OUE COAL AND OUR COAL POETS. Ill 



The anonymous writer in Sydney Morning Herald, with, hia 

 nom de plume of " Veritas," has in his letter made the strong 

 assertion in italics that Newcastle is the only legitimate coal port 

 in the southern hemisphere. These are his words : — " Newcastle 

 physically is so situated that it can fear no other rival (unless Port 

 Stephens), and that it is fallacious and the height of absurdity 

 to imagine that a Grovernraent would be so short-sighted and 

 narrow-minded as to try and cripple the only legitimate coal port 

 in tlie southern hemisphere. 



To these strong expressions of " Veritas" I beg to take 

 exception, and I fear not to throw down the gauntlet before 

 him, and boldly to assert it as my opinion that Nature points out 

 that the central and incomparably superior harbour of Port Jackson 

 must soon be at the head and front of our foreign coal shipping 

 operations, and for the following reasons : — 



Firstly. By consequence of large increase of steam colliers, 

 and perhaps of West Hartley centreboard vessels 

 acting as tenders and coal-feeders to large ships in Port 

 Jackson. 



Secondly. By consequence of necessary railway modifi- 

 cations, which must soon take place to facilitate the 

 vast increasing traffic on the Bathurst and Groulburn 

 lines, which will thus open an easy doorway for the 

 admission of that enterprise that will lead to the trans- 

 port of considerable quantities of coal from the western 

 and south-western portion of our coal basins — namely, 

 from Bowenfels and Wallerawang to the west, and 

 from Nattai and Sutton Forest to the south-west. 



Thirdly and chiefly, by a new source of supply — namely, by a 

 direct and cheap acquisition of coal from the back of the BuUi 

 country, under thirty -five miles in a straight line, from Sydney, 

 south, over a road tha^t can be made accessible by means of a 

 double line of broad gauge railway along the lUawarra coast road, 

 thence by the " Bottle Forest" country, on to or over a dam at 

 Greorge's Eiver ; or even by a railway pontoon or other bridge 

 over the same place and water, and thence straight on to the 

 nearest deep water in Port Jackson, crossing the Great South- 

 western Eailway, over the deep cutting between Newtown and 

 Petersham to staiths on North Balmain near EUiott's Chemical 

 Works, directly opposite Cockatoo Island, in the expansive and 

 deep waters of that part of the Parramatta E-iver which is imme- 

 diately between and close to the two large dry docks and the 

 great engineering and ship-building establishments. 



By this route, from the first available coal taken at the dip, 

 some two or three miles inland from the sea, and with probably 

 not more than 600 feet of sinking, the coal can be brought direct 



