An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk IslandHunter, John
History
An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island
Hunter, John
New South Wales -- History -- Sources
At day-light in the morning of the 15th, the midshipman and
four men went out in the boat to fish: they were returning at
nine o'clock, and in passing the point of the reef, the fine
weather, and the absence of surf, threw them so much off their
guard, that the boat shipped a sea which filled her, and washed
John Batchelor, a marine, overboard: the boat, with the rest of
the men, drove in among the rocks to the westward of the
landing-place, where they were saved with great difficulty,
having received violent contusions. The boat was got round to the
crab and hove up; she was much damaged, and her repairs were
likely to take up a considerable time, as I had only two men who
could assist in this business.
The wheat which was sown on the north-east side of Mount
George, the 15th of June, being all rotten in the ground, except
260 blades, which I transplanted and put together, that patch of
ground was sown with barley on the 1st of July. The wheat had a
very bad appearance when put into the ground, being much heated
and destroyed by the weevil.
The labourers were employed the greatest part of this month in
clearing away and turning up some ground near my house, for a
garden; its size about thirty rods. The barley which was sown on
the 1st came up on the 10th, and every thing at the plantation
had a promising aspect. On the 15th, the last cask of beef and
pork were opened, which would serve forty-four days at full
allowance; it therefore was my intention to put every person to
half allowance on the 28th, should no provisions arise before
that period.
On the 17th, we had a most tremendous gale of wind from the
northward, accompanied by a deluge of rain. The gales of wind
were now very frequent from the south-west and north-west, but it
seldom blew hard from the eastward. These gales generally happen
about the full and change of the moon, and continue three or four
days.
We planted upwards of one thousand cabbages on the 23d, and
every vegetable at the plantation was in a thriving state: we had
turneps, carrots, lettuces of three sorts, onions, leeks,
parsley, cellery, five sorts of cabbages, corn sallad,
artichokes, and beet in great forwardness; but there was reason
to fear that the potatoes and yams were quite destroyed by the
grub-worm.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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