Establishment of New Roots |
During his time transporting goods from Belfast for Rutledge & Co, James Chard crossed most of the pastoral ‘stations’ and squatter runs, reaching north to Mount Shadwell (Mortlake), Fiery Creek (Lake Bolac), Mount Elephant (Derrinallum) and Lismore, east to Mount Garvock (Yallock), Mount Noorat (Glenormiston) and Camperdown, south to Cobden, Timboon and Allansford and west to Yambuk, St Helens and Portland. |
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Squatter runs and pastoral stations of Portland Bay and Villiers. Crown survey (c1850), courtesy of the National Library of Australia. |
To reach most of the settlements east of Belfast James Chard needed to cross the Merri River and stop at Warrnambool. In his reminisces he recalls that:— “there were only three or four buildings in the place, and the only means of conveyance to be seen were bullock teams.” |
The fledgling settlement started to grow when several large Brigantines and Schooners anchored near Lady Bay, leading to the construction of a township jetty and the establishment of goods sheds adjacent to the mouth of the Merri River. Shortly after, mercantile storehouses erected by grazier and pastoralists Thomas Manifold and George Bostock emerged and the settlement’s first trading company [1] was founded. Bostock managed the mercantile side of the partnership and ran the general store, whilst Manifold's time was largely taken up as the district’s magistrate [2]. As a carter, James, with his own team, would have done a lot of business with these merchants and traders. |
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| A Brigantine lies at anchor in Lady Bay. Goods sheds and the prominent mercantile store belonging to Manifold and Bostock can be seen at the jetty whilst the elevated settlement of Warrnambool is outlined in the distance. Sketch done by S. T. Gill in 1857. Courtesy of the Mitchell Library. |
During the early days of Warrnambool's development, James Chard had the occasion to drop supplies to a station named Yallock on Mt Emu Creek. Here, on a farm they called Dairy Bank, an Englishman named Charles Grayland managed [3] and ran a few head of dairy cattle as well as cropping wheat, oats and potatoes with partners William Spall and John Rugman. James was obviously a welcome visitor and he found the farm's bushland surroundings reminiscent of his Churchstanton childhood. He also immediately struck a bond with William Spall, another Englishman, who had also fallen foul [4] of cruel Victorian justice. Whilst at Dairy Bank Grayland offered James a job, and now understanding that he yearned to follow his farming ambitions, he decided to give up cartage and Belfast to focus on becoming a pastoralist based more around Warrnambool. |
In his reminisces he recalls that:— |
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Living conditions were tough as there were few basic necessities. Raising a young family, as the Graylands [5] and Rugmans [6] did was a feat in itself as there was ever-present danger. Despite all the hardships and danger, for James Chard it was the first time since being forcibly removed from the Devonshire countryside that he was able to experience the joy of “family” through the toils of communal farming. What James, and every other settler in the district, hadn't counted on was the horrifying holocaust that was Black Thursday. In the reminiscences of Mr Charles John Grayland (1817 — 1883) [3] he recalls that:— |
“On 6 February 1851 the colony experienced its Black Thursday, which was a day of intense heat throughout Australia. The bush fires were terrible, a large area of country desolated, and a great loss of human life, as well as a vast destruction of sheep, cattle and farm buildings. Early that particular morning the Yallock stock were taken to a handy reservoir where there was good water. The blacks were troublesome at this time and anyone without a gun was likely to be speared. Owing to the smoke pall and intense heat all roads led to this reservoir and before midday, blackfellows, kangaroos, wild dogs, snakes and numerous other creatures arrived in quest of water. Those in charge of the Yallock stock had a very anxious and trying time but got them home safely before nightfall.” |
In the weeks and months after the destruction, a large amount of clearing had to be done. Cutting through thick scrub and uprooting trees was very demanding, but it was still gratifying to see the quick regrowth of the charred scrubland. Of this time James Chard recalls that:— |
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The following year Yallock station and Dairy Bank farm with all it's stock were sold [7] to Irishman Andrew Tobin (1830 – 1904) resulting in the Grayland, Spall and Rugman families removing to Camperdown, Keayang (Dixie) and Timboon respectively. For James Chard, it was also time to move on and he now had a good idea in what direction he was headed. |
References
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