CHAPTER XLIII 



THE SQUATTING TOWNSHIP 



Townships of a novel character grow up at suitable 

 places to serve as receiving and distributing centres 

 for squatters' produce and supplies. Very commonly 

 they are found at the head or highest navigable point 

 of a river, like Cleveland and Ipswich in Southern 

 Queensland, or Grafton in Northern New South Wales, 

 or on the coast, like Mackay in Northern Queensland 

 or Moruya in Southern New South Wales. The pioneer 

 squatter was, indeed, the forerunner of towns. On 

 the Darling Downs Warwick grew up on the site of 

 the first station — Patrick Leshe's Toolburra. Drayton 

 and Ipswich had the same origin. Gundagai in the 

 Riverina is another example of the law. Condamine 

 town now stands on Bingham and Macdonald's head- 

 station ; Toowoomba on Taylor's Swamp. But indeed 

 half of Australian townships have no other beginnings. 

 Many a picture of one or another enables us to realise 

 the scene a squatting town presented in the old days. 

 All day long men kept arriving from the country or 

 departing thither, usually on horseback. Everyone — 

 men, women, and children — seemed to ride, and they 

 passed continually up and down the streets, or their 

 horses stood tied up at the doors of hotels, stores, or 

 private houses. For every house had its post, and 

 almost every one had its stockyard, or enclosure, where 

 horses and cattle were kept when driven in from their 

 pasture. 



The squatter would ride in consequentially from his 

 station on his well-bred hack, attended by a blackboy 



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