No.7 in the series Deloraine Past and Present. This episode discusses the conflict between aboriginals and white settlers; and white settlers with a military past, Calstock and provides some memories from James Fenton. It mentions a convict named John Benfield - he arrived in 1821 on the Lady Ridley - any descendants out there? trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/printArticleJpg/153541231/3?print=n and trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/printArticleJpg/153541230/3?print=n Transcript: DELORAINE PAST AND PRESENT. (By The Tramp.) No. 7. I will this week commence my notes by correcting a few errors which crept into my last. In reference to the situation of the original Dunorlan I wrote Sunday Hills instead of Sunday Wells, and I make allusion to Allan Quartermain, when I meant to have written Sir Henry Curtiss, the hero of one of Rider Haggards famous novels, he who married the beautiful Nyleptha. A friend of mine residing at Ulverstone was kind enough to write and draw my attention to the latter mistake for which I thank him. SOMETHING ABOUT THE BLACKS. In his interesting reminiscences of Dunorlan Mr Roddam Douglas speaks of dangers to have been apprehended from the blacks in the thirties. Beyond the murder of Mrs MHaskell at the Retreat and the spearing of Mr Cubit at Stockers, I have not been able to find any record of serious outrages by the blacks in this district. Mr Cubit had a narrow escape of losing his life at Stockers in September, 1831. He went from the hut down to a spring for a bucket of water, when the blacks, who had no love for him, made their presence known by hurling some score or more spears at him. Mr Cubit beat a hasty retreat for the hut, which he managed to reach, but not before he had received eight spear wounds. The blacks made a long and determined attack on the hut, but a stockman who was there shot several of them, and the remainder fled to the mountains. The many couples of young people who now take a Sunday afternoon walk round the Pumicestone, or do a spoon among the wattles in that romantic looking spot near Mr Fields sawmills, are, perhaps, not aware that a walk round that corner would have been fraught with considerable danger 60 years ago. At that time there was but a very narrow pass round between the hill and river, and the blacks used to lay in ambush on the side of the Pumicestone and throw spears at MrCubit and other persons who had to run the gauntlet there. It is said of this Mr Cubit that he shot more blacks than any other man in the colony, but these statements may be taken with the proverbial grain of gerated stories told of adventures with the blacks in the early days. Still, by all accounts Cubit potted a great many of the aboriginals. Some most diabolical acts were perpetrated on the blacks by stock keepers and hunters in the early days of the colony, while on the other hand some were over kind to these unfortunate savages, who looked with suspicion on all whites, for their standard of intelligence was not sufficiently high to enable them to distinguish between friends and foes, and for the matter of that I am not certain that any of us white men or white women have sufficient intelligence to discriminate who are our real friend and who are our enemies; but this is one of those digressions that I too often make. I find it is recorded in Wests History of Tasmania that in 1830 Governor Arthur offered liberal rewards to any one who could, and would, open up pacific communication with the blacks, and in the case of a convict a free pardon. Among the latter one John Benfield distinguished himself in this direction. This man observing a fire at some little distance approached and found three aboriginals, to whom he offered bread. One of them promised to accompany him if he would put aside his gun. This Benfield did at great personal risk, and the blacks then led him to where their companions were beyond Dunorlan, and he succeeded in conciliating the whole of that tribe, and brought them in and gave them up to the military party stationed at Captain Moriartys, and Benfield, of course, very properly received the Governors promised reward of a free pardon. In Bonwicks The Lost Tasmanian Race, there is to be found a letter written by Captain Moriarty to the then Colonial Secretary (1831) giving a graphic account of a raid made on the stockowners hut by the blacks, and the successful defence of the place by the stockmans wife, herself a half-caste, named Dalrymple Briggs, who kept the blacks at bay until the return of Thomas Johnstone, a stockman, but I rather think this occurred at Mr Gibsons, near Perth. DISTINGUISHED COLONISTS. Over half a century ago Deloraine could boast of some distinguished naval and military men among the first landowners of the district, for, in addition to Captain Moriarty, at Dunorlan, there was that fine type of an English gentleman, Lieutenant Pearson Foote, R.N., the first owner of Calstock and Harwood, both of which properties he named after tbe family estates of the Footes in Devonshire. England, opposite Cote Hele, the seat of the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, a branch of which distinguished family our old and respected resident, Mr H. J. L. Edgecumbe claims to be Lieutenant Pearson Foote resided at Calstock from about 1831 until some time in the forties. He is spoken of by those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance as a mosthospitable; it somewhat eccentric gentleman,who need to have a flag pole near where Calstock house now stands, the arranging and hoisting of flags on which used tooccupy a considerable portion of his time. Some of those fine grown English trees to be seen in the Calstock grounds were plantedby him. Lieutenant Foote sold the estate to the late Archdeacon Harriett, who in turn sold it to Mr John field, the present proprietor. Then again, there was Lieutenant Travers Hartley Vaughan, a retired military man, who owned and resided on Bentley as far back as 1830. An Irish gentleman of independent means, a fair portion of which he spent on Bentley, where he had some rather unpleasant adventures with the bushrangers, who took a very valuable gun from him. But of this I will have more to say later on, when I give the memoirs of Mr Dan Picket and his brother-in-law, Mr James How, who must have a whole chapter to themselves, for they are two of our very oldest residents. Mr Philip Oaken was another gentleman who held land in the vicinity of Chudleigh in the thirties, as did also Mr W. A. Gardner. The latter was a great sportsman, and gave liberally to the race funds of his time. He afterwards owned Newnham, where he died rather suddenly when in the prime of life, and shortly after he was elected to represent Launceston in the Legislative Council. Mr James Fenton, author of Fentons History of Tasmania, gained his first farming experience in this colony at Middle Plains on the farm of his brother-in-law, Mr Geo. Hall, a gentleman but recently deceased. Only a few days ago I had a very kind letter from Mr James Fenton, in answer tosome enquiries I made of him about the early days of Deloraine. He writes from Beaconsfield Parade, South Melbourne, and says :— Do not call yourself a stranger to me. Your name is a passport to any old Tasmanian. I remember the first of your family at Dunorlan; he invited me into his hospitable board with a loud welcome and a warm heart. In 1837 Mr George Baker was renting Dunorlan from Captain Moriarty for a cattle run. I was then 17 years of age and was living with my sisters husband, Mr George Hall, at Middle Plain. After giving some particulars respecting the discovery of Chudleigh Caves, and other interesting records, Mr Fenton concludes—But I shall write at length within the next week; havent time now. I am sure Mr Fentons letter will be much more interesting than anything I can write, and I shall look forward to receiving it with pleasure. (To be continued.)
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:37:14 +0000
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