|
pp. 123-129.
“When we have turned our backs on Ulladulla, en route for Sydney and the north, and crossed the aforesaid river [Narrawallee Creek], we have dull heaths for many miles, and woods that would be dreary indeed were it not for the bright sunshine; and the whole country is the picture of barrennes. It is evident, in many places, that the land has encroached on the sea, and that this process is still going on. The sand of the shore is, at low water, carried inland by the winds, forming huge mounds that reach, in some places, nearly to the coast range; but, independent of this cause of barrenness on the coast, we learn from Sir Thomas Mitchell, that ‘the soil of New South Wales is good only where trap, limestone, or granite occurs, and that sandstone predominates so much more than all these to cover about six-sevenths of the whole surface comprised within the boundaries of the nineteen counties, and that wherever this happens to be the surface rock, little besides barren sand is found in the place of soil.’ - (Three Expeditions, vol. ii., p.324.) On the sandy soil, near the sea, springs the honey-suckle - Banksia Integrifolia.
“When we have travelled about twenty-five miles, we find, in the midst of the waste, a prime flat, and, in the centre of it a pool of clear, fresh water [Lake MacKenzie ?]. Some handsome trees are dotted about the flat, and a green belt of Mimosa [Silver Wattle] surrounds it; so that it is by no means to be despised as a halting place, in the absence of all inns, posting-houses, and ostlers. At this place we used to unsaddle, and allow the horses to roll, and drink, and feed, while we rested on the grass. We invariably permitted them, however much heated, to drink to their heart’s content in every stream, or pool, that was open to the sun, and no ill consequences ever occurred; and their hearty draughts were, no doubt, enjoyed by them as much as we can conceive hock and soda water to have been relished by a certain noble poet on thirsty mornings. Another twenty-five miles brings us to the Shoalhaven, on which are rich alluvial flats, and a farm that cannot be equalled in the colony, nor yet excelled in England. The owners [Alexander Berry and his brothers, Edward Wollstonecraft having died in 1832] of this noble property hold, as freehold, eighty thousand acres of fine land, of which twenty thousand are naturally clear and fit for the plough; and I speak within bounds when I say, that on the estate are five thousand acres of white clover. This, indeed, spreads so fast that, in a few years, the greater part of the property will be covered with it; but a mixture of clover and rye-grass is preferred. On this estate, and on the adjoining waste lands, are maintained upwards of three thousand head of cattle, and several herds of horses. Wheat and maize, are grown in great quantities; and the fields, when waving with these luxuriant crops, present a noble appearance, which is most striking when one enters the farm from the southward, after a wearisome journey through barren country. Large sums of money have been expended in draining the flats; but the surface of the swamps which now produce luxuriant clover, has actually been puddled by the tread of cattle, until, thus, a crust has been formed over them. A bullock will scramble in safety through a swamp which would prove fatal to a horse; and the often repeated passage of cattle does, in the course of time, render the face of a swamp safe even for him. Thus, I have known a safe crossing place to be formed in the soft bottom of a small tidal river by frequently driving cattle through it; but, if a horseman deviated either to the right or to the left of the crossing place, he would probably lose his steed.
“Great pains have been taken to improve the breed of cattle on this estate; and bulls have been imported from England at great expense. ‘Ella,’ a short-horned Durham, is a splendid creature, and cost 500l.; and there are also some beautiful Ayrshire bulls. Choice animals of this description are kept for sale, in an extensive clover paddock devoted to them alone; and to this place they become so attached that there is a difficulty in removing them, even in the company of cows. Some of the bullocks, reared and fed on the swamps, attain a great size, and a few weigh fifteen hundred weight; and the rolls of fat on their backs form hollows something like a saucer. From the woods that skirt the swamps they come out to feed; and, during the heat of the day, retire into them to rest and enjoy the shade. One beast yielded 250 lbs. of caul and kidney fat; and 5 cwt. of tallow were obtained by boiling down two of them. I have never seen, in England, cattle equal in size and weight to those on this princely property (and none of them are stall-fed); and the overseer at Ulladulla, an experienced farming man, confessed that he had never seen finer animals than the general run of cattle here, excepting on the estate of the late Sir Charles Morgan, in Monmouthshire. Drafts of fat cattle are constantly sent from this farm to Sydney for sale (a distance of 100 miles), and many dairy cows are sold to other settlers. A large dairy is kept on foot, where often two hundred cows are milked, but only once-a-day; for, after the morning’s milk is taken from them, the calves are allowed to run with them until night. These cows yield about two gallons of milk each per day; and, under another system, would doubtless give more. The skim-milk feeds a little army of pigs. Many beautiful mares are to be found amongst the herds of horses; and when I visited the property, a stallion from the English turf was in the stalls. The horses bred on this property attain a good size; their points are well developed, and many have been sent to India.
“The owners of this estate reside in an excellent brick house, which crowns a rising ground. Their hospitality is unbounded; and the ‘travellers’ room,’ with its neat and clean beds, has been, has been the resting place of many a weary pilgrim. Well-built cottages have been erected in convenient situations for the accommodation of the different superintendents. The garden is large, and exceedingly productive; indeed, with such soil, with moisture and a hot sun, what may not be expected ? The prolific nature of the soil and climate is evidenced by the fact, that a peach-tree bears in the second year after the stone from which it sprung has been sown; and to the climate, as well as to the abundance of fine feed, the large size of the cattle is no doubt to be attributed. The Shoalhaven, being navigable, adds much to the value of the property; and the produce of the farm is sent up to Sydney, in vessels built on the river. This estate would maintain some thousands of people; but the owners of it can never become rich by farming it. To give an idea of the value of farming produce in this colony, I may mention that one of these gentlemen told me that he once grew two thousand bushels of barley, but could only find purchasers for half the quantity, and did not know what to do with the remainder. This estate did not suffer by the late drought, and, when I left the colony, the dairy returned 70l. sterling per week, in butter alone, many other dairies having been brought to a stand-still, and, amongst them, that at Ulladulla, where, indeed, the cattle were dying for lack of food, at a distance of only fifty miles.
“In the swamps is occasionally found a bird of which I did not succeed in obtaining a good view, but which is probably a small species of bittern [the Australasian Bittern]. It produces a sound exactly like the low, muttered, bellow of a bull; and the effect of this, on a still night, is remarkable. The blacks, strangely enough, did not appear to be acquainted with this bird, and thought its boom was ominous of the presence of the Devil-Devil, whence I presume it was a rare visitor. Two smart black boys, well mounted, are here employed as stockmen; but they generally indulge, in the course of each year, in a few weeks holiday in the bush. Caterpillars, apparently bred in the ground, sometimes suddenly make their appearance, and hang in great numbers on each stalk of wheat; if the wheat is well advanced in ear, they do not do it much injury, but they are very destructive to the young leaf of the clover. The native dog [Dingo] no longer makes this estate his head-quarters, but contents himself with occasional incursions, in packs of six or seven, a number which is not usually seen together. These are soon destroyed by stout kangaroo-dogs; but there is honour amongst the thieves, and, when one is attacked, the others often come to the rescue.”
p. 143.
“At Jervis Bay, which is not far from the Shoalhaven, are five towns; but amongst them all, are but two inhabited houses. The temptation here was a fine bay, and it was supposed that it would be the outlet of the country in the interior. The architects of these aerial towns were often greedy ‘land-sharks,’ who richly deserved the pillory; but the originators of others were sometimes themselves as much deceived as those they gulled, and really believed that, if a place had natural advantages, it would and must go-ahead, by some strange means or other. They seem not to have considered the means by which it could be peopled, or paying employment (and this is the rub) secured either to its inhabitants, or to an outlying rural population. But in which category are we to place the Government ? It was surely its duty to discourage in the young colony, which it had at nurse, a mania for speculation in land, which reduced it to a state of syncope. Its policy was the reverse of this.....”
|
