History of Australia

by George William Rusden

HISTORY

OF

AUSTRALIA.

BY

G. W. RUSDEN,

AUTHOR OF "HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND."

SECOND EDITION.

IN THREE VOLUMES,

VOLUME I.

Melbourne:
MELVILLE, MULLEN & SLADE, 202 Collins Street.
London: 12 Ludgate Square, E.C.
1897.

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Melbourne:
McCarron, Bird & Co., Printers,
collins street west.

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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

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The actors in what has been called the heroic work of colonization are rapidly passing away in Australia. Of those who landed with Governor Phillip none now remain. Of those born after he laid the foundation of Sydney many have been gathered to their fathers at ages surpassing the term usually allotted to man. Of the daily wants and toils, the struggles of the hearth and the contentions of the forum, of the early Australian settlers, witness after witness has vanished, and no precise record has been made of the manner in which they wrestled with their difficulties. In default of such a record, incorrect narrations might be accepted without distrust, and quoted without misgiving. Persuasion of many friends that I should prepare a correct narrative, and a desire on my own part that it should be prepared, have produced the following work. It is the result of long residence in Australia, and of acquaintance with some of those who assisted the early Governors in the task of controlling men and subduing the earth. I have seen one generation succeed another, and have observed the careers of public men in more than one of the colonies which have sprung into existence as offshoots of New South Wales or as separate plantations. Facts connected with their growth have been daily under my notice. To distinguish those which are momentous from those which are insignificant in principle, may be as easy for a distant investigator as for one who lives on the spot. To know how men's minds were disturbed by events which might seem trivial to strangers abroad, is given only to those who have moved upon the scene. As a resident in various rural districts, as a holder of public office, as a magistrate, as mayor of a borough, and in other ways, I have had ample opportunities of becoming acquainted with the course of events. Copious materials in the shape of official reports and blue-books are at the command of all. As to facts they convey authentic information. The opinions they contain require to be balanced with a knowledge of the characters of the writers, and such knowledge is greatly promoted by perusal of those confidential letters which show the inner workings of the mind. Of such manuscripts I have been able to make large use, and the following pages show what valuable treasures have hitherto been neglected or unknown, and how in their absence false notions have been entertained. When it has been needful to controvert often-repeated mis-statements minute precision has been necessary; because in such a case it is not enough to make mere assertions. It is incumbent to fortify each position by cumulating circumstantial proofs. The world, moreover, exacts, in modern days, details which greatly lengthen books, and such a process has the approval of one of the most sagacious of men.^[1] In marshalling the facts which prove how much error has been accepted as truth with regard to the pilgrim fathers of Australia, I have allowed the actors to speak for themselves as much as possible. An author may labour to incorporate as the coinage of his own brain the wit or sense which emanated from those of whom he writes; but success in such effort would be, after all, ignoble, and would rob his page of the dramatic element which makes it lifelike. The day will come when men will be glad to know how the colonizers of Australia lived and moved; what were their daily tasks and distractions; how and by whom troubles were created or overcome; by what passions men were stirred from time to time; how sometimes the blasts of tyranny were resisted by the growing plant, and how were engendered within it parasites which preyed upon its powers and threatened to bring low many a noble bough fitted to adorn it in season, and to render back the healthy sap which, coursing from root to branch, gives health and life to the tree.

If events and their causes have been rightly recorded and traced in the following pages, it must be admitted that for some evils in the colonies the British Government has been largely responsible. The most successful colonization is that which founds abroad a society similar to that of the parent country. The composite forces which built and sustained the England of the past have not been cherished in her colonies. She scattered the seeds of one, but refused to plant the other, and the fields have answered to her tilth. The greatest of modern English Statesmen strove to remedy the defect in North America, but apathy and obstruction among those who lacked his prophetic vision palsied his attempt, and a deadly struggle with a continent armed under Napoleon consumed the energies both of his country and of Pitt. Wentworth essayed to confer upon his countrymen a constitution framed as closely as practicable in conformity with that of England, but he found admirers only, and not supporters, of his attempt ta fix in the social and political fabric the principle which, by distinction of the worthiest, stirs generation after generation to maintain the honour of their families, and the glory of their native land. The soul of goodness in ancient English institutions may be thanked for the fact that even when maimed they render useful service. If there were no Providence to shape their ends men might despair of the results of their hewing.

What those results have been in Australia must ever be deeply interesting, not only to the colonists but to their kindred in the parent land. The administration of the Crown domains, and the development of forms of government in different colonies, are engrossing subjects of inquiry, and their phases still undergoing change (subject to the unconquerable conditions of nature), have compelled me to trace them to more recent times than I contemplated when I took up my pen, and hoped to pause at the era in which local was substituted for Imperial control. But it was impossible to record the events of 1856 without allusions to living persons, and it then became idle to shrink from depicting more recent times in which vital problems have been variously dealt with in different places. The hand on the plough is compelled to follow the furrow or to leave untouched many portions of the field which must in time produce tares or wheat. A faithful narrative may indeed fail to satisfy some persons;: but when has truth been told without giving umbrage? The history which does not aim at truth is despicable; and, whether neglected or popular, the narrative which, after careful research, describes things as they were and are, is the only one from which a writer ought to derive satisfaction. Such a narrative I have striven to put before my countrymen; so that, if they will, they may know what their kinsmen have done in the work of colonization in Australia. Conscious that, in spite of all pains taken to avoid error, so comprehensive a work cannot be free from defects, I part with it in confidence that I have spared no effort to secure accuracy. As I pen these lines I am beset with mingled memories of the land of cloud, and the land of sun. Close to Leith Hill Place, where I was born, I return from Australia after experiences of fifty years; and, seated in one of the most classic spots of my native county—the abode of John Evelyn,—I conclude the preface with which I commit to the public the last work which it can be my fortune to undertake.

Wotton House, Surrey,

30th July, 1883.

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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

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A few prefatory words are needed for the Second Edition of the "History of Australia."

The Preface to the first is still a guide to the principle on which the History was framed, and which has been adhered to in the second edition. Condensation, excisions, and additions have been made; and criticisms on the first edition have, it may be hoped, contributed to the improvement of the second.

The statement of the Quarterly Review (April, 1885), that the History "must always be the standard authority on all points relating to the early history and growth of the Australian colonies," is a strong incentive to an author to strive to merit such praise.

There is one unpublished testimony from which a few lines may be quoted. Sir W. W. Burton, a Supreme Court Judge, often mentioned in the History, though blind when it was published, heard it read, and dictated a letter to the author, in which he congratulated his acquaintance of "more than forty years, on being the writer of two profound books, the historian of countries newly founded, whose uncertain origin you have explained, and in the case of Australia, as I can vouch, very powerfully and very interestingly."

After the publication of the first edition of this History the Government of New South Wales entered, officially, upon the task of preparing a history of that colony. The first volume appeared in 1889, and the second in 1894. The period covered by the two volumes was about seven years. Four bulky volumes of "Historical Records" of New South Wales (up to 1802) have also been published by the Government.

Such arsenals of past facts, though of great value to students, leave room for a history framed to embody the spirit of the time rather than to register every daily occurrence.

Amongst the "Historical Records" are numerous papers in the possession of the Hon. P. G. King, M.L.C., in New South Wales. They throw a flood of light upon the time with which they deal. The original MSS, lent to the author many years ago, justified him in the hope^[2] that he might present the "age and body of the time, its form and pressure," with the aid of the old Governor's manuscripts, which had been carefully preserved in a chest, until his grandson—their present owner—brought them to light, and placed them at the author's disposal.^[3] Other members of Governor King's family laid the author under obligations by submitting to him copious manuscripts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The late Sir William Macarthur, of Camden Park, also gave him access to similar documents, and enriched their contents from the stores of his spacious memory during the author's visits to his house. In England, in 1882, the author examined original documents at the Record Office, which furnished no reason for shaking confidence in the King and Macarthur MSS, but, on the contrary, contained many proofs of their accuracy.

Some space has been devoted to records of the aboriginal tribes of Australia; and the author has endeavoured to weave into his narrative facts brought under his own knowledge in various parts of the continent. Some of the habits of the race he had striven to record in a rhymed legend (Moyarra) very many years ago. It is one of the pleasing reminiscences of a stay in London that the late Lord Bowen (one of Her Majesty's Judges, and the gifted translator of Virgil) assured him that the legend was "charming." The natives are chiefly mentioned in this Preface, however, in order to refer to a matter which ought to have been alluded to in the second chapter, but cannot now be inserted there as the printing has been completed.

The Australians had a method of communicating with their friends by means of lines graven on sticks despatched from tribe to tribe. The author's recollection of the method (after lapse of half a century) is that certain graven symbols were agreed upon as a warning of certain facts. Not words, but ideas were signified by certain marks. The institution of heralds (mentioned in page 102 of chap. 2) facilitated the conveyance of messages by means of the marks; and if the author's memory be not dimmed by lapse of time, the marks employed by one system of tribes were not the same as those employed by another. The minutest deviation from the appropriate symbol would be at once detected. The Kamilaroi tribes were numerous, and a summons to war could rapidly be sent in many directions if danger was apprehended. The subject seems to have been recently discussed at a meeting of the British Association.^[4]

There has been much discussion as to the extent to which Captain Cook's own words were embodied in the official narrative edited by Dr. (afterwards Sir) John Hawkesworth.^[5] The Admiralty confided to Hawkesworth all the Journals kept by Cook, Banks, and others on board of the Endeavour. Hawkesworth explained in his Preface that the book was compiled from the Journals of Cook, Banks, and others, "all parties acquiescing" in the arrangement that Hawkesworth should use the first person (in the name of Cook) throughout.

The journal of Sir Joseph Banks was copious, and for many years towards the close of the nineteenth century there was an uneasy feeling that Hawkesworth had given to the public too little of Cook and too much of Banks; although Hawkesworth plainly stated that he received Cook's Journal from the Admiralty before he received that of Banks.

Some sceptics went so far as to contend at great length, that Cook did not name Botany Bay, Port Jackson, or New South Wales, and the absence of Cook's ipsissima verba left the field open to doubters.

Even in the "Historical Records of New South Wales," published by the Government in 1893, the editor said, "It is a remarkable fact that nowhere in the original papers of either Cook or any of his officers does the name 'New South Wales' appear. As in the case of Botany Bay it seems to have been an afterthought" . . . "there is no foundation for the popular impression that Cook bestowed the name New South Wales on the territory. . . . The name appears to have originated with Hawkesworth."

Cook's Journal, published in England in 1893, decided the matter. On the 22nd August 1770, he wrote: "In the name of His Majesty King George the Third I took possession of the whole Eastern Coast (from lat 37° down to this place) by the name of New South Wales,"

In 1893 all doubts were dissipated by the publication of Cook's own journal by the Hydrographer of the Admiralty, Captain Wharton. It was found that no less than three copies of Cook's Journal were extant. The copy in possession of the Admiralty contained the narrative of the close of the voyage, which was not contained in the others. Cook wrote (30th Sept. 1770) "In the A.M. I took into my possession the officers', petty officers', and seamen's Log Books, and Journals, at least, all that I could find, and enjoined every one not to divulge where they had been." On the 25th October he sent from "Onrust near Batavia"—"a copy of my journal containing the proceedings of the whole voyage," with charts. "In this Journal I have with undisguised truth and without gloss inserted the whole transactions of the voyage."

When Cook arrived in England, six months afterwards, "the full Journal of the voyage was deposited at the Admiralty."^[6]

The naming of Botany Bay was thus recorded by Cook. "The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this place occasioned my giving it the name of Botany Bay."

On the 6th May he wrote of Port Jackson: "We were about two or three miles from the land, and abreast of a bay, wherein there appeared to be safe anchorage, which I called Port Jackson."

In this edition the author has in all cases quoted Cook's words, which are as graphic as those of Defoe. Something may be said as to the historical advantages or disadvantages attendant upon writing a history of times during a portion of which the author has moved among those whom it is his duty to describe.

Personal considerations may be dismissed as unworthy of contemplation. If he tell the truth an author cannot avoid making enemies; and if he palter with it he can deserve no friends.

In the present case the author has derived unspeakable assistance from local associations. He has conversed with some of those who were colonists in the eighteenth century, and with many thousands among the generations which succeeded the first comers. Such conversations have revealed the hopes and fears, and explained many of the turmoils of the past. Men's motives become known to their contemporaries. Often they make no attempt to conceal them, and they could not conceal them if they would. Friends betray what enemies long to discover.

The atmosphere of an epoch is a part of it, and he who breathes it must indeed be dull if he be in no degree imbued with the spirit of the time. History should be a picture of the past, and sight of the past is useful to him who would depict it.

It is not for the author to say whether he has profited by his opportunities; but it is right to acknowledge his obligations.

Cotmandene,
South Yarra, 8th May, 1897.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

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CHAPTER I.

Pages 1—65

From Prehistoric Times to Foundation of New South Wales in 1788.

Early Rumours of a Great South Land—Navigation of Indian Ocean—Maps in 16th Century—Dirk Hartog, 1616—Pelsaert, 1629—Tasman, 1642—Dampier, 1688—Captain Cook, 1769—Cook's Discovery of East Coast of Australia, and of Endeavour Straits—Cook's second and third Voyages—Pitt's Ministry, 1783—Disposal of Convicts—African Exploration—Occupation of Australia determined upon—The Problem before the Pitt Ministry—Colonization—E. Gibbon Wakefield's subsequent Scheme of Colonization, 1849—The first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip—Legislation for Founding the Colony—Establishment of Courts of Law—Phillip's Labours in England—The First Fleet, 1787—Phillip selects a Site, and founds the Town of Sydney—Elements of the Population—Criminal Courts—Norfolk Island occupied—Phillip's Moral Influence—Parramatta—Agriculture—Phillip asks for Free Settlers—Grants of Land—Henry Dundas—Assignment of Convicts to Officers—Farms for Free Settlers—Supply of Food—Want of Food—Food procured at Cape of Good Hope—Starvation imminent—Famine—Governor Phillip—Loss of Cattle—Phillip and P. G. King—First Theatrical Performance in Sydney—Norfolk Island in 1789—Mr. Grenville on Norfolk Island—Phillip sends P. G. King as special Envoy to England—Loss of the Sirius at Norfolk Island—Martial Law there—Famine in Sydney—Food sent for from Batavia—Starvation and Robberies—Loss of the Guardian—Arrival of the Julina—The Second Fleet—John Macarthur—D'Arcy Wentworth—Famine at Norfolk Island—"Birds of Providence"—Arrival of the ships Justinian and Surprise from Sydney—Famine averted—The New South Wales Corps.

CHAPTER II.

Pages 66-121

Natural Phenomena and the Australian Tribes.

Flinders on the Name Australia—Mountains and Rivers—Climate—Drought—Hot Winds—Floods—Pasture—Minerals—Flora—Cordillera—Barrier Reef—Fauna—Tasmania—Tasmanian Fauna—Tribes of Australia and Tasmania—Dr. Pickering on Australian Tribes—Professor Owen's Remarks—An Australian Casuist—Dr. Prichard on Human Races—Sir G. Grey—Mr. E. J. Eyre—Australian Dialects Probability that the Australian Race Immigrated from Hindostan—Their Mode of occupying their Territory—Their Songs and Dances—Their Designation of Tribes analogous to that in Provence—Their Stone Implements—Their Class-names, and Marriage Laws—Their Tribal Territories—Their Government and Laws—Their Wommerah for throwing Spears—Their War-boomerang—Their Toy-boomerang made to return to the Thrower—Their Mode of killing Game—Boomerang of War—Boomerang of Amusement—Their Expertness in climbing Trees—Their Use of an exhilarating Plant—Their Food—Their Canoes—Their Skill in Tracking—Treatment of Women and Children—Usages and Superstitions—Their Rock Paintings—Their Ceremonies—The Induction of Young Men to Tribal Rights—Their Superstitions—Murramai (Rock Crystal) venerated—Their Manufacture of Nets, and of Weapons—Their Institution of Heralds Free from Molestation—Their Mode of Producing Fire—Rev. W. Ridley, Missionary—Sir G. Grey and Miago—Mr. Eyre—Count Strzelecki—Mr. J. Manning—Rev. Mr. Gunther—Rev. W. Ridley on Australian Traditions of a Creator—Sir Bartle Frere—Remnants of an Ancient Cult—Cannibalism not general—South Australian Folk Lore—"Kamilaroi" and "Kurnai"—Humboldt on Speech—Max Miller—Human Faculties—Australian Marriage Laws—New Norcia Marriage Laws—Narrinyerri Tribes, South Australia—Tasmanian Natives, Father Clark—Truganina—Mr. Calder on the Tasmanians—Mr. Bonwick's Opinion of a Tasmanian Native.

Appendix on the Formation and Flight of the Boomerang of Amusement.

CHAPTER III.

Pages 122-186

1788 to 1794.

Governor Phillip's Explorations—Phillip and the Natives—Natives shot by the French at Botany Bay—Affrays of Convicts and Natives—Phillip's Measures—Small-pox, Question of its Introduction—Capture of Arabanoo, and his Death—Colebe and Bennilong captured—Bennilong's Escape—Phillip wounded by a Spear—Bennilong Friendly—Pemulwy and Balloodery—Native Boys killed (1799)—Lord Hobart moralizes on their Fate—Mortality among Convicts—Want of Food—Return of Phillip's Envoy to England, P. G. King—Law at Norfolk Island—The Marine Corps and Major Ross—Phillip's Difficulties—New South Wales Corps to be raised—Arrival of Drafts—Major Francis Grose—George Johnston joins New South Wales Corps—Bryant, Convict Fisherman, escapes in a Boat to Timor—Runaway Convicts—Missing Records—Convicts enlisted in New South Wales Corps—George Barrington well-behaved Convict—The first freed Settler, James Ruse—Arrival of Free Settlers entreated for by Phillip—Thomas Rose first Free Settler—Major Grose errs—Phillip's Ill-health and Resignation—Regret in England—Farming, Live Stock, 1792—Black Caesar, Convict Bushranger—Whaling—Character of Governor Phillip—Major Grose Acting Governor—Grose abrogates Civil Law—Consequent Disorders—Grose disobeys Instructions—Grants of Land to Officers of New South Wales Corps—Grose and Rev. R. Johnson—Grose "plagued" by Settlers—Maori Chiefs at Norfolk Island—Grose declines to pay Norfolk Island Corn Bills—Hunter pays Them—B'Arcy Wentworth at Norfolk Island—Pitt and Dundas—Law at Norfolk Island—New South Wales Corps at Norfolk Island—Theatrical Performance at Norfolk Island—Mutiny of Detachment of New South Wales Corps at Norfolk Island—Grose abrogates Civil Law at Norfolk Island—Grose demands Explanation from P. G. King—(Grose's Court of Inquiry—King's Justification—Sec. of State approves King's Conduct—Sec. of State reinstates the Civil Law—P. G. King visits England—Grose retires—Capt. William Paterson, New South Wales Corps, Lieut. Governor—His Explorations—Grants of Land by Phillip, by Grose, by Paterson—Arrival of Samuel Marsden, 1794—Grose, Rev. R. Johnson, Wilberforce, Marsden.

CHAPTER IV.

Pages 187—217

1795 to 1800.

Governor Hunter—His Efforts—Civil Law Restored—Magistrates' Court in Sydney—Misconduct of Military—Lord Mayor, London, obtains Redress for Shipmaster—Hunter and the Natives—Spurious Report about Cliffs of Salt—Dawes, Paterson, Hacking—Wild Cattle—George Bass—Bass's Whaleboat Expedition—Flinders and Bass—Bass's Strait Discovered—Hunter fixes Rates of Wages—State of the Colony in 1799—Fugitive Missionaries 1798—John Macarthur's Sagacity—Merino Sheep procured by him—Mutiny in a Convict Ship—The Scotch Martyrs:—Muir—Gerald—Skirving—T. F. Palmer—Wolfe Tone—Maurice Margarot—Margarot's Diaries—Judicature—Absence of Taxation—Hunter's difficulties—Royal Instructions condemning Spirit Traffic—Recall of Hunter—Appointment of P. G. King as Governor—King's Reflections.

CHAPTER V.

Pages 218—388

1800 to 1806.

Governor King—Trade with the East Indies—King's Instructions to repress Spirit Traffic—He checks it—He excludes Spirits—He sends Spirits away—His Orders—Success of King's Measures—Cattle imported—Importation of Spirits from East Indies Checked—Repression of Spirit Traffic—Port Orders—A Convict Lawyer, George Crossley—King asks for a Judge Advocate or a Chief Justice—Lord Hobart's Ineptitude—Spirits sent away—King on presenting Petitions—Excise Laws suggested by King—Illicit Stills Destroyed—Improvement in Condition of Colony—The New South Wales Corps—John Macarthur—Foveaux—Recognizances of Officers of Corps—Courts Martial—Piper—Macarthur—Ruled that Officers cannot demand Court Martial—New Military Order on Courts Martial—Loss of Governor's Despatches by Lt. Grant, R.N.—French Exploring Ships—Captain Baudin—Courts Martial—Dr. Harris—Captain Kemp—Paterson determines that Military Officers shall not aid Colonial Departments—The Governor's Remedies—His Body-guard—Lieut. Bellasis—Court Martial arrests the Judge Advocate Dr. Harris—The Governor restrains violent Officers—His proposed Remedies—Dr. Harris—George Johnston—Sir C. Morgan, Judge Advocate-General in England, on Colonial Courts Martial—Lord Hobart and Captain Colnett, R.N.—Governor King and Captain Cohiett—King on remodelling Courts of Judicature—The Courts of the Colony—Armed Association to aid the Military—Macarthur ready to repress Sedition—Sedition—Convicts in the Ann strive to capture Her—Foveaux quells Insurrection at Norfolk Island—The armed Associations in New South Wales—King's published Order, on Seditious Meetings—Seditious Irish Convicts—Governor King respecting them—He asks for Copies of Statutes at large, particularly about Sedition—Sentences on some Irish Prisoners—Chevalier de Clambe—Rev. Mr. Dixon, Roman Catholic, emancipated in order that he might minister to his Co-religionists—Armed Associations re-embodied 1803—Francois Duriault—Captain Abbott and Mr. Marsden—Margarot's Journal on the Irish Insurgents—King—Major Johnston—Major Johnston's Despatches on Capture of Insurgents Court Martial—Executions—Governor King's published Orders—Investigations—Joseph Holt and his Memoirs—Margarot—Maum—Sir H. B. Hayes—Magistrates' Report on Margarot—Duriault sent away by the Governor—Governor's Reports on the Insurrection, and the State of the Colony—No present (Clause for Apprehension—French Exploring Ships, Naturaliste and Geographe—Lieutenant Grant and the Lady Nelson—Discoveries—Grant and Barrallier—The Governor's Instructions to Murray—Port Phillip entered by Bowen—Baudin at Western Port 1802—Matthew Flinders meets Baudin at Encounter Bay—Flinders at Port Phillip 1802——Flinders at the Barrier Reef—Flinders Prisoner at the Mauritius—Flinders—King—De Caen—Peron—Sir Joseph Banks—Flinders released; His Papers retained—Baudin and Hamelin in Sydney 1802—The Hoisting of a Flag—A French Sealing Voyage King's Conjectures as to French Designs—Rumours of French Settlement—,Chas. Robbins, H.M.S. Buffalo—Governor King's Letters to Baudin—Baudin's Letters to Governor King—Robbins and Grimes at Port Phillip—King resolves to occupy Tasmania—River Derwent Settlement 1803—Collins to occupy Port Phillip—Lord Hobart's Instructions to Collins—Apprehensions of Collins—Despatches of Collins—King—Collins—Buckley—Collins at the Derwent—Lord Hobart's Blunders—Cattle sent for—H.M.S. Buffalo—Lord Hobart suggests Rice-growing—Colonel Paterson at Port Dalrymple—King deprecates Abandonment of Norfolk Island—Food for Settlements in Tasmania—Colonel Collins' Difficulties—Collins on Slaughter of Tasmanian Natives—Collins on Favours to Military Officers—Collins on Holt and Margarot—Hunter River Settlement—Sir H. B. Hayes and Margarot—Paucity of Military Officers—John Macarthur and Wool-growing—Lord Camden—Governor King and Macarthur 1805—John Macarthur's Hopes—Barrallier's Explorations 1802—Caley's Explorations—Treatment of Natives—Pemulwy—Tribal Divisions—Portland Head Settlers and Governor King—James Bath—Destruction of the Fittest—Musquito—Atkins on the Absence of Necessity to treat the Natives lawfully—Musquito undergoing a Tribal Ordeal—Governor King founds a Female Orphan Institution—Samuel Marsden its Treasurer—Occupations of a Governor in 1802—Missionary Refugees from Tahiti—Rev. Mr. Fulton—Rev. Mr. Dixon—Musters of Convicts—Forgeries by Convict Clerks—Escapes of Convicts in departing Ships—Ill-usage of Convicts at Sea-Inhuman Masters of Ships—Mutiny of Convicts in the Hercules—Trial of a Shipmaster—Escapes of Convicts—Harbour Ordinances—Currency in New South Wales—Petition for Suspension of Civil Courts—General Order to repress Monopoly and Extortion—Promissory Notes—Public Brewery—Flax and Woollen Factories—Occupation of Lands 1806—Agriculture 1806—Reserves of Land—Grants of Land up to 1806—Live Stock in 1806—Commons—The Plough—Cattle in 1806-The Great Flood of 1806—Regulations after the Flood—War and Letters of Marque—The Privateer Harrington—Regulations concerning Privateers.—Regulations as to Labour of Convicts—Female Convicts Convict Tutors—Pardons—Punishments—Statistics, Population in 1806—Bass, his last Voyage—Robbins—Pomare of Tahiti—Ti-pa-he of New Zealand visits Sydney—Governor King's Career, and Dr. Lang's Opinion about it—Claims on a historian, John Macarthur and Lord Camden—Immigration of Capitalists, John and Gregory Blaxland—Departure of Governor King—His Death—Encomium on by Secretary of State—His Widow.

CHAPTER VI.

Pages 389-446

1806 to 1809.

Governor Bligh—Mutiny in H.M.S. Bounty—Instructions to Bligh as Governor—His Demeanour—Dr. Harris's Description of his Conduct—His Advisers—Punishments ordered by Him—His Favouritism—His Deportation of Settlers from Norfolk Island—His Relations with John Macarthur—His Treatment of the Criminal Court—John Macarthur imprisoned—Governor Bligh placed under Arrest by Major Johnston—Johnston, as Lieut.-Governor, assumes the Government—Addresses of Officers and others to Johnston—Major Abbott's Opinion—Bligh's Arrest a Necessity—A Serjeant's Evidence—Bligh's Deposition—Johnston's Appeal to Officers, military and civil—Johnston s Government—Gregory Blaxland—Johnston's justificatory Despatch—Bligh 's Despatch of the same Period—Colonel Foveaux's Arrival—Bligh's Demand—Foveaux maintains existing Conditions—Johnston—Paterson—Bligh—Foveaux's Government—Colonel Paterson arrives and governs—Bligh's Solemn Pledge to Paterson broken by Bligh—Paterson's Indignation—Paterson forbids Communication with Bligh—Governor Macquarie arrives with Instructions—Macquarie assumes the Government—His Opinion of Bligh—State of Public Opinion in the Colony—Macquarie's Patronage of Convicts—Kent acquitted and Johnston cashiered—Courts Martial in England on Lieutenant Kent and Colonel Johnston—John Macarthur—Under-Secretary Goulburn and Mr. G. W. Taylor—Macarthur and Lord Bathurst—Macarthur's Banishment at an End—His Return to Australia.

CHAPTER VII.

Pages 447-507

1810-1821

Governor Macquarie—Mrs. Macquarie's Chair in the Domain at Sydney—Census of 1810 and 1821—Macquarie's Regulations—Macquarie in Van Diemen's Land—Colonel Davey—Judicature of Van Diemen's Land—Bushranging in Van Diemen's Land—Martial Law in Van Diemen's Land—Lieutenant-Governor Sorell in Van Diemen's Land—Aborigines in Van Diemen's Land—Discoveries in New South Wales under Macquarie—Gregory Blaxland—W. C. Wentworth—Lieutenant Lawson—Discoveries in New South Wales—Oxley on the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers, and at Liverpool Plains, New England, and Mount Seaview—Hamilton Hume discovers Goulburn Plains, &c.—Captain P. P. King's Marine Discoveries—New Courts of Judicature—Judge Bent and Governor Macquarie—Judge Barron Field—Macquarie and the Judges—Macquarie on a proposed Council of Advice—Macquarie builds a Hospital—His Method—Lord Bathurst on Spirit Traffic—Marsden on Parramatta Female Factory—H. G. Bennett, M.P., on Macquarie's Government—Bank of New South Wales formed 1816—Savings Bank, 1819—Currency Question -Public Meeting Regulations—Export of Wool to England—John Macarthur and Commissioner Bigge—Macquarie and Marsden—Macquarie and the Natives—Annual Meetings of Natives at Parramatta—Military Operations against Natives, 1816—Court Martial on a Chaplain—Royal Veteran Company—Macquarie deports a Roman Catholic Priest—Religious Bodies—Marsden and Leigh—Religious Bodies—Convicts build a Church—Macquarie's Treatment of the Free Settlers and of the Convict class—Assignment of Convicts Judge Burton's Charge on Convict Gangs—Sydney Smith on Transportation—Macquarie's Patronage of Convicts—Colonel Molle and the 46th Regiment—Marsden 's Testimony as to the Service rendered to the Colony by the 46th Regiment—Colonel Erskine and the 48th Regiment—Macquarie's Poet Laureate—Macquarie and Judge Bent—Macquarie inflicts the Lash on a Free Man-H. G. Bennett, M.P., denounces Macquarie's act—Macquarie's Defence—Legal Action instituted by an Emancipist—Barron Field's Decision—Position of emancipated Colonists—William C. Wentworth's Book (on New South Wales) published, 1819—Commissioner Bigge on Just Grievance of Emancipists—Macquarie and Marsden—The Free Man, William Blake, flogged by order of Macquarie excites Sympathy in England—Wilberforce, a Champion of Marsden—Lord Castlereagh—Commissioner Bigge's Reports—Imperial Legislation on Australian Customs' Duties—Duties in England on Australian Wool, Timber, &c.—New South Wales Judicature Act (Imperial) passed in 1823—A Legislative Council created—Chief Justice to certify that Projected Measures are not repugnant to General Law—The New Constitution—£4,000,000 expended by Imperial Parliament in founding the Colony—Sir Thomas Brisbane appointed Governor—Macquarie's Proclamations and Orders—Macquarie's Departure.

CHAPTER VIII.

Pages 508-579

1821 to 1825. (Van Diemen's Land to 1836)

Governor Brisbane—His Observatory—Selects Hamilton Hume to go with an Expedition overland to Western Port—Hume's overland Journey to Port Phillip—Penal Settlements at Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay—Surveyor General Oxley at Port Curtis and Moreton Bay—Allan Cunningham, Botanical Collector and Explorer—Lord Liverpool and Mr. Canning safeguard Australia—The Natives and Martial Law—Windradine, a Bathurst Native—Brisbane forms a Corps of Mounted Police, Soldiers of Regiments—Their great Services—Australian Agricultural Company—Grants of Land by Brisbane—Lord Bathurst's Despatches—Colonel Arthur to be Governor of Van Diemen's Land—Francis Forbes to be Chief Justice of New South Wales—Judge Advocate Wylde on Judge Advocate's Functions—The Jury Question and C. J. Forbes—W. G. Wentworth—Amended Constitution Act, 9 Geo. IV., cap. 83—The Governor's Legislative Council, 1824—Government of Van Diemen's Land, Despatch on—Dr. Douglass and Marsden—Sir Robert Peel and Lord Bathurst—Dr. Douglass and Marsden—"Torture" Proceedings—Governor Brisbane and Attorney-General Saxe-Bannister—Indemnity Act for Magistrates, 1825—Saxe-Bannister—Marsden's Defence—The Australian Newspaper on the Torture Proceedings and the Magistrates' Indemnity Act—Mr. (afterwards Dr.) J. D. Lang—Governor Brisbane, Major Goulbum, and Dr. Lang—Mr. Thomas Icely and Dr. Lang—Governor Brisbane, Dr. Lang and Mr. Wemyss—Dr. Lang and Mr. Wilmot Horton in England—Dr. Lang and Lord Bathurst—Dr. Lang and Mr. Busby—Wentworth and Dr. Wardell—Lord Bathurst's Instructions as to a Measure dealing with the Press—Chief Justice Forbes—John Macarthur and Governor Brisbane and Judge Field—Addresses to Governor Brisbane—Macarthur's Recommendations on Public Affairs—Gibbon Wakefield's Theory of Colonization—Lord Bathurst's Directions that Faith be kept with Macarthur as to Land Grants—Statistics of New South Wales, 1825—Commerce and Settlement—Sir Robert Peel encourages Interests of Science in Australia—Mr. John Busby—Governor Brisbane, the "Exclusives," and the "Emancipists"—Van Diemen's Land and Colonel Sorell—Musquito, the Australian Native, after capturing Bushrangers in Van Diemen's Land, becomes a Leader of Van Diemen's Land Natives—Colonel Arthur becomes Governor of Van Diemen's Land—His Executive and Legislative Councils under the Constitution Act, 4 Geo. IV., cap. 96—Chief Justice J. L. Pedder—Charter of Van Diemen's Land Company—Colonel Sorell's Introduction of fine-woolled Sheep to Van Diemen's Land from Camden Park Flocks—Statistics of Van Diemen's Land in 1824—Chief Justice Pedder differs from Chief Justice Forbes as to Creation of Juries under the Constitution Act—Governor Arthur's Laws for the Press—He suspends his Attorney-General—His Legislation—His Usury Law—His Management of the Crown Lands—Lord Goderich abolishes Grants of Land, and substitutes Sales by Auction in Australia and Van Diemen's Land—Quit Rent Question—Governor Arthur will not allow Mr. A. M. Baxter to become a Judge—Macquarie Harbour, Maria Island, and Port Arthur Penal Settlements—Colonel Arthur's Control of Convicts—Capture and Death of Musquito—Rev. J. West's Description of a "Black Hunt"—Colonel Arthur outlaws the Natives—Object Boards—John Batman—George Augustus Robinson—Colonel Arthur's Committee of Inquiry—Its Report—Eumarrah and Colonel Arthur—The Cordon across the Island a Failure—G. A. Robinson's Successes—Truganina—Island Imprisonment—Colonel Arthur's Epitaph on the Natives—Horrors amongst Convict Bushrangers—Extinction of Bushranging—Governor Arthur's System—Visit of Quakers: their Narrative—Arthur as a Moral Reformer—Rev. W. Bedford, Chaplain—Colonel Arthur's Departure—His Farewell to his Legislative Council—Material Progress during his Government.

CHAPTER IX.

Page 580-625.

1826 to 1831.

Governor Darling—Governor Darling's Council—Alexander Macleay—John Macarthur and Robert Campbell—William C. Wentworth—Alexander Macleay—Discoveries in Darling's Time—Allan Cunningham—Sturt—Hume—Sturt on the Murrumbidgee River—At Lake Alexandrina—Settlements in Australia—Lord Liverpool keeping Guard—Governor Darling occupies Posts—King George's Sound—Western Port—John Batman—Swan River occupied, 1829—Troubles of the New Settlement—E. G. Wakefield's "Letter from Sydney," with an Outline of a Theory of Colonization—His Theory—Treatment of Natives in New South Wales—Governor Darling and his Attorney-General—Governor Darling and Outrages on the Natives—Killing a Native—A Trial—Dr. Wardell—Western Australia—Mr. Moore—Midgegoro—Yagan—Sir Charles J. Napier on Yagan—Saxe-Bannister—Juries under the Constitution of 1828—Grand Juries not adopted in Australia—Departmental Convenience and Public Loss—Stipendiary Magistracy—Settlement of the Jury Law under Governor Darling in 1829 (1830, 1834).—Juries-Press Law—Judge Forbes and Governor Darling—Newspaper Stamp Act Suspension, 1827—Veto of Chief Justice on Bills abolished—Prosecutions for Libel—Newspaper Stamp Act, 1830—Currency—Governor Darling's Bushranging Act, 1830—Encounters of Soldiers with Bushrangers near Bathurst—Robbery and Housebreaking Act, 1830—Outbreak of Convicts at Norfolk Island—Robbery by Soldiers—The Case of the Soldiers Sudds and Thompson—Captain R. Robinson, of the Royal Veteran Company—Debate in Parliament—Governor Darling's Conduct Approved—Assignment of Convicts in New South Wales—Grants of Land under Macquarie, Brisbane, and Darling—Immigration—Van Diemen's Land—Swan River—Lord Goderich abolishes Free Grants of Land—Mr. Busby constructs Tunnel to conduct Water from Botany Bay Swamps to Sydney—Drought of 1828—Financial Crisis—Legal Profession formally divided (1834)—Fisher's Ghost Story—Dr. Lang and Lord Goderich—Dr. Lang and John Macarthur—Deaths of early Colonists—Revenue and Population when Governor Darling left the Colony—Farewell Address of Legislative Council.

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1. Dean Swift (to Bolingbroke, 1719): "I must beg two things; first, that you will not omit any passage because you think it of little moment; And secondly, that you will write to an ignorant world, and not suppose your reader to be only of the present age, or to live within ten miles of London. There is nothing more vexes me in old historians than when they leave me in the dark in some passages which they suppose every one to know." The hope of future usefulness must support a writer in the least attractive portions of his work. Already I have reaped some reward. One critic objected to the microscopic accuracy of my "History of New Zealand;" but the London "Spectator" (26th May, commended it for being as trustworthy as it was minute.
2. Vol. I, p. 382.
3. The fourth volume of the "Historical Records" appeared after chapter V. of this History was in type. If it had appeared before, it would have been cited in the text to confirm the views of the author as to the disorders which Governor King had to check (Vol. 2, pp. 214—217, 219—231, 234—237, 380, 381). It appears (p. 228) that Colonel Paterson wrote (8th October 1800) to Sir Joseph Banks that before King's arrival in 1800 — "the government was getting every day into greater confusion in consequence of the immense quantities of spirits that got amongst the lower order of settlers and convicts. Although Governor King did not take the command until the 28th ult., the day that Governor Hunter embarked his presence and the steps he recommended have already had their good effect." Paterson's opportunities of acquiring information were unsurpassed. Besides commanding the military, when he thus wrote, he had acted as Governor in 1794 and 1795; and after an absence on leave he returned to Sydney in November, 1799, in time to observe the effects of Hunter's incapacity.
4. Dr. Harley gave an address, illustrated by specimens, on "Points of Resemblance between Irish Ogams of the Past and the Australian Aborigines' Stick-writing of the Present." He pointed out that an understanding of the principles of the fast-dying system in Australia of conveying ideas by horizontal straight lines might afford a clue to the better interpretation of the ancient Irish ogams, as these two systems resemble each other, as not only the form but to a certain extent the modes of arrangement were identical. The Gilas of Central Asia also had the same lineal form of writing, the same grouping of the characters, and a distinctly columnar arrangement. Dr. Harley thought that the Australian aborigines had advanced one stage beyond the ancient Irish, inasmuch as they possessed two distinctly different kinds of line characters, small and large, analogous to our capital letters, and also adopted the plan of emphasizing the small characters by turning them into a kind of italics. All the natives did not write alike. The woman's sign character was shown on the screen, and also a man's, more developed, which was said to curiously resemble that of the Samoyeds of the Arctic regions. Some were again less developed, and still in the stage of picture and hieroglyphic writing. The written language was illustrated by the representation of a secret war message.—Times, 24th September, 1896.
5. "Hawkesworth's Voyages," London, 1773. It is only fair to Hawkesworth to say that he stated that he submitted his compilation to Banks and Solander, "in whose hands as well as in those of Captain Cook the work was left for a considerable time."
6. Captain Wharton (Preface, p. viii). The three copies of Cook's Journal, Captain Wharton says, are—"practically identical except for the period 13th to 19th August 1770, during which the wording is often different though the events are the same." The period was critical as will be seen (Vol I, pp, 10, II).