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pp. 88-103.
“As I found the ground occupied at Wallongong [Wollongong], I took my departure for Shoalhaven, according to the advice of Mr. M_____ [Meares], who gave me a letter of introduction to his friend B_____ [Berry], one of the largest occupiers of land in this quarter, and, indeed, the principal settler. My first day’s journey was through a line of country of rich and varied wildness - flats, rivers, hills, tall trees, and tangled brushwood, alternating the scene. Nature was arrayed in all her glory, and most luxuriantly displayed her charms. Here a thick and inter-twined mass of scrub and brush, utterly impervious to the human frame - here an open space, dotted over with isolated tufts of grass, the favourite couch of the Kangaroo and Opossum, on which ‘the foot of man had ne’er, or rarely, been,’ to disturb their almost unbroken solitude. The trees, in many instances, were of the most gigantic growth, and, in others, of the most fantastic forms, which added greatly to the beauty of the woody scene. The enormous ferns, the thick-girthed gums, shooting up to a height of a hundred feet with their branchless bolls, and their peculiar barks; the caoutchouc, or Indian fig-tree, with its tortuous branches piercing the atmosphere in the most fantastic directions, were flourishing in unrestrained luxuriance. The Banksia, with its orange-red flowers, in shape like the cone of a pine, and perfuming the air with a scent as delicious as that of the honey-suckle; the Dryandra [is actually native to Western Australia], with its flowers shooting from the end of the branch, like the head of a large thistle; the Xanthorea, or grass tree, with its sooty coloured trunk, its long, pendulous, thickset tuft of grass, from the centre of which springs up a stem several feet in height, covered with small white blossoms; then there was the Xylomela, with its fragrant flowers, and its pear-like seeds-vessels; the Zamia Spiralis, with its black trunk, and its foliage like that of the wild date tree - the fruit of this tree is a favourite with the natives, and a condiment resembling arrow-root has been made from its pith - which, curious to relate, has often been found in a fossil state in England; but the tree of trees in Australia - the glory of her forests - is the Nuytsia floribunda [again a native of Western Australia], or cabbage-tree, with its bright yellow-and-red-tinted flowers, profusely scattered over the foliage, and, at sun-set, glittering like a mass of molten fire; these, and many others, variegated the richly-spread landscape in whatever direction you turned your eye. The luxuriance of Flora, too, was beyond description; she had decked herself out in the utmost profusion - her robe glittering in the wildest gaiety of colouring, and enriched with every variety of tint and shade. There was the purple Kennedia, climbing here, there, and everywhere; and, also the scarlet Kennedia, creeping along the ground, in the same fantastic forms; then the pale green Arrogosanthus, with its velvet-like, ruby stem; the scarlet Comptoniana; the Drosera, with its pink and white blossoms; the orange Camilanthiums; the slate and yellow-coloured Chrysanthimums; the elegant Thysanotus, or lace flower; the white, pink, and gold-tinted Xeranthemum, were peeping up in every direction, with their peculiar shapes, and their rich and brilliant hues. The variety of birds, with their gaudy, yet supberb, plumage, skimming here and there in apparent wonderment at the sight of an object like myself, was perfectly staggering; and the stillness - the almost breathless quietude - and my utter loneliness, which added to the peculiarity of the scene - all conspired to throw my mind into that dreamy state, which strangely bewilders one’s thoughts, and utterly baffles description.
“This district of Illawarra is certainly the most beautiful portion of New South Wales, and amply deserves all the fine things said of it. Being fatigued, I sat down on a log of wood, ate the lunch which I had brought with me, and, after contemplating the enchanting scene around me to the full of my fancy, I fell off to sleep as soundly as though I had been feather-bedded in old England, by which I felt greatly refreshed. When I awoke I jumped up and shook myself to ascertain, as it where, my ‘whereabout,’ so indistinct and dreamlike did everything seem around me, for a few moments; at length, feeling the reality of objects, I trudged on and reached a small place called Dapto, where I stopped for the night, and indulged in the luxury of a lie-down, infinitely preferable to what I found at Wollongong, although it is the fashionable watering-place - the Brighton - of Sydney people. The next day I passed through Jamberoo and reached the village of Kiama - consisting of three houses - where I fell in with a native and his family, quietly squatted under the branches of a tree, round a queer sort of fire which they had kindled, and eating a peculiar kind of sea-weed which they had cooked, after a certain fashion. Blackey, his Gin, or wife, and two girls, all of the true Australian breed, and myself, bivouacked together that night; and, as he had picked up a few words of broken English amongst the settlers, with whom he had been ‘on’ and ‘off’ for some time, his company was not a perfect blank, as far as speech was concerned. He wished me to understand that he was a king, or bigwig of some kind or other among the natives, and wore round his neck a semi-lunar piece of brass, which some one had given to him, and upon which was inscribed the name of a certain Australian tribe. I gave him some tobacco, which he seemed to enjoy very much, and, as his sable majesty was going the same way as myself, we set off early in the morning on our journey. When we were fairly en route I had an opportunity of observing the habits of the Australians in their migratory excursions, and was highly amused at everything I saw. The Gin carried a bundle of all sorts on her back, which was pretty heavy; the eldest daughter had a few things in a bag, and a lighted stick in her hand, toddling steadily along with her mother, whilst the youngest ran and rolled in the sand, and tumbled about in the tufts of grass, like a jovial young savage, which she really was; her black skin glistening in the sun, for she was almost ‘as naked as she was born,’ and with a long reed, like a spritsail yard, run through the cartilage of her nose. The chief ‘of this bright host’ carried his waddy, or club, in one hand, and a few spears in the other; and wore over a portion of his body an old shirt, almost as black as his skin, which he had picked up somewhere, not having the slightest idea of washing it, or the comfort that would be derived from such an operation. The lady-blacks were decked out in pieces of old blankets, just as dingy as the skeleton shirt of their lord; and so careless were they about such a covering, and so utterly insensible did they appear to anything like shame, that they allowed their bits of blanket to float free about their sable persons, and took no pains to restrain the liberties of a saucy and capricious wind, which blew about them where it listed, and seemed to make a sport of their half-covered nakedness. At length Blackey scented some friends of his in our immediate neighbourhood; and thinking, perhaps, that he could get nothing more out of me, shammed headache. ‘Cobbera sick,’ said he - then asking me for ‘tick pence.’ left me to pursue my way quite alone, which was anything but irksome, as it gave me an opportunity of indulging in one of those quiet communications with nature, which invariably leave behind a pleasing sensation in the mind.
“Wandering about the neighbourhood of Kiama in search of something out of the ordinary routine of nature’s phenomena, I observed a bold and rocky point jutting right into the sea; the waves beat furiously against it, interrupting their full-flowing and free course, and sent up their foam and spray, which floated like a fleecy cloud in the atmosphere, until the wind spread them like a white mist far over the cliff and the forests, when at length they were dissolved into a good smart shower of rain, which felt both cool and refreshing. But the most curious object that met my eye was the crater of an extinguished volcano, which spouted up a column of water to at least thirty feet in height, and with immense force, as its splashing fall on the sides of the vitrified and rocky cone could be heard at a great distance [Kiama Bow Hole]. The sea had worked its way by a bend of the coast to the base of the volcano, the hollow cone of which soon became filled; and the water rushing out with great force through a narrow aperture, formed a foamy column, whose feathery spray, presented an object of the most unlooked for and startling beauty. This phenomenon is the Lion of the place, and every visitor, as a matter of course, is sure to see it. For my part, I candidly confess, that I never witnessed a more beautiful sight, and I lingered about for hours, looking at this fine natural jet d’eau, and even returning on the morning, before I bad adieu to the the place, to indulge in the luxury of another and a longer look. Before I arrived at Shoalhaven, I passed through Jerringong [Gerringong], which is a small place; made my way over a rocky and winding road, which was intersected with woody scenes of singular richness, and at length came to the sandy beach of the sea [Seven Mile Beach], along which I trudged for seven or eight miles, holding a boot in each hand, and allowing the spent surges to lave my feet, which I found to be agreeably cool and refreshing. A dead whale on the shore was the only object that I saw of importance, throughout the journey, after leaving Blacky, and the volcanic waterspout of Kiama. When I arrived at B_____’s, I was most hospitably entertained, but instantly dissuaded from attempting the project I had on foot, which was the principal, if not the sole, cause of my visiting so out-of-the-way place as Shoalhaven. There were as many doctors as they required in that neighbourhood, the settlers enjoying a very good state of health, from their temperate habits, and their industrious pursuits; and, has I been allowed to set myself down amongst them, it is within the range of possibility that they might have fared worse, as young beginners must make a trade if they wish to do as well as their neighbours, although I should feel ashamed to establish myself at the expense of others - that is, by creating a raw in the healthy sides of the community, as I have seen others do since I have been in this quarter of the world. B_____ [Alexander Berry] is a Scotchman of the truly industrious breed, and has accumulated a large property by his own unaided exertions, if I exclude his two sisters and his three brothers, which perhaps I ought not to do, although they followed him to New South Wales. He is the owner of 70,000 acres of land, a member of the Council at Sydney, where he generally resides, and employs, altogether, about two hundred hands. He has constructed a wind-mill, and several saw-mills; makes his own casks, and all his iron work; contracts largely to supply the government with salt provisions; and the shoemakers, carpenters, smiths, butchers, and salters, which were employed on his establishment, were nearly all convicts. I observed a patch of wheat of about three hundred acres, growing in the most luxuriant condition on the other side of the river (the Shoalhaven) which I crossed to pay a visit to B_____’s vailiff with whom I stayed two nights, but was compelled to sleep in a mere sea-cot, through which the wind whistled with terrific violence. There I was regaled with salt mutton, damper, tea, and the usual eatables and drinkables in the bush, but here I had an additional luxury - milk - which was quite a treat to me. This was the regular fare, all the year round, at Shoalhaven; and also, except the milk, at almost all the other settlements which I visited. Before I left Shoalhaven, M_____ {Meares] arrived to preach his monthly sermon, as usual, when I acted as his clerk, the first time that I ever assumed such a vocation in my life. He performed service under a verandah of B_____’s [Alexander Berry’s] house, and all the congregation appeared decourous and attentive in their demeanour. Here I witnessed, for the first time, the performance of the Corryborry {Corroboree], by a tribe of natives, who were wandering about the settlement, as they were in the habit of doing at certain periods of the year. It was a kind of merry-making with them, or meeting to dispense justice, according to their barbarous ideas of jurisprudence; and it generally ended by the natives dancing in the wildest and most grotesque manner, and by shouting and hallooing in the most savage and unearthly tones. The women were ornamented about the head with the white tips of the native dogs’ tails, and with Kangaroo-teeth; and their faces patched about with pipe-clay, which gave them the most extraordinary appearance. Some had their lips whitened only; others the inside of the leg; while a third portion had drawn over their heads a small net, which was stuck over with swansdown, looking something like a powdered head-dress of the olden time. The men were, also, as comically decorated as the women, and both formed as singular a coup d’oeil, as well could be met with in this world. I must, also, tell you that the men rejoiced in certain peculiar names, that had been given them by different settlers, and mostly through caprice or fun, as there were was no less affinity between the meaning of the terms and objects to which they were applied. One was called ‘Ugly Jack;’ another ‘Blanket;’ several assumed the titles of ‘Broken-nose Tom,’ and ‘Waterman Bill;’ and one fellow was glorying in the appellation of Fryingpan.’
“These Aborigines are proverbially lazy, and can only be induced to work at intervals; so naturally opposed is savage life to regular and consecutive industry. Before the ceremony was closed some of the youths were admitted to the rites of manhood, which are performed at a certain age; when after undergoing a peculiar, and I should suppose, painful, process of initiation, they are permitted to indulge in the luxury of a wife, which is strictly prohibited up to that age - so at least I was informed by my old friend and companion - Blacky. Some of the women are not badly formed, and by no means unnattractive - especially the younger ones; but those of a more advanced age were ugly and repulsive in the extreme. One old damsel might be termed a finished specimen of ugliness; nevertheless, she seemed to command considerable respect, moving among them, like some mere de famille, and apparently possessed of considerable authority.”
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