3 oo AUSTRAL. I SI. I ILLUSTRATED. 



educated man, but he had certain birth-marks, and he remembered certain family par- 

 ticulars; and this so far impressed his discoverers that he was sent to England, where, 

 after some delay, he wait.-d upon the venerable lady whose maternity he claimed. The 

 gemiineiiesN of his claim was, however, disputed by those in possession, and a case, the 

 most remarkable which .has occupied the attention of the English Courts for many 

 years, was the result. The claimant was condemned for perjury and cast into an 

 English prison, where he remained for many years. 



Although the country around Wagga Wagga is for the greater part devoted to 

 gra/ing, the fanners are not without representation, nearly thirty thousand acres being 

 under cultivation, and over a million and a half of sheep, with about twenty thousand 

 head of cattle and horses, being pastured in the district. The grazing properties of this 

 portion of the Murrumbidgee are held in high estimation by capitalists, and between the 

 years 1872 and 1880 many of the stations were sold at high prices. Seasons of drought, 

 however, much affected the district during the succeeding five years, but it is now again 

 in a prosperous condition. 



In sporting matters Wagga Wagga has a strong lead, its jockey club being the 

 most enterprising of its class, and the first to offer large sums as prizes for principal 

 races. Besides the Race-course there is close to the town a large show-ground recently 

 occupied by the local Agricultural Society. The shipping trade of the River is now but 

 very small, Wagga Wagga having good facilities for the transit of goods by rail to 

 Sydney and Melbourne. In consequence of having a good water-supply it is probable 

 that this town will shortly become the site of extensive railway works, and a proposal 

 has been made that a branch of the Southern Line should be extended from this point 

 of the Murrumbidgee in a south-easterly direction to Tumberumba, near the upper part 

 of the River Murray. 



Passing south from Wagga Wagga the line runs to Albury, a frontier town on the 

 Murray, and the head of navigation. No section of the colony is better suited for 

 the breeding of high-class horses, cattle and sheep than the district between these two 

 towns ; indeed, the latter are remarkably well favoured by the climate, and produce fine 

 wool of a superior quality. Pure-bred short-horn cattle, of which there are several herds, 

 thrive, and help to swell the amounts which change hands at the annual stock-fairs. A 

 few miles out in an easterly direction at Tarcutta, there are several reefs from which 

 large; quantities of gold are regularly obtained, and farther along in the same direction 

 there is, in the heart of a good agricultural tract of country, the busy little settlement 







of Germanton. The grape-vine flourishes here, and although the vineyards are not large 

 they give profitable employment to many hands. The nearest railway station is Culcairn, 

 about half-way between Wagga Wagga and Albury. 



The t pper Murray country, on the western slopes of the Snowy Range, although 

 in many parts rugged, is valuable for horse-breeding. Some of the best horse-stock in 

 Australia is from the hills of this district a fact recognized by the buyers of Indian 

 remounts. Down the Murray, two miles from the River and twelve from Albury, lies 

 the little settlement of Howna, surrounded by small farms ; and a few miles off at 

 Tabletop is a large freehold pastoral property, where horse-breeding is conducted on a 

 very extensive scale The country to the east of the railway line is picturesque, the 



