Expeditions to South Australia, vol 1 | Page 6

than
every other island on the face of the globe, that it is classed as a
continent in order to convey to the mind a just idea of its magnitude.
Stretching from the 115th to the 153rd degree of east longitude, and
from the 10th to the 37th of south latitude, it averages 2700 miles in
length by 1800 in breadth; and balanced, as it were, upon the tropic of
that hemisphere in which it is situated, it receives the fiery heat of the
equator at one extremity, while it enjoys the refreshing coolness of the
temperate zone at the other. On a first view we should be led to expect
that this extensive tract of land possessed more than ordinary
advantages; that its rivers would be in proportion to its size; and that it
would abound in the richest productions of the inter-tropical and
temperate regions. Such, indeed, was the impression of those who first
touched upon its southern shores, but who remained no longer than to
be dazzled by the splendour and variety of its botanical productions,
and to enjoy for a few days the delightful mildness of its climate. But
the very spot which had appeared to Captain Cook and Sir Joseph

Banks an earthly paradise, was abandoned by the early settlers as unfit
for occupation; nor has the country generally been fount to realize the
sanguine expectations of those distinguished individuals, so far as it has
hitherto been explored.
CHARACTER OF AUSTRALIAN RIVERS.
Rivers which have the widest mouths or the most practicable entrances,
are, in Europe or America, usually of impetuous current, or else contain
such a body of water as to bear down all opposition to their free course;
whilst on the other hand, rivers whose force is expended ere they reach
the sea, have almost invariably a bar at their embouchure, or where
they mingle their waters with those of the ocean. This last feature
unfortunately appears to characterize all rivers of Australia, or such of
them at least as are sufficiently known to us. Falling rapidly from the
mountains in which they originate into a level and extremely depressed
country; having weak and inconsiderable sources, and being almost
wholly unaided by tributaries of any kind; they naturally fail before
they reach the coast, and exhaust themselves in marshes or lakes or
reach it so weakened as to be unable to preserve clear or navigable
months, or to remove the sand banks that the tides throw up before
them. On the other hand the productions of this singular region seem to
be peculiar to it, and unlike those of any other part of the world; nor
have any indigenous fruits of any value as yet been found either in its
forests or on its plains.
He who has never looked on any other than the well-cultured fields of
England, can have little idea of a country that Nature has covered with
an interminable forest. Still less can he estimate the feelings with which
the adventurer approaches a shore that has never (or perhaps only lately)
been trodden by civilized man.
FIRST VIEW OF PORT JACKSON.
It was with feelings peculiar to the occasion, that I gazed for the first
time on the bold cliffs at the entrance of Port Jackson, as our vessel
neared them, and speculated on the probable character of the landscape
they hid; and I am free to confess, that I did not anticipate anything
equal to the scene which presented itself both to my sight and my
judgment, as we sailed up the noble and extensive basin we had entered,
towards the seat of government. A single glance was sufficient to tell
me that the hills upon the southern shore of the port, the outlines of

which were broken by houses and spires, must once have been covered
with the same dense and gloomy wood which abounded every where
else. The contrast was indeed very great--the improvement singularly
striking. The labour and patience required, and the difficulties which
the first settlers encountered effecting these improvements, must have
been incalculable. But their success has been complete: it is the very
triumph of human skill and industry over Nature herself. The cornfield
and the orchard have supplanted the wild grass and the brush; a
flourishing town stands over the ruins of the forest; the lowing of herds
has succeeded the wild whoop of the savage; and the stillness of that
once desert shore is now broken by the sound of the bugle and the busy
hum of commerce.
EXTENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND DIVISIONS OF THE
COLONY.
The Colony of New South Wales is situated upon the eastern coast of
Australia; and the districts within which land has been granted to
settlers, extends from the 36th parallel of latitude to the 32nd,