Woolly banksia

This lovely Banksia baueri is flowering in our garden at the moment. The flower heads are large - a good twelve centimetres in diameter and very soft and woolly. Unlike most banksias they are pollinated by little furry marsupials like honey possums and pygmy possums. So far I haven't seen any mature seed pods on the old flowers so I guess we haven't hit the jackpot in attracting them to our garden yet, but I live in hope.

Banksia coccinea, plate 3 in
 Illustrationes Florae novae Hollandiae
Ferdinand Bauer

Banksia baueri was named by botanist Robert Brown after the brothers Ferdinand and Francis Bauer. These brothers were fantastic natural history illustrators. Franz was botanical artist attached to Kew Gardens in England from 1790 to 1840. Ferdinand was employed as botanical draughtsman under the direction of Robert Brown as chief botanist aboard the Investigator, captained by Matthew Flinders. The English  expedition of discovery left Portsmouth in 1801, circumnavigated Australia, and was forced to stop at Port Jackson where the Investigator was condemned as unseaworthy.

Johnsonia lupulia, plate 1 in
Illustrationes Florae novae Hollandiae
Ferdinand Bauer

Brown and Bauer finally returned to England in the repaired Investigator in 1805. In the intervening time Bauer explored the Sydney region and spent eight months on Norfolk Island. Over the four year period Ferdinand made over 2000 drawings, mainly Australian plants. After their return Ferdinand  Bauer spent years working on three hundred watercolours from his Australian sketches, most of which are held in London, and a series of hand coloured etchings for his Illustrationes Florae novae Hollandiae which was published in 1813.

Brunonia australis, plate 10 in
Illustrationes Florae novae Hollandiae
Ferdinand Bauer

The first two illustrations by Bauer are of plants that grow in the Albany region. The third illustration is of one of my favourite inland plants. It is a magnificent sky blue which always looks startling when seen against the rich ochre red soil in which it commonly grows.



Ferdinand Bauer images from the National Gallery of Australia.

Walking with Archibald Menzies

In light of the recent eclipse of the sun which was visible over in Queensland, I was amazed when reading Archibald Menzies' diary of his arrival in King George Sound: 'On the morning of the 28th of Sep'r [1791] the sun rose eclipsed which was distinctly visible to us'. Menzies was the botanist (and surgeon) on board the Discovery, commanded by Captain George Vancouver on the 1791-1795 voyage from England to explore the Pacific region and the northwest coast of North America, via Australia and New Zealand. They spent some days exploring and collecting in this area from 27 September to 13 October 1791.

This amazing time lapse photograph of the eclipse by Ben Cooper

He describes a romantic landscape, after climbing a 'small prominence from which we had a full view of the Basin & a considerable tract of country beyond it ... was pleasantly diversified with groves of trees hills and valleys forming a rich & picturesque prospect boldly drawn by nature's manly pencil, but the inland country was one continuous forest of trees' . I was surprised that nature had a manly pencil - I thought nature was aligned to the feminine - or perhaps it was, but it was men who observed, drew, used her?

John Sykes, 1791

A Hut of King George III Sound 

on the South-west Coast of New Holland

They came across several deserted Aboriginal encampments, the first was a single hut on the edge of a grove of trees. The second was a group of twenty six 'scattered about in the skirts of a small wood … separated a little distance from one another & formed somewhat like beehives with a large opening on one side which faces to the south west in all of them … in two instances we  observed double ones, that is, two joined together with one opening or door common to both … there was a fireplace near each of them … Many of the stems of the trees bore evident marks of fire, some were even hollowed out by it’ . Interestingly, today there are houses nested in among these same groves, although I expect few of the original trees survive to this day.

Sykes, Alexander, Landseer 1798.
A deserted Indian village in King George 111 Sound,
New Holland

Groves of mixed karri, swamp yate and housing
Little Grove 

Generally, Menzies and his companions seemed to have little trouble walking through the country, there being 'many spots of rich pastures abundantly cropped with excellent grasses and a variety of herbaceous plants' . The going was occasionally tough and he has a quaint way of putting difficulties 'We traced this brook ... a task of no little labor on account of the density & luxuriancy of its crop of brushwood & long grass'. The grasses were frequently up around a metre high, in extensive valley meadows that were interspersed with wooded clumps of trees or bushes, and generally 'though trees and bushes were scattered over it, yet they were not apparently so thick as to form any obstruction to our investigation' .

Meadows today in Torndirrup N.P.

Menzies writes of seeing evidence of fire just about where ever he goes; 'Many of the stems of the trees bore evident marks of fire, some were even hollowed out by it' and 'The frequent marks of fire & general burnt state of the country every where round the Sound was a subject of much conversation amongst us'. They couldn't be sure about the causes of the fires, putting it down to 'a combustible quality in the earth' or 'elementary fire' or to the 'disposition of the natives who are fond of kindling frequent fires' . Although they did not see this for themselves, as they saw no Aborigines during their stay there, they were aware that Captain Philip, during his time in Botany Bay, had 'occular demonstration' of frequent firing of the country by the local inhabitants. Menzies reasoned that the 'general conflagration' could be more reasonably be explained by firing by Aborigines than 'by the aid of any supernatural cause' .

Banksia illicifolia in recently burnt country, Torndirrup N.P.

In The Biggest Estate on Earth, Bill Gammage explains the use of fire by Aborigines to maintain complex mosaic landscapes that maximise utility and game availability. Today in the south west, fire is used to maintain mosaic landscapes for biodiversity and for fire control. It makes sense that fire should have been used as a tool, not only for attracting and trapping game, but more simply as a mechanism to keep the country traversable. If you have ever tried to bush bash on foot through thick scrub that has not seen a fire for some years you will know what I mean.


Menzies, Archibald, 1790 - 1794, Journal of Archibald Menzies, surgeon and botanist on board Discovery, Empire Online.

One small bay

Just before I started my last essay, yes I finished it two days ago, we took a break to Albany to check out the landscape around Possession Point, one of the iconically named landscapes from the days of first European colonisation. Here are a few images taken at Whale Beach. This name too harks back to former whaling days. 

And this too - just one of life's puzzles.

Re-imagining the land

One of the most notable images of early Albany is the Panoramic View of King George's Sound, Part of the Colony of Swan River, a well known hand coloured etching and aquatint from 1834. It was created from sketches by Lieutenant Robert Dale and etched by Robert Havell. Dale was stationed at King George's Sound in early 1832, six years after the English commenced a colony there. This section of the view shows Lake Seppings and Oyster Harbour in the distance. On the left of the drawing is the cleared and neatly plowed square of land on the government's Strawberry Hill farm.

The view today from a similar vantage point

The foreground on the top of Mt Clarence is now very overgrown - that shrubbery in the foreground is a good three to four metres high. On the day I took this photograph there was a bronzewing pigeon scratching in the undergrowth like a tiny chook - something I've never noticed them doing before.

In the panorama by Dale/Havell the foreground has a number of small herbaceous plants indicative of fairly open ground, with bigger shrubbery further down the hill. However all the land on the lower plains near the lakes is grassland interspersed with clumps of trees. For the Aborigines it would have provided good feed for kangaroos and made hunting that much easier. The grasslands were managed with regular burning to keep the bush at bay.  Edge habitats are usually regarded as being more species rich than each of the individual habitats, so that makes good sense too.

It is strange how the present day golf course imitates the original landscape as managed by the Aborigines before colonisation. There must be something about a parkland cleared landscape that is pleasing to our psyche.  For the golfers I suppose it is more of a challenge having the fairways edged by a good bit of rough.

I don't know if the tall Kingias, shown in the centre of the drawing, would have actually been there or were placed in the drawing because they represented the 'exotic'.

I can say there are smaller Kingia's still growing near the top of the hill, but they are crowded out by the thick and tall vegetation that has grown up around them. It must be quite a while since a fire went through; they have long skirts hanging down from the top.

Believe it or not there is a Kingia growing in this tangle of shrubbery - catching the sunlight in the middle ground.

Here is a botanical illustration of Kingia australis, originally published in 1827 as part of Captain Phillip King's book on his travels mapping the coasts of Australia from 1818 to 1822. The engraving is by J. Curtis.











Today, there are a few big old trees growing on the hill, all very spreadeagled, unlike the younger trees that are growing closely together and straight up. In their youth they must have had a lot less competition for space and light to enable them to grow wide rather than up. Perhaps a bit of being sculpted by the wind too - something which isn't a problem today, the bush is so dense.




I find it very interesting, looking and comparing the past and the present, and trying to image what it was really like back then. In some ways it is like seeing the landscape, and ways of managing it, with totally new eyes. It  certainly raises a lot of questions for me about how one 'chooses' just what is the 'right' ecological landscape.

Link to National Library of Australia
Link to Gutenberg Phillip King's book.

Dancing, drums and drills

Matthew Flinders surveyed the shores of Australia in the ship the Investigator, and was anchored in King George's Sound in December 1801 through to early January1802 before any British occupation of the area. He published a journal of his travels A Voyage to Terra Australis in two volumes which I found as an ebook from Gutenberg. It is a boon being able to access books like this so easily. I am actually investigating representations of the environment and vegetation, but occasionally other things jump out at me.

Anyway, I was fascinated by his account of  Wednesday 30 December 1801:

On the 30th, our wooding and watering of the ship were completed, the rigging was refitted, the sails repaired and bent, and the ship unmoored. Our friends the natives continued to visit us; and the old man with several others being at the tents this morning, I ordered the party of marines on shore to be exercised in their presence. 

The red coats and white crossed belts were greatly admired, having some resemblance to their own manner of ornamenting themselves; and the drum, but particularly the fife, excited their astonishment; but when they saw these beautiful red-and-white men, with their bright muskets, drawn up in a line, they absolutely screamed with delight; nor were their wild gestures and vociferation to be silenced but by commencing the exercise, to which they paid most earnest and silent attention. Several of them moved their hands involuntarily, according to the motions; and the old man placed himself at the end of the rank, with a short staff in his hand, which he shouldered presented, grounded as did the marines their muskets.

Drawing by an Aboriginal of the Kingston Tribe S.A.
from John Fairfax Conigrave, Adelaide, 1886.

Charles Darwin was in King George Sound in February 1836 and did not enjoy his time there at all; the summer heat, coarse vegetation and sandy ground, was probably too much for him. In his book The Voyage of the 'Beagle' he described a corroboree he witnessed while there. Here is an edited version:

A large tribe of natives, called the White Cockatoo men, happened to pay the settlement a visit while we were there. These men, as well as those of the tribe belonging to King George's Sound ... were persuaded to hold a "corrobery," or great dancing party. As soon as it grew dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet, which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. As soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which the women and children were collected as spectators; the Cockatoo and King George's men formed two distinct parties and generally danced in answer to each other. 

Engraving by J. Neill from Edward John Eyre, 1845

The dancing consisted in their running either sideways or in Indian file into an open space, and stamping the ground with great force as they marched together. Their heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by beating their clubs and spears together ... In another dance, one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up, and pretended to spear him. When both tribes mingled in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness of their steps, and the air resounded with their wild cries. Every one appeared in high spirits ... and so perfectly at their ease. After the dancing was over, the whole party formed a great circle on the ground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, to the delight of all.

The visual parallels between the marine drills and corroborees were not lost on either Flinders or the Aboriginal people. Unfortunately the marine uniforms would soon come to represent negative attributes like  power, authority, retribution and an alien system of law.

Untitled tryptic by Gordon Syron, National Museum of Australia, Canberra

The last word on redcoats doing drill must go to Gordon Syron who plays with the way history has traditionally been visualised. He is a political artist who identifies as Aboriginal. He uses 'satire and raw imagery to send a message that Australian History has left out the Aboriginal people and their stories'. In his art he often 'turns around the picture' by doing things like portraying Aboriginal people in redcoats and black boots and reversing other historical Aboriginal and white roles, forcing the viewer to reconsider history.

Link to Syron's website here.  

All images sourced from the internet.

Robert Haddon's views of Albany

While researching early images of King George Sound and Albany I stumbled across the work of architect Robert Haddon. He worked in Western Australia in the late 1890's for the Department of Public Works and painted a number of water colours of Albany and environs during this time. Later, he incorporated them into a series of calendar books which are held in the State Library of Victoria.  The images give us a glimpse of Albany just over one hundred years ago and his hand written 'notes of the day' give a fascinating peek into the mind of Haddon. Here are just a few of them, along side similar views today.

The Dog Head Rock, Albany W.A. 1896.

' "To forget" is as important an act as "to remember", for we sometimes cannot forget what we would, and often remember what were better forgotten.'

At Albany, W.A. 1896.


'If you purpose to strike hit the nail on the head every time; do not fatigue yourself with abortive effort.'

This is taken from further back 

The Post Office, Albany W.A. 1897.


'Beautiful building is Architecture, and the man who designs and plans and directs the technical and practical trades in the construction of such buildings is an Architect.'










As an architect Haddon argued for simplicity, balance and originality of design. He believed that a uniquely Australian architecture could be produced by the use of local materials and by sensitively responding to the environment and natural light. His paintings capture the time of transition between sailing ships and steamers, well before the huge diesel or gas/diesel powered ships we see today. Cars hadn't yet made their indelible mark upon the landscape and our lives,and trains were an important means of transport. Many of his paintings show pristine white beaches which can still be seen today in places where the land has been preserved from development.                

Now the home of University of WA Albany Centre

Sunset at Albany W.A. 1896.


'There is one hour of the day, one moment almost, when the exhaltation of the spirit is rendered most possible; it is the hour before the sunset, the moment before the close of another day at its passing.
Nature so often, in the sky, gathers up the full forces of her dramatic art at such a time. Then is the soul expanded, the heart enlarged, the spirit strengthened.
Then are we no longer men but Gods.
The limitations of time & space are forgotten, and with the fading of glorious light, we feel some of the exhaltation of eternity.'

Albany Harbour today

Here is a link to Haddon's calendar books through Trove.