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These extracts are taken from Excursions in New South Wales, Western Australia, and Van Dieman’s Land, during the Years 1830, 1831, 1832 and 1833 by Lt. Breton R.N.
pp. 46-49
“The only convenient way of travelling in the ‘bush,’* [Footnote: *’Bush’ is the term commonly used for, country per se: ‘he resides in the Bush,’ implies that the person does not reside in, or very near a town. It also signifies a forest; and is an expression so well understood, and so much employed in the colonies, besides being extremely convenient, that I have often used it for want of a better.] is on horseback. In this manner, therefore, the emigrant will proceed into the interior, putting up at the different inns so long as he journeys on the high road, and when he quits it, at the houses of the settlers,* [Footnote: *By ‘Settlers,’ I mean the farmers only: and by ‘colonists,’ the whole of the free inhabitants.] who will always give him a cordial reception. If there is no habitation at hand, a bark hut may be constructed in a few minutes.
“In some parts of the colony it will be necessary to have a pack-horse to carry provisions, and, in that case, a tent may easily be taken - a tent-pole can always be procured at the spot where a traveller bivouacks. The most convenient dress is a shooting suit, and the following articles should be carried when a person sets out on one of these excursions :- a gun, some matches, a compass, tomahawk, blanket, and tether-rope for his horse, with some bacon and flour, and any other necessaries that may be deemed requisite, some tea, in a cannister, must not be omitted; it almost meat and drink to a person when on one of these expeditions, as I know from experience, and far preferable to spirits. I should also recommend the traveller to take a brace of good kangaroo dogs, as they will frequently prove of great use - indeed he will often be indebted to them for dinner. It is indispensable that the valise or saddle-bags be made so as not to gall the horse, and that the saddle be always well dried, beaten, and brushed; without these precautions the animal will, in hot weather, be quite certain of having a sore back.
“Two, or three persons setting off thus furnished, and having with them a servant or a couple of natives, might enjoy thenselves greatly, if at all partial to travelling.....
“Nearly all the intermediate country from Sydney to Shoal Haven, Lake George, Bathurst, Hunter’s River, and to a distance of ninety miles up to the last, is long since occupied, or unproductive. South of Shoal Haven - (sixty-five miles from Sydney) - are Jervis Bay, Bateman’s Bay, and other places, where there is still land unoccupied; and when it is reflected how much more valuable a farm near water-carriage is than when at a remote distance inland, I am surprised there are not more settlers in this line of coast, and the more so, as it is not unlikely that the climate may be preferable to the northward of the capital, and less liable to drought.”
pp. 64-78.
“Bending my steps to the south-west, I passed through much fertile country, passed a day at Lumley, a most capital farm, and came to the Shoal Haven Gullies, twenty-six miles from Lake Bathurst. These are ravines of great depth (from 500 to 1,200 feet) and of tremendous appearance; and through one of them flows the Shoal Haven river. Any one who loses his way in them, will stand a fair chance of ending his days there; for even if he came upon the river itself, there are places where it rushes between vertical rocks, so that it would be quite impracticable to pass there, and equally so to ascend their precipitous sides !
“An unfortunate man was lost in them a short time previous to my arrival, and information had just been given by some natives, of their having discovered his remains.....
Close to the gullies there are caves [Bungonia] which are extremely curious, and well worth inspection, but they have not yet been explored. In walking along a level spot one comes unexpectedly to a hollow, seldom more than thirty of forty feet across, often not near as much, and of very trifling depth. At the side of this, or occasionally at the bottom, is observed a hole, into which it is sometimes difficult for more than one person to enter at a time; this aperture is the entrance to extensive fissures, ramifying in all directions through the limestone formation. I descended into the largest, forming at once a lofty cavern, through the ‘hopper,’ as it is called, was only a few yards in diameter: the entrance was in the side of the last. The cave contains nothing particularly remarkable except the mouth of another, which must be of great depth. Into this we threw large stones, and judged that the fall was fifty or sixty feet; and from five to seven seconds were counted before a stone ceased to rebound, the last fall denoting plainly that it had met the water. It is said this cave cannot be less than twelve hundred feet deep, but these calculations are always liable to error. Each time a stone was thrown in, a great number of bats were disturbed [please do not do this yourselves !]; these might, without much trouble, be dislodged by any person venturesome enough to descend the cave, to do which [sic] ropes and torches would be required.
“Near this are ‘fairy rings,’ which, unlike those seen elsewhere, are entirely denuded of vegetation, being as bare as if they had been burnt.
“There is some admirable land in this part of Argyle, fit either for pasture or grain, and why settlers are not more numerous I do not comprehend; but from Bong-Bong to the Lakes, and thence to Inverary, nearly 120 miles, there are very few persons located on their grants, which are used more as stock-stations than farms. I am not aware that there is much that is worthy of observation betwen Inverary and Bong-Bong, forty-one miles; the features of the country are much the same with what one finds on every road in the colony.
“From the latter township to the brow of the Merrigong Range I had again to pass through Bargo Brush, but in a different direction; the distance is about seventeen miles, through dense forest, or over swampy flats of the most dismal aspect, in some of which my horse sank up to the girths ! In consequence of the trees not having been properly marked, I had the extreme satisfaction of losing my way, and passing a night on a flat rock, not twenty yards round, and surrounded by bogs and streams, with the further consolation of having nothing to eat during thirty hours - that is to say, from the dawn of one day to noon of the following !
“The night was lovely, and the moon was at the full, while a cloudless sky, studded with innumerable stars, added to the effect; but in these dreary solitudes such a universal silence reigns, and even the hoarse croaking of a frog would have been a relief; nor did I perceive the slightest symptoms of animated existence, save an occasional owl or bat that flittered past in quest of its prey. I might possibly have admired the solemnity of the scene at any other time, but must confess, that after my riding and walking nearly ten hours (for, short as was the distance, it employed me all that time in finding my way to the rock on which I bivouacked), I began to think with the philosophers, that nature really does abhor a vacuum. Moreover, being of opinion that a rigid fast, or abstemious diet, are alike detrimental to the traveller, I would willingly have exchanged my lair for a comfortable room, and my meditations for a supper. When a hungry man thinks of eating he only increase his appetite; I therefore made a large fire of banksia, converted my saddle into a pillow, and was soon sound asleep upon the rock.
“To such trifles as these one soon becomes habituated when travelling in the ‘bush,’ and in a climate like that of New South Wales, I doubt if the danger from exposure is of any consequence.
“Arrived, after a tedious search, at the commencement of the precipitous pass by which I was to descend, I enjoyed a most superb prospect of the district of Illawarra, with a vast extent of ocean.
“No one who has not wandered over such a region as New South Wales, can fully appreciate the effect on the mind when, after having passed through vast forests, and among eternal mountains or hills, the traveller emerges from such triste scenery, and comes at once to a spot whence the view appears absolutely boundless; and the suddenness of the transition, which probably causes a person to fancy the prospect even more magnificent than it really is.
“The pass winds beneath lofty crags, some of which project so much as to have a very threatening appearance; and the path is so steep and slippery, as well as stony, that no loaded animal could descend it without imminent danger, as it is not only extremely narrow and abrupt, but the ravines are of such depth, that a fall would be attended with inevitable destruction. The distance to the township, called Wollongong, was about eighteen miles, that is, from the summit of the pass near which I had spent the night.
“The district has very properly been called after the native name; it had previously been termed the ‘Five Islands,’ from as many islets on the coast. It is said to contain 150,000 acres, and is completely hemmed in by the Merrigong range and the sea. Its aspect is that of a tropical region, especially near the range, and it is incomparably superior in point of scenery to any part of the Colony I have visited. The palms, from fifty to eighty feet high, and quite straight, the fern trees, parasitical plants, and climbers, were beautiful, and in many places so luxuriant was the vegetation, and so completely were the climbers, many of them nearly as large as a man’s body, interwoven amongst the trees, that they rendered the forest off the path, utterly impervious. Wollongong is sixty miles from Sydney by the nearest route, and is situated close to the coast. Even in this interesting district there are not many respectable residents, nor has much land been cleared; so that some time will elapse before its various resources are called forth. Along the shore the good soil extends, in some places, to within a few feet of high-water mark, even where the land is low: and, at the northern extremity of the district, quite to the edge of the cliffs. The last contained large seams or veins of coal, fragments of which were strewed about the beach.
“The observation made by some writers respecting the trees here being for the most part cedar, is an error; and what they have said of the boat harbours is also wrong. The fact is, the shore is entirely exposed and open, affording no shelter whatever; and when I was there, a small vessel of not more than six or eight tons, was driven by a gale high and dry upon the sand. With a safe port, Illawarra could soon become of consequence, and perhaps the intended road will make it so: it appears to be well watered, and the coast abounds in fish. The land is so heavily timbered, and the trees are frequently of such enormous dimensions, that the expense of clearing it would be very great; but once in a state of cultivation, I have no doubt such rich soil would make an ample return.
“It is here that the nettle tree (urtica gigas) is produced; if handled, it inflicts a pain far more severe than that caused by the common nettle, and grows to the height of thirty or forty feet.
“I had intended proceeding farther south, but a lake [Lake Illawarra] had forced its way through the sandy barrier which divided it from the sea, so as effectually to put a stop to my farther progress along the coast, unless I waited a few days, which want of time prevented me from doing; and if I had gone by a circuitous route, I should still have had to swim my horse across several streams that had overflowed their banks, which would have been attended with some danger and great inconvenience. It is a common opinion that the bell bird denotes the proximity of water; if this be true, Illawarra must have enough of that necessary article, for I heard more of these birds than in all the rest of the Colony - the woods literally swarmed with them. The note is not unlike the single tinkle of a sheep bell, at least I know of nothing else to compare it with; it is melancholy as well as monotonous.
“The Shoal Haven River, so named because it falls into the haven, takes its rise in a swamp at Corrumburoo, 190 miles from Sydney; and although in many places a mere mountain stream, it contains fish of the weight of fifty or sixty pounds, and there are people who say they have seen them of ninety pounds ! Certainly the fish in some of the streams are of a size that would astonish any one in Europe.
“There are settlers or stations from the source of the haven (the last is thirty-five miles from Wollongong); and there is also on it a church grant of 42,467 acres.
“The accounts of the tract of country through which the river flows are highly favourable; the grounds that enclose the ravines are level, and afford pasturage, as well as arable land, which is likewise said to be the case in several of the ravines themselves, (the number, however, that are accessible is but small), the kangaroo ground [Kangaroo Valley] being one of the most remarkable; and at a place called by the natives Cambewarra, there is a space of twenty square miles of the very best land.
“Between the upper part of the river and a brancj of the Morumbidgee (on which are the plains of Molonglo, Limestone, and Yarralumla, where there are numerous stations) the mountains are represented to be of great height, and the summit of one to the south-west of Lake George is usually covered with snow.
“The present southern boundary of the Colony is at Muroya [Moruya], twenty miles from Bateman’s Bay, and 190 from Sydney.
“The appearance of the coast south of Illawarra, as far as Cape Howe, when viewed from the sea, is mountainous; but in general the mountains are at sufficient distance from the shore to admit of locations along its whole line, and the moderately elevated or undulating ground, sometimes stretches a long way back. As far as I could judge from the vessel (when on my way to Hobart Town) there did not seem to be any land naturally free of timber; in short, all the plains at present known are in the interior. Of course I was unable to form any opinion as to the nature of the soil. I quitted Illawarra by a pass not quite so precipitous as that by which I had descended, but nevertheless sufficient to try the vigour of man and horse, as it was no easy affair to scramble over fallen trees, and up the rugged spots which continually impede our progress; and after riding many miles through as mournful looking a country as can well be imagined, I came to Appin, thirty miles from Wollongong. Here there are numerous settlers, and much land is cleared and cultivated.
“The distance hence to Sydney, through Campbelltown and Liverpool, is forty-five miles. On my way I saw a specimen of the damage that may be caused by floods, and found that all the bridges had been destroyed, so that people were under the necessity of passing by temporary ones, swimming their horses across, with the assistance of men stationed on the banks of the streams, for that purpose. ‘The great drought’ had lasted so long that some persons began to think no more rain would fall in the colony, but they were mistaken, for the flood-gates of the heavens were opened, and there descended such a deluge that the rivers overflowed, and swept away barns, stacks, and fences, besides drowning several people and many cattle.”
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