78 THE PASTORAL AGE IN AUSTRALASIA 



Other such figures nieet us as we pass along. One is 

 that of " a big bronzed man, with a fair beard and a 

 bright laughing eye " ; he too kindly and hospitable 

 (Grant, i. 47). Another was a pleasant, frank country- 

 gentleman-looking squatter, with a kind word for 

 everybody, and a keen eye for sheep, cattle, and horses 

 (ch. X.). Still another was an ex-officer, who was short 

 and very stout. A young native Australian, on the 

 other hand, was a tall, fine-looking young fellow, with 

 a short glossy black beard and moustache. He was 

 simple, frank, cheery, and open-hearted ; and manliness 

 was imprinted on his honest, open face. He was a 

 skilled horseman and a thorough bushman. The son 

 of a pioneer he had grown up on the station ; every spot 

 was familiar to him and was associated Avith some early 

 memory. 



Sometimes a very slight difference of geography 

 engendered two distinct types. In 1858 the Victorian 

 squatter was dressed in a plaid jumper, or guernsey, 

 while the New South Wales squatter was clad in a 

 fawn-coloured tweed of Parramatta make. They looked 

 as distinct from one another as if they were denizens 

 of two different countries, and the difference was 

 apparent as soon as the Murraj^ v.as crossed. 



" ^Vhat a lot of splendid fellows ! " writes Rolf 

 Boldrewood of his associates in the Western division of 

 Victoria. " All gentlemen by birth and education." 

 The two Aplins, OAvners of a cattle-station near Belfast, 

 were " cultured and refined people, not long from 

 England, of whom the elder was afterwards Government 

 Geologist in Queensland, and the younger was a poet. 

 The holders of another such station Avcre " men of high 

 principle, great energy, early culture, and refined 

 habits." Culture, assuredly, was not lacking. One of 

 the three Just mentioned, Charles Macknight, was a 

 pohtical and social essayist of repute. Authorship, 

 indeed, was not uncommon among them. James 

 Dawson, situated twenty miles to the east, was the 

 author of a volume on the aborigines, derived exclu- 



