Image TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage Tile
Image size: 4096x5632 Scale: 35% - PanoJS3
Page overview thumbnail

Article text

INTERCOLONIAL.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
THE OVEBLAND TELEGBArH.
The South Australian Register of March
18 reports of the overland telegraph :—"Mr
A. G. Burt arrived in Adelaide a day or two
ago, having travelled from the northern pan
of tbe telegraph line. He was accompanied
only by one white man and a native, and the
party lias endured great hardships. At one
time,'about the end of October, which is
stated to be the driest time of the vear, thev
were without water for 36 hours. This was
between Frew's Ponds and Daly's Waters
about 1,200 or-1,300 miles from Adelaide
but there was water at no great distance'
which was af:erwards discovered by the*
blaclifellows' fires being seen near. On three
occasions tbe party waB attacked by natives.
The first time was in Newcastle Waters'
when the nttackiug party was about 40 in'
number. Mr. Burt had to fire or, them, and
thus warded them off Another attempt to
surround the travellers was afterwards made
by about 150 aboriginals, but they were again
unsuccessful, and we are happy to eay that
Mr. Burt has arrived in the city without having
sustained any injury. On once getting
clear nf the settled districts, we are told the
country gradually improves as regards the
grass, which is very luxuriant. If the openinc
of the country by the construction of the
tdegrnph line has the effect of causing the
settlement of the Far North country, it will
certainly be worth a large portion of the outlay
that has taken place. To the west of
Ashburton Range .\!r. Burt discovered a vast
lake of fresh water, which he named after
Mr. Woods. All the rivers to the west of the
Ashburton Range, including the Newcastle
Waters, empty themselves into this natural
basin."
INTERCOLONIAL TELEGRAPH.
The Adelaide papers publish long communications
from Mr. Todd on the present position
of the overland telegraph line. On the 16th
February Mr. Todd wrote as follows from the
Roper River:—" There are rations and 150
miles of wire for the south end of the line yet
to becarted,and the available transport power,
even when reinforced by the Tararua, will be
scarcely able to carry tliese in one loading, so
that I fear the wire cannot be connected
throughout under any circumstances before
the end of June or July. Long before that
time, however, the express service, which Mr.
S. King starts in a few days to organise, will
have established communication ; and as the
work advances, the time occupied in the transmission
of messages between the termini will
be rapidly lessened. The express service will,
I trust, be established in a few weeks."
VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.
Something like a vigilance committee is to
be organised at Mount Gambier to prevent
debtors absconding from South Australia to
Victoria. The Standard writes as follows :—
"It iB stated that another Mount Gambier
farmer has crossed tbe border, taking with
him about £300 in cash, fifty head of cattle,
his household goods, and farming implements,
and providing for his personal comfort in
travelling by purchasing a buggy ; but that he
has omitted to pay his creditors. Some of
these have so constantly Buffered of late that
they have resolved to endeavour to put a stop
to this wholesale system of fraud. They propose
an organised effort to follow and capture
absconders, and procure their punishment by
imprisonment. The efforts of our own Government
to secure an arrangement with that
of Victoria for the purpose of preventing this
border swindling have been futile. Victoria
iB too much interested in securing immigrants
with such large provision of material wealth
to close the door against our absconders. It
remains for the people themselves to organise
preventive arrangements, and the sooner that
is done the better."
$