Light's
Instructions
Index
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25PS
2nd PS
Colonel William Light 1786 - 1839
First Surveyor General of South Australia
Letter of Instructions by the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia to Colonel William Light,
Surveyor General for the Province of South Australia
9th March, 1836.
WHEREAS it has been judged expedient, before the departure of the first body of settlers under the command of His Excellency Governor Hindmarsh, to fit out an expedition to South Australia, for the purpose of effecting such a survey of the different harbours and the adjoining land as may be necessary to the correct determination of the best site for the first town; and whereas the commissioners repose full confidence in your abilities and zeal for the per- formance of this duty, they hereby appoint you to command and take charge of the expedition now preparing for the purpose of effecting these objects. In the prosecution of this important service you will be guided generally by the instructions herein contained. 1. The expedition will consist of the "Cygnet", of 239 tons, and the "Rapid," of 162 tons. These two vessels will sail in company for mutual assis- tance and protection, but each will be fully equipped to act independently if necessary. 2. Each vessel will be supplied with one year's provi- sions, with proper surveying instruments, arms, ammunition, tents, clothing, utensils, tools, medicines, and necessaries of all kinds which are likely to be required. Each vessel will also be supplied with a boat fitted for surveying the various inlets, as well as a small portable boat, on a light carriage, for use in the land expeditions. You are to consider it an important duty to direct the provision of these supplies; to take care that every article is of the best quality, and that nothing important to the success of the enterprise or to the comfort and health of the party is omitted. 3. The expedition will be composed of the surveying staff already appointed, Captain Lipson, R.N., two surgeons, and 30 labourers; among whom should be at least three common carpenters, two smiths, four men accustomed to fell timber, and one shoemaker. The crews will also assist in any manner you may direct. 4. The selection of the labourers is left with yourself; and you are authorized to promise them rations (the same as in His Majesty's Navy) and 12/- per week wages, with such additional wages as may be necessary for the mechanics; an agreement to this effect being entered into for one year from the day of landing in South Australia. As much will depend upon the steadiness of these men, great pains should be taken to select none but such as are temperate, intelligent, and honest. 5. You will yourself go out in the "Rapid," of which vessel you will take the immediate command. You will be accompanied by Messrs. Field, Pullen, and Hill, as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd officers, and by Messrs. Jacob and Symonds as assistant surveyors, and Mr. John Woodford as surgeon. Mr. Pullen will also act as sailing master on the voyage, and as an assis- tant surveyor after arrival in the colony. 6. In the "Cygnet" will be Mr. Kingston, the deputy surveyor, in command under you of that division of the surveying party, Captain Lipson as harbour- master, Messrs. Finniss, O'Brien, Neale, Hardy, and Cannan as assistant surveyors, Dr. Wright as surgeon, and Mr. Gilbert as storekeeper: there will also be a few passengers. The crew of the "Cygnet" is appointed by the owners, but the captain is bound to obey your instructions. 7. It is important that among the surveyors and medical gentlemen composing the expedition there should be at least one who is a good judge of the qualities of Australian soils, another acquainted with the kinds of Australian timber most useful in building, and a competent botanist and mineralogist; also some one accustomed to intercourse with the natives, and possessing at least a general knowledge of their language. Should the present arrangement be defective in any of these particulars it will be an important part of your duty, if possible, to supply the deficiency. 8. The whole of the party composing or accompanying the surveying expedition will be placed under your command; and you are hereby authorized to appoint, suspend or reduce any one, on sufficient grounds, which must be submitted with as little delay as possible to the board. 9. The expedition must be ready to leave the port of London on the 17th March, or as soon after that day as possible. 10. On the passage you will take every convenient opportunity of drilling the surveying corps, together with any other persons who may be capable of bearing arms, in order to prepare them, in case of emergency, for the general defence and safety. 11. You will proceed first to Nepean Bay, in Kangaroo Island, which you will consider the place of rendezvous. You will land two or three gardeners who will accompany you, and who must be directed to bring a small piece of land into immediate cultivation, and to stock it with vegetables, for the after use of the colonists generally. You will also cause to be landed all provisions and other stores not required during the surveys. These stores you will place under the charge of Mr. Gilbert the storekeeper; and you will leave a force, including the gardeners, proportionate to the danger of attack from runaway convicts, whalers, and other inhabitants of the island. It is highly desirable that the wives and families of the officers and men should remain at Kangaroo Island during the progress of the surveys, if arrangements can be made for their temporary accommodation and safety. To such as continue on board, you will allow ship room, without charge, but you will require them to purchase their rations. This arrangement must be extended to all females, without exception, and to all others not strictly belonging to the surveying corps. During the landing of the stores, &c., and while waiting,if necessary, for the arrival of the other vessel, the surveyors must be employed in surveying Nepean Bay and the adjoining country. 12. You will now proceed to make a careful examination of the coast in the central parts of the colony, excepting only places where the previous examin- ations by Captain Flinders and other navigators clearly show that no good harbour is to be found. Your attention will be particularly directed to Nepean Bay and Port Lincoln, but more especially to the line of coast extending from the Eastern part of Encounter Bay to the northern point of Gulf St. Vincent. The inlet in latitude 34 deg. 55 secs., and the harbour reported to have been discovered by Jones about latitude 34 deg., 40 sec., demand a careful examination. You will ascertain beyond all doubt whether or not there is any other outlet to Lake Alexandrina than the one discovered by Captain Sturt, opening into Encounter Bay, the most certain mode of effecting which will probably be to skirt the lake itself. 13. Whenever you find a good harbour you will cause the neighbouring land for a considerable distance to be carefully examined, and if the spot is well suited for the site of even a secondary town, you will direct such a survey to be made as will enable the colonial commissioner, if he thinks proper, to include the district in the lands offered for selection by the holders of the first 437 land orders. 14. Having completed the surveys here indicated, and having carefully recorded all important circum- stances, so that the different sites favourable for the erection of towns may be brought into exact comparison, you, will proceed to determine which of the several sites shall be selected as that of the first town; a duty which you are hereby fully authorized and required to dis- charge. In entrusting you with the decision of this difficult question, the commissioners feel they cannot too much impress you with the importance of a duty, on the judicious performance of which the prosperity of the colony so greatly depends. They feel assured that you will enter upon the task with the most anxious desire to arrive at the best possible result; and believing such a result will be most effectually secured by placing the whole respons- ibility of the decision in your hands, the commissioners purposely avoid all minute instructions for your guidance, and desire that you will consider yourself at liberty to deviate, even from the more general instructions given, if in the discharge of your duty new facts should arise which, in your opinion, justify so strong a measure. 15. Although the commissioners leave the decision of this important question entirely in your hands, it is their desire that, should His Excellency the Governor arrive sufficiently early in the colony (and he is expected to be at Port Lincoln about two months after you reach Nepean Bay), you will confer with him on the subject, and pay due regard to his opinion and suggestions, without, however, yielding to any influence which could have the effect of divesting you in any way of the whole responsibility of the decision. The commissioners think they may also assist you by stating the grounds on which they conceive your decision ought to rest. The commissioners are of opinion that the best site for the first town will be that which combines in the highest degree the following advantages:- 1st. A commodious harbour, safe and accessible at all seasons of the year. 2nd. A considerable tract of fertile land im- mediately adjoining. 3rd. An abundant supply of fresh water. 4th. Facilities for internal communication. 5th. Facilities for communication with other ports. 6th. Distance from the limits of the colony, as a means of avoiding interference from without in the principle of colonization. 7th. The neighbourhood of extensive sheepwalks. The above are of primary importance, the following of secondary value:- 8th. A supply of building materials, as timber, stone, or brick, earth and lime. 9th. Facilities for drainage. 10th. Coal. The commissioners are of opinion that although no site should be selected which does not possess a harbour safe and accessible at all seasons of the year, yet that it would be unwise for the sake of still superior advantages in the harbour to make any important sacrifice in the other essentials of a good site. As far as the imperfect information already possessed enables the commissioners to judge, the district between Gulf St. Vincent and the Murray or Lake Alexandrina (provided a good harbour can be found) appears to combine the re- quisite advantages in the highest degree. This district is sufficiently central. According to the report of Captain Sturt it contains an abundance of highly fertile land; it appears to be well supplied with water; it is conveniently situated for intercourse with Nepean Bay and Port Lincoln; and if a communication should be dis- covered between Gulf St. Vincent and Lake Alexandrina the River Murray and its tributaries would afford the most important facilities for communication, not only with the interior of the new colony but also with that extensive portion of New South Wales which, lying to the west of the Blue Mountains, is practically excluded from connexion with the eastern ports. 16. With a view to the successful completion of this important service, you will make yourself acquainted, as far as practicable, with the circumstances which have determined the sites of new towns in the United States of America, in Canada, &c., and more especially in the Australian colonies; and you will pay particular attention to those causes which, in the latter colonies, have led to an actual change, or to the desire for change, in the sites of certain towns after their first establishment. 17. When you have determined the site of the first town, you will proceed to lay it out in accordance with the "Regulations for the preliminary sales of colonial lands in the country." You will make the streets of ample width, and arrange them with reference to the convenience of the inhabitants and the beauty and salubrity of the town; and you will make the necessary reserves for squares, public walks, and quays. 18. You will next proceed to survey, lay out and map the surrounding districts, preparatory to the choice of rural lands; and you will carry these surveys to an extent which, in connexion with the surveys in the neighbourhood of other ports already provided for, will secure to the purchasers under the preliminary sales as far as practicable the first choice of land throughout the colony. In making this survey you will divide the lands into sections of 134 acres, each, of a form convenient for occupation and fencing, with a reserved road adjoining each section; and you will provide in the best manner you can for the after division into 80 acre sections of such of these lands as may not be selected by the holders of the first 437 land orders. In laying down the division lines, you will avail yourself, as far as practicable, of the natural boundaries, and you will provide for such a division of the lands into townships and counties as may hereafter be determined on by the Colonial government. You will take care that all principal stations are permanently marked, and that proper descriptions of such marks are duly recorded. 19. In all your surveys you will reserve as a public road all land on the coast within not less than 100 ft. of highwater mark, and you will also reserve a road, at least 66 ft. wide, along each side of every navigable river, and around every lake or other sheet of water whose surface is not included in the estimated area of the adjoining section or sections. 20. It is intended that the colonial commissioner shall arrive in the colony in time to superintend the choice of lands included in the preliminary sales, and you will after his arrival receive the instructions of the board as to after proceedings through that officer. 21. When a district is about to be surveyed, the colonial commissioner will report such intention to the Governor in council, and will apply for instructions as to the direction and construction of the roads to be laid out. If the Governor should arrive before the colonial commissioner, you will yourself apply for such instructions to the Governor. 22. Throughout your proceedings you will exercise the utmost caution to prevent collision with the natives. With this view you will avoid un- necessary division of your party; and you will take care that each detachment is placed under the charge of an officer on whose intelligence, humanity, caution, temper, and courage you can fully rely. You will consider the wild animals as the property of the natives, of whom any which may be desired as food should be purchased. You will therefore discourage sporting, and in inhabited districts prevent it altogether. Not only the safety of your party, but the future security of the colonists generally, and the state of feeling which shall hereafter exist between them and the natives, will depend mainly on the attention paid to this instruction. 23. You are to keep an account of your proceedings in a journal to give a chart of your progress, with the soundings and other particulars, a description of the general face of the country and appearance of the shore; and a statement of the direction, velocity, breadth, and depth of the several rivers. You are also to require the medical and other scientific gentlemen of the expedition to note down the animal, vegetable, and mineral pro- ductions of each part (preserving specimens as far as their means will permit), the temperature of the air, and the direction of the wind at certain fixed hours of each day, the quantity of rain and other meteorological facts; and the description and apparent numbers of the different tribes you may meet. 24. As soon as the "Cygnet" can be spared you will discharge her, and report to the commissioners at the first opportunity in what manner the articles of agreement with the owners (of which you have a copy) shall have been observed. The "Rapid" must be retained until further instructions. 25. Finally, you will lay before the Governor, and will forward to the commissioners with as little delay as possible, a full report of your pro- ceedings, with copies of your own journal and that of the scientific gentlemen who will accompany you, and all maps, charts, and other drawings, as well as a detailed description of each spot which you may consider favourable for the erection of a town and a full statement of the reasons which may have influenced you in the selection of the site of the first town. Also, if you should be induced to deviate from the instructions herein contained, you will state your reasons for such deviations fully. Given at London, this 9th day of March, 1836. By order of the Board, (signed) ROWLAND HILL, Secretary P.S. In an undertaking in which so much is at stake, it is desirable to guard against even remote dangers, as for instance, in the event of the separation of the two ships during the surveys, the possible loss of the stores of both. Under such circumstances the depot at Kangaroo Island would be a most important resource, as Nepean Bay might be reached by means of the boats. In determining what stores shall remain there, it is important to keep this contingency in view; and if a boat can be left there, and a signal from the mainland established, as a fire upon some particular eminence, much would be done towards securing aid in the event of your boats being lost, or in case any of your party should wander from the main body. If any accident should happen to the stores in Kangaroo Island, or if they should be exhausted before the arrival of other supplies, application for aid must be made to the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, who will receive instructions from His Majesty's Government to grant it. As a further security, you will be provided with specie to the amount of £100, which you are hereby authorized to employ in the purchase of any stores which may be required. As in the progress of the surveys it will be necessary to send detached parties to distant stations, it will be important to agree upon signals of recall, of distress (arising from the attack of natives or other cause), &c. You will pay the wages of the labourers under your command by orders on the storekeeper, whenever it can be done conveniently. The storekeeper is supplied with specie to the amount of £100, and is in- structed to honour such orders. Printed forms for the purpose will be prepared for your use. Second P.S. 21 March, 1836 You will also, in the same manner, make such payments as may be absolutely necessary to the officers of the expedition, in part liquidation of their claims as they arise; but the discharge of these claims must be deferred as much as possible till the arrival of the colonial commissioner, who will carry out instructions as to the mode of payment. Enclosed is a schedule of the officers' salaries and labourers' wages, with a statement of all advances which have been made. To these advances you will add any charges which may arise for extra baggage, and you will take care that the whole is liquidated as speedily as possible. With your report to the commissioners you will transmit an exact statement of the account with each member of the expedition. You will draw on the commissioners at 21 days' sight for the payment of the monies which may become due to the owners or masters of the Cygnet, in accordance with the agreement, a copy of which is enclosed.