Horatio Wills
Encyclopedia
Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (5 October 1811 – 17 October 1861), or Horace Wills, was an Australian pastoralist and politician. Born in Sydney
, the son of a convict
sent to Australia for highway robbery, Wills is notable as being involved in several events in Australian history. He was also the father of Thomas Wills
, the inventor of Australian rules football
.
The Argus newspaper dated Saturday 12 March 1921 page 4 records the Horatio Wills family being at Burra Burra Gundagai till around 1840. Thomas Wills, Horatio's son, was born in 1836 near Gundagai, New South Wales.
Wills was one of the first settlers of the Ararat
district in western Victoria, Australia, at a 125000 acres (505.9 km²) property named Lexington near Moyston
. Wills intended to build a house on the property which was finally completed in 1845. While at Lexington he is credited as having named nearby Mount Ararat. He hired aborigines as station hands and harvesters on his property.
In 1852, Wills sold Lexington and moved to Belle Vue in Geelong
and was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly
in 1855.
A writer in your journal of a late date has treated on the ravages committed by the wild dog of the colony in her northern provinces, and advocates some legislatorial measure for their extermination. Permit me to observe that these sanguinary pests of the sheep-fold are to be extirpated with the greatest ease, and at very little cost, much more speedily than any act of the kind alluded to would be likely to pass our chambers. One ounce of strychnia in chrystals, it being less subject to adulteration in that state, will clear any station in the colony. This remedy may, or ought to be, purchasable in Sydney for thirty or thirty-five shillings. So that whilst my old friends north of Murrumbidgee talk of wild dogs, they might get rid of them. Strychnia has been tried in this district with astonishing success. A 'brush' is a thing now to be wondered at. The result to myself alone, has been a saving of at least £350 a-year, not to speak of the annoyance and torture I am relieved from. The bait for a dog is a piece of fresh meat of about eight ounces, into which a small quantity of the poison is inserted. This, suspended from an overhanging branch, beyond the reach of wild cats, by a thin piece of twine, under a " nosable "
piece of carrion, is almost sure to secure any particular dog. But to 'smash the breed' without mercy, attach a dead sheep, or kangaroo, or emu, or bullock's paunch, or any carrion to be obtained readily, to the axle of a light cart, and at sundown (to cheat the crows) take a road, or a cattle track, through the parts principally infested, and as you go along leave a bait, in some such manner as I have described, at intervals of a mile or thereabouts. We generally drop a few pieces of unpoisoned meat around the bait, to arrest the dog in his rapid career on scent. It will be necessary to take up the baits which remain untouched at daylight, if you wish to economise. This is a simple way of effectually ridding a station of a most outrageous pest. I may observe, also, that strychnia is found to be an admirable specific in attacks of the eagle-hawk during the lambing season. No later in fact than this morning, I destroyed two in about ten minutes, which I observed hovering over the lambs of some imported ewes. Touch the heart and liver of a dead lamb with a pinch of the poison, and your success is certain. The extermination of the wild dog instead of being a matter for the interference of the legislature, is in fact simply a question between the settler and his merchant, or apothecary.”
In 1861, Horatio moved north to Queensland, at Cullin-La-Ringo in the Nogoa region near Rockhampton
. Just three weeks later, Horatio was murdered by aborigines, along with 18 others at the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre
, 17 October 1861.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, the son of a convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
sent to Australia for highway robbery, Wills is notable as being involved in several events in Australian history. He was also the father of Thomas Wills
Tom Wills
Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman, umpire, coach and administrator who is credited with being a catalyst towards the invention of Australian rules football....
, the inventor of Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
The Argus newspaper dated Saturday 12 March 1921 page 4 records the Horatio Wills family being at Burra Burra Gundagai till around 1840. Thomas Wills, Horatio's son, was born in 1836 near Gundagai, New South Wales.
Wills was one of the first settlers of the Ararat
Ararat, Victoria
Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...
district in western Victoria, Australia, at a 125000 acres (505.9 km²) property named Lexington near Moyston
Moyston, Victoria
Moyston is a town in the Western District region of Victoria, Australia, near the Grampians mountain range. The town is located in the Rural City of Ararat Local Government Area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne...
. Wills intended to build a house on the property which was finally completed in 1845. While at Lexington he is credited as having named nearby Mount Ararat. He hired aborigines as station hands and harvesters on his property.
In 1852, Wills sold Lexington and moved to Belle Vue in Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
and was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
in 1855.
The Native Dog
"A correspondent (Mr. H. S. Wills) of the Sydney Herald, writes : -A writer in your journal of a late date has treated on the ravages committed by the wild dog of the colony in her northern provinces, and advocates some legislatorial measure for their extermination. Permit me to observe that these sanguinary pests of the sheep-fold are to be extirpated with the greatest ease, and at very little cost, much more speedily than any act of the kind alluded to would be likely to pass our chambers. One ounce of strychnia in chrystals, it being less subject to adulteration in that state, will clear any station in the colony. This remedy may, or ought to be, purchasable in Sydney for thirty or thirty-five shillings. So that whilst my old friends north of Murrumbidgee talk of wild dogs, they might get rid of them. Strychnia has been tried in this district with astonishing success. A 'brush' is a thing now to be wondered at. The result to myself alone, has been a saving of at least £350 a-year, not to speak of the annoyance and torture I am relieved from. The bait for a dog is a piece of fresh meat of about eight ounces, into which a small quantity of the poison is inserted. This, suspended from an overhanging branch, beyond the reach of wild cats, by a thin piece of twine, under a " nosable "
piece of carrion, is almost sure to secure any particular dog. But to 'smash the breed' without mercy, attach a dead sheep, or kangaroo, or emu, or bullock's paunch, or any carrion to be obtained readily, to the axle of a light cart, and at sundown (to cheat the crows) take a road, or a cattle track, through the parts principally infested, and as you go along leave a bait, in some such manner as I have described, at intervals of a mile or thereabouts. We generally drop a few pieces of unpoisoned meat around the bait, to arrest the dog in his rapid career on scent. It will be necessary to take up the baits which remain untouched at daylight, if you wish to economise. This is a simple way of effectually ridding a station of a most outrageous pest. I may observe, also, that strychnia is found to be an admirable specific in attacks of the eagle-hawk during the lambing season. No later in fact than this morning, I destroyed two in about ten minutes, which I observed hovering over the lambs of some imported ewes. Touch the heart and liver of a dead lamb with a pinch of the poison, and your success is certain. The extermination of the wild dog instead of being a matter for the interference of the legislature, is in fact simply a question between the settler and his merchant, or apothecary.”
In 1861, Horatio moved north to Queensland, at Cullin-La-Ringo in the Nogoa region near Rockhampton
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
. Just three weeks later, Horatio was murdered by aborigines, along with 18 others at the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre
Cullin-La-Ringo massacre
The Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, which occurred in central Queensland on 17 October 1861, was the largest massacre of white settlers by Aborigines in Australia....
, 17 October 1861.
Sources
- http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020548b.htm