ON HIS ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA
Part of letter, probably to his father, describing his passage out to Australia and arrival in Melbourne. RKH left England in the sailing ship British Commerce on the 7th April 1877 and arrived in Melbourne in late August, 140 days later.
P.S. We had head gales and light winds the whole way out. For four days in the western Ocean we had very bad weather after clearing Lands End and for 16 hours we were steering NW by N right out of our course, starboard quarter life boat was stove in by a big sea. From there until we got to the Cape nothing but light winds. 15 days before we were through the “doldrums” which was very oppressive. We sighted San Antonio and Trinidada . Very heavy gales in Lat 44ºS and the ship is a very bad roller. Had a terrific squall with thunder and lightning and immense hailstones. They let everything fly. As it was we had a narrow escape of losing our masts in the middle of it. The fore royal was blown clean away to leeward. A few days after, just as the gale was going down it got up again and they ran under double reefed lower main tops’l, double reefed lower lower f. tops’l and foresail at first, but after 4 am it blew too hard to keep the foresail set. All hands took from 7 pm to 6. 30 am to bring her down to that from all p.sail. Captain who was very friendly with me pointed out just 13 meteors on the spars and rigging that night during one of the squalls. The ship was very wet and however moderate the gale, the watch used to be on the poop to try and keep dry. In the gale off St Paul’s one sea actually filled the main upper topsail. The Captain accounted for it by saying the wind took it as we rolled to leeward. The Capt., Mates and all the men declared they never saw such a sea in their lives. Its force was immense as it tore one of the iron square ports right out as it went into the lee scuppers. There was 4 ex Men-of-War men onboard. The 1st Mate proved a very good kind hearted fellow, a strict teetotaller and non smoker when at sea. The other two fellows who were with me are great drunkards, one soaks and the other gets drunk and quarrelsome. The stout one you saw is the soaker. The other was a medical student and got drunk whenever he could. We came in on Friday off Port Phillip Heads and Read, the stout fellow, got a bottle of brandy and Skinner, the other fellow who is bitterly ashamed of himself when sober, got one too from the Captain. Unfortunately for Skinner I was in my bunk asleep all afternoon (I always kept watch with the 1st Mate and lent a hand. This time I had been up with the Captain all night watching for the lights as we beat to and fro for three days in very baffling NW winds. The coast seemed very dangerous). Skinner turned in having drunk a bottle of brandy (5/6 per bot.). The next morning he could taste nothing and going ashore to come up here, was very ill in the boat. Drank glass for glass with Read at small station Sandridge, went to pot shop on finding there were no letters for him, and drank himself mad drunk yesterday. I got him on board the ship again, cut and bruised as usual only more so, and he laid in his bunk all day. This morning he went out to one of the small inns by the docks and began drinking with Read in spite of my warning him something would happen if he went on drinking having had nothing to eat from Friday until this Monday evening. However instead of going back to the ship as I wished he started to go up to Melbourne and throwing up the liquors he had been drinking, burst a blood vessel and now he is within an inch of death. Read has taken lodgings with me, but I don’t intend to remain beyond the end of the week. He actually drank 48 brandies on Sat. afternoon. I like Melbourne very much indeed, and though business is said to be bad, I feel I shall ........
AT CARRANBALLAC STATION, STREATHAM
Letter from Russell to his brother George King Hall. It was written about six months after Russell and Andrew Chirnside had returned from Africa. It was received by GKH in Halifax, Nova Scotia while serving in HMS Druid.
Dated February 10th 1881.
My dear George,
Here goes for a swinging long letter! I am getting on out here alright. Chirnside gives me £100 per annum and I make sundry pickings too. I am very comfortable and have any amount of sport. Chirnside is Captain of a Polo Club and he gave me two ponies, so I play too, he paying my expenses when playing at any distance against other clubs. I don't know what I shall do in the future, of course I never know what good things may turn up by sticking to C. for he is fond of me and after one or two rows when I wished to leave him, he wouldn't let me go. I can always get billets for the asking in Melbourne. Then there are chances with squatter's daughters, many of whom are great friends of mine!!. You may hear of my marrying sooner than you expect! What do you think of home matters. Father seems to be wrapt up as much as ever with her Ladyship. Whatever you may think dear old chap, I was glad for Father's sake to see him married again. I was pained on seeing him on my return from Africa going about shabby and going through wet and cold; and he was working himself like a horse over temporary tea-fights, teetotal meetings and similar nonsense. I don't mean that teetotalism is nonsense tho' I look on it as a "fad" of Father's. I suppose you will have been nauseated with accounts of my depravity - in fact the old song once again - because I drew a Bill on Woodhead for £30. The bill was dishonoured and not many days after, £10 arrived from me and the £20 would have followed next mail had I not learnt the bill was dishonoured. I never felt so angered before. A few months previously bills of mine, up to £150 in one set, were honoured; in the mail steamers, the Captains had been cashing bills of mine on Father for £ 10 and £15, and in no single instance did I fail to pay the various amounts into Woodhead. Father when he knew another bill had come in would say "Don't forget to pay Woodhead" and not a word more. I drew this £30 bill on the steamer on our way out here. Chirnside will spend £50 in ten minutes on shore, and part of the £30 was for him as we ran short of cash on board. We had a band on board on its way out to the Exhibition and C. paid them £4 a week out of his own pocket to play every night for dancing etc, then of course with so many ladies our wine bills were very heavy. I've got my bills yet and can show them to you, £6 and £7 a week sometimes for champagne. Claret Cup and drinks all round for quartermasters who looked after deck lights and were otherwise off duty. This is the whole story of the bill I drew for a miserable £30 and which of course I should not have drawn had I imagined it w'ld be dishonoured for of course it is paid all the same, but I have the disgusting fact to explain away that my Father refused to honor a £30 bill when he honors three for £50 all in one go! It is d-d rough on me and get nothing but jawing letters from home. Even "she" wrote me a letter implying that I need not think Father's increased income was going to benefit me. This made me lose my temper and I wrote a stinging letter which however I did not send, but wrote her a very nice one some days after explaining about the bill and assuring her she was mistaken in thinking of me as she did. I don't think any of you understand me George! I only saw you a few moments in England, but I can assure you I am changed in every respect since you knew me. As for taking 6d of Father's money I would as soon think of getting some from the Queen. I think it is very sickening to get these growling letters mail after mail from home. I intend to tell Father that I take no interest in his letters while they contain nothing but Jeremiads about Robbie and myself, but if he wishes just to let off steam in my direction he is welcome to. Father cannot ever be enjoying peaceful content. It is foreign to men of his temperament and to the day of his death he will worry about trifles. I think Francie will be none the worse for a little restraint and Edith and Ella will be greatly benefited by having someone to watch over them. Father was dreadfully blind in matters affecting Frances. As for Robbie of course he is a fool to have lost his billet before making sure of something else and as for his killing a coolie, as it was an accident, what is there to be said? Father wrote me a letter of lamentations and said in it "Robbie has been in jail at Madras and tried for his life for kicking a coolie to death". If Robbie hadn't sent me a paper from India which reached me long before Father's letter I should have thought from the tone of the letter that Robbie had been near hanging! Being in custody pending an inquest on an accidental death is slightly different to Father's version. If Robbie comes out here he will be all right. I will get him some billet easily, either up country or in the bush. A fellow cannot starve out here under any circumstances. I am sorry there is so little chance of Baldie getting into the navy. The Royal Engineers would do for him. If Father cannot afford it, I don't know what he can be doing with £900 odd. Do you know George, the blessed insurance that Father works so hard for is a game not worth the candle if the work shortens his life and exposes him to cold weather etc. I am going to knock off now for the present. Chirnside is away for a week and I am alone here in the big house "boss" of the place. 37 men, horses, cattle, sheep and 60,000 acres. I will go on bye and bye today. A hot wind is blowing at present and I have some Claret in the cellar and lemons in the pantry wherewith to concoct a cooling drink. Afternoon: This is the hottest day we have had for a long time. Ther.115 in the shade. The great danger is fires, for on a day like this nothing could stop one and if one started bad luck on the sheep and the grass. I have six horses standing saddled in the stable and four harnessed ready to start if fire breaks out and 2 lookouts with binoculars. It is anxious work these hot days with long grass, for thousands upon thousands of pounds are lost in a few hours. Your sheep are not only nearly all destroyed, but you have not a blade for the survivors for months and therefore have no wool to shear. This station's gross yield is over £25,000 p. aim. Of course there is a great deduction for expenses, but a big fire would mean no profit at all. I am writing to Bertie this mail and have written Father, Meta and Francie as well which is a good dose of letter writing. Mind you write me some long letters and I will try and keep up a regular correspondence with you as soon as I get an answer to this one. Your ship's commission in fact reaching the third year. Do you see any chance of the next stripe. Father ought to get you into the Yacht. Nobody gets anything as a rule without asking for it. Dear old Dad's time is up next month! Well he has had a long and very honourable career, and can lay on his oars now , I suppose, with quiet satisfaction. I wish he'd go into Parliament. Urge him to try his chance. People rust out much faster than they wear out. Don't you think so? I don't see that at 65 he sh'd throw up and wait for death. Look at all the great statesmen of Europe of today, all are much older than Father and no one seems to think them used up. Its a d-d shame Lord Northbrook denying Father a nomination and I hope I may live to pay him off. When I'm in England again you see if I cannot annoy him especially if I marry a girl out here with money. For I sh'd go in for the press again like a shot. I keep my hand in out here and write leaders in the Melbourne Ministerial organ The Age. They are great friends of mine and I can get all sorts of things done through them. C and I had a grand run together after a magnificent stag the other day. His people imported a lot of red deer you know and numbers are now running wild. We have a couple of dozen in the Park here, but this was a wild one. We started him accidentally at noon on a Saturday and ran him all day until C's horse fell with exhaustion. We sent a man for fresh horses and more men. Next day 15 of us were out, but no dogs and getting him again we ran him a good 20 miles into a Lake. He always got the advantage of us by jumping the wire fences which of course is foolhardy to do on a horse, but we got quite as much of post and rail and stone walls as we wanted. Several of the men got grassed and the horse of one turned a somersault over a wall and broke the pommel of the saddle. The stag kept in the Lake swimming about and keeping just in his depth when he rested and we tried all manner of means to get him out. The Lake was small but deep and I tried swimming my horse. She had never swum in her …….