Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/469

Rh "The first theatrical representation ever given in Australia was at Sydney, in 1796. The play was 'The Ranger,' performed by a company of amateurs, all of whom were convicts. The manager was also a convict. An admission fee of one shilling was demanded, and the Governor and his staff were graciously invited to free seats. Coin being scarce in the colony, a shilling's worth of flour or rum was accepted in lieu of money. The convict who played Filch recited the prologue, and was probably its author. It ran as follows:

From distant lands, o'er wide-spread seas we come, But not with much eclat or beat of drum. True patriots all, for, be it understood, We left our country for our country's good! No private views disgraced our generous zeal; What urged our travels was our country's weal. And none can doubt but that our emigration Has proved most useful to the British nation. He who to midnight ladders is no stranger, You'll own will make an admirable Ranger; To seek Macheath we have not far to roam, And sure in Filch I shall be quite at home.