Volume II Part 35 (2/2)

Here for the first ti a party of others He was certainly the finest Australian inrobust and stout, like a South Sea Islander A German Missionary, who had a native school at Hind fish resorted to at this place, which, as it has not been noticed by Mr Eyre, I shall describe A party of natives, each provided with a large square piece of net, rolled up, with a stick at either end, swam out to a certain distance from shore, and spread themselves into a semicircle Every man then relinquished one of the sticks round which his piece of net was rolled, to his right-hand neighbour, and received another froreat seine was formed They noa stones and splashi+ng the water, frightened the fish, and prevented the Encounter Bay, we for some distance followed the left bank of the Inman, when the road turned off to the ard The country was good in patches, till we made a cattle-station of Mr Hacks, near Yankalilla Bay; when, instead of a succession of forested hills and dales, we passed over extensive treeless downs, contrasting strikingly in appearance with the woody country around Here we pitched our tents for the night: and nextwere deprived of the coed to return to Adelaide; whilst Messrs Macfarlane, Burr, and myself, ereabout fifteen miles South-West by West As there was so the horses, it was 10 AM before we got away I was by no means pleased with e of looks, I caught the overseer and stockly a ha-over brute as ever man crossed; but with the aid of a severe bit and a sharp pair of spurs I kept hi the journey, which, although over a very hilly country, was perfor some refreshment, we started at 4 PM for Adelaide, distant nearly sixty a; and led our horses doinding path on the almost precipitous side of Mount Terrible, orthy its na his last rays over the waters of the Gulf, that stretched aard, apparently, from our feet; the white sails of a coaster here and there dotting the blue expanse Hitherto the road had been over a succession of hills and dales, with occasionally a patch of pretty scenery; but frohtly-tia, which we crossed, passing through the townshi+p of Noarlinga, on its north bank

After stopping to bait the horses, we continued our ride; but it was now so very dark that I lost all the beauty of this part of the country, and froine thatoff the track, we becah five-railed fences, froing to the ht us back upon the road to Adelaide, where we arrived aboutridden, since 10 AM, nearly ninety miles We had scarcely reached the town before a hot wind set in, which lasted forty-eight hours, when a squall fro inhabitants: at one tirees

SAIL FROM SOUTH AUSTRALIA

We sailed from South Australia on February 7th, but it was not until the forenoon of the 9th that we cleared Backstairs Passage, passing half a aroo Island, in 16 fathoms; the south-eastern part of this island is a steep rocky shore, with few sinuosities Southerly winds brought us in sight of the land at daylight on the 11th The most remarkable features were Mounts Gambier and Schanck; the summit of the latter, the least conspicuous, is flat, with a hollow in the centre According to rees 29 minutes West of Sydney The shi+p's position, just before dark, was ten ewater, which is a hummocky cliff-faced point of land, separated from the main by a low neck

ARRIVE AT PORTLAND BAY

February 12

Finding ourselves still off this part of the coast, which was laid down three miles too much to the northward, I resolved, for the betterthis fact by observations on shore, to go to the nearest anchorage, Portland Bay, where we arrived in the evening I had another object in visiting this place, na to determine the 141st meridian, which had been fixed on as the western boundary of the colony of New South Wales

The approach to this anchorage is remarkable, and cannot escape the memory of anyone who has seen it; for the inforive a woodcut

(Footnote Lawrence Isles lie off the point fore was in 7 fathoms, midway between the bluff on either side of the settlement, which ere surprised to find had already assu in the western corner of the bay, on a sloping grassy bank

Here I overnment surveyor, who had laid out the townshi+p of Portland As he had also made an accurate survey of the Bay, little remained for us except to test its qualities, which the prevalence of easterly winds gave us an opportunity of doing They at first caused a little anxiety, as the anchorage was exposed in this quarter; but this feeling rapidly subsided on our discovering the excellence of the holding ground-- of sand, out of which we had so our anchors

NEW SOUTH WALES BOUNDARY SQUATTERS

At Portland I had the pleasure ofthe acquaintance of Mr Stephen Henty, the leader of an enterprising family who had been the hardy pioneers of civilization, in discovering and laying open the fertile districts of this part of the continent, and under whose fostering care Portland has risen fro station to its present prosperity

Such being the case, it is with regret that I aed to say that Mr

Henty received no consideration froed to bid against the public for ground he had brought under notice, and spent years of labour in getting into cultivation

(Footnote My observations refer to this gentlerees 20 rees 36 minutes 22 seconds West of Sydney, by satisfactory meridian distances to the latter place, and fro Mr Tyers' difference of longitude by triangulation to the east entrance point of the Glenelg River, 37 minutes 29 seconds, which is 1 minute 27 seconds more than his chronorees 13 ulation, calculated by Captain Owen Stanley froitude of the latter 6 degrees 16is West of Sydney 10 degrees 14 minutes 02 seconds, which is 57 seconds less than Mr Tyers'

calculation The longitude of Sydney, by different observers, ranges between 151 degrees 12 rees 17 rees 16will, accordingly, by rees 02 minutes 09 seconds East and therefore within the New South Wales territory, the limit of which it had been supposed to ree had been selected as the boundary of the colony, with reference to the longitude of Sydney, there would not beits deterreat risk locates himself in a remote spot, and renders such essential service to thenew lands, yea new hoement than he receives, particularly in instances similar to that of Mr Henty, whose station at Portland was, for years, hundreds of entleht to be done for the squatter His coed to leave to make room for a street of the nenshi+p; but this would not have been very hard had he been given an allotment in lieu; which, however, as I have stated, was not done; and he was compelled to witness the labour of his hands entirely swept away, and found himself, after years of toil, placed exactly in the same position with those who careatest hardshi+p sustained by the squatter is the Special Survey syste to which, anyone desirous to become a purchaser to the extent of twenty thousand acres ether and finds out spots, that have been i them when able; many of these are often included in one special survey block: and even if the squatter is able to purchase the rich and hardly-won senerally a knot of jobbers, have the preference

This is apparently for the benefit of the croenty thousand pounds being thus added to the revenue under the pound per acre systeeous to the country, as the large purchasers seldom buy for occupation, but for sale; and the smallholder, the squatter, is driven fro utterly ruined in this way My own opinion is, that the squatter ought to be allowed to purchase the land he occupies by private contract froovernment; or that an allowance should be made him, equivalent to his improvements)

The detention we had experienced affordedjust seen between two and three hundred lad of the chance of coly, after netical observations, and others for the errors of the chrono in co Mr Henty's road to the northe soon passed the rich land surrounding Portland, and entered a stringybark forest, eighta heathy tract we came to the Fitzroy, distant fifteen miles from Portland

Here, as elsewhere, the presence of water i the banks of the river there was soood land This was also the case near a hill just beyond it, called Mount Eckersley where I saw Sir Thomas Mitchell's initials cut in a tree at the time when he explored this country, and found to his surprise that Mr Henty had a station in Portland Bay

EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR

With the exception of the flats near the Crawford, twenty h a poor country, until it approaches Mr J

Henty's station, fifteen miles further Here we appeared to have turned our backs on the bad land; and entered a tract of country in which the herbage is so excellent that an acre is capable of feeding one sheep, whereas in other parts three or four are required