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From James Henty to his father, Thomas. 28 February 1830 (should be 1831). Nothing to show date of arrival, so did not pass through the post anywhere en route.

Fremantle

Western Australia

28 Feb~ 1830 [1831].

My Dear Father,

My last letter to you was forwarded by the "Kate" to

Launceston which will probably not reach you so soon as the d present. I have rec. the Box of Letters &c per

Drummore which together with Mr Tanner was transhipped from

the Margaret at the Cape of Good Hope, the bad accounts of

this place having discouraged him from bringing his Stock

on, which turns out very fortunate for him. He has, not­

withstanding the accounts and the evidence of dist~ess

before his eyes determined on stopping here which to me,

is most extraordinary. I however conclude from the little

I have seen of him that he is one of those good sort of

Men who get through the world very well in En~land, but

who are even unfit to judge of what they see in the

Colonies: I prophecy his total ruin if he persists long

enough in his error. he has obtained a Grant of Land

through the Governor which was originally assigned to Capt.

Freemantle of the Challenger Frigate, consisting nominally

of 3 or 4000 acres on the Swan, in reality about 500, which

is not really useless.

My previous letters will have sufficiently prepared

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you to expect what the nature of my ultimate determination

would be with regard to this Colony. my mind is now finally

made up to quit the Settlement altogether & to proceed with

what Capital I can muster to the Launceston side of Van

Diemens Land. I have come to this decision with the greatest

caution and circumspection and after weighing every

circumstance connected with either side the Balance was

fairly turned against this Colony. one strong argument is

that there is no more prospect of a return from the Land

now than there was last season & therefore Capital invested

in farming is completely thrown away. It is my firm and

fixed opinion that this country cannot become an Agricultural

Colony, there is no good Land on this side Darling Range

excepting the very small portion on the Swan, & all the

good Land I saw on the other side of the Mountains does not

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exceed 5000 acres. supposing however that the land was

good I contend a new Settlement is not the place for a

Man of Capital; a young Colony is a good place for a Man

of Capital when it arrives at that state where property

bears a value and depend upon it some of the best kind of

farming in V.D. Land is that when you lay out your ready

Money at 20 Per Cent taking the very best security. It is

however not my intention to set myself against farming as

I feel convinced our exertions if judiciously applied will

be certain of bringing us not only an independence but a

fortune. I feel convinced also that if you had been placed

in my situation here you would have come to the same

determination, with this difference only: you would have

decided earlier. I now consider the main point settled &

shall proceed to arrange and digest my plans for proceeding

to V.D. Land with the least possible expence. Great things

may yet be done if you adhere to the advice I have so often

and so urgently pressed upon you, that of the strictest

~onomy (economy) in your outfit; on no account bring either

Horses Cows or Sheep except half a dozen choice Ewes to

gratify your own fancy. One or two household servants only.

I shall take down all we shall require from this: they

will probably be G. Bushby, G. Hills Son & Nephew, Di

Her , Barnden, Haybittle and perhaps J. Chipper together

with their Wives. Your passage should be taken in the

ordinary way in a Vessel proceeding to Van Diemens Land

they undertaking to land you at Launceston. you will of

course spare no expence to have everything as comfortable as ship board will allow both for my Mother, yourself and

Jane the Boys can take care of themselves. You should

bring your good Furniture 15 or 20 Ploughs, lots of Harness,

Horse Collars, Scythes, Sickles a Winnowing Machine, and a

Thrashing Machine or two if you can buy them cheap at second

Hand. Spades, Shovels, Iron Axles & Boxes, the iron work

of 2 Waggons, your own traces corn shovels and other agri­

cultural implements excepting Drills &c - you might bring

also a Tin or so of Nails from Richards & Co. your own

household utensils also will be very useful but recollect

to have every thing packed as close as possible or the

Freight will come very high. It will be my intention to

enter into Mercantile concerns at Launceston and I am

consequently very desirous you should make arrangements

with some London Houses who will be disposed to consign

Goods to me on Commission. at the same time it is absolutely

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necessary we should have some mercantile agent with whom

our general account must be kept: Lubbocks will probably

not do it - besides I don 1 t think they would be alive

enough to our Interest. Buckles consigns to Reed of

Launceston & Buchanan has a house at Sydney which would I

fear interfere too much with me as we shall ship a great

quantity of Wheat annually to Sydney. John Campbell would

no doubt be glad of the opportunity of having so respectable

a person to take charge of his goods, in fact there will

be many very glad to send goods if you make enquiries of

some respectable parties in London. John Marshall is

another name . I expect to be able to load several ships

to England during the Year which will be a great inducement

for many to Ship. My object is avoid investing your

property in these speculations let the London Merchants

speculate and let me sell for them until I have established

a House, we shall then probably not require their Goods;

Some part of your ready Money might be laid out to the

greatest advantage on Mortgage until a favorable opportunity

arises of purchasing. I have already sent down by Mr s. Bryan (a very clever man and a friend of Gillies) a pretty

considerable sum in Cash to Launceston to be invested in

Bank Shares, paying 35 P. C~ upon the best security and

the remainder to be disposed of on Mortgage at 20 P. C~ With respect to bringing out your ready Money it must be

recollected Treasury Bills can always be had in V.D. Land

by paying ~ P. C~ premium and you would have to pay 50 P.

c~ discount for your Bill even if upon and accepted by

Lubbocks. the V.D. Land Bank may have an Agent in London

(altho' I think they have not) who would receive your Money

giving you an order on them in V.D. Land. you must however

be very careful on this subject, & I would do nothing

without the best advice. perhaps Government would do it

for you, if so you could not do better.- There is an

excellent opening for William at Launceston as a Solicitor

provided he does not get called to the Bar. I need not

state that there is an immense deal of conveyancing in V.D.

Land. My present idea is to purchase some good estate

within a few Miles of the Town for your residence; for

Charles & me to carry on the Mercantile concern, William

the Law, and the other lads to superintend the Herds &

Flocks by competent overseers over the convicts for which

our own Men are very well adapted. We shall then be able

to manage without having convicts about your own house and

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premises and your (you) and my dear Mother will be able to

enjoy yourselves as much as you have done at Tarring. The

climate of Van diemens Land is far preferable to this the

heat here during Summer is excessive & I am convinced my

Mother could not bear it. I have been ill nearly all the

Summer but manage to get about & see that business goes on.

I very much wish you could prevail on Richards Wood &

Co. to ship me a quantity of Iron and Hard -ware occasionally

if they will not do it on their own account get at their

terms for payment. I want also to arrange to have a regular

supply of London Porter (Taylors, sells best) Charrington's

Ale, and also to arrange with some large Wine shipping

Merchant who could _ship me a regular supply of Brandy. Rum

and Hollands Port & Sherry Wine in Casks &c and with other

houses who could ship Hats, Manchester Piece Goods Shoes in

quantities Slops in quantities well assorted. corduroy sells

best. Hosiery, &c &c in short go into a general dealers

shop in the country and nearly everything you see there

except provisions will sell in V.D. Land - and unless these

arrangements are made before you come out I shall be under

the necessity of losing a Year or so in returning to England

to get them completed. I see no reason why the settlers

who have been led to this Colony from the misrepresentations

of the Government Officers, should not receive some compen­

sation for their immense losses and I have no doubt were a

petition drawn up and presented to the Lords of the

Treasury we should be enabled to obtain probably a Grant of

20,000 acres in Van Diemens Land for our Grants of 84,000

here, even 10,000 Acres, without restrictions would be a

handsome compensation, as the increase in the value of Land

in the Island is enormous. a petition of this kind backed

by Sir Chas. Burrell, Culling Smith, Lord Bruce T. Ash­

burnham & Sir Harry Bathurst would, (I have not the least

doubt) succeed it must state, that from the statements made

by Capt. Stirling and Mr Fraser the Botanist at Sydney of

the nature of the Country and the inducements held out by

the Government you were led to believe that an extensive

Agricultural establishment in Western Australia might safely

be ventured upon. that you chartered a Vessel wh~ch under

the management of your eldest Son and. two younger ones

took out, so many Souls, Blood horses, Cows Merino Sheep

&c &c &c that after arrival & undergoing very great

difficulties and hardships, the country was found the very

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reverse of what it had been represented. that 3 of the

Blood horses died after being in the Colony several months

arising entirely from the short supply of food - that the

first years crop was a total failure and there is no

prospect of a crop for the coming season, that there is no

Land of any extent in the Colony fit for sheep and that as

far as your own aims went of forming an Agricultural concern,

it has wholly and entirely failed. You therefore pray from

having been so great a sufferer from these unlocked for

causes, that their Lordships will be pleased to give you a

grant in Van Diemens Land (not Sydney) to the extent of

10 or 20,000 acres without restrictions. A petition of

this kind properly worded & backed I am convinced would

succeed and I sincerely hope you will push it to the very

utmost. such a Grant will be worth several Thousand Pounds

to us in a few Years - and it is the most reasonable compen­

sation to ask for: & be sure don't forget to state that

you have eight sons: were I to name the subject here I

could get plenty others to join me: but I think it better

to be the first in the field and there is no great extent

of first rate land left in V.D. Land. Nothing would tempt

me to go to Sydney. independent of the excessive heat and

the uncertainty of the crops their system of Police is so

bad that Bushrangers swarm throughout the Country. the

crops of Wheat in Van Diemans Land are certain and New

South Wales draws her supplies almost entirely from her.

This alone must make her rich & she has besides the same

facilities for the production of all valuable produce. her

wool is inferior to that of New South Wales because they

have paid but little attention to it the growing of wheat

being found by far the most profitable. all parts of V.D.L.

furnishes a large quantity of Bark and her Fisheries are

beginning to be very productive. I prefer Launceston to

Hobart Town because nearly all the Wheat is grown in its -

immediate neighbourhood and where that is grown and a Market

found for it the Country about must thrive. I expect to

open a considerable Trade with the Mauritius when Wheat is

to be bought very low. send wheat and return with Seegars

Clarets &c no other Seegars are consumed in these Colonies

excepting fine Manillas.

To give every man his due I must say it is a most

difficult thing for any Man at once to form an opinion of

a Country in a state of nature with reference to its

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capabilities for profitable return, I (with many others)

deceived myself for some time by supposing that the horrible

scrub which covers this Sandy Country would feed Sheep and

Cattle if properly distributed over the ground. but it is

not the fact about 50 head of Cattle, many belonging to Mr

Bryan have not been seen or heard of for the last 6 Months

although the Country for 80 to 100 Miles round has been

searched. this alone is a strong fact that no good Land

exists within that distance and it is only by the greatest

good management and attention that the Sheep can be kept

alive the horses now live entirely on artificial food which

I purchase when opportunities offer. I have begun to kill

off some Ewes and Lambs which I dispose of at 15d. to 18d.

pr lb. I shall continue to do so until I have very much

reduced them and perhaps make an' offer of some with the

Cattle to Tanner taking any goods he may have for disposal

in exchange. I am endeavouring to make a bargain with Peel

who is unfortunately in my Debt to supply him with more

provisions in exchange for a lot of Ploughs. Iron &c for

the former of which I can get 6/ or a£ a piece in Launceston.

I shall continue to send things down if I can do so at a

low rate of Freight Mr Bryan promises to turn them into

Money and lay out the proceeds at good Interest.

You will find my letter a long rigmarole of unconnected

matter, but that you must excuse I write as the idea occurs,

and have little time to dress up in good language or smart

turns. I have put down in plain terms matters of fact

and matters of opinion, the latter governed by one year and

a half's experience. I am still of course in the greatest

uncertainty with regard to the period of your coming out.

I must therefore lay down a plan to proceed on at once, or

the delay will become a very serious matter. I shall

gradually dispose of all the Stock except the Two Blood

horses and half a dozen best Sheep - which I hope to do

without much loss and narrow my operations here accordingly.

this will take me full Six Months by which time you will

either have received this letter in England or I shall have

heard of your having started for this place. if it should

so happen that you have not ••••• [ letter torn here] I shall

be rejoiced and of course expect to meet you [ at ] Launceston;

if you have left I shall remain here [until you ) arrive &

we shall proceed together for Launceston.

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I do not intend to draw upon you again, The Sugar Bill

is I hope all right as also my remittances to meet the accnt.

We are daily expecting the "Eliza" from England which

the Governor hopes will bring the Charter. we are in a sad

state without it the Governor is timid & does not like to

act consequently we are rather in a lawless state, notwith­

standing the activity of the Magistrates; I am heartily tired

of it. it takes up [too] [paper torn] much of my time. but

we are of course ranked among the great unpaid ..

Stephen in company with Camfield and Mr Bryan lately

paid a visit to our Grant at Leschenault which turns out as

I expected totally unfit for either grazing or plouging

(ploughing). and worse than the Swan the river having no

flats. I have of course given up all idea of stocking it.

I am heartily rejoiced to find you all so well at the date

of your letters by Tanner & I sincerely hope the delay which

you seem so much to regret will turn out to our ultimate

advantage, the news to which you give is interesting but I

have not space to acknowledge it separately. We have

suffered here very much from heat lately and I feel afraid

it would be too greatfor my dear Mother. Give my ~ndest

love to her & Jane together with the lads. Believe me ever

My dear Father

Addressed to:

via Mauritius

28 Feb~ 1831

Your affectionate Son,

(Sgd.) JAS HENTY.

Thomas Henty Esqre

West Tarring

Near WORTHING SUSSEX. England.