COMMUNICATED BY HON. A. NOKTON, M.L.C. 97 



intelligence, and an enterprising spirit which could overcome ex- 

 ceptional difficulties by exceeding! y hard work. I will now proceed 

 with the narrative in which Mrs. Hawkins tells her sister in Eng- 

 land of their fatiguing journey and its successful accomplishment. 

 I have made a few verbal corrections and have omitted some 

 short passages which referred to private matters and could have 

 no general interest. 



The journey commenced on 5 April, 1822. 



The following explanatory memo, stands at the commence- 

 ment of the first letter: — " The following is a copy of a letter 

 written by Mrs. Elizabeth Hawkins, on her first arrival in the 

 colony in 1822, to her sister." 



" I told you in my last leiter of our intended journey across 

 the Blue Jvlountains. We have accomplished it, and, as I think 

 it may prove interesting to you, I shall be very particular in my 

 account of it. 



" It took some time after my last letter to make the neces- 

 sary arrangements here (i.e., Bathurst) for a house to receive us, 

 and for us to be certain of the necessary assistance from the 

 Governor before we could leave Sydney. All was ready on the 

 fourth of April (being Good Friday), and in the morning of the 

 fifth we commenced our journey. We had many presents and 

 kind wishes from those around us. 



" You will hardly credit it when I tell you the number of 

 horses, bullocks, carts, &c., kc, requisite to cotivey us, for we 

 possessed no other furniture than one table and twelve chairs ; 

 these with our earthenware, cooking utensils, bedding, a few 

 agricultural implements, groceries and other necessaries to last 

 us a few months, with our clothe.-, constituted the whole of our 

 luggage. We had a waggon with six bullocks, a dray with five, 

 anoth'er with three horses, a cart with two, and, last of all, a 

 tilted cart with my mother, myself, and seven children, with 

 two horses for my husband and Tom, my son, to ride on. 



" The cavalcade moved slowly on. The morning was fine 

 and the road equal to any turnpike road in England, with a 

 forest each side ; but the sun is not prevented cracking the 

 earth, as all the trees here are lofty and only branch out from 

 the top. When within a few miles of Parramatta my husband 

 and Tom rode on to the Factory for a female servant who had 

 been selected for us ; they rejoined us while we were partaking 

 of dinner at the root of a tree. 



G 



