BY JAMES BACKHOUSE WALKER. 237 



went in time to get rid of their catch, and then pursue 

 the beach whale fishery, which commenced early in 

 July and continued until September. During these 

 months Storm Bay Passage, Frederick Henry Bay, and 

 the Derwent abounded Avith the black Avhale or right 

 fish, and a dozen vessels yearly could be freighted 

 and sent home with their oil. The right whale was 

 frequently seen in the Derwent in considerable numbers 

 out of the regular season, but during the months of 

 July, August, and September they were so numerous in 

 the shoal parts of the river that from his tent in the 

 camp at. Sullivan's Cove he had counted as many as 50 

 or 60 whales in the river at one time.* 



The Lieut. -Governor had his time fully occupied in 

 directing the development of the settlement. Every- 

 thing had his daily supervision. The planning of the 

 buildings, the clearing of the ground, the marking off of 

 gardens, the allotment of servants to the officers, -the 

 regulation of labour, the provisions, the stores, the 

 punishment of offences, and the general discipline and 

 regulation of the people, down to the smallest detail, 

 required the personal sanction of His Honor. In addi- 

 tion to the care of the camp, the new Government farm 

 demanded his constant attention, for the prosperity 

 of the new settlement largely depended on the progress 

 of cultivation. The intervening scrub made it difficult 

 to reach the farm by land* and Henry Hacking, the 

 Governor's coxswain, with his boat's crew, frequently 

 pulled His Honor to Cornelian Bay to inspect the work 

 of Superintendent Clark and his thirty men, who had 

 now some 19 acres in crop, and to pay a visit to the settlers' 

 locations a short distance beyond at Stainforth's Cove. 

 The officers of the settlement, too, had little spare time 

 on their hands, for the Governor was eager to get on 

 Avith the public buildings, and the workmen could only 

 be kept industrious by close and constant supervision and 

 the strictest discipline. The Chaplain was probably the 



* Kiiopwood in his diary (1st July) speaks of whales being so 

 numerous in the river that his boat had to keep close along the 

 shore, it being dangerous to venture into the mid-channel. The Knopwood. 

 Alexander whaler, Captain Rhodes, fished in the Derwent and 

 Storm Bay Passage from August to the end of October in this same 

 year, and went home a full ship. There are persons yet living who 

 can remember the time when bay-whaling, as it was called, had 

 not ceased to be profitable. We have a reminiscence of this old 

 industry in the name of Tryway Point, by which one of the promon- 

 tories in the Derwent is still sometimes known. 



