A Spitfire Pilot's Story: Pat Hughes: Battle of Britain Top Gun

by Dennis Newton

  Volunteers in the associations were required to drill regularly and become proficient in the use of arms. The Parramatta volunteers had to attend each Wednesday and Saturday from 4.00 to 5.30 p.m. They were to conduct themselves with proper respect, keep their uniform and arms in perfect condition, and were to observe order and decorum whilst on duty. John Nichols was listed as being a member of the Parramatta Loyalist Association in 1810, the year in which the volunteer companies were again disbanded, but his name does not appear in its earliest years. When it was disbanded in 1810, the Parramatta Company consisted of thirty-seven men plus officers.

  John and Ann’s second child was a girl, born on 22 May 1803. They named her Ann. She was among the first to be baptised in St John’s Church at Parramatta, the ceremony taking place on 26 June. Meanwhile, as Mary Carroll had died the previous April, John and Ann were free to marry, but there was some delay.

  It could be that, although Mary Carroll died on 3 April, her burial might not have been properly registered. The Reverend Marsden, not a man to be trifled with, may have stipulated that he needed proper confirmation of her death before it would be appropriate for him to perform the marriage ceremony. This would account for the late registration of her burial at St Phillip’s in Sydney on 8 June 1803.

  John and Ann were married on 25 August, two months after baby Ann’s baptism. The ceremony was witnessed by Timothy Hollister and Amelia Evans. Hollister had arrived in the colony aboard the Albemarle, one of the vessels of the Third Fleet. In 1802, he was a private in the Parramatta Loyalist Association and by 1804 he was leasing land in the Parramatta district.

  John frequently purchased items from Rowland Hassall’s store at Parramatta. Hassall was a former preacher with the London Missionary Society. Governor King made him the government storekeeper at Toongabbie and placed him in charge of the Parramatta Granary. By 1804, Hassall too was a member of the Parramatta Loyalist Association holding the rank of sergeant.

  The year 1804 opened with the threat of another crisis looming in the colony, and Ann Nichols at Prospect Hill knowing that she was pregnant again.

  The situation was at flashpoint. In Europe, the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802 had established an uneasy peace between England and France under Napoleon Bonaparte, but it had only lasted just over a year. There were fears of French naval domination of the Mediterranean and in the East Indies and West Indies. England imposed a naval blockade of the Continent. Napoleon began preparations for an invasion of England.

  News of the renewed war reached New South Wales but Governor King was already preoccupied with simmering local concerns – rumours throughout the colony of another rebellion planned by the Irish convicts. Would the combined strength of the NSW Corps and King’s re-established Sydney and Parramatta Loyalist Associations be enough to meet any emergency? On Sunday, 22 January 1804 the Ferret, a whaling ship, arrived in Sydney harbour. She was five months out of England and carried on board newspapers that were as recent as 22 August 1803 and these carried the first reports of a new uprising in Dublin.

  Convict leaders at the Castle Hill Government Farm planned to rally the prisoners and march to Parramatta, enlisting other convict groups on the way. The leading groups from there would fan out in the area with the idea of converging on Parramatta and making it the spearhead of a huge revolt. After putting John Macarthur’s Elizabeth Farm and Parramatta to the torch, they would then march to Windsor to join up with the rebels in the Hawkesbury area before marching on Sydney. Their plans were far-reaching and transmitted through secret messengers, but again authorities were alerted.

  That night in Parramatta and Sydney, the military and militia were called to duty amid rallying drums and gun shots. At Parramatta, Samuel Marsden evacuated from the town by boat with his family and John Macarthur’s family. John Macarthur was still in England. Marsden was an obvious target as his tyrannical penchant for flogging had earned the hatred of many convicts. The only thing settlers living near to Parramatta were able to do, if they were aware of what was happening, was prepare whatever defences they could, mount a guard and wait.

  What precautions John Nichols took, if any, on the night of 4/5 March 1804 are not known. The boy John was nearly two years old by now, baby Ann just ten months, and his wife Ann about halfway into her third pregnancy. Being unable to read or write, neither John nor Ann could record anything down for posterity. In reality, all they could do was watch and wait like the others …

  The Sydney Gazette reported:

  The alarm began at Castle Hill about 8 o’clock on Sunday night where there are upwards of 200 Irish Prisoners (sent here for Seditious Practices in Ireland), by setting a House on fire and ringing the Bell, when Cunningham appeared as the avowed leader, vociferating the cries of ‘DEATH OR LIBERTY!’

  Two hundred rebels overpowered the constables and broke into the Government Farm’s buildings, taking firearms and ammunition, and any other weapons they could find. Two convicts dragged the Hills District flogger, Robert Duggan from under his bed and beat him unconscious. In two other separate incidents, the lives of constables were saved when muskets misfired. The rebels then went from farm to farm towards Parramatta gathering firearms and supplies, and drinking any liquor they discovered along the way.

  At half past eleven o’clock on Sunday night, 4th of March, 1804, an express was received by HIS EXCELLENCY, from Captain ABBOT, Commanding Officer at Parramatta, with intelligence that the Prisoners at Public Labour at Castle Hill, and the Settlers’ men, were in a state of Insurrection, and had already committed many daring Outrages.

  Sydney was instantaneously alarmed, the Military and Inhabitants were under Arms; the Captain, Officers, Marines and Ships Company of His Majesty’s Ship CALCUTTA came on shore, in ten minutes after the alarm was given, and by the Governor’s orders all Horses throughout the Town were held in requisition.

  As information was received that the Insurgents were in several bodies, Major Johnston with Quarter-Master Laycock, & 25 Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the New South Wales Corps, accompanied by a Trooper and several of the Constables & Inhabitants, at half-past 6 proceeded by way of Toongabbee; Lieutenant Davis with an equal number of Soldiers proceeded along the Castle Hill Road, that place being appointed for the Rendezvous, in case nothing should occur to make those Officers alter the directions they were under.

  Major George Johnston ordered his detachment to force-march to Parramatta. Meanwhile, Governor King immediately set off for Parramatta, where he arrived not long before Johnston and his men. One of King’s first actions was to declare martial law. Towards daybreak, around 350 convicts armed with stolen rifles, crudely made arms and makeshift weapons were near Parramatta. At daybreak, rebel leaders were still waiting for a signal from the uprising in Parramatta, but it never came.

  Rather than face the Parramatta garrison head on, the rebels decided to head north-west down the Hawkesbury Road to Windsor to meet up with rebels from the Hawkesbury, but daylight brought back a sobering reality. The thought of retaliation by the colonial authorities cooled the anger of many of those present. Some abandoned the enterprise, but a large contingent headed out to rally support from convicts at the Hawkesbury. They moved north-west and west and, importantly for John Nichols and his family and the other settlers in the area, away from Prospect Hill.

  The Sydney Gazette again:

  Major Johnston on arriving at Toongabbee, received information that a considerable Body were on their way to the Hawkesbury. Notwithstanding the fatigue of his small Detachment in marching up from Sydney, and the distance they had gone since, they immediately ran in good Order, with their followers, and after a pursuit of Seven Miles farther, Major Johnston and a Trooper, who had preceded the Detachment came up with the rear of the Insurgents at 11 o’clock, whose numbers have since been ascertained to be 233 men, armed with Musquets, Pistols, Swords, &c, and a number of followers which they had taken from the Settlers.

  After calling to them repeatedly they halted,
and formed on the rise of a Hill. The Major and Trooper advanced within pistol shot, and endeavoured to persuade them to submit to the Mercy that was offered them by the Proclamation, which they refused…

  Two requests to surrender were refused, including one from the convict priest, James Dixon, whom Governor King had sent along with the Corps. Major Johnston made the next move.

  The Major required to see their Chiefs, who after some deliberation met them half way, between the Detachment and the Insurgents, when by great presence of mind and address the Major presented his Pistol at the head of the Principal leader (Philip Cunningham), and the Trooper following his motions, presented his Pistol also at the other leader’s head, (Wm. Johnston) and drove them into the Detachment without the least opposition from the body of the Insurgents.

  Major Johnston immediately ordered Quarter-Master Laycock to advance with the Detachment, &c, and cut the body to pieces, which immediately filed off and fled in all directions, pursued by the Detachement and followers; several shots were fired by the Insurgents without effect. As the pursuit was along the Road and on each side in the Woods, the number of dead are not yet ascertained; nine Bodies were found about the Road and several were known to be killed in the pursuit through the Woods. A number were overtaken and made Prisoners, among whom was the Leader (Philip Cunningham).12

  The uprising was over but the soldiers’ blood was up. At one stage Major Johnston had to threaten his own men with a pistol to prevent more bloodshed. The pursuit went on all day up until 9 p.m., ranging as far north-west as Windsor. One rebel leader was hanged under martial law at Windsor’s Commissariat Store, which he had bragged he would burn down.

  The available men of the Parramatta Loyalist Association had taken on the role of the town’s defenders. Rowland Hassall’s name appears among those who were there, his store being at Parramatta. A few accompanied Major Johnston’s detachment and parties of settlers to round up the rebels who were still at large. Over the next three days around 300 were eventually brought in.

  During the remainder of the week, nine of the leaders were executed at Castle Hill, Parramatta and Sydney. The choice of these three locations was to press home to the inhabitants the judgment of colonial law. One leader executed at Castle Hill was then hung in chains, just outside Parramatta on the road to Prospect Hill. Another was executed at Parramatta and hung in chains there too.

  Some of the convicts who had joined in the uprising were moved north to chain gangs at the new settlement of Coal Town on the Hunter River. The name Coal Town was changed soon afterwards to Newcastle.

  *

  William Cox had problems in his position as New South Wales Corps Paymaster. A deficiency of £7,900 had been found in his regimental accounts in 1803. He had been suspended from office. A sum of £2,000 was secured, and to pay the remainder his estate was assigned to trustees to sell for the benefit of his creditors including the army agents.

  The debts touched many, including John Nichols. The trustees took John to court to recover £22 which he was obliged to pay within one month of 26 October 1805. By 1806, the creditors had been paid in full, but Cox was ordered to return to England under arrest ‘to answer such charges as may be brought against him’.

  An uneasy peace was eventually restored and life returned to normal, although on 7 May 1804 a number of communities including Parramatta, Prospect, and Hawkesbury were shaken by the shocks of a minor earthquake.

  John and Ann Nichol’s third child, a boy they named Charles, was born on 22 July. He was baptised at St John’s Church, Parramatta, on 12 August.

  During that year, the settlers of several districts, including Prospect Hill, were required to name three people from among themselves who held one hundred acres each or more by grant to be appointed as trustees of their respective commons. After being elected by their fellow settlers, the appointees would be recommended to the Governor by a Bench of Magistrates for final approval. The common land was to be used collectively to pasture the cattle and stock. Prospect Common covered most of what is now Blacktown. John Nichols was one of the three appointed trustees. Governor King gave his approval on 11 August 1804 and the trio received the grant on 21 December 1805.

  Meanwhile, Governor King’s efforts to break the rum trade were largely unsuccessful, although he challenged the monopoly by encouraging more competition. He established a government brewery to try to offer a substitute and encouraged the brewing of beer. He also continued the licensed houses started by the previous governor. Illicit stills were forbidden and if they were found incurred heavy punishment. Every farmer was required to lodge a return of the wheat he held so it could be compared with his sales and consumption to curb the use of wheat for distilling.

  John Nichols’ star was rising. He was prosperous and diversifying. In an account of beer brewed at Parramatta, he was shown to have brewed nineteen gallons during the period 10 December 1804 to 30 June 1805, possibly for personal consumption or sale, or perhaps both.

  Governor King’s relations with the New South Wales Corps were becoming increasingly strained, in a large part because of his efforts to curb the inflated prices charged by the monopolists. King imported produce for sale in the Government Stores and at the same time pegged the prices to put a stop to their excessive profits. He also strove to expand production in the colony by arranging settlement on larger holdings.

  John took advantage of this to increase his own property. He acquired the lease on an allotment of land at Parramatta, which was registered in his name and witnessed by ‘Philip Gidley King’ on 1 January 1806.

  John apparently decided then to let his original holding and advertised it in the Sydney Gazette of 13 April 1806:

  To be let and entered on immediately. A valuable farm at Prospect, containing 60 acres, all clear, with large commodious, and substantial dwelling, house newly built and shingled, fit for the immediate reception of a genteel family, with good barn, stock yards, sheep shed, pig sties and all other necessary appurtenances, well supplied with water, and free from all danger of flood. Particulars to be had of John Nichols on the premises.

  Rent on the property was ten shillings per annum. The muster of 1806 recorded that emancipist William Blower, who had arrived as a convict on the Albemarle in October 1791, was the person renting land from John at that time.

  John and Ann’s fourth child was another girl, Sophia, who was born on 10 March 1806. For some reason there was some delay in having her baptised. This did not take place until over two years later on 24 April 1808, again at St John’s in Parramatta.

  King also encouraged an increase in the number of independent traders which in turn contributed to reducing the number of colonists depending on government rations. The numbers dependent on government supplies dropped significantly, much to the approval of colonial authorities in England who were always keen to cut expenditure. However, his autocratic attitude often triggered an underlying hostility between him and the influential men of the New South Wales Corps. His attitude may have been aggravated by his declining health.

  Philip Gidley King left office on 12 August 1806 and handed over to a newly arrived successor that had been recommended by Sir Joseph Banks in England. During his tenure as governor, King had worked consistently for the good of the colony and he left it a much better place than he found it. Three days later, when he boarded ship for the voyage home, King collapsed. He was not able to sail until 10 February 1807. Plagued by chronic ill-health, King died in England on 3 September 1808 and was buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas, Lower Tooting, London. His two sons by Ann Inett on Norfolk Island were both cared for and they rose to be lieutenants in the Royal Navy. By his wife he had one son and four daughters, one of whom died as a child.

  King’s successor was Captain William Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. Bligh took office as the fourth Governor of New South Wales on 13 August 1806. His reputation preceded him. He had been the captain of the Bounty when she sailed from England in the autumn of 1787 bound for Tahiti
. Bligh was a difficult man who at times dispensed harsh punishments; from the very beginning, dissent was a feature of the voyage. After the lengthy stopover in Tahiti which lasted several months, Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate, led a mutiny.

  Bligh was held at sword point while he and eighteen others were transferred to an open longboat and set adrift. Remarkably, thanks to his strict rationing of the existing supplies and his skills as a navigator and sailor, he and the rest of his men survived the ordeal, except for one man who was killed by hostile natives on an island where they had landed for supplies. They drifted halfway across the Pacific Ocean and arrived in Timor in mid-June 1789.

  Bligh returned to England from Batavia in the spring of 1790. At his subsequent court martial he was cleared of responsibility for the mutiny. He continued to serve in the navy and took part with distinction in some of Lord Horatio Nelson’s campaigns, but among the men he was commonly called ‘that Bounty bastard’. Then, in 1805, the authorities recommended him for the governorship of New South Wales to succeed King.

  After taking office, Bligh became worried about the excesses he observed in the colony. At this stage, all in the colony, especially officials and military officers, were trafficking in spirits, particularly rum, for want of a proper currency. These were imported at a few shillings per gallon and bartered at 100 per cent to 200 per cent profit. Spirits were distributed according to the rank and influence of the individual, so the senior officials and those most favoured reaped greater profits. The New South Wales Corps became known as the ‘Rum Corps’.

  Besides prohibiting the barter of spirits, Bligh put an end to the many perks and privileges of the monopolists by refusing land grants and restricting the assignment of cheap convict labour. He became popular with the poorer settlers and small farmers, particularly those in the Hawkesbury area, by giving them access to cheap goods from the Government Store and endeavouring to keep the prices down, but this particularly antagonised the rich and influential.