C!I. i.] COUNTRY BETWEEN SYDNEY AND THE HAWKESBURY. 7 



which his industry has reared, and which he knows to be 

 a native of the soil to which he himself owes his existence. 



At an early hour on the following morning, I took leave 

 of my kind host, and also of my friend Mr. Dunlop, to 

 whose scientific assistance in preparing for this journey, I 

 feel much indebted. Mr. James Macarthur accompanied 

 me a few miles on the road, when we parted with regret ; 

 and I set forth on my iournev in the direction of the 

 Hawkesbury, along the road leading to the ferry, across 

 that river at Wiseman's. I should here observe, that I had 

 previously arranged that the exploring party, which, being 

 slower in its movements, had been dispatched two weeks 

 before, should await my arrival on Foy Brook, beyond the 

 river Hunter, where I expected to meet Mr. White also, the 

 assistant surveyor, whom 1 had selected to accompany me 

 on this expedition. 



My ride, on that day, was along a ridge, which extended 

 upwards of fifty miles, through a succession of deep ravines, 

 where no objects met the eye except barren sandstone 

 rocks, and stunted trees. With the hanksia and xanthorhcea 

 always in sight, the idea of hopeless sterility is ever present to 

 the mind, for these productions, in sandy soils at least, grow 

 only where nothing else can vegetate. The horizon is flat, 

 affording no relief to the eye from the dreary and inhospitable 

 scene, which these solitudes present ; and which extends 

 over a great portion of the country, uninhabitable even by 

 the aborigines. Yet here tlie patient labours of the surveyor 

 have opened a road, although the stream of population must 

 be confined to it, since it cannot spread over a region so 

 utterly unprofitable and worthless. 



It is not until the traveller lias completed a journey of 

 fifty miles, that he enjoys the sight, doubly cheering after 

 crossing such a desert, of green, cultivated fields, and the 

 dwellings of man. The broad waters of the Hawkesbury 

 then come unexpectedly in view, flowing in the deepest, and 

 apparently most inaccessible of these rock-bound vallies. He 



