Fort Dundas - Melville Island NT
Google Earth image - Strategic location of Fort Dundas & proximity to SE Asia. 20 hours @ 10 knots = 370kms - walking pace is 5kms/hr = 2.7knots
The entrance to Fort Dundas - July 2016 - some copper log hurdles remain but much work needs to be done before this world class heritage site can be stabilised.
JS Roe sketchbook 15 SLWA Battye Library. Central section of sketch notated at top 'View of the settlement of Fort Dundas - fr??? by HMS ship Tamar in Port Cockburn, Melville Island, N. Coast Australia 1 November 1824. Taken from Tamar (sign of anchor) in King's Cove -' On the left are the Commissariat Officers' Huts - Commissariat - Wharf with boat unloading by derrick - Blacksmith's Hut - Point Barlow - Sawyer's River - Point Herbert & Low mangroves over reddish cliffs - illegible. N. B. There is a customer being served at the store & they are flying the Union Flag not the White Ensign.
Fort Dundas printed in PP King's Narrative of a Survey - wrought on the sketch by JS Roe 1/11/1824 above as King never saw Fort Dundas.
Fort Dundas - in brief
24th August 1824
- The expedition fleet sailed from Port Jackson.
- HMS Tamar - Captain Bremer, C. B. who named the fort for Sir Philip Dundas, First Lord of the Admiralty.
- Transport ship Countess of Harcourt,
- Colonial brig Lady Nelson.
- Approximately 100 personnel:-
- 27 Royal Marines - 24 troops of the 3rd Regiment of Foot (The Buffs) - An Assistant Surgeon - Three commissariat officers - Three free mechanics
- Between 41 and 45 convicts {Campbell 1834: 132; HRA Ill, Vol. V: 768, 789}.
- All civilians were volunteers. Source... Clayton Fredericksen ‘Confinement by Isolation’ (see References & Resources below)
- 28 September 1824 - Site of fort stumbled upon/into by Bremer.
- 30 September 1824 - Work commenced.
- 2 October 1824 - Joseph Lorraine, a negro convict died of eating Sago Palm Cycas Circinalis - Sergeant Stewart survived.
- 21 October 1824 - Fort formally proclaimed on Trafalgar Day.
- November 1824 - Bremer departed for India & the 1st Burma War leaving Barlow in charge.
- 16 January 1825 - Private Reece Jenkins - Royal Marines
- February 1825 - Supply vessels Lady Nelson & Stedcombe sailed on 19th & 23 respectively - taken by Malay pirates at Babar Island near Timor and lost.
- 2 November 1827 Last deaths - Sophie Hicks died of complications in pregnancy/childbirth(?) - Dr John Gold & storekeeper John Henry Green speared.
- 31 May 1828 Major Hartley ordered to abandon Fort Dundas & transfer to Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay on Cobourg Peninsular - it was abandoned the following year - the occupants establishing the Swan River settlement (Perth WA).
- 4 April 1829 abandonment of Fort Dundas - one soldier could not be found & was left behind - his wife & family sailed without him.
Port Cockburn, Melville Is. 'From a drawing by Capn. Bunn'. Presented to SLNSW by Sir William Dixson, 1951.
The Founding of Fort Dundas in Port Cockburn - September 1824
Henry Dundas - 1st Viscount Melville
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Thursday 10 March 1825
Extracts from the Journal of 'An Officer of the Expedition'
(Tuesday 28 September 1824 was also the birthday of Francis Turner Palgrave.)
"Tuesday, 28 - Captain Bremer, while shooting in marshy ground, fell up to the middle in water, which upon tasting he found fresh, and a running stream; weighed anchor about three o'clock and went further down the bay, to the place where Captain Bremer had found the fresh water, and where he now determined to fix the Settlement ; anchored then in a well sheltered bay, with deep water almost close to the shore.
Thursday, 30 - Went on shore about eleven o'clock to see the place fixed on for our future residence ; found it a headland ; the soil two or three hundred yards rocky, but at that distance very good ; the beach rocky, and beyond the rocks toward the sea, slime and mud ; saw no good place for bathing. Went into the country two or three miles; along shore the ground was covered with saltwater swamps, but beyond them the soil good. In returning lost our way, and travelled about for a long time; very warm and thirsty ; some of the party shot one of the birds called laughing jackasses. Quail and pheasants seen ; found our way back to the ships about four o'clock, very much fatigued. Some essay services with sequence pattern calculator calculatorprofessional specialize in helping students write descriptive essays, guiding them in vividly portraying subjects through detailed observations and sensory language. These platforms ensure that students' descriptive essays are engaging and effectively immerse readers in the topic.
Saturday, Oct. 10 - I shall conclude my Journal with the following statement : Our Settlement is made on a point of land on the West coast of the island, in a large bay formed betwixt itself and another small island, called Bathurst Island, in which any number of ships may ride in safety. It is surrounded on both sides by low and marshy ground, which, in high tides, is covered by the sea ; a plentiful supply of good fresh water is however found in a running stream about a mile from the Settlement (but separated from it by a marsh), and in other places; and a well has been dug close to the Settlement and good water found. The soil is apparently good and rich, and the trees are the cabbage palm, stringy balk, and the apple tree, of New South Wales, and the marshy ground is covered with mangroves. No four footed animals have been found, with the exception of the native dogs, and opossums, nor have kangaroos been seen. The birds are parquets of various plumage ; black and white cockatoos ; pheasants; quail;, wood pigeons, laughing jackasses; satin birds, owls, and some others, which I cannot name ; fish have been found, mullet, and those called old wives are the most plentiful.
The Thermometer has varied from 76 to 87 since our arrival, in the shade ; but it is generally found about 80" in the morning, rising about 5 degrees towards noon. No unhealthy symptoms have yet appeared, and should the rainy season (which, if we have, it will set in soon) pass by without creating any, we may pronounce the climate healthy and good, considering its proximity to the equator; a breeze from some quarter or another-commences in the morning, and generally continues during the day.
We have had as yet no intercourse with the natives, nor have any of them been seen, though their fires are visible every night.
October 25th - Captain Bremer and a party, having passed over to Bathurst Island, and having gone up a creek, on returning they were met by a party of the natives, about eight in number, with whom they had some intercourse, by signs, and to whom they gave some handkerchiefs, &c. Capt. Bremer, when passing alongside of our ship, came on board to tell us of his interview, and staid to dinner. Just as we had finished, and before the cloth was removed, they hailed us from Settlement, to say that the natives had come down and attacked them. We immediately armed and went on shore, and were told they had retreated into the woods, but had carried with them one of the marines. This we found false, and we followed them, and about half-a-mile from the Settlement saw some of them retreating and looking behind ; they stopped after we had followed for a short time, and came towards us making signs for us to go back. Capt. Bunn went a little forward from our party, and one of the natives also came forward, and after a little time was followed by the others ; and they allowed some of us also to go towards them, and were shortly quite familiar, walking with us hand in hand. They came with us toward the Settlement but would not enter it. We made them a present of some handkerchiefs which they seemed to care little for, but two or three hatchets being-given to them they were highly prized. Bread was offered them which some of them took, but they would not eat in any quantity, though we shewed them the example, and a surly suspicious looking dog made signs to me that it was poison, and would make him large bellied. Walking in the woods next morning, I found the bread they kept, laid by the side of a fallen tree; there were eight or ten of them, good looking men, and were in size somewhat taller than a middling sized European ; they had bushy beards and a robust appearance ; quite naked, mid tattooed very prettily down the back and belly, and armed with spears and waddies very similar to those used by the natives in New South Wales. They were much struck with our clothes, which I believe, at first, they thought were a portion of our bodies; one of the party took off his shoes, which they seemed astonished at, and two or three wished to take off my boots, but they could not do it.
When we were near the Settlement, our men came out to see the natives ; and some of the prisoners who were men of colour with them, and having only then left their work, they had only their trousers on ; our new made acquaintances were struck at their appearance, and made signs to them to take off, their clothes, which one of them did, they shouting and examining him on all sides, and very much gratified to see him so much like themselves ; they were very pressing for more axes (which they called peerces), and stole one or two. They left us towards sunset, laying their hands over their ears, and placing that side of their head towards the ground, which we interpreted as a sign, they were going to sleep."
The first hand accounts of three other officers are in the pdf below.
Extracts from the Journal of 'An Officer of the Expedition'
(Tuesday 28 September 1824 was also the birthday of Francis Turner Palgrave.)
"Tuesday, 28 - Captain Bremer, while shooting in marshy ground, fell up to the middle in water, which upon tasting he found fresh, and a running stream; weighed anchor about three o'clock and went further down the bay, to the place where Captain Bremer had found the fresh water, and where he now determined to fix the Settlement ; anchored then in a well sheltered bay, with deep water almost close to the shore.
Thursday, 30 - Went on shore about eleven o'clock to see the place fixed on for our future residence ; found it a headland ; the soil two or three hundred yards rocky, but at that distance very good ; the beach rocky, and beyond the rocks toward the sea, slime and mud ; saw no good place for bathing. Went into the country two or three miles; along shore the ground was covered with saltwater swamps, but beyond them the soil good. In returning lost our way, and travelled about for a long time; very warm and thirsty ; some of the party shot one of the birds called laughing jackasses. Quail and pheasants seen ; found our way back to the ships about four o'clock, very much fatigued. Some essay services with sequence pattern calculator calculatorprofessional specialize in helping students write descriptive essays, guiding them in vividly portraying subjects through detailed observations and sensory language. These platforms ensure that students' descriptive essays are engaging and effectively immerse readers in the topic.
Saturday, Oct. 10 - I shall conclude my Journal with the following statement : Our Settlement is made on a point of land on the West coast of the island, in a large bay formed betwixt itself and another small island, called Bathurst Island, in which any number of ships may ride in safety. It is surrounded on both sides by low and marshy ground, which, in high tides, is covered by the sea ; a plentiful supply of good fresh water is however found in a running stream about a mile from the Settlement (but separated from it by a marsh), and in other places; and a well has been dug close to the Settlement and good water found. The soil is apparently good and rich, and the trees are the cabbage palm, stringy balk, and the apple tree, of New South Wales, and the marshy ground is covered with mangroves. No four footed animals have been found, with the exception of the native dogs, and opossums, nor have kangaroos been seen. The birds are parquets of various plumage ; black and white cockatoos ; pheasants; quail;, wood pigeons, laughing jackasses; satin birds, owls, and some others, which I cannot name ; fish have been found, mullet, and those called old wives are the most plentiful.
The Thermometer has varied from 76 to 87 since our arrival, in the shade ; but it is generally found about 80" in the morning, rising about 5 degrees towards noon. No unhealthy symptoms have yet appeared, and should the rainy season (which, if we have, it will set in soon) pass by without creating any, we may pronounce the climate healthy and good, considering its proximity to the equator; a breeze from some quarter or another-commences in the morning, and generally continues during the day.
We have had as yet no intercourse with the natives, nor have any of them been seen, though their fires are visible every night.
October 25th - Captain Bremer and a party, having passed over to Bathurst Island, and having gone up a creek, on returning they were met by a party of the natives, about eight in number, with whom they had some intercourse, by signs, and to whom they gave some handkerchiefs, &c. Capt. Bremer, when passing alongside of our ship, came on board to tell us of his interview, and staid to dinner. Just as we had finished, and before the cloth was removed, they hailed us from Settlement, to say that the natives had come down and attacked them. We immediately armed and went on shore, and were told they had retreated into the woods, but had carried with them one of the marines. This we found false, and we followed them, and about half-a-mile from the Settlement saw some of them retreating and looking behind ; they stopped after we had followed for a short time, and came towards us making signs for us to go back. Capt. Bunn went a little forward from our party, and one of the natives also came forward, and after a little time was followed by the others ; and they allowed some of us also to go towards them, and were shortly quite familiar, walking with us hand in hand. They came with us toward the Settlement but would not enter it. We made them a present of some handkerchiefs which they seemed to care little for, but two or three hatchets being-given to them they were highly prized. Bread was offered them which some of them took, but they would not eat in any quantity, though we shewed them the example, and a surly suspicious looking dog made signs to me that it was poison, and would make him large bellied. Walking in the woods next morning, I found the bread they kept, laid by the side of a fallen tree; there were eight or ten of them, good looking men, and were in size somewhat taller than a middling sized European ; they had bushy beards and a robust appearance ; quite naked, mid tattooed very prettily down the back and belly, and armed with spears and waddies very similar to those used by the natives in New South Wales. They were much struck with our clothes, which I believe, at first, they thought were a portion of our bodies; one of the party took off his shoes, which they seemed astonished at, and two or three wished to take off my boots, but they could not do it.
When we were near the Settlement, our men came out to see the natives ; and some of the prisoners who were men of colour with them, and having only then left their work, they had only their trousers on ; our new made acquaintances were struck at their appearance, and made signs to them to take off, their clothes, which one of them did, they shouting and examining him on all sides, and very much gratified to see him so much like themselves ; they were very pressing for more axes (which they called peerces), and stole one or two. They left us towards sunset, laying their hands over their ears, and placing that side of their head towards the ground, which we interpreted as a sign, they were going to sleep."
The first hand accounts of three other officers are in the pdf below.
The new colony got off to a rocky start with 2 soldiers of the Buffs plus a man & a boy drowning at Port Essington when one of the Harcourt's boats capsized. On just the second day at Fort Dundas a sergeant of the Buffs went shooting with his pointer & a 'convict negro to carry his bags' - it seems that they got bushed, ate cycad nuts & fell ill. Despite cannon & rocket fire there was no sign of them until on the second day the sergeant recovered having eaten less than his companion - he left his dog, 2 birds that he'd shot & an axe and just managed to make it to the fort by nightfall - 'several parties were dispatched but without success; poor Lorraine & the dog never made their appearance and various of course were the conjectures as to what may have been their ultimate fate.' Joseph Lorian (Lorraine) was a native of St Thomas in the Virgin Islands & it seems that about a quarter of the convicts were black including George William Handy, originally from Barbados who was a stonemason & may have marked his handy work - he got his ticket of Leave in Sydney in 1829 & by 1866 was a ratepayer in Collingwood, Victoria.
Military Gambit
"This interpretation of the Melville Island venture throws doubt on its common description as a ‘failed settlement of the north’. Fort Dundas may more accurately be seen as the instrument of a military gambit, which served its purpose in British imperialist strategy and was retired once its function had been served." Rev. Colin de la Rue
Roe Sketchbook- p13 SLWA - view NNW across King Cove to Garden Point - Tamar, Harcourt & Lady Nelson at anchor - thatched Commissariat Store & Blacksmith Shed
Blomefield Pattern short 18 pr c1792 - Dr. AR Collins
The cannon at bottom right is a naval piece & the cypher on the barrel is George III (reign 1760-1820). Frank Garie suggests that it is a 'Cast Iron Sea Service gun (because of the rope loop above the cascabel knob/button/pompollion), possibly of Miller's pattern (1822 - 1833), but I am unable to discern its size, probably a 12-pr or 18-pr of about 4' 9" long. The type of ship from which the gun came might give a clue as to its size'. {The guns came off HMS Tamar} 'There was a 24-pr Brass Sea Service Howitzer, Dundas pattern, also 4' 9" long x 13 cwt, but this would be unusual. All of these Sea Service guns had a noticeable step or "reinforce" in the barrel diameter in front of the trunnions, which is missing from the sketch'.
The cascabel is the protrusion from the base of the gun - Victoria Crosses are traditionally said to be cast from cascabel metal from Russian guns captured during the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854/55 at the close of the Crimean War. The sketch is by John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. (Image & paper at right vis http://arc.id.au/Cannon.html)
The cascabel is the protrusion from the base of the gun - Victoria Crosses are traditionally said to be cast from cascabel metal from Russian guns captured during the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854/55 at the close of the Crimean War. The sketch is by John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. (Image & paper at right vis http://arc.id.au/Cannon.html)
Carronade c1795 Dr AR Collins
JS Roe was a renowned explorer and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years. He was a surveyor with PP King aboard the Mermaid when Bathurst Island was surveyed in 1819.
He was with the Tamar at the establishment of Fort Dundas & after surveying Perth & Fremantle conducted many exploring expeditions earning the title of the father of Australian exploration. An avid scientific collector he is credited with founding the WA State Library & Museum as well as securing the land for King's Park. He sent a case of north Australian biological samples & one of 100 live plants to his friend Lambert in England who named a number of specimens in his honour.
The image at left shows a carronade c1795 which is basically a cut down cannon used to great effect during the Napoleonic Wars when changes to naval battle tactics favoured the shorter range & targeting of the waterline. The gun mount is another innovation. The Carron Works is at Falkirk on the outskirts of Edinburgh with the Falkirk Wheel & the Antonine Wall.
He was with the Tamar at the establishment of Fort Dundas & after surveying Perth & Fremantle conducted many exploring expeditions earning the title of the father of Australian exploration. An avid scientific collector he is credited with founding the WA State Library & Museum as well as securing the land for King's Park. He sent a case of north Australian biological samples & one of 100 live plants to his friend Lambert in England who named a number of specimens in his honour.
The image at left shows a carronade c1795 which is basically a cut down cannon used to great effect during the Napoleonic Wars when changes to naval battle tactics favoured the shorter range & targeting of the waterline. The gun mount is another innovation. The Carron Works is at Falkirk on the outskirts of Edinburgh with the Falkirk Wheel & the Antonine Wall.
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JS Roe wrote in a letter to his father - the Rev. James Roe, Rector of Newbury Berkshire via the Countess of Harcourt - that the 6 quarter deck guns from the Tamar that were mounted on Fort Dundas: were four(4) 18-pound carronades, two (2) long nine-pounders “that will carry a shot over to Bathurst Island”, and one (1) carronade of 12-pounds on a running carriage guarding the drawbridge on the land side.
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Roe goes on to detail his application to the Admiralty for command of a vessel to enable him to complete the survey of the coast around the new settlement from the Liverpool River to Cygnet Bay to the north of modern Broome in WA which may have resulted in a much earlier discovery of Port Darwin. Roe also remarks upon the 'Secret Service' nature of the earlier preparation for the voyage from England to claim northern Australia and establish the new colony. The Sr. Richd Keats is Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats who Nelson dubbed “a treasure to the service” & for whom Port Keats is named.
The French persisted in what they always claimed was scientific enquiry into Australia - until the very recent disclosure of personal papers proved otherwise. After the closure of Fort Dundas & Fort Wellington there was nothing between Brisbane and Perth to support British claims to the north coast. "In 1837 the British Government was disturbed by a report that the French Government was fitting out an expedition to take possession of a North Australian port. Captain Bremer was at once instructed to re-annex Port Essington.
Taking a detachment of marines, and accompanied by the brig Britomart, Bremer sailed out of Plymouth in February 1838. Heavy seas were running, and the Alligator was disabled and forced to return to port. A new start was made on March 10. At Teneriffe the Alligator joined the Britomart, and Sydney was reached on July 21. After refitting, the expedition sailed for Port Essington, accompanied by the Orontes, a hired transport. En route Bremer landed at Cape York, and took formal possession of the territory. Port Essington was reached on October 26, troops and stores were landed, and fortifications commenced. The site of Bremer's landing is now occupied by the town of Victoria. Captain Bremer and his forces settled themselves to wait news of the French. This came early in 1839, when friendly aborigines intimated the arrival of two ships in Raffles Bay. Lieutenant Stewart, who was sent in an open boat to investigate, found the corvettes Astrolabe and Zellee at anchor, and the French flag flying on the shore of the bay. On receipt of this news Captain Bremer invited the French Commander, Dumont d’Urville to Port Essington. He came, saw, and in due course departed, reasonably disgusted at being so neatly anticipated". The Frenchman Came Too Late - Pioneers & Explorers No.25 by Bernard Cronin
Taking a detachment of marines, and accompanied by the brig Britomart, Bremer sailed out of Plymouth in February 1838. Heavy seas were running, and the Alligator was disabled and forced to return to port. A new start was made on March 10. At Teneriffe the Alligator joined the Britomart, and Sydney was reached on July 21. After refitting, the expedition sailed for Port Essington, accompanied by the Orontes, a hired transport. En route Bremer landed at Cape York, and took formal possession of the territory. Port Essington was reached on October 26, troops and stores were landed, and fortifications commenced. The site of Bremer's landing is now occupied by the town of Victoria. Captain Bremer and his forces settled themselves to wait news of the French. This came early in 1839, when friendly aborigines intimated the arrival of two ships in Raffles Bay. Lieutenant Stewart, who was sent in an open boat to investigate, found the corvettes Astrolabe and Zellee at anchor, and the French flag flying on the shore of the bay. On receipt of this news Captain Bremer invited the French Commander, Dumont d’Urville to Port Essington. He came, saw, and in due course departed, reasonably disgusted at being so neatly anticipated". The Frenchman Came Too Late - Pioneers & Explorers No.25 by Bernard Cronin
Map by Major Campbell 24th April 1827 - held by the SLNSW Mitchell Library. Note standing walls Item G Military Barracks
Dr Gold's letter to his mother 1826
Dr Gold wrote home to his mother in England describing life at Fort Dundas on Melville Is in 1826 - it is the oldest surviving letter from the NT sent via the Ship Letter service that began in 1825 whereby the recipient paid. There are three pages of fine detail of Australia's first free settlement of which I only have page one. The letter was sold at auction in 2009 for $30k. |
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Sept. 22.—An accident to-day occurred by the upsetting of a boat belonging to the Countess of Harcourt, which proved fatal to two soldiers, the steward, and a boy belonging to the transport. Amongst those rescued from the watery grave, by the timely arrival of the Tamar's boat, whence the accident was seen, were the medical officer of the expedition {Dr Turner}, the Commissary, his clerk, the transport (McDonald) and four seamen. (Australian 10/3/1825)
Dr Gold had a difficult time with many deaths resulting from poor diet when the supply ships Stedcombe & Lady Nelson were captured by pirates. They had no draught animals at the start & some of the convicts were not young - like Nicholas Battis the French negro who was 55 when he died on 5th May 1825. Dr Gold was speared to death with Mr Green the storekeeper on 2nd Nov 1827. Lieut. William Hicks RN examined the bodies, Green had 17 & Gold 31 wounds - 7 still had the spear heads in them "from every circumstance I should fear he had died very hard." It was the day Hicks returned to the fort aboard the Mary Elizabeth & the day they buried his wife Sophia - the first white woman to be buried in Northern Australia. Oddly nobody died after Dr Gold - except presumably the soldier who went missing on the day of departure in 1829 - they had to sail away without him, to the great distress of his wife and family.
Mortality
Campbell memoir.
The Peninsular Wars - Battle of Douro 1809
This brass badge was discovered in Eleanor Cosby's excavation - it was found on the surface and is without the crown crest. Once thought to be a shako for a helmet, the National Army Museum in London now believe it too small - "There was no official campaign medal for the Battle of Douro and the action is not recognised with a clasp for the Military General Service Medal. What you have is more likely to be an officer's shoulder belt plate associated with the 3rd (The East Kent) Regiment of Foot (The Buffs) and 'Douro' likely to be a battle honour reference." They further advise that the National Archives in Kew hold 'the regimental Monthly Returns in WO17 and WO73 and regimental Muster Rolls and Pay Lists in WO10 and WO73'. The badge resides at MAGNT in Darwin with the other finds from 1975 dig.
The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army until 1961. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army being third in order of precedence (ranked as the 3rd Regiment of the line). The Duke of Wellington considered the Battle of Douro to be of such significance that he held it amongst his personal battle honours.
The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army until 1961. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army being third in order of precedence (ranked as the 3rd Regiment of the line). The Duke of Wellington considered the Battle of Douro to be of such significance that he held it amongst his personal battle honours.
First Wedding in the Northern Territory
November 1826 - Catherine (recently widowed of Patrick Tiernan, shoemaker & convict) married the multi-talented William Nixon a cotton spinner, dyer, wheelwright and highway robber. Dr John Gold, as Justice of the Peace, did the honours witnessed by the Fort's gardener John Richardson & wife Jane.
Perhaps the first stone building in Australia outside of a penal colony. Stone was robbed out of this and another pile nearer the wharf for the foundation of the Garden Point mission church and convent. The building is 8m x 6m - walls 50cm thick - designated (G) Military Barracks on 1827 diagram above - the plaque shown below is behind the standing wall & to the right at 2 o'clock - it was thought to be the cemetery & grave of Sophie Hicks the 1st white woman to be buried in Northern Australia.
Lieutenant William Hicks & wife Sophie
Lieutenant William Hicks RN sailed from England in the ship Admiral Cockburn & sought permission to remain as a settler. The top end of Apsley Strait between Bathurst & Melville Islands was name Port Cockburn to honour Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn. Hicks married Sophia Hickey of Sydney on 18th November 1823. Following the failure of his selection and attack by bushrangers, Hicks & family sailed under his command in the Mary Elizabeth from Sydney to Fort Dundas in 1827 - he returned from a voyage to Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay to learn of the death of Sophie (2/11/1827) and their second child. By August 1828 he was back in Sydney and thence to Isle De France (Mauritius) in 1830. (see Free Settler or Felon - ). Barbara James in 'No Man's Land' records that Sophie was pregnant with their second child when they sailed from Sydney. It would appear that the child did not survive the birth and that the mother died soon thereafter. Subsequently, Hicks was granted leave to go to Timor to collect his surviving child, presumably William Henry who was born in Sydney in 1825. The contention, in E.S. Hall's correspondence {below}, that Hicks was involved in the erroneous establishment of Fort Wellington is also less than clear.
'By the cutter Mermaid. S. Dowsett master which lately touched at Western port on its voyage to Sydney, we learn very unfavourable accounts of the settlements at Melville Island and Raffles Bay. That vessel sailed from Melville Island with Major Campbell and Mr Radford on board, for Raffles bay, which place she reached after a tedious voyage of 21 days. They found the whole settlement in the most sickly state, and the surgeon Dr. Wood had died. Fourteen of the worst cases were brought to Melville Island for medical aid. During their absence Mrs. Hicks, wife of Lieut. Hicks had died. Mr. Green the store-keeper, son of Captain Green of the 57th regiment had been barbarously murdered by the natives, and also Dr. Gold; the body of the latter when found, being in a horrid state, transfixed with 32 spear wounds. The Mermaid took on board 20 of the most sickly to transport to Sydney, two of whom died on the passage.
Our readers will observe among the goods brought by the Caledonia, a small sample of Mauritius soap...........' The Hobart-Town Courier Sat. March 1. 1828
Our readers will observe among the goods brought by the Caledonia, a small sample of Mauritius soap...........' The Hobart-Town Courier Sat. March 1. 1828
'The Early Hunter Valley Settlers'
"In 1827 William Hicks departed New South Wales in command of the Mary Elizabeth. Accompanied by H.M.S. Success, Marquis of Lansdown, and the Amity and their Officers and crew, Lieutenant Hicks on the Mary Elizabeth set sail for the fledgling British settlement Fort Dundas in Australia's north. .....
The Success, shortly after her return from Bateman's Bay, proceeds on a voyage of survey along the coast to the northward. She is to be accompanied by the Government vessels the Mary and Elizabeth, having on board a number of mechanics who have volunteered their services, and a detachment of the 39th under the orders of Captain Smith of that regiment. The Government brig Amity accompanies the Success and the brig Mary Elizabeth as far as Melville Island where she is to leave a supply of provisions and proceed to King George's Sound. (5)
Conditions were harsh and attempts at settlement were not successful. In February 1828 the Sydney Gazette reported the death of Dr. Wood at Port Raffles and of Mr. Green, storekeeper at Melville Island who was speared by natives, as was Dr. Gold. Their bodies were discovered by Lieut. Hicks.....The Sydney Gazette told of the disaster - Melville Island.- In our last number, it was our melancholy duty to announce the lamented death of Dr. Wood, which occurred at Port Raffles, as also the death of Mr. Green, at Melville Island, the son of a Gentleman in this Colony that is sincerely esteemed. We have since been favoured with a document which furnishes some particulars respecting these disastrous events. By a letter from Lieut. Hicks, R. N. commanding the Mary Elizabeth, it appears that Mr. John Henry Green and Mr. John Gold were destroyed by the natives at Melville Island, on the 2d of November last. The following is an extract from the document already referred to :- p. m.6.15. The alarm given that the natives had surrounded Mr. Green and Dr. Gold, who had walked towards the path ; shortly afterwards the body of Mr. Green was found and brought dead into the fort, and Lieutenant Bates and myself attentively examined it, and found the following wounds: Mr. Green had received in all 17 wounds from spears - three were in his throat, one through his arm, ten in front of his body, and one in his back ; he had also two severe cuts on the head, one was about six inches long, the lips above two inches deep, the skull laid open, so that the brains could be distinctly seen. Nov. 3, A. M. 7. the body of Mr. Gold brought into the fort by the party who had been sent in search of it, and had the following wounds in it as were found by myself and Lieut. Bates. On the body 31 spear wounds, in seven of which the heads were still sticking, several of the spears had gone through the body and head, and one appeared to have penetrated the bowels, several wounds were in his legs, and from every circumstance I should fear he had died very hard.
In 1828 the Hobart Town Courier reported the death at Melville Island of Lieutenant Hicks' wife Sophia and their two children - William b. 1825 and another.
William Hicks arrived back in Sydney on the Mary Elizabeth in August 1828. He remained in command of the Mary Elizabeth making voyages to Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay. In 1830 it was announced that he was to depart for the Isle of France with the intention of bringing back cargo on the return voyage." ()
"In 1827 William Hicks departed New South Wales in command of the Mary Elizabeth. Accompanied by H.M.S. Success, Marquis of Lansdown, and the Amity and their Officers and crew, Lieutenant Hicks on the Mary Elizabeth set sail for the fledgling British settlement Fort Dundas in Australia's north. .....
The Success, shortly after her return from Bateman's Bay, proceeds on a voyage of survey along the coast to the northward. She is to be accompanied by the Government vessels the Mary and Elizabeth, having on board a number of mechanics who have volunteered their services, and a detachment of the 39th under the orders of Captain Smith of that regiment. The Government brig Amity accompanies the Success and the brig Mary Elizabeth as far as Melville Island where she is to leave a supply of provisions and proceed to King George's Sound. (5)
Conditions were harsh and attempts at settlement were not successful. In February 1828 the Sydney Gazette reported the death of Dr. Wood at Port Raffles and of Mr. Green, storekeeper at Melville Island who was speared by natives, as was Dr. Gold. Their bodies were discovered by Lieut. Hicks.....The Sydney Gazette told of the disaster - Melville Island.- In our last number, it was our melancholy duty to announce the lamented death of Dr. Wood, which occurred at Port Raffles, as also the death of Mr. Green, at Melville Island, the son of a Gentleman in this Colony that is sincerely esteemed. We have since been favoured with a document which furnishes some particulars respecting these disastrous events. By a letter from Lieut. Hicks, R. N. commanding the Mary Elizabeth, it appears that Mr. John Henry Green and Mr. John Gold were destroyed by the natives at Melville Island, on the 2d of November last. The following is an extract from the document already referred to :- p. m.6.15. The alarm given that the natives had surrounded Mr. Green and Dr. Gold, who had walked towards the path ; shortly afterwards the body of Mr. Green was found and brought dead into the fort, and Lieutenant Bates and myself attentively examined it, and found the following wounds: Mr. Green had received in all 17 wounds from spears - three were in his throat, one through his arm, ten in front of his body, and one in his back ; he had also two severe cuts on the head, one was about six inches long, the lips above two inches deep, the skull laid open, so that the brains could be distinctly seen. Nov. 3, A. M. 7. the body of Mr. Gold brought into the fort by the party who had been sent in search of it, and had the following wounds in it as were found by myself and Lieut. Bates. On the body 31 spear wounds, in seven of which the heads were still sticking, several of the spears had gone through the body and head, and one appeared to have penetrated the bowels, several wounds were in his legs, and from every circumstance I should fear he had died very hard.
In 1828 the Hobart Town Courier reported the death at Melville Island of Lieutenant Hicks' wife Sophia and their two children - William b. 1825 and another.
William Hicks arrived back in Sydney on the Mary Elizabeth in August 1828. He remained in command of the Mary Elizabeth making voyages to Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay. In 1830 it was announced that he was to depart for the Isle of France with the intention of bringing back cargo on the return voyage." ()
Plaque at centre erected to commemorate the dead - location of graves is not confirmed & would be adjacent to the Military Barracks erroneously believed to be a church.
Eleanor Crosby notes that a tree blazed with a cross was traditionally thought to mark Sophie's grave but it is gone. Searcy thought the robust building might be a church and that the adjacent rectangular mounds may be graves with stones atop (Pdf extract below). However, tree-throw is such a feature of the entire site that grave-like mounds dot the landscape as trees fall, roots raise soil and rocks which collapse as the wood decays. The trend in modern graves is for the burial mound to rapidly erode & the grave to collapse - hence the use of blue tarps, corrugated iron & concrete slabs to arrest the process.
Tree-throw - In the Dry loose soil falls back into the hole, later in the year the tree burns - rocks trapped in the roots fall atop the oval depression now mistaken for a grave.
Fort Dundas Local Regulations for Workmen - the Commandant, Major J Campbell specified:- "1st. Working Hours —The Prisoners are to work in dry weather from day light in the Morning 'til 8 O'clock; from half past 8 until 11; and from 3 until Sunset. The public work is to be carried on every day except Sunday, on which day both Prisoners and Ticket of Leave Men are to attend Divine Service at 9 o’clock in the Military Barracks. In Rainy weather, the work will be regulated by Circumstances." This was dated 10 October 1826 so it would seem that there was no church, although the April 1827 plan shows a building 'G' as Military Barracks - in the vicinity of the surviving walls. Why the barracks would be so far from the fort is a mystery unless it is to defend the rear - irrespective, a barracks would require an armoury and fortified stronghold. It also had a garden.
'To return to Port Dundas. On September 19, 1826, a census of the inhabitants of the settlement showed 115 males and six females. To these must be added members of the ships' crews, to the number of 14. Fifty-two acres of land were under cultivation, and the stock included 23 sheep and lambs, 54 swine, and 16 head of cattle. In this month the garrison were relieved by a detachment of the 57th Regiment.'
The plaque records the names of 33 who died at the fort which was vacated at the end of February 1829 - apparently there were no deaths after 02.11.1827 when doctor Gold died. Resolution of the scurvy problems following the loss of the Stedcombe & Lady Nelson, withdrawal of medical interventions, maturity of fruit trees and reduced workload may have accounted for this remarkable improvement in the bills of mortality, if correct.
Alfred Searcy - Fort Dundas - Melville Island 1895
SLSA image of Alfred Searcy in pith hat, sarong & sandals.
Messrs. Trehearne, James, Gunn, and myself started in dinghies for Barlow Point to have a look for Fort Dundas, a British military post formed in 1824 and abandoned in 1840 (sic). Landing on some very slippery rocks, we made our way through the mangroves up a short rise, and then saw what we at first took for a watercourse. Upon following it round, however, it dawned upon us that it was a real moat, with earth-works and bastions above it. So this was Fort Dundas, constructed some 70 years ago, I suppose to resist the attacks of the natives, and occupied for 16 years. At first, no doubt, the existence there may have been bearable, due to the novelty of occupying such an isolated position, a sense of danger, and having a very limited knowledge, if any at all, of the aboriginal inhabitants. The latter, however, appear to have speedily made themselves known, for in the sailing directions of the north coast of Australia there is a paragraph which speaks for itself : "The natives about Port Cockburn are numerous and hostile, several affrays having formerly taken place between them and the settlers at Fort Dundas." I have never seen a printed record of the doings at the fort, but it is understood that several sentries were killed by the natives; in fact, there seems to be an idea that the hostility of the natives was the cause of the place being abandoned ; but that can hardly be true. No doubt the natives were, hostile then as they are now. They have had a long immunity from trouble, and this no doubt, added to the traditions of how they drove the white men away from the fort, is calculated to make them worse. So it will go on until there is a decided influx of Europeans, and then they will be subdued. Even the chance of being speared, and being isolated becomes monotonous in time ; and life at Fort Dundas must have become a simple existence. "To-day is followed by to-morrow, just as yesterday was followed by today, and without being so conceited as to play the prophet I can in the morning boldly predict what will befall me in the evening." So I read once of a man speaking of his monotonous life, and so it must have been with the soldiers at Fort Dundas. It seemed impossible to imagine that, on those walls soldiers kept their weary watch - soldiers in their tightly buttoned red coats and stiff leather stocks - for it was in the days of Brown Bess, stocks, martinets, and stiff shako. If the natives went in for night work the moat must have afforded them excellent cover to crawl upon the unfortunate sentry. The question arose how many spears a native could throw while, a soldier was loading and fixing up his old musket. Those who could have answered the question are all dead. Following a walled roadway out of the pit, we walked inland through park like country, some of the trees being very fine. About half a mile away we came upon the ruins of what had evidently been a very substantial building. We put it down as the church, as there were several places near it marked out with stones which looked like graves.
On going further inland we struck a jungle, near which were signs of a large native camp. Sheets of bark doubled and standing on the ground like ‘V’ upside down, being used for shelter. At all the fires there were heaps of shells of the fruit of the tree fern (Cycas media) ; in fact the fruit seemed to form a staple food, for at all the camp fires we saw on the island there were heaps of these shells. Mussel and crab shells were also to be seen. Some of the sheets of bark were very fine, indeed, one measured being 15ft long by 3ft wide. That the natives have steel tomahawks or knives was evident from the clean cuts in some of the sheets of bark, but the majority were very rough, as if done with a stone. When near a freshwater swamp on our way to the boat we noticed two stumps of trees which had been cut with a saw ; they looked quite the age of the settlement. NT Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927), Friday 19 July 1895, page 3 Fort Dundas-Melville Island. (see full article pdf below)
On going further inland we struck a jungle, near which were signs of a large native camp. Sheets of bark doubled and standing on the ground like ‘V’ upside down, being used for shelter. At all the fires there were heaps of shells of the fruit of the tree fern (Cycas media) ; in fact the fruit seemed to form a staple food, for at all the camp fires we saw on the island there were heaps of these shells. Mussel and crab shells were also to be seen. Some of the sheets of bark were very fine, indeed, one measured being 15ft long by 3ft wide. That the natives have steel tomahawks or knives was evident from the clean cuts in some of the sheets of bark, but the majority were very rough, as if done with a stone. When near a freshwater swamp on our way to the boat we noticed two stumps of trees which had been cut with a saw ; they looked quite the age of the settlement. NT Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927), Friday 19 July 1895, page 3 Fort Dundas-Melville Island. (see full article pdf below)
The small but robust stone building called a church by Searcy - it has the only standing masonry on the site and is the oldest stone building in Northern Australia.
In 2001 Richard Woolfe led a small team using GIS to test the military effectiveness of the site - principally the cover afforded by the siting of the guns & the critical aspect of elevation both for range and observation. A hypothesis is tentatively proposed that the stone building (above) variously dubbed the armoury and church may have been a 3m high lookout position. Such an elevated position would've been essential for communication with Luxmore Head - Harris Island - the brickworks & gardens at Garden Point as well as distant logging gangs. (Fort Dundas, First Settlement in Northern Australia 2001 Woolfe et al 2001 see Pdf below)
Whilst the building itself may have doubled as an armoury or guard post, it is inconceivable that the fort would be built without such a lookout post, if only for spotting turtles & dugong in the strait. It is also possible that this fortified barracks building was established to guard the rear perimeter against attack from troops that landed unseen & unmolested on what is now Pirlangimpi's town beach {see image below} and simply walked around to the rear of the fort. Investment of significant labour & resources in the construction of such a critical piece of infrastructure would seem logical - failure to do so would be an oversight to rival that of Singapore. The 1827 plan (above) clearly shows a building marked 'G' which is marked as Military Barracks but there is no indication of a tower. By 1827 JS Row had returned to England aboard HMS Tamar after serving in India for some years.
Whilst the building itself may have doubled as an armoury or guard post, it is inconceivable that the fort would be built without such a lookout post, if only for spotting turtles & dugong in the strait. It is also possible that this fortified barracks building was established to guard the rear perimeter against attack from troops that landed unseen & unmolested on what is now Pirlangimpi's town beach {see image below} and simply walked around to the rear of the fort. Investment of significant labour & resources in the construction of such a critical piece of infrastructure would seem logical - failure to do so would be an oversight to rival that of Singapore. The 1827 plan (above) clearly shows a building marked 'G' which is marked as Military Barracks but there is no indication of a tower. By 1827 JS Row had returned to England aboard HMS Tamar after serving in India for some years.
NLA 146760906 JP Campbell image - domesticated calves at Joe Cooper's camp Melville Is. 1912
Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Thursday 16 September 1937, page 3
Export of Hides, Factor in Northern Commerce - Pioneers and Explorers No. 25 by Bernard Cronin
Maurice Barlow, Pioneer of Our Buffalo Industry
How The Buffalo Was Introduced
'It would appear that Maurice Barlow was appointed commandant at Melville Island at the end of 1824. Soon after his arrival — but whether before or after the incident of the Lady Nelson is not clear — he imported Pallaweangor and two companion buffaloes from Timor, thereby earning for himself the distinction of pioneering the buffalo industry in Australia. The animals flourished, in happy contradistinction to the cattle brought to Fort Dundas from Sydney. Two years later 15 more buffaloes were obtained from Timor, and a further 16 in the year following. The object of the importations was twofold—to supply draught and meat. In 1829, however, Captain Collett Barker advised against further importations on the ground that the buffaloes were unsuited for utility.'
Export of Hides, Factor in Northern Commerce - Pioneers and Explorers No. 25 by Bernard Cronin
Maurice Barlow, Pioneer of Our Buffalo Industry
How The Buffalo Was Introduced
'It would appear that Maurice Barlow was appointed commandant at Melville Island at the end of 1824. Soon after his arrival — but whether before or after the incident of the Lady Nelson is not clear — he imported Pallaweangor and two companion buffaloes from Timor, thereby earning for himself the distinction of pioneering the buffalo industry in Australia. The animals flourished, in happy contradistinction to the cattle brought to Fort Dundas from Sydney. Two years later 15 more buffaloes were obtained from Timor, and a further 16 in the year following. The object of the importations was twofold—to supply draught and meat. In 1829, however, Captain Collett Barker advised against further importations on the ground that the buffaloes were unsuited for utility.'
Chinatown Darwin 1920s
'An interesting link with the past was brought to the notice of the curious in February, 1931, when there was exhibited in Melbourne a buffalo said to be 110 years old, survivor of three imported to Fort Dundas, in the north of Australia, from Timor, in 1824, by Maurice Barlow, then commandant at Melville Island.
This historic animal accompanied by a three-year-old buffalo bull, was conveyed by motor truck from Darwin by Messrs. T. and D. Wood, over a 2000 mile route.
"Pallaweangor"— or, more exclusively, "James"—is stated to have been acquired by a Chinese coolie following the abandonment of the settlements in the north, and worked by him for the next 38 years. He was then turned loose — presumably to die; but, instead, joined the wild buffalo herds. After many years he was recaptured, and recognised by the scars of his long service to man.
The story of the settlements at Port Essington, Raffles Bay, and Fort Dundas, on Melville Island, at the beginning of the 19th century, is one of the most stirring in the annals of the British occupation of Australia.'
This historic animal accompanied by a three-year-old buffalo bull, was conveyed by motor truck from Darwin by Messrs. T. and D. Wood, over a 2000 mile route.
"Pallaweangor"— or, more exclusively, "James"—is stated to have been acquired by a Chinese coolie following the abandonment of the settlements in the north, and worked by him for the next 38 years. He was then turned loose — presumably to die; but, instead, joined the wild buffalo herds. After many years he was recaptured, and recognised by the scars of his long service to man.
The story of the settlements at Port Essington, Raffles Bay, and Fort Dundas, on Melville Island, at the beginning of the 19th century, is one of the most stirring in the annals of the British occupation of Australia.'
Pirlangimpi town beach - looking north to Luxmore Head and across to Bathurst Island
The Archaeology
Scale plan of Fort Dundas is from Eleanor Crosby's 1975 Survey & Exploration of Fort Dundas printed by the Australian Society of Historical Archaeology.
Port Melville & Fort Dundas - an object lesson in heritage economics.
The above overlay attempts to relate Eleanor Crosby's 1975 plan to a 2014 Arc image from Flash Earth. It seeks to locate the known remains relative to the Port Melville development - without GPS data. The arrow at centre shows site 69 - Sophie Hicks' grave 1827 - the oldest white woman's grave in the NT. Lieutenant William Hicks RN returned from Raffles Bay to learn of the loss of his wife, Sophie and their second child.
Ground rising from mangrove fringe to plateau on which Fort Dundas was built.
Looking down to the old wharf location
Fort Dundas looking south down the trench at rear of fort below entrance
Postcard print "Old trenches at Fort Dundas Melville Island over 109 years old."
The Mitchell Library holds 5 uniform relics of the 57th Regiment (1826-29) from Fort Dundas. Call No. R1074.
Badge of 57th Regiment, heel plate, button, and pair of chin-strap badges (5 objects). Regimental badge features numerals "57" on a plain background. Button and chin-strap badges feature a lion's head. Button has a flat plate attached by two clips on reverse; plate has a pair of holes for stitching.
In a box labelled by Sir Edward Ford: "Unearthed from Fort Dundas Apsley Strait Melville Island 1938. E Ford"
"These relics were recovered from the site of Fort Dundas on Apsley Strait during a medical survey of the island in 1938. They were donated to the Mitchell Library in December 1972 by Sir Edward Ford OBE, Professor of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney. It is not known whether Sir Edward Ford was present at the survey."
Badge of 57th Regiment, heel plate, button, and pair of chin-strap badges (5 objects). Regimental badge features numerals "57" on a plain background. Button and chin-strap badges feature a lion's head. Button has a flat plate attached by two clips on reverse; plate has a pair of holes for stitching.
In a box labelled by Sir Edward Ford: "Unearthed from Fort Dundas Apsley Strait Melville Island 1938. E Ford"
"These relics were recovered from the site of Fort Dundas on Apsley Strait during a medical survey of the island in 1938. They were donated to the Mitchell Library in December 1972 by Sir Edward Ford OBE, Professor of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney. It is not known whether Sir Edward Ford was present at the survey."
Garden Point
Site of the Mission Gardens - lagoon behind - the same source of water used from 1824 for the gardens & brick making. This is where Capt. Barlow fell into the water so discovering the site in 1824.
Double doors/gates on the commissariat store raise possibility of remnants of barred gates at old Garden Pt wharf may have originated across the cove. The wharf was extended with the remnants of the Fort Dundas wharf and the gates had fine mesh inside and out suggesting the storage of food rather than an arsenal or gaol.
Comparison of May 2015 & July 2016 showing rate of decay
The old jetty with barge ramp beyond. This is the location of the original landing at Garden Point from 1824
The jetty for Garden Point looking across King's Cove to Barlow Point and the site of Fort Dundas.
The Tomb of an Australian Native October 1824
'Tomb of an Australian native near entrance of Intercourse River Port Cockburn October 1824' JR Roe courtesy Battye Library SLWA
The drawing and others shown herein are preserved in the sketchbook of the famous explorer, cartographer and first Governor of Western Australia John Septimus Roe, known as the father of Australian Exploration. Roe sailed with Captain Philip Parker King in the Mermaid with Allan Cunningham & Bungaree on the renowned 1818-1822 Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia. Roe was aboard HMS Tamar at the founding of Fort Dundas in 1824 and his sketchbook is preserved in the Battye Library of the State Library of WA.
The burial poses many questions - the sand henge, ornamented & decorated Tutini poles and other funerary items are familiar but the three possibly metal blades at the top are of unknown origin, Macassan has been suggested and the locals were familiar with metal axes which they called 'peerces'. The decorations on the poles are specific to each family group and research may match these to the families for whom this is still a traditional burial ground. It is speculated that the deceased may be female as there is a basket & sticks, one of which has a sharp end like a digging rather than throwing stick. The Tiwi did not have the woomera and there is no evidence of spears or other masculine grave goods.
The burial poses many questions - the sand henge, ornamented & decorated Tutini poles and other funerary items are familiar but the three possibly metal blades at the top are of unknown origin, Macassan has been suggested and the locals were familiar with metal axes which they called 'peerces'. The decorations on the poles are specific to each family group and research may match these to the families for whom this is still a traditional burial ground. It is speculated that the deceased may be female as there is a basket & sticks, one of which has a sharp end like a digging rather than throwing stick. The Tiwi did not have the woomera and there is no evidence of spears or other masculine grave goods.
National Geographic Expedition to Melville Island 1954
Fort Dundas Today
View from Garden Point across King Cove to Point Barlow & Fort Dundas - beyond is Alligator Bay and the Apsley Straight south 30 miles to Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu).
A typical summation of Fort Dundas where it is mentioned at all: "The settlers and convicts soon found that the natives were anything but friendly. Apart from the problems with the Tiwi Aborigines there were the white ants and the occasional cyclone which made life rather difficult. The soil was good but there were no animals to do the heavy work. Water buffalo were imported from Timor and they became the nucleus of the herd which was later transferred to the Cobourg Peninsula.
In 1827 Major John Campbell arrived to take command but relations with the Aborigines deteriorated all the time. Dr John Gold and storekeeper John Green were speared to death. The fort was abandoned in 1828 and by February 1829 the Tiwi Aborigines were once again in control of their land." ( )
In 1827 Major John Campbell arrived to take command but relations with the Aborigines deteriorated all the time. Dr John Gold and storekeeper John Green were speared to death. The fort was abandoned in 1828 and by February 1829 the Tiwi Aborigines were once again in control of their land." ( )
A History Free Zone
Fort Dundas doesn't rate a mention on My Place for Teachers website - nor does Victoria Settlement at Port Essington - extract from Decade Summary.....
"The French navigator Dumont d'Urville (1790–1842) explored the Tasman Sea and Australia's north-west, while Hume and Hovell led an expedition to find new grazing land in the south of the colony and to learn where New South Wales's western rivers flowed. Fears of the French claiming colonial territory led to the establishment of military settlements at Western Port Bay in Victoria, King George Sound in Western Australia, Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay on the north coast of Australia and Swan River settlement in Western Australia. Governor Ralph Darling (1772–1858) proclaimed 19 counties in New South Wales and in 1826 limited settlement to a defined area around Sydney. This restriction of land use was unsuccessful as graziers settled beyond the allotted boundaries." It is little wonder that the nations history is so badly protected, so poorly understood and so frequently misrepresented.
Fort Dundas doesn't rate a mention on My Place for Teachers website - nor does Victoria Settlement at Port Essington - extract from Decade Summary.....
"The French navigator Dumont d'Urville (1790–1842) explored the Tasman Sea and Australia's north-west, while Hume and Hovell led an expedition to find new grazing land in the south of the colony and to learn where New South Wales's western rivers flowed. Fears of the French claiming colonial territory led to the establishment of military settlements at Western Port Bay in Victoria, King George Sound in Western Australia, Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay on the north coast of Australia and Swan River settlement in Western Australia. Governor Ralph Darling (1772–1858) proclaimed 19 counties in New South Wales and in 1826 limited settlement to a defined area around Sydney. This restriction of land use was unsuccessful as graziers settled beyond the allotted boundaries." It is little wonder that the nations history is so badly protected, so poorly understood and so frequently misrepresented.
Port Melville
A new port has been constructed primarily for the export of timber but currently undergoing adaptation to incorporate the base for the re-supply of off-shore oil rigs. Successful trials of a new variety of plantation tree promise the creation of a long-term sustainable industry benefitting all Tiwi people.
It is understood that the floating elements of the wharf were originally part of a project in Canada - the wheels fell off but a Singaporean Oil Rig Supply Company recognised the potential - secured a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel and transported the sections to the top of the Apsley Strait from whence they were manoeuvred into position by tugs. This spectacular achievement negates the 14ft tidal range for 24 hours loading of timber, fuel oil and rig supplies. The top end of Apsley Strait was named Port Cockburn in 1824 reflecting its qualities as a sheltered harbour. This validates the selection of Fort Dundas as a fortified site from which to defend the trade route to the ease of Timor and up to the China Station. If sanity can continue to prevail and the critical cultural heritage & tourism asset of Fort Dundas be preserved and developed it will perhaps herald the dawning of realisation that multi-faceted economic structures succeed because they support each other. Imagination, intellect & courage may rise in social status, even above that of victim.
The Clearwater Island Lodge
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Clifford Howard was a great Australian agricultural engineer. His first "Rotavator" was produced in Sydney in the 1920's and over the following years he became one of the world’s leaders in affordable rotary cultivator manufacture and exported them to many countries.
In 1930 he produced his DH22 tractor with matching cultivator, it was powered with a 4 cylinder 22hp engine, these tractors were sold in several countries including England and North America. In 1971 he was awarded the CBE for his services to the industry.
In 1930 he produced his DH22 tractor with matching cultivator, it was powered with a 4 cylinder 22hp engine, these tractors were sold in several countries including England and North America. In 1971 he was awarded the CBE for his services to the industry.
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View from the Lodge above the walkway to the pontoon - out across the top end of Apsley Strait - named Cockburn Harbour in 1824 - after the Admiral.
Pre-British Visitors
There is a fond belief that the TIWI ferociously defended their islands against the British invaders - which as seen above is largely nonsense & a reading of John Mulvaney's Commandant of Solitude explains the range of behaviours & mistakes on both sides. The ambient level of violence in Aboriginal society and the measured used of violence in white society are taboo issues in the lazy & mischievous casting of all whites as evil usurpers & despoilers of Eden & its innocents. However, the notion has led to speculation as to why the Tiwi might be averse to incomers though not so averse to their technology. Wildey, ‘Australasia and the Oceanic Region’ (1876) writes about the open and friendly nature of the natives he encounters in his travels across the top of Arnhemland but calls the TIWI a “warlike and treacherous race, who assume a threatening attitude towards strangers” – but he never went there.
Searcy 'In Australian Tropics' “As a rule, proas sighted Melville Island first, and then worked their way down the coast to the eastward, some proceeding as far as the Gulf of Carpentaria. Apparently the Malays never succeeded in making friends with the natives on the island. That the Malays at some time had started work on the north side of the island was evident from remains of old fireplaces and smoke-houses have been found there.” (pp 46)
“Major Campbell, who was commandant at Fort Dundas in 1826, conjectured that the reason why the natives were so suspicious of strangers was that the island had been previously visited by Malay slavers, who had carried away some of the aborigines as slaves.” Ibid
“The Malay fishermen were forbidden by their owners to go near Melville Island (which they called Amba, the Malay word for slave), alleging that it was infested by pirates.” Ibid
It was noticed that although their language was totally different from any on the mainland, they used the same words for ‘white man’ – ‘monkey jarra,’ which is a Macassar expression.” Ibid
Barbara James 'No Man s Land' writes "It is believed that from 1600 to 1800 the Portuguese from Timor raided Melville Island and took the young Tiwi tribesmen as slaves" (pp 16) as pre-conditioning for hostile and suspicious behaviour towards British. There are no references for this assertion. The reactions recorded above suggest that the Tiwi were not in the least familiar with Europeans or their clothing yet they knew of axes possibly from the Macassans - or earlier whale hunters. It would be interesting to note the first sighting of Tiwi with a dugout canoe which were gifted/traded by the Macassans.
Eric Venbrux 'A Death in the Tiwi Islands..."In 1636 and 1705, the crews of ships of the Dutch East India Company explored the north coast of Melville Island and the west coast of Bathurst Island. The first expedition did not go ashore, but the members of the second one had interactions with the islanders"................ (Robert 1973; Swaardecroon and Chastelijn 1856). The Portuguese, based on Timor, possibly raided Melville Island for slaves until about 1800 (Hart and Pilling 1960: 97-8; Campbell 1834: 155-6).
Bremer despatch, 1824c:784 quoted by Colin de la Rue "which considering the known treachery of the Malays, and the numbers in which they come on to the Coast, as well as the probable hostility of the Natives, I determined should be as strong as I could from circumstances render it....'"
Searcy 'In Australian Tropics' “As a rule, proas sighted Melville Island first, and then worked their way down the coast to the eastward, some proceeding as far as the Gulf of Carpentaria. Apparently the Malays never succeeded in making friends with the natives on the island. That the Malays at some time had started work on the north side of the island was evident from remains of old fireplaces and smoke-houses have been found there.” (pp 46)
“Major Campbell, who was commandant at Fort Dundas in 1826, conjectured that the reason why the natives were so suspicious of strangers was that the island had been previously visited by Malay slavers, who had carried away some of the aborigines as slaves.” Ibid
“The Malay fishermen were forbidden by their owners to go near Melville Island (which they called Amba, the Malay word for slave), alleging that it was infested by pirates.” Ibid
It was noticed that although their language was totally different from any on the mainland, they used the same words for ‘white man’ – ‘monkey jarra,’ which is a Macassar expression.” Ibid
Barbara James 'No Man s Land' writes "It is believed that from 1600 to 1800 the Portuguese from Timor raided Melville Island and took the young Tiwi tribesmen as slaves" (pp 16) as pre-conditioning for hostile and suspicious behaviour towards British. There are no references for this assertion. The reactions recorded above suggest that the Tiwi were not in the least familiar with Europeans or their clothing yet they knew of axes possibly from the Macassans - or earlier whale hunters. It would be interesting to note the first sighting of Tiwi with a dugout canoe which were gifted/traded by the Macassans.
Eric Venbrux 'A Death in the Tiwi Islands..."In 1636 and 1705, the crews of ships of the Dutch East India Company explored the north coast of Melville Island and the west coast of Bathurst Island. The first expedition did not go ashore, but the members of the second one had interactions with the islanders"................ (Robert 1973; Swaardecroon and Chastelijn 1856). The Portuguese, based on Timor, possibly raided Melville Island for slaves until about 1800 (Hart and Pilling 1960: 97-8; Campbell 1834: 155-6).
Bremer despatch, 1824c:784 quoted by Colin de la Rue "which considering the known treachery of the Malays, and the numbers in which they come on to the Coast, as well as the probable hostility of the Natives, I determined should be as strong as I could from circumstances render it....'"
Fort Dundas Territory Descendant
Graham Webb is adjunct professor at Charles Darwin University, founder of Crocodylus Park in Darwin - he is a crocodile researcher and conservationist of international repute. Graham is a direct descendant of Abraham Chapman (27th July 1798 - ) who joined the 57th Regiment on his 15th birthday in 1813 spending 6 months on the Iberian Peninsular - he transferred to the 3rd Regiment, The Buffs, on 25th November 1823. Abraham, wife Hannah & daughter Catherine arrived in Sydney aboard the Ann & Amelia on 2nd January 1825. Their 2nd daughter, Charlotte, was baptised in Sydney on 9th April 1825. A son Abraham Western was baptised in Sydney in January 1828 prior to the family accompanying Abraham on his posting to Melville Island where he was stationed at Fort Dundas from 1828 until its closure in February 1829. He was posted to Moreton Bay settlement (Brisbane) and local posting before discharge in 1840. Abraham & Hanna had seven children. Research by John Graham a great-great-great-grandson of Abraham Chapman, who can be contacted at [email protected] -
John Matthew Richardson - Nurseryman
Born: 28th April 1797 Slinfold near Horsham, Sussex, England.
Arrived Sydney: 30th September 1817.
Vessel: Lord Eldon.
Status: Convict - transported for life.
Occupation: Nurseryman.
Married: on the 13th July 1824 at St Phillip's Church, Sydney, N.S.W.
Died: 28th July 1882.
Buried: Newcastle, NSW.
Profile:
After the Macquarie era, the following children were born to John and Jane:-
Matthew William was born on the 9th March 1825 at Sydney, N.S.W.
Elizabeth Melville Richardson was born on the 27th March 1827 at Melville Island.
William was born 8th October 1829 at Sydney, N.S.W.
Richardson was assigned to work at the government gardens and on the 31st January 1821 received a pardon Governor Macquarie and returned to England aboard the Dromedary with plants, seeds and geological collections. He again offended and on 25th March 1822 was tried again for housebreaking and sentenced to death but the sentence was remitted to transportation for life.
He sailed from Portsmouth on the Arab on the 13th July 1822 direct to Hobart Town arriving 6th November 1822. The Colonial Botanist Charles Frazer brought him back to Sydney on the Brig Ann and he arrived there on the 8th July 1823 and became an overseer at the government gardens.
He accompanied Oxley as a botanical collector on the Mermaid when the Brisbane River was discovered and recommended as a site for a new settlement. Again in 1824, Richardson travelled with Oxley on the Amity when a penal colony was established at Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River explored.
Richardson married Jane Nelson at St Phillip's Church Sydney on the 13th July 1824. Jane was a convict who arrived on the Mary Ann on the 19th January 1816. She had received her Freedom at this time. A son Matthew William was born on the 9th March 1825 and Richardson and his family left Sydney on the 2nd December 1825 on the Phillip Dundas for Melville Island where he was to take charge of the gardens at the settlement there.
Following the birth of a daughter Elizabeth Melville Richardson on the 27th March 1827, Jane was in poor health and was given permission to return to Sydney aboard the Amity. This permission was withdrawn as her husband had been charged with importing and selling spirits among the soldiers and prisoners causing considerable drunkenness.
The settlement at Fort Dundas was abandoned in February 1829 and the family returned to Sydney on the Lucy Ann. Another son William was born on the 8th October 1829. Jane died in 1830.
Richardson continued to offend but later travelled with Sir Thomas Mitchell as a botanical collector on his exploration in 1836 of the inland rivers of NSW and the discovery of rich pastoral land in what is now central and western Victoria.
Following this he received a conditional Pardon, remarried and had another family and lived until the age of 86.
His descendants salute him!
Submitted by descendant and Association Member, Barbara Richardson.
Arrived Sydney: 30th September 1817.
Vessel: Lord Eldon.
Status: Convict - transported for life.
Occupation: Nurseryman.
Married: on the 13th July 1824 at St Phillip's Church, Sydney, N.S.W.
Died: 28th July 1882.
Buried: Newcastle, NSW.
Profile:
After the Macquarie era, the following children were born to John and Jane:-
Matthew William was born on the 9th March 1825 at Sydney, N.S.W.
Elizabeth Melville Richardson was born on the 27th March 1827 at Melville Island.
William was born 8th October 1829 at Sydney, N.S.W.
Richardson was assigned to work at the government gardens and on the 31st January 1821 received a pardon Governor Macquarie and returned to England aboard the Dromedary with plants, seeds and geological collections. He again offended and on 25th March 1822 was tried again for housebreaking and sentenced to death but the sentence was remitted to transportation for life.
He sailed from Portsmouth on the Arab on the 13th July 1822 direct to Hobart Town arriving 6th November 1822. The Colonial Botanist Charles Frazer brought him back to Sydney on the Brig Ann and he arrived there on the 8th July 1823 and became an overseer at the government gardens.
He accompanied Oxley as a botanical collector on the Mermaid when the Brisbane River was discovered and recommended as a site for a new settlement. Again in 1824, Richardson travelled with Oxley on the Amity when a penal colony was established at Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River explored.
Richardson married Jane Nelson at St Phillip's Church Sydney on the 13th July 1824. Jane was a convict who arrived on the Mary Ann on the 19th January 1816. She had received her Freedom at this time. A son Matthew William was born on the 9th March 1825 and Richardson and his family left Sydney on the 2nd December 1825 on the Phillip Dundas for Melville Island where he was to take charge of the gardens at the settlement there.
Following the birth of a daughter Elizabeth Melville Richardson on the 27th March 1827, Jane was in poor health and was given permission to return to Sydney aboard the Amity. This permission was withdrawn as her husband had been charged with importing and selling spirits among the soldiers and prisoners causing considerable drunkenness.
The settlement at Fort Dundas was abandoned in February 1829 and the family returned to Sydney on the Lucy Ann. Another son William was born on the 8th October 1829. Jane died in 1830.
Richardson continued to offend but later travelled with Sir Thomas Mitchell as a botanical collector on his exploration in 1836 of the inland rivers of NSW and the discovery of rich pastoral land in what is now central and western Victoria.
Following this he received a conditional Pardon, remarried and had another family and lived until the age of 86.
His descendants salute him!
Submitted by descendant and Association Member, Barbara Richardson.
A History of Systematic Botany in Australia by A.E. Orchard
Sentenced to 7 years transportation in 1816, arriving in NSW on the Lord Eldon in 1817 where he worked in the fledgling Sydney Gardens. Granted a full pardon by Gov. Macquarie in 1821 and returned to England in charge of a collection of Australian plants on board the Dromedary. Re-convicted, for life, and transported on the Arab to Hobart, Tasmania, in 1822. Shortly afterwards the Colonial Botanist Charles Fraser brought him back to Sydney where he was employed as a gardener at Sydney Botanic Gardens, New South Wales. A member of Oxley's 1823 and 1824 expeditions, he moved to Melville Island (Northern Territory) with his young family in 1826-1828, collecting also on Timor (1826). On returning from Melville Island in 1829 on the Lucy Anne he helped William Baxter collect plants and seeds from King Georges Sound for the Sydney Gardens. Further brushes with the law resulted in lashings and time working on a Road Gang in the Blue Mountains. In 1836 he was collector on Mitchell's expedition, and also collected in New South Wales in later life. He married for the second time, to Catherine Doyle at Singleton, in 1852. His collections are probably in BM, CGE or K.
Commandant Campbell Reports
The wife of Richardson, the Gardner, having applied to me for Passage granted permission to return to Sydney on account of her health and having young children, I have permitted her to proceed on board of the Amity, and to receive rations during the passage, but with a provision that she should pay for the said rations on her arrival at Sydney, should it please His Excellency so to order it.
I have received information that this Richardson, in partnership with a Soldier, purchased Spirits to the amount of One hundred and fifty dollars from the Isabella, and retailed the same at a hundred per Cent, profit. On the first appearance of drunkenness, I caused a general search, but without success. However it has either caused greater caution on the part of the Vendors or their supply is exhausted. This spirit was landed at night a mile or two from the Settlement by the boat of the Isabella. No person will yet publicly give information; consequently prevents me being able to punish the Offenders.
Richardson the Gardener has been so extremely abusive to a Soldier of the Royal Marines, accusing him of being on the look out to prevent the illicit practices alluded to in my report, that I have withdrawn the indulgence of giving his Wife a passage to Sydney in a Government Vessel.
The wife of Richardson, the Gardner, having applied to me for Passage granted permission to return to Sydney on account of her health and having young children, I have permitted her to proceed on board of the Amity, and to receive rations during the passage, but with a provision that she should pay for the said rations on her arrival at Sydney, should it please His Excellency so to order it.
I have received information that this Richardson, in partnership with a Soldier, purchased Spirits to the amount of One hundred and fifty dollars from the Isabella, and retailed the same at a hundred per Cent, profit. On the first appearance of drunkenness, I caused a general search, but without success. However it has either caused greater caution on the part of the Vendors or their supply is exhausted. This spirit was landed at night a mile or two from the Settlement by the boat of the Isabella. No person will yet publicly give information; consequently prevents me being able to punish the Offenders.
Richardson the Gardener has been so extremely abusive to a Soldier of the Royal Marines, accusing him of being on the look out to prevent the illicit practices alluded to in my report, that I have withdrawn the indulgence of giving his Wife a passage to Sydney in a Government Vessel.
Elizabeth Melville Richardson (27th March 1827 – )
190 years ago, on 27 March 1827, the first white child was born in Northern Australia at Fort Dundas on Melville Island. Elizabeth Melville Richardson’s birth so taxed her mother Jane’s health that she was granted passage & rations to Sydney aboard the Amity – an indulgence cancelled when her lifer husband John was caught selling grog. A feted gardener & botanical collector with Oxley & Mitchell - nobody died of sickness during his tenure at Garden Point which lasted until the family returned to Sydney in 1829 where John was issued his ticket-of-leave & resumed his post at the Botanical Gardens. In 1854 Elizabeth married Francis Feltis at Bednock Victoria & is as yet lost to history. A descendent of John Richardson lives in the Darwin suburb of Wulagi today.
'Native wigwams at Luxmore Head, Melville Island 1827 by renowned English engraver and water-colourist Henry Gastineau. This drawing raises so many questions it's hard to know where to begin. It is in the NLA PIC Drawer 1971 #R11461 endorsed JC Delt 27th May 1827 with H. Gastineau Pinxt (author). He travelled widely throughout Britain, Switzerland & Italy - from 1827 worked in Camberwell, south London as a drawing master and exhibited at the Watercolour Society for fifty-eight years.
Excerpts from Commandant's Reports
Treatment of the Natives
‘The Natives do not annoy us; they keep away from the Settlement altogether. Two of my Men lost their way in the bush some time ago, and were absent for Five days, during which time I sent out partys to look for them, who gave an account of the country they had passed over; it seems the part they examined is very well watered, as they crossed several small Streams, but only two small Kangaroos were seen in all their excursions.’
28 Feb 1826 Dr. Turner had only Two men under his care; they had been slightly wounded by the Natives;
'The Natives are not numerous; I suppose they live principally on fish, as the Kangaroos are scarce and very small; they have given a good deal of annoyance to the men working in the bush by stealing their axes, which is the only article they seem to care for; they have wounded some of the men but all of them slightly, with the exception of Corporal Gwillam of the Royal Marines, whose death I reported in the letters sent by the Lalla Rookh; they are very timid, and I am unwilling to retaliate on them, as I entertain hopes of establishing a friendly intercourse by treating them with kindness.'
'Any unwarranted violence appear to have been offered to the Natives or any unnecessary quitting of Work take place from false pretences, the offenders shall be punished either in a most summary manner, or, if the case is of an aggravated nature, the law of England with regard to similar offences against any of His Majesty's Subjects will be rigidly enforced.'
Port Regulation 13. No Spirits, Wine, Beer, or other Liquor of like kind, is to be sold, or given, on any account or Pretext, from on board, to any of the original Natives of the Country; and any personal injury, violence, or insult whatever offered or done to the Male or Female Natives, will expose to prosecution, and will be punished in like manner and degree as in the case of any European or any other of His Majesty's Subjects in like respect.
Strangers cautioned stay away from natives. It is the wish of Government to cultivate their friendship.
28th Oct 1826 A few mornings afterwards they attacked two men who were out cutting grass, and I lament to tell His Excellency that they speared one of them to death. I have watched every opportunity of seizing some of that tribe Attempt to since the Murder, but they are at present extremely shy and guarded. I certainly might have taken some of them by violent means since that time; but, as they are in a state of barbarous ignorance, I prefered endeavouring to seize one particular man, who appears to be their Chief and has been frequently observed directing them in some daring Acts of Violence, even previous to my arrival in this Island. I shall either secure this individual, or if opportunity offers get hold of a couple of young boys which sometime accompany them. By the latter plan, we might be enabled (by teaching them a little English) to acquaint them with our intentions towards them.
The Natives still continue troublesome, and, although seldom seen, yet they have continued to burn a quantity of hay and are constantly pulling down our enclosures; they have even speared some of our Pigs at night close to the huts.
29 Sept 1827 - I am sorry to report that the Natives continue extremely troublesome and dangerous neighbours. they have made several attempts to drive away the Cattle, and have succeeded in depriving us of a Bull and four Sheep the latter of which they speared. Six men have narrowly escaped being speared during this and last month.
A few days ago I intercepted a party of these audacious Blacks going to attack some Men sawing timber; one of them was made prisoner, and is now doing well in Hospital, where he was sent on account of some wounds he received by his Stubborn resistance when taken; I intend detaining him, and shall endeavour to make him of some use to us.
The Natives of this Island have not molested us since the unfortunate occurrence of the 2d of November; they have been seen at a distance but are very wary and shy. I shall however, when opportunity offers a chance of success, endeavour to shew them that so barbarous an act cannot remain unrevenged; this I hope will only be considered as doing justice and sanctioned as the sole means I have of chastizing Savages and convincing them that they cannot be allowed to commit murder with impunity. I still interdict any act of violence on the part of individuals and strictly inforce my original regulations* as regards the treatment of the natives, and I verily believe there has as yet been no instance of any infringement of those orders.
‘The Natives do not annoy us; they keep away from the Settlement altogether. Two of my Men lost their way in the bush some time ago, and were absent for Five days, during which time I sent out partys to look for them, who gave an account of the country they had passed over; it seems the part they examined is very well watered, as they crossed several small Streams, but only two small Kangaroos were seen in all their excursions.’
28 Feb 1826 Dr. Turner had only Two men under his care; they had been slightly wounded by the Natives;
'The Natives are not numerous; I suppose they live principally on fish, as the Kangaroos are scarce and very small; they have given a good deal of annoyance to the men working in the bush by stealing their axes, which is the only article they seem to care for; they have wounded some of the men but all of them slightly, with the exception of Corporal Gwillam of the Royal Marines, whose death I reported in the letters sent by the Lalla Rookh; they are very timid, and I am unwilling to retaliate on them, as I entertain hopes of establishing a friendly intercourse by treating them with kindness.'
'Any unwarranted violence appear to have been offered to the Natives or any unnecessary quitting of Work take place from false pretences, the offenders shall be punished either in a most summary manner, or, if the case is of an aggravated nature, the law of England with regard to similar offences against any of His Majesty's Subjects will be rigidly enforced.'
Port Regulation 13. No Spirits, Wine, Beer, or other Liquor of like kind, is to be sold, or given, on any account or Pretext, from on board, to any of the original Natives of the Country; and any personal injury, violence, or insult whatever offered or done to the Male or Female Natives, will expose to prosecution, and will be punished in like manner and degree as in the case of any European or any other of His Majesty's Subjects in like respect.
Strangers cautioned stay away from natives. It is the wish of Government to cultivate their friendship.
28th Oct 1826 A few mornings afterwards they attacked two men who were out cutting grass, and I lament to tell His Excellency that they speared one of them to death. I have watched every opportunity of seizing some of that tribe Attempt to since the Murder, but they are at present extremely shy and guarded. I certainly might have taken some of them by violent means since that time; but, as they are in a state of barbarous ignorance, I prefered endeavouring to seize one particular man, who appears to be their Chief and has been frequently observed directing them in some daring Acts of Violence, even previous to my arrival in this Island. I shall either secure this individual, or if opportunity offers get hold of a couple of young boys which sometime accompany them. By the latter plan, we might be enabled (by teaching them a little English) to acquaint them with our intentions towards them.
The Natives still continue troublesome, and, although seldom seen, yet they have continued to burn a quantity of hay and are constantly pulling down our enclosures; they have even speared some of our Pigs at night close to the huts.
29 Sept 1827 - I am sorry to report that the Natives continue extremely troublesome and dangerous neighbours. they have made several attempts to drive away the Cattle, and have succeeded in depriving us of a Bull and four Sheep the latter of which they speared. Six men have narrowly escaped being speared during this and last month.
A few days ago I intercepted a party of these audacious Blacks going to attack some Men sawing timber; one of them was made prisoner, and is now doing well in Hospital, where he was sent on account of some wounds he received by his Stubborn resistance when taken; I intend detaining him, and shall endeavour to make him of some use to us.
The Natives of this Island have not molested us since the unfortunate occurrence of the 2d of November; they have been seen at a distance but are very wary and shy. I shall however, when opportunity offers a chance of success, endeavour to shew them that so barbarous an act cannot remain unrevenged; this I hope will only be considered as doing justice and sanctioned as the sole means I have of chastizing Savages and convincing them that they cannot be allowed to commit murder with impunity. I still interdict any act of violence on the part of individuals and strictly inforce my original regulations* as regards the treatment of the natives, and I verily believe there has as yet been no instance of any infringement of those orders.
ShoesWe received a very indifferent supply of sole leather by the Isabella, so that we are now without a single pound; and, as we have only four pairs of shoes in the Store I expect we shall be obliged to give up every kind of hard labour until a fresh supply is sent.
I am particularly in want of Shoes and Sole leather, as, for want of them, I am now obliged to issue wooden Clogs with upper leather nailed upon them.
First Recorded Tropical CycloneI shall be obliged to erect a Settlement Store house and a Blacksmith's forge. The old store house is completely rotten, being constructed with course slabs and cabbage Palms, and is overrun with White Ants. The forge is blown away;
a new Warf to replace the old one, which was washed away by the Gale on the 2d of April. I have formed the new one of heavy logs and piles, and projected it thirty feet further out than the former one, by which plan Cargoes and Stores can be now landed at all periods of the tide.
MacassansThe Malays from Macassar seldom visit Coepang, but they trade and in their prows to many of the small Islands with the Articles above trepang fishing enumerated. The Macassar Men are the trepang fishers, and the period they fish is from December to the return of the Easterly Monsoon in March or April. Their fishing Ground is all the bays and Creeks on the North Coast of New Holland; their prows are unarmed and fitted out solely for the occupation of fishing; their size about ten tons, and the number that sail annually from Macassar about 2 to 3 hundred prows; a Chinese Vessel calls annually at Macassar for the trepang and pays in Chinese and Dollars; the Dollars are exchanged at Sineapor or Batavia for European and Indian trade.
The Captain of a Macassar Proa at Koepang stated that the Beche de mer fisheries were carried on annually to a great extent on the Coast and Bays of N e w Holland, and that the Beche de mer found there was of the best kind. The fishing season commenced with the height of the north west monsoon, and the Proas leave this Station and return home late in the South east monsoon. Their course from Timor is generally East and towards the Island and Gulf of Carpentaria. These Proas are mostly unarmed, and the Macassar Captain said they would never be induced to visit Melville Island from the known difficulties of the entrance and a dread, which the Malays have, of passing through narrow Straits; but he had no doubt but that the Malays would visit any British Settlement on the North Coast of New Holland or on any of the Islands near the Gulf of Carpentaria, provided they could meet with such articles of trade as they wished for. Many of the Chinese at Koepang said they would be glad to come over to a British Settlement; but all would wish their Slave property to be protected.
The prices at Sincapore in December, 1826, were for Trepang One hundred dollars per Pecul and for Tortoise Shell a thousand dollars per Pecul.
Mr. Grimes on his return from Raffles Bay put into Port Essington, as I had requested him, to land on a particular Point of it to ascertain whether it was flooded or wet at this period of the year or not. Mr. Grimes reports having found five Malay Proas of about twenty ton each anchored there; the Crews amounting to One hundred and thirty persons had landed and erected a regular Trepang fishing establishment consisting of bamboo huts and boiling places; the establishment was surrounded by a fence of fourteen or sixteen feet high, constructed also of bamboo and as a protection against the Natives. They would not dispose of any of their Trepang to Mr. Grimes, telling him that their proprietor who resided at Maccassar would not sanction it, that they were merely employed to procure the Tripang and not to dispose of it.
They expressed much surprise on being told that the English were going to settle in Port Essington; said that The Maccassars had used it as a fishing place for many years; had given it a name (Limboo Moutiara) and that the English had certainly no business there.
Malay Interpreter O’Dean
communicate with and signify to them that, in the event of any of their countrymen visiting Melville Island, they would there meet with the kindest and most cordial treatment; but they informed him that, in the prosecution of the Trepang fishing, their excursions did not extend to that Settlement; it was out of their customary track, and they could not therefore touch there.
Slaving & PiracySlaving at Sineapor or Batavia for European and Indian trade. I was informed by Mr. Hazard, the Resident for the Dutch Government at Coepang, the regular exports of Slaves takes place from the Portuguese Settlement at Delhi in Timor, and that a French Brig had a few weeks before been there and procured as many as she could take; the following Circumstance was also told me by him; A Vessel last year under Dutch Colours (understood now to have been an English Vessel) called at Flores, an Island under Dutch Government to the Westward of Timor, and informed one of the Rajahs (Cheifs) that he had been sent by the Governor General at Batavia with orders to procure from thence a full Cargo of Slaves for the Service of the Dutch Government, and, on the Rajah's delay in procuring the requested number, he seized him and threatened to carry him to Batavia for punishment if the orders were not immediately Complied with; the Rajah afterwards went to Koepang and expressed his surprise at this usage; by which means the circumstance became known. All these Slaving Vessels assume what flag is most Convenient for the time.
“The Chief of this Proa informed him that the Dutch had cautioned them against going near Melville Island (Aimba Mootiara) representing that it was infested by Pirates. I have not heard of or seen any of these Pirates, unless the Dutch kindly designate us as such.”
Monsieur Bechade, a French Merchant residing at Coepang, told him that a small vessel from Melville Island had been taken by the Malays near the Island of Tinomber, or Tinaniver, about six Months Back; that the Crew excepting one Small Boy had been massacred; that this Boy had been afterwards ransomed by the Dutch Government for Two Muskets and was carried to Batavia. This information came to Coepang by a Dutch Ship of War which touched there; and Mr. Bechade had learnt the same account at Java. The schooner had a boy on Board when she sailed from this, and the Lady Nelson had none.
MiscellanyPort Regulation 17. The Corpses of Persons, dying on Board Ship in the Harbour, are to be put in Coffins and duly interred on Shore at the Public Burial ground.
Thomas Williams came to this Settlement with the first party in the list furnished to me from the Secretary's office, he was returned as a Prisoner for life; on the 29th October, 1824, he told me the time for which he had received Sentence had expired. I forwarded his statement to Sydney, And, on the 15th May, 1825, received a second list, in which Williams was returned as having been transported for seven years only; in consequence of the mistake in the first list he was detained here, and employed as a Prisoner of the Crown nearly seven Months after his sentence of transportation had expired. His conduct has been very good during the time he has been on the Island.
Marine Burton died May 1825 – accidentally shot by his Courtnay with a firelock
The Silver monies in circulation are Spanish Dollars and Dutch ruppees, and the Copper Stivers and Dorts; their relative Values are 11 Ruppees equal 15 pillared Spanish Dollars, 30 Stivers or 60 Dorts one Ruppee; there only measures of quantity are the Cotte and Pekul, one hundred Cotte being One pekul, and this weighing One hundred and thirty three pounds.
The present Warf is very insufficient, being overflown at Spring tides and unapproachable by boats at low water; by being projected
thirty feet further out and raised two, this evil would be remedied. I also a m of opinion that a good Quay might be easily formed with Piles and Logs for a hundred or a hundred and forty feet on each side of this now narrow warf.
30 April 1828 - Both these establishments are at present well supplyed with Live Stock, and I don’t think there will be any necessity for sending either of the two Government Vessels to Timor for supplies during five months to come.
Asst Surgeon Sherwin – 8 May 1828 - Replacement for Dr Gold – he has 2 sisters Sarah & Eliza – asks passage for them on Mary Elizabeth from Sydney – his brother John is already book on the vessel.
We went on losing sight of the Natives until we came to a bridge which leads to a swamp about half a mile from the settlement. I passed Campbell a few paces after the Natives who were running away, but thinking it imprudent to follow them I went back to him and found him dead; he had three spears sticking in his body.
7 June 1827 Port Essington 'Three principal objects being now ascertained, which are that the Malays resort there, that water is to be found and the harbour tolerably safe and good, I think that, after Captain Stirling has completed his Survey, there will be no difficulty in deciding as to the site for a future Settlement. I am in daily expectation of the arrival of the Success, but have yet heard nothing of her.
Since my last report I have lost one Soldier, who died suddenly when out on duty with a party on Bathurst Island.
the Clove does not to our knowledge exist on the Island; that which was taken for the Clove was the Eucalyptus which bears a blossom resembling a Clove. As to the nutmeg, it is produced here and partakes of the appearance and form of the two best kind of nutmeg, which are the Queen and Royal nutmeg; but, as they don't attain the full size and aromatic flavour, it may be owing to want of Cultivation. The Nutmeg tree grows here in swamp ground, and is choked up with other trees and runners of different kinds.
Fort Wellington
By the Colonial Brig Amity which arrived here yesterday, I received a communication from Captain Stirling dated 20th June, stating his having landed the detachment under Command of Captain Smyth, of the 39th Regiment, on the Eastern side of Raffles Bay, and that the British flag was hoisted at Fort Wellington (the name of the new Settlement).
BuffaloI have endeavoured to procure Working Buffalo from Timor, but none can be found. I beg therefore to suggest that four or for six bullocks sent from Sydney would be a great relief to the Workmen in their arduous labour of drawing timber in this burning
Climate.Captain Hartley - Campbell's replacementThe worn out and emaciated condition of the Sick at Raffles Bay and the undue proportion, to the numerical strength of the population of that Settlement, with the generally sickly complexion and attenuated appearance of nearly all, afforded melancholy evidence of the malignant effects of the climate with which they had been contending and which, with the accumulated local disadvantages Raffles Bay labors under, appear to render it not only ineligible as a Settlement but moreover unfit for the residence of civilized man.
The present State of this Settlement and its apparently general improved condition furnish satisfactory testimony of Major Campbell's zealous and well directed exertions, whilst exercising the functions of Commandant.
As the number of hospital cases now under treatment amounts only to two exclusive of out-patients, I think the Settlement (FD) may be regarded as being in a comparatively healthy state.
the dangerous navigation in approaching the entrance or passage of Apsley Straits, which is so intricate and hazardous, so choaked and encumbered with sunken shoals, reefs and other perilous obstructions (against which the best charts and most cautious navigation can only provide a partial and uncertain security),nothing short of absolute necessity will ever induce shipping in any large amount to resort to a harbour so dangerously and in every respect objectionably circumstanced.
[When he received orders, dated 31st May, 1828, from Sir George Murray to remove the settlement from Melville island, Governor Darling detailed the brig Lucy Anne for the duty and she sailed from Sydney on the 27th of November, 1828. After removing the establishment to Raffles bay, Hartley returned to Sydney in the Lucy Anne via King George's sound.]
the whole of the free people, ticket of leave men and prisoners of the Crown devolved upon me and continued their embarkation at Melville Isld. in H.M.C. Barque Lucy Anne until their final disembarkation at Sydney i.e. during a period of ten weeks,
[10 weeks before 17 June 1829 so end of March – Hartley & population excepting presumably some soldiers as marines already at FW]
Mary Waterloo Raffles – Aboriginal child 6½yo when captured after an atrocity - she asked to stay with whites & so she went to Sydney when Raffles Bay closed.
On going further inland we struck a jungle, near which were signs of a large native camp. Sheets of bark doubled and standing on the ground like ‘V’ upside down, being used for shelter. At all the fires there were heaps of shells of the fruit of the tree fern (Cycas media) ; in fact the fruit seemed to form a staple food, for at all the camp fires we saw on the island there were heaps of these shells. Mussel and crab shells were also to be seen. Some of the sheets of bark were very fine, indeed, one measured being 15ft long by 3ft wide. That the natives have steel tomahawks or knives was evident from the clean cuts in some of the sheets of bark, but the majority were very rough, as if done with a stone. When near a freshwater swamp on our way to the boat we noticed two stumps of trees which had been cut with a saw ; they looked quite the age of the settlement. NT Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927), Friday 19 July 1895, page 3 Fort Dundas-Melville Island. (see full article pdf below)
I am particularly in want of Shoes and Sole leather, as, for want of them, I am now obliged to issue wooden Clogs with upper leather nailed upon them.
First Recorded Tropical CycloneI shall be obliged to erect a Settlement Store house and a Blacksmith's forge. The old store house is completely rotten, being constructed with course slabs and cabbage Palms, and is overrun with White Ants. The forge is blown away;
a new Warf to replace the old one, which was washed away by the Gale on the 2d of April. I have formed the new one of heavy logs and piles, and projected it thirty feet further out than the former one, by which plan Cargoes and Stores can be now landed at all periods of the tide.
MacassansThe Malays from Macassar seldom visit Coepang, but they trade and in their prows to many of the small Islands with the Articles above trepang fishing enumerated. The Macassar Men are the trepang fishers, and the period they fish is from December to the return of the Easterly Monsoon in March or April. Their fishing Ground is all the bays and Creeks on the North Coast of New Holland; their prows are unarmed and fitted out solely for the occupation of fishing; their size about ten tons, and the number that sail annually from Macassar about 2 to 3 hundred prows; a Chinese Vessel calls annually at Macassar for the trepang and pays in Chinese and Dollars; the Dollars are exchanged at Sineapor or Batavia for European and Indian trade.
The Captain of a Macassar Proa at Koepang stated that the Beche de mer fisheries were carried on annually to a great extent on the Coast and Bays of N e w Holland, and that the Beche de mer found there was of the best kind. The fishing season commenced with the height of the north west monsoon, and the Proas leave this Station and return home late in the South east monsoon. Their course from Timor is generally East and towards the Island and Gulf of Carpentaria. These Proas are mostly unarmed, and the Macassar Captain said they would never be induced to visit Melville Island from the known difficulties of the entrance and a dread, which the Malays have, of passing through narrow Straits; but he had no doubt but that the Malays would visit any British Settlement on the North Coast of New Holland or on any of the Islands near the Gulf of Carpentaria, provided they could meet with such articles of trade as they wished for. Many of the Chinese at Koepang said they would be glad to come over to a British Settlement; but all would wish their Slave property to be protected.
The prices at Sincapore in December, 1826, were for Trepang One hundred dollars per Pecul and for Tortoise Shell a thousand dollars per Pecul.
Mr. Grimes on his return from Raffles Bay put into Port Essington, as I had requested him, to land on a particular Point of it to ascertain whether it was flooded or wet at this period of the year or not. Mr. Grimes reports having found five Malay Proas of about twenty ton each anchored there; the Crews amounting to One hundred and thirty persons had landed and erected a regular Trepang fishing establishment consisting of bamboo huts and boiling places; the establishment was surrounded by a fence of fourteen or sixteen feet high, constructed also of bamboo and as a protection against the Natives. They would not dispose of any of their Trepang to Mr. Grimes, telling him that their proprietor who resided at Maccassar would not sanction it, that they were merely employed to procure the Tripang and not to dispose of it.
They expressed much surprise on being told that the English were going to settle in Port Essington; said that The Maccassars had used it as a fishing place for many years; had given it a name (Limboo Moutiara) and that the English had certainly no business there.
Malay Interpreter O’Dean
communicate with and signify to them that, in the event of any of their countrymen visiting Melville Island, they would there meet with the kindest and most cordial treatment; but they informed him that, in the prosecution of the Trepang fishing, their excursions did not extend to that Settlement; it was out of their customary track, and they could not therefore touch there.
Slaving & PiracySlaving at Sineapor or Batavia for European and Indian trade. I was informed by Mr. Hazard, the Resident for the Dutch Government at Coepang, the regular exports of Slaves takes place from the Portuguese Settlement at Delhi in Timor, and that a French Brig had a few weeks before been there and procured as many as she could take; the following Circumstance was also told me by him; A Vessel last year under Dutch Colours (understood now to have been an English Vessel) called at Flores, an Island under Dutch Government to the Westward of Timor, and informed one of the Rajahs (Cheifs) that he had been sent by the Governor General at Batavia with orders to procure from thence a full Cargo of Slaves for the Service of the Dutch Government, and, on the Rajah's delay in procuring the requested number, he seized him and threatened to carry him to Batavia for punishment if the orders were not immediately Complied with; the Rajah afterwards went to Koepang and expressed his surprise at this usage; by which means the circumstance became known. All these Slaving Vessels assume what flag is most Convenient for the time.
“The Chief of this Proa informed him that the Dutch had cautioned them against going near Melville Island (Aimba Mootiara) representing that it was infested by Pirates. I have not heard of or seen any of these Pirates, unless the Dutch kindly designate us as such.”
Monsieur Bechade, a French Merchant residing at Coepang, told him that a small vessel from Melville Island had been taken by the Malays near the Island of Tinomber, or Tinaniver, about six Months Back; that the Crew excepting one Small Boy had been massacred; that this Boy had been afterwards ransomed by the Dutch Government for Two Muskets and was carried to Batavia. This information came to Coepang by a Dutch Ship of War which touched there; and Mr. Bechade had learnt the same account at Java. The schooner had a boy on Board when she sailed from this, and the Lady Nelson had none.
MiscellanyPort Regulation 17. The Corpses of Persons, dying on Board Ship in the Harbour, are to be put in Coffins and duly interred on Shore at the Public Burial ground.
Thomas Williams came to this Settlement with the first party in the list furnished to me from the Secretary's office, he was returned as a Prisoner for life; on the 29th October, 1824, he told me the time for which he had received Sentence had expired. I forwarded his statement to Sydney, And, on the 15th May, 1825, received a second list, in which Williams was returned as having been transported for seven years only; in consequence of the mistake in the first list he was detained here, and employed as a Prisoner of the Crown nearly seven Months after his sentence of transportation had expired. His conduct has been very good during the time he has been on the Island.
Marine Burton died May 1825 – accidentally shot by his Courtnay with a firelock
The Silver monies in circulation are Spanish Dollars and Dutch ruppees, and the Copper Stivers and Dorts; their relative Values are 11 Ruppees equal 15 pillared Spanish Dollars, 30 Stivers or 60 Dorts one Ruppee; there only measures of quantity are the Cotte and Pekul, one hundred Cotte being One pekul, and this weighing One hundred and thirty three pounds.
The present Warf is very insufficient, being overflown at Spring tides and unapproachable by boats at low water; by being projected
thirty feet further out and raised two, this evil would be remedied. I also a m of opinion that a good Quay might be easily formed with Piles and Logs for a hundred or a hundred and forty feet on each side of this now narrow warf.
30 April 1828 - Both these establishments are at present well supplyed with Live Stock, and I don’t think there will be any necessity for sending either of the two Government Vessels to Timor for supplies during five months to come.
Asst Surgeon Sherwin – 8 May 1828 - Replacement for Dr Gold – he has 2 sisters Sarah & Eliza – asks passage for them on Mary Elizabeth from Sydney – his brother John is already book on the vessel.
We went on losing sight of the Natives until we came to a bridge which leads to a swamp about half a mile from the settlement. I passed Campbell a few paces after the Natives who were running away, but thinking it imprudent to follow them I went back to him and found him dead; he had three spears sticking in his body.
7 June 1827 Port Essington 'Three principal objects being now ascertained, which are that the Malays resort there, that water is to be found and the harbour tolerably safe and good, I think that, after Captain Stirling has completed his Survey, there will be no difficulty in deciding as to the site for a future Settlement. I am in daily expectation of the arrival of the Success, but have yet heard nothing of her.
Since my last report I have lost one Soldier, who died suddenly when out on duty with a party on Bathurst Island.
the Clove does not to our knowledge exist on the Island; that which was taken for the Clove was the Eucalyptus which bears a blossom resembling a Clove. As to the nutmeg, it is produced here and partakes of the appearance and form of the two best kind of nutmeg, which are the Queen and Royal nutmeg; but, as they don't attain the full size and aromatic flavour, it may be owing to want of Cultivation. The Nutmeg tree grows here in swamp ground, and is choked up with other trees and runners of different kinds.
Fort Wellington
By the Colonial Brig Amity which arrived here yesterday, I received a communication from Captain Stirling dated 20th June, stating his having landed the detachment under Command of Captain Smyth, of the 39th Regiment, on the Eastern side of Raffles Bay, and that the British flag was hoisted at Fort Wellington (the name of the new Settlement).
BuffaloI have endeavoured to procure Working Buffalo from Timor, but none can be found. I beg therefore to suggest that four or for six bullocks sent from Sydney would be a great relief to the Workmen in their arduous labour of drawing timber in this burning
Climate.Captain Hartley - Campbell's replacementThe worn out and emaciated condition of the Sick at Raffles Bay and the undue proportion, to the numerical strength of the population of that Settlement, with the generally sickly complexion and attenuated appearance of nearly all, afforded melancholy evidence of the malignant effects of the climate with which they had been contending and which, with the accumulated local disadvantages Raffles Bay labors under, appear to render it not only ineligible as a Settlement but moreover unfit for the residence of civilized man.
The present State of this Settlement and its apparently general improved condition furnish satisfactory testimony of Major Campbell's zealous and well directed exertions, whilst exercising the functions of Commandant.
As the number of hospital cases now under treatment amounts only to two exclusive of out-patients, I think the Settlement (FD) may be regarded as being in a comparatively healthy state.
the dangerous navigation in approaching the entrance or passage of Apsley Straits, which is so intricate and hazardous, so choaked and encumbered with sunken shoals, reefs and other perilous obstructions (against which the best charts and most cautious navigation can only provide a partial and uncertain security),nothing short of absolute necessity will ever induce shipping in any large amount to resort to a harbour so dangerously and in every respect objectionably circumstanced.
[When he received orders, dated 31st May, 1828, from Sir George Murray to remove the settlement from Melville island, Governor Darling detailed the brig Lucy Anne for the duty and she sailed from Sydney on the 27th of November, 1828. After removing the establishment to Raffles bay, Hartley returned to Sydney in the Lucy Anne via King George's sound.]
the whole of the free people, ticket of leave men and prisoners of the Crown devolved upon me and continued their embarkation at Melville Isld. in H.M.C. Barque Lucy Anne until their final disembarkation at Sydney i.e. during a period of ten weeks,
[10 weeks before 17 June 1829 so end of March – Hartley & population excepting presumably some soldiers as marines already at FW]
Mary Waterloo Raffles – Aboriginal child 6½yo when captured after an atrocity - she asked to stay with whites & so she went to Sydney when Raffles Bay closed.
On going further inland we struck a jungle, near which were signs of a large native camp. Sheets of bark doubled and standing on the ground like ‘V’ upside down, being used for shelter. At all the fires there were heaps of shells of the fruit of the tree fern (Cycas media) ; in fact the fruit seemed to form a staple food, for at all the camp fires we saw on the island there were heaps of these shells. Mussel and crab shells were also to be seen. Some of the sheets of bark were very fine, indeed, one measured being 15ft long by 3ft wide. That the natives have steel tomahawks or knives was evident from the clean cuts in some of the sheets of bark, but the majority were very rough, as if done with a stone. When near a freshwater swamp on our way to the boat we noticed two stumps of trees which had been cut with a saw ; they looked quite the age of the settlement. NT Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927), Friday 19 July 1895, page 3 Fort Dundas-Melville Island. (see full article pdf below)
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
CAMERON, JMR, 'Traders, Government Officials and the Occupation of Melville Island in 1824'.
For more than 25 years, Dr James (Jim) Cameron collected research material from Archives in Australia and the United Kingdom relating to the first three British settlements of Northern Australia, 1824-1848: Fort Dundas on Melville Island (1824-1828); Fort Wellington on the Cobourg Peninsula at Raffles Bay (1827-1829); and Fort Victoria at Port Essington (1838-1849).
CROSBY, E. 1978. Survey and Excavation at Fort Dundas, Melville Island, Northern Territory, 1975, The Australian Society for Historical Archaeology. Sydney.
Peter Spillet - filed with this usual acuity - maybe never published.
SARGENT, Clem (1995). 'The Buffs in Australia – 1822 to 1827'. Sabretache (Military Historical Society of Australia). XXXVI (January/March): 3–13. ISSN 0048-8933.
STANLEY, Peter (1986). The Remote Garrison: The British Army in Australia. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press. ISBN 0-86417-091-2
FREDERICKSEN, Clayton 'Confinement by isolation: convict mechanics and labour at Fort Dundas, Melville Island'
Rev. Colin James de la Rue 2006 "...for the Good of His Majesty's Service" The archaeology of Fort Dundas 1824 - 1829 - Thesis CDU 6514.
Commandant of Solitude - Mulvaney & Green 1992 - Collet Barker did not arrive at Fort Wellington until September 1828 but his comments regarding the state of health of the people and materials that arrived from Fort Dundas is interesting. He exemplifies the dilemma of dealing with the native people - what can be achieved and the price of assimilation. The sound relationships with senior men - the unbridled thirst for 'cutting-edge' goods & a warrior's fame in the young men excluded from wives and gifts of axes and trinkets - heralds the demise of the Bennetts & Barkers and reprisals amongst those natives closest to the settlement.
The British Army in Australia 1788-1870 Index of Personnel
The Paracensus of Australia 1788 - 1828 the following are available:
BRITISH ARMY REFERENCES AUSTRALIAN JOINT COPYING PROJECT
PRO REEL No. PIECE No UNIT
WAR OFFICE 10
369421181/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369521181/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369621191/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369621661/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
THE LONG EXPEDITION TO FORT DUNDAS, MELVILLE ISLAND by Terry Brookshaw
"In remembrance of the detachment of Royal Marines from Plymouth who helped to build Fort Dundas on Melville Island and man it from October 1824 to August 1827. My interest stems from the fact that one of my ancestors, John Brookshaw, was in that Royal Marine detachment."
Caring for history: Tiwi and archaeological narratives of Fort Dundas/Punata, Melville Is. Australia - Clayton Fredericksen - World Archaeology15 Feb 2012
For more than 25 years, Dr James (Jim) Cameron collected research material from Archives in Australia and the United Kingdom relating to the first three British settlements of Northern Australia, 1824-1848: Fort Dundas on Melville Island (1824-1828); Fort Wellington on the Cobourg Peninsula at Raffles Bay (1827-1829); and Fort Victoria at Port Essington (1838-1849).
CROSBY, E. 1978. Survey and Excavation at Fort Dundas, Melville Island, Northern Territory, 1975, The Australian Society for Historical Archaeology. Sydney.
Peter Spillet - filed with this usual acuity - maybe never published.
SARGENT, Clem (1995). 'The Buffs in Australia – 1822 to 1827'. Sabretache (Military Historical Society of Australia). XXXVI (January/March): 3–13. ISSN 0048-8933.
STANLEY, Peter (1986). The Remote Garrison: The British Army in Australia. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press. ISBN 0-86417-091-2
FREDERICKSEN, Clayton 'Confinement by isolation: convict mechanics and labour at Fort Dundas, Melville Island'
Rev. Colin James de la Rue 2006 "...for the Good of His Majesty's Service" The archaeology of Fort Dundas 1824 - 1829 - Thesis CDU 6514.
Commandant of Solitude - Mulvaney & Green 1992 - Collet Barker did not arrive at Fort Wellington until September 1828 but his comments regarding the state of health of the people and materials that arrived from Fort Dundas is interesting. He exemplifies the dilemma of dealing with the native people - what can be achieved and the price of assimilation. The sound relationships with senior men - the unbridled thirst for 'cutting-edge' goods & a warrior's fame in the young men excluded from wives and gifts of axes and trinkets - heralds the demise of the Bennetts & Barkers and reprisals amongst those natives closest to the settlement.
The British Army in Australia 1788-1870 Index of Personnel
The Paracensus of Australia 1788 - 1828 the following are available:
BRITISH ARMY REFERENCES AUSTRALIAN JOINT COPYING PROJECT
PRO REEL No. PIECE No UNIT
WAR OFFICE 10
369421181/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369521181/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369621191/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
369621661/3rd East Kent Buffs 1822-1827
THE LONG EXPEDITION TO FORT DUNDAS, MELVILLE ISLAND by Terry Brookshaw
"In remembrance of the detachment of Royal Marines from Plymouth who helped to build Fort Dundas on Melville Island and man it from October 1824 to August 1827. My interest stems from the fact that one of my ancestors, John Brookshaw, was in that Royal Marine detachment."
Caring for history: Tiwi and archaeological narratives of Fort Dundas/Punata, Melville Is. Australia - Clayton Fredericksen - World Archaeology15 Feb 2012
HMS Tamar A 26-gun Conway class sixth rate launched in 1814, converted into a coal hulk in 1831 at Plymouth.
Built in 1814 by Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury.
Under the command of Captain George Richard Pechell, she captured a large pirate brig near San Domingo in 1820.
She was tasked with leading the flotilla that would claim Australia for the crown and establish the first free settlement at Fort Dundas.
She sailed to Sydney thence to Coburg Peninsular where the flag was raised at Record Point and on to Melville Island.
Converted to a coal hulk in 1831at Plymouth and sold in 1837.
Built in 1814 by Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury.
Under the command of Captain George Richard Pechell, she captured a large pirate brig near San Domingo in 1820.
She was tasked with leading the flotilla that would claim Australia for the crown and establish the first free settlement at Fort Dundas.
She sailed to Sydney thence to Coburg Peninsular where the flag was raised at Record Point and on to Melville Island.
Converted to a coal hulk in 1831at Plymouth and sold in 1837.
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Additional sources too large to upload are:- Campbell to Maclay Despatch 11 20-6-1828 & Historical Records of Australia pp471-720
Campbell was at Fort Dundas and the commandant at Port Essington 1839-48 has records & recollections contain information on both settlements.
n.b. Ctrl F will open the search box for Pdfs.
Campbell was at Fort Dundas and the commandant at Port Essington 1839-48 has records & recollections contain information on both settlements.
n.b. Ctrl F will open the search box for Pdfs.
Memoir Melville Is & Pt Essington – Campbell
Major J. Campbell map of Coburg & Tiwi Islands - Records of the Geographical Society London 1834