Page:History of West Australia.djvu/135

Rh notice was given that according to the old terms all grants unimproved some ten years from assignment would be resumed by the Crown.

Private people continued selling land to more fortunate colonists or to new arrivals, and others were having their selections cultivated on the "halving" principle, by which a farmer tilled the soil and received half the crop, while the landowner supplied the land and, perhaps, the seed wheat. Few settlers entered Western Australia in 1836. In 1837-8 more attention was paid to the opportunities which the colony seemed to offer for remunerative investment. Several schemes were formulated in India, China, and Great Britain to establish settlers on the land; but owing to the false reports which were circulating most of them were not completed. Masters of vessels calling in at the Swan, and especially at King George's Sound, occasionally placed money in the hands of agents for the purchase of land. This was considered to be a strong confirmation of the capabilities of land in Western Australia.

Early in February, 1838, the ship Gaillarden arrived at Fremantle from Calcutta. An association, named the Bengal-Australian Association, was formed in 1837, whose specific objects were the chartering of comfortable ships to convey passengers, seeking health or desirous of settling, from India to the Australian Colonies, and also to establish a horse-breeding station to raise animals for the Indian market. The managing committee comprised Colonel J. Stewart, W. Cracroft, C. S. N. Alexander, and R. W. G. Frith; J. H. Gardiner was the secretary. The Messrs. Leake were appointed the agents for the association in Western Australia. The Gaillardon was the first vessel to arrive under its auspices, and she conveyed a new class of labour to the colony—Indian hill coolies, whose numbers were to be augmented by the despatch of other ships. The first practical outcome of this association was its encouragement to Mr. C. Prinsep to rear horses for the Indian market. After remaining at Fremantle for a few days the Gaillardon continued her voyage to King George's Sound, Adelaide, Hobart, and Sydney.

Colonists believed that these practical symptoms of progress were not sufficiently well known in England. Mr. Tanner went to the home country after the important meeting held early in 1835 and did his utmost to represent the true condition of affairs to those interested in the colony. He was assisted in this endeavour by Captain Irwin, who remained in England until 1837, when he was appointed Permanent Commandant of the Military Forces in Western Australia. Captain Irwin returned to the colony in that year, and was soon afterwards raised to the rank of major. He was accompanied by his wife and family, and took up his residence on his land on the upper levels of the Swan. Residents of Western Australia were so solicitous of securing the circulation of reliable news of progress that in January, 1836, a public meeting was held in Perth, when a committee was appointed to collect and forward home communications and information relative to settlement. The committee was able to do useful work, and despatched particulars of the wealth, condition, and progress of colonists. In 1837 Englishmen interested in the colony were able to learn almost the precise state of its affairs.

Building was now actively conducted in Perth and Fremantle. In 1836 tenders were let for the erection of a Court House and of Public Offices in Perth, and several substantial private structures were reared in both places. A mud barracks was erected in York in 1838.

At King George's Sound there was a slight revival. In previous years the settlers had suffered as acutely as those at Swan River, and experienced equal troubles from the absence of labourers and sufficient food-supplies. In 1835 several persons arrived from Hobart for the purpose of settlement, and affirmed that if they were successful others would soon follow. Indian servants were introduced by incoming settlers, and the surrounding country was explored by Sir James Stirling, Lieutenant Roe, and other officers. Sheep and cattle were taken to pasture on the Hay River; in 1837 there were reckoned to be 180 inhabitants in the Plantagenet district. Numerous ships called at the port each year, and whaling and sealing were followed with success. So plentiful were the whales that it is said that one brig "filled" in six weeks. Whalers from America, France, and Hobart entered the port and exploited the surrounding waters, and a lively scene was constantly given to Albany. In 1838 there were at times 100 foreign seamen in the village, and it was evident that the people had little protection against them. The military detachment at that time comprised but one sergeant and nine private soldiers. Up till 1836 prisoners were repeatedly confined in the "Black Hole," a military institution which, while effective, was not altogether humane. In 1836 a gaol was constructed, and in May, 1838, the first jetty at Albany was completed. Several trips were made overland between Perth and King George's Sound during these years, and in July, 1836, Surveyor Hillman was instructed to begin the proper survey of a new road to Perth. The road began a few years previously was left uncompleted, and was considered as unsuitable. Surveyor D. Smith apparently had much to do with the completion of the work. Mr. Hillman, during a journey overland in 1838, marked out several town sites on the route. The natives rapidly learnt the English language, and the children conversed with the whites with remarkable fluency. The prospects of Albany were visibly brightening, but there was more advancement for the two years ending in 1836 than for the subsequent two years. There was ample good timber in the neighbourhood for the building of ships, and several small craft were constructed there. The main difficulty in the vicinity of Albany was the great want of good agricultural land. The soil was not considered suitable for agriculture, but there were patches whereon fruit trees and vegetables flourished. Sir Richard Spencer was particularly enterprising, and he already possessed quite an ambitious garden.

Two outside opinions were published as to the King George's Sound Settlement at this time. The Admiralty vessel Beagle, while returning to England after her voyage of research and discovery round the world, put into King George's Sound in March, 1836. Captain Fitzroy, R.N., then commanded the Beagle, and on board as naturalist was the famous scientist, Charles Darwin. Darwin was not impressed with Australia. Of King George's Sound he related that the Beagle "stayed there eight days, and I do not remember, since leaving England, having passed a more dull, uninteresting time." After taking the last glimpse of the coast he writes in his Diary, "Farewell, Australia! You are a rising infant, and doubtless some day will reign a great Princess in the south; but you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect! I leave your shores without sorrow or regret." Captain Fitzroy records of Albany:—"A few straggling houses, ill-placed in an exposed, cheerless situation, were seen by us as we entered the harbour; and had inclination been our guide instead of duty, I certainly should have felt disposed to put the helm up, and make all sail away from such an uninviting place..... At this time there were about thirty houses, or cottages, in the neighbourhood of the Sound and harbour; some had small gardens, but, generally speaking, there was no appearance of agriculture excepting immediately around Sir Richard's house, where a few fields had