Page:The Irish in Australia.djvu/120

 visited Geelong in person, he was received with a general cordiality, and with popular manifestations of respect and goodwill such as are ordinarily reserved for the representatives of royalty. For years there was direct emigration from the home country to Geelong, and on one occasion the local government agent thought it his duty to direct the attention of his superiors to the fact, that "during the year 1855 the number of Irish people brought to Geelong in the government immigrant ships exceeded that of the English and Scotch put together." It was on the outskirts of the town proper that the Irish immigrants mostly settled, because there they could purchase land on reasonable terms. The government, in the hope of raising a large revenue, had divided the town into two parts, calling the portion near the harbour North Geelong, and the part further back. South Geelong. The minimum price of land in the former they fixed at £300 per acre, and in the latter £150 per acre. These of course were practically prohibitory prices to the great majority of the immigrants. As suburban allotments were to be had at £5 per acre and even less, new and more populous towns sprang up outside the two^proclaimed government towns, and thus were created the extensive suburbs of Geelong known as Ashby, Newtown and Irishtown. The latter filled a spacious valley to the west of the government town of South Geelong, and was apparently occupied principally by the Irish immigrants. It was there that Mr. Michael Donaghy first started the extensive industry which has already been referred to. When municipal privileges were conferred on