Founder of the township of Ingham, and our first "Crocodile Dundee"

The valley of the Herbert River was discovered by George Dalrymple, who set out from the new settlement of Port Hinchinbrook in 1853. He lead his men through unmapped country which contained dense jungle, flooded rivers and savage natives. He reported back to the settlement that "The scrubs of the ranges and rich alluvial flats of the Vale of the Herbert and the valleys penetrating the coast range are undoubtedly the best suited for the growth of sugar, cotton and coffee in Queensland."

Within a few short years, his recommendations had been acted on, and sugar cane and cotton were growing in the Valley. One of the early settlers included William Bairstow Ingham, who arrived with his brother in 1873 for the purpose of growing sugar cane.

The bust of W. B. Ingham
(Housed in the Hinchinbrook Shire Council offices in Lannercost Street, Ingham)

Ingham arrived with £60,000 at his disposal, an allowance granted by his family who were landed gentry in England. He had taken a degree in science at Cambridge and had served in the Royal navy as a midshipman, although it is doubtful if he served his full time. He was naturally inclined towards engineering, and possessed considerable knowledge of seamanship.

He poured practically his whole fortune into his new plantation and soon after his arrival, plunged into the work of clearing, planting and building. Work also started on his mill, and he paid a deposit on the machinery. Kanakas (South Sea Island natives) were used to plant the cane.

In between working, Ingham pursued his sport of crocodile hunting. Crocodiles were a major hazard in the area and determined shooting attacks by settlers made little impression on crocodile numbers. Using an old iron punt to which an engine had been fitted, he was accompanied on many of these trips by a great friend, Dodd Clark, who was probably the most famous journalist the North has produced.

W.B. Ingham's cane plantation - Ingham is the man with the "X" on his back.
The writing at the top of the photo reads:
"Ingham's plantation, or as he called it, 'Ings Plantation' - 1874. Ingham has a X on his back. The ploughing was all done by bullocks. In the distance the scrub is still being burnt off and the boiler being put in position for the Mill. Ingham was nearly killed by the spear of a wild black, who drove the weapon through an opening which served as a window to one of the little huts on the bank of the river. The spear was intended to injure another civilised Aboriginal who had taken away the miscreant's gin."
("Gin" was a term used to describe a female Aborigine - this term is now considered offensive)

Down But Not Out
After this promising start came the 1875-76 sugar price drop and the rust disease outbreak which virtually ruined the whole Valley cane crop. Disheartened, Ingham abandoned his venture in 1876.

Ingham left behind a reputation in the Herbert Valley of being a man who was larger than life. In the words of his contemporaries he was "healthy and happy - with a free swinging stride that reflected his energy and enthusiasm; his laugh was hearty and ready, and his nature happy; he was educated, adventurous, Bohemian, athletic, utterly self-reliant and brave as a lion."

On leaving the Herbert River, he had towed behind the "Louisa" the boiler that was to have gone to his mill. With the boiler, he established the first sawmill on Trinity Inlet, but this venture failed to hold his attention for long and he turned to shipbuilding. The small steamer vessel "Vulcan" which he built during this period was used in the inlet for many years.

His opportunity for revenge came one afternoon when he had taken a party of men to a jungle section of the Barron River for hunting. The party was resting on a bank while Ingham prowled in the jungle behind. A short distance away, he stumbled on a 13 foot (4 metre) crocodile. He fired, hitting it, but the creature plunged towards the water. Ingham flung himself upon it, and the crocodile swept out into the water, carrying him with it.

The others watched, horrified as Ingham and the creature thrashed in the water, then Ingham managed to plunge his knife into its throat. Gradually, its struggles lessened, and the others on the bank gathered enough courage to go to his aid. Ingham emerged, gashed and scratched with his clothes torn from him, but he was satisfied. The incident was reported in the London "Times" by an unknown writer who described him as "Very much a man - reckless and fearless."

W.B. Ingham with a group of Herbert River Aboriginals. Ingham is at the rear of the boat.

The Last Adventure
During his ship-building days in Trinity Inlet, he also dabbled in beche-de-mer and trochus fishing, but he was unable to rid his system of the gold fever which had brought him to the North in the first place. And so, he set out for New Guinea in the "Louisa" which misbehaved in even the calmest of seas.

In New Guinea he became a Government Agent, and in December 1878, made a patrol to the Louisade Archipelago to investigate a report of a native tribe having possession of a ship's tanks. The tribesmen boarded his boat, and Ingham received them trustingly. They bustled him overboard, and he swam back, laughing. Still laughing, he put both hands on the gunwhale to haul himself back into the boat. The natives cut off both his hands with their axes then plunged him into the sea, killing him instantly. His body was then eaten in a cannibalistic ritual.

Ingham died as he had lived - trusting, prepared to accept others on their own terms, and with laughter on his lips. This then, was the man whose name was to be given to the township that the settlement in the Valley had created.