A TRIP TO AUSTRALIA 



Rickshaws were hired for a real good lark, and no 

 opportunity was missed I can assure you. Lucas, 

 a resolute kind of character, had an idea the speed 

 was a bit slow and he took off his pith helmet, which 

 had a spike on it, and prodded the poor fellow who 

 was doing his best to give us a good ride on our way 

 to the post office to pick up letters. 



From Colombo to Fremantle, the Port of Perth, 

 is a ten days' sail without seeing land. However, 

 the weather was good, and time quickly passes, even 

 at sea. At Perth we had a great reception. The 

 hospitality was good, excitement great and our 

 throats were sore when we eventually embarked 

 again at Fremantle to cross the great Australian 

 Bight to make a call at Adelaide. Here we found 

 the town sweltering in a heat of 107° in the shade, 

 which apparently is quite common during hot 

 months. No one was sorry to leave early the 

 following morning en route for Melbourne and 

 Sydney. 



In looking up my notes on this trip I see that I 

 described Melbourne as a very fine city, and did it 

 possess a harbour equal to Sydney it would soon 

 develop into one of" the finest cities of the world. 

 Sydney was our real objective : here was to be the 

 ceremony of Federating the Australian Colonies. 



We must have steamed up through the " Heads," 

 the entrance to the harbour, about the middle of 

 December 1900, having been on board the old 

 Britannic for some four or five weeks. One ought, 

 of course, to be able to give some description of this 

 celebrated harbour, but I am afraid my memory 



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