TRAGIC SANCTUARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23083, 8 January 1937, Page 5

TRAGIC SANCTUARY

RELICS OF EARLY DAYS Port Macquarie, the old-time penal settlement, lying about 100 miles north of Newcastle (writes "G. C." in the Sydney Morning Herald), is rich in relics of the early days of New South Wales. One building, the old church of St. Thomas, is particularly prominent. It is built of red brick in the severe Norman style, and in general appearance is much like the quaint old church of St. Luke, Liverpool. Four years after the foundation stone was laid by Lieutenant Carmac, acting commandant at the time, 1824, the church was opened for public worship The old-fashioned high-backed pews are still in use, and around the walls may be seen many tablets of historical interest, such as to the memory of Major William Kemp, Bth Regiment, and his son, William Kemp, who was drowned in the Macleay River; Major Henry Cummins, 28th Regiment, who discharged the duties of police magistrate at Newcastle, Maitland, and Port Macquarie, 1836-1864. The memorial round which most of the early romance of Port Macquarie is centred is that to Major Archibald Clunes Innes He was, indeed, a dashing officer The ruins may still be seen of the magnificent mansion which he buili himself on the shores of Lake Innes where he maintained a splendid retinue, and dispensed lavish hospitality with great pomp and ceremony. The' residence became a centre of social highlights, to be indelibly associated with the history of the town. At the altar end of the church aisle a stone slab can be seen underneath the pews, which marks the last resting place of Captain Rollands. who. when commandant of the port, earned a most unfortunate reputation for singularly ferocious treatment of the convicts. He knew no such thing as mercy or consideration of human feelings," physical or otherwise. Such hatred did he arouse amongst the convicts by his harsh conduct, and indeed, such disgust amongst the settlers, that when it became known that the tyrant had contracted a dangerous disease which might possibly prove fatal, many openly swore that his body would never be allowed to rest peacefully in its grave. This horrible determination soon reached the ears of the authorities, and as soon as the captain was dead, the remains were hurriedly buried beneath the floor of the church, where it was felt they would be safe from interference.