 Section 6 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. New South Wales, 1808 to 1837. 1. Governor Macquarie In 1808 the English government held an inquiry as to the circumstances which had caused the expulsion of Governor Bly, and though they cashiered Major Johnstone and indeed ordered the whole of the New South Wales corps to be disbanded, yet as it was clear that Bly had been himself very much to blame, they yielded to the wishes of the settlers insofar as to appoint a new governor in his place and therefore dispatched Major General Macquarie to take the position. He was directed to reinstate Bly for a period of 24 hours in order to indicate that the authorities in England would not suffer the colonists to dictate to them in these matters, but that they reserved completely to themselves the right to appoint and dismiss the governors. However, as Bly had by this time gone to Tasmania, Macquarie was forced to content himself on his arrival with merely proclaiming what had been his instructions. In the early days of the colonies their destinies were to a great extent molded by the governors who had charge of them. Whether for good or for evil the influence of the governor was decisive and it was therefore a matter of great good fortune to Sydney that during the long administration of Governor Lachlan Macquarie this influence was almost wholly on the side of good. Not that Macquarie had no faults, he was a man full of vanity and self-conceit, a man who instead of sober dispatches to his superiors in England wrote flowery accounts of himself and his wonderful doings, a man who in his egoism affixed the names of himself and of his family to nearly every place discovered in the colony during his term of office. Yet apart from this weakness, Macquarie may be characterized as an exemplary man and an admirable governor. He devoted himself heartily to his work. His chief thought for twelve years was how to improve the state of the little colony and how to raise the degraded men who had been sent thither. An ardent feeling of philanthropy gave a kindly tone to his restless activity. Once every year he made a complete tour of the settled portions of the colony to observe their condition and to discover what improvements were needed. He taught the farmers to build for themselves neat houses in place of the rude huts they had previously been content with. He encouraged them to improve their system of farming, sometimes with advice, sometimes with money, but more often with loans from the government stores. He built churches and schools. He took the warmest interest in the progress of religion and of education and neglected nothing that could serve to elevate the moral tone of the little community. Certainly no community has ever been in greater need of elevation. The fact that the British government thought it necessary to send out 1,100 soldiers to keep order among a population of only 10,000 indicates very plainly what was the character of these people and almost justifies the sweeping assertion of Macquarie that the colony consisted of those, quote, who had been transported and those who ought to have been, end quote. Yet Macquarie uniformly showed a kindly disposition towards the convicts. He settled great numbers of them as free men on little farms of their own and if they did not succeed as well as they might have done it was not for want of advice and assistance from the governor. 2. Road over the Blue Mountains The most important result of Macquarie's activity was the opening up of new country. He had quite a passion for road making and though on his arrival in the colony he found only 45 miles of what were little better than bush tracks yet when he left there were over 300 miles of excellent and substantial roads spreading in all directions from Sydney. He marked out towns such as Windsor, Richmond and Castle Ray in suitable places. Then by making roads to them he encouraged the freed convicts to leave Sydney and form little communities inland. But his greatest achievement in the way of road making was the highway across the Blue Mountains. This range had for years presented an insurmountable barrier. Many persons including the intrepid base had attempted to cross it but in vain. The only one who succeeded even in penetrating far into that wild and rugged country was a gentleman called Cayley who stopped at the edge of an enormous precipice where he could see no way of descending. But in 1813 three gentlemen named Wentworth, Lawson and Blaxland succeeded in crossing. After laboriously piercing through the dense timber which covers some of the ranges they traversed a wild and desolate country sometimes crawling along naked precipices sometimes fighting their way through wild ravines but at length emerging on the beautiful plains to the west. On their return they found that by keeping constantly on the crest of a long spur the road could be made much easier and Governor McQuarrie stimulated by their report sent surveyor Evans to examine the pass. His opinion was favourable and McQuarrie lost no time in commencing to construct a road over the mountains. The difficulties in his way were immense. For fifty miles the course lay through the most rugged country where yawning chasms had to be bridged and often times the solid rock had to be cut away. Yet in less than fifteen months a good carriage highway stretched from Sydney across the mountains and the Governor was able to take Mrs. McQuarrie on a trip to the fine pasturelands beyond where he founded a town and named it Bathhurst. After Lord Bathhurst the Secretary of State This was a measure of great importance to the colony for the country between the mountains and the sea was too limited and too much subject to droughts to maintain the two hundred and fifty thousand sheep which the prosperous colony now possessed. Many squatters took their flocks along the road to Bathhurst and settled down in the spacious pasturelands of the McQuarrie and Lachlan rivers. In 1821 Governor McQuarrie left for England much regretted by the colonists. The only serious mistake of his policy had been that he had quietly discouraged the introduction of free settlers because as he said the colony is intended for convicts and free settlers have no business here. His successor Sir Thomas Brisbane and afterwards Sir Ralph Darling adopted a more liberal policy and offered every inducement to free immigrants to make their homes in the colony. It was never found possible however to obtain many of that class which has been so successful in America consisting of men who, having with difficulty gathered sufficient money for their passages landed in their adopted country without means with no resources beyond the cheerful labour of themselves and of their families yet settled down in the deep untrodden forests and they are made for themselves happy and prosperous homes. This was not the class of immigrants who arrived in New South Wales during the times of Brisbane and Darling. For in 1818 free passages to Australia had been abolished and the voyage was so long and so expensive that a poor man could scarcely hope to accomplish it. Hence those who arrived in Sydney were generally young men of good education who brought with them a few hundred pounds and not only were willing to labour themselves but were able to employ the labour of others. In America the squatter was a man who farmed a small piece of land. In Australia he was one who bought a flock of sheep and carried them out to the pasture lands where, as they increased from year to year he grew rich with the annual produce of their wool. Sir Thomas Brisbane was pleased with the advent of men of this class. He gave them grants of land and assigned to them as many convicts as they were able to employ. Very speedily the fine lands of the colony were covered with flocks and herds and the applications for convicts became so numerous that, at one time, two thousand more were demanded than could be supplied. Hence began an important change in the colony. The costly government farms were, one after another, broken up and the convicts assigned to the squatters. Then the unremunerative public works were abandoned. For many of these had been begun only for the purpose of occupying the prisoners. All this tended for good, as the convicts, when thus scattered, were much more manageable and much more likely to reform than when gathered in large and corrupting crowds. In Macquarie's time not one convict in ten could be usefully employed. Seven or eight years after there was not a convict in the colony whose services would not be eagerly sought for at a good price by the squatters. This important change took place under governors Brisbane and Darling and was in a great measure due to those governors. Yet, strange to say, neither of them was ever popular. Brisbane, who entered upon office in 1821, was a fine old soldier, a thorough gentleman, honorable and upright in all his ways. Yet it could not be doubted that he was out of his proper sphere when conducting the affairs of a young colony and in 1825 the British government found it necessary to recall him. Four, Governor Darling. He was succeeded by Sir Ralph Darling who was also a soldier but was, at the same time, a man well adapted for business. Yet he too failed to give satisfaction. He was precise and methodical and his habits were painfully careful, exhibiting that sort of diligence which takes infinite trouble and anxiety over details to the neglect of larger and more important matters. His administration lasted six years from 1825 to 1831. During this period an association was formed in England consisting of merchants and members of parliament who subscribed a capital of one million pounds and received from government a grant of one million acres in New South Wales. They called themselves the Australian Agricultural Company and proposed to improve and cultivate the wastelands of Australia to import sheep and cattle for squatting purposes to open up mines for coals and metals and in general to avail themselves of the vast resources of the colony. Sir Edward Perry, the famous polar navigator was sent out as manager. The servants and employees of the association formed quite a flourishing colony on the Liverpool Plains at the head of the Darling River and though at first it caused some confusion in the financial state of New South Wales yet in the end it proved of great benefit to the whole colony. In 1824 a small executive council had been formed to consult with Governor Brisbane on colonial matters. In 1829 this was enlarged and became the Legislative Council consisting of 15 members who had power to make laws for the colony. But as their proceedings were strictly secret and could be completely reversed by the governor whenever he chose they formed but a very imperfect substitute for a truly legislative body. Yet this council was of some service to the colony. One of its first acts was to introduce the English jury system in place of arbitrary trials by government officials. Governor Darling was never popular. During the greater part of his period of office intrigues were continually on foot to obtain his recall. And from this state of feeling there arose what has been called the newspaper war which lasted for four years with great violence. The first Australian newspaper had been established in 1803 by a convict named Howe. It was in a great measure supported by the patronage of the government and the governors always exercised the right of forbidding the insertion of what they disliked. Hence this paper the Sydney Gazette was considered to be the government organ and accordingly its opinions of the governors and their acts were greatly distrusted. But during the time of Brisbane an independent newspaper the Australian was established by Mr. Wentworth and Dr. Wardell. A second of the same kind soon followed was called the Monitor. These papers found it to their advantage during the unpopularity of Darling to criticise severely the acts of that governor who was defended by the Gazette with intemperate zeal. This altercation had lasted for some time when in the third year of Darling's administration a very small event was sufficient to set the whole colony in an uproar. A dissipated soldier named Sons persuaded his companion Thompson that their prospects were not hopeful so long as they remained soldiers but that if they became convicts they had a fair chance of growing rich and prosperous. Accordingly they entered a shop and stole a piece of cloth. They were tried, convicted and sentenced to be transported to Tasmania for seven years. This was what they wished but Governor Darling having heard of the scheme they were so successfully carrying out took it upon himself to alter the course of the law and directed them to be chained together with heavy spiked collars of iron about their necks and to be set to labour on the roads. Sons was suffering from liver disease. He sank beneath the severity of his punishment and in a few days he died. And then Thompson about the same time became insane. This was an excellent opportunity for the opposition papers which immediately attacked the Governor for what they called his illegal interference and his brutality. The Gazette filled its columns with the most fulsome flattery in his defence and Darling himself was so imprudent as to mingle in the dispute and to do what he could to annoy the editors of the two hostile papers. Very soon the whole colony was divided into two great classes. The one needlessly extolling the Governor the other denouncing him as the most cowardly and brutal of men. For four years this abusive warfare lasted till at length the opponents of Darling won the day and in 1831 he was recalled by the English government. Seven. Governor Burke. Sir Richard Burke who succeeded him was the most able and the most popular of all the Sydney Governors. He had the talent and energy of Macquarie but he had in addition a frank and hearty manner which insensibly won the hearts of the colonists who for years after his departure used to talk affectionately of him as the good old Governor Burke. During his term of office the colony continued in a sober way to make steady progress. In 1833 its population numbered 60,000 of whom 36,000 were free persons. Every year there arrived 3,000 fresh convicts but as an equal number of free immigrants also arrived the colony was benefitted by its annual increase of population. Eight. The land question. Governor Burke on his landing found that much discontent existed with reference to what was called the land question. It was understood that anyone who applied for land to the government and showed that he would make a good use of it would receive a suitable area as a free grant but many abuses crept in under this system. In theory all men had an equal right to obtain the land they required but in practice it was seldom possible for one who had no friends among the officials at Sydney to obtain a grant. An immigrant had often to wait for months and see his application unheeded while meantime a few favored individuals were calling day by day at the land office and receiving grant after grant of the choicest parts of the colony. Governor Burke under instructions from the English Parliament made a new arrangement. There were to be no more free grants. In the settled districts all land was to be put up for auction. If less than five shillings an acre was offered it was not to be sold. When the offers rose above that price it was to be given to the highest bidder. This was regarded as a very fair arrangement and as a large sum of money was annually received from the sale of land the government was able to resume the practice discontinued in 1818 of assisting poor people to emigrate from Europe to the colony. Nine, the squatters. Beyond the surveyed districts the land was occupied by squatters who settled down where they pleased but had no legal right to their runs as they were called. With regard to these lands new regulations were urgently required for the squatters who were liable to be turned off at a moment's notice felt themselves in a very precarious position. Besides as their sheep increased rapidly and the flocks of neighbouring squatters interfered with one another, violent feuds sprang up and were carried on with much bitterness. To put an end to these evils Governor Burke ordered the squatters to apply for the land they required. He promised to have boundaries marked out but gave notice that he would in future charge a rent in proportion to the number of sheep the land could support. In return he would secure to each squatter the peaceable occupation of his run until the time came when it should be required for sale. This regulation did much to secure the stability of squatting interests in New South Wales. After ruling well and wisely for six years Governor Burke retired in the year 1837 amid the sincere regrets of the whole colony. End of Section 6 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 7 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 Discoveries in the Interior 1817 to 1836 1. Oxley After the passage over the Blue Mountains had been discovered in 1813 and the beautiful pasture land round bathurst had been opened up to the enterprise of the squatters it was natural that the colonists should desire to know something of the nature and capabilities of the land which stretched away to the west. In 1817 they sent Mr. Oxley the Surveyor General to explore the country towards the interior directing him to follow the course of the Lachlan and discover the ultimate fate as they called it of its waters. Taking with him a small party he set out from the settled districts on the Macquarie and for many days walked along the banks of the Lachlan through undulating districts of Woodland and Rich Meadow but after time the explorers could perceive that they were gradually entering upon a region of totally different aspect the ground was growing less and less hilly the tall mountain trees were giving place to stunted shrubs and the fresh green of the grassy slopes was disappearing. At length they emerged on a great plain filled with dreary swamps which stretched as far as the eye could reach like one vast dismal sea of waving reeds into this forbidding region they penetrated forcing their way through the tangled reeds and over weary miles of oozy mud into which they sank almost to the knees at every step ere long they had to abandon this effort to follow the Lachlan throughout its course they therefore retraced their steps and striking to the south succeeded in going round the great swamp which had opposed their progress. Again they followed the course of the river for some distance entering as they journeyed into regions of still greater desolation but again they were forced to desist by a second swamp of the same kind the Lachlan here seemed to lose itself in interminable marshes and as no trace could be found of its further course Oxley concluded that they had reached the end of the river as he looked around on the dreary expanse he pronounced the country to be quote forever uninhabitable end quote and on his return to Bathurst he reported that in this direction at least there was no opening for enterprise the Lachlan he said flows into an extensive region of swamps which are perhaps only the margin of a great inland sea Oxley was afterwards sent to explore the course of the Macquarie River Oxley was as little successful in this as in his former effort the river flowed into a wide marsh some 30 or 40 miles long and he was forced to abandon his purpose he started for the eastern coast crossed the New England range and descended the long woodland slopes to the sea discovering on his way the river Hastings 2. Allen Cunningham several important discoveries were affected by an enthusiastic botanist named Allen Cunningham who in his search for new plants succeeded in opening up country which had been previously unknown in 1825 he found a passage over the Liverpool range through a wild and picturesque gap which he called the Pandora Pass and on the other side of the mountains he discovered the fine pastoral lands of the Liverpool Plains and the Darling Downs which are watered by three branches of the Upper Darling the Peel, the Gwider, and the Dumarest the squatters were quick to take advantage of these discoveries and after a year or two this district was covered with great flocks of sheep it was here that the Australian agricultural company formed their great stations already referred to 3. Hume and Huffle the southern coasts of the district now called Victoria had been carefully explored by Flinders and other sailors but the country which lay behind these coasts was quite unknown in 1824 Governor Brisbane suggested a novel plan of exploration he proposed to land a party of convicts at Wilson's Promontory with instructions to work their way through the interior to Sydney where they would receive their freedom the charge of the party was offered to Hamilton Hume a young native of the colony and a most expert and intrepid bushman he was of an energetic and determined though somewhat domineering disposition and was anxious to distinguish himself in the work of exploration he declined to undertake the expedition in the manner proposed by Governor Brisbane but offered to conduct a party of convicts from Sydney to the southern coasts a sea captain named Huffle asked permission to accompany him with these two as leaders and six convict servants to make up the party they set out from Lake George carrying their provisions in two carts drawn by teams of oxen as soon as they met the Moran Bidji their troubles commenced the river was so broad and swift that it was difficult to see how they could carry their goods across Hume covered the carts with tarpolin so as to make them serve as punts then he swam across the river carrying the end of a rope between his teeth and with this he pulled over the loaded punts the men and oxen then swam across and once more pushed forward but the country through which they had now to pass was so rough and woody that they were obliged to abandon their carts and load the oxen with their provisions they journeyed on through hilly country beneath the shades of deep and far spreading forests to their left they sometimes caught a glimpse of the snow-capped peaks of the Australian Alps and at length they reached the banks of a clear and rapid stream which they called the Hume but which is now known as the Murray their carts being no longer available they had to construct boats of wicker work and cover them with tarpolin having crossed the river they entered the lightly timbered slopes to the north of Victoria and holding their course south-west they discovered first the river ovens and then a splendid stream which they called the Huffle now known as the Goldburn their great object however was to reach the ocean and every morning when they left their camping place they were sustained by the hope of coming before evening in view of the open sea but day after day passed without any prospect of a termination to their journey Hume and Huffle seeing a high peak at some little distance they left the rest of the party to themselves for a few days and with incredible labour ascended the mountain in the expectation of beholding from its summit the great southern ocean in the distance nothing was to be seen however but the waving tops of gum-trees rising ridge after ridge away to the south weirdly they retraced their steps to the place where the others were encamped they called this peak Mount Disappointment having altered the direction of their course a little in a few days they were rejoiced by the sight of a great expanse of water passing through country which they declared to resemble in its freshness and beauty the well-kept park of an English nobleman they reached a bay which the natives called Guilong here a dispute took place between leaders Huffle asserting that the sheet of water before them was western port Hume that it was port Phillip Hume expressed the utmost contempt for Huffle's ignorance Huffle retorted with sarcasm on Hume's dogmatism and conceit and the rest of the journey was embittered by so great an amount of ill-feeling that the two explorers were never again unfriendly terms Hume's careful and sagacious observations of the route by which they had come enabled him to lead the party rapidly and safely back to Sydney where the leaders were rewarded with grants of land and the convicts with tickets of leave 4. Captain Sturt the long drought which occurred between 1826 and 1828 suggested to Governor Darling the idea that as the swamps which had impeded Oxley's progress would be then dried up the exploration of the river Macquarie would not present the same difficulties as formerly the charge of organizing an expedition was given to Captain Sturt who was to be accompanied by Hume with a party of two soldiers and eight convicts they carried with them portable boats but when they reached the Macquarie they found its waters so low as to be incapable of floating them properly trudging on foot along the banks of the river they reached the place where Oxley had turned back it was no longer a marsh but with the intense heat the clay beneath their feet was baked and hard there was the same dreary stretch of reeds now withered and yellow under the glare of the sun Sturt endeavored to penetrate this solitude but the physical exertion of pushing their way through the reeds was too great for them if they paused to rest they were almost suffocated in the hot and pestilent air the only sound they could hear was the distant booming of the bittern and a feeling of the most lonely wretchedness pervaded the scene at length they were glad to leave this dismal region and strike to the west through a flat and monotonous district where the shells and claws of crayfish were filled of frequent inundations through this plain there flowed a river which Sturt called the darling in honor of the governor they followed this river for about 90 miles and then took their way back to Sydney Sturt being now able to prove that the belief in the existence of a great inland sea was erroneous 5. The Murray in 1829 along with a naturalist named McClay Sturt was again sent out to explore the interior and on this occasion carried his portable boats to the Murrumbidgee on which he embarked his party of eight convicts they rode with a will and soon took the boat down the river beyond its junction with the Lachlan the stream then became narrow a thick growth of overhanging trees shut out the light from above while beneath the rushing waters bore them swiftly over dangerous snags and through whirling rapids until they were suddenly shut out into the broad surface of a noble stream which flowed gently over its smooth bed of sand and pebbles this river they called the Murray but it was afterwards found to be only the lower portion of the stream which had been crossed by Hume and Huffle several years before Sturt's manner of journeying was to row from sunrise to sunset then land on the banks of the river and encamped for the night this exposed the party to some dangers from the suspicious natives who often mustered in crowds of several hundreds but Sturt's kindly manner and pleasant smile always converted them into friends so that the worst mishap he had to record was the loss of his frying pan and other utensils together with some provisions which were stolen by the blacks in the dead of night after twilight the little encampment was often swarming with dark figures but Sturt joined in their sports and McClay especially became a great favorite with them by singing comic songs at which the dusky crowds roared with laughter the natives are generally good humored if properly managed and throughout Sturt's trip the white men and the blacks contrived to spend a very friendly and sociable time together after following the Murray for about two hundred miles below the Lachlan they reached a place where a large river flowed from the north into the Murray this was the mouth of the river Darling which Sturt himself had previously discovered and named he now turned his boat into it in order to examine it for a short distance but after they had rode a mile or two they came to a fence of stakes which the natives had stretched across the river for the purpose of catching fish rather than break the fence and so destroy the labors of the blacks Sturt turned to sail back the natives had been concealed on the shore to watch the motions of the white men and seeing their considerate conduct they came forth upon the bank and gave a loud shout of satisfaction the party in the boat unfurled the British flag and answered with three hearty cheers as they slowly drifted down with the current this humane disposition was characteristic of Captain Sturt who in afterlife was able to say that he had never either directly or indirectly caused the death of a black fellow when they again entered on the Murray they were carried gently by the current first to the west then to the south and as they went onward they found the river grow deeper and wider until it spread into a broad sheet of water which they called Lake Alexandrina after the name of our present queen who was then the Princess Alexandrina Victoria on crossing this lake they found the passage to the ocean blocked up by a great bar of sand and were forced to turn their boat round and face the current with the prospect of a toilsome journey of a thousand miles before they could reach home they had to work hard at their oars Sturt taking his turn like the rest at length they entered the Murrumbidgee but their food was now failing and the labor of pulling against the stream was proving too great for the men whose limbs began to grow feeble and emaciated day by day they struggled on swinging more and more wearily at their oars their eyes glassy and sunken with hunger and toil and their minds beginning to wander as the intense heat of the mid-summer sun struck on their heads one man became insane the others frequently laid down declaring that they could not row another stroke and were quite willing to die Sturt animated them and with enormous exertions he succeeded in bringing the party to the settled districts where they were safe they had made known the greatest river of Australia and traversed one thousand miles of unknown country so that this expedition was by far the most important that had yet been made into the interior and Sturt by land with flinders by sea stands first on the roll of Australian discoverers 6. Mitchell the next traveller who sought to fill up the blank map of Australia was Major Mitchell having offered in 1831 to conduct an expedition to the northwest he set out with fifteen convicts and reached the upper darling but two of his men who had been left behind to bring up provisions were speared by the blacks and the stores plundered this disaster forced the company soon after to return in 1835 when the Major renewed his search and was again unfortunate the botanist of the party Richard Cunningham brother of the Alan Cunningham already mentioned was treacherously killed by the natives and finally the determined hostility of the blacks brought the expedition to an ignominious close in 1836 Major Mitchell undertook an expedition to the south and in this he was much more successful taking with him a party of twenty-five convicts he followed the Loughlin to its junction with the Murrumbidgee here he stayed for a short time to explore the neighbouring country but the party was attacked by hordes of natives some of whom were shot the Major then crossed the Murray and from a mountain top in the Laudan district he looked forth on a land which he declared to be like the Garden of Eden on all sides rich expanses of woodland and grassy plains stretched away to the horizon watered by abundant streams they then passed along the slopes of the Grampiens and discovered the river Glenelk on which they embarked in the boats which they had carried with them the scenery along this stream was magnificent luxurious festoons of creepers hung from the banks trailing downwards in the eddying current and partly concealing the most lovely grottos which the current had wrought out of the pure white banks of limestone the river wound round abrupt hills and through verdant valleys which made the latter part of their journey to the sea most agreeable and refreshing being stopped by the bar at the mouth of the Glenelk they followed the shore for a short distance eastward and then turned towards home Portland Bay now lay on their right and Mitchell made an excursion to explore it what was his surprise to see a neat cottage on the shore with a small schooner in front of it at anchor in the bay this was the lonely dwelling of the brothers Henty who had crossed from Tasmania and founded a whaling station at Portland Bay on Mitchell's return he had a glorious view from the summit of Mount Macedon and what he saw induced him on his return to Sydney to give to the country the name Australia Felix as a reward for his important services he received a vote of 1,000 pounds from the council at Sydney and he was shortly afterwards knighted so that he is now known as Sir Thomas Mitchell End of section 7 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 8 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 Port Phillip, 1800 to 1840 1. Discovery of Port Phillip The discovery of Base Strait in 1798 had rendered it possible for the captains of ships bound for Sydney to shorten somewhat their voyage thither and as this was recognized by the English government to be a great advantage a small vessel, the Lady Nelson was sent out under the command of Lieutenant Grant in order to make a thorough exploration of the passage she reached the Australian coast at the boundary between the two present colonies of Victoria and South Australia Grant called the cape he first met with Cape Northumberland he saw and named Cape Nelson Portland Bay Cape Shank and other features of the coast when he arrived in Sydney he called the attention of Governor King to a small inlet which he had not been able to examine although it seemed to him of importance in 1802 the governor sent back the Lady Nelson now under the command of Lieutenant Murray to explore this inlet Lieutenant Murray entered it and found that a narrow passage led to a broad sheet of water thoroughly landlocked though of very considerable extent he reported favourably of the beauty and fertility of its shores and desired to name it Port King in honour of the governor but Governor King requested that this tribute should be paid to the memory of his old commander the first Australian governor and thus the Bay received its present name Port Phillip only sixty days later Flinders also entered the bay but when he arrived sometime afterwards in Sydney he was surprised to find he was not the first discoverer it was at this time that the governor in Sydney was afraid of the intrusion of the French upon Australian soil and when he heard how favourable the appearance of this port was for settlement he resolved to have it more carefully explored accordingly he sent a small schooner the Cumberland under the charge of Mr. Robbins to make the examination the vessel carried Charles Grimes the Surveyor General of New South Wales and his assistant Meehan also a surgeon named McCallum and a liberated convict named Fleming who was to report on the agricultural capabilities of the district on arriving at Port Phillip they commenced a systematic survey Robbins sounding the bay and making a careful chart while the other four were every morning landed on the shore to examine the country they walked ten or fifteen miles each day and in the evening were again taken on board the schooner thus they walked from the site of Sorrento round by Brighton till they reached the River Yara which they described as a large freshwater stream but without naming it then they went round the bay as far as Guilong they carried a good chart and several long reports to the governor at Sydney who would probably have sent a party down to settle by the Yara had it not been that an expedition had already set sail from England for the purpose of occupying the shores of Port Phillip two, Governor Collins this was the expedition of David Collins already mentioned he brought out nearly four hundred persons of whom over three hundred were convicts there is good reason to believe that Collins from the first would have preferred to settle at the Derwent in Tasmania but at any rate he carried out his work at Port Phillip in a very half-hearted manner Tucky chose for the settlement a sandy shore at Sorrento where scarcely a drop of fresh water was to be had and where the blazing sun of mid-summer must have been unusually trying to a crowd of people fresh from colder climates it soon became apparent that the site selected would never prove suitable and Collins sent Lieutenant Tucky in search of a better place that officer seems to have made a very inefficient search he found no river and no stream better than the little one on which the town of Frankston now stands here he was attacked by a great crowd of blacks and had a conflict with them sufficiently severe to prevent his landing again he was thus debarred from exploration by land and the stormy weather prevented him from remaining long in the open bay Tucky therefore returned with a very gloomy report and increased the despondency of the little community everyone was dull and dispirited except the two or three children who had been allowed to accompany their convict parents among these the leader of all their childish sports was a little lad named John Pascoe Faulkner who was destined to be afterwards of note in the history of Port Phillip everybody grew dispirited under the heat the want of fresh water and the general wretchedness of the situation and very soon all voices were unanimous in urging the governor to remove Collins then sent a boat with letters to Sydney and Governor King gave him permission to cross over to Tasmania he lost not a moment in doing so and founded the settlement at the Derwent to which reference has already been made before he left there were four convicts who took advantage of the confusion to escape into the bush hoping to make their way to Sydney one returned foot sore and weary just in time to be taken on board the other three were not again seen two are believed to have perished of hunger and thirty-two years passed away before the fate of the third was discovered three western port when Hume and Hovel returned to Sydney after their exploring expedition Hovel insisted that the fine harbor he had seen was western port he had really been at Geylong Harbor but was all that distance astray in his reckoning induced by his report the government sent an expedition under Captain Wright to form a settlement at western port Hovel went with him to give the benefit of his experience they landed on Phillip Island but the want of a stream of permanent water was a disadvantage and soon after they crossed to the mainland to the eastern shore where they founded a settlement building wooden huts and one or two brick cottages Hovel had now to confess that the place he had formerly seen was not western port and he went off in search of the fine country he had previously seen but came back disappointed the settlement struggled onward for about a year and was then withdrawn it is not easy to explain in a few words but it seems to have been due to a general discontent however there were private settlers in Tasmania who would have carried out the undertaking with much more energy for in Tasmania the sheep had been multiplying at a great rate while the amount of clear and grassy land in that island was very limited one of the residents in Tasmania named John Batman who has been already mentioned conceived the idea of forming an association among the Tasmanian sheep owners for the purpose of crossing base straight and occupying with their flocks the splendid grassy lands which explorers had seen there 4. Batman John Batman was a native of Paramata but when he was about 21 years of age he had left his home to seek his fortune in Tasmania there he had taken up land and had settled down to the life of a sheep farmer in the country around Ben Lomond but he was fond of a life of adventure and found enough of excitement for a time in the troubled state of the colony it was he who captured Brady the leader of the Bush rangers and he became well known during the struggle with the natives on account of his success in dealing with them and in inducing his success in dealing with them and in inducing them to surrender peaceably but when all these troubles were over and he had to settle down to the monotonous work of drafting and driving sheep he found his land too rocky to support his flocks knowing that others in Tasmania were in the same difficulty he and his friend Gellibrand a lawyer in Hobart in the year 1827 asked permission to occupy the grassy lands supposed to be round western port but the governor in Sydney refused in 1834 some of them resolved to go without permission and an association of 13 members resolved to send sheep over to Port Phillip which was now known to be the more suitable harbor before they sent the sheep they resolved to send someone to explore and report John Batman naturally volunteered and the association chartered for him a little vessel the Rebecca in which after 19 days of sea sickness and miserable tossing in the strait he succeeded in entering Port Phillip on the 29th of May 1835 next morning he landed near Geylong and walked to the top of the Barrable Hills wading most of the way through grass knee deep on the following day he went in search of the aboriginals and met a party of about 20 women together with a number of children with these he soon contrived to be on friendly terms and after he had distributed among them looking glasses, blankets handkerchiefs, apples and sugar he left them very well satisfied 5. The Yarra a day or two later the Rebecca anchored in Hobson's Bay in front of the tea tree scrub and the lonely shores where now the streets of Williamstown extend in all directions Batman again started on foot to explore that river whose mouth lay there in front of him with 14 men, all well armed he passed up the river banks but being on the left side he naturally turned up that branch which is called the salt water instead of the main stream after two days of walking through open grassy lands admirably suited for sheep they reached the site of Sunbury from a hill at that place they could see fires about 20 miles to the southeast and as they were anxious to meet the natives they bent their steps in that direction till they overtook a native man with his wife and three children to his great satisfaction he learnt that these people knew of his friendly meeting with the women in the Geylong district they guided him to the banks of the Merry Creek to the place where their whole tribe was encamped he stayed with them all night sleeping in a pretty grassy hollow beside the stream in the morning he offered to buy a portion of their land and gave them a large quantity of goods consisting of scissors, knives, blankets looking glasses and articles of this description in return they granted him all the land stretching from the Merry Creek to Geylong Batman had the documents drawn up and on the Northcote hill overlooking the grass covered flats of Collingwood and the somber forests of Carlton and Fitzroy the natives affixed their marks to the deeds by which Batman fancied he was legally put in possession of six hundred thousand acres trees were cut with notches in order to fix the boundaries and in the afternoon Batman took leave of his black friends he had not gone far before he was stopped by a large swamp and so slept for the night under the great gum trees which then spread their shade over the ground now covered by the populous streets of West Melbourne in the morning he found his way round the swamp and in trying to reach the salt water came upon a noble stream which was afterwards called the Yara in the evening he reached his vessel in the bay next day he ascended the Yara in a boat and when he came to the Yara Falls he wrote in his diary quote this will be the place for a village unquote unconscious that he was gazing upon the site of a great and busy city returning to indented head near the heads of Port Phillip he left three white men and his Sydney natives to cultivate the soil and retain possession of the land he supposed himself to have purchased then he set sail for Tasmania he and his associates began to prepare for transporting their households their sheep and their cattle to the new country six the Henty Brothers but even earlier than this period a quiet settlement had been made in the western parts of Victoria there as early as 1828 sealers had dwelt at Portland Bay had built their little cottages and formed their little gardens but they were unauthorized and could only be regarded by the British government as intruders having no legal right to the land they occupied in 1834 however there came settlers of another class Edward, Stephen and Frank Henty their father a man of some wealth had in 1828 emigrated with all his family to western Australia carrying with him large quantities of fine stock but the settlement at Swan River proving a failure he had removed to Tasmania where his six sons all settled very soon they found the pastoral lands of Tasmania too limited and as Edward Henty had in one of his coasting voyages seen the sealers at Portland Bay and noticed how numerous the whales were in that bay and how fine the grassy lands that lay within he chartered a vessel, the thistle and crossed in her to settle at Portland Bay with servants, sheep, cattle and horses the land was all that had been anticipated and soon Frank and then Stephen arrived with more stock and more men to tend them houses and stores were put up and fields were plowed ere long other settlers followed and in the course of five or six years all the district lying inland from Portland Bay was well settled and covered with sheep while at Portland Bay itself so many whales were caught that there were not tanks enough to hold the oil and much of it was wasted the English government after some delay agreed to sell land to the settlers and before 1840 a thriving little town stood on the shores of Portland Bay Seven, Faulkner John Pascoe Faulkner who as a boy had landed at Sorrento in 1803 had grown up to manhood in Tasmania through stormy times and had at length settled down as an innkeeper in Launceston with that business however combining the editing and publishing of a small newspaper he was always a busy and active minded worker and had done a great deal to make up for the defective education of his earlier years when Batman arrived in Launceston with the news of the fine pastoral country across the water Faulkner became quite excited at the prospects that seemed possible over there he accordingly began to agitate for the formation of another association and five members joined him at his expense the Schooner Enterprise was chartered and loaded with all things necessary for a small settlement on the 27th July 1835 he set sail from Launceston but the weather was so rough that after three days and two nights of inexpressible sickness Faulkner found himself still in sight of the Tasmanian coast he therefore asked to be put ashore and left Captain Lancy to manage the trip as he thought best the captain took the vessel over to western port as had been originally arranged but the land there was not nearly so good as they understood it to be in the Port Phillip district so they sailed round and safely anchored in Hobson's Bay bringing with them horses and plows grain, fruit trees, materials for a house provisions and indeed everything that a small settlement could want getting out their boat they entered upon the stream which they saw before them but unfortunately they turned up the wrong arm and after rowing many miles were forced to turn back the water all the way being salt and unfit for drinking for this reason they called this stream the salt water but next morning they started again and tried the other branch after pulling for about an hour and a half they reached a basin in the river whose beauty filled them with exaltation and delight a rocky ledge over which the river flowed kept the water above it fresh the soil was rich and covered with splendid grass and they instantly came to the conclusion to settle in this favoured spot next day they towed the vessel up and landed where the custom house now is at night they slept beside the falls where the air was fragrant with the sweet scent of the wattle trees just bursting into bloom they had not been on the river many days before Mr. Wedge, one of Batman's party in crossing the country from indented head to the Yara was astonished to see the masts of a vessel rising amid the gum trees on reaching the river bank what was his surprise to find in that lonely spot a vessel almost embedded in the woods and the rocks and glades echoing to the sound of hammer and saw and the encouraging shouts of the plowmen Wedge informed Faulkner's party that they were trespassers on land belonging to John Batman in company Captain Lancy, having heard the story of the purchase declared that such a transaction could have no value when Wedge was gone the settlers laid their axes to the roots of the trees and began to clear the land for extensive cultivation a fortnight later Wedge brought round all his party from indented head in order to occupy what Batman had marked as the site for a village where rival parties were encamped side by side where the western part of Collins Street now stands a little later Faulkner arrived with further settlers and with a wooden house which he soon erected by the banks of the Yara the first regularly built house of Melbourne he placed it by the side of the densely wooded stream which was afterwards turned into Elizabeth Street great crowds of black and white cockatoos raised their incessant clamour at the first strokes of the axe but soon the hillside was clear and man had taken permanent possession of the spot 8. William Buckley Meanwhile a circumstance had happened which favoured Batman's party in no small degree the men left at indented head were surprised one morning an extremely tall figure advancing towards them his hair was thickly matted his skin was brown but not black like that of the natives he was almost naked and he carried the ordinary arms of the Aborigines this was William Buckley the only survivor of the three convicts who had escaped from Governor Collins's expedition he had dwelt for 32 years among the natives during this long time he had experienced many strange adventures but had not exercised the smallest influence for good upon the natives he was content to sink at once to their level and to lead the purely animal life they led but when he heard that there was a party of whites on indented head whom the Gielong tribes proposed to murder he crossed to warn them of their danger Batman's party clothed him and treated him well and for a time he acted as interpreter smoothing over many of the difficulties that arose with the natives and rendering the formation of the settlement much less difficult than it might have been the news taken over by Batman caused a commotion in Tasmania many settlers crossed in search of the new country and before a year had passed nearly 200 persons with more than 15,000 sheep had landed on the shores of Port Phillip but they soon spread over a great extent of country from Gielong to Sunbury they were in the midst of numerous black tribes who now, too late began to perceive the nature of Batman's visit and commenced to seek revenge frequent attacks were made in one of which a squatter and his servant were killed beside the Werribee their bodies lie buried in the Flagstaff Gardens 10. Governor Burke these were not the only troubles of the settlers for the Sydney government declared that all purchases of land from ignorant natives were invalid and Governor Burke issued a proclamation warning the people at Port Phillip against fixing their homes there as the land did not legally belong to them still new settlers flocked over and a township began to be formed on the banks of the Yara Batman's association found that their claims to the land granted them by the natives would not be allowed and after some correspondence on the subject with the home government they had to be content with 28,000 acres compensation for the money they had expended 11. Lonsdale towards the close of 1836 Governor Burke found himself compelled to recognize the new settlement and sent Captain Lonsdale to act as a magistrate 30 soldiers accompanied him to maintain order and protect the settlers next year 1837 the governor himself arrived at Port Phillip where he found the settlers now numbering 500 he planned out the little town giving names to its streets and finally settling that it should be called Melbourne after Lord Melbourne who was then the prime minister of England 12. La Trobe in 1838 Geylong began to grow into a township and the settlers spread west under the name of La Trobe next year Mr La Trobe was sent to take charge of the whole district of Port Phillip under the title of superintendent but with almost all the powers of a governor the settlers held a public meeting in an auction room at Market Square for the purpose of according a hearty welcome to their new governor whose kindliness and upright conduct soon made him a great endowed building was put up as a police office on the site of the western markets where it did duty for some time until one night it fell some say because it was undermined by a party of imprisoned natives but others because a bull belonging to Mr Batman had rushed against it a courthouse was erected and four policemen appointed a post office next followed so one by one the various institutions of a civilized community arose in miniature form numerous ships began to enter the bay and a lucrative trade sprang up with Tasmania in 1838 the first newspaper appeared it was due to the enterprise of Faulkner every Monday morning sheets containing four pages of writing were distributed to the subscribers under the title of the advertiser after nine issues of this kind had been published a parcel of old refuse type was sent over from Tasmania and a young man being found in the town who had in his boyhood spent a few months in a printing office he was pressed into the service and thence forward the advertiser appeared in a printed form the pioneer of the press of Victoria Mr. Batman had fixed his residence not far from the place now occupied by the Spencer street railway station here in the year 1839 he was seized with a violent cold and after being carefully nursed by one of his daughters died without seeing more than the beginning of that settlement he had labored so hard to found Mr. Faulkner lived to an advanced age and saw the city whose first house he had built become a vast metropolis the year 1839 brought further increase to the population and before the beginning of 1840 there were 3,000 persons with 500 houses and 70 shops in Melbourne in 1841 within five years of its foundation it contained 11,000 persons and 1,500 houses and of section 8 recording by Linda Johnson section 9 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 1836 to 1841 one Edward Gibbon Wakefield in 1829 a small book was published in London which attracted a great deal of attention not only by reason of its charming style and the liveliness of its manner but also on account of the complete originality of the ideas it contained it purported to be a letter written from Sydney and described the annoyances to be endured by a man of taste and fortune if he emigrated to Australia he could have no intellectual society he could not enjoy the pleasures of his library or of his picture gallery he could hope for none of the delights of easy retirement he had to go forth on his land and with his own hands labour for his daily food for, said Mr Wakefield the author of this little book you cannot long have free servants in this country if a free man arrives in the colony, though he may for a short time work for you as a servant, yet he is sure to save a little money and as land is here so excessively cheap comes a landed proprietor he settles down on his farm and though he may have a year or two of heavy toil yet he is almost certain to become both happy and prosperous thus the colony is an excellent place for a poor man but it is a wretched abode for a man of means and of culture Wakefield therefore proposed to found in Australia another colony better adapted to those who had fortunes sufficient to maintain them and yet desired to emigrate to a new country his scheme for effecting this purpose was to charge a high price for the land and so to prevent the poorer people from purchasing it the money received from the sale of land he proposed to employ in bringing out young men and women as servants and farm labourers for the service of the colonists now said Wakefield on account of the immense natural resources of these colonies their splendid soil their magnificent pasture lands their vast wealth in minerals and their widespread forests of valuable timber which stand ready for the axe a gentleman possessed of only twenty thousand pounds will obtain as large an income from it as could be procured in England yet he will be able to enjoy his learned and cultured leisure just as he does at home because all the work will be done for him by the servants he employs for three or four years this agreeable fallacy made quite a stir in England famous authors distinguished soldiers learned bishops were deceived by it noblemen members of parliament leaders and merchants all combined to applaud this novel and excellent idea of Mr. Wakefield 2. South Australian Association in 1831 the first effort was made to give a practical turn to these theories and the southern shores of Australia were selected as a suitable locality for the proposed colony a company was formed and applied to the British government for a charter which would have conceded the complete sovereignty of the whole southern region of Australia Lord Goderich the Secretary of State replied that it was asking a great deal too much and abruptly closed the negotiation two years later the South Australian Association was formed and as this company asked for nothing beyond the power to sell wastelands and the proceeds to assist immigration the British government gave its consent and an act was passed by the Imperial Parliament to give the association full power to found a colony this act directed that commissioners should be appointed to frame laws for the colony to establish courts and to nominate its officers land was to be thrown open for sale at not less than 12 shillings per acre and even this comparatively high price was to be raised after a short time to one pound per acre in order to keep the land in the hands of the wealthy it was expressly stated that no convict would be allowed to land in the new settlement which it was hoped would become in every respect a model community the British government declined to incur any expense in establishing the colony which was to be purely self-supporting 11 commissioners were appointed of whom Colonel Torrens was chairman in England and Mr. Fisher the representative in Australia where he was to take charge of the sale of lands and supervise the affairs of the colony at the same time Captain Hind Marsh was appointed governor and Colonel Light was sent out to survey the wastelands of the territory to their being offered for sale in May 1835 during the very month in which Batman was wandering for the first time on the banks of the Yara these appointments for the foundation of a fourth Australian colony were being published in the English Government Gazette thus Victoria and South Australia took their widely different origins at almost the same time but while the first actual settlers landed at Port Phillip towards the end of 1835 the pioneers of South Australia did not reach that colony until the middle of 1836 3. Adelaide the first emigrants to South Australia landed on Kangaroo Island of which Flinders had given a most attractive account but though the place was beautifully wooded and the end of the most picturesque aspect it was found to be in many respects unsuitable for the foundation of a city and when Colonel Light shortly afterwards arrived with his staff of surveyors he at once decided to remove the settlement to St. Vincent's Gulf here about six miles from the shores of the Gulf he selected a broad plane between the sea and the pleasant of the Mount Lofty Range and on the bank of a small stream which he called the Torrens he marked out the lines of the infant city Queen Adelaide was the wife of the reigning King of England and as she was exceedingly popular the colonists with enthusiasm adopted her name for their capital a harbor was found seven miles distant from the city and on it a town was established to which the name Port Adelaide was given 4. Governor Hindmarsh in December 1836 Governor Hindmarsh landed and beneath a spreading gum tree near the beach he read his commission to a small audience of emigrants and officials but when he proceeded to examine what had been done he was filled with disgust and indignation the only landing place for vessels was in the midst of a mangrove swamp at the mouth of a muddy little creek and all goods would have to be carried 6 or 7 miles inland to the city to a sailor's eye it seemed the most reckless folly to make so unusual a choice and he at once determined to remove the settlement to Encounter Bay but neither Colonel Light nor Mr. Fisher would permit any change to be made and a violent quarrel took place as resident commissioner Mr. Fisher had powers equal to those of the governor and was thus enabled to prolong the contest of the settlers some sided with the governor others gave their support to the commissioner and the colony was quickly divided into two noisy factions after 14 months of constant wrangling the English government interfered Mr. Fisher was dismissed and Governor Hindmarsh recalled while the offices of both were conferred on Colonel Galler who arrived in the colony during the year 1838 5. Early Failures the Wakefield system could not possibly realize the hopeful anticipations had been formed of it for the foundation of a new colony and the reclaiming of the lonely forest wilds are not to be accomplished by merely looking on at the exertions of hired servants ladies and gentlemen who had in England paid for land they had never seen were on their arrival greatly disgusted at the sight of the toils before them they had to pull their luggage to the farm for there were neither porters nor cabs in waiting they had to settle down in canvas tents on a grassy plain which was called a city but where a few painted boards here and there fastened to the trunks of gum-trees were the only indications of streets then when they went out to see their estates when they considered how many years must pass away before there could possibly arise the terraces and gardens the orchards and grassy lawns which make an English country house delightful their courage failed them and instead of going forth upon the land they clustered together in Adelaide everyone wished to settle down in the city and as it was expected that the wealth of population the value of town allotments would rapidly increase the idea became prevalent that to buy land in the city and keep it for sale in future years would be a profitable investment but there were so many who entertained the same astute design that when they all came to put it in practice there was little gain to anyone and the only result was that Adelaide had a scene of reckless speculation and gambling in land meantime poorer emigrants were arriving in expectation of obtaining employment from their wealthier predecessors who had been able to pay the high price demanded for land they found that those whom they expected to be their employers had abandoned the idea of the country to cultivate the soil there was therefore nothing for them to do they had no money with which to speculate in town allotments they had no land on which to commence farming for themselves and they were in a wretched plight provisions had rapidly increased in price so that flour rose from twenty pounds to eighty pounds per ton no food was being produced from the land and nothing whatever was being done to develop the resources of the colony whilst the money which the settlers had brought with them was rapidly being spent in importing shiploads of provisions from other countries in order to give employment to those of the settlers who were really destitute governor galler commenced a series of government works he constructed a good road and laid and its port he formed wharves and reclaimed the unwholesome swamp he built a custom house with warehouses and many other costly buildings the government house alone costing twenty thousand pounds now these were all in themselves very desirable things but it was difficult to see how they were to be paid for colonel galler spent nearly the whole of his own fortune in paying the wages of the unfortunate persons he employed but that could not long support so great a concourse of people he persuaded merchants in England to send out provisions and clothing for the famished people but the only means he had of paying for these goods was by drafts on the British treasury which were accepted at first as equivalent to money for it was believed that whenever they were presented in London payment would immediately be made by the British government but this was a serious mistake though the first series of drafts were paid readily enough yet when the authorities in England found that others for larger and larger amounts continued to pour in they refused to pay and reminded the colony that by the terms of its charter it was to be entirely self-supporting a series of drafts to the amount of 69,000 pounds were therefore dishonored and the merchants finding the drafts to be worth no more than so much paper demanded their money from the governor but he had nothing with which to pay and the colony had to be declared insolvent having debts to the amount of about 400,000 pounds which it could not meet seven the collapse matters were now in a very gloomy condition most of the colonists became anxious to return to England and therefore sought to sell their land but when nearly all wished to sell and scarcely any wished to buy the price went down to a trifle and men who had invested fortunes in town allotments realized no more than enough to pay their passage home in the meantime the English merchants declined to send out any further supplies and those who had not the means of leaving Adelaide seemed in great danger of starving but as land could now be bought very cheaply many industrious people of the poorer class settled down to clear the country for farming this was what should have been done at the very beginning for no colony can be prosperous or look for anything but bankruptcy until it commences to produce grain or wool or minerals or some other commodity with which it can purchase from other lands the goods which they produce the lands of south Australia are admirably adapted for the growth of wheat and after a time added the efforts of the farmers who thus laid the foundations of future prosperity another industry was also added about this time the young squatters of new south wales attracted by the high prices given for sheep in the early days of Adelaide had been daring enough in spite of the blacks and of the toilsome journey to drive their flocks overland and the newcomers soon gave quite a wool growing tone to the community these overlanders as they were called affected a bandit style of dress in their scarlet shirts and broad brimmed hats their belts filled with pistols and their horses gaily comparison they caused a sensation in the streets in Adelaide which rang all evening with their merriment and dissipation but as they brought about to the colony during the course of only a year or so they were of essential benefit to it many of them settled down and taught the new arrivals how to manage flocks and prepare the wool and thus they assisted in raising Adelaide from the state of despondency and distress into which it had sunk 8. Recall of Governor Gauler the British government eventually decided to lend the colony a sufficient sum of money to pay its debts but it was resolved to make certain changes the 11 commissioners were abolished Captain George Gray a young officer was appointed governor and one day in May 1841 he walked into the government house at Adelaide presented his commission to Governor Gauler and at once took the control of affairs into his own hands. This summery mode of dismissing Governor Gauler must now be regarded as somewhat harsh for he had labored hard and spent his money freely in trying to benefit the colony and the mistakes which were made during his administration were not so much due to his incapacity as to the impracticable nature of the theory on which the colony had been founded. In 1841 he sailed for England deeply regretted by many who had experienced his kindness and generosity in their time of trouble. End of Section 9 Recording by Linda Johnson Section 10 of History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain of information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland New South Wales 1838 to 1850 1. Gips In 1838 when Governor Burke left Australia to spend the remainder of his life in the retirement of his native county in Ireland he was succeeded in the government of New South Wales by Sir George Gips an officer who had recently gained distinction by his services in settling the affairs of Canada. The new Governor was a man of great ability, generous and well meaning but of a somewhat arbitrary nature. No Governor has ever laboured more assiduously for the welfare of his people and yet none has ever been more unpopular than Gips. During his term of office the colonists were constantly suffering from troubles due in most instances to themselves but always attributed to others and as a rule to the Governor. It is true that the English government though actuated by a sincere benefit and assist the rising community often aggravated these troubles by its crude and ill-informed efforts to alleviate them. And as Sir George Gips considered it his chief duty to obey literally and exactly all the orders sent out by his superiors in England however much he privately disapproved of them it was natural that he should receive much of the odium and derision in judicious attempts but on the whole the troubles of the colony were due not so much to any fault of the Governor or to any error of the English government as to the imprudence of the colonists themselves. Two monetary crisis. During twelve years of unalloyed prosperity so many fortunes had been made that the road to wealth seemed securely opened to all and ended in the colony. Thus it became common for new arrivals to regard themselves on their first landing as already men of fortune and presuming on their anticipated wealth they often lived in an expensive and extravagant style very different from the prudent and abstemious life which can alone secure to the young colonist the success he hopes for. In Sydney and in Melbourne it seemed as if prosperity had turned the heads of the inhabitants. The most expensive liquors were the ordinary beverages of wagoners and shepherds and on his visit to Port Phillip in 1843 Governor Gipps found the suburbs of Melbourne thickly strewed with champagne bottles which seemed to him to tell a tale of extravagance and dissipation. 3. Land Laws Whilst many of the younger merchants were thus on their way to ruin and the great bulk of the community were kept impoverished by their habits the English government brought matters to a crisis by its injudicious interference with the land laws. The early years of South Australia and its period of trouble have been already described. South Australia was on the verge of bankruptcy and the Wakefield policy of maintaining the land at a high price had not produced the results anticipated. Now many of the greatest men in England were in favour of the Wakefield theory and in particular the secretary of state for the colonies that is the member of the British government whose duty it is to attend to colonial affairs was a warm supporter of the Wakefield so that when the people of South Australia complained that their scheme could not be successful so long as the other colonies charged so low a price for their land he sympathised with them in their trouble. Who they asked will pay one pound an acre for land in South Australia when by crossing to Port Phillip he can obtain land equally good at five shillings to prevent the total destruction of South Australia the secretary of state ordered the other colonies to charge a higher price for land New South Wales was to be divided into three districts one the middle district round Port Jackson where land was never to be sold for less than 12 shillings an acre two the northern district round Moretown Bay where the same price was to be charged three the southern district round Port Phillip where the land was of superior quality and was never to be sold for less than one pound an acre a great amount of discontent was caused throughout New South Wales by this order but South Australia was saved from absolute ruin and the secretary of state declined to recall the edict in vain it was urged that a great amount of the land was not worth more than two or three shillings an acre the answer was that land was worth whatever people were willing to pay for it for a time it seemed as if this view had been sound and land was eagerly purchased even at the advanced prices in 1840 the amounts received from land sales were three times as great as those received in 1838 it was mostly the result of speculation and disastrous effects soon followed for the prices paid by the purchasers were far above the real value of the land if a man brought a thousand pounds into the colony and paid it to the government for a thousand acres of land he reckoned himself to be still worth a thousand pounds and the banks would be willing to lend him nearly a thousand but if he endeavored after a year or two to resell it he would then discover its true value and find he was in reality possessed of only two or three hundred pounds every purchaser had found the land to be of less value than he had expected everyone was anxious to sell and there being few buyers most of it was sold at a ruinous price men who had borrowed money to pay their debts and became insolvent the banks who had lent them money were brought to the verge of ruin and one of the oldest the Bank of Australia became bankrupt in 1843 and increased the confusion in monetary affairs in order to pay their debts the squatters were now forced to sell their sheep and cattle but there was scarcely anyone willing to buy and the market glutted the prices went down to such an extent that sheep which two years before had been bought for thirty shillings were gladly sold for eighteen pence indeed a large flock was sold in Sydney at six pence per head fortunately it was discovered by Mr. O'Brien a squatter living at Yas that about six shillings worth of tallow could be obtained from each sheep by boiling it down and if this operation had not been extensively begun by many of the sheep owners they would without doubt have been completely ruined so great was the distress that in 1843 the governor issued provisions at less than cost price in order to prevent the starvation of large numbers of the people yet the secretary of state in England knew nothing of all this and in 1843 he raised the price of land still higher ordering that throughout all Australia no land should be sold for less than one pound an acre for immigration it is not to be imagined however that the English government ever took to itself any of this land revenue every penny was used for the purpose of bringing immigrants into the colony agents in Europe were appointed to select suitable persons who received what were called bounty orders anyone who possessed an order of this kind received a free passage to Sydney all expenses being paid by the colonial government with the money received from the sale of land the governor had the power of giving these orders to persons in New South Wales he sent them home to their friends or relatives or to servants and laborers whom they wished to bring to the colonies now, Governor Gipps imagined that the land would continue to bring in as much revenue every year as it did in 1840 and in the course of that year and the next gave bounty orders to the extent of nearly one million pounds but in 1841 the land revenue fell to about one-twentieth of what it had been in 1840 so that the colony must have become bankrupt had it not been that more than half of those who received bounty orders hearing of the unsettled state of the colony never made use of the permission granted Governor Gipps was blamed by the colonists and received from the Secretary of State a letter of sharp rebuke as for the immigrants who did arrive in New South Wales their prospects were not bright for a long time many of them found it impossible to obtain employment great numbers landed friendless and penniless in Sydney and in a few weeks found themselves obliged to sleep in the parks or in the streets and but for the friendly exertions of a benevolent lady Mrs. Chisholm who obtained employment at different times for about two thousand of them their position would indeed have been wretched Mrs. Chisholm founded a home for defenseless and friendless girls of whom nearly six hundred were at one time living in Sydney in destitution having been sent out from home with bounty orders under the impression that employment was certain whenever they might land at Jackson. Gradually the return of the colonists to habits of prudence and thrift removed the financial distress which had been the primary cause of all these troubles land ceased to be bought at the ruinously high rates and goods returned to their former prices. Five. Separation but these were not the only cares which pressed upon the mind of Sir George Gibbs he was entrusted with the management of the eastern half of Australia a region stretching from Cape York to Wilson's Promontory there were it is true but one hundred fifty thousand inhabitants in the whole territory but the people were widely scattered and there were in reality two distinct settlements one consisting of one hundred twenty thousand people round Sydney the other three thousand round Port Phillip the latter though small was vigorous and inclined to be discontented it was six hundred miles distant from the capital and the delays and inconveniences due to this fact caused it no little annoyance there was indeed a superintendent in Melbourne and to him the control of the southern district was chiefly entrusted but Mr. La Trobe was undecided and feeble though personally a most worthy man yet as a ruler he was much too timid and irresolute he seldom ventured to take any step on his own responsibility no matter how urgent the matter was he always waited for instructions from his superior the governor under these circumstances it was natural that the people of Melbourne should wish for an independent theatre who would have full power to settle promptly all local affairs in 1840 they held a meeting in a room at the top of the hill in Burke Street to petition for separation from New South Wales but next year the Sydney people held a meeting in the theatre to protest against it here then was another source of trouble to Gibbs for from this time into two parties eagerly and bitterly disputing on the separation question Governor Gibbs and Mr. La Trobe were not in favour of separation and by their opposition they incurred the deep dislike of the people of Port Phillip the authorities at home however were somewhat inclined to favour the idea and as Gibbs was necessarily the medium of announcing their views to the colonists carrying them into force he became unpopular with the Sydney colonists also no man has ever occupied a more trying position and a somewhat overbearing temperament was not at all suited for smoothing away its difficulties 6. Representative Government in 1842 a meeting was held in Sydney to petition for representative government Parliament saw its way clear to concede this privilege and in July 1843 the first representatives elected by the people assembled in Sydney the new council consisted of 36 members of whom 12 were either officials or persons nominated by the Governor and the other 24 were elective it was the duty of this body to consult with the Governor to see that the legitimate wishes of the people were attended to 6. Gentlemen were elected for Port Phillip but residents of Melbourne found it impossible to leave their business and go to live in Sydney the people of Port Phillip were therefore forced to elect Sydney gentlemen to take charge of their interests however these did their duty excellently Dr. Lange was especially active in the process of his constituents and in the second session of the council during the year 1844 he moved that a petition should be presented to the Queen praying that the Port Phillip district should be separated from New South Wales and formed into an independent colony the Port Phillip representatives together with the now famous Robert Lowe gave their support to the motion but there were 19 votes against it and this effort was supposed to have been completely baffled but Dr. Lange drew up a petition of his own which was signed by all the Port Phillip members and sent to England nothing further was heard on the subject for some time until Sir George Gipps received a letter from Lord Stanley the Secretary of State directing him to lay the matter before the Executive Council stating that in the opinion of the English government the request of Port Phillip was very fair and reasonable an inquiry was held the Sydney Council sent to England a report on the subject and received a reply to the effect that steps would at once be taken to obtain from the Imperial Parliament the required act the people of Port Phillip were overjoyed and in 1846 gave a grand banquet to Dr. Lange to celebrate the occasion but they were not destined to quite so speedy a consummation of their desires the English government which had given so favourable an ear to their petition was defeated and succeeded by another government to whom the whole question was new a year after year passed away and the people of Port Phillip began to grow impatient and to complain loudly of their grievances first of all they complained that although it was a well recognized principle that the money received by government for the wastelands of any district should be employed in bringing out emigrants to that district yet the Sydney government used much of the money obtained from the sale of land in Port Phillip for the purpose of bringing out new colonists not to Melbourne or Geylong but to Sydney itself and thus it was said the people of Sydney were using the money of the Port Phillip district for their own advantage and again the people of Melbourne complained that although they were allowed to elect six members of the legislative council yet this was merely a mockery because none of the Port Phillip residents could afford to live in Sydney for five months every year and to neglect their own private business the former of these accusations seems so far as we can now determine to have been unfounded the latter was undoubtedly a practical grievance though more or less unavoidable in every system of representation 7. Earl Grey for a year or two the English government forgot all about the separation question and in 1848 the wearied colonists at Port Phillip determined to call attention to their discontent accordingly when the elections for that year approached they determined not to elect any member so that the English government might see of how little use to them their supposed privilege really was it was agreed that no one should come forward for election and it seemed likely that there would be no election whatever when a gentleman named Foster offered himself as a candidate this placed the non-election party in a dilemma for if they declined to vote at all and if Mr. Foster could persuade only two or three of his friends to vote for him then since there was no other candidate he would be legally elected now at this time Earl Grey was secretary of state for the colonies and when someone proposed to nominate him for election in opposition to Mr. Foster the idea was hailed as a happy one the non-election party could then vote for Earl Grey and he would be returned by a large majority but Earl Grey being an English nobleman and a member of the British government would certainly never go to Sydney to attend a small colonial council so that there would be in reality no member elected but the attention of the secretary of state would be drawn to the desires of the district Earl Grey was triumphantly elected and when the news went home it cost some merriment he was jokingly asked in the House of Lords when he would sail for Sydney and for several weeks he underwent so much banter on the subject that his attention was fully aroused to the long neglected question he weighed the matter carefully and resolving to do the people of Port Phillip full justice sent outward that he would at once prepare a bill for the imperial parliament in order to obtain the necessary powers at the same time he intimated that Queen Victoria would be pleased if the new colony should adopt her name nothing could give the colonists more satisfaction and they waited with patience until affairs should be properly arranged in England Sir Charles Fitzroy all this agitation however had not taken place without much irritation and contention between the people at Port Phillip and their governor at Sydney from whose authority they wished to free themselves Sir George Gibbs had much to harass him and in 1846 he was glad to retire from his troublesome position he was succeeded by Sir Charles Fitzroy a gentleman in every respect his opposite by no means clever yet good-tempered and amiable he troubled himself very little with the affairs of the colony the Sydney council managed everything just as it pleased Sir Charles was glad to be rid of the trouble and the colonists had their own way as for the separation question he cared very little whether Port Phillip was erected into a colony or not in 1850 the news arrived that Port Phillip was to be separated from New South Wales and in the middle of the next year its independence was declared its superintendent Latrobe was raised to the dignity of governor and the new colony received its constitution conferring on it all the legislative and other powers which had previously been possessed only by New South Wales nine abolition of transportation it was during this period that the English government resolved on sending no more convicts to Australia a committee of the imperial parliament held an inquiry into the effects of transportation and reported that it would be unwise to continue this system from 1842 therefore there was practically a cessation of transportation although the majority of the squatters were averse to the change they found that the convicts when assigned to them made good shepherds and stockmen and that at cheap rates they subsequently petitioned for a revival of transportation after some hesitation the British government resolved to adhere to their resolution to send no more convicts to Sydney Van Diemen's land was still unfortunate it was to receive indeed the full stream of convicts but from 1842 Australia itself ceased to be the receptacle for the criminals of Great Britain End of section 10 Recording by Linda Johnson