The Book of the Bush

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Australia was not a gift from the Lord or the Pope to us. Without seeking permission from either heaven or earth, we stole it for our own gain. A continent and its neighboring islands were mostly deserted, with only the kangaroo and a few primitive black people living there. Since they could not demonstrate a legitimate claim to either life or property, we seized both. The hungry sailors used to gather around the galley every morning to steal some of the oatmeal porridge that the prisoners ate for breakfast. Live biscuit, salt horse, Yankee pork, and Scotch coffee made up the meager and unhealthy meals served to the crew members on board these transports. These prisoners were allowed to craft cabbage-tree hats during their free time, and these were the nicest hats ever worn in the Sunny South. On the transport's deck, sentinels were stationed with orders to kill any passengers trying to flee. Jack was, however, much tempted to follow the guys earning a shilling a month after all the prisoners had left. He snuck onto the beach in silence and retired there until his ship left Port Jackson. The early settlers in New Zealand were shilling-a-month laborers, fugitive convicts, runaway sailors, and whalers. They became family men and constructed their own reed and rush-covered, wooden-framed homes. They also picked up the local language.