BY THE HON. A, NORTON, M.L.C. 91 



droving the cattle the son of an English parson who could 

 recite Moore, Byron, and other poets by the hour, and 

 often helped to entertain the camp on a dull evening ; but 

 in the more practical walks of life he had not achieved greatness 

 when I last heard of him. Still his name, I am told, was never 

 forgotten at Tenterfield station, where, when he first came to 

 Australia, he was sent to take charge of the station store. After 

 he had been there for a time, so the story runs, the stockman and 

 other hands being exceptionally busy, they ran short of beef. What 

 was to be done ? " Oh, bother it, we can manage well enough. 

 Let Podmore get in an old cow from the milker's mob ; he will 

 get on all right." The new chum was thus placed in a position 

 of greater responsibility than usual. It was late when the other 

 hands came home, and the first question was : " Well, Podmore, 

 how did you manage ? Did you get a good beast to kill ? " 

 " Oh yes," he answered proudly, " a splendid fat cow," and he 

 described the animal. It was Donaldson's imported Shorthorn 

 cow, the only imported animal on the station. 



From Tenterfield to Bolivia there was not then a dwelling 

 place in sight of the road. For nearly all the distance the track 

 is ridgy and sandy. The only notable places on the way were 

 the Bluff Mountain and the Mole River, now more often spoken 

 of as the Bluft" River ; the large holes in it are said to give 

 shelter to fine Murray River codfish. I never saw any there, 

 but like other New England streams it is the resort of the duck- 

 billed platypus. Of the Bluff Mountain there is a tale of 

 black hunting and slaughter by the white settlers. Some people 

 say they believe it. In my own opinion, if there is any 

 foundation of truth in it, a grossly exaggerated story has been 

 built up from very little. Near Bolivia we found ourselves 

 confronted with another of the big hills. The cattle scrambled 

 over the rough and shifting granite rocks, a number of them 

 getting lamed ; the dray was dragged up somehow. Mr. Irby 

 lived at and owned Bolivia station, and continued to do So for 

 many years afterwards. The next station on the road was 

 Deepwater, owned by the Windeyers. Vegetable Creek had no 

 history at that time. After leaving Deepwater we next came to 

 a very little township called Dundee ; there was a fiour mill 

 there, but only half-a-dozen houses. What is called the 

 Newton Boyd Road branches eastward from Dundee and descends 

 the range to Grafton. I never travelled by it, but in 1858 it 

 was notoriously rough. Since that time the Government of 



