Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Sunday 21 April 1805, page 2


SYDNEY.

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A burglary was on Tuesday night last effected in the dwelling of Mr. Nathaniel Lucas, in Pitt’s Row, between the hours of 11 and 12 ; but a small property was taken away, owing to the villains being disturbed. They had wrenched open the back door, the noise occasioned thereby being attributdd to the yard dog, and the neglect of its being

properly secured. But shortly after the door of a lower apartment in which the greater part of Mr. Lucas’s property was deposited, was heard also to open, and shortly after the lid of a large chest to be raised ; whereupon an alarm was given by two persons in an adjoining room, when the villains rushed violently against the door, as if determined to force it inwards, in order to silence the noise ; but failing in their ends preceptiately made off through the garden fence. Two persons were on Wednesday morning appre-hended on suspicion of the fact, and commit-

ted for examination.

A report prevails, that two of the persons employed by Mr. A. Thompson as salt boi-lers at Broken Bay are missing since Monday last; and that the apprehension is strengthened by the circumstance of their arms being found, it being improbable, that if they had fled for security from the natives, they should have gone off unarmed, unless unfortunately cut off from the place they were left at, and preciptately obliged to take refuge in the

woods.

Messrs. Kable and Co. intend to launch the ship King George the first spring tide, which will happen about the latter end of next

week.

Late on Wednesday night a dreadful thun-der storm set in from the westward, which lasted about two hours with extreme violence, and was accompanied with a heavy fall of rain, and some very vivid lightning, succeeded by constant deluges of rain almost ever since. Happily, however, we do not understand that any disagreeable circumstance has been

the consequence.

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On Monday two millers in Government Employ received a corporal punishment for neglect of work, and repeated disobedience

of orders.

And on Tuesday two smiths were also pu-nished on the complaint of their overseer.

On Monday 𝐽𝑜ℎ𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒, a labouring servant of the Crown confined to the gaol gang, absconded from public labour at Fort Philip ; and is supposed to have taken to some of the out‐settlements. He has an im-pediment in his speech, and wore a red jacket

when he went away.

An animal of a truly singular and nouvel description was killed by dogs the 30th of March on a hill immediately contiguous to the settlement at Yorkton Port Dalrymple ; from the following minute description of which, by Lieutenant Governor Pᴀᴛᴇʀ-ꜱᴏɴ,it must be considered of a species per-fectly distinct from any of the animal creation hitherto known, and certainly the only pow-erful and terrific of the carniverous and vo-racious tribe yet discovered on any part of New Holland or its adjacent Islands.

“ It is very evident his species is destruc-tive, and lives entirely on animal food ; as on dissection his stomach was found filled with

a quantity of kangaroo, weighing 5lbs. the weight of the whole animal 45lbs. From its interior structure it must be a brute pecu-liarly quick of digestion ; the dimensions were, from the nose to the eye 4½ inches : length of the eye, which is remarkably large and black, 1¼ inches ; breadth of the eye ¾

of an inch ; from the nose to the extent of

the mouth in the upper jaw, 6 inches ; and

to the extent of the under jaw, 4½ inches ; bteadth of the forehead, 5¾ inches ; from the eye to the ear, 3¾ inches ; the ear round, di-ameter 3 inches ; from the ear to the shoul-der, 1 foot; from the shoulder to the first stripe, 7 inches ; from the first stripe to the extent of the body, 2 feet ; length of the tail, 1 foot 8 inches ; length of the fore leg, 11 inches ; and of the fore foot, 5 inches ; the fore foot with 5 blunt claws ; height of the animal before, 1 foot 10 inches ; stripes across the back 20, on the tail 3 ; 2 of the stripes extend down each thigh ; length of the hind leg from the heel to the thigh, 1 foot ; length of the hind foot, 6 inches ; the hind foot with 4 blunt claws, and soles of the feet without hair ; on each side the mouth are 19 bristles, length of each 4 inches ; and 6 bristles on each side under the ear, 9 on the lower jaw upon each side, and 8 under the throat ; 8 fore teeth in the upper jaw, and 6 in the under ; 4 grinders of a side, in the upper and lower jaw ; 3 single teeth also in each ; 4 tusks, or canine teeth, length of each 1 inch : circumference of the head be-fore the ears, 1 foot 6 inches, and behind the ears, 1 foot 5 inches ; smallest part of the neck, 1 foot 4 inches ; circumference before the shoulder, 2 feet ; the body short hair and smooth, of a greyish colour, the stripes black ; the hair on the neck rather longer than that on the body ; the hair on the ears of a light brown colour, on the inside rather long.— The form of the animal is that of the hyæna, at the same time strongly reminding the observer of the appearance of a low wolf dog. The lips do not appear to conceal the

tusks.