George Hamilton

George Hamilton was in charge of Henry Howey’s overlanding expedition that crossed the Murray River in the vicinity of the crossing place in mid-1837. They crossed 3,000 sheep losing twelve to drowning plus floated across two wagons, one of which carried the men who could not swim. Hamilton wrote that his convict servants feared an attack by Aboriginal people however, these fears were proved unwarranted. On the night they crossed the Murray River they were joined by an Aboriginal man who presented Hamilton with a freshly caught cod fish saying there were some dead sheep on the opposite bank and requested that he and his people might have them. Hamilton agreed and the man departed in his canoe to the opposite bank where was soon heard ‘woops’ of delight and shortly afterwards there appeared many lights in the form of flaming torches made of resinous pine branches. (1)

It is interesting to note that the Aboriginal man who presented Hamilton with the cod fish spoke passable English and wore a King Plate engraved with ‘King Tommy’ which had been presented to him by Governor Bourke. (1) Governor Bourke was in Melbourne on 8th March 1837 and presented four Aboriginal men with King Plates. It is possible King Tommy received his plate at that time. Some more research will need to be done to identify the four recipients – apparently, William Buckley made a list of the names and gave these to Capt Lonsdale. (2)

George Hamilton, overlander, artist and police commissioner, was born on 12 March 1812, probably in Hertfordshire, England, one of at least eight children of Charles Hamilton. Following education at Harrow School in 1823-26, George served in the navy as a midshipman. He reached Sydney sometime before 1837. (3)

During the month of February in 1837, George Hamilton was leading Howey’s overland expedition of between 3,000 and 4,000 sheep somewhere near Goulburn when he had his first adventure. (1) An article in the Australian dated 31st March reported the ‘melancholy loss of life and property’ lamenting Hamilton had been murdered by the Aborigines. The reason for this belief was a report that ‘a few cattle, known to be those of the party, have been found….and some of the dray bullocks have returned to their old run with the yokes about their necks. There seems no reason to believe but that the party have been surprised and murdered.’ (4)

Hamilton was in fact lost somewhere near Goulburn. he had gone in search of 240 sheep who had taken fright in the night when possums ran among them. When Hamilton reunited with his party and learned of the search for his body he wrote a letter dated March 30th 1837, which he handed to Mr Robert Allen of Goulburn. The letter was published on Saturday 8th April. (5)

The Australian newspaper printed an article criticising the deep-rooted spirit of revenge and the indiscriminate slaughter of Aboriginal people. (6)

The Sydney Monitor, Friday 7th April, published an article attempting to stir up outrage over the loss of Hamilton and his party. It reported, ‘there is every reason to fear the worst.’ The article attempted to stir up outrage towards Aboriginal people suggesting pre-emptive strikes such as the slaughter of Blacks by Major Mitchell at mount Dispersion was a correct and prudent act. (7)

Before Hamilton crossed the Murray river three of his men absconded. (1)
An account of George Hamilton’s crossing of the Murray River is given in his book, Experiences of a Colonist. The only loss was the drowning of twelve sheep. (1)
On the night of his crossing Hamilton and his party made camp on the southern bank of the river. Not long after dark, he was hailed from the opposite bank by Aboriginals wanting to speak with him. Shortly afterwards a canoe came across with two men, one of whom spoke passable English and wore a brass plaque engraved with ‘King Tommy presented to him by Governor Bourke’. King Tommy gave Hamilton a freshly caught cod and asked if his people could have the carcasses of the drowned sheep. Hamilton agreed and the canoe left for the opposite bank where shortly afterwards were heard ‘whoops’ of delight and soon many lights appeared in the darkness. This friendly exchange gave great relief to Hamilton’s men who had been concerned about an attack by Aboriginal people. (1)
Later that night, perhaps emboldened by knowledge the Aboriginal people were not to be feared another one of Hamilton’s men absconded. (1)
Hamilton wrote they crossed two more rivers and during this time he met up with CH Ebden’s overlanding party who were also travelling towards the mount Macedon area. (1) Charles Bonney travelling with CH Ebden wrote of meeting up with George Hamilton between the Murray and the Goulburn Rivers. (8)
During the journey, some of Ebden’s men joined with Bonney’s and Hamilton’s and absconded leaving all three overlapping parties short-handed. (8)
George Hamilton selected land for Henry Howey near the present town of Riddell’s Creek near Gisborne. George Hamilton was settled at Gisborne by July 31st 1837 as AF Mollison noted the date in his, An Overlanding Diary, remarking that Hamilton had erected huts and fences. (9)
There is no evidence that Henry Howey whose men and animals Hamilton was in charge of, travelled with Hamilton. It is likely Howey saw the land Hamilton had selected for the first time in May 1837 after sailing to Melbourne in the ‘Sarah’ bringing with him prized stud sheep. The ship, however, ran upon a reef near Gelibrand Point nevertheless Henry Howey arrived safely and attended the first land sale in Melbourne. Henry Howey purchased 3 blocks of heavily timbered land for £120 which were located on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets. (10)
Howey then returned to Parramatta to bring his wife and six children to settle in the district. On 21st June 1837, the Howey family together with their servants and a large quantity of stores including a dray secured to the deck sailed for Port Phillip bay but the ship never arrived. The vessel, the ‘Sarah’ was believed wrecked on the ninety-mile beach near Woodside station en route with all lives lost. (11) (12)
Rumours abounded that there were survivors of the shipwreck after a tree in the area was found to have the initials ‘H.H.’ carved which was believed to have been done by Henry Howey. The so-called ‘White Woman’ that was believed to be living with the Kurnai became the subject of intense rumours and large scale searches, including the leaving of handkerchiefs with messages in Gaelic on trees in the area. For some two years, the Aboriginal people of the area were hunted for what they were imagined to have done. A boy called Thackewarren from the Warrigul people was captured and taught English, and used as an interpreter to tell his people that the white woman must be found. The Commissioner of Crown Lands, Tyer, was delighted when they promised to return her, and on the arranged day preparations were made to receive her. To the utter astonishment of all present, the Aboriginal people arrived with a carved wooden bust of a woman, the figurehead from the ship Britannia. (13)
George Hamilton left Gisborne when Howey’s estate was wound up after his death. Hamilton then participated in overlanding a herd of cattle for Lt Alfred Mundy and Captain George Brunswick Smyth from Pyalong, Victoria to Adelaide in October 1839, along with close friend E.B. Scott. (1)

For the next few years he combined mixed farming along with his artistic talents, both visual arts and authorship, all of which had considerable merit, but none of which were a resounding success.In 1848 he accepted a position as clerk with the Colonial Treasury and when the Gold Escorts from the Victorian Goldfields were established, he transferred in May 1852 to become Bullion Clerk in the busy Gold Escort Office. (14)

On 1 December 1853, he joined the South Australian Mounted Police with the rank of Inspector. He progressed gradually through the ranks. Around 1860 he was appointed Chief Inspector and also acted in the position of Commissioner on occasion. During this period he was an activist for the humane treatment of horses, publishing two significant books on that topic, these early endeavours in the prevention of animal cruelty are now recognised at the National Museum of Australia. (14)

The drawing below is from George Hamilton’s, ‘Treatment Of The Horse In Australia’ published in the 1860s, which used graphic images to illustrate the cruelty used in the breaking in of a horse to saddle.

This picture is very disturbing in the present day when natural horsemanship has proved that the pressure and release method is quicker and far kinder to all concerned. The brutality Hamilton depicts gives an indication of the cruelty and cheapness of life that was metered out to animals and humans alike. Hamilton’s description of the scene above is thus: “He is branded and has his tail cut off. After the tail has been cut off, the brand of hot iron is applied to the skin…. By this time the animal … has had so many ‘surprises’ that he has exhausted his stock of astonishment and ‘shut up shop,’ and he now lies quietly submitting to whatever man may please to do with him. After he is branded, his legs are loosened, and he is directed to ‘get up’; this direction is generally accompanied with a kick on the stomach, and flavoured with an oath or two, roared out at the top of the civilized man’s voice to the savage untutored dumb animal on the ground. The horse having risen and shaken himself, looks round in an amazed and muddle brained way at his tormentors…” (15)

For all of George Hamilton’s artistic talents and poetical descriptions of the Australian bush, he left us with some disturbing drawings such as ‘Overlanders attacking the natives’ dated1846 and held in the State Library of N.S.W. digital collections.

George Hamilton, Police Officer South Australia

ILLUSTRATIONS:

Overlanders Attacking The Natives, George Hamilton 1846, Original held at State Library of NSW digital collections.

‘Treatment Of The Horse In Australia’ illustrations and text by George Hamilton, published in the 1860s,

Old colonists, 1838-1840

REFERENCES:

(1) George Hamilton, Experiences of a Colonist, 1846 page 80.

(2) Governor Bouke gave out 4 King Plates on March 8th 1837 in Melbourne – Historical Records of Victoria, Foundation Series, Vol 1. Beginnings of Permanent Government. pg 102.

(3) Australian Dictionary of Biography – George Hamilton

(4) Newspaper article reporting George Hamilton attacked by hostile Aborigines

(5) George Hamilton’s letter assuring the public he was unhurt and the reports of an attack by Aboriginals was untrue

(6) Article sympathising with Indigenous people 

(7) Article inciting the killing of Indigenous people

(8) Charles Bonney wrote of meeting up with George Hamilton during the last leg of the overlapping journey to the Macedon Ranges. For more information on Charles Bonney see his profile on this site.

(9) Alexander Fullerton Mollison, An Overlanding Diary.

(10) John Pascoe Fawkner’s Melbourne newspaper, 4th edition.

(11) https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/minchin-william-2460

(12) Gisborne Gazette

( 13) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_woman_of_Gippsland

(14)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hamilton_(Australian_police_officer)

(15) Treatment Of The Horse In Australia by George Hamilton