22 June 1933

EARLY ASCENT OF MOUNT LOFTY

DISCOVERY OF THE WATERFALLS

Captain Barker and two companions were, of course, the first white men to reach Mount Lofty, whither they walked from Holdfast Bay. But the account below is of the first journey made to the summit after the settlement of the colony in 1836.

The route through Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty was first used by [Young] Bingham Hutchinson [1806-1870] in 1837. In May of that year, while walking near the foothills he came across a stream issuing from between two hills, and a week later he returned to the same spot with the determination of walking up the gully to the mount.

He had been warned of the difficulties of his task, and the earlier part of his journey was hard going. At that time, the bed of the creek, now bordered with pleasant gardens, end skirted by a bitumen road, was a mass of tangled creepers and scrub. So difficult was the going that he at last determined to give up.

But curiosity impelled him to see what was round an abutment of the hill which, at that point, obscured his view. He pushed on, and was rewarded by the sight of the creek leaping from a wall of rock some 50 or 60 feet high, which stretched across the valley. He had discovered the Waterfalls.

Thus encouraged, he ascended the cliff, and continued to follow the gully. The going, however, did not improve, and he was finally forced to give up. He climbed a hill on his right, but the path to the mount was barred by deep ravine. Accordingly, he returned to Adelaide.

However, he refused to be beaten. A week later he returned to the attack. This time, he must have climbed the hills at the back of Mount Osmond. Thus, although he made easier progress, he was in no way to avoid the gullies which had already foiled his earlier attempt. He clambered over hills and down gullies, and eventually reached his objective, where he had lunch. He tried to light a fire to notify those in Adelaide that he had succeeded, but the wood and leaves were so wet that he had to forgo this part of his reward.

He was still not satisfied. From his vantage point high up. he thought he noticed a ridge that ran almost without a break to the foot of the mount. This he determined to explore, and returned a week later to do so.

On this occasion, he really had found the quickest practicable route to the summit, which he reached after three hours' pleasant walking. This time he was able to light a fire, and made a great smoke with green leaves. From the summit, he looked out over the Adelaide Plains, and saw the windings of the Port River and two ranges of high hills across the 'gulph.' Even today the view is a commanding one, and justly famous. But one can only imagine what it looked like then to Hutchinson, seeing it for the first time, and with the endless roofs and street replaced by virgin scrub and tall tufted trees.

There seems to have been little life in the valley in those days. There were no natives, and Hutchinson saw only four wild dogs at the base of the hills. However he shot "the first black parrot with red feathers in its tail," and found a variety of shrubs and flowers to interest him.

He also came across some mushrooms, two of which he ate to satisfy himself of their wholesomeness. And somewhere on the Mount he discovered his first snail. Garden owners reading this should not be too curious of days when the snail was a rarity on the Adelaide plains.

Hutchinson himself tried to make a garden in the early days. On two occasions he found that cows had been grazing there, and once that someone had driven a cart across it. And those were days everything that was planted had to be ordered and brought from England! It wasn't procurable at three pence a bundle down the street.

Early Methodist Church

The article on Kangaroo Island in a recent 'Chronicle' was most interesting. Fifty years ago the writer spent many hours in the hut occupied by George Bates, and listened to his tales of early days. At 80 years of age his hair was bright red.

The accompanying photograph is that of the first Wesleyan Church built on the island about 50 years ago at old Penneshaw. It was close to Bates's hut. The late John Broadbent was the home missionary. He was succeeded, on the building of the church, by the Rev. W. A. Potts, then a young man just arrived from England.

John Broadbent preached the opening service. He and his brother (late of Cherry Gardens) arrived in South Australia with their parents in the Buffalo as little lads. One day, while bird-nesting, near the old settlement by the Bay of Shoals, John climbed a tree and found a very old weather worn Bible, wedged in a fork of the tree. This was treasured. At the opening of the church he read the lesson and took his text from the old Book. The writer visited the island not long ago and found the old church well looked after.— W. J. Purvis.

Real Life Stories Of South Australia. (1933, June 22). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 15. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90890711

Civilisation! The Black Man's Curse

Sixty or seventy years ago an Aborigine committed a capital crime for which his life was forfeit. But he had to be caught first. He disappeared from his former haunts, taking with him his two gins. Nothing was seen or heard of him for many years.

Then some stockman, hunting on Lake Victoria station, saw some blacks on several occasions. But they disappeared like magic, into country totally devoid of water. For a long time the stories of their presence there were considered a myth.

Eventually a party was made up to search and discovered a tribe of sixty Aborigines, the progeny of the old chap who had so long before disappeared and his two gins.

Fully to appreciate the circumstances under which this tribe was reared, it is necessary to know the country. A more barren, drier, or hotter stretch does not exist in Australia. The Aborigines obtained their water solely out of the mallee butts, cutting sappy looking sticks and standing them on end till the sap oozed out. The taste of this water during dry times, or indeed any time, is unmentionable. Yet the tribe who thus lived was a healthy, active, well conditioned lot, male and female.

Note what followed. The blacks were hunted like wild beasts many miles till they got to the Darling, where they were captured and clothed by a parental Government with the white man's clothes, fed on white man's food, and given the white man's smokes and drink. In eight or ten years from the time they were run in, it was doubtful if there was a single one of the lot alive. Contact with the white man means speedy and certain death to the black, though if allowed to live his own way he can outlive the white.— 'JMcG.' North Adelaide.

Civilisation! The Black Man's Curse (1933, June 22). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 15. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90890717

Collision Of Murray Steamers

On July 29, 1876. one of the most serious collisions which ever took place on the Murray occurred about seventeen miles from Mannum. The steamers concerned were the Queen and Jane Eliza.

The Queen was owned by Messrs. Oliver & Gunn, and was commanded by Captain Oliver. The Jane Eliza was in command of the mate, the owner Captain King, being absent in Adelaide.

The Queen was making upstream to Wentworth. She had on board a large quantity of general merchandise. Neither the vessel nor cargo were insured. Shortly before dusk Captain Oliver and his wife and passengers were in the saloon cabin at the evening meal. The mate of the Queen was in charge of the steering.

On rounding a bend of the river he observed the Jane Eliza with the sheep barge Reliance in tow coming downstream. Both steamers sounded several blasts and the mate of the Queen, although on the correct side of the river, decided to cross over for fear he should foul the barge.

At the same time the mate of the Jane Eliza decided to cross. In the manoeuvre the steamers collided. The Queen sank almost immediately, but the passengers escaped.

In the ensuing excitement a little girl attempted to jump from the Queen to the Jane Eliza, but fell into the river. An Aboriginal man, a member of the crew of the Jane Eliza, dived to her rescue. The girl clung to him so desperately that he was unable to swim, and they both narrowly escaped with their lives. The name of this native was Munchaool, and he was an adopted son of Queen Monarto, the recognised sovereign of the lower Murray tribes.

The Queen was eventually raised by the Jane Eliza and after being repaired resumed its useful work on the Murray. Captain Oliver was very popular with Murray settlers. It was his boast that he could supply them with anything from an anchor to a needle. When the Murray was falling it was his practice to go well up the river, and remain there trading for several months. Owing to the low level of the river no other steamer could make its way up, with the result that during these periods the Queen captured the whole of the Upper Murray trade.— 'A.H.B.'

'Wanted, A Wife'

Persons passing a certain place in an Adelaide street one evening, many years ago, might have wondered why a man was standing with his overcoat on his arm whilst heavy rain was falling.

He was neither a love-sick swain nor an absent-minded professor. He was just a man from the Never Never, and had come to Adelaide with the intention of marrying.

The lady who had answered his advertisement for a wife was to identify him by the overcoat on the arm. Of course, Eve was late, and the poor man dared not either leave the place nor don his overcoat for fear of missing her.

When the woman arrived, the couple met for the first time. Though the man was soaking wet, his ardor was not damped.

A week later he returned to the Never Never with his bride. The couple have since lived happily, and reared a family of fine, healthy Australians. Such marriages were common in the days when Australia was regarded as the 'Maidens' Paradise.' Means of communication were few and travelling an adventure. Consequently, long, successful courtships were rare.

A man from northern New South Wales visited a married South Australian brother, with the intention of finding himself a wife. A newspaper advertisement brought two replies. There was great excitement when the first applicant arrived. Work on the farm where the man was staying was suspended, while the man and his brother went off to interview the prospective bride, as one might a maid. Everything had been satisfactorily arranged, when the lady changed her mind. But the second reply had been received by then. Once more the brothers set out on their quest. This time success rewarded their efforts. A happy marriage, a large family, and prosperity followed. — 'The Kangaroo,' Spalding.

Collision Of Murray Steamers (1933, June 22). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 15. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90890715