Atlas Page 24
By Francis Meyers,
F. J. Broomfield and J. P. Dowling

South of the Shoalhaven River, there are forty miles of sandstone country to cross, the soil of which is not inviting to the agriculturist. The road passes through dense forests utilized to some extent by shipments made at Jervis Bay, near which there are some good coal lands as yet unworked, for the simple reason that other parts of the coast meet the present demand. After a dreary drive or ride the traveller reaches a prosperous dairy farming district, of which the chief centres of settlement are Milton and Ulladulla.

The latter is on the shores of the harbour, which is sufficiently commodious for the requirements of the district. In this locality there are beds of clay, well suited for the manufacture of the best kinds of pottery, and although not now utilized, it is thought, and with good reason, that the time is not far distant when Ulladulla may become an Australian Staffordshire.

The next settlement worthy of note is Moruya, about two hundred miles south of the metropolis. Slate and granite quarries have been opened in the neighbourhood, and there is a silver mine, the ores of which, although somewhat refractory, are likely to be at some future time made to yield their treasures at a cost which will leave a profit to the workers. There is an extensive business done by the proprietors of sawmills, and the farmers around raise crops which repay them for their toil

About a quarter of a century ago an enterprising merchant, the late T. S. Mort, became possessed of thirty thousand acres of low quality land at Bodalla, sixteen miles south of Moruya, and manfully set to work with the object of teaching his fellow-colonists how dairy-farming should be conducted. Capital was not spared. Before the first cheese was fit for the table forty thousand pounds had been expended. The output now is three hundred tons of cheese annually, and every winter twelve hundred pigs are slaughtered, and sent to Sydney as bacon and hams. The system of farming pursued is the best known, and the venture, as its founder anticipated, has been productive of much national good.

On an eminence overlooking the village stands the Mort Memorial Church, a model of choice ecclesiastical architecture. The geology of Bodalla is quartzite and clay slate, with rich alluvial flats through which the river winds, and this formation continues almost to Bega, when basalt again occurs overlying granite and old rocks of probably Devonian origin.

Beyond Bodalla is the pretty little village, Cobargo. Ten miles off is its seaport, Bermagui, near which not many years ago rich deposits of gold were found beneath the sands of the sea-shore. There was a great rush of diggers, but the field was soon proved to be but small, not, however, before Lamont Young, a clever geologist of the Mines Department, and a small party sent to make a special survey, disappeared in a most mysterious manner. Their boat was found, but no trace of their bodies. The occurrence is known to this day as the Bermagui mystery.

Bega, one of the most prosperous districts of the coast, next claims attention. The town is placed on a well-chosen site, and being the mart of the district, is a thriving centre. The seaport, Tathra, is ten miles off, but farther south is a more reliable outlet at Eden. The principal industries of the district are maize-growing, cheesemaking and pig slaughtering, Bega bacon commanding the highest price in the metropolitan markets. On the road inland stands Candelo, a romantically situated town, and the centre of one of the best parts of the many good portions of the district. Twofold Bay, however, is not so much used as the founders of the town expected, steamers of small draught being able to make Tathra and Merimbula, which are nearer by road to the chief town. Shipments of cattle, however, are frequently made to Tasmania, and vessels bound for Victoria occasionally make it a port of call.

From the coast to the cooler regions of the tableland, two roads are open for choice. For a journey in the saddle, the rugged, picturesque track known by the teamsters as "The Big Jack," may be taken; but if coaching or buggy driving is preferred, Tantawanglo Road is the easier. A day’s ride from Bega can be made to cover the intervening space, but it is pleasanter to travel slowly and tarry for a day at Candelo, distant fourteen miles. Prior to 1885, the last year of what may be, without exaggeration, termed the "great drought," Candelo was justly considered one of the most prosperous farming centres of the colony. Luxuriant pastures and never-failing creeks, aided by a climate with which no fault could be found, furnished advantages which industrious farmers were not slow in appreciating. But when after years of prosperity drought came, its results were disastrous in the extreme. There were no stores of fodder to meet the emergency, and immense sums were spent in purchasing hay and corn to save the valuable dairy herds. In too many cases the drought outlasted the bank accounts, and many of the farmers had to face what they had never even dreamed of —ruin. The frowns of adverse fate have disappeared. All is now smiling, and Candelo, with its many pretty buildings and cheerful gardens, is again gay.

Turning northwards from Bombala along basaltic country, a long day’s journey brings the traveller to the important town of Cooma, towards which a railway from Goulburn is being rapidly extended. This is the great pastoral centre of the southeast corner of the colony. Thirteen years ago a prison was erected here which has filled successively the purposes of a temporary lunatic asylum and a lands office, although it is intended ultimately for a penal establishment. But more harmonious with the surroundings, which are grand in point of scenic attraction, is the distant hospital, a well-conducted and very useful institution. A few miles off, the River Murrumbidgee, a shallow stream, sluggishly flows through rich tracts of deep black soil. The country around for the greater part is bare of timber, but on the ridge-tops are fringes of stunted trees. Each hill has its spring, each gully its stream, no part of the colony being better watered or less subject to drought. Its grazing capabilities have long stood severe tests, and it still ranks high for stock-breeding purposes. Like Bombala, the locality is also well adapted for the plough. Better wheat soil could not be desired. In a geological sense this southern district closely resembles the northern tablelands, the formation being precisely similar; on the coast, silurian rocks; on the mountain tops, basalt and large areas of granite. Cooma is about two thousand seven hundred feet above sea-level, and being much exposed to the chilling blasts which come from the Snowy Range, its winters are extraordinarily severe. Colder still is Kiandra, which is northwest from Cooma a long day’s ride. Here, in the heart of the Australian Alps, although only three hundred and twenty miles from the metropolis, the seeker after adventures may indulge in Arctic seasons and be "snowed-up" for months at a stretch, the elevation being nearly five thousand feet, but during the spring and summer months Kiandra enjoys an enviable climate. Its establishment is due, like that of many other towns, to the energy of the Australian digger. Nearly thirty years ago, when the country traversed by the Snowy River was occasionally used by a few squatters as a free summer pasture for their herds, a stockman accidentally discovered gold in one of the watercourses. The news soon spread, and there was a rush of gold-seekers from all parts of Australia. The field, however, proved to be small, and gradually the population dwindled away, but there are still many promising mines on the ranges, and Kiandra maintains its character as a prosperous, although quiet little settlement. A little to the north of Kiandra are the celebrated caves of Yarrangobilly, only second in size and wonder to those of Jenolan.

On the western slopes of the Snowy Range there are the fertile Tumut Valley and the mining regions known as Tumbarumba and Adelong, the last mentioned being the oldest and most permanent reefing district of the colony. It has payable gold to a depth of below a thousand feet, and is surrounded by several patches of alluvial country from which large quantities have been obtained. Tumbarumba is a thriving, salubrious little town, with gold in its creek beds and on its hillsides. Tumut, placed in the centre of a rich valley from which large crops of wheat, maize and tobacco are obtained, is one of the most substantial towns of the south.

By recrossing the Snowy Ranges to the east, the main road from Cooma to Queanbeyan, Bungendore and Goulburn is struck. Along this route a railway is being laid down which is already open to Bungendore, forty-three miles on the way. The remainder of the distance, about a hundred miles, does not present any engineering difficulties, and will soon be included in the railway system. The most important centre on the way is Queanbeyan, a favourite district with agriculturists, about ten thousand acres being under cultivation, and although the soil has been worked for many years, its yield of cereals is still heavy. Braidwood, another good farming centre, is a few miles to the eastward. It for many years received substantial aid from the goldfields, of which Araluen was the principle but it is now like many other places suffering through the decreased yields of the precious metals. Araluen is fifteen miles distant, and although now partially deserted, recent discoveries of rich reefs afford hope that this portion of the colony will again become prosperous.

The wide-spread impression that New South Wales is a colony in which the agriculturist of small means cannot proceed far off the high road to fortune, is to a very great extent dispelled by a journey from Yass to the Murray River. It is perfectly true that the plough has been but slightly used —that not one acre of land per head of the population is cultivated; but it is also plain that there are millions of acres the soil of which would amply repay tillage. Fashion is potent even in the commonplace matter of land utilization. In the early days of settlement it was the fashion to keep sheep. Shepherds tended small flocks and stockriders kept watch over herds of cattle. When these men and their relatives became landowners the work still moved in the old groove. There was no thought of sending wheat, oats, or barley to the coast, roads were bad, and farming was much heavier labour than grazing and clipping sheep. But enough was done to prove the great fertility of the soil; and the alluvial goldfields, by creating a local market, greatly stimulated the formation of small farms. Thus around Yass many farming centres were established —Burrowa, Binalong, Galong, Rocky Ponds, and Murrumburrah are all localities where the plough has done no little service, and the southern half of the main railway line and its branches run through first-class agricultural land.

Burrowa north of the main line, thirty-eight miles from Yass, is a town situated in a broad area of cultivated land, while Murrumburrah, a railway township two hundred and thirty miles from Sydney, is also favoured with good soil. It is the point from which a branch line rims northward to join the main western route, which, after passing through Young and Cowra, it strikes at Blayney. Young, a prosperous grazing and farming centre, and one of the most important settlements of the south, was named after Sir John Young, one of the colony’s former Governors. In 1860 the spot whereon it stands was a sheepwalk, but gold was discovered, and attracted thousands of diggers. It proved a very rich field, and when the escort returns commenced to dwindle, attention was paid to the soil. The pick and shovel were dropped and the plough and harrow used. About thirty thousand acres were cultivated; and the yearly crops of cereals now make a total of nearly three hundred and fifty thousand bushels, while the vineyards yield close on ten thousand gallons of wine. About fifty miles further to the north is Cowra, with gold and copper mines, and soil which regularly produces large crops. Both of these centres have only recently obtained railway communication. A loop-line, now almost completed, will open to them the principal markets of the west and south.

Returning to Murrumburrah, and travelling twenty-three miles west along the main southern line, Cootamundra, another important town, is reached. During the past five years what was a mere roadside village has grown to a town with large and expensive buildings, while the country around is well farmed, and produces wheat of admirable quality. Thirty miles to the northwest is Temora, which a few years ago was a large goldfield with a population of several thousands.

Its mineral returns are now small, but being in the heart of a good agricultural district it will soon regain vigour. From Cootamundra a branch railway line runs to Gundagai, a thriving town situated thirty-four miles distant, at a point which is the head of the navigation of the Murrumbidgee River. The bridge which spans it, together with its viaduct, is nearly three-quarters of a mile in length, the low lands around the town being subject to floods. The original township, which was unfortunately built on the river flat, was almost washed away by a flood which occurred in 1852, nearly four-score dwellings being wrecked and many of their occupants drowned. But Gundagai is again a flourishing place with excellent prospects; its soil is rich, and there are gold reefs, slate quarries, and rich seams of asbestos to be developed. Adelong and Tumut are on the southern side of Gundagai, and materially assist its trade.

From Cootamundra, the main line turns to the south to Junee, a point from which the southwestern branch to Hay extends, and the first halting-place on any of the colony’s lines at which refreshments could be obtained. On the strength of its railway importance, Junee has become a sturdy place; but the town can make little progress without a good system of water supply.

At this point, half-way from Sydney to Melbourne, the country begins to fall. Junee is nine hundred and eighty-five feet above sea-level; Albury, one hundred miles further south, is lower by four hundred and fifty feet. Looking to the west, the station at Hay, nearly one hundred and seventy miles off, has an elevation of only three hundred and five feet. These facts indicate the existence of a large watershed which the map shews to be drained by the Rivers Murrumbidgee and Murray. As explained in a former part, these rivers materially assisted the arduous labour of the pioneer squatters who were the first to put the great western and south-western plains to a profitable use. The Murrumbidgee, which was a shallow stream near Cooma, becomes a large body of water at Gundagai. In all it runs a course of thirteen hundred and fifty miles, nearly one-half of the distance being navigable. Near Balranald it falls into the Murray, which flows along the southern boundary of the colony —being, navigable nearly all the distance. When it was ascertained that two great rivers joined the Murray, and that it was possible to sail from the interior of this colony to the sea or to points close to seaports, two very important conditions of settlement were satisfactorily met. It was plain that supplies could be obtained, and in return produce sent away. It is necessary to mention these particulars at this point, as nearly all the towns about to be visited are the outcome of the system of settlement which the rivers encouraged.

Many years ago, when all the traffic of the great south-western pastoral country was performed by steamboats and wool barges, the wool, hides and tallow were all shipped for England from the seaports of South Australia and Victoria. The occupiers of the country had faint, hazy notions that at some time in the far-off future the centre of Government, to which they grudgingly contributed, might send them railways. There was on the rivers great discontent, which gradually gained force until it took the form of an appeal for separation. It was urged that the river country should have the control of its affairs, and should be named Riverina. This proposal met with powerful opposition, but was ineffective. The Riverina towns were much agitated, and vows of vengeance against Sydney and all her friends were made and duly registered. Victoria was perfectly willing to include the dissatisfied territory within her boundaries, but the interesting little fable concerning the fish, the frying-pan and the fire being still remembered, the annexation did not take place. After a long period of unfriendliness, the burly navvy made peace between this outlying district and the metropolis. Having conquered the stubborn mountains, he came speedily across the plains and laid the iron rails down on the river banks, crossing the Murrumbidgee at Wagga Wagga, three hundred and nine miles from Sydney, and then rushing off to the Murray, which he reached at Albury. Not satisfied, he came back to Junee, and ran his lines along the north bank of the Murrumbidgee all the way to Hay, and made a branch, from a point on the Murrumbidgee known as Narrandera, seventy miles south-west, to the pastoral settlement of Jerilderie. Then arose a great struggle between the rival ports of Sydney and Melbourne for this southern country’s trade. The river traffic was soon overcome, but it took some years to bring even a part of Riverina’s custom to Sydney, and it was only done by an artificial arrangement of the railway fares, by which the cost of carriage for long distances was reduced.

As the engine speeds along from Junee some small estates are crossed where hundreds of acres are under cereal crops, mainly grown for hay. Then appears on the right of the line tracts covered by dense growths of pine trees. Farther north pine scrubs have covered millions of acres of land, and ruined many pastoralists, the young pine growing very quickly and very densely, and completely beating the grazier back. On a short lease it does not pay to clear the ground, and in order to recover it for grass it is proposed to grant a longer tenure. On the left, close to the river, there are wool-sheds and buildings such as are useful to the sheep farmer. Each farm or squattage has its garden, where beautiful flowers and choice fruits are plentiful. Sixty miles from Junee is Narrandera, where a substantial lattice girder bridge crosses the river. The population of the place is supported by various industries, timber-cutting being the principal, the red gum and pine, which grow on the river flats, being of excellent quality. There are good farms, too, in the neighbourhood, and excellent shows of agricultural produce and pure-bred stock are held annually. The sheep of the district, bred from the best strains that can be secured from Victoria and Tasmania, are of a superior class, an average clip of seven pounds per sheep being frequently obtained.

The south-western route secures much of the wool grown in the Lachlan River country, and takes an active share in the trade of the pastoral area between the Lachlan and the Bogan Rivers. The district of Hay alone pastures a million sheep and six thousand head of larger stock, and the traffic to Booligal, Hillston, Wilcannia, and Deniliquin is extensive. The shipping business is now at a very low ebb, but the railway is a beneficial substitute, it being much better to have a certainty in the matter of time of journey than the tantalising chances connected with water carriage.

Yet there are residents of Hay who lament the departure of the good old times when wool and supplies were often delayed for months on flats or snags, and when heavily laden barges, used occasionally to "turn turtle " and seek repose on the river bed.

Jerilderie, a pastoral town surrounded by immense freehold estates and a few selections, is situated on the Billabong Creek, sixty-five miles distant by rail from Narrandera. Sheep-farming on a scientific plan is being conducted here, the cultivation paddocks playing an important part. The green crops, some of which are conserved in silos, are produced by pumping water from the bed of the creeks, where it is upheld by dams, and letting it flow over the planted ground.

cont...