 |
| View of Frederick Town, King Georges Sound, at the expiration of the first year of its settlement Feby. 7th 1828 / N.D. and I.S.N. |
BY GEORGE FLETCHER MOORE, ESQ.
Written in September 1843.
1839.
January. — Sir James Stirling, having taken leave of the Council on the previous day, left Perth on the first day of this year, and proceeded to Fremantle, when it singularly happened that the ship Brothers arrived on the next day from England, having his Excellency Governor Hutt on board.
On the 3rd his Excellency Governor Hutt was publicly proclaimed as Governor and Commander-in-chief, &c.
Four non-official members were added to the Legislative Council; these members had been nominated by Sir James Stirling, and appointed by the Crown.
Much discussion relative to the policy of levying fines or resumption of lands for the non-fulfilment of location duties.
February. — Site and plan of the new church determined upon.
Lieut. Grey and a party of ten individuals sail for Shark's Bay, to make an exploring expedition in that vicinity.
March. — First meeting of the new Legislative Council.
Natives detected in the act of driving away sheep from a flock near York.
April. — Three natives convicted at the Sessions of larceny.
Tenders to supply the Commissariat with flour at 4½d., and fresh meat at 1s. 1d. per lb. First public clock in the colony set up on the Government Offices in Perth.
Return of Lieut. Grey and his exploring party by land from Gantheaume Bay, where his boats were wrecked in an attempt to beach them. Some of the party did not reach Perth (a distance of only about 300 miles) till the 50th day after the wreck, when they were brought in by a party headed by the Hon. the Surveyor-General, Mr. Roe; and one young gentleman died on the way from inanition and exhaustion on or about the 45 day.
May. — Despatch received from the Secretary of State directing the price of Crown lands to be raised to 12s. an acre.
15,000 acres of land sold in different parts of the colony at 2s. 6d. an acre by private individuals.
Barbarous murder of a woman and her infant child, and the house burned over their bodies by natives in the district of York.
June. — Tenth anniversary of the founding of the colony celebrated in Perth by races, games, and balls.
Prospects of the colony generally cheering and gratifying.
Lambing season very favourable.
Fruit-trees which had been introduced from India and elsewhere appear to thrive well, and give promise of abundant valuable fruits.
Further depredations committed by the natives in several districts, and ineffectual attempts made to apprehend the offenders. A proclamation published in the native language, as well as in English, calling upon all persons to aid in apprehending those concerned in the murder near York.
First meeting of the inhabitants of Perth to propose an assessment for the improvement of the town.
Sheep sold by auction at the price of £6 9s. for a ewe and lamb.
July. — A native tried and convicted of the murder of a native child which had been left by its mother under the protection of white people.
Seven natives were tried and convicted of various offences at the same session.
Some sheep driven away by the natives from a farm near Guildford.
First theatrical representation by an amateur company.
Some cashmere goats introduced into the colony.
A shepherd boy murdered, and a number of sleep driven off, by the natives of the Canning River district.
First steam-mill commenced working.
Site of the new church finally settled, after much discussion.
Natives employed in clearing ground in Perth at 1s. 6d. a day.
August. — A party of native prisoners detected in the act of escaping in a boat from Rottnest.
A number of whales killed near Fremantle during this and the foregoing months.
September. — Progress of the new church delayed, on account of the exorbitant price demanded for stone, 8s. 6d. a yard being the lowest price tendered.
An allotment in Perth partly cultivated as a garden sold for £400.
Vocabulary of the native language published.
Encounter between two parties of natives in the streets of Perth.
The barque Lancier ran on the rocks between the Stragglers and the Mewstone, and the schooner Elizabeth was wrecked on the North beach in a gale.
October. — Much interest excited by a proposed measure of levying a tax upon land for the maintenance of a police force. The measure was subsequently withdrawn by the Governor.
November. — A flock of sheep first driven overland from King George's Sound to the York district.
Tenders for 1,000 bushels of wheat accepted at an average price of 11s. 8d. a bushel.
The season's drop of lambs is estimated to have averaged nearly 90 per cent.
Tenders for a supply of stone for the erection of the church at Perth are again considered exorbitant, and refused on that account, and the building further deferred.
December. — Further tenders for wheat at 11s.
2d. a bushel accepted by the Commissariat, and for fresh meat at 1s. 2d. per lb.
Eighth annual report of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society, from which it appears that the quantity of stock and crop is steadily and regularly increasing.
A visible improvement has taken place in the circumstances of the settlers — the colony free from any serious affliction, and blessed with a rich harvest and plentiful increase in flocks and herds.
The number of acres under crop . . 2,726
Number of sheep ... 21,038
Horned cattle .... 1,308
Horses .... 367
Swine .... 1,235
Asses ..... 19
The colonial revenue was but £3,912 5s. 10d.
The colonial expenditure £5,356 19s. 3d.
Parliamentary civil services £7,008 12s. 10d.
Commissariat military services £13,199 14s. 2d.
The number of colonists was 2,154.
1840.
January. — The Shepherd sailed direct for London, laden entirely with colonial produce, her cargo being wool and oil.
Great efforts made, and various plans proposed, for the introduction of labourers, for want of which the operations of the colony are greatly retarded.
The Abrolhos islands, and the opposite coast of the main land, touched at by the colonial schooner Champion. Champion Bay discovered.
February. — Second visit of H.M.S. Beagle, surveying ship, which had discovered the Victoria and Adelaide rivers, on the north coast of Australia.
About this time two gentlemen were sent out by the British Government to this colony, whose attentions were to be specially devoted to the systematic care, superintendence, and gradual improvement of the Aboriginal race — a liberal measure which has certainly been followed by good results to the settlers as well as to the natives.
March.— Imported stock from Launceston sold for— cows, 21£; heifers, 15£; sheep, 42s.; horses 50£ to 60£; mares, 70£, to 105£.
Depredations committed by natives near Guildford.
Preposition discussed for procuring artisans and labourers from India.
April. — Several natives steadily continue in daily employment in clearing ground in the town of Perth.
Imported stock to the amount of 18,000£ purchased in this and the two previous months.
May. — Serious injury felt from the destruction of wheat by a sort of moth on several farms in the colony.
Gratifying state of the colony announced in the Governor's address to the Legislative Council — great increase in the revenue of the year, but a large proportion of the increase arose from temporary sources, which are not likely to be available again.
Barbarous attack made at night by a party of Murray River natives upon a party of natives sleeping at their fires in Perth; 6 men were severely wounded — one died in a few days.
Several useful buildings and beacons constructed with the aid of the native prisoners on Rottnest Island.
Several petitions presented to the Council on the subject of the deficiency of religious instruction in the colony.
Remonstrance presented by the Agricultural Society to the Governor against the policy which he had adopted with reference to the improvement of lands, &c.
White boy murdered by the natives at Leschenault.
June. — Eleventh anniversary of the foundation of the colony was celebrated by games, horse-races, boat-races, and by a ball.
Capture of one of the murderers of the woman and child near York.
Detachment of the 216t Regt. relieved by a detachment of the 51st.
July. — Two natives were tried at the sessions and convicted of the murder of Mrs. Cook and her infant, and sentenced to be hung on the spot of the murder, which sentence was shortly afterwards carried into execution. Since that time there has scarcely been an outrage of any sort committed in all the York district, and very few in any part of the colony.
A Missionary arrives in the colony, sent by the Wesleyan Missionary Society.
August. — First publication of the Inquirer, a Western Australian journal of politics and literature.
Specimens of iron extracted from the ironstone of the colony, which is said to yield a produce of 55 per cent.
Several natives appointed to act as constables in the town of Perth.
First school for the instruction of native children established in Perth by the exertions of the Wesleyan Minister.
September.— Foundation-stone of a Wesleyan Chapel at Fremantle laid by the Governor.
Price of sawn timber raised to 25s. per hundred feet, and firewood 16s. a cord in Perth.
Great discussions as to the proposition of establishing a branch of the Australasian Bank in Perth.
Tenders to supply fresh meat at 10¼d. a lb.
October. — Serviceable beacons placed at Rottnest by the kind assistance of the officers of H.M.S Beagle.
Grafifying progress of the native children at the school.
Death of a native prisoner at Rottnest, attributed to the eating of a poisonous fish.
November. — First pile driven of the bridge across the flats above Perth.
2,700 acres on the Swan River sold for 1,100£, and 1,280 acres at Northam for 250£, at a public sale by the Sheriff.
December. — A church opened for service on the grant of the Colonial Church Society near Guildford.
First vessel chartered by the Australind Company arrives at Leschenault.
Tenders for 2,000 bushels of wheat accepted by the Commissariat at an average of 11s. 7d. a bushel, and for grinding the same 2s. 5d. a bushel.
Some natives bring in a sextant which had been left in the bush by Lieut. Grey's party nearly two years ago.
Experiments made with the plant Burtonia which is supposed to be poisonous.
In this year the numbers of the colonists had not very materially increased being estimated only at 2354, but it is supposed that the returns are not quite correct. In every other respect the progress of the colony was highly satisfactory.
The number of acres under cultivation was ..... 3,298
Number of Sheep ..... 30,161
Goats ....... 4,604
Horned cattle ...... 2,318
Horses ........... 500
Swine ............ 1,595
Asses ........ 16
The colonial revenue owing to some temporary causes amounted to........£9,370 9 0
Colonial expenditure ...... 5,720 13 8
Parliamentary civil services 5,373 11 5
Commissariat civil services. . 11,440 12 5
108 vessels had touched at the different ports of the settlements.
There are 7 vessels belonging to the colony, having an aggregate amount of 560 tons.
522 grants, comprising 1,413,119 acres, are in the hands of colnonists, and 1,207 town allotments.
Estimated property annually created, £202,723; movable property, £263,243; immovable property, £848,715 10s.; being a total of £1,314,081 10s.
1841.
January. — First stone of the new church laid in Perth.
Offer on the part of Government to commute location duties on unimproved lands held under circulars B and C by payment of the respective sums of ninepence and one shilling and sixpence per acre.
Upset price of 100-acre allotments on the Preston River advanced from 10 shillings to 15 shillings per acre.
February. — The Commissariat treasury-office broken into, and a chest containing money stolen therefrom. The chest, with its contents, was recovered. An individual was tried for the robbery, but acquitted.
Much discussion as to claims for land under circulars B and C.
First report of the York Branch of the Agricultural Society.
A memorial from proprietors of land in the York district calling for some legislative enactment for the establishment of their boundary lines.
March. — Issuing of tenders for the erection of a church on the Murray.
Requisition from a number of settlers for the use of the colonial schooner to be sent to India for labourers.
Extensive tracts of fine pastoral land examined between the Foodyay and the Moore River.
Intimation of an intended change of the settlement of Australind from Port Leschenault to Port Grey.
Land-tax of three-pence per acre recommended by the Land and Emigration Commissioners.
Townsite of Bunbury opened for selection; upset price of allotments, £25.
Notification that remission certificates would be issued and received only at the rate of 1s. 6d. per acre, without regard to the existing price of land.
April. — Memorial against the land-tax proposed by the Land and Emigration Commissioners.
Land-tax bill for one half-penny an acre introduced into the Legislative Council, and discussed and rejected.
Proposition to transfer the business of the Western Australian Bank to the Bank of Australasia carried by a majority of six votes.
Weekly mail established to and from Guildford and York, and a monthly mail overland to King George's Sound.
May. — Bank of Australasia opened; rate of discount reduced to 10 per cent.
Prospectus for a Western Australian Joint Stock Bank issued.
Tenders to erect a church at King George's Sound for the sum of £675.
Notice from the Local Government that with respect to lands upon which no location duties have been done, three-fourths will be resumed, and a title, given to the remainder; and that lands held under expired licenses of occupation would be considered as having reverted to the Crown, unless a schedule of improvements were sent in within three months from the date of the notice.
Report of a committee appointed by the Agricultural Society, that a certain plant (allied to the genus Dillwinia) is of a poisonous nature.
Completion of a road between the Murray River and Leschenault.
June. — Notification that the minimum price of Crown land is raised to £1 per acre.
Several important changes made in the regulations for the disposal of Crown lands. Minimum quantity of land to be disposed of fixed at 160 acres, with a right of commonage over 10 miles.
Tenders for fresh meat at 1s. 3d. per 1b. rejected; fresh tenders at 10d. accepted.
Commencement of operations of Western Australian Joint-Stock Bank.
Premiums offered for employing natives in farm-service or otherwise, or teaching them any trade or calling.
July. — The James Matthews driven ashore at Woodman's Point in a heavy gale.
Mr. Eyre, after having suffered many privations and perils on the journey, succeeded in the bold attempt of making his way overland from Fowler's Bay to King George's Sound, accompanied by Wyli, a native lad of the last-named district, who remained faithful to him when he was deserted by two natives of South Australia, who murdered his servant and plundered his provisions.
The River Avon runs throughout its whole length from the Dale to the Swan.
August. — Accounts received of a heavy fall of snow on Gordon River.
Discussion in Legislative Council as to the privileges of its members.
Temperance Society revived.
September. — Three jetties projected and commenced in the town of Perth; one by the Town Trust, one by a public company, and one by a private individual.
October. — Price of allotments on the south side of Princess Royal Harbour, and on the Preston, advanced to 30s. per acre.
Arrival of the Ganges, with 100 labourers and servants engaged by private individuals.
Execution of "Mendik," an aboriginal native, for the murder of a white boy on the Canning.
November. — Union of the two Agricultural Societies.
Projected company to run steam-boats on the Swan; capital £9,000, in 600 shares of £10 each.
December. — H.M.S. Beagle sailed to examine the harbour which had been called Port Grey, and to explore the coast opposite Moresby's Flat-topped Range, when it was found that the harbour must be Champion Bay, and that the land on the coast in that immediate vicinity is arid and valueless.
Further reduction in the price of fresh meat; Commissariat tenders accepted at Sid. per lb.
The total number of acres under crop for this year was 3,328 ; that is to say —
Wheat ..... 1,899
Barley ..... 335
Oats ..... 130
Rye ..... 33
Hay ..... 706
Gardens ..... 223
Amount of Stock.
Horses ..... 858
Horned cattle ..... 2,917
Sheep ..... 44,551
Goats ..... 5,547
Swine ..... 8,161
The number of ships arriving during the year was 97.
The population was estimated as only 2,760.
The fixed colonial revenue £7,666 6 6
Incidental do 3,980 5 4
Making in all from colonial resources £11,646 11 10
From parliamentary grant 6,819 11 4
Total £18,466 3 2
The expenditure was £17,919 9 10
1842.
January. — Question raised as to the right to try natives by our laws for crimes committed against one another, and ruled in the affirmative.
Tenders issued for conveyance of the mails throughout the colony, on a more extensive plan.
February. — A conference of the clergy of the colony, and a letter sent to the Bishop of the Diocese as to the affairs of the Church.
New route traversed from King George's Sound to the Vasse. Much good land seen; but the road is not favourable for the passage of carts.
New regulations for the conveyance of mails, by which the number of mails is increased, and the cost decreased.
First appeal made to the Council chamber; the judgement of the Court below was confirmed.
March. — Sixteen allotments of 50 acres each in the reserve of the townsite of York opened for selection, and purchased at a fixed price of 30s. an acre, at which price they were all purchased.
Subject of a protective duty upon foreign grain and flour much discussed.
Foundation-stone of an episcopal church at Fremantle laid by His Excellency the Governor.
April. — The Diadem arrives at Koombans Bay with 170 passengers for the Australind settlement.
Meeting of the General Road Trust on the subject of a causeway over the Flats, when it was resolved that plans and specifications should be called for.
First appropriation of allotments in the town of Australind.
Public meeting for the purpose of agreeing to congratulatory addresses on the occasion of the birth of the Prince of Wales.
Town of Perth much improved by a more extensive construction of footpaths.
May. — Ship Transit wrecked off the north end of Rottnest.
Further report of the committee of the Agricultural Society, from which it appears that the poisonous plant is only fatal at certain seasons of the year.
The Mill-street Jetty opened to the public.
Western Australian Society established, for the purpose of diffusing more general information with respect to this colony.
June. — Fourteenth anniversary of the foundation of the colony.
New episcopal church at Mandurah opened for service.
Society established for the promotion of the cultivation of the Vine, and the plantation of vineyards.
Tenders to supply the Commissariat with fresh meat at 7 ¾ d. per lb.
Discussions in Legislative Council on the subject of appropriation of the labour-fund — of a protective duty on corn — on the unauthorised occupation of Crown lands — and on the imposition of an import duty.
July. — Regulations by which parties were permitted to impound for non-performance of location duties by payment of a fine, and also to purchase allotment of 160 acres with right of commonage, disallowed by the Home Government.
August. — Amival of the Simon Taylor from London with 219 emigrants, sent by the Commissioners of Land and Emigration. This was the first body of emigrants ever introduced into this colony otherwise than by the exertions of private individuals.
September. — Opening of the new episcopal church at Picton.
Guardian of Juvenile Emigrants appointed.
Examination of witnesses before the Legislative Council on the subject of the disposal of Crown lands.
Tenders to supply fresh meat to the Commissariat at 6d. per lb.
Extensive tract of grassy country traversed to the north of Moore River.
Address on the subject of the corn-law brought into the Legislative Council — discussed and rejected.
First annual report of the Registrar of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, which places the salubrity of the climate and the general health of the colony in a very favourable light.
October. — Trustees of Church Property publish a statement of their accounts with regard to the erection of St. George's Church in Perth, by which it appears that a large sum over and above the amount of subscriptions collected will be required for the completion of the work.
November. — Scale of tolls to be levied at the Town Trust Jetty established.
New line of road opened and cleared between Australind and Fremantle.
Sawyers and others prohibited from felling timber on Crown lands without a license.
December. — Arrival of the Trusty at Australind with 173 cabin passengers and emigrants.
Tenders for supply of fresh meat to the Commissariat at 6d. per lb.
Experiment made of exporting wethers by the Trusty to the Isle of France.
Public meeting of the inhabitants of the colony for the purpose of ascertaining the sense of the community at large on the subject of the disposal of Crown lands, at which petitions to Her Majesty and both Houses of Parliament were agreed to, praying that land in Western Australia might be sold at a fixed sum of 5s. an acre, instead of being put up to auction at the upset price of 20s., which is considered as a prohibitory amount.
The number of ships which had arrived at the different ports of the colony during the year was 151.
The fixed colonial revenue amounted to £7,659 13 8
The casual do ..... 1,410 8 1
Total ..... £9,070 1 9
Salaries, &c, from parliamentary grant .... 7,961 12 11
Total ..... £17,031 14 8
The number of acres under crop was as follows: —
Wheat ..... 2,039 ½
Barley ..... 444
Oats ..... 129
Rye ..... 71 ¼
Potatoes ..... 58 ¾
Turnips ..... 12 ¾
Beans and pulse ..... 7 ½
Maize ..... 4 ¼
Vines and gardens ..... 280
Total acres under crop. . . . 3,047
The number of Stock,
Horses ..... 1,069
Horned cattle ..... 4,122
Sheep ..... 60,380
Goats ..... 5,613
Swine ..... 1,713
The amount of population ..... 3,649
Source:
- Brief Chronicle of the Principal Events Which Have Occurred, Connected With the Colony of Western Australia (1843, October 18). Inquirer (Perth, WA : 1840 - 1855), p. 5.
- Brief Chronicle of the Principal Events Which Have Occurred, Connected With the Colony of Western Australia (1843, November 15). Inquirer (Perth, WA : 1840 - 1855), p. 5.
- View of Frederick Town, King Georges Sound, at the expiration of the first year of its settlement, Feby 7th 1828 / N.D. and I.S.N. (Attributed to Isaac Scott Nind. Nind wrote 'The general appearance of the country, although of a barren nature, is very picturesque. The hills behind the settlement are studded and capped by immense blocks of granite, and are strewed with a profusion of beautiful shrubs, among which the splendid Banksiae grow to a large size, and the Kingia and Xanthorrhoea or grass-tree are abundant'."); Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
No comments