To drive up the Preston Valley from Donnybrook in the lovely weather was pleasant. The roads were certainly not all that could be desired, but the forest scenery compensated for a little jolting, and the more one travels in the West the more is one convinced of the resources of the colony. The soil is a rich chocolate loam, and grass and water plentiful all the year round. Hay is principally cultivated here, as a great quantity of chaff is required for the horses at the mills in the district.
On my return to Donnybrook, rather tired with my day’s excursion, I retired early, and after a refreshing night’s rest started for Bridgetown in the morning. The line has only recently been completed, and was formally opened on December 2, 1898. It must have been pretty hard work to make this railway, for the various cuttings are in some parts so deep that 40 or 50 kegs of powder per day were often used in blasting the hard rock. There are 178 cuttings and 204 embankments on the line of only 42 miles, so no wonder it cost the Government a considerable sum of money. Donnybrook is 208 feet above the sea-level, but Needes Hill, 7 miles farther on, is 770 feet above. After that the road drops down again to 400 feet, then it rises again to an altitude of 1000 feet, and at this point comes within 10 miles of the now well-known Greenbushes Tinfield (of which more anon). A further depression of this elevation brings it to Hester’s Brook, and then a further rise ascends to Dalgarup Station, landing at an elevation of more than 1000 feet, whence the line drops again to Bridgetown, only 510 feet high in the clouds. I quickly made my way to Warner’s Hotel, and after an excellent dinner proceeded to investigate Bridgetown and the Blackwood river. The orchards around this district appeared to be very fine. Sir James Lee Steere, the member for the district, gives a handsome silver cup every year as a trophy at the annual show for the best-kept orchard. This has been now won three years in succession by the Messrs. Allnutt, the Grange. Their orchard covers an area of 30 acres. Mr. Allnutt, the father of the present owner, planted this fine orchard 30 years ago. One can imagine what a wilderness the place must have been then, and what perseverance has been practised to achieve such a successful issue. The latest development is a steam sawmill on the property for the purpose of cutting up timber and making boxes for packing the fruit in. Every kind of fruit one can think of is here. As well as fruit, magnificent potatoes are grown, and often yield 15 tons to the acre. Now that the railway touches the place, the inhabitants say that this will be the chief agricultural centre of the south-west district. The people seemed so genial that it was really a pleasure to converse with them.
A very beautiful drive through richly wooded hills, the tender green grass of which was dotted here and there by clusters of trees and covered by the perfumed golden wattle and by many spring wild flowers—appearing between an occasional field of newly growing wheat—brought me to Dallgarrup, the homestead of Mr. Godfrey Hester, who has over 7000 acres of land altogether. I found this gentleman engaged in skinning and dressing a sheep; he had taken on a Chinese cook, and all the other hands, objecting to the introduction of Chinese labour, had left in a body. Consequently Mr. Hester had to turn to and do the work himself.
About a mile farther on is Blackwood Park, Mr. Gerald Hester’s homestead, with an orchard of 23 acres, 6 of which bear most lovely apples. There are 2000 acres, and many cattle and sheep. The house is an old-fashioned one, having been built 50 years ago for Mr. Hester’s father, who was the oldest settler on the Blackwood river, and came out 52 years ago He was the first Stipendiary Magistrate in the district. The house is in a charming spot, and many handsome willows grow about the running brook close by. The largest grape-vine I have ever seen is here. Mr. Hester told me it was planted 40 years ago by his mother. The height of this marvellous vine is 7 feet to the first branch. There are 6 enormous branches measuring 8 inches round and averaging 100 feet long. The body of the vine is 50 inches round. A very large trellis, which from time to time has been added to, now takes up 39 feet of ground in length by 54 feet in width. The kind of arbour thus formed maybe imagined. 2064 bunches of magnificent black Hamburg grapes, weighing over a ton, came off this vine last year, which I am sure breaks the record of production of one vine in any of the colonies.
The drive from Bridgetown to Greenbushes Tinfield through forest country is most enjoyable. This tinfield has of late been richly developed. Until recently it was not thought much of, gold-mining having deadened all other kinds of mining in the colony. Now, however, things have taken a turn, and quite a large settlement has sprung up, and over 2000 men are on the field. A good town has been formed where three months before was a dense forest, and solitude reigned supreme. Jarrah growing on the spot, and two timber-mills being close by, nearly all the houses are built of the handsome dark wood, are thus much more pleasing than the usual tents and camps of mining places, and stand out well against the tall green forest trees. People have built very nice houses, evidently having an eye to solid comfort, and thinking the field a permanent one.
The town of Greenbushes is one long street or avenue. On either side tower the enormous forest trees. The ring of the axe and the crash of some of these falling giants, together with the immense fires burning day and night for the purpose of getting out the tremendous stumps of the trees; the energy of the people, and the numbers of visitors constantly arriving to see the field, make Greenbushes a lively place. The town seems to have sprung up by magic; there are 30 stores of all descriptions, 3 hotels, the Court House Hotel being a very comfortable one, post and telegraph offices, warden’s court, and other public buildings.
Miles and miles of the country contain rich tin. The tinfields are on the highest point of the Darling Range, 1100 feet above sea-level. The gullies and watercourses are very picturesque being in the heart of the green forest. I drove down to Spring Gully, where the men were all at work in their claims, and the various workings were most interesting. Dumpling Gully is the name of another part of the field.
There have been some rich finds. The Cornwall Mine, on the highest point, has been proved to carry 13½ per cent. of lode tin. Another lode tin mine is the Yarana, which has given good results. The lode in this mine is similar to that found in Cornwall, England, being associated with quartz, schist and kaolin. Tin ore is most peculiar-looking stuff. Some lumps of it that are called “nuggets of wood tin,” weigh 30 lb. each; another kind is like fine sand, and another like gunpowder, and the colours range from white to red, yellow, ruby, black, grey and brown. Some of the men have sold their claims to the syndicates for £4000 and £5000, and gone on their way rejoicing. I was surprised to find plenty of horses and cabs at Greenbushes; these are, no doubt, accounted for by the distance of the town—three miles—from the railway station, which I passed going to Bridgetown. The cabbies were doing a roaring trade, and the whole community seemed very well satisfied with things in general. Gold has also been found at a depth of 33 feet, the reef being nearly 8 inches wide, and comprised of quartz; the formation enclosing it contains free tin worth about 3 ounces to the dish.