Beyond the limits of the county of Cumberland there are very few towns which are large enough to merit particular attention, and of these the situations of the two most important and conspicuous, namely Bathurst and Newcastle, have already been mentioned. Instead, therefore, of wearying the reader with an attempt minutely to describe the small towns of New South Wales, it will be better to proceed without delay to a description of the other British colonies in Australia.
hobart town.
CHAPTER X.
TASMANIA, AND THE OTHER AUSTRALIAN SETTLEMENTS.
Van Diemen’s Land, or Tasmania, the next important colony, is, as we have before stated, a separate island of considerable size, nearly all the eastern side of which is now inhabited by the English. It was divided into two counties only, which are called Cornwall and Buckinghamshire, but these being inconveniently large, a fresh division into eleven counties, all of them borrowing the names of some in England or Wales, has since taken place.[144] But without concerning ourselves about these smaller divisions, which it would be impossible to describe exactly and distinctly, it may suffice to state, that the two chief towns in the island are at its opposite extremities, Hobart Town being at the south, and Launceston at the north, and both of these are sea-ports; so that the colony seems naturally to divide itself into two provinces, each of which has one of these towns for its capital, but which are both, nevertheless, similar in their appearance, character, and productions.
Van Diemen’s Land is a more mountainous, and yet, it would seem, a more fruitful country than New South Wales. It is, according to the testimony of all who have visited it, a most beautiful and pleasing land; the mountains are tolerably high, but do not run much in ranges, and the views among them are continually broken and cheered by delightful valleys and fertile plains. Among these hills, limestone is very commonly discovered, and is now in considerable use; it is supposed, likewise, that coals, and iron ore, will be found abundantly in Van Diemen’s Land, but these resources of the colony have not yet been much explored. In the cultivated parts of the country the soil varies greatly; in some places it is a rich black mould, in others, sand or flint is mingled; but its general fertility is proved by the excellent crops which, year after year, it produces. The coast of Van Diemen’s Land abounds in bays and fine harbours; nor is this island at all deficient in rivers and streams, imparting life to the landscape, and fruitfulness to the soil. The Derwent, upon the banks of which stands Hobart Town, is a very fine river, without rocks or sand banks, and always safely navigable for ships of considerable size. Both sides of this river abound in beautiful and romantic scenery, and although the soil is less productive than in some other parts of the colony, yet the neighbourhood of the capital, and the advantage of water-carriage, combine to make amends for this inferiority. The Tamar falls into the sea in Bass’s Strait, quite on the opposite side of the island to the mouth of the Derwent; and as Hobart Town adorns the latter river, so the Tamar is enlivened by the trade and commerce of the port of Launceston. The navigation of this river for large vessels is not easy, in consequence of a bar and other hindrances. The Tamar is formed by the union of two smaller streams, named the North Esk, and South Esk, and at Launceston, the distance from the sea is about forty miles. Towards its mouth, the land adjoining this stream is barren and sandy, but within a few miles this kind of soil is succeeded by rich level marshes, and beautiful slopes of moderately wooded and rich pasture country rising up behind these. The other rivers of Van Diemen’s Land are either, like the Huon, situated in the uncolonized parts, or, like the Shannon, the Jordan, and the Clyde, inconsiderable streams, so as not to merit a more particular description. Many of the Tasmanian rivers take their rise in lakes, which are usually found in high situations in the central parts of the island, and abound with water-fowl.
Hobart Town, the capital of a very beautiful and lovely island, may boast of a situation of suitable loveliness and beauty. Behind it, on the west, stand some gently rising hills, well wooded, beyond which towers Mount Wellington, 4000 feet in height, and having its summit, during more than half the year, covered with snow, but yet seldom obscured with clouds, because of the pureness and clearness of the air. On the other side of the town, to the eastward, is to be seen the noble Derwent, which here better deserves to be called an arm of the sea than a river, extending with its winding banks, forming beautiful bays and lakes, or projecting into picturesque points, whilst its waters are enlivened by the boats and shipping of the adjacent port. The water here is salt, and the bay on which Hobart Town stands affords one of the best anchorages in the world for vessels, in whatever number or of whatever burden they may be. Indeed it is said that the Derwent surpasses even Port Jackson, or at least it is doubtful which of the two deserves a preference.[145] The capital of Tasmania is built upon gently rising ground, and though within the present century its site was mere bush-land, it has now some good streets, with large and handsome shops and houses. According to Mr. Montgomery Martin, the average rental of these was 50l. each, but then we must not lose sight of the high value which houses bear in Australia. However, at that calculation, the annual value of rent in Hobart Town in the year 1835, when there were 1281 houses, would be 72,000l.[146] The public buildings are said to be, some of them, handsome and commodious. Court-house, barracks, hospital, orphan-schools, jails, and government house, rank among the principal buildings of Hobart Town; and in many respects it appears to resemble a provincial sea-port in the mother country. It has some excellent inns, good wharfs and warehouses, and public banks, besides a few considerable manufacturing establishments. A small stream runs nearly through the centre of the town, which, besides turning some mills, affords at certain seasons a good supply of water. But the town is chiefly supplied by means of pipes, which convey water to private houses and likewise to the public pumps, and occasionally, it would appear, some scarcity of this needful article prevails.[147] The church of St. David’s, in the capital of Van Diemen’s Land, is a large building, and so it ought to be, since it was until lately the only church for a population (including the suburbs) of 13,000 souls.[148] Besides the church, sundry other buildings rear up their heads, here as elsewhere; and if any thing could justify separation and divisions among those for whom their Divine Master prayed “that they might be one,” if in any case it were “lawful to do evil that good may come,” then dissent of every kind might find its excuse in a place like Hobart Town, where so many thousand souls, the majority of them in a very unhealthy state, have been formerly left in the charge of one pastor. But instead of praying the Lord of the vineyard for more labourers, and endeavouring themselves to furnish the means of supplying these, men have rushed, self-sent, or sent only by others having no more authority than themselves, into the field of pastoral labour. And while we lament the confusion that has ensued, while we rejoice in whatever good may have resulted from unauthorized preachers, we members of the Church of England are compelled by truth to acknowledge, that, if other men have been led astray by their eagerness and ignorance, we have been not less culpably misled by our slothfulness and apathy. Accordingly the marks of our needless divisions are every where manifest; and like the noxious weeds which sometimes hang about the roots of a noble tree, so are these transplanted together with our best institutions into our colonies. In the chief town of Tasmania are to be found separate places of worship for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and Independents.