Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
Macquarie Harbour did not present the desolate appearance which we had been given to expect. The mountains along the east side are not nearly so bare as those of Port Davey, the rock only projecting above the soil on the tops of the highest. The most striking mountains are Mount Discovery, to the south, Mount Sorell, to the east, and Mount Zeehaan and Heemskerk, to the north. The herbage on their sides is coarse and deep; it looks grassy from a distance, but probably may not be so in reality. The scrub of the gullies runs into deep wood on the lower grounds. Deep wood also clothes many of the hills. The prevalence of Myrtle—Fagus Cunninghamii—and other trees of dark foliage, gives a very sombre appearance to the forests. These extend also over the low hills at the foot of the mountains, and up the west side of the harbour, about ten miles, toward Cape Sorell. Behind the mountains on the east of Macquarie Harbour, rises a magnificent, snow covered range; the most striking point of which is the Frenchmans Cap, having the form of a quarter of a sphere, perpendicular on the south, and towering to 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. This is probably the highest point of V. D. Land. The south end of the harbour is more level and less woody. A wide inlet called Birches River opens into it, and a little to the east, the Gordon River, which is navigable for 30 or 40 miles, but closely hemmed in by scrub and mountains to a great distance. Lime, which is rare in Tasmania, is obtained from the upper part of this river. On the east side is an inlet called Kelleys Bason, and near the northern extremity, is Kings River. The scrub in the gullies and many parts of the forest is extremely thick, and very deep: it comes so close to the water's edge, as generally to render the shores of the harbour and tributary rivers inaccessible.
Sarahs Island has a strikingly verdant appearance. The little paddocks, interspersed among the buildings and lofty-paled fences, that give the whole island the look of a fortified place, vie in verdure with English meadows.—The capacity of the country about Macquarie Harbour, for cultivation, does not however appear to be great. Such lands as are sufficiently clear to admit of being ploughed, are peaty and wet; but probably they might be made to produce grass and vegetables. No attempts have been made to raise any kind of grain; and the humidity of the climate of the western part of V. D. Land, does not promise success to this branch of agriculture. Sheep do not thrive here; and at one time nearly half of the goats kept at the settlement died.
The timber about Macquarie Harbour is very fine. Huon Pine, supposed to be a species of Dacrydium, which is much valued for ship-building and general purposes, abounds on the eastern side: the wood is closer grained and more durable than White American Pine, and has an aromatic smell. This tree attains to about 100 feet in height, and 25 in circumference, and is of a pyramidal form: the branches from the trunk are a little below horizontal, and are clothed with numerous, slender, pendant, scaly branchlets, of lively green, serving the purpose of leaves, as in the Cypress and Arbor-vitae. Celery-topped Pine—Thalamia asplenifolia—so called from the resemblance of a branch clothed with its dilated leaves, to the leaf of Celery, is well calculated for masts. Myrtle, allied to Beech, but with leaves more like Dwarf Birch, is suited for keels. Light-wood—Acacia Melanoxylon—clothed with leaf-like spurious foliage, resembling the leaves of a Willow, is also fine timber, and its roots make beautiful veneering. It derives this name from swimming in water, while the other woods of V. D. Land, except the pines, generally sink; in some parts of the Colony it is called Black-wood, on account of its dark colour. Other timber trees are known here by the names of Pink-wood, Carpodontos lucida, Hard-wood, a species of Olea, Sasafras, Athosperma moschata, Stinkwood, Zieria arborescens, &c. Forest Tea Tree, a species of Leptospermum, is valued for fuel; some crooked portions of its trunk are finely veined, and well adapted for fancy-work. The black substance forming part of the stems of tree ferns, is used for reeding, in inlaying, for which purpose it is superior to Ebony. Respectable hats have been manufactured from the shavings of some species of Acacia, as well as from broad leaved sedges, Lepidosperma gladiata; the leaves being first boiled and bleached.
Notwithstanding the fine scenery of Macquarie Harbour, it was a gloomy place in the eyes of a prisoner, from the privations he suffered there, in being shut out from the rest of the world, and restricted to a limited quantity of food, which did not include fresh meat; from being kept under a military guard; from the hardship he endured, in toiling almost constantly in the wet, at felling timber and rolling it to the water, and from other severe labour, without wages, as well as from the liability to be flogged or subjected to solitary confinement, for small offences.
Out of 85 deaths that occurred here in eleven years, commencing with 1822, only 35 were from natural causes; of the remainder, 27 were drowned, 8 killed accidentally, chiefly by the falling of trees, 3 were shot by the military, and 12 murdered by their comrades. There is reason to believe that some of these murders were committed for the purpose of obtaining for the murderers, and those who might be called upon as witnesses on their trials, a removal from this place, though at the ultimate cost of the life of the murderers, and without a prospect of liberation on the part of the others! Some of the prisoners who returned hither with us in the Tamar, had been witnesses in such a case; but they had had the privilege of the change, for a time, to the penitentiary at Hobart Town! These circumstances, with the fact, that within the eleven years, 112 prisoners had eloped from this settlement, proved also that its privations were felt to be very great.
Escape from Macquarie Harbour was well known to be a difficult and very hazardous undertaking, and very few who attempted it, reached the settled parts of the Colony. Out of the 112 who eloped, 62 were supposed to have perished in the bush, and 9 were murdered by their comrades on the journey, for a supply of food. For this purpose, the party proposing to attempt traversing the formidable forest, selected a weak minded man, and persuaded him to accompany them; and when the slender stock of provisions which they had contrived to save from their scanty rations, was exhausted, they laid violent hands on their victim. One party when lately apprehended near the settled districts, had in their possession, along with the flesh of a Kangaroo, a portion of that of one of their comrades! An appalling evidence of how easily man, in a depraved state, may descend even to cannibalism.
Of the small number who reached the settled part of the country, some were immediately apprehended; a few became formidable marauders, and were ultimately shot or executed; others escaped to New South Wales, but continuing their evil practices, were transported to Norfolk Island; and of the remainder, who were an inconsiderable number, the circumstances remain doubtful.
In the earlier days of this settlement flagellation was the chief punishment, and the reformation of the prisoners seemed hopeless. There is ground to believe the example of some of those under whose charge they were placed was at that period also of a deteriorating character. The first missionary sent here found a chief officer living in open profligacy, and saw so little prospect, under such circumstances, of being able to do any good among the prisoners, that he returned by the same vessel to Hobart Town.
Of latter time the administration of corporal punishment was much diminished, and that of solitary confinement increased, with evident advantage. Major Baylee also expostulated with the parties, and convinced them that he would not administer punishment without cause: this greatly increased his influence, and obtained for him such respect and esteem, that he could go about the settlement, unattended, with perfect confidence.
The following abstract exhibits the average of the returns of punishment for 1826, 7 and 8, and for 1829, 30, and 31.
| Years. | No. of Prisoners in the Settlement |
No. of Prisoners sentenced. |
No. of Lashes inflicted. |
No. of days of soli- tary confinement. |
| 1826,27,28 | 312. | 188. | 6280. | 5. |
| 1829,30,31 | 255. | 56. | 973. | 209. |
The removal of a few prisoners from Macquarie Harbour, on account of good conduct, before the expiration of their sentence, had a decidedly good effect upon the others; and the labours of William Schofield, the first missionary who became resident there, were, through the divine blessing, crowned with encouraging success. He found a difficulty in prevailing upon the men to cherish hope; but when this was once effected, they began to lay hold of the offers of mercy through a crucified Redeemer, and some remarkable instances of change of character ensued. On conversing with some of the reformed prisoners, they said, that the change of heart they had undergone had altered the face of the settlement in their eyes: it had ceased to wear the gloom by which it was formerly overcast. Two, to whom it had been so irksome as to tempt them to run away, said, they were now well satisfied, and thankful they had been sent there. Others who had been placed in the less laborious part of the establishment, because of good conduct, were, at their own request, allowed to return to their old employments, which they preferred on account of being less exposed to temptation; saying, they were less afraid of labour than of sin.
A man who lost his arm some time ago, was awakened to a sense of his sinful condition, whilst in imminent danger from this accident. He said the the Lord found him when he sought Him not, yet so strongly did he feel his own desperate wickedness, that he could entertain no hope, until he was reminded of the mercy extended to Manasseh, Mary Magdalene, and others of similar character. He told me he had been guilty of housebreaking, and many other crimes, for which he said he had been three times sentenced to this settlement; he said also that the gallows was no terror to him, and that he was so hardened, that he did whatsoever he wished, in defiance of the laws of God and man, till the Lord visited him, and brought him low. He afterwards ranked amongst those, who having been forgiven much, love much. The alteration in his conduct was noticed by all around him: the Commandant said his very voice was changed; formerly it was ferocious, now it was mild; formerly he was contentious and addicted to fighting, now he was gentle and peaceable; formerly he was so given to swearing, and the habit of it had such power over him, that, after he had turned to the Lord, if any thing irritated him, he had to lay his hand upon his mouth that he might not swear; now he was to be found warning others against this sin.
The men who had turned from their evil ways, were allowed to sit in a room used for an adult-school, in order that they might not be disturbed in reading and meditation, by those who still remained in folly, and would be disposed to deride them; and this man, on account of his infirmity, was allowed likewise to retire alone to one of the caves in the base of the island, to meditate and pray. Though he had lost an arm, he was not idle, but employed himself in carrying wood for fuel, after it was landed from the boat. I invited him to show me his cave; he readily consented, and led me down a steep and slippery path at the back of the island. The cave was damp on one side, and had a honeycomb-like incrustation upon it: its sloping roof was dry, a few old palings formed its loose floor, and a cold wind blew through it from a small opening at its farther extremity. I could not stand upright in it, but entered by stooping; he followed, and we sat down upon its floor, and conversed for a while on the mercy of God to sinners, in sending his Son into the world to save them, and in calling them by his Spirit to come unto Him.
This cold and forlorn place was much prized by its occupant, in it, (to use his own words,) he contrasted his privilege, in being allowed to meditate in quiet, and to wait for the Spirit's influence, with the privations of those who in former ages wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Before quitting the place we kneeled before the Lord, and I prayed for this "brand plucked out of the burning," as well as for myself. When I ceased, he prolonged the voice of supplication, ascribing glory, honour, and praise to Him that liveth for ever and ever, who in the riches of his mercy had called him out of darkness into his marvellous light, and translated him from the kingdom of Satan, into the kingdom of his own dear Son. In the course of conversation, this monument of divine goodness, desired that I would tell audacious sinners of the mercy that God had shown to him; and assure them that he found such comfort and pleasure in righteousness, as he never could have thought of whilst he remained in sin. When he became awakened he found himself in ignorance also, and since that time he had learned to read.
But though a few were to be found at this settlement who had turned to the Lord, and were bringing forth fruits meet for repentance, and most conducted themselves pretty well under the discipline exercised over them, there was still great depravity existing: many were so far under the dominion of the devil, as to be led captive by him at his will. The effect of the corruption of human nature, increased by indulgence in sin, produced a description of character liable to fall into temptation whenever it came in the way, and far from being always restrained by the fear of punishment.
The number of prisoners at the settlement at the time of our visit, including the out-gangs, was 177; formerly it was about 300. Many of them were employed on Sarahs Island, in ship-building, and others at out-stations, chiefly as a wood-cutting gang at Philips Creek, where they were superintended by a constable, and lodged in huts of the humblest construction; but these, being furnished with good fires, were not very uncomfortable, particularly when the inmates whitewashed them, and kept them clean. On conversing with the men of this gang respecting the hope of remission of sentence on good conduct, one man, with tears in his eyes, said, he had been there 10 years: he seemed cast down almost below hope. We assured them of the pleasure it gave the Lieutenant Governor, to remit their sentence, when they gained a character to warrant his doing so, and encouraged them to seek for a change of heart, by repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, as a foundation for such a character. On being asked, one man said, that their ration of provision was not sufficient for them at such hard work; and though their general appearance was healthy, yet when they were engaged in heaving timber, and rolling it down to the water, and other fatiguing labour, it might often fail in appeasing the cravings of exhausted nature.
The timber they cut was chiefly Huon Pine. No beasts of burden were allowed at Macquarie Harbour. In order to get the felled timber to the water, a way had to be cleared, and to be formed with logs and branches; over this, straight trunks of trees were laid in the manner of the slips or skids, used in launching ships. Upon these the timber was rolled by the prisoners, sometimes to a great distance. These roads were termed Pine-roads.—If any of the men proved unruly at the out-stations, the constable lit a fire, the smoke of which was observed by the sentinel at the settlement, from whence assistance was promptly sent. Except sometimes as a punishment, the men were not in irons, for if they had been, they could not have performed their work. The boat which put us ashore at Philips Creek, was ordered to push off as soon as it had landed us, and to remain off until we were ready to return, lest any of the prisoners should seize it, and attempt their escape; circumstances of this sort having occurred. At a short distance from Philips Creek, is Philips Island, the soil of which is peaty loam: it had for some years been cultivated with potatoes. Here seven men were employed under a constable. The constable being a prisoner, who had conducted himself so as to gain confidence. A steep path led from the shore, and passing the huts, extended across the island: it was planted on each side with native shrubs, and rendered firm by pieces of the trunks of tree-ferns, cut in lengths, and laid at short distances one from another; of these, some of the steps were also formed on the steepest part of the ascent. The huts were almost overgrown with the Macquarie Harbour Vine, a luxuriant climber, bearing small acid fruit. We walked over the island, and down one of its sides, which was woody, and which exhibited the finest tree-ferns we had seen, and in great profusion. They were of two kinds, one of which we did not meet with elsewhere Some of their larger fronds or leaves were thirteen feet long, making the diameter of the crest twenty-six feet. The stems were of all degrees of elevation, up to twenty-five or thirty feet; some of them, at the lower part, were as stout as a man's body: those of Cybotium Billardieri were covered with roots to the outside: the whole length of those of the other species—Alsophila australis—was clothed with the bases of old leaves, which were rough, like the stems of raspberries, closely tiled over each other, and pointing upwards. There was also a number of other ferns of humble growth: two species of the beautiful genus Glichenia had tough, wiry stems, which were used in the settlement, for making bird-cages.
The general health of the prisoners at Macquarie Harbour was good. Seldom more than three of them were in the hospital at a time. The average of deaths did not amount to more than one in 35 per annum, including those by violence and accident. These circumstances, the more remarkable in men whose habits had been dissipated, might reasonably be attributed to spare diet and hard labour, in a mild though humid climate, and seclusion from strong drink. But whether from the limited supply of food, or from being restricted to the use of salt meat, or from some other cause, the surgeon remarked, that when the men became ill, the tone of their constitution was so low that they were difficult to recover. Some of them were affected with scurvy for long after leaving the settlement.
The common temperature of the winter at Macquarie Harbour, was 43° in clear weather, when the wind was from the south, and 52° when cloudy with the wind from the north. Frost and great heat were of rare occurrence. Rain was said to have fallen on five days out of seven, during ten months in the year, from the formation of the settlement in 1822.
The prisoners had no allowance of spirits at this station; but rewards for little extra services were sometimes given them by the officers, in this pernicious article; the allowance of which to the latter and to the military generally, was a great evil, and the source of much misconduct.
Several of the prisoners who returned to Hobart Town in the Tamar, had been first transported to Bermuda; but in consequence of a mutiny in which they were implicated, they were subsequently sent to V. D. Land. They preferred Bermuda, because they had there an allowance of fresh meat and rum, and some money for present use, as well as a sum reserved till the expiration of their sentence.
During our stay at Macquarie Harbour, we received great kindness and attention from the Commandant, who afforded us all the information we desired respecting the discipline of the Settlement, and gave us free access to the prisoners, both for ascertaining their feelings, and for the purpose of imparting religious instruction. The other officers also were kindly attentive. On the 21st of the 6th month, we left them with feelings of gratitude, not soon to be effaced, and sailed to Wellington Head, near the entrance of the harbour; having in the jail several prisoners returning from the settlement; they were not under strict guard, as the vessel was proceeding in the direction in which they desired to go, and had no stock of provisions on board to tempt them to try to carry her off.
The wind proving unfavourable, we were detained eighteen days at Wellington Head; in the course of which we visited the Pilot Station, and adjacent parts of the coast; and daily had religious opportunities in the jail, with the crew of the vessel, the military, and the prisoners. The jail was now so much occupied with timber as to render it difficult to crowd into it, and it was also dirty and dark; and the only lamp we had, gave barely sufficient light to read by; but the comforting sense of our Heavenly Father's love, which often attended our minds, made up for all privations. One of the prisoners, who, for some time past had exhibited much religious thoughtfulness, a few times joined his exhortations to ours, and pleaded with his fellows, on the necessity of preparing for the awful day of the Lord. He began by telling them, that they had known him when he indulged in sin as much as any of them; but that they must have marked the change which had taken place in his conduct and character; and he could assure them, that he was much happier in walking in the fear of the Lord than ever he had been in sin; he therefore entreated them to turn to the Lord and seek mercy through that Saviour, in whom he had found mercy.
The person acting as steward on board the Tamar was transported when 14 years old. He attributed his early turpitude, to the influence of had company, which led him to use strong drink and disobey his father, and to practice many other evils. When gambling with his associates on a First-day, at the suggestion of one of the party, they robbed a young man who happened to pass. For this offence several of them were transported. Though he had forsaken his evil ways and was now filling an honourable post, he still felt keenly the bitter consequences of his former vices, for which he was still in bondage.
6th mo. 22nd. We had the crew of the pilot-boat assembled, along with the persons on board the Tamar, and, after reading a portion of Scripture to them, spoke on the importance of avoiding to ridicule religion in their companions or others, who might be disposed to attend to its duties; we also exhorted them to consider what would be the feeling respecting having given way to such ridicule, when reflecting upon it, on a death bed.
The pilot put us on shore on the north beach, upon the sand of which we walked a few miles, in company with the mate, and picked up some small Helmet-shells, and specimens of a large digitated sponge. Several Black-fish—a small species of whale—were driven upon this beach in the late storm. A spaniel dog that accompanied us, rolled itself on the partially decomposed carcase of each of these as he came at it; I could not discover for what object.
Parties of Aborigines resort hither at certain seasons. They cross the mouth of the harbour on floats, in the form of a boat, made of bundles of the paper-like bark of the Swamp Tea-tree, lashed side by side, by means of tough grass. On these, three or four persons are placed, and one swims on each side, holding it with one hand. These Aborigines are said to be shy, but not to have committed any outrage. One of them exchanged a girl of about fourteen years of age, for a dog, with the people at the Pilot Station; but the girl not liking her situation was taken back, and the dog returned.
23rd. We went on shore close by the vessel, and on the way to the Pilot Station passed some large patches of a species of Blandfordia—a lily-like plant, with a crest of scarlet tubular flowers—which abounds also at Port Davey.
We afterwards traversed a portion of the beach, open to the sea on the south, near Cape Sorell. It consisted of numerous little bays; some sandy, others shingly, some rocky, and others covered thickly with decomposing kelp of enormous size, the smell of which was very disagreeable. Multitudes of maggots are produced in it, on which flocks of White Cockatoos feed, that roost among the large bushes on the shore. Ducks and other sea-fowl also find a plentiful supply of food in the maggots, which are floated off in abundance by the rising tide. The rotten kelp affords a manure to the peaty garden of the pilot, so congenial to the growth of potatoes, that those grown there exceed the best I ever saw in England.—There was a lichen on the neighbouring hills, of the same race as the Reindeer-moss, but of a texture resembling delicate net-work. In the abundant rain, it was distended into masses resembling cauliflowers. Like some of its congeners, it seemed as if it might be used for food: its taste was insipid, and I found no inconvenience from eating it.
We remained all night at the pilot's house, and in the morning had a meeting with the men, in which we were made deeply sensible of the goodness and mercy of the Lord; before whom we also spent some time in silent waiting, greatly to our comfort.
27th. In a walk, I found the scrub so thick and entangled, that I was under the necessity of cutting my way through it with the back of a saw; but when weary of doing this, I waded past it in the salt-water.—In some places, in this wet country, cyperaceous plants, which somewhat resemble rushes, entwine themselves among the larger shrubs, and ascend to their tops, and lichens hang to a great length from the boughs of some of the trees. The sandbanks at the mouth of Macquarie Harbour are covered with Boobialla, a species of Acacia, the roots of which run far in the sand. Black Cockatoos and some other birds enlivened the bush. Sometimes large White Eagles were seen sitting on boughs overhanging the water, watching for fish.
On the 9th of 7th mo. the Commandant and the Surgeon paid us a visit; they had previously sent us a fresh stock of provisions from the Settlement, those with which we originally set out being nearly consumed; and now, after waiting eighteen days for a fair wind, we crossed the bar without touching; and soon passed the northernmost rocks of Cape Sorell. The following evening we were in sight of South West Cape. We laid-to till daylight on the 11th, and then entered D'Entrecasteaux Channel; where, on passing some whalers, they informed us that we were reported in Hobart Town to be lost. In consequence of adverse winds we were unable to relieve our friends from anxiety on this point till the 13th, when we were favoured again to land in safety and received many greetings.
Our old lodging being engaged, arrangements were made for a temporary residence with Thomas J. and Sarah Crouch, a pious young couple, who received us into their family in Christian good-will, and to whose house we continued to resort, as lodgers, for several years.