Chapter 4
Archibald Mosman 1799-1863
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| Archibald Mosman (c.Mosman Library) |
Soon after the Mosman twins arrived in 1828 Archibald dived headlong into the complex business world of Sydney and built up trading networks of friends and potential enemies. It was a time to make and lose fortunes depending on what you did and who you did business with.
Archibald’s separation from his trading partnership with George was a friendly one and left him free to follow other business interests. He was quick to see business prospects when whaling ships unloaded their valuable produce at King’s Wharf near their warehouse. He noticed that the smell of their produce was unwelcome in the city area.
To quickly learn the business Archibald became part owner of a couple of whaling vessels and travelled to the bountiful whaling fisheries around Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. He was a partner in an agreement with the Māori chiefs to use Mana Island as a base for whaling ships and raising sheep.
Until 1832 Archibald kept the George Street business running while he developed other plans. It was a time of high world demand for whale oil for lamps and lubrication of machinery. For some time whaling ships from other countries had been calling in at Sydney because the whaling was good nearby. With his knowledge of whaling in New Zealand, Archibald knew that this was the prime opportunity he had been looking for.
While the government saw that whaling could be a good source of revenue for the Colony the main problem was that refining the oil was a very smelly business. Because of that they were prepared to lease land to Archibald to build a whaling station at Great Sirius Cove on the undeveloped North Shore of the Harbour keeping the smell well away from the main settlement. In later years Sirius Cove was to become ‘Mosman’ Bay.
The George Street warehouse had substantial residential accommodation attached In July 1832 it was offered for sale.
“Extensive Mercantile STORES with the RESIDENCE of A. MOSSMAN Esq., Ship Owner, who is now retiring to his newly formed Whaling Establishment upon the North Shore. House contains nine rooms, together with detached kitchen, servants' room & out-offices, coach-house and stable, a well of excellent of water, with a patent pump affixed, and the supply sufficiently abundant for the use of the shipping. The Stores contain a Cooperage and Sail-loft 100 feet in length.”
About that time Archibald, using convict labour, built the whaling station at Sirius Cove. He also built a house for himself (later called’The Nest’) overlooking the Cove. It was situated on the eastern hillside on 30 acres, with six bedrooms, stable and coach house, and a well. It was immediately overlooking the bay, and with its “orchard, vineyard, kitchen and flower gardens, and other attractive features.” it was truly an ideal home for the time.
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| (c. Mosman Library) |
Archibald planned to make Sirius Cove, later called Mosman Bay, a centre for the local whaling industry. He extended his original land grant to include part of the future prestige suburb of ‘Mosman’ which was later given his name. In 1835 two whalers, the Jane, 221 tons, and the Tigress, 192 tons, were registered as belonging to the firm of Mosman.
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| Mosman Bay Whaling Station (c. Mosman Library) |
The Sydney Herald" of June 6, 1833, eloquently described Archibald's achievements (with convict help of course):
"The Sarah has been hauled to Messrs. Mosman's wharf, on North Shore, for the purpose of heavlng down and undergoing some repairs previous to proceeding to London. The all-pervading smell of whale oil arose from the huge coppers, with their great fires burning beneath them, and overpowering the scent of the bush, the sailors singing their chanteys as they "hauled on the bowline" and brought the ships over, added to a busy scene."
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| Contemporary sketch of the above scene by Conrad Martens |
The profits from whaling and from the berthing, careening and refitting facilities at Mosman's Bay appear to have been considerable. Despite this Archibald didn’t want to be tied down to the whaling station as he had many more things he wanted to achieve. So in 1838 he made a decision to sell his interest in the whaling station to Messrs Hughes and Hosking in return for a fixed substantial sum to be paid to him annually. It was a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.
The deal looked great as Messrs Hughes & Hosking were at that time apparently one of richest and successful businesses in Sydney. What Archibald didn’t know was that Hughes and Hosking had been insolvent for some time. A later inquiry found that the books kept by John Terry Hughes were thoroughly cooked and an unmitigated mess. After the failure of the Bank of Australia, their house of cards collapsed and Hughes & Hosking went bankrupt. A few years later Hughes was jailed for a petty financial fraud and shortly after his release he committed suicide.
Archibald lost not only his annuity but the whaling establishment as well. It took most of the remaining years of his life to recover from this financial disaster.
Despite this his personal life flourished. Archibald married his indentured servant Harriet Farquharson in Scots Church, Margaret Street, Sydney on 31 December 1888. He was nearly 20 years older than her; she was 27, he was 46. They raised three "adopted" (see next chapter) and nine surviving children, several of whom who played important roles in the development of the Colony.
Archibald was always interested in land and had acquired several properties in the Williams river area close to brother George’s property Burrowel. George built a house for him on his property and Archibald was a frequent visitor before he moved to Armidale. We don’t know where Harriet was at that time.
In the mid 1840’s Archibald bought Glen Innes station for probably a bargain basement price. When the town of Glen Innes was formed he changed the name back to an earlier one, Furracabad, an Indian state where a previous owner had lived. The Station was a huge 25,000 acres running a maximum of 12,000 sheep and 350 cattle. He also bought several speculative town blocks in Glen Innes.
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| Furracabad |
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| Prime New England cattle country |
Archibald moved his family to Bank Cottage in Armidale, 100km from Furracabad, where their nine (seven surviving) children were born, starting with Adam in 1849 (the next family name). From then on it is unlikely that the twins saw much of one another or that any of the children knew their cousins.
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| Bank Cottage, Armidale (State Library of NSW) |
Bank Cottage was a substantial house on large grounds. It backed on Mosman Street. It burned down several years later after the Mosmans had left. The land was so large when it was sold it was subdivided into nearly 100 urban blocks.
Archibald must have employed an overseer at Furracabad as he lived most of the time with his family in Armidale. In 1857 he was appointed an Armidale magistrate and was associated with the building of Armidale hospital.
He was always dreaming of bigger and different things. When in Sydney he set up the Floating Bridge Company, the Sydney Ferry Company and the Australian Auction Company. Only eight months before he died he joined with others seeking a Squatter who would be prepared to take 100,000 sheep to graze on newly discovered grazing country on saltbush plains in the North.
Archibald’s business life was one of major risks resulting in boom time or bust. With the development and expansion of the Furracabad station he appears to have prospered and stabilised sufficiently to move his family to Byron Lodge, Randwick. Unfortunately his health deteriorated and he had a stroke the year of the move which left him paralysed on his right side. His friends in Armidale respected him so much they took an advert in the local newspaper wishing him good health.
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| Archibald in Sydney after his stroke (c. Mosman Library) |
When Archibald died he was 63 and Harriet was 41. They were raising 9 children most of them under 18. For more information about Archibald’s will and Harriet’s life as a widow and single parent see Archibald's Legacy.
Footnote
Archibald was a product of his times, a personally driven businessman determined to achieve, who always supported his family. One wonders what else he would have been able to achieve if his financial arrangement with Hughes and Hosking had been successful. A Floating Bridge and an early ferry service on the Harbour?
Next Chapter - 4.1 Harriet and Charlotte Farquharson