Edinburgh Tavern. Collins Lane—William Evans, Builder's Arms; John O'Shaughnessy, the Australian Hotel. Bourke Street—William Sidebottom, Golden Fleece. Bourke L a n e — T h o m a s Walton, Horse and Jockey. William Street—M. Harper, British Hotel. Queen Street—John Shanks, Royal Highlander. Queen Street—John Byng, Victoria Tavern. Elizabeth Street—George Coulstock, Melbourne Tavern. Williamstown—James Muir. Pascoevale—Edward Butler, the Young Queen. Flinders Lane held the premier place in the small nobblerizing community ; Collins and Q u e e n . Streets followed; Bourke and Elizabeth Streets had each its unit; whilst the great thoroughfares of to-day—Swanston, Russell and Lonsdale Streets—were entirely ignored. T h e first Tradesmen's Ball was held at the Caledonian Hotel, Lonsdale Street, on 18th January, 1841, at which eighty couples were present.
FITZROY IN 1841.
The large tract of country now occupied as the site of a large flourishing city is thus pourtrayed (as it appeared in the summer of 1841-2) by the H o n . R. Dundas Murray, a visitor, in a work written by him, and published in Edinburgh, in 1 8 4 3 : — " A large suburb called Newtown is now springing up to the eastward of the town, and long since the chosen resort of the principal inhabitants, whose residences are dispersed throughout the many lovely spots with which it abounds. Certainly nothing can be more romantic and secluded than the sites of many of their villas. Almost all of them stand in the shadow of giant forest trees, which here spread over the ground like the ornamental timber of a park; the hollows and eminences by which the surface is broken being alike clear of underwood, and of every object but the vast stems that shoot up at regular intervals from each other. T h e solitude, besides, is most profound; and though Melbourne is only a short mile distant, so little is its noise carried that way, that you might easily fancy yourself far away in the depths of the inland forest. But the greatest attraction is the green sward, which stretches up to every door, everywhere offering to the tread a short, firm carpet of verdure, a luxury of no small price to those whose daily labours lead them into the dust of the town. N o greater annoyance can be conceived than this fine dust, clouds of which rise during high winds of such volume and density as to darken the skies over the town, and for a time to envelope it in the gloom of a London fog." At the January Quarter Sessions of 1841, six blackfellows were convicted of assault and robbery, and each sentenced to ten years' transportation. They and three others, nine in all, were placed on board the "Victoria" cutter, for transfer to the "Vesper" schooner, in the bay, bound for Sydney. They were ironed singly, and in passing down the river, when near the Saltwater Junction, all of them suddenly jumped up, flung off their blankets and bounded into the water. T h e guard fired on the swim-aways, killing one and wounding another, w h o was re-captured. T h e rest managed to gain the bank, and scrambling into the scrub, broke off the irons and escaped. The first coroner's inquest in the Province was held at the Lamb Lnn, Collins Street West, on 16th January, 1841. In the month of March, 1841, at Geelong, one of the officers of the barque "Majestic" indulged in a bath at Point Henry. Whilst standing in the water an immense stingaree thrust its sting into the man's thigh, and actually dragged him some distance before he could be rescued. O n being got ashore the sufferer was attended by Dr. Clerke, Assistant Colonial Surgeon, w h o with m u c h difficulty extracted the sting, which measured eight inches in length by one in breadth. In July, 1841, Mr. Watson introduced two Maltese stallion asses, which were considered quite a novelty. They arrived in the " Frankfield," from Liverpool, were two-year-olds, and fourteen hands high.
