New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-05
"A NOyELIsTs "REMINISCENCES.
ROLF noLpREwoop ON AUSTRALIA.
OLD MELBOURNE MEMORIES hy he'' ''''"''

wood, Octave, pr. xii. sae. Maem''a" we
po,f Ho,arev, cd who has written several creo"-
able novels dealing with Australian me- p''sem 80,
N th,s little volume some lively personal re''''
,,.o.,ce. Of nioneer DAYS in Australia. we suspect
,ha, Il. t,t,p was adopted chiefly for tue SAKE VI
the ALTERATION FOR most OF the doom ,e ~
Mr. RoIdr~wooda experiences as S"'.'' va
the great runs" that were so numerous ~
LA forty or nfty years ago =, g..
Australia fs a remarkably interesting lanu' III I'7
reosraphy its geology. It's fora. its fauna Al" i'
aboriginal races. The struggles ana '"' ,,,s
umphs OF its early white settlers nave All. '"', ,,
nal character TO be found In no o'"e' N'.o
of n,oneer nfe and this fact Is well oroush' o''
a. A. yo,arewood's "reminiscences. In 1910, when
he arst saw II Melbourne was a roueh 'lo'''I.
settlement largely made up or shah'es' p"'
Was already sort Of metropolis OF cdl'ieh'e" or
=, all classes # adventureis many of whom were
men Of education and culture. Its social Ire was
marked by balls. picncs. races ana dihhers Ed. '
tnp drinking and carousing were. indeed the out
ward marks OF It's life. and perhaps III 'h's i'-
spect II did not differ widely from more CohVe",
ttonaI cities Everything. however was uo'e al
frcsco and In this lay its chief charm III was
NOT at all unusual for a carriage driving nome ia'e
at night from revel to collide with one oil 'ic
numerous stumps in the wide streets ana iu' "'e
occupants to be spilled out. But II never occ"'i'u
10 any of these victims to write letter OF COM
plaint about the stumps to the papers. Inc era
of "OId Subscriber" Taxpayer" and PRO Bono
Publico" had not yet dawned. The stumps ana al
the other impediments of frontier life were taken
in good part elements that added 10 III"
piouancy of existence. People who enjoyed 'he
routine Of a highly developed civilization did not
GO TO Australia or if they did they moped by
themselves until they were able to secure d pas
sage TO the old country.
The coonists OF the town-they did not as yet
regard themselves as citizens-lved free, care
less open and thoughtless life, and had no pre-
vision of the future greatness of the Melbourne
that was to be- Opportunities TO purchase pio's
Of land for few dollars an acre that are no" III
the very heart of the city were rejected with
ocorn Few people had the few dollars necessary
or II they had they not such fools as TO SINK
them in poor, scrubby town lots when the Douhu-
less stretches of unknown land beckoned them
10 a life of wild freedom and adventure. so we
take leave of this picture of early Melbourne with
ITS ORLEANS toiling painfully through It's Doggy
and stumpy streets. with its squatters nuts hieu
with the rude plenty of the frontiersman, ana It's
daily spectacle of whole tribe OF placks' sul'S
OF some real fanced violence. driven throus"
Collins-st. to the temporary Jail
Not only did Australia have its West in those
old days, but its Far West. and thither journeyed
the widest and most adventurous spirits VINO
came first to sydney Melbourne from the old
country Some body has yet to write the story OF
how Australia was settled: and when 1t Is writ
ten no story of human adventure will be better
worth reading 1t divides itself into two periods.
The first was before gold was discovered IN 1851
when the cattleman reigned supreme, ana the
second was of course. the age of gold in the lit
eral sense, though the cattle industry still con-
tinued TO be one of its marked features. Mr.
Boldrewoods memories relate solely TO the hfs'
period. In 1874 he took his way westward with
two or three hundred cattle. dray and team
with provisions for six months. two stock horseS'
two servants and Fl in cash, the latter being the
least useful Of all his OUTFIT. For what can a man
do with money. though II be gold In lana
where the whole earth and sky are his for the
esking-are, In fact, his without the asking! Inc
life Of a cattleman is not unfamiliar to Americans,
who have shown keen appreciation or the poeti-
cal glamour that surrounds it when 1t Is seen
through long vista of time and space.
"Ah what pleasant days those! We could
take off our coats without fear of Mrs. Grundy.
There was plenty of grass. Travelling was an
honorable and recognized occupation in those Ar
cadan times. Purchased land unknown
ouantity The horses were fresh. :he stages were
moderate and when a halt called at sun
down the cattle soon lay contentedly down IN the
soft, thick grass. The camphres were lighted, ana
another pleasant hopeful day was succeeded by
restfu yet romantic night" Truly golden age
was this preceding the age Of gold There was
good market for stock. labor was cheap. pasturage
was plentiful and the squatter was king over as
lafge a territory as he chose 10 pre-empt. There
could be no overcrowding when the nearest run
was perhaps fifty miles distant and when neigh
bors met. rivals or foes, but to take part
ir some hunt feast carousal, which was rel
ished all the more because it was so infrequent
OF course, there rev side to this picture
OF idyllic frontier life. There times of
s!onal hardship DroutAs sometimes The
Great Fire was long remembered as time of horror
and death, when the products of hundreds Of miles
were reduced TO ashes and those who survived had
again TO face the New World with nothing but their
strong hands and stout hearts There the sheep
TO; and the cattle plague which sent hundreds OF
wealthy cOonists into beggary: and finally, there
" he deDrclatOns
whom and the settlers the bitter and
lentcss feud familiar in every land in which the
Anglo-Saxon colonst encounters an alien race. II
would be much to say that this feud is jus
t!fable on either side Doubtless both
equally at fault unless hold that the superior
race Is the more capable because il is superior. d
view In behalf of which much may be said. Ger
tainly. however the clash between the races. with
the consequent elimination Of the weaker race. is
inevitable. The Englishman is to berate
Americans for their treatment of the Indians: but
fa; that he has treated the blacks Of Aus
fralia with any more consideration.
Mr. BoldrewOod deVotes a couple OF chapters to a
neghborhood against the blacks. They stole
cattle INDUCED In other petty pilferng.
The cattlemen first shot down many OF the poor
wretches they could, and then called in the
mounted police to finish the work Killing black
was. in its way, a vrtuous act 1t
only the who failed to do so that was looked
upon as a useless member Of the community Such
IS the story OF the aborignes in Australia: and
things 60 this is what the peopling and cviizng Of
q continent must always mean.
These vagrant "reminiscences OF Mr. Bod.ewood
will stimulate curiosity 10 know about the
great congeries of colonies that have sprung into
eAuberant life and civilization In the Southern Pa
cifc Continent Australia has become too great
factor in the worlds progress 10 be ignored. In
wealth and Industrial development. well in the
bold way in which 1t welcomes political and
social experiments. 1t challenges the attention Of all
who desire 10 understand the great tendencies and
movements Of modern civilization
DAI-GHTER A STOIC Rv