226 THE PORT DARWIN DISTRICT 



that were new to me ; but many trees which at Swan River 

 and Champion Bay were small, if not mere bushes, were here 

 very fine and vigorous in appearance. Even beyond the 

 settlements, in the milder parts of the district, trees and 

 shrubs which further south had in the deserts a withered 

 and half-dead appearance, were fine trees, full of life and 

 beauty. 



Yet it must not be supposed that there are no barren 

 and sterile spots in this region. Much of the interior of 

 the country has the usual Australian desert-like appear- 

 ance ; though most certainly at least nine-tenths of the 

 whole northern territory can be made good, fertile, 

 produce-bearing land. The rain-fall, I think, is greater here 

 than in any other part of the continent. It is said to be 

 always at least over sixty, and often over seventy inches 

 annually. To my personal knowledge, it is very great 

 compared with other great divisions of the country. 



Of course I rambled much about the district, venturing 

 a considerable distance inland in spite of friendly cautions 

 concerning the hostility of the blacks, who, naturally 

 enough, strongly resent the white man's encroachments on 

 their birthrights. The natives in the vicinity of Palmerston 

 are amenable enough, but idle, and lead loafing, aimless 

 lives, subsisting on the charity of the white men, which is 

 rather lavishly bestowed on them. In the interior, how- 

 ever, the blacks are a fine, warlike race of men of great 

 independence of spirit, and have often shown what in any 

 other race would be called heroic bravery. Knowing full 

 well the deadly effect of firearms, they have still had the 

 courage to face the white invader in the open, and that at 

 close quarters, though armed only with clubs and their 

 puny spears and throwing-sticks. 



At the time of my rambles, there was no loose or 

 floating white population at Port Darwin. The farmer, or 

 stockman, had not yet made his appearance in any 

 appreciable numbers, and white servants were not to be 

 had on any terms. Everything was excessively dear, 

 including even Chinese labour. At Port Darwin, indeed, 

 the wily celestial has found another paradise, as will be 



