468 SETTLEMENT. 



capable they are of receiving it, in the lasting effects 

 produced by Mr. Clarke, who sometime since filled 

 the office of store-keeper ; and for whom they all 

 continue to feel great veneration, and to exhibit that 

 respect which is due to a parent. On our visit in 

 1842 we heard all the natives of both sexes, old 

 and young, sing several hymns, taught them by 

 this excellent person. A few comprehended the 

 full meaning of the words they uttered j and all, 

 no doubt, might be brought to do so if proper 

 instructions were again granted them. 



Walter and Mary Ann, a married couple, who 

 had recently returned from Port Phillip, where 

 they had been living in the family of the former 

 superintendent, Mr. Robinson, were so civilized, 

 and proficient in all the plain parts of education, 

 that they possessed great influence over their coun- 

 trymen, who, incited by the contemplation of their 

 superiority, were apparently desirous of acquiring 

 knowledge. The barracks in which the natives 

 dwell form a square of good stone buildings ; but 

 Walter and his wife have a separate cottage, with a 

 piece of land attached. Mary Ann is a very tolera- 

 ble needlewoman, and capable of teaching the 

 others ; some of whom, encouraged by the prizes 

 that are awarded to industry, already assist in 

 making their own dresses. The men, to whom 

 inducements are also held out to labour in farming, 

 &c., are, however, generally indolent. They still 

 retain a taste for their original wild habits, taking 



