Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/353

Rh varied characteristics—hill, valley, plain, mountain, forest, and open country presenting themselves in succession. "It can be briefly described," said Frank, "as an agricultural, pastoral, and mining region, some of it being of great value, and other parts quite forbidding in aspect, owing to the scarcity of water. We passed through some of the gold-fields of New South Wales, but did not stop to visit them. We were told that considerable quantities of diamonds had been obtained near Bingera, one hundred and ten miles north from Tamworth. an important town on the railway, about half-way between Newcastle and Tenterfield.

"The names of stations on the line of railway are a curious mixture of native and foreign words; the foreign ones including English, Scotch, Irish, and American, together with some that were difficult to classify. For example, there were Murrurundi, Boggabri, Currabubula, and Moonbi, all of Australian origin; and then we found Hamilton, Lochinvar, Dundee, Stonehenge, Emerald Hill, Kentucky, and other familiar words. Then followed Doughboy Hollow, Honeysuckle Point, Kelly's Plains, and Willow Tree, which reminded us of names that we had heard in the Pacific States of America.

"Occasionally we saw herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and were not surprised to learn that the country is considered an excellent region for raising those animals. We passed through forests of