Long Distance Travel in Canoes, Kayaks, Rowboats and Rafts on the Rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin from 1817 to 2012
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Long Distance Travel in Canoes, Kayaks, Rowboats and Rafts on the Rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin from 1817 to 2012 by Angela BREMERS This thesis is submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication (Research) of the University of Canberra June 2017 i Abstract From 1817 to 2012, paddling and rowing on the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin played a crucial role in the region’s exploration, commerce and recreation. This thesis exposes the cultural and historical significance of journeys in human-powered craft during this period. Despite its underlying historical and cultural significance, the history of these journeys is little known and little understood. This is despite journeys by famous explorers such as Captain Charles Sturt who used rowboats on two expeditions, most notably on his 1830 expedition on the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers. His Murray journey is well commemorated, but two earlier journeys by Surveyor-General John Oxley’s expedition are not as widely known. Those four voyages, as well as three expeditions led by Major Thomas Mitchell were instrumental in solving the mystery of the inland rivers and expanding colonial settlement (Shaw ed., 1984, pp.217, 221, 599). Following European expansion, journeys by Captain Francis Cadell and a voyage by Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, determined the navigability of the Murray for paddle steamers. Until the additional linking of the railways into the basin during the 1870s and 1880s, paddle steamers provided the most efficient and reliable transport for farmers and settlers, and boosted the regional economy (Lewis, 1917, p.47; Phillips, 1972, p.50; Richmond, c.1980, p.17). Subsequently homesteads were built along the Murray and eventually “whalers”, waterborne swagmen who subsisted on the rivers, would fish for Murray cod (Rowland, c.1980, p.53; “Vidi”, 1894). Travel in human-powered craft reveals how previous generations survived. For example, migrant workers travelled home in row boats from the New South Wales and Victorian diggings to South Australia in 1853 and in the 1860. Traveller accounts are a valuable contribution to the historical and archaeological record. In 1862 George Burnell and Edward William Cole rowed down the Murray from Echuca to Goolwa, taking photographs along the way, adding a visual dimension to written accounts. Their images are some of the earliest photographs of the Murray and provide glimpses into Aboriginal customs. This thesis explores the many ways in which paddling and rowing on the rivers have contributed to our understanding of the basin and how it provides a window into the society to which travellers belonged. iii Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii FORM B Certificate of Authorship of Thesis .............................................................................. v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ xiii INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 Part A...................................................................................................................................... 4 Part B ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Part C ...................................................................................................................................... 6 PART A: Exploration and Surveying 1817-1877 .................................................................... 11 1. Overview: Exploration and Surveying 1817-1877........................................................... 11 2. Exploration and Surveying 1817-1836 ............................................................................ 11 2a. Surveyor-General John Oxley, 1817, 1818. ............................................................... 15 2b. Captain Charles Sturt, 1828-1829, 1829-1830. .......................................................... 27 Figure 1. Junction of Darling and Murray River, by Captain Charles Sturt, available from the National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an5263464-v .................................................. 33 2c. Surveyor-General Major Thomas Mitchell 1831-1832, 1835, 1836. ......................... 41 3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 44 4. Surveying c.1848-1878 .................................................................................................... 47 4a. Edward Micklethwaite Curr, c.1848. .......................................................................... 47 4b. Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia Henry Edward Fox Young, 1850. .............. 49 4c. Captain Francis Cadell, 1852, 1855 and 1856. ........................................................... 51 Figure 2. “Cockenzie House, Scotland: birthplace of Francis Cadell. In the foreground is . the canvas boat "Forerunner" in which Cadell navigated the River Murray from Swan Hill to Wellington in 1852. Ca. 1900” courtesy of the State Library of South Australia B 13507 (n.d, SA Memory). ............................................................................................. 55 4d. Mr Henry Copeland and Captain Vanzeulicom, 1854. .............................................. 55 4e. Captain Augustus Baker Peirce, c.1863. ..................................................................... 55 4f. Mr and Mrs Edward and Helena Forde, 1865. ............................................................ 56 4g. Captain Sinclair, 1877. ............................................................................................... 57 4h. Captain David Simpson Kirkwood, 1878. .................................................................. 58 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 60 PART B: Employment and Commerce 1853-1936 ................................................................. 63 1. Overview: Employment and Commerce 1853-1936 ........................................................ 63 2. Employment 1853-1936 ................................................................................................... 64 2.1 The Gold Rush era, 1853-1860. ..................................................................................... 64 vii 2.1a. The Forest Creek Diggings, c.1853. ............................................................................ 65 2.1a.a Mr Watson and the Five Sons of Mr Radford, 1853. ............................................. 66 2.1b. The Kiandra “Snowy Diggings” Gold Rush, c.1860. ................................................. 66 2.1b.a Three unnamed diggers, 1860. ............................................................................... 68 2.1b.b Mr. Trapmann, Mr. Chittleborough, Mr. Deichman and a sailor, 1860. ............... 69 2.1b.c Captain Tilbrook and possibly nine men possibly attempt to reach the diggings, 1860. ................................................................................................................................. 69 2.1b.d.Thomas Smith and another man, 1860. ................................................................. 69 2.1b.e. Mr and Mrs Abram Martin, Mr A. Wooley and eight others, April/May to November 1860. ............................................................................................................... 69 2.1c. The likelihood of boat travel to other rushes ........................................................... 70 Figure 3. Lachlan River, Edgell Park, Cowra, 10 July 2013. ........................................... 71 Figure 4. Lachlan River, between Forbes and Cowra, 16 July 2013. ............................... 71 2.2 “Whalers” c.1894-c.1930s.............................................................................................. 72 Figure 5. “A ninety-seven pound Murray cod, caught by a professional fisherman near Collendina Station in the Corowa district, New South Wales, 1924, photo taken by Dennis Brabazon” (Digital Collections- Picture- A ninety-seven pound Murray cod, caught by a professional fisherman near Collendina Station in the Corowa district, New South Wales, 1924 [picture]). Photo included courtesy of Bruce Howard. ..................... 75 Figure 6. “A typical “whaler” on the Darling River.” 1934, ‘An Outback Traveller’s Tale’, The Land, 5 October, electronic version, retrieved 24 October 2013 from Trove database. ........................................................................................................................... 76 2.3 The Great Depression 1927-1934 .................................................................................. 78 2.3a. Charles Duncan, Alfred Duncan and William Gribble, 1931. ................................. 83 2.3b. Robert Lucas, Frederick Bath, William Hannaford, James McCulloch, John Henry and Benjamin Giles, c.1932. ............................................................................................. 84 2.3c. Jack Sweeney and Frank Groom, c.1932. ................................................................ 84 2.3d. Frederick Carlile, Roy Brandon and James Burton, c.1932 [planned journey]. ...... 85 2.3e. Norman