History of Australia and New Zealand from 1606 to 1890Sutherland, Alexander
History
History of Australia and New Zealand from 1606 to 1890
Sutherland, Alexander
Australia -- History; New Zealand -- History
Governor King saw also another object in founding this new colony. He
had some most unruly convicts in Sydney, who were only a source of
trouble and annoyance to all the rest. It seemed to him an advantage
to be able to send these off to a place by themselves, under specially
severe discipline. In September, 1803, the two ships sailed up Storm Bay
and into the mouth of the river Derwent. Lieutenant Bowen caused them to
anchor on the right side of the estuary, in a little bay called Risdon
Cove. The people were soon on shore, and pitched their tents on a grassy
hill a little back from the water. Bowen went out to survey the country,
while the convicts set to work to build huts for themselves; a little
village soon appeared, and in the long grass that surrounded it a few
sheep and goats were pastured for the use of the rising colony. The
place was named Hobart Town, after Lord Hobart, who was then Secretary
of State for the Colonies. A month later Governor King sent forty-two
convicts and fifteen soldiers to increase the strength of the
settlement; and the little village was beginning to look populous, when,
unexpectedly, there came a great accession from another source.
#2. Collins.#--During this same year, 1803, the British Government, moved
by fears of a French occupation, had resolved to form a settlement on
the shores of Port Phillip. Accordingly David Collins, who had been
judge-advocate at Sydney, but had taken a trip to England, was chosen to
be Lieutenant-Governor of the new colony, and was despatched with 307
convicts, 24 wives of convicts, 51 soldiers, and 13 free settlers, on
board two ships, the _Calcutta_ and the _Ocean_. Collins had made an
effort to form a settlement at Port Phillip, on a sandy shore, near the
site of Sorrento, but had grown disgusted with the place; and early in
1804 he carried off all the people, and resolved to abandon Port Phillip
in favour of the Derwent. He landed at Risdon on the 15th February, and,
after a short examination, came to the conclusion that the situation was
unsuitable. Next day he went in search of a better place, and chose a
little bay on the opposite side, some six miles nearer the mouth of the
estuary, and thither the whole settlement was soon after removed. There,
at the very foot of the lofty Mount Wellington, Hobart Town began to
grow in its new situation. Houses were rapidly erected; most of them
consisted of posts stuck in the ground, interwoven with twigs of wattle
trees, and then daubed over with mud. The chimneys were built of stones
and turf, and the roofs were thatched with grass. Whilst the new town
was growing, a party of convicts and soldiers was still busy on the
little farms at Risdon, and early in May they had a most unfortunate
affray with the natives. A party of two or three hundred blacks, who
were travelling southward, came suddenly in sight of the white men and
their habitations. These were the first Europeans whom they had seen,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account