BOTANICAL, TOPOGKAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL NOTES. 133 



discovery in 1823 (see below, p. 137). The trees in the 

 vicinity are Casuarina Cunningliamiana, Leptospermum 

 flavescens, Eucalyptus Stuartiana and viminalis, &nd Acacia 

 decurrens var. dealbata. Arrived back on to the road, in 

 another mile we cross the Sidmouth Valley Creek which 

 flows into the Fish River a few yards away. Datura tatula 

 is in surprising abundance about here, and there is a sprink- 

 ling of Echium violaceum. 



A mile further on we come to Rainville Creek. Say one 

 mile beyond this we passed through sliprails to the left at 

 Portion 164, followed the fences easterly for under half a 

 mile, then passed through sliprails on the right into a 

 beautiful open paddock for say three-quarters of a mile when 

 we came to a weak place in the fence and got into the old 

 Bathurst road once more. We have gone into details as 

 the road is not easy to find if the site of the first gold dis- 

 covery be included in the trip. Thus we were once more 

 on Allan Cunningham's track, and this track meets the 

 Tarana-O'Connell road (along which we had been travelling) 

 at O'Connell, four miles further on ; we were say three 

 quarters of a mile west of Rainville Creek. 



Proceeding east (i.e., going back in the Fish River direc- 

 tion) we arrived at Sidmouth Valley, which, though not an 

 extensive one, is very beautiful, and has rich black soil 

 flats. At two miles from the Oberon road, we found the 

 only Eucalyptus macrorrhyncha trees we had seen on the 

 trip. In one and a half miles from this we cross Snakes' 

 Valley Creek and in half a mile cross the old Oberon road 

 (from Mutton's Falls). Crossing the road, in another 

 quarter of a mile we come to the new Tarana-Oberon road, 

 at a place five miles from Tarana. Here the prospect is 

 extensive, and one can view for at least half a mile the old 

 Cunningham track in the direction of Fish River. 



Sidmouth Valley.— Turning back to Sidmouth Valley, 

 following is what Allan Cunningham says of it : — 



