In Distant Australia.
In the eastern part of Victoria, nestling among the mountains, lies Warburton, one of the prettiest countries in this colony. It is fifty miles from Melbourne and twenty-five from Lilydale, the nearest town from which the coach runs daily. The mountains are thickly covered with gum-trees, many of which reach the height of 300 feet, and sometimes 400 feet. In the evenings the mountains vary in color from deep pink to a very deep purple, reflected from the setting sun. The effect is grand.
In the valleys are beautiful gullies, full of ferns, varying in size from a foot to about sixty feet high. It is delightfully cool in the gullies, as they are pleasantly shaded by trees with closely matted tops that we often go and sit in, especially at a place where there are many comfortable swings and hammocks formed of bark which is shed from the gum-trees.
These gullies abound with most of our native animals, such as bears, wallabies, wombats, dingoes, opossums, etc. Warburton has numberless creeks, and a river called Yarra Yarra, which is a native name, meaning flowing. The river is very winding, and is flecked with rocks here and there, and shaded by trees which bend their branches over to the water. The river is full of rapids and little cataracts, and is not navigable except within about twelve or fifteen miles of its mouth. It is a beautiful place in which to enjoy peace and rest.
Daisy Damman, R.T.P.