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by John Wrathall Bull (1804-1886) [J.W.B.]
by John Wrathall Bull (1804-1886) [J.W.B.]
Bull's Early Experiences of Colonial Life in South Australia (Adelaide, 1878) first appeared as 46 chapters of critical but rambling reminiscences in the South Australian Chronicle. Revised and enlarged by the addition of some imprecise colonial history, the work was republished in Adelaide and London in 1884.
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bull-john-wrathall-1845
Although much of his (florid) writing can be dismissed as personal opinion, he frequently draws on the journals, reports, and diaries of his contemporaries, thus making this work a valuable contribution to early South Australian history, cited by many authors.
Index
Index
No. 1 May 5, 1877 Arrival in 1838 at Semaphore in the Canton and the tribulations in getting his family and party to Adelaide. An optimistic start in his adopted country. After watching a botched hanging [of Magee] in the parklands, "I was satisfied I had adopted a country where civilisation was known and practised." A ball at Government House, and the new challenges facing women. The problems of sobriety of the marines from the Buffalo leading to riots, and the Government Store was broken into - Mr Smart appointed to deal with the Vandemonians. Magee being captured and hung. Foley and Stone linked to a horse with throat cut in parklands..
No. 2 May 12, 1877 The tracking down and arrest of Morgan - Alford's detailed account. Early supplies of sheep and cattle - "muttonising".
No. 3 May 19,1877 Governor Hindmarsh's vision of the future of the Murray. J.W.B.'s personal experiences with William Pullen at Goolwa. Encounter with emus at Brownhill Creek - a diversionary tale. G. M. Stephen appointed as acting Governor, and the libel case of Stephen v. Stevenson. Land speculation affair with Stephen, and a detailed explanation of his own involvement. Colonel Light, Surveyor-General, and Mr. (afterwards Sir) James Hurtle Fisher - the removal from their duties. A testimonial to Colonel Light. Legacy left to Captain Frome. Land speculation and poor management. A peculiar tale of a young man whom he employed as a pig-handler and eventually made good through speculation. City of Adelaide, and its collapse due to fund mismanagement.
No. 4 May 26, 1878 The drunkenness of the marines from the Buffalo. Captain Sturt and his cautionary lecture. Eyre's unfavourable report of country north of Gawler, and J.W.B.'s own impressions. Diversionary tale of a black snake. Cautionary warning about cropping the northern areas. Land allocation inequities and absentee land-holders. Price and quality of meat.
No. 5 June 2, 1877 Early religion. Church and State. First colonial chaplain Rev. C. B. Howard, who with Osmond Gilles transported a large sail from the Port to erect as a shelter for the first church in Adelaide. Howard's ministration to J.W.B. on the death of his child. Howards untimely death under pressure of a debt for the building of a new church. Rev. T. Q. Stow and the first congregational church.
No. 6 June 9,1877 The arrival of Governor Gawler. His address to the Aboriginals though the Protector Cronk "a bit of a humbug". In praise of the Governor and Mrs Gawler. King John and an Aboriginal archery display and the joke played on the Europeans. J.W.B.'s experience of a corroboree. With the retirement of Fisher and Light, there was an end of a divided Government. Gawler's predictions about the colony and his critics. Gawler's overdrawing on the Commissioners beyond his authority, and his subsequent recall. Governor's drafts dishonoured with the resulting ruination of many colonists and stagnation of the economy. Bull's experience supplying horses to Gawler who made an ill-fated excursion to North West Bend. Gawler's unceremonial replacement by Capt. Grey.
No. 7 June 16, 1877 J.W.B. is fascinated with the criminal class and whether they have any redeeming qualities. Curran, Hughes, and Fox
No. 8 June 23, 1877 The sentencing of Curran, Hughes, and Fox. J.W.B.'s personal experiences with Stone and Hart.
No. 9 June 30, 1877 Crime and punishment - his admiration for Sergeant-Major Alford, and Major O'Halloran (Commissioner of Police) and Governor Gawler. The fate of Curran, Hughes, and Fox. Hughes' behaviour at the gallows, and Curran telling him to "die like a man". Alford's account of Curran, Hughes, and Fox, and Green and Wilson, and J.W.B.'s involvement. Green and Wilson's arrest in Melbourne for horse-stealing. The arrest of the one-armed Morgan.
No. 10 July 7, 1877 Hart's story continues, Moorhead. J.W.B.'s personal involvement. Morgan's sentencing. Sentencing of Green and Wilson.
No. 11 July 14, 1877 Employment of natives. Some liberal views about Aboriginals and the injustice by Europeans. Reserves should have been near fishing and hunting grounds. Aboriginals murder of Pegler after he insulted them, and their subsequent fate. Dr. Wyatt acting as Protector of Aborigines and his enquiry into the murder (judged as manslaughter because of Driscol's behaviour) of a sailor Driscol, belonging to the ship South Australia. The custom of infanticide, particularly of females. The murder by the aboriginal "Rodney" of shepherd Duffield, and J.W.B.'s involvement. The politics of summary justice, and inaction.
No. 12 July 21, 1877 Captain Bromley replaces Cronk as Protector. Bromley's suspicious death. Captain Beever accidentally shot a black. Some time later he and his partner, Dark, were speared near Port Lincoln. The killing of Captain Barker from the account of Mr. King. "...our countrymen, to their disgrace, have treated the Aboriginals with insult and injustice, as we have also in taking their land without adequate compensation." The slaughter of those on the Maria by the Milemnura tribe. Admiration for Gawler's prompt justice, despite his critics. Captain G. Hall's praise of Major O'Halloran's actions.
No. 13 July 28, 1877 The massacre of the survivors of the Maria shipwreck by the Big Murray tribe. Pullen's account. Praise for Gawler's prompt retaliatory action, and for Major O'Halloran. O'Halloran's account.
No. 14 August 4, 1877 The 1838 wreck of the Fanny. Captain Gill's statement. Friendly natives. Rev. Mr. Longbottom and family safely reaching Adelaide. Also Emanuel Solomon. Captain Tyndal, master of the Elizabeth also wrecked. The beginning of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in SA.
No. 15 August 18, 1877 Alford investigates cattle thefts reporting to Inspector Tolmer. Fenton, Gofton and Stag. Murder of Gofton.
No. 16 August 25, 1877 Wesleyan Methodism - more on Rev. William Longbottom, and his successors including Rev. Daniel James Draper (appointed 1846). The fate of Draper, who was conducting prayer services on the London as it went down 11 Jan 1866.
No. 17 September 1, 1877 The trial and execution of Stagg for the murder of Gofton. The involvement of Private Lomas who later confessed to the killing if only to get discharged from an insane asylum in NSW.
No. 18 September 8, 1877 German Evangelical Lutherans 1838, Zebra, Prince George, Pastor Kavel, benefactor George Angus. J.W.B.'s amusing experience with a German migrant who wanted to buy oxen to cart his goods to Hahndorf. Land transactions by private speculators unfair to the Germans. The supply of butter and vegetables from Hahndorf to Adelaide. Sergeant Lubash of Hahndorf. How the Germans sheared sheep. The value of the Germans to the colony.
No. 19 September 15, 1877 From K.I., 7 Sep 1836, Col. Light explores Gulf St Vincent - Rapid Bay, Fifteen Mile Creek (Port Adelaide), Port Lincoln. Light decides Nepean Bay and Port Lincoln not suitable for the capital of the new province. 1839 Abeona, Captain Hawson - cannon accident maiming James Hunter. Exploring party led by Hawson to Coffin Bay, Marble Range. An Aborigine shows them water near Mt, Gawler, which later became the first sheep station by Brown. Capt. Porter's ships, Porter and Dorset. Special survey Smith and Hawson. Emanuel Solomon's involvement in procuring the ship Dorset. Rough characters causing disharmony. Foreign whaling ships. The successful capture of a whale in Boston harbour. Lady Franklin (whos husband was an officer under Flinders) arrives on the Abeona seeking to commemorate Captain Flinders' visit to Stamford Hill. Statistics of aboriginal hangings between 1849-1863.
No. 20 September 23, 1877 The entrapment of Foley- a detailed account, drawing on Alford and Inman's reports. Foley leads them to Stone. Stone's imprisonment then escape. Stanley. Foley's fate back in England. Carruther's diary - being mistaken as three bushrangers in a cave.
No. 21 September 29, 1877 An explanation of the problems of the taking up of the preliminary land orders, and the subsequent land speculation and absentee proprietors affecting the fortunes of the bona fide applicants. J.W.B.'s own experience in 1839 forced to close his town business and then moved to a farm in the Mount Barker district. The journey with his family across the hills. The tale of his employee Tom Fuller who stole from him and absconded.
No. 22 October 6, 1877 Captain Sturt's description of his first contact with natives on the Murray. Field & Inman's unfortunate experiences with Rufus natives as they drove stock from NSW to SA.
No. 23 October 13, 1877 The capture of the Vandemonian Joseph Storey - his sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life as a burglar and the head of a gang called the "Blackfaced robbers." Cattle stealers in the Tiers.
No. 24 October 20, 1877 Early fires - residences of Fisher, Light, Gawler (Government House), John Brown, Gilles, flour mills. J.W.B.'s experience with a fire in the Tiers. Fate of Lady Wellington. Sacrifice of much public property was made, as well as of the property of the pioneers, under the rule of the new Governor Capt. Grey. E. Solomon's dealings and legacies, including a theatre in Gilles Arcade. An earlier theatre showcasing Bartlett, a bullocky. Practical jokes on the muddy streets. The launch of the cutter O.G. at Glenelg, despite heavy rain and resulting calamities with the official guests, including McLaren, and J.W.B. and wife.
No. 25 October 27, 1877 Black Joe and the recapture of Bell Chambers and Collins. Governor Ashton and Insp. Tolmer. The daring escape by Carter and subsequent recapture. The daring escape by Dyer an American black.
No. 26 November 3,1877 Bringing cattle from Sydney to S.A. Charles Bonney's account. Sladden, Hawden. Second expedition under E. J. Eyre. Captain Hart.
No. 27 November 10, 1877 Law and order under Governor Gawler. First post office in Adelaide - J.W.B. was the first mail contractor. Special surveys - benefits and disadvantages. Osmond Gilles and his predictions of mineral wealth. J.W.B. unreservedly praises Gawler, and dismisses his critics.
No. 28 November 17, 1877 In defence of Gawler and Grey who both inherited financial difficulties. The mistake of divided authority - Governor / Resident Commissioner. The Governor having to serve two masters, with little sympathy from either. Financial crisis - stopping public works, then private works, adversely affecting the immigrants at the end of 1841. Extracts from Dutton's "History of South Australia".
No. 29 November 24, 1877 Revisiting the Rufus natives clash when all the sheep were stolen. Major O'Halloran's detailed diary account. J. C. Hawker's detailed diary account. Field.
No. 30 December 1, 1877 Continuing the Rufus natives clash. Major O'Halloran appointed to command second party, with Protector of Aborigines, Dr. Moorhouse. Extracts from J. C. Hawker's and O'Halloran's diaries.
No. 31 December 8, 1877 Continuing the Rufus natives clash. Extracts from J. C. Hawker's and O'Halloran's diaries. The mean-spirited Langhorne.
No. 32 December 15, 1877 The third expedition to punish the Rufus natives, under Shaw, and Moorhouse. Register excerpts of Moorhouse's report, including a letter from Mr. Robinson. Moorhouse faces the Bench, and is exonerated. Gov,. Grey instructs Eyre to return the native held hostage.
No. 33 December 22, 1877 Summary of the Rufus natives incidents. Grey's appointment of Eyre to Moorundee, compared to the success of Archdeacon Hale and the Aboriginal Mission at Poonindie. Point Macleay Mission.
No. 34 January 5, 1878 The actions of Governor Grey and the British government criticised as causing the insolvency of early merchants and traders. A harrowing account of one merchant, John Barton Hack.
No. 35 January 12, 1878 Progress in farming operations and the successive annual yields of grain. J.W.B.'s invention of the stripping machine, and Ridley's construction of it (and resultant fame).
No. 36 January 19,1878 London Board of Commissioners abolished, Legislative Council appointed, 1842. Earliest mineral discovery, taken up by Gilles (J.W.B.'s involvement). Kapunda Copper Mine. Burra "Monster Mine".
No. 37 January 26, 1878 An extraordinarily detailed account of the pursuit - first at Hog Bay K.I. - then capture on Yorke's Peninsula, of bushrangers - Rogers, Riley and Lynch - from Tasmania by Inspector Tolmer and an undercover policeman Farrell.
No. 38 February 2, 1878 The extraordinarily detailed account continues.
No. 39 February 9, 1878 The account continues - according to the sailors and the bushrangers. Reflections on the "prison class" and the inadequacies of the secular school system.
No. 40 February 16, 1878 Black Joe's involvement in a receiver of property, stolen by Peter Sidd, who was arrested but escaped. In praise of Insp. Gordon, and Supt. Inman. Stock-keeper Roach allegedly murdered an old Aborigine. J.W.B.'s employment of Aborigines - the tale of their reaction to a meteor. King John and his wife Monarto who abandoned her baby.
No. 41 February 23, 1878 The disappearance of the Lady Dennison. An account of a near mutiny on the Punch transporting convicts from Adelaide to Van Dieman's Land.
No. 42 March 2, 1878 United Presbyterian Church, Established Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church, Father Watkins - the wreck of the Mariner.
No. 43 March 9, 1878 Murders by Aboriginals around Port Lincoln - Frank Hawson, Brown, Lovelock, Fastings, Stubbs. Major O'Halloran's account of the fruitless expedition to bring the murderers to account. Criticism of Protectors.
No. 44 March 23, 1878 Kangaroo Island. Thompson, Waller, Meredith, Sal and Geo. Brown. The arrival of Duke of York and the Lady Pelham and the Rapid. Decamp to the mainland. C. W. Stuart's account of his voyage from Sydney on the Truelove, and his business relationship with Stephens. Emanuel Solomon. Stephen's accidental death.
No. 45 March 30, 1878 James Hawker's account of an expedition to find C. C. Dutton, who was thought to have been killed by Aborigines. Seeing the aftermath of the massacre of Brown and Biddle. Arriving in Port Lincoln. Criticism of Grey cutting police resources.
No. 46 April 13, 1878 Report given to Parliament detailing the conviction and execution of the native murderers of detached white settlers in the South-East Lake country, and in the out-districts of Port Lincoln. Liberal thoughts by J.W.B. on the mistakes made by Europeans, and the need for more appropriate Aboriginal reservations. Prescient views on global warming, and the need for harnessing of water resources. Grey's departure for New Zealand. J.W.B. struggles to be Grey's apologist, blaming the obtuseness of Lord Stanley in London for the severe restrictions imposed by Grey on the early settlers.
THE LATE MR. J. W. BULL.
THE LATE MR. J. W. BULL.
Mr. John Wrathall Bull, whose death took place at his own residence, College Park, on Sept. 21, was one of our oldest colonists, and was the eldest son of the late Rev. John Bull, M.A., of Clipston, Northampton, England, and at the time of his death was in his 83rd year.
He was bom at St. Pauls, Cray, Kent, on June 23, 1804. He left England for South Australia, in 1838, arriving here in May of the same year by the Canton. Shortly after his arrival he joined Mr. E. B. Gleeson in business as a land agent and dealer in cattle and sheep, their stockyard on East-terrace at that time being a prominent landmark in that portion of the metropolis. At this period Messrs. Bull, Gleeson, and Stephen Hack were the only stockbuyers in the colony.
Pursuing farming and stock operations for some time, principally at Mount Barker, Mr. Bull left in 1852 for the Victorian goldfields. His search there was very successful, and in the following year he returned to Adelaide.
Subsequently he undertook the management of the late Mr. Osmond Gilles's property at Glen Osmond, where he established a vineyard, As many of our readers know, Mr. Bull was a noted husbandman, and thinking that an improvement could be invented whereby a standing crop of wheat could be threshed, he set to work to discover something for the assistance of farmers in that direction.
In 1843, the Adelaide Corn Exchange Committee having offered an award for such a contrivance, some working models were exhibited, one of them being by Mr. Bull. Subsequently Mr. Ridley's reaper was produced, and the late Mr. Bull claimed the credit of the invention.
The controversy on this subject is familiar to our readers. In recognition of his labours in the improvement of agricultural appliances Mr. Bull was voted a sum of £250 by Parliament. He also took an interest in military affairs, and when volunteer companies were enrolled at Glen Osmond and Mitcham, in 1869, he was appointed Lieutenant, a position which he filled for six years.
Some years since Mr. Bull issued a work dealing principally with the early history of South Australia, in which he graphically depicted many of the struggles and inconveniences the pioneers of the colony had to contend with.
In 1881 Mr. Bull lost his wife, but he leaves behind him several children. He was a man of liberal disposition, and in the early history of Trinity Church, he subscribed towards its enlargement. In 1839 he gave £50 towards St. Peter's College Fund.
Pictorial Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1885 - 1895), Friday 1 October 1886, page 150
Descendants of :
John Wrathall BULL
John Wrathall BULL
Generation 1
Generation 1
1. John Wrathall BULL was born 23 Jun 1804 in St. Paul`s Cray, Kent, England and died 21 Sep 1886 in College Park, SA. He married Mary Brant BOWYER. She was born ABT 1816 and died 25 Feb 1882 in Hackney, SA, daughter of William BOWYER and Unknown BRANT.
Other events in the life of John Wrathall BULL
Immigration: 02 May 1838, Canton
Children of John Wrathall BULL and Mary Brant BOWYER:
i. 2. John Bower BULL was born 14 May 1835 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and died 21 May 1907 in Kensington, SA
ii. 3. Robert Peel BULL was born 09 Jul 1836 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and died 10 Dec 1913 in Dowerin, WA
iii. Unknown female BULL was born BEF May 1838 in at sea on the Canton and died BEF May 1838 in at sea on the Canton
iv. James Osmond BULL was born 31 Mar 1839 in Adelaide, SA and died 24 Feb 1924 in Rose Park, SA
v. Charles William BULL was born 25 Dec 1840 in Blakiston, SA and died 02 May 1843 in Blackwood, SA
vi. 4. Mary Annie BULL was born 26 Jul 1842 in South Australia and died 26 Jun 1906 in St Peters, SA
vii. Lucy Lakin BULL was born 29 Sep 1844 in Mount Barker, South Australia and died 27 Sep 1939 in Kensington Park, SA
viii. Elizabeth Jane BULL was born 19 Jan 1847 in Mount Barker, SA and died 16 Jan 1848 in Mount Barker, SA
ix. George BULL was born Sep 1848 in Mount Barker, South Australia and died 16 Dec 1849 in South Australia
x. Fanny Yatala BULL was born ABT 1851 and died 27 Aug 1929 in Rose Park, SA
Generation 2
Generation 2
2. John Bower BULL was born 14 May 1835 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and died 21 May 1907 in Kensington, SA. He married Margaret Ellen CAREY 08 Oct 1868 in Adelaide, SA. She was born ABT 1849 and died 03 Apr 1883 in Naracoorte, SA. He married Annie PAYNE 09 Jul 1883 in Mount Gambier, SA. She was born ABT 1862.
Other events in the life of John Bower BULL
Immigration: 02 May 1838, Canton
Children of John Bower BULL and Annie PAYNE:
i. 5. Ethel Victoria BULL was born 1884 in Dimboola, Victoria
3. Robert Peel BULL was born 09 Jul 1836 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and died 10 Dec 1913 in Dowerin, WA. He married Fanny YATES 17 Jan 1863 in Bullaparinga, SA. She was born ABT 1842 and died 25 Jul 1925 in North Adelaide, SA, daughter of William YATES and Sarah YATES.
Other events in the life of Robert Peel BULL
Immigration: 02 May 1838, Canton
Children of Robert Peel BULL and Fanny YATES:
i. Clara Vernon BULL was born 29 Dec 1863 in Glenburn, SA and died 19 Nov 1903 in Adelaide, SA. She married Matthew HOLLAND 17 Nov 1886 in Carrondown Hindmarsh, SA. He was born 10 Jul 1864 in Port Adelaide, SA and died 01 Jul 1917 in Port Adelaide, SA.
ii. Annie Elizabeth BULL was born 01 Jul 1865 in Rapid Bay, SA and died 22 May 1940 in Brompton, SA. She married Alfred HARRY 30 Dec 1884 in Brompton, SA. He was born 07 Mar 1863 in Brompton, SA and died 08 Jul 1948 in Adelaide, SA.
iii. Mary Louisa BULL was born 17 Aug 1867 in Silverton, SA. She married Frederick JAMES 17 Aug 1893 in West Hindmarsh, SA. He was born ABT 1865 and died 26 Apr 1941 in Hindmarsh West, SA.
iv. George Henry Wrathall BULL was born 06 Apr 1869 in Silverton, SA and died 07 Sep 1919 in Jamestown, SA. He married Sarah Mabel Stella CHAPMAN 24 Feb 1904 in Jamestown, SA. She was born 20 Sep 1881 in Jamestown, SA.
v. Rosa Lee BULL was born 10 Mar 1872 in Talisker, SA. She married Burman Henry CASSIN 11 Feb 1899 in Adelaide, SA. He was born 1870 in Wandsworth, London, England and died 1910 in Marylebone, England. She married Reginald Arthur George DAVIES 1943 in Geraldton, WA. He died 1974 in Mosman Park, WA.
vi. Alice Maud BULL was born 11 May 1874 in Moonta Mines, SA and died 07 Dec 1874 in East Moonta, SA
vii. Lydia BULL was born 16 Nov 1875 in Moonta Mines, SA and died 27 Nov 1879 in Kent Town, SA
viii. Helena Alberta BULL was born 21 Jan 1879 in Moonta, SA and died 05 Mar 1879 in Kalkabury, SA
ix. Frederick Charles Wrathall BULL was born 04 Sep 1880 in Houghton, SA and died 1954 in Nedlands, WA. He married Edith Jane PICK 1912 in Claremont, WA. She was born 1884 in Victoria and died 1968 in Cheltenham, Victoria.
x. Harold Bowyer BULL was born 31 Jan 1884 in Hindmarsh, SA and died 1943 in Fremantle, Western Australia. He married Elsie G. CANTELO 1936 in Fremantle, Western Australia.
4. Mary Annie BULL was born 26 Jul 1842 in South Australia and died 26 Jun 1906 in St Peters, SA. She married William Huddleston NASH 20 Aug 1878 in Norwood, SA. He was born ABT 1847 and died 01 Aug 1909 in St Peters, SA.
Last updated: 7 July 2024
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