Richard William Hulley ^1,3,4

  General Notes:

1820 Settler - Ship "Stentor" - With the Richardson Party.

The Caxton Farm
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It is believed that Richard HULLEY, a 1820 Settler, was the first to occupy Caxton Farm. His 5th child, Edward John HULLEY, born 1821, was probably born on the farm, according to F.E. HULLEY of Umtali, Zimbabwe - who kept record of the HULLEY family geneology.

Richard HULLEY - farmer, 34 came as a Settler in J. Richardson's party, numbering 36, from Yorkshire, aboard the ship named Stentor. The ship sailed from Liverpool with his wife Ann, 33 and children Richard 9, Francis 1, Ann 6, and Sarah 4. The son Richard became an interpreter to the Rev. Francis Owen at Dingaans kraal in 1837 and wrote an account of the events preceding and following the massacre of Piet Retiefs party by Dingaan and his impis.

The Richardson's Party was no. 24 on the Colonial Department list, lead by James Richardson, a corn dealer of Heartstead, Sheffield, Yorkshire. They came about the Stentor which left Liverpool on 13 January 1820, reaching Table Bay on 19 April 1820. Her charter expired at that port and the five settler parties on board were disembarked. Richardson's Party was transhipped to HM Store Ship Weymouth reaching Algoa Bay on 15 May 1820. This party was to be loacted in Albany on the right bank of the George River.

The British Settlers of 1820 in South Africa

This particular group of four thousand men, women and children who sailed from the shore of their native land in the year one thousand eight hundrend and twenty and gallantly played their part as pioneers on the frontier in the foundation and gradual building up of their new home South Africa.

The 21 emigrant ships required for the transport of the Settlers, small sailing vessels of about 400 tons each, were sent to various convenient ports as London (Deptfold), Portsmouth, Liverpool, Bristol and Cork to prepare for the long voyage and to await the arrival of their passengers. About November, 1819, the leaders of the various parties received notices from the authorities informing them of the ships to which they had been allotted, the port of departure and the probable date of sailing, after which they set out by stage-coach for their respective destinations, certainly objects of curiosity and wonderment in the towns and villages at which they stopped on their last journey in Britain.

Early in December, the ships began to leave, usually in twos, and by the middle of January 1820, the whole fleet of 21 ships was on the high seas. Extremely bad weather was experienced and almost at the outset, several vessels nearly suffered shipwreck.

After long and arduous individaul voyages varying from 11 to 14 weeks, all the ships eventually reached the Cape of Good Hope safely. Here having sailed more than 600 miles since leaving the shores of England, spent about 10 days replenishing provisions and fresh water supplies, and preparing for the last stage of the journey along the souther coast of Africa to their final destination of Algoa Bay. The average time taken by each ship for the whole journey from England was about 4 months, the usual period in those days for such a voyage.

There being no landing jetty at Algoa Bay, the sailors of H.M.S Menai were entrusted with the difficult business of conveying the settlers from the ships in large flat-bottommed boats through the surf, the men and grown boys then wading ashore, the women and children being carried by the soldiers of the 72nd Regiment and the 21st Light Dragoons stationed at Fort Frederick on the heights overlooking the beach. This delicate operation, which commenced on 10th April 1820, when the passengers from the Chapman were landed, was repeated as each of the transports arrived, and finally concluded late in June 1820 without a single mishap of any discription.

On shore the parties waited for varying periods in the camp prepared for them until the wagons which had taken earlier parties to their locations returned to convey them to the interior. In some cases the sojourn at the camp was considerable as some of the larger parties required up to 100 of the available ox wagons to convey them to their locations.

The easily understandable feelings of dismay and utter helplessness which possessed the majority of the Settlers when they were literally dumped down on the locations may be gauged by quotations from early records. "Well does the writer remember", says Robert Godlonton, "the moment when the kind-hearted Dutch farmer - the owner of the wagon which conveyed him and his family to the spot intended for their future home - bade them, in a tone of mingled compassion and surprise, farewell - leaving them without the smallest shelter from the weather, with their luggage strewed upon the long grass, themselves friendless, unknowing and unknown, and with not other dependence, save upon their own exertions and upon the protection and guidance of God Himself, who had lead them from their native land, who had preserved them in perils by sea and by land, who had supplied their necessary wants, and who had brought them in peace and in safety to their destined home."

Lure by the promise of a free passage, a grant of prime agricultural land, remission of the quit-rent thereon for the first 10 years, implements and seed etc supplied at prime cost and rations issued until the first harvest, 24 ships laden with enthusiastic families set sail for Algoa Bay to take up occupation in the "Zuurveld", which to their dismay was found to be a pastoral district and thus a grant of 100 acres per family was totally inadequate. It also soon became clear that they were to act as a human buffer between the warlike black tribes on the Eastern Frontier, and the European colony on the western perimeter of this area. The hardships of many years had only just begun.

Photos and updates by Lilli Marlene Hulley ^1,3,4

  Events

• Occupation. ^1,3,4 Farmer

• Farm Title Deed, 23 Jun 1847, Cradock, Cape, Rsa. As documented by a copy of a photostat copy.

By his Excellency, the Right Honorable Sir Henry Pottinger, Baronet, one of Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Councillors, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Major General in the Services of the East India Company, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty's Castle Town and settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa and of the territories and dependancies thereof and ordinary and Vice-Admiral of the same, etc etc etc

In the name and on behalf of her Majesty Victoria, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen Defender of the Faith by virtue of the provisions of the ordinance number 15 of 1844, entitled an ordinance of the enregisterment in the land registers of the colony of certain sub-divisions of the locations of the settlers of 1820, and dated the 28th day of august 1844 I do hereby grant unto

RICHARD HULLEY

a piece of land, containing six hundred and ninety four morgan -- insert later named by owner caxton -- situated in the district of Albany, being a portion of the location of Cawood party,bounded on the north east by the Cap river, south by Wainright's Mouney's and the Mandy's party, as will further by the diagram framed by the surveyors, - on condition, that all roads and thoroughfares running over this land, shal remain free and uninterrupted, that said land shaLl be liable (without compensation to the proprietor) to have any road made over it, for the public good, by order of the Government,

that Proprietor shall be bound (according to existing laws of the settlement) to have boundaries property traced out and the land brought into such a state of cultivation, as it is capable of, the land thus granted being subject to all such duties and regulations as are either already and shaLl in future be established, respecting grants under Quit Rent Tenure.

Given under my Hand and Public Seal of the Settlement of Cape Town, this 23rd day of June 1847

by his Excellency's Command

sgnd Arthur E. Nicholle
Surveyor General
sgnd H. Pottinger

• Military Career. N.B. his age is given in burial register as 99 yr 10 mo, but this is incorrect (94 ys 10 mo). There is no gravestone for Richard in the Cradock cemetery [6]. Cutler's apprentice 1797 [33]. Also recorded as Richard William Hulley. Lister's diary states: "Richard son of Joseph and Ann Ulley born Thursday morning about 2 o'clock 26th of May [1785] and christened June 5th." Enlisted at Rotherham 11-Feb-1807, aged 19 years: 5'5" tall, fair complexion, dark hair and grey eyes. Illiterate. [From military records as per [6]]. Served as a gunner in the Ninth Battalion in Ireland. Stationed at Bandon, Co. Cork, from July 1809 to June 1812. During this time married Ann BRANGAN. Their first three children were born in Ireland: Richard Brangan (1810, Bandon); Ann (1814, Cork); Sarah (1815, Bandon). After this they returned to Yorkshire, for their next child was born in Sheffield. Then they emigrated to South Africa. [6].
Arrived in Algoa Bay 1820. Settled on farm "Caxton" in Clumber area of Albany District. [44]. Van Riebeeck Society Publications, vol.7, pp 157 and 171. [33] gives the following information:- Served with the 9th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Listed under the page for the Ninth Batallion Pay List (British Army Pay and Muster Books, PRO) for the month of July 1815 for a Detachment of the Regiment under the command of Coloney S C Parry, Bere Island (the RRA had bases at Ballincollig, Island Bridge, Charlemont, Bere Island and Loughswilly), under Gunners, Richd Hulley Pounds 2 1s 113/4 pence 2 Class. This sum was his pay for the month. No further entries occur in the same book for him; hence he had either returned to England in August 1815 or transferred to another Battalion.

Richard married Ann Brangan circa 1809 in Ireland ^1,3.^,4 (Ann Brangan was born in 1787,³ died in Dec 1844 in Clumber, Albany ³ and was buried in Clumber, Albany ³.)