Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 23 February 1901, page 11


BENNILONG POINT AND

FORT MACQUARIE.

The following is a paper read before the Australian

Historical society in Sydney, on the 19th instant, by

M?. J.P. McGuanne:---

The demolition of Fort Macquarie, as proposed, in order to provide accommodation for a tramway terminus, is an event which induces one to give pub-licity to what little information one has gathered re-lative to the history of Bennilong Point and its pic-turesque old fort. Inbughalee is the aboriginal name for this finger of land. Farm Cove is Yoo-hugh, and Sydney Cove Warrane in the aboriginal. When Governor Phillip found the blacks holding aloof from his followers, he determined to capture a few and treat them with the utmost consideration, hoping by their favourable reports to induce others

of the tribe to billet themselves in the white man's camp. Bennilong, one of the first captured, was brought to the settlement on November 25, 1789. He learnt a few words of English, and evinced a ready facility to understand his white-skinned

friends. After a few weeks of marked attention he effected his escape, but was so favourably impressed with all he had seen and ex-perienced that when Phillip received a spear wound on the September 7, 1790, at Manly, Benni-long gave the spearsman, Willemering, a hiding for his treachery. Being concerned about Phillip's re-covery he visited headquaters to apologise for and explain the cause of the unhappy occurrence. He offered to live among the white people if a hut were built for him and his gin, Barangaroo. Her ashes were buried near the present Government House. for Bennilong and three more blacks huts were built on the point of land now bearing his name. Biscuits steeped in molasses, a plentiful supply of fish, and Phillip's protection, were inducements which soon tempted other blacks, to dwell in the

vicinity.

Much might be written about Bennilong. He called Phillip "Beauga," or father, while Phillip called him "Dorroow," or son. He went to England with Phillip, was introduced to George III, was lionised, taught to box, to smoke, and drink, and swagger. On his return to Sydney with Governor Hunter he became an intemperate hero, jealous and quarrelsome, eventually ending his days in a brawl among blacks.

Bennilong had an hotel named after him, a North Shore punt, and the famous racehorse of the early thirties, owned by Sir John Jameson, for which he refused 400 guiness in 1831.

Bennilong Point has its historic associations. In 1791 a white woman is detected in one of the huts dressed in man's clothes, ready to escape in an outgoing vessel, the Gorgon. It was here refractory women made acquaintance with the dipping or duck--ing stool. From February 17 to May 6, 1789, Sydney harbour was without a ship for the only time since its foundation. It was on this point the latitude and longitude of Sydney were first computed with ipproximate correctness, in the year 1793, when the Spanish ships Discovierta and Atriveda visited Sydney, under the command of Melaspina and

Guerra. Their astronomical observations were com-pleted in April, the latitude and longitude being computed from 42 sets of observations.

In Phillip's "Voyage to the New South Wales." p. 126, he tells us that Lieutenant Dawes had ascer-tained in July, 1788, that the longitude of Dawes Point was 159deg. 19min. 30sec. east of Greenwich, the latitude being 32 deg. 52min. 30sec. south. Melaspina gave them as 151deg. 18min. 18sec. and 33deg. 31 min. 28sec. respectively by Greenwhich measure-ments. More reliable computations have since given 151deg. 11min. 30sec. and 33deg. 51min. 41 sec. as the correct longitude and latitude for Sydney.

At Bennilong Point the white men first witnessed a corroboree. Near the point, in 1806, white men were first struck by lightning within the harbour. It saw Macquarie and his guests rush from table to assist in putting out a big fire on March 3, 1810, when H.M.S. Hindostan was ablaze. On August 3, 1811, a black whale was harpooned near Bennilong Point - an account of which is given in Wall's pamphlet, 1851.

The first attempt at fortification works for Sydney was made near Bennilong Point. Collins tells us that in July, 1788, Lieutenant Dawes, of the Marines, was directed to construct a small redoubt on the east side of Sydney Cove. In November, 1788, we learn that this small redoubt was finished, a flagstaff was erected, and two pieces of ordinance were placed in position. The colours were hoisted on this fort on New Year's Day, 1789, and on June 4, 1789, the two brass 6-pounders were discharged, the occasion being the anniversary of the King's birthday. In 1791 this redoubt was demolished, the guns and flagstaff were removed to the west side of the cove, the earth form-ing the breastwork and platform was utilised for the Governor's garden, and on the site of the redoubt a storehouse was built. This was the largest building of the day; it was 80 x 24 feet, and had a loft.

In a statement of public works for 1798 it is men-tioned that a half-moon battery on the extreme end of the point was completed in December, and a few guns from the Supply were mounted by the ship's company. This is the battery M. Peron refers to when he describes Sydney as he saw it 1802.- "The regal battery on the northern point of Sydney Cove, built on a rock of difficult access, carrying six pins of cannon, protected by a trench of turf, crosse a fire by another battery, and thus defend in a most efficacious manner the approach to the town and in peculiar port," And again:" At the eastern point of the town is a second battery, the fire of which, as we have before observed, crosses that of the signal battery." At the foot of the cannon were large flat stresses on which the blacks baked their fish whole. It was the custom when a convict escaped or when persons were reported to be lost in the bush to discharge the ordnance, to alarm the garrison in one time and to guide the wanderer in the other.

Between Bennilong Point and the head of the cove were saltpans, where the Government, and sub-sequently in 1795 two Americans, procured salt by evaporation. Small veseels were careened on the sandy beach near the saltpans.

In No. 39 of the "Sydney Gazette," 1803,we find the declaration of war against the French Republic fully inserted, its length necessitating the first supple-ment that paper issued. No. 40 invited enlistment "for proper training in management of the guns." No. 41 has a proclamation requesting all free men to send in their names for a militia. Thus we find in the earliest days how New South Wales vibrated when England's military strings were touched, even

as it responds to-day. Captain Bellacis was tbe officer who gave Sydney its first lessons in gunnery

On December 17, 1817, Governor Macquarie laid the foundation-stone of the fort now bearing his name. Prior to this he had built for his private use a small landing-place, now known us the Man-'o'-War Pier. Its little beach became temporarily known as Port Lachlan. The fort was completed towards the end of the year 1819. It was deemed to be of impregnable strength. Reference to a plan of Sydney, now in the archives of the Legislative Coun-cil shows that the point on which it stood was separated from the mainland by a narrow passage of salt water. The fort was officially described as a square, each base being 130ft., the base of the rampart being washed by the sea at high-water, the summit of terreplein being 22ft above high-water. It mounted 15 pieces of ordnance, viz., 10 24-pounders and five 6-pounders. Use of the former w us placed at each angle en bar-bette, the small circular bastion at each angle affording space for one traversing gun. Three faces of the square are open to the sea, one of which is pierced for three guns. The two-storied tower in the centre of the land face is 90ft. in circumference, and was used us a store and guard room, through which the fort was entered from the land by a draw -bridge, subsequently replaced by the permanent bridge now in existence. The channel beneath the ___________________________________

"The name in spelled variously. Collins has "Bennil-long,"Tench." Baneelon." Bonwick says "Benselong" or "Banalong." The racehorse was "Bianlong" and "Bennilon," The boat is "Benelon."

bridge was partially filled with debris; it became a dry ditch. Later on when an outward seawall was built and some land reclaimed the moat was filled up as a roadway. In the basement of the tower is a magazine calculated to hold 350 barrels of powder. The tower was intended to cover a email detach-ment with stores for the battery. One commissioned officer and 12 men were generally quartered in there, not more than six additional men could be put under cover. The guns would take in reverse any work on Pinchgut, distant 1062 yards. The fort is equi-distant from Port Phillip. Dawes Battery is, or was, 728 yards distant.

It may be asked who was the engineer and drafts-man of the work until superseded by Major Druitt, Captain Gill was military and road engineer at this time, but as Macquarie had a valuable as-sistant in Lieutenant Watts, of the 4ßth Regiment, stationed at Parramatta, in preparing plans of public buildings, it is probable that Watts was the drafts-man under Macquarie and Druitt.

The stone was obtained from the Governor's domain by prison labour There were good stone-masons among the free men. Edward Curetou, who erected the Macquarie Obelisk for a trifle less than £45, was considered the best workman. What were known as altar tombs, such as we have in the old Devonshire-street Cemetery, were instanced in the "Gazette" as proof of the high-class work Sydney stonemasons could produce when occasion re-quired. The chiseling on the old fort tower is typical of the best work in Macquarie's time.

Had Fort Macquarie been built a few years earlier, it would have witnessed the town of Sydney under fire and threatened with destruction. On May 20, 1814, the good ship Three Bees, Captain Wallis, took fire at the wharf. Sydney was then nearer to the Cove than it is to-day. Soon the inhabitants were witnessing tho conflagration, but when rumour said 130 casks of powder were on board (there were 30), and that the guns were loaded with grape and shot, there was a stampede, and the gravest appre-hensions prevailed. The vessel was cut adrift, and allowed to float at freedom. She ran foul of one vessel, then of another, but always veering so as to point her cannon at the town. One by one the guns discharged over the town, fortunately without loss of life-although one small ball crushed through a window, leaving its mark on the floor. In 1824 the editor of the "Sydney Gazette" said, "Our batteries penetrate strangers with admiration."

We are indebted to R. H. F. Kemp for an accurate description of the eastern side of the Cove during Brisbane's time. Passing about 300 feet in front of where the Custom House now stands, a beach some 20 feet wide ran along its front as far as Phillip-street, where rock, commenced -- a 20ft. roadway ran at the water side of Government House grounds, from Phillip-

street rocks extended into the water some 10 to 20 feet, until they came to an enormus rock standing perpendicularly from tho water about 30ft., with very deep water alongside. Along the rocks at various places ringbolts were fixed and ships laid up were moored stern on to them. About half-way to the fort was a small yellow watch tower, not then in use but formerly old Biddy Blue's Retreat Cottage. Behind the high rock a way, some 10ft. wide, of steps and landings took you to high ground, along which ran a fence enclosing the Government House ground round to the gardens. The high ground was covered with ti-tree hush nearly to the fort, beyond which a reef ran out. In 1833 Sydney Cove was defined as the waters within a line extending from Dawes Point to the north-western bastion of Fort Macquarie, and the shores southward of this line. Braim says the fort was being demolished in 1843.

In 1851, the defence of Port Jackson was seriously taken up, the Home Government having expressed

its wish to send out military labour for the pur-

pose, the colony to defray the cost. The legisla-tive Council refused the offer until local legislation was invested with entire control of colonial revenue territorial as well as general. The refusal was carried by the casting vote of the speaker. In 1854, the Cri-mean War electrified the colony, and additional guns were placed on the fort.

On June 9, 1854, in the Sydney Legislative Coun-cil, Governor Fitzroy said that for the first time in our history we had contemplated the possible con-tingencies of warfare. On the 27th, he read the Queen's despatch declaring war with Russia. Colonel Gordos, of the Royal Engineers, had during the previous year recommended a scheme of defence for Sydney Harbour, and the Council on the Supple-mentary Estimage for 1854 passed a vote of £10, 000 for the purpose. Some of this was expended on Fort Macquarie. Wentworth, who was in England at the time, in charge of the now Constitution Bill, ex-pressed the general regret at our defenseless state.

Dr Lang tells us that ever since the famous panic about a French invasion under the redoubtable Prince DeSoinville in 1847 the colony had periodical fits about harbour defenses. In vol 1, p 309, of his "Reminicenses," in a letter to Sir Roderick Mur-chison, Denison sneers at thin unnecessary under-taking and (to show how times have changed) in p. 348, vol. 1, he expressed the opinion that the colony could not raise a properly organised militia Denison was an officer of the Roval Engineers; he planted the fortifications on the land side of old Fort Mac-quarie.

In March, 137!, when the defence of Sydney re-quired some thought, consequent upon the Franco-Prussian war, five 12 pounders were added, and the fort was manned, for the last time by 50 men. At the suggestion of Sir Willam Jervois in July, 1884, tthe inner line of defence for Sydney was as abandoned. In 1890, when wharf improvements were undertaken, the western portion of the old fort walls was re-moved and their massive structure disclosed.

Much more information might be given about the Point and fort. They have witnessed the upbuild-ing of Circular Quay, of our wool stores, and ship-ping trade. Within the shadow of the fort as far back as 1830, our first water police were established, this force consisting of one conductor and two boat-men, dressed in their ordinary clothes, but distin-guished by a red waistcoat. In the Fifties female im-migrants were landed at Man-o'-War Steps and marched through the Gardens and Domain to their barracks. In those days the archway of the fort dis-played in tar paint the names of many a vessel at anchor m that part of the harbour. Many boatraces started from Beenilong Point. Watermen have plied from there for half a century. The Naval Brigade have exercised at the fort for years past. All our Governors since Macquarie's time and all our Admirals have used the point as their private landing place. The fort is a conspicuous feature in all the harbour pictures looking westward. Its guns were never fired to hurt or destroy; they have echoed the acclamation of Sydney people on great occasions, notably at the fall of Sebastopol; they welcomed the accession of our late Queen Victoria, and the arrival of many colonial Governors, and now at a time of many changes, the Point and the fort are experien-cing the common lot,