Arthur Fleming
Stories of the feats of Tasmanian Highland Wilderness bushmen have persisted and become legends mainly because there is a lot of truth to them. One such person has assumed almost super-human status. He was well known by all the older population who have lived in the Central Highlands or the South-West regions of the Derwent Valley. The mention of his name prompts fond memories. Often the word ‘legend’ is used. Memories of a big strong superbly capable bushman with exceptional intuitive knowledge of the quirks of Tasmanian climate. That big quiet man was Arthur Fleming.
Raised where his father was a shepherd on the wild slopes beside the Great Lake, Arthur learnt the craft of mountain bush-lore to become the first man to be called upon when any Highland and South-West disaster or dangerous difficulty arose. People that I speak to tend to stare into the distance and mumble ‘legend’. Long after incidents are forgotten, it seems the capabilities and control of the big quiet man lives on. Even in his role as a country Trooper, he was always able to administer the law in such a way that everyone thought was fair. ‘Hard but fair’, is a typical description. Even the inscription on the plaque in the Anglers Hall of Fame, notes : “A true bushman, he was fair to all and gained respect amongst all he met.”.
He was very much a part of the bush community and yet was able to mould their behaviour. Search and rescue happenings were all in a day’s work. It was just assumed that he was the best man for the job. It was a favourite expression of his that ‘there are no accidents, just happenings’.
Tasmanian written history tends to stem from the European influences. However after the emergence of new generations of Tasmanian–born settlers and country dwellers, new lores and legends were created. Survival and challenges became welcome obstacles to some capable and proud pioneers of the Tasmanian Rainforests and Highlands. Such a respected legend was our Arthur Fleming.
Legends are created when people display self-taught skills that then become lore. Local legends were the stuff that home fireside and bush campfire yarns were made of.
Colonial communities really valued their peace. Their whole lives could be seen to centre around the pursuit of peace and quiet and associated expressions. Give me peace, peace be with you, go in peace, leave me in peace. The role of a country trooper such as Arthur Fleming was to be the keeper of the peace and if really needed he could rely on the Justice of the Peace. However, a night in the lock-up and a hearty hot breakfast by the trooper’s wife were usually enough to restore the peace. There was very little real crime. Everybody knew each other and a night in the clink was enough to cool the heels after kicking up a ruckus. The worst thing that could happen to a fishing or hunting offender would be to have his equipment confiscated. Arthur knew this and made friends rather than enemies in order that gear was returned.
It was expected that the ‘copper’ would be in control of any emergency or hazard that might arise. Arthur or ‘Art’ as he was known, had grown up in the Lake country, so he was extremely aware and most capable in any situation. What perhaps made him most legendary was not only his superb strength of manly character and abilities, but also his sense of fairness and the ability to consider contributing factors. Sometimes people just needed a helping hand.
Almost everyone that I have spoken with has a story that they have heard about him. Times were hard and poachers were rife but being caught by a copper or bailiff who was fair, was a ‘fair cop’.
Arthur grew up in the highlands before there were many roads or small settlements. He would have roamed the Skittleball plains and the steep valleys of the Steppes. Fished the shores of the Great Lake that are now flooded. Hunted and snared on the Highland Plateau and mountain rainforests.. Humped loads at Adamsfield and led search parties into the South West wilderness. He headed searches for the Tasmanian Tiger. Surveyed for the Great Lake dam and Lake Fenton for the Hobart water supply. Kept the peace at Parratah, Bothwell and Kempton and spent the latter years as an Inspector with the Inland Freshwater Fisheries & Fauna Board.
HIGHLAND MEMORIES
1900s
Early childhood at Howell’s Neck property - now Tea Tree Creek. Howell’s Neck is adjacent to Cramps Bay, Sugarloaf Hill, Boggy Marsh, Starvegut Hill and above Ploughed Rocks Marsh and Tods Corner - or less explicitly, on the mid-Eastern shore of the Great Lake.
1907
His family moved from the eastern shore of the Great Lake, to what was and still is known as Stone Hut Property. His father was shepherd-in-charge there until 1923. Many stories have it that Arthur’s parents were like father and mother to all that travelled the central lakes area.
1910
Rainbow trout were introduced and gradually built up in numbers until 1923 when the Liaweenee Canal became available for spawning.
1912
Caught his biggest fish - a 16 pound brown trout out of the Shannon River. This was before the masonry (dam ) was erected. When the water levels fell, the fish returned back into the Shannon Lagoon at a channel near Burburys Corner. Best fish were from Bluff Lagoon - from two to ten pounds.
1914-18
Arthur was shepherd-in-charge of the sheep run known as Skittle Ball Plains, which is that part on the eastern side of Little Pine River and adjoining Little Pine Lagoon.
1919
When this property was sold, he joined Mr. C.S.McCormick who was carrying out survey work for the Hydro Electric Commission. The first job was to survey the Ouse and Little Pine watershed. Work commenced in the summer of 1919. After camping for a short time at Mother Lords Hill (two miles west of where Liawenee Canal joins Ouse River) they shifted camp to Bull Hill. The project ended in 1919. They shifted camp on the 12th of June to Pensford, near where the Poatina Road now branches from the Bothwell/Miena Road.. The aim of this job was to survey the Waddamana/Launceston transmission line.
Over four feet of snow lay on the ground which made it impossible, so the party returned to the Great Lake to complete the contour survey for the water level of the concrete arch dam.
On completion of this and the survey on the Ouse River watershed they were assigned the job of surveying a proposed power scheme at Gretna on the Derwent River. They investigated the Styx River for a possible water supply for Hobart. This proposition was not viable and they moved to Lake Fenton at National Park and began surveying the scheme for the Hobart Water Supply. They remained there until July 1921, when snow began to fall and continued to fall for thirteen days. When it finally ceased to snow they decided to get out to Marriott’s Park House and move three thousand feet lower than where they were camped at Lake Fenton. They struggled through snow five feet deep. It was at Park House in 1920, during his survey expedition that he met his wife. Matilda Marriott. They moved to Glenorchy and conducted a Stock-feed business. The depression years ended that and he took a position as the stockman at Serpentine.
1932 he joined the Tasmanian Police Force and was stationed in Hobart. After three months there, he was directed to take charge of the Police Station at Parattah. From there I was given the task of investigating into sheep stealing reports as well as Fauna Board and Inland Fisheries work. He was seconded to the Fisheries and Games section. This involved working long and arduous hours. The next move was to Bothwell, closer to Great Lake and where court hearings were more frequent. Arthur was carrying out both Fauna and Fisheries work.
While at Bothwell, the local farmers drew up a petition on which all their signatures appeared, asking for Arthur to change over to Stock Inspector. Upon presentation to the Commissioner of Police, the reply was that he could not be spared from police duties.
1939-41
Transfer to Kempton and lived at ‘Dysart House’ where in addition to Police work and organizing community war efforts, war-time first aid lessons were given in the dining room.
1945
Began a long association with the Animals and Birds Protection Board which became the Inland Freshwater Fisheries and Fauna Board. Duties included various forms of Management and Control. This included for example a very busy time just before the Mutton Bird season opened, which took place mainly at rookeries around South Arm. All confiscated gear, including boats were accommodated in his large garage, with game put into storage at IXL Jones & Co, until court day when it had to be presented as evidence.
1955
Tried his hand for a time at farming near Sheffield until he was offered a senior position as Chief Inspector of Inland Fisheries at “Corra Lynn” trout hatcheries. Arthur continued with Bailiff and Court work, whilst we made plans for retirement by purchasing twenty two acres of land at Evandale. Work still involved reports being written and traveling to courts at Bothwell, Oatlands, , New Norfolk and Devonport.
Anglers Hall of Fame – Tasmania:
ARTHUR FLEMING
1899 - 1976
Joined the Tasmanian Police Force in 1932, worked in the Central Highlands and was transferred to Parratah where he carried out various policing duties. In 1941 he was seconded to the Fisheries and Fauna Department, working in remote areas on angling and other issues. In 1951 he was employed by Inland Fisheries Commission as a Field Supervisor, and spent his working life in the Highlands chasing poachers and managing regulations. A true bushman, he was fair to all and gained respect amongst all he met.
A legend such as Arthur Fleming is created by an accumulation of yarns, stories, snippets, newspaper – cuttings, writings and many anecdotes. The following are a gathering of some such tales:
Adamsfifeld: The Osmiridium boom saw the unlikely rush to the Florentine valley. While the price for gold was £2 per ounce, Osmiridium was £39 per ounce. Arthur held records for backpacking miners’ supplies through the ravines and sludge. Tracks were too narrow and steep for horses. – Quote:
“The usual backpackers load was less than 100 pounds. This would include one bag of sugar and various other supplies. Arthur Fleming was notorious for regularly carrying 200 pounds up the nine miles of treacherous track”. The supplies were carried in a large potato bag tied with ropes across the shoulders.
Thylacine search:
Quote: “Expeditions were supported by the Animals and Birds Protection Boards. Trooper A. L. Fleming and prospector Lesley Williams set out on 28 November 1937 into the sparsely populated west coast of Tasmania, most of which was inhospitable to hunters (Fleming 1938). They reached the Cardigan River, and proceeded to climb the hills to south of the Raglan Range and passed through a valley to the Franklin River and Fenchman's Cap. Along the way, they discovered several thylacine tracks. Additional tracks of a large and a small animal were found to the west of Frenchman's Cap. Southward of the southern extent of the Raglan Range, they found eleven tracks from at least four different individuals, all inside a radius of 16 km.
The following year, Fleming made another excursion into the region directly to the southeast of the first (Sharland 1939). After crossing the King William Range and the Jane, Franklin, and Lodden Rivers, they proceeded into the beech forest around Thirknell's Creek and made some plaster casts of thylacine tracks. They also saw some tracks of a domestic dog. They set up camp in a rugged logger's cabin on the Erebus River, and surveyed an area of 2000 km2 between the King William range and the Jane River hills. They discovered tracks in the vicinity of a tributary of the Jane River and high upon the slopes of Frenchman's Cap, and also around their own cabin, which they claim was visited by a thylacine at night.” Remember that this was the wild South-West of Tasmania in the 1930s with no means of communication except to physically walk out. Casts of the footprints are in the Hobart Museum.
Critchley Parker was a founder of Melbourne's Herald and Sun newspapers. In 1937, in the publication, 'Tasmania - The Jewel of the Commonwealth' praising the state’s potential for development, he had this State’s Premier interested in making Tasmania , instead of Palestine, the development home for many thousands of War-time Jewish refugees. Quote: “In the late 1930s, the British Zionist League attempted to find a homeland for Jews fleeing fascist Europe. Tasmanians were particularly keen to welcome the Jews, especially a young man Critchley Parker, who went off solo to survey the land for the future Jerusalem, only to die in the south-west wilderness”. This famous story may be found elsewhere. He perished while stranded alone in blizzard gale conditions at Mount McKenzie. Arthur Fleming led the search party on foot to eventually retrieve the body in the South-West.
Shannon Rise:
Arthur told of the changes in the Shannon rise. Great Lake Dam developments actually increased the number of moths hatching. Especially after 1911 and again after 1922 when the 27-arch dam was built. The trout waited for “The Rise” at the top end of the Shannon Lagoon until conditions were right and then cruised upstream. One of Arthur’s jobs was to keep spectators off the road-bridge in order not to scare the trout when they decided the time was right to move up towards the dam.
When “the hatch” was on, every time the sun appeared from behind a cloud, a fresh hatch would happen and the Snowflake Caddis moths would be blown across the stream. The male Caddis lived only a few minutes and the female only a few seconds when she emerged from the larval stage with her eggs ready to be fertilized. Females numbered ten times more than males. Quote: “The great dam was sometimes hidden as the white-winged males drifted watching for the dullish-brown females.” Arthur was consulted for many years until the eventual end of the “Shannon Rise”.
Post-War was a busy time in the development of the Central Highlands. Especially with the Hydro Electric Commission and the associated trout fishing industry. The Arthur Fleming legend spread with the new villages and people finding Highland lifestyle a new experience. Yarns and elevated stories traveled the district. Migrants were looking for an identity and Australians were in need of heroes.
It is said that Arthur once rescued a man suffering from severe frostbite after tramping in snow with gum-boots. He shot a kangaroo, cut it open and pushed the man’s feet inside. He later wrapped the feet and carried the man out through the snow.
Another occasion, he followed two suspects across a button-grass plain whilst squatting every few yards behind the branch of a gum-tree that he carried. Not true that he did bird calls as well.
One day he is said to have been walking along with another bloke, paused for a moment, took out his Joseph Rogers and bent down to cut the head off a snake that he was standing on before continuing. He is also said to have broken the necks of snakes by cracking them like a whip.
A story I don’t believe is that he delivered a baby blindfolded so that he didn’t have to look.
As a child I spent many evenings by the fire in the shack beside the Liaweenee Canal during the trout stripping season. Just by way of conversation I learnt much about survival and avoidance.
On glacial plateaus, there is often much ironstone, so compasses are unreliable. I learnt to use an imaginary clock face to indicate direction. I was told to hasten in short bursts and not in prolonged efforts. If lost while horse-riding, to give the horse its head and it would usually go home. That horses are very sure-footed in snow. To observe which side of a tree-trunk the moss was growing on to determine direction. In an emergency, to watch what the parrots ate, such as mountain berries. To tickle trout and set a snare using bush vines. To use kerosene bushes in the snow to light fires. To wrap matches in kerosene and use leaves or bark under a shirt for insulation and subsequently kindling. To follow a river valley downwards, it had to end up somewhere.
These and many more skills were relayed to me by Arthur while lazing around an evening fire at Liaweenee. No doubt he had done the same at many other camp-fires in many other places. There was always the attitude that a problem would never have to be solved or a difficult situation faced if it was not allowed to happen in the first place. Finding snares after a snowstorm was always treacherous. Men had been known to be found hanging by one leg after setting a snare with too strong a springer. Shrewd snarers placed upright sticks in the ground to show the location of the plaited hemp string just in case of snow. Arthur was also renowned as being a superb shot and led deer hunts in the Bothwell area. A tireless stalker with a sixth sense of scent on the breeze.
As a child and proud to be his nephew, he occasionally warned me not to believe all that I heard about him. He personally told impossible yarns to stress the unreliability of hearsay. He told of a huge tiger snake charging at him. He reached down through its mouth, down through the body, grabbed the tail and yanked it inside out so that it raced off in the opposite direction.
A quiet modest self-respecting individual and the stuff that legends are made of – Arthur Fleming.
ÓCopyright 2004 Charles Gossage
Disclaimer: Neither the Author nor any other person accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of the information contained herein or otherwise arising in connection therewith.
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