234 VICTORIA. NE^^■ SOUTH WALES. 



A long stick is cut and thrust into one end of the pipe 

 whilst a bag is held at the other, and the Bandicoot is soon 

 bagged. It does not attempt to bite, but requires to be held 

 exceedingly tight or else easily escapes the hands by the power 

 of its spring. Often the tree is too long for the stick, and 

 then a hole has to be chopped to get the animal out. One 

 female had three young in the pouch. 



I made two excursions to Browera Creek, one of the many 

 branches of the main estuary, or rather inlet, into which the 

 Hawkesbury River runs. The creek is a place full of interest. 

 Suddenly, after traversing a high plateau of the horizontal sand- 

 stone, the traveller meets with a deep chasm about i,ooo feet 

 in depth, but not more than a quarter of a mile wide. 



This chasm or channel has precipitous rocky walls on either 

 side, with more or less talus slope, and at the bottom runs the 

 river, a small stream, over which one can easily jerk a pebble 

 when standing at its brink. The chasm or creek takes a wind- 

 ing course, so that only short sweeps of it can be seen at a time, 

 and as it widens out and turns sharply or again contracts, one 

 seems, when in a boat on its waters, to pass through a succession 

 of long narrow lakes. 



The river, or rather stream, at the place where we approached 

 the creek, is tidal. It is impossible to say where the river ends 

 and the sea begins. The main part of the creek is a long tor- 

 tuous arm of the sea, ten or fifteen miles in length, and is 

 itself provided with numerous branches and bays. These 

 frequent branchings are perfectly bewildering to a man not 

 accustomed to row on them every day in his life. The whole 

 is, in fact, like a maze. 



The side walls of the creek are covered with a luxuriant 

 vegetation, with huge masses of Stagshorn Fern {Flatyceriuni) 

 and "rock lilies" (orchids), and a variety of timbers, whilst 

 there are Tree-ferns and small palms in the lateral shady gullies. 



The descent to the river is very steep, and it was a diificult 

 matter to lead the horses down. As we descended, we heard 

 the Lyre-birds calling all round ; at the bottom, on a little 

 patch of flat alluvium covered with grass, is a small house and 

 l)arn, where a man lives with his family all alone, and shut out 

 from the world. He is extremely industrious, and by fishing, 

 wood-cutting, honey-gathering, and the proceeds of his farm- 

 yard, must be doing well ; we stopped at his cottage for two 

 nights, and hired his boat. 



Browera Creek is of varied interest. As an example of 

 denudation, it appears to correspond exactly to what is seen at 

 a much higher level in the Blue Mountains. The extraordinary 

 proximity into ^vhich animals, found usually only in open sea, 



