Henry Waterhouse (c. 1770-1812)

In his first long letter from Sydney Cove, on 11 July 1788, Henry Waterhouse gives a detailed account of the arrival of the First Fleet in Botany Bay and the establishment of the settlement in Sydney Cove. He reports Henry Lidgbird Ball's discovery of Lord Howe Island, describes Sydney's Aboriginal inhabitants and the colony's plants and animals. Waterhouse was one of the British party to meet with the French expedition, led by the Comte de La Perouse, which landed at Botany Bay only days after the arrival of the First Fleet.

He was present at the founding of the settlement on Norfolk Island and witnessed the spearing of Governor Phillip at Manly on 7 September 1790.

The letters were acquired in 1998.

• Read further correspondence by Henry Waterhouse
• Waterhouse family papers

Transcript: Henry Waterhouse - letter to William Waterhouse, 11 July 1788

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Sidney Cove Port Jackson New South Wales
July the 11th 1788

Dear Father -

We sail'd from the Cape of Good Hope the 13th of November with a Ship compleatly full with, Stock, Grains etc for the Settlement, in going out of Table Bay pass'd the Kent of London Whaler going to St Helena Bay; we had continully foul Winds untill the 24.
On the 25 Captain Phillip with four other officers went on board the Supply to make the best of their way for Botany Bay; and the Alexander Scarbrough & Friendship where to follow as fast as possible under the care of Mr. Shortland the Agent, the remainder where to proceed on with us;
On the 25 of December there where a number of Pindeada Pettrell & Albatross Birds about the Ship & a Seal swam under the stern, on the 27 six Whales were playing about the Ship one of which the Ship rubb'd against it appear'd to be very old its Nose was cover'd with Barnacles, at the same time two swallows where flying about the Ship;
On the 30th of December & 1 of January 1788 it blew a very heavy Gale, on the 2nd it blew so hard that we could not set any sail on the 3rd it abated without any damage to the Ships or parting company; on the 8th January saw Van Diemans Land; it is remarkable that since the Supply left us we have not had one days foul wind & have made a passage hardly to be credited;
The land from here has a most barren appearance most of the Hills having Snow on them only some few spots having Trees on & those seemingly not in a very flourishing state though this is one of the Summer months The Thermometer here was 63.7 the Barometer 29.92 Water expended 41 Tons remains 71;
Died on the passage two Cows & three Calvs that where calv'd on the passage as we where standing into Adventure Bay where taken aback & oblig'd to stand out to Sea, at Night saw a number of Fires along the Coast & a very large one on Tasmans Head;
On the 9th Lost sight of the Land, their was a vast quantity of Birds about the Ship of the Gull kind, some of the Duck, & the Bird which Cap. Cook calls Motacilla Cyanea which has a most beautifull azure Head & Neck it follow'd us out to sea & seem'd not at all at a loss which shews it has some means of subsistence at Sea;
on the 10th we had a most severe Squall of Wind Rain Thunder & Lightning which damag'd some of the Ships but not materially;
on the 19th Anchor'd in Botany Bay found the Supply & three Transports there the Supply arriv'd the 19th & the Transports about 12 hours before us without any accident or seeing each other;
Most of the Ships Company where sent on shore to clear the ground, the Governor & several officers went to the Northward to examine a bay they return'd & inform'd us they had been to Port Jackson & had found it to be a most excellent Harbour & good soil; got every thing on board & where prepairing to go round in the Ships when we perciev'd two Ships in the offing standing into the Bay sent an Officer on board to conduct them in found them to be the Bonsoul Commanded by Mon de la Perouse & the Astrolabe Commanded by Mon Clonard two French Frigates thirty months from Europe last from Kamschatka.
They had lost 19 men the greater part of which where officers on the NW Coast of America, They had touch'd at the different Islands in the Passage, they lay some time at the Navigators mention'd by Mon Bougainvill in his voyages, at one of which Mona they had twelve Men & a Boy kill'd by the Nativs the Ships where then in the offing & the Boats where on shore compleating their Water which they had finish'd which they had finish'd & where going off when the Nativs from the Bushes threw upwards of two thousand stones & they where aim'd so well that all who where killed or Wounded was on the head, the greatest part of the twelve where officers one of which was Monr de Langle the former Captain of the Astrolabe, they likewise lost two Long Boats their & two when they lost their people on the Coast of America.
They where come to Botany Bay to refit their ships & build fresh Boats

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At Noon turn'd out to Sea & after a short run anchor'ed as did all the Convoy in a Cove about six mile up the Harbour where the English Colours where display'd & at sun set his Majestys health & success to the Settlement was drank by the Governor principle Officers & many of the private Men;
on the 28th I was sent with Capt Hunter the 1st Lieut & Master to survey the Harbour which we compleated by the 6 of February found it run about thirteen mile in nearly a West direction & is allow'd to be the best harbour known in the World about this time it Thundered & lighten'd excessivly hard in one night it shiver'd a large tree near the Camp & kill'd six sheep two lambs & two pigs;
on the 7th the Governors Commision & the Commision for establishing the Laws & Court of Judicature was read by the Judge Advocate of the Settlement when the Governor addrest the Convicts in a most excellent speech giving them every promis that could encourge them, I went on the 10th with Mr King & other officers to Botany Bay; where we where very kindly entertain'd by Mon de la Prouse & slept one night on board the Bonsoul
On the 14 of Feby Mr King sail'd on board the Supply with Mr Cunningham & Mr Jamison the first Masters Mate & the last Surgeons Mate & four men belonging to the Sirius with ten Covict Men & six do Weomen for Norfolk Island with Hogs, sheep, Goats, Poultry, seeds etc and every necessary for the Cultivation of Land where the Governor means to make a settlemen for the sake of the Pine tree one of which they measur'd that was blown down 172 feet long 100 with out a branch & 9 feet Diameter, on the 20th of March Mr Ball return'd having landed Mr King safe & had fell in with an Island before unknown it lays in about the Lat. 31°.35'S & Longitude 159° E they found on it a quantity of Turtle twenty of which he brought away with him with Pidgeons, & Fouls like guinea fouls who where so tame as to suffer themselvs to by taken by the People with their hands
Mr Ball nam'd this Lord Hows Island; I went with the Governor & other Officers to Broken Bay which we found to be a most excellent Harbour on our return found the French Frigate where sail'd;
on the 6 of May the Supply sail'd for Lord Hows Island & the Lady Penrhyn Scarborough & Charlotte for China on the 26th the Supply return'd having been only at Lord Hows Island but did not see a single Turtle we suppose the Weather to have been too cold, the three ships that where going to China lay there two Days & then proceeded on their voyage; on the 15th of May the foundation stone of the Governors House was laid with an Incription to the following purpose on copper buried with it the date of the Governors arrival in this Country also the date of the laying the foundation stone;
Two Convicts that where just recovering from a fit of sickness went into the wood to pick some herbs for tea the next day one of them return'd wounded in the back with a lance by the Nativs, part of which was sticking his back when he came in; he said the Nativs had Wounded & beat & carri'd away his companion, the next day a Jacket Shirt & hat was found near the place where the Convict had been attack'd & we suppose they have either kill'd or carri'd the other Convict away with them, that they are are not Cannibals we are well assur'd from having seen piles of ashes in where human bones half Burnt & some not at all they like wise refuse any thing raw but will eat it when broil'd so that we cannot concieve any reason why they should carry him away if dead unless it is to honour him with their funeral ceremones
On the 27th two of our Men were tried by a Criminal Court of Judicature for attempting to murder a man that was on shore with them taking care of the Sirius's garden when each where sentenced to recieve 500 lashes on shore, one of which at the first flogging recid 400 & the other 100 when the surgeon orderd them on board till their backs wher well then to recieve the remainder of their punishment; on the 3rd of June got the ship in order, on the 4th hoisted a flag at each Mast head & fired as did the Supply 21 Guns at sun rise the same at 1 oclock & the same

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at Sun Set, the Transports made up the same number between them [indecipherable] one oclock, the Governor this day gave a Publick dinner at which where all the Officers of the Garrison, The Captain Lieutenants & three Midshipmen, one of wich I had the honor to be;
We went on shore at twelve oclock where the whole Battalion where assembled fir'd three Volleys & gave three cheers as did the Convicts who this day where allow'd liquor: At two oclock we where all assembled & had a most excellent dinner, after it was over the following Publick healths where drank with three Cheers & the band playing God save the King, - The King - The Queen & Royal Family - The Prince of Wales - Prince William Henry - His Majestys Ministers - The Cumberland Family - the Governor then said he meant to name the County which he call'd the County of Cumberland which was drank - the Governor then went out & his health was drank likewise with three Cheers the healths & toasts then circulated briskly & most did honor to the day, we supp'd at 9 & went on board at 11, the Convicts had made a most amazing fire & the day was concluded on all sids with great festivity, though I am affraid alarm'd the Nativs most terribly;
This day the Governor gave a free pardon to all offenders. Since that time two Convicts has been murder'd by the Nativs but we suppose the Convicts to have been the aggressors. They frequently come alongside the ship but we have not been able to persuade them to come in; they have not the least dress their only ornaments are a bone which is run through between the two Nostrils & their Bodys besmear'd with pipe clay & a kind of paint they get which they rub in their beards they have likewise large punctures or ridges some in curv'd & some in curv'd lines in different parts of their Bodys the Men likwise have lost one of the foreteeth of the upper jaw and the Weomen the first joint of the little fingure on the left hand, for what reason no person can tell as we saw it in all ages, they are in general well proportion'd the men more so than the Weomen though their Belly is rather protubrant;
They have different kinds of spears, one with four prongs, pointed with bone or fish teeth the use of this seems to be chiefly for striking fish which they are very dexterous at which seems to be their only food the others are of one prong barb'd for a foot up with the fish teeth & as sharp as a needle which renders it impossible if once enter'd to get out without cutting the flesh this & the Club is the only war weapon we have seen them have unless you call their stone axes so, with these & a small net in which they carry their fishing lines which seems to be made of the stringy part of the inside of the Cabbage Palm tree & is equall to our fishing lines & a small vesel in the shape of a Canoe in which they carry their water seems to be the whole of their houshold furniture their Huts which we have seen are the most wretched you ever heard off, being composs'd of sticks cross'd & cover'd with Bark or Grass about the size of a common hogs sty but not so good;
The Sea here abounds with fish which are the sharke, snapper, Jew fish, Rays, bream, soles Leather Jackets, Nurses, flounders, Gurnards, Mackerel, Mullet & various others I believe not known in Europe;
The Birds we have seen are the Amew, The Busterd, Crane, Coockatoo, snipe, Loryquet, parrot, Paroquets, Eagles, Hawks, Crows, & a variaty of small Birds altogether I believe unknown in Europe.
The animals we have but a very imperfect knowledge of those we have seen are the Kangooroo, Oppossum, rachoon, flying squirrel & curious kind of Bat one of the Kangooroos that has been shot wheigh'd 140 lb they are most excellent eating
The Soil here is tolerably good they have found a Clay that makes most excellent Bricks; The Ground here abounds with trees though I am not Botanist enough to distinguish any great variaty;
The Tree call'd Sanguis Draconia from its emiting a quantity of red liquid Gum seems to me to be the predominant both from its size & number

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one of which I measur'd 27 feet in circumference, this Tree at first sight has a most curious appearance seeming to be entirly strip'd of its bark even to its smallest branches which increases your opinion on approaching the Tree by seeing a quantity of thin Bark scater'd all round the tree which on a nearer view you find to be a thin skin which probaly peels off every Year;
on cutting the Tree you find a bark near two Inches thick The next to this seems to be a degenerated Pine, for which the Nativs are much indebted to Nature, as it is their Dock Yards & affords them defence from the bark of this Tree they make their Canoes & Shields which they do by cutting the bark with their stone axes as long as they mean their Canoes to be which are in general twelve feet long, the Sun opens the part cut they then forse sticks in every day untill the Bark seperates from the Tree, they then sew it together at each end & stop it with Gum.
the Canoes are kept extended by sticks & to prevent their opening[?] too far they have a piece of line fasten'd to each Gunwhale they put a stone in the middle on which they have a constant fire in which they dress their fish as soon as caught they have two paddles one in each hand with these they make their Canoes go amazingly swift in these wretched vesels I have seen five people including Children
There is another Tree though small that bears a flower as does the other two though small & leaves a seed behind like the top of a pine;
Those are the only ones that I think can be call'd Trees, except the Cabbage Palm which Tree produces a most excellent Cabbage & is peculiarly servisable in building temporary houses as it is soft & easily work'd up but they are known in almost every part of Europe.
Their is a most amazing quantity of shrubs here, the first of which, & I think the next most servisable to the Nativs, is the Grass Tree which bears a stalk on the top resembling a Bullrush & produces a quantity of fine yellow Gum not unlike Gamboge which is got by diging round the root in lumps of different shaps & sizes & is very servisable to the Nativs as it is with this Gum they fasten the Bullrushes together to make their spears & stop any holes in their Canoes or water vesels as water will not disolve it it is remarkable that this Tree is allways burnt to a cinder on the outside and we can assign no other reason than that when the Sun is so hot as to extract the gum from the Tree it may heat it to such a degree as to burn the outside where it runs down as the heart of the Tree is perfectly sound & good & the top is allways green;
The next to this I think is a shrub that bears a small leaf one of which I think answers every purpose of a glass of pepper mint water there is nubers of others I believe unknown in Europe the seeds of which I mean to preserve in a propper season there is one lately found out which grows like broom in England without a leaf & bears a quantity of berrys about the size of currants of a most excellent acid, equal to lemon juce it happen'd most fortunatly for us its quality being found out so soon as it was as a number of men where then very ill with the Scurvy upwards of twenty not able to do their duty who now, with these berrys & the great attention of the Surgeons on board are recovering very fast.
Of the vegetables only two I think can be call'd of the exculent kind one of which resembles a broad bean & the other a kind of spinage there may be many other and without doubt their is whose good quallitys have not yet been found out
there are different kinds of vines one bears a berry which tasts exactly like a grape, & another like the raspberry: Of the herbs their is great quantitys, There is Sage, Parsley, Indian Tea, & sweet Tea so called from its tasting like spanish liquorish.
There are various other sort whose quallitys are not yet found out; Most of the Culinary plants seems to have degenerat'd here we suppose it to be owing to its being an improper season when the seed was sown,
The plants that where brought from Rio de Janeiro the Cape of Good Hope etc thrive here & look very luxuriantly the Flax seed grows here likewise but very thinly only on some few spots

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having any on; I am sorry to inform you that on the 4th of June the Bull & Cows stray'd away & allthough some Hundreds of people have been looking after them they have not yet been heard of;
The Town now begins to cut a figure a number of Wooden Houses are built & the Governors & Lieut Governors Stone Houses are allmost built likewise the Hospital & Store houses;
At a little distance from the Town their is a farm for the Cultivation of Seed & Cattle for the Publick, there is a number of private Farms & Gardens about there is likewise a brick field & kiln at which some Thousands of excellent Bricks have been made at present while the Transports are here we are under such restrictions concerning the Nativs that I have not be able to collect any of their Weapons or any thing else but I am affraid I have tir'd you with this long & unconnect'd letter but I must beg you will excuse any errors that may attract your Eye please to give my duty to their Royal Highnesses & Lady Elizabeth I waited on the Governor to know if he had any commands for Her Royal Highness he told me he should write himself from
Your Ever Dutifull Son
H Waterhouse

NB. I cannot conclude without telling you that I am under greater obligations to Mr King than I can possably express I am at present very happy & I believe respected by all the Officers I have now an opportunity of making myself Master of every thing that can be usefull to me in my proffession
I have allready made myself Master of surveying & have so far renderd myself of service as to be sent on shore wherever the Astronomical Instruments goes; & it is my utmost endeavours to deserve the kind recomendation her Royal Highness gave of me their has one Lieut been made since our arrival There two Transports are to remain behind for some time underneath is the number of people Dead since our arrival

Sirius	1
Supply	2
Transports	5
Soldiers	3
Convict Men	22
Do Women	8
Do Children	9
Soldiers Children	2
Total	52