 Section 11 of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland. South Australia, 1841 to 1850. 1. Governor Gray The colonists of South Australia had, in 1841, received a sharp but salutary lesson, and we have seen that they profited by it. They had discovered that the land was their only source of wealth, and many who had sufficient means to purchase farms or stations went out into the country determined to endure a year or two of hardship in hopes of prosperity to come, nor had they very long to wait. In 1844 they were able to export corn to the extent of 40,000 pounds, and in that year the colony possessed 355,000 sheep and 22,000 cattle. The new governor, Captain George Gray, took every care to assist the colonists in returning to more prudent courses. Many changes were needed. For in 1840, while the colony had a revenue of only 30,000 pounds, it had spent at the rate of 171,000 pounds per annum. Such imprudence could lead to nothing but ruin, and the first task of the governor was to reduce all expenses as far as possible. In the first year the expenditure was cut down to 90,000 pounds, in the next to 68,000 pounds, and in 1843 to 34,000 pounds. Instead of employing the poorer laborers on costly and unnecessary public works, he persuaded them to take employment in the country with the farmers and squatters, who were rapidly opening up the interior parts of the colony. He settled many on small farms or stations of their own, but in this he was greatly impeded by the high price of land, for Wakefield's friends in England were not yet convinced that their favorite scheme was defective. They attributed every mishap to the incompetence of Governor's Hindmarsh and Gauler. To lower the price, said they, will be to ruin the colony. And lest such a thing should happen, they raised the price of all lands, whether good or bad, to one pound per acre. But many of those who had bought land in the first days of the settlement had been so anxious to part with it during the crisis that they had sold it for much less than it cost them, and thus a great number of the poorer people became possessed of land at very moderate prices. In 1839 there were but 440 acres under cultivation. Three years afterwards there were 23,000 acres bearing wheat and 5,000 acres of other crops. So rich and fertile was the soil that in 1845 the colonists not only raised enough of corn to supply their own wants, but were able to export about 200,000 bushels at cheap rates to the neighboring colonies, and even then were left with 150,000 bushels which they could neither sell nor use. So rapid a development of resources and so sudden an accession of prosperity have probably never occurred in the history of any other country. 2. Mineral Wealth Such was the success attendant upon careful industry, exercised with prudence, and under favorable circumstances. But the colony was to owe yet more to accidental good fortune. During the year 1841 a carrier while driving his team of bullocks over the Mount Lofty Range had been obliged by the steepness of the road to fasten a log to the back of his wagon in order to steady the load and to prevent its descending too quickly. As the log dragged roughly behind on the road it tore great furrows in the soil and in one of these the carrier noticed a stone which glanced and glittered like a metal. On looking more closely he saw that there were large quantities of the same substance lying near the surface of the earth in all directions. Having taken some specimens with him he made inquiries in Adelaide and learned that the substance he had discovered was Galena, a mineral in which sulfur is combined with lead and small quantities of silver. The land on which this valuable ore had been found was soon purchased and mines opened upon it. At first there was a large profit obtained from the enterprise and though in after years the mines became exhausted yet they served to call the attention of the colonists to the possibility of discovering more permanent and lucrative sources of mineral wealth. At the Kapunda Station about 40 miles northwest of Adelaide there lived a squatter named Captain Baggo. One day during the year 1842 he sent his overseer Mr. Dutton to search for a number of sheep which had strayed into the bush. After spending some time in fruitless efforts Mr. Dutton ascended a small hill in order to have a more extensive view of the country but still he saw nothing of the lost sheep. On turning to descend his attention was attracted by a bright green rock jutting from the earth. It seemed to him peculiar so he broke a small piece off and carried it down to Captain Baggo's house where he and the captain examined the specimen and came to the conclusion that it consisted of the mineral malachite containing copper in combination with water and carbonic dioxide. They let no one know of the discovery but proceeded to apply for the land in the usual manner without breathing a word as to their purpose. The section of 80 acres was advertised for a month and then put up to auction but as no one was anxious for this barren piece of ground they had no competitors and the land fell to them for the price of 80 pounds. As soon as they became possessed of it they threw off all appearance of mystery and commenced operations. During the first year the mines yielded 4,000 pounds during the next 10,000 pounds and for several years they continued to enrich the two proprietors until each had realized a handsome fortune when the land was bought by an English company. 4. The Borough Mines The discovery of copper at Capunda caused much excitement in the colony. Everyone who possessed land examined it carefully for the trace of any minerals it might contain and soon it was rumored that at a place about 100 miles north of Adelaide a shepherd had found exceedingly rich specimens of copper ore. The land on which these were discovered had not yet been sold by the government and in great haste a company was formed to purchase it. This company consisted of the merchants, professional men and officials of Adelaide but a rival company was immediately started consisting of shopkeepers and tradesmen together with the farmers of the country districts. The former always maintained a haughty air and soon came to be known throughout the colony as the knobs while they in their turn fixed on their rivals the nickname of the snobs. For a week or two the jealousies of the companies ran high but they were soon forced to make a temporary union for according to the land laws of the colony. If anyone wished to buy a piece of land he had to apply for it and have it advertised for a month. It was then put up for auction and he who offered the highest price became the purchaser. But a month was a long time to wait and it was rumored that a number of speculators were on their way from Sydney to offer a large sum for the land as soon as it should be put up to auction. It was therefore necessary to take immediate action. There was another regulation in the land laws according to which if a person applied for 20,000 acres and paid down 20,000 pounds in cash he became at once the proprietor of the land. The knobs determined to avail themselves of this arrangement but when they put their money together they found they had not enough to pay so large a sum. They therefore asked the snobs to join them on the understanding that after the land had been purchased the two companies would make a fair division. By uniting their funds they raised the required amount and proceeded with great exultation to lodge the money. But part of it was in the form of bills on the Adelaide banks and as the governor refused to accept anything but cash the companies were almost in despair until a few active members hunted up their friends in Adelaide and succeeded in borrowing the number of sovereigns required to make up the deficiency. The money was paid into the treasury the two companies were the possessors of the land and the Sydney speculators arrived a few days too late. Now came the division of the 20,000 acres. A line was drawn across the middle a coin was tossed up to decide which of the two should have the first choice and Fortune favored the snobs who selected the northern half called by the natives Burabura. To the southern part the knobs gave the name of Princess Royal. The companies soon began operations but though the two districts appeared on the surface to be of almost equal promise yet on being laid open the Princess Royal was soon found to be in reality poor while the Burabura mines provided fortunes for each of the fortunate snobs. During the three years after their discovery they yielded copper to the value of 700,000 pounds. Miners were brought from England and a town of about 5,000 inhabitants rapidly sprang into existence. The houses of the Cornish miners were of a peculiar kind. A creek runs through the district with high precipitous banks of solid rock. Into the face of these cliffs the miners cut large chambers to serve for dwellings. Holes bored through the rock and emerging upon the surface of the ground above formed the chimneys which were capped by small beer barrels instead of chimney pots. The fronts of the houses were of weatherboard in which doors were left and for two miles along each side of the stream these primitive dwellings looked out upon the almost dry bed of the creek which formed the main street of the village. Here the miners dwelt for years until the waters rose one night into a foaming flood which destroyed the houses and swept away several of their inhabitants. In 1845 Bora Bora was a lonely moor. In 1850 it was bustling with men and noisy with the sounds of engines, pumps and forges. Acres of land were covered with the companies warehouses and offices and the handsome residences of its officers. Behind these there rose great mounds of blue, green and dark red oars of copper worth enormous sums of money. Along the roads eight hundred teams each consisting of eight bullocks passed constantly to and fro whilst scores of ships were employed in conveying the oar to England. From this great activity the whole community could not but derive the utmost benefit and for a time South Australia had every prospect of taking the foremost place among the colonies. 5. Governor Roeb In 1841 Governor Gray had been of the greatest service to the colony in changing the state of its prospects but he was not permitted to see more than the commencement of its great prosperity for in 1845 he was sent to govern New Zealand where troubles had arisen similar to those which he had helped to cure in South Australia. His place was filled by Colonel Roeb a military gentleman of what is called the old school, honourable and upright but inclined to think that everything ought always to be as it has been. He disliked all innovation and did what he could to prevent it much to the discontent of the young and thriving colony which was of necessity the scene of constant and rapid changes. He passed a very troubleous time for three years and in 1848 was heartily glad to be recalled. 6. Governor Young The colony was then placed under the care of Sir Henry Young whose policy was completely the reverse. He sought by every means in his power to encourage the ceaseless activity of the people. His failing was perhaps an injudicious zeal for progress, for instance in his desire to open up the river Murray to navigation he wasted large sums of money in schemes that proved altogether useless. He made an effort to remove the bar at the mouth of the river but fresh deposits of sand were constantly being brought down by the current and lashed up into a new bar by the waves that rolled ceaselessly in from the southern ocean. He spent about twenty thousand pounds in trying to construct a harbor called Port Elliott near the entrance to the Murray but there are now only a few surf-beaten stones to indicate the scene of his fruitless attempt. He offered a bonus of four thousand pounds to the first person who should ascend the Murray in an iron steamer as far as the river Darling. A gentleman called Caddell made the effort and succeeded. He obtained the reward but it was not enough to pay his heavy expenses and when he endeavored afterwards to carry on a trade by transporting wool to the sea in flat-bottomed steamers he found that the traffic on the river was not sufficiently great to repay his heavy outlay and in a short time he was almost ruined. The attempt was premature and though in our time the navigation of the Murray is successfully carried on and is undoubtedly of immense advantage not only to South Australia but also to New South Wales and Victoria yet at the time when the first efforts were made it led to nothing but loss if not ruined to the pioneers. End of section 11 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 12 of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland The Discovery of Gold 1. Importance of the Year 1851 The Year 1851 was in many ways an eventful one to Australia. In that year the colonies received from the Imperial Parliament extended constitutions they had so long expected. Tasmania, South Australia, Port Phillip and Western Australia were now no longer under the absolute control of governors sent out by the colonial authorities in England. They could henceforth boast the dignity of being self-governed communities for in 1851 they were invested with political powers which had previously been owned by New South Wales alone. They now had the privilege of electing two thirds of the members of a legislative council which not only had the power of making laws each for its own colony but also of framing any new constitution for itself according to its own taste and requirements. Each colony kept its legislative council for only a year or two until it could discuss and establish a regular system of parliamentary government with two houses and a cabinet of responsible ministers. Again it was on the 1st of July in the same year that Port Phillip gained its independence. From that day onward its prosperous career must be related under its new title Victoria. But the event which made the year 1851 especially memorable in the annals of Australia was the discovery near Bathurst of the 1st of those rich gold fields which for so long a time changed the prospects of the colonies. For several years after the date of this occurrence the history of Australia is little more than the story of the feverish search for gold with its hopes, its labour, its turmoil and its madness. Its scenes of exultation and splendid triumph and its still more frequent scenes of bitter and gloomy disappointment. 2. Early Rumours of Gold For many years there had been rumours that the bloom mountains were oriferous. It was said that gold had been seen by convicts in the days of Macquarie and indeed still earlier but to the stories of prisoners who claimed rewards for alleged discoveries the authorities in Sydney always listened with extreme suspicion. More especially as no pretended discoverer could ever find more than his first small specimens. In 1840 a Polish nobleman named Strzezlecki who had been travelling among the ranges around Mount Kosciuszko stated that from indications he had observed he was firmly persuaded of the existence of gold in these mountains. But the governor asked him as a favour to make no mention of a theory which might perhaps unsettle the colony and fill the easily excited convicts with hopes which he feared would prove delusive. Strzezlecki agreed not to publish his belief but there was another man of science who was not so easily to be silenced. The Reverend W. B. Clark a clergyman devoted to geology exhibited specimens in Sydney on which he based an opinion that the blue mountains would eventually be found to possess gold fields of great extent and value. Some of these were taken to London by Strzelecki and in 1844 a great English scientist Sir Roderick Murchison read a paper before the Royal Medical Society in which he expressed a theory similar to that of Mr. Clark. In 1846 he again called attention to this subject and showed that from the great similarity which existed between the rocks of the blue mountains and those of the Urals there was every probability that the one would be found as rich as the other was known to be in the precious metals. So far as theory the matter had been well discussed before the year 1851 but no one had ventured to spend his time and money in making a practical effort to settle the question. 3. Edward Hargraves About that time however the rich minds of California attracted a Bathurst settler named Edward Hargraves to seek his fortune on the banks of the Sacramento and though among the great crowds of living and jostling diggers he met with but little success yet he learned the methods by which gold is discovered and secured and laid the foundation for adventures in Australia which were afterwards to bring him both wealth and renown. Whilst he toiled with increasing disappointment on one of these famous gold fields the scenery around him and the appearance of the rocks recalled to his memory a certain secluded valley on the Blue Mountains which he had visited 13 years before. The notion floated vaguely through his mind that perhaps in that silent spot there might lie great treasures such as he saw his more fortunate companions from time to time draw forth from the rocks and soil around him. Day after day the image of that winding creek among the hills near Bathurst recurred with increasing vividness to stimulate his imagination and awaken his hopes. At length this feeling impelled him to seek once more the shores of Australia in order to examine the spot which had so often been present to his daydreams. He lost no time in sailing and scarcely had he arrived in Sydney ere he set out on horseback to cross the Blue Mountains. On the 11th of February 1851 he spent the night at a little inn a few miles from the object of his journey and shortly after dawn he sallied forth on his ride through the forest carrying with him a spade and a trowel and a little tin dish. In the cool air of the morning the scent of the spreading gum trees braced up his frame as he plunged deeper and deeper among those lonely hollows and woodclad hills. In an hour or two he reached the well-remembered spot the dry course of a mountain torrent which in rainy seasons finds its way into the Summer Hill Creek. He lost no time in placing a little of the grey colored soil into his tin dish and at once carried it to the nearest pool where he dipped the hole beneath the water. By moving the dish rapidly as he had learned to do in California he washed away the sand and earth but the particles of gold which are more than seven and a half times heavier than sand were not so easily to be carried off. They sank to the corner of the dish where they lay secure a few small specks themselves of little value yet telling of hidden treasures that lay scattered in all the soil around. A few days were spent in a careful examination of the neighboring valleys and when he was absolutely certain that the hopes he had so warmly indulged would not prove empty he set out for Sydney taking care however to breathe no word of what he thought or of what he had proved. On the 3rd of April he wrote a letter to the Secretary in which he stated that if the government were willing to give him 500 pounds he would point out localities in New South Wales where gold was abundantly to be found. In reply the Colonial Secretary announced that no preliminary reward could be given but that if he chose first of all to point out the localities he would afterwards be recompensed he accepted these conditions and Mr. Stuchbury the Colonial Geologist was sent to accompany him to the Summer Hill Creek on the 8th of May they set to work and soon obtained several ounces of green gold on the 13th they discovered a single piece worth 30 pounds and next day Mr. Stuchbury reported to the government that he had seen enough to convince him that the district was rich in the precious metal. Five days afterwards the little valley of the Summer Hill contained 400 persons all stooping over the creek in a row about a mile long each with a dish in his hand scarcely ever raising his head but busily engaged in washing the sand for gold. Lumps were frequently found of a value varying from five pounds to two hundred pounds a week later there were a thousand persons at work on the creek near the formerly lonely gully. Four rush to the gold field. The excitement throughout the colony now became intense workmen quitted their employment shepherds deserted their flocks shopkeepers closed their stores and a great tide of fortune seekers pressed onward day by day to the west. Most of these had sold everything they possessed in order to make up a little bundle of necessary articles yet there were very many but ill provided for a lengthened stay. They hurried along the road with the fallacious idea that gold was simply to be shoveled into bags and carted to Sydney. But when they came upon the scene and saw that in the case of most of them it would only be after weeks and months of severe and constant toil that they could be rich they grew faint-hearted lounged for a week or two on the diggings and then started for home again so that for some time there was a countercurrent of grumbling and discontented men passing back to Sydney by the road. These men thought themselves be fooled by Hargraves and it might perhaps have cost him his life had he fallen into their hands. On his trip to Sydney he was careful to disguise himself to avoid their threatened revenge. He received from government however his preliminary reward of five hundred pounds and in after years New South Wales voted him the sum of ten thousand pounds which was supplemented by a present of two thousand three hundred eighty-one pounds from Victoria. Other profits also accrued to Hargraves so that he was in the end recompensed for his toil and trouble with a handsome competency. The gloomy reports of returning diggers checked for a time the flow of people to the west but in the month of July an aboriginal shepherd on a station near Bathurst upon his master while seated at dinner his eyes glistening with excitement. He was only able to stammer out oh, Massa, white man find little fellow me find big fellow. When his master drove him in a buggy through the forest the shepherd pointed to where a hundred weight of gold was sticking out from a rock. It was so heavy that they had to chop it in two with their axes before they could lift it into the buggy. It was afterwards sold for four thousand pounds so splendid a prize obtained in so easy a manner was a temptation too dazzling to be resisted and the stream of people along the Bathurst road was now tenfold denser than before. Five. Government Regulations When the population on the gold fields began to grow numerous the government found it necessary to make arrangements for the preservation of law and order. A commissioner was appointed who was to act as a magistrate he was to be assisted by a small body of police and was to take charge of the gold escorts. As the lands on which the gold was being found were the public property of the colony it was thought to be but just what the community as a whole should participate to some small extent in the wealth raised from them the commissioner was therefore issued that diggers should in all cases take out licenses before seeking for gold and should pay for them at the rate of thirty shillings per month. New diggings were from time to time opened up and fresh crowds of eager men constantly pressed towards them leaving the towns deserted and the neighbouring colonies greatly reduced in population. For some months the Churon River was the favourite. At one time it had no less than ten thousand men upon its banks. At Ophir and Braidwood and Maru the most industrious and sagacious miners were generally rewarded by the discovery of fine pieces of gold for which the Californian name of Nuggets now began to be extensively used. Six. Gold in Victoria When Latrobe was sworn in to fill the office of Governor of Victoria on the 16th July 1851 it appeared probable that he would soon have but a small community to rule over. So great were the numbers of those who were daily packing up their effects and setting off for the gold fields of New South Wales that Victoria seemed likely to sink into a very insignificant place on the list of Australian colonies. In alarm at this prospect a number of the leading citizens of Melbourne on the 9th of June united to form what was called the Gold Discovery Committee and offered a reward of two hundred pounds to the person who should give the first intimation of a paying gold field within two hundred miles of Melbourne. Many persons set out each in hopes of being the fortunate discoverer and a report having been circulated that signs of gold had been seen on the plenty ranges there were soon no less than two hundred persons scouring those hills though for a long time without success. The first useful discovery in Victoria seems to have been made on 1st July by a Californian digger named Esmond who, like Hargraves, had entered on the search with a practical knowledge of the work. His experience had taught him the general characteristics of a country in which gold is likely to be found and he selected Clunes as a favourable spot. He found the quartz rock of the district richly sprinkled with gold and his discovery having been made known several hundred people were quickly on the scene. Almost on the same day gold was discovered by a party of six men at Anderson's Creek only a few miles up the Yara from Melbourne. It is thus difficult to determine with certainty whether or not Esmond was in reality the first discoverer but at any rate he received honours and emoluments as such and in after years the Victorian Parliament presented him with one thousand pounds for his services. 7. Ballarat On the 10th of August the Geylong newspapers announced that deposits of oriferous earth had been discovered at Buninyong and very soon the sunny slopes of that peaceful and pastoral district were swarming with prospecting parties. The quietly browsing sheep were startled from their favourite solitudes by crowds of men who hastened with pick and spade to break up the soil in every direction each eager to outstrip the other in the race for wealth. This region however did not realise the expectations that had been formed of it and many of the diggers began to move northwards in the direction of Clunes but at Clunes also there had been disappointment for the gold was mostly embedded in quartz rock and these early miners were not prepared to extract it. Parties from Clunes were therefore moving southwards to Buninyong and the two currents met on the slopes of the Yarawee a streamlet whose banks were afterwards famous as the Ballarat diggings. The first comers began to work at a bend in the creek which they called Golden Point. Here for a time each man could easily earn from twenty pounds to forty pounds a day and crowds of people hurried to the scene. Everyone selected a piece of ground which he called his claim and set to work to dig a hole in it but when the bottom of the sandy layer was reached and there seemed to be nothing but pipe clay below the claim was supposed to be worked out and was straightway abandoned. A miner named Kavanaugh determined to try an experiment and having entered one of these deserted claims he dug through the layer of pipe clay when he had the good fortune to come suddenly upon several large deposits of green gold. He had reached what had been in long past ages the bed of the creek where in every little hollow for century after century the flowing waters had gently deposited the gold which they had washed out of the rocks in the mountains. In many cases these pockets as they were called were found to contain gold to the value of thousands of pounds so that very soon all the claims were carried down a few feet further and with such success that before a month had passed Ballarat took rank as the richest gold field in the world. In October there were ten thousand men at work on the Yarrowee acre after acre was covered with circular heaps of red and yellow sand each with its shaft in the middle in which men were toiling beneath the ground to excavate the soil and pass it to their companions above who quickly hurried with it to the banks of the creek where twelve hundred cradles rocked by brawny arms were washing the sand from the gold. 8. Mount Alexander In the month of September a party who had gone about forty miles northeast of Clunes to Mount Alexander discovered near the present site of Castle Main a valuable seam of gold-bearing earth. The fame of this place soon spread through all the colony. Many left Ballarat to seek it and crowds of people hastened from Melbourne and Geylong to share in the glittering prizes. In October eight thousand men had gathered in the district. In November they were not less than twenty five thousand diggers at work and three tons of gold were waiting in the tent of the commissioner to be carried to Melbourne. The road to Mount Alexander was crowded with men of all ranks and conditions pressing eagerly onward to be in time. 9. Sandhurst A few weeks later the glories both of Ballarat and of Mount Alexander were dimmed for a time by the discovery of gold on the Bendigo Creek which seemed at first to be the richest of all the gold fields. In the course of a few months nearly forty thousand persons were scattered along the banks of the streamlet where the handsome streets of Bendigo now stand. In the month of May 1852 there must have been close upon seventy thousand men in the country between Buninyong and Bendigo all engaged in the same occupation. Melbourne and Geylong were silent and deserted for all classes were alike infected with the same excitement. Lawyers, doctors, clerks, merchants, laborers, mechanics all were to be found struggling through the myery ruts and served for a highway to Bendigo. The sailors left the ships in the bay with scarcely a man to take care of them even the very policemen deserted and the warders in the jails resigned in a body. The price of labor now became excessive for no man was willing to stay away from the diggings unless tempted by the offer of four or five times the ordinary wage. 10. Immigration Meanwhile the news of these great discoveries had travelled to Europe so that after the middle of 1852 ships began to arrive freighted with thousands of men of all nations who no sooner landed in Melbourne than they started for the diggings. During this year nearly one hundred thousand persons were thus brought into the country and the population was doubled at a bound. Next year ninety-two thousand fresh arrivals landed and Victoria thus became the most populous of the colonies. During the two following years it received a further accession of a hundred and fifty thousand so that in 1856 it contained four hundred thousand inhabitants or about five times the number it possessed in 1850. The staple industry was of course the mining for gold of which in 1852 one hundred and seventy-four tons were raised valued at fourteen million pounds. During the next ten years one hundred million pounds worth of gold was exported from Victoria. Some of the nuggets that were found are of historic note. The Sarah Sands discovered in 1853 was worth about six thousand five hundred pounds. In 1857 the Blanche Barclay worth seven thousand pounds was discovered and the following year produced the Welcome Nugget which was sold for ten thousand five hundred pounds and was the greatest on record until in 1869 the Welcome Stranger was dug out which proved to be slightly larger. End of section twelve Recording by Linda Johnson Section thirteen of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland Victoria, 1851 to 1855 One, Effects of Gold Excitement For the first few months after the discovery of gold in Victoria many shrewd persons believed that the colony would be ruined by its seeming good fortune. None of the ordinary industries could be carried on whilst workmen were so scarce and wages so high. But happily these expectations proved fallacious for in 1852 when the great stream of people from Europe began to flow into the colony every profession and every trade sprang into new and vigorous life. The vast crowds on the gold fields required to be fed so the farmers found ample market for their corn and the squatters for their beef and mutton. The miners required to be clothed and the tailor and shoemaker must be had whatever might be the prices they charged. Mechanics and artisans of every class found their labours in demand and handsomely paid for. The merchants also found trade both brisk and lucrative while the imports in 1850 were worth only three-quarters of a million and those of three years later were worth about twenty times that amount. After this enormous increase in population and business it was found that there was quite as great an opportunity of gaining riches by remaining quietly engaged in one's own occupation as by joining the restless throng upon the gold fields. The public revenue of the colony was, in 1852, six times and in 1853 twelve times as great as it had been before the discovery of gold so that both as individuals and as a nation the people of Victoria had reason to be satisfied with the change. There existed, however, one drawback for the attractions of the gold fields had drawn from the neighbouring colonies and more especially from Tasmania great numbers of that class of convicts who, having served a part of their time, had been liberated on condition of good behaviour. They crossed over by hundreds and soon gave rise to a serious difficulty for in the confused and unsettled state of the colony they found only too great an opportunity for the display of their criminal propensities and perverted talents. Being by no means charmed with the toilsome life of the gold miner many of them became bush rangers. There were, in 1852, several bands of these lawless ruffians sweeping the country and robbing in all directions. As the gold was being conveyed from the diggings escorted by bands of armed troopers bush rangers lurked upon the road treacherously shot the troopers and rifled the chests. On one occasion their daring rose to such a height that a band of them boarded the ship Nelson whilst it lay at anchor in Hobson's Bay overpowered the crew and removed gold to the value of twenty-four thousand pounds remarking as they handed the boxes over the side of the vessel this was the best gold field they had ever seen. To prevent any further introduction of these undesirable immigrants the legislature in 1852 passed what was called the Convicts Prevention Act declaring that no person who had been convicted and had not received an absolutely free pardon should be allowed to enter the colony and that all persons who came from Tasmania should be required to prove that they were free before being allowed to land. Any ship captain who brought a convict into the colony was to be fined one hundred pounds for the offense. Three. Aspect of gold fields. Meanwhile the gold fields were growing apace. The discovery of the Eureka, gravel pits and Canadian Leeds made Ballarat once more the favourite and in 1853 there were about forty thousand diggers at work on the Yaroi. Hotels began to be built, theatres were erected and here and there a little church rose among the long line of tents which occupied the slopes above the creek. Four. Scene on the gold fields. Below on the flats the scene was a busy one. Thousands upon thousands of holes covered the earth where men emerged and disappeared like ants each bearing a bag of sand which he either threw on a wheelbarrow or slung over his shoulder and then carried forward running nimbly along the thin paths among a multitude of holes till he reached the little creek where he delivered the sand to one of the men who stood shoulder to shoulder in long rows for miles on either bank all washing the sand and clay into the shallow current whose waters were turned to a tint of dirty yellow. Such is the scene which presents itself by day but at sunset a gun is fired from the commissioner's tent and all cease work. Then against the evening sky ten thousand fires send up near wreaths of thin blue smoke and the diggers prepare their evening meals. Everything is hushed for a time except that a dull murmur rises from the little crowds chatting over their panikins of tea. But as the darkness draws closer around the noises begin to assume a merrier tone and mingling pleasantly in the evening air there rise the loud notes of a sailor's song a merry jingle of a French political chant or the rich strains of a German chorus. In some tents the miners sit round boxes or stools while by the light of flaming oil cans they gamble for matchboxes filled with gold dust. In others they gather to drink the liquors illicitly sold by the slide-rog shops. Many of the diggers butake themselves to the brilliantly lighted theatres and make the fragile walls tremble with their rough and hearty roars of applause. Everywhere are heard the sounds of laughter and good humour. Then at midnight all to bed except those foolish revelers who have stayed too late at the grog shop. At dawn again they are all a stir for the days supply of water must be drawn from the stream ere its limpid current begins to assume the appearance of a clay-stained gutter. Making the allowances proper to the occasion the community is both orderly and law-abiding and the digger, in the midst of all his toil enjoys a very agreeable existence. 5. The Licence Fee He had but one grievance to trouble his life and that was the monthly payment of the license fee. This tax had been imposed under the erroneous impression that everyone who went upon the gold fields must of necessity earn a fortune. For a long time this mistake prevailed because only the most successful diggers were much heard of. But there was an indistinguishable throng of those who earned much less than a labourer's wage. The average monthly earnings throughout the colony were not more than eight pounds for each man and of this sum he had to pay thirty shillings every month for the mere permission to dig. To those who were fortunate this seemed but a trifle but for those who earned little or nothing there was no resource but to evade payment and many were the tricks adopted in order to dodge the commissioners. As there were more than one fifth of the total number of diggers who systematically paid no fees it was customary for the police to stop any man they met and demand to see his license. If he had none he was at once marched off to the place that served for a jail and there chained to a tree. The police were in the habit of devoting two days a week to what was called digger hunting and as they often experienced much trouble and vexation in doing what was unfortunately their duty they were sometimes rough and summary in their proceedings hence arose a feeling of hostility among the diggers not only to the police but to all the officials on the gold fields. The first serious ebullition of the prevailing discontent took place on the ovens where a commissioner who had been unnecessarily rough to unlicensed diggers was assaulted and severely injured. But as violence was deprecated by the great body of minors they held large meetings in order to agitate in a more constitutional manner for the abolition of the fee. At first they sent a petition to Governor La Trobe who declined to make any change. It was then hinted that possibly they might be driven to use force and the Governor replied that if they did he was determined to do his duty. But in August 1853 when the agitation was increasing La Trobe hurriedly reduced the fee to twenty shillings per month. This appeased the minors for a time but the precipitancy with which the Governor had changed his intention showed too plainly the weakness of the government for there was at that time scarcely a soldier in Victoria to repress an insurrection if one should break out. Among the confused crowds on the gold fields there were numbers of troublesome spirits many of them foreigners who were only too happy to foment dissension. Thousands of minors had been disappointed in their hopes of wealth and in a discontented frame of mind they blamed the Governor for their misfortunes. In spite of the concession that had been made to them a spirit of dissatisfaction prevailed throughout all the gold fields. Mutterings were heard as of a coming storm and La Trobe in alarm sent to all the neighbouring colonies to ask for troops. As the 99th Regiment was lying idle in the smart town it was at once dispatched to Melbourne. 6. Governor Hotham While matters were in this state Governor La Trobe retired from office and in June 1854 Sir Charles Hotham arrived to fill the position. On his first arrival he showed that his sympathies were to a great extent with the diggers but he could scarcely be expected to make any important change until he had been a few months in the colony and had learnt exactly the state of affairs and meanwhile the discontent on the gold fields was daily increasing. The months of September and October in 1854 were exceedingly dry. The creeks were greatly shrunk in volume and in many places the diggers could find no water either for drinking or for gold-washing and their irritation was not at all soothed by the manners of the commissioners and police. Besides this the government had thought it necessary to form a camp on the gold fields so that a large body of soldiers dwelt constantly in the midst of the miners. The soldiers and officers of course supported the commissioners and like them came to be regarded with the greatest disfavor. The gold field population was in this irritable state when a trifling incident kindled revolt. 7. Riot at Ballarat A digger named Scoby late one evening knocked at the door of Bentley's hotel at Ballarat. Finding the place closed for the night he tried to force an entrance and continued his clamor so long that Bentley became angry and sallied forth to chastise him. A crowd gathered to see the fight and in the darkness Scoby's head was split open with a spade. Whose hand it was that aimed the blow no one could tell but the diggers universally believed that Bentley was himself the murderer. He was therefore arrested and tried by Mr. Dewes the magistrate who was said by the diggers to be secretly his partner in business. A great crowd assembled round the hotel and a digger named Kennedy addressed the multitude in vigorous Scottish accents pointing out the spot where their companion's blood had been shed and asserting that his spirit hovered above and called for revenge. The authorities sent a few police to protect the place but they were only a handful of men in the midst of a great and seething crowd of over 8,000 powerful diggers. For an hour or two the mob, though indulging in occasional banter remained harmless but a mischievous boy having thrown a stone and broken the lamp in front of the hotel the police made a movement as if they were about to seize the offender. This roused the diggers to anger and in less than a minute every pane of glass was broken. The police were roughly jostled and cut by showers of stones and the doors were broken open. The crowd burst tumultuously into the hotel and the rooms were soon swarming with men drinking the liquors and searching for Bentley who, however, had already escaped on a swift horse to the camp. As the noise and disorder increased a man placed a handful of paper and rags against the wooden walls of the bowling alley deliberately struck a match and set fire to the place. The diggers now deserted the hotel and retired to a safe distance in order to watch the conflagration. Meanwhile a company of soldiers had set out from the camp for the scene of the riot and on their approach the crowd quietly dispersed. But by this time the hotel was reduced to a heap of smoldering ruins. Eight. Conviction of rioters. For this outrage three men were apprehended and taken to Melbourne where they were tried and sentenced to imprisonment. But Bentley was also re-arrested and tried and as his friend Deuz could on this occasion have no assistance to him he was sentenced to three years of hard labour on the roads. Deuz was dismissed from the magistracy and Sir Charles Hougham did everything in his power to conciliate the diggers. They were not to be thus satisfied, however, and held a stormy meeting at Ballarat in which they appointed a deputation consisting of Kennedy, Humphrey and Black to demand from the governor the release of the three men condemned for burning Bentley's hotel. Hougham received them kindly but declined to accept their message because he said the word demand was not a suitable term to use in addressing the representative of her majesty. As the diggers were haughty and refused to alter the phrase the governor intimated that under these circumstances no reply could be given. The delegates, having returned to Ballarat a great meeting was held and Kennedy, Humphrey, Black, Lallor and Verne made inflammatory speeches in which they persuaded the diggers to pass a resolution declaring they would all burn their licenses and pay no more fees. 9. Insurrection at Ballarat Skirmishes between the soldiers and diggers now became frequent and on the 30th of November when the last digger hunt took place the police and soldiers were roughly beaten off. The diggers among their tents set up a flagstaff and hoisted a banner of blue with four silver stars in the corner. Then the leaders knelt beneath it and, having sworn to defend one another to the death proceeded to enrol the miners and form them into squads ready for drilling. Meantime the military camp was being rapidly fortified with trusses of hay, bags of corn and loads of firewood. The soldiers were in hourly expectation of an attack and for four successive nights they slept fully occultured and with their loaded muskets beside them. All night long lights were seen to move busily backwards and forwards among the digger's tents and the solid tread of great bodies of men could be heard amid the darkness. Lallor was marshalling his forces on the slopes of Ballarat and drilling them to use such arms as they possessed whether rifles or pistols or merely spikes fastened at the ends of poles. 10. The Eureka Stockade Sir Charles Hotham now sent up the remaining 800 soldiers of the 99th Regiment under Sir Robert Nicol and, to these, he added all the marines from the men of war and nearly all the police of the colony. They were several days on the march and only arrived when the disturbance was over. The diggers had formed an entrenchment called the Eureka Stockade and had enclosed about an acre of ground with a high slab fence. In the midst of this stronghold they proclaimed the Republic of Victoria and here they were able to carry on their drilling unmolested under the command of the two leaders Verne, a German, and Peter Lallor the son of an Irish gentleman. They sent out parties in every direction for all the arms and ammunition they could obtain and made extensive preparations for an assault but imagining that the soldiers would never dream of attacking them until the arrival of Sir Robert Nicol they kept guard but carelessly. Captain Thomas, who commanded the troops in the camp determined to finish the affair by a sudden attack and on Saturday night whilst the diggers were amusing themselves in fancied security he was carefully making his preparations. On Sunday morning just after daybreak when the stockade contained only two hundred men Captain Thomas led his troops quietly forth and succeeded in approaching within three hundred yards of the stockade without being observed. The alarm was then given within the insurgents rushed to their posts and poured a heavy volley upon the advancing soldiers of whom about twelve fell. The attacking party wavered a moment but again became steady and fired with so calm and correct an aim that whenever a digger showed himself even for a moment he was shot. Peter Lallor rose on a sand heap within the stockade to direct his men but immediately fell pierced in the shoulder by a musket ball. After the firing had lasted for twenty minutes there was a lull and the insurgents could hear the order Charge! ring out clearly. Then there was an ominous rushing sound. The soldiers were for a moment seen above the palisades and immediately the conflict became hand to hand. The diggers took refuge in the empty claims where some were bayonetted and others captured whilst the victors set fire to the tents and soon afterwards retired with 125 prisoners. A number of half-burnt palisades which had fallen on Lallor concealed him from view and after the departure of the soldiers he crawled forth and escaped to the ranges where a doctor was found who amputated his arm. The government subsequently offered a reward of five hundred pounds for his capture but his friends proved true and preserved him till the trouble was all past. The number of those who had been wounded was never exactly known but it was found that twenty-six of the insurgents had died during the fight or shortly afterwards and in the evening the soldiers returned and buried such of the dead bodies as were still lying within the stockade. On the following day four soldiers who had been killed in the engagement were buried with military honors. Many of the wounded died during the course of the following month and in particular the colony had to lament the loss of Captain Wise of the fortieth regiment who had received his death wound in the conflict. 11. Trial of the rioters When the news of the struggle and its issue was brought to Melbourne the sympathies of the people were powerfully roused in favour of the diggers. A meeting attended by about five thousand persons was held near Prince's Bridge and a motion proposed by Mr. David Blair in favour of the diggers was carried almost unanimously. Similar meetings were held at Geylong and Sandhurst so that there could be no doubt as to the general feeling against the government and when at the beginning of 1855 thirteen of the prisoners were brought up for trial in Melbourne and each in his turn was acquitted crowds of people both within and without the courts greeted them one after another with hearty cheers as they stepped out into the open air once more free men. 12. Improvements on the goldfields The commission appointed by Sir Charles Hotham commenced its labours shortly after the conclusion of the riot and in its report the fact was clearly demonstrated that the miners had suffered certain grievances. Acting upon the advice of this commission the Legislative Council abolished the monthly fee and authorized the issue of miners' rights giving to the holders on payment of one pound each per annum permission to dig for gold in any part of the colony. New members were to be elected to the council in order to watch over the interests of the miners two to represent Sandhurst two for Ballarat two for Castle Main and one each for the ovens and the avocat diggings. Any man who held a miner's right was thereby qualified to vote in the elections for the council. These were very just and desirable reforms and the government added to the general satisfaction by appointing the most prominent of the diggers to be justices of the peace on the goldfields. Thus the colony very rapidly returned to its former state of peaceful progress and the goldfields were soon distinguished for their orderly and industrious appearance. End of Section 13 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 14 of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland New South Wales 1851 to 1860 1. Effects of Gold Discovery For some years after 1851 the colony of New South Wales passed through a severe ordeal. Separation of Port Phillip had reduced her population by one fourth and decreased her wealth by fully a third. The discoveries of gold at Ballarat and Bendigo had deprived her of many of her most desirable colonists. But the resources of the colony were too vast to allow of more than a merely temporary check and after a year or two her progress was steady and marked. The gloomy anticipations with which the gold discoveries had been regarded by the squatters and employers of labour were by no means realized. Though men were for a time scarce and wages exceedingly high yet when the real nature of a gold digger's life and the meagerness of the average earnings became apparent the great majority of the miners returned to their ordinary employments and the colony resumed its former career of steady progress though with this difference that the population was greater and business consequently brisker than it had ever been before. Fortune however had given to Victoria so great an impetus in 1851 that the firm prosperity of New South Wales was completely lost sight of in the brilliant success of its younger neighbour. The yield of gold in New South Wales was never great as compared with that of Victoria for with the exception of 1852 no year produced more than two million pounds worth but the older colony learnt more and more to utilize its immense area in the growth of wool an industry which yielded greater and more permanent wealth than has ever been gained from gold mining. 2. Governor Denison Governor Fitzroy who had been appointed in 1847 remained eight years in office and thus was present during the events which made so great a change in the prospects of the colonies. In 1855 he returned to England and his place was taken by Sir William Denison who had previously been Governor of Tasmania. In 1854 great excitement had been caused in Sydney by the outbreak of the Crimean War and the people in their fear lest they might suddenly receive an unwelcome visit from Russian cruisers hastened to complete a system of fortifications for the harbour. The new Governor who had in youth been trained as an officer of the Royal Engineers in England took a warm interest in the operations. He built a small fortress on an islet in the middle of the harbour and placed batteries of guns at suitable spots along the shores. The advance of the science of warfare in recent times has left these little fortifications but sorry defences against modern iron clads but they have since been replaced by some of those improvements in defence which have accompanied the invention of new methods of attack. 3. Constitutional Changes The constitutions which had been framed for the colonies by the Imperial Parliament in 1850 were not expected to be more than temporary. The British government had wisely determined to allow each of the colonies to frame for itself the constitution which it deemed most suitable to its requirements and had instructed the legislative councils which were elected in 1851 to report as to the wishes of their respective colonies. In Sydney the council entrusted the framing of the new constitution to a committee which decided to adopt the English system of government by two houses the one to represent the people as a whole the other to watch over the interests of those who by their superior wealth might be supposed to have more than an ordinary stake in the welfare of the country. It was very quickly arranged that the popular house should consist of not less than 54 members to be elected by men who paid a small rental or possessed property of a certain annual value but with regard to the nature of the upper house it was much more difficult to come to a decision. Wentworth proposed that the queen should establish a colonial peerage to form a small house of lords holding their seats by hereditary right but this idea raised so great an outcry that he made haste to abandon it. Several of the committee were in favor of the scheme afterwards adopted in Victoria of making the upper house elective while limiting the choice of members to those who possessed at least 5,000 pounds worth of real property after much discussion however it was decided to give to the governor the power of nominating the members of this chamber which was to consist of not less than 21 persons. The legislative council adopted this scheme and sent it to England for the assent of the queen. They also requested that their constitution might be still further assimilated to that of Great Britain by the introduction of responsible so that the ministers who controlled the affairs of the colony should be no longer officials appointed or dismissed by the governor and secretary of state but should in future be chosen by the parliament to advise the governor on all matters of public interest and should be liable to dismissal from office so soon as the parliament lost confidence in their ability or prudence. The British government at once gave its assent to this constitution which was accordingly inaugurated in 1856 and from that date the political management of New South Wales has been an imitation of that of the British Empire. In 1858 two small modifications were introduced. The lower house was increased in numbers to 68 members and the privilege of voting for it was extended to every male person over 21 years of age who had dwelt not less than 6 months in the colony. 4. Floods and Droughts From the very commencement of its existence New South Wales has been subject to the two extremes of heavy floods and dreary periods of drought. The mountains are so near to the coast that the rivers have but short courses and the descent is so steep that during rainy seasons the rush of waters deluges the plains near the sea causing floods of fatal suddenness. At the same time the waters are carried off so rapidly that there are no supplies of moisture left to serve for those seasons in which but little rain falls. The districts along the banks of the Hunter Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven rivers have been especially liable to destructive inundations and from time to time the people of Sydney have been obliged to send up lifeboats for the purpose of releasing the unfortunate settlers from the roofs and chimneys of their houses where they have been forced to seek refuge from the rising waters. The Murrumbidgee also used occasionally to spread out into a great sea carrying off houses and crops cattle and oftentimes the people themselves. In 1852 a flood of this description completely destroyed the town of Gundagai and no less than 80 persons perished either from drowning or from being exposed to the storm as they clung to the branches of trees. 5. The Dunbar A great gloom was cast over the colony in 1857 by the loss of a fine ship within seven miles of the center of Sydney. The Dunbar sailed from Plymouth in that year with about 120 people on board many of them well-known colonists who had visited England and were now on their way homewards. As the vessel approached the coast a heavy gale came down from the northeast and ere they could reach the entrance to Port Jackson, night had closed around them. In the deep and stormy gloom they beat to and fro for some time but at length the captain thought it safer to make for Sydney heads than to toss about on so wild a sea. He brought the vessel close into the shore in order to search for the entrance and when against the stormy sky he perceived a break in the black cliffs he steered for the opening. This however was not the entrance but only a hollow in the cliffs called by the Sydney people the gap. The vessel was standing straight in for the rocks when a mass of boiling surf was observed in the place where they thought the opening was and ere she could be put about she crashed violently upon the foot of a cliff that frowned 90 feet above. There was a shriek and then the surf rolled back the fragments and the drowning men. At daybreak the word was given that a ship had been shipped at the gap and during the day thousands of people poured forth from Sydney to view the scene of the disaster. On the following morning it was discovered that there was a solitary survivor who, having been washed into a hollow in the face of the rock, lay concealed in his place of refuge throughout that dreadful night and all the succeeding day. A young man was found who volunteered to let himself down to rescue the half-dead seaman. To prevent the repetition of so sad an occurrence, lighthouses were erected for the guidance of ship captains entering the harbor. In 1852 the people of Sydney had the satisfaction of inaugurating the first Australian university. A structure whose noble front, magnificent halls and splendid appointments for the furtherance of science will always do credit to the diversity and high aspirations of the colony. In 1857 the Australian Museum was opened and formed the nucleus of the present excellent collection of specimens. During this period several newspapers sprang into existence. Railways began to stretch out from the metropolis and lines of telegraph united Sydney with the leading cities of the other colonies. In August 1853 the first male steamer from England named the Chuson arrived in Port Jackson and helped to make the settlers of Australia feel less exiled as they now could have regular news of their friends and of European events little more than two months old. End of Section 14 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 15 of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland West Australia 1829 to 1890 1. King George's Sound In 1825 when Sir Ralph Darling was appointed Governor of New South Wales his commission was supposed to extend over all that part of Australia which lies between the 139th Meridian and the eastern coast. Not that the whole of this country or even the 20th part of it by settlers, the region was merely claimed as British territory. But the remainder of Australia comprising about two thirds of the continent had not as yet been annexed by any European nation and when in 1826 a rumour prevailed that the French were about to occupy that region the Sydney people were alarmed lest so great a territory should thus be lost forever to the British Empire. And they therefore in that year sent a detachment of soldiers to take formal possession of the country and to found a settlement at King George's Sound. From this early effort however no practical result ensued and during the few years of its existence the place continued to be nothing more than a small military station. 2. Swan River But in 1827 an English captain named Sterling after having sailed along the western coast gave a most favourable account of a large river he had seen on his voyage. He was not the first discoverer of this river which as early as 1697 had been visited by a Dutch navigator named Vlaming who was sailing in quest of a man of war supposed to have been wrecked on these shores. Vlaming had seen this stream and astonished by the wonderful sight of thousands of jet black swans on its surface had given to it the name of Swan River. But it had remained unthought of till captain Sterling by his report awakened a warm and hopeful interest in this district. Shortly afterwards the British government resolved to found a colony on the banks of this river and captain Fremantle arrived as the pioneer of the intended settlement. When he landed on the shore he found that a nearer view of the country was far from realising the expectations formed by those who had viewed it merely from the open sea. He began to have four boatings but it was now too late. The ships containing 800 of the first settlers were already close at hand and in the course of a week or two after narrowly escaping shipwreck on the reefs along the shore they landed captain Sterling the first governor with his little band on the wilderness of Garden Island. Here in this temporary abode the colonists remained for several months sheltering themselves in fragile tents or in brushwood huts from the rough blasts and the rains that beat in from the winter storms of the Indian Ocean. Exploring parties set out from the time to examine the adjoining mainland but however fair it seemed from a distance they found it to be merely a sandy region covered with dense and scrubby thickets. The only port was at a place called Fremantle where there was but little shelter from the storms of the open ocean and the only place suitable for a town was several miles up the Swan River where the waters expand into broad but shallow lagoons. Here the colonists determined to build their city to which they gave the name of Perth. But the site was not favorable to enterprise an impassable bar stretched across the mouth of the river which was therefore inaccessible to vessels. The goods of the colonists had to be landed on an exposed beach at Fremantle and then carried overland through miles of sand and scrub. In 1830 about a thousand new immigrants arrived and towards the end of this year the colonists succeeded in settling down in their new homes at Perth. 3. Land Grants Most of these immigrants were attracted to Western Australia by the prospect of obtaining large estates. They knew how valuable land was in the well-settled countries and when they heard of square miles in Australia to be had for a few pounds they were captivated by the notion of so easily becoming great landed proprietors. But the value of land depends upon surrounding circumstances and ten acres in England may be worth more than a whole wilderness in West Australia. At that time foolish notions were in every quarter prevalent as to what could be done by the nations of land. The British government thought it possible to make the colony self-supporting by paying for everything with grants which cost it nothing but which would be readily accepted by others as payment. Thus the Governor instead of his yearly salary was to receive a hundred thousand acres and all the officials were to be paid in the same manner. They were to be used to people who had no intention of using it but who expected that by the progress of colonization it would increase enormously in value and might then be sold for splendid prices. To induce immigrants to bring with them useful property the government offered a bonus of twenty acres for every three pounds worth of goods imported and the colonists paid before them carried out great numbers of costly though often unsuitable articles by means of which the desired grants were obtained. It was found difficult to convey this property to the town and much of it was left to rot on the shore where carriages, pianos and articles of rich furniture lay half-buried in sand and exposed to the alternations of sun and rain. The splendid horses and cattle of the finest breed had been brought out but they wandered useless in the bush. For till the country was surveyed nothing could be done in the way of agriculture and even after the surveys were completed owing to a regulation that those whose grants exceeded a square mile should be allowed the first choice all the sections nearest to the town were obtained by wealthy speculators who had no intention of using them. Many of these persons held a district almost as large as an English county and therefore the lands remaining for selection by farmers and small purchasers were generally far in the interior. The sections were pointed out on the maps but the places themselves had never been trodden by a white man's foot and were held by tribes of savages. Some indeed tried to settle upon these distant regions but they were lonely and isolated and many of them perished either from disease and hunger or by the spears of the natives. Yet there were very few who made any attempt at agriculture and the costly plows and implements that had been imported lay rusting on the beach. The horses and cattle died off the sheep that had been introduced at great expense were almost all killed through feeding on a poisonous plant which grew in patches over the country and the men themselves were forced to loiter at Perth consuming their provisions and chafing at their ruinous inaction. Four, Mr. Peel there was one gentleman who had spent fifty thousand pounds in bringing with him to the colony everything that could be required for farming and sheep breeding on a magnificent scale. He brought with him three hundred laborers but the land was by no means so fertile as he had imagined and he had scarcely commenced his farming operations when he found that his only escape from ruin was to enter single-handed on the self-dependent life of the ordinary settler. Five, gloomy prospects. Matters grew worse and worse and those of the disappointed colonists who had sufficient prudence to start before their means were all exhausted either returned to Europe or sought the other colonies where several achieved success notably the brothers Henty who settled at Launceston and established at Portland Bay the whaling station already mentioned. The gloomy reports of those who reached England prevented any further accession of immigrants and in 1835 it was rumored though erroneously that the British government intended to abandon the place. In the following year, 1836 the colony of South Australia was founded and a great extent of territory previously marked as belonging to West Australia was assigned to the new settlement. These two colonies during their early years experienced trials and difficulties of the same kind but while South Australia in a short time emerged to a career of brilliant prosperity through sturdy determination to make the land productive West Australia for 40 years never enjoyed more than a transitory gleam of success. Six, introduction of convicts. This little improvement consisted of a message received from Earl Grey in 1848 asking the settlers if they were willing to accept convicts in their midst. The other colonies had refused them but it was thought not unlikely that West Australia might be glad to get them. Opinions were divided as to the reply which ought to be given. While some were averse to the idea, others believed that the money sent out by the British government to maintain the convicts and soldiers would originate a trade which might give to the colony new life and fresh prospects. These arguments prevailed and in 1849 the first shipload of convicts arrived. From time to time new gangs were received and the place began to be much more populous than before. The shopkeepers in Perth became rich and the farmer squatters of the surrounding districts found a ready market for their produce. Yet this success was only partial and there was nothing which might be said to constitute general prosperity. In the little town of Fremantle the few and scattered houses had still a rural aspect and the streets echoed to the sound of no commercial action. In Perth the main street was still a grassy walk shaded by avenues of trees and even in the business quarter the houses stood each in the midst of its spacious garden. 7. Evils of Convictism West Australia had now to suffer the consequences of having become a penal settlement. Many of the convicts on being liberated took up their abode in the colony but their dispositions were seldom either amiable or virtuous and from the vices of these men the whole population began to lose character in the eyes of other countries. A large number of the prisoners were no sooner liberated than they set off for the gold fields in the eastern colonies which thus began to share in the evils of convictism. These colonies were not inclined to suffer long in this manner and to defend themselves they refused admission to any person who came from West Australia unless he could show that he had never been a convict. Thus the colony at Swan River was branded and held to be contaminated. No free immigrants sought its shores and many of its best inhabitants departed. This stigma continued to rest on West Australia until the year 1868 when the transportation of criminals from Great Britain altogether ceased and the colony no longer received its periodical supply of convicts. Since that time it has in a great measure retrieved its character. It is now doing what it can to attract free immigrants and offers large tracts of pastoral land at low rentals while the farming classes are attracted by free selection at only ten shillings and acre with ten years in which to pay it. It has joined Perth to Albany by a good railway and several branch railways have been constructed as well as a large number of telegraph lines and at Albany the town on King George's sound it has established a coaling depot for the male steamers on their way to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. But West Australia is still what it was called twenty years ago the giant skeleton of a colony consisting of about forty thousand people scattered over a hundred thousand square miles of territory behind which stretches a vast region of unexplored wilderness. There is every indication however its progress in the near future will be rapid. Up to 1870 it formed what was called a crown colony. The people had no voice in their own government. Their affairs were managed for them by the officers of the English government. At that date however, when transportation was abolished the colony was promoted to the partial management of its own affairs and the people began periodically to elect a legislative council. In 1890 it was still further promoted being raised to the full dignity of an independent colony having like the other colonies of Australia a parliament of two houses with power to make and unmake its own laws as it pleases. Perth is now rapidly increasing and the colony is on the eve of its palmy days. End of section 15 Recording by Linda Johnson