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The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888

E >> Ernest Favenc >> The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888




Water had been obtained sufficient to last until October. Preparations
were then made to leave this anchorage, when they explored Half-way Bay,
finding in it a strait that communicated with Munster Water, so
insulating the land that forms the northwest shore of the Bay. This
island was named Greville Island.

Whilst in Hanover Bay, a skirmish with the natives enlivened proceedings.
In spite of all the many warnings the party had received by this time,
they would venture amongst the natives quite unarmed, and when their men
came to their assistance the muskets, as a rule, would not go off. This
time the surgeon, Mr. Montgomery, was speared in the back--fortunately, not
fatally.

From Hanover Bay, King sailed some distance to the westward, anchoring on
August 21st, near the Lacepede Islands. The next day Cape Baskerville was
named, and the smoke of fires was noticed at intervals for miles along
the shore; from which one might infer that this part of the coast was very
populous. Captain Dampier saw forty Indians together on one of the rocky
islands to the eastward of Cape Levêque, and in his quaint description of
them says:--


"The inhabitants of this country are the miserablest people in the world.
The Hodmadods, of Monomatapa, though a nasty people, yet for wealth are
gentlemen to these, who have no houses and skin garments, sheep, poultry,
and fruits of the earth, ostrich eggs, etc., as the Hodmadods have; and,
setting aside their human shape, they differ but little from brutes. They
are tall, straight-bodied, and thin, with small, long limbs. They have
great heads, round foreheads, and great brows. Their eye-lids are always
half-closed to keep the flies out of their eyes, they being so
troublesome here that fanning will not keep them from coming to one's
face; and without the assistance of both hands to keep them off, they
will creep into one's nostrils, and mouth too, if the lips are not shut
very close. So that, from infancy, being thus annoyed with those insects,
they do never open their eyes as other people; and therefore they cannot
see far unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at
somewhat over them. They have great bottle noses, pretty full lips, and
wide mouths. The two fore-teeth of their upper jaw are wanting in all of
them, men and women, old and young. Whether they draw them out or not I
know not. Neither have they any beards. They are long-visaged, and of a
very unpleasant aspect, having not one graceful feature in their faces.
Their hair is black, short, and curled like that of the negroes; and not
long and lank like the common Indians. The colour of their skins, both of
their faces and the rest of their body, is coal-black like that of the
negroes of Guinea. They have no sort of clothes but a piece of the rind
of a tree tied like a girdle about their waists, and a handful of long
grass, or three or four small green boughs full of leaves thrust under
their girdle to cover their nakedness. They. have no houses, but lie in
the open air without covering, the earth being their bed and heaven their
canopy.

"They live in companies-twenty or thirty men, women, and children
together. Their only food is a small sort of fish, which they get by
making weirs of stone across little coves or branches of the sea, every
tide bringing in the small fish, and there leaving them a prey to these
people, who constantly attend there to search for them at low water. This
small fry I take to be the top of their fishery. They have no instruments
to catch great fish should they come, and such seldom stay to be left
behind at low water; nor could we catch any fish with our hooks and lines
while we lay there. In other places, at low water, they seek for cockles,
mussels, and periwinkles; of these shell-fish there are fewer still, so
that their chief dependency is upon what the sea leaves in their weirs,
which, be it much or little, they gather tip and march to the places of
their abode. There is neither herb, root, pulse, nor any sort of grain
for them to eat that we saw, nor any sort of bird or beast that they can
catch, having no instruments. I did not perceive that they did worship
anything. These poor people have a sort of weapon to defend their weirs
or fight with their enemies, if they have any, that will interfere with
their poor fishery. They did at first endeavour with their weapons to
frighten us, who, lying ashore, deterred them from one of their fishing
places. Some of them had wooden swords, others had a sort of lance. The
sword is a long, straight pole, sharp at one end, and hardened afterwards
by heat. I saw no iron, nor any sort of metal; therefore, it is probable
they use stone hatchets. How they get their fire I know not, but,
probably, as Indians do, out of wood. I have seen the Indians of Bon-Airy
do it, and have myself tried the experiment. They take a flat piece of
wood that is pretty soft, and make a small dent in one side of it; then
they take another hard, round stick, about the bigness of one's little
finger and sharpened at one end like a pencil; they put that sharp end in
the hole or dent of the flat, soft piece, and then rubbing or twirling
the hard piece between the palm of their hands, they drill the soft piece
till it smokes and, at last, takes fire.

"These people speak somewhat through the throat, but we could not
understand one word they said. . . . We went over to the islands, and
there we found a great many of the natives. I do believe there were forty
on one island--men, women, and children. The men, on our first coming
ashore, threatened us with their lances and swords, but they were
frightened by firing our gun, which we purposely fired over their heads.
The island was so small that they could not hide themselves, but they
were much disordered by our landing. This, their place of dwelling, was
only a fire, with a few boughs before it, set up on the side the winds
were off.

"After we had been here a little while, the men began to be familiar, and
we clothed some of them, designing to have some service of them for it;
for we found some wells of water here, and intended to carry two or three
barrels of it aboard. But it being somewhat trouble some to carry to the
canoes, we thought to have made these men to have carried it for us, and
therefore, we gave them some old clothes; to one an old pair of breeches,
to another a ragged shirt, to the third a jacket that was scarce worth
owning, which yet would have been very acceptable at some places where we
had been, and so we thought they might have been with these people. We
put them on them, thinking that this finery would have brought them to
work heartily for us; and our water being filled in small, long barrels,
about six gallons in each, which were made purposely to carry water in,
we brought these our new servants to the well, and put a barrel on each
of their shoulders for them to carry to the canoe. But all the signs we
could make were to no purpose, for they stood like statues, without
motion, but grinned like so many monkeys, staring one upon another; for
these poor creatures seem not accustomed to carry burthens, and I believe
that one of our ship boys, of ten years old, would carry as much as one
of them. So we were forced to carry our water ourselves, and they very
fairly put the clothes off again, and laid them down, as if clothes were
only to work in. I did not perceive that they had any great liking to
them at first, neither did they seem to admire anything we had. Four men,
captured while swimming, were brought aboard; two of them were middle
aged, the other two young men about eighteen or twenty years old. To
these we gave boiled rice, and with it turtle and manatee boiled. They
did greedily devour what we gave them, but took no notice of the ship, or
anything on it, and when they were set on land again, they ran away as
fast as they could. At our first coming, before we were acquainted with
them, or they with us, a company of them, who lived on the main, came
just against our ship, and standing on a pretty high bank threatened us
with their swords and lances, by shaking them at us; at last the captain
ordered the drum to be beaten, which was done of a sudden with much
vigour, purposely to scare the poor creatures. They, hearing the noise,
ran away as fast as they could drive, and when they ran away in haste
they would cry GURRY-GURRY, speaking deep down in the throat. Those
inhabitants, also, that live on the main would always run away from us
yet we took several of them. For, as I have already observed, they had
such bad eyes that they could not see us till we came close to them; we
did always give them victuals, and let them go again." ["Dampier."
Vol. I, p464.]


August 20. King, when laying down the plan of the coast upon his chart,
found Cape Levêque to be the point Dampier anchored under when on his
buccaneering voyage in the CYGNET, 1688. In commemoration of his visit
the name of Buccaneer's Archipelago was given to the islands that front
Cygnet Bay, which bay is so named after his vessel; and on August 26,
Roebuck Bay received its name after the ship Captain Dampier commanded
when he visited this coast in 1699. Their water being nearly out, and the
provisions generally being in a bad state, besides the want of a second
anchor being very much felt, King deemed it prudent not to rely longer
upon the good fortune that had attended them, but to sail for the
Mauritius, entering Port Louis on September 26th.

On November 15th they were again ready for sea, and left the Mauritius to
re-commence their survey on the south-west coast of New Holland. Sighting
Cape Chatham, a course was directed to the eastward for King George's
Sound, where they intended to get wood and water previous to commencing
the examination, and anchored close to the entrance of Princess Royal
Harbour. This harbour not proving suitable, their old anchorage in Oyster
Harbour was taken up. The luxuriant growth of vegetation had almost
entirely destroyed all traces of the visit of 1818. The garden in which
Mr. Cunningham had planted seeds was covered with three or four feet of
additional soil, formed of sand and decayed vegetable matter, and clothed
with a thicket of plants in flower. The natives appeared to be very
friendly, and some visited the vessel.


"After an absence of an hour our two friends returned, when it appeared
that they had been at their toilet, for their noses and faces had
evidently been fresh smeared over with red ochre, which they pointed out
to us as a great ornament; affording another proof that vanity is
inherent in human nature, and not merely the consequence of civilization.

"Two of them were watching a small seal that, having been left by the
tide on the bank, was endeavouring to waddle towards the deep water. At
last one of the natives, fixing his spear in its throwing-stick, advanced
very cautiously, and when within ten or twelve yards, lanced it, and
pierced the animal through the neck, when the other instantly ran up and
stuck his spear into it also; and then, beating it about the head with a
small hammer, very soon despatched it. This event collected the whole
tribe to the spot, who assisted in landing their prize and washing the
sand off the body. They then carried the animal to their fire, at the
edge of the grass, and began to devour it even before it was dead.
Curiosity induced Mr. Cunningham and myself to view this barbarous feast,
and we landed about ten minutes after it had commenced. The moment the
boat touched the sand the natives, springing up and throwing their spears
away into the bushes, ran down towards us, and before we could land, had
all seated themselves in the boat, ready to go on board, in as
unceremonious a manner as passengers would seat themselves in a
ferry-boat; but they were obliged to wait whilst we landed to witness
their savage feast. On going to the place, we found an old man seated
over the remains of the carcass, two-thirds of which had already
disappeared. He was holding a long strip of the raw flesh in his left
hand, and tearing it off the body with a sort of knife. A boy was also
feasting with him, and both were too intent upon their breakfast to
notice us, or to be the least disconcerted at our looking on. We,
however, were very soon satisfied, and walked away perfectly disgusted
with the sight of so horrible a repast, and the intolerable stench
occasioned by the effluvia that arose from the dying animal, combined
with that of the bodies of the natives, who had daubed themselves from
head to foot with a pigment made of redocherous earth, mixed up with
seal-oil. Returning on board, the natives were very attentive to the
mixture of a pudding, and a few small dumplings were made and given to
them, which they put on the bars of the fire-place, but, being too
impatient to wait until they were baked, ate them in a doughy state, with
much relish. One of them, an old man, was very attentive to the
sail-makers cutting out a boat's sail, and, at his request, was presented
with all the strips that were of no use. When it was completed, a small
piece of canvas was missing. After a great search, in which the old rogue
assisted, it was found secreted under his arm. The old man appeared
ashamed and conscious of his guilt, and although he was frequently
afterwards with us, yet he always hung down his head and sneaked into the
background."


So with the exception of a few thefts all communication with the natives
was here carried on in a most friendly manner, and on the 1st of January
the anchors were lifted, and the BATHURST left for Seal Island, where
they intended to refit the sails. Leaving King George's Sound they sailed
at a distance from the land to ensure a quicker passage to Cape Péron,
Flinders and M. Baudin having minutely examined the coast between.

Frederick Houtman's Abrolhos were sighted on January 17th, and the
passage or channel between the Abrolhos Bank and the coast has been
distinguished by the name of Vlaming's ship, the GEELVINK, since she was
the first vessel that passed there, 1697. The cliffs of Red Point named
by Vlaming partake of a reddish tinge, and appear to be of horizontal
strata; behind Red Point is a bight, named by the French Gantheaume Bay.
Reaching Dirk Hartog's Island they anchored off Cape Inscription, and
searched for the historical plates, but although the posts were standing,
the plates had been removed.

King found that former navigators had taken that part of the coast he
named Point Cloates for an island, calling it Cloates Island; the next
day Vlaming Head, of the North-West Cape, came in sight, and a north
course bore him to Rowley Shoals, wishing to fix their position with
greater correctness, and to examine the extent of the bight round Cape
Levêque, which during the earlier part of their voyage they were obliged
to leave unexplored. Landing next at Point Cunningham, Mr. Cunningham
botanized with great success; a fresh stream was running down the rocks
into the sea, and at the back of the beach was a hollow full of sweet
water; the heat was terrible, and the soil of a red coloured earth of a
very sandy nature.

Another anchor lost, in a bay they afterwards called Disaster Bay. The
succession of bad weather, and only one anchor left, made it desirable to
go to Port George the Fourth, as they wanted both food and water; and
during the delay here, a part of the crew in the boats could examine the
islands in Rogers Strait, and trace the continuation of the mainland,
behind the islands, that forms the south-east coast of Camden Bay, of
which nothing was known; also continuing the examination of the deep bay
behind Montgomery's Islands, and connect that part with the gulf or
strait behind Buccaneers' Archipelago, which King felt sure existed. Here
they had a most amazing escape, that reads more like fiction than sober
fact. The astonishing influx and reflux of the tides amongst these
islands had been noticed by Dampier, and had led that navigator to
conclude that a strait or large river must be situated near this part of
the coast. Whilst among these islands, King was caught in one of these
tidal draughts during a dead calm. The following is his description of
the position. He was at the mast-head--his usual position for conning the
ship when near the land--but seeing his vessel carried swiftly and, as he
thought, inevitably on the rocks, he descended to the deck:--


"Happily, however, the stream of the tide swept us past the rocks without
accident, and after carrying us about half-a-mile farther, changed its
direction to south-east, and drifted us towards a narrow strait
separating two rocky islands, in the centre of which was a large
insulated rock, that seemed to divide the stream. The boat was now
hoisted out to tow, but we could not succeed in getting the vessel's head
round. As she approached the strait the channel became much narrower, and
several islands were passed at not more than thirty yards from her
course. The voices of natives were now heard, and soon afterwards some
were seen on either side of the strait, hallooing and waving their arms.
We were so near to one party that they might have thrown their spears on
board. BY this time we were flying past the shore with such velocity that
it made us quite giddy; and our situation was too awful to give us time
to observe the motions of the Indians; for we were entering the narrowest
part of the strait, and the next moment were close to the rock, which it
appeared almost impossible to avoid, and it was more than probable that
the stream it divided would carry us broadside upon it, when the
consequences would have been dreadful. The current, or sluice, was
setting past the rock at the rate of eight or nine knots, and the water
being confined by its intervention, fell at least six or seven feet; at
the moment, however, when we were upon the point of being dashed to
pieces, a sudden breeze providentially sprang up, and filling our sails,
impelled the vessel forward three or four yards. This was enough, but
only just sufficient, for the rudder was not more than six yards from the
rock. No sooner had we passed this frightful danger than the breeze fell
again, and was succeeded by a dead calm; the tide, however, continued to
carry us on with a gradually decreasing strength until one o'clock, when
we felt very little effects from it."


This was the last danger that King was to escape on the north-west coast,
as after a little more examination of the neighbourhood of this dangerous
archipelago, the thick weather and easterly winds compelled him to
relinquish his work and sail for Sydney.

King left the coast thoroughly impressed with the idea that behind
Buccaneers' Archipelago there was, if anywhere, an opening into the
interior of New Holland; the constant loss' of his anchors had prevented
him from confirming his conjecture; but he had good reason for then
thinking so. In these days of strong, well-found surveying steamers, it
is wonderful to recall the work that King did in the MERMAID, amongst all
the dangers of unknown seas, and constantly having to get his wood and
water in the face of hostile savages.

It was not long after his return to England, and whilst engaged preparing
his journal for publication, that he heard a settlement had been founded
on Melville Island, one of his discoveries. As this settlement was in
accordance with his recommendation, and a detailed account of its
foundation has not been given in these pages, the present may be a
fitting time to do so.

It must be remembered that this settlement was finally, after many
removals, abandoned, and the one established at Port Essington, when
Leichhardt arrived there, was a second attempt at colonisation.

The TAMAR, under captain Bremer, left Sydney in August, 1824, having with
her the COUNTESS OF HARCOURT, and that ever useful colonial brig, the
LADY NELSON.

Arrived at Port Essington, the little fleet anchored off Table Point, the
marines landed, the Union Jack was hoisted, and formal possession taken
of the north coast of Australia, between the meridians of 129 deg. and
136 deg. east of Greenwich. After the TAMAR had fired a royal salute, and
the marines three volleys, the business of finding a site commenced.

This was no such easy matter, the first object being to find fresh water;
parties were despatched in all directions, but for a long time
unsuccessfully; at last some was obtained at a sandy point, where there
was an old Malay encampment, but it was a deficient supply, only to be
got by digging holes in the sand, and the inducements for remaining were
not considered sufficiently attractive. An examination of St. Asaph Bay,
in Melville Island, was next made, and possession taken in like manner;
but no fresh water was forthcoming there, and at last, after much
searching, a small river and plenty of water were found in another part
of Melville Island, opposite Harris Island. A point of the land for the
town was fixed upon, and named Point Barlow, after the commandant. The
cove where the ship anchored was called King's Cove, and the entrance to
Apsley Strait, Port Cockburn.

A redoubt was built of logs, seventy-five feet long by fifty broad, and a
ditch dug surrounding it; the quarter-deck guns were mounted, the colours
hoisted, and it was formally christened Fort Dundas, under a royal salute
from itself.

After all this display of enthusiasm and gunpowder, work commenced in
earnest, quarters were built inside the stockade, a deep well sunk, a
wharf constructed, and gardens laid out.

As might have been reasonably supposed, the evil-disposed natives of the
island soon got over their first scare at this invasion of their
territory. At first they came into the fort in friendly guise.


"I was greatly astonished to see amongst them," says Lieutenant Roe, "a
young man of about twenty years of age, not darker in colour than a
Chinese, but with perfect Malay features, and like all the rest, entirely
naked; he had daubed himself all over with soot and grease to appear like
the others, but the difference was plainly perceptible. On observing that
he was the object of our conversation, a certain archness and lively
expression came over his countenance, which a native Australian would
have strained his features in vain to produce. It seems probable that he
must have been kidnapped when very young, or found while astray in the
woods."


All this friendliness soon disappeared, the aborigines took to robbing
the working parties of their tools, and spear and musket soon came to be
used on either side. Up to the time the TAMAR left, however, no harm had
been done. In all, the settlement consisted of one hundred and twenty-six
individuals, of whom four were women, and forty-five convicts.

The fortunes of this little colony, and even its existence, being almost
forgotten, it may be interesting to the reader to follow them to the end.
After the TAMAR left for India, and the COUNTESS OF HARCOURT proceeded on
her voyage, the settlement was left with the colonial brig, the LADY
NELSON, as the nucleus of a fleet, but she sailed for Timor, and was
never heard of again. The hostility of the natives increased, and the
Malays, who were expected to visit and trade with the English, did not
put in an appearance, it being out of the track of their proas; and of
Fort Dundas, of which such high hopes were entertained, in a few short
years not a vestige remained.

At last, what with scurvy amongst the garrison (which, considering the
amount of vegetables grown, should not have been the case), the incessant
feud with the natives, the most gloomy reports were sent down at every
opportunity afforded by a vessel calling. Latterly, it was unsafe to
venture out of the camp unarmed, and the surgeon and commissariat officer
were murdered only a few yards from the stockade. The public policy
pursued was not of a liberal nature, and it was decided to try the
experiment of a settlement on the mainland.

As it was considered that Port Essington was deficient in fresh water,
Raffles Bay was selected, and two years before Melville Island was
finally abandoned, Captain Stirling, of the SUCCESS, was ordered to
proceed there. The settlement was formed on the 18th June, and in honour
of the date, was called Fort Wellington.

The usual scene of activity ensued, the erection of a house, the
formation of a garden, and finally, the old routine of commencing
intercourse with the natives; then the thieving and the usual
retaliation.

Two shipwrecked men were picked up during the early days of the
settlement, one a Portuguese sailor belonging to the FREDERICK, wrecked
on the east coast, so often mentioned by King. This man, in company with
two others, had escaped in a small boat, and reached Port Essington,
where his two companions had died. The other was a Lascar belonging to
the ship FAME, that had been wrecked in the straits. He had been with the
blacks six or seven years.

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