DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF VICTORIA   

Atlas Page 45
By James Smith

WESTERN DISTRICT  1...

THE route by railway from Melbourne to Geelong passes through the western suburbs of the metropolis, skirts the manufacturing township of Footscray and the great workshops at Newport, and within half an hour’s journey from the city enters on the Werribee Plains; these appear to be as flat as a billiard table and are crossed and recrossed by miles upon miles of three-rail fences, and occasionally by low stone walls composed of boulders that look like rusty cannon balls. This wide expanse is grooved in places by creeks and streams —the Werribee and Little River among, the number —whose devious courses are well defined by the trees which fringe their banks. Here and there a lonely cottage set in a framework of verdure —or an island of trees lifting itself out of a wide waste of green sward or of withered herbage, according to the season of the year —relieves the bareness of the prospect. To the west may be seen, from the Little River crossing, the You Yangs, or Anakies, rising abruptly out of the plain; and this remarkable group of hills is not lost sight of for some time afterwards, the Brisbane Ranges, the Pentland Hills and Mount Macedon constituting the remoter back ground.

Approaching Geelong, the town is seen to be girt about on its landward side by a zone of bowery suburbs composed of pretty villa and cottage residences, each with its appurtenance of flower garden and many of them embosomed in shrubberies. A natural amphitheatre —not unlike that which is occupied by the city of Genoa —rising gradually from the edge of Corio Bay, seems to have been designed by Nature for the site of a populous and healthy city, with the sea breezes blowing over it from the ocean, less than ten miles distant to the south; while the hot winds from the north are tempered by having to pass across the waters of the Bay. On the high ground surrounding the town are the Scotch College, the Roman Catholic Orphanage and Convent of St. Augustine, and numerous handsome mansions. The town itself is one of the prettiest in Victoria, having the river Barwon at its back, and the waters of the Bay, enclosed by a picturesquely curving shore, running out into miniature capes at Point Henry and Point Lillias. Its broad streets leading to the water slope down from south to north, and these are intersected by others of equal breadth running from east to west. In the heart of the town, what was formerly the large open space known as "Market Square" is now covered, so far as its central area is concerned, by the exhibition building, in which are a theatre, gymnasium, assembly hall, and all the structures necessary for market purposes. Geelong contains as many as five-and-twenty places of worship, nine or ten banks, most of them handsome edifices, a grammar school, sever State schools, a free library, a mechanics’ institute with a thousand members and possessing a library of twenty thousand volumes; the public buildings include a town hall, court-house, gaol, hospital, benevolent asylum, and government and other offices. The place is lighted with gas, and is supplied with an abundance of pure water from four reservoirs fed by gravitation from Stony Creek and the river Moorabool. An esplanade plaited with trees connects the town with the botanical gardens, which are among the oldest in the colony. They comprise an area of one hundred and twenty acres on a promontory sufficiently elevated to command a fine view; and they contain what is probably the largest and handsomest fernery in Australia, resembling a cathedral in shape, loftiness, and magnitude. It is cruciform, and composed of three aisles. Beneath its central dome is a fountain springing from a mass of rockwork tapestried by ferns, while its encircling basin is gemmed with water-lilies. The columns supporting the arched roof are artistically entwined with creepers, and near this light and airy structure is a well-filled and excellent aviary.

Besides the botanical gardens, Geelong possesses two other parks, one of which faces the railway station, while the other, Queen’s Park, is picturesquely situated in a green hollow near the junction of the Barwon and the Moorabool. Four suburban boroughs —Newtown and Chilwell, South Barwon and West Geelong —contain an aggregate population of over eleven thousand three hundred souls, which added to the ten thousand of Geelong proper makes about twenty-one thousand three hundred. In visiting the outskirts of the place, the tourist is not likely to overlook "Jeffery’s Garden" at Newtown, with its magnificent collection of roses (four hundred varieties) and of ferns (two hundred varieties, collected from all parts of the world); its noble specimens of the Lambertia —including the golden variety —the date-palm and the bunya-bunya, together with some curious relics of famous shipwrecks on the coast of Victoria. From a tower in the garden a magnificent panoramic view is obtained, embracing Geelong and its environs, Corio Bay, the You Yangs, the sea outside the Barwon Heads, Mount Buninyong, the valley of the Moorabool, the rolling downs above it and a wide extent of country.

Geelong enjoys the distinction of having been the first town in the colony to set spinning-jennies and mules to work, and the woollen fabrics it manufactures have justly obtained a high reputation on account of their excellent quality. Its numerous fellmongeries and wool-washing works, its iron foundry, flour mills and rope-walks contribute to provide employment for some hundreds of operatives; while behind it lies a fine tract of rich agricultural country, notably the Barrabool Hills with their smiling farms and fruitful orchards. Some of the oldest vineyards in Victoria were planted in this district by early settlers from Germany and Switzerland; but the phylloxera made its appearance among them a few years ago, and it was found necessary to root up the vines and compensate their owners.

Geelong made rapid progress in the opening days of the goldfields era, and it was then confidently predicted by its inhabitants that it would soon take the premier position as the capital of the colony. It was at this time endowed with the ambitious name of "The Pivot," as if it were the centre round which the rest of the colony must necessarily revolve. But those hopes have not been realised. The extension of the railway system carried most of the traffic past Geelong without resting in it and although there is considerable activity at the Corio wharves in the wool and wheat seasons, the place is to be admired more for its peacefulness and beauty, than for its commercial vitality.

Leaving Geelong for Queenscliff, the train passes through a tunnel, on emerging from which cultivated land is to be seen on either side alternating with unredeemed bush country. The soil Is a schistose clay, of not particularly good quality. This is the district known as Moolap and Kensington. A little farther on are heaped-up bags of onions awaiting transmission to market; about three hundred and fifty tons are sent off per week in the busy season, and about as many more are shipped at Portarlington The township of Drysdale is pleasantly situated between the railway station and the beach on the Corty Ule Creek and on Lake Lorne, and invalids resort here for the relief the climate is believed to afford in certain cases. St. Leonards is a prettily, situated watering place with excellent accommodation for bathers. Portarlington, six miles from Drysdale, has a pier and a fine esplanade along the beach. Steamboats call every day on their trips between Melbourne and Geelong, and leave in passing many passengers who have come in pursuit of sport with the gun or rod and line. At Clifton Hill, two miles from Drysdale, there are mineral springs containing seltzer, iron, magnesia, soda and sulphur; and here it is proposed to establish a magnificent spa and sanatorium. In the meantime there is accommodation enough for the immediate demand made upon it by invalids.

As we get nearer to Queenscliff the country changes its character, but does not improve. It is now sparsely timbered with shiock and eucalyptus, while in patches there is a thick growth of young saplings and ferns. Queenscliff is a charming little town standing at the sea gate of this golden land. Middle-aged Victorians, who first sighted it after a three months’ voyage by, way of Pernambuco and the Cape of Good Hope, can now visit it by, means of a three hours’ trip by railway or steamboat, and this pleasure they seem very, much inclined to give themselves over and over again in the course of every succeeding summer; and so it comes about that the population of the town fluctuates. The permanent residents number only about sixteen hundred, but sometimes in the height of the season there will be five thousand people in its streets during the day, and three thousand enjoying the repose for which sea-bathing, rambles about the country and deep draughts of ozone have thoroughly prepared them.

The town has fairly good streets and excellent asphalted footpaths. Its most important public buildings are the hotels. There is altogether about two hundred thousand pounds’ worth of hotel property in the little town. At least two of its inns afford accommodation quite up to the mark of the best Melbourne hotels, and give for three guineas a week per head every, comfort that the heart of man or woman could desire, except of course what have come to be understood as "intoxicants." The first-class hotels can accommodate two or three hundred visitors; but their business is only a seasonal one, and should pay, well during its brief term to make any fair return for the large amount of capital invested in it. It is not until the middle of November that Melbourne and up-country visitors begin to arrive at the Cliff with the view of staying for some time, and by, the middle of December the town is full of strangers, who begin to depart early in April; by Easter they are nearly all gone. During the other seven or eight months of the year the beautiful Queenscliff hotels are deserted. A stranger who ventured to experiment on their resources in May last, caused quite a commotion by asking for a glass of beer, the barman being engaged in cutting wood in the backyard and the landlord away on his farm. One Queenscliff establishment overlooking the entrance to Port Phillip Bay is a beautiful mansion that was generously presented to the Church of England by Mr. E. Latham to be used as a sanatorium or retreat for ministers of that communion, and here they and their, families enjoy, a periodical rest. One great charm of Queenscliff as a summer residence for the valetudinarian is the view that it affords of the arrivals and departures of ships. About a hundred ships pass inwards every week, and of course the same number pass outwards. Of this number about sixty, are steamers comprising the great and splendid ships of the P. and O. and Orient lines and the Messageries and the Norddeutscher packets, and the coasting steamers bound to and from Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, and New Zealand; and these last are only a little less splendid in size and appearance than the ocean runners. Among other interesting arrivals at Queenscliff are the great sailing ships of Glasgow and Aberdeen build that come out laden nearly to the gunwale with valuable merchandise, each one, in hull and cargo, amounting in value to something like a quarter of a million sterling. These beautiful vessels sometimes come in three or four at a time, when there has been a little shift of wind to the west to send them along from Cape Otway. But delightful as Queenscliff may be as a place of summer resort, it is of infinitely more importance when looked at from economic and strategic points of view. In the first place it is the gate of Victoria, through which all ships must pass that desire to effect the prompt landing and sale of their cargoes The entrance by this gate was never really very difficult, though many disastrous accidents have occurred while it was being attempted by unskilful or careless shipmasters. There was always half a mile of a quite safe fairway which should have been sufficient for all reasonable purposes. Now, however, the width has been increased to about a mile by blasting the rocks at Lightning Point to a depth of about thirty-six feet. The large ships that frequent Port Phillip Bay draw about twenty-four feet of water, and they have thus a margin of twelve feet under their keels, which is quite enough for their safety while they make their exits or entrances, no matter how disturbed the surface of the sea may be. The approach to the bay is thus perfectly easy and safe. The lights on the Schank and the Otway show the navigator his way to Point Lonsdale, where again there is a light, and on passing this he picks up two lights on Shortland’s Bluff, which he has only to keep in a line till he comes in view of the Swan Spit light, and steering for that he will soon find himself securely within Port Phillip, and can make his choice between two routes, either of which will lead him to Port Melbourne or the mouth of the Yarra.

As a military station Queenscliff is of the highest importance. There is here a walled fort in which are six Armstrong guns throwing Pallisser shot or shell of ninety pounds weight. The guns can be discharged at intervals of four minutes, and since a large ship would have to pass within eight or nine hundred yards of their muzzles, she would be at their mercy from ten to fifteen minutes, even though she was steaming at the rate of fifteen knots. At the distance just mentioned, projectiles discharged from Queenscliff would still possess, as nearly, as possible their initial velocity, and would riddle any vessel not plated with very, heavy armour. The guns are capable of piercing iron plates of the thickness of lime and a half inches, and it is considered improbable that ships carrying heavier armour could be spared for a raiding expedition in this part of the world. At Point Nepean, on the opposite coast, there is also a powerful battery, so that ships entering with hostile intent would find themselves under fire on either side for at least half an hour, in the unlikely, event of their escaping damage while running through the passage. They would then have the Swan Island fort to encounter, an effective torpedo service to elude, and the defence fleet with which to try conclusions.

Queenscliff dates back from 1846, and is efficiently supplied with all the conveniences of a settled community. Its goods traffic by railway is about eight hundred tons per month, including materials of war, and about forty, tons of excellent fish are sent off every month to the Melbourne and other markets, comprising trevalli, barracouta, schnapper, flathead and flounder. Its railway passenger traffic is during the winter about one thousand passengers per month, while large numbers come and go with return tickets of which no record is kept.

Starting from Geelong by train, in a westerly direction, the railway goes as far as Terang, the present terminus of the Warrnambool line, at a distance of ninety-two miles. The whole country traversed between the two points may be described as lake country. Some of the sheets of water that come into view in rapid succession are of very considerable area The country is nearly level, with occasional rises of no great elevation and more striking hills at longer intervals. The soil makes excellent agricultural land when cleared of stone and timber, and thriving farms and orchards are of frequent occurrence. Between the cultivated paddocks is good sheep and cattle country, of which the feeding properties have been greatly improved by the sowing of English grasses, clovers, and other non-indigenous forage plants. This kind of improvement is effected at comparatively little expense, as it is only necessary to scatter the seeds on the surface of the soil before the winter rains commence, in order to insure a crop early in the spring. But the country abounds in rabbits, and a manufactory for the preparation of the flesh for export was established at Colac, but it is not now fully employed, the cost of the raw material being beyond the paying rate. At Stoneyford and Camperdown there are similar preserving works which do more business. The rabbits are caught in traps and are sent in baskets from several stations along this line to the Geelong and Melbourne markets, as well as to the manufactories. The trappers are a queer nondescript class, mostly old men, who bear about their persons traces of much hard work and exposure. One man will work about a hundred traps, setting them before dark in well selected places; these traps, which are not baited but partially concealed with a little loose earth, are each tethered to an iron pin driven into the ground to prevent the trapped animal running away with it. Once during the course of the night the sportsman goes round and resets them, after taking out any animals that may have been caught, and at daylight he repeats the visit to reap a second harvest. All that the trappers get for the rabbits is two shillings a dozen, and from eightpence to tenpence a dozen for their skins; hence trapping is not a lucrative business, since the rabbits, innocent as they look, are extremely cunning, and soon become a match for their enemies.

Four miles after leaving South Geelong, the train reaches Connewarre —situated on the Bream Creek, where there is splendid fishing —and, passing through Pettavel Road and Moriac stations, makes Modewarre, nineteen miles distant. The last-named is sometimes called Laketown, and is an agricultural settlement affording excellent facilities for sport. Lake Modewarre is a nearly circular sheet of water, and covers an area of about three square miles; its water is quite salt, and has no visible outlet. Wurdee-Boluc and Gherang-Gherang are smaller lakes; they are both of them fresh and they abound in fish. Large numbers of fine eels are caught in these lakes, dried and sent to the Melbourne market. Winchelsea is twenty-five miles distant from Geelong, on the Barwon River. The surrounding country affords excellent grazing for cattle and sheep. From this point Lorne can be reached by coach at a distance of twenty-seven miles; from Birregurra, thirty-eight miles; from Geelong it is similarly accessible. Here the Cape Otway forest commences, and is much affected by tourists and sportsmen for the wild beauty, of its scenery, and the game with which it abounds. Some of the finest timber in the world is to be found in this forest; and it will prove a mine of wealth to the colony in the future if it can be preserved only until the country has been opened up for public use by means of roads and railways. The free selector, now beginning to invade the district, is a ruthless iconoclast, who thinks it no sin to fell a tree two hundred feet high in order to build a hen-roost.

In the Cape Otway, district is the charming watering place of Lorne, which is easily, accessible from a railway, station, though sometimes approached from Melbourne by steamer. It is neary a hundred miles distant from the metropolis, on the beautiful Loutit Bay, and the Erskine River —a quiet retreat, where the tired sojourner among cities may idle in peace, forgetful of the fever and the fret of life, and face to face with a wild and uncultured nature.

Lorne is much resorted to In the summer months by travellers in search of health and recreation. The residents of Melbourne, of Ballarat and of Sandhurst flock thither in great numbers during half the year, and to dwellers on the arid plains of the Wimmera its humid climate and saline atmosphere are ever grateful arid beneficial. This is a veritable land of mountain and of flood. But the district is as remarkable for its economic resources as it is for the variety arid beauty of its scenery. Hill and valley quickly, alternate, and the coach journey, of twenty-five miles —though its ascents and descents are sufficiently steep to be stimulating to the nerves of timid travellers —is over fairly good bush roads, on which accidents seldom occur. People are sometimes lost in the ranges, and it is scarcely, prudent to venture far from the track without a guide, unless one has the art to navigate the bush by means of solar observations or can distinguish north and south by the habits of the trees. The beautiful Erskine River forms many striking cascades, one of the finest of which is that known as the Erskine Falls, where rugged rocks unite with abundant foliage and a dashing stream to create a scene of romantic loveliness.

The coast line north-west from Cape Otway is bold and imposing. At about thirty-five miles from the Cape is Port Campbell —a little harbour between Curdie’s River and Sherbrook Creek accessible to small craft, and one which, when agricultural settlement has made some progress in the district, will prove useful as a port of shipment. A jetty and goods-shed have already been erected here, and the surrounding country is a striking combination of rock and woodland, abounding in romantic scenery, and affording many facilities for sport.

Thirty-seven miles farther along in the same direction and one hundred and sixty, miles from Melbourne is Warrnambool, on the shore of Lady, Bay. Immediately to the west of the town the Merri Creek empties itself into the sea, while on the east, two miles and a half distant, is the Hopkins River. These streams afford excellent sport to the angler, abounding as they, do in blackfish, bream and mullet, while they, are also the resort of wild fowl in great variety, and abundance. Warrnambool, by reason of the mildness of its climate and the salubrity of its atmosphere, is much resorted to by, invalids and convalescents. It is separated from the sea by, a swamp known as Lake Pertobe, which it is proposed to deepen and convert into a veritable lake, or else to raise its level and to drain it. A tramway crosses the lagoon, and over it the shipping trade of the port is conducted. This consists largely of the export of potatoes, which are grown here to great advantage, as well as in the neighbouring districts of Tower Hill and Koroit, the land being so favourable to the industry, that portions of it have been sold at the high price of forty, pounds per acre, and other portions let at tip to nine pounds per acre for one season. The principal dairy farm and cheese factory, of the colony is situated at Tooram, within a few miles of Warrnambool, and on this the proprietor has set an excellent example to his neighbours by, initiating irrigation works at his ‘own expense and introducing new and improved methods of agriculture. The town is built chiefly of sandstone found in the immediate vicinity, and its churches and public buildings are both substantial and ornamental. It is not much favoured by nature in the way of shipping facilities, the bay being of limited extent and exposed to south and south-east gales, but with the improvement works now in progress, and the uninterrupted railway communication with the metropolis which it will have at an early date, its trade requirements will be amply provided for. The "common" which surrounds the town is a beautiful woodland area, but it is being steadily encroached upon by the new buildings required for the accommodation of an increasing population. To the eastward is Albert Park, a reserve of one hundred and forty-four acres permanently set apart for the use and recreation of the public. Beyond this is the racecourse, an elliptical enclosure surrounded on all sides by lofty hills. Its steeplechase course is one of the most genuine of the kind that the colony possesses, having sixteen formidable difficulties that have to be faced. A horse that can come well out of this trial has very little to fear from anything that he can meet with either at Flemington or at Caulfield. The botanical gardens, of about twenty acres in extent, are within a few minutes walk of the centre of the town; these give promise of great beauty in the future, when the natural difficulties of the site have been overcome. Other public reserves are the Friendly Societies’ Park, the Victoria Park, the Agricultural Society’s ground, and the cricket ground. The sea-bathing accommodation here provided Is all that could be desired, and there are hot salt-water baths which are much resorted to as a curative agency. There are banks, flour-mills and tanneries in this town, and its churches, schools, and other public offices are both commodious and handsome. Warrnambool, besides potatoes, exports wool, wheat, hides and dairy produce.

Shelly Beach, a little to the west of Lady Bay, is a spot well worth a visit. Shelves of rock abut into the ocean, and can be safely promenaded while huge breakers are tumbling almost at one’s feet, the receding water forming innumerable miniature cascades and filling little pools, in which may be seen marine animal and vegetable life in great variety and of wonderful beauty.

By following the road, the thriving town of Belfast, distant eighteen miles west from Warrnambool, may be made in a three hours’ drive. This is the Port Fairy of early days, and would have been by, this time a much larger and busier place, only that it had the misfortune to be built on private land, which made the acquisition of building sites both difficult and costly. The town has many natural advantages; it is surrounded by excellent potato land, and has behind it a great stretch of good pastoral country, Its bay is capacious, easily accessible, and affords fairly safe anchorage. The principal natural advantage of the place, however, is that the river Moyne, near the mouth of which it stands, is navigable right into the heart of the town; vessels drawing from eleven to twelve feet of water can go up and discharge at the wharves and load almost direct from the stores and warehouses. There is consequently a large business done, particularly in the potato and wool seasons; although a considerable sea-borne traffic in dairy produce, live stock, pigs and poultry is always going on. Belfast is well furnished with the ordinary adjuncts of civilisation, as they are understood among communities of British origin.

From this point it is natural to take a glance at Tower Hill and its lake, situated about halfway between Warrnambool and Belfast. This sheet of water is twenty-four miles in circumference and is also very deep; it abounds in fish, principally eels. It is not perceived until the highest point in the ridge is gained,’ when the lake is suddenly seen darkling at the foot, of a steep slope two hundred and fifty feet below. It is nearly circular in form, and from its centre rises an island known as Tower Hill: the lake is surrounded by lofty hills, and the whole country is of volcanic origin. Although not now devoid of charm, it must have been very beautiful before the hills and island became partially denuded of timber, as they have been by bush fires and greedy axes with no sense of the picturesque —no regard for the future.

The little settlement of Killarney lies on the eastern road, six miles from Belfast. It is an Irish colony, as its name implies, and is chiefly famous for the production of pigs, geese and potatoes, although it contains but a sparse human population. Six miles farther on is Yambuk, a pleasant little agricultural village surrounded by good grazing country. Inland from this point commences a stony and swampy region, which extends with intermissions nearly to the Glenelg River, fifty miles to the west. This uninviting tract, which is known as the "Stones," affords excellent cover for wild animals, while the swamps are plentifully stocked with fish and wild fowl. At Yambuk the road crosses the Shaw River, and farther along the Eumeralla, the Surrey and the Fitzroy Rivers before Portland Bay is struck. All these afford good fishing, and the last-named is a really beautiful stream, deep, clear and peaceful, flowing gently between high and wooded ‘banks. Near where it forces its way into the ocean, over or through a sandy bar which the action of the waves is constantly replacing and renewing, is the little town of Narrawong; from this point the country becomes historical. Fifty years ago whales were landed in the eastern bight of Portland Bay; there also "flinched." vessels were built; and there a fierce battle was fought between the swarthy aboriginal owners of the soil and the white interlopers. But that, is all changed now. The few remaining blacks are snugly domiciled at the Lake Condah mission station; the whale now seldom visits the coast, and the harpoon has given place to the plough and the whaleboat to the farmer’s wain.

Portland is a beautiful town, pleasantly situated, but small for its age; although dating from 1834, it has not now quite three thousand inhabitants. Circumstances have been unpropitious to its commercial growth, though at one time it had regular direct communication with Great Britain, and forty and even thirty years ago shiploads of emigrants were landed on its shores, many of whom lived and died in the town, without ever having seen Melbourne and these have left behind them offspring now approaching middle age who are equally incurious and averse to change, and who dislike distant travel, unless. it be in pursuit of barracouta, as much as the English villagers of a past generation. When Melbourne grew into a great shipping port and was frequented by the finest merchant ships of the world it extinguished Portland as an ocean terminus whose foreign trade thenceforward was transacted by means of coasting steamers and sailing vessels. Then came the extension of the State railway system, which drained the fertile back country and diverted its trade to the metropolitan ports. Recently, however, there has been an experimental revival of the long-lost direct trade between the "cradle of Victoria" and the ports of London and Glasgow. Australian waters now teem with splendid ocean steamers, and Portland, lying as it does in the direct route from Melbourne to Adelaide, is conveniently situated that any cargo steamer will call in for thousand bales of wool, which can be put on board in a day, so complete are the arrangements of the port. The bay is capacious enough to accommodate the whole British navy, with the navies of its allies in addition —should necessity ever arise —and afford them perfectly safe anchorage in from six to nine fathoms of water; the bottom being of tenacious blue clay, overlaid by a few inches of sand, ships with good ground tackle and a hundred fathoms of sound chain cable ahead can defy the strongest wind that ever blew to discharge them from their anchorage. A fine jetty extends far into the sea, where in sixteen feet of water steamers and other ships can transact their business in safety, if not always in absolute repose.

Portland’s principal producing industry is its fishery, which employs about a hundred boats and three hundred men and boys; the greatest takes are of barracouta, a long eel-like fish averaging between seven and ten pounds in weight. Flathead, garfish, salmon, trout (so-called), flounders and skate are also caught here in abundance, and occasionally schnapper and groper. But the king of the fish that frequent the Portland and adjacent coasts is the trevalli. This arrives here when from six to eight pounds in weight, and is a fine, handsome fish, flaky in its tissue, like the cod of the northern hemisphere. The "’couta," as it is familiarly called, is caught by hook and line, the fishers sailing or rowing along at a rate of about four miles an hour, and each having three or four hooks out, baited with a bit of fish-skin or red rag. When this fish approaches the Portland coast it comes in immense shoals and sometimes the fishermen will fill their boats twice in a day. The trevalli, or as it is called at Portland the haddock, does not arrive in, such numbers, and is not so voracious, so it has to be caught in nets. In the height of the fish season twenty tons of the best kinds of fish will be despatched by train from Portland every day to Ballarat, Melbourne and other markets.

Portland is well built on a considerable space of ground, and has churches, schools, banks, warehouses, stores and other public buildings far beyond its present requirements, for the place is falling away rather than progressing, and it never rose into the importance that was expected it would when its chief public buildings were erected. But it is not lacking in picturesqueness or comfort; it has a promenade of about three miles round its semi-circular bay that nothing in Victoria can approach for peaceful beauty; in its usually placid waters a hundred boats may be seen proceeding to the fishing grounds or returning thence well freighted, and there are generally two or three steamers arriving or departing, discharging or taking in cargo at the pier. Shoals of fish often darken the surface of the water, and seabirds hover over them, darting down frequently and emerging with their prey wriggling between their bills. Porpoises, too, sometimes visit the bay, and break its surface with their curious gambols. Sharks often come, and occasionally do great damage to the fishermen’s nets in their endeavours to rob them of fish already caught. , The botanical gardens are worthy the town, and there are probably few other collections of plants that represent so wide a climatic range as that of Portland. The humid breezes of the southern ocean here combine with the torrid atmosphere of central Australia to produce an all but perfect climate, with the result that nearly anything will grow and thrive in and around this town to which a torrid or an arctic temperature is not absolutely indispensable. Proceeding by road in a westerly direction, a scrubby and swampy country is traversed for a distance of about twenty miles when Emu Flat is gained, a resting place from which the "Big Bend," a few miles farther on, is easily reached.’ This is an elbow in the Glenelg River, and thence journeying for about twenty-four miles the Glenelg itself comes into view. Its mouth divides before opening into the ocean, and forms an island which is rich in animal and vegetable treasures.

Portland is in direct railway communication with Melbourne, the first stage on the way being Heywood, a very old village on the Fitzroy River, which is provided with a mechanics’ institute, a good State school, four churches and a number of stores and hotels. There is some agricultural settlement in the neighbourhood, but the picturesque features of the locality are the river, which is crossed both by road and by railway, and Mount Eckersley to the north of the village, a conical hill which may be advantageously cultivated nearly to the summit, and which has a deep sullen lake, or tarn, in a gorge half way up its slope there is a beautiful residence and small estate named Oakbank at the foot of this hill. Between Heywood and Portland the country traversed by the railway is timbered and alternately, swampy and sandy. A rather impracticable belt known as the Nine Mile Forest separates the two places, and impoverishes each by limiting the agricultural productiveness of the district. Much of this belt consists of a recent growth of young eucalypti, which stand so close together that the sun seldom reaches the earth from which they spring, while they shoot up high into the sky as straight as arrows in search of light and air.

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