Districts of the Colony.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2372, 23 October 1880, Page 2 (Supplement)

Districts of the Colony.

Victoria is divided into fonr districts and thirty-’ seven counties. With a view of giving our readers' an idea of the resources which,are contained in; the variety of’ soil and cliihate embraced in these u l6 ™- districts, we subjoin'a‘brief ac'count of eacn. _ we commence with Gippsland, the youngest and fairest section of the colony. " Gippsland, named after Governor Gipps, sometime Governor of New South Wales, comprises the south-eastern portion of Victoria, and is divided mtO'two parts—North and South Gippsland. Its area contains one-fifth of the whole of the colony. ♦ +? or “ ern an d eastern portions, however, are, for the most part, rugged and almost inpenetrable, traversed by huge mountain ranges and spurs, and unavailable for the pursuits of agriculture or pasturage. The mountain scenery hereabouts is inexpressibly grand, and, in times to come, as greater facilities for reaching’this remote country are provided, it will, doubtless become as popular a resort for tourists as ' the- Alpine heights of Switzerland are to the pleasure travellers of Europe and America. . - > ■ ■ . , •

In speaking of the general character of the northern and eastern portions of this extensive district, it is, however, proper to say that there are oases," so to speak, of rich alluvial soil which will, do doubt, be speeeily settled upon and cultivated, so soon as railways and roads are still further extended. One drawback to the cultivation °f these belts of rich soil is the heavy timber winch grows upon them, necessitating great labour and cost in the clearance of the land. However, the speedy settlement of the whole country is a matter of certainty. In the southern and western divisions, a very considerable area of land is occupied, by agriculturalists and graziers. The Melbourne Meat Market is largely supplied with fat beasts from this source, and gourmets are said to readily distinguish a sirloin or steak fed and fattened on the rich pastures of South Gippsland, from that cut from the carcase .of .an animal nourished on the less nutritious pastures of other districts. This, however, may lie regarded as questionable. ,

The resources of this magnificent district are enormous. Many of them are,; as yet, hardly dev.lopcd. The country is comparatively young ; for it is only since the railway has been opened that any system of settlement has been-adopted. We may be assured that ere long this Garden of Victoria, as it has been happily called, will yield forth J? abundance the treasures of gold, copper, iron, c °al, marble, and limestone which lie in untold quantity in its generous depths. The quartz claims have already brought fortunes to hundreds of enterprising miners, and the creeks and valleys winch intersect the mountains of the north-west tal 6611 k® most prolific of the precious

-Ohe climate and soil of Qippsland are eminently for the growth of all hinds of fruits, vegetables, and grain. They are.favourable to the cultivation of tobacco, opium, hops, oranges, limes, olives, and every variety of English fruits. The hop industry is being largely entered upon, so that the Melbourne brewers are now almost independent of importations from England. Ihe fish industry is important in Gippsland. The numerous rivers and superb lakes swarm with fleiioate bream and perch j and since the construction of the railway to Sale, these delicious flsh are brought in large quantities to the Melbourne market. The government of this industry, however, is far from satisfactory, and it is certain that, unless more sensible measures are token to regulate the naileries, this important industrial resource will be considerably weakened. chief rivers of the district are the Avon, inompson, Tambo, Snowy, and Latrobe, which all nse in the snowy heights of the Great Dividing uange. The towns are Sale, Bairnsdale, Eosedale, Jralmerston, Alberton, Bruthen, and Jericho. io sum up, Gippsland is a country of infinite variety. It possesses fertile plains, magnificent rivers, colossal mountains, and noble lakes. Its scenery is at once grand, and picturesque, rural and composed. It may be called the Switzerland of ,, aving much °f similar character in its fertile valleys and plains, its huge, snow-capped mountains, its broad and extensive lakes. Of these last, Lake Victoria covers an area of 52,240 acres, S'ffd Lake Victoria 46,680 acres. The population of this important and richlyendowed country numbers some 30,000 souls. It is being rapidly augmented, and, without doubt, within a comparatively brief space of time will be quadrupled. There is room for a nation in this prolific district where nature ever smiles and from whose generous land there may be gathered all that nee^s f° r fus sustenance and comfort. The Murray district lies to the north-east of Melbourne. It comprises the Goulbum, Ovens and Omeo districts. It is well-watered by numerous streams which flow from north to south, the principal being the Mitta Mitta, the Ovens, the Broken, the Kiewa, fed by innumerable small tributaries. The character of the country is mpuntainous, the ranges being lofty, rugged, and well clothed with enormous trees. The chief ranges are the Bogong, Benambra, Buffalo, Strathbogie (stronghold of the Kelly gang), and Delatite. The district is highly auriferous. To the north lies the Ovens, the past glories of which gold-field still linger fondly in the memories of old miners. To the south-east the Omeo is situated, also known as a golden spot. The Buckland—situated in the centre of the district—was once a leading mining district of the colony, and still produces considerable amounts of the precious metal. Finally, Woods’ Point to the south-west, still holds a reputation for its quartz reefs, from which, in the past, millions have been obtained. Towards the north-eastern point of this great tract of country there are numerous plains, which afford abundant herbage, and which are held for the most part by persons engaged in pastoral pursuits. Some of the runs occupied by squatters hereabouts, are larger than the two ridings of Yorkshire. But besides these resources, the Murray district can boast of its production of wine, tobacco, and wheat, and as the North-Eastern Kailway penetrates through the district, farmers have every opportunity of conveying their stock and other produce to a market. The chief towns are Avenel, Euroa (scene of an exploit of the Kelly bushrangers), Benalla, Wangaratta, Beechworth, Chiltem, Yackandandah, Eutherglen, Jamieson, Mansfield, Bright, Buckland, Belvoir, Tarrawingee, and Wood's Point. The Wimmera district is an extensive country of the north-west portion of Victoria, and covers an area of 25,000 miles. It is chiefly pastoral, although within the past few years considerable selection has taken place in this part of the colony. _ But this is necessarily confined to patches of alluvial soil; the general features of the country being in no sense favourable to agriculture. The district consists for the most part of vast sandy and almost barren plains, intersected with belts of myall scrub and forests of she-oak, box, honeysuckle, and stringy bark. The country is. generally flat, but there are some ranges of mountains' in the southern portion of the district. The rivers are the Wimmera, Avon, and Eichardson; but these are all liable, in droughty summers,, to dry up, when water is obtained by the squatters by artesian wells, and is generally tapped at from 80 to, 100 feet in depth. Within the past few years this part of the country has made great strides in progress. The railway which connects Horsham, the chief town of the district, with the metropolis has done its share towards this result; and not a little is due to the people themselves, who have exhibited an energy and intelligent cohesiveness in managing the affairs of their district which have, of course, brought their due reward. The Lo !don district is chiefly pastoral, but towards the south its resources are mainly of an auriferous character. The principal towns. are Sandhurst, Dunolly, Inglewood, Eavenswood, and Wedderbum. At art from other sources, of wealth, this division is also distinguished for its vineyards and wine production ; the climate and soil being particularly favourable to the growth and development of the grape. Of late, also, tobacco has been grown in several parts of the district. The counties and their chief towns are as follows Momin ton: Frankston, Schnapper Point; Eltham: Queenstown, Warrandyte ; Bourke: Melbourne, Williamstown; Keilor, Gisborne, Lancefield, and Brighton; Grant: Geelong, Qucenscliffe, Buninyong, Steiglitz, Ballarat East; Grenville; Ballarat West, Smythesdale, and'Pitfield; Polwarth: Colac; Talbot: Castlemaine, Creswick, Clunes, Talbot, Amherst, Daylesfo'd, Maryborough, and Carisbrook; Dalhousie: Kilmore, Kyneton, Carlsruhe, Woodend, Heathcote; Anglesea: Seymour and Yea; Eodney: Echuca, Eunnymede, Warrango, Eedcastle; Hampden: Mortlake, Terang, Skipton, Camperdown; Eipon: Ararat, Beaufort, Streatham ;- Dundas: Balmoral, Hamilton, Coleraine, Eedmsh; Follett: Casterton and Lindsay; Normanby: Portland, Merino, Branxholme, Heywood; Villiers: Belfast, Warmambool, Dunkeld; Heytesbury: Cobden. In addition, there are the counties of Benambra (Murray), Bendigo (Loddon), Bogong (Murray), Boning (Wimmera);' Bnln Buln and' Dargo (Gippsland), Delatite (Murray), Gladstone and Gunbower (Loddon), Kara 1 Kara, Karkarooe, Lowan, Millewa (Wimmera). Tambo and -Tangil (Gippsland), Weah (unsettled county in the Wimmera district) and Wonnangatta (part in Murray and part in Gippsland districts;) ■ I- Our chief object in giving this summary of the principal divisions of the colony, is to call up in our readers’ minds the comparative reflection which is naturally suggested by this picture of settlement and population, as the result of some forty years of colonisation. But even this picture is incomplete without reference to the teeming pastoral wealth of that portion of the country, which is • known as the “ Western district,’’ and in which the first actual settlement of the colony was made by the Messieurs Henty. It is,- however, impossible to dwell upon the resources of the different parts of the country, further than to remark that Providence has so far gifted this country with soil and climate of superlative excellence, that Six Thomas Mitchell’s christening, "Australia Felix” may be considered as wholly appropriate and just. Of course this may be said of every other colony of this vast continent, and we merely dwell particularly upon Victoria’s perfections, not as a comparison, but because she is. now an event which may, perhaps, be considered as natal festivities held in honour of the achievement of her majority.