Ravenswood Dreaming, page 23
How does that make you feel John?
John thought for a moment before he answered. I’m not sure really. There is talk up and down the beach of collecting the reward. Some of them know Yagan by sight and have even given him and others a lift across the river. I know one thing for certain, I don’t want William’s death to become the start of a bloody war against the blacks. No good will come of that. More killing leads to more killing.
Yes, I am inclined to agree. Robert thought for a moment and then continued. I doubt that the authorities can arrest Yagan and put him on trial for murder and then hang him without upsetting the blacks. If they did that I fear it would lead to another round of atrocities.
We can talk more about that later. Robert wanted to return to the subject of what John was going to do. He had not given up hope that John would agree to work on the mailboat with him. Tell me John, what is it that will occupy your time in the coming months?
Right now, I am helping my father with the house and if some of the boats need a replacement crew for a day or two I will make myself available. In about a month or six weeks I will be busy getting our new boat ready for launching.
You have bought a boat? Robert was interested.
Yes, I have just this day secured a boat that James Smith is building. We are going to become boatmen. My father has decided to put off his dream of becoming a land owner and farmer. He doesn’t want me going out on the land either in view of what has happened.
I think that is a wise decision Robert agreed. I myself have acquired a considerable amount of agricultural land. At first, I was granted a parcel of land on the Upper Swan but I relinquished that in favour of Captain Shaw. Subsequently I have accepted a grant of three thousand acres in the Avon Valley. I have made some improvements to the land as required under the conditions of the grant. I doubt that I will ever farm it though, for exactly the same reasons. It is too dangerous. There is more trouble brewing with the natives. They are running short of food. He paused. Well John, I had better get on with what I am paid to do and deliver the mail.
John stood up as Robert climbed out of the boat. Together they unloaded several leather satchels and Robert’s personal canvas bag and stacked them on the beach. They then dragged the boat up above the high-water mark and tied the bow line to one of the many posts that had been driven into the sand.
Robert unloaded his oars and placed them alongside the bags and sat down to wait for one of the soldiers and the stable hand from the barracks to arrive to assist and escort him.
John waited about another half an hour for William Keat’s boat to arrive. The catch was good. A box of snapper, a box of herring and an assortment of whiting, flathead and reef fish of some kind that John did not recognize. John collected William’s and James’ allowance of fish, had a bit of a chat to William Keats, whispered the good news about the boat to James and then headed for home.
John spent the next few days working on the house with his father and paying an occasional visit to the boat builder to check on the progress of their boat. It was a good time for him; a time to be alone with his thoughts. Carpentry was therapeutic for him. There was something satisfying working with timber and at the end of the day being able to admire one’s achievement. The walk down to the boat shed and chatting with James Smith also helped. James seemed to sense that he was still very troubled. It was also satisfying watching the master craftsman at work and sitting around the fire with a mug of tea and just talking things through. James had a no fuss outlook on life. He could talk about most things and so their conversation wandered off in all directions. Life back in England and Wales, why they had decided to join the Swan River colony, Thomas Peel, the Aboriginal people, the qualities of the native timber and the future development of Fremantle were scrutinized. This last topic was one that interested John a great deal as he often thought about what he would do in the future. At the moment he and his brother James were convinced that there was good money to be made in boats. Where that would lead them in the future they didn’t know, but they were young, fit and energetic and prepared to work hard. James Smith was encouraging and was certain that great opportunities would open up in the next few years as the colony expanded.
Saturday 30th of June dawned. It was an overcast day, rain squalls from the south-west battered the settlement intermittently. Work on the house was suspended for the day as was any boating activity on the river or out to sea.
John thought that it was an opportune time to pay James Smith another visit. At least he had a shed which afforded protection from the cold south westerly. Lately James had been giving him small finishing off jobs to do, since he realised that John had some carpentry skills. This in itself was satisfying as he was also learning a little about boat design and construction. He arrived at the shed and after they had exchanged greetings and remarked on the weather. James pointed to a copy of the Perth Gazette lying on a box in the corner of the shed. It arrived yesterday at Samson’s store. It seems that your friend Robert Lyon is not only delivering the news he is creating it. You might like to read it.
Robert Lyon was a member of the Agricultural Society and had attended a meeting in Perth on the 26th of June. It seemed that at that meeting he had urged the individual land holders to make provision for what he called the rights of the Aborigines to hunt game and gather food on the land that traditionally was theirs prior to the arrival of the settlers and to allow them the right to fish in the rivers even after the adjacent lands have been allocated. How else were they to obtain food? He said that failure to provide for them could result in serious conflict and even bloodshed. It was possible to do this. George Moore for example, had since 1831 allowed Aboriginal people to continue hunting on his land and reported that he was on good terms with them.
Lyon’s exact words were very confronting for most of the members, he urged them to think about what they had done:
You have seized upon land that is not yours. Beware, do not add to this guilt and dip your hands in the blood of those whose country you have taken.
Lyon pointed out that from October 1831 the government’s relationship with the Aboriginal people had been militarized. A citizen’s militia had been formed to pursue and capture any Aboriginal offenders who broke the law. (British Law). The offenders were to be brought in at all hazard. From then on, all shepherds were armed. This, Robert Lyon said, was potentially a dangerous situation as some of the soldiers and settlers coming from Van Diemen’s Land came from the lower orders of society and would count it as fine a sport to shoot a native as it was to shoot a kangaroo. In Van Diemen’s land they had been paid a bounty. Five pounds for a man and two pounds for women and children.
Already blood had been spilt on both sides. Three settlers, Reuben Beacham, Erin Entwhistle and William Gaze had lost their lives. Yagan has been declared an outlaw with a price on his head. This could get out of hand especially if Yagan was killed while escaping his would be captors.
The agricultural society deferred discussion of the situation and Lyon’s recommendations.
John finished reading and replaced the paper back on the box. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the article or what Robert had said.
It was a very confronting view of the situation. John knew that Robert had decided not to farm his land because he feared the repercussions from the Aboriginal people. Now he had gone overtly public and loudly voiced his opinion at a meeting of his peers who had a vested financial interest in developing profitable farms. The words of Mr Anderson, foreman at the mill, came back to him again:
They have invested a lot of money. If anything gets in their way they will use whatever means they can to get what they want. Is that where we are headed? John posed the question to James Smith.
James Smith did not respond to the question. Instead he said, it must be time for morning tea, then reached for his pipe and tobacco sat down on a box and began methodically and slowly to pack it with tobacco, glancing every now and then at John.
By now John knew him well enough to know that he had registered the question and was carefully considering an answer, so he did not press…………Instead he set about making a pot of tea. When that was done he delivered a mug to James and sat down.
What do you think James?
I’m afraid Robert Lyon could be right. It stands to reason that if the settlers are required to fence their land grants and they prevent the natives from hunting and foraging on their land, the natives are going to get upset. In a way I’m glad that I’m a boat builder. I make my living providing a service to the boatmen (like you) and the government. I don’t have much direct contact with the natives. For the time being I’d like to keep it that way.
John nodded, When you put it that way I’m inclined to agree. As a boatman I have had little contact with them. It was only when I ventured inland to work on clearing my friend’s land that I came face to face with them.
James continued, I think Robert Lyon is on the right track. The settlers and the government need to acknowledge the natives’ rights. They are, according to the Governor, British citizens. They were here before us. They live by hunting, fishing and gathering. What are they to do if they are denied access to all the good land and the river? He paused then continued, there is very little ordinary people like you and I can do. The genie is out of the bottle. The large land grants along the river have been declared and there is more to come. There is no way the government is going to abandon this colony, and the individual settlers are not going to give up their land grants. He paused again, the settlers, that is the farmers and graziers are at the frontier of the colony, they and the soldiers have first contact with the natives. As more and more land is occupied it is inevitable there will be more conflict.
They continued to discuss the matter.
Why were Entwhistle and Gaze killed?
Entwhistle’s death by spearing was a pay-back killing because Thomas Smedley had shot and killed one of Yagan’s family who, with others, was stealing potatoes.
William Gaze’s death was a mystery.
Had another settler killed an Aborigine and failed to report it?
Was William Gaze’s block on a spiritually significant piece of land?
Did they object to William Gaze and John hunting game on their land?
One thing for sure, there had to be a reason.
He was not killed for sport or because the Aborigines were evil.
They were upset about something.
To the authorities and most settlers it looked like murder.
On the way home John reflected on the conversation with James Smith. It had helped. It had clarified what Robert Lyon was promoting. His intentions were noble. To avoid bloodshed on either side and the inevitable annihilation of the Aboriginal people.
John was now sure about the decision to earn a living on the river transporting goods and supplementing that with fishing. He wanted no part of life on the frontier. He had not made up his mind about who was right and who was wrong.
For the time being he would stay out of that and avoid making a decision. There was no going back, he and his family were here and they had to make enough money to survive. He could do that by providing a service to the settlers on the frontier.
For the next month Young John occupied himself helping his father with the construction of their house. Every few days he would pay a visit to the boat shed, then take the long way home along the river foreshore. He liked to do this walk in the morning or the afternoon when the fishing boats and the river boats were going out or coming in. The combined smells of the salt air, the fish and the decaying seaweed stirred his soul, quickened his heart. It smelled like, he searched for a word, it smelled like excitement. Yes, that was it, the departing and the arriving, every journey an exciting adventure.
Everyone was busy on the foreshore, rigging boats, derigging boats, cleaning fish, buying and selling, loading cargo, unloading cargo, stacking the drays with boxes, barrels and bags bound for the merchants of Fremantle and Perth.
The most excitement occurred when some ships were anchored off the coast. The new arrivals deposited on the beach amid their goods and chattels. The noisy voices of the draymen, arguing a price to transport them into the centre of the settlement where there were a few establishments that offered accommodation of sorts. Women in voluminous dresses and petticoats, with hats and shawls and inappropriate shoes, sitting on trunks and boxes, waiting, anxiously gathering their children around them like mother ducks.
There was always someone to talk to about prices and ships and fishing. John felt really alive down by the river. He loved it. Every day that passed was one day closer to when they could take possession of the boat.
One subject though he avoided. There was always an under-current of talk about Yagan and where he had been seen. While most of the boats carried guns, some men would have nothing to do with talk of his capture. They knew him by name and had given him lifts across the river. Others he had guided to large schools of mullet and they had rewarded him with several boxes of fish. Like many of the land holders they preferred a more cautious approach. They understood that if they harmed or killed him they would be marked men and sooner or later they or members of their family would be the victims of a payback killing. It was the duty of the military to protect settlers and arrest anyone who broke the law. Of course Robert Milne would argue that the Aboriginal people had never agreed to be subject to British laws, they had their own laws and this was their land.
A small number of boatmen were focused on the reward of twenty pounds. It was very tempting as it was equivalent to three months hard work on the river. Somehow it seemed immoral to hunt a man and perhaps be forced to kill him for the reward.
William Keats had decided for a time to cut back on the amount of time he operated his boat. The hotel that he and his wife had opened in Fremantle was doing well and he wanted to work on getting some accommodation and a large kitchen built. He had decided to take his boat out fishing once or twice a week to catch fish that his wife could serve up to patrons. His boys, William and James (Keats) whom he hoped would take over the boat had gone off in search of adventure and taken work as labourers and farm hands with Henry Bull, a prominent settler with property on the Canning River and Upper Swan. This of course would leave James (John’s brother) out of work for a few weeks. It was of little consequence. James had intended to give William notice as the two of them would be working the new boat together. Towards the end of July, James Smith informed them that the new boat, which was to be named Jane, would be ready in a few days. Then, sealing and painting the timber and fitting the mast, bowsprit and sails would take about another week. They elected for a dark timber brown inside and out for the hull and white gunnels and seats, reasoning that passengers would prefer the white seats.
From then on the rate of progress seemed to speed up. The boat was moved out of the shed onto the beach. On the third day the ocean was calm and co-operative and the boys floated her for the first time and using oars and rowlocks borrowed from James Smith, rowed out about one hundred yards in a huge arc and back to the beach where they received a round of applause from the group of helpers and onlookers that had gathered to witness the event.
The mast and bowsprit were fitted, new pine oars arrived on a ship from Hobart, the sailmaker delivered the sails. Anchors, rowlocks and rope were purchased from Samson’s store.
James stopped working for William Keats and the two brothers moved the boat around into the river. The first few days the new boat was the centre of attention. James Smith’s skill as a boat builder was well known and just about every river man came to admire her and run their hands along the gunnels and nod approvingly. William Keats and William Ward both came to wish the boys luck and congratulate them. John had worked on William Ward’s boat and James had worked William Keat’s boat. Both men were of the opinion that the Thomas brothers would be a very successful team.
William Ward informed them that he had obtained work on Captain McDermott’s property. He would be responsible for taking care of chores around the town house and making sure that Mrs McDermott had enough firewood for each day, tethering the house cow in the mornings and milking the house cow and indeed any other tasks that she required him to do around the yard and stables. The job enabled him to keep an eye on his boys and if Mrs McDermott required him to leave the property the boys could be left under her supervision. William was keeping his boat but would only be using it for occasional fishing trips.
The two brothers spent four days familiarizing themselves with switching from rowing to sailing and raising and lowering the mast. They also experimented with sailing up wind, switching from one tack to the other quickly and efficiently. When they felt confident enough they invited the other members of the family to act as passengers and sailed up the river as far as Point Walter. Everyone agreed she was a grand boat.
The day after the trip up the river, Mrs Mason gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Jane moved over to sleep at the Mason’s house for a time to help with the chores and of course help look after the baby.
It took some time to make all the necessary adjustments to the new boat and for the boys to feel confident enough to take the boat out through the mouth of the river into the ocean. They decided on a short fishing trip down south into the sound where they would be sheltered by Garden Island. It was a memorable day. The four of them John, James, William and their father out in their new boat. They caught a good haul of snapper, whiting and herring and that evening feasted on the delicious meat and drank some wine by the fire until late. (Years later they still talked about it). The new beginning for the family, the turning of the tide. They were optimistic. They were young and energetic. They were prepared to work hard. Surely success and prosperity would come their way.
By the end of August the family had settled into a routine. Old John was getting carpentry work around the settlement as more and more settlers arrived with enough capital to erect basic cottages to house their families. William continued helping Dan Mason on the dray. The delivery business was improving in line with the expansion of the settlement. There was always produce and merchandise to be delivered to the shopkeepers and building materials, timber and bricks to be delivered to construction sites. Jane almost became a permanent domestic help at the Mason’s house and was picking up invaluable skills from Mrs Mason.
