THÉ GEELONG NATURALIST. K 
GIPPSLAND. 
By tHe Rev. James S. H. Royce, F.R.G.S., 
Associate of the Vic. Institute, Tondon. 
VicroriA, though the smallest of the Australian colonies, 
presents a variety both in its landscape scenery and climate ; 
this is a fact which the traveller discovers journeying from the 
Murray in the north to Gippsland in the south. lf we take 
simply the physical aspect of the various portions of the 
colony into consideration, for the purpose of comparison, then 
we should be disposed to give the palm to the southern 
portion, taking into consideration its varied scenery, its 
mineral and other commercial resources, its outlet to the 
ocean, and the salubrity ofits climate, all of which bespeak 
for it, not only a commanding position in the present, but a 
most important one for the future. ; 
About twenty-five years ago Gippsland was almost a terra 
incognita to the denizens of the large towns of Victoria, the 
almost impenetrable forest presenting a barrier to the visitor; 
but now the railway has penetrated these regions, and the 
iron horse traverses a considerable portion of this important 
district, while a few hours suffices to land us either in Sale, : 
Bairnsdale, or other rising towns of the country. 
Gippsland possesses splendid areas for pastoral and 
agricultural pursuits; it has an abundance of valuable timber, 
whilst its mineral resources can scarce be said to have reached 
beyond an infantile state of development. Among these 
resources are gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, antimony and 
coal. The geological strata are likewise of a most interesting 
and varied character, the miocene age of the tertiaries being 
largely represented, while in the mountains of Omeo we are 
carried back to the Devonian age by the numerous fossil 
beds. 
_ It is no stretch of the imagination to say that Gippsland 
may be regarded as the Scotland of Victoria, when we have 
before us its lakes, its rivers and waterfalls; its forests of giant 
trees, with its snow-clad mountains and its fertile plains. 
A three years’ residence in Sale, with frequent trips to 
nearly every part of the province, gave the writer an oppor- 
tunity of acquaintance with its topography and resources. 
There is no doubt that in former days the aborigines were 
numerous in Gippsland, but now they do not number more 
than 120 at the two stations of Ramayuck and Lake Tyers. 
