The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

Tallow.  It Was Found That One Hundred Average Sheep Would Yield One

Ton Of Tallow,  And Ten Average Bullocks Also One Ton,  The Price In

London Ranging From 35 Pounds To 42 Pounds Per Ton.  By This Device

Of Boiling-Down Some Of The Pioneers Were Enabled To Retain Their

Runs Until The Discovery Of Gold.

The Squatters Were Assisted In Their Endeavours To Diminish The

Numbers Of Their Live Stock By Their Neighbours,  Both Black And

White.  It Is Absurd To Blame The Aborigines For Killing Sheep And

Cattle.  You Might As Well Say It Is Immoral For A Cat To Catch Mice.

Hunting Was Their Living; The Land And Every Animal Thereon Was

Theirs; And After We Had Conferred On Them,  As Usual,  The Names Of

Savages And Cannibals,  They Were Still Human Beings; They Were Our

Neighbours,  To Be Treated With Mercy; And To Seize Their Lands By

Force And To Kill Them Was Robbery And Murder.  The State Is A Mere

Abstraction,  Has Neither Body Nor Soul,  And An Abstraction Cannot Be

Sent Either To Heaven Or Hell.  But Each Individual Man Will Be

Rewarded According To His Works,  Which Will Follow Him.  Because The

State Erected A Flag On A Bluff Overlooking The Sea,  Sandy Mcbean Was

Not Justified In Shooting Every Blackfellow Or Gin  He Met With On

His Run,  As I Know He Did On The Testimony Of An Eye-Witness.  This

Is The Age Of Whitewash.  There Is Scarcely A Villain Of Note On

Whose Character A New Coat Has Not Been Laboriously Daubed By

Somebody,  And Then We Are Asked To Take A New View Of It.  It Does

Not Matter Very Much Now,  But I Should Prefer To Whitewash The

Aboriginals.

J. P. Fawkner Wrote:  "The Military Were Not Long Here Before The

Melbourne District Was Stained With The Blood Of The Aborigines,  Yet

I Can Safely Say That In The Year In Which There Was Neither

Governor,  Magistrate,  Soldier,  Nor Policemen,  Not One Black Was Shot

Or Killed In The Melbourne District,  Except Amongst Or By The Blacks

Themselves.  Can As Much Be Said Of Any Year Since?  I Think Not."

In The Year 1844 Mr. Latrobe Was Required To Send To The Council In

Sydney A Return Of All Blacks And Whites Killed In The Port Phillip

District Since Its First Settlement.  He Said Forty Whites Had Been

Killed By The Blacks,  And One Hundred And Thirteen Blacks Had Been

Reported As Killed By The Whites; But He Added,  "The Return Must Not

Be Looked Upon As Correct With Respect To The Number Of Aborigines

Killed."  The Reason Is Plain.  When A White Man Murdered A Few

Blacks It Was Not Likely That He Would Put His Neck Into The

Hangman's Noose By Making A Formal Report Of His Exploit To Mr.

Latrobe.  All The Surviving Blackfellow Could Say Was:  "Quamby Dead

--Long Time--White-Fellow--Plenty--Shoot 'Em."

He Related In Eight Words The Decline And Fall Of His Race More Truly

Than The White Man Could Do It In Eight Volumes.

It Is Not So Easy A Task To Justify The White Men Who Assisted The

Squatters To Diminish The Numbers Of Their Stock.  They Were

Principally Convicts Who Had Served Their Sentences,  Or Part Of Them,

In The Island,  And Had Come Over To Gippsland In Cattle Vessels.

Some Of Them Lived Honestly,  About One Hundred Of Them Disappeared

When The Commissioner Of Crown Lands Arrived With His Black And White

Police,  And A Few Of The Most Enterprising Spirits Adopted The

Calling Of Cattle Stealers,  For Which Business They Found Special

Facilities In The Two Special Surveys.

A Notice Dated March 4th,  1841,  Was Gazetted In Sydney To The Following

Effect:

"Any Holder Of A Land Receipt To The Extent Of Not Less Than Five

Thousand One Hundred And Twenty Acres May,  If He Think Fit,  Demand A

Special Survey Of Any Land Not Hereinafter Excepted,  Within The

District Of Port Philip,  Whether Such Land Receipt Be Obtained In The

Manner Pointed Out In The 'Government Gazette' Of The 21st January

Last,  Or Granted By The Land And Emigration Commissioners In London.

"Not More Than One Mile Of Frontage To Any River,  Watercourse,  Or Lake

To Be Allowed To Every Four Square Miles Of Area; The Other

Boundaries To Be Straight Lines Running North And South,  East And

West.

"No Land To Be Taken Up Within Five Miles Of The Towns Of Melbourne,

Geelong,  Williamstown,  Or Portland.

"The Right Of Opening Roads Through Any Part Of The Land To Be

Reserved For The Crown,  But No Other Reservation Whatever To Be

Inserted In The Deeds Of Grant."

The Port Albert Company Took Up Land,  Under The Above Conditions,

Between The Albert And Tarra Rivers.  It Was In Orr's Name,  And Is

Still Known As Orr's Special Survey.  A Surveyor Was Appointed To

Mark And Plan The Boundaries; He Delegated The Work To Another

Surveyor.  Next A Re-Survey Was Made,  Then A Sub-Divisional Survey,

And Then Other Surveys Went On For Fifty Years,  With Ever-Varying

Results.  It Is Now A Well-Established Fact That Orr's Special Survey

Is Subject To An Alternate Expansion And Contraction Of Area,  Which

From Time To Time Vitiates The Labour Of Every Surveyor,  And Has

Caused Much Professional Animosity.  Old Men With One Foot In The

Grave,  In This Year 1895,  Are Still Accusing Each Other Of Embezzling

Acres Of It; The Devil Of Discord,  And Mercury The God Of Thieves,

Encamped Upon It; The Port Albert Company Fell Into Its Slough Of

Despond,  Which In The Court Of Equity Was Known As "Kemmis V. Orr,"

And There All The Members Perished.

Mr. John Reeve Had A Land Receipt,  And Wanted Land.  After He Had

Taken Up The Station Known As Snake Ridge He Looked About For A Good

Special Survey.  He Engaged Davy And His Whaleboat For A Cruise In

Port Albert Waters And Mcmillan,  Sheridan,  And Loughnan Were Of The

Party.  They Went Up The Narrow Channel Called The Caledonian Canal,

Examined The Bluffs,  Shores,  And Islands Of Shallow Inlet,  And At

Night Encamped On St. Margaret's Island.  When Shelter Was Required,

Davy Usually Put Up The Mainsail Of His Boat For A Tent; But That

Night Was So Fine And Warm That It Was Decided To Avoid The Trouble

Of Bringing The Sail Ashore And Putting It Up.  After Supper The Men

Lay Around The Fire,  And One By One Fell Asleep; But About Midnight

Heavy Rain Began To Fall,  The Sail Was Brought Ashore,  And They All

Crept Under It To Keep Themselves As Dry As Possible.

The Next Morning Was Fair.  On Leaving The Port It Had Been The

Intention Of The Party To Return The Same Evening,  And The Boat Was

Victualled For One Day Only.  There Was Now Nothing For Breakfast But

A Little Tea And Sugar And A Piece Of Damper:  No Flesh,  Fish,  Or

Fowl.  Davy Was Anxious To Entertain His Passengers To The Best Of

His Ability,  Especially Mr. Reeve,  Who,  Though Not Of Delicate

Health,  Was A Gentleman Of Refined Tastes,  And Liked To Have His

Meals Prepared And Served In The Best Style.  Fresh Water Was Of The

First Necessity,  And,  After So Much Rain,  Should Have Been Plentiful,

But Not A Spoonful Could Anywhere Be Found:  The Soil Of The Island

Was Sandy,  And All The Rain Had Soaked Into It And Disappeared.  The

Damper Having Been Exposed To The Weather Was Saturated With Water.

There Was In The Boat A Large Three-Legged Iron Pot,  Half Filled With

Fat,  A Hard And Compact Dainty Not Liable To Be Spilled Or Wasted,

And In It Had Been Stewed Many A Savoury Meal Of Sandpipers,  Parrots,

Rats,  And Quail.  This Pot Had Been Fortunately Left Upright And

Uncoveredduring The Night,  And The Abundant Rain Had Filled It With

Fresh Water.  Davy,  With The Intuition Of Artistic Genius,  At Once

Saw The Means Of Producing A Repast Fit For The Gods.  He Poured The

Water Which Covered The Fat From The Iron Pot Into The Kettle,  Which

He Placed On The Fire For The Purpose Of Making Tea.  He Cut The

Sodden Damper Into Substantial Slices,  Put Them Into The Pot,  And

Cooked Them In The Fat Over The Fire.  When Well Done They Tasted

Like Fried Bread,  And Gave Entire Satisfaction; Mr. Reeve Observing,

When The Feast Was Finished,  That He Had Never In All His Life Eaten

A Better Breakfast.

A Start Was Made For The Port,  But The Wind Came Dead Ahead,  And The

Men Had To Pull The Whole Way Across The Inlet,  Through The

Caledonian Canal,  And As Far As Long Point.  There They Went Ashore

For A Rest,  And Mr. Reeve Asked Davy If He Could Find The Mouth Of

The Tarra River.  Davy Said He Had Never Been There,  But He Had No

Doubt That He Could Find It,  As He Had Seen The River When He Was

Duck-Shooting.  It Was Then High Water,  And The Wind Still Blowing

Strongly From The West,  So A Reef Was Taken In The Lug,  And The Boat

Ran Right Into The Tarra As Far As The Site Of The Present

Court-House.  There The Party Landed,  And After Looking At The

Country Mr. Reeve Decided To Take Up His Special Survey There.  It

Was Partly Open Forest,  But It Contained,  Also,  A Considerable Area

Of Rich Flats Covered With Luxuriant Tea Tree And Myrtle Scrub,  Which

In Course Of Time Became Mingled With Imported Blackberry