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The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 8th April 1843 :
“A large cavern, the sides and base of which are of pure white marble, has been discovered on the bank of the Fish River, about forty miles from Bathurst.”
The following account was transcribed from The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 6th January 1849 :
“SYDNEY NEWS.
“THE FISH RIVER CAVERNS.
“To the Editor of the Bathurst Advocate.
“SIR - A short time since, in company with a few friends, I went to visit the caves, situate at Fish River, about fifty miles from Bathurst, and as the sight was most magnificent, I have taken the liberty to send you the following account, thinking, that although the description may be but a faint and imperfect one, yet it might be interesting to the readers of the Bathurst Advocate.
“The road to the caves presents many difficulties to the timid or faint-hearted traveller, as he has to urge his way forward through a thick brushy scrub, and to undertake the fatigue of ascending and descending mountains, the sides of which are alarmingly steep and precipitous, and which at first sight appear absolutely impassable. However, our little party determined to proceed, and at length arrived in safety at the spot we sought. Our first business after reaching the place was to secure our steeds in safety, lest they should escape while we were enjoying the beauties of the scenery around us; and here nature came to our assistance, for about two miles from the mouth of the caves is a large and open space, nearly surrounded by mountains, lofty and steep, which formed a securely fenced paddock, from which it was next to impossible for the horses to make their escape in hobbles.
“After we had thus secured the horses, each individual took up his blanket, and we immediately commenced our exploring expedition. The road from the paddock to the caves had evidently been one time the channel of a running stream, which rendered our walking rather difficult, as we had to scramble over rocks and logs, which had been deposited there by the flowing streams. About 400 yards from the spot where we left our horses, we observed a stream of water running apparently quite through one of the mountains, but further mention will be made of that presently. We pursued our course over rocks, with the scraggy ends of which our unfortunate shins became very intimate before we completed our journey. We soon came near the mouth of one of these large caverns, the appearance of which is awfully grand and sublime, and when we entered its yawning jaws, our persons appeared dwarfish and insignificant. On one side this cave is a large skylight, making an abrupt ascent to the top of the mountain through which the cave runs, and down the irregular and scraggy sides of this skylight we perceived several wallabys running and peeping at us as if they would enquire our business, and why we disturbed their domicile.
“After surveying the curiosities of this vast and magnificent cavern, we proceeded still further on our voyage of discovery, seeing at every step some new specimen of the wonders of nature. At last we emerged from the cover of the shading roof, and a most splendid piece of scenery presented itself. A chain of mountains running off in a semi-circle, and surrounded by large masses of lime stone. On one side was the mouth of a second cave, much larger and more beautiful than the first; at its entrance, as if for a signal, stands a large column of rock, running perpendicularly up the side of the mountain, and some of the party (who had seen St. Paul’s,) considered it much larger and more magnificent than that noble piece of architecture. We then proceeded to the cave, beholding at every step the most grand and beautiful ornaments ever seen. In this cave we observed a number of side cavern running into the mountain, some of which we traversed. At one part of the cave is a beautiful fountain formed in the side of the rock, around which are several partitions which prevent the escape of the straggling waters, and at different parts of the cave are found large rocks of marble of several tons weight. We then proceeded to a small rivulet, the waters of which were so clear and transparent, as to attract the attention of all; this is the stream we saw on entering the caves, and it runs full two miles under ground, jutting out afresh at the spot we have just named; having washed ourselves we returned to the second cave, where we kindled a fire and satisfied the cravings of hunger. We then went through the cave (leaving our blankets here as a lodging place) and reaching the further end we ascended the mountain through which we had already travelled. On reaching one of the levels, we came upon a magnificent arch about fifty feet high, and thirty broad, surrounded by hundreds of tons of rocks, which, with the deep and misty abyss below, rendered the whole scene grand beyond description. When immediately beneath the arch, we saw on one side an entrance to another cave, and having provided ourselves with lights, we proceeded to investigate the hall, but it is impossible to give any thing like a description of the wonders and beauties of nature which there presented themselves - hanging down from the roof were the most beautiful stalactites of fanciful forms and various colours, many of them very much like beautiful China ornaments; we loade ourselves with the curiosities of this place, and returned to our blankets, where we took up our quarters for the night. In the mordning early, we proceeded up the same mountain to another cave, which had for its signal a large elder-tree, which appeared to grow from a large hole in the earth. We descended one by one to the foot of this tree, and seeing another avenue, we proceeded to explore another cave equally grand and beautiful with the former; the rays of light from the entrances of these side caves reflecting on the pure white stalactites suspended from the ceiling, produced an effect that baffles all attempt of description.
“I have given you the above description, Mr. Editor, my memory serving alone as my guide, but I should advise all who have the opportunity to visit the spot, and they will then ascertain that it is impossible to express by words one tenth part of the beauties of these wonderful works of nature.
- I am, sir, yours, &c.,
A CONSTANT READER.”
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