Van Diemen's Land - The First Ten Years
Publication No. 246 Size: A4 Weight: 110 grams
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND - THE FIRST TEN YEARS
Irene Schaffer
Fifteen years after the arrival of the First Fleet at Port Jackson, Lieutenant Governor King was the Governor of New South Wales. Hearing that the French maybe intending to settle at Storm Bay on the south east coast of Van Diemen's Land, King sent Lt. Bowen of the Royal Navy to the River Derwent to foil any attempt by the French to establish a stronghold there.
After some delay and three aborted departures, Lt. Bowen sailed aboard the Albion in the company of the Lady Nelson, arriving in the Derwent River on the 10" September 1803, five days after the Lady Nelson. The Albion put ashore the new Commandant of Van Diemen's Land along with his horse, ten cattle, fifty sheep, a few goats and some fowls. With only six months supply of stores and the meager amount of food to feed his men, Bowen would find it a very difficult task to 'immediately prepare the land for crops', as was his instructions from Governor King. The party consisted of a few free settlers, a surgeon, a medical officer, and a store keeper, his military force was made up of 1 land corporal and 7 privates of the New South Wales Corps. The remainder was 21 male and 3 female convicts. In all the entire number to fend off the French were 49 persons, of whom 13 were women and children. One lone native with a spear witnessed the arrival at Risdon Cove, he later entered the camp and was given trinkets. No large groups of natives were seen.
The new Commandant was well pleased with the choice of Risdon Cove as the new settlement. His instructions from King were to 'fix a spot above Risdon Cove', and as be had found a stream there, he immediately set up his camp. He was later to take a boat excursion up the Derwent River to Herdsmen's Cove (Bridgewater) and described it as a spot 'with banks like Noblemens' parks in England, beautifully green'. He thought it would take 'very little trouble to clear and plough the land, if only be had a hundred men'. He dreamed of a flourishing colony, 'but his workman were very few and very bad.'
With each settler being allowed two convicts to assist him, plus free Government stores, (while they worked their grants of land), Bowen's work force for the settlement was greatly reduced. The convicts being a hardened lot, there were many attempted to escape. One party being successful, taking the only small boat that the settlement bad.
Discontentment amongst his soldiers, and the overall bad behaviour of the convicts, resulted in Bowen requesting a sergeant to be sent from Port Jackson. Instead Gov. King sent Lt. Moore of the NSW Corps, accompanied by a small number of soldiers on the brig Dart in October 1803. Forty-two prisoners, of whom twenty were volunteers were also dispatched. This brought the total to in the Colony to 100.
The situation did not improve and when a solider was caught assisting a convict in a robbery, Bowen decided to accompany him to Port Jackson for trial, in an attempt to state bis plight in the new Colony to King personally. He left Lt. Moore in charge and this was to cause all sorts of problems. Governor King was most annoyed that Bowen,
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