Art by Michael Bull: 2013

Saturday, 23 November 2013

The Drover - impression, oil 8"x10" MJB

Six Paintings on the life of William Bligh of 'Mutiny on the Bounty' fame, and a little of his story.

William Bligh was appointed as Master of the ship HMS 'Bounty' by the British Admiralty and charged with the task of sailing to the South Seas (South Pacific Ocean) to trade for a ship load of the Breadfruit plant among the islands there. These plants were to be taken to the islands of the West Indies and propagated there to provide a stable source of food for the indigenous and slave populations which worked the sugar and cotton plantations of the era around the 1790's. Bligh was Navy trained and an excellent and very experienced sailor, with iron determination and the capability of succeeding in such a long and dangerous task. A day out of port from England the ship was engulfed in a violent storm and one of the crew was killed, thought to be a bad omen by some of the crew.

'The Omen' – acrylic 18”x24” MJB

The 'Bounty', after months at sea reached the islands of the south Pacific and found Breadfruit for trade in the area around what is now Tahiti. Many of the crew of the 'Bounty' realized that had found a paradise on earth, some fell in love with the beautiful native women, and for some time enjoyed an idyllic life while the Breadfruit was being propagated and put in pots for the long journey ahead.

'The Savages' – acrylic 24”x36” MJB

The major difficulty Bligh faced was carrying enough fresh water on board to keep the Breadfruit plants alive. Much of the Bounty's course lay through the latitudes 20 to 35 degrees South, a region of very low rainfall, even out at sea. Such was his determination that he put the entire crew on a very limited water ration. This led to disharmony and outright defiance. Bligh responded with severe punishments for breaches of his orders.

'The Lesson' – acrylic 18”x24” MJB

Discontent festered, and eventually a mutiny took place off the island of Tonga led by a reluctant first officer named Fletcher Christian, who had also fallen in love with a Tahitian woman. Christian would not allow the crew to put Bligh to death, and cast him into the ship's longboat and gave each man a choice of staying with the mutineers on the Bounty or leaving with Bligh in the longboat. Bligh had 18 men with him in the longboat. He could not avail himself of any of the islands around Tonga or New Guinea as the natives were unfriendly and warlike, some being cannibals. He decided to make for Batavia, a Dutch port in what is now Indonesia, a journey of some 3000 miles. His remarkable seamanship and iron discipline enabled him to reach Batavia with minimal loss of life among his crew.

'The Schism' – acrylic 24”x36” MJB

Eventually Bligh was restored to Britain and the Royal Navy sent the HMS 'Pandora' in pursuit of the mutineers, but that is another story in itself. Bligh was appointed governor of the penal colony at Port Jackson (Sydney) in Australia, where the military personnel there had taken over the control of the colony from the previous governor, and corruption was rife, threatening the colony's very survival. Bligh's iron discipline may have been seen as what was needed there.

'The Promotion' – acrylic 18”x24” MJB

The military corps in Sydney were know as the 'Rum Corps'. They traded and paid in 'grog' a strong liquor which promoted corruption, violence and ill-discipline. Bligh set out at once to break the power of the Rum Corps, which proved to be difficult. The Rum Corps eventually confined Bligh to 'house arrest'. Bligh demanded to be released. The Rum Corps put him on a ship bound for England after making charges against him. He was at the centre of a hearing which amounted to a struggle for supremacy between the British Navy and the British Army. The Navy prevailed and Bligh was exonerated of the charges levelled at him by the Army. He never received another command.

'The Exoneration' – acrylic 24”x36” MJB

The Camel Lady

In 2010 I painted these pictures after reading the true story of a young woman who, alone but for her camels, crossed some of the most isolated and inhospitable desert on the planet. Her journey was from Alice Springs, at the centre of the continent, to the Western Australian coast over 2000 kms away. It was a test of courage and endurance which she set for herself. She spent the previous 2 years in and around Alice Springs learning the ways of camels and of the desert and the dangers of both. She survived such events as being attacked by a wild bull camel intent on killing her and stealing her camels. She was forced to defend herself (reluctantly) with her rifle, and survived that and many other events in a part of the land where only very occasional small bands of Aborigines might venture.