Contents:

Page No 1

Page No 2

Page No 3

Page No 4

A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 185253.........................................................................1

IT may be deemed presumptuous that one of my age and sex should venture to give to the public an account

of personal adventures in a land which has so often been descanted upon by other and abler pens; but when I

reflect on the many mothers, wives, and sisters in England, whose hearts are ever longing for information

respecting the dangers and privations to which their relatives at the antipodes are exposed, I cannot but hope

that the presumption of my undertaking may be pardoned in consideration of the pleasure which an accurate

description of some of the Australian Gold Fields may perhaps afford to many; and although the time of my

residence in the colonies was short, I had the advantage (not only in Melbourne, but whilst in the bush) of

constant intercourse with many experienced diggers and old colonists thus having every facility for

It was in the beginning of April, 185 , that the excitement occasioned by the published accounts of the

Victoria "Diggings," induced my brother to fling aside his Homer and Euclid for the various "Guides" printed

for the benefit of the intending goldseeker, or to ponder over the shipping columns of the daily papers. The

love of adventure must be contagious, for three weeks after (so rapid were our preparations) found myself

accompanying him to those auriferous regions. The following pages will give an accurate detail of my

adventures there in a lack of the marvellous will consist their principal faults but not even to please would

I venture to turn uninteresting truth into agreeable fiction. Of the few statistics which occur, I may safely say,

EVERYTHING was ready boxes packed, tinned, and corded; farewells taken, and ourselves whirling

down by rail to Gravesend too much excited too full of the future to experience that sickening of the

heart, that desolation of the feelings, which usually accompanies an expatriation, however voluntary, from the

dearly loved shores of one's native land. Although in the cloudy month of April, the sun shone brightly on the

masts of our bonny bark, which lay in full sight of the windows of the "Old Falcon," where we had taken up

our temporary quarters. The sea was very rough, but as we were anxious to get on board without farther

delay, we entrusted our valuable lives in a fouroared boat, despite the dismal prognostications of our worthy

host. A pleasant row that was, at one moment covered over with saltwater the next riding on the top of a

wave, ten times the size of our frail conveyance then came a sudden concussion in veering our rudder

smashed into a smaller boat, which immediately filled and sank, and our rowers disheartened at this mishap

would go no farther. The return was still rougher my face smarted dreadfully from the cutting splashes of

the saltwater; they contrived, however, to land us safely at the "Old Falcon," though in a most pitiable

plight; charging only a sovereign for this delightful trip very moderate, considering the number of

saltwater baths they had given us gratis. In the evening a second trial proved more successful, and we

A first night on board ship has in it something very strange, and the first awakening in the morning is still

more so. To find oneself in a space of some six feet by eight, instead of a goodsized room, and lying in a

cot, scarce wide enough to turn round in, as a substitute for a fourpost bedstead, reminds you in no very

agreeable manner that you have exchanged the comforts of Old England for the "roughing it" of a sea life.

The first sound that awoke me was the "cheerily" song of the sailors, as the anchor was heaved not again,

we trusted, to be lowered till our eyes should rest on the waters of Port Philip. And then the cry of "raise tacks

and sheets" (which I, in nautical ignorance, interpreted "haystacks and sheep") sent many a sluggard from

In the afternoon we parted company with our steamtug, and next morning, whilst off the Isle of Wight, our

pilot also took his departure. Seasickness now became the fashion, but, as I cannot speak from experience of

its sensations, I shall altogether decline the subject. On Friday, the 30th, we sighted Stark Point; and as the

last speck of English land faded away in the distance, an intense feeling of misery crept over me, as I

reflected that perchance I had left those most dear to return to them no more. But I forget; a description of

private feelings is, to uninterested readers, only so much twaddle, besides being more egotistical than even an

account of personal adventures could extenuate; so, with the exception of a few extracts from my "log," I

shall jump at once from the English Channel to the more exciting shores of Victoria.

Wednesday, May 5, lat. 45� 57' N., long. 11� 45' W. Whilst off the Bay of Biscay, for the first time I had

the pleasure of seeing the phosphoric light in the water, and the effect was indeed too beautiful to describe. I

gazed again and again, and, as the darkness above became more dense, the silence of evening more profound,

and the moving lights beneath more brilliant, I could have believed them the eyes of the Undines, who had

quitted their cool grottos beneath the sea to gaze on the daring ones who were sailing above them. At times

one of these stars of the ocean would seem to linger around our vessel, as though loth to leave the admiring

Sunday, 9, lat. 37� 53' N, long. 15� 32' W. Great excitement throughout the ship. Early in the morning a

homewardbound sail hove in sight, and as the sea was very calm, our captain kindly promised to lower a

boat and send letters by her. What a scene then commenced; nothing but scribes and writingdesks met the

view, and nought was heard but the scratching of pens, and energetic demands for foreign letterpaper,

vestas, or scalingwax; then came a rush on deck, to witness the important packet delivered to the care of the

first mate, and watch the progress of the little bark that was to bear among so many homes the glad tidings of

our safety. On she came her stunsails set her white sails glittering in the sun skimming like a

seabird over the waters. She proved to be the Maltese schooner 'Felix,' bound for Bremen. Her captain

treated the visitors from our ship with the greatest politeness, promised to consign our letters to the first pilot

he should encounter off the English coast, and sent his very last oranges as a present to the ladies, for which

we sincerely thanked him; the increasing heat of the weather made them acceptable indeed.

Wednesday, 12, lat. 33� 19' N, long. 17� 30 W. At about noon we sighted Madeira. At first it appeared

little more than a dark cloud above the horizon; gradually the sides of the rocks became clearly discernible,

Friday, 28, lat. 4� 2' N., long. 21� 30' W. Another opportunity of sending letters, but as this was the second

time of so doing, the excitement was proportionately diminished. This vessel was bound for the port of

Liverpool, from the coast of Africa; her cargo (so said those of our fellowtravellers who boarded her),

Sunday, June 6, long. 24� 38' W. Crossed the Line, to the great satisfaction of all on board, as we had been

becalmed more than a week, and were weary of gazing upon the unruffled waters around us, or watching the

sails as they idly flapped to and fro. Chess, backgammon, books and cards, had ceased to beguile the hours

away, and the only amusement left was lowering a boat and rowing about within a short distance of the ship,

but this (even by those not pulling at the oars) was considered too fatiguing work, for a tropical sun was

above us, and the heat was most intense. Our only resource was to give ourselves up to a sort of dolce far

niente existence, and lounge upon the deck, sipping lemonade or limejuice, beneath a large awning which

Tuesday, August 17, lat. 39� 28' S., long. 136� 31' E. Early this morning one of the sailors died, and before

noon the last services of the Church of England were read over his body; this was the first and only death that

occurred during our long passage, and the solemnity of committing his last remains to their watery grave cast

a saddening influence over the most thoughtless. I shall never forget the moment when the sewnup

hammock, with a gaily coloured flag wrapped round it, was launched into the deep; those who can witness

with indifference a funeral on land, would, I think, find it impossible to resist the thrilling awe inspired by

Friday, 20, lat. 38� 57 S., long. 140� S' E. Sighted Moonlight Head, the next day Cape Otway; and in the

afternoon of Sunday, the 22nd, we entered the Heads, and our pilot came on board. He was a smart, active

fellow, and immediately anchored us within the bay (a heavy gale brewing); and then, after having done

colonial justice to a substantial dinner, he edified us with the last Melbourne news. "Not a spare room or bed

to be had no living at all under a pound aday every one with ten fingers making ten to twenty pounds

aweek." "Then of course no one goes to the diggings?" "Oh, that pays better still the gold obliged to be

quarried a pound weight of no value." The excitement that evening can scarcely be imagined, but it

somewhat abated next morning on his telling us to diminish his accounts some 200 per cent.

Monday, 23. The wind high, and blowing right against us. Compelled to remain at anchor, only too

Tuesday, 24. Got under weigh at halfpast seven in the morning, and passed the wrecks of two vessels,

whose captains had attempted to come in without a pilot, rather than wait for one the increased number of

vessels arriving, causing the pilots to be frequently all engaged. The bay, which is truly splendid, was

crowded with shipping. In a few hours our anchor was lowered for the last time boats were put off

towards our ship from Liardet's Beach we were lowered into the first that came alongside a twenty

minutes' pull to the landingplace another minute, and we trod the golden shores of Victoria.

AT last we are in Australia. Our feet feel strange as they tread upon terra firma, and our sealegs (to use a

sailor's phrase) are not so ready to leave us after a four months' service, as we should have anticipated; but it

matters little, for we are in the colonies, walking with undignified, awkward gait, not on a fashionable

The first sounds that greet our ears are the noisy tones of some watermen, who are loitering on the building of

wooden logs and boards, which we, as do the good people of Victoria, dignify with the undeserved title of

pier. There they stand in their waterproof caps and skins tolerably idle and exceedingly independent

with one eye on the look out for a fare, and the other cast longingly towards the open doors of Liardet's

publichouse, which is built a few yards from the landingplace, and alongside the main road to Melbourne.

"Ah, skipper! times isn't as they used to was," shouted one, addressing the captain of one of the vessels then

lying in the bay, who was rowing himself to shore, with no other assistant or companion than a sailorboy.

The captain, a wellbuilt, finelooking specimen of an English seaman, merely laughed at this impromptu

No answer; but, as if completely deaf to these remarks, as well as the insulting tone in which they were

delivered, the "skipper" continued giving his orders to his boy, and then leisurely ascended the steps. He

"So, my fine fellow, you didn't quite admire that stroke of mine. Now, I've another stroke that I think you'll

admire still less," and with one blow he sent him reeling against the railing on the opposite side.

The waterman slowly recovered his equilibrium, muttering, "that was a safe dodge, as the gentleman knew he

"Then never let your tongue say what your fist can't defend," was the cool retort, as another blow sent him

staggering to his original place, amidst the unrestrained laughter of his companions, whilst the captain

unconcernedly walked into Liardet's, whither we also betook ourselves, not a little surprised and amused by

The fact is, the watermen regard the masters of the ships in the bay as sworn enemies to their business; many

are runaway sailors, and therefore, I suppose, have a natural antipathy that way; added to which, besides

being no customers themselves, the "skippers," by the loan of their boats, often save their friends from the

Exorbitant they truly are. Not a boat would they put off for the nearest ship in the bay for less than a pound,

and before I quitted those regions, two and three times that sum was often demanded for only one passenger.

We had just paid at the rate of only three shillings and sixpence each, but this trifling charge was in

consideration of the large party more than a dozen who had left our ship in the same boat together.

Meanwhile we have entered Liardet's en attendant the Melbourne omnibus, some of our number, too

impatient to wait longer, had already started on foot. We were shown into a clean, wellfurnished

sittingroom, with mahogany diningtable and chairs, and a showy glass over the mantelpicce. An

Englishlooking barmaid entered, "Would the company like some wine or spirits?" Some one ordered sherry,

And now the cry of "Here's the bus," brought us quickly outside again, where we found several new arrivals

also waiting for it. I had hoped, from the name, or rather misname, of the conveyance, to gladden my eyes

with the sight of something civilized. Alas, for my disappointment! There stood a long,

tumbletopieceslooking waggon, not covered in, with a plank down each side to sit upon, and a miserable

narrow plank it was. Into this vehicle were crammed a dozen people and an innumerable host of

portmanteaus, large and small, carpetbags, baskets, brownpaper parcels, birdcage and inmate, all of

which, as is generally the case, were packed in a manner the most calculated to contribute the largest amount

of inconvenience to the live portion of the cargo. And to drag this grand affair into Melbourne were harnessed

thereto the most wretchedlooking objects in the shape of horses that I had ever beheld.

"And is this the beautiful scenery of Australia?" was my first melancholy reflection. Mud and swamp

swamp and mud relieved here and there by some few trees which looked as starved and miserable as

ourselves. The cattle we passed appeared in a wretched condition, and the human beings on the road seemed

all to belong to one family, so truly Vandemonian was the cast of their countenances.

"The rainy season's not over," observed the driver, in an apologetic tone. Our eyes and uneasy limbs most

feelingly corroborated his statement, for as we moved along at a footpace, the rolling of the omnibus, owing

to the deep ruts and heavy soil, brought us into most unpleasant contact with the various packages

beforementioned. On we went towards Melbourne now stopping for the unhappy horses to take breath

then passing our pedestrian messmates, and now arriving at a small specimen of a swamp; and whilst they

(with trowsers tucked high above the knee and boots well saturated) step, slide and tumble manfully through

it, we give a fearful roll to the left, ditto, ditto to the right, then a regular standstill, or perhaps, by way of

variety, are all but jolted over the animals' heads, till at length all minor considerations of bumps and bruises

"The Yarra," said the conductor. I looked straight ahead, and innocently asked "Where?" for I could only

discover a tract of marsh or swamp, which I fancy must have resembled the fens of Lincolnshire, as they were

some years ago, before draining was introduced into that county. Over Princes Bridge we now passed, up

Swanston Street, then into Great Bourke Street, and now we stand opposite the Postoffice the appointed

rendezvous with the walkers, who are there awaiting us. Splashed, wet and tired, and also, I must confess,

very cross, right thankful was I to be carried over the dirty road and be safely deposited beneath the wooden

portico outside the Postoffice. Our ride to Melbourne cost us only halfacrown a piece, and a shilling for

The nonarrival of the mailsteamer left us now no other care save the allimportant one of procuring food

and shelter. Scouts were accordingly despatched to the best hotels; they returned with long faces "full."

The secondrate, and in fact every respectable inn and boarding or lodginghouse were tried but with no

better success. Here and there a solitary bed could be obtained, but for our digging party entire, which

consisted of my brother, four shipmates, and myself, no accommodation could be procured, and we wished, if

possible, to keep together. "It's a case," ejaculated one, casting his eyes to the slight roof above us as if

calculating what sort of night shelter it would afford. At this moment the two last searchers approached, their

countenances not quite so woebegone as before. "Well?" exclaimed we all in chorus, as we surrounded

them, too impatient to interrogate at greater length. Thank Heavens! they had been successful! The

housekeeper of a surgeon, who with his wife had just gone up to Forest Creek, would receive us to board

and lodge for thirty shillings a week each; but as the accommodation was of the indifferent order, it was not

as yet une affaire arrang e. On farther inquiry, we found the indifferent accommodation consisted in their

being but one small sleepingroom for the gentlemen, and myself to share the bed and apartment of the

temporary mistress. This was vastly superior to gipsying in the dirty streets, so we lost no time in securing

our new berths, and ere very long, with appetites undiminished by these petty anxieties, we did ample justice

The first night on shore after so long a voyage could scarcely seem otherwise than strange, one missed the

eternal rocking at which so many grumble on board ship. Dogs (Melbourne is full of them) kept up an

incessant barking; revolvers were cracking in all directions until daybreak, giving one a pleasant idea of the

state of society; and last, not least, of these annoyances was one unmentionable to ears polite, which would

alone have sufficed to drive sleep away from poor wearied me. How I envied my companion, as accustomed

to these disagreeables, she slept soundly by my side; but morning at length dawned, and I fell into a

The next few days were busy ones for all, though rather dismal to, me, as I was confined almost entirely

within doors, owing to the awful state of the streets; for in the colonies, at this season of the year, one may go

out prepared for fine weather, with blue sky above, and dry under foot, and in less than an hour, should a

colonial shower come on, be unable to cross some of the streets without a plank being placed from the middle

of the road to the pathway, or the alternative of walking in water up to the knees.

This may seem a doleful and overdrawn picture of my first colonial experience, but we had arrived at a time

when the colony presented its worst aspect to a stranger. The rainy season had been unusually protracted this

year, in fact it was not yet considered entirely over, and the gold mines had completely upset everything and

Our party, on returning to the ship the day after our arrival, witnessed the Frenchleavetaking of all her

crew, who during the absence of the captain, jumped overboard, and were quickly picked up and landed by

the various boats about. This desertion of the ships by the sailors is an everyday occurrence; the diggings

themselves, or the large amount they could obtain for the run home from another master, offer too many

temptations. Consequently, our passengers had the amusement of hauling up from the hold their different

goods and chattels; and so great was the confusion, that fully a week elapsed before they were all got to

shore. Meanwhile we were getting initiated into colonial prices money did indeed take to itself wings and

fly away. Firearms were at a premium; one instance will suffice my brother sold a sixbarrelled revolver

for which he had given sixty shillings at Baker's, in Fleet Street, for sixteen pounds, and the parting with it at

that price was looked upon as a great favour. Imagine boots, and they very secondrate ones, at four pounds a

pair. One of our betweendeck passengers who had speculated with a small capital of forty pounds in boots

and cutlery, told me afterwards that he had disposed of them the same evening he had landed, at a net profit

of ninety pounds no trifling addition to a poor man's purse. Labour was at a very high price, carpenters,

boot and shoemakers, tailors, wheelwrights, joiners, smiths, glaziers, and, in fact, all useful trades, were

earning from twenty to thirty shillings a day the very men working on the roads could get eleven shillings

per diem, and, many a gentleman in this disarranged state of affairs, was glad to fling old habits aside and

turn his hand to whatever came readiest. I knew one in particular, whose brother is at this moment serving as

colonel in the army in India, a man more fitted for a gay London life than a residence in the colonies. The

diggings were too dirty and uncivilized for his taste, his capital was quickly dwindling away beneath the

expenses of the comfortable life he led at one of the best hotels in town, so he turned to what as a boy he had

learnt for amusement, and obtained an addition to his income of more than four hundred pounds a year as

house carpenter. In the morning you might see him trudging off to his work, and before night might meet him

I shall not attempt an elaborate description of the town of Melbourne, or its neighbouring villages. A subject

so often and well discussed might almost be omitted altogether. The town is very well laid out; the streets

(which are all straight, running parallel with and across one another) are very wide, but are incomplete, not

lighted, and many are unpaved. Owing to the want of lamps, few, except when full moon, dare stir out after

dark. Some of the shops are very fair; but the goods all partake too largely of the flash order, for the purpose

of suiting the tastes of successful diggers, their wives and families; it is ludicrous to see them in the shops

men who, before the goldmines were discovered, toiled hard for their daily bread, taking off halfadozen

thick gold rings from their fingers, and trying to pull on to their rough, wellhardened hands the best white

kids, to be worn at some wedding party; whilst the wife, proud of the novel ornament, descants on the folly of

The two principal streets are Collins Street and Elizabeth Street. The former runs east and west, the latter

crossing it in the centre. Melbourne is built on two hills, and the view from the top of Collins Street East, is

very striking on a fine day when well filled with passengers and vehicles. Down the eye passes till it reaches

Elizabeth Street at the foot; then up again, and the moving mass seems like so many tiny black specks in the

distance, and the country beyond looks but a little piece of green. A great deal of confusion arises from the

want of their names being painted on the corners of the streets: to a stranger, this is particularly inconvenient,

the more so, as being straight, they appear all alike on first acquaintance. The confusion is also increased by

the same title, with slight variation, being applied to so many, as, for instance, Collins Street East; Collins

Street West; Little Collins Street East; Little Collins Street West, Churches and chapels for all sects and

denominations meet the eye; but the Established Church has, of all, the worst provision for its members, only

two small churches being as yet completed; and Sunday after Sunday do numbers return from St. Peter's,

unable to obtain even standing room beneath the porch. For the gay, there are two circuses and one theatre,

where the "ladies" who frequent it smoke short tobaccopipes in the boxes and dresscircle.

The country round is very pretty, particularly Richmond and Collingwood; the latter will, I expect, soon

become part of Melbourne itself. It is situated at the fashionable that is, east end of Melbourne, and the

buildings of the city and this suburban village are making rapid strides towards each other. Of Richmond, I

may remark that it does possess a "Star and Garter," though a very different affair to its namesake at the

antipodes, being only a small publichouse. On the shores of the bay, at nice driving distances, are Brighton

and St. Kilda. Two or three falltopieces bathingmachines are at present the only stock in trade of these

wateringplaces; still, should some wouldbe fashionables among my readers desire to emigrate, it may

gratify them to learn that they need not forego the pleasure of visiting Brighton in the season.

When I first arrived, as the weather was still very cold and wet, my greatest source of discomfort arose from

the want of coalfires, and the draughts, which are innumerable, owing to the slight manner in which the

houses are run up; in some the front entrance opens direct into the sittingrooms, very unpleasant, and

entirely precluding the "not at home" to an unwelcome visitor. Wood fires have at best but a cheerless look,

and I often longed for the bright blaze and merry fireside of an English home. Firewood is sold at the rate of

The colonists (I here speak of the oldestablished ones) are naturally very hospitable, and disposed to receive

strangers with great kindness; but the present ferment has made them forget everything in the glitter of their

own mines, and all comfort is laid aside; money is the idol, and making it is the one mania which absorbs

The walking inhabitants are of themselves a study: glance into the streets all nations, classes, and

costumes are represented there. Chinamen, with pigtails and loose trowsers; Aborigines, with a solitary

blanket flung over them; Vandemonian pickpockets, with cunning eyes and light fingers all, in truth, from

the successful digger in his blue serge shirt, and with green veil still hanging round his wideawake, to the

fashionablyattired, newlyarrived "gent" from London, who stares around him in amazement and disgust.

You may see, and hear too, some thoroughly colonial scenes in the streets. Once, in the middle of the day,

when passing up Elizabeth Street, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a mob behind, and as it was gaining

upon me, I turned into the enclosed ground in front of the Roman Catholic cathedral, to keep out of the way

of the crowd. A man had been taken up for horsestealing and a rare ruffianly set of both sexes were

following the prisoner and the two policemen who had him in charge. "If but six of ye were of my mind,"

shouted one, "it's this moment you'd release him." The crowd took the hint, and to it they set with right good

will, yelling, swearing, and pushing, with awful violence. The owner of the stolen horse got up a counter

demonstration, and every few yards, the procession was delayed by a trial of strength between the two

parties. Ultimately the police conquered; but this is not always the case, and often lives are lost and limbs

broken in the struggle, so weak is the force maintained by the colonial government for the preservation of

Another day, when passing the Postoffice, a regular tropical shower of rain came on rather suddenly, and I

hastened up to the platform for shelter. As I stood there, looking out into Great Bourke Street, a man and, I

suppose, his wife passed by. He had a letter in his hand for the post; but as the pathway to the receivingbox

looked very muddy, he made his companion take it to the box, whilst he himself, from beneath his umbrella,

complacently watched her getting wet through. "Colonial politeness," thought I, as the happy couple walked

Sometimes a jovial weddingparty comes dashing through the streets; there they go, the bridegroom with one

arm round his lady's waist, the other raising a champagnebottle to his lips; the gay vehicles that follow

contain company even more unrestrained, and from them noisier demonstrations of merriment may be heard.

These diggers' weddings are all the rage, and bridal veils, white kid gloves, and, above all, orange blossoms

At times, you may see men, halfmad, throwing sovereigns, like halfpence, out of their pockets into the

streets; and I once saw a digger, who was looking over a large quantity of banknotes, deliberately tear to

pieces and trample in the mud under his feet every soiled or ragged one he came to, swearing all the time at

the goldbrokers for "giving him dirty paper money for pure Alexander gold; he wouldn't carry dirt in his

Melbourne is very full of Jews; on a Saturday, some of the streets are half closed. There are only two

The most thriving trade there, is keeping an hotel or publichouse, which always have a lamp before their

doors. These at night serve as a beacon to the stranger to keep as far from them as possible, they being, with

On the 2nd of September, the longexpected mail steamer arrived, and two days after we procured our letters

from the Postoffice. I may here remark, that the want of proper management in this department is the

greatest cause of inconvenience, to fresh arrivals, and to the inhabitants of Melbourne generally. There is but

one small window, whence letters directed to lie at the office are given out; and as the ships from England

daily discharged their living cargoes into Melbourne, the crowd round this inefficient deliveringplace

rendered getting one's letters the work, not of hours, but days. Newspapers, particularly pictorial ones, have,

it would appear, a remarkable facility for being lost en route. Several numbers of the "Illustrated London

News" had been sent me, and, although the letters posted with them arrived in safety, the papers themselves

never made their appearance. I did hear that, when addressed to an uncolonial name, and with no grander

direction than the Postoffice itself, the clerks are apt to apropriate them this is, perhaps, only a wee bit of

The arrival of our letters from England left nothing now to detain us, and made us all anxious to commence

our trip to the diggings, although the roads were in an awful condition. Still we would delay no longer, and

the bustle of preparation began. Stores of flour, tea, and sugar, tents and canvas, campovens, cooking

utensils, tin plates and pannikins, opossum rugs and blankets, drays, carts and horses, cradles, had to be

On board ship, my brother had joined himself to a party of four young men, who had decided to give the

diggings a trial. Four other of our shipmates had also joined themselves into a diggingparty, and when they

heard of our intended departure, proposed travelling up together and separating on our arrival. This was

settled, and a proposal made that between the two sets they should raise funds to purchase a dray and horses,

and make a speculation in flour, tea, on which an immense profit was being made at the diggings. It would

also afford the convenience of taking up tents, cradles, and other articles impossible to carry up without. The

dray cost one hundred pounds, and the two strong carthorses ninety and one hundred pounds respectively.

This, with the goods themselves, and a few sundries in the shape of harness and cords, made only a venture of

about fifty pounds apiece. While these arrangements were rapidly progressing, a few other parties wished to

join ours for safety on the road, which was agreed to, and the day fixed upon for the departure was the 7th of

September. Every one, except myself, was to walk, and we furthermore determined to "camp out" as much as

possible, and thus avoid the vicinity of the inns and haltingplaces on the way, which are frequently the

On the Sunday previous to the day on which our journey was to commence, I had a little adventure, which

pleased me at the time, though, but for the sequel, not worth mentioning here. I had walked with my brother

and a friend to St. Peter's Church; but we were a few minutes behind time, and therefore could find no

unoccupied seat. Thus disappointed, we strolled over Princes Bridge on to the other side of the Yarra.

Between the bridge and the beach, on the south side of the river, is a little city of tents, called Little Adelaide.

They were inhabited by a number of families, that the rumour of the Victoria goldmines had induced to

leave South Australia, and whose finances were unequal to the high prices in Melbourne.

Government levies a tax of five shillings a week on each tent, built upon land as wild and barren as the

bleakest common in England. We did not wander this morning towards Little Adelaide; but followed the

Upon a gentle rise beside the river, not far enough away from Melbourne to be inconvenient, but yet

sufficiently removed from its mud and noise, were pitched two tents, evidently new, with crimson paint still

gay upon the round nobs of the centre posts, and looking altogether more in trim for a gala day in Merry

England than a trip to the diggings. The sun was high above our heads, and the day intensely hot; so much so,

that I could not resist the temptation of tapping at the canvas door to ask for a draught of water. A gentleman

obeyed the summons, and on learning the occasion of this unceremonious visit, politely accommodated me

with a campstool and some delicious fresh milk in Melbourne almost a luxury. Whilst I was imbibing

this with no little relish, my friends were entering into conversation with our new acquaintance. The tents

belonged to a party just arrived by the steamer from England, with everything complete for the diggings, to

which they meant to proceed in another week, and where I had the pleasure of meeting them again, though

under different and very peculiar circumstances. The tent which I had invaded was inhabited by two, the elder

of whom, a powerfullybuilt man of thirty, formed a strong contrast to his companion, a delicatelooking

After a short rest, we returned to Melbourne, well pleased with our little adventure.

The next day was hardly long enough for our numerous preparations, and it was late before we retired to rest.

Six was the hour appointed for the next morning's breakfast. Excited with anticipating the adventures to

THE anxiouslyexpected morning at length commenced, and a dismallooking morning it was hazy and

damp, with a small drizzling rain, which, from the gloomy aspect above, seemed likely to last. It was not,

however, sufficient to damp our spirits, and the appointed hour found us all assembled to attack the last meal

that we anticipated to make for some time to come beneath the shelter of a ceiling. At eight o'clock our united

party was to start from the "Duke of York" hotel, and as that hour drew nigh, the unmistakeable signs of

"something up," attracted a few idlers to witness our departure. In truth, we were a goodly party, and created

no little sensation among the loungers but I must regularly introduce our troop to my readers.

First then, I must mention two large drays, each drawn by a pair of stout horses one the property of two

Germans, who were bound for Forest Creek, the other belonged to ourselves and shipmates. There were three

packhorses one (laden with a speculation in bran) belonged to a queerlooking sailor, who went by the

name of Joe, the other two were under the care of a man named Gregory, who was going to rejoin his mates

at Eagle Hawk Gully. As his destination was the farthest, and he was well acquainted with the roads, he ought

to have been elected leader, but from some mismanagement that dignity was conferred upon a stout old

gentleman, who had taken a pleasuretrip to Mount Alexander, the previous summer.

Starting is almost always a tedious affair, nor was this particular case an exception. First one had forgotten

something another broke a strap, and a new one had to be procured then the dray was not properly

packed, and must be righted some one else wanted an extra "nobbler" then a fresh, and still a fresh

delay, so that although eight was the appointed hour, it was noon ere we bade farewell to mine host of the

At length the word of command was spoken. Foremost came the gallant captain (as we had dubbed him), and

with him two ship doctors, in partnership together, who carried the signs of their profession along with them

in the shape of a most surgeonlike mahogany box. Then came the two Germans, complacently smoking

their meerschaums, and attending to their dray and horses, which latter, unlike their masters, were of a very

restless turn of mind. After these came a party of six, among whom was Gregory and two lively Frenchmen,

who kept up an incessant chattering. Joe walked by himself, leading his packhorse, then came our four

Most carried on their backs their individual property blankets, provisions for the road, rolled in a skin, and

fastened over the shoulders by leathern straps. This bundle goes by the name of "swag," and is the digger's

usual accompaniment it being too great a luxury to place upon a dray or packhorse anything not

absolutely necessary. This will be easily understood when it is known that carriers, during the winter,

obtained �120 and sometimes �150 a ton for conveying goods to Bendigo (about one hundred miles from

Melbourne). Nor was the sum exorbitant, as besides the chance of a few weeks' stick in the mud, they run

great risk of injuring their horses or bullocks; many a valuable beast has been obliged to be shot where it

stood, it being found impossible to extricate it from the mud and swamp. At the time we started, the sum

generally demanded was about �70 per ton. On the price of carriage up, depended of course the price of

The weight of one of these "swags" is far from light; the provender for the road is itself by no means trifling,

though that of course diminishes by the way, and lightens the load a little. Still there are the blankets,

firearms, drinking and eating apparatus, clothing, chamoisleather for the gold that has yet to be dug, and

numberless other cumbersome articles necessary for the digoer. In every belt was stuck either a large knife or

a tomahawk; two shouldered their guns (by the bye, rather imprudent, as the sight of firearms often brings

down an attack); some had thick sticks, fit to fell a bullock; altogether, we seemed well prepared to encounter

an entire army of bushrangers. I felt tolerably comfortable perched upon our dray, amid a mass of other soft

lumber; a bag of flour formed an easy support to lean against; on either side I was well walled in by the

canvas and poles of our tent; a large cheese made a convenient footstool. My attire, although well suited for

the business on hand, would hardly have passed muster in any other situation. A dress of common dark blue

serge, a felt wideawake, and a waterproof coat wrapped round me, made a ludicrous assortment.

Going along at a footpace we descended Great Bourke Street, and made our first halt opposite the

Postoffice, where one of our party made a last effort to obtain a letter from his ladylove, which was, alas!

unsuccessful. But we move on again pass the Horse Bazaar turn into Queen Street up we go

towards Flemington, leaving the Melbourne cemetery on our right, and the flagstaff a little to the left; and

Just out of Melbourne, passing to the east of the Benevolent Asylum, we went over a little rise called Mount

Pleasant, which, on a damp sort of a day, with the rain beating around one, seemed certainly a misnomer.

After about two miles, we came to a branchroad leading to Pentridge, where the Government convict

establishment is situated. This we left on our right, and through a line of country thickly wooded (consisting

of red and white gum, stringy bark, cherry and other trees), we arrived at Flemington, which is about three

Flemington is a neat little village or township, consisting of about forty houses, a blacksmith's shop, several

stores, and a good inn, built of brick and stone, with very fair accommodation for travellers, and a large stable

After leaving Flemington, we passed several nicelooking homesteads; some are on a very large scale, and

belong to gentlemen connected with Melbourne, who prefer "living out of town." On reaching the top of the

hill beyond Flemington there is a fine view of Melbourne, the bay, William's Town, and the surrounding

country, but the miserable weather prevented us at this time from properly enjoying it. Sunshine was all we

The road was nicely level, fine trees sheltered it on either side, whilst ever and anon some rustic farmhouse

was passed, or coffeeshop, temporarily erected of canvas or blankets, offered refreshment (such as it was),

and the latest news of the diggings to those who had no objection to pay well for what they had. This

Flemington road (which is considered the most Pleasant in Victoria, or at least anywhere near Melbourne) is

Wright's publichouse is kept by the man whose name it bears; it is a rambling illbuilt, but withal

pleasinglooking edifice, built chiefly of weatherboard and shingle, with a verandah all round. The whole is

painted white, and whilst at some distance from it a passing ray of sunshine gave it a most peculiar effect. In

front of the principal entrance is a thundering large lamp, a most conspicuous looking object. Wright himself

was formerly in the police, and being a sharp fellow, obtained the cognomen of "Tulip," by which both he

and his house have always been known; and so inseparable have the names become, that, whilst "Tulip

Wright's" is renowned wellnigh all over the colonies, the simple name of the owner would create some

inquiries. The state of accommodation here may be gathered from the success of some of the party who had a

penchant for "nobblers" of brandy. "Nothing but bottled beer in the house." "What could we have for

dinner?" inquired one, rather amused at this Hobson's choice state of affairs. "The eatables was only cold

meat; and they couldn't cook nothink fresh," was the curt reply. "Can we sleep here?" "Yes under your

drays." As we literally determined to "camp out" on the journey, we passed on, without partaking of their

"cold eatables," or availing ourselves of their permission to sleep under our own drays, and, leaving the road

to Sydney on our right, and the one to Keilor straight before us, we turned short off to the left towards the

The righthand road leads to Sydney, vi Kilmore, and many going to the diggings prefer using this road as

far as that township. The country about here is very flat, stony and destitute of timber; occasionally the

journey is varied by a waterhole or surfacespring. After several miles, a publichouse called the "Lady of

the Lake" is reached, which is reckoned by many the best country inn on this or any other road in the

colonies. The accommodation is excellent, and the rooms well arranged, and independent of the house. There

are ten or twelve rooms which, on a push, could accommodate fifty or sixty people; six are arranged in pairs

for the convenience of married persons, and the fashionable trip during the honeymoon (particularly for

diggers' weddings) is to the "Lady of the Lake." Whether Sir Walter's poem be the origin of the sign, or

whether the swamps in the rear, I cannot say, but decidedly there is no lake and no lady, though I have heard

of a buxom lass, the landlord's daughter, who acts as barmaid, and is a great favourite. This spot was the

scene last May of a horrible murder, which has added no little to the notoriety of the neighbourhood.

After several miles you at length arrive at Kilmore, which is a large and thriving township, containing two

places of worship, several stores and inns. There is a resident magistrate with his staff of officials, and a

station for a detachment of mounted police. Kilmore is on the main overland road from Melbourne to Sydney,

and, although not on the confines of the two colonies, is rather an important place, from being the last main

township until you reach the interior of New South Wales. The Government buildings are commodious and

well arranged. There are several farms and stations in the neighbourhood, but the country round is flat and

The middle road leads you direct to Keilor, and you must cross the Deep Creek in a dangerous part, as the

banks thereabouts are very steep, the stream (though narrow) very rapid, and the bottom stony. In 1851, the

bridge (an ordinary log one) was washed down by the floods, and for two months all communication was cut

off. Government have now put a punt, which is worked backwards and forwards every halfhour from six in

the morning till six at night, at certain fares, which are doubled after these hours. These fares are: for a

passenger, 6d.; a horse or bullock, 1s.; a twowheeled vehicle, ls. 6d.; a loaded dray, 2s. The punt is tolerably

well managed, except when the man gets intoxicated not an unfrequent occurrence. When there was

neither bridge nor punt, those who wished to cross were obliged to ford it; and so strong has been the current,

that horses have been carried down one or two hundred yards before they could effect a landing. Keilor is a

pretty little village with a good inn, several nice cottages, and a store or two. The country round is hilly and

barren scarcely any herbage and that little is rank and coarse; the timber is very scarce. This road to the

But to return to ourselves. The rain and bad roads made travelling so very wearisome, that before we had

proceeded far it was unanimously agreed that we should halt and pitch our first encampment. "Pitch our first

encampment! how charming!" exclaims some romantic reader, as though it were an easily accomplished

undertaking. Fixing a gipsytent at a f te champ tre, with a smiling sky above, and all requisites ready to

hand, is one thing, and attempting to sink poles and erect tents out of blankets and rugs in a high wind and

pelting rain, is (if I may be allowed the colonialism) "a horse of quite another colour." Some sort of

shelteringplaces were at length completed; the horses were taken from the dray and tethered to some trees

within sight, and then we made preparations for satisfying the unromantic cravings of hunger symptoms

of which we all, more or less, began to feel. With some difficulty a fire was kindled and kept alight in the

hollow trunk of an old gum tree. A damper was speedily made, which, with a plentiful supply of steaks and

boiled and roasted eggs, was a supper by no means to be despised. The eggs had been procured at four

It was certainly the most curious teatable at which I had ever assisted. Chairs, of course, there were none,

we sat or lounged upon the ground as best suited our tired limbs; tin pannicans (holding about a pint) served

as teacups, and plates of the same metal in lieu of china; a teapot was dispensed with; but a portly substitute

was there in the shape of an immense iron kettle, just taken from the fire and placed in the centre of our grand

teaservice, which being new, a lively imagination might mistake for silver. Hot spirits, for those desirous of

imbibing them, followed our substantial repast; but fatigue and the dreary weather had so completely damped

all disposition to conviviality, that a very short space of time found all fast asleep except the three

Wednesday, September 8. I awoke rather early this morning, not feeling overcomfortable from having

slept in my clothes all night, which it is necessary to do on the journey, so as never to be unprepared for any

emergency. A small corner of my brother's tent had been partitioned off for my bedroom; it was quite dark,

so my first act on waking was to push aside one of the blankets, still wet, which had been my roof during the

night, and thus admit air and light into my apartments. Having made my toilette after a fashion I joined

my companions on the watch, who were deep in the mysteries of preparing something eatable for breakfast. I

discovered that their efforts were concentrated on the formation of a damper, which seemed to give them no

little difficulty. A damper is the legitimate, and, in fact, only bread of the bush, and should be made solely of

flour and water, well mixed and kneaded into a cake, as large as you like, but not more than two inches in

thickness, and then placed among the hot ashes to bake. If wellmade, it is very sweet and a good substitute

for bread. The rain had, however, spoiled our ashes, the dough would neither rise nor brown, so in despair we

mixed a fresh batch of flour and water, and having fried some rashers of fat bacon till they were nearly

melted, we poured the batter into the pan and let it fry till done. This impromptu dish gave general

satisfaction and was pronounced a cross between a pancake and a heavy suet pudding.

Breakfast over, our temporary residences were pulled down, the drays loaded, and our journey recommenced.

We soon reached the Deep Creek, and crossed by means of a punt, the charges being the same as the one at

Keilor. Near here is a station belonging to Mr. Ryleigh, which is a happy specimen of a squatter's home

everything being managed in a superior manner. The house itself is erected on a rise and surrounded by an

extensive garden, vinery and orchard, all well stocked and kept; some beautifully enclosed paddocks reach to

the Creek, and give an English parklike appearance to the whole. The view from here over the bay and

Brighton is splendid; you can almost distinguish Geelong. About a quarter of a mile off is a little hamlet with

a neat Swisslooking church, built over a schoolroom on a rise of ground; it has a most peculiar effect, and

is the more singular as the economizing the ground could not be a consideration in the colony; on the left of

the church is a pretty little parsonage, whitewashed, with slate roof and greenpainted windowframes.

I still fancy, though our redoubtable captain most strenuously denied it, that we had in some manner gone out

of our way; however that may be, the roads seemed worse and worse as we proceeded, and our pace became

more tedious as here and there it was uphill work till at length we reached the Keilor plains. It was almost

disheartening to look upon that vast expanse of flat and dreary land except where the eye lingered on the

purple sides of Mount Macedon, which rose far distant in front of us. On entering the plains we passed two or

three little farmhouses, coffeeshops, and encountered several parties coming home for a trip to Melbourne.

For ten miles we travelled on dismally enough, for it rained a great deal, and we were constantly obliged to

halt to get the horses rested a little. We now passed a coffeeshop, which although only consisting of a

canvas tent and little wooden shed, has been known to accommodate above forty people of a night. As there

are always plenty of bad characters lounging in the neighbourhood of such places, we kept at a respectful

distance, and did not make our final halt till full two miles farther on our road. Tents were again pitched, but

owing to their not being fastened over securely, many of us got an unwishedfor showerbath during the

night; but this is nothing at the antipodes one soon learns to laugh at such trifles.

Thursday, 9. This morning we were up betimes, some of our party being so sanguine as to anticipate

making the "Bush Inn" before evening. As we proceeded, this hope quickly faded away. The Keilor plains

seemed almost impassable, and what with pieces of rock here, and a waterhole there, crossing them was

more dangerous than agreeable. Now one passed a brokendown dray; then one's ears were horrified at the

oaths an unhappy wight was venting at a mudhole into which he had stumbled. A comical object he looked,

as, halfseasover, he attempted to pull on a mudcovered boot, which he had just extricated from the hole

where it and his leg had parted company. A piece of wood, which his imagination transformed into a

shoehorn, was in his hand. "Put it into the larboard side," (suiting the action to the word), "there it goes

damn her, she won't come on! Put it into the starboard side there it goes well done, old girl," and he

With a hearty laugh, we proceeded on our road, and after passing two or three coffeetents, we arrived at

Gregory's Inn. The landlord is considered the best on the road, and is a practical example of what honesty and

industry may achieve. He commenced some nine months before without a shilling his tarpaulin tent and

small stock of tea, sugar, coffee, being a loan. He has now a large weatherboard house, capable of making

up one hundred beds, and even then unable to accommodate all his visitors, so numerous are they, from the

good name he bears. Here we got a capital cold dinner of meat, bread, cheese, coffee, tea, for three shillings

apiece, and, somewhat refreshed, went forwards in better spirits, though the accounts we heard there of the

Mount Macedon now formed quite a beautiful object on our right: a little below that mountain appeared a

smaller one, called the Bald Hill, from its peak being quite barren, and the soil of a white limestone and

quartzy nature, which gives it a most peculiar and splendid appearance when the sun's rays are shining upon

it. As we advanced, the, thicklywooded sides of Mount Macedon became more distinct, and our proximity

to a part of the country which we knew to be auriferous, exercised an unaccountable yet pleasureable

influence over our spirits, which was perhaps increased by the loveliness of the spot where we now pitched

our tents for the evening. It was at the foot of the Gap. The stately gumtree, the sheaoak, with its gracefully

drooping foliage, the perfumed yellow blossom of the mimosa, the richlywooded mountain in the

background, united to form a picture too magnificent to describe. The ground was carpeted with wild flowers;

the sarsaparilla blossoms creeping everywhere; before us slowly rippled a clear streamlet, reflecting a

thousand times the deepening tints which the last rays of the setting sun flung over the surrounding scenery;

the air rang with the cawing of the numerous cockatoos and parrots of all hues and colours who made the

woods resound with their tones, whilst their restless movements and gay plumage gave life and piquancy to

This night our beds were composed of the mimosa, which has a perfume like the hawthorn. The

softestlooking branches were selected, cut down, and flung upon the ground beneath the tents, and formed a

bed which, to my wearied limbs, appeared the softest and most luxuriant upon which I had slept since my

Friday, 10. With some reluctance I aroused myself from a very heavy slumber produced by the over

fatigue of the preceding day. I found every one preparing to start; kindly considerate, my companions thought

a good sleep more refreshing for me than breakfast, and had deferred awakening me till quite obliged, so

taking a few sailors' biscuits in my pocket to munch on the way, I bade farewell to a spot whose natural

Proceeding onwards, we skirted the Bald Hill, and entering rather a scrubby tract, crossed a creek more

awkward for our drays than dangerous to ourselves; we then passed two or three little coffeeshops, which

being tents are always shifting their quarters, crossed another plain, very stony and in places swampy, which

terminated in a thicklywooded tract of gum and wattle trees. Into this wood we now entered. After about

I must here observe that no distinct road is ever cut out, but the whole country is cut up into innumerable

tracks by the carts and drays, and which are awfully bewildering to the newcomer as they run here and

there, now crossing a swamp, now a rocky place, here a creek, there a hillock, and yet, in many cases, all

The "Bush Inn" (the genuine one, for there are two) consists of a large, wellbuilt, brick and weatherboard

house, with bedrooms for private families. There is a detached weatherboard, and stone kitchen, and

taproom, with sleepinglofts above, a large yard with sheds and good stabling. A portion of the house and

stables is always engaged for the use of the escort. About two hundred yards off is the "New Bush Inn,"

somewhat similar to the other, not quite so large, with an attempt at a garden. The charges at these houses are

enormous. Five and six shillings per meal, sevenandsixpence for a bottle of ale, and one shilling for half a

glass or "nobbler" of brandy. About half a mile distant is a large station belonging to Mr. Watson; the houses,

huts and yards are very prettily laid out, and, in a few years he will have the finest vineyard in the

neighbourhood. Two miles to the east is the residence of Mr. Poullett, Commissioner of Crown Lands, which

is very pleasantly situated on the banks of an everrunning stream. The paddock, which is a large one (10

square miles, or 6400 acres), is well wooded. Some new police barracks and stabling yards are in the course

We did not linger in the "Bush Inn," but pursued our way over a marshy flat, crossed a dangerous creek, and

having ascended a steep and thickly wooded hill on the skirts of the Black Forest, we halted and pitched our

tents. It was little more than midday, but the road had been fearful as bad as wading through a mire; men

and beasts were worn out, and it was thought advisable to recruit well before entering the dreaded precincts

of the Black Forest. Fires were lit, supper was cooked, spirits and pipes made their appearance, songs were

sung, and a few of the awful exploits of Black Douglas and his followers were related. Later in the evening,

an opossum was shot by one of us. Its skin was very soft, with rich, brown hair.

Saturday, 11 A dismal wet day we remained stationary, as many of our party were still footsore, and

all were glad of a rest. Some went out shooting, but returned with only a few parrots and cockatoos, which

they roasted, and pronounced nice eating. Towards evening, a party of four, returning from the diggings,

encamped at a little distance from us. Some of our loiterers made their acquaintance. They had passed the

previous night in the Black Forest, having wandered out of their way. To add to their misfortunes, they had

been attacked by three wellarmed bushrangers, whom they had compelled to desist from their attempt, not,

however, before two of the poor men had been wounded, one rather severely. Hardly had they recovered this

shock, than they were horrified by the sudden discovery in a sequestered spot of some human bones, strewn

upon the ground beside a brokendown cart. Whether accident or design had brought these unfortunates to an

untimely end, none know; but this ominous appearance seemed to have terrified them even more than the

bushrangers themselves. These accounts sobered our party not a little, and it was deemed advisable to double

Sunday, 12. A LOVELY summer morning, which raised our spirits to something like their usual tone,

with the exception of our gallant (?) captain, who resigned his post, declaring it his intention to return to

Melbourne with the four returning diggers. Poor fellow! their awful account of the Black Forest had been too

much for his courage. Gregory was elected in his place, and wishing him a pleasant trip home, our journey

was resumed as usual, and we entered the forest. Here the trees grow very closely together; in some places

they are so thickly set that the rearguard of the escort cannot see the advanceguard in the march. There is a

slight undergrowth of scrub. We saw some of the choicest of the Erica tribe in full bloom, like a beautiful

crimson waxen bellblossom, and once whilst walking (which I frequently did to relieve the monotony of

being perched on the dray by myself) I saw a fine specimen of the Oreludiae at the foot of a tree growing

from the wood; it was something like a yellow sweetpea, but really too beautiful to describe. The barks of

the trees, and also the ground, have a black, charred appearance (hence the name of the forest); this is said to

have been caused by its having once been on fire. Many of the ambuscades of the noted Douglas were passed,

and the scenes of some most fearful murders pointed out. We only halted once so anxious were we to

leave behind us this dreaded spot and at sunset reached the borders of the Five Mile Creek.

Monday, 13. Another fine day. Crossed the Five Mile Creek by means of a rickety sort of bridge. There

are two inns here, with plenty of accommodation for man and beast. We patronized neither, but made the best

of our way towards Kyneton. Our road lay through a densely wooded country till we arrived at Jacomb's

Station; this we left, and turning to the right, soon reached Kyneton, which lies on the river Campaspe.

Carlshrue lies to the right, about three miles distant, on rather low land; this is the chief station of the

Government escort; the barrack accommodation is firstrate, with stabling and paddocks for the horses,

Kyneton is about sixtyone miles from Melbourne. There are two large inns, with ample accommodation for

four hundred people between them, several stores, with almost every needful article. A neat little church,

capable of holding nearly three hundred persons, with a school and parsonage. There is a resident magistrate

and constabulary, with a policecourt and gaol in progress of erection. The township is rather straggling, but

what houses there are have a very picturesque appearance. The only drawback to this little town is the

badness of the streets. Although it is rather on an elevated spot, the streets and roads, from the loamy nature

of the sod, are a perfect quagmire, even abominable in summer time. The charges here are high, but not

extortionate, as, besides the two inns alluded to, there are several coffeeshops and lodginghouses; so

We still adhered to our original plan of camping out; a few necessaries were purchased in the town, and after

Tuesday 14. This morning commenced with a colonial shower, which gave us all a good drenching.

Started about eight o'clock; returned to Kyneton; crossed the bridge, and passed several farmhouses. The

country here is very changeable, sometimes flat and boggy, at others, very hilly and stony. We were obliged

to ford several small creeks, evidently tributaries to the Campaspe, and at about ten miles from Kyneton,

entered the Coliban range, which is thickly wooded. The river itself is about fourteen miles from Kyneton.

Here we camped, in the pouring rain. Some of our party walked to the town of Malmsbury, about a mile and

a half from our camping place. The town consisted of about three tents, and an inn dignified by the

appellation of the "Malmsbury Hotel". It is a twostoried, weatherboard, and pale house, painted blue, with

a lamp before it of many colours, large enough for halfadozen people to dine in. It (the inn, not the lamp,)

is capable of accommodating two hundred people, independent of which there is a large tent, similar to the

booths at a fair, about 100 feet long by 30 wide, for the convenience of those who prefer sleeping under cover

when the house is full. Being hungry with their walk, our comrades dined here, for which they paid 3s. 6 d.

apiece ; ale was 1s. 6 d. a glass; brandy 2s. per half glass, or "nobbler;" cheese, 4s. 6d. a pound; bread, 5s.

the fourpound loaf; wine, 25s. a bottle. By the time they returned, we had struck our tents, intending to cross

a muddybanked creek that lay in our road that evening, as we were told that the waters might be too swollen

to do it next day. The water reached above their waists, and as my usual post was very insecure, I was obliged

to be carried over on their shoulders, which did not prevent my feet from being thoroughly soaked before

Wednesday, 15. Rainy day again, so much so, that we thought it advisable not to shift our quarters. In the

afternoon, three returning diggers pitched their tents not far from ours. They were rather sociable, and gave us

a good account of the diggings. They had themselves been very fortunate. On the same day that we had been

idly resting on the borders of the Black Forest, they had succeeded in taking twentythree pounds weight out

of their claim, and two days after, two hundred and six ounces more, making, in all, gold to the value (in

England) of about eighteen hundred pounds. They were returning to Melbourne for a spree, (which means to

fling their gains away as quickly as possible,) and then as soon as the dry season was regularly set in, they

meant to return to Bendigo for another spell at work. On representing to them the folly of not making better

use of their hardearned wages, the answer invariably was, "Plenty more to be got where this came from," an

apt illustration of the proverb, "light come, light go." Two of these diggers had with them their licences for

the current month, which they offered to sell for ten shillings each; two of our company purchased them.

This, although a common proceeding, was quite illegal, and, of course, the two purchasers had to assume for

the rest of the month the names of the parties to whom the licences had been issued. As evening approached,

our new acquaintances became very sociable, and amused us with their account of the diggings; and the

subject of licensing being naturally discussed, led to our being initiated into the various means of evading it,

and the penalties incurred thereby. One story they related amused us at the time, and as it is true I will repeat

it here, though I fancy the lack of oral communication will subtract from it what little interest it did possess.

Before I commence, I must give my readers some little insight into the nature of the licence tax itself. The

licence, (for which thirty shillings, or half an ounce of gold, is paid per month) is in the following form:

The Bearer, Henry Clements, having paid to me the Sum of One Pound, Ten Shillings, on account of the

Territorial Revenue, I hereby Licence him to dig, search for, and remove Gold on and from any such Crown

Land within the Upper Lodden District, as I shall assign to him for that purpose during the month of

This Licence is not transferable, and to be produced whenever demanded by me or any other person acting

under the Authority of the Government, and to be returned when another Licence is issued.

Regulations to be observed by the Persons digging for Gold, or otherwise employed at the Gold Fields.

1. Every Licensed Person must always have his Licence with him, ready to be produced whenever demanded

by a Commissioner, or Person acting under his instructions, otherwise he is liable to be proceeded against as

2. Every Person digging for Gold, or occupying Land, without a Licence, is liable by Law to be fined, for the

first offence, not exceeding �5; for a second offence, not exceeding �15; and for a subsequent offence, not

3. Digging for Gold is not allowed within Ten feet of any Public Road, nor are the Roads to be undermined.

4. Tents or buildings are not to be erected within Twenty feet of each other, or within Twenty feet of any

5. It is enjoined that all Persons at the Gold Fields maintain and assist in maintaining a due and proper

So great is the crowd around the Commissioner's tent at the beginning of the month, that it is a matter of

difficulty to procure it, and consequently the inspectors rarely begin their rounds before the 10th, when (as

they generally vary the fine according to the date at which the delinquency is discovered), a nonlicensed

digger would have the pleasure of accompanying a crowd of similar offenders to the Commissioners,

sometimes four or five miles from his workingplace, pay a fine of about �3, and take out a licence. After the

20th of the month, the fine inflicted is generally from �5 to �10 and a licence, which is rather a dear price to

pay for a few days' permission to dig, as a licence, although granted on the 30th of one month, would be

unavailable for the next. The inspectors are generally strongbuilt, roughlooking customers, they dress like

the generality of the diggers, and are only known by their carrying a gun in lieu of a pick or shovel.

Delinquents unable to pay the fine, have the pleasure of working it out on the roads.

Mike and Robert were two as good mates as any at the Mount Alexander diggings. They had had a good spell

of hard work, and, as is usually the way, returned to Melbourne for a holiday at Christmastime; and then it

was that the bright eyes of Susan Hinton first sowed discord between them. Mike was the successful wooer,

and the old man gave his consent; for Mike, with one exception, had contrived to make himself a favourite

with both father and daughter. The exception was this. Old Hinton was a strict disciplinarian one of what

is called the "good old school" he hated radicals, revolutionists, and reformers, or any opposition to

Church or State. Mike, on the contrary, loved nothing better than to hold forth against the powers that be; and

it was his greatest boast that Government had never pocketed a farthing from him in the way of a licence.

This, in the old man's eyes, was his solitary fault, and when Mike declared his intention of taking another trip

to the "lottery fields" before taking a ticket in the even greater lottery of marriage, he solemnly declared that

no daughter of his should ever marry a man who had been openly convicted of in any way evading the

This declaration from any other man, who had already promised his daughter in marriage, would not have

had much weight; but Mike knew the stern, strict character of Hinton, and respected this determination

accordingly. The day of their departure arrived, and with a tearful injunction to bear in mind her father's

wishes, Susan bade her lover farewell, and Robert and he proceeded on their journey. Full of his own

happiness, Mike had never suspected his comrade's love for Susan, and little dreamt he of the hatred against

himself to which it had given birth hatred the more to be dreaded since it was concealed under a most

For the first month Mike behaved to the very letter of the law, and having for the sum of �1 10s. purchased

his legal right to dig for gold, felt himself a most exemplary character. Success again crowned their efforts,

and a speedy return to Melbourne was contemplated. In the ardour of this exciting work another month

commenced, and Mike at first forgot and then neglected to renew his licence. "The inspector rarely came his

rounds before the 14th; the neighbourhood was considered deserted fairly 'worked out;' he'd never come

round there." Thus argued Mike, and his friend cordially agreed with him. "Lose a day's work standing

outside the Commissioner's tent broiling in a crowd, when two days would finish the job? Not he, indeed!

Mike might please himself, but he shouldn't get a licence;" and this determination on the part of his "mate"

In one respect Mike's selfsecurity was not unfounded; the gully in which their tent was now pitched was

nearly deserted. Some while previous there had been a great rush to the place, so great that it was almost

excavated; then the rush took a different direction, and few now cared to work on the two or three spots that

had been left untouched. Like many other localities considered "worked out," as much remained in the

ground as had been taken from it, and as each day added to their store, Mike's hilarity increased.

It was now the 10th of the month; their hole had been fairly "bottomed," a nice little nest of nuggets

discovered, their gains divided, and the gold sent down to the escortoffice for transit to Melbourne. A few

"Today will finish that," thought Mike, and to it he set with hearty goodwill, to the intense satisfaction of

his comrade, who sat watching him at a little distance. Suddenly Mike felt a heavy hand upon his shoulder:

he looked up, and saw before him the inspector. He had already with him a large body of defaulters, and

Mike little doubted but that he must be added to their number. Old Hinton's determined speech, Susan's

"You've lost your bonnie bride," muttered Robert, loud enough to reach his rival's ears.

Mike glanced at him, and the look of triumph he saw there roused every spark of energy within him, and it

was in a tone of wellassumed composure that he replied to the inspector, "My licence is in my pocket, and

my coat is below there;" and without a moment's hesitation sprang into his hole to fetch it. Some minutes

elapsed. The inspector waxed impatient. A suspicion of the truth flashed across Robert's mind, and he too

descended the hole. There was the coat and the licence of the past month in the pocket; but the owner had

gone, vanished, and an excavation on one side which led into the next hole and thence into a complete

labyrinth underground, plainly pointed out the method of escape. Seeing no use in ferreting the delinquent out

of so dangerous a place, the inspector sulkily withdrew, though not without venting some of his illhumour

upon Robert, at whose representations, made to him the day previous, he had come so far out of his road.

But let us return to Mike. By a happy thought, he had suddenly remembered that whilst working some days

before in the hole, his pick had let in daylight on one side, and the desperate hope presented itself to his mind

that he might make a passage into the next pit, which he knew led into others, and thus escape. His success

was beyond his expectation; and he regained the open air at a sufficient distance from his late quarters to

escape observation. Once able to reflect calmly upon the event of the morning, it required little discrimination

to fix upon Robert his real share in it. And now there was no time to lose in returning to Melbourne, and

prevent by a speedy marriage any further attempt to set his intended fatherinlaw against him. The roads

were dry, for it was the sultry month of February; and two days saw him beside his ladylove.

Although railroads are as yet unknown in Australia, everything goes on at railroad speed; and a marriage

concocted one day is frequently solemnized the next. His eagerness, therefore, was no way remarkable. No

time was lost; and when, three days after Mike's return, Robert (with his head full of plots and machinations)

presented himself at old Hinton's door, he found them all at a wellspread wedding breakfast, round which

were gathered a merry party, listening with a digger's interest to the way in which the happy bridegroom had

Thursday 16. With great delight we hailed the prognostications of a fine day, and, after having eaten a

hearty breakfast on the strength of it, we recommenced our travels, and crossed the Coliban Bridge. The

Coliban is a fine river running through a beautiful valley bounded with green trees; the bridge is a timber one,

out of repair, and dangerous. A township called Malmsbury has been laid out here in small allotments with

the expectation of a future city; but as yet not a house has been erected, with the exception of the "hotel"

before mentioned, putting one in mind of the American Eden in "Martin Chuzzlewit." A mile beyond the

Coliban are the washing huts of John Orr's Station, and about three miles to the left is his residence; the house

After passing the bridge, we took the righthand road, which led us through a low country, and across two or

three tributary creeks; we then reached the neighbourhood of Sawpit Gully, so called from the number of

sawpits there, which formerly gave employment to numerous sawyers, whose occupation it is almost

needless to state is now deserted. It is surrounded with fine large timber; there are several coffeeshops, a

At this part, our German friends bade us farewell, to follow out their original plan of going to Forest Creek;

they had persuaded four others to accompany them, so our number was reduced to fifteen, myself included.

The scenery now became very beautiful, diversified with hill and dale, well wooded, with here and there a

small creek, more agreeable to look at than to cross, as there were either no bridges or brokendown ones.

The loveliness of the weather seemed to impart energy even to our horses; and we did not pitch our tents till

we had travelled full sixteen miles. We were now close beside Mount Alexander, which is nearly covered

Friday, 17. A lovely morning; we proceeded in excellent spirits, passing some beautiful scenery, though

rather monotonous. During the first few miles, we went across many little creeks, in the neighbourhood of

which were indications that the diggers had been at work. These symptoms we hailed with intense delight.

Gregory told us the history of a hole in this neighbourhood, out of which five people cleared �13,000 worth

of gold each in about a few hours. In lieu of sinking a shaft, they commenced in a gully (colonial for valley),

and drove a hole on an inclined plane up the side of the hill or rise. However wet the season, they could never

be inconvenienced, as the very inclination would naturally drain the hole. Such a precaution was not needed,

as the whole party were perfectly satisfied with the success they had had without toiling for more. The

country between here and the "Porcupine Inn" is exceedingly beautiful not unlike many parts in the

lowlands of Wales. About eight miles on the road we pass Barker's Creek, which runs through a beautiful

We camped this evening about four or five miles from Bendigo, and some miles from the "Porcupine Inn,"

which we left behind us. The "Porcupine" is a newly built inn on an old spot, for I believe there was an inn in

existence there before the diggings were ever heard or thought of. The accommodation appears on rather a

small scale. Near it is a portion of the station of the Messrs. Gibson, through which the public road runs;

Saturday, 18. Fine day; we now approached Bendigo. The timber here is very large. Here we first beheld

the majestic iron bark, Eucalypti, the trunks of which are fluted with the exquisite regularity of a Doric

column; they are in truth the noblest ornaments of these mighty forests. A few miles further, and the diggings

themselves burst upon our view. Never shall I forget that scene, it well repaid a journey even of sixteen

thousand miles. The trees had been all cut down; it looked like a sandy plain, or one vast unbroken succession

of countless gravel pits the earth was everywhere turned up men's heads in every direction were

popping up and down from their holes. Well might an Australian writer, in speaking of Bendigo, term it "The

Carthage of the Tyre of Forest Creek." The rattle of the cradle, as it swayed to and fro, the sounds of the pick

and shovel, the busy hum of so many thousands, the innumerable tents, the stores with large flags hoisted

above them, flags of every shape, colour, and nation, from the lion and unicorn of England to the Russian

eagle, the strange yet picturesque costume of the diggers themselves, all contributed to render the scene novel

We hurried through this exciting locality as quickly as possible; and, after five miles travelling, reached the

Eagle Hawk Gully, where we pitched our tents, supped, and retired to rest though, for myself at least, not

to sleep. The excitement of the day was sufficient cure for drowsiness. Before proceeding with an account of

our doings at the Eagle Hawk, I will give a slight sketch of the character and peculiarities of the diggings

themselves, which are of course not confined to one spot, but are the characteristics that usually exist in any

auriferous regions, where the diggers are at work. I will leave myself, therefore, safely ensconced beneath a

tent at the Eagle Hawk, and take a slight and rapid survey of the principal diggings in the neighbourhood

OF the history of the discovery of gold in Australia I believe few are ignorant; it is therefore necessary that

my recapitulation of it should be as brief as possible. The first supposed discovery took place some sixty

years ago, at Port Jackson. A convict made known to Governor Phillip the existence of an auriferous region

near Sydney, and on the locality being examined, particles of real golddust were found. Every one was

astonished, and several other spots were tried without success. Suspicion was now excited, and the affair

underwent a thorough examination, which elicited the following facts. The convict, in the hope of obtaining

his pardon as a reward, had filed a guinea and some brass buttons, which, judiciously mixed, made a tolerable

pile of golddust, and this he carefully distributed over a small tract of sandy land. In lieu of the expected

freedom, his ingenuity was rewarded with close confinement and other punishments. Thus ended the first

In 1841 the Rev. W. B. Clarke expressed his belief in the existence of gold in the valley of the Macquarie,

and this opinion was greatly confirmed by the observations of European geologists on the Uralian Mountains.

In 1849 an indisputable testimony was added to these opinions by a Mr. Smith, who was then engaged in

some iron works, near Berrima, and who brought a splendid specimen of gold in quartz to the Colonial

Secretary. Sir C. A. Fitzroy evinced little sympathy with the discovery, and in a despatch to Lord Grey upon

the subject, expressed his opinion that "any investigation that the Government might institute with the view

of ascertaining whether gold did in reality exist to any extent or value in that part of the colony where it was

supposed from its geological formation that metal would be found, would only tend to agitate the public

Suddenly, in 1851, at the time that the approaching opening of the Crystal Palace was the principal subject of

attention in England, the colonies of Australia were in a state of far greater excitement, as the news spread

like wildfire, far and wide, that gold was really there. To Edward Hammond Hargreaves be given the

honour of this discovery. This gentleman was an old Australian settler, just returned from a trip to California,

where he had been struck by the similarity of the geological formation of the mountain ranges in his adopted

country to that of the Sacramento district. On his return, he immediately searched for the precious metal;

Ophir, the Turon, and Bathurst well repaid his labour. Thus commenced the gold diggings of New South

The good people of Victoria were rather jealous of the importance given by these events to the other colony.

Committees were formed, and rewards were offered for the discovery of a goldfield in Victoria. The

announcement of the Clunes Diggings in July, 1851, was the result; they were situated on a tributary of the

Loddon. On September 8, those of Ballarat, and on the 10th those of Mount Alexander completely satisfied

the most sceptical as to the vast mineral wealth of the colony. Bendigo soon was heard of; and gully after

gully successively attracted the attention of the public by the display of their golden treasures.

The names given to these gullies open a curious field of speculation. Many have a sort of digger's tradition

respecting their first discovery. The riches of Peg Leg Gully were brought to light through the surfacing of

three men with wooden legs, who were unable to sink a hole in the regular way. Golden Gully was

discovered by a man who, whilst lounging on the ground and idly pulling up the roots of grass within his

reach, found beneath one a nest of golden nuggets. Eagle Hawk derives its name from the number of

eaglehawks seen in the gully before the sounds of the pick and shovel drove them away. Murderer's Flat and

Choke'em Gully tell their own tale. The Irish clan together in Tipperary Gully. A party of South Australians

gave the name of their chief town to Adelaide Gully. The Iron Bark is so called from the magnificent trees

which abound there. Long, Piccaninny, and Dusty Gully need no explanation. The Jim Crow ranges are

appropriately so called, for it is only by keeping up a sort of Jim Crow dancing movement that one can travel

about there; it is the roughest piece of country at the diggings. White Horse Gully obtained its name from a

white horse whose hoofs, whilst the animal in a rage was plunging here and there, flung up the surface

ground and disclosed the treasures beneath. In this gully was found the famous "John Bull Nugget," lately

exhibited in London. The party to whom it belonged consisted of three poor sailors; the one who actually

discovered it had only been a fortnight at the diggings. The nugget weighed fortyfive pounds, and was only

a few inches beneath the surface. It was sold for �5000; a good morning's work that!

Let us take a stroll round Forest Creek what a novel scene! thousands of human beings engaged in

digging, wheeling, carrying, and washing, intermingled with no little grumbling, scolding and swearing. We

approach first the old Postoffice Square; next our eye glances down Adelaide Gully, and over the

Montgomery and White Hills, all pretty well dug up; now we pass the Private Escort Station, and Little

Bendigo. At the junction of Forest, Barker, and Campbell Creeks we find the Commissioners' quarters this

is nearly five miles from our starting point. We must now return to Adelaide Gully, and keep alongside

Adelaide Creek, till we come to a high range of rocks, which we cross, and then find ourselves near the

headwaters of Fryer's Creek. Following that stream towards the Loddon, we pass the interesting

neighbourhood of Golden Gully, Moonlight Flat, Windlass and Red Hill; this latter which covers about two

acres of ground is so called from the colour of the soil, it was the first found, and is still considered as the

richest auriferous spot near Mount Alexander. In the wet season, it was reckoned that on Moonlight Flat one

man was daily buried alive from the earth falling into his hole. Proceeding northeast in the direction of

The principal gullies about Bendigo are Sailors's, Napoleon, Pennyweight, Peg Leg, Growler's, White Horse,

Eagle Hawk, Californian, American, Derwent, Long, Picaninny, Iron Bark, Black Man's, Poor Man's, Dusty,

Jim Crow, Spring, and Golden also Sydney Flat, and Specimen Hill Haverton Gully, and the

Sheepwash. Most of these places are wellransacked and tunnelled, but thorough good wages may always

It is not only the diggers, however, who make money at the Gold Fields. Carters, carpenters, storemen,

wheelwrights, butchers, shoemakers, usually in the long run make a fortune quicker than the diggers

themselves, and certainly with less hard work or risk of life. They can always get from �1 to �2 a day without

rations, whereas they may dig for weeks and get nothing. Living is not more expensive than in Melbourne:

meat is generally from 4d. to 6d. a pound, flour about 1s. 6d a pound, (this is the most expensive article in

housekeeping there,) butter must be dispensed with, as that is seldom less than 4s. a pound, and only

successful diggers can indulge in such articles as cheese, pickles, ham, sardines, pickled salmon, or spirits, as

all these things, though easily procured if you have gold to throw away, are expensive, the lastnamed article

(diluted with water or something less innoxious) is only to be obtained for 30s. a bottle.

The stores, which are distinguished by a flag, are numerous and well stocked. A new style of lodging and

boarding house is in great vogue. It is a tent fitted up with stringy bark couches, ranged down each side the

tent, leaving a narrow passage up the middle. The lodgers are supplied with mutton, damper, and tea, three

times a day, for the charge of 5s. a meal, and 5s. for the bed; this is by the week, a casual guest must pay

double, and as 18 inches is on an average considered ample width to sleep in, a tent 24 feet long will bring in

The stores at the diggings are large tents, generally square or oblong, and everything required by a digger can

be obtained for money, from sugarcandy to potted anchovies; from East India pickles to Bass's pale ale;

from ankle jack boots to a pair of stays; from a baby's cap to a cradle; and every apparatus for mining, from a

pick to a needle. But the confusion the din the medley what a scene for a shop walker! Here lies a

pair of herrings dripping into a bag of sugar, or a box of raisins; there a gaylooking bundle of ribbons

beneath two tumblers, and a halffinished bottle of ale. Cheese and butter, bread and yellow soap, pork and

currants, saddles and frocks, wideawakes and blue serge shirts, green veils and shovels, baby linen and

tallow candles, are all heaped indiscriminately together; added to which, there are children bawling, men

swearing, storekeeper sulky, and last, not least, women's tongues going nineteen to the dozen.

Most of the storekeepers are purchasers of gold either for cash or in exchange for goods, and many are the

tricks from which unsuspecting diggers suffer. One great and outrageous trick is to weigh the parcels

separately, or divide the whole, on the excuse that the weight would be too much for the scales; and then, on

adding up the grains and pennyweights, the sellers often lose at least half an ounce. On one occasion, out of

seven pounds weight, a party once lost an ounce and three quarters in this manner. There is also the old

method of false beams one in favour of the purchaser and here, unless the seller weighs in both pans,

he loses considerably. Another mode of cheating is to have glass pans resting on a piece of green baize; under

this baize, and beneath the pan which holds the weights, is a wetted sponge, which causes that pan to adhere

to the baize, and consequently it requires more gold to make it level; this, coupled with the false reckoning, is

ruinous to the digger. In town, the Jews have a system of robbing a great deal from sellers before they

purchase the golddust (for in these instances it must be dust): it is thrown into a zinc pan with slightly raised

sides, which are well rubbed over with grease; and under the plea of a careful examination, the purchaser

shakes and rubs the dust, and a considerable quantity adheres to the sides. A commoner practice still is for

examiners of golddust to cultivate long fingernails, and, in drawing the fingers about it, gather some up.

Sly grog selling is the bane of the diggings. Many perhaps ninetenths of the diggers are honest

industrious men, desirous of getting a little there as a steppingstone to independence elsewhere; but the

other tenth is composed of outcasts and transports the refuse of Van Diemen's Land men of the most

depraved and abandoned characters, who have sought and gained the lowest abyss of crime, and who would a

short time ago have expiated their crimes on a scaffold. They generally work or rob for a space, and when

well stocked with gold, retire to Melbourne for a month or so, living in drunkenness and debauchery. If,

however, their holiday is spent at the diggings, the sly grogshop is the last scene of their boisterous career.

Spirit selling is strictly prohibited; and although Government will license a respectable publichouse on the

road, it is resolutely refused on the diggings. The result has been the opposite of that which it was intended to

produce. There is more drinking and rioting at the diggings than elsewhere, the privacy and risk gives the

obtaining it an excitement which the diggers enjoy as much as the spirit itself; and wherever grog is sold on

the sly, it will sooner or later be the scene of a riot, or perhaps murder. Intemperance is succeeded by

quarrelling and fighting, the neighbouring tents report to the police, and the offenders are lodged in the

lockup; whilst the grogtent, spirits, wine, are seized and taken to the Commissioners. Some of the stores,

however, manage to evade the law rather cleverly as spirits are not sold, "my friend" pays a shilling more

for his fig of tobacco, and his wife an extra sixpence for her suet; and they smile at the storeman, who in

return smiles knowingly at them, and then glasses are brought out, and a bottle produced, which sends forth

It is no joke to get ill at the diggings; doctors make you pay for it. Their fees are for a consultation, at their

own tent, ten shillings; for a visit out, from one to ten pounds, according to time and distance. Many are

regular quacks, and these seem to flourish best. The principal illnesses are weakness of sight, from the hot

winds and sandy soil, and dysentery, which is often caused by the badlycooked food, bad water, and want of

The interior of the canvas habitation of the digger is desolate enough; a box on a block of wood forms a table,

and this is the only furniture; many dispense with that. The bedding, which is laid on the ground, serves to sit

upon. Diogenes in his tub would not have looked more comfortless than any one else. Tin plates and

pannicans, the same as are used for camping up, compose the breakfast, dinner, and tea service, which meals

In some tents the soft influence of our sex is pleasingly apparent: the tins are as bright as silver, there are

sheets as well as blankets on the beds, and perhaps a clean counterpane, with the addition of a dry sack or

piece of carpet on the ground; whilst a pet cockatoo, chained to a perch, makes noise enough to keep the

"missus" from feeling lonely when the good man is at work. Sometimes a wife is at first rather a nuisance;

women get scared and frightened, then cross, and commence a "blow up" with their husbands; but all their

railing generally ends in their quietly settling down to this rough and primitive style of living, if not without a

murmur, at least to all appearance with the determination to laugh and bear it. And although rough in their

manners, and not over select in their address, the digger seldom wilfully injures a woman; in fact, a regular

Vandemonian will, in his way, play the gallant with as great a zest as a fashionable about town at any rate,

Sunday is kept at the diggings in a very orderly manner; and among the actual diggers themselves, the day of

rest is taken in a verbatim sense. It is not unusual to have an established clergyman holding forth near the

Commissioners' tent and almost within hearing will be a tub orator expounding the origin of evil, whilst a

But night at the diggings is the characteristic time: murder here murder there revolvers cracking

blunderbusses bombing rifles going off balls whistling one man groaning with a broken leg

another shouting because he couldn't find the way to his hole, and a third equally vociferous because he has

tumbled into one this man swearing an other praying a party of bacchanals chanting various ditties

to different time and tune, or rather minus both. Here is one man grumbling because he has brought his wife

with him, another ditto because he has left his behind, or sold her for an ounce of gold or a bottle of rum.

Success at the diggings is like drawing lottery tickets the blanks far outnumber the prizes; still, with good

health, strength, and above all perseverance, it is strange if a digger does not in the end reap a reward for his

labour. Meanwhile, he must endure almost incredible hardships. In the rainy season, he must not murmur if

compelled to work up to his knees in water, and sleep on the wet ground, without a fire, in the pouring rain,

and perhaps no shelter above him more waterproof than a blanket or a gum tree; and this not for once only,

but day after day, night after night. In the summer, he must work hard under a burning sun, tortured by the

mosquito and the little stinging March flies, or feel his eyes smart and his throat grow dry and parched, as the

hot winds, laden with dust, pass over him. How grateful now would be a draught from some cold sparkling

streamlet; but, instead, with what sort of water must he quench his thirst? Much the same, gentle reader, as

that which runs down the sides of a dirty road on a rainy day, and for this a shilling a bucket must be paid.

Hardships such as these are often the daily routine of a digger's life; yet, strange to say, far from depressing

the spirits or weakening the frame, they appear in most cases to give strength and energy to both. This is

principally owing to the climate, which even in the wet season is mild and salubrious.

Perhaps nothing will speak better for the general order that prevails at the diggings, than the small amount of

physical force maintained there by Government to keep some thousands of persons of all ages, classes,

characters, religions and countries in good humour with the laws and with one another. The military force

The Government escort is under the control of Mr. Wright, Chief Commissioner; it consists of about forty

foot and sixty mounted police, with the usual complement of inspectors and sergeants; their uniform is blue

with white facings, their headquarters are by the Commissioners' tent, Forest Creek.

The private escort uniform is a plain blue frock coat and trowsers. It is under the superintendence of Mr.

Wilkinson; the headquarters are at Montgomery Hill, Forest Creek. Both these escorts charge one per cent

For the Victoria diggings, there is a Chief Commissioner, one Acting Resident Commissioner; one Assistant

Commissioner at Ballarat, one at Fryer's Creek, five at Forest Creek, and six at Bendigo.

Provision is made by Government for the support, at the mines, of two clergymen of each of the four State

paid churches of England, Scotland, Rome, and Wesleyan, at a salary of �300 a year.

BEFORE commencing an account of our operations at the Eagle Hawk, it will be necessary to write a few

words in description of our golddigging party there; their Christian names will be sufficient distinction, and

This party, as I have said before, consisted of five gentlemen, including my brother. Of the latter I shall only

say that he was young and energetic, more accustomed to use his brains than his fingers, yet with a robust

frame, and muscles well strengthened by the various exercises of boating, cricketing, with which our embryo

Frank (who, from being a married man, was looked up to as the head of our rather juvenile party) was

of a quiet and sedate disposition, rather given to melancholy, for which in truth he had cause. His marriage

had taken place without the sanctionor rather in defiance of the wishesof his parents, for his wife was

portionless, and in a station a few grades, as they considered, below his own; moreover, Frank himself was

not of age. Private income, independent of his parents, he had none. A situation as clerk in a merchant's office

was his only resource, and during three years he had eked out his salary to support a delicate wifewhose ill

health was a neverfailing source of anxiety and expensetwo infants, and himself. An unexpected legacy of

�500 from a distant relative at last seemed to open a brighter prospect before them; and leaving his wife and

children with their relatives, he quitted England to seek in a distant land a better home than all his exertions

could procure for them in their own country. I never felt surprised or offended at his silent and preoccupied

manner, accompanied at times by great depression of spirits, for it was an awful responsibility for one so

young, brought up as he had been in the greatest luxury, as the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, to have not

William , a tall, slight, and rather delicate looking man, is the next of our party whom I shall mention.

His youth had been passed at Christ's Hospital. This he quitted with the firm conviction (in which all his

friends of course participated) that he had been greatly wronged by not having been elected a Grecian; and a

rich uncle, incited by the beforementioned piece of injustice, took him under his care, and promised to settle

him in the world as soon as a short apprenticeship to business had been gone through. A sudden illness put a

stop to all these schemes. The physicians recommended change of air, a warmer climate, a trip to Australia.

William had relatives residing in Melbourne, so the journey was quickly decided upon, a cabin taken; and the

invalid rapidly recovering beneath the exhilarating effects of the seabreezes.How refreshing are they to the

sick! how caressingly does the soft seaair fan the wan cheeks of those exhausted with a life passed amidst

the brick walls and crowded, noisy streets of a city; and William, who at first would have laughed at so

ridiculous a supposition, ere the four months' voyage was terminated, had gained strength and spirits

He was a merry lighthearted fellow, fonder of a joke than hard work, yet ever keeping a sharp eye to the

"That old frockcoat I used to wear in the cold weather whilst we rounded the Cape. A fellow down at

Liardet's admired the cut, asked me to sell it. I charged him four guineas, and walked into town in my

Richard was a gay young fellow of twenty, the only son of a rich member of the stock Exchange. In a

fit of spleen, because the parental regulations required him always to be at home by midnight, he shipped

himself off to Australia, trusting that so energetic a step "would bring the govenor to his senses." He was

musicmad, and appeared to know every opera by heart, and wearied us out of all patience with his

Octavius was the eighth son of a poor professional man, who, after giving him a good general

education, sent him with a small capital to try his fortune in the colonies. For this he was in every way well

fitted, being possessed of a strong constitution, good common sense, and simple inexpensive habits; he was

The day after our arrival at the diggings, being Sunday, we passed in making ourselves comfortable, and

devising our future plans. We determined to move from our present quarters, and pitch our tents higher up the

gully, near Montgomery's store. This we accomplished the first thing on Monday morning and at about a

hundred yards from us our four shipmates also fixed themselves, which added both to our comfort and

One of them was a Scotchman, who wished to make enough capital at the mines to invest in a sheeprun; and

as his countrymen are proverbially fortunate in the colonies, I think it possible he may some time hence be an

Australian millionaire. Another of these was an architect, who was driven, as it were, to the diggings, because

his profession, from the scarcity of labour, was at the time almost useless in Melbourne. The third was, or

rather had been, a housepainter and decorator, who unfortunately possessed a tolerably fine voice, which led

him gradually to abandon a good business to perform at concerts. Too late he found that he had dropped the

substance for the shadow; emigration seemed his only resource; so leaving a wife and large family behind, he

brought his mortified vanity and ruined fortunes to begin the world anew with in Australia. He was the only

one whose means prevented him from taking a share in our venture; but to avoid confusion, the Scotchman

subscribed twice the usual sum, thus securing double Profits. The fourth was a gentleman farmer, whose sole

enemy, by his account, was Free Trade, and who held the names Cobden and Bright in utter destation.

As soon as the tents were pitched, all set to work to unpack the dray: and after taking out sufficient flour,

sugar, tea, for use, the remainder of the goods were taken to the hearest store, where they were sold at an

average of five times their original costs: the most profitable portion of the cargo consisted of some

gunpowder and percusioncaps. The day after, by good fortune, we disposed of the dray and horses for �250,

being only �40 less than we paid for them. As the cost of keeping horses at the diggings is very great

(sometimes two or three pounds a day per head), besides the constant risk of their being lost or stolen, we

were well satisfied with the bargain; and never did mind young speculators, who five months previous had

been utter strangers, accomplish their undertaking to themselves, or less disagreement one with another.

This business settled, the next was to procure licences, which was a walk of nearly five miles to the

Meanwhile we were Seriously debating about again changing our quarters. We found it almost impossible to

sleep. Never before could I have imagined that a woman's voice could utter sounds sufficiently discordant to

The tent of this "amiable" personage was situated at right angles with ours and our shipmates, so that the

annoyance was equally felt. Whilst her husband was at work farther down the gully, she kept a sort of sly

grogshop, and passed the day in selling and drinking spirits, swearing, and smoking a short tobaccopipe at

the door of her tent. She was a most repulsive looking object. A dirty gaudycoloured dress hung unfastened

about her shoulders, coarse black hair unbrushed, uncombed, dangled about her face, over which her evil

habits habits had spread a genuine bacchanalian glow, whilst in a loud masculine voice she uttered the most

awful words that ever disgraced the mouth of man ten thousand times more awful when proceeding from a

But night was the dreadful time; then, if her husband had been unlucky, or herself made fewer profits during

the day, it was misery to be within earshot; so much so, that we decided to leave so uncomfortable a

neighbourhood without loss of time, and carrying our tents, higher up the gully we finally pitched them not

This was done on Thursday, and the same evening two different claims were marked out ready to commence

Friday, 24.Early this morning our late travelling companion, Joe, made his appearance with a sack (full of

bran, he said,) on his shoulders. After a little confidential talk with William, he left the sack in our tent, as he

had no other safe place to stow it away in till the bran was sold. This gave rise to no suspicion, and in the

About noon I contrived to have a damper and a large joint of baked mutton ready for the "day labourers," as

they styled themselves. The mutton was baked in a large camp oven suspended from three iron bars, which

were fixed in the ground in the form of a triangle, about a yard apart, and were joined together at the top, at

which part the oven was hung over a wood fire. This grand cooking machine was, of course, outside the tent.

Sometimes I have seen a joint of meat catch fire in one of these ovens, and it is difficult to extinguish it

Our butcher would not let us have less than half a sheep at a time, for which we paid 8s. I was not good

housekeeper enough to know how much it weighed, but the meat was very good. Flour was then a shilling a

pound, or two hundred pounds weight for nine pounds in money. Sugar was 1s. 6d., and tea 3s. 6d.

The hungry diggers did ample justice to the dinner I had provided for them. They brought home a tindish

Tindishwashing is difflcult to describe. It requires a watchful eye and a skilful hand; it is the most

mysterious department of the golddigging business. The tin dish (which, of course, is round) is generally

about eighteen inches across the top, and twelve across the bottom, with sloping sides of three or four inches

deep. The one I used was rather smaller. Into it I placed about half the " dirt"digger's technical term for

earth, or soilthat they had brought, filled the dish up with water, and then with a thick stick commenced

making it into a batter; this was a most necessary commencement, as the soil was of a very stiff clay. I then

let this batterI know no name more appropriate for itsettle, and carefully poured off the water at the top.

I now added some clean water, and repeated the operation of of mixing it up; and after doing this several

times, tile "dirt," of course, gradually diminishing, I was overjoyed to see a few bright specks, which I

carefully picked out, and with renewed energy continued this by no means elegant work. Before the party

returned to tea I had washed out all the stuff, and procured from it nearly two pennyweights of golddust,

Tindishwashing is generally done beside a stream, and it is astonishing how large a quantity of "dirt" those

who have the knack of doing it well and quickly can knock off in the course of the day. To do this, however,

requires great manual dexterity, and much gold is lost by careless washing. A man once extracted ten pounds

weight of the precious metal from a heap of soil which his mate had washed too hurriedly.

In the evening Joe made his reappearance, carrying another sack on his shoulders, which contained a

number of empty bottles, and now for the first time we became initiated into the bran mystery which had

often puzzled us on the roadit seemed so strange a thing to carry up to the diggings. Joe laughed at our

innocence, and denied having told us anything approaching a falsehood; a slight suppression of the truth was

all he would plead guilty to. I verily believe William had put him up to this dodge, to make us smile when we

should have felt annoyed. Being taxed with deceit, said he: "I told you twothirds truth; there wanted but two

more letters to make it brandy," and with the greatest sangfroid he drew out a small keg of brandy from the

first sack and halffilled the bottles with the spirit, after which he filled them all up to the neck with water.

The bottles were then corked, and any or all of them politely offered to us at the rate of 30s a piece. We

declined purchasing, but he sold them all during the evening, for which we were rather glad, as, had they

been discovered by the officials in our tent, a fine of �50 would have been the consequence of our foolish

We afterwards found that Master Joe had played the same trick with our shipmates and with the two doctors,

who had bought a tent and settled themselves near our old place by Montgomery's store.

Saturday, 25.The two holes were "bottomed" before noon with no paying result. It had been hard work,

and they were rather lowspirited about it. The rest of the day they spent in washing some surfacesoil, and

altogether collected about I ounce and a half of golddust, counting the little I had washed out on the Friday.

In the evening it was all dried by being placed in a spade over a quick fire. We had before determined to

square accounts and divide the gold every Saturday night, but this small quantity was not worth the trouble,

so it was laid by in the digger's usual treasury, a German matchbox. These round boxes hold on an average

These two unproductive holes had not been very deep. The top, or surface soil, for which a spade or shovel is

used, was of clay. This was succeeded by a strata almost as hard as iron technically called " burnt

stuff,"which robbed the pick of its points nearly as soon as the blacksmith had steeled them at a charge of

2s. 6d. a point. Luckily for their arms, this strata was but thin, and the yellow or blue clay which followed

was comparatively easy workhere and there an awkward lump of quartz required the use of the. pick.

Suddenly they came to some glittering particles of yellow, which, with heartfelt delight they hailed as gold. It

was mica. Many are at first deceived by it, but it is soon distinguished by its weight, as the mica will blow

away with the slightest puff. After a little useless digging among the clay, they reached the solid rock, and

Sunday, 26.Although impossible at the diggings to keep this day with those outward observances which

are customary in civilized life, we attempted to make as much difference as possible between the day of rest

and that of work. Frank performed the office of chaplain, and read the morning service in the calm and

I was rather amused to see the alacrity with which, when this slight service was over, they all prepared to

assist me in the formation of a huge plumpudding for the Sunday's dinner. Stoning plums and chopping suet

seemed to afford them immense pleasure I suppose it was a novelty; and, contrary to the fact implied in

In the afternoon we strolled about, and paid a visit to our shipmates. I was certainly most agreeably surprised

Monday, 27. Today our party commenced "sinking" in a new spot at some little distance. The first layer of

black soil was removed, and on some being washed in a tin dish, it was found to contain a tolerable portion of

gold, and was pronounced to be worth transporting to the tent to be regularly cradled. My first official notice

of this fact was from Richard, who entered the tent humming "Suona la tromba," with a bucket full of this

heavy soil in each hand. He broke off in the middle of his song to ask for some water to drink, and grumbled

most energetically at such dirty work. He then gave me an account of the morning's doings. After a thin layer

of the black surface soil, it appeared they had come to a strata of thick yellow clay, in which gold was often

very abundant. This soil, from being so stiff, would require "puddling," a work of which he did not seem to

relish the anticipation. Before the day was over, a great number of buckets full of both soils were brought up

and deposited in heaps near the tents. All, with the exception of the "operatic" Richard, seemed in good

In the evening the other party of our shipmates arrived, and were busy fixing their tent at a distance of about

forty yards from us. Frank and the other four, though pretty tired with the days labour, lent a helping hand,

the united efforts of nine speedily accomplished this business, after which an immense quantity of cold

mutton, damper, and tea made,a rapid disappearance, almost emptying my larder, which, by the bye, was an

We asked our friends their motive for leaving the old spot, and they declared they could stand the "amiable

female" no longer; she grew worse and worse. "Her tongue was sich" observed the Scotchman, "as wad drive

ony puir beastie wild." She had regularly quarrelled with the two doctors because they would not give her a

written certificate, that the state of her health the constant use of spirits. She offered them two guineas for

it,which they indignantly refused, and she then declared her intention of injuring their pracitce as much as

possible, which she had power to do, as her tent was of an evening quite the centre of attraction and her

influence proportionaly great. Pity 'tis that such a woman should be able to mar or make the fortunes of her

Tuesday, 28.The holes commenced yeserday were duly "bottomed," but no nice pocketfull of gold was

the result; our shipmates, however, met with better success, having found three small nuggets weighing two

Puddling is on the same principle as tindishwashing, only on a much larger scale. Great wooden tubs are

filled with the dirt and fresh water, and the former is chopped about in all directions with a spade, so as to set

the metal free from the adhesive soil and pipeclay. Sometimes 1 have seen energetic diggers tuck up their

trowsers, off with their boots, step into the tub, and crush it about with their feet in the same manner as

tradition affirms that the London bakers knead their bread. Every now and again the dirtied water is poured

off gently, and with a fresh supply, which is furnished by a mate with a longhandled dipper from the stream

or pool, you puddle away. The great thing is, not to be afraid Of overwork, for the better the puddling is, so

much the more easy and profitable is the cradling. After having been well beaten in the tubs,the "dirt" is put

into the hopper of the cradle, which is then rocked gently, whilst another party keeps up a constant supply of

fresh water. In the right hand of the cradler is held a thick stick, ready to break up any clods which may be in

There was plenty of water near us, for a heavy rain during the light had filled several vacated holes, and as

there were five pair of hands, we hoped, before evening, greatly to diminish our mudheaps.

Two large wooden tubs were firmly secured in the ground and four set to work puddling, whilst Frank busied

himself in fixing the cradle. He drove two blocks into the ground; they were grooved for the rockers of the

cradle to rest in, so as to let it rock with ease and regularity. The ground was lowered so as to give the cradle

a slight slant, and thus enable the water to run off more quickly. If a cradle dips too much, a little gold may

wash off with the light sand. The cradling machine, though simple in itself, is rather difficult to describe. In

shape and size it resembles an infant's cradle, and over that portion of it where, if for a baby, a hood would

be, is a perforated plate with wooden sides, a few inches high all round, forming a sort of box with the

perforated plate for a bottom; this box is called the hopper. The dirt is here placed, and the constant supply of

water, after well washing the stuff, runs out through a hole made at the foot of the cradle. The gold generally

rests on a wooden shelf under the hopper, though sometimes a good deal will run down with the water and

dirt into one of the compartments at the bottom, and to separate it from the sand or mud, tindishwashing is

As soon as sufficient earth was ready, one began to rock, and another to fill the hopper with water. Richard

continued puddling, William, enacted Aquarius for him, whilst a fifth was fully occupied in conveying fresh

dirt to the tubs, and taking the puddled stuff from them to the hopper of the cradle. Every now and then a,

change of hands was made, and thus passed the day. In the evening, the products were found to be one small

nugget weighing a quarter of an ounce, and in golddust eight pennyweights, ten grains, being worth, at the

digging price for gold, about thirtyfive shillings. This was rather less than we hard less calculated upon, and

Richard signified his intention of returning to Melbourne, "He could no longer put up with such

ungentlemanly work in so very unintellectual a neighbourhood, with bad living into the bargain." These last

words, which were pronounced sotto voce, gave us a slight clue to the real cause of his dislike to the

diggings, though we, did not thoroughly understand it till next morning. It originated in some bottles of

mixed pickles which he had in vain wanted Frank, who this week was caterer for the party, to purchase at

four shillings a bottle, which sum, as we were all on economical thoughts intent, Frank refused to expend on

any unnecessary article of food. This we learnt next morning at breakfast, when Richard congratulated

himself on that being the last meal he should make of tea, damper and muton, without the latter having

something to render it eatable. The puddling and cradling work had, I fancy, given the finishing stroke to his

disgust. Poor Dick! he met with little commiseration: we could not but remember the thousands in the old

country who would have rejoiced at the simple fare he so much despised. William, in his laughing way,

Richard left us on Thursday morning, and with him went one of the other party, the housepainter and

decorator, who also found golddigging not so Pleasant as he had expected. We afterwards learnt that before

reaching Kilmore they separated. Richard arrived safely in Melbourne, and entered a goldbroker's office at a

salary of three pounds a week, which situation I believe he now fills; and as "the governor," to use Richard's

own expression, "has not yet come to his senses," he must greatly regret having allowed his temper to be the

cause of his leaving the comforts of home. His companion, who parted with Richard at Kilmore, was robbed

of what little gold he had, and otherwise maltreated, whilst passing through the Black Forest. On reaching

Melbourne, he sold everything he possessed, and that not being sufficient, he borrowed enough to pay his

passage back to England, where, doubtless, he will swell the number of those whose lack of success in the

colonies, and vituperations against them, are only equalled by their unfitness ever to have gone there.

Thursday was past in puddling and cradling, with rather better results than on the first day, still it was not to

our satisfaction, and on Friday two pits were sunk. one was shallow, and the bottom reached without a speck

of gold making its appearance. The other was left over till the next morning. This was altogether very

disheartening work, particularly as the expenses of living were not small.There were many, however, much

worse off than ourselves, though here and there a lucky digger excited the envy of all around him. Many were

the tricks resorted to in order to deceive newcomers. Holes were offered for sale, in which the few grains

that were carefully placed in sight was all that the buyer gained by his purchase.

A scene of this description was enacted this. Friday evening, at a little distance from us. The principal actors

in it were two in number. One sat a little way from his hole with a heap of soil by his side, and a large tin dish

nearly full of dirt in his hand. As he swayed the dish to and fro in] the, process of washing, an immense

number of small nuggets displayed themselves, which fact in a loud tone he announced to his " mate," at the

same time swearing at him for keeping at work so late in the evening. This digger, who was shovelling up

more dirt from the hole, answered in the same elegant language, calling him an "idle goodfornought."

Every now and then he threw a small nugget to the tindishwasher, loudly declaring, "he'd not leave off

"Then be dd if I don't!" shouted the other;" and I'll sell the hole for two hundred yeller boys down."

This created a great sensation among the bystanders, who during the time had collected round, and among

"It shall go for a hundred and fifty!" again shouted the washer, giving a glance in the direction in which they

"Going for a hundred, tindish as well!" letting some of the water run off, and displaying the gold.

This decided the matter, and one of the three stepped forward and offered the required sum.

"Money down," said the seller; "these here fellers 'll witness it's all reg'lar."

The money was paid in notes, and the purchasers were about to commence possession by taking the tindish

"Wait till he's emptied. I promised yer the dish, but not the stuff in it," and turning out the "dirt into a small

Saturday, October 2. This day found the four hard at work at an early hour, and words will not describe

our delight when they hit upon a (9 pocket" full of the precious metal. The "pocket was situated in a dark

corner of the hole, and William was the one whose fossickingknife first brought its hidden beauties to light.

Nugget after nugget did that dirty soil give up; by evening they had taken out five pounds weight of gold.

As the next day was the Sabbath, thirtysix hours of suspense must elapse before we could know whether

this was but a passing kindness from the fickle goddess, or the herald of continued good fortune.

This night, for the first time, we were really in dread of an attack, though we had kept our success quite

secret, not even mentioning it to our shipmates; nor did we intend to do so until Monday morning, when our

first business would be to mark out three more claims round the lucky spot, and send our gold down to the

escortoffice for security. For the present we were obliged to content ourselves with "planting" it that is,

burying it in the ground; and not a footstep passed in our neighbourhood without our imagining ourselves

robbed of the precious treasure, and as it was Saturday nightthe noisiest and most riotous at the

diggingsour panics were neither few nor far between. So true it is that riches entail trouble and anxiety on

Sunday 3.A FINE morning. After our usual service Frank, my brother, and myself, determined on an

exploring expedition, and off we went, leaving the dinner in the charge of the others. We left the busy throng

of the diggers far behind us, and wandered into spots where the sound of the pick and shovel, or the noise of

human traffic, had never penetrated. The scene and the day were in unison; all was harmonious, majestic, and

serene. Those mighty forests, hushed in a sombre and awful silence; those ranges of undulating hill and dale

never yet trodden by the foot of man; the soft still air, so still that it left every leaf unruffled, flung an

intensity of awe over our feelings, and led us from the contemplation of nature to worship nature's God.

We sat in silence for some while deeply impressed by all around us, and, whilst still sitting and gazing there,

a change almost imperceptibly came over the face of both earth and sky. The forest swayed to and fro, a

sighing moaning sound was borne upon the wind, and a noise as of the rush of waters, dark massive clouds

rolled over the sky till the bright blue heavens were completely hidden, and then, ere we had recovered from

our first alarm and bewilderment, the storm in its unmitigated fury burst upon us. The rain fell in torrents, and

Taking me between them, they succeeded in reaching an immense sheaoak, under which we hoped to find

some shelter till the violence of the rain had diminished; nor where we disappointed, though it was long

before we could venture to leave our place of refuge. At length however, we did so, and endeavoured to find

our way back to Eagle Hawk Gully. Hopeless task! The ground was so slippery, it was as much as we could

do to walk without falling; the mud and dirt clung to our boots, and a heavy rain beat against our faces and

"It is clearing up to windward," observed Frank; "another halfhour and the rain will be all but over; let us

We did so. Frank was correct; in less than the time he had specified a slight drizzling rain was all of the storm

With much less difficulty we again attempted to return home, but before very long we made the startling

discovery that we had completely lost our way, and to add to our misfortune the small pocketcompass,

which Frank had brought with him, and which would have now so greatly assisted us, was missing, most

probably dropped from his pocket during the skirmish to get under shelter. We still wandered along till

stopped by the shades of evening, which came upon usthere is little or no twilight in Australia.

We seated ourselves upon the trunk of a fallen tree, wet, hungry, and, worst of all, ignorant of where we

were. Shivering with cold, and our wet garments hanging most uncomfortably around us, we endeavoured to

console one another by reflecting that the next morning we could not fail to reach our tents. The rain had

entirely ceased, and providentially for us the night was pitch darkI say providentially, because after having

remained for two hours in this wretched plight a small light in the distance became suddenly visible to us all,

so distant, that but for the intensity of the darkness it might have passed unnoticed. "Thank God!"

"Let us hasten there," cried Frank, "a whole night like this may be your sister's death and would ruin the

To this we gladly acceded, and were greatly encouraged by perceiving that the light remained stationary. But

it was a perilous undertaking. Luckily my brother had managed to get hold of a long stick with which he

sounded the way, for either large stones or waterholes would have been awkward customers in the dark;

wonderful to relate we escaped both, and when within hailing distance of the light, which we perceived came

from a torch hold by some one, we shouted with all our remaining strength, but without diminishing our

exertions to reach it. Soonwith feelings that only those who have encountered similar dangers can

understandanswering voices fell upon our ears. Eagerly we pressed forward, and in the excitement of the

moment we relinquished all hold of one another, and attempted to wade through the mud singly.

"Stop! halt!" shouted more than one stentorian voice; but the warning came too late. My feet slippeda

sharp pain succeeded by a sudden chill a feeling of suffocationof my head being ready to burstand I

When I recovered consciousness it was late in the morning, for the bright sun shone upon the ground through

the crevices of a sail cloth tent, and so different was all that met my eyes to the dismal scene through which I

had so lately passed, and which yet haunted my memory, that I felt that sweet feeling of relief which we

experience when, waking from some horrid vision, we become convinced how unsubstantial are its terrors,

That I was in a strange place became quickly evident, and among the distant hum of voices which ever and

anon broke the silence not one familiar tone could I recognize. I endeavoured to raise myself so as to hear

more distinctly, and then it was that an acute pain in the ankle of the right foot, gave me pretty strong

evidence as to the reality of the last night's adventures. I was forced to lie down again, but not before I had

espied a handbell which lay within reach on a small barrel near my bed. Determined as far as possible to

fathom the mystery, I rang a loud peal with it, not doubting but what it would bring my brother to me. My

surprise and delight may be easier imagined than described, when, as though in obedience to my summons, I

saw a small white hand push aside the canvas at one corner of the tent, and one of my own sex entered.

She was young and fair; her step was soft and her voice most musically gentle. Her eyes were a deep blue,

and a rich brown was the colour of her hair, which she wore in very short curls all round her head and parted

These little particulars I noticed afterwards; at that time I only felt that her gentle voice and kind friendliness

After having bathed my ankle, which I found to be badly sprained and cut, she related, as far as she was

acquainted with them, the events the previous evening. I learnt that these tents belonged to a party from

England, of one of whom she was the wife, and the tent in which I lay was her apartment. They had not been

long at the diggings, and preferred the spot where they were to the more frequented parts.

The storm of yesterday had passed over them without doing much damage, and as their tents were well

painted over the tops, they managed to keep themselves tolerably dry; but later in the evening, owing to the

softness of the ground, one of the sideposts partly gave way, which aroused them all, and torches were lit,

and every one busied ill trying to prop it up till morning. Whilst thus engaged they heard our voices calling

for help. They answered, at the same time getting ready some more torches before, advancing to meet us, as

there were several pitholes between us and them. Their call for us to remain stationary came too late to save

me from slipping into one of their pits, thereby spraining my ankle and otherwise hurting myself, besides

being buried to my forehead in mud and water. The pit was not quite five feet deep, but, unfortunately for

myself in this instance, I belong to the pocket edition of the feminine sex. They soon extricated me from this

perilous situation, and carried me to their tents, where, by the assistance of my new friend, I was divested of

Before morning the storm, which we all thought had passed over, burst forth with redoubled fury; the flashes

of lightning were succeeded by loud peals of thunder, and the rain came splashing down. Their tents were

situated on a slight rise, or they would have run great risk of being washed away; every hole was filled with

water, and the sheaoak, of whose friendly shelter we had availed ourselves the evening before, was struck

by lightning, shivered into a thousand pieces. After a while the storm abated, and the warm sun and a drying

Frank and my brother, after an early breakfast, had set out for Eagle Hawk Gully under the guidance of my

fair friend's husband, who knew the road thither very well; it was only three miles distant. He was to bring

back with hin, a change of clothing for me, as his wife had persuaded my brother to leave me in her charge

until I had quite recovered from the effects of the accident, "which he more readily promised," she observed,

This awakened my curiosity, and I would not rest satisfied till fully acquainted with the how, when, and

where. Subsequently she related to me some portion of the history of her life, which it will be no breach of

HARRIETTE WALTERS had been a wife but twelve months, when the sudden failure of the house in which

her husband was a junior partner involved them in irretrievable ruin, and threw them almost penniless upon

the world. At this time the commercial advantages of Australia, the opening it afforded for all classes of men,

and above all, its immense mineral wealth, were the subject of universal attention. Mr. Walters' friends

advised him to emigrate, and the small sum saved from the wreck of their fortune served to defray the

expenses of the journey. Harriette, sorely against her wishes, remained behind with an old maiden aunt, until

The day of parting arrived; the ship which bore him away disappeared from her sight, and almost

heartbroken she returned to the humble residence of her sole remaining relative.

Ere she had recovered from the shock occasioned by her husband's departure, her aged relation died from a

sudden attack of illness, and Harriette was left alone to struggle with her poverty and her grief. The whole of

her aunt's income had been derived from an annuity, which of course died with her; and her personal

property, when sold, realized not much more than sufficient to pay a few debts and the funeral expenses; so

that when these last sad duties were performed, Harriette found herself with a few pounds in her pocket,

Her thoughts turned to the distant land, her husband's home, and every hope was centred in the one intense

desire to join him there. The means were wanting, she had none from whom she could solicit assistance, but

her determination did not fail. She advertized for a situation as companion to an invalid, or nurse to young

children, during the voyage to Port Philip, provided her passagemoney was paid by her employer. This she

soon obtained. The ship was a fast sailer, the winds were favourable, and by a strange chance she arrived in

Melbourne three weeks before her husband. This time was a great trial to her. Alone and unprotected in that

strange, rough city, without money, without friends, she felt truly wretched. It was not a place for a female to

be without a protector, and she knew it, yet protector she had none; even the family with whom she had come

out, had gone many miles up the country. She possessed little money, lodgings and food were at an awful

price, and employment for a female, except of a rough sort, was not easily procured.

In this dilemma she took the singular notion into her head of disguising her sex, and thereby avoiding much

of the insult and annoyance to which an unprotected female would have been liable. Being of a slight figure,

and taking the usual colonial costumeloose trowsers, a full, blue serge shirt, fastened round the waist by a

leather belt, and a wideawakeHarriette passed very well for what she assumed to be a young lad just

arrived from England. She immediately obtained a light situation near the wharf, where for about three weeks

she worked hard enough at a salary of a pound a week, board, and permission to sleep in an old tumbledown

At last the long lookedfor vessel arrived. That must have been a moment of intense happiness which

restored her to her husband's armsfor him not unmingled with surprise; he could not at first recognize her

in her new garb. She would hear of no further separation, and when she learnt he had joined a party for the

Bendigo diggings, she positively refused to remain in Melbourne, and she retained her boyish dress until their

arrival at Bendigo. The party her husband belonged to had two tents, one of which they readily gave up to the

married couple, as they were only too glad to have the company and indoor assistance of a sensible, active

woman during their spell at the diggings. For the sake of economy, during the time that elapsed before they

could commence their journey up, all of them lived in the tents which they pitched on a small rise on the

south side of the Yarra. Here it was that our acquaintance first took place; doubtless, my readers will, long ere

this, have recognized in the hospitable gentleman I encountered there, my friend's husband, and, in the

delicatelooking youth who had so attracted my attention, the fair Harriette herself.

On the third day of my visit I was pronounced convalescent, and that evening my brother and William came

to conduct me back to Eagle Hawk Gully. It was with no little regret that I bade farewell to my new friend,

and I must confess that the pleasure of her society had for the time made me quite careless as to the quantity

of gold our party might be taking up during my absence. Whilst walking towards our tents, I heard the full

particulars of their work, which I subjoin, so as to resume the thread of my digging narrative in a proper

Monday.Much upset by their anxiety occasioned by the nonappearance the previous evening of Frank,

my brother, and myself. The two former did not reach home till nearly noon, the roads were so heavy. After

dinner all set to work in better spirits; came to the end of the gold took out nearly four Pounds weight.

Tuesday and Wednesday.Digging various holes in the vicinity of the lucky spot, but without success. The

Thursday.Today was spent in prospecting that is, searching for a spot whose geological formation

gives some promise of the precious metal. In the evening, William and Octavius returned with the news that

they had found a place at some, distance from the gully, which they thought would prove "paying," as they

had washed some of the surface soil, which yielded well. It was arranged that the party be divided into two,

Friday.In pursuance of the foregoing plan William and Octavius set off, carrying a good quantity of dinner

and their tools along with them. They worked hard enough during the day, but only brought back three

pennyweights of golddust with them. My brother and Frank gained a deal more by surface washing at home.

Saturday.Changed hands. Frank and my brother to the new spot, digging. Octavius and William surface

Sunday, October 10We took advantage of the fine weather to pay a visit to Harriette and her party. We

found them in excellent spirits, for at last they had hit upon a rich vein, which had for three days been

yielding an average of four pounds weight a day, and was not yet exhausted. I sayat last, for I have not before

mentioned that they had never obtained more than an ounce of gold altogether, up to the day I left them. We

were sincerely pleased with their good fortune. Harriette hoped that soon they might be able to leave this wild

sort of life, and purchase a small farm, and once again have a home of their own. This could not be done near

Melbourne, so they meant to go to South Australia, where any quantity of land may be bought. In this colony

no smaller quantity than a square mile640 acresis sold by the Government in one lot; consequently,

those whose capital is unequal to purchase this, go to some other colony, and there invest the wealth they

As we had some idea of leaving Eagle Hawk Gully, I bade Harriette farewell. We never expected to meet

Monday and Tuesday were most unprofitably passed in digging holes; and on Tuesday night we determined

to leave the Eagle Hawk, and try our fortune in some of the neighbouring gullies.

Wednesday was a bustling day. We sold our tent, tools, cradle, as we knew plenty were always to be bought

of those who, like ourselves, were changing their place. Had we known what we were about, we should never

have burdened ourselves by bringing so many goods and chattels a hundred and twenty miles or more up the

country; but "experience teaches." Having parted with all encumbrances, myself excepted, we started for the

Iron Bark Gully. All the gold had been transmitted by the escort to Melbourne, and one fine nugget, weighing

nearly five ounces, had been sent to Richard. We could not resist the pleasure of presenting him with it,

The following are the rules by which our affairs were regulated. They were drawn up before leaving

Melbourne, and signed by all. Though crude and imperfect, they were sufficient to preserve complete

harmony and good fellowship between five young men of different character, taste, and educationa

1. No one party to be ruler; but every week by turn, one to buy, sell, take charge of gold, and transact all

3. Any one voluntarily leaving the party, to have onethird of his original share in the expense of purchasing

tent and tools returned to him, but to have no further claim upon them or upon the gold that may be found

after his withdrawal. Any one dismissed the party for misconduct, to forfeit all claim upon the joint property.

4. The party agree to stand by one another in all danger, difficulty, or illness.

7. All disputes or appeals from the foregoing rules to be settled by a majority.

I HAVE said little in description of the Eagle Hawk, for all gullies or valleys at the diggings bear a strong

external resemblance one to another. This one differed from others only in being much longer and wider; the

sides, as is usually the case in the richest gullies, were not precipitous, but very gradual; a few mountains

closed the background. The digging was in many places very shallow, and the soil was sometimes of a clayey

description, sometimes very gravelly with slate bottom, sometimes gravelly with pipeclay bottom, sometimes

At one time there were eight thousand diggers together in Eagle Hawk Gully. This was some months before

we visited it. During the period of our stay at Bendigo there were not more than a thousand, and fewer still in

The weather continued wet and uncertain, so that many who had gone down to Melbourne remained there,

not yet considering the ground sufficiently recovered from the effects of the prolonged wet season, they had

no desire to run the risk of being buried alive in their holes. Many had gone to the Adelaide diggings, of

which further particulars hereafter, and many more had gone across the country to the Ovens, or, farther still,

to the Sydney diggings themselves. According to digging parlance, "the Turon was looking up," and Bendigo,

Mount Alexander, and Forest Creek were thinned accordingly. But perhaps the real cause of their desertion

arose from the altered state of the diggings. Some time since one party netted �900 in three weeks; �100 a

week was thought nothing wonderful. Four men found one day seventyfive pounds weight; another party

took from the foot of a tree gold to the value of �2000. A friend of mine once met a man whom he knew

returning to Melbourne, walking in dusty rags and dirt behind a dray, yet carrying with him �1500 worth of

gold. In Peg Leg Gully, fifty and even eighty pounds weight had been taken from holes only three or four feet

deep. At Forest Creek a hole produced sixty pounds weight in one day, and forty more the day after. From

one of the golden gullies a party took up the incredible quantity of one hundred and ninetyeight pounds

weight in six weeks. These are but two or three instances out of the many that occurred to prove the richness

of this truly auriferous spot. The consequence may be easily imagined; thousands flocked to Bendigo. The

"lucky bits" were still as numerous, but being disseminated among a greater number of diggers, it followed

that there were many more blanks than prizes, and the disappointed multitude were ready to be off to the first

new discovery. Small gains were beneath their notice. I have often heard the miners say that they would

rather spend their last farthing digging fifty holes, even if they found nothing in them, than "tamely" earn an

ounce a day by washing the surface soil; on the same principle, I suppose, that a gambler would throw up a

small but certain income to be earned by his own industry, for the uncertain profits of the cue or dice.

For ourselves, we had nothing to complain about. During the short space of time that we had been at Eagle

Hawk Gully, we had done as well as one in fifty, and might therefore be classed among the lucky diggers; but

"the more people have, the more they want;" and although the many pounds weight of the precious metal that

our party had "taken up" gave, when divided, a good round sum apiece, the avaricious creatures bore the

want of success that followed more unphilosophically than they had done before the rich "pocketful" of gold

had made its appearance. They would dig none but shallow holes, and a sort of gambling manner of setting to

Some days before we left, Eagle Hawk Gully had been condemned as a "worthless place," and a change

"I say, mates," observed William on the evening of the Sunday on which I had paid my last visit to Harriette,

"I say, mates, nice pickings a man got last week in the Iron Barkonly twenty pounds weight out of one

"Of course; likely enough. I propose we pack up our traps, and honour this said gully with our presence

"Let's inquire first," put in Frank; "it's foolish to change good quarters on such slight grounds."

"Good quarters! slight grounds!" cried William; "what next? what would you have? Good quarters! yes, as far

as diggings concernedwhether you find anything for your digging is another matter. Slight grounds,

indeed! twenty pounds weight in one day! Yes, we ought to inquire; you're right there, old boy, and the

proper place to commence our inquiries is at the gully itself. Let's be off tomorrow."

And this, after a little chaffing between the impatient William and his more businesslike comrades, was

Behold us then, on Wednesday the 13th, after having sold all our goods that were saleable, making our way

to the Iron Bark Gully. William enacted the part of auctioneer, which he did in a manner most satisfactory to

himself, and amusing to his audience; but the things sold very badly, so many were doing the same. The tents

fetched only a few shillings each, and the tools, cradles, en masse, were knocked down for half a sovereign.

The morning was rather cloudy, which made our pedestrian mode of travelling not so fatiguing as it might

have been, had the sun in true colonial strength been shining upon us. This was very fortunately not the case,

for we more than once mistook our way, and made a long walk out of a short onequite a work of

supererogationfor the roads were heavy and tiring enough without adding an extra quantity of them.

We passed in the close neighbourhood of Sailor's, Californian, American, Long, and Piccaninny Gullies

before reaching our destination. Most of these gullies are considered ransacked, but a very fair amount of

golddust may be obtained in either by the new comer by tindish fossicking in deserted holes. These

deserted gullies, as they are called, contained in each no trifling population, and looked full enough for

comfortable working. What must they have resembled the summer previous, when some hundreds of people

Before evening we arrived at the Iron Bark. This gully takes its name from the splendid trees with which it

abounds; and their immense height, their fluted trunks and massive branches gave them a most majestic

appearance. We paused beneath one in a more secluded part, and there determined to fix our quarters for the

night. The heavy "swags" were flung upon the ground, and the construction of something resembling a tent

gave them plenty to do; the tomahawks, which they carried in their belts, were put into immediate requisition,

and some branches of the trees were soon formed into rough tentpoles. The tent, however, though perhaps

as good as could be expected, was nothing very wonderful after all, being made only of some of the blankets

which our party had brought in their swags. Beneath it I reposed very comfortably; and, thanks to my

fatiguing walk, slept as soundly as I could possibly have done beneath the roof of a palace. The four

gentlemen wrapped themselves in their blankets, and laid down to rest upon the ground beside the fire; their

only shelter was the foliage of the friendly tree which spread its branches high above our heads.

Next morning William was for settling ourselves in the gully. He wanted tents, tools, purchased, but by dint

of much talking and reasoning, we persuaded him first to look well about, and judge from the success of

others whether we were likely to do any good by stopping there. We soon heard the history of the

"twentypound weight" story. As Frank and Octavius had at once surmised, it originated in a party who were

desirous to sell their claims and baggage before starting for Melbourne. I believe they succeededthere are

always plenty of "new chums" to be caught and taken inand the report had caused a slight rush of diggers,

old and new, to the gully. Many of these diggers had again departed, others stayed to give the place a trial; we

were not among the latter. The statements of those who were still working were anything but satisfactory, and

Meanwhile, it is Thursday afternoon. All but Frank appear disposed for a siesta; he alone seems determined

on a walk. I offer myself and am accepted as a companion, and off we go together to explore this new

We proceeded up the gully. Deserted holes there were in numbers, many a great depth, and must have cost a

vast amount of manual labour. In some places the diggers were hard at work, and the blows of the pick, the

splash of water, and the rocking of the cradle made the diggings seem themselves again. There were several

women about, who appeared to take as active an interest in the work as their "better halves." They may often

be seen cradling with an infant in their arms. A man and a cart proceeded us up the gully. Every now and

again he shouted out in a stentorian voice that made the welkin ring; and the burden of his cry was this:

"'Ere's happles, happles, Vandemonian happles, and them as dislikes the hiland needn't heat them."

The admirers of the fertile island must have been very numerous, for his customers soon made his pippins

We passed a butcher's shop, or rather tent, which formed a curious spectacle. The animals, cut into halves or

quarters, were hung round; no small joints therehalf a sheep or none; heads, feet, and skins were lying

about for any one to have for the trouble of picking up, and a quantity of goods of all sorts and sizes,

gridirons, saucepans, cradles, empty teachests, were lying scattered around in all directions ticketed "for

sale." We quickly went on, for it was not a particularly pleasant sight, and at some distance perceived a quiet

little nook rather out of the road, in which was one solitary tent. We hastened our steps, and advanced nearer,

when we perceived that the tent was made of a large blanket suspended over a rope, which was tied from one

tree to another. The blanket was fastened into the ground by large wooden pegs. Near to the opening of the

tent, upon a piece of rock, sat a little girl of about ten years old. By her side was a quantity of the coarse green

gauze of which the diggers' veils are made. She was working at this so industriously, and her little head was

bent so fixedly over her fingers that she did not notice our approach. We stood for some minutes silently

watching her, till Frank, wishing to see more of her countenance, clapped his hands noisily together for the

She started, and looked up. What a volume of sorrow and of suffering did those pale features speak!

Suddenly a look of pleasure flashed over her countenance. She sprang from her seat, and advancing towards

"Maybe you'll be wanting a veil, Sir. I've plenty nice ones, stronger, better, and cheaper than you'll get at the

store. Summer dust's coming, Sir. You'll want one, won't you? I havn't sold one this week," she added, almost

"I'll have one, little girl," he answered in a kindly tone, "and what price is it to be?"

Frank put the money into her hand, but returned the veil. This action seemed not quite to satisfy her; either

she did not comprehend what he meant, or it hurt her selfpride, for she said quickly:

"I havn't only green veilsp'raps you'd like some candles betterI makes them too."

"You make them?" said Frank, laughing as he glanced at the little hands that were still holding the veil for his

"I have no mother now," said she, with an expression of real melancholy in her countenance and voice. "I

makes the candles and the veils, and the diggers they buys them of me, cos grandfather's ill, and got nobody

"Where do you and your grandfather live?" I asked. "In there?" pointing to the blanket tent.

"He's asleep now. He sleeps more than he did. He's killed hisself digging for the gold, and he never got none,

"Dig till he dies." Fit motto of many a disappointed goldseeker, the finale of many a broken up, desolated

home, the last dying words of many a husband, far away from wife or kindred, with no loved ones near to

soothe his departing momentsno better burialplace than the very hole, perchance, in which his last earthly

labours were spent. These were some of the thoughts that rapidly chased one another in my mind as the sad

I was roused by hearing Frank's voice in inquiry as to how she made her candles, and she answered all our

questions with a childlike naovet , peculiarly her own. She told us how she boiled down the fathow once

it had caught fire and burnt her severely, and there was the scar still showing on her brown little armthen

how she poured the hot fat into, the tin mould, first fastening in the wicks, then shut up the mould and left it

to grow cold as quickly as it would; all this, and many other particulars which I have long since forgotten, she

Father, mother, grandfather, and herself had all come to the diggings the summer before. Her father met with

a severe accident in digging, and returned to Melbourne. He returned only to die, and his wife soon followed

him to the grave. Having no other friend or relative in the colonies, the child had been left with her aged

grandfather, who appeared as infatuated with the goldfields as a more hale and younger man. His strength

and health were rapidly failing, yet he still dug on. "We shall be rich, and Jessie a fine lady before I die," was

It was with no idle curiosity that we listened to her; none could help feeling deeply interested in the energetic,

unselfish, orphan girl. She was not beautiful, nor was she fairshe had none of those childish graces which

usually attract so much attention to children of her age; her eyes were heavy and bloodshot (with work,

weeping, cold, and hunger) except when she spoke of her sick grandfather, and then they disclosed a world of

tenderness; her hair hung matted round her head; her cheek was wan and sallow; her dress was illmade and

threadbare; yet even thus, few that had once looked at her but would wish to look again. There was an

indescribable sweetness about the mouth; the voice was low and musical; the wellshaped head was firmly

set upon her shoulders; a fine open forehead surmounted those drooping eyes; there was almost a dash of

independence; a "little woman" manner about her that made one imperceptibly forget how young she was in

"He's waked; I must go to him, and," in a lower, almost a deprecating tone, "he doesn't like to hear stranger

We cheerfully complied with the hint and departed, Frank first putting some money into her hand, and

promising to call again for the candles and veils she seemed quite anxious we should take in return.

Our thoughts were as busy as our tongues were silent, during the time that elapsed before we reached home.

When we entered, we found a discussion going on, and words were running high. My brother and Octavius

were for going somewhere to work, not idle about as they were doing now; William. wanted to go for a

"pleasure trip" to Forest Creek, and then return to Melbourne for a change. Frank listened to it all for some

minutes, and then made a speech, the longest I ever heard from him, of which I will repeat portions, as it will

"This morning, when going down the gully, I met the person whom we bought the drayhorses of in

Melbourne. I asked him how he was doing, and he answered, 'badly enough; but a friend's just received

accounts of some new diggings out Albury way, and there I mean to go.' He showed me also a letter he had

received from a party in Melbourne, who were going there. From these accounts, gold is very plentiful at this

spot, and I for one think we may as well try our fortune in this new place, as anywhere else. The route is

partly along the Sydney road, which is good, but it is altogether a journey of two hundred miles. I would

therefore propose (turning to my brother), that we proceed first to Melbourne, where you can leave your

sister, and we can then start for the Ovens; and as provisions are at an exorbitant price there, we might risk a

little money in taking up a drayfull of goods as before. And as we may never chance to be in this part of

Victoria again, I vote that we take William's 'pleasure trip' to Forest Creek, stop there a few days, and then to

Friday morning.Frank stole out early after breakfast, for a visit to little Jessie. I learnt the full particulars

afterwards, and therefore will relate them as they occurred, as though myself present. He did not find her

sitting outside the tent as before, and hesitated whether to remain or go away, when a low moaning inside

determined him to enter. He pushed aside the blanket, and saw her lying upon an old mattress on the ground;

beside her was a dark object, which he could not at first distinguish plainly. It was her grandfather, and he

was dead. The moaning came from the living orphan, and piteous it was to hear her. It took Frank but a few

minutes to ascertain all this, and then he gently let down the blanket, and hastened to the butcher's shop I

have already mentioned. He learnt all that there was to know: that she had no friends, no relatives, and that

nothing but her own labour, and the kindness of others, had kept them from starvation through the winter.

Frank left a small sum in the butcher's hands, to have the old man buried, as best could be, in so wild and

unnatural a place, and then returned to the mourning child. When he looked in, she was lying silent and

senseless beside the corpse. A gentle breathinga slight heaving of the chest, was all that distinguished the

living from the dead. Carefully taking her in his arms, he carried her to our tent. As I saw him thus

approaching, an idea of the truth flashed across me. Frank brought her inside, and laid her upon the

groundthe only restingplace we had for her. She soon opened her eyes, the quick transition through the

air had assisted in reviving her, and then I could tell that the whole sad truth returned fresh to her recollection.

She sat up, resting her head upon her open hands, whilst her eyes were fixed sullenly, almost doggedly, upon

the ground. Our attempts at consolation seemed useless. Frank and I glanced at one another. "Tell us how it

"It must have been through some great carelessness some, neglect," pursued Frank, laying a strong

"I never left himI never neglected him. When I waked in the morning I thought him asleep. I made my fire.

I crept softly about to make his gruel for breakfast, and I took it him, and found him deaddead," and she

Frank's pretended insinuation had done her good; and now that her grief found its natural vent, her mind

We had prepared to start before noon, but this incident delayed us a little. When Jessie awoke, she seemed to

feel intuitively that Frank was her best friend, for she kept beside him during our hasty dinner, and retained

his hand during the walk. There was a pleasant breeze, and we did not feel over fatigued when, after having

walked about eight miles, we sat down beneath a most magnificent gum tree, more than a hundred feet high.

Frank very wisely made Jessie bestir herself, and assist in our preparations. She collected dry sticks for a fire,

went with him to a small creek near for a supply of water; and so well did he succeed, that for a while she

nearly forgot her troubles, and could almost smile at some of William's gay sallies.

Next morning, very early, breakfast rapidly disappeared, and we were marching onwards. An empty cart,

"Agreed." And we gladly sprung in. For the sake of the uninitiated, I must explain that, in digger's slang, a

We passed the "Porcupine Inn." We halted at noon, dined, and about two hours after sighted the

"Can't take yer not no further. If the master seed yer, I'd cotch it for taking yer at all."

IN my last chapter we were left standing not far from the Commissioners' tent, Forest Creek, at about three

o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday, the 16th. An air of quiet prevailed, and made the scene unlike any other

we had as yet viewed at the diggings. It was the middle of the month; here and there a stray applicant for a

licence might make his appearance, but the body of the diggers had done so long before, and were

disseminated over the creek digging, washing, or cradling, as the case might be, but here at least was quiet.

To the right of the Licensing Commissioners' tent was a large one appropriated to receiving the gold to be

forwarded to Melbourne by the Government escort. There were a number of police and pensioners about.

Not many months ago, the scarcity of these at the diggings had prevented the better class of diggers from

carrying on their operations with any degree of comfort, or feeling that their lives and property were secure.

But this was now altered; large bodies of police were placed on duty, and wooden buildings erected in

various parts of the diggings for their accommodation. Assistant Commissioners (who were also magistrates)

had been appointed, and large bodies of pensioners enrolled as police, and acting under their orders. Roads

were also being made in all directions, thereby greatly facilitating intercommunication.

But I must not forget that we are standing looking about us without exactly knowing where to turn. Suddenly

William started off like a shot in pursuit of a man a little way from us. We could not at first guess who it was,

for in the diggers' dress all men look like so many brothers; but as we approached nearer we recognised our

"Well, old fellow, and where did you spring from?" was Frank's salutation. "I thought you were stuck fast in

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," says the proverb, and William echoed it, as Gregory very complaisantly

informed us that, having just entered upon a store not far distant, he would be delighted to give us a shelter

for a few nights. This we gladly accepted, and were soon comfortably domiciled beneath a bark and canvas

tent adjoining his store. Here we supped, after which Gregoryy left us, and returned with mattresses, blankets,

which he placed on the ground, whilst he coolly ordered the gentlemen to prepare to take their departure, he

"I'm certain sure the young leddy's tired," said he; "and that little lassie there (pointing to Jessie) looks as pale

and as wizened as an old woman of seventythe sooner they gets to sleep the better."

We followed the kindly hint, and Jessie and myself were soon fast asleep in spite of the din close beside us. It

was Saturday night, and, the store was full; but the Babellike sounds disturbed us not, and we neither of us

It was Sunday. The day was fine, and we strolled here and there, wandering a good way from Gregory's store.

As we returned, we passed near the scene of the monster meeting of 1851. The following account of it is so

"The exceeding richness of the Mount Alexander diggings, and extraordinary success of many of the miners,

led the Government to issue a proclamation, raising the licence from thirty shillings to three pounds. As soon

as these intentions became known, a public meeting of all the miners was convened, and took place on the

15th of December, 1851. This resolve of the Governor and Executive Council was injudicious, since, in New

South Wales, the Government proposed to reduce the fee to 15s.; and among the miners in Victoria,

dissatisfaction was rife, on account of the apparent disregard by the Government of the wants and wishes of

the people engaged in the gold diggings, and because of the absence of all police protection, while there

appeared to be no effort made to remedy this defect. Indignation was, therefore, unequivocally expressed at

the several diggings' meetings which were held, and at which it was resolved to hold a monster meeting. The

'Old Shepherd's Hut,' an out station of Dr. Barker's, and very near the Commissioners' tent, was the scene

chosen for this display. For miles around work ceased, cradles were hushed, and, the diggers, anxious to

show their determination, assembled in crowds, swarming from every creek, gully, hill, and dale, even from

the distant Bendigo, twenty miles away. They felt that if they tamely allowed the Government to charge �3

one month, the licensing fee might be increased to �6 the next; and by such a system of oppression, the

"It has been computed that from fifteen to twenty thousand persons were on the ground during the time of the

meeting. Hundreds, who came and heard, gave place to the coming multitude, satisfied with having attended

to countenance the proceedings. The meeting ultimately dispersed quietly, thereby disappointing the

anticipations of those who expected, perhaps even desired, a turbulent termination. The majority determined

to resist any attempt to enforce this measure, and to pay nothing; but, happily, they were not reduced to this

extremity, since his Excellency wisely gave notice that no change would be made in the amount demanded

The trees up which the diggers had climbed during the meeting are still pointed out.

The "Old Shepherd's Hut" was standing. It seemed a most commodious little building compared to the

insecure shelter of' a digger's tent. The sides of the hut were formed of slabs, which were made mostly from

the stringy bark, a tree that splits easily the roof was composed of the bark from the same tree; the

chimney was of stones mortared together with mud. This is the general style of building for shepherds' huts in

the bush. As we passed it I could not but mentally contrast the scene that took place there on the important

day of the monster meeting, to the deep tranquillity that must have reigned around the spot for centuries

The trees in this neighbourhood are mostly stringy bark; almost all are peeled of their covering, as many

diggers, particularly those who have their families with them, keep much to one part, and think it, therefore,

no waste of time or labour to erect a hut, instead of living in a comfortless tent.

On Monday morning we determined to pursue our travels, and meant that day to pay a flying, visit to Fryer's

Creek. It was a lovely morning, and we set out in high spirits. A heavy rain during the night had well laid the

dust. On our way we took a peep at several flats and gullies, many of which looked very picturesque,

We had hardly reached Fryer's Creek itself when we saw a vast concourse of people gathered together. Frank

and my brother remained with me at a little distance, whilst Octavius and William went to learn the occasion

Three brothers were working in a claim beside the stream, some way apart from the other diggers. The heavy

rain during the night had raised the water, and the ground between the hole where they were working and the

Creek, had given way imperceptibly underneath. One brother, who was early in the hole at work, fancied that

the water at the bottom was gradually rising above his knees; he shouted to his comrades, but unfortunately

they had gone, one, one way, one, another, in quest of something, and it was some minutes ere they returned.

Meanwhile the water in the hole was slowly but surely rising, and the slippery sides which were several feet

high defied him to extricate himself. His cries for help became louderhe was heard, and his brothers and

some neighbours hastened to his assistance. Ropes were procured after some further delay, and thrown to the

unhappy man but it was too late. None dared approach very near, for the ground was like a bog, and might

at any moment give way beneath their feet; the water was nearly level with the top of the hole, and all hope of

saving him was gone. The brothers had often been warned of the danger they were running.

Shuddering at the thoughts of this awful death we turned away, but no change of scene could dissipate it from

Jessie seemed pleased to see us on our return we had left her behind with Gregory to his great delightwe

That evening we wandered about Forest Creek. We had not gone far before a digger with a pistol in his hand

shot by us; he was followed by an immense mob, hooting, yelling, and screaming, as only a mob at the

diggings can. It was in full pursuit, and we turned aside only in time to prevent ourselves from being knocked

"Stop himstop him," was the cry. He was captured, and the cry changed to, "String him up string him

At this moment the firmlysecured and wellguarded culprit passed by, to be confronted with the dead body of

his adversary. No sooner did he come into his presence than the cidevant corpse found his feet, "showed

fight," and roared out, "Come on," with a most unghostlike vehemence. The fury of the mob cooled down;

the people thought the man had been murdered, whereas the shot, fortunately for both, had glanced over the

forehead without doing any serious injury. Taking advantage of this lull, the fugitive declared that the

wounded man had been robbing him. This turned the tables, and, inspired by the hootings of the now

The diggers in Pennyweight Flat, Nicholson's Gully, Lever Flat, Dirty Dick's Gully, Gibson's Flat, at the

mouth of Dingley Dell, and in Dingley Dell itself, were tolerably contented with their gains, although in

many instances, the parties who were digging in the centre of the gullies, or what is called "the slip,"

Some of the names given to the spots about Forest Creek are anything but euphonious. Dingley Dell is,

however, an exception, and sounds quite musical compared to Dirty Dick's Gully. The former name was

given to the place by a gentleman from Adelaide, and was suggested by the perpetual tinkling of the bullock's

bells, it being a favourite camping place for bullock drivers, offering, as it did, an excellent supply of both

wood, water, and food for their cattle. From whom the latter inelegant name originated I cannot precisely

The current prices of this date at Forest Creek were as follows : flour, �9 to �10 per hundredweight; sugar,

1s. 6d. a pound, very scarce ; tea, 3s. ; rice, 1s. ; coffee, 3s. ; tobacco, 8s.; cheese, 3s. ; butter, 4s.; honey,

3s. 6d.; candles, 1s. 6d ; currants, 1s. 6d., very scarce; raisins, 1s. 6d.; figs, 2s. 6d. ; salt, Is. 6d. Picks, spades,

Tuesday, 19.Before breakfast we were busily employed in packing the "swags" when Octavius suddenly

dropped the strap he held in his hand for that purpose, and darted into the store. Thinking that we had omitted

something which he went to fetch, we continued our work. When everything was ready and the last strap in

its place, we again thought of our absent comrade, making all sorts of surmises regarding his disappearance,

when, just as Frank was going after him, in he walked, accompanied by a stranger whom he introduced as his

uncle. This surprised us, as we were ignorant of his having any relatives in the colonies. He then explained

that a younger brother of his father's had about eight years ago gone to South Australia, and that never having

heard of him for some years they had mourned him as dead. After many adventures he had taken a fancy to

the diggings, and had just come from Melbourne with a dray full of goods. He went to Gregory's store to

dispose of them. Octavius had heard them in conversation together, and had mistaken his uncle's for his

father's voice. Hence the precipitation of his exit. The uncle was a tall sunburnt man, who looked wellinured

to hardship and fatigue. He stayed and took breakfast with us, and then having satisfactorily arranged his

business with Gregory, and emptied his dray, he obligingly offered to convey Jessie and myself to Melbourne

Our new companion was a most agreeable person, and his knowledge of the colonies was extensive. With

anecdotes of the bush, the mines, and the town, he made the journey pass most pleasantly. Before evening we

reached the Golden Point near Mount Alexander. This term of "Golden" has been applied to a great many

spots where the deposits have been richer than, usual. There was a Golden Point at Ballarat, and when the

report of the Alexander diggings drew the people from there, they carried the name with them, and applied it

to this portion of the mount. To the left of the Point, which was still full of labourers, was the store of Mr.

Black, with the UnionJack flying above it. It is a most noted store, and at one time when certain delicacies

We passed by this busy spot and encamped at sunset at the foot of Mount Alexander. It was a lovely evening

and our eyes were feasted by a Most glorious sight. All the trees of the forest gradually faded away in the

darkness, but beyond them, and through them were glimpses of the granitelike walls of the mount,

brilliantly shining in and reflecting the last glowing rays of the setting sun. Some of the gorgeous scenes of

fairyland seemed before us we could have imagined that we were approaching by night some

That evening we sat late round our fire listening to the history which the uncle of Octavius related of some of

his adventures in South Australia. The posts he had filled formed a curious medley of occupations, and I

almost forget the routine in which they followed one another, but I will endeavour to relate his story as much

"When I started from England, after having paid passagemoney, I found myself with about �200 ready

money in my purseit was all I had to expect, and I determined to be very careful of it; but by a young man

of fiveandtwenty these resolutions, like lady's promises, are made to be broken. When I landed in Adelaide

with my money in my pocketminus a few pounds I had lost at whist and cribbage on board shipI made

my way to the best inn, where I stayed some days, and ran up rather a longish bill. Then I wanted to see the

country, which I found impossible without a horse, so bought one, and rode about to the various stations,

where I was generally hospitably received, and thus passed a few months very pleasantly, only my purse was

running low. I sold the horse, then my watch, and spent the money. When that was gone, I thought of the

letters of introduction I possessed. The first that came to hand was directed to a Wesleyan minister. I called

there, looking as sanctimonious as I could. He heard my story, advised me to go to chapel regularly, 'And for

your temporal wants,' said he, 'the Lord will provide.' I thanked him, and bowed myself off.

"My first act was to burn my packet of introductory letters, my next was to engage myself to a stockholder

at 15s. a week and my rations. He was going up to his station at once, and I accompanied him. We travelled

for about two hundred miles through a most beautiful country before we reached his home. His house was, in

my ideas, a comicallooking affair made of split logs of wood, with a bark roof, and a barrel stuck on the

top of the roof at one end by way of a chimneypot. His wife, a pale sickly little woman, seemed pleased to

see us, for she had been much alarmed by the natives, who were rather numerous about the neighbourhood.

There was only a young lad, and an old shepherd and his wife upon the station, besides herself. Before I had

been there six weeks she died, and her newborn little baby died too ; there was not a doctor for miles, and

the shepherd's wife was worse than useless. I believe this often happens in the bushit's not a place for

"I was here eighteen monthsit was a wild sort of life, and just suited my fancy; but when I found I had

some money to receive, I thought a spree in town would be a nice change, so off I marched. My spree lasted

as long as my money, and then I went as barman to a publichouse at Clare, some way up the countryhere

I got better wages and better board, and stopped about halfayear. Then I turned brewer's drayman, and

delivered casks of good Australian ale about Adelaide for 30s. a week. The brewer failed, and I joined in a

speculation with an apple dealer to cart a lot up to the Kapunda copper mines. That paid well. I stopped up

there as overseer over fourand twenty bullockdrays. Well, winter came, and I had little to do, though I

drew my 30s. a week regularly enough, when the directors wanted a contract for putting the small

copperdust into bags, and sewing them up. I offered to do the job at 2d. a bag, and could get through a

hundred and fifty a day. How much is that? Oh! 12s. 6 d. apiece. I forgot to tell you I'd a mate at the work.

That was good earnings in those days; and me and my mate, who was quite a lad, were making a pretty

penny, when some others offered to do them a halfpenny a bag cheaper. I did the same, and we kept it to

ourselves for about four weeks longer, when a penny a bag was offered. There was competition for you! This

roused my bileI threw it up altogetherand off to Adelaide again. Soon spent all my cash, and went into a

shipchandler's office till they failed; then was clerk to a butcher, and lost my situation for throwing a quarter

of his own mutton at him in a rage; and then I again turned brewer's man. Whilst there I heard of the

diggingsleft the brewer and his casks to look after themselves, and off on foot to Ballarat.

"Here I found the holes averaging some thirty feetwhich was a style of hard work I didn't quite admire; so

hearing of the greater facility of the Alexander diggings, I went through Bully Rook Forest, and tried my luck

in the Jim Crow Ranges. This paid well; and I. bought a dray, and bring up goods to the stores, which I find

easier work, and twice as profitable as digging. There's my story; and little I thought when I went into

Gregory's store today, that I should find my curlypated nephew ready to hear it."

Next day we travelled on, and halted near Sawpit Gully; it was early in the afternoon, and we took a walk

about this most interesting locality. The earth was torn up everywhere a few lucky hits had sufficed to

recollect a good many diggers there, and they were work ing vigorously. At dusk the labour ceasedthe

men returned to their tents, and for the last time our ears were assailed by the diggers' usual serenade.

Imagine some hundreds of revolvers almost instantaneously firedthe sound reverberating through the

mighty forests, and echoed far and nearagain and again till the last faint echo died away in the distance.

Then a hundred blazing fires burst upon the sightaround them gathered the rough miners

themselvestheir sunburnt, haircovered faces illumined by the ruddy glare. Wild songs, and still wilder

bursts of laughter are heard; gradually the flames sink and disappear, and an oppressive stillness follows

(sleep rarely refuses to visit the diggers' lowly couch), broken only by some midnight carouser, as he vainly

endeavours to find his tent. No fear of a "peeler" taking him off to a policestation, or of being brought

Early on Tuesday morning I gave a parting look to the diggingsour dray went slowly onwardsa slight

turn in the road, and the last tent has vanished from my sight. "Never," thought I, "shall I look on such a

BEFORE the evening of Wednesday the 20th, we passed through Kyneton, and found ourselves in the little

village of Carlshrue, where we passed the night. Here is a policestation, a blacksmith's, a few stores and

some cottages, in one of which we obtained a comfortable supper and beds. A lovely view greeted us at

sunrise. Behind us were still towering the lofty ranges of Mount Alexander, before us was Mount Macedon

and the Black Forest. This mountain, which forms one of what is called the Macedon range, is to be seen

many miles distant, and on a clear, sunny day, the purple sides of Mount Macedon, which stands aloof as it

were, from the range itself, are distinctly visible from the flagstaff at Melbourne.

We had intended to have stopped for the night in Kyneton, but the charges there were so enormous that we

preferred pushing on and taking our chance as to the accommodation Carlshrue could afford, nor did we

The following are the Kyneton prices. A meal or bedboth bad4s; a night's stabling, �1 10s per horse;

Hay was somewhere about �20 a ton in Melbourne. The carriage of it to Kyneton, now that the fine weather

was setting in, would not exceed �8 a ton at the outside, which would come to �28. The purchaser, by selling

it at Kyneton at the rate of 9d. a pound, or �75 per ton, cleared a profit of �47not quite 200 per cent. If this

is not fortunemaking, I should like to know what is. It beats the diggings hollow.

Next morning we looked our last at "sweet Carlshrue," and having crossed the Five Mile Creek, camped for

our midday meal beside the Black Forest. Here a slight discussion arose, as to whether it would be more

advisable to proceed on our journey and camp in the Black Forest that night, or whether we should remain

where we were outside, and recommence our journey in good time the next morning so as to get through this

most uncomfortable portion of our travels in one day. Frank and Octavius were for the latter plan, as the best

and safest, but the rest (thinking that, having once travelled through it without encountering any thing

resembling a bushranger, they might safely do so again) protested against wasting time, and were for entering

those dark shades without further delay. The uncle of Octavius whom, in future, for the sake of convenience,

I shall call Mr. L, was also of this mind, and as he was in some sort our leader during the journey, his

advice decided the matter. Danger to him was only a necessary excitement. He was naturally fearless, and his

merry laugh and gay joke at the expense of the bushranger fearing party gradually dissipated the

unaccountable presentiment of danger which I for one had in no small degree experienced.

On we went, up hill and down dale, sometimes coming to a more open piece of ground, but more generally

threading our way amid a very maze of trees, with trunks all black as the ground itself, whilst the dingy

foliage and the few rays of sunshine that lit up those dark, deep glades served only to heighten the gloominess

After walking for about six milesI preferred that mode of getting along to the joltings of the draywe all

felt disposed to rest ourselves. We selected a spot where the trees were less thickly clustered, and taking the

horses out of the dray, tethered them by strong ropes to some trees near. The dray itself was turned up, and a

blanket thrown over the upraised shafts formed a most complete and cosy little tent.

A fire was next kindled, and a kettle full of water (with the tea in it!) was placed on to boil, some homemade

bread, brought from Carlshrue, was placed upon the ground, and some chops were toasted on the ends of

sticks, which are usually the impromptu toastingforks of the bush. The old tin plates and pannicans, not

quite so bright as once upon a time, but showing, despite sundry bruises and scratches, that they had seen

better days, were placed upon the teatable, which of course was the ground. Two or three knives and forks

were on general service, and wandered about from hand to hand as occasion required. Altogether it was a

merry, sociable party, and I think I enjoyed that supper better than any I ever tasted before or since.

The pleasantest moments must come to an end, and so did these. After having sat up later than usual, Jessie

and I retired to our gipsy tent, leaving our guardian diggers smoking round the fire. They meant to keep

Friday.We were comfortably seated at our breakfast, discussing a hundred subjects besides the food before

us, when a shrill "cooey" burst through the air; "cooey""cooey" again and again, till the very trees

seemed to echo back the sound. We started to our feet, and, as if wondering what would come next, looked

blankly at each other, and again the "cooey," more energetic still, rang in our ears. This is the call of the

bush, it requires some little skill and practice, and when given well can be heard a great way off. In such a

place as the Black Forest it could only proceed from some one who had lost their way, or be a signal of

distress from some party in absolute danger. We again looked from one to the otherit bewildered us; and

again the cry, only more plaintive than before, came to us. Simultaneously they seized their pistols, and

started in the direction whence the sounds proceeded. They were all too true Englishmen to hear a

Jessie and myself could not remain behind aloneit was impossible; we followed at a little distance, just

keeping our comrades in sight. At last they came to a halt, not knowing where to turn, and we joined them.

Frank gave a "cooey," and in about the space of a minute the words "help, help,come, come," in scarcely,

audible sounds, answered to the call. We penetrated about thirty yards farther, and a few low groans directed

us to a spot more obscure, if possible, than the rest. There, firmly bound to two trees close together, were two

men. A thick cord was passed round and round their bodies, arms, and legs, so as to leave no limb at liberty.

It was the work of a moment for our party to fling down their pistols, take out knives and tomahawks, and

commence the work of releasing them from their bonds. But the cords were knotted and thick, and there

seemed no little labour in accomplishing it. They were also retarded by the small quantity of light, for, as I

said before, it was a dark and secluded spot. At length one man was released, and so faint and exhausted was

he, from the effects of whatever illusage he had suffered, that, being a tall, powerfully made man, it required

the united strength of both Frank and Mr. Lto prevent his falling to the ground.

Jessie and myself were standing a little apart in the shade; we seemed as if spellbound by the incident, and

The second was soon set at liberty, and no sooner did he feel his hands and feet free from the cords than he

A shriek burst from Jessie's lips as, immediately the cry was uttered, and before any one could, recover from

the bewilderment it occasioned, four wellarmed men sprang upon our startled party.

Taken thus at disadvantage, unarmed, their very knives flung down in their eagerness to untwist the cords,

they were soon overpowered. The wretch who had been reclining in Frank's arms quickly found his feet, and,

ere Frank could recover from his surprise, one heavy blow flung him to the ground; whilst the other twined

his powerful arms round Mr. L, and, after a short but sharp struggle, in which he was assisted by a

It was a fearful sight, and I can hardly describe my feelings as I witnessed it. My brain seemed on fire, the

trees appeared to reel around me, when a cold touch acted as a sudden restorative, and almost forced a scream

from my lips. It was Jessie's hand, cold as marble, touching mine. We spoke together in a low whisper, and

"I saw a little hill as we came here," said Jessie; "let's try and find it and look out for help."

I instinctively followed her, and stealthily creeping along, we gained a small rise of ground which

commanded a more extended view than most places in the Black Forest, and, but for the thickness of the

trees, we could have seen our own campingplace and the part where the ambuscade had been laid. From

sounds of the voices, we could tell that the ruffians were leading their prisoners to the spot where we had

passed the night, and the most fearful oaths and imprecations could ever and anon be heard. with

apprehension, for it was known that when in obtaining the gold they expected, they vented thier rage in

Meanwhile Jessie seemed listening intently. The time she had spent in the bush and at the diggings had

wonderfully refined her sense of hearing. Suddenly she gave a shrill "cooey." The moment after a shot was

fired in the direction of our late camp. Jessie turned even paler, but recovering herself, "cooey" after

"cooey" made the echoes ring. I joined my feeble, efforts to hers; but she was evidently well used to this

peculiar call. On a fine still day, this cry will reach for full three miles, and we counted upon this fact for

"Help is coming," said Jessie, in a low voice, and once more with increasing strength she gave the call.

Footsteps approached nearer and nearer. I looked up, almost expecting to see those villainous countenances

"Women in danger!" shouted a manly voice, and several stalwart figures bounded to our side.

"Follow, follow!" cried Jessie, rushing forwards. I scarcely remember everything that occurred, for I was

dizzy with excess of pleasure. There was a short scuffle, shots were fired at retreating bushrangers, and we

The whole, matter was then related to our preservers for such they were and I then learnt that when the

bushrangers had marched off our party to the campingplace, they proceeded to overhaul their pockets, and

then bound them securely to some trees, whilst one stood ready with a pistol to shoot the first that should call

for help, and the others looked over the plunder. This was little enough, for our travelling money, which was

notes, was keptstrange treasuryin the lining of the body of my dress, and here too were the gold receipts

from the Escort Office. Every night I took out about sufficient to defray the day's expenses, and this was

Enraged and disappointed, the villains used most frightful language, accompanied by threats of violence; and

the one on guard, irritated beyond his powers of endurance, fired the pistol in the direction of William's head.

At this moment Jessie's first "cooey" was heard: this startled him, and the shot, from the aim of the pistol

"It's that dd child," muttered one, with a few, additional oaths; "we'll wring her neck when we've secured

One of the ruffians now attempted more persuasive measures, and addressing Mr. L, whom I suppose

he considered the leader, expended his powers of persuasion much in the following manner.

"You sees, mate, we risks our lives to get your gold, and have it we will. Some you've got somewhere or

another, for you havn't none on you got no paper from the Escortyou planted it last night, eh? Jist show us

where, and you shan't be touched at all, nor that little wretch yonder, what keeps screeching so; but if you

don't" and here his natural ferocity mastered him, and he wound up with a volley of curses, in the midst of

When we came to talk the whole matter over calmly and quietly, no doubt was left upon our minds, as to the

premeditation of the whole affair. But for the watch kept, the attack would most probably have been made

Our timely friends were a party of successful diggers returning, from work. They too had passed the night in

the Black Forest providently not very far from us. They accepted our thanks in an offhand sort of way,

only replyingwhich was certainly true"that we would have done the same for them." It was in

endeavouring to assist assumed sufferers that our party fell into the ambuscade laid for them.

They waited whilst we got the dray and horses ready, and we all journeyed on together, till the Black Forest

was far behind us. We saw no more of the bushrangers, and encamped that night a few miles beyond the

"Bush Inn." At this inn we parted with our gallant friends. They were of the jovial sort, and having plenty of

On Saturday we travelled as far as the "Deep Creek Inn." Some distance before reaching that place, we

passed two rival coffeeshops on the road. We stopped at the first, to know if they had any uncooked or cold

"Havn't none," said the woman, shaking her head. Then looking hard at William, and judging from his

goodhumoured face, that he was a likely one to do what she wanted, she said to him. "Now, Sir, I'm agoing

to ax a favour of you, and that is to go a little farther down the road, to the other coffeetent, and buy for me

as much meat as they'll let you have. They's got plenty, and I've none; and they knows I'll lose custom by it,

so you'll not get it if they twigs (Anglic guesses) you comes from me. You understand, Sir," and she put

Laughing at the comicality of the request, and the thoroughly colonial coolness of making it, William set off,

and presently returned with nearly half a sheep hanging over his shoulders, and a large joint in one hand.

"Bless me, what luck!" exclaimed the delighted woman, and loud and profuse were her thanks. She wanted to

cook us a good dinner off the meat gratis; but this we steadily refused and purchasing enough for the present,

we put our drays again into motion, and a little while after kindled a fire, and were our own cooks as usual.

That night we camped beside the Deep Creek, about a mile from the "Deep Creek Inn." The route we were

now taking was different to the one we had travelled going upit was much more direct.

We remained all Sunday beside the creek, and the day passed quietly and pleasantly.

On Monday the 25th we were again in motion. We passed the well known inn of Tulip Wright's. How great a

change those few weeks had made! Winter had given place to summer, for Australia knows no spring. We

walked along the beautiful road to Flemington, gave a look at the flagstaff and cemetery, turned into Great

Bourke Street, halted at the Postoffice, found several letters, and finally stopped opposite the "Duke of York

I shall leave myself most comfortably located here, whilst I devote a chapter or two to other diggings.

BALLARAT is situated about fortyfive miles from Geelong, and seventyfive nearly west of Melbourne.

This was the first discovered goldfield of any extent in Victoria, and was made known on the 8th of

September, 1851. The rush from Geelong was immense. Shops, stores, trades, all and everything was

deserted; and the press very truly declared that "Geelong was madstark, staring goldmad." During the

month of September five hundred and thirtytwo licences were taken out; in the month following the number

The usual road to Ballarat is by the Adelaide overland route on the Gambier Road; but the most preferable is

per Geelong. The former route leads over the Keilor Plains, and through Bacchus Marsh, crossing the

Werribee River in two places. Mount Buninyong then appears in sight of the wellpleased traveller, and

The route vi Geelong is much quicker, as part of the way is generally performed by steam at the rate of �1

apiece. Those who wish to save their money go to Geelong by land. After leaving Flemington, and passing

the Benevolent Asylum, the Deep Creek is crossed by means of a punt, and you then come to a dreary waste

of land, called Iett's Flat. Beyond is a steep rise and a barren plain, hardly fit to graze sheep upon, and at

about twenty miles from Melbourne you come to the first halting house. Some narrow but rapid creeks must

be got over, and for seven miles further you wander along over a dreary sheeprun till stopped by the Broken

River, which derives its name partly from the nature of its rocky bed, and partly from the native name which

This creek is the most steep, rapid, and dangerous on the road, having no bridge and no properly defined

crossingplace or ford, except the natural rocks about. The bottom is of red sandstone and rocks of the same

description abut from the sides of the creek, and appear to abound in the neighbourhood; and all along the

plains here, and there are large fragments of sand and limestone rocks. Two hundred yards from the creek is

a neat inn after the English style, with a large sittingroom, a tap, a bar, and a coffeeroom. The bedrooms

are so arranged as to separate nobs from snobsan arrangement rather inconsistent in a democratic colony.

The inn also affords good stabling and high charges. Up to this distance on our road there is a scarcity of

We now pass two or three huts, and for twenty miles see nothing to please the eye, for it is a dead, flat

sheepwalk. About seven miles on the Melbourne side of Geelong, the country assumes a more cheering

appearancehomesteads, gardens, and farms spring upthe roads improve, and the timber is plentiful and

large, consisting of sheaoaks, wattle, stringy bark, and peppermints. Many of the houses are of a good size,

Geelong, which is divided into north and south, is bounded by the Barwin, a river navigable from the bay to

the town, and might be extended further; beautiful valleys well wooded lie beyond. Between the two

townships a park has been reserved, though not yet enclosed; the timber in it, which is largeconsisting

principally of white gum and stringy barkis not allowed to be cut or injured. There are sweveral good inns,

a courthouse, policestation, and corporation offices. There is also a neat church in the early pointed style,

with a parsonage and schools in the Elizabethan; all are of dark limestone, having a very gloomy

appearance, the stones being unworked, except near the windows; the porches alone slightly ornamented. The

road and pavement are good in the chief streets; there is a large square with a conduit, which is supplied by

an engine from the Barwin. The shops are large and well furnished, a great many housed are three stories

high, most are two, and very few one. The best part of town is about one hundred feet above the river. A large

timber bridge over the Ballarat road was washed down last winter. The town is governed by a mayor and

corporation. There is a city and mounted police force, and a neat policecourt. A large and good racecourse

As regards scenery, Geelong, is far superior to Melbourne, the streets are better, and, so is the society of the

place; none of the ruffian gangs and drunken mobs as seen in Victoria's chief city. There are various, chapels,

schools, markets, banks, and a small gaol. The harbour is sheltered, but not safe for strangers, as the shoals

are numerous. Geelong is surrounded by little townships. Irish Town, Little Scotland, and Little London are

the principal and to show how completely the diggings drained both towns and villages of their male

inhabitants, I need only mention that six days after the discovery of Ballarat, there was only one man left in

Little Scotland, and he was a cripple, compelled nolens volens to remain behind.

The road from Geelong to Ballarat is well marked out, so often has, it been trodden; and there are some good

inns on the wayside for the comfort of travellers. On horseback you can go from the town to the diggings in

Ballarat is a barren place, the ground is interspersed with rocky fragments, the creek is small, and good water

is rather scarce. In summer it almost amounts to a drought, and what there is then is generally brackish or

stagnatic. It is necessary never to drink stagnant water, or that found in holes, without boiling, unless there

are frogs in it, then the water is good; but the diggers usually boil the water, and a drop of brandy, if they can

get it. In passing through the plains you are sure of finding water near the surface (or by seeking a few

The chief object at the Ballarat diggings is the Commissioners' tent, which includes the Postoffice. There are

good police quarters now. The old lockup was rather of the primitive order, being the stump of an old tree,

to which the the prisoners were attached by sundry chains, the handcuff being round one wrist and through a

link of the chain. I believe there is a tent for their accommodation. There are several doctors about, who, as

It is almost impossible to describe accurately the geological, features of the gold diggings at Ballarat. Some

of the surfacewashing is good, and sometimes it is only requisite to sink a few feet, perhaps only a few

inches, before finding the ochrecoloured earth (impregnated with mica and mixed with quartzy fragments),

which, when washed, pays exceedingly well. But more frequently a deep shaft has to be sunk.

Of course the depth of the shafts varies considerably; some are sixty or even eighty, and some are only ten

feet deep. Sometimes after heavy rains, when the surface soil has been washed from the sides of the hills, the

mica layer is similarly washed down to the valleys and lies on the original surfacesoil. This constitutes the

true washing stuff of the diggings. Often when a man hasto use a digger's phrase"bottomed his hole,"

(that is, cut through the rocky strata, and arrived at the gold layer), he will find stray indications, but nothing

remunerative, and perchance the very next hole may be the most profitable on the diggings. Whether there is

any geological rule to be guided by has yet to be proved, at present no old digger will ever sink below the

mica soil, or leave his hole until be arrives at it, even if he sinks to forty feet. So, therefore, it may be taken as

a general rule, wherever the diggings may be, either in Victoria, New South Wales, or South Australia, that

Ballarat has had the honour of producing largest masses of gold yet discovered. These masses were all

excavated from one part diggings, known as Canadian Gully, and were taken out of a bed of quartz, at the

depths of from fifty to sixtyfive feet below the surface.The deep indentures of the nuggets were filled with

the quartz. The largest of these masses weighed one hundred and thirtyfour pounds, of which it was

About seven miles to the north of Ballarat, some new diggings called the Eureka have been discovered, where

it appears that, although there are no immense prizes, there are few blanks, and every one, doing well!

In describing the road from Melbourne to Geelong, I have made mention of the Broken River. A few weeks

I give the tale, much in the same words as it was given to me, because it was one out of many somewhat

Prettiest among the pretty girls that stood upon the deck as the anchor of the Government immigrant ship

'Downshire' into Hobson's Bay, in August, 1851, was Mary H, the heroine of my story. No regret

mingled with the satisfaction that beamed from her large dark eyes, as their gaze fell on the shores of her new

country, for her orphan brother, the only relative she had left in their own dear Emerald Isle, was even then

preparing to follow her. Nor could she feel sad and lonely whilst the rich Irish brogue, from a subdued but

manly and wellloved voice. fell softly on her ear, and the I gentle pressure of her hand continually reminded

Shipboard is a rare place for matchmaking, and, somehow or another, Henry Stephens had contrived to steal

away the heart of the 'Downshire' belle. Prudence, however, compelled our young people to postpone their

marriage, and whilst the good housewife qualities of the one readily procured her a situation in a highly

respectable family in Melbourne, Henry obtained an appointment in the police force of the same town.

Their united savings soon mounted up, and in a few months the banns were published, and ChristmasDay

fixed on for the wedding. Mary, at her lover's express desire, quitted her mistress's family to reside with a

widow, a distant relative of his own, from whose house she was to be married. Delightful to the young people

was this short period of leisure and uninterrupted intercourse, for the gold mania was now beginning to tell

upon the excited imaginations of all, and Henry had already thrown up his situation; and it was settled their

And now let me hasten over this portion of my narrative. It is sad to dwell upon the history of human frailty,

or to relate the ofttold tale of passion and villainy triumphant over virtue. A few days before Christmas,

when the marriage ceremony was to be performed, they unfortunately spent one evening together alone, and

he left herruined. Repentance followed sin, and the intervening time was passed by Mary in a state of the

greatest mental anguish. With what trembling eagerness did she now look forward to the day which should

It arrived. Mary and the friends of both stood beside the altar, whilst he, who should have been there to

redeem his pledge and save his victim from open ruin and disgrace, was far away on the road to Ballarat.

To describe her agony would be impossible. Day after day, week after week, and no tidings from him came;

conscience too acutely accounting to her for his faithlessness. Then the horrible truth forced itself upon her,

that its consequences would soon too plainly declare her sin before the world; that upon her innocent

Thus six months stole sorrowfully away, and as yet none had even conjectured the deep cause she had for

misery. Her brother's nonarrival was also an unceasing source of anxiety, and almost daily might she have

been seen at the Melbourne Postoffice, each time to return more disappointed than before. At length the

oftrepeated inquiry was answered in the affirmative, and eagerly she tore open the longanticipated letter. It

told her of an unexpected sum of money that had come into his handsto them a small fortunewhich had

detained him in Ireland. This was read and almost immediately forgotten, as she learnt that he was arrived in

She raised her face, flushed and radiant with joyful excitementher eyes fell upon him who had so cruelly

injured her. The scream that burst from her lips brought him involuntarily to her side. What will not a woman

forgive where once her heart has been touchedin the double joy of the moment the past was almost

forgottentogether they reread the welcome letter, and again he wooed her for his bride. She consented,

and he himself led her to her brother, confessed their mutual fault, and second preparations for an immediate

Once more at the altar of St. Peter's stood the bridal party, and again at the appointed hour Stephens was far

gone on his second expedition to the diggings, after having increased (if that was possible) his previous

villainy, by borrowing a large portion of the money before mentioned from his intended brotherinlaw. It

was pretty evident that the prospect of doing this had influenced him in his apparently honourable desire to

atone to the poor girl, who, completely prostrated by this second blow, was laid on the bed of sickness.

For some weeks she continued thus and her own sufferings were increased by he sight of her brother's fury,

During his absence Mary became a mother, and the little one that nestled in her bosom, made her half

forgetful of her sorrows, and at times ready to embrace the delusive hope that some slight happiness in life

was in store for her. But her bitter cup was not yet drained. Day by day, hour by hour, her little one pined

Not one sound of griefnot an outward sign to show how deeply the heart was touchedescaped her. The

busy neighbours left her for awhile, glad though amazed at her wondrous calmness; when they returned to

finish their preparations for committing the child to its last restingplace, the mother and her infant had

Carrying the lifeless burden closely pressed against her bosom, as though the pelting rain and chilling air

could harm it now, Mary rapidly left the town where she had experienced so much misery, onontowards

Geelong, the route her seducer and his pursuer had takenonacross lett's Flat, until at length, weak and

Next morning the early dawn found her still plodding her weary wayher only refreshment being a dry crust

and some water obtained at an haltinghouse on the road; and many a passerby, attracted by the wildness of

her eyes, her eager manner, and disordered dress, cast after her a curious wondering look. But she heeded

Here she paused. The heavy winter rains had swollen the waters, which swept along, dashing over the

irregular pieces of rock that formed the only means of crossing over. But danger was as nothing to her

nowthe first few steps were takenthe rapid stream was rushing wildly round hera sensation, of

giddiness and exhaustion made her limbs tremble her footing slipped on the wet and slimy stonein another

The morrow came, and the sun shone brightly upon the still swollen and rapid river. Two men stood beside it,

both too annoyed at this impediment to their return to Melbourne to be in the slightest degree aware of their

proximity to one. another. A bonnet caught by a projecting fragment of rock simultaneously attracted their

attention: both moved towards the spot, and thus brought into closer contact they recognized each other.

Deadly foes though they were, not a word passed between them, and silently they dragged the body of the

unhappy girl to land. In her cold and tightened grasp still lay the child. As they stood gazing on those injured

ones, within one breast remorse and shame, in the other, hatred and revenge, were raging violently.

Each step on the road to Ballarat had increased her brother's desire for vengeance, and still further was this

heightened on discovering that Stephens had already left the diggings to return to town. This disappointment

maddened him; his whole energy was flung into tracing his foe, and in this he had succeeded so closely, that

unknown to either, both had slept beneath the same roof at the inn beside the Broken River.

The voices of some of the loungers there, who were coming down to the Creek to see what mischief had been

done during the night, aroused him. He glanced upon his enemy, who pale and trembling, stood gazing on the

wreck that he had made. Revenge at last was in his handsnot a moment was to be lostwith the yell of a

maniac he sprang upon the powerless and consciousstricken manseized him in his arms rushed to the

riverand ere any could interpose, both had found a grave where but a few minutes before the bodies of

About seventy years ago a small colony of convicts first made the forests ring with the blows of the axe, and

a few tents were erected where Sydney now stands. The tents, and they who dwelt beneath them, have long

since disappeared, and instead we have one of the finest cities that our colonial empire ever produced.

The streets in Sydney are, as in Melbourne, are built at right angles with one another; they macadamized, well

lighted with gas, and perambulated by a number of policemen during the night. Some of the shops almost

rival those of London, and the public buildings are good and numerous. There is a customhouse, a treasury,

policeoffice, college, benevolent asylum, banks, barracks, hospitals, libraries, churches, chapels, a

synagogue, museum, clubhouse, theatre, and many splendid hotels, of which the largest is, I think the

Hyde Park is close at hand, with unnumbered public walks, and a botanical garden, the favourite resort of

In the neighbourhood of Sydney are some good oysterbeds, and many are the picnics got up for the

purpose of visiting them. The oysters cling to the rocks, and great numbers are easily obtained.

The distance from Sydney to Melbourne, by the overland road, is about six hundred miles; but the steamers,

The gold diggings of New South Wales are so well known as to require but a cursory notice. The first official

notification of the fact of gold having been discovered bears date, May 22, 1851, and is contained in a

despatch from the Governor to Earl Grey. In it he announced the existence of a gold field to the westward of

Bathurst, about one hundred and fifty miles from Sydney. At the same time, he added his supposition that the

Mr Stutchbury, the geological surveyor, quickly undeceived his Excellency. He wrote from Hill Creek

reporting that four hundred persons were hard at work, and that the gold existed not only in the creek but

beyond it. The following postscript was added to his letter: "Excuse this being written in pencil, as there is no

ink in this city of Ophir." And this appropriate name has ever since been retained.

The natural consequences of this discovery was the flocking of hundreds of the inhabitants of Sydney to

Bathurst. Sober people began to be alarmed at this complete bouleversement of business and tranquillity. For

the sake of order the Governor attempted to put a stop to the increasing desertion of the capital by

proclaiming that the goldfields were the prerogative of the Crown, and threatening golddiggers with

prosecution. It was all in vain. The glitterings of the precious metal were more attractive than the threats of

the Governor were otherwise. The people laughed goodhumoured at the proclamation, and only flocked in

Government now took a wiser course, and finding it impossible to stem the torrent, determined to turn the

eagerness of the multitude to some account. A licencefee of 30s., or half an ounce of gold, per month was

The Turon diggings soon followed those of Bathurst. This river flows into the Macquarie after a course of a

hundred miles. Along the entire length auriferous discoveries are constantly being made, and it bids fair to

last for many to come. The gold is not found, as many erroneously suppose, so much among the sand as by

digging in the soil. It also exists in paying quantities on the shores and in the rive flows of the Macquarie, the

Abercrombie, and Belubula rivers. Major's Creek, too, is a favourite locality, and was first made known by

According to Mr. Stutchbury's report, he found gold almost wherever he tried for it, and whilst traversing the

Macquarie from Walgumballa to the Turon, he found it at every place he tried. Surely Midas must, once upon

The delirium of the Sydney goldfever reached its height when it became publicly known that a piece of one

hundred and six pounds weight had been disembowelled from the earth, at one time. This immense quantity

was the discovery of a native, who, being excited by the universal theme of conversation, provided himself

with a tomahawk, and explored the country adjacent to his employer's land. He was attracted by a glittering

yellow substance on the surface of a block of quartz. With his tomahawk he broke off a piece, which he

carried home to his master, Dr. Kerr, of Wallawa. Not being able to move the mass conveniently, Dr. Kerr

broke it into small fragments. The place where it was found is at the commencement of an undulating

tableland, very fertile, and near to a neverfailing supply of water in the Murroo Creek. It is distant about

fifty miles from Bathurst, thirty from Wellington, and twenty from the nearest point of the Macquarie river.

Dr. Kerr presented the native and his brother with two flocks of sheep, two saddlehorses, a quantity of

About twenty yards from the spot where this mass was found, a piece of gold called the "Brennan Nugget"

was soon after discovered. It weighed three hundred and thirtysix ounces, and was sold in Sydney for more

But it would be useless to enter into fuller particulars of the diggings of New South Wales. Panoramas,

ADELAIDE, the capital of South Australia, was the last formed of the three sister colonies. In 1834 an act of

colonization was obtained; and land, both in town and country, sold rapidly. The colonists, however, were

most unfortunately more engaged in speculating with the land, than grazing upon or tilling it; and the

consequence was, that in a few years the South Australians were only saved from a famine by the unexpected

arrival overland of herds and flocks from Victoria. As it was, horses and cows of a very indifferent kind were

The discovery of the copper mines alone. saved the country from ruin. The first was the Kapunda. It was

accidentally discovered by a shepherd, who picked up a piece on the surface of the ground, and showed it to

Next followed the farfamed BurraBurra. In the latter mine there is a great quantity of malachite, which,

South Australia possesses the finest river in Australianamely, the Murray, on which steamers will soon ply

as far as five hundred miles up the country. On either side of this river is a thick and dry scrubsometimes

ten, sometimes thirty miles wide. In this scrub, manna is not unfrequently found, to the great delight of the

natives, who are very fond of it. It is of a very excellent description, and in colour has a slight tendency to

Adelaide itself is a welllaid out town. The streets are built in the same manner as in Sydney and Melbourne;

but those in Adelaide are much wider. Many of the buildings and warehouses are highly creditable,

Adelaide has never yet been "a transportation colony," and the society there is usually considered more

recherch than in any other city in Australia. The climate is very good, and the vine flourishes as in the south

of France. The principal export of South Australia is copper, to which may be added some wool and tallow.

The roads about are excellent, and the small farms in the neighbourhood are more in the English style than

The overland route from Adelaide to Melbourne is about four hundred miles in length. In summer the road is

pretty good, but in winter, a lake or swamp of twenty miles extent has to be waded through.

The scrub about South Australia is very thick, and any one may easily lose themselves in it. This has in fact

often been the case, and a fearful instance of it occurred some few years ago. A young ladythe daughter of

a gentleman residing near Adelaidestarted out one Sunday afternoon with a book as her companion.

Evening came, and she did not return, which alarmed her family, and search was made far and nearbut in

vain. On the fourth day, they at length discovered her lying dead at the foot of a tree. The pages of her book

were covered with sentences, pricked in with a pin, expressive of her sufferings and of her unavailing efforts

to retrace her steps. She was only three miles from her father's house when she sank down to die of hunger,

thirst, and exhaustion; and probably during the whole time of her wanderings had never exceeded that

The Adelaide golddiggings began to excite attention in the months of August and September, 1852. In

"I have the honour to state for the information of his Excellency the LieutenantGovernor, that since my last

report sixty licences have been issued, making a total of three hundred and fiftysix. * * * * Many families of

respectability have arrived, and are now living in comfortable and commodious tents. The presence of

welldressed women and children gives to the goldfields, apparently distinguished for decorum, security

"From the feeling of greater security and comfort, combined with cheapness of living, all classes of diggers

"The nugget of gold which I have forwarded for his Excellency's inspection, weighing about an ounce and a

"There are some few amongst the lately arrived who expressed dissatisfaction with the result of their labours

and observations, while others, who have been working for the last month, have promptly renewed their

In the month of October several pieces of gold, weighing each half an ounce and upwards, were found, and a

few of the holes that had been abandoned by inexperienced hands, when taken possession of by old diggers

on the Turon or the Bendigo, were found to contain good washing stuff. The diggings were well supplied

with food of every kind; and during the summer months there could be no lack of fruits and vegetables in

abundance, at reasonable prices, supplied from the numerous and wellcultivated farms and gardens around.

This is certainly an advantage over the diggings, of Victoria or New South Wales, if gold really does exist in

paying quantities; if not, all the fruit and vegetables in the world would not keep the diggers at Echunga.

The following "Lament" was circulated in Adelaide, but not one of the newspapers there would print it. They

were all too anxious for the success of their diggings, to countenance any grumblers against them:

MY one pound ten! my one pound ten! I paid as Licence Fee; Ah! cruel Bonney! pray return, That one pound

When to Echunga diggings first I hastened up from town, Thy tent I sought with anxious care And paid the

And though my folly ever since I bitterly deplore, It soothes my mind to know there were Three scores of

Then, Bouncy, listen to my lay, And if you wish to thrive, Send back the money quick to me, To number

Who wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long, Had better to Echunga go, And not to Mount

But as for me I like a swag, At least a little more Than what we got there in a week Eight pennyweights

For that, of surface earth we washed Of dray loads half a score; I'll swear that cradling never seemed Such

To sink for gold we then commenced, With grief I must confess, 'Twas fruitless toil, although we went Down

All you who've paid your one pound ten, Are on your licence told That then you are entitled to Remove

But if the alluvial gold's not there I'd like to have it proved By what ingenious process it Can ever be

Then back to Bendigo I'll haste, To seek the precious ore; Although my one pound ten I fear Returns to me no

Yet as the boundary line I cross, My parting prayer shall be Ah! cruel Bonney! pray return My one pound

With a short extract from the "South Australian Register" of February 7, 1853, I shall conclude my remarks

"The Gold Fields.Although there is at the diggings everything to indicate gold in large quantities, none

have succeeded in realizing their hopes. The majority content themselves with what they can get on

Chapman's Hill and Gully, knowing that, if a fresh place is discovered, they will stand as good a chance as

"The quantity of gold taken to the Assayoffice, during four consecutive weeks, amounting to less than four

thousand ounces, the Governor has proclaimed that after the 17th of February the office will be closed."

IT was on Monday the 25th of October, that for the second time I entered Melbourne. Not many weeks had

elapsed since I had quitted it for my adventurous trip to the diggings, yet in that short space of time how

many changes had taken place. The cloudy sky was exchanged for a brilliant sunshine, the chilling air for a

truly tropical heat, the drizzling rain for clouds of thick cutting dust, sometimes as thick as a London fog,

which penetrated the most substantial veil, and made our skins smart terribly. The streets too had undergone a

wondrous transformation. Collins Street looked quite bright and cheerful, and was the fashionable promenade

of those who had time or inclination for lounging. Parties of diggers were constantly starting or arriving, trips

to St. Kilda and Brighton were daily taking place; and a coach was advertised to run to the diggings! I cannot

quite realize the terrified passengers being driven through the Black Forest, but can picture their horror when

In every windowmilliners, babylinen warehouses, includedwas exhibited the usual advertisement of

the gold buyernamely, a heap of gold in the centre, on one side a pile of sovereigns, on the other

banknotes. The most significant advertisement was one I saw in a window in Collins Street. In the middle

was a skull perforated by a bullet, which lay at a little distance as if coolly examining or speculating on the

mischief it had done. On one aide of the skull was a revolver, and on the other a quautity of nuggets. Above

all, was the emphatic inscription, "Beware in time." This rather uncomfortablelooking tableau signifiedin

as speaking a manner as symbols can that the unfortunate skull had once belonged to some more

unfortunate lucky digger, who not having had the sense to sell his gold to the proprietor of this attractive

window had kept his nuggets in his pocket, thereby tempting some robberssignificantly personified by the

revolver to shoot him, and steal the gold. Nowhere could you turn your eye without meeting "30,000 oz.

wanted immediately; highest price given."10,000 oz. want to consign per; extra price given to

immediate sellers," Outwardly it seemed a city of gold, yet hundreds were half perishing for want of food,

with no place of shelter beneath which to lay their heads. Many families of freshlyarrived emigrantswife,

children, and allslept out in the open air; infants were born upon the wharves with no helping hand near to

How greatly the last few weeks had enlarged Melbourne. Cities of tents encompassed it on all sides; though,

as I said before, the trifling comfort of a canvas roof above them, was denied to the poorest of the poor,

But I must return to ourselves. Our first business the next morning was to find for our little Jessie some

permanent home; for all our movements were so uncertainI myself, thinking of a return to the old

countrythat it was considered advisable to obtain for her some better friends than a set of volatile, though

goodhearted young fellowsnot the most suitable protection for a young girl, even in so lax a place as the

colonies. We never thought of letting her return to England, for there the life of a female, who has her own

livelihood to earn, is one of badlypaid labour, entailing constant privation, and often great miseryif not

worse. I have before said that William had relatives in Melbourne, and to them we determined to entrust her.

Mrs. R was a kindhearted and most exemplary woman; and having a very young family of her own,

was well pleased at such an acquisition as the thoughtful, industrious little Jessie. Each of our party

contributed a small portion of their golden earnings to form a fund for a future day, which I doubt not will be

increased by our little friend's industry, long before she needs it. Here let us leave her, trusting that her future

life may be as happy as her many excellent qualities deserve, and hoping that her severest trials have already

Our next care was to obtain our gold from the Escortoffice; to do which the receipts given in Bendigo had to

be handed in, and after very little delay the precious packets were restored to their respective owners. The

following is a facsimile of the tickets, printed on parchment, attached to each parcel of which a duplicate,

The trifling charge for all this trouble and responsibility is sixpence an ounce.

The business satisfactorily arranged, the next was to dispose of it. Some was converted into money, and sold

for 69s. an ounce; and the remainder was consigned to England, where, being very pure and above standard,

We next paid Richard a visit, who, though surprised was well pleased to see us again. He declared his

resolution of returning to England as soon as possible. Our party fixed their journey to the Ovens to take

place in three weeks. William determined to remain in town, which I think showed wisdom on his part as his

health was not equal to roughing it in the bush; and this was a much more formidable trip than the last, on

Meanwhile we enjoyed the fine weather, and our present companionship, as much as possible, while taking

Iittle trips here, there, and everywhere. The one I most enjoyed was a sail in the Bay. The captain of the

vessel in which we left England, was still detained in Port Philip for want of handsthe case of

hundredsand offered to give us a sail, and a dinner on board afterwards. We soon made up a large party,

and enjoyed it exceedingly. The day was lovely. We walked down to Liardet's Beach, a distance of nearly

three miles, and were soon calmly, skimming over the waters. We passed St. Kilda and Brighton, and gained

an excellent view of the innumerable vessels then lying useless and halfdeserted in the Bay.

It was a sad though a pretty sight. There were fine East Indiamen, emigrant ships, American clippers,

steamers, traders foreign and English whalers, waiting there only through want of seamen.

In the cool of the evening our gallant host rowed us back to the beach. Since our first landing, tents and stores

had been erected in great numbers, and Little Adelaide was grown wonderfully. I think I have never

mentioned the quantity of frogs that abound in Australia. This particular evening I remarked them more than

usual, and without the least exaggeration their croaking resembled a number of mills in motion. I know

nothing to which I can more appropriately liken the noise that resounded along the swampy portions of the

Much has been said of the climate of Australia, and many are the conflicting statements thereon. The

following table contains all the informationpersonal and otherwisewhich I have been enabled to collect.

January and February.Generally the hottest months; average of the thermometer, 78 in the shade;

April.Weather more uncertain; mosquitos depart; average temperature, 70 in the shade:

May.Fine, till towards the latter part of the month, when sometimes the rainy season commences; average

July.Coldest month in the year; midwinter in the colonies; average temperature, 53. Ice and snow may be

September.Windy stormy month; weather getting warmer. Average temperature, 63 in the shade.

OctoberThe presence of the mosquito, a sure proof that the weather is permanently warm. Average

November and December.Tropically warm. Locusts, mosquitos, and unnumbered creeping things swarm

both in bush and town. Towards the end of December the creeks commence to dry up, and the earth looks

parched for want of rain. No yulelog needed on Christmas Day. Thermometer as high as 97 in the shade;

The principal trees in Australia are the gum, stringy bark, manna tree, wild cherry (so called), iron bark, shea

oak, peppermint, acacia, and the mimosa, which last, however, should more properly be called a shrub. These

and others, like the Indian maleleucas, are remarkable for the Cajeput oil contained in their leaves, and in the

gums which exude from their sterns, and in this point of view alone, considering their boundless number,

their value can hardly be over estimated. The gum of some of the acacias will bear comparison with

gumarabic. Their bark and timber are likewise useful, and when the gold fever has subsided, will become

Wild flowers there are in abundance, and some exquisite specimens of ferns. For the benefit of those better

skilled in botany than myself, I give the following list of Dr. M ller's indigenous plants of Victoria.

Correaochrolenca and Phebalium Asteriscophorum, both with the medical properties of the Buccobush,

Eurybia Rhodochaeta, E. Rugosa, E. Adenophylla, E. Asterotristia, Sambucus, Gaudichaudiana, Prostanthera

Hirsuta, Pimelea axiflora (powerful Surrogat of the Mezerion shrub), Bossidea decumbcus, Asterotristia

The geranium, fuschia, rhododendrum, and almost all varieties of the Cacti have been taken to the colonies,

and flourish well in the open air all the year round, growing much more luxuriantly than in England.

The vineyards must some day form a considerable source of employment and profit to the colonists. The

wine made in Australia is very good. The vines are cultivated in the same manner as in France. In the

neighbourhood of Sydney, oranges and peaches are grown out in the open air. Apples and other fruits flourish

well in Van Diemen's Land. All these fruits are not indigenous to Australia. The only articles of food natural

there, are the kangaroos, emus, opossums, and other denizens of the forest, a few snakes, some roots, and a

worm, about the length and thickness of a finger, which is abundant in all parts of the colony, and is taken out

of the cavities, or from under the bark, of the trees. It is a great favourite with the blacks, as it can be procured

I have before made mention of the bush and scrub; there is a great dissimilarity between the two. The former

resembles a forest, with none or very little underwood. The scrub, on the contrary, is always underwood, of

from six to twenty feet high, and only here and there a few trees are seen. To be lost in either bush or scrub is

a common thing. If on horseback the best way is to give the rein to your fourfooted companion, and instinct

will most probably enable him to extricate you. If on foot, ascend, if possible, a rise of ground, and notice any

fall in the country; here, most likely, is a creek, and once beside that, you are pretty sure of coming to a

station. If this fails, you must just bush it for the night, and resume your search next morning, trusting to an

The scenery of Australia partakes of all characters. Sometimes miles of swamp reminds one of the

Lincolnshire fens; at other times it assumes quite a parklike appearance, though the effect is greatly injured

by the want of freshness about the foliage, which always looks of a dirty, dingy green. The native trees in

Australia never shed their leaves, never have that exquisite young tint which makes an English spring in the

country so delicious. Their faded look always reminded me of those unfortunate trees imprisoned for so many

The mountains in Australia are high and bold in outline, and the snowcapped Alps on the boundaries of

New South Wales are not unlike their European namesakes, the highest tops are from six to seven thousand

feet above the level of the sea. The country round Ballarat is more in the North American style, and when the

creek is full, it is a fine sight, greatly resembling, I have beard, one of the smaller rivers in Canada; in fact,

the scenery round Ballarat is said to approach more to Upper Canada than any in the colony. The rocks,

although not high, are in places very bold and romantic, and in the wet season there are several waterfalls in

Eels are very plentiful in Victoria, and are peculiar to this district, being seldom, if ever, found in any other

part of the known continent. Old writers on Australia have stated that eels are unknown in this part of the

world, which, since this colony has been settled in, has been found to be erroneous, as the Barwin, the Yarra

Yarra, and their tributaries abound with them, some weighing five or six pounds. A few days after our return

from the diggings, we breakfasted off a dish of stewed eels, caught by a friend; the smallest weighed about a

pound and a half, the largest about three pounds. They were caught three miles from Melbourne, in the Salt

A small kind of fish like the lamprey, another similar to the gudgeon, and also one (of rather a larger

kindthe size of the roach) called here "white herrings," but not at all resembling that fish, are found. Pike

are also very numerous. Crabs and lobsters are not known here, but in the salt creeks near the sea we have

Of course, parrots, cockatoos and "sichlike," abound in the bush, to the horror of the small gardeners and

Kangaroos are extremely numerous in the scrub. They are the size of a large greyhound, and of a mouse

colour. The natives call them "kanguru." The tail is of great strength. There are several varieties of them. The

largest is the Great Kangaroo, of a greyishbrown colour, generally four or five feet high and the tail three.

Some kangaroos are nearly white, others resemble the hare in colour. Pugs, or young kangaroos, are plentiful

about the marshy grounds; so are also the opossum and kangaroo rat. The latter is not a rat, properly

speaking, but approaches the squirrel tribe. It is a lilliputian kangaroo, the size of our native wood squirrel

and larger, only grey or reddishgrey. It can leap six or eight feet easily, and is excellent eating. The native

dog is of all colours; it has the, head and brush of a fox, with the body a legs of a dog. It is a cowardly animal,

and will run away from you like mad. It is a great enemy of the kangaroo rat, and a torment to the squatter,

for a native dog has a great penchant for mutton and will kill thirty or forty sheep in the course of an hour.

A species of mockingbird which inhabits the bush is a ludicrous creature. It imitates everything, and makes

many a camping party imagine there is a man near them, when they hear its whistle or hearty laugh. This bird

is nicknamed the "Jackass," and its loud "ha! ha! ha!" is heard every morning at dawn echoing through the

woods and serving the purpose of a "boots" by calling the sleepy traveller in good time to get his breakfast

Insects, fleas, are as plentiful as it is possible to be, and the ants, of which there are several kinds, are a

perfect nuisance. The largest are called by the old colonists, "bulldogs," and formidable creatures they are

luckily not very common, about an inch and a half long, black, or rustyblack, with a red tail. They bite like a

little crab. Ants of an inch long are quite common. They do not like the English onesrun scared away at the

sight of a human beingnot a bit of it; Australian ants have more pluck, and will turn and face you. Nay,

more, should you retreat, they will run after you with all the impudence imaginable. Often when my organ of

destructiveness has tempted me slightly to disturb with the end of my parasol one of the many anthills on

the way from Melbourne to Richmond, I have been obliged, as soon as they discovered the perpetrator of the

Centipedes and triantelopes (colonial, for tarantula) are very common, and though not exactly fatal, are very

dangerous if not attended to. The deaf adder is the most formidable "varmint" in Australia. There are two

varieties; it is generally about two feet long. The bite is fatal. The deaf adder never moves unless it is

touched, hence its name. I do not think it has the power of twisting or twirling, like the ordinary snake or

adder and it is very slow in its movements. There are several species of snakes, some of them are extremely

venomous and grow to a large size, as long as ten feet. The black snake is the most venomous of any; its bite

The state of society in the town had not much improved during my absence. On the public road from

Melbourne to St. Kilda, fifteen men were robbed in one afternoon, and tied to trees within sight of one

another. In Melbourne itself the same want of security prevailed, and concerts, lectures, were always

advertised to take place when there was a full moon, the only nights any one, unarmed, dared venture, out

after dusk. The following extract from the "Argus," gives a fair specimen of Melbourne order.

"We are led to these remarks (referring to a tirade against the Government) by an occurrence that took place

last week in Queen Street, the whole detail of which is peculiarly illustrative of the very creditable state of

things, to which, under the happy auspices of a La Trobe dynasty, we are rapidly descending.

"A ruffian robs a man in a publichouse, in broad daylight. He is pursued by a constable and taken. On the

way to the watchhouse a mob collects, the police are attacked, pistols are pointed, bludgeons and

axehandles are brought out of the adjacent houses (all still in broad daylight, and in a busy street), and

distributed amongst the crowd, loud cries inciting attack are heard, a scuffle ensues, the police are beaten, the

prisoner is rescued, the crowd separates, and a man is left dead upon the ground. The body is taken into a

publichouse, an inquest is held, the deceased is recognized as a drunkard, the jury is assured that a

postmortem examination is quite unnecessary; and the man is buried, after a verdict is brought in of 'Died

by the visitation of God;' the said visitation of God having, in this instance, assumed the somewhat peculiar

This is a true picture of Melbourne; but whether the "Argus" is justified in reproaching the "La Trobe

In pages like these, anything resembling an argument on the "transportation question," would be sadly out of

place. To avoid thinking or hearing it was impossible, for during my second stay in Melbourne, it was a

neverfailing subject of conversation. In Victoria (which is only fortyeight hours' journey from Van

Diemen's Land), I have seen the bad results of the mingling of so many transports and ticketofleave men

among the free population. On the other hand, I have heard from many and good authorities, of the

substantial benefits conferred on Sydney and New South Wales by convict labour. It is difficult to reconcile

Whilst in Victoria, I met with a great variety of emigrants, and I was much struck by the great success that

seems to have attended on almost all of those who came out under the auspices of Mrs. Chisholm. No one in

England can fully appreciate the benefits her unwearied exertions have conferred upon the colonies. I have

met many of the matrons of her ships, and not only do they themselves seem to have made their way in the

world, but the young females who were under their care during the voyage appear to have done equally well.

Perhaps one way of accounting for this, is the fact that a great many of those going out by the Chisholm

Society are from Scotland, the inhabitants of which country are peculiarly fortunate in the colonies, their

industry, frugality, and "canniness" being the very qualities to make a fortune there. "Sydney Herbert's

needlewomen" bear but a bad name; and the worst recommendation a young girl applying for a situation can

give, is to say she came out in that mannernot because the colonists look down on any one coming out by

the assistance of others, but because it is imagined her female associates on the voyage cannot have been such

Much is said and written in England about the scarcity of females in Australia, and the many good offers

awaiting the acceptance of those who have the courage to travel so far. But the colonial bachelors, who are so

ready to get married, and so very easy in their choice of a wife, are generally those the least calculated, in

spite of their wealth, to make a respectable girl happy; whilst the better class of squatters and diggersif

they do not return home to get married, which is often the caseare not satisfied with any one, however

pretty, for a wife, unless her manners are cultivated and her principles correct.

To wander through Melbourne and its environs, no one would imagine that females were as one to four of the

male population; for bonnets and parasols everywhere outnumber the wideawakes. This is occasioned by

the absence of so many of the "lords of creation" in pursuit of what they valuemany of them, at

leastmore than all the women in the worldnuggets. The wives thus left in town to deplore their

And now two out of the three weeks of our party's stay in Melbourne has expired, during which time a

change (purely personal) had made my brother's protection no longer needed by me. My weddingtrip was to

be to England, and the marriage was to take place, and myself and caro sposo to leave Australia before my

brother departed for the Ovens diggings. The 'C,' a fine East Indiaman, then lying in the bay, was bound

This of course gave me plenty to do, and my last morning but one in Melbourne was dedicated to that

favourite feminine occupationwhich, however, I detestI mean, shopping. This being accomplished to

my great dissatisfactionfor all I bought could have been obtained, of a better description, for half the price

in EnglandI was preparing to return home by way of Collins Street, when my name in familiar accents

made me suddenly pause. I instantly recognised the lady who addressed me as one of the English governesses

in a "finishing" school where three years of my girlhood were passed. Julia was a great favourite

among us; no one could have done otherwise than admire the ability and goodhumour with which she

fulfilled her many arduous duties. Perhaps, of all miserable positions for a welleducated and refined young

person to be placed in, that of "little girls' teacher" in a lady's school is the worst.

Her mother had had a cousin in Sydney, who being old and unmarried, wrote to her, promising to settle all

his property, which was considered large, upon her daughter and herself, his only living relatives, provided

they came out to the colonies to live with him until his death. A sum of money to defray the expenses of the

voyage was enclosed. This piece of unexpected good news was received with pleasure, and the invitation

gladly accepted. They sailed for Sydney. On arriving there, they found that some speculation, in which he

was greatly involved, had failed; and the old man had taken the loss so greatly to heart, that he died only five

Poor Julia was placed in a most painful position. In England she had scarcely been able to support her invalid

mother by her own exertions, but in a strange country and without friends these difficulties seemed increased.

Her first act was to look over the advertizing columns of the papers, and her eye caught sight of one which

seemed exactly to suit her. It was, "Wanted, a governess to take the entire charge of a little girl, the daughter

of a widower, and also an elderly lady, to superintend the domestic arrangements of the same family during

the continual absence of the master at another station." Julia wrote immediately, and was accepted. In the

occasional visits that her pupil's father paid to his little girl, he could not fail to be struck by the sweet

disposition and many other good qualities of her governess, and it ended by his making her his wife. I felt at

liberty to congratulate her, for she looked the picture of happiness. I saw her again next day, when she

showed me the advertisement which had been the means of such a change in her circumstances.

The day before my departure was a painful one, so many farewells to be taken of dear friends whom I should

On Friday, the 15th of November, my brother and all our party, Richard and Jessie included, accompanied us

to the pier at Williamstown, to which we were conveyed by a steamer. For this we paid five shillings apiece,

and the same for each separate box or parcel, and twelve shillings to a man for carting our luggage down to

On landing at the pier, how greatly was I astonished to meet Harriette and her husband. Her modest desires

were gratified, and they had realized sufficient capital at the diggings to enable them to settle most

comfortably near Adelaide. In hurried words she told me this, for their boat was already alongside the pier

waiting to take them to their ship. Hardly had they departed than a boat arrived from our vessel to convey us

That evening a pilot came on board, anchors were weighed, we left the bay, and I saw Melbourne no more.

WE soon left Port Philip far behind, and in a few days saw nothing but a vast expanse of water all around us.

Our vessel was filled with returning diggers; and it is worth while to remark that only two had been

One family on board interested me very much. It consisted of father, mother, and two children. The eldest, a

little, girl, had been born some time before they left England. Her brother was a sturdy fellow of two years

old, born in the colonies soon after their arrival. He could just toddle about the deck, where he was

everlastingly looking for "dold," and "nuddets." The whole family had been at the diggings for nine months,

and were returning with something more than �2,000 worth of gold. In England it had been hard work to

obtain sufficient food by the most constant labour; they had good reason to be thankful for the discovery of

Saturday, November 27, was fortyeight hours long, or two days of the same name and date. Sailing right

round the world in the direction of from west to east, we gained exactly twentyfour hours upon those who

stay at home; and we were therefore obliged to make one day double to prevent finding ourselves wrong in

our dates and days on our arrival in England. Melbourne is about ten hours before London, and therefore

Rapidly it became cooler, for the winds were rather contrary, and drove us much farther south than was

needed. We were glad to avail ourselves of our opossum rugs to keep ourselves warm. One of these rugs is

quite sufficient covering of a night in the coldest weather, and imparts as much heat as a dozen blankets.

They are made from the skins of the opossums, sewn together by the natives with the sinews of the same

animal. Each skin is about twelve inches by eight, or smaller; and as the rugs are generally very large, they

contain sometimes as many as eighty skins. They may be tastefully arranged, as there is a great difference in

the colours; some being like a rich sable, others nearly black, and others again of a grey and light brown. The

fur is long and silky. At one time a rug of this description was cheap enoughperhaps as much as two

sovereigns but the great demand for them by diggers, has made them much more scarce, and it now requires a

ten poundnote to get a good one. The best come from Van Diemen's Land. In summer they are disagreeable,

However, whilst rounding Cape Horn, in the coldest weather I ever experienced, we were only too happy to

One morning we were awakened by a great confusion on deck. Our ship was ploughing through a quantity of

broken ice. That same afternoon, we sighted an immense iceberg about ten miles from us. Its size may be

imagined from the fact, that, although we were sailing at a rate of ten knots an hour, we kept it in sight till

We soon rounded the Horn, and had some very rough weather. One of the sailors fell off the jibboom; and

the cry of "man overboard" made our hearts beat with horror. Every sail was on; we were running right

before the wind, and the waves were mountains high, a boat must have been swamped; and long before we

After rounding Cape Horn, we made rapid progress; by Christmas Day, we were in the Tropics. It was not

kept with much joviality, for water and food were running scarce. Provisions were so dear in Melbourne, that

they had laid in a short allowance of everything, and our captain had not anticipated half so many passengers.

We tried, therefore, to put into St. Helena, but contrary winds preventing us, we sailed back again to the

South American coast, and anchored off Pernambuco. It was providential that economical intentions made

our captain prefer this port, for had we touched at Rio, we should have encountered the yellow fever, which

Pernambuco is apparently a very pretty place. We were anchored about four miles from the town, so had a

good view of the coast. I longed to be on shore to ramble beneath the elegant cocoanuttrees. The weather

was intensely hot, for it was in the commencement of January; and the boats full of fruit, sent from the shore

for sale, were soon emptied by us. I call them boats, but they are properly termed catamarans. They are made

of logs of wood lashed securely together; they have a sail and oars but no sides, so the water rushes over, and

threatens every moment to engulf the frail conveyance; but no, the wood is too light for that. The fruits

brought us from shore were oranges, pineapples, watermelons, limes, bananas, cocoanuts, and some

yams, which were a good substitute for potatoes. The fruit was all very good, and astonishingly cheap; our

oranges being green, lasted till we reached England. Some of our passengers went on shore, and returned

with marvellous accounts of the dirtiness and narrowness of the streets, and the extremely natural costume of

We remained here about four days, and then, with favourable winds, pursued our voyage at an average rate of

ten or twelve knots an hour. As we neared the English coast, our excitement increased to an awful height; and

for those who had been many years away, I can imagine every trivial delay was fraught with anxiety.

But we come in sight of land; and in spite of the cold weather, for it is now February, 1853, every one rushes

to the deck. On we go; at last we are in the Downs, and then the wind turned right against us.

Boats were put off from the Deal beach. The boatmen there rightly calculated that lucky golddiggers

wouldn't mind paying a pound apiece to get ashore, so they charged that, and got plenty of customers

On Sunday, the 27th of February, I again set foot on my native land. It was evening when we reached the

shore, and there was only an open vehicle to convey us to the, town of Deal itself. The evening was bitterly

cold, and the snow lay upon the ground. As we proceeded along, the sounds of the Sabbath bell broke softly

on the air. No greeting could have been more pleasing or more congenial to my feelings.

AS I trust that, in the foregoing pages, I have slightly interested my readers in "our party," the following

additional account of their movements, contained in letters addressed to me by my brother, may not be quite

The Ovens diggings are on the river of the same name, which takes its rise in the Australian Alps, and flows

into the Murray. As these Alps separate New South Wales from Victoria, these diggings belong to the latter

province. They are about forty miles from the town of Albury. They are spread over a large space of ground.

"You'll be surprised at the heading of this but the Owns are not to my taste, and I'm off again with Frank and

Octavius to Bendigo tomorrow. I suppose you'll like to hear of our adventures up to the Ovens, and the

reasons for this sudden change of plans. We left Melbourne the Monday after you sailed, and camped out

halfway to Kilmore, a little beyond the 'Lady of the Lake.' The day was fine, but the dust made us wretched.

Next day, we reached Kilmore stopped there all night. Next day on again, and the farther we went, the

more uncivilized it becamehills here, forests there, as wild and savage as any one could desire. It was

'bushing it' with a vengeance. This lasted several days. Once we lost our road, and came, by good luck, to a

sort of station. They received us very hospitably, and set us right next morning. Four days after, we came to

the Goulburn river. There was a punt to take us over, and a host of people (many from Bendigo) waiting to

cross. Three days after, we pitched out tents at the Ovens. Here I soon saw it was no go. There was too much

water, and too little gold; and even if they could knock the first difficulty on the head, I don't think they could

do the same to the second. In my own mind, I think it impossible that the Ovens will ever turn out the second

Bendigo that many imagine. Hundreds differ from me, therefore it's hundreds to one that I'm wrong. The

average wages, as far as I can judge, are an ounce aweek; some much more, many much less. We did not

attempt digging ourselves. Eagle Hawk shallowness has spoilt us, for not even Octavius (who, you know of

old, was a harder worker than either Frank or self) thinks it worth digging through fourteen or sixteen feet of

hard clay for the mere pleasure of exercising our limbs. Provisions there were not at the high price that many

supposed they would be, but quite high enough, Heaven knows! Meat was very scarce and bad, and flour all

but a shilling a pound; and if the fresh arrivals keep flocking in, and no greater supply of food, it will get

higher still. We stayed there two weeks, then brought our dray back again, and are now busy getting ready for

a fresh start to Bendigo. Among other things we shall take, are lemonade and gingerbeer powders, a

profitable investment, though laughable. The weather is very hotfancy 103 in the shade. Water is getting

"Have seen all our friends in Melbourne except Richard, who left for England a fortnight ago. Jessie is well,

and growing quite pretty. She says she is extremely happy, and sends such a number of messages to you, that

"I suppose you've thought I was buried in my hole, or 'kilt' by bushrangers in the Black Forest; but I've been

so occupied in the worship of Mammon, as to have little thoughts for anything else.

"We made a good thing of our last two speculations. Gingerbeer and lemonade, or lemon kali, at sixpence a

tiny glass, paid well. A successful digger would drink off a dozen one after another. Some days, we have

taken ten pounds in sixpence at this fun. What they bought of us wouldn't harm them, but many mix up all

sorts of injurious articles to sell; but our consciences, thank God! are not colonised sufficiently for that. We

have had steady good luck in the digging line (for we combine everything), and after this next trip, mean to

"Octavius talks of going out as overseer, or something of that sort, to some squatter in New South Wales for a

year or so, just to learn the system, and then, if possible, take a sheeprun himself. Frank means to send for

Mrs. Frank and small Co. He says he shall stay in Victoria for some years. I do believe he likes the colony.

The question of "Who should emigrate?" has now become one of such importance (owing to the number who

are desirous of quitting their native land to seek a surer means of subsistence in our vast colonial

possessions), that any book treating of Australia would be sadly deficient were a subject of such universal

interest to be left unnoticed; and where there are so many of various capabilities, means and disposititoins, in

need of guidance and advice as to the advantage of their emigrating, it is probable that the experience of any

Any one to succeed in the colonies must take with him a quantity of selfreliance, energy, and perseverance;

this is the best capital a man can have. Let none rely upon introductionsthey are but useless things at the

bestthey may get you invited to a good dinner; but now that fresh arrivals in Melbourne are so much more

numerous than heretofore, I almost doubt if they would do even that. A quick, clever fellow with a trade of

his own, inured to labour, and with a light heart, that can laugh at the many privations which the gipsy sort of

life he must lead in the colonies will entail upon him; any one of this description cannot fail to get on. But for

the number of clerks, shopmen, who daily arrive in Australia, there is a worse chance of their gaining a

livelihood than if they had remained at home. With this description of labour the colonial market is largely

overstocked; and it is distressing to notice the number of young men incapable of severe manual labour, who,

with delicate health, and probably still more delicately filled purses, swarm the towns in search of

employment, and are exposed to heavy expenses which they can earn nothing to meet. Such men have rarely

been successful at the diggings; the demand for them in their accustomed pursuits is very limited in

proportion to their numbers; they gradually sink into extreme povertytoo often into reckless or criminal

habits till they disappear from the streets to make way for others similarly unfortunate.

A little while since I met with the histories of two individuals belonging to two very different classes of

emigrants; and they are so applicable to this subject, that I cannot forbear repeating them.

The first account is that of a gentleman who went to Melbourne some eight months ago, carrying with him a

stock of elegant acquirements and accomplishments, but little capital. He is now in a starving condition,

almost without the hope of extrication, and is imploring from his friends the means to return to England, if

he live long enough to receive them. The colours in which he paints the colonies are deplorable in the

The other account is that of a compositor who emigrated much about the. same time. He writes to his former

officemates that he got immediate and constant employment at the rate of �7 per week, and naturally thinks

that there is no place under the sun like Melbourne. Both emigrants are right. There is no better place under

the sun than Melbourne for those who can do precisely what the Melbourne people want; and which they

must andwill have at any price; but there is no worse colony to which those can go who have not the

capabilities required by the Melbourne people. They are useless and in the way, their accomplishments are

disregarded, their misfortunes receive no pity; and, whilst a good carpenter or bricklayer would make a

But even those possessed of every qualification for making firstclass colonists, will at first meet with much

to surprise and annoy them, and will need all the energy they possess, to enable them to overcome the many

Let us, for example, suppose the case of an emigrant, with no particular profession or business, but having a

strong constitution, good common sense, and a determination to bear up against every hardship, so that in the

end it leads him to independence. Let us follow him through the difficulties that bewilder the stranger in

The commencement of his dilemmas will be that of getting his luggage from the ship; and so quickly do the

demands for pounds and shillings fall upon him, that he is ready to wish he had pitched half his "traps"

overboard. However, we will suppose him at length safely landed on the wharf at Melbourne, with all his

boxes beside him. He inquires for a store, and learns that there are plenty close at hand; and then forgetting

that he is in the colonies, he looks round for a porter and truck, and looks in vain. After waiting as patiently as

he can for about a couple of hours, he manages to hire an empty cart and driver; the latter lifts the boxes into

the conveyance (expecting, of course, his employer to lend a hand), smacks his whip, and turns down street

after street till he reaches a tall, grimlooking budding, in front of which he stops, with a "That ere's a store,"

and a demand for a sovereign, more or less. This settled, he coolly requests the emigrant to assist him in

unloading, and leaves him to get his boxes carried inside as best he can. Perhaps some of the storekeeper's

men come to the rescue, and with their help the luggage is conveyed into the storeroom (which is often sixty

or eighty feet in length), where the owner receives a memorandum of their arrival. Boxes or parcels may

remain there in perfect safety for months, so long as a shilling a week is paid for each.

Our emigrant, having left his property in security, now turns to seek a lodging for himself; and the extreme

difficulty of procuring house accommodation, with its natural consequences, an extraordinary rate of rent,

startles and amazes him. He searches the city in vain, and betakes himself to the suburbs, where he procures a

small, halffurnished room, in a wooden house for thirty shillings a week. The scarcity of houses in

proportion to the population, is one of the greatest drawbacks to the colony; but we could not expect it to be

otherwise when we remember that in one year Victoria received an addition of nearly 80,000 inhabitants. The

masculine portion of these emigrants, with few exceptions, started off at once to the diggings; hence the

deficiency in the labour market is only partially filled up by the few who remained behind, and by the fewer

still who forsake the goldfields; whilst the abundance of money, and the deficiency of good workmen, have

raised the expenses of building far above the point at which it would be a profitable investment for capital.

Meantime, the want is only partially supplied by the wooden cottages which are daily springing up around the

boundaries of the city; but this is insufficient to meet the increasing want of shelter, and on the southern bank

of the Yarra there are four or five thousand people living in tents. This settlement is appropriately called

Having succeeded in obtaining a lodging, he proceeds to purchase some necessary articles of food, and looks

incredulously at the shopkeeper when told that butter is 3s. 6d. a pound, cheese, ham, or bacon 2s. to 2s. 6d.,

and eggs 4s. or 5s. a dozen. He wisely dispenses with such luxuries, and contents himself with bread at Is. 6d.

the fourpound loaf, and meat at 5d. a pound. He sleeps soundly, for the day has been a fatiguing one, and

next morning with renewed spirits determines to search immediately for employment. He does not much care

what it is at first, so that he earns something; for his purse feels considerably lighter after the many demands

upon it yesterday. Before an hour is over, he finds himself engaged to a storekeeper at a rate of �3 aweek;

his business being to load and unload drays, roll casks, lift heavy goods, and here we will leave him, for once

set going he will soon find a better berth. If he have capital, it is doubtless safely deposited in the Bank until a

little acquaintance with the colonies enables him to invest it judiciously; and meanwhile, if wise, he will

spend every shilling as though it were his last; but if his capital consists only of the trifle in his purse, no

matter, the way he is setting to work will soon rectify that deficiency, and he stands a good chance in a few

To those of my own sex who desire to emigrate to Australia, I say do so by all means, if you can go under

suitable protection, possess good health, are not fastidious or "fineladylike," can milk cows, churn butter,

cook a good damper, and mix a pudding. The worst risk you run is that of getting married, and finding

yourself treated with twenty times the respect and consideration you may meet with in England. Here (as far

as number goes) women beat the "lords of creation;" in Australia it is the reverse, and, there we may be pretty

But to those ladies who cannot wait, upon themselves, and whose fair fingers are unused to the exertion of

doing anything useful, my advice is, for your own sakes remain at home. Rich or poor, it is all the same; for

those who can afford to give �40 ayear to a female servant will scarcely know whether to be pleased or not

at the acquisition, so idle and impertinent are they; scold them, and they will tell you that "next week Tom, or

Bill, or Harry will be back from the diggings, and then they'll be married, and wear silk dresses, and be as

fine a lady as yourself;" and with some such words will coolly dismiss themselves from your service, leaving

their poor unfortunate mistress uncertain whether to be glad of their departure or ready to cry because there's

For those who wish to invest small sums in goods for Australia, boots and shoes, cutlery, flash jewellery,

watches, pistols (particulary revolvers), gunpowder, fancy articles, cheap laces, and babylinen offer

The police in Victoria is very inefficient, both in the towns and on the roads. Fifteen persons were stopped

during the same afternoon whilst travelling on the highway between Melbourne and St. Kilda. They were

robbed, and tied to trees within sight of each otherthis too in broad daylight. On the roads to the diggings it

is still worse; and no one intending to turn digger should leave England without a good supply of firearms.

In less than one week more than a dozen robberies occurred between Kyneton and Forest Creek, two of

which terminated in murder. The diggings themselves are comparatively safe quite as much so as

Melbourne itself and there, is a freemasonry in the bush which possesses an irresistible charm for

adventurous bachelors, and causes them to prefer the risk of bushrangers to witnessing the dreadful scenes

that are daily and hourly enacting in a colonial town. Life in the bush is wild, free and independent. Healthy

exercise, fine scenery, and a clear and buoyant atmosphere, maintain an excitement of the spirits and a

sanguineness of temperament peculiar to this sort of existence; and many are the pleasant evenings, enlivened

with the gay jest or cheerful song, which are passed around the bush fires of Australia.

The latest accounts from the diggings speak of them most encouragingly. Out of a population of 200,000

(which is calculated to be the number of the present inhabitants of Victoria), half are said to be at the

goldfields, and the average earnings are still reckoned at nearly an ounce per man per week. Ballarat is

again rising into favour, and its riches are being more fully developed. The gold there is more unequally

distributed than at Mount Alexander, and therefore the proportion of successful to unsuccessful diggers is not

so great as at the latter place. But then the individual gains are in some cases greater. The labour is also more

severe than at the Mount or Bendigo, as the gold lies deeper, and more numerous trials have to be made

The Ovens is admitted to be a rich goldfield, but the work there is severely laborious, owing to a

The astonishing mineral wealth of Mount Alexander is evidenced by the large amounts which it continues to

yield, notwithstanding the immense quantities that have already been taken from it. The whole country in that

Up to the close of last year the total supposed amount of gold procured from the Victoria diggings, is

3,998,324 ounces, which, when calculated at the average English value of �4 an ounce, is worth nearly

sixteen millions sterling. Onethird of this is distinctly authenticated as having come down by escort during

In Melbourne the extremes of wealth and poverty meet, and many are the anecdotes of the lavish expenditure

of successful diggers that are circulated throughout the town. I shall only relate two which fell under my own

Having occasion to make a few purchases in the linendrapery line, I entered a good establishment in Collins

Street for that purpose. It was before noon, for later inthe day the shops are so full that to get a trifling order

attended to would be almost a miracle. There was only one customer in the shop, who was standing beside

the counter, gazing with extreme dissatisfaction upon a quantity of goods of various colours and materials

that lay there for his inspection. He was a roughlooking customer enough, and the appearance of his hands

gave strong indication that the pickaxe and spade were among the last tools he had handled.

"These are what we should call shining goods," said the shopman, as he held up the silks, alpacas, to the light.

"They're not the shiny sort that I want," pursued the digger, halfdoggedly, halfangrily. "I'll find another

shop; I guess you won't show your best goods to meyou think, mayhap, I can't pay for thembut I can,

though," and he laid a note for fifty pounds upon the counter, adding, "maybe you'll show me some shiny

Unable to comprehend the wishes of his customer, the shopman called to his assistance the master of the

establishment, who being, I suppose, of quicker apprehension, placed some satins before him.

"I thought the paper would help you find it. I want a gown for my missus. What's the price?"

The shrewd shopkeeper quickly fathomed his customer's desires, and now displayed before him a rich

"That's the go!" interrupted the digger, throwing some more notes upon the counter. "My missus was married

And seizing the satin from the shopkeeper, he twisted up the portion that had been unrolled for his inspection,

placed the whole under his arm, and triumphantly walked out of the shop, little thinking how he had been

I could not forbear a smile, for I pictured to myself the digger's wife mixing a damper with the sleeves of her

A few days after, a heavy shower drove me to take shelter in a pastrycook's, where, under the pretence of

eating a bun, I escaped a good drenching. Hardly had I been seated five minutes, when a sailorlooking

personage entered, and addressed the shopwoman with: "I'm agoing to be spliced tomorrow, young woman;

The largest (which was but a small one) was placed before him, and eighteen pounds demanded for it. He laid

down four fivepound notes upon the counter, and taking up the cake, told her to "keep the change to buy

"Pleasant to have plenty of golddigging friends," I remarked, by way of saying something.

"Not a friend," said she, smiling. "I never saw him before. I expect he's only a successful digger."

My favourite walk, whilst in Melbourne, was over Prince's Bridge, and along the road to Liardet's Beach,

thus passing close to the canvas settlement, called Little Adelaide. One day, about a week before we

embarked for England, I took my accustomed walk in this direction, and as I passed the tents, was much

struck by the appearance of a little girl, who, with a large pitcher in her arms, came to procure some water

from a small stream beside the road. Her dress, though clean and neat, bespoke extreme poverty; and her

countenance had a wan, sad expression upon it which would have touched the most indifferent beholder, and

left an impression deeper even than that produced by her extreme though delicate beauty.

I made a slight attempt at acquaintanceship by assisting to fill her pitcher, which was far too heavy, when full

of water, for so slight a child to carry, and pointing to the rise of ground on which the tents stood, I inquired if

"And have you been long here? and do you like this new country?" I continued, deter mined to hear if her

"No!" she answered quickly; "we starve here. There was plenty of food when we were in England;" and then

her childish reserve giving way, she spoke more fully of her troubles, and a sad though a common tale it was.

Some of the particulars I learnt afterwards. Her father had held an appointment under Government, and had

lived upon the income derived from it for some years, when he was tempted to try and do better in the

colonies. His wife (the daughter of a clergyman, well educated, and who before her marriage had been a

governess) accompanied him with their three children. On arriving in Melbourne (which was about three

months previous), he found that situations equal in value, according to the relative prices of food and lodging,

to that which he had thrown up in England were not so easily procured as he had been led to expect. Half

desperate, he went to the diggings, leaving his wife with little money, and many promises of quick

remittances of gold by the escort. But week followed week, and neither remittances nor letters came. They

removed to humbler lodgings, every little article of value was gradually sold, for, unused to bodily labour, or

even to sit for hours at the needle, the deserted wife could earn but little. Then sickness came; there were no

means of paying for medical advice, and one child died. After this, step by step, they became poorer, until

As we reached it, the little girl drew aside the canvas, and partly invited me to enter. I glanced in; it was a

dismal sight. In one corner lay the mother, a blanket her only protection from the humid soil, and cowering

down beside her was her other child. I could not enter; it seemed like a heartless intrusion upon misery; so,

slipping the contents of my purse (which were unfortunately only a few shillings) into the little, girl's hand, I

hurried away, scarcely waiting to notice the smile that thanked me so eloquently. On arriving at home, I

found that my friends were absent, and being detained by business, they did not return till after dusk, so it

was impossible for that day to afford them any assistance. Early next morning we took a little wine and other

trifling articles with us, and proceeded to Little Adelaide. On entering the tent, we found that the sorrows of

the unfortunate mother were at an end; privation, illhealth and anxiety had claimed their victim. Her husband

sat beside the corpse, and the golden nuggets, which in his despair he had flung upon the ground, formed a

The first six weeks of his career at the diggings had been most unsuccessful, and he had suffered as much

from want as his unhappy wife. Then came a sudden change of fortune, and in two weeks more he was

comparatively rich. He hastened immediately to Melbourne, and for a whole week had sought his family in

vain. At length, on the preceding evening, he found them only in time to witness the last moments of his wife.

Sad as this history may appear, it is not so sad as many, many others; for often, instead of returning with

In England many imagine that the principal labour at the diggings consists in stooping to pick up the lumps of

gold which lie upon the ground at their feet, only waiting for some one to take possession of them. These

people, when told of holes being dug in depths of from seven to forty feet before arriving at the desired metal,

look upon such statements as so many myths, or fancy they are fabricated by the lucky goldfinders to deter

too many others from coming to take a share of the precious spoil. There was a passenger on board the vessel

which took me to Australia, who held some such opinions as these, and, although in other respects a sensible

man, he used seriously to believe that every day that we were delayed by contrary winds he could have been

picking up fifty or a hundred pounds worth of gold had he but been at the diggings. He went to Bendigo the

third day after we landed, stayed there a fortnight, left it in disgust, and returned to England

This is not an isolated case. young men of sanguine dispositions read the startling amounts of gold shipped

from the colonies, they think of the "John Bull Nugget" and other similar prizes, turn a deaf ear when you

speak of blanks, and determiinately overlook the vast amount of labour which the gold diggings have

consumed. Whenever I meet with this class of wouldbe emigrants, the remarks of an old digger, which I

once over heard, recur to my mind. The conversation at the time was turned upon the subject of the many

young men flocking from the "old country" to the goldfields, and their evident unfitness for them. Every

young man before paying his passage money," said he, "should take a few days' spell at wellsinking in

Many are sadly disappointed on arriving in Victoria, at being unable to invest their capital or savings in the

purchase of about a hundred acres of land, sufficient for a small farm. I have referred to this subject before,

By a return of the land sales of Victoria, from 1837 to 1851, it appears that 380,000 acres of land were sold in

the whole colony; and the sum realized by Government was �700,000. In a return published in 1849, it is

stated that there were three persons who each held singly more land in their own hands than had been sold to

all the rest of the colony in fourteen years, for which they paid the sum of �30 each per annum. Yet, whilst

�700,000 is realized by the sale of land, and not �100 ayear gained by letting three times the quantity, the

Colonial Government persists in the latter course, in spite of the reiterated disapprobation of the colonists

themselves; and by one of the last gazettes of Governor La Trobe, he has ordered 681,700 acres, or 1,065

square miles, to be given over to the squatters. The result of this is, that many emigrants landing in Victoria

are compelled to turn their steps towards the sister colony of Adelaide. There was a family who landed in

Melbourne whilst I was there. It consisted of the parents, and several grownup sons and daughters. The

father had held a small tenant farm in England, and having saved a few hundreds, determined to invest it in

Australian land. He brought out with him many agricultural implements, an iron house, and on his arrival

found, to his dismay, that no less than 640 acres of crown lands could be sold, at a time, at the upset price of

�1 an acre. This was more than his capital could afford, and they left for Adelaide. The expenses of getting

his goods to and from the ships, of storing them, of supporting his family while in Melbourne, and of paying

their passage to Adelaide, amounted almost to �100. Thus he lost nearly a fourth of his capital, and Victoria a

Much is done nowadays to assist emigration, but far greater exertions are needed before either the demand

for labour in the colonies or the oversupply of it in England can be exhausted. Pass down the best streets of

Melbourne: you see one or two good shops or houses, and on either side an empty spot or a mass of rubbish.

The ground has been bought, the plans for the proposed budding are all ready. Then why not commence?

there are no workmen. Bricks are wanted, and �15 a thousand is offered; carpenters are advertized for at �8 a

week; yet the building makes no progressthere are no workmen. Go down towards the Yarra, and an

unfinished Church will attract attention. Are funds wanting for its completion? No. Thousands were

subscribed in one day, and would be again were it necessary; but that building, like every other, is stopped for

lack of workmen. In vain the bishop himself published an appeal to the various labourers required offering

the very highest wages; others offered higher wages still, and the church (up to the time I left Victoria)

remained unfinished. And yet, whilst labour is so scarce, so needed in the colonies, there are thousands in our

own country able and willing to work, whose lives here are one of prolonged privation, whose eyes are never

gladdened by the sight of nature, who inhale no purer atmosphere than the tainted air of the dark courts and

dismal cellars in which they herd. Send them to the coloniesfood and pure air would at least be

I heard of a lady who every year sent out a whole family from the poor but hardworking classes to the

colonies (it was through one of the objects of her thoughtful benevolence that this annual act became known

to me), and what happiness must it bring when she reflects on the heartfelt blessings that are showered upon

her from the faroff land of Australia. Surely, among the rich and the influential, there are many who, out of