Sidney Smith Crispo · 2020. 10. 22. · 3 Sidney Smith Crispo (1828-1899) -PART 1 Sidney Smith Crispo was 32 years old when he left England and arrived in Melbourne in late 1860.

Sidney Smith Crispo

His Life in Australia

Rye Historical Society

2020

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C O N T E N TS

PART 1 p 3.

Traces Sidney Smith Crispo family origins.

PART 2 p 6.

Sidney Smith Crispo’s Life in Australia.

PART 3A p 16.

PART 3B p 19.

Articles from 1865 & 1866 outlining the Marine Survey and progress to date.

PART 4 INDEX p 22.

LETTERS & RELATED ARTICLES p 25.

Sidney Crispo’s “Letters to the Editor”, plus other relevant news items found.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While put together by Noel Erbs (Rye H S), this look at Sidney Smith Crispo’s life in Australia may never have reached fruition without the generous research assistance provided by both Ann Erbs (Rye H S) and Janet South (Nepean Historical Society).

VERSION

This is Version 2, with one Letter to the Editor and one related news item found and added, 20th October 2020.

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Sidney Smith Crispo (1828-1899) - PART 1 Sidney Smith Crispo was 32 years old when he left England and arrived in Melbourne in late 1860. He went on to make Australia home; contact with his UK family then being by letters and, perhaps, telegrams.

Sidney did not marry and have any children, so there was no family continuity to preserve his memory, and if he had decided to live a reclusive life here, his name would have soon faded from the pages of history.

From December 1860 to January 1878, he held a fairly high profile, and sometimes contentious, public service position and throughout his life in Victoria, he was certainly not one to hide his light under a bushel.

While we have no photographs of him, he has left us a remarkable amount of his own written material in the public domain to complement the record formed by a range of independently written news reports and the documentation of his land ownership, etc., commencing in the 1860s.

But it was his unquenchable drive to promote the part of the Mornington Peninsula from Dromana to Sorrento, including property development and farming, that makes him of particular interest to us today.

A Note on Sources A remarkable amount of detailed material on Royal Navy actions and personnel can be accessed via the Internet and search applications such as ancestry.com provide access to genealogy connections, shipping lists, etc, etc.

For Sidney Smith Crispo’s life in Australia, Victorian, NSW and Tasmanian newspapers proved to be a “gold-mine” of information. A Trove search for “crispo” in the period January 1860 to December 1900 turned up more than 400 ‘hits’. Some of these were unrelated mentions of individuals of that name in news reports from Europe, while in Australia, a Mr George Crispo was an enduring high profile public figure in Sydney and a Mr Charles Crispo became Mayor of the City of Fitzroy in 1890. (No known relationship in either case).

However, nearly half of these ‘hits’ related to “our” Sidney Crispo. Some of these were reports of the same

event printed in more than one paper. If such multiples are only counted as one, his total mentions exceed 180.

During the 1860s, mentions mostly related to his marine survey work, including ship crew lists and attendance at

Vice-Regal functions, as well as his name appearing occasionally in long lists of donors to major hospital funds.

In the 1870s, while living in St Kilda, he developed his talent for writing Letters to the Editor, on a range of

subjects, mainly in The Age and The Argus, but also The Herald. His name also appeared in published letters from readers responding to something he had written, but those mentions are not included in the figure of 180+.

In this period he attempted to establish a new township based on land he owned at Canterbury, between Rye and Sorrento, while also being an active contributor to the science based Microscopical Society for a few years.

Then, of course, his name was included in the infamous 2-page Government Gazette of 9th January 1877 which listed the hundreds of public servants summarily sacked. His then job classification seems appropriate: writer.

Now unemployed, he focussed on learning about farming, trying to turn a profit from the 282 acres of land he owned west of Rosebud. In 1880, his Letters to the Editor became mostly farming related and appearing only in The Weekly Times; 41 letters in the next 10 years. For 4 years, senders address was given as: Naxos Farm, Rye.

Then followed a period of about 18 months during which he spread his letters across several newspapers, but after January 1892, he had settled on having most of his remaining Letters to the Editor published in The Age.

As the general hardship caused by the 1890’s Depression began to ease, morale boosting entertainment afternoons or evenings at Rosebud and Rye became popular. Sidney Crispo became a regular and enthusiastic performer, contributing public orations, performances, recitals or story telling, to appreciative local audiences.

When Mr Sidney Crispo died at age 71 years in October 1899, only two of his siblings, William and Maria, remained, both still living in England.

For the record, his death notices in local newspapers incorrectly show the burial being at Rosebud, when, in fact, he was buried in the Rye cemetery, Monumental 2, Grave number 161.

This little memoir is an attempt to put both his life in Australia and his contribution to our local area on record.

Footnotes:

1. The adoption by Mr Crispo of the name NAXOS for his farm is evidence that he was confident of his family name origins. Naxos is the name of an island in the Aegean Sea, reputedly the birthplace of Zeus of ancient Greek mythology. For centuries, a group of islands, which included Naxos, was ruled over by a succession of noble families. Traders from Venice saw merit in establishing a presence in the area, and after the Byzantine empire collapsed in 1204, Marco Sanudo, a Venetian nobleman, established The Duchy of the Archipelago. However, the Sanudo occupancy was regularly challenged and in 1383 the competing Venetian Crispo family led a victorious insurrection. Francesco Crispo was triumphantly installed as the first Crispo Duke to rule the island group, but in 1566, Sultan Selim II of the rising Ottoman Empire ousted Crispo Duke number twelve.

2. The spelling of Mr Crispo’s first given name as Sydney is not uncommon in various newspaper articles. However, reliable source documents are consistent with his full name spelling being Sidney Smith Crispo.

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SIDNEY SMITH CRISPO ’S FAMILY OUTLINE

The summary of the life of Sidney Smith Crispo in Australia listed in the SYNOPSIS on the previous page is supported in this document by a remarkable range of references accessible on-line in the public domain.

Fortunately, details of his family “up-line” have been found by targeted on-line searches of UK records, which prompted further on-line searches of Royal Navy and related records. The end result is a fascinating glimpse of at least some members of the Crispo family who were “Royal Navy, through and through!”.

Of particular note, Sidney Smith Crispo’s grandfather, Captain John Crispo (b. 1773 - d. 1841), had become a navy hero as commander of the armed cutter Telemachus, during England’s war with France in the mid-1790s.

But he was already known from an event back in 1782. Then only 9 years of age, John Crispo was a midshipman aboard the recently launched Royal George when she unexpectedly rolled and sank at Spithead, with catastrophic loss of life. Midshipman John Crispo showed initiative by leaping overboard and swimming to safety, an action captured in the artist’s impression engraving at right.

In 1790, when barely 18 years of age, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant and given command of the schooner Alert, which was to do the mail run between New York and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sadly, that ended in tears when the Alert was driven ashore and wrecked on what is now known as Prince Edward Island, Canada.

His later fame was gained after he was given command of the armed cutter Telemachus, of 128 tons, operating in the English Channel. During 1796, he chased and captured three French privateers and one Spanish ship, as well as bringing to the attention of the Admiralty the alarming news of the capture, by the French, of the notable Captain William Sidney Smith RN.

Promoted to the rank of Commander in 1797, John Crispo went on to serve aboard various Royal Navy vessels in forces committed to patrol in zones including the eastern Mediterranean to Egypt, the African coast, the West Indies and North America.

Despite his impressive service record, after being promoted to Captain in October 1810, he was not offered another active ship command. An intriguing finding is that one of Captain John Crispo’s sons was also named Sidney Smith Crispo! He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines, when, on February 24th 1838, described as a widower, he married Mary Ann Lursley.

Another son was Lieutenant John William Crispo (b. 1793 - d. 1857). He was the father of “our” Sidney Smith Crispo. Entering Royal Navy service in 1808, aged 15, he was a midshipman aboard the Little Belt, which sailed for the coast of Africa under the command of, guess who, his father, Captain John Crispo!

Subsequently assigned to the Ruby, John W Crispo served in the Baltic, Halifax and South America zones.

During following years, he served aboard: Little Belt (again), Swiftsure, Aquilon and Chatham. After being commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1815, he went on to serve aboard Ramillies and Hyperion. On the 29th April, 1817, two years after the Napoleonic War ended in 1815, Lieutenant John William Crispo married Hannah Myles/Miles at St Mary’s, Woodbridge, Suffolk. (Their 11 children are listed below).

The Family of John and Hannah Crispo: Sidney Smith Crispo was the sixth child of the eleven children born to Lieutenant John William Crispo R.N. (b. 1793 - d. 1857) and his wife Hannah, nee Myles (b. 1793 - d. 1879), as listed below.

John Crispo, b. 13 Feb 1818, Woodbridge, Suffolk; d. 1847, aged 29 years.

Francis Crispo, b. 18 Oct 1819, Woodbridge, Suffolk; d. 1898, aged 79 years.

Elizabeth Crispo, b. 17 Feb 1821, Woodbridge, Suffolk; d. 1899, aged 80 years.

Sophia Julia Crispo, b. 10 Dec 1823, Woodbridge, Suffolk; d. 1881, aged 58 years.

Alfred Wise Crispo, b. 3 Oct 1826, Thorne Bay, Kent; d. 1899, aged 73 years.

Sidney Smith Crispo, b. 26 May 1828, Irish Tower, Eastbourne; d. 1899, aged 71 years.

Augusta Matilda Crispo, b. 13 Feb 1830, Beachy Head, Eastbourne, Sussex; d. 1848, aged 18 years.

William Henry Crispo, b. 9 Jun 1831, Beachy Head, Eastbourne, Sussex; d. 1908, aged 77 years.

Sibella Jane Crispo, b. 18 Oct 1832, Prussia Cove, Cornwall; d. 1881, aged 49 years.

Catherine Charlotte Emily Crispo, b. 16 Jun 1834, Prussia Cove, Cornwall; d. 1870, aged 36 years.

Maria Anne Crispo, b. 2 Apr 1835, Prussia Cove, Cornwall; d. 1915, aged 80 years.

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In 1831, when Sidney was 3 years old, his father, Lieutenant John W Crispo RN, was appointed to the Coast Guard service, being assigned to the Prussia Cove station, which is a few km east of Penzance on the rugged south coast of Cornwall. However, in 1835, after four years service there, at the age of 42 and now with 11 children, he was transferred onto the Naval reserve, at half pay.

Subsequent records indicate that Lt. J W Crispo and his entire family then went to live in Canada. Whether that move was made as a risky private venture or was under the umbrella of the Royal Navy (with some continuity of employment) is not known. Either way, Sidney would have been about 8 years old at that time.

In April 1845, at St Marks, Kennington, London, Sidney’s oldest sister, Elizabeth, married Captain Henry Laird Cox RN (b. 1809 - d. 1872); issue 3 children: Sarah, Elizabeth and Henry.

The two images below are of miniatures painted onto ivory as keepsakes nearly two years after Henry and Elizabeth’s marriage and are reproduced here at roughly actual size (62mm x 50mm). Despite damage to Elizabeth’s face, these items are in remarkably good condition for being about 160 years old.

Above: Captain Henry Laird Cox RN and his wife Elizabeth (nee Crispo) Ack: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Artist: William Egley, completed February 1847.

We will see more of Captain H L Cox RN, during the final years of his distinguished career, in this history.

Note that Elizabeth’s marriage details recorded her father as Lieutenant Crispo, of Montreal, Canada.

Pursuing the Canadian connection revealed that three of Sidney’s siblings had died there, namely:

John Crispo, b. 1818, died 11th July 1847, aged 39 years, at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Augusta Matilda Crispo, b. 1830, died 12th November 1848, aged 18 years, at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Alfred Wise Crispo, b. 1826, died 16th July 1849, aged 23 years, at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

While their father, John William Crispo, was back in England when he died in 1857, there is little doubt that Sidney S Crispo had lived in Canada for a number of years and he later maintained a connection with that country through two of his brothers, Francis Crispo and William Henry Crispo, who continued to live there.

In 1862, Sidney’s sister Maria married a Royal Navy officer, William Gore Annesley, and as will be seen, Sidney could bask in a bit of reflected glory from the high profile of that brother-in-law during April 1874 in relation to the promotion and laying of a new design of undersea cable for international telegraphy.

Sidney Crispo’s will, dated 1882, recorded his then surviving brothers, Francis and William as both living in Montreal, Canada, and his two then surviving sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, as both living in London.

In the event, when Sidney Crispo died in 1899, his only surviving siblings were William and Maria. [ 1 ]

END PART 1

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Sidney Smith Crispo

PART 2 - HIS LIFE IN AUSTRALIA

Since the British Empire relied heavily on naval and mercantile shipping, Marine Survey work, to provide the vital charts of coasts and harbours in its possessions around the world, was generally well supported.

Following his father’s footsteps into the Royal Navy, it is interesting that young Sidney Crispo became one of the personnel trained in aspects of Marine Survey work for the Navy. However, no information about what training he received, where he was stationed or the exact nature of his work has been found so far.

In Victoria during the late 1850s, Commander Ross and his small crew were already conducting survey and charting of Port Phillip, using the government owned 65 ton cutter, Loelia, but progress was slow.

In 1860, Sidney Smith Crispo, then aged 32 years, was one of a number of suitably experienced individuals in the Marine Survey department in the UK assigned to form a new team to advance vital marine survey work in Victoria, where adequate funding had been budgeted for an estimated project duration of 5 years.

UK Shipping Records show that the sailing ship Owen Glendower departed from Plymouth, UK, on 12th September 1860, bound for Melbourne. (pic. at right) [ 2 ]

The Argus, 17th December 1860, noted its arrival as below.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE Owen Glendower, Blackwall ship, 1000 tons, Dickinson,

from London, via Plymouth, September 13th.

Passengers - cabin: Captain Cox RN, Mrs and Misses Cox

(2); Mr and Mrs R D Chamberlain, family (2), and

servants (2); Mr T. Bourchier, RN Mrs Bourchier and

family (4); Miss Aldridge; Mrs Dickinson; Mr. Boulton,

RN; Messrs: C Halpas, Stokes, Crispo, T and B Bingley;

and 70 in the steerage. W P White and Co, agents.

Apparently, Mr John Norgate, his wife Harriet, and their 7 children had travelled in steerage.

The paperwork signed off at Plymouth prior to departure confirmed that adequate provisions had been stowed aboard for 70 adults, allowing for a voyage duration which could be as long as 110 days. However, this ship arrived at Melbourne on the 7th December 1860, after a relatively quick voyage of 86 days at sea.

On arrival, Captain H L Cox, Lieutenants Boulton and Bourchier, Mr J. Norgate and Mr. Sidney Crispo formed the core of the new Marine Survey department, soon to be joined by Mr P. McHugh, draftsman.

After the formal handover, Captain Cox assumed command of Loelia and Commander Ross retired.

The scope of the proposed work was daunting indeed, involving detailed charting of Port Phillip, including The Heads, the West Channel, Geelong Harbour, the South Channel and the Port of Melbourne, plus Westernport, and then the entire coastline, all the way west to South Australia and east to Cape Howe.

These days, navigators can routinely use GPS for position and true speed, sonar for water depth, radar for detecting objects or nearby land at night or in fog, and surveyors routinely use electronic distance measuring equipment (EDM) when doing triangulation.

Aerial photos of coastlines are seldom used nowadays because satellite images are accurate, truly vertical and are in a format directly compatible with computer drafting.

Today’s chart makers can coordinate GPS with sonar to facilitate the computer aided drafting of contour maps of water depths in bays or along coastlines.

But back in 1861, none of these things existed, and it all had to be done by hand and eye, with the added complication of relying on boats with sails or oars.

Painting: “Cape Schanck from Phillip Island, Survey Cutter Loelia beating out”. Ack. SLV

1. Genealogy information courtesy ancestry.com.

2. The original Owen Glendower, a 36 gun R.N. frigate, was launched in 1808. However, it had reached the end of its use-ful life and had been decommissioned for use as a prison hulk by 1839, when a new vessel of the same name, an 850 ton East Indiaman, commenced mercantile trading. Pictured above under full sail, sadly, she was lost at sea in 1865.

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A fundamental feature of any marine chart is the water depth contour lines. Depth soundings were labour intensive, relying on a crewman ‘swinging the lead out’ and noting the depth markers on the rope when he felt the lead weight strike the sea bed. Subtract the height of deck above the water surface and then write down the depth, which was usually fairly accurate. So far, so good, but to be of any use for a reliable marine chart, the exact position of the vessel when each depth reading was taken must also be known.

Out in open water, a chronometer set to GMT was used to establish longitude from the stars and a sextant was used to sight the sun at local noon to establish latitude, but each only once a day, if the sky was clear.

Experienced navigators such as Captain James Cook became proficient at tracking the progress of their vessel since the last star/sun shots by regularly updating their position based on compass headings and ship speed and they drafted some remarkably accurate coastline maps. In fact, all captains were supposed to know how to do this if they were to confidently sail on at night or through a fog.

However, this “guesstimation” of position was not acceptable when working close to the coast and it was vital to place depth readings, maybe only two or three minutes apart, accurately onto a chart.

Sighting to shoreline features, by using a theodolite, was a partial solution, but measuring angles from the deck of a moving ship prone to roll and yaw was not easy, and to avoid putting the mother ship in danger near shallow water or rocks, she would be anchored offshore and crewmen in a longboat would be monitored from the deck.

Despite Loelia’s known shortcomings, attempts to secure a more suitable vessel, preferably a steamer, were rejected, but she is honoured today in the naming of a channel north-east of The Heads.

In 1865, with the five years nearly up but completion of the work still a long way off, the survey had become a political hot potato. Ultimately, the need for mariners to have accurate charts offset those who begrudged the expenditure and the steam sloop Victoria was assigned to the Marine Survey in September 1866. (see p 28)

At Right: Two images of HMCSS Victoria. One is a painting, the other is a rare photograph, taken during the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit in November 1867.

Above: Two examples of charts produced from data logged by Captain Cox’s crew. Ack: National Library Australia.

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On the subject of ships of that era, it is worth remining ourselves of the ever present possibility of shipwreck and consequent loss of life of ship’s crews in those days.

For example, when the RN ship, HMS Orpheus, reached Australia in July 1862, The Herald reported: “HMS Orpheus arrived at Port Phillip Heads on the 15th inst. After landing Mr Barkly, a midshipman on board, the son of His Excellency the Governor, the sloop proceeded on to Sydney to relieve the Pelorus, which vessel has sailed for Portsmouth”.

The Orpheus was later mentioned departing the Tamar estuary in November. Another news report in early January 1863 noted that: “ HMS Orpheus, now in Australia, is shortly expected on the New Zealand coast”.

The Argus of 4th February 1863 reported: “HMSS Orpheus got up steam yesterday morning and came into the [Sydney] Cove, where she brought up abreast of the commissariat stores. After taking on board a considerable quantity of stores for the use of HM ships stationed at New Zealand, she again got under way and proceeded as far as Watsons Bay ; and will go to sea in the morning.—Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 31”. (see pic p 18)

The Argus of 18th February 1863 carried the following paragraph within a two page spread of paragraphs on all manner of things. Apparently judged unremarkable, this report was simply embedded within that long flow of words and did not even get the honour of starting on a new line, let alone get a sub-heading !

“The following telegram was received by the Chief Secretary last night:- Sydney, Feb 17, 1863:- The war steamer Miranda arrived here, Reports that, on the 7th instant, HMS Orpheus, seven days out from Sydney, struck on Manakau Bar. The sea at once made a clean breach over her. Part of the crew took to the boats, the largest of which filled, drowning eighty men. The commodore and the majority of the officers refused to leave the ship. Soon after, a tremendous sea swept the poop, washing all overboard. Five officers, including the son of his Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, were saved. In all, seventy officers and seamen escaped death. Twenty three officers, including Commodore Burnett and Commander Burton, were lost. In all, 190 officers and men of the unfortunate ship were drowned”.

One can imagine other sailors and marines at the time muttering: “ There, but for the Grace of God, go I ”.

In Melbourne, Captain Cox established an appeal for funds to offer some support for Orpheus widows and orphans.

This appeal was concluded during March and reported in a full column listing in The Argus of 25th March 1863.

While far too long to include in its entirety here, the self explanatory top section of that list is reproduced at right, recording a number of now familiar names.

It is entirely possible that the name E. Williams is the same Edward Williams who Sidney Crispo later offered the job of establishing a farm on the two adjoining blocks he had selected near the Tootgarook Swamp.

Back in 1860, when Sidney was assigned to this job, his position in the British Marine Survey head office would have given him an overview of mapping works under way across the Empire and he would also have been aware of recent news regarding gold discoveries in Victoria and the rapid growth of that Colony.

Having his brother-in-law, the respected Captain Cox, in charge of a team of fellow Marine Survey staff was a positive and with an estimated five year term, the pay benefits of this move outweighed any negatives.

While it can only be speculation after all these years, this writer cannot help mulling over the possibility that Sidney may have seen the move as offering him the chance to become “a big fish in a small pond”, whereas if he opted to remain in England he would probably remain “a relatively small fish in a big pond”.

Following the handover from Commander Ross to the new team in early 1861, work resumed on detailing navigation features of Port Phillip. It is interesting that Commander Cox was criticised in later years for wasting time and money by not simply accepting all of his predecessor’s work without checking any of it.

We have no record of exactly what Sidney Crispo was doing during 1861, his first year on the job, but over the years he was variously classified as “secretary’, “writer” and “paymaster”. He was certainly not stuck ashore as a “desk jockey” as he appears to have participated as a regular crewman. One recent reference accords him the rank of Lieutenant, but that rank is definitely not confirmed in any other documentation.

Important areas for continued detailed survey work were: The Heads, the West Channel, which runs north from The Heads towards Geelong and the South Channel which runs east past Rye as far as McCrae.

By 1862, he was getting the hang of it all and we have some interesting documentation for that year.

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During May 1862, Sidney’s youngest sister, Maria Ann Crispo, continued naval tradition when she married a Royal Navy officer, Lieut. William Gore Annesley RN, a son of the late Commander Annesley RN. (p 25)

In Victoria, there was regular publicity stressing the urgent need for a marine survey of the Gipps’ Land lakes’ entrance, including navigable channels in the lakes. Mr Crispo appears to have taken a particular interest in the Gippsland area, referring to aspects of its development in his later letters more than once.

Commander Cox got some bad press during 1862. Instructed to board the steam sloop, Victoria (on its routine lighthouse re-supply voyage east to Gabo Island) as an observer to get his first ever sighting of the Lakes’ entrance, he was unaware that the Captain, and his allegedly reliable guide, had sailed serenely past the Lakes’ entrance to land and inspect the mouth of the Snowy River. Back in Melbourne, the press had a field day with this mistake and blamed Commander Cox! In modern parlance this was “fake news”, but no retraction has been found, and whenever something contentious arose, Cdr. Cox would be revived by the press as “the genius” who mistook the Snowy River mouth for the entrance to the Lakes. (p 25, 27)

Sidney’s later enthusiasm for the bayside coast of the Mornington Peninsula probably has its origins in the period during which the survey team diligently worked its way along the South Channel, mapping it and tying that work in with the nearby coastline.

He would also have soon become aware of the Government initiated process of land survey, aimed at breaking up extensive pastoral runs into farm sized blocks for selection by “ordinary people”.

Back in 1858, the government surveyor published the latest map which showed the current progress of that land survey prior to release to selectors.

The Mornington Peninsula portion of that map is reproduced at right. >

Two matters would have caught Sidney Crispo’s eye.

Firstly, some of Commander Ross’s marine survey information was included, namely the extensive sand banks indicating shallow water and patterns of soundings indicating the depth of navigable areas.

Secondly, that the early formal survey of Crown Land into blocks to be opened for selection had already proceeded west, to beyond today’s Boneo Road.

Initially, these blocks would have been held under a Crown Lease, with annual payments under terms which included meeting certain benchmarks re occupancy and making improvements. Title was obtained in the form of a Crown Grant after the final lease payment. As that survey continued, the western edge of the Parish of Wannaeue was established, running south from the west side of the Tootgarook PR block.

By the time Sidney Crispo first saw this plan, the ongoing survey had already proceeded further west and created the new Parish of Nepean. Rye township was proclaimed in 1861 and its site was surveyed prior to offering town lots for sale by auction in 1864. Surveying of the Parish of Nepean continued west across both today’s Blairgowrie and Sorrento before finally reaching the Portsea area in about 1870.

To recap, after his arrival in Australia, Sidney Crispo had lived in Carlton and Brighton before settling in St Kilda, and he initially expected that the five year Marine Survey project would end in December 1865. However, changes in the department in late 1865 and during 1866 gave Mr Crispo confidence in his future.

In January 1866, Sidney Smith Crispo had a work related “Letter to the Editor” printed in the Argus. (p 26) The first of at least 123 letters over his lifetime, his topic in this case was pointing out that Lonsdale Rock, near The Heads and which the vessel Sam Cearns had recently struck, was clearly marked on published official charts and that ship’s masters were responsible for keeping up-to-date charts in their wheelhouse.

In 1866, the extent of the survey work yet to be completed was grudgingly acknowledged by Treasury. The steam sloop Victoria was finally assigned to the Marine survey, replacing Loelia (after the most recent request, in 1864, had been denied). Complaints surfaced periodically about wasting such an important vessel by its being laid up for the winter months each year when the weather was too bad for survey work.

In July 1866, Lieutenant T Bourchier, then Commander of Victoria, died, leaving a widow and three children. His important position was reassigned to Captain Norman. (p 26)

The term of Marine Survey leader, Commander Cox, ended. He was replaced by Lieutenant Stanley RN.

In late July 1866, Commander Cox returned to England (and retirement on a Navy pension) with his family aboard the Yorkshire, accompanying Lt. Bourchier’s grieving widow and children on that voyage. (p 26)

The Marine Survey then came under the overall direction of Commander Wilkinson RN, but he died in December 1867. His large funeral in Melbourne, which was attended by the Duke of Edinburgh who happened to be in Victoria at the time, was widely reported in the press.

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Now confident of ongoing employment, in July 1866 Mr Crispo invested in his future by selecting two Parish of Wannaeue blocks, 52 and 44, totalling 282 acres. These included the natural overflow from Tootgarook Swamp, which offered the benefit of reliable water for stock or irrigation as well as having slightly raised, flood free areas suitable for pasture or cropping. Below: Portion of Parish of Wannaeue.

Reported in the Leader 7th July 1866:

SELECTIONS AT MELBOURNE The agricultural area of Wannaeue, on the Port Phillip Bay, situate from five to six miles south-west of Dromana, consisting of 1871 acres of land, was opened for selection on Friday. The locale was the Exhibition Building, and Mr Morrah was the land officer who presided. The attendance was extremely limited, not more than a dozen persons being in attendance. Seven lots were selected out of twelve open for selection, the area taken up amounting to 1085 acres. The selectors were: John Murdoch, T McRavey, J Wright, W A Blair and S S Crispo. The rental received amounted to £54 6s.

He set about establishing a farm and probably built a cottage there. Mr Edward Williams, who appears to have been a Marine Survey crewman, was installed as farm manager. Mr Williams had married Mary Campbell, a nanny for the Burrell family of today’s McCrae, in 1855 [R/N 1263] and they had five children.

Clearly not averse to the idea of making a profit by land speculation, also at about this time, Sidney Crispo was successful in an application for two blocks in the then new Parish of Nepean, at today’s Blairgowrie, (see map below) namely:

• Block 36, of 47 acres, with east boundary frontage to today’s Canterbury Jetty Rd;

• Block 38, of 52 acres, adjoining block 36 and with frontage to today’s Point Nepean Rd.

Above: Portion of the Parish of Nepean plan, showing blocks 36 & 38 and a jetty in the name of S S Crispo.

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With Edward Williams looking after his 282 acre farm, and now the prospect of a few more years work ahead with the Marine Survey, Mr Crispo could develop a plan within the limits of his regular pay for his two Parish of Nepean blocks. Neither had any surface water so a livestock enterprise would not be easy.

Block 38 had beach frontage, which favoured the option of subdividing it into house allotments to be sold at a profit. But he would need clear title prior to any subdivision, so initially he arranged to have a modest private jetty built to service and draw attention to his holding.

In order to subdivide block 38, Parish of Nepean, and be able to advertise allotments for sale by March 1869, he must have paid it off and obtained title by late 1868. >

Since this block was at neither Rye nor Sorrento, he faced a locality PR problem. His grand vision involved creating a distinct locality, preferably a township, but to succeed, that needed a notable name for his venture to help promote it.

There is some record of that area being informally known as Canterbury, but regardless of whether there was any local usage of the name Canterbury at the time, Mr Crispo adopted the name Manners Sutton for his “dream town”.

Pictured at left, the Hon. Sir John Henry Manners Sutton KCB, was Governor of Victoria 1866-73. He was generally well regarded, so this idea may have been partly patriotic, but more likely simply to capitalise on the Governor’s public profile.

The first and third advertisements at right confirm use of the name Manners Sutton, but whether any steps were taken to formally get approval for using that name and to actually get a township surveyed and proclaimed is not known.

The second advertisement needs to be read very carefully. Dated only 6 months after the first one, it refers to Point Nepean as the locality, not Manners Sutton. These days, the term Point Nepean covers the area west of Portsea, but this advert refers to “Rye” and the “new Government township”, which would almost certainly be Sorrento. Its site had been finalised and agreement reached on the name Sorrento but it was then so new it offered little benefit to pinpoint a locality.

Perhaps describing his development as Point Nepean instead of Manners-Sutton was aimed to better identify its location to potential buyers. Refer to Mr Crispo’s letter of June 1st 1899 for his reminiscences on the whole matter. ( see p 90 )

In the third advertisement, Mr Crispo displayed his usual enthusiasm for whatever topic was his priority at the time. In this case, he was promoting his vision of the future transport developments along the Mornington Peninsula. But, as with some of his other “visionary” plans, this one went nowhere.

Regarding the name “Manners Sutton”, the best laid plans of men can come undone. During 1869, the Governor’s brother, then the 2nd Viscount Canterbury, died in the UK. After the latest UK Official Despatches reached Australia by ship, that hereditary title was formally passed to Victoria’s Governor, who then became the 3rd Viscount Canterbury.

This truly remarkable coincidence saw Mr Crispo abandon the name “Manners Sutton” for his “township” in favour of the name “Canterbury”, in the early 1870s.

Australian City Directories for 1869, accessible on-line, list Mr Crispo and his job under GOVERNMENT as:

NAVAL: ADMIRALTY AND COLONIAL SURVEY: H. M. ship “Challenger” for Surveying Service. Director of Admiralty Survey, Commodore Rowley Lambert C.B. ; Lieut. H. J. Stanley RN ; P. H. McHugh, draughtsman ; S. S. Crispo, writer. Offices: William-street, Brighton.

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But, returning to Sidney Crispo’s plans. The earliest published use by Mr Crispo of the name Canterbury, found so far, is in the advertisement at right, which dates from May 1874.

Including Canterbury as a port of call in this speculative Mornington Steam Navigation Company advertisement suggests that he was, perhaps, a bit optimistic in judging his own jetty sufficiently robust and long enough to reach deeper water for safe public transport by a passenger steamer!

That was followed in September 1874 by the notice at right, advising sales of blocks now discontinued (no reason given).

Two years later, in December 1876, a 2 acre block at the

“TOWNSHIP OF CANTERBURY… between Rye and Sorrento”

was advertised for sale in both The Age and The Argus.

NOTE: The Melbourne suburb of Canterbury, also named in honour of the Governor, had already been proclaimed and had its own Post Office as early as 1871, which makes Mr Crispo’s decision to adopt the term “Township of Canterbury” somewhat questionable.

In 1874, Mr Crispo may have basked in a little reflected glory from his brother-in-law, Capt W G Annesley.

As early as 1855, a few forward thinking administrators in Victoria gained approval for a telegraph line from Melbourne via Geelong to Queenscliff. It soon proved so valuable that, over the next decade, the state was networked with telegraph lines. Connections through to both Adelaide and Sydney were completed in 1858 and eyes were then turned towards the possibility of telegraph connection to the rest of the world. A number of competing concepts were pursued in Australia before the Overland Telegraph (Port Augusta to Darwin) was completed, leading to the first international connection, via undersea cable to Java in 1872. That cable soon failed, as had the first cable laid from Victoria to Tasmania in 1858, although both were repaired or replaced. So the news item in April 1874 relating to Capt Annesley to be in charge of laying a new design, cheaper and more reliable, cable from the UK to the Azores was of local interest. (see p 34)

Australian City Directories, accessible on-line, list Mr Crispo and his place of work in 1874 and 1875 as: Crispo, S. P. [sic] (writer, Admiralty Survey Office) Market Buildings, Little Flinders St west.

Seemingly endless reports of shipwrecks and consequent loss of life finally moved Sidney Crispo to bring the issue to the public’s attention. His letter in March 1875 regarding The Cospatrick Disaster was followed by a long summary shipwreck article in April 1875, both making for grim reading. (see p 37-40).

This was clearly a subject he knew about and, not content with mere words, he set about designing, and having built, a working example of a life raft as a safer alternative to the lifeboats then in use. He organised the pre-publicity and it was demonstrated to a small crowd off St Kilda beach in May 1875. (see p 41)

During 1877, disaster struck the Marine Survey crew. While conducting routine survey work in Bass Strait, the Victoria was anchored on the lee side of Green Island, waiting for the ship’s boat and its crew to return from picking up a mail bag left on Goose Island as per usual. The ship’s boat was subsequently found, upturned, and five members of the crew were lost, presumed drowned, in that tragic accident. (see p 45)

Then, on January 8th 1878, Mr Crispo was one of the several hundred public servants sacked without notice by the Berry Government in a crass political act aimed at breaking a parliamentary deadlock (which prevented passing the Supply Bill) to ensure budget funding for politicians’ salaries into 1878. (p 49, 50)

By April 1878, push-back had caused politicians to consider re-instating the Marine Survey. On 11th May, it was announced that allowances to Marine Survey staff would be restored, back dated to 8th January. (p 54)

However, no decision was made on which of the Victoria or the Pharos would be assigned to any further survey work. After top level negotiations with Tasmania to share future marine survey costs 50-50 failed, the politicians then realised that the bad weather winter period was almost at hand, so any resumption of actual survey work was unlikely before October anyway, so, on the 9th September 1878, it was announced that the Admiralty had withdrawn its Royal Navy personnel and it was finally all over. (see p 57)

FOOTNOTE: Back in March 1865, a wooden planked steel framed ship of 204t, built at the Government shipyard, Williamstown, had been launched. Named Pharos, she was assigned to servicing marine buoys and moorings, the replenishing of lighthouses, and to be the first responder for assistance in the event of a shipping disaster.

At Right: An artists impression of Pharos passing King Island, which was published in the Illustrated Australian News, 8th August 1868.

13

Unimpressed by this political “fun and games” and uncertainty of pay, Capt. Stanley RN appealed directly to the Governor, who intervened to require the Marine Survey pay cutoff date be extended to 12th October. The Premier appears to have been rather annoyed by Capt. Stanley’s initiative, because there were some remarkably “unkind words” spoken about him, some under parliamentary privilege, in relation to the alleged dirty condition of the interior of the Victoria, when she was returned to general duties. This top level public spat was “manna from heaven” for the press, and no doubt Capt. Stanley was relieved when he finally boarded a ship to return to the UK. Nonetheless, subsequent snippets of news from the Times, in 1879, show that colonial mud slinging had not impeded his RN promotion in England. (p 59)

Shortly after the axe had finally come down on the Marine Survey Department, Sidney Crispo had a letter published in The Gippsland Times, on 23rd September 1878. Titled A SUGGESTION, he wrote to recommend Mr J Norgate for future survey work. It was the only letter Mr Crispo wrote which carried “Marine Survey Office, Melbourne” as the sender’s address, and, good news, on June 14th 1879, the Public Works Department announced that work would soon be commencing on a survey of the Gippsland Lakes, to be under the direction of Mr J W T Norgate. (p 57, 60)

While he was now out of a job, Sidney Crispo could have taken some consolation in the fact that the original five year duration of employment he had agreed to had blown out to total more than 17 years. He left the city and returned to the Mornington Peninsula, but exactly where he lived then is unclear. One speculative possibility is that initially he went to live in a cottage on the land he still owned at Canterbury. Based on the topics chosen for most of his letters after January 1879, Mr Crispo was clearly focussing his mind on agricultural pursuits, probably to help make his Rosebud West blocks a paying proposition. In the 18 month period from January 1879 to July 1881, his five published Letters to the Editor carried the senders address as Naxos Farm, near Rye.

At Right: Only a single insertion of this unusual advertisement, from September 1881, has been found.

While Mr Crispo was a regular writer of Letters to the Editor, not all were printed. In the Weekly Times of 16th September 1882, a short column, headed ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, included: S.S.C. Rosebud. - We regret that the pressure on our space is so great that we cannot make room for correspondence.

In November 1884 only one letter carried the senders address as NAXOS Farm, Rosebud, near Dromana.

From January 1885 to November 1887, a total of 23 letters were simply from Rosebud, near Dromana.

From October 1888 to August 1894, at total of 28 letters were addressed from Eastbourne, Rosebud.

Back in 1875, Mr Crispo had written a ‘Letter to the Editor’ headed FLUKE, discussing available treatments for the usually fatal liver fluke infestation in sheep. That was his only written reference to sheep, so it tended to be dismissed as being more of Sidney’s casual theorising until the following item was found.

The Weekly Times regularly published lists of wool sales, identifying suppliers and price received (pence per pound). The following mention strongly suggests that S S Crispo had been running sheep on his land.

On 20th December 1884, within a long list of recent wool sales by New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co was: . . . ; J S over A, 1 bale 6 3/4d ; triangle over S S C over NAXOS, 2 bales 8d, 1 bag bellies 3d ; BOXDALE over FARM, 3 bales 7 1/2d, 1 bag lambs 5 1/2d ; . . .

Depending on fleece weight and wool press effectiveness, a bale might hold 32, 36, 40 or maybe 44 fleeces. At, say, 36 fleeces per bale, if that was his entire annual clip it equates to 72 head of adult sheep. Estimating average fleece weight as 9 pounds, annual return for fleeces amounted to 72 x 9 x 8 = 5184 pence = £21 12s, before paying the shearer, cartage etc. The bag of belly wool, at 3 pence/pound, would be lucky to net an extra 10 shillings. So to make such an enterprise worthwhile, these sheep would need to be breeding ewes and the main source of revenue to turn a profit would have come from the annual sale of fat lambs. Improved pasture stocking rate is typically 3 - 4 sheep per acre, so even assuming mediocre grazing, there would have been ample area on the 282 acres of “Eastbourne” to support such a flock.

Focussed newspaper searches have failed to come up with any similar wool reports prior to 1884. One possibility is that 1884 was the only year in which he adopted that particular grower identification, but that is unlikely given that his enthusiasm for NAXOS as his address had commenced in early 1879.

During the 1880s, a substantial second residence was built on his Rosebud West land. This was a limestone brick structure, which was named “Eastbourne”, after his town of birth, and it still stands today. It is understood that Mr George Morce of Sorrento, an experienced stonemason, was engaged for this job; Mr Morce apparently having also built “Tyrone Homestead”, west of Rye, for Owen and Sarah Cain.

In the late 1880s, Mr Crispo floated the growing of Amber Cane as the basis of a potential local sugar production industry. During the early 1890s, he broadened that push to include growing sugar beet and setting up a small processing factory, but despite his enthusiasm, the idea did not “take off”.

14

In January 1889, we find that Mr Crispo had decided to put his Eastbourne property on the market. The advertisement at right appeared four times during January and February.

While “dangling the carrot” of a railway was wishful thinking, he had probably picked a good time to sell. The economy was booming, and he had a realistic prospect of a good price.

But, for whatever reason(s), no sale seems to have occurred and by December 1889, the economic bubble had burst, leading into the serious economic Depression of the 1890s.

Given his early life in Canada and the fact that two of his brothers continued to live there, it is hardly surprising that in one of his farming related letters, in 1887, Mr Crispo had made passing reference to his knowledge of growing buckwheat in Canada. Once the 1890s Depression had set in, he focussed his attention on a range of possible options for the farming sector to try and remain viable. In 1892, he included Canada in his livestock or meat export proposals and in 1894, he became actively involved in proposals involving Canada, corresponding directly with a Canadian representative then in Queensland.

Looking at the bigger picture, by 1894-95, the worst of the 1890s Depression had been endured and the population was starting to see glimpses of a better future after four years of severe social disruption.

With no radio, no movies, no TV and little organised sport, some light relief from the day to day gloom for communities was offered by live performances, commonly held in a local Mechanics’ Institute.

During the 1890s, the Mornington Standard carried reports of entertainments at Dromana, Rosebud, Rye and Sorrento, some of which included Mr Crispo as one of the performers, as noted below.

1894, 12th April: “RYE …. Mr Nesbit’s solo on the violin was well played. Mr S S Crispo read a humorous story, entitled: Not opposed to matrimony” [which] was spoken with the imitated nasal twang of an American, and received laughter and applause. The chair was well filled, in more ways than one, by Mr John Cain, JP. ….”

1895, 30th May: “RYE ….. Miss C Albress sang: “Beautiful Isle of the Sea”; Mr Crispo sang: “Drink to me Only”; …..”

1895, 8th August: “RYE ….. Miss Adelaide Cain recited “Aurelia’s Unfortunate Young Man”. Mr Crispo’s song: “Mother Says I Mustn’t” was encored, and in response he gave: “Only A Face At The Wind”….”

1895, 19th September: “SORRENTO …. Mr Crispo, encore, but owing to the long programme was not allowed: sang “Apart”; …. “.

1895, 19th December: “DROMANA …. Mr Green sang “Life on the Ocean Wave”; Mr Crispo sang “The Sunbeam”….”

1896, 30th April: “ROSEBUD …. Miss M Cain, recitation, “Curfew Shall Not Ring”; Mr Crispo sang “Sweet May”….”

1897, 25th February: “RYE …. Mr Crispo sang “Turnpike Gate”; Mrs Wilcox: “God Save The Queen”….”

1897, 25th March: “ROSEBUD …. Mr Crispo sang: “Belle Mahone” and “Just After The Wedding, Mother”; ….”

Entertaining performances by Mr Crispo were also reported in early 1899, at Rye in January and then at Rosebud and Sorrento, during February, but no further mentions have been found in the public record.

Sidney Smith Crispo became ill during October 1899 and sought assistance from his long time friend and neighbour, Edward (Ned) Williams early on the 13th. Despite valiant efforts being made to alleviate his condition, Mr Crispo passed away late the same day. A Coroner’s Inquest received three written depositions which informed a Magisterial Inquiry finding that the cause of death was pneumonia.

The well attended funeral service for Mr Sidney Smith Crispo was conducted at St Andrews Church, Rye, and the burial took place in the nearby Rye Cemetery, Monumental 2, Grave number 161.

In early December, Probate was granted on the residual estate, valued at £117. In addition to some personal items, the two main components of the estate were an unsold portion of freehold land valued at £57 and an agreed final payment of £48 due from Mr Edward Williams for an adjoining parcel of land.

Mr S S Crispo had left a detailed Will. Drafted in 1882, it appointed the “The Trustees, Executors and Agency Company (Ltd)” as executor, and the four named beneficiaries were two of his brothers, Francis and William, both then living in Montreal, Canada, and two of his sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, both then living in England.

However, in a letter dated 4th December 1899, the Manager of that company, Mr James Barrowman, lodged a letter, complete with company seal, emphatically renouncing the Office of Executor, no reason given.

On the 7th December, Mr Edward Williams lodged a sworn affidavit advising that the estate of the deceased now had no person ready to act as executor. That affidavit confirmed that in the event of one or more beneficiaries having died, their portion of the estate was to go to their children. This applied to both Francis and Elizabeth.

The Curator of the Estates of Deceased Persons (usually dealing with intestate situations) assumed responsibility.

Mr Crispo’s name appeared in newspaper lists in early 1900; initially in Public Notices related to the administration, which carried the perhaps unusual caveat ‘will attached’, and later in the SALES BY AUCTION columns, in that case listing a gold lever watch from the estate to be offered for sale.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thanks to Janet South of Nepean Historical Society for making available copies of original Will, Probate, Inquest, etc, documents.

15

THE

Jubilee Cricket Song June 22nd, 1897.

To the air of: “A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea”.

Composed by Mr S. S. CRISPO, Victoria, Australia.

FOOTNOTE: For more information on the local contribution made by Sidney Smith Crispo, the reader is referred to “Stories of Rosebud West”, by Bettyanne Foster (Rosebud West History Group), 2016. [2]

END PART 2

With wooden bat and leather ball Is played the game of Cricket,

And every batsman does his best To hit the ball at the wicket.

Chorus: Then, hurrah for the game of Cricket, And try and hit the wicket, Then hurrah, boys, hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! Hurrah for the game of Cricket.

An umpire keeps the laws in force, And all obey his orders,

For if they do not play aright, It soon creates disorders.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

A popping crease is clearly made, To show the place to bat,

And if a player wants to strike, He must be quick as a cat.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

The bowler tries to do his best, To hit the batsman’s wicket,

And, at the same time, keep the laws That are in place in Cricket.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

A wicket keeper stands behind, To catch the bowler’s ball,

And tries to hit the standing stumps, Ere he gets runs at all.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

The batsman then must leave the stumps,

And another the bat must hold,

And he must try for many runs,

And be both quick and bold.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

Around the stumps the fieldsmen stand,

To try and catch the ball,

But if it strikes the ground before,

It is no catch at all.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

They also try to throw the ball,

And thereby hit the wicket,

Before the batsman reaches home,

Then he goes out in Cricket.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

Then hurrah for the manly Cricketer,

Who does not curse or swear,

For in so good a game as this,

He should not act like a bear.

Chorus: Then, hurrah ….

The girls look on to see the game,

In all its varied features,

And cheer their lovers as they play,

Do these dear and lovely creatures.

Then hurrah for the girls at Cricket,

For they look on at the wicket, Then hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah for the girls !

As they look on at Cricket.

P r i c e : T W O P E N C E

Britain’s Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. As part of the festivities, Sidney Smith

Crispo turned his talents to composing lyrics for a song to celebrate that most British of games, Cricket.

The digitised image of an archived printed song sheet is rather faded, so has been reconstructed below.

Ack: National Library of Australia. nla.obj-177249186.

16

PART 3A: This article is here as an overview essay to give perspective on the Marine Survey.

Tuesday 5th September 1865, The Age, page 5.

THE SURVEY OF THE COAST. In October, 1857, the necessity for a survey of the coast of the colony, and the desirability of its being performed by the Home Government was brought under the notice of the then Government of the colony by the chief harbor master, Captain Ferguson. Beyond mere correspondence between this officer and the head of the department to which he was attached, the Commissioner of Trade and Customs, nothing was done, until from the frequency of wrecks, attributable in a great measure to the incorrectness of the charts then in use, and the want of a complete survey of the coast, the attention of the Chamber of Commerce was drawn to the necessity, in the interests of the mercantile community, and for the advancement of the port, of something being done to give effect to the chief harbor master's representations; and a resolution was arrived at affirming the necessity for an accurate survey of the coast line of the colony, and recommending the Government to apply to the Imperial Legislature for assistance in the accomplishment of so desirable an object. At that time the only charts in existence were one by Captain Stokes, of Bass's Straits, from Cape Howe, on the eastern boundary line to a little beyond Cape Otway, executed in 1843; and Flinders' chart, surveyed in 1802, and corrected to 1843 by Captain Stokes, of the coast, commencing at Cape Otway and terminating about a degree and a half on the western boundary line. These charts were to some extent unreliable from their incompleteness, attributable to the necessarily hurried manner in which the work was done, and the omission of many ports and harbors that, owing to the progress of the colony and the growth of the intercolonial trade, had become of local importance; and several wrecks, including these of the Schomberg [ref p 18], and H.M.S. Sappho, were distinctly traceable to the absence of accurate information of the dangers to navigation existing on the coast. The Government, with characteristic nonchalance, kept the correspondence of the chief harbor master and the Chamber of Commerce in the pigeon boles of the bureau, until about the close of 1859 the necessity for a re-survey of the coast was pointed out in consequence of the loss of the Admella, which, not only from its disastrous results to human life, but also from the political importance it assumed and its bearing upon the Administration, and the charges of neglect brought forward against the Government gave to it a significance which a succeeding Administration felt disposed to guard against. A re-survey of the coast was asked for by Captain Ferguson, as it was evident that the survey which had previously been made was incorrect; and an opinion, in the case of the wreck of the Admella, was hazarded, that the coast line was either not properly defined or that there was a strong indraught on that part of the coast, of which mariners were not duly warned. It excited no surprise to find the Chief Secretary of a new Administration taking up the matter with some spirit; and in 1859 Mr William Nicholson, having replaced Mr O'Shanassy in the Government of the colony, addressed a communication to the New South Wales Government in order to ascertain whether H.M.S. Herald, Captain Denham, then engaged in surveying the Australian coast in Imperial interests, north of Port Jackson, could be made available for the survey of the coast; and, subsequently, the Imperial Government was communicated with to ascertain on what terms the Board of Admiralty would render the Government of Victoria assistance in carrying out the object in view. It was not until 1860 that the hydrographers to the Board of Admiralty intimated their willingness to meet the colony half way in the cost of a survey, and the Board of Admiralty undertook ultimately to send out a qualified party of officers on the Government of Victoria consenting to bear half the expense. The Imperial Government afterwards appropriated a sum of £10,000 for the survey of the coast line of Australia, and an engagement was effected by which an equal sum should be paid by the Governments of the different Australian colonies, according to the estimated cost and length of the coast line of each colony. The division was £2500 for each of the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria; £2000 for the colony of Tasmania; and £1500 for the colony of South Australia. The Tasmanian Government declined the agreement, and the survey party destined for that colony was recalled; and the surveys of the other colonies are still in a condition of progress. The cost of the survey of the coast line of Victoria was estimated at about £5000; and it was considered likely the work could be executed in about five years. This was the opinion of Captain Washington, hydrographer to the Admiralty; but the data upon which he came to that conclusion were unreliable, or, rather, the agreement he proposed entering into with the Government of Victoria was subsequently modified. The hiring occasionally of a small steamer was a part of his scheme, the Admiralty undertaking to send out a party of qualified officers, who, with boats or a small sailing vessel, or occasionally by hiring a small steamer, would be enabled to survey all the harbors on the coast line out to low-water mark; and when that was done and beacons set up in all the most prominent positions, a suitable steamer was to complete the off-shore soundings and finish the survey. The cost of the survey was not supposed to exceed £5000 a year, the Admiralty providing officers and all necessary instruments, and paying salaries, the colony finding the means of locomotion, boats' crews, &c. An arrangement was subsequently effected on this basis, and Commander Cox, R.N., with a staff of officers, consisting of Lieutenant Bourchier, R.N., Lieutenant Boulton, R.N., Mr McHugh, draftsman, and Mr Crispo, clerk and accountant, arrived from England at the close of 1860. Commander Cox had previously been engaged in important surveys, and was esteemed a highly qualified officer, and the Loelia, cutter, of 65 tons, belonging to the Government of Victoria, was handed over to him.

17

She had been previously employed in effecting a survey of Port Phillip harbor, under Commander Ross, who in Imperial interests had, following in the wake of Flinders, Stokes, Owen, Stanley and others, done something towards the work of survey; but, under the new arrangement entered into with the British Government, he retired and was succeeded by Commander Cox. The first work undertaken was to proceed with the Survey of Port Phillip Bay, commencing in January, 1861, with the harbor of Geelong, and from thence to the survey of Port Philip Bay generally. This work, with the limited means of locomotion afforded, occupied some time. Up to the present period 350 miles of the coast line have been minutely surveyed and charts made. After the completion of the Survey of the harbor of Port Phillip the survey party proceeded to Western Port. The survey of that harbor will prove one of the most satisfactory labors of Commander Cox. It has always been avoided by mariners as affording insecure shelter and anchorage, and it is no uncommon thing to find mariners to this day, when eastward of Cape Schanck, bound to Port Phillip, run past Western Port in stress of weather, and seek shelter in Twofold Bay. The survey of the port justifies Commander Cox in declaring it to be one of the finest harbors in the world, having good anchorage and shelter from all the prevailing winds, and it can be entered easily, even when a lee shore. There is from ten to twenty fathoms of water over a distance of twenty miles, and room enough to anchor the whole of the British navy. The importance of this discovery will be appreciated by a comparison with the harbor of Hobson's Bay, the deepest entrance to which - the south channel - is only four fathoms, and in the west channel three fathoms. Should the proprietors of the Great Eastern feel disposed to gratify the desire of the colonists to see the monster vessel on our coast, her draught of water, 32 ½ feet, would effectually preclude her entering the bay; nor does the colony possess any harbor, except Western Port, where this vessel could ride in security. In Western Port, at Sandy Point, the sandbank is so steep that it would be easy for the Great Eastern to run her nose on the point and land her passengers and cargo over her bows, from whence the passengers and goods could be conveyed by smaller craft to Melbourne, or overland if desirable. At Sandy Point vessels can run alongside, load and unload in ten fathoms water. First, second and third rate ships of war would also be necessitated to proceed to Western Port; third rate ships with stores and equipment, having a draught of about twenty-four feet. Between Phillip Island and French Island, there is ample anchorage and security for any ordinary vessel. The principal channel is fully a mile wide, and with proper precautions any mariner could enter. A few buoys, and perhaps a light house on Sandy Point or Point Grant, would be almost all that is required to render the navigation secure. The survey party was engaged all last season in the port, and another season will be necessary to complete the work. It has been carried out with so much minuteness that the chart shows numerous channels in the mud banks with a depth of water sufficient for vessels of light draught by which access can be had by means of jetties with the main land on the north and east, which the residents around the port will soon turn to good account, since it affords a means of ready access to the Melbourne market in the shipment of stock and produce, instead of incurring all the risk, delay and uncertainty of overland transport. The cost of the survey has not exceeded the original estimate, but much more could be done in proportion to the outlay were a suitable vessel provided. With the very inefficient locomotion at Commander Cox's disposal, the survey is necessarily slow, the party being completely at the mercy of the elements. The work performed is the survey of the inner and outer harbor of Geelong; and Hobson's Bay and river up to Melbourne. These surveys form two charts, which have been published. Charts of the survey of Port Phillip, northern and southern, forming two sheets, and of the entrance to Port Phillip Harbor, are in course of publication. Several sheets (30) of the survey of Western Port are also in progress. These charts embrace the contour and topographical features of the coast for a mile inland, and soundings extending not less than five miles from the coast seaward. The amount of labor required to perform the work accurately can only be appreciated by the initiated. The officers are all under Imperial authority, and the colony exercises no control over them; and all charts and plans are prepared by the officers during the period when the weather will not admit of boat survey, and are forwarded in such a state of completeness to the hydrographic establishment of the Board of Admiralty, that nothing is necessary but to place them in the hands of the engraver for publication, from whence they are issued to the public at a nominal sum. The boats' crews are engaged as their services are required, and are paid by the colonial Government. During the season there will be on an average about twenty-three men employed, whose wages are 7s 6d per day; coxswains, 9s 6d. This is the Government rate of remuneration to customs and water police boats' crews, whose duties are by no means be excessive. During the summer months, the party is engaged in survey, and, when the winter has set in and the boats cannot be employed, the vessel is laid up, the men discharged, and the officers occupied in the preparation of charts embracing the work of the summer. Judging of the work done, and the amount of work remaining to be performed, it is evident the time originally estimated (five years), will be inadequate to complete it. This is likely to be a source of regret, but it is traceable to an opinion expressed by the British hydrographer, upon unreliable data. The British Government has not shown any disposition to confine the survey to the limits originally laid down, but would be willing to increase the expense if proportionately borne by the colony, and secure a steamer for the more vigorous prosecution of the work. Some mention was made, in the early correspondence which took place, of making use of the Victoria steam sloop; but it is probable the Government was alarmed at the expense which would be involved by handing over that vessel to Commander Cox, to say nothing of the inconvenience that would arise from an Imperial officer having the entire control of a colonial war vessel.

18

The Loelia was viewed by many as only a make-shift, until a more suitable vessel could be provided, and the recent launch of the Pharos steamer suggests her profitable employment, for a portion of the year at least, in the survey of the coast, which could be done without injury to the service to which it is presumed she will be devoted, namely, the keeping open the connection between the lighthouses on the coast. Some additional expense would, of necessity, be incurred; but it would be more than compensated in the speedy execution of the work; and the British Government, in the spirit of the hydrographer's letter, written in 1800, would no doubt be willing to bear a fair share of the extra cost.

There cannot be two opinions of the necessity of pushing forward the survey with proper expedition.

The opening up of Western Port is an illustration, and it is fair to presume that, had the information derived from Commander Cox's researches been made earlier available, the shipping interest of the colony would have benefited materially. There can be no doubt that, by a proper survey, we should be made acquainted with more harbors of refuge for the protection of our shipping, and have the means of thoroughly knowing our resources along our seaboard, which might ultimately open up some new sources of wealth to the colony.

It is but recently that a wish was expressed in Parliament that Commander Cox should turn his attention to the survey of the entrance to the Gipps’ Land Lakes; and something like a promise was made that, as soon as the survey of Western Port was concluded, he would be requested to do so. An opinion is entertained that the shifting nature of the sand banks at the sea mouth will always preclude safe navigation of the entrance to the Lakes, but should Commander Cox's investigations lead to the discovery of a secure entrance, the advantage would be incalculable, and more than compensate for the cost of the Survey of the entire coast.

Undoubtedly, in a country like this, prospecting and exploring by sea, as well as by land, should be always progressive, until every nook and corner has been mapped out, and not a foot of our coast or our inland territory be unknown. A step is being made in so desirable a direction, but it is too slow for a go-a-head country like ours; and if the sinews of war were only a little more freely applied, there would be less ground of complaint. The amount of work to be done is vastly greater than that performed; but it is in the nature of things that it should be so, as the work can only progress in proportion to the means available.

The work of survey will not admit of a minute and intelligible description to the general reader. The British hydrographer suggested in 1800 that the colony should organize a land survey, and triangulate a part of the country from which secondary triangles could be extended to the coast. This was subsequently done, and forms the basis upon which the survey of the coast is effected, so far as the triangulation has extended. From these secondary triangles smaller ones are laid down, until every part of a given area is apportioned like the lines of a spider's web, within which nothing can escape the surveyor. The published charts do not convey anything like an accurate notion of the number of soundings taken. Only such as indicate a change in the depth of water are published, but, to ascertain this, every part of the coast must be carefully sounded.

A considerable part of the coast line is not yet included in the trigonometrical survey, but the work is progressing, and will, sooner or later, be completed. On the whole, therefore, beyond the complaint that the survey of the coast line of the colony has, in point of duration, been underestimated, as much expedition has been made as the means available will admit of. Any difficulties on that ground need not for a moment stand in the way. If greater activity is desired, it rests with the Government of the colony to manifest a liberal disposition and, supported, as there is reason to believe it would be, by the Imperial Government, the desired end will be the more speedily attained. (no attribution to any writer was given for this extensive review)

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BELOW: IMAGES OF TWO SHIPS MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT (Ack: both images, State Library of Victoria)

The Schomberg, of 2284 tons, was on her maiden voyage when she struck a rocky reef off the west Victorian coast near Peterborough in December 1855, as mentioned in the overview article above. (ref p 16)

The 1706 ton steam corvette HMS Orpheus, pictured above at Sydney, was transporting stores and Marines from Sydney to New Zealand in 1863, when she was wrecked on Manakau Bar, Auckland. (ref p 8)

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PART 3B: This Editorial Piece is included here as an updated overview of the Marine Survey.

The Argus, Friday 6th July 1866, page 5.

OUR COAST AND HARBOUR SURVEY. It is not too much to say that, of the branches of the public service which have suffered from those who seem to prefer party warfare to departmental usefulness, our marine survey stands among the first. That the sea has no representative in Parliament, and lends no support to a Ministerial majority, may be one of the many reasons for this, but certain it is that the assertion of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, made seven years ago, that "little or nothing has been done by Government towards a comprehensive survey of the coast of Victoria," remains as true as ever. Surveys - common, magnetic, trigonometric, and geologic - go expensively on; we are busy with batteries, forts, guns, and volunteers, but beyond Port Phillip Heads we have little or no certain knowledge of our shores; and but the other day a Russian commander took soundings of a neighbouring harbour, through whose undefended mouth a fleet might pass unnoticed, and in a few hours be nearly within bombarding distance of Melbourne. We now give our readers a short account of the history, present condition, and prospects of our colonial marine survey. While yet this colony formed a portion of New South Wales, and nevertheless acquiring by its prosperity and separate interests a distinctive character for itself, the state of its coast survey stood thus : First (second in order of date). - Stokes' chart of Bass's Straits, corrected up to 1843, commencing about longitude 150° E., and terminating about longitude 143° E; that is from Cape Howe, our eastern boundary line, to a little beyond Cape Otway. Second.- Flinders' chart, surveyed in 1802, and corrected up to 1843 by Captain Stokes. This chart commences at Cape Otway, and terminates about a degree and a half beyond our western boundary line. These surveys, though useful - and indeed still indispensable - as to general outline, were in the main mere running surveys. The first chart is most valuable as far as the general navigation of Bass's Straits, the islands there, and the northern part of Tasmania is concerned ; but the coast-line, known as Ninety-mile Beach, viz., from the neighbourhood of Gabo Island to a short distance off Port Albert, comprises nearly 160 miles of unsurveyed coast. It is, in fact, a blank, with neither headland nor inland mark put down, nor any soundings, either on the coast or adjacent waters, to guide the mariner. Scarcely any more is known of this part of the coast now than in the year 1798 - nearly seventy years ago - when Bass first discovered the straits bearing his name. From Point Lonsdale to Cape Otway, including that part of Barwon Heads on which the S.S. Ant was wrecked the other day, the coast is but imperfectly surveyed, a condition practically similar to that of the coast west of Cape Schanck, the surveys of which are only in manuscript. Moreover, the soundings in the neighbourhood of Corner Inlet cannot now be depended upon, for, but the other day, Captain Ferguson, chief harbour-master of Victoria, from whose officially recorded opinion we have already quoted, visited the place in the Government Steamer Pharos, and found the shoaling outside very great, to the deterioration of the Admiralty chart, viz., Captain Stokes's chart of the straits. As to the second chart, the imperfections are enormous. In 1859 the Victorian chief harbour-master wrote to the Government respecting it, explaining that Captain Stokes's corrections were, he believed, made from a hurried survey. He added: "Of its imperfections, for instance, between Cape Otway and Portland Bay, there are several portions not examined at all. Belfast [Port Fairy] is scarcely noticed, and where Warrnambool exists, the coast is a perfect blank, marked as unsurveyed; yet this part of the coast is constantly being approached by steam and sailing vessels, both in our coasting trade and by vessels from Europe and India bound here, to New South Wales, Tasmania, and New Zealand, freighted annually with thousands of passengers and millions' worth of property." And so the case continues to be. A little additional information is gained from some small local charts prepared by land surveyors, and of course quite unrecognised by the Admiralty authorities. Who is responsible for these terrible omissions our readers may gather for themselves. The naked fact remains, that excepting the surveys-little more than running surveys, made long before these ports reached any great importance-of Captains Stokes and Flinders, and those of Hobson's Bay, Western Port, and Corner Inlet, the safe navigation of our coast is wholly the result of the local knowledge of the masters in the coasting trade. The history of our marine survey presents no very agreeable picture. It is a story of dilly dally. There is no occasion to inquire what the New South Wales Government did for us in this respect. Their efforts in behalf of their provinces are generally supposed to be of a piece, and so we cannot undertake to describe a blank. In 1853, Captain A. Clarke was appointed surveyor-general of Victoria, and forthwith something was done. Captain Robb, a naval officer on a visit to this colony, and open to employment, was appointed to take charge of a marine survey party attached to the land survey department, and the cutter Loelia, purchased from the late Twisden Hodges, was handed over to him. Strange to say, though our bay was as yet comparatively unexplored, so great was private interest that Captain Ross was first sent to Port Albert, and spent two or three years in surveying the inner harbour of Corner Inlet, his surveys being subsequently adopted by the Admiralty. That over, he surveyed Port Phillip Bay, a work since done over again by a regular Admiralty Survey party. This brings us to October, 1857, when the chief harbour-master again addressed the Government on the unsatisfactory condition of affairs in this respect. The idea then was that H.M.C.S. Victoria should be used as a survey vessel, and Captain Ferguson urged, that as our coasts were at least of equal importance to the British mercantile marine as to anyone else, considering how largely the vessels trading to this port, whether coasters or foreign vessels, were owned or insured in England, it was only reasonable to ask the home Government to survey the coast, no chart emanating from any other source giving equal confidence to the navigator. Cont >

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The British Government had at that moment- it was pointed out - surveying expeditions in China, the Fijis, the West Indies, and the Pacific, and the surveying ship Pandora had spent years producing beautifully perfect charts of the New Zealand coast, while many parts of our coast line were absolutely unknown. Nothing came from this, and in August, 1858, another appeal was made to the Government from the same quarter, but it was so ineffectual, that on the 9th of May, in the following year, the committee of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce passed the following resolution, and forwarded it to the hon. Commissioner of Trade and Customs for that year, and who happened to be the Hon. Henry Miller, the present representative of the Ministry in the Legislative Council: "Resolved - That as little or nothing has been done by Government (as far as this chamber is aware) towards a comprehensive survey of the coast of Victoria, the secretary be instructed to call the attention of Government to the want of recent or accurate charts of the coast line of the colony; and to request that the deficiency may be pointed out to the British Government, with the view that surveying ships may be sent to survey the coasts of Australia, so that reliable charts may be obtained for the use of navigators.". This time the Government really did something. The Hon. H. Miller actually promised the "greatest consideration of the subject, "and wrote to the chief harbour-master for a report. Captain Ferguson replied in his old strain, giving a number of facts, such as the loss of the Schomberg and H.M. brig Sappho; and dwelling on the necessity of more knowledge of the tides and currents in Bass's Straits, which, especially after boisterous weather, were found to be most perplexing. He again urged that, in point of economy and efficiency, the work was better left in the hands of the Admiralty, for were different sets of colonial officers to attempt the work for each colony irremediable discrepancies in the relative positions of places would arise; and also strongly recommended that the home Government should be applied to, to thoroughly re-survey Bass's Straits, King's Island, the coasts of South Australia, Tasmania, and New South Wales, and sound the adjacent seas, say, for 200 miles off the coasts. A few weeks later, and every mind In the colony was shocked by the story of a steamer from Adelaide being wrecked on a rock so far in the regular line of sailing that, as she lay days and nights within sight of those on shore, who were willing but unable to rescue the survivors, the mail steamer Bombay and the S.S. Havilah passed so close that the beat of their engines was heard on the wreck.

The loss of the Admella brought another letter from the chief harbour-master to the Hon. H. Miller but party spirit ran high, politics absorbed attention, and it was not till December, 1859, that the Hon. Vincent Pyke, Mr. Miller's successor, began to take steps in the matter. There were a few farther delays; but at last the then Governor, Sir Henry Barkly, brought the matter under the notice of the Duke of Newcastle ; and, to meet the exigencies of red-tape, Captain Kay, R.N., wrote to the hydrographer of the Admiralty, asking in what way a proposal should come from this colony. With commendable promptitude, the hydrographer at once wrote back to say that he was sure the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty would be quite ready to grant an application for a nautical survey, the colony paying half the cost. Considering the high authority of the writer, the late Admiral Washington, it is worthwhile extracting two paragraphs from his letter, as follows: "From a good deal of experience in surveying, I am satisfied that the most economical mode of conducting such a survey would be, to send out a small party of qualified officers, who, with boats or a small sailing vessel, or occasionally by hiring a small steamer, would be enabled to survey all the harbours and the coast line out to low water mark, and probably out into ten fathoms depth, at a very slight expense. When this was done, and beacons set up in all the most prominent positions, a suitable steamer would, in the course of one or two seasons at most, complete the off-shore soundings, and you would have your survey finished. I think that five years (this in 1860) should accomplish all you require. "I consider that the expense of the boat survey can hardly exceed, even in Australia, £4,000 a year - it may be much less - it would be about £2,500 in England. The Admiralty would provide chronometers, instruments of all kinds, competent officers, and pay them their salaries and allowances. The colony would find the means of locomotion, boats' crews, &c, which would be about one-half the cost. When the ship became necessary, the expense would increase to from £8,000 to £10,000 a year; and I have little doubt but that the Admiralty would continue to bear half the expense. I am supposing a steamer of about 700 tons, sent from England for the purpose - but it is probable the colony would find a more economical mode of effecting this work." The second phase In the history of our marine survey commences within as short a time after the application which Admiral Washington recommended was sent home as possible. The request was made at a favourable period, for the Admiralty had decided that the most economical plan on which they could continue their surveys would be by means of small parties of officers, who were empowered to hire boats or vessels for such temporary service as they might require on the part of the coast to which their attention was directed. They decided, too, to conduct the surveys on the Australian coast in pretty much the same manner; and the offer made to Victoria was also made to New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and even Tasmania, and accepted by each Government, save that of Tasmania.

As suggested by the Admiralty hydrographer, each colony was to provide the means of locomotion, the total expense being In the end exactly divided between the colony and the Imperial authorities, the sole direction of the survey remaining in the hands of the latter. Captain Sydney and party were on this arrangement sent to New South Wales, Captain Jeffrey and party to Queensland, and Captain Hitchman and party to South Australia. To Victoria came Captain (Commander) H. L. Cox, RN., who had been long employed in Admiralty surveys at the Azores, the west coast of Africa, the Madeiras, the south coast of England, and the English Channel; and his party consisted, as it does now, of Mr. T. Bourchier, R.N., master ; Mr. J. G. Boulton, R.N., acting second master; Mr. S. S. Crispo, secretary; and Mr. P. H. McHugh, draftsman. Cont >

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They arrived here at the close of 1860, and the Loelia being handed over for the service, they have been, with the aid of boat parties, employed at discretion, carrying on the work with the success we shall describe shortly. The Admiralty has allowed £10,000 per annum for the four Australian colonies; and £2,600 coming to Victoria as her share, it has been doubled by our own contribution, thus making-In spite of the lower estimate of Admiral Washington-a total annual expenditure of £5,000 a year on our marine survey, which, under the latest conditions, has now been going on nearly six years, or nearly twelve months more than the term in which the Admiralty expected the whole would be completed. How much has been done, is the next question; and few of our readers will be prepared to know how very, very little. Ignoring or only making partial allowance for previous surveys, Captain Cox began his work at Geelong, thence following the coastline round Port Phillip and Hobson's Bay. He has also begun the survey of Western Port. This survey, with that of the intermediate line of coast, is now going on; a portion of the coast west of Cape Schanck being, we believe, completed, but not yet published. Partial interruptions to the work have been caused by inquiries into the silting up of Hobson's Bay. When the present section is completed, Captain Cox (or his successor, he meditating retirement) will proceed with the survey of the coastline towards Wilson's Promontory, and so on along the Gipps’ Land