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male calves, 286 cows, 60 heifers, 112 female calves, a total of 822 head of horned cattle, 5 horses
and 5 wether sheep. He was very satisfied with their conditon. He recommended to Macquarie the
building of a new station along the Campbells River and suggested that the herd should be enhanced
with more cattle from Emu Plains. He commented on destruction to foliage by caterpillars at the foot
of Mount York, the same kind of destruction as he had observed at Emu Plains. He also ordered the
removal of privately owned herds on land set aside for government stock. There was a nasty accident
when some of his party attempted to swim horses across the Fish River to go to the Plough Inn on
the other side and one of the horses was swept away. The horse was not recovered but the man was
rescued with great difficulty.82

On 17 July 1819, George Johnston (Junior) was appointed to succeed Hassall as
Superintendent of Government Stock.83

In political matters Hassall had aligned himself with the supporters of Bligh and was a
signatory to petitions in Bligh's support. He deplored Johnston's treatment of Bligh and the
subsequent unrest in the colony, particularly the increased lack of law and order - even the ''present
Chief Constable carts his firewood out of roads close to the church doors during Divine Service''.84
During the period of the rebel regime Hassall was concerned that honest merchants would be
discouraged from importing goods into the colony. He was distressed at the treatment meted out to
Robert Campbell by those in power. Hassall held Campbell in high regard and said that
''those who have suffered through the revolution met with a humane friend in Robert
Campbell, esquire, who is always foremost to help the distressed and rejected''.85

He welcomed the arrival of Macquarie as the new governor and wrote ''I do not know whether
the colony could have had a better man for Governor''.86 His loyalty to the established order was
evident when he attended ceremonies to mourn the death of George III and signed a proclamation
on the accession of King George IV in 1820.87

Hassall engaged in many other activities. In March 1804 he was a sergeant in the Loyal
Parramatta Association of Volunteers. He was elected in 1814 as a committee member of the New
South Wales Philanthropic Society for the Protection and Civilization of such of the Natives of the
South Sea Islands who may arrive at Port Jackson. In 1816 he was on the committee of the
Institution for Civilisation, Care and Education of Aborigines.88 In December 1814 he was
appointed to the committee of the Native Institution which had been started by his friend and fellow

82 Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel 6048, 4/1742, pp.310-22.
83 Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel 6038, SZ1044, 72-3.
84 Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol. VI, p.708.
85 Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol.48, Pt.5, December 1962, p.356.
86 Burcher, Honour C., Pioneers and their Better Halves'', Boolarong Publications, Brisbane, 1985.
87 Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel 6007, 4/3502, pp.137-8 and Reel 6049, 4/1745, p.129.
88 Ibid, Reel 6046.