204 Cruise of the ^'Alert.^'* 



of March, 1881, the northern territory exported 10,107^ ounces, 

 valued at ^36,227. 



I was told that at the time of our visit there were only two 

 genuine squatters in the whole northern territory. From their 

 stations is drawn the beef supply for the people living at Port 

 Darwin, Southport, and the gold-fields, and it would seem that 

 the supply was quite equal to the demand. Most of the land in 

 the territory is now held on lease by speculators, who pay to the 

 South Australian Government an annual rental of sixpence per 

 square mile, which gives them, under certain conditions, a right 

 of pre-emption, and these speculators now hold on to the land 

 with a view to ultimately disposing of their interest to bona fide 

 settlers at a large profit to themselves. But until the Colonial 

 Government takes the initiative in affording facilities for the 

 conveyance of produce from the interior to Port Darwin, there 

 seems little likelihood of the land being taken up for either agri- 

 cultural or pastoral purposes. 



The aboriginal inhabitants are numerous in this part of 

 Australia. Those in the vicinity of Port Darwin are of the 

 tribe of ** Larikias." In company with Dr. Morice, the govern- 

 ment medical officer, I visited two native encampments, which 

 were situated a few hundred yards apart, and at a distance of 

 about half-a-mile from the settlement. One of the camps was 

 on an elevated plateau, covered with thin grass and a sprinkling 

 of scraggy bushes, while the other was at the foot of a high cliff, 

 and immediately adjoining the beach. We found in camp a large 

 number of men, women, and children, most of whom were lolling 

 about on the ground, smoking short wooden pipes, polishing their 

 skins with red ochre, and producing a rude burlesque of music 

 out of pieces of hollow reed about four feet long, which they blew 

 like cowhorns. The stature of the men was much superior to 

 that of the natives we had seen previously on the east coast ; but 

 although strong and active, they presented a slim lanky appear- 

 ance, especially as regards their lower extremities. Their features 



