130 OUE COAL AND COAL PORTS. 



dead cabbage-tree leaves was secured for the bedding of eacli 

 bedroom ; Mr. Stephens and I shared one — Blake and his son 

 took the other. By this happily-found shelter we slept soundly 

 through a wet night, and awoke refreshed the next morning. 



Before passing on to even more important subjects after we 

 cleared out of this noble forest, I should call your attention to 

 the splendour and to the intrinsic value of the " turpentine " 

 tree in particular, which abound here in every direction. I will 

 not attempt to give any estimate of the girth or height of these 

 noble trees, but mil content myself by pourtraying the dimen- 

 sions of one of these two trees that we slept under, by informing 

 you that all four of our party took easy shelter from a heavy 

 shower of rain after our breakfast was over — one was sitting 

 down at his ease, whilst the other three were standing up, with- 

 out its being at all inconvenient to any of us. This valuable 

 timber is very scarce in other parts, and indeed is almost extinct. 

 Its wood defies all action of the sea cobbera, and it is admirably 

 suited for under water or under ground uses, and is quite equal 

 in such virtues to the Jarrah wood of AVestern Australia. 

 Whilst we were at Bulli we visited the fine jetty of the Mining 

 Company, and there we had pointed out to us a fine specimen of 

 a turpentine pile which had been at the end of the jetty for six 

 years, and had only been recently removed because the top of it 

 had beeu broken and rendered useless. On examining it, we 

 found it to be perfectly sound from the action of the cobbera 

 beyond the thin external so-called " sap." We were informed 

 that an ironbark or gum pile woiild not stand in sea water 

 beyond three years without being perforated like a sponge, and 

 rendered entirely useless. This being the case, some idea may 

 be gained of how much additional valuable produce exists in the 

 new line of intended railway for Government or for mercantile 

 purposes. 



Here I may venture to hope that as this late terra incognita 

 becomes a sort of treasure trove for the public, it would be a 

 pride for the country to preserve the rich tropical jungles on this 

 rivulet, so that they may not become destroyed and be lost to the 

 future tourists who will by-and-bye delight to pass by these 

 magnificent productions of vegetable nature, whilst proceeding 

 along their delightful tour to other scenery of a wholly different 

 character, though surpassingly grand. Also owing to the broken 

 nature of the ground on the Hacking Creek, and the narrowness 

 of the various small flats, there will be nothing that should allure 

 the husbandman to destroy the beautiful brushwood that abounds 

 there, for the sake of any doubtful returns he could obtain. 



I may uiention that I saw evidence of the proximity of coal, 

 namely, by that regular seam of clay ii'on ore with same dip as 

 the coal, having tolerably defined and known elevation over the 



