Monthly Archives: March 2016

You might remember than in January  the Clonmel was wrecked along the Gippsland coast, necessitating a 65 hour rescue mission as D.C. Simson and Mr Edwards and some unnamed ‘men’sailed to Melbourne to raise the alarm.  Captain Lewis, who travelled to Gippsland to rescue the unhappy passengers, reported that he had observed what could be access to an inland sea.  On 3rd February the Singapore cleared out, bearing Dr Steward, Messrs Kinghorne, Orr, Rank, Brodribb, McLeod, Kirsopp and McFarlane to investigate this rumoured waterway and to assess  the pastoral potential of the country, which had already been designated ‘Gippsland’ by Count Streslecki in his overland explorations.

The Port Phillip Herald of 23 March 1841 carried a lengthy report of taken from Mr Orr’s notes on his return to Melbourne. John Orr was employed with the firm of Turnbull, Orr and Co, and exemplified the entrepreneurial spirit that drove these heady, pastoral boom days of the early 1840s.  He reported that it took seven days to get there (much longer than the 65 hours that Simson and Edwards had taken to return by small boat to raise the alarm), a reminder should we need it of the difficulty of negotiating the Heads and Bass Strait. Their first efforts were directed towards finding an entrance to Gipps’ Land (which was how it was written) from the north-west side of Corner Inlet, but they soon abandoned this plan.  By travelling along the beach they located the wreck of the Clonmel and noted and named two rivers: the Tarra River (named after their indigenous guide) and the Albert River (after Prince Albert). They erected a storehouse on the beach, and ensured that it was guarded at all times with a ‘sufficient’ number of men.

Then unfolds one of those beach-side encounters,  that liminal space so evocatively described by historian Greg Dening, that could have gone either way and for which we have only the settlers’ side of the story.

During these operations a tribe of natives approached the encampment, when only two of the men and Mr Orr were present, and commenced seizing upon the various articles landed.  Mr Orr, however, and the two men succeeded in driving them off by discharging their guns loaded only with powder.  While riding in the vicinity a few days afterwards, Charlie, the black native lately in Melbourne with Count Strezlecki, discovered the recent footmarks of a large party of natives in the direction of the encampment.  The party immediately galloped back but found that they had not then arrived. In the afternoon, however, two of the gentlemen perceived a spear moving at a short distance, when it was resolved to advance and ascertain their intentions.  To avoid creating unnecessary alarm, only one half of the party proceeded to meet them, and they were discovered to the number of about thirty drawn up ready to receive the advancing party with their spears, which they flourished in the manner customary upon such occasions. Charlie approached them, making at the same time all manner of signs of peaceful intentions, and inviting them to advance.

After a very noisy interchange of salutations they laid down their spears and accompanied the party to the encampment, at a short distance from which they kindled a fire and held a coorobora [sic]. They departed the following morning with a few trifling presents, and were not again seen or heard of until the day the Singapore sailed, when nine of them in three canoes again made their appearance seemingly anxious to get on board.  The ship, however, being then under way, they were obliged to return, but the party despatched a boat after them to their camp, and gave them a few articles of different descriptions at which they were highly pleased. (PPH 23/3/41 p.2)

Messrs  Stewart, Rankin and Orr returned by ship, while the other five gentlemen, accompanied by Charlie, returned home overland in an exploratory journey that took over a month. Highly enthused by the potential of the land, John Orr applied to purchase land on the west bank of the Tarra River in April 1841 under special survey, while John Reeve, a recent arrival in the colony, made an application for a special survey on the east bank.  You might remember that Henry Dendy had recently arrived in Port Phillip from England, bearing a special survey entitlement arranged from London. Not only was the local government fearful that special surveys would pre-empt the best land in the colony, but Gipps was concerned about the cost of administering (and more importantly, policing) settlement in such a remote area.  It was to take the local administration two years to gazette the special survey.

It was not a particularly successful undertaking and Gipps and La Trobe’s fears about the remoteness of the region were justified. By 1843 there were about 200 people in the region, living in five small scattered settlements.  On Orr’s survey, there were 17 men, 6 women and 13 children, while there were 29 men, 14 women and 23 children on Reeve’s survey at Tarraville.  The area did not prosper as much as they hoped. Five years later, there were only an extra hundred settlers, bringing the total to 300 and 75,000 animals.  (Shaw, A History of the Port Phillip District  p. 162)

STATISTICS

The Port Phillip Herald of 25 March had some interesting statistics about the free settlers arriving in Sydney and Port Phillip respectively.  I’m not sure how they compile the figures or how heavily they can be relied upon.  Perhaps more significant is the sentence at the bottom of the table that indicates that almost as many bounty immigrants had arrived in Port Phillip in the months 1 Jan-25 March 1841 as had arrived during the whole of 1840.

P.S. There have already arrived in Port Phillip since 1 Jan 1841, 1847 immigrants on bounty in addition to a large number who arrived on their own resources. [PPH March 25, 1841]

HOW’S THE WEATHER?

The highest temperature for the period was 86 degrees (30C) on 23rd and the lowest was 43 (6C). There were strong winds on 23rd and 26th, and the weather was dry but mostly dull and cloudy. The coldest days of the month were between the 27th and 30th March.

A DANGEROUS PLACE

It is often amusing to Australians just how scared the rest of the world seems to be of the dangers of the antipodes. Snakes, spiders- even drop bears! But the depiction of Port Phillip as a Place of Peril seems to have started early.

There were industrial accidents:

A few days ago a poor man named Johnson in the employ of Messrs Alison and Knight, incautiously placed his hand on a piece of timber which the steam saw was then cutting up, and before he was aware of his danger his hand was caught by the machine and dreadfully lacerated. Doctor McCrae was immediately applied to, who found himself under the necessity of amputating one of the fingers, we are happy to add that the sufferer is now fast recovering. (PPH 9/3/41)

Then there were stingrays (if only you had taken heed Steve Irwin!)

EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE “We regret that one of the officers of the Majestic now lies seriously indisposed from the effect of a severe wound which he received whilst that vessel lay at Geelong. It appears that he was standing in the water near Point Henry, when a large string-ray drove its sting into his thigh and dragged him some distance before assistance could be afforded. He was taken on shore and put under the care of Dr Clarke, the assistant colonial surgeon, who with much difficulty succeeded in extracting the sting which measures eight inches in length and nearly one [inch] breadth. (PPH 9/3/41)

Even walking down Elizabeth Street (above the ‘River Williams’ which ran under it) you put your life in peril:

This beautiful and picturesque piece of water was on yesterday near being the scene of the loss of human life. A man in a state of inebriety rashly attempted to cross it, near Collin’s –street, instead of going over at the only fordable place, near Messrs. Lovell and Co, the consequence was almost fatal, he fell into one of the many holes with which the river abounds, and had it not been for the humane exertions of a person who stood on the banks, who on seeing his perilous situation instantly jumped off and ultimately rescued him, he must have been drowned. (PPH 9/3/41)

HOSPITAL

It was just as well, then, that the good people of Melbourne turned their attention to the lack of hospital facilities in the town. It is a good example of the way that public institutions were formed from scratch in a new community. On 5 March a meeting was held at the Police Court, with Superintendent Charles La Trobe in the chair, conferring respectability and authority on the proceedings. Justice of the Peace Thomas Wills moved, seconded by the Anglican minister Rev. A. C. Thomson, that

It appears to this meeting that the rapid Increase in population in Melbourne and the surrounding country, naturally involving a proportionate increase of cases of sickness, accidents and distress, renders necessary the immediate establishment of a Public Hospital, for the purpose of affording to patients clean and comfortable accommodations, regular medical attendance and the means of attention to diet and regimen.

It was decided that subscriptions would be opened immediately and once contributions reached £800, an application would be made to the government for a site and financial assistance in erecting a building for what would be known as “The Melbourne Hospital”. A provisional committee of nineteen men was established and a quick glance at their names reveals a microcosm of respectable networks within Port Phillip Society, many of whom I’ve mentioned before in this blog. There were seven J. P.s : Brewster, Lyon Campbell, Kemmis, Lonsdale [who acted at various times as both Police Magistrate and Sub-Treasurer], Simpson [also a Police Magistrate for a time], J. B. Were and Thomas Wills. The clergy of the dominant congregations were prominent: Rev. Geoghegan for the Catholics, Rev Orton [Methodist], Rev Waterfield [Congregational] and the two secretaries of the committee were Rev A. C. Thomson from the Anglican Church and Rev James Forbes of Scots Presbyterian. Dr Patrick M. D. was on the committee, as were a slew of other Esquires: Robert Deane; J. W. Howey; F. Manton; A.M. McCrae; A. McKillop; D. C. McArthur (manager of the Melbourne branch of the Bank of Australasia), and J. H. Patterson. Once the board had been appointed, La Trobe vacated the chair to the Rev. A. C. Thomson who took over the meeting which then adopted 17 regulations for the role of directors and subscribers which had clearly been formulated beforehand. (PPH 9 March 1841)

ARRIVAL OF THE JUDGE

Finally, and most importantly for this blog, Justice John Walpole Willis and his wife arrived on the evening of Tuesday 9th March by steamer from the Australian Packet which was moored out in the bay. The Port Phillip Herald welcomed him with some reservations

We hail the arrival of the first Judge with no small degree of pleasure, as the introducer of a new era into the monetary affairs of our province, and should he be the means of effecting as much good as is anticipated, his appointment will indeed be a blessing to our country of no small magnitude. He is generally understood to be an eccentric, learned and impartial Judge; and these three characteristics when united do not make up a bad mean. Every person has some peculiarity or deficiency of character, and those which would pass unobserved in a private individual appears of the first magnitude, when possessed and displayed by a Judge from his, in every sense of the term, elevated seat on the Bench. Hence it is, that Judge Willis’ eccentricities may not be greater or more numerous than those of many other men. In a Judge, ability and impartiality make up for many deficiencies, and, therefore, upon the whole, we have every reason to congratulate ourselves upon his appointment amongst us. (PPH 12 March 1841)

AND THE WEATHER

So what weather greeted our new judge? Pretty mild really, at about 65-mid 70s daytime temperatures (18-24 Celsius) . The warmest day was 15th March, with a morning temperature of 81 (27C)