I2 4 



A ( 'STRALASIA ILL USTRA TJ-:/>. 



steeply from their edge are a few pandanns palms lifting up their picturesque heads 



above the general level of banksias and dwarf gum-trees. 



The mouth of the Clarence River lies between low bluffs covered with storm-riven 



bushes, and that fine stream, for seventy miles above its mouth, continues half a mile 



broad with deep and easily navigable waters. The number of vessels visiting the port 



indicates the richness 

 and prosperity of the 

 surrounding district, 

 which is largely de- 

 pendent on the cultiva- 

 tion of sugar. South 

 of the Clarence the 

 attempts to grow sugar 

 have been a failure. 



Farther north is 

 the entrance to another 

 river the Richmond. 

 Its long stretches of 

 wet sands and sad- 

 coloured swamps are 

 not inviting ; and the 

 line of breakers sweep- 

 ing in a curve a little 

 way from the coast 

 shows where the for- 

 midable bar is situated, 

 and explains the small- 

 ness of the traffic. 

 But if the immediate 

 shore is low and un- 



GRANITE ROCKS, MOUNT KOSCIUSKO. 



interesting, it is a constant pleasure to watch the gradual unfolding of new effects on those 

 inland mountains, which by degrees approach the coast, terminating at length in the bold 

 promontory of Cape Byron, whose precipices rise high up to its wooded crest, towering 

 above the surrounding shores so as to give the sailor warning of the reefs and foam- 

 clad dangers that skirt its base. As our Australian poet, Brunton Stephens, writes : 



The grandeur of the lone old promontory ; 



The distant bourne of hills in purple guise, 

 Athrob with soft enchantment ; high in glorv 



The peak of Warning bosomed in the skies ! 



North of the Richmond sandy beaches extend for many miles with plains behind, 

 the coast-ranges forming a background, the peaks called the Twins being noticeable 

 landmarks. Then comes a wide area, where the dashing of breakers and the constant 

 hiss of the subsiding foam mark the spot where Cook's ship more than a century ago 

 nearly came to grief. No little skill and care is requisite to steer safely through these 



