366 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



homes with substantial rewards. So many South Australians were 

 on the fields that the Government of that colony established a 

 police escort overland between Mount Alexander and Adelaide, 

 which during 1852-53 carried gold between those points to the value 

 of over 1,000,000 sterling. 



Of course, it was impossible to pour into an already overcrowded 

 town some three thousand additional persons per week without 

 creating much confusion and discomfort, and the privations of many 

 of the new-comers were pitiable in the extreme. Before the end of 

 the year house accommodation was absolutely unobtainable. The 

 rents demanded were practically prohibitive, and as much as 1 to 

 1 10s. per week for a single room, in some cases only a paling 

 shed, was eagerly paid by the unsheltered. But though they 

 crowded in to every flimsy erection and outbuilding that could be 

 run up, there were still hundreds that could not find any cover and 

 had perforce to camp on the wharves, or elsewhere under the starry 

 canopy. Extemporised tents, and shelters of the aboriginal " mia 

 mia" order, began to appear on vacant allotments and on the 

 banks of the river above Princes Bridge. The Corporation objected 

 to this straggling adornment of the city, probably because they were 

 letting the eastern and western market reserves for a similar use, 

 and they urged the Government to take some action to meet the 

 difficulty. There was an Immigration Department presided over 

 by Edward Grimes (afterwards Auditor-General), and it was gal- 

 vanised into action. As a first step the Government rented from 

 the Corporation a building at the foot of Batman's Hill which had 

 been the city abattoir, at an outlay of about 300. It subdivided 

 the building into fifty small rooms, with accommodation for nearly 

 200 persons. It then hastily covered some two acres of land on 

 the south side of the river with wooden buildings, capable of hold- 

 ing from 400 to 500 people, and both these havens of refuge were 

 made available before the end of November. These buildings were 

 called the "Government Houseless Immigrants' Homes," and the 

 period of occupation by applicants was limited to ten days. A 

 charge of Is. per head per day was made, and each family had to 

 provide its own provisions, and to contribute pro ratd towards the 

 cost of wood and water. 



