Batman returned immediately to Tasmania to procure a fresh supply of provisions, and near the end of August, 1835, during his absence, another adventurer, John Fawkner, landed on the banks of the Yarra from the schooner Enterprise, and made his camp in the forest on the bank of the stream. He brought five men, two horses, two pigs, one cat, and three kangaroo-dogs; and this was the colony that founded the present city of Melbourne. Fawkner may be fairly considered the founder of Melbourne, as the permanent occupation of the site dates from the day he landed from his schooner. But Batman's part of the affair should not be forgotten; he returned in the following April, and settled on what is now a part of the city. As might be expected, there was a bitter quarrel between Batman and Fawkner as long as both survived, and it was continued by their descendants.
THE FOUNDING OF MELBOURNE, AUGUST, 1835.
The inhabitants of Melbourne have duly honored Batman by erecting in the old cemetery of that city an appropriate monument to his memory. He died in 1839, before the city had grown to much importance though it was giving good promise for the future. At the time of Batman's death there were four hundred and fifty houses, seventy shops, and three thousand inhabitants in Melbourne, and the first ship had sailed for London with a cargo of four hundred bales of wool.
Frank and Fred learned all this before taking their first stroll along the streets of Melbourne on the morning after their arrival. They also learned that the city took its name in honor of Lord Melbourne, who was then Premier of Great Britain. Frank suggested that perhaps Shakespeare had Melbourne in mind as the "bourne whence no traveller returns," since a great many deaths occurred there during the gold rush. Fred reproved his cousin for using this antiquated "chestnut," and the topic was indefinitely postponed.
The first thing to attract the attention of the youths was the width of the streets (ninety-nine feet, or a chain and a half) in contrast with the narrow streets of Sydney. Then the situation is pleasing, as it is on some rolling hills something like those on which Moscow, the ancient capital of Russia, stands. The hills afford good drainage to the central part of the city, and as one goes about he finds himself occasionally upon an elevation from which he can look away for a considerable distance. The city itself is about a mile and a half square, and is regularly laid out; it is surrounded by parks and gardens, and its suburbs include a radius of not far from ten miles, and are steadily extending. Within this radius it is claimed that there are fully 360,000 inhabitants, and the number is increasing year by year.
PUBLIC LIBRARY, MELBOURNE.