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GARDEN ISLAND RELICS.
To the Editor.
Sir,-I am pleased to hear of this dis
covery and have no doubt in my mind
that further articles will be found if
the large stone well is emptied and a few
feet of sand and rubbish removed. I
was a frequent visitor to the island in
the early days of the Colony and on one
trip camped for nearly a week at Sul
phur Town and drew water daily from
the well for drinking 73 years ago. We
also shot pigeons at the well. We left
water in a bucket and they came just
before sunset. There was no old build
ing of any kind near this spot or any
thing except the well to remind you that
once a fair number of pioneers from the
ship Parmelia camped here.
Mr. Meiklejohn, who recently made the
discovery, is mistaken when he says there
has not been any permanent settlement
on the island until recent years. To my
knowledge Mr. James Read and wife re
sided on the island for years; also Mr.
George Fry. These men cultivated land
situated about half way from Sulphur
Town and Careening Bay.
The ship Rockingham, that brought
many of the pioneers in the year 1830,
sank at anchor in Careening Bay when
the crew was heaving her down to clean
her. I and three others on a pleasure
trip in 1863 anchored only a short dis
tance on the shore side of the sunken
ship, whose ribs projected at low tide
just above the water, and we noticed
several large copper bolts. It was in
this sheltered and almost land-locked bay
that the Parmelia landed some of her
passengers until they could be accommo
dated on the mainland. It was close
to this spot where temporary buildings
and tents were erected in 1829.
In looking through the book, "A Story
of a Hundred Years Ago," written by
Sir Hal Colebatch for the Government
of Western Australia, there is a picture of
Garden Island by Mrs. Currie. This
must have been the encampment at Sul
phur Town close to the large stone well
and a short distance away may have
been the brick oven discovered by Mr.
Meiklejohn lately. I have visited this
spot on four different occasions. My
first visit was in 1858 when 12 years
old; the second trip was in 1863, an
other in 1865, and the last trip in 1868.
The well of massive stone work was ori
ginally covered with timber and water
was drawn through an opening in the
centre by buckets. The material used
for the covering was cypress. This
wood resists the white ants, also the sea
worm. I have seen posts of this wood
at Rottnest that had been in the sea
for 40 years quite sound. I am certain
the bush fires destroyed the wood work
at the well, and also cleared the forest
that had grown up very thickly all over
the land that had been cleared for settle
ment by the pioneers of the ship Par
melia who landed at the south end of the
island now called Careening Bay.
I hope the Historical Society will visit
the well at Sulphur Rock and have
photographs taken; and if they go to the
expense of laying out a few pounds, and
get the well cleared out, I think many
relics will be found of great interest to
the society. I don't think this well
had ever been cleared out for over 100
years.-Yours, etc.,
JOHN WATSON,
$