Today's Stories from our Past
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Today's Stories from our Past
E14 – Bound for South Australia – John Watts arrives
A young man's rejection of medical destiny leads to an epic sea journey and colonial adventure in this fascinating exploration of early South Australian settlement.
When John Watts turned away from following his surgeon father's footsteps, he made a decision that would take him across multiple oceans, through terrifying storms, and into a colony teetering on economic collapse. This extraordinary tale of ambition, preparation, and perseverance reveals the complex web of connections that facilitated migration to Australia in the 1840s.
Through John's remarkable personal reminiscences, written at age 80 and preserved by his family for over a century, we gain intimate insights into how colonial dreams were both constructed and challenged. The story begins with a fateful meeting between Dr. Mayo and John's father in Gloucestershire, sparking the idea of sending John to South Australia. Rather than pursuing medicine like his brother, John pragmatically prepares for colonial life by learning farming, butchery, and blacksmithing – essential skills for frontier survival.
The six-month voyage aboard the Guiana proves both arduous and tragic. While crossing the turbulent seas near the Cape of Good Hope, all ten donkeys destined for the Hack family farm are lost overboard during violent storms – a poignant reminder of the perils facing colonial enterprises. Meanwhile, a young bride meets her new husband in Adelaide only to die at sea months later, highlighting the precariousness of colonial life.
What makes this episode particularly compelling is the economic context of John's arrival. Landing in March 1842, he steps into a colony experiencing financial meltdown, with unemployed labourers, failing merchants, and British intervention to save South Australia from bankruptcy. Through personal stories and historical context, we witness how individual ambitions intersected with imperial policies and economic cycles to shape Australia's early development.
Want to understand how ordinary people navigated the extraordinary challenges of colonial settlement? This episode offers a rare window into one man's journey from reluctant doctor's son to Australian pioneer. Subscribe now to follow John's next adventures as he confronts the harsh realities of colonial life during South Australia's worst economic depression.
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We got into bad weather and in our first severe gale and the constant break of the seas on board and our donkeys having no good shelter, they were all washed to death and we had to put them overboard. This was most upsetting and we were glad that Mr Hack was not on board to witness this event. All the rest of the stock survived.
Speaker 2:G'day, I'm Peter.
Speaker 3:G'day, I'm Greg.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Today's Stories from Our Past.
Speaker 3:We'll tell you stories about Australia that you probably haven't heard before.
Speaker 2:This is the 14th episode in a season that we've called Bound for South Australia.
Speaker 3:And what are we going to chat about today?
Speaker 2:In the last episode we talked about Dr George Mayo and in earlier episodes we've chatted about the Hack family and about John's father, thomas. All this information is needed to understand how and why John Watts Dr Thomas Watts' oldest son gets to South Australia. So in this episode we'll talk about my great-great-grandfather, john Watts, and how he got to South Oz. There are some significant meetings held in Gloucestershire in 1839 and 1841 that we need to discuss. You'll recall from past episodes that Dr Mayo was apprenticed to John's father, dr Thomas Watts, and that Mayo made two trips out to South Australia. Dr Mayo and John's father must have been exchanging letters, because when Dr Mayo goes back to Osilworth to see his father during his first return visit to England, he writes in his diary on 4 January 1839, Lovely day Walk to Dursley.
Speaker 4:Most lovely prospect of the Vale of Berkeley, the River Severn, the Welsh Mountains and Malvern Hills. From this hill Mr Watts of Frampton I met. He wishes to send his son to South Australia. Pressed me very much to see him at home and stay some time.
Speaker 2:Then on 15 January, he writes Walked 10 miles to Frampton.
Speaker 4:Got there at 4pm in time for dinner, Aimed to spend a few days with Mr Watts. His children grown out of remembrance near seven years since being there. Met a Mr Russell there who knew friends of Georgetown. Remained in all day talking with the girls and reading. Mr Watts would send his son in the same vessel. I am going in To South Australia, if I would say I should remain out there Played cards this evening. Rode with Mr Watts round some of our old haunts. It made me melancholy. Fool Mrs Watts looks well and young. Heard that old Mrs Webb is alive. The girls gave us some music in the evening. Tom Watts gone to skate Bid them ad. Well, that's interesting.
Speaker 3:Thomas Watts is keen for his eldest son to go to South Australia. Rather than wanting him to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor, does John make it onto the next ship with Dr Mayo?
Speaker 2:No, Dr Mayo went back to the colony in July 1839 on board another migrant ship, the Bark the Asia. We discussed that voyage in our last two episodes. John would follow on a later ship, the Guyana, but there's some other things that are going to be sorted out before it all comes together. Through letters, Mayo must have told John's father much about the colony. Mayo must have said that in July 1840 he married Miss Mariah Gandy. They'd lived in Thurberton Cottage for a while but they had moved to Carrington Street. We've talked about John's father and his friend George Mayo and their understanding about John going out to South Australia. It's now time to talk about John himself.
Speaker 3:Okay, what do we know about John?
Speaker 2:As mentioned in an earlier episode, when John was 80 years old he sat down and wrote his personal reminiscences. Somehow, an original copy of this 100-page long document has survived in our family since 1901. In his reminiscences, john tells the story of his life with most detail on his experiences in Australia.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a fantastic resource. Survival over those 100 years must be a story in itself. Anyway, what does John say about his early life?
Speaker 2:He doesn't say a lot. Here's the first line of the reminiscences.
Speaker 1:I was born on February 27th 1821, in Frampton-on-Seven, gloucestershire. My father was Thomas Watts, surgeon of our village, and when I had finished my education I was to follow in that profession.
Speaker 2:That's all that he says about his early life, not much. John had a younger brother, thomas, and two older sisters, anne Elizabeth. Neither sister ever married.
Speaker 3:Well, that is a bit brief, but we found out a lot more about his, probably in the episode 10. What does John say next?
Speaker 2:He talks about his education.
Speaker 1:He says my brother and myself went to Paris under the care of Dr Alan LLD to learn the language and go through the School of Anatomy. This plan came to grief by the constant talk of a revolution. So we were ordered home.
Speaker 2:Following their return from Paris, Dr Allen opened a school at South Hamlet House near Spa and Gloucester. The plan of instruction included the Latin and Greek classics, mathematics and continental languages, with arithmetic, merchant's accounts, geography, etc. This was calculated to combine a sound grammatical foundation with the rudiments of the sciences, which was important to a pupil on their examination for admission to any of the public institutions of the country classical, naval or military. This education suited John's brother as he was to follow his father and become a surgeon. Indeed, Thomas Jr went to King's College and studied medicine. However, plans changed and they didn't follow Dr Allen. Instead, they went to Dr Hale's school at Bath to obtain a similar education. They weren't there with him.
Speaker 2:To finish, as it was known at the time, Dr Hale ran his school in a fine home, Lloyd House in Bath. John's father owned a house at 33 River Street in Bath. John and his brother lived there with servants during their education. They had a brisk 15-minute walk to Dr Hale's school every day. Dr Hale was a fine teacher. In 1837, several of his ex-pupils, who were then members of the University of Oxford, presented Dr Hale with a fine silver vase valued at 120 guineas in appreciation of his tutoring. That 120 guineas is equivalent to over 30,000 Australian dollars today.
Speaker 3:Wow, okay, so John gets a good education.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's well educated, but he was not bound to become a doctor, he says.
Speaker 1:My brother was apprenticed to my father, but I disliked the profession.
Speaker 2:John was keen to do something else.
Speaker 3:Okay, isn't that a bit unusual for the illicent to not follow in the father's footsteps?
Speaker 2:Yes, but as we discussed in episode 10 about John's family, the father had some quite progressive ideas and from the meeting in Frampton-on-Seven with Dr Mayo in early 1839, it's clear that John's father was keen for John to go to the colonies. So John began to prepare for such an outcome.
Speaker 1:He says I went to a practical farmer to prepare myself for a colonial life. I went to a practical farmer to prepare myself for a colonial life. I went through all the usual course, learning to plough, shear milk cows and the general management of a farm. Our butcher, let me go to his place and learn to slaughter both sheep, pigs and cattle.
Speaker 2:Our blacksmith was also glad to let me come to his shop and learn to turn a horseshoe and put it on. John probably got his agricultural training at Alcaton Farm. This farm is about three miles southwest of Frampton and the family had connections there.
Speaker 3:Well, it seems that John now felt that he was prepared to work in the colony. I assume that he knew that he had more to learn and that Australia must be so different from the home country. But he sounds confident he could succeed in the venture. But how and when and where did he go to Australia?
Speaker 2:John's father was now happy that John could go to South Australia and be near his old friend. But what would he do when he got there? The answer involved a few family and business connections. John had cousins in Gloucester, martha Henry and James Grimes. Their father, john's Uncle James, was a businessman in Gloucester. He ran a successful drapery business at 22 Southgate, which is but a few hundred yards from a large brewery. Through business connections Uncle James knew Mr Trimmer who owned the brewery in partnership with the Mr Trolley. Theirs was the only brewery of any size in Gloucester and they had moved recently into new, larger premises between West Gate and Quay Street. They also controlled 12 public houses. Thus through his cousins John became acquainted with Edward Trimmer Jr, who became his vast friend. Edward also wanted to have the colonial experience With Dr Mayo in Adelaide. They were keen to go to South Australia but they wanted to obtain a guarantee of employment before they left.
Speaker 2:John's father was a surgeon and was well connected with other surgeons in the Gloucester area. Two fellow surgeons were Dr John Plytle Wilton and his son John William Wilton. The father died in 1839 but John's father kept professional contact with the son, john. At a meeting in July 1841 John Wilton told John's father that his sister Elizabeth, who was known as Bessie, had married a Mr Stephen Hack. Both Stephen and Bessie were 25 years old.
Speaker 2:The Hack family were Quakers who originally came from Cirencester but had moved to South Australia in 1836. We discussed the migration of the Hack family to South Australia in 1836. We discussed the migration of the Hack family to South Australia in episode 9. Stephen Hack had recently returned to England to find a wife and, having done so, was intent on returning to South Australia. Stephen Hack told John of his family's business in South Australia and that the colony was progressing very well, although, due to the nine-month delay in the mails, his information was almost a year old. John had heard that there had been some financial difficulties in the colony, but Stephen Hack assured him that these were exaggerated and the new governor was fixing the colony on a new course.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay, but surely that's a warning for caution there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, john's father wished both of his sons to have a good start in life. For brother Thomas, john's father paid for his medical education at King's College. As an equivalent contribution, john's father advanced John a sum of 500 pounds so that he might invest in the new colony through Stephen Hack. John's father also paid his fare for the voyage out. The arrangement with Stephen Hack was that John would be paid £40 a year, plus board and rations, for working on their farm at Ochunga Springs and John would get 6% interest on Mr Hack's mortgage to him. John's father insisted that this arrangement be formalised in a legal contract which was drawn up by a smart young solicitor in Gloucester. Trimmer was also engaged to work at Achunga Springs for the same £40 a year plus board and rations. With all matters settled, it was time to leave for the colony.
Speaker 3:OK, well, that's a plan. He's arranged employment in South Australia and his father knows that John has a good friend in the colony. Okay, well, that's a plan. He's arranged employment in South Australia and his father knows that John has a good friend in the colony, namely Dr Mayo. So is it time to go.
Speaker 2:Yep, sure is. Here is what John says.
Speaker 1:Being now prepared for a colonial life, I left home with my young Gloucester friend, Mr Edward Trimmer, and boarded a bark called the Guyana. We were to go to an establishment at Mount Barker in South Australia.
Speaker 2:They left on 1 September 1841. John doesn't say a lot about the voyage, but I've been able to piece together information from others. The captain of the Guyana was Captain William Bowman, the ship's surgeon was Dr Mathy, in addition to Stephen Hack and his wife Bessie. The other cabin passengers were Miss Weaver, mrs Bryant, foreman and McLaren, and there were five in steerage, including Mr Hack's employee, mr Norman, and Bessie's nephew George Henry Wilton. John found out that Miss Weaver was betrothed to Captain Bowman and they intended to wed soon after their arrival in Adelaide. Miss Weaver was the daughter of Charles Weaver, esquire of Gloucester.
Speaker 2:Their cargo included 10 quarter casks of brandy, 10 hog heads of rum, 35 hog heads of stout and 140 cases of bottled beer. In addition to other cargo, stephen Hack also had one entire horse, 10 dogs, 6 pigs and a pen of dorking fowls on board. These animals were destined for the Hack farm in the Chunga Springs. There were 8 more dogs and 2 more pigs on board. The pigs were for fresh meat during the voyage and fowl gave eggs. The fowl were in a wooden coop. The dogs ran free around the ship and the pigs were kept under the captain's longboat.
Speaker 2:It was necessary to make a stall for the horse between decks. Their initial route followed the usual course. They crossed the Bay of Biscay, then passed the Azores and Madeira. On 27 September they crossed the Line of Cancer and a few days later Captain Borman decided to call into St Jago, the main island in the Cape Verde group, to obtain fresh food and water and to leave letters. After Cape Verde, their route took a change from the normal course. They headed west across the Atlantic and called in at the Isle of St Vincent in the Caribbean.
Speaker 1:John says On our way, we called at the Island of St Vincent to get fresh provisions, which we obtained by barter, and during the time we were one of the passengers, a Mr Stephen Hack, purchased ten donkeys and made arrangements to take them on board.
Speaker 2:These donkeys were to go to the family's farm near Adelaide. John continues his story.
Speaker 1:Mr Hack had a man in charge by the name of Norman, a fine big man but not much good at his work. Trimmer and myself offered to do the work, being both active young men, and we thought it would help to while away the time and keep us employed. This necessitated our being up at daylight each morning to help wash the deck with the sailors and, at the same time, clean the coops. This had not been done by the former men in charge, so we soon got into good repute with the sailors and they helped us in every way.
Speaker 3:Okay, so John and Trim are helping the sailors and, given the good relationship that John's family had with the working class in their home village, this is not unexpected. My guess would be that John would soon be learning the working class in their home village. This is not unexpected. My guess would be that John would soon be learning about the work of sailors, how to rig sails and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I suspect you're right, and you never know when those skills might be useful. Anyhow, they left the Isle of St Vincent on 28 October and their next stop was Rio de Janeiro. Before reaching Rio, Trimmer and John would have had to endure the crossing the line ceremonies.
Speaker 3:They later crossed the line of Capricorn on 3 December.
Speaker 2:Okay, progress is being made. What happens next? By this time it was now clear that Bessie, stephen's new wife, was with child. As the voyage progressed, most passengers found their sea legs, but Bessie had suffered more than others, probably because the movement of the vessel accentuated the normal nausea experienced in early pregnancy. Prolonged seasickness can be very debilitating. They got as far as the Cape of Good Hope by 23 December. The captain informed them that he had decided that they did not have enough provisions to take them to Adelaide, so they went into Table Bay. Stephen informed them that he was compelled to remain at the cave in consequence, he regretted to say, of the illness of his lady. He would remain there until her confinement, confinement meaning the delivery of the baby, and when he felt that his lady and baby were well enough they would follow to the colony.
Speaker 3:I wonder if the Hack family in South Australia were aware that Bessie was pregnant, and did John Barton Hack even know that John and Trimmer were?
Speaker 2:coming? I'm not sure. Before leaving the Cape, stephen must have given John and Trimmer a letter of introduction to give to his brother, john Barton Hack. It would have explained that Stephen had engaged them to work at Mount Barker and that he was remaining at the Cape until his child was born. John would have then known that Stephen Hack's brother was not expecting Trimmer and himself. John then continues his story.
Speaker 1:We had remained a week there and, having obtained all that was wanting, we started again our voyage on December 31st. We got into bad weather and in our first severe gale and the constant break of the seas on board and our donkeys having no good shelter, they were all washed to death and we had to put them overboard. This was most upsetting and we were glad that Mr Hack was not on board to witness this event. All the rest of the stock survived.
Speaker 3:Oh, dear those poor donkeys. So what's next?
Speaker 2:On 27 February 1842 they passed the western end of KI, and they would reach Port Adelaide in a day or so. That day was John's birthday. He was then 21. And had reached the age of majority. He was now a man in charge of his own destiny. On 2 March they arrived in Port Adelaide. Their voyage had been a long and tedious one, but they had arrived all safe and sound after six months at sea. John describes their arrival.
Speaker 1:Port Adelaide was a very poor place, with a custom house erected on excavations taken out of the river and the road to it for over a mile was made in the same way. There was no conveyance except by Bullock Dray. So we had to walk to Adelaide and lead the entire horse dray. So we had to walk to Adelaide and lead the entire horse. The dogs, pigs and fowls came on by dray. Times were very bad, so the hounds and other dogs were never taken from Adelaide and were sold for what they could fetch on the spot.
Speaker 3:Do you know what happened when they arrived?
Speaker 2:As usual, john doesn't say much, but there are a couple of things that must have occurred. On arrival, trimmer and John would have gone to the post office to see if any mail had arrived for them, as their voyage had taken so long. They would have been hopeful, but then were disappointed. However, they did find out something of value. There was another with the name John Watts in the colony. He was the postmaster general. And there was also another with a name like Trimmer. Somewhere in the colony was a Mr Edmund Trimmer. Also, while they were unloading the livestock, stephen Hack's brother, barton, must have arrived. He had been expecting to see his brother on the Guyana and he would have been upset when told that Stephen had remained at the Cape. Barton would have been even more upset when they told him that Stephen had engaged them to work at Achunga Springs. Barton had no knowledge of this arrangement and this would have added to their debts. John describes what happened next.
Speaker 1:The horse I had to lead to Echunga Springs, a distance of about 25 miles in the Mount Barker district. This was a task after being on board ship so long and my feet got very sore, but I accomplished my task and delivered my horse all safe and sound.
Speaker 3:Okay. So they arrived safe and sound, but missing a few donkeys. I assume that Barton did not sack them and they were set to work at Echanga Springs.
Speaker 2:Yes, but there is a short story I'd like to tell first. As mentioned, Captain Bowman was the commander of the Guyana and a fellow passenger was Miss Weaver. Miss Weaver was betrothed to Captain Bowman and soon after their arrival in Adelaide they were married. Trimmer and John possibly attended the marriage. It was held at Holy Trinity Church by the Reverend CB Howard. As neither party had any family in the colony, they might have been glad to have some others at the ceremony, as they had probably become friends during their long voyage. Within days John found out that the Guyana had embarked for Muscat in Arabia. John found out that the Guyana had embarked for Muscat in Arabia. The passengers included Captain Duff, who we met in an earlier episode, Mrs Bowman and a Mr Arlong. So Miss Weaver, now Mrs Bowman, was at sea again just three days after their happy marriage. Such was the life of a ship's captain. Then, a few months later, there was a brief report in the paper.
Speaker 5:It said, launceston Courier, august 29th 1842. Died On board the Barker Guiana after a short but painful illness in latitude, 1 degree 4 minutes north. Longitude, 105 degrees 16 minutes east, mrs Captain William Bowman.
Speaker 2:John would have found it most distressing to hear that Miss Weaver had died so soon after her marriage.
Speaker 3:See, that's a sad story, but I guess that things like that happened in those days. Yes, Anyhow, John with his. A sad story, but I guess that things like that happened in those days?
Speaker 2:Yes, anyhow, john, with his friend Trimmer, was now living at Achunga Springs.
Speaker 3:John had said that times were very bad.
Speaker 2:How bad. John didn't know how bad the economy was, but if he'd been able to read the diary of Mary Thomas's daughter, he might never well have gone to the colony. On 23 July 1841, while John and Trimmer were at sea, mary wrote Francis drank tea with Mrs Solomon and Mr Solomon saw her home.
Speaker 6:He came into our cottage and chatted upon the affairs of the colony, which are in a desperate state. The merchants are failing, money is scarce and a great many labourers are out of employment, and all chiefly arising from the government bills having been dishonoured in England.
Speaker 6:Then, a few days later, she wrote, perhaps a little optimistically we have good news from England the dishonoured government bills are likely to be paid by a loan from the British government, and it is supposed that this will become a crown colony. We are now in hopes that trade will flourish once more. Then on 18 August, she wrote the times at present are very sadly distressing. Many of the lower orders are very badly off and some of the higher classes can hardly support themselves.
Speaker 2:Finally, on 10 March 1842, just a few days after John arrived, Mary Thomas's daughter wrote in her diary the colony is in a very desperate condition just now.
Speaker 6:Our merchants are failing, everybody is desponding under the general want of money. I hope that there will be a favourable turn in our affairs soon, or else I cannot tell what will become of us all. Colonel Gawler has so embarrassed our government by his extravagance that the present governor is obliged to be altogether as economical. We want some good capitalists from England, though doubtless many who are inclined to emigrate will be deterred from coming by the present ill opinion of this place in the home country.
Speaker 2:Land speculation, economic recession and inept administration combined to cause the Wakefield scheme to fail and South Australia was spending far more than its revenue. Financial bankruptcy of the colony in 1841 caused London to act. The immediate issue was the heavy spending and the failure of the colonisation commissioners to use borrowing powers to secure loans. Captain Grey replaced Governor Gawler. The new governor sharply cut spending. The result was that the colonisation commissioners in London lost their control to the British Treasury. South Australia's governors began dealing directly with the Secretary of State for Colonies In 1842, through a British Act of Parliament. To provide for better government of South Australia, the South Australian Legislative Council was set up, including the governor and seven other persons that are he appointed.
Speaker 3:Well, this doesn't sound too good for John.
Speaker 2:No financial worries are pending. We'll discuss that in the next episode. While John and his donkeys were braving the wild storms around Cape of Good Hope, here's a few things that happened around the world. The First Opium War was raging in China. The war was fought from 1839 to 1842 between China and Britain. In the 18th century China enjoyed a trade surplus with Europe. They exported porcelain, silk and tea in exchange for silver. By the late 17th century the British East India Company expanded the cultivation of opium in Bengal, selling it to private merchants who transported it to China and covertly sold it on to Chinese smugglers. By 1797, the East India Company was selling 4,000 chests of opium, each weighing 77 kilos, to private merchants per year. In earlier centuries opium was utilised as a medicine in China with anaesthetic qualities. But new Chinese practices of smoking opium recreationally increased demand tremendously and often led to smokers developing addictions. Successive Chinese emperors issued edicts making opium illegal in 1729, 1799, 1814 and 1831. But imports grew as smugglers and colluding officials in China soared profits.
Speaker 3:Oh great, so the British were massive drug smugglers.
Speaker 2:They were indeed. Eventually, the Chinese lost patience with England and war broke out. It was triggered by the Chinese government's campaign to enforce its prohibition on opium, which included destroying opium stocks owned by British merchants and the British East India Company. The British government responded by sending a naval expedition to force the Chinese government to pay reparations and allow the opium trade to continue. While John and co were approaching the Cape, on 10 October, there was the Battle of Chin Hai and the British captured the Chinese garrison. On 13 October, the British occupied Ningbu.
Speaker 2:It took until August 1842 for Great Britain and China to sign the Treaty of Nanking and the First Opium War ended. So some other things that were happening during their voyage included. Number one on 13 November 1841, scottish surgeon John Braid first saw a demonstration of animal magnetism by Charles Lafortaine, which leads to his study of the phenomenon that Braid called hypnotism. Number 2. 20 December 1841. The first multinational treaty for the suppression of the African slave trade was signed in London by the representatives of Austria, britain, france, prussia and Russia. Number three 23 December 1841. The start of the first Anglo-Afghan war. At a meeting with the Afghan general Akbar Khan, british diplomat Sir William Hay MacNaughton was shot dead at close quarters. Soon after, on 13 January 1942, william Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British Army, arrived at Jalalabad in Afghanistan. He was the sole European survivor of the massacre of over four and a half thousand military personnel and over 10,000 civilian camp followers retreating from Kabul. Number four 30 March 1842, american physician Crawford Long was the first to use diethyl ether as an anaesthetic in a surgical procedure.
Speaker 3:So Britain was at war in China and Afghanistan at the same time. Let's hope that history doesn't repeat itself too often.
Speaker 2:No, let's hope not. Anyhow, john and Trimmer had arrived at Achunga Springs minus 11 donkeys and they were about to set out on a colonial life. In our next episode we'll discuss how John, his friend Trimmer, william Henry, neal Charles Neddies and the other colonists got on with life there. This was a time of severe economic depression.
Speaker 3:Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2:So it's goodbye from me.
Speaker 3:And it's goodbye from me, thank you.