92 NOTES OF TRAVEL 
Having completed my arrangements, I started one day 
for Ipswich, immediately after lunch, crossing by the punt 
to South Brisbane, and following the road which was then in 
use. There had been a heavy fall of rain just before ; it 
was showery that afternoon, and the road was very heavy in 
places. Night had set in by the time I reined up at the 
North Australian Hotel (I think that was its name) at Ipswich; 
here a tragic event had happened during the afternoon, 
Count Hickey had started for Jinghi Jinghi, where he lived, 
in a buggy, accompanied by his wife, nurse, and infant child ; 
but before he had gone far, he discovered something wrong 
with the harness, and turned back with the intention of 
having it repaired. The horses took fright, however, and got 
beyond control; they came to the hotel at a gallop, and, 
in turning the corner to their late stables, the buggy came 
into collision with a post, and was overturned. Count Hickey 
and the nurse were seriously injured, while Mrs. Hickey was 
killed ; the child was unhurt. The accident cast a gloom 
over Ipswich, and this was aggravated by the rain, which came 
down steadily all night. The unfortunate lady, whose end 
had come so suddenly and so unexpectedly, was buried on 
the following day. 
I was detained two days in Ipswich, all the watercourses 
being flooded, but on the third morning I made a fresh start. 
In close proximity to the “Modern Athens,” as Sir George 
Bowen described Ipswich, there were a few suburban dwell- 
ings of unpretentious appearance ; then came forest land, 
with an occasional homestead ; this was the general character 
of the country from Ipswich to Gladstone, with homesteads 
in a diminishing quantity. About mid-day I struck the 
Brisbane River, at a station occupied by Mr. or Major North. 
The water was turbid, and the current too strong to be 
inviting ; as I was unacquainted with the depth, etc., I rode 
up to the station, and Mr. or Major North very kindly sent 
his son to see me over a safer crossing, after which there was 
no further difficulty ; so I jogged on quietly until in the 
afternoon I came to a fairly good bush hotel, and there I spent 
the night. Its name I am unable to recall, but it was the first 
habitation I had seen after crossing the river. On the follow- 
ing day, which was Saturday, I continued my journey until 
I arrived at Mount Brisbane, where I was very hospitably 
