Handbook of Western Australia/Part 3
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FREMANTLE BRIDGE.
PART III.
HISTORY.
The history of a Colony so isolated as Western Australia is rather that of social than of political change and progress. Captain Stirling landed from the Parmelia, 1st June, 1829, with a staff of eight persons and ten artisans and mechanics, with their wives and families and servants, 51 head of cattle, 200 sheep, 33 horses, some pigs and poultry. A large supply of fruit trees, plants, and seeds had been contributed by the Horticultural Society of London and at the Cape of Good Hope, which were immediately planted on Garden Island. The names and offices of these founders of the Colony were Captain James Stirling, Lieut.-Governor, and family of six persons, and George Eliot, aged 11 years; Peter Brown, Colonial Secretary, Mrs. Brown and two children; Lieut. J. S. Roe, E.N., Surveyor, and Mrs. Roe; C. Sutherland, Assistant Surveyor, and Mrs. Sutherland; H. Morgan, Storekeeper, and Mrs. Morgan; W. Shilton, Clerk to the Secretary; J. Drummond, Agriculturist; also the widow and five children of Assistant Surgeon Tully Daley, 63rd Regt., who had died on the passage out. In July the Sulphur arrived with a detachment of a Light Company of that Regiment, and shortly after the Rev. J. B. Wittenoom, the first Colonial Chaplain, landed.
The first emigrant ship, the Calista, arrived on the 5th of August, bringing about 100 passengers of all classes, men, women, and children, among whom the names of Leake, Samson, and Scott have prominence; and from that time many vessels followed in rapid succession, bringing immigrants of all classes and occupations, stock and goods, so that in January, 1830, the Governor was able to report a population numbering 850 persons; property of the assessed value of £41,550; 39 locations effected; 204 head of cattle; 57 horses; 1096 sheep; 106 pigs, &c. The year 1830 witnessed a still larger immigration.
Captain Stirling acted at first as Lieut.-Governor under instructions, but with almost unlimited authority. On his return to England in 1831, however, a commission under the Great Seal was issued, appointing him Governor and Commander-in-Chief of H. M. Settlements on the West Coast of Australia or New Holland, and, by letters patent, Vice-Admiral; the limits of his authority being from Cape Londonderry, Lat. 13 deg. 44 min., to West Cape Howe, Lat. 35 deg. 8 min. South, and from the Hartog's Island, Long. 112 deg. 52 min. to 129 deg. East from Greenough, thus including the small settlement of military and convicts which had been established at King George's Sound by the Governor of New South Wales in 1827. These limits, as already noted, were corrected by a supplementary commission granted to Governor Weld in 1873. By his commission Governor Stirling had authority to appoint an Executive Council, to make provision for the defence of the Colony, to divide it into districts, counties, and townships, to dispose of the land according to instructions, in which also those who might act for him in his absence, according to seniority, were named; any one sitting as Judge being excepted.
At first a board of Council and Audit to assist the Governor in the assessment of property brought into the Colony as an equivalent for land, was established, the members of which were nominated by him from time to time as might be convenient; but the Executive Council consisted of the Officer commanding the troops (Captain Irwin), the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor General, and the Advocate General. This Council, with slight changes in its constitution, has been continued to the present time. The law was administered by W. H. Mackie, a name still remembered with honor, as Commissioner of the Civil Court and Chairman of Quarter Sessions, with G. F. Moore as Advocate General; an arrangement continued, against the expressed opinion of the Commissioner as to the validity of his jurisdiction in certain criminal cases, until 1851, when his successor, now Sir A. F. Burt, affirming that opinion, was appointed the first Judge of the Supreme Court, and G. F. Stone Crown Solicitor and Attorney General. Governor Stirling also appointed Resident Magistrates in the more settled localities, as G. Leake at Fremantle, H. Whitfield at Guildford, Col. J. Molloy at Augusta, and Sir R. Spencer at Albany, and these have been continued, and their number from time to time increased, and their functions extended, especially since the introduction of convicts in 1850. A mounted police fort, was enrolled, which has been also continued, and by its means the law enforced throughout the Colony. A Legislative Council was formed of the members of the Executive Council with two nominated members, the Governor presiding. The nominated members were afterwards increased to four, and ultimately to six, but, in 1870, the Legislative Council became elective and, since then, the official members have been the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Surveyor General. A Speaker was at the same time elected in the person of Mr. Luke S. Leake, now Sir L. S. Leake, who still holds that office.
The history of the Colony is at first principally that of the Land Regulations and their consequences. The Imperial Government, being anxious for the settlement of the country, to anticipate any such measure being taken by that of France, offered land in return for property introduced, at one shilling and sixpence for an acre, as well as allotments for every immigrant; and, on these terms, in the year 1832, 1,349,209 acres had been allotted, of which three lots exceeded 100,000; ten 20,000; eighteen 10,000; and fifty-two 5,000, acres each. Thomas Peel and others had 250,000 acres; Col. Latour 113,100, and Governor Stirling 100,000 in consideration of his not having any salary attached to his office, but his salary, afterwards fixed at £800 a year, was ultimately paid from the date of his appointment. The necessary consequence of this extravagant distribution of land was that the small population was widely scattered from Albany and Augusta to the Avon Valley. Much difficulty, contusion, and waste of time by the Surveyors, also resulted from the instructions under which the Surveyor General had to divide the country into counties, townships, and sections of equal fixed dimensions, and by the selection of reserves for public purposes. Moreover, the sparseness of the population soon, provoked attacks from the natives, who, though originally peaceable and friendly, could not view with indifference the occupation of their hunting grounds by strangers without any compensation being made, and the boldest soon found able and dangerous leaders, so that the small military force in the Colony was found scarcely sufficient for the protection of life and property. Very severe measures were therefore adopted—many natives were killed and some executed. Besides these, other causes operated disadvantageously, for although property had been introduced to the value of £94,281 of which £21,655 was in stock, very much was unsuited to the wants of an infant Colony. Mr. Peel, Col. Latour, and others had not been so careful as they should have been in providing for the shelter, maintenance, employment, and supervision of the laborers introduced by them; the selection of sites for their residence was, in some cases, unwise, and the consequences were, in too many instances, distress and disorganisation, disease and death; hence arose disputes between masters and men; and, as hired labor was both scarce and dear, there was every temptation for servants to free themselves from their contracts, which, indeed, the masters were not always able to fulfil. The rapid increase of immigrants, and the general want of system and providential arrangements for their shelter and maintenance, exposed many to privation and hardships which they had not anticipated, and for which they were unprepared and unfitted. Food became scarce and dear. For the supply of animal food, flour, potatoes, &c., the settlers were dependent principally on the Cape of Good Hope and Tasmania. Kangaroo flesh was, for many years, commonly sold, and its provision became a regular occupation; and this again caused distress among the natives, for want of their ordinary food and clothing which those animals had supplied. Those families whose hunting grounds had been occupied by the settlers, intruded on the territory of others, and contests, retaliations, and permanent feuds were consequent among them. Kangaroo meat sold for 10d. when beef was 1s. 6d., and mutton 1s. 5d. the pound; bread was at one time 2s. 2d. the 41b. loaf. The number of vessels which arrived at Fremantle made proper mooring and accommodation for them and their cargoes impossible, and the loss of many, in consequence, gave the port a bad name; it ceased to be a place of call for those trading to other ports, and shipowners in England became shy of sending vessels there. These unhappy conditions tended not only to check immigration, as did the price of land (which had been raised to five shillings an acre), but led to the emigration of such as Mr. Henty and many others, who sought elsewhere a better market for their capital and labor, but who might have been of the greatest service to the infant Colony. Mr. Henty had taken up 62,036 acres of land and introduced with his two brothers, 12 laborers and mechanics, 6 women, and 15 children, with much valuable stock, as a first instalment on his estate. Mr. Peel had claimed land on account of 170, and Colonel Latour on account of 85 persons introduced by themselves.
Governor Stirling had commenced by making settlements at Augusta, Leschenault, Kelmscott, Guildford, and in the Avon Valley. He fixed on the North, instead of the South side of Perth water, as bad been originally intended, for the site of the Capital of the Colony, thus placing the estuary of the river between it and the port of Fremantle. There were as yet no roads, and, though the river afforded a water way, there were no vessels or boats fitted for the transport of cargo. The land on the Swan, and between the Swan and the Vasse, had been for the most part taken up, and the time and labor of an increasing staff of surveyors, and even of the Governor himself, soon became occupied in finding new locations for settlement, and means of communication between already inhabited places. The want of system and concentration of strength tended greatly to neutralize the strenuous and persevering efforts of the colonists, who had to labor on for many years under depressing circumstances. It is not therefore surprising that, in the early days of the Colony, there should have been some discontent, and a desire for change in the land laws, and for the protection of Colonial produce, which could be undersold by that imported; and these conditions obtained, more or less, for many years.
These causes continued in operation, and the land in the settled districts of the Colony being all taken up, and servants and laborers who had saved money being unable to purchase, emigration increased; and as many as 42 left the Colony at one time.
Governor Stirling had discovered, in the course of his explorations, that the greater part of the land in the Colony was more fitted for pasturage than agriculture; and it soon became necessary for the settlers, who were sheep and cattle owners, to seek more extended runs for their stock, beyond the settled districts of the Colony. This caused a still greater dispersion of the already small population, which, in 1840, amounted only to 2,354 persons. The price of land had now been raised to £1 an acre, in pursuance of the then fashionable Wakefield system, which however was not fully carried into effect; and so, during Governor Hutt's tenure of office, the attention of the Colonists was mainly directed to reducing the price of land, making it more available for the depasturing stock, and the obtaining labor. Small efforts at immigration were made, and, in the interest both of the settler and farmer, in 1841, remission on the purchase of land was granted to any one who succeeded in training a native to be an useful farm servant. A society was also formed for diffusing knowledge respecting the Colony; but the most important effort to develop its resources by increasing its population was made by the West Australian Company at their settlement of Australind, near Leschenault. The Company had purchased Colonel Latour's property there, which they now proposed to re-sell at £1 an acre, in farms of 100 acres, and Mr. M. W. Clifton was sent out with a sufficient staff of surveyors, &c., to prepare for the reception of the first immigrants. The Colonial Government, however, proposed to resume those lands in forfeiture, and Mr. Clifton sought another location in the country discovered by Grey about Champion Bay; this proved in his estimation of inferior value, and by agreement with the Local Government he returned to his original location to prepare for the reception of the new settlers who arrived to the number of 467; but the Company in London broke up, the work was stopped, and the fair promise of the commencement was not fulfilled. The settlement had been named Australind, in anticipation of its becoming a place of resort, if not residence, for invalids and others from India. At this time also, the application of the Wakefield system on a large scale in New Zealand and South Australia, where it was carried out in its integrity, directed the attention of intending emigrants to those Colonies, and as the depressed state of the agricultural interest had caused a corresponding collapse in trade (in 1848 there was no sugar in the Colony), and there was no hope of obtaining labour by immigration, on the accession of Governor Fitzgerald to office, a large number of the colonists petitioned for the introduction of convicts to bring labour and money into the Colony, and supply a market for produce,—not, however, without opposition on the part of the few, who thought that these benefits would be more than neutralized by the evil influence which the presence of a large number of convicted felons might exercise on the morals of the people. To this petition the Imperial Government, then in want of a place to which they might transport convicts, acceded, and the first body arrived on the 1st of June, 1850. The result has proved the correctness of the anticipations of both parties; the Colony has profited much by convict labour and by the money spent on the convict establishment, and on the military and pensioners who were sent out simultaneously. The criminal calendar will show the less pleasing consequences of this measure; during the 10 years, from 1860 to 1869 inclusive, the convictions in the Supreme Court show 254 of the convict class against 63 free persons; in 1875 30 expirees, 11 free men, and two ticket-of-leave holders; but probably more evil influence was exercised, at this time, by the sealers who had established their head quarters on Middle Island at the Recherche Archipelago, in the Great Bight on the Southern Coast, and who seem to have rivalled in their habits those recorded of pirates and buccaneers. It had been part of the agreement in making Western Australia a Convict Colony, that free immigrants should be sent from England in number equal to the convicts, and in July, 1850, the first instalment of 219 persons arrived in the Sophia, and a detachment of sappers and miners the next year, some of whom remained in the Colony and proved valuable members of society. In this year also juvenile immigrants, 51 in number, were first introduced, some of whom afterwards proved adepts in crime, though many became useful members of society, and 125 more were sent, but at the request of the colonists that plan for immigration was abandoned; some Chinese were also introduced, who proved, as usual, thrifty and industrious. The depressed state of affairs in the Colony had not been less felt by those in the employ of the Government than by the settlers, and many had supplemented their insufficient salaries by trading.
Notwithstanding all drawbacks, the Colony had gradually increased in population and production. The white inhabitants numbered 6661 persons; the area of land under cultivation in cereals was 4,123 acres, there were 141,123 sheep, 10,919 head of cattle, 2,095 horses, some 3,000 pigs, and 1,431 goats; the imports had reached the sum of £45,411 6s., and the exports of £29,598 9s. The labours of the colonists had been most successful in horticulture by the production of most of the valuable fruits, vegetables, and flowers, now under cultivation, most of which had been introduced by the Government and by the first settlers.
The introduction of convicts forms so important an era in the history of the Colony that the effects produced by it require separate consideration, but, pursuing the course of general history, the most important event during Governor Fitzgerald's term of office was the opening up of the Victoria District now so largely occupied by sheep stations and so productive in mineral wealth; a convict dépôt was formed there and subsequently at Lynton, Port Gregory. In visiting that district the Governor was attacked and wounded by the natives near White Peak. This district was also rendered attractive by the report cf coal having been discovered on the Upper Irwin, by Messrs. Gregory (who in consequence received a grant of 2,500 acres of land), as well as by the lodes of lead and copper also found by them on the Murchison River. Guano was also discovered on the islands, and exported from Sharks Bay, as also shells, supposed, and which proved to be, those of the pearl oyster. The discovery of gold in other parts of Australia induced the offer of rewards for its discovery in the Colony, but though claims have been made from time to time, they have never yet been admitted. The gold fields of Victoria attracted many emigrants to that Colony from West Australia, but other sources of trade were opened. 1851 saw the first shipment of horses to India, and the rich alluvial deposits about the lower course of the Greenough became known; an export trade in timber was also commenced. A more regular and intimate intercourse with the outer world was now established; in August 20, 1852, the first vessel of the Australian Royal Mail Company, the Australian, Capt. Hoseason, arrived in King George's Sound, and an overland mail service was arranged from Perth to Albany. The first steam boat was placed on the Swan River; a Savings' Bank was established. The productions of the Colony did not, however, keep pace with the requirements caused by the presence of the convicts and military. In 1854 the cost of imported breadstuffs amounted to £40,000.
In 1855 Governor Kennedy arrived. There had been for some time a growing dissatisfaction on the part of the colonists with the Executive—there was an outstanding debt, and an export of specie consequent on difficulty in obtaining treasury bills; interference with magistrates and officials, and with publicans' licenses was complained of; and the land regulations, especially the high price for land, were thought to be detrimental to the interests of the Colony. It was spoken of as "a land of corn, wine, and oil, copper, lead, iron, and coal—held by few, but requiring occupation by many." It was considered that the Legislative Council did not represent the opinions of the colonists, and that the natural and proper remedy would be the establishment of a Representative Council.
The farmers in the Eastern districts also complained that they did not derive their fair advantages from the introduction of the convict system, the Commissariat having purchased flour from South Australia, and, in consequence, a protective duty was desired. The Government claimed the right to obtain supplies in the cheapest market. One farmer, however, soon followed the example of Government by purchasing flour to fulfil a contract. The removal of convict dépô6ts from the agricultural districts was also objected to; but the camps of the kangaroo hunters had become the resort of vagabonds of all classes, and were a refuge for runaway convicts. The demand for a Representative Council was dropped for fear that it might lead to the removal of convicts altogether. Nevertheless, the Colony was progressing, the imports of 1857 exceeded those of 1850 by double the amount, and the income by £8,498; yet there was illicit trade carried on in the South-West, principally with American whale ships. The Champion Bay district was filling, and a cattle company had located on the Irwin river; surveys also, in contemplation of railroads, were made by Lieut. Chapman from Perth to King George's Sound, and by Surveyor Evans in the mining district of the North. In 18S9 the regular troops were withdrawn, and a Force of Enrolled Pensioners organised; Volunteer companies were also formed at Perth and Fremantle and a corps of mounted rifles at York; the corps at Pinjarrah was not formed till 1864.
In 1862 Governor Hampton succeeded Governor Kennedy. This was a year of unprecedented floods, the Swan river rising 7 feet above its usual level, many bridges were destroyed, and the lowlands at the back of Perth were inundated, causing much loss and expense both to the Government and to individuals, and Lieut. Oliver was drowned crossing the Causeway near the Swan at Perth. Prospecting for gold was now commenced, and Mr. Hargraves from Victoria was employed, but without success; from Victoria also came a proposition to form a settlement on the North-West Coast, but the Mystery was first sent there with sheep and cattle by Mr. Padbury. In 1864 the settlements were farther extended; Mr. Dempster took sheep to Esperance Bay, on the South Coast; a company was formed which sent sheep and cattle to Camden Harbour on the North-West, as Messrs. Brown did also to Sharks Bay and Mr. F. Von Bibra to Hartog's Island; the next year an attempt was made to form a station on St. Magnus river, Doubtful Bay. The pearl fishery, which had been commenced in Sharks Bay, was now extended to Nickol Bay.
Emigration had continued at intervals, but now many mechanics left the Colony, unable to compete with convict labour.
Governor Hampton gave great attention to public works, and to economizing the cost of Government; by the former he obtained a lasting reputation, and by the latter he secured an excess of income. Among other important works he commenced, what Governor Weld completed, the bushing the sand hills to the South of Geraldton, which threatened, in their Northward progress, to overwhelm the houses; in 1867 he was able to report that during the past year 371 miles of road had been repaired, 132 cleared, and 32 made; 33 bridges built, seven repaired, and three in course of erection; five jetties constructed, two extended, and two repaired; besides the works on the Government House, Perth, Residency at Champion Bay, Lunatic Asylum, Post and Police Offices, Schools, &c., in many places. At this time a step was made towards the representation of the people by permitting the selection by vote of persons for nomination by the Governor to be members of the Legislative Council, and accordingly Messrs. J. G. C. Carr, J. G. Lee Steere, W. Bateman, S. Phillips, and J. W. Hardey were so nominated. In 1868 the desire that the unofficial members should be elected by the people was strongly expressed, and this was followed by a report on the division of the Colony into electoral districts, and by a petition for a Representative Constitution under 13th and 14th Vic, c, 59. In that year also, the last convict vessel arrived, having on board some Fenians, which raised fears, subsequently proved to be just, by the escape of several so assisted in 1876, that the "Yankee brotherhood" would endeavour to rescue them.
1869 was marked by efforts to ascertain the existence of gold and coal; borings were made near Perth to the depth of 200 feet, as subsequently in 1874, but without success; £5000 were offered for the discovery of a gold field, and money voted for a Geologist to examine and report on the Colony.
The arrival of Governor Weld, in September, 1869, gave an impulse to further efforts in favour of Representative Institutions, it having been concluded, from words spoken publicly and officially in England, that he was fully prepared to further them with the consent of the Imperial Government; and accordingly in 1870 An Ordinance, No. 13, was issued for the division of the Colony into electoral districts and the election of members to the Legislative Council, under the provisions of 13th and 14th Vic, c. 59, which was accordingly constituted. It consisted of five nominee members, three being official, viz.: the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Surveyor General, and two unofficial; the number of elected members was ten; subsequently two were added and one nominee member. The Council met the same year. It did not, however, realize fully the anticipations which had been formed respecting it, for although the control over the finances, and freedom of voting of nominee members were conceded, the ultimate decision in all cases was still reserved to the Imperial Government. An opposition was accordingly organized, and, the forms of the Imperial Parliament having been adopted, the Colonial Secretary assumed the duties of Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The constitution of elected Town Trusts and Road Boards was another step towards self-government made at this time. By the Education Act all denominational religious teaching was made optional in the Government Schools, and by the transfer of the stipends of Colonial Chaplains from the accounts of the Establishment to the Miscellaneous Services, the Church of England in the Colony was placed on the same footing as other religious communities, which led immediately to Synodical action and government. The operation of the Government, at this time, was very energetic; a loan for public works of £100,000 was proposed, but only £25,000 permitted by the Imperial Government; a survey of the coast of the Colony was commenced, at the joint expense of the Imperial and Colonial Governments; a steam vessel was subsidised and placed on the coast to carry mails and passengers: an electric telegraph, which had been commenced between Perth and Fremantle by a company, was bought up; and in 1873 a loan bill passed for £100,000 to be employed in telegraph extension, and a railway in the mining district.
Red rust having destroyed the grain crops, seed was procured and employment on public works provided for those who were in need.
At the meeting of the Legislative Council in 1874, the desire for Responsible Government expressed itself by a petition, nemine contradicente, from the Council to the Governor, requesting that he would bring forward a Bill for its institution, in accordance with which a Bill was presented by the Colonial Secretary, contemplating a Legislature of two houses, one to be nominated and the other elected, with a civil list to provide for the Executive. As, however, the Bill was not accepted in its entirety, the Governor dissolved the Council, and on re-election, three members were found in opposition to the establishment of Responsible Government in the Colony, but the majority held to their former opinion.
The extension of the timber trade by the formation of new companies and by grants of land, the erection of crushing machinery and working a quartz reef at Kendenup by the Plantagenet Gold Mining Company, the commencement of sericulture, the placing establishments on the Abrolhos for fishing, and on Barrow Island for turtle catching, the commencement of a system of assisted immigration and of the mines railway, and of the extension of the telegraph line to Eucla in connexion with the Government of South Australia, mark this period.
On the arrival in 1875 of Governor, now Sir Wm. C. F. Robinson, K.C.M.G., the Imperial Government decided against conceding Responsible Government to the Colony, considering that it was not prepared for so great a change. The removal of the convict prisoners from all other places to Fremantle, had given warning of further change in that department, and in 1877 it was intimated that there would be a reduction in the Imperial grant for police services. The year 1876 witnessed the necessity for a further loan of £26,000 for the completion of the Mines railway, in which great alterations and improvements were obviously necessary. The appropriation of £18,000 out of Revenue for the completion of the Telegraph to Eucla was the more satisfactory, because the line from Bremer Bay to Eucla was in process of survey by Mr. Price and a sufficient party, and was progressing rapidly.
The decision as to harbour works at Fremantle was now also brought to an issue. From the earliest days of the Colony it had been in contemplation to make at the principal port a more secure harbour for vessels than nature had provided, and numerous suggestions and plans had been made from time to time for that purpose, but all resolving themselves into four principles.
The first in time, originating indeed with the officers of the Success in 1827, was to make the estuary of the Swan between Perth and Fremantle accessible by cutting a canal from Rocky Bay to the sea, a distance of about a quarter of a mile; the others were, to enclose an area by a breakwater to the South of the mouth of the Swan; at the mouth of the Swan; or to obtain access to the mouth of the river, and make it available as a dock or harbour. In 1871 Mr. Doyne, and in 1873 Mr. Wardell, had reported on these, but unfavourably; now the different plans were at last submitted to the judgment of Sir John Coode, and his report is still (August, 1877) in expectation.
Now also the schemes, which had been ventilated for a long time, for a railway from Fremantle to Perth and Guildford, were formally brought forward, and it was proposed to bring in a Bill for providing a guarantee of six per cent, on the amount of capital necessary for its construction; this was delayed till the next year, that surveys and estimates might be made, which were accordingly proceeded with, but the Bill was ultimately withdrawn, pending the decision of the Imperial Government on the question of guarantee.
This year, also, supplementary regulations were published respecting grants to pensioners and volunteers; and cutting timber and mining, by which the land regulations of the Colony were completed; a Commissioner of Public Works was appointed; immigration continued; Sunday diving forbidden in the pearl fishery; the money order system extended; the free list tariff extended to articles necessary for food, ship chandlery, &c.; the light house on Point Moore, at Champion Bay, contracted for of iron instead of stone; a deep sea telegraph suggested from Point Galle to Western Australia, with Cocos Islands for an intermediate station; a vote taken for the establishment of a high school; the ballot proposed as a preventative against bribery; and a jetty at Owen's anchorage determined upon. These many and considerable works occupied the period of Sir Wm. C. F. Robinson's Government, who left the Colony 1st September, 1877, to proceed viâ Sydney to his new Government at Singapore. He was succeeded by the present Governor, Major-General Sir Harry Saint George Ord, K.C.M.G., C.B.
THE ABORIGINES.
Any account of the Colony would be very incomplete without some notice of the aboriginal inhabitants, the effects which its occupation by white men have produced on them, and the influence they have exercised with respect to its settlement and progress; and as these cannot be appreciated without some knowledge of those things which have directed that influence, some account of their character, habits, manners, customs, and especially of the laws by which these are governed, becomes necessary in the first place.
The aborigines of the West are the same in origin, language, customs, and laws, as those of other parts of Australia. The evidence adduced by Sir George Grey is alone sufficient to establish this fact. It may be well, on the other hand, to record the opinion of Mr. J. Forrest, (which, however, does not disprove a similarity of origin), respecting the difference between the aborigines of the interior and those of the coast. The latter, he says, have very little intercourse with the former, "whom they much fear, considering that all illness and its cure are attributable to the wise men of the East," but they have annual meetings for the exchange of commodities. They have been too often placed by writers, ignorant or careless of truth, among the very lowest of savage races, physically, mentally, and morally, but all experience concurs to prove that they deserve a higher place in the scale of humanity. Examples may be found of physical development equal to that of Europeans—morally they are certainly not inferior, if tested by their submission to the laws they themselves recognise, according to St. Paul's rule. Mental development must be the result of time, but there is sufficient proof at hand to show that they are far from being incapable of it.
The physical development of man will be the consequence of his mode of life, his occupation, and his food. The aborigines of West Australia, in their native state, have therefore only the qualifications of hunters, and those whose food is the natural product of the country, and they are, though capable of great fatigue and endurance, not so fitted for continuous bodily labor as those to whom for generations continuous labor has been customary.
Their mode of life makes them improvident. Their only enjoyments must necessarily be sensuous; but notwithstanding any generally received prejudice that they are incapable of improvement, and the opinion, still occasionally expressed, that they are not to be considered as men and have no souls, they have, both physically and mentally, the powers, capacities, sympathies, and affections which distinguish man from all other animals, that one touch of nature which makes all men kin. These assertions might be fully justified by the accounts of explorers, the records of the law courts, the reports of the Protectors of Aborigines, and the results of the Benedictine Mission at New Norcia, and the other native institutions at Fremantle, at Perth, and its neighborhood, and at Annesfield, and Albany. Yet, nevertheless, the aboriginal inhabitants are decreasing in number, and deteriorating in character, unless in the northern districts, before the advance of settlement. The civilized man has introduced his characteristic vices and their consequent diseases, rather than the virtues which should distinguish him, and the ultimate result contemplated by most, and placidly by many as inevitable, is that in West Australia, as in many other parts of the world, the native race must die out. Yet the necessity for this is not apparent. The accounts of those who have most carefully studied and recorded their experience of the aborigines of West Australia agree in all important points. Their submission to their own laws is the most notable feature in their character, and their moral and social condition is determined by their laws. The most remarkable are those which relate to affinity, which govern the operation of those relating to marriage, inheritance, and the infliction of punishment for offences, whether judicially or by retaliation. The division of the people is into families, and not, as often represented, into tribes. The Levirate law prevails. Children take the name and become attached to the family of the mother, and inter-marriage between those of the same family is not allowed. Polygamy is permitted, and in the operation of the Levirate law becomes necessary; a man may have several families of children by different wives, but each family will become attached to and incur the responsibilities of that of the mother, and as all such relations become involved in the guilt of any crime, if the offender cannot be reached, any other relative may have to suffer instead. The nearest relative is bound to inflict punishment in case of death from violence, and indeed, as death is not considered natural, but if from disease the consequence of witchcraft or sorcery, and as the Bolyas or sorcerers would probably be bribed to inflict disease, or, in any case, would be of some other family, retaliation is immediately sought on those thought most likely to have been the cause. Homicide in obedience to law is therefore common among them. Their law is blood for blood, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But it must not be forgotten that it is not so many years since such laws were in force in some parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and that they are similar to those of Moses. Females are betrothed when young, often from their birth, and may be claimed at any time. On the death of the husband the wives and children pass to the brother. A father's property is divided among his male children. All property in land is held for hunting and obtaining food. The limits are well known, and trespassers, for those purposes, punished by law severely.
The aborigines of West Australia are very fond of music and dancing; their songs are sometimes traditional, some often extempore, and by such songs the women often excite the men to acts of violence. The women are severely punished by the men, even for trifling offences, and, when incited by jealousy, fight furiously with their wannas or digging sticks, some of which are about five feet long, one and a half-inch in diameter, and of hard heavy wood, like small quarter staves.
The dances or corroborees of the natives are adapted to the various circumstances of their lives, marriage, birth, death, hunting, or war. It is commonly said that women do not take part in them except as spectators, but on occasions, no doubt comparatively rare, they mix with the men, and their dances then resemble those of the islanders of the Pacific, as described by Cook, and the women carry a peeled stick tufted at one end like the thyrsus of the ancient Bacchanals. These dances are now often performed solely for the amusement of the settlers, and are therefore becoming less characteristic. The effects of these laws and customs on the relations between the natives and settlers in the Colony will be readily apparent.
The occupation of the land of any family would cause, of necessity, their intrusion on that of others. The cohabitation of the women with the white men (whom they naturally prefer as the more powerful race, and as more able to give what to them are luxuries, and as, generally, treating them with more kindness and consideration,) would call for the immediate punishment of both parties; the death or wounding of any native, from whatever cause, equally required retaliation, to the same or greater amount of injury, by the nearest relation.
Female children, when taken charge of out of kindness by settlers, were liable to be forced away by, or for, those to whom they had been betrothed. These, and similar causes, will account for most of the crimes perpetrated by natives on settlers, but, in addition, there was the temptation offered by sheep, cattle, food, clothing, commonly exposed and unprotected, and as the Benedictine Father Garrido justly remarks "they would find a difficulty in defining the difference between killing a sheep and a kangaroo," especially if found feeding on their own hunting ground. The offences of the natives against the settlers are naturally held more in remembrance, but the crimes of the whites against the natives, which,—if fairly computed from the records of the criminal courts (and such an estimate has been made) would fully counterbalance those of the natives against them, both in number and enormity, notwithstanding that they were committed by those who, from civilization and religion, and sometimes from office and station in life, should have known and done better,—have resulted not always from provocation but were often committed without any such excuse. Moreover, the remuneration given for labor to the natives has always been very inferior to that given to white men for the same services; it has also been very uncertain and unequal; the superiority of the white race has always been asserted, often arrogantly, not unfrequently with contempt or violence. The native therefore has naturally preferred the "bush walk" and a life of independence with the means of subsistence afforded by it, to a scanty, precarious, and servile dependence on the invading race, whom, in his ignorance of their intentions and of the numbers who would follow them, he had at first welcomed to his shores, and, indeed, whom he bad imagined to be his deceased relations and friends returning in new forms from the West, to which their spirits had departed. The life of a native in West Australia, when not in the settled districts, is one of indolence broken occasionally by violent excitement, as of the chase, domestic feud or war. It is a common error to suppose that they are often wanting food, though, no doubt, in unfavorable seasons, and in the less fertile districts, they are sometimes in a state of starvation; as indeed the settlers might be but for the power of importing food. Grey enumerates the kinds of food common to them, among which the Knownat, the gum of the swamp Mimosa, is a favorite; this was imagined by the first settlers to be a kind of grain, and to search for it an expedition was sent, as before noticed, to the Stirling Range. He reckons, also, six kinds of kangaroo, fourteen smaller animals, the native dog, and two opossums, twenty-nine starts of fish, besides occasionally the whale and seal, three of turtle, emu, wild turkey, and many other birds, especially water fowl. Turtle, tortoise, and shell fish, frogs, seven sorts of lizards, four kinds of grubs, twenty-nine roots, seven fungi, four gums, two kinds of manna, four fruits, four nuts, and two of the Zamia, which are poisonous without proper preparation, the seeds of many leguminous plants and the flowers of the Banksia. Most of those Grey himself had tasted, and some, as for instance the grubs, which might appear disgusting, he found most delicate eating. It is admitted that cannibalism is practised, and that not always from hunger; it is not however universal or common, and appears confined to some of the families of the North and East.
As the natives in their wild state live on the natural productions of the country, their weapons are suited for the chase as well as for war. These are the codja or hatchet, the meera or throwing stock, the guichi or spear, the dowark (a short stick which they throw with great force and precision or use as a club), and the kiley or boomerang, a curved piece of wood which they also throw with great skill, the gyrations of which now commonly known are yet very irregular and unaccountable. Some of the more northern use long narrow shields of soft wood with a handle in the centre, and the surface covered by small grooves in parallel lines, which assist in deflecting the spear when it strikes. The axe, spear, and dowark were headed with silex, of which also knives and chisels were made; but broken glass is now commonly used, and knives and tomahawks obtained from the settlers. Their skill in hunting, either alone or in numbers, is remarked by all who have witnessed it. Weirs were made for fish, stakes driven to intercept the kangaroo at their watering places, and lines and nets manufactured for catching fish, which are also commonly speared both by day and by torchlight. On the North Coast a clumsy raft is also used for sea fishing. Their mias or huts vary in construction from a slight shelter made of brushwood to a dome of logs covered with day, large enough to contain several persons.
To particularise crimes and their perpetrators is both invidious and painful. It may be well, however, to call to mind those things in which natives have been and still are found useful, since as early as 1849 some 500 were in the employ of the settlers, at first as guides to exploring parties. It may be safely asserted that the longer explorations could never have been successful without their aid, and the names of Kaiber, Warrup, Pierre, Tommy Windich, and others will be always remembered. Mr. J. Forrest writes of the natives about the upper district of the Murchison:—"Altogether they are tractable and willing to work, and were of great service to me." As assistants to the Police they have been invaluable from their power of tracking. They have been employed as letter carriers. They have even done good work in road making, especially on the Sound Road, and are still useful as shepherds, teamsters, stock riders, messengers, and servants. At Rottnest they have been employed as builders, agriculturists, and in salt making. They have often themselves up for punishment—a rare occurrence among civilized men. They are by no means, more than other men, deficient in gratitude; and, as in the Swan District some of the heads of families were most useful to the Government in assisting to preserve peace and harmony between their people and the settlers, so in the North a chief whose name, Mullagough, should be recorded, was the means of the white men being admitted to peaceful settlement. Commonly the virtues of civilization are credited to all the settlers, collectively, and the vices of savage life, ignoring all virtues, to each native individually.
The natives of West Australia are, like other savages, very superstitious. The power, especially for evil, of their Bolyas or sorcerers is a constant source of terror to them; they have also their Karakols or medicine men, able to inflict as well as cure diseases; and probably the caves in which rude paintings and carvings have been found, especially on the North Coast, were appropriated to their use. They also have great fear of an evil spirit, Jingy, whom they suppose to inhabit the more deep and gloomy recesses of the hills; and of an imaginary monster, Wangul, inhabiting the fresh waters, whose principal victims are the women. Each family has its Kobong or cognizance, some animal or vegetable for which they have a superstitious reverence, and which is therefore not used as food by the family who adopt it.
Circumcision is practised by some families. Mr. J. Forrest says the natives who practise circumcision are found to the East and North of a line drawn from Point Culver on the South Coast by Mounts Ragged, Jeramungup and the Wongon Hills to the Geraldine Mine on the Murchison River, where the line from thence carried Northerly approaches nearer the coast. The sexes are kept separate for a certain period of the year. Some of their other domestic and personal habits resemble those inculcated by the laws of Moses. Their social intercourse is regulated by very strict and ceremonious customs, but both superstitions and customs are becoming less influential in proportion to their intimacy with the settlers.
The attention of the Government has always been directed to the welfare of the aborigines—and yet but little has been done. In the early days of the Colony there was a sort of refuge to which they might resort for food and shelter, where the Invalid Dépôt now is under Mount Eliza. Protectors were also appointed for them, but their opinions did not, as they were not likely to, accord with those of many of the colonists. Great difficulties also resulted from the antagonism of the British Laws, to which, as subjects of the Crown, they were amenable, and the native laws and customs. Schools were, however, established at Perth and Fremantle with some useful results, and the school conducted by the Wesleyans, at Wanneroo, near Perth, afterwards removed to York, gave the first proof that they were capable of adopting the habits of civilized life, and of conversion to Christianity. The ultimate failure of these efforts is to be attributed to the first having been made in the towns, and that at Wanneroo to the mistake in selection of the locality and the small quantity of land available for it. To the Benedictine Monks was reserved the full and satisfactory proof of these facts, which are apparent at their settlement of New Norcia, which was originally established by the Fathers Serra and Salvado, mainly by assistance rendered them by some Protestants in Perth. An account of it will be found in another place. Further evidence was afforded by the results of the Protestant School established at Albany; and the Church of England and Roman Catholic Orphanages, now in active operation in Perth, and at Subiaco in the neighborhood, unite in the same testimony. The results of the penal establishment at Rottnest, already noticed, might also be adduced in evidence; but this is not so conclusive, the work there being done under compulsion.
In 1848 Sir George, then Captain Grey, submitted a memorial to the Imperial Government in accordance with these facts, which was adopted and forwarded to the Colonial Governments for their direction, and had considerable influence on the treatment of the natives in West Australia. In 1871 a Select Committee of the Legislative Council reported, as desirable, that grants of land should be made to aboriginal natives, recommended by the Principal of any Native Industrial Institution, on condition that such land should not be sold, transferred, or let, without the consent of the Governor, and that it might be resumed by him if not improved or cultivated for three consecutive years; and in 1875 an Act was passed giving power to the Principals of such Institutions to act as trustees of orphan native children or others entrusted to them by their natural guardians.
The opinion of those in charge of the Institutions at New Norcia and Albany (since transferred to Perth) are to be found in the reports made by them, which were published with the Council Papers for 1871.
Bishop Salvado says that the natives are generally not capable of continuous hard work, either corporeal or mental, and that he considers condemnation to hard labor condemnation to death; he found it necessary to combine both, giving three hours daily to bodily, three to mental labor in the school, and the rest of the day to relaxation, gymnastics, games, music, dancing, &c. He considers the labor of a well-conducted farm most suitable as a means of civilization. Tailoring, shoemaking, and harness making, have been successfully taught and practised, but require too long continued and regular labor for natives generally. The young men become good agriculturists, and four reaped 190 bushels of wheat of their own in the year 1871. All labor at New Norcia is paid for at customary rates, and the property of individuals is respected. He finds that the diseases from which the natives suffer most are not so amenable to the ordinary course of medical treatment adopted by European medical men as they are in the case of the settlers, but that they more often recover under their native remedies. They suffer much from "home sickness," and occasional hunting is allowed them on this account.
Father Garrido reports that they have been found good shepherds and teamsters, and first-class stockmen, but, like Bishop Salvado, he prefers agricultural labor, as more tending to civilization; that in one year 5413 sheep were sheared at New Norcia by natives, one shearing 1421 sheep in 25 days, and earning £19s. 8½d. The girls, he says, are taught to wash, cook, and work with the needle; several couples have been married, and those living in cottages on the estate of the Monastery have adopted the habits, manners, and dress of civilized life.
Mrs. Camfield, who had charge of the school at Annesfield (Albany), reports specially on the fondness of the natives for music. One girl, sent to Sydney, played for some time the harmonium in St. Philip's Church, and gained her living by teaching; several others married civilized natives from institutions in the other colonies, having become good housewives, able to make bread, cook, wash, cure fruit and meat, and use their needle well; some are now employed as school teachers. She also notes the fondness of the boys for mechanical arts. They are, she adds, easily taught to be neat and clean in their persons, being very observant and great admirers of dress.
The land of the Colony has been one principal source of income to the Government and of capital to the settler. That land was the possession of the natives, and was taken from them without payment or other consideration, nor even were reserves made for them as in North America. The proportion between the income derived from land and the expenditure on the natives was, from 1837 to 1845, one-sixth; from 1845 to 1855, one-third; from 1855 to 1865, one-tenth; and from 1865 to 1875, one-twentieth. In 1875 the receipts from land amounted to £33,286 0s. 7d., and the expenditure on natives to £803 0s. 9d. There were then, besides the large area held in fee simple, 21,315,290 acres held in lease for sheep and cattle runs. The revenue of the Colony was £141,180 14s. 5d. The imports were, in value, £349,840, and the exports £391,217 3s. 4d., which, without estimating the amount of wealth accumulated by the colonists in houses, fenced and cultivated lands, stock, machinery, &c., may give some indication of the profit derived from the labor and capital expended on the vast estate which has been taken from the aboriginal inhabitants. These figures would seem to show that the advantages which the settlers have derived from the natives have been much greater than any which the natives have received from them.
In these days, responsibilities so accruing are more generally acknowledged than formerly; yet, as has been already noticed, both the Imperial and Colonial Governments recognised a duty and endeavoured to fill it. As early as 1834, on the organization of the mounted police force, the Governor gave instructions to the officers to make themselves acquainted with the names, numbers, movements, habits, and haunts of the natives, their prejudices, and how they might be conciliated; subsequently, as above noticed, protectors were appointed. There were, however, obstacles to the accomplishment of this desire; experience alone could teach what ought to be done, and, had that then been known, men might not, in so small a community, have been found able and willing to do it. Moreover, in the early days of colonial life, prompt action is required to produce immediate results. The Colony is now prosperous, the laws respected, the natives in the settled districts submissive, and in the North they supply labor for the pastoral settlements and the pearl fishery, and are probably progressing towards civilization by their residence among the settlers. In other districts they are decreasing in number, and lingering out a poor and degraded existence.
There is no trustworthy estimate of the number of the aboriginal inhabitants of West Australia. In the settled districts they may average one to ten of the white population.
CONVICTS.
The introduction of convicts entirely changed the political and social condition of the Colony, by (1) introducing a large number of men subject to the Imperial Government, and because (2) the men so introduced suffering under the penalty for crime, even when let loose among the people and permitted to work for themselves, were, until the expiration of their sentence, subject to the surveillance of the magistracy and police, and thus isolated from the general mass of the people.
These circumstances, and their having of necessity become intimately known to each other while in the condition bf prisoners, could not fail to form a bond of union between them, which would be maintained, in some degree, even after they had become free men. The inhabitants of the Colony were henceforth divided into two classes, bond and free.
Some soon received tickets-of-leave, and found employment according to their conduct and capacities, afterwards obtaining conditional pardons and becoming free in all respects, except that they might not leave the Colony. Their term of penal obligation being ended, they, as expirees, were in all respects in the same condition as the other inhabitants, with the exception of these disabilities—they might not sit as members of the Legislative Council, or practise in the law courts. The first convicts sent out were all men selected for good conduct while in confinement; but afterwards no selection was made, the authorities in England not finding it practicable; and many were therefore men well skilled and practised in crimes requiring dexterity and intelligence, who introduced their criminal arts into the Colony. Some succeeded in escaping, and for a time became bush-rangers and leaders of the natives in plunder and violence until again captured. The great majority, however, became useful members of society; some being skilled artisans and mechanics, exercised their abilities for the benefit of the community; some engaged in trade successfully; others became agriculturists and stock and cattle owners; and not a few, who had been educated in the liberal arts and sciences, obtained professional, literary, and clerical employment. The Colony has not only profited, therefore, by their labors when in the bond class, but in a greater degree when they became free men.
The labors of the bond class accelerated greatly the material progress of the Colony, to the increase of its wealth and prosperity. The great want had been means of communication between the widely scattered settlements, the interior and the seaboard, resulting from the manner in which its first settlement was made, and the vast area in consequence occupied by a small population, thus making the transport of goods and produce, whether internal or external, in all cases difficult, in many impossible. To the labors of the convicts the Colony owes most of its roads, bridges, and public works, which are still far in advance of the number of its population. By their introduction a new market was opened for produce, and production was largely increased by the purchases made for their maintenance; and the expenditure of the salaries of officials attached to the department, and of the magistrates and police in the pay of the Imperial Government, formed a not inconsiderable item in the trade of the Colony.
Convicts were introduced in 1850, and Mr. Knight, in his remarks in the Census papers of 1870, concludes that "the large proportion reclaimed and absorbed into the general population, and the infrequency of crime, are the best proofs that the system 'was not only well considered and arranged' but has been judiciously and efficiently carried out and borne good fruit." It is true that a paid magistracy, and a large and efficient body of police have been maintained by the Imperial Government; but, in all probability, there is no country in which life and property are safer than in West Australia. The benefits which have been derived by the Colony from the introduction of convicts must therefore be considered as far out-weighing any disadvantages resulting from it. One, however, of these must be noticed as of considerable importance. The convicts have been all males, and their numbers have greatly increased the disproportion between the sexes which existed before their introduction. To this very many of the crimes committed by them, and indeed by others, must be directly or indirectly imputed, and its evil influence has affected the natives even more than the colonists.
A few years more must bring the operation of the system to an end. Transportation ceased in 1868. In 10 years more, probably, the bond class will no longer exist, having been exhausted by death, or by the termination of penal sentences, and the distinction between bond and free be a remembrance of the past.
The number of the bond class has been already considerably diminished by death, as well as by many, who had made money, having left the Colony for other lands, where their past condition would not be known. Transportation ceased in West Australia in consequence of the remonstrances of the Eastern Colonies, which still watch jealously against the introduction of convicts, and will not permit them to enter until they have been free men for three years. Yet the East was first opened to colonization by convicts, and many of the wealthy and influential inhabitants are descendants of that class. From South Australia alone they have always been excluded. The direct effect produced by the transportation of convicts on the population of West Australia will appear from the following estimates:—To the year 1868, 9680 had been landed. In 1875 the number of expirees and men holding conditional pardons was about 4478, of ticket-of-leave holders 350, in confinement 280, with 4 invalids. The total convict element in addition to the free immigrant population must be therefore above 6000, but the number of their descendants cannot he estimated.
Besides these, between the years 1850 and 1858, 1780 military pensioners, some with wives and families, and 2,888 free emigrants were sent out at the expense of the Imperial Government, and from 1858 to 1876 2243, making a total of 7086, or some 2500 less adults than the number of convicts. It had been part of the agreement that the numbers should be equal, but differences arose as to expenses incurred after landing in the Colony, and at times labor was not in demand.
The effect of the introduction of convicts on the finances of the Colony may be estimated from the following figures:—The expenditure on account of the Colony by the Imperial Government from 1832 to 1850, was £355,772 13s. 3d., from 1850 to 1870, £1,932,850 9s. 2d.
The results of convict labor are apparent in the Government House, Town Hall, and Prison at Perth, the Prison and Lighthouse at Fremantle, as well as in other buildings in those places and throughout the Colony. Mr. Knight, in the Census Papers of 1870, estimates a total length of 1100 miles of road, and that, out of 16,294 feet in length of bridges, 9589, including all the most important and most expensive, with 79 small bridges of a single span, and an innumerable number of culverts, to have been made by their labor.