Three Sheets to the Wind

When, in 1796, Calcutta-based Scottish merchants Campbell and Clark dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the Sydney Cove to the colony of New South Wales, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's speculative cargo included all kinds of products to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7000 gallons of rum. The merchants were planning to sell the liquor to the Rum Corp, which ruled the fledgling colony with an iron grip, despite the recent arrival of Governor John Hunter. But when the ship went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Campbell and 16 other crew members decided to walk the 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help and rescue crew and the precious goods. Assisted by at least six Indigenous clans on his journey, Clark saw far more of the country than Joseph Banks ever did, and his eventual report to Governor Hunter led to far-reaching consequences for the fledgling colony. And the rum? Some of it was saved.