The
Stringy-Bark And The Drooping Tea-Tree Were The Only Useful Timber Near
The Settlement.
The Cypress-pine (Callitris) could, however, be obtained
without any great difficulty from Mount Morris Bay, or Van Diemen's
Gulf.
On the Vollir, we came on a cart road which wound round the foot of a
high hill; and, having passed the garden, with its fine Cocoa-nut palms,
the white houses, and a row of snug thatched cottages burst suddenly upon
us; the house of the Commandant being to the right and separate from the
rest. We were most kindly received by Captain Macarthur, the Commandant
of Port Essington, and by the other officers, who, with the greatest
kindness and attention, supplied us with every thing we wanted. I was
deeply affected in finding myself again in civilized society, and could
scarcely speak, the words growing big with tears and emotion; and, even
now, when considering with what small means the Almighty had enabled me
to perform such a long journey, my heart thrills in grateful
acknowledgement of his infinite kindness.
After a month's stay at Port Essington, the schooner Heroine, Captain
Mackenzie, arrived from Bally, on her voyage to Sydney, via Torres Strait
and the Inner Barrier, a route only once before attempted with success.
We embarked in this vessel, and arrived safely in Sydney, on the 29th of
March. To the generous attentions of Captain Mackenzie our party owe
much; and, at his hospitable table, we soon forgot the privations of our
late journey. At Sydney, a reception awaited us, the warmth and kindness
of which, it is out of my power to describe. All classes pressed forward
to testify their joy at our reappearance, which, we found, had been long
despaired of, and to offer their aid in supplying our wants. A public
subscription was set on foot, which, in a very few weeks, by the liberal
contributions which flowed in from all parts of the Colony, amounted to
upwards of Fifteen Hundred pounds; and in the Legislative Council, a
motion was brought forward, which, by the unanimous vote of that House,
and the ready concurrence of His Excellency, Sir George Gipps, the
Governor, devoted a Thousand Pounds out of the Public Revenue to our use.
In the Appendix to this volume, will be found the very handsome letter,
in which the Hon. Mr. E. Deas Thomson, the Colonial Secretary, conveyed
to me this resolution of the Government; and an account of the
proceedings taken at the School of Arts, on the 21st September, when His
Honor, The Speaker, Dr. C. Nicholson, presented me with that portion of
the public subscription, which the Committee of the Subscribers had
awarded. In laying these documents before the Public, I will leave it to
be supposed how vain would be any attempt of mine to express my gratitude
to that generous people to whom I have inscribed this humble narrative.
APPENDIX.
LETTER FROM THE COLONIAL SECRETARY TO DR. LEICHHARDT.
Sir, - I do myself the honour to inform you that the Auditor General has
been requested to prepare a warrant for the payment, out of the Crown
Revenue, of a gratuity of 1000 pounds to yourself and party which
accompanied you in your recent expedition to Port Essington; in
consideration of the successful issue of that very perilous enterprise;
the fortitude and perseverance displayed by the persons engaged in it;
and the advantages derived from it to the Colony; and I beg to add, that
it is with much gratification that I make this communication to you.
The money is to be divided in the manner stated below, which the Governor
has considered reasonable, after weighing all the circumstances of the
case, and advising with the gentleman who waited on His Excellency on
Friday the 11th instant, and who formed a deputation from the Committee,
who have superintended the collection and distribution of the money (1400
pounds.) raised in Sydney by voluntary subscription, in testimony of the
services rendered to the Colony by you and your companions, viz.
Dr. Leichhardt 600 pounds
Mr. Calvert 125
Mr. Roper 125
John Murphy 70
W. Phillips, who has already received
from the Government a pardon 30
The two aboriginal natives,
Charles Fisher and Harry Brown 50
- -
1000
The 50 pounds for the two Blacks will be lodged in the Savings' Bank, and
will not be drawn out without the approval of the Vice President of that
Institution. I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
(Signed) E. DEAS THOMSON,
COLONIAL SECRETARY.
* * * * *
THE LEICHHARDT TESTIMONIAL.
[Extract from the Sydney Herald, Sept. 22, 1846.]
Yesterday afternoon, a meeting of the subscribers to the Leichhardt
Testimonial was held in the School of Arts.
At half-past three o'clock the Honourable the Speaker of the Legislative
Council entered the room with Dr. Leichhardt, who was received with loud
applause.
As soon as silence was restored, the Speaker rose and addressed Dr.
Leichhardt. He said, The duty has been assigned to me of presenting to
you, on behalf of a numerous body of colonists, an acknowledgment of the
grateful sense they entertain of the services rendered by you to the
cause of science and to the interests of this colony. Whilst I fully
participate in the admiration with which your merits are universally
acknowledged, I confess that I shrink from the task now imposed upon me,
from a sense of my inability to do justice to it in language commensurate
with the occasion. For indeed it would be difficult to employ any terms
that might be considered as exaggerated, in acknowledging the enthusiasm,
the perseverance, and the talent which prompted you to undertake, and
enabled you successfully to prosecute, your late perilous journey through
a portion of the hitherto untrodden wilds of Australia. An enthusiasm
undaunted by every discouragement, a perseverance unextinguished by
trials and hardships which ordinary minds would have despaired of
surmounting, a talent which guided and led you on to the full and final
achievement of your first and original design.
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