Royal Jlustralian fiistorical SOCi~tyJOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS.

Vol. XXV. 1939. Part V.

The Society does not hold itself responsiule for statements madeor opinions expressed by authors of the papers ]Juulished in thisJournal.

I .,=a I

Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.His Life and Work.

1788-1859.

By BEN. W. CHAMPION, B.D.S., D.D.Sc.

(Read before the Newcastle and H1lnter DistriCt HistoricalSociety on February 8 (md March 8, 1939.)

PART II.

vVe left the Rev L. E. Threlkeld at the close of Part I.of this paper well established on his demesne at Bahtahbah,Lake l\Iacquarie, determined to perfect his knowledge ofthe language of the aborigines. His newly-found tran­quillity, however, was soon to be rudely disturbed. Inhis Statement he tells of his misgivings as to the mannerin which the committee of the London :i\Iissionary Societywould view his preliminary commitments which, we learnfrom a letter from the secretary and the treasurer to Re\'Samuel Marsden dated J\Iarch 2, 1826,* were covered bybills to the amount of £900 drawn by Threlkeld. Heexcused and consoled himself with the thought that hehad acted" agreeably with the instructions" of the depu­tation, and that they would not be in a position to judgeas to whether the expenditure was excessive, because theiracceptance of the hospitality of friends lessened their totalexpenses out of all proportion!

*Quoted by Threlkeld in his Statement.

To which Bennet adds:-

*Staternent-Bennet's annotation.tIbid.

The Depn. had not prepared them for they and the Dirs. neverconceived that such great extra expense could have occurred. *

The board of directors seemed to take the view thatthe deputation's instruction to Threlkeld-to draw on theSociety for his necessities-had been misinterpreted byThrelkeld as being a biank cheque. One of the deputationafterwards expressed regret that they had not been moreexplicit as regards money matters-surely an example ofshutting the stable door after the horse was out. Bennetwrote the following regretful note:-

Our knowledge of the writer ought to have prevented thisconfidence, but however it was only intended to exist for a year,or until he had made such a trial as would enable him to stateto the Co=ittee at home what moderate amount of salaries wouldsuffice.t

343Lancelot Edward 1'1Il'elkeld.

Lake Macquarie; (3) stay at Newcastle until the said houseshould be built; (4) take up residence at the Lake;(5) learn the language of the aborigines; (6) convert thenatives.

These Threlkeld carried out, all but the last one, tothe letter, but, according to the directors, regardless ofcost. The London officials of the mission indicated thatthey expected the initial expenses to be fairly heavy, butthat they considered that, after the mission had been inprogress for a reasonable period, a big reduction in theannual sum required for personal anci mission purposeswas to be expected. However, they did not calculate uponhaving to meet the extra large expenditure incurred byThrelkeld, especially as they looked upon the arrangementsmade by the deputation as being tentative only. Theysuggested that the missionary should have curtailed hisexpenses until the board had decided whether the projectwas feasible and worthy of the expenditure of the Society·sfunds upon it. Referring to one large bill that Threlkeldhad drawn, they wrote:-

'Ve think it necessary to inform you that we experienced nosmall surprise and concern that you had drawn on the Society toso very large an amount, for which, indeed, we are not at all prepared.

tIbid.

342 Royal Australian Historical Society.

The storm commenced with the receipt, by Threlkeld,of a letter dated October 20, 1826, from the R~v SamuelMarsden t enclosing another letter-from the dIrectors ofthe mission in London-which in its turn was dated Marrh2, 1826. These dates, by the way, will serve as an e::campleof the lengthy periods that elapsed between. the dlspat~~l

and delivery of mails to and from. England III those daJ:.In this case the time taken was eIght and a half months.Marsden's letter was as follo,vs:-

Two days ago, I I'eceived a. letteI' from the Dir~tors of t~e

Missionary Society, informing me, that tl~ey h~d transmItted cer,tamresolutions to you relative to your drawmg bIlls upon the ,SocIety.As far as my advice can be of service, to you and ~he ]',~lssIOn, Iam very willing to give it. 'Vith re~pect to drawmg bIllS. ~p,onthe Society, I shall be very cautIOus I~ takmg ~he re~ponslblhty

upon myself, beyond the absolute neceSSIty ~or dom!?, tIns. , .I feel that the Society has placed me m a dehcate sItuation.

Perhaps when I see you, the difficulties may appear less than ~hey

do at present. I cannot form any decided opinion on the subject,until I know what the expences of the Mission is likely to amo,untto. The Society must have some hesitation in paying your bIlls,from what Mr. jones tells me, one of your bills had bee.n endorsedto their house by Mr. Campbell, and when pre,sented, It was notaccepted-since, I have understood, it has b~en paId. Mr. Camp~ell,

I apprehend, will now require some s.ecurl,ty for any future bIlls,from the communication from the SocIety III the last despatches.

I am, &c. SA~IUEL MARSDEN.

The letter to Threlkeld from the directors containingthe resolutions was couched in temperate and friendlylanguage, and, in brief, expressed sur:pris~ and concernthat the bills should have been so large, III VIew of the factthat the whole of the arrangements relativ~ to the com-

,mencement of the mission were viewed as belllg of a moreor less temporary nature. They amplified these ideas bystating that the funds of the missio.n did not wa~rant theapparently disproportionate expendIture already ~n,,:olved,

and as ;yet there was no guarantee from the mIssIonarythat the rate of spending would be any les~ later 01:. .

Threlkeld contended all along, and reIterated III hISStatement, that in everything he had done l:e had actedaccording to the instructions of the deputatIOn. Thesewere, briefly: (1) Go to Newcastle; (2) build a house at

"Statement.fStatement-Bennet's annotation.

to have had a basis for justification. For instance, hestates that, if he had known that the arrangements of thedeputation were subject to rectification, he would not haveaccepted the position of missionary on the terms underwhich he did accept. No doubt, as was the case with thedeputation, the directors and Marsden, this was being wiseafter the event! As it was, he stated emphatically thathe could not think of carrying on under such restrictions,and that. he considered himself to be in the same positionas he was before the mission had even bcen thought of.He threatened to resign, and to take the first ship back tothe Islands,* although he did not do so. Possibly thiswas only a threat, and no more.

A sore point with Threlkeld was the use in theResolutions of the phrase "absolutely necessary." Threlkeldcontended in abusive terms that the directors were in noposition to judge as to what was "absolutely necessary"for the maintenance of himself and the mission, they beingtwelve thousand miles from the scene of operations-anexample of the disadvantages of remote control. However,the Society had for their colonial agent the Rev SamuelMarsden, who was also a capable, hard-headed businessman, to judge for them. But even the suitability ofMarsden as an arbiter of expenditure was questioned byThrekeld-the chaplain was one hundred miles distantfrom the mission station, and was unaware of conditionsthere, although it was Threlkeld's duty to advise Marsdenon those matters.

The truth of the matter is, that Threlkeld cherisheda keeJ:.l a.ntipathy towards Marsden, engendered during thenegotIatIOns that led up to the formation of the missionat Lake Macquarie. Threlkeld strenuously opposed anyidea of Marsden having a hand in either the formation u1'

the management of the mission j but, as Bennet noted"This would have been prudent, and have prevented man;evils."t One of Threlkeld's objections to "Marsden"~

as he contemptuously called the aged chaplain, who wastwenty-five years his senior-was that Marsden was a" Churchman, " meaning that he was a clergyman of the

Royal Australian IIistorical Society.

However, the directors were determined that the horsewould have no chance of getting out again j to continueour metaphor, they also proceeded to tie him up.

We quote the "Resolutions" of the board mentionedby Marsden in his letter to Threlkeld, the brief preamblecontaining an implied censure;-

. . . our principal reason for writing to you at present is toprevent all future immoderate expenditure, and in reference to thispoint we have adopted the two following resolutions:

1st. That the Rev. Threlkeld be instructed to give no morebills on the Society, unless drawn with the sanction of tlle Hev.Marsden, as without his sanction they will not be honoured.

2nd. That the Rev. Mr. Marsden be respectfully requested tosanction the bills drawn by the Rev. Mr. Threlkeld, only to such anamount as, in his judgment, shall appear absolutely necessary tocarryon efficiently and with the strictest regard to economy, theAboriginal Mission at Reid's Mistake.:!:

The effect of these resolutions was to place a curb onthe expenditure relative to the mission, and to take outof Threlkeld's hands the financial control of the establish­ment. They virtually gave Marsden the oversight of thefinancial side of the mission. Threlkeld was requestedto collaborate with the chaplain in such matters, so thatthe latter might report thereupon to the board, and alsoupon other matters, such as the possibility of definitelyobtaining the promised grant of ten thousand acres andthe prospects of receiving financial assistance from theColonial Government. Marsden was also to have everyassistance from the missionary to enable him to exercisehis judgment as to the necessity of expenditure to beincurred, as set out in Resolution No.2.

The reaction of the missionary to these resolutions wassuch as it might be expected would be in keeping with"The Genius and Temper of the Threlkelds." Theyelicited a long and acrimonious letter to the directors, thefirst of several, written in somewhat violent language, andcertainly disrespectful and defiant in tone. Threlkeldstated numerous grievances, real and fancied; " ... thoseresolutions ... only imply condemnation of my proceedingshitherto and in future." Some of his complaints appear

:!:Quoted by Threlkeld in his Statement.

Lancelot Edward Tl/ relkeld. 345

Established Church of England. The Rev Daniel Tyer­man a member of the deputation, had also the same objec­tioni; and both he and Threlkeld ~isplayed a for.m. ofbiO'otry which was far from the mmds of the orIgmalfo~nders of the London Missionary Society when theyformed that organization in terms that excluded allthoughts of bigotry from its constitution. . .

·When amid much jubilation the London lhssIOnarySociety was established on undenominational lines son~c­

one described its inauguration as the "death and bUrIalof bigotry," and the fact that the administration of itsaffairs in Australia was for years entrusted to a clergymanof the Church of England, went far to justify the assertion.Samuel Marsden most certainly in his life and work em­bodied a spirit in which there was no bigotry.§

Samuel Marsden entered the scene merely by virtueof his office of representative in Australia of the LondonMissionary Society, and as such he was naturally consultedby the deputation concerning the projected mission. Hepatiently informed Threlk~ld.that he ~ad ~o actual handin the formation of the mISSIOn, and m thIS Bennet con­curred. Marsden wrote:-

They frequently conversed w~th me on the sUb.ject, but I diffe~edfrom them on one important POlllt. I thought It would be unWIsein them to give you unlimited authority to draw on th~ f~ds ofthe Society, and equally unwise in you to a?c~I?t the SItuatIOn onsuch terms as would lay a too heavy responsIbIlIty upon you.1f

He gave his opinion, but, as he stated, the deput~ti?nwerenot obliged to take it. Referring to Threlkeld s mstruc­tions from the deputation, Bennet writes:-

I wished much that some reference should be made to the triedand disinterested friend of the Society Rev. Mr. Marsden, bU~ Mr.Threlkeld said, he would be under no control, and another saId hewould not consent, that a Church of England man should have anypower to spoil a good work.

. . . Mr. T. had very strongly declared against bei~g eithercontrol'd or advised by Mr. M. he llinlself was surely s~cI~nt.

It was, I am persuaded, a fault of y~e Depn. not to lllSISt uponMr. T's being obliged to take the 0plllIOn ?f so worthy and ex.;perienced and disinterested friend to the SocIety as Mr. Marsden.

Hbid.§Rev Joseph King, in Ten Decades, p. 49.IfQuoted by Threlkeld in his Statement.*Statement-Bennet's annotation.

The meekness which St Paul recommends is described bythe great missionary in his epistles to two of his youngerassistants, Timothy and Titus. §

tQuoted by Threlkeld in his Statement.:t.Ibid.§Second Epistle to Timothy, chapter 2, VY. 24-25; Epistle to

Titus, chapter 3, Y. 2.

3-1:7Lancelot Edward '1'h relkdd.

According to Bennet, Threlkeld's animosity to Marsdenwas accentuated by the kno'wledge that the latter hadrepeatedly warned the deputation against confiding toomuch in the missionary. Marsden assured Threlkeld laterthat he never had any doubt as to his (Threlkeld's)integrity.

Thus the necessity of being obliged to employ Marsdenas an intermediary in financial matters galled Threlkeld,and further increased his enmity against the clHlplnin,to which he gave vent both in his correspondence and hisactions. His letters to Marsden abound in personal abuseand disrespect. Those of the latter gentleman are for­bearing in tone, generally sympathetie, and containsound advice. Threlkeld was either unaware of, orignorant of, the truth that abuse of one's superiors (whichterm includes the directors, whom he also addressed inimmoderate and disrespectful language) avails nothing,while the opposite procedure invariably brings beneficialresults.

Threlkeld ended his first letter to the directors con­cerning the" Resolutions" with a condescending admission:

Not that I wish to impute blame to you at your surprise at the"~normous expenditure" in so short a time, for I really was surprisedmyself and had it not been for the documents in my hands to yauch

. for the expenditure I should have doubted it....t

The letter was forwarded through 1\Iarsden, who, afterperusal, administered a well-deserved rebuke, which didnot by any means tend to increase the popularity of the oldchaplain with the missionary. Marsden wrote:-

Sydney, Noyember 16, 1826.... I cannot but observe yourlanguage in this letter is ,ery strong; and I should apprehend,,youlU give unnecessary pain and offence to the Society. It wantsthat meekness of ,yisdom which St. Paul recolllmends.:/:

Royal Australian Historical Society.3-1:6

* Statement-Bennet's annotation.

Threlkeld was requested both by the directors andMarsden to name the minimum sum necessary for carryin~

on the mission and for supporting himself and his family.Threlkeld mentioned £500, but he was not sanguine ofreceiving it. Marsden made a counter offer of £300, andconsidered that he would be able to have that figure sanc­tioned by the directors. Throughout the chaplain's letterjust quoted, and in subsequent correspondence, he pursueda course of sweet reasonableness which, unfortunately, wasnot reciprocated. The wording of the letters was kindly,yet firm. He did not hesitate to state frankly the reasonsfor his actions, although possibly he was not under anyactual obligation to do so. He also gave the missionarygood advice, which was apparently not appreciated.Marsden commended Threlkeld's integrity, also his capa­bilities as a missionary, but questioned his executive ability.Marsden, if anyone, being a shrewd judge of men andaffairs, should have been competent to give an opinion asto the prospects of such a venture as the mission at LakeMacquarie, and also as to the experience and ability ofthe person to be placed in charge of the venture. GeorgeBennet, a member of the deputation, afterwards admittedthat Marsden's objections were well founded, and wroteregretting the fact that the deputation had placed un­bounded confidence in one who, it transpired, did notdeserve it.-

Throughout the whole of the dispute between Threlkeldon the one hand, and the board of directors of the LondonMissionary Society and their agent, the Rev SamuelMarsden, on the other hand, appeared a succession of dis­honoured bills, one of which was the subject of a court case,and was nearly the cause of Threlkeld seeing the inside of aprison. The missionary, however, was spared this indig­nity, as the relation of the case will show. The bill inquestion was drawn on Ellis M. Scott, of Sydney, to thevalue of £400, and was negotiated privately in England.Threlkeld, in the Statement, mentions the fact that bydrawing on Scott he was able to obtain a premium of 18per cent. on this bill as against the 15 per cent. allowed

i"Quoted in the Statement.

349Lancelot B'dU'ard Threlkeld.

I am apprehensiw the movable property will not amount to

in other quarters. He thus would save the Society £12,and also would be charged less commission, the reductionbeing £30, making a total saving of £42 in all. But, alas,his praise,vorthy attempt to save money for the SocieLywas nullified by the directors dishonouring the bill, thminvolving the Society in unnecessary additional expenditureby way of court costs in the case. It is a matter fOI'

wonder, in the circumstances, that-as the deputation hadprimarily pledg'ed the credit of the Society; and in viewof the probable damage to the Society's credit both in thecolonies and elsewhere, due to incomplete knowledge ofall the facts of the case-the directors did not decide topay the bills at once for their own credit's sake, and dismissThrelkeld, as he had dared them to do. No doubt theywere reluctant to meet the bills for the reason amon:"others, that they considered that they were the'truste~~of the money subscribed by the supporters of the Societyfor missionary purposes, and therefore they expected t'osee more and better results for the outlay of the fundsexpended on the mission to the aborigine;.

As a matter of fact, all the returned bills were ulti­mately paid by the London Missionary Society. Theboard subsequently resolved (per their l~tter to Threlkelddated March 22, 1827 t) that no further advances be madeon behalf of the mission to the aborigines unless for personalexpenses "or objects strictly missionary." One bill of£111/16/- was to be paid, according to their resolutions,but two others, one for £400 and the remaining one for£127/12/-, were to be returned. However, the lesser 0fthe two bills was not returned to the colony but was finallvpaid, leaving the bill for £400 outstandi~g. The COll~­mittee of Direction instructed Threlkeld to sell the propertyof the mission so as to provide funds with which to satisfythe bill; they apparently thought that, in view of the larg~

sums spent on the mission to date. there would have beensufficient proceeds to cover the amount. Marsden how­ever, in a letter to Threlkeld dated August 13, 1827, p~inte(lout that the Society had no legal title to the land:-

Royal Australian Historical Society.348

It would seem that George Bennet was right when he

*lbid.tL. E. Threlkeld to Governor Darling, February 14, 1828;

quoted in the 8tatpment.

'I The house may be sold with what belongs to thevery muc l. . • . • t f t0t! .•farm, but the land on which it stands cannot for wan 0 a I e.

Some of the movable property wa~ sold, but realize.d ~nl?,

£30. The missionary was also dIrected to ascer~a~n If Itwould be possible for the Government to subsIdlz~ themission over and above the sum of £250, t~~ maXImumamount which the Society would advance. .Fmllllg ~overn­

ment assistance, and also in the event of IllS not belllg ableto subsist on the £250, he was to pack up and l:et"?-rn tohis former station at Raiatea or any oth~r mIsSIOnarystation considered advisable. In the meantlme. Threlkeldhad removed from Bahtahbah, Lake lVIacquarIe, and atabout this time was writing his correspondence from No. 20Upper Pitt Street, Sydney. t

Threlkeld was now in the depths of despair. Facedwith the prospect of the attachme~t of his p~rson fo~ debt,he had no private means of paYlllg the bIll Ol~ IllS O\~ll

account. However, he seems to have had severallllfiuentlalfriends or well-wishers in Sydney, an~ ?ne gentleman ofhigh authority advised him to memoI'lahze the Governorwith the audacious request that the Treasury should meetall the expenses of the mission over and above the £250stipulated by the Society. We pause and wonder ,~hy

Threlkeld could not have managed on ~he £250, whIch,according to his own showing, was ~ prlllcely sum c?m­pared with the miserable pittances recerved from the S?Cle:yby the missionaries in the South Seas. Threlkeld, III tneStatement, says;-

The annual allowance for a Missionary in the Islands is £3~;

for the wife £20; and £5 per year for each child. . .. Out o.f tInsstipend the Missionary has to pay 50 per ce~t to t~Ie Age~t III theColony keep the school house and Ins own III repaIr, prOVIde la;geboats ~nd sails and boatmen to convey his children, .and supplIes,from island to island; pay wages to servants, prOVIde food andclothing for all the families besides. 'Ve never could have sub­sisted but for barter, which in no instance has averaged £20 per year.

351Lancelot Edward Th relkeld.

penned his pithy comment to the pretensions of themissionary-" Splendid or nothing.' ':j:

All this time lVIarsden was working on Threlkeld ',,>

behalf, to see what could be done in the matter. Threlkeld,too, was in close contact with the Colonial Secretary, tlwHan Alexander lVIcLeay, who, however, told him that theGovernment could do nothing for him. Meanwhile thegaol loomed nearer, and consequently the attitude of themissionary seems to have undergone a change. A fe,vdays after the presentation of the memorial to the Governora memorandum was received by Threlkeld from E. :tVI. Scott,dated August 25, 1827, stating that the fatal bill for £400had been protested for non-acceptance, the answer being,"The bill cannot be accepted at present." This letterwas followed by another dated October 10, 1827, givingdetails of additional charges incurred by reason of non­acceptance, amounting to £136/16/4, making the total bill£536/16/4. Threlkeld wrote from "Caddie" (Cattal),subscribing himself "yours respectfully," requestinglVIarsden to sign fresh bills for this amount. This Marsdendeclined to do, and, as usual, gave his reasons. He statedthat he feared being made personally liable if he signedthe bi~ls as requested, as he would be exceeding hisauthorIty. He also took Threlkeld into his confidence,and mentioned two cases in which he lost money by puttinghis name to a bill in circumstances similar to the present.Thus Threlkeld was obliged to notify Scott that he wasunable to take up the dishonoured bill, and the next com­munication received by the former was in the nature of a"solicitor's letter" from James Norton, to the effect thatSeott had referred the matter of the bill to him:-

lVIr. Scott has instructed me to hold you to bail unless theam?unt is provided b;- you. Mr. Scott regrets the necessity oftakmg such steps agamst you, but as his interest is one of trust,he feels compelled to adopt the most ready way of obtaining money."

Marsden, upon this letter being communieated to himexpressed the futility of arresting the missionary, awl

:tStatement-Bennet's annotation.*NOTE.-All the correspondence mentioned lJl this paragraph

was reproduced verbatim in the Statement.

Royal Australian Historical Society.35CJ

tStatement.

long separation from my wife and family of 6 children, for lllanymonths, in a prison, until the llloney can be sent out.t

The Governor evidently referred the matter to the ColonialSecretary, who, in his turn, interested himself in the case,and was able to assure Threlkeld that there was no needto worry unduly concerning the outcome of the affair.McLeay was also in close consultation with the Rev Samuel:lUarsden, who was still quite willing to help Threlkeld toreach finality. Between them they made arrangements forpayment with a bill of :l\Iarsden's, subject to the findingof the court on a question of the amount of interest to beallowed on the dishonoured bill. Threlkeld attributes the

353

vVe do not trace one regret

Lance70t Edl/'ard 1'h rclkeld.

The italics are our own.

I am very uneasy about his bills lest thev should be returnedwhi:h I know will distress him very much. .It is an unfortunat~busmess, and I ::lways was alarmed about it, aUlI told the deputationwhat were my Views. It is not paying the money at last. that cancompensate the merchant for his disappointments should the Directorsdo this. *

finalization and the satisfartory outcome of the case to theGovernor, and it would seem that after he had approachedDarling matters began to move.

More trouble was brewing, however, in another quarter.Threlkeld received advice of another bill returned unpaid,dated .January 3, 1827, drawn on the treasurer of theSociety in favour of l\fr Robert Campbell of The 'Wharfamounting to £194/1/1. That was just what l\Iarsdel{had anticipated. Writing under date October 19, 1827,he stated:-

Reading between the lines, Marsden may have wished toindicate that such an upright and honoui..able merchant (lS

Robert Campbell would grieve to think that his name hadbeen dishonoured and his credit impaired. He also mavhave inferred that Campbell would be distressed by th~fact that the London Missionary Society was the party~vho presumably refused to honour the pledged word ofIts representatives by returning the bill dishonoured.Campbell's distress we know by letter, written by him onFebI:uary 1~, 1828, from The Wharf, t stating that thispartIcular bIll was negotiated through a private friend inEngland, and the dishonour naturally prejudiced him inthe eyes of his friend. Now let us see how Threlkeld tookthe ~ews. The comment quoted below surely shows" TbeGem.us and Temper of the Threlkelds" as evinced bv thispar.tlCul~r member of the "Familly," and is in directantItheSIS to the genuine concern exprl'ssed by :lVlarsdl'n :_

I~ ,,-ould be impossible for me to state correctly the feeling ofmy mmd. M,-. Ca~pbe~l w~s the lJeTSOn on whom we were dependingtor our SI£PPOl"t untIl thIS dIsagreeable business is settled.:/:

*Samuel Marsden, from Parramatta, to L. E. Threlkeld, October19, 1827; quoted in the Statement.

t Letter incorporated in the Statement.:/:Statement.

Royal Australian Historical Society.352

doubted if Scott would take extreme action. He did so,however, as Norton was adamant; and so, about the middleof November the Sheriff sent for Threlkelrl, told him to con­sider himself under arrest. and ordered him to find twosureties. These he produc~d, in the persons of Bourne andHayward, two ex-missionary colleagues. Threkeld thereuponwielded his facile pen and rushed straightway into print.He issued a circular airing his grievances, publicizing hismonetary impasse, and taking a tilt at his great obsession,the board of directors of the London Missionary Society.This pamphlet called forth a severe censure from th~ !orth­right old chaplain, who pointed out the sheer futIlIty ofsuch an action, and the harm it was likely to do him(Threlkeld) in the eyes of his friends, the public and theSociety. Replying, Threlkeld turned on Marsden in hisold abusive manner. We also find the missionary tellinghis troubles concerning the dishonoured bill to the readersof the Sydney Gazette in a letter dated January 14, 1828.In the meantime he had to give double bail, James Hay­ward again coming to his assistance, and also one Appleton,Bourne having been rejected. The Governor himself wasthe next to be addressed concerning the dishonoured bill.Threlkeld wrote Sir Ralph Darling a letter on the subjectdated February 14, 1828, in which he requested the pay­ment of his bill out of the public funds in the ColonialTreasury. He painted a pitiful picture of a possible-

§Ibid.

as to the possible effect on the good Robert Campbell.Dramatically Threlkeld continues:-

Fully expecting that myself, \:ife and six children \vo,uld nowbe abandoned to the wide world, wIthout further advances from ~heonly source open to me, ... with a minu. ill at ease, but :'eposmgconiillentlv on Him who is no respecter of persons, I waIted forthe morning light.§

The next morning he went post haste to Campbell tolearn the worst, asking the merchant to let him knowwhat prospects of further credit he might expect. ThU:t

large-hearted philanthropist assured him tl~at, alth~ugntimes were hard in the colony, he would certamly contmueto supply Threlkeld's wants. This "highly honourableconduct" elicited a gracious acknowledgment from Threl­keld, marred by a thrust at the directors, whose presumedsubsequent lack of courtesy in not acknowledging Camp­bell '8 magnanimity was remedied in advance b! Threlkel.d.The usual routine was observed as regards tIllS latest dIs­honoured bill-it was sent to Marsden for renewal, andwas met bv the same refusal. The Hon AlexanderMcLeay offe~>ed to put the matter right with Marsden, butlater, on March 14, 1828, word was received that thisparticular bill had been paid in England.

The case Scott v. Threlkeld was at last heard in theSupreme Court in Sydney on 1\larch 11, 1828, and a verdictwas aiven for plaintiff Scott in the sum of £480, the courthavi~g allowed a rebate in respect of th~ interest over­charged on the bill. We learn that tIllS was the firstcase of its kind in the colony, and was to be treated asa test case. George Allen, a name then and since prom­inent in legal circles, conducted the case. for. Threlkeld,and very kindly remitted the 'whole of IllS blll of costsamountinO' to £l5/9/4-a very generous gesture, but worthyof the ma~I as we know from descriptions of his character.Marsden s~ttled the matter by drawing his own bills, and,althouO'h the business was finalized as far as Threlkeld wasconcer~ed (one would have thought that he was glad tobe quit of the whole affair), he made a thrust at Marsdenbecause he (Threlkeld) was not allowed to sign the bills!

A ridiculous pretence! Everyone will instant],· see that thisnote is intendptJ to insure its furtiler <1iffusion! .

35;)LUJ/celot Edzmrd 7'11 relkeld.

Threlkeld wrote to the directors of the mlSSlOll inLondon stating' that everything was now read~' for hisimmediate return to the mission station at Lake 1Uacqllarie.He had approached the Governor through the ColonialSecretary for assistance on behalf of the mission, and wasadvised that he could have four men "on the stores" at£9 per annum each. It was assumecl that he was toreceive a stipend of £250 per annum from the Soeiety.He informed the board that he intended to draw direetlyon the treasurer of the Society without resorting' to anyintermediary agency-and that, after all that had tran­spired! He also foreshadowed the issue of his famousStatement, stating that the pamphlet was to be treated asconfidential, not being for public eireulation, but merel,,'for the perusal of the missionaries and the dil'eetol's of theLondon Missionary Society. Apropos of this intention,George Bennet noted against the "Foreword" of theStatement the following comment:-

*L. E. Threlkeld, from Lake Macquarie, December Hi, 1829. toRey 'i'. Grille amI \r. A. Hanke~·.

In the meantime more trouble was brewing, Not longafter the date of the letter to the directors mentionedabove, the board had passed resolutions (April 21, 182S)abandoning the mission at l..Jake 1\Iaequarie and dismissingThrelkeld from the Society, Their deeision was COl1l­

municated to him under d~te May 30, 1828. However,we find him again returning to the attack of the directorsin a letter written on October 26, 1829,* in whieh he ex­pressed his intention of resigning as from October 21, 1830-a year all but a few days from the date of his letter!The board's offer of a passage to England he stigmatizedas "perfectly contemptible," and he described theiralleged "endeavours to tempt me to abandon the extensionof the Kingdom" as "Exceedingly Oppressive." He alsowrote in a peremptory manner to the Rev Samuel Marsden,stating that it would take a year to shift his family; thathe was about to draw bills on the Society; that he intendedto abandon the mission as under the authority of the

Royal Anstralian Historical Society.354

§Ten Decades, p. 106.

London l\lissionary Society, and continue it on his owninitiative. He planned to give up the original site of themission station at Bah-tah-bah (now Belmont), and tosettle on the opposite shore of the Lake. Tl~is h.e ultin~ately

did at the present site of Toronto. The penod Imme~Iate~;T

after the settlement of his court ease was occupIed III

negotiating with the Government for his n~w grant, andalso for pecuniary assistance from the LegIslature.. Atthis time he was enabled to exist through the chanty. ofseveral influential friends, and also he came into possessIOnof a leO'acy that had been left to him.

A;parently in the passage of time the breach. b~tweenthe missionarv and the directors of the London ~\flsSlOnary

Societv was l~ealed. The Rev Joseph King§ refers to thpfirst a;1llual meetino' of "The Australian Auxiliary to theI~ondon Missionar~/'Society" held in the ~aptist .Chapel,Sydney, on December 23, 1839. At ~hlS meetmg thecommittee that had been elected the prevIOus year was re­appointed, and the name of the Rev L. E. Threlkeld appearsin the list of the members.

Threlkeld apparently was fortunate in his frien~s, andwas able to command a great deal of sympathy, whIch, aswe have shown, was expressed in many practical ways.The following notice, the latter portion of a lengthy para­graph, appeare~ in the Sydney Gazette on January 12,1830:-

... Mr. T. has been singularly, and most undeservingly ab~n­

doned by the Directors of the London Missionary Soci~ty to whIchhe belo~ged; but a number of respectable gen~lemen, mterested mthe cause of the aborigines haw liberally subscnbed for the supportof his valuable mission; and it is in contemplation to adopt suchmeasures as will enable him to conduct it on a permanent footmg.The diligence with which he has applied to the s~udy of the la~guage

has established his missionary character lngh m the estmmtlOn ofmany of the most intelligent and influential members of tile c~m­

munitv.- Labouring under discouragements of a pecuharly trYlllgnatur~ but which from the best of motives we forbear to makepublic,' MI'. Threlkeld in remaining firm a;nd unda~lllted. at his pos:,has exhibited a fortitude beyond all praIse, provlllg lnmself abo:eyielding to the caprices of ill·informed an.d ill-judging men. . Wedo not pledge ourselves to a concurrence WIth the whole part of theproceedings on his part which have come to our knowledge, but we

*The Australian, :March l±, 182:3.tTlw Monitor, May 7, 1828.

3G7Lancelot Edu'ard 'l'lirclkeld.

most unequivocally express our conviction that. for a true missionaryspirit, and for a zealous and able discharge of his duties as themissionary of the New Holland Tribes, he has entitled himself notonly to the praise of his quomlam constituents in Englaml, butthose of every true philanthropist. \\-e hope his labours may proveso successful as to shame his unfeeling accusers, and to demonstratQthe justice of the commenuation we lUlYC felt it our duty to bestowupon him.

But we have other contemporary opinions as to theprospects of the mission. Dr John Dunmore Lang, inThe Monitor some time previously, had made somewhatunfavourable mention of Threlkeld and his work (1\larc1l,1828) ; to which Threlkeld wrote a reply,'~ indicating thathis Statement, soon to be published, would be sufficientanswer to Dr Lang's criticism. The Monitor's Newcastlecorrespondent announced the arrival of Threlkeld l;t

[amille in the town, on their way to Reid's Mistake (April29, 1828). He added that serious doubts were entertainedas to the ultimate success of the mission, or, as the articledescribed it, "this apostolic embassy."

A vast sum of money has already been expende,J, and myinformants from that quarter assure me, that the benefit derivedtherefrom is very mouerate. The blacks ridicule the iuea ofworking. They l;ave been unchangeable on that score hitherto, anuwe are of opinion that little goou may be anticipated from thisbenevolent and Christian-like endeavour on the part of the MissionarySoc.iety of England, to enlighten the savages of the Immense eon­tinent of New Holland.t

Later on, in the same year, Dr Lang wrote a letterto the Australian, dated September 24, 1828, about anothermatter relating to Threlkeld, in which he adverted to thelatter's conduct of the mission at Lake l\lacquarie. DrLang mentioned the directors' censure of Threlkeld's"enormous" expenditure, and also l\larsden's repeatedrefusal to sanction the said expenditure on the ground ofextravagance. The article continued;-

I was induced some time ago, as a friend and contributor tothe Society, to examine Mr. T's own statement of his expenuiture;and I have no hesitation in saying, that if the Mission hat! beenconductcll by a man of prudence anll economy, then' might have

Royal Australian Historical Society.356

358 Royal Atlstralian Historical Society. Lancelof Edtcard Threlkeld. 35!J

been a saving to the Society of,. at least, One Thousa.nd ~ounds.I am readv to verifv this assertIOn by the most unex~eptIonab!ecalculation~ aurl to ;'efer the result, not onl~' to the Dll'ectors III

Englaml, b~t to men 01 experience in this Colony.

Threlkeld and Lang were again to cross swords, or rat~ei'those mightier weapons, pens, as will b.e rela~ed bel?w.:j:

As stated, Threlkeld resided wIth Ius famIly atBahtahbah until the time carne for them to remove .totheir new habitation on the western side of L~ke :Macqua.ne.While at Bahtahbah he chose the site of Ius new stat101I,and addressed several letters to the Surveyor-Heneral,Major Mitchell, requesting that the lan~ be su.rveyed ~ndthe boundaries defined. The Governor Issued mstructlO11sto Major Mitchell on August 18, 1829, to furn~sh Threlkeldwith a permit to select 128~ acres ~s a.pl'lmary grant.The description of the grant IS contamed m a letter fromthe Colonial Secretary to the Surveyor-General datedNovember 13, 1829:-

Situated in the County of Northumberland, parish unnamed,. apoint of land called Punte, on the ,Vestern Shore of Lake Macqual'le,bounded on the North by the Shore of the Lake, a~d a Run. offresh water, on the South by the Shore, .and on the "est by a lInerunning North so as to include the quantIty.

Punte or Deranbanbah Punte or Plmtei, the "point ofland'" mentioned in the foregoing extract, is that peninsulaof land jutting out in a south~easterly directiOl~ into LakeMacquarie, of which Coal Pom~ and. Skye Pomt are ~heextremities. Punte in the natrve dIalect of the localItymeans" a narrow place"-any narrow point of land. t . Acorruption of the native term still appears on the pal'lshmap at the site of Toronto as "Bundee." A 1\11' Ra~fe,one of the Assistant CrO\V11 Surveyors, who was workmg'in the vicinity, marked the boundary-the only artificialboundary line required, from north to south on the westernend of the peninsula, starting' at a point on Stony Creekand extending through to Kilaben Bay.

Threlkeld renamed the locality" Ebenezer. ' , \Ve areinformed that this name was given to the place in memoryof the historic old church across the Hawkesbury River

:j:Threlkel,l v. Lang-p. C](j£) et Sf'l.

tSee p. 390.

from lUI'S Threlkeld's old horne at Cattai. Threlkeld issaid to have preached there while staying with hisrelations.§ Strange to say, the deed of grant for theEbenezer property was never issued to Threlkeld, but in1846 the identical area was granted to a Ralph MayerRobey, a hardware merchant in business at 427 CieorgeStreet, Sydney, westward of Market Street, where theQueen Victoria Buildings now stand. A search throughthe records in the Lands Department, Sydney, by 1\11'Bernard T. Dowd, brought to light the followin o ' particularsof this grant:- b

R'ALPH :MAYER ROBEY: Grant 1280 acres by Sir George Gipps28th. February 1846. Quit Rent £10.1:3,,1 for ever. Cotlllncncing1st.•Jan. 1837 at Derarbarnbah or Puntei 01' Punti .. on the southby the La~e, the same being a point of land called by the aboriginesPunte-belllg the land promised to Lancelot E,hnlnl Threlkeld onor before the 18th. Jay of Aug. 1829.

~ye understand that, although primary grants \vcrt'~romIsed to settlers, years sometimes elapsed before thetItles thereto were finalized and the deeds issued. Thisfact did not prevent them from settling on the land th'l.Vhad chosen, and they entered into possession as soon aspos~ible. Sometimes grantees disposed of their rights ~o

theIr land before the deeds were issued, and thus theirnames were never entered on the parish maps. All, how­ever, had to sign a bond that they would reside on theirgrant ~or a number of years, and improve the property ~o

a certam value.The schedule of the assets and the description of the

property at Ebenezer (see Appendix*) were contained inan advertisement which appeared in the Sydney JlorningHerald on December 19, 1844. The sale was set down forthe 31st of that month, and as is not unusual with a saleof that nature, "entirely without reserve," the whole ofthe assets realized only a fraction of their value. Thereason for the sale is said to be the financial failme ofThrelkeld's eldest SOIl, Joseph Thomas who had a holdill'"in the Gwydir district, at Barraba, Northern New South\Vales. Quite a number of Threlkeld's friends we1".'

§S~e p. 304, Royal ~-\.ustralian Histori<'al ~()eiety's .Journal. YoJ.XXY., Pa.rt n T

•

*Appendix II.

t Appendix II.*Appendix II. The "Sydney Bank" mentionetl was afterwards

the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, incorporated by Actof Council, 1848.

t See p. 292, RA.H.S.•Jmmnl7, Vol. XXV., Pt. IV.

LAKE MACQFARIE : Farm of the late Mr. Threlkeld. now calledMount Mulberrv. 1280 acres, with 6! acres at the Heads, or theentrance from the Ocean TO BE LET, on a lease of 5, 7, 10, or moreyears, suitable for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, or Dairy Cows, tohave Milk and Butter, Poultry. Vegetables, aUlI Fruits, for the,Yallsend, Newcastle and Sydney markets.

The house is out of repair, but beautifully and romanticallysituated on a Mount; fine view at west, of the mountains, and atthe east of the Lake, with fine sea breezes.

John Campbell Esq. of the Wharf; T. ,Y. Smart Esq., of theSydney Bank, and H. Bourne Esq., of Pitt Street.

John Campbell was the son of Threlkeld's old friend andbenefactor, Robert Campbell, actively engaged in thebusiness at "The Wharf." T .....V. Smart was associatedwith "The Sydney Bank" (see advertisement*), i.e., TheCommercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, foundedin 1834. "H. Bourne" is probably intended for the RevRobert Bourne, Threlkeld's old colleague and fellow­missionary in the South Sea Islands. t

Showing a picture of the property a quarter of ncentury after the departure of the missionary, NewcastleChronicle of January 14, 1869, says;-

3G1Lancelot Edward 'I'll relkeld.

T.he present (f tenant) has been there with his wife and familyfo:' nllleteen yea1 s; sicl:ness unknown, the ail' being so salubrious.

xxxxxxx

Fresh ,nIter ,veils can be obtained with facility at a tlepth offour feet. .

:t:The place was once called Mount Mulberry. Vide advertise-ment for the lease of the property, Newcastle Chronicle January 141869. ' ,

~The Statement.~Appendix 1.

Threlkeld had a quantity of trees cleared off the landand had a homestead built of ·weatherboard. The residencewas erected on the site of the present hotel at Toronto.~ number of,ml:lberry trees said to have been planted therem Threlkeld's tIme were still in existence a comparativelyfew :rears ago.:j: The work of felling the trees and ofc~e~rmg the ground was done by natives, under the super­VISIOn of Threlkeld's white assistants. He had been ableto move the Government to subsidize the mission to theextent of £150 per. annum, with an allowance of £36 pel'~nnum for the mamtenance of four convicts at his estab­lIshment. This ~um was b! no means as large as he hadhoped; however, ItS regularIty was assured, for a time atleast, an~ Threlkeld expected to be able to supplement hissalary WIth the produce of his land. He was able atEbenezer to carry. out his heart's desire to "reside on theland . . . g:'.aze Ius cows, build an house and cultivate agard.en .&c.,·§ an.d, a~ove all, to continue his philologicalstudIes m the natIve dIalect. This object he pursued withu~abated ze~l, and he has left several publications as atnbute to IllS .close, painstaking application to his task.These works WIll be described later in this paper.1T

LIFE AT EBENEZER.

The life of 'l'hrelkeld at his new station at Ebenezerseems to have been tranquil enough. The next ten yearsor so after. he ha~ set~led do...~~ again at Lake }\1acq~tarie:vere occupIe~ mamly m acqmrmg the native dialect, andm endea~'ourmg to understand the aboriginal character.The .routme of the mission was varied by visits to neigh­bourmg centres. Furthermore, Threlkeld was often in

Royal Australian Historical Society.360

involved in this failure, these including Thomas Arndell,his second wife's brother, Robert Campbell of The Wharf,and other prominent business men of Sydney and New-castle.

The years 1840-1845, as is well known, were years ofsevere depression in the colony, and a very critical periodwithal. The depression was due to the over-speculationin the previous boom years, and to acute financial strin­gency. Many farmers and graziers failed in business,due in part to the necessity of haying to sell their stockoff at ridiculous figures. Threlkeld, jUllr., was one ofthese unfortunate settlers. His father became involvedin the matter, and was obliged to assign his estate to anumber of trustees whose names appear in the advertise­ment of salet;-

*L. E. Threlkeld to the Colonial Secretary: Report on the:Mission for the veal' 1838.

t.Tames Backhouse : Extracts from the Letters of ... ......,London, 1838-1841, Part IlL, pp. 64-66.. ..

tNan'atit"e of the United States E.rplorlllg E.rpe(lltlOlt Duringthe Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842: By Charles Wilkes,U.S.N., Conmlamler of the Expedition-London, 1852. See p. 375of this paper.

§Sir Edward Parry: Diary, July 6, 1833-July 18, 1833.

Sydney, at times acting as interpreter for blacks :v~lO wereon trial in the courts for various offences.' VISItS werealso made to Newcastle where he had a number of friendsand acquaintances. Neighbours were not lacking, either.Lieutenant Jonathan 'Warner, the Police Magistrate atBrisbane 'Vater (now Gosford), had a grant at the headof the Lake nearby, on the shores of \Varner 's Bay; theFennells also had property adjoining "Ebenezer." .

Conversely the mission was at times favoured wIthvisitors from 'o~'erseas, notably the Quaker Missionaries,;James Backhouse and George Washington Walker, andcertain members of the \Vilkes Expedition,:j: which wasconveyed by a squadron of the United States Navy on ajourney around the world.

In July, 1833, Threlkeld was invited by Sir EdwardParry to spend a few days at Carrington, Port St~p~Iens.Sir Edward, as is well known, was the first ComnllsSlOnerappointed by the Australian Agricultural ~om'pany (1830),and was also a celebrated explorer. HIS dlary§ for themonth of July, 1833, contains several references to .Threl­keld. An entry on the 6th records Threlkeld's arl'lval atTahlee. The next day, a Sunday, the diary runs: ,. T\voservices as usual. I performed the services and Mr.Threlkeid preached the sermons." The divine worshipat CarrinO'ton was conducted in a carpenter's shop.Describing'"this building in his diary, Sir Edward Parrywrites :-

(25th. April, 1830) : .Our little church now assumes a more respectable form. I do

not mean externallY for I fear it must long continue the roughcarpenter's shop, l;ut as regards the numbers, respectability andattention of our congregation. To-day we were more numerousthan usual, all the officers of the establishment being present. Oursinging, too was now very well performed.

362 Royal Anstralian Historical Society. Lallcelot Ecl1card ThrelJ.-eld.

Sunday, 4th. ,Tuly : Our church looked nmch more like a churchtoday, and by a few more improvements we should have ample roomfor everybody soon.

The building was capable of holding 250 persons.

On the Monday following, Threlkeld, in company withSir Edward and Lady Parry, visited the families of certainof the workers on the Company's estate. The next dayother families were visited, and in the evening Threlkeldheld a meeting" in the usual place of worsh ip, " which wasattended by sixty or seventy persons. On the Thursdaythere was an assemblage of the blacks in the district, atwhich the missionary was present:-

Mr. Threlkel(l spoke to them for about half an hour in theirown language endeavouring to lead their minds to a knowleJge ofa few of the leading points of religion. They were attentive andseemeu much interested.

The next day Threlkeld set out with the Commissiollcrin a boat for Booral. Leaying the headquarters at 1 p.m.,they arrived at 4.30 p.m. They spent the night with J. E.Ebsworth, the Company's accountant and assistant to theCommissioner; in the morning they 'went on to Stroud,where Threlkeld conducted a religious service. Twoservices were conducted at Stroud, Sir Edward Parryreading the prayers, and Threlkeld preaching the sermons.The two travellers then proceeded to Booral, where anotherservice was held at 7 p.m. Contemporaneous memoranda;;indicate that the meeting place at Booral was "a dwellinghouse"; that at Stroud, as well as the one at Carrington,was the Company's carpenter's shop. Statistics show thatthe services at all three centres were well attended. t SirEdward Parry's church at Stroud (St John's) was at thetime of Threlkeld's visit under construction. The cornerstone had been laid with considerable ceremony on April29 previous.:j: On the Monday they returned to Tahlee,where Threlkeld visited one or two families; and on thefollowing Thursday, July 18, 1833, Sir Edward Parry lefton business for Newcastle, taking Threlkeld with him.

"Sir Elhmrd Parry: Entry, October 2, 1832.tIbid.tSir Euwaru Parry: Entry, April 29, lSin.

§Baekholise's Extracts, Part 1.. p. 3.~Backholise's Extracts, Part TIL, p. 47.II/bid.*/bid.

In 1831, James Backhouse, a prominent member of theSociety of Friends, or, as they are more popularly termer},"The Quakers," living in Yorkshire, England, receivedpermission from the controlling interests of that religiousbody to pay a visit to the British settlements in theSouthern Hemisphere.§ He, in company with Mr George·Washington Walker, of Newcastle, England, sailed forAustralia in September of that year, and the Friend'Slanded in Hobart Town in February, 1832. They eventu­ally reached Sydney late in December, 1834, and remainedin the colony until l\Iarch, 1837, excepting for a shortperiod occupied in re-visiting Van Diemen's Land. Aftertheir return thither, Mr Backhouse records (February 25,1836m that he met Threlkeld at John Tawell's house inSydney, and there the Friends obtained interestinginformation concerning his activities at Lake l\Iacquarie.Barkhouse emphasizes the fact that Threlkeld was conCeIl­trating on the acquisition of the native language, butcommends this action as "very useful labour, and may bea help to those of different gifts, who may hereafter followin other paths. "II The latest report of the mission (1835)was perused, and was described as a plain statement offacts, and worthy of the honest persevering character ofthe writer.·

This contact with Threlkeld by the Quaker brethrenwas an incentive for them to visit the mission station,which they did at the end of April in that year (1836).A few days pror to their advent at Ebenezer, viz., April 24,a bushranger gave himself up at the mission. He ap­peared firstly at the men's huts, and the men, beingsuspicious of his appearance, sent him up to the house.He then posed as a groom, and said his clothes were atan inn at Maitland. This tale ,vas considered to be toothin by Threlkeld, and the man was persuaded to confessthe truth with a view to the mitigation of his sentence.

tArticle on "Days of LonfY\.fTo" (No. Y1.) in .Vell"cGstle Heral(l.October 19, 1910.' '" £ b

tIbid.

365Lancelot Edward Th I'clkeld.Royal Australian Historical Society.

VISIT OF :MESSRS BACKHOUSE' AND WALKER.

364

*e.g. "The Report of .Tames Backhouse and George \Vashington"-alker, on mrious subjects connected with the state of the Colonvof New South 'Yales," to Major-General Richard Bourke, K.C.B:,Governor-in-Chief of the Colony of New South \Vales, etc., etc.:Sydney, .January 19, 1837. Appendix to the "Extracts" : Part V.,pp. 50 et seq.

tBackhoucc : Krtrads, P[~rt 111., p. 65.

northern end of the Lake, about ten miles from Newcastle.Backhouse describes his dwelling as "a rough hut of splittimber and bark"-which, however, belied the settler'sprosperous circumstances. Backhouse conceived a highopinion of Clarke's character. Leaving his farm, theypursued their way to Ebenezer, examining the plant li£3along the track, and discussing with McGill the variousfoods used by the blacks. They reached the missionstation after sundown, where they were kindly received byThrelkeld and his "numerous family." After tea theyspent a pleasant evening with the Threlkelds, joining inthe family worship, which took place daily, both morningand evening.

The next morning was spent in perusing the workaccomplished by Threlkeld in connexion with the trans­lation into the aboriginal dialect portions of Holy Scripture,and also the " Vocabulary.' ' In his writings, Backhousealways evinced a keen interest in matters aboriginal.'*' Inthe afternoon the Friends went for a stroll along CoalPoint, meeting several blacks, to whom Threlkeld spokeon religious matters. Backhouse remarked in his corres­pondence that blacks were very seldom seen at any of thereligious services on Sundays,. . . the rooms of L. E. Threlkeld's humble weatherboard houselwing too small to admit more than the family and servants, andL. E. Threlkeld not having thought it best to press these subjectsupon them till he was master of their language. t

James Backhouse was a man who considered the eternalwelfare of his fellow-men of paramount importance, andhe remarked more than once the absence of any apparentspiritual results in the blacks. Although, he wrote,Threlkeld occasionally spoke to them on the eternal veritie~,and they listened with gravity, nothing of the Christiancharacter was at that time in evidence amongst them. H2noted, however, signs of civilization in the blacks of the

Not long since, one of the Blacks, belonging to this Inletnamed Boatman,. was speared by the Blacks in Svdney, in suell :~~an~~r that.he llllgerec~, and shortly afterwards di~d of his wounds.

e ,,\' as bUIl,ed by. a ~tock~an at In'iring [~ Eraring, near DoraCle~k.-B. ". C.] III tIllS .neIghbourhood. This was a case requiringthe lilt.erference of .Tu~tlce; but it was useless to apply to theC~ro~e:, or t<~ any MagIstrate on the subject, there being 'none butA onglllal wltn~sses ,,:ho are now all declare,1 incompetent untilthe Royal SanctIOn arrn-es.

3G7Lctncelot E dzm I'd I'll relkeld.

neighbourhood, which he attributed to the good offices ofthe mission.:j:

O~ May 2, 1836, the Quaker missionaries took leaveof theIl' host, who accompanied them across the northernend of the Lake, landing them at the establishment ofJonatha.n WarJ.ler, now "Varner's Bay. They were tomeet hIm agalll soon afterwards in Sydney, whitherThrel~eld had g;one on business. There they also renewedacqualll~ance WIth their native guide, McGill, who, with a~ompatrIOt named Boatman, had gone to Sydnev tf)lll~erpret for certain other aboriginals who wer~ on 'theIrtrIal. The manner in which this native met his death isrelated by Threlkeld in his Report of the J\Iission, December31,1839:-

T~e .last reference i~ t~e Backhouse correspondence Lf)th~ l\II~sIOn to the Abol'lgmes at Lake Macquarie is COll­

tamed m a letter from Hobart Town dated April 24 1837 '"two months after they had said a final farewell to their

Hbid, p. 66.§Ibid, pp. 67, 68.IfIbid, Part IV., p. 36.*Ibid, p. 42.

Backhouse recorded that these dusky visitors often camet~ ~ee the:r:n, usuall~ under the influence of liquor, a con­dItIOn notICed preVIOusly when the Friends were at theLake.§ Before they left Sydney, Backhouse and Walkerwere .able to p~I:use the Report on the Mission for the year1836, and wl'ltmg under date February 20 1837 Back-house wrote1r:- ' , ,

By this tlocument little success, of an obvious kind a . thave attended the labour bestowed, and much has occu'rre~P~~lsdi0courage. s-

Royal Australian Historical Society.366

t Vide Rev Samuel Marsden's evidence in the case Threlkeld v.Lang: The Australian, March 25, 1836.

tPer Deed of Trust, quoted by L. E. Threlkeltl in the Statement.

The Church Missionary Society have, for the last 10 years,expresseu a reauiness to co-operate in this benevolent work, but asAgent to that Society I never felt myself authorised to enter uponso expensive anu difficult an umlertaking, unless the Colonial Govern­ment would have united to second the efforts of the Society, andthis support it has never been in my power to obtain.

George Yeolanu was one of the Company. He was present atthe Committee of the London Missionary Society when. fl:om repre­sentations maue to it the conclusion to abandon the mlSSlon to theaborigines of New South '.Vales, under the charge o~ L. T. Threlkeltlwas come to, by which much benefit to these mJured ~eople washindereu' and ten thousand acres of land, held by the Soclety forthe benefit of the blacks, and which proves to be. a ri~h coa~fi.eldl"eVerteu to the Government. We took the opportumty of explammgto George Yeoland the nature of the error the~ were. led into, by themisrepresentations of persons, whose good mtentlOns we do notquestion, but who had never seen the place.

This statement is purely and simply Threlkeld'8 side ofthe picture; Samuel Marsden, and perhaps Dr Lang, couldhave told the good Mr Backhouse quite a different story.Ignorance of the locality did not enter the question at all;the decision to abandon the mission was arrived at, on thescore of extravagant expenditure due to indifferentmanagement. t The objects of the Lon~on ~Ii~siona.ry

Society did not allow of one of theIr mISSIOnarIeS"squatting" on a huge area of land at great expense, onaccount of the prospective value of its rich coal seams.Besides, the land was promised on trust to the Societyonly on the condition that it was to be used solely formissionary purposes.:j:

Samuel Marsden early had doubts as to the ultimatesuccess of the mission, as he had previously contemplatedcommencing a similar mission under the aegis of the ChurchMissionary Society. However, he would not do so, unle"sassured of the adequate support of the Government. Anextract from a letter to Archdeacon Scott from the RevSamuel Marsden, Parramatta, on December 2, 1826, says:-

369Lancelot Edward TTl rclkeld.

THRELh."ELD v. LANG.

*The Al/stralian, March 25, 1836.

The report of the case appeared in The Australian ofMarch 25, 1836. The case was heard in the SupremeCourt, Civil side, before Mr Justice Burton and a specialjury. The Bolicitor-General of the colony appeared forthe plaintiff, whilst the Doctor conducted his own ca;,;c.The damages were laid at £1000, being for libels allegedto be contained in certain articles admitted to have beenwritten by him in his newspaper, The Colonist. Thisnewspaper was established in 1835, and the articles com­plained of appeared in three numbers published inNovember of that year. \Vhen Threlkeld wrote to DeLang requesting an apology, the latter published a replyin the Colonist of December 31, 1835, "charging him witha lack of conscience or common sense." Among thecharges enumerated by counsel for the prosecution whichwere brought by Dr Lang against Threlkeld were:-

Threlkeld afterwards obtained Government support for hissecond mission, and thus was more fortunate than Marsden.

The Church Missionary Society ultimately founded aMission to the Aborigines at Wellington Valley in 1832,and carried it on for a number of years. \Vith regardto Dr Lang, the celebrated libel case, Threlkeld v. Lang,was adjudicated during the stay of the Quaker brethrenin New South 'Vales.

. . '. drawing £500 a year from the London Missionary Society,for h13 own use.... That the Society had given him his ticket ofLave and abandoned the settlement owing to his unworthiness. Thatthrough the gross mismanagement of Mr. T. the Societv had beendeprived of the grant which was an irreparable loss a;;',l that theinjur;;- brought about by incompetent and unfit pers~ns engaged insuch missions was truly lamentable.*

The Solicitor-General went on to sav that the alle<redlibels accused Threlkeld of haviuO' be~ome a reneO'ade

bto

'" bthe faith and doctrine to which he had subscribed at hisordination, in view of the fact of his "entering under tlwbroad banners of an Archdeacon in Episcopacy." BeiuO'subsidized by the Government in the conduct of th~

It is an echo of the days

Ruyal A1tstralian Historical Society.368

numerous friends in Sydney.of "Bahtahbah":-

mission, Threlkeld appeared in the annual GovernmentSchool and Clergy lists, and was obliged to report to theArchdeacon every year. The sting in this statement ofDr Lang's was his implied reference to Threlkeld's staunchand uncompromising Nonconformity-he was said to haveobjected to lVIarsden having anything whatsoever to dewith the lVIission to the Aborigines on account of lVIarsdenbeing a "Churchman." It is very likely that Threlkeklhad no option but to submit to the jurisdiction of Arch­deacon Broughton, seeing that his livelihood dependedupon his compliance with the Government's conditions.

Among Threlkeld 's other crimes, according to thenewspaper articles cited, were those of "being lib~ral withother peoples' goods, of turning a sheep and cattlebreeder," etc., etc. Counsel for the plaintiff admitted asubstratum of truth in the articles; but, said he, "b.\Tblending truth with falsehood, they were rendered themore mischievous." Counsel emphasized the unfortunatecircumstance of two ministerial brethren being at odds jlJ

the Law Courts-as the enemies of religion ma;y thereby rejoice; anJ coulJ he haveavailed himself of any other mode of settlement. he never wonlJhave come into the Court on the occasion.,

This note was also sounded by those two good men, Back­house and Walker, witnesses for the prosecution, who were"severally called, and affirmed." The expression "affirmed"is of interest, insomuch as it is contrary to Quaker tenetsto take an oath in the courts. Backhouse's correspondenceoften refers to the matter.+ The Friends considered thatthe material contained in the articles "were calculated todo him" (Threlkeld) "an injury amongst strangers,especially coming from another clergyman." The HonAlexander lVIcLeay, the Colonial Secretary, called as awitness for the prosecution, was somewhat non-committal:

... Knew that Mr. Threlkeld was employed as a missionary tothe aborigines, at least that he was paid for it, and that if he didnot give satisfaction to the government he would not be so employed.§

*Ibid.

Dr Lang then addressed the Court, speaking for foul'and a half hours, keeping the Court sitting until half-pastseven in the evening. A perusal of the law report inthe Australian gives one an impression that the Doctorrather enjoyed himself; the crowded audience was alsoin a good humour, and greatly appreciated his foren3i~

humour. The next day Dr Lang called his witnesses,three relatively unimportant ones, and lastly the principalwitness, the Rev Samuel l\Iarsden. The third witness wasa lVIr Raymond, junr., a clerk in the Colonial Secretary'soffice (lUI' Raymond, senr., was Postmaster-General of th"colony, having been appointed in 1829). TIle "witnessproduced a letter from Governor Darling to the Soeietywhich, it was said, reflected on Threlkeld. Anotherdocument supposed to be a copy of a despatch from EarlBathurst to the Governor was rejected by the trial Judgeas evidence.* An objection by Threlkeld's counsel thatthe document was inadmissible as evidence, as it was a"copy of a cOPy," was sustained by l\Ir Justice Burton:-

His Honour said that he was incapacitated hy law frum receivingthe record in evidence.

The Rev Samuel lVIarsden, now aged and ailing, was'then examined. \Ve can conceive that by this time thegood old chaplain had little desire to re-open old wounds.He gave his evidence in a straightforward manner, and didnot hesitate to confirm the opinion he had always held.His evidence sums up his sentiments concerning the matterso well that we quote it in full:-

I know that Mr. ThrelkelJ was appointed Missionary to theLondon Society, a Jeputatiun that came (Jut brought we letters;when they came to me tu Port .rackson they were accompanied byMr. Threlkeld-they expressed a wish that Mr. Threlkeld might actas missionary to the aborigines, and Lake MacquaTie was fixed onas the Station, they requested that I would superintend it. This Ideclined without I had the control of the funds, as I knew thatMr. Threlkeld was not competent to manage the erections of buildingsand take the management of land. I told the deputation in tllelong run, that I would point out to Mr. Threlkeld what I thoughtwould be most useful, they then gave him an order to draw whatmoney he might want. I diu not interfere with the Mission fromthe commencement, being aware that Mr. T. woul,] get into difficultiesfor want of proper experience amI not of integrity. I knew that

371Lf/ncelot Edward Thre7ke7d.Royal Australian Historical Society.

tIbid.:t.Extracts, December 3, 1836-Part IV., p. 28; Ibid, December1836-Part IV., p. 30, etc.§The Australian, March 25, 1836.

19,

370

tIbid.

Mr. Threlkeld wanted £500 a year, he had only £250. I told himI would see that he had £300. I never saw his instructions fromthe Society, but I know that Mr. Campbell had instructions to honourhis bills. I attributed his extravagance to want of experience.The London Sodety have withdrawn their support; but I under­stand that M1'. T. has £156 a ~,-ear at present. I do not knowwhether he is under the control of the Archdeacon or not; I am ofopinion, so will every reflecting person, that neither the LondonSociety or the \Yesleyan Society could succeed from the manner inwhich' they were carried on. I 'un<1erstand the whole of the expenceof the L;ndon Societv to amount to Three Thousand. six hundredpounds.t .

Cross-examined, Marsden stated that he did not considerit disreputable to remain in the pay of the Government,and he considered that the missionary had a right topreach to whom he chose, and when he pleased. Anevidence of Marsden's fairmindedness in the matter of themission is to be found in his letter to the LondonMissionary Society dated Parramatta, January 27, 1827:-

It is probable that Mr. Threlkeld may write again to you, orsome individuals, on the subject of the Mission. Should this bethe case, you will, of course, weigh both sides of the question. I1could not hare you to be gorerned by my judgment, it the opinionsot those 1eho differ with me appear to have m01-e weight.

Mr Justice Burton then addressed the jury, expressingpain at the very nature of the case. He suggested thatthe case be settled out of court; but the suggestion wa"met by a negative. He considered that, whatever theverdict, it would be a miserable one-"miserable to theparty who obtained it, miserable to him that did not obtainit, and miserable to the character of that religion of whichthey professed to be champions." After the jury hadretired the second time, the Judge again urged the partiesto effect an amicable settlement. Dr Lang tendered :1

partial apology, which Threlkeld acknowledged, but statedthat he would abide by the decision of the jury, at thesame time denying any animosity. The jury finallj'returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damages one farthing.To show the intense interest the case commanded, the neWH­paper report of the case ends with the statement that"the court was crowded to a degree anything but com­fortable each day."

The best years of my life have been spent in these Islands amIthese parts, far from my native land.... Such being the relation­13hip in which I stand towards the Queen of Tahiti it becomes myduty to state on her behalf the character of that war which theFrench Nation threatened to declare against Tahiti.

373

THE FRENCH IN TAHITI.

Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

An item of interest in connexion with Threlkeld ':;sojourn in the Islands is a letter addressed to ., His 1\1ostChristian Majesty, Louis Philip [? Philippe], King of tIleFrench, " etc., etc., by Threlkeld. 1'he letter was writtenfrom Ebenezer, Lake l\Iacquarie, and was dated December8, 1838. This action would be considered presumptuousin these days, and no doubt was then also, in view of tIt"fact that such communications are usually forwardedthrough diplomatic or consular channels. It is a matterfor speculation as to ",-hether the letter ever reached th('French Court. Apart from international considerations.the lodging of the protest that the letter contained is nutwithin the province of a private individual. If the affairsof the missions in the Islands had been in jeopardy, theprotest ought to have been made through the governingbody, the London Missionary Society, in London.Threlkeld states in his letter his excuse for addressill'"His Most Christian Majesty:- '"

We have been unable to discover any information as· toThrelkeld's association with Queen Pomare. 'Ve knowof no record which indicates that he eyer Illet her.

This gallant descendant of the doughty Sir LancelotThrelkeld of Threlkeld entered the lists as the champion ofthe dusky Queen of Tahiti after receiying a letter from oneof the missionaries at Tahiti dated Sepetmber 6, 1838. Theletter stated that the Queen had ordered the expulsion oftwo French priests who wished to establish a RomanCatholic mission on the island. They refused to 0'0 andthe 1'ahitians put them off the island in a canoe. b 'Thisbrought retaliation from the French per the frigate r enus.the commander demanding an apology and an indemnityof 2000 dollars to be forthcoming within twenty-four hours.The islanders were also to hoist the French flag and fire

Royal Australian JIistorical Society.372

*These matters are treateJ by the Rev ,Josep" King-TenDecades, chapters v. and vi.

tTen Decades, p. 116.tIbid, p. 119.

a royal salute. In case of non-compliance, the Frenchintended to bombard the island.* Threlkeld stated in hisletter that the Queen refused admission on religious, notnational, grounds, consequently the French Commodorehad exceeded his rights in acting as he had done. Thewhole tenor of the letter was not such as was likely toevoke sympathy at the French Court: It ,vas endorsed"Printed at the Herald Office, Sydney, -, and was forwardedin the care of the Captain of the French frigate then lyingin Port Jackson.

\Ve do not know the fate of the letter to the King ofthe French, but we do know that the French continuedtheir acts of aggression for several years afterwards. .Inthe meantime the London Missionary Society took actIOnin England in an attempt to moye the British GOyenllnentto intervene. In this they were supported by eleven othel~

British and foreign missionary organizations, but theGovernment would not move. The matter was then takenup in Sydney, where a huge meeting of protest was. hel~lin the City Theatre, Market Street. Several p~omI~enc

public men, as well as ministers of all denommatlOns,delivered speeches. Among the clergymen were the RevsDr Lang and L. E. Threlkeld, united in a :ommon :ause.TSoon afterwards the French extended theIr attentlOns tothe neighbouring islands, and. a sanguinar~ battle. '''.iththe natives took place at Huahme, Threlkeld s old mISSIonstation. This at last moved the British Government, whoaOTeed with the French to take evidence as to the originali~dependence of the Islands. Threlkeld was at this timein a position to help the cause of the Tahitians, and togetherwith his old friend and colleague, the Rev R. Bourne, hemade an important declaration to the Colonial Secreta~'y,

which was taken as evidence. The result of the enqmr,vwas that the neighbouring islands kept their independence.tTahiti had been annexed in 1844.

§8ee I', cW2. 'rhis a11<1 other editions of the N arrat-il'e are tobe found III the PublIc ;"ibrary of New South 'Vales, Sydney.

, IiL. E. Threlkeld, Sy'lney, April 12, 1859, to Sir George Grey,K.C.B., Governor, Cape of Good Hope.

375Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

YISIT OF THE WILKES EXPEDITION, 1839.

BlRABAN.

An interesting' interlude in Threlkeld's life at Lake1\lacquarie during 1839 was the visit to Bbenczer of twomembers of the United States Nayal Expedition. Thisexpedition circumna\'igated the world in a United StatrsS:-1.uadron under the eommanu of Captain \Yilkes, FS.N.W lIkes wrote an account of the expedithn, one edition ofwhich was illustrated by Agate, the official artist of theexpedition.§ H~, together with Hale, the ethnologist of thepal'ty" stayed WIth Threlkeld at Lake l\Iaequarie, and bothdeSCrIbed what was left of the natiye life of the localitv.,yThrelkeld mentioned this visit nearlv twenty years af1'er~wards in a letter from Sydney on ~~pI'il 12, 1859, to his~xcellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B., Governor of CapeColony :-

.1 was. not aware that my work on the language had been reopublIsheJ III Amenca by Mr. Hale until mentioneJ in Vour list ofworks. Mr.. Hale was at Lake Macquarie with =otlte~ gentlemanof. the. Ame~JCan SquaJron residing with us for many days, and weenJoye~1 ~helT company mnch, they taking considerable interest inour MISSIOn. They have in all their publications spoken well ofour efforts, I gave them all the information in my power.

Agate d~ew a portrait of Biraban or l\IcGill, Threlkeld '1\

famous nght-hand man, who had been guide to the Quakerl'ltwo years before. Biraban's name meant "eagle-hawk"although he was mostly called l\IdiilJ. He had previousl\'been the servant of a military officer, and had thus obtainedhis e?,-cellent command of English. Biraban was oneoeulogIzed in the SYdney Gazette of January 12 1830 011

the occasion of his "in\'esti ture ., by the' GO~'ern()r' atParramatta, during a gathering of blacks at that centre.He was chief of his tribe, and on this occasion he waspresented with-

~ b~dg.e of rlistinction consisting of a brass plate bearing thislllScTlptJon : "Bamba-hn, or ]',Jac.Gil, Chief of the T,-ibe of Barabah.on Lake Alacquane, a reward for his assistance -in reducing his

Royal A.ustralian Historical Society.374

*Dr. Pru3cr's Edition.

n.ative tongue to a written language." In suspending ~his badgeupon the breast of the chief, His Excellency commended Ius la~dab.leconduct and expressed the pleasure he felt on thus rewardmg It.

The ;ssistance given to the missionary by Biraban hasbeen generously recognized by him. Threlkeld h~s lefton record a description of the procedure adopted by th.esctwo collaborators when translating the Gospel ~ccordmgto St Luke.~ He would go over the translatJOn three

377Lancelvt Edward '1'7/rclkeld.

K?FORTS ON BEHALF OF THE ABORIGINES.

t(Sir George Gipps.)§Backhouse : Extracts, Part IlL, p. 63.*Backhouse : Extracts, Part IlL, p. 64.

It may not be improper to state for the information of HisExcellency the Governort in this early stage of His Excellenc;y'sadministration the various employments which have occupied fourteE'llyears of missionary service in this Colony at Lake Macquatie onbehalf of the Aborigines.

During my residence in New South ,vales, I have sustained athreefold office arising out of my employment as a Missionary, inwhich I have endeavoured "to exercise m~'self to have always aconscience void of offence toward God, and toward men," whethermine own Countrymen, or the Aborigines, whenever duty has callerlfor an interference on my part.

1st. As PROTECTOR-to which circumstances called me, everBince 1825.

2nd. As INTERPRETER.-In many cases which unhappily oc,curred at the Supreme Court, when several were transported andothers hanged.

3rd. As EVANGELIST.-In making known the Gospel to theAbOl'igines in their own language, &c. §

Most of the writers on the subject of the l\lission tothe Aborigines have referred to Threlkeld in his relatiollto the black population of the colony as "Protector,Interpreter, and Evangelist." The dcscription is Threl­keld's own, and appears in his Annual Report on the:l\Iission for the year 1838, the text being as follows:-

(1) - PRDTECTOR.

Threlkeld does not seem to have been able to do muchto protect the blacks, in the usually accepted sense of theword. His sphere of influence was very limited whcncompared with the total area of the colony, and, on hisown showing, very few blacks remained in his localityafter the mission had been in existence for a fe,,, years.Apparently they could not be protected against their worstenemies, the white settlers and townspeople, who en­couraged them to acquire all their vices, leaving littleopportunity for them to learn the Christian yirtnes.l<JvenThrelkeld's own right-hand man, :l\IcGill, was" addi.cted torum."· In the interior of the colony, matters were moreserious. The blacks were accustomed to steal from the

Royal A1lstralian Historical Society.

Biraban, or McGill.(From \Vilkes's · .. Narrati.....e.")

separate times, making corrections wh!'lre necessary, at .theinstance of the intelligent black, and ~ven the fourth andfinal draft, which was actually publIshed, was. not can:sidered by the missionary to be perfect. The dIalect wa~the Awabakal the name of a trIbe at the Lake. Awaba,according to Threlkeld, means "plain surfaces," and w~sthe native name for Lake lVIacquarie. The. name stlllsurvives at Awaba, on the Great Northern RaIlway.

376

tL. E. Threlkeld: Report on the Mission for the year 1828.

settlers on every possible occasion. This naturally led tomuch friction, and the settlers would retailate on theblacks, and more than often would shoot the natives ou~

of hand. This conduct led to reprisals on the part of th".blacks. Another source of friction was the frequentabduction by the white men of the aboriginal women, andthis action was not always confined to the low-gradeEuropeans. Threlkeld, in one of his reports, stated thateven white "gentlemen" (1) took aboriginal women forconcubines while staying in the country. t The writer hasalso heard similar statements. This naturally was re­sented by the blacks, who sought vengeance on the whites;and then would commence a systematic plan of extermina­tion of the aboriginals in the particular district wherethese events took place.

Many of the colonists characterized the natives asbeing lazy and intractable; they said that they weredeficient in intellect and incapable of instruction, and somust be treated as the beasts that perish, and must j)('

wiped out as vermin. Threlkeld always and everywherl'championed the cause of the blacks. He was unable todo much for them of a practical nature, but ,vherever andwhenever possible he wielded his facile pen in an attemptto rouse public opinion in an effort to ameliorate the lotof the natives. He always took their part in the reportswhich he presented to the Government each year. In thatquoted above, that of 1838, he refuted the popular theoryas to the mentality of the blacks, stating his opinion thatthe findings of scientists were responsible for the belief.He stated that, while the aborigines lived in or around thetowns, they responded to the requirements of civilization;and that, when put to work, became efficient in their trades-those of horsemen, stockmen, shepherds, seamen, etc.He emphasized his point by citing the policy of theAustralian Agricultural Company of employing blacks.Threlkeld accused the whites of making the natives workat very severe tasks for trifling awards; and he added,moreover, that when they ceased working under theseconditions, they were accused of laziness. In fact, these

*Uentioned by Mr Threlkeld in a letter to S. A. Donaldson fromEbenezer, Lake Macquarie, July 27, 1840.

379Lallcelot Edu'ard Threlkeld.

employers were virtually stigmatized as slaveholders. Onthe other hand, Threlkeld himself experienced labourtroubles. He complained that the mone,- earned bv theaborigines was spent in strong drink wl~ich was r~adih­supplied by the whites. He was ablia'ed to admit thdtsome indeed were lazy, and that on b~ing reprimandedthe loafers were wont to draw awav those ,vho wereinclined to work. They felt that th~v were not tied t;time in their work. They would son;etimes leave theirlab?urs to partake in tribal fights. Their apparent civili­zatIOn was merely a veneer, for when they left the townsfor the bush they reverted to their primitive mode of life.

\Yith reference to the campaign of exterminationw,aged against the blacks by the settlers of the colonyTllrel~eld mentioned in his 1838 report the incidence ~fthe VIOlent deaths in the white and black populations ofNe:Y Sou~h -Wa~es.. \Vhereas there were only twenty-olH~whItes Inlled III SIX years, five hundred blacks wereslaughtered in two years. Threlkeld stated that the~e.a~hs. of the fifteen whites were not due entirely to themItIatlve of the l1atives,but were caused through wrongsdo~e t~ other blacks. He suggested the introduction oflegIslatIOn for the protection of the aborigines.

.O~ce, while acting in the role of Protector of theaborIgmes, Threlkeld fell foul of the future Colonia]Treasurer and. first Premier of New South vV'ales, l\ll'(after~war?s SIr Stuart) Donaldson. Donaldson ownella statIOn. m the New England district, at. Beardy Plains.now ArmIda!e. Threlkeld had heard that certain nativesha~ been pOIsoned on this station, and. without waitinO" toverIfy the facts, straightway addressed the nO\'l'r~orthr~ugh. the Colonial Secretary, Mr Deas Thomson, on th~subJect m a letter written in March, 1840.* This appar­ent.ly wa~ t~e case adverted to by Threlkeld in his Reporton the l\'lIssIOn for the year 1840, as follows:-

. Early in the pr~s~nt year a person publicly boasted "that prussicaCId h~d been aumIlll.stered to the aborigines at a station up thecountr..", wh.ere .they. dIed about the place like rats"; and although,upon InvestIgatIOn, It was not substantiated, yet thp vaunt of that

Royal Australian Historical Society.378

tFrom t.he Colonial Secretary's Office, July 1;~, 1840,tL. E. Threlkeld, from "Ebenezer," Lake Macquarie, July 27,

1840, to S. A. Donaldson.§See footnote (*) on p. ;:;62.

I deem it also proper to tell you that the censure of any personhowever respectable, will not I trust intimidate me in my course ofduty, whenever I am called by circumstances to aet on those Christianprinciples which teach us not by concealment to become partakersof other men's sins.

individual who boasted of its occurrence as a capital way of gettingrid of the blacks without troubling the Government, showed sufficientlywhat manner of spirit he was of, whilst his subsequent transportationto Van Diemen's Land for horse stealing, will prevent for a seasonthe exercise of his diabolical machination on human beings of abetter disposition than his own.

381Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

Manusc~ipt,,described the Threlkelds as "generally loversof l~a.rnlllg ; although one contemporary, a missionary 0 t'TahItI, who knew Threlkeld well, and whose judgment WH.'';

sound, o.nce wrote expressing suprise that Threlkeld shouldadapt Illmself to the study of the language of the natiYesof ~:w South Wales,. seeing t~lat he neYer acquiredTah,Itlan when he was III the SOCIety Islands!* Be that~s It may, the study of. the native language made anlllstant appeal to the mIssionary. In the records Wl3

repeated~y read. that his chief purpose in going to LakeMac9-uarle was .. to learn the language." This passioncontlllued to the last w'eek of his life in 1859.

Through contact with the natives Threlkeld soon sawthat, ~lthough they had age-old laws of their own, theywere Judged by those of the white men. Owing to th'('fact that, when arrested for various misdemeanours, the~'were unable to defend themselves or eYen to o'iYe evideneC'on behalf of their fellows, in.justice 'was some~mes done to~hem. They therefore benefited greatly by the presence,~n the court, of a sympathetic white man who couldlllterpret for, them, ~hus presenting their side of the case,and translatlllg theIr eVIdence, in the absence of whichdl~e to mutual ignorance of languages, the defendant.~mIght have been wrongl;\' convicted and punished,Threlkeld was thus able to obtain an acquittal more thanonce. Mr Justice Burton, who was a very hnmane manonce, e.xpressed his satisfaction that the p~or nllfortnnatt:abo,r~~llles.who were brought before the court had had thefaCIlItIes for plead.in?, their canse through the good office,;?f a resp~cta?le mISSIOnary. James Backhouse: commel11,lllg on thIS dIctum of the learned judge (in a letter datedMay 2~, ,1836),! added that, in this case, the lH'fSfllce 0 ft~e nllsslonarY:lllterpretcr was doubly nccessan'. OneWItness had saId that he considered that the bla'cks wer~>no better than the beasts of the field-" a sentiment YCl'\'

pr.eyalent among the white population of the ColollY. " 1;1tIllS case the dusky defendants were discharged. .

Goyernor Gipps, who seems to haYe been favourable to

"London Missionary Society Rr·(·ords.tBackhlluse's Extracts: Part IlL, p, 68.

Royal A.ustralian Historical Society.380

The Colonial Secretary was requested by Donaldson toforward copies of all the correspondence, and in a coveringletted the former advised that the Governor consideredthat Threlkeld did not reflect on Donaldson's character,and that enquiries in New England had indicated thatthere had been no grounds for the report that had reachedthe missionary.

However, Threlkeld received a letter from Donaldsoncomplaining of his action, and expressing annoyance athis name having been made use of in an exceedingly hurtfulmanner. Threlkeld wrote a characteristic reply,:\: makingno apologies for his action, and stating that his purposein addressing the Government was that the matter mightbe ventilated, and, if true, then the miscreants could brapprehended and justice done. He merely aclmowledgedDonaldson's denials, and told him that he must submitthem to the Colonial Secretary for the Governor's infor­mation. He concluded his letter with this high-flownpassage:-

(2)--INTERPRETER.

It was as interpreter for the blacks§ that Threlkeldcarried out his most useful work, this being made possibleby his knowledge of the native dialect. He seems to havehad an undying passion for the acquisition of the aboriginaltongue, and in this respect, also, we have the" Genius anl1Temper of the Threlkelds" manifesting itself. The old

Mr Threlkeld, wrote a minute on aboriginal matters, whichappeared in the Australian of September 28, 1841, a para­graph of it being as follows:-

I may further observe that the counsel is usually assigned bythe Supreme Court to any natives brought for trial before it; andthat the government always provides the attendance of Interpreters,when they can possibly be found. Mr. Threlkeld, a Missi.onary ofthe London Society, has usually acted on such occasions; and hemust, I doubt not, consider it his business to protect the natives, aswell as to interpret for them.

*L. E. Threlkeld: Report of the Mission for the year 1838.~ The following reference is made by Professor A. P. Elkin

in his Monograph on Studies in A1tstralian Linguistics (publishedin 1938 by the Australian Katiollal Research Council), pp. 6-7 :-

"\Ve too often dismiss the work of those who have contributedgrammars, on the ground that they tried to fit the native languageinto a classical mould. But the earliest linguistic student in theaboriginal field, and one who exercised much influence on a numberof others for several decades, L. E. Threlkeld, pleaded for a freeapproach to the study, untramelled by previous conceptions of whata language should look like. He made his own the language of theAwabakal, Lake Macquarie. . . . . He strongly urged students ofprimitive languages to dismiss from their minds 'th trammels ofEuropean sehools and simply follow out the natural rules oflanguage which have not been sophisticated by art'."

383Lancelot Edward I'll relkeld.

Official Historian of the London Missionary Society to sumup the factst :_

~ut what of .th~ results ~f the Mission carried on for seventeenhars; d The MISSIonary eVIdently acquired a SUfficiently correct

. atWI ~ ge of the language to communicate freely with the peopleIn !elf own tongue' h d •th t' , e was not ependent upon sueh English assi:cen~~~:sb:~:r~toO.d, as so many missionaries to the aboriginesColonv .' e mterpreted for them in the law Courts of thetion thea~~b~~~ ~~~t~:m:ff~~(~om l.,e

dinterpreted for their instruc­

Christian converts Ivme Ie emptIOn; but there were noAustralians who ~e;e' t~ n~~e of tl~e ~wo or three thousand nativelearned to know wh ug 1 ~ro,:,n. t e .sh?res of Lake Macquanevalued the friendshipaotf ttrlue Chr~stlan dISCIpleship meant. Thev

. Ie nllsslOnarv . but b - tl D" f' .slnp, into which he tried to lead them: they we;'e ~~aff~v;~~l. nend-

Th L . 1 '. .. e egIS atlve CounCIl held an enquiry into matters

~ela:!~g to .the aborigines in 1838, and Threlkeld was callello. g.ne eVIdence. He stated that the total cost of the

mls.:'lOn at Lake lVIacquarie, both to the Londo 1\1' . . ~SOCIety and t tl G n ~v 18SlOnary£4448 t dOle. overnm~nt of New South \Vales, wa"

. d 0 f afte. ThIS expendIture, he explained covered a~~go, o( dourteen years, and did not include his own

aJ an, we add, that of his friends) All tintThrel~eld then ~8:d to show for that huge sum' was a sm:lIcollectlOn of wrltmgs done in the native dialect and tl ._.could have been made a spare-time task To', tIll"total expen f th " . assess .Ieb' . se 0 . e illlSSlOn to its dose in 1841 there must

e added to the sum above quoted Threlkeld's stipe d dallowance of £186 per annum for the three years nwh~nh~ade a I?rand (ascertained) total of £5006! 'Trul' mi~~t

fItorbthe saId that the mountain had laboured and brou~hta mouse. b

(1841)-TERMINATION OF THE MISSION.

In his official report ' ,'ttTh lk Id . :\1.1 ·en at the close of 1838':<is ~~e e s~unded a ~eSSlmlstlc note: "The present l\1issidllDeath mOdS dunfPr?mlsing of any in the whole world"

an e ectlOn had caused d'" .numbers of the bl k . 1 ...a ImmutlOn in the

. ac s m tIe nCllllty, the extent of the

!Ten Decades, p. 77.q. v.

Royal Australian Historical Society.382

( 3)-EvANGELIST.

This facet of the work of the mISSIOnary to theaborigines, according'to Threlkeld, was the" making knownthe Gospel to the aborigines in their own language &c.' '.Apparently this, the most important duty of a missionary,was dependent for its execution on the acquisition of thelanguage. Threlkeld declined to exert himself in theevangelization of the natives until he had perfected hisknowledge of their native speech. However, by the timethe language had been mastered,~ there were hardly anyblacks to preach to. Threlkeld conducted religiousservices at neighbouring establishments, and in otherrespects exercised his calling of a minister of religion, butthe results of the mission, in terms of native converts, wereabsolutely nil. Thus it must be admitted that Threlkeld'sventure at Lake Macquarie, as a religious mission to theaborigines, was a complete failure. vVe shall allow the

Colonial Secretary's OfficeSyllney: 17th. JIiI~y, 1841.

384 Royal Australian Historical Society.

native population in the first place having been greatlyexaggerated. The majority of the survivors. of the Laketribes were resident at Newcastle, there bemg then nostationary tribes at the Lake, but merely a few visitors.Threlkeld had difficulty in getting them together forinstruction, for they must needs travel away from tIl<:mission station for the purpose of hunting. The reportsfor 1839 and 1840 were still more pessimistic. In thatof 1839 Threlkeld wrote that he expected the race to dit~

out at ~n early period. The natives, such as were leftin the vicinity, used to make tracks for Newcastle ~t

Christmas time, where they were made drunk by certamill-favoured persons. On being reprimanded, they desiret[to know why it was wrong to become drunk, seeing thatthe white people sold the rum.

In his Report for 1840, the last but one, Threlkeldseems to have seen the writing on the wall as to theultimate fate of the mission. The blacks had almostdisappeared, and with the last of them would disappearthe reason for his continuance at the Lake as a missionary,and incidentally his allowance from the Governmcnr.The' forecast made by the Rev Samuel :Marsden, nowgathered to his fathers, that the mission would not succeed,was now proved to be true, fourteen years after its havingbeen penned. t Threlkeld, with an eye to the future, madea proposal that he should follow the blacks to Newcastle,where he could rent a house, the better to reach them.In spite of his admission of failure at the Lake, he sug·gested that the Government should erect a residence forhim on the Government Reserve at Newcastle, whereon thenatives should live; also huts to accommodate one hundredpersons. He himself, of course, would still be on theCivil List. Besides all this, Government should provideboats for fishing purposes, and also facilities for the dis­posal of the produce of the natives. It was consideredthat the expense would be warranted, and could be metby the sale of the lapsed grant at Reid's .Mistake. Afurther suggestion was made that certain of the nativescould be employed as auxiliaries to the Police Force.

tRev S. Marsden, from Parramatta, December 2, 1826-passim.

Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

Instead of receiving the Governor's sanction to thesegrand schemes, Threlkeld reeeived a commnnieution fromth.e <?olonial Secretary dated May 17, 1841, terminating them~ssIOn as from the last day of that year. Apparentlytlus move had been nnder contemplation for some timeand the (~ecision was arrived at after careful perusal ofThrelkeld s own reports referred to above. The text ofthe fatal letter is as follows:-

Reverend Sir,I am directed by Sir George Gipps to inform you that having

hatl under consideration the Annual Reports malle b~ you duringthe last few ~ears, and especially the Report for the year 1840, itappears to HIS Excel~ency that no further advantage is likely toaCClue t? the Abongmes from your continued residence at LakeIlfacqua:le, and that the Governor cannot accelle' to the proposalmade ~) you, that you shall remove to Newcastle, and still continueto receIve a sala.ry from Government. His Excellency is reluctantlyforcell to acqualllt you that the engagement entered into with YO;"by the. Government in the year 18.31, will be at an end with 'the"X!llratJOn of the present year.

I have the honour to be,Reverend Sir,

Your lllOSt obedient Servant(Signell) E.' DEAs THOMSON.

.The ~jover.nmen~, i~l ~he. c~rcmnstances, was quite justifiedIII tlus actIon ;. III facl, ]t ]s a matter for "Wonder that theGove.rnment d]d not close the station down several yearsprevIOusly.:j:

Threlkeld had many influential friends in Sydnev,who may have exerted themselves on his behalf. Howeve'r,

:t Mr..Sydney,. Kendall Barker, M.A., in his essay on "The~ov.enr.?rslnp of S~r George Uipps" (Hoyal Australim; Historical>_?Clet).s JOllrnal, lO!. XVI., Part IV., Pl'. 2vl·2,'jf») has dealt f ll'WIth SIr G . G" . ,u ,. I '. eOlge. I~P s attrtude to the aborigines, an,] to matte,:s

JI' atmg to thell "e!fare. On 1'aO"e 25;} a"pears the f ll( .' .,.passage :_ b tomlll",

. "To~\'ards the several aboriginal stations that had been estab.hsl~ed, .under the ~uspJces of various religious ']enoninations. Gippsmallltallled an attrtude of justce, tempere,] with a great deal ofmercy.'

The para.gr~ph goes on to I'elate the Governor's sentiments to.war<.!s the nllSSlOn at IVellington Valley, and no doubt the samesentrments waul<.! apply to the mission at Lake Macquarie.

*"Days of Long Ago" : Article XLVI., July 26, 1911.t Appendix II.

New South 'Vales to the Australian Agricultural Company.l\Ir Pulver, sUlTeyor, of Newcastle, has kindly marked outfor us the position of the old tunnel and wharf on themap of the Parish of Awaba. The mine was situatedoJlthe south-west side of the Coal Point Peninsula, at a pointabout a quarter of a mile north-west of the southernextremity, marked on the maps as "Skye Point." Thewriter has seen a sectional plan of the mint', drawn pre­sumably by Threlkeld, whose initials appear on the planover the inscription and date:-

EBEKEZER GOAL WORKS SHAFT

Feby. 16th. 1843.

The tunnel from the water's edge to the face was 118 feetlong, and an air shaft appears on the plan "13 yards tothe top seam of coal," which was 5 feet 6 inGhes at tlF~face. At the date of the plan the shaft had been sunkover 40 feet from the top seam; below that distance, 011

the plan, appear the words "Now Sinking." 'rhis coalmine, naturally, considerably enhanced the "Ebenezer"property. Old records"" tell of a detailed valuation ofall the holdings in the surrounding district, carried outby Messrs Job Hudson and John Wallace in either 1841 or1842. The assessors' valuation of Threlkeld's propertywas as follows:-

387Lancelot Ed/card Threlkeld.

No. 34 : Owner and occupier, Mr. Threlkeld, two sections waste­land, estimated rental £40; Same owner, 60 acres pasture laml (x)estimated rental £15; house, garden &c. in occupation of owner,estimated rental £20; coal pits, estimated rental £600, total £675.

By way of comparison, to indicate the value of theEbenezer land, 'William Brooks, who occupied a grant onthe site of the present township of Boolaroo, owned a"pit of coal, estimated rental £78. " The estimated rentalof the grant of Jonathan 'Varner, to the east of 'VilliamBrooks's property, which was of the same acreage asThrelkeld's, totalled £44. 'When Ebenezer was put upfor auction, for reasons which we shall discuss later, theadvertised value of the property and improvements, andthe coal, was assessed at £34,416. t The full text of the

all good things come to an end at last: and Threlkeld, wasobliged to bow to the inevitable. Af.ter the close of theyear 1841 he uttered his s\van-song m the form of ~he

final report on the mission.* This report, ~fter quotmgin full the letter of dismissal from the Colomal Secret~ry,

briefly recapitulated Threlkeld's history since he jOl~led

the London Missionary Society in 1814. He also bewaIledthe fact that, although much work had been done as regardstranslation, there were scarcely any natlYes left t.o readthem. He awned that he virtuously stayed at hIS postuntil forced by circumstances to capitulate-act~ually, themotive force was supplied by the exhausted patIen~e of acharitable Government. Although Threlkeld regIsteredapprehension as to his future .lot, and appe~red to be con­cerned at the thought of bemg cast out mto the cruelworld-or that part of it, so he presumed, that was namedSydney-he took comfort when he remem?ered that b~neaththeir very feet was a coal mine which, WIth the ble~smg ofGod would sustain them in their duties through hfe.,

EBENEZER COAL MINE.

The coal mine referred to is perhaps the most interest­ing feature of the old Mission Station at Ebenezer. Thatname given to the place by Threlke~d is f?rgotten locally,the station buildings having long smce gIven way to thecommodious premises of the Hotel Toronto, but ma.nyresidents of Newcastle and district remember the old mmetunnel. In 1840 Threlkeld began to develop his mine,and in 1841 coal was being shipped from the Lake toSydney, as indicated by an advertisement in the Austr~lian

newspaper.t I am informed by 1\11'. Jonathan DIxonthat his arandfather worked in the mine in 1844. Inrecords r~lating to the Newcastle district,§ Threlkeld'sname is coupled with that of James and Alexander Brown,who in the first half of last century successfully opposedthe coal-mining monopoly granted by the Govern~ent of

Royal Australian Historical Society.

*L. E. Threlkeld from "Ebenezer," Lake Macquarie, Dece~ber

30, 1841, to the Hon E. Deas Thomson, Colonial Secretary: PublIshedin The Australian, January 11, 1842.

tThe Australian, April 22, 1841.§Appendix III.

An A1lstralian Lang'uage as Spoken by the A1wbakal, the Peopleof Alwba or Lake Macquarie (Near Newcastle, N.S.W.)-being anAccount of their Language, Traditions, and Customs - By L. ~.

Threlkeld - Rearranged, Condensed and Edited with an AppendlXby John Fraser B.A., LL.D. - Sydney, ehas. Potter, Govt. Prmter,1892.§

This book does not encompass all Threlkeld's writings onthe subject. It comprises the "Key to the Study of theLanguage," the "Grammar and Vocabulary," and the

advertisement announcing the sale is given in an appendix.A perusal of the assets is of great interest, and gives someindication as to how the landscape at and near the presentToronto would have appeared in Threlkeld's time. Thehouse was of ,veatherboard and plaster, and consisted oftwelve rooms. One may also gather that the missionaryand his family did not leave the Lake-side in dire penury.*

Before closing the account of Threlkeld's life at Lakel\1acquarie, we shall give some account of his translationsinto the native dialect, and other excursions into the realmsof philology, which have been frequently mentioned pre­viouslv in this paper. A complete summary or catalogueappea~s at the end of this paper.t .A record of Threlkeld'schief works are preserved between the covers of a book, thefull title of which is as follows;-

*Dr Ludwig Lei'chhanlt, the ill-fated explorer, visited the New­castle antI Hunter River district on more than one occasion. HisAustralian Lettets, from October 1, 1841, to April 3, 1848 (inGerman), publishel1 in Germany in 1881, include several from N ew­castle (November 10, 1842; Januar~- 16, 1843; May 15, 1843, andMay 14, 1844), amI from Glendon, the home of "Herr \ValterScott." This was during the period between the abandonment ofthe mission at Ebenezer and the sale of the property. Leichhardtvisited "Ebenezer," and mentions the property and its owner. Theexplorer's work on Australian Geology, also in German, published in1855, describes the Lake Macquarie district (01', as he spells it, LakeMacquarry). At the end of the book, which i.s to b~ found inthe Public Library of New South \Vales, Sydney, IS a senes of smallsketches illustrating the topography of the localities visited. Theentrance to Lake Macquarie (Reid's Mistake) was sketched, and alsothe coastline as far s Great Red Head. He also refers to theEbenezer Coal Mine: "Uber Threlkelds Kohle befunden."

tAppendix T.§(Copy in the Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.)

(See belo\\·-p. :;fll; fU1l1 se"

"Gosp~l of St. Luke" translated in its entirety. AnanalySIS of these works would be of interest to a scientifiegathering-of philologists; in fact, certain scientists ando.the:s were formerly greatly interested during Threlkeld'shfetIme.1T A doubt has been expressed to the writer bvone who is well acquainted with the life-ston of' th~missionary, as to the reception these translatio~ls wouldreceive from modern philologists. The preface of DrFraser's book states :_

Lancelot Edward I'll }'elh 7d.

This volume is issued by the Government of N.S.\V. as a recordof the language of native trib?s that are rapidly uisappearing fromthe coast~ of Eastern AustralIa. Presentation copies will be sentto the chIef learned Societies at home and abroad.

It goes ?n to say that the Awabakal was a sub-tribe of theg.reat trIbe of Kuring-gai, and that the dialect' 'was essen­tIally the same as that spoken by the sub-tribes occupyingthe land where Sydney now stands." It is noted als f)

that the "Grammar" deals with only one dialect.T~relkel? knew this to be a fact as early as 1828, andsaId so m effect in his Sta.tement written in that Year. ~Dr Fraser writes;- .

_ Our Author ('!'hrelkeld) did not know that his Awabakal blacks,,:re only a sub-trIbe and that their brethren, for some hundreds ofmIles, along the coast to the north and south of Lake MaequaIie,s~oke a language essentially the same. Northwards fl'om the HunterRIVeI' to the Mc.Leay, this language is still spoken.

. Th~ Gospel ?f .St. Luke is now of no practical value, except toa ImgUlst: but It IS umque, and it shows the structural svstem ofthe language. .

The Australian Grammar was originally Ininted at theHerald <?ffice, Lower George Street, Sydney, in 1834. TbemanuscrIpt of St Luke's Gospel, written in 1829, disap­peared, but subsequently reappeared in the Public Libraryat ~uckland. It was published in 1850 or 1851. and Wil'S

reVIsed by Threlkeld in 1857, two years before ilis death.In the revised edition he states;-

nEsp('cially Sir (}20:-gC G::·ey.note. )

*q. v.

Royal A1istralian Historical Society.388

This folk-tale is of interest, as well as its morc modernsequel:-

MUNUKAN: the name of a point . . . under which there is aseam of cannel coal, and beneath that is a thick seam of superiorcommon coal and both jut into the sea betwixt::; and -1 fathoIlls ofwater . . . the two veins are nine feet thick.

NULKA : Iron. There is a vein of iron ore running over coalat the sea entrance to Lake Macquarie.

MULLUG-BULA : The name of two upright rocks abont nine feethigh, springing np from the side of a bluff head on the Jllrtrgin ofthe Lake. The Blacks affirm from tradition that they are twowomen who were transformed into rocks in consequenc~ of theirbeing beaten to death by a black man.

Beneath the mountain on which the two pillars stand, a seamof cannel coal is seen, many feet thick, from which Reid obtaineda cargo of coals when he mistook the entrance of this Lake forNewcastle. A portion of a wharf built by him still exists at thisplace, which is still called Reid's Mistake.

391Lancelot Edward Tltrelkeld.

The Grammar was published by the Society for Pro­moting Christian Knowledge without cost to the author,being printed by Stephens and Stokes, Herald Office,Sydney.

These writings of Threlkeld's are actually a monumentto his patience and diligence, and, on perusing them, itseems a pity that they have no practical value. However,in scientific circles they seem to have been highly prized.Sir George Grey, the Australian explorer, and afterwardsGovernor successively of South Australia, New Zealandand Cape Colony, who was a keen collector of such works.was in close touch with the author concerning them.Threlkeld executed a manuscript copy of one of the works.which was illuminated after the fashion of a mediaevalMS.~ 1,Ve are informed:-

* His (Mr. Threlkeld's) diligence in mastering, not simpl~' thewords, but the construction of the language, was universally recog­nised. . . . The proof of his success, and of the accuracy of hiswork, is to be seen in the fact that his translations, and his aboriginalgrammar, are still to-day [l895.-B. ,Yo C.] by the best linguistsheld in the highest estimation. We are assured of this by the R€v.Lorimer Fison, than whom there is not in Australia a highe; authorityupon such a subject. Amongst the literary treasures in Sir GeorgeGrey's wonderful collection in the Auckland Museum, there is notone which Sir George values more highly than Threlkeld's originalt( i.e., in the Newcastle, New South ,Yales, district.)

390 Royal Altstralian Historical Society.

The I1.ey was published by I~emp and Fairfax, the tl~e~~proprietors of the Sydney Mormng Herald, and, ac.cordm.~to Threlkeld, was intended to be read as a paper beforethe Ethnological Society of Londo~. He found, l:owev~~"that for completeness he was oblIged to expand It to~ogreat an extent, that a book resulted. By reason of ~lllSwork, Threlkeld was elected a Fellow of the EtlmologlCalSociety of London.

The vocabulary appended to the Granwwr. has, weconsider, the great~st local interest, t as. it contams many,words familiar to our ears, and also gI~'es a Humber. ofnative folk-lore tales relative to .cer~a~n tO~)QgraphIcalfeatures of the Lake district. It IS dIVIded mto severalsections: mytholoo-ical, geographical, and general-nouns,verbs, etc.-with ~ number of illustrative sentences. show­ing how the different parts of speech are used. FIrst ofall, the name "l\Iulubinba"-the native nan~e f.or Newcas~lc-strikes the eye. It is named after an m~~genou~ felll,named "mulubin." Then we find "Bulba .-an Island:any place surrounde.d by water. BI;~ba, or PI~~bah Island,in Lake Macquarie, IS well known. Buttaba -the nameof a hill on the margin of the Lake, probably on thewestern side, south of Kilaben. "Kona-Konaba"-thcname of a large mountain at the northern end of LakeMacquarie. "Puntei" -a narrow place; the name of anynarrow point of land (Threlkeld's estate-see p. _358) ."Tirabeena"-a tooth-like point of land; from !Ira,. apoint. This locality is me~ti?ned in. Threl~~lds WIll,made on November 22, 1834; It IS descrrbed as the pomtsouthward," and is near the head of Kilaben Bay.

Followino- are some notes relating to certain geographi­cal features ~f the Lake Country, very indefinite. as totheir exact position, but possibly known to local resIdents:

KINTI-IRRABIN: The name of a small extinct vo~cano on thesea coast near Red Head, north-east of Lake Ma.cquarIe. .

KrRRA-KuRRAN : The name of a place in wluch there IS almostrt forest of petrifactions of wood, of various sizes, e~tremely we!ldefined. It is in a Bay at the north-west extremIty of Lake

Macquarie.

392 Royal Australian Historical Society. Lancelot Edward l'hrcl/;eld. 393

manuscript of his translation of St. Luke's Gospel. Wilen showingit to us not long ago, Sir George did so with an enthusiastic interestwhich shO\,ed how warmly he appreciated the worker and his work.The manuscript is carefully written in a large, clear hand. It hasbeen elegantly bound, and its pages richly embellished by a cleverartist in imitation of ancient manuscripts. Sir Geo. Grey hasenclose,l the plain-looking manuscript of the missionar;y within whathe considers a worthy casket. II

A copy of the catalogue of Sir George Grey'~

collection is to be found in the Sydney Public Library,and among the entries are records of several editions ofworks in the Tahitian language, such as hymn books,Scripture portions, etc., such as John 'Williams and hisfellow-missionaries worked upon while in the Islands.

Reverting to the translation of St Luke's GospeLThrelkeld wrote:-

I had actually outlived a very large majority of the blacks,more especially of those "ith whom I had been associated for seven­teen years.

Before leaving the subject of Threlkeld's translations,it is interesting to learn that Dr Fraser, in his book onthe aboriginal languages, mentions another attempt toreduce the native tongue to writing. He states that, whenthe 'Wilkes Expeditiont was in New South 'Wales, theethnologist of the party, JUr Hale, visited the AboriginalMission at Wellington Valley. 'While there, the chaplain,the Rev 'William \Vatson, collected a vocabulary of thedialect of the \Viradhari tribe of the neighbourhood, illorder to compare it with the yoeabulary compiled by1Hr Threlkeld. Weare told:-

The Rev. Canon Gunther (of Mudgee) compiled a grammar andDictionary of the \Yiradhuri language, which was sent to the ImperialGovernment in manuscript, in compliance with a request fromProfessor Max Muller for information of this kind. II

\Ve are told, too, that \Vatson wTote a grammar 'with Ii

dictionary appended, based on the lines of Threlkeld'swork, and also translated the Gospel of St Luke. Themanuscripts, unfortunately, were sold as waste paper, andwere thus lost to posterity.

IIHev Joseph King: Ten Decades, pp. 75 and 77.tPag\) 375 (ante).liThe Australian Dictionary of Dates (&c.) : J. Henniker Heaton

-Syclney, 1879.

REMOVAL TO SYDNEY, 1842.

S')\'TIl HL\D C;L\PLL-BETIIEL 'C:;;Ox-::IL\ltl:\ERS' CH I'RCH.

. . The Thr~l~elds remo:'ed to Sydney in 1841,t and for'a tIme the. mISSlOllary reSided then" in Prince's Street, onthe west SIde of Circular Quay. A yivid description ofthat qu~rter of SJ:dney !OW~I in the 'forties appears Iiithe ROJ al Arustrahan HlSt~ncal.Society's J oarnal, Vol.XVI., Part". (1930). ThIS artIcle was dictated in 190 Iby lUI'S Eliza \Valker, who, judging' by her lively accountof people and places in those days, was a wtT' vivaciowilady. , She was a gTand-da~lghter of ,George' Howe, thecolony s first Government Prillter, who also published tItt'first ne:vspaper, the Sydney Gazette a1ld Nell' S01dh 1falesAdvertzser, first issued on May 5, 1803. It was hi::; ::;on,Robert ~owe, also Government Printer, who printed!hrelkeld s famous Statement in 1828. Ht' iost his lifeI~ the next year by drowning in the Harbour neal'Pmchgut.

. The. l~s~ fourteen years of Threlkeld's life were liwdm .the ,VICInIty of .Circular Quay. lVII's \Valker describedPrmce s Street-hterally-at length, also Lower neoro'eStreet, or, as it is now called, George Street North. Thela~ter was the~ a busy thoroughfare; it was, as lUI'S \Val kerSaId, the. busmess centre of the town, where nearly allthe shoppmg was done. The heights above the Qmn: werekn?wn as "The Rocks," where many influential c'itizensresld.ed. ~n the latter half of the nineteenth century thelocalIty gamed an unsayoury reputation. The buildin<Tof the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a::; we know, has considel~ably altered the. face of this historic portion of Sydney.

Threlkeld, m 1842, was offered and acecpted thepa~torate of the Congregational Church at \Vatson's Bay.~hIS was know'll as the Old South Head Church, and w:~ssI.tuated on the top of the hill at \Vatson's Bay near th"SIgnal Station.* ' ,

t8ydney Morning Herald, October 13, 1859.. * Mr.. H. T. Sitlt.1ing-s, of CUITagulltli. \\-"\)1l1elar, Xl'\\' I"outh

\\ ales, wntes interestingly of this oltl building. Mr. I"idtlins is agreat-grandson of the He.-. L. E. Threlke!tl: "I ean remelll!wrattending Church, when a vpry small youngster, at \Yatsou's Bay,

395Lancelot Edward TIt relkeld.

The land on which the church was built was donatedby William Charles Wentworth. The church was small.but quite large enough for the requirements of the time.In Threll~eld's day the congregation was composed mostlyof se~farlllg men and their families, and the employees o-Zthe lIghthouse and their people. The minister also con­ducted a school on week-days in the church building.

At Watson's Bay Threlkeld appears to have enteredupon a life of comparative tranquillity. Back in civili­zation again, in closer fellowship with his numerous friends.with his family growing up around him, the last eighteel~years of his life found him a more mellowed man. Thl'

responsible for the collection of the funds with which itwas built. He was its first pastor.

A link: with the past history of this old chapel hasbeen provided by the late Herbert Fairfax, a grandson orthe minister, who recalls many services conducted by himas a local preacher at the church in the early 'eighties.He would walk over to South Head, after teaching inSunday School, to conduct service, and, if moonlight, wouldwalk back home to Darlinghurst. When there was nominister in charge, the pulpit at South Head and otheroutlying suburbs was filled by students from CamdenCollege and by lay preachers. Another layman, a 1\11'Parry, walked all the way from town to conduct a service.and afterwards was entertained in the rooms below thechapel by Captain Siddins, Threlkeld's son-in-law. Theground floor included the dining-room and kitchen, whilstthe bedrooms were upstairs, where there was also ampleroom for the meeting-place. 1\11' Parry recounts that.later on, he had a conversation with an old lady of a well·known family (the Wentworths are suggested). Shl'said she always had a great interest in the old churchwhich the Windeyers also attended. She went on to say;

. ~fy brother and myself attended services before there was anyb:l1l~lllg. The services were held in the sitting room of old Capt.Sld~lllS wh? stated that he received great benefit from the minis­tratlon of Its well-nigh first minister, the late Rev. Mr. Threlkeld.The first Minister there was a missionarv named Crook Wechildren used to walk to the old Church from Vaucluse""':at thattime there was no other Church in the immediate neighbourhooa.

Royal Australian Histo1oical Society.

_._.-~--,_.._.._------_.__._---_.-a verv old wooden building propped on one side with struts to keepit fr~1ll blowing over. This church I can remember was referred toin the familv as Grandfather Threlkeld's Church."

t See p.' 293, R.A.H.S. Journal, Vol. XXV., Pt. IV.

Congregational Church at South Head.. Erect:ed ah.out .1840.. .(From a Ekctch in the possession of the Royal Austrahan HIstOrIcal SOcIety.)

The old chapel was a peculiar building, as will beseen from the accompanying illustration, for instead ofa steeple it possessed a chimney, due to the fact that. Itwas used as a dwelling as well as a house of worshIp.It had not 10nO' been built when Threlkeld took over thepastorate. It ,~as first known as "Crook's Church," sincethe RE'v. \Y. Pascoe Crook, one of the original Dll.ff mis­sionaries,t and later a Congregational minister. was largely

Beina' in such an exposed situation, it is no wonder that,on a""winter's day, July 19, 1910, the building was blowndown. The Sydney Morning Herald on the neJl..-t daydescribed the storm as a "tremendous" one, the wind atSouth Head blowing with hurricane force. . It was atropical storm, its centre being off the coast between Sydneyand Newcastle, the spray coming almost in waves over TheGap.

394

*i:lee p. JO:;.tOp. cit. p. 265.

glowing eulogies published at his decease· confirm thi<;impression. It is no doubt a coincidence, but all the samea remarkable one, that all Threlkeld's life in the southernhemisphere was liyed near the water-at Eimeo andRaiatea, in the Islands; at Bahtahbah and Ebenezer, onLake Jl.Iacquarie; at Watson's Bay, Sydney, betweenharbour and ocean; and, lastly, near his last charge atCircular Quay, Sydney.

Threlkeld relinquished the pastorate of the \VatsonsBay Congregational Church in 1845, when he was. al?~

pointed to the oversight of the Sydney "Bethel UmonChapel at the foot of Erskine Street, Darling Harbou:'.The Sydnev Bethel Union was founded on September u,1822. . It ~vas inaugurated "for the purpose of affordingreligious instruction to seamen of all nations yisiting thePort of Sydney." According to J. Henniker Heaton',;Book of Dates,t it was started by a "well-wisher to sea­men." For the first twenty-two years of the Union '"existence there was no place for settled worship. Serviceswere held on board ships in the harbour which flew at themasthead the flag of the Union, a blue and white pennant.In April, 1844, mainly as a result of the labours of theRevs John Saunders and Dr John Dunmore Lang, thechapel to which Threlkeld was appointed was built. Thes,>two clergymen were also instrumental in obtaining theservices of the Rev Matthew Adam, a Presbyterian ministerfrom Scotland, as the chapel's first pastor. After a shortperiod of service, Adams resigned, and Threlkeld wasappointed to the charge. Besides ministering to his con­gregation, and conducting seryices regularly at the chapel,he was engaged in visiting the hospitals at least twice aweek. He also attended the Police Courts on behalf ofaboriginal defendants. At times he visited ships in port,and, with an assistant, distributed tracts and portions ofthe Scriptures.

The property included a manse and a wharf, the latterto facilitate the passage of the minister to and from theships in the harbour; it also served as a landing place for

the sailors when going to church. The land was grantedby the Government, who, in 1851, caused the location ofthe Union to be transferred towards the eastern side orCircular Quay, as being nearer the shipping, and thereforchandicr for the sailors. Here a temporary chapel waserected, pending thc building of the permanent edifice OIl

the western side of the Quay, still known at that time as"Campbell's \Vharf." The land and buildings at DarlingHarbour were sold and realized the sum of £3343 whichwas paid into the Treasury and afterwards made a~'ailableto the Union as the new building progressed. Th0foundation-stone of the first chapel has been preserved,and may now be seen in the vestibule of the RawsonInstitute in Sydney.

The temporary chapel was in use for seven years, foralthoug'h the land for the new premises was granted inJanuary, 1852, the corner-stone of the present bnildinO' wasnot laid until March 19, 1856. The delay was due ~~onO'other things, to the scarcity of labour caused by tile GoldRush in the early 'fifties. The progress of the new edificewas very slow, owing to financial difficulties and to laboUl'trouble.s. A printed circular, of which a copy is in ourposseSSIOn, was issued by the minister, making an appealfor funds to pay for the roofing of the chapel. Thiscircular was issued from No.8, Premier Terrace, \VilliamStreet, Sydney, and was dated IVIay 1, 1857. It was hopedto open the building that year, but the minister's hopeswere not realized. The circular included a sketch of theproposed new chapel, complete with a tower.

A copy of thc fourteenth Annual Report of the Sydne';Bethcl Union, issued in 1855, which originally belonged t~l\-~r (afterwards the Han) George Alfred Lloyd, has beenkIndly lent to us for perusal by family connexions ofThrelkeld. It gives as trustees ~f the Union the namesof. George Allen, Thomas Barker, Robert How, FrancisMItchell and Ambrose Foss., all well known in Svdne'·.These and other familiar names appear also in th~ co~­mittel' list, which was a formidable onc. The honorarvsecretary was a Lieutenant Richard Sadl ieI'. who in th~

'thirti~s, conducted an Orphan School at Liverp~ol. AfinanCIal statement was attached to the report, showing :l

397Lancelot Edlcard l'hrrl1;eU.Royal Australian Historical Society.396

*Report on the Bethel Jl.1ission for the year 1854.

deficit both at the opening and the close of the year 185-1.The greater part of the revenue of the institution was inthe form of private subscriptions. which amounted to £321out of a total of £350. The minister's salary absorbed£300 of the general fund.

In this report Threlkeld bemoaned the fact that,although 978 vessels, exclusive of men,o '-war and coasters,carrying 19,726 sailors, used the port during the year,verv few mariners availed themselves of the services of theUnion. About this time, too, he recorded in his diarythat his congregations at the Sunday services were verypoor, often only the members of his own family and thecaptain or mate of an odd ship being present.

'While occupying the pulpit of the temporary chapelat East Circular Quay, Threlkeld lost his second wife, whodied on December 20, 1853, aged fifty-seven ;--ears. InJuly following, we learn, that four grandchildren weI','buried within a ven- short time of each other. They werethe victims of an epidemic. Threlkeld did not mention thenames of these grandchildren.*

At last the new Mariners' Church at Circular Qua;'was ready for use, and was duly opened-minus the tower,which ,Yas omitted owing to lack of funds--on February27, 1859. The chapel was a substantial structure of stone,built lengthways to George Street North. The allotmenton ,vhich it was situated was a historic one. It wasvirtually the site of a small cottage, the residence ofCaptain John Piper, who was at one time Collector ofGovernment Duties. He lived there when in town, anJmade Vaucluse House his week-end residence. There wasno salary attached to the position, but Captain Piper wasallowed a percentage of the dues collected. His name isperpetuated at Poiqt Piper, Sydney. The George StreetNorth frontage is considerably higher than the level of thequayside.

When the Mariners' Church was opened in 1859, a.ta cost of £6000. tlm'e was a debt on the building of £2000­£1000 having been guaranteed by certain members of theBethel Union and not then paid, and £1000 for furnishings

399Lancelot Edt('({rd Thrclkeld.

The New Mariners' Ch h C' I. ure, trcu ar Quay, George Street North, S""dney.

[Reproduced from circular mentioned on p. 397 (ante).]

and fther extras. Charles Campbell held a lieu for £100')~~ t lettpr~perty, the rate of interest beilig ten per cent'

e a en ances at the church and the meaare .'-

Cahcucorrdhedd' b}l- th~ pu!)lic of Sydney did not allows~iP~~;c ISC laralU<F t l' b·l·t·. '

• , _ '=' '=' 1 S la IlleS. There were also 10n<1~~ten a~s between ~he departures of retiring ministers andto el:~l'lv.ais of theIr successors, so that the cause continued

gUlS 1. It was not to be expccted that the reO"ula I'

pa~toral w?r.k. of the church conld bE' carried on sati' f..~~~,ly by vlSltmg preachers. The finances reached ~sl~~

Th "he muusters appointed subsequently to Threlhld

were t e ~~vs J. D. Thane, John Reid, William Leish~anThomas (Tamford and 'William Bradlev the lastna d"1886 Th R J l' . , . me III

. e ev. 0 m ReId bv the wa'- "'as '"j"l '". hof th 1 t S' " ' . " " . L e Iat er. . e a e 11' beorge Reid. The Rev Thomas Uaillf' .

SImIlarly to the Rev L. E. Threlkeld, had had ministe~:~i

Royal A1lstralian Historical Society.398

400 Royal A 1tstralian Historical Society. Lnncelot Edward Thre7ke7d. 401

experience in the Newcastle district. He may be remem­bered as the minister who re-established the Brown StreetCongregational Church. t The pulpit of the church harlnot been occupied for some time, when a deputation, headedby Dr Knaggs, a well-knmvn citizen. of Newca~tle,.ap­proached Gainford-who was then workmg as a shIpwnghtat the Stockton Patent Slip-to take the oversight of thecongregation. This Patent Slip was owned by JamesScott, who had come into contact with Gainford on theVictorian goldfields, after Gainford had failed to find goldand was penniless. The Brown Street Church becam'~

prosperous and well-established under his seven years'leadership. When he left the district to take up anotherappointment in 1867,*the names appended to his testimoni~l

of £50 indicated the deep respect that he had earned mthe Newcastle district.

Threlkeld's chapel, although substantially still inexistence, is now unrecognizable, by reason of the fact thatin the year 1909 the frontage to George Street North wasrebuilt~ It is now known as the Rawson Institute forSeamen, conducted under the auspices of the Missions toSeamen (Sydney branch). On the George Street Northside of the chapel, the structure was carried up on thebuilding line in front of the existing chapel, which was setback from the street a distance of about twelve feet. Theresultant additions form the vestibule and offices of thepresent Institute. The former meeting-room is now thegeneral assembly hall. The basement was excavated andbuilt in during the 'eighties under the supervision of th",Rev Thomas Gainford. The extra accommodation thusprovided. a concert and smoking-room, was officially openedby the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Brassey, in1887. As part of the additions made in 1909, an extrastorey was built, which was used as a meeting-place until1927, when a beautiful new chapel was constructed at therear of the hall as part of the Dame Margaret DavidsonMemorials.

tMemoir of the Rev Thomas Gainford, by J. and W. R. Gain·ford : London, 1886.

*i.e., The pastorate of the Ocean Street Congregational Church,Woollahra.

LAST DAYS.

. By the time that the new l\Iariners' Church was prac­tICally completed, Threlkeld was in hi8 8eventieth year.He had reached man's allotted span on October 20, i858,and on that date he wrote in his diarv'-..

This is the 70th. anniversary of my birthdav, and the wedllingga~ of m~~s~l~ an,d my dear depa~'ted Sarah, no\~ in Heaven, when,~~ s and ~ eals ale. swallowed up III one "eternal now," J<'iYe Years

w11: have elapsed of .her sleep of tleath on the 20th day of Dece'mhernext, and. I am waIting for the summons to call me to that restthat remameth for the peopl f G 1 b 'I I .e 0 Ot, ut untI t lat penod arrivesmy motto must be "Occupy till I corne." ,

The "summons" did not arrive until nearly a year later-October 10, 1859. From his daughter Sarah we learnthat he ~ad ~een worried concerning matters rel,!ting tothe Manners Ohurch. It transpires that some of themembers of .the management committee wished to convertthe chapel mto a Sailors' Home at a meetinO' held on?ctober 7; 1859. Threlkeld strenuously opposed the pro­Ject, statm? !hat the Home should take the form of aseparate bmldll1g. The meeting' took place on the Fridayand for the next two days Threlkeld brooded 011 -th .. 'bTt f h' fi e pOSS1-

1 1 Y 0 l~ ne new sanctuary becoming' secularized, awlmuch of hlS strenuous work of the past being nullified.However, the chapel retained. it~ original form, for a periodat least, an~ a separate bmldll1g for the Sailors' Homewas erected 111 1863.

Thre~keld died suddenly on October 10, 1859. Hehad. prevlOusly preached at both morning and afternoonserVlCes at. the J\1ariners' Church. His death seems toh~v~ oc~aslOned ~Teat regret in Sydney, especially inmUllsterIal and slllpI)inO' circles FlaO's 011 tIl' 1" .h to.,.,. - e S llpS Int e harbou: were .flow~ at half-mast. out of respeet forthe accredIted Smlors - Chaplain. The funeral corteo'"

moved from Threlkeld's residence in 'William Street (N~).19?) by way of the new Mariners' Church to the DeVOll'sillre Street .Cemetery. The procession was one of tIl<'largest seen 111 Sydney for some time. l\Iinistcl's of allthe Protestm~t denominations were present, some assistill',rat !he gr~v.eslde. !he Rev Dr James Fullerton, a Presb':­tenan ffill11Ster, dehvered an oration extolling the virtu~s

* See p. 321, R.A.H.S. Journal, Vol. XXV., Pt. IV.

-Whcn the old Devonshire Cemeter~' was abolished in1901 to make way for the new Central Railway Station,Thr~lkeld's remaii.ls were removed to Rookwood and re­interred in the Independent portion of the cemetery. .Ahandsome monument surmounts the grave and bears thefollmving inscription:-

IN MEAWRY OF

The Rev. Laneelot Edward Threlkehl, M.E.S.Born in the City of London, 20.10.li88.Ordained in 18i5. Laboured in Tahiti andRaiatea (Coadjutor of Rev. John "\Yilliams)in eonnection with the London MissionarySoeietv until 1824, when he undertook aMissio'u to t.he Aborigines on Lake Macquarie.Of whose language he wrote a grammar and alexicon. Appointed Chaplain of seamen at.this Port in 1845. He became Minister of

403Lancelot Edward Th re7ke1<1.

DESCENDANTS.

The obituary notice regarding Threlkeld that ap­peared, as has been said, in the Sydney Morning Heraldon October 13, 1859, stated: "He leans behind him :1

numerous family of sons and daughters." He had OIW

son and three daughters by his first wife, and two sonsand three daughters by his second wife, making a totalin the family of three sons and six daughters living a1the date of his decease, viz.: Sons-Joseph Thomas, LancelotEdward, Thomas Samuel. Daughters-Frances, Martha.Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Tabitha. The" first-born" diedat Rio in 1816, at a very early age.

SoNS.

Joseph Thomas: Born in the Islands, 1817. H,'became connrsant with the aboriginal language, and attimes deputized for his father in the courts. His careerhas been briefly mentioned abon. He did not marry.

Lancelot Edward : The second ROll, married the si~terof G. A. Lloyd. He had an auctioneering business inGeorge Street, Sydney, for many years. - He died iaEngland on November 24, 1882, without family.

Thomas Samuel: The youngest of the thre~ sons, die,lin 18~3. His son, Thomas Samuel, still living, has attaineJthe rIpe age of seventy-eight years. He is the only SUI'-

vivoI' or the third generation of Threlkelds. .All the aboye-named sons are mentiond in Threlkl'lcl's

will, made at Ebenezer on Noyember 22, 1834.

the Mariners' Church ereeted chiefly throughhis exertions, where on the last day of hislife he twice preacheu the Gospel, anuretiring to his chamber

Slept in ChristSunuay October 10, 1859,

Aged 71 years.

Thus it may be said that the ex-missionary and apostleto the aborigines and Marincrs' Chaplain metaphOl'icallydied in harness. The initials "M.E.S." represent tllPdistinction, ' 'Member of the Ethnological Society' '-ofLondon-conferred on Threlkeld by that body in 1851 bvreason of his submission of his 11.ey to th ~ A..bol'igilu~lLanguage.

The "Deathof October 13,

Royal Australian Historical Society.

Mondav lath. instant, at his residence, "\YilJiam Street, theRev. -{ E. Threlkeld, aged 71 years, fonneI1y missionaryat the South Sea Islands, and for many years BethelChaplain in this City.

On

402

of the veteran missionary and chaplain.Notice" in the Sydney Morning Hemld1859, reads as follows:-

On the next Sunday memorial services were held in manyof the Svdney churches. The Sydney JIoming Heraldpublished a l~ngthy obituary notice on October 13, 1859.A religious journal, The Christian Pleader, of October 15,1859, also published an appreciation, the writer, presumablythe editor, claiming acquaintance that dated from 1844.A London religious weekly, Th e Christinn Cnbinet, in itsissue of February 29, 1860, devoted the entire front pageto an account of the life and work of Threlkeld; it a180gave a detailed account of his passing and of the funeralrites, as well as the text of Dr Fullerton's oration. Thcarticle closed with this paragraph:-

Our portrait, which is engraved from a phot.ograph taken inSydney, represents Mr. Threlkeld in one of his favo:J.rite moodswith the "Australian Grammar" in his hand, of ,vlnch he was theauthor.*

-----------~-- --------_.._-----------

*J. Henniker Heaton: Uen of the Time, 1879, p. 120.he., The "Gospel of St Luke."

DAUGHTERS.

The daughters are mentioned, not necessarily in orderof priority of birth.

'fabitha: Married James Reading, of the firn~ ofReadina and \Vellbak, printers and publishers, of 13 BrIdgeStreet, band booksellers, of 356. George Stree,t, ~ydne?-.This firm printed the Bethel Dmon Report fOl 18<)4 ple-viously referred to.

Elizabeth: Married a cousin of John Fairfax, ofSydney Morning Herald fa,me. Her children were Herbertand Emily, both now deceased.

:l\Iarv : \Vas born on September 23, 1823, in the Islands.(Her mother died early in the next year.) She w~s ~aredfor by Mrs John \Villiams, the wife of Threlkeld s Illus­triou~ colleague. In 1841 she married George AlfredLloyd who had an interesting career. Born near London,he ~a~e out to New South \Vales in 1833. I.Ie. engagedfor some years in farming pursuits on the \VIllIams andPaterson Rivers, and in 1840 removed to S~d~ey.. Ther0he set up in business as an auctioneer. I~ IS, mc~dent~lly,on record that once he put up for auctIOn a lIve tIger.He it was who sold up Threlkeld's property when the latterwas obliged to realize his assets. The name of G., A. Lloydoften :oppeared in the newspapers about that tIme. 1111850 his business had developed into that of a gener~t1merchant, he being one of the first to buy gold-~ust :!lthe Rush of 1851.* He also had numerous holdmgs 111

the Newcastle district. Haying become very wealthy, hI'went to England in 1855. Threlkeld once wrote a letterunder date July 9, 1858, to his Excellency Sir George Grey,in which he mentioned his son-in-law:-

Observing in the Newspapers that the Governor of the Cape ofGood Hope is about to visit England, I have sent the bookt to my

Son-in-law, George Alfre'} Lloyd, the GO~'enm:ent,Agent fo~ theColon~', 2 Exchange Buildings, London, wlth duectlOns to wtnt onyou with it if in Englanrl. ...

I.Jloyd returned to Sydney in 1860, and re-entered business.

405Lancelot Edward I'll rclkeld.

1.n. \.~~~ ~~ '\~a'& ~\~~'w.u. "\l\~Th.\)~"t \)-'t ~a"t\"aTh.~'-'-\ -'t\)"t \5\.~'W­

castle, defeating James Martin. - He was re-elected severaltimes for that constituency. He was appointed Postmaster­General and, later, Colonial Treasurer in the ParkesMinistry, 1872-1875; Minister for Mines in Sir HenryParkes's Cabinet in 1877. He was defeated for th'3Newcastle seat in the general election of 1877-8.+ Otherinterests were insurance and coal-mining, and he was alsoa life member of the Sydney Bethel Fnion. MuryL!oydbecame the mother of twelve children, nine of whom wereliving at the time of her death, which occulTed on October14, 1887. She was buried in the Congregational sectionat Rookwood.§

Martha Threlkeld did not marry.Frances Threlkeld married Captain James R. Siddins,

who was the principal light-keeper at the South HeadLighthouse, Port Jackson. He was chief light-keeper atthe Lighthouse when the ill-fated ship Dunbar met herdoom at The Gap, nearby, on August 20, 1857. His son,Mr R. L. Siddins, of Armidale, in a letter to the SydneyMorning Herald dated July 30, 1910, told the story, asfollows:-

tJ. Henniker Heaton: Men of the Time, 1879, p. 120.§Sydney Morning Herald, October 14, 188i.

My Father, (the late J. R. Siddins) who was in charge of theMacquarie Light House, went to the Lantern to see the lights putout, and was attracted by the dog's barking. He thought it was acow. He saw a quantity of bedding floating across the Heads,and knew there had been a wreck. He then went to the edge ofthe cliff, and noticed the wreckage.

The letter went on to describe the position of the wreck.There was a controversv , at the time of writin lY the letter

• J b'

concermng the exact spot at which the Dunbar had struck,and also the rescue of the sole surYivor, Johnson. "Inthe excitement," the letter states, "the crowd lost theirheads. and Captain Siddins was pushed partly over thecliff; but, being strong and active, he recovered himself."

Sarah was with her father when he died:-

His beloved daughter, who was watching in another room, wasrecalbl by a groan, to his side; when she found him insensible;

Royal A.Hstralian Historical Society.·10J

GONGLUSION.

and at 2 o'clack in the morning of the 10th. October his ransomeusoul took its flight to the realms of bliss. *

The daughter who assisted Threlkeld was, of course, MissFrances, Mr H. T. Siddins's grandmother.

407Lancelot Edzcard Thre7ke7d.

APPENDIX 1.

~~o~ ~~n sentiments reg'3:rding his life and work: "Theferentl :Mr..Threlkeld WIll, of course, be estimated dif­review:d ~~:j:cordwmglto th~ standpoint from which they are

. e eave It at that. .

hWe conclude with the ncwspaI)er's rlen '

C aracter;- . , " of his

The fact is, when we see 'I I .discover the burrs and rou hne eac I ot Ie: a~ a distance, an,] canmisjudge the actual princ' 19 ss of p~bhc hfe, we are all apt toMr. Threlkeld had not theIP ~St anfd final Ir:te.ntions of au.!' neighbours.

d . ar a concealmg his " I .~n . Impulsive mind threw him into all tl . opmlo,:s; us activeIll~I~ation against injustice often n" Ie co?flicts ?f Ius '.lay. HisrelIgIOUS liberty was exaggerated i t t;ad~ l.lIln unJust-Ins love of

. n a Ie Olgetfulness of Its rights.§

PUBLICATIONS."The follOWing is believed to I .

labours, in the dialect wI . I I I Je a complete hst ··of Threlkeld'B

18,. lICI lave called the Awahakal:-

27- SpeCImens of tl 'i.b '.1829-First draft of t~e ·T 0l'l1111l

:1 Language' printed then.

1832-T l' Ie rans alIon of St. Luke.rans atIOn of Prayers fOI' M . . r .

from the Ritual of tile GI. olllmg and Evenmg Serviceby Archdeacon B I· t lUI ch of England; these were selected

183· roug Ion.4--The Australian Grammar nbli I ]

show that at the b . . P s lel . Threlkeld's memorandawere occupying hise~~~:'~fo:~~lteyear the follOWing subjects

1. Specimen of the Language.2. The Australian Grammar3. The Gospel of St. Luke, ~nder revisal.4. The Gospel of St. Mark in I' '" . ,.

translat' , . p epaIa tlon. 'I he first rougl'5. Th IOn was completed III 18,17. .6 The .Gospel .of St. Matthew, just Commenced

. e mstructIOn of two nat· 'e . tl' .'~ their own language. n JOU IS III Wl'lting and reading

I. Reading lessons selected frolII I8 A t Ie Old Testament.

. n A~stralian Spelling Book.1836-The SpellIng Book printed1850-The Key to th Ab " .1859-At the time o~ I . ordWltllhallLanguage published.

lIS ea Ie was engage 1 . I .translation of the foUl' G I . l III co~np etmg the':Lexicon to the Gospel ~~p~:: ~:~ ~,as proceedmg with thehfe closed in tIle midst OfJ '1 b e. Thus our Author"s

a ours Iuany.'"-Quoted from Dr Fraser's book mentionel.l_

_ ;;;:::;~ on p. ,;88.

Ubid. -----­§Ibid.

Royal A-ustralian Historical Society.406

1\11' H. T. Siddins (son of 1\11' R. L. Siddins, andgrandson of Captain J. R. Siddins mentioned above)recollects his great-aunt, Miss Sarah Ann Threlkeld. Shelived in Cavendish Street, Stanmore, and was regarded usthe head of the family. In the possession of Mr Siddins'sfamily is a copy of Threlkeld's work on the aboriginallanguage, The Key, inscribed "To Richard LancelotSiddins, this work of his Mother and my Father, with lovefrom Sarah Ann Threlkeld." Mr Siddins writes:-

Th" reference-"The work of his Mother and my Father" ...points secomingly to him having been helped a great deal by hisdaughter.

"With reference to an estimate of the character of oursubject, and the value of his life and work in the Islandsand in the still young colony of New South "Wales, weprefer to suspend judgment, and leave it to the reader todecide for himself. Contemporary and other opinions forand against both have been quoted or adverted to duringthe course of this paper. A mature mind has describedLancelot Edward Threlkeld as "a man remarkable in manyways, " and points out that the material for the biographyof a man who has not been with us for so long a periodas eighty years is hard to obtain.

On the other hand the lapse of time enables one to obtain ajuster view of an individual's good anll bad qualities in their properperspective.

The writer of an obituary notice, already referred to,stated that his impression of the old missionary wouldremain "as of a vigorous, warm, benevolent old man."tA further remark in the same notice would, perhaps, sum

*The Christian Cabinet (London), February 29, 1860. (Seep. 402, ante.)

tSydney Moming Herald, October 13, 1859.

APPENDIX II.

ADVERTISEMENT IN SYDNKY MORNING HERALD OFDECEMBER 19, 18404.

FOR ABSOLUTE SALE:

All that valuable and princely Coal Estate (upon which upwards of£15,000 has been most judiciously laid out)

409

only

50 tons5025 tons16 "12 "12 "

Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

LOT 2.

Public (though and with great perseverancefrom the Crown for the purpose)

THE SHIPPING.

Lot 3 Schooner "Lancelot" about4 do. "Sarah"5 Barge "Hope"6 Schooner "Henry"7 Boat "Tiger"8 do. "Calcutta"

Brings before theobtained specially

LIVE STOCK &c.

Lot 9 ,Ye]] improved 3 Horses10 :1 Drays and a Cart11 Gig and Harness12 4U head of Cattle at the Lake--

mostly Milch Cows.NOTE: Such se . tt1. S. I . rVIC3 proper y as may be left not particularised in"liS ,I es LISt WIll be announced in a future advert't if 1'e uiredc, presented to be sold last as one lot: at, implements tools &~. '

r s. For any further information purchasers are referred to theTrustees, or Mr. Threlkeld at the Depot Sussex Street M GA. Lloyd, Lower George Street. Term~ at S;le. ,or r. .

The Coal Mine contains " s 'Ibeing' worked is 8ft tl' k. ~.quare nll es, the seam of which onlation has been made ~c. \\orked on the le.vel, too. A calcu·

~~~~~ Pae:~e~ly tr;lies ;~t1~n;IC~~I~~ek,I~~I~\ :~~~~~~ft:ge~~~~t~~~.~ ~:~which' at lasua les, ,~60,000 tons of coal should be vielded and

on y one pennv per ton turns 0 t £"4 116 • II '. .obtaline~ in a healthy wl;olesome ll:anner at ~lalf"tl:e ;oS~nof \h~ IS~~pe~ye elsewhere, ~n,l by m.en always ready and willinO' a: l:~~adIed' tand

l~1~y e~plam why tIns mine is so Easily and Wed'Worked

a w llC 1 a ohaft has been sunk and th F t fA'below is ascertained bevoIlll doubt but t'le exteent

acto 1w,~heT Seam

• ". no carneu out, yet.

TO OBSERVE.

FIVE ACRES

~Oa~:itutingTlthaDtvaluable portion of land at the entrance of the. . " Ie epot and the \Yln'f fl'

on board the c 11' I . < I .' " or t Ie shIpment of coalo leI'S emp oye,1 III tlus tralle.

THE MINE AT WORK.

t"The Mine is now in full operation and any

o any Amount" can be . ' J quantity of coalSt supplIed. weekly. - 'l'he Miners' hutsare, \Vharf, R,ailway &c. & I 'Coal Mines are Perfect. 'c. Jemg on the spot, or rather, 'l'hc

Royal Australian lIistorical Society.408

The following publications, etc., appear III Sir George Grey'sLibrary Catalogue, a copy of which is in the Sydney Public Librar~r:

The Grammar, The Key to the Struchtre of the Aboriginal Language,The A~tstralian Spell-ing Book. The Gospel According to St. Luke,The Dictionary (Lexicon), also sundry pieces.

THE EBENEZER COAL MINES

\Vorks, \Vharfs, Sailing vessels, Barges, Boats, Shipping Depot,Residence, Paddocks, Gardens, Cultivation grounds, Milking Cows,Cattle, Horses, Dray, Implements &c. &c.

Mr. George A. Lloyd takes the earliest moment in making knownto the several capitalists of the Metropolis that he fearlessly chal·lenges the whole Colony, and with every respect to the value ofother properties, asserts that there is not one amongst the wholethat can be brought in anything like the scale of comparison withthe Estate, now in full operation, upon the best and cleanest veinof coal that the miner can wish to work upon.

It will be brought to public competition under instructions givenhim by the trustees, under deed of assignment of L. E. Threlkeld,John Campbell, Esq., of the Wharf, T. \V. Smart Esq., of theSydney Bank, and R. Bourne Esq., of Pitt Street.

At his rooms, Lower George Street, 2 doors from the HeraldOffice. . . . Absolutely without reserve. . . . On Monday, 30th.December, 1844; sale to commence punctually at 12 o'clock

LOT 1.RoeSE &c.

IMPROVEMENTS & SCRFACE CHARACTER.The primary grant from the Crown, to L. E. Threlkeld, at the

Lake. comprising 1280 acres of land, dwelling house of 12 rooms,weatherboal'd built aTIlI plastered. The Store is 40 x 16 ft., Barn60 x 20 ft., and a Hut (in compartments for men) 60 x 20 ft.,including 3 acres of garden and orchard. There are 8 paddocksof about 200 acres of land each closed with a 4 rail fence, well putup, the cultivated portion of which has been 66 acres.THE COAL MINE YIELDS AT 1D. PER TQN £34,416.

\Ve have obtained the following information from HistoricalRecords of Newcastle, 179,-189" by John Windross and J. P. Ralston,published in 1897:-

(pp. 44-45) : The A. A. Co. took over the collieries on thefollowing conditions :-"One twentieth of the coal raised to beallotted to the Crown; the Company to purchase the coal, or anypart of it, at the pit's mouth at the market price, provided theCrown deemed it advisable to sell the same to them; and further,one-fifteenth to be reserved by the Crown." The conditionswere construed by the Company as conferring upon them for aperiod of 31 years the exclusive right to mine coal in tlus colony.The monopoly, however, was terminated with the concurrence ofthe Company in 1847, the Rev. Mr. Threlkeld and other gentle­men having some years previously been engaged in working thecoal seams on their respective properties.

(p. 46) : It was not till 1840 that any attempt to contestthe monopoly of the A. A. Co. was made. About that yearthe Roev. Mr. Threlkeld, who was in charge of the LondonMissionary Society's Aboriginal Mission Station at Lake Mac­quarie, took a stand_ He had discovered )-ears before a seamof "cannel" coal at Belmont, and he opened the present upperor Cardiff seam. It was the best seam found up to that time,and the reverend gentleman expressed his intention of workingit in spite of the A. A. Company. Indeed, he opened a pit,and for several years he carried on mining at the Lake on asmall scale. Only the smallest vessels could, however, coalthere, and the company took no notice of his operations. Theold gentleman had the greatest faith in the future of the LakeMacquarie coal measures, and he frequently held that the Lakewas the finest harbour in the world, and would one day havearound its shores the greatest manufacturing city in Australia,if the entrance was only deepened sufficiently to admit thelargest ships. \Vithin a few years later several nlines wereopened in the Newcastle district by Messrs. James and AlexanderBrown, Mr. John Eales, Mr. Turner, and others. The brothersBrown in 1844 commenced working a mine at Four-mile Creek.Mr. Eales opened one near Minmi, and for some time the A. A.Company ignored the attacks of these old pioneers, who used toopenly cart their coal to the various shipping places by horses.In 1846, coal was reduced to 8s" and even went as low as6s. 6d. per ton at the shipping places. As before stated, in1847 the monopoly terminated with the concurrence of theA. A. Company.

, ." .

Two Years' labour has been - d 1 Ithis a' . expen e( on t Ie preparation ofc' p p~r. T~le se~rch for material necessitated considerableh~::;~~~~e~~ceinIll~~dl~n;d letters ~o, the London_l\~issionar,Y Societ;Canbe. g. A VISIt to the NatIonal Librarv atcl II Lr~ab was made; much research was nndertaken in the 'Mi't-

Ie I rarv at Svdnev and al ' tl P .S tl n' I '. ' : ' so III Ie ublIc Librarv of Newou I "a es III that Cltv The N S tl·- .Lands also " . " "ew. ou I "ales Department oflocalities in :1~~i:I~~:e~ubl:IftOl;ant Illforn~at.ion relatih£, to themade to the Lake M J" f ~he p,apel l.tlJoured, "\ ISItS wereany available local ::io~~l~~~O:.IStl'lCt WIth a view to lll~- obtaining

of m~~iS paper c?uld not have been prepared without the assistancethe lif/Ofo~ld f;;endt; i ho compiled f?r me the various details of

~~~ ~brSariCalnI~f ~~I: L~nd~nT~~~~~~~~r;l~o~i:;):,~~I::l(;n~h~~bfe~;~:~,. . . lamplOn· who obtamed t f t' 'f . ,

to 1\£1'. Threlkeld's' t 1 mos 0 JIe III ormation relatinghis life in Sydney . ~~ces;rs an" descendants, and t.he details ofthe data co;cernin' tl;' ',?' \, hale, A.~.A. (,'ust.), who collatedof . fi I .g e penod of the mlsslonal'y-minister's period

s~rvIce, d rst y III the South Sea Isla.nds, and then at lake 1'11:qual'le; an who revised and . 1 1 I ,ac-Paper t 't expam e( t Ie original draft of this

o I s present extent and '1 .deliver' V ' " superVIse( lis preparation forhave ~e'en d~~lOUS o~~ler le:-sons helped me c'J'lsiderably, and thev

y men lOne m the course of the paper. .

411

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.Royal Australian Histurical ::3ociety.

APPENDIX III.

NOTE RE THRELKELD AND THE AUSTRALIANAGRICULTURAL COMPANY'S MONOPOLY.

410