History - pre-Federation

Occasional Paper 62: The Navy in South Australia from Colonial Days to the Present

September 16, 2019

September 2019

By Dennis J Weatherall JP TM AFAITT(L) LSM, Volunteer Researcher, Naval Historical Society of Australia

It’s reputed that the first sighting of the southern coast of our Great South Land was by a Dutch ship in 1627 the “Gulden Zeepaard” under the command of a Francois Thijssen. The next record accords Rear Admiral Bruny D’Entrecasteaux in the French war ship “La Recherche”. He was looking for La Perouse who was on a voyage of discovery in 1788, in company with Boussole and Astralabe, both the latter seemingly disappearing without trace.

Able Tasman probably saw the same coast even earlier in 1644 from his sketch charts. Another voyager was Lt. John McCluer of the Bombay Marine Company in 1790, followed by Captain Matthew Flinders in 1802-1803. A Lt. James Grant in January 1800, in command of “HMS Lady Nelson” (a 60 ton Brig), discovered and named parts of the coast such as Cape Banks, Cape Northumberland, Mount Gambier, Mount Schanck. He was promoted to Commander after a battle with the Dutch in 1805 off today’s Netherlands and he was remembered with a memorial atop Mt Gambier in 1900 for his discoveries.

The Province of South Australia (as opposed to Colony)[1] was established in December 1833 when the British Parliament passed the South Australian Act. South Australia was in fact called a “Province” rather than a Colony to distinguish it from other Colonies that had transportation as their main source of population.

In the early 1850’s the then Governor Henry Young looked at ways of protecting the Province and in due course informed the “Home Authorities” that “it’d accord great satisfaction and increase confidence to his government if the English Pendant was more frequently seen in these waters” and, more importantly, subject to available funds available to the Provinces and Colonies, if a naval force were to be established on the Australian coast. It appears this submission was considered rather too radical by the “Lords of the Admiralty“.

Recommendations were forthcoming to build forts at The Semaphore, Glenelg, Torrens Island and inland towards Adelaide. The wish list also had a requirement for six gunboats, each with a 100 pounder gun, with additional guns ashore. Port Creek would be defended by torpedoes and a boom, along with telegraphic communications, with the lighthouse augmented with both a permanent and volunteer military force. This was a very ambitious programme on which to embark to defend the Province of South Australia, with a parliamentary grant of 20,000 pounds. Fort Glanville and Fort Largs, plus a military road, eventually materialised.

[1] While the ‘South Australian Act’ may have referred to the establishment as a “Province” the term was not generally used. SA was generally referred to as a ‘Colony’ e.g. Her Majesty’s Colonial Ship Protector.

In the mid 1800’s Britain made it quite clear that her contribution to the security of Australia would be the continued policy of the Royal Navy. It would assume full responsibility on the high seas and no more, therefore the question of adequate local defence measures became paramount during the American Civil War period.

Around the same time an MP, a Mr H.B.T. Strangways, suggested the purchase of a “quick turret ship” capable of carrying two 150 pound shot guns and able to steam at 18-20 knots, which was some speed at that time. Due to a change in Governor the idea was shelved for more than ten years.

In late 1859 the Province bought to the attention of “the powers” there’d been no HM ships in the waters of South Australia for nine years. This brought a flood of visits by RN ships “HMS Esk” (1,169 tons with 21 guns) along with “HMS Charybdis”, “Curacoa”, “Falcon” and “Galatea” soon after the matter had been raised.

HMS Falcon – a Cruiser class sloop of 17 guns, 1045 tons, commissioned 30th March 1855 and part of the Royal Navy Australian Station based ships

An English Act of Parliament in 1859 established a Reserve volunteer force of seamen to be available for general service in the RN in times of emergency to be known as the RNR. The Colonial Defence Act was passed into law in 1865 and this “made it lawful for any Colony to provide, maintain and use vessels of war and to raise and maintain seamen for such vessels, also to raise and maintain a volunteer force to serve in the RN in emergencies, appoint officers, obtain from the Admiralty the services of officers and men, enforce order and discipline, making all subject to the R&I’s of the RN”.

Volunteers raised in the Colonies were to form part of the RNR, the Queen may then accept an offer of use of such vessels and men, with such ships then being a ship of war of the RN. Local ships were granted authority to wear the Blue Ensign with the badge of the Colony in the fly and a Blue Pendant.

It was this Act which made possible the formation of the Naval Brigade, and the building of H.M. Colonial Ship, HMCS Protector in 1884 and her subsequent future service in the RN during the “Boxer Rebellion” in 1900. During this period as HMS Protector she flew the White Ensign and her officers given temporary commissions in the Royal Navy.

In 1862 Colonel F. Blyth of the Volunteer Military Force recommended additional protection for South Australia by stationing a gunboat “at the outer bar” of the Port River. In 1865 a Commander Parkin recommended six gunboats each capable of firing off a 100 pound shot. This recommendation was put forward for consideration after the success of Ironclad Monitors during the American Civil War.

In 1867 the government considered the introduction of a naval training ship for boys who had fallen foul to the courts. There were many against the idea, but eventually it was decided to go ahead with such a programme. A suitable vessel was acquired – the hulk “Fitzjames” – which was found in Victoria (where a similar scheme was already operating) and towed to South Australia, anchored off the coast, and used as a training ship for young boys between 1876 and 1891.

Hulk “Fitzjames” Naval Training Ship for boys in South Australia

In 1876 the question of the purchase of a substantial naval vessel once again was raised. A Defence Commission was established and again it was recommended the Province purchase three gunboats. Treasurer Mr John Colton suggested a “turret ship” similar to the Victorian vessel “Cerberus” and a request was made to Victoria on how much it would cost. The SA Agent General in London, a Mr Dutton, at the time made contact with the Chief Constructor of the RN, a Mr E.J. Reed. He learned such a 1,000 ton ironclad ship carrying 25 ton guns would cost his government 29,500 pounds. The information was filed away for posterity in the SA government archives and didn’t proceed.

In 1877, following the “Russian Scare” of 1876-77, two British government men visited the Australian Colonies and SA Province to discuss their defence with their respective governments. One was a Mr W.F.D. Jervois, a future governor of South Australia. They recommended all Colonies/Provinces acquire gunboats or torpedo boats and man them with locally-recruited men for the protection of their local ports.

Another suggestion by Jervois was to purchase a vessel of 2,500 tons, ironclad with ten inch armour and heavy guns. Such an outlay – the amount of 150,000 pounds – wasn’t again all that palatable to the tax payers of SA, so the suggestion went nowhere for another five years.

Once Jervois became governor of SA (in October 1877) he suggested to the government they should hire British firm (Sir) William Armstrong & Co of Newcastle-on-Tyne to build its new naval vessel the “Protector”. The ship was constructed according to the “flat-iron” gunboat design, first introduced during the Crimean War.

Originally estimated that such a vessel would cost 40-50,000 pounds, it was to be the largest vessel ordered by any Colony or Province at 188 ft long, 30 ft beam and 12 ft 6 in draft. Propulsion was via two compound surface condensing engines generating 1,500 hp giving a top speed of 14 knots. For extra range Protector was fitted with a Schooner rig and flying topsails.

Protector was launched in early 1884 and commissioned the same year on the 19^th June – her first CO was a Commander John C.P Walcott RN. Her delivery passage to Port Adelaide via the Suez Canal arrived on station 30^th September 1884. Protector served SA for fifteen years up until 1900 when she was offered up to the Imperial government as part of the expedition to China and the Boxer Rebellion. Captain William Rooke Creswell CMG had previously served in the SA Colonial Navy but at the time of his appointment to be CO for the China Rebellion was Commander of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force.

On her return to Australia from China on the 1^st January 1901 she was just in time to be transferred to the new Commonwealth of Australia Naval Force and became HMAS Protector. There’s much more to tell about this gallant ship and we’ll leave its war time service and post service to another paper.

Rewinding back to 1870’s and Colonial times in South Australia. A site was selected for its strategic importance on the North Arm of the Port River and a Naval Store was established at Largs Bay. This depot was used for Naval Reserve training and the stowage of emergency items for sea rescue.

In the early 1880’s a temporary Torpedo Station was erected at this site which was later replaced by a more substantial building, some 110 ft in length, and built by the Naval Reservists. The new building consisted of a store room, lecture room and a residence for a torpedo officer – construction was in galvanised iron. A jetty was also built into deep water with a railway track system to handle stores and torpedoes. The “Station” was extended twice in 1890 and 1891 by the crew of HMCS Protector.

This torpedo station was intended to protect Port Adelaide in any hostilities, by a boom of heavy chains across the river and in turn by a gun battery. The Station could also mine the Port River as required – the government of the day acquired sufficient mines that were never used. On becoming obsolete and were in due course destroyed.

Eventually, post Federation, a Torpedo Boat was acquired in 1905. Better late than never as the saying goes! The Station was closed and equipment dismantled and transferred to the new Naval Depot at Birkenhead which was established in 1915 to replace the Largs Bay site. Birkenhead was located some 14 kms NW of Adelaide City central business centre on the Lefeure Peninsula, covering an area of 30 square miles. A Naval Drill Hall was built on the location in 1919 and is significant for its association with the early days of the Naval Reserve in South Australia and eventually with the RAN until its closure in 1990.

Between the wars, the base supported visiting fleet assets and the local Port Division of the RANR. In WWII it was commissioned as a Naval Shore Establishment as HMAS Cerberus IV on the 13^th September 1939 and a year later, 1^st August 1940, was recommissioned as HMAS Torrens after the river that flows through Adelaide and the River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer of the same name. Torrens was disposed by sinking in 1930.

HMAS Torrens D67 commissioned 1916, decommissioned 1920, RAN Image

Post WWII, HMAS Torrens returned to its peacetime routine of providing a naval presence in South Australia, assisting visiting fleet ships and the base for the RANR training once more.

On the 1^st March 1965, Torrens had another name change and recommissioned as HMAS Encounter which perpetuated the name of the former Light Cruiser HMS Encounter built between 1901 and 1905.

Encounter was assigned to the Australian Station and when the RAN was formed it was renamed HMAS Encounter. The name also commemorates the meeting of two great naval explorers, Captain Matthew Flinders RN and French Captain Nicolas Baudin, off the South Australian coast in 1802.

The establishment, HMAS Encounter was decommissioned on the 21^st March 1994 so ending more than one hundred years of permanent naval presence in the Port Adelaide area. The last Commanding Officer was Commander Brian Gorringe ADC RAN.

Crest of the Shore Establishment HMAS Encounter – Adelaide SA

Naval HQ SA – Keswick Barracks South Australia

A Naval Support Office was subsequently established at Keswick Barracks in June 1994. It is located on the southern outskirts of the Adelaide parklands and shares its presence with the Army Headquarters for SA. In 1998 the establishment was renamed “Navy Headquarters South Australia”, its main function being to provide administration support to Naval personnel serving with various Defence projects in South Australia. These include; RAAF Edinburgh, DSTO Salisbury, ASC Osborne, along with Reserve personnel living in SA and detachments of both the RAN and RANR Bands.

References:

Commonwealth of Australia Archives, Canberra

Department of Defence web site

Records and Register Commonwealth Militia – Reserves

South Australian Heritage data base

South Australian Government Register 10 Jul 1886 + 28 Feb 1891

South Australian State Library data news article Robert Thomas 1891

South Australian Defence of the Colony-Province 26 Mar 1859

Successful Torpedo Practice Register 27 Jul 1885

Naval Defence Act of SA 15 Nov 1887

Information article HMCS Protector 23 Sep 1884

SA History Hub – Protector Warship of SA

Sea Power Centre Australia

Colonial Navies of Australia

National Archives – Coastal Fortifications South Australia 1800’s.

The Sydney Cove and her impact on early colonial exploration

March 24, 2018

In an article covering Part 1 of the Australian-Indian Relationship (NHR September 2017) mention is made of the ship Sydney Cove. While she was wrecked on her maiden voyage she had such an important impact on our early maritime history that this small tribute has been prepared. The history of the ship has been particularly well documented, mainly from written records maintained by her principal officers.

The ship Begum Shaw at about 300 tons was an average sized ocean going merchantman of her day, built in Calcutta for the rice trade between India and the Persian Gulf. This was a recognised trade pattern with ships often sailing in company for mutual protection; they did not greatly deviate from known shipping routes and would be unlikely to dip south of the equator. Early in 1796 she was purchased from her owner Captain Guy Hamilton by the Anglo-Indian trading company of Campbell & Clark and fitted out for an arduous voyage, of more than twice her usual length and into the storms of the Southern Ocean, to the new penal settlement in New South Wales. In honour of the new enterprise her name was changed to Sydney Cove.

While there is no known picture of Sydney Cove she is said to have been similar to the above picture of the Calcutta-built but larger Marquis Cornwallis, of the same era.

The ship was loaded with a speculative cargo which comprised 7,000 gallons (31,500 litres) of alcohol, mostly rum, sacks of rice and sugar, tea, tobacco, salted meat, Chinese ceramics, barrels of tar, casks of vinegar, footwear, soap, candles and textiles. Some unusual items in the cargo were a musical organ and a horse-drawn buggy. There was also some livestock with a few cattle and horses and some chicken.

Sydney Cove sailed from Calcutta on 10 November 1796 with a crew of fifty under the command of Captain Guy Hamilton who had been retained by the new owners. The First Mate was Hugh Thompson and William Clark, a nephew of one of the new owners, was employed as Supercargo (an owner’s representative responsible for the cargo and its sale). The three other Europeans were the Second Mate Leishman, the Carpenter Thompson and John Bennet (possibly Sailmaker) and there were 44 Bengali sailors, commonly known as Lascars.

This was a lengthy voyage with course made through the East Indies around the west coast of New Holland and then south of Van Diemen’s Land before heading north up the east coast of New South Wales. Meeting heavy weather on her passage around the southwest of New Holland she sprang a leak, resulting in her pumps being manned continuously. On 9 February 1797 with the holds filling with water and when in danger of sinking the stricken vessel was safely beached at Preservation Island in the Furneaux Group northeast of Van Diemen’s Land. While the grounding was safely executed and there were no fatalities, the Second Mate had already fallen from aloft to his death, and three of the Lascars had perished in the cold and harsh conditions.

The survivors salvaged what they could of the precious cargo and brought it ashore. The rum was ferried to nearby Rum Island so as to be out of reach of her crew. Using ship timbers, a temporary shelter was made ashore. Being completely cut off from the known world with no hope of rescue a decision was made to take the ship’s longboat to reach help at the nearest settlement at Port Jackson.

The longboat was repaired by the ship’s carpenter and on 28 February under command of First Mate Hugh Thompson with two other Europeans and 13 of the fittest Lascars, the longboat set off across what is now known as Bass Strait for Port Jackson, some 400 nautical miles (740 km) distant. Fortune was not with the brave and in attempting to land on Ninety Mile Beach (in Southeast Victoria) on 2 March the longboat was wrecked. After resting and salvaging some provisions, on 15 March they set out on an epic walk along the shore to Sydney Cove, still some 600 km distant.

They took some rice with them and with seafood this was their main form of nourishment. They had to ford several rivers and streams and were obliged to build improvised rafts to cross the larger rivers; on one occasion they were ferried across in canoes paddled by friendly natives.

They had minimal weapons of one gun and two pistols and at one stage were harassed by an armed party of about 50 natives. Many Aboriginal people they encountered were friendly but others not so and one of their party was killed during these encounters, but most perished through fatigue and lack of food. On 15 May, with their strength nearly at an end they had reached a small cove 14 miles south of Botany Bay. Now there were only three survivors: William Clark, a sailor John Bennet and one Lascar. Suddenly they saw a fishing boat and were able to signal it and at last they were in safe hands and taken to Sydney Cove where they arrived on 16 May 1797, completing their journey in 77 days.

Map of journey by shipwrecked mariners from Sydney Cove along south coast – Bill Brown Australian Broadcasting Corporation

After the longboat had departed the only European left on Preservation Island was Captain Hamilton. The other survivors were 28 Lascars. Before their rescue three Lascars were to die on the Island. They mainly survived on a diet of kangaroo meat and seabirds; a cow had been left on the island but she died. A mare on the island survived and was later trans-shipped to Sydney aboard the Francis.

Governor Hunter treated them kindly and using the limited resources of the settlement a rescue mission was soon mounted using the colonial schooner Francis and the small sloop Eliza. They sailed on 30 May to save the people and salvage the cargo on Preservation Island. Both ships reached the island on 8 June but owing to heavy seas were unable to land boats until two days later. Having loaded both vessels with the survivors and as much cargo as possible the two ships sailed for Port Jackson on 21 June. As much cargo remained, five of Captain Hamilton’s men volunteered to remain behind to care for the cargo until he could return with another ship.

On the return voyage tragedy again struck and the small Eliza was wrecked. Her crew of six men plus eight she had rescued from Sydney Cove perished. However Francis returned safely to Port Jackson with Captain Hamilton and 15 Lascars. In December 1797 and February 1798 Francis made two further voyages to the wreck site to salvage cargo. Matthew Flinders was aboard on the final voyage and made a survey of the islands. All the goods recovered fetched enormous prices which were sold for the benefit of the underwriters. At the same time George Bass was making his famous whaleboat voyage down the south coast towards the strait that would later bear his name. He was also intent on reaching the wreck site to replenish his provisions but was driven back by rough weather.

Important features of this disastrous voyage were taken from the observations of her Master who had remained behind on Preservation Island taking care of his depleted ship’s company. He reported that a strong south-westerly swell and tides suggested that a strait existed between Van Diemen’s Land and the mainland. He also observed colonies of seals and soon afterwards seal hunters were active in this area and trading through Campbell & Company. William Clark noted significant amounts of coal in the cliffs in what is now known as Coalcliff near Wollongong. Clark and party had used samples of the coal in helping sustain a camp fire. Showing how near and yet so far some of the survivors were from rescue, in a later investigation of the coastline by George Bass discovered the skeletal remains of the Mate (Thompson) and the Carpenter (also named Thompson) near Coalcliff. The sailor/explorers proved that a land route was possible between Sydney and what now is Victoria.

In September 1797 William Clark and some of the other survivors made their way back to Calcutta to report on the loss of the Sydney Cove,departing in the ship Britannia.The loss of the Sydney Cove did not deter the agency of Campbell & Clark. They acquired another vessel, a 300 ton scow, and renamed her Hunter, after the NSW Governor. Robert Campbell, the younger brother of the senior partner of the agency, accompanied the ship to wind up the affairs of the Sydney Coveand sell the Hunter’scargo. The new ship arrived in Sydney on 10 June 1798. A few days later, having done his duty, Captain Guy Hamilton died. David Collins, the Provost Marshal, in his account of the First Settlement says: He (Hamilton) never recovered from the distress and hardship which he suffered on the loss of his ship, and died exceedingly regretted by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance.

In 1977 divers discovered the wreck of Sydney Covelying partly covered by sand in about 3 to 6 meters of water. Artefacts and some timbers are now displayed at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston. In later times further archaeological excavations have revealed the camp sites on Preservation Island used by the survivors.

Possibly demonstrating the power of our diverse maritime history, a version of this story was recently re-told by a young Australian- Indian actress over four very chilly nights at Sydney’s Campbells Cove during the popular June 2017 ‘Vivid’ Festival of Light celebrations.

Our First Gardeners

September 27, 2016

By Norman Rivett

Who were they?

The first garden from which Garden Island derives its name commenced here on Monday the 7th of February 1788 when a party from HMS Sirius landed on the island. An entry in the ship’s log for that date states: Sent an officer and party of men to the Garden Island to clear it for a garden for the ship’s company. Only two weeks before, on 26 January, Sirius had first ventured into Port Jackson. So it can be seen the continued supply of fresh produce was high on their list of priorities.

There is no indication who the officer or the men were or how many were involved, but one thing is certain, Frederick Meredith was not one of them for he did not transfer as an Able Seaman to Siriusfrom the transport Scarborough, where he had been a Captain’s Servant, until 2 May 1788. However, Meredith’s association with Garden Island is assured by him carving his initials and the date 1788 into a sandstone rock on the northern hillock, which remains there to this day. Nearby two other sets of initials, I R and W B, again with the date 1788, are also carved into the rock but the identity of the carvers remains a mystery.

The names of three early gardeners are however known, not so much for their gardening prowess as for having come to the attention of the Judge Advocate, Lieutenant David Collins. He was not the only person interested in their activities as, on 19 February, seventeen Aboriginals in four canoes landed on the island and carried off a valuable haul of five iron shovels, a spade and a pickaxe. Francis Hill, a Master’s Mate, ordered a Marine to fire upon the legs of the intruders with small shot. The locals then fled and the spade and pickaxe were retrieved. The Aboriginals may have felt aggrieved at sharing their resources as Collins says that the native name was ‘Booroowang’ meaning fishing place.

On 26 May 1788 Marine John Atwell and Seaman James Coventry were tried for assaulting and dangerously wounding another Seaman, James McNeal. These men from Sirius had been sent to the island to tend the garden and they all lived in a hut that had been built; the first reference to a building on the island. On the evening preceding the assault they had been issued with a week’s allowance of spirits with which they became intoxicated and quarrelled. The pair was found guilty and each sentenced to receive 500 lashes. Surgeon John White reported that Atwell and White did not receive their full sentences as they were weak, both suffering from scurvy.

There is no natural source of fresh water on the island and this presented problems. It has been suggested that a well was dug but there is no evidence of this. The area available for cultivation was relatively small, confined to level ground between two prominent hillocks at the narrowest part of the island. The footprint of the original garden is said to have been approximately 145 feet (44.2 m) x 160 feet (48.8 m).

Another early tiller of the soil was the convict John Caesar, better known as Black Caesar, a 24 year old Jamaican servant who had been sentenced to seven years penal servitude and transportation for stealing the then significant sum of £12. Landing from the transport Alexander he quickly proved troublesome and in June 1789 was put to work, in irons, on Garden Island. Later allowed to work without chains; stealing a canoe and a musket he escaped. He lived with Aborigines but was speared in a dispute and forced to give himself up, and was then sent as a prisoner to Norfolk Island. Upon return to Sydney Cove, Caesar was released and given a small grant of land. But it was not long before the old habits of robbery and theft returned and he became notorious as our first bushranger. With a price of five gallons of rum placed on his capture, on 15 February 1796 he was shot and killed by a settler near present day Strathfield.

Ships Coming and GoingT

Early photograph of Garden Island circa 1890

The first entry of the name in the log of Sirius is of ‘The Garden Island’ suggesting the island had not been officially named at that time.

And Lieutenant Collins, in his narrative An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales dated 18 February 1788, refers to ‘the island where the people of the Sirius were preparing a garden’. In a similar manner, a Midshipman in Sirius, Daniel Southwell, in a letter to his mother dated 19 February 1789 mentions: ‘having left a man to look after a kind of kitchen garden to the service of HMS Sirius’

Early settlers variously referred to this place as ‘Sirius Island’ or ‘Sirius Garden Island’, but this would have declined after the namesake ship was wrecked off Norfolk Island in 1790. When survivors from Sirius returned to Port Jackson most eventually returned to England aboard the chartered Dutch ship Waaksamheyd but a few remained in the colony and continued to tend their garden.

HMS Supply (I) of the First Fleet had returned to England in late 1791 and the following year was sold out of service. A second HMS Supply (II) arrived in the colony in 1795. Possession of the island passed to HMS Supply(II), but this ship was soon condemned as unseaworthy and her ship’s company transferred to HMS Buffalo which became the senior ship on station after her arrival in May 1799.

HMS Reliance, commissioned to replace HMS Sirius, arrived at Port Jackson in September 1795. Amongst her passengers and crew were the new Governor, John Hunter, Midshipman Matthew Flinders, Surgeon George Bass and the returning Aboriginal celebrity Bennelong.

It was during the tenure of HMS Supply (II) that the first substantial building was erected on the island. This was situated on the gentle slope of the southern hill just beyond the garden and intended as a dwelling house for Lieutenant Braithwaite of HMS Reliance. When Braithwaite returned to his homeland the house was occupied by Dr Brandt, an eccentric scientist, who had recently arrived in the colony with a baboon and a dog. Later the occupant of a now dilapidated cottage was a Mrs Winch who reared poultry on behalf of Governor Hunter’s household.

The stores ship HMS Porpoise, arrived in November 1800 carrying a selection of useful plants under the care of a professional gardener, George Suttor. Suttor and his plants had been chosen with the assistance of Sir Joseph Banks. In favour of his passage and a land grant, Suttor tended the plants during the voyage. Many plants failed during the voyage and replacements were obtained at the Cape.

In 1801, the Admiralty despatched HMS Investigator commanded by the now Lieutenant Matthew Flinders to complete surveys and scientific investigation of Terra Australis. Sir Joseph Banks was consulted on the choice of scientific staff to accompany Flinders. These included the astronomer John Crosley, a botanist Robert Brown, and his assistant Peter Good who was a gardener. During the voyage, Crosley fell ill with rheumatic pain and gout and was discharged when the ship reached the Cape. It was in Investigator that Flinders completed the first circumnavigation of the continent, returning to Port Jackson in June 1803. The ship was then considered unseaworthy and Flinders and most of his crew transferred to HMS Porpoisefor return passage to England. Unfortunately in August 1803 Porpoise was wrecked on the Barrier Reef, however Flinders and most of the ship’s company were rescued.

When HMS Buffalo returned to England in 1807, the need for a separate ship’s garden had greatly diminished as by this time vegetables could be readily obtained from market gardens on the mainland. Accordingly, Navy relinquished tenure of the island. During the administration of Governor Macquarie, on 7 September 1811, a notice appeared in the Government Gazette incorporating Garden Island into the Government Domain. It was not until 1851 that the Navy made a tentative return to the island, but this time as surveyors.

Garden Produce

Limited information has been found as to the crops grown on the island, although there is a report of the first crop of corn and onions harvested in July 1788. It is a reasonable hypothesis that those tilling the soil would have recourse to the same variety of seeds that Lieutenant King took to Norfolk Island in February 1788 when establishing a settlement. In King’s diary, under the date 23 July 1788, he records that upwards of 1,000 cabbages of five varieties had been planted and that turnips, carrots, lettuce, onions, leeks, parsley, celery, corn, artichokes and beet were all in a thriving state.

We also hear from Marine Captain Watkin Tench, a keen observer of life in the first settlement, who says that Reverend Richard Johnson was the best farmer in the colony. Johnson came from a farming family with whom he worked until gaining a scholarship to undertake theological studies at Cambridge. Once he had a cottage in what is now Bridge Street, he assiduously established a kitchen garden and cultivated vegetables including potatoes, Indian corn, cabbages, turnips, beet, cucumbers, water melons, pumpkins and peas. Sometime later, upon receipt of a land grant and convict labour, he successfully experimented with quantities of wheat, Indian corn, tobacco and grape vines. The reverend gentleman is also credited with being the first to establish a variety of citrus fruit with oranges and lemons, and guavas grown from seeds obtained in Brazil during the outward voyage. It is assumed that stock for many vegetables either came from the same source or from the Dutch at the Cape. Johnson was able to feed his family relatively well during the subsequent famine and share his largesse with the sick and other disadvantaged members of his flock.

Tench also comments upon the poor sandy soil found at Sydney Cove and the richer soils at Rose Hill (Parramatta) where more abundant crops were produced. While little mention is made of native plants, the same author notes that by 1790 bananas were introduced from Norfolk Island. It was not until February 1791 that the convict farmer James Ruse, who had been given a land grant at Rose Hill, was able to demonstrate the successful and sustainable cultivation of commercial quantities of wheat and maize.

Returning to the island at the time of HMS Porpoise, an inquest was held on the island by the Provost Marshall on 2 April 1803 into the death of a native who was fatally shot while pilfering produce from the garden. It was found that his canoe was ‘full of maize and melons, etc.’ Unfortunately, there is no further explanation as to the meaning of ‘etcetera’.

The Surveyors

The selection of the island as a garden for Sirius was probably made during surveys of Port Jackson by Captain John Hunter and Lieutenant William Bradley which commenced on 28 January 1788. Use of the island by Sirius was approved by Governor Arthur Phillip on 5 February 1788.

James Inman arrived in Sydney Cove in April 1803 to join HMS Investigator which arrived two months later. He had been appointed by the Board of Longitude to assist Lieutenant Flinders as astronomer as a replacement for John Crosley. Inman had with him several astronomical and navigational instruments including Kendall’s famous timepiece ‘K3’. While waiting for his ship he set up a tent observatory on Garden Island.

When Flinders took passage to England in Porpoise, James Inman remained behind with most of his instruments to await passage in an available merchantman. The pioneering botanist Robert Brown also took a later safe passage together with Inman. Inman was to become professor of mathematics at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth. He is best remembered for Inman’s Nautical Tables known to generations of seafarers.

The professional gardener, Peter Good, had collected a large number of seeds and live species of Australian plants. He sent most of his seed collection to England aboard the returning whaler Speedy which left Sydney in June 1802 and arrived safely, with the precious seeds cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Investigator returned to Port Jackson on 9 June 1803; sadly Peter Good died of dysentery three days later, a disease he had contracted when at Timor. His collection of live plants placed aboard Porpoisewas lost when the ship was wrecked two months later.

Amongst Investigator’s crew during her circumnavigation was an amusing and colourful character, the Aboriginal Bungaree who was also known as the ‘King of Port Jackson’. Towards the end of his life he lived in a cave (now demolished, near the commercial ferry wharf) at the northern end of Garden Island and he died there on 24 November 1830. He was buried at Rose Bay next to his wife ‘Queen Gooseberry’.

Copy of plan of Garden
Island dated 1852

There is an interesting plan of Garden Island dated August 1851, produced by a survey party living in tents adjacent to a boat cove on the western side of the island, and two water tanks are shown on the eastern side. The height of the northern hill is shown at 79 feet (24.1 m) and the southern hill at 21 feet (6.4 m). An observation spot is marked by a stone cairn with its position recorded as latitude 33 degrees 51 minutes and 45 seconds South and longitude 10 hours 10 minutes and 5 seconds East (152 degrees 31 minutes and 15 seconds East) also noting a Deviation of 62 degrees 41 minutes South and Variation of 10 degrees 10 minutes East. The plan has the initials A. F., with a later endorsement in 1852 by Captain B. Drury. A subsequent observation spot taken from an 1857 survey by HMS Herald and now referred to as the Established Observation Spot is near the centre of the original garden area with a flagstaff slightly to the north of it.

The 1851 plan also shows the site of a tomb. The island had been a favourite recreational spot of Judge Advocate Ellis Bent who died in 1815. He was initially interred in the old burial grounds which later became the site of Central Railway Station. In 1823 his remains were removed to Garden Island and covered by an elaborate monument. In 1825 his great friend Major John Ovens was buried in the same tomb. With excavations taking place for an expanded naval base, in 1866 the remains of both men and their monument were relocated to St Thomas’ Rest Park in North Sydney.

In researching shipping records we find that in July 1851 the survey ship HMS Acheron, under command of Captain (later Admiral) John Lort Stokes, RN had undertaken extensive surveys of the New Zealand coastline and was in Sydney awaiting the arrival of her relief HMS Pandora. Owing to budgetary constraints the Naval Hydrographer had decided that Acheron,which was expensive to maintain using NSW coal, was to be laid up and replaced by a smaller and more economical sailing vessel. Most of Acheron’s officers and crew had paid off but she remained on station with a reduced complement, under command of Lieutenant Lambert, ex HMS Calliope, and undertook limited duties.

HMS Pandora commanded by Commander (later Admiral) Byron Drury, RN arrived in Sydney on 26 July 1851 and left for New Zealand in late August. Surveyors from Pandora therefore had ample opportunity to undertaken a small survey of Garden Island. The auxiliary paddle sloop Acheron was later laid up at an anchorage near Garden Island and put to auction on 30 April 1855 where she was knocked down to Messrs G. V. Lloyd & Co for the sum of £2,150.

HMS Herald had a long and eventful career. In 1840 as a 28-gun corvette she carried Commissioner (later Lieutenant-Governor) William Hobson in gaining acceptance of Maori chiefs to the nationally important Treaty of Waitangi. Later, when converted to survey duties, she conducted surveys of the Australian coast and Fiji islands. In December 1857 Herald was the first ship to enter the Fitzroy Dock at Cockatoo Island.

The Australia Station and a Naval Base

With the establishment of an independent Australia Station in 1859 there came plans for a permanent naval base, but it was not until January 1865 that Garden Island was again dedicated for the use of HM Ships. In a similar timescale a much-needed graving dock for naval ships was being constructed at Cockatoo Island; it opened in 1857, with New Zealand’s Calliope Dock opening in 1888.

Over the next century and with the impact of two world wars the naval base and associated dockyard quickly grew to absorb much of the island. With completion of the Captain Cook Graving Dock in 1942, geographically it became a larger isthmus and no longer an island. While space has been at a premium, much of the northern hill has been retained as a recreational and nature reserve. There are grassed areas surrounded by shade trees which were enhanced by plants and flowers. This new form of garden was well maintained by a small permanent workforce but with economies of outsourcing these quite remarkable gardens which form a backdrop to the Naval Heritage Centre, and are open to the public, have deteriorated.

The First Gardeners Remembered

As the nation’s first centre of horticulture it is perhaps time to recognise this important contribution with some prominent memorial to the first gardeners and the site of our first garden. Any improvements that might be made to the restoration of the existing formal garden would also be advantageous. Surely the time has now come to recognise the names of Able Seamen James Coventry and James McNeal, Marine John Atwell and Convict John Caesar.

Chief Petty Officer WILLIAM HENRY NYE

June 23, 2016

As related by his grandson William Douglas Nye

We were recently contacted by William Douglas (Doug) Nye regarding some family papers which his grandmother had kept but were no longer of interest to a future generation. This resulted in a visit to the home of Doug and his wife Anne where we were presented with a scrapbook and letters concerning his grandfather, Chief Petty Officer William Henry Nye, and his father, Able Seaman William Arthur Nye. Both men had very different but eminently interesting and remarkable naval stories which we shall discover in two parts of this family history. Rekindling Doug’s interest he has now become a member of our Society.

Following in Nelson’s wake

William Henry Nye was born in Warburton, Sussex on 25 May 1869. His service record tells us that as an adult he was well built at 5 foot 10 inches (177 cm) tall, had brown hair and grey eyes with a small circular tattoo on his left forearm. He entered the Royal Navy on 17 September 1884 as a 15 year old Boy Seaman in the training ship HMS St Vincent. Never was there a more apt start for seamen of the Nelson tradition as St Vincentwas a classically built 120-gun first rate ship of the line launched in 1815, which saw action during the Crimean War. In 1862, she became a training ship permanently moored at Haslar off Portsmouth and continued in this role until 1905 when she was sold and broken up.

Following initial training William was posted to the gunboat HMS Coquette serving in the Mediterranean; she saw service during disturbances in Egypt in which William, in December 1886, suffered unspecified injuries. He was awarded the Egyptian Medal and the Khedives Egyptian Medal. Upon recovery he was next posted to HMS Duke of Wellington. When completed in 1853 the 131-gun Dukewas the most powerful warship in the world; with a displacement of 5,892 tons she was almost twice the size of Nelson’s Victory, unfortunately designed for a bygone age, she quickly became obsolete. William was to serve in her again as a Petty Officer.

On 25 January 1887, William was posted to HMS Calliope and in her progressed to Ordinary Seaman, and then Able Seaman. Calliopewas one of the last fully rigged ships built for the RN but sail was supplemented by a powerful engine which could provide the ship with a maximum speed of 15 kts. However, owing to the scarcity of coaling stations and the cost of fuel, the use of sail was preferred. Her remarkable hull was built of steel but was encased in timber and coppered below the waterline. Calliope was originally classed as a corvette, but this was later changed to 3rd rate cruiser which served with the RN from 1887 to 1951. For many years, until decommissioning, she was a training ship on the Tyne.

Under command of Captain Henry Coey Kane Calliope sailed from Portsmouth around the Cape of Good Hope to the China Station where she visited ports in China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Later she was ordered to the Australia Station arriving at Sydney in November 1887. She was much admired, being painted white with red ribbons around her nettings while her guns were painted black. Being long guns, they could not be secured fully inboard with one half of the muzzle always outboard, and trimmed off neatly alongside the ship as possible. This led to a Sydney newspaper saying that the guns stuck out like porcupine quills.

In the New Year the cruiser was sent to New Zealand. On 16 February 1888 she was the first ship to enter the new Auckland dry dock, at this time the largest dry dock in the Southern Hemisphere; which still operates today as testimony to its builders. It would be nice to think Calliope Dock was named in her honour but this is not so. The name comes from Calliope Point from which it was excavated, and the point takes its name from an earlier HMS Calliope,which came here in 1846 and was involved in the Maori Wars.

Calliope then proceeded to Wellington where she filled her bunkers with Westport steaming coal, after which she set sail for Samoa. Here she provided a British presence in the looming international crises amongst the competing interests of Britain, Germany and the United States in gaining access to the strategically important Samoan Islands.

On 14 March 1888 the anchorage off the principal settlement of Apia held seven warships and six merchantmen when the barometer began to fall rapidly with the onset of a tropical cyclone. For the next two days rain fell in sheets, cutting visibility, and the winds increased in ferocity to more than 100 kts (185 km/h) blowing directly into the harbour.

With both anchors down Calliope steamed into the wind to reduce the strain on her cables, but was hampered by the close proximity of other vessels. Ten men manned the wheel and tackles rigged to assist the rudder. One cable parted leaving only the starboard bower holding. Calliopet angled with two other ships but eventually swung clear. Early in the forenoon Captain Kane decided to steam for the open sea. The bower cable was slipped and, with all boilers at full pressure, she inched forward at a speed of less than one knot. At one point she was within a few feet of the reef but gradually made headway through the mountainous seas and screaming wind.

Calliope re-entered the harbour on 19 March to see what assistance could be provided. She found utter devastation with all ships, including three German and three American warships, amongst which was the flagship USS Trenton, driven ashore or sunk with over 100 men lost.

HMS Calliope steaming through the Samoan hurricane of March 1889 – family archive

Our beloved poet, Banjo Patterson, was moved to write upon this epic struggle against the forces of nature in his only ballad of the sea; only two verses are quoted of this lengthy tribute:

By the far Samoan shore

Where the league long rollers pour

All the wash of the Pacific on the coral-guarded bay,

Riding proudly at their ease,

In the calm of tropic seas

The three great nations’ warships at their anchors proudly lay.

Like a foam flake tossed and thrown,

She could barely hold her own,

While the other ships all helpless were drifting to the lee,

Through the smother and the rout,

The Calliope steamed out

And they cheered her from the Trenton that was foundering in the sea.

Calliope returned to Sydney to a hero’s welcome. The engineer,Mr Henry George Bourke, was especially promoted from Staff Engineer to Fleet Engineer. He attributed his success to the superior properties of New Zealand West Coast coal. From that time it became the preferred source of fuel for the Admiralty in these waters.

On return to England Calliope was diverted from Aden to Zanzibar and Mombasa to provide assistance during the aftermath of the Sudan Wars. William was next posted to HMS Excellentfor gunnery training courses and later became a Leading Hand in HMS Iron Duke. His service records, at a time when Britain controlled one of the world’s greatest empires and looking after this vast enterprise needed the world’s largest navy, is a veritable lexicon of famous ships.

The Australia Station

We might think productivity saving measures such as ship rotations is something new but the Admiralty had acted upon this more than a century past. Using sister ships, as was prevalent on the Australia Station, it became cost effective to leave the ships on station, docking them at Cockatoo Island, and rotating the crews. Over time, home crews effectively reduced, as local recruits were gradually taken into naval service. With the ships remaining on station, only men and supplies had to be rotated with other surplus naval ships being called upon as transports.

The most important part of William’s career was yet to come with another posting to the Australia Station. It is assumed that a plentiful supply of volunteers was available for service in the Great South Land and in early 1901 the cruiser HMS Blake was temporary converted into a transport, taking aboard Captain Thomas Philip Walker and officers and crew as working passengers to relieve the crew of HMS Royal Arthur, flagship of the Australia Station. Petty Officer William Nye was amongst this contingent. It would be a long time before he would again see the shores of Old Blighty.

Captain Walker with his ship’s company was appointed to Royal Arthur in April 1901. They were just in time to escort some very important guests. On 3 May the Royal Yacht HMS Ophir carrying the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future King George V and Queen Mary) arrived at Albany. They then progressed throughout the country before departing for New Zealand on 6 June. Their most important function was the opening of the new Federal Parliament in Melbourne on 9 May 1901.

Over the next few years of his remarkable career William would serve on nearly every cruiser of the Australia Squadron including HMS Katoomba where he was awarded his Long Service & Good Conduct Medal and was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. He was in HMS Wallaroo where he received the accolade of becoming a CPO Gunnery Instructor. He was in her when she suffered a boiler explosion off Montague Island killing four and wounding three. He served in HM Ships Psyche and Encounterboth of which later transferred to the RAN. His final posting was to HMS Challenger from which ship he paid off in Sydney on 31 May 1907.

Farewell old England forever and signing on for a new life Down Under

After a period of leave William joined the Permanent Staff of the NSW Public Service on 29 April 1908 on the naval staff based at Garden Island. This was during those early days when local assets and administration of the Royal Navy and State Governments were gradually transferred to control of the new Commonwealth Government; this process was not smooth, with considerable disagreements, especially between the two levels of Government. On 18 July 1911 he was appointed as Warder of the Powder Magazine at Port Hunter and Instructor to the Newcastle Naval Depot. His annual salary on this appointment was a respectable £156 (about $100,000 in today’s terms).

While we are unsure of the detail, during one of William’s early trips across the Tasman he met a pretty young girl from Dunedin, Miss Daisy Gertrude Moore, who was born on 19 July 1885. They married in her homeland on 3 March 1903 when Daisy was just short of her 18th birthday and William was sixteen years her senior. They returned to Australia where the newlyweds established a home at Pyrmont. A year later a son, William Arthur Alfred Nye, was born on 16 April 1904. After moving to Newcastle a daughter Daisy was born on 31 May 1912.

In all his later endeavours William was ably supported by Daisy, a remarkable and industrious woman, intelligent and well read. She could set a wonderful table and be a gracious hostess but equally turn her hand to bushcraft and sink a water bore in a paddock. She was an early adopter of the motor car and enjoyed this novel form of transport. She also loved a sensible discussion and regularly wrote Letters to the Editor under the nom-de-plume ‘Nautical’. Not that Daisy was forever virtuous as with her husband’s many long absences she developed a liking for a tipple or two.

Warder of a Powder Magazine seems a strange occupation. In 1886, Soudan, the largest non-ocean going vessel built in the colonies, was launched from her building yard at Raymond Terrace. To improve safety she was a floating magazine built of local hardwood fastened with copper. Soudan was 140 ft (42.7 m) long, with a beam of 31 ft 6 ins (9.6 m) and a depth of hold of 14 ft 6 ins (4.2 m); divided into ten compartments she could hold 300 tons of explosives needed to satisfy local mining enterprises. She was moored on the upper reaches of the Hunter River at Fullerton Cove. This was to become William’s command with a steam tug engaged to tow barges to and from the vessel.

By far the most prominent of his roles was a part-time duty as an instructor to the Newcastle Company of the NSW Naval Brigade. The Brigade was founded in May 1863 with four companies each of 40 men based in Sydney. In September of the same year a fifth company was established at Newcastle. The company, without ships, trained on a battery of 32-pounder smooth bore guns mounted on Signal Hill and two 6-pounder smooth bore guns located in Barrack Square. Some members of the Newcastle Company accompanied the RAN Squadron which sailed to China in 1900 helping suppress the Boxer Rebellion. By 1907, the Naval Brigade companies had risen to complements of 4 officers and 60 men. By the time of WWI the Brigade was mainly absorbed into the Naval Reserve Forces of the RAN and some found themselves on their way to capture German New Guinea.

During William’s service the Sub District Naval Officer at Newcastle was Lieutenant L. S. Bracegirdle who was to win fame in New Guinea and with the RAN Bridging Train at the Dardanelles. He is better known as Rear Admiral Sir Leighton Seymour Bracegirdle. ‘Braces’ as he was affectionately known became one of our most distinguished early officers. There is no doubt that the two men knew one another as an undated cutting from the Newcastle Herald reads:

The Newcastle Naval Reserve whalers’ crew, who pulled such a fine race and were winners of the naval race at the Newcastle Regatta, by permission of Lieutenant Bracegirdle, will leave by the Newcastle boat tonight in charge of CPO Nye, coxswain, to take part in the Anniversary Regatta at Sydney.

William remained in his dual posts at Newcastle until retirement, being discharged ashore at his own request on 12 June 1922 after over 22 years service with the Royal Navy followed by a further 14 years with the Royal Australian Navy. He was granted payment of £91/14/- (in today’s value about $40,000) in lieu of extended leave and with this largess the Nyes holidayed in England in 1924 taking passage in the TSS Jervis Bay –to receive much fame during WWII – and returned in TSS Esperance Bay. This voyage was all the more exciting as it was William’s first return in 23 years and Daisy’s first ever visit to the mother country; they were also accompanied by their young daughter Daisy. A highlight of their visit was an invitation to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

CPO William Nye in later life
outside the family home at Military Road
Newcastle Family Archive

William was an active member and President of the Newcastle branch of the Naval and Military Veterans’ Association and for a time he entered local politics as an Alderman for the Stockton Ward of Newcastle Council. After a short illness, he died in hospital at Newcastle on 6 April 1944, just short of his 75th birthday. Large numbers attended his funeral with representatives from naval and military veterans and the various service associations and charities with which he was associated. Finding a new lease of life in 1950, Daisy purchased a property at Shoal Bay where she lived contentedly for a number of years. She died in the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton in about 1968 in her mid 80s.

Never forgetting being saved from that fateful Apia hurricane, the Nyes called their Newcastle home in Nobbys Road (later given the more refined title of Military Road) ‘Calliope’. This theme is continued in an interesting cutting (undated but almost certainly about November 1914) of a letter from William to the local paper which reads:

Sir, On the account of the action and destruction of the Emden, and that Captain Glossop was in command, it occurred to me (as no doubt it has to many of my old shipmates of HMS Calliope) what an extraordinary coincidence it is that in nearly all the naval actions which have so far taken place the midshipmen of HMS Calliope who were aboard at the time of the great hurricane at Samoa have taken so notable and gallant part. Among them are Captain Fox, of HMS Amphion, which was our first casualty (sunk by a mine); Captain Nicholson, of the Hogue (sunk by torpedo); Captain Brandt of the Monmouth (sunk in action off the coast of Chile; Captain Drury Lowe of the Chatham (who bottled up the Konigsberg); Admiral the Hon. A. Hood, in command of the fleet which has been bombarding the enemy on the French coast. These were all midshipmen in HMS Calliope during the same commission, under the late Admiral Kane (who was at that time captain), when I was serving in the Royal Navy in the same ship. I think as there were only eight midshipmen on board at that time this must constitute a record in naval history. – I am, etc. W.H. Nye, Chief Petty Officer, Naval Depot, Newcastle.

As the sun dips over the horizon

This is a remarkable life story of a young man brought up in the true traditions of the service. It was a time of greatness when the Royal Navy was at its zenith and everything was done to perfection. Officers and men were trained to remarkably high standards and none more so than the Gunnery Instructor. It was indeed fortunate that such a man as CPOGI William Henry Nye came to the Australia Station and helped instil some of these high standards into the newly formed Royal Australian Navy. For this we are indeed truly grateful.

From Russia with Love – Baron Nickolai Miklouho-Maclay

December 21, 2015

The late 19th century rumblings of colonial expansion to the immediate north of the Australian mainland gave rise to unease in the Australian colonies.Russian naval expeditions to the South Pacific also made our forefathers aware of their vulnerability to potential attack. The so called ‘Russian Scare’ gave rise to the improvement of fortifications in our main harbours. In 1871 the arrival of yet another Russian expedition in the waters to our north inflamed these fears. However the panic was soon allayed when it was realised that the mainstay of this expedition was one idealistic young man largely travelling at his mother’s expense.

Ian Fleming, a real life naval reserve officer, wrote the highly successful novel From Russia with Love, loosely based on his experiences as a naval intelligence agent. This gave rise to an exceptional film of the same name starring the fictional James Bond. More than a century before these events a debonair Bond-like character came to these shores. Was he idealistically intent on saving mankind or, was he a spy in the very midst of our society, reporting to Imperial Russian naval intelligence?

Enter Baron Nickolai Miklouho-Maclay (1846-1888) born the son of a hereditary Ukrainian nobleman and Russian mother; the quaint family name is due to an old Scottish connection. A more precise translation of the name is Mikukho-Maklai, however when living in Australia the scholar anglicised this to Miklouho-Maclay, which is used in this article and is sometimes shortened to Maclay.

Family background and early life

Nickolai’s father, a railway engineer, died when he was young leaving the burden of bringing up five children with his mother. She was a well read woman of progressive views, and during their early years, educated her children at home. During Nickolai’s youth Russia was experiencing unrest with many peasant uprisings marking the emergence of revolutionary democracy. At fifteen, when attending high school, the youngster was arrested and spent three days in prison for taking part in a student demonstration. In 1863 he gained entry to the prestigious St. Petersburg Imperial University, known for educating the country’s elite, but the next year was expelled for participating in student meetings – the situation must have been serious as he was deprived of the right to study at any other Russian institution of higher learning. Through family connections he finally obtained permission to complete his education in Germany.

Miklouho-Maclay entered the University of Heidelberg where he studied science, economics and philosophy. At this time he had mastered German, English and French. He again became imbued with radical views in the struggle to transform society through social equality. Maclay later transferred to the smaller University of Jena as a disciple of Ernst Haeckel, a major biologist and follower of Darwin. Maclay studied the mutability of organic forms relating to sea fauna. Haeckel, impressed by the bright young scholar, made him an Assistant and in 1886 took him on a voyage to Madeira, the Canaries and Morocco, after which Maclay wrote his first important scientific paper. On graduating from university he undertook another voyage to the coast of the Red Sea to further his zoological studies. On this journey he paid considerable attention to the living conditions of the local people and attempted to determine the reasons for their economic and cultural problems. In 1869 Maclay returned to St. Petersburg with excellent credentials and was accepted as a research assistant by the Zoological Museum and Academy of Sciences. Through his work here he developed an interest in marine zoology in the Pacific region.

The Imperial Russian Navy and Pacific exploration

An early Imperial Russian naval model for professional development and scientific endeavour was largely based upon their recognition of the eminence of Captain Cook as a commander and his scientific approach towards discovery. Within terms of their own expansion they saw improved knowledge of the Pacific as a means of exercising economic and strategic power. Somewhat like migratory birds Russian naval vessels in the 19th century regularly escaped the oncoming Baltic winter chills and headed south to their possessions in the Far East and the western shores of North America. As they followed their course from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean both Sydney and Hobart became ports of call where provisions were sought, repairs conducted and crews given shore leave.

The first of these calls occurred in 1807 when the warship Neva under command of the 26 year old Lieutenant Ludwig von Hagemeister arrived in Sydney during its circumnavigation. This was followed by numerous similar visits which became so common that their place of mooring near Neutral Bay became known as Russian Point. The most important of these occurred in 1820 with the Antarctic research and discovery conducted by Captain Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen in the sloop Vostokwhen twice using Sydney as a base.

By the late 1830s the previous good relationship between Britain and Russia had deteriorated as expansion of Russian influence was seen to be competing with Britain’s imperialistic ambitions. This antipathy extended to the Colony of New South Wales, which in 1841 established harbour fortifications to defend itself against an invasion – the only potential enemy was Russia! The Gold Rush and Crimean War tended to cement this adversity.

Friendlier relationships began to develop after the Crimean War with an inflow of Russian-speaking immigrants and Honorary Russian Consuls were established in 1857. In 1862 when HMIRS Sveltana sailed into Port Phillip Bay no powder was available to return her salute – causing angst and embarrassment. Rear Admiral Andrey Alexandrovich Popov, the commander of the Russian Pacific Squadron, flying his flag in HIMS Bogatyr, called at Sydney and Melbourne in 1863. While the visit was a success, when it was later reported that the Russian had conducted topographical surveys and inspected coastal fortifications, this again led to speculation of invasion with calls for improvements to defence capabilities. Finally in 1870 the corvette Boyarinappeared unexpectedly in the Derwent River raising fears that Hobart was about to be attacked. However her arrival was innocent as one of her officers was seriously ill and needed hospitalisation – he later died ashore and was buried with due ceremony in Hobart. Local funds were donated for a headstone to his grave, and in gratitude Captain Serkov presented the city with two mortars from his ship, which still stand at the entrance to Anglesea Barracks.

The above chronology brings us up to date with the arrival of Baron Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay in 1871. In many respects Creswell and other self defence advocates should be forever thankful for the assistance given to their cause by these friendly, if sometimes unexpected, Russian guests.

Arrival of Baron Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay

During the time of his theoretical research at the Academy of Sciences Maclay’s attention was drawn to New Guinea as a promising new field for anthropological and ethnological studies. Here he hoped to find primitive tribes unaffected by others that have risen to a comparatively higher status of civilisation. He was attempting to continue Darwin’s researches and establish beyond doubt that there was no difference between man regardless of origins, and that all mankind descended from one source.

Aided by the Imperial Geographical Society he was given a small grant and secured a place in the steam corvette Vitiaz which wasthen making a research voyage to the South Pacific. The President of the Geographical Society was Grand Duke Constantine Nikolayevitch, the second son of Tsar Nicholas I, also an Admiral of the Russian Fleet. Knowing that Maclay intended to live with the natives of New Guinea the Admiral promised to send other support vessels to check upon the young explorer’s progress – he generously lived up to these promises.

After a lengthy voyage from the Baltic via Cape Horn the ship anchored on the north-east coast of New Guinea at Astrolabe Bay (near present day Madang) on 20 September 1871. Astrolabe Bay was named after his ship in 1827 by the French navigator Durmount d’Urville but he never set foot ashore here. The Russians remained for a few days to establish a temporary observation post and Maclay, plus two assistants he had acquired during the voyage, were put ashore. A party from Vitiazraised the Russian flag and afterwards this was flown above Maclay’s residence, providing evidence of a potential Russian claim to sovereignty. Maclay also flew a Russian naval ensign from a boat he had acquired.

From these primitive beginnings commenced his odyssey which with patience, courage and medical skill Maclay won the confidence and co-operation of the inhabitants. He studied the people, their language and characteristics. He was the first European to set foot upon this rugged terrain and visit many isolated villages where he collected specimens, and as an accomplished graphic artist, drew the likeness of the people, flora and fauna and scenery. He also named the main features of what became known as the Maclay Coast.

The Russian frigate Izumrud called in December 1872 and was delighted, and in truth surprised, to find Maclay alive. Far from needing support and protection he had made friends among the local inhabitants and was fending well. At first Maclay was undecided whether he should leave with the ship or reprovision and stay. There had been setbacks as his young Polynesian servant had died and the other, a Swedish seaman Olsson, was a burden, frequently unwell and dispirited. This, coupled with his own health which was declining from malaria led him to make for Batavia where he recuperated and published his anthropological findings.

For a number of years, still with irregular support from the Imperial Navy, he continued his exploration and studies throughout the region comparing the characteristics of various native peoples. He grew anxious about the future of these primitive people; their land and culture threatened by exploitation and, sought assistance from colonial powers in stopping the trafficking of firearms and intoxicants to vulnerable people. He made three visits to the Maclay Coast spending a total of three years living in this region and gaining a unique insight into the ways of the local population. Believing that he could now achieve more from a settled environment in July 1878 he arrived in Sydney with a large collection of artefacts, specimens and drawings

The exotic, handsome, aristocratic and well educated Russian explorer enchanted colonial society. He became an intimate of the leading Australian naturalist and zoologist and political figure Sir William Macleay. He assisted in establishing the Macleay specimen collection which is now housed in the University of Sydney. Shortly after arriving in Sydney he approached the Linnean Society offering to organise a zoological centre. In September 1878 his offer was approved and the centre, known as the Marine Biological Station, was constructed by the prominent Sydney architect, John Kirkpatrick. This facility, located in Watsons Bay, was the first marine biological research institute in Australia. The Marine Biological Station was commandeered by the Ministry of Defence in 1899 as a barracks.

Marine Biological Station at Watsons Bay, 1878
State Library of NSW

Maclay could have been content with his new comfortable surroundings and absorbing scientific studies but he could never forget the revolutionary politics of his youth. On 8 April 1881 the Melbourne Arguscarried an open letter from Maclay to Commodore John Wilson, the Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station, which in part reads:

That the exportation of slaves (for it is only right to give the transaction its proper name) to New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Queensland, and other countries by kidnapping and carrying away the natives, under cover of false statements and lying promises, still goes on to a very large extent, I am prepared to aver and support by facts.

He continues with further examples and submits to Wilson further documented evidence of a flourishing slave trade between Australia and Oceania.

The relationship between Scientist and Commodore prospered as in August 1881 Maclay was invited to accompany Wilson aboard his flagship HMS Wolverine on a punitive expedition to the New Guinea south coast where natives had killed missionaries. Maclay was familiar with the area and thought he could help isolate the culprits and avoid the usual punishment of widespread destruction of villages and crops and the taking of hostages, until some undeserving wretches were delivered for summary punishment. Whether his intervention succeeded is a matter of debate as the outcome was a large landing party surrounding the village of the suspect chieftain who, with a handful of his followers was killed, and only the chief’s house was razed. Honour appears to have been satisfied and the lessons well learned by adjacent tribes who in future respected the role of missionaries.

Demonstrating that Maclay’s approach was even handed and he was not just criticising Europeans for their abuse of native peoples there are two letters (in his Travels to NewGuinea) to the Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies. These speak of abuse of Papuans by Malay slave traders operating along the southern coast of New Guinea conducting plunder, assault and unwarranted destruction. In particular he mentions the spice island Sultanate of Tidore as being the main instigator with the Sultanate being under Dutch protection.

When the Russian Pacific Fleet visited Melbourne in February 1882 Maclay joined HIMS Vesnik and returned to the Baltic port of Kronshtadt in September. Maclay undertook lecture tours in his homeland and was awarded the Imperial Geographical Society’s gold medal and presented with a certificate of honour by the Tsar. The next year he returned to Batavia and from here in a familiar ship Skobelev (Vitiazhad been refitted and renamed)took the now famous explorer back again to Astrolabe Bay. Maclay persuaded his hosts to purchase livestock (a bull, a cow a billy and she-goats) plus coffee beans which were presented to the people of Astrolabe Bay. Unfortunately conditions had deteriorated unfavourably during his absence due to the influence of European adventurers.

He was particularly alarmed to discover that in April 1883 the Colonial Queensland Government had annexed Papua for the British Empire. Understanding full well the fate awaiting New Guineans under such an unenlightened administration he appealed to Sir Arthur Gordon, the British High Commissioner in the Western Pacific. Sir Arthur, as the younger son of the highly respected British statesman the Duke of Aberdeen, was politically well connected. This helped persuade the British Government’s refusal to ratify the arbitrary Colonial annexation and, to overcome this unfortunate incident, in November 1884 a protectorate was declared over British New Guinea. But his beloved Maclay Coast could not be saved as negotiations between the European colonial powers saw the north eastern part of New Guinea given to others, and again in November 1884, the German flag was raised over Kaiser-Wilhelmsland.

Much against her family’s wishes, in February 1884 Maclay married Margaret-Emma Clark, the widowed daughter of the long-standing Premier of New South Wales, Sir John Robertson. Early in 1886 he returned to Russia with his new family and twenty-two boxes of specimens. He arranged for some further publications and conducted lecturers. He intended to return to Sydney but his health deteriorated and he died in 2 April 1888. Not yet 42 years of age, he had achieved much and with a revolutionary zeal remained true to the idealistic aims of social democracy for all mankind. His wife and two sons returned to Sydney where their descendents remain.

A Russian Colony in the South Pacific

Nickolai advocated establishment of a Russian protectorate on the Maclay Coast and suggested ideals of Russian expansionism to those in power in St. Petersburg. He noted there was a mood of expansionism in Australia, particularly towards New Guinea and the islands in Oceania. He also wrote to Tsar Alexander III in which he suggested that due to the lack of a Russian sphere of influence in the South Pacific and English domination in the region, there was a threat to Russian supremacy in the North Pacific.

Maclay expressed his willingness to provide assistance in pursuing Russian interests in the region. Nicholas de Giers, the Russian Foreign Minister, suggested in reports to the Tsar that relations with Miklouho-Maclay should be maintained due to his familiarity of political and military issues in the region. This opinion was mirrored by the Naval Ministry. In total, three reports were sent to Russia by Miklouho-Maclay, containing information on the growth of anti-Russian sentiment and the build-up of the military in Australia, which correlated with the worsening of Anglo-Russian relations.

Noting the establishment of coal bunkers and the fortifying of ports in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, Maclay advocated taking over Port Darwin, Thursday Island, Newcastle and Albany. The Foreign Ministry considered a Russian colony in the Pacific as unlikely and military notes of the reports were only partially utilised by the Naval Ministry. The authorities in Russia appraised his reports, and in December 1886 de Giers officially advised Miklouho-Maclay that his request for the establishment of a Russian colony had been declined.

Retrospect

While now largely forgotten Maclay gained international repute and is fondly remembered in his homeland. His Russian Biographer Daniil Tumarkin says: The most striking thing about Miklouho-Maclay is an amazing combination of the qualities of a courageous traveller, an erudite scholar, a progressive thinker and humanist, an active public figure, and a fighter for the rights of oppressed peoples. Taken separately, there is nothing exceptional about these qualities, but the combination of them in a single person was an unusual phenomenon.Gabriel Monod, the well-known French historian, wrote in La Nouvelle Revuein 1882: Russia should be proud of the outstanding position she occupies in the history of travel owing to M. Maclay. This man is the most sincere and consistent idealist whom I have ever met. An idealist and man of action – are these not the traits of a genuine hero? Miklouho-Maclay is a hero in the noblest and all-embracing sense of the word.The world renowned author and philosopher Leo Tolstoy in a letter written to Maclay in 1886 says: You were the first to demonstrate beyond question by your experience that man is man everywhere, that is, a kind sociable being with whom communication can and should be established through kindness and truth, not guns and spirits.

In his time Maclay was one of the brightest stars of scientific research. His scholarly and humanitarian achievements are mainly linked to living and working in the jungles of New Guinea with then almost unknown tribesmen. From here he came to New South Wales where he established a new home and wrote of his experiences. Above all he placed humanity first and, if he did delve into the world of espionage and intrigue, it was surely done with the best of motives. While some monuments to him are to be found in Australia, New Guinea and Russia a more fitting tribute is Moscow’s Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology named in his honour and the annual Macleay Miklouho-Maclay fellowship, awarded by the University of Sydney.

Bibliography

Barratt, Glynn, The Russians at Port Jackson 1814-1822, Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1981.

Govor, Elena & Ballard, Chris, A Mirror in the South Seas: Russian perspectives on New Caledonia during the nineteenth century, Canberra: Australian National University, 2010.

Mennis, M.R., Mariners of Madang and Austronesian Canoes of Astrolabe Bay, Research Report Series Volume 9, University of Queensland, 2011.

Miklouho-Maclay, N., Travels to New Guinea – Diaries Letters Documents, Moscow: Progress Publishers – English translation, 1982.

Australia–Russia Relations

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93Russia_relations>. Accessed 30 April 2015.

Early Visits of Russian Warships to Australia

<http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/EarlyVisitsofRussianWarsh.html>. Accessed 30 April 2015.

Australian Dictionary of Biography

<http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mikuho-maklai-nicholai-nicholaievich-4198>. Accessed 30 April 2015.

History - pre-Federation

September 2019

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