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193811 [2016/01/27 12:46] – [Gadgets from England] emmanuelle_c193811 [2016/04/07 12:52] – [At Our Own Meeting] emmanuelle_c
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 It struck him as curious to see in the midst of a civilised people "a set of harmless savages of good-humoured and pleasant countenance, wandering about without knowing where they shall sleep at night and gaining their livelihood by hunting in the woods." It struck him as curious to see in the midst of a civilised people "a set of harmless savages of good-humoured and pleasant countenance, wandering about without knowing where they shall sleep at night and gaining their livelihood by hunting in the woods."
  
-By mid-day Darwin and his companion had reached an elevation of 2,800 ft., where they stopped to rest their horses at the little Weatherboard Inn. Darwin then set out a further 1/2 miles to obtain his first real view from the Blue Mountains, which he describes as follows:- "Following down a little valley and it's tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of perhaps 1,500 feet. Walking on a few yards one stands on the brink of a vast precipice and below one sees a vast bay or gulf, for I know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest. The point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind headland, as on a bold sea-coast. These cliffs are composed of horizontal strata of whitish sandstone and are so absolutely vertical that in many places a person standing on the edge and throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss below. So unbroken is the line of cliff that in order to reach the foot of the waterfall formed by this little stream, it is said to be necessary to go 16 miles round. About 5 miles distant in front another line of cliff extends which thus appears completely to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. If we imagine a winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here exhibited. This kind of view was to me quite novel and extremely magnificent."+By mid-day Darwin and his companion had reached an elevation of 2,800 ft., where they stopped to rest their horses at the little Weatherboard Inn. Darwin then set out a further 1/2 miles to obtain his first real view from the Blue Mountains, which he describes as follows:- "Following down a little valley and it's tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of perhaps 1,500 feet. Walking on a few yards one stands on the brink of a vast precipice and below one sees a vast bay or gulf, for I know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest. The point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind headland, as on a bold sea-coast. These cliffs are composed of horizontal strata of whitish sandstone and are so absolutely vertical that in many places a person standing on the edge and throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss below. So unbroken is the line of cliff that in order to reach the foot of the waterfall formed by this little stream, it is said to be necessary to go 16 miles round. About 5 miles distant in front another line of cliff extends which thus appears completely to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. If we imagine a winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here exhibited. This kind of view was to me quite novel and extremely magnificent."
  
 Very early next morning, having reached Blackheath, Darwin and his companion walked 3 miles to view Govetts Leap, which proved to be even more stupendous than the view of the day before. "These valleys", said Darwin, "which so long presented insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. Great armlike bays expanding at their upper ends often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform, on the other hand the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses. To descend into some of these valleys it is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others the surveyors have only lately penetrated and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their cattle. But the most remarkable feature in their structure is that, although several miles wide at their heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a degree as to become impassable. The Surveyor General, Sir T.Mitchell, endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the river Grose joins the Nepean; yet the valley of the Grose in its upper part, as I saw, forms a magnificent level basin, some miles in width, and is on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be nowhere less than 3,000 foot above the level of the sea. When cattle are driven into the valley of the Wolgan by a path, which I descended, partly natural and partly made by the owner of the land, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part surrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and 8 miles lower down it contracts from an average width of half a mile to a mere chasm impassable to man or beast. Sir T.Mitchell states that the great valley of the Cox River, with all its branches, contracts where it unites with Nepean, into a gorge 2,200 yards in width and about 1,000 feet in depth. Other similar cases might have been added." Very early next morning, having reached Blackheath, Darwin and his companion walked 3 miles to view Govetts Leap, which proved to be even more stupendous than the view of the day before. "These valleys", said Darwin, "which so long presented insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. Great armlike bays expanding at their upper ends often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform, on the other hand the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses. To descend into some of these valleys it is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others the surveyors have only lately penetrated and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their cattle. But the most remarkable feature in their structure is that, although several miles wide at their heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a degree as to become impassable. The Surveyor General, Sir T.Mitchell, endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the river Grose joins the Nepean; yet the valley of the Grose in its upper part, as I saw, forms a magnificent level basin, some miles in width, and is on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be nowhere less than 3,000 foot above the level of the sea. When cattle are driven into the valley of the Wolgan by a path, which I descended, partly natural and partly made by the owner of the land, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part surrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and 8 miles lower down it contracts from an average width of half a mile to a mere chasm impassable to man or beast. Sir T.Mitchell states that the great valley of the Cox River, with all its branches, contracts where it unites with Nepean, into a gorge 2,200 yards in width and about 1,000 feet in depth. Other similar cases might have been added."
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 We wonder do they realise that the Barretts are "God's Gift to New Members"? We wonder do they realise that the Barretts are "God's Gift to New Members"?
  
-Mr.Dunphy reported that sawmilling was about to be started in the Couridjah Corridor and asked that a letter of protest be sent at once to the Minister for Mines and Forests, and also a letter to the Federation asking them to take similar action as soon as possible. Mr. Dunphy explained that there would be no Council Meeting of the Federation for a fortnight, and, in the meantime, the sawmill machinery might be installed, after which any action for its removal would probably not be taken. In view of the urgency of the matter, the meeting resolved that both letters be sent.+Mr. Dunphy reported that sawmilling was about to be started in the Couridjah Corridor and asked that a letter of protest be sent at once to the Minister for Mines and Forests, and also a letter to the Federation asking them to take similar action as soon as possible. Mr. Dunphy explained that there would be no Council Meeting of the Federation for a fortnight, and, in the meantime, the sawmill machinery might be installed, after which any action for its removal would probably not be taken. In view of the urgency of the matter, the meeting resolved that both letters be sent.
  
 There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.50 p.m. There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.50 p.m.
193811.txt · Last modified: 2016/06/29 13:19 by emmanuelle_c

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