Completion of Special Survey Series

On June 29, 1840, McLaren writing to E. J. Wheeler said, "bad as my opinion (of Port Lincoln) was of late, I did not think it would have been so soon, and so signally been confirmed. Captain Porter has abandoned it at last. He has removed his family to Hobart Town, and left a person at Port Lincoln, it is said, mainly to look after his property. He was the mainstay from the first, and the other settlers are without capital, enterprise, or any necessary qualifications for such a situation, and entirely composed of discordant materials."

Captain Porter had arrived in the colony just prior to the formation of the association. He brought out two ships, being captain of one, while J. Bishop was captain of the other. Porter was created a Justice of Peace, and took charge magisterially until a resident magistrate was appointed.

McLaren's attitude towards Port Lincoln is difficult to understand blowing hot and cold alternately. He and Flaxman were sufficiently keen sighted enough to buy over 700 acres out of the 4,000 and most probably got out of the land at a good profit. The London office of the South Australian Company could not appreciate the force of some of McLaren's arguments, for on one occasion Wheeler wrote : — "Your remarks that 'their operations will not materially affect our interest ' implies that we have suffered something by not getting the first survey and the board are very desirous of some explanation" and "the directors cannot but I regret that when you were examining Thistle Island last year (for a whaling station) you did not proceed to Port Lincoln and investigate its real merits, or that when the fishery was established within a few miles of the port no attempt was made to visit the place. Had either been done you might have had it all your own way."

It has not yet been revealed when Flaxman 'wished' his half cost of the special survey on to G. F. Angas. When Angas arranged for Anthony Forster (20/11/1840) to go to South Australia as his agent, he made a lengthy summary of his transactions and gave Forster definite instructions. The following is a synopsis of that portion relating to the Boston Bay lands : —

1. — A special survey was taken by the South Australian Company and Flaxman arranged for Angas to take half interest, money to be paid in London, which was done and Angas proceeded to dispose of lands on the plan of a secondary town.
2. — Flaxman had no authority to purchase an Angas' behalf, but it was arranged that the company should convey the whole 2,000 acres under certain conditions "which have been conformed to on my part."
3. — "I have sold in England," wrote Angas, "to several persons, in all about 1,500 to 1,700 acres at £4 per acre . . . and to me they look for delivery of these lands."
4. — McLaren looks at the lands again and finds them very inferior, and proposed to exchange for land elsewhere, nearer Adelaide, "but where there is no harbor, although this is what gives value to Boston Bay. He has done this without my knowledge and consent ; so I wait for information from Adelaide before I take further measures in the affair."
5. — It was said that neither Rowlands nor Flaxman had the right to give any opinion "Since I only possess the lands, and wait for the survey being made to convey to each buyer his land at Boston Bay and nowhere else."
6.— Forster was to collect information in the business "with such particulars of the [site] chosen by the company, as may enable me to lay the case before the buyers of land from me. You will be very cautious not to do anything that will commit me to a change of the situation— that point I can only decide in London with the consent of all interested."
7.—"Write Mr. William Smith, of Port Lincoln for information, ours was the second special survey of 4,000 acres taken at Port Lincoln ; the best situation and land appears to have been included in the first special survey. l shall have to look to the South Australian Company to put me in a right position with the persons to whom I have sold so large a part of the 2,000 acres ! . . . My inclination at present is to keep the South Australian Company to its arrangements at Boston Bay."

It is regretted that the details of the finalisation of the transaction between these two powerful bodies have not yet been discovered, nor how Angus settled up with his clients in England. Professor Perkins went to the trouble to show some of the potential profit. Angas paid £2,000 plus some expenses. He sold 1,500 to 1,700 acres at £4 per acre giving him £6,000 to £6,800, or a profit in less than 18 months of £4,000 to £4,800 from which had to be deducted a little for expenses, and in addition would have 300 to 500 acres left on hand. No wonder Angas was anxious that the deal should be carried out. Thus the South Australian Com-pany and G. F. Angus fades out of the picture.

So did G. F. Davenport and Imlay failed to lodge his claim, had all these carried on it would have made a wonderful difference to Port Lincoln. Davenport missed a wonderful bargain in failing to acquire the Tod Valley. Professor Perkins, concludes his review in the Journal of Agriculture of these two special surveys by saying : —"And yet, McLaren's jealous prognostication notwithstanding, Port Lincoln founded by the original proprietors of the Adelaide syndicate (association), did not fail entirely as he had anticipated, and perhaps hoped ; true, like the province as a whole it fell ultimately upon evil days which involved settlers in financial losses and mental suffering. Nevertheless many of them were able to weather the storm and the city from which so much was originally expected was able to survive. And even although today (1938)—some hundred years later— the original dreams have not yet been fulfilled, Port Lincoln with its 3,025 inhabitants, was the undisputed capital of the western half of the South Australian State; nor could it be doubted that with fuller and more efficient occupation of the back country it would continue its progressive rise to greatness."

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In the earlier part of this series I was uncertain when J. Morphett gave McLaren such an unfavorable opinion of the land at Port Lincoln, until Mr. G. C. Morphett drew my attention that I had overlooked the fact that in December, 1836 Morphett and Pullen had accompanied Light in his visit of inspection for the purpose of deciding where the capital should be. In the May 17, 1935 issue of this newspaper the history of that trip was narrated. Light says they landed at the south-east end of the port (probably to the west of Monument Hill) and walked southerly until they could see the ocean and then descended into the plains at the head of the gulf, where they found some fresh water near the spot marked by Flinders. Spalding Cove was investigated, but Boston Bay was apparently not entered. No landing was made on the northern side of Proper Bay ; Light being satisfied with a telescopic view of the country. So it was on the result of this hurried inspection that Morphett based his condemnation of the port and country. When Mr. G. C. Morphett unveiled the tablet at the head of Proper Bay on March 3, 1939, he was standing very near where his grandfather trod 102¼ years ago.

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I would like to thank Professor Perkins and Miss Mayo for permission to utilise material they have gathered, and Sister Barnard for the recovery of the Barnard papers and Mr. T. C Burrows who actually saved these papers, and finally to the proprietors of the 'Port Lincoln Times' for the publication of this series.