Page:Stryker's American Register and Magazine, Volume 6, 1851.djvu/471

Rh some flourishing vineyards on the Macleay, and a kind of wild fig is highly spoken of.

The southern part of the colony consists, principally of land in possession of squatters, as they are termed, or proprietors of those immense herds of sheep and cattle, whose produce has till lately formed the staple export of Australia generally. The vast tract of land over which these flocks and herds roam—stretching in a straight line about 1100 miles across the country—is not the actual property of the squatters, but is merely hired of the Government from year to year, each applicant receiving a license for a "run," as it is termed in the local designation, incurring the risk of being removed should any bona fide purchaser present himself. In consequence of the very favorable terms on which the proprietors of stock are enabled to hire these runs, paying a merely nominal price for the privilege and the encouragement generally held out to them by the Government, the squatting interest is the most wealthy and influential in the colony.

Another source of future wealth, when the resources of the colony shall have been fully developed, will be found in the fisheries—all the sea-coasts, bays, and mouths of rivers being said to abound in delicious fish, some of which appear to be peculiar to those waters, and are certainly not known in America or Europe. Mullet, bream, whiting, cod, and turtle, together with crabs, shrimps, and oysters, in great abundance, are, however, to be met with. Kangaroos are common in the northern districts, as are also black swans, geese, and other aquatic birds. The brush turkey frequents the forest lands.

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, resembles in its rapid growth some of the great American Western cities. Its population cannot be less than between 70,000 and 80,000, and is characterized by intense activity and enterprise in all the departments of business. This city is quite metropolitan in its character, having a magnificent Government House, abundant church accommodations, a beautiful Cathedral dedicated to the Roman Catholic faith, well-endowed schools (more particularly that of Sydney College), good theatres, handsome taverns, and a public pleasure-ground called Hyde-Park. There are also many suburban villages, communicated with by means of stage-coaches and omnibuses. Paramatta, about fifteen miles from Sydney, is a town of considerable importance, containing about 5000 inhabitants, and having a street a mile in length. It is connected with Sydney by means of a railway. Other considerable towns are Windsor, Maitland, Newcastle, Bathurst, and Goulburn.

The total white population of the two districts of New South Wales and Port Philip (which are classed together in the official