AN OCTOGENARIAN 'S REMINISCENCES. This is a blank page Y An Octogenarian's Reminiscences BY JAMES BONWICK , F.R.G.S., F.G.S.Aus., F.R.C.I., F.A .I., F.B.I., Correspt. R. Hist. S., Author of " Geography of Australia," 46Port Phillip Settlement," " Last of the Tasmanians," etc. Itnnbon : JAMES NICHOLS, 46, STATION ROAD, ANERLEY, S.E. MCMII. cI MESNKHOLS PRESS" 1HERLEY . S•E- An ctogenarian'sReminiscences. PART I.-BORO' ROAD SCHOOL RECOLLECTIONS. II.-MY LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. III.-LATER LIFE IN ENGLAND. IV.-WORLD W ANDERINGS. V.-FAMILY RECORDS. A SMALL SELECTION OF POEMS, AND LIST OF LITERARY WORKS. This is a blank page preface. It was at the request of relatives that, when entering my eighty-fourth year, after long devotion to teaching by tongue and pen, I should leave behind me some record of my early school life at the Boro' Road School, London. I was desired to tell the simple story of that wonderful Evolution in Elementary Education, that first aroused public attention in my boyhood. The intelligence and zeal of my dear Schoolmaster, John Thomas Crossley, made the Boro' Road School one of the great starting points of scholastic progress. As these are personal Reminiscences, extending over a period from 1817, when George the Third was King, to 1902, candour requires that I chronicle the fact of my not being born with the proverbial silver spoon, and that I have had, under many difficulties, to blunder my way through the dangers, sorrows and seductions of a considerable length of days. At the close of my career, I can claim little pretension to distinguished public service, with no boastful reputation of excellence in the virtues, but humbly acknowledge my repeated shortcomings and errors in duty. To the Wise and Good Father of the Universe, I trust I am grateful for much deliver- ance from Evil, and for the enjoyment of no ordinary amount of Good. My family belong to the Bonwicks of Surrey, the Viii. PREFACE. three branches of which have not been undis- tinguished among the County Families, whatever that may be worth. My father's ancestors had for centuries been yeoman farmers. But racial pride is gratified in the fact of some Bonwicks of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, at least, belonging to the scholastic profession. Two were well-honoured Head Masters of the celebrated Merchant Taylors' School. A goodly number entered the Church ; though, as several of them were Non-Jurors, they had no chance of being Bishops. One ancestor was the Publisher and Bookseller of St. Paul's Church- yard. My grandfather was farmer and maltster in Ling- field, and died rather early in life. His monument, with that of other Bonwicks, is seen on the church walls. My father's patrimony suffered in the bad times following the great Napoleonic Wars, and he was reduced from a mercantile position to that profession, or trade, once honoured by Jesus of Nazareth. The bad times, following the ruin of scores and scores of Banks, and my poor father's frequent and severe illnesses, subjected me often to the pains and sorrows of poverty, though my brave mother worthily struggled to keep her children from the worst. My younger brothers and sisters knew less of the hardships, I, as the eldest son, had to witness and experience. LONDON. JAMES BONWICK. October, 1902. Contents. PAGE EARLY YEARS ... ... ... ... Xiii. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ... ... XV. PART I. Boro ' Road School Recollections.. CH APTER INTRODUCTION ... ... ... 2 I. THE OLD BORO' ROAD Boys' SCHOOL 3 The Playground-Monitors -My Alphabet in Sand - Spelling - Writing- Reading- Arith- metic - Geography - History - Grammar - Geometry- Singing- Science Lessons-The Library-Biblical Instruction-School Fees- The " Young Men " Teachers-Moral State of the School-Punishments-Rewards-Popular Ignorance-The Rival Systems- Early Friends of the School-The Girls'School-School Books. II. GREEK AND EGYPTIAN PUPILS ... 44 Boro' Road Greek Pupils-The Egyptian Lads. III. MY OWN FURTHER TRAINING ... 58 The Schoolmasters' Meeting-Rowland Hill and the Society-Mechanics' Institute Classes- Hanwell Progressive School-Pestalozzi-To Leicester and Ipswich-Political Events of my Youth-To Hemel Hempstead British School-To Bexley and Liverpool-The Min- istry or Mission-My first Essay in Literature- University Opening for Teachers-Government Aid to Schools. IV. JOHN THOMAS CROSSLEY ... ... 8o Mr. Crossley 's Career-Mr . Crossley as a Man. V. TRANSITION FROM HOME TO ABROAD 85 My Marriage in 184o-My Departure from England-Review of School Systems. X. CONTENTS. PART II. CHAPTER My Life in Australia. PAGE VI. TASMANIA ... ... 95 From England to Tasmania-Our Voyage to Tasmania-A Colonial School Life (from 184i)-My Hobart Town Days-Living among Convicts-Transportation ; Assignment and Probation-Bushranging Days-Irish and Canadian Political Prisoners-The Tasmanian Blacks-The First Australian Baptist Preacher--The Tasmanian Press Philosopher- The Dying Teacher-A Night under Ben Lomond-Father "Terry-Ascent of Mount Wellington-A Mother's Faith VII. SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 1849-1852... ... 130 How I came to Adelaide-The Debating Colony-Adelaide Friends-The Burra Burra Copper Mine-Off to the Diggings-Busy in Adelaide. VIII . LIFE IN VICTORIA ... ... ... 141 Introduction - From Adelaide to the Golden Gully of Victoria - From the Diggings to Trade-Life in Melbourne - Melbourne in 1852-My Experience as a Gold Digger-A turn to Literature in Melbourne-My Life at Kew-As Inspector of Schools - Public Instruction in Australia - Teetotal Propaganda -My Temperance Experience - With Har- graves, the Gold Discoverer-Freemasonry-A Melbourne Black - The Blacks' Lady Friend- Geelong and Emigrants from Skye-Ascent of Mount William - Some Australian Good Priests I knew -Ballarat and its Schools - The Ballarat Rebellion - My First and only Long Illness- A Visit to England - Return from England to School - Busy St . Kilda-My Second Return to Australia - A Third Return to England by way of New Zealand. IX. NEW SOUTH WALES ... ... ... 204 Sydney Harbour - The First New South Wales Preacher-Parramatta Associations - Austra- lian Coal - The First Australian Presbyterian Minister - Earliest Congregational Preachers of Australia - Australian Droughts-Australia, the Flowery Land. CONTENTS. Xi. CHAPTER PAGE X. QUEENSLAND ... ... ... ... 218 Introductory - Brisbane - The Whitsunday Passage-Queensland Sugar Plantations- Queensland Pearl-fishery-The Search for Leichhardt-The Australian Blackfellow- Australian Climate-The Chinese in Australia. PART III. Later Life in England. IX. AFTER MY RETURN HOME ... ... 235 Running in Farm Labourers-The Queen's Jubilee-Work as an Archivist-The Welsh Druids-Charmsof Bush Life-Changes in Scientific Creed-Bad Colonial Times- James Hinton-Madame Blavatski-Famous Preachers I have heard - Athletics in Australia-The Theatre-Free Thought in Australasia - Colonial History - Vale of Health-Hayward's Heath Home-Why has Scientific Truth so little influence ?-Antiquity of Man-Biblical Research. PART TV. World Wanderings. INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... 270 XII. EGYPT AND THE EGYPTIANS ... ... 271 Early and late Love of Egypt-The Egyptian Pyramids and Museum-Source of the Egyptian Religion-The Palaeolithic Race in Egypt. XIII. IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA ... ... 280 Run across America-Interview with President Grant - Impressions of America-Mormon- land. XIV. VISITS TO OTHER LANDS ... ... 290 The Moscow Exhibition-The Cave of Elephanta - My Garibaldian Experience- A Day at Batavia- Visits to Scotland-Visits to Ireland-Battle Fields-A High-day at St. Peter's-Tristan d'Acunha-Stranded in the Dardanelles-A Week at Constantinople-A Glance at the Sandwich Isles. CONTENTS. PART V. Family Records. CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... 322 XV. FAMILYRECORDS ... ... ... 323 My Father's Family-My Wife's Relatives- My Wife's Sister's Family come to Mel- bourne-The Death of Relatives-Children, Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren-My Diamond Wedding-My beloved Wife's Death-My troubled i9oi-Old Age Reflec- tions-My 85th Birthday. A SMALL SELECTION OF POEMS ... 345 Australian Aborigines ' Love -making-Words set to German Choral-Prayer for Friends -To the Mother of my Children - Lake Como -On Station Peak-Spring in England-A Tasmanian Flower-Hymn-Golden Wedding, 1890 - My Octogenarian Wife. MY LITERARY W ORK ... ... ... 369 Early Years, I often smile at the Old Times, but not as I think of my knuckles, when trying, in the wintry darkness, to get a light from flint and steel by sparks on damp burnt rags in the tinder-box. It was pitiful then to see the boy chimney-sweep, shivering and half-starved as a workhouse appren- tice, driven by a brutal master to clamber up the steep. What dreadful stories I then heard of the poor factory children, forced, as mere babes in the wintry darkness, breakfastless, to the mill ! But the trem- bling sweep boy and the toddling Lancashire slave have been freed by civilization now. How often, as a boy, I laughed at the sleepy watchman in his box, with rattle, lantern and staff ! How I used to see common fights in the street, with no constable to interrupt ! What fun we boys had when the blue-coated Peeler, or Policeman, came in view ! How I remember the bands of so-called Frozen- out Gardeners," or out-of-work men, dolefully dragging out a ditty to gather in some coppers ! What gaunt and hungry figures they were in the X1V. EARLY YEARS, snow ! What strings we had of half-famished Irish, then our only out-door town labourers ! How many idle farm workers then hung about village corners, dependent on Parish allowance ! In my boyhood I saw much unregarded sickness and want, much sorrow of poor women and little children, but few ameliorations of misery, few of our modern conveniences and comforts, few and joyless holidays, little schooling and small sympathy of class with class. The workhouse was deemed the final rest of the majority. What a happy condition for the poor of modern times, compared to their trials, neglects and dis- advantages in the days of my boyhood ! f ist orIllustrations.