VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. 



673 



quality. Barley and oats arrive at great perfection. 

 The wheat, too, is of a superior description, not sub- 

 ject to the weevil, and generally yields from sixty to 

 sixty-five pounds a bushel. It is frequently exported 

 to Sydney, Isle of France, Cape of Good Hope, and 

 Rio Janeiro. The fruits raised here are the apple, 

 currant, gooseberry, and, indeed, all the fruits not 

 requiring a warm climate. 



The island is divided into two counties, Bucking- 

 liam and Cornwall, both of nearly similar extent, the 

 former occupying the northern, and the latter the 

 southern part of the island. These counties are again 

 subdivided into districts. Those of Buckingham are, 

 Hobart Town district, New Norfolk, Richmond, 

 Clyde, Oatland, and part of Oyster Bay district. The 

 subdivisions of Cornwall, including part of the last 

 named district, are, Campbelltown, Norfolk Plains, 

 and Launceston. 



Hobart Town District, though the smallest in extent 

 of any in the island, is yet the most important in the 

 colony, as well from the circumstance of its including 

 Hobart Town, the capital of the island, as from its 

 possessing many superior local advantages ; and, 

 amongst these, that of its being accessible by water on 

 three different sides by the Huon river, which forms 

 its southern boundary, by the Derwent on the north 

 and east, and by the sea on the east. The whole dis- 

 trict, including the island of Bruny, which lies off the 

 mouth of the Huon river, and forms part of it, com- 

 prises 400 square miles, or about 25,000 acres. The 

 country in this district, however, is in general so hilly, 

 that very little of it is under tillage. Hobart Town 

 is built on the left bank of the river Derwent, at the 

 head of a beautiful cove or bay, distant about twenty 

 miles from its junction with the sea. It is pleasantly 

 situated on a gently rising ground, which, gradually 

 retiring, terminates ultimately in hills of considerable 

 height, covered with wood. These, again, are over- 

 looked by one of still greater altitude, called mount 

 ' Wellington, which rises to the height of 4000 feet 

 above the level of the sea. Hobart Town is thus 

 placed between picturesque hills on the one hand, and 

 a beautiful bay or arm of the sea on the other ; for, 

 though the Derwent be here called a river, it can be 

 so called only in a very extended sense, the water 

 being still salt, and of considerable width. The town 

 covers somewhat more than a square mile of ground ; 

 the houses are constructed mostly of wood, though 

 many of them are of brick and freestone. The streets 

 are regularly laid out, and those of them that have 

 been completed are macadamised, and present on 

 either side long rows of large and handsome shops 

 sufficiently singular this, when we consider the very 

 short time tliat has elapsed since this remote spot 

 was tenanted only by the roaming savage and the 

 kangaroo. The town derives a peculiar and highly 

 pleasing character, too, from the circumstance of the 

 houses in general standing apart from each other, 

 each having a small plot of ground, from a quarter 

 to half an acre in extent, attached to it. Many 

 of its public buildings are of such a description as 

 would, even . in this country, be considered hand- 

 some. Here are breweries, tanneries, distilleries, flour 

 mills, two or three banks, hospitals, churches, schools 

 charitable and stipendiary, inns, taverns, hotels, and 

 everything which bespeaks a thriving, bustling, in- 

 dustrious, and civilized community. A magazine 

 monthly, and two or three newspapers weekly, are 

 here published, besides a yearly almanac, and an 

 official gazette. The total number of inhabitants is 

 estimated, including the immediate suburbs, the pri- 

 soners, and the military, at from 7000 to 8000. 



New Norfolk District lies immediately behind the 

 former, and is entirely inland, no part of it approach- 

 ing the sea ; its extent, from east to west, is about 



fifty miles, and from north to south about thirty thus 

 comprising 1500 square miles, or 960,000 acres. 

 This district is in general much more fertile than 

 that of Hobart Town. But its total population 

 only amounts to 1200; and of these, 450 are con- 

 victs. It has a little town called New Norfolk, 

 twenty-two miles distant from Hobart Town. 



Richmond District extends on the sea coast, from 

 Prosser's river to Tasman's peninsula, and is ex- 

 tremely rocky, mountainous, and barren. On the 

 side next the Derwent, however, which bounds it on 

 the south, though still hilly, there are a number of 

 beautiful and fertile valleys. In this district there 

 are two towns or villages, Richmond and Serrel ; 

 the first fourteen, and the second twenty-two miles 

 distant from Hobart Town. The whole population 

 of Richmond district amounts to 2800 ; of these 1100 

 are convicts. 



Oatiands District is separated from the sea by 

 part of the Oyster Bay district, and bounded interi- 

 orly, or on the west, by the district of Clyde, and on 

 the north by that of Campbelltown. It is compara- 

 tively of small extent, being only about thirty miles 

 square, but is extremely fertile. It is besides advan- 

 tageously situated, occupying a central position be- 

 tween Hobart Town and Launceston. The town of 

 Oatiands, situated fifty-one miles distant from Hobart 

 Town, contains a military barracks, a jail, an inn, 

 and several extensive stores. The population of this 

 district amounts to 930 souls; of these 480 are 

 convicts. 



Clyde District is bounded on the south by New 

 Norfolk, by Campbelltown on the west, Norfolk 

 plains on the north, and terminates in unsettled 

 tracts in the west. It comprises about 1700 square 

 miles, or 1,088,000 acres. This district is in general 

 hilly, but affords excellent and extensive pasturage. 

 Its remoteness from Hobart Town, and the difficulty 

 of transporting agricultural produce to that market, 

 from want of good roads, has tended to keep it al- 

 most exclusively a pastoral district. It, how- 

 ever, has the advantage of several districts, in the col- 

 ony, in the essential article of water, no less than five 

 different rivers running through its bounds ; these are 

 the Dee, Ouse, Shannon, Clyde, and Jordan. The 

 principal township in the district is Bothwell, distant 

 forty-five miles from Hobart Town : there is an ex- 

 cellent inn here, a court-house, church, and a consi- 

 derable number of respectable private houses. The 

 total population of the district amounted, in 1831, to 

 760 ; of these 400 were convicts. 



Oyster Bay District is bounded by Richmond on 

 the south, Oatiands and Campbelltown on the west, 

 and the sea on the east. It takes its name from a 

 beautiful bay situated within its limits, and which af- 

 fords excellent anchorage for ships. It is about the 

 same extent with that of Oatiands, comprising 900 

 square miles, or about 576,000 acres. It possesses 

 large tracts of fine pasture lands, but there is little 

 yet under the plough. Its population is small, 

 amounting only to 320 souls ; of these 170 are con- 

 victs. A great portion of the wealth of this district 

 is derived from whale fishing, a considerable number 

 of these being every year taken in Oyster Bay. There 

 are no towns nor villages yet within its bounds. 



Campbelltmon District lies between Oyster Bay 

 district on the east, and Norfolk Plains on the west, 

 and comprises about 1260 square miles, or 805,000 

 acres. This is one of the finest districts in the whole 

 island, and is every day increasing in prosperity and 

 importance. The peculiar richness of its herbage 

 adapts it in an especial manner for the rearing of 

 cattle. Its number of horses has been estimated at 

 450 ; cattle 13,500; and sheep, 180,000 all of them 

 of the best description. Notwithstanding its extent, 

 2 u 



