelsart arrived at the Abrolhos, the commodore being pleased to find from the presence of smoke that some at least of his people were still alive. Before he could land, Webbye Hays and three others came on board and gave him an account of the whole tragedy, further informing him that the ruffians were already on their way to surprise and seize the ship. These, when they arrived, were captured, a fate which also quickly befell the remainder of the band. An examination into all the circumstances was then and there made, and as carrying the miscreants back to Batavia would have meant crowding the frigate too much, Cornelisz and those closely associated with him were put to death on Seal Island, after being subjected to the refinements of what one almost feels compelled to admit was well-merited torture. Among them they had murdered no fewer than 125 innocent people. The frigate then returned to Batavia, stopping her course to maroon two of the conspirators on the coast near Champion Bay. These two men were the first white inhabitants of the continent so far as is known. It is curious that the first white settlement in Australia also consisted of persons largely of the same class.*
(*Footnote. The instructions issued to the commanders of the yachts Klein Amsterdam and Wesel, which were sent out in 1636 for further investigation of the north coast of Australia, contained the direction to grant a passage home to the two Dutch criminals put ashore on the west coast by Pelsart. See Heeres, Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 66.)
During the years following, particularly in 1629, 1632, and 1635, various places on the west coast were either touched at or sighted by Dutch ships, but these did not contribute anything new in the way of information.* The next important voyage was that of Abel Janszoon Tasman (who had discovered Van Diemen's Land in 1642) and Franz Visscher, with the yachts Limmen, Zeemeeuw, and De Brak. It was for this voyage, which took place in 1644, that the Dutch Book of Dispatches, previously referred to, and from which much of our knowledge of the voyages of the Dutch East India Company is derived, was compiled. The object of the expedition was to explore the north-west and north coasts of the new continent, and to proceed eastward to determine whether New Guinea was a separate island or part of the mainland. Tasman's Journal of this voyage had unfortunately been lost, so that such information as we possess about the voyage is rather meagre, and is taken from a work published in 1705 by Burgomaster Witsen, who quotes Tasman as the authority for his statements. These refer chiefly to the natives, who are described as "possessing rude canoes made of the bark of trees, but no houses; to live poorly, go naked, and eat yams and other roots."**
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 62.)
(**Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 98.)
From the map published by Thevenot in 1663, which it is said was forgery taken from that done in inlaid work on the pavement of the new Stadt Haus in Amsterdam, we may get a fair idea of his route. He certainly did not ascertain whether New Guinea was separated from the mainland,* but he examined the northern coastline from Arnhem Land to Exmouth Gulf, taking in De Witt Land and part of Eendracht Land, and embracing the districts now known as the Kimberleys and the North-West. He also appears to have landed in what we call Carnot and Roebuck Bays. To him we owe the name New Holland, which was applied by the Dutch only to the western portion of the continent, the coastline of which had been fairly accurately determined. The part to the east, which was still thought to be connected with New Guinea, continued to be called South Land.**
(*Footnote. Tasman, Abel Janszoon. Journal edited by Heeres Amsterdam 1898 page 117.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 118 and Chart Number 1; also Heeres, Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 12.)
From this time to the end of the century the interest of the Dutch in coastal exploration seems to have flagged. The sterile nature of the country promised but little in the way of wealth, and though the territory was still included in the lands of the Dutch East India Company, it was left undisturbed to the occupation of the savages. An exploratory voyage was made by the Leeuwerik in 1648, and in 1649 the Vergulde Draeck, laden with rich merchandise and money, was wrecked in latitude 30 degrees 40 minutes and 118 lives were lost. In the hope of securing assistance, seven of the survivors managed to reach Batavia, leaving sixty-eight behind them to protect the cargo and treasure. Relief ships were dispatched in 1657 and 1658, but many of these met with disaster of one kind or another, and all returned from the search unsuccessful. The first of these vessels, the Witte Valck and Goede Hoop, sailed down the coast for some distance, but returned after losing a boat and eleven men. The Vinck, from the Cape to Batavia, was instructed to search, but also failed. The Waeckende Boey and the Emeloort visited the mainland in 1658 on the same mission, but with abortive results.* The first of these vessels foolishly abandoned a boat and fourteen men during bad weather, and only four of them got back to Batavia, the remainder succumbing to incredible suffering and privation. In the same year the Elburg joined in the search with the same negative result. Many of these ships observed wreckage of various kinds floating about, which evidently came from the Vergulde Draeck, but nothing was ever heard of the unfortunate castaways. There was, however, some result from the attempts in improved charts of the coastline.**
(*Footnote. Rottnest Island was discovered during this voyage of the Waeckende Boey (see Heeres page 79) but was not named.)
(**Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis pages 105 to 106; Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia pages xii, 73 to 76 and 81.)
Some twenty years later the Vliegende Swaan* coasted the north-west of the continent on her voyage from Ternate to Batavia.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 82.)
DISCOVERY OF AND EARLY VOYAGES TO AUSTRALIA (CONTINUED).
Up to the end of the seventeenth century English maritime enterprise in the Pacific Ocean and Southern Seas had been almost a negligible quantity, confined chiefly to occasional voyages of adventure; and any English interest in, or even knowledge of, the new South Land could scarcely be said to exist. Curiously enough, that English interest was in the first place stimulated by one who at that period of his life was in every respect a buccaneer--William Dampier. But pirate though he practically was, he had some of the qualities of a hero, and he possessed that faculty for accurate observation that made his remarks and opinions on places visited of special value to his country.
Born in 1652 of a respectable family in Somerset, Dampier as a young man gained some experience of the sea both in the merchant service and in the navy. In 1674 he went to Jamaica to assist in the management of a plantation, but the life was so devoid of adventure that in the following year he went back to sea. In 1697 he joined the buccaneers and made various expeditions in the Pacific with the avowed object of plundering the Spanish settlements. Some four years later he took service with one Cook on a cruise round the world. Finding that the vessel was too small for the purpose, they ran along the coast of Africa in the hope of meeting a more suitable craft. At sierra Leone they fell in with a Dutch ship carrying thirty-six guns, and without qualms of conscience forcibly took possession of her and ran out to sea.* Dampier's narrative says nothing of this, but would lead us to believe that the voyage was one of discovery only, instead of being, as it really was, one of piracy. Cook died in 1684, and Davis, who took his place, joined forces with a Captain Swan of the Cygnet, and for twelve months they scoured the South American coast in company. After that they parted, as Swan wished to try the Mexican coast and then go across the Pacific towards the East Indies. With him went Dampier, filled, according to his narrative, with a desire for discovery. Reaching the Philippine Islands in June 1686, they remained there until early in the following year, when dissatisfaction became rife among the crew, owing partly to the prolonged inactivity and partly to the methods of Captain Swan. In the end Captain Teat, the chief mate, with a number of the crew, amongst whom were the surgeon and Dampier, sailed away with the ship, leaving Swan and about thirty-six men stranded on Mindanao.** After a course of piracy in the China Seas and the East Indian Archipelago, they decided to turn to the south, intending to touch at New Holland in order to "to see what that country would afford us."***
(**Footnote. Dictionary of National Biography sub nomen Dampier.)
(**Footnote. Dampier. New voyage round the World third edition London 1698 pages 372 to 374.)
(***Footnote. Ibid page 461.)
The landing took place in the north-west corner of King Sound, at the spot now known as Cygnet Bay. Here the ship was beached for cleaning and repairs, and it is curious that apparently by accident the captain found the one place on the whole north-west coast suitable for that purpose. During the stay there, lasting until 12 March, Dampier appears to have found the society of his fellow-buccaneers uncongenial, and to have occupied his time in making a careful exploration of the surrounding country.
"New Holland," he tells us, "is a very large tract of land. It is not yet determined whether it is an island or a main continent; but I am certain that it joins neither to Asia, Africa, nor America. The part of it that we saw is all low, even land, with sandy banks against the sea; only the points are rocky, and so are some of the islands in this bay."*
(*Footnote. Ibid page 463.)
Dampier's observations on the country and the natives are singularly correct, and have a particular value as giving the first definite and accurate information known concerning any portion of this vast continent.
The soil he describes as dry and sandy,
"destitute of water, except you make wells; yet producing divers sorts of trees. But the woods are not thick nor the trees very big. Most of the trees we saw are dragon-trees, as we supposed, and these, too, are the largest trees of any there. They are about the bigness of our large apple trees...and the rind is blackish and somewhat rough...The other sorts of trees were not known to any of us. There was pretty long grass growing under the trees, but it was very thin. We saw no trees that bore fruit or berries."*
(*Footnote. Dampier. New voyage round the World third edition London 1698 page 463.)
Of the natives, whom he must have observed with very great care, he writes:*
"The inhabitants of this country are the miserablest people in the world. The Hodmadods of Monomatapa, though a nasty people, yet for wealth are gentlemen to these, who have no houses and skin garments, sheep, poultry, and fruits of the earth, ostrich eggs, etc., as the Hodmadods have; and setting aside their human shape, they differ little from brutes. They are tall, straight-bodied, and thin, with small long limbs. They have great heads, round foreheads, and great brows. Their eyelids are always half-closed to keep the flies out of their eyes, they being so troublesome here that no fanning will keep them off...They have great bottle noses, pretty full lips, and wide mouths. The two fore teeth of their upper jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old and young. They are long-visaged...Their hair is black, short, and curled.
"They have no sort of clothes, but a piece of the rind of a tree tied like a girdle about their waists, and a handful of long grass, or three or four small green boughs full of leaves, thrust under their girdle to cover their nakedness.
"They have no houses, but lie in the open air without any covering, the earth being their bed and the heaven their canopy...They do live in companies, twenty or thirty men, women, and children together. Their only food is a small sort of fish which they get by making weirs of stones across little coves or branches of the sea, every tide bringing in the small fish, and there leaves them a prey to these people, who constantly attend there to search for them at low water...There is neither herb, root, pulse, nor any sort of grain for them to eat that we saw, nor any sort of bird or beast that they can catch, having no instruments wherewithal to do so.
"I did not perceive that they did worship anything. These poor creatures have a sort of weapon to defend their ware or fight with their enemies, if they have any that will interfere with their poor fisheries...Some of them had wooden swords; others had a sort of lance. The sword is a piece of wood shaped somewhat like a cutlass. The lance is a long straight pole, sharp at one end and hardened afterwards by heat. I saw no iron nor any other sort of metal."
(*Footnote. Dampier. New Voyage round the World third edition London 1698 pages 464 to 466.)
After leaving Cygnet Bay, Dampier desired to proceed on a voyage to England, but this did not meet with the approval of his companions. A quarrel occurred, and in the result he, with two others, was put ashore on the Nicobar Islands.* Here they suffered many trials and privations, but ultimately succeeded in getting away, and in 1691 Dampier arrived back in England after an absence of nearly nine years.
(**Footnote. Dampier. New Voyage round the World third edition London 1698 pages 482 to 483.)
Some years passed without incident until the Dutch became anxious about the fate of a missing ship, the Ridderschap van Holland, and in 1696 Willem van Vlaming was instructed by the East India Company to proceed with the Geelvinck and two other vessels to examine carefully the South Land or the Land of Eendracht and also to inquire into the fate of the Ridderschap van Holland, which had left the Cape for Batavia in 1694.* On Christmas Day, 1696, they sighted land, and on 29 December anchored off the shore of a large island, upon which they landed on the following day. On exploring it they were struck with the large number of rats' (wallabies) nests to be seen, and gave it the name of Rottenest Island. Some pieces of wreckage were discovered, but there was nothing by which they could identify the vessel they were endeavouring to trace. From the higher parts they could see the mainland distinctly, and from the smoke rising here and there from among the trees they gathered that natives were present. On 5 January 1697, Vlaming with eighty-six well-armed men landed on the shore somewhere in the neighbourhood of Cottesloe Beach, and going eastward came upon what they described as "a large basin of brackish water." On the banks of this they met with traces of natives in the shape of footprints, a fire still burning, and a hut that would have disgraced a Hottentot, but the aborigines themselves were not to be seen. They camped near the fire, and on the following day separated into three parties for exploratory purposes and went off in different directions. They met again at night having made no discovery of any importance beyond proving that the "basin of brackish water" was really a river. On the 9th they brought the ships in and anchored just off the mouth of the river, which Vlaming and a party explored on the following days for a distance of some fourteen or sixteen leagues. They were rewarded by the discovery of numbers of that hitherto unknown prodigy of Nature, the fabulous black swan mentioned by Juvenal. Several specimens were examined, and three were taken alive to Batavia. From the presence of these birds Vlaming named his discovery the Black Swan River. However, having, according to the narrative, "found neither good country nor seen anything worthy of note," Vlaming continued his voyage northward, examining the shore carefully for traces of the lost ship, and occasionally landing to make some exploration of the coast. On 4 February they reached Shark Bay, and on Dirk Hartog Island found the plate previously referred to. This they took away, leaving another in its place. Resuming the voyage they reached the North-West Cape, and on the 21st of the month set the course direct for Batavia, after firing guns "as a signal of farewell to the miserable South Land."** To Vlaming thus belongs the discovery of the Swan River, the most important so far of all the discoveries on the mainland.
(*Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 83 note 1. Also Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 107.)
(**Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis pages 120 to 133 extract from Vlaming's Journal. Vlaming's Journal was not printed by Heeres because it had already been printed in 1701 and a translation was included in Major's Early Voyages to Terra Australis.)
Meanwhile Dampier had not been idle. For some years after his arrival in England he was engaged in preparing a record of his voyage and adventures from 1683 to 1691. This was published in 1698 as A New Voyage Round the World. From it the English gained their first accurate knowledge of these new South Lands. At this time the Government had decided to fit out a ship for an exploratory voyage round the world, and Dampier was recommended for the command. He was accordingly directed to draw up proposals for such a purpose, and suggested that as little was known of the Terra Australis an examination of that territory should be included. The suggestions were approved, and Dampier was appointed to the command in 1698.*
(*Footnote. Dictionary of National Biography volume 14 page 4.)
Dampier left England in the Roebuck on 14 January 1699, and after touching at the Canary and Cape Verde Islands directed his course to Bahia in Brazil. From that port he made a long sweep round the Cape of Good Hope towards the west coast of Australia.* His first intention was to proceed westward through the Straits of Magellan or round Tierra del Fuego, in order to begin his discoveries upon the eastern and least-known side of the Terra Australis. He found, however, that it was not possible to go that way, as owing to the time of the year in which he left England he would have been compassing South America in a very high latitude in the depth of winter.** He therefore went eastward round the Cape. The same reason, the fear of severe winter weather, made him decide to go northwards along the coast of New Holland instead of southward.*** It is interesting to note that if Dampier had adhered to his original intention it is more than probable that he would have had the credit of discovering the eastern coast of Australia.
(*Footnote. Dampier. Voyage to New Holland in 1699 London 1703 pages 2 et seq.)
(**Footnote. Dampier. Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland in 1699 London 1729 page 124.)
(***Footnote. Ibid page 125.)
On 1 August Dampier sighted land, and on the 5th anchored in the bay to which, owing to the prevalence of sharks, he gave the name Shark's Bay (now known as Shark Bay).* Some eight days were spent in making trips to the mainland in search of water, but without result. During this time he surveyed a portion of the Bay and collected a good deal of valuable information about the coastal country, as well as interesting data concerning the fauna and flora. He tells us that the land was gently undulating, with stretches of sand along the seaboard, changing to a reddish soil of sandy nature farther inland. Upon this grew plants, grass, and shrubs, but no trees above ten feet in height. Of the tree blossoms blue was the predominating colour, and small and beautiful flowers of various hues, different from anything he had previously seen, abounded everywhere.** The only large birds were some eagles, cormorants, pelicans, gulls, and ducks. The land animals were few in number, consisting in the main of kangaroos and lizards. The kangaroos were new to natural history, and Dampier's description of them is the first known. "The land animals," he writes, "were only a sort of raccoons, different from those of the West Indies, chiefly as to their legs; for these have very short forelegs, but go jumping upon them as the others do, and, like them, are very good meat.*** The only other animals he saw were large lizards (or guanos, as he terms them) against which, as food, the sensitive stomach of a buccaneer appears to have rebelled.
(*Footnote. Dampier. Voyage to New Holland in 1699 London 1703 page 124.)
(**Footnote. Dampier. Voyage to New Holland in 1699 pages 121 and 122.)
(***Footnote. Ibid pages 122 to 123.)
Water not being available, he decided on the 14th to continue his voyage north, keeping as close to the shore as he could in the hope of finding more fertile country and an abundant supply of water.* From time to time he sent the boats ashore for supplies, but only once did he obtain sufficient to replenish the casks. On the 21st he reached some islands, now called Dampier Archipelago, situated off the present town of Cossack, and on the 31st again landed some 150 miles south of his former anchorage in Cygnet Bay. Here he had a small brush with some natives, in the course of which a sailor was speared and a native shot.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 129.)
Being still greatly concerned about the shortage of water, and disgusted with the sterile nature of the land, Dampier felt compelled to abandon any further exploration of the coast.* In accordance with this resolution he set sail early in September for Timor and New Guinea. On the voyage home the Roebuck was wrecked on the island of Ascension, but the navigator succeeded in reaching England, and in 1703 published an account of his voyage.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 154.)
His observations with regard to the coast and the information he brought back concerning the country and its inhabitants have been proved to be remarkably reliable, and may be regarded as some compensation for his failure to achieve fully the actual objects of his mission. Whether the new land was a succession of islands or a continent was a question yet to be solved, and the passage between New Guinea and Australia was still unknown.
His unfavourable reports about the land and his opinion of its wretched inhabitants, whom he described as "the miserablest people in the world,"* did not give any encouragement to the Government to pursue its investigations. Consequently we hear of no further voyages under the English flag until 1770, when Captain Cook discovered and took possession of the more fertile country on the east coast.
(*Footnote. Dampier. New Voyage round the World London 1698 page 464.)
A remark made by Dampier when seeking a passage among the islands of the archipelago that bears his name, that "among so many islands we might have found some sort of rich mineral or ambergris,"* has given rise to a curious inaccuracy in many official and other publications concerning the gold discoveries of Western Australia. It is stated that Dampier, a DUTCH buccaneer, discovered gold on the north-west coast in 1688, and that on account of this discovery the Dutch charts of the region were marked Provincia aurifera.** Though the region is so marked on some of the sixteenth-century charts, it is really the result of a geographical blunder, due to a misreading of part of Marco Polo's De regionibus orientalibus." This actually refers to Lower Siam, but was ignorantly transferred by early geographers to an imaginary great southern continent.*** Dampier was not Dutch. Neither does he make any mention in his narrative of a discovery of gold. Had he done so it is scarcely probable that English interest in the new country would have ceased after his report.
(*Footnote. Dampier. Voyage to New Holland in 1699, London 1703 page 138.)
(**Footnote. Western Australian Year Book (official) 1902 to 1904 page 10. The statement is made in Western Australia in 1891 by F. Hart page 42.)
(***Footnote. Letter from Mr. C.H. Cook, Department of Maps and Drawings, British Museum, to the Registrar-General of Western Australia--quoted in Year Book previously mentioned.)
In 1718 one Hans Purry of Neufchatel, published a work in which he proposed the establishment of a Dutch colonial settlement in the south-west corner near Cape Leeuwin. This idea was submitted to the authorities of the East India Company at Batavia and Amsterdam, and being declined by them was unsuccessfully urged upon the West India Company.* The inducements offered were not commensurate with the expense, and the frugal Dutch mind was not prepared to spend money on something that offered little or no prospect of return.
(*Footnote. Major. Early Voyages to Terra Australis page 115.)
Probably owing to the unpromising reports brought back by navigators, Dutch interest may from this time be said to have ceased, though, as the century progressed, Dutch vessels either sighted or touched at isolated portions of the coast, and some had the misfortune to be wrecked there. In 1711 the Zuytdorp* was supposed to have struck somewhere on the Abrolhos, that area of extreme danger to early navigators, and in 1727 the Zeewyck came to grief on a reef in the same Group.** Of this vessel numerous relics have from time to time been found by various explorers and others, and they now form an interesting exhibit in the Western Australian Museum.
(*Footnote. Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 11.)
(**Footnote. Heeres. Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia page 91.)
In 1755 and 1765 casual Dutch visits were recorded, but they were without incident.*
(*Footnote. Ibid page 91.)
Almost coincidentally with the cessation of Dutch enterprise France became active in the Southern Seas. Thenceforward, up to the time of the actual annexation and settlement of Western Australia by Great Britain, the competing nations in these waters, as in so many parts of the world, were the English and the French.
The first French ship to touch at any portion of the Australian coast was Le Gros Ventre in March 1772, under the command of Captain de St. Alouarn,* in whose honour the St. Alouarn Islands were named at a later date by D'Entrecasteaux.**
(*Footnote. Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 11. Note. Doubts have been expressed as to the authenticity of St. Alouarn's voyage in Australian waters. It is included here on the authority of Dr. A. Grandidier, Secretary of the French Institute, who revised the portion relating to the French voyages of discovery which was included in the historical section of the Year Book. See also Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1921 pages 152 to 153.)
(**Footnote. D'Entrecasteaux. Voyage redige par Rossel Paris 1808 volume 1 page 177.)
For some years after this there is no record of any navigator visiting the western shores. The discoveries of Cook in 1770, and his favourable reports on the fertile nature of the country, had turned attention to the eastern side of the continent, and whatever efforts were made in the way of exploration were directed toward that part.
In 1789 the British Government decided to send out an exploring expedition to the South Seas with the object of adding to the knowledge gained by Captain Cook. Captain Henry Roberts was placed in charge of the proposed expedition, with Lieutenant George Vancouver as second in command.* Both these officers had served under Captain Cook. A vessel then being built was purchased, named the Discovery, and fitted out under Vancouver's superintendence.** In April 1790, when the vessel was almost ready to proceed on her voyage, news was received that the Spaniards, who in 1775 had extended their researches northward along the north-west coast of America, had interfered with British commerce on that coast, and had seized English vessels and factories in Nootka Sound. In consequence of this the fleet known as the Spanish Armament was organised, and the officers and men who had been appointed to the Discovery were placed on active service. This caused the postponement of the proposed voyage. The rapid equipment of the fleet seems to have had an effect upon the Spanish authorities, who offered restitution for the depredations and an acknowledgment of equal trading rights with Spain in seas over which that nation had previously claimed exclusive rights.*** "It was deemed expedient that an officer should be sent to Nootka to receive back in form the restitution of the territories on which the Spanish had seized, and also to make a correct survey of the coast from the 30 degrees of north latitude north-westward of Cook's River; and further to obtain every possible information that could be collected respecting the natural and political state of that country."**** Vancouver, who had been promoted to the rank of commander, was selected for this duty and was at once appointed to the Discovery, to which was attached the armed tender Chatham under the command of Lieutenant Broughton. His commission***** directed him to proceed forthwith to the Sandwich Islands and there to remain until the end of January 1792, awaiting further instructions with regard to the Nootka Sound matter. If such instructions should not be received by that time he was to proceed to the north-west coast of America for the purpose of acquiring a more complete knowledge of it, particularly with regard to water communications with the eastern side of the continent and also with regard to settlements made by any European nation within the area to be examined (latitude 60 North and 30 North).
(*Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage of Discovery 1790 to 1795 volume 1 page 7.)
(**Footnote. Dictionary of National Biography volume 58 page 96.)
(***Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage of Discovery 1790 to 1795 volume 1 page 10.)
(****Footnote. Ibid pages 10 and 11.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid pages 17 et seq.)
Vancouver and Broughton left London at the end of January 1791, and as the choice of route was left to Vancouver's judgment* they went by way of the Cape of Good Hope, and on 26 August 1791 they had their first view of Australia--that of a conspicuous promontory with high cliffs dropping almost perpendicularly into the sea. This they named Cape Chatham, after the earl of that name, who at that time presided over the Admiralty. Though describing the promontory as a cape, Vancouver was in some doubt whether it was not really an island,** a doubt afterwards proved to be well founded. Passing this and following an eastward course, while keeping as near the shore as possible in the hope of discovering a safe anchorage, they entered a fine natural harbour on the 28th and bestowed upon it the name of King George III Sound. Landing on the 29th, they noticed that there was a further inner harbour and a second extension toward the north-east. The day being the birthday of the Princess Royal, they named the inner portion Princess Royal Harbour. Vancouver then, in the name of the king, took formal possession of all the country "from the land we saw north-westward of Cape Chatham so far as we might explore its coasts." On the same day the narrow entrance to the north-eastern extension was discovered and the had been renamed Oyster Harbour, on account of the number of oysters found there.***
(*Footnote. Dictionary of National Biography volume 58 page 96.)
(**Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage of Discovery volume 1 page 30.)
(***Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 35 to 36.)
The ships remained at anchor for about a fortnight, during which a close examination of the harbours was made, and the coastline for some distance inland explored. The land in places seemed barren or covered with a "deadly green herbage, with here and there a few grovelling shrubs or dwarf trees scattered at a great distance from each other.* This, Vancouver admits, might not have originated from sterility of the soil, but as the result of a bushfire which it was evident had recently passed over it, especially as the surrounding country presented a far more fertile and pleasing aspect. Fresh water was abundant, and kangaroos, ducks, and fish not scarce. The climate was temperate and agreeable. Of shrubs and plants a great variety was found, which "afforded Mr. Menzies (the naturalist of the expedition) much entertainment and enjoyment."** Natives they did not actually meet, but one or two deserted villages were seen, as well as single habitations, giving them the impression that the aborigines were a wandering people, trusting greatly to the natural products of the soil for food, and not expert either at hunting or fishing.
(*Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage volume 1 page 34.)
(*Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 51. Note. In 1883 a wooden tablet was erected by the Governor, Sir William Robinson, over an old well on the beach by the channel connecting Middleton Bay and Oyster Harbour. This, it is believed, marks the spot where "George Vancouver, an illustrious navigator, watered H.M.S. Discovery in October 1791.")
Before leaving the Sound, Vancouver deposited on the mainland opposite the anchorage a sealed bottle containing a parchment record of his visit, and a second bottle containing a similar record on Seal Island, where he thought the natives would be less likely to get it.* Flinders, during his visit to King George III Sound in 1801, made a search for these bottles, but was unable to find either of them. On the mainland, however, he found a piece of sheet copper inscribed "August 27, 1800. Chr. Dixson--ship Elligood," from which he inferred that the bottle had been previously discovered and removed.**
(*Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage volume 1 page 40.)
(**Footnote. Flinders. Voyage to Terra Australis volume 1 pages 54 to 56.)
After leaving King George III Sound, Vancouver and Broughton continued their voyage eastward along the south coast until they reached an island to which the name Termination Island was given, owing to the fact that through want of time they were compelled to terminate their researches along the Australian coast at this point, and to proceed "without further delay towards the Pacific ocean."*
(*Footnote. Vancouver. Voyage of Discovery pages 42 to 44.)
In addition to the places mentioned, Point Possession, Cape Howe, Mount Gardner, The Eclipse, Breaksea, Seal, and Michaelmas Islands, and nearly every prominent headland or island from Cape Leeuwin to 122 degrees east longitude owe their names to this voyage, which, from the standpoint of accuracy of observation and attention to detail, was one of the most important made to the shores of Western Australia.
About this time the French Government began to be anxious about the fate of the expedition under La Perouse, which had not been heard of since leaving Botany Bay in 1788. The general impression was that the expedition had met with disaster, but in order to have the matter cleared up two ships, the Recherche and the Esperance, were fitted out for a search and placed under the command of Admiral D'Entrecasteaux.* Leaving France in September 1791, D'Entrecasteaux proceeded by way of the Cape of Good Hope and reached the coast of Tasmania, anchoring in Storm Bay on 21 April 1792. From there he went to the Solomon Islands, the Moluccas, and the East Indian Archipelago, and then turned southward down the coast of Western Australia. He did not, however, sight the Australian coast until December 1792, when he came within hail of a point which was named D'Entrecasteaux Point, lying north-west of Chatham Island. Continuing his course to the eastward, he skirted the coast as far as Termination Island, where he sheltered from a storm, and then turned off to Tasmania again.** Several places on the south coast were charted and named on this voyage, to which the discovery of the Recherche Archipelago is due.***
(*Footnote. D'Entrecasteaux. Voyage (Paris 1808) volume 1 page 19 instructions.)
(**Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 177 et seq and Atlas Chart Number 1.)
(***Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 180. Note. Labillardiere, the botanist, who was one of the naturalists attached to the expedition, also published an account of the voyage.)
English maritime activity in the Southern Seas was now in full swing, and English association with the new South Land definitely established. Perhaps no one did more to bring about an accurate knowledge of, at any rate, the coastal districts of the continent than Matthew Flinders, to whom we owe its present name. Though we are concerned only with his connection with the west, he was responsible for the discovery of practically the whole of the south coast. In many respects Flinders was not unlike Dampier--if we except the latter's buccaneering proclivities. Bold and intrepid as an explorer, he was at the same time a careful observer, shrewd and painstaking, as well as accurate in detail, so that the information he procured proved of the greatest value in extending the vague knowledge then existing concerning this still practically unknown country.
Flinders left Spithead on 18 July 1801, in the Investigator, the old Xenophon, a sloop of 344 tons. On 7 December he reached what he termed Cape Leeuwin,* as being the south-western and most projecting part of Leeuwin Land, and from there to King George III Sound, where he arrived on 9 December, he carefully surveyed the intermediate coast, naming various points. He remained at the Sound for some days, which were spent in charting Princess Royal and Oyster Harbours, and in establishing friendly relations with the aborigines. A short vocabulary of the native language was prepared, and information collected as to their habits. Their manners he describes as "quick and vehement and their conversation vociferous, like that of most uncivilised people. They seemed to have no idea of any superiority we possessed over them. On the contrary they left us, after the first interview, with some appearance of contempt of our pusillanimity, which was probably inferred from the desire we showed to be friendly with them.**
(*Footnote. Flinders. Voyage to Terra Australis volume 1 page 49.)
(**Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 56.)
Flinders left King George III Sound on 5 January 1802,* and proceeded upon his voyage eastward. In the course of his voyage he completed the discovery of the south coast and made careful charts of the whole.
(*Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 74.)
On board the Investigator with him were Robert Brown, well known as a botanist, and William Westall, the famous painter; while one of his officers was (Sir) John Franklin, afterwards Governor of Tasmania and a famous explorer, who ended his career amid Arctic snows.
For one thing Flinders will always be remembered--that he gave to Australia her present name. Various appellations had been bestowed upon her--Magellanica, Java la Grande, Great South Land, and Terra Australis. After Tasman's voyage in 1644 the western portion was called New Holland, the eastern still retaining the name of Terra Australis. Subsequent to Cook's discoveries the eastern part received the name of New South Wales, the remainder being still New Holland. The meridian dividing the two, according to the patent to the first Governor of New South Wales, was 135 degrees east longitude,* almost identical with the old line of separation laid down after Tasman's voyage. Having proved the east and west to be parts of one continent, Flinders readopted the name of Terra Australis for the whole, including New South Wales and New Holland, and, in its most extensive sense, Van Diemen's Land as well. At a later date, in 1814, in the published account of his voyage, he suggested the name Australia, which he had previously used in correspondence, "as being more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth."** After this the name came into general use for the continent, though in official documents, even up to 1851, it sometimes included Tasmania.***
(*Footnote. Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 1 page 1 Governor Phillip's first commission.)
(**Footnote. Flinders. Voyage to Terra Australis volume 1 page 3 and note. See also Professor Scott's Life of Matthew Flinders chapter 30, in which the use of the word before Flinders' time is discussed.)
(***Footnote. Scott. Life of Flinders pages 428 to 429.)
Following upon the knowledge gained through the voyage of D'Entrecasteaux, the French Government determined to send out a further expedition, which left Havre in October 1800, with the object of more fully exploring the coast of New Holland and collecting scientific information concerning its natural history and inhabitants.* This consisted of two vessels, the Geographe under Commodore Nicholas Baudin and the Naturaliste commanded by Captain Hamelin, with whom was associated Lieutenant Louis de Freycinet. The ships reached the south-west coast in 1801, and many of the topographical features of that portion of the continent bear names which identify them with this voyage.** Having been driven out of Geographe Bay by a storm, the vessels became separated. Baudin in the Geographe went to Shark Bay and from there worked northward as far as Cape Leveque, leaving the coast at that point for Timor. Here they were joined by the Naturaliste, which, according to Freycinet, had waited at Rottnest for a time expecting the arrival of the other vessel. Whilst waiting they had devoted some days to the exploration of the Swan River with the intention of tracing its source. They seem to have reached the junction of the Helena with the Swan when the leader, M. Heirisson, felt compelled to return, as the provisions were running short. The name of a member of the party being Moreau, the title Moreau Inlet was bestowed upon the Canning River, while the islands upon which the present Perth Causeway stands were called the Heirisson Islands. The view from the top of Mount Eliza was described as particularly striking and beautiful, and the fertile nature of the soil about Guildford was commented upon. At the point where they abandoned their journey up the river, about sixty miles from the mouth, the stream was narrow, only about eight feet deep, and the water salt.*** Leaving Rottnest they made a further investigation of the entrance to Shark Bay, and on Dirk Hartog Island Captain Hamelin found the plate left by Vlaming more than a century previously.****
(*Footnote. Biographie universelle (Paris 1811) volume 3 page 538 and Nouvelle biographie universelle (Paris 1853) volume 4 page 771. See also Peron, F. Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes 1800 a 1804 (Paris 1807) volume 1 chapitre 1.)
(**Footnote. Peron. Voyage volume 1 pages 66 et seq.)
(***Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 178 to 184.)
(****Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 194 to 195.)
In November 1801 the two vessels left Timor for a more detailed examination of the Australian coast, and after a survey of a portion of Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait, arrived at Sydney during the latter part of 1802. A small ship, the Casuarina, was chartered there and placed under the command of Freycinet.* Baudin then, with the Geographe and Casuarina, explored that part of the south coast known to the French as Terre Napoleon and proceeded onwards to Western Australia, making detailed examination of most of the western side of the continent from King George's Sound in the south to the Holothuria Banks in the extreme north. The care bestowed upon this work may be gauged by the number of prominent features of the west coast which still bear French names.**
(*Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 417.)
(*Footnote. Peron. Voyage volume 2.)
No further record exists of any voyage to Western Australia until the year 1817, when the French Government dispatched Captain Freycinet in the corvette Uranie on a voyage of discovery and scientific investigation. In the course of this cruise Freycinet anchored in Shark Bay (called by the French le Baie des Chiens Marins) towards the end of 1818. He then proceeded along the north-west coast on his way to the islands of the South Seas, calling at Sydney on his return. Judging from the letters of M. Arago,* one of the members of the expedition, the Western Australian coast failed to meet with their approval. "Its outline," he says, "is uniform, without breaks, almost without difference, and always very low. At the first view you take in an immense distance; but beware of looking for any enjoyment. This search would be merely wasting your strength, without finding the least relief."
(*Footnote. Arago. Narrative of Voyage round the World 1817 to 1820 Letter 53.)
The number of French expeditions that touched at one part or another of the western coast of Australia began to arouse something like suspicion in the English mind, and consequently the British Government started to take a livelier interest in that part of the continent. The completion of the survey of the whole coastline, so ably begun by Captain Flinders, was deemed to be of utmost importance, and in 1817 the Admiralty in conjunction with the Colonial Office decided upon an expedition for that purpose.* Lieutenant Philip Parker King was appointed to the command,** and from that date until 1822 was busily engaged in carrying out the work. In pursuance of his instructions King left Sydney in December 1817, in the cutter Mermaid, of only 84 tons, having with him Allan Cunningham as botanist, and as officers Lieutenants Bedwell and John Septimus Roe,*** the latter of whom afterwards became the first Surveyor-General of the colony. The cutter reached King George III Sound on 20 January 1818. Here King remained twelve days, which were spent in procuring wood and water and making various excursions into the surrounding country, giving Roe his first experience of what was afterwards to be his life's work--the survey of Western Australia. The usual directions led down by the Admiralty about the planting of seeds were carried out, but without permanent effect, as three years later not a trace of the garden was to be found. Leaving the Sound, King was prevented by sickness among the crew from making any further examination until he reached the north-west coast.**** This was then accurately charted and various points named. At the same time excursions to the mainland were made at various places, and friendly intercourse, wherever possible, established with the natives. On 4 March he anchored in Nicol Bay***** for the purpose of making researches, and then went along the north coast and on to Timor, after leaving which he made all speed back to Sydney to replenish the stores. Two important questions had been set at rest by this voyage--the openings behind Rosemary Island and the nature of Van Diemen's Gulf.****** Owing to the loss of the anchors, King found it impossible to make a detailed examination of Exmouth Gulf or land upon Depuch Island,******* so favourably noticed by Peron. Many rivers, bays, and ports had been discovered, and the exploration of the interior had revealed good pastoral country. "The thickly-wooded shores of the north coast," says King, "bore a striking contrast to the sandy, desert-looking tract we had previously seen, and inspired us with the hope of finding at some future time a still greater improvement of country between the two extremes."********
(*Footnote. Earl Bathurst to Governor Macquarie Dispatch Number 87 8 February 1817 Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 9 page 207.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
(***Footnote. King, P.P. Narrative of a Survey of the Inter-tropical and Western Coasts of Australia 1818 to 1822 volume 1 page 38.)
(****Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 20.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 52.)
(******Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 144 to 145.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 145.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 149.)
The Mermaid left Sydney on the second voyage in May 1819, and in the following September reached Cambridge Gulf, so named after the Duke of Cambridge.* Here King thought he had made a great discovery, believing that it must terminate in a river of some kind. Instead of that he found it barren and useless, the surrounding country being devoid of vegetation, the soil sandy and salt, the water undrinkable, and the gulf itself tailing off on all sides into a series of mud flats. Leaving there he sailed westward along the north coast, examining and naming as he passed Sir Graham Moore Islands, Eclipse Islands (from an eclipse of the moon taking place while there) Vansittart Bay, Admiralty Gulf, and Port Warrender.** At this point King decided to leave the coast for the time, the scarcity of water and the absence of provisions having caused sickness among the crew. He therefore set sail for Timor, and thence returned to Sydney, having examined on his trip a further 540 miles of the northern coastline. In the following year a third voyage was undertaken for the purpose of extending the survey to Warrender, and in the course of this York Sound (after the Duke of York) Careening Bay (where the ship was repaired) Prince Regent River, and many other places were named and examined.*** A serious leak in the cutter compelled King to abandon the work, and he returned again to Sydney, arriving there at the end of the year, having narrowly escaped shipwreck at the entrance to the Heads. Unfortunately, owing to the unseaworthiness of the cutter, the amount of work done on this survey was but small. King's desire to complete his labour was, however, unabated, and in 1821 he again left Sydney for the north-west coast, this time in the brig Bathurst, purchased for the purpose by the Government. With a larger vessel and an increased crew, the expedition was much better equipped, and the commander was able to spend a longer time at the scene of his operations. The coast, as far down as Cape Latouche Treville,**** was examined and surveyed, after which King sailed across to the Mauritius to refit, returning at the end of 1821 to King George's Sound.***** From there he sailed along the west coast, checking many points of previous surveys until he arrived at the Swan River, where he anchored for a while. Resuming his voyage he examined, with a good deal of accuracy, the intervening shore until he reached the Abrolhos, and finally Dirk Hartog Island. Here he landed and searched without success for Vlaming's plate,****** and then proceeded northward to Cape Leveque, thus practically completing the survey of the whole Western Australian coast from King George's Sound to Cambridge Gulf, with the exception of that part lying between Depuch Island and Cape Villaret. What Cook, Bass, and Flinders had done for the eastern and southern coasts, King, following upon the earlier Dutch, French, and English navigators, had done for the western and northern, so that the Admiralty was in possession of fairly comprehensive charts of the whole Australian coastline.
(*Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 306 et seq.)
(**Footnote. Ibid volume 1 chapter 8.)
(***Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 412 et seq.)
(****Footnote. Ibid volume 2 chapter 2.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid volume 2 page 119.)
(******Footnote. Ibid volume 2 page 181.)
With Lieutenant King the long line of discoverers may be said to have ended. Practically everything in the way of interior exploration had yet to be undertaken, but the few voyages that afterwards took place to these shores were in the nature of looking for satisfactory places of settlement rather than of discovering new territory, or else were for the purpose of checking and correcting existing surveys.
ANNEXATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
Although the existence of the western side of the continent had been known for certainly two, and possibly three, centuries, it was not until the third decade of the nineteenth century--some forty years after the foundation of the colony of New South Wales--that the British Government decided to take steps to found a settlement there. That the matter had not previously engaged the attention of the Home authorities was in all likelihood due to the unsatisfactory reports of the new territory brought back by navigators, who, confining themselves to the uninviting coastline, seem to have had neither the time nor the inclination to make any examination of the interior, and so missed the fertile inland districts. When, however, a strong suspicion arose that other nations were casting their eyes towards the Southern Seas, the English Government seems to have realised that a few settlements on the eastern coast would be deemed scarcely sufficient, in the opinion of others, to establish a claim to the whole of this vast continent as British territory. There is very little doubt that the settlements at King George's Sound and the Swan River were, in the first place, due to the activity being displayed by the French in Australian waters.
It was rumoured that Captain Baudin had contemplated establishing a settlement on the southern coast or in Tasmania in 1802,* and an exhaustive examination of the north-west coast had, it will be remembered, been made by Freycinet in 1818. In 1825 we find that another expedition consisting of the Thetis and Esperance, commanded respectively by De Bougainville and Du Camper, was cruising along the southern coast. These voyages gave rise to the belief that France, recognising that maritime power depended greatly on the possession of suitable colonies, was looking for the opportunity of establishing a settlement in Australia. The belief may have been further strengthened by a suspicion that in the minds of Frenchmen the Napoleonic dream of an Indian conquest had not, perhaps, altogether vanished. In that case a colony on the west coast of Australia would, in conjunction with the Mauritius, have formed a strategic base of some value. Such a colony would also have been the means of introducing a formidable competitor into the trade relations then being fostered between India and the newly-established penal colony in New South Wales. Whatever the reasons may have been, there is no doubt that they aroused in the minds of members of the British Government a fear that the French were looking for suitable places of settlement on the western coast of Australia. The Secretary of State, Lord Goderich (afterwards Earl of Ripon) writing in 1833 with regard more particularly to Western Australia, said:
"The present settlement at Swan River owes its origin, as you may perhaps be aware, to certain false rumours which had reached the Government of the intention of a foreign power to establish a colony on the west coast of Australia. The design was for some time given up entirely on the ground of public economy, and would not have been resumed but for the offer of a party of gentlemen to embark in an undertaking of this nature at their own risk, upon receiving extensive grants of land and on a certain degree of protection and assistance for a limited period being secured to them by this Government."**
(*Footnote. Rusden, G.W. History of Australia volume 1 pages 326 et seq.)
(**Footnote. Dispatch to Governor Stirling 8 March 1833 Number 21 filed in Governor's Office, Perth. See also Accounts and Papers 1840 volume 33 page 69.)
Further, Lord John Russell* tells us that, during his tenure of the Colonial Office, a gentleman attached to the French Government called upon him and asked what part of Australia was claimed by Great Britain, to which he replied, "the whole." As Russell was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1839 to 1841, it seems strange that that question should have been asked at so late a period, though it is possible that scientific researches of French navigators at the beginning of the century may have been present in the Frenchman's mind.
(*Footnote. Russell. Recollections and Suggestions 1875 page 203.)
Unfounded as the suspicions have since been proved to be, they were undoubtedly strong enough at the time to move the British authorities to take action. The movements of the French were closely watched, and at the same time settlement both in Australia and New Zealand was pushed on, so as to deprive France of the chance of gaining a foothold on Australasian soil.
The fear of such a possibility caused General Darling to draw the attention of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the matter and ask that steps be taken to avert it. Recognising that in case of dispute Great Britain would have difficulty in establishing her claim to the west coast, he forwarded a letter in which he said:*
"It will not be easy to satisfy the French, if they are desirous of establishing themselves here, that there is any objection to their doing so on the west coast, and I therefore beg to suggest that the difficulty would be removed by a commission describing the whole territory as within the Government."
(*Footnote. Rusden. History of Australia volume 2 page 6. Probably contained in a letter to Under Secretary Hay, dated 9 October 1826. See Historical Records of Australia volume 12 pages 639 and 700.)
(The territory of New South Wales, it may be mentioned, extended westward only to the 135 degrees east longitude.) On 1 March 1826, the Secretary of State, Lord Bathurst, addressed one dispatches upon the subject to Governor Darling, and, at the same time, wrote a more or less private and confidential communication.* The first of these dispatches instructed the Governor to commence immediate preparations for the formation of a settlement at Western Port, using whatever means he might think best. In the second dispatch Darling was instructed to endeavour to procure correct information respecting the country immediately adjoining Shark Bay, ostensibly for the purpose of establishing a base to which convicts, reconvicted of lighter crimes at Botany Bay, might be sent and "that possession may be gained of a port which it may hereafter be found important to have retained." In the private communication the secretary said:
"The sailing of two French ships on a voyage of discovery have [sic] led to the consideration how far our distant possessions in the Australian seas may be prejudiced by any designs which the French may entertain of establishing themselves in that quarter, and more especially on that part of the coast of New South Wales which has not as yet received any colonists from this country. I allude to that line of coast which extends to the westward from the western point of Bathurst Island in 129 degrees east longitude...As this tract of shore is understood to be for the most part barren and devoid of all circumstances which could invite a settlement, it is probable, if the French Government should entertain any serious intention of forming an establishment on that side of the continent, any island with so advantageous a port as Western Port would not be overlooked by them...In giving those instructions you will observe that I have carefully avoided any expression which might be construed, in the event of the instructions being hereafter referred to, as an admission of there not having been a preoccupancy by us before the French may have admitted to establish themselves there, and you will regulate your language accordingly. The establishment to be formed at Shark Bay, is, as you are aware, partly for a different object, but it is equally necessary that our projects in that quarter should not be anticipated."
(*Footnote. Published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 pages 192 to 194.)
The advice of Darling to regulate his language probably explains why there was no public proclamation of any intention on the part of the Government to establish a settlement.
On 11 March a further dispatch* was sent to the Governor asking him also to have an examination made of the country around King George's Sound, as it might possibly prove a better locality than Shark Bay. In all probability these dispatches were forwarded by the same ship. At any rate, they were answered by Darling on 10 October 1826,** who stated that in his opinion King George's Sound was totally unfit for the purpose even of a penal settlement, as the communication would be at all times tedious and difficult, and during a part of the year hardly practicable. Communication with Shark Bay would be still more difficult and very expensive. He added that he was informed that the country around both Shark Bay and King George's Sound was perfectly barren and destitute of vegetation, and concluded, "the French would, therefore, find it difficult to maintain themselves at either of these places."
(*Footnote. Published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 page 218.)
(**Footnote. Ibid series 1 volume 12 pages 639 to 641.)
Notwithstanding his expression of opinion, however, he took immediate steps for the purpose of carrying the instructions of the Home Government into effect. Three sites for occupancy were determined upon--at Raffles Bay, Western Port, and King George's Sound--and on 9 November H.M.S. Fly, accompanied by the brigs Dragon and Amity, sailed from Sydney to establish settlements at Western Port and King George's Sound.* The contingent for the Sound was on the Amity, and was under the command of Major Lockyer, of the 59th regiment, who had with him Captain Wakefield and a detachment of the 39th Regiment, as well as twenty-four convicts. In the instructions given to Lockyer** he was told "to avoid any expression of doubt as to the whole of New Holland being within this Government, any division of it which may be supposed to exist under the designation of New South Wales being merely ideal, and intended only with a view of distinguishing the more settled part of the country. Should this explanation not prove satisfactory it will be proper in that case to refer them to this Government for any further information they may require." If it should so happen that a landing had already been effected by the French, "you will, notwithstanding, land the troops agreeably to your instructions, and signify that their continuance with any view of establishing themselves, or colonisation, would be considered an unjustifiable intrusion on his Britannic Majesty's possession." The party arrived at King George's Sound on Christmas Day, 1826, and landing on the following morning proceeded to select a position for the settlement. The exact spot where the British flag was hoisted, from which the whole of Western Australia was claimed as belonging to the Crown, is unfortunately not precisely known. It was somewhere at the base of either Mount Clarence or Mount Melville, near both of which there still exist some indications of the early settlement. Very meagre information concerning the little colony is available beyond the diary kept by Major Lockyer*** during the first four months of its existence. From this we learn that the Sound was used largely by American and other sealers and whalers, who plied their vocation among the islands along the south coast and as far up the western coast as Rottnest Island. With these Lockyer had, from time to time, a good deal of trouble owing to their ill-treatment of the natives. From the condition of the settlement in 1831, when the convicts were withdrawn and the establishment placed under the Swan River Government, it is apparent that very little progress was made during the four years of its existence. This was probably due to the fact that it was far removed from civilisation, and was wholly dependent for supplies and information upon occasional visits of ships from Sydney. The soil does not appear to have lent itself to such desultory attempts at cultivation as were carried on. The poor results from tillage may be gauged from the fact that on more than one occasion the colonists were reduced to privation owing to the delayed arrival of vessels with food supplies. Lockyer returned to Sydney in April 1827, leaving Captain Wakefield in command. This officer was succeeded in turn by Captain Barker, who retained control until the convicts were withdrawn, and the idea of a penal settlement abandoned. This took place by proclamation dated 7 March 1831. The withdrawal of troops and convicts was due to various causes. One of the conditions laid down by the Government in 1828 regarding the then proposed settlement at Swan River was that no convicts were to be sent there. Those who entered upon the scheme did not consequently relish the presence of a convict establishment within the borders of the territory. Then the commission issued to Captain Stirling as Governor, and which was dated 5 March 1831, described the colony as that portion of Australia lying west of the 129th meridian of eastern longitude, and therefore settlement under other control could scarcely continue to exist. Further, Governor Stirling wished to settle colonists in the southern portions of the State (as may be seen from part of a dispatch to the Secretary of State dated 30 January 1830). In this he says:
"In obedience to instructions directed to me under date of December 30 I am desirous of attracting settlers to occupy the country in the southern districts of this territory, and I intend shortly to submit for public selection and occupation lands situated in the direction of King George's Sound. At present a military post is maintained there, and which is under the command of General Darling. I therefore take the liberty to suggest that the present Commandant and his party should be removed, and the duties of that station be committed to an officer and a small party of soldiers from the detachment serving under the Officer Commanding the troops in this settlement."
(*Footnote. Dispatch Number 95 Darling to Lord Bathurst 24 November 1826 published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 page 699.)
(**Footnote. Secret instructions to Major Lockyer 4 November 1826. See Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 page 701.)
(***Footnote. This diary is in the possession of the Public Library of New South Wales and a typed copy is filed in the Public Library of Western Australia.)
This course was approved by the Home authorities, and Stirling was informed, in a dispatch dated 20 July 1830, that General Darling had been so instructed. These instructions were carried out early in the following March, and on the 7th of that month, as stated above, the settlement at the Sound was brought under the control of the Western Australian Government.
Almost immediately after the departure of Lockyer from Sydney, the arrival there of the corvette Astrolabe, which had spent the greater part of the month of October at King George's Sound, considerably accentuated the fear of French annexation. In Governor Darling's opinion this new fact made the necessity for some definite British settlement on the west coast more insistent. Fortunately the opportunity of taking the initial steps towards that end was ready to hand.
Reports had been received by the Secretary of State in England to the effect that the settlement founded at Melville Island on the northern coast in 1824 was unlikely to realise expectations. In consequence Lord Bathurst directed the Governor of New South Wales to send a man-of-war to the spot, with orders to the captain to remove the settlement, if necessary, to a more suitable site, preferably one further eastward.* The man-of-war at Sydney when the dispatch arrived was H.M.S. Success, commanded by Captain Stirling. Governor Darling, so far as the records show, appears to have communicated Lord Bathurst's wishes to Captain Stirling in an informal, unofficial way, for the first intimation we have of their receipt is in the form of two letters from Stirling to the Governor, in the first of which--dated 8 December 1826--it was pointed out that the north-west monsoonal rains would interfere with the removal of the Melville Island settlement until after April; in the other--dated 14 December**--Stirling suggested that he should employ the ship during the interval in making an examination of the Swan River, which had been surveyed by the French in 1803 and 1804. In the prosecution of these considerations, he says, "Certain ideas have been suggested to me by professional observation, relative to the necessity of immediately seizing a possession upon the western coast of this island near Swan River." He concludes his letter with this statement:
"Finally, Sir, at a time when we have one French vessel of war with objects not clearly understood, and with one American vessel of war being also in this neighbourhood seeking a place for a settlement, it becomes important to prevent them from occupying a position of such value, particularly as you were pleased to say that His Majesty's Government is desirous of not being anticipated in such views by any foreign power."
(*Footnote. Dispatch from Bathurst to Darling, 7 April 1826, and Under Secretary Hay to John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty, 6 April 1826 published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 pages 224 et seq.)
(*Footnote. These two letters are published in the Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 12 pages 775 to 780.)
On 18 December the Governor forwarded a dispatch to Lord Bathurst,* stating that he had agreed to Captain Stirling's proposal, "as it is of great importance that so advantageous a position should not be taken possession of by the French...At the same time if the French meditated a settlement in New Holland, Swan River, from the accounts given of it by Captain Stirling, should not be neglected."
(*Footnote. Stirling to Lord Bathurst ibid pages 773 to 775.)
On 17 January, therefore, the Success, under command of Captain Stirling, and having on board Mr. Charles Fraser, the Colonial Botanist, left Sydney with a view of making up the French survey deficiencies, and of examining thoroughly to country in the vicinity of Swan River. During the early part of the voyage she was accompanied by a cutter, whose sailing qualities, however, turned out to be inferior; consequently the vessels parted company, the smaller craft being instructed to make for King George's Sound, for the settlement at which she was carrying provisions. On 4 March Stirling sighted land and rounded Cape Leeuwin. "The first appearance of the coast we were now to explore," he writes,* "presented nothing attractive; the monotony of its outline and the dusky hue of the meagre vegetation it supported at once accounted for the sterile and hopeless character attributed by early navigators to this region." On the following day Rottnest Island was reached and explored, and on 6 March 1827 the Success anchored off the south head of Swan River. Early on the morning of the 8th, Stirling started to carry out the real objects of the expedition, which were "to proceed, if possible, to the source of the river--to examine the banks and the depth of the water, to fix on an eligible spot for a settlement, to ascertain the productions of the country, the nature of the soil, and the practicability of forming a harbour for shipping."
(*Footnote. Report to Governor Darling dated 18 April 1827; forwarded to Secretary of State for the Colonies enclosed in Darling's dispatch of 21 April 1827, Number 56.)
For the purpose of fulfilling these instructions, the ship's gig and cutter were provisioned for a fortnight and well armed, after which, under the command of Captain Stirling, they proceeded up the river. Mr. Fraser formed one of the party. No difficulties were met with until they reached the flats above Heirisson Islands (the site of the present Perth Causeway) where the water was too shallow to float the boats, which had to be unloaded and drawn across. After that, the way was tolerably easy, and on the 13th they arrived at what they deemed to be the source.
During the course of the trip two gardens were planted about fifteen miles from the mouth, and after some trouble friendly intercourse was established with the natives. The soil along the banks was examined, and an abundance of fresh water found. An ascent of the hills, to which the name General Darling Range was given, was made by Mr. Fraser. The cutter then returned to the ship, leaving the gig, with Lieutenant Belches in charge, to make a hurried examination of a tributary river (the Canning) to which the French had given the name Moreau Inlet. After her return, the crew of the frigate was employed surveying the islands of Rottnest, Berthollet (now Carnac) and Buache, as well as the adjacent rocks. On Buache a garden was planted (from which probably the present name Garden Island was derived) and some cattle and sheep left there. The Success sailed for Geographe Bay on 21 March. Here Stirling remained until the 25th, when he set his course for King George's Sound, which was reached on April 2. He remained at the settlement, which did not come up to his expectations, until two days later, when he left for Sydney, arriving in Port Jackson on the 15th of the same month, having been absent about three months.
So far as their reports go,* both Captain Stirling and Mr. Fraser seem to have been greatly impressed with the possibilities of the newly-examined country. The latter, who had certainly greater experience in judging, was, if possible, the more pronounced in his good opinion, and there is no doubt that his opinion was largely relied upon when the question of colonisation was under discussion. In concluding his report upon the natural history, soil, etc, of the Swan River district, he says:**
"In delivering my opinion on the whole of the lands seen on the banks of the Swan, I hesitate not in pronouncing it superior to any I have seen in New South Wales eastward of the Blue Mountains, not only in its local situation, but in many existing advantages which it holds out to settlers, namely:
1. The evident superiority of the soil. 2. The facility with which settlers can bring their farms into a state of culture from the open state of the country, the trees not averaging more than ten to the acre. 3. The great advantage of freshwater springs of the best quality, and consequent permanent humidity of the soil, two advantages not existing eastward of the Blue Mountains. 4. The advantage of water carriage to their own doors and the non-existence of impediments to land carriage."
(*Footnote. It may be interesting to note that Stirling suggested the name Hesperia for Western Australia, as indicating a country looking towards the setting sun.)
(**Footnote. Observations on the soil, etc, of Swan River enclosed with Stirling's report of 17 April 1827.)
These favourable reports so impressed General Darling that he forwarded, on 21 April 1827, a dispatch (Number 56)* in which he strongly advised the Home Government to establish a settlement at Swan River as quickly as possible. In this dispatch he pointed out the advantages which Swan River appeared to possess. Its climate made it suitable as a convalescent station for invalids from India, and the distance to it from that country could be covered in a comparatively short time. It possessed amongst other natural advantages good water and excellent soil, whilst, although the entrance to the river itself was shallow, there were good external anchorages at Gage Roads and Cockburn Sound. As Captain Stirling's report might find its way into the French papers, he urged that if the Government had any intention of forming a settlement at Swan River no time should be lost in taking the necessary steps.
(*Footnote. Published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 13 page 264.)
Stirling's report and the Governor's dispatch appear to have been conveyed to England by Stirling in person, and were forwarded by the Colonial Office to the Admiralty for an opinion in regard to the formation of a settlement at Swan River. The Secretary to the Admiralty, whilst admitting the physical advantages detailed by Captain Stirling and Mr. Fraser, was of opinion that the anticipations of commercial intercourse with India were fallacious, and that it was questionable whether it was advisable to form a settlement on the west while so many millions of acres of rich country remained unoccupied on the eastern side. The report concludes with this statement:
"No other motive, I conceive, than the political one of preventing other nations, as the French or Americans, of possessing themselves of the south-west corner of New Holland, should induce us to anticipate them; and even in the event of its falling into the hands of the one or other of these powers, it would be a long series of years before they could give our other colonies much annoyance."*
(*Footnote. Letter from Secretary to the Admiralty to Mr. Under Secretary Horton 15 October 1827.)
After consideration of the various reports and opinions dealing with the question, the Secretary of State for the Colonies wrote to Governor Darling on 28 January 1828,* reviewing the adverse report from the Admiralty, and concluding:
"Under these circumstances I am of opinion that it would be inexpedient, on the score of expense, to occupy this part of the coast, and that it is unnecessary, with a view to any urgent interest, to attempt any new settlement at present in that quarter...I shall not fail, however, to apprise the East India Company of the circumstances attending the discovery of Swan River in case they should consider it advisable to make any settlements there, but, I am not away of any sufficient motive to induce them to embark in an undertaking of this nature."
(*Footnote. Published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 13 pages 739 to 740.)
Two days later another dispatch* was forwarded in which it was hinted that the same causes would probably induce the Government to withdraw the settlement which had been formed at King George's Sound, but that if it were finally decided to maintain that settlement, then, in all probability, the decision not to found a colony at Swan River would be reviewed. In this dispatch the Secretary of State mentioned that he had asked the East India Company whether there was any disposition on their part to undertake the colonisation of Western Australia. The Company, however, was not prepared to fall in with the idea,** and for the time being the proposal to found the colony was shelved on grounds of economy.*** This decision was conveyed by the Colonial Office to Captain Stirling, but it does not appear to have dissuaded him from continuing his solicitations for the establishment of the new colony.
(*Footnote. Published in Historical Records of Australia series 1 volume 13 pages 741 to 742.)
(**Footnote. Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
(***Footnote. Hay to Stirling 2 January 1833. Note. Mr. Horace Twiss was member for Wootton-Basset from 1820 to 1830, and from 1828 to 1830 was Under Secretary for War and the Colonies in the Ministry of the Duke of Wellington.)
In May and June 1828, a reconstruction of the British Government took place, under which Sir George Murray replaced Mr. Huskisson as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and Mr. Horace Twiss became Under Secretary. The last-named appears to have been to some extent a personal friend of Captain Stirling, and it was probably through him that Stirling was induced once more to approach the Government with the idea of forming a colony. On 30 July 1828,* he addressed a long letter to the Colonial Office, in which he said, inter alia,
"The French, under the command of M. Baudin, at the beginning of this century, visited that shore (that is, Western Australia) and rendered an account of it more circumstantial, but equally unfavourable...as that of the Dutch. The report which I had the honour to make last year to His Majesty's Government differs so widely from that of the preceding Dutch and French navigators, that it will scarcely be believed that we undertake to describe the same country. For while they report the country as sterile, forbidding, and inhospitable, I represent it as the land out of all that I have seen in various quarters of the world that possesses the greatest natural attractions."
(*Footnote. Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
He went on to describe the character of the country, and concluded:
"The above-mentioned recommendations point it out as a spot so eligible for settlement that it cannot long remain unoccupied...as, by its position, it commands facilities for carrying on trade with India and the Malay Archipelago as well as with China, and as it is, moreover, favourably circumstanced for the equipment of cruisers for the annoyance of trade in those seas, some foreign power may see the advantage of taking possession should His Majesty's Government leave it unappropriated."
On the receipt of this letter, Stirling's original report was apparently looked up, and the whole question resubmitted to the Admiralty. The Secretary to the Admiralty, after a conversation with Captain Stirling, more particularly concerning the merits of Swan River as compared with King George's Sound, exhibited a complete reversal of the previous Admiralty opinion, and in reply to the Colonial Office (under date 2 August)* said:
"I think there requires no hesitation in transferring the establishment at the former (King George's Sound) to the latter place (Swan River) and perhaps the sooner the better, as the publication of the chart containing so fine an anchorage, entirely overlooked by the French navigators, may induce that nation, or the Americans, who are prowling about for some detached settlement, to assume possession of the only spot on the western coast of New Holland that is at all inviting for such purpose, to which we could have no right to offer any resistance."
(*Footnote. Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
On 21 August Captain Stirling and Major Moody of the royal engineers forwarded a communication to the Colonial Office, in which is given the first hint of the possibility of the formation of an association for the purposes of colonisation.* They asked whether, under such circumstances, the association could secure a proprietary charter upon the principles similar to those adopted in Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Government would not agree to consider any proposal along these lines, "as it was deemed desirable to exercise a more immediate control over the settlement by government than by such an arrangement it would possess."** The Colonial Office and the Admiralty combined suggested, however, that Captain Stirling should make further inquiries with regard to the question of an association, and that he did so is evident from a letter dated 22 October,*** part of which reads:
"But, notwithstanding this favourable inclination, objections are made against the enterprise at present, upon the following points. In the first place there is no information extant, under authority, either as to the precise intentions of the Government, or of the nature of that territory, nor do any preparations exist there for the reception of settlers. In the second place, His Majesty's right to that country has never been declared, and as it is reported that the French Government contemplates the formation of a settlement in New Holland, the apprehension is entertained that an expedition proceeding there might find, on its arrival, the best positions occupied, and its aim defeated, to the total ruin of the property engaged in it...I take the liberty of suggesting that (the difficulties) may be obviated by dispatching at once a ship of war to that quarter. Possession might thus be taken of the country, surveys commenced, and arrangements made for the reception of settlers."
(*Footnote. Stirling and Moody to Hay. Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
(**Footnote. Sir George Murray in the House of Commons 1 May 1829. Hansard new series volume 21 page 913.)
(***Footnote. Stirling to Twiss Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
The latter suggestion bore immediate fruit, as, on 5 November, the Admiralty was instructed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies* to order the officer commanding the naval forces at the Cape to dispatch one of the ships of war under his command, without loss of time, to the coast of New Holland, with directions to take formal possession in His Majesty's name, and with the further direction that the spot should be at or near the Swan River, and that uninterrupted possession be maintained until the arrival of further advices.
(*Footnote. Secretary to Admiralty In-letters Number 4242.)
These instructions were immediately put in hand, and directions were forwarded to Commodore Schomberg, the officer commanding the naval forces at the Cape, to detail H.M.S. Tweed for the purpose of carrying them out.* Some weeks later it was decided to alter that arrangement, and Commodore Schomberg was informed that if the Challenger arrived at the Cape before the Tweed had left there for Swan River, she was to carry out the instructions in place of the latter vessel, but that if the Tweed had already sailed, then the Challenger should remain at the Cape in her place.** In accordance with instructions, the Challenger, under Captain Fremantle, left London in December 1828, and upon arrival at the Cape in the following March she was directed to proceed to Swan River, and reached Cockburn Sound on 27 April 1829.*** On the morning of 2 May "Captain Freemantle [sic] and Lieutenant Henry went with a party to Swan River and took formal possession of the west coast of New Holland in the name of his Brittanic [sic] Majesty."****
(*Footnote. Letter sent from Secretary to the Admiralty to Commodore Schomberg dated 7 November 1828. This letter also stated that H.M.S. Challenger would be sent out to the Cape to replace H.M.S. Tweed. Secretary to Admiralty Out-letters Number 1589.)
(**Footnote. Two letters from Secretary to Admiralty to Commodore Schomberg both dated 2 December 1828. Admiralty Out-letters Number 1589.)
(***Footnote. Journal of the Proceedings of H.M.S. Challenger from 10 March to 29 August 1829 Captains' Journals Number 3096.)
(****Footnote. Ibid under date 2 May 1829.)
Although this action set at rest the question of actual possession, there does not appear to have been at that time (November 1828) a definite decision to establish a colony forthwith. Such a step was, however, decided upon within the following month, and was accelerated by the fact that Captain Stirling's suggestion to form a syndicate had taken definite shape in the meantime.
At present we are only concerned with the offer of this syndicate to the extent that it seems to have provided the additional factor necessary to enable the Government to make up its mind on the question. On 12 November the Secretary of State for the Colonies addressed a letter to the Admiralty* asking that a ship be provided for the purpose of conveying a detachment of troops and other persons to the western coast of New Holland, "where it is intended to form a British settlement"; and on 29 November the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lord Hill, was asked to provide a detachment "to be held in readiness for embarkation for the western coast of New Holland, where His Majesty's Government judge it advisable to establish a British settlement."** Judging from a letter, dated 28 December,*** Captain Stirling was personally informed that he was to be appointed to the command of the new settlement, but the formal appointment was not made until the 30th.**** On the following day the administrative establishment was appointed.*****
(*Footnote. Admiralty In-letters Number 4242.)
(**Footnote. Quoted in letter from Lord Hill to Sir George Murray 3 December 1828 Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
(***Footnote. Stirling to R.W. Hay Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
(****Footnote. Sir George Murray to Stirling 30 December 1828 Colonial Office Western Australian Entry Books volume 1.)
(*****Footnote. Hay to Stirling 31 December 1828 ibid.)
Although the proposal of the syndicate seems to have given just that additional weight necessary to tip the scale in favour of colonisation, the principal reason, according to the documentary evidence, was a recrudescence of the fear of French annexation, because we find that when the decision had been arrived at and the arrangements completed, the Commissioners of the Treasury were asked to provide the necessary financial assistance on that ground alone. A letter from the Colonial Office to the Treasury, dated 31 December 1828, states that:
"Intimation having been received that the French Government are prepared to colonise some part of the west coast of New Holland, and especially that portion adjoining to the river lately explored by Captain Stirling, the Secretary of State has thought it expedient to send out that officer to form a small settlement in that quarter, to which such persons may advantageously resort as may be desirous of establishing themselves in a climate as favourable as New South Wales, and a soil as promising, without the disadvantages which attach to a penal colony."*
(**Footnote. R.W. Hay to G.R. Dawson 31 December 1828 Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
Additional evidence of the fact may also be found in the dispatch forwarded to Governor Darling of New South Wales on 12 January 1829.* After drawing the Governor's attention to a previous dispatch of January 1828, in which he was informed of the grounds which induced the Government at that time to relinquish all idea of colonising the west coast of New Holland, the Secretary of State goes on to say, "Circumstances have since occurred to render the occupation of the position desirable."
(**Footnote. Colonial Office New South Wales Entry-books volume 10.)
It seems perfectly clear, therefore, that practically the only reason for colonisation was the fear of French annexation, though it is doubtful whether that fear would have been sufficiently strong to cause the Government to come to a decision had there not been the offer of the syndicate. This proved that there were, in England, men of financial stability who were confident that a new colony on the west coast could be made successful. We may perhaps add to these reasons a further motive which seems to underlie all the correspondence, namely, the knowledge that existed in the minds of the members of the Government that one or two small settlements on the eastern side of this great island could not, according to the canons of international law, be deemed to be sufficient to enable Great Britain to maintain successfully a claim to the whole of the continent.
NOTE.
Dispatches prior to June 1829, passing between the Secretary of State and the Governor of New South Wales, relative to the colonisation of Swan River, are printed in the Historical Records of Australia, published by the Commonwealth Government. The originals of those from the Secretary of State to the Governor of Western Australia subsequent to June 1829 (the foundation of the colony) are filed in the office of the Governor at Perth. The duplicate copies of dispatches from the Governor of Western Australia to the Secretary of State up to 1856 are in the possession of the Public Library of Western Australia, in which Institution are also filed copies of letters other than dispatches, the originals of which are in the Public Record Office or the Colonial Office.
COLONISATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The British Government having decided to proceed with the settlement at Swan River, it became necessary to draw up the conditions under which the new colony was to enter upon its existence. It is more than probable--in fact, according to Lord Ripon's statement it is certain--that the framing of these conditions was both influenced and expedited by a proposal made by the syndicate mentioned in the preceding chapter. This consisted of Mr. Thomas Peel (a relative of Sir Robert Peel, the then Home Secretary) Sir Francis Vincent, Mr. E.W.H. Schenley, and Colonel T. Potter MacQueen.
These gentlemen appear to have been led to formulate their scheme through the favourable reports of the country given by Captain Stirling. By a memorial dated 14 November 1828,* they offered to send out and settle in the neighbourhood of the Swan River 10,000 persons chosen from England, Scotland, and Ireland, and to find them in provisions and other necessaries usually allowed to emigrants; also to bring to the settlement 1000 head of horned stock, and to arrange for three small vessels to run subsequently between Sydney and Swan River as occasion might require, the undertaking to be completed within four years. In payment of their expenses, which they estimated at 30 pounds per head of the people taken out, they expressed themselves willing to take grants of land at a valuation of 1 shilling and 6 pence per acre, and they further promised to provide proper surveyors for the purpose of allocating to every male not less than 200 acres of land from the quantity they were to receive. The objects which the syndicate had in view, and for which such large tracts of land were required, were said to be the cultivation of cotton, tobacco, sugar, flax, and various drugs for which the climate was suited; the rearing of horses for the East Indian trade; and the establishment of large herds of cattle and swine for the purpose of supplying His Majesty's or other shipping with salt provisions.
(*Footnote. Accounts and Papers 1829 volume 24 Swan River Settlement pages 3 to 4 Memorial from Peel and others to Sir George Murray. Note. The date of the memorial is given in the Parliamentary Paper as 4 November but in the Colonial Office reply to the memorial dated 6 December it states that it is an answer to a "memorial dated 14th of last month.")
The English Government looked favourably upon the proposals, but was not inclined to accede to the whole of the requests made by the syndicate. After some delay through further correspondence, a reply to the memorial was sent by the Colonial Office to Mr. Peel on 6 December 1828,* in which it was pointed out that the Government was averse to any experiment upon such a large scale as that proposed, on account of the extensive distress which would be occasioned should the undertaking fail. For that reason it was considered necessary to limit the grant requested to a maximum of one million acres (instead of the four million acres applied for by the syndicate). Half a million would be allotted as soon as the first vessel sent out by the syndicate arrived in the new colony, such vessel to contain not less than 400 persons of both sexes, in the proportion of not less than five females to six males. Provided this grant should have been covered by investments in accordance with the regulations of the new colony before the expiration of 1840, the remaining 500,000 acres would be allotted by degrees as fresh settlers and further capital were introduced. Priority of choice to the extent of 100,000 acres would be allowed to Captain Stirling, upon whose reports it had been determined to establish the settlement.
(*Footnote. Accounts and Papers 1829 volume 24 Swan River Settlement page 6 Hay to Peel and others.)
The regulations* referred to were those contained in a circular dated 5 December, setting forth the terms on which the Government was prepared to assist colonists:
"Although it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to form a settlement on the western coast of Australia, the Government do not intend to incur any EXPENSE in conveying settlers or in supplying them with necessaries after their arrival.
"Such persons, however, as may be prepared to proceed to that country, at their own cost, before the end of the year 1829, in parties comprehending a proportion of not less than five female to six male settlers, will receive grants of land in fee simple (free of quit rent) proportioned to the capital which they may invest upon public or private objects in the colony to the satisfaction of His Majesty's Government at home, certified by the Superintendent or officer administering the Colonial Government, at the rate of 40 acres for every sum of 3 pounds so invested, provided they give previous security; first, that all supplies sent to the colony, whether of provisions, stores, or other articles which may be purchased by the capitalists there, or which shall have been sent out for the use of them or their parties on the requisition of the Secretary of State, if not paid for on delivery in the colony, shall be paid for at home, each capitalist being held liable in his proportion; and, secondly, that in the event of the establishment being broken up by the Government or Superintendent, all persons desirous of returning to the British Islands shall be conveyed to their own home at the expense of the capitalists by whom they may have been taken out. The passages of labouring persons, whether paid for by themselves or others, and whether they be male or female, provided the proportion of the sexes before mentioned be preserved, will be considered as an investment of capital, entitling the party by whom any such payment may have been made to an allowance of land at the rate of 15 pounds--that is, of 200 acres of land for the passage of every such labouring person over and above any other investment of capital.
"Any land thus granted which shall not have been brought into cultivation or otherwise improved or reclaimed from its wild state, to the satisfaction of the Government, within twenty-one years from the date of the grant shall, at the end of the twenty-one years, revert absolutely to the Crown.
"All these conditions with respect to FREE grants of land, and all contracts of labouring persons and others who shall have bound themselves for a stipulated term of service, will be strictly maintained.
"It is not intended that any convicts or other description of prisoners be sent to this new settlement.
"The Government will be administered by Captain Stirling, of the Royal Navy, as Civil Superintendent of the settlement; and a Bill, in the nature of a civil charter, will be submitted to Parliament in the commencement of its next session."
(*Footnote. Ibid page 7 copy of old terms.)
The modified offer made by the Colonial Office, and contained in the letter of 5 December, differed materially from the original proposal of the syndicate. Their request for four million acres was cut down to a maximum of one million, and even that was made subject to conditions. The terms offered were the same as those proposed for the public at large. Priority of choice of land over all settlers, Captain Stirling alone excepted, was not granted in this offer. Correspondence regarding this point resulted in the Colonial Office allowing priority to the extent of 250,000 acres.* In the opinion of members of the syndicate, the restrictions imposed by the Colonial Office upon their original plan rendered the success of the project impossible, and ultimately all withdrew with the sole exception of Mr. Peel.** His faith in the venture was so great that on 28 January 1829*** he informed the Government that he was desirous of carrying on and completing it by himself on the terms approved by the Colonial Office for the syndicate. To this the Secretary of State consented, allowing him the same priority of choice as had been offered to the syndicate, but requiring that at least 400 settlers should be landed before 1 November 1829. If he fulfilled this condition, further investment of capital would entitle him to the remaining 750,000 acres. If he failed to land any settlers before the date specified, his priority of choice was to lapse and he was to be on the same footing as other settlers. At a later date it was provided that if he landed some settlers before 1 November 1829, he was to receive a portion of the reserve according to capital and settlers landed, conditionally upon the rest being landed before 1 May 1830; in that case, however, he would not receive a further grant of 750,000 acres.****
(*Footnote. Accounts and Papers 1829 volume 24 Swan River Settlement page 8 memorandum made by Hay 23 December 1828.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 9.)
(***Footnote. Ibid page 9 Peel to Twiss.)
(****Footnote. Dispatch from Murray to Stirling 29 July 1829.)
In the meantime new regulations, not quite so favourable, had been issued on 13 January 1829,* allowing only ten years, instead of twenty-one as originally set forth, for bringing the land under cultivation. By a special permission, however, this part of the regulation was held not to apply to Mr. Peel.**
(*Footnote. Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 1.)
(*Footnote. Accounts and Papers 1829 volume 24 Swan River Settlement page 10 Twiss to Peel 28 January 1829 PS.)
Under these new regulations invested capital was to comprise stock of every description, all implements of husbandry and other articles applicable to the purpose of the productive industry or necessary for the establishment of the settler on the land where he was to be located, and the amount of any half-pay or pension received from the Government. Under the word "person" no child under ten years of age was to be included, but 40 acres were allowed for every child under three years of age, 80 for every child under six, and 120 for every child exceeding that but under ten. The fee simple of the land was not to be granted in any case until 1 shilling and 6 pence per acre had been expended in cultivation or permanent improvement. At least one-fourth of the land was to be reclaimed from its wild state within three years, or a fine of 6 pence per acre incurred; and if nothing had been done at the end of ten years in all, the whole was to revert to the Crown. These conditions were to hold only until the end of 1830.
The Government agreed to bear the cost of the civil and military officers necessary, but allowed them to take land in lieu of pay.
When the decision to establish a colony was made known, there were numerous applications from persons desiring to emigrate. Some of these were people of means prepared to go out at their own expense, but others required free passages. These latter, in the absence of an emigration fund, and in face of the Government's determination to avoid all expense for emigration, were refused.* In addition, there was apparently a second proposal to establish a settlement on a large scale in the new colony made by Mr. Nathaniel Ogle, who stated that he was desirous "from private information he had received, to emigrate, with nearly 1000 well-selected companions, to Leschenault and La Vasse. A frigate of nearly 1700 tons, built at Archangel for the Greeks, was selected: the capital ready was ample: it was deemed necessary to require the use of the ship on the coast for three years, to supply the colony with labourers, cattle, and provision. The Government, after much correspondence, refused them permission to use their ship for that period, because she was FOREIGN-BUILT (!); which caused the expedition to be abandoned--to his great and lasting regret."**
(*Footnote. Mills, R.C. Colonisation of Australia 1829 to 1842 London 1915 page 59. Dr. Mills had the opportunity of examining many of these letters in the Public Record Office.)
(**Footnote. Ogle, N. Colony of Western Australia London 1839 page 251.)
Concurrently with these negotiations with private parties, the Government pushed on the official arrangements for the inception of the new colony. Owing to the personal knowledge of the country which he possessed and the enthusiasm he showed in advocating its claims, it was felt that the administration could not be entrusted to any other than Captain Stirling. A Scotchman by birth and a naval officer of many years' standing, he had gained a good deal of colonial experience in the colony of New South Wales, and had been instrumental in forming the settlements in the north and south of that territory. He was therefore peculiarly fitted to undertake the duties attendant upon the control of the new venture. At first it was a matter for consideration whether he should be merely a Civil Superintendent or should have the larger powers of a Lieutenant-Governor. By the time the conditions of settlement were laid down, the latter title was decided upon as being the more suitable, and it was also decided to award Stirling a priority of choice of 100,000 acres as some recompense for the services he had already rendered. This choice was exercised over the whole of Garden Island, with the exception of such portions as might be required for Crown purposes, together with sufficient land in the neighbourhood of Cape Naturaliste necessary to make up the full grant.*
(*Footnote. Accounts and Papers 1829 volume 24 Swan River Settlement page 11. Note. Stirling did not ultimately take the area of land which is marked on the chart inserted in the Parliamentary Paper referred to. In place of it he took a long strip of land extending from below Bunbury down to Wonnerup Inlet, as shown on the map attached, which has been prepared by the Lands Department of Western Australia from the title-deeds.)
At the time he received no definite commission as Lieutenant-Governor. In place of that he received a letter of appointment and instruction, which was dated 30 December 1828, and which held good for something over two years, until, in fact, 5 March 1831, when the first commission was issued appointing him Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia. The reason for the adoption of this course was explained in a dispatch forwarded to Stirling by the Secretary of State for the Colonies at the same time as the letter of appointment. This document clearly laid down the course to be followed in establishing the new settlement, and the full text of it will be found as Appendix 1.
Upon receipt of these instructions Captain Stirling at once set about the preparations for inaugurating the settlement. Stores and other requirements of value in the undertaking were rapidly secured, and the civil officers necessary for the control and government were chosen and appointed. These on the whole were admirably suited for the task of colonisation. The Colonial Secretary, Mr. Peter Brown (afterwards Broun) was a man who already possessed administrative experience; the duties of Harbourmaster were entrusted to Commander M.J. Currie, a naval officer of long standing; Dr. Charles Simmons was the medical officer, Mr. James Drummond the botanist and naturalist, and Mr. John Morgan the storekeeper, a position of no little moment in the new settlement. The most important office after that of Lieutenant-Governor was unquestionably that of Surveyor-General. This was conferred upon Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) John Septimus Roe, who had previously gained an intimate knowledge of the Western Australian coastline during the expeditions of Lieutenant King in 1818 to 1822. The officers and artificers were engaged at rates of salary and wages approved by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir George Murray. In the matter of securing artificers some difficulty was encountered, and only three were obtained in time to leave by the first ship.*
(*Footnote. Letter from Stirling to Twiss 5 February 1829 in Public Record Office Swan River Papers volume 3.)
The Parmelia, a vessel of 449 tons register, Captain J.H. Luscombe, was chartered to convey the officials and their families, with the necessary supplies, to the Swan River, and H.M.S. Sulphur was commissioned* for the purpose of transporting thither a detachment of the 63rd Regiment, which, under the command of Captain F.C. Irwin, had been detailed for the security and protection of the colonists.**
(*Footnote. Admiralty to Commander Dance 24 January 1829 ibid volume 3.)
(**Footnote. Lord Fitzroy Somerset to Captain Irwin 1 January 1829 ibid volume 3.)
The necessary preparations being completed, the Parmelia sailed from Spithead on 6 of February with the first band of colonists to make a home in the new settlement of Western Australia.
On the 9th she was joined by H.M.S. Sulphur from Plymouth, with the detachment of soldiers on board, and the two vessels sailed in company for their destination, with hope strong in the hearts of all that the mission would result in a further successful expansion of the Empire of Great Britain.
Shortly after the departure of the expedition, a Bill was presented to the English Parliament "relative to the Government of His Majesty's settlements in Western Australia on the western coast of New Holland." This was passed on 14 May (10 George IV c.22) and provided that the King, with the advice of the Privy Council, might make, or might authorise any person or persons resident in the colony to make, such laws and ordinances as might be necessary for the peace, order, and good government of His Majesty's subjects within the settlement; that such laws, orders, etc., were to be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as practicable thereafter; that no part of the colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land was to be included in the new colony or settlements, and that the Act was to continue in force until the end of 1834. This period of continuance was extended by the various Acts from time to time until it was formally repealed by the passage of 13-14 Victoria c.59, which dealt with the government of the whole of the Australian colonies.
Almost coincidentally with the introduction of the Bill, there appeared in the Quarterly Review for April 1829 an article which strongly emphasised the advantages of colonising Swan River, and the "impression got abroad that the colony was to be founded by the Government or at any rate with its approbation and cooperation"; so much so, in fact, that the Quarterly Review article was suspected of being official.* The article seems to have attracted public attention to the proposed settlement, and more especially to the tentative grant of land that had been made to Thomas Peel. It was stated that there was little inducement for any settler who did not obtain land from Peel, a statement which the Secretary of State denied by giving in the House of Commons the detailed history of the negotiations between Peel and the Government.**
(*Footnote. Mills, R.C. Colonisation of Australia page 58.)
(**Footnote. Mills, R.C. Colonisation of Australia page 60. Dr. Mills refers to the suggestion that Peel's grant had been obtained through the influence of Sir Robert Peel, and points out that he had only asked Sir George Murray to give his relative "any facilities that he consistently could." Dr. Mills also refers to one of the caricatures against Peel which appeared about that time. Another one, a copy of which is in the Public Library at Perth, represents him with an open box, on the inner surface of the lid of which is drawn a swan, with the superscription, "A job for my country cousin." Out of the box are hanging long strips of orange peel. Peel is saying, "Peel! peel! wonderful peel! Swan River peel! family peel--good for everything--warranted Daddy's OWN manufacture, fresh, fresh from the jennies." The title reads: Peel, peel, Swan River peel! very fine peel!!! published in colour 6 June 1829 by J. Fairburn.)
Meanwhile, the two vessels were proceeding on their way. Nothing of any moment occurred until they reached Cape Town. There, through an unfortunate accident, Dr. Daly (the Assistant-Surgeon for the colony) and his eldest daughter were drowned while returning to the ship from the shore. After remaining in Table Bay for about a fortnight, during which some necessary repairs to the Sulphur were effected, the expedition left that port on 30 April for the Swan River. The warship, possessing poorer sailing qualities, was unable to keep up with the Parmelia, which proceeded on her course as rapidly as circumstances allowed in order to reach her destination before the wet season was too far advanced.* During this latter part of the voyage the Lieutenant-Governor made all necessary arrangements for the administration and control of the settlement, so that as little time as possible might be lost after arrival in the organisation of the Government. Instructions were issued to the Civil officers, giving in detail the necessary directions for the management of their departments. On 16 May a document was issued constituting, without salary, a "Board of Counsel and Audit in the management of the property of the Crown, and of public property within the settlement." The members of the Board were Commander Currie, Lieutenant Roe, and Mr. William Stirling. Among the other duties assigned to this Board was that of valuing the stock and other property brought by colonists, so that the proper amount of land might be allotted to them. On the same date Mr. James Drummond was appointed as Superintendent (honorary) of Government farms and gardens, Mr. G.W. Mangles as Superintendent of Government stock, Mr. H.W. Reveley as Civil Engineer, Mr. William Stirling as Registrar, and Mr. H.C. Sutherland as Assistant Surveyor.** In most cases no salary was attached to the appointment, a lack that was afterwards remedied. On 31 May land was sighted, and on the following day the Parmelia moved toward an anchorage in Cockburn Sound.*** In doing so she grounded on a bank between Carnac Island and the mainland, and was extricated only after considerable difficulty, and no little damage, by the exertions of the crew of H.M.S. Challenger, which had remained at Swan River to protect the flag until the settlers arrived. The winter season having commenced, and the weather being boisterous and stormy, Captain Stirling decided to land on Garden Island and there erect necessary buildings to protect the stores.**** On 8 June H.M.S. Sulphur put in an appearance,***** but it was not until the 16th that the detachment could disembark on the mainland and relieve the crew of the Challenger.****** This latter ship then determined to sail for India, but was prevented from doing so through the services of her artificers being required for the purpose of repairing the Parmelia, which had been rendered unseaworthy through grounding on Parmelia Bank. It was not until 28 August that H.M.S. Challenger finally departed, leaving H.M.S. Sulphur as protection for the settlement.*******
(*Footnote. Roe, J.S. Log of voyage of Parmelia manuscript in possession of Mrs. J.B. Roe, Perth.)
(**Footnote. Stirling to Sir George Murray 10 September 1829 enclosure Number 9 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
(***Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 25 August 1829 and Stirling to Sir George Murray 10 September 1829 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
(****Footnote. Ibid.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid. See also Journal and Proceedings of H.M.S. Challenger 10 March to 29 August 1829 Captains' Journals Number 3096.)
(******Footnote. Ibid.)
(*******Footnote. Journal and Proceedings of H.M.S. Challenger quoted above. See also Captain Fremantle to J.W. Croker Admiralty 8 October 1829 Swan River Papers volume 7.)
On 18 June Captain Stirling and party landed on the mainland at Rous Head and issued a proclamation (Appendix 2) thus effecting the actual settlement of Western Australia.
The proclamation was published both on the mainland (by Captain Irwin) and on Garden Island, and on the same day orders were issued confirming the appointments which had been made on the course of the voyage.*
(*Footnote. Brown, Peter (Colonial Secretary) Journal of Events connected with the Public Service. Attached to Stirling's dispatch of 10 September 1829 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
The strong winds and rough seas consequent upon the season of the year made regular and continual communication with the mainland both difficult and dangerous. It was therefore deemed wise to postpone the work of selecting permanent town-sites, and in the interval temporary buildings to house the colonists and stores were erected on Garden Island, some of which continued in occupation even after the removal of the settlement, as it was thought safer to house the bulk of the stores on the island, bringing them across from time to time as necessity required. A portion of the scrub was also cleared, and the seeds brought from England and the Cape were planted, so that, though late, they might have the advantage of the portion of the season still remaining.*
(*Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 25 August 1829 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
During the month of July two exploring parties were sent out in order to secure all the information possible concerning the districts within easy reach of the Swan River. The first of these, under the control of Lieutenant Henry of the Challenger, proceeded to discover the source of the Canning River, and to examine the country lying between the mountains and the sea. The party covered altogether a distance of over one hundred miles, and found that, with trifling exceptions, the soil was well adapted to agriculture.* The second expedition, under Commander Currie, explored the country south and south-east of the Swan for a distance of about ten miles, finding a river and several freshwater lakes, and further extending the area of possible cultivation.**
(*Footnote. Cross, J. Journals of Expeditions made in Western Australia 1829 to 1832 London 1833 pages 1 to 5.)
(**Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 25 August and Stirling to Sir G. Murray 10 September 1829 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
Meanwhile, Captain Stirling and his officers having decided to found two towns, one at the mouth of the river to serve the purposes of a seaport and one farther inland as the seat of government, landed on the mainland to select suitable sites.* That for the port was quickly chosen on the south bank of the Swan, at its mouth, and was named Fremantle in honour of the captain of the Challenger. The other selection proved more difficult, but after closely following the course of the Swan for some miles they finally fixed upon a spot just above the junction of the Swan and the Canning as the best position for the seat of government, to which they gave the name of Perth, out of compliment to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who was the member for Perth in Scotland.**
(*Footnote. Ibid.)
(**Footnote. Extract from letter 12 September 1829 from H.M.S. Sulphur published in the Glasgow Courier 13 February 1830.)
That the site chosen was admirable in every way must be admitted, even though for the time being it was difficult of access from Fremantle, which was on the south side of the river. Overshadowed by Mount Eliza, with a broad expanse of water before it, and the river flats, where Stirling had experienced difficulties in 1827, stretching out beyond it, it made an ideal spot for what was to become the capital of a great State. No doubt the existence of these flats, which seemed to promise well for agricultural development, in part at any rate led to the selection of that particular place. The site having been settled, notice was given that the first stone of the new town of Perth would be laid on 12 August, the date of King George IV's birthday. The ceremony was performed by cutting down a tree on the allotment set a part for the military barracks.*
(*Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 25 August and Stirling to Sir G. Murray 10 September 1829 Swan River Papers volume 3.)
During August other vessels arrived with settlers and stock. These new colonists, as well as the first arrivals, were all anxious to receive locations of land as quickly as possible, for though there was little or no opportunity of doing anything in the way of cultivation at the time, they were desirous of making preparation for the following season. The Surveyor-General and his assistants were kept busy making rough but fairly accurate surveys of locations applied for. All these applications made the issue of land regulations imperative, and on 28 August* the first land regulations for the colony were proclaimed. These provided that the territory should be divided into counties, hundreds, townships, and sections; each section to be 640 acres in extent, each township 25 sections, each hundred 4 townships, and each county 16 hundreds. In each county 600 sections were reserved by the Government for public expenses, educational support and endowment, cost of public works, and the administration of justice. Land was not to be open to location until surveyed, and was then to be granted only in complete sections. No allotment was to have river frontage of more than one-fourth its exterior boundary. No second location was to be granted to any person who had not fulfilled the conditions of improvement with regard to the first, and no grant was to be made to indentured servants or to persons coming to the colony at the expense of others. Three square miles were reserved as the site of the town of Perth. These were to be split up into allotments of nine to ten acres each, to be held, according to instructions from the Colonial Office, on a twenty-one years' lease, with the right of the Government to resume if necessary for public purposes upon paying compensation, these leases to become freehold if not resumed within the period stated, and to carry at all times the right of sale or assignment. They were also to be subject to such rates as the Government might deem necessary to impose. The same conditions were to prevail with regard to Fremantle. Persons possessing land in the settlement at large were to have the right to a free grant in the vicinity of a township in the ratio of one acre for every 1000 acres held by them. The general conditions as to the assessment of property upon which land would be granted and the quantity to be so granted, as laid down in the Colonial Office circular of January 1829, were incorporated, and the following mode of procedure for taking up grants was laid down:
"All persons who may be desirous to receive allotments of land are to make application to the Lieutenant-Governor according to the form which will be furnished to them at the office of the Colonial Secretary. If the application be admissible, it will be referred to the Board of Commissioners for the management of Crown property, who will report to the Lieutenant-Governor the extent of land to which the applicant may appear to be entitled, upon a strict examination of property imported by him.
"The kinds of property on which claims may be founded are only such as are applicable to the improvement and cultivation of land, or necessary in placing the settler on his location; and the value thereof will be estimated by the Commissioners according to such fair standard of reference as they may see fit to adopt.
"On receiving the report of the Board, the Lieutenant-Governor will accord permission to the applicant to proceed to select such land, to the extent recommended, as may suit his particular views, and having selected, the applicant is to make his selection known to the Surveyor-General by filling up the form which may be attached to the permission to select. This report of selection will be examined by the Surveyor-General and transmitted by him to the Lieutenant-Governor, with such remarks as may be necessary to enable the Lieutenant-Governor to decide on the propriety of the allotment being made, and if no prior claim to the land in question or other objection exist, the applicant will receive a grant thereof, in the usual form of a primary conveyance.
"Land thus granted will belong in perpetuity to the grantee, his heirs, and assigns, to be held in free and common socage, subject, however, to such reservations and conditions as may be stated in the conveyance."
(*Footnote. Stirling to Sir G. Murray 10 September 1829 enclosure Swan River Papers volume 3.)
Then follows the description of the liabilities in the way of rates and taxes to which the land was subject, as well as the provision that no settler could, without special permission, sell his land until he had improved it to the extent of 1 shilling and 6 pence per acre.
The surveys of the town sites of Perth and Fremantle were quickly completed, and on 5 September the first allotments were taken up. In Perth the purchasers, either on leasehold on in fee simple, were F.C. Irwin (the officer commanding the troops) Reverend J.B. Wittenoom (the Colonial Chaplain) May Hodges, George Leake, and P.P. Smith; in Fremantle the first allotments fell to William Lamb, John Hobbs, Lionel Samson, and Thomas Bannister.* There was only one other lot sold in Fremantle in 1829, the purchaser being John Bateman, but in Perth there was more demand. There we find that during the remaining months of the year land was either leased or sold to John Septimus Roe (the Surveyor-General) Dr. Simmons, William Shaw, John Morrell, John Tichbon, Thomas Davis, William Hoking, Thomas Bannister, James Henty, James McDermott, Samuel Cox, Richard Jones, Hugh Macdonald, David Paterson, George Embleton, William Leeder, Henry Trigg, William Nairne, Robert M. Lyon, and C. Browne.**
(*Footnote. Year Book of Western Australia 1902 to 1904 page 32; see also Records of Lands Department Perth.)
(**Footnote. See Records of Lands Department Perth.)
In addition to making the necessary surveys in Perth and Fremantle, Lieutenant Roe was able, during the first three months after his arrival, to make surveys of the surrounding country sufficiently accurate for the purpose of making grants in accordance with the regulations. The first of these, as shown by the records, were made on 29 September to the following grantees:* R.H. Bland, 8000 acres; Peter Brown (Colonial Secretary) 5000 acres; Charles Boyd, 640 acres; W.T. Dance (captain of the Sulphur) 5000 acres; William Dixon, 2268 acres; Sir James Hume, 2666 acres; George Leake, 14887 acres; Colonel P.A. Lautour, 10,000 acres; Dr. John Whattley, 1500 acres; John Septimus Roe, 3100 acres; Lionel Samson, 4696 acres; and Charles Ridley, 1750 acres. All these grants were close to the Swan River, many of them with river frontage. The reasons for this were that the soil seemed more promising and the river afforded an easy method of transit. Other assignments on account of capital invested that were made during 1829 were C.H. Fremantle (captain of the Challenger) 5000 acres in the interior; Thomas Bannister, 2000 on Canning River; Henry Camfield, 1000 on the Swan River; M.C. Carew, 100 on the Helena; John A. Dutton, 3600 on the Canning; P.H. Dod, 2000 on the Swan; John O. Davis, 7026 on the Canning; R. Dawson, 1280 on the Canning; James Drummond (the botanist) 1000 on the Swan and 100 on the Helena; Joshua Gregory, 1000 on the Swan; John Hobbs, 4000 on the Canning; William Lamb, 8119 on the Swan; Colonel Lautour, 100 on the Helena; R. Wardell, 1000 on the Swan; Daniel Scott, 4000 on the Swan; William K. Shenton, 100 on the Helena; W.H. Mackie and F.C. Irwin, 200 on the Swan; and P. Rogers, 4000 on Canning River.** According to the official statistics 525,000 acres were granted by the end of the year, including the original grant of 100,000 acres to Captain Stirling and the 250,000 conditionally granted to Mr. Peel, who arrived with his immigrants about the middle of December.
(*Footnote. Ibid.
(**Footnote. Note. In order to secure land in accordance with the Regulations, each settler was required to submit to the Board of Counsel and Audit a sworn statement setting out the property brought by him, together with the cost of his own, his family's, and his servants' passages. The Board then determined, (a) the property that could be deemed to be usable for the purposes of the colony, and (b) the value to be placed upon it. Upon that value was assigned to the applicant in accordance with the conditions on the basis of forty acres for every 3 pounds. The original statements of many of the settlers are still to be found filed in the Records of the Colonial Secretary's Office, Perth. It is interesting to note that Benjamin Goodman, one of the dissatisfied settlers, who wrote to the Secretary of State from Hobart on 1 December 1829, claimed land to the value of 220 pounds in cash, which he possessed on arrival at Swan River. In his affidavit of property, however, he set down 75 pounds as the amount of cash in his possession. The value of the property upon which land was granted amounted to 21 pounds.)
But all these vast areas of land were at that time virgin forest, and though the possessors were potentially rich, they were actually suffering all the privations and discomforts incident to settlement in a new country. They were even without homes, with the exception of such rude shelters as they could make for themselves, and they had practically no means of subsistence beyond the supplies they had brought and such further provisions as ships expected to arrive from time to time might bring. Their condition was certainly not one to be envied. Though many of them were of first-class family "and possessed of considerable property,"* they were in great measure unprepared for the trials they had to face, and were not inured to the privations that must necessarily befall those who hope to wrest a livelihood from the wilds of nature.** Their difficulties were greatly increased by the fact that they arrived at the height of the winter season, and were prevented by the cold and rain from making much headway for some considerable time. But all their trials were borne with stout hearts, and they struggled manfully forward, strong in their determination to succeed. The state of the settlement during the first few weeks of its existence may be fairly well estimated from the dispatch forwarded by the Lieutenant-Governor to the Secretary of State on 9 September 1829:
"Exposure to the winds and rain of a boisterous winter," he said, "has been the most serious evil we have encountered, but that and other privations incident to such an undertaking have been borne with cheerfulness and overcome with proper spirit by all the individuals forming the civil and military establishment. Among the settlers since arrived, some disappointment has arisen in consequence of their being in general but little accustomed to encounter hardships, and in all cases too sanguine in the expectations they have entertained respecting the country. But as the weather has improved they have been enabled to extend their explorations and attain more comfort, and I believe there is now existing among them a cheerful confidence in the qualities of the country and a general belief in its future prosperity...Up to the present period no event of a nature wholly unexpected or very important has occurred in the prosecution of the service, except that the western coast of New Holland was taken possession of in His Majesty's name by Captain Fremantle, and that the settlement has subsequently been commenced and proceeded in. The progress made in the erection of storehouses and temporary buildings for the civil establishment, in landing the stores and provisions, and in exploring the country has been very considerable when viewed with reference to the season of the year and to the means at the disposal of the local government. The weather at the period of my arrival being extremely boisterous, I was forced to disembark the people and stores on Garden Island, the communication between the ships and the mainland being too unsafe and uncertain during the winter season to admit of their being placed at any other point. Since then as the weather has improved I have removed such persons and stores as have been necessary to the sites of the towns of Perth and Fremantle, but I intend to keep the principal depot of provisions and stores still at Garden Island, carrying over as they are wanted the articles therein deposited. The arrival of two other ships with settlers making it necessary to have locations prepared for them, I have been under the necessity of interrupting the general survey of the surrounding coast and country for the purpose of laying out the town of Fremantle at the entrance of Melville Water as a landing port, and also the town of Perth near the island on the Swan River, with a view of its being in the neighbourhood of those who may wish to cultivate the rich lands immediately above it on the river...The settlers have already made selection of town lots in each place and are proceeding with alacrity in the preparation of buildings."
(*Footnote. Further returns from Swan River Settlement House of Commons Papers 1831 Number 66.)
(**Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 26 January 1830.)
During September the civil establishment was removed to Perth and the settlement began to acquire something of a permanent appearance. A cottage for the Lieutenant-Governor was erected not far from the present site of Government House, and the various departmental offices were built in close proximity to it, so that the work of administration could be carried on more easily. Houses of more or less permanent character began to arise, and the first place of worship--for the Church of England--was erected through the earnest solicitation as well as by the actual assistance of the Colonial Chaplain, the Reverend J.B. Wittenoom.
Between then and the end of the year several ships arrived with settlers, stock, and provisions. Among these was the Gilmore, with Thomas Peel and his party of immigrants and servants on board, which arrived early in December. As Peel had not carried out his agreement with the Government, his priority of choice over 250,000 acres lapsed,* but he was granted a location extending from Cockburn Sound to the Murray River, being viewed by Governor Stirling as a common settler meriting an equal extent of property, in accordance with the Secretary of State's instructions of 29 July.
(*Footnote. The land held under priority was thrown open to settlers early in November. See Extracts of Letters from Swan River third series London 1830 pages 1 and 13.)
The conditions under which Peel's venture was entered upon were liberal enough to have ensured success for any capably managed expedition, but Peel seems to have been utterly incompetent. Owing to lack of management on his part, and to his failure to provide those whom he had brought out with food and clothing according to his contract with them, most of them deserted and struck out for themselves. In fact, almost from the date of their landing it was evident that the project was doomed to failure.* Writing to Under Secretary Hay in July 1830, John Morgan, the Colonial Storekeeper,** stated that Peel was a ruined man unless some competent person arrived speedily to manage his affairs, that he was totally incapable of conducting the establishment himself, and had no one competent to do so for him. In consequence his people were wretchedly provided for, and thirty-seven of them had actually died. Beyond merely bringing the people out, Peel did not fulfil any of his conditions with the Government, and, in consequence, protracted correspondence ensued. Finally, on 25 September 1834, he made formal application to the Governor for a grant of 250,000 acres of land on conditions of general improvement.*** In compliance with this request he was granted, on 25 November following, the fee simple of the land now known as Cockburn Sound Location 16 "in consideration of certain location duties performed to the satisfaction of Governor Stirling."**** Here he settled down in solitary grandeur, an embittered and disappointed man, doing little or nothing to improve his vast estate, and died at Mandurah some thirty years latter in comparatively indigent circumstances.*****
(*Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia pages 4 and 5.)
(**Footnote. Morgan to Hay 14 July 1830 Swan River Papers volume 7.)
(***Footnote. Colonial Secretary's Office Records Western Australia filed in Public Library Perth.)
(****Footnote. Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 23. See also Map attached.)
(*****Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 5.)
A vivid and interesting, but not altogether accurate, account of Peel's failure and the causes of the straits to which the colony was reduced in its early days was given by Edward Gibbon Wakefield before the Committee of the House of Commons on Waste Lands in 1836, on the authority, he stated, of one of Peel's agents:
"That colony, which was founded with a general hope in this country, amongst very intelligent persons of all descriptions, that it would be a most prosperous colony, has all but perished. It has not quite perished, but the population is a great deal less than the number of emigrants; it has been a diminishing population since its foundation. The greater part of the capital which was taken out (and that was very large) has disappeared altogether, and a great portion of the labourers taken out (and they were a very considerable number) have emigrated a second time to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. The many disasters which befell this colony (for some people did actually die of hunger) and the destruction of the colony taken out to the Swan River, and the second emigration of the people who went out, appear to me to be accounted for at once by the manner in which land was granted. The first grant consisted of 500,000 acres to an individual, Mr. Peel. That grant was marked out upon the map in England--500,000 acres were taken round about the port or landing place. It was quite impossible for Mr. Peel to cultivate 500,000 acres, or a hundredth part of the grant; but others were, of course, necessitated to go beyond his grant in order to take their land. So that the first operation in that colony was to create a great desert, to mark out a large tract of land, and to say, "This is desert--no man shall come here; no man shall cultivate this land." So far dispersion was produced, because upon the terms on which Mr. Peel obtained his land, land was given to the others. The Governor took another 100,000 acres, another person took 80,000 acres; and the dispersion was so great that, at last, the settlers did not know where they were; that is, each settler knew that he was where he was, but he could not tell where anyone else was; and therefore, he did not know his own position. That was why some people died of hunger; for though there was an ample supply of food at the Governor's house, the settlers did not know where the Governor was, and the Governor did not know where the settlers were. Then, besides the evils resulting from dispersion, there occurred what I consider almost a greater one; which is, the separation of the people and the want of combinable labour. The labourers, on finding out that land could be obtained with the greatest facility, the labourers taken out under contracts, under engagements which assured them of very high wages if they would labour during a certain time for wages, immediately laughed at their masters. Mr. Peel carried out altogether about 300 persons--men, women, and children. Of those 300 persons, about sixty were able labouring men. In six months after his arrival he had nobody even to make his bed for him or to fetch him water from the river. He was obliged to make his own bed and to fetch water for himself, and to light his own fire. All the labourers had left him. The capital, therefore, which he took out, namely, implements of husbandry, seeds, and stock, especially stock, immediately perished; without shepherds to take care of the sheep, the sheep wandered and were lost; eaten by the native dogs, killed by the natives and by some of the other colonists, very likely by his own workmen, but they were destroyed; his seeds perished on the beach; his houses were of no use; his wooden houses were there in frame, in pieces, but could not be put together, and were therefore quite useless, and rotted on the beach. This was the case with the capitalists generally. The labourers, obtaining land very readily, and running about to fix upon locations for themselves, and to establish themselves independently, very soon separated themselves into isolated families, into what may be termed cottiers, with a very large extent of land, something like the Irish cottiers, but having, instead of a very small piece of land, a large extent of land. Everyone was separated, and very soon fell into the greatest distress. Falling into the greatest distress, they returned to their masters, and insisted upon the fulfilment of the agreements upon which they had gone out; but then Mr. Peel said, 'All my capital is gone; you have ruined me by deserting me, by breaking your engagements; and you now insist upon my observing the engagements when you yourselves have deprived me of the means of doing so.' They wanted to hang him, and he ran away to a distance, where he secreted himself for a time till they were carried off to Van Diemen's Land."*
(*Footnote. House of Commons, Accounts and Papers 1836 volume 2 page 499 answer to question 591.)
Although the success which it was hoped would attend the colony from its inception was far from realised, its failure was not so complete as Wakefield would have us believe. It is more than probable that the fact that he was interested in securing a fixed price for colonial crown lands, and was endeavouring at that time to found a colony in the south of Australia based upon his principles of colonisation, may have induced him to overstate the case, but it need not have led him into definite misstatements. Peel's grant did not comprise 500,000 acres, nor was it located as marked on the map of 1829.* The actual grant extended "from Cockburn Sound to the Murray River near Cape Bouvard and thence up that river twenty-five miles from its source."** This was some miles to the south of Fremantle. Stirling's grant also occupied a different position from that marked on the map mentioned, and the nearest point of it to Perth was over 120 miles distant. The assertion that some settlers died from hunger was denied by Captain Irwin, who was Commandant of the Forces when the colony was established,*** but against that denial we should perhaps place the Colonial Storekeeper's statement that thirty-seven of Peel's people had actually died,**** from one cause or another, an unusually large number in so small a community. There is abundant evidence, both in the Governor's dispatches and in private letters and diaries, that indentured servants caused a considerable amount of trouble, that they were continually asking for more than their indentures provided, and that, at times, they deserted.***** They were, however, usually punished for any failure to fulfil their contracts. Peel's servants were either discharged by him or liberated by the magistrates by the middle of 1830,****** the few who remained being assisted with provisions from the government stores.******* Wakefield's statement that desertions occurred because the servants could easily obtain land for themselves was not true, for the land regulations of 28 August 1829 especially provided that indentured servants or assisted persons must fulfil their agreements before they could obtain land. The whole position with regard to indentured servants was perhaps not inaptly summed up in a letter to the Secretary of State: "Indented servants are of no use. Almost every settler is obliged to dismiss his indented servants for idleness, disobedience to orders, or drunkenness, and so soon as they obtain their liberty they embark for either Hobart or Sydney. I have been ruined by laying out money in the way recommended by the Government in their public regulations."******** Peel's failure was due partly to his absolute ignorance of pioneering difficulties, and partly to his lack of ability to manage an undertaking of such magnitude. To these may be added the difficulties caused by his impetuous nature and lack of discretion.*********
(*Footnote. Ibid 1829 volume 24 map attached to correspondence regarding Swan River settlement. See also Map.)
(**Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 26 January 1830.)
(***Footnote. Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia London 1835 page 37.)
(****Footnote. Morgan to Hay 14 July 1830.)
(*****Footnote. Stirling to Sir George Murray 12 March 1831; Colonists' Memorial to Secretary of State 2 September 1831; Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia page 35; Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years' Eventful Life of an Early Settler in Western Australia London 1884 pages 60, 86 to 89, 142, 176, 197, etc.)
(******Footnote. Stirling to Secretary of State 18 October 1830.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid.)
(********Footnote. Lyon, R.M. to Secretary of State 11 February 1831 Swan River Papers volume 9.)
(*********Footnote. Mills, R.C. Colonisation of Australia page 68.)
Another emigration scheme, concerning which there is very little record, appears to have been entered upon by Colonel P.A. Lautour, whose agent, Richard Wells, arrived in the colony with eighty-five servants and considerable stock on 5 August 1829,* and who received a grant of over 100,000 acres. The only record of the fate of this scheme, beyond occasional letters asking for loans which are filed in the Colonial Secretary's Office, appears to consist of a statement made by Stirling to the Secretary of State in his dispatch of 18 October 1830, in which he states that the establishment has been broken up and the servants discharged "as the schemes (Peel and Lautour) had been undertaken without a proper provision of funds and stores in this country for their maintenance." At a later date** Lautour suggested that he should be allowed to take out 300 of those convicts who had lately been convicted of riots in England. The suggestion was not accepted.***
(*Footnote. Stirling to Sir George Murray 20 January 1830 enclosure Number 2.)
(**Footnote. Colonel Lautour to Lord Howick 9 January 1831. A similar proposal was made to the Secretary of State on 17 January 1831 by James Mangles.)
(***Footnote. Note. Two other proposals for emigration on a large scale were laid before the Colonial Office during the early years of the settlement: one made in May 1829 by Richard Badnall (Badnall to Twiss 29 May 1829 New South Wales volume 207) and a second by Edward Merrell in December 1832 (Merrell to Hay 19 December 1832 Swan River Papers volume 11). Neither of these proposals appear to have gone beyond the tentative stage.)
The alluring prospects held out to emigrants induced many besides those included in the above schemes to try their fortunes in the new colony. In order to have land ready for these, and at the same time to increase the knowledge of the country lying outside the immediate settlement, several exploring expeditions were sent out in the latter part of 1829. Lieutenant Preston of H.M.S. Sulphur and Dr. Collie examined during November the coastline and adjacent country between Cockburn Sound and Geographe Bay, paying particular attention to the rivers and to the suitability of the soil for cultivation. In December, Ensign Dale of the 63rd Regiment, who had previously endeavoured to trace the source of the Helena River, made a further attempt. He followed the stream until it became a mere chain of ponds, and then returned bringing back the information that the country toward the coast did not give much promise in the way of agriculture, though it offered fairly good pasture for sheep. In the same month Dr. Wilson, R.N., left the settlement at King George's Sound with a small party, intending to proceed toward the Swan River. Though he did not go far in the direction aimed at, he passed through some of the best country from a scenic point of view in Western Australia, and in the course of his wanderings discovered the Denmark River. Dr. Wilson's report of the trip spoke highly of the character of the soil in general, though some of it he admitted was "as miserable and useless as any to be found in New South Wales."*
(*Footnote. Cross. Journals of Several Expeditions in Western Australia 1829 to 1832 pages 6 et seq.)
The total population of the colony at the end of the year was 1290, of whom 850* were permanent residents, the greater part of the remainder forming the complement of the ships then at anchor, one of these being H.M.S. Success, which grounded on entering Challenger Passage and received injuries that took twelve months to repair. To carry out these repairs she was beached at that portion of Cockburn Sound since known as Careening Bay. The value of the property brought by the settlers up to this time was about 45,000 pounds, the proportion of which that was applicable to the improvement of land, and upon which land was granted according to the regulations, being 41,550 pounds.**
(*Footnote. Stirling to Sir George Murray 20 January 1830.)
(**Footnote. Ibid. From 29 October 1829 to June 1830 the amount of property brought was 73,260 pounds, of which 52,239 was applicable to the improvement of land. Stirling to Secretary of State 18 October 1830 enclosure A2.)
On 20 January 1830, Captain Stirling addressed a dispatch to the Colonial Office embracing a report of the various matters we have already referred to, and giving, in addition, some important information as to the class of people arriving in the colony. Those who came as settlers, having a certain amount of capital, were on the whole highly respectable and independent persons, but the same could not be said of their workmen and servants. In many cases these seemed to have been recruited from parish outcasts, or engaged without any reference to character, and had consequently caused great inconvenience by their drunken and disorderly habits. So troublesome had these people become, the Governor reported, that he had found it necessary to appoint a magistracy, whose chairman, Mr. W.H. Mackie, was "a gentleman bred to the law," and to engage a number of constables, for the purpose of preserving order in the settlement. We also gather from the document that even at this early stage depression had made itself felt in the affairs of the young colony.
"Among so many settlers there could not be a great number with minds and bodies suited to encounter the struggles and distresses of a new settlement. Many, if not all, have accordingly been more or less disappointed on arrival either with the state of things here or their own want of power to surmount the difficulties pressing around them...From this depression, however, the active and stout-hearted have now recovered, and ten or twelve of the leading men of the settlement having occupied their grounds, and having declared themselves fully satisfied with the quality of the soil and the condition of their cattle, I consider the undertaking is now safe from the effects of a general despondency, which at one time threatened to defeat the views of His Majesty's Government in this quarter."
The dispatch then went on to discuss the climate and the general prospects of the settlement. The climate, of which the Lieutenant-Governor had had practically a year's experience, he found "favourable to health in an uncommon degree," though owing to the heat of December and January "the workmen have not been able to work in the sun from 10 to 3 o'clock!" In regard to the general prospects, the opinion was expressed that the land suitable for tillage was somewhat limited in area, but that there ought to be a good future both for pastoral pursuits and fruit culture, more particularly of temperate and sub-tropical fruits. The position of the settlement, he considered, was an excellent one for developing an eastern trade in British manufactures. But though on the whole the prospect was a favourable one, Captain Stirling was careful to point out that practically everything depended on the right class of immigrant being secured. "The greater part," he said, "incapable of succeeding in England, are not likely to prosper here to the extent of their groundless and inconsiderate expectations. Many of the settlers who have come should never have left a safe and tranquil state of life; and if it be possible to discourage one set of people and to encourage another, I would earnestly request that for a few years the helpless and inefficient may be kept from the settlement, while to the active, industrious, and intelligent there may be assured with confidence a fair reward for their labours. This country may at no distant period absorb, with advantage to Great Britain and herself, an immense migration of persons, any great portions of which if sent forward too soon will ruin her prospects and their own."
In a semi-private letter* which was forwarded by the same vessel as the preceding dispatch, the Lieutenant-Governor ventured the opinion that the rush of settlers had been due to the exceedingly liberal land laws, and also to the fact that no convicts were to be sent to the colony. As to the class of people arriving, he was still more emphatic than in his official utterance upon the point that there are "many who will be ruined by their own groundless expectations and helpless inefficiency." Discussing in this letter the future prospects of the colony, Captain Stirling urged that his experience during the first six months of his administration had convinced him that the English Government must either decide to give up the settlement altogether or else must establish it definitely as a Crown Colony, with a regular commission to the Governor, proper machinery for enacting ordinances, and a system of finances with provision for raising revenue and expending money, subject, of course, to revision by the Home authorities. The arguments used in this communication appear to have had considerable weight, as in reply Captain Stirling was informed that a commission was in course of preparation which would contain the authority in matters of administration that had been sought.** In this dispatch the Secretary of State agreed with Stirling's view that the helpless and inefficient type of emigrant should be discouraged, but every inducement held out to the industrious and intelligent. He pointed out, however, that it would be difficult to make this discrimination, as the tide of emigration seemed to set strongly towards the settlement at Swan River notwithstanding some unfavourable accounts which had reached England.
(Footnote. Stirling to Twiss 26 January 1830.)
(**Footnote. Sir George Murray to Stirling 20 July 1830.)
The history of the colony up to the end of 1830 is practically confined to a record of the early struggles of the pioneers, of the alienation of land under the system of grants, and of exploration of the country. Even though, at the beginning of the year, the reports of the inefficient section of the community were beginning to reach England, there was no diminution in the stream of immigration. In fact, so great was the influx that the local Government found it necessary to import provisions and stock from the Cape, the East Indies, and the other Australian colonies in order to prevent the possibility of famine occurring before the colonial lands and stock commenced to make some return. The result of this importation was not, however, satisfactory. In the absence of proper storehouses, much of the grain was spoilt by exposure to the weather or ruined by white ants and other vermin, while a number of the cattle wandered away into the bush and either died or became wild.*
(*Footnote. Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia page 45.)
While those who arrived later missed many of the hardships which the first arrivals had to undergo, they had the same strenuous battle to fight when their grants were apportioned. Among them, however, were practical farmers from the agricultural counties of England, all possessed of at least moderate capital, and these soon began to show actual results for their labour. In fact, a more hopeful air began to pervade the whole community. Many were engaged in clearing their grants and sowing crops, employing their spare time in attempts at brickmaking, so as to improve their general condition by the erection of more comfortable houses.* Their want of knowledge of the climate, however, caused a good deal of suffering during the wet season. The winter rains of 1830 were particularly heavy, so much so that the river overflowed its banks and brought considerable loss and damage to those who were temporarily residing on the flats waiting for their grants, or who had elected to build permanent homes on the lower levels. The shipping at Fremantle also suffered in no small degree. Four vessels broke loose from their moorings and were driven ashore, one of them, the Rockingham, becoming a total wreck on that part of the coast which has since borne the name.**
(*Footnote. Ibid pages 52 to 60.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia volume 1 page 5.)
Much trouble was also experienced with the cattle and sheep during the year. Many of the cattle got away into the bush, and the scab disease, introduced by some flocks brought from Tasmania, greatly lessened the small number of sheep in the colony.
Meanwhile the alienation of land was proceeding apace, and among those recorded as having received grants during the year we find many--J. and J.W. Hardey, J.S. Roe, Stephen and James Henty, W.L. Brockman, E. Barrett Lennard, J.H. Monger, A.H. Stone, J.S. Clarkson, Robert Dale, W.K. Shenton, and others*--whose names have been graven deep in the annals of their adopted country. There being very little available land remaining on the banks of the Swan or within reasonable reach of Perth or Fremantle, it became necessary, in order to accommodate many of these applicants, to extend the boundaries of the settlement. With that end in view a further examination of the country southward along the coast was made by the Lieutenant-Governor.** This resulted in the establishment of a military station at Port Leschenault, where the present town of Bunbury stands. A new county was thus added to the colony, and by Government notice every endeavour was made to induce those applying for land to select it in that district. Unfortunately for its progress, enormous areas were taken up by Colonel Lautour, the Henty Brothers, and others, but no immediate use made of the land, so that for many years the district made no headway at all. The settlement became little more than a name; even Captain Stirling seems to have been disheartened, as the military detachment stationed there was withdrawn before the end of the year.*** It is worthy of note that the grant, 103,000 acres, made to Colonel Lautour formed the location upon which an attempt was made at a later period to establish the town of Australind.
(*Footnote. See records of Lands Department and Colonial Secretary's Office Perth.)
(**Footnote. General report on the progress of the colony up to March 1831 enclosed in Stirling's dispatch to Sir George Murray 13 March 1831.)
(***Footnote. Ibid.)
About the same time (April 1830) the country near King George's Sound was thrown open* under the name of Plantagenet County. Here grants were made to Dr. Collie, Captain Bannister, Lieutenant Preston, and J.L. Morley, but, as in the case of Port Leschenault, no attempt at immediate cultivation was made.
(*Footnote. Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 32.)
Partly in order to do something in the way of assisting discharged servants, who had completed their term of service, to become good settlers, the town of Guildford was surveyed in the following month, and blocks of four and five acres each were granted to these people, with the intention that they should assist one another and eventually form a cooperative settlement.*
(**Footnote. General report on the progress of the colony up to March 1831 enclosed in Stirling's dispatch to Sir George Murray 13 March 1831.)
From the fact that Captain Stirling desired 90,000 acres of his original grant to be at Cape Naturaliste, it is more than probable he was convinced that the neighbourhood offered great promise. The pressure of his administrative duties had prevented him from paying any attention to the matter up to that time, but in May 1830, accompanied by a band of settlers, he set out to examine the locality with a view to establishing a new township. The party landed at the mouth of the Blackwood in Flinders Bay, and marked off the site for a township, to be named Augusta.* The settlers, under the leadership of Captain Molloy and Messrs. Bussell and Turner, selected grants and set about the cultivation of them. Though the soil was good, the labour of clearing was very great, and consequently but little progress was made. The heavy forest baffled all their attempts to pasture stock, and to add to their difficulties supplies ran short time after time owing to their isolated position. For four years they struggled along with indifferent success, finally removing in 1834 to the less heavily-timbered plains of the Vasse, which seemed to offer greater opportunities.
(*Footnote. Ibid Document B.)
While these attempts, not on the whole successful, were being made to establish communities along the south-west coast, attention was also being paid to the portions of the interior eastward of Perth. Ensign Dale, who had previously penetrated some distance in that direction, pursued his investigations farther inland* and brought back such glowing accounts of the new country that Lieutenant Erskine was dispatched to obtain still more definite information.** So completely did his opinion agree with that formed by Dale that the Lieutenant-Governor decided to make a personal tour of inspection.*** Being satisfied with what he saw, arrangements were at once made to throw the land open for selection, and before the end of the year many large tracts were taken up. Sites for the towns of York, Northam, and Beverley were also marked out at this time, but no allotments were apportioned in any of them, the first town lots, at York, being sold in 1835.****
(*Footnote. Cross. Journals of Several Expeditions etc. page 51.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 92.)
(***Footnote. Private letter from Stirling to Mr. John Barrow in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society volume 1 1831 pages 255 to 257 and General report on the progress of the colony up to March 1831 Stirling to Sir George Murray 13 March 1831.)
(****Footnote. Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 34.)
Thus by the end of 1830 the colony had extended its boundaries to include (apart from the military station at King George's Sound, which still remained under the Government of New South Wales) settlements at Swan River, Port Leschenault, Guildford, and Augusta, in addition to which areas of land had been assigned in Plantagenet County and in the York-Beverley district. In most of these places little work had been done, but marked progress had been made in Perth and on the holdings along the Swan, Helena, and Canning Rivers, though as yet the returns were insufficient to provide for the sustenance of the community without importing provisions. Fremantle had made but little advance. At the end of the year it was still practically a camp, and though there were many good citizens who were straining every nerve to develop their properties and improve the condition of things generally, a great part of the inhabitants were of the class that is always afraid of work and particularly loud in expressing disappointment and dissatisfaction. A number of these, most of whom were utterly incompetent as settlers, and some of whom held grants of land, left the colony during the latter half of the year,* either abandoning their holdings or arranging for incoming settlers to take them up.
"Few who abandoned the settlement...were willing to admit their failure was the result of their own want of exertion or their unfittedness for the enterprise in which they had embarked; accordingly, wherever they went, and in their letters home, the blame was laid on the country. Thus, many of the evil reports respecting it which were current at home and in the neighbouring colonies may be traced to those sources."**
(*Footnote. General report on the progress of the colony up to March 1831 enclosed in Stirling's dispatch to Sir George Murray 13 March 1831.)
(**Footnote. Irwin. State and Position of Western Australia page 43.)
Many of these derogatory reports seem to have come from Hobart and the Cape,* and may be classed within the category mentioned by Irwin, and might have been disregarded, but, unfortunately, others of a more responsible type reached London. These said that the want of money had already reduced many of the settlers to a state of pauperism, that gentlemen who moved in the first circles of society at home were destitute of the common necessaries of life, and that unless assistance should come from some quarter the colony must remain for many years an "aristocratical desert";** that the colony was in a state perilous in the extreme;*** that livestock died within a few days from poisonous herbage, that the roadstead was unsafe for shipping, and that the place must be abandoned;**** that the soil was not nearly so fertile as had been represented, but was of a light, sandy nature, in consequence of which the heavy rains had washed away a great part of it, and the settlers were almost in a state of starvation;***** and that settlers were most distressed and were leaving the colony for Van Diemen's Land.****** There is no doubt that for many years the colony suffered from the effect of these reports.
(*Footnote. Goodman, B. to Sir George Murray from Hobart 1 December 1829 see note above; William Tanner to Stirling 11 July 1832 in Stirling to Lord Goderich 23 July 1832; Irwin, State and Position of Western Australia pages 43 to 44; Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia pages 92 and 100; Western Australian Chronicle 5 March 1831.)
(**Footnote. R.M. Lyon to Secretary of State 11 February 1831.)
(***Footnote. John Morgan to R.W. Hay 8 March 1832.)
(****Footnote. Letter from a settler quoted in Morning Chronicle reprinted in Hansard third series volume 1 page 1345.)
(*****Footnote. Solomon & Co St. Helena to Sir Francis Freeling 27 November 1829 forwarded by him to the Right Honourable H. Goulburn 25 January 1830 Swan River Papers volume 7.)
(******Footnote. Hansard third series volume 5 pages 301 to 304. See also Thomas Henty to Secretary of State 7 September 1831 Swan River Papers volume 9.)
The fact that some of the colonists were totally unsuited to the task which they had undertaken considerably hindered the progress of the community. The settlers depended for food and other necessaries upon two sources of supply--upon cargoes brought by incoming ships, and upon what they could grow. Drones in the hive could not be treated after the manner of bees; they had at least to be kept from starving. Lengthy intervals between the arrival of vessels and small production owing to ignorance of climatic and agricultural conditions caused on more than one occasion scarcity of food, and cast a feeling of depression over the settlement.
Another factor which retarded progress was the hostile attitude of the natives. This has been said to have been the result of cruel treatment at the hands of the white people, but the published letters of George Fletcher Moore,* who filled the office of Advocate-General at Swan River during the early years of the colony, scarcely seem to bear out that statement. That there were isolated instances of cruelty towards the natives is probably true, but there is also evidence that the Colonial Government used every endeavour to protect them from injury and to benefit them wherever possible. Official action indeed seems, at first, to have erred on the side of leniency,** and severe measures were not adopted until the attitude of the natives made it necessary to do so in order to protect the lives and property of the colonists. At the beginning the relations between the natives and the white settlers seem to have been of a distinctly friendly nature, and every effort was made to secure the goodwill of the aborigines by the distribution of food and clothing. This, as usually happens, turned them into persistent beggars, and, when it became impossible through shortness of supplies to continue the gifts, into equally persistent thieves. Lonely settlers were practically at their mercy. In his dispatch of 30 November 1831, the Governor reported:
"that the only annoyance which has been experienced has arisen from the hostile conduct of certain native tribes inhabiting the district around Swan River. The pertinacious endeavours of these savages to commit depredations of property having called forth the determined resistance of the settlers (and in cases where they are repelled by force it being the rule with them to resort to revenge) they have in three or four instances succeeded in sacrificing the lives of white persons to their fury. In such attempts they display great patience and determination, and it requires the utmost diligence to guard against their attacks, while with the small military force at present in the settlement, it has been found impossible to afford protection to every point."
(*Footnote. Moore. Extracts from Letters and Journals London 1834 pages 31, 49 and 108 to 109.)
(**Footnote. Irwin. State and Position of Western Australia page 25.)
Stirling's statement was strengthened by the opinion expressed by Captain Irwin,* the Commandant of the troops in the colony, which was the more valuable as he recognised clearly the responsibility which rested upon civilised nations to protect the native tribes whom they dispossessed.
(*Footnote. Irwin. State and Position of Western Australia pages 25 to 26.)
The Home Government* admitted the goodwill of the settlers, and, at the same time, laid down the course of action to be followed. "It will require," said the Secretary of State, "all the attention which your active vigilance and humanity can bestow in order to restore confidence between the settlers and the natives. The subject is so important in itself and so essential to the prosperity of the settlement that I hope you will be able to convince those under your Government that it will be only by observing uniformly a great degree of forbearance that they can expect to relieve themselves from further annoyance."
(*Footnote. Lord Goderich to Stirling 28 April 1831.)
There is every indication that the policy laid down was followed by Captain Stirling, but it appears to have been taken by the natives as a sign of weakness. So daring did they become that in 1830 an attack was made in open daylight upon the house of a settler in Perth itself.* This was quelled at the time by the soldiers, but it did not lead to a cessation of the disturbances. Soon afterwards a settler on the Murray River** was murdered, for what reason is unknown; and before the end of the year a second was killed by way of retaliation for shooting a native caught in the act of stealing. Most of these acts of violence were committed under the leadership of two well-built natives named Yagan and Midgegooroo, and it was not until the death of both of them in 1833 that the colonists had any respite from native aggression.
(*Footnote. Irwin to Stirling 18 May 1830 in Stirling to Secretary of State 18 October 1830.)
(*Footnote. Irwin to Lord Fitzroy Somerset 8 January 1831.)
ADMINISTRATION OF SIR JAMES STIRLING.
Up to the close of 1830, and indeed for some little time after, the government of the colony was vested solely in the hands of Captain Stirling, who had nothing to guide him in his duty save the meagre letter of instructions forwarded with his appointment and occasional dispatches conveying further instructions from the Colonial Office. That he succeeded so admirably is a tribute both to his enthusiasm for the task and to his judgment in the execution of it. Certain alterations had been determined upon by the Home authorities before the end of the year, but notification of these did not reach Western Australia until late in 1831.
With this year the colony may be considered to have emerged from the experimental stage and to have entered upon a permanent existence. For many years afterwards its history was necessarily little more than a record of constructive development such as is common to all new communities, interspersed with periods of depression and frequent attacks and depredations on the part of the natives, but all along the line there was distinct growth, gradual indeed for some time, but in the main healthy and progressive.
One of the chief events of importance was an alteration in the land regulations. Early in 1830 it had become evident to the Home authorities that in the interests of the colony generally, and in order to stem the influx of settlers, many of whom were totally unsuitable, it was necessary to make some restriction on the further alienation of land by means of grants.* New regulations were therefore drawn up under which the quantity of land obtainable was reduced by one-half--20 acres instead of 40 for every 3 pounds invested, and 100 acres instead of 200 as formerly on the passage of every servant.** These came into operation at the beginning of 1831 and continued in force throughout the year, during which the English Government further considered the whole question of land grants in the Australian colonies and ultimately decided to adopt the American principle of sale. The chief reason for adopting this course was that it had been found that the system of granting land had had the effect, in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, of encouraging the dispersion of settlers over too wide an extent of country, which, apart from other inconveniences, greatly increased the expenses of administration in every branch of the Public Service.*** This decision was arrived at and published in England in March 1831,**** but owing to the length of time then occupied in conveying the information to the colonies, it did not come into operation until 1 January 1832.***** By it the principle of granting land according to the property brought by the settler was entirely discontinued, and in its place it was provided that "all the lands in the colony not hitherto granted and not appropriated for public purposes will be put up for sale. The price will, of course, depend upon the quality of the land and its local situation, but no land will be sold below the value of 5 shillings per acre." The method adopted in carrying this system into effect was that an intending purchaser was allowed to select, within defined limits, the land he desired to acquire. The area was then advertised for three months, at the end of which it was sold to the highest bidder above the minimum of 5 shillings. The transaction had to be completed within one month thereafter. The minimum area was 640 acres, but the Governor could, if he deemed it advisable, allow a smaller quantity. The maximum, however, which was 2560 acres, must not be exceeded. Land which could not be sold might be let on grazing lease from year to year, it being understood that if at any time its purchase was applied for, it must be put up for sale in the ordinary way. It will be remembered that under the regulations previously in force persons sending out labourers were allowed to reckon the passage money of such labourers as part of the capital on which they could secure grants. As the colony had not the advantage of convict labour, it was felt that nothing should be done that might affect the supply of free labourers, and therefore 20 pounds was allowed in the purchase of land for every MARRIED labourer and his family landed in the colony. The bounty was restricted to married labourers to prevent, as far as possible, that excess of males over females which had been so injurious in the two penal colonies.
(*Footnote. Stirling to Sir George Murray 28 July 1830 enclosure.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
(***Footnote. Lord Goderich to Stirling 28 April 1831 enclosing regulations of the Colonial Office regarding alienation of land dated 1 March 1831.)
(****Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 17 January 1832.)
In the same year (1831) the change in the method of administration, forecast in the Secretary of State's dispatch of 20 July 1830, bringing the settlement definitely into line as a Crown Colony, was effected. The Act (10 George IV c.22) enabled the King, with the advice of the Privy Council, to make, and to authorise any three or more persons to make, all necessary laws and to constitute all necessary courts for the peace, order, and good government of the settlement. No steps were taken under this Act until 1 November 1830, when an Order in Council was issued constituting the Governor, the Senior Military Officer next in command, the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor-General, and the Advocate-General to be a Legislative Council to discharge the functions entrusted to them by the Act, subject to a provision for disallowance by the Secretary of State, and further that any law or ordinance made by the Council must have been first proposed by the Governor or officer administering the Government. This Order-in-Council was forwarded to Western Australia by dispatch dated 28 April 1831, with which were enclosed the formal commission to Captain Stirling as Governor and Commander-in-Chief, and also a lengthy document under the King's Sign Manual containing instructions as to procedure. In the second clause of these instructions the same officers who had been appointed a Legislative Council were also appointed as an Executive Council for the assistance and advice of the Governor. The reason that the two Councils were appointed by different methods lay in the fact that while the King could by virtue of the prerogative establish an Executive Council, the Royal authority was not competent, without the aid of Parliament, to create a Legislature except by popular representation, or to establish Courts on lines that differed from those of Westminster. In the dispatch of 28 April the diverse methods of appointment were pointed out and the Governor's attention drawn to the fact that, although composed of the same individuals, the two bodies were separate and distinct, and separate accounts must be kept of their proceedings. It may be noted that there were three subjects upon which power to legislate was specifically withheld--the naturalisation of aliens, the granting of land-titles to unnaturalised aliens, and all questions of divorce. It was late in 1831 when the information concerning these alterations in the administration reached the colony, and consequently the Councils were not appointed until February 1832.*
(*Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 14 February 1832.)
The year 1831 cannot be considered to have been one of any great progress, nor did it afford much in the way of incident. Owing to the adverse reports concerning the condition of things in the settlement, assiduously spread abroad by those who had been unable to grapple with the difficulties, the influx of people showed a distinct tendency to abate, and many of those who did come were of little value as colonists, serving only to augment the already considerable number of the dissatisfied and disappointed. Those, however, who recognised the wisdom of doing their best in the new surroundings were beginning to see signs of reward. Though fearful of a recurrence of the disheartening conditions of the previous winter, they persevered in their endeavours to clear and cultivate their land, and by the end of the year had 200 acres under cultivation,* of which 160 were producing wheat.** Considering that over a million acres had been alienated, this amount seems pitifully small, and certainly adds to the overwhelming evidence that exists as to the incapacity of many of those to whom land had been granted. So anxious does the English Government seem to have been to avoid expense and even responsibility in establishing the colony, that land was granted to all and sundry without any guarantee that they either could or would do anything in the way of improvement. No attempt was made to preserve anything like a just proportion between the land alienated, the capital invested, and the labour available. In fact, the Literary Gazette, the organ of the Literary Society formed by the officials and better-class settlers, asserted that "to the want of labour, and to that alone, may be traced all the evils that have afflicted this infant settlement."*** Taking into consideration the numerous servants who had been introduced, this scarcely seems feasible at first sight; but if we combine the ineptitude of the major portion of those servants with the lack of ready money and the absence of the true colonising spirit on the part of the settlers, who were, most of them, completely at a loss where to begin, we reach in all probability something like the true reasons for the approximation to failure that occurred in those early years.
(*Footnote. Report of the Western Australian Agricultural Society 9 February 1832.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 5.)
(***Footnote. Literary Gazette November 1831 Perth.)
The amount of wheat produced was, of course, far from being sufficient to supply the demands of a population which then numbered about 1500*, hence the colonists had still to depend on the ships arriving from time to time for provisions. Any delay in the appearance of these vessels was a matter of no small moment, causing as it did a very appreciable increase in the cost of living. During the latter part of 1831 very few ships arrived, and as a result something akin to famine drew ominously close.** That in face of troubles such as these the colonists refused to acknowledge defeat is a tribute to their indomitable perseverance. One method adopted for overcoming their initial difficulties was the establishment during the year of an Agricultural Society,*** which was the parent of the present Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia. By means of this institution they were enabled to meet regularly for discussion and encouragement, and there is no doubt that it was of inestimable value in stimulating and developing the agricultural and pastoral industries. That in the latter of these industries there were great possibilities was recognised by all, but unfortunately there were but few head of stock in the colony and not a large number of sheep. So serious did these various questions--want of capital, of labour, and of stock--become, that during the year it was decided to petition the English Government,**** asking that the Colonial Treasury be authorised to make advances for the purchase of stock, and asserting that with some little assistance in that way the settlement would quickly become a prosperous community. The Governor was in sympathy with the request, and forwarded it to the Secretary of State with a strong recommendation.***** Unfortunately, the position became more acute before a reply could be received.
(*Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 2 April 1832.)
(**Footnote. Moore, G.F. Ten Years in Western Australia page 98.)
(***Footnote. Established May 1831. See Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 33 and First report of the Society to Governor Stirling 9 February 1832 in Swan River Papers volume 9.)
(****Footnote. Memorial to Secretary of State enclosed in Stirling to Lord Goderich 14 February 1832.)
(*****Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 14 February 1832 and 2 April 1832.)
In the way of exploratory work the year was not productive of great results. The principal expedition was that of Captain Bannister and party.* Confronted by great difficulties and a certain degree of danger, they made their way overland from Perth to King George's Sound, which was reached on 4 February 1831. This was the longest overland journey that had so far been undertaken. Captain Bannister brought back much information of value concerning the country traversed, and the track which he made between the two settlements proved very useful after the transfer of King George's Sound to the Government of Western Australia in the following March. About the same time a party under Mr. W.K. Shenton proceeded by sea to Port Leschenault and thence up the Collie River, looking for satisfactory places for settlement.** The report brought back was not, however, sufficiently favourable to encourage any attempt at cultivation. Various other trips were made during 1831, chiefly in the south-western portion of the colony and round about King George's Sound. Though none of these were productive of further expansion at the time, they were of distinct value in that they increased the existing knowledge of the country generally and enabled the authorities to form a better estimate of its capabilities. In the spring of the year the settlement of York district, postponed from 1830, was undertaken, and a party, among whom were Messrs. Hardey, Clarkson, Bland, and Moore, was led over the ranges by Lieutenant Dale.*** This expedition formed the beginning of what has since become one of the finest agricultural centres in the Commonwealth.
(*Footnote. Cross, J. Journals of Several Expeditions in Western Australia pages 98 et seq.)
(**Footnote. Lands Department Western Australia Journals of Explorers volume 1 manuscript.)
(***Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia pages 65 et seq; also Cross, J. Journals of Several Expeditions in Western Australia pages 155 et seq.)
Only three additional towns were proclaimed during the year--those of Kelmscott, Kingston, and Albany. Kingston, which was on Rottnest Island, never got beyond that stage. Several allotments were taken up, but no attempt at building a township was ever made. With the single exception of Perth, very little progress was made in any of the townships. Fremantle as the port displayed a certain amount of activity, but not in the direction of erecting permanent buildings. Being the distributing centre for supplies, it boasted some fairly large stores, the principal of which were those of Messrs. Leake, Shenton, and Samson, through whose energies a monthly service of boats was inaugurated between the port and Guildford. This was for many years the cheapest and safest mode of transport for goods, though there existed from early in 1831 a fairly good road between Perth and Fremantle. Other evidences of civilisation also began to make their appearance. That great want of British communities--a newspaper--was met by the issue, in manuscript, of the Western Australian Chronicle and Perth Gazette.* This was published by Mr. W.K. Shenton, and the price was 3 shillings and 6 pence per copy. Needless to say, it did not survive many issues. Later in the year a hand-printing press arrived from Tasmania, and a newspaper** printed on letter paper was issued in Fremantle by Messrs. Macfaull and Shenton. The press was erected in the shed in which the first bushel of wheat grown in the colony was ground. Thus from the one building there issued food both for mind and body. Want of news caused the publishers to fall back on contributions, some of which may be described as early nineteenth-century yellow-press efforts, and which resulted in a dissolution of partnership. The paper was carried on by Mr. Macfaull, who was compelled, in order to secure freedom from molestation, to remove the press to Hamilton Hill, some three miles out in the bush.*** The newspaper lasted only about twelve months, the returns not being sufficient to pay the rent of the press. The owner of the machine then started another paper called the Inquisitor,**** and secured as contributors Captain Graham (formerly Governor of Sierra Leone) Mr. Yule, a Scotch lawyer named Clark, and a merchant named Johnstone. So much talent proved too heavy for the journal; serious disagreements arose between members of the staff, ending in a duel between Clark and Johnstone, which was fought with pistols at North Fremantle on 17 August 1832*****--the only duel fought in Western Australia. Johnstone was fatally wounded, dying within twelve hours. The result was equally fatal to the newspaper, and ended the first chapter of the history of journalism in the colony.
(*Footnote. The first issue was dated 19 February 1831 and the last Number 4 12 March 1831.)
(**Footnote. The Fremantle Observer, Perth Gazette, and Western Australian Chronicle. First issue 25 April 1831. Stirling E. Brief History of Western Australia page 6 gives 1832 as the date of issue. The actual dates are taken from the copies in the Colonial Office.)
(***Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia pages 6 and 7.)
(****Footnote. Ibid page 7.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid page 7. See also letter from Harbourmaster, Fremantle, to Colonial Secretary 20 August 1832 Colonial Secretary's Office Records 1832.)
As evidence of the fact that the difficulties of their position were not weighing too heavily upon the settlers, it may be mentioned that in September the first Governor's ball was held. From the accounts preserved this seems to have been quite a brilliant affair, and the supper, which one record describes as "an elegant and abundant one,"* rather appeared to discountenance the statement that the colonists were approaching the verge of starvation.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 63.)
In December Captain James Stirling's commission as Governor and Commander-in-Chief, as well as one appointing him Vice-Admiral of the colony, arrived from England.* As soon as possible after the arrival of his commission and instructions, the Governor called his advisers together, and the first sitting of the Legislative Council, constituted under the Order in Council of 1 November 1830, was held in February 1832.** The principal business was the establishment of a Civil Court having the powers of the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer. Mr. George Fletcher Moore was appointed Civil Commissioner, and the Court was opened in March 1832, the first jury case being tried in the following June.
(*Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 14 March 1832. The Western Australian Year Book 1902 to 1904 page 33 states that the first meeting of the Council was held in January 1832. From the dispatch it is evident that Stirling did not return to Perth from King George's Sound until the beginning of February, and the Councils were constituted after that date. See also Morgan to Hay 8 March 1832.)
The other matters which mainly occupied the attention of the Legislative Council during the year were the shortness of provisions, the need of more livestock, and the menacing attitude of the natives. The possibility of famine, which had begun to cause uneasiness in 1831, became more accentuated, and the want of food supplies culminated in a serious if not dangerous situation early in the following year.* Vessels which had for months been expected to arrive with provisions failed to put in an appearance, the small stock of wheat that had been raised locally was almost exhausted, and many of the settlers were faced with starvation. Some idea of the scarcity that existed may be gleaned from the following list of prices: salt pork, from 10 to 14 pounds a cask; wheat, 35 to 40 shillings per bushel; fresh meat, 1 shilling 10 pence per pound; and butter (when procurable at all) 7 shillings per pound.** The Colonial Government, realising the seriousness of the position, made arrangements to assist those possessing little ready money by supplying provisions on credit out of the Government stores. To encourage cultivation it was notified that payment for these stores could be made by locally-grown wheat on a basis of 15 shillings per bushel. All classes of the community were compelled to avail themselves of the offer, as practically the whole of the food supply remaining was in the Government stores. The arrival of two small schooners*** in March and April relieved the position slightly, and from the middle of the year a succession of provision-laden ships altogether averted the danger of famine.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary pages 98 and 104.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 6.)
(***Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia pages 104 and 108.)
Hand in hand with the want of provisions went the absence of money and the lack of sufficient livestock. Most of the money brought by the settlers had been spent in making useless experiments or in paying for the necessaries of life at famine prices, so that nothing was left to secure necessary farming implements or to purchase stock. One method suggested as a way of coping with the financial difficulty was the establishment of a bank. In May a prospectus was submitted to the Governor asking for an advance of 5000 pounds from the Treasury on the security of twenty-five responsible persons. It was pointed out that if money could be advanced by the Government on the discount of Bills at 5 per cent, the colony would benefit very considerably, as settlers were then borrowing at so much as 25 per cent.* The Governor was unable, in face of his instructions, to meet the request, and suggested that the colonists should raise the money by subscription. An attempt to do this was unsuccessful; the members of the community at that time were all borrowers. Very little actual cash was available; all transactions were by means of promissory notes of from 2 shillings and 6 pence upwards in value. Some temporary relief was afforded by an inventive genius named Woods. There was at the time a coin current in India called an Indian dump, roughly pentagonal in shape, made presumably of silver, and in common use prior to the introduction of the rupee. Woods bought up all the white metal teapots, spoons, etc., that were available, and minted them into dumps, at the face value of the Indian coin. For some six months they were found to be very useful, and in part displaced the promissory notes. At the end of that period, however, the attention of the authorities was drawn to the number of these coins, and the scheme was exposed with the result that for affording undoubted financial assistance Woods received a sentence of seven years' transportation to Van Diemen's Land.**
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 113.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 6.)
Apart from the ordinary necessaries of life, money was badly needed for the purchase of stock, both cattle and sheep, for the pastures. The settlers themselves had not the capital to lay out in chartering a vessel and importing animals, but they were convinced that if the English Government would only come to their assistance in that direction the cost might be met out of succeeding harvests.* They pointed out that the acreage under grain had increased to 435, from which a yield of fifteen bushels per acre was expected,** and that the suitability of the soil for agricultural purposes was assured, so that there was not likely to be any great difficulty in meeting the advances asked for. To this request, as to the former one, the Governor was compelled to give a negative reply.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 104.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 117.)
A further question that became acute during the year 1832 was that of protection from the natives. The aggressive attitude adopted by the aborigines in 1830 became more pronounced in 1831, when two servants were murdered and a considerable number of the stock stolen. During the early part of 1832 there were no open attempts at violence, but in May a party headed by the stalwart Yagan, who seems to have been the leader in all the troubles, attacked two settlers on the Canning River and killed one of them. From that time the depredations became more frequent and more daring, and so serious was the state of affairs that in June a meeting of settlers at Guildford decided that the colony must be abandoned unless ample steps were taken by the Government to protect life and property.* In order to afford all possible assistance and so meet the wishes of the community, the Governor immediately established a police force, and in retaliation the natives speared his pigs.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 119.)
When these various questions--the scarcity of provisions, the want of money, the need of more livestock, and the fear of native aggression--are taken into consideration, it becomes evident that the settlement in 1832 was in rather a parlous state. So convinced were the settlers that the only hope of improvement and assistance lay in a personal appeal at headquarters, that they presented a memorial to the Governor asking him proceed to England and present their case as strongly as possible to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. It will be remembered that in 1831, when these matters first called for consideration, the Governor had been requested to draw attention to them in his dispatches. The fact that no reply had been received from home to those requests, added to the growing insistence of their needs, caused the colonists to take the extreme step of requesting the Governor to present their requirements in person to the English authorities.* On the advice of the Executive Council the Governor agreed to do as requested, and on August 12 left Fremantle for London in H.M.S. Sulphur.** From a dispatch to the Colonial Office, which he found opportunity of forwarding during the course of the voyage, we are able to get a very clear view of the condition of affairs and the reasons which actuated him in acceding to the memorial of the settlers. After referring to a previous dispatch in which he had drawn attention to the matters under review, he goes on to say:***
"In the course of a few weeks subsequent to the date of that communication referred to, the evils which had been anticipated began to be felt. The scarcity of money in private hands and the reduction in the Government expenditure which took place in the early part of the year had the material effect of discouraging importation from the neighbouring colonies, and the consequent high price of all the necessaries of life hastened that exhaustion which had been apprehended. In addition to these annoyances it was found that the unfavourable accounts which had been spread regarding the settlement had deterred persons from coming to it; the natives also began to be troublesome; and the imposition of a duty on spirits which I deemed it advisable in May last to pass into a law aggravated the depression of spirits which had so far affected the community as to prevent exertion and useful speculation.
"Persuaded that many of the evils complained of were attributable to the circumstances that attend every new settlement, I felt disposed to trust to the operation of time and that improvement which might be expected from continuous efforts. But in a small community there is usually some one prevailing sentiment, and as in this instance it happened to be of a desponding character, there was reason to apprehend that it would lead to a total remission of labour, in which case the support of the colonists would fall upon the public stores, or to the abandonment of the enterprise by those persons whose means and abilities were requisite for its success.
"Explanatory of the feelings above mentioned, I beg leave to call Your Lordship's attention to the accompanying documents (the memorials previously referred to). In these and in the Minutes of my Executive Council...it will be perceived that some decisive measures had become necessary to the successful continuation of the enterprise.
"In a conversation which I had with some of the leading settlers in the latter part of June, I was respectfully solicited to adopt certain changes in the conduct of government regarding the increase of public expenditure, the granting of loans, and the repeal of the duty on spirits; but as in taking such steps I should have departed from the substance of Your Lordship's instructions without the justification of circumstances, I was under the necessity of declining any serious departure from the line of policy which had been adopted, but I stated my readiness to convey to Your Lordship such representations regarding the real state of the settlement as would enable Your Lordship to judge of the course to be pursued. The length of time before an answer could be expected and the difficulty in making arrangements of this kind by correspondence being suggested, I was asked whether I would undertake to represent in person to His Majesty's Government the state of the colony and advocate its cause. I replied that it would not be proper for me to quit the colony unless it were recommended by the concurrent wishes of the settlers at large, and that it would be useless on my part to go to England unless I had some trustworthy assurance from the leading persons in the colony that they would not remit any exertion in the meantime for the advancement of the undertaking and the maintenance of a proper feeling. If, however, I should be satisfied on these points, I should not decline the mission proposed to me. The gentlemen present stated it to be the general opinion that some such measure was requisite for the public welfare, and that they believed it would tend very much to restore confidence, but that they would consult, with my permission, public opinion upon the subject.
"Having brought the question referred to before my Executive Council on the 29th June...it was the unanimous opinion of the members that the measure proposed would afford satisfaction to the community, tend to the good of His Majesty's Service, and go far to restore and maintain those exertions on the behalf of individuals which were necessary to the success of the colony. In consequence of this recommendation...I determined upon its adoption and issued a public declaration to that effect."
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 121; also Stirling to Lord Goderich 20 September 1832.)
(**Footnote. Stirling to Lord Goderich 20 September 1832.)
(***Footnote. Ibid.)
The above extract from the dispatch has been quoted at length in order to prove the falsity of the contention put forward that the object of the Governor's mission to England was to endeavour to secure the transportation of convicts* to the colony in order to expedite the construction of roads, bridges, and other public works. Captain Irwin (who commanded the troops in the colony from 1829 till 1833, and who acted as Lieutenant-Governor after Captain Stirling's departure) points out that no such wish was expressed in the memorial of the colonists. "The colonists," he says,** "having had before their eyes in the neighbouring penal settlements the serious evils inflicted on society by the employment of convicts...have firmly resisted the temptation to seek such a remedy for their wants." Considering that one of the principles laid down on the establishment of the colony was that no convicts should be sent there, a principle which no doubt influenced many in deciding to emigrate, it is not likely that, even if such a request had been put forward, the English Government would have given it any consideration at that early stage in the colony's history.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 14 September 1833 under heading English News.)
(**Footnote. Irwin. State and Position of Western Australia page 37; see also Memorial of Settlers 2 September 1831.)
(***Footnote. Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 144.)
One of the first difficulties that Captain Irwin had to contend with after the departure of the Governor was renewed activity on the part of the natives. He had, however, the temporary satisfaction of securing the notorious Yagan,* who was imprisoned on Carnac Island in charge of Mr. R.M. Lyon, a gentleman with pronounced philanthropic views.** Every attempt was made to civilize the native, but just as Mr. Lyon was beginning to feel that his methods were successful, Yagan escaped and regained his tribe.*** The spearing of a soldier's wife shortly afterwards went a long way toward alienating the little remaining sympathy of the whites for the aborigines.**** Even the advocates of kindly treatment felt that drastic steps ought to be taken. As a result the history of 1833 and part of 1834 is practically the tale of native aggression and repulsion. Thefts were incessant, murders increasingly frequent, and the settlers lived in continual fear of an outbreak, a fear that was enhanced by their knowledge of the treacherous and cunning nature of the aborigines. The colonists were also at a disadvantage in that the natives made no open attack, but confined themselves to covert acts of theft and to acts of violence and even murder upon individual settlers or their servants. The Government forbade anything in the nature of an organised expedition against the blacks; any action taken must be against individuals by way of punishment for specific crimes. This appearance of weakness on the part of the settlers, combined with the fact that the initial fear of the white man's weapons had worn off, caused the natives to become more daring, and by the middle of 1833 the situation was one of no little danger to the colony. Toward the end of April 1833, there occurred the wanton murder of an unoffending native by one of Major Nairn's servants, who had formerly been in Tasmania, simply to show how the aborigines were dealt with there.***** Immediately afterwards another native was killed during an attempt to rob a store at Fremantle. These two deaths seem to have had a disastrous effect and to have raised a spirit of revenge among the surrounding tribes. Under the leadership of Yagan, Midgegooroo, and Munday--three redoubtable chiefs--a party of natives set out from Preston Point early on 30 April with the deliberate intention of committing murder as an act of retaliation.****** Strange to say, they fell in with the same cart from which the Tasmanian had shot the innocent black at almost precisely the same spot on the Canning Road. In it were two brothers named Yelvick, servants of Mr. Phillips. These were speared, and the bodies mutilated beyond recognition, the murderers afterwards escaping into the bush.******* Such an act could not be allowed to pass without the utmost endeavours being made to punish the offenders. Accordingly the Lieutenant-Governor issued a proclamation******** outlawing the three leaders and offering rewards for their apprehension, dead or alive. From that time it is evident that the desire for revenge, irrespective of any question of justice, actuated the settlers as well as the natives.
(*Footnote. Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 144.)
(**Footnote. Lyon to Secretary of State 31 January 1833.)
(***Footnote. Ibid. See also Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 146.)
(****Footnote. Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 148.)
(*****Footnote. Perth Gazette 4 May 1833.)
(******Footnote. Ibid.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid. See also Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 183.)
(********Footnote. Perth Gazette 4 May 1833.)
Parties were formed and the surrounding country scoured in every direction for Yagan and his companions. Eventually, on 16 May Captain Ellis managed to secure Midgegooroo,* who, after a patient investigation, was condemned to death and publicly shot in front of the Perth Gaol within a week of his capture, in the presence of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council,** the event being almost one of general rejoicing. The search for the other ringleaders was then continued with vigour, and it is to be feared that the feeling of hatred and distrust which then existed was the cause of more than one innocent native being shot down. To place the matter on a saner footing it became necessary for the Government to issue a proclamation*** pointing out that offences against the aborigines would be visited with the same punishment as if committed against any other of His Majesty's subjects. This and the fact that advocates were not wanting who pointed out that the natives were merely obeying a natural or tribal law stopped the continuance of outrages, but did not cause the settlers to relax their efforts to capture Yagan and Munday. The death of the formidable leader was finally encompassed by what was an undoubted act of treachery. Two lads named Keats observed Yagan and some companions making their way to the house of Lieutenant Bull for flour; they fraternised with them, and then as soon as a favourable opportunity occurred the elder shot Yagan in cold blood. In retaliation the natives attacked the lads and succeeded in killing the murderer, though not until a second black had been dispatched.**** The two aborigines chiefly responsible for the conflicts that had occurred being thus accounted for, the Government, as a token of reconciliation, removed the ban of outlawry from the remaining leader Munday.***** Other steps were also taken to bring about a friendlier state of affairs; these met with some degree of success, and for a few months the settlers had freedom from molestation.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 4 May 1833.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 25 May 1833.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 1 June 1833.)
(****Footnote. Ibid 13 July. See also Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 205.)
(*****Footnote. By proclamation. See Perth Gazette 27 July 1833 and Irwin to Lord Goderich 10 August 1833.)
Notwithstanding the unrest created by these troubles, the area of land under crop was increased during 1833 to something like 600 acres,* and it was felt that there was every prospect of reaping sufficient grain to meet the wants of the community. In fact, a ship from Tasmania with a cargo of 2000 bushels of wheat,** sent by Governor Arthur during June, returned to Hobart with the information that the grain was not required. Material progress was evidenced by the improvements in methods of communication. Roads were being made between the settlements, channels through the flats at the present Causeway were begun, and improvements to the jetty at Fremantle were under consideration. A weekly newspaper, the Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal--which still lives as the West Australian--was established at the beginning of the year, and exerted considerable influence in the progress of the settlement.** One of its first actions was to revive the agitation for the establishment of a bank. The question was also taken up by the Agricultural Society, but the same obstacles which had previously stood in the way of its solution still prevailed. The Society, therefore, sought to form an institution which might be able to supply some of the benefits of a bank, though not in the way of monetary loans.*** The result was the establishment of the Swan River Barter Society,**** each member of which agreed to accept the notes of any other member in lieu of cash, provided they were presented according to a stipulated form. Two forms were provided, one for the use of agriculturists and the other for merchants. The person who tendered the note for payment to any agriculturist had the right to choose the kind of produce he would take for it, and the agriculturist was not compelled to take from the merchant any article not in general consumption. The institution was to be under the wing of the Agricultural Society, which was to settle any disputes about prices or values. Each member was allowed fifty notes, each note having a face value of 1 pound. Any defaulter was to be immediately excluded from the privileges of the Society. Although never fully carried out, the project met with a certain amount of success, and to it is due that system of exchange and barter which in the absence of sufficient ready money became so general in succeeding years throughout Western Australia.
(*Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 8.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 14 September 1833.)
(***Footnote. Moore. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 202.)
(****Footnote. Perth Gazette 12 October 1833.)
Another system initiated during 1833 was that of parcelling out allotments of from twenty acres upwards to servants and labourers.* Two objects were sought to be achieved by this departure--to keep a sufficient amount of labour round the settlement and to give the working class an opportunity of building up a competence. Unfortunately the scheme met with very little success, probably due to want of good feeling between servants and masters. Many of the settlers were unsuitable for their positions as masters, and a great number of the servants were utterly incompetent as agriculturists. Its failure is a matter for regret, as efficient labour was urgently needed, and the stream of immigration had been very adversely affected by the misrepresentations spread abroad, and by the superior inducements which the other colonies were believed to afford.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 199.)
An attempt was made during the year to open up relations with India, and a company was formed at Calcutta with that object in view. It was proposed to establish an Anglo-Indian settlement near King George's Sound, and the barque Mercury left Calcutta in October with the first load of passengers and stock. Unfortunately she was lost with all hands. Such a sad event naturally put an end to the operations of the company, and Western Australia lost what would have almost certainly proved to be a very valuable acquisition to her resources.*
(**Footnote. Irwin. State and Position of Western Australia page 97.)
Exploratory work during 1832 and 1833 was practically confined to elaborating the information concerning districts already recognised as being within the settlement. The area of country of which the administration possessed, at any rate, some general knowledge was large enough to meet any demands for land that were likely to made. It was felt that greater benefit would result to the colony if more were known of that area than if time were spent in securing a vague idea of portions lying beyond it. In addition, the roving spirit and the desire to seek for some new place were wearing off. The settlers whose opinions would have been of any value were actively employed in clearing and planting their own grants. The officials were busily engaged in their official duties and had little spare time for outside work. Nevertheless, from time to time trips were undertaken and results of value achieved. Ensign Dale and Dr. Collie greatly enriched the store of information concerning the district around King George's Sound, and J.G. Bussell made a careful examination of the Vasse district, which resulted in the profitable settlement of that portion of the country.*
(*Footnote. Cross, J. Journals of Expeditions made in Western Australia pages 132, 161, 168 et seq.)
Captain Irwin, who had occupied the position of Lieutenant-Governor from the date of Captain Stirling's departure, left for England in September 1833, and Captain Richard A. Daniell became Lieutenant-Governor for the remaining period of Stirling's absence.*
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 21 September 1833.)
The year 1834 witnessed the revival of the original hopeful spirit on the part of the settlers. This seems to have been due in part to information which reached the colony toward the end of 1833, to the effect that the Governor had met with a large measure of success in his representations to the Home authorities.* The principal reason, however, was that the colonists had learnt the lesson of colonisation--that satisfactory results could not be looked for all at once, but could be achieved only by years of toil. Their experience of the previous years had given them a knowledge of the soil and its possibilities; they knew what to do, and were no longer experimenting in the dark. They recognised that the country possessed all the potentialities necessary for the realisation of their original expectations, but that its rewards were only for those who were prepared to labour and wait. The factors that had operated in retarding the expansion of the colony may be summed up as: (1) the misrepresentations of those who had left the settlement, (2) the strict adherence on the part of the British Government to the conditions under which the colony was founded, (3) the ignorance on the part of the colonists of the difficulties that faced them, and (4) the want of sufficient labour.
(*Footnote. Ibid 31 August and 14 September 1833.)
Perhaps the most important of all these factors was the want of sufficient labour. There is ample evidence that the indenture system was a failure, and the majority of the free labourers in the colony were of an idle, dissolute character.* Free labour could only have been introduced by a vigorous emigration scheme on the part of the Colonial Office, and this, in the interests of economy, the British Government was not prepared to undertake. The only other means of securing labour would have been the introduction of the convict system, and this was especially prohibited under the regulations upon which the colony was founded. There is no doubt that convict labour would have been helpful in many ways, more particularly in a largely increased flow of money into the colony,** in the erection of public buildings, in the rapid establishment of means of communication between the various parts of the settlement, and in providing additional labour for the settlers in the cultivation of the land.
(*Footnote. Narrative of a Voyage to Swan River compiled by the Reverend J.G. Powell London 1831 pages 208 to 109.)
(**Footnote. The amount expended by Parliamentary Grant on Swan River up to 31 March 1832 (three years) was 41,045 pounds, see Lord Goderich to Stirling 8 March 1833. The amount expended by the British Government upon New South Wales up to 30 June 1793 (five years) was 473,044 pounds, Historical Records of New South Wales volume 2 page 43.)
Although there was no general request for the introduction of convict labour, isolated suggestions for its introduction were made as early as 1831, both by persons interested in the colony* and by individual settlers,** as well as by the newspaper published in the colony.*** One of settlers, R.M. Lyon,**** said:
"The Government need not fear the charge of a breach of faith. The settlers to a man have changed their opinion since they encamped within the shores of Australia. There can, therefore, be no breach of faith in granting them a boon which will be beneficial to all, and the only thing which can save most of them from utter ruin. A settler of the first rank and capital said to me, 'I came here because no convicts were to be sent, but so completely are my sentiments altered on the subject that if a petition for convict labour were moved tomorrow, I should be ready to put my name to it.'"
(*Footnote. Colonel Lautour to Lord Howick 9 January 1831 and James Mangles (Stirling's father-in-law) to Lord Goderich 17 January 1831.)
(**Footnote. R.M. Lyon to Secretary of State 11 February 1831; Captain Bannister Report of a journey to King George's Sound in Cross, J. Journals of Expeditions page 108; John Morgan to Hay 17 May 1834.)
(***Footnote. Fremantle Observer 3 May 1831 quoted by The Times 3 November 1831. See Mills, R.C. Colonisation of Australia page 71 note. So far as I am aware there is no copy of the Fremantle Observer for the date mentioned in existence.)
(****Footnote. Lyon to Secretary of State 11 February 1831. From a general review of the correspondence between Lyon and the Colonial Office, I am inclined to think that he was not a good judge of the attitude of the colonists as a whole, either on this or any other question.)
Captain Irwin, in 1834 and 1835, suggested the introduction of Indian convicts for the construction of public works.*
(*Footnote. Captain Irwin to Shaw Lefevre 3 July 1834 and to Lord Glenelg 27 May 1835.)
It is probable that Wakefield had in mind these individual requests in 1831 and 1833* and that they were also in the mind of Mr. Henry Labouchere,** who stated in the House of Commons that he understood that the colonists had asked for convicts and that the application had been granted. Wakefield repeated the assertion in 1836,*** but at that time he probably had knowledge of the petition from the settlers at King George's Sound.
(*Footnote. Literary Gazette 29 October 1831; England and America volume 2 page 116 1833.)
(**Footnote. Hansard third series volume 10 page 507. See also denial by Captain Irwin in State and Position of Western Australia 1835 page 37.)
(***Footnote. House of Commons Committee on Waste Lands 1836 question 592 in Accounts and Papers 1836 volume 11 page 499.)
This petition* was the first definite request made by a body of settlers for the establishment of a penal settlement, and even then was only signed by sixteen persons. The residents of Albany, disheartened by the trials and difficulties of pioneering work, and probably influenced by the remembrance that the first settlers at King George's Sound were convicts,** decided to petition the Imperial Government to allow convicts to be sent to Western Australia. They recognised that the colony was established upon the principles of free labour and that the presence of convicts offered serious objections, but urged that forced labour was necessary to open up proper lines of communication between the various settlements and to undertake those other works by which alone the advancement and prosperity of the colony could be secured. They were persuaded that the country was not deficient in natural possibilities, but felt that in the absence of a market the settler had no inducement to labour. The only remedy was the introduction of convicts. Failing that, they felt the settlement could advance only at the sacrifice of the first settlers and their entire capital. The petition apparently did not meet with any support from settlers in other parts of the colony,*** and though forwarded by the Governor to the Secretary of State, it was accompanied by the information that he did not feel disposed to recommend it.**** Under the circumstances the petition was refused,***** but the wisdom of the majority of the settlers and of the Home authorities may be questioned in the light of events of less than fifteen years afterwards, when at the request of the colonists generally convicts were introduced to carry out the same policy of construction and development that was urged at this time, and which would have been of such inestimable value to the settlers of those early days.
(*Footnote. Petition of settlers at King George's Sound to Secretary of State (in Stirling to Spring Rice 3 December 1834). See also Perth Gazette 8 November 1834 which gives an account of the meeting at which the petition was arranged.)
(**Footnote. The convict settlement at King George's Sound under the Government of New South Wales was established in December 1826, and the convicts were withdrawn in March 1831 when King George's Sound was transferred to the Government of Western Australia. See ante. J.D. Rogers, Australasia page 79, erroneously gives 1830 as the latter date.)
(***Footnote. Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia pages 71 to 73; Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 9.)
(****Footnote. Stirling to Spring Rice 3 December 1834.)
(*****Footnote. Lord Glenelg to Stirling 11 June 1835.)
The revival of hope and confidence in 1834, already referred to, resulted in a steady progress being manifest. This was more evident, perhaps, in the settled and orderly condition of the towns and selections than in any abnormal increase in the production of the soil, though the report of the Agricultural Society for 1834* considered the results achieved in the way of agricultural and pastoral development were very encouraging. Statistics collected for the purposes of the report showed that there were 809 acres under grain of various kinds, 109 yielding potatoes and other vegetables and fruits, and 118 lying fallow, which would have been utilised but for the absence of seed wheat. The available stock consisted of 84 horses, 78 mares, 307 cows, 96 working cattle, 97 bulls and steers, 3545 sheep, 492 goats, and 374 pigs. The wool clip for the year amounted to 5884 pounds. Nearly every kind of European fruit-tree and shrub had been planted, and some of them, particularly the vine, olive, fig, and peach, appeared to thrive well. Both this and the preceding report mention the occurrence of a disease among the livestock which had been the cause of considerable loss, and which even the most experienced among stock failed to diagnose. Many of the flocks and herds were moved from the coast to the Avon district in the hope that a change of herbage would stamp out the evil. Unfortunately the change served to make the mortality only greater. As a matter of fact, this was the Western Australian farmers' first experience of the poisonous plants growing in various districts, and which have been the cause of so much trouble and expense ever since. This report of the Agricultural Society is of particular value, sounding as it does the first distinct note of confidence in the future of the colony.
(*Footnote. Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia chapter 4.)
In the condition of the towns may be found, perhaps, the best index of the progress of the settlement during the first five years of its existence.* Fremantle had become a compact little seaport town with a few made roads and the predominance of hotels and stores usual to such places. Ferries across the river had been established at Fremantle, Preston Point, Mount Eliza, and Guildford, and road as well as river communication existed between the port and the capital. Perth had grown into a large straggling village, with one main street, St. George's Terrace, which ran parallel with the river and was about a mile in length. On either side of it were the Governor's House, Government Offices, Commissariat Stores, Court-House, Jail, and Barracks. The last-named occupied the site on the north side of the present Treasury Buildings, and to their presence Barrack Street owes its name. Cloistered round the offices were the dwellings of many of those engaged therein, and from the surrounding bush there peeped forth the modest dwellings of the settlers. To the westward was a flour-mill, erected at considerable cost by the Civil Engineer, Mr. H.W. Reveley, a personal friend of Byron and Shelley. Across the river at Point Belches (now Mill Point) was another mill, the property of Mr. W.K. Shenton, the walls of which are still standing. Along the course of the river from Perth to Guildford were many farms and selections, some of which, notably those of Messrs. Hardey and Clarkson at the Peninsula, showed the work of experienced hands. Guildford itself was an undeveloped village, composed chiefly of servants and others to whom small grants had been made. Beyond the town, at the junction of the Helena and the Swan, were many of the principal selections. The soil was good and the situation admirable. Here were the properties of Captains Stirling and Meares, Messrs. Walcott and Wells, and many others. Higher up the river were the grants of Dr. Harris, Messrs. Yule, Leake, Lennard, Brockman, Mackie, Irwin, and others, all of whom had laboured to make their holdings successful, and to whom much of the renewed spirit of confidence was due. In the Canning district, which was connected with Perth by two roads--one through South Perth and the other through Guildford--were the properties of Major Nairn, Messrs. Bull, Phillips, Wallace, Bickley, Hester, and Captain Bannister, all of which were being cleared and improved. Kelmscott, which had been proclaimed some two years previously, existed only in name, no development having taken place, probably owing to distance from the market. York was reached by a bush road from Guildford. The principal settlers there were Messrs. Bland, Trimmer, and Heale, the first of whom devoted his attention to pastoral pursuits with considerable success. On the Murray were the establishments of Messrs. Peel and Hall and Captain Byrne. Other grants had been made in the district, but fear of the natives kept the owners from living upon them. At Augusta good progress had been made, largely through the efforts of Captain Molloy and Messrs. Turner and Bussell. The population numbered about 100 and formed on the whole a fairly prosperous little community. The settlement at Albany made little advance, notwithstanding the efforts of Sir Richard Spencer, the Government Resident, to push it forward. The few people who were there seem to have developed a Micawber-like habit of waiting for something to turn up. Port Leschenault, like Kelmscott, remained a settlement merely in name.
(*Footnote. Irwin, F.C. State and Position of Western Australia chapter 4.)
No part of the colony, as may be seen, could be said to have advanced with any degree of rapidity, but there is ample evidence that, despite their despondency, the settlers as a whole were doing everything that limited facilities would allow to lay the foundation of future prosperity and permanence. They were still harassed by the want of ready money or specie and the scarcity of provisions. The first difficulty was in some degree met by the issue from the Commissariat Office of 1 pound notes, signed by the Deputy-Assistant Commissary-General and countersigned by two members of the Executive Council, and made payable on demand either in specie or by Treasury bill.* The second was not so easily remedied. A recurrence of the conditions of 1832, combined with the fact that the stock of locally-grown wheat had been almost exhausted, brought the settlers once more dangerously close to starvation. For some unexplained reason the authorities did not at first seem to realise the position, and it was not until matters reached a critical stage that the Government schooner was dispatched to the Mauritius for supplies. By the beginning of September it was found necessary to exercise the strictest economy in the use of the remaining foodstuffs,** and until the arrival of several ships later in the month the settlers were practically reduced to a famine diet. Though the danger was that averted, high prices continued to rule until the end of 1833, when a plentiful harvest brought the cost of living down to normal, and dispelled the fear of further scarcity of the necessaries of life in the immediate future.***
(*Footnote. Proclamation 10 January 1834 see Perth Gazette 11 January 1834.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 13 and 20 September 1834.)
(***Footnote. Moore G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia pages 291 to 292.)
The respite from native attacks and depredations that followed the death of Yagan was ended early in 1834 by the same band of natives--the Murray River tribe--which had caused most of the previous trouble. The members of this tribe, which was the only one with which the colonists had so far any difficulty, were of a savage and warlike disposition, capable of any degree of treachery, and most inveterate thieves. From the beginning of the year they had been very troublesome throughout the Swan River district, and in April became so fearless as to make an attack in open daylight upon Mr. Shenton's mill at Point Belches.* After threatening to kill the occupants if they attempted to raise an alarm, they looted the place and carried off about half a ton of flour. For this offence four natives were captured, three of whom were publicly flogged.** About the same time an attack was made upon Mr. Burges' farm and a quantity of wheat was stolen.*** One of the natives concerned in this raid was captured, and confined in the soldiers' barracks. In attempting to escape he was shot by a soldier named Larkin. This set the tribal law of retaliation in motion and Larkin soon suffered the penalty, being speared in the barracks' enclosure.****
(*Footnote. Ibid page 217; Perth Gazette 26 April 1834.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 8. Perth Gazette 3 May 1834.)
(***Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 8.)
(****Footnote. Perth Gazette 3 and 10 May 1834.)
This open defiance threw the settlers into a state bordering upon panic. The Government, loth to take drastic action, confined itself to ordering Captain Ellis, the Superintendent of police, to search for the murderer and patrol the settlement as a means of protection. The relief afforded by these measures, however, was only temporary. The natives moved outside the area of patrol, and soon there came news of murders on the York Road and away in the Murray district. So strong was the opposition shown by the natives along the Murray toward the whites that few were brave enough attempt to cultivate their grants. The district possessed some of the best land known to exist, and many grants had been taken up, but the fear inspired by the aborigines almost caused their abandonment.* Matters reached a climax in July, when two settlers were murdered and two others severely wounded. These crimes put any further thought of mild treatment out of the question. The authorities were compelled to mete out drastic punishment to the ferocious blacks, who robbed with impunity and did not hesitate to threaten the settlers with death. The Swan River natives being quiet and peaceful, Captain Ellis was instructed to proceed with a body of police to the Murray district. At the same time the Governor paid a business visit to Mr. Peel, whose grant was within the area of disturbance. On arrival an expedition was organised, which proceeded toward the proposed town, Pinjarra. Here it fell in with the main body of natives, and the encounter since known as the Battle of Pinjarra took place.** The engagement was short but sharp, and in the result more than half the male members of the tribe were killed and several of the women and children captured. The attacking force did not emerge scatheless, and unfortunately Captain Ellis was so severely wounded that he died within a fortnight. The prisoners were released and instructed to return to their friends with the information that any recurrence of the troubles or any attempt to avenge the punishment just inflicted would be met by the destruction of the whole tribe. This salutary lesson, which ought to have been given two years earlier, ended all trouble as far as the Murray River tribe was concerned. On the return of the expedition, proposals for an experiment in civilising the natives were set on foot, and a reserve at the foot of Mount Eliza was used for the purpose.*** One of the settlers, Mr. F.F. Armstrong, who had become familiar with native ways, was placed in charge, and for many years carried on the work with fair success. This movement undoubtedly helped toward bringing about a better understanding, at the same time served to show that the colonists did not look upon the aborigines merely as vermin and therefore to be exterminated.
(*Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 8.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 1 November 1834; Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 236; Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 9; Irwin, E. State and Position of Western Australia page 26.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 13 December 1834.)
In June the Governor, who had been away from the colony since August 1832, landed at King George's Sound, but did not reach Perth until a couple of months later.* His return was made the subject of general rejoicing, more particularly as it was thought that the rumours of his success** in his mission were in the main true. The alterations in the system of governing were,*** shortly, that the Legislative Council was to be increased by the addition of four unofficial members to be nominated by the Governor, and its sessions were to be open to the public. The civil and military establishments were to be increased and the expenditure in regard to them placed upon a different footing. Revenue was to be derived from a duty on spirits and sales of Crown lands, supplemented by a colonial grant or grant-in-aid from the Imperial Treasury sufficient to meet the necessary expenditure. The expenditure was to be allocated and controlled locally, subject, of course, to disallowance by the Home authorities. The land laws were to be liberalised so as to enable occupants to dispose of their holdings, even though the conditions of improvement had not been carried out. The colonial stores were to be closed, but sufficient foodstuffs to prevent famine were to be kept in the Commissariat Stores, such supplies to be obtained from local sources where possible. The gist of these alterations, without any mention of the method of increasing the membership of the Legislative Council, had been communicated by Stirling to Lieutenant-Governor Irwin in the previous year.**** In concluding that letter he says:
"I cannot conclude my reference to these several concessions without the expression of the hope which I entertain that they will secure, in conjunction with private industry and enterprise, the future prosperity of the colony, and that the settlers will view them as a proof on the part of His Majesty's Government of its anxious desire to promote their interests to the utmost extent which circumstances will allow."
(*Footnote. Stirling to the Right Honourable E.G. Stanley September 1834; Perth Gazette 19 July and 23 August 1834.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 12 October 1833, 26 April 1834.)
(***Footnote. Lord Goderich to Stirling 8 March 1833; E.G. Stanley to Stirling 27 and 28 July and 3 October 1833 in Perth Gazette 8 August 1835.)
(****Footnote. Stirling to Irwin 26 April 1833.)
The satisfaction that had been expressed when the tenor of the alterations became known in 1833 was considerably modified when the exact terms were made public, and it was seen that the proposals scarcely met the difficulties referred to in the memorial of 1832. It was decided, however, to take no further action until the new system was brought fully into operation. This the Governor proceeded to do with all possible dispatch. On 26 August 1834, a Government notice was issued* detailing the increased civil establishment and the regulations for the management of public business. This was followed in September** by the rules and regulations for the assignment of town allotments, providing that a right of occupation might be secured at a minimum price of from 2 to 5 pounds according to the town, which right would merge into a title in fee simple as soon as certain stipulated improvements had been effected and a fee paid for registration. In October*** the conditions of sale of Crown lands at a minimum of 5 shillings per acre (as previously determined) were published, and in January 1835**** the Governor laid before the Legislative Council the estimates of revenue and expenditure for the year. This was the first document of its kind, and as it contained the plans for revising and extending the revenue and expenditure which had been decided upon during the Governor's visit to England it created considerable public interest. In bringing it forward Stirling was careful to call the attention of the Council to a dispatch***** by which the procedure was authorised, and in which it was laid down that control over the Estimates extended only to the revenue raised by local taxation, and did not refer to "funds arising from the property or droits of the Crown." That the proposals would not meet with the approval of the people even the Governor himself seems to have been aware, as he proposed that the Council should form itself into a committee****** to consider them in his absence and to suggest others if it failed to approve of them. This course was adopted, and in the result fresh proposals were suggested by the committee.******* The principal point of difference was the expense necessary to maintain a police corps. The objection raised was that this meant increased taxation, and that if such taxation had to be imposed the money derived might be better spent on more urgent requirements such as roads and bridges. It is a curious fact that on more than one occasion the roads and bridges vote has determined the fate of colonial governments. Feeling that he was not justified in hanging up the whole budget until the opinion of the Home authorities was known, the Governor accepted the amended proposals and the estimates were then approved.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 30 August 1834.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 20 September 1834.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 25 October 1834.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 5 January in Perth Gazette 10 January 1835.)
(*****Footnote. Lord Goderich to Stirling 4 March 1832.)
(******Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 24 March 1835 in Perth Gazette 28 March 1835.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid 31 March 1835 Perth Gazette 5 April 1835.)
The firm stand taken by the Council in this matter was due mainly to a large public meeting of settlers called by requisition to the Sheriff and held in February 1835,* at which dissatisfaction with the results of the Governor's mission was expressed in no uncertain voice. The real source of the trouble was unquestionably the amendment in the constitution of the Legislative Council. The colonists expected that unofficial members, whom it was proposed to add, would be elected and not nominated. When it was found that such was not to be the case, the cry that it was against the spirit of the British Constitution to be taxed without representation was raised, and the suggested financial proposals strenuously opposed. So strong was the feeling that the Governor was requested not to carry the provision for nominated members into effect. As a matter of fact, no additions to the Council were made by this means during the administration of Governor Stirling, though the delay was due not to any deference to the wishes of the colonists, but to instructions from the Colonial Office not to increase the number of members until further advised.** The Order in Council increasing the number of the Legislative Council was not issued until 1 August 1838.*** Other matters besides the questions of the augmentation of the Legislative Council and the reduction of the police corps that were dealt with at the meeting referred to were the inability of the colonists to bear further taxation; the publication of Government accounts; the inadvisability of further taxation until elective representation in the Council was conceded; condemnation of the departure from the original conditions of the land regulations of 1829; a request that the extent of the land grants made to civil, naval, and military officers be made public; and a resolution in favour of the establishment of a bank. The settlers further expressed dissatisfaction with the tenor of the dispatches received from the Home authorities, which they considered unexplainable except on the hypothesis that trustworthy information concerning the condition of the colony was not forwarded by the local Government. All these points were subsequently embodied in a memorial**** and transmitted to the Secretary of State.*****
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 21 February 1835.)
(**Footnote. Stanley to Stirling 3 October 1833.)
(***Footnote. Proclamation Perth Gazette 5 January 1839.)
(****Footnote. For copy of Memorial see Perth Gazette 4 April 1835.)
(*****Footnote. Stirling to Secretary of State 15 October 1835.)
That the Governor did not approve of the turn that affairs had taken is clear from two communications, one unofficial, forwarded just after the date of the public meeting, and the other official, detailing the various alterations in the administration and also explaining his reasons for agreeing to the amended financial proposals. In the first of these documents he says,* in referring to the copies of newspapers enclosed:
"I believe the only point in them to which it is worth while to draw your attention is the report of a public meeting of the settlers held at Perth on the 16th ultimo. As the Governor and his measures appear to have been tolerably well abused on that occasion perhaps I am not an impartial judge of their proceedings in other respects; but I cannot help feeling alarmed at the injury which may be done to the settlement by the self-conceit and absurdity of a few individuals. The resolutions which were adopted at the meeting have not led as yet to any application to the local Government, but, in my opinion, the immediate destruction of the colony would be the consequence of granting them the objects of their desire. With the exception of this tendency to be dissatisfied with that which has been done for them as colonists, and the wish on the part of some useless people to make themselves important by exciting discontent, the colony is in a progressive and satisfactory state."
(*Footnote. Stirling to Hay 10 March 1835.)
In the official dispatch,* after describing the changes in administration made in accordance with the decisions of the Home authorities, with which he was fully in accord, he points out that it would give him the greatest pleasure if he could state with truth that the colonists generally were of the same opinion. The requests put forward by the settlers seem to have been both reasonable and just, and it is hard to understand why the Governor so bitterly opposed them. To characterise practically the whole unofficial portion of the settlement as "useless people" even in an unofficial document was scarcely wise. The difficulties in the way of giving effect to their wishes may have been, and perhaps were, insurmountable at the time, but even so the attitude of the Governor was not one to be commended. Facts like these help to sustain the opinion that the administration of Sir James Stirling was not entirely successful. Owing no doubt to the representations made by the Governor, little or no attention was paid to the settlers' requests for some considerable time.
(*Footnote. Stirling to Spring Rice 4 May 1835.)
Although the discussion of constitutional questions seems to have occupied much of the colonists' time during these years, there was still something to show in the way of material progress. At the end of 1835 the Agricultural Society* estimated that 1579 acres were under crop and that the settlers possessed 7158 head of stock, of which number 5138 were sheep. During the six years of the colony's existence 163 ships had arrived, bringing 2281 passengers and imports to the value of 394,095 pounds.** In comparison with 1834 very little trouble was experienced with the natives during the year.
(*Footnote. Report in Perth Gazette 26 December 1835.)
(**Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 9.)
The opportunity for the development of pastoral pursuits, which had begun to attract attention in 1834, became more evident during the period 1836 to 1838, and to these years may be ascribed the beginning of that industry upon which the success of Western Australia practically depended until the time of the gold discoveries in the early nineties. To keep sheep was easier and in a way less expensive than to till the soil, besides which the profits from wool were surer and larger than those from wheat. Consequently, while agriculture was not neglected, the rearing of sheep was looked to as the principal industry. Strenuous efforts were made in 1836 and 1837 to import sheep, but without much success. In 1839, however, owing to the arrival of new settlers with capital and to the determination of the old ones to test their convictions, large purchases were made. By that time the area of land available for pasturage had been greatly extended. The Avon, Plantagenet, Williams, Vasse, and Murray districts had been opened up and fairly well stocked. A comparative return of the sheep in the colony in 1834, when the industry was first suggested, and in 1838 shows the progress made. As against 3545 head in 1834 there were 16,816 in 1838, and the value of wool exported had risen from 758 to 1935 pounds. The total trade of the colony in the latter year was represented by exports to the value of 6840 and imports 46,766. The revenue was 4551 pounds and the receipts in aid 7361 pounds, while the expenditure was 12,278 pounds. The total acreage under crop in 1838 was 2501, and the wheat yield amounted to 22,104 bushels.* A statistical return prepared by the Governor for the Colonial Office showed that the population of the settlement in 1837 was 2032, and the value of property about 260,000 pounds, producing an annual accumulation of capital of some 72000 pounds.** These figures are of importance both in the way of refuting the prophecies of failure and of showing that the colony was in a fairly healthy condition. The great drawback to more rapid advancement seems still to have been the scarcity of efficient labour.*** Many of the more capable workmen had become settlers with land of their own to cultivate,**** and few immigrants had arrived to take their places; as a consequence, agricultural development was considerably retarded. The fall in the tide of immigration was due, in the opinion of the Agricultural Society, to the alteration in the land-grant system which took place in 1832, and might be corrected by reducing the minimum of 5 shillings per acre or by adopting a graduated scale rising in proportion to the progress and resources of the colony.***** Whatever the reasons, the need was so great that the Legislative Council in 1838 voted 1000 pounds to cover the expenses of importing efficient labourers.****** If the money could have been applied forthwith it would probably have materially advanced the prosperity of the colony, but it was necessary first to obtain the approve of the Secretary of State, and through the delay the opportunity was almost lost.
(*Footnote. See Appendix 4 Statistical Summary 1829 to 1900.)
(**Footnote. Statistical return for Blue Book 1837 in Stirling to Lord Glenelg September 1838 Number 33.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 15 May 1838 Perth Gazette 19 May 1838.)
(****Footnote. Report of Agricultural Society 1835 Perth Gazette 26 December 1835.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid 1836 Perth Gazette 7 January 1838.)
(******Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 30 May 1838 Perth Gazette 9 June 1838.)
The subject of the land regulations continued to form one of the most fruitful sources of discontent among the colonists. Practically every reverse that the colony suffered was ascribed to the iniquity of the regulations, but there is no doubt that in some instances they were unjustly made to bear the shortcomings of the settlers themselves. From time to time they formed the subject of public discussion, and early in 1837 a petition was presented to the Governor asking him to recommend certain changes.* This document averred that the alteration from the system of grants to that of sale had checked immigration and retarded progress just at the time when the settlers had overcome their initial difficulties and looked forward to some recompense for their labour. A return for three years to the system of grants was asked for and a suggestion made that each bona fide new settler should receive 2560 acres free and be permitted to purchase more if he wished at 3 shillings per acre. The petition was forwarded in due course by the Governor, but the Home authorities declined to grant the requests.** Instead of the upset price being reduced it was raised in 1839 to 12 shillings per acre in all the Australian colonies, though the increased price did not become operative in Western Australia until 1840.***
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 28 January 1837.)
(**Footnote. Lord Glenelg to Stirling 7 March 1837.)
(***Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 11 July 1840.)
The relations between the Governor and his Legislative Council did not improve during the remaining years of Sir James Stirling's term. Early in 1836* the Governor informed the Council that it was necessary to consider the Estimates in advance for the year 1837 to 1838, as no action could be taken upon them until the approval of the Secretary of State had been obtained, and allowance must be made for the time occupied in securing that approval. Though the Governor was in no way responsible for the procedure that had to be adopted, but was merely carrying out his instructions, the fact that such a course had to be pursued was unfortunate. After the disapproval of the Estimates in 1836, relations between Sir James Stirling and his Legislative Council had been somewhat strained, and this new phase of affairs only served to make the position worse. The result was that when the Estimates for 1838 were laid before the Council further disagreements occurred, several items being opposed and others substituted.** The Governor, in these instances not being prepared to accept the advice tendered to him, referred the matters for settlement to the Colonial Office.***
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 4, 11, 19 April 1836 Perth Gazette 9, 16, 23 April 1836.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 23 June 1837 Perth Gazette 24 June 1837.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 23 June 1837 Perth Gazette 1 July 1837. See also Stirling to Lord Glenelg 1 August 1837.)
It will be remembered that during the periods of scarcity between 1831 and 1833 most of the settlers had been compelled to obtain supplies from the Government on credit. By a dispatch of 1833* these debts were transferred by the Imperial authorities to the colony as a Colonial Fund, which it was hoped would promote the interests of the settlement and lay the foundation of a system that would "relieve the Mother Country in a short time from all charge on account of the civil establishment of the colony." No steps were taken at the time to carry out this instruction, but in 1836** a Board was appointed to arrange for the payment of these debts. In some cases the settlers were no better able to pay than when they contracted the liabilities, and in the others any overwhelming desire to liquidate the debt was largely absent, so that several years elapsed before the whole amount was received.
(*Footnote. Lord Goderich to Stirling 8 March 1833.)
(**Footnote. 20 April 1836 Perth Gazette 23 April 1836.)
Another liability rested upon the settlers who had received land under the original conditions of grant. In those conditions the Crown reserved the right to impose a fine of 6 pence per acre upon all lands not improved to a certain extent at the end of three years from date of assignment. In February 1838 it was deemed expedient to impose this fine, and notice* was issued to that effect. At the same time it was stated that all lands not improved by the end of ten years would, according to the old terms, be resumed by the Crown. Payment of the fine was to be made by the end of 1838, failing which it would be levied on the land. This was one of the wisest moves made during the infant years of the settlement, as it tended to increase the revenue at the expense of other than the bona fide settlers, and throw open to them good land which was not being used. This was the view taken by the public when the notice was issued, but when the time for its enforcement arrived opinion had changed, and the settlers found in the intention a further reason for their dissatisfaction.
(*Footnote. Government notice 17 February 1838 Perth Gazette 17 February 1838.)
By the end of 1836 immigration had practically ceased.* This was due to the fact that prophecies of certain failure still continued to be spread about, and probably also to the fact that the Home Government did not seem inclined to find the necessary funds. As the need of immigration was so great, it was felt that some steps should be taken to start the stream flowing again. The colonists were firmly convinced that many of the causes that led to the cessation would be removed if only full information concerning the settlement could be made public in England. This was to some extent achieved by the labours of Captain (afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel) Irwin, who had commanded the military forces at Swan River from 1829 to 1833, and who returned to that position in 1837. Through his influence a committee** was formed in 1835 for the purpose of disseminating particulars as to the actual state of the colony. To assist this organisation a further committee was appointed locally in 1836,*** and for some years regular communication was kept up between the two bodies, resulting in a better understanding in England both of the hardships of pioneering and of the prospects of ultimate prosperity that the colony afforded, so that from the beginning of 1837 the opportunities that Western Australia seemed to offer in the way of profitable investment began to attract attention.
(*Footnote. See Appendix 4 Statistical Summary 1829 to 1900.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 2 January 1836.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 16 January 1836.)
In spite of the dissensions in official circles, the colony began in these years to make some appreciable headway. Even at Albany, which usually lagged behind the other districts, indications of improvement were manifest, due to the immigration of a few Indian settlers with native servants, and to the harbour being greatly used by American sealing and whaling ships.* Toward the end of 1836, H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, put in at King George's Sound on her homeward voyage after a scientific expedition. On board as naturalist was the celebrated Charles Darwin. The vessel remained there for eight days, which Darwin described as the "dullest spent since leaving England,"** and Fitzroy regretted that duty compelled him to call at such a bleak and uninviting place.*** Other centres of settlement, particularly those around York and in the south-west, were beginning to show signs of progress, while Perth and Fremantle had become settled towns with property valued in the aggregate at 78,000 pounds,**** and constituted the "metropolitan area."
(*Footnote. Moore G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 311.)
(**Footnote. Narrative of Survey Voyages of Adventure and Beagle 1826 to 1836 volume 3 page 536.)
(***Footnote. Narrative of Survey Voyages of Adventure and Beagle 1826 to 1836 volume 2 page 625.)
(****Footnote. Statistical report upon the colony June 1837 in Stirling to Lord Glenelg September 1838 dispatch Number 33.)
The principal evidence of progress may perhaps be found in the establishment of banking facilities. This question agitated the public mind for years without any result. Various suggestions had been put forward, but English capitals declined to take any interest in them, and the colonists were not financially strong enough to carry them out. The desirability of a bank was, however, never lost sight of, and in 1836 the matter became the most important topic of discussion to the exclusion almost of every other question. In January 1837 the time was felt to be ripe. The colony had become self-supporting so far as necessaries were concerned, and only required to import implements, clothing, and luxuries, the cost of which was more than met by the exports of wool and other produce. In that month, therefore, the prospectus of the bank of Western Australia was issued,* with a nominal capital of 10,000 pounds of which only 2500 pounds was required forthwith. Operations commenced in June 1837, with such success that for some time no further capital was called up. At the very inception 4000 pounds was placed on deposit, and, after a year's working, a dividend of 14 1/2 per cent was paid.** The good effects of the institution were soon apparent; a distinct impetus was given to development, and not only were existing industries extended, but new ones were seriously considered. One of these was the formation of whaling companies. The success of American and French whalers on the coast of Western Australia had been known for years, but the colonists had never been able to finance arrangements for sharing in that success. Such, however, was the confidence given by the free circulation of a little money that in 1837 to 1838 two companies--Perth and Fremantle***--were actively engaged in whaling operations. To the efforts of the Fremantle company is due the tunnel under Arthur's Head at the port, made so as to secure convenient access to the town.**** In 1837 oil and whalebone to the value of 3000 pounds***** was exported, but before the end of 1838 incapacity and mismanagement had brought about the downfall of the Perth company****** and seriously hampered the Fremantle venture.******* American whaling ships operating off the coast in 1837 secured oil and whalebone to the value of 30,000 pounds.********
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 31 January 1837.)
(**Footnote. First annual report Perth Gazette 9 June 1838.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 14 March to 15 July 1837.)
(****Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 313.)
(*****Footnote. Report of Committee of Agricultural Society 1838 Perth Gazette 13 October 1838. The returns for 1837 were 100 tons oil, 5 tons whalebone.)
(******Footnote. Perth Gazette 17 February 1838.)
(*******Footnote. Ibid 10 November 1838.)
(********Footnote. Western Australia--A Statement of the Condition and Prospects of that Colony London 1842 page 92.)
The aborigines, who had been quiet and orderly since the effective punishment received at Pinjarra, again became troublesome in 1836 in the district round York.* Cases of theft were fairly common, and finally two natives were shot while attempting to rob the house of a settler near the township. This incensed the tribe, and every opportunity for retaliation was seized. Sheep and even horses were wantonly killed, and at last a settler was murdered and his body mutilated.** The Governor recognised the seriousness of the position and immediately strengthened the military force, thus preventing the abandonment of the district. More drastic measures would probably have been taken against the whole tribe if the Governor had not been hampered by instructions from the Imperial authorities to the effect that the natives were to be treated in all respects as Europeans, and given the same opportunities. One would have thought that the people on the spot would be the best judges in a matter of this kind. To make regulations for the protection of aborigines was wise in itself, but to expect the settlers in a remote colony to think of regulations when harassed by a warlike and treacherous tribe showed very little grasp of the position. The result was that in 1837 the natives became openly defiant, robbing and wounding with impunity. Matters culminated in the brutal murder of two settlers named Jones and Chidlow*** and the attempted murder of Mr. Waylen.**** The incensed colonists then instituted what was to all intent a manhunt, in the course of which several natives were killed and most of the others driven away. These stern measures checked the outrages to a great extent, and such offences as occurred during 1838 were easily dealt with by the law. This necessitated a native prison, and Rottnest Island***** was selected for that purpose and used continuously until a few years ago.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 302; Perth Gazette 26 June 1836.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 1 October 1836.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 22 July 1837.)
(****Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 326.)
(*****Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 1 June 1839.)
Several excursions into the unexplored portions of the territory were made about this time. With many of them, more particularly those in the south-western corner of the colony, Sir James Stirling was associated, thus gaining at first hand a knowledge of the territory. In 1836 the Moore River* was discovered by Mr. G.F. Moore, after whom it was named, and in the course of the search excellent pastoral country was opened up. The notable expeditions of this period, however, were those instituted by the Imperial Government for the purpose of examining the coastline and exploring the interior of the north-west. H.M.S. Beagle was commissioned to carry out the coastal survey, and the inland expedition was entrusted to Lieutenant (afterwards Sir) George Grey, who in later years exercised great authority in colonial affairs. The objects of this exploration were "to gain information as to the real state of North-western Australia, its resources, and the course and direction of its rivers and mountains; to familiarise the natives with the British name and character; to search for and record all information regarding the natural productions of the country, and all details that might bear upon its capabilities for colonisation or the reverse; and to collect specimens of natural history."** These various objects were carried out with that thoroughness which distinguished all Grey's colonial work.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 301; Perth Gazette 18 June 1836.)
(*Footnote. Grey, G. Journal of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia 1837 to 1839 London 1841 volume 1 page 4.)
With the year 1838 Sir James Stirling's administration ended. He resigned the reins of government with the unanimous regret of the colonists. Though they had not always been able to see eye to eye with him in administrative affairs, they recognised his enthusiasm and whole-heartedness in the service of the colony, and felt that the errors of Stirling the Governor faded away before the merits of Stirling the man.
Whether an impartial survey of Stirling's administration can hold it to have been altogether successful is an open question. Without doubt he was hampered by distance from Great Britain and by the slow methods of communication in existence, and by the consequent delay which occurred in the settlement of matters referred to the Colonial Office. But even taking those facts into consideration, he appears to have lacked some of the statesmanlike qualities so necessary to the government of a new settlement. Over-sanguine and not always far-sighted, he led the first colonists to expect a better state of things than really existed, and apparently not even practical acquaintance with the territory gave him that knowledge of those requirements so essential in establishing agricultural communities. But to attach to him all the blame for the depression that ensued is unjust. The settlers themselves deserve a share of it, for many of them, in the hope of growing rich quickly, had embarked on a venture for which they were unfitted in every possible way.
Accustomed from his naval training to obey and be obeyed without question, Stirling adhered too closely to the letter of his instructions, and leaned too little upon the advice of his Councils. Yet taking all these shortcomings into consideration, that he did so well in face of difficulties which at times nearly overwhelmed him, and under responsibilities which might easily have crushed any man, stands to his lasting credit. Though in matters of judgment he sometimes failed, anxiety to take the wisest course was always present, and all his actions were marked by a whole-souled desire to uphold the best and dearest traditions of the British race.
GOVERNOR HUTT'S ADMINISTRATION.
LAND REGULATIONS.
PROJECTED SETTLEMENT AT AUSTRALIND.
ABORIGINES.
EXPLORATIONS.
Mr. John Hutt, who succeeded Sir James Stirling in the position of Governor of the colony, arrived at the beginning of 1839, some two or three days before his predecessor's departure. Mr. Hutt had previously held the office of Governor of North Arcot, in the Madras Presidency, and had been strongly recommended as Governor of the newly-established colony of South Australia,* in the arrangements for the inception of which he had, in conjunction with his brother Mr. (afterwards Sir) William Hutt, M.P., taken a very prominent part. The system upon which South Australia was colonised was so different from the method adopted in Western Australia that the early settlers were somewhat doubtful as to the wisdom of the appointment. That he had a theoretical knowledge of colonisation was generally admitted, but it was feared that the absence of practical acquaintance with its trials and difficulties scarcely fitted him to follow in the footsteps of a man like Sir James Stirling. Added to that, he was believed to disagree with the policy hitherto adopted, and that seems to have been counted against him, though there is no doubt that the colonists themselves were not in accord with it. At any rate, the newspaper files of the period show clearly enough that he had to fight down a certain measure of unpopularity at the commencement of his term.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 8 December 1838.)
One of the first official acts was to take advantage of the authority to increase the membership of the Legislative Council by the addition of four unofficial nominees, notwithstanding the opposition of the colonists to any increase in that body except by means of an election. On 3 January 1839 he nominated Messrs. William Locke Brockman, George Leake, Thomas Peel, and William Tanner, and these gentlemen took their seats in the following March. The term of office was the duration of their residence in the colony.*
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 5 January 1839.)
His next step was in connection with the land regulations. Sir James Stirling had been inclined to administer these from the point of view of the settler, and had deferred as long as he could putting into operation any of what might be termed the penal clauses of these regulations. It will be remembered, however, that in 1838* Stirling had felt compelled to give notice that the fine of 6 pence per acre provided for in the original regulations of 1829 on all properties unimproved at the end of three years must be paid by 31 December, or it would be levied upon the properties, and, further, that all land remaining unimproved at the end of ten years would be resumed. This notice, which was certainly in the interests of the bona fide settler, had met with approval when first issued, but before the time of payment arrived it had, like many other acts of the Government, fallen under the ban of the colonists' displeasure. When the time for enforcement arrived, Sir James Stirling had resigned the Governorship, and it fell to the lot of Mr. Hutt to carry the notice into effect. In order to give every possible opportunity he extended the time of payment for a further three months, but notified that in case of non-payment the remission of 1 shilling and 6 pence per acre allowed on the surrender of land would be reduced to 1 shilling.** A further notice was also issued requiring the conditions of the land regulations of 1830 to be fulfilled within three months, namely that a quit rent of 1 shilling per acre should be paid upon properties not improved within two years from date of assignment, and that at the end of a further two years the property if still unimproved should revert to the Crown, or be subject to an additional quit rent. The time for fulfilment of these obligations had, he pointed out, already expired, and therefore the first must be fulfilled within the time stipulated, and the second by the end of 1839, failing which the land would be resumed by the Crown.***
(*Footnote. See ante.)
(**Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 12 January 1839.)
(***Footnote. Ibid.)
The issue of these notices met with the most strenuous opposition on the part of the colonists. The opinion was freely expressed that the Home Government desired to regain possession of as much of the land as it could secure in order to carry out new-fangled schemes of colonisation, to which, it was delicately hinted, the Governor was not altogether indifferent.* A meeting of the Agricultural Society--the usual method of voicing dissatisfaction--was promptly held, and it was decided "that a memorial to the Home Government be drawn up, soliciting a remission of fines due under the land regulations, and a grant of fee simple to settlers under certain circumstances, namely those having expended large sums on small parcels of land, considering the same as portions of their several grants from the Crown."** It was also decided to petition the Governor to suspend the operation of the objectionable clauses until a reply was received. This, however, the Governor was not prepared to do, the only concession made being that various methods of payment were allowed.***
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 12 and 26 January 1839. For text of Memorial see Perth Gazette 9 February 1839.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 19 January 1839.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 3 April 1839.)
The stand taken by Mr. Hutt in these matters, and the fear that he would attempt to carry a land tax, made the meeting of the Legislative Council which was held in March particularly interesting to the colonists. Their fears at the time proved unfounded, though in discussing the Estimates the possibility of such a tax was foreshadowed. This he was strongly urged not to bring forward, as it would press so heavily upon the owners of land as to restrict development. For a time he adopted the advice tendered, but in October 1839 he summoned a meeting of the Council to consider a Bill for the augmentation of the revenue by an assessment on land, in order to provide for the establishment of a police force as a protection to the settlers against the aborigines. The strong opposition shown to this proposal and the unanimous opinion of the colonists that it would bring about serious depression in the affairs of the colony led him to abandon the idea and substitute in its place a tax upon sales by auction.*
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 14 and 23 October 1839 Perth Gazette 19 and 26 October 1839.)
In accordance with the notices issued, a few grants of land were resumed in 1839 and a further 100,000 acres scheduled for resumption in 1840. In order, however, to prevent this policy bearing harshly upon genuine settlers, the Governor viewed the conditions of alienation with the greatest liberality, and wherever possible allowed advantage to be taken of any extenuating circumstances that could be brought forward. As regards other portions of his land policy, Mr. Hutt stood firm. When the Agricultural Society objected to immigrants being restricted to certain areas in selecting land, and to the reservation and resumption of springs and watering-places, on the ground that these matters were at variance with the Home regulations, the Governor declined to alter his measures. On the first point he held that some concentration round existing settlements was necessary as a means of protection from natives, and on the second that springs should be reserved for the general use of all settlers.*
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 30 May 1840.)
Discontent over the various systems of land alienation adopted by the Imperial Government, and with their administration by the Governor, had grown to be something more permanent than a "hardy annual." For the first decade of the colony's existence the regulations were never absent from the minds of the colonists, and were always urged as the reason for the slow progress of the colony's affairs. Time after time memorials were forwarded asking that radical alterations be made. Changes were made in various ways, as we have seen, but there was scarcely an instance in which the alteration did not afford as fruitful a source of agitation as the original had done. While the hardship engendered by the regulations must in many cases be admitted, it is only fair to the Colonial Office to point out that in the beginning the settlers readily accepted the conditions upon which land was offered to them, and further, that in no single instance did the Home authorities ask for more than the fulfilment of their contracts. If the time spent in agitation had been occupied in endeavours to improve their holdings, much of the dissatisfaction would never have arisen. The crux of the trouble was not so much the injustice of the regulations as the ignorance of the settlers as to the difficulties of transforming virgin forest lands into productive areas. So anxious were they to obtain tracts of land that in many cases the secured areas that could never be made productive except by experienced farmers--which they were not--possessing the most modern scientific knowledge, which had not then been discovered. To assist such, Sir James Stirling had obtained from the Home Government permission to surrender their holdings on a valuation of 1 shilling and 6 pence per acre, the surrender value to be applied as part of the cost when purchasing more suitable locations.*
(*Footnote. Lord Glenelg to Stirling 7 March 1837.)
The expressed intention of the Governor to enforce the fines and resumptions of which he had given notice formed the subject of a further memorial to the Secretary of State in 1839.* No reply was received until April 1841, when a dispatch from Lord John Russell** arrived stating that the questions had been referred to the Land and Emigration Commissioners,*** and in accordance with their recommendations it had been decided to grant the fee simple on all lands improved; to grant, in the case of unimproved land, the fee simple of one-fourth, provided the remainder was surrendered to the Crown; and in cases where improvements to a greater extent than necessary had been made on one holding, to grant the fee simple of one-fourth of the unimproved remainder, provided that the balance was surrendered to the Crown. In the same dispatch Lord John advised the introduction of a land tax of 1/2 penny per acre. This latter advice the colonists declined to accept, though a Bill to impose the tax was put forward by the Governor in 1841.****
(*Footnote. Hutt to Lord John Russell 1 August 1839; Perth Gazette 9 February 1839 text of memorial; ibid 27 July 1839 Report of an interview on Memorial between members of Agricultural Society and Governor Hutt in which the Governor expressed strong disapproval of the requests.)
(**Footnote. Lord John Russell to Hutt 5 September 1840.)
(***Footnote. The Land and Emigration Commissioners mentioned above were appointed by the Secretary of State in 1840 to control emigration and advise on colonial affairs generally, but more particularly those relating to the Australian colonies. The members were T.F. Elliot, Colonel Torrens, and the Honourable E.E. Villiers. Beyond doing a certain amount of work in the cause of emigration, this board does not seem to have had much bearing on Western Australian affairs. The report of the Commissioners to Lord John Russell 11 July 1840 which was enclosed in a dispatch to Hutt 5 September contains a review of the whole question of the land system in Western Australia.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 15 April 1841 Perth Gazette 17 April 1841.)
Early in 1839 Governor Hutt received further instructions to amend the land regulations by increasing the upset price of Crown lands from 5 to 12 shillings per acre.* Feeling that to do so would be a false step, as private sales were being effected at less than half that price, he treated the instruction as advisory rather than mandatory.** In 1840*** he was informed that it must be notified to the public without delay as the minimum price of land in the Australian colonies. Except as regarded land in any settlements little objection was taken to the order, either then or at a later period, when the price was further increased to 20 shillings per acre.**** The objects of the alterations were to curtail the size of estates and to produce an increased revenue. The effect was to give the colonists a better chance of selling their surplus land at a more satisfactory figure, and consequently the sale of Crown lands languished.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 22 April 1839 Perth Gazette 27 April 1839.)
(**Footnote. Ibid. See also Stirling to Lord Glenelg 3 May 1839.)
(***Footnote. Lord John Russell to Hutt 19 March 1840 Western Australian Government Gazette 11 July 1840.)
(****Footnote. Lord John Russell to Hutt 23 November 1840.)
Much of the agitation concerning the land regulations was due to the belief that the various alterations would restrict immigration, and that therefore the dearth of labour would become much more pronounced. The colonists recognised that with more labour available greater development of the various industries would result and the general prosperity of the colony be stimulated. The necessity for immigration was by this time beginning to impress itself upon the Imperial authorities and others interested in Western Australia, as well as upon the local Government. In 1840 the Legislative Council, at the instance of the Governor, set aside the receipts from fines and land sales, amounting to 1500 pounds,* for the purpose of obtaining labour from England. The British Government tried with some success the practice of sending out youths from Parkhurst Prison as juvenile emigrants,** and private bodies of persons interested in the colony evolved schemes for increasing the supply of labour upon terms that would be profitable to themselves.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 9 April 1840.)
(**Footnote. The first batch of these boys arrived in 1842 see Perth Gazette 27 August 1842 and others arrived from time to time up to 1849.)
A body active in the interests of Western Australia was the Western Australian Committee, which grew out of the Committee of Correspondence formed in London in 1835, and was generally known as the "Association in Bedford Street."* Its objects were to advance the interests of Western Australia by inducing the Government to offer bounties for the introduction of labour; to secure an amendment of the land regulations so that land could be taken up prior to survey; to encourage the formation of companies to invest capital in the colony; and generally to disseminate correct and useful information concerning the state of the colony's affairs. Sir James Stirling, after his return to London, became a prominent member of this body, in the work of which he was actively assisted by Messrs. W. Hutt and T. Bland. At a public meeting held in Perth in April 1840,** these three gentlemen were appointed agents to look after matters affecting Western Australia.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 11 January 1840.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 11 April 1840.)
This committee made proposals to the Secretary of State* with the double object of supplying the demand for labour and of attracting the enterprise of capitalists. It suggested that Crown Lands should be open to purchase after survey at a minimum of 10 shillings per acre, that the proceeds of these sales should be employed in defraying the cost of emigration to the colony, and that Commissioners should be appointed to act under the Colonial Office to carry the scheme into effect. Provision was also to be made by which land might be sold in England and the proceeds applied to defraying the cost of sending labourers to the colony. The Commissioners were to have the power to raise loans on the security of future sales, such loans to be applied to emigration purposes.
(*Footnote. William Hutt to Lord Glenelg 3 May 1838 Perth Gazette 16 February 1839; Buckton, T.J. Western Australia London 1840 pages 14 to 16. The original minute book of this committee, which was formed on 18 April 1838 is in the possession of the Public Library Perth.)
The proposals failed to meet with the approval of Lord Glenelg, the Secretary of State for the Colonies.* While he was anxious to facilitate emigration to Western Australia, he was opposed to the sale of colonial lands to a company in England, on the ground that it might lay the Government open to a charge of partiality, and also cause the abandonment of the Government's policy of disposing of colonial lands by public sale in the colony. He was prepared, however, to allow the Company to pay into the hands of the emigration agent money to be expended in sending out emigrants, for which they would receive a certificate entitling them to a remission of equal amount in the price paid for any land they might purchase in the colony. Further correspondence took place with the Secretary of State, but the proposals of the committee did not meet with approval.**
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 16 February 1839; Buckton, T.J. Western Australia pages 16 to 18. Letter from Sir George Grey by direction of Lord Glenelg to William Hutt 22 April 1838.)
(**Footnote. Sir George Grey to Committee 5 January 1839 minute book of Committee page 40 and Buckton Western Australia page 18. See also Ogle, N. Colony of Western Australia London 1839 pages 210 to 211.)
One effect of the work of this committee was the issue in October 1839 of a Colonial Office regulation designed to encourage emigration. The terms of it were practically those embodied in the reply of Lord Glenelg (dated 5 January 1839) to the committee. The regulation, which was largely in the nature of an experiment, was limited in operation to two years. The results from it were inappreciable. From the activity displayed by this committee there arose what promised to be a very important development in Western Australian affairs--the settlement at Australind. Notwithstanding the unfavourable reports concerning the sterility of the country and the destitution of the settlers, which had been industriously spread about, there were numbers of people who still retained their belief in the possibilities of the colony, and from the time of Mr. Peel's project attempts were continually made to form land companies for the purpose of undertaking extensive settlements therein. Most of these schemes, affected by the want of success of Mr. Peel, failed to mature, but the Western Australian Company, formed in 1839 to effect a settlement at Australind, carried its proposals into operation, and in all probability would have ultimately achieved complete success but for misrepresentation and false reports.
In 1835 a suggestion had been made to purchase Colonel Lautour's grant of 103,000 acres situated on Leschenault Estuary, or to procure a portion of Thomas Peel's grant. Nothing came of it until 1838, when the committee mentioned made an unsuccessful application to Lord Glenelg for certain privileges. One of the objects the committee had in view was to apply the principles of colonisation advocated by Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Wakefield's idea, upon which the colony of South Australia was practically founded, was to colonise by means of companies, which should acquire land and send out settlers and labourers of proved competence for its cultivation. Areas were to be cut up into small sections and sold to approved settlers, and a proper balance between capital, labour, and land continually observed.
The unsympathetic attitude of Lord Glenelg brought about the abandonment of the scheme,* but shortly afterwards, through the exertions of William Hutt, M.P., Colonel Lautour, E.G. Wakefield, and others,** a company was formed called the Western Australian Company,*** under which the settlement of Australind was to be established according to Wakefield's principles.
(*Footnote. Minute book of Committee April 1839 page 46.)
(**Footnote. Original minute book of the Company 11 May 1840.)
(***Footnote. Note. The original minute books, deed of settlement, reports of annual meetings, letter books, account books, share register, and dispatches of the Western Australian Company are in the possession of the Trustees of the Public Library of Western Australia, and practically the whole statement concerning the inception and progress of the company is taken from those documents. Where any other authority is used a special reference is given. See also Lands Department Western Australia file 2782/95.)
The Company agreed to purchase Colonel Lautour's grant* on Leschenault Estuary and also, subject to the conditions of tenure being carried out, the grant made to Captain Stirling. It was further decided that the first settlement should be established on Colonel Lautour's land. Some doubt arose as to whether this grant came under the land regulations of 1829 or of 1830. In the first case it was not liable to resumption for twenty-one years, but in the second it would be liable at the end of 1840. This question was decided by the Colonial Office declaring that it was held under the 1829 regulations, and that Governor Hutt had been advised accordingly. Everything being thus clear, the company was formally constituted in May 1840, with a capital of 50,000 pounds. The directors were William Hutt, M.P., John Chapman, T.H. Brooking, Captain Sweney, R.N., Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Henry Buckle, C. Enderby, Jacob Montefiore, Jas. Irving, and G.R. Smith, M.P.; T.J. Buckton was Secretary, and Marshall Waller Clifton, F.R.S., Chief Commissioner in Western Australia, with his son, R.W. Clifton, as his Secretary. Colonel Lautour's land was purchased mainly on the recommendation of Sir James Stirling, who described it as well suited for the purpose in view. A prospectus was issued offering part of the property for sale in allotments, and a plan was drawn showing a complete and beautifully-laid-out city, to which the name Australind was given, to signify the connection with India that the town was expected to possess. Land containing 51,000 acres was thrown open for selection in sections of 100 acres each at a price of 1 pound per acre, the purchaser of a section to be also entitled to four quarter-acre town allotments, the price of which to those not taking agricultural grants was set down at 10 pounds. Half the money received from sales of sections was to be spent on conveying passengers and immigrants to the settlement, and half the sum received from the sale of town allotments to be spent on improvements. So rapidly were sales effected that by the end of September 400 sections and 3100 town allotments had been disposed of, the remainder--100 sections and 900 allotments--being reserved for subsequent sale to settlers only. Success having so far attended the project, the remainder of the staff--a medical officer and nine surveyors--was then appointed, and a small vessel, the Island Queen, chartered to convey them to the scene of operations. Soon afterwards the Parkfield, a barque of 600 tons, was secured, and preparations made for the embarkation of Mr. Clifton and the first portion of settlers and emigrants. A second ship, with the remainder of the settlers, under the charge of the chaplain, the Reverend J.R. Wollaston, himself a purchaser of land, was to follow. Then came the hitch in the arrangements. The Parkfield was to leave London on 20 October, but on the 12th Captain Grey arrived with information that Governor Hutt intended to resume Colonel Lautour's grant for nonfulfilment of conditions,** and a rumour was also spread that in Grey's opinion the grant was practically valueless from an agricultural point of view.*** Expectation quickly gave way to consternation; the public feared the loss of the money it had invested, and the directors were faced with binding contracts involving large expenditure, apart from having received 60,000 pounds for land already possibly resumed by the Colonial Government, and perhaps disposed of to other settlers. It does not appear to have struck them that there was no need for anxiety on that account, as the Secretary of State's decision superseded any subsequent act of the Colonial Government. In the hope of extricating themselves from their troubles they lent willing ears to a suggestion from Grey that the country surrounding Port Grey, between Gantheaume Bay and the Arrowsmith, in the neighbourhood of the present town of Geraldton, was not only available, but much more suitable, being one of the finest districts in Australia.**** Ready to take advantage of any outlet from their difficulties, the directors secured the approval of Lord Glenelg to the change of locality, and then apparently congratulated themselves and the landholders upon their "happy deliverance from evil." Clifton seems to have been the only one who kept his head. He tried, though without avail, to persuade the directors to rely upon the reports concerning Lautour's grant made by Sir James Stirling and others who had returned from the colony, rather than upon those of Grey, who in all probability had never seen that locality.
(*Footnote. See map.)
(**Footnote. Notice to resume was issued on 27 April 1840 see Perth Gazette 2 May 1840 and withdrawn on 13 July 1840 Perth Gazette 18 July 1840.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 20 March 1841 containing record of proceedings of meeting of Company held 12 November 1840 copied from Colonial Gazette the organ of the Company 18 November 1840.)
(****Footnote. Ibid. See also Landor, E.W. The Bushman London 1847 pages 415 et seq.)
Having decided upon the change, the directors lost no time in making their determination public. Investors were given the option of consenting to the change of locality or of receiving back, with interest, the money they had paid for allotments in the Leschenault district. Harassed by doubts of the new territory and afraid of the difficulties of pioneering work, many of the investors withdrew, and quickly something in the nature of a panic set in. To allay the trouble Captain Grey was asked to meet a body of the landholders and give whatever information he could concerning the country round Port Grey. This was deemed so satisfactory that several who were wavering decided to remain in the venture, which might even then have succeeded but for the action of a party of investors at Halifax, who had taken up land to the value of 12,000 pounds. These withdrew their money, and in a little while such was the effect that 30,808 pounds paid for land was returned. The drift was at last stayed by the action of the Right Honourable J.W. Crocker, F.R.S., who refused to withdraw his investments.
In spite of all these difficulties, which were increased by the failure of the Company's bankers, the directors proceeded with the new scheme. The Parkfield was engaged to proceed to Port Leschenault as before, sail up to Perth so that Mr. Clifton might interview Governor Hutt, and then make for Port Grey.
Meanwhile, the instructions of Lord Glenelg had reached the colony, and the notice of resumption of Colonel Lautour's land was immediately withdrawn.* At the same time pleasure was expressed at the foreshadowed introduction of further capital and labour. The town site of Bunbury was forthwith surveyed and proclaimed, and a Government Resident appointed. For the protection of the incoming settlers a picket of soldiers was stationed there, and considerable activity was shown in the settlement of the surrounding country. The advance party of surveyors landed in Koombana Bay late in 1840, and at once set about their work. In 1841 (March) the Parkfield with Clifton and the first portion of settlers arrived, and some consternation was created by the news that the whole party was to proceed northwards to Port Grey. This idea, however, was not carried out after all, as the Governor declined to permit a settlement at that port, owing to its distance northward precluding both means of communication and possibility of adequate protection. On the advice of Governor Hutt,** therefore, Clifton decided to remain at Leschenault and take possession of Colonel Lautour's grant, so coming back to the Company's original arrangement. The upset and turmoil in London had thus been quite unnecessary; that it ever occurred is unfortunate, as with the bright prospects in view at the inception of the scheme it is more than probable that the venture would have been a success had nothing of the kind ever taken place. As things were, the chances of success were small from the very outset. The early trials and privations of the "first fleet" by the Parmelia were largely reproduced, and as a result many of the immigrants drifted away to the Swan River and other more settled parts.*** Notwithstanding the efforts of Clifton and his sons, the failure of the scheme became more and more apparent as time went on. Primarily this was due to the methods adopted by the promoters, methods which have on later occasions been proved to be entirely unsuitable. The idea was to induce emigration to Western Australia on the part of small capitalists, who purchased their land, not after examination, but from a plan prepared in London and backed by statements which did not under-estimate the agricultural possibilities. Misrepresentation was probably not intentional, but it certainly existed. When to it was added unsuitability on the part of many of the investors, there could be but little prospect of success. From the time of the arrival of the first immigrants a condition of hopeless despondency seems to have existed, for which no possible cure could be found.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 18 July 1840.)
(**Footnote. Inquirer 31 March 1841; Stokes, J.L. Discoveries in Australia volume 2 pages 382 to 383.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 24 April 1841.)
The arrival toward the end of 1842 and the beginning of 1843 of ships with about 400 fresh immigrants induced a little activity for a while, but matters soon settled down again into their former condition. Everyone seemed to lose heart, and failure was written large over the whole venture. In addition, Clifton was hampered by the inability of the directors in London to appreciate the position. About the middle of 1843 the final distribution of rural lands took place, and shortly afterwards instructions were received to stop all sales and discharge the surveyors. Before the end of the year Clifton was himself released from duty, and his son, W.P. Clifton, appointed agent, to dispose of the remainder of the land. In 1864 he was authorised to sell the portion still in the hands of the Company at 2 shillings per acre, and at a meeting held in 1875 instructions were given for the affairs of the Company to be wound up, a task that took several years to accomplish. Although the liquidation was spread over so many years, the scheme itself--the second large colonising experiment in Western Australia--failed within three years from its inception. That of Peel in 1829 was impossible from the beginning, but a better knowledge of local conditions on the part of the directors of the Western Australind Company might have made that of Australind successful. The application of Wakefield's principles of colonisation ceased with this experiment, though some attempt was made in 1849 to establish a new company on the ruins of the old one. From the point of view of the colony generally there was some little gain by the Australind venture, as it brought about the introduction of at any rate a few badly-needed labourers, the population having increased from 2760 in 1841 to 3476 in 1842.*
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary; see Appendix 4.)
Another important phase of the affairs of the colony to which, in addition to the land question, Governor Hutt gave the closest attention was the treatment of the aborigines. Having come to Western Australia with certain preconceived ideas upon this question, he devoted considerable time to an endeavour to carry them into effect. Those in England who did not understand the circumstances had made a good deal of capital out of the affrays that had taken place between the settlers and the natives in various parts of Australia. Influenced by the opinion thus promulgated, the British Government decided to inaugurate a new policy which should have the effect of preserving and civilising the natives, and at the same time prevent oppression on the part of the settlers. As this policy was in accord with the Governor's own views, he entered into its operation with zest.* In 1839 instructors to the natives were sent to all the colonies, G. Barrow and C.Symmons being those appointed to Western Australia.** Native schools*** were established--the first being those under the Wesleyan Church--and land bounties offered**** to those settlers who were prepared to give instruction to the aborigines and make some attempt to civilise them. The effect of these admittedly wise measures was not, however, at first apparent. Trouble with the aborigines still continued, and had to be met in the way that the colonists had previously found effective. Throughout 1839 robberies were frequent, and on more than one occasion stock was killed.
(*Footnote. Hutt to Lord Glenelg 3 May 1839.)
(**Footnote. Lord Normanby to Hutt 9 May and 19 July 1839.)
(***Footnote. Quarterly report of Protector of Aborigines 31 December 1840 Perth Gazette 9 January 1841; Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 417.)
(****Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 25 June and 23 July 1841.)
Such events as these the colonists were becoming used to, but the hideous murder of a white woman and her eight-months-old child by the York natives called for signal punishment.* After some trouble two of those concerned in the affair were caught, and hanged on the scene of the offence.** Later in the year a second murder was committed in the Canning district,*** and in 1840 a third by some natives near Leschenault. In 1841 there occurred an incident which, if true, can only be described as an act of atrocious cruelty and savagery on the part of some of the settlers in the south-west. Early in the year a settler at Wonnerup, George Layman, offered some indignity to a native, in return for which he was on the first convenient opportunity speared through the heart.**** An avenging party under Captain Molloy set out and, it is said, ultimately succeeded in surrounding the whole body of natives on an open sandpatch, whereupon they proceeded to shoot the unfortunate aborigines in cold blood, not stopping till the adult males had all been accounted for. Colour is lent to the story by the fact that there is a sandpatch near Minninup where skulls and bones are still to be seen, and near which even present-day natives will not go. No records of the encounter exist, and it is more than likely that it has been built up to account for the collection of bones, which in all probability represents an aboriginal burial-ground, which would be winytch or sacred to the boolyas or spirits of the departed, and therefore to be avoided by all natives. All that is definitely known is that the murderer of Layman was shot by a soldier later in the year.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 25 May 1839.)
(*Footnote. Ibid 18 July 1840.)
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 385.)
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 14 March 1841.)
By the end of 1841 the effects of Hutt's policy began to be seen in the cessation of thefts and the establishment of more harmonious relations between the colonists and the aborigines. In fact, the end of the native trouble in the south-west portion of the colony was in sight. Isolated instances of robbery and violence continued to happen, and even happen yet, but nothing further occurred in the way of organised attack, demanding measures of repression beyond the power of the police to deal with.
While the period under review was an important one from the standpoint of land regulations, colonisation schemes, and attempts to grapple with the native difficulty, it was equally important from the standpoint of exploration. The districts north of Perth, and even the extreme north-west, till then a country known by name only, were examined by Captain Grey, the coastline of the same part was accurately surveyed by Captains Wickham and Stokes in H.M.S. Beagle, and the eastern stretches between Adelaide and King George's Sound were traversed by the intrepid explorer Eyre.
Grey, who after his north-west expedition in 1837 to 1838 had sailed for Mauritius, returned to Perth toward the end of the latter year, and early in 1839 was engaged in a search for a settler named Eliot,* who had lost his way in the Williams district and had been missing for three weeks. In the course of his search, which was successful, he explored most of the country between Leschenault and Williams River. Returning to Perth, he organised an expedition for the exploration of the country lying between Shark Bay and Perth,** and spent two months, under circumstances of great difficulty and often of danger, in making a thorough examination of this district, discovering the Gascoyne, Irwin, and other rivers, the Victoria Range, and several peaks and hills. Much of the country passed through was excellent for pastoral purposes, and it was this fact that led him to urge the Western Australian Company to found the settlement of Australind in that district. Soon after Grey's reports had been placed in the hands of the Governor, G.F. Moore examined the coastal districts in the neighbourhood of the Moresby Range.*** His opinion was favourable, confirming that of Grey. Moore discovered a satisfactory harbour afterwards named Port Grey in honour of the explorer. This was the harbour that figured so largely in the discussion about the site of Australind. Grey then returned to England, but on the death of Sir Richard Spencer came back to the colony as Government Resident at Albany, a position he occupied until late in 1840, when he succeeded Colonel Gawler as Governor of South Australia.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 2 February 1839.)
(**Footnote. Grey, G. Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western Australia volume 1 pages 329 et seq.)
(***Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia pages 401 to 403; Perth Gazette 1 and 8 February 1840; Grey, G. Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery etc. pages 124 et seq.)
Meanwhile, Captains Wickham and Stokes in H.M.S. Beagle began and completed a series of coastal surveys on the north-west coast, in the course of which the Fitzroy and Adelaide Rivers were discovered. In 1840 they examined the Abrolhos Islands, discovered a good anchorage at Champion Bay, and surveyed Dampier Archipelago.* In 1841, during the illness of Wickham, Stokes sailed from Koepang to complete the survey of the coast south of Roebuck Bay, which had been left unfinished by King in 1821. Having done so, he continued his voyage to Swan River, and later in the year made a trip to determine the exact position of Port Grey, which he found to be almost identical with Champion Bay.**
(*Footnote. Stokes, J.L. Discoveries in Australia volume 2 pages 124 et seq.)
(**Footnote. Ibid pages 378 et seq.)
It was during this latter year (1841) that E.J. Eyre, who was afterwards Governor of Jamaica, accomplished an overland journey which ranks as one of the greatest feats in exploration ever performed in Australia. Eyre left Adelaide in June 1840, with the object of examining Lake Torrens, and then proceeding northwards as far as practicable.* Through want of water he was compelled to abandon the attempt at Fowler's Bay.** Having sent back the majority of his party, he started from Fowler's Bay with a companion, Baxter, and a black boy named Wylie, to reach King George's Sound or perish in the attempt. A short distance south-west of Eyre Sandpatch two natives who were accompanying them murdered Baxter during the night and got away with most of the provisions.*** Eyre and his black boy were left to accomplish a journey of some hundreds of miles through unknown country with 40 pounds of flour and four gallons of water.**** This they succeeded in doing after undergoing the severest hardships; in fact, they would in all probability never have got through but for their fortunate meeting with Captain Rossiter of the whaler Mississippi, who rendered them every possible help when they were reduced to the last extremity of hunger, thirst, and fatigue.***** Eyre's journey, which was the first successful attempt to cross the continent, was of the greatest geographical importance, as it settled the question of rivers emptying into the Bight, and, in a measure, afforded some proof that there was nothing in the nature of a great inland sea.
(*Footnote. Eyre, E.J. Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia 1840 to 1841 London 1845 volume 1 page 10.)
(**Footnote. Ibid volume 1 pages 301 to 305.)
(***Footnote. Ibid volume 1 page 402; volume 2 pages 1 to 2.)
(****Footnote. Eyre, E. Journal of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia 1840 to 1841 London 1845 volume 2 page 6.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid volume 2 pages 67 to 69.)
Other short exploratory tours were made about the same time, principally for the purpose of further opening up the south-western districts, which were regarded as the most promising portion for development, and of which accurate and complete information was desirable.
With regard to strictly local affairs, the reports of the Agricultural Society for 1839 to 1842 show that very definite expansion was taking place, though still limited by the want of labour. The chief development was to be found in the pastoral industry. By the end of the latter year the part of sheep had increased to over 60,000, and wool to the value of 4252 pounds was exported. Other livestock showed a corresponding increase in numbers, but the same indications of progress were not apparent in the amount of land actually brought under cultivation. The area of land under crop, which in 1839 stood at 2578 acres, had increased to only 3047 in 1842, due partly to the difficulty of securing labour and partly to the fact that better results, at the cost of less exertion, could be secured by sheep-farming.*
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
Owing to the increased prosperity the deficit in the colony's finances, which had been rapidly increasing for years past, was nearly adjusted by 1842, notwithstanding the active public works policy that was rendered necessary by the expansion. Extensive surveys were made in various districts, and roads opened up between the different settlements. In 1840* The first pile of the Perth Causeway was driven, and under the supervision of the Town Trust--the forerunner of the City Council--a public jetty was constructed at Perth.** Further evidence of progress was the establishment, on Rowland Hill's system of uniform rates, of regular postal communication between the various settlements in the colony, daily between Perth and Fremantle and less frequently to the outlying districts.**
(*Footnote. Stirling, E. Brief History of Western Australia page 13.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 5 November 1842.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 9 April 1842.)
The general improvement in affairs had also attracted the attention of outside banking institutions, as we find that in 1841 the Bank of Western Australia was amalgamated with the Bank of Australasia,* which was desirous of opening business in the colony. Some of the shareholders were opposed to the change, and took steps to establish another local bank, the result being that later in the year the Western Australian Bank, which has exercised so great an influence in the development of Western Australia, opened its doors. The original directors were J.S. Roe, W. Tanner, W.J. Lawrence, E. Hamersley, R. Hinds, J. Stringer, and G.F. Stone. The capital was 20,000 pounds.** The first dividend--15 per cent--was declared in January 1842.***
(*Footnote. Ibid 24 April and 1 May 1841.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 26 June 1841.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 8 January 1842.)
The same activity was displayed in religious and educational matters. In answer to a requisition the Governor introduced a Bill into the Legislative Council in 1840 for the purpose of promoting the erection of churches and chapels and of providing for the maintenance of ministers of religion.* By the end of 1842 there were four Anglican clergymen, in addition to the Colonial Chaplain, stationed at various towns, and one Wesleyan clergyman resident in Perth. The members of the Church of England began to look forward to the establishment of a bishopric, and with that end in view 10,000 acres were set aside as an endowment. The same Church had established a grammar school in the capital, and with Government aid primary schools were at work in different parts of the colony.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 16 June 1840 Perth Gazette 20 June 1840. The Bill was afterwards vetoed by the Colonial Office.)
In 1839 a fossil believed to be an encrinite was discovered in the Toodyay district.* This was regarded as important, being in the opinion of the colonists an indication of the existence of a coalfield. Subsequently it was reported that coal had actually been found on the Murray River, at a place where researches were being prosecuted by Mr. Preiss, a German naturalist. In order to stimulate search the Government offered a free grant of 2560 acres to the first discoverer of a coal bed,** but for many years nothing definite resulted from the offer.
(*Footnote. Moore, G.F. Diary of Ten Years in Western Australia page 376.)
(*Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 30 March and 6 April 1839.)
DEPRESSION.
LABOUR PROBLEMS.
FINANCIAL CONDITION
. QUESTION OF CONVICT LABOUR.
ESTABLISHMENT OF PENAL SETTLEMENT.
With the year 1843 there came one of those waves of depression which so frequently rolled over Western Australia during the early years of its existence. Following as it did upon a period of moderate prosperity which had appeared to possess some elements of permanency, the colonists were greatly discouraged, and the seriousness of the position was consequently considerably increased. The first signs of the trouble were an unaccountable fall in the price of stock, and a constant flow of specie out of the colony to pay for the imports, which far out-valued the exports. The causes assigned for the depression were various. Naturally among them the "iniquitous" land regulations held a prominent place. Other reasons urged were the want of protective duties, the high rates of interest on borrowed money, the excess of imports over exports, and, above all, the scarcity of labour.* Many were the means suggested and tried for coping with the trouble, the ultimate one being that which has had so wide and far-reaching an effect upon the history of Western Australia--the introduction of convict labour and the establishment of a penal settlement.
(*Footnote. Inquirer 4 and 11 October 1843, 7 February 1844; Perth Gazette 11 November 1843; Reports of Agricultural Society 1843 (Inquirer 3 January 1844) and 1844 Inquirer 1 and 8 January 1845. See also Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
Up to 1842 the colonists may be regarded as having been engaged in combating local difficulties, in forming their homes, and in striving to wrest the necessaries of life from the virgin forest. Their aim was to supply the local market, and so long as that market could absorb their products, high prices necessarily ruled and a general condition of solvency existed. They were also getting fair prices for such wool as they were able to export. One of the causes of the depression seems to have been the belief that they could go on importing stock without bringing about either a fall in values or a surplusage on the market. The result of this belief was that nearly 50,000 pounds in specie was sent out of the colony to pay for importations of all classes of stock.* This, occurring when supply and demand were fast approaching a level, caused a reaction, and a consequent drop in prices, which produced a sudden cessation of speculation, a general retrenchment, and a serious fall in the value of property of all kinds. In commenting upon the condition of affairs at the opening of the Legislative Council in June 1843,** The Governor urged that the colonists should look for other avenues of industry and profit, so as to provide exchangeable commodities to balance the great excess of imports over exports. Without such commodities the enormous balance of trade against the colony had to be met by Treasury Bills or by sending specie out of the country. Both ways were bad; they not only restricted development, but were destructive of those beneficial results which ought to accrue from trading.
(*Footnote. Report of Agricultural Society 1842 Perth Gazette 8 April 1843.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 15 June 1843 Perth Gazette 17 June 1843.)
The existence of depression being recognised, the colonists were compelled to seek for some means of overcoming it, and it was soon evident that public opinion considered that the solution lay in the introduction of further labour. In coming to this conclusion they were guided by the knowledge of the relief afforded by the Australind settlers of 1841 and 1842, and by the immigrants landed from the Success in April 1843. The question of immigration began to engage the attention of the Legislative Council in August,* and a committee was appointed to consider the best method of obtaining a supply of labour. The report of this committee, which was presented to the Council in the following October, estimated that 400 servants were urgently required, 300 of whom might be advantageously employed in farming pursuits and the remainder as domestic servants. Being of opinion that it was not possible to raise sufficient money for the purpose by sales of land, the committee advised that a loan be obtained from the Imperial authorities, the interest upon which should be provided for on the annual estimates, by earmarking the monies derived from land sales, transfer fees, and other land sources. Failing Colonial Office approval of this idea, they advocated a system of bounties. The Legislative Council adopted the report, and it was forwarded by Governor Hutt for the consideration of the Home Government,** which declined to accede to either recommendation.***
(*Footnote. Inquirer 23 August 1843.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 19 October 1843 Perth Gazette 21 October 1843.)
(*Footnote. Hutt to Lord Stanley 21 October 1843.)
While convinced that in the introduction of labour lay the solution of their difficulties, the colonists also gave consideration in 1843 to the suggestions of the Governor to look for other industrial outlets for their energies. One marketable commodity ready to hand was timber, and efforts were made to work up an export trade in jarrah and other woods with which the colony abounded. Attention was directed to a letter which Sir James Stirling had received from the Admiralty some years previously in which an offer to purchase 200 loads of timber was made.* A fair market was also believed to exist in the Mauritius. With these possibilities in view an attempt was made by C.D. Ridley to form a company,** but without success. Later in the year, however, various samples were forwarded to London, and a certain degree of interest taken in them, resulting in the inception of a small export trade. Better success followed a shipment of sheep to the Mauritius, which realised 28 shillings per head, and potatoes to the value of 300 pounds were also exported.*** These small items with 6000 pounds worth of wool, and oil to the value of 300 pounds, practically comprised all the exports, leaving 60,000 pounds imports to be paid for by specie. The result was that by the end of the year there was practically no money in the market. The Government, as well as the settlers, was compelled to exercise the most rigid economy. The accounts for 1842/3 showed a deficit of some 700 pounds, with a prospect the reverse of reassuring. To stem the tide an Act was passed to increase the duties on spirits, and various licence fees were imposed.**** About the same time the new Land Act (6 Victoria c.36) regulating the sale of waste lands of the Crown in the Australian colonies, came into operation, raising the price to 20 shillings per acre.***** This does not seem to have exercised any appreciable influence, one way or another, upon the colony's affairs at the time. What undoubtedly exercised an influence for good was the consistent policy of Governor Hutt in regard to the various land regulations. So successfully had he carried out these regulations that in 1843 out of a million and a half acres alienated, there were not 100,000 for which the fee simple had not been issued.******
(*Footnote. Two hundred loads were exported in 1836; see Statistical Summary Appendix.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 15 April 1843.)
(***Footnote. Report of Agricultural Society 1843 Inquirer 3 January 1844. See also Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 16 June 1843 Perth Gazette 17 June 1843.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid.)
(******Footnote. Ibid.)
The one bright spot in the year's transactions was the harvest. About 800 additional acres were under cultivation* and good returns obtained from the whole. Grapes, olives, and other fruits were produced, and some attention paid to wine-making, while the number of sheep had increased by one quarter.** Yet notwithstanding this apparently satisfactory condition, the colonists's fears of depression were abundantly fulfilled in 1844. As compared with 1839, prices of commodities fell nearly 50 per cent, and rents and wages were correspondingly lower.*** These things, combined with the scarcity of money and the pessimistic view of the situation taken by the colonists, served to accentuate the depression. The Deputy-Assistant Commissary-General, W.H. Drake, stated to a committee of the Legislative Council**** that in January 1843 he estimated the amount of specie in the colony at 25,000 pounds; in January 1844 at half that sum, and, at the time of giving evidence (July 1844) at not more than 9000 pounds. To prevent, as far as possible, the specie remaining from being sent out of the colony, the Commissary-General called for tenders for Bills of Exchange in sums of not less than 100 pounds, drawn on the Commissioners of the Treasury at London.*****. The amount received was 4200 pounds.****** As wheat grown in the colony was also accepted for these bills the loan served a further purpose of providing a market for surplus grain. Yet, though times were so bad, and the banks, to assist their customers, were compelled to reduce the rates of discount, we find that the Western Australian Bank was able to declare substantial dividends in January and July,******* showing that in spite of the depression there must have been a firm belief in the recuperative power of the colony.
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
(**Footnote. Report of Agricultural Society 1843 Inquirer 3 January 1844.)
(***Footnote. Kimberley, W.B. History of Western Australia Melbourne 1897 page 132.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 18 July 1844 Inquirer 24 July 1844.)
(*****Footnote. Inquirer 12 January 1844.)
(******Footnote. Ibid 10 July 1844.)
(*******Footnote. Inquirer 10 January and 10 July 1844.)
The revenue returns for the year 1843/4 showed a decrease on those of the previous year, and were insufficient to meet the expenditure. The value of imports was 36,440 pounds, while the exports totalled only 13,364 pounds,* the principal being wool and oil, which together amounted to 12,540 pounds.** This shrinkage in revenue and great disparity between imports and exports caused considerable uneasiness. So much so that when the Estimates for 1845/6 were brought before the Legislative Council in May*** the Governor remitted them to a committee for consideration. His estimate of expenditure was 8886 pounds, but the committee, convinced that it could not be met by revenue, reduced it to 7283 pounds by cutting down the items relating to the administration of justice, public works, police, and surveys and exploration. At the same time the revenue estimates were revised and 2000 pounds less set down as probable returns from spirit duties. To balance this, further ad valorem duties on imports, estimated to yield 1300 pounds, were proposed.**** Such drastic alterations to the Governor's proposals could not fail to produce acrimonious discussion, more particularly as the amended Estimates received the support of the Council generally. The Governor made strenuous objections, but the committee's report was carried against him. Feeling that to exercise the power of veto which he possessed would only make matters worse, and that to reserve both sets of Estimates for the consideration of the Home authorities would also be inimical to the best interests of the colony, Governor Hutt gave his assent to the committee's proposals. So convinced was he, however, of the want of wisdom shown in taxing foodstuffs that he congratulated himself on not being a settler, and assured the Council that the "doom of the colony was sealed."***** This attitude only served to increase his unpopularity. Not only were the members of the Council opposed to him, but public opinion generally declared itself adverse, and he achieved the unfortunate distinction of being freely criticised and derided in the public press. That his view of the situation was wrong the end of the year clearly showed, the revenue not even reaching the revised estimate by some 400 pounds. While admitting his ability in matters of administration generally, and more particularly in regard to the land regulations and the treatment of the natives, it is open to question whether his management of the financial affairs of the colony was equally successful.
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
(**Footnote. Inquirer 29 May 1844.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 23 May 1844 Inquirer 29 May 1844.)
(****Footnote. Ibid 24 June 1844 Inquirer 26 June 1844.)
(*****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 4 July 1844 Inquirer 10 July 1844.)
The Estimates being disposed of, the committee took into consideration the general financial condition of the colony, and presented a further report to the Legislative Council in July. As the result of exhaustive inquiries the committee was convinced that the depression existing was due to:
"The alteration in the land regulations, fixing the minimum price of Crown lands at 20 shillings per acre, which has had a powerful and baneful influence upon the conditions of the colony, and consequently on the revenue, by putting a stop to the sale of Crown lands--no money sales, with the exception of a few town allotments having been made since December 1, 1842--and to the introduction of capital.
"The great and sudden fall in the price of stock, owing to the large increase and comparative and stationary position of the population, by the entire stop the land regulations alluded to have put to immigration.
"The consequent difficulties of the farmers, and inability to meet their engagements, contracted at a time when the price of stock was high and all the other necessaries of life proportionately high.
"The balance of trade, being so much against the colony, occasioning an annual abstraction of specie and other capital of not much less than 20,000 pounds.
"To these may be added the injuries our farmers have sustained by the large amount of colonial produce poured into Western Australia from the adjacent colonies--in a great degree occasioned by a similar state of things, brought on in a great measure by the same causes."*
(*Footnote. Ibid 18 July 1844 Inquirer 24 July 1844.)
The report was not received by the Council with any degree of enthusiasm. While it professed to consist of the opinions of the colonists, and did in a measure disclose the causes of the depression and the condition into which the colony had fallen, it contained no suggestions for alleviating the distress or for bringing back prosperity. The chairman of the committee sought to remedy this defect by making certain proposals when discussing the report. His speech was rather remarkable as showing the state into which the colony had lapsed. Supporting his remarks by elaborate tables* giving the development of the previous seven years, he pointed out that the balance of trade against the colony since its inception was large, but up to that time had been greatly minimised by a substantial annual expenditure on the part of the Government. A gradual increase of population, including some capitalists, had also helped to render progression possible, but the alteration in the price of Crown lands had stopped this immigration, and so put an end to progress. The continual drain of specie to pay for imports had then made itself felt, with the result that the whole colony had been brought to the verge of ruin. "Although," he said, "we have plenty of real property and stock of every description, we have not a shilling which as a colony we can call our own. We have no balance in our Treasury; the balance in the Commissariat chest is the property of the Queen. As individuals we have loose silver in our pockets--but only as individuals--for as colonists it is the property of the foreign creditor."** The remedies suggested by the committee were to make the colony an exporting one--this, it will be remembered, had already been urged by the Governor; to induce the British Government to consent to the flotation of a loan of 100,000 pounds to be used to pay off the mortgages and introduce labour; and to secure a reduction in the price of Crown lands. These suggestions were then put in the form of definite propositions*** and resulted in a long and rather acrimonious debate. The Governor said he was not disappointed with the discussion, because he never expected anything from it. It was not possible to find any distinct or specific remedy. He had no panacea to offer; all he could do as head of the Government was to call attention at all times to three points of conduct--economy, a cessation of paper credit, and an increase of exports.**** The only outcome of the debate was a declaration by the Council that a reduction in the price of Crown lands from 20 to 5 shillings per acre would encourage capitalists to settle in the colony and thus provide a fund for the introduction of labourers and artisans.***** Though barren of results in other directions, the discussion had the effect of encouraging production in various ways with the object of establishing a larger export trade. Shipments of horses and cattle were sent to the Mauritius, where they realised satisfactory prices. A stock market was established at Guildford, the rearing of horses for Indian remounts advocated, and the growth of sheep to increase the export of wool encouraged. The development of a timber trade was looked upon as one of the principal assets of the colony, and great activity was displayed throughout the south-west district in preparing sawn timber for export. By the end of the year over 250 tons were lying at Bunbury awaiting shipment. Even taken as a whole, these various movements were not sufficient to establish any considerable volume of trade, but the record of them shows that the small colony, which consisted of only 4350 persons, over 1200 of whom were resident in Perth, was making some attempt to rise above its difficulties.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 2 August 1844 Inquirer 7 August 1844.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
(***Footnote. Ibid.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 2 August 1844 Inquirer 7 August 1844.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid.)
Notwithstanding the activity displayed in these ventures and the practice of the most rigid economy on the part of the people, the condition of affairs went from bad to worse. The financial aspect in 1845 was even less encouraging than in the previous year. When the session of the Legislative Council opened in April the Governor had the unwelcome task of announcing that even the estimate of revenue as amended by the committee had not been realised, and that compared with 1843/4 there was a falling off in revenue of 2627 pounds. On the year's transactions the expenditure exceeded the receipts by 450 pounds, an amount small in itself, but appreciable in a country whose total income was less than 7200 pounds.* Seeing no prospect of improvement, the Governor in preparing the Estimates was compelled to use the pruning knife even more vigorously than the committee of 1844 had done. The revenue he estimated at 6920 pounds and the expenditure at 6647.** This time the Estimates were passed practically as presented. To reduce them further without seriously affecting the efficiency of the Government was impossible, and to have attempted to increase the expenditure in face of the growing depression would have been suicidal.
(*Footnote. Ibid 17 April 1845 Perth Gazette 19 April 1845.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 15 May 1845 Perth Gazette 17 May 1845.)
It is evident that the apparently hopeless condition of affairs now affected the people generally.* In May they presented a memorial to the Governor and Council** pointing out that though the colony was surrounded by the elements of wealth, possessed abundance of rich land, an industrious and intelligent population, a genial climate, and a geographical position with extraordinary commercial advantages, it was in a most critical position. The circulation was drained; immigration had ceased, emigration had commenced; the revenue was falling; property was almost valueless; trade was almost annihilated; and public confidence at an end. The causes of all the evils, it was asserted, were the drainage of specie, and, of course, the land regulations. The Governor was asked to make searching investigations as to the truth of the allegations, and then devise some remedy. What that remedy was to be or how it was to be applied there was not even an attempt to conjecture. The memorial was presented to the Legislative Council by George Leake, but that body refused to entertain it on the ground that its despondent tone and erroneous assertions were at variance with the facts, and tended to injure the country in the minds of intending immigrants. At the same time Leake endeavoured to secure the appointment of a committee to inquire into the conditions of the currency with a view of preventing the little specie that remained from leaving the colony before the end of the year. The Council, however, felt that that was a matter over which it had little or no control. The Governor maintained that the abstraction of specie was due to the system of trade adopted in the colony, that there were no real merchants but only traders, who did business "on the principle of Whittington and his cat." A motion to establish a Corn Law*** in the hope of effecting an improvement in prices also received an "unqualified and uncompromising rejection."**** An impartial consideration of the memorial and of Leake's motions fails to reveal any reason why they should have been treated so summarily. It was suggested at the time that the constitution of the Legislative Council itself supplied that reason, as the Council consisted principally of paid officials, upon whom the depression had no other effect than to enable them to secure necessaries at lower prices than formerly. While one must acquit the members of being interested from that standpoint, it is nevertheless apparent that they showed a readiness to reject the various proposals for improvement without substituting any others of value to the community. That an injustice was done to the memorialists there is no manner of doubt. The tone adopted by them may have been despondent, but their statements were unfortunately far from erroneous. The colony WAS being drained of specie, and the Government must have been aware of the fact, as the colonial schooner was at the time under orders to proceed to the Mauritius for silver.*****
(*Footnote. Some original letters from George Fletcher Moore to his father, J.S. Moore, written at this period, and now in the possession of Miss Wittenoom, Perth, contain extracts which are of some value as showing the position of the colony at this time: "Monetary affairs of the colony are getting into a very embarrassed state. There is no price to be got for anything that is to be sold, and there is no payment of interest or rents" (1 February 1844). "Times are certainly very much changed in this colony. Prices of anything colonial have fallen to less than one-third of what they were" (22 March 1844). "We have got into a most extraordinary state here. The money seems all to have vanished. Our colonial treasury had only 7 pounds 6 shillings and 5 pence in it after paying the salaries and disbursements of last month." After referring to cases of distress, he goes on: "These are not solitary instances, and there are worse times coming I fear" (7 July 1844). A somewhat different note is struck in the following: "By the natural course of things and the ordinary progress of the colony and the exertions of the settlers all combining to one result, prices of stock and produce have fallen so that those who are in debt find it hard to raise money to pay. They feel embarrassed and make a great outcry about the distress of the colony as if people were starving for want of food, whereas it is because there is more food than people can readily find a market for that the colonists complain, and the high price of land is blamed as the cause of all this and never a word said about the high rate of living and extravagance' (9 August 1844).)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 8 May 1845 Perth Gazette 10 May 1845. The text of the Memorial was published in Perth Gazette 3 May 1845.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 5 June 1845 Perth Gazette 7 June 1845.)
(****Footnote. Inquirer 11 June 1845.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid.)
Further, emigration DID exceed immigration, as the official statistics showed, the number of departures for the year 1844/5 being 124 as against 72 arrivals.* That the population increased from 4301 to 4369 in the twelve months was owing to an increase of 120 in the number of births over deaths.** Trade was not annihilated, nor was property valueless, but the depression was so acute that the branch of the Bank of Australasia, which had been operating since 1839, was withdrawn from the colony, and the Western Australian Bank found that its dividend-paying capacity was shrinking.*** These things show that the statements, far from being erroneous, were in great measure true. They certainly were injudicious, but the answer of the Council was scarcely such as to lead the petitioners to see the error of their ways.
(*Footnote. Annual report on births, marriages, and deaths 1844/5 Perth Gazette 18 October 1845.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 5 July 1845.)
The land regulations continued; of course, to form a fruitful theme for discussion and complaint both in the Legislative Council and among the settlers generally. Since the promulgation of the regulations fixing the minimum price at 20 shillings per acre, immigration had almost ceased, and the revenue received from the sales of Crown lands had practically dwindled to vanishing point. The returns show that the amounts received during the five years were: in 1841 129 pounds; 1842 2 pounds; 1843 and 1844 nil; 1845 25 pounds; a total of 156 pounds.* The whole population pleaded for the repeal of the regulations. Petitions were forwarded,** strongly supported by the Legislative Council and by those in England who had knowledge of the colony, but all without effect. The Secretary of State positively declined to make any alteration.*** Notwithstanding repeated rebuffs, the Legislative Council made a further attempt in June and July 1845.**** A series of propositions was tabled declaring that the experiences of nearly three years had confirmed the opinions expressed in the protest of 1842; that the system was noxious in its effects, having stopped immigration and reduced the value of property; that the want of attention shown by the Imperial Government to the remonstrances of the colonists was to be regretted; that the effect of the regulations, which applied only to Australia, had been to divert the tide of emigration to the African and American colonies; that any legislation deterring immigration was unjust, especially when capital and labour were abundant in Great Britain; that it was unjust to charge the colony with the expense of importing labour; and that the system of occupation of Crown lands was opposed to the opinions and wishes of the colonists. These propositions were all carried in spite of the strong opposition of the Governor and Advocate-General. Later in the month this latter officer brought forward a further series of motions dealing with the same subject, but couched in different language. As some of these met with opposition they were all withdrawn. A memorial embodying the whole of the resolutions was then drawn up and transmitted to the Secretary of State,***** who replied that the "system of land sales must remain untouched."******
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 19 June 1845 Inquirer 25 June 1845.)
(**Footnote. Hutt to Lord Stanley 9 January 1843 Numbers 5 and 7.)
(***Footnote. Lord Stanley to Hutt 11 August 1843.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 19 June and 10 July 1845 Perth Gazette 21 June and 12 July 1845.)
(*****Footnote. Hutt to Secretary of State 15 August 1845.)
(******Footnote. W.E. Gladstone to Governor Clarke 14 March 1846.)
Another suggestion for affording relief was the inauguration of a spirited public works policy. At the instance of the settlers an Act was passed by the Council authorising a loan of 2000 pounds at 7 per cent for the purpose of building a gaol and carrying out other necessary works such as road-making.* The Act was disallowed by the Colonial Office** on the ground that in a small colony with a barely sufficient income it was unwise to anticipate revenue. At the same time it was resolved to apply to the Imperial authorities for a loan of 10,000 pounds for public works.*** The request was accordingly made,**** but refused on the ground that it was against the principles of the Government regarding colonial affairs.***** An assessment on land for road purposes was also brought forward, but did not meet with the approval of the Council, which suggested that the trustees for roads should use the power they possessed of raising a loan on the security of the tolls.******
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 10 July and 5 August 1845 Perth Gazette 12 July and 9 August 1845.)
(**Footnote. Gladstone to Clarke 14 March 1846.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 10 July 1845 Perth Gazette 12 July 1845.)
(****Footnote. Hutt to Lord Stanley 20 August 1845.)
(*****Footnote. Gladstone to Clarke 15 January 1846.)
(******Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 21 August 1845 Perth Gazette 23 August 1845.)
During the year 1845 further efforts were made to increase the export of wool and oil, and establish a permanent trade in other commodities. An experimental shipment of four tons of sandalwood realised 40 pounds,* and a contract was made to supply 400 tons of jarrah to the Admiralty for use in the dockyards.** The Vineyard Society, formed in 1842 to promote the culture of the vine and olive, reported the satisfactory production of wine.*** The total exports for the year came to 13,353 pounds, of which 7257 pounds was represented by wool, and 4228 by oil and whalebone.****
(*Footnote. Blue Book 1845 page 124.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 17 and 24 May 1845.)
(***Footnote. Inquirer 2 April 1845.)
(****Footnote. Blue Book 1845 page 124.)
In the midst of the colony's troubles, when an experienced Governor with extensive local knowledge was particularly desirable, Governor Hutt announced his intention to retire. He had for some time past been in indifferent health, and felt that it would be wise to take advantage of the expiry of his term and return to England. He left the colony in H.M.S. Fly on 19 February 1846.
Upon the whole Hutt cannot be considered to have been a popular Governor. He was universally respected for his uprightness of character and for the strict and steady impartiality that marked his administration, but he received none of that enthusiastic admiration which was accorded to Sir James Stirling. Following upon that officer whose inclinations and opinions were almost invariably on the side of the settler and opposed to the Home authorities, and possessing as he did rigid principles and a deep sense of the importance of his position, he was bound to come into conflict with the people whom he was called upon to govern, more especially as he allowed neither personal friendships nor local influences to interfere with the performance of his duty.* His unpopularity was mainly due to his strict enforcement of the land regulations and his refusal to admit that every regulation of the Colonial Office which did not meet with the approval of the settlers was wrong. He was undeservedly blamed for advising the British Government to raise the selling price of Crown lands and equally undeservedly accused of being the cause of the depression that existed. The apparent failure of his financial administration was more than anything due to the fact that he assumed the reins of government just at the time when a strong reaction was manifesting itself throughout Great Britain against the extreme emigration policy of the previous decade. All the colonies suffered from that reaction, but none so severely as Western Australia, which had in addition to fight against continued misrepresentation and falsehood. In these circumstances it was almost impossible to estimate with any degree of assurance either the revenue or the expenditure for any period in advance. By the exercise of extreme caution and circumspection Hutt probably saved Western Australia from some of the disasters that the other colonies suffered, though it is possible that that same caution retarded the colony's advance when matters generally throughout Australia began to right themselves.
(*Footnote. "He is not popular here because he is of South Australian or Gibbon Wakefield and Whig radical politics, but he has been an excellent Governor for us, prudent and careful in the management of public funds, and just and conscientious in his administration, and having less propensity for jobbing than most public men." G.F. Moore to his father 9 August 1844. Quotation taken from manuscript letter not printed.)
His policy toward the aborigines also roused the opposition of the colonists when it was first made known. They regarded it as the outcome of mawkish sentimentality toward the natives on the part of people in England, who really knew nothing of the practical side of the question, and they considered that its only effect would be to increase the lawlessness and violence of the savages. By the end of Hutt's term, however, the settlers were convinced that the friendly intercourse between the whites and the natives and the absence of strife were due to the humane measures he had adopted.
Consideration of these various matters leaves little doubt that his administration was on sounder lines than that of his predecessor. In fact, many of the difficulties that he had to face were the result of a certain degree of partiality on the part of Sir James Stirling, and the opposition he met with, both from the Legislative Council and the colonists generally, would have fallen to the lot of any man who endeavoured to carry out strictly the duties imposed by his commission. As a kind friend his departure was regretted by all, though in the minds of many that regret was tempered by the knowledge that his departure put a stop to his administration. But judged apart from the influence of the immediate circumstances, that administration, though unpalatable, was wise and necessary in the interests of Western Australia, and that fact would probably have been recognised at the time had it not been that long before his arrival he had been prejudged as a man of strong personality with distinct leanings towards the policy of the Colonial Office.
When information reached England that Hutt intended to retire, attempts were made, without success, to secure the appointment of Marshall Waller Clifton, the ex-Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Company.* In August 1845, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Clarke, K.H., was appointed to succeed Governor Hutt, and arrived in the colony in February 1846. An Irishman by birth, Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke had had previous administrative experience as Governor of St. Lucia.** The common belief that when things are particularly bad a change of Government will often bring relief, seemed in a measure be justified by the new Governor's arrival. Certainly the colony had touched bottom, and there began a slow but appreciable improvement in affairs. When the financial year closed in March it was found that the revenue estimated at 6920 pounds had yielded 7866 pounds, and showed a surplus of 335 pounds over the expenditure.***
(*Footnote. Swan River News and Western Australian Chronicle London volume 2 page 165.)
(**Footnote. Ibid page 183.)
(***Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 23 April 1846 Inquirer 29 April 1846.)
In January 1846, a dispatch was received from the Secretary of State for the Colonies* informing the Governor that the Act of 1844 imposing certain duties on imports had been disallowed, such disallowance to take effect three months after receipt of the notification. The ground of objection was the same as Governor Hutt had urged so strongly when the matter was under consideration, namely, that the proposals were bad in principle. Other proposals to take the place of those annulled were suggested in he dispatch, and Governor Clarke called the Legislative Council together to consider these. In accordance with the suggestions--practically directions--of the Secretary of State the Act of 1844 was repealed and a further one substituted for imposing duties by way of revenue only, and not by way of protection.** This Customs Ordinance (9 Victoria Number 7) is rather of importance, as it was distinctly preferential in character, all imports from foreign countries being charged with a duty twice as great as that on imports from any part of the British empire. The basis of value for computing the duty was the invoice price with 20 per cent added.
(*Footnote. Lord Stanley to Hutt 12 September 1845.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 3 and 16 April 1846 Inquirer 8 and 22 April 1846.)
Another ordinance of importance passed at this time was one repealing the pilotage dues and making the ports of Western Australia free to the world.* It was thought that the high dues exacted from the masters of incoming vessels had done much to keep ships away from the colony, and had consequently hindered the development of an export trade. As an experiment it was worth trying, as the colony had little to lose by it, and so far as one can judge it had some effect in inducing vessels to make Fremantle one of their ports of call.
(*Footnote. Ibid 23 April 1846 Perth Gazette 25 April 1846.)
Owing to the illness of the Governor, little else was done by the Legislative Council beyond passing the Estimates (revenue 7670 pounds; expenditure, 7610 pounds) for 1846/7 and agreeing to the perennial resolutions opposing the price of Crown lands and objecting to the system generally.*
(*Footnote. Ibid 16, 23 and 30 April 1846 Perth Gazette 18 and 25 April, 2 May 1846.)
In the English parliament the only matter of interest to the colony was a Bill to continue the operation of the Act of George IV with regard to the Government of Western Australia. The discussion that took place in the House of Lords is interesting because it foreshadowed the granting of responsible Government to the Australian colonies.* Earl Grey expressed the opinion that the earlier system of colonisation, by which the colonists were allowed to manage their own affairs without any interference on the part of the Mother Country, was infinitely safer, wiser, and better than that which had of late years been adopted. The whole system of the Government of Australia required revision, and to be placed on an improved and permanent footing. Then, according to The Times' report,** the Duke of Richmond gave notice that IF THERE WERE NO REMEDY FOR THE FRIGHTFUL EVILS EXISTING IN THIS COLONY FROM THE STATE OF THE CONVICTS TRANSPORTED he would move for a committee of inquiry, for in no country calling itself Christian was there a worse state of depravity. Lord Lyttelton, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, replied that he had paid attention to the subject and had strong hopes of being able to produce a measure during the session to redress those evils. When this report reached Western Australia there was great public indignation, as up to that time the settlers had always proudly emphasised the fact that the colony was free from taint. The statements were put down as being one more indication of the woeful ignorance existing even in high places. A reference to Hansard shows, however, that both the Duke of Richmond and Lord Lyttleton were referring to the convict system in Australia as it then existed, and not to Western Australia, so that considerable public energy seems to have been unnecessarily expended over the matter.
(*Footnote. Hansard third series volume 86 page 171 7 May 1846.)
(**Footnote. Swan River News volume 3 page 44; Inquirer 21 October 1846.)
Though the depression was by no means at an end, it seemed to be lessened in tension after Governor Clarke's arrival in 1846. The reason is probably to be found in the fact that Hutt's advice to develop the various potentialities and encourage an export trade was being acted upon. In January 1846 the Unicorn left Fremantle with the largest cargo of Western Australian produce that had so far been exported, consisting mainly of wool, oil, and timber.* The timber trade particularly began to arouse a great deal of interest. For years previously boats had been built of local wood, but in 1846 something better was attempted, and three small ships, the largest capable of carrying 300 tons, were constructed at Fremantle.** Various vessels were also repaired in the colony, and in the case of one of them, the Halifax packet, Lloyd's surveyor expressed great satisfaction with the class of wood used.*** The colonists were advised that a ready market existed in England for colonial hardwoods,**** and prepared a good deal for dispatch, but unfortunately, the want of shipping facilities greatly hindered the development of the trade.***** In order to extend operations, the Western Australian Bank offered liberal assistance to those cutting timber. It agreed to advance 2 pounds for every load stacked on the beach and a further 10 shillings when the load was shipped.****** During the year trade with the Mauritius was also encouraged, and the foundations laid for the export of sandalwood******* to Ceylon and China. At the end of 1846 it was estimated that 200 tons of this wood were ready for dispatch, the total value of timber actually exported during the twelve months being 575 pounds.********
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 24 January 1846.)
(**Footnote. Inquirer 26 August 1846.)
(***Footnote. Swan River News volume 3 page 27.)
(****Footnote. Swan River News volume 3 pages 9, 19, 27 and 35.)
(*****Footnote. Perth Gazette 17 October 1846.)
(******Footnote. Inquirer 28 August 1844.)
(*******Footnote. Perth Gazette 31 January 1846.)
(********Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
In addition to the interest shown in the development of the timber resources there was an encouraging revival of whaling, and when the season was concluded the amount of oil and bone secured for export was valued at nearly 7000 pounds.*
(*Footnote. Inquirer 16 December 1846.)
A further interesting development in 1846 was in the direction of minerals. Rumours of mineral discoveries had repeatedly been made in previous years, but nothing had come of them, though both explorers and geologists expressed the opinion that the country was not devoid of mineral wealth. Some incentive to search was given by the discovery of copper in 1842 and 1844 in the neighbouring colony of South Australia, which by 1845 had become a revenue-producing factor.
About the middle of the year, specimens of coal of an inferior quality were discovered in the Murray district.* The Government, recognising the bearing which the discovery of coal measures would have upon the development of the colony, proceeded to make a closer examination of the district.** The reports received were favourable and great public interest was aroused. Rumours of mineral finds became general, and for a time practically the whole population seems to have been attacked by mining fever.***
(*Footnote. Ibid 29 July 1846.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 12 August 1846.)
Toward the end of August a meeting was held and a committee appointed at Perth with a view to the formation of a company for the purpose of investigating the mineral resources of the colony.* The first locality to be tested was the supposed coal-bed on the river Murray. As a result of the efforts of this committee there was issued in September the prospectus of the Western Australian Mining Company, with a capital of 20,000 pounds.**
(*Footnote. Inquirer 2 September 1846.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 23 September 1846.)
A few days later came the announcement of a further discovery of coal on the Irwin River by A.C. Gregory, the Assistant Surveyor-General, and his brothers. These officers returned from an expedition to the north of Perth with a large block of coal said to have been taken from a seam six feet thick.* On the strength of the discovery the actual finder, Mr. H.C. Gregory, applied for the free grant of 2560 acres promised in 1839 to the discoverer of coal.** A party under Lieutenant Helpman was sent to report on these discoveries early in the following year, and returned with the information that the coal seam had been traced for several miles.*** The Government Gazette announced that the party had proved "the existence of a large and open bed of coal" at the locality indicated by Messrs. Gregory.****
(*Footnote. Ibid 30 September 1846.)
(**Footnote. This was granted. See Earl Grey to Irwin 22 August 1847.)
(***Footnote. Inquirer 20 January 1847.)
(****Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 8 January 1847.)
Meanwhile the Mining Company had started operations, and a bore was sunk in the Murray district. At a depth of 40 feet coal of a better quality was reached,* but farther down the indications were not so good. Then trouble arose, as the shareholders were "sordid persons" and looked for dividends, and an expert, Dr. F. von Sommer, was commissioned to report upon the prospects. The report was that of a true "mining expert," vague and unsubstantial, and asked for further time for investigation.** In March 1847 shafts were sunk near Kelmscott in the Canning district, in the hope of securing lead. This hope was not realised, but an analysis of 100 pounds of ore taken out showed 66 per cent zinc, 13 per cent sulphur, and 10 per cent iron, the remainder being earthy matter.*** Zinc, however, had little value on the market at the time, and as a reaction after the mining fever had set in, very little more in the direction of mineral investigation was done for some years.
(*Footnote. Inquirer 23 December 1846.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 7 April 1847 report from Dr. von Sommer 31 March 1847.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 26 May 1847 Von Sommer's report 24 May 1847.)
Changes in the Government became necessary about this time owing to the death of the Colonial Secretary in 1846, and of the Governor early in the following year. The office of administrator devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Irwin, while the Colonial Secretaryship was filled by the temporary appointment of the Advocate-General, G.F. Moore.
The Legislative Council met in June 1847, and from the Governor's speech it is apparent that an improvement was taking place in local affairs. Rapid progress had been made in the acquirement of internal wealth and in the development of the colony's resources. The revenue for 1846/7 amounted to 8453 pounds, while the expenditure was only 7966 pounds, leaving, with the previous year's surplus, a credit balance of 821 pounds.* Owing to the improvement in the finances the Governor announced that he had been able to arrange for the colonial schooner Champion to proceed to Singapore for the purpose of securing a supply of Chinese, who would be under engagement to remain in the colony for three years. By this means he hoped that considerable relief would be afforded to the settlers by supplying the deficiency existing in the labour market.** Another matter of importance mentioned in the speech was an increase of 6869 pounds in the value of exports for 1846/7 over those of 1845/6, which brought the exports to within 5000 pounds of the imports.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 3 June 1847 Perth Gazette 5 June 1847.)
(**Footnote. Ibid.)
In pursuance of the intention mentioned in the speech, the Champion was later in the year dispatched to Singapore and returned with a few Chinese servants.* Colonies of German immigrants were at that time being imported into South Australia with more than a little success, and, bearing that in mind, the Legislative Council appointed a committee to consider how best to secure part of that stream for Western Australia.** Nothing resulted, however, except a report of a valueless nature.***
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 6 November 1847.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 8 July 1847 Perth Gazette 10 July 1847.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 13 July 1847 ibid 15 July 1847.)
The session of 1847 was marked by extreme activity in matters of legislation. The list of measures proposed almost looks as if Irwin was anxious to get his personal ideas passed into law quickly and before a successor to the late Governor could arrive from England. The chief proposal was one to place an export tax on sandalwood, the proceeds to be devoted to the maintenance of roads.* This aroused very strong opposition,** in deference to which it was withdrawn for a time in favour of a system of licence fees for permission to cut sandalwood.*** It was reintroduced later in the year and passed into law,**** but by May 1848 the effects of it had become so marked and the ordinance itself so unpopular that it was suspended for six months***** and not renewed during the year. Another measure of importance was the abolition of the General Roads Trust and the substitution of a Central Board of Works, charged with the construction and maintenance of the roads throughout the colony.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 9 September 1847 Perth Gazette 11 September 1847.)
(**Footnote. Report of public meeting Perth Gazette 18 September 1847.)
(***Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 1 October 1847.)
(****Footnote. Ibid 3 December 1847.)
(*****Footnote. Perth Gazette 27 May 1848.)
In 1847 an addition was made to the official members of both the Legislative and Executive Councils by the appointment of the Collector of Customs, H.C. Sutherland. The unofficial portion also underwent some change through the resignation of Mr. Singleton, who was succeeded first by Mr. Andrews and afterwards by Mr. S. Moore.
That the depression was giving way before the determined energies of the people is apparent from the exports for the year. Ever since the foundation of the colony the value of the imports had largely exceeded that of the exports, but in 1847 it was found that against imports to the value of 25,463 pounds the colonists were able to place 24,535 pounds in exports. One remarkable feature was the growth of the sandalwood trade. In 1846 it was valued at 320 pounds; in 1847 it had reached 4444 pounds.* The revenue, too, was distinctly buoyant; the estimate of 8070 pounds was exceeded by nearly 400 pounds, and that without any appreciable increase in the expenditure. The Estimates for 1847/8 were framed on more hopeful lines, and the revenue was set down at 9221 pounds.**
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 8 July 1847 Perth Gazette 10 July 1847.)
In January 1848, news of the appointment of Captain Charles Fitzgerald as Governor was received with every manifestation of delight. Though the colonists respected Irwin as a man, they had a decided objection to him as Governor. His methods of raising money were particularly obnoxious, and every administrative act was viewed with suspicion. It is doubtful whether any reason for the opposition could have been given. Long years of depression and struggle had made the colonists pessimistic, and, like discontented British subjects in every quarter of the globe, they threw the blame upon the Government of the day. The Inquirer, a journal possessing a much wider circulation than the Perth Gazette, was probably the instigator of most of the feeling displayed, its editor being a disappointed office seeker.*
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 29 January and 5 February 1848. There are also repeated references to the attitude of the newspaper towards the Lieutenant-Governor and his officers in the manuscript letters of G.F. Moore already referred to.)
As the new Governor did not arrive until some months after the announcement, it fell to the lot of Irwin to preside over the session of the Legislative Council, which opened in March 1848, and in which the newly-arrived Colonial Secretary (Dr. Richard Robert Madden) took his seat for the first time. The outlook, as disclosed by the Governor's speech, was becoming brighter; the revenue had exceeded the expenditure, exports were increasing in value, and approximating even more nearly to the imports than in the previous year; and in every direction there was evidence that the severe period of depression was coming to an end. Beyond passing the Estimates for 1848/9 little business was done, as Irwin intimated that he did not wish in any way to hamper the movements or anticipate the ideas of the new Governor, who was believed to be on his way to the colony.* It became necessary, however, to summon a second session in June, to consider a dispatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies.** For the sake of convenience the Council had adopted the practice of passing in March the Estimates for the succeeding year commencing in April, instead of those for the year later, as the financial regulations required them to do.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 22 and 30 March 1848 Perth Gazette 25 March and 8 April 1848.)
(**Footnote. Earl Grey to Irwin 11 February 1847.)
The dispatch drew attention to this regulation and required that the Estimates of the Council should be prepared in advance so that the Home authorities might have the opportunity of pronouncing upon them before they actually came into operation. In pursuance therefore of this direction the Governor presented to the Council the Estimates for 1849/50, which showed a decrease of 500 pounds on the figures for 1848/9.* As soon as the Estimates were out of the way, two other very important matters were brought up for consideration. One was the necessity for further exploration, not so much for the purpose of accurate survey as with the object of finding, if possible, further suitable land for pastoral pursuits. The land available for sheep was all in use, and the want of new depasturing districts was severely felt. It was agreed that the Surveyor-General should lead an expedition through the south-east in the following September.** The other matter considered was the constitution of the Legislative Council.*** Out of the ten members, seven held their seats by virtue of their official positions as Government officers. Only three were what might be termed unofficial, and these were appointed by the Colonial Office upon the Governor's nomination. There being apparently no chance of securing any alteration in the direction of elective representation, an endeavour was made, without success, in 1845 to secure the appointment of additional unofficial members. The question was again raised in 1848, and a committee was appointed to prepare a statement upon the constitution of the Council for presentation to the Secretary of State. The statement showed that originally the power of legislation, including taxation, was vested in the Executive alone; that four unsalaried members were afterwards added to form a mixed Legislature of five salaried officers and four unofficial colonists; that the principles of constitution of that body reserved to the Crown the nomination, suspension, and removal of members, and vested the initiation of Bills, the option of putting questions to the vote, and the power of veto in the Governor; that on a vacancy occurring in the unofficial membership a salaried officer, the Colonial Judge, had been appointed; and that a further salaried officer, the Collector of Revenue, had since been added, making the proportion of salaried officers to unofficial members that of seven to three. Various suggestions for the equalisation of representatives were made, but left to the Home Government to settle. One thing was definitely requested: that the unanimous vote of the unofficial members against a proposition should have the effect of vetoing it.****
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 29 June 1848 Perth Gazette 1 July 1848.)
(**Footnote. Ibid 13 July 1848 Perth Gazette 15 July 1848.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 20 July 1848 ibid 22 July 1848.)
(****Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 25 July 1848 Perth Gazette 29 July 1848.)
The report of the committee did not meet with approval. In place of it an amendment was passed asking that three or four unofficial members be added to the personnel of the Council. The request was duly forwarded with the favourable recommendation of Irwin.* It was followed less than a month afterwards by a dispatch from Governor Fitzgerald** deprecating any such change. The Secretary of State declined to sanction any alteration of the Council until the colony was prepared to relieve the British Government from any payments by way of parliamentary grant.***
(*Footnote. Irwin to Earl Grey 3 August 1848.)
(**Footnote. Fitzgerald to Earl Grey 21 August 1848.)
(***Footnote. Grey to Fitzgerald 26 December 1848.)
With these matters the administration of Lieutenant-Colonel Irwin closed, the new Governor arriving at Fremantle on 10 August. As previously noted, Irwin's methods of Government were not popular, and the termination of his authority was viewed with some degree of satisfaction, not perhaps unshared by the Commandant himself, who had grown weary of the determined opposition shown toward every proposal made by him and the continual misrepresentation to which he was subjected. Captain Fitzgerald, who was not without administrative experience, having been Governor of the Gambia for nearly four years, was hailed with delight almost as the saviour of the colony, and addresses of welcome showered upon him from all quarters.
No matters of any political importance arose during the remainder of 1848. As a result of agitation on the part of colonists in England, the Colonial Office sanctioned the raising of a loan for immigration purposes upon the security of the Land Fund.* As there did not happen to be a solvent Land Fund in Western Australia, no benefit was derived from the concession.
(*Footnote. See letter from Louis Samson printed in Perth Gazette 16 December 1848.)
Evidences of returning prosperity may be found in the exports for the year, which amounted in value to 29,598 pounds. Of this total, sandalwood, which three years previously had not been considered as an asset of any value, accounted for 13,353* pounds, more than the export value of wool and oil together. There is no doubt that an equally large trade in the local hardwoods--the jarrah and karri--would also have been developed at this period if the colonists had only had at their command facilities for cutting and preparing large quantities. A demand for these hardwoods had certainly arisen, but the colonists were quite unable to meet it. Contractors for railway construction in India were ready to use the timber,** but unfortunately could not get it as rapidly as they required it. To overcome the difficulties an attempt was made in Madras to form a Western Australian Timber Company,*** but without success. Later in the year a small company was formed at Perth with a capital of 1000 pounds,**** a sum so small that the concern was necessarily doomed to failure.
(*Footnote. Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
(**Footnote. See Irwin's speech to Legislative Council 22 March 1848 Perth Gazette 25 March 1848.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 8 April 1848.)
(****Footnote. Ibid 21 and 28 October 1848.)
The Mining Company continued its operations during the year, and shafts were sunk in various places in the hope of discovering payable minerals. The expectation that good coal existed on the Murray had not been borne out, and the expert, Dr. von Sommer, was sent to examine the coal find of the Messrs. Gregory. The only valuable result from these wanderings that seems to have accrued to the colony was a geological map of the south-western division. Besides coal, continual rumours were circulated that copper was also to be found. Some ore sent from Kelmscott to South Australia was declared to contain that metal, and further discoveries of it were reported from Hardey's property, near York, but no serious attempt at mining was made until the end of the year, when lead was discovered in the Northampton district and the Geraldine Lead Mine opened up.
The rumours of minerals and the necessity of further country for the extension of the pastoral industry led to a revival in exploration during the period 1843 to 1850. Early in 1843 Landor and Lefroy made a short trip to the south-east of York and Beverley in search of a large inland sea mentioned by the natives. Beyond the headwaters of the Hotham and the Williams they did discover some lakes, but they were for the most part salt, and were not surrounded by country at all favourable for pasturage.* In the following year Lieutenant Helpman in the schooner Champion was dispatched to Gantheaume Bay, at the mouth of the Murchison River, and brought back reports confirmatory of Captain Stokes' observations on the general character of the country.** An excursion down the Blackwood River was made by Assistant Surveyor A.C. Gregory in 1845, and in 1846 the same officer, accompanied by his brothers F.T. and C. Gregory visited the salt lake region of the interior. It was in the course of this expedition, while examining the rivers reported by Grey in 1839, that the discovery of a coal seam was made near the source of the Irwin.*** The same party made a further examination of the Murchison and Gascoyne districts late in 1848, and discovered a galena lode in the bed of the Murchison River.**** So much interest was shown in this discovery, that in December the district was visited by the Governor and the Geraldine Mine established.***** It was during this journey that Governor Fitzgerald was speared by the natives.****** In the same year the Surveyor-General started on the longest of those expeditions which earned for him the title of the father of Australian explorers. Starting from York and making toward the south-east, he reached the Pallinup in October, and from there turned easterly until the Bremer Range was reached. No better country than dense scrub and salt lakes could be seen farther on, so Roe retreated toward the coast, stopping only at the Russell Range, after being without water for three days and nights. On the return journey several extensive beds of brown coal were found at the Fitzroy River. The party reached Perth in February 1849, after having explored 1800 miles of country, some of which was heavily timbered with woods of commercial value.*******
(*Footnote. Report in Inquirer 8 February 1843.)
(**Footnote. Swan River News volume 2 pages 180 and 181.)
(***Footnote. Inquirer 30 September 1846.)
(****Footnote. Perth Gazette 25 November 1848.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid 30 December 1848.)
(******Footnote. Ibid 19 December 1848.)
(*******Footnote. Lands Department Western Australian Explorers' Diaries 1846 to 1865 pages 107 et seq.)
The subject of the land laws, both as regarded sale and leasing, was still considered of profound importance by the colonists, and the agitation which had been carried on practically from the inception of the colony still continued. In this respect Western Australia was not singular. In January 1848 the Legislative Council of New South Wales had forwarded to the Colonial Office the report of a committee which sought a reduction in the minimum price of Crown lands. The reply* to this report, a copy of which was sent to Western Australia, stated that "the very same arguments which are now brought forward against the establishment of the minimum price of 1 pound per acre in 1841 were urged with no less confidence against the establishment of a minimum price of 5 shillings per acre as a substitute for free grants in 1831, and the subsequent advance of the price to 12 shillings an acre in 1839. Each of these changes has been regarded with equal apprehension, yet, as I have observed, it is with the adoption of that policy, which has equally dictated each successive advance in the price of land, that the great progress of the colony may be said to have commenced." This reply, which was applied to the Australian colonies as a whole, scarcely answered the arguments advanced; and certainly the latter part of it, as far as Western Australia was concerned, was not borne out by the facts. The amount received from the sale of Crown lands under the regulation was pitifully small, and did not in any way contribute toward great progress. For years after the regulation came into force, adversity rather than prosperity ruled in the colony, and the improved state of affairs in 1847 and 1848 was due more to the development of an export trade than to any beneficial effect of the land regulations.
(*Footnote. Earl Grey to Sir Charles Fitzroy 11 August 1848 in Perth Gazette 25 May 1849.)
In addition to the question of sale there was also that of leaseholds, an important matter in a country which looked to squatting as one of its mainstays. During Governor Hutt's term, regulations for the disposal of Crown lands had been passed which allowed purchasers of sections of 160 acres the right of pasturage over adjacent Crown lands.* This was considered a step in the right direction, and the people were much disappointed when the regulations were disallowed by the Colonial Office.** In 1848 two circular dispatches were sent to all the Australian colonies by Earl Grey,*** suggesting a new set of land regulations to deal chiefly with the question of leasing the waste lands of the crown. To carry this suggestion into effect so far as Western Australia was concerned, the Legislative Council appointed a committee to draw up regulations for consideration. This committee, all of whose members were large landowners, advised**** that the Crown lands of the colony should be divided into two classes, A and B; that within class A should be included all lands within three miles of a town-site or of land already granted in fee simple; all land within two miles of the seacoast; all within two miles of either bank of the named rivers or permanent streams; and all within ten miles of the summit of Wizard's Peak, of the junction of the Fitzgerald and Elwes Rivers, of the summit of East Mount Barren, and of such other places as the Governor might proclaim. Class B was to comprise all other lands open for location. In class A only yearly leases for pastoral purposes could be granted; in class B leases could be given for any term not exceeding eight years. Allotments of not more than 320 acres of A land could also be secured on lease for a term up to eight years for cultivation and tillage, and holders of leases of B land could cultivate any portion of it. These proposals, it may be seen, virtually prohibited squatting within reasonable distance of good water or permanent settlement. It was felt that they were framed entirely from the point of view of the large landowner, a feeling that was strengthened by the fact that the committee among them held nearly one-half of the alienated land of the colony. Possessing no representation in the Council, the only means the settlers had of voicing their objections were by public meetings and memorials. A public meeting was therefore held on 18 July 1849, at which a resolution was unanimously passed:
"That in the opinion of the meeting the regulations framed by the committee for the occupation of waste Crown lands are unsound in policy, unjust in principle, inapplicable to the wants of the colony, in opposition to the wishes of the colonists, and if adopted will tend to frustrate the introduction of immigrants, the increase of revenue, the production of wool, and cause a gradual depopulation of the settlement.*****
(*Footnote. Copy of regulations in Western Australian Government Gazette 18 June 1841.)
(**Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 22 July 1842.)
(***Footnote. Earl Grey to Sir Charles Fitzroy 29 November 1846 and 30 March 1847 in Perth Gazette 4, 11 and 18 November 1848.)
(****Footnote. Report of Committee in Perth Gazette 22 June 1849.)
(*****Footnote. Perth Gazette 20 July 1849.)
The meeting then approved an amended set of regulations, and concluded by agreeing that a memorial should be forwarded to the Secretary of State informing him that the colonists had no confidence in certain members of the Executive Council, and, further, that the Governor be asked to allow the colonists, in case of a vacancy in the Legislative Council, to select a member from the list approved by the Home authorities. As, however, the Governor decided to amend the most objectionable clauses of the committee's proposed regulations, no further action was taken.* It may be mentioned that Irwin was the chairman of the committee, which doubtless in great measure prompted these last resolutions. In fact, throughout the whole discussion this point was emphasised, and there is just the possibility that it influenced the meeting more than any definite objection to the proposed regulations.
(*Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 9 October 1849 Perth Gazette 12 October 1849.)
In spite of the political troubles and financial difficulties, the colony's affairs showed a distinct upward trend by the end of the period 1843 to 1849. A census taken in October 1848* showed that the population of the colony was 4622--made up of 2818 males and 1804 females, while of the total number 2900 were adults. The stock numbered 141,123 sheep, 2095 horses, 10,919 cattle, 1431 goats, and 2287 swine. The cultivated area comprised 3317 acres under wheat, 672 under barley, 134 oats, 100 rye, 39 maize, and 120 potatoes. Vineyards and fruit orchards were represented by 114 acres, kitchen gardens by 244, and green crops by 2321. Mail communication had been improved, and by the end of 1848 a monthly service between Fremantle and London via Singapore had been inaugurated. Bridges had been built, main roads cut, and overland traffic established between Perth and Albany. Educational facilities, certainly only of a very primary character, had been afforded to most of the settled townships, and places of worship for the principal sects erected in Perth. The greatest event in religious circles was perhaps the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church. The authorities in Sydney had been requested in 1842 to send someone to minister to the needs of members of that communion, and in the following year the Reverend John Brady, together with an assistant priest and a catechist, was detailed for the work. Almost from the first they were infected with the desire to carry on extensive mission work among the natives, and when Father Brady visited Rome in 1844 he suggested that Dr. Ullathorne should be appointed Bishop of Perth, and that two missions should be established for the aborigines. Dr. Ullathorne declined the appointment when offered, and father Brady was consecrated bishop at Rome in 1845. Having collected a staff of priests and helpers, he arrived in Western Australia with his party in January 1846. The Bishop remained in Perth and the others were sent out into the wilderness to form missions to the north, south, and east of the capital. The first two, for various reasons over which the devoted band had no control, proved entirely unsuccessful, and those priests who survived the attempts made their way to India and the Mauritius. Of all who had come out with Bishop Brady only two remained, two whose names are cut deeply in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Australia, Guiseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado. After a brave struggle they established a mission for the aborigines at New Norcia, in the Victoria District, and laid the foundations of perhaps the most successful native mission in Australia.**
(*Footnote. Western Australian Almanac 1849 Perth pages 41 and 46 to 47.)
(**Footnote. Moran, Cardinal. History of the Catholic Church in Australasia Sydney volume 2 pages 555 et seq; Birt, H.N. Benedictine Pioneers in Australia London 1911 volume 2 pages 468 et seq.)
There remains one phase of the history of this period which has to be dealt with--the agitation for the introduction of convict labour. It will be remembered that at the establishment of the colony one of the conditions of its foundation was that it was not to suffer from the taint of the convict system. This was no doubt an important factor in inducing many of the early settlers to make the Swan River Colony their home, and to their credit it must be said that they struggled with their difficulties and privations long years after they might have been forgiven for abandoning their principles in favour of the relief that the introduction of forced labour would undoubtedly have afforded. From time to time suggestions of the benefits to be derived from the presence of convicts were thrown out and sternly repulsed. It was only when, by the cessation of immigration,* the supply of adequate labour came practically to an end, that transportation was considered as a way out of their difficulties. Without labour--free or forced--development was almost impossible. The colonists had proved that in the preceding years. Development was the keynote of prosperity, and increased population necessary to provide a market for their agricultural produce. With all its drawbacks, transportation had provided the means for that development and that market for produce in the Eastern States of Australia, and therefore, when all other means were exhausted, the colonists of Western Australia were compelled to take the question into consideration. That they did not do so at all readily there is ample evidence. The daring spirits who, at King George's Sound in the early thirties, memorialised the Home Government to send out convicts were regarded by the rest of the community almost as pariahs. The same strong feeling of aversion toward the very idea remained until the acuteness of depression in 1843 and 1844 forced the colonists to reconsider their position.
(*Footnote. In 1845 departures by sea exceeded arrivals by 129. See Statistical Summary Appendix 4.)
At a general meeting of the York Agricultural Society held in April 1844,* a motion was brought forward stating:
"That it is the opinion of this meeting that, inasmuch as the present land regulations have entirely destroyed our labour fund, we conceive that the Home Government are bound in justice to supply us with some kind of labour, and after mature deliberations we have come to the determination of petitioning the Secretary of State for the Colonies for a gang of forty convicts to be exclusively employed in public works."
(*Footnote. Inquirer 17 April 1844.)
The motion was not put. In its place a resolution was passed appointing a committee to inquire into the matter. This committee a few days later interviewed Governor Hutt upon the question, but received no encouragement. He informed them that he had already addressed the Secretary of State upon the subject of labour, and as the point was occupying the attention of the Home Government he had no doubt that some scheme would be evolved in which Western Australia would participate.* In spite of this rebuff a petition was prepared for signature, but it lapsed from want of support. The York agriculturalists, however, achieved something. They had directed the attention of the settlers toward the importation of convicts as a way out of their difficulties, and from that time, though strenuous opposition continued to be manifested, the advocates of convict labour steadily gained ground. The newspapers, reflecting in this case general public opinion, argued against convicts** on the grounds of expense and undesirability, and showed that the experiences of the other colonies ought to banish any suggestion in favour of the idea from the minds of Western Australian colonists.
(*Footnote. Inquirer 24 April 1844.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 19 and 26 July 1845; Inquirer 16 and 23 July 1845.)
Opposition to the introduction of convicts was further strengthened by a notice that appeared in the Hobart Town Gazette in January 1845,* stating that Her Majesty had been pleased to extend pardons to convicts in Van Diemen's Land, conditional upon the recipients remaining in one or other of the Australian colonies. The fear that some of these people might fix upon Western Australia as their homes resulted in a public meeting being held at Perth in April,** when it was decided to forward a memorial to the Secretary of State asking that none of these pardoned convicts be allowed to come to the colony. When the colony was founded, the memorial declared, "a solemn and distinct pledge was given by Her Majesty's Government that it should not be made a recipient for convicts; a pledge which (should this colony be left open to the semi-pardoned convicts of Van Diemen's Land) would be entirely forfeited, while the colonists themselves would be reduced to a much worse position than those in settlements avowedly penal, where at least some protection is afforded to the well-disposed by the restraints put upon the convicts by the laws, by the presence of a large military force, and by the active exertions of a numerous police."*** Why the colonists feared that convicts would be attracted to a country which had failed to attract free labour was not explained. The memorial was forwarded in due course**** and rejected, the Home Government asserting that if certain convicts had since conviction led blameless lives, there was no just reason for refusing to allow them to seek the means of maintaining themselves in other colonies besides Van Diemen's Land.
(*Footnote. Hobart Town Gazette 1845 page 16.)
(**Footnote. Inquirer 23 April 1845; Perth Gazette 19 April 1845. The various memorials and resolutions from Western Australia regarding convicts will be found in House of Commons Papers Number 262 pages 34 to 45 1851.)
(***Footnote. Hutt to Lord Stanley 28 April 1845.)
(****Footnote. W.E. Gladstone to Clarke 1 January 1846.)
Meanwhile, the advocates for convicts were endeavouring to gain public support. Two memorials, both abortive, had been submitted to the people, and a third was in course of circulation for signatures. In July a long letter on the subject was published in the Inquirer,* observing that owing to the absence of labour sixteen years of endeavour had brought but little prosperity to the colony, and that there was little hope of any great improvement under present conditions. The question of introducing convicts, it was argued, was not a matter of principle but of policy, and the supporters of the system favoured it, not through any admiration, but simply as a matter of expediency. There is no doubt that public opinion, slowly but surely, was beginning to move along these lines, and the official mind was seriously perturbed. On 24 July the matter was raised in the Legislative Council, and by a unanimous vote it was declared "that the necessity for such an application (i.e. for the introduction of convicts) is not apparent. No dearth of labour can be so extreme as to call for, or to warrant our having recourse to, such a hazardous experiment for a supply."** The moral aspects of the question were also strongly commented upon, and altogether it is evident that at that date there was no intention whatever on the part of the local Government to advocate such a step.
(*Footnote. 23 July 1845.)
(**Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 23 July 1845 Perth Gazette 26 July; Inquirer 30 July 1845.)
Beyond occasional references no further attention was given to the matter publicly during 1845 or 1846, but in January of the latter year W.S. Stockley, Western Australian manager for Frederick Mangles & Co., forwarded to the Secretary of State, through the Governor, a long petition urging the introduction of convict labour into Western Australia.* The memorial, however, which had been prepared was slowly making its way among the colonists and attracting the signatures of many who as a matter of principle were scarcely in favour of it, but as a matter of expediency saw no better way out of their difficulties. The terms of the memorial,** drawn up in the names of the "landowners, merchants, and inhabitants of Western Australia," set forth that capitalists were originally attracted to the colony on certain conditions which seemed to be advantageous; that through "mismanagement, inexperience, and ignorance of the seasons great numbers of the early settlers lost or expended the greater part of their capital" before they derived any result from it, but that after struggling for many years with almost incredible difficulties they began to hope for a general rise in values owing to a steadily-increasing stream of immigrants. This hope, however, vanished when in 1841 Her Majesty's Government saw fit to raise the minimum price of Crown lands to 1 pound per acre, thus causing a stoppage of sales and a consequent diminution in the fund derived therefrom, which had been used for the purpose of encouraging the introduction of labour. Immigration consequently ceased, and labour became unprocurable. A depression occurred, bringing with it the emigration of many to the other Australian colonies. Land and other property lost its marketable value, and there was no probability, under existing circumstances, of labour or capital being attracted in the future. In view of this condition of affairs (which was, it may be remarked, considerably exaggerated) the memorialists asked that "the importance of this colony to the British Empire" should be considered, as from its geographical position and great natural resources it ought to become a powerful and prosperous settlement. "Unless," said the petition, "Her Majesty's Government will reduce the price of land to its original standard and resume the principle upon which this colony was founded, and act upon that principle judiciously, and not lavishly as was formerly the case, or will devise some other expedient that shall cause the reintroduction of capital and labour, your memorialists conceive that this colony must become absolutely useless to the British Crown, an encumbrance upon the Empire, and ruinous to those individuals who have been led to embark in it the whole of their fortunes." If it was not possible to accede to any of these suggestions then the hope was expressed that the Home authorities would "convert the colony into a penal settlement on an extensive scale." As a reason for convicts it was pointed out that good roads through the settled districts were necessary but expensive, only perhaps "to be accomplished by convict labour"; that bridges, wharves, lighthouses, and other public works could be constructed only by such means; and that the increased population under the scheme would provide the market so necessary for agricultural products.
(*Footnote. Enclosed in Hutt to Lord Stanley 26 January 1846.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 2 January 1847. The memorial was forwarded by Governor Clarke to Lord Stanley in a dispatch dated 2 January 1847. The Governor expressed the opinion that the great majority of the colonists were opposed to the request.)
By the beginning of 1847 the progress of this memorial had changed the idea of transportation from a merely abstract theory to a very practical means of relief. The benefits to be derived from forced labour seemed to be many; that it would relieve the existing depression and bring a return to prosperity was in the opinion of many of the settlers a certainty. It is to be feared that these facts were felt to be more important than that lowering of the moral tone of the community which would necessarily result from the establishment of a penal settlement. Even the newspapers, which up to that time had urged the moral disadvantages, changed their tone and advocated the benefits that would accrue from cheap labour and a progressive public works policy, though they salved their consciences by suggesting that the convicts should be confined in hulks, not allowed to mix with the free people, and returned to England when their services were no longer required.* The change of opinion may have been due in part to the growing belief that the Home Government would accede to the prayer of the memorial not so much out of consideration for the colony, as because, other penal settlements being closed, Great Britain required some fresh outlet for her convicts.
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 17 April 1847; Inquirer 28 April 1847.)
Notwithstanding this change of front on the part of the colonists, the Acting Governor remained steadfast in his condemnation of the idea. At the opening of the Legislative Council in June 1847,* he vehemently opposed the agitation, and regretted that "the dearth of labour or the desire to accumulate wealth on the part of a portion of the community" had caused the suggestion to be entertained. In support of his attitude he referred to a report of a committee of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, dated 1846, which unequivocally asserted that a discontinuance of transportation would be in the interests of Australia and the Australians. He concluded by saying: "With the experience of other colonies before us, which we now witness struggling to free themselves from this system as from a pestilence, I would strongly urge all who are favourable to the measure to consider whether the injury likely to be entailed on the community, and particularly on their own families, may not convince them, when too late, that they have obtained their object at a dreadful sacrifice."
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 3 June 1847 Perth Gazette 5 June 1847.)
After this the question appears to have again languished until the latter half of 1848. Governor Fitzgerald, in pursuance of suggestions made to him by the Secretary of State before leaving England, made inquiries as to whether the colonists would be prepared to receive convicts from Pentonville--a prison for persons convicted of trivial offences--who should be accompanied by their wives and families. The cost of sending them out might be recovered from their wages and used as a fund to introduce free labourers. The convicts would, of course, be pardoned on their arrival and so enter the colony as free men. The Secretary of State also put the idea before several persons in London who were interested in Western Australia. These were agreed as to the advisability, and one of them, Louis Samson, wrote to the colony asking for an expression of opinion.* The replies to Governor Fitzgerald's inquiries were not particularly encouraging, but he felt himself justified in asking for 100 ticket-of-leave men,** whom he thought would be of more value and bring less risk to the community than the lads from the Parkhurst Reformatory, of whom 131 had been sent out between 1843 and 1848. These inquiries of the Governor and Samson's letter appear to have given fresh impetus to the convict agitation. In December several gentlemen interested in the colony held a meeting in Adelaide*** and agreed to petition the Home authorities for the introduction of convicts to Western Australia as the only means of overcoming the difficulties that existed. This was followed by a public meeting--the first definitely called for the purpose--which was held in Perth on 23 February 1849.**** That meeting viewed with alarm the depressed state of the colony, resulting in a "steady and constant emigration of labour," and felt that the only remedy that could be effective must be one that would bring about a fresh supply of capital and labour. It opposed the proposal to introduce ticket-of-leave men from Pentonville as being calculated to make matters worse instead of better, and quite unsuited to the wants of the settlers, mainly because such a step would inflict upon the colony all the evils of a penal settlement, without giving any increased protection or expenditure of Imperial funds. It felt that convicts could be usefully employed in carrying out necessary public works and in developing the mineral, timber, and other natural resources that existed, and finally decided: "That application shall at once be made to Her Majesty's Government to erect this colony into a regular penal settlement, with the necessary Government establishment and expenditure, the whole cost of the transmission, maintenance, and supervision of all such convicts as may be transported hither being borne, of course, by the Home Government."*****
(*Footnote. Perth Gazette 16 December 1848.)
(**Footnote. Fitzgerald to Earl Grey 24 October 1848.)
(***Footnote. Inquirer 24 January 1849. This meeting was held at the Bank of Australasia, Adelaide, on 23 December 1848, those present being former residents of Western Australia, and still large landowners, as W.J. Stockley, M. McDermott and others.)
(****Footnote. Perth Gazette 24 February 1849.)
(*****Footnote. Ibid.)
The resolutions were laid before the Governor, with a request that he would forward them to the Secretary of State. In doing so he emphasised the depressed condition of the colony and assured Earl Grey that, did any other source of relief present itself, the settlers of Western Australia would be the last to wish for a penal settlement. In concluding he remarked:
"I am far from recommending Your Lordship to adopt this proposition, as few, I think, would from choice select a convict settlement as a residence for themselves and families; but in the present state of affairs here I must say that if Her Majesty's Government wish to establish another penal settlement in Australia the majority of the inhabitants would gladly learn that Western Australia was chosen as the site."*
(*Footnote. Fitzgerald to Earl Grey 3 March 1849.)
In June 1849 a dispatch on the subject of convict discipline was received from Earl Grey.* The Secretary of State was an earnest advocate of transportation, and had evolved certain schemes which he was anxious to see in operation. In this dispatch he pointed out that the system of making convicts undergo a period of separate imprisonment in England, Bermuda, or Gibraltar before being sent out to the colonies had been found to be beneficial, and that such of these men as had afterwards been transported to Port Phillip as ticket-of-leave "exiles" had proved satisfactory. Certain precautions, such as restricting them to particular districts and enforcing the return of their passage moneys, were to be observed, but otherwise they would be given freedom. "Such," Earl Grey continued, "being the system under which it is proposed hereafter to proceed, I think it right to point out to you that if the inhabitants of Western Australia should be willing to receive men with tickets-of-leave they will obtain the advantage of a supply of labour, together with a probable addition to the funds applicable to general emigration, or some other public object of importance, while by the power which is to be reserved of dispersing those men in different districts, together with the reformatory nature of their previous punishment, there is reason to hope that their presence in moderate numbers will not be found injurious to the general character of the community." He then concludes by pointing out that as the colonists were clamouring for an adequate supply of labour they might be prepared to receive men on the terms proposed. He would be glad to learn whether such would be the case.
(*Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 5 August 1848.)
The Governor's reply to the suggestion to send out Pentonville prisoners,* which reached England in February 1849, was sufficient to show that this last proposal would meet the wishes of the settlers, and that view was strengthened by the report of the public meeting of February, which reached Earl Grey in July. In order to carry the proposal into effect certain legal formalities had to be complied with, and therefore on 1 May 1849 an Order in Council was passed nominating Western Australia as a place to which convicts could be sent from the United Kingdom. This order was published in the colony in November,** and seems to have somewhat disturbed the inhabitants, who after years of discussion over the matter suddenly found that at one stroke Western Australia had lost its boasted preeminence as a free colony and had become a penal settlement. The opponents of the measure were indignant; in the step they recognised one more iniquity heaped upon them by the Colonial Office. The Perth Gazette*** lamented the prospective "contamination and infamy" inseparable from a penal settlement. The Home Government was blamed for taking advantage of the opportunity by the Governor's innocent request for 100 Pentonville prisoners to saddle the colony with all the horrors of the convict system. However, when the colony recovered from the shock it was recognised that the advantages were many and that the dangers to be apprehended were slight. Convictism of 1850 differed greatly from the modified slavery of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land of the early years of the century, and though the very fact of its introduction into a free colony is to be regretted, there is little doubt that some innovation of the kind was necessary to the development of the country. Materially the colony benefited considerably by the convicts, and any lowering of the tone of the community brought about by their presence was but temporary.
(*Footnote. See ante.)
(**Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 6 November 1849.)
(***Footnote. 9 November 1849.)
The Legislative Council was summoned for 20 December 1849, primarily to consider the altered condition of the colony, and to make the necessary arrangements for the proper control of the convicts. An ordinance was passed providing for arrest without warrant, summary conviction, employment on public works, restriction when on ticket-of-leave, and punishment.* Early in the following year a further dispatch was received from the Secretary of State,** containing information that the Home Government intended to send out free persons equal in number to the convicts. This, and the prospect of many necessary public works being at last undertaken, led the colonists to admit that at any rate transportation offered "a gleam of hope--just sufficient to drag us on in miserable uncertainty." The actual conditions under which the convicts would be employed were stated by Under Secretary Hawes.*** They were to be at first entirely under the control of the Government for employment on public works--roads, harbours, buildings, and timber cutting.**** When they were set free from such labour, on account of good behaviour, their services would be available for colonists. The whole expense of the system would be defrayed by the Home Government, and a further sum would be set aside annually for promoting free emigration.
(*Footnote. Proceedings of the Legislative Council 20 December 1849 Perth Gazette 21 December 1849.)
(**Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 12 July 1849 received 5 March 1850.)
(***Footnote. Under Secretary Hawes to Manager of Colonisation Assurance Co. 20 December 1849 in Perth Gazette 7 June 1850.)
(****Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 5 January 1850.)
Thus, twenty years after its foundation as a free colony, from which convicts were by the conditions of establishment debarred, Western Australia entered upon a new phase of its existence, and became one of penal settlements of the British Government.*
(*Footnote. A short description of the convict system as carried out in Western Australia will be found in Appendix 3.)
GOVERNMENT.
LAND LAWS.
FINANCIAL CONDITIONS.
INDUSTRIES.
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT.
The Home authorities lost no time in giving effect to the decision to establish a penal settlement in Western Australia. Captain E.Y.W. Henderson was appointed Comptroller-General of the Convict Establishment with Mr. T.H. Dixon as chief overseer and Mr. J. Manning as clerk of works.* Prisoners of exemplary conduct were selected from Portland and a ship equipped as a transport. This vessel, the barque Scindian, arrived at Fremantle on 1 June 1850, and thus the colony celebrated its twenty-first birthday by assuming the character of an actual penal settlement. On the Scindian, under the charge of Dr. Gibson, R.N., as Surgeon Superintendent, were seventy-five convicts, fifty pensioners (sent out as a guard) forty-two women, seventy-eight children, and fourteen immigrant girls.** Though the arrival of the convicts was expected, it was not anticipated that they would arrive so soon after the Order in Council had been made public. The colonists were rather thrown into consternation when they saw the first actual evidence of the result of their agitation, and the local Government found itself totally unprepared to meet the situation. The old Fremantle jail at Arthur's Head was much too small to accommodate so large a number of inmates, even if no others had been expected. To get over the difficulty premises were rented from Captain Scott,*** and there the first drafts of convicts were housed until such time as they had, by their own labour, built the large Fremantle prison for their own safekeeping and the safekeeping of thousands of others who were to follow them. The stringent measures adopted for ensuring the security of the convicts in their temporary quarters and the sense of safety that the inhabitants of Fremantle must have felt at the presence of this crowd of malefactors may be gauged from the fact that in October four of the prisoners quietly walked away from the jail and got drunk! When charged with the offence it was stated in evidence that they were able to leave the depot at any hour they pleased, in any dress they liked, and go wherever fancy led them.**** This little incident caused quite a scare among the inhabitants of Fremantle.
(*Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 24 January 1850.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 7 June 1850.)
(***Footnote. Ibid.)
(****Footnote. Perth Gazette 25 October 1850.)
The pensioners who had come out with the convicts were not retained as a permanent guard over them. In most cases they were accompanied by their families, and sought a livelihood among the settlers, being liable to render assistance only in the case of any outbreak among the prisoners. Every encouragement was given to induce them to become permanent settlers. To each of them was offered an allotment of ten acres, to be selected by themselves, to be held on lease for seven years, after which they were to receive the freehold. To enable them to make a start a gratuity of 10 pounds was bestowed upon each one, and they were promised the assistance of convict labour in clearing the ground.* Practically the whole of them took advantage of the offer, as many pensioner blocks still held by their descendants testify.
(*Footnote. Ibid 5 July 1850; Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 2 March 1850.)
The actual establishment of the system and the arrival of the first batch of convicts was the cause of much rejoicing on the part of the colonists. On 10 July a public meeting was held at Perth* at which resolutions were passed expressing thanks to Lord Grey for the promptness he had shown in acceding to the request of the settlers, and asking that convicts be sent in large numbers, as "unless the permanency as well as the magnitude, of the convict establishment be secured" only disappointment and distress could await the greater part of the new arrivals. Later in the year similar expressions of gratitude were forwarded from York, Northam, Toodyay, and Wellington districts. In a numerously-signed memorial from the country centres, embodying these opinions, it was stated that the memorialists "consider the introduction of convicts on a large scale the only means of placing the colony in a prosperous condition."** When all the other colonies were strenuously objecting to convicts, how the Home Government must have chuckled to find one not only willing but anxious to receive them, and, like Oliver Twist, keep on asking for more. Even the Perth Gazette, after two years' enmity to the idea, acknowledged that much material prosperity was likely to result, though at the same time it quieted its conscience by averring that the mere introduction of forced labour did not constitute Western Australia a penal settlement.***
(*Footnote. Ibid 12 July 1850.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 5 July 1850; House of Commons Papers 1851 Number 262 page 43.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 7 June 1850.)
One of the earliest and, from the point of view of the settlers, one of the most satisfactory features of the new condition of affairs was a renewal of the stream of immigration. For years previously there had practically been no gain to the colony by this means. When therefore the Scindian landed 188 free persons in addition to 75 convicts, and the Sophia followed a couple of months later with over 200, the inhabitants of the colony were convinced that the step they had taken was in their best interests.* Only one other vessel, the Hashemy, arrived with convicts during 1850. This was the ship which earned a good deal of notoriety on account of the fact that she carried the last draft of convicts sent to New South Wales--the draft whose landing was at first strongly opposed by the colonists there.
(*Footnote. Ibid 2 August 1850.)
By the end of the year the benefits--and in some ways the evil results--of a penal establishment began to be distinctly manifest. In addition to the large permanent prison, there were various other public works under construction; depots for convicts were being established in various centres; and parties for the purpose of making roads of communication between the towns were being organised. The increase in the number of people and the large amount of money distributed by the penal department provided both the market for local produce and the means to pay for it, so that by the beginning of 1851 the whole colony seemed to have been aroused from its state of lethargy and gave every promise of rapid advancement. The cost of maintaining the convicts was, of course, borne by the Home Government; any large expenditure in that direction was therefore viewed by the settlers with a certain degree of satisfaction. Not so, however, by the Imperial authorities. Nearly every dispatch urged strict economy on the Comptroller-General, and in April 1851,* the financial affairs of the establishment were placed in the hands of a board consisting of the Colonial Secretary, the Comptroller-General, and the Assistant Commissary-General, with strict injunctions to prevent anything in the way of extravagance.** One of the first questions this board had to consider was the proportion of the salaries of magistrates, police, and other officers necessary for the public protection that should be borne by the British Government. The advent of the convicts had necessarily increased the number of these officers, and it was felt that the whole burden of their cost ought not to fall on the local Government. It was ultimately arranged that the Home Government should pay two-thirds of the police expenditure, and make certain grants to the magistrates and other officials.*** While on the question of protection it may also be noted that at first there was no provision for a permanent military guard over the convicts. The pensioners who acted in that capacity on the voyage out became settlers or servants on arrival, and had no further liability except that they were expected to hold themselves available in case of any outbreak of a serious nature. This extremely unsatisfactory condition of affairs was the subject of earnest representation through the Governor, and resulted in the pensioners arriving on one convict transport being engaged to continue in the capacity of guard until the arrival of a further detachment in the next succeeding convict vessel.**** These pensioner guards were under the command of Captain (afterwards Colonel) Bruce. At the end of 1851 the guard was further strengthened by the arrival of a company of sixty-five sappers and miners under the command of two officers of the Royal Engineers.*****
(*Footnote. Western Australian Government Gazette 8 April 1851.)
(**Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 12 January 1851.)
(***Footnote. Duke of Newcastle to Fitzgerald 12 December 1853; Proceedings of the Legislative Council 4 May 1854 Perth Gazette 5 May 1854.)
(****Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 20 December 1850.)
(*****Footnote. Perth Gazette 19 December 1851.)
The necessity for strict control had become manifest early in the year, when four men succeeded in getting away from Fremantle in a whaleboat* and another party escaped from a road gang working north of Perth.** The first were captured at Shark Bay, and the second practically gave themselves up, convinced that Western Australia did not need artificial barriers to make it a safe place to keep prisoners. On the whole, however, the conduct of these early convicts was good, so much so that the newspapers directed attention to them as "instances from which our free settlers might take example." As a result all the remaining fear and opposition on the part of the colonists vanished.
(*Footnote. Inquirer 22 January 1851.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 7 February 1851.)
During 1851 the Mermaid, Pyrenees, and Minden brought 803 convicts and 268 free persons, including children, to the colony. Not many of these free immigrants were skilled labourers, consequently the old cry of want of labour was again raised and complaints made that the English Government was not fulfilling its promises.* There does not seem to have been any great need for these workmen at the time, and the only reason for the agitation that appears to have existed was that the desire to agitate and complain about something had grown into a habit with the colonists. In any case the blame, if there were any, did not attach to the officials of the Colonial Office, as the Governor had advised them that there was difficulty in placing those immigrants who had arrived in the Sophia.** When Earl Grey was informed*** that mechanics were required, he lost no time in sending them out.
(*Footnote. Ibid 28 March 1851.)
(**Footnote. Fitzgerald to Earl Grey 29 July 1850.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 25 September 1850.)
One might have expected that the introduction of a large population, which would in all probability continue to grow, would have stimulated the settlers to larger production of foodstuffs. This does not seem to have been the case. The Western Australian farmers seem to have preferred to get a high price for a limited output rather than a reasonable price for a greater quantity. They were very incensed when the Governor intimated his intention to import flour from the eastern colonies, and held that local industry should be encouraged, even though it cost 5 pounds a ton more for flour to do it. The Governor referred the matter to Earl Grey, who replied sharply that "convicts were not sent to Western Australia in order that growers might have an opportunity of selling their produce at a price of 5 pounds a ton dearer than it could be procured without their aid."* During the years 1851 and 1852 it proved impossible to secure sufficient wheat and flour locally at any price, consequently importations from the eastern colonies were absolutely necessary, and in the latter year wheat had even to be imported from Great Britain.
(*Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 30 June 1851.)
By the beginning of 1851 many of the convicts of 1850 had become entitled to tickets-of-leave, and others were continually qualifying, so that the number available for Government works was not as large as the settlers could have wished. With them, however, the Comptroller-General entered upon the construction of various public works. Depots were prepared at York, Toodyay, and Bunbury for the use of those prisoners waiting to be hired out as servants, and as quarters for those still in confinement who were working in the neighbourhoods. Main lines of roads from each place toward the capital were deemed the most urgent works. The largest body of convicts, of course, remained at Fremantle, both because the establishment called for the erection of many public buildings and because better control could be kept over the worst class of offenders. The principal work on which they were engaged was the erection of the prison itself. Some discussion took place over the site of this structure. It is said that Captain Henderson inclined to the idea that Mount Eliza would be the most suitable site, but that Western Australia was saved from what would have been an act of desecration by the opposition of the Governor,* who finally convinced the Comptroller-General that Fremantle was the proper place for it. On 16 May 1851 the site was vested in trustees** and the work of erecting the prison commenced. A good deal of the work was done by the convicts, but skilled mechanics had to be procured from South Australia to assist. These public buildings and the making of various roads occupied the attention of those convicts who remained at the disposal of the Government up to the end of 1852. During the year 491 men were sent out, making a total since June 1850 of 1469, but of that number only 156 were available for employment in Perth and Fremantle; 845 had already been released on ticket and were in private service, and the remainder were road-making. In pursuance of the agreement on the part of the Imperial authorities to dispatch free immigrants to those colonies receiving forced labour 381 persons of this class also arrived in Western Australia during 1852, so that the colonial complaint of the dearth of sufficient labour was more than met. In addition, the English Government*** agreed to send out, on payment of half the cost of passage, the wives and families of those ticket-of-leave men who desired to have them. There was no great anxiety on the part of the men to take advantage of the concession, and in the case of those who did ask, refusal generally came from the wife. In 1851/2 the Colonial Office offered to send out the wives and families of 60 men who had asked for them, but there was little or no response. Some could not be found, others refused to pay any part of the passage money, and a third section declined to go under any conditions.****
(*Footnote. Kimberley, W.B. History of Western Australia page 158. In view of the following statement in the Comptroller-General's report of 1 January 1851 this may be doubted: "The propriety of the determination arrived at in the first instance to fix the permanent depot at Fremantle I see no reason to question." Colonial Secretary Office Records 1851.)
(**Footnote. Ordinance 14 Victoria Number 22.)
(***Footnote. Earl Grey to Fitzgerald 1 January 1851. The cost of passage was fixed at 15 pounds.)
(****Footnote. Sir John Pakington to Fitzgerald 22 June 1852.)
The general condition of affairs as far as the convicts were concerned showed little alteration in 1853, except that increased activity on the part of the English prison authorities resulted in 1129 men being sent out, of whom 301--sent out in the Robert Small--were Irish prisoners,* a class specially objected to in the first agreement. The introduction of this large number made it possible to carry on the policy of extension and development more rapidly. Various buildings such as hospitals, lunatic asylum, pensioners' depot, and others were constructed, and fair progress made with the bridges required on the main trunk road between Perth and Albany. All these things meant increased comfort and facilities for the settlers, as well as a greatly improved financial outlook on account of the large expenditure of money, so that when in 1853 news was received that the English Government was considering the whole question of transportation,** with a view to drastic alterations, the settlers were considerably perturbed, jumping at once to the conclusion that any alteration would mean discontinuance. Recourse was had to the usual method of protest--public meeting with a subsequent memorial---and the inhabitants of Perth, Fremantle, and York*** strongly opposed the cessation of transportation, urging from the standpoint of the colony that great advance had been made under the system, and from the standpoint of the convicts that in the majority of cases they had been successful in their endeavours to become once more respected members of society. Some relief was felt when shortly afterwards information was received that the Home authorities intended, for a short period and to a limited extent, to continue transportation to Western Australia.****
(*Footnote. Duke of Newcastle to Fitzgerald 16 April 1853; Perth Gazette 26 August 1853.)
(**Footnote. Inquirer 16 May 1853; Perth Gazette 20 May 1853, containing extracts from speech in House of Commons by Lord John Russell, stating intentions of the Government. See Hansard third series volume 124 pages 19 to 20.)
(***Footnote. Perth Gazette 3, 10 and 17 June 1853. Text of memorial in issue of 3 June. The memorial was forwarded by the Governor to Secretary of State in dispatch 8 June 1853. See also Fitzgerald to Duke of Newcastle 11 August 1853.)
(****Footnote. Hansard third series volume 124 page 167 speech in House of Lords by Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State 17 February 1853. Reprinted in Perth Gazette 27 May 1853.)
The reply* to the memorial was received early in January 1854, and stated that it was impossible to fetter the future discretion of Her Majesty's Government and of Parliament, but subject to that reservation no idea was entertained at that time of ceasing to send convicts to Western Australia. The statement in the memorial that the men generally had rehabilitated themselves was not strictly accurate. From time to time there were outbreaks that called for stern repressive measures, and many were the instances of added imprisonment and corporal punishment. Cases were not infrequent where convicts by careful behaviour had secured conditional pardons, only to relapse, in the absence of restraint, into their old habits of vice and debauchery. The Phoebe Dunbar, which arrived in August, seems to have brought a particularly dangerous and violent horde. The ship had scarcely anchored when several of them managed to get rid of their shackles and indulged in a drunken orgy that required the application of the bayonet before it was quelled.** In November four convicts managed to escape from a bathing party and made their way to the Canning district, where they committed various robberies and were captured only after an exchange of shots. This was one of the cases where the heavy hand of the system was quickly felt; three of the men received five years' imprisonment, three weeks on bread and water, and 100 lashes each; the fourth, on account of the ease of his capture, being let off the imprisonment.***
(*Footnote. Duke of Newcastle to Fitzgerald 16 September 1853.)
(**Footnote. Perth Gazette 23 September 1853.)
(***Footnote. Ibid 2 and 9 December 1853.)
Had it not been for the establishment of the convict system, combined with the law that no person could leave the colony without giving notice to the Colonial Secretary, Western Australia would in all probability have fared badly at this time. The new gold discoveries in Victoria were made known in 1851, and emigration to that colony from every other part of Australia at once set in. Western Australia was fortunate in not losing more than 400 of her population before the end of 1853, many of whom were immigrants who caught the gold fever almost as soon as they landed, and proceeded immediately to the new Eldorado. The loss of even that small number from a territory so large in extent and yet possessing a mere handful of people in all was a matter of no little concern. The settlers became seriously alarmed, and Governor Fitzgerald did not hesitate to enforce strictly every possible regulation that could hinder or prevent the exodus. The newspapers viewed it with almost as great concern as those of the eastern colonies did the emigration to Western Australia during the nineties.* As one method of stemming the tide, prospecting parties examined the eastern districts of the colony in the hope of discovering a local field. Unfortunately they did not proceed far enough, and the mineral treasures of this State remained hidden for a further forty years.
(*Footnote. Ibid 16 December 1853 13 January and 10 February 1854.)
The years 1849 to 1853 may well be described as a transition period for all Australia. Transportation began in Western Australia and ceased in all other parts with the exception of Van Diemen's Land; Port Phillip district was no longer a part of New South Wales, being erected into a separate colony under the name of Victoria; Victoria by the discovery of her goldfields far outdistanced the other colonies in material progress; and, lastly, in 1850 the long-promised Act for the Government of the Australian colonies generally was passed by the British Parliament. This Act,* the Western Australian provisions of which were not availed of for many years afterwards, gave power to the colony under certain conditions to establish a Legislative Council that should be one-third nominee and two-thirds elected. The total number of members of such Council was to be fixed locally, and all questions of franchise and arrangements of electorates were also left in the hands of the colonists. The conditions precedent required by the Home Government were that the concession should be asked for by not less than one third of the householders in the colony, and that the colonists should be prepared to defray all expenses of Government out of the colonial revenue, including those borne by Parliamentary grants under the old system. It was this latter condition which prevented the settlers from taking advantage of the concession; though they ardently desired representative government they felt that they were not in a position to bear the whole cost of it, and it was not until 1870 that the first Legislative Council under representative Government was established.
(*Footnote. 13 and 14 Victoria c.59.)
Several changes occurred in the existing Legislative Council during the years under review. Dr. Madden, the Colonial Secretary, resigned his position in 1848 on the ground of ill-health, and left the colony in 1849. His departure was regretted by the people generally, but not apparently by the officials. From 1848 till 1851, when Major H.A. Sanford became Colonial Secretary, the office and with it the Legislative Council seat were held in turn by R.H. Bland, T.N. Yule, and C.A.J. Piesse. In 1852 G.F. Moore, who had been Advocate-General since 1830, resigned and returned to England, his place being temporarily filled by B.W. Vigors until the arrival in 1854 of the new Advocate-General, R. Birnie. In 1852 Captain Henderson, the Comptroller-General of Convicts, became an official and W.P. Clifton an unofficial member of the Council, and about the same time Colonel Irwin as Commandant gave place to Captain G.M. Reeves.
These alterations, however, which practically affected the whole personnel of the Council, do not seem to have inspired any general public confidence. For years almost every act of the Council had met with disapproval,* and changes in the membership were continually advocated; but when those changes were made they do not appear to have brought about any modification of the public attitude. It is quite evident that the object aimed at in this dissatisfaction was a representative Council where the British Government should find the money and the local authorities spend it without restraint.
(*Footnote. The newspaper files of the p