Volume I Part 24 (1/2)

William Town consisted, at that tie under which this place labours is badness of water, while the country around it is a dead level, with clumps of very open woodland

The formation is whinstone, but the soil's fertile quality shows an absence of sandstone

RIVER YARRA-YARRA

Proceeding up the Yarra-yarra, we found that about twoin a northerly direction, and the other, a narrow sluggish strea suddenly off to the eastward The banks are so densely wooded, that it is seldom if ever that its surface is ruffled by a breeze

MELBOURNE

The townshi+p of Melbourne on its north bank, fiveplace Nearly two thousand persons had already congregated there, and oing on in land We were delighted with the park-like appearance of the country, and the rich quality of the soil

This was the most fertile district we had seen in all Australia; and I believe everyone allows that such is the case Its reputation indeed was at one tireat, that it became the point of attraction for all settlers froe for Port Phillip becae in which so their little all, did not set out for this land of pro to end their days in comfort at home Everyone I think ather up his goods and go into a far country with the settled intention of never returning?

A rocky ledge extends across the river fronting the town, upon which the plan had been for the water fresh; whereas now the river is salt above the town, and the ater is not particularly good The Yarra-yarra is not navigable even for boats many miles beyond Melbourne, on account of the numerous falls Solassy sheets of water stretch between steep banks clothed with rich vegetation down to the very edge of the stream--the branches of the trees droop over the smooth surface, and are vividly reflected; and substance is so perfectly blended with shadow, that it is impossible to detect where they unite

At the western extremity of Melbourne is a low round hill, fifty-seven feet above the level of the sea by our observations, and about thirty above the town There are now none of the aborigines in the neighbourhood of Melbourne; but I learned that some of their old men remember the time when the site of the toas under water, in consequence of one of those sudden inundations that happen in Australia, and are so s that occur there

SINGULAR CUSTOM

Having alluded to the natives, I ular custom that came under notice some time after, at the Protectorate in the valley of the Loddon, in the vicinity of Melbourne Several wo their faces completely concealed by their opossum-skina party ofcame to be displaced, that their faces should be seen In the evening at the Corobbery, these persons, three in number, were seated in the circle of women, so as to have their backs turned to the dancers or actors, their faces still being wholly concealed They re or the gestures of encourageed in by the other women It was subsequently explained by a protector, that these ohters betrothed to thethe period of betrothidly veiled

Near Mount Macedon, thirty miles North-West from Melbourne, there has been discovered, I was informed, a quarry of hbourhood is an extinct crater The formation at and in the immediate vicinity of Melbourne, is of tertiary deposits associated with arenaceous older rocks

We returned to the shi+ps by a short route leading direct fro the walk I wasland fro over a rich loam, and the other half over soft sand The trees swar us with their shrill buzzing noise

MANNA

We found the branches of these trees and the ground underneath strewed over with a white substance rese small flakes of snow, called by the colonists manna I am aware that an erroneous idea exists that this matter is deposited by the locusts; but in fact it is an exudation froh I saw it beneath another kind of tree, it must have been carried there by the wind A different sort, of a pale yellow colour, is found on a shlands, and is ht after for food by the natives, who sometimes scrape from the tree as much as a pound in a quarter of an hour It has the taste of a delicious sweetmeat, with an almond flavour, and is so luscious that much cannot be eaten of it This is orthy of attention from our confectioners at hoh from what has fallen under my own observation, and from what I have learnt from Mr Eyre and others, I should say it is not of frequent occurrence The first kind, being found strewed underneath the tree probably exudes from the leaf, whilst the second oozes from the stem The wood of the latter is ht-fishi+ng, and burns brightly, without s also a delicious aromatic smell

HOBSON'S BAY

On Christmas day, which we spent in Hobson's Bay, we experienced one of those hot winds which occasionally occur co assue appearance--objects are seen with difficulty, and acquire a tre seen through the air escaping frolare of the sun, stood at 135 degrees

We surveyed Hobson's Bay during our stay, and connected it by triangulation with Melbourne Our observations were made at the inner end of a small jetty The mouth of the Yarra-yarra is closed up by a bar, which from its soft muddy nature h tide was nine feet

CORIO HARBOUR

Having co, January 1st, 1839, departed for Corio Harbour, situated at the head of a deep inlet midway on the western shore of Port Phillip We found our progress i two thirds of the way across fro midway on the north shore On the opposite side, the land is ofrich park-like appearance, swelling on all sides into grassy doith patches of open woodland interspersed In the afternoon we anchored in three fathoms, about a quarter of a mile from the south point of Corio Harbour This is a level expanse of land na only a shoal channel between it and the northern shore Thus, though the harbour has apparently a broad open e vessel to enter it

January 2

After breakfast a party of us went to visit Captain Fyans, the policea trip to Station Peak We landed on the South-West corner of Corio Harbour, where we found four fathoms close to the beach, immediately over which is the north end of the townshi+p of Geelong A kind of store and two other wooden buildings pointed out its locality Captain Fyans was living in a log-hut on the banks of the Marabul River Our road thither lay west about three miles across a woody down

RIVER BARWON

The Marabul runs to the southward, and joins the Barwon flowing from the west; after which the united streams take a south-easterly direction The course of the latter I was anxious to trace, having seen itsthe coast west froing to the colonial surveying departhbourhood, tookstation on some low hills about three miles to the south, called by the natives Barabul

We crossed the Barwon running to the south-east at the foot of the a pretty waterfall