Transcript Bound for South Australia 1836 Week 37 Building a Home

Bound for South Australia 1836
Building a Home
Week 37
Robert Thomas’ tent and rush tent, Glenelg. 1836
Overview
Between February and July 1836 nine ships left Britain bound for the newly
created province of South Australia. On-board the ships were passengers who
over many long months braved the perils of the ocean, including some of the
most treacherous seas in the world to begin a new life on the other side of
the world.
This resource uses the stories from these nine ships as recorded by the
passengers and crew in their personal journals.
Contents
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Introduction
Journal entries
Inquiry Questions
Relevant images
Glossary of Terms
Introduction
This week Colonel Light writes in his diary while sitting in his hut and we hear
that his men are building a store-hut nearby using building materials
unloaded from the Rapid. He has divided his surveyors into two groups and
has sent them to different parts of South Australia in his quest to find the best
site for a capital city. As he sits in his hut swatting flies we wonder what his
hut is like and this gives us an opportunity to look at the homes that were
built in South Australia in 1836. How were these early homes built? What
were they made from and what factors influenced the types of homes people
built?
Journals from settlers in South Australia:
Monday 31 October 1836
William Light, who arrived in South Australia on board the Rapid wrote:
31 October-Employed all day in my hut constructing my chart, and the men
all day in building a store-house. Very variable climate; at six exceedingly
cold, at eight still colder, and cold all night.
Tuesday 1 November 1836
William Light, who arrived in South Australia on board the Rapid wrote:
1 November-Calm and fine. The men employed constructing a store-hut –
myself with chart.
Thursday 3 November 1836
Robert Gouger, who arrived in South Australia on board the Africaine wrote:
Everything which I have observed, & the report received from others not
connected with Mr S. goes to prove that Kangaroo Island may be made a
flourishing settlement. The harbour of Nepean Bay may be said to be
perfect – secure from all winds and will allow of the entrance of vessels
much larger than the “Africaine”, requiring the expenditure of but little
money or labour to make excellent landing places. Capt Duff speaks in the
very highest terms of the anchorage (sand & mud) & is so much pleased
with the facilities afforded for shipping that as a S. Australian land
proprietor, he says he would be content to have his section placed adjacent
to this Bay. The land is so thickly wooded that the clearing of it would
require a deal of labour & cost a considerable sum. The timber is not large,
& is serviceable therefore only for rafters, for roofs, fencing, & purposes of
that kind.
…In wandering with H. among the partially cleared brushwood, we one
day fell upon a Hut – one room of about 12 ft square, inhabited by 2 men
& a woman – a native of Van Dieman’s Land, of most forbidding
appearance. The men were run-away Sailors, who had never approached
the Company’s settlement with a view to obtaining employment. One of
them sternly ordered the woman to get some tea & make it. She
accordingly cut off a branch of the tree, and put it into the pot, thus
obeying the mandate of her lord. The taste of this decoction was not
disagreeable.
Saturday 5 November 1836
Dr John Woodforde, who arrived in South Australia on board the Rapid wrote:
The last three days being almost maddened by the flies, I have been
building myself a hut which will in some measure keep off these
persevering tormentors. As the heat is excessive in the middle of the day
and I have nearly half a mile to fetch my wood I fear it will be an endless
job. The Brig arrived from Kangaroo Island with the rest of the Surveyors
etc. on Wednesday evening. The party is now divided into two – one of
which sailed yesterday at 1 p.m. in the brig for Holdfast Bay where that
division will for the present be stationed. We are in momentary expectation
of the arrival of Pullen who remained behind at the Island with the hatch
boat to bring over Dr. Wright of the “Cygnet” who is detained at a bad case
of midwifery. Colonel Light has appointed Dr. Wright to the Holdfast Bay
station and I remain in care of the Rapid Bay one. When Pullen arrives
Colonel Light will join the brig with him and proceed round the Gulf and
then to Port Lincoln leaving Maria here under my care.
Inquiry Questions
• What would the hut that Colonel Light lives be like?
• What types of houses were built when the people from our voyages
arrived in South Australia?
• How were decisions made about where to build houses and what designs
to use?
• What building materials were available to use at this time?
Images
Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia
SLSA B8436 - view at Normanville, 1836
Robert Thomas' tent and rush tent, Glenelg. 1836.
Image courtesy of SLSA [B2128]
Mr Beares tents, Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island. ca. 1836.
Glossary of Terms
brig
• A sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts.
H
• Harriet
hatch-boat
• A class of net fishing boats used on the Thames estuary. The Rapid’s boat was built specially for
the Colonization Commissioners by W.T. Gulliver of Wapping.
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