CIRCUMNAVIGATING AUSTRALIA'S COLONIAL HISTORY - TROVE TUESDAY 8th Jan 2019 Pt. 14

N.B. Approximate position

Ever wanted to circumnavigate Australia? We still have a way to go...we'll be going on quite a journey, at least virtually, and clockwise. So as to make sure all states and territories are covered, we started in Western Australia and explored a little of the early history of a small part of this massive state via TROVE...from Rottnest Island to Broome..then across to Katherine Gorge, then Tennant Creek, from there to Darwin on the way to the Tiwi Islands, Bathurst and Melville.

We've had to travel back to Darwin, before leaving the Northern Territory, then across to Cairns, in North Queensland... but we didn't stop there, instead headed to the tropical north, to one of the most beautiful areas you can imagine... isolated yes, but perfect for that great getaway... to Cape Tribulation. It seems you loved that area so well, that Cairns was the obvious place to travel to next... not too far south. That was another very popular place...as was our visit to Fraser Island...

We then headed inland, on an approximately 6 hours flight to a place steeped in history.. what a contrast to the sub tropical island of Fraser ...no waterfalls or clear lakes or rainforest, but Longreach has so much to offer.

We then returned to Hervey Bay, by plane, and then took a short drive of approximately 25 minutes to a town founded in 1847... the charming historical town of Maryborough. So many of you loved that place as I do.

What a contrast the next destination was, though it is also very much steeped in history... a beautiful place, but it was a place of horror, of deprivation and loneliness... St. Helena Island. To get there, we left on a ferry from Manly, across to the island. 

Then we returned to Brisbane, to explore the beautiful, sub tropical capital city of the Sunshine State. Brisbane today, is the third largest city in Australia and growing rapidly... 

It has come a long way from it's beginnings as the Moreton Bay convict settlement, with such an interesting history. In an earlier issue, we explored some of the history of Brisbane, then visited Brisbane of a later period. There is so much to see and do in this beautiful city, once known as the biggest country town in Australia...

After a break, we resumed our travels...  heading in to New South Wales... not too far over the border, to a place that literally stands out, begging to be noticed. It was first given a European name by Captain James Cook...  he recorded seeing " a remarkable sharp peaked mountain lying inland". That place was the very imposing Mt. Warning.. you can refresh your memory here

The New Year sees us travelling again, refreshed and ready to go to yet another beautiful place. Many of you will have stopped there, if only to get a photo taken on the border between Queensland and New South Wales..Coolangatta one side, Tweed Heads on the other. Hard to believe that this was only known as Point Danger in times past, as indeed it was... the lighthouse is a clue...

To quote from Wikipedia..

Point Danger is a headland, located at Coolangatta on the southern end of the Gold Coast on the east coast of Australia. Separated by Snapper Rocks and Rainbow Bay to the west, with Duranbah Beach and the Tweed River mouth to the south, present-day Point Danger has also indicated the border between New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, since 1863.

The point is the location of the Captain Cook memorial and lighthouse, the Centaur Memorial and Walk of Remembrance, the Marine Rescue NSW Point Danger station, and the southern end of the Gold Coast Oceanway.

The Centaur Memorial remembers the sinking of Australian Hospital Ship Centaur by a Japanese submarine on 14 May 1943. The Walk of Remembrance commemorates other ships lost to Japanese and German action during World War II and takes the form of plaques arranged in a semicircle around the lookout fence.

You will find that Point Danger features often in Captain Cook's journals.. you can read more about it here

  Point Danger Light also known as Captain Cook Memorial Light Coolangatta   courtesy of State Library QLD.

Another aspect...  

Lighthouse at Point Danger, Coolangatta, Queensland — a memorial to Lieutenant James Cook of HM Bark Endeavour who named the Point and described the area during the voyage of 1770.

Eertman at Dutch Wikipedia - Transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons. Public Domain

This lighthouse was much needed as can be seen by this list of shipwrecks...thanks to the NSW Heritage Office.

   

The Australasian, Melbourne  7 May 1870 

wreck Perseverance

Wreck of the SS Tyalgum Duranbah beach. Copy of original photo by Robert Warbrooke Snr.
Creative Commons

 Looking towards Tweed Heads, from Point Danger, ca. 1890 State Library Qld

        

Tweed Heads headlands, ca. 1891  John Oxley Library SLQ

                                      

Wreck of the Orara at Point Danger, ca. 1901 State Library Qld

             

Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Monday 1 November 1909,

National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100868691

There had been quite a long discussion as to where the lighthouse should be...

Brisbane Courier 14 Sep 1912

Coolangatta from Pt. Danger 1921
Copy of original photo by Robert Warbrooke Snr.
Creative Commons

As if that wasn't enough, then the discussion re the change of state boundary took place...

The Richmond River Express & Casino Kyogle Advertiser 7 Aug 1925

Copy of original photo by Robert Warbrooke Snr. c 1930
Creative Commons

Copy of original photo by Robert Warbrooke Snr.
Creative Commons c 1950

Point Danger Aussie~mobs

Despite it's past history, including  a very busy industry of a port mainly used for transportation of cedar and later crops, of multiple ship wrecks in the area and the sometimes volatile discussions re the position of a lighthouse and the necessity of a defined border between NSW and QLD,  Point Danger is now known best as a tourist magnet.. and why wouldn't it be?

Duranbah Beach & Tweed River mouth from Point Danger on the border of Queensland and New South Wales

The photos above and below are courtesy of David McKelvey, with permission to use for non commercial use.  Some rights reserved
You will find more of David's great photos on Flickr at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/32621724570/in/photostream/

Point Danger lookout

Courtesy of visa.nsw.com

Situated on the New South Wales/Queensland border, high on a peak overlooking Duranbah Beach which is popular for surfing. Point Danger was named by Captain James Cook on his 1770 journey up the east coast of Australia to warn later mariners of dangerous coral reefs off this treacherous coast.

From an historic point of view this place is brimming with interesting facts about Australian maritime history. At Point Danger you will find the Captain Cook Memorial, moulded from cast iron actually jettisoned from the Endeavour and recovered in the 1960s. Next to it is the lighthouse which was the first to experiment (unsuccessfully) with laser light. Memorial plaques are positioned along 'Centaur Remembrance Walk' to those lost at sea.

From Point Danger, you will often see dolphins out to sea, and on a fine day there are views from Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay.

For more information: http://www.destinationtweed.com.au

Have you added this to your bucket list, or are you already a convert as we are?

IRISH CONVICTS, SHIPWRECKS, PIRATES, COURT CASES, and much more TROVE TUESDAY 14TH NOVEMBER, 2017

Convicts in a prison ship

We can learn so much about our early colonial history not just from the history books and newspapers, but also from the Gazettes of the time. Some Gazettes were the newspapers of the time, full of all manner of news and snippets, while others were rather dour government  publications.

 I can't resist the former... take the following for example...

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 5 February 1820, page 3 

National Library of Australia

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2179245 




It begins with Ship News, the arrival from New Zealand of the schooner Elizabeth and Mary, then after a short paragraph which mentions at least one very well known name and his then position in the colony, goes into detail about a common problem that still occurs today... lack of room in a burial ground, causing it's closure, and the provision of a new one.

Courtesy of wikipedia

John Oxley
Born	1784 Kirkham Abbey, Yorkshire, England
Died	1828 (aged 44) Camden, New South Wales
Occupation	British explorer

Seems it was quite an occasion at the time... interesting to note that the sermon at the opening was presented by the Rev. Mr. Marsden, who just happened to marry my fourth great grandparents, Robet Hobbs and Bridget Eslin/Heslin, on the 30th October, 1815, at St. Matthew's C of E, Windsor... along with quite a few others over the years...

I was interested to see that the old Burial Ground was 'closed and shut up'... to keep some out or to keep all in?

That then became the Old Sydney Burial Ground.. the 'new one' was at Brickfield Hill.

Detail from Sheet E1 of the 1865 Trigonometrical Survey of Sydney (City of Sydney Archives/State Records) showing the size and boundaries of the Old Sydney Burial Ground. Druitt Street runs along the bottom of the picture, Bathurst Street along the top, and George Street to the left. The building within the cemetery grounds is the wooden temporary St Andrews Church.



In this early part of the year, a ship, Castle Forbes, arrived carrying 140 male prisoners...all in good health. I wonder just what standard of good health... as the Captains were often paid according to the condition of their 'cargo' when they arrived, so long as they were fit to work, all would be well.

N.B. More re the Castle Forbes https://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_castle_forbes_1820.htm


News from home, whether it be England, Ireland or elsewhere, was very well received..and the scandals of the day made good reading. America also featured heavily in overseas news...including the riots that had occurred late in May the previous year.



The passing of 'Assistant Surgeon Hamilton, of the 48th Regiment, at Hobart Town, on the 16th January' was mentioned at length.



The 'melancholy ocasion' of the funeral was well attended by many dignitaries.

 Quite a contrast to the 'Anniversary of the Commemoration of the Establishment of this Colony' and the rousing song sung at the dinner on January 26, 1820.. I think I might prefer Advance Australia Fair..


 It seems this edition has a few celebrations to report, including the Fifteenth Anniversary of the British and Foreign Bible Society.. quite a number of impressive titled men were present



There was even a very formal apology re non attendance.. these days, you are never quite sure who is attending an event till you count them on the day. How manners and customs have changed over time.


The rest of this edition seems to be concerned about the printing of millions of bibles and their distribution .. interesting to read the 'flowery' language of the time, where the thought of using just a few words instead of dozens simply 'didn't do'.





A month later and the news was about shipwrecks, in detail, plus some of the court cases, which seemed to result in far heavier sentences then in comparison to those meted out today...

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 25 March 1820, page 2 

National Library of Australia

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2179344 

Ships involved were the Duke of Wellington, under Captain William Collins, accompanied by the Frederick, under Captain Williams. So much livestock was lost, due to the conditions. Sadly, the Frederick was wrecked, and 22 of her crew, with just the Captain and four others, including two boys, surviving. The details of their survival and their subsequent transfer to the 'Wellington' and what happened on that voyage are hard to comprehend.

N.B. more on the Frederick  https://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_frederick_1817.htm
More info frederick https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/frederick

 A convict ship..



The sad and horrific tales continued, including the raiding by pirates, formerly seamen who had been shipwrecked, seems almost unbelieveable today. Sea journeys were for the brave...



The brig, the Greyhound, under Captain William Campbell, was another that suffered a nearly total loss...

 N.B. more on the Greyhound  https://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_greyhound_1818.htm


We leave shipwrecks for a while and read of the trials in the 'Court of Criminal Jurisdiction...'

Some of those before the court include...
Thomas Till, Michael Haggerty.. stealing sheep
William Brown.. stealing a colt
Thomas Smith, Thomas Blaney, Edward Aibney (?), Thomas Fox and John Sears...stealing a boat... (What's with all the Thomas'?)
Joseph Cunningham, Samuel Medworth.. stealing cattle
John Davidson..contempt of court 'the most vile, most insolent, and intolerable'
Theophilus Chamberlain..stealing a mare


Dominick McIntyre.. stealing sheep
George Ison.. acquitted from charge of larceny
William Jones..charge of assault
John Davis..stealing a bullock
Thomas Rourke..stealing sundry articles of wearing apparel (female?)
James Francis..stealing a cow

Threatened by the prospect of execution... enough to bring about a sense of contrition?


What do you think about their ultimate sentences? Were they stealing for food, or profit, or did one 'marry' with the other?

The Age

 From these wretched souls to the report of a loss of an infant by drowning..then the passing of a Mr. Richard Tuckwell at his house in Pitt Street..




to the loss of a 'useful member of society', something to which we all aspire to be, I would hope...
'William Denman, an old and well known inhabitant'

 This edition finished with some advice 'One Being Out of Debt'.. as much as things change, they remain the same...