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Pan gollwyd taleithiau America Ogleddol, yn 1781, gwelwyd yr anghenrheidrwydd o ymorol am ryw le arall i dderbyn ysgubion carcharau Lloegr, y rhai a ystyrid yn beryglus eu cadw gartref. Llywodraeth Siôr y Trydydd a benderfynodd ffurfio alltudfa yn y Môr Tawelog. Y Cadben Cook a arganmolodd Holland Newydd am iachusrwydd ei hinsawdd, a’i chyfaddasrwydd i fod yn sefydle poenol. Yn Mai, 1787, anfonwyd pum cant a phump a thriugain (565) o wrywiaid, a chant a deuddeg a phedwar ugain (192) o fenywod dedfrydedig i Awstralia, mewn chwech o drosglwyddlongau, yn cael eu hebrwng gan dair o ystôr-lestri, a dwy arflong, dan lywyddiad tri o gadbeniaid, deuddeg o is-swyddogion, pedwar ar hugain o ringyllod, a chant ac wyth a thriugain (168) o forfilwyr.1 Rhoddwyd gofal y cyfan i’r Cadben Phylip, o’r llynges freninol, yr hwn a benodwyd yn llywydd cyntaf y drefedigaeth. |
When the North American states were lost, in 1781, a need was seen to seek some other place to receive the sweepings of England’s prisons, who were considered too dangerous to be kept at home. The government of George the Third resolved to establish a place of exile in the Pacific Ocean. Captain Cook recommended New Holland for its healthy climate, and its suitability as a penal settlement. In May, 1787, five hundred and sixty-five (565) male, and one hundred and ninety-two female convicts were sent to Australia, in six transport ships, accompanied by three supply ships, and two warships, under the leadership of three captains, twelve sub-officers, twenty-four sergeants, and one hundred and sixty-eight marines.1 Care of the whole was given to Captain Phillip, of the royal navy, who was appointed first governor of the colony. |
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Cyfarwyddwyd hwynt i hwylio i Botany Bay, yr hwn le a ddisgrifiasid i’r Cadben Phylip megys porthladd rhagorol; ond, er mawr siomedigaeth iddynt, cawsant y cilgant hwn yn agored i bob gwynt, a môr trwm yn ymrolio ar draeth noeth, a’r tir yn gyfansoddedig o gorsydd llynclyd, neu o dywottir diddwfr a diffrwyth yn mhob cyfeiriad. Wedi ei lwyr anfoddloni ar y lle, penderfynodd y Cadben Phylip na laniai y bobl yno; a chyda rhai o’r swyddogion cymerodd dri chwch i chwilio angorfa a alwasai Cook y “Gilfach Doredig.” Ar ei ffordd, trôdd i edrych rhyw gilan a nodid allan ar ddarlen Cook megys “Porthladd Cychod,” ac a ymddangosai heb fod ond prin yn werth sylw. Er ei fawr syndod, cafodd ei hun ar unwaith yn un o’r porthladdoedd naturiol rhagoraf yn y byd, ar lanau pa un y saif dinas bresennol Sydney.2 Yma y cyrchwyd y llongau a adawsid yn angoredig o’r blaen yn Botany Bay, a sefydlwyd y drefedigaeth ar y 26ain o Ionawr, 1788. Dewiswyd glanau ffrwd fechan o ddwfr croew, a elwir yn awr y “Tanks,” yn orphwysle, a galwyd y lle “Sydney,” o anrhydedd i Arglwydd Sydney, prif arglwydd y morlys y pryd hwnw, yr hwn a ymdrechasai lawer er llwydd yr anturiaeth. |
They were instructed to sail to Botany Bay, which place had been described to Captain Phillip as a fine harbour; but, to their great disappointment, they found that cove open to all winds, with heavy seas rolling onto a bare beach, and the land consisting of devouring swamps, or of waterless, infertile sands in every direction. Wholly dissatisfied with the place, Captain Phillip decided not to land the people there; and together with some of the officers he took three boats to search for the harbour Cook had called “Broken Bay.” On his way, he turned to inspect a certain cove marked out on Cook’s map as “Boat Anchorage,” and which seemed to merit little attention. To his great surprise, he immediately found himself in one of the most splendid natural harbours in the world, on the shores of which stands the present city of Sydney.2 Here the boats previously left anchored in Botany Bay were fetched, and the colony was established on the 26th of January, 1788. The banks of a little stream, now called the “Tanks,” were chosen as the site, and the place was called “Sydney,” in honour of Lord Sydney, first lord of the admiralty at that time, who had made great efforts towards the success of the venture. |
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Y mae y porthladd naturiol hwn yn cyrhaedd tua deunaw milltir i fyny i’r wlad. Gellir ei ystyried fel aber yr afon Paramatta, neu yn hytrach megys cainc fawr o fôr, yn ffurfio llïaws o gilfachau, pob un o honynt yn meddu y ddau beth hanfodol i borthladd,—dyfnder dwfr, a chysgod tir. Dewiswyd cilfach Sydney am ei bod yn llai na’r lleill, ac felly yn fwy cyflëus i ddybenion y drefedigaeth fabanaidd. Y mae y porthladd tua saith milltir oddiwrth y môr. Ar y 27ain o Ionawr, dechreuodd bwyall y cymynwr swnio yn y goedwig—y Cadben Phylip ei hun yn nodi allan safleoedd i’r gwahanol adeiladau cynlluniedig. Dygwyd yr anifeiliaid i dir; ac y mae yn werth sylw, nad oedd yr holl “dda byw” ond un tarw, pedair buwch, un llo gwryw, un ystalwn, tair caseg, a thri o ebolion. Ond yn 1848, driugain mlynedd wedi hyn, yr oedd y drefedigaeth yn perchen pedwar ugain ac wyth o filoedd, a chant a chwech ar hugain (88,126) o geffylau, un filiwn pedwar cant a deg ar hugain o filoedd, saith gant ac un ar bymtheg ar hugain (1,430,736) o wartheg, pump a deugain o filoedd (45,000) o foch, a saith miliwn, naw cant a chwech o filoedd, wyth cant a thriugain ac un (7,906,861) o ddefaid, a thros ugain miliwn (20,000,000) o bwysi o wlân yn cael eu nyddu a’u gwau gartref. |
This natural harbour extends about eighteen miles inland. It can be considered as the mouth of the Paramatta river, or rather as a great branch of the sea, forming a multitude of inlets, each one of them possessing the two essentials for a harbour,—the depth of water, and the shelter of land. Sydney cove was selected because it was smaller than the others, and so more expedient for the purposes of the infant colony. The harbour is about seven miles from the sea. On the 27th of January, the axe of the wood-cutter began to be heard in the forest—Captain Phillip himself marked out sites for the various planned buildings. The animals were brought to land; and it is worth noting, that the livestock comprised no more than one bull, four cows, one male calf, one stallion, three mares, and three foals. But in 1848, sixty years later, the colony possessed eighty-eight thousand, one hundred and twenty-six (88,126) horses, one million, four hundred and thirty thousand, seven hundred and thirty-six (1,430,736) cattle, forty-five thousand (45,000) pigs, and seven million, nine hundred and six thousand, eight hundred and sixty-one sheep, and over twenty million (20,000,000) pounds of wool were spun and woven at home. |
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Y 7fed o Chwefror oedd y dydd penodedig i sefydlu llywodraeth y drefedigaeth. I’r perwyl o roddi y difrifolder mwyaf a ellid i ddarlleniad “Erthyglau y Cyfansoddiad,” gwysiwyd pawb i fod yn ŵyddfodol ar lanerch agored, lle yr agorodd y dadleuwr cyffredinol yr awdurdodiad breninol yn penodi Arthur Phylip yn gadben cyffredinol, a phenrheolwr milwrol ar “Diriogaeth Deheubarth Cymru Newydd a’r Ynysoedd cyfagos,” gyda gallu i ffurfio llysoedd barn o dan sêl fawr ei Fawrhydi Brytanaidd. |
The 7th of February was the day appointed for the establishment of the colony’s government. In order to give the greatest possible solemnity to the reading of the “Articles of the Constitution,” all were summoned to be present in a clearing, where the judge advocate opened the royal authority appointing Arthur Phillip captain general, and commander-in-chief of the “Territory of New South Wales and the Islands adjacent,” with power to establish law courts under the great seal of his Britannic Majesty. |
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Dyoddefodd y sefydlwyr cyntaf lawer iawn o galedi ac eisieu ymborth. |
The first settlers suffered a great deal of hardship and lack of food. |
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Wedi sefydlu y drefedigaeth, gwnaed yr ymdrechiadau mwyaf i chwilio yr holl ororau; ac yn 1798, darganfyddwyd y gulfa sydd yn gwahanu gwlad Van Diemen oddiwrth Awstralia, gan Bass a Flinders. Y pryd hwn yr oedd Mr. Bass yn feddyg ar y “Reliance,” a Flinders yn isgadben; a’r ddau ddewrddyn yma, gyda rhyw fachgenyn, a gychwynasant allan i chwilio yr arfordir mewn cwch ddim ond wyth troedfedd o hyd keel! Wedi hyny daeth Bass o hyd i forfil-fad, yn yr hwn yr hwyliodd chwe’ chan’ milltir ar hyd y glenydd, ac yna a ddychwelodd i Sydney, o ba le yr anfonwyd ef a Flinders, gan y llywodraethwr Hunter, i chwilio Culfa Torres, mewn llestr fechan iawn. Cylchfordwyasant wlad Van Diemen, ac felly profasant ynysolrwydd y tir hwnw. |
After establishing the colony, the greatest efforts were made to explore the entire coast; and in 1798, the strait which separates Van Diemen’s land from Australia was discovered by Bass and Flinders. At the time Mr. Bass was a physician on the Reliance, and Flinders was vice-captain; and these two brave men, together with a young lad, set out to explore the coast in a boat no more than eight feet in keel length! After that Bass found a whaling boat, in which he sailed six hundred miles along the coast, and then he returned to Sydney, from whence he and Flinders were dispatched, by governor Hunter, to explore the Torres Strait, in a very small vessel. They circumnavigated Van Diemen’s land, and so proved that it was an island. |
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Gallwn yn awr ystyried morlanau Awstralia wedi eu chwilio yn lled fanwl: trown ein llygaid bellach tua chanol y wlad. Yn 1815, aeth John Oxley, tirfesurwr cyffredinol y drefedigaeth, allan i fapio darn eang o’r wlad. Yr anturiaethwr hwn a berffeithiodd ddarganfyddiad y gyfres o uchelfeydd a elwir y Mynyddoedd Gleision, y rhai sydd yn prydweddu y rhan yma o’r wlad, ac sydd wedi esgor ar gymaint o drysorau euraidd, a thaflu yr holl fyd Mammonaidd i berlewyg o ariangarwch. |
We can now consider the coasts of Australia quite thoroughly explored: we shall now turn our eyes toward the centre of the country. In 1815, John Oxley, surveyor general of the colony, set out to map a large piece of the country. This adventurer completed the discovery of the series of heights called the Blue Mountains, which adorn this part of the country, and which borne so many golden treasures, and thrown the whole Mammonish world into an ecstasy of avarice. |
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Y Cadben Sturt a dreiddiodd ymhellach i’r gorllewin, ac a gyrhaeddodd lanau yr afon Darling. Cychwynodd allan eilwaith yn 1830, gan ddirwyn ei ffordd o wastadedd Yass ar hyd lanau y Murrumbidgee, ac a ganfyddodd uniad yr afon hon â’r Lachlan. Disgynodd ar hyd ei cheulenydd, a daeth at gyflifeiriad arall âg afon o’r de-orllewin, ac ymhellach, â’r Darling. Rhoddodd yr enw Murray i’r brif afon, yr hon sydd yn debyg o fod o’r pwys mwyaf i drafnidiaeth Awstralia. Dilynodd hi, nes cyrhaedd ei harllwysfa i lyn Alecsandrina, a’i disgyniad i’r môr. |
It was Captain Sturt who penetrated further to the west, and who reached the banks of the Darling river. He set out once more in 1830, winding his way from the Yass plain along the banks of the Murrumbidgee, and found the junction of this river with the Lachlan. He followed its banks downstream, and came to another confluence with a river from the north-west, and further on, with the Darling. He gave the name Murray to the principal river, which is likely to be of the greatest importance to Australian commerce. He followed it, until he reached its outfall into lake Alexandrina, and its descent into the sea. |
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Yn y cyfamser, danfonodd y llywodraeth y llysieuwr trefedigol enwog, Mr. Allan Cunningham, ffordd arall; yr hwn a ddarganfyddodd ddarnau eang o’r wlad a breswylir heddyw gan y tyddynwyr defaid ar lechweddi gorllewinol y mynyddoedd. Dilynwyd ef gan Syr T. L. Mitchell, yr hwn a wnaeth dair hynt i’r canoldir wrth orchymyn y llywodraeth, rhwng y blyneddau 1832 a 1836. Aeth ymhellach na Sturt, ac y mae ei ddarganfyddiadau wedi bod o’r pwys mwyaf, ac yn dwyn perthynas agos â dyben yr ysgrifenydd. Yn nghorff y flwyddyn 1836, wedi llwybro yr “Anial Hallt,” lle ni sangasai troed dyn erioed o’r blaen, a dyoddef mwy nag a ellir ei amgyffred gan un galon ddibrofiad,3 cyrhaeddodd diriogaeth Victoria: a chan fod bryniau coediog, a dyffrynoedd gleision a ffrwythlawn y fro hon yn gwahaniaethu cymaint oddiwrth ddiffrwythdra y byd o dywod crasedig y teithiasai trwyddo hyd yn hyn, a dwndwr ei dyfroedd ffrydiol yn swyno ei glustiau fel cerddoriaeth y nef, dychymygodd y pererin diffygiedig ei fod wedi cyrhaedd rhyw baradwys ddaearol, a galwodd y tir dymunol, “Awstralia Ddedwydd.” Arferiad, pa fodd bynag, a wnaeth i’r wlad fyned dan yr enw Porth Phylip; ond y senedd, yn nghyflawnder ei hawdurdod, a benderfynodd brofi pa un a fyddai drechaf, “arfer gwlad, neu air arglwydd,” ac a orchymynodd alw yn ol yr enw Porth Phylip, a bod i bob genau, o hyny allan, ei galw yn Victoria, er anrhydedd i’r frenines! |
In the meantime, the government sent the famous colonial botanist, Mr. Allan Cunningham, another way; and he discovered large parts of the country inhabited today by the sheep farmers on the western slopes of the mountains. He was followed by Sir T. L. Mitchell, who made three expeditions into the interior at the command of the government, between the years 1832 and 1836. He went further than Sturt, and his discoveries have been of the greatest importance, bearing close relation to the author’s purpose. During the year 1836, after walking the “Barren Waste,” where no man had ever before trodden, and suffering more than an inexperienced heart can comprehend,3 he reached the territory of Victoria: and because the wooded hills, and the green and fertile valleys of this region differed so much from the barrenness of the world of baked sand through which he had been travelling until now, and the babble of its flowing waters charmed his ears like the music of heaven, the weary pilgrim imagined himself arrived in some earthly paradise, and called the pleasant land, “Australia Felix.” Usage, however, has given the country the name “Port Phillip;” but the parliament, in the fullness of its authority, decided to test which would be the stronger, “the custom of the land, or the lord’s command,” and abolished the name “Port Phillip”, commanding everyone, from that time on, to call it “Victoria”, in honour of the queen! |
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Syr Thomas a gafodd rai bugeiliaid a phorfeuwyr wedi ymsefydlu eisoes, yn ddïarwybod megys i bawb, yn yr ardal hyfryd hon; a phan ymwelodd llywydd Deheubarth Cymru Newydd â hwynt, y flwyddyn nesaf, cafodd yno bum cant o drefedigion, a chant a deg a deugain o filoedd o ddefaid. |
Sir Thomas found some sheep farmers and graziers already settled, unknown to everyone else, in this pleasant district; and when the governor of New South Wales visited them, the next year, he found there five hundred settlers, and one hundred and fifty thousand sheep. |
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Y Cadben Stokes a ychwanegodd lawer iawn at ein gwybodaeth mewn perthynas i Awstralia Drofanol; Mr. Tyre a archwiliodd yr holl wlad rhwng yr afon Glenelg a Phorth Phylip; Mr. Dixon a ddarluniodd Moreton Bay, a’r Count Stizeleccki Dir Gipps. |
Captain Stokes added greatly to our knowledge in relation to Tropical Australia; Mr. Tyre explored all the country between the river Glenelg and Port Phillip; Mr. Dixon mapped Moreton Bay, and Count Strzelecki Gippsland. |
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Dylem, wrth derfynu y bennod hon, grybwyll gair am y Dr. Leichhardt, boneddwr anturiaethol, a medrus fel celfyddwr ac anianydd, genedigol o’r Almaen, yr hwn sydd yn awr ar goll yn y canoldir anial. Ofnir ei fod wedi syrthio yn aberth i’w orawydd anturiol ei hun; er hyny, fe bery ei enw a’i goffadwriaeth mewn cysylltiad anrhydeddus a phwysig â hanesyddiaeth Awstralia hyd derfyn amser. Ar ei daith flaenorol, profodd fod cysylltiad tramwyadwy rhwng gororau gogledd-orllewinol y wlad a’i glanau dwyreiniol, a chanfyddodd lawer o afonydd, a thiroedd ffrwythlawn, lle y bydd llawer o hiliogaeth Gomer yn trigo yn llwyddiannus cyn hir. |
We should, in ending this chapter, say a word about Dr. Leichhardt, an adventurous gentleman, a skilled artist and naturalist, a native of Germany, who is now lost in the desert interior. It is feared that he he has fallen victim to his own excessive desire for adventure; in spite of this, his name and memory will endure in honourable and significant connection with the history of Australia till the end of time. On his previous journey, he proved that there is a traversible connection between the north-western coast of the country and its eastern shores, and sighted many rivers, and fertile lands, where many sons of Gomervii will dwell in prosperity before long. |
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Ni ddylem chwaith anghofio darganfyddiadau cyfyngach, ond tra gwerthfawr, a gymerant le beunydd ymhlith yr “yswatwyr,” fel y gelwir y bugeiliaid a gymerant “diroedd cefn” gan y llywodraeth dan enw o ardreth, neu y nesaf peth i ddim, ac wrth borfáu myrddiynau o ddefaid dros filltiroedd o wlad—lle y mae “llwybr defaid” tyddynwr lled abl yn amgylchu cymaint o dir ag a wnai ddarn da o sir yn Nghymru. Yma y mae llawer dyn diwyd wedi myned yn “ymherawdr o gyfoeth” mewn dim amser, er ei fod, y mae yn ddigon tebyg, wedi dyfod trosodd yn eithaf dïarian, ac fe allai, heb gymaint ag enw da i’w ganlyn. Lladron a deoledigion oedd sylfaenwyr pendefigaeth “Rhufain hen,” ac nis gall llawer o gyfoethogion genedigol Awstralia fostio gwaedoliaeth uwch. |
Neither should we forget more modest, but very valuable, discoveries, which are made daily among the “squatters,” as they call the sheep farmers who take “back lands” from the government at nominal rates, or next to nothing, and graze hordes of sheep over miles of country—where the farmer’s “sheep run” can quite easily take in as much land as would make a large portion of a county in Wales. Here many an industrious man has become a “man of means” in no time, though he had come over, most likely, with very little money, and perhaps, without so much as a good name to follow him. The founders of the ancient Roman aristocracy were robbers and exiles, and few among the native wealthy of Australia can boast a higher pedigree. |
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1 Y cwbl yn fil a thri ar ddeg ar hugain (1,033) o eneidiau. 2 Y mae chwedl lled ddigrif yn cael ei hadrodd am ddïofalwch y Cadben Cook yn myned heibio i’w “Angorfa Cychod.” Un diwrnod, tra yr oedd y mordwywr enwog ar ei giniaw yn y caban, morwr o’r enw Jackson a anfonwyd i ben y mast i “edrych allan,” ac a ganfyddodd agorfa gul yn arwain i gilgant ëang, rhwng y penedd a elwir “Trwynau Sydney.” Gwaeddodd, “Porthladd ar yr ystlys aswy.” Cludwyd yr hysbysiad i’r cadben gyda brys; ond ni chododd oddiar ei giniaw hyd nes yr oedd y llong wedi rhedeg heibio i enau y porthladd canfyddedig. O’r diwedd, daeth i fyny ar y bwrdd yn eithafol, a dechreuodd alw y morwr oedd yn mhen y mast i gyfrif sobr am wneyd gau hysbysiad; ond gan fod y dyn yn parhau i daeru ei fod yn iawn, dywedai y Cadben, gyda gwên wawdiol, “Wel, rhaid i ni alw y porthladd ar eich enw, yn ‘Borth Jackson;’ ” ac felly y nodwyd y lle yn nghoflyfr y fordaith gyda’r sylw ychwanegol, “Angorfa Cychod.” Y dygwyddiad ysmala hwn a anfarwolodd enw y morwr ceryddedig. 3 Mr. Whittaker, yr hwn a grybwyllwyd eisoes, a adroddodd i’r awdur chwedl a gawsai o enau Syr Thomas ei hun, am ei oddefiadau arteithiol ef a’i gymdeithion—eu bod unwaith oll ar fin trengu o syched, a’u bod wedi gorfod lladd un o’r ceffylau (pan oedd yr anifel, druan, ymron marw o’r un anghen), ac yfed ei waed i’w cadw yn fyw ar y ffordd. |
1 In all one thousand and thirty-three (1,033) souls. 2 A rather amusing story is told of Captain Cook’s carelessness in passing his “Boat Anchorage”. One day, while the famous navigator was dining in his cabin, a sailor called Jackson was sent to the mast-head to “look out,” and spied a narrow passage leading to a wide cove, between the points called the “Sydney Heads.” He cried, “Harbour on the port side.” The report was promptly conveyed to the captain; but he did not rise from his dinner until the ship had passed the mouth of the observed harbour. Eventually, he came on deck in a temper, and began to call the sailor at the mast-head to serious account for making a false report; but as the man continued to affirm the truth of his sighting, the Captain said with a mocking smile, “Well, we shall have to call the harbour after you, ‘Port Jackson’ ” and so the place was recorded in the ship’s log with the added note, “Boat Anchorage.” This droll incident immortalized the scolded sailor’s name. 3 Mr. Whittaker, who has already been mentioned, related to the author a story he had got from the mouth of Sir Thomas himself, about the agonizing sufferings of himself and his companions—that they had once been on the point of perishing from thirst, and that they had been forced to kill one of the horses (when the poor animal was almost dead from the same cause), and drink its blood to stay alive on the way. |
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vii Gomer, son of Japheth, son of Noah, supposed ancestor of the Cymric race. |