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Northern Territory Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873-1927) (about)
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Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3295609
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DARWIN TO FREMANTLE.
\ BY C. J. KIRKLAND.
(Continued from last peek's issue).
At Point Sampson we loaded wool and other products until about 4 a.m. next morning," and then steamed^back . to a place called Balla Balla, to* pick up a big consignment of copper ore. This is a weird looking spot, and Captain Rogers says it is one of the most dangerous places on the' coast. We dropped anchor off an island, close under which lay two lighters, loaded io tHe water's edge with copper ore in bags This island looked as if it had been dropped into the sea from Hade a shovelful of slag. It was one g|eat mass of wild fantastic ironstone boulders, strewn* about in savage chaotic confusion, the prevailing colour black, with streaks of rusty redr The heavy ground swell broke in bursts of foam against the troubled boulders, except in one place where a narrow fringe of white sand showed at the foot of the rocks in a small indentation between two points. On -" tfiis skip of beach lay the remains of
three wrecked steamers, and, a mile or two off this beach, wev could see two other wrecks. Reels and shoals abound,' with fierce tidal currents twisting and turning among them. In rough weather the whole neigh- bourhood must become a raging
seething maelstrom. The poppet heads of the mine from whence came
tlie copper ore could just b.3 seen ' (jhrougb glasses about 12 Indies ¿uland1 (fbrge'ù its name). Our ne^í port was Onslow» wîiere We go'b our first tast.3 of sferong cold southerly wiu'ás» .which lasted irntjils we reached Fieman'il'a«, If} was deHctouo» but I appreciated1 sïny, heavy overcoat mornings and even-« jngis. L^ii<Lprs carne off bo us hei£ also» as we had To lay off about si^c mules owing to shoal Water. A lady passen- ger came off in a imorbr launch» and1 it! made one feßl 'd!'z7y lb watch tha<j smialï] 'codklcshe'/l 'lossrng at th'3 fooit1 of the gangway» whilst th'c fair pas- senger1 made futl'«e efforts to seize the« happy momentffor a spiring'. On Feb. 7 we arrived at. Ca'rlnar^on a,fc 6 p.jm., There is a firie p-cr a mile long» with' lanes of rails'. "The ilown lbs thr'3p males inland from the shore end1 of the Dier. "With" some o'her passengers I started and walked up 'to "ibwri aft'sr d¿nner> rather, than \va38 some ï'invî fo/ the twin. It Was an enjoyable wlaiDk along a good track1» untfer the stars, firsb r through sandy hillocks th.cklv covered with low bushes (sa>!,t bush)» ' among which' We sighted sevs'ral cam-
els with t'n'klnig beî'ûs: a'Iso som'3 hor- ses. The air was beautifully !&en and' Tresh. We" crossed soveral small bud- gies» and nearmg ïho town cam« on wide open spaces wbSch' smtflt as íf they Vera inundated áí high spring tides. The town jfs buift ajB thf3 rnou»t£ihl of tihe Gascoyne Rivet. ¡We Üra'mpeil into the railway staion and Founld! our way into Ibe toWh prower Shrough' a small shed. WalkfeÖ round but could noto geit much of an idea of ih'a place at night. Thpre- were some good' shops well illuminated» an'di' fruit shops woin num'eious an'd well suppli/di with fig's» plums» oranges, peaches, graplss, mels1 ons and apples. There is goo'cl* scsfc and I aim tolkf tihey grow paw paws» bananas» and other tropical fruits as wsli as all the fruits common in the more empetate regions orf %e «ouffirt., In the centre of ^hte fown I no'ti'ced1 a number of ifianfcs on a huge stand» which1 a shbpkeepter told m.3 constitu- ted the rtservoîjr oí fresh water 3 ip ply rfbr the iownl. There is a father fin0 esplanade along ths bank of the Jriwr* uva mos'fc of the finer public buildings ^seem to be Ioca,te'df therï». But in a flv,tng visït pa, Id a* n%h¡o one's impressions are Vöjr.y hazy andi probably inaccurate. We left by fyWm for the^fthjip aitl 10.130 p.m. Nearly all Sfae passengers "Mad1 foun'di tíhhir wny up to the town during (the ev orung» *md thr- strength1 of iih'o Carnarvon foe* wag "*à*d)ka%$ ty} VSß jfo'aifoff
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díoroses vvlíiLch^floatteEjoulliton¡titíe'tóigíhül air as wfo slow%, feundïe'd' ou» way down t!o Öie sea anÄ opt ' along) filie} prod&gfcm« píen. We shjplpfeld' a tgroaS quantity o'£ wooli" sheep, and' othlerj
produce lierfe;. The Hjwo1 oifibJer porte' called at were Shark's1 Blay anfdl Gfiir,-,
aldlori. A't1 firsft-name|d) «wo iaghfors J carrie off loaded vüjOtí wool pr^cipäliSy^ We sfiayed onlyi hall? an hour/ aft Ger- aldton. *This sa a fine tbwn built ton tHe sea 'front» w¿*K a big range" of mountain* In th> fcack'ground,'., tifíela" is rall commnnicaTion Wjth F,rem'dntî,o and the Murchison golídfieiíd« and ther?i is rH» farm'mg land' back1 of She town We w^re now a ïuU ship as to cargo» «and1 hia'd! been more than a*'f»ll s'îip-as to passengers ever $ince leaving Darwin, judgjng b'y, Ijhia voy- age the Stat© ownad line , ought !Öoi 'be eartiim? handsome profits now. ¡Bu6 so lie "«.'ay there wilil bß a ¡disaster* and ithen 'tWer'e wSJfl his' a bigi pute'ry oven the fact ttfa-6 Board of Trätie tfegula tions re passengeis have been syste- matically ligrored; One pi the -hangs wh'ch 3truck me arc th'e splendildi jtí*-> ties erected at all jfche por'fe of calfl» ' all by ii« of jarrah. Ana at ajl! these jet-
ties they have a system of profecïmg the jetty which1" mjighlf be adopfeU! YSÎ'UI advantage at Darwin. TriaJS is a l¿ne of outer piles» driven 3 or 4 'feet away from th? jetty proper» and! connected by longfatukftnal and cross beams. "The?e absorb ttío whole of the shock o'f impact as a vessel comas alongside» or when »a heavy sea .»s i mining. These elastic spring ¡pj,«*s Lake all the weight and ihe jet'iyj structure itself is unaffected. We viv r¿ved at) ^Fremantls at 6 p.'m on ¡Uio «vening of Feb. loth". I gavte my, lug- gage to the agent of a dplilvery finn» and when'I eventually got ashore» a*
about 8 p.m» I took trie fcrain upi «to_ Perth" and arrive'd! at this hostel abo* *
9 p.m'.' '
(Continued on next page)
Darwin to Freemantle
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* (Continued from last page)
March 10th.
. -As you" will see I wrote the fore- going just after, arriving here. On landing I found the influenza scare in full swing« and that all traffic on . the transcontinental line was at a
.standstill. After waiting a month, partly in the hope that traffic on that line would be, resumed, I have now booked passage' An a steamer .for Sydney (£U 10s.) This boat calls at Sydney and Melbourne Even traffic by sea has been very dislocated, and this' is really the first opportunity to
leave here since I lauded. Another
boat (the," Dimboola'') left for eastern ports three days ago, but they had 500 names on their books some weeks
ago, and accommodation for only 2Ö0 passengers. As a matter of fact all inter-State passenger traffic has been at a standstill during the past month, and, if I could have foreseen the block, I would have remained in Darwin. Troopships are arriving almost daily with hundreds of men. The town is full ot returned soldiers, and I have seen some fine young fellows among them. Numbers are more or less crippled. I also dropped across Prof. Woolnough, who you remember as visiting the Territory at
the time of the transfers.
Perth' improves on acquaintance. The street parallel to Hay Ötreet, and overlooking tlje river, is as fine a thoroughfare as you could find any- where. It is divided into two sections -one known as St. Georgo's Terrace,
the other end as Adelaide Terrace. It
is' very wide, contains* beautiful avenues of trees, and many magni- ficent public buildings and private residences. In this terrace, within a
"stone's throvrof where Î am staying,
is the vice-regal residence and grounds, and a beautifully laid out public gardens. A magnificent build- ing, the Anglican St. George's Cathedral, and a fine Presbyterian Church, stand at either córner of the junction« of Pier Street with< St. George's Terrace, and this hostel is on the Hay Street and Pier Street corner. Most of the banks and big insurance company offices are located in St» George's Terrace,,also the post office and many other fine public buildings. Hay Street runs straight, east and west, and I should say is one of the longest and straightest streets in' Australia. It contains many fine shops, but is comparatively narrow.
i It has been very hot ever since I landed here, and, if it was not for. the river, I should say Perth would be almost unendurable during the summer, for sandhills (which become red hot) are the predominating feature all round. But the river is splendid. Across the river, in South Perth, is one of the best zoos in Australia-a really splendid collection of animal bird, and reptilean life from every corner of the globe. The *fare across,
"the river-about a. mile wide-is six- pence, and another saxpence gives access to the Zoo and the right' of entry to hot mineral spring baths which are said to be an infallible cure for rhematic complaints of every kind. The scenery along the river between Perth and Fremantle is very fiue, avM there is room for enormous develop- ment in the evolution of suburban retreats. The river swarms with sail- ing boats'and motor . boats, and regattas-are one of the chief outdoor amusements. Across the railway line,* in Museum Street, in North Perth, there is a fine free public library, art gallery, and museum. One of my favourite camping places has been the King's Park, the main entrance to which is twenty minutes walk from this hostel-along St. George's Terrace, and then to the left up Malcolm Street. Malcolm Street is something of the nature of the tramp from Darwin jetty up the hill, but, when you reach the King's Park, the lovely avenues of shade trees, the flowers, anck the magnificent view is ample reward. There is a splendid view-or series of different views from various points of the whole city of Perth and " surrounding country, bounded in the distance by the haze of the Darling Bange to the south and east. The whole city ia spread out at one's feet, and the effect is almost as if one were looking from an aeorplane.
I am leaving here to-morrow in s.S. " Victoria," al 5 p.m., and understand the boat is crowded. Before finally embarking I have to attend the Qua» rantine Office at Fremantle-as are other passengers. I had to attend, also, yesterday (Sunday) morning. All passengers who had arrived m this boat from East,-, ware also there, complying with the'regulation com- pelling three days attendance and .examination after landing. I waited in dense crowd, in small ill ventilated room, two hours before my turn came; then £ found myself sealed in a small room with about 20 others holding a glass bulb under my tongue. I caught one man's eye and he started and' laugh and dropped and smashed his tube. No doubt it was a funny show.
March 81st.
We called at Adelaide and Mel bourne en route, and, whilst com- pulsory and stringent quarantine regulations have been the rule, through passengers were permitted to land at both these ports during the vessel's stay.
Since my arrival here ou the 25th instant, there hag been a rather alarming increase in the epidemic,
and the crowded streets and trams and ferries present a curious and rather sinister picture, as nearly everyone is wearing one of 4he pre- ventive masks, made, usually of four plies of butter qiuslin, large enough to cover the nose and mouth.
On the morning following my disembarkation, on attending at the
QmfBtiv* Ofipfvit ^9im Quay
fon the third floor of the Custom House) to undergo the required examination to . which all arriving passengers are subject, I fell in with' Messrs. A. Strath, S. A. Newsham, and F. Fox, and a day or two later I encountered Mr, C. Arnold (on leave) at the G P.O. I hear there are several other old Terntorians at present in Sydney.
The returned ' soldiers down this way, seem bo been taking up a very strong attitude in the direction of suppressing Bolshevism and. dis- loyalty to the flag. There are some fine men among them.