The Number Of Large Houses And Other Buildings Just
Finished Was Truly Surprising; Nevertheless, Every One
Complained Of The High Rents And Difficulty In Procuring A
House.
Coming from South America, where in the towns every man
of property is known, no one thing surprised me more than
not being able to ascertain at once to whom this or that
carriage belonged.
I hired a man and two horses to take me to Bathurst, a
village about one hundred and twenty miles in the interior,
and the centre of a great pastoral district. By this means I
hoped to gain a general idea of the appearance of the country.
On the morning of the 16th (January) I set out on my excursion.
The first stage took us to Paramatta, a small country
town, next to Sydney in importance. The roads were excellent,
and made upon the MacAdam principle, whinstone having
been brought for the purpose from the distance of several
miles. In all respects there was a close resemblance to England:
perhaps the alehouses here were more numerous. The iron gangs,
or parties of convicts who have committed here some offense,
appeared the least like England: they were working in chains,
under the charge of sentries with loaded arms.
The power which the government possesses, by means
of forced labour, of at once opening good roads throughout
the country, has been, I believe, one main cause of the early
prosperity of this colony. I slept at night at a very
comfortable inn at Emu ferry, thirty-five miles from Sydney,
and near the ascent of the Blue Mountains.
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