A USTRALASIA ILL USTRA TED. 



right of the line tracts covered by dense growths of pine-trees. Farther north pine- 

 scrubs have covered millions of acres of land and ruined many pastoralists, the young 

 pines growing very quickly and very densely, and completely beating the grazier back. 

 On a short lease it does not pay to clear the ground, and in order to recover it for 

 grass it is proposed to grant a longer tenure. On the left, close to the River, there 

 are wool-sheds and buildings such as are useful to the sheep-farmer. Each farm or 

 squattage has its garden, where beautiful flowers and choice fruits are plentiful. Sixty 

 miles from Junee is Narrandera, where a substantial lattice-girder bridge crosses the River. 

 The population of the place is supported by various industries, timber-cutting being the 

 principal, the red-gum and pine, which grow on the river-flats, being of excellent 

 quality. There are good farms, too, in the neighbourhood, and excellent shows of agri- 

 cultural produce and pure-bred stock are held annually. The sheep of the district, bred 

 from the best strains that can be secured from Victoria and Tasmania, are of a superior 

 class an average "clip" of seven pounds per sheep being frequently obtained. 



One hundred miles west from Narrandera is the very important pastoral township of 

 Hay. It is the point on the Murrtimbidgee where the overland traffic from the Darling- 

 crosses the River to make straight for Ueniliquin across the Old Man Plains, and it is 

 the natural business-centre for a large area of pastoral country, as well as the cathedral 

 city of the new Riverina episcopal diocese endowed by the late Hon. John Campbell. 

 The streets are wide and shaded by trees, and some of the buildings are more than 

 ordinarily large. Besides two local newspapers and an adequate system of water-supply, 

 Hay boasts a masonic hall, three theatres, two breweries, a hospital, an athenaeum and 

 a free library. Of course an agricultural society and a jockey club are among the 



institutions of the place ; likewise a 

 3, customs house, for it is a port of 



entry. Hay is over four hundred 

 and fifty miles from the metropolis, 

 and at present the western terminus 

 of the system of railways constructed 

 to catch the Riverina trade, but it 

 is expected that the line will be 

 extended before long to the Darling. 

 The south-western route secures 

 much of the wool grown in the 

 Lachlan River country, and takes an 

 active share in the trade of the 

 pastoral area between the Lachlan 

 and the Bogan Rivers. The district 

 of Hay alone pastures a million 



sheep and six thousand head of larger stock, and the traffic to Booligal, Hillston, 

 \\ ilcannia and Deniliquin is extensive. The shipping business is now at a very low ebb, 

 but the railway is a beneficial substitute, it being much better to have a certainty in 

 the matter of time of journey than the tantalizing chances connected with water-carriage. 

 .Yet there are residents of Hay who lament the departure of the "good old times" 



TIIK PUBLIC GARDENS AT I )KM I.I^UIN. 



