Canada Goose (tak nazywa się łódka) jest teraz przy Scawfell Island, w Refuge Bay. Przypłynęliśmy tu wczoraj w nocy, szukając osłony przed zapowiadanym silnym wiatrem z SE, który pewnie jest odpryskiem cyklonu Vera z okolic Nowej Kaledonii.
Z żalem opuszczałam wyspę Percy Island, która mnie urzekła swoim kształtem, silikonowym piaskiem świszczącym pod stopami,
spokojem i bogatą historią sięgającą siedemnastego wieku. Przy plaży stoi tam chatka, gdzie od lat przepływający tamtędy żeglarze zostawiają coś na pamiątkę;deskę z wyrytym napisem, butelkę z karteczką, zdjęcie lub cokolwiek... Wisi też tam polska flaga, ale bez napisu.
Na Percy mieszka jedna rodzina,Moris. Mają dom na wzgórzu, ogród, hodują kozy, pawie i kury. żeglarzom sprzedają miód, sok cytrynowy i robią też wino z mango. John pracował do niedawna na lądzie, w systemie 6-cio tygodniowym. Catherine uraczyła nas musem z corosoli i opowieścią o dawnych czasach na wyspie. Historia białego człowieka zaczyna się w 1770 r., ale wcześniej mieszkali tu Aborygeni - wysiedleni, pomarli z tęsknoty za domem...
Ci, którzy chcieliby tu pobyć, popracować na rzecz Morissonów za wikt i opierunek mogą zajrzeć na www.woofing.com.au
Zapraszam też do poczytanie fragmentu książki o Percy Island i wysłuchania fajnej piosenki!
Z Percy Island na Scrafell płyneliśmy z dobrym południowo-wschodnim wiatrem niosąc jedynie genuę na spinaker pole'u. To jest cudowne pływanie przy baksztagu; żagiel ani drgnie przy kołyszącym się na boki jachcie. Pycha!
Parchment
The cutter-rigged yacht "Psyche", which had been carried away by four convicts from Hobart Tas. during the night of Feb. 20-21 1849, was totally wrecked off the Queensland coast in 1849, probably March. Belonging to Reverend Francis R. Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania, the "Psyche" was in the charge of his secretary, George Forester, who entrusted the care and navigation of the vessel to his assigned servant, John Hill. She was mostly employed running between Hobart and a farm at 'Three Hut Point'. The "Psyche" was taken to sea from under the noses of the water police constables on duty at 'Coal yard wharf' and the crew of the guard boat, the colonial government's schooner "Swallow". The alarm was not given until 10.30 am on the 21st of Feb., when 3 prisoners assigned to the Marine department- Rees Griffiths, John King and
Matthew Clark- were found to be absent. A Sextant, with some other articles, were found to be missing from the "Swallow". The following story is about 4 convicts who stole the Bishop of Tasmania‘s yacht and
ended up being wrecked on Middle Percy Island. The Psyche was a small gaff rigged cutter about 30 foot in length weighing 10 tons. She was jointly owned by the Reverend Francis R. Nixon and William Lambert Dobson who was the Chief of Justice in Tasmania.
CONVICT ABSCONDERS- on the night of Tuesday the 20th instant, four prisoners of the Crown absconded from Hobart Town, named Griffiths, King, Clarke, and Hill. The latter had formerly been a commander of a vessel. They had previously broken into the cabin of the Government schooner “Swallow”, and removed a sextant, two charts, a quantity of clothing, bags of biscuit, three water beakers, all of which they took aboard the yacht “Psyche”, a small yacht belonging to
the Lord Bishop of Tasmania, and which vessel Hill had charge of. What provisions he had on board at the time, together with what they took from the “Swallow” is calculated to last them fifteen days. Soon after the
“Psyche” had sailed with them, expresses were sent in all directions. The “Swallow” was sent to „Forte-Que. Bay., the police boat to „Adventure Bay., keeping close to the coast, and Mr.P.S.Tomlins, P.M. of South Port, was apprised of the circumstance so as to have his boat in readiness. All the stations, coastwise, have been informed. The Chief Police Magistrate (now at Fingal) immediately made arrangements upon hearing of the circumstance. All the constables in pursuit are picked men: they have police warrants and are heavily armed. The “John”, from Launceston reports having seen a vessel of the “Psyches” description on Wednesday morning, about fifteen miles from Port Arthur. The police boat is on her return after a fruitless search. Upon going to press nothing further had been ascertained.
FACTS AND FICTIONS ARISING OUT OF THE BISHOP.S YACHT- Imprimis, four convicts bolted from the colony, taking with them the Bishop.s yacht, the “Psyche”; they have not been taken, nor are they likely to be. The Lord Bishop of Tasmania placed his pleasure yacht under sole charge of a prisoner of the Crown, although it is well known that he has always been most loud in his invectives against the contamination of that class. Hill, the prisoner in charge of the said yacht, and one of the above bolters, was that day gazetted on the ticket-of-leave list for meritorious conduct. These are the facts...Now for the fictions. There was a rumor about town, that it was mainly owing to the inactivity of the police that the four men above alluded to escape, and that, had they been wide awake at the time, the Bishop.s yacht would not
have been taken away: that is not a fact, for there were no constables stationed near the spot at the time. Mr. McLean, deeming it quite a sufficient security in having a prisoner on the Commissariat Wharf. The next report was, that some of the government clerks were out pleasuring in the “Corsair”- that the “Swallow” mistook her for the “Psyche”- that she was fired into, and one of the young gentlemen wounded- but that report was fortunately contradicted before the nerves of a large circle of relatives, friends, and acquaintances had been too severely shaken: this report was really too bad, inasmuch as it caused one of our contemporaries to be buoyed up with the idea of a first rate local, and as a matter of course was doomed to disappointment. Yesterday it was reported that the “Swallow” was returning, bringing the “Psyche” with her: there is no foundation for this, for the Bishop.s yacht has proved herself in every respect a cutter.
Some 3 months after the disappearance of the "Psyche" from Hobart, the barque "Freak" put into 'Percy Island' off the Queensland coast below Mackay. There the "Freaks" Master J.B.Simpson found two castaways who gave their names as John Davis and Matthew Clark and claimed to be sailors from the "Buona Vista". This vessel, they said, had been wrecked on a voyage through Torres Strait from New Zealand. Their story, however, was unconvincing, and Simpson concluded the two men were runaway convicts, He carried them to 'escape river' and there transferred them to the Sydney bound schooner "Coquette", warning the latter's Master, George Elliot that they were almost certainly runaways. He Told Elliot he thought they might be two of the men who had pirated "Psyche" and warned him to keep a close watch on them. When the "Coquette" arrived in Sydney N.S.W. on 6th July, Davis and Clark were for some reason allowed to slip ashore, as soon as the schooner was inside the heads. When the water police magistrate boarded "Coquette" as she was working up the harbour he was not informed they had been onboard. He soon learned about them however, and a search for the men was instituted. Davis was quickly arrested and identified as John King, but Clark was never recaptured. King refused to disclose the fate of the "Psyche" or to say what had happened to the other two men, Hill and Griffiths, but a report from Captain Simpson disclosed that he had found a skeleton on Percy Island, with evidence suggesting that there was suspicious circumstances surrounding the man.s death. It was at first intended to charge King with murder, but on the 31st July the principal Superintendent of convicts, decided that the charge could not be proved. He was therefore returned to Tasmania, where his original sentence of ten years transportation was increased by 18 months for absconding.
wszystko o Percy Island:
Kate Gibson śpiewa http://percyisland.com.au/http://chomikuj.pl/szawele/Dokumenty/piosenka+o+Percy+Island,2287915623.wmapiosenka
http://percyisland.com.au/
http://percyisland.com.au/
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