NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 14 January 1881, Page 2

NOTES ON A TRIP TO VICTORIA.

[CoNTINXTED.] Shortly a ftf r daylight on the morning of the fifth day out, the earliest of the early birds on dock were gladdened wit h the sight of land, and tlj£ welrome an« nouncement was soon passed round, and caused almost as much commotion amongst tbe passengers as it tbe ship bad been on fire. Iv a few minutes atl below was bustle and confusion, men were howling for tbeir boots., and agitate! females shrieked for the stewardess, ani every* body raced everybody el so in the general desire to get above. Arriving on deck it | took some minutes to make out tbat land was really in view, so distant was it. But sure {enough there it was directly ahead, but hardly discernible, so low down on the horizon. Speeding along at the rate of ten knots an boor, however, the feint outline of the coast so>n shar' pened and rose from the water aQ d by breakfast time its low mountain system was plainly traceable. Fil'ed|wiih a muU titude of delightful anticipations break f;S had bnt little attraction for the passen* gers, the bulk of whom preferred to re* main on deck and dnnk in the scene. It was a tboroughly Australian spring morning ; the sky without a eioud, and although it was but 7 o'clock a.m., the sun streamed down through the dry air with a strength which spoke eloquently of an altered climate. The scene was one of rare and striking beauty an 1 contrasted strangely with the characteristics of the land we had left. By eight o'clock we were signaled from the lighthouse and shortly afler stood in for the entrance of the heads. Tha'etiiSt lino hcealouts is

ntirely rock bound and rises like tv w-i of a house to a height of some hu<idrp of feel. It was here, almost r'g -t un I the site of the present lighthouse that tl luckless Duncau D inbar, year* ago can to grief, mistaking the entrance to tl heads the vessel was run dead against tl cliff, where in a very few minutes she w: dashed to pieces, and but eno ot s-jtri hundred and odd passengers ese. ped, lj managed to obtain standing ro-jm upon jutting shelf of thecllff.and from this pos tion was rescued on the following d.r The sea is alive with sharks in the vici mty. and tbis accounts for tho fact tlu few, if any. of tho bodies of thnse wl perished were ever recovered. We- wei now in the channel of the haads, which i about ft qnarter of a mile broad the clifl oo either side rising to a height of froi 100 to 150 feet, and Ueae after turning sharp bend within, tbe Srst view of tli world Aimed Sydney harbour presente itself, fend ndthing more grandly mat aifieeat, more exquisitely, emchsatb)! oould possibly ho eone«»ed! t "Tbd. seen would be picturesque in all aspects sn conditions, but viewed un^er the fsvorabl s ai»piees of a^go^geons aprmg nkm^if nothing could transcend its lovelinesThe bay itself is probably not more th? four miles in length, by an average o about balf that in breadth. On all side a succession of inlets run into tb? mait land like so many artificial docks, eae one affording the utmost shelter and seeu rity to vessels of tbe largest tonnage, an< ifthis characteristic which makes tb •bay second to rone in tbe world. In th fair way are two smali islands e-icf mounted with heavy ordnance, whii from erer j projecting point np the chan nel, cannons gape down upon the income Although tbe day was yet yonng ther waa a world of life amongst the shipping The magnificent steamer Orient as well a several of the largest of the P. and O. an Frisco boats were anchored out in th open water and scattered about in tbe va rions nooks and armlets were a numerou fleet of shipping either receiving or wait ing to receive the seasons wool. It wa some public holiday and a monster pic hie bad been arrange! to be held som where near the heads, and every avail able steamer was required to convey tin thousands upon thousands of cbiidren t< tbe spot. Each steamer we passed wa whito with tbe waving of joyous youth ful pocket handkerchiefs, while the sounr of music upon the water lent a charm to tbe spectacle which was ineffably de< lightful* We shortly afterwards haulec np to the Union Company's wharf, anc tbe boat was soon over-run by a besieg ing <Q||pi of .hotel runners and cabmei from Wbose^-wlieitatioes it was tfifncnl indeed to escape. It was now 9 a.m. I *pd the passengers were warned to in on board again at 2 o'clock, thus af fording but little opportunity of sight seeing in the city. A few hours drive through tbe principal streets being al 'that could be ventured upon. An in spection of this kind, of course, offeree no opportunity of seeing tbe oity, I shal dot therefore attempt to say anything; about it for the present. On tbe return journey we bad the benefit of several days stay there and the result of the impressions lormed will be rendered in due course. By 2 p.m. tbe whole o( the passengers were once more on board and a little later we were again uuder way and on onr course for Newcastle, which is distant about forty miles along the coast. It was midnight when we reached there, and *•"* appearnce which tbe city presented *..$ very pretty. The towa itself is built upon an elevated plateau, about a mile from the entrance, and the multitude of hmso aid street lights, reflected as they were, upon the water of the bay, prrsented a novel ui^ht. The entrance is a capacious and safe, one, the harbor Uself being hardly less in txt-ut than that of Sydney. To the right, the estuary of the Hunter river stretches in a straight' line for over a mile, at the mouth of which the coal wharf is situated, and here we berthed for the night* It bad been intended to do the coaling br night, for which purpose an immense coal fire bad been lighted near tbe wbarf, but the boat being an hour or so behind her appointed time, the men had departed, and there was nothing for it but to remain till daylight. For thi?, there were few of the passengers who- were not at all annoyed Of all the* drawbacks connected with steam travelling, there ia none to compare with that of taking in coal. From the thin dry coal dust, there is no possible escape, for it penetrates everything. Tho bedding, the food, the water — in fact nothing: i? sacred from it, and the prospect of being able to get away from the boat while it was going on, as well as that of being able to have a t waive hours run over the city, was g!*dly welcomed. (To be Continued)