The Naval Pioneers of Australia and Walter Jeffery

the suggestion. In 1779 a commission of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the question of transportation, then, in consequence of the loss of the Ame

discipline; no system governed them other than the s

from this time till his death took a keen interest in the New South Wales colonizing scheme, and had much influence for good in the future of the colony. He was a man of independent means, and there is not the slightest reason nor the least evidence to the contrary, to doubt his perfect disintereste

evidence and subsequent advocacy of Banks, ultimately led to the Government's decision to colonize New South Wales. But it was not until 1786 that that d

published about a hundred years ago. We are here told that his father was a German teacher of languages who settled in London, his moth

first marriage, he was sent to Greenwich School, and thence into the navy, where

th distinction, he rejoined the English navy in 1778, and the Admiralty at once made him master and commander of the Basilisk, fireship, soon afterwards appointing him post captain. He commanded the Ariadne, frigate, later on the Europ

d Phillip, and Lord Howe, then at the head of the A

ed of his ability, and I conclude he will be taken under your direction, I presume it will not be unreasonable to move the King for having His Majesty's plea

g off the Motherbank with their human freight on board for months before; yet, through the neglect of the shore officials, they sailed

iaman, the Berwick. She had been lying in Deptford Yard, had been burnt almost to the water's edge not long before, and was patched up for the jo

not create excitement, the sailing of the bluejackets and the guard of about 200 marines bound for such an unknown part of the world would have set Portsmouth at any rate in a stir. But the Fitzherbert scandal, the attack on Wa

welcome and much assistance at the Brazils. When the ships reached Botany Bay in January, 1788, the voyage of thirty-six weeks had ended with

rested within a few days' sail of the antipodes of our native country without meeting with any accidents in a fleet of eleven sail, nine of which were merchantmen that had never before sailed in that distant and imperfectly explored ocean. And when it is considered that there was on board a large body of convicts, many of whom were embarked in a very sickly state, we might be deemed peculiarly fortunate that of the whole number of all descriptions of persons coming to form the new settlement only thirt

ucceeding voyage, in spite of the teachings of experience, was made with such immunity from sickness or mutiny. The second v

pace and in irons, not put on singly, but many of them chained together. On board the Scarborough a plan had been formed to take the ship.... This necessarily, on that ship, occasioned much future circumspection; but Captain Marshall's humanity considerably lessened the severity which the insurgents might naturally have expected. On board the other ships the masters, who had the entire direction of the prisoners, never suffered them to be at la

me north of Australia, to the "south cape of Van Diemen's Land," then, of course, supposed to be part of the main continent. He was ordered

t in an 1788 open boat to explore the coast; and so, sailing northward, entered that bay only mentioned by Cook in

iles from the land and abrest of a good bay or harbour, in which the

claimed what has so often been repeated since: "What a magnificent harbour!" And so on the 2

s apparent. Then began a series of land expeditions into the interior, in which, with such poor means as these pioneers possessed, the country was penetrated right to the foot of the Blue Mountains. The first governor, despite

t could be mustered among the possessions of the colonists), with the boats of the

s, and who was also lieutenant-gover

forbidding, that it may with truth be said, 'Here nature is reversed, and if not so, she is nearly worn out'; for almost all the seed we

one of Ross' of

n a return for colonising it.... The dread of perishing by famine stares us in

on, White, described th

ain from declaring that if a 'favourable picture' has bee

Phillip left it, in

of provisions and grain. Several of the settlers who had farms at or near Parramatta, notwithstanding the extreme drought of the season preceding the sowing of their corn, ha

ed for maize was of sufficient area, even if the yield per acre did not exceed

ar's returns show that the area had doubled as a result of the year's work. Besides this, considerable progress had been made with public buildings; a

of England; famine constantly stared the governor in the face, and his command was increased by a second and third fleet of prisoners; storeships, when they were sent, were wrecked; many of Phillip's subordinates did their duty indifferently, often hindered his w

illip allowed himself for leisure from the care of his own people he c

ives from the female convicts, offered them inducements to work, and swiftly punished the lazy and incorrig

public stores; and when "Government House" gave a dinnerparty, officers t

g regret of their successors), and introduced a system of land grants which has ever since formed the basis of the colony's land laws, although poli

t talent, has publicly declared (and every honest man agrees with him) th

etter justified Lord Palmerston's happily worded and well-deserved compliment to the profession, "Whenever I want a thing well done in a distant part

n land a man learns his particular business in the world; at sea his ship is a man's world, and on the completeness of the captain's knowledge of how to feed, to clothe, to govern, his people depended then, and in a great measure now depends, the comfort, the lives even, of seamen. So that, being trained in this self-dep

demonstrated, these qualifications doubtless due to his sea-training; his sound judgment of men and things, his wonderful foresight, which enabled him to predict the great futu

true so far as it goes, but Barton himself shows what finding something to eat meant in those days, and Phillip's despatches prove that, although the food question was the practical every-day problem to

-contained man, making no complaints in his letters of the difficulties to be encountered, making no boasts of his success in overcoming them. The three sea-captains who in turn followed him did their best to govern well, taking care in their despatches that the causes of their non-success should be duly set forth, but these documents also show that much of their trouble was of their own makin

ed for leave of absence, and when he left the colony had every intention of returning to continue his work, but his health did not improve enough for this. The Government accepted his resignation with regret, and appointed him to the command of the Swiftsure, with a s

ject, especially the New South Wales Government, spent much time in searching for his burial-place, which was only di

n colonists; and it was not until early in 1897 that a statue to him was unveiled in Sydney. At this very time, it is sad to reflect, his last resti