After the dwellings of the families had been made comfortable, and some articles of common furniture provided for their use, the attention of the men was turned to enclosing and cultivating small gardens adjoining their huts.
[Home cultivation was essential to providing sufficient food to the community.]
The seeds which I had planted in the first instance had proved the capacity of the soil by the production of cucumbers, radishes, and cabbages.
But the shores of the harbour, in almost every quarter, produced spontaneously and in great abundance, a vegetable called the sea-spinach, which when boiled in two separate portions of water, was found to be superior to the common English plant of that name, and formed as fine a dish of vegetables as I desired to see upon the table.
The natives supplied the inhabitants with abundance of fish in return for tobacco, flour, and bread; and they were seen at all times during the day, both men and women, carrying buckets of water on their heads, from a spring which was resorted to for the general supply.
[The natives certainly got a raw deal swapping fresh fish for tobacco.]
During all this time the Company’s surveyor was employed in surveying and taking soundings of the harbour, while I was making short excursions into the country, returning every evening to attend to the various calls of the people around me, as well as to the numerous plans that were to form the foundation of future proceedings, upon a very large and progressively increasing scale.
At the end of five or six weeks the arrival of my nephew was announced with the imported sheep and cattle, which he had conducted from Retreat Farm over the Blue Mountains, a distance of nearly two hundred miles: he was above five weeks in performing this journey, amidst obstacles and privations inseparable from a first passage over a new, untravelled, and mountainous country.
[A five week journey from Sydney over the Blue Mountains would be inconceivable today.]
He arrived at my tent with his bare toes protruding through his worn-out shoes and stockings, and presenting the appearance, in other respects, of a wandering, half-starved vagrant.
I had been compelled by the committee at Sydney, against my conviction and remonstrances, thus to send the sheep overland, when they might so easily and so expeditiously have been conveyed by water.
The journey too was much longer than my nephew, who was a stranger to the country, had anticipated; and before he arrived, his provisions were exhausted, and both himself and his men were obliged for several days to live upon very short allowance.
We felt greatly mortified at the disastrous effects of this injudicious land-journey, upon valuable ewes forward with lamb, which it had cost us so much trouble and solicitude to preserve during a long voyage from England.
Stations had been selected and preparations made for the accommodation of the sheep when they arrived; and as we had a short time previously received an assignment of seventeen convicts from the government, I was in a situation to provide for these flocks, without detaching the married men to a distance from their families.
As the children now on the grant amounted to upwards of forty, I felt it incumbent upon me to provide instruction for them; and I therefore selected from amongst these seventeen convicts a man to act as schoolmaster, who had been an assistant in a school in Dublin.
A temporary building was immediately erected, with forms and desks in proper order; and the school was well attended by the children, and attentively managed by the master, who conducted himself extremely well in all respects.
[Dawson recognised the importance of education and, to his credit, did something about it.]
The introduction of the cows was to the families, and especially to those who had young children, an event which promised great satisfaction; so much so, that I thought no trouble too great to procure them at such a crisis.
To show in all cases, however trifling, an earnest disposition to do all that my situation could admit of to render their isolated abode comfortable, I knew was the only way to gain and secure the confidence of so large a body of people, who looked to me for the supply of every want.
Indeed, it was my duty as well as interest to secure their confidence; for without their willing support, it was obviously impossible for me, in such a situation, to carry into effect any of the objects I had in view.
(Dawson is showing great leadership in making this effort.)
As I was passing through the bark village, one morning previous to the arrival of the cows, I was accosted by one of the women who had taken a fit of melancholy at her situation.
“I hope, sir,” she said, in a piteous tone, “you will never think of bringing Mrs. Dawson to such a place as this.”
To which I answered that I certainly did, and that I was sure she would be very much pleased with it.
“Oh dear!” she exclaimed, “pleased with what? For my part, I never was so unhappy before as I am now. I would not, for the best thousand pounds that ever was made, have left England, if I had known I was to have come to such a place as this.”
I told her she would soon think differently, and left her sighing and murmuring at what she felt her desolate situation.
Her husband soon after called upon me, and represented that his wife was in a low melancholy way, and could not make herself satisfied where she was. As soon as the cows arrived I sent for him, and informed him that I had discovered a cure for his wife, which was to give her the charge of the cows; and as this had always been her employment at home, I had no doubt she would soon be herself again.
I was not deceived in this; for as soon as a proper place could be constructed for milking, and a temporary dairy erected adjoining her hut, she cheerfully took the management upon herself, and I never heard more of her melancholy; on the contrary, she always appeared contented and happy.
Just before the brig left the harbour, the captain and his mate made an attempt to carry off a young woman, the daughter of one of our shepherds, who was proceeding over the mountains with the sheep, and who had left her in charge of his two younger children.
Having received a hint of their intentions, I swore in several fresh constables, and ordered them, with other assistance, to watch at the landing-place all night.
One of the constables came to my tent in the middle of the night, to inform me that they had taken the captain and one of his mates, after a severe struggle, in which the latter had attempted to use his pistols.
I ordered them to be detained till the morning, and then to be brought before me.
The two sailors who had rowed him ashore, and who had escaped during the scuffle, immediately went back to the brig, from whence they returned to the shore with the greater part of the crew, to rescue their captain.
On their landing, however, they were immediately overpowered, and held as prisoners till the morning.
The captain having landed in a clean white dress, and having been well rolled in the dirt during the scuffle, the constable in charge, at his request, allowed him to send on board at daylight, for a clean white jacket and trowsers, and took him in the mean time to his hut near the shore, where he gave him some refreshment.
He was at length put upon his parole of honour; but no sooner had the boat arrived, than he bounded into it, and ordered his men to pull off.
The constable, however, who was close after him, knocked him over the side of the boat with his staff, and dragged him unceremoniously ashore, bleeding, and well soused with mud and water.
The result of all this was a severe broken head to the captain, a written apology from him for the outrage, and the instant removal of his brig from the harbour.
An accident having occurred to the launch, by means of which we hoped occasionally to communicate with Sydney, it became necessary either to abandon her, or to put her in a state of repair.
I determined upon the latter; and our carpenter undertook, with the assistance of an experienced sailor belonging to the establishment, to sheath and deck her, as well as to give her entire new masts, rigging, and sails.
This service was satisfactorily performed, after some trouble, without other assistance or materials than those we had on the spot, when she was launched as a new craft, and called, ” The Balberook,” after the native name of the cove in which she was repaired and refitted.
I gave the command of her to the seaman under whose directions the work had been performed. All parties appeared proud of this performance at so early a period; and especially as it made us more independent, and gave us the means of ordering and receiving such supplies and conveniences as we might be deficient of in the Company’s store at Port Stephens, without reference to other and more uncertain conveyances.
Considerable pleasure was expressed as soon as we saw the little schooner, with her white sails unfurled, beating for the first time out of the harbour.
The composition of her crew was rather remarkable, as containing two white men with two natives, Crosely and Sinbad, who had already made several voyages in a coasting craft from Newcastle to Sydney.
The master was quite satisfied to receive them as a part of his crew, and before they went on board I gave them a suitable dress.
I had however no idea that they would be constant in the employment; this was too much to expect from men brought up in such wild and independent habits; but their services were valuable at the moment, when every man was of great importance to me; and I considered it as much a duty as it was a pleasure to favour every inclination I saw towards civilization, while it tended also to maintain and encourage a good understanding between us.
I felt that the calls both of humanity and policy were involved in the intercourse between the natives and such a body of inhabitants as we were, and that the proper management of the blacks as well as the whites was therefore not one of the least anxious of my duties.
We had not been long at Port Stephens before six cows with calves and some working oxen were announced to have arrived at Soldiers’ Point.
I had ordered this purchase to be made at Hunter’s River before I left Sydney; and as at that time no other road from Newcastle to Port Stephens was known than by the beach, I was exceedingly puzzled to know how to get the cattle across the harbour.
However, at sunrise I took a party of natives in a boat with several of the most expert of our men, towing the square punt.
As soon as we had landed and breakfasted, which we did partly on some fish procured for us by the natives, we proceeded to make a pound to catch the cattle in, by nailing poles to such trees in the forest as stood near enough to serve the place of posts.
We had succeeded only in roping two, when the others broke down our rails, and escaped like so many deer.
I called the natives to assist in stopping them; but they were so terrified that they scampered off to the trees, which they climbed like scared monkeys.
When they felt themselves out of danger they sat in the branches, laughing and shouting in broken English, to direct their white friends which way to run to recover the cattle.
Nor could they be persuaded for a long time to leave their exalted places of retreat; and when they did, they were up again the instant they saw the cattle making any attempts to bolt.
We were occupied in this troublesome business no less than four successive days, the cattle repeatedly breaking away and becoming more wild at each attempt to secure them.
At length they were all carried over excepting four, which, together with several calves, had been made fast in the punt, which the boat had towed about halfway over, when one of the beasts became restive and upset it.
This occasioned a scene of sad confusion, and I felt mortified enough, after all the trouble I had taken.
The man who had charge of the boat jumped upon the punt, which lay bottom upwards, and cut the lashings of the beasts, which were struggling with their heads out of water. As soon as they were liberated one of them swam back to the shore where I was standing, while the others were driven before the boat to the opposite land.
The cows on that side no sooner saw their companions in the water, than two of them jumped in to meet them: the boatman drove one of them back, but the other escaped him, and seemed determined to reach the place at which it had been separated from its calf.
The distance was above a mile, and as the tide was going out, the poor animal in crossing got into a strong current, and was carried out to sea and drowned.
As soon as it became alarmed it made several attempts to reach the shore on both sides, bellowing piteously every time it failed, as if sensible of its hopeless situation.
Every effort to recover the ox which had returned proved ineffectual.
He was now alone, and had become so wild as to defy every attempt to impound him; I therefore had him shot, and his carcase cut up and carried home in the boat to the establishment.
(This story clearly illustrates the point that cattle were as dumb in the mid 1800’s as they are now!).
The natives who had promised to look out for the “corbon,” (great) ship, had now a very considerable accession of numbers; and on the landing of the party they came to the spot under the guidance of the two white men, Joy and Summons, to offer their assistance in carrying the trunks and other baggage to the respective huts which I had appointed for each family.
Previous to their arrival at Port Stephens our newcomers had never seen a native; their surprise, therefore, on finding themselves surrounded by such a body of them may be easily imagined.
It was to me both curious and gratifying to see some of those harmless beings joining in parties to carry up the heavy trunks that were landed on the beach, while others took the small packages and bundles on their heads with the greatest cordiality, and quite as handily as any body of white men in the colony could have done.
(Dawson, is I feel, a little bit condescending in his remarks here. This, however, was not uncommon for the times.)
By their assistance the families were soon all under cover, and before night, appeared to have arranged themselves in their bark habitations in such a manner and with such good temper as afforded a prospect of their soon making themselves comfortable in their new abodes.
I pitched my tent on an elevated spot at a short distance from them, in a situation which commanded a view of the harbour and some of the surrounding country.
The accounts which Messrs. Harrington, Dangar, and Armstrong, gave me of the country they had examined, were of a favourable nature, so that I had reasonable hopes that Port Stephens would become the permanent settlement of the Australian Agricultural Company.
On the following morning I made arrangements for the unloading of the brig, and the safe deposit of the stores and implements on shore.
I fixed upon a spot by the side of a small creek, where there was sufficient depth of water to admit the open craft that had been purchased at Sydney, and here I ordered all the stores to be landed.
I then went there with some of the natives, who pulled large quantities of long grass which grew near the spot, and with which we covered the casks and other materials as they were landed, in such a manner as protected them from the effects of the sun as well as the rain, should the latter immediately come on.
(Interesting to see reference to “the effects of the sun”).
About a week was occupied in performing this important service, and as it was chiefly done by the natives under Joy and Summons, the great body of the white inhabitants could be spared to occupy themselves in making their huts more comfortable, and in providing the best accommodations for their families which circumstances would admit.
As soon as the brig had been unloaded and the stores safely deposited, a site was marked out for the erection of a store, fifty feet long, to be constructed with permanent materials.
For this purpose several large trees were felled and split up into slabs, twelve or fourteen feet in length. A strong frame-work was next prepared from the forest, and in a very short space a substantial building arose on the banks of the creek, capable of containing all the perishable and valuable stores.
Until a more permanent roof could be prepared, bearers were thrown across the building, and a stack of grass built upon them, protected by a thatch of the same materials, like a common hay-stack.
A bench of rough materials was constructed within the building to serve as a counter; and I appointed our bricklayer, who was a trusty and an ingenious man, to take charge of the store until a clerk, or some other proper person, should be appointed.
While this was going on, another party was employed in constructing a square punt, with some deals we had brought with us from England.
A third was engaged in making a stock-yard for the cattle, and a place to harness the working oxen in.
A fourth in splitting timber and making hurdles for the sheep, when they should arrive overland.
Another party was employed in making a garden of considerable extent, in the most suitable spot that could be found, while two men were occupied for a time in constructing a kennel for the dogs and houses for the poultry, and in attending to the wethers I had brought, to prevent our people from living entirely on salt provisions.
(The description above is a very good summation of building and development practices in the mid 1800’s in Australian rural towns).
Buildings typical of the era in which Dawson lived.
As soon as I could be relieved from the numerous calls upon my attention at the establishment, I made short excursions into the country surrounding the harbour, with a view of selecting proper places for the imported sheep etc.
Here again I was indebted to the natives, who acted as my guides upon every occasion, not only when on horseback, but also in the boat, in which they frequently rowed me up the rivers and various creeks, accompanied often by only one white person.
So good an understanding subsisted between us, and so proud were they of the notice I had taken of them, that had it been necessary, I should have had no hesitation in trusting myself alone with them in any situation.
The assistance which I derived from them, whether as guides or labourers, exceeded any thing I can describe; and the satisfaction this afforded me, as well as the pleasure I received in the society of these cheerful and obliging people, supported me greatly in the daily performance of the arduous and anxiously responsible duties which I had taken upon myself.
(How different the history of Australia would have been if other settlers had adopted the same positive management practices as Dawson.)
Having put a certain number of huts in such a state of forwardness as justified my leaving the party, and feeling assured of the friendship of the natives, whose expectations concerning us appeared now to have been raised to the highest pitch, I resolved to leave five of the white men with the natives to finish the buildings, while I returned to Sydney for the whole establishment.
Previous, however, to my departure, I gave orders that Ben should proceed with two white men, in a boat, at a certain period, with a supply of provisions, to a place on the banks of the river Myall, in the hope of meeting the other party on their return, as had been previously arranged.
Myall Lakes National Park - Photo by Nahele.
I had great confidence in the judgment and good feelings of two out of the five men left behind, who appeared no less desirous than myself of conciliating the natives, and who displayed all the zeal in every respect that could be desired.
In their hands, therefore, I left this part of the Company’s interest, until my return from Sydney with the various families and the requisite means for establishing them on this spot, for a time at least, if not permanently.
Before quitting, however, I made a small garden near where my tent had first been pitched, fronting the harbour, on a little mount, having planted various seeds, some of which I calculated would arrive at perfection soon after my return ; and even if I should be disappointed in this, still the appearance of English vegetation would, I knew, afford a pleasurable feeling on the first arrival of the people, and yield an early specimen of the capabilities of the soil.
(Plants all the way from England are planted in the soil at Port Stephens. I wonder if these plants are still in evidence in the area today. Maybe some have become large trees).
Such things as these may appear trifles to those who have never experienced the effects of banishment to a spot where nature’s wilds alone present themselves on every side; but my anxiety was great to adopt any measure that would be likely to inspire confidence in the drooping and desponding minds of some of my numerous charge in their new abode, where they would at first find little to excite favourable expectations, and where their wants would necessarily be many and their accommodations few.
On my arrival in Sydney I chartered a brig of about two hundred tons, for the purpose of transporting the whole of the establishment to the spot which I had just left, and having loaded her with stores of all descriptions, implements, provisions, oxen, wether sheep, poultry, dogs, and, in short, every thing within my reach which could conduce to the comfort and success of the undertaking, I despatched the carts as before, to remove the families from the Retreat to the brig, leaving one man and his wife in charge of the Farm.
The weather being fine, the travellers suffered none of the inconveniences experienced upon the former journey.
On the 21st of February, 1826, the brig left Sydney Cove, crowded both above and between decks with various denominations of living creatures, destined to lay the foundation of an establishment, of the future results of which no mean expectations had been formed by us all.
(This party represents a significant addition to the white settlement in Port Stephens).
We were accompanied by an open launch of about twelve tons, which contained various articles that could not be stowed in the brig.
We sailed from the harbour with a gentle breeze and an unclouded sun.
Men, women, and children were seen dozing and sleeping, during the voyage, under an awning on the quarter-deck, few venturing to encounter the heat below.
The fruits of the season, such as peaches and oranges, were brought on board in profusion by the women and children, and although it was a scene of great confusion, still the feelings excited by change, and the thirst for novelty, (which was especially apparent in the minds of the women and the more juvenile adventurers, with reference to their new home,) served to keep up their spirits, and to render this short voyage much more agreeable than there had been reason to anticipate.
At twelve o’clock on the 23d of February, 1826, and in thirty hours after leaving Port Jackson, we cast anchor about a mile from the shore in the inner harbour of Port Stephens.
As soon as we appeared we were saluted with the firing of muskets by the party on shore, who came off to us as soon as practicable to congratulate their friends, and to inform them of the progress that had been made in providing for their accommodation on shore.
I should remark, that as we entered the outer harbour, we saw at a distance Mr. Dangar in the boat with Ben and the two men I had ordered up the river before I left Port Stephens. I felt great anxiety and alarm on seeing him alone with the men, fearing that some misfortune had occurred to the party.
The boat was soon alongside of us, when I was happy to learn that all the party were safe; but that the two natives who had accompanied them had become frightened at the idea of meeting strange natives, and had run away from them about the middle of their journey, and that two of the horses, which had become tired and unable to proceed, had been left in the forest about fifty miles off.
Mr. Harrington and the rest of the party he said were returning with their horses by land; and as we were gliding to an anchorage, we had a perspective view of his party and the pack-horses, on their return, descending a small eminence towards the tent which stood near the shore.
Almost at the same moment too the birth of a child was announced on board. These concurring incidents, together with the calm beauty of the scenery, heightened by the effects of a cloudless sun, and the anxious cares with which my mind was occupied, rendered my situation at that moment as full of excitement as could well be experienced.
(The birth of a child under these circumstances is quite remarkable but was not uncommon in pioneering Australia.)
Before we attempted to land any of the passengers, the cattle, six in number, were slung over the side of the ship, and towed ashore by the boat; and the sheep, dogs, and poultry, were sent to a small island separated from the main land by a channel about a quarter of a mile wide.
The charter-party gave me the right of detaining the brig for a certain period for the accommodation of the women and children, in case I should require it.
I was aware that complaints would be made, with apparent reason, if they were forced on shore and exposed to all the inconveniences of such a situation without any resource; and although I was pretty certain that not one of them would stay on board a moment longer than they could help, still I felt I could always answer any complaint, by referring them back to the brig for a time, if they were dissatisfied with the bark huts as they found them.
As I anticipated, none chose to stay on board; and as soon therefore as it could be arranged, they were all landed the same afternoon with their baggage, at a short distance from the spot where the huts had been constructed.
As soon as we had raised the frames of some of our intended habitations, we were sadly at a loss for bark to close the sides and cover the roofs with.
Ben and Tony being now the only natives present, they could not do all that was required; and the former, therefore, made an offer to go in search of the tribe and bring them to me, promising to return in two days with such a number as would soon finish all our huts.
This promise he faithfully kept by bringing, within the prescribed time, a dozen good-natured, able-bodied friends, who having received each a small hatchet, set to work in good earnest, and brought such a quantity of bark in two or three days as would have taken our party a month to procure.
(I can’t imagine that his action by the natives was performed out of economic necessity. Perhaps Dawson was someone skilled at getting the best out of others and rewarding satisfactory outcomes and achievements.)
Before a white man can strip the bark beyond his own height, he is obliged to cut down the tree ; but a native can go up the smooth and branchless stems of the tallest trees, to any height, by cutting notches in the surface large enough only to place the great toe in, upon which he supports himself, while he strips the bark quite round the tree, in lengths from three to six feet. These form temporary sides and coverings for huts of the best description.
In some cases I observed that the natives placed a forked stick slanting from the ground to the tree, (with the fork resting against the body of the tree,) eight or ten feet from the earth, while the other end was stuck in the ground.
Upon the forked part of the pole they mounted, and performed their work in less than half the time that a white man could have done it upon terra firma.
Australian bark hut - Photo by Voice Pictures
I observed too, that they used a stick called the hornerah, (which assists them in throwing the spear,) with which they peel the bark after having made the incision with their hatchets.
The edge of this instrument is thin and sharpish at the flat end, and well calculated for the work.
Having soon peeled all such trees in the immediate vicinity of the huts as afforded the kind of bark suitable for our purpose, the natives ascended the hills at the back of the huts, and were frequently seen descending in parties, with immense sheets of bark on their heads.
These pieces being very supple in their fresh state, frequently covered the bodies of those who carried them more than half way down to the hips.
Whatever difficulties I might have to encounter, in the first instance, from the wants, restless dispositions, and complaints of the white population, of almost every age and sex, whom I was about immediately to introduce to this now peaceful place, I felt no ordinary degree of pleasure and relief on experiencing such prompt and effective assistance from the natives ; and the more so as I had been warned, when at Sydney, against the savage and treacherous conduct of the tribes, who were said to be more ferocious and mischievous in this spot than in any other known part of the colony.
(Dawson obviously had the right approach and attitude and what a difference it made to Aboriginal and white settler relationships.)
Such a character of the natives led me, on our first acquaintance, to watch their dispositions and actions more closely than I should have done, and to make very particular enquiries amongst them as to the feelings which they entertained of the parties who had introduced themselves on cedar-cutting speculations up the several rivers and streams which discharge themselves into the harbour.
The accounts which they gave were disgusting and even terrible.
Several boys and women were shown to me whose fathers and husbands had been shot by these marauders for the most trifling causes: one, for instance, for losing a kangaroo dog, which had been lent him for the purpose of supplying the white savages with game.
(What a great line here … “white savages”).
It was reasonable to suppose that such conduct as this would prevent their further intercourse with the white people, and that they would seek revenge, either openly or otherwise, for such injuries; but the conduct which followed my treatment of the old man and his family, and the invitation of Tony, accepted by the blacks now about us, proved them to be naturally a harmless people, and desirous to seek rather than to shun the society of white persons, as soon as they saw a disposition to treat them with humanity.
The old man had evidently been favourably impressed with what he had experienced, for a few days only after Tony’s return with a party, several canoes with natives and their families were seen paddling across the water towards us, from the opposite side of an adjoining cove.
Amongst them were the old man and his two sons, who immediately came with smiling countenances to me and shook hands.
I made much of them by all the signs in my power, patting the old man on the shoulders in token of regard, while he nodded and simpered, uttering the word, “ees, ees, ees,” which I understood to mean yes, in a tone that indicated he felt soothed and gratified.
I presented every one of these fresh visitors with a tomahawk, and on their being given to understand that they must put aside their spears, they immediately took them to the spot where the rest of their friends had been encamped on the side of the shore, and placed them against a tree, with those of the others who were cutting and carrying bark.
At night I fed them with Indian corn and flour, both of which they were fond of; and I applauded them heartily as they danced around a blazing fire, according to their custom upon all joyful occasions.
On our journey we fell in with a wild, fierce-looking man, about the middle age, with two slender, interesting-looking youths, named Wancloman and Booramee, apparently about twelve years of age.
The old man was armed with a long spear ; his beard was short and bushy like his hair, and his body naked; while he had placed in his girdle of twisted oppossum fur, which he wore around his loins, an iron tomahawk and a large piece of half-roasted kangaroo flesh. (Could this have been the forerunner to Beef Jerky?)
The trio were wandering in search of the rest of their tribe, who had moved to the beach; and as Tony belonged to the same tribe, I requested him to invite the strangers to join us.
This was done in their own language, they being unable to speak a single word of English. The invitation was immediately accepted, and we proceeded together on our journey.
I was much pleased to find that every considerable brook and hill had a name; and as the old man was conversant with them all, I made memoranda of their names, shapes, and positions, to assist my recollection if I should hereafter examine the country more minutely, or be at any time lost in that quarter of the forest when alone.
(This observation is certainly solid evidence of Aboriginal ownership and possession of the land.)
After two days’ journey we arrived at the station where we had left the party, and found the schooner waiting for us.
In the evening my attention was drawn to the old native by one of our men, who had observed him while sitting at the fire, in the act of sharpening his spear.
“Look at that old man, sir,” said the white man : “do you think he means any good by that?”
I answered, that I had no idea he meant any harm. I however watched his movements, and observed that he scraped the point of his spear, which was at least about eight feet long, with a broken shell, and put it in the fire to harden.
Having done this, he drew the spear over the blaze of the fire repeatedly, and then placed it between his teeth, in which position he applied both his hands to straighten it, examining it afterwards with one eye closed, as a carpenter would do his planed work.
The dexterous and workmanlike manner in which he performed his task interested me exceedingly; while the savage appearance and attitude of his body, as he sat on the ground before a blazing fire in the forest, with a black youth seated on either side of him, watching attentively his proceedings, formed as fine a picture of savage life as can be conceived.
As soon as he had put his spear in order, he left the fire with the two boys, without saying a word or appearing to notice any one, and they immediately disappeared in the forest.
Kangaroo in the bush
Not being then aware that they could approach a kangaroo sufficiently near to kill it with a spear, I must confess I felt some anxiety to learn what they were about, and accordingly applied to Tony upon the subject, who informed me that they were gone to look for a kangaroo; and I was also for the first time informed by Tony’s gin, Louisa, that the old man was her father, and the two boys her brothers.
At twilight the old man returned alone, and informed Tony that he had speared a kangaroo, which was so heavy he could not bring it home, and requested that the white men might go and assist them.
Suspicion still attached to the old man, who they supposed might have formed a stratagem to decoy them into the forest and spear them.
A party, however, was soon formed, each with a loaded musket, and after proceeding about a mile, the old man led them to the spot where he had slain a kangaroo, of a size exceeding any thing which we had before seen. The animal was brought to the station, and served on the following day to supply the whole party with food.
(The exchange described here is a good indication of the delicate state of trust between Aboriginal people and white settlers.)
It was now arranged that Mr. Harrington, Mr. Dangar, and the Company’s surveyor, Mr. Armstrong, with a suitable party of men and two natives, should be supplied with stores for five or six weeks; that they should proceed to examine the distant country, while I determined to return with the vessel and the remainder of the party to the harbour, where my object was to fix upon a spot for the early settlement of the whole of the Company’s establishment, which I was exceedingly anxious to remove from the contaminating influence of the society in the neighbourhood of Retreat Farm.
As soon, therefore, as matters could be arranged we separated, when I returned to the harbour.
After several days of careful search and anxious reflection, I selected a spot, upon which we began to construct a number of small huts (made with poles and bark) for the reception of the families when they should arrive.
Tony had returned with us from the river; but the old man and his sons had left us to join their friends on the beach, whither they were going when we met them.
I desired Tony to tell him that I should be glad to see the whole tribe at Port Stephens: that I intended to remain there, and would protect them from the cedar-cutters, (who had a bad character amongst them), and take care that nobody should hurt them: that if they would sit down with me as my brothers, I would also be a brother to them, and would give them food and clothing, and lend them muskets to shoot kangaroos with.
At parting I supplied the old man and boys with bread and tobacco, and presented a tomahawk to each.
We thus separated, with every demonstration of kind feeling and confidence on both sides.
On the following morning I went on board the schooner, and ordered on shore a tomahawk and a suit of slop clothes, which I had promised to my friend Ben, and in which he was immediately dressed. They consisted of a short blue jacket, a checked shirt, and a pair of dark trousers. He strutted about in them with an air of good-natured importance, declaring that all the harbour and country adjoining belonged to him.
“I tumble down pickaninny here,” he said, meaning that he was born there. ” Belonging to me all about, massa; pose you tit down here, I gib it to you.” ” Very well,” I said: “I shall sit down here.” ” Budgeree,” (very good,) he replied, “I gib it to you;” and we shook hands in ratification of the friendly treaty.
Having understood that there was no land about the harbour calculated to form a settlement upon, our object was to proceed up the river, called by the natives “Karuah,” which discharges itself into the harbour on the opposite or northern side of it.
Karuah - Photo by Yewenyi
We were joined in the morning by a launch which Captain Allman, the commandant at Newcastle kindly sent to our assistance, and we determined to proceed the same afternoon up the river with the launch and a small boat, leaving the schooner to follow us. There were several natives at this time in the harbour, and as soon as they saw the vessels lying at anchor, some of them came paddling off in their little bark canoes from the opposite side (a distance of several miles) to visit us.
A native called Tony, who had previously made his acquaintance with the soldiers, was recommended to accompany us with Ben up the river, and having accepted of my proposals, we started after dinner, and proceeded across the harbour, (about six miles in that direction,) leaving several of our attendants behind to take care of the horses.
We encamped that evening on the banks of the river, about fourteen miles from Soldiers’ Point.
Having proceeded the next day as far as the river was navigable for the schooner, I fixed upon a spot which I thought would answer for a temporary settlement, and accordingly had the stores landed from the schooner and deposited under an officer’s tent, guarded by the mechanic, Dan Joy, who had received them in charge from the Company’s store in Sydney.
After several days’ examination of the country on foot, we returned to Soldiers’ Point, first leaving such a number of persons up the river as were necessary to protect themselves against any attack from the natives, should such an event occur.
(This shows that the relationship with indigenous Australians was somewhat tenatative.)
In crossing the harbour in the evening, on our way back, I was much struck with the beauty of the scenery on the north side, and could not help suspecting, from the appearance of the country, that I had been deceived in the representations given of it.
I therefore proposed to Mr. Harrington, to visit that side on the following morning. Accordingly, soon after daylight we left the Point, and landed near the spot which had attracted my attention the preceding evening.
We should have been at no loss here for an ample breakfast, even had we not provided ourselves with one, from the abundance of oysters that covered the rocks near which we landed.
We were now accompanied by the native Tony, who, after assisting to boil our kettle and fry our bacon, seasoned our repast with a supply of roasted oysters.
The water in the harbour this morning, under the influence of a bright sun, was glassy as the smoothest lake, and the whole range of scenery was rendered romantically beautiful by the softer shades of the more distant and thickly timbered hills which skirted the harbour, and by the several small islands which lay in the midst of the still clear waters.
The silence of this delightful spot was broken only by sounds which added to its interest, and which arose from the gentle splashings caused by the undulations of the tide against the rocks on which we sat, and the gay whistlings of the magpies in the open forest behind us.
After breakfast we set out to see as much of the country as we were able. We had not been out long before a beautiful bird, very like a pheasant in its plumage and tail, though not so beautiful, flew out of the long grass and perched itself upon a tree, when I immediately shot it.
(Not the best way to treat a beautiful bird!)
I understood afterwards that it was known in the colony as the swamp pheasant, which inhabits the shores near the sea, and which is extremely rare, disappearing always when the country becomes settled.
It appeared to subsist upon grasshoppers, for on opening its stomach it was found to be filled with them. Its flesh, when cooked, was tender, and resembled more the flavour of the woodcock than that of any other game.
Before we left this side of the harbour, I became convinced our stores ought to have been landed here, and at once determined to remove them hither, by recalling the schooner, which had by this time anchored in the outer harbour, on her return to Sydney.
After spending a pleasant day upon this very interesting excursion, we returned to Soldiers’ Point, recalled the schooner on the following morning, and sent her again up the river, where we appointed to meet her on a certain day.
The next duty was to convey our horses across the harbour to the shore immediately opposite, which we did with considerable difficulty, by the assistance of the government launch, and we then formed our encampment on that side, from which our whole party departed the next day, to join the schooner at the head of the navigable river.
During this journey we passed over about twenty miles of country, some parts of which were of a very inferior description, and others of better quality. The forest was every where open and grassy, and free from brushwood; but generally thickly timbered with tall trees, both in the vallies and on the tops of the highest hills.
The natives, Tony and Ben, accompanied us, and also two other natives: the first had his gin, (wife,) who carried her little boy, about twelve months old, astride on her shoulders, while the little black urchin fastened his fingers in her hair to prevent himself from falling. They were all three as naked as when they were born, and appeared to suffer no inconvenience from the want of covering, such is the luxurious nature of the climate.
The day was very fine: all our party were in good spirits, and as we travelled on the beach, I was highly amused with the good-natured chattering of our sable companion, the more so from his being the first I had an opportunity of freely conversing with.
After proceeding about twenty miles along the beach, we struck across the country, in the direction of a place called Soldiers’ Point, lying on the south side of the inner harbour of Port Stephens.
Coastline along Port Stephens - Photo by suburbanbloke
As soon as our native guide, whom I named Ben, had led us to a spring of water, we halted and took our dinner under the shade of some trees adjoining to it.
Some of our party on foot had by this time begun to feel the effects of a long walk over an unusually soft, sandy beach: the refreshment and relief, therefore, which this cool shady rest, and the meal of fried bacon and tea afforded, will I have no doubt be long remembered by them, as amongst the first of the agreeable impressions which occurred in this distant land.
(This BBQ-type meal on the beach at Soldier’s Point continues to this day as a great Australian tradition.)
It was the first repast of the kind which I had partaken of, and I shall always recollect it with pleasure.
Ben had also a feast of tea and biscuit, which was succeeded by the favourite pipe of tobacco, but the bacon was too fat and too salt for him to partake of it.
Not long after we had resumed our journey, a call or cooee was heard at a short distance from us in the forest. Ben was instantly alive to it, and observed to me, in a quick and animated manner: “You hear, Massa? Black pellow cooee.”
With this he bounded forward with his musket on his shoulder, to seek his friend, whose voice he well knew. In a few minutes they met, when I immediately saw Ben liberally bestowing his tobacco and pipe upon his friend, who was an elderly man, perfectly naked.
When I came up to them, Ben said: “Brodder belonging to me, massa: tit (sit) down here always.”
I was much amused at this meeting, and above all delighted at the prompt and generous manner in which this wild and untutored man conducted himself towards his wandering brother.
If they be savages, thought I, they are very civil ones; and with kind treatment we have not only nothing to fear, but a good deal to gain from them.
I felt an ardent desire to cultivate their acquaintance, and also much satisfaction from the idea that my situation would afford me ample opportunities and means for doing so.
(Dawson’s attitude to Aboriginal Australians is very positive and appropriate considering that the British had taken their land.)
Before we arrived at Soldiers’ Point darkness came on, and as the road over the rocks near the shore was both difficult and dangerous for our loaded pack-horses, Ben ran forward to the Point, and brought to our assistance the corporal and two soldiers of the 57th regiment, who were stationed with three others at that solitary spot, to intercept the runaway convicts, on their passage from the penal settlement of Port Macquarie to Newcastle and Sydney.
“Welcome to you, gentlemen,” was the salute of the corporal as he approached us; and welcome too was the corporal, for we should have found it difficult to reach the station in the dark with the pack-horses without his assistance.
We received from him the intelligence that the schooner had arrived in the harbour several days before, and was lying at anchor opposite their hut. In a short time we arrived at the Point by the assistance of Ben and the soldiers. We pitched our tents on a convevient spot near the shore, and tethered our horses around us in the midst of grass which reached nearly to their knees.
On the 1st of January, 1826, I left Sydney, in company with Mr. Harrington, the committee’s secretary; Mr. Armstrong, the Company’s surveyor; and Mr. Dangar, a government assistant surveyor, for the purpose of examining the country in the neighbourhood of Port Stephens, which is situated on the coast, about a hundred and ten miles north of the town of Sydney, by water, and about two hundred miles by land.
We took our passage in the cutter which sailed every week from Sydney to Newcastle, at which latter place we landed, and waited several days, in expectation of meeting some of the Company’s servants, whom I had despatched overland from Retreat Farm, with the horses necessary for our journey.
As the harbour at Port Stephens had been represented to me by Mr. Oxly, the surveyor-general, as a safe and capacious one, and the country about it as likely to furnish sufficient land for the Company’s purposes, I despatched several servants from Sydney, in a small schooner laden with provisions, stores, and tents, with orders to wait in the harbour at Port Stephens, until we should arrive there with the overland party.
Having had a very short passage from Sydney, and finding nothing to interest me at Newcastle, beyond a few hours, I accompanied Mr. Dangar about thirty miles up the River Hunter, and remained for two days with Mr. Macleod of Luskintyre.
(As subsequent events have shown Newcastle does have a lot to offer.)
In my ride backwards and forwards to this place I saw a good deal of the country, and something of the habits of the wild natives, several of whom we saw perfectly naked, on one of their hunting expeditions, crossing our track, and in the act of forming themselves in a circle round their kangaroo game.
They were acquainted with Mr. Dangar, whose duties as a surveyor had led him to pass much of his time in the Bush or Forest. Some civilities passed between them when we separated in pursuit of our respective businesses.
On the day after our return, our land party joined us nearly about the time we had calculated upon.
They pitched their tent and tethered their horses on a plot of grass in the town nearly opposite the inn where we were quartered, and after waiting a day to recruit, we swam the horses across the mouth of the River Hunter, to what is called the North Shore.
Our servants encamped there for the night, and early on the following morning we joined them, to proceed by the beach to Port Stephens, when I had a specimen, for the first time, of the nature and dexterity of the thieves who were ordered by the commandant to row us across the river.
(“Nature and dexterity” are not terms normally assigned to thieves today!)
On taking our baggage from the boat, we missed some articles belonging to my personal luggage; and although the convicts who put us across were constantly employed at their oars, and continually under our eyes, they managed to purloin the articles, and to elude detection.
At Newcastle, and in the immediate vicinity, I found a large number of natives, with many of whom I endeavoured to make acquaintance; and the evening before I left the place, I agreed with two of them to conduct us by the nearest route, to that part of the harbour of Port Stephens where we had appointed to meet the schooner.
(It is certainly appropriate to ask how long the First Australians had lived in Port Stephens prior to white settlement.)
One of them passed over with the party the same evening, not intending to remain there; but the pilot, who then knew them better than I did, suggested that it would be better to keep him while he was there, for otherwise he would probably not be forthcoming when required early in the morning, and he was therefore left with the party.
Modern day Port Stephens is a popular tourist destination - Photo by Meaden
In the morning it was exactly as the pilot had foretold; the other native was nowhere to be found. He had received a good supply of tobacco as an earnest the night before, and with this he was better satisfied than to accompany us to Port Stephens, which we found to be no less than between thirty and forty miles by the route which we travelled.
The black man therefore whom we had thus caught, was our only guide, and it was with much reluctance that he consented to act in that capacity alone; but after travelling a few miles he became reconciled, and elated with the thought of the clothes and good cheer I had promised him when we should arrive: he was still further gratified in being allowed to carry a musket.
He informed me that he had only been upon a visit to Newcastle, and that he belonged to the south side of the harbour of Port Stephens; (in fact, the very place to which we were going;) but that he had left Nanny, his gin, (wife) behind him.
It was therefore settled that he should return for her whenever he pleased, as soon as he had conducted us; that she was to have a gown and cap etc and that both of them were to come and live with me always.