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William A. Bayley in his book, Shoalhaven. History of the Shire of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Shoalhaven Shire Council, Nowra, 1975; states, on page 16, that the Cumberland was wrecked at an unnamed location, south of Jervis Bay in 1797, and that the survivors waked back to Sydney. The statement, unfortunately, is not referenced, but we have managed to put together the true story of the Cumberland here from various contemporary sources.
Governor Hunter’s correspondence to the Duke of Portland, dated 10th of January 1798, mentioning the Cumberland were published in Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol. III. - Hunter. 1786-1799., ed. F.M. Bladen, N.S.W. Government, 1895.
p. 345.
“I have now to inform your Grace that on the fifth day of September last, as our largest and best boat, * [Footnote - * The Cumberland. An account of the seizure is given by Collins (vol. ii, p.47.] belonging to the Government, was on her way to the Hawkesbury River, carrying thither a few stores, and to bring from thence some articles wanted here, a service on which she was constantly employed, she was taken possession of by a part of the crew, assisted by a few men in another boat, who threatened the life of the coxswain and all who dared to oppose them. They put him and three others on shore at Broken Bay, and went off with the boat we know not whither. And as another party of those villains went off some time after in another boat, and the very men who were landed from the first, as unwilling to go, were a part of the second gang, I am of opinion it had been a long concerted plan. Not having any fit vessel to pursue upon such an occasion, I dispatched two row-boats, well armed; the one went about sixty miles northward * [Footnote - * This boat was in charge of Lieutenant John Shortland, son of Lieutenant Shortland, the naval agent in charge of the transports of the First Fleet. It was on this trip that he discovered Hunter River. As early as June, 1796, the existence of coal at what is now known as Newcastle had been demonstrated by some fishermen who had been forced to take shelter there. For Lieutenant Shortland’s subsequent movements see the Naval Chronicle, vo. xxiv.] along the coast, and the other forty miles southward, but without success, a gale blowing soon after the escape of the second boat, which obliged the officer in pursuit to land upon the coast. There is every reason to believe that the last party have perished, as the vessel was very feeble. * [Footnote - * These people remained at large until March, 1798. For an account of their movements see Collins, vol. ii. pp. 52, 78, 94, 99.] Most of these people were of the last Irish convicts.”
Matthew Flinders gives us the following information on the incident in his A Voyage to Terra Australis [etc.], Vol. I, G. and W. Nicols, London, 1814:
“SHORTLAND, 1797.
“In September, a small colonial vessel having been carried off by convicts, lieutenant JOHN SHORTLAND, first of the Reliance, * [Footnote - * Afterwards captain of the Junon. He was mortally wounded, whilst bravely defending His Majesty’s frigate against a vastly superior force; and died at Guadaloupe.] went after them to the northward, in an armed boat. The expedition was fruitless, as to the proposed object, but in returning along the shore from Port Stephens, Mr. Shortland discovered a port in latitude 33 degrees, capable of receiving small ships, and what materially added to the importance of the discovery, was a stratum of coal, found to rune through the south head of the port, and also pervaded a cliffy island in the entrance. These coals were not only accessible to shipping, but of superior quality to those in the cliffs near Hat Hill [Mount Kembla]. The port was named after His Excellency governor HUNTER; and a settlement, called New Castle, has lately been there established. The entrance is narrow, and the deepest water (about three fathoms) close to the north-west side of the Coal Island; but no vessel of more than three hundred tons should attempt it.”
Lieutenant Colonel Collins also gives this account, mentioned by Bladen, in his An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, from its first settlement in January 1788, to August 1801: with remarks on the dispositions, customs, manners, &c., of the Native Inhabitants of that Country, published by T. Cadell and W. Davies, London, 1804.
pp. 436-437.
“It will be seen that by recurring to the month of October, that a boat had been carried off in the night by some people who were supposed to have taken her out to sea, where, from the weakness of the boat, they must have perished; but they were now, contrary to all expectation, heard of again. A settler who kept a boat gave information that she had been boarded in the night off Mullet Island [Dangar Island in the Hawkesbury River] by these very people; and that one of them, having against his inclination been concerned in the robbery, had left them and returned to the settlement. From this man the following particulars were obtained. Having effected the capture, they proceeded to the southward, with an intention of reaching the wreck of the ship Sydney-Cove [Sydney Cove]. For their guide, they had a pocket compass, of which scarcely one man of the fourteen who composed the party knew the use. In this boat they were twice thrown on shore, and at last reached an island, where, had they not fortunately found many birds and seals, they must inevitably have perished.
“From the inconceivable hardships which they underwent, they would, to a man, have gladly returned, could they have hoped that their punishment would have been anything short of death. Finding it impossible for such a number of discontented beings to continue of one mind, or be able to procure food in their miserable situation for so many, they judged it necessary, from a motive of self-preservation, that one half should deceive the other half; and while they were asleep, those who were prepared took away the boat, leaving their seven wretched and unsuspecting companions upon the desolate island, the situation of which this man could not describe so as to enable the Governor at any time to find it. Their number now being reduced to seven, and thinking themselves in danger so near the settlement, they had been lurking for some time about Broken Bay, with a view of capturing a better boat loaded with grain from the Hawkesbury; and this they effected by taking that which we have mentioned, and afterwards a small one, containing upwards of fifty bushels of wheat. After putting their prisoners into the smaller boat, they in the large one stood off to the northward; where it was very probable they would lose their boat, she being of such a size, that if they should get on shore by any accident, they would not be able to launch her again, and must finally perish.”
we again turn to the Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol. III. - Hunter. 1786-1799., ed. F.M. Bladen, N.S.W. Government, 1895, for further information. This is part of a dispatch from Governor Hunter to the Duke of Portland, dated 1st of March, 1798.
p. 364.
“It will appear by this discovery that the northernmost land seen by Captain Furneaux is the southernmost extremity of this coast, and lays in latitude 39.00 S. At the western extremity of Mr. Bass’s coasting voyage he found a very good harbour [Westernport]; but, unfortunately, the want of provisions induced him to return sooner than he wished and intended, and on passing a small island laying off the coast he discovered a smoke, and supposed it to have been made by some natives, with whom he wished to have an opportunity of conversing. On approaching the shore he found the men were white, and had some clothing on, and when he came near he observed two of them take to the water and swim off. * [Footnote - * Bass did not make any allusion to these escapees in his Journal. - Ante, pp. 312 to 333.] They proved to be seven of a gang of fourteen who escaped from hence in a boat on the 2nd of October last, mentioned in letter No. 30, * {Footnote - * Ante, p. 345.] and who had been treacherously left on this desolate island by the other seven, who returned northward. The boat, it seems, was too small for their whole number, and when they arrived at Botany Bay, and they boarded another boat in the Hawkesbury with fifty-six bushels of wheat on board, they went off with her northward, leaving the old boat on shore.
“These poor distressed wretches, who were chiefly Irish, would have endeavoured to travel northward and thrown themselves upon his Majesty’s mercy, but were not able to get from this miserable island to the mainland. Mr. Bass’s boat was too small to accommodate them with a passage, and, as his provisions were nearly expended, he could only help them to the mainland, where he furnished them with a musket and ammunition and a pocket-compass, with lines and fish-hooks. Two of the seven were very ill, and those he took into his boat, and shared his provisions with the other five, giving them the best directions in his power how t proceed, the distance being not less than five hundred miles. He recommended them to keep along the coast the better to enable them to get food; indeed the difficulties of the country and the possibility of meeting hostile natives are considerations which will occasion doubts of their ever being able to reach us. [See Flinders’ account for a more complete description.]
“When they parted with Mr. Bass and his crew, who gave them what cloathes they could spare, some tears were shed on both sides. The whaleboat arrived in this port, after an absence of twelve weeks, and Mr. Bass delivered to me his observations on this adventur’g expedition. I find he made several excursions into the interior of the country wherever he had an opportunity. It will be sufficient to say that he found in general a barren, unpromising country, with very few exceptions, and were it even better, the want of harbours would render it less valuable. * [Footnote - * See Bass’s own account of this voyage. Ante, pp. 312-333.]”
Although, as noted, Bass did not make any reference to this in his journal, his friend and ship mate Matthew Flinders gives a an excellent account in his A Voyage to Terra Australis [etc.], Vol. I, G. and W. Nicols, London, 1814; Section IV, part II:
“The boat then kept north-eastward, towards Furneaux’s Land [Wilsons Promontory]. At nine in the evening, the wind blew hard at S.E. by E., accompanied by a hollow, irregular sea, which put our enterprising discoverer and his boat’s crew into the greatest danger, but the good qualities of his little bark, with careful steerage, carried him through this perilous night. On the 3rd January 1798], at six o’clock the land was seen; and in the afternoon, whilst standing in to look for a place of shelter, a smoke and several people were observed upon a small island not far from the main coast. On rowing up, they proved to be, not natives, to Mr. Bass’ great surprise, but Europeans. They were convicts, who, with others, had run away with a boat from Port Jackson, in the intention of plundering the wreck of the Sydney Cove; and not being able to find it, their companions, thinking their number too great had treacherously left them upon this island, whilst asleep. These people were seven in number, and during the five weeks they had been on this desert spot, had subsisted on petrels, to which a seal was occasionally added. Mr. Bass promised to call at the island, on his return; and in the mean time, proceeded to the west side of the high main land, where he anchored, but could not get on shore.”
Flinders continues; Bass on his return from Westernport Bay:
“At length Mr. Bass was able to execute the project he had formed for the seven convicts. It was impossible to take them all into the boat; therefore to five, whom he set upon the main land, he gave a musket, half his ammunition, some hooks and lines, a light cooking kettle, and directions how to proceed in their course toward Port Jackson. The remaining two, one of whom was old and the other diseased, he took into the boat with the consent of the crew, who readily agreed to divide the daily bannock into nine with them. He then bore away, with a fresh wind at west, round Furneaux’s Land. * [Footnote - * I have continued to make use of the term Furneaux’s Land conformably to Mr. Bass’ journal; but the position of this land is so different from that supposed to have been seen by captain Furneaux, that it cannot be the same, as Mr. Bass was afterwards convinced. At our recommendation governor Hunter called it WILSON’S PROMONTORY, in compliment to my friend Thomas Wilson, Esq. of London.]”
“Feb. 2., Mr. Bass sailed to Corner Inlet, and next day fell in with the five convicts, whom he put across to the long beach, * [Footnote - * Nothing more had been heard of these five men, so late as 1803.] but was himself unable to proceed until the 9th, in consequence of foul winds. Corner Inlet is little else than a large flat, the greater part of it being dry at low water. There is a long shoal on the outside of the entrance, which is to be avoided by keeping close to the shore of the promontory; but when the tide is out the depth, except in holes, no where exceeds 2 1/2 fathoms. A vessel drawing twelve or thirteen feet may lie safely under the high land, from which there are some large runs of most excellent water. The tide rises a foot less here than in Sealers Cove, and flows an hour later; arising, probably, from the flood leaving it in an eddy, by setting past, and not into the inlet.”
As can be seen from the above, the evidence states that the survivors DID NOT reach Sydney; in fact I have not come across any evidence to support any suggestion that they were seen after Bass’ last encounter with the five he ferried ashore near Wilsons Promontory, let alone a trek to Sydney.
James O’Hara in his book The History of New South Wales, 2nd ed., J. Hatchford, Piccadilly, 1818; gives the following information.
pp. 220-221.
“In the month of September [1797], a boat belonging to government, having been carried out to sea by some desperadoes, with a view to escape out of the colony. Lieutenant Shortland of the Reliance was dispatched with two armed boats after them. His pursuit failed of its immediate object, but the trouble of it was rewarded by a discovery, which proved afterwards of considerable importance. In searching the coast, at about fifty miles north of Port Jackson, he entered a river, which had been till then concealed by a high rocky island off its mouth. Its entrance was in the shoalest part about three fathom; within, there was deep water and good anchorage. But the most interesting circumstance, was the quantity of coal, of a sort superior to any yet discovered in the colony, which he found upon its banks, in a position which admitted of shipping it with perfect convenience. Mr. Shortland brought with him a sample of this valuable article. He gave the river the name of Hunter’s River.”
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