Charles Grenfell Nicolay

“ Sandalwood, although one of the largest exports of the Colony, is not so much to be depended upon for continuance, either of supply or demand, for as the cutter has to go back farther from the place of export, so his expenses increase, and his profits diminish, these latter seem now reduced nearly to a possible minimum in consequence of the cost of transport. As those employed in it pass their time in the woods, on the roads, and in the towns when delivering their loads, the trade is not favorable to the moral development of those engaged in it. ”

“ The accounts of those who have most carefully studied and recorded their experience of the aborigines of West Australia agree in all important points. Their submission to their own laws is the most notable feature in their character, and their moral and social condition is determined by their laws. The most remarkable are those which relate to affinity, which govern the operation of those relating to marriage, inheritance, and the infliction of punishment for offences, whether judicially or by retaliation. The division of the people is into families, and not, as often represented, into tribes. ”

“ The Fisheries of Western Australia should be more productive than they are, although no doubt the number of whales and seals on the coast is much less than formerly. In the early days of the Colony the whale fishers of the United States were constantly on the coast, making use of its harbors, and carrying on a trade, profitable to both, with the colonists. It was not uncommon to see six or seven large vessels in King George's Sound; the Vasse was also much frequented; sealers also searched every inlet and island for their prey, but in 1854 only 3 tons of whale oil were exported, valued at £25 ”

“ The Blackwood drains the largest area of all the rivers in the South of the Colony, but, in consequence of the secondary elevation of the ranges to the South-West, is confined to a narrow valley in its middle course of some 60 miles in direct distance, through a mountainous and well wooded country, in which there are, however, many fertile flats and well grassed banks. Its lower course for 40 miles is of the same character as the rivers of the West coast; but it has a much greater breadth and depth, and when in flood rises more than 20 feet above its ordinary level. ”

“ At Rottnest they have been employed as builders, agriculturists, and in salt making. They have often themselves up for punishment—a rare occurrence among civilized men. They are by no means, more than other men, deficient in gratitude; and, as in the Swan District some of the heads of families were most useful to the Government in assisting to preserve peace and harmony between their people and the settlers, so in the North a chief whose name, Mullagough, should be recorded, was the means of the white men being admitted to peaceful settlement. ”

“ The death rate is therefore larger than it might be, and some diseases result from the diet and habits of the people, which, under improved circumstances, will disappear. It is therefore no exaggeration, speaking generally, to say that the climate of West Australia is one of the most healthful in the world. From the tables given above it will appear that it varies less than, from the great extent of its surface, might be expected. It is also to be noted that the districts in which the personal labours of the white population are most necessary, are those most suited to European constitutions. ”

“ The trepang or bèche-de-mer is abundant on the North coast.
If West Australia does not possess any great number or variety of useful native animals, her climate and vegetable productions are admirably suited to the life of those most useful to man; sheep, horses, cattle, goats, and pigs run wild when permitted, and, with the exception of sheep, have thus in some parts increased until they become a nuisance, and have to be destroyed; gallinaceous birds also thrive wild in the bush. ”

“ The Black Boy, Grass trees, and Zamia are characteristic of the vegetation of West Australia; they are indigenous and connect the present flora with that of the carboniferous geological period, and may be described as built up of the successive vegetation of every year. The Black Boy, so named from its appearance, has the thicker and shorter stem with tuft-like rushes on the crown; the Grass tree is taller, thinner, and the tuft more grass-like. The Zamia is like a gigantic pine apple, with a crown of fronds like a palm tree. The Black Boy and Grass tree yield oils of carbon ”

“ The great majority, however, became useful members of society; some being skilled artisans and mechanics, exercised their abilities for the benefit of the community; some engaged in trade successfully; others became agriculturists and stock and cattle owners; and not a few, who had been educated in the liberal arts and sciences, obtained professional, literary, and clerical employment. The Colony has not only profited, therefore, by their labors when in the bond class, but in a greater degree when they became free men. ”

“ About the mouth there is much good pastoral land, which has been taken up and is in course of occupation. The mouth of the river covered by Babbage island forms a harbor accessible by the Southern channel to vessels drawing 14 feet. Sharks Bay will probably become the centre of the trade of the Upper Murchison, as well as of the Gascoigne; it is a vast sheet of water having a low Eastern coast of about 130 miles covered by mangrove flats on the South of the Gascoigne, and rising in the sandhills of Lyell's Range to the North, unbroken, save by the mouth of that river. ”

“ Beyond the basins the river is continued through a narrow gorge for 15 miles, with water shoaling gradually to 2 fathoms. From the extremity, and from every gorge and ravine on either side, perennial streams of fresh water pour down. These are clothed with luxuriant vegetation (forests of pine trees were found by Grey on the hills on the South side) , among which the pandanas and fern are most notable; and the whole country is not less rich in animal than in vegetable life, both by land and water.
The tides on this coast rise from 25 to 35 feet. ”

“ Small efforts at immigration were made, and, in the interest both of the settler and farmer, in 1841, remission on the purchase of land was granted to any one who succeeded in training a native to be an useful farm servant. A society was also formed for diffusing knowledge respecting the Colony; but the most important effort to develop its resources by increasing its population was made by the West Australian Company at their settlement of Australind, near Leschenault. ”

“ It is true that a paid magistracy, and a large and efficient body of police have been maintained by the Imperial Government; but, in all probability, there is no country in which life and property are safer than in West Australia. The benefits which have been derived by the Colony from the introduction of convicts must therefore be considered as far out-weighing any disadvantages resulting from it. ”

“ The geology of Western Australia is in its general features very simple. Upon an undulating surface of granitoidal rocks, passing, as is common elsewhere, into gneiss and other forms of metamorphic rock, have been deposited strata, for the most part horizontal, of sandstones and limestones, the greatest thickness of which does not probably in any place exceed 700 feet. These form flat-topped ranges, and by process of denudation and consequent separation from the mass, detached masses and peaked hills, which are characteristic features of the country over a large portion of its area. ”

“ Their term of penal obligation being ended, they, as expirees, were in all respects in the same condition as the other inhabitants, with the exception of these disabilities—they might not sit as members of the Legislative Council, or practise in the law courts. The first convicts sent out were all men selected for good conduct while in confinement; but afterwards no selection was made, the authorities in England not finding it practicable; and many were therefore men well skilled and practised in crimes requiring dexterity and intelligence, who introduced their criminal arts into the Colony. ”

“ Females are betrothed when young, often from their birth, and may be claimed at any time. On the death of the husband the wives and children pass to the brother. A father's property is divided among his male children. All property in land is held for hunting and obtaining food. The limits are well known, and trespassers, for those purposes, punished by law severely.
The aborigines of West Australia are very fond of music and dancing; their songs are sometimes traditional, some often extempore, and by such songs the women often excite the men to acts of violence. ”

“ As the geological conformation of the Colony divides it into districts distinct in character, so in connexion with their position it has determined their climate and productions. The great granitic masses of the South-West are covered by forests, the trees to the South being of gigantic growth, showing not only the fertility of the soil, but the greater humidity of the climate, of which also the greater abundance of fresh water gives sufficient proof ”

“ It is the longest river of the Colony, has its upper basin in the North-West angle of the Lake district, to the Eastward of the Greenough and Gascoigne, and on its banks the first specimens of the fauna and flora of the North coast are apparent. It has a deep channel above its mouth. The river, in its middle and lower courses, winds through an irregular valley, rich in minerals, for more than 100 miles is a direct line without an affluent. ”

“ There are in the mines district near Champion Bay many lodes of lead ore, some worked, and others not yet touched, which require only the application of simple machinery and additional labor to make them highly productive. The pastoral areas of the Colony are by no means fully stocked, and there are numerous localities in which the industries already noted might be carried on with profit, if there were sufficient capital to commence with. ”

“ Female children, when taken charge of out of kindness by settlers, were liable to be forced away by, or for, those to whom they had been betrothed. These, and similar causes, will account for most of the crimes perpetrated by natives on settlers, but, in addition, there was the temptation offered by sheep, cattle, food, clothing, commonly exposed and unprotected, and as the Benedictine Father Garrido justly remarks "they would find a difficulty in defining the difference between killing a sheep and a kangaroo," especially if found feeding on their own hunting ground. ”

“ The same ailment might be applied to the three other Colonies of Australia, and West Australia may therefore be assumed to be more healthful than any other part of Australasia, as immigration can have had no effect on the death-rate of West Australia, for in 1875 only 447 persons arrived in the Colony, and it was in that year emigration to the Colony recommenced. The character and mode of life of the convict population would also tend to increase rather than diminish the death-rate. ”

“ There are now more than 60 schools scattered over the Colony and accessible to most of the population; there are also 21 Assisted Schools, 18 of the Church of Rome and three of the Church of England. Many efforts have been made from time to time to establish schools of a higher class, but never successfully. In 1863 the Bishop of Perth, by the aid of the Society for the promoting of Christian Knowledge, and local contributions, established a Grammar School at Perth, known as the Bishop's School, at which some of the leading men at present in the Colony were educated ”

“ The number and extent of the known lodes make the extension of this industry dependent on the demand for the ore in the market and the supply of capital in money and labour introduced into the Colony; and as the railway from Northampton to Champion Bay, when opened throughout its entire length, which it will very shortly be, must reduce, as it does even now, the cost of transport, the profits on this industry will be proportionately increased. ”

“ If any lands put up are not sold, they may be purchased at any time afterwards at the upset price, without going to auction. Every auction sale of land has to be notified in the Government Gazette at least twice before the day of sale. The lands to be offered, and the upset prices at which they are to be offered, then and there are stated.
Rural Lands.
Rural Lands are sold at ten shillings an acre, and the smallest quantity is forty acres; but any plot that is so shut in as not to contain forty acres may be sold, at a price to be fixed by the Governor in Council. ”

“ Mineral lands were those known, or supposed, to contain minerals, and might be sold, on application, in lots of not less than 80 acres each at £3 an acre, payable in three years, and in three instalments. Mining Licenses might be granted for one year subject to renewal, at the rate of two shillings the first year, and four shillings the second year for each acre. The holder of a mining license, or other holder on approved application, might obtain a mining lease for any period, not exceeding 10 years, at an annual rent of 8 shillings an acre. ”

“ The mineral wealth of the Colony is undoubtedly very great. The precious metals have not yet been found in any considerable quantities, though gold has been in many places, as at Kendenup the upper valley of the Palinup, and near Glengarry on the Greenough, in quartz reefs, and at Peterwangy, on the Upper Irwin in alluvial deposits. Silver is found in some lead ores. ”

“ The agricultural areas of the pastoral districts, although comparatively small and scattered, may be estimated as sufficient to provide food for any future population. The settled districts of the Colony are connected with the coasts by the rivers, and it is of these only that the climate and productions can be stated with any certainty. ”

“ The effects of these laws and customs on the relations between the natives and settlers in the Colony will be readily apparent.
The occupation of the land of any family would cause, of necessity, their intrusion on that of others. The cohabitation of the women with the white men (whom they naturally prefer as the more powerful race, and as more able to give what to them are luxuries, and as, generally, treating them with more kindness and consideration,) would call for the immediate punishment of both parties ”