by Rodney Gascoyne
“Old Times”, April 1903 – OLD MEMORIES
“Have you any recollections of any great public events about this time ?”
“The most important I remember was the return of Leichhardt after an absence of nearly two years on his exploring expedition to Port Essington. His safety had been despaired of, and his return was the cause of great public enthusiasm. He was presented with a public subscription of £2,400, to which the Government added £1,000. Another subscription was that organised as a testimonial to Mrs. Chisholm prior to her departure for England. This lady had done a great deal of good by accompanying young female emigrants to the interior when they were in search of employment.”
“The postal communication in those days must have been very different to what it is now ?”
“Strange to say, I was only looking at an old newspaper the other day. It is dated November 26th, 1840, and I find that the English mails were delivered in 118 days, but that is rather a record. A letter generally took 120 days on the way out, and occasionally six months. The same paper states that the letters from North America took 133 days, those from South Africa 62 days, and those from India and New Zealand 92 and 22 days respectively.”
THE SUBURBS.
“You have not mentioned much about the growth of the suburbs, Mr. Macintosh. They were doubtless slower in growth than the city proper ?”
“Well, even in 1850 there were only 19 houses north of Upper William Street to the point. After the grant to Judge Wylde the first progress maybe said to have taken place, though in 1848 the building trade was considerably checked by the exodus of mechanics to the Californian Goldfields. There was a good many houses about Darlinghurst, but these were mostly in the hands of caretakers.
“Was that due to the land grant system ?”
“Yes, the method was not altogether a just one. The original allotments consisted of 20 to 40 perches, which were granted subject to certain improvements, and a quit rent of 6d. to 9d. per perch. Many failed to comply with the conditions, and it is stated, sometimes sold their rights for ridiculous values, in some cases for a two gallon keg of rum. During the depression of the early forties quit rents were abolished, yet all quit rents are still exacted by the Government, the titles being registered at the Land Titles Office. After the grant by Governor Dowling to Chief Justice Forbes, it was declared an abuse of patronage by the Governor, and Orders in Council were sent to him that no more grants should be made after the reception of the orders in 1831.”
“Some of these large grants must have an enormous value at the present time ?”
THE POINT PIPER ESTATE.
“The property acquired by Captain Piper would certainly realise a great deal now. Captain Piper was a sort of Comptroller or Collector of Customs. He allowed merchants or importers to take goods out of bond without immediate payment, that is, when they were short of capital they obtained a kind of credit system. This was undoubtedly of great assistance to many of the commercial community, and Captain Piper was very popular in consequence. Governor Darling, however, objected very strongly, and held Captain Piper personally responsible to the Government for an amount of £13,000. Captain Piper was very much incensed, and determined to sell his property and leave for England. This included what was known as the Point Piper Estate, and a considerable amount of property at Vaucluse and in the City of Sydney. The total realised altogether £25,000, Messrs. Levy and Cooper purchasing the Point Piper Estate, which subsequently led to a good deal of litigation with the Government. Mr. W. C. Wentworth bought the mansion and land at Vaucluse, which is still in possession of the family. The Point Piper Estate must be worth now quite one and a half million sterling. Strange to say, Captain Piper did not go to England, but settled near Bathurst.”
Although Mr. Macintosh was returned on eight occasions as a representative for Macquarie Ward after his initial election in 1861, and has represented the State both in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, polling in one election a higher number of votes than any other candidate in the State, it is characteristic of him that he prefers to talk of others rather than of himself.
Notwithstanding this limitation, the reader must admit this grand old colonist’s memory of the early days is little short of marvellous.
© Rodney Gascoyne 2010
This entry was posted by rgascoyne on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Rodney's Ramblings.
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