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12
service l11hich they received from their servants.
Prisoners , whose
characters and disposition made it impossible for them to be assigned, were
confined in Hobart Town, the women at the Cascades Factory, the men at the
Gaol.
Whatever the merits or defects of the system were, there was no
doubt that the continual supply of cheap labour did much to foster the
grO\th of the new colony . In 1833 Arthur was ab le to report :
Several of the mercantile men have become wealthy ; there are
individuals worth from twenty thousand pounds to thirty thousand
pounds . 7
Wool and the proceeds from the whale fishery were the staple products .
It was still lrgely a primary producing community and Arthur felt that it
would be some time before any manufacture goods would be availab le.
However'· good, fertile land, especially near the towns , was becoming scarce,
maki_ng it difficult for the new iigrant unless equipped with plenty of
capital.
But for the settlers lucky enough to have concentrated on the
growi . ng of fine wool, the outlook in 1833 was reassuri.ng .
They were ab le
to look forward to an income of one thousand to two thousand pounds a year ,
perhaps twice as much as that in some cases,
The cheap labour provided
by the assigned servants helped to make possible the mansions and the
cltivated, leisurely way of life enjoyed by many of the free settlers.
ugh commented, no doubt with some surprise:
That you may have some conception of the style in which things
are done here, I shall mention one house lately built in the town
by a man , who , seven or ight years since, was almost penniless;
the house has cost ten thousand pounds, the furni shing of it is to
be another five thousand pounds , and to look at the man you would
think that he is as badly off as ever .B
In 1833 Hobart Town was undrgoi.ng a rapid change .
Besides the
nums-rous buildi.ngs beng erected at private expense, the Government had
b
lrgest size to berth alngside the shore , without the necessity for the
use of small boats. Yet, despite all the activity and the improvements ,
it was not possible for the newcomer to forget for long that Hobart Town
was primari ly a penal settlement , a fact which added a strnge quality to
its beauty as a town .
around:
J. Syme described his feelings as he first looked
7
8
GO 33/17 p. 34 .
Pugh , quoted Mail.