TASMANIA AND VICTORIA.
_Friday, October 24th, Invercargill._--The morning had come on which we
were leaving New Zealand, and it was blowing a terrible hurricane.
As we went in the train down to the "Bluff," we received no encouragement
as to the abatement of the wind in the waving of the tussock-grass and
ti-tree waste we passed through. A simoon was being raised on the vast
sand dunes in the distance.
Arrived at the "Bluff," we found the greatest difficulty, from the
violence of the wind, in walking along the wooden pier to where we saw
the red funnel of the Union S.S. Company's _Manapouri_. It blinded and
deafened us, and we narrowly escaped a terrible accident with an engine
that was tearing down upon C., who was walking between the rails on the
pier. The driver was not looking, and the noise of the wind carried away
all sound of the approaching locomotive. I happened to turn round at the
moment when it was just on him, and, with a shriek of horror, was just in
time to seize and pull him out of the way.
The "Bluff" is the most detestable place--a cape lying out into the sea
where a perpetual gale rages.
The steamer would not sail till six in the evening, having only arrived
late that morning, after a terrible night at sea, in the teeth of a
head-wind. The passengers in the Social Hall certainly looked as if much
suffering had been their lot. All the afternoon the crew were lading
grain, and taking on board a large number of cattle. The poor beasts were
slung off the railway-trucks and lowered on to the decks by means of a
steam-winch, and ropes passed round the body. It was piteous to see their
look of terror when suspended in mid-air.
Never were ship people more thoughtful for the comfort of their
passengers than on this occasion, when they gave us dinner at half-past
five instead of six, that we might have it over before starting; for
I venture to say that twenty minutes after starting nearly all the
passengers were prostrate in their berths.
No one thought of looking out for the coast-line of Stewart's Island,
which is sometimes called the South Island and the other the Middle
Island. We had a most terrible night's tossing in the Foveaux Straits,
all so very, very ill. We had the advantage of having two cabins opposite
each other, but they were very far forward, quite in the bows of the
boat, and so we had the full benefit of the motion.
Saturday, the 25th, and Sunday, the 26th, were very blank days for us
both, lying miserably ill in our berths. We heard in the distance the
strains of the morning and evening service, and around us the more
melancholy sounds of many sufferers. To add to our deep depression, C.
remembered, and called feebly out to me, that we were thus miserably
keeping an anniversary of our wedding-day.
Generally I can count myself a fair sailor, but during this voyage of
four days I was pitilessly ill, and C. ate absolutely nothing the whole
time.
We were under water for the first forty-eight hours, the waves washing
over the hurricane and main decks, and a port-hole having been "stove in"
at our end, the water swished down through the passage and into some of
the cabins.
_Tuesday, October 28th._--Since daylight the coast of Tasmania had been
in sight, and going up on deck after breakfast we were just passing by
the headland of a curious formation, exactly resembling the Giant's
Causeway, or Iona and Staffa. Here we entered the bay formed by the River
Derwent opening out to the sea; on which river twelve miles higher up
lies the town of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.
We were alongside the wharf by 10.30, and in haste to set foot on
terra-firma.
I explored the chief street of the town--Manchester Street--whilst C.
went to call on the Governor, Sir George Strahan. We found that his
Excellency and his Private Secretary, the Hon. John Wallop, were coming
by the steamer to Melbourne. Hobart has a very dull, sleepy look, and the
people we met in the streets seemed to be chiefly the passengers off the
_Manapouri_. The town, like the whole of Tasmania, is utterly devoid of
enterprise. The colony contains 127,000 inhabitants, of whom 2000 are in
Hobart. So little has been done to improve the land, that the beef and
mutton for home consumption have to be imported from New Zealand--witness
our cargo of cattle--and the only flourishing industry is the jam trade,
of which 150,000 lbs. are annually sent to Victoria.
Tasmania is an island rich in beautiful scenery--_extremely_ beautiful
all Australians tell you,--its mountain-ranges culminate in the lofty
peaks of the Cradle Mountain, Ben Lomond, and Mount Humboldt. It is
clothed with forests, in which the gum-trees attain to an extraordinary
height. The climate is perfect, with a clear atmosphere and cool breeze,
so that Tasmania has come to be the great sanatorium of Australia. When
the heat of the summer declares itself in Melbourne and Sydney, there
is a general exodus to Tasmania, and Hobart is gay during its season
of three months. It seemed to me as if the Australians must be rather
pushed to it for a watering-place if they make Hobart their principal one.
The _Manapouri_ had gone round to the cattle-wharf to swim the cattle
ashore, and, thus stranded, we wandered about exploring the dull
sleepiness of the little town. Then we went for a drive through the
Domain in order that I might see Government House. It is a beautiful
castellated mansion, built in the old days of transportation to Van
Diemen's Land, and when convict labour was cheap. The gardens run down
to the Derwent, whose waters are so still and broad that you quite think
it is a lake in the park. We drove next through Macquarie Street, an
interminable street, called after a former governor, who gave his name to
many places, perpetuating it seemingly as far and as long as possible.
On either side were the fashionable residences of Hobart, small houses
standing back from the road, like suburban villas. Already we saw no tree
but the "eternal gum-tree," which alone flourishes in Australia. Its dull
blue foliage formed the covering to the extreme summit of the rounded
dome of Mount Wellington. Our drive to the Cascade ended in the Cascade
Brewery, the waterfall being a walk of a mile farther.
C. paid a long visit to Mr. Solly, the Under-Secretary, who gave him a
great deal of information about Tasmania. The Premier, the Hon. Adye
Douglas, was unfortunately out of town for the day, but he came on board
later in the evening. We went at four to the House of Assembly. They
accommodated us with chairs on the floor of the House, and it was most
uncomfortably shy work, passing before the Speaker's chair to reach them
in the face of the assembled members.
We took on board an immense theatrical troupe of sixty, and their
paraphernalia and scenery, which had to be lowered scene by scene into
the hold, delaying us for two hours, so that it was eight o'clock before
we left Hobart.
We had half thought of going overland from Hobart to Launceston, so as to
see the interior of Tasmania, but we were deterred by the twelve hours'
crossing of Bass's Straits in a wretched steamer. We bought some of the
pretty Tasmanian shells, but I was disappointed in not being able to get
any of the native cat-skins, whose soft dark fur with white spots makes
such pretty trimmings. They are scarce now, as Government has protected
them from the too great depredations that were being practised. The same
protection has also had to be extended to the opossums to save them from
total annihilation.
[Illustration: Government House, Melbourne.
Page 165.]
_Thursday, October 30th._--About 11 a.m. we entered the Heads at Port
Phillip, passing into the beautiful Hobson's Bay, which extends for
forty miles on either side of us, and is forty miles in length from the
Heads to the mouth of the Yarra. The weather became instantly warmer
in the bay, and every one came up on deck to sun themselves. We passed
the little island on which lies the watering-place of Queenscliff,
a few houses, with a monster hotel. Later on the Quarantine Station
and Sorrento, a favourite resort for holiday-makers, and then we saw
Melbourne, or rather its two suburbs of Brighton and St. Kilda. Twenty
miles off there were the dark ranges of Dandenong, a spur of the Gipps
Land Mountains forming a gloomy background to Melbourne, and to the
west Geelong on the Bay of Como, with the single peak of the "Anakies."
All vessels have to pass ten miles up the Yarra, and anchor at the
docks at Williamstown. At the mouth of the river opposite Sandridge
we stopped to take the pilot on board, and the steam launch, with the
Governor's Aide-de-camp, sent to meet the Governor of Tasmania, came
alongside. Captain Hughes was the bearer of a letter from the Governor,
Sir Henry Brougham Loch, with a cordial invitation to us to Government
House. We landed at the wharf at Sandridge. There was a guard of
honour of the Victorian Permanent Artillery Force drawn up to salute
the Governor, and Mr. Chomley, the Chief Commissioner of the Victoria
Constabulary, welcomed us. Long before we arrived at Government House
we saw the enormous pile of buildings, with the tower which forms the
finest Government House of the colonies, and is the largest stone
dwelling-house in Australasia. Some people think the building extremely
ugly, and talk of the tower as the "chimney of a manufactory," but in
any case it presents a suitably imposing appearance. Passing through
the stone gateway, with the carved armorial bearings, and the lodge
used as a guard-house, we drove up to one of the several handsome
portico entrances. The arrangement of the reception-rooms is excellent.
They are entirely apart from the everyday rooms, and have two separate
entrances (one of which is kept as the _entrée_), that leads to the
yellow satin-lined drawing-room, the state dining-room, and magnificent
ball-room, which is twenty feet longer than that of Buckingham Palace.
The party staying in the house were Sir William Robinson, Governor
of South Australia, and Miss Robinson, with Mr. Williams as A.D.C.,
Sir George Strahan and Mr. Wallop, Lord William Nevill and the staff,
consisting of Lord Castlerosse, Captain Trail, Captain Seymour Hughes,
and Mr. Sturgis.
C. and I went into the town in the afternoon to fetch our letters at
the post-office, and were gladdened by a large budget of home news. We
were struck with the excellent arrangements for obtaining the letters,
and the post-office is a magnificent building outside. It seemed so
strange and bewildering at first, to see crowded streets once more, the
carriages going in single file, and the people jostling each other on the
pavements; for all the country-folk are in town just now, come up for
"the Cup" and the race-week.
In the evening we went to a grand fancy ball, given by Sir William and
Lady Clarke at the Town Hall, which was beautifully decorated with
flowers; the platform at the end being made into a bower of tree-ferns.
The ball was a magnificent sight, with 1200 people in costumes of every
period, interspersed with uniforms of the navies and armies of several
nations. The dresses were much more elaborate and expensive than you
would generally see at a fancy ball in England.
It was very strange to think that night of our first introduction to
Australia--a fancy ball in Melbourne; very strange to think of a round
of gaieties going on in the Antipodes, with not less "rush" than in the
London season at home.
Saturday, November 1st, was the "Derby Day" of the Melbourne races. We
left Government House at noon, a party of fourteen on the coach, with
the Governor driving. They had considerately watered the roads, and we
did not suffer from the dust, which usually rises in clouds in the broad
streets of Melbourne. We drove round to the members' entrance, and up
the centre of the course, pulling up opposite to the judge's stand. The
Governor and Lady Loch were conducted to the vice-regal box in the centre
of the stand by the stewards and the secretary of the Victoria Racing
Club, Mr. Byron Moore, the band playing "God save the Queen;" and the
first race, fixed for 1 p.m., then came off. There was general interest
taken in this race, on account of many of the horses running in it being
entered for "the Cup."
The Flemington race-course is extremely pretty, much more so than the
course at Ascot, and the arrangements for the races are quite perfect in
every respect. There is a beautiful lawn in front of the grand stand,
on which the band plays, with a raised concrete terrace leading to the
stand. Above that again is the artificial hill on which you see placarded
sundry numbers. These numbers indicate the rendezvous of the smaller
bookmakers after the race, for which privilege they pay a yearly rent
of 10_l_. There are luncheon and refreshment rooms, and the ladies'
cloakrooms are large and spacious, with every toilette requisite, even
down to the pin-cushion with needles ready threaded with different shades
of silk, and which we were shown with great pride, as an example of the
completeness of the minor details. The charge for the stand is only 10s.,
all inclusive. There is a separate room for the Press, communicating
with the top of the stand, where they have their own operators and
telegraph-line. Thus they can come down from the stand and send off the
result instantly after witnessing the race. There is no rowdyism and no
crowding; everybody is well-dressed and well-behaved. The betting-ring
is away from the stand and lawn, and bookmakers are not allowed beyond
the board marked "Silence!" There is a machine on the judge's stand, the
spring of which the starter presses as the horses are off, and the hand
goes round during the race, marking the minutes and seconds. The course
was capitally cleared by the mounted police.
It was a very pretty sight, warm and sunny on the lawn and not
unpleasantly crowded. People were magnificently, and, with a very few
glaring exceptions, tastefully dressed. The tendency here is always
towards bright and rather too striking contrasts; but pretty faces and
pretty gowns were plentiful. The Racing Club provided the luncheon for
the Governor and his party in the reserved room at the back of the stand,
and there was a profusion of invitations to tea in the tents by the
reserved space for carriages and the two or three four-in-hands which
appeared.
The great race of the day, the "Derby of Australasia," was run at 3.30.
Bargo was the hot favourite, but came in at the finish nowhere, and Rufus
proved the winner of the Derby, amid intense excitement.
We left immediately afterwards, the Governor being cheered as he drove
off the course.
We went to the Bijou Theatre in the evening, when Miss de Grey's Company
performed "Moths" by "vice-regal command," as we learnt by the white
satin printed programmes.
As we came out we heard the sound of dull cheers at the entrance, and
the police with difficulty kept the path open for the Governor and Lady
Loch; the enthusiastic crowd broke through as they drove off, and a most
exciting scene ensued, the policemen vainly pommelling and fisticuffing
the good-natured roughs, and we entered the carriage amid a general
scrimmage. It was only the true "larrikin" element, showing itself after
the races and on a Saturday night.
_Sunday, November 2nd._--We went to a church, chiefly remarkable for the
extraordinary height of its pulpit; and walked to it along the dusty
bit of the St. Kilda road, and over the cranky wooden bridge. There is
a dispute between the town and the adjoining municipality about the
possession of this particular piece of road, and neither will allow its
watering-carts to go over it--with destructive results.
The Botanical Gardens which we went through in the afternoon are most
beautifully kept, with acres of mown grass, bright borders of flowers,
and shrubs and trees of all kinds. There is a very pretty fern-tree
gully, and a large artificial sheet of water, forming a lake in the
centre. The gardens lie on the slope of two hills, and the paths winding
in and out give it a very extensive appearance. They adjoin the garden
of Government House, and Baron von Mueller has been greatly instrumental
in their attaining to their present excellence. Such brilliant masses
of flowers we saw growing in wild luxuriance. There were rose-bushes
trailing on the ground, orange and lemon groves, camellias, and
magnolias, bougainvillea and boronia, mixing with all our familiar
commoner kinds, as geranium, verbena, lobelia, heliotrope, convolvulus,
oleander, larkspur, cape jessamine, and many others.
_Monday, November 3rd._--We determined not to let another day pass
without seeing something of Melbourne and its public buildings. We took
a hansom and drove down Swanston, Collins, and Bourke Streets. Collins
Street is the fashionable promenade, and crowded in the afternoon. One
of the most noticeable things about the streets of a town like this is
the absence of tramways, only omnibuses and hansoms ply, and that curious
"growler" of Melbourne, the two-wheeled, covered waggonette. They are
laying wood pavement in Collins Street, and are talking of having cable
cars. There is a strict "rule of the road" here which obliges drivers to
walk across all crossings. We passed the Mint and the new Law Courts;
drove up to Sir Samuel Wilson's beautiful hall, which he has built and
presented to the town at a cost of 30,000_l._; round the Medical College
and Museum; and beyond to Ormond College, built by Mr. Ormond. We saw
Exhibition Buildings, where the International Melbourne Exhibition was
held in 1800-81; the Roman Catholic Cathedral; and then we came to the
Parliamentary Buildings.
Mr. Jenkins, Clerk of the House, showed us through these. They are at
present unfinished; but from the model that we saw in the hall, they will
be a splendid pile of buildings when finished, surmounted by a dome, and
estimated to cost 1,200,000_l._ The contract will soon be decided on,
but for the past three years the members from various parts of Victoria
have been disagreeing over the material for the building, each member
advocating the stone found in his particular district. The library is
a fine room, with a gallery upstairs devoted to the local newspapers
interesting to the individual members. The house of assembly is very
commonplace; but the Legislative Council chamber is rather original,
decorated in crimson and gold and lighted from the half-domes in the
ceiling. It looks like the room of some old Italian palace. The Council
is elected by the people for five years, differing in this from New
Zealand and some of the other colonies of Australia, where the members
of the Legislative Council are nominated by the Governor for life. The
Legislative Assembly is elected by universal suffrage, and the members
receive a salary of 300_l._ a year. The vestibule is very fine and
painted dead white, with a marble statue of the Queen in the centre.
There is of course a dining-room and bar attached; but there is also the
unusual provision of two billiard-tables. They affirm that it operates
as the best "whip," and that Government and Opposition members are
thrown together by it, and lose somewhat of their mutual acerbity in the
friendly conflict of the billiard-balls.
We next drove to the Public Library, a low stone building with a broad
flight of steps; it includes the Picture Gallery and Museum. In the
latter there are models of some splendid nuggets found in Victoria,
including those of the famous "Blanche Barkly" and "Welcome" nuggets,
that weigh over 2000 ounces each. The Picture Gallery is the nucleus of
a good national collection which is forming. They have several pictures
by our R.A.'s, and the latest addition to it has been Miss Thompson's
"Roll Call," for which they have given the sum of 4000_l._[3]
The Library is much frequented by all classes, especially in the
newspaper-room, where we saw many working-men looking at the papers. It
contains some very interesting and valuable books and prints, many of
which have been collected and arranged by Sir George Verdon, who takes
great personal interest in the Library.
Melbourne has no drainage of any kind; but yet its deathrate is only the
same as in London. The Van Yean waterworks, sixteen miles away, supply
water to the town. The reservoir contains over six billions of water.
And now, having seen Melbourne, the great metropolis of Australasia--its
public buildings, its busy thoroughfares and general "go a-head" look--we
must be continually thinking and remembering that it is little more than
fifty years ago since the Hentys, sons of Mr. Thomas Henty, a banker in
Sussex, were the first settlers in Victoria, and less than fifty years
ago since John Fawkner "pitched his tent on the rising ground" of the
future site of Melbourne. We met Mr. Henty whilst in Melbourne, the
descendant of these first settlers, and owner now of many thousands of
acres in Victoria.
My husband had already seen the Premier, Mr. Service, who was most
cordial; and all the ministers expressed a wish to be of use to him,
or to give him any information in their power. The _Daily Telegraph_,
the _Herald_, and other papers had interviewed him. Melbourne possesses
the best paper in the colonies in the _Melbourne Argus_, and has the
advantage of having Mr. Julian Thomas, the well-known author of the
"Vagabond Papers," among its contributors. The _Age_ is also a most
excellent paper. The _Australasian_ and _Federal Australian_ are the best
weekly papers, and are ably edited.
_Tuesday, November 4th._--To-day was the "Cup Day," the greatest event in
the racing calendar of Australasia, the "blue ribbon" of their turf.
Melbourne was _en fête_, with its shops closed and work suspended
everywhere--a general holiday. Those who were not at the races, were in
the streets looking at those who _were_ going, and there was a look of
generally suppressed excitement as to how the event of the day would turn
out.
It is very difficult for us at home, with our interest spread over such
a much larger area, to realize the intense, the concentrated interest
that is felt throughout Australia on the result of "The Cup." It has
been the object of speculation, of discussion, and of incessant anxiety
to millions for the past few weeks. The excitement is reaching the
culminating point to-day, and there are not a few whose interest at stake
is so large that they tremble and long for the day to be over--in short,
it is the red-letter day of the Australasian Year Book.
We joined in the general feeling of expectation, as we drove along in the
stream of carriages that from every sidestreet and road converged to the
main one, flowing towards Flemington race-course. As we neared the scene,
we saw that the hill behind the stand was black with the mass of human
beings upon it, and the lawn and the terrace were crowded. In our royal
progress up the course, the Governor received an ovation of loyalty in
the cheers and enthusiasm of the densely packed crowd.
The first race was over hurdles, and after the second we went to
luncheon. It was not quite such a pleasant day as the previous Saturday,
on account of the great crowd. The pretty toilettes were not so well
seen, being lost among the many ugly ones, for the "country cousin"
contingent were in strong force to-day.
"The Cup" was run at 4 p.m. Never shall I forget the strain and tension
on every face as the cry passed up, "They are off!" the few quick
observations that escaped some as the horses passed the stand, and then
the strange stillness that prevailed as we watched the coloured specks
flying along the horizon, as the horses settled down to their work. The
minutes were ages! Life seemed suspended in that mass of human beings.
The strain and tension suddenly gave way as the horses were "_round the
corner_," and a faint hum ran along far away down the black line, "They
are coming!" and the murmur rose into cheers, and the cheers into shouts,
and the shouts ended by the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, as, amidst
the most intense and extraordinary excitement, "Malua," the winner of The
Cup of 1884, flew past the judge's box. "Commotion" ran second.
We took up life again where we had left it, and breathed freely once more.
Rushing down, we pushed our way through the crowds in time to see the
horses "weighed in" in the paddock, by special permission from one
of the stewards. A royal progress "Malua" made back to the paddock.
The crowd leaned over the barrier and cheered, and vociferated, "Well
done, 'Malua;' well done!" and her jockey raised his cap many a time
in acknowledging the cheers of the populace, for "Malua" had been the
general favourite.
We saw all the horses weighed in. The jockeys looked such mere
stable-boys out of the saddle, and came on to the scales with saddle,
cloth, and bridle in their hands. Many of them had to ride with lead
weights to bring them up to scale. We drove off the course before the
last race--the crowds melting and streaming away over the open plain as
soon as "The Cup," the excitement of the day, was over.
_Wednesday, November 5th._--Preparations for the ball at Government House
that evening were going on all day.
At 10 p.m. the Governor and Lady Loch, with the guests staying in the
house and the staff--entered the ball-room and passed down to the dais
at the end, whilst the band played "God save the Queen." Eleven hundred
invitations had been sent out, but the magnificent ball-room was not too
crowded, and Herr Ploch's band in the gallery sent forth dreamy strains.
It was nearly 3 a.m. before one of the most successful balls ever given
in Government House at Melbourne was finished. It was succeeded the next
night by an excellent concert, given by the Metropolitan Liedertafel,
under the directorship of Mr. Herz.
_Thursday, November 6th._--I went with Lady Loch in the afternoon to
an organ recital at the Town Hall. It is a magnificent organ, very
celebrated in the colonies, and finer than that of the Albert Hall.
Driving through the town afterwards, the streets were so full, and the
air so fresh and bright that it seemed like some spring afternoon in
London, with the season beginning.
Mr. Service, the Premier, Lady Stawell, wife of the Chief Justice, and
others, dined in the evening. Some of the party disappeared early to go
to a dance in the neighbourhood. There are known to be thirty dances in
Melbourne fixed for this month of November. Another favourite form of
amusement are large theatre parties. The host invites some twenty or
thirty friends to meet him at the theatre on such a night, by a little
card printed expressly for this purpose, with R.S.V.P. in the corner.
He takes the tickets, but it is the exception for there to be a supper
afterwards; and the point of the entertainment appears to be "in whom
sits next to who."
Melbourne society is dreadfully divided into cliques and sets, which
may be partly attributed to the many suburbs into which the town is
partitioned. There are the suburbs of St. Kilda, Brighton, South Yarra,
Toorak, Hawthorn, &c.; and drawing an imaginary line from the Town Hall,
they may be said to extend out round the town to a distance of six
miles. I heard many complaints about the great distances, and the social
inconvenience occasioned thereby. We saw Melbourne during its carnival of
the race-week, and it would not be fair to judge of its gaieties, which
were overwhelming just at that time; but I believe it is a fact that all
who possibly can, do give dances, small and frequently. There are two
houses in which dancing floors have been laid on carriage springs, and
all the large houses have their separate ball-room. We were surprised to
find how beautifully appointed were most of these houses, though outside
they all look much the same, and merely handsome villa residences. Dress
is much thought of, and people in Melbourne dress very handsomely, very
expensively, but too brilliantly. Not a few of its residents have their
gowns and bonnets out from the best London houses.
[Illustration]
Buck-jumping was the order for Friday, November 7th. At three in the
afternoon, besides ourselves, some fifty others were collected in the
paddock to see the famous "buck-jumping" of Australian horses. Those
that we saw were provided by Mr. Chomley, picked out from the police
paddock at Dandenong; but though they may have been picked buck-jumpers,
most Australian horses, for reasons unknown, are born with buck-jumping
propensities, which are only knocked out of them by the "rough-riders."
So successful are these trainers, that a fortnight after the exhibition
we were seeing, they will be used on patrol duty. The first process of
difficulty is the saddling and mounting, for which the horse has to be
blindfolded on the near side. No sooner do they feel their rider vaulting
into the saddle with his knees firmly inserted under the "croppers," or
large pommels which you see in all colonial saddles, than they rise up
into the air, and descend with their fore-legs stiffened straight out,
and, tucking their head between them, kick viciously out behind. One
horse always tried to kick the spur, which has to be pretty freely used,
for if once they stood still, they would buck their rider out of the
saddle in a trice; and it is found to be of great importance that they
should be mastered at the first try. Another horse whinnied, quivering
with suppressed rage, and after some convulsive wriggling, rushed
headlong at the fence behind which we were standing. The rough-riders
ride so splendidly that they seem part of the horse, rising and falling
with the movement of the bucking. Sometimes, when the horse cannot rid
himself of them in any other way, he _has_ been known to wriggle himself
out of the saddle, causing it to slip over his head.
A most excellent account of the buck-jumping appeared in the _Argus_ of
the next morning, from which I give the following extracts:--
"The first mount was given to Evans, one of the rough-riders. He had to
deal with a rakish-looking bay with a wicked eye, who arched his back
like a hedgehog when the saddle was put on him. As soon as Evans vaulted
into the saddle, the brute gracefully waltzed round three times to gird
up his loins, and then, putting his head between his fore-legs, charged
into the fence, bucking all the way. Evans slipped adroitly from the
saddle as the horse came to the ground, and quickly remounting him, stuck
to the saddle like a centaur till the animal was perfectly subdued. The
next comer was a bay mare, who showed the most accomplished tactics,
but Priestly, a Sale trooper, was an adept in all the artifices of 'pig
jumping,' and spinning on all fours, with perplexing gymnastics to vary
the programme. A grey half-bred Arab showed the fire in his blood as
soon as he was led out, but Fawkner got safely into his seat while the
girths were threatening to part, and enjoyed a jump of twenty-five feet
and a teetotum-like twirl at the first bound, as a sample of what was
to come. But the greatest treat was to come. Simpson, a professional
horsebreaker, got on a brown, blue light mare, which submitted to be
saddled as quietly as a lady's palfrey, but as soon as she felt Simpson's
weight, she wildly rose upright, and went right across the paddock in
a series of the wildest rearing freaks. Simpson rode stirrupless for
fear the horse should fall back upon him, and by a combination of the
rarest pluck, judgment, grip, and nerve, kept his balance apparently as
easily as if he was sitting in a rocking-chair. Each time the maddened
creature sprang up erect, he coolly clasped his hands under the mare's
neck, and swayed as gracefully as a circus-track performer. When at last
he rode back with the mare quite under control, he was loudly applauded.
Priestly then rode a bay, which, getting under weigh at full gallop,
darted for the fence, taking imaginary fences on the journey, while the
trooper sat well back, the model of a close, firm seat. After colliding
with the fence, the bay broke away across the paddock, but was safely
brought up at the lower end. The last exhibitor was old Anchorite, a
faithful performer in harness for sixteen years, but a twenty-year-old
bucker. Since he was sold to the department, rough-riders innumerable
have tried to subdue the old warrior's aversion to the saddle, but with
how little success we saw yesterday. Anchorite is not so lissom as some
of his younger competitors for evil distinction, but he has learned a few
lessons which would be peculiarly disconcerting to a novice. He fell with
Simpson, in making a supreme effort to stand upon his nose, but seeing
this trooper's performance in the previous round, the spectators were
satisfied that nothing quadrupedal which would keep upon its legs would
unseat him. As a matter of fact none of the riders were thrown, although
several of their horses came down; and it is gratifying to be able to say
that the Australian sport of riding buck-jumpers was, with the exception
of Evans, displayed by Australian-born riders."
_Saturday, November 8th._--We went to the last day of the races, the
"Steeple-chase Day," as it is called, because of the second race on the
card. At the wooden fence of 4 ft. 7 in., which was immediately succeeded
by a stone wall, and opposite the stand, we saw two horses come down. One
jockey recovered, and went on over the stone wall in such a plucky manner
that he was loudly applauded. A little farther on poor "Friendless," a
favourite horse, broke his shoulder over the hurdles, and had to be shot.
The Canterbury Plate caused great interest, because "Malua" and
"Commotion," the first and second winners of the "cup," were to meet
again. Amid a scene of great excitement "Malua" was beaten, and
"Commotion" came in first.
It was a bright, warm day, but the pretty toilettes were exhausted, and
the novelty of the scene had passed away. The Victoria Racing Clubs set a
good example to other race-meetings by extending their four days' racing
over the space of a week.
_Monday, November 10th._--The Prince of Wales's birthday, and observed as
a public holiday throughout the colonies.
What an excellent thing it would be if His Royal Highness and the
Princess of Wales were to visit Australasia. They would receive the
unanimous welcome of a mighty people such as _even they_ have not yet
known.
The Governor and his staff started with C. and Mr. Wallop for Brighton,
where there was a grand review of the Victorian naval and military
forces, ending in a sham fight, the enemy landing from nine vessels of
war, and being repulsed by the militia on shore. It was terribly sultry
and close, and they all came home late, very dusty, tired and hot, to
go to a state banquet, given by the Mayor elect at the Town Hall that
evening.
_Tuesday, November 11th._--We made an expedition for the day to Ballarat
to see the gold-mine belonging to the Band and Albion Company. Captain
Dale, of H.M.S. _Diamond_, came with us, and we left Spencer Street
Terminus at 11 a.m. Two hours in the train brought us to Geelong, where
we stopped fifteen minutes for luncheon.
Geelong is prettily situated on Corio Bay, a continuation of Port
Phillip. It has 23,000 inhabitants now, but once it hoped to rival
Melbourne. The country we passed through was flat and uninteresting,
though all under cultivation; but here you would rather require six acres
for one sheep, instead of the six sheep to one acre of some parts of New
Zealand.
Now we were able fully to realize the exceeding monotony of the blue gum,
which we had previously heard so much about. Nature has fixed upon the
gum or eucalyptus-tree as the tree appropriate to Australian soil, and
wherever you look you see its straggling branches, and dull, ineffective,
blue foliage, with light grey stems. They grow too luxuriantly, as in
many places we saw fields that were being cleared of them by "barking"
or cutting a ring on the trunk, some four feet above the ground, causing
death through the non-communication of the sap. But it is a noticeable
fact that much that is imported or grows in Australia, seems to flourish
too freely. Take the cacti, the thistles, the sweetbriar, all of which
are a plague to the farmer. Look at the "rabbit pest," which has ruined
many owners of land, and which still remains the great problem of
Australian agriculture. Each separate Government has spent thousands
annually in trying to reduce the pest, but to no avail, as it appears
the more they are destroyed the more they generate. They are now talking
of building at an enormous cost a rabbit-proof wall all along the border
of South Australia and New South Wales. Several station owners combined
together, and spent in one year the sum of 20,000_l._ on the extirpation
of rabbits, and on one run 1,000,000 were destroyed in a year, or over
27,000 per day.
Some of the houses in the villages we passed through were roofed with
"shingles" or narrow strips of wood. They are cheap and easily obtained,
but calculated only to last some five or six years.
We arrived at Ballarat at 3 p.m., and found Mr. Tyrell, the
Superintendent of the Police, waiting at the station for us with his
buggy. He drove us quickly out to the Band and Albion Mine.
We had to wait whilst the night "shift" at four o'clock went down the
shaft, and we watched the windlass, which winds the cage up and down by
machinery, and which in this case is made of wire rope of one single
piece, in place of the manilla rope usually used in mines. I had to
dress up in an old petticoat and loose jacket, with waterproof boots;
and looked like an old bathing woman when ready to go down the shaft.
The mine manager was there, and he and I and C. got into the cage. Three
planks of wood, with an iron bar in the centre, to which was attached a
hook for the rope, suspended us over the shaft. There was room for two
on either side, and we had to stand quite still and straight. Down we
shot into pitch darkness, through the narrow hole just large enough for
the platform which grated against the sides, so exact was the fit, and
often jerked with the uneven winding of the pulley. Down we went into the
bowels of the earth, 1005 feet below the surface.
The most curious sensation of descending the shaft is that in the
darkness, though you cannot see, you feel that the walls are being passed
upwards and not downwards. We flew by the doors of many galleries, going
down to the tenth and the last finished shaft. They are sinking yet
another now, and were getting rid of the water by sending a tank of fifty
gallons to the surface, suspended beneath the cage in each of its upward
journeys.
We found ourselves in a cavern at the bottom, lighted by one candle,
where the trucks with the quartz were standing ready to be hauled to the
surface. At this moment the tank by accident overturned and emptied its
contents with an alarming rush at our feet. By the light of our candles
we groped along the narrow galleries, three feet wide by five feet seven
inches broad laid with a track for the waggons. The slush and mud were
ankle deep, and, at a particularly bad place, the old manager, without
saying anything, quietly lifted me into a trolly, and ran me along to the
end of the gallery. Here there were two miners at work, pickaxing the
quartz, and one had just cut a hole for the powder to blast away a large
piece of quartz rock, and was about to insert the fuze, which burns two
or three minutes before the explosion to allow of the men having time to
escape. We marked the dark line in the quartz, within which lies hidden
the precious metal, and the roof overhead shone and glistened with bright
sparks of gold. In an upper gallery there was an archway formed by a
valuable vein, still unworked. Some time ago a "fault" was found in some
earth extending for twenty feet. The Company can go on working their
claim for some distance further on one side and almost interminably on
the other, always supposing that the ore still continues. The miners
work in shifts of eight hours each, receiving two pounds a week without
rations, and they warm their "billy," or tin can of tea, which they bring
down with them, over a candle.
The relief of coming up to the open air again from the damp, muggy
atmosphere was great. The cheerful light of day seemed a return to life
from a living death. One feels curiously nervous of accidents in a mine,
though there can be no more danger there than in a railway tunnel.
We heartily pitied all those poor men who spend their lives in the
underground pit.
We next visited the gold-crushing works. The quartz is crushed by
steam-hammers, each weighing 16 tons, and striking with a force of 8½
cwt. It is then passed through water mingled with quicksilver, which
detaches the gold. Subsequently some further gold is extracted from the
pyrites, the remainder being valuable for knife polish, and a dark red
paint.
The Band and Albion Mine has about 600 acres superficial area. Upwards of
4,000,000_l._ of gold have already been taken from the mine, and it now
pays thirty per cent. Geologists affirmed that gold could not be found
at such depths, but the quartz from the lowest level yields an ounce per
ton.
We drove quickly round the town, and through its principal thoroughfares,
out to Lake Wendouree, bordered with the pretty public gardens. We saw in
the distance the Eureka Stockade, where the miners made their celebrated
defence against the authorities.
It was thirty years ago that the first discovery of gold was made at
Ballarat. Melbourne was deserted, and crowds flocked to "the diggings,"
arriving in Ballarat at the rate of 500 a day. "Canvas Town" sprang up,
and hundreds were sleeping in the streets. Since then Ballarat has become
a thriving town of 40,000 inhabitants. Signs of the diggings are to be
seen in the country round, which is gulched and mined in all directions.
Huge mounds have been raised for the sinking of shafts, and some of
the diggings deserted by the miners in quest of a more quickly earned
reward have been taken possession of by the patient Chinese, who contrive
still to get some good pickings out of them. Sandhurst, Castlemaine,
Maryborough, Stawell, and Creswick are other centres of great mining
interests.
At the bottom of Start Street, at Ballarat, stands the well-known
eight-hours' monument, with this inscription:--
"Eight hours' work,
Eight hours' play,
Eight hours for sleep,
Eight bob a day."
We dined at Craig's Hotel; left Ballarat at seven o'clock, and were back
in Melbourne by eleven.
_Thursday, November 13th._--We left Melbourne. It was the afternoon
of Lady Loch's weekly reception at Government House, and we found it
difficult, in the midst of it, to be able sufficiently to express to Sir
Henry and Lady Loch our appreciation of their kindness and hospitality
extended to us during our fortnight's stay at Melbourne.
Whilst there, several propositions had been made for us to see something
of the interior of Victoria, while Sir William and Lady Clarke had
very kindly asked us to stay with them at their country-place, and Mr.
and Mrs. Ryan to go and see their celebrated gardens on Mount Macedon.
Another expedition thwarted by time was to St. Hubert's vineyard. Here
we should have seen the best vineyard for the making of Australian wine,
for Messrs. De Castella and Rowan carried off the Emperor of Germany's
prize at the Melbourne Exhibition of 1881. At this competition the _best_
wines of Germany and France were numbered for the highest class 21 and
20, and the second at 19 and 18; the samples from St. Hubert's vineyard
were ranked as high as 19 points, or equal to France and Germany. This
vineyard has 250 acres of vines under cultivation, and produces about
70,000 gallons per annum. The Australian wines are both red and white,
but there has been a complaint that too much alcohol has hitherto been
used in their manufacture, and that they are strong and heady. This,
however, is being remedied, and ere long Australian vineyards will
rival those of Bordeaux. At Melbourne, too, we were obliged to come to
a decision as to whether we should accept Sir William Robinson's kind
invitation to Government House at Adelaide, and visit South Australia.
[Illustration: Sydney Harbour.
_Page 181._]
But after much hesitation, we decided to give up South Australia, partly
on account of several days in the steamer in the much dreaded "bight"
off the Australian coast, but mostly by reason of the pressure of time
and a fear that a General Election at home would possibly come, to cut
off the remainder of our travels. The latter reason also prevented my
husband from acceding to the request of the Chief Secretary, the Hon.
Graham Berry, that he would inquire into the organization of the police
and penal establishments, and assist the Victorian Government with his
advice.
FOOTNOTE:
[Footnote 3: Since proved to be a forgery.]