The Commonwealth of Thieves by Tom Keneally

Author:Tom Keneally [Keneally, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Australia & New Zealand, General, Social Science, sociology
ISBN: 9781742742663
Google: jDVfDKfTjNgC
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2011-01-04T23:32:59.452988+00:00

With a sigh of relief but some concern for his charges, in March 1790 Phillip eventually consigned Ross from Parramatta to the command of Norfolk Island since Lieutenant King had been pleading a need to return to England, and Phillip thought of King as the most reliable man he could send home to report to influential Britons on the parlous state of things in New South Wales.

For the inhabitants of Sydney Cove, the ration at the time Ross was sent to Norfolk and King was summoned to go back to England and plead for the mouths of New South Wales provided daily about 1800 calories and 56 grams of protein, a minimum for survival. Tench, passing the provision store, saw a man who emerged with ‘a wild haggard countenance having received his daily pittance to carry home. His faltering gait, and eager devouring eye, led me to watch him; and he had not proceeded ten steps before he fell. I ordered him to be carried to the hospital where, when he arrived, he was found dead … On opening the body, the cause of death was pronounced to be inanition’. Both soldiers and convicts found they were not able to fulfil tasks. The clothing store was near empty and some convicts lived in tatters and rags. In their camp the women were resourceful with needles and yarn Phillip had distributed, but many a guard detachment was mounted in which the majority of soldiers lacked shoes. Thefts of clothing increased and intense depression bred a thousand desperate pilferings.

In this emergency, Phillip ‘from a motive that did him immortal honour’, released to the general stores the three hundredweight of flour which was his personal store, ‘wishing that if a convict complained, he might see that want was not unfelt even at government house’.

In March 1790, the Sirius and Supply both set sail for Norfolk Island with about 350 people. Phillip was unloading some of Sydney Cove’s hungry onto Norfolk’s richer soil. Amongst those travelling to Norfolk were John Hudson, the child chimney-sweep, and Lieutenant Clark. Major Robert Ross, as new commandant of the island, was also amongst the passengers. On the way down-harbour, the bulky Sirius got itself in an awkward situation near the rocks of the north head of Port Jackson, as it had earlier off southern Tasmania, and again clever seamanship just managed to avoid disaster and a huge accompanying death toll.

John Hunter and Sirius had not been to Norfolk before, and on arriving could not land at Sydney Bay on the south side of the island. At Cascade Bay on the north shore Hunter was able to land convicts and marines, 275 people in all. But his ship was blown out to sea by a gale before it could land any supplies for them. When the wind shifted Hunter tried again for Sydney Bay, and when the signal flags flying ashore indicated that the surf was calm enough to allow longboats to land, the unloading of stores began. After

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