ASH ISLAND – WATERMEN
ASH ISLAND’S WATERMEN and NEWCASTLE’S BUTCHER BOATS
Article by Cherylanne Bailey
In the late 1800s and the first decade of 1900 when a sailing ship arrived in port after a lengthy voyage her food stocks were usually depleted. These were the great days of sail for Newcastle Harbour with the port crowded with ships from all over the world waiting their turn to dump ballast and load coal photographic evidence revealing at Stockton they were sometimes moored 3 abreast at The Ballast grounds.
The most expert and daring of the local watermen were enlisted as canvassers or “touts”, their job being to meet the incoming vessel. Whenever a ship appeared in sight there was usually a race between the watermen, in their small boats, similar to the old wooden Surf Life Saving Skiff boats, to see who would reach her first and secure the custom for one of the local butchers.
According to an article which appeared in the Newcastle and Hunter District Historical Journal¹, Newcastle produce merchants enlisted the most expert and daring local watermen as touts. Boat crew known as “runners”would row watermen out to “tout” with the ship’s captain for orders for food and other commodities, that is if they were lucky enough to reach the ship first. Since the ship’s main requirement was meat, these boats became known as Butcher Boats.²
At the height of their service these Butcher Boats delivered beef on board with the fastest out and aboard the ship standing the best chance of receiving an order. As a result, competition was fierce with the scullers and oarsman becoming bolder and bolder, to the point that eventually boats were racing out past Nobby’s Head to meet a ship. The boats looked similar to the wooden surf boats in operation today, measuring approximately 10 metres in length.
The crew consisted of 2, 3 or even 4 oarsmen with well-known crews including Messrs Hughes, Limeburner, Dunnett, Trelevan, Bedford, J [James]Ford [Ash Island and later Pilot’s Row Newcastle], Jackson, Chilvers, O’Brien, Campbell, Samuel, Menzies, McCracken and Spruce.³
Included also were Ash Island’s Bedford and Croese men as well as the Hickey brothers. William Hickey held the title of sculling champion for several years and in 1868 he and his brother Richard had issued a challenge to row any two men in the world with a financial backing of up to 1000 pounds.
James Ford Jnr together with many other names listed above in later years became members of the Newcastle Life Saving Club and played their part in saving many lives.
The Newcastle Journal’s article reports that whilst locally known as “Butcher Boats” this was possibly due to the fact the Newcastle butchers, WH Whyte, Hickenbotham, Sparke and others had more runners engaged than any other business and were amongst the first to use this method of “boosting” their trade. In later years bakers, drapers, marine storekeepers and even washer-women also had their “runners” operating in a similar fashion.
It was a familiar sight to see these boats dash for the open sea, the small wood boats crashing down onto the waves whilst the crew were drenched with spray. The Boats were recorded as travelling as far south as Broken Bay and north to Seal Rocks in order to meet a likely customer. On these occasions the crew in these (by comparison) relatively small wooden boats were out to sea for 18 to 20 hours, at times weathering rough seas and gales whilst lying in wait for a ship.
Butcher Boats proved a constant worry for Port Officials and they were closely watched by the lookout at Nobbys in case of an upset which was quickly reported so rescuers could be despatched.⁴ In 1894, a boat racing to the ship Brunhilda, manned by R Hickey Jnr, J Hicken and J Ford (Ash Island) capsized near the bar. The port’s lifeboat went to their aid however found the trio had been rescued by a rival boat.
Terry Callen’s Bar Dangerous records that “The boatman used a special type of hook attached to the end of a long pole, and a length of line, to connect up to a ship. Once on board the ship the men bargained with the captain, while the boat was towed along.”A grumpy captain might not let them aboard, which meant a long row home with nothing to show for their effort however when allowed aboard they made the deal, hiding when the pilot met the ship just in case they were reported and lost their Boatman’s Licence. These brave, fearless men also ran the risk in boarding each ship, before she was cleared by the port’s doctor, it may have arrived from a plague-infested country.Newcastle’s Butcher Boats ended with the demise of the sailing ships of yestayear.⁵
Many of Ash and surrounding Islands became very successful watermen as having spent their youth competing in sculling championships on the Hunter River, as well as further afield, they had developed sculpted bodies perfect for hour upon hour of rowing. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, sculling was a very popular and competitive sport with races held on Newcastle Harbour, the Hunter and Williams River at Raymond Terrace, all attracting enormous crowds, just as the superboats on Newcastle Harbour do today. One of the earlier newspaper accountreveals that George completed aged 14 years in a sculling race in a waterman’s skiff, winning the Regatta on 9 November 1883.
George John James Towns was the first child of George and Emily Jane Towns, born on 18 February 1869 at Hinton. George achieved fame as a champion sculler of the world. He had developed his strength and stamina for rowing after the family moved to Moscheto Island. Historical accounts reveal that to reach his Moscheto Island School he had to row, often fighting against the tide on the strong westerly winds, as he rode about a mile downstream to the School and home again.
The following are a series of newspaper snippets evidencing the frequency and popularity of sculling:
“I, T. JORDAN, hereby challenge to ROW, JAMES FORD jun., for £5 to £50, In the same two dingies as we rowed on New Year’s Day, over the same Newcastle course. Man and money ready at Mr. G. BUNN’S Great Britain Hotel, Market street. T. JORDAN, Mosquito Island.”[Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW: 1876 – 1954), Thursday 31 January 1889, page 8]
“SPORTING. Boat Race, £20 a-side. CHAMPION COURSE. W, & J. Jordan v. L, Morris & A. Foster. SATURDAY, JANUARY 25TH. THE S S. RIPPLE will leave the Market Wharf, to follow the above race, at 3 p.m. sharp, calling at new wharf, Stockton, and Mosquito Island. Fares: Newcastle and Stockton, return, 2s; Mosquito Island, return, 1s.”[Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW: 1876 – 1954), Tuesday 21 January 1890, page 8]
“SPORTING. CHALLENGE.- W. and J. JORDAN do hereby Challenge L. MORRIS and A. FOSTER to Row: over Raymond Terrace course in a fortnight’s time for the sum of £30 a-side, in the boats Native and Olive, L. Morris and A. Foster to have their pick of boats. Match can be made on THURSDAY NIGHT at Mr. A. Croese’s, Mosquito Island. Signed, W. & J. JORDAN.”[Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW: 1876 – 1954), Wednesday 5 February 1890, page 1]
Ash Island brothers James Ford Jnr and George Ford are mentioned in the Hexham Sculling Handicap, reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald on Monday, 9 November 1896 at page 7, where James is reported as winning the second heat of a sculling championship whilst George Ford came third in the third race. That article reported that bets were placed on rowing races.
“Evens v. Neilson, 2 to 1 Towns, 3 to 1 Ford, 4 to 1 Kemp.”
[1905] Rowing – Ford (George) v. Towns at Raymond Terrace.⁶
[1905] G Ford v. A Towns for 200 pounds on Raymond Terrace Course.⁷
James Ford Jnr photograph supplied by Lynette Cameron
¹ Volume 2, Part 8, May 1948 – ² Bar Dangerous by Terry Callen – ³ Bar Dangerous by Terry Callen – ⁴ Bar Dangerous by Terry Callen page 50 – ⁵ Bar Dangerous by Terry Callen page 51 – ⁶ National Advocate (Bathurst) Tuesday 7 November 1905 – ⁷ Evening News, 10 November 1905