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Basil and Cutter Murray: tigers and other travelling tales

Arthur ‘Cutter’ Murray reckoned that thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) followed him when he walked from Magnet to Waratah in the state’s far north-west—out of curiosity, rather than malicious intent. If he swung around suddenly he could catch a glimpse of one.[1] However, Cutter did better than that. In 1925 he caught a tiger alive and took it for a train ride to Hobart.

Tigers are just one element of the twentieth-century tale of Cutter and his elder brother Basil Murray. Yet for all their exploits these great high country bushmen started in poverty and rarely glimpsed anything better. Cutter married and produced a family, but his weakness all his working life was gambling: what he made on the possums (and tiger) he lost on the horses. Basil made enough money to keep the taxman guessing but was content to live out his days in a caravan behind Waratah’s Bischoff Hotel.[2]

Their ancestry was Irish Roman Catholic. Basil Francis Murray (1893–1971) was born to Emu Bay Railway ganger Edward James (Ted) Murray and Martha Anne Sutton. He was the couple’s ninth child. Arthur Royden Murray (1898–1987?) was the twelfth.[3]  Three more kids followed. The family lived at the fettlers’ cottages at the Fourteen Mile south of Ridgley while Ted Murray was a ganger, but in 1907 he became a bush farmer at Guildford, renting land from the Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL Co).[4] Guildford, the junction of the main Emu Bay Railway line to Zeehan and the branch line to Waratah, had a station, licensed bar and state school, but was also a centre for railway workers, VDL Co timber cutters and hunters. Edward Brown, the so-called ‘Squire of Guildford’, dominated local activity.

Guildford Junction State School, with teacher May Wells at centre. From the Weekly Courier, 10 November 1906, p.24.

Squaring sleepers, splitting timber, hunting, fencing, scrubbing out bush, driving bullocks, herding stock, milking cows and setting snares were essential skills for a young man in this locality. Like others, the Murrays snared adjoining VDL Co land, paying the company a royalty. Several Murray boys escaped Guildford by serving in World War One, but Cutter recalled that his father would not let him enlist.[5] Basil also stayed home.[6] Perhaps it was enough for Ted and Martha Murray that they lost one son, Albert Murray, killed in action in France in 1916.[7]

Guildford Railway Station during the ‘great snow’, 1921. Winter photo, Weekly Courier, 18 August 1921, p.17.
Guildford Station under snow again, 24 September 1930. RE Smith photo, courtesy of the late Charles Smith.

Twenty-three-year-old Arthur Murray appears to have married Alice Randall in Waratah during the ‘great snow’ of August 1921. He would already have been a proficient bushman.  Cutter learned to use the treadle snare with a springer, although he would also employ a pole snare for brush possum and would shoot ringtails. He shot at night using acetylene light to illuminate the nocturnal ringtails, but he found it easier to go after them by day by poking their nests in the tea-tree scrub. ‘It was like shooting fish in a barrel’, Cutter’s son Barry Murray recalled. ‘It was only shooting as high as the ceiling … A little spar and you just shook it … and they’d come out, generally two, a male and a female …’[8] Hunters aimed for the nose so as to keep the valuable fur untainted.

In the bush Cutter lived so roughly that no one would work with him. Some tried, but none of them lasted.  His huts and skin sheds on the Surrey Hills were little more than a few slabs of bark. Friday was bath day, which meant a walk in Williams Creek (east of the old Waratah Cemetery), regardless of weather conditions. Cutter’s son Val once snared Knole Plain with him, but couldn’t keep up. Snares had to be inspected every day, the game removed, and the snares reset. Cutter and Val took snaring runs on opposite sides of the plain, but Val found that even if he ran the whole way and didn’t reset any snares, Cutter would be sitting waiting for him, having long completed his side.

Cutter’s most substantial skin shed was near home base, on the hill above the primary school at Waratah. Here he would smoke the skins before an open fire. He pegged them out both on the wall and on planks about eighteen inches wide, each plank long enough to accommodate three wallaby skins. When the sun shone, he took the laden planks outside; otherwise he sat inside the skin shed with his skins, chain smoking cigarettes in empathy. A skin shed had no chimney, the idea being that the smoke would brown the skins as it escaped through the cracks between the planks of the walls. The air was so black with smoke that Cutter was virtually invisible from the doorway.[9] Yet no carcinogens prevented him reaching his eighties.

Joe Fagan claimed that Basil Murray was such a good snarer that he once snared Bass Strait.[10] Basil preferred the simple necker snare to the treadle, and caught a tiger in such a device on Murrays Plain, a little plain above the 40 Mile mark on the railway named after Ted Murray.[11] Cutter caught a couple of three-quarters-grown tigers. One was taken dead in a treadle snare with a springer on Goderich Plain when Cutter was hunting with Joe Fagan.[12] Joe kept the skin for years as a rug, but when it grew moth-eaten he tossed it on the fire—oblivious to its rarity or future value.[13] Cutter caught the other thylacine alive in a treadle near Parrawe.[14]  He trussed her up and humped her home, where ‘a terrific number of people’ came for a look.[15]  ‘They’re very shy animals really, and quite timid’, he recalled of the captive female. ‘It behaved just like a dog and it got very friendly. But when a stranger came near it would squark at them.’[16] At first he couldn’t get her to eat. The breakthrough came when he skinned a freshly caught wallaby, rolled the carcase up in the skin with the fur on the inside, and fed it to the tiger while it was still warm.[17] In June 1925 ‘Murray bros, Waratah’ advertised a ‘Tasmanian Tiger (female)’ in the ‘For sale’ columns of the Examiner and Mercury newspapers.[18] Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo offered £30 for it, prompting Cutter to deliver her by train. It was his only visit to Hobart. Four cruisers of the American fleet were in town, and Cutter recalled that ‘it was so crowded you could hardly move. I didn’t like it much’.[19]

Cutter tells his story, Mercury, 13 February 1973, p.12.

The other big event in Hobart at the time was the Adamsfield osmiridium rush, which ensnared Basil Murray. In the last quarter of 1925 he pocketed £126 from osmiridium, the equivalent of a year’s wage for a farmhand.[20] Later he spent six months mining a tin show alone at the Interview River. Having set the exact date he wanted to be picked up by boat at the Pieman River heads, Basil hauled out a ton of tin ore on his back, bit by bit.[21] On another occasion he worked a little gold show on the Heazlewood River, curling the bark of gum saplings to make a flume in order to bring water to the site.[22]

It was pulpwood cutting that gave Arthur Murray his nickname. When Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM) started manufacturing paper at Burnie in 1938, it turned to Jack and Bern Fidler of Burnie company Forest Supplies Pty Ltd for pulpwood.[23] Over the next two decades Joe Fagan supplied about one-third of the pulpwood quota as a sub-contractor to the Fidlers. At a time when Mount Bischoff was a marginal provider for a few families, and osmiridium mining had fizzled out, Fagan became a significant employer, with about 65 men splitting barking and carting cordwood to the railway at Guildford for transport to Burnie.[24]

A good splitter would split about 3 cords of wood (a cord equals 128 cubic feet of timber) per day. Cutter held the record for the best daily effort, 8½ cords. Unlike most splitters, he never used an axe, but wedged off and split the billet into three pieces. Yet Cutter’s pulpwood stacking exasperated Joe Fagan. Unlike other men, Cutter did not stack his pulpwood as he went. Pulpwood cutters were paid according to the size of their stacks, and the large gaps in Cutter’s hasty, last-minute efforts ensured that he got paid for a bit more fresh air than he was entitled to. Kicking one such stack, Joe growled:

‘I don’t mind the rabbits goin’ through, Arthur, but I bloody well hate those bloody greyhounds behind them goin’ through the holes’.[25]

World War Two was a lucrative time for snarers. £15,000-worth of skins were auctioned at the Guildford Railway Station in 1943, while more than 32,000 skins were offered there in the following year.  Record prices were paid at what was probably the last annual Guildford sale in 1946.[26] Taking advantage of high demand, the VDL Co dispensed with the royalty payment system and made the letting of runs its sole hunting revenue. One party of three hunters was reported to have presented about three tons of prime skins as its seasonal haul.[27]

Both Murrays cashed in. Cutter made £600 one season.[28] Working with Eric Saddington at the Racecourse, Surrey Hills, Basil took 3000 wallabies in 1943. Unfortunately their wallaby snares also landed 42 out-of-season brush possums (21 grey and 21 black)—which landed the pair in court on unlawful possession charges. Both men were fined.[29] Basil had a reputation for being a ‘poacher’, and one story of his cunning, apocryphal or not, rivals those told about fellow poacher Bert Nichols.[30]

According to Ted Crisp, Basil was sitting at the bar at the Guildford Junction Railway Station when two Fauna Board rangers came in on the train and announced they were looking for Basil Murray, whom they believed had a stash of out-of-season skins. Then they set off for his hut, rejoining the train to go further down the line:

‘Old Baz headed down by foot and took after them, he was a pretty good mover in the bush and the trains weren’t real fast … and by the time he got down there, they’d found his skins, decided there were too many to carry out so they’d hide them and pick them up at a later date, and of course old Baz was sitting there watching them, they had to catch the train back a couple of hours later, they left and old Baz picked up the skins and moved them to another place …’

By the time the Fauna Board rangers got back to Guildford, Basil was still in the bar, propped up against the counter.[31] However, the taxman did better than the Fauna Board rangers. Basil seems to have been a chronic tax avoider. He and Eric Saddington were camped at Bulgobac, squaring sleepers and snaring, when they were busted for not filing tax returns for the years 1941–42–43.[32]

Basil kept on in the same vein, landing a £25 fine for not lodging a 1943–44 return and then a whopping £60 for the 1947–48–49 period.[33] Things finally got too hot for Basil, who adjourned to the Victorian goldfields for a time.[34]

In 1951 Basil was the cook for the party re-establishing the track between Corinna and Zeehan. One of the track-makers, Basil’s nephew Barry Murray remembered him as ‘a good old cook, as clean as Cutter was rough. They were just opposites. He had a big Huon pine table. He used to scrub it with sandsoap every day, and he would have worn it away if he’d stopped there for two or three years’.[35] Basil became well known as APPM’s gatekeeper at the Hampshire Hills.

In 1963 Cutter Murray was one of Joe Fagan’s men recruited by Harry Fraser of Aberfoyle in a party which investigated the old Cleveland tin and tungsten mine and recut the Yellowband Plain track to Mount Lindsay. At the party’s Mount Lindsay camp Cutter used snares to reduce the numbers of marauding devils that were tearing through the canvas tents, biting the tops off sauce bottles and biting open tins of beef and jam.[36]

Cutter Murray (left) and friend at Waratah. Note the Ascot cigarettes advertisement on the wall behind him. Photo courtesy of Young Joe Fagan.

Cutter snared until virtually the day he died in the 1980s, making him—along with Basil Steers—one of the last of the snarers. He possumed on North’s block and took wallabies on the Don Hill, under Mount Bischoff, wheeling the skins home draped over a bicycle. A great snaring dog, a labrador that he had trained to corner but not kill escaped game, made his life easier.[37] Nothing is known to remain of his hunting regime, not a hut or a skin shed. Barely a photo remains of the hardy bushman. His tiger tale flitted across the country via newspaper in 1984, then was forgotten.

Unfortunately Cutter Murray’s travelling tiger has an equally obscure legacy, apparently dying soon after it was received at the Beaumaris Zoo.[38] 

 

[1] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 21 November 2008.

[2] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[3] Registration no.484, born 16 May 1898, RGD33/1/85 (TAHO). Basil Murray’s years of birth and dirt are recorded on his headstone in the Wivenhoe General Cemetery, Burnie.

[4] ‘Ridgley’, North West Post, 8 October 1907, p.2.

[5] Cutter Murray; quoted by Mary McNamara, ‘Have Tasmanian tiger, will travel … but only once’, Australian, 1984, publication details unknown.

[6] Basil and John Murray were refused an exemption (‘Waratah Exemption Court’, North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 11 November 1916, p.2; ‘Burnie: in freedom’s cause’, North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 13 January 1916, p.2), but there is no record of Basil serving.

[7] ‘Tasmanian casualties’, North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 22 September 1916, p.3.

[8] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[9] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[10] Joe Fagan to Bob Brown and Ern Malley, 1972 (QVMAG).

[11] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[12] Cutter Murray and Joe Fagan to Bob Brown and Ern Malley, 1972 (QVMAG).

[13] Harry Reginald Paine, Taking you back down the track … is about Waratah in the early days, the author, Somerset, 1994, pp.62–66.

[14] Cutter Murray and Joe Fagan to Bob Brown and Ern Malley, 1972 (QVMAG).

[15] Cutter Murray; quoted by Mary McNamara, ‘Have Tasmanian tiger, will travel … but only once’, Australian, 1984, publication details unknown.

[16] Cutter Murray; quoted in ‘He once had pet Tasmanian tiger’, Mercury, 13 February 1973.

[17] AAC (Bert) Mason, No two the same: an autobiographical social and mining history 1914–1992 on the life and times of a mining engineer, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Hawthorn, Vic, 1994, p.571.

[18] See, for example, ‘For sale’, Examiner, 17 Jun 1925, p.8.

[19] Cutter Murray; quoted by Mary McNamara, ‘Have Tasmanian tiger, will travel … but only once’.

[20] Register of osmiridium buyers’ return of purchases, MIN150/1/1 (TAHO).

[21] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 21 November 2008.

[22] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[23] Steve Scott, quoted by Tess Lawrence, A whitebait and a bloody scone: an anecdotal history of APPM, Jezebel Press, Melbourne, 1986, p.25.

[24] Kerry Pink, ‘His heart belongs to Waratah … Joe Fagan’, Advocate, 10 August 1985, p.6.

[25] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 21 November 2008.

[26] ‘£15,000 skin sale at Guildford’, Examiner, 14 October 1943, p.4; ‘Over 32,000 skins offered at sale’, Advocate, 13 September 1944, p.5; ‘Record prices at Guildford skin sale’, Advocate, 30 July 1946, p.6.

[27] ‘£15,000 skin sale at Guildford’, Examiner, 14 October 1943, p.4.

[28] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[29] ‘Trappers fined’, Advocate, 22 October 1943, p.4.

[30] For Nichols’ poaching, see Simon Cubit and Nic Haygarth, Mountain men: stories from the Tasmanian high country, Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2015, pp.116–19.

[31] Ted Crisp; quoted by Tess Lawrence, A whitebait and a bloody scone: an anecdotal history of APPM, p.26.

[32] ‘Men fined’, Mercury, 5 May 1944, p.6.

[33] ‘Fines imposed for income tax offences’, Mercury, 5 September 1946, p.10; ‘Fined for tax breaches’, Examiner, 6 July 1950, p.3.

[34] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[35] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[36] AAC (Bert) Mason, No two the same, pp.570–71, 577, 579.

[37] Barry Murray, interviewed by Nic Haygarth, 23 July 2011.

[38] Email from Dr Stephen Sleightholme 26 December 2018; Cutter Murray stated his belief that it died soon after arrival in Hobart in ‘He once had pet Tasmanian tiger’. I thank Stephen Sleightholme and Gareth Linnard for their contributions to this story.

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George Bell’s trip to rural New South Wales, February-March 1834

George Bell (1805–52) was born in Scotland and migrated to New South Wales on the barque Minerva in 1832, the voyage from Leith to Sydney lasting 5 months and 10 days, including a a stopover of more than three weeks in Hobart Town. Arriving finally in Sydney, he took a job working in the store of his brother David Bell. In February 1834 George Bell decided to see what he could of inland New South Wales before he returned to his native  Scotland. The trip lasted almost a month and included one of the earliest recorded accounts of visiting the Bungonia Caves.

27/2/34. Having arranged with my brother I left Sydney by the afternoon coach to Liverpool. After passing Ireland’s the soil seemed poor & but little of it cleared. What was called Irishtown appeared to be a few miserable looking wooden huts. At Bowlers Bridge I left the coach & found Lennox with his party of convicts of whom he is Superintendent. After having tea with him, he walked with me to Bowler’s inn where were we shewn into a fine newly furnished room & after he left, I went to sleep on one of the sofas. Next morning I walked down to the creek & found L giving instructions to his men who are building Lansdowne Bridge. He provided bfast after which we set off in a boat with a man & boy who rowed us down Prospect Creek to George’s Hall where we landed & walked thro’ the

p.203 garden eating peaches & water melons. Embarking again we reached George’s River on the banks of which we saw cultivated fields at intervals. Landing on the right bank we rested at the house of Rowley a settler. Walking on thro’ the bush we came to a new stone mill of which the dam was broken down & the house deserted. Went thro’ it & on to the freestone quarry where an iron gang were at work preparing stones for the bridge. Many of the convicts had nothing but trousers on, their bare backs being exposed to the hot sun & 3 soldiers watching them. They get their bread & beef under an awning & at night are locked up in strong wood houses, where each one has a blanket & lyes [sic] on the boards, 20 in each house. Here I met a corporal who enlisted in Glasgow & he accompanied me to the river where I bathed. It is here as broad as the Clyde & very deep with numbers of blubber fish in it. After having some beef & damper we set off in the boat on our return, but it was dark for an hour before we reached the bridge L & I taking a pull at the oar to relieve

p.204 the men. Had tea with L who saw me safe in Bowler’s where I went to rest.

1/3/34 After having bfast with my friend I left by coach for Liverpool & was pleased at the neat clean appearance of the town. Here I took my seat in an open breaking carriage & passed thro’ a district but little cleared for some miles after which the houses were more numerous & the most of the land adjoining the road cleared. A hot wind blew & our 2 horses came to a stand still at the foot of every hill, so that it was near 3PM before we reached Campbelltown which is a long straggling village. After resting in the inn I determined to walk to Glenlee about 4 miles. The district is well cleared & when I reached Gl I found the tutor Kerr at home with whom I walked in the garden & got a ripe almond off the tree which I was not aware grew in the colony. I was also shewn thro’ the dairy &c this being the most noted farm in NS Wales for fresh butter. Took tea with Kerr & his pupils, the young Howe’s [sic], whose mother ordered

p.205 that I should be shewn up to one of the best bedrooms where I went to rest. The house was elegantly furnished.

2d Was Sabbath as I then believed, but nevertheless I was up soon after sunrise & having roused Kerr he put me on my road which I pursued thro’ the bush to a cottage of the farm of Eldeslie, the Proprietor of which J Hawdon was not yet out of bed, so I went on until I emerged into a cleared district & got upon the highway opposite Kirkham, Capt Coghill’s farm. The roadside inn I passed, supposing I would come to another soon. By the Cowpasture bridge which is well built of wood I crossed the Nepean which is here a considerable stream. The road led thro’ the bush on to the ascent over Razorback where I made up a stock keeper of Underwood’s with nearly 100 cattle which I assisted to drive over the mountain which is very steep & much labor has been expended in making a road over it. When over the height I went in search of water, the want of which I felt very much, but I found none till I reached

p.206 the foot of the hill where I saw a stockade & some drays on the road, the men of which I accosted & requested water & bread which they gave me & offered to make tea if I would wait. Here I sat in company with the outcasts of the human race, & heard one of them avow that he would steal his father’s shoes if he thought he could make anything of them! They were civil to me & on parting I gave them a fig of tobacco. In a short time I came in sight of Abbotsford which stands in the midst of a fine farm & I found the proprietor Geo Harper at home who introduced me to his wife whom I found very agreeable. After dinner we walked in the garden which is large & well stocked with flowers & fruit trees. In the evening we talked of a deep precipitous ravine called Burragorang which I had a great desire to see but it was 15 miles off & difficult to find without a guide & my kind host was too busy to go with me.

8. I took my departure after bfast & was going in a wrong direction when

p.207 I met a man who set me right on a cleared road thro’ the bush. Crossed Myrtle Creek which is a small stream with a deep rocky bed, & arrived at Lupton’s inn about mid day when I had a second bfast & rested sometime. Starting again I walked 8 miles thro’ forest land to Keighran’s at Little Forest but did not like the appearance of the house, so that I passed on by the old line of road & soon recollected that I was now in Bargo brush, a noted place for bushrangers, which made me walk a little smarter that I might get thro’ it in time. The wood is very close, but after a few miles I entered an extensive flat where the trees were thinly set & I found several drays here laden with wool, the men belonging to which had taken up their quarters for the night. Coming to some cultivated ground with house & a windmill I made my way to Cutter’s inn which I found a clean comfortable house & here I enjoyed my tea, feeling very tired.

p.208 On the 4th I arose soon after sunrise & took my road thro’ the bush in a fine sharp morning, being the coldest I have felt in this country. In about 1½ miles I came upon the new line of road which I pursued for about 3 miles thro’ forest until I found a cart track leading to the right which I followed thro’ the bush & saw some beautiful blue & red Parrots. Passing thro’ a beautiful piece of low open forest land I came to Wm Coghill’s whose dogs frightened me when going to the house which was a common wooden one. Here I found the master laid up & unable to move from rheumatism & the whole house in confusion from their having been obliged to raise the flooring to destroy a snake which had got in beneath. After having bfast & a chat with poor WC I took my leave. Returning to the main road I went on to Berrima where I met with Tasker who was kind & I dined with him in his slab hut. He then made me got on horseback, shewed me the

p.209 site of the intended stone bridge over the river Uinjeecaribee which we forded & proceeded thro’ the bush to the farm of Jn Atkinson whose lady recd us kindly & we had tea with her, her husband being up the country. She told me of a very high waterfall at the Meryla mountain, also of a beautiful plant, the “Burwan” producing nuts which the aborigines eat after soaking them in a running stream for a certain time. Returned to Berrima with Tasker with whom I took up my quarters for the night. The banks of the river are high & there are a few house building on the township.

5th. After having bfast with Tasker I rode on with him until near Oldbury, to which I turned off & walk [sic] nearly a mile to enquire after James Atkinson whom I understood to be very ill, but his wife & Dr Colyer made his illness an excuse for not seeing me, so that I was not even asked to sit down. I turned away with my feelings rather excited, & when I got back to the road

p.210 I found my friend T giving orders to his men who were building a bridge over Medway rivulet. Taking my leave of him I followed the road which led me thro’ bush, with a farm every few miles. I was very thirsty & could find no water for 8 miles until getting to the bottom of a steep & long descent I saw a kangaroo pursued by dogs & found myself close to a roadside inn kept by Beadman. Here I had tea & would have remained for the night but my money was nearly spent, so that I determined to go on to Wingelow altho’ I knew nothing of the Proprietor Campbell. Descending to Paddy’s [sic] river [sic] which seemed a sluggish stream & ascending the opposite bank I soon after came to a road party by whom I was directed to Wingelow. I therefore left the road & followed the fence until I despaired of finding the house so that I thought of sleeping in the bush, but a little farther on I saw the house, crossed the fence, & accosted

p.211 a man who kept the dogs off me so I reached the house & enquired for Campbell. He came out & appeared a genteel looking man not much older than myself. On making him acquainted with my name &c he at once welcomed me, said he knew my brother, shewed me into his parlor [sic] & drew a bottle of wine for me. This was all in such contrast to what passed at Oldbury, that I felt highly pleased. He took me into his garden where we each had a melon, & then we saw his two flocks of sheep folded for the night. On returning to tea he introduced me to his wife, a plain but lady looking woman with two beautiful young daughters. Here I passed a pleasant evening, looking over the Edinr Lity Gazette, chatting of books &c. Heard that I might be able to have a view of the Shoalhaven gullies & spar caves without greatly increasing my tour & this I determined to accomplish if possible. C told me a remarkable occurrence in the life of the old reprobate John Dickson

p.212 of Sydney who imagined at one time that he had seen the devil & he did not swear & blaspheme for 3 mos after.

6th. In the morning I looked at “Littles NS Wales” & to bfast we had hot rolls. The cottage is small but well furnished & on taking leave he walked nearly half a mile with me to shew me the path. After getting on the old line of road a saw a number of very small birds flying in the bush which might almost be taken for butterflies. I easily found Barber’s wooden house which was about ½ mile of the road & is well furnished. I found him at home & stated my wish to see the gullies &c upon which he said he was sorry his sons were from home, who would have gone with me. He gave me a draught of milk & water & invited me to call on my return & so we parted. Walking on a few miles I came up/ with a dray & a flock of sheep, & one of the dogs came quietly behind & catching the skirt of my surtent [?] tore it a little. I walked along with one of the men who informed

p.213 me as to my way, so going on I went up to the next house & accosted a plain looking man who I found was Mitchell whom I was in search of. He took me in & introduced me to his wife whom I found a chatty intelligent woman the daughter of a French emigré [sic]. Feeling tired I thought I had best have a nights [sic] rest before visiting the Gullies, & they offered me a bed but I preferred going on to the township of Inveraray where I went up to the first house & enquired whose it was? “Oh this is the jail sir”! [sic] was the answer I received, but I soon found out Style’s with whom I found Packer, & Roberts the butcher was there also who told us some curious details respecting the Sydney butchers outwitting each other in buying cattle when they were scarce. After leaving tea we sat chatting till about 11PM before we went to bed.

On the morning of the 7th after having bfast Styles supplied me with a mare on which I rode to Mitchell’s when he & his son started on foot

p.214 along with me. We soon reached the limestone country where there are many cavities having holes at the bottom called hoppers. Masses of rich ironstone were also lying at several places. After proceeding 3 or 4 miles we came all at once to the brink of the Shoalhaven gullies which appear as a steep precipitous glen with a stream at the bottom from 12 to 1500 feet below the spectator. The bare perpendicular rocks with the Grass trees on their summits the steep declivities clothed with trees, & the stream at the bottom looking as if a mere rivulet, form altogether a romantic & impressive scene, & shews that the general level of the district must be about 2000 ft above the sea. I could have admired the scene for hours, but our time being limited we took a peep from several points & then retraced our steps to the caves. Descending a large hopper we scrambled down the hole at the bottom & found ourselves

p.215 in a circular cavity of about twenty feet diameter. Scrambling farther down into a dark corner we stood near the brink of a deep pit into which we threw stones. They hissed thro’ the air & I could count 25 before they reached the bottom when the sound was like thunder & sometimes a fragment would fall still further & drop into water. Returning to the surface we went into another Hopper [sic] where about 16 ft deep there was a hole down which I partly went & would have gone altogether had it not been dangerous. I was told it was a very extensive & intricate cavern, full of stalactites, but without lights & a long rope, it was a daring venture to attempt to explore its recesses. Being unprovided we were obliged to desist, so we made our way back to our dinner which we found ready & I was pleased with the conversation of the worthy couple which

p.216 might be said to be both literary & scientific. They told me of a beautiful small quadruped called the sugar squirrel. After sitting sometime I bade them farewell & rode off to Dr Reids [sic] whose wife wished me to remain with them in their bark hut which has been their residence & was shewn a fine stone house nearly finished into which they mean to remove. It was dark when I left, but was shewn the road by a man to Styles where I found Packer still who played on the violin & flute.

8th. After having bfast I took my leave & walked on the road which led thro’ the bush to Grose’s farm & passing a hut now & then I arrived at Palmer’s  where I was informed that to go thro’ the bush to McFarlanes [sic] was only 6 miles but to follow the road 15 miles. I preferred the road, & went on & in a few miles came to a fine flat country with the trees standing wide & flocks of white cockatoos flying about & screeching. I kept the road until near Lake Bathurst, & on to the border

p.217 of a fine green plain clear of trees where I was delighted with the view which was terminated by a distant range of mountains. Here I struck off the road to the right & followed a cart track for 3 or 4 miles until I came to a waterhole & now I found I had lost my road.

Taking notice of the course I was pursuing by the sun I looked about & cooeed repeatedly, but got no answer. Going on I came to the track of wheels & then to a sort of road which I followed at a quick pace until was gladdened with the sight of a flock of lambs. The shepherd led me on a short distance & then told me to make haste & follow the road down a hollow which would lead me to McFarlanes [sic]. I walked on rapidly until near sunset when I came to a dray the man of which told me I was still 4 miles from McF’s, but his master Faithful’s

p.218 was only one mile so I resolved to make for the nearest which I reached just as it was dark. Here I was surprised to find my friends Styles & Packer & they were so also to see me. They were in the company of Faithful a fine looking young man standing 6 ft 3 in & I was glad to find a cup of coffee ready for me as I had nothing to eat since bfast.

9th. Next morning after partaking of bfast with my friends I again bade them farewell & took the road, being cautioned to beware of Ryan’s dogs, so I kept a good lookout & altho’ I saw two large dogs rambling about I gave them a wide berth & reached Inveralacky at last where I found my friend Wm McGarvie along with Jas McFarlane in his new stone house which is still unfinished & the roof low Feeling tired & my feet pained I did not go out much & went to bed early.

10/3/34. Three of the Aborigines came to the

p.219 farm. After dinner McF, McG, & I got mounted & rode thro’ the bush by Coven creek where there was abundance of fine grass & we had a draught of water from a spring. Towards even we got on the plains of Lake George where we saw a pair of wild Turkeys. McF could not find the house he intended to take us to, which caused us to ride over the hills where we had a splendid view of the sun setting across the lake. When nearly dark we reached a stockyard of Lithgow’s of which the overseer asked us into his turf hut where he supplied us with tea in tin dishes & the labor of cutting the damper made me perspire. He provided us with sleeping places for the night, to which we retired after chatting &c.

11th. Next morning I went down to the lake & waded in a good distance the water deepening very slowly with a sandy bottom & I bathed with the water just have my knees. It was slightly brackish with a number of wild ducks swimming in it, & it was evident the water had receded

p.220 to a great extent from its former height. Returning to bfast I found a supply of excellent pancakes fried in fat, having satisfied our appetites with which & at her viands we got our nags ready & rode off. Taking our course thro’ a level stony district in which were flocks of sheep we crossed a high range of hills where the dogs killed a kangaroo rat, but we saw no Kangaroos. We had another range to cross after which we went along grassy flats to Inveralacky passing a tree which had been shivered with lightning. After dinner I had a long walk with Jas McFarlane to whom I mentioned my intention of returning to Scotland.

12th. In the forenoon I rode out with McF into the bush & collected a herd of cattle which he left me to drive a short distance by myself. In doing so I tumbled off the mare & fell on my back without injury & the quiet animal stood until I remounted. We drove the cattle into the stockyard, & in the afnoon the strange cattle were drafted out of the herd.

p.221 On the 13th I felt my back very much fatigued. Mc with 4 or 5 men were hard at work culling & branding the calves &c, & I employed myself in keeping the brands hot. Had a short ride in the af noon.

14th. Was spent strolling about the farm & into the bush a short distance where we saw a large native dog which the dogs of the farm were killing.

15th. In the forenoon I took a long ramble into the bush by myself & noticed that had I not paid attention in regard to my course by the sun I would have pursued a different route in returning to the farm which I arrived at all right. After dinner I again rambled away & met a sawyer Spears with whom I returned. He told me he would be free by the end of this month & he had long been a smuggler in Scotland about Girvan & Straianraer [?]. Saw a bullock killed by being pithed [?]. McF asked me to go with him after tea & keep a look out on the potatoe [sic] field as he suspected they were robbed. We went to the farthest paddock just as the new moon was setting & there we detected

p.222 two of the men among the potatoes. McF ordered the off to their huts, but we did not find any potatoes dug up.

16/3/34. After bfast McG mounted along with McF & I walked to Lake Bathurst where the country looked parched & the lake greatly dried up, leaving a broad level shore on all sides. We stopped at a rocky place where were some trees & which had evidently been an island when the lake was 10 or 12 feet higher. Here McG stopped & I mounted his mare, but in trotting along my foot got out of the stirrup & I soon rolled off, but the ground being soft I was not hurt providentially. McF contrived to stop the animal & I remounted, but could not manage to sit firm in the saddle. Numbers of ducks, &c a pair of Black Swans were swimming on the water which is mot more than about 4 miles long. We rode thro’ a dry swamp & on to Cooper & Levy’s Station where the overseer gave us milk & water to drink. Returning to where we left McG he took the mare & I walked back to dinner. In the evening our host

p.223 produced a Bible in which I read aloud, which lead to conversation in which he remarked that he feared he had more sins to answer for now, than he might have had, had he remained in Scotland.

19th. In the af noon we took the dogs into the scrub, but only started a kangaroo rat which escaped into a hollow tree. In the evening Dun McF arrived from Monaroo [sic] where he had been for 6 or 8 mos with the sheep. He told us of the mineral spring, & also of a large Plain with a Lake in its centre lately discovered to the SW.

20th. Having bfasted & made ready we took leave of Duncan McFarlane & Inveralacky, riding off with his brother James who went along with us to Goulburn Plains where we saw the Bustard. After riding a few miles along with McGarvie & I over the grassy plain, he took farewell of us & kept on to the township of Goulburn while we went more to the right. The plains are about ten miles across & nearly destitute of trees or bushes.

p.224 Passed some flocks of sheep & shepherds’ huts & rode on till we entered the bush & came upon the road to Bong Bong. This led us to a creek near to which were the old huts of a road party, & we allowed our mares to eat & drink for a short time, at same time feeling the want of food ourselves having brot nothing with us to eat. Mounting again we walked our animals taking a short trot now & then, & made our way thro’ rather a thickly wooded district without meeting a human being until we emerged on the banks of the Wollondilly which seemed a large deep stream with steep banks. Made another halt to let the mares feed & then riding on we were glad after a ride of 30 miles to see a farmhouse after  which a few miles brought us to the roadside inn kept by Peters. After seeing our mares fed we were glad to sit down & enjoy our tea being both tired & hungry.

19th. In the night we heard it raining but in the morning we had bfast after which we mounted & set out

p.225 in a fine day. The road led thro’ the bush & was very hilly we came near Paddy’s River when we supposed we had taken the wrong road & turned back till we met Donald who was following us to take back his masters [sic] horses. He put us right & we crossed the river where it was very shallow. Then thro’ bush land & over high hills until we came upon the broad made road where we stopped for our mares to partake of the grass while we ate some damper. A little further we procured some milk & water from a hut & passed several farms, the land being cultivated in part. I was in a laughing humour [sic] & highly amused at our being obliged to keep our lazy beasts going by thumping their hides with sticks. My comrade was also in better spirits than yesterday & would have us stop at the Talbot inn & have some porter to drink. Shortly after we passed the “Ploughed Ground” where there are several settlers & a weather boarded place of worship. We were now in the district of Sutton Forest & had but a few miles farther when we in descending a hill came in sight

p.226 of the flat on which are the few houses of Bong Bong. Crossed the river on a wooden bridge & to the inn kept by Lareby who sent our mares with their foals to Bowman’s Paddock according to our instructions, as we were now done with them. Fining it was only about 4PM we ordered tea in an hour & meantime we washed ourselves & rested. After tea we walked out & saw the coach arrive from Sydney which brought us the newspaper. In paying our bill we found they charged us 2/3 each for bed.

20th Started in an open carriage drawn by 2 horses along with J Berry. We had a very bad & steep road over Mittagong, on the op of which there is an extensive view. The air was cold in the morning & the road all thro’ bush to Cutters [sic] inn. Here we got another passenger, Shepherd lately from Monaroo. The wind was strong & in passing through Bargo Brush, two trees fell about 100 yards behind us. We bfasted at Luptons inn, where we were well served

p.227 There we changed horses, the new pair having to take us 32 miles! At Stonequarry we turned off the Menangle road which led us over a high hill thro’ the summit of which the road is cut, & then thro’ a good deal of cultivated land, passing Buckland’s & D’Arrietta’s farms to the Menangle ford across the Cowpasture river. Here a party were at work forming a road down the sandy banks of the river, of which the water was low. At Campbellton [sic] we stopped at Hurley’s & dined & it was nearly 2° [sic] before we started, when Richards the proprietor went with us, for whose accommodation I sat between J Berry & the driver. Soon after passing Denham Court [sic] a gale with rain came up behind us but we soon reached Liverpool where went to Wood’s Ship Inn. After having tea I went & called on Capt Thompson & was introduced to his wife & daughters, the eldest of whom is rather a good looking girl. Returned to Woods to sleep.

21st. Was a cold morning & when we

p.228 started in the coach, we found in it a Scotchman Stevenson from Cathcart near Glasgow He gave me a strange account of Lady Wyld to whom he was overseer. Altho’ we had 2 sets of 4 horses each to Sydney we travelled at a slow pace to the Royal Hotel where our journey terminated.

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The Bells in Bothwell, Van Diemen’s Land, 1840-41

Sarah Bell, née Danby (1803–85), was born in London, England. After migrating to New South Wales, she married George Bell at Bullhill, near Liverpool, New South Wales, in 1834. The couple had three children—Sarah Jane (1836), Walter Stephen (1837) and Anne Danby (1839)—before relocating in Launceston, Van Diemen’s Land, in 1839 in order to operate a school. Anne Danby Bell died in Launceston in January 1840, but the couple had their youngest child, George Renison Bell, at Bothwell later that year, where George Bell had become postmaster and schoolteacher. However, the position proved unsatisfactory, prompting George to look for a job at a convict probation station.

Book 9: Sarah Bell’s Life History

22 May 1840–27 October 1841

My dear George immediately had an interview with T Wilkinson, who was pleased with the prospect of being soon released, & informed GB that it would be necessary for him to be over at the Post Office by 6 oclock the next morning that he might show him how to sort & arrange the letters &c. As our luggage would not be likely to arrive until the following day, if then, there was no alternative but for us to remain at the Inn. Early in the morning of the 22 my dear George arose, to run over to the

p.369 School house, (the post Office & School house being one) & on looking out of the window expressed much pleasure at seeing the ground all covered with snow for myself I thought it rather a mournful night; such cold weather was anything agreeable to me. On his return to breakfast, he was quite delighted with his moonlight peregrination on the snow, in the early morn; saying that he had not enjoyed such a walk since he left his ‘Father land’. As to his children, they were both astonished & delighted especially when they were allowed to handle as well as look at the snow.

After breakfast my husband again joined TW in the post Office, & they were occupied until dinner time. The news of our arrival having spread, rapidly, many were the enquiries, as to what sort of a School master, &, mistress, we should prove, &, the young folks were very

p.368 [sic: there are two] desirous of getting a look at my husband.

As our goods had not arrived by 4 PM we made arrangements for remaining where we were until after First day, this being 7th day (Saturday so called). I cannot at this time recollect, whether they arrived, on the 7th day evening, or 2nd day morning, but am inclined to think the former.

First day the 23rd. Being fine my dear GB took the children & myself to look at the pretty cottage which was to be our future residence. It was situated in a delightful garden tastefully laid out. The border of all the beds were of sweet vernal grass, casting forth a sweet perfume in the spring & summer. I felt much pleased with the quiet & sweet appearance of the place & that how endeavoring [sic] I was of such a home. On the 24th our luggage having reached its destination, we took possession of our new abode, & commenced unpacking & arranging what little furniture we had; such as beds & bedding. My dear George took a table & a few other necessaries of T Wilkinson, such as he intended

(I find that I have made a mistake in numbering the pages, & have left out 323 & 359. Therefore I have used the two last numbers over again as a corrective.)

p.369 leaving behind him for which he was to pay £5.  When my husband was about paying the Van driver who had managed to bring the things up all night, he had the assurance to demand an extra sum which GB positively refused to give him: saying that he ought rather deduct on account of the extra expences [sic] he had been the cause of putting us to. So after some altercation, the £12 was paid in the presence of witnesses according to the original agreement, & the receipt signed. This ended that miserable affair And with grateful hearts we that night ‘Stretched our tired limbs, & laid our heads, Upon our own delightful beds.

25th. It will be supposed that the Post Office business as commenced by the new master immediately, but not so the School; we were kindly permitted to have a fortnight to get things in order. I could not help feeling uneasy,

p.370 about Margaret, lest something might happen, to prevent here coming up, also after the experience we had of that mode of travelling, it did not appear prudent for a lone female to travel in that way. My dear George & I talked the matter over, & then decided that it would be better for her to proceed to Oatlands by the coach, & as our friends the School master & his wife had offered to do anything in their power to assist us, we doubted not, but that she would be welcome to stay there, until some opportunity occurred of proceeding to Bothwell. I wrote to her accordingly. To my great sorrow I received a letter from her in reply, saying, that her friends in Launceston had persuaded her to remain with them, & carry on the straw bonnet business which she understood. Suspecting this was not the whole truth, I wrote to her again, & then she confessed, that a certain individual, old enough to be her grand father,

p.371 (for she was but 18) had succeeded in gaining her consent to marry him. I was aware of their courtship, & fondly hoped that her removing with us to Bothwell, would have been the means of breaking it off. Poor girl! I felt more for her than myself: for she was in orphan, & had only been about a year in the colony, & excepting those persons with whom she was staying in Launceston, she had not a single friend in this part of the world. But she lived bitterly to repent it. 3 times did she run away from the man, who was her husband; & who ought to have been as a Father unto her. Twice she came to me in Hobart Town, bringing a little daughter with her once, for she had several children very quickly.

But to return to myself, when the time came for opening the School, I had no assistant. Five [?] there were the post Office messengers, who were not on duty, broke wood & did a little gardening.

p.372 All I could do was, to go in to the school I the afternoon, & attend to the girls needle work. Had there been only boys, & no Post Office connected with the school, my dear George felt he could have managed very well; but as it was, he was much harassed with post duties. Some of the mails used to come in, in the night, others about 4 oclock in the morning. Then there was the sorting the letters, &, making up of the mails for other places, twice a week, early in the morning, & twice a week, in the afternoon, interrupting the duties of the school. Beside all the other matters requiring attention, such as the growing & receiving of letters, to numberless individuals. He also remarks in various places the abuse he sometimes had to put up with, because would not open the bag after the letters were all in, & the bag

p.373 sealed, for individuals who were too late, or for others who had made mistakes; all of which had he done so would have been entirely contrary to post office regulations. Then to make the matter worse, there were many who expected letters to be both received, & delivered on First days, which my dear George uniformly refused to do, thereby getting an ill name by the surrounding settlers. These various things all put together, where [sic] considered to be the exciting cause of many epileptic fits. Sometimes the school had to be shut up for two or 3 days altogether. And then I would get a young man, who was police clerk, to do the duties of the post office.

His epileptic attacks, appeared to be quite as frequent as before, seldom passing week without. Once he fell down among the chis [?], sadly wounded himself he would occasionally be seized in the midst of teaching, to the great alarm of the children.

p.374 I used to have a woman to come to wash & clean once a week, but it was not until the 1st of Tenth mo 1840 that my GB notices ‘That Sarah has at last engaged a young person as an assistant’. I was again expecting an addition to our family; & was very thankful of a little help. The young woman was clever & industrious but unfortunately not fond of children; this afterwards proved a serious drawback. Nothing particularly worthy of remark occurred ‘till the 21st of 11/mo when GB remarks that ‘My dear Sarah has been very ill all night & that Dr H was fetched at 1 o’clock AM then the nurse, & that at day break, he sent a note to our dear friend Jane Anderson at Thorpe, begging for her mother to come over, who arrived about 6 accompanied by her daughter Jane, adding that ‘at 7.20 Jane Anderson came running into the post office to tell me that ‘my dear wife was safely delivered of a plump boy, at

p.375 which I felt grateful to the Father of …[?]… as I did not expect it to be so soon over. By 8 I believe I had the first sight of the chubby face of my infant son, whom the Most High has sent unto me, found my dear Sarah very low, but calm & thankful, &, our spirits united at a Throne of Grace, that our heavenly Parent, would enable us to bring him up in His fear.’

‘Immediately after breakfast, Jane Anderson’s mother returned home, accompanied by Gerrard, who carried my dear Sarah Jane’s clothes, & brought back the fine oatmeal. In the afternoon Jane A returned, taking out little SJ with her.’

It appears that the nurse who had been engaged, chose to go away without saying anything to me as far as Jerusalem, so that when she was required she was not to be had. This was exceedingly trying & threw every thing into confusion. The young person whom I engaged chiefly as an assistant in the School knew nothing about infants, & had a great dislike to them [sic]. A person whose name was Colbeck Mother of two of the scholars

p.376 staid with me one night. On the 22nd my kind friend Jane Anderson came & remained that day, & towards evening another person whose name was Lewis came & offered her services, who also had two children that attended. In this way I was mercifully cared for & had reason to be thankful that I was not worse off trying as it was to be thus put about, but He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb condescended to look with a pitying eye upon my low estate [sic], & brought me safely thro all, & made me once more the happy mother of a sweet & healthy babe, & had my assistant been fond of children as far as I was concerned we might have done very well in the school. But such not being the case she left me at the commencement of the school after the christmas [sic] holidays. I was again sadly harassed as I could not do my duty in school & out of school; & my duty as a mother: I did not neglect, whatever went undone.

p.377 Time rolled on: & complaints were made from different quarters. Finding that we could not give satisfaction, after doing to the best of our ability under the circumstances in which we were placed; my dear George thought it best to resign. On the 3rd of 1st mo 1841 I find we were favoured with a visit from GW Walker & Joseph Benson Mather. It afforded much pleasure to meet with those dear friends especially GWW whom we had not seen for early 4 years. John Sherwin the brother of our old friend Isaac Sherwin took tea with us that afternoon. He tho not professing with Friends, is a dear brother in the Lord & assisted us during our sojourn in Bothwell, with much spiritual help &, consolation. In the evening we all had a solemn sitting together, & after some time JBM & then GWW arose &, expressed what was on their minds. It was a time of deep searching of the heart, & altogether an affecting season. About 9 John Sherwin took his leave. We had hoped to have the company of our other two

p.378 friends for a few days, but they said they had engaged beds at the Inn where they had put up their horses, & that the next day they had visits to perform, but they would be happy to spend as much time with us as they could.

On the 4th my dear husband remarks as follows. ‘The two friends [sic] came 8.30. GW Walker read, & JBM knelt down in prayer & after further sitting GW spoke a little. They then went to call on some persons as before stated: returned about one & dined with us, after which they went out; returning again to tea; & I can truly say that we passed a most agreeable & edifying evening with our two friends. They strongly advise our endeavoring [sic] to remain thro the winter.’

Having taken my final farewell of our kind friends I saw no more of them, but my dear George went to the Inn the next morning, they promised to keep a look out, for some more suitable situation for him in

p.379 Hobart Town, & then bidding them adieu, they started for Skelton Castle the residence of Capt Dixon. We managed to continue the school till the end of the year; when T Wilkinson the former master returned, being dissatisfied with the situation he held in Hobart Town.

My dear George hired a cottage for 3 mos in Bothwell, where he intended to carry on the post Office, hoping & expecting that during that period something would turn up for us in Hobart [sic]. The dear children & I had an invitation to spend a few weeks at Sherwood accordingly we went, but I was taken so very ill, that I was obliged to return to my husband at Bothwell: & was confined for two mos to my bed, with a return of the same complaint, that obliged me to preserve a recumbent position so long, when in Launceston. Still we were favoured to find friends wherever we went, & Mary Ann Wigmore

p.380 the wife of Parson Wigmore (as he used to be called) was particularly kind & affectionate, rendering much assistance to my husband, & helpless children, as well as performing numerous acts of kindness &, tenderness, to myself. May God bless her, wherever she may be, for her goodness to us; & grant that she may never know the want of a friend. It appears that we had entertained the idea, that if the Friends in Hobart Town who had children old enough, would send two or 3 to board with us, it would have encouraged us to try & remain in Bothwell, but there were only two Friends who had, &, they did not like to part with them.

On the 25th of 9 mo my dear husband received an affectionate letter from Francis Cotton of Great Swan Port, wherein he stated having written to Capt Forster, recommending GB to the situation of Superintendent or Assistant Superint of a Probation

p.381 party &c. This very much pleased us, & my dear George determined to start to Hobart Town, without further delay. Having given Richard Wigmore instruction how to manage the Post Office business, &, commanding his dear wife & children to the care of their heavenly Father, he started off the same afternoon.

On the afternoon of the next day he reached Hobart Town, without anything remarkable, having walked the whole way. In the forenoon of the 27th he was introduced to Capt Forster, who said, that Francis Cotton had written to him, & that he had every wish to further FC’s views, but there was an objection in the way, which he could not get over, & he would tell him the plain truth at once. ‘These fellows (prisoners) must take off their hats to me & others; now you don’t, & I think it would be a breach of the established discipline, & have had a bad effect in the gang’. ‘I admitted (said GB) that it was true, we did not act in such ceremonies, as men generally

p.382 do, but it was well known, that it did not proceed from any want of respect, & I believed that even the prisoners, were not ignorant of our motives. Also, that altho I could not ask the men to take their hats off to me, I should not interfere, in their doing so to others. He replied, that it might be so, & he wished for the support of Christian men, to carry out his plans. If they acted on Gospel principles, he cared not what sect they belonged to, & if it were only in his own office, he cared nothing about it, but in the probation parties, he felt that it would be an evil, he could not get over. I then left him, with the understanding, that should he be brought to think differently, he would let me know’.

But Capt F never was brought to think differently, & as far as he was concerned, my dear husband’s journey to Town was useless; altho in some other

p.383 respects such was not the case. He remained in Hobart [sic], until the 31st & then set off to return to Bothwell, unsuccessful in all his attempts, to get a situation. As we could not live upon 30 pounds per annum, it was judged expedient, that GB should give up the post office, & remove with us all into Hobart Town, where he would be more at hand, should any thing offer for him. This at first was a heavy trial to me, but I prayed for grace, to be enabled to give up my will entirely & at length was favored [sic] to resign myself & all my concerns, into the hands of my dear Lord & master, when blessed be His holy name, all anxiety for the future left me. Could I have had my own will, I would rather have remained in the country at any risk, but it was not to be. I should have stated, that my dear George returned all safe, on the 1st of 10th mo. We were happy to meet again, but still it was mixed with sorrow.

[There are no pages 384‒88]

p.389 It may be supposed that the dear children were not a little pleased, to see their dear Father. I believe I have never mentioned dear little George, since his birth, but as I proceed, I find it will not do, to particularize so much, as I did at first, lest time should fail me, to accomplish what I have undertaken. I cannot say, that George was a very robust baby, but thro mercy he usually enjoyed good health, excepting occasional interruptions from teething. I felt that he in some measure, made up for the loss of my dear Anne, & I had a great fear of trusting him in the arms of any girl. So that excepting much assistance, as his Father could occasionally give me I nursed him chiefly myself; preferring to let him crawl about on the floor, or be drawn about at times in a little wooden box with wheels, by SJ & W to trusting him out of sight with any one. He was weaned when about 8 mos old, & immediately after we went to Sherwood. It may be asked, how came G Bell to

p.390 carry on the post office duties after leaving the school? To this I would reply, that the Post Master Gen having no fault to find with GB wrote to him, to know if he meant to give it up? It immediately occurred to dear George, that it might be worth his while, to try & perform its duties, & perhaps he might be able, to connect something close with it: but just at the time, a family arrived in Bothwell & commenced a new store so there was no opening for us. We had little doubt but that it was wisely ordered, as we had no friends to draw upon, & we should most likely, have been involved in many difficulties. After the post office affairs were settled, the business thereof was transferred to the school, under charge of T Wilkinson, as formerly. We then commenced packing, & making arrangements for our journey to Hobart Town. We were very kindly assisted, by James Garret[t] & his wife. What little leisure we could get, we employed in taking leave of persons & places, whom

p.391 perhaps we might never be permitted to see again on earth; or revisit those haunts with which we had become familiar. In a solitary place, the last first day, we were there, my dear George sat down, &, read a few extracts from Isaac Pennington [?], part of which my dear GB copied on his return.

IP thus writes. ‘That the discovery of our having erred from the right path, is a shewing forth of Power, but we must not expect assistance, at the very time, &, in the very manner, we would wish. Our duty is to look to the Lord, to wait on him, & to be thankful, for what little assistance, He may vouchsafe unto us, believing that He will not leave us to be overpowered. The language of, How can I overcome? &c, &c, does not proceed from the true seed. He that would feel strength beforehand, & act in the sense of that strength, from him the power withdraws; but he that is weak, & hath no strength, but as it freely drops into him, from moment, to moment, this is the

p.392 vessel, the power chooseth to manifest itself unto, & to be continually appearing.’

‘It was brought home to my mind, that if I were fighting, I must expect sometimes to be knocked down, &, sometimes severely wounded; but in such case, I must not allow my faith to fail, but arose with what portion of strength I have remaining & carry on the battle in the firm belief, that I shall surely obtain the victory in the end; if I be loyal & true hearted; through the great captain of our salvation. Heavenly Parent: So thou preserve this truth constantly in my mind, & make me humble before thee.’