234 THE FOUNDING OF HOBART. 



West, i., 36. whitewash completed the cottage. It is said that the 

 first house in Hobart was a wattle-and-dab hut built by 

 Lieut. Lord on land adjoining Macquarie House. In 

 less than two months after the Ocean and Lady Nehoii 

 had anchored in Sullivan's Cove the huts were com- 

 pleted and the people w^ere all provided with fairly 

 comfoi'table habitations, occupying a line from the Com- 

 mercial Bank to the Hobart Club in Collins Street, and 

 thence along the edge of the scrub to the Australiau 

 Mutual Provident Society's Building. A General Order 

 of 17th April enjoins strict attention to the cleanliness 

 and order of the liuts, and to precautions against danger 

 by fire. 



When the huts were finished the prisoners were at 

 liberty to work in their spare time for the officers and 

 settlers, in clearing locations, preparing and fencing in 

 gardens, trenching and hoeing the ground for corn or 

 vegetables, and building houses. Labour was scarce, 

 and the demand being greater than the supply, the w^ork 

 people were not slow to take advantage of the necessity 

 by demanding exorbitant prices for their labour. The 

 abuse became so considerable that by General Order 

 (1st June), the Lieut. -Governor appointed a Committee 

 composed of the civil and military officers, together with 

 three of the settlers, to meet on Sunday after service and 

 fix the rate of wages. The new prices for labour were 

 promulgated by General Order of 22nd June. Mechanics 

 for the day of 10 hours were to be paid 3^. Qd., and 

 labourers 2s. Qd. For felling and burning timber, 30.9. 

 per aci'c ; for grubbing and burning, £,4: per acre ; for 

 breaking up new ground, £2 per acre. For reaping 

 wheat, 10.<. per acre. For sawing, 8.9. Ad. per 100 feet. 

 Splitting 7 feet palings, 3s. per 100 ; 5 feet palings, Is. Qd. 

 per 100. Oyster shells for lime, 3fZ. per bushel. Thatch, 

 Qd. per bundle of 9 feet girth. The workmen were often 

 paid for their labour in provisions, and the Order fixed 

 the following equivalent rates : — Salt beef, 9d. per lb. ; 

 Salt pork, Is. ; Kangaroo, 8c?. per lb. ; Flour, Is. per lb. 

 So that for a day's work of 10 hours, a labourer could 

 procure 1 lb. of pork and 1^ lbs. of flour, and a mechanic 

 2 lbs. of beef and 2 lbs, flour. Payment for labour, 

 however, was often made in a more objectionable medium, 

 Gen. Order, raw spirit. At a very early period the Governor issued 

 27th Feb. ^ stringent order against this most pernicious practice. 

 Nevertheless, in spite of Government regulations it 

 continued to be a crying evil, and for many a long year 

 the abuse continued. Many a Hobart building has 



