"Captain Eastwick's Australian experiences occupy only one chapter in a full autobiography which is so packed with incident that, the writer claims, it can only be 'a mere summary of the Hardships, Trials and Losses [he] sustained'. Sailing into Port Jackson in 1804 in the ship Betsy, Eastwick found that, although the settlement was desperate for the goods he brought, trading was difficult due to the monopolies held by the government and the Campbell Company, the scarcity of legal tender and an absence of established commercial customs. Many people in official positions wished to take goods from him for resale, such as Surgeon Thomas Jamison, whom he was obliged to take to court, and Commissary John Palmer, who had to be compelled to pay by Governor King. Eastwick describes incidents with convicts during his stay in Port Jackson, such as his meeting with a convict servant woman who turned out to be the sister of a British officer of his acquaintance in India, and witnessing preparations for executions where reprieves were issued at the last moment, to the chagrin of one of the condemned. Eastwick was in the colony during the rebellion at Castle Hill and gives some background to the rebels and their uprising, describing the atmosphere and reactions in Sydney. On leaving, he was commissioned to take some of the convicts implicated in the rebellion to Norfolk Island, including the Irish general, Joseph Holt. Impressed by Holt's dignity and courage, he records that he interceded on his behalf with Commandant Foveaux" (Walsh and Hooton 56-7).
Source
Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.
