section one of the book of the bush this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Magdalena Cook the book of the bush by George Dunderdale section one purging out the old leaven part one while the world was young nations could be founded peaceably there was plenty of unoccupied country and when two neighbouring patriarchs found their flocks were becoming too numerous for the pasture one said to the other let there be no quarrel I pray between thee and me the whole earth is between us and the land is watered as the garden of paradise if thou wilt go to the east I will go to the west or if thou wilt go to the west I will go to the east so they parted in peace but when the human flood covered the whole earth the surplus population was disposed by war famine or pestilence death is the effectual remedy for overpopulation heroes arose who had no conscientious scruples they skin their natives alive or crucified them they were then adored as demigods and placed among the stars Pius Aeneas was the pattern of a good immigrant in the early times but with all his piety he did some things that ought to have made his favouring diet his blush if possible America when discovered for the last of many times was assigned by the Pope to the Spaniards and Portuguese the natives were not consulted but they were not exterminated their descendants occupy the land to the present day England claimed a share in the new continent and it was parceled out to merchant adventurers by royal charter the adventures of these merchants for various but they held on to the land new England was given to the Puritans by no earthly potentate that title came direct from heaven increase mother said the Lord God has given us for a rightful possession the land of the heathen people amongst whom we dwell and where are the heathen people now Australia was not given to us either by the Pope or by the Lord we took this land as we have taken many other lands for our own benefit without asking leave of either heaven or earth a continent with its adjacent islands was practically vacant inhabited only by the unearthly animal the kangaroo and by black savages who had not even invented the bow and arrow never built a hut or cultivated a yard of land such people could show no valid claim to land or life so we confiscated both the British islands were infested with criminals from the earliest times our ancestors were all pirates and we have inherited from them a lurking taint in our blood which is continually impelling us to steal something or kill somebody how to get rid of this tank was a problem which our statesmen found it difficult to solve in times of war they mitigated the evil by filling the ranks of our armies from the jails and manning our navies by the help of the press gang but in times of peace the scum of society was always increasing at last a great idea arose in the mind of England little was known of New Holland except that it was large enough to harbour all the criminals of Great Britain and the rest of the population if necessary why not transport all convicts separate the shaft from the wheat and purge out all the old leaven by expelling all the wicked England would become the model of virtue to all nations so the system was established old ships were chartered and filled with the contents of the jails if the ships were not quite seaworthy it did not matter much the voyage was sure to be a success the passengers might never reach land but in any case they would never return on the vessels conveying male convicts some soldiers and officers were embarked to keep order and put down mutiny order was kept with a lash and mutiny was put down with the musket on the ships conveying women there were no soldiers but an extra half crew was engaged these men were called shilling a month men because they had agreed to work for one shilling a month for the privilege of being allowed to remain in Sydney if the voyage lasted 12 months they would thus have the sum of 12 shillings with which to commence making their fortunes in the southern hemisphere but the shilling a month man as a matter of fact was not worth one cent the day after he landed and he had to begin life once more barefoot like a newborn babe the seamen's food on board these transports was bad and scanty consisting of live biscuits salt horse Yankee pork and scotch coffee the scotch coffee was made by steeping burnt biscuit in boiling water to make it strong the convicts breakfast consisted of oatmeal porridge and the hungry semen used to crowd around the galley every morning to steal some of it it would be impossible for a nation ever to become virtuous and rich if its semen and convicts were reared in luxury and encouraged in habits of extravagance when the transport cast anchor in the beautiful harbor of Port Jackson the ship's blacksmith was called out of his bunk at midnight it was his duty to rivet chains on the legs of the second sentence men the twice convicted they had been told on the voyage that they would have an Ireland all to themselves where they would not be annoyed by the contemptuous looks and bitter jibes of better men all night long the blacksmith plight his hammer and made the ship resound with the rattling chains and ringing manacles as he fastened them well on the legs of the prisoners at dawn of day chain together in pairs they were landed on goat island that was the bright little aisle their promised land every morning they were taken over in boats to the town of Sydney where they had to work as scavengers and roadmakers until four o'clock in the afternoon they turned out their toes and shuffled their feet along the ground dragging their chains after them the police could always identify a man who had been a chain gang prisoner during the rest of his life by the way he dragged his feet after him in their leisure hours these convicts were allowed to make cabbage tree hats they sold them for about a shelling each and the shopkeepers resold them for a dollar they were the best hats ever worn in the sunny south and were nearly indestructible one hat would last a lifetime but for that reason they were bad for trade and became unfashionable the rest of the transported were assigned as servants to those willing to give them food and clothing without wages the free men with us and able to grow rich by the labours of the bond men vice was punished and virtue rewarded until all the passengers had been disposed off sentinels were posted on the deck of the transport with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to escape but when all the convicts were gone Jack was sorely tempted to follow the shilling a month men he quietly slipped assured hurried off to Botany Bay and lived in retirement until his sheep had left Port Jackson he then returned to Sydney penniless and barefoot and began to look for a birth at the rum punch and warf he found a shilling a month man already installed as a cook on a colonial schooner he was invited to breakfast and was astonished and delighted with the luxuries lavished on the colonial semen he had fresh beef fresh bread good biscuit tea coffee and vegetables and three pounds a month wages there was a vacancy on the schooner for an able semen and Jack filled it he then registered a solemn oath that he would never go back to England no more and kept it some kind of government was necessary and as the first inhabitants were criminals the colony was ruled like a jail the governor being head jailer his officers were mostly men who had been trained in the army and Navy they were all poor and needy for no gentlemen of wealth and position would ever have taken office in such a community they came to make a living and when free immigrants arrived and trade began to flourish it was found that the one really valuable commodity was rum and by rum the officers grew rich in course of time the country was divided into districts about 30 or 35 in number over each of which an officer presided as police magistrate with a clerk and staff of constables one of whom was official flogger always a convict promoted to the bill it from merit and good behavior new Holland soon became an organized pandemonium such as the world had never known since Sodom and Gomorrah disappeared in the Dead Sea and the details of its history cannot be written to mitigate its horrors the worst of the criminals were transported to Norfolk Island the governor they had not the power to inflict capital punishment and the convicts began to murder one another in order to obtain a brief change of misery and the pleasure of a sea voyage before they could be tried and hanged in Sydney a branch pandemonium was also established in Van Demen's land this system was upheld by England for about 50 years the Britannia a convict ship the property of Mr's Enderby and Sons arrived at Sydney on October 14th 1791 and reported that vast numbers of sperm whales were seen after doubling the Southwest Cape of Van Demen's land whaling vessels were fitted out in Sydney and it was found that money could be made by oil and whalebone as well as by rum sealing was also pursued in small vessels which were often lost and sealers lie buried in all the islands of the Southern seas many of them having a story to tell but no storyteller whalers runaway semen shilling a month men and escape convicts were the earliest settlers in New Zealand and were the first to make peaceful intercourse with the Maoris possible they built themselves houses with wooden frames covered with reeds and rushes learn to converse in the native language and became family men they were most of them English and Americans with a few Frenchmen they loved freedom and preferred Maori customs and the risk of being eaten to the odious supervision of the English government the individual white men in those days were always welcome especially if you brought with him guns ammunition Tomahawks and hoes it was by these articles that he first won the respect and admiration of the native if the visitor was a peke hard to tour a poor European he might receive hospitality for a time in the hope that some profit might be made out of him but the Maori was the poor man also with a great appetite and when it became evident that the guest was no better than a pauper and could not otherwise pay for his board the Maori sat on the ground meditating and watching until his teeth watered and at last he attached the body and baked it in 1814 the church missionary society sent laborers to the distant vineyard to introduce Christianity and to instruct the natives in the rights of property the first native protector of Christianity and letters was Hongi Heker a great warrior of the Napawee nation in the North Island he was born in 1777 and voyaging to Sydney in 1814 he became the guest of the Reverend Mr. Maston in 1819 the Reverend gentlemen bought his settlement at Kerry Kerry from Hongi Heker the price being 48 axes the area of the settlement was 13,000 acres the land was excellent well watered in a fine situation and near a good harbour Hongi next went to England with the Reverend Mr. Kendall to see King George who was at that time in matrimonial trouble Hongi was surprised to hear that the king had to ask permission of anyone to dispose of his wife Caroline he said he had five wives at home and he could clear off the whole of them if he liked without troubling anybody he received valuable presence in London which you brought back to Sydney and sold for 300 muskets and ammunition the year 1822 was the most glorious time of his life he raced an army of 1000 men 300 of whom had been taught the use of his muskets the neighbouring tribes had no guns he went up the Tamar and the Tatara slew 500 men and bait and ate 300 of them on the wafer he killed 1400 warriors out of a garrison of 4000 and then returned home with crowds of slaves the other tribes began to buy guns from the traders as fast as they were able to pay for them with flags and in 1827 at Wangaroa a bullet went through Hongi's lungs leaving a hole in his back through which he used to whistle to entertain his friends but he died off the wound 15 months afterwards other men both clerical and lay followed the lead of the Reverend Mr. Marston in 1821 Mr. Fairband bought 400 acres for 10 pounds worth of trade Baron de Fiery bought 40,000 acres on the Hockiunga River for 36 axes from 1825 to 1829 1 million acres were bought by settlers and merchants 25,000 acres were bought at the Bay of Islands and Hockiunga in five years 17,000 of which belong to the missionaries in 1835 the Reverend Henry Williams made a bold offer for the unsolved country he forwarded a deed of trust to the governor of New South Wales requesting that the missionaries should be appointed trustees for the natives for the remainder of their lands to preserve them from the intrigues of designing men before the year 1839 20 millions of acres had been purchased by the clergy and the lady for a few guns axes and other trifles and the Maoris were fast wasting their inheritance but the titles were often imperfect when a man had bought a few hundred of acres for six axes and a gun and had paid the price agreed on to the owner another owner would come and claim the land because his grandfather had been killed on it he sat down before the settlers house and waited for payment and whether he got any or not he came at regular intervals during the rest of his life and sat down before the door with his spare and Mia by his side waiting for more purchase money footnote a Mia is axe made of greenstone end of footnote some honest people in England heard of the good things to be had in New Zealand form the company and landed near the mouth of the Hikyunga River to form a settlement the natives happened to be at war and we're performing a war dance the new company looked on while the natives danced and then all desire for land in New Zealand faded from their hearts they returned on board their ship and sailed away having wasted 20,000 pounds such people should remain in their native country your true rover lay or clerical comes with something or other and stays to get it or dies after 20 years of labor and an expenditure of 200,000 pounds the missionaries claimed only 2000 converts and these were Christians merely in name in 1825 the Reverend Henry Williams said the natives were as insensible to redemption as brutes and in 1829 the Methodist in England contemplated withdrawing their establishment for want of success the Catholic Bishop Pompalia with two priests landed at Hikyunga on January 10th 1838 and took up his residence at the house of an Irish Catholic named Pointon who was engaged in the timber trade Pointon was a truly religious man who had been living for some time among the Marys he was desirous of marrying the daughter of a chief but he wished that she should be a Christian and as there was no Catholic priest nearer than Sydney he sailed to the port with the chief and his daughter called on Bishop holding and informed him of the object of his visit a course of instruction was given to the father and daughter Pointon acting as interpreter they were baptized and the marriage took place after the lapse of 60 years their descendants were found to have retained the faith and were living as good practical Catholics Bishop Pompalia celebrated his first mass on January 13th 1838 and the news of his arrival was soon noise to broad and discussed the Methodist missionaries considered the action of the Bishop as an unwarrantable intrusion on their domain and being Protestants they resolved to protest this they did through the medium of 30 native warriors who appeared before Pointon's house early in the morning of January the 22nd when the Bishop was preparing to say mass the chief made a speech he said the Bishop and his priests were enemies to the Marys they were not traitors for they had brought no guns no axes they had been sent by a foreign chief the Pope to deprive the Marys of their land and make them change their old customs therefore he and his warriors had come to break the crucifix and the ornaments of the altar and to take the Bishop and his priests to the river the Bishop replied that although he was not a traitor he had come as a friend and did not wish to deprive them of their country or anything belonging to them he asked them to wait a while and if they could find him doing the least injury to anyone they could take him to the river the warriors agreed to wait and went away next day the Bishop went further up the river to Wernarky where Larming a Pakeha marry recited Larming was an Irish Protestant who had great influence with this tribe which was numerous and warlike he was admired by the natives for his strength and courage he was six feet three inches in height as nimble and spry as a cat and as long-winded as a coyote his father-in-law was a famous warrior named Lizardskin his religion was that of Church of England and he persuaded his tribe to profess it he told them that the Protestant God was stronger than the Catholic God worshiped by his fellow countrymen pointon in after years when his converts made cartridges of their Bibles and rejected Christianity he was forced to confess that their religion was of this world only they prayed that they might be brave in battle and that their enemies might be filled with fear Lamings Christian seal did not induce him to forget the duties of hospitality he received the Bishop as a friend and the Europeans round to Torah and other places came regularly to mass during the first six years of the mission twenty thousand marries either had been baptised or were being prepared for baptism end of section one section two of the book of the bush this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Magdalena Cook the book of the bush by George Dunderdale section two purging out the old leaven part two previous to the year 1828 some flax had been brought to Sydney from New Zealand and manufactured into every species of cordage except cables and it was found to be stronger than Baltic hemp on account of the ferocious character of the marries the Sydney government sent several vessels to open communication with the tribes before permitting private individuals to embark in the trade the ferocity attributed to the natives was not so much a part of their personal character as a result of their habits and beliefs they were remarkable for great energy of mind and body foresight and self-denial the average height was about five feet six inches but men from six feet to six feet six inches were not uncommon their point of honor was revenge and a man who remained quiet while the mains of his friends or relation were unappeased by the blood of the enemy would be dishonored among his tribe the marries were in reality loath to fight and a war was never begun until after long talk their object was to exterminate or enslave their enemies and they ate the slain before commencing hostilities the warriors endeavored to put fear into the hearts of their opponents by enumerating the names of their fathers uncles or brothers of those in the hostile tribe whom they had slain and eaten in former battles when a fight was progressing the women looked on from the rear they were naked to the waist and wore skirts of matting made from flax as soon as the head was cut off they ran forward and brought it away leaving the body on the ground if many was slain it was sometimes difficult to discover to what body each head had belonged whether it was that of a friend or a foe and it was lawful to make the bodies of enemies only not we're standing there peculiar customs one who knew the marries well described them as the most patient equal for giving people in the world but full of superstitious ideas which foreigners could not understand they believe that everything found on their coast was sent to them by the seagod taniwa and they therefore endeavor to take possession of the blessings conferred on them by ceasing the first ships that anchored in their rivers and harbors this led to misunderstandings and fights with the officers and crews who had no knowledge of the seagod taniwa it was found necessary to put netting all around the vessels as high as the tops to prevent surprise and when trade began it was the rule to admit no more than five marries on board at once the flax was found growing spontaneously in fields of inexhaustible extent along the more southerly shores of the islands the fiber was separated by the females who held the top of the leaf between their toes and drew a shell through the whole length of the leaf it took a good cleaner to scrape 15 pounds weight of it in a day the average was about 10 pounds for which the traders gave a pig of tobacco and a pipe two sheets of cartridge paper or one pound of lead the price at which the flax was sold in Sydney varied from 20 pounds to 45 pounds per tonne according to quality so there was a large margin of profit to the trader in 1828 60 tons of flax valued at 2,600 pounds were exported from Sydney to England the results of trading with the foreigners were fatal to the natives at first the trade was in access knives and other edge tools beads and ornaments but in 1832 the marries would scarcely take anything but arms and ammunition red wool and skirts and tobacco every man in a native harpoon had to procure a musket or die if the warriors of the harpoon had no guns they would soon be all killed by some tribe that had them the price of one gun together with the requisite powder was one tonne of cleaned flax prepared by the women and slaves in the sickly swamps in the meantime the food crops were neglected hunger and hard labor killed many some fell victims to diseases introduced by the white man and the children nearly all died and the marries are still dying out of the land blighted by our civilization they were willing to learn and to be taught and they began to work with the white men in 1853 I saw nearly 100 of them naked to the waist sinking shafts for gold on Bendigo and no cousin Jacks worked harder we could not of course make them Englishmen the true Britain is born not made but could we not have kept them alive if we had used reasonable means to do so or is it true that in our in most souls we wanted them to die that we might possess their land in peace besides flax it was found that new seal and produce most excellent timber the Kauri pine the first visitors saw seago and canoes beautifully carved by rude tools of stone which had been hollowed out each from a single tree and so large that they were manned by 100 warriors the gum trees of New Holland are extremely hard and their wood is so heavy that it sinks in water like iron but the Kauri with a leaf like that of the gum tree is the toughest of pines though soft and easily worked suitable for shipbuilding and for mass and sparse in 1830 28 vessels made 56 voyages from Sydney to New Zealand chiefly for flax but they also left parties of men to prosecute the whale and seal fisheries and to cut Kauri pine logs two vessels were built by English mechanics one off 140 tons and the other 370 tons burden and the natives began to assist the newcomers in all their labours at this time most of the villagers had at least one European resident called a Pakeha Maori under the protection of a chief of rank and influence and married to a relative of his either legally or by native custom it was through the resident that all the trading of the tribe was carried on he bought and paid for the flax and employed men to cut the pine logs and float them down the rivers to the ships every whaling and trading vessel that returned to Sydney or Van Demen's land brought back accounts of the wonderful prospects which the islands afforded to men of enterprise a new ceiling became the favorite refuge for criminals runaway prisoners and other lovers of freedom when therefore the crew of the schooner industry through captain blog overboard it was a great comfort to them to know that they were going to an island in which there was no government captain blog had arrived from England with a bad character he had been tried for murder he had been ordered to pay 500 pounds as damages to his mate whom he had imprisoned at sea in a hen coop and left to pick up his food with the fouls he had been outlawed and forbidden to sail as officer in any British ship these were facts made known to and discussed by all the whalers who entered the Tamar when the whaling season was over in the year 1835 and yet the notorious blog found no difficulty in buying the schooner industry taking in a cargo and obtaining a clearance for hockey younger in New Zealand he had shipped a crew consisting of a mate for seaman and a cook black Ned Tomlans Jim Parish and a few other friends interviewed the crew when the industry was getting ready for sea black Ned was a half breed native of kangaroo island and was looked upon as the best whaler in the colonies and the smartest man ever seen in a boat he was the principal speaker he put the case to the crew in a friendly way and asked them if they did not feel themselves to be a set of fools to think of going to sea with a murdering villain like blog dick secker replied mildly but firmly he reckoned the crew were in a general way able to take care of themselves they could do their duty whatever it was and they were not afraid of sailing with any man that ever trod a deck after a few days at sea they were able to form a correct estimate of their master mariner he never came on deck absolutely drunk but he was saturated with rum to the very marrow of his bones a devil of cruelty hate and murder glared from his eyes and his blasphemous could come from no other place but the lowest steps of the bottomless pit the mate was comparatively a gentle and inoffensive lamb he did not curse and swear more than was considered decent and proper on board ship did his duty and avoided quarrels one day blog was rating the cook in his usual style when the latter made some reply and the captain knocked him down he then called the mate and with his help stripped the cook to the waist and triced him up to the mast on the weather side this gave the captain the advantage of a position in which he could deliver his blows downward with full effect then he selected a ropes end and began to flog the cook at every blow he made a spring on his feet swung the rope over his head and brought it down on the bare back with the utmost force it was evident that he was no printer's hand at the business but a good master flogger the cook writhing screamed as every stroke raised bloody ridges on his back but blog enjoyed it he was in no hurry he was like the boy who had found a sweet morsel and was turning over in his mouth to enjoy it the longer after each blow he looked at the three seamen standing near and at the man at the helm and made little speeches at them I'll show you who is master aboard the ship whack that's what every man jack of you will get if you give me any of your jaw whack maybe you'd like to mutiny wouldn't you whack the blows came down with deliberate regularity the cook's back was blue black and bleeding but the captain showed no sign of any intention to stay his hand the suffering victims cries seemed to inflame his cruelty he was a wild beast in the semblance of a man at last in his extreme agony the cook made a pittiest appeal to the seamen mate are you men you're gonna stand there all day and watch me being flogged to death but nothing before the next stroke fell the three men had seized the captain but he fought with so much strength and fury that they found it difficult to hold him the helmsman steadied the teller with two turns of the rope and ran forward to assist them they laid blog flat on the deck but he kept struggling cursing threatening and calling on the mate to help him but that officer took fright ran to his cabin in the deckhouse and began to barricade the door then a difficulty arose what was to be done with a prisoner he was like a raving maniac if they allowed him his liberty he was sure to kill one or more of them if they bound him he would get loose in some way probably through the mate and after what had occurred it would be safer to turn loose a Bengal tiger on deck than the infuriated captain there was but one way out of the trouble and they all knew it they looked at one another nothing was wanting but the word and it soon came second had sailed from the Cove of Cork and being an Irishman he was by nature eloquent first in speech and then in action he reflected afterwards when he had leisure to do so short work is the best he said over he goes lift the devil each man seized an arm or leg and blog was carried round the mass to the lee side the men worked together from training and habit they swung the body athwart the deck like a pendulum and with a one two three it clear the bulwark and the devil went head foremost into the deep sea the cook looking on from behind the mast gave a deep sigh of relief thus it was that a great breach of the peace was committed on the Pacific Ocean and it was done to on a beautiful summer evening when the sun was low a gentle breeze barely filled the sales and everybody should have been happy and comfortable Captain blog rose to the surface directly and swam after his schooner the fury of his soul did not abate all at once he roared to the mate to bring the schooner to but there was no responsive a a sir he was now outside of his jurisdiction and his power was gone he swam with all his strength and his bloated face still looked red as the phone passed by it the helmsman had resumed his place and steadied the tiller keeping her full while the other men looked over the stern Secker said the old man will have a long swim but the old man swam a losing race his vessel was gliding away from him his face grew pale and in an agony of fear and despair he called to the men for God's sake to take him on board and he would forgive everything but his call came too late he could find no sureties for his good behavior in the future he had never in his life shown any love for God or pity for man and he found in his utmost need neither mercy nor pity now he strained his eyes in vain over the crests of the restless billows calling for help that did not come the receding sales never shivered no land was near no vessel in sight the sun went down and the hopeless sinner was left struggling alone on the black waste of waters the men released the cook and held a consultation about troublesome point of law had they committed mutiny and murder or only justifiable homicide they felt that the point was a very important one to them a matter of life and death and they stood in a group near the tiller to discuss the difficulty speaking low while the cook was shivering in the forecast or trying to ease the pain the conclusion of the semen was that they had done what was right both in law and conscience they had thrown blog overboard to prevent him from murdering the cook and also for their own safety after they had done their duty by seizing him he would have killed them if he could he was a drunken sweep he was an outlaw and the law would not protect him anybody could kill an outlaw without fear or consequence so they had heard but still there was some doubt about it and there was nobody there to put the case for the captain the law was at that time a terrible thing especially in Van Diemen's land under Colonel Arthur he governed by the gallows to make everything orderly and peaceable and men were peaceable enough after they were hanged so Sekka and his mates decided that although they had done nothing but what was right in throwing blog over the side it would be extremely imprudent to trust their innocence to the uncertainty of the law and to the impartiality of Colonel Arthur their first idea was to take the vessel to South America but after some further discussion they decided to continue the voyage to Hockey Unger and to settle among the Marys nobody had actually seen them throw blog overboard except the cook and him they looked upon as a friend because they had saved him from being flogged to death they had some doubts about the best course to take with the mate but as he was the only man on board who was able to take the schooner to port they were obliged to make use of his services for the present and at the end of the voyage they could deal with him in any way prudence might require and they did not mean to run any unnecessary risks they went to the house on deck and Sekka called the mate informing him that the captain had lost his balance and had fallen overboard and that it was his duty to take charge of the industry and navigate her to Hockey Unger but the mate had been thoroughly frightened he was loathed to leave his entrenchment he could not tell what might happen if he opened his cabin door he might find himself in the sea in another minute the man who had thrown the master overboard would not have much scruple about sending an inferior officer after him if the mate resolved to show fight it would be necessary for him to kill every man on board even the cook before he could feel safe and then he would be left alone in mid-ocean with nobody to help him to navigate the vessel a master and crew under one hat at the mercy of the winds and the waves with six murdered men on his conscience and he had a conscience too as was soon to be proved the seamen swore most solemnly that they did not intend to do him the least harm and at last the mate opened his door while in his cabin he had been spending what he believed to be the last minute of his life in preparing for death he did his best to make peace with heaven and tried to pray but his mouth was dry with fear his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth his memory of sacred things failed him and he could not pray for want of practice he could remember only one short prayer and he was unable to utter even that audibly and how could a prayer ever reach heaven in time to be of any use to him when he could not make it heard outside the deckhouse in his desperate straits he took a piece of chalk and began to write it so when at last he opened the door of his cabin the fourth seamen observed that he had nearly covered the boards with writing it looked like a litany but it was a litany of only three words lord have mercy which were repeated in lines one above the other that litany was never erased or touched by any man who subsequently sailed on board the industry she was the first vessel that was piloted up the channel to port albert in gipseland to take in a cargo off at cattle and when she arrived there on august 3rd 1842 the litany of the mate was still distinctly legible nothing exalts a man so quickly in the estimation of his fellow creatures as killing them empress and kings caught the alliance of the conquering hero returning from fields of slaughter ladies in melbourne forgot for a time the demands of fashion in their struggles to obtain an ecstatic glimpse of our modern bluebeard deeming and nobody was prouder than the bell of the ball when she danced down the middle with the man who shot sandy magie and the reverence of the mate for his murdering crew was unfathomable their lightest word was the law to him he wrote up their log in their presence stating that captain blogg had been washed into the sea in a sudden squall on the dark night vessel hove to boat lowered search for captain all night could see nothing of him mate took charge and bore away for hockey younger next morning when these untruthful particulars had been entered and read over to the fourth seaman they were satisfied for the present they would settle among the marries and lead a free and happy life they could do what they liked with a schooner and her cargo having disposed of the master and owner and as for the mate they would dispose of him too if he made himself in any way troublesome what a wonderful piece of good luck it was that they were going to a new country in which there was no government the industry arrived off the bar at hockey younger on november 30th 1835 and was bordered by a captain young who had settled seven miles up the estuary at one tree point and acted as pilot of the ascent port he inquired how much water the schooner drew noted the state of the tide and said he would remain on board all night and go over the bar next morning with a first flood the mate had a secret and wanted to get rid of it while looking around at the shore and apparently talking about indifferent subjects he said to the pilot don't look at the men and don't take any notice of them they threw blogg the master overboard when he was flogging the cook and they would murder me too if they knew i told you so you must pretend not to take any notice of them what their plans may be i don't know but you may be sure they won't go back to the tamar if they can help it if the pilot felt any surprise he did not show it after a short pause he said you go about your business and don't speak to me again except when the men can hear you i will think about what is best to be done end of section two section three of the book of the bush this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Magdalena Cook the book of the bush by George Dunderdale section three purging out the old leaven part three during the night Captain Young thought about it to some purpose being a master mariner himself he could imagine no circumstances which would justify a crew in throwing a master mariner overboard it was the one crime which could not be pardoned either a float or a shore next day he took the vessel up the estuary and anchored her within 200 yards of the shore opposite the residence of Captain McDonnell it is true there was no government at that time at Hock Younger nor anywhere else in New Zealand there were no judges no magistrates no courts and no police but the British angel of annexation was already hovering over the land although she had not as yet alighted on it at this time the shores of New Zealand were infested with captains there was a Captain Busby who was called British resident and unfortunately for our seaman Captain McDonnell had been appointed additional British resident at Hock Younger a few weeks previously so far he had been officially idle there was no business to do no chance of his displaying his seal and patriotism moreover he had no pay and apparently no power and no duties he was neither a governor nor a government but a kind of forerunner of approaching empire one of those harmless and far-reaching tentacles which the British octopus extends into the recesses of ocean searching for prey to satisfy the demands of her imperial appetite McDonnell was a naval lieutenant had served under the East India Company had smuggled opium to China had explored the coast of New Zealand and on March 31st 1831 had arrived at Hock Younger from Sydney in the Sir George Murray a vessel which he had purchased for 1300 pounds he brought with him his wife two children and a servant but took them back on the return voyage he was now engaged in the flax and quarry pine trade the industry had scarcely dropped her anchor before the additional resident boarded her the pilot spoke to him and in a few words informed him that blog the master had been pitched into the sea and explained in what manner he proposed to arrest the four seaman McDonnell understood and agreed to the plan at once he called to the mate in a loud voice and said I'm sorry to hear that you've lost the master of this vessel I live at that house you see on the rice and ground and I keep a list in a book of all vessels that come into the river and the names of the crews it is a mere formality and won't take more than five minutes so you will oblige me mate by coming ashore with your men at once as I am in a hurry and have other business to attend to he then went ashore in his boat the mate and seaman followed in the ship's boat and waited in front of the additional resident's house he had a visitor that morning the Piquilla Maori Laming the men had not to wait long as it was not advisable to give them much time to think and grow suspicious McDonnell came to the front door and called the mate who went inside signed his name reappeared directly called Seca and entered the house with him the additional resident was sitting at a table with a signature book before him he rose from the chair told Seca to sit down gave him a pen and pointed out the place where his name was to be signed Laming was sitting near the table while Seca was signing his name McDonnell suddenly put a twisted handkerchief under his chin and tightened it around his neck Laming presented a horse pistol and said he would blow his brains out if he uttered a word and the mate slipped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists he was then bundled out at the back door and put into a bulletproof building at the rear the other three seamen were then called in one after the other garreted handcuffed and imprisoned in the same way the little formality of signing names was finished in a few minutes according to promise if such things could be done in New Zealand where there was neither law nor government what might happen in Van Diemen's land where one man was both law and government and that man was Colonel Arthur the prisoners had plenty of time to make a forecast off their fate while the mate engaged a fresh crew and took in a cargo of flax and timber when he was ready to sail he reshipped his old crew in irons returned with them to the Tamar and delivered them to the police to be dealt with according to law for a long time the law was in a state of chaos Major Abbott was sent from England in 1814 as the first judge the proceedings in his court were conducted in the style of a drumhead court marshal the accusation sentences and execution following one another with military precision and rapidity he adjudicated in petty sessions as a magistrate and dealt in a summary manner with capital offences which were very numerous to imprison a man who was already a prisoner for life was no punishment the major's powers were therefore limited to the cat and the gallows and as the first gallows had been built to carry only eight passengers his daily death sentences were also limited to that number for 20 years torture was used to extort confession even women were flogged if they refused to give evidence and an order of the governor was held to be equal to the law Major Abbott died in 1832 in 1835 the court consisted of the judge advocate and two of the inhabitants selected by the governor Colonel Arthur who came out in the year 1824 and had been for 11 years a terror to evil doers his rule was as despotic as he could possibly make it if any officer appointed by the home government disagreed with his policy he suspended him from his office and left him to seek redress from his friends in england a tedious process which lasted for years disagreeable common people he suspended also by the neck if a farmer squatter or merchant was insubordinate he stopped his supply of convict labor and cruelly left him to do his own work he brooked no discussion of his measures by any pestilent editor he filled all places of profit with his friends relatives and dependents everything was referred to his royal will and pleasure his manners were stiff and formal his taste moral his habits on sunday's religious and his temper vindictive next to the articles of war the 39 articles claimed his obedience when his term of office was drawing to a close he went to church on a certain sunday to receive the lord supper while studying his prayer book he observed that it was his duty if his brother had anything against him to seek a reconciliation before offering his gift the ex-attorney general gallibrand was present a brother christian who had had many things against him for many years he had other enemies some living and some dead but they were absent to be reconciled to all of them was an impossibility he could not ask the minister to suspend the service while he went round hobart town looking for his enemies and shaking hands with them but he did what was possible he rose from his knees marched over to gallibrand and held out his hand gallibrand was puzzled he looked at the hand and could see nothing in it by way of explanation colonel ather pointed out the passage in the prayer book which had troubled his sensitive conscience gallibrand read it and then shook hands with a soul washed whiter than snow the colonel approached the table amongst the convicts every grade of society was represented from king yorganson to the beggar one governor had a convict private secretary officers of the army and navy merchants doctors and clergymen consorted with costamungas poachers and pickpockets the law it is said to relate had even sent out lawyers who practiced their profession under a cloud and sometimes pleaded by permission of the court but their ancient pride had been trodden in the dust the oriol which once encircled their wigs was gone and they were often snubbed and silenced by ignorant justices the punishment for being found out is lifelong and terrible their clients paid the beast partly in small change and partly in rum the defense of the seaman accused of murdering captain blogg was undertaken by mr nicholas he had formally been employed by the firm of eminent solicitors in london who conducted the defense of queen caroline when the first gentleman in europe tried to get rid of her and he told me that his misfortunes forgeries had deprived him of the honor of sharing with lord broham the credit of her acquittal many years had passed since that celebrated trial when i made the acquaintance of nicholas he had by this time lost all social distinction he had grown old and very shabby and was so mean that even his old friends the convicts who across the straits looked down on him with contempt he came to me for an electors right as a vote in our electorate the four counties was sometimes worth as much as 40 shillings besides unlimited grog we were conservatives then true patriots and we imitated feebly it is true but earnestly the time honored customs of old england mr nicholas had been a man of many employments and of many religions he was never troubled with the scruples of conscience but guided his conduct wholly by enlightened self-interest he was a broad churchman very broad as tutor in various families he had instructed his pupils in the tenets of the church of england of the catholics of the presbyterians and of the baptists he always professed the religion of his employer for the time being and he found that the four religions were sufficient for his spiritual and temporal wants there were many other sects but the labour of learning all their peculiar views would not pay so he neglected them the west liens were at one time all powerful in our road district and nicholas foreseeing a chance of filling an office of profit under the board threw away all his sins and obtained grace and a billet as a toll collector or pikeman in england the pikeman was always a surly brute he collected his feats with the help of a bludgeon and a bulldog but nicholas performed his duties in the disguise of a saint he waited for passengers in his little wooden office sitting at a table with a huge bible before him absorbed in spiritual reading he wore spectacles on his roman nose had a long gray beard quote a scripture to chance passengers and was very earnest for their salvation he was atoning for the sins of his youth while leading the life of a hermit by praying and cheating he has had many followers he made mistakes in his cash which for a while were overlooked in so good a man but they became at length so serious that he lost his billet he had for some time been spoken off by his friends and admirers as mr. nicholas but after his last mistakes had been discovered he began to be known merely as old nick the lawyer or old nick the liar which some ignorant people look upon as convertible terms i think lizard skin the cannibal was a better christian than old nick the lawyer as he was brave and honest and scorned to tell a lie the convict council for the four seamen defended them at a great expenditure of learning and lies he argued at great length that there was no evidence that a master mariner named blog ever existed that he was an outlaw and as such every british subject had an incoate right to kill him at sight and therefore that the seamen supposing for the sake of argument that they did kill him acted strictly within their legal rights that blog drowned himself in a fit of delirium tremens after being drunk on rum three days and nights consecutively that he fell overboard accidentally and was drowned that the cook and mate threw him overboard and then laid blame on the innocent seamen that blog swam ashore and was now living on an uncharted island that if he was murdered his body had not been found there could be no murder without a corpse and finally he would respectfully submit to the honourable court that the case bristled with ineradicable difficulties the seamen would have been sent to the gallows in any case but nicholas's speech made their fate inevitable the court brushed aside the legal bristles and hanged the fourth seamen on the evidence of the mate and the cook the tragedy of the gallows was followed by short after-piece jim parish ned tomlans and every whaler and four mass man in hobart town and on the tamar discussed the evidence both drunk and sober and the opinion was universal that the cook ought to have sworn an oath strong enough to go through a three-inch slab of hardwood that he had seen captain blog carried up to heaven by angels instead of swearing away the lives of men who were taken his part when he was triced up to the mast the cook was in this manner tried by his peers and condemned to die and he knew it he tried to escape by shipping on board a schooner bound to portland bay with whalers the captain took on board a keg of rum holding fifteen gallons usually called a big pup and invited the mate to share the liquor with him the result was that the two officers soon became incapable of rational navigation off king's island the schooner was hoved to in a gala wind and for fourteen days stood off and on five or six hours one way five or six hours the other while the master and mate were down below nursing the big pup the seamen were all strangers to the coast and did not know any cove into which they could run for refuge the cook was pitched overboard one dark night during that gale of king's island and his loss was a piece of ancient history by the time the master and mate had consumed the rum and were able to enter up the log ex-attorney general galley brand sailed to port philip to look for country in australia felix and he found it he was last seen on a rounded hill gazing over the rich and beautiful land which borders lake collack land which he was not fated to occupy for he wandered away and was lost and his bones lay unburied by the stream which now bears his name when colonel arthur's term of offers expired he departed with the atmo ceremony the twenty-first fusilias escorted him to the wharf as he entered his barge his friends cheered and his enemies groaned and then went home and illuminated the town to testify their joy at getting rid of a tyrant he was the model governor of a crown colony and the crown rewarded him for his services he was made a baronet appointed governor of canada and of bombay was a member of her majesties privy council a colonel of the queen's own regiment and he died on september 19th 1854 full of years and honors and worth seventy thousand pounds lambing was left an orphan by the death of lizard skin the chief had grown old and sick and he sat every day for two years on a fallen prairie near the white man's part but he never entered it his spear was always sticking up beside him he had a gun but was never known to use it he was often humming some ditty about old times before the white man brought guns and powder but he spoke to no one he was pondering over the future of his tribe but the problem was too much for him the white men were strong and were overrunning his land his last injunction to his warriors was that they should listen to the words of his paquia and that they should be brave that they might live when the british government took possession of new zealand without paying for it they established a land court to investigate the titles to lands formerly bought from the natives and it was decided in most cases that a few axes and hose were an insufficient price to pay for the pick of the country the purchases were swindles lambing had processional three or four hundred acres and to the surprise of the court it was found that he had paid a fair price for them and his title was allowed more over his knowledge of the language and customs of the marries was found to be so useful that he was appointed a judge of the land court the men who laid the foundations of empire in the great southland were men of action they did not stand idle in the shade waiting for someone to come and hire them they dug a vineyard and planted it the vines now bring forth fruit the wine press is full the must is fermenting when the wine has been drawn off from the lease and time has matured it of what kind will it be and were the lord of the vineyard commended end of section three section four of the book of the bush this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chassi the book of the bush by George Dunderdale section four first settlers the first white settler in victoria was the escaped convict Buckley but he did not cultivate the country nor civilize the natives the natives on the contrary uncivilized him when white men saw him again he had forgotten even his mother tongue and could give them little information for more than 30 years he had managed to live like a savage but for any good he had ever done he might as well have died with the other convicts who ran away with him he never gave any clear account of his companions and many people were of opinion that he kept himself alive by eating them until he was found and fetched by the blacks who thought he was one of their dead friends and had jumped up a white fellow while Buckley was still living with the blacks about Corio Bay in 1827 Gallibrand and Batman applied for a grant of land at western port where the whalers used to strip water bark when whales were out of season but they did not get it Englishmen have no business to live anywhere without being governed and Colonel Arthur had no money to spend in governing a settlement at western port so Australia Felix was unsettled for eight years longer Griffiths and Coe of Launceston were trading with Sydney in 1833 their cargo outward was principally wheat the price of which varied very much sometimes it was two and six a bushel in Launceston and 18 shillings in Sydney the return cargo from Port Jackson was principally coal freestone and cedar Griffiths and Coe were engaged in whaling in Portland Bay they sent their two schooners the Henry and the Elizabeth in June 1834 they erected huts on shore for the whalers the Henry was ragged but the whales were plentiful and yielded more oil than the casks would hold so the manduck clay pits on shore and put the oil into them the oil from 45 whales was put into the pits but the clay absorbed every spoonful of it and nothing but bones was gained from so much slaughter before the Elizabeth left Portland Bay the Hantes the first permanent settlers in Victoria arrived in the schooner Thistle on November the 4th 1834 when the whalers of the Elizabeth had been paid off and had spent their money they were engaged to strip water bark at western port and were taken across in the schooner with provisions tools six bullocks and a tray during that season they stripped 300 tons of bark and chopped it ready for bagging John Thoms went over to weigh and chip the bark and brought it back together with the man in the bark Andrew Mack end of section four section five of the book of the bush this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chessie the book of the bush by George Dunderdale section five wreck of the convict ship Niva on Kings Island she sailed from Cork on January the 8th 1835 BH Pack Master Dr Stevenson RN surgeon she had on board 150 female prisoners and 33 of their children nine free women and their 22 children and a crew of 26 several ships had been wrecked on Kings Island and when a vessel approached it the mate of the watch warned his men to keep a bright lookout he said Kings Island is inhabited by anthropoguy the bloodiest man eaters ever known and if you don't want to go to pot you had better keep your eyes skinned so the lookout man did not go to sleep nevertheless the Niva went ashore on the harbinger reef on May the 13th unshipped her rudder and parted into four pieces only nine men and 13 women reached the island they were nearly naked and had nothing to eat and they wandered along the beach during the night searching amongst the wreckage at last they found a punch of rum up ended it stove in the head and drank the 13 women then lay down on the sand close together and slept the night was very cold and Robinson an apprentice covered the women as well as he could with some pieces of sail and blankets soaked with salt water the man walked about the beach all night to keep themselves warm being afraid to go inland for fear of the cannibal black fellows in the morning they went to rouse the women and found that seven of the 13 were dead the surviving men were the master bh pack Joseph Bennett Thomas Sharp John Watson Edward Calhope Thomas Hines Robert Bellard John Robinson and William kindery the women were Ellen Galvin Mary Stating and Cullen Rosa Helen Rose Dunn and Margaret Drury for three weeks these people lived almost entirely on shellfish they threw up a barricade on the shore above high water mark to protect themselves against the cannibals the only chest that came ashore unbroken was that of Robinson the apprentice and in it there was a canister of powder a flint mascot was also found among the wreckage and with the flint and steel they struck a light and made a fire when they went down to the beach in search of shellfish one man kept guarded the barricade and looked out for the black fellows his musket was loaded with powder and pebbles three weeks passed away before any of the natives appeared but at last they were seen approaching along the shore from the south had the first alarm all the shipwrecked people ran to the barricade for shelter and the man armed themselves with anything in the shape of weapons they could find but their main hope of victory was the musket they could not expect to kill many cannibals with one shot but the flash and report would be sure to strike them with terror and put them to flight by this time the diet of shellfish had left them all weak and emaciated skeletons only just alive the anthropopher guy would have nothing but bones to pick still the little life left in them was precious and they resolved to sell it as dear as they could they watched the savages approaching at length they could count their number they were only 11 all told and were advancing slowly now they saw that seven of the 11 were small only picaninis when they came nearer three out of the other four were seen to be lubras and the 11th individual then resolved himself into a white savage who wrought out maids ahoy the white man was scotch the sealer who had taken up his abode on the island with his harem fritismanian gins and seven children they were the only permanent inhabitants the cannibal blacks had disappeared and continued to exist only in the fancies of the mariners scott's residence was opposite new year's island not far from the shore dairy had built a hut and planted a garden with potatoes and other vegetables flesh meat he obtained from the kangaroos and seals their skins he took to launch a stun in his boat and in it he brought back supplies of flour and groceries he had observed dead bodies of women and men and pieces of a wrecked vessel cast up by the sea and had traveled along the shore with his family looking for anything useful or valuable which the wreck might yield after hearing the story and seeing the miserable plight of the castaways he invited them to his home on arriving at the hut scott and his lubras prepared for their guests a beautiful meal of kangaroo and potatoes this was their only food as long as they remained on king's island for scott's only boat had got adrift and his flour tea and sugar had been all consumed but kangaroo beef and potatoes seemed the most luxurious diet to the men and women who had been kept alive for three weeks on nothing but shellfish scott and his hounds hunted the kangaroo and supplied a colony with meat the liver of the kangaroo when boiled and left to grow cold is a dry substance which with the help of hunger and a little imagination is said to be as good as bread in a month of july 1835 heavy gales were blowing over king's island for 14 days the schooner elizabeth with wailers for port ferry was hoofed two off the coast standing off and on six hours one way and six hours the other acres the captain and his maid got drunk on rum and water daily the cook of the industry was on board the elizabeth the man whom captain blogg was flogging when his crew seized him and threw him overboard the cook also was now pitched overboard for having given evidence against the four men who had saved him from further flogging at this time also captain friend of the wailing cutter sarah an took shelter under the lee of new year's island and he pulled ashore to visit scott the sealer there he found the shipwrecked man and women whom he took on board his cutter and conveyed to launceston except one woman and two men it was then too late in the season to take the wailers to port ferry captain friend was appointed chief district constable at launceston all the constables under him were prisoners of the crown receiving half a dollar a day he was afterwards collector of customs at the mercy in november 1835 the schooner elizabeth returned to launceston with 270 tons of oil the share of the crew of a wailing vessel was 150th of the value of the oil and bone the boat steerer received one 30th and of the headman some had one 25th others one 15th in this same year 1835 batman went to port philip with a few friends and seven sydney blackfellows on tune of 14th he returned to when demons land and by the 25th of the same month he had compiled a rap hall of his expedition which he sent to governor ather together with a copy of the grant of land executed by the black chiefs he had obtained three copies of the grant signed by three brothers jagger jagger by banguri yanyan moe whip and marmarella the area of the land bought by batman was not so weighed with precision but it was of great extent like infinite space who sent her is everywhere and circumference nowhere and in addition he took up a small patch of 100 thousand acres between the bay and the bar one including the insignificant side of gelong a place of small account even to this day batman was a long-limbed sydney native and he bestowed his real estate like a colossus but king william was a bigger colossus than batman he claimed both the land and the blacks and ignored the crown grant next john forkner and his friends chartered the schooner enterprise for a voyage across the straits to australia philips he afterwards claimed to be the founder of melbourne he could write and talk everlastingly but he had not the robor and us triplex suitable for sea robber seasickness nearly killed him so he stayed behind while the other adventurers went and laid the foundation they first examined the shores of western port then went to port philip bay and entered the river yara they disembarked on its banks plowed some land south mace and weed and planted 2000 fruit trees they were not so grasping as batman and each man packed out a farm of only 100 acres these farms were very valuable in the days of the late boom and are called the city of melbourne batman wanted to oust the newcomers he claimed the farms under his grant from the jagger jaggers he squatted on batman's hill and looked down with evil eyes on the rival immigrants he saw them clearing away the scrap along flinders street and splitting posts and rails all over the city from spencer street to spring street regardless of the fact that the ground under their feet would be in the days of their grandchildren worth 3000 pounds per foot their bullock trays were often balked in elizabeth street and they made a corduroy crossing all weird with red gumlocks some of these logs were dislodged quite sound 50 years afterwards by the tramway company's workmen end of section five section six at the book of the bush this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org the book at the bush by george dunderdale section six discovery at the river hopkins know ye not that lovely river know ye not that smiling river whose gentle flood by clip and wood with wildering sound goes winding ever in january 1836 captain smith who was in charge of the wailing station at port theory went with two men named wilson and gibbs in a whale boat to the islands near warnable to look for seal they could find no seal and then they went across the bay and found the mouth of the river hopkins in trying to land there their boat capsized in the surf and smith was drowned the other two men succeeded in reaching the shore naked and they traveled back along the coast to port theory carrying sticks on their shoulders to look like guns in order to frighten away the natives who were very numerous on that part of the coast on this journey they found the wreck of a vessel supposed to be a spanish one which has since been covered by the drifting sand when captain mills was afterwards harbour master at belfast he took the bearings of it and reported them to the harbour department in melbourne vain search was made for at many years afterwards in the hope that it was a spanish galleon laden with doubloons davie was in the sydney trade in new lisabeth until march 1836 he then left her and joined the cutter sarah ann under jb mills to go wailing at port theory in the month of may captain mills was short of boats and went to the hopkins to look for the boat lost by smith he took with him two boats with all their wailing gear in case he should see a whale david verminer was in one of the boats which carried a supply of provisions for the two crews in the other boat there was only what was styled a nose bag or snack a mouthful for each man on arriving off the hopkins they found a nasty seon and captain mills said it would be dangerous to attempt to land but his brother charles said he would try and in doing so his boat capsized in the breakers all the men clung to the boat but the off sea prevented them from getting on shore when captain mills saw what had happened he at once pushed on his boat through the surf and succeeded in reaching the shore inside the point on the eastern side of the entrance he then walked around towards the other boat with a lance warp waded out in the water as far as he could and then through the warp to the men who hauled on it until their boat came ashore and they were able to land all the provisions were lost the water was bailed out of the boat that had been capsized and she was taken over to the west head all the food for 12 men was in the nose bag and it was very little each man had a man nibble for supper in those days wombats were plentiful near the river but the men could not catch or kill one of them captain mills had a gun in his boat which happened to be loaded and he gave it to davie to try if he could shoot anything for breakfast next morning there was only one charge all the rest of the ammunition having been lost in the breakers davie walked up the banks of the river early in the morning and saw plenty of ducks but they were so wild he could not get near them at last he was so fortunate as to shoot a musk duck which he brought back to the camp stuck up before the fire and roasted he then divided it into 12 portions and gave one portion to each of the 12 men for breakfast but it was a mockery of a meal as unsubstantial as an echo smell and nothing else the two boats were launched and an attempt was made to pass out to sea through the surf but the wind was far down south and the men had to return and beach the boats the sails were taken ashore and used as tents in the evening they again endeavored to catch a wombat but failed on the next day they tried again to get out of the river but the surf half filled the boats with water and they were glad to reach the camp again captain mills was a native of australia and a good bushman he told the men that south hissels were good to eat so they went about looking for them and having found a quantity ate them on the third day they tried once more to get out of the river but without success on the fourth day mills decided to carry the boats and whaling gear overland to a bite in the bay to the west the gear was divided into lots among the men and consisted of 10 oars two steer oars two tubs of whale line each 120 fathoms in length 250 pound anchors four harpoons six lances six lance warps two tomahawks two waterkeeps two pigans for balers two sheath knives and two oil stones for touching up the lances when they became dull these were carried for about a quarter of a mile and then put down for a rest and the men went back to the camp the boats were much lighter than the gear being made of only half inch plank one boat was capsized bottom up and the men took it on their shoulders six on each side the tallest men being placed in the middle on account of the sheer of the boat and it was carried about half a mile past the gear they then returned for the other boat and in this way brought everything to the bite close to the spot where the bathing house at warnable has since been erected there they launched the boats and got out to sea pulling against a strong westerly breeze the men were very weak having had nothing to eat for four days but some sow thistles and a musk duck and the pool to port ferry was hard and long they landed about four o'clock in the afternoon and captain mills told them not to eat anything saying he would give them something better at that time there was a liquor called black strap brought out in the convict ships for the use of the prisoners and it was sold with the ship's surplus stores in Sydney and Hobarton mills had some of it at port ferry he now put a kettle full of it on the fire and when it was warmed gave each man a half a pint to begin with he then told them to go and get supper and afterwards he gave each of them another half pint rum was in those days a very profitable article of commerce and the trade in it was monopolized by the government officers civil and military like flour in the back settlements of the united states it was reckoned equal to cash and was made to do the office at the pagoda tree in india which reigned dollars at every shake the boat that was lost by smith at the hopkins was found in good condition half filled with sand joe wilson went for it afterwards and brought it back to port ferry he was a native of sydney and nephew of rabie of launceston and was murdered not long afterwards at the white hills he was sent by rabie on the horseback to hobarton to buy the revenue cutter charlotte which had been advertised for sale he was shot by a man who was waiting for him behind a tree he fell from his horse and although he begged hard for his life the man beat out his brains with the gun the murderer took all the money wilson had which was only one five pound note the number of which rabie knew a woman tried to pass it in launceston her statements led to the discovery and conviction of the murderer who was hanged in chains at the white hills and would give it remind me for many years end of section six section seven of the book of the bush this is the libravox recording all libravox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org recording by may low the book of the bush by george dunderdale section seven wailing i wish i were in portland bay oh yes oh harpooning wales on a 30th lay a hundred years ago in the year 1837 jb mills had charge of the portland fishery and davie went with him in the thistle schooner as mate and navigator and they were over a month on the passage charles mills was second in command at the station at portland and peter coakley and irishman was third the remainder of the crew required for wailing was on board the thistle among them was one named mccann a sydney native a stone mason by trade and father of the mccann who was afterwards member of parliament for gelong during a westerly gale the schooner ran to western port for shelter in sailing through the rip mccann who was acting as steward while going aft to the cabin had to cross over a colonial sofa which was lashed on deck instead of stepping over it gently he made a jump and the vessel lurching at the same time he went clean overboard davie who was standing by the man at the helm told him to put the helm down and let the vessel come to he then ran forward and got a steer ore from underneath the boots and threw it overboard mccann being an expert swimmer swam to the ore a boat was launched four men got into it picked him up and brought him aboard again none the worse there was too much seon to hoist in the boat as there were no davids and while she was being towed in she ran ahead of the vessel which went over her and filled her with water on arriving in western port the boat was found to have been not much damaged there was on board the thistle an apprentice whom davie had stolen in sydney after he had served four years of his time to a boat builder named green this apprentice repaired the boat which afterwards proved to be the fastest out of 41 boats that went out whaling in portland bay every morning there were in 1837 eight parties of whalers in portland bay and so many whales were killed that the business from that year declined and became unprofitable mills's party in the thistle schooner of which davie was made a navigator or nursed to mills who was not a trained seaman had their station at single corner kelly's party was stationed at the neck of land where the breakwater has been constructed then there were dutton's party with the bark african nicklesons with the bark cheviot from hobarton chamberlands with the bark william the fourth of hobarton the hope bark and a brig both from sydney the henties also had a whaling station at double corner and by offering to supply their men with fresh meat three times a week obtained the pick of the whalers their headmen were johnny brennan john mols and jim long natives of sydney or tasmania and all three good whalers when the thistle arrived at portland bay every other party had got nearly 100 tons of oil each and mills's party had none he started out next morning choosing the boat which had picked up mccann at western port and killed one whale which turned out six tons of oil he did not get any more for three weeks being very unlucky after getting the schooner ready for cutting in davie went to steer the boat for charles mills and always got in a mess among the whales either being capsized or stove in among so many boats at the end of three weeks captain mills got a whale off the second river halfway round towards port ferry she was taken in tow with the three boats and after two days towing she was anchored within half a mile of the schooner in portland bay and the men went ashore during the night a gale of wind came on from the southwest and the whale being a bit stale and high out of the water drove ashore at the bluff a little way past hentie's house in the morning mills said he would go and see what he could get from her on the beach and ordered his brother charles mills and cochly to go out looking for whales all the boats used to go out before daylight and dodge one another round the bay for miles it was cold work sitting in the boats the men stayed out until 10 or 11 o'clock and went ashore that day on the convincing ground which was so cold because the whalers used to go down there to fight and convince one another who was the best man in the afternoon about two o'clock it was davie's turn to go up a tree to look for whales in looking around the bay towards the bluff he saw a boat with a whiff on he jumped down and told charles mills who said come on there was a great rush of all the boats but mills's boat kept well forward of the lot when they arrived off the bluff they found captain mills had fastened to a whale two other loose whales being near they pulled up alongside him and he pointed out a loose whale to which they fastened mansfield of the hobarton party fastened to the third whale davie came aft to the steer ore and charles mills went forward to kill his whale he had hardly got the lance in his hand when the whale threw herself right a thwart the nose of the boat he then sent the lance right into her and killed her stone dead mansfield in hauling up his whale got on top of captain mills's whale which stove in mansfield's boat and sent all his men flying in the air there was a rush then to pick up the men charles mills finding his whale dead struck a whiff in the lance hole he had made when he killed her cut the line that was fast to her and bent it on another spare iron mansfield's whale then milled round and came right on to charles mills's boat and he fastened to her this gave him a claim of one half of her so that mills and his men got two and a half out of the three whales the men were all picked up mills's whales were anchored about half a mile from the schooner and the boats went out next morning and took them in tow the whales tow very easily when fresh killed but if they are allowed to get stiff their fins stand out and hinder the towing when the two whales were brought alongside the schooner the boats of kelly's party were seen fast to a whale off blacknose point charles mills pulled over and when he arrived he found a loose whale mansfield and chase being fast to two other whales mills fastened to the loose whale and then the three whales fouled the three lines and rolled them all together like a warp which made it difficult to kill them after the men had pulled up on them for some time with the oars two of them began spouting blood and sickened and chaser's boat got onto them and capsized then the whales took to running and mansfield cut his line to pick up chase in his crew mansfield's whale being sick went in a flurry and died mills's whale and chaser's worked together until mills killed his whale he then whipped her and fastened to chase's whale which gave him a claim for half and he killed her so that his party got one and a half out of the three whales chase and his crew were all picked up from that day the luck of mills and his party turned and they could not try out fast enough in four months from the time the thistle left launceston she had on board 240 tons of oil in the year 1836 the henties had a few cattle running behind the bluff when major mitchell arrived overland from sydney and reported good country in the north they then brought over more cattle from launceston and stocked a station the first beast killed by the henties for their whalers was a heifer and the carcass divided into two parts was suspended from the flagstaff at their house it could be seen from afar by the men who were pulling across the bay in their boats and they knew that henties men were going to feed on fresh meat while all the rest were eating such awful stuff as yankee pork and salt horse the very side of the two sides of the heifer suspended at the flagstaff was an unendurable insult and mockery to the carnivorous whalers and an incitement to larceny davie fermner was steering one of the boats and he exclaimed there they are flushing the fresh meat to us they would look foolish if they lost it tonight there was feasting and revelry that night at single corner hungry men were sharpening their sheath knives with steel and cutting up a side of beef a large fire was burning and on the glowing coals and in every frying pan rich steaks were fizzing and hissing it was like a feast of heroes and lasted long through the night they sang responsibly like gentle shepherds shepherds of the ocean fields whose flocks were mighty whales mother the butchers brought the meat what shall i do with it fry the flesh and broil the bones and make a pudding of the suet next morning the henties looked for the missing beef up the flagstaff and along the shore of the ever-sounding ocean but their search was in vain they suspected that the men of kelly's party were the thieves but these all looked as stupid ignorant and innocent as the adverse circumstances would permit there was no evidence against them to be found the beef was eaten and the bones were burned and buried mills's men were the beef lifters and some of kelly's men helped them to eat it the whales killed at the portland fishery were of two kinds the right or black whale and the sperm whale the right whale has an immense tongue and lives by suction the food being a kind of small shrimp when in a flurry that is when she has received her death stroke with the lance she goes round in a circle working with her head and flukes the sperm whale feeds on squid which they bite and when in a flurry they work with the head and flukes and with the mouth open and often crush the boats after the crew of the fissile had spent their money they were taken back to port ferry for the purpose of stripping bark a large quantity of wattle trees having been found in the neighboring country sheep were also taken there in charge of mr j murphy who intended to form a station john griffiths also sent over his father jonathan who had been a carpenter on board the first man of war that had arrived at port jackson three old men who had been prisoners four bullocks a plow and some seed potatoes a cargo of the previous season's bark was put into the thistle and on her return to launceston was transferred to the roder brig captain rolls bound for london more sheep and provisions were then taken in the thistle and after they were landed at port ferry another cargo of bark was put on board for three days there was no wind and a tremendous sea setting in from the southeast the schooner could not leave the bay on the night of december 24th a gale of wind came on from the southeast one chain parted and after riding until three o'clock in the morning of christmas day the other chain also parted the vessel drew eight feet and was lying in between three and four fathoms of water as soon as the second chain broke davie went up on the four yard and cut the gaskets of the foresail the schooner grounded in the trough of sea but when she rose the foresail was down and she paid off before the wind the shore was about a mile or a mile and a half distant and she took the beach right abreast of a sheep yard where her wreck now lies the men got ashore in safety but all the cargo was lost a tent was pitched on shore near the wreck but as there was no vessel in the bay by which they could return to launceston the four men captain mills de fermana chiles ferris and richer jennings on december 31st 1837 set sail in a whale boat for port philip davie had stolen jennings from the rhoda brig at launceston when seamen was scarce he was afterwards a pilot at port philip and was buried at williamstown the whale boat reached port philip on january 3rd 1838 having got through the rip on the night of the second ferris was the only man of the crew who had been in before he having gone in with batman in the rebecca cutter captain baldwin baldwin was afterwards before the mast in the elizabeth schooner he was a clever man but fond of drink the whale boat anchored off port sea but the men did not land for fear of the blacks at daylight davie landed to look for water but could not find any and there were only three pints in the water bag the wind being from the north the boat was pulled over to mud island and the men went ashore to make tea with the three pints of water davie walked about the island and found a rookery of small mackerel gulls and a great quantity of their eggs in the sand he broke a number of them and found that the light colored eggs were good and that the dark ones had birds in them he took off his shirt tied the sleeves together bagged a lot of the eggs and carried them back to the camp mills broke the best of them into the great pot and the eggs and water mixed together and boiled made about a quart for each man after breakfast the wind shifted to the southward and the henry brig from launceston captain whiting ran in bound to port henry with sheep but before mills and his men could get away from mud island the brig had passed they pulled and sailed after her but did not overtake her until she arrived off the point where batman first settled now called port arlington at that time they called the place indented heads when the whale boat came near the brig to ask for water two or three muskets were levelled at the men over the bullwalks and they were told to keep off or they would be shot at that time a boat's crew of prisoners had escaped from melbourne in a whale boat and the shipwrecked men were suspected as the runaways but one of the crew of the henry named jack mcdonald looked over the side and seeing davie in the boat asked him what they had done with the schooner thistle and they told him they had lost her at port ferry captain whiting asked mcdonald if he knew them and on being informed that they were the captain and crew of the schooner thistle he invited them on board and supplied them with a good dinner they went on to port henry in the brig and assisted in landing the sheep batman was at that time in melbourne davie had seen him before in launceston after discharging the sheep the brig proceeded to jellibrand's point and as captain whiting wanted to go up to melbourne the men pulled him up the yara in their whale boat forkner's hotel at that time was above the site of the present customs house and was built with broad pailing mills and whiting stayed there that night davie and the other two men being invited to a small public house kept by a man named berke a little way down little flinders street where they were made very comfortable next day they went back to the brig henry and started for launceston in may 1838 davie was made master of the schooner elizabeth and took in her a cargo of sheep and landed them at port ferry the three old convicts whom griffiths had sent there along with his father jonathan had planted four or five acres of potatoes at a place called goose lagoon about two miles behind the township the crop was a very large one from 15 to 20 tons to the acre and davie had received orders to take in 50 tons of the potatoes and to sell them in south australia he did so and after four days passage went to shore at the port offered the potatoes for sale and sold 20 tons at 22 pounds 10 shillings per ton on going ashore again next morning he was offered 20 pounds per ton for the remainder and he sold them at that price on the same day the nelson brig from hobarton arrived with 100 tons of potatoes but she could not sell them as davie had fully stocked the market he was paid for the potatoes in gold by the two men who bought them he went up to the new city of adelaide all the buildings were of the earliest style of architecture and were made of tea tree and sods or of reeds dabbed together with mud the hotels had no signboards but it was easy to find them by the heaps of bottles outside kangaroo flesh was one shilling six pence a pound but grog was cheap davie was looking for a shipmate named richard ralph who was then the principal architect and builder in the city he found him erecting homes for the immigrants out of reeds and mud he was paid 10 pounds or 12 pounds for each building he was also hunting kangaroo and selling meat he was married to a lady immigrant and on the whole appeared to be very comfortable and prosperous davie gave the lady a five shilling piece to go and fetch a bottle of gin and was surprised when she came back bringing two bottles of gin and three shillings change in the settlement the necessities of life were dear but the luxuries were cheap if a man could not afford to buy kangaroo beef and potatoes he could live sumptuously on gin davie walked back to the port the same evening and next day took in ballast which was mud dug out among the mangroves he arrived at launceston in four days and then went as coasting pilot of the bark blinder bound to port ferry to take in oil for london the bark took in a hundred head of cattle the first that were landed at port ferry he then went to port philip and was employed in lighter in cargo up the yara and in ferrying between williamstown and the beach now called port melbourne he took out the first boatman's license issued and has the brass badge number one still vessels at that time had to be warped up the yara from below humbug reach as no wind could get at the top sails on account of the high tea trees on the banks end of section seven