Captain Watson and his Captain Cook Statues
While researching the early captains and shipbuilders of Sydney and Pittwater, a great new book published by the National Library of Australia arrived, Sailing with Cook: Inside the Private Journal of James Burney RN by Suzanne Rickard - Pittwater Online News has donated this work, along with the other wonderful new books the National Library of Australia sends us to let you know about to Avalon Beach Community Library, so you can have look at this work and the others there: a List of these runs under 'Extra's.
This week we'd like to share a little on a remarkable man who had community spirit in abundance.
Captain Thomas Watson, of Watson's Bay, raised the first tribute to Capatin Cook at Liverpool and the fist statue in Australia to Captain James Cook at Randwick - and ensured the placement of Hyde Park's Monument to Captain Cook just months before he passed away due to an association with the Captain's wife, a lady who had helped him 'go to sea'. This is a great example of how kindnesses are remembered as Captain Watson not only paid for the first statue out of his own pocket, he went on to form a committee to raise a similar tribute in Hyde Park, Sydney.
Thomas Watson was born in Deptford in 1795. Deptford was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first Royal Navy Dockyard. He married Hannah Hostage on Christmas Eve 1818 in St Lukes Church, Old Calton, Kent. He arrived in Sydney in 1821 aboard the brig Mercury. In February 1822 he was appointed Superintendent of Macquarie Light House and by 1826 had applied for and won the position of Harbour Pilot of Port Jackson. He acquired and sold land at Watson's Bay and The Rocks.
In 1838 a restlessness or entrepreneurship is followed and he acquires the Government ship 'Isabella' of 123 tons in July, has her refitted and renamed as the 'Essington' and by September she leaves Sydney Harbour, with Watson as Owner/Master carrying stores for Sir Gordon Bremen's expedition to form the settlement of Port Essington in Northern Australia, an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remote series of ruins.
On his way home he stops by an island now known by another name to rescue a once young man and receives commendations for his action:
CAPTAIN THOMAS WATSON, HARBOURMASTER, AND THE BOY FORBES.
'We have enjoyed the pleasure of inspecting the honorary silver medal which has been voted by the Subscribers to Lloyds' to Captain Watson, late of the schooner Essington, and now Harbour Master of Sydney, for his humane and perilous exertions in rescuing from the Savages of Timor Laut the Boy Forbes, after a captivity of sixteen years. The Medal is designed and executed by 'William Wyon, -Esq.,.R. A., and does infinite honor to the taste and ability of that artist. The subject is taken from the 'Odyssey’, where Ulysses after various adventures during-his return to his native Ithaca, subsequent to the fall of Troy, is described as being rescued from the perils of a storm by Leucotboe; -' A mortal once. But now an azure sister of the main.'
The words adapted by Lceuothoe to the shipwrecked hero represent the action of the obverse side of the medal-:'This heavenly scarf beneath thy bossom hind, And live ; give all thy terrors to the wind.' The motto on the figures represented, being the words Lcucothoe, navfrago succwrit. The reverse is taken from a medal of Augustus, and represents a crown of oak, being the reward given by the Romans to him who saved the 'life of a citizen ;and within is inscribed the the motto, obcivisservaios, derived from the same authority. Around the outer edge of the medal is the inscription 'Mr. Thomas Watson, ' Master of the schooner Essington, of Sydney, New South Wales, 29th September, 1841.' .-
This elegant specimen of art forms an exceedingly appropriate memorial of the humane exertions which it is intended to commemorate. It shows also that generous and manly actions, (and few better deserve the name than the one on account of which this honorary medal was bestowed) in whatever distant quarter of the world they may be performed, never fail to excite the admiration and sympathy of those who are the best able to judge of the merits of such actions,and whose praise it is so desirable to obtain. CAPTAIN THOMAS WATSON, HARBOUR MASTER, AND THE BOY FORBES. (1842, September 21). The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37116666
Captain Thomas Watson (1795-1879): Pair of photographs, one of Captain Thomas Watson, Harbour Master of Sydney, other of his wife Hannah (taken from an oil painting), both with highlights hand-painted in gold, framed & glazed, each overall 30 x 35 cm. Captain Watson is wearing his 1841 medal for rescuing the boy Forbes from the Savages of Timor. Also included is a book 'Expository Discourses on the Book of Genesis' by Fuller [London, 1836], believed to be ex Hannah Watson - from listing on Antiques reporter website
CAPTAIN WATSON, OF WATSON'S' BAY.
The portrait in the last issue of Sydney Punch, over the inscription of ' People We Know,' is that of Captain Watson, of Watson's Bay. in relation to the following particulars of this gallant sailor, given by our facetious contemporary, we remark that when a boy he was very familiar with the widow of the renowned Captain Cook, and was much befriended by her, among many acts of kindness towards him being the assorting and the packing up of his outfit when at a very early age, he first went to sea. Nor was her kindness unappreciated or forgotten by their recipient, who throughout his long-life has retained and manifested the deepest regard for her memory and that of her illustrious husband.
Having settled down in this colony in the vicinity of the bay of Port Jackson since named after him, Captain Watson persevered until he succeeded in initiating and organising the movement that after so long a time has resulted in the erection of a grand statue in memory of the distinguished husband of the friend of his childhood and youth. Finding in the meanwhile, however, that the movement was flagging, and that there was no certainty as to a successful consummation of the same, Captain Watson had a very handsome statue of the great circumnavigator prepared, at his own private cost, and erected near his residence, one of the last public acts performed in this colony by the late lamented Commodore Goodenough being the unveiling of the same.
Right: Captain Thomas Watson, sea captain and surveyor, ca. 1865-1870 / photographer C. Drinkwater. Image No.: a4460001, courtesy State Library of NSW
The gallant captain happily lived, however, to realise the desire of his heart in the erection by the public of this colony of a noble statue in honor of the renowned Captain Cook, and among the tens of thousands who witnessed the imposing ceremony at the unveiling of that statue in Hyde Park, none could have rejoiced with such intense earnestness as he did. In attempting to walk from the entrance office on the occasion - .(bearing the medal referred to in the following); the aged veteran's strength failed him and with the assistance of friends he had to be led to a' -seat. It was with some difficulty, even with support on either side, that he eventually succeeded in reaching the front of the statue and the platform from which his, Excellency the Governor was to deliver his address. On his Excellency's arrival, Captain Watson was formally introduced to him by the Secretary and other members of the Statue Committee, and this having been done, Sir Hercules heartily shook him by the hand and congratulated him upon the success of the monument of which he was the worthy beginner and promoter.-
The following is from Punch : —
To save a human being from death does not fall to the lot of many men but to be the means of saving a man from a life worse than death is an achievement of still less common occurrence. In the year 1822 the schooner Stedcombe sailed from London bound for Melville Island, on the north coast of what was then called New Holland; and having discharged her cargo there, proceeded to the island of Timor Lant for the purpose of getting supplies. The natives of the island came- on board the vessel in the most friendly manner, partook of food there, and in return brought fruit and vegetables; and, apparently, a mutual feeling between the two parties had sprung up. A few days' after the captain of the vessel went, on shore, taking with him the whole of the crew with the exception of two boys, the cook and a sailor. Shortly after they landed they were all murdered by the natives in sight of those on board. A few minutes after this murder the natives came to the schooner in great numbers, and took possession of it, murdering the cook and sailor. The two boys escaped to the rigging, where they remained for some time exposed to the arrows of the infuriated savages; but they became so exhausted at last, that they were obliged to come down; from their place of retreat. They were then seized by the natives, stripped of their clothing, and taken on shore, where they were compelled to walk over the bleeding trunks of their shipmates, whose heads had been cut off and carried away. The schooner was then ransacked of everything of any value, hauled on shore, and burnt. The names of these two boys were Edwards and Forbes, the former of whom died of exhaustion, the latter being left to linger out the horrors and miseries of a sixteen years' captivity amongst cruel savages, and subject to most horrible tortures. Whenever a ship appeared off the island Forbes was taken to the interior and placed in a cavern, bound by the hand and legs so tightly as to cause wounds and a temporary stoppage of the circulation, for the purpose, of preventing his release. The frequent repetition of this horrible treatment made him a poor cripple, with constitution destroyed, and with limbs which could scarcely perform any of their offices. A rumour had already reached Australia that an Englishman was in captivity on this island; and Sir Gordon Bremer had actually made the attempt to rescue him, but had failed, as the natives always denied any knowledge of such a person being amongst them. The report, however, had reached the ears of the enterprising captain of the schooner Essington, and with that determination which ignores the word fail, he resolved to liberate the captive. On the 31 st March, 1839, he appeared off the island, having previously planned the following scheme, viz.— to induce the natives by every means to come on board, and then to detain one or two of their principal chiefs until their white prisoner was given up. The plan succeeded, and a chief was seized and the rest of the natives ordered on shore, with orders to bring the Englishman back with them, and that in case of failure their chief would be shot. On the next day the canoes appeared, having on board their prisoner- dressed, or rather undressed, as a native. In the bustle and confusion of receiving him on board, the chief, who was kept as a hostage, made his escape, an unfortunate circumstance, as it afterwards turned out, for, from information given by Forbes, he was the leader in the murder of the crew of the Stedcombe, and had actually come to the Essington with the intention of massacring their crew if he could take them unawares.
The following description of the rescued seaman is gathered from the log-book of the Essington : — He appeared to be about twenty-six years of age, and was of a remarkably fair complexion, notwithstanding the effects of a tropical clime upon his skin, also a delicacy of frame about like seldom to be found with in a male. His hair, which was of a lightish yellow colour, had been allowed to grow, and was fixed up in native fashion with a comb made of bamboo. Its length was about twenty inches, and its texture very much resembled the fine straw silk. His only garments were a sort of waistcoat without sleeves and a blue and white coat about his loins. His countenance had that peculiar look of vacancy which is sometimes seen in deaf and dumb persons, and in his face was an expression of agony which had no doubt become habitual from long-continued suffering. His body was' much emaciated, and covered with numberless scars — the silent witnesses of the cruel tortures to which he had been subject — and his legs were a mass of foul ulcers, and the sinews about his knees were so much contracted as to prevent him extending his legs, and so rendered him unable to walk. His ears were perforated in native fashion, and the holes in the lobes contained pieces of bamboo about an inch in diameter.' Such was the pitiable object which was saved from that mob of merciless savages by the courageous and humane captain of the Essington.
Mr. Punch has related at some length the history of the release of Forbes from captivity forty years ago, as there are few of the present generation who have ever heard of the matter, and as there is now living in our midst the captain of the Essington, a hale old man of eighty-four. His name is Thomas Watson, and Mr. Punch now gives his portrait as one of the few men he feels honoured in knowing. The Romans, in ancient times, held in the highest honour the man who had saved a citizen's life, and amongst Britons the Victoria Cross has been given by the Sovereign for the preservation of life in the battle! field. For the services he had rendered in the cause of humanity, Captain Watson was presented by the subscribers to Lloyds' with a handsome medal, with designs on it symbolical of the act it was intended to record, and with the legend, ' Leucothou,naufrago succurrd and Oboivcs scrvatos.' Although Captain Watson has not reached the fame of the immortal Cook he has humbly followed in his footsteps, and has always shown that dauntless perseverance and devotion to his duty which adorned the character of the great prototype. CAPTAIN WATSON, OF WATSON'S BAY. (1879, March 14).Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong, NSW : 1856 - 1950), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135688140
In 1842 he was appointed Harbour Master and in 1843 became Inspector of Distilleries. By 1847 he was Master aboard the brig Daniel Watson 146 tons, named for his father perhaps, and was returning from Hong Kong when he was caught in a typhoon and unable to return to Sydney until January 20th 1850 when the vessel had been repaired.
On October 8th 1850 he was appointed Assistant Surveyor and bought land at Liverpool.
In 1854 the first of is tributes to Captain Cook is finished:
THE Immortal COOK.—The Commissioners of the Road Trust are using every means in their power to speedily repair the roads under their charge, and, as they proceed, are placing mile-stones between Liverpool and Campbelltown. Captain Watson and the late Rev. James Walker, willing to turn this matter to some account, suggested the idea of making their starting stone an obelisk, of about 12 feet high, and similar to the one in Macquarie-place, in the city of Sydney. The Commissioners consented, and the work has been accomplished on the square part of the monument is engraved the distances of the various towns in the country ; and, in consideration of the town of Liverpool standing at the top of Cook's River, and there being in this colony nothing more than a small metal plate placed on a rock near Botany to the memory of the man who discovered this now rich and mighty land, the following is engraved on the top part of the obelisk-" To the Memory of Captain James Cook, R.N., the celebrated navigator and discoverer of New South Wales, born at Morton, Yorkshire, 27th October, A.D. 1728, and killed at the Sandwich Islands, 24th February, A.D. 1779." This handsome piece of workmanship is placed at the corner of George and Moore streets. LIVERPOOL. (1854, November 4). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12956640
On 1857 his father Daniel Watson, born 1770, who arrived in the colony as a ship's carpenter aboard the Minerva (February 5th, 1820) died and was buried at the Church of England, Denham Court NSW. 1857 was also the year he lost his wife:
On Monday, 9th March, at the residence of his son, Campbell-town-road, Mr. Daniel Watson, native of Lynn, Norfolk, England, aged 87 years, deeply regretted by his children and all that knew him. Family Notices. (1857, March 13). Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60278210
DEATH. On the 28th ultimo, in Sydney, Hannah, the beloved wife of Captain Thomas Watson. Family Notices. (1857, May 2). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12994971
STATUE TO CAPTAIN COOK, AT RANDWICK.
Yesterday, being the occasion of the unveiling of a statue to Captain Cook, at the High Cross, Randwick, was a gala day in that suburb. The ceremony was performed by Commodore Goodenough. At 12 o'clock, the bells of St. Jude's Church began to ring, and they continued to sound a merry peal till late last evening. There was a whole crowd of flags stretching from Alison to Avoca streets, and from the top of St. Jude's floated the banner of England. Bunting was liberally displayed at other points of vantage. There was a large influx of visitors from Sydney, numbering in all probably about 1000 persons. The senior children of the Destitute Children's Asylum, to the number of some 250, were drawn up opposite to the statue, their order and arrangement being excellent. The band of the institution played in the building close to the statue, the property of Captain Watson. Among those present there were noticed Sir Alfred Stephen, C.B., K.C.M.G. ; Sir E. Deas Thomson, C.B., K.C.M.G. ; Commodore Goodenough, R.N. (who had been chosen to perform the ceremony);Dr. Barker (the Bishop of Sydney), Hon. T. W. Smart, Mr. B. B. Smith, M.L.A. ; Mr. J. G. Raphael, M.L.A. ;Captain Hixson, Captain Burns, Captain Broomfield, Captain Watson, Captain Edwards, Captain Moody, Captain Fox, Captain Sidney, Lieutenant Dawson, R.N. ; Mr. J. B. Watt, Mr. J. R. Dibbs, Mr. John Alger, Mr. W. B. Bradley, Mr. S. H. Pearce, Rev. Mr. Galloway, Rev. Thomas Wilson (incumbent of St. Jude's, Randwick),Rev. Mr. Mackay, Mr. I. J. Josephson, Mr. J. M. May,Mr. Hicks, Mr. W. T. Pinhey, and Mr. P. A. Dutruc. The following are the present Corporation of the borough of Randwick:-Mayor-Mr. Thos. R. Yeo; Aldermen Messrs. J. Watkins, T. J. Stutchbury, John Thompson, Charles Moore, M.L.A., Dr. R. B. Read-nearly all of whom were present.
On the arrival of the Commodore, shortly before 5 o'clock p.m., the band struck up the National Anthem.
The proceedings were commenced by the Mayor, who said ; On this occasion I have much pleasure in bringing before your notice this statue, which has been given to the municipality of Randwick by Captain Watson. It is also with much pleasure that I introduce to you Commodore Goodenough, who has kindly promised to unveil the statue. I will first call upon the Council Clerk (Mr. Gough) to read the letter from Captain Watson, in which he conveys the gift to the municipality. (Cheers.)
Mr. G. B. Gough read the letter, which was in the following terms :-"Captain Watson proposes to maintain and preserve the statue and enclosure during his lifetime. Upon his death, the trustees of his will subject to conditions of properly maintaining and preserving the statue and enclosure, will convey the land upon which the statue is erected to the municipality or borough of Randwick. In the event of the municipality declining to accept the devise upon the terms stated, Captain Watson's trustees will be directed to retain sufficient funds for investment to maintain and preserve the statue and enclosure."
The Mayor then said: I brought the matter before the Borough Council at its last meeting, and asked whether they would accept this piece of land and statue, and promise to keep it in order if it were conveyed to them. They replied " Yes," so that the matter was settled so far as the aldermen were concerned. I believe that the alder-men who shall follow us will keep the statue in good condition. (Cheers ) I now call upon Commodore Goodenough to be kind enough to unveil the statue.
Commodore Goodenough said: Ladies and gentlemen, I am exceedingly glad to be able to be present at the invitation of the Mayor of the Borough of Randwick on such an important occasion as the unveiling of the first statue raised in these colonies to the memory of Captain Cook,. (Cheers.)
This statue, which has been cut at the expense of, and given to the municipality of Randwick by the munificence of my friend Captain Watson, and which proceeds from the studio of one of your fellow-townsmen, Mr. Walter M'Gill, will now be unveiled, in order that you may see the great navigator looking down from his elevated position over the bay in which he anchored some hundred years ago. (Cheers.) Captain Cook gave to that bay the name of Botany because, as he had stated, Mr Banks and Dr. Solander had collected such a number of plants on the shores that bounded it that the name seemed especially fitting. (Cheers.) The statue will now be uncovered. ( Loud cheers.)
The ceremony of lowering the flag which had covered the statue now took place amid loud applause, when immediately after a chaplet of flowers appeared encircling the head of the renowned circumnavigator. This chaplet was the gift of a young Australian whose name happened to be that of the renowned captain.
The Commodore then said: Ladles and Gentlemen, As you are doubtless aware, on this day 146 years ago the great navigator whose statue has just been uncovered was born in the small village of Marton, near Whitby, in Yorkshire. On the 21st of February, 1779, Captain Cook met with his death at the hands of the natives of a then obscure and then just discovered island in the South Seas. In short, during fifty-one years between those two dates, a life was lived and a character, was developed which has served, and will long serve, as an example for all naval men who live in both hemispheres. (Cheers.)That life was an example of diligence, of industry, and of devotion to duty, and the character which was then developed was one which shows perseverance, constancy, courage, and generosity. (Cheers.) I do not purpose to-day to enter into all, or indeed into any of the particulars or the life of the great man whose statue you see before you. There are others here-more particularly your fellow townsmen, chief among whom was the late Chief Justice Sir Alfred Stephen, who I know has made a particular study of the life of Captain Cook, and who will be far better able than I am to bear testimony of his great qualities ;but as I was asked by the Mayor of the Borough of Randwick to preside here, as senior officer commanding the naval forces on this station, I cannot help pointing out some of the qualities which I think distinguished this great man, and which may be worthy of your imitation. (Cheers.)
As you may have ascertained, James Cook was not born in circumstances, and did not have an education which was calculated to prepare him for the great future which was before him. He was born of humble parentage, and early chose for himself a career which birth, and circumstances did not seem to prepare him for. The choice he made was made deliberately, not from boyish fancy, and the result, as shown in his whole career, proved that it was a calm resolution, not the wilfulness of a boy that led him to follow the sea. (Cheers.)
He early felt a great inclination for the sea, and at the age of 14 years he apprenticed himself on board a collier which was then trading on the east coast of England, and was called the Free Love. He continued steadily to follow the profession of a seaman, first as boy, then as a seaman before the mast, and then as mate, until at the comparatively mature age of 26 or 27the year being 1765-an event occurred which gave a direction to his future career, and which showed the decision of character which he possessed. Until that time, to outward observers Cook showed no particular characteristics. As his biographer stated-his energy and genius have to be viewed by readers chiefly in the light of his future achievements. We may feel certain, however, that until his 27th year he was collecting and storing in his mind materials for the career which should follow. When he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age war broke out, press gangs were formed; and Cook, not being altogether protected in his position as mate of a collier, was in likelihood of being pressed. He was not altogether destitute of friends or unprotected. If he had struggled against fate, had he been pressed, he might have escaped and returned to his friends; but he boldly took the step which led to fame. (Cheers.) He went on board a man-of-war, and in it he so recommended himself to his captain and the officers of the ship, that he rose from before the mast to the position of warrant, and then of a commissioned officer. (Cheers.)
During fourteen years of service he was not idle; he had studied navigation, Euclid, and read many odds and ends of books that had come in his way. So rapid was his success from 1765 to 1762 that he rose to the command of a ship in his Majesty's service; and not only this, but the duties that were entrusted to him were of an exceptional nature. He was called upon to make hydrographical plans and surveys of places on the North American coast. So correct were the results of his work, that when his biography was written early in the present century, no corrections were found necessary. (Cheers.) And this same correctness applied to our own coasts as visited by Captain Cook; for his surveys were even now to be relied upon, and the names which he had given were still, in most instances, retained. (Cheers.)
And the latest gold diggings, opened out in Northern Queensland, had its port on the Endeavour River so named by Captain Cook after the vessel which he first commanded on these coasts. From 1762 to 1768, Captain Cook commanded several small vessels, in which he prosecuted hydrographical surveys. So effective were his services in these respects, that in 1768 Captain Cook was chosen as the most fitting man to be found in England to conduct voyages of discovery in imitation of French vessels which had about that period gone out on such voyages. He was directed to go to the South Seas to examine the Islands there ; to take observations of the transit of Venus across the sun's disc, and to visit this then almost unknown continent. From New Zealand he came to the coast of New South Wales. One morning in the month of April he entered a bay which had since been, and would probably ever be called "Botany" Bay-(cheers)-a bay near whose shores we now stand. If we could imagine Captain Cook ever returning to the earth with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander to botanise once more on the shores of Botany Bay, with what delight they would look round on this vast assemblage which I see before me-with what intense delight they would look upon the comfortable houses, commodious churches, and noble buildings which everywhere surround us! Captain Cook, as a man of great humanity, had an intense love for his fellow creatures; and with what feelings he would compare the mud and wattle cottage in which his father lived with the comfortable cottages which every industrious man in this colony could obtain for himself with fair labour ! (Cheers.)
With what delight would they contrast the surroundings of Sydney with the squalid districts which we, who had had opportunities of seeing them, knew to exist in the vicinity of large towns in the mother country ? We should consider our condition, and honour the name of the great captain who first brought ships to these shores. (Cheers.)I have already occupied your time too long, and I will call upon you, in conclusion, to thank with three hearty cheers the munificent giver of this first statue to the great navigator in these colonies to the community of which you are members. I ask you to give three cheers for Captain Watson. (Cheers.)
The cheers were warmly given.
Captain Watson said: I feel proud of the honour conferred upon me by you all, and I also thank Commodore Goodenough for the kind attention which he has shown in coming forward to uncover the statue, I hope the municipality of Randwick will keep it in order, and pay that attention to it that they have promised to do. (Cheers.) .
Sir Alfred Stephen, being called upon, said that he had had no notice that be would be called upon to speak. He was here merely by accident, and was utterly unprepared to address them in any becoming manner ; and if he had no other excuse for trespassing upon them very shortly, it would be found in the fact that the Commodore, who belonged to a service distinguished not only for arms but eloquence, had left nothing for him to say. As an old colonist, and as one deeply interested in the welfare of this country, he congratulated them upon the monument which had been erected here to the memory of one of England's greatest navigators. He joined with them in their desire to honour Captain Watson for his gift to the people of Randwick. It came from him with especial propriety, feeing that for many years he had been connected with the merchant service, and also for a portion of his life with the navy, as he had been given to understand. By inquiries which he had made, he had ascertained from Mr. Childers, late First Lord of the Admiralty, that Port Jackson was not called after one of Captain Cook's crew, for a search of the ship's papers proved there was no seaman onboard of that name; but was named by Captain Cook after Sir George Jackson, Secretary to the Admiralty, and a friend of the great navigator's youth. (Cheers.)
Three cheers having been given for the late Chief Justice.
Those present were addressed by Captain Fox, who gave some particulars of the long seafaring life of the donor of the statue. Cheers were given for the Queen, H. M. Navy, and the sculptor who had done the work; and thus terminated the proceedings.
The statue, which is from the chisel of Mr. Walter M'Gill, stands at the junction of Avoca and High streets, Randwick, in front of a castellated looking building, the property of Captain Watson. The base of the statue is at a height of some 220 feet above the level of the ocean. The statue from ground to crown of the figure is fully 18 feet high. The figure being over 8 feet high, the difference being taken up by the pedestal.
Captain Cook is represented in the dress of a post captain, with his left hand resting on the globe, which is partly covered with the Union Jack, while there is a telescope in the right hand. At the feet of the figure there is an anchor. The captain is bareheaded, and the figure seems, judging from portraits and busts, to be a very faithful one. The eyes are turned in the direction of, and if they were those of a living man they would command, that very spot on the southern shores of Botany where Captain Cook landed. The whole of the work is in Pyrmont free stone. The general effect of the design, which is from Mr. M'Gill's own models, is excellent. The position is as good a one as could possibly be found in the borough of Randwick-one might as well say as could be found in any of the suburbs. STATUE TO CAPTAIN COOK, AT RANDWICK. (1874, October 28). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13344536
Above in text: Statue of Capt. Cook standing in front of Capt. Thos. Watson's home at Randwick, N.S.W. Statue erected in 1874 at the corner of Belmore Road & Avoca Street, Randwick. This may be the first statue erected in New South Wales to Cook. The building behind, the private residence of Captain Watson dates possibly from the 1830s and was the Star and Garter Hotel until 1860s. IMage No.: a325057 undated (after 1874) courtesy State Library of NSW.
The Captain James Cook statue in Hyde Park, Sydney was commissioned on September 26th 1874. The 25th of February, 1879 is given as the date the statue in Hyde Park was finally unveiled, almost ten whole years after the foundation stone for this celebratory statue was first laid.
" The foundation stone of this monument in honour of the illustrious navigator, Captain Cook, was laid on Saturday, the 27th March, A.D. 1869, by his Royal Highness Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, K.G. second son of her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, in the thirty-second year of her reign, ....Captain Cook. (1870, April 30). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70459175
This article runs in full in Extras - what occurred nine years later, finally, and with Captain Watson reportedly dipping into his own pocket again. This time the sculptor was Thomas Woolner (December 17, 1825 – October 7, 1892) an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. After participating in the foundation of the PRB, Woolner emigrated for a period to Australia (1852) before returning to England. The statue was cast by Cox & Sons, at its Thames Ditton Foundry, Surrey, England. The Pedestal foundation is stated to be a single block of Moruya granite that weighed between 14 and 18 tons that was brought to Sydney in 1878 aboard the Settler's Friend (1):
UNVEILING CAPTAIN COOK'S STATUE. - VIEW LOOKING TOWARDS PORT JACKSON HEADS.
WE present our readers this month with a series of views of this national event-a spectacle more imposing than any ever witnessed, or likely to be again witnessed, on the continent of Australia. The ceremony was no idle compliment paid to some successful warrior, or to some titled potentate ; and of the nearly a hundred thousand people present-from the hoary colonist to the tiniest girl-chorister in blue and white-not one but felt a thrill of affectionate regard for the memory of the great man now so worthily represented in Mr. Woolner's chef d'oeuvre.
The day was all that could be desired, the light breeze just keeping the flags and standards nicely waving, and the warm sunshine admitting the ladies to berobe themselves in their most fitting and brilliant outdoor attire. The whole scene was most inspiring. The arrival of the procession at the site of the statue was one of the most interesting events of the imposing ceremony. About twenty minutes to 4 o'clock, the advance guard, in the shape of a body of mounted police, came riding along Park Street, closely followed by the band of H.M.S. Wolverene. Park Street, from the central avenue to College Street, up to this time had been kept free from people ; but on the passing through of the troopers the crowd gradually filled up the street. However, the various bodies marched steadily forward to the entrances to the park at the corner of College and William Streets, opposite the Museum. Following the band of H.M.S. Wolverene, which played appropriate music, came about six hundred sailors and marines from her Majesty's steamships Wolverene and Emerald, and the five schooners of the Royal Navy now in harbour, the whole being under Commander Bridges. The men were in full uniform, their martial bearing attracting the admiring looks of the crowd, as at double-quick step they entered the park on the southern side of Park Street. The sailors took up a position in front of the eastern stand, and the marines were extended southwards in the form of a semi-circle to the rear of the statue. The military band followed, leading about two hundred members of the New South Wales Artillery under Major Airey, and who in their bright uniforms presented a brilliant spectacle as they marched on to the ground and took up the places allotted to them, completing the semicircle behind the statue. A number of Volunteers were ranged along the northern fence, fronting Park Street. Several Volunteer officers in uniform were within the enclosure. Then came the Naval Brigade, in charge of Captain Hixson, who were placed partly in front of the Volunteers and partly in front of the western stand. The Grammar School Cadets, under their officers, had a place beside the Naval Brigade. Thus the statue of Captain Cook, on the eventful occasion of its being unveiled to the world, was appropriately surrounded by the representatives of the martial forces of that Empire, whose boundaries were so far extended, and whose glory was so much enhanced by the illustrious navigator. As was fitting, the places of honour were assigned to the representatives of the Navy, of which he was so worthy a captain. The bands of the various corps were in the centre immediately in front of the platform erected for the accommodation of the children and other vocalists.
A place within the enclosure near Park Street was also given to the members of the Fire Insurance Brigade under Mr. Bown.
The remaining part of the procession entered the northern side of the Park. First came members of the Volunteer Fire Brigades, and they were ranged on the slope immediately in front of Park Street, facing the statue ; the Grand United Order of Oddfellows came next, and with the members of the Ancient Order of' Foresters filled up the front positions, many of them sitting down on the green sward to allow those behind to overlook them. As the succeeding bodies came along Park Street, they were greeted with hearty cheers by the members of the other societies already on the park and, with as hearty cheers they responded to the welcome given them, the different societies appearing to sink a!' differences for the day. The green saluted the orange and the orange saluted the green, the representatives of all the bodies agreeing to unite to make the ceremony as imposing as was possible. And certainly the like of it had never before been seen in our city. The member of the Holy Catholic Guild, St. Mary and St. Joseph came after the Oddfellows, and, having paid more attention to uniformity of dress than the members of some other orders, presented a very attractive appearance. Then followed the brethren of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society, these all taking up positions immediately at the rear of the front rank, facing Park Street. For full half an hour the procession was filing into the park, the cheering being kept up from the park and the street as the different bodies arrived, headed by the bands and flying their colours. Among the various other bodies forming the procession, the members of the Sydney Marine Benefit Society were conspicuous by the number of flags they carried, these giving them a very gay appearance. So numerous were the persons following in the procession that the spacious enclosure provided for their accommodation was inadequate to give them standing room, and the members of the bodies coming last in order had to take positions outside the fence. Could this vast mass of men, dressed in the regalia of their various societies, have been presented at one view, standing tier above tier, the sight would have been extremely grand. As it was, anything like an extensive view was impossible to any but those in the stands, whence the appearance was very pretty. To those who stood on the ground only the front ranks and the numerous handsome banners were visible. At the extreme end of the northern enclosure were. Platforms erected, from which photographic views of the whole scene were taken, and will be doubtless available as souvenirs of the event.
By the time his Excellency arrived there was a dense crowd of people assembled in Hyde Park, Gook Park, and along all the approaches. In a case of this kind it is extremely difficult to form a just estimate of the number of persons present; but we imagine that there are few who will not accept seventy thousand as a very sober estimate of the number of spectators. Many suppose that there were about one hundred thousand present. Each of the massive stands, erected with so much expedition by the Messrs. Hudson Brothers, was crowded with ladies and gentlemen who were admitted to the enclosure by tickets. Park Street and College Streets were densely crowded, and there was a multitude of people on the high ground and slopes of Cook Park. Large groups of sightseers extended back as far as the Hyde- Park Barracks northwards, and in the direction of Lyons Terrace southwards. There has never been a gathering in Sydney so numerous, nor a more magnificent spectacle. A space of about three acres was enclosed for the occasion, and the boundary line of the oval was defined by about seventy flagstaffs, each nearly fifty feet high. Large and brilliant coloured flags, representing every civilised community in the habitable globe, were unfurled from the gilded tops of these poles, and a line and festoons formed of smaller flags and wreaths of evergreens, hung from staff to staff along the boundary. The face and supports of the immense platforms on the east and west of the statue were clothed with zamia leaves and other foliage, together with numerous trophies of flags, the Australian coat of arms being modestly conspicuous. As for the platforms themselves, they were clothed with the youth and beauty the wealth and influence of the community. In addition to those who were privileged to occupy seats on the dais around the Governor, we may mention the names of the members of the committee-Mr. P. B. Smith, M.L.A. .Captain Watson, Mr. W. Day, Mr. John Alger, Mr.O'Connor, M.L.A. ; Mr. Edmund Fosberry, Mr. F. Senior, Mr. S. Bayliss, Captain Shorter, Mr. James Barnet, Mr. Richard Hill, Mr. John Davies, M.L.A. ; and Mr. John Williamson-most of whom were at considerable pains to receive the holders of cards and conduct them to seats on the stands. The Mayor attended in his robes of office, and most of the Aldermen wore the new uniform which they have adopted. On the northern side of the statue was the dais reserved, for the accommodation of his Excellency the Governor, which was elegantly draped and upholstered by Messrs. David Jones and Co.
THE CEREMONY OF UNVEILING THE STATUE OF CPT. COOK, HYDE PARK, SYDNEY, FEBRUARY, 1879
In the centre of the baldachino of the canopy was the coat-of-arms, surmounted with atrophy of flags, and below it the badge of New South Wales sanctioned by the Imperial Government. The committee sat immediately in front of the Governor's dais, and behind them were about 200 girls from different Public schools, dressed in white frocks, with broad blue sashes and sailor hats trimmed with blue. They held bouquets of flowers in their hands, and they formed one of the most pleasing features of the scene. They were flanked by choirs of male voices, about fifty in all. The whole of the space within the enclosure was filled, the trees on the park far and near blossomed with venturesome urchins, who hung out upon the limbs in away that was perilous to themselves and the dense crowd beneath them. Others, again, were contentedly perched upon the arms of gas-lamps and the pillars of the enclosure fence. The roofs of the Grammar School and the Australian Museum were partly covered with clouds of spectators, and on the parapet of the classic pile which forms the western facade of the latter institution was a native of New Guinea, the first who has yet set foot upon the shores of New South Wales; while within the enclosure itself were three youngsters from the Solomon Islands, who are said to be the sons.
Of the Kings of Cicila, Symbo, and Wanderer Bay, brought to this port by the Princess Louise. There were other "gentlemen of colour" from Africa, and the dense crowd of pale faces was also relieved by the sombre visages of a few Australian aborigines. The statue was veiled by the folds of the British ensign, and the six men who were appointed to unveil it consisted of two sailors from the Naval Brigade, two Royal marines, and two seamen of the Royal Navy. It would be inappropriate to conclude this brief mention of the arrangements without a word in acknowledgment of the services of Mr. James Barnet (the Colonial Architect), Messrs. Hudson Brothers (the contractors for the stands, &c), and Mr. Charles Moore (the Director of the Gardens), who have laboured with untiring diligence to complete the various details which fell to their lot in the most limited time.
Right: Captain Cook statue, Hyde Park, Sydney 1879 - Probably taken prior to or after the official unveiling in 1879, Image No.: a089206, courtesy State Library of NSW
His Excellency and suite arrived at a quarter past 4 o'clock, and were received at the entrance to the ground by Sir Alfred Stephen (chairman of the committee), Mr. R. B. Smith, M.L.A; (secretary); Mr. Day, J.P., treasurer ; Mr. John Alger, Mr. G. H. Reid, and other members of the committee. Sir Hercules Robinson was warmly cheered as soon as he came into the view of the spectators; and the various military and naval forces saluted as he passed on to the dais reserved for his accommodation.
On the platform with his Excellency the Governor and the Hon. Lady Robinson, were Captain St. John, A.D. C., and Mrs. - St. John ; Miss Robinson, and Master Robinson, ; the Hon. H. S. Littleton, Private Secretary ;the Hon. Sir Alfred Stephen, C.B., K.C.M.G., M.L.C., Lieutenant Governor, and Lady Stephen ; the Hon.Sir Henry Parkes, K.C.M.G., M.L.A, Premier and Colonial Secretary, and Lady Parkes ; the Hon. Sir John Robertson, K.C.M.G., M.L.A, vice-President ofthe Executive Council, and Lady Robertson; the Hon. Sir John Hay, K.C.M.G., M.L.C., President of the Legislative Council, and Lady Hay ; the Hon. Sir Wigram Allen, Knight, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and Lady Allen ; His Worship the Mayor of Sydney, Mr. 0. J. Roberts, and the Mayoress ; Commodore Wilson, A.D. C., and Mrs. Wilson; his Lord-ship, the Bishop of Sydney, and Mrs. Barker ; his Grace the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney ; Mrs. Bruce, Miss Deas-Thomson ; His Honor Sir William Manning, Knight ; His Honor Mr. Justice Fawcett, Mr. R. B. Smith, M.L.A. ; and Captain Villeneuve, of the French ship of war Sendre.
As soon as his Excellency had taken his place at the front of the platform, a very pleasing ceremony was per-formed by Sir Alfred Stephen, who introduced Captain Watson to his Excellency the Governor as the 'originator of the idea of the statue. The cheers that followed this graceful act having subsided, Mr. C. J. Fisher took possession of his rostrum in front of the choir, and gave the signal for "Rule Britannia," which was sung with great effect, and admirable precision as regards both time and tune.
His Excellency then delivered an address suitable to the occasion. We regret that space cannot be found for this masterly speech, which reviewed in detail the life of Captain Cook as furnishing lessons for the guidance- of every Australian boy. Our supplement gives a very good general view of the ceremony as witnessed from the stage opposite the Museum. Our front page view is taken from a point looking towards the entrance to Port Jackson, the North Head being discernible in the dim distance of the picture. Our full page view is taken from a point near St. Mary's Cathedral, and affords perhaps the best general view of this historic event.
CEREMONY OF UNVEILING THE STATUE OF CAPTAIN COOK. VIEW LOOKING- SOUTH.
GIBBS, SHALLARD, AND CO., PRINTERS AND LITHOGRAPHERS, PITT STREET. OUR ILLUSTRATIONS. (1879, March 22). Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier (NSW : 1872 - 1881), p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63335424
CAPTAIN WATSON.
Extras and References:
1. Originally published in Cook's Log, page 481, volume 9, number 4 (1986). - Captain Cook Society.See: www.captaincooksociety.com
National Library of Australia books donated to Avalon Beach Community Library so everyone may read and use for reference:
A Kind of Victory: Captain Charles Cox and His Australian Cavalrymen by Craig Wilcox - former Narrabeen resident and Military Historian releases new National Library of Australia book on a little known chapter in the Light Horse Regiment
An Eye for Nature: The Life and Art of William T. Cooper by Penny Olsen, foreword by David Attenborough By Penny Olsen
Cayley & Son - The life and Art of Neville Henry Cayley & Neville William Cayley by Penny Olsen - great new book on the art works on birds of these Australian gentlemen and a few insights from the author herself
Collecting Ladies - Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists By Penny Olsen - an extensive and well researched insight into some of our early lady Botanical Artists
Crime, Punishment and Redemption - A Convict's Story by Dr. June Slee - While researching her doctorate in 1990 on the transportation of young male convicts to Point Piper in Van Diemen's Land at the Australian National Maritime Museum's Vaughan Evans Library, June Slee was given a folder of typewritten pages entitled Manuscript Diary by John Ward CONVICT - this wonderful new book belongs in every Australian home - our interview with the author
Flocks of Colour by Penny Olsen - beautiful new Bird Book Celebrates the 'Land of the Parrots'
John Gould's Extinct and Endangered Mammals of Australia by Fred Ford
Seen but Not Heard: Lilian Medland's Birds - Christobel Mattingley - one of Australia's premier Ornithological illustrators was a Queenscliff lady - 53 of her previously unpublished works have now been made available through the auspices of the National Library of Australia in a beautiful new book
True Light and Shade: An Aboriginal Perspective of Joseph Lycett's Art by Professor John Maynard - Featuring 20 images from this renowned artist with wonderful commentary by Professor John Maynard, and a focus on the place where Bungaree originally hailed from, this new book should be of interest to all peoples of the Broken Bay and Pittwater regions - our interview with Professor Maynard
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Have You Stopped to Look? by George Repin - Issue 64
How Far From Sydney? by George Repin - Issue 42
Busby's Bore by George Repin - Issue 48
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Mrs Elizth Cook. Aged 81 years, 1830 / W. Henderson: A half-length portrait depicted in calash, ruff and shawl. The ring on the right index finger has been compared to Captain Cook's memorial ring (held in the Mitchell Library at R 363), but differs in colour and shape.
Unsigned
"This portrait used to hang with 8 others in the George St show room of W. Chorley & Co., Sydney. Mr Henry Chorley offered it on loan in 1938 as "apparently [that of] the wife of Capt. Cook". The offer was not accepted as the authenticity of the portrait could not be proved. See Corres. 1938/55 in and 1938/70 and 148 out. In Oct. 1956 after Mr Chorley's death the 9 portraits were presented to the ML [Mitchell Library] by Mrs H.J.A. Chorley. 6 are of Yorkshire ancestors of F. Thornbury of Sydney called Dale and Reynolds, the 7th is of an unidentified boy probably of the same family, the 8th is of Mr Taylor, engineer, the connection with the Thornburys is not known. None of the names appears in Young's History of Whitby but the Yorkshire marriage registers (for W. Riding) lists a John Dale and Mary Reynolds, Oct. 3, 1802. Graves' Dictionary lists a William Henderson, Whitby 1874-92, painter of figures; there is also a W.P.S. Henderson, domestic painter, London, 1836-74. Other W. Hendersons do not seem to fit. Possibly the portrait was painted by the Whitby Henderson from an earlier drawing or painting. For a description of Mrs. Cook see Muir, J. R. - Life and achievements of Captain James Cook 1939." -- note by Library officer in Mitchell Library Pictures card catalogue. A re-examination of the letters referred to above indicates that the reason the Library declined the offer of a loan of the portrait was not because its authenticity could not be proved, but that "the Trustees are definitely opposed to accepting anything on loan". The Principal Librarian notes a discrepancy between the dates of the portrait and the life of Mrs Cook, adding "but this does not necessarily mean the picture is not of Mrs Cook".
Elizabeth Cook is described in the following terms in The life of Captain James Cook, by J.C. Beaglehole (London : A. and C. Black, 1974): "In her old age handsome, with good bones and a great deal of dignity, rather than warmly beautiful, her white hair rolled back in an eighteenth century fashion, her face a rather squarish oval, nose aquiline, mouth good but rather too thin, strong jaw - erect, dressed in black satin, her head surmounted by a large cap with goffered edge, tied over a sort of ruff, she must have conferred distinction upon the street" (pp.693-4). A footnote reads: "The preceding paragraph is a good deal founded on the childhood reminiscences of Canon Frederick Bennett, son of John Leach Bennett, Mrs Cook's executor, supplied to Sir Walter Besant for his Captain Cook (1890), 190; and of Miss Eliza Elliotson, of Clapham, as recorded by Louisa Jane Mackrell, great-niece of Isaac Smith" (p.694). It is unclear to what extent this description derives from the portrait itself, which is reproduced by the author. Attributed to William Henderson. Image No.: a928745h, courtesy State Library of NSW
Cook married Elizabeth Batts (1742–1835), the daughter of Samuel Batts, keeper of the Bell Inn, Wapping and one of his mentors, on 21 December 1762 at St. Margaret's Church in Barking, Essex. The couple had six children: James (1763–94), Nathaniel (1764–80, lost aboard HMS Thunderer which foundered with all hands in a hurricane in the West Indies), Elizabeth (1767–71), Joseph (1768–68), George (1772–72) and Hugh (1776–93), the last of whom died of scarlet fever while a student at Christ's College, Cambridge. When not at sea, Cook lived in the East End of London. He attended St Paul's Church, Shadwell, where his son James was baptised. James Cook. (2015, August 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Cook&oldid=675676683
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Commodore Goodenough;
THE high esteem in which Commodore Goodenough was held, and his tragical end, have awakened a deep interest. His services deserve to be kept in remembrance, and his example will leave a permanent impression on many.
James Graham Goodenough obtained his lieutenant’s commission by competition at the Royal Naval College. He went out to the China Seas in the frigate Raleigh, in the year 1857. He afterwards took the command of the Calcutta, and went home with that ship in 1859. On the 9thMay, 1863, when he was about thirty-two years of age, he attained his seniority in the service. He obtained a good service pension, and was entitled to wear a medal. He was appointed to the command of the Renard, in the China Seas. Afterwards he was made commander of the Revenge, the flagship bf the Channel fleet. He then commanded the Victoria, the flagship in the Mediterranean. In 1867 he was appointed to the command of the Minotaur, flagship in the Channel. He was also made Naval Attache to the Courts of Europe. On the 22nd May, 1873, he was appointed to the command of the Pearl, and to the position of Commodore on the station of Australia. He arrived hereabout three months after that. During the last two years he has had charge of very important services especially in connection with the introduction of British authority in Fiji.
When the ex-King Thakambau was entertained at the Sydney Exchange, at the banquet held in celebration of the annexation of Fiji, he bore witness in his simple and earnest eloquence to the kindness and wisdom with which Commodore Goodenough had managed the business. And the British residents, who may be supposed to look with more critical eyes upon the services of the officers of the Crown in matters affecting their interests, have recorded their high appreciation of the manner in which Commodore Goodenough conducted that part of the proceedings which it fell to him to manage.
While fulfilling important duties in the service of his Sovereign and his country, he was remarkable for his unceasing attention to the welfare of those under his command. He carefully studied all that might influence the health and happiness of his men. It was remarked this week by an officer of the police that when the Commodore had reason to think that any of his men were falling into bad company on shore, he sought them out more after the manner of a careful father than a commanding officer. And his joyful commendation of those that did well was as hearty as his warnings to those that showed a disposition to act badly. His men understood this; and in consequence he had great moral influence over them.
And as he cared for his men while under his control, he took a lively interest in their welfare after they had left him. As an illustration of this amiable feature in his character, we have the following incident on the authority of a friend in Sydney to whom he related it. When he was lately on a visit to Adelaide, he was accosted in the street by a man who claimed his acquaintance, and seeing he did not at once recognise him, said-" You don't remember me, sir. I was one of your gunners at Fort William, in Calcutta, some years ago."
The Commodore, always glad to meet one of his former men, soon recalled him to mind, and made particular inquiries about his history and his welfare. The man told him how he had got on, and added that he was sorry his home was so faraway, for he would have asked him to come and see his wife and children, and to take some refreshment. The Commodore said he had no objection to a long walk, and went with him to his home, a neat cottage in one of the suburbs, and took a cup of tea with them. He afterwards spoke in warm terms of the pleasure he had in seeing the cheerful home and happy family of his old gunner.
On shore he was a generous friend to the poor, and a ready helper in various benevolent undertakings. Among other things, he took up earnestly the cause of temperance. He proved to those under his command, by his own example, that grog was not indispensable to a seaman, but that he could fulfil all his duties, and encounter all the hardships of life at sea, without that luxury.
Commodore Goodenough married Victoria Hamilton (for whom Her Majesty the Queen was sponsor), daughter of William Hamilton, Esq., and the Honorable Margaret Frances Florence Hamilton, daughter of the 13th Viscount of Dillon.
His last days were in beautiful harmony with the life he had lived. He went round to visit in succession the islands of Amhrym, Mallicolo, St.Bartholomew, Espiritu Sante, and Vanikoro, to endeavour to make an impression on the minds of the people in favour of peaceful intercourse with civilized men.
On the 12th August the Pearl was off Carlisle Bay, Santa Cruz. The Commodore and some of his officers and men left the ship in the offing, and went in boats to the shore. A large number of natives assembled there, and received them with apparent good-will. After exchanging signs and bartering some articles with them, they went up to the village, and wore treated as friendly visitors. They were preparing to re-embark, and the Commodore, with one or two others, remained behind the rest, when suddenly one of the natives drew his bow and shot an arrow which wounded the Commodore in the side. They had left all their arms in the boats, and as they had no means of defence about them, they retreated to the shore. While so doing they were assailed by several flights of arrows, and the Commodore was wounded in the head; five men were also wounded. On reaching their arms they fired several revolvers to stop the attack, and one native fell. The Commodore and his party then went back to the ship; and to show the natives that such treachery would not be allowed to pass unpunished, the Commodore sent a party to burn the houses in the village. But while he deemed this lesson necessary, to prevent future treachery of the kind, he gave orders that there should be no sacrifice of life, and directed his men to fire blank cartridge in order to frighten the savages away, before destroying their houses.
Though the arrows were poisoned, it was hoped for some days that the wounded men would recover. And to secure a more favourable climate for them, the Pearl steamed rapidly to the southward. But after five days, symptoms of tetanus appeared in three of the cases. On Thursday, 19th of August, one of the wounded Seamen, Edward Rayner, died.
The Commodore had been in expectation of recovery; but on the morning of the 20th, Friday, the doctor found himself under the painful obligation of telling him that the symptoms in his case were those of approaching death. The statement, though unexpected, was received with calmness and resignation. Far from murmuring he recalled the memory of God's great mercies to him, and expressed his desire that he could render more worthy thanksgiving for all those mercies. He expressed a wish to be taken up on the quarter-deck, and there he had all the officers and men pass by him, and gave to each suitable words of encouragement or warning, carefully adapting his' parting words to the characters of those he addressed. Upon all he invoked the blessing of God, and asked all to forgive him, if anything he had said or done had seemed to do them wrong. He apologised to the officers for the trouble they had in watching his dying bed. He entrusted them with his last affectionate messages to his wife and children. Thus, with the calmness of a Christian hero he passed into the unseen world. In the early hours of that day he was in expectation of recovery ; at half-past five in the afternoon he breathed his last. The next day, another seaman, Frederick Smale, died of his wounds. The Pearl arrived in Port Jackson on Monday, 23rd August, and the sorrowfulness was soon known all over Sydney. The next day was fixed for the burial. In accordance with the express wish of the Commodore, his remains and those of his two seamen, Edward Rayner and Frederick Smale, were buried in the St. Leonard's Cemetery, North Shore. The boats bearing the remains left the Pearl at a quarter to two p.m., and proceeded to Milson's Point. The widow, Mrs. Goodenough, and her two young sons, followed in another boat. An immense multitude, not less than ten thousand people followed the funeral procession. The Governor, the Chief Justice, the Ministers, and many, members of Parliament were present. The chaplain of the Pearl, the Rev. James Payton, read the funeral service, and the Bishop of Sydney pronounced the benediction. Mrs. Goodenough and her two sons placed wreaths on the coffin of the Commodore.
The three graves were in a line, near together,t he Commodore's in the middle. Thus, expressively, according to his injunctions, even in the act of committing dust to dust, his consideration for his men was displayed.
The sorrowful event produced a deep sensation in the metropolis ; and, doubtless, many in other parts of the colony sympathise with that feeling. It may be hoped that the good effect of the services and the example of the Commodore will long continue. Commodore Goodenough. (1875, August 28). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 13. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70584961
GOODENOUGH. His Sydney Memorials.
(BY E. G. BODEN )
The memorials to Commodore Goodenough in and around Sydney are but few. On the wall facing the entrance door of the dining hall of the Royal Naval House. Grosvenor-street, city, you may read these words, for they stand out in bold letters, "Commodore Goodenough Hall." These words area reminder to the naval men of today of one who, by the whole tenor of his life, earned the title of "a gallant sailor and a Christian gentleman".
This costly pile of buildings, that so admirably suits its purpose as a Royal Naval House, was opened in 1890. It is the outcome of, and the successor to, the original Goodenough Royal Naval House that started, so humbly in 1876 at 39 Princess-street, Flag-staff Hill. That naval house was the outcome of the solicitude of Commodore and Mrs. Hoskins (later Sir Anthony and Lady Hoskins) for the naval men who were quartered on the Australian station. The minute book of 1876 tells us that the committee gave to it the title of "The Goodenough Royal Naval House" in memory of a commodore who had always shown a keen interest in everything that appertained to the welfare and moral uplift of naval men.
Through the courtesy of Mr. J. Partridge(superintendent) we were shown the old minute book of 1876, and the resolution referred to signed by the chairman, Captain Francis Hixson, R.N. Hanging in the large hall are the enlarged photos of the originators and members of that first committee — Captain F. Hixson, R.N., Commodore Hoskins and Mrs. Hoskins, and Captain R. Dean. R.N., first secretary, 1876.
Another memorial there is a small life-like bust of the Commodore, dated 1877. A most interesting and rather unusual memorial or memento of Commodore Goodenough is a death mask. This clay cast of the Commodore's face lies under glass enfolded by a Union Jack, and is in a wonderful state of preservation. On the lid of the box in which it has reposed these 56 years we have "A relic of the late Commodore Goodenough." Inside, on the lid, a brass plate Is inscribed "This clay mask of the late Commodore James Graham Goodenough was taken by the late Archille Smiotutti, sculptor, August,1876, and preserved up to August, 1900, by J. Horebury Hunt, then by him handed to the safe keeping of the Royal Naval House. Sydney."
Another simple, yet eloquent, testimony to the hold the Commodore had on the affections of his men was the signature in the visitors' book of one James Westlake, Ward Room Steward of H.M.S. Pearl, 1873-77, who came to pay his respects to the memory of the old commodore
A BEAUTIFUL WINDOW
There is a very impressive memorial in St. Thomas's Church, North Sydney. In the northern transept we have a stained glass window (a series of four). This memorial window is a beautiful piece of artistic work, made by Clayton and Bell, London. The cost was defrayed by public subscription, to which the Governor, Sir H. Robinson, a personal friend of the commodore, gave a large contribution. The subject "The Adoration of the Lamb," was chosen by his widow.
The Inscription on the windows reads: "To the glory of God and in memory of James Graham Goodenough, who died August 20th,1875, from wounds received in the Island of Santa Cruz, this window was erected by friends in Australia " Underneath, on a brass scroll, we have "And so he brought them to the desired haven, where they would be." In the left-hand corner: "In memory of James Graham Goodenough," and in the right-hand corner "Victoria Goodenough Posuit."
A little lower down on the wall is another tablet, inscribed: "This tablet is erected by the Royal Australian Navy to the memory of the following officers and men who died on the dates shown, while serving on the Australian station, and who are buried in St. Thomas's cemetery." First on the list is "Goodenough, Commodore — 20th August, 1875, H.M.S. Pearl."
St Thomas' Cemetery, where the body is interred, is not attached to the church grounds, but is about a mile away in West-street. Here, towards the rear of the burial ground, is the allotment, surrounded by a chain supported on crossed anchors on a stone coping. This grave is kept neat and clean, and is a marked contrast to many others there. It contains three graves, the centre, Commodore Goodenough's, and the sides two gallant young sea-men. These graves and the simple inscription on the sides of the monument, bear eloquent testimony to his thought and consideration for others' feelings. They had been wounded at the same time, and when he knew that they, like himself, were dying, he insisted that they should be buried, one on either side. Their names were Frederick Small, 18; Edmund Raynor, 18.
The memorial or monument is a simple encircled cross of marble, standing on a free-stone base. The words "Santa Cruz" are on the bar within the circle. Around the foot of the cross has been inscribed the Commodore's favourite text during his illness, "God is love, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." At the base of the pedestal we have these rather remarkable words "In his last days God was abundantly glorified, having revealed Himself to His servant in great love, his death was a triumphant victory."
A marble slab beneath the cross gives in brief the circumstances leading up to his death.
A TRAGIC END.
"Born at Guildford, Surrey; died 20th August, 1876, at sea, on board her Majesty's ship Pearl, from arrow wounds received on 12th August of the same year, at Carlisle Bay, in the Island of Santa Cruz, which he was visiting for the purpose of establishing friendly relations with the natives, who, not knowing what they did, killed their truest friend. He sailed away to die, refusing to allow a single life to be taken in retaliation ... " On the rear we have: "Erected by his wife, and the officers and crew of H.M.S. Pearl " And, added later, "Victoria H. Goodenough, Fell asleep 29th Jan., 1917."
Another memorial we find on Captain Cook's statue, Randwick. This statue, the gift of Captain Thomas Watson, was unveiled by Commodore Goodenough on October 27, 1874, on his last visit to Sydney On the pedestal we read: "This statue was unveiled on October 27th, 1874, by Commodore J. G. Goodenough, who also was killed in the endeavour to open up friendly intercourse with the natives of the Pacific Islands at Santa Cruz, August 11, 1875."
Three more memorials may be seen in the Mitchell Reference Library. The first is initialled "Port Jackson Plans" for a naval depot upon either Dawes Point or Macquarie Point, as proposed by Commodore J. G. Goodenough, January, 1875. On the plan in his handwriting we have, "Approved, Commodore, Commanding the Australian Station."
The second is a short note (in lead pencil)addressed to the Rev. H. Jones, Island of Mare. This missionary was away when the commodore called, and in this note, dated May12th, he expresses his pleasure at what he has seen in the island and "the happy, smiling faces of the natives."
The third is a letter written to the editor of a Fijian newspaper, dated July 10th, 1875; It is among the last of his letters. It is too long to be inserted here, but it is well worth perusal. It is very interesting, indeed.
His principal work on the Australian station was his part in the annexation of Fiji to the British Crown, 1875. With Consul Layard he spent five months in Fiji, and their joint report finalised in no small measure an agitation extending over ten years.
So far we have not been able to ascertain if there be any erected memorial in Fiji. But even there his name is kept evergreen by a beautiful little spot and pool at Levuka where the commodore used to bathe on his last visit there. It is known to many as Commodore Goodenough's Bath.
Round about the coasts of New Guinea we have Goodenough Island, Mount Goodenough, about 8000ft high, and Goodenough Bay, named by Captain Moresby in memory of his old friend and comrade of 25 years' standing.
In the Painted Hall, Greenwich, England, there is a bust, an excellent likeness of Commodore Goodenough. It was executed by Prince Victor of Hohenlohe, who was a former messmate of the commodore in the Raleigh. When Miss Agnes Weston, whose name is so well known for her work among the sailors, opened the Royal Sailors' Rest, Portsmouth, she named the first ward "After a name never to be forgotten in the Navy, 'Commodore Goodenough.'" GOODENOUGH. (1932, April 30). The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16859788
FUNERAL OF COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. The funeral of Commodore Goodenough, together with the funeral of the two brave men victims of the same massacre, took place on the afternoon of the 24thult, at the North Shore. The offices were closed at noon, and many of the establishments in the city suspended business as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. Soon after 12 o'clock thousands of persons assembled at the Circular Quay, and all the boats and steamers that could be engaged were thronged with persons anxious to pay their last mark of respect to the dead. There was a large procession of mourners. The march from the Point to the cemetery was long and toilsome, the roads being very rough, and the dust rising in clouds. When the cemetery was reached the marines and, crew of the men-of-war passed into the grounds, and were formed into order around the grave. The coffins remained outside, where the funeral procession was, formed, and the rest of the cortège passed in. Mrs Goodenough, as chief mourner, with the two children, each carrying beautifully-wrought wreaths of flowers, followed the remains towards the grave, which we're also accompanied by the chaplain of the Pearl, and the Bishop of Sydney, his Excellency the Governor and suite, and the members of the Ministry and a few others. The graves lie side by side-that of the commodore, being the central one, the grave of seaman Rayner lying to the right, and that of seaman Small to the left of the commodore's. The coffins having been decorated with flowers by loving hands were gently lowered into their last resting place. The impressive funeral service of the Church of England was read by the chaplain of H. M.S. Pearl, the whole scene being one of deep solemnity. Many present were greatly affected, especially the men who had been so lately under the commodore's command. The benediction was pronounced by the Bishop of Sydney, and three volleys having been fired by a company of men from the Sappho and Pearl, the vast assemblage, which numbered some thousands, dispersed. Whilst the service over the grave was being performed, 11 minute gun's were fired from the Pearl, and 11 more from Dawes' Battery. The coffin bore the following inscription:--"Commodore James Graham Goodenough, died 20th August, 1875, aged 44 years." The inscriptions on the coffins of the two seamen gave their names as Edward Rayner and Frederick Small respectively. Both were 18 years of age.'
We may mention, as being a somewhat singular circumstance, that the last public act of the late lamented commodore in this colony was the unveiling of the statue of Captain Cook at Randwick-a statue which had been erected to the memory of a brave man, who met with a fate in many respects similiar to that which brought his own useful life to an untimely end. At the beginning of an eloquent and masterly oration, which he delivered on the occasion, he applied these words in speaking of captain Cook's character "That life was an example of diligence, of industry, and of devotion to duty ; and the character which became developed was one which shows perseverance, constancy, courage, and generosity." How truthfully may these words now be applied to the deceased officer, whose praise is in everyone's mouth.-Sydney Herald. FUNERAL OF COMMODORE GOODENOUGH. (1875, September 2). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 3 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61911680
Monument to Commodore Goodenough, St. Leonard's Cemetery.
"WE present our readers this week with a view of the monument erected in St. Leonard's Cemetry, North Shore, to the memory of that brave sailor, Commodore Goodenough, and to two of his crew who fell with him, Edward Rayner and Frederick Small Monument to Commodore Goodenough, St. Leonard's Cemetery. (1876, May 20). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 20. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7059161
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Walter McGill b. 1826, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK d. 2 July 1881 Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW was a sculptor, monumental mason and phrenologist. McGill worked in Port Fairy, Victoria, from the mid 1850s until the early 1860s, then lived at Maitland, NSW. In Port Fairy McGill worked on the carvings of St. John’s Church of England, designed by Nathaniel Billing and built between 1853 and 1858. After moving to Sydney, McGill around 1864 carved the St. Jude’s Fountain, Alison Road, Randwick (NSW, 1866) and the nearby statue of Captain Cook, High Cross, Randwick (1874). The St. Jude’s fountain features a clever use of naturally occurring red stripes in the sandstone block to highlight the decorative floral motif. McGill carved the capitals on James Barnet’s extension of the Australian Museum, Sydney, 1866, and was commissioned by NSW Chief Justice Sir James Martin to sculpt a life-size replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates for Martin’s Potts Point garden (1870, moved to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, during World War II).
Mr. McGill carved the allegorical figures, including “Science”, on the Sydney General Post Office’s George Street façade in 1869, as well as the northern façade of the first stage of the same building. Darlinghurst Gaol also benefited from his work. McGill is also credited with the Woolloomooloo Gates of the Royal Botanic Gardens, erected in 1873.
As a phrenologist, McGill cast the death mask of executed bushranger Captain Moonlight in 1880 (Historic Houses Trust NSW Police & Justice Museum Collection) among others. He was also known as a caricaturist and his model of the Zigzag Railway was sent to the Melbourne Exhibition in 1880-1881.
McGill died at his Darlinghurst home on 2 July 1881, apparently as the result of an earlier accident involving a collision with a horse in Paddington, although a post mortem indicates he may have been haunted by some of his work and driven to drink.
Casts of the Bushranger's Heads.
We learn that the Colonial Secretary gave authority to Mr. Walter M'Gill, the sculptor, to have casts of the heads of the bushrangers taken. Armed with the authority, or note, from Sir Henry to the sheriff Mr. M'Gill took a cast of the heads of Rogan and of Scott. Mr. M'Gill, who had taken casts of 23 of the most notorious criminals heretofore known, says that Scott's is far the worst. 30 years phrenological experience convinces Mr. M'Gill in this opinion, He says Scott's head was so formed that it was morally impossible for him to tell the truth or be honest ;that was was void of all moral courage, very secretive, and would keep up to the last anything he once said; that he could not stand contradiction with calmness, and that he had suoh a love of life and its pleasures that he would not care how he gained his ends. It is such a head, says M'Gill, that it would be a constant source of annoyance and trouble to those about him, and, in fact, it would cost £1000 a year to keep him in gaol. Rogan's head shows great animal propensities, great cruelty, and dishonesty; in fact, in almost every particular, one of the lowest stamps of men Mr. M'Gill ever handled. The only redeeming feature about Scott's head was slight benevolence. Casts of the Bushranger's Heads. (1880, January 21). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108733650
CORONER'S INQUESTS.
The City Coroner (Mr. H. Shiell, J.P.) held an inquest at the Willow Tree Inn, Victoria-street. Darlinghurst, yesterday, relative to the death of Mr. Walter M'Gill, a sculptor, who died suddenly at his residence, No. 126,Victoria-street, on Saturday morning. Deceased was 57years old and a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. He arrived in the colony about 28 years ago. Three weeks ago he went to his house, and stated to his housekeeper that he had been knocked down at Paddington by a horse. He had received a mark on his right side. On Friday M'Gillsaid that he thought he would bleed to death. Thatnight he went to bed in a state of intoxication. He rose at half-past 6 o'clock on Saturday morning, and vomited a good deal. Some time afterwards he was found to be looking very strangely. He was placed upon a sofa, and died soon afterwards. Dr. O'Connor, who made a post mortem examination, deposed that he found several of M'Gill's organs in a diseased state, the result of intemperance. Death was caused by rupture of an aortic aneurism. A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical testimony. CORONER'S INQUESTS. (1881, July 5). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28381710
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THE WATSONS. Of Watson's Bay.
(BY CAPTAIN J. H. WATSON.)
Visitors to this seaside resort have experienced a difficulty in finding out, when they have attempted to do so, after whom it was named, for at different periods in its history two persons bearing the name of Watson have lived there, each of whom was "pilot and harbour master," and when information was given the wrong man as a rule received the credit.
Among the crew of H.M.S. Sirius, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, when she arrived in 1788, was a Robert Watson, who held the rating of quartermaster, and who, after the wreck of that vessel at Norfolk Island, in March, 1790, and the crew had been brought to Sydney, became one of the signalmen at the South Head, and later had command of the colonial schooner Francis, in succession to Mr. William House, and after the loss of this vessel, at Newcastle, in March,1805, he was appointed pilot at Sydney, and resided at the bay at South Head.
In the Sydney "Gazette" of April 13, 1811,can be read that "on Tuesday, his Excellency the Governor and Mrs. Macquarie, accompanied by his Honor the Lieutenant-Governor and Mrs. O'Connell, Mrs. Palmer (of Walloomoolla) [Woolloomooloo], and a party of officers, among whom were those on his Excellency's staff, made an excursion to South Head by water, his Excellency making a visit of inspection to North Harbour en passant. In the evening the party, alighted from their boats in that part of Camp Cove (now called Watson's Bay) where the native figtree spreads its foliage into an agreeable alcove. Beneath its verdant canopy a cold collation was presented; and, after a stay of nearly two hours at this beautiful romantic spot, the company returned to town." In this we have the evidence of this "romantic spot" being called Watson's Bay in 1811.
In August, 1811, Robert Watson was appointed boatswain of the dockyard at Sydney, and harbour master of Port Jackson. In 1813 he is described as harbour master and senior pilot, and his son, Edward Watson, was in command of the colonial vessel Estramina. In 1814 he resigned his position of pilot.
In 1816 something went wrong, and he was dismissed from the office he held as boatswain of the dockyard for misconduct, otherwise misappropriation of the stores, but by inference the charge was not true, because the lighthouse at South Head, commenced in 1816,was completed and lit for the first time on November 30, 1818, and under date of November 28, "his Excellency has been pleased to appoint Mr. Robert Watson to be superintendent and keeper of the light on Macquarie Tower, with a salary of £50 per annum."
Robert Watson did not long occupy the position, for he died at his house on The Rocks on November 1, 1819 — his age not stated. He was interred in the old Devonshire-street cemetery, and on that ground being resumed for the present Central Railway Station, the remains were removed, with others, to the Bunnerong burial ground, where they now rest. The only thing to mark the grave when they were deposited in it was a piece of the original headstone, with a few letters cut on it.
ANOTHER WATSON.
The other Watson was Captain Thomas Watson. He was the son of Captain Daniel Watson, who late in life lived in the Campbell-town district, as host of the inn named Robin Hood. An entry in the register of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, at Denham Court, reads: "Death—Daniel Watson, of Robin Hood, died March 9, 1857; buried March 11, 1857,aged 87, formerly a pilot." Captain Thomas Watson was a master mariner and ship-owner of some note in Sydney. His history is a long one, and can only be briefly given here. In 1836 he was a pilot of Port Jackson, with office in the dockyard, which was then on the western side of Sydney Cove, where Burns, Philp, and Co. now have their wharf, and he had a private residence at Watson's Bay. In 1837 he sold this, when it was called in the advertisements "A Marine Villa, at Watson's Bay, bounded by the waters of Port Jackson." This passed through many owners, finally belonging to Sir John Robertson, under the name of Clovelly, after whose death it was demolished.
Captain Watson bought the brig Essington, and went as store ship with the expedition under Sir John Gordon Bremer in H.MS. Alligator, and Lieutenant Owen in H.MS. Britomart, to North Australia. On returning from this service he returned to his position of pilot, to which he was reappointed on October 29, 1830.
If at this time we can judge Captain Thomas Watson by his actions, we would come to the conclusion that he was a man of unsettled disposition, or else he was one who sank his own inclinations at the request of the local authorities to accept a position of trust that his acquaintance with nautical matters fitted him for at a time when men of his type would be scarce.
After a few years he returned to the sea, owning and commanding vessels that traded to the islands and China. When he retired from service afloat he owned whalers. For some years he was a member of the New South Wales Navigation and Pilot Board.
He was a great admirer of Captain Cook, and at his own cost he erected a monument to him in Bigge-square, in the town of Liverpool, and one at Randwick, which Commodore Goodenough unveiled. And it was through his advocacy and monetary assistance that the statue to Captain Cook in Hyde Park was erected in 1879.
He died a few months later, at his residence at Randwick, on October 4, 1879, aged 84 years
Watson's Bay, as stated before, was named after Robert Watson, and the memorial, designed by Professor Wilkinson, and erected at the suggestion of the Royal Australian Historical Society, by the Municipal Council of Vaucluse, commemorates him, and visitors to the bay can now satisfy themselves by reading the inscription on it. THE WATSONS. (1929, November 23). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 13. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16604299
Liverpool was planned in 1818 by Mr. Surveyor Bigge. One feature was a market square, comprising eight and a half acres. Tills way called Bigge's Square, the name being painted on aboard in the centre of one of the sides of the square. In the square an obelisk was erected by Captain Thomas Watson (the same public-spirited citizen who erected the statue to Captain Cook at Randwick). LIVERPOOL STARTED BY CHANCE. (1941, February 13).Liverpool News (NSW : 1937 - 1941), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66433289
LIVERPOOL. THE ANCIENT LANDMARK.
At Tuesday night's council meeting Alderman Cruikshank moved, — 'That the obelisk on Bigge Square Park be removed to a more conspicuous position, and that it be repaired at a probable cost of £5.' He said this ancient landmark in the history of. Australia should be removed, and suggested it be placed at the corner of Moore and George streets. The motion was carried unanimously. LIVERPOOL. (1917, November 3). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86082867
Liverpool. October 21. Bigge Square.— The alienation of Bigge Square, or Moore Park, as it is variously named, has for the last month formed the subject of town talk, and a public meeting of the townspeople was held on Saturday evening to express their sentiments on the subject. The Mayor, who occupied the chair, explained that when the Railway Commissioners were in Liverpool settling the site for the bridge overthe Georges 'River, he took occasion to point out to Mr. Eddy the suitability of the square for railway station purposes. With the hint thus offered Mr. Eddy at once agreed, and said the commissioners were at one in predicting that Liverpool was bound to become a big place ; and, although it was in the power of the commissioners to resume the square without giving the council any compensation, seeing they had no proper title to it, yet if the council would consent to its alienation to the commissioners, and that consent was supported by the voice of the ratepayers, they would not be particular to a hundred or two in fixing the amount for compensation. ' He (the Mayor) had mentioned the sum of.£2000, not because that was the market value of the square, which was nearer .£4000 than .£3000 ; but as they had no indefeasible claim to anything in the shape of compensation, it was better to get that amount than nothing. The square was little or no value to the town for purposes of recreation; and it was intended to apply for 100 acres of the common, of which the council were made trustees in June last, for the purpose of having it dedicated as a park. The £2000 mentioned in the course of conversation, and to which the commissioners raised no objection, would do much toward beautifying that portion of the common that might be selected by the ratepayers for a park; and as he was of opinion that the commissioners intended to build workshops on a portion of the square, the benefit of these to Liverpool would be incalculable, as they would be the means of bringing skilled mechanical labor amongst the ratepayers. This would enable them to give their boys mechanical trades, which they could not now do without sending' than away from home ; a thing which many parents were averse to. He thought that as they could legitimately lay claim to no compensation at all, it would be well for them to accept these terms. Alderman Watt moved as a formal motion that the recreation ground be offered to the commissioners on terms, and at a rate to be subsequently decided on; and gave it as his opinion that if the commissioners intended to erect workshops on the park it would, pay the people of Liverpool to make them a present of it. The motion was seconded and warmly supported; Alderman Stimson modifying his support by saying that he thought the money consideration should not be less than £3000. The meeting; was eventually adjourned till next Wednesday, to give the business people of the town an opportunity of having a voice in the matter. ' Liverpool. (1890, October 24). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113743883
CAPTAIN WATSON. Eighty-eighth Birthday.Captain Cook.
COOK'S PARENTAGE AND EARLY CAREER.
JAMES COOK, the illustrious discoverer, who will be honoured by all future generations as the pioneer of British colonization in Australasia, was born at Marton, in Yorkshire, on the 27th October, 1728. His father was an agricultural labourer, who rose to the position of farm bailiff. James Cook, after receiving the elements of education from Dame Walker, the village schoolmistress, went with his father and mother to Airy Holm, near Ayrton; and was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to Mr. William Sanderson, haberdasher, at Staiths, Whitby, in his native county. Of too adventurous a spirit to be kept within the limits of a shopkeeper's business, and having quarrelled with his master, he left him to enter a collier, belonging to Messrs. John and Henry Walker, as a sailor. For some years he continued to work in coasting vessels, and finding a seaman's life congenial to his taste he began to display superior capacity for navigation.
HE ENTERS THE ROYAL NAVY.
In 1755, at the age of 27, he entered the Royal Navy. He served on board the Eagle, under Sir Hugh Palliser, who took notice of his ability and faithfulness in duty, and recommended him for pro- motion. Through his influence Cook was made master of the sloop Grampus, and afterwards had command of the Garland and of the Mercury. In the Mercury he served at the capture of Quebec. After that event he was employed in sounding and surveying the river St. Lawrence. He was appointed master of the Northumberland, and in 1762 he was present at the recapture of Newfoundland. The same year he returned to England; and having by diligent study attained great proficiency in mathematics and astronomy, he was employed to carry out a survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. While acting as marine surveyor, he published, in the Philosophical Transactions, the observation of an eclipse of the sun which he wrote at one of the Burgeo islands.
HIS FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY.
The publication of his astronomical observations drew on him the attention of the Royal Society, who offered him the command of an expedition to the Pacific Ocean, to make an observation of the transit of the planet Venus across the sun. He accordingly sailed from Plymouth on the 26th August, 1768, in the Endeavour, of 370 tons. Mr. Banks (afterwards Sir Joseph Banks, and President of the Royal Society) and Dr. Solander, a Swede, and a pupil to the great Linnaeus, accompanied him. They reached Tahiti, or, as he called it, Otaheite, on the 13th April, 1769. There he erected an observatory, and succeeded in his astronomical observations. Important addition was made to the materials of science by this observation of the planet's transit, the first ever taken on the opposite side of the world from Europe. They stayed three months at Tahiti, and were received in a friendly manner by several of the chiefs and people, who furnished them with much information concerning the island. At the commencement of their visit Cook drew up a set of regulations for the behaviour of his men on shore, and thus guarded against injury. Tupia, who had been Prime Minister to Queen Oberea, became a most useful informant, and he was induced to accompany them on their voyage, with his son Tayoti.
Right: Official portrait of Captain James Cook - Created: 1775-76 - by Nathaniel Dance-Holland - from the National Maritime Museum, United Kingdom
They found Tupia of great assistance in their visits to the other islands of the group. On the 13th July, 1769, they left Tahiti, and visited Huaheinoe, Ulietea, and Otaha. On the 9th October they reached New Zealand, and there observed a transit of the planet Mercury. The ferocity of the inhabitants prevented their spending their time on land as they had done in Tahiti. Notwithstanding all difficulties, however, Cook succeeded in obtaining information concerning the country, which for comprehensiveness and accuracy has been the wonder of later explorers. They sailed all round this land, and prepared for the civilized world the first map of New Zealand. On the 13th January, 1770, Captain Cook took formal possession of the land in the name of His Majesty, and set up the British flag. After spending nearly six months there they sailed from Cape Farewell on the 31st March, and bore away to the westward, with a fair wind and fine weather, for New Holland, the eastern coast of which had never been explored by Europeans.
DISCOVERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
The first sign of the land to which they were approaching was a tropic bird which they saw on the 9th April. On the 15th they saw an egg bird and a gannet ; on the 16th a small land bird perched on the rigging. At six o'clock a.m. on the 19th, they caught sight of land. This was between 37 and 38 degrees south latitude, in what is now called Gippsland. The first point which they observed to the south was Cape Everard, called by Captain Cook Hicks's Point, in honour of Hicks, his lieutenant, who first perceived it. The next point which came in sight as they sailed northward was called Earn Head, from its resemblance to a point bearing that name at the entrance to Plymouth Sound. The next point seen and named was Cape Howe. On the 21st they passed Mount Dromedary and Point Upright. On the 22nd they went near enough to the shore, somewhere near the southern extremity of Illawarra, to see some of the inhabitants. On the 27th they saw some natives carrying a canoe on their shoulders. The captain took Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Tupia with him in the yawl and rowed to where the natives were. The natives, however, ran away from them; and the surf was too great for them to land. They returned to the ship, and a breeze springing up they sailed to the northward.
ARRIVAL AT BOTANY BAY.
The next day they entered Botany Bay, so called by Cook from the large collection of plants obtained there, and anchored. Captain Cook, accompanied as before by Banks, Solander, and Tupia, manned the boats and went to land. When they came near the shore two natives advanced with defiant gestures, as if to dispute their landing. The captain thereupon threw them some beads and other trifles, with which they appeared much pleased. He then made signs that he wanted water. They, in return, made signs for the boat and crew to land. But as soon as the boat came close to the beach the two natives assumed a posture of hostility. A musket was fired between them, on which one of them dropped a bundle of lances and snatched them up instantly. They then began to throw stones at the boat, on which the captain ordered a musket, loaded with small shot, to be fired at them.
THE LANDING OF CAPTAIN COOK.
This wounded one of them in the leg, on which he retreated to a hut. The people in the boats then landed-as near as can be ascertained at the spot represented in page 9. They supposed that the contest was over; but the wounded man soon came out again with a shield, of oval shape, coloured white in the middle, and with two holes to look through. The other native joined him, and both, with remarkable pluck, advanced towards the captain and his men and threw their lances at them. No one was wounded by this discharge; and another musket was fired, on which they turned and took to their heels. In the evening Banks and Solander went with the captain to a point on the north side of the bay, where they caught between three and four hundred-weight of fish in four hauls. They afterwards caught plenty of fish, among which wore two largest ingarees, or sting-rays, one of which weighed 350 lb.
On the 1st May, Forby Sutherland, one of the seamen, died, and was buried at a point called to this day Point Sutherland, of which, an engraving is given in another page. That evening they again visited the huts, from which the natives had fled, and left there a number of presents. The next day Lieutenant Gore went on shore with a midshipman. They were followed everywhere by about twenty natives, who, however, did not come within a certain distance, nor show any desire to attack them, but moved when they moved and stopped when they stopped. Tupia, also, the Tahitian, went ashore by himself shooting parrots. He had become skilful in the use of the gun, and the natives seemed to be in as much awe of him as of the Englishmen. While Cook remained in Botany Bay the British flag was displayed; and before they left they carved the name of the ship, with the date, on a tree near the place where they took in water.
EXPLORATION OF THE COAST.
On the 6th May, 1770, they sailed out of Botany Bay, and at noon passed a harbour, which Cook called Port Jackson, in honour of his friend Sir George Jackson, Judge Advocate of the Fleet. None of them of course had any conception of the size of this inlet, or the importance which was afterwards to be attached to it. The same afternoon they passed a bay which from its aspect they named Broken Bay. On the 13th, seeing the smoke of numerous fires on a point, they called it Smoky Cape-it is at the side of what is now Port Macquarie. On the 15th they passed the high land called from that day Cape Byron. On the 25th they came to Cape Capricorn ; and on the 29th to Cleveland. On the 3rd June, which was Trinity Sunday, they arrived at the bay thence called Trinity Bay. Hitherto their voyage had been remarkably free from disaster; but opposite the next notable point, Cape Tribulation, the ship ran upon a coral reef, and sprung a leak. The land was eight leagues distant, the boats could not contain all the crew, and as the wator was gaining on the pumps alarm and despondency for awhile prevailed. But after several days "tribulation " the ship was moved off the rocks, and on Sunday, 17th June, entered the adjoining harbour, the mouth of which they called from their ship, Endeavour River. There they remained till the 4th of August ; and then sailed out and pursued their way northward. Fearing the shoals, they put out to the open sea on the 13th August, after having been constantly sounding for a thousand miles.
HE TAKES FORMAL POSSESSION OF THE COUNTRY.
Oh the 21st they discovered the channel between Australia and New Guinea. Captain Cook then ascended a hill on one of the York Islands, and displaying the British colours, took formal possession of the eastern coast of New Holland, from the 38th to the 10th degree of south latitude, in the name of the King of England. They then sailed westward through Torres' Straits. The Endeavour sailed altogether 2000 miles along the coasts of Australia. The exemplary care of Cook over the health of his men was attended with happy results for the most part ; but at Batavia, where they spent a considerable time after passing the Straits, the men were seized with illness, which proved fatal to thirty of them. On the 12th June, 1771, they reached the Downs.
COOK'S SECOND VOYAGE.
On the 13th July, 1772, Cook having been raised by the King to the rank of captain in the navy, sailed in command of the Resolution and Adventure, -with,193 men. During a voyage of three years he went in search of tho supposed great southern land, and then traversed the Pacific from Easter Island to theNew Hebrides, and discovered the large island of New Caledonia, now occupiod as a French colony. On the 30th July, 1775, they reached England again.
HIS THIRD AND LAST VOYAGE.
On the 12th July, 1770, Captain Cook set out on his third and last voyage to the Pacific, in his old ship, the Resolution, accompanied by Captain Clarke in the Discovery. After discovering several small islands, they sailed in the spring of 1777 for the Friendly Islands ; and spent the rest of the year in that group. In January, 1778, they sailed northward for Behring's Straits. On the way they discovered the Sandwich Islands, which Cook named after the Earl of Sandwich. Thence they sailed in March to the coast of America, and proceeded to Behring's Straits ; but finding the passage blocked up with ice, they returned to the Sandwich Islands, and spent several months exploring this group.
STAY AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
They were treated with great honour by the chiefs and people of the islands, until a disastrous train of incidents suddenly and most unexpectedly brought about the death of this great and good commander. An aged King of Hawaii-named Terrecoboo, entertained Captain Cook and Lieutenant King with, exuberant hospitality; and his people insisted on paying divine honours to Cook, whom they called Orono-a word signifying deity. The priests ordered the people to prostrate themselves before him. Torreeoboo visited the captain on board the ship, and Cook returned the visit. Suddenly a taboo was proclaimed, and the Hawaiians were forbidden by their priests or chiefs to approach the Englishmen on their ships. This sudden change awakened some apprehension of ill intentions; and on the 13th February it was found that the cutter of the Discovery had been stolen. To ensure the return of the boat, Cook determined to get possession of the person of the old king-an expedient that he had before successfully used. Between seven and eight o'clock on the morning of the 14th February, 1779, Captain Cook left his ship in the pinnace, with Mr. Phillips and nine mariners, followed by Lieutenant King in the small boat. Cook landed and went to the house of the king, and persuaded him to go on board. The king complied, and his two sons ran down before him to the boat. But as the rest of the party were going down to the water's edge, one of the king's wives, Kaneebabareen, the mother of the two boys in the boat, came after Terreeoboo, and with tears entreated him not to go on board, lest he should be killed. Two chiefs also came up and insisted with force that he should not go on board. The king appeared willing to go, but yielded to the urgency of his people. The conduct of those people is partly explained by the fact that a conflict had arisen in another part of the island, and firearms had been used with fatal effect by some of the Englishmen. A great crowd collected, and the demand that the king should remain on shore was vehemently pressed. Cook abandoned his attempt to get Terreeoboo into the pinnace. Yet even then neither he nor any of his companions thought there was any danger.
COOK ASSASSINATED BY THE NATIVES.
An eye-witness, Mr. Sninwell, thus describes what followed :-"While the king was in this situation, a chief, well known to us, of the name of Coho, was observed lurking near, with an iron dagger partly concealed under his cloak, seemingly with the intention of stabbing Captain Cook or the lieutenant of marines. The latter proposed to fire at him, but Captain Cook would not permit it. Coho closing upon him compelled the officer to strike him with his piece, which made him retire. Another Indian laid hold of the sergeant's musket to wrench it from him, but was prevented hy the lieutenant making a blow at him. Captain Cook seeing the tumult increase, and the Indians growing more daring and resolute, observed that if they were to take the king off by force, he could not do it without sacrificing the lives of the people. He then paused a little, and was on the point of giving orders to re-embark, when a man threw a stone at him, which he returned with a discharge of small shot, with which one barrel of his piece was loaded. The man, having a thick mat before him, received little or no hurt. He brandished his spear, and threatened to dart it at Captain Cook ; who, being still unwilling to take away his life, instead of firing with ball, knocked him down with, his musket. He expostulated strongly with the most forward of the crowd upon their turbulent behaviour.
He had given up all thoughts of getting the king on board, as it appeared impracticable ; and his care was then only to act on the defensive, and to secure a safe embarkation for his small party, which was closely pressed by a body of several thousand people. Koowa, the king's son, who was in the pinnace, being alarmed on hearing the first firing, was at his own entreaty put on shore again ; for even at that time Mr. Roberts, who commanded her, did not apprehend that Captain Cook's person was in any danger; other wise he would have detained the prince which no doubt would have been a great check on the Indians. One man was observed behind a double canoe in the act of darting his spear at Captain Cook, who was forced to fire at him in his own defence, but happened to kill another close to him equally forward in the tumult. The sergeant observing that he had missed the man he aimed at, received orders to fire at him, which he did, and killed him. By this time the impetuosity of the Indians was somewhat repressed ; they fell back in a body, and seemed staggered ; but being pushed on by those behind they returned to the charge, and poured a volley of stones among the marines, who, without waiting for orders, returned it with a general discharge of musketry, which was instantly followed by a fire from the boats. At this Captain Cook was heard to express his astonishment ; he waved his hand to the boats, and called on them to come nearer in to rescue the marines. Mr. Roberts immediately brought the pinnace as close to the shore as he could without grounding, notwithstanding the shower of stones that fell among the people. But the lieutenant who had command on the launch, instead of pulling in to the assistance of Captain Cook withdrew his boat further off at the moment that everything seems to have depended on the timely exertions of those in the boats. By his own account he mistook the signal ; but be that as it may, this circumstances appears to me to have decided the fatal turn of the affair, and to have removed every chance which remained with Captain Cook of escaping with his life.
"When the marines had fired, the indians rushed among them and forced them into the water, where four of them were killed. Their lieutenant was wounded, but fortunately escaped, and was taken up by the pinnace. Captain Cook was then the only one remaining on the rock. He was observed making for the pinnace, holding his left hand against the back of his head to guard it from stones, and carrying his musket under the other arm. An Indian (Nooah, a man of great strength and stature) was seen following him, but with caution and timidity; for he stopped once or twice, as if undetermined to proceed. At last he advanced on him unawares, and with a large club or common stake gave him a blow on the back of the head, and then precipitately retreated. The stroke seems to have stunned Captain Cook ; he staggered; a few paces, then fell on his hand and on one knee, and dropped his musket. As he was rising, and before he could recover his feet, another Indian stabbed him in the back of the neck with an iron dagger. He then fell in a bit of water about knee deep, where others crowded upon him, and endeavoured to keep him under; but, struggling very strongly with them, he got his head up, and casting a look towards the pinnace seemed to solicit assistance. Though the boat was not above five or six yards distant from him, yet from the crowded and confused state of the crew it seems it was not in their power to save him. The Indians got him under again, but in deeper water. He was, however, able to get his head up once more, and being almost spent in the struggle, he turned to the rock, and was endeavouring to support himself by it when the savage gave him a blow with the club, and he was seen alive no more. They hauled him up lifeless on the rocks, where they seemed to take a savage pleasure in using every barbarity to his dead body ; snatching the dagger out of each other's hands to have the horrid satisfaction of piercing the fallen victim of their barbarous rage. The fatal event happened at eight o'clock in the morning."
Thus fell this noble captain and discoverer. It was some days before his officers and men could recover his mutilated remains from the infuriated savages. At last they succeeded; and on the 21st February he was buried with the accustomed funeral solemnities in the ocean-the resting-place of many of England's bravest sons.
SCENES ON THE SHORES OF BOTANY BAY.
I. THE LANDING PLACE OF CAPTAIN COOK.-The second of the engravings, on page 9 represents the spot where Cook first landed, on the south side of Botany Bay.
II. POINT SUTHERLAND.-The second engraving on page 16 is Point Sutherland, where Forby Sutherland was buried with the old well where Cook obtained a supply of water.
III. BOTANY BAY FROM THE LANDWARD.-The second engraving, page 12, is a distant view of Botany Bay from tho high ground about Petersham, looking out through tho heads on the Pacific Ocean.
IV. LA PEROUSE'S MONUMENT (See p. 12.)-This monument, placed on the north sido of the entrance to the Bay, was ercctcd to the memory of M. De La Peyrouse, commander of the French ships Boussole and Astrolabe, who visited Botany Bay about nine years after tho death of Cook, and there mot Captain Phillip just setting sail from the bay, with the first fleet for Port Jackson. After leaving this coast, M. Do La Peyrouse, and the two ships under his command were never seen again. It is supposed, from reports heard by Captain Dillon in 1826, that they were wrecked on a reef off Mallicolo, in the New Hebrides group; and that all tho crews perished-some by the hands of the savages and the rest at sea. France recognized the claims of La Peyrouse as a martyr in the cause of patriotism and science; and, under the direction of M. M. Bouganville and Ducampier, com- manders of the Thetis and L'Esperance, the monu- ment, of which the engraving presents a sketch, waserected in 1825, and the following years.
V. BRASS TABLET.-The first engraving on page 12, represents the scene where a brass plate was affixed to the rock, near the landing-place of Cook, by the Philosophical Society of Australasia, in March, 1822. At that time, his Excellency Sir Thomas Brisbane being President; Dr. Henry Grattan Douglass, secretary and treasurer of the Philosophical Society, and the other members of the society-Alexander Berry, Esq., Barron Field, Esq., F. Goulburn, Esq., Patrick Hill, Esq., William Howe, Esq., Captain Irvine, Captain King, John Oxley, Esq., and Edward Wollstonecraft, Esq., with Captain Elliot, Captain Piper, Captain Gambier, and the officers of the Dauntless-went out on the 19th March, 1822, to the south head of Botany Bay, and thence to the spot where Cook landed, and affixed to the rocks a brazen tablet, with the following inscription :-" A.D.MDCCLXX. Under the auspices of British Science these shores were discovered by James Cook and Joseph Banks-the Columbus and the Maecenas of their time. This spot once saw them ardent in the pursuit of knowledge. Now, to their memory this tablet is inscribed, in the first year of the Philosophical Society of Australasia. Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C.B., and F.R.S.L. and E., corresponding member of tho Institute of France, President. A.D., MDCCCXXI." After seeing the plate soldered to the rocks about twenty-five feet above the level of the sea, the party there drank to the immortal fame of the illustrious discoverer.
VI. KUNDEL HOUSE (See page 13)-Sometimes called Curnell House (a corruption of the native name of Cunthul), was built on a spot where a small clearing was made in 1788, at the time of Governor Phillip's arrival with "the first fleet." It is near the spot where Cook landed, and was the place where the first attempt at "colonization" was made by hands of Europeans on the soil of Australia. It is a pleasant site, but the house is now falling into decay.
THE MONUMENT TO CAPTAIN COOK IN HYDE PARK.
The propriety of erecting a monument in this colony to the memory of the great navigator had been canvassed here for some time before any successful efforts were made for the purpose. It was long matter of surprise that no special memorial of his Australian discoveries had been erected in any of the colonies, but more especially in New South Wales, on the shores of which he first landed. However, the matter was at length taken in hand by Captain Thomas Watson, who soon had other influential gentlemen resident in and about Sydney, most of them old colonists, to co-operate with him; and it was decided that a committee should be formed to collect funds for the erection of a suitable monument. But, though the matter was energetically pushed for some time their efforts were not fully successful; and after some influential endeavours to bring the undertaking to the desired issue, it fell into abeyance. About the beginning of last year it was again taken up, and this time under more favourable auspices. A large meeting was held in the Victoria Theatre, at which Sir Alfred Stephen, C. J., presided. There were upon the platform, the Hon. John Campbell, the Hon. T. A. Murray, the Hon. Saul Samuel, the Hon. J. Sutherland, the Hon. J. Robertson, the Hon. Alexander Campbell, the Hon. S. D. Gordon, Captain Watson, (who may justly be considered the originator of the movement, he having from the first taken the initiative both in the defunct committee and the present one), Mr. Graham, M.P., Mr. Driver, M.P., Mr. Bell, M.P., Mr. Windeyer, M.P.,Mr. J. G. Eaphaol, J.P., Mr. William Day, J.P., Mr. T. Spencer, &c, &c. After an eloquent address from Sir Alfred Stephen, the Hon. T. A. Murray moved, "That in the opinion of this meeting it is the duty of the people of this, the oldest of the Australian colonies, to testify their regard for the great navigator, Cook, and perpetuate the association of his name with the history of New South Wales, by the erection of some national monument to his honour." Mr. Windeyer seconded this resolution, and it was carried unanimously. The second resolution, which was moved by Mr. E. M. Isaacs, and seconded by the Hon. John Campbell, was, "That this meeting, therefore, warmly sympathizes in the movement initiated by the Captain Cook Committee, for the erection of a statue in honor of the groat navigator, and pledges itself to employ its influence in bringing the undertaking to a speedy and satisfactory issue."
After some further resolutions it was decided "that a committee be appointed to co- operate with the existing Cook Statue Committee in selecting, and if necessary obtaining from the Government, a proper site for a monument, and for otherwise carrying out the object of those resolutions ; such committee to consist of Sir Alfred Stephen, the Hon. T. A. Murray, the Hon. John Robertson, the Hon. John Campbell, the Hon. Mr. Owen, the Hon. Saul Sonmel, the Hon. John Suthorland, the Hon. Aloxander Campbell, the Hon. James Martin, Mr. Isaacs, M.P., Mr, Parkes, M.P., Mr. Eagar, M.P. Mr. Driver, M.P., Kev. Dr. Lang, Mr. Windeyer, M.P., Mr. Oatley, M.P., Mr. E. Sadler, Captain Watson, and Mr. Raphael, with power to add to their number."
The committee thus appointed, having elected Sir Alfred Stephen their chairman, proceeded in an energetic manner. Tho committee was largely augmented, meetings were held, weekly subscription lists were opened, and the city-indeed the colony at large-actively canvassed for contributions. By this means a large sum of money was speedily obtained, and operations were commenced by entrusting the carrying out of the selected design for the pedestal to Mr. Blacket, the eminent architect. There was much discussion as to the most eligible site for the monument; but that ultimately selected was the eastern portion of Hyde Park, south of William street, and immediately opposite the Museum-an elevated and commanding position where the statue will be conspicuous both from the harbour and many parts of the city.
Happily enough it happened that the second visit of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh to this colony took place at the time when the committee were about to make a practicable commencement of the patriotic work they had undertaken; and it was resolved that the sailor Prince should be invited to lay the foundation stone of the monument to the illustrious sea captain. This he at once consented to do, and the ceremony came off on the 7th March, 1869, in the presence of some twelve thousand persons. The site itself was made the centre of a large triangular space, each side of which was filled up by grand stands erected for the accommodation of the public, and each of which was densely crowded. The walls of the Museum and the adjacent buildings were also lined with intensely interested spectators, and the park was probably never before so densely crowded. In the reserved space around the statue the following persons, besides His Royal Highness and Lord Belmore, were witnesses of the ceremony:-His Honor Sir Alfred Stephen, C.B., C. J., the Hon. John Robert- son (the Premier), the Hon. Saul Samuel, .Colonial Treasurer; the Hon. John Sutherland, Minister for Works; the Hon. J. F. Josephson (then Solicitor- General), the Hon Daniel Egan, Postmaster-General; the Hon. Robert Owen, representative of the Government in the Upper House; the Lord Bishop of Sydney, Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Goulburn; the Hon. Sir Terence Aubrey Murray, President of the Legislative Council; the Hon. John Blaxland, the Hon. W. Byrnes, the Hon. Alexander Campbell, the Hon. Samuel D. Gordon, the Hon. Thomas Icely, the Hon. Francis Lord, the Hon, John Macfarlane, the Hon. Henry Moore, the Hon. John Richardson, the Hon. Bourn Russell, the Hon. E. Deas Thomson, C.B., the Hon. Robert Towns, the Hon. W. M. Arnold, Speaker, the Hon. G. Eagar, Messrs. A. Bell, M. Burdekin, W. Cummings, T. Garrett, R. Hill, B. Lee, W. Macleay, J. Neale, J. J. Phelps, and Rev. Dr. Lang, M.P. ; Commander Adeane,and tho oflfcers of H.M.S. Galatea; Captain Ribault, with the officers of H.M.S. Marceau; Mr. Rudolf Kummerer, Consul for Bavaria; Mons. L. E. Sentís, Consul for France, Mr. C. St. Julian, Consul-general for Hawaii; Mr. George King, Vice-consul for Italy; Mr. S. Franck, Consul for the North German Confederation; Mr. E. O. Smith, Vice-consul for Portugal; Mr. Ed. Monson Paul. Vice-consul for Russia: Mr. W. Wolfen, Vice-consul for Sweden and Norway; Captain M'Lerie, Inspector-general of Police; Captain P. L. Cloete, W.M.P.; Captain H. J. Shadforth, Captain H. N. Beresford, A.D.C., Lieutenant Haig, R.N., Mr. F. B. Toulmin, private secretary to his Excellency; the Right Worshipful the Mayor of Sydney (Mr. Charles Moore), Aldermen Bradford, Butler, Caraher, Chapman, Hordern, Hurley, Pritchard, Steel, and Woods; Mr. Charles Moore, director of the Botanical Gardens, Captain Watson, Mr. J. E. Salomons (now Solicitor-General), Mr. J. G. Raphael, Mr. R. B. Smith, Mr. W. Day, J.P., Mr. G. H. Eoid, and a number of other gentlemen. It will be perceived that the Bench, the Bar, the Legislature, and the Municipal authorities were all numerously represented.
The following address was presented to Prince Alfred, by Sir Alfred Stephen, upon the occasion:
" Your ROYAL HIGHNESS :-The colonists of New South Wales, long desirous of commemorating, in the territory which he discovered, the name of our greatest navigator, rejoice in the opportunity afforded them by your presence, of auspiciously commencing the realization of that design. They would connect the monument which they are about to rear, with memories of their Fatherland, of their beloved Sovereign, and of that glorious flag which waves now over the Galatea, as it did over the little craft that brought Captain Cook to these shores a hundred years ago. The son of the Queen, himself a British sailor, descended from a long line of royal ancestry, is here to assist in honouring the memory, and rendering a tribute to the achievements of one, who-self-taught, and rising to fame and rank in that profession by merit only-sprang from the humblest grade among the people. The task, thus at our request undertaken by you, while we thankfully acknowledge the kindness of your compliance, we are persuaded that you will, for that very reason, consider an appropriate and not unpleasing one. And in few things could elevated station be more gracefully or acceptably occupied.
"In speaking of Captain Cook as the discoverer of this colony, we of course do not mean that he was the first who discovered the immense island, more fitly termed a continent, of which New South Wales forms part. But, as the first who visited or ever saw the Eastern coast, exploring it as he did along its entire extent, upwards of two thousand miles, he is justly entitled to the distinction. And, if he did not possess this special claim on us and our children, or on the nation for which he acquired so vast a territory, the name of Captain Cook would still deserve grateful recognition, and more than any honour which monument or statue can give, for the eminent services which he rendered to humanity and to science, and for qualities of the mind and heart which might well make any man illustrious.
"We claim, for ourselves and our brother colonists fellowship and kindred with one so eminent; and to share, as a portion of our empire, in the fame which has shed lustre on our common country. No feeling is stronger among us, than that of oneness with our parent soil, and affectionate loyalty to its Sovereign. Second only to this, is our attachment to those fine old institutions, and the habits and spirit fostered by them, which have made the nation so great, and given to her so many distinguished men.
"Of that fellowship, and those feelings, the structure of which your Royal Highness this day commences the erection will be an enduring record. Dedicating it, as British subjects, to the memory of the fellow, subject who first introduced Australia to the world, and desiring to hold him up as an example to our children, we proclaim, as Australians, the intimacy of our union with the land of our forefathers, and our unswerving love for her, her glorious Constitution, and her Queen.
"It remains only to thank you, once more, for the honour done to us by your attendance. We cordially thank also his Excellency Lord Belmore for his presence at our request, on this occasion."
His Royal Highness returned a suitable reply, and three cheers having been given for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Lady Belmore, he performed the ceremony of laying the stone. The mallet and trowel used by him were both of elaborate workmanship, and the former was constructed of wood, presented by the Hon. Thomas Holt, of the Warren, Cook's River, the present proprietor of the actual spot upon which Captain Cook first landed on 28th April, 1770, and cut from honeysuckle trees growing there. In the cavity of the stone was placed a bottle containing copies of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Empire, and a facsimile of Captain Cook's handwriting, being a lithographed transcription of a portion of his log containing the captain's observations of the transit of Venus in 1769. The following inscription, neatly engrossed on parchment, was also enclosed :
" The foundation stone of this monument in honour of the illustrious navigator, Captain Cook, was laid on Saturday, the 27th March, A.D. 1869, by his Royal Highness Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, K.G. second son of her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, in the thirty-second year of her reign, his Excellency the Eight Honorable Somerset, Earl of Behnero, being Governor of New South Wales.
" Sir ALFRED STEPHEN-, Chairman. "R. B. SMITH, Hon. Secretary. " W. DAY, Hon. Treasurer. " EDMUMD T. BLACKET, Architect."
The work thus honoured at its commencement, has been carried on with vigour, though its progress has not kept pace with the wishes of its promoters in view of the centenary now reached. The basement or pedestal is almost finished, the fourth contract for its completion having been entered into a few weeks ago. There can be little doubt but that the monument will be the handsomest work of its kind in the colonies. The pedestal is wholly constructed of granite, which has been brought by sea from Moruya, in the southern part of this colony, at a great expense. Each of the blocks used is of enormous size and solidity, the least of .them weighing about twenty tons. The drum-like pillar which surmounts the basement is to be polished similarly to those in the New Post Office. This will add greatly to the effect of the masonry, the granite when polished having an exquisitely glossy and marble-like aspect. The dimensions of the structure (exclusive of the statue) are as follows:-Height 21 feet 6 inches, diameter of the shaft 5 feet, size of the base 13 feet square. The weight is 80 tons. And the total cost up to the present time is £1611. It is to bear the following inscription:-"Captain James Cook, born at Marton, in Yorkshire, 1728; discovered this territory 1770; died at Owhyhee in 1779."
Our engraving (see page 17) depicts the basement and pillar with an effigy; but the exact character of the figure has not yet been determined. Many designs(some of them exceedingly handsome) accompanied by varying tenders, were forwarded to the committee, but none finally approved. It has been a moot point whether colonial or European workmanship should be obtained ; but the majority of the committee appear to be of opinion that the safer course will be to entrust the work to an English or continental artist. Certainly it would appear more desirable that the statue should be able to bear rigid criticism, both as regards workmanship and. design, and it would be unwise to entrust its execution within so narrow a field of sculpture as the colonies. However, the basement will in itself form, for the present, a handsome record of the exertions made by the colonists and supervised by the committee in the national cause-erected as it has been at so large an expense at a period when, to use the current phrase, "the times are not at their best." It was hoped at the outset that the monument might have been unveiled upon the 28th April (Thursday last), that day being the centenary of Captain Cook's landing at Botany Bay. But that day has passed, and the construction of the statue still remains to be effected; and it is to be hoped that the people will not shrink from any further appeal made to them. Captain Cook's imperishable name needs no monument for us preservation; in the annals of future history. The boldness and success of his enterprise, his unerring skill and sagacity, his devotion to duty, his humanity of spirit, have secured for his fame a permanence greater than that of an adamantine monument But it would be a slur upon our character as colonists of New South Wales, were the undertaking thus auspiciously commenced left in abeyance for any lengthened period of time. As the discoverer of the east coast of Australia, Captain Cook may justly be considered the founder of a new world, added by him to the sway of the British Crown. There can be little doubt that the people whose admiration of sterling excellence led to their erection of memorials of Governor Bourke and Prince Albert, will not be found insensible to any appeal made to them on behalf of so great a man as Captain James Cook. Captain Cook. (1870, April 30). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70459175
MR. J. J. Shillinglaw contributes the following interesting particulars to the columns of the Melbourne Argus:
THE QUAKER'S VESSEL
Among the good folk of Whitby, a little seaport town on the Yorkshire coast, lived and prospered,140 years ago, two brothers, John and Henry Walker, "Quakers by religious profession, and principal owners of two ships." So they are described. One of the vessels was a brig called Quaker fashion-the Freelove, employed carrying coal from the Tyne to the Thames, and making, say, a dozen voyages in the year, where modern ships make 60.
SCENE AT THE CEREMONY. OF UNVEILING THE STATUE OF CAPTAIN COOK.
Countless keels have ploughed these northern seas since that time. Swarms of sailors have "Sunk to the sea-Gods or toss'd to the skies" - going to Davy Jones's locker in Greenland men, in South Seamen, in East and West Indiamen, which have been launched at the ports hereabouts, and later still in the beautiful fir-built "clippers" which brought many of us to Australia. Most, if not all, have heard the slow death-bell strike; but still the old heart of-oak collier brig keeps the seas. She has had for captain half-a-dozen "Jack Bunsbys." She has blown away enough canvas to give wings to a squadron, and "expended " as much hemp as would anchor the Grand Fleet; The only thing about her that has suffered a sea change has been her name. At once a kindly and a fraternal memorial of her former owners, she now stands in Lloyd's list as the "Brotherly Love," and flies the house-flag of Mr. James Young, of South Shields, her present owner, who is generous enough still to preserve her old carcass from the ship knacker, and rich enough to be able to indulge in a sentiment. The last of her commanders went ashore on his pension only the other day, having served in her "man and boy" five and thirty years. He now smokes luxurious pipes in an arbour, the gateway of which is formed by the jaws of a whale set-up in the shape of a Gothic arch ; and through this appropriate outlook, at his ease he can watch the craft as they slowly tack between Tad Point and Seaton, That day when the Brotherly Love comes in from the Niew Diep, be sure he can pick out her mastheads among a thousand.
COOK GOES ABOARD.
In the year 1743 a boy's keen eyes used to watch from the same point the very same vessel being managed with rare old-fashioned seafaring skill as she drew in with the land. In after years they engraved his head on a gold medal, which kings and kaisers still treasure with the legend round it in praise of a keenness of sight which had pierced the wrack of a thousand storms. The lad was at the time an apprentice to worthy Mr. Sanderson, a haberdasher or shopkeeper of Staithes, a town about 10 miles north of Whitby, and whose customers were the fisherfolk of the place. From the mud-built house, where some 15 years previously he had been born, and straight from the plough stilts, which his father had held for so many years with homely but honourable credit, it was thought a step up Fortune's ladder for the son to pull off the ploughboy's smock frock, and get behind the counter of Mr. Sanderson and sell tapes. But some Scandinavian ancestor had left somewhere a drop of salt water in the Northumbrian blood. The boy's heart hungered to push off and smite the sounding furrows; to sail beyond the sunset, it might be to touch the happy isles-and so it came about that the master wisely unloosed the thread which would otherwise have snapped, and the apprentice carried his modest chest into the forecastle of the Freelove, and for seven rough but invigorating years served the worthy Quakers as a mariner.
ENGLAND REWARDS COOK'S RELATIVES.
But if England did not take care of Cook's ships, she did of his kith and kin. In 1732 the navigator married Miss Elizabeth Batts, of Barking, in Essex, by whom he had several children, none of whom survived to continue his illustrious name. The story goes that Captain Cook was godfather to his wife, and at the christening declared that he had determined on the union which afterwards took place between them. She died at Clapham, near London, in May, 1835, upwards of ninety years of age, and had drawn her pension of £185 a year from the day after her illustrious husband was killed at Hawaii. Her property was sworn under £60,000, and she left the precious gold medals of the Royal Society bearing the portrait of Cook, to the British museum, where 10,000 Australian colonists have seen them.
MAORI INCIDENT-RANDWICK STATUE.
In 1873 was buried at Graham's Town, New Zealand, in a coffin with a glass lid, an old Maori warrior who more than 100 years before had gone with his father on board Cook's ship, and had been patted on the head by the navigator. That simple caress has made Tanewa, or "Hook Nose," known throughout Maori-land. At Southampton, in England, in 1850, died a man named Wade, the last of his crew on board the Resolution, who saw the great captain fall, and was himself dragged from under the weapons of the frenzied islanders. No, So long as the " Brotherly Love" sails the seas, the mind refuses to grasp the fact that a hundred years have passed since Cook was killed. And when in 1874 that admirable and devoted naval officer, Commodore Goodenough (who himself fell a similar victim), unveiled a statue of Cook, which worthy Captain Thomas Watson had erected in front of his house at Randwick, most of those present felt as though they were simply there to honour the name of one who had but recently passed from our midst.
TRACES OF THE ENDEAVOUR.
Although the Endeavour was the ship which first touched our shores, some interest attaches to the other vessels in which Cook made his voyages. The fate of the Endeavour and the Discovery is not known. That of the Resolution and Adventure is like to raise a blush to our cheeks as Englishmen. When young John Barrow who was afterwards for 50 years a secretary of the Admiralty-was on his way out as comptroller of the household to Lord Macartney's sumptuous (and forgotten) embassy to China, he saw the Resolution a Portuguese coal-hulk at Rio de Janiero, and wrote some indignant sentences thereon. A friend tells me that a few years since he found the Adventure serving as a coal-hulk to a French packet service at Alexandria, Well. The old Ocean, in which Collingwood for three years was "polishing Cape Sicee," is a coal-hulk at Sheerness. These things must be. Had our Sydney cousins now in their beautiful harbour the bones of the Endeavour, they would look on her as the men of Elizabeth's day did " the ship of famous Draco"-the Golden Hind-and make parties to dine on deck ; nay, they would roof her with glass.
THE GREAT NAVIGATOR'S REMAINS.
Mr. Stoddard says he has picked up the local traditions. The bones of the martyr were, he states, stripped of the flesh, afterwards bound in kapa, or native cloth, and laid in one of the natural cells that perforate the cliff. Which of the hundred is the one so honoured is quite uncertain. The heart, he says, after having endured the fire of the sacrifice, was found by some native children in their play, who, " thinking it the offal of some animal," devoured it. Captain Cook. (1879, March 8). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 24. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70935844
And when next in Melbourne...
CAPTAIN COOK'S COTTAGE
Scenes at the Auction in Yorkshire when Victoria was the Purchaser
IF you had called at the Buck Hotel, Great Ayton, on Wednesday, June 28, you would have known at once that adventure was afoot (writes a special correspondent of "The World's News," who was an eyewitness. Typically English, the whole scene: the green at the top of the village with the grey "Friends" school sitting placidly along one side and the children pushing unwieldy scooters through the long June grass; the scattered village shops, the post-office, the tall spired church, the wide stream whose very ducks seemed gathered to discuss the news. Let us follow the stream to where the road crosses to dive beneath the Cleveland Hills, and watch the gipsy encampment on the further banks. They know something is doing. There is a stir in the village bar; watch it gradually empty, and old men and young habitues and strangers give a final wipe to their mouths and cross the dusky passage to the parlor; see, too, if you can, through the parlor window, just across the high road, the little ivy-leafed cottage that is the cause of all the excitement.
The scene is set, the little parlor is crowded, but chairs and more chairs are called for. A dark slim woman slips in and a murmur of sympathy goes up. She is the wife of one of the owners of the cottage, and parting with it goes hard against the grain. The auctioneer rises. He introduces the solicitor, who explains the dry legal phraseology of the original deed by which the land was bought and permission given for the building of the cottage to begin, a deed signed by James Cook, the elder, the father of the world-famous explorer. Then, the auctioneer, Mr. Arthur Thompson, of Middlesborough, well known in the district, briefly runs through the events of Captain Cook’s life. He says that the great navigator was born at the neighboring village of Marton, and that when he was about eight years old his people moved to Great Ayton, where still, higher up the village, stands the school which he attended, and where his parents bought the land for their cottage. There is mentioned the son’s apprenticeship; his longing to go to sea; the wish fulfilled, and the distinction won at Quebec. Then comes the story of the famous voyage-the discovery that was to create a new land, build a new nation. Also that of the second voyage, and as the auctioneer reminds his hearers, eyes are turned out towards the Cleveland Hills, where the monument to Captain Cook towers over the surrounding district and looks toward the sea.
A bid for the cottage? But Cleveland Is suffering more almost than any part of England; trade is terrible, money incredibly scarce. For-the cottage to remain as it stood in Yorkshire there are hardly any bids. Then the conditions for bidding its being taken down and re-erected elsewhere are withdrawn. It can be re-erected anywhere within the British Empire.
The quiet gentleman who has kept so still moves a finger. There is consultation, a few minutes of silence, while more bids are awaited. A whisper goes round the gentleman that he represents Australia, another whisper is that the gentleman represents America (though the more learned squash this at once). After some excitement the little hour glass in the auctioneer’s hand spins out the long half minute. "No more bids, gentlemen? The cottage goes to the Government of Victoria for the sum of £800."
Are we glad or sorry, we Yorkshire people? We are sorry to lose so loved a landmark, but proud that Australians should have some concrete memory of Captain Cook, some little piece of England set down In their far-away land. The cottage in Great Ayton, Yorkshire, where Captain Cook lived as a boy.
CAPTAIN COOK'S COTTAGE. (1933, August 23). The World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136995299
A visit to the historic landmark Cooks' Cottage, situated in the beautiful heritage-listed Fitzroy Gardens, is a must when exploring Melbourne. Find out more at: www.fitzroygardens.com/Cooks_Cottage_History.htm
