Slowly settlements became visible. Small cottages sitting on the hills and on the foreshores with smoke lazily rising towards the scattered cloud. Fishing boats of all shapes and sizes were dragged up on the beaches. Their nets were stretched out on long poles drying in the wind. Ploughed paddocks and livestock were grazing on the lush grass. The country was a picture of serenity and apparent contented living. After leaving the shelter of Bruny Island, habitation became denser, more houses, with more substantial buildings appeared on the foreshore.
Finally Hobart Town appeared in the distance. A sense of excitement was in the air. Even Captain and Mrs Marshall were standing arm in arm on the quarter deck, talking happily to each other.
Slowly the harbour revealed its grandeur. It had impressive sandstone buildings, namely Government House, three large warehouses at Salamanca Place and the Customs House. These together with Mount Wellington in the background with a small layer of snow at its peak made a grand sight. The entire scene was bathed in sunshine, creating an excellent first impression of the town. Their first view of Hobart Town was a sight never to be forgotten.
The sailors dropped the anchor, furled the sails and secured the ship for a layover. It was Monday 2nd March 1854. The voyage had taken one hundred and twenty-eight days. The captain noted in his log that, “The voyage has been successfully completed. The ship and the crew are in good condition.”
The customs’ whaler came alongside with the harbour controller. He met with the captain, which was a normal requirement. The captain showed him his manifest. Some papers were signed and exchanged, followed by a chat over a glass of Madeira. They would meet later after an assessment had been made regarding taxes to be paid to the Crown.
After the controller departed, the captain called for his whaler and, together with Captain Walters, left to visit the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Thomas Denison. They walked to Government House which was a short distance up from the docks. The streets were busy with all sorts of citizens going about their business. The assortment of attire was surprising. They ranged from various colourful military uniforms to civil employed ‘dandys’ attired in the latest fashions, to those poverty stricken citizens clothed in rags.
The town had been built out for several miles and was no longer a bush settlement. There were substantial buildings over an area of some hundred acres to the north and west of the town. The eastern shore, which bordered the Derwent River, a large estuary of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, had a ferry providing a service from the town across to Kangaroo Point, a distance of over a mile. The nearest bridge was some ten miles upstream, north up past the original Van Diemen’s Land settlement of Risdon.
The Governor’s aide, a young military officer, greeted them. After a short wait they were shown into the Governor’s office. Introductions were quite formal and after the normal voyage reports had been completed, the Governor invited the two captains to a side table. The aide arranged for drinks and appropriate food to be served. The subject of the convicts was raised by the Governor. Captain Marshall advised that he had been told by an official of the Colonial Office, that this party of convicts would be one of the last destined to be sent to Van Diemen’s Land. This was believed to be the decision resulting from the Van Diemen’s Land Legislative Council submission. The convicts would now go to Western Australia as the farmers there had requested them. However, what he had been told was unofficial as Parliament needed to approve the change of policy.
The Governor said, “That is disappointing news to me. I am a staunch supporter of the supply of convicts to assist in the labour requirements of this colony. I would appreciate it if you could keep this information to yourself until it is confirmed from London.”
“Captain Walters, what of your convicts? What background do they have and where are they from?” asked the Governor.
“They are predominately Irish activists with a few non-violent felons, burglary, theft etc. But there are several tradesmen amongst them and they will be an asset to the Crown and indeed the colony. They gave very little trouble on the voyage and I believe they could make a valuable contribution to the colony in the long term,” he replied.
The Governor stood up, indicating the audience was over. The captains thanked him for his time, shook hands and left the office.
During their absence, the vessel owner’s agent had rowed to the ship and met with the first officer. He advised him that he had a consignment of Huon pine and cedar timber. Also to keep a secure cabin available for a special consignment to be collected at the Williamstown dock in Victoria. This consignment would be collected by the Colonial Office in Plymouth and the timber by the vessel owners.
The Governor’s aide had informed the penal authorities of the arrival of the convicts. The authorities arrived at the ship at the same time as the two captains returned. The chief constable had the port doctor with him and two clerks. After the introductions were completed, Captain Walters and two of his marines opened the hatchways and led the group down into the convicts’ quarters.
The convicts were ordered to undress and step forward when their name was called. They were examined by the port doctor with the ship’s doctor as an observer. After the examination the convicts washed and donned a new set of clothes and then paraded on deck. For most of the convicts, this was the first day out of their quarters for around four months. They lined up and gazed around them like children, some fainted, others had trouble walking but all were happy to be out of their quarters.
They were shackled and then the chief constable’s clerk called out their names. The convicts stepped forward and were asked to describe their work history. Initially, all would serve one month as a probationer at Port Arthur or Richmond and then be assigned as their behaviour dictated. The chief constable then decided their assignments, whether it be in a trustee position with the Government, a farmer, a tradesman or to stay in jail to complete their sentence.
Michael, as a qualified shipwright, knew that he would be in demand and was determined to keep himself out of trouble during his probationary period. It was late in the afternoon so it was decided not to transfer the convicts until the next morning. The Port Arthur authorities had a small sloop to transport the convicts from Hobart Harbour to the Port Arthur Gaol dock.
The following morning, the sloop came alongside and a ramp was made fast between the two ships. The convicts were told to transfer across to the sloop. Guards were at each end of the sloop and watched the convicts like hawks. They did not want any of them trying to swim to shore even though they were shackled. The convicts were herded into the cargo hold with the guards moving aft. The sailors released the lines, the ships separated, and the sloop slowly headed downstream south east to Storm Bay. The wind was still strong, and the sloop heeled to port with the bow spray increasing, stinging the eyes of the forward hands.
The spray entered the open cargo hold and many of the convicts, together with new clothes were soon drenched. This discomfort was a taste of things to come. Forty miles from Hobart Town the sloop reached Point Raoul, the southern point of the Port Arthur Peninsula. It then turned to port to sail up alongside the coastline of Maingon Bay. Within an hour or so Port Arthur Bay appeared on the port bow. The buildings were much larger than Michael expected. It looked like a reasonably sized town and somewhat forbidding.
¶
John Hall went ashore immediately after the two captains had gone to see the Governor. He stayed at a small inn in Macquarie Street for four days and carried out some sightseeing. He spent one day travelling with George to Richmond, which was George’s new posting. Richmond had a small jail guarded by a military company and George had been promoted to Deputy Commandant of Richmond Gaol. It was a small hamlet forty miles from Hobart on the Coal River. It had been a very early settlement with a dozen or so impressive sandstone buildings including the jail. The two friends dined together for the last time and bid each other farewell.
John caught a coach back to the harbour and called the ship
for the whaler to collect him. The surveyors had returned to the ship in the morning.
John wrote some more letters to both to his family and the Keogh’s, in particular to Maeve. He was looking forward to reaching Melbourne and hopefully receiving some letters for himself. Other ships would have reached Melbourne before them even though they had left England earlier. The captain sent John’s letters ashore with the last of his paperwork and he was now ready to depart for Victoria.
¶
The sloop tied up alongside the Port Arthur dock. The convicts were then ordered off the sloop and made to form two lines. The commandant arrived with an entourage of six — a military officer, a senior constable and four supervisors. The convicts were given a lecture on the merits of conforming to the jail regulations and the disciplinary measures that were in place. They were also advised that their behaviour over the first twelve months in Port Arthur would decide the direction of the rest of their lives.
The convicts were divided into groups related to their education, skills and their offences. Michael was identified as one of five who were educated, skilled and was not a political activist. The other seventy-five were separated into three groups — one as unskilled and uneducated, another group of uneducated political activists and the final group of educated activists. The final group remained at Port Arthur for one month and afterwards were given positions in the government in both Hobart and Launceston, after they signed a pledge — not to attempt to escape!
Within six months the other uneducated political activists were assigned to various farms throughout Van Diemen’s Land, under a similar agreement. The unskilled were retained at Port Arthur for the time being and would be employed assisting in farming and timber felling and carting. Only seven, who had carried out serious crimes, were jailed.
The five in Michael’s group were marched to the supervisor’s office. Michael was called first into his inner office. The supervisor eyed him without saying a word. Michael looked back at him for a while and then averted his eyes. He didn’t want to be caught in a staring competition.
The supervisor sat down. “I have read your offence. Tell me what happened in your own words and don’t lie. If I find out that you have lied to me you will be sent to the rock pile.”
Michael told his story exactly how it happened.
The supervisor said, “You are said to be a shipwright. For how long and with whom and how long did you go to school?”
Michael replied, “I went to school for eight years and was a shipwright with my uncle’s shipyard in Kilrush.”
“What size ships did you work on?”
“All sizes from Indianmen and Ships of War down to river fishing boats,” Michael replied.
The supervisor had heard enough. “Dismissed. Send the next man in.” The orderly opened the door and told him to get back into line.
Michael was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to think. Had he said something wrong?
After the five of them had been questioned by the supervisor they were taken to a mess room for a meal and to collect a mattress, a blanket and pillow. Then they were taken to a large dormitory and allocated a bunk. The bunk was narrow but at least he was by himself and it was not pitching and rolling. The five of them were the last into the dormitory and were bunking close to each other. Three of them were from County Clare and they would get to know and rely upon each other over the coming months.
Seamus Lynch had been caught poaching. He had been doing it on and off for years. It was inevitable that he would be caught. He had been a roof thatcher, had hit his employer and that was his last job. He was five years older than Michael and also from County Clare. They had similar backgrounds and soon became friends. The other convict from County Clare was Thomas Byrne. He had been convicted of stealing two bottles of rum from a local tavern owned by an ex-British Army officer. Together with his barman, they had caught Thomas and handed him over to the constabulary. The three convicts had each been sentenced to seven years penal servitude and transportation overseas. Another thing they had in common!
Ten convicts from the SS Ventnor were assigned to the timber yard, including Michael, Seamus and Thomas. The work was primarily cutting and shaping timbers for the Port Arthur boatyard. After the first days sawing, all ten of the men had blistered hands. It took over a week for them to get used to the manual work.
Michael was soon noted to be experienced at the shaping of the timbers and was soon appointed as leader of the team. There were only two other workers who were shipwrights and they ran the shipyard. They had been there for twelve months and were due to leave very soon. The shipyard built small single mast fishing boats for local sale to encourage fishing for the local market.
The colony was having serious problems with food supplies due to the change in policy for the supply of farm labourers. Several years previously probation stations were introduced to help reform convicts. Unfortunately, it denied farmers of having assigned convicts to assist in the farming of their lands.
This policy had consequently created a food shortage for the entire colony. The convicts were reasonably well fed; porridge for breakfast with bread and water. Lunch consisted of soup, boiled meat, potatoes and sometimes cabbage. The last daily meal was a quarter of a loaf of bread and tea. They had to eat all of their food during their meal and were not permitted to hoard food. A different convict was selected periodically to represent their peers to see if the food had been prepared satisfactorily.
Michael was advised that previously, on Sunday mornings, the convicts were marched to the only church at Port Arthur. On arrival at the church the order would be given, “Halt, Roman Catholics fall out.” The Catholics were then required to stand in their ranks until the service was completed — rain, hail or shine. Sometimes they were afforded a priest who visited from Sorell.
Michael was pleasantly surprised to find that Catholics now had their own service with a priest. No conversation was allowed. The convicts used church as a means to pass on gossip by replacing words in their hymns. It took Michael a while to pick up the replaced words and make sense of a conversation.
This could not be done by the more incorrigible convicts or those who had misbehaved in other parts of the prison and had been sent to the Model Prison. In this prison each prisoner was in a cubicle which made it impossible for them to see who else was in the church or be able to communicate with one another. When these prisoners were exercised they wore a full face mask with only eye holes. Michael had heard of the Model Prison and hoped he would not fall foul of the system and become an inmate.
On a Sunday they were allowed to visit the library and obtain a book. Times were changing as there had been a rumour since they had arrived that transportation would be ceasing for this colony. Clerks were exempt from manual labour and some even had their own rooms. The commandant was a firm man but also fair. Surprisingly he was respected by many of the convicts. The punishments of the early days no longer existed. Flogging was now almost non-existent, although some of the inmates were particularly vicious, mainly the ones who had been sent from Norfolk Island. Some were still jailed whereas many of the inmates were almost free men and worked on farms breeding sheep and cattle, growing hops, grains and vegetables. All were necessary agriculture products for the colony’s survival. Others with an appropriate level of education were employed in various government offices.
Thomas performed his tasks well and was recognised for his good behaviour. He was to be released as a probationary constable and was to be sent to Launceston. Michael and Seamus were disappointed to lose a friend but acknowledged his good fortune.
Michael was further promoted to be in charge of one of the boat building crews. He enjoyed this position until he was advised that no replacement shipwrights had arrived in the colony. He then realised that if he couldn’t be replaced he was destined to remain in the colony indefinitely. He had hoped his performance and good behaviour would assist him in being freed early.
The shipyard was se
veral miles west of the neck of land which was the entrance to the Port Arthur settlement. It was guarded by ten or so dogs. The dogs were tied up in such a way that they were only separated by less than a yard. They were all different breeds ranging from hounds to fox terriers. Whilst there were guards positioned with the dogs, the main deterrent in attempting to escape wasn’t the guards but the noise the barking dogs created when they saw anyone other than their handlers. With any easterly wind blowing Michael could hear the dogs barking when the horse teams came through with their various cargos.
Michael’s dilemma had generated some vague thoughts of escape. He needed a plan for bypassing the dogs. Several escapes via the Eaglehawk Neck had failed. One attempt had been made by an escapee who tried to swim past the guards under a large headdress of sea weed. He nearly succeeded but he travelled too fast and a guard saw him and fired his rifle which caused the convict to surrender. The only successful escape from Port Arthur had been via Norfolk Bay north of the settlement. This was Michael’s focus for an escape.
Seamus had been assigned to drive a wagon loaded with timber to Sorell escorted by two constables. They duly arrived after an uneventful trip and offloaded the timber. They were not due to leave until the next day so the three of them made a shelter under the wagon from an old ship’s sail for the night’s sleep.
Seamus left Sorell in the early morning with the team of four horses and a wagonload of barrels full of vinegar, wine and beer. He and the two constables rode on the high seat enjoying a good view of the surrounding countryside. The long, rolling, green flatlands leading to the low shoreline with its saltbush scrubs made for a peaceful scene. The only sounds were the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves and the clinking of the harness. They expected to arrive in the early evening. It had not rained for a few weeks so the problem of being bogged by wet low ground was non-existent and there were no other difficulties expected. They came to a steep road leading to a bridge over a creek at the base of the road and then there was a sharp turn to the right. The wagon wound down the road with Seamus riding the brake, suddenly the pivot pin on the brake pedal sheared and the wagon surged forward. The horses picked up their pace and slowly started to gallop. Seamus called to the constables to jump and the three of them jumped together and rolled off the side of the road. As the horses were approaching the creek bridge, the turntable pin sheared and the wagon and the horses separated with the horses galloping over the bridge and around the bend successfully and continuing on into the distance.
The Convict and the Soldier Page 13
