the ground afforded excellent pasture after the ranker growth had been burnt off. The country thus discovered was occupied during the year 1838, and other settlers, pushing on in the same direction, in a couple of years completed the occupation of all the fine pastoral country as far westward as the Hopkins River. The brothers Learmonth, Mr. Henry Anderson, Messrs. Archibald and W. C. Yuille, and Mr. Waldie settled on the subsequently revealed gold-fields of Ballarat, Buninyong, Sebastopol, and their immediate vicinities. Some members of the Clyde Company, of Tasmania, visited the Western district in 1838, that company giving the name to the Clyde Inn, of the old Geelong coach road. They settled upon the Moorabool and the Leigh, Mr. George Russell being the manager. Major Mercer, who gave the name to Mount Mercer, and Mr. D. Fisher, were of that company. The Narmbool run, near Meredith, was taken by Mr. Neville in 1839. Ross' Creek was named from Capt. Ross, who in those early days used to perform the feat of walking in Highland costume all the way to Melbourne. But in those times travelling was a more serious matter than in these days of railroads, coaches, cabs, and other vehicles, with good roads and a generally settled country. Then there were no roads, few people, and a thick forest, encumbered about Ballarat, too, with the native hop. Mr. Archibald Fisken, of Lal Lal, was the first person to drive a vehicle through the then roadless forest of Warrenheip and Bullarook. In 1846 he drove a dog-cart tandem with Mr. W. Taylor through the bush to Longerenong, on the Wimmera.
Messrs. T. L. and S. L. Learmonth, whose father was then in Hobarton, settled their homestead on what became known as the Buninyong Gold Mining Company's ground at Buninyong. Mr. Henry Anderson, who was the earliest pioneer in what is now known as Winter's Flat, planted his homestead near the delta formed by the confluence of the Woolshed Creek and the Yarrowee, Messrs. Yuille subsequently taking that homestead and all the country now known as Ballarat West and East and Sebastopol. These settlers gave the name to Yuille's Swamp, more recently called Lake Wendouree. The Bonshaw run was taken up by Mr. Anderson, who named it Waverley Park, and
