McLaren Outwitted for Special Survey

As more or less anticipated by McLaren, Flaxman arrived home first, about 11 a.m., while he (McLaren) got in about 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. The scheme arranged b tween them came, practically, to nought, for on their arrival they found that their would be claim had been "jumped."The Port Lincoln Special Survey Association (Smith and Hawson, trustees) had already lodged a claim, using a "vague description" (from the centre of Boston Bay in Port Lincoln, in any direction) such as McLaren had previously contemplated and thought that no one else would attempt to do. Continuing the story as told by Prof. Perkins: —

'' 'You may imagine our mortification' wrote McLaren to the unsympathetic Wheeler, 'on learning that during our absence, and because it became known that I had gone thither, a company had been got up' based 'upon the most vague recollections of Captain Hawson, senior, who had' once 'put into Boston Bay for cargo' and who 'on the strength of it' had secured first choice 'for the Adelaide company. The following descriptions of the boundaries 'of the special survey were received by Mr. G. M. Stephen, and in the absence of the Governor accepted and acknowledged as suffi cient' — i.e., 'from the centre of Boston Bay 15,000 acres in any direction!' The actual wording of the claim in the 'Gazette' of March 2, 1839, was 'From the centre of Boston Bay in Port Lincoln in any direction.' "

As remarked above we cannot read what was in McLaren's mind at the various periods of time, but it will be recollected that he himself actually considered lodging a claim on behalf of the South Australian Company without an inspection, giving a most vague description but to contemplate that any other person should be guilty of such an action and that he should be permitted to do so was unthinkable and unpardonable and more particularly, that the Acting Commissioner, in the absence of the Governor, should receive such a flagrant description. It was quite permissible for the manager of the omnipotent company with its capital at hundreds of thousands of pounds to "toy" with the idea even if he did not have the courage to carry it out, but for a small company that could not even raise the necessary £4,000 was preposterous in the opinion of McLaren. To continue the professor's narration : —

"In the meantime it must not be imagined that a man of McLaren's aggressive temperament would think it consonant with his dignity meekly to accept defeat with out some prior show of counter attack upon his triumphant adversaries. And in Edward Stephens, he had in Adelaide, presiding over the company's bank, an able lieutenant temperally after his own heart, ever ready to second, and if need were to anticipate his chief's wellknown business tactics. Accordingly in the present instance, Flaxman, who, as had already been stated, was the first to have reached Adelaide, and the first therefore to have learnt the dismal news, must have made early contact with Edward Stephens, for they two proceeded that morning to Government House, and loudly protested against the alleged illegality of the acceptance by the Acting Commissioner (G. M. Stephen) of a special survey defined loosely and so incongruously as, '15,000 acres from the centre of Boston Bay in any direction.' Moreover, the protest was supplemented by a pressing request that others desirous of claiming a special survey in the same district, might be allowed to do forthwith on the basis of 'boundaries move in accordance with the regulations of the Commissioner— whatever these might have happened to be.' "

It might be mentioned again that anyone could call upon the resident Commissioner to direct the survey of any compact district of an extent not exceeding 15,000 acres, and within 14 days after the publication of such survey at the land office select his 4,000 acres from any part of such district before any other applicant. Previously I thought that the Governor in his dual capacity as Governor and resident Commissioner would have a leaning towards the S.A. Company, as their financial responsibility in the colony was so great, the professor apparently did not think so for he continues :—

"At this stage in the comedy, we might well imagine shrewd, kindly Governor Gawler reviewing in his mind with some astonishment the recent exploits of David McLaren— his attempt to oust Dutton from priority of claim at Mount Bar ker—his attempt to secure sole possession of the township of Glenelg — his unfortunately successful raid upon Port Adelaide — and now his determination to oust an Adelaide syndicate (as the professor distinguishes the Port Lincoln Special Survey Association from the South Australian Company — J.D.S.) from Port Lincoln — surely such a one would find legal grounds for priority of claim in the moon, should one demented have expressed a desire to secure a special survey thereon. Actually however, Governor Gawler appeared to agree that the definition of the boundaries of the special survey claimed by the Adelaide syndicate, was unusually and unnecessarily vague ; but he demurred to the suggestion that on such an account they had forfeited their claim to priority of choice in the Port Lincoln district. It appear ed to him that all that was needed was that the wording of the claim should be so amended, as to enable others roughly to determine where the syndicate's survey began and where it ended ; and accordingly, Governor Gawler called upon the members to amend their claim upon these lines not later than 5 o'clock of that afternoon — Saturday, March 2, 1839 (that is, the day the Port Lincoln Special Survey Association's claim was advertised in the Gazette — J.D.S.) "

"In the subsequent interval it was a very much dejected McLaren who turned up on the new scene of action and. subsequently reported to London that 'the other party were with the Governor at least half an hour, when met for the purpose of declaring their boundaries and, instead of having even then confined them to the regulations of the Commissioners, they described their boundaries as being from the centre of Boston Bay in Port Lincoln extending generally to the southward. Nor was this all, on our enquiring if we could then secure the land to the northward of the centre of Boston Bay, the Governor told us we could not — that the other party might go a mile or two to the northwards of the centre of the bay, but would have this survey generally to the southwards.' McLaren asserted, too, on the information of one who claimed to have been present when the syndicate endeavored to define the boundaries of its special survey, that members 'were quite at a loss, know ing nothing distinctly of the matter, and that the Governor' had 'helped them with that finally adopted vague definition ; indeed' had 'suggested it, and then had 'subsequently 'felt himself bound to award to them all the advantages that could be made to comport with that vagueness. Considering my communications to you confidentially I add that I am sorry to say his absolutism is in my opinion unchanged.' "

The remarks of McLaren's were written 25/1/1840 when he was trying to justify his actions to his London Board. The vagueness referred to by McLaren was very real and it was a full 12 months before the matter was finalised. When writing previously on the subject of the Port Lincoln special survey I was faced with this difficulty of fixing the northern boundary of the association's claim, so I am pleased now that the matter has been cleared up. The unravelling of the "vagueness" will be dealt with in this series.

The professor now reverts to McLaren's letter of 9/4/1839 and continues : —

"And then more in sorrow than in anger (McLaren) added 'I pass in the meantime without any comment this conduct of the Governor so different from that which I experienced as to the Mount Barker district. We declared on the 4th March for the second survey there' — i.e., at Port Lincoln — 'from the centre of Boston Bay extending generally to the northward and westward, and so on. From the circumstances of the case, and the importance of Mr. Flaxman having it in his power to sell and grant titles, we applied to have the survey in my name as a private individual ; but the money having been paid in the name of the South Australian Company, Mr. Osmond Gilles' — the Colonial Treasurer —'refused to concur in that arrangement, availing himself of his official influence to gratify his personal spleen, spleen occasioned chiefly, I believe, because of my claiming Glenelg.' "

McLaren seeing that he had lost the pick of the land at Port Lincoln, decided to make another trip to Eyre Peninsula, to investigate, more particularly, the west coast thereof. Coffins Bay had been well spoken and might vie with Port Lincoln. The 'Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser' of April 14, 1810, reported that "Information had been received of a fine harbor equal to that of Port Jackson recently discovered by the Endeavor people about 70 miles north-west of Kangaroo Island, on the western coast of New Holland ; . . . The discovery was made in consequence of the people being obliged to leave the islands on which they were stationed to procure water from the main(land), and unexpectedly falling within headlands they entered a distance of about 15 miles up before they found the inner harbor or cove above described."

It was recently conjectured that this referred to Port Lincoln, but I would not be at all surprised if it did not refer to Coffins Bay, which had been discovered just eight years previously by Flinders and who did not explore the inner harbor. When the railway scheme for the peninsula was being considered, Coffins Bay was one of the ports contemplated as a seaboard terminal. So it is not wondered at that McLaren 60 years previously, when boats were so much smaller and the productiveness of the peninsula unknown, should have cast longing eyes on that bay.

McLaren in the Nereus left Adelaide on March 5, 1839, and had Samuel Stephens as a colleague and Lees as captain of the boat. Details of this trip have been pr viously recounted, but at that time it was not known what had led McLaren to make such an investigation. From Captain Lee's report it would appear that he considered he had discovered the inner harbor, but if my assumption above is correct he was 29 years too late to be the first to enter. McLaren's report gives very little further detail of the trip.