August 29.

The groaning trees had afforded us shelter without letting fall even a single branch upon our heads,* but the morning was squally and unfavourable for the objects of the excursion, and we had still to ride some way before I could commence operations.  Proceeding along the skirts of the woody ridge on the left in order to avoid swamps, we at length saw through the trees the blue waters of the sea and heard the roar of the waves.

(Footnote.  The Australian woods are in general very brittle, and no experienced bushman likes to sleep under trees, especially during high winds.)

CROSS THE SURRY.

My intended way towards the deepest part of the bay and the hills beyond it did not lead directly to the shore, and I continued to pursue a course through the woods, having the shore on our left.  We thus met a deep and rapid little river exactly resembling the Fitzroy and coming also from the westward.  Tracing this a short distance upwards we came to a place set with a sort of trelliswork of bushes by the natives for the purpose, no doubt, of catching fish.  Here we found the stream fordable though deep; a brownish granular limestone appearing in the bank.  We crossed and then continuing through a thick wood we came out at length on the shore of Portland Bay at about four miles beyond the little river.

LADY JULIA PERCY’S ISLE.

Straight before us lay Laurence’s Island, or rather, islands, there being two small islets of rock in that situation; and, some way to the eastward I perceived a much larger island which I concluded was one of Lady Julia Percy’s Isles.  At a quarter of a mile back from the beach broad broom-topped casuarinae were the only trees we could see; these grew on long ridges parallel to the beach, resembling those long breakers which, aided by winds, had probably thrown such ridges up.  They were abundantly covered with excellent grass and, as it wanted about an hour of noon, I halted that the cattle might feed while I took some angles and endeavoured to obtain the sun’s altitude during the intervals between heavy squalls, some of which were accompanied by hail and thunder.

BEACH OF PORTLAND BAY.

On reaching the seashore at this beach I turned to observe the face of Tommy Came-last, one of my followers who, being a native from the interior, had never before seen the sea.  I could not discover in the face of this young savage, even on his first view of the ocean, any expression of surprise; on the contrary the placid and comprehensive gaze he cast over it seemed fully to embrace the grand expanse then for the first time opened to him.

A VESSEL AT ANCHOR.  HOUSE AND FARMING ESTABLISHMENT THERE.