CAPTAIN ANDREW JAMIESON ELLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3097, 23 July 1913, Page 75

CAPTAIN ANDREW JAMIESON ELLES.

ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF SOUTHLAND. Mr T. W. Orr, of London, contributes an article to the Ardrossan and Saltcoat Heraid, on Captain A. J. Elies, a -worthy pioneer who is still remembered with kindly feelings by many of our early settlers. The article, which is accompanied by a photograph _of the captain, proceeds : Much may he revealed as to the character of a man by a faithful photograph. Through the kindness of Miss Sybilla Clementina Grant Elies, daughter of the captain, now residing at Richmond, Surrey, readers of the Herald are enabled to' study the jortiait of this famous son of Saltcoats. Instinctively do these lines of Longfellow suggest themselves upon a first glance of it— A mighty man i-i he, - With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands It is not long, however, before some deeper impression is produced—that here evidently is a man born to command and fitted to command (even as his father s portrait carried the same impression with it). But the portrait invites, almost compels, and certainly repays a more careful study. Here is a countenance that bespeaks benignity as well as strength of character ; a greatness, when occasion called for it, that made him great. We can picture Captain Elies, on board his over-populous barque, the Philip Laing, when wind and waves were high, taking some young child in his strong arms upon deck, and so relieving the distress and perplexity of a sick mother. Or, on those sorrowful days on board, when the bereaved parents saw their little dead babies committed to the deep, we can well believe him ready to weep with those that wept. Manifestly, too, this is a face indicative of deep thought, that has braved the elements in all seas, that has beheld there “the works of God,” and so has become filled with a profound reverence ; a countenance this that has also faced sorrows, not a few, and experienced sympathy and consolation. All this one may clearly discern in a face to which one feels strangely drawn, one that wins our admiration. Had Burns lived to know Captain Elies, who came to marry his brother Gilbert’s grand-daughter, how proudly would he have classed him, along with his own father, as An honest man, the noblest work of God. In so endeavouring to interpret the meaning of this portrait, the writer is glad to find himself provided with ample confirmation by the testimony of those who knew Captain Elies best . His brothers, who were able and excellent men, had a singularly high esteem and affection for their brave sailor brother, Andrew. His surviving nephew, who has distinguished himself and won high honours in another profession. Sir Edmund R. Elies, testifies, for himself and for his father, with much emphasis in this sense. It need hardly be added that his surviving daughter cherishes his memory with the warmest affection and admiration. But that which is very impressive in this connection is the fact, which Mr Robert Woodside, of Dairy, loves to recall, of ihe singular esteem which his uncle, Dr Robert Ramsay, ever cherished for his old comrade, with whom he sailed in the Philip Laing. From the day of that memorable dinner Which Mrs Ramsay, of Kilwinning, and her daughter, Mrs Woodside, prepared f><r Captain Elies prior to the sailing of the Philip Laing in November, 184?—Dr Robert Ramsay having been appointed ship’s surgeon—-the charm of their guest seems to have left its mark upon the hostesses so long as they lived; and it remains strong to this day in the heart of Mr Robert Woodside, though he was then only seven years of age. It ought to bo noted that when all arrangements with the pioneer emigrants were completed, tenders were invited for two vessels to convey them to Otago—one to sail from Greenock and the other from London —the Philip Laing being accepted as the former and the John Wycliffe as the latter. The record and the merits of the respective captains would have much weight in tho minds of the committee of selection, and the fact that Captain Elles’s vessel was selected for the larger portion of tho expedition is a strong testimony to the fine reputation which lie held regarding the my age of the Phi ip Laing as a man and as a commander. Such particulars as have been available have been recorded in the article upon the Rev Dr Thomas Burns. It may he here added that owing to adverse winds the ve’sscl had to put in for shelter to Milford Haven, where the passengers would enjoy a season of repose. The John Wycliffe, of 662 tons, had a similar experience. Sailing from Gravesend on November 24. 1847. she put in for shelter to Portsmouth. whence she sailed on December 14. with 97 passengers. A retired army officer, Captain Cargill, who had helped to organise the expedition, and who took an important part in the settlement of the pioneers, sailed in this vessel with his family, carrying with him materials for the construction of the manse. In recognition of his valuable services the chief citv of Southland was named after him, Invercargill. The John Wycliffe, being designed on finer lines than the Philip Laing. made a speedier voyage than her sister fillip with Bluff stem—93 davs from Portsmouth—arriving at Port Chalmers about three weeks in advance of her. Not long after the arrival at Dunedin. Captain Elies was married to Clementina, daughter of Dr Burns, an event which hears evidence of the high regard he had won in the eves of the bride’s parents, as well as in her own. De had still some voyaging to achieve in Australasian waters. ®p"d one voyage homo, accompanied by his

wife, a visit which ie remembered with delight by Ayrshire friends who survive. Southland, as its name signifies, may be regarded as the Devon and Cornwall of New Zealand, or, as its Maori name Murihiku signifies, “the last joint of the tail.” It was destined to he the scene of Captain EUes’s activities for 50 y-ears. Its chief seaport, named Bluff, was declared a port of entry on January- 19, 1856, and Captain Elies was appointed Collector of Customs. Invercargill and Bluff, though on different estuaries, have a similar relation to each other to that of Glasgow and Port Glasgow in the old days. As m the case of Dunedin and Port Chalmers, their beginnings w-ere small and apparently feeble. One aspect of the Bluff must have been a constant charm to the eye and heart of Captain Elies. Across the Foveaux Strait, at about the same distance as Arran from Saltcoats, is spread out the bold outline of Stewart Island, possessing features strikingly resembling those of Arrau, with Mount Aglem as a loftier Goatfell. That must have been some solace and recompense to him as he toiled in the service of his country- under conditions at the otitset the reverse of affluent. One who was .There at the time has drawn for us a sketch of the man and his surroundings in the infancy- of Southland’s chief seaport. “Captain Elies was magistrate, postmaster, harbour master, controller of Customs, and half a dozen offices all rolled into one, and he had to carrythen all out in a little “wattle and dab” building 10ft square—that was Invercargill’s first post office, Custom-house, and courthouse, each having the honour • f about 2ft or sft square. The captain was a great man for the Government of the day, and he gathered in the taxes and rates first, and discussed disputes afterwards. The discussions were one-sided, however, and, whether worsted in argument or not, Captain Elies invariably stuck to the money- on behalf of the Government. It took Invercargill and the Bluff but a short time to find out that a newspaper was a sine qua non to the existence, at least to the healthy existence, of a city and seaport of the future. That essential was quickly supplied, and some time ago was celebrated its jubilee—that of the Southland Daily News. For the sake of file historian of the future, it placed ’on record some aspects of the genesis of Southland as remembered by surviving “Old Identities.” Here is one description by a “fifty-niner” now aged 84, Mr Robert Millar :—“I arrived in Invercargill in company- with a partner, Willie Bathgate, in March, 1859. Willie and I worked together as sawyers for two years, at the end of which time he went away to Auckland. The first of the street surveys had just been commenced by Alex. Garvey when we arrived. Invercargill was not very pretentious in ’59, unless you consider the area of bush which comprised the most of it. Captain Elies was magistrate, postmaster, harbour master, etc. . . . Then there was Thomas Middleton, still hale and hearty at 96. He arrived here in 1858 some months before me, and had a cottage in tl'e bush just about where Mr A. Weir’s house is, in Elies road, to-day.” There were troubles and vicissitudes arising from the gold rushes, which must have required all the commanding gifts and resources of Captain Elies to encoun- ( r and regulate. He must have been at times disposed to wish he were safe back on board the Philip Laing—the tumult of the people being more difficult to face than the roar of tiie waves and the tempest. But he proved himself equal to all the exigencies of his time. Here is a description of things as they existed at the time of Gabriel’s Gullv rush and after: “About 1862 Invercargill had a population of fully 10,000, and most of the peopleoccupied tents and whares along the North road towards the Waihopai. Th ere were five sandhills there, and the canvas town was a sight worth seeing. Then the failing away of the diggings, eight or nine years later, caused a gradual, but ever more apparent, depression to set in, and tlie population decreased to as low as 3000 to 4000. Dozens of wooden houses and whares, quite tenantless, were pulled down and used for firewood.” One phase of the City of Invercargill in the making is vividly recalled by another old identity. It makes one desire that Captain Elies had added the surveyorship of roads and bridges to his numerous other offices. ’’lnvercargill boasted two streets in those days, and that bothered newcomers quite a lot. The maps of Invercargill showed a fine township, with numerous well-laid streets, and then the newcomer discovered only two, and reckoned that he must have been caught ‘green.’ All the map streets, bar Tay and Dee streets, were solid bush. These two certainly were streets —of a sort. Wide stretches of mud would have been a better term for them, and when they were in that state one side did seem an awful distance away from the other, and it took much time and many trials and tribulations to accomplish the trip. Of course, I am speaking of wet days—chiefly. They were nearly as had as Manse street in Dunedin, where I once saw a horse up to its neck in mud, and just about given up for lost. Why, that was nothing to some of the stories that used to fly about in Invercargill. A waggon up to its axles in mud would raise no curiosity whatever, and it was only when a waggon was reported te have disappeared that residents pricked up their oars and moved along—to lend a hand.” The City of Invercargill is now the centre where five railways meet, giving excellent communication with all the lending towns of Southland, Otago, end Canterbury. In the old days the few miles that existed provided very limited accommodation —very slow and vorv expensive. “The railwavs were costly affairs both to construct and to travel in. Tho Invercargill to Bluff, built in two sections, was the first “main” line, and then came the

Mokonoko branch line. This was a great railway, and the fare was something like 12s return. It can therefore be imagined that travelling was something of a luxury in those days; and what the good housewives of Invercargill would say to-day if the Is 6d to 2s 6d fare to Bluff was suddenly transformed into the original one of 12s, I will not venture to hazard,” iA graphic and characteristic reminiscence of Captain Elies must not be omitted: —“The man in Invercargill for whom Mr Moffett had more admiration than for anyone else was Captain Elies, who held so many positions —Customs "officer, postmaster', church .deacon, and others —that it- was a marvel how he ever carried out the multifarious duties which were foisted upon him. He was a splendid man of the bluff sea school. A hearty old salt one day, he would rage and call a man anything the next; but he was always admired, and his angry moments were never taken seriously. Many a good story- is told of the old sea captain, and none more so probably than those in connection with Captain Elles's deaconship at First Church. Mr Moffett told one that has previously escaped publicity. The kirk pulpit was occupied by the late Rev. A. H. Stobo, whose manse was away in the bush—on the other side of where the Water Tower is now. Mr Stobo had arranged with the verger, old ‘ Wally ’ Stesle.. never to ring the kirk bell until he (Mr Stobo) bad been able to reach the kirk. One morning Mr Stobo was a little late, and Captain Elies was striding about and wondering why the bell had not commenced ringing. He hunted out ‘Wally,’ who had been dreading the inevitable interview, and peremptorily told him he must go at once and ring the bell. ‘Oh, but please, kind Captain Elies, Mr Stobo told me not to ring the bell until he came,’ said poor ‘Wally.’ ‘Ring it, you !’ (a term quite other than complimentary) roared the seaman-deacon to the terror-stricken verger, and ring it he did. Mr Stobo arrived post haste in a bath of perspiration, and took his earliest opportunity of remonstrating with Wally ’ for his disobedience of orders. ‘ Oh, but, Mr Stobo, you ought to have heard the dreadful thing the captain said to me. I had to ring the hell.’ Mr Stobo knew Captain Elles’s ways, and there was peace !” Concerning this incident, Miss Elies writes:—“Reading it in present-day light, it may sound a little outspoken and bluff. But those who knew my father understood and appreciated his seeming eccentricities,” and, we may add. liked the captain all the more on their account. It remains to be recorded that Captain Elies continued to live and labour for Southland for 30 years. He died at Invercargill, September 4, 1886; his wife, Clementina Burns, having died there in 1062, Their children were—James, now residing in Sydney, N.S.W. ; Gilbert Burns, who died in Oporto. 1891; Malcolm Jamieson, who died in Queensland, 1888; Sybilla Clementina Grant, now residing at Pdchmend, Surrey. Southland, in climate and configuration and soil, has no small affinity to Ayrshire, pastoral and agricultural, and has become an attractive field for Ayrshire settlers. Fenwick has sent forth a goodly comoany of them—Dickies, Muirs, Craigs. Dunlops, Gaits, and others —who do not forget the Old Land in the midst of their activities in the new. The western back-bone of Southland contains Alpine and Norwegian scenery, the wonder and admiration of the world, since the discovery and close survey of some of its wonderful sounds by Captain Cook —of whom Captain Elies was no unworthy successor.