Burke Manuscript

Burke Manuscript: Page 274

Transcript

Then there was old Rowland Davis, father of Dick o’ that ilk. He was a plausible old Irish gentleman, originally of Wellington, who came down with the early settlers and fixed himself up at the old Canterbury in Port Cooper, which he kept for years. In the great election fight of 1857, when Moorhouse was elected, he worked the Peninsula for him, and in after days, when fortune had somewhat dimmed, Mr M., then Superintendent, made Rowland Inspector of something on the gold rushes at the West Coast. Mr Davis was the first who got a license for what is now the Clarendon Hotel, from him it passed to Ben Jones, the now Stage Manager for Williams in Melbourne – and let me think, then – to George Oram. Mr Davis had a fund of anecdote about old times, was an amusing, jolly, pleasant companion, but no business man or politician.

Another quaint old character was Mr Dobbs, the old gentleman who then lived amongst the Sandlots at Kaiapoi, and was a great political authority at the Northern in olden days, when Fraser kept it, and G.C. Black, and lots of others used to have jolly evenings in the house. Mr Dobbs was a nice man old fellow for a chat, but as a politician was a nobody.

John, as in everything else, you will understand was well to the fore not only as Moorhouse’s Provincial Secretary, but he was also member of the General Assembly. You know what he is now you can then understand what sort of youth he was twenty-five years ago. You wouldn’t be surprised to hear I suppose that he had a good flow of language, some humour and not bad at chaff? You might believe it. He and Sefton hitched together for a long time. He certainly stuck staunchly to his chief. As a politician, I don’t look on him as a success. He soon retired.

Mr Duncan was also at that time a right hand man of Moorhouse’s. But he never really seemed to take much interest in matters. He was an indolent politician, wouldn’t be bothered. A good hard hitter you know when soused. And, I may be wrong, but I don’t think he was so firm a believer in Mr Moorhouse in after years as he then was.

I am mixing all these up from the old chambers in what later became the Clarendon Hotel, to the removal to the new Council Chambers over the River.

A regular old identity was Old Packer, the father of H. Packer of today. The old gentleman was a hard headed old nut, and became a Provincial Secretary or something. I don’t think it would happen at the present day but it might, for strange things occur. He had a brewery in the rear of what is now Sutherland’s, Beath’s &c, and Roger Deacon, the parent of Mr W.H. Wynn William’s partner, was the factotum general. And leaving politicians for a moment, Alfred Pigeon, an offshoot of the Pigeons