To Apply These Ideas To The
Sandstone Platforms Of New South Wales, I Imagine That The
Strata Were Heaped By
The action of strong currents, and of
the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular bottom; and
that the
Valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had their steeply
sloping flanks worn into cliffs, during a slow elevation of
the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed, either at
the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the retreating
sea, or subsequently by alluvial action.
Soon after leaving the Blackheath, we descended from the
sandstone platform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect
this pass, an enormous quantity of stone has been cut
through; the design, and its manner of execution, being
worthy of any line of road in England. We now entered
upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet, and
consisting of granite. With the change of rock, the vegetation
improved, the trees were both finer and stood farther
apart; and the pasture between them was a little greener and
more plentiful. At Hassan's Walls, I left the high road,
and made a short detour to a farm called Walerawang; to
the superintendent of which I had a letter of introduction
from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the kindness to
ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had much pleasure
in doing. This place offers an example of one of the large
farming, or rather sheep-grazing establishments of the
colony. Cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather
more numerous than usual, owing to some of the valleys
being swampy and producing a coarser pasture. Two or
three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared and
cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men were now reaping:
but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the annual
support of the labourers employed on the establishment. The
usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about
forty, but at the present time there were rather more. Although
the farm was well stocked with every necessary,
there was an apparent absence of comfort; and not one
single woman resided here. The sunset of a fine day will
generally cast an air of happy contentment on any scene;
but here, at this retired farm-house, the brightest tints on
the surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty
hardened, profligate men were ceasing from their daily
labours, like the slaves from Africa, yet without their holy
claim for compassion.
Early on the next morning, Mr. Archer, the joint superintendent,
had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting.
We continued riding the greater part of the day, but had
very bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog.
The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree,
out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as large as a
rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years since
this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu
is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become
scarce; to both the English greyhound has been highly
destructive. It may be long before these animals are altogether
exterminated, but their doom is fixed. The aborigines are
always anxious to borrow the dogs from the farm-houses:
the use of them, the offal when an animal is killed, and some
milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the settlers,
who push farther and farther towards the interior. The
thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages,
is delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems
predestined to inherit the country of his children.
Although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride.
The woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback
can gallop through it. It is traversed by a few flat-
bottomed valleys, which are green and free from trees: in
such spots the scenery was pretty like that of a park. In the
whole country I scarcely saw a place without the marks of a
fire; whether these had been more or less recent - whether
the stumps were more or less black, was the greatest change
which varied the uniformity, so wearisome to the traveller's
eye. In these woods there are not many birds; I saw, however,
some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a
corn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows, like our
jackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something
like the magpie. In the dusk of the evening I took a stroll
along a chain of ponds, which in this dry country represented
the course of a river, and had the good fortune to see several
of the famous Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. They were
diving and playing about the surface of the water, but
showed so little of their bodies, that they might easily have
been mistaken for water-rats. Mr. Browne shot one: certainly
it is a most extraordinary animal; a stuffed specimen does not
at all give a good idea of the appearance of the head and beak
when fresh; the latter becoming hard and contracted. [5]
20th. - A long day's ride to Bathurst. Before joining the
highroad we followed a mere path through the forest; and
the country, with the exception of a few squatters' huts, was
very solitary. We experienced this day the sirocco-like wind
of Australia, which comes from the parched deserts of the
interior. Clouds of dust were travelling in every direction;
and the wind felt as if it had passed over a fire. I afterwards
heard that the thermometer out of doors had stood at
119 degs., and in a closed room at 96 degs. In the afternoon we
came in view of the downs of Bathurst. These undulating but
nearly smooth plains are very remarkable in this country,
from being absolutely destitute of trees. They support only
a thin brown pasture. We rode some miles over this country,
and then reached the township of Bathurst, seated in the
middle of what may be called either a very broad valley, or
narrow plain.
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