Western Mail Perth 24 February 1912, page 5
JAMES CAREY AND NEPHEW
by J.T.
Of the band of hardy adventurous explorers who accompanied the late Alexander Forrest on his memorable expedition from the De Grey River to Port Darwin, 32 years ago, only three now remain. One is Arthur Hicks, at one time Warden of the Murchison goldfield, and now peacefully tilling the soil in the fertile Arthur River district. Another is J. Campbell, and the third is James Carey whose photograph, taken with one of his nephews Mr. Roy Carey is reproduced below.
Mr James Carey, Explorer, Prospector and Drover and his nephew Roy Carey.
Jim Carey, as he is popularly known, has led a hard, strenuous life in this State, and an explorer prospector, and drover has experienced many hardships and vicissitudes. He was born at Enniskillen the county town of Fermanagh in Ireland, just half a century ago, and came out with his parents at a very early age. His father who was in the Royal Engineers, arrived in Western Australia on the Robert Morrison sailing ship, and settled at Bunbury where he had charge of the survey office. Two of his pupils were Sir John Forrest and his brother Alexander, both inseparably associated with the exploration and settlement of the State. Mr Carey represented the Vasse district in the Legislative Council and passed away in Government House, Perth, some years before Responsible Government was granted. Another of his pupils was Mr. George Roe, son of the first Surveyor-General and brother of the City Police Magistrate.
In the year 1874, young Carey joined the party despatched to survey the telegraph line to Eucla, and was engaged in that work until its completion. On one occasion he was sent with a batch of telegrams from Eucla to Eyre’s Sand Patch, covering the intervening distance of 160 miles on horseback. The telegraph line was not completed, and the gap had to be traversed by messenger, a decidedly arduous and perilous undertaking in those days. Young Carey successfully accomplished his mission and then went on to Port Lincoln, and finally reached Adelaide.
Later on, he was engaged in survey work in the Nor’ West, and volunteered as a member of Alexander Forrest’s exploring party. In addition to the leader, the party consisted of F. W. Hill, second in command Arthur Hicks, Jim Carey, Jack Campbell, and young Matthew Forrest, also Pierre and Dower, two South-West aboriginals, well-tried and trusty companions on previous exploring trips. From Fremantle to Cossack a stormy passage was experienced in the schooner Amur, in fact, it was only through Captain Abbott’s skilful seamanship that land was reached.
Horses presented to the party by various settlers were collected and a start made for Beagle Bay. lt was found that horses would not stand the rough country, and ten succumbed within the first month. Mosquitoes and sandflies were a maddening pest, and the explores could get no peace by day or sleep at night. Game, such as kangaroos, emus, turkeys, ducks and cockatoos were plentiful and in the matter of food, the party fared sumptuously. The Fitzroy River was followed up for ten days, and in his diary the leader of the expedition makes frequent allusion to that noble and magnificent stream. Heavy tropical rains caused much discomfort and malarial fever attacked Carey, Mat Forrest, and both the natives. They were too weak to mount their horses unassisted and frequently halts were necessary.
After travelling along the Fitzroy for over 200 miles, an attempt was made to cross the King Leopold Ranges, but without success. The lofty, precipitous walls of rock defied all attempts to scale them, and, completely baffled, the party was forced back on the Fitzroy. The leader referred to that portion of the trip as the most bitter disappointment of his life. Nearly all the horses had been lost or were so knocked up as to be useless except to carry the sick members of the party. Rations ran low and by the time the Ord River was reached the daily allowance was a handful of flour and a piece of dried horseflesh. A big 10ft. snake was killed and formed a welcome addition to the food supply. Matters looked gloomy, and when approximately a hundred miles from the telegraph line the leader decided to push on ahead leaving the rest to await succour.
Taking with him Arthur Hicks, a start was made at nightfall, and, steering by the stars, good progress was made. The country was quite waterless and the scanty store contained in their waterbags dwindled down to a few drops. A hawk was shot and its blood eagerly drunk. When almost at their last gasp, the telegraph line was reached and an iron tank full of water saved their lives. Following the telegraph line for a couple of days, they struck the camp of Mr. John Woods, in charge of a party of line repairers. Mr. Woods, who is now residing at North Fremantle, was very kind to the two explorers and provided them with fresh horses and a stock of provisions for the remainder of the party. All were found well, and the expedition terminated at Port Darwin as originally projected.
After Alex. Forrest’s expedition, young Carey contracted to travel up to the Nor’west with stock for Mr Julius Brockman. Starting from Roebourne, he accompanied Mr Brockman with the first lot of cattle sent from that district, after which he went pearling and prospecting for gold. He set out with James Isdell from Roebuck Bay and went as far as the Fitzroy searching for gold. They were unsuccessful and decided to prospect in a south-westerly direction. They were joined by Nicholson and C. Hall and, with four natives and plenty of horses, struck boldly through that stretch of dry arid country known as the Warburton’s desert.
There were 22 horses to be kept in water, and Carey’s experience as a bushman was invaluable. Taking one of the natives with him, he continually scouted for water and not, a single horse was lost on the trip through thirst. The privations of the party were severe and when they reached the Oak River their rations were all gone. Eventually the De Grey Station was reached in safety and it was decided to continue prospecting operations in the Nullagine district. Some gold was obtained at the Forty-mile now known as Mosquito Creek, and for three years Carey prospected all over the Pilbara district, but without any great success.
The Fitzroy River 1949 – Photo SLWA
He tried the Ashburton and then went to the Murchison, travelling up front Lake Austin to Nannine, Peak Hill, and the Horseshoe. The privations of his trip with the Forrest expedition had undermined his health, and he suffered from attacks of malaria but battled bravely along. When the news was received of the disaster to the Wells exploring party, the Warden at Roebourne desired to send out Carey to search for the missing men, but his whereabouts could not be ascertained and his knowledge of the country roundabout Separation Well could not be utilised. Lately, he has been following up mining Mount Egerton, about 90 miles from Peak Hill, but is now enjoying a much needed rest in Perth.
His nephew Roy Carey, whose portrait is also shown, was born on board the little steamer Rob Roy, on one of her trips from Carnarvon to Fremantle. The Chief Harbour Master, Captain Irvine, was commander of the Rob Roy, and her chief engineer was Mr. James Clark, of Onslow and Claremont. Her engines were removed and placed on board the tug Uraidla, employed by the Adelaide S.S. Company for their work at Fremantle. The Rob Roy was a staunch little craft and played an important part in the history of the State for many years.
Moya Sharp
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thank you for all the stories and history. being from European descend I find it interesting and I am learning a lot about the early history in WA .
thank you once again and keep up the good work .