First published in 1934 by the Historical Committee of Portland for the Victorian Centenary celebrations, this book became a ‘must’ for collectors of Australiana. As we approach the State’s sesquicentenary and interest in local histories grows, there have been requests for a reprint of the history of Victoria’s first permanent settlement. This reprint, with Professor Geoffrey Blainey’s foreword and a small errata, has been produced to satisfy those requests and to stimulate the search for more information. It covers the first half of the nineteenth century starting with Captain Grant’s discovery of Cape Bridgewater and Cape Nelson and is the history of far western Victoria. There are many interesting pages on the early sealers and whalers and the claims of Dutton and Henty to be the first white settlers in Victoria. The book goes on to cover part of Major Mitchell’s expedition and the life of the Hentys and other early settlers. The social life and activities of the district, together with government controls, is pieced together largely from early manuscripts, diaries and letters. Charts and maps illustrate the development of the district while photographs show many whose names are interwoven with the early history of Victoria.

CONTENTS:

Foreword. 1983 Foreword.

Chapter 1: The early navigators and explorers p1:
Grant in the ‘Lady Nelson’ names physical features of coast. Governor King’s letters. Black and Buyers. Two attempts to enter Portland Bay from east fail. Baudin’s voyage. Peron’s account. Baudin’s manuscript. French names on coast. Flinders’ voyage. Mitchell’s overland expedition. On Glenelg: arrival in Portland Bay, meets Hentys, names rivers, hills etc.

Chapter 2: Sealers and whalers and tales of the sea p26:
Earliest sealing records. Sealing grounds worked out. Traders from Chinese waters. Wishart at Port Fairy and Julia Percy Island. Wishart’s death. Coming of [William] Dutton, his statements and life, letter regarding his family affairs. Liddell’s statement. Dutton’s log of the ‘Lady Mary Pelham’ whaling in South Seas. Whaling industry in Portland Bay. Whalers and their vessels. Whaling and shipping extracts from Launceston ‘Advertiser’. Stephen Henty, Captain of ‘Sally Ann’. Life of James Fawthrop. Hentys start whaling. Extracts from James Henty’s whaling notes at Portland Bay. Griffiths, Mills Brothers, etc. Captains of traders. Visit of ‘Beagle’ commanded by Stokes, fixes position of Henty’s first house, and date of building of Richmond Hotel. List of early shipping. Shipbuilding at Portland and Sinclair. Life of Captain John Hart. Wrecks on Portland Bay coast and in the bay from 1837 to 1851.

Chapter 3: The Henty family and Victoria’s first permanent settlement p64:
Opinions of historians – Labilliere, Bonwick, Westgarth etc. Edward Henty’s statements. The Henty family. Move to Western Australia and Launceston. Expeditions on south coast of continent. Sea voyage. Proposal to settle at Portland Bay. Correspondence with government officials. Final recognition of claims. Sail for Portland Bay. Voyage and landing. Edward Henty’s diary: 19 Nov 1834 to 28 May 1839. The four Henty brothers who were connected with Portland: Edward, Francis, Stephen and John. Supposed treaty with the blacks.

Chapter 4: Early incidents and personalities p104:
Proposed convict settlement. Flinders Island blacks to Portland Bay. Visit of Wedge, Fyans, Moore and Franklin. Arrival of Byass, Winter and Cooke. Tyers’ trip from Melbourne. Tyers’ census 1839-40. Tyers and Townsend survey Geelong and 141 degrees longitude. Survey of the town, marine survey, survey of coast to Port Fairy. Tyers’ second visit to Portland. Kennedy assistant. Naming of the streets. First land sale. Second land sale.

Chapter 5: Under government control p125:
Neglect of district. ‘Mercury’s’ complaints. [James] Blair’s appointment and life. La Trobe’s correspondence to Blair. Miscellaneous letters to Blair. Blair’s letters to La Trobe. Other magistrates appointed. First police and history of police force. Dana’s Native Police. Insolvency Court. Court of Requests. Court House. Lock-up and Gaol. Postal, first Post Master. Post Office. Overland mail. Customs and Customs House. Jetty, early proposals and tenders, erection. Free immigrants. La Trobe forwards immigrants. Exiles. Free immigrants. La Trobe’s visit. Electors, qualifications. First election. Location of public buildings.

Chapter 6: Social life and activities p151:
Churches. Reverends Thomson and Wilson. Church of England [Anglican]. Presbyterian Church. Rev. Laurie. Laurie’s letters. Early Methodist preachers and chapel. Rev. Lightbody. Roman Catholic Church. Visit of Dr Goold. The first schools and number of pupils. Cemetery. Removal of bodies. Hospital and Benevolent Society. Literary Society and Mechanics’ Institute. Masonic Lodge.

Chapter 7: The story of the press p170:
The search for early newspaper files. Copies in Portland and Sydney. Three attempts to start a paper fail. ‘The Guardian’ established. ‘The Guardian’ staff. The ‘Mercury’ and its founders. ‘The Gazette’ starts and moves to Port Fairy. ‘The Examiner’. Laurie fails to launch ‘Advertiser’, but succeeds with ‘Herald’. Other papers and editors etc. after 1851.

Chapter 8: Business, professions and industry p178:
First merchants, bakers, butchers etc. Henty’s account book. Commodity prices. Land and Building Society. First banks. Union Bank’s early struggle and establishment. Savings Bank and Trustees. Bank of Australasia. Medical profession. Doctors Byass, Martin, Sutherland etc. Legal profession, Conolly and Clay. Wool industry. First wool exports. Agriculture and exports of hay, cheese and wheat. Wool export to London and prices. Export of livestock. Boiling down. Cattle imports and exports. Butter and potatoes.

Chapter 9: Hotels and roads p194:
Unlicensed houses. Cronin’s ‘Golden Fleece Hotel’. Licensing Court. London, Commercial and other early hotels. Country hotels, Edgar’s and others. Road to Edgar’s. Punt at Glenelg. Roads out of Portland. Port Fairy hotels. La Trobe’s warning regarding hotel charges.

Chapter 10: Sport p207:
Cricket. First clubs. Account of an early game. Some early rules. Racing. Portland Club. Fitzroy River Club. Second Portland meeting. Separation sports.

Chapter 11: Environs of Portland p217:
The Portland Bay District boundaries. Pastoral leases. Diary of William Learmonth. Letters from La Trobe regarding Ettrick lease. Cattle on Darlots Creek, 1838. Faro and Millard. Mount Clay land sale. Lindsay Clarke and Wade survey district blocks. Surry Wool Wash. Settlement of Bridgewater. W.F. Hedditch’s notes.

Chapter 12: Miscellaneous historical items p249:
The reminiscences of Thomas Kean. Water supply. Flour mill. The boundary dispute (Victoria and South Australia). The boundary survey. Aborigines: attacks on stock etc. Robinson’s journey to Portland Bay and his description of the blacks (aborigines).

Appendix 1: List of purchasers at first land sale p273.
Appendix 2: List of electors, Electoral District of Port Phillip, resident within the County of Normanby, in the Police District of Portland, April 1843 p275.
Appendix 3: Church of England [Anglican] first subscription list 1843 p277.
Appendix 4: Presbyterian Church first subscription list 1843 p277.
Appendix 5: Business directory 1842-3 p280.
Errata p281. Index p282. Back cover flap: portrait of, and information about the author, Noel Fulford Learmonth.

ILLUSTRATIONS (selected):
Edward Henty; Mrs Edward Henty (opposite title page). Chart of the west part of Bass Strait by Jas. Grant 1800 p6. Captain Baudin’s chart of west Victorian coast April 1802 p14. Chart of Terra Australis by Matthew Flinders 1802 p22. Frank Henty; Captain William Pelham Dutton p38. Captain J. Fawthrop; Captain J. Liddell; Captain Charles Frederick Mills; Captain J. Mills p54. S.G. Henty; Mrs S.G. Henty p102. Wedge’s sketch of whaling station, probably Convincing Ground, 1835; Wedge’s sketch of Henty’s whaling station 1835 p110. Plan of the west coast of Portland Bay Feb 1840, C.J. Tyers and T.S. Townsend p118. Tyers’ survey of town lots 1840 p120. Wedge’s sketch of Henty House 1835; Wedge’s sketch of South Bluff, Portland Bay 1835 p134. First pier, Portland 1848; Remains of whalebone floor of Cameron’s Portland Bay Inn p142. Richmond Henty; John Henty; Mr and Mrs C. Hedditch p158. C.J. Tyers; Rev. J. Yelverton Wilson; Lindsay Clarke p174. Richmond House, S.G. Henty’s residence, built 1846; The plough that turned the first furrows, 6 Dec 1834 p198. Map of north shore of Portland Bay showing whalers’ localities and early settlers p206. Sketch illustrating names in William Learmonth’s diary (map) p243. Survey of lower part of Glenelg River by C.J. Tyers, Dec 1839 p260. ‘Burswood’, Edward Henty’s Portland home p262.

SURNAMES / FAMILY NAMES from the index:
Adamson. Aldred. Allison. Allsworth. Andrew. Baillie. Barrett. Batman. Bell. Best. Bilston. Black. Blair. Bland. Bradnell. Bragshott. Browning. Bryan / Bryant. Burns. Byass. Byers. Cafler. Cairncross. Cairns. Cameron. Camfield. Campbell. Chase. Claridge. Clarke. Clark. Claxton. Clay. Coakley. Coldham. Connolly. Cooke. Cooper. Cox. Cronin. Crouch. Cruickshank. Cummins. Cummings. Dale. Dana. Darlot. Davis. Deacon. Dempster. Douglas. Douglass. Drummond. Duquesne. Dutton. Dyster. Earle. Edgar. Edkins. Evans. Ewart. Faro. Fawkner. Fawthrop. Fernander. Ferris. Ferrors. Field. Finn. Fisher. Fletcher. Foggin. Ford. Franklin. French. Friend. Frost. Fyans. Gage. Gamble. Geoghegan. Goldsmith. Goodsin. Goold. Gough. Graham. Grant. Green. Griffiths. Gurr. Hack. Harcourt. Hardman. Hargrave. Harker. Harrison. Hart. Harvey. Hayden. Heathcote. Hedditch. Helpman. Henty. Herbertson. Hesketh. Hewett. Hick. Hillingworth. Hill. Hoare. Hogan. Holman. Horne. Howard. Hubbard. Hughes. Hunt. Hunter. Hurd. Hutchinson. Irvine. Jamieson. Jeffries. Jennings. Jones. Kavanagh. Kean. Kellett. Kelly. Kennedy. Kenny. Kent. Kerr. King. Kittson. Landrigan. Lang. La Trobe. Laurie. Leahy. Leake. Learmonth. Leckie. L’Estrange. Levett. Lewis. Liddell. Lightbody. Lilley. Livesay. Love. Lowe. Lyons. Macrae. MacVea. Mansfield. Manyard. Marsden. Martin. Matheson. Mann. McDonald. McDowell. McKinlay. McLauchlan. McLean. McLeod. McMullen. McNeil. Millar. Millard. Mills. Mitchell. Moon. Moore. Muir. Murphy. Must. Nickols. Nixon. Norris. O’Grady. O’Neil. Osbourne. Patmore. Patterson. Pearson. Peron. Perry. Pettit. Pillar. Pilleau. Piller. Polding. Powley. Primrose. Pyers. Ramsay. Reed. Rhook. Richardson. Robertson. Robinson. Roe. Rogerson. Rolf Boldrewood. Rolls. Sample. Saunders. Scott. Semple. Sinclair. Smead. Smith. Somers. Sprot. Stanley. Stapylton. Stevans. Steward. Stokes. Stone. Strachan. Strode. Sturt. Suter. Sutherland. Swords. Tait. Taylor. Thompson. Thomson. Tomkins. Townsend. Trangmar. Tuckfield. Tulloh. Tyers. Underwood. Wade. Walsh. Ward. Warrick. Watson. Webster. Wedge. White. Wiggins. Wilkinson. Wilson. Winter. Wishart. Witton. Wright. Wyld. Yockins.

FULL INDEX available on library computers: Electronic resources \ Indexes \ Portland

FROM THE INDEX (Place names, institutions, etc.):
Aboriginals (Aborigines). The Portland Advertiser newspaper. The Age newspaper. Albion Island. ‘Amity’ (ship). The Argus newspaper. Aringa station. Ar-ran-doo-vong. Arthur and Atherton. Island of Bags. Bailey and Condon. Baker’s Shop. Ballasting ships. Bank of Australasia. Bank robbery. ‘Barwon’. Benefit Club. Benevolent Society. Doctors Bernard and Kilgour. The first billiards. Blacknose Point. Black Thursday. ‘Boadicea’. Bold Projection. ‘Border Watch’. Branxholme. Brewery. Bridgewater. Britannia Hotel. Brodie and Co. Builders Arms Hotel. Builder’s Inn. Building Society and Committee. The first burial. Speech at Burswood. Bush Tavern. ‘Caledonia’. ‘Camilla’. Campbell and McKnight. ‘Captain Cook’ wreck. ‘Caroline’. Casterton News. Castlemaddie. Cave Holes. Cemetery. ‘Champion’. ‘Charlotte’. ‘The Children’. China ships. The Portland Chronicle newspaper. Church of England (Anglican) and Committee. Church of England School. ‘City of Sydney’. Clarke’s River. Mount Clay. Club Hotel. Commercial Inn. Lake Condah. ‘Constant’. Convincing Ground. ‘Cornelius’. ‘Cornwallis’. Court House. Court of Requests. Crawford Inn. Cricket Ground. Cultivation statistics. Custom House. Daily Telegraph newspaper. Dairy produce. Dandenong Advertiser newspaper. Darlots Creek. Darlots Creek Cattle Station. Cape Desaix. Descartes Bay. ‘Diana’. Discovery Bay. Double Corner. Douteuse Island. Dragon Island. Duke of Richmond Hotel. Cape Duquesne. Durham, cattle. Dutton River. Dutton Statement. ‘Eagle’. Mount Eccles. Mount Eckersley. ‘Edina’. Mount Eeles. ‘Elizabeth’. ‘Eliza Jackson’. Ellangowan. ‘Elphinston’. Emu Creek. ‘Essington’. The Portland Examiner newspaper. Explorations by Henty. The Portland Express newspaper. Cap des Falaises. Fitzroy River. Fitzroy River Licence. Fitzroy L’Estrange. Fleece Inn. Flower Mill. Flower and Must. ‘Fox’. Fourcroy Isle. ‘Frances Henty’. Free Library. Free Warehouse Port. French whaler wreck. Henty’s first garden. The Belfast Gazette newspaper. The Portland Gazette newspaper. Geelong Advertiser newspaper. Geelong Evening Times newspaper. Geelong wool export. Glenaulin station. Glenelg River. Golden Fleece Hotel. Gordon Hotel. Government House. Grange Inn. The Grange. Cape Grant. Green Hills. The Portland Guardian newspaper. Half-way House. ‘Harbinger’. Hartz station. The first harvest. ‘Henry’. Henty letters to ‘Guardian’. The Melbourne Herald newspaper. The Portland Herald newspaper. The Port Phillip Herald newspaper. Heywood. Hilgay. Hunt Club. Immigration Depot. Immigrants. Henty’s indentured servants. Insolvency Court. Insurance Agent. ‘Investigator’. ‘Isabella’. ‘Jemima’. ‘Julia Percy’. Julia Percy Island. Juno. Kentbrush run. Kilmore Free Press. Mount Kincaird. ‘Lady Bird’. ‘Lady Mary Pelham’. ‘Lady Nelson’. ‘Lady of the Lake’. Lamb Inn. The first lamb marking. Latreille Island. La Trobe’s letters. La Trobe’s visit. Launceston. Launceston Advertiser newspaper. Lawrence Island. ‘Lavinia’. ‘Le Geographie’. Leg irons. ‘Le Naturaliste’. Letters, unclaimed. Licensing Court. Limestone Ridge. Literary Society. London Inn. ‘Lowestoff’. Mac’s Hotel. ‘Madeira Packet’. Cap du Marechal. Cape Marengo. ‘Margaret’. ‘Margaret and Agnes’. ‘Marie’. ‘Mariner’. ‘Mary’. ‘Mary Ann’. Matheson and Company. Mechanics’ Institute. The Portland Mercury newspaper. Merino Downs. Merino sheep. Merrijig Hotel. Metal currency. Methodist Church statistics. ‘Minerva’. ‘Mona’. Lake Monibeong. Cape Montaigne. Cape Montesquieu. Cape Mont Tabor. Moonlight Head. Mortlake Dispatch newspaper. ‘Mountaineer’. Mount Gambier. Mumbannar. Muntham station. ‘Naiad’. Mount Napier. ‘Napinga’. Narrawong. Native Police. Cape Nelson. ‘Nestor’. ‘New Zealander’. Northumberland Bay. Cape Northumberland. Oakbank. The Portland Observer newspaper. Order system. Cape Otway. Overland mail. Parish. Passit. The Melbourne Patriot newspaper. Penny and Ruby. Pentonvillions (Pentonvillains). ‘Perseverance’. The first ploughing. Plow Inn. Police Court fines. Police estimates. Population lists. Port Fairy. Portland Bay Inn. Portland Inn. The first potatoes. Pound Yard. Presbyterian School. Presbyterian Committee. Preservation Harbour. Price of commodities. Produce export. ‘Providence’. Punt on Glenelg River. ‘Pyramus’. Rabbits. Racecourse. Grange Race. Fitzroy River Race. Railway Hotel. ‘Rapid’. ‘Raven’. Cape Reaumur. ‘Rebecca’. Reconnaisance (Reconnaissance) Peak. Regatta. 80th Regiment. The Port Fairy Register newspaper. Retreat. ‘Richard Mount’. Richmond. Richmond House. Mount Richmond. Riverina Grazier newspaper. Riot of whalers. Road Board. Road to Bush Tavern. Roman Catholic School. Roman Catholic statistics. ‘Rover’s Bridge’. Royal Hotel. ‘Sally Ann’. ‘Samuel Cunard’. Sandford station. Savings Bank. Mount Schanck. Ladies’ School. Schultz’s diary. Scourger. Separation. Shaw River. The first shearing. Boiling down sheep. Shepherd’s Arms Hotel. Shipping Co. Shipping lists. Sign of the Good Woman Hotel. Single Corner. ‘Sir Francis Feeling’. Smith and Osprey. ‘Socrates’. Cape Solicitor. Spring Creek Inn. The first steamer. Steam Packet Hotel. Stock sale. Street names. Letter to Street. St Ruth’s. Surry (Surrey) River. Surveys. ‘Sydney Griffiths’. Tarrone. Tasmanian Inn. Temperance Hotel. Terre Napoleon. ‘Thistle’. Manifest of Thistle. The Melbourne Times newspaper. Tonguing whales. Tourville Bay. Tower Hill. Traveller’s Rest Hotel. Tulloh and Co. Turnbull and Orr. Tyers’ census. Union Bank. Union Inn. United States Shipbuilders. Unites States Whalers. Veterinary surgeon. Cape Volnez. Wannon. Warrnambool. Warrnambool Examiner newspaper. Water supply. ‘Western’. ‘Western Times’. ‘Westmoreland’. Whalebone floor. Whaler’s huts. Whaling by Henty. Wheat crop. ‘Will Watch’. The first woman. Woodford Inn. Wool export. Wool sales. Wool trade. Woolpack Inn. Yambuk.