CHAPTER I

Bird’s-Eye View of AlbanyCHAPTER IAlbany—Sweet Boronia—Middleton Beach—Little Grove—Regatta—Buildings—Whaling—Old Colonists—Travelling Dairy—Splendid Vegetables—Wattle Farm—Porongurup—Land Regulations—King George’s Sound.

Bird’s-Eye View of Albany

Albany—Sweet Boronia—Middleton Beach—Little Grove—Regatta—Buildings—Whaling—Old Colonists—Travelling Dairy—Splendid Vegetables—Wattle Farm—Porongurup—Land Regulations—King George’s Sound.

TheOmrahat Albany

Having travelled all over Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (now United Australia), I one day made up my mind to set out for the land of gold, Western Australia, that has created such afurorein these last few years. Accordingly I took my passage from Sydney in the mail-steamerOmrahand, after a very charming voyage on board that splendid vessel, landed at Albany. It was a lovely day, and the first things that pleasantly greeted the passengers on stepping from the tug-boat to the wharf were various small boys with huge bunches of the exquisite-smellingboronia, of which I had often heard. Pretty little Albany looked charming. The day was really perfect in its loveliness; the country round looked like an exquisite emerald robe fringed with pearl and sapphire, the grand blue mountains in the distance, the opal sea, with its white-winged yachts and various sailing vessels lying at anchor in beautiful Princess Royal Harbour; the blue sky above, with here and there a tiny white cloud like a dove carrying a message to heaven; the matchless wild flowers springing around in profusion, and the scent of the sweet boronia wafting on the breeze from the gullies, where it grows in such luxuriance that one wonders no scent farm has been started to distil the exquisite perfume, made the drive taken by most of us before lunch most delightful. The peacefulness of this charming place was broken only by the arrival of the great steamers, with their crowds of passengers, who always went ashore for an hour or so, some of them to take the trainen routeto Perth, Fremantle, or the goldfields; the others, after driving, lunching, or dining, as time will allow, at the Freemasons’ Hotel (where I put up for a week), returning to the steamer to continue their passage “home,” as all we Australians call dear mother England.

After an excellent lunch at the above-named hotel we set out to view the surroundings of Albany.

On that day everything really looked so beautiful that one might believe Nature to have put on her most attractive garb for us, as if to say, “Why go from here?” Driving round the Marine Drive to Middleton Beach, we thought nothing could be lovelier than the view to which no attraction seemed wanting. The calm and stillness were broken only by a few other tourists, also feasting their eyes on this scene of beauty. It is a five-mile drive to Middleton Beach. The beach forms a circle of some three miles. Mount Clarence is in the background; in front is the land-locked Princess Royal Harbour, with its narrow gateway for the passage of ships; tiny bays surround it, and the picturesque islands look like so many lions guarding the portal. This is a favourite place for picnics; family parties areoften here in numbers; the water is so limpid and shallow that children can dabble about to their hearts’ content; the sand is beautifully white and firm, and many little spades and buckets are employed in making sandhouses. Afternoon tea-parties are also quite an institution; it is considered quite “the thing” to bring a party of friends to tea, and, if you do not wish to have ital fresco, there is the pretty Esplanade Hotel, where everything, from afternoon teas to wedding breakfasts, is served up in most excellent fashion.

Another beauteous spot near Albany is Little Grove. The day I went the steamer was full, it being a holiday. Launches were plying from jetty to jetty, taking parties of picnickers to the pretty shady groves. A regatta was also being held, and many people were watching it. It was a pretty sight to see the contest of the boats as they sailed merrily round the lovely bay. The weather was exquisite, but a strong breeze was blowing; good seamanship was called into play in the sailing of the yachts and robust muscular exertion in the rowing events. Albany may well be called the sanatorium of the colony. The air is so invigorating that, after being there only a few days, one feels almost a new being. Any one suffering from brain fag or exhaustion cannot do better than go to Albany for a holiday. One need only look at the faces of the children, see their healthy looks, bright eyes and general activity, to know that they have been born and brought up amongst healthy surroundings. One feature of the children is their beautiful hair; many possess such luxuriant tresses that one feels inclined to envy the lovely colour and beauty of them, and to wish one also had been born in Albany.

The town possesses some very good buildings, and, although not of very large extent, is well laid out. It lies between the Mounts Clarence and Melville, and the many dwellings on the hillsides give it a most quaint and charming appearance. The principal places are the Town Hall, Post Office, Customs House Office, and large sheds, also some fine stores. There are still some very old structures standing, for Albany is an old town, PrincessRoyal Harbour having been called after the daughter of King George of England. The old-fashioned church of St. John has been beautified by the hand of time and adorned with a mantle of ivy green. Many stone cottages show the primitive way of building that prevailed in 1836. The gaol, built about that year, and in much the same style, still exists, but the stocks then in use have almost disappeared. A very old woman to whom I was speaking told me she remembered three women at a time being put into them. Other evidences of days gone by are immense heaps of bleached whalebones lying about in some parts. Albany was once a fishing village frequented by traders of all countries, who did a large trade in whale-oil, seals, &c., and exchanged for these things not only coin but also potatoes and fruit. There were evidently stirring times in Albany in those early days, and it was not an uncommon thing to see nine whales at a time disporting themselves in the harbour. The huge mail-steamers must have frightened them all away, for a whale is now a rare visitor. I spent a pleasant hour at the house of Mr. J. McKenzie, which in the ’fifties was the only hotel in Albany, and was known as The Thistle. It was also the general concert-hall and theatre. There were no theatrical companies in Western Australia in those days, and the small community used to get up its own entertainments without aid from outside. Among the relics cherished by Mr. McKenzie is the speaking-trumpet used by his father, a master mariner, an imposing-looking instrument of brass, something like a cornet. A magnificent double-pearl shell, with five or six lovely pearls embedded in its sides, must be of great value.

One of the most prominent early colonists was Captain John Hassell, who, after calling two or three times in his brig theBelinda, 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 toStrawberry 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 thejourney, 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 terribleheat-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.

CIVILISED ABORIGINALS AT KENDINUP STATION

The land regulations of Western Australia are so favourable to the colonist that, if well known in England and upon the continent of Europe, they would probably attract many families of the vine-growing, artisan, and small capitalist classes. Any person over the age of eighteen, who is the head of a family, can take up an area of 160 acres of land for a free or homestead farm. A deposit of £1 is required as a guarantee ofbona fides. The applicant must live on the land for six months of each year, and within two years must spend £30 in clearing or cropping, or put down two acres of garden, orchard or vineyard; within five years, one quarter of the selection must be fenced and one-eighth cropped; within seven years the whole area must be fenced, and one quarter cultivated. The selector then becomes entitled to his certificate of title, after having paid for it and the cost of survey. Direct purchase can be made, if desired, of from 100 to 5000 acres. The land is valued at 10s.per acre, of which 10 per cent. is payable on application and the balance by four quarterly instalments. Applicants must fence in the course of three years and spend 5s.per acre within seven years, and then can acquire their certificates of title. Grazing farms can be taken up at a rental of 2½d.per acre. Pastoral leases, or grass rights for grazing purposes, can be got for the nominal rental of 2s.6d.per 1000 acres per annum and upwards. Garden lots, from 5 up to 50 acres, can be obtained. In this case the land is valued at 20s.per acre, and the plot must be fenced within three years, one-tenth to be put under cultivation as abona fidegarden. The terms are 10 per cent. deposit on application and the balance in six half-yearly instalments. In addition to all this, the Government have done yet more to induce land settlements by offering assistance from the Agricultural Bank, created by the late Premier, Sir John Forrest, for the benefit of all who desire to make a home in Western Australia. This bank will lend money on freeholds at conditional purchase (already fenced) to the amount of £800. An application fee of 1 per cent. on the loan is demanded, and this amount covers cost ofinspection and mortgage. The amount lent is repayable by the borrower in thirty years; for the first five years the interest is payable half-yearly. At the sixth year a sinking fund of 4 per cent. commences, and continues until the end of the thirty years, when the debt is wiped out. There are Government land agents in nearly every agricultural town of the colony, and a would-be selector arriving and communicating with the Government agent receives all the assistance he wishes in making his selection. The present population of Albany is about 3500.

The Residency, Albany

A fine Quarantine Station has lately been built at a cost of £10,000. The forts are very interesting. No doubt, in the future Albany will become an important Naval station. An Imperial Officer of the Royal Artillery is in command, there is a small garrison, and some murderous-looking guns are in readiness to give a warm reception to any enemy who may appear. Before leaving Albany I accepted an invitation to take a trip out into the Sound. This was named by Vancouver, in 1791, King George’s Sound, after the then reigning sovereign of England. It is sheltered by magnificent granite rocks or headlands, and the anchorage is perfect, for the islands of Breaksea, Michaelmas, and Haul Off Rock—an immense block of stone, almost like a mediæval fortress—break the ocean swell. The beauties of King George’s Sound have been well known since the first navigators sought refuge in its quiet waters, and its maritime value can never cease.

I said “Good-bye” with much regret to the many friends made during my short stay in this little town, where even the Railway Reserve is a perfect garden of Arum lilies. These peerless flowers seem to grow wild, and their stately heads are to be seen everywhere. The scent of the boronia is wafted on the breeze from afar; you hear the merry laughter of boating-parties and of children who come along with their hands full of gorgeous wild flowers. One of the townsfolk brought me a lovely collection of orchids, of which there are many varieties to be found hereabout; another friend brought me a collection of Western Australia curiosities, shells, corals, &c.; indeed I was overwhelmed with kindness by the warm-hearted people, and could not but be sorry to leave a place where I had been received with so much kindness.

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