A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53 Part 12

"The quant.i.ty of gold taken to the a.s.say-office, during four consecutive weeks, amounting to less than four thousand ounces, the Governor has proclaimed that after the 17th of February the office will be closed."

Chapter XVI.

MELBOURNE AGAIN

It was on Monday the 25th of October, that for the second time I entered Melbourne. Not many weeks had elapsed since I had quitted it for my adventurous trip to the diggings, yet in that short s.p.a.ce of time how many changes had taken place. The cloudy sky was exchanged for a brilliant sunshine, the chilling air for a truly tropical heat, the drizzling rain for clouds of thick cutting dust, sometimes as thick as a London fog, which penetrated the most substantial veil, and made our skins smart terribly. The streets too had undergone a wondrous transformation. Collins Street looked quite bright and cheerful, and was the fashionable promenade of those who had time or inclination for lounging. Parties of diggers were constantly starting or arriving, trips to St. Kilda and Brighton were daily taking place; and a coach was advertised to run to the diggings! I cannot quite realize the terrified pa.s.sengers being driven through the Black Forest, but can picture their horror when ordered to "bail up" by a party of Australian Turpins.

In every window--milliners, baby-linen warehouses, &c., included--was exhibited the usual advertis.e.m.e.nt of the gold buyer--namely, a heap of gold in the centre, on one side a pile of sovereigns, on the other bank-notes. The most significant advertis.e.m.e.nt was one I saw in a window in Collins Street. In the middle was a skull perforated by a bullet, which lay at a little distance as if coolly examining or speculating on the mischief it had done. On one side of the skull was a revolver, and on the other a quant.i.ty of nuggets. Above all, was the emphatic inscription, "Beware in time." This rather uncomfortable-looking tableau signified--in as speaking a manner as symbols can--that the unfortunate skull had once belonged to some more unfortunate lucky digger, who not having had the sense to sell his gold to the proprietor of this attractive window had kept his nuggets in his pocket, thereby tempting some robbers--significantly personified by the revolver--to shoot him, and steal the gold. Nowhere could you turn your eye without meeting "30,000 oz. wanted immediately; highest price given;" "10,000 oz. want to consign per ----; extra price given to immediate sellers," &c. Outwardly it seemed a city of gold, yet hundreds were half perishing for want of food, with no place of shelter beneath which to lay their heads. Many families of freshly-arrived emigrants--wife, children, and all--slept out in the open air; infants were born upon the wharves with no helping hand near to support the wretched mother in her misery.

How greatly the last few weeks had enlarged Melbourne. Cities of tents encompa.s.sed it on all sides; though, as I said before, the trifling comfort of a canvas roof above them, was denied to the poorest of the poor, unless a weekly tax were paid!

But I must return to ourselves. Our first business the next morning was to find for our little Jessie some permanent home; for all our movements were so uncertain--I myself, thinking of a return to the old country--that it was considered advisable to obtain for her some better friends than a set of volatile, though good-hearted young fellows--not the most suitable protection for a young girl, even in so lax a place as the colonies. We never thought of letting her return to England, for there the life of a female, who has her own livelihood to earn, is one of badly-paid labour, entailing constant privation, and often great misery--if not worse. I have before said that William had relatives in Melbourne, and to them we determined to entrust her. Mrs. R----- was a kind-hearted and most exemplary woman; and having a very young family of her own, was well pleased at such an acquisition as the thoughtful, industrious little Jessie. Each of our party contributed a small portion of their golden earnings to form a fund for a future day, which I doubt not will be increased by our little friend's industry, long before she needs it. Here let us leave her, trusting that her future life may be as happy as her many excellent qualities deserve, and hoping that her severest trials have already pa.s.sed over her.

Our next care was to obtain our gold from the Escort-office; to do which the receipts given in Bendigo had to be handed in, and after very little delay the precious packets were restored to their respective owners. The following is a facsimile of the tickets, printed on parchment, attached to each parcel of which a duplicate, printed on common paper, is given to the depositor:

BENDIGO CREEK.

No. 2772.

Date, 8th of October, 1852.

Name, Mr. A----.

Quant.i.ty, 60 oz. 10 dwts.

Consigned to, Self.

The trifling charge for all this trouble and responsibility is sixpence an ounce.

The business satisfactorily arranged, the next was to dispose of it.

Some was converted into money, and sold for 69s. an ounce; and the remainder was consigned to England, where, being very pure and above standard, it realized 4 pounds an ounce. A great difference that!

We next paid Richard a visit, who, though surprised was well pleased to see us again. He declared his resolution of returning to England as soon as possible. Our party fixed their journey to the Ovens to take place in three weeks. William determined to remain in town, which I think showed wisdom on his part as his health was not equal to roughing it in the bush; and this was a much more formidable trip than the last, on account of length, and being much less frequented.

Meanwhile we enjoyed the fine weather, and our present companionship, as much as possible, while taking little trips here, there, and everywhere. The one I most enjoyed was a sail in the Bay. The captain of the vessel in which we left England, was still detained in Port Philip for want of hands--the case of hundreds--and offered to give us a sail, and a dinner on board afterwards. We soon made up a large party, and enjoyed it exceedingly. The day was lovely. We walked down to Liardet's Beach, a distance of nearly three miles, and were soon calmly skimming over the waters. We pa.s.sed St. Kilda and Brighton, and gained an excellent view of the innumerable vessels then lying useless and half-deserted in the Bay.

It was a sad though a pretty sight. There were fine East Indiamen, emigrant ships, American clippers, steamers, traders--foreign and English--whalers, &c., waiting there only through want of seamen.

In the cool of the evening our gallant host rowed us back to the beach.

Since our first landing, tents and stores had been erected in great numbers, and Little Adelaide was grown wonderfully. I think I have never mentioned the quant.i.ty of frogs that abound in Australia.

This particular evening I remarked them more than usual, and without the least exaggeration their croaking resembled a number of mills in motion. I know nothing to which I can more appropriately liken the noise that resounded along the swampy portions of the road, from the beach to Melbourne.

Much has been said of the climate of Australia, and many are the conflicting statements thereon. The following table contains all the information--personal and otherwise--which I have been enabled to collect.

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.--Generally the hottest months; average of the thermometer, 78 in the shade; thunder-storms and COLONIAL showers of rain occasionally visit us.

MARCH.--Fine genial weather; average temperature, 73 in the shade.

APRIL.--Weather more uncertain; mosquitos depart; average temperature, 70 in the shade:

MAY.--Fine, till towards the latter part of the month, when sometimes the rainy season commences; average temperature in the shade, 64.

JUNE.--Rainy, and much cooler; temperature at an average of 58 in the shade.

JULY.--Coldest month in the year; midwinter in the colonies; average temperature, 53. Ice and snow may be seen inland.

AUGUST.--Very rainy. Average temperature, 58 in the shade.

SEPTEMBER.--Windy stormy month; weather getting warmer. Average temperature, 63 in the shade.

OCTOBER--The presence of the mosquito, a sure proof that the weather is permanently warm. Average temperature in the shade, 66.

NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.--Tropically warm. Locusts, mosquitos, and unnumbered creeping things swarm both in bush and town. Towards the end of December the creeks commence to dry up, and the earth looks parched for want of rain. No yule-log needed on Christmas Day. Thermometer as high as 97 in the shade; average 75.

The princ.i.p.al trees in Australia are the gum, stringy bark, manna tree, wild cherry (so called), iron bark, shea oak, peppermint, acacia, and the mimosa, which last, however, should more properly be called a shrub. These and others, like the Indian malelucas, are remarkable for the Cajeput oil contained in their leaves, and in the gums which exude from their sterns, and in this point of view alone, considering their boundless number, their value can hardly be over estimated. The gum of some of the acacias will bear comparison with gum-arabic. Their bark and timber are likewise useful, and when the gold fever has subsided, will become valuable as exports.

Wild flowers there are in abundance, and some exquisite specimens of ferns. For the benefit of those better skilled in botany than myself, I give the following list of Dr. Muller's indigenous plants of Victoria.

Correaochrolenca and Phebalium Asteriscophorum, both with the medical properties of the Bucco-bush, Eurybia Rhodochaeta, E. Rugosa, E.

Adenophylla, E. Asterotristia, Sambucus, Gaudichaudiana, Prostanthera Hirsuta, Pimelea axiflora (powerful Surrogat of the Mezerion shrub), Bossidea dec.u.mbcus, Asterotristia asperifolia, Patersonia aspera, Grevilliea repens, Dallachiana, &c.

The geranium, fuschia, rhododendrum, and almost all varieties of the Cacti have been taken to the colonies, and flourish well in the open air all the year round, growing much more luxuriantly than in England.

The vineyards must some day form a considerable source of employment and profit to the colonists. The wine made in Australia is very good.

The vines are cultivated in the same manner as in France. In the neighbourhood of Sydney, oranges and peaches are grown out in the open air. Apples and other fruits flourish well in Van Diemen's Land. All these fruits are not indigenous to Australia. The only articles of food natural there, are the kangaroos, emus, opossums, and other denizens of the forest, a few snakes, some roots, and a worm, about the length and thickness of a finger, which is abundant in all parts of the colony, and is taken out of the cavities, or from under the bark, of the trees.

It is a great favourite with the blacks, as it can be procured when no other food is attainable.

I have before made mention of the bush and scrub; there is a great dissimilarity between the two. The former resembles a forest, with none or very little underwood. The scrub, on the contrary, is always underwood, of from six to twenty feet high, and only here and there a few trees are seen. To be lost in either bush or scrub is a common thing. If on horseback the best way is to give the rein to your four-footed companion, and instinct will most probably enable him to extricate you. If on foot, ascend, if possible, a rise of ground, and notice any FALL in the country; here, most likely, is a creek, and once beside that, you are pretty sure of coming to a station. If this fails, you must just bush it for the night, and resume your search next morning, trusting to an occasional "coo-ey" to help you out of your difficulty.

The scenery of Australia partakes of all characters. Sometimes miles of swamp reminds one of the Lincolnshire fens; at other times it a.s.sumes quite a park-like appearance, though the effect is greatly injured by the want of freshness about the foliage, which always looks of a dirty, dingy green. The native trees in Australia never shed their leaves, never have that exquisite young tint which makes an English spring in the country so delicious. Their faded look always reminded me of those unfortunate trees imprisoned for so many months beneath the Crystal Palace.

The mountains in Australia are high and bold in outline, and the snow-capped Alps on the boundaries of New South Wales are not unlike their European namesakes, the highest tops are from six to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. The country round Ballarat is more in the North American style, and when the creek is full, it is a fine sight, greatly resembling, I have beard, one of the smaller rivers in Canada; in fact, the scenery round Ballarat is said to approach more to Upper Canada than any in the colony. The rocks, although not high, are in places very bold and romantic, and in the wet season there are several water-falls in the neighbourhood.

Eels are very plentiful in Victoria, and are peculiar to this district, being seldom, if ever, found in any other part of the known continent.

Old writers on Australia have stated that eels are unknown in this part of the world, which, since this colony has been settled in, has been found to be erroneous, as the Barwin, the Yarra Yarra, and their tributaries abound with them, some weighing five or six pounds. A few days after our return from the diggings, we breakfasted off a dish of stewed eels, caught by a friend; the smallest weighed about a pound and a half, the largest about three pounds. They were caught three miles from Melbourne, in the Salt Water Creek.

A small kind of fish like the lamprey, another similar to the gudgeon, and also one (of rather a larger kind--the size of the roach) called here "white herrings," but not at all resembling that fish, are found.

Pike are also very numerous. Crabs and lobsters are not known here, but in the salt creeks near the sea we have craw-fish.

Of course, parrots, c.o.c.katoos and "sich-like," abound in the bush, to the horror of the small gardeners and cultivators, as what they do not eat they ruin by destroying the young shoots.

Kangaroos are extremely numerous in the scrub. They are the size of a large greyhound, and of a mouse colour. The natives call them "kanguru." The tail is of great strength. There are several varieties of them. The largest is the Great Kangaroo, of a greyish-brown colour, generally four or five feet high and the tail three. Some kangaroos are nearly white, others resemble the hare in colour. Pugs, or young kangaroos, are plentiful about the marshy grounds; so are also the opossum and kangaroo rat. The latter is not a rat, properly speaking, but approaches the squirrel tribe. It is a lilliputian kangaroo, the size of our native wood squirrel and larger, only grey or reddish-grey.

It can leap six or eight feet easily, and is excellent eating. The native dog is of all colours; it has the head and brush of a fox, with the body a legs of a dog. It is a cowardly animal, and will run away from you like mad. It is a great enemy of the kangaroo rat, and a torment to the squatter, for a native dog has a great PENCHANT for mutton and will kill thirty or forty sheep in the course of an hour.

A species of mocking-bird which inhabits the bush is a ludicrous creature. It imitates everything, and makes many a camping party imagine there is a man near them, when they hear its whistle or hearty laugh. This bird is nicknamed the "Jacka.s.s," and its loud "ha! ha! ha!"

is heard every morning at dawn echoing through the woods and serving the purpose of a "boots" by calling the sleepy traveller in good time to get his breakfast and pursue his journey. The bats here are very large.

Insects, fleas, &c., are as plentiful as it is possible to be, and the ants, of which there are several kinds, are a perfect nuisance. The largest are called by the old colonists, "bull-dogs," and formidable creatures they are--luckily not very common, about an inch and a half long, black, or rusty-black, with a red tail. They bite like a little crab. Ants of an inch long are quite common. They do not--like the English ones--run scared away at the sight of a human being--not a bit of it; Australian ants have more PLUCK, and will turn and face you.

Nay, more, should you RETREAT, they will run after you with all the impudence imaginable. Often when my organ of destructiveness has tempted me slightly to disturb with the end of my parasol one of the many ant-hills on the way from Melbourne to Richmond, I have been obliged, as soon as they discovered the perpetrator of the attack, to take to my heels and run away as if for my life.