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Chapter 10 – Founding of Australia

The population in England, had risen very rapidly during the industrial revolution, especially where labour was needed in the factories and cities. For example, one parish in the East End of London, had divided into a dozen within forty years. Also during the 1850’s nearly three million people had emigrated from England to the United States and British colonies. The majority of the people in Australia had gone there voluntarily, and of course, that included all types of people, some of whom were of dubious character, others very industrious, others just greedy, so naturally, the ordinary people, were sometimes taken advantage of, by those with devious minds. Large numbers of people from Germany and other European countries also went out for a better life, or to make their fortune. All this sounds familiar.

It was in 1787, that Britain thought of a new way to banish its unwanted citizens. Many of these were uneducated petty thieves, streetwalkers, orphan chimney sweeps and dashing highwaymen. The idea was ‘out of sight, out of mind’, so why not literally, send them to the ends of the earth, the fringes of the known world? Botany Bay was remote; it was a lengthy journey, and all by sea. These ‘creatures’ would never be able to return to their mother country. Only one European expedition ship had ever anchored at the destination to which the overcrowded, disease-ridden convict ships were bound. Many of these convicts were ill noursihed, and they included a lot of people from Ireland, the land of the famous potato famine of the 1840’s, when Irish families tried to escape the poverty and disease of their homeland. Many landed in Liverpool, and ended up as convicts. A person could be transported just for stealing food for their starving family. What does a mother or father do when their child is wasting away or becoming ill? It was not only the Irish who suffered a potato famine, the same potato disease ravished Scotland. This was exacerbated by the earlier Highland clearances.

Big land owners, cleared farmers off their lands, in order to keep more sheep then rehoused them by setting up small communities along the shore. Beautiful, yes, but to farm you need good soil, which the coast line did not have. They were expected to increase their subsistence diet, through fishing. This did not work, crops failed. Many people were fishing these inlets and bays that became over fished, so they too felt they had to emigrate. Many Scots had gone to Canada, and later some to Australia, but the largest influx from those dreadful times, was from Ireland.

It was not just the Irish and Scots who suffered at this period. People in Britain had left the land to work in the factories, which had sprung up turning small towns into cities. Working conditions were appalling, long hours for all the family including young children, with low wages, and unimaginable housing conditions, far worse than the country shacks, they had previously called home.

These factors, in their turn led to disease and malnutrition, serious accidents were frequent in factories and considered common place, yet acceptable. It was not unusual for a woman to get her hair caught in the machinery, which could result in her being scalped. The children, who had to crawl under the machine, could trap their head or their clothes, clawing and winding that poor child’s clothing and body into the machine.

Fathers did the heavy work, some of it in the yards, loading and unloading carts, which did not stay still. The large carthorses could not be guaranteed to stand still. Injuries received from falling on hard yard flooring or stones, from the top of the cart, could result in serious fractures or even death, again they could be run over by a cart. Even in the days of horse drawn traffic, there existed same or similar road offences those, which exist today.

Without a breadwinner, to pay the rent for the poor accommodation, the family would have nowhere to go when the rent could not be paid, except for the workhouse, so many a family ended up in the dreaded workhouse, their last resort. Families would be split up, their general living conditions no better than they had had before, but at least they were fed, after a fashion. Women and men were separated, children taken from parents and separated from siblings, some of whom were sent to a poorhouse school situated some distance to where their parents were living. No one could leave, unless they could show they could support themselves, and this information had to be supported by someone in authority outside the poorhouse.

Yet these rejects of Britain, were only accompanied by a flimsy complement of soldiers, marines and officers, and together they were expected to start a settlement and flourish. It was an audacious social experiment, unparalleled before or since. Those who survived the journey were ruled by the military, were few in number compared with the transportees.

Australia at the time of Godfrey’s arrival and later when Alfred went with his father and brother, Australia was receiving convicts, and did so for many years to come.

The practice of sending felons to Australia started after the American colonies had become independent. King George had lost the American colonies, he could no longer tell that country what it had to do. America was so far away, it took a long time to communicate with London, so the American people were now making the decisions for themselves. The only difference really was, that the American people would not get into trouble for what they did, and they would no longer pay taxes to London, only to themselves.

The Antipodes was the next, so thought the English Government. Australia was a long way away, and the convicts would not be able to get back to England with out money for the fare. Those convicts suffered during their journey to Australia, in the same way the slaves had done. They were being packed tightly in cages within the holds of the ships. It was considered risky to mix people, because of the likelihood of spreading disease.

Initially the idea was to have been to deposit this cargo at Botany Bay and then later in Van Dieman’s Land, now called Tasmania, accompanied by their complement of soldiers, marines and officers, who were expected to start a settlement and flourish. This social experiment was unparalleled before or since.

On the swampy shores of Botany Bay, by the sandstone coves of Sydney Harbour, the clash of civilizations was inevitable, intense and often tragic. From this improbable beginning, through famine, drought, escapes and floggings, the glory of modern Sydney was born. The fledgling colony refused to crumble. Britain’s penal experiment succeeded against all odds. Some, who had served their time, were free to roam.

The first ships, which had left England eight months previously, two were naval vessels, the rest were converted merchantmen. Convicts had been selected for work based on their previous trade or useful occupation, but it was no proof of their capabilities. Captain Cook’s reports on Australia were inaccurate in many respects, one being the type of land where they were to settle. He had not put his foot ashore, his comments were only visual, made from the sea. The area was mosquito ridden, wet and boggy, not the place to build a settlement.

The officers, in red uniforms, had frightened the local inhabitants, but after a few weeks, they had built up a peaceful relationship with the local tribes, exchanging gifts of beads and mirrors. Still this was no place to settle, so it was decided to sail up the coast until they came to another inlet, now called Port Jackson, and it was here they decided to make the new settlement.

Not everything would go well for them in that area either. The officers got off the ship first, then the naval men. They landed in a beautiful wooded landscape, but the land was spongy despite growing fine cabbage trees, but unknown to the men, cabbage trees are shallow rooted. They had brought seed to plant, but the soil was shallow, only reaching a depth of around six inches. So the seed failed, some due to the torrential rains washing it away, other was lost due to being blown away in a dry spell.

Another ship from England was supposed to follow with more supplies, but it did not arrive. The first night the female convicts were released from their ship and were allowed ashore, there was bedlam. There was a big orgy as the women were chased by the men, by the convicts and the crew. Women could not escape being raped. The man, who was to be in charge of this colony, had to implement strong measures to restore civility. The men were allocated areas where they were to prepare the fields for the crops, but most were city dwellers, and had no idea what to do, nor did they have any tools. They had to make their own, from the natural materials around them. One of the things the natives did, was to make tools, which were they discarded when no longer of use. It was these the convicts made use of, and copied, to make their own.

No supply ship arrived, but other convict ships did arrive. One ship loaded with convicts, was sent up the river, from this beautiful secluded harbour, to grow food on an island, Norfolk Island. Nothing was heard of them or from anyone else, so those people still in Port Jackson were living on reduced rations. Eventually those from Norfolk Island managed to join their colleagues, only to explain their ship had got stuck, running aground in the river. The first crops were destroyed by wind and salt from the sea.

Food was getting in very short supply. People were beginning to starve; farming had not been successful, the crops were poor or nonexistent, so the man in charge, Captain Arthur Philip had a very difficult job to control the hungry and rebellious rabble. It was only through his rough justice that he was able to keep control.

Starving people steal food, so he hung anyone who did just that. He cut their rations, time and time again as necessary, not as a punishment, but hoping to eke out the food until the next supply ship arrived.

He decided to send another ship to Cape Town. This would normally have taken five months, however, by changing route to one considered dangerous, it returned in three.

When the ship returned from Cape Town, the sailors were then able to inform Captain Philip that the first supply ship had sunk with all hands, and that had happened two or three years beforehand.

Some members of the camp had found corpses of some black people in the undergrowth. Had they been killed by the white man? People were afraid of what the Captain would do, should he decide they had killed the native people but no-one admitted killing them, and on examination, it was found they had not been killed. Had the poor motley group brought European diseases with them from England, to which the natives had no immunity? That was the final conclusion.

Whenever men are short of food, there is friction between them, each for their own survival. Most of convicts were used to hunger because of the poor living conditions several of them had had in England. Many had been sleeping on the streets. As they neared their destination, and even the ships rations ran out, even the crew were hungry, so possibly they were more congenial to the hungry convicts, all in the same boat so to speak.

With the lack of fresh food, scurvy existed amongst the poor, thin weak residents of Port Jackson who were no longer capable of trying to farm. Starving people get hallucinations and men thought they could see ship sails coming. It was three years later before another ship arrived, and that was full of convicts, not food. There had been a heavy death toll amongst them too, however these people were a little fitter than the men who had stayed at Port Jackson.

During the early period some of the convicts managed to escape. How many gained freedom this way, and how many left after serving their term, can only be guessed at, but some certainly did leave the colony. Eventually this motley group of men and women were to form the new settlement, which prospered, and became the vibrant city of Sydney we know today.