R.E. BUSH, EXPLORER AND PASTORALIST

by C.W.M. Cameron

, Robert Edwin (most frequently referred to as R.E.) Bush, first interested me whenI wasresearching Frank Wittenoom. They wereofthesame age, andfriends from the time Bush came to Western untiltheyboth diedwithina few months of each other, in 1939. A section in the Wittenoom book represented mostof what I knewof him until by courtesy of hisgranddaughter, Miss Tessa Bush, I received a copyofsome early journals, written to his family. Thejourneys described were at the start of his Western Australian life, a start fromwhichhe became a prosperous pastoralist and a public citizen and thenretired to England to bea countrygentleman, keeping up the tradition hisancestors hadmaintained in Gloucestershire for 400 years. Robert Bush wasbornin 1855 anddiedin 1939, having made his last of thirteen trips to W.A. in 1938. There are therefore a few who wouldremember hislater visits to W.A., but nonehis arrival in 1877. What no doubt attracted the young man of twenty-two to try his luck in W.A. was that his father, Lt. Col. Robert Bush. was in charge ofthe96thInfantry guarding theyoung Swan River settlement in the 1840s, returning to Bristol in 1851. At the age of ten young Robert Edwin went as a day boy to the new public school, Clifton College, at Bristol. There his chiefclaim to remembrance seems to havebeen that he was Captain of the school cricket and later played for Gloucestershire from 1874-7 in the time of the famous Grace brothers. This had its own results for W.A. Bush had a boarder friend at Clifton, Thomas Souther Lodge. who was two years olderandwho,afterleaving school, hadgoneto Norfolk, to learnfarming. On Bush's suggestion theydecided to try theirluckin andon l Zth March 1878, they arrived at Fremantle on the barque 'Lady Elizabeth' of 500 tons, aftera voyage of 112 days. They proceeded to , also by the 'Lady Elizabeth'. There Bush had introductions to settlers, through his father's previous acquaintances. It is fairly to be presumed, from his activities in W.A., that young Bush was not without the means to keep himself, or the capital to invest in various enterprises. The first journey he made to the interior was in May 1878 in the company of Hepburn Gale, A.du Boulay, Thomas Souther Lodge and]ohn Giles. They set off to find gold at Peterwangi - no great distance, but throug.i very Robert Edwin Bush rough, waterless country. They did not find gold. 56 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.E. Bush 57 From hiscompanions Bush no doubtlearnta greatdealaboutthelifeof second­ natives.) In the returndirection, thefirstto make a successful journey with sheep generation settlers at Champion Bay. With T.om L~d~~ he visited the Mou.th of wasEdward Roberts in 1868, bringing down Walter Padbury's flock fromNickol the Murchison River and he took part in socialacnvines. In 1936 Bush said he Bay. 'had beena jackeroo for eighteen months' but the dates I now ha.ve, show that he musthavebeenonlyintermittentand itinerantjackeroo. Hearrivedon March The story of the Gascoyne is told in the memoirs of George JosephGoochas 12th 1878. From 9th to 26th May he was searching for gold. On 25thJune he written by F.W. Gunning in 'Lure of the North' published in 1952, and I have returned from a visit to the Murchison Mouth. Between 19th August and 28th accepted hisaccount of thenextstage. Theoverland routehaving beenpioneered, September he and Tom Lodge made a trip to Cossack and back to Fremantle, a numberof would-be pastoralists started to try their luck.John HenryMonger returning to Geraldton by 5th October. From then to 6th .May, 1879 he was, andAubrey Browntook up landon the lowerGascoyne down to the coast,sight perhaps, at his jackeroo activities andthese couldhave beenwith ~he Lacy brothers unseen. Brownstarted from Yorkwith 4,000 sheep. Charles Brockman wished at 'Warra Warra', withFrank Wittenoom at 'Yuin' or 'Murgoo' or III theRoebourne to explorethe Gascoyne and, supplied bya friend with the necessary horsesetc., area. he set out on 1 May 1876, a reasonably good year. Bush returned to the north-westand his next adventure, recordedin a journal BothBrownand Brockman struck the Gascoyne betwee Mt. Clere and Mount home wasto take horses from PortWalcott toMauritius. This wasa very strenuous Puckford and followed the river down. Brockman explored the country to the experience, broken by a socially enjoyable stay in Mauritius, and at Fremantle east, thenleft Aubrey Brown'sparty and on reaching the coastfound that a boat and on his return. It occupied him from May to July 1879. . expected withsupplies, wasnot there. Helaterlearntthathisprovisions hadbeen lefton DirkHartog Island. Hesetaboutconstructing some buildings for thearrival By this time Bush had probably decided that he wanted to ta.ke up land for of Brown and the sheep. sheepand cattle culture. The Murchison had been largely occupiedand he had seenthe possibilities further north, round Nickol Bay. Between was a largearea Meanwhile Robert Campbell and George Hamersley arrivedby sea. With the scarcely explored, but in which there was a growing interest. In 1858 Frank latter, Charles Brockman explorednorthwards, finding and naming the Minilya Gregory, Government Surveyor, had explored the Gascoyne, Lyons, Alma and River. Theoutcomeof this wasthat Brockman took up country at 'Boolathana', Mount Augustus areas in a good year, recordingsomegood land. Gregory then Browndid not run the stationat the coast- it wasin the handsofJohn Michael went by sea to Nickol Bay in 1861 and as a result of his report, cattle, horses Finnerty andcalled byhis name. (Itwaslater sold to Forrest, Burtand Company andsheep werelanded therebyWalter Padbury; othersfollowed, including groups and became 'Brickhouse', so-called because the first dwelling, washedawayby from Victoria and from the ill-fated Camden Harbour settlement. As yet, an floods, was replaced by a brickone, the first on the Gascoyne. It is stillowned overland route which provided water and feed for stock had not been tried. by the Burt family). Theresultof allthisactivity wasthe beginning of congestion on theMurchison Settlement at the Gascoyne of all flocks heading for the north, as 1877 was a very dry year. A third party to arrive, with 2,000 sheep, was that of Charles Gale and Robert McNeill, who There are several reasons why the Gascoyne area was not pioneered after settledat ', furtherup the fromthe bendat Rocky Gregory's 1858expedition. Firstly, although he reported over 150square ~iles Pool, which became quitea meeting place for explorers andflocks. George Gooch of good country with notable absence of poison plants, he gavetwo warrungs one wasthat the reliability of theseasons had not beenestablished; and theother earned up with Charles Wheelock, who had helpedCharles Brockman takehis was the length of communication with a port. He advocated a port north of -heep up in 1876-77, and who in 1879 piloted Gale and McNeill's sheep to Doorawarrah' . Exmouth Gulf. In addition there was very little investment capital in Western Australia at the time. Expedition North by Coast Route In 1866Edward TimothyHooley was the first to take sheepfrom Champion In 1879R.E. Bush organised hisexpedition, thejournalof whichisfrustrating Bay to whatisnow 'Minderoo' on the lowerAshburton, using theRiver Murchison in thatit doesnot sayhow it wasplanned andwhopaidforthe horses andrations-, from the Geraldine Mine to 'Milly Milly', and thence striking north with 1,920 Three young men set out to find pastoral country. Bush's companions had sheep. (Hooley abandoned his holdingafter a few yearsbecause of troublewith experience of the bush; there is no evidence that they knew much, if anything, 58 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.E Bush 59 about Gregory's exploration in 1858; they knew something of Finnerty's and encountered and it wouldbe too tedious to go through the whole journal. The Brockman's activities; they wanted to tryout a morewesterly route and assess main problem waswater, as the greaterpart of the journey was made through any countryon the way. They were impatient and chose hot and dry months. countrydevoid of anything but occasional rock poolsor dried-up pools with a Another frustrating feature of the journal is the lackof latitude and longitude verylittle muddysaltwater. But for the natives with them, and those theymet references, whichatrained surveyor like Frank Gregory gives in hisjournal. The on the way, the white men and horses might well haveperished from thirst. young explorers hadneithertheexpertise not the instruments for this.Theyhad Thefood they had 'off the land' depended largely on water. On the first days a compass, but how they measured their distances travelled, I do not know. out theyshot bronze-winged pigeons and small rockkangaroos. At what I think The expedition officially started at 'Murgoo' on 23rdOctober 1879. Thejournal was Breberle Lake, now on 'Curbur station between the Murchison and the begins on 14th October at 'Mungarra', the station founded by Walter Howard Wooramel rivers, thehorses'got bogged andfrightened and wetted,but didnot and Hare, after Howard's parson father and Shenton had discovered Mungarra do much harmto the packs'.Theyhad goodduckshooting anda bathe. Forthe Spring in 1873. Arthur, TedandWyndham Lacy started a station at 'Warra Warra' people backhome Bush described the cooking of the ducks, bush fashion. They about the same time: this is now 'Gabyon' station. Starting out were Walter sawemus but failed to shoot any. On the Wooramel theyshot a turkey, ducks Howard and Bush in a springcart, Ted and Wyndham Lacy riding and leading andcockatoos. Further down theyhadlizard abouttwo feetlongwith flesh like the other horses. They had two natives. chicken. After theyleftBrockman's, skirting thesouthendof Lake Macleod, they reached the sea.Oysters were now on the menu andmuchappreciated, Edward After thirty-two miles theyhada jolly evening at 'Warra Warra', TedLacy having Sewell nearly swallowing alarge pearl. They threwtheoysters on thefireto open justreturnedfrom England andtheotherslistening 'with eager and wistful ears'. and cook them. When they turned south and inland again, turkey, ducks and They toasted TedLacy's returnandtheirownjourney in rum. It tookthemnearly cockatoos were shot near the river Lyndon - turkeyfor breakfast after it had threedays to reach 'Murgoo', wheretheyfound Edward andFrank Wittenoom's been cooking in theash allnight must have been agoodstarttotheirthirty-second new sheep stationwith the start of 'a jolly nicegarden'. Edward Sewell arrived day, but theywerestillfinding onlyverybadwaterand Bush wassuffering from buttheyhadtowaitforsome charts forwhich theyhadsenta native toChampion severe dysentery before they returnedto Brockman's wherehe wasillfor three Bay. These were mariners' charts and were of limited use. weeks. During this time a deputation of natives took their doctor to see him Theunusual gathering ofsixyoung menatleisure in the bush ledto horse races. believing he had been 'buleed' byother natives. Theeventmust bequotedin full: It was only a year later that Frank Wittenoom had his first more formal race meeting at 'Murgoo' when the same people were present. As usual, foot races '..,.sohe set to work to make we well, by pressing with greatsolemnity wereorganised for theaborigines. An evening of singing andcardsfinished their on my stomach, for abouta quarter of an hour, with both hishands, and day. The Lacys left for 'Warra Warra', Frank Wittenoom went off to look for then told me that I should be all right by night. I have no doubt that he some lost sheepeighty miles away; and stillthe explorers had to wait another did me as much good as many a soft-footed practitioner at home would few days. Bush cut everybody's hair, 'for something better to do'. have done. It was a funny sight, to see these black fellows round me, all painted up,andwithalltheirarms andfeathers, They allwentinmourning Well fed and rested, the party which set out on 23rd October, consisted of for me, thatis, theyhadblackened withcharcoal allroundtheireves. Thev Robert Bush, Walter Howard, Edward Sewell, two black boys, Pat and Sankey, used to come every day, and ask how I was, whether I was "'little bi't eight horses, three with packs of rations of about 170lbs. each. Arms consisted mendic"or "gwoba" or "bigfellow mendic" thatis "little bitill" or "all of two revolvers and two guns and each manhad a sheath knife. They set out right" or "Big fellow ill".' over the Sanford River heading NNW for the Murchison. As wellasthisincident, comments on the natives make up a considerable part The daily mileage is given in the journal, as well as frequent directional of the journal, for there were many of them around. Brought together, the indications, occasional geographical features and very occasional native place­ comments giveagoodfirst-reaction account. Ontheirwayfrom 'Murgoo' to the names, usually pools, someof which canbe identified on the Lands Department lowerGascoyne thepartyveryfrequently hadnatives following them andat no 1;500,000 maps. As the route was scarcely 'as the crow flies', it is somewhat time was there any real antagonism. Many natives were afraid of the horses if chancey tracing it bymiles travelled. Weknow wheretheywent and what they theyhadnotmetwhitemenbefore - in fact whensome natives ranaway except 60 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.E. Bush 61 onemanandhiswoman, the man'slegs collapsed in fearand it washalfanhour were now in an area already travelled by white men. There were lots of very before he recovered. Bush wasriding a baymareof 17V2 hands. On the whole, bignatives, a few who couldsay'tobac' and some English oaths. Some wore an the natives did not feel threatened bya partyof.five menon horses, two of them old cap, or and old spur. Bush comments: of their own race. They allowed them to see corroborees and their women. 'mind you, you may laugh, but a nigger thinks himself very welldressed So it was after fairly close observation thatBush wroteabout cannibalism because indeedwith aspuron. Theyareveryfondof oldwaistcoats, nothingelse; people had previously denied this to him. He wrote: and when you put a nigger into clothes, you spoilhim, as without them, 1consider heis a veryfine model of a man, especially about the body' 'Whoever says theAustralian Aboriginal isno cannibal knows not ofwhat he is talking about. 1haveseenthe skulls of peoplethat havebeen eaten. When theyreached Finnerty's theywere regaled withaccounts of the hostility Although they treat their women so badly, they are most fond of their of natives and Bush commented 'I amafraidthey over-estimate the danger, but children, theyeven teach themto ill-treat theirmothers. Nevertheless, the there is no doubt there hasbeen a good deal of shooting abouthere'. Reaching children as a rule are very fond of their mothers.' Brockman at 'Boolathana' they found him rather reassuring, giving him credit for knowing how to manage natives, although some had had to be shot. The Years later,whenBush wasajustice of the Peace on the Gascoyne, thepollee difference in attitude, very muchconfirmed later, was that the white mannow brought to himthree natives whomthey hadfound cooking and eating a native had property to protect - his habitation, his stores and most of all, his sheep. woman. Punishment forthis crime was not within hisjurisdiction sohecommitted them to Perth, making the mistake of naming the crimeof cannibalism. After all After theythankfully reached 'Boolathana' on 9th November, whereBrockman the expense of this process, he received afurious letterfromthe Crown Solicitor welcomed them and they had three days' rest, they reflected on the 467 miles saying cannibalism wasno crime. 'Oh well', saidBush retelling the story, 'a man they had travelled. The country had been mainly poor and badly watered and may eat his mother-in-law but he may not kill her'. they could not contemplate returning the same way.

When thepartywasfollowing theWooramel River down to the coast, agroup Oneof themostinteresting partsof theirjourney was aftertheyleftBrockman's of over one hundred natives was encountered. for the firsttime,skirting the southend of Lake Macleod andheading NW to the 'allpainted up andarmed to the teethfora week'scorroboree. Wecamped beach. This theyfound protectedby 'the mostfearful andcontinuous reefs'. They at a fine pool, which theycalled Mundilia. There was a crowd of them came across more than four wrecks, explored away from the coast for water, here,we hadto keepaneyeon them, but theyseemed verygood-natured, with littlesuccess, and foundwhat they thought wasCape Cuvier. Bush wrote- anddid whatever we told them, but we camped in the middle of the river 'I canassure you that it isa mostpleasurable feeling to thinkthat youare bed, where all around was clear'. the first white man who has ever been to a place, as we most certainly When theyleft home theyhad decided to keepwatcheverynight,but until this are here. We scrambled down the cliffs, 150 ft. high and had a glorious encounter they had not done so, everymanbeing so tired they had decided the bathe', natives were not a danger. About fifty miles on, still a fearsome coast, they learnt from the natives of a Further downtheRiver Wooramel thefollowing natives leftbecause those down wreck withsome survivors, one ofwhom wasburied there. They found thebones theriverwere 'bigfellow sulky fellows' andmight killthem. Bush andhisfriends ofothers whohaddied of thirst. Tothese bones theygave a solemn burial, covering found that the aborigines theylater met on the other sideof the riverspokean the grave with large shells. entirely different language andwerenot circumcised, whereas allthosemetbefore At last they found a breakin the reef and the possibility of a harbour - this werecircumcised. They therefore called therivertheJordan: officialdom reverted was later called Maud's Landing. to the Wooramel. Theretheypassed heapsof wreckage, including the masts of a verylarge ship. Having followed theriver downalmost to thecoast, theexplorers turned WNW Eventually theyregretfully leftthecoastanddiscovered horse tracks. Thenatives' and, striking a cart trackfrom to the Gascoyne River, realised they story was that, six weeks before, white men were kidnapping native boys for 62 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society pearling andthreewerekilled, Onemanhadarevolver bullet inhischest. which R.E. Bush 63 go no further, so Frank Wittenoom drove them down to 'Yuin' to await horses went in at the shoulder blade and round one of his ribs, Bush wanted to cut it from Howard's station to enable them to ride to Geraldton. While they waited out but the others said his knife was too blunt. they played cricket, with F.W. to bowl and 'two old black women to field.' When they leftthecoast. steering SE byE, they reached good country andwater, Bush wrote: 'The trip lasted 146 days and covered 1,885 miles: three horses Bush reflected on thefact thatfornine days theyhadfound wateronlybydigging did not return; it was the hottest summer ever known. We found some lovelv and only six times, country.' It does not soundas if he regretted the hardship and danger. It might 'It wasa terrible journey for water, and neverdo I wish to undergo the besaid thatthe hazardous second tripnorthbyHoward and Sewell was foolhardv same again - we ought to be very thankful that we got through at all, and it is interesting to speculate whether, if Bush had not been so ill, all thre~ We have the pleasure of knowing that it had not been done before. We would have undertaken it, They knew theystillhad a long way to return - it have proved the existence of a very large lake, have also proved that it actually took thirty-two days, which, with a rest at Brockman's. would have hasno outletto the sea, that it isverysalty and mostly dry. Wecouldalso brought themjustwithin theirintended threemonths. If theyhad not added the almost say there was no chance of a harbour except the one we'came almost-fatal extra trip, theywould have hadmore time to ex;mine the Lvons and across. LpperGascoyne territory. But oursis not to criticize. Ifit werenot for'therisks With some diversions to examine the country, they reached the Lyndon, the taken. Western Australia would not have been developed, Minilya andoncemore Brockman's on 30thNovember. Theycame through some Establishment of Upper Gascoyne Stations good country, with pools to which the natives gave names, but on the whole suffered from shortage of water. (It wasthenBush hadsevere dysentery andwas , Bush wasted no time in applying forleases in various partoftheGascovne from ill for three weeks, receiving the attention of the friendly native doctor.) the coast to hisfirst established station, 'Bidgernia, sending sheep up in thecare of Howard and].E Sewell in 1880. George Gooch. who attributed his decision After a week, Howard andSewell startednorth again to lookat some country to go north of the Gascoyne to the advice of R.E, Bush, set out in April 1880 they missed. They became overdue and afterfour weeks, on 6thJanuary 1880, to seeifhe could pioneera coast route. Hedidthiswithdifficultv. met theother Bush decided to search forhis chums, accompanied byayoung man, Walter Ridley. pioneer pasroralists on the Gascoyne. but with his partner, Wh~elock, decided (Gunning identifies this man as J.E. Ridley, whose chance remark influenced togoto lookat theMinilya country. where they took up 'Wandagee'. InNovember George Gooch to search the Gascoyne. It is much more likely, from age he set out from theIrwinwith 2.490sheep but did not attemptthe coast route consideration, that it was his son). He joined thequeue at theMurchison wherealltravelling sheep (including those Theprospect wasnot good,at theheight of summer, with no waterfor sixty of RE. Bush), werewaiting at various places. In lanuarv 1881 raincame and the or ninetv miles. However thev found Howard and Sewell returning, in poor flocks continued their journey. ' conditio~, having lostonehorse, They hadgone asfar as North-West Cape, failed I have no first-hand material for theestablishment of R.E, Bush asa pastoralist to find anypearlers in Exmouth Gulf andwerelucky to survive at all. Returning inhisfirst nine years, butduring thattime hecame toplayaprominent partamong to Brockman's for the third time, theymetRobert McNeill and Charles Gale and those settling onandnorth oftheGascovne. As earlv as18thMav 1882 the'West learnt of the dangers and problems of overlanding sheep. As return by thecoast Australian' drew attention to the probiems - depredations of natives, lackof road was impossible, they had to face an extra 200-300 miles up the Gascoyne police inspection, shipping and communication, dingoes, Gascoyne representation and across to the Murchison, Gale wasestablished at 'Doorawarra', up the river in the Legislative Council, etc. A meeting of over twenty settlers met on June from Rocky Pool, butthere wasnosettlement between thereand O'Grady's 'Dalla' 1st, at Carnarvon to consider theirproblems, andno doubtdiscuss theirpossible Station on the Murchison. TheymetDoust bringing thefourthlot ofsheep down response to thegovernment's planto send Magistrate Robert Fairbairn to review the Gascoyne. thesituation with regard to the aborigines. Theveryterms of Fairbairn's inquiry At last they reached 'Murgoo' on 21st February 1880, to find that the set thetone for arathersorryperiod. They were'to ascertain howfarthesettlers government had organised a search party, which included Tom Lodge, Bush's of these districts hadbrought thetrouble uponthemselves bytheirharsh treatment friend. Word wassent to the Bay to say the party was safe. Their horses could of thenatives'. Letters published in the 'Inquirer'had stirredup feelings against the settlers and R.E. Bush wrote to the 'West Australian' in their defence. 64 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.£ Bush 65 Fairbairn's inquiries were somewhat lacking in sensitivity. His visit had been Hehad taken up aboutone million acres at '' andin 1890 bought Mr prompted by conditions on the Gascoyne whereonly one constable served the J.S. Davis' 'Mt. Clere' station with20,000 sheep. He offered forsale another portion area, but he included also the Murchsion. The answers to his questions were of his runs, of 345,000 acres with frontage to the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers guarded and he did not really establish that there wasgeneral mis-treatment of and reaching out towards the coast, with 12,000 sheep. He changed the name natives. Thefactcould not bedenied thatnatives werestealing sheep, ingreater of 'Bidgemta' to 'Lower Clifton Downs', and of 'Mr. Clere' to 'Upper Clifton numbers than required for food; breaking into stores and killing white men, Downs.' sometimes apparently capriciously. There was no agreement on whether the Theyear 1890 was animportant onein Gascoyne history. Among theproblems natives minded white men taking their women. The trouble lay in the system, was that of shipping the wool and the inadequacies of the harbour. From Perth and the whole native labour question plagued the Gascoyne area for years to in the summer of 1890 Bush wrote to the Director of Public Works about the follow, There isno room for adetailed examination here.Thegovernment made channel to the jetty at Carnarvon in terms which were typical of his approach various efforts to introduce what it thought were safeguards in the sentencing to bureaucracy- of aboriginal offenders: police protection was increased and in 1886 the Aborigines' Protection Act setup a Board to workthrough honorary protectors. '...nothing I can writecanstrengthen the verystrongdetermination that By thentheaboriginal labour system was accepted asinevitable if thepastoralists theP.W,D. must have come to - to remove, immediately, thestigma that wereto survive, andthe system ofemployment agreements came under theAct. necessarily attached to their offices in consequence of planning a Theaffair of the Rev. ].B. Gribble, a devoutbut unstable missionary, arriving at magniflcent jetty in a place into which no vessel of any draft can enter, Carnarvon to save heathen souls, tore the colony apart. By the early 1890'sthe In the interests of the important District, whose viewI am ever placing gradual introduction of fencing reduced, but did not prevent, raids on sheep. before youand, taking intoconsideration thesmall amount ofexpenditure One result of the legislation to 'protect' aborigines was that when responsible required, I trust thatyouwilldo allyoucanto remove thislaughing stock government was setupin 1890, theAborigines' Protection Board remained under from our midst. ' the aegis of the Imperial Government until 1897. Among thepastoralists expressing theiropinions on thenative matter, R.E. Bush On behalf of the Upper Gascoyne Road Board he put forward to the Colonial wasparticulary vocal, and whenhe became a member of theLegislative Council Secretary a suggestion that a port be considered at the mouth of the Wooramel in 1890, had greater opportunity to comment. In the main he considered that River, thussaving Upper Gascoyne pastoralists over 100 miles. Nothing came of thesvstem was fair neither to whites nornatives asitwas'leaven of badcharacters this idea. whi~h made the state of affairs indescribable'. He considered that as the government took rentsfrom the lands it was its duty .t.o protect the settlers. In Oneoftheproblems of these pioneer exercises was thatofgetting propersurveys 1892, whenBush proposed an amendment to theAborigines Protection Act 1886, of the runsfor fencing. Bush had a row with the Commissioner for Lands over increasing thepenalty magistrates couldimpose inbreachofcontractcases from money hehadpaidtoaprivate surveyor for some work, for which heconsidered three months to six months, he withdrew it with the words: the government hadgiven inadequate data, Hewasapparently ticked offfor an 'The Government hastried to meetus in bringing in this bill; andfurther incorrect approach for he apologised and hoped his surveyor would convince because I do not seemuch goodin amending whatI thinkis a false system the Lands Office, of legislation in regard to employment of natives.' He did not say what Such letters, and others to business firms, indicate a rather imperious and better system could be adopted, impatient gentleman. This maybe unfair to Bush, for one must remember the Theearly problems of theGascoyne settlers aredealt within detail byGunning difficulties ingetting things donefrom such isolation. Oneenterprise heembarked inhis storyof George Gooch andthere isno reason to suppose thatthoseof Bush on in 1890was the importation of a steam engine and machinery for shearing. weredifferent, except inonerespect - thathehadmore money. From a Shenton There were some teething problems, but all worked satisfactorily for the first family photograph album I deduce that R.E. Bush went to England at least once machine-shearing in Western Australia. Combining 'Mt. Clere' (or 'Upper Clifton before 1890. There isan undated photograph of himbyaGibraltar photographer Downs') sheep with 'Bidgernia' (or 'Lower Clifton Downs') sheep, over 50,000 and one dated 1883 with a brother,John Edward, by a Malta photographer. were shorn in 1890. The annual return figures are in an 1890 letter book(and 66 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.E. Bush 67 are not in the range of 75,000 as stated in some accounts.) Bush imported an one else wereavailable, he wouldbe willing to accept nomination for Carnarvon engineer to oversee the machinery and in one letter he saidhe was 'rigging up' - to keep an unpopular gentleman out. Hehoped, however, that Sholl would to press by machinery. continue. R.F. Sholl was elected to the Legislative Assembly and Bush became As he wastaking over 'Mt, Clerc' in 1890, Bush wasat hisstations from March a member of the Council from December 1890. He made his maiden speech in to the end of the year. Charles Davis agreed to stay over as manager untilJune the newParliament in the Address-in-Reply on 1st[anaury 1891, regretting that and ina letterto Dalgety & Co. Bush said hewas glad about this, asthrough Davis. the Governor's speech had made no reference to the 'old governments and old he wouldget to know the natives and they hiin. Healso asked Dalgety to send settlers'.Hecondemned the£1,336,000loanpolicy of the Forrest Government upany good young 'colonial experience' fellows, noting that'theso-called working as'ill-prepared andill-considered', butofcourse urged harbour works atCarnarvon man of this district israrely worthhis grub'. He notified Dalgety thathehadsacked and supported the plan for a railway to Mullewa. During his short time in the a man for keeping a native woman saying 'I may as well tell you all, once for Upper House Bush spoke mainly on matters with which he was familiar such all. that I do not intend women to be kept on the station.' as the Scab Act Amendment Bill, the amendment of the Aborigines' Protection Bush accepted a contract to erect a police station at what came to be called Act, (1886) and the debates on the possible help which the government could Gascoyne Junction. This he wasglad to do, evenat a loss, for the convenience give to settlers suffering from the drought. of having police so close. He then proceeded with fencing the bestpart of the Although he resigned from the Legislative Council before it became elective run, which he had been frightened to do before, because of lackof protection in 1894, Bush remained aforceful leaderof North-West opinion. On7thJanuary from native maurauders. 1893 he was Chairman of a meeting he called at the Weld Club to consider In February 1890 Bush asked Dalgety & Co. to reduce his interest from 8% concerted action in view ofthe neglect thenorthern partoftheState hadsuffered. to 7%, there having been no rain forabout tenmonths. It wasthe terrible drought His experience in theLegislative Council hadshownBush that therewastoolittle year andby 1892, Bush, like allother pastoralists,was in debt to the companies, understanding of their problems, and although some people were continually which in mostcases held the leases assecurity. Bush owed £50,000 to Dalgety saying that Parliament was stacked with members with financial interests in and wasprepared to give everthing up; he wasurged to go back and make a go pastoralism, therewas a strong sense ofinjustice. More thanforty people attended of it. This he certainly did; and by a combination of hard work and good this meeting andit was the veteran settler of theNickol Bay area, A.R. Richardson, management he built up hisstockby 1900to 100,000 sheep, 10,000 cattle, 500 who moved the formation of a Northerners' Association. Bush was elected horses, 100camels, mules and donkeys. Heimported studstock fromtheEastern President, It was good publicity, but whether the Association ever had much States and brought Chinamen from Singapore for fencing and well-sinking. In a influence on the government is rather doubtful. radio talk he gave for the English Western Service in 1936, he statedhe hadput From 1903 or 1904 Bush directed his pastoral property from England, with up 1,500 miles of fencing, had 100wells and 20,000 gallons of water in tanks, regular visits Hewason the Board of Directors of Dalgety & Co, His sons had no interest in the pastoral life and the 2,000,000 acres were gradually splitup, When he spokeof the natives, R.E. Bush always admitted theyhad beenvery 'Landor' being the last station in his hands. treacherous, but hadbecome goodemployees, particularly asstockmen, for they were natural riders. He also praised their intelligence, especially in learning English In January 1893 Bush had married Constance, widow of Julian Harper and more quickly than he could learn their language. When Kimberly's 'History of daughter of the Francis Lochee family. They were married by Bishop Parry in Western Australia' was published in 1897 Robert Bush was written up 'as an St. George's Cathedral; Frank Wittenoom wasbestmanandMiss Louise Shenton authority on allnative matters andemployed a system of justice combined with was bridesmaid. Unfortunately Mrs Bush diedafter three years, She leftadaughter and a son, firmness and kindness'. In 1907 Robert Bush, thenaged 52, married Marjorie Scott, daughter ofDrScott Public life and other interests and Penelope, nee Sholl, There were five children of thismarriage, They lived at Bishops Knoll in Gloucestershire, where the children weregrowing up when "Robert Bush was the first Chairman of the Upper Gascoyne Road Board. World War I broke out. Bush placed his house at the service of the Australian resigning on becoming a member of the Legislative Council. During 1890 government for a hospital. Therehe workedas a medical orderly, living at the nominations were being put forward for the Legislative Council for the first gate house, and helped by his wife and oldest daughter, Charlotte. Parliament under responsible government and Bush made it known that if no- 68 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society R.E Bush 69 The great sporting love of R.E. Bush'slife was cricket, which he had played a shrewd business man,perhaps alsorather mean. Helikedeverything of the best from schoolbovdavsin the Gloucestershire teamof the Grace brothers, until he Wester~ A~stralia. - he inherited money and made money. To understand another side of Bush left for He organised North-West teamsto play in Geraldton one has only to think of him livingfor nearlyfive years, with a growing family, and Penh for over twenty years. He also strongly supported the formation of in a gatehouse of his estate and working as an ambulance orderly for wounded the WestAustralian CricketAssociation in 1886, of which Mr ].C.H.James was Australian soldiers, in addition to his other civicduties in Bristoland as Deputy­ President and Bush a Vice-President. All themember clubs played on poor grounds, Lieutenant for Gloucestershire. so a Stateground was urgently required. In December 1889, the President led a deputation to Governor Broome to request thegrantof the landnow well-known Bibliography over the world as the WACA. Years later, in 1938,on R.E. Bush'sthirteenth and MANUSCRIPTS: lastvisitto W.A., the Presidentof the Legislative Council, SirJohn Kirwan, gave Bush, RobertEdwin: Extractsfrom a journal kept during an expedition in search a reception to him. This was a somewhatbelated recognition of Bush'swork at of gold to Peterwangi 1878 (Batrye Library). Bishops Knoll hospital.In hisspeechof reply, Bush claimedthat it was he, while - Journalof a voyage from Port WalcotttowardsPort Louis, Mauritius, 1879 staying at Government House with SirFrederick Broome in 1889,who 'managed (Battye Library). to work him up to it so that the government made the ground available.' The - Journal of an exploring trip to the north of the River Gascoyne, October ground required a good deal of filling and preparation and was not officially 1879 to March 1880 (Battye Library). opened until 1893. - Letter Book 1890-1891 (In the possessionof Mrs M. Wilson) Another continuing interest of Robert Bush was Fairbridge Farm School, of OFFICIAL PAPERS: which he was on the London governing body. In the 1930s he was very Blue Books (Colonial Secretary's Office) 1879, 1881, 1882, 1883 enthusiastic about British Empire development, seen in the context of twelve Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Council, Paper 33, 1882 voyages round the world to out-of-the-way places and of the lackof opportunity Debates of the Parliament of W.A. 1890-1896 for manyyoung people in Great Britain. In the broadcast talk in 1936 he made THESES, ARTICLES: a strong plea for knowledge of, and population of the British Empire, from Sue-Jane Hunt: 'The Gribble Affair' a Studyof Aboriginal-European Relations in England. NorthWest Australia duringthe 1880s (Battye Library; Murdoch University) In that talkhe alsodescribedthe transport over the vastdistancesof his leases F.W. Gunning: 'Last of the Gascoyne Pioneers' (R.W.A.H.S. Biographical Papers). bv horses, bullocks, donkeys and camels, by personal transport from horses to PUBLISHED MATERIAL: lightAmerican buckboard buggies, by four-in-hand to motor cars. Hepredicted CatherineCameron: 'F.F.B. Wittenoom, Pastoral Pioneerand Explorer' (Primary the time was not far distanct when aeroplanes would be used on the stations. Industry Committee of W.A. 150th Anniversary Board 1979). How can we sum up Robert EdwinBush? F.W. Gunning met him on his last Gregory A.e. & F.T.: 'Journals of Australian Exploration' (Government Press, Brisbane 1884) visit to W.A. in 1938,and took the manuscriptof his 'Lureof the North' to Bush on the 'Otranto on which he was leaving Fremantle. In an article after Bush's F.W. Gunning: 'Lure of the North: Memoirs of George Joseph Gooch' (W.A. death Gooch wrote about 'a gallantgentleman' of whom he had heard stories, Newspapers 1952) 'somegood, somebad'. Heacceptedthe judgement of A.R. Richardson 'who was Kimberly W.B.: 'History of West Australia' (F.W. Niven & Co. 1897) nearest him and too honest to say anything false' that the bad stories were due 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Western Australia' (Perth, 1901) to misunderstandings and he was a worthy citizenof WesternAustralia. Hewas ].G Wilson (ed.), 'Western Australia's Centenary, 1829-1929' (Perth, Historic Press, 1929) also a public spirited citizen of Bristol and Gloucestershire. PHOTOGRAPHS: R.E Bush seems to havehad a good opinionof himself, which, combined with Shenton Family Photograph Album - R.W.A.H.S. a reserve and an air of superiority, of imperiousness even, mayhave put people R.E. Bush, M.L.e. - Parliament House, Perth off. Hewasof the 'establishment'bybirth and preferred to know those likehim. R.E. Bush - West Australian CricketAssociation It is certain he would have been a strict father. People would have said he was R.E. Bush (W.A. Newspapers) 1981 - Battye Library