HMS Alligator shortening sail on the voyage to Port Essington 1838 - by Commandant John Macarthur RM.
PORT ESSINGTON JACK
Background
Lieut. Pasco RN
The story of the kidnap from Port Essington & rescue from Hong Kong of the Aboriginal boy Medlone - who grew up to renown as Port Essington Jack - is recorded in 'A Roving Commission', the 'Naval Reminiscences' of Commander Crawford Pasco RN.
In 1838, Pasco was aboard HMS Britomart, in company with the lead ship HMS Alligator, to establish Victoria Settlement at Port Essington. He spent much time exploring the area with the local Aboriginal people who called him Wongie Wongie.
It was during one of these excursions that Pasco was at the mouth of Port Essington when HMS Beagle, a sister ship of the Britomart, arrived to complete the survey work of Flinders & King. When alongside the Beagle, he was hailed by an old friend, Tom Birch, who failed to recognise him through the tangle of beard and unkept hair. Pasco ushered the Beagle down to the settlement and over the ensuing days they agreed to swap ships - speeding Birch back to a new wife in England whilst Pasco sailed aboard the Beagle to epic adventure and historic discoveries - including the Adelaide & Victoria Rivers and Port Darwin.
In 1838, Pasco was aboard HMS Britomart, in company with the lead ship HMS Alligator, to establish Victoria Settlement at Port Essington. He spent much time exploring the area with the local Aboriginal people who called him Wongie Wongie.
It was during one of these excursions that Pasco was at the mouth of Port Essington when HMS Beagle, a sister ship of the Britomart, arrived to complete the survey work of Flinders & King. When alongside the Beagle, he was hailed by an old friend, Tom Birch, who failed to recognise him through the tangle of beard and unkept hair. Pasco ushered the Beagle down to the settlement and over the ensuing days they agreed to swap ships - speeding Birch back to a new wife in England whilst Pasco sailed aboard the Beagle to epic adventure and historic discoveries - including the Adelaide & Victoria Rivers and Port Darwin.
New Victoria - Port Essington - Louis Le Breton
Some 5 years later in 1847, Pasco is at anchor off Hong Kong aboard HMS Vulture when the purser, Fred Mundy, tells him of ‘three strange black boys’ whom he’d seen in the yard of the hotel where he played billiards. He’d heard that these lads spoke almost no English but were thought to have been brought from Australia by the master of a small ship who was dying of the fever in an upstairs room. Mundy had worn many of Pasco’s yarns about the aborigines so was a willing accomplice in his plan to discover if they knew any of his Port Essington friends or their name for him ‘Wongie Wongie’.
The Married Men's Quarters at Victoria.
In the early years of the Victoria Military Settlement, there'd been a Royal Marine with an enchanting, flaxen-haired, blue-eyed little girl called Barbara. One day a little group of aborigines was sitting down outside his hut watching this delightful child and began a song which they had composed for her:
"Minnie Minnie Poonah Poonah-poonah,
Tag-a-la-na pee-you pee-you pee-you ;
Mat-u-la-na ga-la thala duela,
What-a-name a pic-a-ninny Barbaree”
Tag-a-la-na pee-you pee-you pee-you ;
Mat-u-la-na ga-la thala duela,
What-a-name a pic-a-ninny Barbaree”
HMS Vulture Canton River 1847
A cunning plan was hatched so that, when next at the hotel playing billiards, Mundy would repeat the ditty in earshot of the three young blackfellas and if they reacted, he was to ask if they knew Wongie Wongie. It worked like a charm with Mundy besieged by questions about how he knew their language and the 'shipman Wongie Wongie' who had left when they were 3 years old, never to return. Mundy told them that their Wongie was aboard a man-of-war in the harbour and sent them off in a sampan.
Arriving alongside the Vulture, they sang out for Wongie Wongie and Pasco promptly invited to come aboard but they’d been caught before in accepting an invitation to a sail around the harbour at Port Essington which had resulted in years of captivity in strange lands by the master now dying back at the hotel. Some bona fides were needed so when asked they gave their names as Medlone, Mi-jolk and Alad-yin but as these names meant nothing to him, Pasco asked Medlone for his father’s name. “My father is Old Alligator” came the reply and this was the name given to the head man after the senior ship at Victoria, HMS Alligator, commanded by Sir Gordon Bremer. Pasco then said to Medlone that if his father was Alligator then his mother must be Na-man-go-ra. His little sister Ma-ri-li-ma; his mother’s sister Ma-moo-la-ma-ra and his grandfather A-dia-ra-vie. At the mention of this last name there was a great show of distress as this old man had finished-up but at last the three were convinced and came aboard the Vulture to tell their tale of capture and abduction to China.
Arriving alongside the Vulture, they sang out for Wongie Wongie and Pasco promptly invited to come aboard but they’d been caught before in accepting an invitation to a sail around the harbour at Port Essington which had resulted in years of captivity in strange lands by the master now dying back at the hotel. Some bona fides were needed so when asked they gave their names as Medlone, Mi-jolk and Alad-yin but as these names meant nothing to him, Pasco asked Medlone for his father’s name. “My father is Old Alligator” came the reply and this was the name given to the head man after the senior ship at Victoria, HMS Alligator, commanded by Sir Gordon Bremer. Pasco then said to Medlone that if his father was Alligator then his mother must be Na-man-go-ra. His little sister Ma-ri-li-ma; his mother’s sister Ma-moo-la-ma-ra and his grandfather A-dia-ra-vie. At the mention of this last name there was a great show of distress as this old man had finished-up but at last the three were convinced and came aboard the Vulture to tell their tale of capture and abduction to China.
The fevered old ship’s master, who had kidnapped the boys, didn't recover and so they were inherited by Pasco - to the tireless amusement of the Chinese boatmen who would sing out “Aye aye ! Pasco, how can three piecey black chiloe ?”. Fortunately, within a month he was able to secure passage for them back to Port Essington aboard a small schooner that was bound for the Torres Strait in the NW monsoon - an annual trip to harvest any wreckage & castaways that had been deposited on the reefs during the Dry season. It was well out of his way but was made worthwhile by a letter of introduction to the Commandant, Colonel Macarthur RM, and a list of Chinese merchandise which would be richly welcomed by the Victoria garrison. Macarthur wrote to tell of the joy in the camp at the return of Medlone and Aladyin though Mijolk had fallen ill and died on the voyage. There was a great bungle to commemorate their return and the name Wongie Wongie echoed around the stamping ground.
The cliffs of old Victoria Settlement - Port Essington 2017
How Medlone (Mildirn) became Jack Davis
Medlone - Pt. Essington Jack
Medlone was born in c1835, so was about four in 1838/9 when Pasco was at Port Essington but would grow quickly to become a favourite of the garrison - running messages and 'giving vent to the most horrible blasphemies and obscenities’ which he'd picked up from the soldiers. He was about twelve years old when he and his two brothers were kidnapped and taken to Hong Kong. Victoria Settlement was abandoned in 1849 shortly after Medlone and Alaydin's joyous return.
For the next 20 years Medlone (aka Mildirn) was at sea, aboard a merchant ship, where he gained fluent English and the Balanda name of Jack Davis. Once again he was presumed dead and had changed so much that on his return was not recognised and required to prove his identity - perhaps by reciting the Wongie Wongie ditty for Barbaree.
Medlone - by then known as 'Port Essington Jack' - lived to over 90 years of age and was the oldest Aboriginal in the Northern Territory at the time. He was described in 1914, as "a stooping, sightless old blackfellow, the last of his race" but he could still recall the Military Settlement days - name the officers and mimic the Sergeant Major.
For the next 20 years Medlone (aka Mildirn) was at sea, aboard a merchant ship, where he gained fluent English and the Balanda name of Jack Davis. Once again he was presumed dead and had changed so much that on his return was not recognised and required to prove his identity - perhaps by reciting the Wongie Wongie ditty for Barbaree.
Medlone - by then known as 'Port Essington Jack' - lived to over 90 years of age and was the oldest Aboriginal in the Northern Territory at the time. He was described in 1914, as "a stooping, sightless old blackfellow, the last of his race" but he could still recall the Military Settlement days - name the officers and mimic the Sergeant Major.
In later years, Medlone's son, Nanyenya was taken to Adelaide by John Lewis, who ran a buffalo enterprise near Port Essington. A popular but troublesome boy, he became 'too much for the people of Adelaide'. After jumping ship to Queensland, he returned to Adelaide where he fell ill and died.
Commander Pasco's Footnote
Commander Pasco recalls that in about 1869, some 20 years after the reunion at Port Essington - a pearling master had his boat blown away in a storm with two men aboard. The search found only the wrecked boat with the men presumed drowned. Some time later, the master heard of two white men amongst the Aborigines at Port Essington and calling in he found them safe and well. Two of the natives had witnessed the capsize and wading into the raging surf had rescued them from certain death. The castaways were persuaded to follow their rescuers to where there was food and shelter. Medlone explained that, when he was a little boy, a white man had rescued him and now, if any of his tribe find a white man in trouble, they are bound to help him.
Pasco’s footnote:- “These are a race that a certain class of miserably ignorant Europeans think are only fit to be poisoned.”
Pasco’s footnote:- “These are a race that a certain class of miserably ignorant Europeans think are only fit to be poisoned.”
Port Essington Jack - NT Administrator's Report for 1913.
JACK DAVIS, OF PORT ESSINGTON
The oldest known aboriginal in the Northern Territory. Is known to be 90 years of age. He saw the first white man arrive at Port Essington Military Settlement, and has exercised a good influence in his tribe in their relations with white men.
The oldest known aboriginal in the Northern Territory. Is known to be 90 years of age. He saw the first white man arrive at Port Essington Military Settlement, and has exercised a good influence in his tribe in their relations with white men.
Summary
Medlone
Other Names Mildirn – Jack Davis - Old Jack Davis & Port Essington Jack
Born c. 1835 at Cobourg Peninsular
Died 1918 (83 years) Jack Medlone Davis - Port Essington – Cobourg Peninsular
Father Alligator - Old Alligator - possibly Langari who mistook Capt. Bremer for Collett Barker.
Grandfather A-dia-ra-vie
Younger sister Ma-ri-li-ma
Mother Na-man-go-ra
Mother’s sister Ma-moo-la-ma-ra
Son Nanyenya
Brothers Aladyin & Mijolk who died on the return voyage.
Other Names Mildirn – Jack Davis - Old Jack Davis & Port Essington Jack
Born c. 1835 at Cobourg Peninsular
Died 1918 (83 years) Jack Medlone Davis - Port Essington – Cobourg Peninsular
Father Alligator - Old Alligator - possibly Langari who mistook Capt. Bremer for Collett Barker.
Grandfather A-dia-ra-vie
Younger sister Ma-ri-li-ma
Mother Na-man-go-ra
Mother’s sister Ma-moo-la-ma-ra
Son Nanyenya
Brothers Aladyin & Mijolk who died on the return voyage.
Working Notes
"Throughout the eleven years of the Port Essington tragedy the blacks had remained friendly and helpful. A pet of the officers was Jacky Davis, who died some 30 years ago. Right up to the last he cared for the lonely graves of Lieutenant Lambrick's wife and child who had died from fever. A pioneer trader and buffalo shooter, E. 0. Robin- son, lived at the site of the old settlement from 1877 for many years. He was the friend of 400 wild blacks, and he traded with the Malays. But all is silent and deserted at Port Essington nowadays."
EARLY ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (1824-1870)
[By GLENVILLE PIKE, F.R.G.A., Life Member, Royal Historical Society of Qld.] (Read at a meeting of the Society by Mr. Arthur Laurie on 27 August 1959.)
EARLY ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (1824-1870)
[By GLENVILLE PIKE, F.R.G.A., Life Member, Royal Historical Society of Qld.] (Read at a meeting of the Society by Mr. Arthur Laurie on 27 August 1959.)
"So began the search for freshwater which Captain Bremer had previously experienced in 1824. Middle Head was explored but found unsuitable. On 3rd November the elevated site between Adam Head & Minto Head was selected. A canoe arrived bearing two Aboriginals. Once aboard, the old man, Langari, apparently mistook Bremer for Collett Barker, the last Commandant at Fort Wellington who had made such an impression upon the locals. The younger man, Wanji-wanji, was most uncomfortable in the company of these strangers but would soon become a regular at the settlement. On the 1st December the Britomart arrived as the transport ship Essington was leaving for the island of Kissa in search of buffalo, pigs and any other livestock or vegetables of service to the settlement. The Britomart recovered the church from Record Point and all moved to the new site as a party went ashore to begin a road from the beach to the plateau. Wanji-wanji had identified a fine spring about half a mile south. Wells were sunk on Record Point and Spear Point until James Macarthur found a string of freshwater pools half a mile to the west of the settlement." [Odd coincidence Wongi & Wanji - maybe a nickname]
Wellington who was presumed to be their leader - real name Mariae {Mariac in TB Wilson Voyage Round the World}
Mariae was called Wellington
Iacanta was called Waterloo
Barker records that on 7 December, Mariae and Iacanta together with some other men, approached Fort Wellington with considerable trepidation. On seeing the sentries, the other men fled and Mariae and Iacama would have done the same had not Barker showed extreme friendliness and given them some gifts. It was finally a child who allayed their fears.
Wilson (1835:74) recorded the incident.
Captain Barker . . . used every endeavour to induce them to come into the camp, but without success, until a little child, belonging to one of the soldiers, went and led in the Chief, Wellington, by the hand. He was evidently under great alarm, looking back frequently, and addressing himself to Waterloo, his fidus Achates who kept in his rear.
Memoir Melv Is & Pt Ess - Campbell
Wellington who was presumed to be their leader - real name Mariae {Mariac in TB Wilson Voyage Round the World}
Mariae was called Wellington
Iacanta was called Waterloo
Barker records that on 7 December, Mariae and Iacanta together with some other men, approached Fort Wellington with considerable trepidation. On seeing the sentries, the other men fled and Mariae and Iacama would have done the same had not Barker showed extreme friendliness and given them some gifts. It was finally a child who allayed their fears.
Wilson (1835:74) recorded the incident.
Captain Barker . . . used every endeavour to induce them to come into the camp, but without success, until a little child, belonging to one of the soldiers, went and led in the Chief, Wellington, by the hand. He was evidently under great alarm, looking back frequently, and addressing himself to Waterloo, his fidus Achates who kept in his rear.
Memoir Melv Is & Pt Ess - Campbell
Questions
Is there a translation of the ditty?
"Minnie Minnie Poonah Poonah-poonah,
Tag-a-la-na pee-you pee-you pee-you ;
Mat-u-la-na ga-la thala duela,
What-a-name a pic-a-ninny Barbaree”
HMS Alligator's linguist Mr. Earle would've left records - what is the language, where are the word lists & demographic survey?
Cobourg Peninsular is home to five clans, all of whom speak the Iwaidja language. The locals would only speak Macassarese - (the lingua franca on the coast pre-English} so Earle & Confalonieri got little of value. Is Wongie-wongie old Macassarese? 'Wongy' means language in Iwaidja which Peter Spillett notes in Forsaken Settlement is old Macassarese for 'place of payment' referring to EO Robinson's Customs Post in Bowen Strait so probably it's their name for the Cobourg people.
What happened to collected artefacts - at Pitt Rivers or family private collection?
Where are the graves of the 2 who drowned in the 1824 visit?
Who was Barbaree's father?
Could the family of Medlone be the same as those which had such a good relationship with the Fort Wellington commandant Collett Barker?
Mariae was called Wellington – presumed to be the senior man
Iacanta was called Waterloo – his 2-I-C.
Are there any descendants of Port Essington Jack alive today? Yes - PW@NTA - GW@NTP - GW RNX@Croker.
Did Medlone get a gong - go to London as family believe? - Seems not. Why is there no mention in the Administrator's Report of Medlone or Neighbour - just one image of PE Jack & several of Neighbour with his medals. Neighbour came to Darwin to be presented with his medal by the NT Administrator, Dr Gilruth, at a ceremony at Government House in Darwin on 16th December 1912. So why is it in the Report for 1913 that was released in 1914. Viz Kancubine 5 quid in lieu of gong - Neighbour "what this one - two bob?"
Where is PE Jack buried? - "might be somewhere"
Where is Macarthur's letter or his draft?
Where are the graves of the 2 who drowned in the 1824 visit?
Who was Barbaree's father?
Could the family of Medlone be the same as those which had such a good relationship with the Fort Wellington commandant Collett Barker?
Mariae was called Wellington – presumed to be the senior man
Iacanta was called Waterloo – his 2-I-C.
Are there any descendants of Port Essington Jack alive today? Yes - PW@NTA - GW@NTP - GW RNX@Croker.
Did Medlone get a gong - go to London as family believe? - Seems not. Why is there no mention in the Administrator's Report of Medlone or Neighbour - just one image of PE Jack & several of Neighbour with his medals. Neighbour came to Darwin to be presented with his medal by the NT Administrator, Dr Gilruth, at a ceremony at Government House in Darwin on 16th December 1912. So why is it in the Report for 1913 that was released in 1914. Viz Kancubine 5 quid in lieu of gong - Neighbour "what this one - two bob?"
Where is PE Jack buried? - "might be somewhere"
Where is Macarthur's letter or his draft?
Quotations
Chapter XVI which contains the story has the headings:-
Back to China – Strangers in a strange land - Proving identity - A glad return - Kindness for kindness - “Only fit to be poisoned”
P219 Reminiscences - The 3 lads are in a sampan alongside HMS Vulture
“When they arrived alongside the Vulture they shouted out lustily for Wongie Wongie. I promptly replied, and told them to come on board, but it was somewhat disappointing to observe that they showed no signs of pleasure at the suggestion. The fact was that they had been deceived by one man who had enticed them into his vessel at Port Essington, as they supposed for a sail down the bay and back again, instead of which they were carried out to sea and away to a strange land.”
PP220 & 221 – ‘kidnapped’
“The man who had kidnapped the lads and brought them to China never recovered from his illness, and the boys became unmistakably mine.”
In a letter from Commandant John Macarthur to Pasco – “Their return was commemorated by a great corroboree, and the burden of the song that night was all about Wongie Wongie picking the boys up.”
P221 - Kindness for kindness - “Only fit to be poisoned”
Concerning the rescue, 20 years later, of 2 crew off a pearler who were dragged from the water barely alive by two aboriginal men who took them some distance to food & shelter at Port Essington where Medlone (aka PE Jack) explained to them that “when he was a little boy a white man was kind to him, and now if any of his tribe see a white man in trouble they are bound to help him. These are a race that a certain class of miserably ignorant Europeans think are only fit to be poisoned.“
Back to China – Strangers in a strange land - Proving identity - A glad return - Kindness for kindness - “Only fit to be poisoned”
P219 Reminiscences - The 3 lads are in a sampan alongside HMS Vulture
“When they arrived alongside the Vulture they shouted out lustily for Wongie Wongie. I promptly replied, and told them to come on board, but it was somewhat disappointing to observe that they showed no signs of pleasure at the suggestion. The fact was that they had been deceived by one man who had enticed them into his vessel at Port Essington, as they supposed for a sail down the bay and back again, instead of which they were carried out to sea and away to a strange land.”
PP220 & 221 – ‘kidnapped’
“The man who had kidnapped the lads and brought them to China never recovered from his illness, and the boys became unmistakably mine.”
In a letter from Commandant John Macarthur to Pasco – “Their return was commemorated by a great corroboree, and the burden of the song that night was all about Wongie Wongie picking the boys up.”
P221 - Kindness for kindness - “Only fit to be poisoned”
Concerning the rescue, 20 years later, of 2 crew off a pearler who were dragged from the water barely alive by two aboriginal men who took them some distance to food & shelter at Port Essington where Medlone (aka PE Jack) explained to them that “when he was a little boy a white man was kind to him, and now if any of his tribe see a white man in trouble they are bound to help him. These are a race that a certain class of miserably ignorant Europeans think are only fit to be poisoned.“
References
REFERENCES
A Roving Commission - Naval Reminiscences - Commander Crawford Pasco RN - (Chapter XVI pp. 217-221)
Report of the Administrator of the Northern Territory of Australia for the year 1913 - image back page
PastMasters 2017 Expedition - Victoria Settlement https://www.pastmasters.net/victoria-settlement.html
Harris, John (2008). Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography (Rev. ed.). Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 396. ISBN 9780980457810.
"TRIP TO PORT ESSINGTON". South Australian Chronicle And Weekly Mail. XVII (843).
"Trip of the Flying Cloud to Port Essington". Northern Territory Times And Gazette.
"Protection to Aborigines". Christian Colonist. V (241). South Australia. 25 May 1883.
"Port Essington Jack". Northern Territory Library. hdl:10070/25569.
A Roving Commission - Naval Reminiscences - Commander Crawford Pasco RN - (Chapter XVI pp. 217-221)
Report of the Administrator of the Northern Territory of Australia for the year 1913 - image back page
PastMasters 2017 Expedition - Victoria Settlement https://www.pastmasters.net/victoria-settlement.html
Harris, John (2008). Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography (Rev. ed.). Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 396. ISBN 9780980457810.
"TRIP TO PORT ESSINGTON". South Australian Chronicle And Weekly Mail. XVII (843).
"Trip of the Flying Cloud to Port Essington". Northern Territory Times And Gazette.
"Protection to Aborigines". Christian Colonist. V (241). South Australia. 25 May 1883.
"Port Essington Jack". Northern Territory Library. hdl:10070/25569.
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The mouth of Port Essington on sunset 2017