Grimes and Flemming – the Story of Geelong.
In the May edition of 1966 the Investigator magazine continued its ‘Story of Geelong’ with the following account of the five week expedition to Port Phillip mounted by Charles Grimes and James Flemming in early 1803.
Despatched from Sydney, Grimes’ party completed a thorough survey of Port Phillip with a special focus on the area from the Yarra through to the Bellarine Peninsula. This article from 1966 uses Grimes’ maps and Flemming’s report to highlight their route. Disappointingly, the article’s focus on the landscape ignores the people on whose lands this journey took place.
Late in 1802 a party led by Charles Grimes, surveyor, and including James Flemming, gardener (whose description of the expedition is the basis of this account), was sent to map the newly discovered Bay and report on its suitability for settlement.
Grimes arrived in Port Phillip on the Cumberland on January 20, 1803, and began the survey of the area both by land and sea. The accompanying map, based on Grimes’ own map and Flemming‘s account, shows how completely the party explored the shores of the bay. In five weeks they had mapped the whole bay, traversing most of the coast on foot. By February 2 they had reached the Yarra; they spent the next week exploring this river and its tributary, the saltwater river, which they followed until they found freshwater above the falls. The Yarra was followed as far as the present Studley Park; Fleming commented: “the land in general is a fine black soil, 10 to 18 inches deep. Timber; gum, Banka, oak, and mimosa of sorts, but not the large except the gum. The river appears to rise to the height of eight or ten feet at times by wreck on the trees. Went alternately into the land on both sides of the river; it continued nearly of the same quality.”
On February 9 the party continued on its way around the bay. The Werribee Plains failed to impress them: “Could see about 10 miles around us a level plain with a few straggling bushes. The face of the ground is one-third grass, one–do. Stone, and one–do.* Earth, mostly newly burnt.“
They crossed the Werribee and Little Rivers, investigating them for a mile or so up river. By February 16 they had reached Corio Bay where they “passed three islands, one large and two small; some mangroves on the large island“ (Snake Island and Bird Rock). They then “came to a river; went up it about 2 miles in company with the doctor, where we found excellent freshwater. There is no run above the freshwater, only some pools; it appeared to be a considerable run in with seasons.“ This was Duck Ponds, later Hovells Creek. They continued onto “another large river“ which Fleming went up a little way in the boat. He commented that it was “the second in size we have met with.“ This was Cowies Creek and we must consider Fleming very generous or prone to exaggeration in his description of this “river“.
Instead of continuing the survey on foot, the party returned on board of the Cumberland which weighed anchor the following morning and moved out opposite Point Cook. As Grimes’ map appears to have been made as the result of surveys from the ship’s boat, it does not appear likely that there was anyone on shore where Geelong stands today. However, there is a comment about the nature of the country written on the map; but, as Fleming, whose job it was to sample the soil, makes no mention of having traversed this area on foot, the accuracy of this comment must be doubted. Thus Grimes and his party would seem to have failed to gain that distinction of being the first Europeans to tread the soil where the city of Geelong was to rise.
The shore party took up its work again roughly where Portarlington is today and continued round to Swan Island where they went on board. The boat returned to the watering place on the opposite side of the bay whence it left on February 27 to return to Sydney.
The party seems to have bestowed no names on the discoveries made, but Fleming summed up his views on the bay thus:
“The most eligible place for a settlement that I have seen is on the Freshwater River (Yarra). In several places there are small tracks of good land but they are without wood and water. I have every reason to think that there is not often so great scarcity of water as at present from the appearance of the herbage. The country in general is excellent pasture and thin of timber, which is mostly low and crooked. In most places there is fine clay for bricks, and abundance of stone. I am of the opinion that the timber is better both in quality and size further up the country, as I saw some what is called ash on the banks of the Freshwater River, and the hills appear clothed with wood. As to quantity of good land at the different places, I shall better be able to describe when I am favoured with a sight of a chart, as I have not been permitted to see one since I came out. There is a great plenty of fish in Port King. The country in general is newly burnt.”
Grimes was less complimentary in his comments in his field book:
“Port Phillip – is in general very swampy. The highlands are very thinly wooded with low & crooked Blue-gum. Trees – Banksia – & oaks but all very bad of their kind, the soil in general light sand & stony on the Hills the lowland stiff clay – & in general very stony – it is very badly watered.”
However, despite Grimes’ comments, it was not many months later that settlement was made on the shores of Port Phillip.
Note: The abbreviation ‘do’ stands for ditto.
