Our Antipodes; or, Residence and rambles in the Australasian colonies. With a glimpse of the gold fields (1855) (14777276832)

Identifier: ourantipodesorre00mund (find matches)
Title: Our Antipodes; or, Residence and rambles in the Australasian colonies. With a glimpse of the gold fields
Year: 1855 (1850s)
Authors: Mundy, Godfrey Charles, d. 1860
Subjects:
Publisher: London R. Bentley
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto



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stumps, throughfields full of felled timber all on a blaze, through scoresof slip-rails—the primitive gate of Australia, and along thebush-ranges, where the track was often invisible. Yet wegot home to our comfortable inn with whole bones, springs,and wheels,—pleased with our excursion and gradually falling-very much in love with Illawarra. Fehruarij Q)th.—A ride to Mount Keera, one of the lions ofWollongong. Just at the foot of the mountain, on the estateof a gentleman, who, it is to be hoped, will make the best ofhis good luck, a fine vein of coal has been discovered; indeedit discovers itself, for portions of the lode may be seencropping out in the middle of the road which crosses themountain. ITere it has the appearance of anthracite or Kil-kenny coal, but I believe where the works are to be openedthe mineral is of superior quality. It is supposed to be thesouthern rim of a great coal basin, the northern rim of whichappears above the surface about the same distance north of
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MOUNT KEERA. 445 Sydney, at Newcastle, where it has long been worked bythe Australian Company. I rode for some distance up themountain in order to examine the magnificent trees clothingits flanks, and to obtain a good birds-eye view of the dis-trict; and soon found what I sought. The road swept roundthe back of a small clearing, where a modest hut, coveredAvith vines and pumpkins, stood in the midst of its rood ofground, in which was a thriving potato-patch and a clumpof standard peach-trees in full blossom. This tranquil Httledomain was seated, as it were, in the lap of the mountain,surrounded on three sides by acclivities, clothed with suchgigantic trees as to keep out tlie light and sight of theheavens, except such as were caught from a triangular slice ofthe sky directly in front. The view pUmged hence upon thewide and fertile plain below. The prospect was bounded onthe right by the long wall-like range of the Bong-Bong hillstrending away to the southward, and fencing out this fav