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The young fellow considered that what the Territory needed was more white women and homes and plenty
of good literature. Watson continued toward the King River with some difficulty in sand. He met a teamster and
they camped together. Watson remembered that he enjoyed some ‘very fine johnny-cakes’. They had overnight
rain but he reached Maranboy tin mining field where the government had just erected a treatment mill. Here there
were a number of Aborigines and Watson witnessed a corroboree. He had a letter of introduction to L N Stutterd,
the engineer in charge. He was welcomed and invited to a meal and then to stay overnight. This was an enjoyable
experience in a home with family, a gauzed house with real comforts. He continued to Elsey Station, and he heard
stories of problems with Aborigines at Mataranka. The Elsey homestead had been moved to a new site at McMinns
Bar and Watson had brought a telegram requiring the manager to have 150 fats ready by end of the month. It was
now that he had trouble with the tubes on the bike but worse he contracted severe diarrhoea and became obviously
dehydrated. With great determination, he set off on the return and reached Maranboy where the Stutterds refreshed
him. He pressed onto Katherine where Constable Conlon had a medicine chest. He was given chlorodyne and
was able to continue on his way to Pine Creek. He came to a camp with three men carousing with a bottle of
rum. One of these saw that Watson was ill and got him to bed and thus enabled him to reach Pine Creek. Now he
remembered the story he had heard before he left on this trip when he was told of Fletcher who had died trying
to travel in the area by cycle. He comments: ‘I had some idea of the hell through which poor Fletcher had passed
before he lay down, utterly exhausted, and died, just three months before’.
The report that Watson made to the Mission Board had recommended that the church should make a start
with the proposed mission and the first location should be South Goulburn Island. The Board accepted his
recommendation and decided to appoint him the first superintendent. Mrs Watson did not join her husband in
Arnhem Land. By a special arrangement with the Mission Board, he was paid an allowance to maintain a home
for his wife and daughter in Sydney.
On 27 May 1916, Watson and AE Lawrence sailed on SS Tasman for Darwin. The date was significant for
Watson because on the same date 25 years earlier he had been in the party going to Papua. They arrived at Darwin
on 8 June and left for South Goulburn Island on the 12 ton Venture accompanied by two luggers loaded with
building materials and stores, arriving on 22 June. Lawrence was to be the Industrial Superintendent and the
idea was that the two men would set up the buildings that were deemed necessary for the commencement of the
mission. Mr Lawrence was a married man and the intention was that his wife would join him as soon as a residence
was ready. On 14 August 1916 Mrs Lawrence and Miss Corfield, missionary sister, sailed on the SS Houtman for
Darwin en route to South Goulburn Island. Watson and Lawrence had erected a substantial mission house and
other necessary buildings, so they had not been idle. In this work, they had the help of Mosesi Mansio, a Fijian
from the island of Rotuma. Watson had met him during his earlier visit and Mosesi now offered his services.
During his period at Goulburn Island Watson travelled to Mapoon, a Presbyterian mission on the west coast of the
Gulf of Carpentaria and recruited the services of Christian teachers from Badu Island in Torres Strait to assist in
the work. These proved to be a valuable asset. Watson’s work was valuable and his energy and friendly attitude to
the Aborigines quickly won respect. However, he was not without many problems and times of danger.
Watson remained at Goulburn Island as Superintendent and Chairman until 1918 when he returned ‘south’
and Reverend Gordon A Burgess was appointed to succeed him but Burgess died a few days before sailing from
Sydney, and Reverend Louis D Keipert was appointed. Watson was asked to accompany Keipert to Darwin and
introduce him to the work. This Watson was glad to do and the two men sailed for Darwin in May 1920. In that
year the General Conference of the church decided, on Watson’s recommendation, to establish a second station in
the Crocodile Islands and applied for a lease to do so. To ensure that this would be accomplished it also appointed
Reverend J C Jennison of South Australia, and at the same time designated him Chairman of the North Australia
District that would have the new station as well as Goulburn Island within its jurisdiction. When Jennison was
about to take up his new work Watson was again asked to accompany him to his new work. On 21 April 1921
Watson, Jennison and a lay missioner Arnold Hamer sailed to Thursday Island where they were to take over
a new ketch. This was not ready and then Jennison was instructed by Sydney to go at once to Darwin to deal
with problems there. Misfortune and trouble followed for Jennison but Watson with Hamer arrived safely at
Goulburn. Jennison and others suffered storm and shipwreck with a walk from Raffles Bay to opposite Goulburn.
Difficulties and disagreements arose between Jennison and Watson in regard to the development of the new
station. Watson preferred Milingimbi but Jennison wanted Elcho Island. In this Jennison prevailed because he was
now the Chairman, and Elcho was chosen. Watson now returned south. He continued doing deputation work for a
time but when Jennison resigned at the end of 1922, Watson returned to the north as Chairman of the District and
remained in that post until the end of 1925.
He was succeeded by Reverend T T Webb, who was to prove a wonderful asset in the future. Watson returned
to New South Wales. He served in the parishes of Lewisham and Dural in New South Wales then with failing
health retired to Ashfield where he remained until his death on 27 September 1946. His wife and daughter survived
him. Isabella Watson died on 15 September 1949. Watson is remembered as a man dedicated to the work among
the Aborigines of North Australia and for the foundations he laid for the work in the years that followed.
Rev CF Gribble, former General Secretary of MOM, personal information; Methodist Missionary Review; M McKenzie, Mission to Arnhem
Land, 1976; Minutes and other records of the Methodist Overseas Mission, Mitchell Library, Sydney; Records from the Registrar, Births,
Deaths and Marriages, New South Wales.
ARCH W GRANT, Vol 3.WATTS, DOUGLAS CROMBIE (JIM) (1884–1930), bank officer, businessman, waterside worker, politician
and trade union official, was born in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 September 1884, a son of John Levie Watts