212 New South Wales. 



whom, on seeing him, fell instantly upon their faces, forming 

 a circle with their heads outwards, apparently in the greatest 

 trepidation and terror. Another party he fell in with appeared 

 struck with great wonder and surprise at his strange colour 

 and garb, but were nothing like so intimidated, as they walked 

 with him some distance. The natives found lately by Mr. 

 Oxley, at Moreton Bay, are far superior in every respect to 

 their brethren near Sydney. They build huts of wattle, co- 

 vered with tea-tree bark, capable of containing ten people, 

 which they clean out regularly twice a day, and are governed 

 by chiefs who have great authority over them, and perform 

 none of the duties of fishing and hunting, except as a pastime, 

 the others supplying them regularly with whatever they stand 

 in need of. The chiefs' wives are equally exempted from la- 

 bour. Fish, fern root, and kangaroo, are their principal sus- 

 tenance. Like all the other nations of Australia, they are 

 surprisingly honest, but most persevering beggars, and what- 

 ever was given them no one ever saw afterwards. Women 

 were often seen with a child at one breast, and a young puppy 

 at the other. The women perform all the labour and drudgery, 

 the men only fishing and hunting. In hospitality and kind- 

 heartedness, the famed natives of Lew Chew do not exceed 

 them. Two shipwrecked convicts, lived among them many 

 months, with a humanity and cheerful hospitality, which in 

 vain you may look for in civilized communities ; they would 

 not even allow them to procure or cook their own provisions, 

 and always supplied them most liberally, even when they often 

 went without themselves. The most disagreeable ceremony 

 they had to comply with, was a daily burnishing with bees'- 

 wax and charcoal, to which they reluctantly submitted, to 

 please their kind hosts, who appeared to have a great horror 

 of the hateful whiteness of their skins. One of the convicts 

 once put on the fire a tin pot of water, which was quickly sur- 

 rounded by the wondering natives ; but on its boiling up they 

 gave a loud yell, and ran screaming in all directions, nor 

 would they come near until it was thrown away, when they 

 covered it carefully with sand, and could never afterwards be 

 induced to consent to the magic pot being again placed on the 

 fire. 



Our manufactures are yet in their infancy, and consist only 

 of articles of most pressing necessity. Salt is made in different 

 parts from sea water, partly by spontaneous evaporation, and 

 partly by boiling. Mr. John Blaxland makes large quantities 

 this way on the creek, about three miles from Paramatta. He 

 has a succession of shallow basins, where evaporation goes on, 

 being drawn off from one to the other until it is sufficiently 



concentrated 



