194 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



ward as the unforeseen occur- 

 rences to which a traveller, in an 

 unexplored country, might be ex- 

 posed, wou^.d permit. On the 

 13th of May, 1815, he com- 

 menced his tour, and on the 2d 

 of June, finding his provisions 

 would not enable him to proceed 

 further, he began to retrace his 

 course back to Bathurst, where 

 he arrived on the 12th of June, 

 having been abseait 31 days. In 

 the course of this tour, he tra- 

 velled over a vast number of rich 

 and fertile vallies, with succes- 

 sions of hills well covered with 

 good and useful timber, chiefly 

 the stringy bark and the pine, and 

 the whole countiy abounding 

 with ponds and gullies of fine 

 water ; he also fell in with a large 

 river, which, he conceives, would 

 become navigable for boats at the 

 distance of a few days' travelling 

 along its banks. From its course, 

 he conjectures that it must join 

 its waters with those of the Mac- 

 quarie river; and little doubt can 

 be entertained that their streams 

 must form a navigable river of 

 very considerable size. 



At a distance of about sixty 

 milee from Bathurst, IMr. Evans 

 discovered a num.ber of hills, the 

 points of which end in perpendi- 

 cular heads, from 30 to 40 feet 

 high, of pure lime-stone of a 

 misty gray colour. At this place, 

 and also throughout the general 

 course of the jouri:ey, kangaroos, 

 emues, ducks, ^c. were seen in 

 grexl numbers ; and the new 

 river, t<i which Mr. Evans gave 

 the name of the Lachlan, abounds 

 with fish. The natives appeared 

 more numerous than at Bathurst; 

 but So Very wild, and apparently 

 so much alarmed at the sight of 

 white merv^ that he could not in- 



duce them to come near, or to 

 hold any intercourse whatever 

 with him. At the termination of 

 the tour Mr. Evans saw a good 

 level country, of a most interest- 

 ing appearance, and a very rich 

 soil : and he conceives that there 

 is no barrier to prevent the tra- 

 velling further westward to al- 

 most any extent that could be 

 desii'ed. The distance travelled 

 by him on this occasion was 142 

 measu]-ed miles out ; which, with 

 digressions to the southv.ard, 

 made the total distance 155 miles 

 fiom Bathurst. He adds at the 

 same time, that having taken a 

 more direct line back to Bathurst 

 than that by which he left it, he 

 made the distance then only 115 

 miles; and he observes, that a 

 good road may be made all that 

 length without any considerable 

 difficulty, there not being more 

 than three hills which may not be 

 avoided. 



The Governor has made several 

 excursions into various parts of 

 the interior to observe tiic general 

 progress of the agricultural and 

 grazing conferns of the colony, 

 and has published the result of 

 his observations. It was with 

 much regret his Excellency had 

 frequently to ixmark, that among 

 the lower order of the settlers 

 great slovenliness and neglect of 

 the most obvious and necessary 

 duties of farmers were but too 

 frequent and evident in their per- 

 sonal appearance, and the state 

 of their farms, in regard to cul- 

 tivation and improvement. This 

 remark is meant to apply more 

 particularly to the settlers in those 

 fertile and luxuriant tracks on the 

 banks of the Nepean and Hawkes- 

 bury, where nature has been most 

 bountiful ; as there the settlers 



seem 



