Australia; or, notes taken during a residence in the colonies from the gold discovery in 1851 till 1857, etc

Front matter

AUSTRALIA. DUN DEE : PRINTED BY DIHHAM AND THOMSON, 4 9 HIGH STREET. i AUSTRALIA; OB Hole, fafetn toring a in t\t diolmm from % (Mir fissotog ht 1851 till 1857. ;MKA01NG AN ACCOUNT OF THK NAVIGATION OF THE H1VEK MURRAY THE LAND QUESTION IN VICTORIA; PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR INTENDING EMIGRANTS; Ac. (fee. (fee. BY P. JUST, LATE MERCHANT IN MELBOURNE. AND FORMERLY ONE OF THE SELECTING- AGENTS IN SCOTLAND FOR HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL LAND AND EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS. DUNDEE: DURHAM & THOMSON, HIGH STREET. LONDON: PIPER, STEPHENSON, * CO. GLASGOW: WILLIAM COLLINS & SON; THOMAS MURRAY .V SOK. EDINBURGH : JOHN MENZIES. MDCCCUX.

Preface

. The present Work was projected during the voyage from Melbourne to London, and written after my arrival, with a view to supply information on this now interesting portion of the Globe, respecting which I have found, notwithstanding all the works already published, a vast amount of ignorance still prevailing. Personal observation, and notes kept during my residence, have supplied me with matter for the Work. Except looking into Dr. Lang's " Phillipsland, or Description of Port- Phillip," published in 1847 ; Messrs. Chambers's Work on Australia, published in 1850; and Mr. Westgarth's "Victoria in 1857;" — which were referred to more for the purpose of finding dates, &c, together with the Despatches of Governors Fitzroy, La Trobe, and Young — have formed the only published autho rities quoted in the Work.

The Chapter on the Shipping Trade of Great Britain in connection with Australia is founded on some articles on the same subject, written by me for the Age, Melbourne daily VI

PREFACE.

. newspaper. The Chapter on Steam Postal Communication was revised by a gentleman well versed in the subject. Whatever opinions are expressed on emigration, or the capabilities of the Colonies as fields for enterprise, are my own, founded on close observation ; and in whatever light they may be viewed, they are given with a sincere desire to guide the industrious classes of Great Britain in what I conceive to be their true interests. In consequence of illness, I have been unable to make the Statistics in Appendix No. 2 so full as I could have wished ; but what is given in the body of the Work, and that supplied in the Tables, will be found sufficient for the general reader. Before these pages can be in the hands of my friends and the public, I will be on my way back to the Colonies, to settle with my family ; so that I do not give advice that I will not take myself.

I send forth my Work in the confidence that my humble efforts to amuse and instruct may be appreciated. London, 25th October, 1858. CONTENTS. Chapter Page I. GEOGRAPHICAL TOSITION OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES, 1 II. THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF VICTORIA, FORMERLY PORT- PHILLIP 11 III. DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN NEW SOUTH WALES, &c, . 27 IV. HISTORY OF THE VICTORIAN GOLD FIELDS, . 36 V. FIRST EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERY IN VICTORIA, 45 VI. EFFECT OF THE GOLD DISCOVERIES ON SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 58 VII. DIFFICULTIES OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT OWING TO THE GOLD DISCOVERIES, 73 VIII. MELBOURNE, AND THE GOLD FIELDS IN 1852, ... 84 IX. EVENTS IN VICTORIA IN 1852, - . . 101 X. EVENTS OF 1853 AND 1854 — COMMERCIAL DISTRESS AND CAUSES, 116 XI. EVENTS OF 1855, 1856, AND 1857, 138 XII. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH A STEAM POSTAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES 156 XIII.

THE RIVER MURRAY— ITS EXPLORATION BY SIR H. E. F. YOUNG AND CAPTAIN CADELL — SURVEYOR GOYDER'S DISCOVERIES, . . . ■ 175 XIV. EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERIES ON THE MARITIME INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN 10.1 XV. THE CHINESE IN VICTORIA 204 XVI. THE LAND QUESTION — COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE COLONIES AS FIELDS FOR SETTLEMENT V1I1 CONTENTS. Chapter Pflg* XVII. A FEW PLAIN REASONS WHY THE INDUSTRIOUS CLASSES OUGHT TO EMIGRATE 236 XVIII. WHO OUGHT, AND WHO OUGHT NOT TO EMIGRATE ? . . 251 XIX. STATE OF MORALITY IN THE COLONIES 265 XX. MELBOURNE AND ADELAIDE — PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND STREET ARCHITECTURE— COLONIAL ENTERPRISE- WATER AND GAS WORKS 278 XXI. RELIGION AND EDUCATION— LITERATURE AND ART- COLONIAL CUSTOMS, MANNERS, DRESS, &c— CLIMATE- CONCLUSION 292

Appendix

No. I— SOUTH AUSTRALIA, ■ 312 No. II.— GENERAL STATISTICS 324 XVIII. J AXf§TSAI»AllA AUSTRALIA CHAPTEB I. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. When the auriferous treasures of Ballarat and Mount Alexander first came pouring into the city of Melbourne — hitherto the quiet capital of a pastoral Colony — the question was often asked of one another, by the astonished and delighted citizens, " What will the people at home say to this ?" — a question evidently arising out of a sense that hitherto the Australian Colonies had not received that consideration from the parent Government which their varied resources and adaptation for colonisation so well entitled them to. Those who had visited the Colonies, and gave to the world the result of their obser vations, were looked upon as little better than dreamy enthu siasts, or interested pastoral proprietors, who eulogised the soil, climate, and productions of the country, in order to. attract the labouring classes, that these interested parties might benefit by their labours.

It is truly said that " a golden key will unlock any reposi tory, whether of the secrets of the heart or of the cabinet." The golden treasures of Australia has procured for her Colonies that importance in the eyes of the whole world which her other equally valuable resources failed to effect. This fine country was long looked upon as a fitting cess-pool, into which all the moral pollution, villany, and crime of the mother country B should be poured; but though known to possess such great natural advantages, by how few was it considered as fitted for a home and a settlement for thousands of the starving, but wil ling to be industrious labouring population of Great Britain ? That the Anglo-Saxon race has been the chosen instrument in the hands of the Divine Ruler of the universe to spread the knowledge of Christianity and civilisation through the utter most parts of the habitable globe, must be evident to all who have noted the current of events for the last half century.

The great designs of Providence in giving to Great Britain her maritime supremacy, is evident from the rapid spread of the race over the vast continent of North America ; and the discoveries of Cook and his intrepid companions were not intended for mere empty and vainglorious boasting, but that the more substantial benefits of civilisation might follow, and the human race in these hitherto unknown regions be brought to a know ledge of the truth. Can it be supposed for a moment that the Australian Continent and the adjacent Islands, with all the variety of climate, and as wonderful variety of productions, and inexhaustible mineral wealth, were intended only for the habitations of races of the human family very little removed, in intellect and habits, from the lower animals? Yet who can look back and scan the short but eventful history of these lands since the first Europeans landed on the Australian shores, but must acknowledge that a great work was in progress, and that it is a part of the great plan of the moral government of the world that these lands should be devoted to higher purposes than to be the home of the aboriginal savage, who can not improve or benefit by them ; or, what is worse, to become the receptacle of the most depraved of Britain's criminal popu lation.

No : this is not the way to treat new lands put into the power of a nation; for surely there cannot be a nobler mission in which to employ the best energies of a civilised state than to develop the resources, and render available the capabilities, of countries hitherto unknown, in a way the most bene ficial for mankind in general. The whole history of the human race abounds in a variety of plans for, and attempts at colonisation. As one country after another became peopled, so did the surplus population swarm off to take possession of other lands, whose surface afforded more room for employing labour and raising subsistence for the emigrants than they could obtain in their native country. In later ages, Great Britain took the lead in this noble enterprise ; but to the energy of her sons, and not to the wisdom of her rulers, is to be attributed the success that has hitherto attended the movement.

The first efforts at colonisation emerged out of the gloomy darkness of religious persecution on the fertile shores of North America, while more recent attempts were directed towards the project as a punishment for crime rather than as a reward for industry and well-doing. The spread of the race, and the occupation of new lands in various parts of the earth's surface, have been the work of individual enterprise, and not from a system of national encouragement ; and the loyalty and industry of those pioneers of civilisation have, until very lately, been generally rewarded by the imposition of harassing and iniquitous laws, that cramped and restrained their best exertions. A better star, however, has now appeared, and the value of Colonies, aud the new Act of Colonisation, are receiving that share of attention from the Government, as well as the people of Great Britain, which their importance in a national point of view so fully entitles them to.

Nearly two centuries before the British people knew any thing of the Continent of Australia, a Spanish vessel, in run ning across the Pacific, passed through Torres Straits, sighting the north coast. This was in 1605. The same year a Dutch vessel sighted a portion of the Australian coast, and in 1623 Some other parts were discovered by two Dutch vessels ; so that the merit of discovery actually belongs to that nation. b They called it the " Great South Land." In 1628, another Dutch navigator, De Witt, saw the Australian coast, but did not land, contenting himself with making observations as he coasted along. Tasman, in 1642, saw some of the northern coast ; but losing sight of the land, stood to the southward till he found Van Dieman's Land, now more appropriately named after him, Tasmania.

The first Englishman who visited Aus tralia was Dampier, who was twice on the coast during his voyages in the Pacific. The Dutch navigators, however, appear to have been indefatigable in their exertions to explore the coast, a considerable portion of which had been visited by them during the course of the seventeenth century. The French lay claim to be the discoverers of Australia, but their claim is of a very doubtful nature. The Dutch undoubtedly visited and explored a considerable extent of coast, but they did not attempt in any way to take possession or settle on any part of it. It was left to the adventurous Captain Cook and his devoted companions, in 1770, to plant the British flag on the soil which was in after years to become so famous through the industry and enterprise of the British people.

The fertile shores of New South Wales, however, failed, for a long time, to attract free settlers. The first white inhabitants were British convicts, sent to the distant settlement for punishment — not the energetic freeman, who would adopt the country as a home for his family. The fame of the Australian Colonies is of so recent a date, that it is not to be wondered at that many and very absurd mistakes should arise, even among public writers, as to the geographical position of each Colony. New South Wales has been confounded with South Australia, and Victoria with Western Australia— all separate and distinct Colonies. For the benefit of my readers, I shall define the proper position and boundaries of each in the order of time of their formation. The parent Colony of New South Wales — first discovered by Captain Cook in 1770 — was founded about eighty years ago, when the first Governor (Captain Phillip) landed with a batch of seven hundred and fifty-seven convicts (of whom one hundred and fifty were females), and about two hundred soldiers, at Port-Jackson, which he had discovered and found to be preferable to Botany Bay as a site for the proposed convict settlement.

Sydney was founded ; and it is due to the energy and talents of Captain Phillip to state, that no founder of a Colony ever went about his duties more judiciously than he did. When it is considered what description of people he had to deal with — that they were outcasts from their native land, banished from amidst their countrymen — it is most surprising how order was enforced, and how such a settlement ever came to attain the position it now occupies. The boundary of the Colony of New South Wales, the eastermost Colony, is fixed by the Act of 1850, 13 & 14 Viet, c. 39, at "a straight line from Cape Howe to the nearest course of the Murray, and thence by the course of that river to the east boundary of South Australia." This is the boundary fixed by the Act of Separation, whereby what was formerly the Port- Philip district of New South Wales was formed into a separate Colony, under the name of Victoria.

From being originally a convict settlement, New South Wales now presents a state of civilisation and thriving comfort only to be accounted for by the fertility and resources of the country, and the energy and perseverance of the colonists. Sydney now presents the appearance of a handsome English town, with well laid out streets and handsome buildings ; while the beautiful harbour, at the head of which the city stands, is unequalled for variety and picturesque beauty by any harbour in the world. The settled districts are richly cultivated, and produce many of the finest tropical fruits, as well as every variety of cereal crops. Coal and copper are abundant, and are wrought with advantage ; so that the Colony holds out many inducements to the industrious and enterprising emigrant. Victoria, now the richest of the Australian group of Colo nies, was first settled in 1836, though its existence as a distinct Colony dates only from 1850.

The boundary is fixed by the Act before named, as the territory " bounded on the north and north-east by a straight line from Cape Howe to the nearest source of the Murray, and thence by the course of that river to the east boundary of South Australia." It contains an area of nearly 60,000,000 of acres, is about 500 miles in direct length from east to west, and has a coast line of 600 miles. But of this Colony I will give fuller particulars in another chapter, tracing its rise and progress. Melbourne is the capital. South Australia lies next to Victoria on the west, and dates its foundation also from 1836. It was projected by a company of gentlemen to carry out the new principles of colonisation propounded by Mr. Wakefield, and afterwards con stituted a British province under the Act of Parliament 4th and 5th William IV., c. 95.

By this Act the boundaries of the settlement were fixed between the 132d and 141st degrees of east longitude, and between the Southern Ocean and the 26th degree of south latitude, — forming an area of about 300,000 square miles, or 20,000,000 of acres. This fine Colony is famous for its rich copper mines — of which the Burra Burra mine stands unrivalled in the world — and for its agricultural capabilities, especially for the excellence of the wheat produced. Like all Colonies, South Australia has had its periods of commercial distress ; but its unbounded resources have always enabled the colonists very soon to surmount their difficulties. Adelaide, the capital — situated near the head of the Gulf of St. Vincent — now contains many fine buildings, both public and private, and is the seat of an extensive commerce.

Western Australia, the fourth settlement on the Conti nent of the "Great South Land," has little to attract the settler in common with the other Colonies. Its history is fearfully told in connection with the famous Swan River Colonisation Scheme of 1829, and the result of this scheme was the great drawback in every future attempt at colonisation in Australia. The Colony has, however, struggled on, and the colonists have lately come to the relief of the statesmen of the mother country, by requesting a supply of convict labour, as they well knew that the attractions of the other Colonies were too great for them ever to expect any accession of voluntary emigration. They have received several ships with convicts, many of whom, however, contrive to escape, and make their appearance, some times in South Australia and sometimes in Victoria.

Convict labour may enable them to develop the resources of the Colony, but it will never be a place of much note if made a convict settlement. A very valuable kind of timber — a species of ma hogany — useful for building and house furniture, is plentiful, and may form, with wool, a considerable article of export. This territory is nominally of great extent. Projecting southwards into the ocean, it passes the 35th degree of south latitude, while its northern extremity touches the 28th ; and its longitude ranges from 115 to 120 degrees. According to its alleged boundary, its area is about a million of square miles, while the population is not much above 10,000 souls. Perth is the capital of the Colony, and is but a small place. The port is Freemantle, at which a considerable business is done.

The fifth Australian Colony, but apart from the mainland, is the fertile Island of Tasmania, formerly called Van Dieman's Land. It is divided from the main by Bass's Straits, and is mountainous and well watered. It has long been a convict settlement, and by this means a great many improvements have been effected, such as the construction of good roads, bridges, &c. The country is well cultivated, and exports, corn, potatoes, and fruit to the other Colonies, as well as timber for house-building, for which the quality is well adapted. It is a good Colony for the working man, and many have risen from poverty to affluence in it. Sir William Dennison, while Lieutenant-Governor, planned and carried out the principal im provements in the Colony, which have proved of such value to it. The Australian coast presents to the eye of the mariner a great variety of objects by which he can mark and distinguish its various districts.

In some parts the shore is lined by lofty precipices, and in others by long, low sandy beaches, on which a heavy surf continually beats. The principal ports, however, are marked by well-defined entrances; and the Colonial Governments have provided light-houses on all the most pro minent points, in order to guide the path of the navigator. Thus, the leading light for vessels bound to Port-Philip or Victoria is placed on Cape Otway, and should warn the mariner not to attempt trying the entrance unless he can get a pilot, but rather stand off the land till daylight enables him to see the dangers distinctly. The anxious and excited emigrant from his native land, after traversing so many miles of ocean, and enduring all the monotony and tedium of such a long voyage, looks upon the first glimpse he can obtain of the distant land of Australia, as it breaks upon his view, with feelings of no ordinary description.

The eager passengers crowd the decks, and with ardent gaze, as the ship gradually approaches the long line of coast which stretches along the horizon, gladly welcoming the shore of the land of their adoption, and anxious to be relieved from their limited quarters, once more to enjoy the green fields and tread the firm land, to which pleasures they have so long been strangers. On the left, near the Heads, as the entrance to Port-Philip is termed, the land is rather low and sandy, but strewed with reefs of rocks, and along which a fearful surf constantly breaks. On the right is Point Nepean, and at its extremity is a detached mass of rock rising considerably above the surface of the water. As the entrance of the Heads is gradually approached, Short lands Bluff, with its high precipitous banks crowned by a light house, appears in full view, with a varied and in some parts a thickly wooded country around it.

But the most striking scene to the newly-arrived stranger is the whirl of waters into which, for a time, he finds his bark involved. The enormous volume of waters that rushes out from the great extent of Port- Philip bay, or rather inlet, through an aperture of not more than a mile in width, creates a convulsion rarely to be met with, and which at first sight strikes terror into the heart of the inexperienced landsman, and suggests disagreeable feelings of gigantic whirlpools and rushing currents ready to ingulf his frail ship and hurl her to speedy destruction. When the ship first enters into the foaming waters, she reels and staggers like a drunken man : the steersman feels he has but little power over the vessel with the helm, and even a strong breeze, though fair and filling the sails, makes but little impression in forcing the ship forward.

For a time she remains as if held in a vice, the waters in the meantime gurgling horribly alongside ; and from the masses of uptorn sea-weed gambolling on the surface, one would suppose that some spirit of "the vasty deep" was busily employed in tearing up and scattering abroad these remnants of marine vegetation, to be the sport of the waves and eddying currents seething around them. The frowning rocks on either side suggest a thrilling sensation of danger and shipwreck. Nor is it altogether without some risk of such accidents, especially at particular times of the tide, that vessels can enter the bay through this wild rush of waters, as not a few wrecks can testify ; but considering the number of vessels of all sizes that daily make their way through this tumultuous current, comparatively few accidents occur.

Pilot vessels which can keep the sea are now stationed outside the Heads, so that the stranger ship is at once supplied with a steady and experienced pilot. Until within the last four or five years, the pilots did not venture into the current, as they had only whale boats, but contented themselves with signalling the vessel until they could venture alongside. All danger, however, is not over even when within the Heads, as several shoals and sand banks threaten those who are ignorant of their true position. The experienced pilot takes them safely on through all these dangers, and the beauty of this superb inlet, especially on its eastern shores, can be fully appreciated ; for here a rich variety of mountain and plain, hill and dale, partly wooded, is seen stretching into the distance, and suggestive to the new arrival of the scope for his labour in a great variety of ways.

Such are the general features and situations of the Colonies of the Southern Hemisphere, towards which so many eyes and hopes are now directed. They are capable of supporting a very large population in comfort, from the abundance and variety of their various resources. The climate is generally suited to the European constitution, and will, without doubt, be materially modified as settlement and cultivation progresses. The mineral riches, however, of Australia will always be the chief attraction and the principal source of wealth, as the events of the last six years, which I am now about to record, abundantly testify. But I fully believe that even these, rich and valuable as they have already proved, are but a part of the great body of ma terial wealth that yet lies undiscovered within the boundaries of these fine Colonies.