The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-08-30
MELBOURNE.
The Early Days of Magnificent and Mar
velOus Town.

The Early Days of q Magnificent and Mar
velOus Town.
Three decades are an immense period
in the history of such a city as Mel
bourne; and it is far from improbable
that the market value of ''town lots"
has increased in something like cubic
ratio within the last thirty years. Most
marvellous of all, perhaps, is it to reflect
that not only the site of Melbourne and
its suburbs, but an immense tract of
the surrounding country, was once
within an ace OF being sold, clock,
stock and barrel.' for, metaphorically
speaking. al old song. l allude to The
famous Merry Creek treaty. At the
beginning of June. 1885, Mr.. Batman
assembled the Yarra and Saltwater
Rivers, and few days afterward he in
duced certain aboriginal chiefs named
Jaga Jaga, CooloolOck, Bungaree, Yam
Yam and Movuhip. to execute formal
deed of assignment, conveying to him
and his heirs forever an area of between
100000 and 100000 acres of land,
which would have comprised the sites
of the cities of Melbourne, Geelong
and Collingwood, the towns of Emer-
aid Hill and st. Hilda, and the bor-
ough of Sandr dge, the consideration
given for this tremendous cession be ng
20 pa rs of blankets, 80 knives, II
tomahaw 10 looking-glasses. IL
airs scissors, SO handerch. efs, ~
red shirt 4 flannel jack IS, 4 u is of
cot es and fifty pounds of -four. Well,
bushes, is buslnes DID not William
Penn have his treaty with the Indians.
and how MANY thousands of pr unds ster-
ling has the British taxpayer had
TO pay o The descendan of the Penn
am ly as compensation 70 the loss of
their ;erritor al rights IN Pennsylvania?
1.-The worth of an thing is just so much
s it will bring, and bush land about
the YaIra district was probably not
worth much in 1885. 1t s true that
J hn Batman might have thrown in a
Few bottles f rum for luck. Cove. nor
Bourke. how Yer, was hard-hearted
enough 10 declare the whole ARA ge-
ment " it'll Jaga Jaga and his friends to
be null and void, although solatium
Of some f7.0OO was aflerward granted
to BaiI ian and his partners.
But it was the gold-fever year-1851
-.-that made Melbourne marvellous. I
CHANGED the other day in the inn parlor
at a little township in Victoria, called
Wangaratta. to light on a rude litho-
graph depicting the arrival of the first
gold escort from the diggings at the
Government building in William street,
in 1852. The gold has been brought
down In huge chests. three OF which
form load, to dray drawn by long
string Of bullocks. There is an escort
of tr0e pers. armed to the teeth, for in
the cal " mining days attempts on the
part of bnshrangers to stick up" or
rob the gold escorts were frequent
Young as were the days of mining in
1851. you see in the picture John China
man. already about aud as busy as a
bee. The letterpress at the bottom OF
it tells you that the people looking FROM
the windows of the blue-stone building
in William street are the clerks and
craftsmen employed in the office
OF the Surveyor-General, and that
on the day following the arrival of the
gold escort these gentlemen all threw
up their appointments under Govern.
ment and were of to the diggings. The
crews of ships at Williamstown and
Port Melbourne used to act in precisely
.iie same manner. Thew would desert