Death of Charles Christian Dutton

In previous articles the name of Charles Christian Dutton frequently recurred. He spent five years in Sydney before coming to Adelaide, and then appears to have been a clerk in the Supreme Court. Afterwards he was sheriff from May, 1838, until January, 1839, resigning from that position shortly before the Port Lincoln district was opened up. He was coroner at Port Lincoln from September 25, 1839, to about November 25, 1840, when he was succeeded by B. Pratt Winter.

Among other work Dutton undertook attorneyship for Charles Smith. He was largely interested in the Port Lincoln Special Survey, being one of the original subscribers, and had one — shall we call it — share, which entitled him to 24 acres of land, of which three acres was in township blocks of half an acre each. He had subsequent transactions, and finally held water frontage No. 145 township blocks Nos. 272, 288, 293, 712, 988, Boston Island block No. 148 and country section No. 64.

Dutton was instrumental in expediting the exploration of the lower end of the Peninsula, for within two or three days of his arrival at Boston Bay, he led a party to Coffin's Bay, Marble Ranges and Tod Valley, passing Mount Gawler and thence back to Port Lincoln. In December of the same year he accompanied Matthew Smith in a trip as far as the Port Lincoln Downs, somewhere north of Pillaworta. By his death he left a widow, one son and two daughters. The widow afterwards married Mr. T. B. Hawson.

The son Charles William, at the age of 15 years, on the death of his mother, shouldered the responsibility of educating his two sisters. Charles William married Matilda Jane Swaffer when she was only 17 years of age. Some of the above personal information was obtained from Rodney Cockburn's book "Pastoral Pioneers." Cockburn said that C. C. Dutton formed "Pillarworta" station.

Mrs. Roy Bruce, of Prospect, a daughter of Charles William Dutton states that of the two daughters of Charles Christian Dutton, Julia married E. D. Swaffer, later pastoralist of Lipson Cove and a brother of Matilda Jane Swaffer mentioned above; and Emma married Charles Gall, later of Deniliquin, New South Wales. It was also mentioned that the Whites (probably George) were related to C. C. Dutton. In a memorial signed on October 4, 1842, there appears the signature of George White and George White jnr. In Dr. Harvey's return of arrivals and departures there appears the name of G. White arriving at Port Lincoln on October 25, 1842, in the Governor Gawler.

BLACKS GIVE TROUBLE

It has not been ascertained in the present search when Pillaworta was taken up, but it will be remembered that Mr. C. Driver, a visitor, accompanied Matthew Smith in December, 1839, as well as Dutton, and Driver must have been so thoroughly impressed with the potentiality of that district that he took up the land for his station. Almost invariably the station is spoken of as Dutton's station. E. J. Eyre is about the only one who refers to it as Driver's station, with Dutton as manager.

Charles Driver, the Government Resident on June 1, 1842 — that is, three, weeks before Dutton's departure — when writing to the Colonial Secretary for the information of the Governor stated that "three soldiers who were quartered at my station at Pillaworta ... "

Again in that letter, referring to the blacks' encampment, "various articles taken from my station on Thursday" were found therein, and after capturing a native, Driver wrote, " we returned to Pillerwerta." It will be noticed how in that letter he spells the name differently to how it is spelled now. Lieut. Hugonin in his reports of April and May, 1842, submitted to Mr. Driver, always referred to Pillaworta as "your station." In this article the various writers' ideas of ownership have been retained, leaving it to the reader to correct the term if necessary.

There is nothing to say what was the connection between Driver and Dutton, except Eyre's statement. In 1840 when E. J. Eyre, with his party, was on his way from Mount Arden to Port Lincoln, he stated that on October 1 they entered into a narrow track of good grassy country, which at five miles brought them to Mr. Driver's station. A Mr. Dutton was living at this place as Mr. Driver's manager, and he treated the exploring party hospitably. It was a cattle station, and abounded with milk and butter. In walking round the farm, Eyre saw that Dutton was ploughing some land in the valley for wheat. The soil appeared to be excellent, and the garden was looking promising. From Dutton, Eyre purchased the Timor pony for £25, as related in a previous article and that pony was the possible owner of the shoe now in the historical section of our museum.

OWNERSHIP OF STATION

In February, 1842, the natives became troublesome in the district, and Dutton arrested two of them about that time and towards the end of March. At the end of the latter month he was in Adelaide, having taken his family there from Port Lincoln. Nathaniel Hailes returned from his visit of inspection by the same boat. Dutton wrote a long letter to the "Register," on the native situation, wherein he recounted how he arrested Moorpa for setting fire to the fence at Pillaworta. As a result of these depredations it was decided to take the cattle back to Adelaide. Hailes said the cattle belonged to John Baker (subsequently Hon. John Baker). J. C. Hawker said that James Baker, a brother, had an interest in them, whereas J. F. Bennett, in his "Historical and Descriptive Account of South Australia," published in 1843, in giving a list of the largest cattle stations stated that Mr. Dutton of Port Lincoln, had 250 head.

John Hart and John Baker, writing to the Colonial Secretary, said they had an interest in the cattle. It will be remembered that Dutton returned to Port Lincoln just when Pillaworta had been raided by the blacks, and the soldier guard had beaten a rather unceremonious retreat to Port Lincoln. A riding party went straight out, going in one direction, with a foot contingent going in an-other. The movements of the two parties are somewhat uncertain and involved. Hugonin, McLean and the police chased the blacks and returned to Pillaworta, where Dutton's men were collecting the cattle. Hugonin and the police party returned to Port Lincoln, making a trip out again when Dutton was ready to depart. Mr. G. French Angas in his book "Savage Life, etc." published in 1847, wrote that in June, C. C. Dutton, with four assistants, left Port Lincoln with a herd of cattle, intending to drive them overland. Several settlers accompanied them the first day or two. Nathaniel Hailes, who was a member of that party, in his "Recollections" published in the "Register" 1876-1878 gave a lengthy account of the departure, from which the following is culled :—

Dutton was an old bushman and a dauntless man, and was quite prepared to attempt the "untried and eminently hazardous adventure." Hailes states that there had been one previous attempt in that direction by a man named Brown, on foot, and he was never after heard of.

LONG OVERLAND JOURNEY

In a memorial sent to His Excellency the Governor by the settlers at Port Lincoln, dated March 8, 1842, it was stated, "In the month of January last, a man named Brown left Port Lincoln to go into the bush in search of employment, and he has not since been heard of."

J. Browns must have been plentiful, for on the memorial dated October 4, 1842, forwarded to the Governor, there appears the signature of J. Brown — whether the one referred to above in the earlier memorial or another is not apparent. It was less than two years before Dutton's overland trip that Eyre had travelled from Mount Arden to Port Lincoln.

Leaving Port Lincoln, Dutton had as his companions, according to Hailes, an old New South Wales bush-man named Cox, a young man named Graham ("whose connections were people of respectability at the West End of London"), Brown (an old Adelaide policeman) and the other he thought was called Haldane. Both of the latter two men were active, powerful and middle-aged. James McLean said that a Sandy McDonald was among the party. This man was formerly overseer to E. B. Gleeson, and latterly in the foot police in Adelaide. There does not appear any way to reconcile these two statements. Hailes remarks on a peculiar coincidence, in that among those who lost their lives at this disastrous period, three bore the name of John Brown.

It was decided that a party of friends should accompany Dutton through the country of the Battara tribe, so Hailes, Lieut. Hugonin and two settlers of the district travelled with him for three days. The cattle had been collected at Pillaworta, "a small deserted station which had formerly been occupied by Mr Dutton," which place was reached by the escorting party the first night. Passing Brown's and Biddell's stations would detract from the pleasure of the trip and would make the prospect of the trip ahead very uncertain, more especially as Dutton and his party were ''miserably armed.''

McLean does not add to the brightness of the picture, for in his recollections published in 1902, commenting on Dutton's equipment, said, "It was a sorry equipment for such a long journey, only one horse, a team of six bullocks, some tea and sugar, no flour — only wheat — and a hand mill to grind it." So is it any wonder that Hailes "entertained gloomy foreboding as to the issue of his undertaking" — a journey to last six or seven weeks.

(Another instalment will appear next week.)