Explorations in Port Lincoln and District

In this new series of articles, Mr. Somerville deals in detail with the explorations between 1839 and 1841.

The system of special surveys had gripped the minds of settlers, hence an intensive search to find places suitable for making a claim, more particularly where a township could be located. On Eyre Peninsula we have already dealt with two such demands for a survey, one as a result of an examination, and the other in blind faith that the back country was as good as that described nearer Boston Bay. After the article, ' Birth of Port Lincoln,' was written, an account of another contemplated demand for the land adjacent to Boston Bay was found. 

Imlay Bros., were large holders of stock in other provinces. One of the partners, Dr. Imlay, arrived in Adelaide in their fine boat, the Lindsays, with a shipment of cattle, intending to make a claim for a special survey at Boston Bay, but on arrival in Adelaide found that a claim had just been lodged. Two trips by boat up the western shore of the Peninsula were made during 1839, and an extensive search of the southern end of the Peninsula and the western shore of Spencer's Gulf was undertaken by another party. 

In addition to these prospecting parties, the newly arrived settlers at Port Lincoln, justifiably, felt that the prosperity of the new town depended upon the utilisation of the land outback, so several expeditions by land were made into the surrounding country during the same year. An account of these trips will be given in this series of articles. In the next, the explorations by Eyre on Eyre Peninsula will be dealt with. 

Chronologically, Eyre's trips should be dealt with in this series, but historically the subject can be dealt with more satisfactorily separately. The approximate dates of the various journeys were: — 

Henty Bros., in the Sally Ann, October 1838, to April 1839 ; Capt. F. R. Lees, in the Nereus, March-April, 1839 ; Samuel Stephens, in the Nereus, March-April, 1839 ; Robert Tod and party, two trips on land, March, 1839 ; Charles Dutton and party, on land, March April, 1839 ; Robert Cock and J. H. Hughes, in the Victoria and on land, April-May, 1839 ; Edward John Eyre, on land (Baxter Range); May-June. 1839 ; Edward John Eyre, on land, Point Bell and Mount Arden, August and September, 1839 ; Samuel Stephens and John Hill, in the Rapid (Capt. Hart), September 1839 ; John Cannan, in the Ranger, September-November, 1839 ; Capt. Henry Cowell Hawson and party, on land, October 1839 ; Matthew Smith and party, on land, December. 1839 : Edward John Eyre, by land to Western Australia, 1840-1841. 

MYSTERIOUS RIVER 

In previous articles, the visits by the Henty family were noted. Still another trip by them was made toward the end of 1838, but very meagre details are available. The first issue of the 'Port Lincoln Herald' (April 10, 1839, printed by Robert Thomas in Adelaide), has the following paragraph which is the only record of the trip that has been discovered up to the present : — 

" We stop the press to announce the arrival of Messrs. Stephen and Edward Henty from Portland Bay, in the Sally Ann. Mr. Henty, who has been at Port Lincoln and in Spencer's Gulf for upward of six months, reports from personal observation that there is plenty of good land within 20 miles of Boston Bay, with sufficient timber for immediate available purposes. They also report that a navigable fresh water river has been discovered, extending from Coffin's Bay to within 15 miles of Boston Bay and having 9ft. of water on the bar." 

No copy of that number of the ' Port Lincoln Herald ' is available [but see http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252017404] , but fortunately the ' South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register' has preserved the paragraph for us. There is a little mystery attaching to the above extract. Under the heading ' Imports ' in the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (April 13, 1839), it is notified that the Sally Ann discharged 120 bags of potatoes, 30 bags of carrots, six bullocks and three passengers (Messrs. Edward and S. G. Henty and William Nugent). Did the writer of the paragraph get mixed up with the previous visit of Hentys to Eyre Peninsula, or had the boat come in by way of Port Lincoln from Portland ? Enquiries are being made in Victoria for further details. 

The large fresh water rivers are not recognisable ; most probably it was Kellidie Bay that was seen. Captain Lees, in the Nereus, left Holdfast Bay on March 5, 1839, and arrived in Coffin's Bay on the 11th of the same month, in company with the Lord Sidmouth, whaler (Capt. Macfarlane, late of the South Australian Company's service). 

An examination and survey of the harbor was made, and subsequently a chart was made and publicly sold. It was found that the inner harbor had two or three coves, and was perfectly safe from all winds. Flinders did not enter the inner harbor, and his chart only shows the gap leading thereto. Captain Lees entered one of these coves by the ship's whale boat, and a camp was made on the shore. 

LAND EXAMINED 

The land on the northern shore was found to be very stony, with a large quantity of sheoak. Here and there tolerable soil with a few gum trees was found. The party ascended a hill which was named Mount Prospect, from which an extensive view was obtained. The eastern extremity of Coffin's Bay was seen, with apparently a river running into it from the north east. The hill climbed would probably be that now known as Mount Dutton, if so then by priority of naming Prospect Hill should be reinstated. The distant creek seen would probably be salt creek running into Lake Wangary, thence into Kellidie Bay. 

The charterers of the boat decided that the land was unsuitable for their purpose, and resolved to sail northward. Who were the charterers is not revealed, but six months later Samuel Stephens, writing to Mr. John Morphett, and referring to a previous trip he had made in company with Capt. Lees, said that he was accompanied by Mr. McLaren to nearly Point Westall, so evidently John Morphett, acting for some company, and possibly David McLaren acting for the South Australian Company were the charterers. Mr. McLaren had lodged his claim for Boston Bay on March 2, and, doubtless recognising that there was not room for two special surveys there, decided to look elsewhere for another location on the Peninsula.

 On the northern trip, sailing about 1½ miles off shore, no openings were seen. From Point Drummond to Waldegrave's Island, the coast was seen to be steep and rocky, with a few sandy beaches, but every point of land had a reef running out into the sea. The ship was anchored at Waldegrave's Isle which was found to be well sheltered, except from the N. and N.W. The following day Point Weyland was reached. There had been no shore party between Coffin's Bay and this Point. 

On landing and walking to the top of the sandhills, the lagoon — as seen by Flinders — was found to be a large sheet of water running miles in a direction parallel to the coast. The entrance from the sea was found to be about a half a mile wide, with a reef running out from the south point on which the sea broke heavily, and a bed of rock almost in the fairway. This inlet was subsequently called Venus Bay, probably after the schooner Venus, which was thought to have been the first vessel to enter the bay, in December, 1849 — Rodney Cockburn suggests even at an earlier date than that. Owing to a heavy swell setting in from the south-east, and the wind dead on land, a hasty departure was necessary, and the ship was laid to all night near Cape Radstock. 

On approaching the shore next day, another large body of water, behind the coastal range, was discovered from the masthead, and the impression was that it was connected with the lagoon at Point Weyland, but in this we know that they erred. Many years afterwards this inlet was called Beard's Bay. 

NAMING OF BEARD'S BAY 

Rodney Cockburn says the bay was named after a man named Beard who was murdered by the natives. At the present time I cannot trace this murder, but personally I think Mr. D. R. Myer's theory is more probable. He said the bay was named after Adam Baird, who first attempted to settle at the North Block, but being unsuccessful there, went further north and resided east of Venus Bay. Hack's plan of his survey of 1857 shows the bay as Beard's Bay. A parliamentary return shows Bishop and Baird taking up a lease near Venus Bay in 1860. 

Capt. Lees tried his hand at geology, somewhat unsuccessfully according to recent ideas. He wrote : " It appears very probable the continual beating of the sea from the south, on this part of the bight, has broken through the coast range, and filled up the valley immediately behind, leaving a good many entrances, some of which, I have no doubt, are practicable." 

In substantiation of this opinion he states that places marked islands on Flinders's chart were now (1839) nothing but reefs and in other places, marked points of land were islands, and where he scarcely made a curve in the coastline, there now appeared a bay. It will be remembered that the mirage and haze was bad when Flinders charted the coast, and in addition he had to stand some distance out to sea, so it is not remarkable that in small detail a subsequent voyager would find minor discrepancies. 

From Cape Radstock, the Kerens went to Point Westall. Finding no opening there a course was steered for Adelaide, calling in at Hardwicke Bay, on the way. On leaving that harbor, the wind from the south was so strong that shelter was taken under Corny Point for two days. 

Boston Bay was then made for, where with a sly dig at Col. Light, the captain of the boat records that they arrived next day without having to "up courses, in top gallant sails, down jib and lower the top sails on the caps." Capt. Lees considered that there were plenty of harbors in the province, and that they required only a little enterprise by capitalists to be rendered useful, and suggested a special survey of the coast. Samuel Stephens, former manager of the South Australian Company, accompanied this boat, and sent in a report of the trip to John Morphett, but I have not been able to trace a copy of it. This trip was made immediately after Smith and Hawson, and the South Australian Company demanded the special surveys at Boston Bay. The Nereus would have been in the vicinity of Venus Bay when Tod, Winter and the others arrived at Boston Bay. It would appear that the charterers were not satisfied with the information gleaned on this trip, so another was undertaken about six months later.