Williams Town.
by Peter Clarke
When William awoke, he was cold and damp – the sun was up, but wasn’t yet warm. Shivering, he looked around and saw he was in a yard with tools and rubbish scattered about. There was nothing familiar about it. He was lying in a patch of grass, near to a fence. Where was he and how did he get here? After a while, he began to remember and his first thoughts were of the Lady Grace and that there had been much excitement when they decided to leave the ship. Was that last night? He wasn’t sure. A group of them had gone to the purser to get their money. Despite his discomfort, William smiled to himself as his memory returned.
* * * *
The purser was a young man with a gentle, studious face. His eyes protruded a little and William wondered if that happened because he worked with money. He protested at first and tried to talk them out of taking anything. Some of the men argued that they had no money at all and would need some to spend while ashore. Finally, the purser gave them part of their wage, but gave William only the few shillings and pennies that he had originally left with the purser for safekeeping when he had joined the ship.
“Come back day after tomorrow and get the rest,” he said. “That goes for all you men. Come back day after tomorrow and get all your money.”
“Why don’t you give it all to us now?”
“I don’t have it all yet. I have to get it from the agents in Melbourne. I’m going to do that tomorrow, so I’ll have it then. Like I say, come back later.”
The men grumbled and some wanted to see the Captain.
“It’s a waste of time,” said the purser. “He’ll only say the same thing. You’ve enough there to enjoy yourselves and you won’t be losing or wasting the rest.”
Some of the men laughed, and enough of them agreed with the purser that they left.
It didn’t bother William that he had only a few shillings. There wouldn’t be much to spend it on other than a meal and maybe somewhere to sleep.
Eddie was angry when William told him what the purser gave him. “It’s not their money! It’s yours!” he thundered. “Come with me.”
As they approached the purser, it was clear Eddie intimidated him.
“How much do you owe him?” Eddie growled, pointing at William.
“We owe him five pounds ten shillings, but I can’t give him all of it.”
“Well, give him what you can, but you have to give him more than you have.”
“All right, all right,” the purser muttered, reluctantly handing William two more pounds. William couldn’t believe he had earned so much money and there was more to come. He’d never seen so much before.
“What do I need it for?” William asked Eddie as they headed back to join the others.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not their money.”
The group going ashore comprised three of the able seamen and two of the lookouts, along with William and Eddie. They all piled into a small steamboat that Eddie secured to take them ashore, asking only a few pennies from each of them to pay for it. The owner probably came out believing he would get a new chum to take ashore, providing a handsome profit, but no one wanted to use his services and he faced the prospect of going back empty. He was a rough and surly-looking type, who no doubt wouldn’t take too kindly to coming off second best. But he was also highly negotiable due to his desperation and Eddie took advantage of it. Not a single word passed the man’s lips during the trip to shore, which took far too long for William in his impatient excitement.
The men chattered eagerly as they neared the docks, greeted by the sound of music and revelry. Little time was wasted pushing them ashore and the boat hardly arrived before it was gone. Eddie knew where to go and the others stuck to him like glue. William was surprised by the rubbish that lay about, the assortment of conveyances and the general rudeness of the people around. No one looked pleased to see them and there were no welcomes. He also had to be very careful where he stepped – mud and animal dung abounded. Despite the hour, a few hawkers were about offering passers-by an assortment of goods. Clothes, tools, meals, accommodation, and even prostitutes, were all available for the right price. The people were dressed as he had never seen before. Most wore funny-looking hats that Eddie told him were called cabbage-tree hats, being made from some local plant. They also wore gaily-coloured shirts, cord pants, and long boots reaching above the knee. Others wore broad felt hats, red or blue jumpers, and moleskin pants. Their brawny throats were bare but they wore silk scarfs around their waist, into which they stuffed revolvers and knives.
“This way,” said Eddie, and the men hurried forward to join him.
“Is this Melbourne?” asked one of them.
Eddie laughed.
“Well, when we set out from England, Melbourne was where we were going. But, now that we’re here, Melbourne’s over there,” he said and pointed across the bay. “This here is Williams Town and we’re just as well to stay here since we have to go back to the ship day after tomorrow. It’ll cost us in time and money to get to Melbourne and there’s just as much fun for the likes of us to be had here.”
They walked in silence for a while, everyone taking care to avoid the dung, ruts and puddles.
“These are nothing like the docks in England,” said one of the men after stepping onto what he thought was solid ground only to find himself ankle deep in water.
“Hasn’t been here that long,” said Eddie. “There’s a lot of traffic since the gold rush started, too. Hard for them to keep up with it. Anyway, we’re not going to live here, so who cares what it’s like?”
It was darker now and harder to see where to tread, but the sounds of music and revelry they heard earlier were getting louder as they approached a building in the near distance.
“Is that where we’re going?” came a question from the group.
“It sure is,” said Eddie. “I’m glad it’s still here. They come and go in this place. It’s called Sailor’s Inn. We’ll get something to eat and drink and whatever else takes your fancy. Before we get there, take some of your money and put it in your shoe. Both shoes if you have enough. That’ll make sure you’ve some left for tomorrow. Their job is to take all your money and yours is to keep some of it.”
Eddie stopped, took off a shoe, put some money in it and started walking again. The others quickly did the same.
“It’s hard to walk. It’s uncomfortable,” one of them said.
“Then don’t do it,” said Eddie. “Your money is your money and your comfort is your comfort and if you can’t distinguish between the two, it’s of no matter to me.”