File 1: Rowland Hassall papers, 1797-1810

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I shall get a good tenant for the farm as soon as I make time not & I shall send him to you therefore Worthy Sir I hope and pray that you will take my Case in to yr Humane Consideration for which I pray that you may raigse long as a tender father and a pure protection to youre  tender offsprings and that you may true the Divine will of god prosper in all yr under takings. 

Worthy Sir with the purest respect and esteem I remain yr Humble Servt. 

Matt Hysid

Sydney Mail Jany 13th 1801 Yre Humane Sir G Wm Quert

[Address on envelope]

Mr [indecipherable] Hassall Paramatta

[Letter on Second page of image]

C. Venus Otaheite Jan 9th, 1802.

Dear brother, 

To evince the continuance of my affection & regard for you I embrace the present opportunity of sending you a few lines more per favor of captain Buyers of the Margaret, who arrived here on the 6th from the S.W. coast of America & is to sail today for P. Jackson. Since I last wrote you, we have been busily employed at our new house which is now nearly finished, it has been truely a weighty piece of work. we have got our garden in good order & have plenty of vegetables: our cabbage is remarkably good, but we fear they & other things will not seed in this country. Brother Nott the sabbath following the departure of the Porpoise commenced speaking publicly to the natives, as I informed you he intended, & hath since continued this exercise every sabbath. Mr Jefferson has also begun to address them & Mr. Eyre to catechise. The people are not near as willing

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to hear now as at the beginning of this exercise. The adults are so exceedingly proud that they cant bear to be taught; & together with this, they are so strongly rivited to their own idolatrous religion & superstitious rites. We have not yet been favoured with any apparrent real success in our endeavour for their conversion, but this we are certain of, that knowledge is much increased amongst those to whom our labours have been confined, who are the inhabitants of this district chiefly. some of the children promise well under Br. Eyres instructions. Mrs. Henry has been most part of the time ill, since the departure of brother Shelley & the Porpoise; but is now through the goodness & mercy of God well recovered. Indeed such was her illness that she, & most of us dispared of her ever recovering here, inasmuch that she had nearly made up her mind to embrace the first opportunity of returning to England or P. Jackson; but being now well restored to health, she is perfectly contented in her present situation & circumstances & would not leave the island for any consideration. For information respecting the political State of the island & other particulars which time will not allow me to insert in this, I must refer you to

[Second page of letter]

the Revd. Mr Marsden for whom I have just writen a letter in which I have given some brief account of this & other things. Mr. Youl I believe is to write you also & probably his will make up for the deficiency of news in mine. It is probable Mr. Shelley shall have sailed again for Otaheite  before this arrives, if not give our affectionate respects to him & his partner, & tell them we long much to see them here. I had a notion of writing to Norfolk to the Revd. Mr. Fulton by the present conveyance but time fails me & moreover I know not whether he is there at present. If he is at P. Jackson, be kind enough to make our affectionate  regards acceptable to him & Mrs. Fulton, (by our I mean Mrs. H & myself) & request him to be kind enough to write me the first opportunity & let me know what news he has recd. from Ireland particularly from the Revd. Mr. Walker which will afford us much gratification we not receiving a single line from them since our coming to Otaheite. I flatter myself he will be kind enough to comply with this request though unknown to him by face. Mrs. H is well acquainted with a brother of his, & has had some slight acquaintance with himself. If he is still at Norfolk pleas to acquaint me when you write what you may know respecting him, his family & ministry at Hs - My paper you see is out. Mrs. H unites  in tender love & affectionate regards to you Mrs. Hassall &c with yours most affectly, & sincerely 

W Henry

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[Address on letter]

Mr Hassall Parramatta New So. Wales

[Written on side]

Received Febry 19th 1802

[Second image]

[Written on side at top]

Rev Cooper in London Jany 1802

[Letter]

Sir 

I take the Present opportunity according to Proceed to Inform you of my return to England though Contrary both to my Inclination & Desire when I left you But he who has Set the Bounds of our Habitation ordered it do and I would Desire to submitt On leaving Port Jackson the Captain was determined if possible to make  Otaheite yet by a mistake in the Longitude we fell to Leeward of the Island Having sprung our Bowsprit In a Gale between Port Jackson & Norfolk Island and no wood on Board fitt to Repairing it obliged the Captain to now to Bear away to the Friendly Islands after stopping at these Islands Nine Day's We shapped our Course for the Coast of Peru but a Change taking Place In the Captains mind from the State of the Vessel having Lost our Boats and the ship Every Way In a Wreckey condition. He Judged it not safe to go upon an Enemy's Coast In this Condition. Thinking it best to go Round Cape Horn & make the Rest of the Way Home. Accordingly we stood to the Southward. We were then about the Lat. of 38.12 S Long. 108 West on the 29th of November 1800. We made the Land of  Cape Horn & on the 3d of December the Falkland Islands We stopped among these Islands about three weeks after this we put In to a Portuguese Settlement for the Lat. of 8s and on the 11th of May 1801 made the land not far from Plymouth.

In our Passage from the last Place we Left to England a Circumstance took Place not Very Pleasing the Captain much troubled In his mind on Leaving that Place grew quite Delirious & In the Lat. of 5 South jumped overboard but the boat Being hoisted out was got safe on Board again he continued for a deranged Condition all the Passage and Was so when I left the Ship In London River and what has become of him since I know not.

This is a brief account of What happened from my Leaving you till I msde England but as Mr Shelley will expect some account of the state of affairs as we found them at the Friendly Islands I now take the Liberty to Inform him on the 6th of September 1800 made the Friendly Islands. The first Land We fell In With Proved to be the Harby's as We Were becalmed off them near two Day's observed natives Came of to Barter to them my Enquiries were Directed how affairs stood among them but from the ansers they made could come to no Certaibty as they were not willing to [indecipherable] Pubblish their own Defeat but they told me that Looka Culla was at Harby with most of the Chiefs

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that atta Vahy & others who was at Tonga they Pressed upon us much to go to Mamarka [Mamata - Vanuatu] boasting how Plentifull Provisions were at that Place which we afterwards found to be all false but How- ever the Captain Declined their invitaion's & as soon as a Breeze Sprung up we made the best of our Way to Tonga tabboo and on the 11th cast anchor of Habour before the ship Brought up several natives Came on Board Glad at our arrival believing it to be the Missionary Ship. They now gave me back Intelligence as I little Expected that atta & his Relations had beat off Lohallalla & obliged him to Return to the Nearby islands but However this Victory has not been got without Great Bloodshed.

It seems the war began a little after we left the Island a Son of Vahys went and killed some of Lohallala's friends the Ehaggie Party now took up arms and several skirmishes took place in which the Ehefomians were Victors. Drove the Ehaggie Party to their own part of the Country and killed vast numbers of them. The number must have been Great as they spoke of heaps of them nearly as large as the kill of the Yakel and Wanted me to go see them but I Declined the offer. The European's account of them is that fifteen hundred or two thousand are lying upon one spot Pilled one upon another at a Place and not far from Bo ha besides what have fallen In different parts of the country as has as looks Lohallala heard at Harby what had then place at Tonga he gathered his force together to come and fight with the Eheefomians and to Retaliate the murder done by Vahy's son he Immediately killed some of attas Friends, one was Makka mo affe that [indecipherable] In the place of Oonu Oonu to carry the pursuit to Looka Valla to Harby and had remained there Ever since the other was Vryharta[?] as soon as the Eheefomians heard that Looka Calla was Preparing to come they Immediately began to make a kind of Fortress at [indecipherable] by cutting down coconut trees & other wood and cutting them into Certain lengths stuck them In the Ground close together round a Good Piece of Ground sufficient to hold them all Leaving Gates at Certain Distances by this means they made it almost Impregnable to the Enemy. They had not waited Long before Looka Calla came with all his people from Harby as soon as he Came the Eheefomians Returned to their Garrison Several skirmishes took Place Between them but no decisive Battles for near 5 Weeks also Looka Calla was Beat of Several of his canoes taken and vast numbers killed. Fahafunwer and his Ma'ufanga Party Likewise took up the Quarell and In a Battle not far from Bungi was killed & his Party Beat off the Ehefornians now were soll masters of the Islands from Looka lalla finding

[Following page of letter]

That he could not subdue them made a Peace with them & Returned to the Harly Islands. This Peace it is to be feard will be but of short continuence as Atta informed me he Expected them soon to Return & fresh wars will Doubtles Ensue the chiefs killed  this time were Vini & Dore Ardiho together with Fakafurover the war had rendered the Island a mean Desert not and hog and scarcely a dog was left alive the Country Greatly depoppulated and the natives In a starving condition. In our nine Days stay there scarely 200 yams were purchased. The Hand of the Lord has been visibly felt among them for not only the war has destroyed Great numbers but Likewise a disease of the Pestilential kind that raged among  about the same time and swept of vast numbers.

In our absence we found that three Europeans had been killed by the natives. The first was Davies who is supposed never to have Reached the Shoar from the Retrey when We Left it to go to Port Jackson. The next was one Robert Ogalby who was Master of Schooner bound from China to Port Jackson but was Unfortunately cast away upon a Reef of Rocks near one of the Tonga Islands In the Lat. 18.10S Long. 183 East. He having Seen Capt Wilson at China when he was there In the Duff heard that he had Left People at the Friendly Islands was Desirous to get to Tonga which with great difficulty he accomplished. With on Mr Bradly the second mate In one of the Tonga Canoes am Jonah Varsoo nearly about the same time we left the Island to go to Port Jackson the Hardships they undured were Great both among the Fugieans and Tonganiaans they came to Tonga  In the Fleet that came to War against the Ehefornians and when they were beat off they stoll away from them and got to Mafanga and soon after got to Atta. Atta behavedkind to them gave them our old house & Radly set to work a smithing but the natives began to suppose that they were the cause of the Force mentioned discease Determined to kill them and as the new made chief of Mafanga was the Principle hand In it he sent a man who watching the oppertunity when the Captain went by himself at some distance from Atta killed him. Radly was Saved through the means of Atta who Pursued the murderer of the Captain but he fled or he would have killed him this was same Time In May 1800. The next that was killed was Ambler about 5 days before we got there In September by order of his Chief Doo Vakanor at Eheefo Vengeance is mine I will Repay it sayeth the Lord.

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Atta behaved kind to us while we were there & the Captain made him several Presents the Rest of the Chiefs were very shy they wanted one to stop but however I did not think it Prudent to Comply George was at Harby & Morgan at Vavaoo the crew of the Schooner are scattered about among the Fergue Island, except one or two at Harby and two that were killed at their landing. We found two white men at Tonga when we were there there one was Peter the other tho forementioned Radley an American both of which left the Island with us. There I have given a Brief account.

On my arrival in England I waited upon the Directors but my reception was not Very Pleasing. It seems when the  Brethren that came home In the Reliance were before the Dirctors I was accused as an antinomian. Who It was that accused me as such I know not to his own Master Each stands or falls I still know In whom I believed I feel a firm footing, thow all the Malice of Hell & Earth be sett against me and what ever they may accuse me with yet I would say that he that Doeth Evill that Grace may abbound his Damnation is Just. But however they were to kind as supply my then wants althow their conduct towards me in every Respect was not the most honourable I offered my service to them & had no account from then since that time.

I would have wrote sooner but not knowing how I could get it Conveyed Prevented me may the Lord be With you & yours & Reward your Labour of Love to me while I was with you may you Live in Peace and may the God of Peace be With you may you Seek to Shine fforth as lights for the Enabled to Him the Vry apperance of Evill. Give my Respects to Mrs Bean

Mr Oakes & C

London January 19th 1802

Yours

Jas Cooper

Received this June 19th 1802

[New letter]

My dear friend & Br Rowland.       London 30th July 1802                                                                              I am happy in having an opportunity of writing to you per the Glatton East Indiaman, and to inform you of our safe arrival in London, after a passage of about 15 months from Pt. Jackson. Mr Shelly returned from Otahiti by the Porpoise, who no doubt gave you every information respecting our long stay in New Zealand our passage from thence, and reception at Tahiti. Nothing very particularly occurred during our voyage from Tahiti to China, only am sorry to inform you the war rages as violent as ever amongst the Friendly Islanders, they are reduced to the greatest extremities, no Hogs, no Breadfruit, no Yams, no nothing, but the roots of plantain Stocks for to supply their great wants, on which account we experienced some hardships; as Captn Wilson principally depended on these Islands for supplies of Yams for in lieu of the Ships dry provisions which was almost, all destroyed by the Rats. But thanks be to our God, we arrived safe in China, without materially feeling the want of these essential articles.  Mr Reed sailed with us which Mr Shelly of course informed you of the particulars.  After a stay of Three Months in China, we sailed in company with 10 Sail of Indiamen, till we arrived off the Cape of Good Hope, at which place we put in, having part of the Cargo to deliver there. Mr. R. engages with the Missionaries  there, with whom he now resides, and is learning the Hothentot language. I hope he will prove a useful member to them, for I can assure you I think he has good abilities to preach, and, can say, have profited under his discourses, during the voyage from Otahiti.  We remained 16 days at the Cape of Good Hope, during which time Captn Micham arrived with his & Simeon Lords Brig, with Coals and Timber, and I am glad for the sake of the Colony and those who are in it, that the Coals