13 April 1933

WHALLEY AND HIS COMRADES

Ships That Came Before '36

This is another tale of the days before South Australia was colonised — and after. It deals chiefly with 'Governor' Whalley, and incidentally with some of the ships which came to Kangaroo Island in the benighted days before 1836.

Many of the incidents of early Kangaroo Island have several versions, some highly romantic, but of doubtful veracity. They will probably never be authenticated. There is a yarn that "Governor" Robert Whalley sailed to the island in a whaleboat from Tasmania before 1817, with two concubines, Puss and Bet. Another is that he landed from the American brig General Gates in 1819.

Quite a number of vessels called at Kangaroo Island before the first settlers arrived from England in 1836. The list includes the Union from America in 1803, a Government boat from Sydney (name unknown, but probably the Integrity), 1803; a sealing vessel from Sydney (name unknown), 1806; the Eliza from Sydney, 1809; the Endeavour from Sydney, 1810; the Campbell Macquarie from Sydney, 1812; Fly, from Port Dalrymple, 1814; the Spring, in charge of Captain Dillon (who 11 years later found La Perouse relics at Vanikoro), 1815; Rosetta, and also the Endeavour, 1817; Macquarie and General Gates, 1819, Prince of Denmark and General Gates, 1822; Henry, 1829; Elizabeth and Henry, 1831; Henry, 1833, and also in 1834.

Whalley and his partner, William Day, lived with their colored harems in a log hut built on the fertile bank of the Three-Well River (later called the Morgan, and now known as the Cygnet). Here, about 12 miles from the mouth of the river, they cultivated their patch of wheat, grew splendid potatoes, cabbages, &c. tended their four dogs, numerous fowls, pigs, and one horse— a 17-hand nag imported from Tasmania, and the first horse in the State. Whalley was a total abstainer, and would not grow barley. His strongest drink was a very palatable tea brewed from the leaves of the swamp ti-tree. During a dearth of flour, wallaby liver was hard baked and served as bread. For clothes, wallaby or seal skin was used, pieced into rough suits.

There is a rumor that the Sydney authorities once sent a punitive expedition to the island, though no official record of the visit has yet been found. Major Lockyer, commandant of the military outpost at King George's Sound, certainly made the suggestion that one should be sent after some trouble with a boisterous gang of sealers from Kangaroo Island in 1826. When the English emigrants arrived the settlers numbered at least 11— Robert Whalley, diminutive and honest headman; his partner, William Day, William Walker, John Stokes, Harry Smith, George Bates, Nathaniel Thomas, Jacob Seaman, William Thompson, William Cooper, and James Allen. At one time as many as 12 lubras lived on the island kidnapped from Tasmania, Victoria, Port Lincoln, or Encounter Bay. Their names are interesting, for several appear in history — Sally Walker, Little Sal, Bumblefoot or Big Sal, Bet, Puss, Polecat, Wauber, Dinah, Mooney, Charlotte, and Suke.

Samuel Stephens, the first manager for the South Australian Company, was not particularly generous in his treatment of the first "Governor." For a hundred odd fowls Whalley was paid 20/. Yet when he wished to stock another farm the company would not sell him a pair of his old fowls for 7/6.

The sleepers for the Port and Gawler lines were sawn on Whalley's farm and floated down the Cygnet to the sea for shipment to Port Adelaide. Whalley died in 1856 while on a visit to Adelaide. He is interred in an unmarked grave in the old Kingscote cemetery.

— "Yacko,"Point Morrison.

Chris Ward comments 22 Aug 2022: Robert Whalley should be more correctly named as Henry WALLAN as that is how he clearly and legibly signed his name in a letter to Lt. Gov. Charles Sturt in 1851. He left Dorset in 1814 as crew on the Marquis of Wellington for Sydney with convicts. In 1817 he cleared from Sydney on 40 tone schooner Henrietta Packet. He later was crew on the brig Sophia. Wallan was clearly on KI from 1819 if not a little earlier. The grave for Henry WALLAN is in the Pioneer Historical Cemetery at Reeves Point following his death in Adelaide in 1856. Wallan’s grave is very clearly marked with a headstone but does require competent restoration.

Geoffrey Chapman comments 23 Aug 2022: I often found "Yacko's " statements a little off target, but as she was writing in the early 1930's at a time when there were little access to records and depended on hearsay, a few newspaper records, it was a great achievement. For example, "the sleeper were floated downstream" when records show: 'There were jinkers with 3 separate bullock teams and 2- three horse teams carting sleepers the mouth of the river. The bullock teams would make one trip every day, each dray carrying 52 sleepers, and the horse drays would make two trips a day, and carry 32 sleepers at a load. In the winter when the tracks from the present race course to the Cygnet's "Mouth", became difficult, the sleepers were loaded onto a flat barge at the bend near the race course and 'polled' to the "Mouth" where the sleepers were stored on the beach'. Reference : Harry Bates letters. At that stage, there was no jetty at Kingscote. The statement: "There is a rumour that the Sydney authorities once sent a punitive expedition to the island, though no official record of the visit has yet been found". In fact , there are definite records of a sailing ship arrived in about 1829/ 1830, a number of sealers were arrested and taken back to Sydney, and a number of their aboriginal helpers [from Port Lincoln, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu] were all taken to the Fleurieu Peninsular and released. The ones from Tasmania were left on KI. The "unknown boat arrival in 1803", was in fact later records show it was the boat "Integrity" under the command of Mr. Rushworth.

See also David Gillieson's excellent paper on ships arriving at Kangaroo Island before 1837 downloadable from https://rebuildindependence.org/what-its-all-about/shipping-around-ki-1800-1837

Stories Of The Light.

— The Rivers Light and Gilbert join about a mile west of Hamley Bridge. The Light is the bigger stream, and has many tragic happenings to its discredit. In some parts it runs between rugged cliffs.

In the early days people were obliged to drive across the river. This was dangerous. At one place there is a bottomless hole. Anything thrown into the water will disappear. The water, although still on top, has a constant whirl.

Years ago a lad was sent to the river to water his father's horses. He was never seen again. A search party found the horses feeding and the boys clothes on the bank. It was thought that, the day being hot, the lad had gone into the water for a bathe, got into the whirlpool, and was carried under.

Near this pool there is a pretty waterfall, equal to any in the State. When the river is in flood the thunder of the water over the falls can be heard for miles. —A. L. Whitehair, Kielpa.

Wreck Of The Mars.

— Close on 50 years ago most of the country east and west of Stunsail Boom River, Kangaroo Island, was held by Karratta station.

One night a half-caste man and myself were camped at South-West River. It had been a very stormy week, with heavy gales from the west. We rode down to the mouth of the river one morning to look for sheep, and were surprised to see tracks of naked feet on the sand. We followed the tracks in the direction of Remarkable Rock, and came on four men, half naked and cold.

They told us they belonged to the barque Mars, which ran on the rocks during the night. They had no idea what part of Australia they were wrecked on until we told them. We went round a point, and there was the wreck, her forepart standing high up, and great seas breaking over her.

We learned that the first wave that washed over her when she struck carried five men with it, four of them were drowned and one managed to crawl up the cliff. When day broke there were six men clinging to the forepart of the ship. They got a rope ashore to their mate, and by this means were saved.

Two of the strongest decided to seek help. They followed the coast to Cape Borda. They were very ill when they arrived there. A buggy was sent out, packed with food and blankets, and word was sent to Karratta station, where everything was done for the comfort of the castaways by Mr. H. Harpur and his wife.

In searching the coast during the evening the body of the captain was found, and nearby the ship's figurehead. It was placed at the head of the captain's grave. In a day or two not a vestige of the barque was to be seen. It was a miracle that any were saved on such a wild and inhospitable coast. —'M.J.A.,' Coorabie.

Early Burra Memories.

— The recent article in 'The Chronicle' on the Burra in the 'Towns, People, and Things We Ought to Know' series [No 34 Burra ], revives some old memories. My earliest recollection is of seeing a column of smoke rising from the mine, which was on fire. There was one casualty, a man by the name of Tom Prior being suffocated. We had a great day when the twin foundation stones of the town hall and institute were laid in December, 1874, by the late Messrs. Stewart and McCulloch. It was on a Wednesday afternoon. We had another rousing demonstration later on at the same spot, when the Hon. (later Sir) F. W. Holder was elected to represent the Burra Burra district. After the declaration of the poll we got him into a buggy, harnessed ourselves to ropes, and pulled him through the main street, Market Square, and back to the town hall. He was given a great ovation. He proved to be one of the finest men who ever graced a State or Federal Parliament.

The picture of the old smelting works chimney also brings back memories. The episode of the lad Jordon climbing to the top looking for a bird's nest and viewing the landscape from his height of 120 feet caused consternation among the business people in Market square, who had a clear view of him ascending and descending the old stack. It was a remarkable climb, as the corner staples were about two feet apart and just sufficient for a finger-and-toe grip. Only an iron nerve and well balanced brain could accomplish such a feat. Many a night as a boy I watched the flames ascending high into the air from this old landmark. When the furnaces were in full blast it was my delight to take the dad his dinner. Then I had the time of my life watching the smelters skimming the molten copper as it swirled in the furnaces. Captain Isaac Killicoat was in charge of these old works at that time.

An 'incident' which occurred at his funeral is worth recording. Near the old post-office at Redruth, en route for the cemetery, the front wheel of the hearse came off, and for a moment there was a sensation. But they transferred the coffin to a roomy buggy, and left the hearse at the roadside. Another striking personality was Mr. Tom Perrey, who, when I knew him, was governor of the Redruth gaol. In the early part of the year, after the first rains, you generally saw him scanning every nook and corner in the old police paddock for mushrooms, of which he was exceptionally fond. This old identity had attended the funeral of Captain Killicoat. He never forgot that incident of the wheel of the hearse, and before his death he made a special request that his body should be carried to the grave in a conveyance other than 'Bruce's hearse.' This was adhered to, his remains being carried in a buggy. I witnessed that funeral also. — John Jones, Mannahill.

Old Cannon's Last Salute.

— For many years two old cannons stood by the flagstaff near the Robe jetty. These were originally signal guns aboard the 'Phaeton,' which was wrecked less than a mile distant. They were eventually mounted and it was customary to fire them upon important occasions and also to use them to call the crew of the local lifeboat to practice.

On one occasion a convict escaped from the old Robe gaol. The guns were fired to warn the townspeople to be on the qui vive, and the man hunt was on. The escape was remarkable considering that the high walls were topped with broken glass surmounted by barbed wire. The convict made his successful attempt just before dusk, when the prisoners would be herded into the impregnable steel-lined cells which are still standing. Working his way to a corner, the convict, succeeded in scaling the wall unobserved, and despite lacerations from the razor edged glass and barbed wire, he clambered over.

His escape was discovered almost immediately, but darkness setting in helped him to evade recapture. The convict's freedom was short-lived. He wandered to Lake Eliza, a large salt lake, the shores of which in many places are treacherous bog. Apparently he had endeavored to cover his tracks by walking through water. Being unaware of the treacherous nature of the lake, he had become bogged. When his body was discovered months later it had become petrified owing to the salt in the water.

On another occasion the cannons were loaded to fire a salute to Governor MacDonnell, but for some reason one charge failed to explode, and the gun attendant commenced to withdraw the charge. Evidently the powder had only been smouldering, for it suddenly belched forth a cloud of smoke and flame, and injured one of his hands to such an extent that amputation was necessary. After this the practice of firing the guns was discontinued for several years.

Imagine the consternation late one night when the roar of a cannon reverberated through the town. Next morning it was discovered that one of the cannons were no more. Some practical joker had heavily loaded it with gelignite. The cannon being unequal to the strain, burst and hailed a portion of itself through the roof of a building about eighty yards away. The remaining cannon was removed to prevent a possible recurrence of the 'joke.' — A. H. Barroman, Halton Gardens.

Real Life Stories Of South Australia. (1933, April 13). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 19. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90893882