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floor and sat with the Labor Party on the issue of Senate representation in the Territory. There subsequently two
Territory Senators and in 1978 the Territory was granted self-government. Sam maintained his interest in defence
matters and was a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs. The large military
presence and excellent facilities in the north owed something to his work behind the scenes. He also was a member
of the Joint Committee of Aboriginal Affairs and he probably knew more about Aborigines than any other Member
of Parliament of his day. He was a member of the Public Works Committee and the Transport Committee when
the beef roads were developed and the Tarcoola to Alice Springs railway line upgraded. It was then hoped that
the railway line would automatically be extended to Darwin but though a member of the Joint Committee on the
Northern Territory no progress was made. Sam’s 14 years representing the Northern Territory in Canberra were
characterised by his dedication to advancing Territory concerns, overcoming the tyranny of long distance travel,
including getting around the Territory to nearly every settlement annually, battling the ‘don’t care’ attitude of many
Territorians, the ignorance of many southern Australians, and being ignored by the press.
Although in Adelaide at the time of Cyclone Tracy, Sam managed to get to Alice Springs, where he was given a
seat on the same plane as Acting Prime Minister Jim Cairns who was travelling in a RAAF aircraft. They arrived on
Boxing Day and though he got a room in a hotel, there were no sewerage, no lights, no meals and no windows. Sam
then joined his friend Roger Ryan, who ran Detroit Diesel. They got some generators and refrigerators running.
As a public figure Sam was asked to help with the evacuation as it was thought that familiar faces would raise the
morale of the town’s people. He helped calm the evacuees, carried babies and luggage and showed them some
friendship. He remembers an unpleasant incident at what was then the Darwin Community College, where there
was a fellow with a .303 rifle and a big heap of gear demanding to be taken to the airport. It was up to Sam to make
him see reason. Sam left Darwin at the end of January, having assisted in the evacuation of some 35 000 people.
Sam Calder retired to Darwin and had little further direct involvement in politics. He supported the Territory
Nationals for some time when they were a possible alternate non-Labor party. He was President of the Australia–
American Association and took an interest in anything to do with defence in Darwin. He played tennis each week
and swam and walked daily. His contribution to the Territory were enormous; from his war service to opening up
the back-blocks with a regular mail service, helping to develop several pastoral properties, to his mammoth task
in looking after Territorians’ interests for 14 years in an indifferent Canberra. His service was recognised with the
award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
S Calder, taped interviews and papers.
FIONA DARCY, Vol 3.CAMPBELL, JOHN (?–?), army officer. No records have been located which give any indication of Campbell’s
place of birth or boyhood residence. However, the British Army Lists provide details of his distinguished career.
On 9 July 1803 Campbell joined the 57th Regiment of Foot as an ensign and he gained seniority as a lieutenant
on 17 March 1804. He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 5 May 1808 and to Major on 27 May 1825.
He brought this established military background to his greatest challenge, the establishment of a military outpost
at Fort Dundas.
In the Colonial Secretary’s letter dated 14 August 1826, Major Campbell was instructed to proceed from Sydney
to Melville Island in the colonial vessel Isobella and to assume command ‘in the room of Captain Barlow’. Remote,
primitive and chronically short of supplies, Fort Dundas must have had little appeal to the relieving commandant
and his forty men of the 57th Regiment when they arrived in September 1826. Nevertheless, Campbell presents a
positive, optimistic portrayal to Colonial Secretary McLeay.
His early dispatches portray a man with an enterprising nature and possessing ideal credentials for the impending
task. Even the previous neglect of the livestock and the gardens, and the constant swarms of flies and mosquitoes
did not encroach upon his enthusiasm. In a dispatch to headquarters he commented, ‘I am not of the temperament
to be cast down and on the contrary, I rejoice that I have been placed in so novel and interesting a situation...’
Governor Darling, in his dispatch to Earl Bathurst on 4 December 1826, made reference to the favourable reports
from Melville Island. ‘The newly appointed Commandant who appears a very intelligent officer may possibly
prove that Melville Island is not altogether so unfavourable for the purpose intended as has been represented.’
In the dispatch of 18 December, the Governor drew attention to the innovative approach of Campbell in opening a
communication with Timor for the purpose of fresh provisions. Mention was also made of the discovery of trepang
in Apsley Strait.
Captain James Stirling, who later established the garrison at Fort Wellington, took a more cautious stance.
From HMS Success in a dispatch on 8 December to the Governor, he expressed doubts about this early enthusiasm
for the establishment of a northern port ‘fearing the unknown nature’ of the country, and by the end of the year
1826 Campbell was forced to agree.
Both the physical and social environment had taken their toll on his energy. Despondency had driven the men
to become quarrelsome and insecure and by April of 1827 the small isolated community had suffered disastrous
encounters with the local Aborigines. The new residents became prisoners of their own making. Campbell’s
earlier optimism waned as each agricultural experiment failed in the harsh environment and livestock was reduced
in numbers through inappropriate conditions. Ill health, both physical and mental, claimed the lives of many,
including the wives of officers and men. Circumstances became critical with the murder by Aborigines of the
surgeon John Gold and storekeeper John Green.
The dispatches discussing the salaries of Major Campbell and his officers indicate that some recognition was
given by Downing Street to the onerous task that faced these men. Nevertheless there is scant evidence that those
who made the decisions affecting the outcome of Fort Dundas had any notion of the daily hardships endured. In