Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil (Melbourne, Vic. : 1873 - 1889), Thursday 1 November 1888, page 166


VICTORIA PAST AND PRESENT.

THE SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT.

The object of the present Special Supplement is to illustrate with pen and pencil, the old time Victoria and the Victoria of today. With the Centennial Exhibition as a part of the centennial celebrations yet in progress, and with centenniul race, riile, mid regatta meetings at hand, the time is opportune for such an issue The first view presented is that of the noble hall at the University,

named after its founder, Sir Samuel Wilson. It was in Decemuer, 1877, that the late Sir Kerlmond Barry, then; Chancellor of the University, received from Sir Samuel Wilson a letter notifying «'a intention of putting aside a sum of £30,000. for a hull wnicn should be an adornment to 'the University and give adequate expression to the feeling of indebtedness to tlie colony wlncn lie as a successful colouiat cherished. The benefice lay by for some time, increasing with interest, so that the University authorities were able to spend £30,700 upon this splendid pothic edifice, aim yet have a few pounds to spare for the purpose of giving a place honour inside it to the bust oE its founder. The hull is used lor a.^ important ceremoniesin connection with theUniversity. Its Sydney freestone makes it, in common with Trinity ond Url'°' ' the affiliated colleges close by, a notable landmark from the so , the high ground these buildings occupy lifting them clear auu even the highest of the buildings iu the city proper, lass' -. we find illustrations of the old and new Prince s-br uijje, ^ incidents alike nssociated with the history of each, i bridge was opened on the 15th of November, 1S50, by °u^ tendent Latrobe, amid great rejoicings, for just as tJ- t was finished came news from home that the Imperial lorii had consented to the aeparation of Port Phillip irom -ew ' . Wales. So the colonists determined to celebrate ootn * lre|f. and they did it worthily. For four days business was ^ suspendid, even the newspapers ceasing pubheat ion ^ term. There was a turn-out of troops for the opening ce .j,-erfi with the firing of fru-dvjoic from the battery of Jueia . v ^ At the top of the pa«e we have the new bridge, wluc' wit{, round figures £1.50,000, and was opened on October 1, i . j,.^ little of the enthusiasm that marked the occasion m w ^ ^ b»t people are too busy nowadays to spend roach Ullw^porarr ceremonies as bridge openings. Jieneath is . 8j,icetjje wooden bridge, which did useful a»d constant M'['~ trUCtu«e demolition of old J.'rince'abr*dge, tho one-span et ^ ^ liag at the foot oi the page. The riyer wjtjtb, aa W» M£4l|eafo{ft increased mti) the #«UJed length of £h£ ne\v Jwtlge, VH 1*

=^ip7res to something of the digttity ok the city on ita banks. Two of the accompanying sketches mny be taken as acta in a lama which has unfortunately been played but too often. While there are- cities and rivers and bridges, there will be heartbroken and desperate men and women to fill parts in the t dies oi ]ife- And that itwill be soin- future-is admitted in the building of the new morgue close to the river and the bridge, like its predecessor. The succeeding pagre contains two engrav ings which afford an admirable contrast to one another. There ?3 the view of old Melbourne, as seen from the high groundnear Collingwood— the Melbourne whichhad had itslirst land boom, but through which only vogue rumours of ths.gold yet to be discovered, were hi circulation. Beneath it we have the familiar river picture to be seen any and every cloy at the swinging basin of the Varrn, with the Union Steamship Company's largest steamers on1 one side, and) at the opposite wharf a representative ot the Adelaide Steamship. Company's fleet At one time the New Zealand boats wereobliged tolighterin the bay for fear of Humbug lieach, aa the! mud bank near the Saltwater junction is known ; ? but during the: last 11 yearsj the Melbourne Harbour Trust has apent about £325,000 in dredgim?, deepening, and straightening the river, as well ' aa £186,000 in the extension of wharves, so that steamers drawing 17ft. can now come up to Flinders-street, and ere long there will.be water. for vessels drawing 20ft. The sketch is a faithful one, and the scene just such aa W. L. Wyllie, the painter of coal barcea and Thames ltiver scenes, would have delighted in. Next cornea further views of old Melbourne, with -thepuntonthe.Yarra, which preceded all the bridges. Punts have been the. forerunners of all the great bridgea in, Australia, and they yet' remain an institution upon many Australian streams. Crossing xivers at flood-time by punts is, as many people know, neither safe nor pleasant, and there' have been many fatal mishaps. On the same page is a view of another of the Yarra biidges.iwhich had ita brief time of usefulness ere being swept away by progress. The buildings are the old police oflice of 1840, and a store built in the early days in Collins-street by Messrs. Richardson and Co. Their first building, judged aa buildings were in those days; was a fairly good one ; but business increased so rapidly that the proprietors erected one store around and above thejother, so that their trade should not in the mean time be interrupted, and when the outer building was complete, they removed piecemeal the one inside it. The other sketch on the page represents the ceremony at the turning of the first sod of the Sydney to Goulburn railway, the first line laid. The little wheelbarrow used on that occasion is, we believe, now to beaeen in the New South Wales Court at the Exhibition. A sketch byiMr. Robert Kussell, who carried out the survey of Melbourne, and who yet lives in liichmond, gives some idea of Melbourne when the first settlers! began to build their 'wattle and dab ' homes. The north bank of the river is then described ? as being very picturesque, and the author of this sketch has de Bcribed it as. suggesting to him at the time one of Claude's most charming landscapes.' The view was taken from' the, southern side of the basin, just where in the illustration of the river'a wealth we aaw^the Union boat lying. Mr. Kussell and a neighbour, Mr. Darke, were at that time the only residents on the south hank, where they: lived 'below the range of stepping-stones.' Beneath is a i modest but ^historical building, which has only, recently passedfout of existence. It was used by John Pascoe Fawkner as the printing and publishing office of his paper, the Port Phillip Patriot, to. which title, since there was no particular need of patriotism 8a ve in the desire for separation for New South/1 Wales, might have been also added that of Pioneer. The build* ing was long afterwards used aa an out-house/in connection with'' offices occupying) the frontage, this old printing-room being in a right-of-wuy. lit was pulled down within the last year or two. So we pasa from' the 'primitive buildings, the hardships and the crudeness of pioneering days, to the splendour and luxury of the present. By tar the finest of vice-regal residences in Aus tralia is that (which overlooks Melbourne from the Domain. Indeed, aome of ita occupants have said that those who designed it were too lavish in their plans, for it costs something on state occasions to fill the large rooms eo full of guests that there shall be no air of lohesomeness. The site is a magnificent one. The buildhms look down upon everything, are looked up to from everywhere, and' the substantial evidence of the Imperial con nection is one of the first sights to greet the eye of the visitor on the. incoming Bteainer. The immediate outlook is a pleasant, one,: with the city on the one side, the bay waters in front, and' in rear the green lawns and ilower-beda of the Botanical-gardens. We have alao.'abic of Government-house interior, in the state drawingroom, used chiefly .on formal occasions. From. the colour . of the furniture and hangings, it is known as the yellow, drawing room. On the wall there is a life-size portrait of Lady Loch, painted by Herr Kahler.. On the next -page is a prospect and retrospect. The upper sketch is Liurdet'a beach 40 years ago, another of Mr. Russell's drawings, showing what an advantage it was to posterity that there should have been a pioneer with the power to make a faithful transcript of these old-time scenes. The shore was then thickly hned withti-tree scrub and gums, and the barrel elevated on apolo as seen in the sketch was the startinjj-point of the track leading through tho bush to the falls on the Yarra. At this point on the beach it was customary to light, a tire aa a siflnal for the I ferryman on the Williamstown side that passengers were waiting to cross, A source of muoh trouble nnd expense to immi grants was the bit of beach that yet lay between themselves and their destination when the ship's anchor was let go in Hobson'a W. jjr. William Howitt, who came to the colony. in 1853, in the inridet of the gold excitement, found that it cost half as much yo take his goods from the ship's side to the wharf as it had done W 'bnpg them from the London docks to Hobson's Bay, and, when wharf, rates and cartneje to Melbourne were taken into con, 9iaeranon, it actually cost the immigrant more to get fcis luggage worn the 8b}p to h,is lodgings than it djd to hying them to A.«a T l 5' °pean freif5ht charRes at that time being £3 per tan. Jineiboat charges were exorbitant and the greater the emergency W- 1 greater the extortion, so that i,t was \\\t\o wonder that Ho. t J* ^nd b'ol^t«ll'n Rrew rich. Qf Ljardett beach Mr. Sttdl r * wtote^-'TUete is no-t the slightest shadow of a . *w™ °* WJ ^V\ wut*rf, or warehouse nt the hnrbonr— no worfc I

of man, in fact, to facilitate the landing and secure stowage of goods any more than if -the boy and the country were still in possession of the savages, and not of a civilised and mercantile people, with streams of gold flowing down the country, and streams of people and of valuable merchandise ilowing into ic— except a- single jetty leading to a single public-house on the naked beach.' To the Port Melbourne of to-day we look in between the town and railway piers, and for the change from the barrenness described by Mr. Ilowitt to the busy scene now presented, those interested in the town have largely to thank Mr. William Elsdon, who came out as engineer to the Melbourne and Ilobson's Bay Railway Company; for Mr. Elsdon told the company, that theiriines could only become a profitable concern 'when they had built a pier large enough for the largest vessels to come alongside and discharge their cargo. Sir Andrew Clarke nnd all the- great engineering authorities of the day were against the project, as they maintained that there wa3 no'bottom on that site for a pier, the shore being soft mud. The company, however, stood by their engineer, and the pier was buUt. Mr. Elsdon persuaded the captain of the Lightning to berth his ship alongside, which he did and easily discharged cargo. The certi ficate, to that effect from the captain of the Lightning was posted at Lloyd's in London, and- henceforward ships began to dis charge there regularly, and aport grew up— the Sandridge of a few years ago, the Port Melbourne of today. - 'Another page is occupied- with old' Melbourne buildings, many of which yet survive., Amonsrst them is Governor Latrobe's cottage at Joiimont, now in the possession of Messrs. Alfred Fen ton and Sons, and overshadowed by a huge brick store in the centre of the square of buildings. Captain Lonsdale'a cottage may yet be seen in the grounds of the Engineer. Corps, but the quaint old place which1 Bishop Perry occupied, pending the erection of the Bishop's' Palace, East Melbourne, was some time ago pulled down to make room for the residence of Mr. Sharp, at the corner of Wellington-parade- and Jolimont-terrace. Mr. Hugh Childers.-the -head of the Customs department, bat better known in these days as' Chancellor of the Exchequer in Mr. Gladstone's Ministry, also lived in this building in remote times. Of these old-time buildings it may be said that crude and old-fashioned as' they look; with' their French doors' and folding shutters; they have not yet ast summer dwellings been improved upon, and are certainly as picturesque as the stiff looking weatherboard villas which spring up like mushrooms in every ne'w suburb. In another of those old-fashioned buildings still standing at Joiimont, the first council of the city of Mel bourne met. Citizens familiar^ with Melbourne during the last decade or so will have little difficulty in recognisincr the old Clarence Hotel, which, in the days when ' the harmonious blacksmith'' was its landlord, was a well-known hostelry, at the corner of Elizabeth and Collins' streets,'. where the City of Mel , bourne Bank now stands. Another Collins-street corner, even better known, was Germain, Nicholson's, the. eastern limit of the ' block.' IIow ninny appointments have been arranged for that corner ! Looking .back we Grid even the Melbourne of the middle distance fading awny. The old! Supreme. Court and gaol have been' appropriately associated, . as;they have been by many who had experience of- both. In the old court many criminals have heard the death sentence, and passed through the gaol wicket behind, never to come out again. In its old age the building has come' down in a sense fronvtragedy to light comedy, and now when the Licensing Court sits there Policeman X tells how he 'smelted-^ the jug which contained beer.' With another aspect of ancient Melbourne, and a view of the once- Queen's Theatre, now a coach factory,' the page closes, ft stands in Queen-street, north of Bourke-street, on the west side. It was the 'Drury-lane' of Melbourne in the early gold-fields times, and some of the most noted of the actors whose names are associated with the dramatic history 01 Australia made' their first appearance there. The front of the building has been very little altered, and you would only require to paint appropriate legends over the door ways, 'Dress Circle,' 'Stalls,' &c, to give it its old appear ance. ' Little need to say much of the next full-page engraving, the Melbourne Town-hall, with its new portico and the tram cars in front. This is the living present, Ballarat in the fifties explains itself, the thoroughfare on the right being Dana-street, so that those with a local know ledge who desire to fix the spot mny do so. Mr. ITdwitt, who also visited Ballarat, described the locality in. winter time as ' an astounding scene of mud, muddy water, muddy diggers, muddy tools, aud clny trodden into the moat vilely adhesive filth it is possible to conceive. In fact, Ballarat in whiter is un questionably the most dirty place, the most perfect Serbonian bog on the face of the earth.' The sketch of old Geelong is by Mr. Samuel Mossman, one of its earliest residents. In one of the two schooners shown in the picture — the Devonshire— Mr. Mossman made his first trip to Melbourne, a voyage of two days and two nights, and though the schooner was only of 20 tons, Bhe had some difficulty in getting over the bar at the entrance to CorioBay, tlie sand-bar which .helped to make Melbourne what it is, and blocked Geelong in its onward march. There were many buildings scattered along the' Barwon at South Geelong, where Captain Fyans was stipendiary magistrate, and Mr. Eyre clerk of. courts, but the buildings shown were the only ones at North Geelong, the long buildings on the left being iwod as a store and post-office. In the Barra bool-hills at that time were a tribe of aboriginals, amongst whom, Mr. Mosaman saw natives who were said to be sons of Buckley, the Australian wild white man, and, like him, of fine physique, but Buckley himself had then gone back to Tasmania. Next there is a bit of the.Bnllarat of to-day, or rather ot to-morrow, for the Cnurch of England Cathedral pictured here, and which, without the tower and spire, is to cost £85,000, has existence as yet only on the plans of the architect. It will be built in Lydiard-styeet on the site ot the old Christ Church, and the foundation stone will be laid by His Excellency the Governor on St. Andrew's Day. The next pflge presents us with the very cradle of the colony in views of the first settlement at Portland, and portraits of the men who established it. At times the crews of whaling vessels had landed in Portland Bay, but Edward Henty was the first to found a settlement, nnd h'13 attention ''was /turned to it oriljTby

the merest chance. ?'? The father of the four pioneering brothers shown here was Thomas Henty, landowner, banker, and gentle man, of West Tarring, Sussex, who came to Tasmania with his family in the ship Caroline, bringing with him stock of all kinds, such as merinoes from the Hocks of George III., and blood horses from the- stud of the Earl of Egrembnt.' Several- of his sons tested the mainland at^lifferent points round to Western Aus tralia, and reported it all barren, while Edward, returning from: a prospecting tour to Spencer's Gulf in the schooner Thistle, was blown by bad weather up Portland Bay. He was so much pleased thatbe came back again in theschooner Elizabeth, bringing: stock — trees, vines, and seeds, the latter bought from John Pascoe Fawkner, who had then a store in Launceston. Some of the apple trees then planted are yet growing in Portland. The gallant little Thistle was a vessel worthy to have, carried , pioneers, ' for she sailed the. seas for ninety-iour years, but Was wrecked in the bay in 181 i, and after forty years more exposure to wind nnd waves her timbers of teak were yet so sound that portions of the keel were made into writing-desks. Although the Hentye came to Portland with no intention of following other than pastoral pursuits, they found both sperm and black whales so plentiful that Edward and Stephen Henty went into partnership aa whalers with some considerable success, as they killed Gl whales in their first season and landed 300 tuns of oil. The whale ribs in the vicarage carden were taken from one of the first captured. . St. Stephen's Church, illustrated,, was the first church erected in the colony. There is also a view of Richmond-house, where the first white child, Mr. liichmond Henty; was born, and it was in the windows of this house where Major Mitchell, after his long hiarch across from Sydney, was so much surprised at seeing glass used. When the intrepid major and his little band of explorers burst but of the bush, there was a rush to arms in the settlement on Portland Bay, for the white men who came thus strangely out of the heart of the continent were supposed to ,. be a gang of bushrangers who had escaped from Sydney, pierced the interior, and were now making a dash for one of;- the whaling vessels. Each party was overjoyed to find out who the other was; and the Hentys were riot more surprised at seeing Major Mitchell's party marching down upon the settlement than was Major Mitchell at finding a British colony planted cm that portion of the Australian coast, for in those doys there were no mail services, and newa was carried by chance vessels. The Hentys settled at Portland in 183d, and it was in 1836 Major Mitchell conducted his cele brated expedition into Australia Felix. The old Portland Bay Hotel was kept by Mr. Donald Cameron, and many a time in bygone days did the squatters of the West hold high festival there. The only survivor ot the four brothers whose portraits are given in this page is Mr. Francis Henty, who has lived in Melbourne for ~ many years, and enjoys the best of health. Of the fine public offices in the Pall Mall at Sandhurst it is only necessary to say that the foundation-stone was laid by Sir Henry Loch in August, 1884, and that the cost was about £50,000. A clock, with a peal of five bells to chime the hours, ? and weighing altoRe'ther some three tons, was built for the tower by Mr. Gaunt at a cost of £800. On the succeeding pages are some more old and well-known Melbourne buildings. The police-court and town-hall occupied the 'site of the present buildings, and ? a portion of the. former buildings were incorporated in the /new ; but. the old town hall was entirely; removed. The old Government offices, dis tinguished by the Australian coat-of-arms, were built by the Government of New South Wales during the term of office aa governor of Sir George Gippa, and the building was regarded as something exceptionally fine. Mr. John Pascoe Fuwkher pre sented each of the subscribers to the Port Phillip Patriot with a lithographed view of it. The cost, according to the report pre sented to the Sydney Parliament at the time of separation, was £2,500. The Bull and Mouth Hotel and the Criterion were both noted houses in the golden era, and the; former, in Bourke street, was for long the great coaching centre, until Cobb and Co. took their business across the road to the Albion. The Criterion, which stood on the ground now occupied by the Union Bank, was the great commercial centre where business men drank and dined, and bought and sold. It was an hotelcon ducted very much on the American- principle, strange drinks being brewed by expert barmen, and the dining-rooms attached to the bars were then the largest in the city. The Sal de Valen tino, at the corner of Bourke and Spring streets, was first known as Noble's Circus, and in 1852 was little else than a tent. But it soon developed into a questionable type of theatre, where the charges were high, and the performances, as a rule, low. A concert was usually followed by a free-and-easy ball, with un limited refreshments of a liquid nature, and there were occa sionally stirring scenes inside the walls of the nondescript building. Even the posters on its walls are a part of the history ot -the time. There was 110 submarine cable, and the publication of The A rgns mail summary, announced on the wall,1 was an important event. In 1850, when this sketch was taken, there was mi election in progress, the candidates being Mr. (afterwards Sir) James M'Cnlloch ana the late Mr. John Thomas Smith, the ' ' Melbourne Whittington,' as he was called, from having so often occupied the mayoral chair. The -mayor carried the city seat against Mr. M'Culloch, who had .to go to the Wimmera to find a constituency. The Centennial Exhibition has lately 'been so fully described that nothing further need be said than that it has been introduced to show the marvellous change that has been wrought in the 54 years that have elapsed since Melbourne was founded. Let the observer compare the vast extent of houses visible to the north and east of the Exhibition site with the emptiness of the scene in Mr. Prout's sketch oi Melbourne in 1840. The supplement closes with a couple of sketches on the V.H.C. grounds at Flemington, and a view of the Australian Club-house, William-street, which cost £15,000, and has been selected for illustration because the style of architecture is both, imposing and appropriate.