70 SEAFOWL SHOOTING SKETCHES. 



ROUGH SHOOTING IN VICTORIA, MELBOURNE, 

 GEELONG, AND THE DIGGINGS. 



On the 1 2th August, 1869 (being- 20 years old next day), I left 

 Liverpool on the good s.s. " Great Britain," arriving in Mel- 

 bourne on the i4th October following. The passage was made 

 partly by steam and partly by sail. 



After devoting the following day to sight-seeing, I made pre- 

 parations for a walk with the gun. A fellow passenger, C. W. 

 Preston, agreed to go with me, and accordingly we got the ser- 

 vant at the hotel to pack up for us some cold mutton (id. per Ib.) 

 and bread. 



The next morning we got up early, and after polishing off a 

 good breakfast, with such an appetite as only a "new chum" 

 can boast of, we set out, accompanied by an old man who lived 

 at the hotel, and who took us about five miles on the Heidelberg- 

 road. 



Almost as soon as we started it began to rain, but this did not 

 damp our spirits. It takes more than a drop of rain to stop a 

 fellow when he has had a couple of months on the water, and 

 especially when there is a strange country to view and strange 

 birds to be obtained. We crossed the Merry Creek and Darebin 

 Creek, and though they are no larger than small brooks, yet as 

 they are spanned by good substantial stone "bridges, I presume 

 there is plenty of water comes down their courses in the wet 

 season. 



We had a drink at a hotel, and then seeing some birds in an 

 enclosure, I climbed over the fence and secured one of them. It 

 was of a beautiful blue colour, with a rather long beak, and no 

 doubt was some kind of kingfisher. I believe it was a " laughing 

 jackass." As I picked it up, and smoothed down its plumage, 

 I was much astonished to see a man rapidly approaching in quite 

 the old country style. As soon as he got near enough he sang 

 out, "No shooting allowed in this paddock." I begged pardon 

 for trespassing, and informed him that I was a new corner, and 

 did not understand the law. 



This encounter was rather disappointing, as I had imag- 

 ined I could go anywhere and blaze away at my own sweet 

 will. Soon after I got another bird, and now our guide left us, 

 so we were thrown on our own resources. We were left in view 

 of Heidelberg, which is very prettily situated, but we did not 

 enter the town, or village, as it would be called in England. 



