Anna Lucas The Captain’s Notebook: J. K. Davis at Eden, 1912 JOHN KING DAVIS (1884–1967) had a long and interesting career, first going to sea at age sixteen, transitioning from sailing ships to steamers, then settling in Melbourne in administrative roles before eventually retiring as Director of Commonwealth Navigation. Born in Surrey, England, of Irish ancestry, he was remembered by some as gentlemanly and gracious; others recalled a demanding personality, fiery and quick- tempered. As a young man, after sailing as first officer on Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to Antarctica, he captained S.Y. Aurora on several voyages for Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) 1911–1914, and was known for his skilled ice-navigation. Oceanography was a relatively new science at the time and Davis was charged with that aspect of Mawson’s scientific program. As part of his training, he accompanied the Commonwealth Fisheries Investigation Steamship F.I.S. Endeavour on a short trip from Melbourne to the fishing town of Eden on the south coast of New South Wales, not as captain but as an observer, making notes of the equipment and techniques employed in oceanographic procedures. In a small notebook, he recorded his observations of daily activities onboard, of the people he met ashore and what he learnt of the local history while at Eden. His informal notes, supplemented with photographs he took during this trip, offer an alternative interpretation to the historical portrayal that has been perpetuated of a respected but difficult man; they provide instead an authentic glimpse of the young captain, engaged with his profession and his surroundings. Preparations in Europe Captain Davis had left London with the AAE’s ship S.Y. Aurora. Oceanographic equipment onboard included depth-sounding machines, a 5000 fathom Lucas sounding machine1 and a Kelvin Mark IV.2 Other loans and donations to the AAE included trawling nets, dredging equipment, water sampling bottles, deep-sea thermometers, a hygrometer, chronometers, sextants and charts. Before leaving, Davis had visited Antarctic oceanographer William Spiers Bruce (leader of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition 1902-1904)3 in Edinburgh. Bruce was instructive, helpful and generous; he lent a dynamometer, a reel of seven ply wire to a depth of 2500 fathoms and the greatly appreciated steam-driven winding engine4 designed for the sounding machine on Bruce’s ship Scotia. Bruce was associated with keen oceanographer, Prince Albert I of Monaco5 and supplied Davis with a double-headed trawl in the style of those used by the Monaco network, and had a ten foot beam specially made for it in Granton, Scotland.6 After visiting a research laboratory established by the prince in Paris, Mawson had become enthused with the potential of this scientific discipline. He sent one of his 136 The Captain’s Notebook: J. K. Davis at Eden, 1912 Captain J. K. Davis. John King Davis Collection,Australian Antarctic Division © Commonwealth of Australia recruits, Swiss mountaineer Xavier Mertz,7 to learn elementary techniques at the newly established L’Institute Océanographique in Monaco and was fortunate in obtaining the loan of additional equipment from that institution. Preparations in Australia As part of his oceanographic program, Mawson arranged for Frank Wild (leader of the AAE’s Western Base in Antarctica) and for Captain Davis to accompany F.I.S. Endeavour on separate voyages, in 1911 and 1912 respectively, as trainees. In September 1912, the Commonwealth Director of Fisheries, Harald Dannevig, was preparing for another research trip, part of an ongoing project to ascertain fish populations in Australian coastal waters and to make observations of oceanic conditions. Born in 137 The La Trobe Journal Norway, Dannevig (1871–1914) had worked with the Fisheries Board of Scotland before arriving in Australia in 1902 at the invitation of the Agent-General for New South Wales. He established a marine hatchery at Gunnamatta Bay, Cronulla,8 and for his trawling and oceanographic work, supervised the construction of the purpose-built ship F.I.S. Endeavour which was launched in Sydney in 1908. The captain in 1912 was master mariner George Pim who was from a family well known in British nautical circles. He had been in the Lighthouse Service in the Torres Strait and had also been associated with scientific research in New Guinea and nearby islands, charting and describing the region.9 Davis sailed with them on this return trip from Melbourne to Eden, after being granted permission by the Department of Trade and Customs10 and while S.Y. Aurora was in dry dock in Williamstown, Melbourne, for refitting and repairs. F.I.S. Endeavour had been built in the NSW Government Dockyard to a slightly modified design of the Norwegian research vesselMichael Sars.11 Davis described the ship, the equipment and onboard operations with professional interest, and his notes incorporated social commentary of people he met and of places he visited around Eden during his days ashore. The notebook, part of the John King Davis Collection at the State Library of Victoria,12 gives us an insight into the hands-on training undertaken by the 28-year-old Davis, a hard-working, experienced seaman, keen to acquire new skills while temporarily freed from the responsibilities of navigation and captaincy. With minor editing (punctuation and spelling), his original notes are reproduced below with some of his photographs taken on the trip, supplemented by other images. Comments in square brackets within his notes are those of the author of this article. The Notebook of Captain J. K. Davis: from his handwritten notes made during the voyage of F.I.S. Endeavour, September – October 1912. Federal Investigation Ship Endeavour. HC Dannevig, Director. Capt Pym [Pim]. Built in Sydney Govt Yard 1908. Melbourne Harbours and Ports. Left Melbourne at 2:30 Sept 26th. Passed out of heads at 4:20. Considerable sea on rip, although none outside last quarter off ebb. Cost £17,000 to build. To run cost £400 per month. Forward Trawl Board Endeavour to left on board vessel. Saturday [28th September 1912] 138 The Captain’s Notebook: J. K. Davis at Eden, 1912 Eden Post Office, c. 1920. National Archives of Australia, C518/1 All day steaming eastward in beautiful calm sea towards Gabo Island. During the afternoon a moderate breeze from SE. Sunset very fine and clear. Vessel making about 10 knots. The Director tells me that we are to spend Sunday in Twofold Bay which is close to our trawling ground. This will be a good chance of seeing a little of the surrounding country. I took some photos showing the arrangement of the trawling winches sounding machines etc., which appear to be well arranged and powerful. I feel very pleased to have an opportunity of seeing trawling work carried out in a vessel which has been designed and fitted for this work. Sunday Sept 29th We arrived after a very fine passage in Twofold Bay13 this morning, anchoring in Snug Cove at 6 a.m. When I got up it was after seven and the sun well up - a beautiful fine morning. The bay is a wide one and is sheltered everywhere except to the eastward. On the northern side of it a fairly good wharf was to be seen, alongside of which the steamer Sydney was lying there. Boats call fortnightly on their journeys round the coast. Our first visitor was 139 The La Trobe Journal an itinerant fisherman who was anxious if we could supply him with bait, preferably shark, for his lobster pots four of which he carried in the stern of his boat (photo). During the morning we remained on board and found it very pleasant sitting about in the bright sunshine. The Endeavour gig was put over and the men amused themselves sailing around the bay in her (photo). After lunch the Director and myself went ashore and landing at the wharf, climbed a fairly steep hill14 towards the small township of Eden (500 people). It was hot and very few people were to be seen and generally things appeared very quiet. The Director decided to inquire for letters at the post office, which we found with some difficulty.15 Not being able to gain admittance to the office, it being Sunday, we made our way to the Postmaster’s House which was close by. Here, we were received by the Postmaster and his family who welcomed Mr D[annevig] as an old friend and invited us both in to take tea. It was very pleasant to sit down in a comfortable room and drink tea to which our host and hostess welcomed us in so hospitable a manner. On my expressing curiosity as to what there was to see our host offered to show us round. We set off along a good road which runs through partially cleared country, the gum and wattle trees still being plentiful on each side of the road. A few houses are scattered about near the main road, the photo being of a typical one which was named ‘The Hollies’16 and is the residence of a Mr Boyd.17 After going some distance we retraced our steps and while passing a piece of cleared land our friend pointed out a very fine cow nearly all black which he informed us was a cross between an Alderney and Shorthorn and supplied its owner with 2 lbs of butter and 5 gallons of milk per day. It was named ‘The Dove’ but from an account of its conduct to two people who annoyed it, this was apparently entirely uncharacteristic of its behaviour. Leaving the road we struck through a cleared patch of country towards the beach.