A PIONEER AT REST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 13 May 1907, Page 4

A PIONEER AT REST.

TUK LATE CAITAIX JACKSoX JSAKKY.

Tiie late Captain Jack>on Harry was j one of Australia's very earliest pioneer.-, a man of great character, deter- I minatiun and enterprise, and well known j to many thousands of Xew Zea landers. Although the old man was always ready for speculation and enterprise h • was not what could be termed a successful man. Like that o-t many other did colonists his life wa* a scries of "ups j and down-*." in the early days of the Australian colonies money was easily made and quickly sp -nt. Men made fortunes rapidly and spent them with an open handed generosity that left litem penniless when old-age came upon them. Captain Barry appears to have been one of this elass. Few colonists have spent a more adventurous lite than he, and an hour or two in the old man's company was always of interest to those who could appreciate stories of early colonial days as related by an old man of very limited education, but with an excellent memory and a keen, roughly humorous way of describing what he had seen and heard, lie did not pass through his lung life with his eyes shut ; on the con rary, he had been a very close ohserwr ■ and could accurately rclaU- many of his . experiences. He was bom in Kngland in the vilhgc of yielbouru, Cambridgeshire, in ISID, so his earthly pilgrimage has been a long ! one. far past the usual "allotted >pan." At a very e.irly age he oviuced a !ove i of adventure, and in his tender years had an opportunity for gratifying his taste. Sir John Alcock taking a fancy to young Barry, offered to take him &•> a sort of valet in a trip round the world thait he was about to undertake. Barry senior consented, and at the age of I) years our hero started off on his aj-\ ventures, leaving England in June, 1828 by the Rel Rover, bound for Sydney, New South Wrucs. There were *250 passengers on board, and they were the first free immigrants to leave London for New South Wales ail previous immigrants having "left their country for their country's g<ivd.' J Barry's troubles commenced early.

The Red Rover's water , supply ran out, sickness broke oat amongst the passengers ; the vestel sprang a leak and had to put into the Cape of Good Hope for repairs. These having been executed a fresli start was made ou the voyage, and there was a fresh outbreak of disease —thin time it was the dreaded typhus fever. Our readers can imagine what life was like on an immigrant ship 80 years ngo with typhus fever raging amongst the patients. There were 24 deaths, the first mate of the ship being amongst those who succumbed. The ship duly arrived in Sydney harbour and the passenger' had to submit to all the inconveniences of those days, and they were not slight. Barry's employer, or protector, not liking the Sydney of those days, hooked passages for Buenos Avres for himself and iris protege. Young Barry, however, had hail enough of the sea in the meantjnie. While currying a portion of his master's baggage to the ship he made up his mind to stay on shore. He threw down the luggage and, to u»e his own language ' c*c find run." He hid in an iron tank. «n the morning, half dead with cold and hunger, lie was arrested by a. policeman and taken before a magistrate ana was told to "go home at once," the worthy magistrate not being aware that the ' boy lwd no home.

Sydney in Captain Barry's boyhood was a different place to the Sydney of to-day. In 182!) land that is in the heart of the great town was purchased from freed convicts for a few dollars or a gallon of rum. His early experiences in Sydney Barry has graphically described. In those days only convict labour could be obtained, by order from the controller, their only payment be ing their food. "I have seen," says Barry, "prisoners working in heavy iron fetters, some chained together, drawing trucks like horses, and grubbing up trees in the streets of Sydney with a guard of soldiers in attendance. It was quite a common occurrence to see men sent from tueir work for some misdemeanour, flogged, and returned to their work with their backs streaming with blood." This passage is suflieent to remind us of the changes that have been brought about, and those who have rea-J Marcus Clarke's masterpiece will recognise that the condition of affairs is not an exaggeration. "One vlav,'' he savs, "1 saw four convicts shot by their soldier guards dose to my school." The men had freed themselves from their fetters and were endeavouring to escape to the hush. T/ie horrors of prison life in X,.w South Wales in the Ticket of Leave days have been frequently portrayed, so there is no occasion to dwell mum them.

Barry had many experiences Fn the interior, as he had his turn at station life, encounters with the blacks forming not the least exciting episodes in his career. He relates one instance of 17 men being tried and hanged for Cie cruel murder of a lot of blacks. Of course he had some experience with bu-hrangers, most of the early colonists had, aud many of them were sufficiently exciting. Some of these episodes dramatically indicate what fiends in human shape many of the early convicts were.

When he was only 10 years of age our hero determined to try the sea ontfj more and he entered upon the roughest of all sea occupations, whaling, hut into the whaling part of the business he wa« kidnapped, along with another lad. It was a whaling voyage that brought him to New Zealand.' Ifis first stay in this colony was a short one. about two months. At the Hay of Islands he ran away from his ship, boarded another and got back to Sydney. He went- to Melbourne and "saw the little village, whose first mini liut I lent a hand to build—a wattle and daub building, as it was then called—grown imfo prosperity." Eventually he sailed for the Malay Archipelago and traded to Melbourne with Timor ponies. Inlß4l he made his second trip to New Zealand, landing in Wellington, "tfrn town consisting of merely .1 few huts." He traded backwards an',l forwards between Wellington anil Launceston and after one of the trips (Jianc to Taranaki, spending a couple of days in Xew Plymouth. In tlioM' | t«o days he saw a little excitement, for he saw a Maori nourishing a tomahawk and threatening to kill Mr t'arrington, who had to run for his life.

I Oil to India with a shipment of hor- . ses was Barry's next move. There he could purchase a suit of light clothes for two shillings, and be carried about all day in a palanquin by two .-trapping darkies for sixpence, and lie enjoyed life immensely for six week.. Back to Sydney by tile same ship and once more met with excitement and adventures. Near Sydney Heads the vessel Barry was on ;an into a. small schooner and twelve unfortunate peopie on board of her were drowned. More "ups and downs" of colonial life and again (1845) Barry reached New Zealand, this time bringing a mob of cattle from Sydney to Auckland, Back to Sydney gaw a Dutch t'aptiin a hiding, breaking several of his ribs, and then, to escape the police, oil' to New Zealand in a whaler. One day his boat wn« smashed by a whale. Two of Barry's mates were drowned, but he and others were rescued by ilio ship. A gale sprang up that nigh; and their whale boats which had been ullable to regain the ship wele 10-( and never heard of again. After this IJarry appeared as Captain of a whaler—a "sixboatship.'' Honolulu was the next place visited by the Captain, but we have not space to follow all his adventures. Western Australia he visited and he went to California in 18411. where he had many exciting experiences, encounters with Indians being not the lea-t siirring. in one instance a pitched battle li-ing fought in which Barry received a bulVI Butchering, auctioneering, cattle-dcil-ing. hotel-keeping, gold mining all came handy to Barry aud iie made a good lot of money. On one occasion he was waylaid by highwaymen and jC 1:100 worth of gold taken from him which, with the aid of police and after an exciting chase he recovered. Jit 18.")-2 while in California. flarrv married hi* fiist wife. Shortly afterwards, through the insolvency of a bunk Barry jwas nearly ruined, he and his partner (losing C 12.100, Pack again to Svdnev tfas Harry's next m<>ve. In I8(ii the gold discoveries brought him to New Zealand, whore ho had varied experiences and evntuallv became Mayor of a gold fields township, Cromwell.

Of his later w t; need not say much, Imt will conclude by r».)atii:g an incident which has now become fnm.ohs. While lie was Mayor of Cromwell In* |>»id a visit to Dunedin and during his absence the Council passed a vote <*f censure upon him. On his return , tKo usuul Council meeting was held land the hall was packed with ratepayors, tor thev expected the captain would all'ord them some fun over the vote of censure business—and he did. He made a speech in which he comnicnii'd freely upon the censure motion. Then the Councillors started wrinkling. Being tumble to obtain order Harry ordered the spectators to withdraw, told the clerk to lock the door and give him the key. And now we <|iiote the Captain. who says "The row among the Councillors Mtill continued, so J told the clerk to clear away the furniture and we would 'have-it out.' At this stage two of the councillors fell to fisticuffs, one of Wiem crying out that if there was any fighting to be done he was about. Seeing this was the man who proposed the vote of censure 1 stepped up and knocked him e.owu. Two of Ihe oth:*r councillors leaped through the. window. Finding matters had gone beyond my control I opened the door anil the rest appeared to retreat.'' Next day Harry yppe.iuvd before ihe court and was lined for assault. The old quaintly concludes his version of ihe matter in these words, "Considering the turbulent times, ami tic unruly people one had to deal with, I still think I took the proper course, if a forcible one, of putting my councillors straight."