Our Indooroopilly - Narrative of Oxley's Expedition 1823

Readings from Primary Sources on Moreton Bay & Brisbane

These "Readings" from Barron Field's book, Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales are reprinted from J.G. Steele, The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770-1830, Brisbane, 1972. They relate the arrival in Pumice-stone River, Moreton Bay, of John Oxley's expedition in 1823 to Port Curtis and Moreton Bay. They were written by John Uniacke in a narrative called "Narrative of Mr. Oxley's Expedition to survey Port Curtis and Moreton Bay" and published in Barron Field's book. Field's version has evidently been redrafted from a manuscript in the Mitchell Library which may well have been in John Uniacke's writing. Steele quotes the manuscript in footnotes whenever it appears to be more accurate.
Note that Footnotes are per J.G. Steele.
Note that the introductory paragraphs below show heavy quoting from and extensive reliance on J.G. Steele's The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770-1830, Brisbane, 1972. There has also been some quoting from Hector Holthouse's Illustrated History of Queensland.

John Oxley settled in Sydney in 1812 after being appointed Surveyor of Lands in New South Wales. He discovered the Lachlan, Castlereagh and Hastings Rivers in the years following. In 1818 he discovered the Liverpool Plains. He assisted in the establishment of the convict settlement at Port Macquarie, and also made various overland journeys of exploration. His visit to Moreton Bay in 1823 paved the way for the Moreton Bay Settlement, which he helped to establish at Redcliffe in 1824. After several years of ill-health, he died at his country home, Kirkham, Camden, in 1828, at the age of forty-five.

John Fitzgerald Uniacke was Superintendent of Distilleries in New South Wales. He was chosen for the 1823 expedition to identify and collect rocks and minerals. He was also something of an expert on rare birds, and flora and fauna in general. He had a deep interest in aborigines, their culture and mode of existence. Later, he became Sheriff and Provost Master of New South Wales. He died in Sydney in 1825 from fever, at the young age of about twenty-six.

John Oxley was instructed by Governor Brisbane to assess Port Curtis (at Gladstone), Moreton Bay and Port Bowen as sites for convict settlements. He left Sydney in the colonial cutter "Mermaid" (H.M. Cutter "Mermaid") on 23 October 1823, with Captain Charles Penson as Master, Lieutenant Stirling of the 3rd Regiment ("The Buffs") and a young English gentleman named John Fitzgerald Uniacke as supercargo.

Reports on Moreton Bay had been so discouraging that Oxley sailed first to Port Curtis. They reached Port Curtis on 6 November, and explored the Boyne River and the adjacent harbours until 21 November. Abandoning the idea of visiting Port Bowen, they entered Moreton Bay on 29 November, anchoring close to Point Skirmish at the entrance of Pumice-Stone River (near where Flinders had anchored 22 years earlier).

The castaways, Pamphlet and Finnegan, were picked up, and on 1 December Oxley and Stirling set out in the whaleboat to explore the Brisbane River, taking Finnegan as a guide and provisions for four days. Through an error by Finnegan they rowed up the North Pine River to within a mile or two of Petrie. The first day's search ended a little above Red Cliff Point. The following day they entered the Brisbane River and charted its course as far as Goodna, returning to the ship on 5 December.

During this excursion they went ashore at the following places: north bank of the North Pine River (climbed a small hill); Shorncliffe (camped); Pinkenba; Hamilton (climbed Toorak Hill); Bowen Terrace near the Story Bridge (lunched); Emmanuel College or King's College, St. Lucia (camped); Tennyson power house; Birkin Road, Moggill; Prior's Pocket (lunched); Goodna Hospital (walked a few miles south-east); Mt. Ommaney (camped, climbed); Queensport or Gibson Island; Fisherman Islands (camped); Woody Point. At each place Oxley examined the soil and the timber, and at some places he collected specimens of rock and wood.

The beauty of the country impressed Oxley immensely. Huge gums, hoop pine and Moreton Bay figs, some of them fifty metres high, lined the banks. Around the area that was to become East Brisbane, the forest became more open ironbark and grass. The future Kangaroo Point was covered with wattle scrub.

Meanwhile, Uniacke remained at Pumicestone Channel, and another party in a boat explored the islands at the southern end of the bay and continued as far as Southport, proving Stradbroke island to be indeed an island. On 6 December they all departed for Sydney. As a result of Oxley's recommendations, it was decided to establish a settlement at Moreton Bay. The following extract begins half-way through Uniacke's narrative...

NARRATIVE OF MR. OXLEY'S EXPEDITION TO SURVEY PORT CURTIS AND MORETON BAY

29 NOVEMBER-6 DECEMBER 1823
At six o'clock p.m.¹ we came to an anchor in Pumice-stone River, Moreton Bay, within 150 yards of the shore, in the very place where Captain Flinders had anchored twenty-two years before, on discovering the harbour, which, I believe, has not been since visited by Europeans.²

Scarcely was the anchor let go, when we perceived a number of natives at the distance of about a mile, advancing rapidly towards the vessel; and on looking at them with the glass from the mast-head, I observed one who appeared much larger than the rest and of a lighter colour, being a light copper, while all the others were black. This I pointed out to Mr. Stirling³, so that we were all on the look-out when they approached; and to our surprise and satisfaction, when opposite the vessel, the man hailed us in English. The boat was immediately launched, and Messrs. Oxley, Stirling and I went ashore in her. While approaching the beach the natives showed many signs of joy, dancing and embracing the white man, who was nearly as wild as they. He was perfectly naked, and covered all over with white and red paint⁴, which the natives make use of. His name, it appeared, was Thomas Pamphlet. He had left Sydney on the 21st March last, in an open boat, to bring cedar from the Five Islands,⁵ about fifty miles to the S. of Port Jackson. There were three others with him,⁶ but the boat being driven out to sea by a gale of wind, they had suffered inconceivable hardships, being twenty-one days without water, during which time one of them⁷ died of thirst; and they had at length been wrecked on Moreton Island, which forms one side of Moreton Bay, in the upper part of which we were now lying.

He was so bewildered with joy that we could make very little out of his story that night; so having distributed a few knives, handkerchiefs, &c., among the friendly blacks, we returned on board, taking him with us. He now informed us that his two surviving companions, Richard Parsons and John Finnegan, after having travelled in company with him to the place where we found him, had, about six weeks before,⁸ resolved to prosecute their way towards Sydney; that he had accompanied them about fifty miles,⁹ but his feet becoming so sore that he was unable to travel further, he had resolved to return to the blacks, with whom we found him, and who had before treated him with great kindness; that a few days after they parted, Parsons and Finnegan having quarrelled, the latter also returned, and had since¹⁰ remained with him, but had been absent the last fortnight¹¹ with the chief of the tribe on a hunting expedition; and that Parsons had not been heard of since his departure.¹²

Mr. Oxley, on hearing that Finnegan was gone towards the south end of the bay, resolved to seek him on Monday morning, and hoped by keeping along the shore, and occasionally firing a musket, to be able to find him also, But on Sunday¹³ afternoon, at low water, a man was observed walking out on a sand-bank from the opposite shore¹⁴ towards us, and holding in his hand a long stick with a skin on it; upon which I took the whale-boat and pulled towards him, when it proved to be Finnegan. Both he and Pamphlet concurring in a story they told us of a large river,¹⁵ which they had crossed, falling into the south end of the bay, Messrs. Oxley and Stirling started next morning¹⁶ in the whale-boat, taking Finnegan with them, and four days' provisions, in order to explore it.

I remained behind to shoot rare birds; and this gave me an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the natives, who are both in their dispositions and manners far superior¹⁷ to those in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and indeed to any that I had yet seen.

1.	Saturday, 29 November 1823.
2.	Bingle and Edwardson each visited the bay in 1822.
3.	Lieutenant Robert Stirling of the Buffs (the Third Regiment) was Oxley's chief assistant. He drew the first map of the Brisbane River, which was submitted with Oxley's report to the Governor in 1824.
4.	Uniacke later mentions that red paint was used on the mainland, and charcoal on Bribie Island; yet Pamphlet was found at Bribie Island and had been there for at least ten days.
5.	Illawarra.
6.	John Finnegan, Richard Parsons, and John Thompson.
7.	Thompson.
8.	Probably about a month before.
9.	Probably to the Maroochy River. He attended a fight before returning.
10.	Actually, Finnegan remained only one day, then left with the chief to attend a fight (Fight Witnessed by Finnegan, November 1823).
11.	Probably nine days, according to Finnegan (Fight Witnessed by Finnegan, November 1823).
12.	Parsons was rescued by Oxley on 11 September 1824.
13.	30 November.
14.	Toorbul Point, on the mainland.
15.	The Brisbane River.
16.	Monday, 1 December. They returned late on 5 December.
17.	Flinders also had formed this opinion (His journal, 30 July 1799.)