FOUNDING THE PROVINCES

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 136, 11 June 1927, Page 25

FOUNDING THE PROVINCES

the settlement of otago VOYAGES OF THE FIRST EMIGRANT SHIPS. HOCKEN'S INTERESTING STORY.

(By the late SIR HENRY BRETT.)

The best account of the ships that I have come across is to be found in Hoc-ken's book, "The Early History of New Zealand," in which, there is much valuable information for those who like delving into the past and tracing the steps by which the colony grew up. He mention? at the outset that Mr. John Sands, of Greenock, whe owned the John Wickliffe, got £2000 for the charter, and Messrs. Laing and Bidley, of Liverpool, who owned the Philip Laing, got something over £ISOO. Passage money varied from 35 guineas to 60 guineas for the cabin, 20 guineas for the fore-cabin, and 16 guineas for the steerage, or first, second, and third, as we would say nowadays. . "The John Wickliffe," says Hocken, "was the storeship of the expedition, and was heavily laden with a varied supply of goods suited to the requirements of a young community beginning housekeeping in a strange land, and were for sale a little beyond cost price. There were thousands of bricks and slates, all the appurtances of the mechanical trades for blacksmiths, wheelwrights, plumbers, > painters; there were wheelbarrows, spades, pickaxes, guns, muskets; " and there were tons of provisions of all kinds. The sum of £500 was placed on board, £100 being in gold, £350 in silver, and £50 worth of fourpenny pieces. The commander was Bartholomew Daly, an Irishman, and a first-rate sailor, long engaged in the East India trade. The surgeon-superintendent was Dr. Henry Manning, of London, who remained in the colony and died at Warepa, near Balclutha, in 1886. There were 97 emigrants, headed by Captain William Cargill, the leader. But the Philip Laing carried the bulk of the emigrants, of whom there were 2.47 souls, placed under the charge of the Eev. Thomas Burns, the Aaron of the settlement. Her commander was Captain A. J. Elles, who afterwards married Clementina, Mr. Burns' eldest daughter, and who died in Inver- \ caigill in 1887. Dr. Robert Eamsay, who returned to Scotland, was surgeon-superintendent. Mr. Burns was requested by the company to act as its agent and representative on board ship, and to exercise the same powers in case he should land first in settlement. UNLUCKY STAET. - t "After various delays everything was ready for sea. On November 22,1847, Captain Cargill received Kis formal!appointment and power of attorney as the,company's resident agent. His, salary was £500 per annum, and he aid his family had a free passage provided. On the 24th the John Wickliffe sailed from ' and this was the signal for fresh disaster. It did seem, as the pions Mr. Burns had long before surmised, that the devil himself exercised a baneful influence on the scheme, which he was determined yet ta thwart. Heavy weather raged round the British Coast, and for three weeks the vessel was buffeted about $he English Channel; she commenced to leak, which necessitated constant pumping. "At length, with opened seams and the cabin afloat, she dropped anchor at Portsmouth, there to effect necessary repairs. Leaving again on the 16th inst. amidst boisterous weather and heavy seas, she narrowly escaped collision with a large Homeward-bound the two vessels being within a few .yards of each other. Thus commenced a voyage undertaken, as one of the Glasgow resolutions put it, 'to secure the settlers a summer voyage in southern latitudes/ With the exception of a narrow escape from wreck on the Scilly Islands, and then on Kerguelen's Island, all further mischance ceased. , , "The Equator was crossed on January 15, the thirty-second day out, and on March 22, 1848, the ship within Taiaroa Heads, moving up to Port Chalmers the following day. ' , • "There were twenty-four persons in the cabin, thirteen adults and eleven children—Captain Cargill, his wife and five children; the Eev. T. D. Nicolson, a Presbyterian minister, who, witlr his wife and three children, was proceeding to Nelson ;'Mr. Garrick, a solicitor, his wife, governess, and three children; Mr. W. H. Cutten, who afterwards married Miss Cargill and later resided at Anderson's Bay; and Mr. Julius Jeffreys, long a well-known settler. The remaining cabin passengers were destined for other parts of New Zealand. In the fore-cabin and steerage were 72 passengers, mostly English. • The religious services were conducted by Mr. Nicolson, A small school was" established with Mr. Henry Monson as master and Miss Westland as matron, who received for their services gratuities of £10 and £5 respectively. The late Mr. William Mosley, of Inch Clutha, was constable; his duties were to preserve order and look after the lights, for which he received "a gratuity of 2/6 per week. A SCOTCH PAEEWELL. "But most Interest centred round the Philip Laing, the representative vessel of the expedition, with her 247 Scotch passengers. She weighed anchor at Greenock on November 27, 1847, but like her sister ship, encountered the same wild weather, which compelled her to take shelter first in Lamlash Bay, and then in Milf ord Haven, from which harbour of refuge she did not finally sail until December 20. Prior to her departure an interesting ceremony took place. In the early days of New Zealand emigration it was not an unusual custom to speed a departing emigrant vessel by means of some function—a breakfast, ball, fete, or religious service. Probably the last of the send-offs was in 1850, when the 'Canterbury Pilgrims' sailed. On that occasion there was a large public breakfast, followed by a ball on board one of the vessels. The sober Scotch chose no such way to bid farewell. When nearly ready for sea a large p;arty assembled on the vessel. A portion of the appropriate 72nd Psalm "Was read, followed by singing and a prayer. The hymn chosen was the 100 th in the Presbyterian collection, composed by Dr. Doddridge, 'O God of Bethel by whose hand, Thy children all were led.'

"There were twelve passengers in the cabin, the Eev. T. Burns, s °n, and five daughters; Mr.,Blackie, the schoolmaster; Mr. and Mrs. Carnegie, of Edinburgh'; and Mr. Donaldson. The remainder of the passengers were-in the steerage, where most complete arrangements had been made. Ninety-three were children under fourteen years of age. The regulations were admirable, but opartan in their strictness, and not such certainly as would be complied with to-day. The* people rose at 6.30 and by 7.30 were all ° n T^ere was no breakfast until all the berths had been scrubbed out and cleansed. Twice a day, at 10.30 and 7.30, there was religious service, with one additional on Sunday. At 11 o'clock school commenced, and again at 4, conducted by Mr. Blackie, who was assisted by a few of the better-educated passengers. Dinner was served at 2, and tea at 5.30.

. discipline was rigorous, and faithfully enforced. One persistently guilty youth was condemned to have his head shaved, a sentence which was commuted at the earnest request of the parents o c ose-cropping of his hair. Another criminal was imprisoned in tne coal-hole for several hours. The enjoyments consisted principa y in singing national and in practising church psalniodv. ine voyage, after the first bitter experiences, was on the whole an agreeable one. Otago Harbour was entered on April 15. 24 davs after the arrival of the John Wickliffc. and 140 after the first start irom Greenock.

THE AERIVAL. re turn to the John Wickliffe: She made land off Stewart sland, and from this to Taiaroa Head her course was to S u T ?\ Molyneux Harbour two guns were fired to attract anv whaleboat happening to be thereabout. There was no reply, and after waiting some time Captain Daly cautiously pursued his wav through these unknown seas, with but little better'chart than that of Lapain Cook. He anxiously scanned every point to find out the enhance to the Heads. Guns were fired agaiu, vessel lav-to, and soon to the intense relief of all two little boats shot out from the steep bluff. One contained Mr. Kettle and a Maori crew; the other the pilot, Eichard Driver, and his crew, also Maoris.

As previously stated, the anchor was not dropped within the Heads until the following morning, the 22nd. During the unavoidable delay the Maoris proved most acceptable visitors and made iriends with all on board. A little incident raised them greatly in estimation. The waters were teeming with barracouta, and several passengers who had brought out the most approved tackle to fish with much patience but no success. After these operations for some time with good-humoured contempt, the°Maoris split up an old cask stave in pieces, which they armed with a flux string, hook, and bit of red rag, and soon caught a boat load. Driver, the pilot, died at Purakanui in 1897, aged 85. He enjoved the reputation of spinning the toughest of tough yarns, and on this occasion he was amply able to supply his listeners with manv »ueh indigestible morsels. Born at Bristol in 1812, he went to sea as a bnv tr tJm G( > v emor Beady, a vessel which carried convicts to Hobart Town, and soldiers to Sydney. Thence he went to America, and after a due amount of whaling and adventure found himself about 1838 in New Zealand. The adventurous aspect of his lii'e ceased in 1847, upon receiving from Governor Grev the respectable appointment of pilot to the Otago settlement. "Most of the young dhd unencumbered men left the old vessrl without delay, and with stout hearts and heavy knapsacks made their ■toilsome way to Dunedin through the surveyors' track. The weather was serene and warm for a time, so that the taste of their new life was all that could be depicted by a Defoe. Captain Cargill and his friends came up by boat and pitched their tents on the beach line. Captain CargiU's tent was a very conspicuous affair, givin* life to tjie beach, its: bell shape and scarlet bindings marking him out as leader of the camp.. The women and children remained on hoard for some w-eeks, and were then pulled up to Dunedin with their belongings by boat-loads, and there they entered the shelters prepared for them by their hiale relatives.

While tnls was proceeding word was received that the Philip Laing had arrived at Port Chalmers. She was boarded hv Pilot Driveiy whose boat, manned by a fine native crew, was the admiration of all, as it swiftly pulled alongside the weather-beaten vessel \ thousand hurrahs rent the air, and with sails again bellying in the breezy the Philip Laing sailed swiftly to her anchorage. All were m a state■ of bustle and excitement, each chattering to his neHiWr and struck with the magnificent amphitheatre of wooded hills around.

GETTING ASHORE. "Barely had the grating sound of the chains and heavy sph:sh > r «> D r Chor an p ounc ; e d that the voyage was over, before a loud cry of Man overboard'' rang out. In tho moment of this supren e confusion a little child had fallen from its mother's arm-. Without a moment s delay Mr. Blackie, the schoolmaster, sprang over the side and rescued the little one from its imminent peril,-for the tide was running fast. Safely on deck with his charge, the air was jgain rent with a thousand hurrahs. Soon Captain Cargill was on board and welcomed his old friend, Mr: Burns, who for so manv hitter years had been so staunch a henchman.

"Captain Cargill now addressed the assembled people Fir«t thanking God for His mercies vouchsafed, and then congratulating themon their safe arrival, he proceeded to give them some homely! plain advice as to their future conduct. He concluded by savinthat he had fixed the rate of wages for public works at 3/ a dav for labourers and 5/ for craftsmen.

"There was constant boat communication between the vessels and the town, and it'was some weeks before the last of the women and children and the stores were landed. The shelters, or barracks as they were called were situated along the beach, which extended from the junction of High and Rattray Streets to Dowling Street. They were long and low, and constructed of native grass rushes flax and small timber. That built by the Scotch emigrants w,s <;<) eet m length and was entered by a door at one end. The sitvde girls occupied the upper part, the married folks the middle and tlie single men the lower part. •i. Slg n l l i st have been as unique as it was busy and e l e f °' T he Maoris helped their new comrades with all the rL ZnJ JY**' ™ deed ' thelr assistan< - e «» invaluable tihe erection of these primitive dwellings. The form* tables and other fittings brought from the ships, completed the furniture' th?c"tfin? S Ali n tr tSl 'T 1 being abunflant an d to be had for the cutting. AH were active, happy/and exhilarated under the new Th 8kl ? Z hich P receded the stormy and rainv weather. The landing of the cargo was much mismanaged and Xtr tWO I h S! e months - There no recogS leader L wwf eSS k aD K t . h \ cases ' Crates > and were dra-ed up the bank from the boats by main strength " P ™ owever ', the weather changed.'and the winter came in cold and disagreeable and almost incessant rain, still the people bore up with wonderful cheerfulness P P * (To be Continued.)