Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/524

 498 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Mr.s.wewiand In the earliest days whaling stations were perched on the bluff headlands of this part of South Australia ; and inland were only a few isolated squatters, who must needs live bold and precarious lives among frequently hostile natives. These latter at times were treacherous ; and at times, when treated firmly and kindly, as a discreet father would manage his child, they were faithful and honest. Mr. Newland imbibed the essential spirit of his life under such conditions. There awoke in him the love of excitement which whaling operations inculcate, also the bushcraft and (juickness of perception which the lonely bush and the presence of wandering tribes of natives called forth. He heard many stories from the whalers, and he listened as eagerly to the tales with which old scjuatters and bushmen are wont to regale themselves when smoking their pipes in their homes or when on the track. Mr. Newland was impressionable and observant, and he did not forget what he saw and heard. When 20 years of age he began to participate in what, from a literary point of view, is the most attractive form of Australian life, namely, droving. Impossible adventures have been attributed to drovers and stock-riders. Almost every drover can tell some strange, romantic story, which may or may not be true, but which has the semblance and mark of possibility. Even yet, though much has changed, there is still excitement in this rambling occupation. Hut 50 or 60 years ago the bushman had to mark out a new track over hundreds of miles of untamed territory, and he also had to match the cunning or defy the strength of the prowling natives. He took herds of cattle of great value sometimes a thousand miles and more, through unsettled country, over desolate plains, into brooding forests, across rushing rivers — the while; fighting the aborigines on frequent occasions. His horse, his steady nerve, and his ingenuity were constantly in requisition. He was lonely, and sometimes melancholy, and he centred his most permanent affections on his horse, his dog, or even on his bovine companions. The men who accompanied him were often desperate fellows, not long from a convict prison - — men who would not mind taking his life i( anything could be gained by the act. He had, therefore, to be alert, and quick, and cunning, and masterful ; and he was driven into thoughtfulness and manliness. When Mr. Newland left his father's station, he went overland to New South Wales, a journey in those days fraught with difficulties and dangers. He was engaged to drive cattle from the Goulburn pastures to South Australia, and he made several trips of this kind. His herd usually comprised 600 cattle, and the distance to be traversed was about 1,000 miles. It took many months to complete each of these trips, and the risks on the way were not few. It was the varietv of his experiences while so engaged which enabled Mr. Newland to write so effectively of droving. As with all drovers who wished to become .something better, he watched an opportunity to branch out as a pastoralist on his own account. In conjunction with Messrs. H. Field and A. Hay, he took up a large area of country on the Darling River, in the west of New South Wales, and kept sheep and cattle on it. Squatting in the Darling country is full of possibilities. The yield of pasture is often very rich, but rain is irregular. At times the immense watershed of the river is covered with magnificent vegetation ; such, indeed, as few other countries can produce. But at times a long and severe drought desolates this expansive territory, and hardly a blade of grass can be seen for miles, while, in the place of luxuriant herbage, are only white bones. The squatters in those times lived for