South Head Lookout and Flagstaff 1788-1790
The early colony at Sydney Cove became desperate for the arrival of supplies from an expected second fleet, as their food stocks had significantly dwindled, and they were on the edge of starvation. Attempts to grow crops around the Cove had failed due to the poor, sandy soils. This problem was further exacerbated by the initial decision to establish the colony at Sydney Cove. The colonists knew that any ships following them would be heading to Botany Bay, and would not be aware of the removal of the settlement to Port Jackson. Therefore, each week for the first 18 months of settlement, a party of marines was sent overland to Botany Bay to see if any vessel had arrived there.
The origin of the South Head signal station lies in the establishment in 1790 of a lookout post at South Head. Captain John Hunter had proposed that the erection of a lookout at South Head would be a better use of resources. In January 1790, Captain Hunter and others from the Sirius went to South Head at Watson’s Bay to erect a lookout and flagstaff which would have a permanent guard unit stationed there. It would serve as a landmark for the long awaited ships arriving at the heads, as well as serving as a means of communicating their arrival to the new settlement at Sydney Cove. The flagstaff and a small hut were put up close to the site of the present day Signal Station. Stone huts for the signallers were built and located probably where Robertson Park is today. Hunter explained:
“The governor approved my proposals. I went down with six men, and was accompanied by Mr White and Mr Worgan, the surgeons of the settlement and Sirius. We erected a flag-staff, and lived in a tent for ten days, in which time we completed a tolerably good house. At the end of ten days, I was relieved by Mr Bradley with a fresh party.”
The flagstaff was visible from the higher land bordering Sydney Cove – the eastern side where the government farm was situated, and the present Observatory Hill on the western side. The location chosen had to be high enough to be seen from Sydney Cove, and as far east as possible to gain the maximum sight lines to and from the sea to the south, past and over the point of Ben Buckler north of Bondi Beach.
Lieutenant Bradley was still stationed there when the lookout had its first sighting. On 10 February it saw the Supply on its return from Norfolk Island and hopes were briefly raised in the colony:
“The first signal from the flagstaff at the South Head was displayed on the 10th February; and though every imagination first turned toward the expected stranger, yet happening about the time at which the Supply was expected from Norfolk Island, conjecture soon fixed on the right object; and the temporary suspense was put an end to, by word being brought up to the settlement, that the Supply, unable to get into Port Jackson, had borne up for Botany Bay, in which harbour she anchored in the dusk of the evening.”
This first test of the lookout and flagstaff had showed the colony that it worked, even though it had not heralded the arrival of the much awaited second fleet.
The lookout and flagstaff required permanent manning and Lieutenant Bradley was needed elsewhere to undertake other supervisory roles. The Sirius was prepared for a trip to China to obtain supplies, but the plan was changed and she was to be sent to Norfolk Island first, before returning to undertake the further voyage. It was decided that one of the Master’s Mates of the Sirius could be spared to take over the command of the lookout and flagstaff. Daniel Southwell was appointed to the role and had charge of up to ten men who were stationed there. They took turns in four hour shifts throughout all hours of daylight to watch for shipping. His journal and letters to England reveal his reluctance to serve in this role, and he watched with regret while the Supply and his own ship the Sirius sailed north on 6 March 1790, longing for its return so he could resume his naval duties. But it never did return for it was wrecked two weeks later on the reef at Norfolk Island. The return of the Supply on her own was marked by the raising of the flag at the flagstaff. Tench wrote:
“To satisfy myself that the flag was really flying, I went to the observatory, and looked for it through the large astronomical telescope, when I plainly saw it. But I was immediately convinced that it was not to announce the arrival of ships from England; for I could see nobody near the flagstaff except one solitary being, who kept strolling around, unmoved by what he saw. I well knew how different an effect the sight of strange ships would produce.”
The purpose for which the lookout was established was fulfilled on 3 June 1790 with the sighting of the Lady Juliana, the first vessel of the Second Fleet. There had been some ‘false alarms’ but the flag was raised and the Sydney settlement responded.
“At length the clouds of misfortune began to separate, and on the evening of the 3rd of June, the joyful cry of ‘the flag’s up’ resounded in every direction ...Finding that the governor intended to go immediately in his boat down the harbour, I begged to be of his party. As we proceeded, the object of our hopes soon appeared: a large ship, with English colours flying, working in between the heads which form the entrance of the harbour ... We pushed through wind and rain, the anxiety of our sensations every moment redoubling. At last we read the word ‘London’ on her stern. Pull away, my lads! She is from Old England!”
The signal was repeated on several days in June as the remainder of the Second Fleet arrived. However, this fleet that had been so longed for did not bring the salvation that the colony had hoped for. It instead held a sickly and incapacitated cargo of convicts who would put even more pressure on the limited resources of the settlement. Thereafter in private and public records, the arrival of a ship was noted by a phrase such as ‘the signal was made at the South Head’ or ’the signal for a sail in the offing was flown at the South head’.
Published courtesy of: Eastern Farms Flyer: Eastern Farms Chapter, February 2015
Sources: http://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au http://www.watsonsbayassociation.org http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org
Images: State Library of NSW, from the internet
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2021-
The early colony at Sydney Cove became desperate for the arrival of supplies from an expected second fleet, as their food stocks had significantly dwindled, and they were on the edge of starvation. Attempts to grow crops around the Cove had failed due to the poor, sandy soils. This problem was further exacerbated by the initial decision to establish the colony at Sydney Cove. The colonists knew that any ships following them would be heading to Botany Bay, and would not be aware of the removal of the settlement to Port Jackson. Therefore, each week for the first 18 months of settlement, a party of marines was sent overland to Botany Bay to see if any vessel had arrived there.
The origin of the South Head signal station lies in the establishment in 1790 of a lookout post at South Head. Captain John Hunter had proposed that the erection of a lookout at South Head would be a better use of resources. In January 1790, Captain Hunter and others from the Sirius went to South Head at Watson’s Bay to erect a lookout and flagstaff which would have a permanent guard unit stationed there. It would serve as a landmark for the long awaited ships arriving at the heads, as well as serving as a means of communicating their arrival to the new settlement at Sydney Cove. The flagstaff and a small hut were put up close to the site of the present day Signal Station. Stone huts for the signallers were built and located probably where Robertson Park is today. Hunter explained:
“The governor approved my proposals. I went down with six men, and was accompanied by Mr White and Mr Worgan, the surgeons of the settlement and Sirius. We erected a flag-staff, and lived in a tent for ten days, in which time we completed a tolerably good house. At the end of ten days, I was relieved by Mr Bradley with a fresh party.”
The flagstaff was visible from the higher land bordering Sydney Cove – the eastern side where the government farm was situated, and the present Observatory Hill on the western side. The location chosen had to be high enough to be seen from Sydney Cove, and as far east as possible to gain the maximum sight lines to and from the sea to the south, past and over the point of Ben Buckler north of Bondi Beach.
Lieutenant Bradley was still stationed there when the lookout had its first sighting. On 10 February it saw the Supply on its return from Norfolk Island and hopes were briefly raised in the colony:
“The first signal from the flagstaff at the South Head was displayed on the 10th February; and though every imagination first turned toward the expected stranger, yet happening about the time at which the Supply was expected from Norfolk Island, conjecture soon fixed on the right object; and the temporary suspense was put an end to, by word being brought up to the settlement, that the Supply, unable to get into Port Jackson, had borne up for Botany Bay, in which harbour she anchored in the dusk of the evening.”
This first test of the lookout and flagstaff had showed the colony that it worked, even though it had not heralded the arrival of the much awaited second fleet.
The lookout and flagstaff required permanent manning and Lieutenant Bradley was needed elsewhere to undertake other supervisory roles. The Sirius was prepared for a trip to China to obtain supplies, but the plan was changed and she was to be sent to Norfolk Island first, before returning to undertake the further voyage. It was decided that one of the Master’s Mates of the Sirius could be spared to take over the command of the lookout and flagstaff. Daniel Southwell was appointed to the role and had charge of up to ten men who were stationed there. They took turns in four hour shifts throughout all hours of daylight to watch for shipping. His journal and letters to England reveal his reluctance to serve in this role, and he watched with regret while the Supply and his own ship the Sirius sailed north on 6 March 1790, longing for its return so he could resume his naval duties. But it never did return for it was wrecked two weeks later on the reef at Norfolk Island. The return of the Supply on her own was marked by the raising of the flag at the flagstaff. Tench wrote:
“To satisfy myself that the flag was really flying, I went to the observatory, and looked for it through the large astronomical telescope, when I plainly saw it. But I was immediately convinced that it was not to announce the arrival of ships from England; for I could see nobody near the flagstaff except one solitary being, who kept strolling around, unmoved by what he saw. I well knew how different an effect the sight of strange ships would produce.”
The purpose for which the lookout was established was fulfilled on 3 June 1790 with the sighting of the Lady Juliana, the first vessel of the Second Fleet. There had been some ‘false alarms’ but the flag was raised and the Sydney settlement responded.
“At length the clouds of misfortune began to separate, and on the evening of the 3rd of June, the joyful cry of ‘the flag’s up’ resounded in every direction ...Finding that the governor intended to go immediately in his boat down the harbour, I begged to be of his party. As we proceeded, the object of our hopes soon appeared: a large ship, with English colours flying, working in between the heads which form the entrance of the harbour ... We pushed through wind and rain, the anxiety of our sensations every moment redoubling. At last we read the word ‘London’ on her stern. Pull away, my lads! She is from Old England!”
The signal was repeated on several days in June as the remainder of the Second Fleet arrived. However, this fleet that had been so longed for did not bring the salvation that the colony had hoped for. It instead held a sickly and incapacitated cargo of convicts who would put even more pressure on the limited resources of the settlement. Thereafter in private and public records, the arrival of a ship was noted by a phrase such as ‘the signal was made at the South Head’ or ’the signal for a sail in the offing was flown at the South head’.
Published courtesy of: Eastern Farms Flyer: Eastern Farms Chapter, February 2015
Sources: http://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au http://www.watsonsbayassociation.org http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org
Images: State Library of NSW, from the internet
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2021-