appears barren, the vegetation harsh and dismal, but " on the coast of Port Macquarie dense thickets of cabbage-palms and myrtle-trees extend down the rocky declivities, even within reach of the spray, and every unwooded patch is covered with grass, while the lofty forest rising luxuriantly close to the sea presents a striking contrast to the stunted Banksia thickets and desiccated scrubs on the sandstone round Sydney. The mountains approaching near the coast collect vapours from the sea, and cause frequent rains; in summer heavy thunderstorms mitigate the heat."
The River Hastings was discovered by Mr. Oxley, a late surveyor- general, on the report of two shipwrecked mariners whom he rescued on the coast.
It has been calculated that there are twelve million fertile acres well watered by small streams. The dividing range of mountains rises upwards of six thousand feet ; on the other side lies New England a range of table land, where a temperate climate prevails, where potatoes and gooseberries are raised in perfection, and the settlers retain the rosy bloom of England, one of the finest sheep districts in the colony. A road has been made across the mountains for bringing down wool to Port Macquarie.
Shoal Bay, the next harbour, is the embouchure of the River Clarence, navigable for steamers for more than fifty miles, flowing through a rich, fertile, and hot country, the reverse of the New England climate: large boats have ascended as far as ninety miles. It was surveyed and made public in 1839 by a private expedition under the charge of S. Perry, Esq. The average width of this river is from 450 to 600 yards, with a depth of from six to twenty feet water, the banks from ten to twenty-five feet above high-water mark. About twenty miles from the mouth is an island fifteen miles long, and from three to four miles broad; a range of hills rises in the centre. It is occupied as a cattle station, and partly for agricultural purposes, by the occupant, who holds it under a squatting licence.
Grafton is the township of the Clarence district, situated fifty miles from the mouth of the river. The finest land for arable purposes is found on the river banks, about thirty miles from Grafton, where the valley is wider, and the country consists of a scrub, easily cleared. The climate, too hot for growing wheat or raising sheep, suits cattle and maize. The sheep stations are being gradually discontinued. But although the land is admirably fertile on the banks of the river, at the distance of a few miles it is barren, with few patches of good soil.
The next river to the Clarence is the Richmond, which waters an
