Prev | Current Page 172 | Next

Westgarth, William, 1815-1889

"Personal Recollections of Early Melbourne and Victoria"


"And this is my conclusion."
--Much Ado About Nothing.

POSTSCRIPT.
MELBOURNE IN 1888.
"Here, fifty winters since, by Yarra's stream,
A scattered hamlet found its modest place:
What mind would venture then in wildest dream
Its wondrous growth and eminence to trace?
What seer predict a stripling in the race
Would, swift as Atalanta, win the prize
Of progress, 'neath the world's astonished eyes?"
--J. F. DANIELL, "The Jubilee of Melbourne."
"And, behold, one half of the greatness was not told me."
--2 Chronicles 9:6.
My intended postscript on Melbourne as I found it in 1888 has been
delayed until I have seen Sydney also, so that I have a few words of
comparison on the two great capitals of the southern section of our
empire.
ARRIVAL AT HOBART.
Allow me first to complete the outward passage. I concluded my
"Recollections" when still at sea, within about a day of our ship's
destination, Hobart. The Tasmanian shores gave us a salutation not
usually associated with Australia, that, namely, of the snow, thickly
sprinkled over the southern slopes of the island. I welcomed the scene,
both as recalling that of Home, and as giving the promise of the highest
of civilization, which, as Mr.


Pages:
160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184