One of the most prominent early colonists was Captain John Hassell, who, after calling two or three times in his brig the Belinda, being wrecked, and undergoing many hardships, was still so much attracted by the splendid locality that he resolved to settle here, took another trip to Sydney, N.S.W., and returned with his family in 1838, bringing with him 700 sheep, 12 horses, 20 head of cattle, poultry, 15 men, also rations for twelve months. Captain Hassell went first to Strawberry Hill and afterwards to Kendinup Station, where a fine mansion stands, which now belongs to his son, John Hassell. It comprises 41,144 acres of freehold and 122,000 acres of leasehold property; the area is 225 square miles, and there are 320 miles of fencing on it. 6000 sheep are on the run, and one magnificent flock of imported sheep cost Mr. Hassell £4000. The samples of wool I saw from this station are really splendid. There is a plentiful supply of water, one well being 80 feet deep, and nearly always full. There are 30 civilised natives on the station, photographs of five of whom are here given.
A PART OF KENDINUP STATION
Albany has been connected with the capital by rail since 1886; previous to that time the overland journey of more than 300 miles was made by mail-coach or private conveyance over a very lonely road. The first railway here was negotiated by the late Mr. Anthony Hordern, of Sydney, N.S.W., and constructed under the land-grant system by a company of which he was director-chairman. Mr. Hordern took up large grants of land near Albany, having a high opinion of its agricultural possibilities. He had also large schemes for the future of the south-west part of the colony, and intended to build agricultural colleges to teach people how to use the splendid soil to advantage. Unfortunately Mr. Hordern did not live to complete the schemes; he died at sea, and a splendid monument to his memory tops the incline of the principal street in Albany. The late Premier, Sir John Forrest, said he remembered taking a journey from Albany to Perth in 1880, when the coach broke down at a distance of some 40 or 50 miles from the town, and it was necessary to get a team and travel by it another 40 or 50 miles; also many other difficulties were encountered before arriving at Perth, and the journey took a week. My own experiences when I visited this colony in 1882 were worse than the Premier’s. I landed in Albany with a party of four others; we hired two conveyances and four horses, paying £50 for them, provisioned for ten days, and set off through the sand and bush. As it took us sixteen days to perform the journey, as very little food could be obtained anywhere, and as we arrived at our journey’s end with only two horses, the other two having died on the way, the pleasures of that expedition can better be imagined than described.
The garden lands which lie in the valleys close to the town are being largely cultivated, and selectors from England and elsewhere are frequently arriving with the intention of taking up selections, and undertaking dairy farming and market gardening. The new travelling dairy instituted by the Government will be a great boon; it will have all the latest appliances, and the plant will be erected in places where the people have not facilities for making butter, &c., and persons who do not understand the process can be instructed. The yield from this district is one ton of hay, or fifteen bushels of wheat, per acre. This quantity has been exceeded at Toobrunup Lake, where the yield was twenty bushels per acre. Further proof of the fertility of the soil is given by the fact that cabbages grown at Mr. Horton’s selection weighed from 20 to 30 lb., and grew to maturity in thirteen weeks. Forty-two tons of cabbage came off three acres of land last year, and brought £10 per ton. Potatoes from the farm at Strawberry Hill, cultivated 60 years ago by Sir R. Spencer, weigh over a pound each, so that at dinner you are not asked to take potatoes but a part of one. These potatoes are really stupendous; one that I had in my hand I measured, and found it to be nearly a foot long, and wide in proportion! Seventy tons of these gigantic tubers, grown without the aid of any fertilisers, were taken from nine acres. Turnips flourish in the same way and grow to the weight of 3 and 5 lb. It is not “some pumpkins,” as they say in America, but “some turnips,” as they say in Australia. Onions also grow to an immense size, often weighing over 6 lb. each.
Albany and its surroundings are really as near perfection as it is possible for any place to be. It has a heavenly summer climate, the coolest in Australia. A day is considered hot if the mercury rises above 80°. During the week of the terrible heat-wave, when in other parts of the colony the temperature was from 110° to 115°, the record heat here was 95°. There are never by any chance hot winds. The grass is always green and flowers are always blooming. With its miles of harbour frontage, its lovely valleys nestling at the foot of its grand hills, its beautiful river, and the natural drainage which keeps the little town always clean and healthy, no wonder it should be regarded as the very choicest of health resorts. The rainfall is abundant, and the district seldom suffers from frost. The winters are very mild, snow has only been known to fall two or three times, and then was so novel a sight as to excite wonder in all the native-born Albanians. Last winter, however, Mr. Knight, of Wattle Farm, carted into town a huge snowball that had been rolled on his farm in the Porongurup ranges, which then were covered with snow, and afforded the grandest spectacle ever seen here. At Mr. Knight’s farm and orchard some magnificent fruit is grown, the apples being sometimes over a pound in weight. I shall never forget the lovely sight of that orchard. It is on an elevation of 1200 feet above the sea-level, and commands a view of the rich and fertile valleys around. The soil is of a rich deep chocolate colour, and the country is stated by experts to be volcanic.
Besides being endowed with beauty and richness of soil, Albany is likely to become famous as a coal- and gold-producing district, for coal has recently been found, and a company which will make further researches formed. Timber also is abundant, and copper has recently been found at the Phillips River, about 180 miles away. Thousands of people who have gone direct to the goldfields have no idea of the beauty of this place. They only think of Western Australia as a place in which, to look for gold, and when that has been obtained in sufficiency, to be left behind as quickly as possible. Tinned fruits, meat and vegetables have until recently been the staple food of dwellers in the goldfields; but, as population increases and fertile lands are taken up and cultivated, a sufficiency of fresh fruits for all requirements will probably be produced before long.