# The Three Colonies of Australia/Part 2/Chapter 23

Layout 2
London: Ingram, Cooke and co., pages 249–273
CHAPTER XXIII.
A GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH AND TABULAR VIEW OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA.
NEW SOUTH WALES and the new province of Victoria have so recently been divided, and are geographically so completely united, that it is difficult to describe the principal rivers or mountains of the one without referring to the other. The reader must therefore study the colonial divisions of Eastern Australia with a map.
Sir Thomas Mitchell, as Surveyor-General, was in 1827 entrusted with the task of surveying and dividing that district into counties, and the laying out of towns, roads, and reserves for public purposes. In this work, now complete, he has been zealously engaged for twenty-six years. He has cut all the passes that lead through mountains to the interior country, planned two hundred towns and villages, and reported (without success) in favour of several roads and public works, which would have conferred the utmost benefit on the colony.
The following sketch is taken by permission of the author from a manual of Australasian Geography, prepared by Sir Thomas Mitchell for the use of colonial schools.
New South Wales is divided into sixty-seven counties -- formerly into ninety -- but twenty-three have been cut off by the act which erected Australia Felix, under the name of Victoria, into a separate colony.
"The nineteen counties," frequently referred to in colonial documents, are those which were first proclaimed by "Letters Patent." The principal rivers falling to the eastern coast are the Shoalhaven (on which the township of Braidwood stands), the Hawkesbury (on which there are the townships of Penrith, Castlereagh, Richmond, Windsor, and Pitt Town, all in the county of Cumberland, and Emu and Wilberforce, in the county of Cook), and the Hunter. The Hunter receives from the south the waters of the River Wollombi; from the north the rivers Page, Paterson, and Williams; its most western source is the Goulburn. The following townships are on the northern tributaries of the Hunter: Muscle Brook, on the northern branch of the Hunter; Murrumndi, on the Page; Dulwich, on Glendon Brook; Paterson, on the navigable branch of that name; and Clarence Town, at the head of the navigation of the William.
LIST OF THE NINETEEN COUNTIES OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
(BEING THOSE FIRST PROCLAIMED,)
WITH THE AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY'S GRANT.
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 1. Cumberland | Sydney (City) | | Hawkesbury | 1445 |
| | Paramatta | | Nepean |
| | Windsor | | George's |
| | Richmond | | Paramatta |
| | Liverpool | | South Creek |
| | Campbelltown | | |
| | Castlereagh | | |
| | Appin | | |
| | St. Leonards | | |
| | Pitt Town | | |
| | Penrith | | |
| | Longbottom | | |
| 2. Camden | Berrima | Kenbla | Shoalhaven | 2188 |
| | Kiama | Keera | Wingecarrabee |
| | Wollongong | Mittagong | Wollondilly |
| | Wilton | Jellore | Nattai |
| | Picton | Pianeng | Warragamba |
| | Camden | Nundialla | Nepean |
| | Murrarnba, &c. | Corrimal | Bargo |
| | | Razorback, or Mount Hymettus | Kangaroo |
| | | | Cataract |
| | | | Paddy's River |
| 3. St. Vincent | Braidwood | Budawang | Shoalhaven | 2667 |
| | Broulce | Currocbilly | Deua |
| | Kioloa | Cooyoyo | Moruya |
| | Ulladulla | Diddel, or Pigeonhouse | Clyde |
| | Huskisson | Jillimatong | Endrick |
| | | Noura | Mongarlow |
| 4. Northumberland | Newcastle | Meruben | Hunter | 2342 |
| | East and West Maitland | Calore | Wollombi |
| | | Yango | Macdonald |
| | Greta | Werong | Hawkesbury |
| | Wollombl | Finch | |
| | Gosford | Collabeen or Corraban | |
| | Singleton | Sugarloaf, &c. | |
| 5. Durham | Paterson | Mount Royal | Hunter | 2117 |
| | Seaham | Hudson's Peak | Paterson |
| | Clarence Town | Carrow | Williams |
| | Dungog | Cabre-bald | Allyn |
| | Leamington | Pyraman | |
| | Merton | William | |
| | Muscle Brook | Allyn | |
| | Aberdeen | | |
| 6. Hunter | Jerry's Plains | Monundilla | Hunter | 2056 |
| | St. Albans | Nullo | Goulburn |
| | | Coricudgy | Wollombi |
| | | | Capertee |
| | | | Colo |
| | | | Macdonald |
| 7. Cook | Hartley | The Blue Mountains. | Nepean | 2665 |
| | Emu | Clarence | Warragamba |
| | Bowenfells | Hay | Cox's |
| | Rydal E. | York | Capertee |
| | | Walker | Colo |
| | | King George's Mount | |
| | | Mount Tomah | |
| | | Honeysuckle Hill | |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 8. Westmorland | O'Connell Plains | Murruin | Campbell's | 1592 |
| | | Collong | Fish |
| | | Stromlo | Cox's |
| | | Blaxland | Wollondilly |
| | | Square Rock | Kowmung |
| | | The Peaks | |
| 9. Argyle | Goulburn | Marulan | Shoalhaven | 1951 |
| | Marulan | Towrang | Wollondilly |
| | Bungonia | Mount Macalister | Boro |
| | | Mount Hobbs | Cockbundoon |
| | | Mount Filton | |
| | | Wayo | |
| | | Allianoyonyiga | |
| 10. Murray | Yass, S. | The Gourock Range | Shoalhaven | 2248 |
| | Queanbeyan | Bywong | Queanbeyan |
| | Bungendore | Talyrang Peak | Yass |
| | Larbert | Cowangerong | Murrumbidgee |
| | | Wollowolar | Boro Creek |
| | | Ellendon | Molongolo |
| | | Yarrow Pic | |
| | | Tinderry Mounts, or the Twins | |
| 11. King | Gunning | Bowning Hill | Boorowa | 1781 |
| | Yass, N. | Mundonen | Narrawa, or Lachlan |
| | | Dixon's | |
| | | Chaton | Crookwell |
| | | Cullarin | Yass |
| | | Darling | |
| 12. Georgiana | Buckburridgee | Lawson | Crookwell | 1924 |
| | Cook's Vale | | Lachlan |
| | | | Abercrombie |
| | | | Campbell |
| | | | Isabella |
| 13. Bathurst | Bathurst | Evernden | Macquarie | 1860 |
| | Blaney | Three Brothers | Belubula |
| | Carcoar | Lachlan | Lachlan |
| | | The Canobolas | |
| 14. Roxburgh | Kelso | Durambang | Macquarie | 1519 |
| | Rylstone | Mount Ovens | Fish River |
| | Rydal, W. | Blackman's | Cudgegong |
| | | Crown | Turon |
| | | Honeysuckle Hill | |
| | | Marsden, or Clandulla | |
| | | Tayan Pic | |
| 15. Phillip | Cooyal | Rumker's Pic | Cudgegong | 1618 |
| | | Brace, or Tongongwell | Goulburn |
| | | Cox's Crown | |
| | | Willworril | |
| | | Nullo Mountains | |
| | | Pomany | |
| 16. Brisbane | Scone | The Liverpool Range | Hunter | 2344 |
| | Murrurundi | Temi-Tinagroo | Page |
| | Merriwa | Towarri-Terell | Isis |
| | Ailsa | Murulla | Dart Brook |
| | | Warandie | Goulburn |
| | | | Krui |
| 17. Bligh | Casilis | Macarthur (a. Moan) | Mummurra | 1683 |
| | | Diehard | Krui |
| | | Wingeworra | Goulburn |
| | | | Cudgegong |
| | | | Macquarie |
| | | | Erskine, or Talbragar |
| | | | Coolaburragundy |
| 18. Wellington | Wellington | Canobolas | Cudgegong | 1656 |
| | Mudgee | Guannahill | Macquarie |
| | Orange | Bocoble | Bell, Turon |
| | | Galwadyer | Pyramul |
| | | | Meroo |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 19. Gloucester | Raymond Terrace | | Williams | 2930 |
| | | | Karuah |
| | Stroud | | Macleans |
| | | | Manning |
| | | | Gloucester |
| | | | Barrington |
| | | | Myall |
| | | | Chichester |
| 20. Macquarie | Port Macquarie | Kippara | Manning | 2000 |
| | Wingham | Sea View | Hastings |
| | Kempsey | Cockamerico | Wilson |
| | Marraville | Brokenbago | M'Leay |
| | | Cago | Lansdowne |
| | | Tinebang | Maria's River |
| | | Culapatamba | |
| | | Idalkangara | |
| | | Arakoon | |
| LIST OF NORTHERN COUNTIES. |||||
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 1. Stanley | Brisbane | Flinders' Peak | Brisbane | 1724 |
| | Ipswich | Goolman | Stanley |
| | | Cotton | Logan |
| | | Gravatt | Bremer |
| | | Petrie | Caboolture |
| | | Sampson | Pine |
| | | Vane | |
| | | Tempest | |
| 2. Canning | Toorbul | Glass Houses | Brisbane | 1575 |
| | | Mount Brisbane | Stanley |
| | | Lister Peak | Caboolture |
| | | | Moroochydore |
| | | | Mooloolah |
| 3. March | Maryborough | | Mary | 1925 |
| | | | Wide Bay River |
| | | | Moroochydore |
| 4. Lennox | | Boorgoone | | 2300 |
| | | Seven Hills | |
| 5. Fitz Roy | | | Dawson | 2225 |
| | | | Yarook or Stuart |
| 6. Cavendish | | | Brisbane | 2081 |
| 7. Aubigny | Drayton | | Condamine | |
| 8. Churchill | | Flinders' Peak | Brisbane | 1174 |
| | | Mitchell | Bremer |
| | | Cordeaux | |
| | | Frayer | |
| | | Forbes | |
| | | Edwards | |
| | | Goolman | |
| | | Paget | |
| | | Wilson's Peak | |
| | | French | |
| 9. Merivale | Warwick | Mitchell | Condamine | |
| | | Cordeaux | |
| | | Wilson's Peak | |
| | | Leslie | |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 10. Bentinck | | | Macintyre Brook | |
| 11. Buller | | Wilson's Peak | Clarence | 2345 |
| | | Leslie | Richmond |
| | | Clunie | Cataract |
| | | Barnay | |
| | | Lindsay | |
| 12. Ward | | Flinders' Peak | Logan | 1686 |
| | | Kent's Peak | Albert |
| | | French | Teviot Brook |
| | | Greville | Barrow |
| | | Wilson's Peak | Perry |
| | | Barnay | |
| | | Lindsay | |
| | | Knapp's Peak | |
| | | Ginbrokin | |
| | | Gippo | |
| | | Wangalpong | |
| | | Clunie | |
| 13. Rous | | Warning | Richmond | 1772 |
| | | Gippo | Tweed |
| | | | Brunswick |
| 14. Richmond | | Double Duke | Richmond | 1435 |
| 15. Drake | | Capoombeta | Clarence | 1220 |
| | | Ben Lomond | Mitchell |
| | | | Cataract |
| 16. Clive | | Capoombeta | | |
| | | Joublee | |
| 17. Gough | | Capoombeta | Severn | |
| | | Joublee | Macintyre |
| | | Ben Lomond | |
| 18. Hardinge | | | Bundarra | |
| | | | Rocky |
| 19. Gresham | | Ben Lomond | Mitchell | 1695 |
| | | Chandlers Peak | Boyd |
| 20. Raleigh | | Camelback | Mitchell | 1780 |
| | | Amindrus | Boyd |
| | | | Clarence |
| | | | Orara |
| | | | Bellingen |
| | | | Cold Stream |
| | | | South Boyd |
| 21. Clarence | Grafton | Whoman, or Peaked Hill of Captain Cook | Clarence | 1215 |
| | | | Orara |
| | | Elanie | Cold Stream |
| | | Double Duke | Woolii Woolii |
| | | | Landon |
| 22. Dudley | | Imbo Peak | Macleay | 2075 |
| | | Yarrahapinni | Nambucca |
| | | | Bellingen |
| | | | Odalberree |
| | | | Dyke |
| 23. Sandon | Armidale | Ben Lomond | Macleay | 1740 |
| | | Chandler's Peak | Dyke |
| | | Duval's Mount | Apsley |
| | | Black Note | |
| 24. Vernon | | Kipparah | Macleay | |
| | | Black Note | Apsley |
| | | | Tia |
| 25. Inglis | Tamworth | Purrenbyden | Peel | |
| | | Danglemah | Cockburn |
| | | Gulligal | Macdonald |
| | | Ballemballa | |
| | | Moonboy | |
| 26. Darling | | | Namoi | |
| | | | Manila |
| | | | Macdonald |
| 27. Pottinger | | Benelong | Conadilly | |
| | | | Namoi |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 28. Buckland | | Moan | Peel | 1484 |
| | | Terell | Conadilly |
| | | Towari | |
| | | Tingaroo | |
| | | Turi | |
| | | Temi | |
| 29. Parry | Tamworth | Hanging Rock | Peel | 1240 |
| | | Muc | Cockburn |
| | | Royime | |
| 30. Hawes | | Werekimbe | Hastings | 1450 |
| | | Hanging Rock | Barnard |
| | | Muc | Manning |
| | | Royime | Wargo |
| | | Sea View | |
| | | Basaltic Rock | |
| | | Woolumbland | |
| | | Currakabah | |
| COUNTIES SOUTH AND WEST OF THE MIDDLE DISTRICT. |||||
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 1. Napier | | Gotta Rocks | Castlereagh | |
| 2. Gowen | | Warrabangle Range | Coolaburragundy | |
| | | Moorogan | |
| | | Bengal | |
| | | Bourgen | |
| | | Toondooran, or Vernon's Pic. | |
| 3. Lincoln | Dubbo | | Macquarie | |
| | | | Erskine, or Talbragar |
| 4. Gordon | Kurea | Harvey's Range | Macquarie | |
| | | Three Brothers | Bell |
| | | Arthur | Little |
| | | Coutombals | Bogan |
| 5. Ashburnham | | Nangar | Lachlan | |
| | | Canobolas | Belubula |
| | | Marga | |
| | | Mandadgery | |
| 6. Monteagle | Mulyan | Widdin | Lachlan | |
| | | Congo | Boorawa |
| | | Mannar | |
| | | Jimalong | |
| 7. Harden | Binalong | Bundango | Murrumbidgee | |
| | Murringo | Congo | Yass |
| | Bookham | | Boorowa |
| | Bowning | | |
| | Jugion | | |
| 8. Clarendon | Gundagai | | Murrumbidgee | |
| | Wogga Wogga | | Tumut |
| 9. Wynyard | Gundagai | Tarcatta | Murrumbidgee | |
| | Wogga Wogga | | Tumut |
| 10. Goulburn | Albury | | Murray | |
| 11. Buccleugh | Tumut | Talbingo | Tumut | 1350 |
| | | Bogong | Goodradighee |
| | | Majongbury | Goubaragandra |
| | | Junil | Murrumbidgee |
| 12. Cowley | | Murray | Goodradigbee | 1300 |
| | | Centry Box | Murrumbidgee |
| | | Clear | Cotter |
| | | Tonnant | |
| | | Pabral | |
| | | Snowy | |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 13. Beresford | Cooraa | The Brothers | Murrumbidgee | 1770 |
| | Bunyan | Coolringdong | Bredbo |
| | | The Peak | Bigbadja |
| | | One Tree Hill | Umaralla |
| | | Blue Peak | Kybeyan |
| | | Cooma Hill | Queanbeyan |
| | | Bigbadja Hill | |
| 14. Dampier | | Dromedary | Shoalhaven | 1700 |
| | | Mumbulla | Moruya |
| | | Bigbadja Hill | Dry |
| | | Ajimgagua | Deua |
| | | | Bermaguee |
| 15. Auckland | Eden | Mumbulla | Broga | 1920 |
| | Boyd | Nimmitabil | Bemboka |
| | | Wolumla Peak | Rega |
| | | Imlay | Towamba |
| | | | Panbula |
| | | | Genoa |
| 16. Wellesley | Bombalo | One Tree Hill | Snowy | 1700 |
| | | Mount Cooper | M'Laughlin |
| | | The Telegraph | Delegete |
| | | Bell's Peak | Little Plain |
| | | Bungees Peak | Coolumboca |
| | | Bare Hill | Bombalo |
| | | Coolangubra | |
| 17. Wallace | | Table Top | Snowy | 1970 |
| | | Bull's Peak | Encumbene |
| | | Ram's Head | Crackenbac |
| | | Snowy | Jacobs, or Tongaroo |
| | | Mowamba | |
| | | Wulwye | Gungarlan |
| | | Jinny Brother | Moyangul |
| | | The Peak | Ingegoodbee |
| | | Bald Hill | |
| | | Gygederick Hill | |
| | | Bobundara Hill | |
| | | Round Mountain | |
| | | The Pilot | |
| VICTORIA, OR PORT PHILLIP DISTRICT. |||||
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 1. Follett | | | Glenelg | 1040 |
| 2. Normanby | Portland | Napier | Glenelg | 1920 |
| | The Grange | Eeles | Wannon |
| | | Eckersley | Grange Burn |
| | | Kincaid | Stokes |
| | | Richmond Hill | Crawford |
| | | | Eumaralla |
| | | | Fitz Roy |
| | | | Surrey |
| 3. Dundas | The Grange | Dundas Group | Glenelg | 2000 |
| | | Bainbrigge | Wannon |
| | | Abrupt | Grange Burn |
| | | Sturgeon | Korite Rivulet |
| | | The Grampians | |
| 4. Villiers | Belfast | Rouse | Hopkins | 1660 |
| | Warnambool | The Grampians | Merri |
| | | Sturgeon | Eumaralla |
| | | | Moyn |
| | | | Shaw |
| Counties. | Provincial and other Towns. | Mountains. | Rivers. | Contents in Square Miles. |
| 5. Ripon | | The Grampians | Hopkins | 1825 |
| | | The Pyrenees | |
| | | Mount Sturgeon | |
| | | Mount Abrupt | |
| | | Mount Cole | |
| | | Dahcorumbeet | |
| | | Misery | |
| 6. Hampden | | Shadwell | Hopkins | 1420 |
| | | Clerke | |
| | | Noorat | |
| | | Warnambool | |
| 7. Heytesbury | | | Hopkins | 1160 |
| 8. Polworth | | St. George | Barwon | 1276 |
| | | Meuron | |
| | | Langdale Pike | |
| 9. Greenville | | Gellibrand | Yarrowee | 1470 |
| | | Hesse | Woody Yalock |
| | | | Barwon |
| 10. Talbot | | Buninyon | Yarrowee | 1194 |
| | | | Werribee |
| | | | Loddon |
| | | | Colliban |
| 11. Dalhousie | Mitchell Town | Macedon | Goulburn | 1185 |
| | Seymour | | Campaspie |
| | | | Colliban |
| 12. Bourke | Melbourne | Macedon | Werribee | 1530 |
| | Williams Town | Wilson | Macedon |
| | Warringal | Blackwood | Saltwater |
| | St. Kilda | Holden | Plenty |
| | Bulla Bulla | | Yarra Yarra |
| 13. Grant | Geelong | Station Peak, or Anyaghe Yowang | Barwon | 1440 |
| | | | Moorabool |
| | | Colite | Werribee |
| | | | Yarrowee |
| | | | Little |
| 14. Anglesey | Seymour | Trawoul | Goulburn | 1780 |
| | | Torbreck | Devil's |
| | | Mowende | |
| 15. Evelyn | | Peak Hill | Yarra Yarra | 1030 |
| | | Mowende | Plenty |
| | | Tingalaragin | |
| | | Kiddell | |
| | | Steel's Hill | |
| 16. Mornington | | Paradise Hill | | 1194 |
| | | Arthur's Hill | |
| | | Martha | |
| 17. Bass | | Hoddle | Franklin | |
| | | Wilson | |
| 18. Douro | Alberton | Tom's Cap | Albert | |
| | | | Tara Rivulet |
| 19. Haddington | | Baw Baw | Tarngill | |
| | | Useful | M'Alister |
| | | | Thompson |
| 20. Bruce | | Wellington | Mitchell | |
| | | Kent | Avon |
| | | Valencia | M'Alister |
| | | M'Mellan | Tarngill |
| | | Ben Croachan | |
| 21. Abinger | | Tanbo | Tanbo | |
| | | Hopeless | Nicholson |
| | | Fainting Range | |
| 22. Combermere | | Cobboras | Native Dog | |
| | | Delegete Hill | Tornginbooke |
| | | | Jingalala, or Deduc |
| | | | Bendoc |
| | | | Snowy |
| | | | Ingeegoodbee |
| 23. Howe | | Genoa Peak | Genoa | |
| | | Canawurra | |
​Port Jackson is the fittest centre from which to take a survey of the settled and inhabitable districts in Australia, being not only the finest harbour and the port of the greatest Australian city, but the inlet and outlet for commerce, having settled on its shores the wealthiest and most dense population in the whole island.
The usual course to Sydney for sailing-vessels is through Bass's Straits; and in fair weather, with a favourable wind, ships frequently pass sufficiently near the shores to afford an agreeable but very tantalising view of the scenery.
"The shore is bold and picturesque, and the country behind, gradually rising higher and higher into swelling hills of moderate elevation, to the utmost distance the eye can reach, is covered with wide-branching, evergreen forest trees and close brushwood, exhibiting a prospect of never-failing foliage, although sadly monotonous and dull in tone compared with the luxuriant summer foliage of Europe. Grey rocks at intervals project among these endless forests, while here and there some gigantic tree, scorched dead by the summer fires, uplifts its blasted branches above the green saplings around."
Approaching Port Jackson, the coast line consists of cliffs of a reddish hue. Where the land can be seen, shrubs and trees of strange foliage are found nourishing on a white, sandy, barren soil, destitute of herbage.
The entrance to the port is marked by the north and south heads, about three quarters of a mile apart. On the southern head a stone lighthouse, bearing the often-repeated name of Macquarie, affords a revolving flame at night and a white landmark by day to the great ships from distant quarters of the globe, and to the crowd of large- sailed coasters which ply between innumerable coast villages and Sydney.
Steering westerly, the great harbour, like a landlocked lake, pro- tected by the curving projecting heads from the roll of the Pacific storms, opens out until lost in the distance, where it joins the Paramatta River. The banks on either hand, varying from two to five miles in breadth, are sometimes steep and sometimes sloping, but repeatedly indented by coves and bays, which, fringed with green shrubs down to the white sandy water-margin, when bathed in golden sunlight, present dainty retreats as brilliant as Danby's Enchanted Island.
On one of the first and most romantic coves stands Yaucluse, the marine villa of William Wentworth.
​Five miles from the heads, on "Sydney Cove," is the city of Sydney, the head-quarters of the Governor-General, the residence and episcopal city of the Bishop of Australia, and the greatest wool port in the world. The still waters, alive with steamers passing and repassing, with ships of English and American flags, and a crowd of small craft, yachts, and pleasure-boats, betoken the approach to a centre of busy commerce, even before the church spires show themselves against the sky. In this city, which has been too often described to need any detailed account here, every comfort and every luxury of Europe is to be obtained that can be purchased with money.
The entrance to Port Jackson is so safe and easy that the American surveying ships ran in at night without a pilot; and when the inhabitants rose in the morning they found themselves under the guns of a frigate carrying the stripes and stars.
Vessels of considerable burden can unload alongside the quays.
Sydney Cove is formed by two small promontories, between which the rivulet flows which induced Governor Phillip to choose this site for his settlement, as it possessed a safe harbour, wood and water, three essential points, although not alone sufficient to support a flourishing colony. The first harbour is of little value, unless it is the outlet to a country capable of producing some exports.
Tanks were cut for storing the water of the fresh-water stream during the summer; but the increase of the town having rendered this supply insufficient, water was brought from Botany Bay; and recently further extensive works have been executed, by which an aqueduct is brought from Cook's River, where a dam has been built to exclude the salt water.
Along the hollow formed by the two promontories or ridges, where the native track through the woods formerly led down to the water's edge, George-street extends, and holds in the colonial metropolis the relative ranks of the Strand and Regent-street. There, until recently, stately plate-glass shops were to be found side by side with wooden huts.
The harbour of Port Jackson affords an almost unlimited line of deep water, along which, when needed by the extension of commerce, quays and Avarehouses may be erected at a very trifling expense. Many of the coves in Port Jackson are even now as much in a state of nature as when Captain Phillip first discovered it. As a central point for the commerce of the Australian seas, it is not probable that it can ever be superseded as a maritime station, even by other colonies planted in a more fertile situation, although it may be asserted that, with rare ​exceptions, the land for a hundred miles round Sydney is a sandy desert. But roads, railroads, and steamers will afford Sydney the advantages of the produce of districts which have no such harbour as Port Jackson.
Cumberland and Camden were the two counties first settled. Cumberland is the most densely-populated district in Australia, and has the poorest soil; a belt of land parallel to the sea, from twenty to forty miles in breadth, is either light sand dotted with picturesque, unprofitable scrub, or a stiff clay or ironstone, thickly covered with hard-wood timber and underwood. After passing this belt, to which the colonists confined themselves for more than ten years, with a few spirited exceptions, the soil improves a little; that is to say, narrow tracks of a rich alluvial character are found on the banks of the rivers, but the greater proportion consists of forest on a poor impenetrable soil, which defies the perseverance of the most skilled agriculturist. The deeper you go the worse it is.
Camden has a moderate extent of cultivable land, including the singular district of Illawarra, which is at once one of the most beautiful and fertile spots in the world, in regard both to the luxuriance and variety of its vegetable productions. The pastures of Camden are extensive, and were considered important until the discovery of the western and southern plains.
The dryness of the counties of Camden and Cumberland, in which, in the course of the year, nearly as much rain falls as in the counties of Essex and Sussex, is greatly owing to the stiff clay of which the soil is chiefly composed, through which the rain cannot easily filter, or from which springs can with difficulty burst forth. Boring, on the artesian plan, has been recently adopted with success.
To describe in detail the character of each county and each dis- trict would be a difficult and wearisome task. Many, after being charmed with the exquisitely picturesque appearance of Port Jackson and Sydney, on a very cursory inspection of the surrounding country, come to the conclusion that the whole province of New South Wales is a barren desert only fit for feeding sheep a conclusion which is not more correct than to judge of the agricultural capabilities of England by Dartmoor, or of France by the "Landes."
Within the Sydney district are the towns of Paramatta, Windsor, and Liverpool; but, in consequence of the dispersion incident to the pastoral pursuits which have hitherto formed the chief employment of Australia, there are really no towns in the European sense of the word, with the exception of the three capitals, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, and Greelong in Victoria, which, being the port to a rich ​district is likely to rival Melbourne. The other towns with imposing names are mere villages, with a gaol; a magistrate's office, some stores, and a great many public-houses.
Taking Sydney as the starting point, we propose to survey the general features of the settled and pastoral districts, proceeding first towards the north, and returning to Port Jackson, travelling along the coast to the other two colonies.
The three great colonies of New South Wales, Yictoria (late Port Phillip), and South Australia, occupy a continuous coast line, extending from Wide Bay, in New South Wales, to Cape Adieu, in South Australia. With the exception of the small and unsuccessful colony of Western Australia, or Swan River, the remaining coast line of this island-continent is unsettled, and only inhabited by wandering savages or stray parties of whalers and sealers. Attempts have been made more than once to form settlements in Northern Australia, but they have been abandoned, and will not probably be renewed until the older colonists find the need of further extensions inland, or some coal stations are established for the numerous steamers which are now plying between England and the gold regions.
The three colonies are only divided by imaginary lines, so easy are the means of inland intercommunication. Overland journeys have been executed between all by parties driving great herds over an imtracked country.
The principal ports to the north of Port Jackson are Broken Bay, the mouth of the River Hawkesbury, up which vessels of one hundred tons can proceed for four miles beyond the town of Windsor, which is one hundred and forty miles by the river, and about forty miles in a direct line from the coast. Broken Bay is not a safe harbour, being much exposed to the east and south-east as well as the north-west winds.
Port Hunter is the mouth of the Hunter River, which receives the waters of the Rivers Williams and Paterson. It is navigable for about thirty-five miles by waterway, and twenty-five miles in a direct line from the coast. This stream was formerly called the Coal River. On the bay sheltered by Nobby Island stands Newcastle, a town which owes its name and importance to the coal-fields by which it is surrounded, and has recently been made the see of a bishoprick, extending to the extreme northern district of the colony. Forty miles up the river are East and West Maitland, and four miles nearer the sea Morpeth, the port of the Hunter River Company. A regular steam-boat traffic ​in all the produce of the Hunter River district is carried on between Morpeth, Newcastle, and Sydney, from which they are distant about eighty miles, the cheapness of steam communication having led to the abandonment of the road formed at immense cost by convict labour over the monutainous barren country inland between Sydney and the Hunter River.
Hunter River is subject to droughts, but otherwise one of the oldest and finest agricultural districts. Yine cultivation is carried on there successfully, on a large scale. Its tributaries, the Williams and Paterson Rivers, are both navigable for a greater distance than the Hunter, the Williams uniting at twenty miles and the Paterson at thirty-five miles from Newcastle. They give access to districts which are cooler and better supplied with rain than the Hunter.
Maitland owes its double name to the government having laid out East Maitland during the land-buying mania, three miles up the river, at a point too shallow for steam-boats to approach; on which speculators laid out West Maitland.
The country round is flat, sometimes flooded, and produces fine crops of wheat and Indian corn. Along the Paterson the country is undulating and fertile, surrounded by hills which attract rain, and render it better adapted for cattle than sheep. Tobacco cultivation has been successfully pursued : thriving farms occupy the banks of the rivers, which fetch a good price, either to sell or rent. Kangaroos, plentiful a few years ago, are becoming scarce; but wild ducks may be shot on the river, and good fish caught.
In April the winter sets in and continues until September, with nights cold enough to make a fire pleasant, and sharp frost at daybreak.
In October the summer commences, and the wheat harvest in November. Then in the Hunter district the hot winds commence, blow for three days, and not unfrequently blight wheat just coming into ear: these hot winds are usually succeeded by a sharp southerly gale, accompanied by rain, which soon makes everything not actually blighted look green again. This more particularly refers to the Paterson. At Segenhoe, one of the most beautiful estates in New South Wales, which extends in romantic park-like scenery for six miles along the River Hunter, in the county of Brisbane, three years have sometimes elapsed before the fall of rain.
The Hunter River may be considered a favourable specimen of an accessible and long-settled district. The river is now not only the means of communication by the sea for the produce of its immediate territory, but also for all the wool and all the supplies interchanged ​by the great squatting district of New England and Liverpool Plains, to which access is obtained by a deep cleft through a spur of the Australian cordilleras, called the Liverpool Range, which bounds the Liverpool Plains in a northerly direction. A great and increasing steam communication exists between Sydney and Hunter River.
Port Stephens is a large estuary fifteen miles in length and contracted to about a mile in breadth in the centre, into which the rivers Karuah and Myall flow. The Karuah is navigable for twelve miles only for small craft to Booral, a village built by the Australian Agricultural Company. The valley of the Karuah, in the county of Gloucester, is chiefly in the possession of the Australian Agricultural Company, and pronounced by Count Strzelecki to be one of the finest agricultural districts in the colony.
On this estate some of the rarest birds of Australia are found. The wonga wonga pigeon (Leucosarcia picata) is a large bird, with white flesh, excellent eating, with handsome black-patched plumage, which spends most of its time upon the ground, "feeding upon the seeds of stones of the fallen fruits of the towering trees under whose shade it dwells, seldom exposing itself to the rays of the sun, or seeking the open parts of the forest, whence when disturbed it rises with a loud fluttering, like a pheasant. Its flight is not of long duration, being merely employed to remove it to a sufficient distance to avoid detection by again descending to the ground or mounting the branch of a tree. It is a species which bears confinement well." The accompanying
WONGA WONGA PIGEON.
​engraving, as well as all our illustrations from natural history, are copied by permission from Mr. Gould's splendid work on Australia. In Port Stephens harbour, at certain times of the year, the aborigines may be seen fishing and disporting in their canoes. Their habits are as uncivilised as when their ancestors were seen by Cook and Dampier, but quite harmless.
The park-like scenery, the neatness of the cottages provided by the company for their servants, the richness of the vegetation, and the fertility of gardens full of the choicest fruits and flowers, render this one of the counties which the traveller who can afford the time should visit, as it affords a pleasing contrast to the dry, barren country round Sydney, in the county of Cumberland.
From Booral the Australian Company have an overland communica- tion with their stations on Liverpool Plains, but they ship most of their wool at the Hunter.
In the orchards of the Australian Agricultural Company at Port Stephens, Count Strzelecki mentions that he saw an example of the extensive range which the beautiful climate of New South Wales embraces in its isothermal lines the English oak flourishing by the side of the banana, which again was surrounded by vines, lemons, and orange-trees of luxurious growth. "To the southward of Port Stephens are a series of thriving farms spreading along the Goulburn, Pages, Hunter, Paterson, and Williams Rivers, which comprise an agricultural district of 2,000 square miles in extent. The excellent harbour of Newcastle, good water and tolerable roads, a coal-mine, a soil well adapted for wheat, barley, turnips, the vine, and European fruits, and a situation most favourable to the application of irrigation, render this district one of the richest and most important in the colony."
Captain Stokes, in "The Yoyage of the Beagle," says: "A change took place in the features of this portion of the eastern coast: a number of conical hills, from four to six hundred feet in height, presented themselves. Two very remarkable headlands, Wacaba and Tomare, constitute the entrance points of Port Stephens. The sea face of Tomare is a high line of cliffs.
"On the side of a hill, two miles and a half within the narrowest part of the harbour, is Tahlee, the residence of the superintendent. It stands on the crest of a steep grassy slope, over which are scattered numerous small bushy lemon-trees, the deep verdure of their foliage interspersed with golden fruit, contrasting charmingly with the light green carpet from which they spring. At the foot of this declivity a ​screen of trees, rising to a considerable height, almost shuts out the view of the water, though breaks here and there allow small patches to to be seen.
"I ascended to Booral, twelve miles up the River Karuah, where all goods are landed for the company's stations. The treasurer resides there in a charming cottage, almost covered with roses and honey-suckles. About two miles within the entrance the river winds between high and steep banks, densely covered with creepers, acacias, and other vegetation of a tropical character, hanging in festoons, the ends floating in the water.
"We were as much delighted as surprised with the richness of the vegetation, when compared with its dry, parched appearance at Sydney another of the striking characteristics of Australia."
The next harbour after leaving Port Stephens is Port Macquarie, which is the outlet of the Rivers Hastings and Wilson.
Port Macquarie is a bar harbour, into which vessels drawing more than nine feet water cannot safely enter, but there is a good anchorage outside. The River Hastings cannot be ascended for more than ten miles by vessels of any burden; but from the mountains where it rises it flows in a full although not deep stream for fifty miles, traversing an undulating district, chiefly open forest.
Port Macquarie was first founded as a penal settlement. It is the commencement of a fertile semi-tropical district, extending to Moreton Bay. The township has gradually decayed since/ the penal settlement was discontinued.
The following striking picture is from the work of a gentleman who was the first to draw public attention to this fine district:—
"On entering the surf of the bar of Port Macquarie, immediately beyond the last breaker, the mirror-like surface of the river extends in a long reach, whilst on the left dark serpentine rocks protect the smooth round eminence, covered with green sward, and crowned by a signal-post, fire-beacon, and windmill. A little further on is the town, built on a gentle rise, the tall, square church tower rising conspicuously in the highest part. A grove of magnificent trees encircles the port, whilst, turning to the west and north-west, appears a wide extent of forest country, the windings of the valley among the mountain ranges through which the River Wilson flows; Mount Caoulapatamba being sufficiently near to enable one to distinguish every tree on its grassy declivities."
The soil of the country in the county of Cumberland round Sydney ​appears barren, the vegetation harsh and dismal, but " on the coast of Port Macquarie dense thickets of cabbage-palms and myrtle-trees extend down the rocky declivities, even within reach of the spray, and every unwooded patch is covered with grass, while the lofty forest rising luxuriantly close to the sea presents a striking contrast to the stunted Banksia thickets and desiccated scrubs on the sandstone round Sydney. The mountains approaching near the coast collect vapours from the sea, and cause frequent rains; in summer heavy thunderstorms mitigate the heat."
The River Hastings was discovered by Mr. Oxley, a late surveyor- general, on the report of two shipwrecked mariners whom he rescued on the coast.
It has been calculated that there are twelve million fertile acres well watered by small streams. The dividing range of mountains rises upwards of six thousand feet ; on the other side lies New England a range of table land, where a temperate climate prevails, where potatoes and gooseberries are raised in perfection, and the settlers retain the rosy bloom of England, one of the finest sheep districts in the colony. A road has been made across the mountains for bringing down wool to Port Macquarie.
Shoal Bay, the next harbour, is the embouchure of the River Clarence, navigable for steamers for more than fifty miles, flowing through a rich, fertile, and hot country, the reverse of the New England climate: large boats have ascended as far as ninety miles. It was surveyed and made public in 1839 by a private expedition under the charge of S. Perry, Esq. The average width of this river is from 450 to 600 yards, with a depth of from six to twenty feet water, the banks from ten to twenty-five feet above high-water mark. About twenty miles from the mouth is an island fifteen miles long, and from three to four miles broad; a range of hills rises in the centre. It is occupied as a cattle station, and partly for agricultural purposes, by the occupant, who holds it under a squatting licence.
Grafton is the township of the Clarence district, situated fifty miles from the mouth of the river. The finest land for arable purposes is found on the river banks, about thirty miles from Grafton, where the valley is wider, and the country consists of a scrub, easily cleared. The climate, too hot for growing wheat or raising sheep, suits cattle and maize. The sheep stations are being gradually discontinued. But although the land is admirably fertile on the banks of the river, at the distance of a few miles it is barren, with few patches of good soil.
The next river to the Clarence is the Richmond, which waters an ​infinitely finer cattle country, better supplied with rich pasture. The heads of the Richmond are about fifty miles from the Clarence River. The mouth is obstructed by a bar, dangerous for vessels drawing more than one hundred tons. After crossing the bar, the river is deep, winding in a narrow channel. This is one of the districts from which Sydney draws its chief supply of cedar.
It is right to mention that the plains lying between the Clarence and Richmond River, forty miles north of Shoal Bay, and as far north as Wide Bay, are all taken up and stocked under squatting licences. The soil is rich and the water advantages superior, but the climate more hot and less healthy than the plains on the other side of the range.
The next port, and centre and site of the capital of all this district, is Moreton Bay, into which flows the Brisbane River, discovered by Mr. Oxley, on an exploring expedition, in December, 1823. He reported that "when examining Moreton Bay we had the satisfaction to find the tide sweeping up a considerable inlet between the first mangrove island and the mainland. A few hours ended our anxiety: the water became perfectly fresh, and no diminution had taken place in the size of the river after passing Sea Reach. The scenery was peculiarly beautiful; the country along the banks alternately hilly and level, but not flooded; the soil of the finest description of good brush land, on which grew timber of great magnitude, some of a description quite unknown to us, amongst others a magnificent species of pine. Up to this point the river was navigable for vessels not drawing more than sixteen feet of water. The tide rose about five feet, being the same as at the entrance. We proceeded about thirty miles further, no diminution having taken place in either the depth or the breadth of the river, except in one place, for the extent of thirty yards, where a ridge of detached rocks extended across the river, not having more than twelve feet upon them at high water. From this period to Termination Hill the river continued nearly of uniform size. The tide ascends daily fifty miles up the mouth of the Brisbane. The country on either side is of very superior description, and equally well adapted for cultivation or grazing."
On Mr. Oxley's report, which further explorations have proved to be in no degree exaggerated, a penal settlement was founded at Brisbane, and among other experiments for employing the prisoners, sugar was cultivated, until a flood swept the machinery away. There is no doubt that the climate and soil of the Moreton Bay district, ​which it is better known than by its parliamentary title, county of Stanley, would produce sugar and cotton; but that those crops would be remunerative to capitalists at the present or probable price of labour in Australia is more than doubtful. Whether any tropical cultivation could be successfully carried on by families of small freeholders remains yet to be tried. At some future period when New South Wales has the power of promoting colonisation without consulting Downing-street, perhaps families of Germans, of the class that have at times settled in Brazil, may be induced to try the experiment.
Moreton Bay is forty-five miles in length, and twenty in breadth, enclosed between the two islands of Stradbroke and Maitland. This harbour is rendered unsafe by numerous shoals and narrrow winding passages.
Moreton Bay Island is nineteen miles in length, and four and a half in breadth. It consists of a series of sandhills one of which is nine hundred feet in height, quite barren in an agricultural point of view, but producing a cypress which is a good furniture wood.
The river Brisbane flows into the bay about the middle of its western side, with a bar on which there are not more than eleven feet of water at flood-tide. Large vessels have to anchor about five miles off? under the shelter of one of the islands.
The towns of Brisbane, north and south, are fourteen miles from the mouth of the river, and thirty-five miles from Ipswich, on the River Bremer, an inland port for shipping wool from the Moreton Bay district.
Steam communication is maintained between Brisbane and Ipswich, and between Moreton Bay and Sydney.
From Moreton Bay a considerable trade is carried on with Sydney, and other less-favoured settlements, especially in the Moreton Bay pine (Auracaria Cunningliami), which is of the same quality as the Norfolk Island pine, as well as wool and tallow, the staples of the country.
In the bay and on the coast the aborigines eagerly pursue the dugong, a species of small whale, generally known to the colonists as the sea-pig. The head of the dugong is small in proportion to his body, and is most singularly shaped. The upper lip is very thick, and flattened at the extremity. It is to this queer looking snout, we presume, that the animal is indebted for the swinish cognomen by which it is ordinarily known. The dugong has a thick smooth skin, with a few hairs scattered over its surface. Its colour is bluish on the back, with a white breast and belly. In size the full-grown male has never, we believe, been found more than eighteen or twenty feet long; but those commonly taken are much less than this. ​The food of the dugong consists chiefly of marine vegetables, which it finds at the bottom of inlets, in comparatively shallow water, where it is easily captured. Its flesh resembles good beef, and is much esteemed. The oil obtained from its fat is peculiarly clear and limpid, and is free from any disagreeable smell, such as most animal oils are accompanied with. It has not yet been produced in sufficient quantities to acquire a recognised market value.
The blacks devour the carcase roasted, after expressing the oil for sale to the colonists. A perfumer in Sydney tried to convert this oil into a new mixture for the hair: unfortunately, an experiment upon himself and his wife produced baldness instead of luxuriance, yet its appearance is as fine as sperm.
Behind Moreton Bay, on the other side the mountain range, forming a district of high tableland and cool temperature, are the Darling Downs, a magnificent sheep country, which is also accessible from the Clarence River.
The climate of the Moreton Bay district, like nearly all the district north of Port Macquarie, is too hot for wheat, which grows luxuriantly, but is subject to blight: for sheep and cattle there is no finer country, and maize and all semi-tropical productions grow in perfection. Grapes ripen, but are too subject to frosts to make good wine.
A very short distance from the town of Brisbane the clearings end and the forest commences; now green trees, then pine, then open plains, and well-watered valleys.
The rainy season of this intertropical region has been graphically described by Mr. Mossman:—"Masses of dense scud rise up from the Pacific Ocean towards the interior, until they are checked by the southerly wind blowing over the higher, colder New England country (on the other side of the mountain ranges), and packed into a uniform mass shrouding the heavens; a stifling sultriness succeeds, the lightning bursts forth from the lurid gloom, flash succeeds with fearful rapidity now forked from the zenith, anon like a chain around the verge of the horizon, while the crash of thunder resounds. The floodgates of the black canopy are opened the rain descends in torrents with a loud pattering soon the narrow tributaries of the river are swollen, some rising as much as fifty feet in twelve hours the surrounding plains are deluged. In the five months of rain the earth becomes saturated, the forests drip continually, while the nearly vertical sun creates a warm, humid, unhealthy atmosphere." Ophthalmia and general debility follow this kind of weather; but the author of the passage just quoted considers that if Indian bungalows were erected by the settlers, instead of naked ​English cottages, many of the ill effects of the rainy season would be avoided.
In the Moreton Bay district may be found many establishments containing all the luxuries of Europe elegant houses, gardens, libraries, music, pictures, and wives in Parisian bonnets.
Wide Bay, beyond Moreton Bay, and the boundary of the county of Stanley, is the last port of the colony of New South Wales : it receives the waters of the Mary Fitzroy River. The land is undulating, well timbered, covered with good grass, and suited for horned stock. Within the last five years a considerable number of stations have been formed there, and the country taken up in cattle runs for more than two hundred miles in the interior. In the 27th parallel of the Wide Bay District grows the bunya-bunya tree, a species of pine, often from seventeen to twenty feet in circumference, and upwards of one hundred feet in height, which once in three years yields a harvest of cones about a foot long and three quarters in diameter, containing seeds or kernels, which the natives from the most distant regions triennially journey to collect, roast, and eat, afterwards enjoying the relaxation of a little fighting.
Orders have been issued by the colonial government that no stations be planted and no stock run in this bunya-bunya country, which occupies a space of about fifty miles in length by ten in breadth. It will be difficult to enforce this order.
Dr. Leichardt, one of the scientific travellers who has, we fear, like Cunningham, Gilbert, and Kennedy, fallen a victim to his adventurous courage in an attempt to penetrate overland to Swan River, passed some time in the Moreton Bay district, preparing himself for the successful journey he afterwards made overland, in 1844, to Port Essington, in Northern Australia. In a letter addressed to Professor Owen, which is quoted in that eminent physiologist's "Report on the Extinct Mammals of Australia," read at the annual meeting of the British Association, July, 1845, and which accompanied a box of fossil bones from Darling Downs, he describes his life in terms which sound sadly and strangely affecting, now that, after succeeding in his first, he has perished in his second enterprise:—
"Living here as the bird lives who flies from tree to tree living on the kindness of a friend fond of my science, or on the hospitality of the settler and squatter with a little mare I travelled more than 2,500 miles, zigzag, from Newcastle to Wide Bay, being often my own groom, cook, washerwoman, geologist, and botanist at the same time; and I delighted in this life. When next you hear of me, it will be either that ​I am lost and dead, or that I have succeeded in penetrating through the interior to Port Essington."
Leichardt set out on this expedition, and left Jimba, the last station on the Darling Downs, 30th September, 1844, and reached Port Essington in December of the same year. The privations he endured were terrible. Mr. Gilbert, a naturalist in the employment of Mr. Gould, fell a sacrifice to the savages. More than once the bronze-winged pigeon, flying to water, saved them from dying of thirst.
BRONZE-WINGED PIGEON.
To the parties engaged in this expedition the Legislative Council voted £1,000, and 1,500 was raised by private subscription for the same purpose. Of these two sums, £1,450 were presented to Dr. Leichardt. He lost no time in preparing a second expedition, for the purpose of "exploring the interior of Australia, the extent of Sturt's desert, and the character of the western and north-western coast, and to observe he gradual change in vegetation and animal life from one side of the continent to the other." This expedition set out in December, 1846, and was expected to occupy not less than two years and a half in reaching Swan River. The following is the last letter ever received from him, addressed to a friend in Sydney:—
DR. LEICHARDT.
"The Fitzroy Downs, over which we travelled or about twenty-two miles from east to west, is indeed a splendid region, and Sir Thomas Mitchell has not exaggerated their beauty in his account. The soil is pebbly and sound, richly grassed, and, to judge from the myall, of most fattening quality. I came right on Mount Abundance, and passed over a gap of it with my whole train. My latitude agreed well with Mitchell's. I fear that the absence of water on Fitzroy Downs will render this fine country to a great degree unavailable. I observe the thermometer daily at 6 a.m. and p.m., which are the only convenient hours. I have tried the wet thermometer, but I am afraid my observations will be very deficient. I shall, however, improve on them as I proceed. The only serious accident that has happened was the loss of a spade; but we are fortunate enough to make it up on this station, where the superintendent is going to spare us one of his.
"Though the days are still very hot, the beautiful clear nights are cool, and benumb the musquitoes, which have ceased to trouble us. Myriads of flies are the only annoyance we have.
​"Seeing how much I have been favoured in my present progress, I am full of hope that our Almighty Protector will allow me to bring my darling scheme to a successful termination. Your most sincere friend,
"Ludwig Leichardt.
Mr. Macpherson's Station, Cogoon, April 3, 1848."
There is now little doubt that the brave Leichardt was murdered by savages shortly after leaving Cogoon.
It would be impossible in any reasonable space to convey a correct idea of the physical character of a country like Melbourne, Port Jackson, and Wide Bay, which extends over more than eight hundred miles of coast range alone. But the distinctive features of this north-eastern coast, as far as Moreton Bay, have been very clearly summed up by Mr. Clement Hodgkinson, in his before-quoted work:—
"First. Its geological formation, which, instead of being sandstone, which so generally predominates on the Hunter, consists of rocks of primitive or transition origin, such as granite, trap, ancient limestone, slates, &c., all which in Australia furnish, by their decomposition, a much more fertile surface than sandstone.
"Secondly. The mountainous nature of the country, the great altitude of the mountains exceeding six thousand feet above the level of the sea, and their proximity to the coast.
"Thirdly. The abundance of water and the proximity of navigable rivers. From Moreton Bay to Macquarie, in 270 miles of coast, there are nine rivers with bar harbours, which can be entered by coasting vessels and small steamers, viz., the Brisbane, Tweed, Richmond, Clarence, Bellergen, Macleary, Hastings, Camden Haven, and the Manning.
"Lastly. The fitness of the rich alluvial soil, which extends in continuous narrow borders of brush land along these rivers, for tropical cultivation (if labour could be applied at not too great a cost at clearing away the brush)."
Thus it will be observed that the north and north-eastern track of New South Wales, lying between the mountains and the sea, is exempt from the aridity which characterises a large portion of Australia.
Retracing our steps, we will now take a glance at what may be called the transmontane regions, lying parallel to the coast district just described, separated by the dividing range of the Blue Mountains, or, as it has been lately termed, the Australian Cordilleras.
Passing the dividing range which separates the hot lower countries watered by the Brisbane and the Clarence, we reach Darling Downs ​(discovered by Allan Cunningham, the king's botanist, in 1830, when he travelled from Sydney to Moreton Bay by land), which are watered by the river of the same name. These downs are part of a system of high table lands continued toward the north, where the boundaries are indefinite, by the Fitzroy Downs, discovered by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846, and toward the south by the New England district. There a rapid descent changes the climate from snow and hail to the hot country of the Peel, Page, and the Liverpool Plains, bounded on the south by the great dividing or Liverpool Kange, through which Pandora's Pass gives exit to the Hunter River; and thus with intervals of mountain range or desert, a series of pastoral plains run parallel with the interior of the mountain range which encircles the eastern coast of Australia, including the Groulburn, Bathurst district, the Maneroo or Brisbane Downs, and the Murray district, which flow into, if we may use the term, the province of Victoria. And in this series of pastoral plains the climate is considerably modified by their altitude above the sea. It was these plains, where fine-woolled sheep increase and multiply at the least possible expense, which first gave exports and wealth to Australia. Before the shepherd and his flock the savage and the emu gradually disappear.
* ↑ Cunningham.
* ↑ So named after Colonel Paterson, for a short time Lieutenant-Governor; one of the earliest colonists who devoted himself to botany, and introduced the first orange trees in 1791.
* ↑ Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay, first explored and surveyed by Clement Hodgkinson.
* ↑ The pine forests mark the commencement and the boundaries of intertropical Australia.
* ↑ Port Albury, recently discovered near Cape York, on Albury Island, affords a good and ready anchorage and easy access to vessels to or from Torres Straits or Sydney.
Footnotes