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This extract is taken from Notes on the Present State and Prospects of Society in New South Wales; with an Historical, Statistical, and Topographical Account of Manilla and Singapore, By Alick Osborne, published by J. Cross, London, 1833. The trip described was undertaken in 1832. Governor Macquarie had undertaken a similar trip in 1822.
pp. 23-
“November 3. - Set off on an excursion to the district of Illawarra, about ninety miles distant, in company with Dr. Imlay, staff-surgeon. You first arrive at Liverpool, twenty miles from Sydney, situated on the northern bank of George’s river, or rather creek, which is now beginning to assume the appearance of a neat village. There is a snug church, a court-house, barrack, and a magnificent hospital; and perhaps, from a hundred and fifty to two hundred houses, - many of them substantial stone and lime.
“There is a good hotel, with all the necessary accommodation, though by the bye I never proved it, for the kindness of my excellent friend Dr. Hill, whose hospitality (the spontaneous result of the most kindly benevolence of nature) afforded me and many others a resting-place of the most agreeable description [see also]. The road from hence to Campbell Town leads through an improving country, with a prospect of Glenfield, the hospitable mansion of Mr. Throsby; Denham Court, Mr. Brooks; Lippington [Leppington], Mr. Cordeaux; Eagle Vale, Mrs. Jenkins; besides many other respectable establishments which are not so conspicuous.
“Campbell Town, twelve miles from Liverpool, possesses a neat, small brick church, a court-house, an excellent hotel, kept by Mr. Tate, another decent public-house also, and a few houses, say twenty or thirty. The country around Campbell Town is becoming; small farm-houses are, visible in all directions; and indeed the general appearance of the country in this district, in point of cultivation, is such as might realize the reasonable expectations of the friends of Australia.
“We got refreshments and fed the horses at Tate’s, and proceeded at a slow pace to Appin, distant about ten or twelve miles. We arrived at sun-set, and found the future town of Appin to consist of one solitary inn, on the left-hand of the road, and another house, formerly an inn, ‘vis-a-vis,’ on the other. The inn is kept by a man named Carey, an Emeralder, and at his house we got every thing in the most hearty abundance, if not in the very best style. Our dinner consisted of rsahers of bacon and eggs, grilled fowl, brown bread, nice new butter, black tea, and brown sugar; and it was difficult to convince Mrs. Carey, his kind and bustling spouse, that the fare was approved, until demonstrated by the demolition of almost all the edibles on the table. A glass of gin and water, a good bed, and a fatiguing day’s ride, insured an enviable night’s rest.
“On approaching the door of the inn to alight, I observed a rough, round, bushheaded [sic] Hibernian, ready to take the horse, and scrutinizing me rather earnestly at the same time, I recognized him instantly - ‘Riley, is that you ?’ ‘it is, your honour, me sure enough, but, och Doctor jewel,’ and bolting off to the rear of the premises, hallooing out with might and main, ‘Miky, Miky, bad luck to you, run man. here;s our own Doctor come again.’ Returning promptly with Michael, they were overjoyed to see me, and I was well pleased to meet the poor fellows, apparently comfortable; they had been transported from Ireland in 1825, went out under my superintendence, had served out their time, and were now working for themselves.
“ ‘Well, Riley, how have you got on since I left you ?’ - ‘Bless’d be God, your honour, I hadn’t much cause to complain; I sarved all my time with two masters; and, barring the want of the blanquit sometimes in cou’d weather, and the belly often very light, I got on pritty well; sometimes it was hard enough, but I nivir went before the gintlemin to complain; for being no scholar, your honour, I didn’t want to come under any rigulation, good or bad; and now I’ve got the run of the house here, and if it wasn’t for the thoughts of the woman and child at home, your honour, (scratching his head and turning half round to hide the moisture gathering in his eyes) I believe I’d be comfortable enough.’ He had been a soldier in the 87th, and wounded at the battle of Barrossa; he heard that the regiment got in to trouble at home, which gave him great concern. I heard from this poor unlettered man details which convinced me that the penalty contemplated by a humane legislature is not so much mitigated as some conscientious persons have of late supposed.
“The native unsophisticated Hibernian had neither envy, hatred, nor malice against any one; sometimes he said, ‘when the master would be cross there would be a kind word put in by the mistress, and if it wasn’t that the women have all their own way here, it would be a very bad country, your honour.’
“How different the warm, grateful attachment of these creatures, who had received from me no kindness beyond the sober discharge of duty, to that of English convicts, who went out with me at other times.
“Many are free and getting on well in Sydney; and often have I observed them skulk past me in the street, and in the market, at a quickened pace, and looking askew least I should ignore them. I always rejoiced to hear they were doing well, and always carefully abstained from hurting their feelings by accosting them.
“Paddy stands alone, an isolated being, for kindliness and warmth of feeling; * [Footnote - * This eulogy of course does not apply to the myriads of Spalpeens who have trodden the M’Adamized paths of the world, and who, to my certain knowledge, possess as plentiful a scarcity of that sense of feeling as any of their enlightened neighbours.] and I can never sufficiently admire and applaud the sentiment of a distinguished foreign traveller, who attributes all Paddy’s faults ‘to a warm heart and poetic imagination.’
“The road from Appin to Illawarra crosses Tuggerah Creek [Upper Georges River, near Kings Falls], and by a shelving precipitous dangerous path, and then ascends the summit of the range of coast mountains, which incloses the Illawarra district, a low fertile tract extending from Lima to Shoal Haven, a distance of fifty to sixty miles. Proceeding along this ridge about twelve miles, you must alight and lead the horse down the most steep, rugged, and impracticable pass that can well be conceived, to the residence of Mr. O’Brien [see also], whose windmill is a land-mark in the wilderness.
“The name is sufficient to assure the wayfarer of every kindness and hospitality; it is literally the oasis in the desert, where the unaffected cordiality and frankness of an ancient Irish family give double zest to the excellence and abundance of their domestic fare.
“From Mr. O’Brien’s to Woollingong [Wollongong] the tract is along the beach, winding round the shore of several small bays, which indent the coast, and is covered with sand, making it alike tiresome to man and beast. Woollingong [Wollongong] is a township, and possesses an indifferent boat harbour, where is shipped cedar and farm produce for Sydney, boats starting regularly three times a week. It is likewise a small military station, and the residence of a district magistrate; there is an inn, and a few houses in the neighbourhood.
“Almost all the land in the district of Illawarra is located, in large grants of two thousand five hundred and sixty acres, but as a number of small settlers, discharged soldiers, &c., are also settled here, it will soon make one of the most improving and populous districts in the colony.
“The road to the southward winds through a flat forest country, with occasionally several hundred acres of meadow land, without a tree, and covered with the most luxuriant grass, on which herds of cattle, of the best description, seem to thrive uncommonly well.
“We passed the farms of Mr. Spearing, Captain Waldron [Murder of; and Genealogy], Mr. Blaxland [Gregory Blaxland; see also], Mrs. Jenkins [Jemima Jenkins], Mr. Brooks [Richard Brooks], Mr. Brown [William Browne], Messrs. Johnson [David and George Johnston], and Dr. Elyerd [Elyard, see also], and arrived at four o’clock in the afternoon at our destination, the farm of Mr. O_____ [Henry Osborne, Parliamentary Career], a recent Irish settler. We were soon refreshed with a comfortable dinner, and had an opportunity of observing the great progress made by industry and perseverance, in forming a comfortable establishment in the wilds of Australia in a short time. The owner received the grant in 1829, and now (November, 1832) resides in a commodious and substantial brick cottage [An enigma; Pumpkin Cottage was Osborne’s slab & bark residence at Marshall Mount in 1832, the substantial ‘Marshall Mount’ house was not completed until 1841]], with two parlours and five smaller apartments, and a convenient brick kitchen detached: employs, free and prisoners, about twenty-one men. He had a considerable surplus of corn last year, and at present seventy acres of wheat in ear, and four down with maize, (it was a jungly forest when he begun) with abundance of the best stock; viz, horses, sixteen; horned cattle, one hundred and twenty; twenty dairy cows, and sixteen working bullocks; pigs, from eighty to a hundred; all this in three years, without sinking five hundred pounds.
“And though last, not least, there has been an addition to the family circle, of two sons and one daughter, which has assisted to subdue mamma’s repugnance to the bush; and she now declares, that in place of being lonely and tiresome, that it is more cheerful and interesting than living in a town which she had been accustomed to the previous portion of her life.
“The admirable management of the young establishment, the healthy appearance of the children, and contented aspects of the parents, (having realized to the utmost their anticipation of emigration,) with their present prospect of peace and plenty, present a picture at once gratifying and delightful to every one interested in the perfect success of emigration.”
The Illawarra Diary of Lady Jane Franklin: 1839
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