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My Life's Adventure Kirwan, John, Sir (1869-1949) A digital text sponsored by New South Wales Centenary of Federation Committee University of Sydney Library Sydney 2000 http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/fed/ © University of Sydney Library. The texts and Images are not to be used for commercial purposes without permission Source Text: Prepared from the edition published by Eyre & Spottiswoode London 1936 All quotation marks retained as data All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line. First Published: 1936 Languages: French 340.9 KIR Australian Etexts autobiographies 1910-1939 prose nonfiction federation 2001 Creagh Cole Coordinator Final Checking and Parsing My Life's Adventure by The Hon. President of the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia Author of “An Empty Land” London Eyre & Spottiswoode 1936 Foreword DURING the spare moments of the last twelve months of a busy, active life, it gave me pleasure to write the comments and incidents here related. Perhaps to read them may also give some people pleasure. I hope so. JOHN KIRWAN. May, 1936. Contents PAGE FOREWORD vii CHAPTER I. ROAMING ROUND 1 I voyage from England, meet Arabi Pasha and reach Brisbane—An editor's beard—Bush life—Victorian country towns—A Premier's speech and a Minister's laugh—The Eureka Stockade fight. II. FURTHER EXPERIENCES 20 Land boom and bank smashes—Sydney—Sir Henry Parkes—W. H. Holman—The New Australia experiment—I go to New Zealand—The voyage—A wonderland—Sir George Grey—Need for immigrants— Storm at sea—South Australia—C. C. Kingston—Ostriches—I see an outlaw shot. III. THE GOLDEN WEST 45 Early settlers' struggles—The six families—Discovery of Coolgardie—The lure of gold—Upholding law— Kalgoorlie—Paddy Hannan tells me his story—The Golden Mile—Fabulous wealth. IV. PROSPECTING DAYS 61 I journey to the goldfields—Coaching and dust—Remarkable shanty keeper—Kalgoorlie in 1895—Prospectors' stories—Sensational finds—Gold rushes—The Sacred Nugget mystery. V. GOLD SEEKERS' ADVENTURES 84 Prospectors' moods—Respect for law and order—A Bush mystery—Murder in a mosque—World-famous criminal — Discovery of Coolgardie's richest reef—Personal narratives. VI. “THE ROARING NINETIES” 102 A duel averted—Comic characters—Her coffin as her wash-tub—Doctor and patient—Primitive courts of justice—Warden Finnerty—Coolgardie's first mayor—Speculators and investors—Remarkable careers — Herbert Hoover — Galsworthy—J. H. Curle—Gift to a university—A bishop's fall—I hear the story of Ned Kelly's last fight. VII. GOVERNMENTAL DIFFICULTIES 132 Public grievances—An alleged riot—Sir Edward Wittenoom—Sir John and Lady Forrest—Fight for federation — Mr. Joseph Chamberlain — Referendum result — Electioneering — I am returned to Parliament— Civilisation arrives on the goldfields. VIII. AUSTRALIA'S POLITICAL LEADERS 156 An historic picture—A ship with too many captains—The angry member and the wife with the umbrella—Sir Edmund Barton's ponderous style—Alfred Deakin—Sir George Reid's humour—Three parties in Parliament— Some members—David Syme—The work done. IX. SEARCHING FOR A FEDERAL CAPITAL 186 National capitals—Travelling parliamentarians—Sir George Reid—The joke of the tour—W. M. Hughes—A Yankee's humour—Founding a new church—Romance of Boydtown—Sir William Lyne. X. WORLD WANDERINGS 212 Election uncertainties—I visit Europe—Monte Carlo—F. E. Smith—Winston Churchill and a dinner episode— Norwegian fiords—I view the midnight sun—The Rhine Valley—Father Bernard Vaughan—My two years at sea—Ocean experiences—Cocos Islands—Sir Joseph Ward—Lord Frederick Hamilton — Romance and tragedy. XI. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT 231 I am elected to the Western Australian Parliament—Evil of centralisation—Members of Parliament— Premiers—State trading—Land settlement—First lady member. XII. PASSING YEARS 247 Sir Winthrop Hackett—Founding a university—Outbreak of the Great War—A major-general's prediction— Soldiers' stories—Andrew Fisher—Trans-Australian Railway—A camel's peculiarities—War talks—Nullabor Plain—Huge caves and huge owls—Mrs. Daisy Bates amongst the blacks—An aboriginal claims me as a nephew. XIII. THE FIRST IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE 275 A romance of journalism — Edward Irving's grandson—Empire journalists in London—Lord Fisher—Lloyd George—Lord Rosebery—A classic speech — Lord Roberts's warning — Sir Edward Grey—Marconi and his fairyland. XIV. SECOND AND THIRD PRESS CONFERENCES 299 Two Lord Northcliffes—Interesting voyagers—Sir Wilfred Laurier—George Ham—Mr. Meighan—McKenzie King—“Imperial” or “British”—Stephen Leacock—Among Red Indians—The Australian Conference — Old acquaintances — Lord Apsley — Anthony Eden, M.P. — A. P. Herbert's humour. XV. EMPIRE PARLIAMENTS AND WORLD PARLIAMENTS 317 An International Parliamentary Conference—Thirty countries represented—Czecho-Slovakia—Prague's past— A language strike—Reception by President Masaryk—Dr. Benes—World's most famous shoemaker. XVI. INTERNATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE AT ROME 333 A brilliant opening — Mussolini — Goering — A touch of British humour—speeches by Japanese—Fascism— Milan—The King of Italy—Reception by the Pope. XVII. IN LONDON FOR THE JUBILEE 358 The St. Paul's and Westminster Hall ceremonies—His Majesty King George—Speeches and impressions— Migration to Australia—An immigrant's chances—Evils of Government aid. THE HON. SIR JOHN KIRWAN FACING PAGE 46 My Life's Adventure Chapter I Roaming Round I voyage from England, meet Arabi Pasha and reach Brisbane — An editor's beard—Bush life—Victorian country towns—A Premier's speech and a Minister's laugh—The Eureka Stockade fight. I To residents of Ireland in the eighties and nineties of the last century, Australia was an extremely remote land. To me as a boy it was associated with sunshine, sport and adventure. What I had heard and read about it was confined to gold digging experiences, fights with bushrangers and deeds of exploration. The knowledge that my elder brother and I had of it was vague, but what ideas we had were favourable, and we hoped some day to go and see for ourselves. Our father's landed property was heavily mortgaged, and when, as the result of the Land League movement, tenants refused to pay rent and the mortgagees foreclosed, the family suffered heavily financially. Eventually my elder brother went to Australia. Letters that came from him indicated that he was well pleased with the change. A year or so later my father died, and my brother suggested that my unmarried sister and myself should join him. This we arranged to do. * * * * * My first experience of a long sea voyage was from Tilbury to Brisbane, where my brother was living. Of the many times I later travelled between England and Australia that early voyage remains clearest in my memory. I was scarcely twenty years of age, and felt deeply sensible of my responsibilities. I had my sister, Lydia, to look after. She was a mere girl several years younger than I. We brought with us an old and faithful family servant, Bab, a typical Irish peasant woman, unable to read or write, and about forty, honest and reliable in all ways. When she first came to the family as a young girl she spoke Irish and knew but little English. She was not as bright and quick-witted as most of the Irish peasantry: a patient soul that we loved, kind-hearted but heavy, placid, non-observant, a slow thinker and speaker. She had never been to a large town. In London she was mentally numbed by the noise, bustle and unaccustomed sights. At Tilbury, from which we sailed, as the Orient Company's liner was slowly casting off the ropes and getting free, my young sister and I were watching the distance widening between the wharf and the ship that was to take us to our new home. Bab, who was close to me, seemed mentally to wake up, and remarked, “Masthur Jack, I think she's moving.” The voyage from the Thames to Queensland occupied six weeks. To-day, after some forty-seven years, mail steamers between England and Australia do not travel any faster than they did then. That the speed of the vessels has not been accelerated in that time is extraordinary. Certainly the steamers have increased considerably in size, passengers have more comforts, wireless keeps them in touch with the outside world and oil fuel has obviated the unpleasantness of coaling; but otherwise the experience of passengers on mail steamers via the Suez Canal does not differ much today from what it was half a century ago. The ports called at are mostly unchanged, although Naples is decidedly cleaner now than it was when we called there. To-day, as then, the scum of three continents meet at Port Said, even if there is a better observance of law and order and it is safer to go ashore. The Suez Canal has been deepened and widened. Colombo is decidedly less Eastern and less attractive. It has become more Europeanised; the natives are sophisticated, and the different races are less distinctive in their dresses and head-gear. In those days the harbour had more old-fashioned craft—catamarans, dhows and junks, curious, lumbering, leaky vessels that as they sailed seemed to be rotting away and liable any second to come to pieces through decrepitude. The streets were more colourful. Rickshaws were common. There were no motor-cars. Unlike the motor roads of to-day, the roads were bright red and showed up brilliantly between the deep green of the luxuriant tropical growth. A friend brought us to see a notable man who was detained a prisoner in Ceylon, Arabi Pasha, the leader of the military insurrection in Egypt in 1882.

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