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TEE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
LOyDON :
OILBEKT AND KITINGTON, PKINTEKS,
ST. JOIIN'd SQUARE.
THE
arEEN OF THE COLONIES;
OR,
QUEENSLAND AS I KNEW IT.
AN EIGHT YEARS' RESIDENT.
ItouKon :
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1876.
[All rif/hfs reserved.^
TO
* THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CAENAETON,
SECEETAKT OF STATE FOR THE COLONIEd,
Cljt^ 33oobx
IS, BY PERMISSION, EESPECTFULLT DEDICATED
BY TUE AUTHOR.
1392ii67
CONTENTS.
PAGK
TxTKODrCTION J
CHAPTEK I.
General Featuees of the Colony 5
CHAPTER II.
DisTEicT OF East Moeeton 8
CHAPTER III.
East Moeeton (continued) 48
CHAPTER IV.
West I\InRET0N 67
CHAPTER V.
The Wipe Bay District 90
CHAPTER VI.
The Gold-fields 132
/
Vlll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
PAGE
The Northeen Disteicts 167
CHAPTER VIII.
The Inteeioe 179
CHAPTER IX.
Climate and Ceops . . . . . . . . 183
CHAPTER X.
Natural Histoey 231
CHAPTER XI.
The Labour Question 282
CHAPTER XII.
The AnoEiGiNEs 308
CHAPTER XIII.
Peesent Position and Future Peospects .... 345
THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
INTRODUCTION.
Perhaps in placing a new work before the public treating
of one of the most valuable of the British colonies^ it may
be thought that no apology is needed. It is true there
have been at various times books of more or less pretension
published descriptive of the vast colony of Queensland. Of
these the most comprehensive is the work of Dr. Lang.
But the author wrote just when the colony was formed, and
when Judging from the description given by him^the greater
part of it was terra incognita, which considerably lessens the
value of his work to intending emigrants especially. Another
clergyman, the Bev. G. Wight, published a less pretentious
volume than that of Dr. Lang, soon after the former
appeared. But this too was evidently written when the
author had a very superficial knowledge of the subject on
which he wrote, and before he had gathered the extensive
experience of which he can now boast. More recently Mr.
E. B. Kennedy has published a very readable and accurate
volume entitled '' Four Years in Queensland,''' which may
be read with pleasure and profit ; Mr. Kennedy has, how-
ever, confined himself to a small portion of the colony, and
his work can scarcely be looked on as furnishing sufiicient
information on all subjects, to preclude the necessity of any
^ THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
further publications. Had he but extended his plan, he
would doubtless have produced a work of a very valuable
character, his easy style and evident conscientiousness
having enabled him to produce a very interesting volume.
The writer of the following pages having spent over eight
years in the colony, during which time he has mixed up in
a variety of scenes, and mingled in almost all phases of
society, brings to the task he has marked out for himself
that first essential of authorship, a thoroug-h acquaintance
with his subject. Probably few men in the period referred
to have passed through more adventures or seen more of
the ups and downs of colonial life. Having also at various
times been connected with the press in different parts of the
colony, he has had special means of acquiring information,
and looking behind the scenes. His reasons for troubling
the public with another book are various. The many
misapprehensions as to the colony, existing in England,
call for a plain statement of facts as they exist: the evils
which have arisen from ignorance as to the class of persons
necessary for and suitabh^ to the colony ; the great interest
felt in the Polynesian question ; and the temptation felt by
every man to keep a diary or write a book on a voyage, have
all conduced to the publication of the following work. He
has only to add the wish that it may please the reader in
its perusal half as much as it did him in the production, in
which case there will, he is certain, be a feeling of mutual
satisfaction. With this hope he launches his little craft
upon the sea of literature.
The foregoing, as well as the larger part of the following
pages, was written in the months of October, November,
and December, 1871, during a voyage home from Queens-
land. Various causes — among others the author^s diffidence
as to the value jof his work, which is not by any means
INTRODUCTION. 6
exhaustive — have conduced to delay its publication. Material
chang"es,all of them of a favourable character^ have transpired
in Queensland, which has in the space of four years taken
immense strides in material prosperity ; these, as well as a
long-hoped for and most desirable change in political affairs,
have greatly improved the condition of the colony. Many
of the evils in connexion with the land have been remedied ;
the astounding discoveries of mineral wealth in gold, copper,
and tin ; the success in meat-preserving, and consequent rise
in the value of sheep and cattle ; the wonderful prosperity of
the sugar-growing and other agricultural pursuits; the
discovery of vast tracts of the most fertile soil, watered by
fine rivers and rendered accessible by safe harbours; the
great growth of population and wealth ; the increase of the
revenue enabling large and valuable public improvements
to be inaugurated — these and other most important matters,
of the first interest to the emigrant, which have transpired
since these pages were written, appeared almost to forbid
their publication. But the recollection of the fact that
scenes described by an eye-witness are usually the most
interesting, and that most of his descriptions are of that
nature, and also that the general conditions of emigration
are always the same, of which intending emigrants are glad
to have some plain accounts, as well as the advice of friends
who have perused his manuscript, have determined the
writer in issuing his book.
Concluding chapters and notes have been added with a
view of presenting to the reader the present state of the
colony, which was never so prosperous as at the present
moment.
Although it would be improj^er to exclude all description
of the geography of the colony in a work of this nature, it
is not purposed to enter into a long and dry account of the
B 2
4 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
country such as would be suited to an elementary school
book. T^ie author proposes^ however^ to give such a
description of the various portions of the colony as may
enable an intending- settler to come to his own conclusions
as to which be may think most suitable to his tastes and
proposed pursuits; he will dwell most fully on those
districts in which he has resided, and of which he will be
able to give his own actual experience and observation.
As to tbe other portions, he will be careful to draw his
remarks from the most authentic and latest sources.
Although in a country extending from Point Danger in the
south to Cape York in the north — a distance of 1550 miles
in a straight line, and from the sea-board to the 138th
meridian of longitude, there must naturally be found a
great disparity in many respects, yet on the other hand the
broad features of the country are to a great extent the
same everywhere, while of course the habits and customs of
the people and the laws by which they are governed are
the same in every part. The reader who follows the author
through the following pages, will, it is hoped, be able to
arrive at a very fair idea of the character of the country,
and to form a tolerably accurate opinion of his chances of
success in emigrating to the young colony of Queensland.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL PEATUllES OF THE COLONY.
Queensland is divided into two j^reat divisions by the
range of mountains known as the Dividing Range, which
runs parallel with the coast at a distance of from fifty to
seventy miles from the sea. As a rule, the country on the
east of this range is of a much more tropical character than
that to the west, which is at a greater altitude, and conse-
quently enjoys a cooler climate. This Dividing Range
is one of the principal physical features of the colony, and
in many places presents an almost insuperable obstacle to
the opening of roads into the interior from ports that
otherwise are well fitted to become important centres of
trade. This is particularly true of the port of Gladstone,
which although long opened, and possessing one of the
finest harbours on the Australian coast, can never be of
much importance in consequence of the absence of any
good road over the range into the interior. Between
this range and the sea lies that tract of country where
the cultivation of such crops as sugar, cotton, indigo,
coffee, arrowroot, and other tropical productions, is being
or may expected in future to be carried on. On the more
elevated country beyond the range the crops familiar to the
British farmer can be grown, as also maize, tobacco, and
similar products. Nature has so blessed the coast country,
however, that while able to p)-oduec the crops of tro[)ical
b THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
countries^ it also yields to the cultivator nearly all the
crops and fruits which can be grown beyond the range.
Devoted as the author is to the promotion of settlement,
and believing that by the creation of an agricultural popu-
lation the future wellbeing of Queensland can alone be placed
on a permanent basis, he cannot fail at the same time to
point out the fact that up to the present time the squatting
interest has been far and away the most important in the
colony, both in regard to the number of people to whom it
gives employment and the amount of capital invested in
the pursuit. The amount of land in the hands of agricul-
turists is but a mere bagatelle as compared to the enormous
territory held by the squatters. Hence in speaking of the
agricultural capabilities of any given locality, it should
always be borne in mind that the larger part of every
district is still in the hands of the crown lessees, for whose
purposes only is the major portion of the land of the colony
suitable. As a rule, it is only on the scrubs and rich flats
on the banks of the various rivers that land will be found
suitable for agriculture. The great bulk of the back
country, consisting of forest land, as distinguished from
scrubs, will probably for many generations be used for
grazing purposes alone. The lands on the Darling Downs
and a few other places are a marked exception to this rule.
It must not, however, be supposed that on this account
good land is scarce in Queensland; in the more settled
portions of East and West Moreton it is certainly the fact
that a large proportion of the best lands have been taken
up, but so numerous are the rivers and creeks on the coast
that it will be long before even in these older districts
there will be no good land to be had. In the districts to
the northward millions of acres of the finest land in the
colony await the share of the cultivator.
I
GENERAL FEATURES OF THE COLONY. /
From circumstances connected with the administration of
the land laws in the early years of the colony, mentioned
elsewhere, it has only been since the passing of the Land
Act of 1808 that the best lands be<^anto be generally taken
up, even in the INIoreton districts.
Queensland is divided into the following- districts, the
relative position of each of which may be easily found
by a reference to the map : — East and AVest Mcreton,
Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Burnett, Port Curtis, Ken-
nedy, Leichardt, Maranoa, Mitchell, Warrego, Gregory,
Burke and Cook. Of these the districts of East and
West ]\Ioreton, Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Port Curtis
and Kennedy, as including all the agricultural and mining
population as well as every town of imj)ortance, will be
principally referred to in the following pages. Having
never visited any of the others, which are purely squatting
districts, the author will content himself with a very brief
description of their resources and present position, choosing
as far as possible to speak of those portions of the colony
with which he has a more intimate acquaintance.
CHAPTER II.
DISTRICT OP EAST MORETON.
The East Moreton district for many reasons demands
priority in any description of the colony of Queensland.
It is the oldest settlement^ has the densest population, and
in it the port and city of Brisbane, the capital, is situated ;
there the major portion of immigrants first land, and there
the author spent the first two years and a half of his
residence in the colony. In the official descriptions the
district of Moreton is treated as a whole, but as there are
many material differences in the districts of East and West
Moreton, it is thought more convenient to treat of them
separately in the present instance.
The district of East Moreton commences at the southern
boundary of the colony, at its junction with the mother-
colony of New South Wales, running westerly by this
boundary until it joins West Moreton. On the east it
is bounded by the sea, on the north by the river Moo-
roochy, and on the west by the Dividing Range and West
Moreton. The distance from Point Danger on the south
to the Mooroochy River on the north is about 200 miles ;
so that this district alone, supposing it to have an average
depth of fifty miles, is by no means an insignificant princi-
pality, including as it does the various islands along its
coast.
To the stranger arriving in the colony the first great
DISTEICT OF EAST MORETON. 9
feature of attraction is the beautiful and extensive bay
which gives its name to this district. Moreton Bay was
first discovered and named by Captain Cook in the year
1770. It is formed by two long sandy islands running
north and south, named respectively Stradbroke and Moreton
Islands, and which enclose between themselves and the
mainland a splendid sheet of water sixty miles long by
thirty broad, dotted here and there with other smaller
ishinds, some of which, as St. Helena, now used as a penal
settlement, are very productive. Like most of the Queens-
land bays, this has a large portion of shallow water. But
there is a sufficient amount of deep water for all the
requirements of a very extended commerce, greater indeed
than is ever likely to be requisite for the trade of Queens-
land. Many writers, whose ideas are gathered sitting by
their drawing-room fires, have expressed great wonder that
Captain Cook did not discover the Brisbane or any other
of the rivers running into this splendid bay. But had they
had practical experience in the navigation of the shallows of
the Queensland coast, they would have known that nothing
is easier than to overlook a fact of this character. As a
rule the coast-line within Moreton Bay — and the same
remark is true of other bays to the north — is a low line of
country bordered by mangrove swamps. The Brisbane,
like most colonial rivers, has a bar at its entrance, which
would render it still more difficult to discover. Hence it
arose that not only Captain Cook, but also Lieutenant
Flinders, another noted navigator, visited Moreton Bay
without discovering that a large river embouched into it.
It was not until the year 1823 that Mr. Oxley, the Surveyor-
General of New South Wales, on a voyage of discovery
made in these northern parts, ascertained the existence of
the Brisbane River by falling in with a couple of white
10 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
men who with another companion had been blown out to
sea in a boat on a trip from Sydney to the Five Islands,
about fifty miles south of Sydney, and had landed on either
Moreton or Stradbroke Island, where they had been well
treated by the blacks. Crossing over to the mainland
somewhere at the north end of the bay, they had started to
walk overland to Sydney. In carrying- out this intention
they had been taken across the Brisbane by the blacks in
their canoes. Losing heart, two of them returned to their
original camp, while the third persevered in his determina-
tion to reach Sydney, a distance of 500 miles, and was
never more heard of. Some few weeks after this, Mr.
Oxiey, on a return trip from Port Curtis, anchored in the
bay, and was visited by these men. Acting on the infor-
mation received, he next day explored the river for some
distance' in his whale-boat, and named it after the excellent
old Peninsular officer who was at that time governor of
New South Wales. Thus the discovery of this line river,
one of the most important in Australia, was made by a pair
of timber-getters. To the same industrious and enterpris-
ing class of men we are indebted for many other discoveries
of importance, as well as the opening for settlement of
many places along the coast.
As we before said, a bar existed at the entranfce of the
Brisbane River, which for a long time impeded its naviga-
tion by any but small craft. From a return made in the last
session of Parliament, we learn that up to that time the sum of
168,260^. had been expended in dredging on the bar and
the shallows of the river. At the present time vessels of a
draught of sixteen feet can pass the bar through Francises
Channel and anchor off the township of Lytton, and craft
of twelve feet draught can pass over the Eagle Farm Flats,
farther up the river, and reach the wharves at Brisbane.
DISTRIUT OF EAST MOEETON. 11
As the process of dredg-ing- is still being carried on^ it is
prjobable before long that muck larger results than this
will be obtained. At present emigrant vessels either
anchor in the bay or at Lytton^ according to their draught
of water, and the passengers reach town by a steam-boat.^
The first sign of civilization noticed on arriving in the
bay from seaward is the lighthouse on Cape ]\Ioreton, the
northern extremity of Moreton Island. About here the
pilot comes on board. After passing into the bay, the
pilot-station is seen on the inner side of the island, on a
low strip of land nestled under a high hill. All this and
the southernly island of Stradbroke are vast masses of
white, sand, with only a few stunted trees and a very poor
description of grass. The pilot-station consists of some
eight or nine buildings, used as a boat-bouse, church, and
school-house, and the dwellings of the pilots and a school-
master. Here is a telegraph-station communicating with
the lighthouse at the Cape and the head office at Brisbane.
Lying at the anchorage, a fine view is had of the bay and
surrounding country. On the east is Moreton Island, to
the south of which is the South Passage, through which
all the paddle-wheel steamers of the Australian Steam
Navigation Company pass, as well as some other vessels.
Many years ago a steamer called the " Sovereign '' was
wi'ecked in this passage, and with her were lost many
prominent colonists of New South "Wales, in which Bris-
bane was then included. This caused this passage to be
avoided for many years, but of late it has come generally
into use for the class of vessels referred to above. In this
passage also capital schnapper fishing can be had. A few
days before leaving the colony a party of gentlemen went
' Emigrant and other vessels are now able to proceed up the river
to Brisbane, and unload at the wharves.
12 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
down to this place in a little steamer from Brisbane, and
in a few hours caught many hundred schnapper with the
hook and line. To the south of the passage is Stradbroke
Islandj which runs away to the south end of the bay,
where it forms the Boat Passage, a narrow and somewhat
dangerous channel in consequence of the heavy tides.
Many years ago an enterprising speculator took a number
of cattle on to this island for the purpose of forming a
station. The station has long been abandoned; but a
number of w^ld cattle still roam at their own sweet wills
among its sandy hills and hollows in a perfect state of
nature. Some three or four years since an establishment
was started here for the manufacture of salt, which has,
we believe, been attended with success, the salt being
obtained by boiling the sea-water in shallow pans. It is
of a good quality, and commands a fair price in Brisbane.
Away to the south the view is shut in by the island of
St. Helena, Mud Island, and a few others. Among these
isles the small craft pass that ply to Cleveland (a township
on the mainland) and to the Logan, Albert, and Coomera
Rivers. Nearer at hand is the double row of lights and
beacons which both by day and night point out to passing
steamers and vessels the entrance to the river through
Francises Channel. The prison hulk for refractory sea-
men is a prominent object in this part of the bay. Here
also is the light-ship, on which reside the men and their
wives who attend to the various lights. The mouth of the
Brisbane River is hidden by the low mangrove swamps
which run out on each side and skirt the coast for many a
mile. Inland, opposite these mangroves, the bay is too
shallow for any sort of navigation, the flats drying for a
long way out at low water. Farther on to the north-west
the coast rises and presents something like a cliff. Here
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 13
the Cabbage Tree Creek — a name to be met with in
all parts of the colony — runs into the bay^ and on the
hig'h bank is situated the pleasant little watering'-place
of Sandgate. Boats from the shippings which lies
about four miles off, can land at most times of the tide
opposite the creek, and a very pleasant day can be spent
on shore by the long pent-up seamen. There are two
good hotels here, and horses or a daily coach convey
passengers to Brisbane, a distance of twelve miles,
through the old-settled district of German Station. To
the north of Sandgate, some two or three miles, is the
mouth of the Pine River, an unimportant stream, navigable
for a very little distance by small steamers. Running out
from here is a bold point of land officially known as Red-
cliflP, but popularly as Humpybong. Here, in 1824, the
first penal settlement was established in Moreton Bay, but
was very soon abandoned for the site of the present city
of Brisbane. As all the Government buildings were left
when the place was abandoned, the natives gave the spot
the name by which it is now known, which merely signifies
dead-house, " bong " being dead, and " humpy " a house,
in their language. For many years Humpybong was
only resorted to by lime-burners, who drove a good busi-
ness by burning the enormous quantities of oyster-shells
found here into lime, which they sold in Brisbane. Of
late the land has been taken up by farmers, who carry on
dairying and other branches of agriculture. Our remi-
niscences of the neighbourhood are connected with huge
and savage wild boars, which haunted the mangrove
swamps, impervious almost to dogs, and where they
bade defiance to anything short of a bullet. Wherever
pigs are kept it is quite usual for a host of wnld ones
soon to be found in the neighbouring swamps and
14 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
scrubs^ as they are entirely independent of any artificial
food.
Northward of Humpybong- is a low stretch of country,
just a little above tide- water, stretching away to the
Caboolture River. Beyond this again is Bribie Passage
and Island, running parallel with the coast for about thirty
miles. Opposite this island is the deep-sea entrance to
the bay. The only other feature worthy of notice is the
curious appearance of a group of hills many miles inland,
which spring so abruptly from the level country as to
have earned for themselves the designation of the " glass-
houses.'-' There are several of these curious mountains,
and on a clear day they are by no means an unattractive
portion of the scenery. It will thus be seen that no less
than seven rivers, all naviga"ble for a greater or less dis-
tance, empty their waters into Moreton Bay. One of the
chief points of difference between Queensland and the other
colonies of Australia consists in the large number of rivers
found in the latter, a sure indication of the greater rain-
fall in the former, which is one of its great advantages.
Queensland is in fact " a land of rivers and streams,"
Leaving the ship's side in a steamer, the immigrant
passes between the lines of beacons and enters the mouth
of the Brisbane River. From here to the capital is fifteen
miles. At first each bank is a mere mangrove swamp,
but soon after passing Lytton the southern bank rises in
altitude. Here the Brisbane is of a noble breadth ; and
to the eye of the beholder, after a three months' voyage,
the bright green fringe of thick mangroves which line
each bank and cover the low mud islands in the river
presents a cheerful and pleasing sight. Soon after passing
Lytton, where is a small pier, a telegraph-station, and the
residences of the water-police, the mouth of Doughboy
DTSTKICT OF EAST MORETOX. 15
Creek is passed on the south side. Hei*e beg-in the evi-
dences of cultivation. On the high point of land between
the river and creek is a house commanding' a fine view of
the river and bay on the one side, and the farms and
plantations on both banks of the creek on the other. From
the verandah of this house may now be seen a charming
prospect of smiling sugar-fields and waving- groves of the
graceful banana. Directly under the hill is the plantation
of the owner, with the sugar-mill which turns the cane
into a merchantable commodity. Dotted among the fields
are the houses of the sturdy settlers, and the church and
school -house for the district. Nothing of this truly rural
scene can be noticed from the steamer's deck, but the
emigrant may be told by some old resident, as an encou-
ragement to himself and as indicative of the future of the
colony, that for many years the farmer whose house he
sees before him, and who brought with him to Queensland
not only an experience gained among the fields of England,
but also in those of Victoria, had hard work to eke out a
decent subsistence by the growth of oaten hay, corn,
potatoes, green-stuff, and such vegetable crops as were
marketable in Brisbane, and how, when all these failed
to give an "adequate return, what through lowness of
prices, floods, droughts, &c., he finally, some four years
since, planted a few aci'es of sugar-cane. First crushing
his crop on shares at the neighbouring mill of Captain
Hope, of Cleveland, he next essayed a small mill for him-
self. The writer happened to meet him a few days before
sailing from Brisbane, and learnt the sequel of the story of
the sugar speculation. Last season a young Queenslander,
who had had a little experience at another mill, undertook
to boil the sugar. Unfortunately he had only succeeded
in making molasses which had to be sold at 4r/. per gallon
16 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
to make rum, and as he had not only dealt with the
farmer's own cane but that of some neighbours, a heavy-
loss of money and reputation had followed. This season
other measures had been adopted, and already something
like fifty tons of sugar, worth from Sbl. to 38/. per ton,
had been manufactured and sold. We have made this
digression to give one instance in many scores of the
present position and future "prospects of the Queensland
agriculturists. This farmer's position is that of a majority
of his brethren, who by the assistance of sugar-cane are
just drawing their heads above the difficulties which have
so long enveloped them.
From Doughboy Creek the south bank of the river is
bold and soon becomes picturesque. Farm after farm is
passed, all the homesteads being more or less buried in
groves of bananas. On the north bank the powder maga-
zine is seen, and after passing Eagle Farm Flats the houses
become thick on that side also. Now we pass the home-
like mansion of Bulimba, erected by one of the oldest of
our colonists ; but which has lately changed hands for a
second time. It is now embowered in the all-pervading
sugar-cane, and has an air of homeliness quite refreshing.
On the other side the low lands have given place to high
hills, dotted here and there with the residences of well-to-do
citizens. A "linen-draper bold" has ensconced himself on
one of the highest hills, in a beautiful house which is said
to have cost a very large sum, from which the out-
look must be splendid.* Here is " Lowden's Folly," a high
^ This gentleman has, since the ahove was written, been elected to
Parliament, and become a member of the Cabinet, has in fact passed
from behind the counter to hold the purse-strings of the colony,
although still retaining his position in business : a not at all uncommon
event in Australia, where, like the ancient Roman, men may often be
found busily and successfully attending to their private concerns one
da}', and direiiting the public counsels of the nation another.
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 17
liill which was once cleared in mistake by a colonist of
that name^ who spent a very considerable sum in stumping
and clearing- a piece of land, which he subsequently dis-
covered belonged to some one else, — a practical lesson
that all young colonists should take to heart. The scenery
from here to Brisbane is very lovely, and calculated to
raise the spirits of the beholder. Breakfast Creek and
the residence of the Hon. G. Harris, M.L.C., of the
firm of J. and G. Harris, are passed, and here it is
likely a salute of small guns will be fired and a flag
run up in honour of the new arrivals, Mr. Harris's
firm being . the agents of the London line of vessels.
Residence after residence is passed. Kangaroo Point is
reached, and the lovely suburb of Bowen Terrace has
hardly been admired before the steamer sweeps around
the Point, and Brisbane, looking very lovely, is suddenly
reached.
Whatever may be the destination and future calling of
the immigrant, he cannot do wrong by passing a week or
two in Brisbane. He will find hotel accommodation at
from 1 1, to 3^. per week, and each very good at its price ;
or if he be a man of family, and anxious to save every
penny of his money, he can leave his family for a day at
the Immigration Barracks, and look out a cottage for their
reception in the town. He will be able to obtain a three
or four room cottage at from 5*. to 10.?. per week. In
1863 cottages of every description commanded at least
11. per week, and every article of domestic use, except
butcher's meat, which was 3d. and 4^/. per pound, was high
in price. A very diminutive cabbage as big as one's
fist, was worth Gd., while other vegetables were almost
unknown, and the two-pound loaf stood at Id. and 8^.
Now for (id. enough vegetables of all sorts can be had to
c
18 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
serve an ordinary family for a day or two, and the two-
pound loaf costs 4r/.^
. There is much in Brisbane to interest the stranger who
has an intention of settling- in the colony. Probably one
of the first thoughts which will occur to any one from
home will be that he is in a town first founded by convict
labour. He will, however, look in vain at this period for
anything to remind him visibly of that fact. Almost all
the old buildings raised by that species of labour have
given way to other erections, and he' would search a long
time among his casual acquaintances for any one who could
speak personally of the old times, much less before he
would find an " old hand ^^ himself. In another place \ve
shall advert to the convict system, and its effects on the
population : in this Chapter we desire to describe places
rather than persons.
If he arrives in an immigrant vessel, that is, a ship
bringing out immigrants under the auspices of the Colonial
Government, the new arrival will be landed at the Govern-
ment Wharf, contiguous to the Immigration Barracks, a
fine brick structure, not by any means open to the objec-
tions urged against the old building in use eight years
since, and where the fresh immigrants are all lodged and
boarded until they obtain situations, at the public expense.
Emerging from this, he finds himself in William Street,
on the opposite side of which is situated the Government
Printing Office, an extensive establishment, from which
first-class work is turned out, and where a large staff of
hands is always employed. Next comes the Telegraph
Office, which has for its head a gentleman of eminent
•'* With the greatly increased prosperity of the last four years, we
believe that rents have considerably advanced, house property havings
materially improved in value in Brisbane and all other places.
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 19
scientific attainments^ and wliich is connected not only
with all the other colonies^ but with every township in
Queensland of the least importance as far north as
Cardwell. From the Report of F. J. Cracknell, Esq.,
the Superintendent of Telegraphs, dated 1st of April,
1871, we learn that "on the 31st of • December, 1870,
there were 2183 miles of line and forty stations, worked
by seventy-eight officers, in operation'^ in the colony; and
that on the completion of the line under contract to the
township of Norman, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, which
was to be completed in August last, there would be 2891
miles of line and fifty-four stations, with ninety-four
officers on the permanent staff of the department, the
terminal station at Carpentaria being 1450 miles from
the central office : certainly something for a young
colony like Queensland to have achieved in eleven years.
Here every day wind and weather reports, and meteoro-
logical observations from various parts of the colony, are
received and posted for general information, together with
shipping intelligence from all ports in the colony, as well
as from Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Some idea of
the gratuitous public business of this nature performed in
this office may be gathered from the fact that no less than
225 such messages are received here daily. Public expec-
tation is raised by the hope that a few months more will
see Brisbane and the other Australian capitals in daily
communication with England. At present a deal has been
done to annihilate space, and the last mail news before
the writer left the colony was only nineteen days in
reaching Brisbane from London. Nothing tends more to
cement the ties existing between Great Britain and her
colonies than the quick transmission of intelligence, and
we hope before long to see two or three different lines of
c 2
20 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
telegrapli wire connecting Queensland with the mother
country.*
Passing onward, the stranger sees a low, one-storyed
building, known as the Colonial Seci'etar3^'s Office. Here
is the office of the present Premier, a burly squatter, to
whom we may probably refer again. Then comes the
Church of St. John, the oldest edifice belonging to the
Church of England in the colony. Of late years this
church, which is built of dressed stone, has been very
greatly enlarged. It is now a very fine edifice. Con-
tiguous to it is the parsonage. Farther on is the office of
the Registrar- General, the Colonial Treasurer-'s Office, and
other public buildings, and then, turning the corner. Queen
Street, the principal street of the town, is reached. At
this point a fine view of the river is had, and of the town
of South Brisbane beyond. Here is the approach to the
unfortunate bridge which, begun several years ago, has
never been brought to completion. At one time indeed
the contractor erected a wooden structure, which was
opened with great eclat by Sir George Bowen, the first
Governor of the colony. It was intended to work from
this temporary bridge to build the other, but after it had
been opened some time, and several of the tubular piers of
the iron bridge had been either partially or wholly put
down and bricked up, from various causes, prominent
among which were the local jealousies of the Ipswich
people, the mismanagement of the corporation, and the
failure of the Oriental Bank, followed by the winding-up
of the Bank of Queensland, the works came to a stand-
still. Then followed a flood which swept away a portion
* The submarine communication with England has been some time
in operation, and English news of the previous day is now published
regularly in the colonial papers.
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 21
of the temporary bridge, and there being" no funds at
disposal even to secure the remainder of the tottering-
structure, nor secure the castings of the iron bridge, the
wliole affair remained for years one of the most melancholy
exhibitions of colonial failures it is possible to conceive.
Little by little the wooden bridge dropped to pieces, or
was carried away by succeeding storms, until hardly a
vestige of it remained. Latterly the financial difficulties
which stood in the way of its completion have been
smoothed away, and while we write the work of erecting
the permanent bridge is being proceeded with, and the
remainder of the castings are on their way from England.
The original cost of this bridge was to have been 60,000/.,
but it is now understood that it will very much exceed
that amount. When it is finished it will be a very fine
structure indeed, and from the great traffic it will cany is
expected to be a paying speculation. At present the trade
is carried on by three different ferries ; two others plying
between the city and Kangaroo Point.*
The city of Brisbane is built in what is colonially known
as a " pocket " of the Brisbane River. A " pocket " is
that portion of land contained in a sharp curve of a river.
In this instance Queen Street may be supposed to cut the
city in two parts, running as it does from the river on one
side to the river on the other side of this pocket. On the
one side is the city proper and on the other rises at a little
distance the hill known as Spring Hill, which is more like
a suburb than a portion of the city itself. The extreme
point of this pocket is occupied on the one side by the
Government House and grounds, and on the other by the
' This bridge was completed and formally opened by his Excellency
the Marquis of Normanby on the 15th of June, 1874, the day being
one of the srrandest ever seen in Brisbane.
\
22 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
Botanical Gardens. Confining our attention for the nonce
to Queen Street, we will suppose a " new chum " to take
his first walk down it after having duly enjoyed the lovely
prospect presented to him by the appearance of the river
and South Brisbane beyond. Like all the other streets of
this and all the older towns in Queensland, Queen Street
is very narrow, being only one chain wide. It is recorded
by Dr. Lang that when Governor Sir George Gipps visited
this part of the colony of New South Wales, he was aghast
to find that the surveyors, with unpardonable excess had
marked each street a chain and a half wide ! The worthy
governor, who does not appear to have had a mind suitable
to the management of anything more extensive than a
cabbage garden, at once ordered that all the streets of
townships in Moreton Bay should be reduced to one chain,
chiding the surveyors for their reckless wastefulness in
dealing with the Queen^s bush. Thus, through this
paltry policy, are Queenslanders compelled to walk
through narrow streets entirely unsuited to the climate,
while millions on millions of acres of land lie waste and
unoccupied.
But narrow though it be, Queen Street is by no means
a mean or insignificant street. There are in it many shops
which would do credit to any capital in the world, both as
to their architecture and extent and the style of their
interior fitting up and furnishings. To an Englishman a
peculiar feature of this street will be the verandahs which
on one side almost run from end to end without any
intermission as far as the retail shops extend. These
verandahs reach right across the side walk; and afford a
protection alike to the goods in the shops and the
pedestrians, from the heat and glare of the sun. On the
left-hand side of the street going towards the Kangaroo
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 23
Point Ferry, the visitor passes the Post Office, a low and
mean building-, totally unsuited to the requirements of so
larg'e a town, and which is soon to g'ive place to a fine
Post Office now being built farther down tbe street." The
business done in this estal)lishment is very larg-e, and, to
meet its g'rowing requirements, building afte;* building has
had to be added at the rear, until now, every inch of space
l>ack to the next street has been occupied. Here too is the
Savings' Bank, an institution deserving of some notice.
Following Mr. Gladstone's lead, the Queensland Govern-
ment some years since associated the Savings' Bank with
the Post Office with the happiest result. From the last
report of this establishment laid before Parliament we learn
that in 1870, 200,931/. 4*. Id. was deposited, and 189,350/.
8.J. 9^/. withdrawn last year by 5821 depositors, and that
on the 31st of December, 1870, the sum of 332,843/. 0*. 7d.
was standing to the credit of these depositors ; showing
very plainly that a very satisfactory state of things exists
among the working classes, when we remember that the
population of the colony was calculated to be about
110,000. For the benefit of immigrants it may not be
amiss to state that last year a regulation was made
empowering the Agent-General for the colony in England
to receive deposits up to 100/. from intending emigrants
from the United Kingdom, which they can draw at any
Post Office Savings' Bank in Queensland with five per
cent, interest, which rate of interest is allowed on all
sums not exceeding 200/. This provision has been found
to work so well that it is at once to be extended to
Germany.
The next building to the Post Office is of far higher
^ The new post office, a very fine building, we believe, is now
finished and occupied by the department.
24 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
pretensions. It is the Town Hall and Exehang-e^ and is a
very noble structure of three stories. In its front is a
row of shops^ only the entrance of the Hall and the
Exchange in the rear of the shops being on the ground
floor. Above are the Council Chamber and other municipal
offices^ together with the Chamber of Commerce, a very neat
hall. The third floor is devoted to the Town Hall, which
is a very fine room indeed, with stained glass windows,
and capable of containing' from 2000 to 3000 persons. This
hall was built in the " good times " prior to the failure of
the Queensland Bank, before referred to, and entangled the
corporation in many difficulties. To make things worse, it
was given out that the hall was unsafe, and that the first
time a large audience gathered there the roof would tumble
in on them. This rumour was so far believed that for a
length of time no meetings were held there, and the
architect and all concerned in the erection of the building
were looked on with much disfavour. An investigation
was ultimately made, which showed that the building was
sufficiently strong, public confidence was restored, and
meetings were held there regularly. A few days after the
arrival of the present Governor, the Marquis of Normanby,^
the writer was present at a lunch given there by the
Mayor and Corporation, when the hall was crowded by an
enthusiastic audience, and probably not one for a moment
allowed his mind to revert to the idle stories which for so
great a length of time prevented this fine hall being used
by the public.
Farther down the street on the same side is a public
building of a very different appearance and history. This
is the Court House, in which the sittings of the Supreme
' The Marquis of Normanby left tlie colony in the latter part of
1874. Mr. Cairns, a brother of the Lord Chancellor, is now Governor.
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. . 25
and Insolvent Courts are held. Here also are the Judg^es^
Chambers, the Sheriffs' Office, those of the Crown Solicitor
and the Official Assignees. Years since the Legislative
Council and Assembly sat in this building, but these are
now removed to larger and more suitable premises. This
Court House is a low, solid, two-story building of stone,
and is one of the few remaining mementoes of the convict
system. It was formerly the female penitentiary and
workshop, and as only the worst class of female convicts
were sent to Moreton Bay, we may suppose that these
walls formerly contained as much vice and infamy as could
easily be found in any like space on the earth's surface.
Both sides of the street are occupied by shops, hotels, and
other business places for some distance below, then the
site of the new Post Office, which is on the other side of
the way, is reached. To make room for this, a portion of
the old police court had to be taken down, and notably
the archway, underneath which used to stand the triangles
on which eveiy morning many a poor fellow was stretched,
and had his two dozen or twelve, as the case might be.
The police court is the old one extant in these good old
times, and is a mean, low room, worthy of the men and the
period.
Standing in front of the new Post Office one sees the
School of Ai'ts beyond, with a fine row of shops in front.
The entrance to the reading-rooms and library, which is
in fact the principal entrance, is in Creek Street round the
corner. This institution was long heavily in debt for the
construction of its new building, but we believe by coming
to some understanding with the mortgagees, the institution
has been relieved of its debt, and is now able to devote more
funds to purely literary purposes. There is a fine library
and very commodious reading-rooms here, which can be
26 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
availed of by strangers on very reasonable terms. There is
also an excellent hall in connection with the institution,
fitted up in a superior manner, and often used by theatrical
companies and for other public purposes.
Among the other j)ublic buildings in this street are the
banks, all of some pretensions to architectural excellence.
Farther on is the Kangaroo Point ferry and the gas works.
The street continues to Fortitude Valley — a large and
important suburb, sending its own member to parliament —
passing on the way the Roman Catholic nunnery.
The Servants' Home, the Lady Bo wen Lying-in Hospital,
the Free Library and Reading-room are all excellent
institutions standing in the streets behind Queen Street,
as also are the Masonic Hall and the Normal and National
Schools. The new Grammar School, a little farther removed
from the town, is a neat building, a part of the plan of
which has only as yet been carried out. The foundation
was laid by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, on his late
visit. There is no lack of churches in Brisbane or its
suburbs. A great improvement has taken place in this as
in every other respect since 1863, when the writer first saw
the city. The Church of England, Roman Catholics,
Presbyterians, Wesleyans, Congregationalists, Baptists,
Free Methodists, Primitives, Bible Christians, and Jews are
all represented, and in most cases have excellent and
spacious places of worship. The principal ecclesiastical
buildings are St. John's and Wickham Terrace churches,
belonging to the Church of England, the Wickham Terrace
Presbyterian church, the Baptist church, and the Wesleyan
churches in Albert Street and the Valley, A very
pretentious cathedral has been in course of erection by the
Romanists for nearly eight years. After languishing for
many years, principally we believe through the difficulties
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 27
encountered by Bishop Quinu in his land speculations, this
undertaking has of late been carried on with more vigour,
and the edifice has now reached a stage which gives
promise that when completed it will be one of the finest
buildings in the city.*
The visitor to Brisbane can by no means afford to
overlook the Botanical Gardens. Situate with Government
House in the very point of the pocket on which Brisbane is
built, these gardens have a very pleasant situation, and
are a very favourite lounge for the citizens. Under the
care of Mr. Hill, the Curator, and assisted by an annual
legislative grant, a little paradise has been here created.
Few men so well fitted for his position as Mr. Hill could
probably have been found in the colonies : it is certain that
not only has he brought these gardens to a pitch of
perfection which makes them the pride of Brisbane, but
that by his constant and elaborate exhibits in the various
exhibitions in the colonies as well as in Europe, he has done
more than any other person in bringing the resources and
productions of the colony before the world at large. Here
will be found gathered not only most of the plants and
shrubs indigenous to the colony, but the most important
and useful of every other country whose climate approxi-
mates to that of Queensland. The most striking feature
in the gardens is the splendid row of bunya-bunya trees
which lines the walk skirting the river bank. These trees,
which bear the bunya nut, are a species of pine, and as they
grow in a sugar-loaf shape, throwing their branches out
from the ground to the top, are of a highly ornamental
character, especially when young. No expenditure was
ever made by the colonial legislature which has returned
* This cathedral, known as St. Stephen's, was finally opened on
May 17th, 1874.
28 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
better interest than the very modest grants which have
been made for the maintenance of these gardens. As
showing the practical advantages which are accruing to the
colony from the Botanic Gardens we extract some passages
from the Report of the Curator laid before Parliament in
its last session^ dated March, 1871.
" In the Experimental Depai-tment the plants of commercial value,
which have been enumerated in former Reports, continue to thrive as
well as ever. Of these, particular mention may be made of the Indi-
gofera Tinctora (Indigo), the Rubia Tinctora (Madder), the Coffea
Arabica (Coffee), the Thea Sohaa (Tea), the Zingiber Officinalis
(Ginger), the Curcuma Longa (Cardamom), the Amomum Melgueta
(Grain of Paradise), the Manihot Ulilissima (Cassava) ; the fibrous
plants, viz.: — the Jute {Corchorus Capsularis), the Sun Hemp {Cro-
tolaria Juncea), the Queensland Hemp {Sicla JRetiisa), the China
Grass Cloth Plant {Bokmeria nivea), &c., &c. I have been careful in
cherishing the development of these and kindred plants, in order that
they may be kept before the eye of the public ; and it is matter of
satisfaction to know that beneficial results will likely follow from the
increased interest evinced in their cultivation, as is shown from the
numerous applications for seeds and plants which have been made
during the past year.
" With respect to the valuable practical results that have fol-
lowed the introduction of several of this order of commercial and
food plants, it is a source of gratification to be able to state that in
many instances private enterprise has proved successful, the first
experiment having been made from seeds or plants procured from the
gardens. This especially applies to the articles cotton and sugar,
which, as generally known, are becoming year by year more important
as staple exports of this colony. It is to be hoped and trusted that
other plants of commercial value and importance, such as cofPee, tea,
tobacco, &c., &c., may claim the attention of the settler, as they are no
less a source of profit, nor less easily cultivated, than the sugar and
cotton plant. In some of the districts — particularly on the sea-coast
— some thousands of plants of the coffee have been distributed in
response to applications ; and without doubt we shall hear ere long of
the plant being extensively, if not generally, cultivated.
"The demand for cuttings and young plants of the silkworms'
tree. Moras alba and Morus multieaulis, is greatly on the increase.
DJSTEICT OF EAST MORETON. 29
more especially from East and West Moreton and the Darling Downs
districts.
" We have received during the past year hundreds of cuttings of the
various valuable grape vinos from the vineyards of Mr. David Randell,
Seacombe, and Mr. Bickers, of Poi-t Adelaide, South Australia ; and
nearly all these, with several American varieties already on hand, have
been distributed to persons embarking in the cultivation of the vine.
They are mostly wine-producing sorts, and consist of Verdclho, Reis-
ling, Tokay, Temprana, Doradilla, Pedro-Ximines, Shiraz, Carhenet
Sauvignon, Mataro, Grenache, Molar Nigro, Quick's seedling, White
Madeira, Muscat, Gordo Bianco, &c., &c.
" In the department of sugar-canes, of which there are thirty-six
varieties, there has been an immense demand for cuttings during the
past year. From all the sugar-growing districts, the applications have
far exceeded any previous demand, all of which have been duly sup-
plied.
" The applications for various products of the gardens are largely on
the increase, so much so, that it takes most of one man's time to pack
and despatch the several consignments. The grand total of receipts of
plants and seeds from the gardens number 530 persons, irrespective of
societies or private individuals, where no such associations exist, who
have from time to time been supplied Avith seeds, &c., for purposes of
distribution. Among this number of persons 60,980 o£ plants, cuttings,
and packages of seeds of various kinds have been supplied, thereby
showing the valuable influence and assistance exerted by this depart-
ment in the general propagation and distribution of the indigenous
and foreign vegetable products of the colony. In this matter I am
careful not to clash with the interests of our nurserymen, and for this
reason distribute nothing which may be procured in their collection,
except for our own public reserves and experimental purposes."
We fully endorse the following very pertinent and prac-
tical remarks with which Mr. Hill concludes his Report : —
" The very important good which must necessarily result from In-
tercolonial Exhibitions cannot be over-estimated. It can hardly be
doubted that the tangible products of anew colony, when exposed to the
view of other colonists, would exercise a far more practical and bene-
ficial influence in attracting skilled labour and capital to our shores
than could he effected by any other means. The best exertions other-
wise employed are, to a great extent, paralyzed by want of faith, and
30 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
not being able to realize that which is not seen, as also by the contra-
dictory testimony of disappointed immigi'ants or others writing home
to the press, or their own personal friends, and quoting the experience
of their own failure as a general rule wjiereby to judge the colony."
That many such reports of a highly-coloured and un-
truthful character have been sent home there ~can be no
question.
Contiguous to the gardens, and forming one of the most
prominent features in the landscape, is the new Parlia-
mentary building. This is by far the largest structure in
the city. In fact, it has been built on such a large scale
that it has up to the present been found impossible to
finish it, the plans having comprised another wing and
verandahs and balconies. It is of cut stone from a local
quarry, and presents an imposing though rather outre
appearance from the absence of the balconies and the
consequent lack of any ornamentation in the stone work.
The interior has, however, been finished, so far as built, and
is of ample extent for the public business to be carried on
there. The chambers of the Legislative Council and
Assembly are splendid rooms, much superior to those the
writer has seen in the British American colonies. Indeed
great feeling was created in the colony by the outlay
incurred in erecting this building, which was felt to be far
too large and expensive for its requirements and revenue.
But it was urged that the plan had been adopted at a time
when the colony was in a highly prosperous state, and when
every one was anticipating a continuance of its then rapid
growth, a growth almost unparalleled in the history of
colonization. Queenslanders have the satisfaction of know-
ing that however much their colony may increase in popu-
lation and importance, they have now a parliament building
adequate to their wants and grand enough for their dignity.
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 31
On the outskirts of the town, beyond Fortitude Valley,
is another very imposing building — the Hospital. This
also is built of dressed stone, and is pleasantly situated on
a slight eminence. It is, like all other Queensland hos-
jiitals— and they are to be found in every township of any
importance — maintained by local subscriptions, and a legis-
lative grant to double the amount of such local funds.
Queenslanders are justly proud of their hospitals, which
offer a refuge to that large portion of the sick public who
have no friends or home in the colony, as well as to those
whose circumstances compel them to seek there the atten-
tion they cannot command at their own residences. Scores
of young men, who leave home because they can do
nothing for themselves and are a burden to their friends,
and who after "knocking down''"' the few scores or hun-
dreds of pounds given them to make a start in the colony,
when without friends or shelter, and suffering from diseases
brought on by their excess, here obtain skilful medical
treatment and careful nursing, in many cases leading to
their restoration, and in others soothing the last days of a
wasted life. Could the records of this and other hospitals
be written, they would show many a ghastly picture of
this sort. People in England little know how often a
young scapegrace, thus banished for family reasons to " the
colonies,'^ closes his earthly career in one of the hospitals
so noljly supported by the benevolence of the colonists.
There is a lock hospital in connection with this establish-
ment, and we may add a Contagious Diseases Act in force,
with excellent results, in Brisbane and one or two other
towns of the colony.
Nearly opposite the hospital is the Bowen Park, the
property of the Acclimatization Society. This Society is
supported by subscriptions and a legislative grant, and is
32 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
rather pretentious in its character. Besides introducing"
rabbits in a few localities,, a few deer and other animals
which graze in their grounds, and placing a few Murray cod
in one or two ponds, we do not remember any very great
benefit the Society has conferred on the colony, if we
except the creation of their park itself and its maintenance
as a pleasure-ground, to which admission can be had on
application; but the funds of the Society have usually
been at low-water mark, and perhaps it has done some-
thing in the way of attracting notice to Queensland, as
well as by introducing a few useful plants and fruit-trees.
The manufactures of Brisbane are not very extensive ;
but it is pleasing to record that they have very materially
increased since 1863, at which time it might truly be said
that the only manufacture was that of streets and houses.
Then every one appeared possessed of the idea that the
laying out of streets and erection of houses was the quickest
and surest means of making a fortune, and for some time
it really looked as if this idea was correct ; but a collapse
came. For various reasons, prominent among which was
the undue interference of Parliament with the land order
system, together with that other cause, the bad quality
of the lands open for selection, immigration fell off,
house-building ceased, and the city, having lived on its
own growth, was soon thrown into a state of panic, and
hundreds and thousands had to leave the town, some to
follow those agricultural pursuits which they had before
sneei'cd at, some to take situations in the bush or stations,
while many more left the colony.
But a gradual but most advantageous change has been
wrought in this respect. Doubtless the evils suffered in
the panic partially account for the change, but the growth
of the sugar industry and the wonderful development of
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 33
the gold-fields has also had much to do with the increased
attention which has of late been paid to manufactures.
There are now in Brisbane two saw-mills^ in connection
with one of which is a mill for drying and grinding maize.
Singular as it may appear, although maize is one of the
surest crops which the farmer can plant, there was until
recently a strong prejudice against the use of maize-meal
as food. While in all parts of Canada and the States
maize or corn-meal enters largely into the domestic cuisine
of all classes of society, in the latter colony it was con-
sidered as only food for cattle. This arose, no doubt, in a
great measure from the fact that in the penal times the
convicts were fed on this sort of food ; and thus having a
natural aversion from an article which reminded them of
old times, they had in this, as in many other matters,
given a tone to the general sentiment of the community.
To a Canadian or American it will sound singular to be
told that Queenslanders, who could grow their own maize
but had to import and pay cash for all their flour, had to
be educated to the practice of eating the former most
wholesome and palatable cereal. Yet such is the fact, and
to Mr. Pettigrew, of the Brisbane saw-mills, belongs in a
great measure the praise of having first erected a mill for
producing maize-meal, and then inducing his fellow colo-
nists to avail themselves of it. Even at the present time
there is not one quarter as much maize consumed for
culinary purposes as there is in a like population in
America; and as wheaten flour has yet to be largely im-
ported, the colony is impoverished in proportion. Pro-
curing the timber for the use of these two mills gives
employment to a large number of timber-getters, bullock-
drivers, punt and raftsmen, besides one or two steamers
and occasional sailing-vessels, the timber being fetched
D
34 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
from as far south as the Coomera and Neraiig Creek on
the border of New South Wales^ and from the Mooroochy
and Mooloolah on the north. The timbers principally-
sawn up are cedar, pine, beech, blue and red gum, iron-
bark and cypress-pine. None of the hard woods of Queens-
land will float in water, so that all timber but pine and
cedar has to be conveyed in punts from the banks of the
rivers, except when it can be lashed on to a raft of soft
wood, as is sometimes done with beech and cypress-pine.
As a large proportion of the timber sawn up is exported to
the southern colonies, the trade is exceedingly valuable.
It is in fact the only sort of manufacturing industry which
swells the exports, and thus introduces capital into the
country, besides employing a considerable number of sea-
going vessels.
Eight years ago it was almost impossible to get a
plough, or any other agricultural implement, manufactured
in Queensland ; and the few people who needed such
implements had to be content with very inferior articles,
as the importation was very limited, of poor quality, and
very high in price. Now the case is far different ; there
are two or three agricultural implement makers who turn
out an article well adapted to the peculiar requirements of
the soil, at a very moderate price. There is also a foundry
where very good sugar and quartz crushing machinery,
with the requisite steam power, is manufactured. Many-
cheap horse-power sugar-mills have also been manufactured
here. A small brewery produces a very- palatable beer,
much more suitable to the climate than the English ale,
which, as it has to be made very strong to stand the
voyage through the tropics, is too heady for a constant
beverage. A considerable amount of jewellery has lately
been manufactured from the produce of the neighbouring
DISTRICT OF EAST MOKETON. 35
gold-fields. Several cabinet-makers, coopers, carriage-
builders, copper and tin smiths, supply the local want in
their several lines. One or two extensive boot and shoe
manufactories are in existence ; l)ut the local supply is by
no means equal to the demand. Of late years the demand
for rum casks has suddenly sprung* into considerable
dimensions ; but unfortunately there is a lack as yet of
colonial timber suitable for this purpose, the strong gum or
antiseptic or other properties rendering those woods already
tried objectionable. It is hoped this difficulty will soon
be overcome. A rapid fortune awaits the fortunate man
who shall introduce some j^rocess of preparing some of the
otherwise excellent Queensland timbers for use for rum
casks and other like purposes, as the demand is fast
becoming very extensive, and the supply of timber endless.
At present casks have to be imported from England in
staves.
A few miles from Brisbane is the only tannery in. the
Moreton districts and, with one exception, the only one in
the colony. From some reason this undertaking, although
over seven years in existence, has not been ver}' successful.
This must arise, however, from accidental circumstances,
as the hides and bark are to be had in any quantity. We
believe that in this as in many other manufactures a
foolish and unreasoning prejudice against local produc-
tions has had to be contended with. Much too is to be
accounted for on the score of insufficient capital to enable
the speculator to overcome the preliminary expenses, which
in every new enterprise in Queensland are generally from
50 to 100 per cent, more than is first calculated on. It
would appear that for men practically acquainted with the
trade and a fair amount of capital, Queensland offers a
splendid field for starting in this business. Not only the
D 2
36 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
wattle-bark, which is exported to England in considerable
quantities, but the iron-bark and others, too heavy for
exportation, are made use of with good results. At
Breakfast Creek is an ice manufactory which in the
summer season affords the . citizens a supply of this
delicious luxury at a very moderate rate.
One manufactory which formerly existed has happily
long been disused. Prominent on the boldest outlook in
the town stands a round building similar to a windmill,
and known to the present generation as the Observatory.
From here the flags which denote the arrival and character
of vessels in the bay are hoisted, and below is the Russian
gun which daily proclaims the hour of one to the citizens.
This building was erected in the convict period, as a wind-
mill for grinding the maize meal which made the hominy
of the convicts, or, as they are usually called in the colonies,
lags. It was, however, often used as a tread-mill, and the
convicts had here literally to earn their bread by the sweat
of their brows. When the settlement became free the
tread-mill of course fell into disuse. Although now in one
of the most fashionable parts of the town, the windmill
was then quite in the bush. No use was made of its
machinery, and if we may credit an old man who had
often stepped out his four hours there, it was gradually
and quietly removed by a neighbouring blacksmith when
iron was dear, and worked up into horseshoes and other
articles of his trade. After standing unused for many
years, the building was soon after separation turned to its
present use.
Three miles out on the old northern road, at a place
called the Three-Mile Scrub, is a small establishment
deserving of notice. Here is manufactured the desiccated
meat prepared by Dr. Bancroft, The method on which
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 37
this description of meat-preserving is carried out is very
simple, it being* dried until all the watery parts are
removed. The process is so inexpensive, and at the
same time is said to be so effectual, that nothing but the
proverbial want of capital has prevented a large trade from
growing up. At present beef and mutton are principally
treated; but two valuable denizens of the bay, turtle and
dugong, are occasionally prepared with a view to testing
the market.
A great many improvements have been effected in Bris-
bane since 1863. None, however, is of greater value to the
citizens than the construction of the Ennoffg'erra Water
"Works, by means of which the water of this creek is
brought into the city, a distance of about six miles. A
large reservoir has been formed by throwing a dam across
a narrow place in a deep gully and a sufficient supply of
water is thus obtained to last for some years without any
rainfall whatever. Before these works were carried out the
water supply for the whole city had to be carted in barrels
from a water-hole, dignified by the name of '^ reservoir,"
but which was usually of a rich yellow colour. This
water was sold at from 1*. to 1*. 6cl. per barrel, and even
more in dry times. Unless a house was provided with a
cistern, this was the only means of obtaining this precious
fluid — doubly precious in a hot climate like Queensland.
Now every one can have the water laid on to his own
door, supplied without stint, and of an excellent quality.
There can be no question that this adds much to the health-
fulness of Brisbane ; in a domestic point of view it is an
unspeakable boon. A rate is levied to meet the expense
connected with this improvement. It may be added here
that in every other town in the colony the water supply is
obtained from the water-carriers, as was formerly the case
38 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
in Brisbane, excepting of course where people have cisterns
equal to their requirements. Gas works were estaLlished a
few years ago, and the principal streets are now lit by gas
on moonless nights. When the moon shines with a splen-
dour unknown in Great Britain, and a light nearly equal to
daylight here, gas would be a superfluity.
There is in Brisbane a market building, and market dues
are collected from every person offering any farm or garden
produce for sale in the streets : but the authorities have
never succeeded in inducing producers or consumers to visit
the market-house, which is entirely unoccupied, except a
portion let off as a produce-store. There is nevertheless an
excellent supply of dairy and garden produce, the latter
principally supplied by the German settlers in the district.
A wonderful change has been wrought in this respect of
late years. In 1863 the food of the citizens had perforce
to be made up of butcher^s meat and bread, vegetables
being both scarce and dear, and often not attainable at any
price. The same was true of poultry and dairy produce,
eggs, for instance, being from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per dozen. All
this has undergone a change, and there are few places where
living is now cheaper than in Brisbane.
The soil in the neighbourhood of Brisbane is almost all
of a very inferior character. The only exception is the
scrub land on the banks of the rivers, and this is very
limited in extent. The site of the town having been
selected only with a view to its suitability for a penal
settlement is a sufficient reason for this. In no other
district of the colony have we seen so large a proportion of
poor land as in the district around Brisbane, and the immi-
grant who proposes settling on the soil will do well to give
up that most absurd notion which most new chums possess,
of settling close to the capital. No small portion of the
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 39
evils vvliich have befallen the colony have arisen from the
prevalence of this feeling and the failure to appreciate it
which has been exhibited by the authorities. Hundreds of
men in the early days after separation were ruined by
taking- up portions of land in this district which were ,
entirely unfitted for cultivation, and by expending their
capital and labour in fencing and clearing land, which even
when fenced and cleared would have been unfit to give
them more than a bare subsistence. It nearly always
occurs that the most worthless land has the heaviest
timber, and thus costs the most money to clear.
We will now notice the various farming settlements in
the East Moreton district.
In the immediate neighbourhood of Brisbane, and within
a distance of a dozen miles, will be found the settlements
known as Eagle Farm, German Station, Nudgee, Sand-
gate, and Bald Hills on the north side of the river, and
Boggo, Oxley Creek, Cooper's Plains, and Bulimba on the
south. Most of the farms on the north, with some trifling
exceptions, are on what is usually known as forest land, in
contradistinction to scrub laud.
As these terms scrub and forest land will often recur, it
may be well to say that in Queensland the rich alluvial
lands on the banks of the rivers and creeks are generally
covered with a dense gi'owth of trees, usually intermingled
with which is a still denser growth of vines and creepers —
one prickly cane in particular is known as the " lawyer ■'•'
from the peculiar shape of its prickles — which in many
places render these scrubs entirely unpassable without the
assistance of a knife or tomahawk. These vines run
to the tops of the highest trees, and, passing from one
to the other, interlock and bind them in every direction,
often assuming the appearance of vast ropes and cordage.
40 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
The appearance of a scrub is entirely tropical. The
verdure is profuse and the colouring" lovely. Near the
bank of the creek or river, cabbage and other palms shoot
up into the sky with only a few feathery-like leaves at the
top. The huge fig-trees tower high over the lesser trees,
and spread their vast limbs and dark green branches in
every direction. The bunya and pine shoot upward far
above the surrounding trees, and the huge red cedars with
their vine-trellissed boles and branches are here and there
encountered. Below the broad leaves of many a strange
plant hides the view from the beholder, who slowly struggles
through the mass of vines and creepers, bending here and
twisting there to gain a passage. It requires no great
stretch of the imagination to picture here and there the
solemn arches of some vast cathedral. The whole scene is
one full of interest, not altogether bereft of a sense of awe
to him who sees it for the first time. If seen at early
morning or about sunset, other sights and sounds attract
the attention. The whole scrub seems full of life. Vast
flocks of pigeons of a dozen varieties are busily eating the
figs or berries, and cooing to each other the while. Cocka-
toos and parrots of lovely hues scream and chatter as they
fly from limb to limb. Cat-birds, bell-birds, whip-birds,
laughing jackasses, and a host of others, some with strange
and discordant and others with merry and cheerful note,
flash before the eye in every colour of the rainbow, and fill
the air with their notes. On the ground, scrub turkeys,
scrub wallabies, paddy-melons, and bandicoots cross one's
path and bound out of sight; and here and there he
catches a glimpse of a snake or iguana gliding quickly
away. Such is a scrub at sunrise and sunset. But in the
heat of the day all is still and quiet as a vast tomb, and he
must be an unfeelinsr man who does not at such a time
DISTEICT OF EAST MORETON. 41
have a sense of the grand and sublime steal over him.
The timber for the most part is of a different growth from
that of the forest land. In shorty no contrast could be
drawn between two countries in different parts of the
world which would be more striking than the charac-
teristics of Queensland scrub and forest in those districts
east of the main range. The blue gum and a few other
forest trees may occasionally be met with in the scrub,
grown to a gigantic size, but this is usually at the outskirts
and near the forest land. Besides the valuable pines and
the cedar, the beech, ash, and other merchantable timbers
are found in the scrubs. But by far the larger number of
trees are as yet considered of no value, although there
can be no question but that many of them will yet be
recognized as of use for the finer sorts of cabinet ware.
Some of these woods are of very peculiar description.
One known as the sassafras has a soft thick bark which
emits a most pleasant odour. Another, the iron-wood, is, as
its name indicates, so very hard as only to be cut when
green, and then by the keenest axe ; fortunately this tree
never attains a large growth. Prominent in those scrubs
where it grows is the bunya, which often attains a height
of 200 feet. Many very beautiful scrub woods known only
by the generic name of " scrub timber " are capable of
receiving a high polish and are very beautiful. The myall
grows in scrubs which take its name, more in the interior,
and is not common on the coast ; this wood is much used
for stock-whip handles, and emits a pleasing fragrance when
smartly rubbed with the hand. As a rule, the majority
of scrub timbers quickly rot on being cut down, the
stumps being easily got out after the third or fourth year ;
here also showing the difference between scrub and forest
timber, the latter being of the most lasting description, and
42 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the stumps capable of resisting decay for a generation at
least. Of course where vegetation is so profuse, no grass
could be expected to grow ; such in fact is the case, the
only covering of the soil being the decayed leaves, where
they have not been swept away by floods. Except for the
thick growth of vines and creepers, and the profuse vegeta-
tion of all sorts, the wanderer might almost fancy himself
stalking among the forest trees of Canada, and treading on
the decaying leaves of the maple and the beech. There is
also the same coolness in the air, for though it be the
height of summer, so dense is the foliage overhead that the
rays of the sun and the heat of the day are alike excluded.
The writer recalls many a journey through these gorgeous
though wearying Queensland scrubs, perchance on horse-
back, under the guidance of a faithful blackfellow, who
with tomahawk in hand cuts away here and there the
bushes and vines which stop up the almost undiscernible
blackfellow^s track, only to be distinguished by a slight
notch in a tree or the twisted top of a bush. Following
our conductor, sheath knife in hand, to cut any too
attentive vines, sometimes on foot and sometimes on horse-
back, now descending into a creek of cool and clear water
and anon climbing with difficulty the steep bank above, we
travel on until by and by the dim light and cool atmo-
sphere of the scrub is suddenly left behind and we emerge
into the open forest with its bright green or brown burnt-
looking grass and tall scraggy trees, the glare of a semi-
tropical sun and the heat of a cloudless sky. But if it is
hotter and less pleasant in the forest, the scene is more
extensive and the road open, and the cautious progress of
the scrub gives place to a swift canter.
Other denizens the scrub has more disagreeable than
dangerous. We refer to the scrub leech and the tick. If
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 43
one lias stopped for a few minutes in the scrulD, lie is almost
certain on arriving- at the next camp to find a fine able-
bodied leech or two, bloated with blood, hanging- on to some
part of his body^ or perhaps he first discovers the presence
of these phlebotomists by finding his boot half full of blood.
They are perfectly harmless as a rule, most persons in
Queensland enjoying such robust health that they can
afford the loss of a little blood. Leeches are also very
plentiful in some water-holes in the forest, where sometimes
they attack the bather in such numbers as to become
really dangerous. Once, at a noontide camp, the writer in
company with his companions, bathed in a fine, clear, deep
water-hole, where they soon found their persons becoming
clotted with leeches; of course a retreat was at once
sounded and the blood-suckers wiped off before they had
attained much size. At first they are very small, some of
them almost as fine as hairs, but they will swell as large as
one's little finger. Speaking of the matter, one of our
party i-elated an instance where two young men were
bathing on a run in the Moreton district subsequently to a
long ride after cattle. The day being hot, they remained
swimming a long time. Fortunately a friend riding up
noticed, what they had failed to observe, that their backs
were almost covered with leeches ; they at once swam to
the bank, but it was only with assistance that they were
able to come out of the water, and on the leeches being
taken ofi* them their bodies were covered in blood, one of
them fainting away^ before the blood was stopped. It is
always well to caution new arrivals of the danger to be
incurred from incautiously remaining too long in detached
water-holes without observing whether any leeches are in
the water, as, singular to say, one never feels their bite.
It is very amusing after bathing, or bogying, for that is
44 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the colonial phrase borrowed from the blacks, in company
with a " new chum/* to see the look of horror and disgust
that spreads over his face on emerging" from the water to
find three or four black, bloated leeches pendant from his
person. But like many another thing, one soon becomes
habituated to this, and looks with contempt on his former
squeamishness.
The tick is a far more dangerous and painful parasite.
There are two kinds of these in the scrub, the black and
the bottle tick. The latter of these, as its name imports,
is of some size, and can therefore be easily detected, being
something like the tick found in sheep in England. But
the black tick is so small as to be easily overlooked. It
will probably be days after the latter has attacked one that
it will be noticed, and by that time it will have eaten so
deep into the skin as to make its removal a work of some
difficulty. In this case great care must be taken not to
sever the head from the body, for should that occur, a very
painful inflammation will set in, not easily cured. A smart
pull is always needed to remove them, and on this being
eSected considerable pain will be felt in the part, limited by
the length of time during which the tick has been eating
its way in. These pests are never fatal to mankind, but
are frequently so to dogs and other animals. Singular to
say, if a dog has once been bitten by ticks and had them
picked off before their virus has had time for fatal con-
sequences, it seems to become impervious to subsequent
attacks ; for, after recovering from the first effects, it is
very unusual for it afterwards to succumb to them. Many
a valuable dog has been lost in this way, and it is usual to
search young ones daily for these vermin, when they have
been anywhere likely to harbour them. Calves and colts
often die from their attacks. The writer once saw a
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 45
splendid " pocket " of fine grass whicli was entirely useless
from the large number of ticks in the contiguous scrub,
which made it a fatal pasture for any young cattle.
In an agricultural point of view the scrub land is nearly
always to be preferred. Although costing much more than
ordinary forest land to clear, yet it is so much richer, that
very few would cultivate the latter when they could obtain
the former. There are exceptions to this rule of course, but
not in the East Moreton district to any extent. The
Darling Downs and the rich flats on the Pioneer River are
among the most prominent instances where forest or open
land is preferred. But scrub land has this great drawback,
it is nearly all subject to those floods which from time to time
devastate the settled districts, not only of Queensland, but to
a far greater extent those of the southern colonies. Every
cloud has its silver lining, and we must not forget that
these floods, coming as they do on an average every four or
five years, fertilize the farms of the settlers, and, by leaving
from one to three inches of alluvial deposit on the land,
manure it in a way that could not otherwise be done
without an enormous outlay. There are spots, however,
where the current, instead of leaving a deposit of this nature,
sweeps away the native soil, or perchance covers it with
sand or gravel. But these places are but few, and with
care can be avoided by the purchaser. Most parts of the
world have more poor land than good, and even the
Queensland scrubs are not all agricultural land. Some of
them are sandy and others stony, and in all probability will
remain under timber to the end of time.
"VVe must not forget to mention that in the interior
there are scrubs known as myall, brigalow, salt-bush, and
other scrubs, according to the sort of wood of which they
are for the most part composed. But these are beyond the
46 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
reach of agriculture^ and need no special notice. It is only
the vine scrubs such as we have attempted to describe,
growing near the coast, that will attract the attention of
the settler.
The forest land, as being more common-place, needs less
description thaa the scrub. As a rule, it is far less beau-
tiful, being in fact usually monotonous and wearisome
from its sameness and the prevailing greyish or brown tint
of its foliage. In the East Moreton district the forest
land is for the most part of very secondary quality and
heavily timbered. Especially is this the case in the
neighbourhood of Brisbane, where there is scarcely one
good farm of forest land to be found. Great efforts have
certainly been made to reclaim the forest in some of the
settlements we have mentioned ; but the only place where
anything like a good farm of this sort is to be found is at
the Bald Hills, and there the area of tolerable forest land
is limited to a few farms. In fact, when speaking
of forest land, it may be laid down as a rule that the
heaviest-timbered land is the worst, and that the soil
increases in value as the timber thins. Of course some
swampy land will be found with few trees on it, but except
in a very dry season few people would make the mistake
of selecting that sort of country. Much of the country
near the coast in East Moreton, and this remark will apply
to the coast country to the North, is utterly worthless
either for grazing or agriculture; being low, wet flats,
either covered with a thin growth of a sort of rush, or
with a shrub known as wallum. Other districts abound
with low ridges and swampy gullies, on which grows a
poor description of grass suitable only for cattle and horses,
the timber being too thick and there being too much
brushwood to fit it for sheep pastures. In the various
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 47
settlements around Brisbane the larger portion of the
forest lands have been purchased from Government, and
much of it enclosed in paddocks. But as a rule this
country is so very heavily timbered with the different
gums, iron-bark, blood-wood, Moreton Bay ash, she-
oak, &c., as to make the work of clearing far too heavy
for the benefits to be expected from such soil. Hundreds
of persons of limited capital ruined themselves in the
earlier years of the colony in endeavouring to cultivate
this sort of country, and their failure has had a very
deleterious effect upon the growth of the colony. Had
there been the same knowledge as to the whereabouts of
agricultural land and the actual capabilities of the soil ten
years since as now exists, many men who lost their all
would be living in affluence, the population of the colony
would be something like a quarter of a million, and
Queensland would enjoy that high character to which its
vast natural resources entitle it. But great blunders were
made alike by Grovernment and people, and the effects of
these will long be felt.
CHAPTER III.
EAST MORETON {continued).
The district around Brisbane though, as before stated,
for the most part consisting of rather poor soil, has by
the perseverance and industry of the settlers come to be
studded with smiling homesteads and flourishing farms,
vineyards, orchards, and gardens. Situated so near the
metropolis, many of the farmers have entered into the
dairy business, which has always been lucrative, and by
their proximity to town have been enabled to enrich the
naturally poor soil with manure from Brisbane. These
poor soils are also excellently adapted for the growth of
vines and fruit-trees, and this fact has been in every
direction taken advantage of. The farmers on the Brisbane
River, Oxley and Bulimba Creeks have grown maize
and oats, English and sweet potatoes until lately, and are
now almost to a man growing sugar-cane; several mills
having been erected to crush their crops, w^hile a floating
mill and distillery has been built, which visits the outlying
farms and receives their crops from the bank, thus saving
the trouble and expense of punting. Owing to floods and
frosts since this new state of things was inaugurated, the
returns in this district have not been very high. The
Inspector of Distilleries in his last Report gives the
average return of sugar per acre in the Oxley district,
which includes the Brisbane River, at 15 cwt., and in
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 49
the Cleveland District, which includes the Bulimba plan-
tations, at a little over 27 ^ cwt. In the Eag-le Farm,
German Station, Sandgate, and Bald Hill Districts, on the
other hand, corn, oaten hay, and potatoes, are still the
principal crops, while great attention is paid to dairying-
and the growth of fruit.
A ride from Brisbane to any of the last-named places
cannot fail to he highly interesting. The neat houses of
the settlers are almost always embowered in vineyards
and orchards, and large plantations of pine-apples every-
where abound. Prominent among these horticultural
decorations will be seen the gorgeous passion-fruit which
here fruits prolifically, producing a very pleasant, tart fruit,
creeping over fence, verandah, and roof, making the house
a veritable bower, and forming a cool shield from the sun's
rays. In the garden will be seen all the vegetables of
an English garden growing beside melons of various
sorts, sweet-potatoes, ginger, arrow-root, pine-apples, and
various other tropical productions. The fruit-trees mingle
in tropical redundancy of growth, showing among others
the banana, loquat, grape-vine, custard-apple, granadilla,
mulberry, peach, orange, lemon, citron, pomegranate, and
guava — all yielding their fruit with the greatest readiuess
in this lovely climate. Nowhere probably can so many
descriptions of fruits and plants be found growing in the
same garden as are to be found in Queensland, the incom-
parable climate appearing to suit equally the productions
of the temperate and the torrid zones. Under a judicious
system of irrigation a garden in this favoured colony can
be made to produce almost everything edible which grows
in any part of the world. In consequence of the numerous
gardens in its vicinity, Brisbane has now a most plentiful
supply of fruit at extremely low prices.
E
50 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
A large quantity of pines and bananas are exported to
Sydney and Melbourne^ besides mucli fruit sent to the
North where the settlements are not yet old enough to
supply themselves^ and also to the Downs where the
climate is too cool to produce many tropical fruits, but
where the gooseberry, currant, apple, and pear, &c., can
be grown to advantage.
It has often been observed that Queensland is peculiarly
blessed among the Australian colonies, in the possession of
so large a number of navigable rivers. Of these four lie to
the south of Brisbane — the Logan, the Albert, the Pim-
pama, and the Coomera. All these are now lined with
thriving sugar plantations. A good many of these plan-
tations have already mills erected, and from the excellent
returns from some of them — and these only horse-mills put
up at an expense of a few hundred pounds — there is every
reason to expect that this southern portion of East More-
ton, usually known as the Logan District, will continue to
advance in importance and wealth. The average return of
186 acres of sugar, the whole crushed on the Logaa in the
season of 1870 was 23|cwt. per acre. On the Albert
221 acres were crushed, with an average return of 27| cwt.
On the Pimpama and Coomera the return was much less,
but only a very small acreage was crushed. As showing
the rapidity with which this industry is increasing in the
district, we may say that, while in 1869, 243 tons of sugar
were made, and 3345 gallons of rum distilled, in 1870,
602 tons of sugar and 14,224 gallons of rum were produced.
The land under sugar in this district is principally scrub,
except on the Albert, where fine alluvial flats, nearly clear
of timber, existed. Mr. Henry Jordan, for so long the able
agent of the colony in England, has a large plantation on
the Logan, where he had last season 45 acres under crop.
DISTRICT OF EAST MOKETOX. 51
It certainly speaks well for the colony and ]\Ir. Jordan's
bona fides that, after retiring from the influential position
he held in England, and after being instrumental in in-
ducing so many people to settle in Queensland, he too
should settle down as a sugar-planter, and invest his all in
the colony. There is still a considerable quantity of good
land open for selection in this district. But there, as else-
where in East INIoreton, the land most available for water
carriage, including the frontage to the river, has already
been alienated.
Lying to the east of the Logan Road is the township of
Cleveland, situate on the shore of Moreton Bay, at a dis-
tance of twenty-two miles from Brisbane. This township,
though having only a small population, was at one time
intended as a rival to the capital as a shipping-port. A
jetty was built at a considerable expense, but it was found
the depth of water was too small at some considerable dis-
tance from the wharf to admit of these ideas being realized.
Cleveland is now known principally as the place where
sugar-growing was first practically tested in the colony.
The Hon. Captain Hope, of Kilcoy station, purchased land
and spent a very large sum in the growth and manufacture
of sugar. From various reasons, principally, it was under-
stood, through the incompetency of the person employed as
sugar-boiler, the speculation was not at first successful, and
for a season or two the plantation lay dormant. But the
plucky investment of so much capital had directed public
attention to the growth of cane, which it was proved at
Cleveland could be brought to perfection in the colony. Of
late years the plantation has been in full work, and in
March, 1871, 165 acres were under cane on this plantation.
Besides crushing his own cane Captain Hope crushes largely
for the farmers of the neighbouring settlements : he has
E 2
52 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
also a distillery in connexion with the sugar-mill^ which
last year turned out 6447 gals, of rum. There are a few
other considerable sug-ar estates in this part of Moreton
Bay. As a rule, the farms and plantations of this district
are cultivated in a style that does great credit to their
proprietors.
The Osley Creek district is mostly rich scrub land, and
is occupied by men who having carved their farms out of
the dense primeval forest, are now mostly living in a state
of independence on lovely estates, where they have all the
necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life in abundance.
Passing now through Brisbane, the tourist wishing to
visit other portions of the district would pass the Bald
Hills, close to which is the South Pine River, spanned by
an excellent wooden bridge, and after a ride of four miles
over level country reach the North Pine River, a broad but
shallow stream, easily fordable except at high- water spring-
tides. These two rivers unite lower down, but even then the
stream can barely be said to be navigable, only the smallest
steamers being able to ascend for a few miles at high tide.
The country here begins to be more open, and consequently
more valuable. On the upper part of the North Pine some
very excellent forest land, almost clear of timber, has,
since the passing of the Land Act of 1868, been thrown
open for selection. Large breadths of this are being put
under cane, which is likely to do well here, although, unlike
most other sugar districts, this is far above navigation.
Mills will probably soon be erected, and if so the district
around Samford will doubtless become an important sugar-
producing one. At present, however, the principal returns
made by the settlers are from their cows and dairies, more
especially the latter.
Following the main Gympie Road the traveller reaches
DISTEIOT OF EAST MOKETON. 53
the Caboolture River^ at a distance of twenty miles from
the North Pine, through an undulating, heavily timbered
country, entirely unfitted for cultivation. Six miles before
reaching the Caboolture, Stoney, or Burpengary Creek is
crossed. On the tidal part of this creek are two or three
thriving sugar estates with mills on each. One of these
comprises a portion of land formerly known as " The
German's Mistake," from the fact of its having been
settled on by those Moravian missionaries who came to
the colony in 1838, under the auspices of Dr. Lang. These
zealous men proposed to form a cattle station here at one
time ; but after the settlement had been made it was
abandoned, we believe, in consequence of a scarcity of
water for the cattle. Another station was formed some
miles further up the creek, which is yet held by some of
these missionaries and their descendants.
On the Caboolture are the plantations of Captain Whish,
Whish and Trevelyan, and Raff and Co. These planta-
tions are of considerable extent, and to Captain Whish is
due the honour of being the first person who practically
demonstrated that the growth and manufacture of sugar
could be made a financial success in Queensland. It is
true that the Hon. Captain Hope was the pioneer in the
formation of a plantation, and Parliament has so recognized
him by passing an Act granting him 2000 acres of land
for the service thus rendered to the colony. But as we
have before said, his attempts at manufacture were dead
failures, and many wiseacres were to be found who promul-
gated the idea through the press, that although Queens-
land would produce sugar-cane, yet from some peculiarity
of the climate the cane contained no sugar. We may say
en passant that probably no new country has produced more
of that excellent and valuable class of people, vulgarly known
54 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
as " croakers/' than has Queensland, and any progress she
has made has always been in the teeth of these people and their
prognostications. But the failure of the Cleveland planta-
tion, and the heavy outlay there made, would have most likely
deterred any one else from embarking in the new enterprise
in the face of all these assertions, had not Captain Whish
just at the nick of time, when all was in doubt, proved the
falseness of these evil predictions by producing a fair crop of
sugar, which sold readily at 28^. to 321. per ton. His out-
lay had been comparatively small on his plantation, every-
thing having been effected with that economy and practical
knowledge of details, so requisite to success in a new enter-
prise ; the crushing machinery was said to have been erected
for about 600/. Although not able to produce a high class
of sugars, something like two tons per acre of a very saleable
quality was produced, besides sufficient rum to cover work-
ing expenses. This very successful effort on so modest a
scale drew public attention more than ever to sugar-grow-
ing, and from that time dated the permanent establishment
of this lucrative industry in Queensland, which now bids
fair to become equal in extent, and far more remunerative
than squatting itself. We gladly pay this well-merited
tribute to Captain Whish as the real pioneer of successful
sugar-growing, the more readily from the fact, that his
leaning to Polynesian labour prevented him from becoming
popular among the farmers of East Moreton, who, when he
offered himself as a candidate for legislative honours some
time since, rejected him unanimously, he not receiving but
four or five votes in a constituency of more than as many
hundreds. The writer felt compelled at that time to oppose
his candidature, as believing Queensland to be fitted for a
white population, and desirous to see it settled by the teeming
masses of his own countrymen, rather than the coloured
DISTRICT OF EAST MOKETON. 55
races of the South Seas. Captain Whish has since been
nominated to the Upper House, and the same measure which
was meted to him has been given to his neighbour, ]\Ir.
G. Raff, another employer of and advocate for black labour.
The people of East Moreton have thus twice shown their
utter abhorrence of the Polynesian traffic, and their deter-
mination to do all in their power to put it down. Besides
the plantations of these gentlemen there are two others of
considerable extent in this neighbourhood, and many smaller
ones are being brought into cultivation. As in many other
places the good land here is a mere margin on the banks of
the river and creeks, the outside land being of that descrip-
tion known as '' coast-land,'^ some of which is fairish grass-
land for cattle or horses, while more is utterly worthless for
any purpose.
Some distance above the plantation referred to, at about
the head of tidal water on the Caboolture, which is also
sometimes spoken of as the Deception River, is a pleasantly
situated pocket of very good forest land, buried amid the
scrub, and known as Deadman's Pocket. As the story
exhibits some characteristic incidents of white and black
alike, it may be interesting to relate how this piece of land
came by such a melancholy name ; and if the reader will
kindly fancy the story to be told while the low, swampy
piece of country bordering the Gympie Road is being passed
on the way to the next northern settlement, it will serve
to relieve the tedium of the journey through this mono-
tonous country.
Many years since, when this part of the country was
almost uninhabited, and the scrub bordering the river
was visited only by a few timber-getters for the sake of
the pine and cedar with which it abounded, a party of four
or five men were camped for this purpose on the north side
56 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
of the river. Two of them, Peter Glynn and another,
crossed over to the south side for the purpose of looking
for timber to suit their purpose. They were accompanied
by two blacks, one of whom was called Barlow. On their
return towards their camp their road lay through this
pocket. According to Glynn's account, they were march-
ing in the following order : — Glynn was ahead, the black-
fellows next, and his mate behind. The latter was armed
with a gun, while Glynn had a pistol. Contrary to his
advice and wish, his mate constantly amused himself by
pointing his gun at the blacks and pretending to fire at
them. This conduct and some expressions he made use of
at length exasperated them so much that they determined
on revenge. Glynn appears to have had some dread of
this, for he cautioned his mate to cry out if the blacks
made any aggressive, movement. This caution was un-
heeded, for suddenly both blacks sprang on Glynn and
struck him on the head and hands with their nullah-
nullahs — short, small clubs of very heavy wood. So sudden
was this attack, that from the blows he received, Glynn
was unable to draw his pistol, and called on his mate to
fire. Had he done so, he could easily have wounded or
killed one of the blackfellows ; but, although the cause of
the outbreak, this man was too frightened to make any
movement, but actually stood agape with his gun in his
hands during the whole fray. Glynn ultimately managed
to draw his pistol and fired at Barlow, inflicting a terrible
wound in his side. The savage leapt, according to Glynn's
account, at least ten feet into the air, and when Glynn
was hoping to see him fall dead, he again rushed at him,
and, with his companion, dealt him such blows as brought
him to the ground. In endeavouring to wrench the pistol
from his grasp, they struck him so severely over his hands
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 57
as to break them both, and, thinking him to be dead; left
him to attack his cowardly mate. This man actually
allowed the blacks to walk up to him and seize his g-un
before he made the least sign. Then waking as from a
trance, he turned and fled for the scrub. A dead gum-tree
lay in his path, which still lies in the same place; in
jumping over this he fell, and the blacks, who were close
at his heels, brained him with the butt of his own gun.
They then disappeared with haste into the scrub. Glynn,
after lying as still as possible for some time in deadly fear
of the return of the blacks, finding they did not again
appear, essayed to beat a retreat from the fatal scene.
Although his companions were camped within a mile and
almost within cooey, his terror was too great to permit
him to go towards them, as it was in the same direction
in which he had seen the blacks enter the scrub. Twelve
miles from where he lay was the cattle-station of the
German missionaries already alluded to, called Flagstone,
and to this place the poor wounded wretch determined in
his desperation to proceed. He was in a pitiable plight
for travelling. Both his hands were broken and useless ;
he had many severe cuts on his head, besides other wounds ;
and, worse than all, in the fray his moleskin trousers had
come down about his feet, and become so entangled that
he was unable to walk, while the condition of his hands
precluded his remedying this accident. He was, therefore,
obliged to crawl on his elbows and knees, and thus he
actually made his way through scrubs and bush, over
swamp and hill to Flagstone. It took him no less than
seven days to accomplish this, which, incredible as it may
sound, he did without a morsel to eat, but fortunately
without any lack of water. When he reached the station,
which was only a very small one, the lad who first saw him
58 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
was horrified at the apparition of a creature bearing little
resemblance to a human being, covered with blood and dirt
and haggard beyond description. From having travelled
over a deal of gravel and quartz-ridges, his legs and arms
were quite raw, and his track could be traced for miles
by his blood. Careful treatment gradually brought him
round, and he was ultimately restored to health.
On these facts being reported in Brisbane, the native
troopers were sent out to punish the blacks. E-eaching
the neighbourhood, they carefully concealed their presence
until they had discovered the camp of the blacks in a
pocket near the river. This was some time after the
murder had been committed, and apparently the blacks
had forgotten all about it. They were met from all the
district round to hold a corrobboree. Various tribes were
represented, and among others was a black- boy (the blacks
who work on a station or farm are always, like the blacks
in the Southern States, called boys) from Flagstone itself,
who had received liberty for a few days to attend the
corrobboree. While the glee was at its highest, suddenly
a deadly volley was poured into their midst from all sides.
A rush was made for the scrub by those unharmed or only
slightly wounded, and the black troopers rushed in,
despatching the wounded and then massacring the babes
or piccaninnies, and burning and destroying all the mi-mis
or huts, together with dilly-bags, spears, boomerangs,
nullahs, and yellamans or shields. Twenty-two blacks of
all ages and both sexes were killed, but unfortunately
the murderers, one if not both of them, were unhurt.
Among those who escaped was poor Larry, who had gone to
the corrobboree in all the splendour of new crimson shirt
and white moleskin trowsers, but who presented himself
next day at Flagstone minus clothes, and covered with
DISTRICT OF EAST MOKETON. 59
scratches and wounds obtained in his hasty flight at night
through the scrub. Barlow lived to recount his prowess
and show his wound for many years, and was often hired
by the settlers about Breakfast Creek in after-days to do
odd jobs of wood-cutting, &c. Like all his race, he had
no objection to give the history of the whole transaction to
any one with whom he was on intimate terms. He was
gathered to his fathers at length ; but Larry yet survives
to de})ict the horrors of that midnight onslaught. Peter
Glynn, as if to exemplify the fact that a man may survive
danger and hardship almost miraculously to meet his death
afterwards in the simplest way, was drowned by the up-
setting of a boat in Moreton Bay some years after these
events transpired.
It may not be inappropriate to state here, that under no
circumstances should white men, when travelling on foot
with blacks, walk in front. Why, we cannot say, but it is
certain that if this caution is not observed, the blackfellow
has an almost irresistible impulse to slay the person who
thus offers his back to the blow. When engaged in hand-
to-hand conflict blackfellows always wound each other in
the back and never in front, and perhaps some association
of ideas induces them to practise on the white man. We
remember on one occasion a blackfellow in our own
employ, and who possessed finer intellectual qualities than
the majority of whites, when travelling in the scrub with
a white man, suddenly in great agitation desiring the
stranger to go behind him, for said he, " Supposing you
go on first time, directly me killum you along a road."
His whole manner when making this curious statement
was hurried and excited, and from an intimate knowledge
of his character we have no doubt that it had required the
exercise of an amount of self-command quite foreign to the
60 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
ordinary black to enable him to spare the life of this white
man. Being asked at the house afterwards^ what induced
him to act so^ he was unable to give any definite reason,
but strongly advised that no white man should ever " walk
before blackfellow/^ I have journeyed often with this
man, eating and sleeping at the same fire, alone sometimes
for days together, and believe him to be more trustworthy
than the average run of white servants.
Leaving the Caboolture by the Northern or Gympie
Road, the road, as already indicated, lies through a poor
and monotonous country for a distance of over thirty miles.
On the way are passed those singular mountains known
as the Glass-houses, which suddenly rise from the level
country in some cases, and in others from ridges of greater
or lesser height. Their bold, bluff appearance is very strik-
ing when suddenly approached from the thick forest, pro-
bably the first sight being caught of one through the
branches of the trees towering on high in the blue heavens,
like some huge castle. Some of these mountains rise
precipitously on all sides and others gradually taper to a
peak from their base. The ascent of such of them as can
be scaled well repays the traveller, who sees stretched
before him the heaving forest for many a mile, the bright
waters of the bay to the east, and the blue mountains of the
range to his left. Away to the north the eye surveys the
various bays and indentations of the coast, with other
ranges all clothed in the sombre-coloured forest foliage.
Close by him he will be almost startled by the presence of
many others of these huge mountains, closing in the view
here and there. It requires no great stretch of the imagina-
tion to fancy these frowning and silent sentinels of antiquity
to be the impersonations of the gods and giants of past
ages, looking down in silent grandeur on the white intruder
DISTEICT OF EAST MORETON. 61
on their everlasting repose. Perhaps from few places in
the world are more extensive views to be obtained uniting
more of the sublime and beautiful than from the top of
one of these Glass-houses. In future years, when the
country is more populous and its beauties come to be
better appreciated, we doubt not that troops of excursionists
will climb these hills and drink in, as we often have, the
glories of their grand and lovely prospects. As might be
supposed these mountains are not without their traditions,
and the blackfellows of the neighbourhood tell many a
quaint legend of love and battle connected with them.
Close to the Glass-houses is a little settlement with two or
three houses for the accommodation of travellers.
The next settlement reached is on the Mooloolah, and
owes its existence almost entirely to the growth of the
sugar interest. Many considerable plantations have been
started here on the borders of the creek on some excellent
open country, which however has the disadvantage of being
occasionally flooded. Two or three plantations have also
been started on the Mooroochy, a river a few miles further
to the north, the watershed of which forms the northern
boundary of the Moreton District. All these settlements
are too young to allow us to speak of any returns, but from
the character of the soil it may be anticipated that very
satisfactory riesults will crown the labours of the settlers.
There is on the Mooloolah a plain of about nine miles in
extent, of excellent land nearly free from timber, it being
possible to plough many acres in one piece without any
preparatory clearing. This occurs also on the Albert and
to some extent on the North Pine, and is more common
further north. But why we draw particular attention to
this piece of land is to refer to a peculiarity in the surface
of the land here and in many other parts of the country.
62 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
This is known as "melon-hole''' country, and presents a
surface as if eaten out by some terrestrial small-pox.
Nothing is seen like a smooth solid surface, but the whole
is broken into little mounds of all sizes and shapes, while
the intervening hollows are of greater or less depth and
breadth, but all alike covered with grass. On some of these
melon-hole flats it is possible to ride a horse accustomed to
that sort of country without much danger at a good pace.
In other places the holes are too deep and wide to admit of
any but the most painstaking progress being made ; and
again, in other places, like some of the plain in question,
they are too deep and rugged to enable any sort of riding
but a series of jumps from hill to hill. Of course in
wet weather these holes are full of water, which being
retained for a much longer time than it would be on a
plain surface renders this country wet and unfit for pasture,
except in a dry season. Nothing satisfactory is known as
to the formation of this melon-hole country, which is
greatly disliked by all colonists. It is only found on flats,
and was most likely originated by the action of water
on those places. But why if some damp flat lands have
become melon-holey, others have not, it would probably
puzzle a philosopher to decide. Graziers and farmers have
alike execrated this honey-combed country, and it was left
for the sugar grower to think of utilizing any of it. Many
a poor new chum, careering wildly after a mob of cattle, a
kangaroo, or dingo, has been brought to grief by his horse
turning a somersault among the melon-holes over which he
has incautiously allowed him to gallop. On the Mooloolah
plain many of these holes were three and four feet deep
and strong bullock ploughs were needed to break down the
hills and bring the land to a level surface. If this process
was to some extent slow and costly, yet the comparative
DISTRICT OF EAST MOEETON. 63
absence of trees to be grubbed out still left the advantage
with the owner of this land over scrub or forest, while it is
considered to be eminently adapted to the growth of the
cane.
The country about Mooloolah and Mooroochy was first
opened by timber-getters when this pai-t of the country
was a lerra incognita and strange tales were told of the
bloodthirstiness of the natives. Many years since, in the
penal times, a convict accompanied some officials from
Sydney to the district on a botanizing tour. He noticed
the enormous cedar-trees growing in the scrubs, and wisely
thinking the possession of this knowledge would be of
importance some time, kept his own counsel on his return
to the settlement, as Brisbane was then called. In due
course of time came freedom and the end of the penal
period. After some time, having saved sufficient means
to provide an outfit for himself and a mate, he started off
with his wife, also a convict, for the cedar scrubs, which
were to him a veritable mine of wealth. Schooner after
schooner visited the Mooloolah, and loaded the rafts of
cedar he and his party floated down to the river's mouth,
and had he not been addicted to the vice of intoxication,
so common among his class, he might have become a
wealthy man. But every schooner in coming to load
cedar, was sure to bring, besides the requisite rations and
stores, many cases of brandy and kegs of rum, so that the
loading of each vessel was the signal for a prolonged
saturnalia, in which whites and blacks alike mingled; so
that what should have been a mine of wealth only furnished
means for repeated debauches. To such an extent was
this carried, that we have heard it asserted that now and
then a cargo of cedar, worth many hundred pounds, would
be entirely forgotten in the reckoning kept by the wife
64 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
who, like her husband, was no scholar, but had a large
capacity for drinking-. In course of time other persons of
a different character settled down at Mooloolah in the
same trade and a settlement sprung- up, giving occupation
to a small steamer which ran regularly between Brisbane
and this place every week.
This man and his wife were specimens of the " old
hand^' of a very common type. We shall never forget
first seeing this woman in a state of intoxication with a
bottle of rum in her hand, treating indiscriminately
bullock-drivers and blacks. Her mouth full of obscenity
and blasphemy, with scarcely any attribute of the female
sex remaining, she struck us as being one of the most
loathsome and repulsive sights we had ever seen. The
female convict of Moreton Bay was at best the lowest and
most debased of the worst strata of society, and this
woman fully bore out the idea of intense degradation and
utter abandonment conveyed in the term, female convict.
It is hardly possible to over-estimate the moral contami-
nation arising from constant intercourse with people of
this class. The calm observer cannot but detect the moral
virus which has impregnated colonial manners from the
presence of these people. Some year or two after we saw
her, this woman shot dead with a gun, in cold blood, a
young man, a bullock-driver at Mooloolah, with whom she
had been on improper terms of intimacy, from a feeling of
jealousy. She stood her trial in Brisbane, but there having
been no witness of the tragedy, by some legal quibble she
got off. Soon after this the Gympie diggings broke out,
and both husband and wife joined in the rush. He had a
good claim, out of which he might easily have saved a few
hundreds, but the same habit overpowered them; while
the poor wretch, his wife, was glad to seek in the rum
DISTRICT OF EAST MORETON. 65
bottle that insensibility denied her in sleep, when, as she
averred, the ghost of the murdered man always stood
before her, making her life a constant horror, so that she
wished she had been hung.
A couple of miles from the mouth of the Mooroochy, in
the open sea, is a small rocky island, called by the blacks
Manumbah, connected with which they have a very pretty
superstition. They tell you that this island is sacred to
two lovely females, " young-fellow gins,^' who reside here
all the day in a cave, of which only they know the entrance.
For their food they come across every night to the main
land in a canoe, and no blackfellow is permitted to see,
much less molest them. They live in a state of perpetual
youth, and as no black-fellow would think of lauding on
their island even if in danger of his life, they live for ever
in a state of seclusion and privacy. We were never able
to learn why or for what pui'pose those vestal virgins are
supposed to lead this romantic existence.
East Moreton, which terminates at the Mooroochy
River, ninety miles north of Brisbane, is by far the most
important district of the colony, and must for many years,
if not always, remain so. It returns seven members to
parliament distributed as follows : East Moreton two,
Brisbane three. South Brisbane one, and Fortitude Valley
one. There has for years past been an agitation to amend
the representation, it being felt that this important district
should be more fully represented, and both parties have
pledged theinselves to carry a measure of this sort. A
Bill for this purpose was actually introduced last year,
which proposed to divide this large constituency into three
divisions, bounded northerly by the Logan, Caboolture
and Mooroochy Rivers respectively, and giving to the
two Southern divisions two members, and one to the
F
6B THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Northern, Some measure of this nature must doubtless
soon be passed/
There is little gold- dig-ging- in this district. Five or
six years since a small " rush''^ took place to a place at the
head of Ennogerra Creek, some twenty miles from Brisbane,
and a little gold was got, principally in small nuggets.
Lately a reef said to contain gold has been discovered by
some men in the employ of a Brisbane solicitor, who
proposed forming a company to work it. Gold has
frequently been found in minute quantities about Spring
Hill in the city of Brisbane. We remember that more
than eight years ago considerable excitement was created
in Brisbane by the discovery of a few " colours'''' of gold in
the gizzard of a duck reared on Spi-ing Hill. Shafts have
been sunk in many places there without finding gold, or
more than the mere colour.
^ In 1872 an Electoral Act was passed, dividing the colony into
forty-two electorates, each returning one member to the Assembly. Of
these, nine are from East Moreton.
CHAPTER IV.
WEST MORETON.
West Moreton is divided from East Moreton by the
Woog-aroo Creek and Brisbane River and runs westerly to
the Dividing Range. Its southern boundary, like that of
East Moreton, is the range bounding the colony of New-
South "Wales ; on the north it is bounded by another range
known as D'Agular's Range. As in East Moreton, the
most densely populated portion is the central, lying about
its chief town Ipswich.
This prettily situated town has rather suffered a deca-
dence since the completion of the Southern and Western
Railway, and has lost much of its prestige and importance.
At one time it was a worthy rival of Brisbane, and it still
has an equal weight in the politics of the colony, having
together with West Moreton, six members in the House,
who have, up to the present, invariably been Ipswich men,
who, by their united action, have earned the titles of the
Ipswich Phalanx, or the Ipswich Clique, according as they
are spoken of by friends or opponents.' Ipswich is situated
twenty-five miles inland, from Brisbane, on the road to the
Darling Downs, and fifty miles by the Brisbane River and
Bremer Creek, the latter being the stream on which the
town is situated, up which boats have to ascend at high
tide about sixteen or eighteen miles. The road is an
' TLe influence of Ipswich has been lessened hy the new Electoral Law.
F 2
68 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
excellent one for Queensland^ and fast coaches travel each
way every day except Sunday. But the visitor who wishes
to see the most for his money will go to Ipswich by water,
a steamer plying each way once a day, as the tides suit.
Leaving Brisbane pretty views are had of the Parliamentary
Buildings, barracks, gaol, and other public buildings, and
many suburban residences, half hidden by foliage, meet the
view. As reach after reach of the river is passed, flourish-
ing farms, banana groves, cotton fields, orange groves,
sugar plantations, and sugar mills are passed in rapid suc-
cession. By-and-by the confines of West Moreton are
reached, and a very fine view is had of the Lunatic Asylum
at Woogaroo. This establishment is on a considerable
scale and does great credit to the humanity of the colony.
Sorry we are to have to add that in no part of the world,
except among the Spiritualists and Spirit Rappers of the
United States, is there greater need of an establishment of
this, sort than in Queensland, where the drinking habits of
the people and the isolation of the shepherd''s life united
prove fruitful of insanity.
Passing Woogaroo, known also as Goodna, which is a
pretty little village on the Brisbane and Ipswich Road,
with two churches and a school, the steamer soon reaches
Redbank. By this time the character of the countiy is
changed. Instead of the deep rich scrubs and fruitful
farms of Boggo, Oxley, Indooripilly, and the Seventeen-
mile Rocks, open forest lands are seen, and the curious
stranger will notice that the banks of the river are deeply
fringed with a thick growth of the castor-oil plant, which
has probably been propagated by a few seeds left at some
season of flood. Redbank is noted for its coal-mines, the
property of Campbell and Co., which for years supplied the
coiils for the steam-vessels which visited the port of Bris-
WEST MORETON. G9
bane. Other coal-pits are now worked in this district,
which compete with these mines. The method of obtaining
the coals is very inexpensive, as they are run out in trucks
from the side of a hill on a tramway and emptied into
shoots, from which they are easilj'' passed to the holds of
the lighters and steamers. West Moreton is rich in coal-
mines, and is looked on by many as likely yet to become a
g'reat manufacturing district. In fact some years since it
was proposed to start a cotton factory in Ipswich, and as
the staple is grown in the neighbourhood, and during the
cotton famine in England thousands of cotton operatives
settled in Queensland, there was every reason to anticipate
a reasonable amount of success. But, as in nearly every
other new undertaking, capital was wanting. It was pro-
posed to raise the requisite funds by the formation of a
company with ]l. shares; but the opposition of some in-
fluential persons threw cold water on the affair. There can
be little doubt, however, that with the advantages offered
by a heavy tariff, and the natural facilities of the district,
both cotton and woollen mills will yet be started. At this
time there is neither cotton, woollen, or paper mill in the
colony although the raw material for each abounds, as well
as a ready and certain market.^
There is at Redbank one of those manufactories that bid
fair to add vei-y largely to the wealth of this great pastoral
country. Towns and Co. have here a meat-preserving
establishment, at which in 1870 over 35,000 sheep were
preserved. This is not by any means so large a quantity
as some other places have preserved. The rapid growth of
this business in nearly all parts of southern and central
Queensland promises to reanimate the pastoral interest ere
' AnothtT, and we believe, a more successful attempt Las recent I3'
been made at establishing a cotton factory at Ipswich.
70 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
long, and to prove as great a boon as was the introduction
of boiling-down establishments.'
After passing Redbank the junction of the Brisbane and
Bremer is soon reached. Before this, several shallow places
in the river have to be crossed which require all the skill
of the steersman safely to pass. The Bremer is very-
narrow, being more of the nature of a canal than a
river, just admitting of the passage of the class of
steamers built expressly for this navigation. So narrow
is the creek at Ipswich, that the steamers have actually to
be turned before reaching the wharf in a wider part than
ordinary, hence called the Basin. On reaching the wharf
the first sight which attracts the attention of the stranger
is the fine iron railway bridge, on piers, which crosses the
river just beyond at a considerable height.
Ipswich, which delights in being characterized as "the
head of navigation,^'' was before the construction of the
railway a very busy thriving town. In those days it was
no unusual thing to see from a dozen to a score bullock
drays standing in the street at once, either unloading the
ponderous bales of wool — the clip, perhaps, of some station
400 to 500 miles in the interior — or loading stores for the
next yearns supply of some far-off station or country store.
It by no means followed that these bullock-teams were
owned by the person whose property they transported. As
a rule this was not the case. By far the greater number
were owned by the drivers themselves, or some one by whom
3 This prediction is now more than realized. Cattle have at least
doubled in value, and a tide of prospei'ity has set in for graziers that
apparently has no limit. Since meat preserving has become fully
established as a regular manufacture, cattle stations have become a
most desirable and lucrative property. Cattle that ten years ago sold
for 25*. to 30j. are now worth 90*. to 100*.
WEST MORETON. 71
they were employed^ who made " carrying " his business, and
more Hkely than not resided, when at home, in Ipswich
itself. There were hundreds of these teamsters, or as they
are always called bullock-drivers, who, if not resident as
married men in Ipswich, spent the bulk of their money
and procured all their varied and expensive requisites
there. Hence the continuous arrival of these teams was a
great source of wealth and prosperity to the town. Situated
at the point where the land carriage terminated, not only
did the town itself rapidly grow in importance and popula-
tion, but its storekeepers amassed wealth and spread the
ramifications of their business into every part of Southern
Queensland. F'rom 1861 to 1866 the population had more
than doubled, while the enterprising and energetic cha-
racter of its inhabitants — in this respect far superior to the
more sleepy people of Brisbane, who have never been able
entirely to shake off that stagnation peculiar to penal
settlements — gave the town a commanding influence in
political matters. But a great change has taken place now
in every respect but that last mentioned.
The completion of the railway to Dalby and Warwick,
which was to have done such great things for Ipswich, has
operated in precisely the opposite way to that which was
contemplated. The growth of the town has been retarded,
business has fallen off j in consequence of the stopping of
the carrying-trade by bullock-teams population has de-
creased, and in many of the streets the grass grows where
once was bustle and activity. In older countries the
introduction of railways, although annihilating some
branches of industry, developes others which more than
compensate for this first loss ; but this has not been the
case in Queensland. The dominant party has so managed
affairs that the railway has lessened business and decreased
72 THE QUEEN OF THE CM3L0NIES.
the population. Their interest is best served by the ab-
sence of population^ or, what amounts to the same thing',
they think so, and the result is that the people of Ipswich
have to suffer under two evils— the cessation of business
and a largely increased taxation to meet the interest on
the railway debt. One great benefit this state of things
has produced, it has forced large numbers of people who
were settled in the town, and were consumers rather than
producers, to take up land and commence farming. That
this large increase in the agricultural population will
ultimately effect a most beneficial change on Ipswich
itself there is no doubt ; but the benefits arising from the
spread of agriculture, though the most permanent, are of
far slower growth in a new country than those arising
from other industries. The land has to be cleared, fenced,
and brought into cultivation. In the case under con-
sideration not only had those preliminaries to be gone
through, but experiments had to be made as to a suitable
and remunerative crop. Unfortunately there was, so lately
as 1866, an almost universal and insane objection to
agricultural pursuits, and the man who engaged in them
was looked on as a sort of lunatic, harmless to every one
but himself and family, if he chanced to have one. All
these obstacles had to be overcome before much farming
was done in West More ton. Grim necessity bore down
pi'ejudice, and the excellence of the soil and the in-
domitable perseverance of the Anglo-Saxon has done the.
rest. In 1863 the value of cotton grown in Queensland
was 305G/?., in 1872 it amounted to 59,774/., of which the
larger part was from West Moreton. Experiment has
shown that this crop, in favour of which one had only to
speak a few years since to be laughed at for his pains, is
well adapted to the soil and climate of this district, and it
WEST MORETON. 73
is now universally grown. There are some large plan-
tations, but the greater part is grown by farmers holding
from 40 to 320 acres of land, on which the work is princi-
pally done by the farmer and his family. As in every
other part of the colony, a large proportion of the settlers
in this district are Germans, whose descendants in the next
generation become entirely absorbed in the English popu-
lation, in a great majority of cases not being able even to
speak their mother tongue.
Ipswich contains many good buildings. It has an
excellent grammar-school, which until lately was the
only one in the colony. It has several large and hand-
some churches, with, a hospital, school of arts, &c. Being
built on a limestone formation, it is much dryer and
cleaner in the wet season than most Queensland towns,
but has the drawback of being very hot in the summer
season ; there is, however, nearly always a fine breeze
blowing on the surrounding hills. The railway buildings
are handsome and roomy, while the business done in them
is ridiculously small. It is no very unusual thing for a
train to come in or depart with a solitary passenger, while
four or five is about the ordinary number in each train.
In the wool season a considerable freight comes down, but
the policy of the Government in keeping up a high rate of
charges does not tend to promote business. It sometimes
happens when grass and water are plentiful that the bullock-
drays bring their loading direct to Ipswich, being able
to compete with the enormous rates charged on the rail-
way.* Perhaps our English readers will hardly believe
* Since the above was penned a vast change for the better has taken
place. The discovery of the Queensland Tin Field, the great improve-
ment in every department of business, and, last but not least, a change
of government and government policy has wrought a happ}' change
74 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
that in a countiy producing the most excellent and durable
timber in the world, Government saw fit to order all the
station-houses of the Eug-lisli ironfounders ; yet sueh is
the fact. The large and expensive stations on this line,
preposterously large for the business to be transacted in
them for many years to come, were all made in England
and sent out to the colony to be put up. In fact, one
large station is still lying in pieces, the Government
having been apparently unwilling to outrage public
opinion further by putting it up at the time when thou-
sands who could have built it were almost starving in the
colony. Thus has this magnificent colony been mercilessly
overweighted by its rulers, and the people whom the rail-
vv^ay threw out of work were heavily taxed to pay the
interest on a debt contracted for an almost useless line.
Had the money which this line cost been spent as far as
possible in the colony, the mere circulation of so much
capital — th'e life-blood of a young country with such vast
resources as this — would have gone far to have enabled
the people to endure the extra taxation necessary ; but the
engineers and others interested in the matter took care
that not one penny should be spent in Queensland that
could by any means be laid out with their English friends.
Hence the fine iron station and bridge at Ipswich were
constructed in England, w^hile the soil teems with timber
scarcely less durable than iron, and far more suitable to
the climate ; the only connection between the people of
Queensland and the major part of the two or three millions
their railway has cost being the 300,000^. they have yearly
to pay in the shape of interest. Most of the loan reached
also in railway matters, and wo believe the railway traffic now pays not
only the working expenses, but also the interest on the railway
debt.
WEST MORETON. 75
Queensland, not in cash, but iron castings. Even the
navvies employed on the line were brought with them by
the Eng-lish contractors as a portion of the plant to be
removed on the completion of the work. As to their
wages while in the colony, the understrappers of the eon-
tractors obliged the men to spend their money for the
most part in their " shanties/''' and not with any outsiders.
Thus a few railway men were enabled to enrich themselves
at the public expense, and when the line was completed
left the colony with large fortunes. The public, awaking
to the fact that the railway loan had not been judiciously
expended, visited their wrath upon the Minister of Works,
who, although a very able man and entirely free from any
imputations on his own character, was obliged to resign his
office and retire for a time into private life.'
In looking at the Ipswich Railway Station one cannot
but compare the policy of Queensland with that of the
United States. There, the idea is strictly worked out of
opening up intercommunication on the cheapest and most
economic principle. While lines of rail are laid down with
unparalleled rapidity, very little attention is paid to the
beauty or elegance of the stations. Even in the older and
wealthier cities this holds good. New York itself, when
last visited by the writer, had not a more pretentious station
than that at Ipswich. The Hudson River Railway Com-
pany, one of the best paying lines in the States, were con-
tent to carry on their large business in a building much
inferior in appearance to this one, to be used for the accom-
modation of a dozen daily passengers and a few parcels of
merchandize.
As the history of the colony is, in a great measure, con-
* This gentleman, the Hon. Arthur Macalister, has since returned
again to Parliamentary life, and is now Premier of the colon j-.
76 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
nected with this railway, and the policy which has retarded
its growth gave rise to its construction, we have endeavoured
to lay before our readers a sketch of the whole transaction,
and the policy which originated, and for several years ren-
dered it almost useless.
The gold-fields of West Moreton are not extensive or
rich as yet, hut in many places several men have been able
for years past to obtain a subsistence, and sufficient induce-
ment to cause them to cling to the various places in which
they are located. These small " rushes " would appear to
indicate that considerable gold deposits, most probably in
reefs rather than alluvial ground, will yet be found in
this portion of the colony.
In 1863 the Darling Downs squatters, a powerful and
compact aristocracy, induced the Ipswich party to join
them in urging the building of a railway from that town
to Toowoomba, the principal town on the Downs. Various
arguments were made use of to overcome the objections to
this measure of different parties. The squatters of the
Maranoa and Warrego were told that it would at once
cheapen the cost of carriage — always a matter of grave
importance to the outside settlers — and that ultimately the
line would be carried on to them. To the Ipswich and
West Moreton people it was pointed out that the making a
railway through the district, of which Ipswich would be
the terminus, would give employment to all classes of
labour, would increase the present business of the town,
and tend to consolidate it by drawing to it the trade of the
Dawson and Burnett, which now went to Rockhampton
and Maryborough.
On the townspeople of Toowoomba, Drayton, and War-
wick it was urged, that the opening up of the splendid
agricultural country on the Downs by a railway, was
WEST MORETON. 77
the proper and rational method of settling a thoroughly
agricultural population on these unrivalled lands, and that
by this means it might be expected that the same results
would follow there as had been witnessed in Illinois, and
other western states of America. The same picture, with
some slight additions, was held up to the gaze of the people
of Brisbane and East Moreton. To them it was said that
the ultimate destiny of the colony was undoubtedly to
become an agricultural one. That the numerous navi-
gable rivers and creeks which everywhere open commu-
nication between the rich scrubs lining their banks and
the metropolis; the admirable character of much of the
soil east of the Main Range, as well as the unequalled
fertility of the Darling Downs, only awaiting the plough
of the settler to become the granary of Queensland, and
a source of untold wealthy all indicated that if only
means of travel were provided farmers would flock to the
colony by thousands; the facilities afforded by a cheap
railway would cause the lands now occupied by sheep to
pass into their hands; and that before many years a suf-
ficient quantity of wheat and other cereals would be
grown in Queensland, not only for home use but for
export. It was further pointed out how greatly this would
enhance the wealth of the port and town of Brisbane,
while the addition of so large a number of settlers to the
population, would tend to increase the political power of
the agricultural party in Parliament, now feebly represented
by the two East Moreton members.
We may remark here that at this time the splendid
eountiy in the north-west of the colony, was almost if not
entirely unknown. Even the Peak Downs were but little
known, while the splendid grazing country on the Barcoo
and Thompson, and other rivers in that direction, were
78 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
without a hoof of cattle or sheep. These districts are" now
known to be far superior even to the Darling Downs for
g-razing purposes ; but in 1861 and 1863 many were in the
habit of regarding the Darling Downs as the most valuable
section of country in the whole Australias. Were these
lands turned to the use which was contemplated when this
railway was proposed, their contiguity to the seaboard
would have indeed rendered them one of the most valuable
districts not only in Australia, but in the whole empire or
the wide world.
Prior to this railway agitation there had been a company
formed for constructing a wooden tramway from Brisbane
to the Downs. There can be little doubt but that this plan
was much more suitable to the requirements and resources
of the colony than the more ambitious and expensive rail-
way. But various interests, in particular that of Ipswich,
were opposed to it, and the idea of a tramway was aban-
doned, and the promoters made a heavy loss. The argu-
ments which had been used in favour of the railway were
sufficient to secure the votes of all the southern members,
but those of Brisbane and East Moreton. In Queensland,
from the first, it has been the custom to view every question
in a mere parochial light. Perhaps, in this instance, it was
a sufficient reason for the Brisbane members to oppose this
measure because it was likely to benefit Ipswich, just as the
latter town usually opposes any measure favourable to the
former. The Brisbane men could scarcely have foreseen
the underhand and deceptive means by which the building
of this road would be made to retard instead of increase
the settlement of population. Of course, the northern mem-
bers, of whom unfortunately at that time there were three
less than at present, opposed the bill, but by some means
on a tie-vote the Speaker, who w^as member for Wide Bay —
WEST MORErON. 70
a district entirely opposed to the railway — was induced to
give it his support, and thus the initiative was taken in the
matter. The following session, 1862-63, the southern
members who had at first opposed the railway, now tliat it
was commenced, gave their support to votes for a larger
loan for its completion from Ipswich to Toowoomba.
It is not our intention, nor would it be interesting to our
readers, to give a minute account of the legislative action
that followed. Vote after vote was taken, and at first,
through the preponderating influence of Mr. Herbert, the
first Premier of the colony — now Under-Colonial Secretary
— and subsequently through the exertions of Mr. Macalis-
ter, who afterwards rose to the same position, the line has
been extended from Toowoomba westward to Dalby, a dis-
tance of 105 miles from Ipswich, and southerly to Warwick,
near the New South Wales border, a distance of sixty-five
miles further. To close the mouths of the northern mem-
bers it was found necessary, also, to vote enough money
for a short line from Rockhampton to Westwood, a distance
of only thirty miles, with a promise of a further extension
of this otherwise perfectly useless work at some future time.
Besides this an expensive jetty was built at Bowen, which is
nearly as great a waste of money as the Westwood Railway.'
As the whole history of the rapid decline of the colony of
Queensland in public estimation is closely connected with
its railway policy, we felt it necessary to point out how
and why that policy originated. We will now proceed to
show why the construction of a railway by a young and
vigorous colony should have proved so detrimental to its
* The Southern Railway is now nearly completed between Brisbane
and Ipswich, and the Northern is being carried farther into tlie
interior. A line is also being surveyed from Maryborough to Gympie
which must ultimately' be carried througii to Brisbane.
80 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
prosperity as this undoubtedly did for many years. At
the first blush it would appear as if no measure could have
been more advisable. Certainly the arguments adduced in
favour of it were sound and judicious, and had the promises
implied in them been fulfilled the result would have been
satisfactory. But so far from this being- the case, the
policy of the then colonial government in reference to the
land and emigration questions — of which this railway was
to have been only a portion — was up to the year 1868 most-
unfortunate for the colony itself, and for that portion of the
British public which was induced to emigrate, wFiolly
and entirely unsatisfactory and misleading. It was a
repetition on too large and tragic a scale of the live Bocky
Mountain Buffalo humbug recounted by Barnum in his
Autobiography. Just as in that case the people of New
York were induced to visit Hoboken in thousands to see
these animals, and after looking at a few half-starved
yearlings returned home too ashamed to warn their
neighbours of the nature of the swindle, so by the false
promises put into the mouth of Mr. Jordan were tens of
thousands of our countrymen and women enticed to leave
their homes on the pretence of obtaining a free grant of
thirty acres " of the best land in the colony." Let us not
be misunderstood ; it was not Mr. Jordan who was to
blame in this matter. It was well understood when he left
the colony that the lauds adjacent to the railway should be
throvvn open for selection ; that in fact the emigrant should
be allowed with his land order in his pocket to travel over
those lovely Downs and select his land from a large parcel
which government was pledged to have surveyed in blocks
of 10,000 acres ready for settlement. Not only Mr.
Jordan, but the people in all the towns of the colony, and
the very few settled on the land near these towns as
WEST MOBETON. 81
gardeners — there was scarcely such a thing as a farm iu
the colony at this time — fully anticipated that the promises
made in the House and apparently fulfilled in the provisions
of the Land Act, would throw these lands open to the flood
of settlers who were soon expected.
But that class to whom we have already alluded was
strong enough to break all these promises and evade the
provisions of the Land and Immigration Acts. The
Darling Downs squatters, often spoken of in colonial
parlance as the Black Soil men, had no intention of fore-
going the privileges they enjoyed as occupiers of this
fruitful district. It would appear that from the day of
separation they had been casting about for some plan by
which they could perpetuate their hold on these lands, and
had struck out this one as likely to be successful. Whether
that was the case, or whether the lack of statesmanship
displayed by the Government and the strong spirit of
rivalry between Brisbane and Ipswich first suggested the
idea ,of using the opportunity thrown in their way, it is
needless now to inquire. One fact is certain : from the
day Mr. Jordan left the colony, authorized to grant land-
order warrants for eighteen acres of land to be selected by
the immigrant on arrival with a further land-order of
twelve acres more to be obtained after two years' residence,
the alteration of the laws referring to this matter began.
The agent was instructed to inform the people at home of
the value of Queensland lands both on the scrubs of the
coast country and the open plains of the Darling Downs.
He was further to tell them that the young colony of
Queensland was so anxious to receive to her arms a portion
of the overplus population of Great Britain and Ireland,
that every person paying his own ])n >sage was to have the
privilege of selecting his homestead by virtue of his land-
82 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
order from the best lands of the colony ''. To facilitate
settlement^ this railway was being built, which would not
only give present employment to settlers, but open a
market for those who chose to settle on the Downs.
Mr. Jordan did all that could have been expected of him.
He pointed out the great natural advantages of the colony
in the most eloquent language to vast assemblies in all
parts of the three kingdoms. In some matters there is no
question, either from too fervid an imagination or from
misapprehension, he overdrew the picture and conveyed
wrong impressions. In particular, in reference to cotton-
growing and some other products he made this error. But
at that time, as we have said, there were no farms in the
colony; nothing of higher rank than market-gardens.
In making his estimates we believe he had gone on the
principle of learning from some person of this class, or from
some amateur gardener, what results had followed the
cultivation of a few yai'ds of this or that article, multiplying
these yards into acres and thus guessing at the probable
results which could be attained on a large scale. It may
be urged in his favour that he had no other means of
learning the capabilities of the soil. But, on the other hand,
it must be seen that such a computation would be vicious
and incorrect, and no allowance would be made for all the
many drawbacks which every enterprise experiences in a
new counlrj", when carried out on a large scale, which would
not be felt by the mere amateur when experimenting.
In particular would this be the case in reference to
'' " The Government had assured him (Mr. Jordan), that the agricul-
tural reserves would be situated in the best localities in the country,
and the}" would do well not to hearken to those who would make them
believe otherwise." — Extract from Mr. Jordan s Speech published by
h imself.
WEST MORETON, 83
climate, droughts, floods, &c., the greatest difficulties
attendant on Queensland agriculture.
But on the whole it must be admitted that Mr. Jordan
was honest and energetic, and that his mis-statements arose
from the lack of data from which to draw conclusions, and
a very natural desire to make the best of his adopted
country, of which he hesitated to say that the agricultural
interest had yet to be established. But the case was very
different in the colony. No sooner was Mr. Jordan fairly at
work and it began to be seen that the colony was attracting
the attention of emigrants, than a series of changes was
initiated, all tending to weaken public faith in colonial laws
and their administration. At first emigrants were very
properly permitted to reach the colony by any vessel direct
from home. For some reason they were denied the
privilege of coming via Melbourne or Sydney from the
first; but now it was announced that they must come from
England in the ships of one company only, or forfeit their
land-orders. We cannot follow the history of these land-
orders through all the changes constantly being made in
them. But never a year, scarcely six months, elapsed, but
some change or other was made. These changes, as well
as other obstructions to immigration, which we have yet to
notice, usually emanated from the executive, in which the
squatting parfy was paramount and which had unfor-
tunately far too much power of issuing regulations.
It was in the administration of the Land Act, however-,
that the greatest proof was given of the determination of
the Government and its supporters not to favour, the settle-
ment of a farming population on the lands. The Laud
Act of 1860 provided that in each of the districts of
Moreton Bay, Wide Bay, Port Curtis, and Keppel Bay
agricultural reserves of 100,000 acres should be set apart,
G 2
84 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
and that within five miles of every town of 500 inhabitants
an agricultural reserve of 10,000 acres should be proclaimed.
These lands were to be open for selection at 11. per acre or
by land-orders at the same rate. It is true nothing was
said in the Act itself as to these being good lands. But as
before stated it was thoroughly understood in the House
during the various debates, and Mr. Jordan was authorized
to publish in England that these reserves were to be of the
best agricultural lauds in the colony. So far from this being
the case, in nine cases out of ten these reserves were of a
very inferior character. In some portions of the coast
country good scrub land was attainable, while, as we have
indicated in a former chapter, most of these lands were
anything but " first class." But on the Darling Downs, to
open up which a debt of over 2,000,000/. had already been
incurred, the lessees were powerful enough to prevent any
settlement whatever of a character consistent with the
importance of the district, or the public funds being
spent in connecting it with navigation. The small reserves
around the towns of Toowoomba, Drayton, and Warwick
w^ere as a rule made on the poorest lands in the prescribed
circuit of five miles ; and as every care was taken by the
neighbouring squatters to harass and annoy any person
who was bold enough to settle on these lands, by impounding
his cattle and the like, it may be supposed these reserves
were not very popular with immigrants. One powerful
species of annoyance in vogue in those days was to send,
after the rain, and when the grass was springing, large
Hocks of thousands of sheep to graze over the reserves,
and thus eat up every blade of grass close to the
settler's fence, thus precluding the possibility of his horses
or cows grazing on the reserves, while the poor settler's
horse or cow would be at once impounded if found
WEST MORETON. 85
strayed off the bare reserve on to the neighbouring run
of the squatter.
In many other instances large tracts of land were secured
by what is known as "dummying," which means that
various friends and servants were employed to select the
maximum quantity of land allowed each individual under
the Act, and then to hand them over to the squatter under
a power of attorney prepared for that specific purpose/
By man}^ other devices, but chiefly by the utter lack of
good land from which to select, the settlement of a consider-
able agricultural population on the Darling Downs was for
many years almost entirely prevented. Thus when the
" Jordan immigrants," as they are called, began to arrive
thousand after thousand — one ship arriving in the Bay
often before the last batch of several hundreds by another
had cleared out from the depots — they found, on obtaining
their land-orders from the proper office that they were of
little use for any purpose of actual settlement. The splendid
lands on the Darling Downs which they had heard Mr.
Jordan describe so glowingly, and of which the writers on
Queensland spoke so highly, they found to be one vast
sheep-walk, through which a railway was indeed being
constructed, but for no good purpose so far as they were
s The present Administration has entered actions against many
squatters on the Darling Downs, who hold between them enormous
quantities of land thus obtained. It has, in each case that has so far
been concluded, obtained verdicts of ejectment. An Appeal has in one
case been taken to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which
it is understood will in its result govern the whole. So very extensive
and valuable are the lands thus held, and the title to which the present
Government contest, that in the recent elections the prosecution or
otherwise of these actions was one of the questions on which the
Government went to the country, and on which tliey obtained an
overwhelming majority.
86 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
concerned. Some few hundreds of the more sanguine and
adventurous selected land in the poor, thickly-wooded
reserves in the neighbourhood of Brisbane or on the better
lands about Ipswich, while some ventured as far as the
Logan or Mary. Very few of all these have been able to
go through the enormous outlay requisite on such farms
and still retain their deeds. The far larger portion wisely
abandoning all idea of agriculture, on seeing how they had
been deceived, sold their 18/. land-orders for from 9L to
15/. and left the colony for home, Sydney or Melbourne, or
else settled down in some Queensland town. Thus was an
astounding and gigantic act of deception practised on the
British public and a bad name given to the colony which it
by no means deserved, nor would have obtained had public
faith been kept inviolate.
There are other causes which have conduced to the stag-
nation which for so many years hung over Queensland;
but the main reasons for all the evils which have befallen
it are the improper interference with the Land and
Emigration Acts, induced by a desire on the part of the
squatting party to hold their lands in perpetuity, to the
exclusion of all agriculturists.
The locking-up of the good lands of the colony from the
settler was not the only method adopted to retain these
lands by the squatters. At first they had been very willing
to join in a measure for the introduction of immigrants.
At that time labour was scarce and dear. Wages for
shepherds, even in the inside districts, was oftener 52/.
than 40/. per annum, with rations. At lambing and
shearing times large wages had to be given, as well as to
bullock-drivers, sawyers, bush carpenters, and all artisans.
The squatters had certainly nothing to lose by the introduc-
tion of immigrants. So a measure was passed in the same
WEST MORETON. 87
session as gave birth to the Land Act, 1860, for the
encouragement of population. As we have seen, liberal
grants were to be made to those paying their own passages,
and assisted passages were to be given to males by payment
of 8/., the females for half that sum. Besides this, certain
classes, especially domestic servants, were to be brought
out entirely free. Perhaps it did not materially increase
these latter classes, but it was at first provided that all
immigrants after two years^ residence would receive the
12L land-order, without reference to the means by which
they had come to the colony. The annulling this pro-
vision was the earliest alteration made after restricting
arrivals to one line of shipping. But from time to time
others were made. The labour market was soon well filled.
So many people who had proposed settling on the land were
driven to seek employment for the reasons already stated,
that wages rapidly fell. It is true the northern territory
was opened up and entered on, and towns arose with great
rapidity. But the influx of population was too great for
the restricted fields of labour, and soon the squatters saw
that the population w^as large enough for their peace and
safety. By this time the various contractors for the more
extended lines of railway had introduced many hundreds
of navvies on their own account, receiving the land-orders
representing their passages, so that even this means of
livelihood was in a measure shut up from the poor im-
migrant. As these lines drew near completion it became
evident to the squatters that they must either put a stop
to immigration or run the risk of being carried away by
the force of numbers, and lose the vast advantages which
had already accrued to them. Not only were wages now
reduced as low even as 20^. per annum in many instances,
and ranging from that to 351., but an unemployed floating
88 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
population began to show itself, which threatened to be
considerably increased on the cessation of the railway
worksj which had now placed a heavy debt on the colony.
Practically shut out from the lands^ these disappointed
people would perchance turn rusty, to the no small injury of
the present pleasant state of things.
It was not only by the increase of population and the
consequent lowering of wages that the Darling Downs
men had benefited. The large holders there had now the
railway to their doors, or at least sidings constructed for
their convenience. But another change had been effected
in their favour. The land-orders which immigrants had
been unable to use to advantage had nearly all found their
way into the hands of the squatters at a great reduction on
their actual value, and had by them been made use of in
purchasing the best portions of their runs, or, in colonial
parlance, " picking the eyes out of the run,^^ by using
their right of pre-emption, and thus giving them a double
security against intrusion.
Now followed one step after another, all tending to
impede the flow of immigration. Of course it was neces-
sary to get rid of Mr. Jordan. The ground was gradually,
but carefully cut from under his feet ; his promises were
rendered nugatory, until at last he sent in his resignation
as Agent General and returned to the colony. Another
change was made which, although in some measure assum-
ing to put a stop to dealing in land-orders, in fact, tended
to stop immigration without at' all affecting that traffic.
The land-orders had been from the first a species of legal
currency which had assisted business to a very considerable
extent. The intending emigrant finding he would be
presented with a species of promissory note which he could
always discount at a higher or lower percentage, was more
WEST MORETON. 89
ready to turn his face to Queensland than would otherwise
have been the case. In Brisbane and other towns of the
colony much business was transacted on the basis of these
laud-orders, which often passed through several hands
before being finally paid into a land office for land. But
when one restriction after another was made with a view to
stop this transfer, all this was changed. Emigration
decreased, and trade fell off very considerably. Yet the
Act had been so worded that it made it worth the while of
the large purchaser to evade the law and purchase land-
orders in an indirect way, by taking a power of attorney
from the seller, who, of course, in consequence of the risk
ran, had to be content with a less price than formerly. By
degrees immigration decreased, until the crisis of 1866,
the breaking of the Oriental Bank, the stoppage of the .
Bank of Queensland, and the consequent paralysis of the
Queensland Government, may be said to have stopped it
altogether for some time. During this period Queensland
hqd no agent in London, all that was done being the
occasional despatch of a vessel at long iiitervals by Mr.
Wheeler, the chief clerk in the London Office. This was
the position of affairs in the year 1868, shortly after the
discovery of the Gympie Gold-fields, which may be con-
sidered to mark an epoch in the history of the colony.
CHAPTER Y.
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT.
Leaving an account of the gold-fields for a future chapter,
we will now take a glance at the northern portions of the
colony. In our description of the East Moreton District
we have taken the reader as far north as the Mooroochy
E-iver, which forms the boundary between the East More-
ton and Wide Bay Districts. Next after East Moreton, the
district of Wide Bay is in many respects the most impor-
tant in the colony. It has a considerable frontage to the
sea, stretching from the Mooroochy at the south to the
Kolan River at the north, a distance of nearly 300 miles.
Its navigable rivers are the Newsa, Mary, Susan, Burrum,
Gregory, Burnett, and Kolan, on all of which are large quan-
tities of excellent soil suitable for the growth of almost every
variety of product of the temperate or the tropical zones.
This district being newer, presents more attractions for
the immigrant than the older settled districts to the south.
Settlement up to a very recent period was confined to the
Mary River, the other rivers having been either unknown
to the mass of the people, or entirely neglected up to the
time when such a large increase was made to the popula-
tion of the district in consequence of the discovery of the
Gympie Gold-diggings in October, 1867.
This district is at present noted for its gold-mines, its
sugar plantations, its large timber trade, as well as for
THE VflDE BAY DISTRICT. 91
another trade which, although as yet only in its infancy,
promises before many years to become of equal importance
to any of these — its dug-ong fisheries. The principal town
of the district is Maryborough, situate on the navigable
part of the river Mary, sixty miles from its mouth, and
being accessible for vessels with a draft of seventeen feet,
in which respect it is superior to both Brisbane and Rock-
hampton. The population of Maryborough is about 5000.
Besides this there is the establishment known as Dundathu,
nine miles below the town, which boasts of being the
largest saw-mill in the Australian colonies, and which
would not suffer in comparison, either as to its size or the
excellence and completeness of its machinery, with the
large saw-mills met with in- various parts of the
Dominion of Canada. The population here cannot fall far
short of 200. An equal distance above the town is the
Yengarie establishment, with a population of between 200
and 300 engaged in sugar crushing, boiling, and refining,
boiling down sheep and cattle for tallow, and in the
manufacture of Tooth's Extract of Meat prepared on
Liebig's principle; there is also a distillery at the place.
Besides these two large establishments, which constitute
villages in themselves, there are two other saw-mills, five
other sugar-mills on the Mary and its tributary Tanana
Creek, all within a short ride of the town.
Maryborough is a flat, uninteresting town, having the
Mary River on three sides. The soil being very rich in the
neighbourhood, some compensation for the monotony of
the town itself may be obtained by a walk through the
small forms and mai-ket gardens near it. The luxuriance
of the foliage and its tropical character cannot fail to
interest and please. Or should the traveller prefer a ride,
he can, after an hour's canter through' the bush, visit any
92 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
of the large sugar plantations and mills, where he will
always find a hearty welcome, and probably have an oppor-
tunity of passing his opinion on the production of the
distillery. There are few sights more refreshing than
after a ride through the dull and monotonous bush to
emerge suddenly on a broad expanse of green sugar-cane,
with its narrow roads and the mill perched on the bank of
the river and half hidden by the luxuriant foliage of the
cane. Thinking it may be interesting to the English
reader we append a description of one of those mills
furnished by the author to a local paper.
MYRTLE GROVE SUGAR AND CONCRETE MILL.
" Oil Wednesday last we paid a visit to the sugar mill of Mr.
Mackeand, at Myrtle Grove, on the Upper Mary. A pleasant ride of
a couple of miles from Owanyilla, brought us to the bank of the yiver
just opposite the factory, which is on the north or Maryborough side.
Leaving our horse to browse among the young grass and thistles at the
bottom of a garden, we were ferried across by one of the mill hands
who speedily answered our cooey.
" Seen from the opposite side the mill has a very neat appearance,
the sheds being covered with galvanized iron, with openings between
the rows for ventilation. Two small iron chimneys, rising to a height
of eighty feet, with dampers at the tops give a finish to the buildings and
proclaim their use. At the wharf were lying three large punts, which
have been built by Mr. Anderson, of Dundathu, for the purpose of
bringing cane to the mill. Like all the other mills on the river, this
is situated at the top of a high bank, and to reach it a tramway of a
steep gradient has been constructed; by the side is an iron piping to
convey water to the boilers, and the ' clang, clang ' as we asceiid tells
us operations are going on.
" Reaching the level, the first room we see on the right is the
bagging-room, where two men are busy bagging and weighing the
sugar, and piling it up in tiers. Passing on, we enter on the same
side, the large shed, where, on the ground floor, are the coolers, and
elevated a few steps we see the steam arising from the boiling syrup.
Away at the far end is a lot of machinery, with here and there a little
engine ; but the whole is scrupulously clean and nice, and you at once
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 93
see that by some means things are done very differently here from the
usual method in our large sugar-mills on the Mary.
" In order to give the reader a proper idea of this new-fashioned
concern, we will begin at the beginning and follow the cane from the
field to the bag, which at Myrtle Grove occupies but a very short space
of time in doing.
" Directly opposite the entrance from the river, on the left side, is
the arrangement for conveying the canes to the rollers. This consists
principally of an endless carrier, sixty feet long, somewhat similar to
those used in some thrashing-machines for carrying off the straw.
The canes being unloaded from the cart which brought them from the
adjoining field, they are placed on tbis band, which takes them on to
the man who feeds the rollers, and who is thus enabled to perform the
work of three or four persons under other circumstances. The rise of
the ground brings us to the crushing department. The rollers are very
heavy, very well finished, and are driven by very large cog-wheels.
Just in front is the small smithy, and rising a step or two here on to a
platform, we find we have gradually attained an elevation which
enables us to overlook the whole of the works. Just over the rollers is
fitted a winch for hauling canes from the wharf up the tramway. The
motive power of this machinery is a twenty-horse power engine,
just at our feet, the boiler of which, also on the same level, not only
drives the engine, but supplies that heat which is so prominent a
feature in this process. An exhaust-pipe carries all the steam directly
under the rollers and the iron mill-bed, so that the juice is actually
being heated from the moment it is expressed, and is thus preserved
from any chemical deterioration through the action of the air. To the
touch the juice is perceptibly warm by the time it runs into the first
clarifier, of which there are three, from which the juice passes to two
subsiders of 400 gallons each, and from these to a supply-tank of 600
gallons capacity. During this time the juice is being raised in
temperature according to Mr. Fryar's system. At the time of our
visit the juice was only showing a density of six degrees.
"We have now followed the juice to the supply-tank, which stands
at the top end of the shed. So fiir the only peculiarity in the
concrete process which we have noted, is the heating of the cylinders,
the mill-bed, and the pipes. From this point the process is entirely
distinct from all others. To thoroughly understand it, the reader
must recollect that the mill is built on ground sloping both ways — the
crushing being done at the highest point, thus allowing the juice to
flow on continually from one place to another by gravitation. The
94 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
whole length of the building is occupied with ten trays, each fitted
with three ripples, having a passage at one end, reminding one of the
ripples of a quartz-crushing machine, only that as a rule the juice
flows from end to end of the tray, and round the end of the ripple
instead of over it, thus, in fact, increasing fourfold the distance to be
travelled by the juice before it reaches the bottom. The heat under
these trays is not uniform, the first being hotter than the second, and
so on to the end, less heat being requisite as the juice grows thicker.
It was curious to notice the change in colour as one tray after another
was passed, the juice becoming gradually darker and denser.
" There are two methods of supplying these trays. The first and
ordinary one is by means of a tap which passes the juice from the
supply tank into the first, and so on. But it may sometimes happen
that the juice is getting too hot at any particular tray or all over the
lot; the remedy for this is an inflow of fresh juice from the tank. It
is obtained in this way ; a long iron pipe is connected with the supply
tank, and runs on the outer edge of the trays to the bottom, where it
is connected with a pump, which we shall directly refer to. At the
pump end and at the tank end are taps to fill the pipe, and over each
tray is another tap. Now, if fresh juice is required the tank tap is
turned on, and then, of course, juice can be turned on wherever
wanted. Again, suppose the juice to have gone the course of the traya
and meandered round all the ripples, and yet not have arrived at the
proper consistency, a pump is connected with the tank into which it
runs, and by means of this pump it can be again pumped back to the
top tray, or to all the trays, and re-boiled. By this means the boiling
can be regulated with the greatest nicety, if only the requisite skill is
brought to bear.
" The boiled juice passes, as we have seen, into a receiving tank,
from which it is passed into the cylinder. This cylinder is also a
peculiar feature of the concrete process. It is a large hollow tube
worked from the outside, on the interior diameter of which the juice
revolves, and through the centre of which a current of hot air is being
continuously driven, and so to say, pumped out by a fan which
revolves with great velocity at the farther end. Tliis cylinder is
worked by a little engine of three-horse power. To supply the hot
air for the cylinder there is a brick furnace and chimney at the end of
the shed. The chimney is filled with a large number of small tubes
which heat the air, which then passes by means of a square connexion
into the cylinder. Thus a constant flow of hot air passes into and out
of the cylinder, as well as a stream of juice which comes out either as
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 95
sugar or concrete, according to the length to which the operation extends.
At the time of our visit sugar was being made, nor is it likely that con-
crete will be manufactured while the market remains as at present.
" From the cylinder the sugar is carried by a shoot into the coolers,
ten of which occupy, with the sugar-room, one half of the building. As
showing the care which has been evinced in the smallest details, Ave may
mention that these coolers have iron bottoms, and that a current of cold
air is always passing under them, thus materially assisting the process.
" From the coolers the sugar, when granulated, is taken to the
centrifugal machine, which stands in front of the cylinder, and which
is driven by an engine of five-horse power, being the third engine
employed in the factory.
" The boiler which di-ives all the machinei-y is well worth inspection.
It is quite unique in our experience, and is, we believe, the first of the
sort which has been introduced to this district. It is a Cornish boiler
with Galloway tubes, and it is these tubes which are the peculiarity.
They are tubes of the shape of a sugar-loaf, placed transversely across
the hollow of the boiler, and being connected with it, and of course
filled with water, the heating surface is thus very materially increased.
We were informed by the proprietor that they can get up a head of
steam in an astonishingly short time. As an evidence of the thorough-
ness with which the rollers do their work, we may mention that the
megass ^ is wheeled direct to the furnace and used for fuel, for which
purpose it answers admirably.
" It will be noticed that we have said nothing of molasses. We saw
none, and wei-e informed that none were made, a fact which in itself
speaks volumes for this process. We were shown a small piece of
concrete which reminded us forcibly of the lumps of maple sugar which
it has been our good fortune to attack in times gone by.
" The sugar which was being made was a good yellow counter, which,
taking into consideration the lowness of the density, was in our opinion
all thiit could be desired.
" There are two or three considerations which strike a visitor to this
mill. The absence of bustle, the general cleanliness, the small number
of hands employed-^-there being only two men from the rollers to the
coolers — and the excellent character and finish of the machinery, which'
does great credit to the inventor, the manufacturers, and the engineer."
Tnere are in Maryborough five churches, belonging" to
the English Church, the Roman Catholics, the Wesleyan
' The residuum of the sugar-cane after the juice is extracted.
96 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Methodists, the Presbyterians, and the Baptists. There is
also an excellent hospital, and a very respectable post and
telegraph office ; also a School of Arts with a very good
library attached. The people here pride themselves on
their solvency, and certainly there is no town in the colony
which has weathered the " bad times " better than did
Maryborough, although this is to be accounted for in a
great measure by the outbreak of the " Gympie Rush.'^
This town has of late obtained a somewhat unenviable
notoriety in connexion with the Polynesian trade, some of
the people interested in sugar growing having used great
exertions to replace the white labourers by Kanakas. They
have to a certain extent been successful in this attempt ; so
much so that of a Saturday night more Polynesians will
be met in the streets than white men. But the whole
• question of coloured labouiy is too large to be treated of
here, and we shall therefore speak of it in a separate
chapter. On the whole Maryborough is one of the most
thriving towns in the colony, and no new arrival can
afford to overlook its claims to his attention. It already
possesses the largest foundry in the colony, from which
sugar and quartz-crushing machinery is turned out in
considerable quantities, while the constant arrival and
departure of vessels engaged in removing the productions
of its saw -mills to all portions of Australia and the
adjacent French colony of New Caledonia imparts an air
of business to the port. Coals have been for many years
raised in considerable quantities on the Burrum River, a
short distance to the northward, and a company has lately
commenced operations in raising coals from the same bed
at a distance of seven miles from the town, on the banks of
the Mary. There is a small brewery at the village of
Owanyilla, a few miles up the river, to which place, and
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 97
the township ofTiaro, still further up, a small steamboat plies
regularly, thus furnishing the farmers on both banks of the
river with a cheap and easy communication with the town.
There are few more pleasant trips to be taken in the colony
than is afforded by an excursion up the Mary River from
Maryborough to the head of navigation at Tiaro. On both
sides are seen farm after farm and plantation after plan-
tation, in all of which sugar-cane is the prevailing crop.
Some of the houses are large and well built, and are
evidently the abodes of well-to-do people. Others are of a
much more humble character, but about all the groves of
bananas, the peach, orange, lemon, mulberry, fig, loquat,
and other fruit-trees give an air of homely comfort and
abundance that is highly suggestive. Not that many
places possess all these fruits. It is unfortunately the
exception as yet where that is the case. But most of them
can boast of some of tliese, and nestling among them the
humblest slab hut has a beauty which no amount of
architectural adornment can bestow. Here and there dark
patches of the primeval scrub intervene, but every year
these patches grow less, and more and more of the soil is
put under sugar. Now and then the tall stack of a
sugar-mill rises to view, and if it be the crushing season,
punts loaded with the cane from some of the adjacent
farms will be lying below unloading into trucks, which are
hauled up an inclined tramway by steam power. The
stranger from England would have his ideas sadly shocked
by noticing that at most of these mills nearly all the
labour is performed by black, woolly-headed men in a
state of partial or complete nudity. He would at once see
from their woolly heads that they are not the natives of
the country, whose hair, although often curly, is never
woolly. These are the Kanakas or Polynesian?, without
II
98 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
whose labours, many sugar growers say it would be
impossible to make sugar-growing- pay, but with whose
assistance they manage to make an annual return of forty
or fifty per cent, on their capital. To his honour be it told
that there is one mill-owner who has never employed
Polynesians either on his plantation nor in his mill, and
yet finds the business so remunerative as to induce him to
greatly enlarge his operations.
This river takes precedence as the largest sugar-grow-
ing district in the colony. There were, in 1870, 1495
acres under this crop, of which 525j acres were crushed,
producing 756 tons of sugar, 62,063 gallons of molasses,
and 4257 gallons of 32 o.p. rum. The average per acre
in 1870, of sugar alone, was 1 ton, 8 cwt., 3 qrs., and
4 lbs., being the highest of any district in the colony
except Mackay. In that year three floods had to be con-
tended with, which doubtless materially reduced the yield,
although it is supposed by some that the ill efiects of a
flood are not felt so much in the cane ready for crushing as
in the crop of the succeeding year. The industry being in
its infancy, this, like many other questions, is hardly
settled as yet. As we have shown that the crop of cane in
the ground was so much larger than the acreage crushed,
it may be necessary to state for the information of the
reader, that cane on first being planted requires from
fifteen to twenty-one months to come to maturity; the
large quantity thus shown in the Maryborough district,
970 acres uncrushed, is the amount of new land put under
this crop in that year : ^ a fact in itself sufficient to show
' There is a slight error here as to this particular locality. Many
acres of cane on the Mary were read}' for crushing in 1869, but in
consequence of the lack of machinery on the river all the cane could
not be crushed. This evil was not entirely remedied in 1870.
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 99
what gig-antic strides this young- colony is making in the
growth of this one staple. The soil on which this cane is
grown is the richest description of scrub land, large
quantities of which are yet in a state of nature. Of course
the first settlers took up land near the town, and settle-
ment gradually spread up the stream. All the navigable
part of the z'iver is now more or less covered with cane-
fields, and a mill has lately been erected by Messrs.
Upward and Co. at Tiaro, the highest point to which the
river is at present navigable. We say at present, for it
has been mooted, that by the formation of locks the wdiole
river frontage to Gympie, a distance of about 40 miles
in a straight line, and more than double that by the river,
might be rendered navigable. The amount of good such a
measure would confer on the district is almost incalculable.
Both banks of the river being skirted by excellent land,
all could then be brought under cane or other highly
remunerative crops, such as tobacco, for which the facilities
that would then be ofiered for irrigation would peculiarly fit
it. This is one of the many instances in which English capital
might be laid out to the greatest advantage both to the
colony and the money lender. Were this work accom-
plished, and the exigencies of politics seem to indicate that
it yet may, the Mary River would then become the most
extensive and valuable sugar-producing district in the
colony, if not in the world. No difficulty whatever would
be found in paying the interest, or even the principal of
the money expended, as the lands thus afforded a navigable
frontage would be enhanced in value 200 to 300 per cent.,
and might be either charged with a sufficient sum to pay
the whole cost, or with a small frontage-tax to meet the
interest and cost of maintenance. While money is a drug
in the London market, and the uncertainty of European
H 2
100 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
politics induces caution as to the ordinary means of in-
vestment, there are millions of acres of land in all parts of
Queensland that might be incalculably enhanced in value
by the formation of extensive water-works, from which a
perpetual return to the money-lender of eig-ht to ten per
cent, might be obtained. Patriotism and policy alike point
out those magnificent colonial investments to the imperial
capitalists as in ev^ery respect more suitable than the funds
of rival and oftimes hostile nations.
Most of the mills on this river are of large size and were
erected at considerable expense. Of Yengarie, Messrs.
Tooth and Cran, to which we have already referred, the
Chief Inspector of Distilleries in his Annual Report of 1870,
says it is unrivalled in the colony. Since that report was
written large additions have been made to the plant of this
establishment, a sugar refinery having been added, which
like all other parts of the machinery there, combines all the
latest improvements. The Maryborough Sugar Company
on Tanana Creek have also a very large mill and distillery.
Mr. Eaton, Mr. Gibson, Ramsay Brothers, and Mr. Rankin
have also extensive mills, most of them with distilLries.
There are also some small mills used principally for the
crushing of the proprietors^ own cane. But as the number
is continually being increased, it is almost impossible to
state anything with accuracy on this point.
Some years since an attempt at the growth of cotton in
some of the lighter lands beyond the scrubs, was made in
this district. The adventure was disastrous to all those
who engaged in it. Various reasons contributed to this
result; lack of experience no doubt had much to do with
it, but it was also found that the heavy rains that are
experienced here in the picking season, more than in
almost any other part of the countrN'^, militated much
THE WlUK DAY DlSTJlKT. 101
nt^uinst the growth of this crop. For some time cotton has
in consequence been entire!}' ig-nored. The rains, which
operated against it are, however, of the greatest benefit lor
other crops, and do much to give this district its pre-
eminence in an agricultural point of view.
There are in the neighbourhood of Maryborough some
excellent gardens, the proprietors of which have for years
past, done their utmost to give a practical illustration of
the wonderful adaptability of this colony for the growth of
almost all kinds of ornamental and fruit trees, and the
horticultural productions of the wide world.
Up to the present time, the Mary River with Tanana
Creek has been the only part of this district where
agriculture has been carried to such a point as to produce
sugar. In fact until lately no settlers were to be found in
any other part of Wide Bay. But the gold diggings have
here, as elsewhere, produced a vast change. On all the
many rivers which water this district, settlers are now
planted, and flourishing farms and extensive plantations
are rising.. As these rivers are all of them worthy the
attention of immigrants, and offer a fine field for enterprise
we shall refer to them in detail.
The Newsa River, which runs into Laguna Bay, an
open and shallow roadstead some thirty-five miles to the
south of Wide Bay Bur, has lately attracted the attention
of settlers. It was first opened up about the year 1864 by
lumberers, who penetrated its scrubs and those of the
tributary creeks in search of cedar. The river itself,
although averaging a breadth of half a mile for about four
miles inside the bar, is very short. Eight miles from its
mouth it opens into a small lake called Lake Coorybah,
which has a bar across its centre nearly dry at low tides.
Above this lake the river is deep and sufficiently broad
102 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
until another lake called Boreen is reached. This lake is
also very shallow, althoug-h not less than ten miles long- by-
seven or eight broad. It is divided from the ocean by a
ridge of sand hills. Here the river is lost. Beyond, on the
north side of the lake are two creeks and two smaller lakes.
These lakes are all salt in dry seasons, but in the rainy
weather Boreen and the upper lakes are fresh. The scenery
is very lovely, and there are many beautiful sites where
residences could be erected commanding the most charming
scenery of lake, mountain, aitd forest. In these lakes are
flocks of gneering, or black swans. The author has often
enjoyed the pleasure of chasing them in a boat in the
moulting season, when they are unable to fiy. As they
can swim very fast, and by the use of both wings and legs
can go very rapidly over the water, the chase is by no
means an unfair one. If the swan be in good condition he
is often able to tire out a boat's crew, for the boats are always
whale boats or other heavy ones used for lumbering or
rafting purposes, requiring a crew of two or four men to
pull. With four men at the oars and a blackfellow at the
bow, ready to plunge on the unfortunate swan when tired
out, we have passed many an hour chasing these birds.
Getting as close as possible to a flock and then selecting a
young one, we would give chase. For a long time the
swan, now flying a little, now working both wings and
feet, and again swimming in his swift stately manner,
would keep far ahead of the boat. By degrees, by cutting
off" corners, for they never go far in a straight line, the boat
will creep up on the prey. Soon his beautiful white and
black feathers become wet with his constant struggles to
escape ; the boat closes on him and he is almost within
reach ; then of a sudden he makes a double and passing
close to the oars, is a long way back in the wake before
THE AVIDi; BAY DISTRICT. 103
the boat can be broug-Iit round. Then is the time for the
oarsmen to show their muscle. If blacks, they become
almost too excited to manage their oars ; again the boat is
on his track, and the steersman learning- caution tries to
keep the bird directly on his bow. The poor bird soon
begins to show fatigue. He utters a plaintive cry, and
tries again to double or to elude his adversaries by diving.
When he does this he is lost; a stroke or two of the oars,
the unerring eye of the blackfellow on the bow follows his
prey under the water and with a plunge he is down on him.
But the fun is not yet over. The swan is a powerful bird,
and he yets retains sufficient vitality to show fight. A
blow from his wing is not a joke and a great splashing
takes place between the swan and black. Especially is this
the case if you wish to secure the bird alive to tame. For
a long time the fight between the swan, held perhaps by
the neck, and the blackfellow with only one hand at liberty
is sufficiently ridiculous ; but soon he comes alongside, or
some of his friends jump over to his assistance, and the
game is safely landed in the boat. These birds are very
good eating when 3oung, and even an old one is not always
to be despised. Besides swans, there are plenty of wood
and other ducks, divers, and other aquatic birds in these
lakes, sometimes so plentiful as to cover many acres with
one mass of life. Here too sails in majesty the stately and
dignified pelican, not usually lonely like " the pelican of
the wilderness,^'' but more frequently in flocks or at any
rate in couples. These birds have bills so cajiacious as
easily to admit of a man^s head being placed in them when
extended. Brilliantly white, moving among the flocks of
swans, most of whose plumage is black, they have a very
fine effect.
Lately a township has been surveyed at Tewanton, a
104 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
fine position between two little lakes four miles from the
river's mouth. The land here is far from being good. On
Lake Coorybah many selections have recently been made.
The most valuable land, however^ is on Kin Kin Creek, one
of the tributaries of Lake Boreen, a beautiful stream which is
nearly always running. One firm of wealthy diggers from
Gympie have here selected 6000 acres of splendid land,
partly scrub and partly forest, wath the view, we believe,
of forming a sugar plantation as well as general farming
establishment. They have also erected a small saw-mill
to cut up the magnificent pine timber which grows on
these scrubs. As there is considerable good land on the
waters of this river, although lying somewhat detached,
this will no doubt yet be a thriving as it must always be a
beautiful settlement.
It is a peculiarity of the country in many parts of this
district that patches of most excellent land will be found
here and there, usually on the banks of the streams, which
will abruptly terminate in that worst of all coast-land
" w^allum country," as it is called, from the native name
of the shrub which principally grows on it. The soil in
this wallum country is of the vilest description, producing
scarcely any grass and only a few stunted honeysuckle and
gum-trees, besides the never-ending wallum. This country is
the habitat of the emu, besides which there is scarcely any
other living creatures, except small birds, to be seen. The
wallum produces a long yellow flower, set round with
stamens very like a flue brush in shape, from which exude
a sweet juice somewhat allied to honeydew. This causes
them to be plucked and sucked by the natives, who are
able to gather sufficient nutriment in this way to allay
hunger. As this wallum country is usually level or rolling
ground with occasional low ridges it is very difficult for
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 105
any but an experienced bushman to find his way through
it, from its sameness and the absence of any landmarks.
This sort of country stretches from Kin Kin Creek to
the mouth of the Mary River, and to the scrubs around
Maryborough. It stretches away to the northward from
the Mary to the Burrum, and from there to the Burnett,
and so away through the Wide Bay into the Port Curtis
District. Hence, in speaking of the various agricultural
settlements on the Wide Bay rivers, it must be understood
that this dreary and unproductive country bounds them
and divides them from each other.
From the Newsa to the Mary no stream of any size
exists. North of the Mary, and running into it close to its
mouth, is the Susan, a very winding river, on the banks of
which is some good scrub land and some of a worse
character. A few settlers are to be found here, but the
place is at present in its infancy.
To the north of the Mary the first independent river is
the Burrum, a small stream on which is found some good
agricultural land, and where a few settlers have been for
some time engaged in growing Indian corn, potatoes, &c.,
which they easily send to Maryborough by small craft
which ascend the river for that purpose, as well as for the
coals which are here dug. Another small river beyond this
is the Gregory, on which up to the present time very little
settlement has been made other than by the lumberers who
resort there for pine. As an instance of how land is
frequently taken up in the colony, we may mention the
case of a saddler who has selected a nice piece of land on
the Burrum, and which he is gradually bringing into
cultivation. His capital at first was very small, and the
few necessaries requisite soon swallowed that up. In
order to keep the pot boiling he is in the habit of resorting
106 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
at intervals to Maryborough, where a few weeks' work at his
trade, always a good one in Queensland, enables him to
discharge his store bills and continue his farming operations.
Many a farm has thus been brought into cultivation in
the colony which would otherwise have had to be abandoned.
An instance occurs to us of a gentleman on the Logan who
has brought his farm up to the j^^ying" point, and has now
a considerable crop of sugar-cane, by turning his musical
attainments to account. After the outlay of a very
handsome sum, in the early days when there was much
more to contend against than at present, he found his
capital ex^oended and his farm not sufficiently advanced to
maintain his family. It occurred to him to turn music
master, and since then he has kept things square by
periodical tours to Brisbane and the Downs, tuning pianos
and giving lessons. Another friend of the writer did the
same thing by posting the books of a large squatting com-
pany, and other cases might be cited of a similar kind,
where the large outlay and perchance the bad seasons
have made such a course requisite to the retaining of land
that has already cost a large outlay.
North of the last-named river is the Burnett, which, like
all the rivers in this district besides the Newsa, empties
itself into Hervey's Bay. This river bids fair yet to
rival the Mary in its production of sugar. It was first
settled, like all these streams, by the lumberers, and there
has been for some time a saw-mill at work here, while
another is being erected. A township, called Bundaberg,
has been laid out, sold, and partially built on, while so
high is the opinion held of the character of the soil that it
is already very difficult to obtain land with a frontage to
the river. A considerable quantity of land is already
under cane, and a sugar-mill was being erected by
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 107
IMansell and Co. at the time of the author's leaving the
colony. In consequence of the forest country in most
parts of the district already alluded to being of the inferior
character described, the other settlements have been
singularly free from the ill effects of the dominance of
the squatters in the government. But here it is different.
On the Burnett is some of the most splendid forest or open
land in the colony, one run alone having enough of this fine
land to maintain an agricultural population of many thou-
sands, where at present only sheep and cattle are found.
The Land Act of 1868 provides for the equitable division
of all coast runs by the local officer. Unfortunately for
the public, in this case, the proprietors had a near relative
in the member for the district, and by means too well
known in the colony, they have managed to obtain posses-
sion of nearly all this valuable tract of country, and thus
put an entire stoppage on cultivation other than a limited
amount carried on by themselves. Thus a great portion
of the lands on the Burnett must remain uncultivated to
the incalculable injury of the whole district, or will have to
be purchased at a fancy price of the present proprietors.
It is the great evil of responsible government in a sparsely
populated colony like Queensland, that it affords oppor-
tunity for a practical overriding of the laws to parties who
are able to bring influence to bear on members of the
legislature or executive. Had the lands on the Burnett
which are thus locked up from the public been open for
selection, a wonderful impetus would have been given to
sugar-growing on this river, for these lands being very free
from timber could have been brought into cultivation at a
tithe of the outlay required for scrub land."^
' Since the above was written Bunduborg has grown into a town of
considerable importance, the Australian Steanri Navigation Company's
108 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
The only other agricultural settlement in this district is
in the neighbourhood of Gympie. On this portion of the
Mary River, as well as on several of its tributary streams,
there are not only large scrubs of excellent soil, but also
many alluvial plains or flats of first-class land, which, like
the lands just spoken of on the Burnett, are unusually free
from timber. These flats, like the scrubs, are mostly
subject to inundation, and it is to this fact they owe their
great fertility. On these lands, for many miles both above
and below Gympie, farms have been taken up for the
purpose primarily of supplying the Gympie market with
maize, green stuff*, potatoes, &c. Most of these farmers
have also some cows, the produce of their dairies being
often their means of support while bringing their farms
into cultivation. The land here is everything that the
most sanguine could wish. A fine clear river, which,
unlike most Queensland streams, never ceases to run,
abounds with fish of various kinds. On its banks are the
scrubs, where turkey, pigeons, wallaby, bandicoots, &c.,
may be shot. Here, too, may be found the pine necessary
for building purposes, and perhaps a large quantity more.
In some parts a cedar-tree may yet be found, but these
have mostly been removed by the lumberers. Beyond the
steamers, usually spoken of as the " A. S. N. Co.," calling there
weekly both going and coming between Brisbane and Rockhampton.
Being the nearest port to the rich copper-mines at Mount Perry, all
the trade for that now important town passes through Bundaberg.
We may also mention here, once for all, that the present popular
Government are taking legal action to restore to the Crown poi'tions of
the lands in this neighbourhood as well as elsewhere, particularly on
the Darling Downs, that had been illegally obtained by the squatters,
with a view to their being thrown open for selection by bond fide
agriculturists. No more important act than this has been attempted
in the history of the colony, if we except the passing of the Land Act
of 1868.
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 109
scrub open the flats alluded to, studded here and there with
hug-e g-um-trees towering heavenward. Often there will be
i'oundj close to the ridges of forest land that rise gradually
beyond, a fine water-hole or two, covered with water-lilies
of the most gorgeous description. At morn and night
these water-holes are the resort of wild ducks, teal, &c.
These are the more striking features of the lands settled on
by the farmers in the neighbourhood of Gympie. As a
rule they have not stopped to clear the scrub, but, after
pitching their tent or " knocking up " a slab humjiie on
the ridge beyond the water-hole and beyond the reach of
floods, the ploughshare is at once put into the virgin soil.
If the weather be at all favourable, a bountiful return of
maize or oaten hay will soon be obtained. When once
thoroughly broken with a strong bullock or horse plough,
what the English wit said of American laud is true of this
— " If you tickle it with a hoe, it will laugh a harvest."
I3ut here, as everywhere else in Queensland, there must be
thorough cultivation, and then all depends on having
enoujrh rain to moisten the ground without suSieient to
send down a flood to wash all away. This occurred in
1S70, when three floods came one after another, and
in most cases sw'ept aw^ay all the farmers had in the
ground, in some instances taking their live stock too.
One poor fellow wrote the author that he lost everything,
house and all, with the excejttion of three ducks and three
fowls. He himself had a narrow escape. Finding himself
surrounded by the w^ater, which was still rising, he set to
work and made a ladder long enough to enable him to
climb into the fork of a gum-tree. Here he remained
without any food or shelter for two days and two nights.
A neij^hbour then came to his rescue in a boat, when he
was too exhausted to have roosted it out another night.
110 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
We cannot refrain from giving- another case, which had
a fatal termination in the same flood, because some facts
connected with it will give an insight into the condition of
affairs better than anything else we can say. In the same
flood, which will long be remembered as the big flood of
1870, there lived, eight or ten miles above the settler
alluded to, two others who were carrying on business in
partnership, although each owned his own land adjoining
that of his partner. One of these was an old colonist,
who had sold a smaller farm on the Brisbane River to
commence more extensive operations here. With him he
brought his wife and a large family of young children. At
the time of the flood he was absent in Brisbane. The
other was a young gentleman of good family, and who was
unmarried. Singularly enough, both himself and the
farmer who took refuge by means of his impromptu ladder
in the gum-tree, were from the same locality, and here that
seething whirlpool, a gold rush, had thrown them out side
by side on the banks of the Mary. Like many, if not most,
of the young men of good family who come to Queensland,
L was in the habit of occasionally drinking too much.
It may be premised here, as a reason why so many families
were on this occasion caught by the flood, that prior to the
gold rush in 1867 there had been no settlers in this coun-
try but those employed on the cattle-stations, usually two
or three hands only ; that no flood had occurred since that
time, and that as a consequence no one was aware of the
g-reat height to which the flood rose on these occasions.
When the town of Gympie was being built, the writer was
told by an acquaintance that the mailman, who carried
the fortnightly overland mail from Brisbane to Mary-
borough, had said that he had seen the flat covered with
water. He hardly credited this; yet in 1870 not only the
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. Ill
houses on this flat, but those a cousiderable way up the hill,
were submerged, and many washed away. But to return
to young- L . On the night in question it was suddenly
discovered that the water was coming into the house, a
substantial one-story building. Preparations were in-
stantly made for escaping to a neighbouring ridge on the
other side of the road. In those floods the water often
rises with marvellous rapidity. Although the husband was
absent, there were two men and a woman-servant, besides
the family of the proprietor and L present. Seizing
such articles of clothing as could be readily found, they
sallied forth in the pouring rain to reach a place of
safety. L had been that evening drinking enough to
make him foolhardy. On the opposite side of a little
gully he had a house of his own considerably nearer the
river. For some reason he determined to pay this a visit,
and in the darkness and tempest set off", in opposition to
all expostulation, to swim this gully. The rest had
enough to do to save the women and children, and poor
L was swept away on the stream running down this
gully to the scrub. All the rest reached the ridge in
safety, and had to camp as best they might under the
shelter of the gum-trees. When the flood subsided the
body of L was found suspended in a tree into which
he had been washed.
The particular reason the author had for referring to
this tragedy was this : about seven months before this
flood, he happened to be riding on the road from Brisbane
in company with L . About nineteen miles from
Gympie is a beautiful flat skirting the scrul). "We hud
often gazed on this piece of country with delight. There
are but few trees on it, as it stretches away for a long
distance up the river. Clothed in the finest herbage, it
112 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
was always dotted with herds of cattle and horses, who
never tired of its sweet pasture. Here the plough could
have been put in and turned up scores if not hundreds of
acres, without the share coming* in contact with a single
root. The road runs along the side of a ridge which skirts
the flat and enables the eye to take in all the scene. We
had often thought what a splendid opening it offered for a
capitalist to enter on the growth of sugar. L told us
that he had secured it, and his business in Brisbane had
been to complete his selection at the land office, by paying
his first yearly instalment. We rode in company with
him over a portion of it and he explained his views
respecting it.
More than a year after his death, we became acquainted
with the following facts. Soon after his death a miner
who had saved a little money re-selected this land. His
selection was permitted and his money taken. He went
at once to reside on the land, built a house, put up fencing
and made other improvements. Something like a year
after this he received notice that he must quit the land, it
being a part of the reserved half of the neighbouring run.
So the poor man, after laying out his all on the land, had
to leave it in this manner, although he was the second
person who had selected it and had his selection approved
by Government ; the cash for the first yearns payment
having been also taken from each. The valley of the
Mary runs through the run in question, which consists of
the fine alluvial lands on its banks and the steep moun-
tainous ridges beyond. It was discovered that the surveyor
when carrying out the survey prescribed under the Act to
divide the run in equal portions, one to be held by the
lessee and the other to be open for selection, had actually
run his dividing line along the base of these mountains.
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 113
fflvins: the lessee all the lands on the river for his share,
and securing the mountains for the public as agricultural
lands ! ! ! This is one instance of what happens in coun-
tries where there is an aristocracy not of family but of
wealth, which has the power to become practically an
oligarchy.
From what we have said respecting floods many might
be led to suppose that Queensland was worse oS" in this
respect than her neighbours. This, however, is not the
case. In New South Wales especially, the settlers suffer
far more frequently and in a much larger degree than in
Queensland. In 1870 the loss of life and property in that
colony was truly lamentable, whole districts being Entirely
depleted of their wealth, in some cases the very fences
being swept away for miles together. In Queensland, lives
are occasionally lost in floods, but that loss has never been
on a large scale and only at long intervals. As a rule
floods appear to recur in this colony about once in five or
six years.
It may not be improper to mention here, that in most
situations the greater part of the loss of property and all
danger to human life in floods might be avoided, so far as
the agricultural population is concerned, were more care
taken in the selection cf building sites. In each of the
cases alluded to there were ridges at a short distance, in
one case not fifty rods distant, that were entirely above all
flood level. Such spots can nearly always be found by the
settler, but a desire to be close to his clearing, which is
always on the alluvial flats, and in too many cases an entire
ignorance and carelessness, induce him to build on the first
spot that presents itself, without any thought or care about
the wet season or the floods. Not only is much loss and
real danger thus incurred, but most beautiful building sites
I
114 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
are neglected^ which with a little display of taste and
labour would make the homestead far more attractive.
We should not complete our sketch of the agriculture of
the Wide Bay District, did we not refer to the Chinamen^s
gardens around Gympie. This race of people adapt them-
selves wonderfully to all sorts of colonial industries. They
are to be found in large numbers on the diggings sinking
their little round holes, in which it is a perfect mystery to
a European how they can work. They will work poorer
ground than others think it worth their while to engage
in. They are excellent cooks and are everywhere found
in this capacity. As shepherds they are quite equal to
white men. We never heard of their being engaged as
stockmen, or bullock-drivers, but they are often found
driving a team of horses as pedlars. In every town there
are more or less Chinese storekeepers, principally in the
greengrocery or sweetmeat line. But as gardeners they
are pre-eminent, and supply a want that without them
would be much felt on every diggings in the colony. In
most other pursuits they naturally have to copy the pro-
cesses of the European colonist, but in this they can carry
out their old plan brought with them from the home of
their forefathers. That it is far superior to the English
system for such a country as Queensland, no one who has
seen them both will for a moment doubt. In these gardens
they can not only carry out their own system of horti-
culture, but with it they unite all the habits and modes of
life peculiar to their country. Here they revel in all the
luxuries of the short tunic, wide-flowing pantaloons, quaint
pointed shoes, enormous wooden, straw or pith hats, and
flowing pig-tails reaching well down their back. Instead
of the wheel-barrow or horse-dray, they revert to their
own bamboo and baskets, which serve them for every sort
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 115
of carrying and fetching'. In fact a Chinaman's garden
is a miniature China, and the stranger on entering it can
easily fancy himself transported to the Flowery Empire.
Even in the selection of the sites for their gardens the
Chinese are actuated by an altogether different idea from
that of the Englishman. The latter would certainly look
around for the richest piece of ground he could find. Not
so the Chinaman. His one great object is to find what a
Yankee would call a water privilege, a site where thei-e
already exists, or where the nature of the ground permits
of the formation of a large water-hole. Give the Chinese
gardener a full supply of water and his fortune is made.
In nine cases out of ten he has to obtain this by artificial
means. Across some gully, or shallow creek, too small to
admit of its being flooded in the wet season, a dam is
thrown ; the neighbouring ground on one side is cleared of
its timber, which serves to make a pig-proof bush fence.
In one corner of this lot the house is erected, which is never
an important part of the work of improvement. Next,
what is known to diggers as a California pump is placed
alongside the dam, by means of which the water can be
raised to a sufficiently high level to reach all parts of the
garden. Then a regular net-work of canals is laid down.
There are usually three or four of these main water-courses
from which radiate lesser ones, until every walk in the
garden has its little canal alongside it. These smaller
ones are not always full of water, but are divided from
the main streams by little dams with a wooden sluice-head.
Beside these water-courses there are a number of tanks
either cut out of the clay subsoil, or formed by letting
zinc-lined packing-cases into the ground. These too have
their inlets and outlets, and vary in size from a few huge
ones into which the bodies of several dead horses could
1 2
116 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
float, to those the size of an ordinary drapery case along-
side the beds. As the small canals are all connected with
the larg-e water-tank, so are all these lesser liquid manure
tanks with one or other of the larger ones.
Whun once the construction of this machinery for the
supply of water and liquid manure is complete, it is an easy
job for the garden to be made to assume a flourishing
appearance. The beds are dug, and all the soil from the
canals and tanks, as well as from all the paths, is heaped
upon them, thus raising them a foot or eighteen inches
above the paths, and securing surface-drainage, the only
kind requisite. From the day the seed is placed in the
ground it is constantly nourished with liquid manure, and
moistened many times a day with water. Not content with
this, a large compost heap or tank is formed, and the young
plants of every description, as soon as large enough to
admit of that treatment, will have a handful of finely pul-
verized manure placed around their roots. Thus, from the
very first, the plants are forced, and as a consequence their
growth is very rapid. Highly concentrated dry manure,
liquid manure, and water, cannot fail to produce wonderful
effects in a climate like that of Queensland. The rapidity
with which these quiet, imassuming men will turn the dry
and arid forest into a smiling garden is almost miraculous.
The first time we had an opportunity of seeing the efiect
of their system was at Gympie, in the early part of 1868.
On a visit to some friends who lived on the outskirts of the
diggings, we saw just in front of their hut, peeping through
the trees, the green beds of the gardens. A very few weeks
before, we had ridden over that very spot, and knew the land
to be a white, unproductive loam, of a hot, sandy nature,
about the most unpromising soil possible for a good garden.
Now a dam had been put up, the land cleared and culti-
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 117
vated, and a house built. Already, at early morning-, the
dapper owners might be seen emerging from their garden,
with their well-filled baskets of vegetables of all sorts, which
found a ready sale among the diggers and at the eating-
houses and restaurants. On visiting the garden we were
courteously received by one of the owners, who, after eagerly
inquiring what we wished to buy, and learning our desire
to look around, at once granted permission. Already there
were splendid beds of cabbage, brocoli, turnips, Chinese
turnips — a white cuneiform root, softer and juicier than the
common white turnip, with a peculiar flavour, but not at all
unpalatable — and almost every vegetable to be found in
the colony, with cucumbers, English and American pump-
kins, and several varieties of melons. We learnt that there
were fifteen men working here, proprietors in common. All
were busily employed. Some were breaking up new ground;
some working at the pump; some transplanting young
chalots and other vegetables ; some with baskets of dry
manure were carefully placing it near the roots of the
various plants; others were ladling out the liquid manure
from the little tanks on to the beds ; one was engaged in
making baskets from the split canes of the " lawyer " vine.
While some were away selling the vegetables, others were
visiting the neighbouring killing and milking-yards,
gathering the blood, offal, and manure, for the compost
and liquid-manure tanks. All this they carry with the help
of the indispensable bamboo in two large, strong baskets.
With these a little Chinaman will carry a weight which
would make a stout Englishman stagger ; such is the force
of habit. It is curious enough to see them carrying these
loads. Accommodating their bodies to the swing of the
baskets, they trot along with a swaying motion and at a
good rate of speed, carrying either liquids or solids with
118 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
equal safety. In this painstaking- manner is all the
manure obtained whieh fructifies their g-ardens.
To men who have been for months living" on dry rations,
beef and mutton and flour being the staples, the fresh, crisp
vegetables supplied by the Chinese are a great boon, and
these gardens must be to their owners a veritable mine of
wealth for some months after starting. Afterwards their
plenty makes vegetables very cheap. On Gympie, at first,
large prices were paid for them, a mere handful of anything
costing a shilling. Soon, however, many such gardens were
in growth, and vegetables became as cheap or cheaper than
in Brisbane. Some foolish people, with an entire ignorance
of the laws of chemistry, object to the Chinaman^'s vege-
tables, because they are raised with the assistance of so
much manure. But as a rule they find a ready market,
and the wiser portion of the digging community — which is
happily much the largest — look on these gardens as sup-
plying those requisites to their diet without which sickness
and disease would be far more j)revalent. They nearly
always have fair play shown them. Occasionally, some
blackguard, trusting* to the greater whiteness of his skin,
takes his vegetables without payment, and knocks down
or maltreats his victim, or else makes the matter subject of
jest ; but happily these are very exceptional cases, and it is
a matter of congratulation that on the digging's, where so
much is left to individual action and public opinion, so few
instances of this or any other species of lawlessness are wit-
nessed. Nor are the Chinamen at all disposed to submit
quietly to this or any other insult or injustice. They will
show fight courageously if there is anything like an equality
of forces. "What they lack in size they make up in a dex-
terous and determined use of their bamboos, tough sticks
about eight feet long, and sufficiently heavy to give a very
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 119
respectable blow. They often do good execution with these
in the fin-hts between themselves and the other dig-o'ers.
When, however, a Chinaman finds himself unable to cope
with his oppressor in this way, he resorts to his tongue,
which is for " John " an equally effective weapon as for a
woman.
One feature of the Chinese character comes out in the
working of these gardens, which places them in a fine light
as compared to Europeans. Although a considerable num-
ber usually work in partnership, we never heard of a case
in which any difficulty arose among them either as to the
working of their gardens or the division of money. Old
diggers, to whom we have spoken on the subject, have
informed us they never heard of a case of this sort. They
appear to have no quarrels among themselves when work-
ing in partnerships, or as the digging phrase is, " going
mates.""' No actual partnership exists, and when they see
fit, from the breaking out of other rushes, or other causes,
some will leave the concern. We judge from this that a
degree of honesty and fair play characterizes their dealings
with each other, far superior to that found among Chris-
tians. The same remark holds good of mates in gold
claims. Although they may have a commissioner's case
with neighbouring compatriots, as to ground, &c., we never
knew of a case in which the mates in one claim had any
legal proceedings.
While on this subject we cannot refrain from remarking
that, in our oj)inion, the English are apt to form too low an
opinion of these remarkable people. Of their superior skill
in gardening we have spoken. All the world knows their
characteristic patient and industrious attention to every
minute detail of their manufactures, and the ingenuity
they display. If it comes to a question of swindling they
120 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
can hold their own with our most accomplished professors
of that art. The excellence with which they can manu-
facture spurious gold is known to most digging store-
keepers. But they have higher claims than this on our
admiration. Every one in the- colonies can testify to the
open-handed hospitality of the Chinese. Be it the shep-
herd in the bush^ who hoards up a portion of his weekly
ration of flour to sell, and gives you of his tea, mutton,
and damper, or the wealthy storekeeper in the town, all
are alike in this respect. In the bush no one passes a
Chinaman's hut hungry, although he may often have
that of so-called Christians. The hospitality of a wealthy
Chinese merchant is on such a scale as to form an epoch
in one's life, a dinner for an invited guest often lasting
three or four hours, and the number of dishes and liquors
exceeding computation.
In married life " John '' is likewise unexceptional. He
always marries, we believe, when he gets a chance, that is,
meets with a woman who will have him, who must of course
be a white woman, there being no Chinese women in the
colony. As might be supposed he only finds a wife, as a
rule, in the lowest class. But we never heard of an instance
of a Chinaman ill-treating his wife ; they are noted for the
opposite virtue. Nothing is too good or expensive for their
wives ; and as they have a facility for making money.
Chinamen's wives are usually as well dressed as any portion
of the female world. With that arrogance which charac-
terizes our countrymen, when in contact with those we
disdainfully call the inferior races, it is the custom to look
with contempt on Chinamen's wives. But as they are
always well cared for, and kindly treated, and as their hus-
bands are never drunkards, we have often thought they are
in a superior position to many other women. Their hus-
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 121
bands are, indeed, " heathen Chinee/' but in a country
where there is so very little religion among' any class as
Queensland, that is not such a cause of difference as it
might be.
We have often marvelled that no attempt has been made
by the Christian churches of Queensland to evangelize this
important portion of the community. Perhaps, no fact is
more suggestive of the low ebb of the real Christian faith in
the colony than this. There are in Queensland many thousand
Chinese, and not the least effort has ever been made to
enlighten their minds on this subject, although it would
seem that they are here found in conditions the most likely
to give efficacy to such an attempt. We had always thought
they followed the example of too many English, and left
their religion at home, until the following little incident
came to our knowledge in Maiyborough. We copy the
paragraph containing it in full from a local paper : —
" It is singular not only to notice the many colours and races of
men that mingle in our streets on equal terms, but to reflect how
little we know, or even care, of each other's thoughts and feelings and
inner life. There move about among the population of Queensland
many thousand Chinamen, for instance, whom we all know to be
industrious and frugal, and who in many places suppl}' vegetables at u
cheap rate, or work over deserted gold-claims to their own satisfaction ;
but of whose religious views we are entirely ignorant and profoundly
careless. We were reminded of the wide distance between the views of
these people and ourselves, by a little incident which happened to us
the other day. Happening to be in the shop of an acquaintance, we
noticed in his window one of those little sitting figures in brass, with
which we were all made familiar in youth as one of the impersonations
of the god Budda, and which enterprising Christians in Birmingham
send to China and India by the bushel. We inquired the meaning of
such a sight in a Queensland shop, and received the following ex-
planation :— The little god in question came with other sundries into
the possession of our friend, and was soon spied by a neighbour of his,
a Chinaman, who told him that any one fortunate enough to possess
122 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
this image and carry it about him continually, would always be aware
of any machinations or plots being hatched against him, as well as any
slander spoken of him. He offered five, ten, fifteen shillings, and,
finally^ all the money in his pocket for the image, in his anxiety to
possess it. Our friend being a conscientious man, and considering that
taking money for such a thing would be tantamount to swindling,
refused to sell it, to John's great sorrow. Finding, however, that his
mind was set upon it, he subsequently made him a present of it, to his
intense delight. Now comes the part of the story which reflects the
most credit on the part of the poor idolator. Some months afterwards he
received a visit from his celestial friend, who placed the little Birming-
ham god before him, with the following explantftion. He was about to
sell off by auction a quantity of his goods, and his wife — a European —
was determined to include the little image. This touched the China-
man's honour, and rather than make a gain by the gift of our in-
formant, he brought him back the god again. When will anything be
done in Queensland to introduce a purer and higher faith among a race
who have so many noble traits as are to be found among our Chinese
fellow- colonists ? "
The children that spring from these marriag-es are of a
peculiarly interesting character. The man referred to
above had a fine family of little girls with delicate olive
complexions — or perhaps it would be more correct to say
with a light delicate straw tint^ peculiarly soft eyes, some-
what like those of their Mongolian father, and very nice,
oval features. We confess to having watched with great
interest this new species of the human race. He must be
blind that does not see that in future years there will be a
large admixture of the Mongolian blood in the people of
Queensland, more perhaps than of the southern colonies of
Australia. The effect this will have on the future of the
colony is a question of some importance. From what we
have seen and heard of the Chinese in Queensland, we look
on this union of races without the least alarm. The
Chinaman has many practical virtues and very few vices.
He smokes opium and gambles. He has also other vices
THE WIDE BAY DISTKICT. 123
which arise entirely from his isolated position. But truth
com^^els us to add, that he is not alone in these, nor one jot
worse than his white fellow-colonist. Were the Chinaman
only christianized, there would be nothing to be desired in
him as a colonist. At the present time, nine out of ten of
the people of Queensland would prefer to see a large
importation of Chinese, rather than of Germans, although
we by no means agree with that feeling. This arises from
their greater reluctance to accept a low rate of wages, a
Chinaman never holding himself at a cheaper rate than a
white man. The German, on the contrary, coming from
a country where twenty pounds is a large sum, is nearly
always ready to hire at first for whatever he can get.
This which we look upon as a virtue on his part, of course
gives umbrage to the working class. They forget, how-
ever, the great fact, that, however small his wages, the
German always manages to save enough to enable him
very soon to enter on land of his own, and become in his
turn an employer of labour, thus doubly relieving the
labour market. This the Chinaman never does other than
as a gardener. He may remain in the colony in trade,
never as a farmer. By far the greater part of them return
home as soon as they have saved from 2001. to 500/.
Their inability to obtain wives sufficiently accounts for this
fact.
The wonderful influx of Chinese into the new settlements
of the Anglo-Saxon race on both sides of the Pacific Ocean
is in our opinion the greatest ethnological fact of this
generation. Less than twenty years ago, we remember
seeing from day to day a Chinaman sitting near the
entrance of the City Hall in New York selling cigars.
This man was one of a crew that some Yankee skipper had
engaged in China on the understanding that they were to
124 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
be taken Lack to their port of departure. The unscrupulous
man deceived them and sent them adrift in New York. At
that time Chinese were a sufficient curiosity to admit of
this man and others making- a living by sitting" still to be
looked at. Kind people purchased his cigars and paid him
well, or threw him a dime or quarter dollar from charity.
How vast the change now ! In many places they are so
plentiful as to make their introduction or otherwise a
legislative question. Perhaps it w^ould be a good policy on
the part of the imperial and colonial governments to unite
in a scheme of sending out as wives for them a few
thousands of the "unfortunate" class of women from our
large towns and cities. Whether John could be persuaded
to marry by Act of Parliament we know not. We do not
think he would make any objections on the score of morals,
and if the colonial legislature would dower each bride with
a fifty -acre country or a two-acre suburban land-order, we
have an idea the whole lot would be eagerly snapped up.
It is not always, however, that John Chinaman contents
himself with the lowest grade of our countrywomen. We
have known instances in which they have married very
respectable wives. One poor fellow, well known to the
writer, was an actor in a little romance which we will give,
if only to show that John^s heart is in about the same
place as that of a white man.
A friend of ours in Maryborough, a gentleman holding
a prominent position in the Civil Service, had a fine-
looking, buxom servant-girl, but recently arrived in the
colony. Her charms soon bi'ought two lovers to her feet.
One was a rising young tradesman and the other our friend
John. Whether as Cupid is proverbially blind, the vows
and tears of the Chinaman had made some impression on
the young lady, or whether like many of her sex in higher
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 125
ranks she liked to have two strings to her bow, though one
were a yellow one, we know not. Certain it is that she
bestowed sufficient smiles on both to retain the pair as her
admirers. One evening, when sitting on a log outside the
fence talking to her white lover, the yellow one turned up.
A quarrel ensued, which ended in John using his knife on
his rival, who was just sufficiently injured to cause hira to
hurry home to have his wound dressed. John in a frantic
state rushed into the house knife in hand, and informed
the startled lady of the house, that the young man in
question " want to take away his girl, his wife close up/'
at the same time breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against him. After some time and much trouble he was
pacified and sent home. The white man, fearing to be
laughed at, kept the matter quiet, and nothing further came
of it. Which of the two would have been the successful
candidate after this display of valour on John's side, it
is impossible to say. Unfortunately the young woman,
while one day boiling the clothes on washing day, at a fire
in the open air, as is the fashion of the country, set fire to
her dress, and having on a crinoline, was so injured that
death ensued. Now was the time when John showed the
depth of his affection. He was almost heart-broken, and
would not, if he could help it, be parted from the lost object
of his affections. Although the young woman died possessed
of more than sufficient money to defray the funeral
expenses, he would not allow a penny of her money to
be used for that purpose, making the outlay himself on a
respectable scale and acting as chief mourner. He it was
that must dig her grave, and erect the fence around it after
the funeral. After the manner of his countrymen, he used
afterwards to carry rice and other articles to the grave of
his beloved one. In the early morning he was frequently
126 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
seen lying at full length on the grave in the utter abandon
of grief, as if he had lain there all the night.
This man afterwards married and is a drayman in very
comfortable circumstances, having a few houses of his ov/n
at rent. At one time a shopkeeper announced himself as a
candidate for aldermanic honours. To express their opinion
of him in the most decided manner his townsmen elected
John as alderman in opposition to him. John tooir very
kindly to the office and attended regularly to his duties at
the Council Board. Among his brother aldermen was a
butcher, Avho having made a little money assumed some
superiority. On one occasion Alderman Chiam, for such
was our Chinaman's name, saw fit to oppose the opinions of
this man, who thereupon took occasion to ridicule him on
the difficulty with which he read writing. Our old friend at
once seized a pen, quickly wrote a few words in Chinese,
and pushing it across the table to his opponent said,
"Mr. B , you say me no lead English, suppose you lead
that.-"' This of course he was unable to do. '' Ah,'' says
John, " you say me no belly good lead English, you no lead
Chinee at all." The retort was both just and witty, and
turned the laugh against the bumptious butcher.
This story reminds us of another remark made by a very
clever blackfellow. We were once endeavouring to enforce
on him the superiority of the white race by giving him
some account of our various inventions, &c. "We may say
that often in the bush the vast superiority of the white-
man is not so very apparent. In fact, we have often
thought if our civilization had no greater evidences of
excellence than are to be found there, the black might be
pardoned for looking down on us with as much contempt
as some of them actually do. On this occasion we were
vanquished with the following argument : — " Me think
THE WIDE RAY DISTRICT. 127
whitefellow fool. You see blaekfellow, tluit learn
talk whitefellow lang"\vige right off; baal whitefellow
learn talk blackfellow laugwig-e, that too much fool, I
believe," Thus it will be seen that if we look down on
other races with whom we are brought in daily intercourse
they often return the compliment, and that too with some
show of reason.
Up to within a very few years past Wide Bay was
entirely a pastoral district. Although agriculture and
mining have now thrown this interest in the shade, it is
still a very important one. The grass-lands are b}^ no
means first class, although some of the rivers contain very
fair country. As most of this land is too poor to repay
cultivation, sheep and cattle will continue to hold their own
in this district, however greatly the other interests may be
enlarged.
As we have before indicated, the lumbering business is
of considerable extent. There are three saw-mills at Mar}--
borough, one at Brundaberg, one at Gympie, and another
is being erected at Brundaberg, and one on the Newsa
Lake. To keep these mills in raw material, principally
pine, numerous parties of lumberers, or as they are more
frequently called timber-getters, find remunerative occupa-
tion. For many years the vast scrubs on the Mary River
and the Tanana Creek yielded all the timber used. As
these scrubs have been purchased they have gradually
become less available. For the timber-getter has no need
of purchasing the land he denudes of its pine or cedar. He
obtains a licence, which costs tl. for soft wood and 10*. for
hard per annum, and armed with this he can enter any
crown lands, unless they are leased by the mile by others
in his own line.
At present the principal rafts which arc cut up at Maj-y-
128 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
borough are obtained in the neighbourhood of Mount
Boppell, six or seven miles back of Tiaro, on the Susan and
Gregory, in Tin Can Bay, or on Fraser Island. This latter
is a sandy island, ninety miles in length, opposite the
mouth of the Mary and other rivers, and forming Wide
and Hervey's Bays. It is, like the land about Tin Can
Bay, an inlet to the south of Wide Bay, one mass of fine
white sand. On this grows a thin crop of grass, with here
and there scrubs well stocked with a splendid growth of
kaurie pine. Singular to say, although producing this fine
timber, the soil will not produce any sort of crop whatever,
so that when their timber has been removed these lands
will again revert to the solitude of nature. In other
places, as we have already observed, the timber-getter
is usually the pioneer of civilization and turns by a natural
transition into a farmer.
Rafting timber on the Mary and other streams in this
district is a peculiar and arduous occupation. The pine
timber for the most part is obtained in such places that it
can be drawn to navigable water. But it is different in-
the cedar trade. This is usually obtained far above salt
water and has to be rafted or " freshed down " when the
river is swollen from recent rains. A large flood is not so
suitable for this business as a smaller rising, usually known
as " a fresh." Then with sufficient water to carry the logs
over all obstructions in the bed of the creek or river, the
work is commenced. The logs which have accumulated on
the bank are rolled in, and by means of a small boat are
followed down the swollen and rapid stream. Here and
there a log will be stopped by some tree growing out of
the bed of the stream, or perchance carried by an eddy into
the thicket of the scrub. Then the rafters have to plunge
into the water and push the log again into the current.
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 129
Again and again this operation has to bo repeated until all
the logs are brought down to a broad part of the stream,
where they can all be united into a raft.
The pine timber in these scrubs and all over the Wide
Bay District is of a superior quality, and has a high
character in the Sydney and Melbourne markets. Some
of the trees are of vast proportions. We have measured
them in the scrubs on Kin Kin Creek as much as thirty-six
leet in circumference ; but as a rule trees of this enormous
size would be hollow. It is not unusual to find them
sufficiently large to square from four to five feet perfectly
solid, and without a knot for seventy or eighty feet from
the ground. For many years this business must continue
to be of great importance and very lucrative. It offers
many openings to men with moderate capital to erect
mills, and to those in more modest circumstances to pur-
chase a team of bullocks or horses, a timber-dray, and a
boat to procure timber for the mills. An industrious man
with such an outfit, will earn not less than 1^. per day, and
he may often do twice as well as this. The men who fell
and bark the timber and cut the tracks through the scrubs
are also able to earn very large wages, usually getting a
shilling per 100 superficial feet for this work. When the
timber stands thick and is of good size, their wages will
often approximate to that of the bullock-driver. More
frequently a party of men will " go shares " in finding the
bullocks, &c., a good team of which is worth lOO*?., and
share equally in the returns from the pine. Up to the
finding of gold at Gympie the timber trade was the main
support of Maryborough, as it still remains one of its chief
sources of wealth.
Another industry carried on in Wide Bay is the dugong
fishery. This wonderful denizen of the Queensland waters
K
130 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
is sufficiently curious and unknown to furnish materials
for a separate chapter. These waters, being the southern-
most in which they are found in large quantities, here are
the principal fishing-stations for their capture. As the
great healing properties and other excellencies of their fat
or oil becomes more known, the demand for it largely
increases. There are at present three fishing-stations on
the shores of Wide and Hervey^s Bays, where the animals
when cauo-ht are broug-ht ashore and boiled down. Other
fishing is carried on to some extent in these bays. Oysters
abound of a very fair quality, and a considerable export
trade with the northern ports is carried on. Mullet are
also dried for the Gympie and other markets. It is a
matter of surprise that the wealth of the Queensland
waters has not before now tempted some persons with the
requisite capital to enter on the fishing business on a scale
of some magnitude. Mullet, whiting, schnapper, jew-fish,
a peculiarly delicate and well-flavoured fish called by the
natives dially, a species of herring, bream, and many other
sorts abound, to say nothing of hosts of turtle and crabs.
An attempt, which was tolerably successful, was made some
time since to procure shark-oil. The various ports have a
good supply of fresh fish, but no one has ever yet attempted
to cure fish on a large scale. From the plentiful supply of
fish and the market that can be made in the colonies alone,
there can be no question that the first parties who speculate
in this direction will have no cause to complain of the
results. It is a remark often made by those conversant
with the subject, that the waters of Queensland contain as
ffreat wealth as its soil. All that is needed is some enter-
prising speculator to show how money can be made in this
way, and its bays would soon be white with fleets of
fishing-vessels. When that occurs, instead of sending
THE WIDE BAY DISTRICT. 131
hard cash to Chili and Peru for their bread-stuffs, salt fish,
always a saleable commodity in these countries, would be
sent instead, and thus a constant drain of money be put a
stop to.
K 2
CHAPTER VI.
THE GOLD-FIELDS.
The most attractive industry in the Wide Bay District to
the intending^ emigrant, as well as to most others, is its
gold-mining. The wonderful richness of the early alluvial
workings at Gympie, and the splendid results still being
obtained from its quartz-reefs, have spread the fame of
Queensland Gold-diggings all over the empire. The
author visited Gympie within a fortnight of its discovery
professionally, as correspondent for a Brisbane paper. He
resided on Gympie, Kilkivan, and Jimna for two years,
and had thus a tolerable insight into that curious and
interesting phase of colonial experience — life on the
diggings. The a^lri sacri fames is strong in the breast of
most Englishmen, and it will probably be interesting to
the reader to have some account of this kind of life.
In the month of September, 1867, Queensland was
suffering from what was emphatically known as the " hard
times.'' The various causes to which we have alluded in
our account of the railway policy, had brought the whole
colony to the verge of bankruptcy. A long drought had
nearly ruined the few farmers, who in those days had only
maize, potatoes, and oaten hay to depend on for a return.
These they had to sell to storekeepers too poor to pay cash,
and often too roguishly inclined not to take every advan-
tage of the farmer that his exigent circumstances per-
TRE GOLD-FIELDS. 133
mittcd; but this season even these crops were a faihire.
The towns of Brisbane and Ipswich were in a state of utter
stagnation; large parties of labourers were working in
" relief-camps," getting their rations and 6-?. per week of
Government, to work on the roads until times took a turn
with them. Every one was wondering what would happen
next, as no one believed times could be worse without
starvation ensuing; this, in fact, appeared to be the
pleasant outlook for many. Nearly all who could manage
to do so had left the colony. As an instance of the pres-
sure of the times, the author had for some time been
engaged at the very modest salary of 31. per week as
agricultural editor of a Brisbane paper ; he had to make
room for an actor, who agreed to fill his position for 11. per
week, and also carry on his engagement at the theatre.
His knowledge of agriculture or editorial duties was nil,
but then 21. per week would be saved, and that was an
object to the company those hard times. Many farmers
had given up their farms and gone into situations in the
bush in order to find bread for their families, and eight out
of ten of the rest would soon have had to follow their
example. To such a pitch had this tine colony been
reduced by the maladministration of its government.
Poverty was become the lot of most.
Such was the condition of affairs when a wandering
miner one day in September, 1871, presented himself at
the camp of a cedar-getter on the upper waters of tlie
Mary. He had come across from the little diggings at
Nanango, where a few scores of men had eked out a living
for two or three years. Since then he had prospected his
way thus far and announced his intention of prospecting
down the western side of the Mary. If he met with no
luck until he reached Maryborough, he would be obliged
134 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
to take a job at shearing or otherwise, as his funds were
very low, almost at low water. This man was James
Nash, the prospector. He belonged to a class of men who
even in the colonies are S7d generis. With a pick, shovel,
tin dish, and bag as tools, a blanket, billy, and quart-pot
as equipment, they swarm over the country " trying " it.
"Wherever they come across a '^ likely-looking spot " they
dig or " bottom" a hole, take out a dishful of the " wash-
dirt,-" if any is found, and try it by washing at the nearest
water-hole. If no water is near, they put a quantity of the
wash-dirt in their bag and cai-ry it, sometimes a mile or two,
until they come to water. It is by these men that almost
all diggings are discovered. They are a silent, prudent,
painstaking, industrious and frugal class who deserve well
of their country. They occasionally come across a squatter
who is public-spirited enough to assist them by supplying
rations free while they are on his run. More frequently,
however, they are treated as the natural enemies of the
squatter. This is by that large portion of the class who
never wish to see a human being on their runs besides
their own people, and who look on the outbreak of a rich
gold-diggings, with its teeming and busy population, as
the greatest possible calamity. There is something in
the secluded and semi-barbarous life of the bush which
engenders an extreme selfishness in men who, in any other
position, would perhaps be characterized by the opposite
quality.
Nash was advised by the cedar-getter to vary his
course and cross the river to the neighbouring station
of Traveston and prospect down the east side of the river.
This man, whose name was Denman, had formerly been on
some of the Victorian diggings, and stated to Nash that on
one occasion when he and his men were ^' freshincr " down
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 135
some codar^ he bad been struck with the remarkably
auriferous appearance of a certain creek or gully which he
had passed. If we mistake not, he had seen gold in it.
He stated that it was only the imperative nature of his
work which admitted of no delays, that had prevented him
from "trying a prospect^' himself, but he had always
intended to do so when he next passed that way. Nash
left Denman's camp, with a promise if successful to secure
a claim for the latter. It is but just to Nash to say that
he denies having received such plain directions. According
to his account Denman merely advised him to visit that
district, stating that he thought the locality a likely one
for gold.
Be that as it may, Nash, about noon of the day after he
left Denman's camp, came to a gully crossing the track to
Maryborough. We say track, for the road from Brisbane
to ]\Iaryborough on which he was now travelling, was in
fact only a mere bush track. A water-hole was near and
Nash, after lighting a fire to boil his quart of tea for
dinner, took his pick and shovel and tin dish to " try a
prospect.'''' How must he have been gratified when, after
merely taking up a dishful of the stuff which lay on the
surface of the bottom of the gully, he obtained two or three
grains of gold on washing it. His interest was awakened,
and he tried another dishful obtained a little further up
the gully, and selected with more care from the face of the
bed rock. When this was washed, a nice little nugget or
two and some coarse gold-dust lay in the dish before his
delighted eyes. Before his dinner was eaten Nash had
washed out a few pounds' worth of gold from the dust thus
easily obtained, and had satisfied himself that he had at
last found what for many long years he had been in quest
of — a payable piece of ground.
136 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
As may be supposed, he did not allow the grass to grow
under his feet. With that caution characteristic of his
class, he removed his " swag" up a bend of the gully
where he would be unnoticed by any traveller who might
perchance pass that way, — a very rare occurrence, — and
fell to work with might and main. Before night fell he
was a richer man than he had ever been before. A day or
two longer he worked on until he had some 200/. or 300(?.
worth of gold, and then he set off for Brisbane to send
word to his brother in Sydney and bring up a mate from
Fortitude Valley. It may be a matter of surprise to many
how Nash could so soon obtain such a considerable sum.
But in this place, since known as Nash''s Gully, the
diiTiring- v/as of the shallowest sort. In the bed of the
gully the wash-dirt actually lay on the surface, and the
dream of many a sanguine would-be gold-digger from
home could here be realized, and big lumps of the precious
metal were to be picked out of little " pockets" in the rock
with the bare hand or a sheath knife. The nuggets lay
about like pebbles or small potatoes only 1)arely covered
with the dirt or gravel. In the history of gold-digging
there have been few gullies so short where such an amount
of wealth has been so easily obtainable. There were deeper
works further down this gully, as much as twelve to sixteen
feet sinking, but in this part, above the road, four or five
feet was the average depth, and this only when the works
were carried into the sides of the hills. Up the gully for
many hundred yards in its bed, for it is a water-course in
rainy weather, the gold dirt was found on the surface.
Obliterating all signs of his work, Nash departed. In
Brisbane his natural anxiety to secure himself before
making his discovery public induced him to say, when
selling his gold, that he had found it on the Morinish
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 137
(ligghif^s, near Rockhampton. There are all over the
Australias a number of miners who are always keenly on
the watch for any news of the finding of new diggings.
To such men, information which to the general public
appears of little interest, is fraught with the weightiest
import. To men of this class the news when published,
that a man had sold seventy or eighty ounces of coarse,
heavy gold — which means of large-sized pieces — of water-
worn appearance, was sufficient to assure them from their
great experience, that where this came from much more of
the same sort was to be had. The consequence was that
scores, if not hundreds, from all parts of Queensland and
New South Wales, rushed off to the Morinish, to find
themselves on the wrong scent. They had not long to
wait, however, for the correct news. After sending for his
brother, Nash with his friend returned via Maryborough
to his diggings, from which town they are situate about
fifty-five miles. They took back a horse and dray and a
stock of provisions. For some days they worked away
undisturbed. When the stockman from the neighbouring
run would pass, they remained quiet ; but he found them
out, and they allayed his suspicion by giving a poor
account — they were only prospecting and hardly able to
"make tucker," — earn their rations. But one day a
stranger passed and their dog barking, he stopped and
looked around. The dog was silenced, but fears of being
discovered induced Nash to leave for Maryborough to
make his discovery public. His reason for this was, that
according to the mining regulations, any digger finding
payable gold and making his discovery known was entitled
to a prospector's claim, varying in size according to its
contiguity to other diggings. At such a distance as this
the prospector would be entitled to twenty ordinary
138 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
claims. He also became entitled to the reward in cash
offered by Government to the finder of any new o'old-field,
which varies in amount from 1000^. downwards according'
to the number of people the rush would maintain for the
first twelve-months. Should he, ho\vever, fail to report his
discovery, and it became known by any other means, he
not only lost all claim to extended ground, but also to the
money reward. Taking with him the result of his labours
up to that time, said by the telegraphic report to be 1000
ounces, but which we believe was less, Nash waited on the
Land Commissioner, laid his gold before him and claimed
his reward.
In a few hours the telegraph had flashed the news over
all the colonies. The people of Queensland were every-
where excited and forgot for a time their poor circum-
stances. But the news was too good to be true, there
must be some mistake, and they would wait further
information. The people of Maryborough, however, could
see the big nuggets for themselves; Nash showed them
his deposit receipt at the bank or the gold itself, and the
whole town was electrified. The sergeant of police was
sent back with Nash, in default of any other officer, to
mark off" his claims and those of other diggers. A run
was made for miner^'s rights, and half the people of
Maryborough set off pell-mell for the new El Dorado.
On our way to the rush we were told at a neighbouring
station that only one storekeeper, who was too stout for
such work, and women and children were left in the town.
This was an exaggeration, but so many people left, that
work came to a stand-still. At the principal mills and the
sugar plantation, just then commencing crushing, making
a virtue of necessity, a fortnight's leave was given to the
employes.
TDE GOLD-FIELDS. 139
On arrival at the rush Nash, as is the custom, had to
wash out a few pans of dirt in presence of the officer and
the crowd, with a view to proving whether or no the
ground was payable and he entitled to a prospector's claim.
Every dish washed showed the delighted on -lookers a
goodly quantity of gold, amongst which was a fair
proportion of the welcome nuggets. Twenty-one claims
were marked out for Nash in a part of the gully selected
by himself and where he had as yet done little or no work.
His mate and brother had pegged off ground, and. then the
new comers were busy in securing each his own ground.
There is no scene more exciting or curious than this
pegging oflP. Here, as elsewhere, possession is nine points
of the law. Every man holding a miner's right, which
in Queensland costs 10s. per annum, is entitled on any
diggings to mark off a claim of a certain number of feet,
usually 40 x 30 as his " claim." Where it is wet sinking,
that is, where it is necessary to bale water in working the
ground, the claims are larger. Quartz-reef claims are
forty feet on the line of the reef and of an indefinite width.
Usually on the news being brought into any diggings that
payable gold has been found elsewhere, the Commissioner
at once sets off with the prospectors to the place. Such
news flies like wild-fire over the diggings and although
secrecy is practised in these afiairs, to prevent the dis-
appointment which too frequently follows from the rush
turning out a "duffer," there will be hundreds ready to
proceed with the Commissioner and his party. Every man
carries his swag and rations, besides his tools. Usually a
party of mates go together and carry with them tent,
cooking utensils, and all their kit. Tlieir destination is a
secret to all but the prospectors, who have perhaps " laid
on" a few intimate friends, who have started over- night
140 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
and will be on the ground and select their claims hours
before the others arrive. It is of no use to hurry ; so all go
on leisurely enough until the spot is in sight up the creek
or gully. Then comes a scene ; every man hastens forward
.at the top of his speed to peg out his claim. The neophyte
now knows why it is called a " rush.^' The name is most
appropriate. Those on horseback gallop ahead^ one friend
after another bawling out, ^' Peg out for me alongside you,
old fellow V or some such request. Arrived at the ground,
the experienced eye of the digger sees how the land lies at
a glance ; springing from their horses every man, without
troubling himself for the time what becomes of his steed,
quickly paces off two or four men^s ground, and drives iu
his pegs. The old stagers have cautiously cut four pegs
with their tomahawk some distance back, and have them
all ready to drive into the hard ground. Others seize any
dead branch that can be made to do duty for the present
and, making a hole with their pick, drive it in as best
they may. When the four pegs are in, there is time to
breathe. The kit is placed on the ground, and the miner,
conscious of possessing a stake in the country, can look
around him. On every side is confusion, hallooing,
swearing, quarrelling, and generally one or two fights will
take place. It is best not to leave your claim until things
are a little settled. With his pick, the old digger will
at the corners of his ground indicate his boundaries by
digging little trenches at right angles, and at once mark
off his shaft or hole and turn out the sods so as to bring it
into shape. When he has thus turned out a few spadesful
of earth he feels pretty secure. Old stagei's, when mates,
will generally each peg out ground enough for all in
various localities, and by "shepherding" each claim, that
is, working or sitting on it daily for an hour, from ten to
TITE GOLD-FIELDS. 141
eleven a.m., find <nit from tlie efforts of their neiyhhours
whieli way the run of the gold is ; when, as is nearly always
the case, some of their ground is worthless, this will
be given up and the best, or, in digger^s parlance, " the
likeliest ground," be retained. Here, as elsewhere, the
weakest sometimes go to the wall, and a little weakly man
will be overpowered by some big ruffian. As a rule,
however, the diggers act with the greatest justice; we
have seen rushes at which scarcely a hard word was spoken,
and where good fellowship prevailed on all sides.
The major part of the claims on deep sinking are not
worked until a few have been proved. Day after day you
see men sitting on their ground from eleven to twelve, chaff-
ing each other, or listening to a " blower " spinning a yarn.
Here you will see a crowd regularly sitting around the
shafts tha-t are being put down, waiting to see the result,
which will entirely influence their conduct. If two or
three duffers are bottomed where only " the colour," that
is, a speck or two of gold, or nothing whatever is got, the
men begin to thin off daily. In fact on the best diggings
this is always the case to a great extent. Many holes
will certainly be bottomed on poor or unpayable ground,
and the desponding portion of the community clear out,
while the sanguine stop on and thoroughly prove the
ground, often to their thorough satisfaction. When the
author was approaching Gympie, about ten days, after the
first rush, he found the road lined with people returning.
Their story was all the same. There were a few immensely
rich claims in Nash^s Gully, but they were all taken up,
and the ground around had all been tried, and there was
Xio gold anywhere else : it was a mere patch. At that
time some of the richest gullies and creeks were open.
After the men have pegged out the ground, they have
142 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
time to wait on the Commissioner, who goes to the pro-
s^jector's claim, sees a prospect washed and declares the
ground payable or otherwise. In the former case he marks
off their ground and hears any disputes which may have
arisen in marking out the other ground. When the miners
are finished with, he has other duties to perform. By and
by the drays and pack-horses of the storekeepers come up,
and there is now a second rush for business sites. Every
person holding a business right, which costs only 2/?.
yearly, in addition to his miner's right, may peg off for
himself a business frontage on the street that is laid out.
This is a lot with 40 feet frontage by 120 feet deep. If
a rush has given a good prospect there will be a keen
competition for these sites ; pegging out here as in the
claims is evidence of title, but the owner is obliged to
reside. .If his lot is unoccupied for twenty-four hours it
may be "jumped,^' which is done by some one throwing
out his pegs and replacing them with his own. The
jumper, either of a business site or a miner's claim, will be
pretty certain to fall to work at once, so as to show some
practical right to his holding. Much money is often made
by selling these sites. A shrewd fellow will peg out two
or three, and pay miners to erect their tents on the extra
ones. If the diggings succeed, in a week or two a
wealthier class of storekeepers come in than those who
usually " follow the rushes," and finding all the good
sites occupied, are forced to give round sums to their
proprietors. On Gympie as much as from 60/. to 80/.
were given for a frontage within two months of the
first rush.
The scene on a new rush, if the weather be fine, which it
usually is, is of the most 'active and pleasing character.
Team after team arrives, and whole strings of packhorses.
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 143
with every variety of goods. As if by magic a street is
formed of big tents or tarpaulins raised on a frame-work.
Here a blacksmith has already got his forge at work, and
there two or three men are busy in fitting up a stone or
iron oven. Here is a carpenter just arrived with a load of
new cradles, and pine boards, from which he has already
begun to make others. Grog-stores and public-houses are
in full blast, and are doing a thriving trade before an ounce
of gold has been raised by any but the prosjiectors. The
bar-room is easily adjusted; a large tent, a few forked
sticks driven in the ground, one sheet of bark on the top
and others at the side for a counter, a few bottles and
glasses on a case or two behind, and the affair is complete,
while a cotton sign, brought ready painted, gives you the
name of the proprietor. At the next door is a general
store fitted up in much the same way. Here is a man
sitting under the shade of a big tree or an umbrella, with •
all his goods at his feet like a merchant of Cairo. This,
perhai^s, consists of a keg of rum, a square block of tobacco,
a few boxes of matches, two or three tumblers, and a billy
of water. Beyond is a butcher's shop, with plenty of beef
and mutton, which he nearly always sells at about '3d. or
'id. per lb. His establishment consists of his tent or bark
hut, and a green arbour of boughs with a bark roof for the
shop. All these, and many others, will have sprung into
full activity by the second or third day, thanks to the genial
climate and the neighbouring tribe of blacks, who bring in
the bark at a shilling per sheet, and spend their money
belween the baker, the butcher, and the publican, especially
the latter. It is always the same on every new rush :
drunken blackfellows are among the most common sights
one sees. No licence is taken out for some months on a new
rush, there being no establishment that can comply with
144 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the requirements of the Act. There is free trade in liquor
as in everything" else, and nearly every storekeeper has it
for sale. On most of the rushes we have seen in Queens-
land the price of the nobbier of spirits or glass of ale is one
shilling" ; that is also the price of a pound of flour and sugar.
These are packhorse prices ; in a few days, when a road has
been found for tlie bullock-drays, with the large stocks they
bring, prices fall, the nobbier to 6d. and the pound of flour
from 4d. to Sd. This is where there is only from 50 to
150 niiles^ carriage : on the northern diggings prices are
never so low as this, we believe. To make amends, butchers'
meat, which can always be had close at hand, is never
dear; for some years it has been as low as l^d. to 2r/. on
Gympie.
On reaching Gympie the author found that, although
less than a fortnight old, there was already a population of
nearly 2000, and a street built along the side of Nash's
Gully more than a quarter of a mile in length. That gully
was full of life and activity from end to end. Drays were
busily employed in carting the dirt from the richer or older
claims to the river, a distance of nearly two miles. Great
care was taken to prevent any falling out, and one of the
mates always went with the dray, so rich was i,he dirt in
nuggets. The water-hole by the roadside, where Nash had
washed his first prospects, was turned to a thick, yellow
mass of pea-soup consistency. Around this all day were
men washing dishes of dirt from new claims. We looked
in on Nash's claim. He had a large number of men at
work, and he and his brother were busy on the look-out for
nuggets. We passed on to other claims. We found the
men all busy, elated, and reticent ; these were the new chum
diggers. We afterwards found the regular digger to be not
at all backward in answering any civil inquiries, and often
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 145
singularly open in his revelations as to his doings. There
is a sort of freemasonry among diggers, and the old hands are
always most communicative among themselves. We noticed
that each man in digging uji the dirt had by his side a
pint pannikin. This was to put the nuggets in. One man
told us on our informing him what our reason for in-
quiry was, that he about half filled that usually every day.
The wash dirt after this would turn out eight to twelve
ounces to the load. We visited the river bank. Here was
another singular scene. All up and do'Wn the bank were
men busy washing the dirt in cradles. The scrub had been
cut away, forming a road on the high bank. Opposite to
where each man was working was a wooden platform and
shoot ; on the former the dirt was dumped from the dray,
and shot down the latter to the foot of the cradle as he
required it. The bright clear waters of the Mary were
turned to a yellow colour, as indeed they remain to this day,
for many a mile below Gympie. Here we found Mr.
Denman already alluded to, busy cradling the dirt of a claim
in which he was a mate. The cradle has rockers, hence its
name, with a long perpendicular handle to rock it with.
The dirt is shovelled on to an iron hopper filled with round
holes about half an inch in diameter. Underneath it is so
arranged as to catch all the gold on slanting shelves. With
one hand the washer rocks his cradle, and the other holds a
dipper with which he pours water on the mass of dirt. We
noticed that frequently the washers would stop to pick out
a nugget which the water betrayed. When the dirt was all
washed out, the stones that remained were carefully picked
over, and never without a few nuggets more being found.
We were shown a bag of nice shining fellows which had
been thus brought to light. The scene here was both novel
and pretty, and yet clings to memor3\ It was the first and
L
146 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
is still the richest washing we had seen. The busy and
eager row of men bringing to light the wealth that had so
long lain hid ; the fine clear river gradually turning yellow
as it laved the feet of the gold- washers ; the high and
gorgeous scrub-trees clothing the river on both banks,
until the lower branches of dark -green touched the water;
and high over all the blue sky of Queensland. Outside
the scrub it was hot and sultry, for it was the end of
October ; here the air was cool and delightful. A man
might be pardoned if looking alike on the works of
nature and the work of man, as both lay before him, he
decided that there were many worse lives than that of a
digger.
Some time after Nash''s Gully was opened. White's
Gully was discovered on the other side of the same ridge.
This was a far poorer gully than the former. On its site is
the far-famed New Zealand reef to which we shall again
refer. Soon after, Walker^s Gully, nearer the river and
mostly covered with scrub, was discovered. This gully was
very rich, the sinking a moderate depth, and the gold well-
scattered over the ground ; in otlier words, there was a
regular run of the precious metal, like gravel and pebbles
laid in the bed of a creek. With the exception of Nash's
Gully, no part of Gympie gave larger returns in less time
than did this. Shoi'tly before Chi'istmas gold was found
in the Italian Gully at the One Mile, which soon became a
town rivalling in size Gympie itself. This gully was also
very rich, as was Nuggetty Gully near it. Afterwards
gold was found in the Deep Creek, in enormous quantities
in some instances. This creek, however, was full of water,
and the sinking was wet, much water having to be con-
tended with. One of Nash's mates was the prospector
here, and many thousand ounces were taken from his claim
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 147
alone. This man's case is a specimen one of many
hundreds. Finding himself suddenly a wealthy man, he
and his wife set up to lead the ton. They gave champagne
parties again and again, and lived for some time as if their
money could have no end. They were all at once people of
distinction, and appeared determined to make an indelible
impression on their contemporaries. For awhile all went
merry as a marriage bell ; but by-and-by a flood came and
filled up the claims on the Deep Creek ; for a considerable
time no work could be done ; then, when the weather and
water permitted work, great expense had to be incurred to
repair damages. In short, it followed in his case, as in
many others, that his money was spent as fast as earned.
The last we heard of him, he was working as a " wages-
man " on a reef.
To a stranger it appears absolutely impossible that in a
place like a diggings' township money can be so squandered
as it often is. The stories of the Arabian Nights are not
more wonderful than many one hears of in actual life on
the diggings. There was an aged miner, who often used
to visit the author's store at Jimna, and received now and
then a few rations on credit — who was one of a party of
five or six men who took no less than one ion of gold out of
a single claim on the Woolshed Diggings in Yictoi'ia.
Singular to say he was a Scotchman too. He told us that
the only good he had done with his large fortune had been
to visit Scotland and purchase a comfortable residence for
an aged mother. There is a class of men on every diggings
who are alwaj-s lucky in obtaining a good claim and yet
pass at least three fourths of their time in drunkenness.
We have often heard it observed that this sort of people
are almost always more fortunate than sober men. At any
rate one meets few diggers who will not affirm it, and wc
L 2
148 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
have seen many instances that give a colouring- of truth to
the statement.
It is wonderful how even the sober miners manage to
let their money slip through their fingers. We remember
a journeyman printer, who told us he took 6000/. as his
share of a claim on the Lachlan, at the final settlement,
besides his weekly share of the nuggets. The claim was
nearly two years in working and every nugget found was
put into a fund which was divided between the six mates
for current expenses and j^ocket-money. This man had
never been a drunkard nor gambler, but by speculating in
shares in quartz reefs, &c., he had gradually lost all his
money. We mention these cases as instances of how most
diggers get rid of their wealth. A whole volume might
easily be filled with similar cases; such a \Vork by one
who had the industry to compile it, would exhibit many a
phase in real life, of which people at home have no
conception. We have come to the conclusion that when a
miner has been fortunate and made a large sum in one
claim, unless he gives up digging at once or invests his
money, he will be certain to lose it again in the long-run.
Nash followed this wise course. When he had worked out
his claims and realized a large sum he at once took to
himself a wife, and gave uj) a digger's life. He had a
reward of 1000/^. from Government as the discoverer of the
field. Various sums, varying from 10,000/. to 20,000/., were
mentioned as his clear earnings, but we believe that he
has never made public what he really did realize. After
visiting England with his wife, he purchased a place with a
very pretty view of the Mary River, a few miles above its
mouth and within an easy distance of Maryborough. It
is said that although he had been a digger for many years,
this was his first " rise." Very few men appear to deserve
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 149
success more, judging- from the quiet way in wliieli he has
settled down, and tlie unassuming manner with which he
has deported himself.
Of the other prospectors on the Gympie Diggings, we
know nothing except Walker. This man, often spoken of
as " Alligator Walker," is quite a character in his way.
He earned this sobriquet by his former achievements in
catching these saurians in the Fitzroy River, and for his
not less interesting yarns since then, in which he fights his
battles over again with sufficient gusto. Walker did not
work out his claim iu the gully which bears his name, but
having been drinking very hard, he quarrelled with his
mates and threw up his claim in disgust. With the
remains of a very handsome amount of gold, he purchased
a little cutter, which he called the " James Nash " in
honour of the prospector, fitted ker up in a first-rate style,
and has since made a very comfortable income by trading
in her. Since leaving Gympie he has abjured drink, and
frequently spends a few weeks with his wife and family
aboard, fishing for sharks in HerveyX or Wide Bay, When
last we saw him he was about to sell the " James Nash "
to purchase a larger vessel. He too has become a laud-
owner, having selected a nice piece of land on the Burrum
with a view to sugar-growing.
There have been many large fortunes made on Gympie,
iu the reefing line more especially. The alluvial diggings
were too quickly worked out to admit of such large sums
being made in them as in the larger diggings in the
southern colonies, although there were not a few who did
very well on Gympie. An acquaintance informed us on
one occasion that two young men, friends of his, and whose
claim had been contiguous to his in Walker's Gully had
just left for England in a ship from Sydney. He said he
150 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
would then tell me, what he had promised to keep secret
as long as necessary, that they had carried away with them
one hundred pounds' weight of gold each, which they had
kept buried in their tent unknown to any one, only selling
enough to pay their way. This was the result of about
four months^ work. There must have been many other
claims in that gully not much behind this one in
productiveness.
The Gympie Diggings had not attracted much notice
beyond the colony until the finding of the Curtis Nugget.
This fine piece of gold, which was worth over 3000/., was
found under very peculiar circumstances in a very poor
claim. The claim was on the side of the ridge between
Nash's and White's Gullies, in a little gully running into
the former. Just as they were about to abandon the
ground for its poverty, one of the parties struck his pick
into this nugget, which was soon unearthed and carried in
procession to the bank. Mr. Curtis, however, did not reap
as much benefit as he should have done from this find.
Many persons put in claims for a share in the proceeds,
and much litigation followed. In the long-run, we believe
it cost Curtis half as much to fee lawyers to defend his
right as the whole of the money obtained from it.
But the finding of this nugget set the whole digging
population of the Australias and New Zealand in motion.
They had cared little for the splendid finds in Nash's Gully,
that might be only a patch ; but where a nugget of that
size was obtained there must be more gold. A tremendous
rush set in, and by the end of February, 1868, there were
not less than 10,000 persons on the diggings. New
buildings of a more permanent character sprung up daily,
two theatres were opened, one at Gympie and one at the
One Mile, as also a church or two ; singing and dance
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 151
houses abounded; a newspaper was started and a com-
mittee formed to improve the main street, which from the
enormous travel over it had now become a vast slough. But
with all this increase of population very little new ground
was opened, and great was the ire of the Southerners
against the " Banana men/' as they choose to call the
Queenslanders, for their luck in holding all the payable
ground. As the population grew denser dissatisfaction
began to prevail; fortunately the newspapers of Queens-
land had been very guarded, and care had been taken not
to overrate the diggings and thus draw men on a wild-
goose chase. But one mishap occurred. The local paper
stated one day that a man had obtained a certain number,
— five, we think, — of pennyweights of gold, by diving in a
water-hole in" the Mary River. This was believed to be
incorrect, and although this statement appeared after all the
people had arrived on the diggings and could not therefore
have influenced their conduct, a casus belli was made of
the paragraph. A " roll up'' took place on a Friday
evening to the Times office. Soon, not less than a thousand
men gathered in front of the door, and loud cries were
made for the editor. That gentleman evinced no anxiety
to present himself. The author hearing the hubbub got
up into a tree in the street near the corner of the ofiice, to
watch proceedings. Threats to pull down the place were
heard and a few stones were thrown on the roof. Making
a virtue of necessity the editor at last came to the door.
A man who constituted himself the spokesman of the
party, thrust a copy of the paper in his face and asked him
if he acknowledged the obnoxious paragraph. He told
him he did. He had been careful to cross-question the
man who had given him the information ; he could do no
more. Finally it was agreed that he should have until
152 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
the morrow afternoon^ when, if he produced the man at the
court-house, well; if not, he was pretty plainly informed
that his own proj)er person and the office itself would be in
great jeopardy.
At the time in question the editor and his authority, — a
big, heavy-faced Hungarian, whom we afterwards found
to be a great scoundrel, — put in an appearance. First,
the editor said, he had an explanation to make. A typo-
graphical error had occurred; what was printed pennt/-
weights should have been grains — a considerable mistake
certainly, but mistakes would happen in the best regu-
lated offices. Being an Irishman and no fool, the editor
managed to soft-sawder his hearers, themselves Irishmen
to a large extent, and when he saw neither himself nor the
office stood in much danger, he introduced the digger to
give an account of his part of the transaction. That
worthy went on to say how one day he had dived in the
river and brought up a few handfuls of sand from the
bottom, in which he had found some gold; he had repeated
this operation until he had obtained the quantity spoken of.
No one believed his story, but he got off on the ground
that perhaps he was too big a fool to know mica from gold,
and that perhaps he had found some of the latter. It is
not doubted by any that the bed of the Mary is auriferous ;
it is almost certain there must be large quantities of gold
deposited there ; but the gold is certainly not lying in fine
particles on the top of the gravel. In the year 1868, great
efforts were made to prospect the bed of the Mary. It had
been a dry season and the river was very low. Many
holes were sunk, in one or two of which they were so near
the bottom as to obtain a little gold. But a heavy shower
rose the river just at this critical juncture, and it has never
again been low enough to resume the works. The Mary
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 153
has so many long creeks running into it from the mountains
that a heavy shower in almost any part of that district
suffices to swell its waters. The last three years have
been unusually moist. The season of 1871-72 promised
however to be very dry. If so, we may expect to hear of
mining operations being resumed in the bed of the Mary
lliver.'
About the time of the greatest influx of peoplc; the
Gympie Reefs first began to attract attention. The first
two from which crushings were obtained were the Cale-
donian and Lady Mary Reefs and the returns were highly
successful. This caused a great impetus to be given to
reefing. New reefs were being prospected and rushed
almost daily, until reefing operations w^ere in full swing
over an area extending six miles on the south and twelve
miles on the north of Gympie. Considerable capital is
required in reefing, and after expending sums on their
claims varying from 10/. to 200/. or 300/., a very large
number of the men had to throw up work, register their
claims and go further afield, either to the new rushes
springing up in the north, to the southern colonies, or on
some station in the bush. In every direction in which
one travels around Gympie may be seen these deserted
shafts. On some of them extensive and substantial horse-
powers and other improvements have been erected, and
shafts are put down in the most approved manner, while
hundreds of tons of " mullock," as diggers call clay, and
stone attest to the large capital of time and money which
must have been expended. Others have less work done on
them^ the holders having exhausted their funds more
• The author has not heard since leaving the colony of any fresh
altcnipls to prospect the bed of the Mary.
15-i THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
quickly. There is no reason to doubt that many of those
reefs, if they had been thoroughly proved, would have
turned out as rich as those now being- worked. As proof of
this we may refer to the claim number 7 and 8 amalgamated,
on the South Monckland Reef. The owners of this claim
were eight men principally from Devonshii-e, with the
steady industry that generally characterizes the West of
England men. They worked at their claim for over twelve
months, when the Gilbert rush breaking out, they registered
it for three more and started off to take a look at the new
diggings. At the end of their registration they were again on
their reef. Shaft after shaft was put down until three years'
time and some hundreds per man had been expended. At the
end of that time their wonderful perseverance was rewarded.
The reef was struck and the first crushing yielded them
1500 ounces of gold, worth 31. 6s. per ounce. In this case
the men were incited to expend their time and money by the
fact that all the claims up to theirs were on the reef and
fortunes were being made by their owners. If it had
occurred that this portion of the reef had been first struck
on, the far-famed Monckland jR.eef would probably never
have existed. Now this claim is turning out about 1000^.
to 2000/. per share per annum and may continue to do that
for an indefinite period. We once rode with one of this
party from Gympie to Brisbane. They had then been over
a year at work, and he had expended 200/. on the reef. He
^happened to be in our company again for some days after
he had netted some thousands from his reef. We could not
discover the least difference in his deportment. He had
still the same quiet, unassuming manner as when gradually
sinking all his hard-earned gains. One cannot but feel
pleased when fortune showers her favours in the laps of
such worthy recipients.
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 155
It may be interesting- to some readers to learu how these
wonderful golden reefs are found, what they are like, and
how the gold is extracted from them. As a rule all
aurifei'ous reefs are of quartz. With their characteristic
self-sufficiency the geologists gave out that gold could not
possibly be found in any other material — -just as they deny
the whole Mosaic account of the Creation. For many
years there was no one to contradict them in this as in
many other of their assertions. Gold had never been
found except in quartz, therefore it could only be found in
quartz, and by no possibility could any other be a gold-
bearing stone. As it takes a certain time for given causes
to produce certain results now, therefore these results
must always have required an equal length of time, and the
first chapter of Genesis is only to be pooh-poohed by sensible
men. There has been nothing to turn the tables on this
last argument, nor is it probable we shall ever be able to
disprove their assertions as to the Creation. But gold has
within the last three years been found in reefs of other
stone than quartz in Queensland. On the Gilbert Digg-ings
none of the richest jeefs are quartz ; thus adding another
to the many flat contradictions which the gold-digger has
given to the theories of the geologists. It would be an
interesting inquiry, and a very instructive treatise might
be written to show in what particulars the diggers of
Australia have contradicted the axioms of the geologists.
We have given one instance ; another occurred on Gympie,
in which the celebrated green-stone theory, which was as
much a truth to every geologist as the " unlimited ages "
theory of the Creation, was proved to be as fallacious as we
have no doubt the other would be proved, could it be done •
with miners' tools. We do not wish to ignore geology.
Kept within bounds it is of vast benefit to tlie miner as to
156 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
many others. The evil is that being almost entirely an
inductive science, its professors judg-ing from insufficient
data, form monstrous and false theories which they
would cram down peo^Dle^s throats to the injury some-
times of their pockets and sometimes of their faith.
Had the repeated assertions of the geologists in reference
to the green-stone been listened to, many of the richest
finds of gold on Gympie would never have been made.
And when practical tests prove some of these assumed
facts to be false, there seems no reason why we should
believe those that they can neither prove true nor we
erroneous.
As a rule, however, all auriferous reefs are quartz-reefs ;
but it by no means follows that all quartz-reefs are
auriferous. The miner in prospecting for a reef has two
tests. After having found a " blow-out " or outcrop of a
reef, he sets to work, digs down beside it for a greater or
less distance. He will generally be guided in his proceed-
ings by the look of the quartz. If he fancies it is " likely'^
quartz, he will, as we have said, sink down with a view to
finding the reef. Perhaps he may soon come on it, or
perhaps he finds he has a " leader '' — a small vein of the
reef which has apparently been thrown to the surface, when
in a molten state. Sometimes these leaders connect directly
with the reef, at others they are broken off and jump as it
were from side to side, thus misleading the miner. When
he has satisfied himself that it is a leader, or the reef he is
on, the prospector collects a dishful of the " casing " — the
dirt lying close to the reef — ^in which there will be a lot of
loose pieces of quartz. This he washes and looks for gold
« in, just as in wash dirt. If he finds any it is almost
certain the reef is auriferous ; if payable there will probably
be some of the pieces of quartz with gold in them : these
TnE OOLD-FIELPS. 157
are called " specimens." In many reefs at Gympie large
quantities of gold have been obtained from the casing,
sometimes more than from the reef itself.
When a prospector can show " good gold " in his casing
and specimens, he will be granted a prospecting claim and
the reef is rushed and marked off by the commissioner. A
shaft much larger than in alluvial sinking is now begun.
Usually a staging of logs is raised ten or twelve feet above
the surface of the ground on which the windlass is placed.
This is to admit of room for the mullock and stone to be
cast out as it is thrown out of the shaft. As the shaft
deepens, the sides are substantially slabbed. The stone is
removed by boring and blasting. At one time, on Gympie,
a stranger might have supposed that a cannonading was
going on, from the constant explosion of the various blasts
which continued from morning till night. In some claims
the reef is soon found and the stone is rich enough to
enable the miners to pay their working expenses by picking
out the richer part of the stone, burning it in a fire, and
then pounding it in a large iron mortar. In some tents
the sound of this operation might be heard night after
night all the week round. For some time this was the
only means of crushing the quartz, as there were no
crushing-machines erected. In the meantime the reefers
had to stack their quartz and in some cases fence it around
to prevent the richer parts from being carried off at night.
Tlie first crushing-machine erected was the " Pioneer,"
which was a small and not very good one. But soon one
after another was erected until there were five in full
operation night and day. By this time the alluvial
diggings were pretty well worked out, and the whole ,
dependence of this gold-field has been on its quartz-reefs
since then. An attempt at deep sinking was made on the
158 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
bank of the Mary, but from insufRcIency of capital or
other causes it was not attended with success.
Nothing- can be more beautiful than some of the gold
specimens, as thej are torn out of the solid reef by the
blastings. We have seen some which resembled threads of
gold drawn out from the quartz. As a rule the reefs are
not very wide, running from three or four to eighteen or
twenty-four inches on the average ; a few are wider. The
reefs do not run down perpendicularly, but on an incline.
Many of the reefs which yielded large returns at first have
since been of little value. The Louisa, for instance, was
almost one mass of gold — more gold than stone — at first,
but of late it is never heard of.^ Doubtless, many
of what were called reefs were only mere leaders or
blow-outs, and, after yielding an immense proportion of
gold per ton at first, soon ran out entirely. On one
occasion a woman going with the dinner for her husband
and mates, seeing a piece of quartz in her path, stooped and
picked it up. It was heavy and bright with gold on the
under part. She carried the information to her husband ;
he and his mates repaired at once to the spot and laid open
a perfect "jeweller's shop.'^ They worked on into the
night, the woman holding candles and making fires.
Before they slept they were rich men. It was thought
a valuable reef had been discovered, but the gold and
quartz soon ran out altogether.
In some of the reefs the gold is found in patches. A
quantity of stone will be raised hardly worth crushing,
when all at once a few bucketfuls will be struck with
more gold than stone. Such is the Californian Reef, in
^ This reef appears of late to have heen reworked with good
results.
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 159
which immense finds have been made, almost unparalleled
in the history of reefing*. We remember once seeing a heap
of this glittering" stuff in the window of the Joint Stock
Bank at Gym pie, where it attracted thousands of spectators.
Other reefs, like the New Zealand Reef, carry the gold regu-
larly through the stone, in very fine particles. Tiiese reefs
are generally the most lasting, and where sufficiently wide
are very wealthy. As an interesting and reliable account
of what such reefs as these sometimes do for the miners of
Queensland, we append an account of the Prospector's
Claim, New Zealand Reef, furnished by the manager,
Mr. Thomas Cockburn, under date of Gympie, 31st March,
1871, to the Hon. R. R. Pring, at that time acting as a
Royal Commissioner to take evidence and examine into the
working of the Queensland Gold-fields, with a view to
improved legislation. We give the paper in full.
" Sir, — Acceding to your wish, I p]ace before you a few figures and
statistics showing the yield of gold from, and the expenses incurved
in working the Prospecting Claim, New Zealand Eecf, on this gold-
field.
" Work was commenced on the claim early in December, 1867.
The reef was found near the surface, and was proved by sinking shafts
to a depth of seventy feet. At this depth levels were put in to the
boundaries, and the ground stoped to the surface. This was com-
pleted by the beginning of October, 18G9.
oz. dwt. gr.
The amount of quartz crushed to that date was 1427
tons, which yielded retorted gold .... 8,028 14 12
The loss in smelting was . . . . . . 1()2 7 1
Which leaves for smelted gold . . . 7,806 7 11
This gold realized 31. 7s. 9d. per oz.,
value £26,631 11
Total wages to this date . £1,83110
Other expenses . . 1,353 2 5
3,184 12 5
Retui'ning a clear dividend, in less than
two years, of £23,446 18
160 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
" The average yield of the stone during this j^eriod was 5 ozs.
12| dwts. to the ton ; the total cost, including ci-ushing charges,
21. Ss. 3d., or 14 dwts., per ton.
" Subsequently to the completion of this work, two shafts have been
sunk to the 140 feet level, proving the reef, on the underline, all the
way down. Then the workings were opened out and levels put in as
above. At the present time the stopes are within thirty feet of the
old workings or upper level.
The quantity of quartz crushed, from this section of the
mine, up to the 22nd February, 1871, has been
1,382 tons, which yielded retorted gold . . . 10,478 5 6
Loss in smeltinsr 309 4 16
Which leaves for smelted gold . . 10,169 14
This gold realized 3^. 7*. 7d. per oz.,
value £'31,374 13 2
Amount expendedin wages £3,764 18
Other expenses incurred . 2,245 9 6
6,010 7 6
Returning a clear dividend, in less than
a year and a half, of . . . £28,364 5 8
" The average yield of the stone from this part was 7 ozs. 11| dwts.
to the ton. The total cost, 26 dwts., or 4^. 7*'., per ton. This includes,
crushing charges, erecting whim, purchase of horses, &c. The total
quartz crushed (2,909 tons) has yielded 18,506 ozs. 19 dwts. 18 grs.
retorted gold, or at the average rate of 6 ozs. 11^ dwts. to the ton, at a
cost of 3^. 5*. 6d., or one ounce per ton.
Total cash realized . . . £61,006 4
Deduct wages and other expenses 9,195
Leaves a clear dividend of £51,811 4
" The reef has averaged throughout about one foot six inches in
thickness. Before closing I beg to inform you that a new shaft, nine
feet by three feet four inches, is going down, to prospect for the reef at
a greater depth. It was commenced in the middle of August, 1870,
and has now been sunk 130 feet, at a cost of 600Z. 5s., or 4il. 12s. 4c?.
per foot, timber and everytliing included."
Many a romance mig-lit be told of reefing adventures.
Speculating" in this industry has all the excitement and
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 161
uncertainty of gambling-. It is usual for capitalists^ store-
keepers, &c., to "back" men working in reefs. This is
done in this way. According to the present law two men
may hold four men's ground until a payable reef has been
struck. Thus two miners without any means, having each
of them a backer, can take up a claim of 1 60 feet on the line
of the reef. Each of these will usually receive 25*. per week
from his backer, who will also pay his share of the expenses
of the claim, usually amounting to 4*. or 5s. per week
more, for powder and fuse, new tools, blacksmith's work in
sharpening and steeling picks and gads, &c. Without a
system of this sort not half the gold would be obtained
that is now got. Sometimes the reef turns out well, at
others and more frequently it proves a " duffer,'' or what is
the same thing, the men grow tired of working for nothing
and make a change to some other place. Every man
knows he stands more chances of losing* than gaining, yet
nothing will prevent people from investing their money in
this way. Hundreds of men have sunk their all, perhaps a
few scores, perhaps as many hundreds in this backing
business. The splendid fortunes that are made by it still
induce other men to try their chance. We must conclude
this portion of our work with an anecdote illustrative of
the risks in this business.
A gentleman who had been one of the earliest successful
reefers on Gympie^ speculated in a great many claims, into
some of which he purchased. He continued to pay into
them all until his funds were nearly or entirely exhausted.
On one occasion he was not able to pay his men their
wages, and they informed him that if not paid the next
Saturday they should work no longer. The week passed
on until Friday evening arrived. Then a blast was made
in one of his claims, and when the smoke had cleared
162 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
away, there before the eyes of tlie astonished gazers was a
perfect mass of gold. Bucket after bucket of the glittering
ore was sent up to grass^ and then the whole was conveyed
to the bank. Our liero then found no difficulty in paying
his men the next afternoon. Within a few days another
claim struck gold, and in less than a month, from one
claim and another, he was calculated to have netted over
6000/. Had not that first fortunate hit been made he
would in all probability have been a ruined man.
Gympie has now settled down into a staid township of
about 4000 inhabitants. The other rushes in the north
have absorbed the alluvial diggers, and the place is now
entirely supported by its reefs. A daily coach runs to
Maryborough, and another twice a week to and from
Brisbane, from which it is distant 125 miles by the new
road. This latter road has been entirely opened from the
Caboolture since Gympie was founded. The old road was
never used for teams, passing over a steep range known as
Mackenzie's Range. The present road keeps for the first
part on the low coast-lands, passing among the Glasshouses,
of which many lovely views are caught. It enters the
coast ranges, about half way to Gympie, and opens up
some splendid mountain scenery. These hills are mostly of
splendid soil, and we have often thought might be turned
to good account for coffee plantations. That plant flourishes
well in the Wide Bay District. We have seen quite a
young tree from which two pounds of coflTee could be
gathered about three different times in the season. We
must state, however, that there has never been an attempt
made in the colony in our knowledge to grow this berry
other than as an experiment. About Maryborough, how-
ever, it may be found in many gardens, and always covered
with berries in the season. If ever coffee ffrowius: becomes
TDE GOLD-FIELDS. 163
an occupation in Queensland, and we know no reason why
it may not, we fancy these hills, with their splendid soil
and contigniity to the sea, insuring plenty of moistui-e and
an equable climate, will be a favourite spot for the coffee
grower.
In May, 1SG8, Kilkivan rush broke out, and in the next
month the Yabber or Jimna Diggings were rushed. The
former of these places lies to the north-west of Gympie, and
the latter to the south-west. Neither of them were very
rich, they are what is usually called " poor man's diggings,"
as the work was shallow and the gold easily obtained.
Kilkivan Diggings lay on a nice open creek. It was a
very pretty sight to see the white tents of the diggers
pitched under the green apple-trees on a slight ridge, with
the high, bold hills rising directly in their rear. This
country is very metalliferous, and some moderately good
reefs were afterwards opened at the Black Snake, about six
miles from the original diggings. There is only a small
population on this place now, principally occupied on the
gold-reefs and copper-mines.
Jimna Diggings are situate in a place the very opposite
of Kilkivan. Instead of open flats covered with grass,
were steep mountains covered with scrubs. Jimna is situated
in the mountainous country in which rise the head-waters
of the Mary to the north, and tributaries of Stanley Creek
and the Brisbane on the south. To mend matters, it was
the depth of winter, and wet weather when we first saw
the place. As a rule the Queensland winter is the most
lovely weather imaginable, dry and sufliciently cool to bo
comfortable. But on this occasion it was both wet and
cold. We shall nev'er forget the sight that prosculcd itself
to our wondering gaze when we first saw this rush. For a
mile or so we had been descending the side of a stcej) ridge
M 2
164 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
by a narrow track cut through the scrub sufficiently wide
to admit of one horse only. All at once we came on the
rush. Peeping- through the scrub in every direction were
the tents and fires of the diggers. But for every canvas tent
there were at least three bark mi-mis,, made of the bark of
the turpentine trees, of which the scrub was thick. It was
a wet, foggy day, and everything was damp and unpleasant.
The rich soil was greasy, and the vines and shrubs were
loaded with moisture. There were not less than 2000 men
crowded on the side of this wooded hill, in all imaginable
sorts of impromptu residences. Already stores and butchers^
shops were being erected of the universal bark and leaves
of cabbage palm. As we neared the creek the crowd grew
denser. Here was a facetious young miner acting as
auctioneer, and selling the tools, &c., of miners, who,
already disgusted with the place, from the cheerless aspect
it presented, were about to return, but w^ould not carry up
and down the steep mountains their heavy kit of tools.
Picks and shovels that a fortnight after would have brought
a pound a set, were sold for a shilling or even sixpence.
For so contagious is despondency that when a dozen or two
good healthy growlers declare in loud voice and constantly,
of a wet day, that the rush is a duffer, hundreds will at
once belieye them without the least evidence whatever.
Hundreds were thus induced to leave this rush, and the
place was soon half empty. The mining here was very
easy. There was a strong flow of water in the creek.
Troughs were made of the hollow trunks of the cabbage
palms which grew in large quantities; sluices were thus
improvised, and the "stuff ^^ quickly washed, and very good
wages were made. So poor were many of the men that
they could purchase no rations to bring with them more
than sufficient for the journey, and had to subsist until
THE GOLD-FIELDS. 165
they had found gold, on the soft heart of the cabbage palm,
found near its top, and which resembles the stump of a
cabbage or cauliflower, being, however, sweeter and more
nutritious. Another payable creek was found in a few
days, called Sunday Creek from the day it was rushed. It
is very unusual for a thing of this sort to occur and no
pegging out on that day is lawful. The men slept on the
ground in most instances, and thus secured their claims.
These two creeks maintained a population of from 1000 to
2000 for some months. What was remarkable here was
the fact, that although none of the claims were very rich,
all yielded tolerable wages to their holders. Thus hundreds,
who had before been in great poverty, '' made a rise " on
Jimna. No payable reefs have as yet been discovered on
this diggings, although there can be no question that some
must exist. There is still a population of about 200
here.
A later rush took place in the year 1869 to Imbil,
about twenty miles south of Gympie. The character of
this rush is somewhat similar to that at Kilkivan. It still
maintains a small population.
The district of Wide Bay — and the same remark holds
true more or less of all parts of Queensland — is not depen-
dent for its mineral resources on its gold deposits alone.
We have already referred to the coal formations, which are
most extensive and of an excellent quality. Among its
minerals we may mention marble, which is to be seen
lying ready for the hand of man in many places. Shale is
also found in some places, but whether capable of yielding
kerosene has not as yet been proved. Among its metals
are silver, lead, copper, and iron. This district and the
neighbouring one of the Burnett, which lies to the west,
are promising to become famous for their copper-mines.
16G THE QUEEN OF THE COLCNTES.
At the Black Snake^ Mount Coora, and many other places,
very rich lodes have been found, and to some extent
developed. At Mount Perry, about ninety miles to the
west of Maryborough, a Sydney company has lately com-
menced mining- operations on a large scale, having a capital
of 100,000^. Already over 200 persons are employed on
this mine, and the operations are all on a scale of great
magnitude. Several smelting furnaces are being erected,
and in the mean time the ore is exported to Newcastle,
New South Wales. It is thought from the indications
already existing, that this mine will soon equal in value
the far-famed Moonta Mine of South Australia.^ There
are many other lodes which have been worked to some
extent, but the great want of capital precludes their being
developed at present. Enough is known to warrant the
belief that the Wide Bay and Burnett districts will yet
furnish a very large amount of copper ore.
3 Since the above was written we have received information from
Maryborough that the first year's operations of this company has
enabled them to pay all their expenses in opening the mine and erecting
their works, besides eturning their capital in full.
CHAPTER VII.
THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS.
Hitherto the author in his description of the colony has
spoken principally of what has come under his own obser-
vation. He thinks it right to state that he can carry that
personal description no further north. His remarks on the
northern districts will be therefore of second-hand character,
althoug-h it is hoped equally correct with the foregoing
chapters.
Lying to the north of the Wide Bay District is that of
Port Curtis. It comprises the ports of Gladstone and
Rockhampton. There is nothing worthy of the name of
an agricultural settlement in the district, although there
are a few settlers on the Reserve in the neighbourhood of
Rockhampton. Up to within a short time the impression
has prevailed that this disti'ict was entirely unfitted for any
kind of agricultural operations. But of late this idea has
been somewhat modified, and we believe a company was
formed in Rockhampton last year for the purpose of grow-
ing sugar in that neighbourhood.
The town of Gladstone has not at all realized the great
expectations whicli were once formed of it. The port and
harbour are excellent, the best, it is understood, in the
colony. But although founded with great eclat in 1846,
the town has never made any great progress. There are
various reasons for this. There is no back countrv to the
168 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
port, ranges cutting' it off from the interior, which has for
its port the town of Rockhampton. The land is apparently
unfitted for agriculture, as nothing has been done in that
way there, although certainly that is an insufficient reason
for coming to that conclusion. The population is about
400. There has of late years a small but very lucrative
trade sprung up between this port and New Caledonia in
live cattle. A few cargoes were also sent to New Zealand.
The facilities of this port for this business are excellent,
and as most of the stations in the neighbourhood are cattle
stations, the trade is carried on to the best advantage.
Horses have been exported from here to India in past years,
but for some reason the trade was never fully established.
There is a salt manufactory here, by wdiich salt is made
from sea- water in a very ingenious manner, and with
satisfactory results.
To the south of Gladstone is Baffle Creek, on w^hieh is a
boiling-down establishment where a large business is done
to the great advantage of the neighbouring stations. There
are some small diggings near Gladstone. The Calliope
Diggings have been worked for many years, and appear to
maintain a small population regularly. The E-aglan
Gold-diggings, and the Krombit copper-mine, are also in
this neighbourhood.
Rockhampton, on the Fitzroy River, is in its history the
very opposite of Gladstone, No well-paid and dignified
officials in full dress first landed on its shores and took
possession in her Majesty's name. Rockhampton owes its
existence to a " duffer rush." In July, 1858, gold was found
at a place called Canoona, some eighty-five miles up the
Fitzroy River. A tremendous rush set in from all parts of
the colonies. Fifteen thousand people are stated to have been
collected on the spot only to find that the gold had been iil
THE NORTHEKN DISTRICTS. 169
a small patch and was all worked out. Then with that
revulsion of feelins^ which so soon takes hold of a mining
population, the crowd who had arrived hig with the highest
anticipations, sank to the depths of despair. They forsook
the place, as rashly as they had hastened to it, and Canoona
knew them no more. Recent events have shown that had
they prospected the country they could have found gold
enough to rewai'd them all for their pains. But they did
nothing of the sort. In fact such was the want among
them, that the Governments of New South Wales and
^'^ictoria had to send vessels to bring the more destitute
back. Out of the ashes of Canoona arose the vigorous
young town of Rockhampton, which is situated about
forty-five miles up the Fitzroy River. The town rose with
great rapidity, and has now a population of G^jOO. The
streets are a chain and a half wide, and a fine esplanade,
with a row of shade trees, fronts the river, and aifords a
beautiful lounge for the inhabitants.
Rockhampton is, and must always continue to be a place
of great importance, as the port of a vast amount of
pastoral country. Many of the tributaries of the Fitzroy,
as the Isaac, the Mackenzie, and the Dawson, are large
and important rivers, with many large and wealthy
squattages on their banks. It is the port for the far-famed
Barcoo and Thompson Rivers, on which is the most
splendid pastoral country in Australia. It has also a great
portion of the trade of the Peak Downs gold and copper
mines, although a considerable portion of the produce of
the latter is sent to Broad Sound for shipment, as being a
shorter route. There is a short railway built from here to
Westwood, to which we have already referred.* There can
' This line of railway is now being extended towards the Peak
Downs.
170 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
be no question that ere long this line will he extended to
the Expedition Range, if not on to Clermont. Rock-
hampton is just within the tropics, and here alligators are
met with for the first time in journeying northward.
There is a large number of diggers employed in the country
around Rockhampton, and within easy distance of it. The
principal diggings are the Crocodile, Morinish, Cawarral,
New Zealand Gully, and Rosewood. On all of these,
good finds are occasionally made, and now and then large
nuggets are unearthed. Of late considerable attention is
being paid to reefing, which promises to become a very
important industry.
Inland from Rockhampton, 180 miles, is the town of
Clermont, the centre of the mining industry of the Peak
Downs. A portion of the population, amounting in all to
500, are engaged in gold mining, and the others are
employed by the Copper Mining Co., at Copperfield, a rival
town grown up near the mine and about two miles from
the older town. The great drawback to mining here is the
extreme scarcity of water. At Clermont a dam has been
erected at considerable expense by the Government, and
thus this evil is somewhat obviated there. But it must be
evident that a business which depends so much on water,
can make but poor headway where it can only be had by
artificial means. Consequently very few new rushes have
taken place here since the first opening of the field some
nine years since. The copper-mine is understood to pay a
very handsome dividend.
The town of Clermont is very liable, to floods. In 1869
one took place that nearly swept away the entire town and
proved fatal to some of its inhabitants. One poor old
woman, seventy-five years of age, in company with a
younger one, floated away on a haystack, and met her
THE NORTHEEN DISTRICTS. 171
death by drowning — a unique and original mode of death,
that if the old lady was at all curious in that way must
have partially toned down the horror of her position. The
editor of the local paper was obliged to take refuge in a
tree, and had the pleasure of seeing his office gutted and
his types and paper carried off, the one to be strewed in pie
on the soft ground and the other perhaps to form an un-
wholesome meal for an alligator. By some unaccountable
oversight the town was built in the bed of the Wolf-fang
Creek. This stream comes down when flooded in the most
remarkably sudden manner. On one occasion a solid body
of water, said to be about fifteen feet high, came down like
a cataract^ and was the first notice the peoj^le had of an
approaching flood, no rain having fallen at Clermont.
Many thousand sheep were carried away in this flood, and
after the waters had subsided, the trees for many miles
down the creek had a crop of sheep in their branches sixty
to seventy feet above the ground. The height to which
these floods sometimes rise is almost fabulous. At Gympie
the Mary once rose over ninety feet. A friend of ours once
saw a saddled horse in the fork of a tree which he computed
to be from sixty to seventy feet high. We knew an
instance of a teamster who had to run for his life one nio^ht
from under his dray, where he was sleeping, and leave
everything to the mercy of the flood. After the waters
had gone down he went in quest of his bullocks. His
attention was attracted to a flock of birds over-head, and
looking up he saw one of his cattle in the tree-top, ofF
which the hawks and crows were making a feed. He
found nearly all his working-bullocks, not on the ground
as he had anticipated, but gibbetted in the tops of the
trees. Taught by bitter experience the people of Clare-
mont are gradually rebuilding their town on the ridge
172 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
beyond; where they will be free from all danger of
floods.
Excepting Broad Sound^ where there are very few inhabi-
tants, the next port to the north of Rockhampton is Mackay,
situated on the Pioneer River. Some seven or eight
years ago Mr. Hill, the Curator of the Botanic Gardens,
visited this river, and wrote a report of its wonderfully
fertile lands, lying ready for the plough and quite clear of
timber. Under the coffee and sugar regulations of 1866
some of these lands were taken up for sugar growing.
When the operations in the south of the colony had proved
that sugar could be grown in Queensland, a great impetus
was given to the settlement on this river, until all the
lands bordering on navigation have been taken up. A
town has sprung up which has now 800 inhabitants, and
the foundation is laid of what is doubtless destined to be
one of the wealthiest districts in the colony. Where very
recently the foot of the white man had not trod, field after
field of the most splendid sugar-cane is now seen. A friend
of ours who visited Mackay in 1870 described the scene as
most lovely. For miles before entering the town the road
passes between fields of cane which droops gracefully over
the fence on either side, partially shading the road. Weekly
steamers connect this port with Brisbane and Sydney.
In 1869, 393 tons of sugar, and 9900 gallons of rum were
produced here, and, in 1870, 819 tons of sugar and 23,985
gallons of run. 538 acres of cane were crushed in 1870
and 830 acres were under crop. The total average yield
per acre in 1870 was 1 ton, 10 cwt., 1 qr., 16 lbs, being the
highest in the colony. No one appears to doubt that this
district will yet take the lead in Queensland as a sugar-
growing district. There are several good gardens in
cultivation near the town of Mackay, where all sorts of
THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS. 173
tropical fruits are grown with the greatest success. There
were four mills and one distillery in this district in 1S70.
Not many years since Mackay and all the country to
the north was looked on as the " far north/^ which if not
exactly terra incognita was still of too little importance to
attract much attention. Nothing speaks more forcibly of
the enormous growth of the colony than the wonderful
expansion of settlement in the north. When the writer
arrived in Brisbane, in 1863, Bowen, the only port to the
north of Mackay, was just bein^ settled. Soon after, a large
sum of money was spent in building a long jetty here, as
the water of Port Denison is shallow for some distance
from the shore. We believe the growth of this town has
not been equal to the hopes first formed of it. Soon after
the settlement of this place Townsville was also settled,
and became a very powerful rival for the northern trade.
Bowen has now a population of about 700. It is the
port for the Ravenswood, Cape Hiver, and Mt. Wj'att
Diggings. Of these the Ravenswood is the most impor-
tant, having been worked with good results since 18G9.
It has many very rich reefs. The peculiarity of this field
is that the gold is found in a granite formation. Squatting
is the only other industry in this district ; there being no
agriculture worth mentioning.
Townsville to the north of Bowen, situate in Cleveland
Bay, has managed to outgrow its southern rival. As the
name indicates, the late Hon. Robert Towns, of Sj'dney, was
its principal founder, and from the first it has been a
spirited, stirring town. It has a population of about 1200,
and is the port for the Gilbert, Etheridge, and Star, and
other gold-fields, although a portion of the trade of these
places finds its way to Cardwell, a port still further to the
north. The trade of these northern ports rises and falls
174 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
with the condition of the gold-mines^ although there is
always a natural expansion besides. As showing to what
an extent the discovery of new gold-fields affected the old
ones^ at least for a time, it may be stated, that on the Cape
River Diggings a quartz-crushing machinery worth 1000^.
was left entirely unprotected and uncared for, on the
breaking out of the Palmer rush ; its owners with nearly or
quite all the other residents of the place going off to
try their luck on the new field. It is said that on their
return more than a year after they found tlieu- machinery
all intact^ no one being in the locality but the natives, who
must have wondered to see a considerable town as speedily
deserted as it had been first crealed.
Of the new port of the Palmer diggings — Cooktown,
which is now said to have a trade superior to any port in
the colony except Brisbane, and where reports say a recent
fire destroyed property belonging to one firm of Chinese
merchants alone, worth 20,000/., very little can be said.
When the writer left the colony there was no such town
in existence, and the mouth of the Endeavour River on
which it is situate was entirely unknown. There is now
a large population in this town ; two newspapers are
published and one of them has commenced to insert Chinese
advertisements, and announces that it has ordered a com-
plete set of Chinese types with the view of publishing a
weekly sheet in that language. A hospital and other
public buildings are erected, and the population, which can
only be guessed at, appears to be several thousands. Two
or three lines of steamers ply regularly to the port from
the south, and hardly a week — never we believe, a month
— passes without a shipload of Chinese being landed from
their native country.
The Palmer Diggings are said to be the richest^ as they
THE NORTHEEN DISTIilCTS. 175
certainly are the most extensive that have ever been
discovered in Australia. They were discovered by an
exploring- party sent out by the Palmer Administration^
which if not very enterprising in the construction of rail-
ways, in a g-reat measure atoned for its laziness in that
respect by the vigour it exhibited in developing the
mineral resources of the colony. When Mr. Hann, the
leader of the exploring party sent into the extreme north,
sent down his reports, a tremendous rush set in not only
from the other Queensland fields, but from the southern
colonies and New Zealand. So many men proceeded to
this new country that food fell short, having to be carried
by pack-horses at first, and much suffering- and many
deaths ensued. Roads are now being constructed with all
speed, and the diggings, which had at one time to be
almost abandoned, not for lack of gold, but for the want of
that still more valuable commodity bread, are now being
largely worked. One peculiar feature of these diggings
was the enormous influx of Chinese which set in, threaten-
ing entirely to swamp the English-speaking population.
Situate so near the Chinese ports with their teeming
populations, there really was a fear that this northern part of
the colony was about to pass out of our hands into that of a
heathen and alien race, just as its enormous wealth was
being developed. Some slight skirmishes took place
between the two races, and the Macalister Administration,
acting in the emergency thus arisen, determined to place
a tax on every Chinaman imported, and to raise their
miner's rights from ten shillings to five pounds. This in
some measure put a stop to the flood, but as before stated
they continue to arrive in great numbers. Fault has been
found with the action taken by the Government in this
matter, but it would seem that although perhaps not
176 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
strictly legal, it was yet patriotic and judicious. In a new
colon}^, and especially in one where the only production for
the time being- is gold, every one must feel the paramount
importance of not allowing the country to pass into the
hands of a foreign race, whose manners, laws, and language
are alike alien from our own. After all, Queensland is,a
British colony, and will, we hope, remain so. There are now
said to be from 7000 to 8000 Europeans and from 18,000
to 20,000 Chinese on the Palmer Diggings. The Chinese
are not allowed by the other diggers to mix with them,
but work principally ground that has already been run
over by the white men. Unfortunately the blacks of the
Palmer, who are a much moi'e warlike race than those
further south, have developed a taste for roasted Chinese,
and several of them have fallen by their spears, to be at
once roasted and eaten. »
The Palmer Diggings lie between the 15th and 16th
parallels of latitude. It does not appear too sanguine to
hope that this discovery will soon be followed by others
further north, and that thus that great terra incogniia of
our boyhood, Cape York, will soon become as well-known
and as populous as the southern districts of Australia.^
- Under Government auspices the first prospectors of the Palmer
Gold-field were lately fitted out for a fresh trip of exploration, and
news from them is to hand. They have penetrated into pastures new.
Seeking for the rocky country where gold spangles the soil, they are
" greatly disappointed " in where they expected to get rough country
by finding level, deep, rich alluvial soil, well-grassed and well-
watered, over three thousand square miles in extent, interrupted
by mountains fui'ther south, where they found extensive scrubs,
estimated at over one hundred and twenty square miles, containing
very large cedar and kauri pine. They crossed the Main Range into
the heads of the Herbert River, where there is another large extent of
very good level country. They obtained prospects of stream tin here,
and then crossed the i-ange again into the Avestcrn waters. There are.
THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS. 177
Recently a very important discovery of another kind
has been made in this northern territory. In 1873 an
exploring expedition known as the Queensland North-East
Coast Expedition was equipped by Government and placed
under the command of G. E. Dalrymple, Esq., to which
Walter Hill, Esq., Curator of the Brisbane Botanical
Gardens, was attached as Botanist. This expedition ex-
plored the coast-line from the 18th degree up to 16° 20'''.
No less than seven principal rivers were explored, with as
many excellent harbours, and an almost unlimited amount
of the very richest and most valuable agricultural land was
found on the navigable portions of these rivers — beyond
which the expedition did not ascend further than to find
that most of the rivers flowed with fresh, above the tidal
waters. Both Mr. Dalrymple and Mr. Hill speak in the
most enthusiastic terms of this new land. At the head of
navigation on the Johnstone River, Mr. Dalrymple,
ascended a hill, from whence he describes the prospect as
follows : —
" At a rough calculation, not less than half a million
acres of soil, unsurpassed by any in the world, all fitted for
tropical agriculture, and fully 5500,000 acres of which are
suitable for sugar, spread far around us, penetrated in three
different directions by navigable rivers, with a fine harbour
and river estuary visible on its sea-board. We had suddenly
come face to face with a true tropical Australia, with a vast
and hitherto hidden region, the qualifications of which for
every description of tropical cultivation at one stroke
places our noble colony not only far beyond all Australian
competition as an agricultural country, but — the vexed
we imagine, few other couiitiies on the face of tlie globe so rich in all
the products of nature, that a discovery such as this could be announced
as a groat disappointment. — Brisbane Courier, July 10, 1875.
N
178 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
labour question settled — on a par with older tropical
countries, the names and products of which are household
words/' From the descriptions given w^e learn that this
new region has great natural beauty with many excellent
sites for towns and cities. Speaking of the Daintree
River, the writer says that "no .river reach in North
Australia possesses surroundings combining so much of
distant mountain grandeur, with local beauty and wealth
of soil and vegetation/' In the not distant future this
district will doubtless be the home of a prosperous and
extensive agricultural population, and the wonderful
development of Cooktown, in the very midst of this
district, offers a ready market for its produce, while the
great influx of Chinese will in some measure settle the
labour question.
At the very extremity of Cape York is Somerset, a small
establishment supported by the Queensland Government,
more for the benefit of shipwrecked mariners and in the
interests of commerce at large, than for any advantage
accruing to the colony. Here are a police magistrate and
boat's crew, who, when they have had nothing to occupy
them, have on one or two occasions visited the opposite
shores of New Guinea and established friendly relations with
the chiefs and their tribes. At the bottom of the Gulf of
Carpentaria are Burketown and Normantown, two small
townships of which there is nothing remarkable to relate.
CHAPTER VIIT.
THE INTERIOR.
We have now spoken of all the ports and settlements
on the coasts of Queensland^ and have treated more par-
ticularly of its agricultural and mining pursuits^ these
being- all carried on on the eastern sea-board or at no great
distance from it. Normantown is about 300 miles from
the nearest point on the eastern or Pacific coast. Suppos-
ing a traveller were to start from there and keep at an
equal distance from the coast until he reached the borders
of New South Wales, on the Mclntyre River, a distance
of nearly 1200 miles in a straight line, he would, after
leaving Normantown, which for the purposes of the Land
Act is supposed to be in the Settled district, through all
the remainder of his long journey, be in the Unsettled or
pastoral districts. In the settled districts free selection for
cultivation is lawful, while in the unsettled the land is
entirely in the hands of the lessees of the Crown as pastoral
country, although large tracts, especially in the districts of
Burke, Cook, and Gregory, remain ojien to occupation.
The terms on which a squatting property can be acquired
are very easy. Not less than twenty- five square miles can
be taken in one block : but for this area the annual rental
is only 61. bs. for the first seven years, 121. 10s. for the
second, and 18/. 15.?. lor the third; the lease being in all
cases for twenty-one years. At the instance of either the
N 2
180 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
lessee or the Government^ the rental for the second or
third term may be appraised and either raised or lowered.
The squatting business has always been lucrative^ but in
Queensland, which is so eminently adapted for cattle, a
great impulse has of late been given to this pursuit by the
introduction of meat-preserving and the enhanced price of
cattle consequent thereon. Mr. Daintree, the Agent-
General for Queensland, himself a squatter and therefore
speaking by the book, in his excellent handbook gives a
statement which shows that on a capital of 21,6001. there
is an annual p^rofit of 3795/., or 174 per cent, on fat cattle
sold, without any calculation as to the natural increase,
while on a larger capital the profits would be considerably
more. The expansion of this interest is something won-
derful; while in 1861 there were 28,983 horses, 560,196
cattle, and 4,093,381 sheep, twelve years after, in 1873,
there were 99,243 horses, 1,343,093 cattle, and 7,268,946
sheep in the colony. It will thus be seen that horses and
cattle have relatively increased more than sheep, arising
doubtless from the great superiority of the new lands in
the unsettled districts for fattening cattle. Yet although
grazing has expanded so much, out of 364,360,000 acres in
the unsettled districts there were only 132,421,030 acres
under lease in 1873.
In following our suppositious line of travel from Nor-
mantown through the interior of Queensland, the traveller
would leave the district of Cook to his left and cross the
splendid prairies of the Flinders, said to be among the best
grazing lands of Queensland. Still further to the south
is the far-famed Barcoo River with its ricli plains, where
the fattest cattle in Australia are said to be raised. Farther
to the south is the Warrego and Maranoa Districts, which
are principally occupied by sheep.
THE INTERIOR. 181
Striking eastward from the Maranoa, the Darling District
is entered, which by many is considered the finest district
in Queensland. In it are situate the Darling- Downs,
occupied largely by the wealthiest squatters in the country,
some of whom number their sheep by the hundred thou-
sand — one firm alone is said to have shorn 210,000 in
]862. For many years there has been great difficulty
in obtaining good farming land here, the Crown lessees
having managed to retain the more valuable portions in
their own hands, as elsewhere stated. The Macalister
Ministry has entered ejectment actions against many of
these gentlemen, and the result is likely to be the throwing
open for selection of very large tracts in this most favoured
district. Railroads now intersect this district in two
directions, and a great impulse will doubtless be given to
agriculture by the completion of the main line from Ipswich
to Brisbane. Here are produced all the products of the
temperate zone. Wheat, barley, oats, maize, potatoes, are
the principal crops in the field, while the gardens produce
grapes, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, oranges,
lemons, almonds, melons, and other fruits. Flour mills
have been erected ; breweries are at work, and here under
the most favourable terms is likely to be reproduced the
agriculture of Great Britain. There are agricultural and
horticultural societies holding annual shows and giving
prizes as at home, and doing much to foster farming
pursuits. At a late gathering of this sort his Excellency
the Marquis of Normanby, the Governor, remarked that
before long Queensland " would be enabled to furnish so
great an amount of ingrown produce as would make her
independent of the sister colonies, both in the matter of the
necessaries and the luxuries of life."
The wheat grown here is of the very finest quality.
182 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
From a return furnished by the proprietor of the Allora
Millsj to the Minister for Lands, of the result of the harvest
of 1873, we learn that the average yield in that district that
year was no less than 38 bushels 32-j-%lbs. per acre. Much
of the land in this district is entirely free from timber and
only needs fencing to be ready for cultivation.
There are many flourishing towns on the Downs. Too-
woomba, noted for its ale, Drayton, Warwick, Dalby,
Condamine, and the new and flourishing capital of the
tin-mining country, Stanthorpe, are the principal towns,
besides many other flourishing townships. So great is the
change taking place yearly in these districts that any
attempt to furnish statistics appears useless. To those
interested in the subject and desirous of further infor-
mation we recommend the publications of the Queensland
Government Agency, 32, Charing Cross, London, or for
the most exact information on every subject connected with
the colony up to the latest date, to that excellent publica-
tion, "Pugh's Queensland Almanack,^' than which there is
nothing more reliable. This almanack is a publication of
which Queenslanders are justly proud; perhaps there is no
better almanack published in the English language.
CHAPTER IX.
CLIMATE AND CROPS.
We have been comparatively brief in our description of
the pastoi'al districts for various reasons. In the first
place, we have seen less of them than the coast country
and are anxious, as far as possible, to have this work reflect
our own observation and experience. Then there is less
opening in this line than in agriculture in the colony now,
in consequence of most of the country within a payable
distance of the coast being taken up. Another reason is
that the mass of readers are not likely to require informa-
tion on this point so much as in reference to the selection
of a farm or plantation. There is in the breast of almost
every man a desire to be the possessor of a freehold of his
own. In Great Britain, this is for most an impossibility.
There society appears to be fast dividing itself into two
classes as far as farming is concerned, large land owners
and land occupiers. It is in the Colonics or the United
States that the man who wishes to live on his own land
and see his family do the same must look for the accom-
plishment of his wishes.
To such persons the colony of Queensland presents
advantages at the present time, ftu- superior to those
offered in her earlier history, and far superior in every
respect to either of the other Australian colonies. For
whatever may be the opinions entertained as to the rela-
184 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
tive advantages to be found in New Zealand or America
as compared with Australia^ there can be no question
whatever, that there is no comparison between Queensland
and the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, or South
Australia, either as to their climate, seasons, soil, or pro-
ductions. AVe unhesitatingly affirm without fear of con-
tradiction, that in all these Queensland is far superior to
any of the others ; while, since the passing of the Land Act
of 1868 and the Homestead Act, in no part of the world
can land be obtained so cheaply and easily as here.
Queensland, as lying further to the north than any of
the sister colonies, has of course a greater degree of the
sun's heat. But this is more than counterbalanced by the
sea-breeze that invariably blows inland every day in the
summer season. "We were for the greater part of our
residence in the colony working in the open air, and always
noticed that there were never more than two or three days
in any summer, and none in some, in which this sea-
breeze did not blow. It usually begins to be felt about
nine a.m., before which time it will be hot. But as soon as
the toiler feels the cooling breeze playing about his fore-
head he is sensible of a wonderful change. Although the
sun rises higher and higher until it shines down the
chimneys into the pots on the fire, the cool breeze tempers
his rays and makes them bearable. Were it not for this
breeze, we believe it would be almost impossible for the
European to do much manual work in the Queensland
summer. As it is, he can work with as much comfort and
more safety than in the more southern colonies, or even in
the fields of Upper Canada, or on the prairies of the
Western States. We are aware that many will be inclined
to doubt this statement. But we have found the summers
of Queensland more endurable than those of Upper Canada,
CLIMATE AND CKOPS. 185
frost-bound region as many suppose that to be. As to
safety, it is only necessary to compai-e the number of deaths
from sun-stroke in those places to prove the truth of our
assertion. We have known ten or twelve cases of sun-
stroke in New York in one day. We never heard of half
that number in eight Queensland summers. Probably
this arises from the care taken by the inhabitants to guard
themselves from danger, but the fact is patent to all
residents in the colony, that people engaged in open-air
occupations carry them on throughout the summer without
any ill consequences. There is to this rule, as every other,
a slight exception. As we have said, there will be an
occasional day when no sea-breeze blows ; then the weather
will be close, sultry, and oppressively hot, and most people
will find it impossible to continue working for five or six
hours in the middle of the day. But these days are of
very rare occurrence.
In the southern colonies, the inhabitants suficr greatly
from hot winds, " brick-fielders,^' &c., which render life
burdensome during their continuance. During our resi-
dence in Queensland a hot wind blew once, and old inhal)i-
tants spoke of such a thing having' once before occurred in
their memorj' many years since. Certainly no terms would
be too strong in which to speak of the discomfort of that
day, and after it was experienced Queenslanders felt how
much they had to be thankful for in being exempt from
this scourge. If only in this respect that colony would be
far superior in point of climate to the southern ones. It
has often struck us, as an instance of the kindness and
wisdom of Providence, that this country, lying so much
nearer the sun, is by its cooling seS-breeze rendered so
much more endurable than the countries lying in a more
remote and generally speaking more temperate latitude.
186 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
It is a very common thing for persons coming" from
Melbourne or Adelaide to express their wonder at finding
the climate so fine. Coming from a country so much
further south, where they suffer so much occasionally from
the heat, they anticipate being almost roasted in Queens-
land. Their surprise is great to find the heat less oppres-
sive than with them.
Another thing which assists in making this climate so en-
joyable — and it is doubtless among the finest in the world —
is the fact that the rainy season is usually in the latter part
of summer, thus shortening the hot season very materially.
The rains continue as a rule from February to April,
commencing sometimes a week or two earlier or later.
Then begins the Queensland winter, than which it is
scarcely possible to conceive a more lovely season. There
are slight frosts in the months of May, June, and July or
August, sufficient in some cases in the East Moreton and
Wide Bay Districts to form thin ice, which is looked upon
as a curiosity, and, as it is usually found in some zinc or tin
vessel, is carefully preserved for a few hours to show any
friend who may call in. These frosts, however, are suffi-
ciently severe to injure the sug'ar-cane, in some positions,
as well as to cut up the leaves of the bananas and other
tropical trees. The effects of these frosts are sometimes
very curious. We remember on ^our last journey up the
Brisbane Kiver, a few days before leaving the colony, being
struck with the appearance of the bananas in some places.
Here was a gi'ove in which the frost had killed every leaf,
turning them all dry and white as if every tree were dead.
Directly opposite on the other bank was another grove
where scarcely a leaf had been touched, but all were green
and flourishing. Were it not for an occasional new leaf
shooting up its pale green foliage amid the dry leaves, one
CLIMATE AXD CROPS. 187
might have thought the whole grove had been killed by a
fire running through it. The sheltered position of the one
grove, or the lighter nature of the soil will account for this
difference. When the bananas are thus affected by the
frost it will be many months before they again come into
bearing. There are many positions in the south of the
colony where we opine the frosts, slight as they are, will
prevent sugar-canes being grown to advantage.
Thus it will be seen that Queensland is highly favoured
in her climate, so far as its relation to health is concerned ;
but we do not wish to convey the idea that it is therefore
equally superior in an agricultural point of view. So far
is this from being the case, that the climate is what the
farmer has to fear most. If he is a man of sense, and is
not in too great a hurry, he can find a piece of land as
good as is to be had in any other spot on the earth^s
surface ; but he cannot command the fruitful showers to
fall as he wants them. The very fineness of the climate is
at times a great disadvantage. He has, indeed, two evils
to contend with — droughts and floods. Were it not for
these, we should say emphatically that Queensland was,
without exception, the finest country for farmers in the
world ; as it is, these must never be lost sight of in any
calculations connected with this matter.
Every place has its advantages and disadvantages. In
Canada and the States farmers have to house-feed- their
cattle for five or six months, and the crops they grow
will not return anything like the same sum per acre as
in Queensland ; but, on the other hand, in the open sea-
son their crops grow twice as fast, and the seasons are so
regular, that when the seed is put in they can to a large
extent rely on a harvest at a certain time and to a certain
amount. This the Queenslander can hardlv do; there
188 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
may be a drought and nothing grow^ or, if he is on a scrub-
favva, a flood may come just as his crop is ripe, and destroy
the whole. Then he has the advantage of being able to
grow two or even three crops in a year^ while elsewhere
farmers have to be content with one.
As to floods and droughts, it is not at all certain that
the settlement of the country may not in a great measure
modify these evils. Certain it is, that old residents will
tell you they observe the weather to be more showery than
formerly, and the seasons have of late been very favourable
in that respect to the farmer. There is another cause
which ought to be considered in a Christian country, but
jhe mention of which we are aware in this age of ratio-
trnlism will lay us open to the charge of superstition or igno-
rance. We allude to the effect which the settlement of a
Christian population should have in ameliorating the evils
of drought or flood. Nothing is more clearly laid down in
Holy Scripture than that the rainfall should be withheld or
given as a reward or punishment for national sins. We
should not have adverted to the benefits that a nation
which has its recognized prayers for rain and fair weather
might reasonably anticipate from their regular use, did
not the history both of Queensland and New South Wales
afford pleasing instances of the good effects which the use
of these prayers by Christian congregations has had on
the country. It is related by all the old residents of
Sydney that many years since a great drought brought
the country to the verge cf ruin. A day of fasting and
prayer was appointed by the Governor, to pray for rain.
The day came, and was strictly observed. While the
various congregations were in their churches in the even-
ing, the cloiids began to roll up, the thunder came nearer
and nearer, until it broke with its deafening sound directly
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 189
over the heads of the worshippers^ who soon heard the wel-
come sound of the first drops pattering on the roofs. The
cong-regations were dismissed, but could hardly reach their
homes before the rain came down in torrents. It is said
to have been many years before a drought again occurred
in the colony.
Precisely similar was an instance in the history of
Queensland. In the early part of 1866 the colony was
suff'eriug from a drought of ten months' duration. The
greatest distress prevailed ; cattle and sheep were dying* in
all directions. It was painful to pass by a water-hole and
see the poor cattle in dozens lying dead all around its
margin, where they had come to drink and been bogged in
the mud before being able to reach the shrunken water.
All vegetation was dry and burnt up. For a long time
all agriculture had been virtually suspended; only those
plants and vegetables which were watered, or are from
their nature impervious to drought, were to be seen flou-
rishing. The drought was alike fatal to animal and vege-
table life; ruin stared eveiy one in the face. At this
time the Governor in Council proclaimed a day of fasting
and prayer. Strange as it sounds, a large portion of the
population actually laughed at the idea of obtaining a
change of weather by recourse to such an old-fogy method
as prayer. To have heard the sneers that were nearly
everywhere thrown out, a stranger would have supposed
Christianity was entirely exploded, and that the men of
this generation were vastly too well informed to stoop to
such a prejudice. But the day was observed, and we
believe in every place of worship of all denominations
services for the special purpose of imploring a change
of weather were held. The consequence was the same as
in the former case. The rain at once came and saved the
190 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
country, which from that time to 1870 has never suffered
from a lack of rain to any considerable extent. To us it
appears more philosophic in a Christian community to
ascribe these results to their true cause, the goodness of the
Almighty, than to attempt in what appears to us both a
mean and short-sighted manner to find some cause for
these results other than the obvious one. Why should we
not in our calculations take into account the data which
may be gathered from such facts as these ?
As we have before said, bad as are the floods in Queens-
land, they by no means equal in their destructiveness those
of New South Wales. Indeed, such is the character of
most of the scrub country in Queensland, that with proper
precaution taken in the selection of sites for houses, &c.,
much less damage might be done than is at present. It
was natural for the settlers when first entering on their
land to build their houses close to the water, which was
their only highway; but as the land gets cleared they have
an opportunity, as their means increase, of building on the
high land further to the rear, where floods can never
reach. There is this great advantage of floods to laud —
that each flood, will leave a rich deposit of manure, thus
renewing the land. It has been found, too, that sugar-
cane is very little injured by the floods, so that this crop
has the advantage of suffering little from drought or floods,
a fact that points it out as extremely suitable for the
climate.
The crops that up to the present are most cultivated in
Queensland are the following : — in the coast country, sugar,
cotton, maize, oaten and lucerne hay, English and sweet
potatoes, oats, sorghum, tobacco, arrowroot, pumpkins, and
wine. On the Downs no sugar and little cotton is grown.
The principal crops there are wheat, barley, oats, maize.
CLIMATE AND CEOPS. 191
hay, potatoes, and pumpkins. Wine-making is also being
commenced here too.
Sugar is a crop of which a very large number of
varieties are grown and the manner of cultivation differs
somewhat with different sorts. The principal canes at
present cultivated are the Bourbon, the ribbon, the yellow
Otahetian, and the purple Java. Other varieties are, how-
ever, being constantly brought before the public, some of
which are considered very superior. In the Botanical
Gardens at Brisbane, there are, as before stated, thirty-six
varieties, many of which will doubtless be found valuable.
We have already shown the average yield of cane in each
district of the colony. The yield on certain estates of
course often exceeds very largely this average. Some
pieces of cane have been said to yield three tons per acre.
That the poor machinery in use in many places has much
to do with the smallness of the returns is doubtless the
fact. Great improvement is being made by the experience
gained as to the varieties of cane best adapted for certain
situations. We append an article on this subject from the
pen of Angus Mackay, Esq., the Agricultural Editor of the
Qrieenslander , a gentleman who has done much for the
improvement of agriculture in the colony, and whom
immigrants will find most ready to yield them any infor-
mation they may require. In an article pul)lished in
Slater's Almanack for 1870, he says, —
" Great strides have been made during the last year in the growin"-
of sugar-cane, and the manufacture of sugar. There is no longer a
difficulty felt in making, all the mystery engendered by the different
notions brought from most of the sugar-producing countries of the earth,
have been exploded. It is known now, with as much certainty as man is
permitted to entertain upon such subjects, when the canes are ripe ;
wteu they are at their best ; the weight of cane to an acre ; and close
calculations are made of the probable yield in sugar ; and all this has
192 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
been done, in not a few cases, by men who, two years ago knew little or
nothing of either the growth of the cane or the manufacture of sugar.
" There have also been adverse occurrences during the year ;
occurrences unusual to this climate, but which sugar growers and
makers have surmounted. The best proof of this is found in the fact thafr
the demand for sugar is now largely met by the produce of Queensland
plantations. A serious check was experienced upon low and badly
drained lands from frost, which upon three occasions visited the
southern section of the colony more severely than during the preceding
ten yeai's. The canes in many places were bitten severely, and as a
consequence decay set in. This was promptly met by the use of
bi-sulphate of lime, which, diluted with four times its bulk of water,
enabled the boilers to turn out good sugar when, but for this ready aid,
all might have been lost. But the great majority of planters, especially
in the north, know nothing of frost ; they have gone on unchecked,
and return from one and a half to three tons of sugar to the acre. The
quality of the Queensland sugar is very even, varying only about 101.
per ton — 30^. to 40/. — being the figures. Nor do these figures show a
proportionate loss or gain to the producers, but arise from the simple
or more expensive modes of draining out the molasses and preparing
the sugar for sale. B}' the general emplo^'ment of the centrifugal
machine an almost uniform range of qualities might be obtained ; but
as the demand is heavy for sugar at about 34/. per ton (that is brown
table sugar), and as it is made with inexpensive appliances, the smaller
mill-owners find it pays best to supply that demand.
" Many canes new to this section have come into notice during the
year, prominent amongst which are Chigaca and the green or yellow
(from New Caledonia), the first of which gave 1 lb. 8 ozs. of sugar
from 24 lbs. of cane, and the latter 1 lb. of sugar from 20 lbs. of cane ;
the Diard (from Mauritius), 2 lbs, of sugar from 60 lbs. of cane; the
Poetii (from Java), 1 lb. 5 ozs. of sugar from 38^ lbs. of cane ; the Dijong-
jong (from Java), 1 lb. 10 ozs. of sugar from 51^ lbs. of cane. Each
of these canes is found superior to the ribbon or Bourbon, which have
been amongst the most extensively cultivated hitherto.
" The ' labour question,' with the many difficulties surrounding it, in
the eyes of interested or impulsive men, is rectifying itself. It may
with some confidence be asserted that the small plantations are the
most successful, and that the presence of coloured or any particular
species of labour is not a necessity in sugar cultivation here. With an
average of about six men (white), cultivating from thirty to forty acres
of cane and with complete manufacturing plant, costing from 200/. to
CLIMATE AND (^ROPS. 193
500/., from H to 3 tons of suf^ar to tlie acre, and worth 30/. per ton at
least, has been made. Leaving a wide margin for all expenses, 15/. per
ton comes to the growers and makers, and this fixes the industvj' as
one of the safest in which intelligent men can engage. Brains tell in
Queensland, and we have men amongst us who knew nothing of sugar
or sugar machinery until all was ready for setting to work upon their
own plantations ; then they went in and did the work themselves, and
liave since sold their produce. The process is simple, but can bo
learnt only by actual work ; no secret is made of anything, so that any
one can learn who tries willingly.
" Some of the large plantations have done well under the care of
skilful managers, and the country is much indebted to those gentlemen
for the freedom with which they have made known items of the utmost
importance to the development of the sugar industry. The Curator of
the Botanical Gardens has been busy as usual ; he has grown and
tested in various ways the merits of sixteen varieties of cane, and the
results are offered freel}"^ for the benefit of all interested.
" Almost every conceivable distance has been tried for planting cane.
The distances now followed ai"e 7 x 4, 6 x 3, and 6x2, according to
tlie strength of the soil. The plants are laid in after ploughing,
harrowing, and cross-ploughing, at.a depth of 10 to 14 inches, by opening
holes at the distances mentioned. The holes are about 18 inches
square, and about 8 inches deep : sets of the canes are laid flat if the
soil is dry, and slightly set on angle if it is damp — the eyes at the
sides — and then covered over with one or two inches of soil. Where
teams are available, deep furrows can be run out with the plough ; and
by returning in the same furrow with the plough body only, a depth
of eight inches can be obtained ; in such furrows, the plants are set
upon large plantations. The four top joints make the best plants :
they can be bought at the plantations at from 1/. to 1/. 10a-. per 1000.
When the soil is moist, the plants send up shoots in eight or ten days.
In dry weather the shoots take longer to come up ; if they appear not
in fourteen days, it is well to look and see if the plants are all right.
Soil is generally filled into the holes as the shoots grow, until they are
nearly level with the surface. The soil must be kept stirred and free of
weeds until the plants are strong enough to take care of themselves.
The lower leaves are stripped from the canes as they become ripe — this
stripping or trashing hastens the ripening, and the leaves, &c., are
buried between the rows ; by such means the soil is kept clean and
comparatively mulched."
There is at the present time a good market for standings
o
194 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
cane growing up in most places. On the Maiy, in 1871,
when on a visit among the farms, we found the owners of
mills rowing- about on the river from one farm to the
other, examining the cane, and offering from 12^. to 14^.
per acre for it as it stood, tlieir owm men to cut it and
place it on boai'd the punts. We knew an instance where
20/. per acre was given for a fine field in 1871. It is
unnecessary to say that with such an opening as this few
places offer greater inducements to the farmer. It is
our opinion that at the present time Queensland offers a
field to the fa'rmer not to be excelled, if equalled, in any
part of the world. It must be remembered that when
cane is once planted, that process has not to be repeated
everj^ year. The first crop is called the " plant " crop, and
the following "^ ratoon '' crops. These ratoon crops may
be continued for several years, before a fresh planting takes
place ; experience has not yet settled how many. When
the labour required for maturing a crop of cane is
considered it will be seen that even to the poor farmer this
crop offers great inducements. Of course to him who can
erect his own machinery the profits will be vastly enhanced.
In 1870, 2854^ tons of sugar were made in Queensland,
while 2090| tons were imported against 1^ tons exported*.
Cotton, as we have already indicated, after having been
' We learn from Pugh's Almanack for 1875 that the following were
the statistics of Sugar-growing in Queensland in 1873 : —
Land under cultivation with cane . . . 14,495 acres.
Sugar mills . 66
Distilleries 10
Rum distilled (proof gallons) 164,413
Sugar nianufactm-ed 7,987^ tons.
Molasses manufactured 442,253 gallons.
Showing an increase of nearly 300 per cent in three j'cars in the
quantity of sugar grown, a fact that must be almost unparalleled in
the history of agriculture.
t
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 195
lauded to the skies as a certain fortune for all embarkinf^
in its cultivation, fell for a time to be considered unworthy
any one^s attention. When we reached the colony there
was scarcely a cotton-gin in it, and those who grew a
little had to hawk it about to obtain a market at any
figure offered, or had to send it home and wait for the
returns — a process not convenient for new beginners.
This state of things too has passed away, as one of the early
evils the farmer had to contend against. In this, as every-
thing else of the sort, the supply has created the demand,
and no difficulty exists in disposing of the crops, for which
most likely several competitors will visit the farm, and
offer the highest price possible. One advantage of this
crop is that it can be grown on light soil, another is that
everything connected with its growth and preparation for
market can be done within the family, especially where
there are a plenty of children, the most delicate of whom
can pluck the beautiful bolls of cotton. If sugar and
maize are beautiful crops, and they are doubtless among
the loveliest sights in the agricultural world, cotton too
has its beauties. When the plants are young, their straight
rows of green leaves are worth looking at. In bloom,
covered with yellow flowers they have another beauty, and
to the eye of the owner no sight will be more beautiful
than when the white cotton is everywhere bursting from
the pods and transforming what was lately a green field
into a sea of billowy whiteness. This plant too can be cut
down and allowed to bear again without replanting. But
the pruned cotton, as it is called, does not appear to be in
so much favour as formerly from the difficulty expei'ienced
in keeping the land clean. Where this is effected the
pruned cotton is preferable, there being no danger, as with
the young seedling plants, of suffering from droughts.
o 2
196 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
The cotton crop of 1871 was, we believe, about 6000
bales. We ag-ain copy from Mr. Mackay : —
"Notwithstanding adverse seasons, the cultivation of cotton goes on
extending in Queensland. The quality of the staple has proved to be
first-class. As the seasons are better understood, and the varieties of
cotton best adapted to the climate develope themselves, cotton cultiva-
tion is carried on with greater confidence.
" The one great hindrance to the cotton of the colony taking that
rank to which its merits entitle it, springs from the bad way in which
the seed is mixed. Scarcely a handful can be taken up amongst which
cannot be found almost every sort. The result of this mixed seed is
a staple of unequal length ; or as the brokers term it, a ' broken-
staple,' believing as they do that an inequality is caused in ginning, an
idea for which there is no foundation, as the ginning is as well done as
that of any other sent to Europe. As growers get acquainted with
the plant, the mixed seed fault will be remedied ; but it certainly is
the duty of those in authority to do something in a case fraught with
such importance to the colony.
" The Sea Island cotton is a free black seed. It has proved rather
delicate in the colony.
" The planting season extends from September to the beginning of
December — cotton has been planted successfully up to Christmas. The
planting is done by drawing shallow furrows, at from four to six feet
apart, with plough or hoe. The seed is scattered in almost as thick as
it can lie, and then covered over with two or three inches of soil, and
manure if possible, which ought to be made fine. The plants come up
in about eight days, and aie thinned out gradually until some six
inclies apart, and about six inches in height. The soil is then hoed
about them and a little scraped up to the plants. As the strong plants
show tliemselves, the others are thinned out until a distance of from
two to four feet between plant and plant is obtained.
" The after cultivation consists in keeping tlie plants clean — which
must be attended to, or they will not yield a paying return. If they make
too much Avood, it is well to pinch out the ends of the leading shoots.
" In February and Mai-ch the plants begin to ripen, by the bolls
containing the wool opening and exposing their contents, which must
be picked as soon as the seed is hard. From sixty to one hundred
pounds per day is considered fair work. ■ One penny per pound is paid
for picking ; occasionally less. The aborigines are occasionally found
useful at this work.
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 197
"After being picked, the cotton is either sunned or aired — the less
sun it has the better — until the wool is quite dry and the seed is so
hard tliat it cracks between the teeth. The cotton is then fit for the
gin, which machine separates the wool from the seed. The ginning
houses charge about one penny per pound. The usual proportion
after ginning is one-third wool and two-thirds seed, in weight.
Dealers in the colony buy up the cotton either in the seed or after it is
ginned. They give from twopence-halfpenny to fourpence for the
former, and from seven-pence to eleven-pence for the latter. Cottons
of the descriptions mentioned sell at from eleven-pence to fifteen-pence
per pound, in England. In a few instances higher prices were obtained
— as much as two shillings and sixpence per pound in some cases.
The lower figure may be taken as the average until an improvement
takes place by picking and selecting the seed.
" A fair weight of clean cotton to the acre when manure is used, is
about three hundred pounds, and a fair figure for total returns per
acre 101. IMuch higher returns have been given. The Government
grant a bonus in land for every three hundred pounds of clean staple.
As the labour connected with cotton growing is not excessive, and
considerable help can be afforded by the younger branches of a family,
it is a favourite crop with the small farmers, and perhaps the safest and
most remunerative they can put in. In several farming districts the
cotton crop of last year put more money in circulation than any previous
crop had ever done. The return is immediate, directly the crop is grown."
The maize crop was for some years the main stay of the
Queensland farmers. It is still and must always continue
to be a very important item of the agricultural produce of
the colony. Althoug-h this crop in Queensland does not
yield so well as in some others — the crop averag-ing- from
.thirty to seventy bushels per acre — yet it has the advantage
of affording two returns in the year. We have seen three
crops taken off the same piece of rich scrub land ; but in
that case the one crop is planted between the rows of the
other while yet growing. Two crops are easily to be ob-
tained, or one crop of maize and one of potatoes, or oaten
hay, may be taken off the same land. Formerly, as we have
said, the settlers endeavoured to compete with the Clarence
198 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
farmers in the growth of maize by the use of the hoe, and of
course they were worsted. As long- as maize stood at 5^. to Qs.
per bushel this sort of thing would pay ; but maize now
sells at from Is. Sd. to 4>s. 6(1., though it is occasionally 5s.
yet. These prices would sound fabulous to the maize
growers of the Western States, where 1*. 6d. is a high
price, and 1 Od. or 1*. a good figure. But the Americans
are far in advance of Queenslanders in one respect — their
use of hoi'se-power instead of man-power. The Americans
are also far in advance of the colonials in another matter —
they have the sense to know that maize makes capital food,
and, therefore, it enters largely into their diet, appearing con-
stantly on their tables in a variety of excellent preparations;
By-and-by, we hope, as the old " lag " element dies out,
that Queenslanders will be equally sensible with their
American cousins. We see no reason why, by the use of
the plough and horse-hoe, maize may not always be a fairly
paying crop. Up to this time it is the exception and not
the rule to see it cultivated in this way. This crop has
lately been grown with great success on the Downs, where
the most superior maize we have seen in any part of the
world has been grown. With increased facilities of car-
riage — when the railway is carried through to Brisbane, and
thus saving the costs of change of carriage, commission, &c.,
at Ipswich — we anticipate that this will be a very impor-
tant crop in that neighbourhood. Up to the present time,
large quantities of maize are imported to the colony,
yearly, from the northern districts of New South Wales.
Queensland maize has, on the other hand, been exported
with good results to Melboui'ne, where, were the supply
sufficient, a large market might be obtained, that cereal not
growing so far south.
Hay is another crop which was in great favour before
CLIMATE AND CEOPS. 199
sugar and cotton were cultivated. It is usually a good
paying crop. Oaten hay yields two harvests, while lucerne
can be cut from four to seven or eight times in a year.
Oaten hay was formerly lOL to 14^. per ton, but it is now
about half that price, when well pressed in bales. The crop
is from one and a half to three tons per acre. The oats for
hay are cut just as the seed is forming. A great evil in
much of the Queensland-grown hay is, that it is too strong
and coarse in the straw, arising from the richness of the
soil, and being sown too thinly. Hence the imported article
from Sydney is always sold at a higher price. It would be
very easy to remedy this evil ; but of late too little atten-
tion has been paid to this crop. In some places it is scarcely
grown at all, or if so, is so badly managed as to produce
very unsatisfactory results. Lucerne hay is probably one
of the most paying crops grown in the colony. Once put
down on good, clean land, it will after the first year — during
which the growth is very slow and the returns compara-
tively nil — return from five to eight tons per acre for an
indefinite number of years. This hay finds ready sale at
from 4:1. to Ql. per ton, thus leaving a very handsome profit
indeed. Perhaps the reason why this crop is not more
extensively grown is to be found in the fact, that the seed
costs a considerable sum, the cultivation must be of the best
description, and no return will be obtained for some length
of time. Of neither of those crops is there enough raised
to fill the home market, a large quantity being imported
from New South "Wales.
English potatoes is a crop which returns twice a year in
Queensland. It is not the most certain of crops, sometimes
turning out very well and at others but poorly. The winter
crop is usually a good one, but the summer crop is fre-
quently a comparative failure on some land. These potatoes
200 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
are also liable to have a disease called " the blacks ; " the
exterior of the root will be all right, but on cutting it in
two the centre will be found black. In these instances the
outer portion of the potato is eatable. Potatoes used to be
much higher in price than now. They vary of late from
M. 10*. or i:l. per ton to 11. or 8/., averaging about 6/. per
ton to the farmer. Large quantities of potatoes are yet
imported from New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania.
Both the imported and local grown are generally of very
excellent quality.
The sweet potato is grown very extensively in the colony,
and supplies, in a great measure, the place of the English
potato. It is a species of yam, and being unknown to the
British public we will give a short description of the root and
its production. It is not propagated by planting the root,
as with its English namesake, but by a slip of its vine-like
top, which runs over the ground like a convolvulus, to which
family it belongs. A cutting of this vine, containing six
or eight leaves and buds, is taken and placed in the earth
in a slanting direction, half of the buds being above and
half below the surface. These cuttings are placed in rows
about a yard apart, and from two to three feet apart in the
rows. When the plant has shot out a few inches, which it
will do from each of the buds above ground, the earth on
each side is drawn up around the plants, thus forming a
high ridge. The roots are propagated from the buds under-
neath, and if the soil is rich and light will grow to a large
size. We have seen a specimen of the red variety weigh-
ing 1() lbs. The white variety is most usually grown, and will
ofion weigh 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. each, although there arc many
smaller ones. This root takes from five to eight months
to come to maturity, which must be before the frosty nights
come in, as it is very susceptible of cold. During the
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 201
summer the tops can be cut for fodder ; horses^ cows, and
pigs are all alike fond of these tops, which are sometimes
eaten as a vegetable. Pigs thrive well on them, and are
often fed on them in the summer. The crop is highly
suitable to the climate ; for if the cuttings have a few
showers to start them at first, they will do with very little
rain subsequently. We cannot say what weight they yield
per acre, as we suppose no one ever did or will dig half or a
quarter of an acre at once, as they will keep for any length
of time in the ground, but only for a short time when once
dug. But the yield is very large, and as they are far more
nutritious than the common potato, and are eagerly eaten
when raw by every animal on a farm, dogs and poultry
not excepted, we look on them as one of the most valu-
able products of the land. When raw they taste like ground
nuts somewhat. Cooked properly they are dry and sweet
— too sweet, perhaps, for some palates at first. There is
nothing which can be more easily spoiled in cooking, most
cooks treating them as they do English potatoes. They
require almost as much care in boiling as an egg. Baked
with a roast of meat we esteem them one of the luxuries of
Queensland diet. They can be cooked in a variety of ways,
and are always nice. Nothing has ever been done, so far
as we are aware, in exporting these roots to Sydney or Mel-
bourne. Yet, in New York and other northern cities of
America, they are imported largely from the Bermudas and
the Southern States, and meet with a ready sale. We see
no reason why a similar trade may not spring up in Queens-
land, wdien she has farmers enough to do more than serve
her own local supplies. Oysters are largely exported from
Brisbane, and the sweet potato is far less perishable than
these. We would advise every new settler to put in a small
patch 1)1' tlii.s excellent root as soon as; possible. The seed
202 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
costs nothing-^ and when they are once grown the family
will never lack for healthy and nutritious food.
The sorghum, or Chinese sugar-cane^ is a small species
of sugar-cane which is propagated from seed. It is a most
excellent green feed^ for which pui'pose it is alone grown.
It is planted in rows a half-yard apart or sown broad- cast;
the former is the better plan; it soon runs uj), if permitted,
to a height of six or eight feet, producing a quantity of
black millet-like seed, excellent for poultry. This crop is
not a very important one, except to market-gardeners, who
cut it when four to five feet high and sell it in bundles as
" green-stuff." No farni should, however, be without it, as
it grows well in all weathers, can be cut every few weeks
in the summer season when other green feed is scarce, and
produces a greater weight of long food per acre than any
other crop. Those few farmers who have made a trial of
it for feeding their cows in the dry summer months when
grass is scarce, have had no cause to regret the experiment.
Tobacco is a crop which grows to perfection in Queens-
land, but has never been largely cultivated. Enough has
been done to prove that it can be grown to any extent
there, and that is about all. A few persons only, grow it
as a staple crop, but those few have no reason to be dis-
satisfied. Some years since when neither cotton nor sugar
were grown as they are now, a good deal of tobacco
was raised. But the market at that time was very
limited and, worse still, was in too many instances in the
hands of unprincipled persons, who cheated the farmers.
This dissatisfied them, and, cotton and sugar at that time
beginning to attract attention, very few have done much
in this crop since. A few manufacturers still obtain
enough of the leaf to carry on business, but the industry
is by no means in the position it should be. According
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 203
to all aecounts we have gathered and from the experiments
we have ourselves made, the growth of tobacco will pay-
better to the small capitalist than any other crop. The
dried leaf will sell readily at 1*. per pound if well cured,
at which rate the return per acre would not with a fair
crop fall short of 10/. and might reach half as much more.
There is, howevei', considerable labour attendant on this
crop. In its early stages the plant is treated very simi-
larly to the cabbage, and there is no more trouble with it.
Subsequently the plants have all to be examined daily to
remove any grubs, which would otherwise destroy the
leaves, and also when the proper quantity of leaves, eight
to ten, are developed, to pinch off all shoots as they come
out. When cut, the plants are dried a short time in the
sun and then hung to dry in an open shed. After this
they are placed in heaps to sweat them and it is this part
of the process only which requires the exercise of any skill
whatever, more than the growth of turnips or potatoes. A
very large sum is annually spent in tobacco in the colony.
What tends to make this sum so large is the considerable
quantity used in washing sheep, and which as the number
of sheep increases will become still more considerable.
With the large local demand existiug and the advantage
afforded by the customs duty of 2*. 6d. per pound, any
one who goes into this business for some years to come
cannot fail to meet with great success. The men who have
engaged in it up to this time have been not only ignorant
of the plant but in needy circumstances. To one who
would, as the Vii'ginian growers do, not only grow the
plant but press it himself, a splendid field is here open.
Of arrowroot a considerable quantity has been grown for
many years. The Messrs. Grimes of Boggo have paid
particular attention to this article. They grow the arrow-
204 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
root, grind it down by horse-power in the open air, and
when manufactured^ paper it in 1-lb. and larger packages
for sale. Other growers also now produce an excellent
article, and it is admitted that the Queensland arrowroot
is equal to the West Indian. The growth of this plant is
very simple. It is propagated by planting the small
roots, which are saved for that purpose and treated some-
what similarly to potatoes. It is a crop eminently suited to
the climate of Queensland, and never fails of a return.
The method of manufacture is simple in the extreme.
Any ordinarily handy man can master all the process
in a few minutes and make all the apparatus in his
leisure hours, unless he proposes growing it on a large
scale. Arrowroot not only forms a pleasing change in
domestic diet, but sells readily at from 6^/. to 9^/. per pound,
if properly manufactured.
The growth of the vine on a sufficiently large scale to
admit of the making of wine has now become a regular
industry in the neighbourhood around Brisbane. Much of
the soil of the ridges and hollows in the district appears
well fitted for this interesting pursuit, which is also very
lucrative. To Mr. Lade of the Surrenden Vineyard belongs
the honour of having, amid the sneers of his neighbours,
persisted in his experiments in this direction until he had
established the reputation and character of the Surrenden
wines. He has now a vineyard of several acres, as has also
each of his sons. Many other vignerons have since then
gone largely into the business, and it seems certain that
not many years will pass before Queensland wines will be
both plentiful and excellent. It is not only in the East
Moreton District that vines are being cultivated. On the
Downs and in the north good results are being obtained.
A lew days before leaving ]\Iaryborough we jmid a visit to
CLIMATE AND CROPS 205
the well-l)uilt and ventilated wine-cellar of Mr. J. Dowser,
where we tasted difTerent wines that gave promise of yet
establishing a reputation for their grower. It is calculated
that a vineyard will take five years to come into full bearing
from the planting of the cuttings. Hence, as considerable
outlay must be gone to in trenching and preparing the
land, fencing, &c., it requires a moderate capital to enable
one to embark in this business with success. But for
people possessed of sufficient means it offers a very pleasing
and remunerative occupation, and the power of indefinite
extension. There is a drawback or two in this line also.
Sometimes tremendous hailstorms have been known to
sweep over a vineyard and almost entirely destroy its crop.
There is also a disease, called oidium inckeri, which, if not
watched for and nipped in the bud, will sometimes devastate
the vineyard. This scourge, which has only been known of
late years, can be successfully resisted by the use of sulphur
applied with a pair of bellows constructed for the purpose.
These are the principal productions of Queensland at the
present time on its coast range. The crops of the Downs
being such as every British farmer understands, appear to
require no particular mention. There are a variety of
crops, however, which experiment has proved can be
advantageously grown in the colony, but which have not
as yet received any practical attention. Of these coffee
appears to be the most important, and to its successful
growth we have alluded in a former chapter. Tea also has
for many years been successfully grown in the Botanical
Gardens, but has, so far as we know, never been tried
outside them. The same may be said of madder, which is of
easy growth and cultivation and appears well suited to the
climate. The growth of the mulberry and the production
of silk has had just sufficient attention to ^irove how much
206 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
might be done in this way. At every agricultural show
some beautiful sj^ecimens of silk are shown^ but the industry
does not appear to have gone beyond this stage. Some
years since we met with an American gentleman in
Brisbane who had introduced to the colony direct from
the Levant large quantities of mulberry seed and silk-
worjpis with a view to entering largely into this business.
He very properly asked Government to grant him a piece
of land to carry on his experiments. This was refused him,
and we believe he afterwards fell among thieves, who
robbed him : we have heard nothing of his enterprise
nor himself for two or three years. Of ginger about
the same thing may be said. It is occasionally grown,
you see it in every Chinaman's garden, every one knows it
can be grown, but no one has yet been found to attempt
its cultivation on a practical scale. There are a variety of
fibrous plants which grow to perfection, but of which no
use has ever yet been made, Of these we may mention in
particular the banana, of which Manilla rope is made, the
mda refnsa, a common weed, but which produces splendid
fibre, and the currijohn, from which the natives make
their nets, dilly-bags, &c. All these grow in abundance
and could be had in any quantity. There are other fibrous
■exotic plants which have been tested at the Botanic Gardens,
«uch as the China grass-cloth plant, jute, &c. At some future
time large fortunes will probably be made by those who
shall open up these sources of wealth now lying dormant.
There are some other crops, which are very generally
met with, which often bring in considerable sums to those
farmers living near a market, such as bananas, pine-apples,
&c. It is said, on the authority of Humboldt, that more
human food can be grown per acre in the shape of bananas
than in any otlicr product. It is certain that it is a very
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 207
prolific fruity and both pleasant and nutritive. It has the
advantage, too, of being- pretty well impervious to the
effects of both drought and flood. These plants are propa-
gated from suckers which grow out around the parent tree
in considerable quantities. These are easily removed, the
roots being yerj few and small ; they are planted in rows,
when forming a plantation, about four or five yards apart.
The plants thus set out come into bearing in fi'om fifteen
to eighteen months; by that time about half a dozen
young suckers in various stages of growth will be clus-
tered around the parent stem. The fruit, like the leaves,
comes out of the centre of the plant, and hangs down in a
large bunch, containing more or less fruit according to the
variety and the richness of the soil. In good land, and it
cannot be too rich for these plants, the common banana
will average five or six dozen in a bunch. The Cavendish,
a thick dwarf plant, not attaining a height of above four
or five feet, frequently produces double and even treble
this number of fruit. When the " bunch '^ is nearly ripe
it is cut down for market, as they ripen quickly after being
cut, and are carried much better green than ripe. The
plant is then cut down and allowed to rot on the ground
or in a dunghill, and its room is soon filled up by the
young trees. These will now continue to bear every few
months ; and if care is taken not to allow too many
suckers to grow up, restricting each group to about six or
eight, according to the richness of the soil, there will in a
plantation of half a rood be always ripe bananas after the
grove is two years old. Where there is a family of chil-
dren, nothing more economical can be grown than bananas
for domestic consumption, as all children are fond of the
soft, pulpy, farinaceous fruit, and will almost live on it.
In the summer time, when they are most plentiful, nothing
208 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
can be more healthy as a food. As the trees soon grow to
a height of from sixteen to twenty-five feet^ and have
broad green leaves of four to six feet in length, they form
an excellent shade, and, from their very graceful appearance,
very soon give an air of beauty and prosperity to the
homestead. They are everywhere in use as shade-trees,
for which purpose they answer admirably, the clumps of
thick stems and broad leaves always affording shade and
coolness. We have seen in some places considerable taste
displayed in forming avenues of these fine plants, which
were something to be remembered for a lifetime. The
stem of the banana is a series of soft cellular layers or
rings, with a large quantity of fibrous matter which makes
excellent rope. The Manilla rope is usually manufactured
from one particular variety ; but every kind has the same
sort of fibre, although, perhaps, not equally good. As
before stated, no use is made in the colony as yet of the
vast amount of banana-fibre which is grown there. Be-
cause of the universal growth of this fruit, and becausfii«»t
will not grow in the southern colonies, some witty digger
from New Zealand or Victoria nicknamed the Queens-
landers " banana men,'' a term which soon became very
popular, and seems likely to be perpetuated. Certain it is
that from the l^eauty of this plant, the ease with which it
can everywhere be propagated, its prolificness, and the
palatableness of its fruit, it is, as it well deserves to be, a
universal favourite. Considerable numbers of bananas are
exported to the southern colonies. They are usually sold
by the growers at 4(1. per dozen, each bunch being counted
and the number of dozens marked on the stem. At that
price they return as much as 4-01. to 60/. per acre.
The pine-apple is another very hardy fruit in general
cultivation. These, like bananas, are propagated by suckers.
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 200
and are planted in rows a yard apart each way. They soon
close up and become a complete mass of vegetation, and
have to be regularly thinned. The pine-apple is of very
prolific growth, and is now sold around Brisbane very cheap.
Formerly they were sold by the farmers from 3*. to 4*. per
dozen in summer, to 12^. and 18*. in winter. Now the
price is not more than half that, or even less. A lady of
our acquaintance had a sackful delivered to her for pre-
serving purposes for Is. ; and on our expressing surprise,
she said a neighbour sent a dray to a farm at the German
Station, and was allowed to fill it for eighteenpence. In
other neighbourhoods the price is better ; but it cannot be
long before this luscious fruit will be very cheap in all parts
of the colony. Great numbers of pine-apples are also ex-
ported.
There are many other descriptions of fruit which are
grown for the market. The commonest of these is the
peach, which grows in great variety, but as a rule is not
equal in flavour to those found in older countries. Yet it
has been proved that excellent peaches can be grown in
Queensland if only proper attention is paid to the choice
of variety. The usual plan is to let the stones lie on the
ground around the tree and produce plants in this way,
which are transplanted as required. The finer varieties
fetch a good price, but the commoner are a mere drug on
the market.
Much attention is paid to the growth of the orange, and
several very fine oranges are already in existence. This tree
has a deadly enemy in a small parasite, which is known as
" the blight," and which often destroys the young trees.
When, however, they have arrived at maturity they produce
largel}^, and are a great source of wealth. Some varieties
of Queensland oranges are superior to those from New
210 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
South Wales; and there is every indication that many
years will not elapse before the present large importation of
this fruit will cease. It takes about five years' time and
g-reat attention to bring- an orange grove into bearing ;
when once this is done^ the returns will be regular and nearly
certain. There are still many openings for the cultivation
of this fruit without any danger of overstocking the market.
Lemons, citrons, shaddocks, &c., grow without any trouble
whatever, but have only a limited market.
We have thus enumerated and described the principal
crops which do or could occupy the attention of the Queens-
land farmer to advantage. There are many others of minor
importance which we have not thought it necessary to par-
ticularize. Enough has been said to show that there are
many branches of agriculture and horticulture which may
be entered on advantageously, and that in none is there an
overstocked market. The farmers of Queensland ai'e not
nearly enough to supply the local consumption, to say
nothing of the export market, which in sugar, cotton,
tobacco, flour, and many other articles, is always open and
profitable. The emigrant landing in this colony has the
great advantage of choosing among many different kinds
of occupation ; he can go on the Downs and grow the crops
of his fatherland, with the additions of maize, grapes,
pumpkins, melons, &c. ; or he can, by selecting his land
east of the coast i-ange, devote himself to those products of
warmer and more favoured climes, of which he has hitherto
only read in books. He has not now, as former settlers
had, to spend his means experimenting on the nature of the
soil and climate : the experiments of others have smoothed
his path for him. He lias not to experience the dissatis-
faction of raising a crop and then learning that there is little
or no market for his produce : that state of things is among
CLIMATE AND OROPS. 211
the past. He has not now to select his hmd from a g-iven
reserve, that some ignorant or misdirected surveyor has
chosen for him, but which is entirely unfitted for cultiva-
tion. Nor has he, on the other hand, to purchase his land
at an auction sale, where there are so few agricultural
buyers that one is immediately spotted by the " land
sharks,''^ and run up to an enormous price, or obliged to
resign his choice farm altogether. Under the new regula-
tions he can, when sufficiently experienced, strap his
" swag " on his saddle and ride over the whole coun-
try, and choose his selection from the best lands in the
colon}'.
There are drawbacks to agricultural life in Queensland,
and we have faithfully and fully pointed them out. To the
intending emigrant, who surveys the various colonies and
dependencies of the British Empire and the United States,
it is a matter of great importance where he directs his steps.
The author knows by experience too well the vast capabi-
lities and advantages of the American continent to hold
them cheaply, or in any way decry them. A seven j'ears'
residence in that part of the world has impressed him with
the wondrous resources it possesses, and its fitness for the
Anglo-Saxon race. There are there many advantages
which Queensland does not as yet possess. On the other
hand, Queensland has a far better climate, and resources
equal if differing from the other. It must be a question for
every one to decide for himself as to which way he will
turn his footsteps. The colony of Queensland, like a
gigantic infant, has passed through those earlier and tedious
phases of life incidental to such an existence, and is now in
its boyhood. The earlier settlers have borne difficulties
and overcome obstacles which future comers must benelit
bv. The author''s ov/n opinion is,tliat no part of the world
p •>
212 THE QITEEN OP THE COLONIES.
affords a better opening- to the ag-rieulturist at the present
time than this colony. It has advanced sufficiently to have
established regular industries and markets, and is not so
thickly populated but that thousands of new settlers may
yet reap the advantage to be gained from taking up new
land at first hand, and at a nominal price, and thus benefit
not only by their own industry, but by the certain and
rapid increase of value in real estate in every new country.
It may not be uninteresting before closing this chapter
to give some account of the way in which a fai-m is taken
up, and of the process of settling down and improving it.
We remember reading such a sketch in the work of Mr.
Wight. The whole of his plan of settlement rested on
finding a neighbour to lend a dray, which was to be drawn by
a hack mare and her foals. It is needless to say that such an
idea as that would never be realized. It is one of the evils
of Queensland social life that people are far too selfish. The
difference a new ai-rival experiences in his treatment by his
neighbours in Queensland and Canada is marked and
striking. In the latter he will receive offers of service on
all hands, and ten to one but the neighbours turn out and
assist him at a " bee.''^ We are sorry to say there is none
of this neighbourly assistance, so useful to the new arrival,
in Queensland. We have always looked on it as partially
the result of the selfishness engendered by the squatting life,
and partially the leaven of the old convict system still work-
ing; but there is no doubt that the old residents regard the
*' new chum ""^ more in the light of a person to be swindled
with a bucking horse, or a vicious unbroken cow, than in
that of a person who may need t;ny assistance. It is true,
this custom of seeing a stranger and taking him in is being,
to some extent, modified by the inoi-ease of an agricultural
population from home. But there is still very much im-
CLIMATE AND CHOPS. 213
provement to be made in this respect. Queeuslanders might
well take a leaf out of the book of their fellow-subjects in
Canada. In our opinion, the wonderful improvement of
that province, and the almost certainty with which a person
commencing- farming" obtains a competency, is to be as-
cribed to the assistance he almost invariably receives from
the neighbours, who, by all turning* out and giving him
a day in raising his house and barn, and clearing his land
for his crop, assist him at the very time when that assist-
ance is of most use to him. As yet there is no habit of
this sort in Queensland.
The farmer having selected the land he likes, — we will
suppose part scrub for cultivation, and part forest for his
homestead and paddock, — calls at the land office of the
district and makes his selection. Perhaps the land is
already surveyed and he has chosen it with the assistance
of a map of the locality which he has purchased at the
office for Is. In that case he has only to indicate the
number of the lots on the map ; or it may be a piece that
has not yet been surveyed and he has the advantage of
making his own choice. The land, however, must be in
rectangular shape, with not more than one-half as much
frontage to the creek or river as it is deep. In this latter
case it is well to take a licensed surveyor on to the land
and have him survey it at once, marking the corner trees
and side lines by "blazing" or notching the trees, and
drawing up a description for the land office. If this is
not done, the selector marks out his own corner trees and
makes such a description as will enable the land agent to
identify the selection. But as the survey fee has always
to be paid on the land surveyed at the selector's expense,
it is better to make one's own bargain with the surveyor
and have his assistance at the land office.
214 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
If the selector is a sensible man^ he will see that his
selection is not too small. The idea of small^ that is forty
or fifty acre farms, is pretty well exploded, as they offer
no facilities for keeping- any stock. Although the bush is
open for the farmer's horses or cows to graze on, he will
find it practically impossible to keep either without a
paddock of his own, which requires to be of some size, or
he will have no grass in the Summer months, when he
needs it most. Our selector therefore takes up, under the
conditional purchase clause of the Land Act, a farm of
350 acres, of which 100 are good scrub or agricultural
land, and the rest either first or second class pastoral. If
he is fortunate it may be 100 acres first class and 150
second class. He also selects in addition to this, under
the homestead clauses of the Land Act, forty acres of scrub
or agricultural land, and eighty acres of first-class pastoral
land, making a total of 470 acres — a very respectable
block of land certainly. For this land he has to pay as
follows : — the homestead will cost him ^d. per acre per
annum for the agricultural, and Qd. per acre for the pastoral
land, for five years, when if the terms of settlement are ful-
filled he will obtain the deed in fee-simple. He may select
eighty acres of agricultural land as homestead, or 160 of pas-
toral or, as we have supposed, a portion of each. Then for
his selection, under the conditional purchase clause of the Act
he will have to pay as follows : — for the agricultural land
1*. &d. per acre for ten years ; for the first-class pastoral
1*., and for the second-class pastoral Qd. per acre for the
same length of time. He will also have to pay with the
first year's payment the survey fee, or it will cost him the
same if done by himself. Tabulated then, this will be the
position : —
CLIMATE AND UiiUl'S. 215
Acres. Per Acre. Reut.
Homestead Agricultural . 40 9fl. £110
Pastoral . . 80 Qd. 3
rurcliase Agricultural . 100 1^. 6d. 7 10
„ 1st Class Pastoral 100 Is. Od. 5
„ 2nd „ „ . 150 Or/. 3 15
Total . . 470 £19 15
Survey Fee £7
Thus for an annual paj^ment of 19/. 15^. for five
years, and a further payment of 16/. 5*. for five years
more, making a total of 180/. (besides survey fee), an
estate of 470 acres of fine land may be secured. But it
will cost the immigrant who pays the passages of himself
and family considerably less than this. He will be
entitled to a 20/. land order for each adult member of his
family, and a 10/. order for each child over twelve months
old : so that a man with a wife and three paying children
will be entitled to land orders worth 70/,, which would
reduce the sum he has to pay in cash to 110/. In fact,
many men would look on the quantity which 70/. would
pay for as a sufficiently large farm of itself; but we would,
if the settler's funds permitted it, advise him to take up
at least double that quantity, which could be all pastoral
land. Certainly no country offers lands to the immigrant
on such easy terms as these.
His land secured and the land-agent's receipt in his
pocket, our selector's next business will be to get on his
land as soon as possible. If it is on navigable water and
there is not a good road to it, he will probably find it best
to purchase a boat as his means of communication. At
any rate he will need a dray and one or two stout hoi'ses.
If his land is scrub, ploughs and harrows will be of no use
216 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
to him the first year. If it is open phxiii, he will find his
best plan will be to purchase a team of bullocks or hire a
team to do his breaking- ; if this latter can be done it will
be cheapest, unless he has by living in the country a year
or so learnt to manage cattle, when he may think it best
to purchase a pair of leaders and a few young steers, and
break them in himself. This latter plan has the great
advantage that by using these steers to break up his
ground, he will double their value in the course of one
season. A person proceeding in these matters must be
dependent entirely on the amount of his capital. If he
has only from 2U0(?. to 300/., or less, he had better be very
careful in his outlay, and not go in for both bullocks and
draught-horses and drays. A team of ten bullocks usually
costs from 901. to 120/,, with dray and gear. In some
places they will be even more than this ; but a pair of
leaders can be purchased for about 20/., and young steers
at 4/. to 4/. 10<s. per head. A dray will cost from 20/. to
30/. If it is open land, bullocks of one's own or on hire
are a sine qua non for breaking and bringing the land in
cultivation at first. It is usual to charge from 1/. 10*. to
2/. per acre for breaking and cross-ploughing with bullocks.
But as a rule the agricultural land will be scrub, and we
will proceed on that supposition. A good pair of draught
horses will cost, with harness and dray all complete, about
75/. or 80/. ; these will be got if money is plenty, or
otherwise one horse will have to answer the turn. In the
dray the tools and a supply of rations will be put. These
tools are a cross-cut saw, a couple of American axes, a
morticing axe, two pairs of mall-rings, five or six iron
wedges, a hand-saw, a few augers, a tomahawk or hatchet,
and a few other carpenter's tools, and half a dozen heavy
hoes, and a gun and a supply of ammunition for shooting
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 217
game. The rations will probably be a 200 lb. bag- of flour,
some tea and sugar, beef, salt, &c., with a few pickles,
jams, and tobacco. Then, with his hired man, our selector
sets off to drive his team to the place of his future labours.
It will probably take a day or two to reach the spot if the
road is unmade and the distance considerable ; but the
dray and horses are necessary, and have to be taken up,
although many a farmer has taken up a scrub-farm with-
out horse or dray or even a cow. Arrived at the spot, the
horses are hobbled out after having had a feed of corn ;
the dray, with its tarpaulin, forms the temporary resi-
dence, and our friend sets to work. First a few sheets of
bark will be stripped, and in this sort of work a native
black is very useful, and a bark hut is soon run up, which
will serve for a house in the meantime and for some other
purpose afterwards — perhaps a stable or tool-house.
Selecting the site of his residence, our friend and his
man begin by cutting down any trees which may be
growing there. Perhaps some of these are of iron-bark or
blue-gum and will split. It is not by any means every
tree that will split. There are many that from their
crooked growth or twists in the grain will not " run."
These will have to be cross cut, their tops chopped off and
rolled in heaps with handspikes and then burnt. But
straight trees are found and these are cut in lengths of
eight to nine feet and split up into slabs. The former
experience of the settler has taught him this work, and if
he finds a good tree or two the slabs for his house will be
" run out " in a couple or three days. Then the timbers
for corner-posts, wall-plates and sills will have to be
squared out of saplings of iron-bark, gum, or blood-wood,
and morticed together. If he intends to put up a good
house the settler will place his frame on short stumps let
218 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
into the ground and fit his slabs into the frame. This
house, admits of a floor of pine boards, or of hard wood
slabs smoothed off with the adze, but many settlers simply
fix their slabs into the ground and fit them to the wall-
plate above. The first description is always to be pre-
ferred. The frame being raised and bolted together with
iron-bark trenails, the slabs are dressed or squared at the
edges, any splinters or roughness removed with the adze
from their surfaces and then placed perpendicularly on the
sill. The walls of the house are thus quickly formed, the
necessary openings being left for the doors and wdndows.
The chimney is built in a similar manner at one end of the
house, and is always of considerable dimensions, and a par-
tition or two runs across to form the different rooms. An
addition is made of one or two lower rooms at the back,
the verandah posts are fixed in the front and perhaps at
the end opposite the chimney, rafters of small saplings are
placed for the roof, and the whole is covered in with large
sheets of bark of the stringy bark, turpentine, black-bull, or
apple-tree, or in default of all these of the tea-tree, or iron-
bark dressed down. The dray being made use of to bring
all these materials from the places where they are procured,
a good substantial four-roomed house, with one or two
chimneys and a verandah of eight feet or more in width,
will very soon be erected by two good bushmen. The roof
is tied down to the rafters with strings of bark or vines from
the scrub, and kept from curling up or being blown away
by three or four stout saplings fastened on the top. The
timber for the floors, and the doors and windows are brought
from the town in the boat, or, if economy is studied, a pine-
tree can be felled in the scrub and split into thin slabs or
palings suitable for these purposes and dressed off very
neatly with the adze. In this way a very comfortable and
CLIMATE AND OllOrS. 219
tolerably commodious house can be put up at very little
other outlay than that for labour.
The house being- finished, the wife and family, who have
up to this time been lodging- in the town or living in a
rented cottage, can be brought up in the boat together
with the household stuff, and an air of home will at once
be given to the bush homestead. If the selection has been
judiciously made it will often have such a shape that by
running- two lines of fence from the scrub to the creek at
another point it can be permanently enclosed. If this be
the case or not the fencing of the lot should be at once
proceeded with^ unless the season of the year renders it
imperative to fell some of the scrub at once with a view to
a crop. It is always the best economy to enclose the land
as soon as possible. This is a work of some time, and is
justly considered one of the most laborious jobs which
befalls the new settler. Fences in Queensland are put
up on a farm with posts, and either two or three rails, the
latter being preferable. The posts are split from blood-
wood ten inches wide by four thick, and are let in from
eighteen to thirty inches in the ground — two feet is a good
depth — and stand about five feet out of the ground. Three
holes are morticed in each, in which are placed the rails.
These are cut in such lengths that two panels make a rod ;
they should be two inches and a half at least in thickness
and vary in breadth from six to twelve inches, the middle
one being the broadest, and the top one the narrowest. A
fence of this sort properly constructed of blood-wood and
iron-bark or blue-gum should last a lifetime. Many
settlers find it suit them better to let out this part of their
work, which will be taken at from 4:S. to bs. per rod for
three-rail fencing, according to whether the contractors have
to draw their own materials from the tree to the fence or not.
220 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
There are several other sorts of fencing-, some of which
are cheaper than three-rail fencing-, while others have the
extra advantag-e of keeping out bandicoots and kangaroo
rats, and being therefore well adapted for a garden or
cultivation paddock. Of these latter, one of the best is
formed by placing the posts and the top rail in the usual
manner and then excavating a shallow trench, and placing
short slabs in it, on a slight incline, with their tops resting
inwards on the rail ; the trench being then filled in again
firmly, a close fence or wooden wall is obtained, through
which even a snake cannot pass, if care is taken in fitting
the edges of the slabs, or by allowing them a little lap.
Of the cheaper and more expeditious fences suitable for
outer fencing, that known as " chock and log ■" fence is
the best. Mr. P. R. Gordon, Chief Inspector of Sheep in
Queensland, gives the following description : —
" This fence is composed of chocks laid across the line, on which logs
or rails of any length are made to rest in notches cut in the chocks for
the purpose, so that each chock supports the small end of one and the
butt end of another log. Thus, supposing the fence to run in a north
and south direction, the north or small end of each log would rest on
the west end of one chock, and the butt end of the same log on the
east end of the next succeeding chock. The chocks of the second tier are
made to rest on the ends of the first logs, exactly perpendicular to the
bottom chocks, notches being cut in the lower sides corresponding to
the logs in which they rest so as to bind them firmly. The second
tier of logs are placed in exactly the same manner as the first, and so
on until the fence has been piled up to the desired height."
By a careful selection of the saplings, this fence may be
erected, with the assistance of a team of bullocks, very
rapidly, and of nearly or quite equal permanence to a three-
rail fence. It will not cost the selector who has his own team
and plenty of saplings within easy distance over 1^. per rod.
The fencing being completed, the stock-yard engages
attention. This is a most important matter in the
CLIMATE AND CKOrSJ. 221
economy citlier of a farm or station. Nothing- in the way
of live-stock can be done withont it, and cai-e is always
taken to have it very strong and as high as possible. Of
course a farmer does not need a very large yard. It is
well to have it large enough to admit oF subdividing.
There are four rails in a stock-yard fence, with a heavy
sapling let into the top of the posts, this forming a fifth
rail. It should never be less than six feet high, and the
rails must be wide enough to prevent a calf getting his
head between. In one corner of the yard the '^ milking
bail^' is put up, which consists of two strong posts with a
cross-piece on the top, and a thin rail, fastened to a bottom
cross-piece, and working on a pin, about eight or ten
inches from the inner post on a slott morticed out of the
top cross-piece. The cow puts her head inside this moveable
piece against the post, it is then pushed forth close to her
neck behind the ears and secured by a peg running through
it and the cross-piece. The cow is thus prevented from
moving her head while being milked. She is in fact
" bailed up,^^ a foot-rope with a noose is passed around her
right hind-leg and fastened tightly back to the fence,
drawing her leg so far back as only just to admit of the
foot touching the ground. By this means all sorts of
cows, whether quiet or vicious, are prevented from either
moving or kicking. " Breaking in " a cow or heifer is
accomplished in this wise. She is " run in " to the yard
witn her young calf by her side, by one or two men on
horseback, with stock-whips, the sound of which all cattle
know too well to wish to come too close to them. Then a
" head rope " is dexterously placed over her horns at the
end of a long pole ; this rope has its end passed through
the bail where the cow has to come, and is then taken
round the corner-post of the yard and hauled on by a man
222 THE QUEEX OF THE COLOXIES.
or two on the outside. One man with a whip in his hand
urges the poor creature to " bail up/' and at every run she
makes the slack of the rope is pulled in until she is hauled
with her head through the bail close up to the corner-post.
The man inside then pushes forth the rail and fastens it
with the peg. There is always just enough room left
between the bail and the fence for the cow's head. The
rope is now taken off her horns by climbing on the fence ;
the leg-rope is carefully got on her leg and fastened back,
and she is ready for milking. It often occurs that an
unbroken cow will not yield her milk, without the calf
being placed beside her. A small yard is made for the
calves just in front of the cow's eyes, and they are admitted
by a little gate. The plan is adopted in this exigency of
bringing the calf with a rope round its neck and fastening
it alongside the dam's head, when she usually yields her
milk freely. It is a usual, though a poor fashion, to
take a portion of the milk from the cow and then let the
calf have his share, by which means he has all the richest
portion. Others again let the calf suck awhile first,
which is a better plan, and then tie her up at the cow's
head while the milking is performed. As soon as the
cows are milked they ai-e let loose with their calves with
them for a few hours in some cases; in others, the cows are
put outside the fence in the bush, and the calves are kept
in the paddock. An unbroken heifer will need to be
hauled up to the bail a few times in the way mentioned,
after which on hearing the cry " bail up " she will walk up
to the bail of her own accord. It is wonderful, where
kind treatment is shown the cows, and they are patted,
scratched about the ears, and otherwise fondled, how
quickly they will become quiet. There are some, however,
that are perfect brutes ; they will rush out; or "charge"
CLIMATE AND fROPS. 223
a man on horseback, and can be only got into the yard in
company with others. Once there, they phice themselves
in a corner ready to meet all comers, and if a man on foot
enters the yard they are down on him at once. AYe have
seen some pretty tall jumping" done under these circum-
stances, and cows have been known to break a rail of a
fence with the strength of their blow. A cool hand will
olten await his antagonist with a short stout stick, and
jumping aside as she comes up, hit her behind the horns
with sufllcient force to knock her down. This treatment
will soon bring the wildest beast to her senses. It often
happens that the wildest cattle before breaking make the
most docile when broken in ; this is true both of bullocks
and cows as well as horses. Care has to be taken when
drawing in cows given to charge, that they do not rush on
the horse one rides^ or they may do serious damage. The
cows are sometimes no worse than their calves as far as the
will is concerned. If a few weeks old before being brought
in, these will often charge too. We once saw a heifer
bailed up and leg-roped, the milker adjusted his stool, and
with pail in hand was about to begin operations, when the
calf, which had been stamping and pawing on the other
side of the yard, suddenly made a strategic movement on his
rear, and in a second man, pail, and stool were flying in
different directions to the great amusement of the onlookers.
A new beginner will generally find it better to pui-chase
broken-in cows rather than those unbroken, having plenty
of work else on his hands. Quiet cows with young calves
will cost from 5/. to 61. ; unbroken heifers can be had about
2/. cheaper." With paddock fenced in, the stock-yard and
calf-pen up, he will at once obtain a couple or three cows,
- Since the above was written the price of catth' has advanced from
1/. to 2/. per head.
224 THE QUEEN OF TfiE COLONIES.
and from that time a great saving* in rations will take
place. The dairy, with the produce of a dozen hens, will
supply many a meal, and make an agreeable change in the
diet. The hens will quite keep themselves on the seeds
and insects in the grass. He will also erect a " gallows "
in the yard, and at the same time the cows are driven
home from the station, a fat bullock or cow will be
fetched, and at once killed and salted for use. This is
done in this way, every one being his own butcher. A
ball is discharged from outside the fence at the animaFs
forehead, which thus stunned has its throat cut and is
skinned. To com])lete this operation the gallows comes
into requisition. It is formed of two stout saplings with
forks at the top, set four feet into the ground, with a
roller on the top working in the forks; a cross piece is
morticed into one end of the roller outside the upright,
and a rope fastened to each end of this transverse piece enables
the bullock to be hauled up above the reach of dogs, where
it hangs until the morning. A fat beast which will weigh
700 lbs. or upward can be purchased for 4/. 10^. or 5^., so that
meat will not cost our friend very much; and he has the
skin besides, worth 10*. 6r/. or 305., which he can sell if
he does not want it for domestic purposes.
By this time a sow or two will have been purchased and
brought home, and as these animals will pretty well get
their own living if allowed to run in the paddock or scrub,
no expense will be needed to be gone to ow their account.
The slops and milk they receive daily will keep them about
the house, or else they might perhaps take to the scrub and
return no more. This often happens, as they find ample
sustenance from grass in the forest and roots in the scrub.
In many places, miles from any house, fine pigs may
often be seen. We have had more than one exciting pig-
CLIMATE AND CKOPS. 225
hunt^ which has ended iu bagging one or two fine
animals, the meat of which was of the very best quality.
It is curious how quickly the finest breeds of pigs will
degenerate on becoming wild, and develope the points of
the coarsest breeds — the long snout, big tusks, coarse hair,
red colour, and flat sides. But by being daily fed pigs
will visit their pens daily and sleep in them at night. In
Queensland, as in every place else, pig-keepii;g is among
the most lucrative branches of farming business. Pork
will always sell readily at an average price of about Qd.
per lb., and as the sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and many
other coarse and unsaleable products of the farm, which
grow in profusion, are excellent food for pigs, on which
they can be fattened with the addition of very little corn,
we have often marvelled why farmers do not more fre-
quently turn their attention to this business. There is a
large quantity of bacon and hams imported, although there
is a duty of 2d. per lb. in favour of the local article. It is
true bacon cannot be easily cured in the summer season,
but there need be no difficulty with it in the winter.
The homestead being completed, a fruit-garden paled off",
and a selection of trees and plants set a growing, it will be
time to turn the attention to the clearing of some land for
a crop. AVhere a man is not driven, by shortness of cash,
to put in some crop before anything else is done, it will be
good policy to make his place secure ; and by the addition
of a few cows, and the means of killing his own beef —
which he cannot well do without a stockyard — diminish
very materially his weekly expenses for rations. These, in
the way we have indicated, may be reduced nearly or quite
one half. The paddock secures his horses from straying
away and being lost, which, otherwise often occurs, and
enables him to separate his calves from the cows, and thus
226 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
obtain much more butter and cream ; while his pigs will
be increasing by the time he has some green stuff growing
to feed them on. He is thus in a position to turn all his
attention, with his man, to clearing the scrub and put-
ting in his crop.
Selecting a piece of scrub land on the banks of the stream,
and in front of his house, so that his crops may be under his
eye and the view be opened to the river from his door, he sets
to work at a clearing. It is hard work, but not nearly so
hard as chopping forest timber would be, being much
softer. By the time a few acres are cleared, the first
chopped growth will be getting dry and ready to burn off.
It will often happen that a neighbouring tribe of blacks
will do this part of the work if found in a ration of flour,
with the promise of a pound or two on the completion of
the job. We have often known them employed to great
advantage in this way, the work being of a class that they
appear to like. In burning off large heaps are made of the
logs cut in lengths, with the branches placed on the top.
It is hot, dirty work ; but there is a keen feeling of en-
joyment in thus mastering the giants of nature, and pre-
paring land for cultivation, which never fails to solace the
labourer. If ever the hope of reward cheers the workman it
is in clearing land; and although the hands are growing
hard and horny, and the sweat pours in rivulets over the
blackened face, or drips on the soil as the workman stops
to In-eathe, the day always appears too short, and the settler
will be seen fiir into the night rolling the logs together,
or throwing the burnt ends on the glowing emljcrs.
As soon as a piece is thoroughly cleared it will be time
to put in a crop. There is no difficulty in settling what
will be first planted. A small piece of ground will be
certain to l^e devoted to potatoes and other crops for domes-
tic use, and no less certain will a patch of maize be put in
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 227
for the horses, pigs, and poultry. If it is the season of the
year for sug-ar-planting-, and there be a mill in the neig-h-
bourhood, and there will soon be few places where this is not
the case, our settler will doubtless determine on placing most
of his land under this crop. AH the work on scrub land
has to be done at first with the hoe, as it is impossible to
use the plough until the roots have had time to rot out,
and the smaller stumps can be removed. But the ground
is soft, and the work is easier than it would be when the
timber had not grown so thick. The plants for the canes
at some near neighbouring farm in the crushing season
will cost 1^. to 1/. 105. per 1000.
It will be fifteen or eighteen months before any return
can be expected from the sugar-cane. Hence it will be
necessary to look to other crops for a first return. Most
likely when this stage has been reached another man or
two will be hired, and the work of clearing and planting
will go on with double speed. Three or four acres in cane
the first season will not be a bad beginning, although of
course double that quantity can be got in if necessary, by
hiring the extra hands sooner. But the judicious man
will husband his resources. He will get in, if possible, a
patch of tobacco, which will certainly take some labour,
but will also turn in a very handsome sum in eight or nine
months. An acre or two of potatoes will also assist in
making the returns equal the disbursements. Thus, as
the domestic expenses will be very light and, as the crops
grow, decreasing regularly, if all goes well, at the end of a
year from first commencing to clear his scrub, our farmer
will find his income becoming sufficient to pay his way.
He will by that time have his first crop of cane nearly
ready for the mill, and several acres more he will now
begin to plant. He will manage to grow enough potatoes,
228 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
maize^ tobacco, &c., to pay his men^s wages and his store
account, and retain the balance of his original funds at his
banker^s ; or if this is expended, he is yet able to meet his
payments. His cane plantation will regularly increase
every year, and as soon as he sells his first cutting of cane,
he will have plenty of tops of his own to plant extra
ground without any further outlay in this direction. He
has perhaps laid out what means he had to spare in pur-
chasing a small lot of breeding heifei'S, which, as they drop
their calves, are broken in and placed under the charge of
his own boy or a hired lad, and grazing in the open bush
will not cost a shilling a year for food. Thus he lays the
foundation of a good dairy at a moderate expense, and if
the milch cattle are also fed on the leaves stripped from the
sugar cane, with green sorghum, pumpkins, &c., which
latter take up no ground, as they are always grown among
the cane, the produce of the dairy will be quite doubled. He
will soon have pork enough for his family and a few hundred-
weights over to balance his account with his grocer. His
bananas, peaches, pine-apples, and other fruit begin to repay
him for their cultivation, and even should a flood come down
and destroy his standing crops, his sugar will still grow on,
and the returns from his dair}^ and pork will be undiminished.
Thus by degrees, by hard work and due precaution in
starting, a person with a moderate capital may gradually
accumulate a small herd of cattle and bring his scrub land
under sugar, until the annual returns will be sufficient to
induce him to erect a small mill for his own use, when
each acre of cane will not fail to return him from 25/. to 10/,
By this time his own family will, perhaps, be grown up to
render assistance, and our settler may look forward with satis-
faction to a competency in his old age, spent in a delightful
climate, literally under the shade of his own vine and fig-
tree, and with his family prosperous and happ^' around him.
CLIMATE AND CROPS. 229
There is one error that we must combat here. It has
been a favourite remark with lecturers and writers on
Queensland, from Mr. Jordan downward, that the less a
man knew about farming at home the more likely he is to
succeed in this colony. A tailor or linen-draper, a clerk
or a factory operative, was more likely to succeed than a
man who had spent all his life on the soil, because he
would bring no old-country prejudices and ideas wdth him.
His mind would be a perfect blank as to all agricultural
knowledge, and he would be more likely on this account
to pick up the right mode of procedure. Nothing can be
more prejudicial to the interests of colonial agriculture
than this idea, which is entirely erroneous. Mr. Jordan acted
honestly on this belief and introduced people of every calling
except farmers. A few of these certainly came, but they
were the exception and not the rule. Instead of hard
working-men accustomed to out-of-door work and inured
to hardship, delicate operatives and people of in-door and
sedentary occupations came to the colony, A majority of
them were men who would have been knocked up in a
day^s harvesting in the old country, and had not the
stamina needed in farming pursuits. These people would
not have earned a labourer's wages in England, where the
weather is cool ; how then could they be expected to earn
Sol. or 40/. a year and their rations under a Queensland
sun ? Had the same class of people been sent to Queens-
land as usuall}'- settle in Canada, we believe there would
have been ijo outcry for coloured labour, and that not a
Kanaka would have ever been imported. It is true that
the system of agriculture is very different in Yorkshire or
Devonshire and Moreton Bay or the INIary River ; but
the grand principles of cultivation are the same in every
part of the world. Soil needs the same treatment every
where. Crops differ, as do the seasons, and iii these
230 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
respects one's ideas have to be entirely reversed. But no
man who knew what agriculture was himself would ever
have ventured on such statements as we have seen pub-
lished to the detriment of the mere farmer. We do not
mean to say that no man but a farmer will succeed in
Queensland as a sugar, or cotton, or tobacco grower, —
quite the reverse; but at the same time the practical
farmer will always have an advantage over others, partly
from his present knowledge, but more from being accus-
tomed to open-air employment and from possessing the
robustness of body consequent thereon.
Queensland is everywhere overrun with artisans,^ clerks,
and people of that class. Much too large a proportion of
her population consists of consumers. What is wanted is
a few thousands of farmers and farm-labourers. For these
there is no end of room, and the more that arrive the
more will be required. But were her population double
what it now is, we fancy there are enough people of nearly
every other class but these and female servants. The
great want of Queensland is the yeomanry class — men
with a few hundreds or thousands of pounds, the ability to
work hard, and the requisite knowledge how to use their
strens'th. Could ten thousand men of this sort be intro-
duced in one year they would all find ample room, and not
only make openings for many more of their own class, but
for tens of thousands of labourers and artisans. AVith
the inducements offered in the way of free land and the
splendid crops that land will bear, we repeat that no part
of the world is more worthy the attention of the British
farmer at this time than the colony of Queensland.
' This must have been some two years or more since ; a reference to
the official " Rates of Wages " at 32, Charing Cross, will show that
mechanics of almost all kinds are in great demand. [E0.]
CHAPTER X.
NATURAL HISTORY.
We have already spoken of the various kinds of tiniher
growing in the scrubs. There are also some very valuable
timbers growing in the forests^ but up to this time there
has been very little done in the way of an export trade for
any of them. A great many trenails have of late years
been exported from Brisbane^ but we believe this is nearly
the only shape in which the excellent hardwoods of Queens-
land have been introduced to Great Britain, and from
wooden shipbuilding being abandoned this has ceased. Yet
there can be no question that were the iron-bark, the
blue, spotted, and red gum, the black-butt, turpentine, and
many others, once known, they would realize good prices
and become a very important article of export. The only
drawback, perhaps, would be their great weight. These
timbers, when seasoned, are often so hard as to turn the
edge of an ordinary axe, while the limit of their power of
endurance has never as yet been ascertained. We should
think that in ship-building or as beams for large buildings
these fine, straight, long poles would be invaluable. They
enter largely into the construction of buildings in the
colony, but for the most part they are cut down and burnt
or allowed to stand in their primeval grandeur.
There are many curious trees in the colony, which are of
no value and appear only intended to diversify the scenery.
232 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
Of these are the bottle-tree (so called because it resembles
nothing' so much as a lemonade-bottle placed in the ground)
and the grass-tree, from whose top long pendants (trian-
gular blades of grass) project. This tree sometimes attains
a considerable height, but is now usually seen, stunted and
blackened by fire, covering wide plains of barren soil.
This tree has one great use; the smoke arising from it,
although pleasant to human beings, appears to be highly
obnoxious to the mosquito. If some of it is burnt in a
room, not one of these pests will be found in it. Another
tree avoided by every living thing is the dreaded stinging-
tree. This, although called a tree, is more properly speak-
ing a shrub. It grows from a foot or two to ten or even
fifteen feet in height. It has broad leaves, and might be
easily mistaken by a stranger for a variety of mallow. If
once stung by this bush, the sufferer will never need to be
again cautioned of its proximity. The pain it inflicts is
most excruciating, and nearly drives one mad. The worst
of it is that this pain does not die away and cease ; every
time the part stung becomes wet, for many months after-
wards, the pain will return in full force. One can scarcely
conceive a greater infliction than to be struck on the naked
body with a branch of this tree and then driven into a
water-hole. It would probably be more than the human
frame could endure. These trees grow usually on the
borders of scrubs.
One of the most remarkable trees in the colony is the
Bunya-bunya {Arancaria hidwillii), a species of pine
which towers like a pinnacle above all other trees of the
scrub to a height of 200 feet and upwards. When young*
it is a peculiarly handsome tree, throwing out branches all
around close to the ground to a distance of many yards,
and smaller branches risinij in regular gradation to the
NATURAL HISTORY. 233
top; thus forming a perfect cone and so dense in foliage
that scarcely any animal can penetrate it. There is a
splendid row of these young trees in the Botanical Gardens
in Brisbane^ which are justly esteemed one of the finest
sights in the gardens. But the beauty of this tree is not
its chief peculiarity. When full grown it produces on
its very top a large cone of fruit which is esteemed a
great dainty by the blacks and is eagerly eaten by the
whites. This cone will contain a bushel or two of the
fruit, about the size of the chestnut, which it somewhat
resembles, but is more farinaceous and better eating.
The trees bear the largest crop once in three years, which
has led Mr. Hill into the error of supposing that they
only have fruit on them triennially. This, however, is not
the case. It is true that one year there are only a few
comparatively, the next year more, and the third year a full
crop. But each year they are in large quantities and sujiply
the blacks with food for many weeks. When in bearing the
branches for probably eighty or one hundred feet will be all
gone and the rest of the tree like a thicket of prickly fronds.
Yet the blacks find no difficulty in reaching the summit.
The bunya season is the blackfellow^s harvest. Then
from all parts the tribes flock to the bunya scrubs, situated
principally in the countries drained by the Mooloolah,
Marovaby, and Upper Mary waters, usually arriving a
week or two before the fruit is ripe. This time is sjieut
perhaps in a corrobboree and in hunting. When the
bunya is ripe there is no confusion. It might be reason-
ably supposed that as this fruit is so highly prized, and so
many tribes meet in one scrub to eat it, quarrels and
fights would be continually arising-. But the opposite of
all this is the fact. These people set us an example that
with all our boasted civilization we might well follow.
234 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Every tribe has its own clump of trees^ whicb are again
divided so that every member of each tribe^ males and
females, old men and piccaninnies, has his or her own tree
or trees. Each tree is marked or branded with the peculiar
crest of its owner and no other blackfellow would for a
moment think of infringing- on his rights. Every little
baby is allotted its tree, which of course the parents retain
until the youngster is old enough to climb it for himself.
The bunya scrubs are of considerable extent in many parts
of the coast country as well as further inland, and as it is
a finable offence to cut down one of these trees, their
number is not lessening, which is more than can be said of
their owners. We never remember to have seen but one
of these trees which had been cut down, and that was on
the Mooroochy River. This tree had been cut for the
purpose of a portion of its timber being sent to the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1862. The timber is said to be
equal or superior to any other pine in the colony, but we
doubt if any one is competent to pass an opinion on this
point. Another tree, if indeed there be not a number of
varieties of it, is a small shrub-like tree which supplies a
very bitter bark possessing the properties of the cinchona
and, by some, said to be that tree itself. Its bark has
the properties of quinine, and Dr. Bancroft, of Brisbane, has
obtained that drug from it. It grows in many parts of
the colony and is sometimes made use of by the inhabi-
tants, who make a decoction from the bark which has been
found very useful in fever and ague.
Of the kangaroo it is unnecessary to say much. Every
one is well acquainted now-a-days with the principal charac-
teristics of these curious animals, which afford so many
days' sport every season to those fond of the chase. They
are everywhere to he met with and are usually of the
NATURAL niSTOKY. 235
ordinary dull brown. We have seen in the country about
the Durham Bay Lag-oons kang-aroos of a light grey colour,
with streaks of a dull white. They were very pretty, but
whether another variety or only singularly light specimens
of the ordinary sort, we know not.
It is not always safe to get too close to an old man
kangaroo without being well armed. "We were once
chasing a tremendous old man in the country near the
Glass Houses, when he was pulled down by a fine big
hound. The dog was not large enough, however, for this
monster, who after rolling over picked himself up and
stood on the defensive. Coming up we noticed that he
had already given the dog one severe gash and was pre-
paring to rip him open by holding him up w4th his fore
paws in order to give him the coup de grace with the
enormous claw of his hind foot, which cuts like a knife.
Jumping off the horse, we ran to him stock-whip in hand.
What was our surprise to see him drop the dog and come
towards us with a cry between a scream and a grunt.
Rising on his long hind legs, he endeavoured to grasp
us with his fore paws, showing his teeth at the same time,
as if inclined to bite. A heavy blow with the short handle
of the stock-whip rather confused him, although by no
means stunning him. Just then the hound sprang on his
back, which gave us an opportunity of seizing a fallen
limb of an iron-bark tree and bestowing a few hearty blows
on his head. A stab with the sheath knife finished the
business; but we thought it might have fared worse with
us but for the intervention of the dog, as we were taken com-
pletely off our guard, never before having seen a kangaroo
show fight. We have since heard of a case in which an
old man kangaroo tried to jump into a water-hole with a
young lad, who also had jumped off his horse to assist his
236 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
dog, and was only prevented from drowning the youngster
as they do dogs, by the arrival of his elder brother. We
may mention here that the idea that the kangaroo uses its
tail to assist it in running is erroneous ; their tails never
touch the ground when they are running. Young kan-
garoos can be easily tamed. We had one that delighted
very much in going with the stockman to assist in yarding
the horses or cows. He would run along with his enor-
mous jumps by the horseman, keeping up to him all
around the flat until near the yard, when he would make a
bolt for the house. He was on very good terms with the
dogs, — much better than with the cook. He would wait
till the latter had his back turned, dart at something or
other on the table and be out of the house too quick for
foot or hand. He had so many cunning ways that he was
generally forgiven his peccadilloes. Milk was his favourite
food and a slight call or whistle would at any time bring
him leaping out of the long grass where he was sleeping,
to his milk-pan.
There are several varieties of the wallaby, which is a
smaller animal than the kangaroo, but of the same
description. The paddy-melon is still smaller than the
wallaby, and much better eating. We have never been
able to discover how this little animal became possessed of
such an extraordinary name. It would seem as if a Paddy
had at first mistaken one for a large melon, but there is no
tradition on the subject that we could ever hear. Paddy-
melons are not so plentiful as wallabies, which in some
places exist in millions, impoverishing the country by
denuding it of grass. Of late it has been found that their
skins are marketable, and a large trade has sprung up
about Roma in catching them for their skins, which are
being sent in bales to Sydney. We were informed just
NATURAL HISTORY^ 237
before leaving the colony that almost all the people in that
township were turning their attention to this business. We
promised a young man who was engaged in it to pay him
a visit about Christmas and spend a week or two in the
chase, but wc left the colony too quickly. Stock-yards are
erected with long wings of brushwood running out, and
the wallabies are chased in flocks into them by men on
horseback and kangaroo dogs.
The flying-foxes are a great nuisance to the fruit grower.
These animals will sometimes invade a garden in such
numbers as almost to destroy everything gi*een in the
shape of a tree. About sunset heavy clouds of them may
sometimes be seen darkening the air, continuing their
flight in one direction for an hour or two, until one is led
to wonder where such myriads can bestow themselves by'
day, or where they can feed at night. The leaves of the
gum-tree appear to be their principal food, and on moon-
light nights they can be shot in great numbers. Only
those which aro killed outright will fall to the ground, as
the wounded ones cling with great tenacity to the branches
by means of the sharp hook attached to their wings.
They are greedily eaten by the blacks ; we were once
ofiered some hash of flying-fox at a bush tent and being
hungry after a long ride we essayed to taste it. But the
flavour was by no means enticing, and we left the dish
unfinished. Our experience might be summed up in that
of the man who ate a skunk for a wager in Canada. " We
could eat it;, but did not hanker after it.^' The flying-
squirrel is a pretty little animal, with beautiful fur, which,
unlike the flying-fox, makes an excellent dish. They can
be easily tamed and are very amusing pets, the only
objection to them being their nocturnal habits, which in-
duce them to be rather too lively at night to suit light
238 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
sleepers. Like the flying'-foxes^ these little creatures prey-
on the fruit-trees and g-ardens of the settlers.
The dingOj or native dog-, is the only carnivorous animal
in the colony. Their numbers are very large and the
depredations they commit among sheep and calves is often
very serious. They occupy a position between the English
fox and the prairie wolf and the dog. In the pure bred
animals the tail approximates to the brush of the fox^ the
colour is a dirty yellow or red, and their size about that of
the prairie wolf. Like these they usually hunt in mobs,
but hunger scarcely ever drives them to attack a human
being-. There have been cases in which they have killed
and eaten shepherds, but it has been thought that in those
instances the poor fellows have been caught lying asleep,
or been suffering from sunstroke. Of late years the native
dog has been so often crossed with the domestic animal,
that in the more settled districts wild, dogs of all colours
and nearly all breeds may now be seen. Great expense is
often incurred on various stations to exterminate these
animals by means of poisoned baits, and considerable
success has in many instances followed. On many sheep
stations a man is employed expressly to lay baits for them.
On the other hand the absence of the dingo is balanced by
the wonderful increase of kangaroos and wallabies which,
not suffering from the ravages of their natural enemy, in
some of those stations threaten to drive off both sheep and
cattle by eating up all the grass. This state of things
doubtless arises in part also from the diminution of the
aboriginal race, who formerly lived on the marsupials.
When he first settles in the bush, the immigrant hears
with surprise, often not unmixed with consternation, the
howling of the native dogs, which night after night
assemble around his dwelling: and make ni«:ht hideous with
NATURAL niSTORY. 239
their noise. They are as great thieves as foxes and like
poultry quite as well^ so that great care has to be taken to
secure them from their fangs. They have another peculiar
taste which will often cause much annoyance at first.
This is an apparently irresistible penchant for walking on
newly dug soil, perhaps looking on it as a curiosity and
wishing to examine it, or perhaps looking for worms or
grubs. We have often been greatly annoyed when, after
nicely raking and finishing a bed in the garden overnight
we have come out in the morning to find it trodden all
over by these brutes. They are so very crafty that if one
watches up ever so late, lying in ambush to have a shot at
them, they take good care not to put in an apppearance
until you have retired for the night.
The bandicoot and kangaroo-rat are too pretty little
animals, which hide in hollow logs and graze principally
at night. Like the kangaroo, wallaby, paddy-melon,
flying-fox, and flying-squirrel, and oppossum, they are
marsupials, carrying their young in a natural pocket.
Both these are excellent eating, the bandicoot especially
furnishing many a meal to the blackfellow, who traces it
to its home in some log by the aid of his dog, and then
chops it out. We have enjoyed many a night's keen sport
hunting these little fellows on moonlight nights, in which
the fun is almost as good as bear-hunting of nights in
Canada, although not attended by the same spice of
danger. The bandicoot is plump and fat, about the size of
a rabbit and better eating. It is in fact the only quadruped
in Queensland in which any fat can be found. The kan-
garoo-rat is simply a miniature kangaroo, and the name
rat is a misnomer. It runs, or rather leaps, remarkably
fast, and doubles in its track without slackening its speed.
Very few dogs are swift enough, to catch one.
240 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Of pigeons there are a vast variety, all of which are
good eating, some of them being of extremely delicate
flavour. The painted pigeon is of gorgeous plumage and
large size, equal to a small chicken. It would be useless
to attempt an enumeration of the varieties, for we never yet
found out bow many there are. The pretty little zebra-
dove cannot, however, pass unnoticed. It is to be found
everj'where, and is always tame and trustful of mankind ;
in size it is somewhat less than a thrush. There is another
very tame bird, known as the shepherd's companion or
robin. It is not unlike a wagtail, and is always very
inquisitive and friendly. It peers in at the door of your
humpy, stands on the horse's back as he eats his corn,
picks the flies off" the bullock's horn as he stands in the
team, and runs along the back of the cow as she chews
her cud in the yard. In fact he is always at hand, always
busy and vastly interested in all your proceedings. The
solitary shepherd throws him a few crumbs of his damper,
and no bushman would hurt a feather of his long tail.
There are many other birds which always live on friendly
terms with mankind. Chief among these is that early-
rising, merry old chap, the laughing-jackass. Like many
another person of sterling merit, both his name and
appearance are against this bird, but these are his only bad
qualities. Certainly his grey speckled plumage, big head,
and monstrous beak forbid his being looked on as a beauty
by the most sanguine of his friends, and he has many.
But he is a deadly enemy of the snake, which he kills with
his powerful beak, and for this reason he is specially j)ro-
tected and petted. We never knew but one instance of a
laughing-jackass being shot, and that was by a red-hot
Irish new- chum sportsman. There is probably more
humour in this than any other member of the feathered or
NATURAL niSTORY. 211
quadruped tribes. He gets up very early in the morning',
before the crow, and soon after the little chirping- finches,
which are awake with the first peep of day. lie seems to
look on it as a capital joke that he is up before everybody
else, and he sits on a tall limb to see the sun rise, chuck-
ling and laughing in the jolliest way. Like Falstaff, he is
not only merry himself, but provokes mirth in others^ for
no one can help laughing when he first sees this uncouth
fellow sitting on a limb of a gum-tree nearly bursting with
laughter. But he comes out strongest when he happens
to light on the camp of some traveller or bushman, and
spies him asleep, rolled in his blanket, or perchance just
awoke, sitting up to light his pipe in the embers at his
feet. Every laughing-jackass appears to think this the
most ludicrous sight in the world ; it is to him a never-
failing source of the most explosive and violent mirth.
His harsh yet funny laughter now breaks out in peal after
peal ; all the rest of the family in that part of the bush
hasten to join in the fun, and soon the camp is enlivened
with their united laughter breaking out overhead in all
directions, until the traveller, if he be a new chum, begins
to fear that his friends will burst themselves and fall dead
at his feet. The only time when our jocose friend feels
dejected is during wet weather or on its approach ; the
fall of tlie barometer is not more certain than that of his
si)irits. He may now be seen sitting on a branch or fence
in the most abject state of melancholy. His head is buried
deep between his shoulders, his feathers are rough and
dishevelled, and you are prepared to go bail that he will
never laugh at anybody iigain. Either fearing no harm
or grown reckless as to what becomes of him this miserable
weather, he allows you to come close to him before he flies
dejectedly away a short distance, only to perch himself
242 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
down in the same position. The moralist might, perhaps,
draw a lesson from his woful state, as to undue merriment
being naturally followed by a corresponding depression of
spirits ; but his disconsolate condition disarms even the
moralizer, and he leaves him to condole his lot until the
weather changes.
^1 Less known than this huge goat-sucker are some other
very merry birds which enliven the camp of the solitary
bushmen. In some parts of the country, especially in the
Wide Bay District, we have been startled when lying in
the tent half awake by hearing one of these impertinent
rascals vociferate, " Get up, get up ! " while another, as if to
put a finishing-stroke to the insult, would say in a deeper
tone, " You lazy rascal ! " Perhaps it may be the same bird
that makes both these little speeches, as they are usually to
be heard in the same place; but, if sOj he has a power
of wonderfully changing his note. We have often thought
the distinctness of expression of the " get-up '^ bird to be
fully as remarkable as that of the " whip-poor-will ^^ in
America. There is a bird in the Barcoo District which
strenuously advises the traveller or stockman to "quit
the Barcoo /^ and in many places one is startled, when
perhaps resting for a few minutes under the shade of a ti-ee,
at hearing a bird overhead threaten to " tell your father.^^
The woods of Queensland have many birds which tend to
enliven their shades and beguile the bushman as he rides
along. Many of them have harsh and grating voices, but
others have very sweet notes, only they arc never sustained
like the songs of English birds. Such as they are, there is
no lack of songsters, many having notes so novel and
curious as to make amends for the want of the thrush and
the lark.
Of parrots there are many varieties, all with lovely
NATURAL HISTORY. 243
plumag'c. Perhaps the prettiest of these are the lon<^
roselhi and ground parrots, but all are very beautiful. The
ground parrot is rather scarce. He makes his nest in
deserted ant-hills, and, though very lovely, has colours very
similar to the brown tint of the ground. There are white
cockatoos in enormous quantities; they are a terrible
scourge to the farmer on new farms when surrounded
by scrub. "When the corn approaches ripeness they descend
upon it like a cloud of snow. Posting sentinels on high
trees around the plot, they fall to with energy, and soon
make sad havoc among the cobs of maize. On the approach
of danger a sharp cry from the sentinels is the signal for
all to retreat to the tops of the high trees, where they are
safe from shot. The black cockatoo is a very handsome
bird, very shy and much more scarce than the white.
Eoth these and all the parrots have very discordant, harsh
voices, making a terrible, din both mornings and nights.
As stated in a previous chapter, the songs of all the birds
are silenced in the heat of the day ; but the woods are vocal
with them at other times.
The scrub turkey is larger than a domestic hen ; its ilesli
is excellent. The plain turkey is larger, but not so good
eating. The scrub turkey is plentiful in most scrubs. It
builds its nest in a very peculiar manner, in which both
sexes take a part. This nest is nothing more or less than
a large heap of small twigs and leaves, consisting often of
several draj^-loads, and rising when new to a height of
three or four feet. In this heap all the hens deposit their
eggs, which are apparently hatched by the heat thus
engendered in addition to the heat of the weather. AYe
have had two or three large zinc buckets of eggs out of one
of these nests, all eatable ; besides more lower down, too
lar advanced for eating. Snakes and other vermin prey on
244 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
these nests and thus prevent the too great increase of the
race. Otherwise, from the number of egg-s laid, the scrul)
would soon be alive with turkeys. The plain turkey-
makes no nest, we believe.
There are a number of ducks, grey, black, and black and
white. Some of these roost on trees, having claws to
enable them to make good their hold. There is something
very queer to an Englishman in seeing a covey of ducks
rise from a water-hole and perch among the trees, but one
soon gets used to this as well as other novelties. One
species of duck, known as the diver, is so rapid in its
motions that it is impossible to shoot it on the water.
It dives on the flash and escapes unhurt. A friend of ours
used to relate how lie had determined to shoot one on the
water; for this purpose he took with him two double-
barrelled guns. After the bird dived and rose to the
surface, he fired again, and at the fourth shot managed to
kill his bird, which had now become somewhat exhausted.
These birds will swim with their bodies under the water,
showing only their heads and necks, in which posture they
are often mistaken for snakes, which may often be seen
swimming across rivers.
The common crow is found everywhere in Queensland ;
he ])artakes of the characteristics both of the rook and
crow of the old world. The blackfellow dislikes him for
his prying habits and thievish propensities. He will hold
a conversation with him for some time, then order him off,
and, when lie fails to go, pepper him with stones and waddles.
lie is quite as sagacious as his English friend, and we
should not be at all surprised to learn had a fair knowledge
of the black^s language, as every boy knows his cousin
at home has of English. At least every blackfellow will
assure you he knows very well what is said to him.
NATURAL HISTORY. 245
There are a variety of marine Lirds, prominent amons^
which are the pelican, the native companion, and the ibis.
The two latter of these visit some distance inland, and the
ibis is often shot on fresh water. The native companion
stands five or six feet hig-h and is easily tamed, but is always
mischievous. It is a white and very stately creature,
frequentinnj' the sand and mud flats near the coast.
On the sea-coast in the northern parts of the colony con-
siderable quantities of beclie de wer are found. We have
seen it as far south as Freecan Bay, l)ut they are here small,
of too lio-ht a colour. This little creatui-e is not only a
curiosity in itself, being a large hollow snail or slug, which
ejects its entrails and a quantity of water on being removed
from the rocks or flats on which it lives ; but the trade in it
and sandal- wood, which are usually carried on together,
afford one of the most curious incidents of commerce. What
do our Eng-lish friends think of large fortunes being made
by their countrymen, by procuring" snails for the tables of
the middle and upper classes of Chinese, and by furnishing
sandal-wood to be burnt as a perfume in their joss-houses?
It does appear curious that British colonists should gather
wealth in this manner, yet such is the case. Various Syd-
ney merchants have for many years employed small fleets
of light schooners in this trade — one noted merchant alone
having fitted out scores to cruise on the shores of Northern
Queensland and among the islands, for the purpose of
gathering beche de mer, sandal-wood, jiearl, and tortoise-
shell. The beche de mer is picked up by numbers of Kana-
kas, shipped for this trade; they are split open, cleaned,
parboiled, and then dried in the sun, after which they are
packed away for sale. So fond are the Chinese of this
luxury that it is said they readily purchase it at its
weiHit in silver.
246 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Sandal- wood is not plentiful^ if found at all in Queens-
land. Recent disco vei-ies have been made of considerable
deposits of pearl-shell on the more unfrequented parts of
the coast north of Rockingham Bay^ and many vessels are
now engaged in the trade of procuring it, and are said to
be doing remarkably well, although nothing can be said
with certainty of their actual earnings, as each vessel makes
efforts to carry on its business unknown to the rest of the
world. The pearl-shell lies on banks in considerable beds,
and as the better sorts are worth 70/. to 1201. per ton, it
can be seen at once that the sole knowledge of the existence
of a bed is very valuable. The fish have moi-e or less pearls
in them, which are carefully saved, and are said to average
about 1000/. per quart. Some of the shells are very large,
thick and heavy, weighing at times from 4 lbs. to 5 lbs.
The beds are occasionally dry at low water, but more
generally have from one to three fathoms of water on them.
As yet very few, if any, vessels belonging to the colony of
Queensland have been engaged in this lucrative trade.
That lack of capital and enterprise which has retarded the
development of its other resources has also kept its waters,
in a great measure, a sealed treasure to Queenslanders.
The Sydney merchants have entirely monopolized the trade
on the coasts of this colony, as well as in the neighbouring
islands. Yet Queensland, with the splendid ports all along
its coasts, seems as if intended by nature for the seat of a
vast maritime trade. Occupied by an offshoot of the great
Anglo-Saxon race, were her sons only true to their destiny,
there is no reason why she should not sit as a queen upon
the placid waters of the Pacific, and reap enormous wealth
not only from the Polynesian islands, which lie in endless
numbers contiguous to her eastern coast, but also from the
groat En stern Avchipehigo, some of the vast islands of which
NATURAL HISTORY. 247
can be seen seated amid the blue waters from her northern
shores. The vast island of New Guinea, second in size only
to Australia itself, awaits occupation and civilization. It
seems very singular that, amid all the missionary efforts in
nearly all parts of the world, no Christian missionary has
ever set up among its tribes the standard of the Cross ;^
and equally singular that in a land, only divided by a nar-
row channel from five English colonies, and passed weekly
by British shipping, no commerce or trade has been
attempted. For some years it has been proposed to form a
colonizing company to settle there, with a view to opening
up its gold-fields ; but whether the British race is growing
effete, and decay is already affecting the extremities as well
as the ancient seat of the race, or from some other reason,
nothing has been done. Lately the police magistrate at
Somerset, Cape York, paid a visit to the island and in-
spected one of the villages. He speaks of well-tilled land
behind the belt of jungle on the shore, where land is so
valuable and so well cultivated that the paths are only wide
enough to admit of people walking in single file. The
village was well built on tall piles to avoid the noxious
malaria of the night, and its inhabitants, which numbered
some hundreds, appeared to be gentle and hospitable, though
by no means unwilling nor unable to defend themselves
against aggression. Their ornaments of gold and copper
and strings of pearls testified that their land is not wanting
in those riches which usually entice the merchant. As the
Dutch have recently ceded a fort of some sort, which they
possessed at the north end of the island, to Great Britain,
we may suppose that something will soon be done in the
' We believe the London Missionary Societj' has now a Mission
established in New Guinea.
248 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
way of opening- to civilization this vast island, and making
us acquainted with its resources.* To the east of this lies
the smaller, thoug-h very considerable, islands of New
Britain and New Ireland, also terra Incognita to us. The
trade of the more northern islands also lies open for Queens-
landers to share with the rest of the world, for which her
unrivalled climate, geographical position, fine harbours, and
great resources, her timber, coal, iron, and other minerals,
admii-ably fit her. Here indeed are fields of adventure and
speculation which will yet make this colony a pride and
glory of the British race. Almost the first steps in seizing
on this vast destiny have yet to be made.
Of all the resources of Queensland waters, none is so
extensive or valuable as its flocks of dugong, which abound
in all the northern waters, and are found at certain seasons
as far south as Moieton Bay, although they are here in
much less profusion than further north. The Ilalicore
Australis is an animal around which hangs a halo of
romance, so strange are its habits and such singular
properties has its flesh. Until lately very little was done
to make any practical use of the vast wealth which
Providence has thus spread out on the shores of this colony,
and which may perhaps be found equal, when well developed,
to any other of its means of wealth, not even excepting its
sheep or its sugar. It is true that some years ago attempts
were made to establish dugong fisheries ; but for certain
reasons, such as the intemperance of the men employed,
who were able to earn several pounds per week, the specula-
2 We notice that an address to her Majesty in favour of the
annexation of New Guinea has recently been passed in the Queensland
Legislature. Althoui^li tlie matter has attracted but little attention in
England, it is of vital importance to the Australian colonies that this
fine island should not be held by any nation but Great Britain.
NATURAL niRTORY. 249
tion proved an unprofitable one. Recently several rishini]^
stations have been established for catching' dug-ong, and
boilino- down their carcases on Tin Can, Wide, and Ilervey's
Bays ; and as great care is used at these establishments to
boil at a proper temperature, and also to prevent anything
like adulteration, the oil manufactured thei'e has already
taken a high stand as a medicine, and obtains a ready and
extensive sale.
The dugong is not confined to Queensland ; there are
other kinds known to naturalists as the Ilalicore ihignvg
and the Halicore tahernaculi, but we are not aware that
either of these has the peculiar medicinal properties of the
Halicore Ansiralis. Knight in his "Animated Nature^'
says :—
" Tin's species is a native of the Indian seas, being common among
the islands of the Indian Archipelaj^o, and visitino^ also the coasts of
New Holland. Its favourite haunts are the mouths of rivers and
straits between proximate islands, where the depth of water is but
trifling (three or four fathoms), and where, at the bottom, grows a
luxuriant pasturage of submarine alga) and fuci : here in calm weather
may small troops be seen feeding below the surface, and every now and
then rising to take breath. The position of the mouth, the muscular
powers and mobility of the lips garnished with wiry bristles, and the
short incisor tusks of the upper jaw, enables these animals to seize and
drag up the long fronds of the subaquatic vegetables which constitute
their nourishment.
" The dugong is in high esteem as an article of food, its flesh being
tender and not unlike beef; hence it is hunted assiduously by the
Malays, who attack the animal with harpoons, in the management of
which they are very dexterous.
"The mutual afFection of the male and female is very great, and the
latter is devoted to her offspring. If a dugong be killed, the survivor
of the pair, careless of danger, follows after the boat carrying the body,
impelled by an overmastering passion, and thus often shares the fate of
its partner; indeed, if one be taken, the other is an easy prize.
" The dugong attains to the length of seven or eight feet ; its caudal
paddle is crescent-shaped ; the larg(> thick upper lip hangs over the
250 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
lower; the skin of the body is thinly set with very short prickly
bristles ; the anterior limbs, or flippers, are destitute of nails. The
ventricles of the heart are not united together, but form as it were two
distinct hearts joined at the top : this separation of the ventricles
does not alter the routine of the circulation. The eyes are very small."
Dr. Hobbs, who first discovered the curative properties
of the fat or oil of this animal, says : —
" The dugong resembles somewhat in shape and size the porpoise,
but is unlike it in having no dorsal fin. The hide or skin in its dried
state, although much thicker, partakes of the character of pig-skin, and,
if tanned and prepared, would, doubtless, make good saddles. The
bones are very heav}^ of the same specific gravity as ivory, and take a
beautiful polish ; when struck together they give out a metalliferous
sound, indicating the density of their structure, and reminding one of
the bones of Behemoth, which were ' like bars of iron.' The eyes are
verj- small and deep-set in the head, like those of a fat pig. The ears
also are very small. The tail is like that of a whale ; and as the fins,
one on either side, are so very small in proportion to the size of the
animal, it is evidently the principal propelling power. The dugong is
a graminivorous ruminant ; by means of its large lips the long blady
grass growing on the banks in shallow water is plucked ofi" and
conveyed to the mouth, the roof and floor of which are curiously
covered with circular tufts of short bristly hair, resembling two shoe
brushes which have been almost worn down to the wood. The design
of this is very evident ; the thin blades of grass could not be retained
in the mouth were it not for this arrangement. The tongue is shoi-t,
tliick, and small ; in the upper jaw the bulls have two front teeth or
tusks ; the females (cows) have none : the grinders are like those of
the ox. The stomach is precisely similar to that of ruminant animals
in general, full of grass, of various degrees of fineness, indicating more
than one mastication, and innumerable long w^orms, like those found in
horses occasionally. The heart is like the whale's, double. The lungs
are of great length, and of great capacity. The mammae are beneath
the fins, as in other mammalia of that class. In rising to blow, the
dugong exposes less of the body than the porpoise, and at a distance
might be mistaken for a turtle. The meat of this animal when fresh
is very tender and savoury ; its muscular fibre is very short and easily
masticated. To persons suH'ering from weak stomachs the dugong
meat would prove a very nutritious and easily digested article of
diet.
NATURAL HISTORY. 251
" The mode of capture for commercial purposes is by long nets ; but
when sport is the object, the har-poon is used. It is whaling, in fact,
on a small scale ; as a sport, it is as exciting as fox-hunting, without
the noise. The oil procured from this animal is verj^ sweet compared
with other animal or fish oils ; and although no one would take oil
from choice, yet, compared with cod-liver oil and other medicinal
remedies, it is palatable."
In an article entitled " Submarine Squatting in the New
Colony of Queensland/^ published in 1862, we find the
following sketch of the fisheries then in existence : —
" Upon the island of St. Helena, in Moreton Bay, the first submarine
run has been formed, and is now in the second season of its operations,
under the superintendence of an experienced person formerly engaged
in the seal trade in Newfoundland. Around tliis lovely island, for miles
in every direction, ai-e extensive submarine pastures of great luxuriance,
affording a never-failing supply of long grass, and upon which the
herds of dugong feed and fatten like oxen on the plains ; yet unlike
them in requiring no stockman to tail them, no stockyard to confine
them, and no driving to the abattoirs.
" The habits and physical conformation of this curious marine
animal, corresponding in so many particulars with the description of
Behemoth by the patriarch (Job xl. 15), have led some to the belief
that the two are identical. Such belief, however, is not without some
show of reason. The Egyptian word from which the name is derived
(Bo-he-mo-ut), signifying water-ox, strongly supports such an idea, and
this is coupled with the facts that the digestive apparatus of the
dugong is precisely alike in everj- particular to that of the ox, and the
bones so heavy, that, from their great weight and density, when struck
together they give out a metallic sound, thus closely agreeing with the
Scripture description before referred to, ' He eateth grass as an ox,'
' his bones are like bars of iron.' Whether this supposition be right or
wrong, the dugong has as good a claim to the honourable mention of
the patriarch as the hippopotamus (sea-horse), which animal has
generally been considered the behemoth.
" For seven months in the year at least, from September to March,
these animals are taken almost daily, by means of long nets set across
the channels leading to and from their feeding-grounds. The nets
used are of considerable length and depth, and of large mesh, such as
were formerly used by deer-stealers in days gone by, and such as were
252 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
probably used, if there be any truth in the legendary story, by Henry
VIII. in securing the portly old friars of Waltham Abbey on their
midnight travel to Cheshunt nunnery, and who, when captured, were
complimented by the royal polygamist as being the fattest hticTcs he
had ever taken.
" The boiling-down operations are continued without any inter-
ruption during this period. A large boiler, capable of holding one of
those monsters, is contiiiuallj' steaming away, and the oil flows away
from a tap in the upper part of the lioiler in a clear limpid stream, of
the colour of pale sherry wine. Upon cooling, the oleine and stearine
separate, the latter being retained in the flannel bags through which it
is filtered, and is sold to the soap-makers for about 40^. per ton ; while
the former is used for medicinal purposes, and is consequently of great
value, being used by Dr. Hobbs and other medical men as a substitute
for cod-liver oil, and has been found as serviceable in every malady
attended with debility as that popular remedy. The stead}'' and con-
tinuous demand for this oil, both from England and the neighbouring
colonies, is sufficient proof of its utilit}', and of the position it is likely
to assume in the catalogue of our colonial exports.
" The flesh of the dugong is considered by those who have tasted it a
great luxury. From the same animal can be procured flesh resembling
beef, veal, and pork. It appears to be a highly nutritive kind of food,
for not only do the natives, but the white people also, who engage in
the pursuit of capturing them, and consume it in the absence of beef
and mutton, become remarkably fat. Upon a submarine station there
need be little expenditure for beef and mutton. The submarine
squatter who can dine off a veal cutlet fried in oil every day cannot
complain much of his cuisine, for even Soyer, with the most perfect
gastronomic arrangements, would fail in supplying a more dainty dish,
concerning which an American writer has said, ' It was a dish of
which Apicius might have been proud, and which the discriminating
palate of Heliogabulus would have tliought entitled to the most dis-
tinguished reward ! '
"There is no part of the animal which does not possess a com-
mercial value. The bones, particularly tiie ribs, eighteen in number
on each side, when carefully boiled and freed from the oil they contain,
cannot fail to be of considerable value from their groat weight, density,
and resemblance to ivory, being free for the most part of cancellated
structure."
An article contriliutcd to the l]rhhniie Conner, in 1809^
NATCKAL HISTORY. 253
on this subject by the author is perhaps worth republishing- ;
we therefore give it entire : —
" The dugong {Halicure Australis, of Cuvier) belongs, in common
with tlie whale, to tlie great i'amily of nianiinals. The class cetacea,
to which it belongs, is divided into carnivorous and herbivorous
cetacea, the dugong being the principal of the latter genus, subsist-
ing, as it does entirely, on a species ot" sea-grass which grows in
those shallow waters which are its regular feeding-grounds. Tlie
whale and dolphin are carnivorous cetacea, and have many things in
common with it ; yet, as Professor Owen remarks, ' The whole of the
internal structure in the herbivorous cetacea differs as widely from
that of the carnivorous cetacea as do their habits ; the amount of
variation is as great as well could be in animals of the same class,
existing in the same great deep. The junction of the dugongs and
manatees with the true whales cannot, therefore, be admitted in a
distribution of animals according to their organization. With much
superficial resemblance, they have little real or organic resemblance to
the walrus, which exhibits an extreme modification of the amphibious
carnivorous type. I conclude, therefore, that the dugong and its
congeners must either form a group apart, or be joined, as in the
classification of M. de Blainville, with the pachyderms, with which the
herbivorous cetacea have most affinity.' The thickness of the skin
in the dugong, varying from three quarters of an inch to over an inch,
together with the very great similarity of some portions of its flesh to
that of the pig, would seem to lend some colour to the opinion of
M. de Blainville ; yet, on the other baud, all the knowledge we have of
the animal leads us to conclude that Professor Owen is nearer the
truth in believing it to be an entirely separate and distinct group.
Singular as it may appear, there are very considerable reasons for
believing that our Queensland dugong is nothing more or less than the
principal representative of that mythical creature — the mermaid — that
it is, in fact, the veritable mermaid itself. It is true that the fact of
its being confined principally to the Indian Ocean and Australian
waters would appear at the first blush to place an insurmountable
obstacle in the way of this theory. But it must be borne in mind that
the manatee, an animal which differs from the dugong only in the
slightest degree, is an inhabitant of the West India seas, and we have
records of specimens of this animal having been washed ashore in
Newhaven, in the Frith of Forth, and also at Dieppe, in France. In
the latter case a mother and her cub or calf were secured, and it is not
254 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
to be wondered at if an ignorant population, seeing an animal with a
countenance which might be imagined to bear a considerable resem-
blance to that of man, with flippers, in which not only fingers, but
nails also, can be easily discerned, and above all, with breasts bearing
more closely still a likeness to the mammse of woman, should at once
set it down as a real mermaid and her infant. The dugong has the
same hand-like flipper as the manatee, lacking only the nails, which
are replaced by a horny substance. So great is the resemblance to a
human being of this animal, when seen at some little distance, that
the Dutch have given it the name of Baaedmaenetje, or little
BEARDED MAN, arising doubtless from the fact that the muzzle, being
thick-set with hair, has, at a short distance, somewhat the effect of a
human beard. This is not the only point of resemblance they possess
to mankind. The dugong is an inhabitant of the Indian Ocean, and
is found principally amongst the islands of the Archipelago, and the
north-eastern coast of Australia. As far as we are aware they are not
found south of Moreton Bay, and even here they are not by any means
as numerous as in the bays and shallows further north. In the waters
of Wide, Hervey, and Eodds' Bay they are far more numerous. But
their cheif habitat is the tropics. There they may be found at all
seasons of the year in almost incredible numbers, coming in and going
out with the tide, just like huge mobs of cattle at a mustering on a
large cattle station. Dugongs, being obliged to come to the surface to
breathe, are rarely found in deep water, but usually in from two to
four fathoms, where grow the grass and weed which is their sole food.
" In length they vary from six to fifteen feet, the average probably
being about nine feet. The weight of an ordinary specimen will be
from four to six hundredweight, although we have heard of individuals
weighing something like a ton, and producing no less than twont}'^
gallons of purified oil. We have already adverted to their peculiar
flippers. Directly behind these are situated the mammse, or breasts,
which are not of veiy large proportions. The young are born singl}',
and are here known as calves. When killed and opened, a dugong is
about the size and appearance of a bullock, except that the skin is
thicker, the fat more like that of the pig, and that the tail-part
assumes the shape of a fish.
" Everything connected with this animal is strange and wonderful.
Its human-like appearance and cry, and the touching aflPection exhibited
to its young, ai'e by no means the only peculiarities it possesses.
Its skin is probably capable of being manufactured into a gelatine of
great value as a food for sick and delicate persons. Its boucs are
NATURAL HISTORY. 255
heavy and perfectly solid, and would be an excellent substitute for ivory
of a second-rate quality. Its flesb is excellent, and is esteemed as a deli-
cacy by all the nations who are acquainted with its use. The adept knows
where to cut to obtain either beef, or veal, or pork; and, if properly pre-
pared, the best judge would scarcely be able to distinguish it from these.
" Sir Stamford Raffles states that during the summer of his residence
at Singapore, four of these animals were taken, but that the greatest
number is said to be taken during the northern monsoon, when the
sea is most calm. He adds, ' They are usually caught by spearing, in
which the natives are very expert, during the night, when the animals
indicate their approach by a snuffing noise, which thej' make at the
surface of the water.' In the Singapore seas the dugong is usually
from seven to eight feet in length.
" A French writer, M. Leguat, writing about the year 1740, speaks
of their being found in the Isle of France waters at that period in
great numbers. He describes them as being twenty feet in length,
and feeding in flocks like sheep. They made no attempts at escape
when approached, and were sometimes shot with a musket, and at
other times laid hold of and forced on shore. Three or four hundred
were met with together, and they were so far from shy that they
allowed themselves to be handled, and the fattest were thus selected.
The larger ones were avoided, not only on account of the trouble they
gave in the capture, but because their flesh was not so good as that of
the smaller and younger ones. We have never heard of such unusual
tameness among the dugong of these seas, except in the case of a
mother whose calf has been taken. In this instance the parent will
follow the boat to which her offspring is lashed to the shore, and make
no attempt whatever to avoid the fate that soon befalls her. Her
moans under these circumstances are so human-like, and the tender-
ness and appealing look of her eyes and whole countenance is so touching,
that the fisherman has need to steel his heart against all sentiment,
who does not almost condemn himself as a murderer. Nor is this feel-
ing of attachment confined to the parent. The 3'oung calf, in like
manner, will follow the dead body of its mother, crying out with a
human-like utterance. The Malaj's in the islands to our north are
said to collect the tears of the dugong as a charm, under the belief
that they will secure the affection of those they love. Sometimes this
feeling of intense regard is shown by the male for the female, and vice
versa ; it having been known, in the experience of fishermen in
Queensland and elsewhere, that, when one is caught, its partner will
blindly follow the boat, and thus give an opportunity, readily seized
by the crew, for its own destruction.
256 THE QUEEX OP THE COLONIES.
" Sir Stamford Raffles describes a piece of the flesh which he ate,
roasted, as ' excellent beef;' ^\hile oq the other hand, a French author,
who ate of the animal in the Mauritius, describes it as ' well-fatted
pork, of pleasant flavour.' Dr. Hobbs iagain describes to us a dish
from which he ate as being 'splendid veal cutlets;' while Mr. E.
Wilson, in a letter written from Cleveland to the Melbourne Argus,
says the salted meat so nearly resembles bacon, that he ' unconsciously
ate it at friend Cassim's for bacon, and was rather startled by his
assurance afterwards that the morning's raslier consisted of the flesh of
a " young-un." ' The explanation of this singular diversity of opinion
is, that from various portions of the animal, meat of diflferent descrip-
tions can be obtained. The Malays consider it a royal dish, and the
king has a prescriptive right to all that are taken. In this colony,
blacks and whites are alike fond of dugong meat, which, whether
fried in its own oil, or salted and preserved as hams or bacon, is no
mean dish.
" Another peculiarity of the dugong is the hairy palate it possesses,
of which we can give no more accurate idea than by describing it as a
large scrubbing-brush, in which the bristles are fixed with all the
regularity and strength of the manufactured article. Euppell, the
naturalist, describes a variety of the dugong — if, indeed, it be other
than the S. dugong — as the Halicore tahernaculi. This variety is
found in the Red Sea, and Ruppell was led to give it this name from a
belief that it was with the skin of these animals that the Jews were
ordered to veil the tabernacle. It would be interesting to know by
what process of reasouing he arrived at this conclusion, but we have
not been able to obtain any particulars.
" It remained for a prominent citizen of Brisbane to discover the
chief and peculiar value of the dugong. To Dr. Hobbs, M.L.C., who
was at that time the Health Officer of Moretou Ba}^ under the New
South Wales Government, belongs the distinction of first conceiving
the idea of making use of dugong oil as an article of medicine. In a
lectui:e which he published on the subject of hiu discovery, in 1855,
speaking of the therapeutic qualities of the oil, he says : — ' The
beneficial effect of dugong oil in chronic disorders in general may be
attributed to its nourishing properties ; the blood being supplied
through the chyle with absolutely necessary ingredients, without the
stimulation of the system which almost every article of diet will more
or less produce. But in chronic disorders of the digestive organs, in
the treatment of which it is peculiarly valuable, I am inclined to the
opinion that, in addition to its emollient action ujiou the digestive
NATURAL HISTORY. 2o7
mucous membrane, the unusually large proportion of glj'cerine this oil
contains, exerts its peculiar solvent powers upon the crudities and
inspissated bile locked up in the alimentary canal, which, by their
presence, keep this highly sensitive membrane in a perpetual state of
irritation.'
" Dr. Hobbs further tells us, what the later experience of many
others also confirms, that ' so sweet and palatable is the oil procured
from the dugong, that in its pure state it may be taken without dis-
agreeing with the most sensitive stomach, and also used in a variety of
■ways in the process of cooking ; so that this potent restorative remedy
may be taken as food, and many ounces consumed almost impei*-
ceptibly every day, thus furnishing the S3'stem with the requisite
amount of carbon for its daily oxidation.' For many years Dr. Hobbs
continued to prescribe the dugong oil for his private patients before
he took any steps to place the article before the public. At length, in
conjunction with the late Mr. T. Warry, he commenced the manufac-
ture of the oil on a considerable scale. A fishing station was formed
on St. Helena, at considerable expense, and means were adopted for
bringing the oil before the public. An exhibit of the article was made
at the Sydney Museum in 1854, by the Commissioners of the Paris
Exposition of 1855, and it was afterwards sent to that Exhibition.
This was so highly prized that Dr. Hobbs received a silver medal, and,
as a consequence, considerable orders were received for the article. A
branch of trade sprang up, which promised to add considerably to the
wealth and resources of the colony, while at the same time conferring
a priceless boon on thousands of suifercrs in all parts of the world.
Soon the demand was far larger than the supply. The principals in the
concern being unable to bestow a personal superintendence on the
manufactory in the Bay, irregularities which could under other circum-
stances have been easily prevented rendered the supply both uncertain
in production and inferior in qualit}-. These irregularities, through
certain causes, at length became so glaring that a stop had to be put
to the proceedings as far as the original projectors were concerned.
One or two parties, however, continued for some time to follow the
pursuit; but another' blow was struck at this struggling industry,
which resulted in its practical annihilation. Orders had been received
by certain houses in Melbourne, from Paris and London, to a con-
siderable extent. Unable to fill these orders with the unadulterated
article, it is said that recourse was had to shark oil to make up the
requisite quantities. The result is easy to foresee. Dugong oil, only
on its trial as yet, was pronounced anything but what it was repre-
S
258 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
sented to be ; authoritative opinions of an adverse nature were given,
and the trade and consumption entirelj^ ceased in Europe. Thus the
cupidity of an over-smart set of men was the cause of putting a stop
to the production of what promised to be, in the words of a prominent
waiter, ' a valuable and peculiar nutriment to the great Anglo-Saxon
army;' as well as to all Europe and America.
" There can be no question, however, that the dugong oil possesses
every valuable quality' inherent in cod-liver oil, in at least equal pro-
portions with that popular and widely-used medicament, while having
the superlative advantage of being quite pleasant to the most delicate
palate. According to Dr. Hobbs, not only has it been highly suc-
cessful in the cure of consumption, that great foe of the human race,
but also in the treatment and cure of many other chronic diseases."
Other evidence might be adduced as to the peculiarities of
this wonderful denizen of the deep — flshj strictly speaking-,
it is not. The proprietor of the Melhourne Argns, writing
soon after separation, to that journal^, thus spealcs of the
dugong: —
" But an animal more interesting even than tlie turtle to all but
aldermanic tastes is that which I have alreadj' alluded to as the
' young-un.' This is, of course, its vulgar colonial name. It is also
called the sea-cow, or dugong. Scientifically it is the Salicore
Australis, described, I believe, by Cuvier and other naturalists. It
seems to be something between the whale, the porpoise, and the seal.
It frequents the shallow waters of the bays along this part of the coast,
browsing peacefully upon the marine herbage that grows upon the
flats. It is usually, when full grown, ten or twelve feet in length ; it
rises to the surface to breathe, is generally found in pairs, and suckles
its young with great tenderness. It is caught with the harpoon, but
with difficulty, as its sense of hearing is cxcessivel}' keen. The value
of this animal is peculiar Its flesh is not only palatable and nutritious,
but actually curative in a very high degree, and is particularlj' good
for all forms of scrofula and other diseases arising from a vitiated con-
dition of the blood. In its frcsli state it is something like tender beef,
and salted i't very nearly resembles bacon— so nearly, indeed, that I
unconsciously ate it at friend Cassim's for bacon, and was rather
startled by bis assurance afterwards that the morning's rasher con-
sisted of the flesh of ' j'^oung-un.' But the principal value of this
animal consists of the oil which is extracted from it in large quantities.
NATURAL HISTORY. 259
An intelliirtMit medical man, in long ])racticc in Brisbane, has fonnd
tliat this oil possesses all the virtues, and more than all, of the
celebrated c.id-livcr oil of the pharmacopoeia. AVhen properly prepared,
the dngong oil is almost entirely free from all unpleasant odour or
flavour, and the quantities whicli can be administered are, therefore,
very much greater than is the case with the cod-liver oil, without risk
of ofl'ending the most delicate stomach. Dr. Hobbs assures me that
he has used it for some j-ears, and in great numbers of cases, and that
he has every reason to be satisfied with the results. With a little
management it could be obtained in large quantities, as each full-grown
animal will yield from eight to twelve gallons of the oil.
"As 1 sat luxuriously lounging in the spacious verandah at
Cleveland, or floating over the placid waters of the Bay, I could not help
thinking that, whatever other good qualities this neighbourhood might
hereafter prove itself to be possessed of, at all events it should be
confessed the ti-ue refuge of the consumptive. With a climate which,
even in the depth of winter, was not only the most bland and genial I
ever witnessed, but absolutely challenging imagination to suggest
improvement, and with a valuable and peculiar nutriment, such as I
have described, floating past the ver3^ doors, where could the afflicted
turn with a readier hope of relief.'' I would commend this considera-
tion to those who watch over the health of your community ; for well
I know that you have no immunity from that fatal disease which
hangs upon the skirts of the great Anglo-Saxon army wherever it
strides along in its energetic march. I see instances of the importance
of this suggestion everywhere around me. There are now living, and
going about their daily avocations here, persons who ten years since
were pronounced incurable with you ; while a quiet grave here and
there in this very cemetery tells a sad tale of premature loss, which
would have been prevented had the steps of the destroyer been earlier
arrested."
The Gyinpie Times also adds its testimony as to the
excellent quality of the oil in the followino- terms : —
" Candidly, it was with considerable hesitation that we
accepted this assertion that the article was ' not in the
least nauseating-/ but now we can vouch fpr the fact;
the oil comjiares very favourably with a i^reat deal of the
substance described as ' butter/ and in truth it is not at
all unpleasant."
« 0.
260 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
With all these properties — a fat which is equal if not
superior to the best cod-liver oil in consumjitive cases, and
superior to it as being- useful in many other diseases of the
human frame^ with the great advantage of being sweet and
palatable as a food — with a skin which may either be
boiled down to a jelly for children or invalids^ or cured
into the stoutest and most durable leather — with bones
that equal any other ivory, while its flesh can be eaten
either as fresh or salt meat — the dugong" must play an
important part among the future products of this highly-
favoured country, especially as this is the only portion of
British territory where it is found. As the shores of
Queensland abound with large shallows with mud bottoms,
on which grows the grass eaten by these animals, their
feeding'-grounds are practically unlimited, occupying pro-
bably over 3000 miles of coast. The immense herds which
frequent these shallows appear almost fabulous. One of
the fishermen in AVide Bay told the writer that a few days
before he had seen a mob which appeared to fill the water
with their bodies. He computed this '^schooP^ or mob to
])e half a mile wide and from three to four miles long. It
is usual for the dugong to come in with the tide, feed on
the flats, and then retire with the receding waters. The
writer^s boat was once anchored in Hervey^s Bay, in one of
those channels through which the tide passes when running
off" the flats. For between three and four hours there was
a continuous stream of dngongs passing while the tide
went out, which those in the boat could only liken to the
rush of cattle out of a stock-j^ard after a general muster.
Some of the men in the boat said that millions of dugong
passed, which was of course incorrect ; but some thousands
must have gone out with that tide. As the dugong does
not eat the top of the grass, but bites off about an inch or so
NATURAL HISTORY. 2G1
which it rcjcctSj it is very usual to see on those seas large
quantities of these grass-tops floating* on the water, covering
acres in one mass — thus showing what large quantities
of animals must have fed on the grass Lclow. Another
evidence of their vast number may be seen on the beach
inside these grass flats when the wind is blowing in-shore.
Then the whole beach will be loaded with their excrement
for two or three miles at a stretch. A friend of ours once
told us he was entirely at a loss, when on a visit to the
sea-coast, to account for the large quantity of cow-dung
which bestrewed the beach, and which he thought must
be evidence of large mobs of wild cattle in the opposite
islands. He was ignorant of the natural history of the
dugong, and, when w^e explained the matter to him, was
filled with surprise at the existence of such marine monsters.
Although a very inoffensive animal, never turning on
its captors, the bulls often have severe fights among them-
selves. A timber-getter related an instance of this sort.
When lying one night at anchor in Wide Bay, in a boat
alone, he was greatly frightened by the struggles of two
huge fellows which he thought as long or longer than his
boat. Unfortunately they had chosen that precise spot for
their duel, and often rose to the surface so near to the boat
as to cause great apprehension on his part that it would
either be upset as they rose fighting to the surface, or be
smashed by a blow from one of their huge tails. He
described the water as being perfectly white with the froth
they made. Having no gun, he was fain to hafloo at the
top of his voice and beat the water with an oar, in order, if
possible, to frighten them to a distance, in which he at last
succeeded.
There are two methods by which the dugong are cap-
tured. In some instances a party of six men, furnished
262 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
with harpoons^ lances^ lines^ and floats, track them to their
feeding'-ground^ wliere the harpoouer, usually a hlackfellow,
strikes the prey as it feeds quietly below. In this case
great care is requisite in consequence of their very delicate
hearing. The oars are muffled, not a word is said nor a
foot moved, and the harpooner directs the steersman by a
motion of his hand. It often happens that a dugong will
escape througli being struck in a fleshy part of the body,
from which the iron easily draws. If otherwise, the poor
creature rushes wildly away, the line is paid out, with an
oil-can or some other article attached as a buoy. The
boat's crew pull vigoi'ously after it, to be at hand, when it
comes up to breathe, to strike it a second time. This
second harpoon or " iron'' has a shorter line, as the dugong
will sooner be exhausted and rise to breathe. It is then
struck with a lance, if not already dead. The water will
be dyed with its blood for a long distance.
The other method of catching is by netting. In this
case a net with a very large mesh is stretched across the
channel through which they have to pass to their feeding-
ground. The rush of water in the tide-way soon strangles
them, and they are easily removed from the net. From
lack of capital, very little has as yet been done in this way.
The natives are extremely fond of the dugong's flesh,
esteeming- it above all other food — as indeed do white men
when engaged in catching them. They think the skin the
most delicate part, which they roast on the coals, as they
do all their food. When hot through, it looks like a nice
jelly, and is by no means bad eating. Some dugong will
turn out twenty gallons of oil fi'om the fat of the flesh,
independent of the belly and kidney fat. A fair average is
about five or six gallons, besides from a hundred to two
hundred pounds of lean meat. It is, however, understood
NATURAL HISTORY. 2 Go
that further to the nortliward the animals are much ftitter,
as they certainly are more numerous.
Tlie late iiolice magistrate at Somerset, Cape York,
paid a visit to the island of New Guinea. He found there,
in each villag-e, towers built as a sort of trophy, of the ribs
of the dug-ong. The method of catching" them there attests
their g-reat plenty. In a shallow part of the sea a light
platform is erected, where a man, armed with a spear, seats
himself, and, calmly awaiting the arrival of a dugong",
" piths " it while feeding", as cattle are pithed in a slaughter-
yard, by passing" the spear through its spinal vertebrae.
Among the natives of Queensland the plan adopted is very
similar to that by which they catch mullet, only the nets
they use are very much larger. Their nets are bags, having
a crescent-shaped mouth extended by a tough stick exactly
like a schoolboy's bow, and, like it, having a stout string.
It is evident, if small fish once get into a bag-net of this
sort, their chance of getting out is remarkably small.
With a number of these nets they form a semicircle around
a shoal of fish, and gradually approach each other and the
shore, shouting and holloing and splashing the water.
The noise they can make in this way is something wonder-
ful. Of course, when they have once formed a line with
one of these nets in each hand, there is not much chance
for the fish to get away, and large numbers are often
caught. When catching dugong, the nets are so large
that each man only holds one. Wlien a dugong is caught,
the fish and blackfellow both make a dive, and the one
stops down as long as the other. On rising to the surface,
another black relieves the one who holds the net, the others
all striking the poor dugong with their spears. Every
time it rises to the surface, this is repeated until the
dugong is either drowned or bled to death.
264 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Like many other valuable discoveries^ the value of
dugong" fat or oil in consumption was made by a very
simple circumstance. About the year 1849^ Dr. Hobbs^
the health officer at Brisbane, had noticed a blackfellow,
with whom he was well acquainted, as being far gone in
lung" disease. After awhile he was missed, and of course
was looked on as being dead. A few weeks after, the worthy
doctor was surprised at meeting the man in question, not
only alive, but stout and hearty, without any trace of
disease. He naturally felt great interest in the case, and
questioned the black as to what he had done to obtain a
restoration to health. He replied that he had been to the
Bay, eating " young-un." This put the doctor thinking.
He had frequently noticed, he recollected, that blacks in
rather poor case would leave the town, and, after a short
stay at the Bay, return in robust health, with great increase
of flesh. He had always considered this as merely the
effect of change of air and diet, and of abstinence from
alcoholic drinks. From what he g-athered from this man he
formed a different opinion, and, with a view of testing his
idea, he obtained a few gallons of the oil from a fisherman,
and also tasted the meat. Soon after this he had an
opportunity of trying the oil, which we will let him relate
in his own words : —
" I was first led to the use of this oil by having under my care a
young man who had suffered from an obstinate obstruction in
the bowels, terminating in acute inflammation, for which he had
been bled five times, and otherwise extremely reduced, leaving
him in an exceedingly debilitated condition. His illness extended
over a period of eight months, and the debility attending the stage of
convalescence was very protracted, notwithstanding the administration
of all the usual remedies prescribed in such cases, together with every
necessary comfort. Feeling assured that, owing to the irritability of
the stomach of my patient, cod-liver oil could not be retained, if ad-
ministered, I resolved upon trying the dugong oil as a substitute.
NATURAL HISTORY. 265
tollin;^ him not to expect any great improvement until he bad taken it
for a month. At this time he was so weak he could not walk from his
chair to the verandah of his house, a distance of a few yards only,
without experiencing the distressing feeling of exhaustion. In a
fortnight, under its use, he could take short walks ; and in a month
could leave his house for several hours, walking a considerable distance
without feeling much fatigue. He then went to the Bay, and amused
himself in fishing and procuring this oil, which he used freely, not
only in its pure state, but also frying his fish and flour cakes, and other
articles of food in it. He returned to see me in perfect health, and
quite fat. It was not the mere recovery of this patient that so much
surprised me, but the rapidity of the change from complete prostration
to perfect health and vigovir."
The writer had a conversation with the gentleman here
referred to a few days before leaving Brisbane. He is now
a man in middle life, with a wife and family, and occupies
a very important official position. He assured us that his
health had been good ever since the time spoken of,
although he was then so unwell as to have given up all
hoj)es of recovery, and had actually made his will and
arranged for his funeral. There are many persons moving
in the first circles in Queensland who have to thank this
wonderful remedy for restoration to perfect health. Dr.
Hobbs received a medal from the Sydney Exhibition of
1854 for a sample of the oil he forwarded there, which has
been the only recognition he has received of his great
service to humanity by introducing this article to the
pharmacopoeia. We believe that such measures are being
taken for extending the production of this oil as will
enable it to be introduced to the British market, which has
up to the present time been impossible in consequence of
the small quantity procured. There seems to be no reason,
when the enormous stretch of coast, the plentiful numbers
of the fish, and their great value is considered, why the
dugong fisheries of Queensland should not equal in imp or-
266 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
tance the cod-fisheries of Newfoundland, and furnish
employment to thousands of seamen. When we recollect
that the dug-ong is found on all the coast-line stretching
from Wide Bay to the island of Finior^, including the
shallows of the New Guinea coast, some idea may be formed
of the enormous source of wealth which here awaits but
the introduction of capital. Here indeed we sec, in the
words of Dr. Johnson, " a potentiality of acquiring wealth
beyond the dreams of avarice.''^
The insect life of Queensland is a matter of no small
importance to the resident. If it is not plagued with as
many venomous flies and reptiles as Mexico, Africa, and
other tropical and semi-tropical countries, Queensland has
quite enough torments of this nature to cause one to wish
their number less. Flies, mosquitoes, sand-flies, nnd fleas
abound in some localities during the summer months.
One variety of dun-fly is so numerous in some localities,
and their bite so sharp, that horses cannot be pastured there
in the summer season without loss of flesh. These flics will
bite through a thin pair of trousers so sharply as to cause
one to start. They are, however, only occasionally met
with, and, unlike the little black fly, are easily caught or
driven away.
The mosqviito is the great enemy of the new chum. It
appears to delight in the thick blood of the European, and
soon tells its tale in the swollen and discoloured features of
its victim. The old resident certainly feels its bite to a
greater or less extent, but no swelling or redness shows
where he has been bitten. Not so with the new arrival.
Every mosquito-bite causes a hard lump of red flesh to rise,
until the whole face is one swollen mass. Thus is the " new
chum" who arrives in the summer-time branded, if he
happens to be exposed to the depredations of those little
NATURAL HISTORY. 267
fellows, who sing tlieir blythe tune while they suck their
victim^s blood. By care, in sleeping only in beds protected
by mosquito curtains, this painful and unsightly ordeal may
be avoided. Even then, however, it will be necessar}'' to be
very careful to brush out all intruders with the towel before
turning down the curtains, and to tuck these well in after
getting into bed, to prevent their coming in from under-
neath, which they will otherwise certainly do. Any one
who has been in bed and watched these rascals, minutely
examining the curtains in every part to find some aperture
by which they can get at their prey, and the celerity with
which, when such unhappily presents itself, they rush in
like a flock of sheep through a gap, will be prepared to
admit that the faculty which naturalists term instinct in
the inferior creatures differs very little, if at all, from reason
in man. If the sleeper will rest in peace he must look well
to the state of his bed-curtains ; in this instance, also,
" eternal vigilance is the price of safety.^' Certain positions
are more infested by mosquitoes than others. As they breed
in water, it follows that low, damp situations, near rivers
and lagoons, are more subject to them than dryer places,
where they will often be entirely wanting. On the other
hand, many places on the banks of rivers, if near mangrove
or fresh-water swamps, are so plagued by them that instances
have occurred where they have actually driven away settlers.
Cultivation and clearing the land soon diminish their
numbers ; and it is customary, meantime, to burn cowdung
in order to smoke them out. We discovered, a year or two
before leaving the colony, that the smoke of the grass-tree
is highly efficacious in driving them away ; it has the
advantage, too, of yielding an aromatic and agreeable
odour by no means objectionable. No mosquito will stop
within smell of this perfume. As at sea it is the fashion to
268 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
laugh at every one who is sea-sick^ so we have noticed it is
considered the correct thing" to "chaff" the new chum
whose countenance is disfigured by mosquito-bites. Each
habit has always appeared to us as being alike senseless and
ill-natured, and nearly every one suffers at first from both
inflictions. There are various kinds of mosquitoes in Queens-
land ; the principal sort is the small black one. A much
larger greyish mosquito is occasionally seen, whose sting is
very acute. Old residents grow impervious to their at-
tacks, although we remember having to clear out of a
camp near the coast swamps, bag and baggage, in the
dark, to escape from the multitudes of these insects. The
mosquito rarely bites during the daytime.
The sand-fly is not nearly so generally met with as the
mosquito. It is a very minute fly, a mere speck, scarcely
discernible, and yet it has the power of inflicting the most
excruciating pain. Every bite of this little insect raises a
large lump, and continues to pain for hours. Fortunately its
haunts are prescribed, and it bites only an hour or two in
the mornings and evenings, and never where a breeze is
blowing. When unfortunate enough to have been attacked
by them, the sufferer feels as if he had been bathed in fire,
and for a time can hardly endure the torment they inflict.
We have seen a party of men driven off the shore to their
boats by the attacks of these diminutive assailants, before
they had time to boil a billy of tea, as quickly as if set upon
by a human foe. Like the mosquito, the sand-fly haunts
low and damp situations, or sandy tracts near the sea.
The flea may be said to have its home in Queensland.
Every old hut and camp swarms with them. If one goes
into a deserted hut, dressed in a pair of white moleskins, he
will soon see them change from white to speckled and then
to black, and hordes of fleas crawl over him. Woe to the
NATUBAL niSTORr. 269
unsophisticated traveller who essays to sleep in sueh a place !
The ni<^ht will Ix) for him one vast horror, unless he has
the hide of a rhinoceros. Old stagers avoid these places
and camp in the open air. In some few places the very
ground teems with these sprightly fellows, and you may
see them jumping ahout in all directions, by simph^ draw-
ing a groove in the sandy soil with a stick. Tlie heat of the
climate is very favourable to tb.eir propagation, and great
care is needed to keep them out of the dwellings, which on
light sandy soil is often difficult.
There are many varieties of wasps and hornets, some
of them of vast size, and proportionately venomous. The
writer was once stung in the back of the neck by a hornet
about an inch and a half long. Before he could reach the
house his legs became paralyzed, and he had to be carried
the rest of the way. In this case three half-tumblers of
Hennessey's brandy were drank without producing any
effect, so potent was the poison ; another draught, how-
ever, had the desired effect. In all cases of snake poisoning
the free use of strong spirits is highly advisable if no other
remedy is at hand. If the ordinary effects of liquor can
be produced, the virus has been overcome. Some of the
wasps^ nests are very curious and interesting structures,
although they do not, as far as v/e have observed, equal in
beauty those found in America.
There are many very sj)leiulid butterflies to be seen
nearly all the year round. INIoihs of scores of patterns and
hues, each more lovely than the other, abound everj^where,
and may be caught in large quantities in the evenings, or
by a visit to the scrubs at any hour of the day. Some of
the Cvollections of moths and butterflies which we have seen,
caught in Queensland, were beyond descrii)tion lovely and
beautiful. Lovers of conchology, also, may find here ample
270 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
fields for their favourite pursuit. The collection of our
friend C. Coxen^ Esq.^ Land Commissioner for East
Moreton^ comprises several hundred different shells^ manj^
of them exceedingly rare and valuable.^ In fact^ whatever
portion of the great field of nature the student or collector
may wish to explore, this great colony furnishes for him
inexhaustible resources, among which he will be constantly
falling in with some novelty.
Among its insect life Queensland has nothing so valu-
able and important to its inhabitants as its bees. Before
the. settlement by whites, the aboriginal had two varieties
of honey-bees, which yielded him a very considerable amount
of food. In .the language of the Wide Bay blacks, these
are known as " cobboy '^ and " gidla.''^ The latter is the
more plentiful, and is that usually spoken of as the native
bee. It is a small black insect, verj^ similar in shape to
the house-fly. Its comb, like that of its congener, is found
in the hollow of a tree, usually a small one, such as the
she-oak, honeysuckle, or tea-tree : sometimes, however, it
will be found in the gum or ironbark, and at a considerable
elevation ; but this is the exception, so far as our observa-
tion has gone. The comb can usually be put in a two-
quart billy, and often is not above one half that size. It
is quite black, and divided into large, roundish, irregularly-
shaped cells, two or three times as large as those of the
English bee. The honey is very nice, having a slight and
pleasantly acid taste, besides the usual sweet taste of
honey. Many peoplfe prefer it to English honey on that
account. It is also much more liquid than the latter.
" Cobboy " differs from '' gidla " both in the colour of the
3 Mr. Coxen lias, we believe, presented his very valuable eolleetioii
of shells to the new iTiiiseuni, in the management of which lie takes a
very prominent part.
NATURAL HISTORY. 271
bt'c and the appearance and taste of the honey. This bee
is a little larg-er than the other, and of a reddish colour.
Neither of them has any stin<^ or other means of defence
ag-ainst intruders. The " cobboy " honey is contained in a
lighter-coloured comb than "g-idla;^"" the cells are more
cylindrical and larger, and the honey itself is of a thicker
consistency, being very gummy and thick, and tasting
very much like sugar-candy. There are few Europeans
who do not relish this dainty at the first taste, and eat it
with great avidity. Unfortunately '^ cobboy"^ is scarce,
and, when found, is equally diminutive with the other
native comb. Of all the benefits conferred by Englishmen
on the Australian black, none equals iu importance the
introduction of the English bee ; in fact, the bee and the
iron tomahawk are perhaps the only benefits our en-
lightened race has conferred upon these poor people. The
English bee may be said to have wrought an entire change
in their domestic economy wherever it has found its way.
It flourishes in Australia in a way that is quite impossible
in tile cold and wintry climate of Great Britain. Instances
have been known in which a hive of bees has increased
nearly thirty-fold in one year; we once knew an instance
in which a stock of bees in England increased nine-lbld iu
one season, but two or three of the swarms were too weak
to stand the winter. But in Queensland there is no winter
as I'ar as the bees are concerned. They appear to gather
enough lor present consumption every day of the year,
especially in severe rain. Swarms are thrown off nearly
all the year round, and these again soon begin to colonize.
It is obvious, therefore, that this must soon be a country
flowing- with honey if not with milk — and there is no
scarcity of the latter — and such soon comes to be the case
wherever the while man plants hi'; foot. Tt is impossible, if
272 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
one has a hive of bees, to prevent many swarms from
escaping. We once had a block which soon increased to
eig'ht or nine, and we were kept in a perfect state of
bewilderment by the increasing outcome of new swarms.
Every day and at nearly all hours the loud hum of the
young colonies could be heard, until it seemed quite useless to
attempt to save them. Working in the field, a swarm
would be seen careering overhead, making for some tall
tree, where they had selected a roomy hole as their future
home. While riding in the bush, a swarm was frequently
seen passing overhead or clustering on a limb. In the
course of two years the bush in every direction was filled
with bee-trees, until it became almost less troublesome to
obtain the honey from them for domestic use than to look
after one's own hives. Bees are never killed ; the box,
usually a gin-case, is turned up, and the larger portion of
the comb cut out, which is quickly replaced by the busy
occupants. On felling a bee-tree to obtain its contents,
known in colonial parlance as a " sugar-bag,^' it is not
unusual to obtain four to six buckets of honeycomb, while
some, will have much more. Great fun is often had when
three or four men thus rob a bee-tree — the enraged owners
often showing fight desperately. But smoke soon drives
tliem away, and the poor creatures may be seen high up in
the air, looking in the vacant spa'^e for their old home.
The natives have another and better way of getting the
honey, described elsewhere.
The rapid spread of the honey-bee is something wonder-
ful. They appear to advance both northward and west-
ward with a certain and regular yearly march. When we
first knew the Neusa River, the nearest bees were about
twenty miles distant. That season the blacks found them
lialf-way in the bush, and, on cutting into their nests.
NATURAL HISTOUV. 273
found little honey, a sure sign they were but just swarmed.
The next year a bee-tree was found on the river. In a year
they were tolerably plentiful, and the workmen saw bees
fifteen miles to the northward. Now the bush teems with
honey-trees, and a white man, if accompanied by a black,
can live there very comfortably on honey alone. This may
appear a singular statement to people accustomed to eat it
only as a sweet. But the hungry bushman or black sits
down to a large mass of honey in the comb and makes a
hearty meal off it, and we know from experience that such
a meal is fully as strengthening as when made on more
solid food. With the addition of a small slice of damper
an excellent meal may be made of honey-comb. We were
once much amused at a remark from a friend, an old
resident in the bush. Speaking of the satisfying and
strengthening properties of honey, and the quantity a man
could eat, he said very naively, that when he had not been
in the habit of eating honey for some time he could not
eat much at first. " The first day,'' he said, " I cannot
eat over a quart-pot full, but the next day I can eat that
billyful easily,'' pointing at the same time to a three-
quart billy containing the tea with which we were regaling
ourselves. We thought at the time, his idea of a very
little and that of many people might somewhat differ. As
a rule we have not been in the habit of measuring our
stomach; sitting in front of a sheet of bark piled up with
the white and luscious comb, we cut it into squares,
corresponding to the capacity of our mouth, with a sheath
knife, and then deftly pass it under our moustache with as
little litter as possible, wliile to temj)t our waning appetite
our faithful black friend would from time to time place
another and, if possible, whiter comb before us. Memory
brings back many a scene of this sort, with the horses
T
274 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
quietly grazing- near, and the everlasting forest surround-
ing us with its everchanging shadows and glorious sun-
shine. We believe that the English bee is now to be met
with in most parts of the colony. In a few years it will
have penetrated to its great unknown interior. When that
time arrives the explorer may push out with confidence as
to a supply of food, for no one need be hungry when the
bee can be seen, humming among the grass and flowers.
There are some other insects which have come in with
the white man by no means so welcome as the bee, nor is
their presence to be so easily accounted for. Their presence
rather appears to indicate a wonderful but as yet in-
scrutable law of nature, which looks more like a new
creation than anything else. We allude to the various
parasitic inse'cts which prey on the different plants which
have been introduced to the colony. The cabbage, cotton,
tobacco, and sugar-cane, all are subject to the ravages of a
peculiar insect or grub which was entirely unknown in the
country before these various crops were grown. Sow a
little tobacco seed and raise a few plants, and at once a
little beetle of a colour corresponding to that of the leaf
makes its appearance and begins its ravages on the tender
leaves, necessitating constant supervision and watchfulness.
These insects prey on the tobacco-plant in other countries,
but how is it that they appear here at the other side of the
globe as soon as the plant is grown ? Do their eggs
adhere to the seed ? It does not appear very probable, but
it may be the case. But if a tobacco-plant is carried from
where the seed-bed is to a distance of some miles, as it
grows up, there will be the little fly to prey on its loaves.
The cotton-plant, too, has its particular parasite, which
sometimes makes great havoc, destroying whole fields.
The " borer " is the pest of sugar-growers all the world
NATURAL HISTORY. 275
over, and at first Queensland planters were jubilant because
of their apparent freedom from it. But, alas ! it soon made
its appearance here also, causing" additional labour, and call-
ing- for precaution here as elsewhere. So also with the
aphis, known as the " cabbage-louse ,'' and that destructive
grape blight, the oidiun tnckeri. How do all these curses
to the agriculturist find their way across the waste of
waters to the antipodes ?
The snakes of Queensland, although including many
varieties, are by no means formidable. None of them will
attack a human being unless inadvertently stepped on.
The largest of them, the carpet-snake, is not venomous,
although a bite from its huge mouth and triple row of teeth
would be no slight matter. We never heard of an occur-
rence of this kind, and from the extreme sluggishness of
the creature it is not very likely to occur. We have killed
carpet-snakes measuring over twelve feet, and thicker than
a man's arm. Their teeth are all bent inwards, so that
when they bite any animal they can only swallow it, but
not loose their hold otherwise. A friend of ours killed one
in a torpid state having a whole paddy-melon in its stomach.
This snake is a great thief and pays frequent visits to fowl-
houses, when any orifice is left through which it can pass.
We once killed one in the kitchen at night, which measured
between eight and nine feet, that had just taken from
under the hen a fine chick, which it had in its mouth when
struck with the axe. It delights in common with some
other snakes in crawling about the roofs and wall-plates of
bush-houses. The wife of a labourer near us was lying ill
in bed, when she was horror-struck at seeing one crawling
along the wall-plate just over her bed. She called a
neighbour who was within earshot, and who soon despatched
the intruder. The brown snake often grows to a great size,
T 2
276 THE QUEEN OF THE COfiONIES.
like the carpet^ and is sometimes mistaken for it. The
tig-er-snake^ so called from its marks and colour^ is also a
large snake and said to be venomous, which others again
deny. The same remark holds good of many smaller
snakes, such as the diamond — a very heautifully-marked
snake, the whip, and the green snake ; one person will in-
sist that each of these is venomous, and another as stoutly
proclaim the contrary, which, to say the least, is pretty
conclusive evidence that they are not very harmful. The
general opinion is that the whip-snake is poisonous. This is
a small snake usually from two feet six inches to four feet
in length, and more common than most others. The most
dreaded of all is the black snake, which is very venomous,
being particularly deadly in the hotter months of summer.
It is a thickish snake, usually about three to four feet in
length, with a yellowish belly. It is often found in water-
holes, and is sometimes come on very suddenly in such
places. It cannot spring forward further than its own
length, but care must be taken in pursuing it not to keep
directly behind it, as it has the power of throwing itself
backward a considerable distance and rising to a height of
four or five feet in its leap. It is rarely that any one is
bitten by a snake, and still more rarely that a life is lost
through this cause.
There is another deadly reptile known as the death-
adder. This is a creature with two short legs in front like
a lizard, and a thick, heavy body about eighteen inches long,
which tapers off very suddenly to a short tail, in which is a
sting-. The mouth is also furnished with poison-fangs, so
that it has a double power of death at its command. It is
a slow, sleepy creature, and, as if aware of its powers, never
attempts to move out of the way of man or beast. If stung
or bitten by this reptile, death follows very quickly unless
NATURAL mSTORY. 277
immediate and strong- antidotes are applied. The usual
remedies for all snake- bites are tightly bandaging", cutting
out and cauterizing the wound, and an outward and inward
application of ammonia. In cases where this drug has
been injected into a vein, the best results have been
experienced.
There are various sorts of lizards besides this creature,
which is a sort of connecting link between the lizard and
snake tribes. - Some of the smaller lizards are very lively
and interesting, and soon become tame. Others, like the
jew or hooded lizard, are ugly enough. The jew lizard is
almost startling in its ugliness, as it lies basking on a fallen
tree or clinging to a growing one. It is, however, per-
fectly harmless. Of iguanas — in common parlance " gra-
nos " — there are many sorts, some of them as much as four
feet in length and three or four inches broad on the back.
The settler destroys these fleet gentlemen on account of
their love for eggs ; yet, as they bravely attack snakes and
devour them when victorious, they are deserving of some
consideration. A friend of ours once witnessed a pitched
battle between an iguana and a black snake ; whenever
the former was bitten he ran to a little distance, apparently
to eat some antidote, and then rushed to the attack again,
following the snake until he had killed it. The iguana
can run exceedingly fast either on the ground or up the
smooth boll of a tree, and always endeavours to keep on the
opposite side from his pursuer, as if aware of the existence
of revolvers. The flesh of the iguana is white and
tender, much resembling chicken, and if we could have
forgotten its huge ugly mouth, well filled with sharp teeth,
and its serrated back, we should have relished it much.
The fat is much sought after for rheumatic affections and
for oiling saddles, having peculiar emollient properties.
278 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
The iguana is a very courageous creature^ and no mean
antagonist for a dog ; we have seen one keep a bull-dog at
bay for some time. Very few other dogs will face one
single-handed.
The alligator is not found south of the Fitzroy K,iver. In
that and all the northern streams it is always to be seen.
They bask on the mud on the river banks about Yaamba,
above Rockhamptonj and when disturbed slide into the
water, or roll over and over like a log of timber. They are
to be found all lengths up to seventeen or eighteen feet,
with thick hides that turn the best rifle bullets at any but
the shortest range. They principally resort to fresh-water
holes and lagoons, where they lie in wait for their prey, and
often commit great depredations among sheep and cattle.
When the valley of Lagoons was first taken up for sheep,
it was noticed that every day when the flock went down to
drink a sheep was missing. This went on for some time to
the consternation of the shepherds, until at length a huge
alligator was seen to poke his nose above the water and
quickly pull down his woolly victim. A gentleman con-
nected with the native police was once crossing the Burdekin
River, with some troopers and spare horses, after a fresh. The
crossing-place was consequently hardly to be discerned.
One of the troopers, in endeavouring to guide the horses,
got off the ford into deep water; the current sent him and
his horse a little way down. The horse disappeared, leaving
the man struggling in the water. He sti'uck out for the
shore, but in a moment the water was black arolmd him
with the ugly noses of alligators. One snap, and nothing
remained but a red tinge on the water. The officer described
the snapping of the alligators^ mouths, who all at once
made a dash for their prey, to be like the sound of so many
huge castanets.
NATURAL HISTORY. 279
Not only will they attack human beings or cattle when
at their mercy in the water, but they occasionally lie in
wait among the long grass close to a cattle track, on the
banks of the rivers or lagoons, to seize calves or colts when
watering. They will here make nice cosy nests of the long
reeds like a huge bird's nest, in which to await their prey.
It is not often that they attack mankind on shore. At a
station on the Burdekin we were told that an instance of
this sort occurred. It was customary for the black gins
to do the station-washing at the river bank under the shade
of a big tree. One day one of the two gins so employed
came rushing and screaming up to the station in a state of
the most abject terror. As soon as she could be quieted
she stated that while the other woman had been stooping
down to lift a bucket of water from the river an alligator
had pushed his nose above the water and snapped her up in
his capacious jaws and drawn her into deep water. From
that time no clothes were washed under the big tree.
A friend of ours had quite an adventure with an alligator
during the big flood of 1870. He was engaged in the
telegraphic department, and had the charge of a northern
station and the line for a considerable distance, including
that over the Burdekin River. The flood having stopped
communication, it became necessary for him to set out
to find and repair the damage. For some miles before
he reached the river he found it almost or entirely sub-
merged. With his tools strapped on his back he swam
from pole to pole in those lower parts, walking on the
higher portions. When a few miles from the river there
was a long stretch altogether under water, which it was
necessary to pass. It was what is called back-water, with
no current. After proceeding for a mile or two, and being
over a mile from the next dry land, he saw an alligator,
280 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
which had got out of the river or some lagoon, making
towards him. Some men would have lost their presence of
mind, but our hero was equal to the occasion. After
swimming so many miles of water in the public service
he was not to be put out of his way by the Saurian
monster. Where he then was the water was as high
as the wire where it drooped between the poles. Here
various logs and saplings had drifted and formed a barrier.
Among this debris was a large log. Ensconcing himself
behind this and selecting one of the longest and most
manageable saplings he could find, he awaited his enemy.
He had no sooner come to the opposite side of the log than
he received a smart "job " in the eye from his anticipated
victim, which made him sheer off. Taught a wholesome
lesson he did not for some time approach so close again,
our friend all the while hiding himself behind the big log.
He waited his chance, and every time the monster came
within reach he gave him another punch, accompanying
each blow with as terrific a noise as his lungs would
enable him to utter. When the alligator took a circuit
he quietly slipped round the other end of the log, always
carefully keeping himself as much as possible out of sight,
so as not to whet the brute^s appetite too keenly. After
receiving a few punches in addition to the blow in his eye,
and being now and then assailed with short billets of drift-
wood, the alligator, perhaps growing frightened at his
unseen antagonist, and perhaps having a natural terror of
the human voice, turned tail and made off, leaving our
friend to continue his avocation, which he did after assuring
himself that his antagonist was gone for good and all.
He had been bailed up in this singular manner for over
two hours, and assured us he was very glad when the
water shoaled sufficiently to admit of his wading through
NATURAL HISTOEY. 281
it. There are very few of these unpleasant neighbours to
be found in the settled districts even of the north. In
Southern Queensland, as we have said, they are entirely
unknown.
CHAPTER XT.
THE LABOUR QUESTION.
The subject wlncli at the present time is most agitating*
public opinion in Queensland, as well as calling the
attention of people at home to that colony, is the trade
which has of late grown to such importance with the
New Hebrides and other islands of the South Seas in
the importation of Kanakas under an agreement for three
years^ work. At the late general election in 1871 seats
were won and lost on this question, and it has been
considered of sufficient importance to form the matter
of parliamentary debates and despatches from the Colonial
Secretary.
Before giving an account of the present state of this
question it will be necessary to point out the causes which
first gave rise to the introduction of Polynesians into the
colony. These causes are various, and a thorough know-
ledge on this point cannot fail of being instructive in the
future.
When Mr. Jordan was first engaged in procuring
emigrants for Queensland, England was in the throes of
the cotton famine, and as a consequence thousands of the
idle operatives were anxious to proceed to the colony. The
Immigration Act had not provided for the exportation of
factory hands, but by one means or another some thousands
of them were sent out in ] 863 and 18G 1. This was efiected
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 283
part by stretching the Act a little to meet the exigency,
and partly by independent funds raised for that purpose by
a benevolent public at home and in the colony. Thus it
resulted that thousands of these people, totally unacquainted
with agricultural work, were thrown on this little com-
munity just as it was struggling into existence. Not
only so, but of the other immigrants by far the larger
portion were mechanics and tradespeople, the percentage of
farm labourers in each ship being very small indeed.
We do not wish to object to a factory hand or artisan
merely on the score that he knows nothing of field work ;
such men often make excellent colonists, and we know
many such in Queensland; but there certainly was a
grievous error in flooding the country at the very first
with a class of labour unused to open-air occupations,
to the exclusion of those agricultural labourers who were
so greatly needed. When it is remembered that on the
31st December, 18G2, the population of the whole colony
was only 45,077, and that two years after, at the close of
1864, it had increased to 74,036, an increase of about sixty-
five per cent., it will be at once seen that it was of the
utmost importance that the new arrivals, who formed such
a large percentage of the population, should be of a class
able to develope the resources of the colon}^, to become in
point of fact producers. Those 29,000 persons, even if
mostly operatives and mechanics, might, for instance, have
been absorbed among the 3,000,000 of Canadians, and
would have been everywhere surrounded by farmers able to
teach them their business, which they would easily have
learnt. But in Queensland they came to form the bulk of
the population, and had literally no one to teach thorn the
farmer's art.
In short, the colony was flooded with the wrong class of
284 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
people. The population sprang from 38,198, in June,
1862, to 94,710, in June, 1866, — an increase probably
unparalleled in the history of colonization. Seeing that
these people had to make their living off the soil, at least
one-half of them ought to have been agriculturists, while
not more than a tithe of them were. It is true, many to
secure free or assisted passages passed themselves on the
Agent as farmers and gardeners who had never handled a
spade or held a plough in their lives ; but the evil lay
more in the ideas entertained by Mr. Jordan than any-
where else. He thought, and was in the habit of telling
his audiences, that the less a man knew of farming the
better chance he had of becoming a successful farmer in
Queensland. His reason for this belief was, that the
climate and crops of the colony were so different from
those at home, and all the conditions so varied, that a
person with no preconceptions on the subject was likely to
do better than a man with fixed ideas, — an argument
which would have some force where the immigrant would
have other settlers and labourers around him to put him in
the way of working in his new home, but which entailed
various weighty ills on Queensland.
It resulted that farmers had to employ labourers who
knew nothing of the first elements of husbandry, — the
same all the world over — and being in most instances as
ignorant as their employes, a chaotic state of things ensued,
and farming had to be evolved from the inner consciousness
or dear-bought experience of the settlers. This state of
affairs would have frightened an English farmer out of his
wits, or, as it did some, home again ; and would have been
looked on by a Canadian or Yankee, well versed in the
formation of farms from the primeval forest, with devout
wonder.
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 285
Not only the entire absence of good form-labourers^ but
other causes led to the employ naent of Polynesians. The
workmen themselves, finding' their services at a premium,
and that they could command 40/. to 45/. per annum, with
a ration that in those times cost about half as much more,
gave themselves great airs, and acted as if they were their
employers^ superiors ; as in point of fact they were in one
practical sense; they always made money, whilst he
usually lost it, very few of them being able to earn the
wages the masters were obliged to give. Having been
unused to hard work, and knowing nothing of farming, a
large proportion of them refused to work for farmers except
on high weekly wages quite out of their power to pay. As
a rule most farmers had their capital so nearly sunk in
their land, that they needed to raise the money out of the
land before they could pay for the labour.
The large employers experienced another difficulty. It
was found that at the season when they required their
workpeople the most, and when, inefficient as they were,
their services were most required, many of these men would
take advantage of this to walk oif and leave them in the
lurch. This sort of thing occurred so frequently that those
engaged in cotton and sugar growing on a large scale had
a certain amount of truth on their side when they said that
one of their chief reasons for importing Kanakas was the
uncertainty of white labour, which might leave them at
any time, and that perhaps the picking or crushing season,
than which nothing could be more disastrous. Then they
had also the fear of a new gold-rush breaking out and
enticing their men away by its golden visions. This is
probably the greatest evil when it does occur, but there
has as yet been but one instance of this kind in the colony,
the G^^mpie rush, 1S67-0S.
286 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
There can be no question that these reasons — the
incapacity of the labourers^ their frequent insolence and
overbeariug manners^ and the uncertainty of securing"
their services for any leng'th of time — had much to do with
the movement for the introduction of Polynesians.
So long ag-o as the year 1863 the writer pointed out
to the Under-Colonial Secretary^ Mr. Manning-, the vicious-
ness of the principle on which colonists were being- intro-
duced. Mr. Jordan drew his immigrants chiefly from the
cities and large centres of population. Had he obtained
only one-half as many country people he would have done
far more to enhance the prosjjerity of his adopted country,
and would, most likely, have entirely prevented the intro-
duction of Polynesian labour. Men brought up on farms
not only know how to do their work satisfactorily, but
having a different set of ideas and other habits than towns-
people, are less likely to act in any way detrimental to
their master's interest. To use a homely colloquialism,
they know what belongs to farming, and are therefore less
hard to manage, and more likely to think and act in the
interest of their employer. Having been always accus-
tomed to open-air work, they are far more able to stand
the climate of Queensland and do a good day's w^ork in it
than men brought up to work under a roof at home,
although the latter certainly find no greater difficulty than
they probably w^ould in an English harvest-field.
We have thus given the reasons that operated in favour
of the introduction of black labour to Queensland. Tliere
appear to be one or two scarcely legitimate reasons which
weighed in its favour. There is a certain amount of
pleasure experienced by every man in having around him
as labourers a class of people over whom he can exei't
despotic authority. It is so much more pleasant to be
THE LABOUR QUESTION". 287
aljle to issue instructions to workpeople who never enter-
tain the idea of any opposition to authority, than to men
who may have opinions of their own and desire to put
them in execution. White men in the colonies are pro-
verbially independent, the Polynesian is equally docile,
and the master or overseer reigns monarch supreme.
Then there is the powerful argument of increased profits.
It was fully anticipated that by hiring men at QL per
annum, and a much lighter ration than the white man^s,
a very material saving in wages would result ; and if
the absurd statement of Mr. Trollope in a recent newspaper
article was correct, that a Kanaka could do as much work
in the cane-field as a white man, that anticipation would
have proved correct. But the Anglo- Saxon has not come
to that as yet.
Before proceeding further it may not be amiss to state
that a very stringent Master and Servants Act is in
existence in Queensland which, as far as possible, protects
the interests of both master and servant. Among other
provisions it provides under a penal clause that no master
shall discharge a servant without due and sufficient notice
or an equivalent in wages, that a regular written agree-
ment, of which a form is annexed, shall be made between
them, and that every man shall receive a regular weekly
ration unless he boards in his employer's house, not a
very usual thing in the colonies, where the workmen
have usually separate huts or small slab houses, and have
to cook their own food. This ration consists of a diet
which would rejoice the heart of an old-country labourer.
It is as follows: — Slbs. of flour, 14lbs. of beef or mutton,
21bs. of sugar, and jlb. of tea, salt, &c., weekly. This is
sometimes varied; we have known lOlbs. of flour given
and less meat, and on sheep stations it is usual not to
288 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
weigh out the meat, but to let each shepherd, or two when
two stop in one hut, kill a sheep as they want it, so long
as there is no undue waste. The Act also prgvides that no
man can leave his master without the regular notice, but
a bench of magistrates can cancel the agreement at any-
time if sufficient cause be shown on either side. This Act
is very valuable to all parties, and usually works well. We
have heard many complaints made that in the bush in the
far interior this is not always the case. There, as a rale,
every squatter or superintendent is either a magistrate
himself or very friendly with his neighbour who is. We
have often heard men complain that it happens that one
neighbour will bring some man of his before his brother
magistrates, and have him fined the amount of his wages,
or in some other way assist the master, who in turn does
the same friendly act for him. Shepherds when suffering
from any injustice often find it prudent to bear the wrong
rather than to attempt to right themselves before a bench
composed solely of their masters' friends and neighboui's.
Many stories are told in reference to this sort of thing
which savour more of " out W^est " than of her Majesty's
possessions and monarchical institutions. As a rule there
is no respect in which one ' is more struck with the vast
superiority of a monarchy over a republic than in the higher
tone of the bench ; but in the interior of Queensland some
queer things occasionally happen, perhaps because we have
run our constitution down so near the level of a republic.
A friend of ours once saw a scene of this nature. In the
town of Springsure a case was being heard, and a few
persons besides the plaintiff and defendant were in the
Court-bouse to hear the decision and pass away the time.
One gentleman was sitting smoking, with legs astride on
the table in front of the bench, busily engaged in chipping
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 289
a notch in the table with his sheath-knife. Presently
another gentleman lounges up to an open window, rests
his arms on it, and, after surveying the situation leisurely
for a minute, calmly takes his pipe out of his mouth, and
addressing the bench, says, '' I say , ain't you going
to finish that case and come and have a drink ?" The
day was hot and the question suggestive, and it was agreed,
as the " case" would last some little time longer, to adjourn
from labour to refreshment, and resume the sitting in half
an hour.
However badly the Master and Servants Act may be
administered in some districts in the back country, where
population is sparse, there can be only one question as to
its benefits in the more populous districts. It is a measure
of protection alike to master and man, and the Polynesian
Labourers Act has been framed as nearly on its model as
was found practicable. Under the former, a master un-
willing or unable to pay his servants' wages may be either
fined or imprisoned, and the same regulation exists in the
other case, with the further proviso that in the case of
hiring Polynesians the employer must give security for the
due carrying out of his contract.
There has been in Queensland from the earliest period
since the existence of free labourers, a powerful party who
have objected to it, or rather who have endeavoured to
supplant the free white by some other kind of labour.
When squatting first began to be followed on the Darling
Downs and other country west of Ipswich, which was in
the year 1829, the only sort of labour available was that of
the convicts. There was not much intercourse in those
days between the camp, as Brisbane was then called, and
the squatters of the interior, no one being allowed to enter
the former without a pass signed by the commandant.
U
290 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
Most of the shepherds^ stockmen^ buUoek-drivers, and bush
carpenters employed on the runs at this time were convicts,
officially known as " assigned servants/' So numerous
were these men, and so curiously is public opinion fre-
quently governed by majorities, that in those days if there
happened to be a " free man "" on a station he was fain to
hide the disgraceful fact in his bosom, that he had come
out at his own expense, and not at that of the Crown.
These men were assigned to the squatters for three years,
who had no difficulty in obtaining as many as they required
by simply finding them in a " dry-ration,''^ that is beef and
flour and tobacco, without any tea or sugar, and a very
small amount of clothing. It is the universal testimony of
old settlers, that most of these peojile were first-class work-
people, which may have arisen from the strict discipline
they had gone through. It must be also remembered that
many of them were sent out for offences that would now be
punished with a month in gaol. But of course they were
not all alike, some were very poor men, and others every-
thing a master could desire. Neither were the masters all
good. Some of them gave their assigned servants regular
wages to a small amount, and returned them with good
characters at the end of their term.
But many of the baser sort used to deal with their men
in quite another fashion. It is said that if such a one had
a valuable man, it was the custom, shortly before his term
was expired, either to trump up a charge against him, or
move generally to exasperate the man into saying or doing
something improper, when he was hurried before a brother
magistrate and reassigned for a fresh term, with probably
the addition of three or four dozen lashes. When it is
remembered that these people were re-transported felons
from Syxlney, it will be admitted their moral tone must
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 291
have been very low^ but official reports assure us that they
were often very badly treated at the hands of their irre-
sponsible masters, who could, whenever they saw fit, send
a man or woman to the camp with a note requesting that
bearer might receive so many dozen lashes, when the poor
messenger would at once be placed on the triangles and
have the thrashing duly administered.
There were many advantages connected with this class of
labour. The men had for years been accustomed to open-
air work, and were thoroughly acclimatized, besides having
a good knowledge of colonial occupations ; their labour
cost a mere bagatelle, and it could be obtained in any
quantity. It is not so much to be wondered at that
masters who had become accustomed to having these people
about them should have objected to their withdrawal and
sighed for their return.
In 1842 the district of Moreton Bay was thrown open
for free immigration, and those convicts still held in
bondage were removed. From that time began an agita-
tion on the part of the squatters for the return of convict
labour. For many years this was the great political
question of the district. As a rule, the townspeople, both of
Brisbane and Ipswich, were opposed to convict labour,
and the squatters were in its favour. Elections to the
Sydney legislature turned on this question, until the
gradual increase of an urban population left the squatters
in a hopeless minority.
The next phase of the question was the attempt to
introduce Chinamen into the colony of New South Wales,
of which Queensland then formed a part. This the squat-
ters desired as a cheap kind of labour, and tlve townspeople
opposed. This question settled itself very easily. It was
found that " John,^'' after he had been long enough in thu
u 2
292 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
colony to learn the lay of the land, asked as much wap^es as
another man_, and would take no less. The cheap labour
men had to look farther afield.
The next agitation was in favour of the introduction of
Coolies, and a Bill was actually passed through Par-
liament to regulate the trade^ but for some reasons, princi-
pally of a financial character, nothing of any importance
was done in the way of their introduction.
We have already shown how the great influx of British
Immigrants caused the price of wages to fall, and there is
little doubt that if that labour had only been of a better
class, no further agitation would have taken place in favour
of black labour. But unfortunately the large employers
were not satisfied with the class of men imported. They
began to look elsewhere for field-hands. When cotton-
growing on a large scale first began to be thought of,
Mr. Robert Towns of Sydney determined on establishing
a plantation on the Logan River. The history of this
gentleman, had we space to relate it, would be a romantic
chapter in colonial life. He had long been engaged in the
collection of sandal-wood, tortoise-shell, and heclie de mer.
His vessels were known in almost every part of the
South Seas, and he had long been in the habit of employ-
ing Polynesians on board these vessels as sailors, boatmen,
and divers. He now determined to introduce some of
them to work on his cotton plantation. A shipment ar-
rived, and were very quietly removed from the vessel in the
Bay up to the plantation on the Logan River, without passing
through the town, and after some time the people of Bris-
bane were favoured with a sight of some of these strangers
driving the bullocks which drew the cotton crop into the
town. A great deal of talk and some writing to the news-
papers ensued, but nothing was as yet done in the matter.
THE LABOUH QUESTION. 293
About this time it began to be thought that sugar-cane
could be grown to advantage. The experiments of Captain
Hope pointed in that direction, and the practical success of
Captain Whish made the fact patent to all. Mr. Raff and
others determined to invest largely in this industry, and,
with a view to this, brought pressure to bear on Govern-
ment to make some regulations on the question of Polynesian
labour. At first it was considered that the provisions of
the Coolie Act would meet the case. But it was soon
found that other restrictions were needed, and after
considerable agitation the Polynesian Labourers Act w^as
j)assed, which came into operation in 1868. It was not
only the general public who agitated in favour of this
measure as a protection to the islanders and a preventive
against slavery, but the employers themselves, feeling the
delicacy of their position, and that the eyes of people in all
parts of the empire were turned to their proceedings, ui'ged
on the Government to pass a Bill which would place the
trade on a solid and respectable basis.
This Act provided for the obtaining of labourers in the
islands of the South Seas by captains, who were, if called
upon to do so, to carry a Government agent with each
vessel. Written agreements were to be made with those
engaged, which were to be witnessed by a consul, mis-
sionary, or some other responsible person, who would be
requested to sign a document stating that the natives
came willingly, and understood the nature of the agreement.
They were to be engaged for a period of three years, and
were to receive 6^. per annum for their services, besides
necessary food and clothing. Each Polynesian, on coming
on board and signing the agreement, was to be furnished
with a shirt and trousers and a pair of blankets in which to
sleep. Ample provisions were to be supplied them on their
294 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
passage^ and each vessel had to be inspected before sailing-,
and licensed to cany a certain number of labourers. The
captain and owner were each to give a bond of 500^. for
the due fulfilment of the terms of the Act.
On their arrival the vessels were to be inspected by the
Immigration Agent in Brisbane, or by some other officer,
if in any other port. This officer was to satisfy himself
that the natives had been properly recruited, that they
knew the nature of their agreement^ that those agreements
were duly signed and witnessed in conformity with the Act,
and that the passengers had been properly treated while
on board. Then, and not till then, he was to admit of
their landing and being passed over to their masters, who
were to execute the agreements and other documents
before him.
These latter agreements provided that the masters should
properly house and feed the men, pay them 18/. in cash at
the expiry of their term, part of which must, if the
authorities so willed, be paid into the Savings^ Bank at an
earlier period, and that they should pay the cost of their
return to their homes. The cost of their passage to the
colony they had also to pay the importer. These rates
varied, as the demand for Polynesians was greater or less,
from 8/. down to hi. An officer was also provided for,
called an Inspector of Polynesians, whose duty it was to
visit the plantations at intervals, and satisfy himself as to
the treatment the men received.
These provisions appeared to be sufficiently stringent to
prevent anything improper transpiring, and for a time the
friends of white labour, although by no means satisfied, had
no argument to adduce against the traffic. But they had
other arguments, which although not so likely to arouse
the sympathies of people at home as the more sensational
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 295
ones arising from the developments of recent times, had
yet great weight in the colony.
It was held that as Queensland was a British colony, it
was the duty of those who composed its population, and to
whom the Crown had granted a constitution, to legislate so
as to Lenefit not only the 100,000 British subjects then in
the colony, but with a view to the good of the whole
empire. That there were tens of thousands of people at
home who would be vastly benefited by coming out and
having a share in its fine climate and rich soil. That the
introduction of black labour would place an insuperable bar
to the emigration of these people, as the British workman
would strongly object to placing his labour on the level of
that of a black, and that thus this traffic was debarring our
own countrymen from settling in the colony, where their
circumstances would be so vastly improved. It was also
urged that as being a British colony, the laws adopted
ought to tend to foster a white and British poj^ulation, and
not a black and foreign one which might in future genera-
tions equal, if not exceed, the former and by virtue of our
liberal constitution, which allows of nearly every man
having a vote, become the practical masters of the situation.
Another series of arguments was drawn from the existing
state of things in the colony. It was pointed out that a
large proportion of the working class had not only come to it
from home on the representations of a paid agent, who had
been sent to England to induce them to come out bj' offering
them officially the advantages of constant labour and good
wages, but that to make the case stronger, large num-
bers of them had been actually brought out at the expense
of the colonial government, which had thus made itself
doubly responsible for their well-being. It was asked how
these people, many of them men with families, were to
296 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
maintain themselves and families, and compete with a class
of labourers who wore little or no clothes, and had no one to
maintain but themselves. Where, it was asked, were the
future employers of labour to come from, if the class from
whose ranks masters naturally spring in a new colony, were
to be continually kept in an impoverished condition by the
presence of a servile population, who, at the expiry of their
term of service left the colony, carr3dng' with them the
fruits of their labours ? Had only the working- class of
Queensland been more able, more sober, and more obliging-,
the arguments in opposition to the Polynesian traffic would
in all likelihood have prevailed.
The passing of the Polynesian Labourers Act at once
opened the door for their introduction on a considei'able
scale. In 1868 six vessels, with 437 males and 2 females,
arrived from the South Seas; in 1869 five ships, with 276
males and 2 females, arrived, and in 1870 nine ships, with
581 males and 14 females, making a total of 1294 males
and 18 females. When it is remembered how poor the
times were during much of this period it will at once be
seen that so many men must have made a considerable
alteration in the labour market of so small a population.
The Act had not long been in existence when it began
to be seen that many enormities were growing out of it,
tending to bring disgrace upon the colony and the English
flag. It began to be said that instead of the men coming
willingly, they were in the majority of cases purchased
of their chiefs, who sent them aboard, not on as large
a scale, but on somewhat the same principle as the kings of
Africa deported their captives and subjects. It transpired
that it was usual for the captain to come to terms with the
chief, who sold him these men usually for a tomahawk and
knife, with probably a handkerchief or some other piece of
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 297
"trade*' adcledj per head. The captains said this was
only a present made to the friends of the man who
wished to come; but the "present" was always arranged
before the man was sent, and there was a regularity
in the tariff which savoured more of barter than of
compliment.
In the South Seas each chief is absolute master of the
lives and actions of his subjects. Were one of them to
refuse to obey his commands, if such an idea were to
present itself to his mind, which is not very likely, his
death would be the immediate and certain result. Hence
if a chief sees fit to send any of his subjects away for three
years or for life, they have to go or abide the consequences.
In no case does a chief spare a large number of men at one
time.
It was also found that the Act had been so loosely
worded that it could be evaded in many ways. It had
provided for the agreements being witnessed by some
respectable person, who was to state that the man knew
the nature of the agreement, and entered into it willingly.
This clause was burlesqued in many instances, by the
mate witnessing the agreements, which were prepared at
their leisure by him and the captain on the way home,
so as to be ready when they came to anchor. In some
cases the captain was himself the owner or charterer of the
vessel. Where this was not the case it was usual to pay
him not only his monthly salary, but a bonus of so much
per head for every Polynesian imported. Hence these men
had always a direct pecuniary interest in the venture,
besides that natural desire for equal success with his com-
peers which actuates every man.
At the early stages of the traffic there was much com-
plaint on the part of the Polynesians that they had only
298 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
engag-ed for twelve moons, whereas they were expected to
work for thirty-nine. In some eases they refused to work
after that time, and were broug-ht before the magistrates in
consequence. In one notable case several of these poor
fellows, who evidently acted bond fide, were sent to Brisbane
gaol by the Maryborough bench for refusing to continue
longer at work, saying their time for which they had
engaged was expired. To his honour it must be said that
Mr. Kenbal], the police magistrate, objected to the decision
of his brother magistrates. An indignation meeting was
held, in connexion with which some very disgraceful facts
transpired, showing the lengths the black-labour men were
prepared to go in bringing pressure to bear upon ministers
and others to prevent an expression of public opinion. In
this case the magistrates, who were nearly all of them
interested directly in the traffic, relied on the written
agreement which bound the men for three years, and which
was duly signed, to prove that they fully understood its
import. They had kept a correct account of their time,
being educated Christian men, able to read and write,
as most of them can who come from '^ missionary " islands,
but of course had no knowledge of the English language at
the time of their engagement. Yet It was urged that they
must be bound by their agi-eement, as the Act provided for
their understanding it.
Another case of a very glaring nature, tending to throw
a deal of light on the operation of this clause of the Act,
came before the notice of the public in 1871. In March
of that year six Polynesians were consigned to a merchant
of Maryborough from another In Brisbane, to be forwarded
to a squatter for whom the former was agent. On the
arrival of the steamer in Maryborough five of the islanders
were passed over to the consignee, but from circumstances
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 299
which had occurred on the passage from Brisbane he refused
to have anything" to do with the other. The man was
brought to Maryborough chained and guarded, and was
said to be in a most furious state. As the captain of the
steamer could not induce the agent to take delivery of his
passenger^ and as he was unwilling to carry him on to
Rockhampton, where the steamer went before her return,
via Maryborough to Brisbane, he adopted the expedient
of giving him in charge of the police, as being of unsound
mind and for having attempted to destroy himself.
Thus charged, the Polynesian had to be brought before
the police magistrate, and his case came on for hearing in
the Maryborough Police Court, From the evidence given,
and as stated by the police magistrate, it was evident that
there had been in this case a direct contravention of the
Polynesian Labourers Act. No one who saw the man
could doubt that he had been kidnapped by the captain and
crew of the "" Spunkie,^^ the vessel in which he reached the
colony. Yet he had been examined, or rather the vessel
had been, by the immigration officer in Brisbane, who had,
in the terms of the Act, " satisfied himself that the islanders
understood the terms of their agreements, and had come
willingly.''' The other requisite documents for this man
must also have been prepared and witnessed by some one.
Here was a man who spoke a language which no one could
understand, not even one of the many hundreds of Poly-
nesians in Brisbane or Maryborough being found who could
converse with him. It transpired that he had tried to
drown himself, or escape by swimming, when on board the
" Spunkie ; '' the captain admitted that no one under-
stood him, and that he had been chained nearly all the
passage. His account of the man was that, while passing
the island of Arabrym, he came swimming off to him on a
300 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
log" of wood., and had expressed his willingness to come to
Queensland. It was very pertinently asked how he had
expressed this willingness if unable to converse with any
one on board, and why it became necessary to chain up a
man who was so aiixious to visit Queensland, that he
actually came off to the vessel on a log.
This case, when published in the press, convinced many
persons of what they had long suspected, that direct kid-
napping was sometimes resorted to, as well as the more
respectable method of purchasing the men at so much
" trade " per head. It was certain that one man had been
brought to the country who knew nothing about any
agreement, and evinced the utmost dislike to his present
position. If this man could be kidnapped, and, after being
imported, could be passed from person to person against his
will, why might not many similar eases have occurred in
which the victims were probably men of less determination,
and had therefore made less strenuous efforts to escape from
their bondage ? A very strong public opinion developed
itself, yet the black -labour men, as they are called, had
influence enough with Government to cause the matter to
be hushed up. The islander was placed on some neigh-
bouring plantation, and nothing more was heard of the
matter. This '^Spunkie^^ had already a very notorious
character as a recruiting ship. She had once or twice
been chased and fired on by the French cruisers, but
she was so fast a sailer that she had each time got clear
off
Other revelations were made about this time which
tended to bring the traffic into greater disrepute. A sailor
on board the " Jason " made a proven statement reveal-
ing gross breaches of the Act : and a long letter from the
Rev. J. Paton, a Presbyterian missionary at Amina, in the
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 301
New Hebrides^ to Dr. Steele^ of Sydney, also appeared,
g-iving a long- and circumstantial account of the misdeeds
of the recruiting vessels, and the evils arising from the
traffic. Yet the authorities made no move. At length
what the people of Queensland could not effect was done
by the Colonial Secretary. A circular from him obliged
the Queensland Government to put into force that clause of
the Act providing for the sending a Government agent in
each vessel. Up to this time this had been a dead letter ;
but now, under an executive minute, agents were to be
sent out in each vessel, in order to see that the Act was
properly carried out. Three or four vessels were despatched,
with each of which an agent was connected. It was, doubt-
less, in a large measure owing to the action taken by certain
philanthropic persons in England, in particular those con-
nected with the Aborigines^ Protection Society, that the
Imperial Government was induced to interfere in this
matter. So strong is the black-labour party in the colony
— the premier himself being a large employer of Polj'nesians
on his station, and the Minister of Works a shareholder in
a sugar company where they are employed ' — tliat the
people of Queensland had long come to the conclusion
expressed in the Eev. Mr. Paton's letter, where he says that
" unless the British Government puts a complete stop to
this trade, and disperses the ruffians engaged in it . . .
we have given up all hope of redress from the colonies. . . .
They are all too deeply involved and interested in this trade
now to stop it entirely, and their half- measures have only
facilitated and increased the evil.^'
' As before stated, this government is now out of office, and with
the advent of the other party to power, in no small measure accelerated
by their strongly pronounced opinions on this question, a much better
state of thinss has resulted.
302 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
Two vessels, only partially filled with Polynesians,
returned from their first trip, in which they carried a
Government ag-ent. Both these g-entlemen, whose name
in each case happened to be Watson, gave a damaging
report, and as a gentleman had been killed who had gone
out in one of these vessels while in-shore trading for men,
and it was reported that the natives of all the islands
were becoming dangerous in consequence of the irritation
caused by the recruiting vessels, public opinion became
more set against the trade than it had even been before.
But the worst blow was about to be struck. The notorious
" Jason" had sailed from Maryborough on her first trip with
a Government agent on board, on the 6th April, 1871, and
from the circumstances connected with this ship public
attention was specially directed to her.
These circumstances were as follows : — The " Jason" was
the property of a firm the principal of which was a par-
ticular friend of the Member for the town, who was also
a Cabinet Minister, and by many supposed to have an
interest in her. She had, as already stated, drawn con-
siderable public attention on herself, so that the " Jason "
and her captain were more frequently before the public
than any other vessel in the trade. The gentleman who
went in her as agent was a man moving in the highest
society in the colony, an old squatter and sugar-grower,
having for some years owned a plantation on the Mary
which he had recently sold, and on which he had employed
Polynesian labour very largely. He was also a magistrate
of the colony, in which capacity, as in every other, he
commanded the respect and esteem of his fellow-colonists.
All who knew him looked on him as an upright, truthful
gentleman, who would not be swerved from the path of
duty, and who was therefore certain to bring back a
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 303
truthful report on this much-vexed question. lie was not
a person of the class who would usually solicit such an
appointment^ in which the salary was very paltry; but
having a sou whom he was anxious to establish in business
either as a cotton or sugar grower, he wished to visit the
islands with a view to sending him down there to settle, if
circumstances should be favourable. Thus his appointment
met with universal satisfaction. On the one hand, the
black-labour men knew him to be one of their own class,
and prepossessed in favour of their views ; while the general
public had confidence in his integrity and truthfulness, and
in his expressed determination to bring back a full and
impartial report.
As we have said, the "^ Jason" sailed from Maiyborough
on April 6th, and nothing was heard of her until July l^ith,
when it was reported in Maryborough that she was again
in the Bay. At first a vague rumour, which seemed too
ghastly to be true, spread through the town, that the agent
had been maltreated and brought back mad. But soon
more particulars became known, and the people of Alary-
borough and the colony generally grew sick with horror, as
they learnt the dreadful tragedy which had been enacted
and the suff'erings this gentleman had undergone. On the
arrival of the " Jason" at the river heads, the Presbyterian
clergyman, who was a son-in-law of the unfortunate Grovern-
ment agent, and who had been informed of his being
unwell, went down the river and boarded the " Jason," in
company with the family doctor. They found him in a
most abject and lamentable condition, reduced so low that
he could give no signs of recognition, being quite insen-
sible. The doctor asserted that he was nearly dead from ex:-
haustion, — starvation in fact, — and that it would have been
impossible for him to have retained life over another day.
304 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
A little weak brandy and water was administered^ which
slightly revived him. The account given by the captain
was that he had gone mad^ and he had been obliged
to confine him in the hold with the islanders^ where he
had been kept in chains. He admitted that for four days
he had had nothing to eat^ stating that he would not eat it
if offered to him. There wasj however, no difficulty whatever
in administering the brandy and water, the sick man only
apparently suffering from exhaustion. On arrival opposite
the residence of his son-in-law, which is on the bank of the
river, he was taken ashore in a boat. While being landed
he gave the first evidence of returning consciousness. In
the house a little food was administered, and he was washed
and cleaned, having before been in the most wretched con-
dition. It was found that while he had been chained up
in the hold, the rats had actually commenced to gnaw away
his feet. From the time of reaching home he evinced no
signs of madness, and his restoration was continuous,
though very slow.
As may be supposed, on these facts becoming known, a
perfect storm of indignation arose. The public and that
portion of the press not in the hands of the black-labour
men called loudly on the Government to cause an investiga-
tion to be made into the case. It happened that just then
the Minister of Works was in Maryborough, and the agent
when well enough to ride out had seen him and expressed
his intention of demanding an investigation when suffi-
ciently recovered. The Minister of Works at once took the
unprecedented course of himself appointing three gentle-
men, one of whom, although the mayor of the town, was
not even a magistrate, to form a board of inquiry into the
matter. Their only appointment was a letter from this
gentleman, which, of course, gave them no power to take
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 305
legal evidence on oath or to command the presence of
witnesses. The whole affair was what it was doubtless
intended to be^ a mere burlesque on an investigation, and
simply intended to quash further proceedings. Nothing
more absurd in the shape of an inquiry could well be con-
ceived.
The friends of the traffic thought that thus the agitation
would be crushed. But they were mistaken. On recover-
ing health the agent caused proceedings to be taken against
the captain, whose name was Coath, a native of West
Cornwall, which ended in his being sentenced to five years'
penal servitude. This occurred after the author had left the
colony. Subsequently the ministry'- remitted the remaining
portion of Coath's senten^-e, and he was set at liberty. By
a recent mail news has been received that this man has
been killed by the natives of one of the South Sea Islands,
Avhere he had gone as captain of a vessel in the Polynesian
labour trade, having been struck with a poisoned arrow.
The effect of these revelations was. to make the black
labour more and more unpopular. Public opinion became
thoroughly aroused, and even the employers had to admit
that if Kanakas could not be obtained in a more honour-
able way,. they would have to do without them. From this
time the trade fell into disrepute, and although some
, hundreds of Polynesians are still brought yearly to Queens-
land, as many or more return to the islands, haying com-
pleted their terms of service, and the trade has become
comparatively far less than formerly. Her Majesty's
cruisers are also very "active in the South Seas, in order to
prevent this recruiting from developing into a slave-trade,
of which at one time there was great fear. Add to this
the wonderful tide of prosperity that has of late set in,
which has caused labonr of nil sorts to be abundant and
X
806 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
wages high, and the consequently largely increased white
immigration, and it may be seen that there are sufficient
reasons for believing that the danger which once seemed
imminent, of Queensland becoming a country of white em-
ployers and black labourers, has happily passed away.
There never has been a time when labour was more
plentiful or commanded higher wages than at present. As
the wonderful, almost fabulous, resources of this colony
become more largely developed by the application of more
capital and the presence of a larger population, the accumu-
lation of wealth goes on at an ever-increasing ratio. Hence,
although wages are higher, the employer's profits are also
largei', and as the employing class is regularly and con-
stantly being increased by the labourer of this year
becoming the employer of next year, there is a constant
and increasing demand for labourers of all sorts. Thus,
while it is true that there never was a time when such
inducements were held out to the moderate capitalist as at
present, it is also true that the colony never offered a more
promising home to the mere workei', with nothing but a
pair of strong arms and a knowledge and will to use them.
For either of those classes no part of the world offers so
many opportunities of obtaining a competency or an inde-
pendency as does Queensland at this present time. Wages
are certainly very high, but thanks to the excellence of
the land laws, the liberality of the government, the rich-
ness of the soil, and the beauty and salubrity of the climate,
there are equal chances of success for those who pay as for
those who earn wages. And it must always be borne in
mind that one great advantage offered to the labourer in
Queensland is, that not only can he or she earn very large
wages, but, under the provisions of the Land and Home-
stead Acts, can so lay out the money when earned as to
THE LABOUR QUESTION. 307
reap as much or more profit from the investments thus
made as from the labour performed. It may safely he
calculated that money judiciously laid out in land will
return from twenty to twenty-five per ceut.^ and in many
cases far more, merely from the constant and continuous
rise in the value of land, as the population increases in
numbers and wealth.
From Pugh's Almanack for 1875, we quote the following-
rates of wages current in Southern Queensland. In the
northern parts rates are usually higher.
Masons, plasterers, blacksmiths, and wheelwrights, 10*.
to 12*.; bricklayers, 10<s. ; carpenters, 12-y. tol4<s. per diem,
without rations.
Farm labourers, 35/. to 50/. per annum, with board and
lodfjing-.
Shepherds, 35/. to 40/.; stockmen, 40/. to 50/.; but
keepers, 35/.; generally-useful men on stations, 40/. to 50/.
per annum, with rations. Sheep-washers, 5*. to 7*. per diem ;
shearers, 17*. 6d. to 25*. per 100 sheep, with rations;
quarry-men, 8*. to 10*. ; general labourers, 5*. to 7*. per
diem ; seamen, 4/. to 6/. per month.
Married couples, 35/. to 60/. ; men cooks, 40/. to 70/. .
grooms, 40/. to 50/. ; gardeners, 50/. per annum, with
rations.
Female cooks, 26/. to 40/. ; laundresses, 26/. to 35/.
general servants, 20/. to 35/.; housemaids, 20/. to 20/.
nursemaids, 15/. to 20/.; farmhouse servants, 20/. to 30/.
dairy women, 25/. to 30/., with board and lodging.
As a rule, all new arrivals have to be content for the first
year with the lowest quotation, their services never being
so valuable as those of more experienced persons.
A <v
CHAPTER XII.
THE ABORIGINES.
No work on Queensland would be complete without some
account of the aboriginal blacks_, or " blackfellows '' as they
are invariably called. Having passed two or three years in
a part of the country into which few whites had at that
time penetrated, the writer had an opportunity of studying
the natives in their primitive simplicity.
The first thing that occurred to us on seeing the Queens-
land blacks, was the misrepresentations usually indulged
in, in reference to their physical development. Instead of
dwarfed beings, with huge heads and shrivelled shanks, in-
capable of much exertion, we saw a fine race of men, among
whom are as finely-formed and well-developed specimens of
the race as are to be found elsewhere. When seen in his
primitive condition, before ardent spirits have deteriorated
him, the native has usually a dignity of gesture, a firmness
of tread, a litheness and gracefulness of motion, that we look
for in vain among our own labouring classes, and that we
usually connect with the idea of a gentleman. Among the
Newsa tribes there were several who measured over five feet
ten inches, while few or none were absolutely short men.
The two tribes who lived on the Newsa waters were, when
we first knew them, some hundreds in number. About two
years after the Gympie diggings broke out, the king told
me there were not twenty warriors left, so great is the havoc
THE ABORIGINES. 309
made among them by liquor^ of which on the diggings they
obtain an unlimited quantity in payment for stripping bark,
chopping wood, &c.
Their strength is very considerable, although, perhaps,
they have not the endurance of white men. We have seen
a blackfellow carry a 200 lbs. bag of flour on his head a dis-
tance of two miles, only resting once on the way. They can
also walk long distances without tiring, while the power of
muscle and dexterity they exhibit in climbing the enormous
gum-trees, iron-barks, and blackbutts, is something unique
and wonderful, and is, perhaps, unequalled by any other
race of men. Could a tall gum of 120 to 130 feet to the
first branch, and of a diameter at that height of perhaps three
feet six inches to four feet be transplanted into the Zoological
Gardens in the B-egent^s Park, and a Queensland blackfellow
be imported, and daily climb its side either with or without
the aid of a vine, half London would go to see the sight,
and think it well worth the time and cost. Many an
excellent meal have we made from the pure delicious honey-
comb which has been fetched in this way by a kind black-
fellow from one of the huge giants of the forest. The
usual way of climbing a tree is to procui-e a vine of sufficient
strength, from the scrub, which is either passed around the
tree and held by both hands and jerked up simultaneously
with the movement of the feet, the top of the tree being
thus gained by a series of jumps ; or it is tied around the
tree, leaving sufficient room to admit the person of the
climber, who, tomahawk in hand, cuts notches for his feet
as he jerks himself up. In the former case, he often holds
the vine with his left hand and right great toe, while chop-
ping with his other hand, securing his tomahawk in the
hollow between his shoulder and head when he again begins
to climb. A person unused to the sight would expect to
310 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
see the poor fellow slip his hold or lose his balance, and fall
from his giddy heig-ht ; but such a thing occurs rarely, if
ever. Blacks have told us a traditional story of a vine once
breaking and killing a man, but it was always a story they
had only heard of.
They also often excel as axe-men and bullock-drivers,
and all coast blacks are capital hands at an oar. We have
known many instances of a black, who had no family con-
nexions to coax him away, working for a year continuously
as a sawyer or feller. A timber-getter on the Commera
once pointed out a blackfellow to us as the most efficient
hand he had, being able to do more work and better than
himself or any of his men. We saw him in Brisbane in
company with his master, in the dress and having the
bearing of a sensible and civilized working-man. A friend
of ours had a black who worked as mate with a white man
in felling, cross-cutting, and squaring 70,000 feet of cedar,
and also in cutting the scrub roads to it. He thought him-
self well remunerated by having his rations and tobacco
while working, and a suit of clothes, 100 lbs, of flour, and
1/. in cash on leaving. The writer has found them invaluable
in rafting, boating, working timber, and cattle, and has a
thorough conviction that, if systematically treated, they
could be induced to work regularly, and become very valu-
able indeed. At any rate, one thing is certain, it is not from
any lack of strong muscles and a well-knit frame that the
Queensland black has not been civilized and christianized.
But it may be argued, although this race is athletic
and powerful enough physically, they entirely lack
that mental calibre requisite to appreciate the truths
of Christianity, or the habits of civilization. There are
few races so quick in their perceptive faculties, while
their reasoning powers, too, are by no means despicable.
THE ABORIGINES. 311
It is true their very primitive style of life precludes
the necessity of much forecast, nor is it conducive to the
development of habits of thought. Their utter careless-
ness for the morrow so long as to day's wants are supplied,
has, in our opinion, given rise to a deal of misconception as
to their mental ability. But when we consider the excel-
lent climate with which they are blessed, and the little pains
necessary to obtain their food, it will probably be admitted
that they have very little cause in their natural state to
worry their brains or tax their minds.
Their oratorical powers are very considerable ; we have
often listened with pleasure to speech after speech uttered
with an ease, fluency, and intonation, coupled with a grace-
ful gesture, that bespoke the orator. One chief we remem-
ber in particular, whose bearing and deportment marked
him as a complete master of oratory, while all who looked
on him recognized one of nature's gentlemen, though in a
black skin and with little clothing. Indeed, as a rule, a
black divests himself of his garments before either speaking
or acting in a corrobboree.
Perhaps the principal indication of the possession of an
inventive faculty in the Australian black is to be found in
the bomerang, than which there are few more curious
instruments ; and its use argues considerable skill.
To see a black carrying through the street two or three
of these flat, crooked pieces of wood, would convey to the
uninitiated no idea of their peculiar powers; you see only a
piece of very hard wood, worked to a particular curve, about
fifteen or sixteen inches long by two broad, and varying from
three-quarters to a quarter of an inch in thickness ; being
always thinner at the edges than in the middle. But see him
throw it : first, it skims along the ground, then rises to a
considerable height to sink again, and again to rise ; now,
312 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
when you think it must stop in its rapid and erratic course,
and fall to the ground, you see it, urged by some occult power,
suddenly cease its onward flight, and, turning towards the
thrower, sometimes circuitously, sometimes directly, and
sometimes in a course similar to its outward flight, come
swiftly back, and strike the ground with great force almost
at his feet.
Besides the bomerang the black has the spear, nullah-
nullah, or small club, the hatchet, knife, and shield. The
spear is of a peculiar wood, hardened by the action of
fire, as is also the nullah. The hatchet and knife were,
before the arrival of the white, always of stone, ground to
a sharp edge. The hatchet was used in procuring food,
while the knife was principally a weapon of warfare.
The sight of two tribes of blacks on a grand field day in
actual combat is a curious and interesting scene. Before
the battle commences, all the females are obliged to retire
to some distance, with the camp equipages and baggage.
Then the chiefs lead out their men to the scene of action;
if on the coast, the beach is generally the scene of strife,
and the non-combatants look on from the sand-banks
above ; if in the bush, a place clear of undergrowth is used.
Usually the action of the day begins by a sarcastic and
abusive harangue on the part of the hostile chiefs. They
tell each other that they are men- with little legs, and
hearts like women ; they accuse them of having used the
black art to compass the death of some one who has recently
died in their own tribe. A battle often takes place over
an occurrence of this sort, they having a belief in a sort
of mesmerism by which an enemy steals away a man's
soul while he is asleep, and by taking it into the bush and
working a spell on him, causes a fatal sickness to follow.
A number of remarks are vociferated in the hearing of all,
THE ABOEIGINES. 313
very similar in style to the vilification of two pot-house
champions, and replied to in a similar strain. Then every
man singles out his opponent, and hurls first his bomerangs,
afterwards his spears. It is a rule among the blacks that
as soon as a death occurs the fighting ceases, and each
party withdraws to its camp, the side to which the dead
man belongs being conquered. But many battles occur in
which no death happens.
The spears and bomerangs being gone, the waddies or
nullahs come into use, some being thrown, others used as
clubs. This weapon is generally laid horizontally on the
head, and each warrior invites his antagonist to give the
first blow. When the waddies are all expended, if one side
or the other has not succumbed sooner, the knives are
brought into play. And here we must notice another very
humane and singular provision. Although these men meet
in deadly strife when close quarters are come to, and the
knife is taken, no man is allowed to strike or cut his
antagonist in any vital part. The only places on which it
is admissible to operate are the arms, shoulders, buttocks, and
thighs. No stabbing is ever resorted to under any circum-
stances. In fact, it is now a mere question of strength,
dexterity, and courage, and as soon as one intimates he is
beaten the other leaves him. The gashes given in these
hand-to-hand combats are sometimes most frightful ; it is
not at all unusual to see a black with his arm laid open to
the bone in a gash of several inches long. Their flesh
heals with the greatest rapidity. A black will be so cut up
in a fight as to be unable to reach his camp unassisted, with
his limbs nearly covered with wounds of the most ghastly
description ; yet in a few days he will be quite recovered,
with only his scars to show, and which, warrior-like, are
pointed out with feelings of pride. The gins and old men
314 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
apply various sorts of leaves, and frequently ashes and dirt,
to staunch the wounds, and we suppose their primitive habits
and wholesome food have no small part in the healing process.
It not unfrequently happens that while the battle is
raging between the warriors, the gins become too excited
to be mere spectators ; seizing their yam-sticks, they fall
on each other with cries, shrieks, howls, and gesticulations
truly barbarous. This yam-stick is a sort of heavy spear,
and is used in digging yams in scrubs. It is of very hard
wood, and is no mean weapon when dexterously handled.
We have seen a gin challenge a smart stockman to a trial
of skill with her favourite weapon, which is as constantly
in her hand as the waddy in her husband^s. Holding it in
both hands, she will act either on the offensive or defensive
with equal adroitness. After a while, however, women-
like, they get tired of the yam-sticks, and, throwing them
down, rush pell-mell at each other^s hair. "We believe it is
in consequence of this weakness of the sex for getting their
hands in each other^s hair that they always cut their hair
short. The gins in the bush wear their hair much shorter
than the men, and as many of them have the most beautiful
curly hair imaginable, this is much to be regretted. It
must not be supposed that any great amount of enmity or
ill-feeling exists between the various tribes which thus
engage in wars. It would seem that these gatherings are
as much in the nature of feasts as fights ; for it is very usual
for a day or two to elapse before the battle, after they are
all met in the appointed place, which time is spent in
learning and practising new corrobborees. These corrob-
borees are another evidence of the intellectual capacity of
the blacks. It is not an uncommon thing for a poetical
blackfellow to get up a new one and set it to music. There
is generally a great deal of repetition in these songs ; in
THE ABORIGINES. 315
fact the chorus is the principal part. We have had some
of them interpreted to us by blacks, and have found, mixed
up with much that is vulgai*, not to say obscene, some very
poetical ideas and sentiments. It would seem as if the
corrobboree was only a sort of oj)era, the acting- being- done
by the men and young women, while the older ladies form
the orchestra, and all take part in the sing-iug-. The noise
an old gin will make by slapping her hollow hand on the
inside of the thigh is something like that of a small drum.
The paint and pipe-clay in which the men are decorated for
these occasions is usually designed to give the effect of a
skeleton, all the ribs, &c., being carefully marked. Seen
by the glare of the fire — .for their performances are always
at night — one could almost imagine he saw a bevy of
spectres dancing around him, were it not for the noise
produced. We have never been able to ascertain why this
style of ornamentation is practised, but as they also paint
themselves with pipe-clay in a similar manner on the
death of a friend, as a sign of mourning, we have an idea
that the white marks are considered the most hideous and
unnatural. Listened to at a sufficient distance to tone
down the din of the instrumental music — generally produced
by knocking waddies together, and the other means already
alluded to — the corrobboree may not be so high an artistic
production as an Italian opera, but it is not without its
peculiar beauties. Sometimes these eorrobborees are learnt
at these gatherings of the tribes ; more frequently a
member of a particular tribe will make a visit of consider-
able duration with a distant tribe for the purpose of learn-
ing theirs and imparting those of his own people. In this
case, on his return, night after night will be spent in
practice until perfection is attained. Then about the full
moon a graud performance takes place in full costume, and
316 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the greater portion of the night is spent before they retire to
rest. In short, the eorrobboree is to the blaekfellovv what
the theatrical and operatic performances are to the European,
and being nearly the only amusement he has, is looked
upon as a matter of the first importance.
From the eorrobboree of the blackfellow to the various
indications of his religious belief is a natural transition.
We say indications, for we have never been able to arrive
at the conclusion that we fully understood all their belief as
to a Deity and the future state. But in our intercourse
with them, conversation often reverted to this subject,
and the information obtained has thrown some light upon
the subject.
It is to a ffreat extent believed that the blackfellow has
no knowledge of an hereafter, or of any superior being.
There is, however, a great amount of error mixed up with
this opinion. It is true his idea of the Godhead is exceed-
ingly ill-defined and fragmentary, but in common with
other races of men he fully realizes the immortality of the
soul and the future existence in another state of being. v
We had journeyed down one of the many fine rivers
of the Queensland coast ; night came on, and we camped on
the river bank. After the fire had been made and the
evening meal consumed, fresh fuel was heaped on the fire;
then, rolled in our blankets, we lay looking up to the
Southern Cross, marking the hours of the night like
a huge dial, and those wonderful and mysterious Magellan
Clouds, which look like holes broken in the firmament.
Drawing Tommy's attention to the shining orbs above
us, the swift-flowing river at our side, the ocean whose
evening song broke ever on our ears with a low, mournful
cadence, the trees overhead, with their tenantry of birds,
and the tall mountains away to the west, where the early
THE ABOEIGINES. 317
moon was sinking" from our sight, we asked him how all
these came to be there, with the blackfellows who piled the
heajis of oyster-shells behind us, which spoke of a hundred
generations prior to the advent of the white man. How,
we asked him, did all these things come to be ? He held a
short conversation with his wife, who lay beyond him,
either to refresh his memory or to consult her as to the
propriety of giving any information, and then, turning to
us, said, that many, many long years ago, the whole of the
world, with everything in it, as well as the sun, moon, and
stars, had all been made by Bedall, who he believed was
the same to the black as God to the white. He did not,
however, think that he was identical with God, as he
thought that Bedall only made the blackfellow and his
country. He was like a huge turtle, and made all these
things as he floated about on the surface of the big waters.
His dimensions, as Tommy gave them, were at least two
miles across his back, by a proportionate length ; he could
not indeed give his exact size, which might be double
what he had stated. Bedall had made the land of this
country by brooding on the mud, which he caused to
become land. He had gone away over the ocean so long
ago that our informant could give no idea of the lapse of
time, and never took any further heed of the country or its
inhabitants. Where he was gone he had created a large
number of young, but these had none of them attained to
anything like the magnitude of their parent; nor could
we learn that he knew anything of these offspring of
Bedall's. The whole account had about it the vague-
ness of an old story which had not been recalled to
mind for many years. There was connected with this
traditionary First Cause no idea of a superintending and
protecting Godhead. It was " too many years ago " since
318 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
he had heard very old people talk of Bedall, and he had
forgotten particulars.
Beyond this we never obtained any information as to the
Creator. The devil is a more familiar being, bearing some
comparison to the vampire of the northern nations, or the
Obi of the negro race, and is, like the latter, some powerful
and physically-developed being, having power to work evil
but not to do good.
If, however, the blacks' notion of a Supreme Being
is rather difficult to understand, there need be no doubt
whatever as to their belief in the immortality of the soul.
Every one is familiar with their belief that they will after
death "jump up whitefellow.'' It has generally been
thought that this idea must have originated since the
advent of the European. But we are by no means of this
opinion. When Morrell, who was for nineteen years
among the blacks in the north of Queensland, first appeared
among them as a shipwrecked sailor, he was at once claimed
by one of the gins, who had recently lost a son, as her boy
returned to life. At this time the tribe had never before
seen and probably had never heard of the white man. The
same thing occurred to Davis, who was for many years
with the blacks in the Wide Bay District, by whom he was
recognized as the son of their king restored to life. These
people at that time had no knowledge of the whites, and it
therefore appears that their belief as to their children
cominir to life white must be looked for in another direc-
tion. Perhaps the reason may arise from the facts con-
nected with their mode of disposing of their dead.
As is pretty well known, they make it a point of duty,
when any of the tribe die, to eat the bodies of the departed
relative. As the flesh is considered too great a treat for
all to share, or more probably for some religious reason,
THE ABORIGINES. 319
none but the old men are allowed to partake, or in default
of enough of these, the old gins and the more accomplished
warriors. When this ceremony has to be performed the
body is carried to a convenient place and laid on the ground.
Then a small fire is lit all round the corpse at a distance of
from one to two feet. By exposing all parts of the body to a
moderate heat all the cuticle becomes removable, and is care-
fully scraped off, when the body presents a dull whitish colour.
When the flesh has all been removed the bones are care-
fully gathered and placed in a dilly-bag, which is carried
about for thirteen moons by one of the female relatives in
all the journeyings of the ti*ibe, after which they are rolled
in bark and either placed in a tree or on a sheet of bark
elevated on forked sticks five or six feet from the ground.
Now, as all the elders are acquainted with this jirocess and
liave seen their relatives, so to speak, turning white,
one can fancy that it does not require a great stretch of
imagination to look upon the white stranger as the
risen son.
The belief in the existence of disembodied spirits is
universal, and is one great reason why blacks will never
willingly leave their camps after dark. The following
curious story was related to the author by an old and
well-known colonist who lived near him. Being on a
visit to his place, the name of a certain blackfellow
was mentioned whom we had been accustomed to see
about the house, when we were informed he was dead,
and that too under very remarkable circumstances. He
had been sent to a neighbouring station, a distance of
twelve miles, on an errand which necessitated his seeing
the superintendent. Unfortunately that gentleman was
out on the run, and did not return until nearly nightfall,
when, finding an answer would be expected, he sent
320 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the very unwilling black away on his return journey
just at sunset. The road was very wet^ and riding- con-
sequently tedious ; so it was not until his master had
retired to rest that the messenger returned. He was
awakened by his knocking, and arose and let him into
the house, when he was surpi'ised, not to say horrified,
at seeing his countenance, instead of being of its usual
black shiny colour, presenting a pale ash colour, painful to
look on, while the rolling of his eyes and the incoherence
of his speech showed the poor fellow to be in mortal terror.
On being asked what was the matter with him, he said
that he had been sent away home at sunset, against his
own will; that his horse had been unable to travel most of
the way faster than a walk, and that after dark, when near
a creek about half-way home, he had seen the spirit
of a certain black who had recently died in a neigh-
bouring tribe at Mooloolah, and that he was himself doomed
to die within forty-eight hours. We really forget whether
he had received this information from the ghost or whether
it was his own deduction ; but he was positive as to what
he had seen and who it was, although, as is the invariable
rule among his race, he would not mention the dead man's
name. He found great fault with the superintendent for
sending him home so late, and seemed to lay his death,
which he took for granted, at his door. His master
endeavoured to laugh him out of the idea, but with no
success, and was fain to allow him to sleep by the kitchen
fire that night, as he was evidently afraid again to move
out of the house. The next day he sickened, and the
following day died, although up to the time of taking this
ill-starred journey he had been in perfect health. What
proved that there was nothing opposed to the belief of the
members of his tribe in this aifair was the fact that they
THE ABORIGINES. 321
all believed that his death was occasioned in the way
stated.
Another instance in which the belief in the appearance
of the dead had a powerful effect on the conduct of a black-
fellow is that of the surrender of Tommy Skyring-, one of
the murderers of the ill-fated Stevens, the botanist, who
was treacherously murdered in the year 1866, some few
miles below Mooloolah, by Sky ring- and two other blacks.
Skyring" subsequently g-ave himself up and wished to be
hung", giving as his reason that although he shifted his
camp daily, and sometimes oftener, the murdered man
always came and looked over his shoulder, so that he could
neither eat nor sleep. This man also died soon after reach-
ing Brisbane gaol, perfectly emaciated.
There are other very peculiar beliefs amongst the blacks
in reference to the dead. One is that all thunder-storms,
tornadoes, &c., are caused by the departed blacks. It is
supposed that the last man who has died in the district
thus influences the weather ; hence, when a heavy storm
is imminent, the principal men in the tribe or camp,
instead of retiring under shelter, advance to a short
distance from their gunyas, and commence a series of the
most piercing shrieks and stentorian calls. They are
understood to be addressing the departed spirit, and by
expostulations, entreaties, and threats, are endeavouring to
induce him to stop the storm, or, at any rate, to take it in
some other direction.
We were once camped in a little valley on the coast
range, on an occasion of this kind. About dusk, it became
evident that a storm was approaching. The fires were
made, and the supper cooked as quickly as possible, extra
stakes were driven for pins for the tent and fly, or outer
covering. We were none too soon : before we had had time
O
Y
322 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
to do more than make these brief preparations, and cut a
small trench round the tent, to prevent the inflow of water,
the storm came down on us in sublime fury. Its approach
was like the march of a thousand locomotive engines,
howling, and shrieking, and hissing. The giants of the
forest bent and groaned with the fearful pressure put on
them ; here and there a huge limb broke off, and fell with
a noise like thunder to the ground ; while smaller branches,
twigs, and leaves filled the air, and appeared to act as an
advanced guard to the storm-king. The thunder — which
had gradually been coming nearer and nearer, until from
sounding like a distant cannonading it seemed as if we
were on the very edge of a pitched battle — now broke
immediately over-head, with a terrible crash and rattle
that completely drowned all other noises, and seemed to
shake the foundations of the hills. Peal followed peal in
such rapid succession as to appear almost like one con-
tinuous roar. Such was the fearful noise of the thunder,
thitt a large limb of a gum-tree fell to the ground near us,
from a great height, without the noise of its fall being
heard. It was as if the crack of doom was come. The
black clouds had brought the densest night in a few
minutes ; but the glare of the never-ceasing lightning lit
up the whole forest. Streams of the electric fluid ran
down the sides of the tall trees and along the ground, or in
massive sheets flashed through the openings, giving a most
unearthly glare to the whole scene. It was well we had
taken the precaution of double pegging our tent. Huddled
up inside it, three white men and two or three blacks, — too
frightened to remain in their bark camp, — had all we
could do to hold down the sides to prevent the wind from
lifting it clean away. The tent-poles bent as if they would
break, and amid the universal din it was impossible to
THE ABORIGINES. 323
converse in any other way tlian by signs with the
aid of the lightning. And now the rain poured down
in apparently one solid sheet, which beat through the tent
and fly as if they had been gauze, and filled the inside with
a fine rain like a Scotch mist. It was one of the severest
thunder-storms ever known in the colony, and, as we sub-
sequently learnt, did much damage in some places.
During all this time. Tommy, udth spear in one hand
and nullah in the other, was standing about half-a-dozeu
j^ards in front of the tent, shrieking and hallooing in a way
that seemed almost supernatural. In the very height of
the din of the storm, his sharp, shrill shriek could be heard
uniting with the noise of the elements, while he took every
occasion of the least lull in the thunder to call out at the
top of his voice to his imaginary hearer. Not being con-
versant with their belief on the question, we asked his gin
to tell him to come in, but she refused. On our going out
to expostulate with him, he could only find time to tell us
to go in and leave him, and then commenced his ravings
again. At first we were inclined to think he was simply
amusing himself by trying his voice against the storm ;
but his pertinacity at last caused us to fear that the terrible
character of the hurricane had upset his mind, and that he
was gone '^ cranky."
However, after the rain had set in steadily, the tempest
somewhat lulled ; he at length entered the tent, and threw
himself down completely exhausted. A cup of tea and his
supper soon recovered him, and he then condescended to
inform us why he li,ad been hallooing and carrying on so
strangely. He said it was a black who had recently died,
and whom he knew very well, who had raised this storm.
Of course he would not mention his name, for under no
circumstances will a blackfellow name a deceased person of
Y 2
324 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
their race ; nay, if there are any others of the same name,
as not unfrequeutly occurs, they change it for another, so
that the name may by no means pass their lips. From
what we could gather he had an idea that if he could raise
his voice above the storm he should succeed in quelling it,
and he was very proud of the assumed fact that he had
done so. The storm-maker had been standing some way
over across a creek, and Tommy had heard his voice in the
storm, — to say truth, it needed little imagination to hear
many voices in that terrible weather. We asked him what
good all his hallooing had done, and told him it was the
Great Father of all who made the storm, as well as every-
thing else, and that He could watch over us as well then
as when the sky was clear. He replied, that might be all
very true, so far as white men were concerned, but it was
very different with black men. The black men when dead
grew angry at times, and hence they made these storms.
In the present instance, he had been highly successful in his
struggle with his ghostly opponent, as the storm had divided
in two, a little way up from us, and one part was gone
on the one side and the other on the other. Had it not
been for his opposition, the whole strength of the blast
would have swept over where we were, and tent, men, and
all would have been blown away. Being in the tent as we
were, we could not hear the storm so well as he could ; but
if we had stood with him we should have heard it divide
and pass on each side. There was no use in arguing with
him ; he and every black there evidently believed all he
said, and put down our incredulity to the fact of our
ignorance, not being black, and therefore unable to under-
stand their affairs. It was curious, and confirmed Tommy
in his belief, but we afterwards found that the storm
had been much fiercer elsewhere; many houses having
THE ABORIGINES. 325
been ])lown down, and in some places nearly half the forest
uprooted.
We remember on another occasion being* in a whale-
boat on the coast. As we drew near Double Island Point
the wind shifted round nearly ahead, and a very heavy sea
began to run. It became a question whether w^e could
weather the headland or no, and having to keep very close to
the wind, a little water was shipped over the bows. There
were a few blacks with us, most of whom had been sick
and lying in the bottom of the boat all day ; but the sight
of the huge waves, the dashing of the spray, and the
danger which they readily perceived of our not being able
to clear the point, put them in a terrible fright, and one
and all began invoking the spirit of the wind or sea in
much the same way as Tommy did on the other occasion.
The child-like pleasure and glee they evinced when we
finally weathered the last projecting rock and ran down
before the wand was something worth seeing. They are
indeed much like children, quickly frightened and easily
pleased.
Some of their customs are of a nature that evince their
barbarism in its most degraded form. Among these latter
may be classed the treatment their infants receive.
Among the blackfellows it is very usual to destroy the
female children, especially if the poor little things are puny
or troublesome ; when this is done, Sometimes they are
eaten by the elders, and sometimes disposed of in other
ways. On one occasion the wife of a blackfellow,
engaged for a fortnight, gave birth to a daughter. We all
adjourned to have a look at the new arrival. It was a
queer sight to look on ; the poor little thing, without the
semblance of a covering, was lying in its mother's lap in
the full glare of the sun ; it was a very light colour.
326 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
which evidently did not meet the approbation of the parent,
as she was in the act of plastering its poor little head with
a composition of grease and charcoal, with which she after-
wards anointed its body. It was a fine female child, and
looked quite flourishing before it was greased. Tastes differ,
and we told the gin she had spoiled the baby's looks, but
she assured us it was " collanger,'' or very good, in its coat
of paint. We afterwards saw it peacefully sleeping in a
nice soft bed, which had been prepared by rubbing up a
lot of the soft bark of the tea- tree, until it was just like a
little nest made of tissue paper, which this bark much
resembles. The child grew and flourished while its parents
stopped at the camp. When he was paid ofli" they left, and
we did not see them again for a few months. On inquiring
after the baby, to which, by-the-bj^e, we had stood god-
father, so far as giving it a name was concerned, we were
told it was dead. The black said " that piccaninny no
good — baal budgeree fellow, too much cry,'' and that's all
we could get out of him, but his gin told us he had knocked
it on the head with his nullah-nullah, because it was cross ;
it was always crying, and was not a boy. From motives
of delicacy, we refrained to question her as to the disposal
of the body, not wishing to follow the subject any further.
In those portions of the colony where there is great
intercourse between the two races, a very considerable
number of half-castes are born. As far as our observation
has gone, by far the largest proportion of these poor unfor-
tunates are girls. We have heard it asserted by many
bushmen of experience, and we have seen enough to fully
warrant the assertion, that nearly all these female half-castes
are eaten sooner or later. It is a horrible statement to
make, and revolting as well as humiliating, but more than
one instance of the kind has come under our personal obser-
THE ABORIGINES. 327
ration, so far as being told by a tribe, when we have missed
a certain child, that such had been its fate. It is probably
the only description of cannibalism pure and simple that is
perpetrated among the South Queensland blacks, there being
circumstances connected with the eating of their dead
which perhaps remove that habit out of the region of
mere cannibalism. Their own pure-bred children are most
likely killed more for the sake of being rid of them than for
anything else ; but in the case of half-castes, this will not
account for the killing and eating of fine little girls of four
or five years of age. Singular to say, their adopted fathers
— who subsequently marry their mothers — are usually very
proud of the superior beauty of their wife's offspring.
We knew one man, now dead, who had a sweet little girl
of this sort, which we frequently attempted to purchase
from him for the purpose of placing her in a family who
had offered to take her; but we were always unable to
induce him either by the offer of blankets, tobacco, or flour,
or of all combined, to part with the child, which he really
seemed to believe was his own. But when the diggers' rum
had killed her protector, we subsequently learnt that one
very wet time, when food could only be got with difficulty,
the poor little offspring of some so-called Christian was
knocked on the head by an old greybeard, and roasted on
the camp-fire and eaten.
Among the customs of our blacks, perhaps the most
curious and mysterious is that of kipper making. So fruit-
less have been all our attempts at learning the mysteries
of this operation, that nearly all we can say of it is, that
when lads are passing from boyhood they are in a forma}
and solemn gathering of one or more tribes initiated into
the state of kippers. Thei'e is something in the secrecy
which hanffs over this affair that reminds one of the aneienc
328 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
Eleusinian mysteries ; like them, the ceremonies connected
with kipper making* are carried on at nig-ht, and apparently
the same secrecy is observed in reference to the rites. In
some places '' kipper rings " may be seen, where these
mysteries are performed and the initiations take place.
Those we have seen are on somewhat elevated ground, and
are always on the apex of the hill or crest of the ridg'e.
There is about them something which reminds one of the
Druidical circles on Stonehenge and Dartmoor, and other
places. The ring consists, as its name imports, of a circle,
which, in the only case where we actually measured, was
fifteen paces in diameter. The centre is higher than the
outside, which is hollowed about a foot or eighteen inches
below the natural level of the ground, and this ring or
way is sometimes walled up on the outer side with stone
work. Leading away from this ring is a similar path or
roadway, something like a shallow drain, also excavated
slightly below the level of the ground. This continues
down the hill for about forty yards. We have never noticed
two of these paths, but others have assured us that they
have seen them with two, — one on each side of the ring.
The encroachments of the white man have driven the black-
fellow from the localities where the kipper rings that we
have seen are situated, and we believe that kippers are often
" made " now where no ring is in existence. But from the
appearance of the neighbouring soil, we have little doubt
that as other nations in ancient times sacrificed in their
" high places " in warm latitudes, and worshipped in rings
in the northern ones, so this despised race has been in the
habit of conducting one of their observances in set places,
bearing a certain similitude to both. At present, we think
a tribe will initiate the kippers in any place where they
have sufficient privacy, without heeding the formation of a
THE ABORIGINES. 329
permanent ring-, for we have a notion that the ring- is
requisite.
All boys are made kippers as a matter of course, at or
before their arriving- at puberty. There is something in
this kipperhood of a masonic nature some have thought, and
if, as Dr. Lang informs us, Leichhardt met with natives in
the interior who exchanged masonic signs with him, they
were probably given when initiated into this state. There
is also something about kipperhood which reminds one of
the knights-errant and their novitii.te, as well as of the
restrictions of a like character put on the mysta in the
Eleusinian mysteries already alluded to. A kipper must
eat only certain food, and must conform himself to certain
usages. He passes from the freedom of boyhood into a
state of abstinence and denial to a certain extent. There
are several articles of food of which he may only partake in
case of absolute want, and then only by permission of his
chief. He must by no means eat of human flesh ; he must
sleep in a certain part of the camp — at the opposite end
from that occupied by the unmarried girls ; he is under
certain laws of service to the warriors ; in short, he has to
undergo a period of abstinence, self-denial, chastity, and
obedience, from which he cannot pass before he has proved
himself to be fitted to enter the ranks of the warriors.
Nothing has surprised us more in making investigations
into the habits of our aboriginals than the discovery of a
degree of chastity and virtue which are quite at variance
with all our preconceived notions on the subject. We speak
not, it must be remembered, of those blacks who have
mixed up with and been demoralized by the white man, but
of those who have resided remote from the evil influence of
the lowest class of white men. We have found among them
a code of morals as strict as is to be found elsewhere ; and
330 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
although their standard of modesty is veiy different from
ours_, yet in their own way, and according to their own
standard, many coast tribes, at any rate, are by no means
inferior to their white supplanters in this respect. One
instance of this is to be seen in the treatment of kippers.
They are by no means allowed to associate freely with the
yomig girls, and are always under the surveillance of the
seniors. If a kipper, who has grown into manhood, wishes
to be ranked as a warrior, he is put through a series of
ordeals to test his strength of nerve and powers of en-
durance. Many of these tests are applied, and if the
neophyte shrinks or gives any indication of cowardice he
must continue in his kipperhood still longer. Many of
these tests are more like what might have been expected to
prevail among North American Indians than the natives of
the sunny south. They consist of cutting with knives,
hitting with nullah-nullahs, tearing the hair, burning the
llesh, fighting with warriors, and, wonderful to relate,
delivering orations. If, in addition to this, the kipper
have the good fortune to kill or seriously wound an enemy,
or even an opponent of his own tribe, his claims to manu-
mission from the novitiate are at once recognized, and he is
duly admitted among the warriors of his txibe.
When the young man has been admitted to the ranks of
the warriors, his next ambition is to have a wife. But
before the chief allows him to take this step, he must have
proved incontestably that he is able to hold his own in
battle. One or two successful fights must be passed through,
and then he is at full liberty to marry. There is connected
with the marriage of the blacks — at least, of some of them —
a most singular and unprecedented law, which either applies
to every member of the tribe, or only to such as marry
wives from a distance. They are not allowed to cohabit
THE ABORIGINES. 331
with their newly- wedded wife for three moons. Such
was the way in which, Tommy informed us, his mar-
riage was conducted, but for how far this custom extends
we are unable to say. We have never understood that any
particular festivities or observances of any sort attend a
wedding. Sometimes a young man marries a member of
his own tribe, in others he visits a neighbouring one, either
stealing his wife, or obtaining her as Isaac did Rebekah —
on account of the ties of consanguinity and certain presents
made.
Probably this question may be governed by the state of
things in his native tribe ; for it may, and often does, occur
that there are several marriageable females in the tribe, and
yet none from whom he may select. This arises from the fact
that every tribe is divided into two parts or orders, from
the other of which alone are young men allowed to marry.
There does not seem to be any particular rule for the placing
of various parties in these classes^ at any rate we have never
learnt it ; but each child, of either sex, at its birth is at
once named as a member of one or the other, and is known
as belonging to that particular moiety all through life. A
white man, to whom they are attached, is generally nomi-
nated to one. of these divisions, as well as being renamed
with an appropriate name and admitted to the tribe. The
writer was much astonished on one occasion on learning
that he had been honoured with these tokens of regard,
being told that in future he was a brother of the chief, who
had given him a long name, denoting a habit of moving
quickly about.
It is never usual, it appears, for the young man to make
the first advances to a young woman of his own tribe. The
gin has the acknowledged right of showing her partiaHty
for a particular person. It is done in this way : — When-
332 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
ever the young man who may have charmed her affections
comes into her presence she looks steadily at him, and when
she catches his eye she looks on the ground ; this silent
courtship, or language of the eyes, continues all the time
he sits at the camp, and, perhaps, for two or three occa-
sions. "That Mary not look too much first time,'" said
Jacky ; " by-and-by that fellow look too much, every time
that blackboy sit down/' It then always happens that
the love-sick gin falls in the young man's way in the day-
time, when '^ that fellow look out 'possum or sugar-bag,"
and gives him an opportunity of declaring himself. If,
however, he is tardy on this point, some other gin, usually
a married one, is deputed to bring the matter to a satisfac-
tory conclusion. We could not learn that the poor fellow-
had any right to refuse, unless he had been looking out
" Mary belonging to another country.-"
The mode pursued when a young man gets a wife from
a distance is very different from this romantic way of
mating. He either proceeds by treaty, in which case his
father and mother and several friends accompany him ; or,
in the case of a forced abduction, he usually goes by him-
self, or accompanied by one friend. They lurk about the
camp in which the dusky Dulcinea resides, until he can
follow her on one of those expeditions daily made by the
women after roots or other edibles ; then at a convenient
moment she is seized and carried off. In these cases it is
not at all unusual for the young Lochinvar, instead of
placing his bride on a fleet horse to elude the pursuit of
relatives, to stun her at the outset with a blow from a
nullah-nullah, to prevent her screaming, and so occasioning
too sudden an alarm. Of course, as rapid a retreat as pos-
sible is beaten, and very frequently the tribe thus ravished
of one of its chief beauties declares war on the other, and
THE ABORIGINES. 333
a pitched battle ensues. We once heard of an instance in
which a young warrior waylaid a member of another tribe,
and killed him for the purpose of securing- his gin. As to
the number of wives possessed by a blackfellow, we can only
say that we can remember but two or three instances of a
black who had more than one wife, and we never have
heard of more than two belonging to one man.
When one of the tribe is sick he is said to have a
" mudlo." " Mudlo '' is a stone, and their belief is that
death is caused by some hostile black placing a stone in
that portion of the body which is affected. We have seen
blacks with mudlos in their heads, some in their stomachs
or breasts, and some in the legs. They will tell you with
the greatest composure whether the mudlo will be got out,
or whether the patient will " go bong •/' and we have many
times been surprised by the accuracy with which they can
prognosticate the result of any ailment. They have medi-
cine-men who practise with herbs, rubbing, and exorcisings.
The cunning fellows, when they have a curable patient,
announce by-and-by the extraction of the mudlo, which
fact is hailed with shouts of joy by all hands. We have
been shown stones which were said to have been thus ex-
tracted. They were always small smooth pebbles, some-
what larger than a pigeon''s egg. Queensland blacks are
by no means open to the charge laid against the bushmen
of South Africa, to whom we have heard some people liken
them, of neglecting the sick and the aged. So far from
this, they show a large amount of attention to both. The
aged of both sexes either travel with the tribe, in which
case every assistance is given them in the construction of
their camp, obtaining wood, water, and food, &c., or they
are located in some sheltered, secluded nook, and waited on
by some of the younger women.
334 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
We once came across a camp of this sort on the coast,
nestled in among- high, grass-covered sand-banks, and con-
tiguous to a couple of native wells. A small grove of the
beautiful casuarina, whose pendant fronds drooped like those
of the weeping willow, almost to the ground, and of the
native bread-fruit grew near, affording a luxurious shelter
from the rays of the sun, where the cooling sea-breezes
ever wafted a refreshing breeze, which sang in joyous
cadence in the branches overhead. Here were living about
half-a-dozen very old women and a couple of aged patri-
archs, with heads and beards whiter than the sand, and
bowed down with the weight of age. They were of a
generation which knew not the white man or his tongue,
further than the single word "pi-um" or pipe, used as a
request for tobacco, of which they knew the use. We never
saw people who, to all appearance, were older than some of
these. One old lady was nothing but a mass of wrinkles,
which nothing but the reverence due to age saved from
being ludicrous. Bent nearly double and almost blind, we
thought life must be a burden, until we saw a roasted bream
handed her as she lay basking in the midday sun, when the
full set of teeth were brought into play with a vigour which
evinced a good appetite. The most pleasing feature at this
infirmary was the evident respect and affection evinced by
the men who accompanied us, as well as the younger
women, to these old people ; and perhaps one may be
pardoned for drawing a comparison between these people,
passing the evening of their lives in the lovely Queensland
climate, with the grand old ocean before them, with its
never-ceasing song and exhilarating breezes, the snug bark
camps with their soft beds of dry sand, the shady grove
ever cool and melodious, and the full supply of honey,
shell and other fish supplied them by kind hands, with
THE ABORIGINES. -335
the lot of thousands of the old and infirm in our own
civilized and wealthy country.
It is no unusual thing to see the youngest children
among the blacks with pipes in their mouths. We have
seen a baby at the breast, as soon as it had had sufficient
nutriment, pluck the pipe from its mother's mouth, and
commence very demurely to puff away in the most ortho-
dox fashion. The mothers suckle their children for a much
longer period than with us. As a rule the number of
children in each family is small. We have known only
one family of more than two or three.
As with their children so with their sick, great kind-
ness is shown. If a man or woman fall sick, all the tribe
come and condole with them; every attention is paid, kind
words and sympathizing sighs are uttered, in a way that
teaches the observer how much of kindness and love there
is in the race. A pleasing instance of the affectionate
character of the blackfellow came under our notice but a
few days since. A blackfellow dressed as a stockman, with
Crimean shirt, moleskin trousers, and boots, was coming
up the street in the rear of a white stockman, when he
was espied by a group of blacks. One of these latter ran
across the street to the black, and calling him by his name,
said, " Your brother been dead, your brother been dead,
me come up,'^ at the same time shaking hands with him
and giving him a kiss. The poor fellow was evidently
affected by the news, and stood stock-still for half a
minute without speaking, while the other who had brought
the fatal news stood by him patting him on the shoulder
as one might a child. Then turning round, the poor fellow
walked over to the wall, and, bowing down his head on liis
arms, gave way to silent grief.
Although the blackfellow has made no improvement in
336 THE QUEEN OE THE COLONIES.
house-building- since the advent of the white man, his hut,
or " mi-mi/^ is eminently suited to his style of life, the means
at his disposal, and the tools he possesses. On the coast
line their camps are almost invariably made of the
" whicheru " or tea-tree bark, which, for a purpose of that
nature, could scarcely be excelled in any part of the world.
In fact, nature "would appear to have pointed it out
especially for the domestic uses of the aboriginal ; it is every-
where to be obtained within a reasonable distance ; it is
easy to procure even with the ancient stone hatchet, it is
flexible, soft, and warm, and from its lightness a large
quantity can be carried in a bundle. With the assistance
of a few flexible twigs and small branches stuck into the
ground and interlaced at the top, a mi-mi can be put up in
the space of half an hour, capable of containing four or five
persons, perfectly waterproof, and by no means an uncom-
fortable place in which to pass a night.
We have often, while travelling with the faithful Tommy,
seen the approach of one of those heavy thunder-storms so
common in these latitudes in the summer season. Taking
warning by the distant thunder and the heavy banks of
clouds rising in the horizon, we have camped for the night
and prepared for the storm ; a few twigs, as already stated,
are placed on three sides of a circle ; driven well into the
ground, they are then bent over at the top, and fastened
with a little bark so as to form a roof; then a few sheets of
bark are placed on the top and sides, and secured either
with a branch or two, or a long vine from a neighbouring
scrub. More sheets of bark are then laid to receive the
blankets, and by the time the first big drops or hailstones
fall, as harbingers of the coming deluge, everything is
snug and comfortable, barring that luxury of the bush-
man, the quart pot of tea, and even that can be had if by
THE ABORIGINES. 337
good luck a hollow tree is near in which to make a fire and
defy the rain.
The usual settled camps of the blacks are made in the
way we have here described with the additional size needed
for a family. In the winter season very extensive camps
are built, being- as it were two or three let into one, and
large enough for a family, with a fire in the centre. The
entrances of these camps are always to leeward, and should
the wind shift, the whole tribe will be seen busily employed
in moving their houses round to suit the weather. As a
rule, the locality pitched on for a camp, if at all of a
permanent character, is generally a place of considerable
shelter and often of great beauty. The black has a dwell-
ing which suits his tastes and habits, is easily constructed
at a minimum of outlay in labour — always a consideration
with him — and to which he is naturally attached by associa-
tion and early recollections. They have an idea that there
are three classes of gentlemen in Queensland — blacks,
kangaroos, and hogs. " Whitefellow yacker (work),
bullock yacker, yarraman (horse) yacker, baal gentleman ;
blackfellow no yacker, walk about, kangaroo walk about,
pig-pig walk about, that fellow gentleman.^'
Another very interesting feature in the blackfellow's
character is his great love for his dogs, which is at least
equal to that evinced towards his own race. We have
already noticed the custom prevalent of crying at the
death of relatives. The same thing is done on the loss of a
canine member of the fraternity ; in fact it struck us that
greater sorrow was felt at the loss of a mangy cur than at
that of a human being. We remember on one occasion a
dog, which rejoiced in the name of Black Sailor, had been
lost in the bush. It appeared that Tommy and his wife
had been across the river in a canoe on a bee-hunting expe-
z
338 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
dition ; when they returned the dog was overlooked^ and it
was not until some time after they had reached their camp
that the absence of Black Sailor was noticed. Then the
river was recrossed just at dusk^ but the dog- could not be
found. During that night there was no singing and mirth
in the camp^ all were dull and listless. The next morning
early all hands crossed the river, and the day was spent in
a fruitless search for the dog. At nightfall, standing in
the garden, we saw them all returning tired and sorrowful
to their camp, the women crying and the men dejected.
They had come to the conclusion that the wild dogs had
eaten their friend, as not a vestige of him could be
found. That night there was the usual crying for the dead,
with the lacerations and tearing of the hair commonly
practised for a near relative. On expostulating with them
for this foolish practice, Tommy said, " That very good
dog, that always eat up everything, plenty that eat gidla
and English bee, and possum and kangaroo. That very
good dog belonging to sleep along blanket, that very much
like to sleep in blanket ; very good dog, Black Sailor.
Baal that sleep along bush, that too much look out belong-
ing to me.^'' The whole evening was spent in bowlings and
cries, and the next day all hands were again looking for
him in the daytime and crying at night. The following
morning we heard a great shout in the bush behind the
house, and which was taken up at the camp, and directly
the whole tribe were in a state of the wildest excitement.
Running out to learn the reason of this great outcry, we
were told that Black Sailor was come home. The scene of
joy and congratulation could not have been exceeded if a
long-lost relative had turned up, and we all looked on with
astonishment at seeing so much strong feeling exhibited
over a mangy dog. We say mangy advisedly, for all their
THE ABORIGINES. 339
(log's liave the mange. After that time Black Sailoi-j who
had before been valued for his willingness to " eat every-
thing," and to sleep in the blankets, was looked upon as an
embodiment of intelligence equal to that of any other
person in the camp.
Not the least interesting sight in connexion with the
black^s daily life, is to see them making a start when about
to perform one of their usual migrations from one camp and
hunting-ground to another. Having no beasts of burden,
all their goods have to be carried by themselves. It is
true their domestic utensils are limited to a billy or two
and a few dilly-bags. The men carry nothing but their
weapons, and perhaps a billy in which to put any honey
found on the road. These start first, marching off in single
file; then come the youngsters and kippers, each with a
tomahawk and a few nullahs; then come the younger
women and children, and finally closing up the long
straggling procession are the old women, loaded almost
to the ground with possum rugs and blankets, old clothes,
a number of dilly-bags filled to overflowing, and p robably
a litter of puppies poking their noses out at the top. The
younger married women will usually have a child either
in a pouch behind, or else astride their shoulders ;
but the i-atio of puppies to piccaninnies will usually be
five to one. On the march the men hunt for bandicoots,
kangaroo rats, birds, bees, and grubs, and as they roam
to some distance from the track at times, they seldom
fail to provide sufficient food for the next night^s wants
before reaching the camping-ground. No stoppage is
made for a mid-day meal, as they scarcely ever start
till the morning is well advanced, and camp early in
the afternoon. Like all other races who live l)y the
chase, they scarcely ever stop many days in one camp,
2 z
340 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
as were they to do so tlieir sources of supply would
become exhausted.
As the lands in the settled districts become more and
more occupied the blacks become more confined in their
movements, and their natural supplies gradually diminish.
They constantly decrease in numbers as the white man
advances, and it cannot be long- before in the more populous
parts of Queensland, as in the older colonies, the aboriginal
race will be confined almost entirely to the interior.
Any notice of the blackfellows would be incomplete that
said nothing as to their treatment by the whites. Here
one would willingly draw a veil over the sad picture. But
truth compels us to say that all the treachery and murder
has not been on the side of the blacks, little as they value
human life, or can be trusted at one's back in the solitary
bush. The black police, although a most useful force,
being composed of members of distant tribes, is always, as
far as the native portion is concerned, more ready to shed
blood than to make prisoners. No question is more difficult
to solve than how to secure the pioneer squatters and at
the same time act kindly to the native tribes, whose ideas
in every respect are so different from those of the white man.
There is a strong desire on the part of the Government
and the great bulk of the people to exhibit a Christian
deportment to the blackfellow, while at the same time
protecting the march of civilization, although constantly
recurring events almost lead one to believe that their
co-existence is impossible. As a rule, at the present day
the natives are not ill-treated ; on the contrary, they are
often too much petted, and thus take liberties and commit
depredations. But this was not always the case. In the
earlier years of settlement, before the era of separation,
when the whites were very few and the native tribes were
THE ABORIGINES. 341
in a great measure intact, there were deeds so black and
diabolical committed as one almost shrinks from recounting".
While some squatters acted as Christian gentlemen, others,
goaded to acts of reprisal and, as they perhaps put it, in
self-preservation for themselves and property, surrounded
by swarms of natives, committed acts which were simply
scandalous. For instance, on a run in the Moreton Bay
Distri(!t, a squatter found his cattle constantly speared and
often killed by the natives, whom from the nature of the
surrounding country it was very difficult to follow, even
had he had a sufficient force to make it prudent to do so,
or did he know what to do with them if caught. From
time to time some of them were shot when caught on the
run, but still the evil was unabated.
At length altering his procedure, the squatter established
friendly relations with the blacks, and finally gave them
a 200 lb. bag of flour, in which he had mixed a quantity
of arsenic or strychnine. Elated at their good fortune and
the hospitality of the squatter, the poor creatures soon
divided the flour, and one and all making cakes of their
portions ate them without any suspicion. A dreadful
scene followed. Some accounts say forty, others twice
that number, soon lay dead in their camp. Some few
escaped death ; but nearly all the children of the tribe died,
with many of the adults, while the remainder were so
frightened that they fled from their native district and
joined other tribes. For many years, on offering a present
of flour to any blackfellow, one was met with the inquiry,
" Mackenzie sit down V — the name by which poison became
universally known among them for many miles. The man
who thus acted was never called in question for his conduct,
the real facts being perhaps known to no one but himself or
through the reports of the blacks, who can give no evidence.
342 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
We remember an old squatter, one of the first men who
drove sheep into what is now Queensland, who often
recounted some of his deeds in this line to us. He
evidently looked on the killing of a blackfellow as a
meritorious act, and thought no more of shooting one
than he would of shooting a kangaroo. It would perhaps
have fared hardly with any man who had taken any steps
to bring him to book, had he fallen in his way in the bush,
for he was one of the most powerful men we ever saw.
His theory was that blacks stole sheep, speared cattle, and
waylaid white men when they had an opportunity, and
that therefore it was as necessary to destroy them as it was
native dogs or vermin ; and he put his views into practice
in a matter of fact way. On one occasion while we were
residing near him, he saw two black boys near his house who
lived some four miles ^distant, and who he suspected meant
to catch one of his horses and ride home. He ordered them
off, and seeing they did not go far determined to watch
them. Soon he saw them catch one of his horses, and both
mount and ride off. Running in for his loaded rifle he
followed them for nearly a mile, until getting within ^shot
he fired and killed one, when the other with the agility of
a deer sprang from the horse and ran for the scrub close
by, into which he soon disappeared. He related this
incident, eome time after, much in the same way one would
speak of firing at a brace of partridges. One other story
of his relating to a period many years previous we may
recount. He was at this time sheep manager on a large
and important station, one of the first in Queensland.
Two blacks had committed some depredation, and he deter-
mined to punish them. One day when in the store-room
he mixed a small quantity of strychnine and sugar, and
making it into two little lots passed it ovei' the counter to
THE ABORIGINES. 343
the two 1 (lacks who happened to be present; being- what is
called station blacks, as desig-nating" those who reside on
the station premises, in contradistinction from bush
blacks. Calling them by name he said, " Here, you
eatem sugar," and gave first one and then the other
his portion, which the poor fellows took and ate unsus-
piciously. He then told them to go and fetch up the
horses, and have a drink at the waterhole on their way.
By-and-by he went out to have a look round, and near the
waterhole lay one of the blacks, w ho, on seeing him approach-
ing, cried out, " Here, Missa' , you see em me. Cabona
(very much) me directly buck-jump!" refei'ring to the
convulsions caused by the poison, and which he called
buck-jumping. Soon another paroxj^sm came on in which
he died. Our informant added, that somehow the other
black got over it, having been very sick, and taking the
hint left the neighbourhood.
We once incurred considerable odium on account of
protecting the blacks in our neighbourhood from the
superintendent of a neighbouring run, who wished to
shoot certain members of the tribe, who he averred had
killed a bullock on his run. There is, of course, as severe a
penalty for the murder of a black as of a white man, but in
isolated districts it would often be well-nigh impossible to
adduce satisfactory evidence. But these are now, we
believe, very exceptional cases.
It would be satisfactory if it could be said that effective
means have been employed to civilize and christianize these
poor savages. One or two attempts in this direction have
been made, but each has proved a failure, principally
perhaps because the efforts have been not enoug-h directed
to improving their temporal condition, and giving them a
settled home and occupation. Among these failures was
344 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
the establishment of (he aboriginal mission of Frazer^s
Island by the Rev. Mr. Fuller. This gentleman was
in many ways well fitted for the work, but he fell into
the radical error of establishing himself on an island
that does not contain a rod of good soil, but is one vast
sandbank. He threw away a large amount of time and
labour in testing the capacities of this island for cultivation.
Had he gone to some equally isolated spot which contained
some agricultural soil and grazing-land, there is reason to
think his scheme would have been successful. His pupils,
men, women, and children, made great strides in the arts of
reading, singing, &c. ; but from not being able to employ
them in some useful and remunerative Nvork, he was unable
to retain them with him, and so all his efforts led to no
practical results. We once paid a visit to his mission, and
were pleased to find many of both sexes able to read
tolerably in the Bible, and sing some hymns very nicely.
Hecently a gentleman has established a sort of industrial
school and farm near Mackay, with a view of teaching the
natives the useful arts of life as well as spiritual truths.
Government think so well of this scheme, that lately a vote
of 500/. for the support of the enterprise was made. One
thing appears certain, if something is not done for their
social elevation as well as spiritual enlightenment speedily,
the blacks of the Queensland seaboard will soon be among
the extinct races of mankind.
CHAPTER XIII.
PKESENT POSITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS.
That Queensland has of late entered on an era of great
prosperity there can be no doubt. The difTcrence between
the position of Queensland in 1871, when the larger part
of these pages was written, and at the present time is most
striking. He would have been a very sanguine man who
at that time would have predicted that such a wonderful
expansion as has actually occurred in almost every one of her
industries, in her population, revenue, and wealth, would
have been witnessed in four years. Queensland is fast
taking her place as one of the foremost of our colonies, and
will, in all probability, before many years, be more populous
and wealthy than either of the other colonies. The fact
that Queensland has so large a number of navigable
rivers and ports — and already no less than thirty rivers
naviijable for greater or less distances have been discovered
— must give her eventually a vast superiority over the
other Australian colonies, all of which are incomparably
inferior to her in this respect.
Nor is the possession of all these navigable rivers and
harbours the only advantage on its seaboard possessed by
Queensland. Her coast is studded with numerous islands
of all sizes, which, with the abundance of fish teeming in
her waters, the advantageous position of the colony for
commanding the trade of India, China, Japan, the Archi-
346 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
pelag-o^ as well as that of the new colony of Fiji and all the
wealth of the South Seas, mark her out as the future home
of an imperial race — a new Britain in the Southern
Hemisphere.
Allusion has been already made to the beneficial changes
which have taken place in the politics of Queensland.
After many weary struggles, the party of progress, who
desire to see the lands of the colony occupied and cultivated,
have obtained a large majority in the Legislature; and in
the nature of things it appears certain, that as the settle-
ment increases, this party must increase in strength and
influence. Thus there is a guarantee that every facility will
be given to emigrants and others for settling on the lands,
and that no return will be made to a retrograde policy.
Indeed, it may be hoped that those who were most opposed
to a measure of this sort, will, by degrees, learn to alter
their opinions as the blessings, of industry and cultivation
become more widespread. The last session of the Legislature
has made a very important mark on the Land Laws of
Queensland. By an Act just passed, every person of the
age of eighteen years who has resided one year in the
colony, or three years if brought out free, may select a
farm of from 40 to 640 acres under the Homestead clauses
of the Land Act — thus doubling the extent of this class of
selections. It is true there has been also passed a law for
abolishing Land Orders — a most unfortunate and unwise
measure — yet the fact of a farm one mile square being
obtainable in fee simple by the nominal payment of six-
pence per acre for five years cannot fail to attract a very
desirable class of settlers. There is no part of the world
where land can be now had so cheaply as in Queensland,
which may fairly claim the title of the Queen of Colonies
for the cheapness of her land, the richness of her soil, and
PRESENT POSITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS. 347
the great variety of crops which can be produced, being
equalled in this respect by no other English-speaking,
country. "What may be her future as an agricultural
country it is impossible to say ; that she will speedily
attain a very high position in this respect no one can doubt.
It will perhaps be interesting to quote here from a writer
in Queensland itself as to the present condition of the
colony. The author of the article on the " Progress of the
Colony '' in Pugh's Almanack for 1875 says, —
" In a fair retrospect of the last twelve montlis it cannot be said
that there has been any serious drawback which could mar the satis-
faction which must be felt at the rapid, but, at the same time, steady
strides the countrj" is making towards the first place in the Australasian
group. The most determined pessimist will admit that there is
nothing in our state of progression which can possibly lead to the
belief that our present prosperous state is ephemeral, or that we are
likely to feel a check by the collapse of any one or two of our largest
industries. The growth of our general prosperity is not of that feverish
character so often engendered by the rapid development of one exten-
sive industry, as was the case with the first discovery of gold in
Australia. Although, no doubt, our gold-fields have undergone an
immense extension, our present healthy condition cannot be said to be
derived from that source alone. It would be hard, indeed, to say
which of our now numerous industries should be credited with contri-
buting the largest share towards our present prosperity, which may
rather be attributed to the gradual development of the almost exhaust-
less resources of the colony. So great is its producing power, that the
most sanguine would scarcely' imagine half the results which will
probably be seen before many years have gone over our heads. To
speak of the present only, it is quite certain that at no period of her
existence as a colony (not excepting the good times — times of feverish
excitement and speculation) has Queensland ever shown such signs of
wellbeing as at the present moment. Never has labour been better
paid or been in greater demand than now. As things are at present,
and as they seem likely to remain, the worst-paid labourers may
become small capitalists ; and that they do so to a great extent is
evident from the large quantity of land which is daily taken up by the
working-class. The days of speculation and company-manufacturing
348 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
seem to have passed away — it is to be hoped for ever. Larger
capitalists, too, in the other colonies, are becoming g,live to the pros-
perous future which awaits us, and are beginning to invest largely — •
a clear evidence of belief in the permanency of our condition."
It is a very cliaraeteristic fact that the same writer
complains that immigrants do not arrive in sufficient
numbers and that there is a great dearth of labour^ a fact
that speaks well for the colony when we recollect that
nearly 7000 immigi^ants reached its shores in 1874. Were
double or even three times as many to arrive, there is every
reason to believe they would all be easily absorbed and find
lucrative occuj)ation.
The population, which on the 1st of September, 1871,
was 120,076, had by the close of 1874 reached 163,517.
The revenue shows a similar expansion, and in 1873
amounted to 1,120,031/., which was 189,170/. more than
the expenditure, a very marked contrast to the state of
affairs a few years since, when the expenditure always
exceeded the revenue, and the Treasurer had always to
deal with a large floating and unfunded debt. A glance
at the statistical tables, published in the work quoted
above, reveals the fact that in every department of industry
there is a constant and surprising expansion. The same
remark may be made of the social institutions of the
colony. Whether it be the Freemasons, Odd Fellows,
Temperance, or Religious Societies, all have the same
history — a continuous formation of new branches and a
large annual increase of membership.
There are thirty-three newspapers published in the
colony, many of which are quite equal to English news-
papers in the style and tone of their leading articles and
the accuracy of their reports, while all have that elevated
tone which, as a rule, characterizes Australian newspapers.
PRESENT POSITION AND FUTUEE PROSPECTS. 349
In one important item Queensland papers far excel nearly-
all English papers — t^ey are printed on far better paper,
and usually in a superior manner. In most towns of any
importance Schools of Art and Public Libraries exist.
In Brisbane a very respectable Museum is being" formed,
so far as specimens and articles are concerned ; and in the
last session of Parliament the question of building a
Museum was taken into consideration, and will, without
doubt, lead befoi*e long to the erection of a suitable struc-
ture. An Education Act has also just been passed, from
which great things are expected, and by means of which
every child in the community will be entitled to receive au
education perfectly free of expense.
In social matters also a great improvement is taking
place. A marked diminution in crime and the gradual
formation of a high tone of morals indicate that in Queens-
land our race is not at any rate deteriorating in conse-
quence of the greater degree of wealth enjoyed by the
majority of the people.
In public life also there is much to be proud of. Having
a constitutional Government and a franchise which is
practically within the reach of all, it is pleasant to record
that there is but little of that roughness in politics which
unfortunately characterizes too many of the communities
of America. There is a desire on all himds to elevate the
tone of political life, and it is by no means detrimental to
the career of a public man for him to be a gentleman ; none
other has much chance with the constituencies. Among
the public men of the colony are some who have evinced
considerable statesmanship and capacity for government;
and, although in all young communities like this there
must for a time be a scarcity of first-class men, there
appears reason to hope that Queensland will not suffer so
350 THE QUEEN OF THE COLONIES.
much in this respect in the future as in the past. A
measure has lately been before Parliament which, when it
becomes law, will undoubtedly add to the intellectual
wealth of the Legislature. We allude to the Bill for the
Payment of Members, which had the support of the
Ministers and passed through the Assembly to be prac-
tically thrown out in the Council. The same reasons
which could be urged against a measure of this sort in
England weigh in the other scale in a new community,
where so few men of education are to be found sufficiently
wealthy to devote their time to public affairs. That this
measure will before long be carried into effect there can be
no doubt, and that it will tend to the improvement of the
Legislative Assembly is equally certain.
The Legislative Council, being a nominee chamber, is
composed very largely of men of large means and more or
less leisure. A few of its members are Government officials,
but the larger number are men of independent circum-
stances. It is to be hoped that 'should the present en-
lightened Colonial Secretary remain long in office he will
inaugurate, wbat would be a most conservative as well as
popular measure, the creation of a Colonial Nobility. For
many years it has been the wise policy of the Imperial
Government to reward the services of eminent colonists
with knighthoods and baronetcies, and this policy has had
the most happy effect both in Canada and Austi-alia. But
a larger and more permanent measure than this is urgently
called for. One of the most difficult problems in all our
colonies has always been the question as to the constitution
of an Upper House. It is admitted universally that our
English House of Lords is, without exception, the best
Upper House possessed by any nation enjoying parliamen-
tary institutions. There appears to be no reason why this
PRESENT POSITION AND FUTUPvE PROSPECTS. 351
excellence sliould not be enjoyed by the various colonies,
by the creation from time to time of colonial titles of
nobility conferred on the same principle as in the mother
country. Nothing- can be conceived more calculated to
knit into one homogeneous whole the various dependencies
of the empire and its imperial parent, and nothing would
tend more easily to settle in a natural way the question of
the construction of a second chamber. In all our colonies
there are gentlemen, who, by their education, abilities,
influence, wealth and public services, are eminently fitted
to be the recipients of such an honour.
We could point out many gentlemen in Queensland,
who, if they were thus honoured, would grace their titles,
and whose elevation would be hailed with universal satis-
faction. Such titles would of course only confer nobility
in the colony where granted, and while being another link
in the strong chain binding the colony to the parent nation,
and a powerful and now lacking incentive to noble and
worthy deeds, would also in a very great degree tend to
abolish the curse of absenteeism, from which Victoria
suffers so severely, and from which Queensland cannot hope
entirely to escape ; although her superior climate will tell
in her favour in this as in other respects. The writer has
often thought that it only needs such an inducement as the
hope of thus attaining to the highest social status to make
Queensland not only the Queen of Colonies but even-
tually, as one of the chief dependencies of the British
Empire, the Queen of Nations. With her unrivalled
climate, never too cold in winter, and the cool and refresh-
ing sea-breeze tempering the heat in summer; her marvel-
lous and inexhaustible mineral and metalliferous resources,
including gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, coals, and
marble ; her endless downs and prairies where cattle and
sheep can be depastured at the minimum outlay of labour ;
352 THE QUEEN OP THE COLONIES.
her rich and far-spreading- agricultural lauds, capable of
producing" nearly every known crop and fruit, watered and
intersected by innumerable rivers and streams; her free
institutions and liberal laws ; her nvimerous and flourishing
ports and towns ; her geographical position, enabling her
to command the richest commerce of the world ; — she only
needs to be settled and populated by as many millions as
she now has tens of thousands of enterprising and indus-
trious inhabitants to become one of the greatest, as she now
is in natural resources one of the richest, countries of the
civilized world. That her future must be grand and
magnificent no one acquainted with her can doubt. Quite
as much as Palestine she answers to the Mosaic description
of " a good land, a land of brooks of water, ... a land of
wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees and pome-
granates ; a land of oil olive, and honey ; a land wherein
thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, and thou shalt not
lack any good thing in it; a land whose stones are iron,
and out of whose hills thou mayst dig brass.'" M'"hat
wonder if many thousands of Englishmen yearly repeat
the words of Caleb, and say, " Let us go up at once and
possess it; for we are well able.'"
In conclusion, we would again refer all who may con-
template emigration to Queensland to the Agent- General
for the colony, R. Daintree, Esq., 32, Charing Cross, whose
urbanity and wide range of information eminently fit him
for his position, and who will be found ever ready to afford
information on all matters of interest to emigrants. In
him and his able Secretary, T. Hamilton, Esq., another old
colonist, the colony possesses two representatives quite com-
petent to furnish all those details so useful to the emigrant,
but which hardly come within the scope of this volume.
Gll.UEliT AND KlVlNtiTON, I'RINTKRS, ST. JOIIN's SQUARE, LONDON.
U///U^
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