The present Picture of New South Wales, illustrated with four large coloured views of Sydney, with a plan of the Colony, etc

Front matter

THE PRESENT PICTURE OF NEW SOUTH WALES; ILLUSTRATED WITH FOUR LARGE COLOURED VIEWS, FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT, OF SYBNEY, THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT: WITH A PLAN OF THE COLONY, TAKEN FROM ACTUAL SURVEY BY PUBLIC AUTHORITY. INCLUDING THE PRESENT STATE OP AGRICULTURE AND TRADE, PRICES OF PROVISIONS AND 5LABOUR, INTERNAL REGULATIONS, STATE OF SOCIETY AND MANNERS, LATE DISCOVERIES IN NATURAL HISTORY, And other interesting Subjects; WITH HINTS FOR THE FURTHER IMPROVEMENT OF THE SETTLEMENT. BY D. D. MANN, MANY YEARS RESIDENT IN SEVERAL OFFICIAL SITUATIONS. DEDICATED, WITH PERMISSION, l;> ADMIRAL JOHN HUNTER, &ATE HIS MAJESTY'S CAPTAIN-GENERAL AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. LONDON: SOLD BY JOHN BOOTH, DUKE-STREET, PORTLAND-PLACE, 1811. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Page

Discovery of New South Wales. — Arrival of a Colony there from England. — Obstructions calculated to retard the Progress of the Settlement. — Departure of Governor Phillip. — Intervening Governors, until the Arrival of John Hunter, Esq. and his Assumption ofthe Government. — Printing Press set up. — Cattle lost, and Discovery of their Progeny in a wild State. — Playhouse opened. — Houses numbered. — Assessments for the building of a County Gaol. — Toivn Clock at Sydney. — Natives. — Convicts. — Improvement of the Colony. — Seditious Dispositions of the Convicts. — Departure of Governor Hunter. — His Character and Government. — Comparison of Stock, fye. — Governor King assumes the Command of the Settlement. — Table of Specie. — Vessel laden with Spirits sent away. — Earthquake. — Inundation, ut Hawkesbury. — First Criminal for Forgery executed. — Atlas struck by Lightning. — Tempests. — Desertions of the Convicts. — Newspaper established. — Murders. — Singular Execution . — Lieutenant- Governor Collins forms a new Settlement. — Insurrection of the Convicts.— The Introduction and Progress of Vaccination, and its subsequent Loss. — Influx of the Sea at Norfolk Island. — Limits of Counties defined. — Ship overset in a Tempest ___------- l — 16

Chapter II

Abstract of General Orders. — Arrival of Governor Bligh. — George Harrington. — Blue Mountains. — Journey thither. — New Market at Sydney. — Vessels seized and carried away by the Convicts. ,—- Natives. — Cruelly of the Savages in Bateman's Bay.— Arrival of Masters for the Orphan Schools. — New Store-house built. — Murders ----- 16—37 b CONTENTS. VI

Chapter III. Page

Present State of the Colony : — Agriculture, fye. ---------------37 Prices of Provisions and Ration ---------- 41 Trade and Manufactures -----.------42 Population ----------------- 45 Natives ------------------46 Climate ------------------ 46 Natural History ---------------'49 Religion ----------------- 52 Morals - ...53 Amusements ----------------- 54 Military Force --------------- % - 55 Building ; with Reference to the particular Houses, fye. of the Individuals --------------- ..56

Chapter I

' : ' i '.. .!. Discovery of Neiv South Wales. — Arrival of a Colony therefrom England.- — Obstructions calculated to retard the Progress of the Settlement,— Departure of Governor Phillip.— Intervening Governors, until the Arrival of John Hunter, Esq. and his Assumption of the Government. — Printing Press set up. — Cattle lost, and Discovery of their Progeny in a wild State. — Playhouse opened. — Houses numbered. — Assessments for the building of a County Gaol. — Toivn Clock at Sidney. — Natives. — Convicts.— Improvement of the Colony. — Seditious Dispositions of the Convicts. — Departure of Governor Hunter. — His Character and Govern ment. — Comparison of Stock, fye.- Governor Kingassumes the Command of the Settlement. — Table of Specie. — Vessel laden with Spirits sent away. — Earthquake. — Inundation at the Hawkesbury. — First Criminal for Forgery executed. — Atlas struck by Lightning. — Tempests. — Desertions of the Convicts. — Newspaper established. — Murders. — Singidar Execu tion. — Lieutenant-Governor Collins forms a new Settlement. — Insurrection of the Convicts. — The Introduction and Progress of Vaccination, and its subsequent Loss. — In/lux of the Sea at Norfolk Island. — Limits of Counties defined. — Ship overset in a Tempest.

JL HE discovery of the eastern coast of New Holland was the result of that laudable and beneficial spirit of enterprize aud investigation, which conferred on the name of Captain Cook so just a claim to posthumous gratitude and immortal renown. Four months of his first voyage round the world, this celebrated circumnavigator dedicated to the exploration of this hitherto unknown tract of the universe, stretching, from the north-east to the south-west, to an extent of nearly two thousand miles, to which h$ B gave gave the name of New South Wales. After hovering about the coast for some time, he at length came to an anchorage in the only harbour which appeared to him commodious ; and which, in consequence of the innu merable varieties of herbage which were found on shore, he called Botany Bay. In this spot he remained some days, employing himself in making those observations which suggested themselves to his capacious mind; and, from his report of the situation of the country — of its apparent extent, climate, and surface, the British Government was induced to relinquish those intentions which had been previously entertained, and to fix upon this spot, as the best adapted for the establishment of a settlement, whither those unhappy delinquents might be conveyed, whose offences against the laws had rendered their further residence in their native land, incompatible with the welfare of society. > According to this determination, Governor Phillip was sent to this new continent, where he arrived on the 20th of January, 1788, with eight hun dred convicts, and a portion of marines, and laid the foundation of the new settlement, which continued gradually to improve under his government, \intil the close ofthe year 1792.

Numberless obstructions existed, during this early period, to check the growth of the colony ; amongst the principal of which may be remarked : — 1st, the discordant materials of which the settlement was to be constructed ; 2-ily, the disputes with the natives ; and 3dly, the occasional pressure of want, which, for a long time, was unavoidable, on account of its remoteness from the European quarter. The continual disorders amongst the convicts, which no lenity could as suage, no severity effectually check, were injurious to the well-doing of the colony, whose true interests required a combination of reciprocal con fidence and mutual exertion ; but on men inured to crime, and hardened in guilt — on men almost divested of the common principles and feelings of their species — on those whom a course of depravity had rendered ob noxious to every other pursuit, it was not possible to make impressions of a liberal and enlightened nature.

Their intentions uniformly tended to vice, and no good was to be expected from them, except such as was the effect of compulsory measures; so that the task which industry might have achieved with comparative ease, proved, under existing circumstances, a work of difficulty, requiring time and perseverance to bring it to the desired perfection. It was not to the commission of depredations upon each other that the restless and dishonest dispositions of the convicts confined confined themselves, even the poor and miserable natives of the country were made the dupes of a system of knavery which they could not pene trate ; and their spears, their shields, their canoes, and their persons, were equally exposed to the violence of the new settlers. It was easy to fore see the consequences of such conduct: the natives at first discovered symptoms of justifiable reserve, and subsequently adopted steps of an hostile complexion, several unfortunate convicts being found murdered in the woods.

In vain did the governor issue order after order, and proclamation after proclamation; insults still continued to be offered to the natives, and such acts of retaliation ensued as circumstances would allow*. Governor Phillip, himself, was wounded by a spear which one of the savages threw at him, under the influence of a momentary apprehension. Another evil to which the colony was subjected, arose from the pressure of occasional scarcity, which relaxed the sinews of industry, where it did exist, or strengthened the pretexts of indolence : when men were reduced from a plentiful allowance, to a weekly ration, which scarcely sufficed to preserve existence; when the storehouses were almost empty of provisions, and the boundless ocean presented no object of relief to the aching and strained eyes of the sufferers ; and when the busy mind painted to itself the dangers, inseparable from a voyage of such length, which might inter vene to delay the arrival of succours, until horror and wretchedness should have been heightened to the utmost ; no inclination to laborious exertion existed, and no hand had the power to wield and employ 'the implements of toil.

The progress of the settlement towards maturity was necessarily retarded ; and the operations which proceeded, at these periods of general debility, were compelled to move with a slowness which afforded but a faint promise of speedy perfection. Under this combination of disadvan tages, it affords proof of no common perseverance to find, that the settlement had been scarcely established four years, before two towns were formed, and the colony seemed rapidly advancing to the appearance of maturity. Governor Phillip sailed to England on the 11th of December, 1792, when Lieutenant-Governor Grose succeeded to the government; and, during his period, the improvements in the settlement assumed a more decisive and favourable aspect. The settlers were now enabled to sell corn to the public stores, all of which the commissary received directions to purchase at a given price : passage-boats were licensed and established b 2 between between the towns of Sydney and Parramatta, and the number of settlers began to increase in arapid portion.

On the 15th of December, 1794, Lieutenant-Governor Grose left the colony for England, and Captain Paterson, of the New South Wales corps, assumed the government until the arrival of Governor Hunter, who came out in the Reliance, on the 7th of September, 1795, and entered upon the functions of his important office without delay. ,.- One ofthe first acts of the new governor was the establishment of a printing-press, the advantages of which soon became obvious, in the more ready communication of all orders for the regulation ofthe settlement. -i- •:The bulls and cows which had been. originally brought over to the new continent had, by the carelessness of their keeper, been suffered to stray into the woods, and every subsequent search after them had proved in effectual until this period, when a fine and numerous herd of wild cattle was discovered in the interior of the country, which was evidently the progeny of the animals which had been so long lost to the colony.

The protection of this wild herd and its increase became a matter of public interest, since it would, hereafter, serve as a valuable resource, in case of necessity ; and measures were accordingly adopted to prevent any en croachment on that liberty which it had preserved above seven years. In the commencement of the year 179(3, a play-house was opened at Sydney, under the sanction of the governor, who, while he laboured to promote the public weal, was not less anxious to extend to individuals the enjoyments and privileges which were compatible with the good of the colony. Towards the close of the same year, the houses in Sydney and Parramatta were numbered, and divided into portions, each of which was placed under the superintendance of a principal inhabitant. The county of Cumberland was assessed, a few months afterwards, for the erection of a county gaol ; and the peaceable inhabitants of the colony had the speedy satisfaction to perceive a building of such utility put into hand ; for such had been the recent increase of crimes, and so greatly had the settlement been annoyed by the desperate and atrocious conduct of the disorderly part of the community, that it became an object of necessity to adopt some stronger measures than those which had hitherto been put in force, to secure the prosperity and tranquillity of a community which was now so rapidly growing in extent and importance.

A town-clock was also erected in Sydney, a luxury which had been hitherto unknown, and affords evidence evidence of the gradual maturation of the settlement; and, indeed, the whole of this enumeration is calculated to impress the reader with an idea of the rapid strides which the few last years had enabled the colonists to make in the path of respectability. The natives had been, of late years, perfectly reconciled to their new countrymen ; and, although their attachment to their accustomed habits and situations induced them to abstain from taking up new residences, and from mixing indiscriminately with the Europeans, they had become comparatively social, and commenced an intercourse which Avas calculated to rivet the prosperity of the colony.

Those insulting attacks *and sanguinary recriminations which had dis graced the earlier years ofthe establishment, no longer existed, to disturb the tranquillity and excite the alarms of the settlers ; many of the convicts had reformed their lives, and, instead of being examples of depravity, had turned to habits of industry, and endeavoured to benefit that society on which they had formerly preyed ;- while the apprehensions of famine had entirely vanished before the improvements in the agriculture ofthe country: the stock had increased wonderfully ; the granaries and storehouses were amply supplied; and the ground brought forth more produce, as its nature became, better understood, and the most advantageous methods of tillage were discovered. . < The peace of the colony was threatened, however, in the year 1800, by the seditious conduct of a nuniber of Irish convicts who had recently arrived in this country, and who had laboured, Avith ceaseless exertions, to disseminate their pernicious and absurd doctrines amongst the pri soners.

They had assembled frequently for the purpose of accelerating their diabolical views, and a Roman Catholic priest, named Harold, who was discovered to be one of the instigators and originators of the scheme of insurrection, was taken into custody. Voluntary associations were em bodied, and every measure of prudent precaution was promptly adopted, to prevent the expansion of principles which are totally subversive of all order, and of the best interests of civilized society. It may easily be supposed, that amongst such characters as composed the colony, there must be numbers to whom these sentiments of insubordination must be congenial, and who would eagerly grasp at any projects, however absurd and impracticable, the proposed object of which was their emancipation from the punishment which their crimes had drawn upon them.

Men who have obtained a proficiency in crime, and are callous to the voice of conscience, science, are seldom very choice as to the degree of the criminality which they are inclined to commit; and it is highly creditable to Governor Hunter's prudence and skilful management, that the settlement was at this moment preserved from the horrors and consequences of internal commotion. In September, 1800, Governor Hunter quitted the colony, having exer cised the functions of government for the space of five years; during which his attention to the interests of the settlement was most unremitted ; his humanity and condescension rendered him inestimably dear to every bosom, which confessed the influence of grateful feelings ; and his cheer ful vivacity and private worth caused him to stand highly in the estimation of those who were honoured by a participation in his hours of recreative enjoyment.- The necessary consequence of his abstracted devotion to the service of the settlement, for a long period, was the obtainment of a thorough knowledge of every subject connected with its welfare ; and in the application of that knowledge to the practical improvement of the settle ment, no man could have been more happy, none more eminently suc cessful.

A more forcible illustration of the truth of this remark will, however, be found in the following statements of the situation of the colony before and after Governor Hunter's residence there, in an official capacity ; and I am the more readily induced to give these details, as the reader may thence be enabled to form a judgment, by comparison, of the progressive prosperity of the colony, subsequent to that period, until the commencement of the year 1809, the date and termination of the facts which I shall elicit in the succeeding pages. At the close of the year 1 795, the public and private stock of the colony consisted of 57 horses and mares, 101 cows and cow-calves, 74 bulls and bull-calves, 52 oxen, 1531 sheep, 1427 goats, and 1869 hogs : exclusive of this statement, the poultry was exceedingly numerous.

The total of the land in cultivation amounted to 5419 acres ; the quantity of which sown was somewhat below 3000 acres. At this period the storehouses were exhausted so completely, that, on the arrival of Governor Hunter, there were no salt provisions left in store, and the allowance of other food was much reduced ; the state of the colony seemed about to assume a retrograde movement, and it was only the speedy arrival of a storeship at this critical and distressing moment, which saved it from destruction, in the eighth year of its establishment. But But at the commencement of the nineteenth century, the state of the settlement was abundantly more prosperous. The live stock at this period, in the public and private possession, amounted to the following numbers: — 60 horses, 143 mares; 332 bulls and oxen, 712 cows; 2031 male sheep, 4093 females; 727 male goats, 1455 females; 4017 hogs — a prodigious multiplication of the means of subsistence in about five years !

The quantity of land sown with wheat was 4665-| acres, of Indian corn 2930, and of barley 82 acres. In New South Wales and Norfolk Island the numbers of the colony had been swollen to the amount of six thou sand, and the general prosperity -appeared rapidly increasing. The moment of the governor's departure was a moment of sorrowful agitation : loved and honoured by all, he was attended by a numerous train of civil and military officers, as well as a long concourse of the grateful inhabitants, who, at this distressing instant, marked in the most unequi vocal manner the sense they entertained of his public worth and his private benignity. On the secession of Governor Hunter, the government of the settlement devolved to Governor King, who had arrived from England in the Speedy, a few months previous to this time.

Soon after his accession to this dignity, a quantity of copper coin was received from England and put into circulation, upon which occasion the following table of specie was issued: — A guinea, one pound two shillings; a Johannes, four pounds; a half ditto, two pounds; a ducat, nine shillings and sixpence; a gold mohur, one pound seventeen shillings and sixpence ; a pagoda, eight shil lings ; a Spanish dollar, five shillings ; a rupee, two shillings and six pence; a Dutch guilder, two shillings; an English shilling, one shilling and one penny : a copper coin of one ounce, two pence; a ditto of half an ounce, one penny; and a ditto of a quarter of an ounce, a halfpenny. No sum exceeding five pounds, in the copper coin, was to be considered as a legal tender; and the exportation or importation of copper coin above that amount, was prohibited under a penalty of thrice its value.

The criminal addiction to the use of spirituous liquors had become so rooted, and was productive of such evil consequences, as to require some vigorous exertion to check its still further increase. In the month of December, 1800, two vessels laden with these destructive cargoes arrived in the harbour ; but the governor, with a spirit and prudence creditable to his resolution and judgment, refused them permission to land the poisons, and and forced them to quit the settlement before any evil consequences could ensue from their arrival. The variety of afflicting casualties consequent upon the immoderate use of these pernicious fluids, and their introduction of dreadful and fatal disorders, were considerations sufficient to justify the governor's conduct in this instance, to every rational mind.

On the 17th of January, 1801, the settlement was menaced with de struction by the shock of an earthquake, which was felt severely through the whole colony, but, providentially, produced no injury. A slight con cussion had been felt in the month of June, 1788; but never, until this moment, had the alarm been repeated. The affrighted inhabitants rushed out, of their houses, in momentary expectation of destruction; nor did they dare to return until the shock had passed by, and the apprehensions which it had produced had entirely subsided. In the earlier days of the settlement, the settlers on the Hawkesbury (a river of great extent in the interior of the country, the course of which is traced in the annexed chart) had been much annoyed by the frequent overflowings of that capacious river. In the month of March, 1801, the most severe visitation of this nature had occurred, which had destroyed the promise of an abundant harvest, spread desolation through the farms in that district, destroyed numerous habitations, and caused the loss of several of the unfortunate settlers and others.

At the melancholy period alluded to, the colony in this quarter was just reaching a degree of ease and comfort, from the judicious plans put into execution by that " father of the people" Governor Hunter, and the as sistance he gave them as an encouragement to industrious exertion. Scarcely, however, had they begun to revive after this calamity— scarcely had they repaired the ravages occasioned by this tremendous inundation— scarcely had the desolated lands once more confessed the power of culti vation, before those ill-fated settlers were doomed to experience a repeti tion of the destructive calamity; and on the 2d of March, 1801, the river again overflowed its banks, and rushed impetuously to renew its former devastations. Flocks and herds were swept away by its. irresistible in fluence ; the houses, which had been re-built, were once more levelled to the earth; and ;a settler was deprived of his existence, after witnessing the catastrophe which had robbed him of the whole of his possessions!

The Avaters of the Hawkesbury, at those periods of inundation, would rise seventy or eighty feet above their accustomed level ; and it is easy for the mind mind to picture to itself the inexpressibly mournful consequences which must necessarily accrue from such a, circumstance. Neither wras this overflowing an event of rare occurrence, but was to be constantly ex pected after a long continuance of the rainy seasons, when the torrents which rushed from the mountainous ridges which overlooked the channel of the river never failed to produce a rapid swelling of its waters, and to cause an inundation of greater or less extent, and injury more or less destructive to the inhabitants of its vicinity. Amongst the crimes which existed in the settlement, that of forgery had recently made its appearance, and bills of a counterfeit description had been offered in the markets ; and, at length, one of these forged draughts was traced to its source, and the delinquent was immediately apprehended and brought to trial for an offence so heinous in its nature, and so fraught with mischief in its consequences.

Sufficient proof being adduced to place the prisoner's guilt beyond doubt, sentence of death was passed upon him, and the execution took place on the 3d of July ; it being considered an act of necessary justice to. make a severe example'of the offender, in this case, in order to check in its infancy the groAvth of a practice, pregnant not only with general evil, but with individual ruin. Of all the different species of delinquency which had found their way into the colony, this might be considered as second. to none but murder: the house-breaker and the midnight robber might be guarded against, and counteracted or detected immediately, the mischief was at most limited, and might be calculated ; but the introduction of a system of forgery threatened more widelywasting injuries : it required more than common vigilance, more than common perseverance, to discover a fraud of this description ; and it was scarcely possible to ascertain the precise extent which it embraced, or to mark the end of its destructive progress.

It was therefore, under this impression, considered expedient to make a severe example of the first offender who had been brought to trial, in order, if possible, to deter others from the pursuit of such an iniquitous career. A solitary sacrifice might prove salutary to future thousands. The storms of thunder and lightning are sometimes particularly terrific, but have seldom been productive of much damage. In some few in stances, indeed, individuals had been killed by the electric fires, but these accidents have generally resulted from the too common and dangerous mode of seeking shelter under trees, which attracted and directed the lightc lung* ning to its object, instead of affording that security which Avas sought for. A very singular circumstance happened at the close of the spring of 1802, when the Atlas, a ship commanded by Mr. Thomas Musgrove, was stricken by a flash on the 5th of November, and, although the bottom of the ship was immediately perforated by the stroke, not a man on board re ceived any material injury: such a singular instance is almost without its parallel.

At other periods, the tempestuous gales Avhich have been experienced surpass the conception of those who have never witnessed the boisterous and tumultuous agitation of nature. Hailstones, exceeding six inches in circumference, have frequently fallen with such violence as to destroy the windows of those habitations which had neglected the adoption of measures of security, to kill the poultry, and lay level with the earth the shrubs and the corn. In fact, storms of this description never fail to occasion the most extensive devastation, and to commit in juries to the settlers, which the labour of months is scarcely sufficient to overcome. An absurd notion had uniformly existed amongst the convicts that it was possible, by penetrating into the interior, to discover a country, where they might exist Avithout labour, and enjoy sweets hitherto unknown.

This ridiculous opinion had induced numbers, since the establishment of the colony, to desert their employment, and to trust themselves in forests which were unknown to them, and where they generally Avandered until the means of supporting further fatigue had failed them, and they perished from want — until they became the victims of the natives who fell in with them — or surrendered themselves to the parties who Avere sent in pursuit of them. Such was commonly the termination of these chimerical expe ditions ; yet these consequences Avere unable to expunge the impression alluded to from the minds of these obstinate people, and, in February, 1803, fifteen convicts once again ventured into the Avoods from Castle Hill, in search of this undiscovered country. Many of these bigotted fugitives were subsequently re-taken, after enduring every fatigue and privation which human nature is capable of sustaining ; after bearing the compli cated hardships of want, weariness, and pain; their feet blistered and bare, their hopes destroyed, their perseverance completely worn out, and their restless dispositions perfectly corrected into submission.

The art of printing had been gradually improving from the period of its establishment, by the judicious care of Governor Hunter, and its advantages vantages became daily more and more obvious. On the 5th of March, " The Sydney Gazette" was instituted by authority, for the more ready communication of events through the various settlements of the colony. The utility and interest of such an establishment were speedily and uni versally acknowledged ; and its commencement was soon succeeded by the publication of an almanack, and other Avorks calculated to suit the general taste and increase the general stock bf amusement The general orders were also issued through the medium of the press, and a vigilant eye was kept upon it, to prevent the appearance of any thing Avhich could tend to shake those principles of morality and subordination, on the due preservation of which depended the individual happiness, and the public security of the settlement; and which could be in no danger of subversion, until the press should become prostituted to base designs — a period much and sincerely to be deprecated by every real friend to the colony.

In the month of August, a most inhuman murder was committed on the body of Joseph Luken, a constable, who, after going off his watch at the government-house, was beset by some villains who still remain undiscovered, and who buried the hilt of his own cutlass very deeply in his head. I was the second person at the spot, where the body of the unfortunate man was discovered ; and, in attempting to turn the corpse, my fore-finger penetrated through a hole in the skull, into the brains of the deceased. Every possible search was made to discover the vile perpetrators of this diabolical act, but to no purpose, the measures of escape had been too well planned to be thwarted. Even the governor himself attended, and gave directions for the drums to beat to arms ; the military to stop all avenues leading from the town, and different officers to search every house; but, although several were apprehended, no conviction could be brought home.

Soon afterwards, another murder was committed on the body of a man belonging to one of the colonial craft, named Boylan. It appeared that he had been in a part of the town, called " The Rocks," and had been struck with some heavy weapon on the head, of Avhich he immediately died. Upon this occasion, I sat as foreman of the jury, which was summoned soon after daylight, and continued to sit until nearly one o'clock the next morning, when two men and a woman were committed for trial ; and a third man, in the progress of the investigation, Avas sent to gaol for prevarication. When the prisoners Avere arraigned at the bar, they all pleaded " Not guilty •" and, after an impartial trial, were acquitted. C2 The The singularity and cruelty of this man's murder appeared to be equal to that of Luken.