An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island Part 23

Blacksmith making and repairing necessary iron work 1 1 free.

Coblemen fis.h.i.+ng 3 Gardeners 2 1 free.

Making s.h.i.+ngles 4 Schoolmaster 1, officers servants 3, care of stock 1 5 Total 49 5

The 12th, being the anniversary of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's birth-day, the colours were hoisted at sun-rise, and it was observed with the same ceremony as his Majesty's birth-day, except giving liquor to the convicts, as their recent behaviour, with regard to thefts, had totally excluded them from that indulgence. As the wheat in Arthur's Vale grew very rank, I was advised to crop it, which was done on the 13th: however, I let three acres remain in order to see which way it would be most productive.

The carpenters having finished the sh.e.l.l of Lieutenant Cresswell's house, I employed them in building an addition to the back part of my habitation, as I was apprehensive of its being blown down by the violent south-west winds, which were now almost constant. After divine service on the 16th, (Sunday) the following orders were read for preserving regularity and good order among the inhabitants of the island.

ORDERS

I. All persons on the island are regularly to attend muster and divine service, unless prevented by sickness: a disobedience of this order will be punished by extra-work, or by stopping a day's provisions for the first offence; which, if repeated, will be punished by corporal chastis.e.m.e.nt.

II. No persons are to absent themselves from their quarters, either by night or day, except they have obtained leave, or are going to their respective work; and if any one is observed lurking about after the watch is set, he will be fired at by the centinel.

III. The working hours are to be regularly attended to, and all persons absent from their work after the drum beats for that purpose, will lose a portion of the time they may save from their tasks; and in case of a second offence, they will be severely punished.

IV. The tasks will be continued as usual, and the time saved by the gangs is at their own disposal: those who distinguish themselves by employing their time in cultivating their gardens, and clearing ground for their own use, will meet with encouragement and reward.

V. If the overseers, or the greatest part of any gang, should have reason to complain of the idleness of any one man belonging to that gang, and the complaint should be found just, the offender will be severely punished.

VI. Those who render themselves unable to work by their neglect or obstinacy, in not building themselves warm huts, or who cut themselves through carelessness, will have a part of their provisions stopped until they are able to go to work again.

VII. All the tools and utensils are to be returned regularly every night to the store-house when the retreat beats; and any person who is found secreting any tool, or any article of the King's stores, or committing any robbery whatever, will, on detection and conviction, receive such punishment on the island as his Majesty's Justices of the peace may judge the offence deserves; or the offender will be sent to Port Jackson, to be tried by the criminal court, as the commandant may judge proper.

VIII. It is recommended to every one to be very careful of their cloathing, and every free person or convict is strictly forbid buying or selling any article of slop cloathing: those who disobey this order will be prosecuted for buying or selling the King's stores, whether free people or convicts.

IX. Whenever it may be necessary to make any complaint, the person making the complaint is to inform the corporal of the guard, who will immediately report it; when the commandant (or, in his absence, Lieutenant John Cresswell,) will hear the complaint and decide upon it.

X. Disobedience of orders, insolence to officers or overseers, or any other improper behaviour, tending to the disturbance of the peace, or hindrance of the King's service, will meet with severe punishment; and a regular, honest, good behaviour, will meet with encouragement and reward.

His Majesty's justices of the peace for this island, viz. the Commandant and Lieutenant John Cresswell, (on whom the government of the island devolves, in case of the commandant's death or absence) have appointed Roger Morley and John Altree, to hold the office of constables; and every person is ordered to be a.s.sisting to either or both of them in the execution of their office.

Such were the laws, which our then situations required.

Four acres of ground in Arthur's Vale were planted with Indian corn on the 24th; and, as the rats had dug up most of that which had been planted in the gardens, I replaced it, putting five grains of corn into each pit. During the remainder of this month, we had heavy gales of wind from the south-west, which turned all the wheat quite black, that was growing on the south side of Mount George: but I did not apprehend that it was otherwise injured than by being kept back. This gale was of longer duration, and blew with greater force than any I had hitherto observed.

On the 29th, Ann Coombs, a female convict, received fifty lashes at the cart's tail, for defrauding Thomas Jones, of some provisions: this punishment, however, did not deter her from committing crimes of a similar nature; for the very next day she was detected stealing two new check s.h.i.+rts from Francis Mew, a private marine, and was punished with 100 lashes.

The weather during the month of September was variable; we had some heavy gales of wind from the south-west and east-north-east, but they were not of long duration.

Frequent notice has been taken of the destructive effects of the grub-worm, and they were now as troublesome as ever. These pernicious vermin are generated from the eggs of a fly, which are left on the leaves of plants: here they come to life, and daily gathering strength and vigour, they destroy the leaves; and afterwards, falling on the ground, they cut off the roots and stalks. The surgeon, who, with great perseverance and industry, had got a very good garden, and every thing in it in great forwardness, had all his plants and vegetables nearly destroyed by the grub-worm, and most of the other gardens shared the same fate. The mischief done at my garden in Arthur's Vale was not so great, which I attributed to the quant.i.ty of cultivated ground near it; and, probably, when more extensive pieces of ground come to be cleared, the bad effects of the grub-worm will be in a great measure prevented, but at present, these destructive vermin, and the depredations of the convicts, rendered the cultivation of gardens very discouraging to individuals.

The corporal of marines, who was a very industrious young man, had cleared and planted a piece of ground, and by attention and a.s.siduity, had raised a quant.i.ty of vegetables, besides a very fine crop of potatoes, which would have yielded him at least five bushels; but, on the evening of the 5th, between sun-set and the time of the watch being set, some villains dug up every one of the potatoes, and destroyed a quant.i.ty of other vegetables; and although the convicts were mustered in their huts at sun-set, and three times more during the night, yet the theft was not discovered until the next morning, when a very strict search was made, in order to find out the offender, but to no purpose, as the potatoes were (in the cant phrase) _all planted_; viz.

buried in the ground, so as to be taken out as they were wanted.

This was one of the many acts of villainy that were daily committed by these atrocious wretches.

Catherine Johnson, a female convict, was punished with fifty lashes on the 7th, for abusing the store-keeper, and accusing him of theft wrongfully.

Two acres were sown with Indian corn on the 16th, and the ground being quite shaded from the sun, I employed a gang of labourers to cut down the trees from three acres of land, in order to let the sun in upon the corn. On the 28th, the produce of 240 sets of potatoes, which had been planted on three roods of ground the first of June, were dug up, and yielded five bushels of very fine potatoes.

During the month of October, the weather was in general very mild; the wind chiefly from the south-east. On the 1st, the carpenters, with two men to a.s.sist them, began framing a barn, which I proposed to erect in Arthur's Vale. The grub-worms were still very numerous, notwithstanding the women convicts were daily employed in picking them off the plants and out of the ground: they totally destroyed one acre of Indian corn, and cut off every cabbage and other plants as fast as they sprang up.

As it would be very convenient to have a path to the west side of the island, I employed six men to cut a road from the settlement to Mount Pitt, and from thence to Anson-Bay, which business was completed on the 21st.

I went out in the morning of the 23d, to survey the west side of Sydney-Bay, in the course of which, I found most of the bones belonging to the body of one of the men who were drowned on the 6th of August, 1788: I brought them to the settlement, where they were interred.

On the 27th, we had a strong gale of wind from the east, attended with heavy rain, which was the first that had happened since the 23d of September, and was much wanted. Fifteen acres of wheat were now in ear, and had a good appearance; and the Indian corn, of which we had seven acres, was in a thriving state, although much thinned by the grub-worm: one acre of barley was also in ear, and the garden vegetables were in great forwardness.

The grub-worm had totally disappeared, but still our calamities were not at an end; for the parroquets (of which we had myriads) were constantly destroying the wheat, and the garden productions; insomuch that we were obliged to keep a number of persons employed in beating them away with long poles.

During the month of November, the weather was hot and sultry, with only one shower of rain; the wind from the east-south-east.

The carpenters finished the barn on the 9th: its dimensions were 30 feet long by 16 feet wide, and 17 feet under the eaves, with a loft over it. The roof was well s.h.i.+ngled, and the sides weather-boarded: in short, it was a complete building, and conveniently situated, being in the center of the cultivated grounds in Arthur's Vale.

On the 13th, Lieutenant Cresswell turned a turtle in a small bay, to the westward of the settlement, which he distributed amongst the free persons and others, as far as it would go.

Robert Webb, a seaman belonging to the Sirius, went on the 15th, to the valley above the Cascade-Bay; having obtained my permission to become a settler, if Governor Phillip should have no objection to it.

Some barley which had been sown the latter end of May, about three quarters of an acre with one bushel and an half of seed, was cut this day, and the produce was twenty-three bushels of a very fine full grain. The potatoes which were sown during the month of September, in Arthur's vale, were all running to stalk, and not one potatoe formed at the roots: the fibres were very strong and shooting out of the ground, notwithstanding they had been well earthed: this was probably owing to the very great heat and drought which we had recently experienced. Large flocks of parroquets still infested the wheat, and made great havock in one acre; but as it ripened very fast, I did not apprehend much farther damage from them or the caterpillars, which were again become very numerous.

As it would be necessary to have the hogs and poultry near the granary, during the time of harvest, I employed a party of labourers in bringing logs to make an inclosure round the barn, and other conveniencies for the stock; and on the 30th, we began the wheat harvest.

On the 3d of December, at day-light, the Supply arrived in the road, and soon afterwards, I received my letters from Governor Phillip. In the course of the day, six men and eight women convicts were landed, with some provisions and stores for the settlement. By an order from Governor Phillip, all persons on the island were to be put to two-thirds allowance of provisions, which commenced on the 5th: the settlement at Port Jackson went to this allowance in November. Having received every thing from the Supply, that vessel sailed for Port Jackson on the 7th.

All the labourers were now employed in reaping, stacking, and thatching the wheat, which business was all finished by the 24th.

Four acres of the wheat were greatly damaged by some very heavy rain, which fell from the 14th to the 18th, and caused it to shoot out; but this was put into a stack by itself for present consumption. The wheat now reaped had been sown at different periods, notwithstanding which, it was ripe nearly at the same time; but the last sown did not stock so well as that which was put more early in the ground: that which was sown in drills, suffered much from the blighting winds; and, as this island is subject to these winds at all times of the year, the method of drilling wheat or barley in rows, will not answer so well as when sown at a broad cast. The best time for sowing wheat, is from the latter end of May to the middle of June; indeed, that which was sown in August, yielded a very large sound grain; but, (as I have already observed) it did not stock so well as the other.

At sun-rise on the 25th, the colours were hoisted, in observance of Christmas-day; divine service was performed at ten o'clock, and I ordered two hogs, belonging to the crown, to be killed and issued out to the free people and convicts, at the rate of one pound and an half to each person: and, as the crop of wheat had turned out tolerably well, I ordered two pounds of flour to each man, and the women one pound each, to celebrate the festival.

During the month of January, the weather was very variable, with frequent strong gales of wind from the south-east. The general employment of the labourers was clearing away ground for the next season, and turning up the fifteen acres of wheat stubble, thres.h.i.+ng, making s.h.i.+ngles, cutting logs, to make a log-house for the store-keeper, and other necessary business.

The small union flag had hitherto been used as a signal for landing, but as it could not easily be distinguished from the roads, on the 11th, I had a flag-staff fixed in the front of my house, the lower mast of which was 20 feet long, and the top-mast 36 feet; on which a large union was occasionally to be hoisted.

Some villain stabbed a very fine sow which was near farrowing, on the 18th, but though the strictest enquiry was made, I could not discover who was the perpetrator of this atrocious act.

Most of the labourers were now employed in cutting down, gathering, and cleaning the Indian corn, a vast quant.i.ty of which was destroyed by the parroquets, although men were constantly employed in beating them off with long poles.

A greater number of people were sick during this month, than had been the case since my landing on the island. The complaint, in general, was a diarrhoea, but those who had this disorder were soon recovered. The surgeon was of opinion that the great change of weather which had happened, joined to the great quant.i.ty of vegetables that were daily consumed, was the cause of this sickness.

The appearance of a vessel in the road at day-light in the morning of the 29th, caused the greatest acclamations of joy through the whole settlement; every person imagining that s.h.i.+ps had arrived from England; especially as the Supply had been with us so recently: but, presently afterwards, we perceived it to be that vessel; and on receiving my letters from the governor, I found that no s.h.i.+ps had arrived from our native country; which piece of intelligence being circulated through the settlement, a dejection took place equal to the joy that was visible a short time before.

Twenty-two male convicts and one female arrived by the Supply, but no provisions were sent along with them, there being only a sufficient quant.i.ty at Port Jackson to serve until the latter end of May, at the present allowance; and as our crops had been good, and our resources, with respect to fish and vegetables, were greater than at Port Jackson, the governor had thought proper to send this additional number of convicts.

Our present numbers were now as follow, viz.

Civil and military, 32 Male convicts, 79 Female convicts, 33 Children, 5 Total 149

I was also informed by Governor Phillip, that as it was necessary for the Sirius to have her full complement of officers, he had ordered me to be discharged from that s.h.i.+p; and had appointed Mr. Newton Fowell to be second-lieutenant in my room, and Mr. Henry Waterhouse to be third-lieutenant, instead of Lieutenant George William Maxwell, who was reported by the surgeons to be insane.

Having received all the convicts from the Supply, and sent my letters for Governor Phillip on board, she set sail for Port Jackson on the 2d of February.