THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 7 December 1907, Page 4

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

A GREAT HEALTH RESORT. Tho visitor to Sydney who docs not ''do" the Blue Mountains misses one of the most delightful and interesting parts of his trip. Situate within a fenhours' journey of the metropolis of New South Wales they form a resort whither the Sydneyite, jaded by the extreme heat of summer, can go to recuperate amid the rare, bracing air of the mountains, and at tho same time his eyes on the marvellous and rugged scenery. At Katoomba plenty of good accommodation is to be had, and at very reasonable, rates. The fare, too, from Sydney on certain trains is cut down to a very low figure to give even the poor man a chance to go;' away [ from the crowded, smoky city. ( The journey up is not of particular interest, until the climbing begins. Any one coming from New Zealand, though, cannot h"lp being struck by the almost entire absence of green fields. The train is crowded with people of all classes. One rather pathetic scene was witnessed just before we started. A little girl of tho poorer class was taking a trip to some relations in the mountains, and to see her away the family had been brought down. It was evidently her first trip away from home. She was eager and full of pleasant anticipations, while the poor mother, with a baby and several more little ones, was tearful at letting her go and careful to impress 011 her directions as to getting out and to be sure t > send "the telegram" as soon as she nrived at her destination. The little one was arrayed in her best dress and supplied with biscuits and oranges tied •ip in a handkerchief. The little scene was a touch of eitv life that could not fail to interest anyone who thought at all of the problems of poverty in big cilics Needless to say. the little traveller was looked after by passengers 011 the way up. Arrived at Katoomba, I sought out I' dgings, r.iid after a few days spent reaming roun l th ■ mountain tracks, rrranged with a fellow lodger who hailed from Sydney, and who proved a most interesting and agreeable companion, to pay a visit tc th;' famed Medlnw Sanatorium. Leaving Katoomba after breakfast we struck along the main road that, winding along near the edge of the great Kaninibla valley, gives the tourist some glorious views or landscape, scenery to the south, topped by the bare precipitous cliffs that meet the eye wherever one looks, and that seem to be peculiar to this district. About a mile from the town is seen a most interesting relic ; n the shane of the stump of the tree that maiks ilia spot where Lomax, l.awson and Wentworth camped on the memorable day in the month of May, 1813, when they discovered a way across the mountains to the rich lands of the interior. Aptly named the Explorers' Tree, it recalls to one's mind how, many times and often, the pioneers ttied along the valleys to find a way and how 011 each occasion they were met by the huge precipitous cliffs that seemed always to say, ''So far mayst thou come, but 110 further." At length the three men above named tried the spurs, and the monument at the Explorers' Tree, unveiled some years since, records their success. Alongside the road run the rails of the western line, the only feature of note about il being that the line has been altered from a former route, a fact that makes

onr» wonder limv manv thousands have Wn saved linr] the lino been properly surveyed jn the first place. Further mi one gets glimpses of tile rug- -• (1 f'i'ns.' Valley, similar in character ti the Kanimbla, but not mi so grand .1 scale of magnitude. Then the great sanatorium, tlic Hydro Majestic, "JTargravia," is reached. We walk along beside the Italian wall, the posts of which are blocks of rough stone, for ever a quarter of a mile, and begin to wonder when we shall reach the main entrance. Built along the edge of the i'lifTs in order to get as much sunshine and light as is possible, the Hydro is truly a wonderful edifice. Mark Fay, r.wner and builder of this great establishment, bought the land from Hargiaves, after >vhom the place is eallcl rho house looks wide over the Ivanimbla Valley, ;',nd is a spot where convalescents must feel they cannot do nught but get well. The main entrance i; at its westerly extremity, and is in form r,O ucwliat like a Swiss chalet, -tanding in the midst of a lovely garden, planted with shrubs and flowers of every kind and color. Cards of admission are obtained which enable us to n 0 right thiough the establishment, and, had wc more time, right through the estate at the. head of the valley. Turning to our left we enter the picture gallery, and walk for about a quarter of a mile between two walls hung thick with paintings and engravings from ancient and modern schools. A: intervals are very fine examples of stutuarv to admire and on tables at llie side are curios and relics of more than passing interest. Here, for instance, is an old revolving rifle with which years ago Mr \V. Maelcay fought single-handed Hall's gang of bushrangers. There, only recently found in a cave, arc an old rusty revolver, loaded,

hi old sheath hnilV and bullet, grim relic* of stirring and exciting times, now happily pnsf, \\lhmi these valleys were the resorts ol bushrangers who lay in wait for flic gold I hat eame down under escort from Bathnrst lo Sydney. Massing ont'oi the gallery tlie visitor onlrrs I lie C;iMno. a massive pile, with P'»rlicos fronted by arehes of stone. An excellent litlle singe gives opportunity for presenting plays or ehnrndes arranged among the guests, and besides tlie hall aeeommodation there are three handsome boxes, lit to fctaee a city theatre. On through Hie billiard room. the dining room and salons, all magnificently furnished, we eome to th«- baths. lavatories and swimming baths, doing down a stair room is reached that looks like an operating theatre. A member of the staff kindly furnishes ns with a lot of information about the place, and from him we find that the room in onestion is only a , massaging room, where invalids muyj

get electric baths or massage treat- i nunt. Passing on from the baths wo i get out on the piazza, a promenade j running almost the whole length of the < building, and overlooking the valley, i Following a winding rocky path wc come to the sun butlis, where may bo pursued the latest methods of obtaining and kcepiin perfect health. To i get d nni the valley one must continue < on these paths, along which one passes many beauty spots, liatiure aided, and gets views from the edge of cliffs to ; Kn,k o\ v.' \Jik !i alniosL takes one's !;iv;:th awav. In the valley estate, com- . piidug some UiJili) acres, a lot of felling lias been done, and now a neat home.si end stands in the midst of the forest. A certain number of stock is kept and a large quantity of vegetables grown to supply the wants of the establishment. To save time and labor a cage is used on a wire rope to take down scraps for the pigs and poultry and bring up garden produce. The drainage of the place is excellent, septic, tanks being in use, and an attempt was made to dam up the valley and so piovide a reservoir. This was not successful, and now arrangements are being made to store water in the Grose Valley, on the northern side of the railway. It is expected the reservoir when completed will conserve about 90 million gallons of water. It will he about 1.1 miles long, and will also pro- \ ide boating for the guests, who in the season number nearly 200, and protide employment, for a stall' of from ' to SO servants. Last year there was quite a number of visitors from Xew Zealand, and certainly New Zealandcrs who go to Sydney should not return without doing the mountain trip, especially with such a magnificent place at which to stay. Attached to the house are all kinds of tradesmen—carpenter, painter, blacksmith, etc. On a se-tion across the line are spacious stables, housing a large number of the best horses to be got in the district. Traps and carriages of all kinds and motor-ears may be hired, and there is a regular service to the far-famed Jenolan Caves, thirty miles away. IV grounds round the building are carefully laid out, and ono may play tennis, croquet and howls. The lighting of the whole place is done by electricity, generated in a building specially erected for that purpose, and the power used is water. To overcome the effects of dry weather extensive irrigation lias been carried on in the valley, so that the drought is not so severely felt as formerly. It is said t) be almost the finest building of its kind in the world, being outdone by only one, situate in Switzerland, and certainly after looking through it, and thinking of the almost ideal spot on which it is built, one feels inclined to .•iccept this statement. We walked back to Katoomba, having thoroughly enjoyed our day's excursion. SOME OF THE FALLS.

The next day was spent in a visit to the lovely Minnehaha Falls, where one can realise the beauty of the poet's term "laughing water. n The road thither is not so interesting as of yore, having been straightened to allow of sections being marked out and fenced for building, but this part of the journey is amply compensated by the rugged grandeur and beauty of the path ns it winds down to the foot of the falls. Seen from below, it is not unlike our Dawson's Falls, but is not so high, and there is not so much water coming o\er. The water runs first into a cievasse with a spoonlike lip, and thru falls almost sheer down into a wide pool of iey coldness that is popularly supposed to be bottomless. That probably is due to some legend. A curious sound effect is produced by the water sometimes falling clear in the pool and sometimes touching the rock in its descent. Tn the afternoon after a rest we tackle tho Federal Pass, where we are promised our fill of lovely landscape scenery, and are not disappointed. One the way to the Lcura Falls, which must be descended to .get t/> the pass, we pass Lilianfels, the pretty country house of Sir Frederick Parley, the highly-respected Chief Justice of the State. Sir Frederick has spent a lot of money on the place, and in summer it is said to be a picture, attracting great attention by the brilliant flowers that border the neatlykept paths. Visitors are quite welcome to promenade through the lovely piece of native bush that is attached jt "• his residence. Tho track down beside the falls is noteworthy because of the glorious outlook down the valley, a never-failing interest to anyone 011 his first trip to this singular country. Near the foot of the falls we come i to what is called the Devil's Tlole. We look dow.i n hole just large, enough for one person to get down on a ladder. A huge piroe of rock has in some prehistoric time fallen awav, or perhaps been thrown down nnd ininmed at one side of the cleft in Ihe hills, has : apparcntlv refused further progress to the traveller. Down this dark hole wo go with something like awe at the gambols, as it were, of nature. When we get to the foot a glorious panorama i< presented to our view. The water falls over a rock in shape something like a huge bell. The surface, being ridged at intervals, divides the water irto innumerable thin streams that seen from a distance appear very like a white veil and give the falls the name by which they are generally known, "The Bridal Veil." Tlfey are flanked on either side by huge precipices that add to their rugged grandeur, and in the distance looms the lonely giant, Mount Solitary, that almost wherever one looks down the Jameson Valley blocks the view of the lower portion. Then begins the Federal Pass. For severa? miles the way lies round the base of the cliffs, through dense bush, thick with an undergrowth of lovely fernery. On the way wo pass the amphitheatre, whose sloping roof is solid rock, tho tea-room perfectly designed by nature and forming a circle about 20 yards in diameter; the Linda Falls, a lovely glen called after the first Gov-ornor-fieneral, "Hopetoun Bower," and the Banksia streamlet, a most beautiful and secluded spot. Hard by the path we discern the ruins of an old house, built alongside a huge boulder. Then skirting a elifT which ends three huge gaunt rocks, sitting as ft

v ere side by sido. and grimly called "The Throe Sisters," wo get once more into tho light of tho sun. A lon li the track are seen many magnificent ironbark and gum-trees veritable giants of tho forest. Crossing a little rustic biidge, named "Cook's Crossing," over the stream that flows from the Katcomba Falls, we nunc to tho first part i>; : the ascent. And what a climb it is! Gradually we ascend at first, and then we roach the ladders. They skirt tho face of the cliff and give us a sort of ( r.ervv feeling as we chance to look over and see that wo have but to step over the side to get a sheer fall of anything up to 1000 feet. Naturally wo grip light and hold but little conversation till wc are safely past the "skeery" bits of the climb. We heard of a voung lady who some years ago had fainted just as she reached the top of the ladders, and who was grabbed just in, time to prevent her falling backward. J On the way up the rest of the track a

hurried visit was paid to certain places of interest—A or]; Cave, where overhanging rocks form a wide verandah. and where lovely cool water drops dr.wn to form a welcome refresher for the wayfarer; Vera's Grotto, where many small streams of water fall a clear 100 feet on to a flat slope of rock, and where under n lnme low-browed rock is a most beautiful natural ferncry: llias View, a lookout on the summit of a vertical rock; The Orphan Uriel;, standing in lonely grandeur at the end oi tin l cliffs, near which may lie seen many evidences of the working o l ' old shale and coal mines. After that the ascent is easy and gradual to ilte to|t of the falls, where we wen l met by some lady friends, who with : ''.oat thought fulness came provided with afternoon tea and scones. And so ended a most delightful afternoon's

"allc. Before leaving this doseniilion j the falK. mention must, lie made of the fametis Iv'lm I'onil, from uiiieh on a still day two distin.-l, echoes will be returned. A melancholy intercsl attached to the Katoomha Falls a short lime a','o because of t u'o fatal nccideiilK that occmred. The weather was verv eold and the water flowing over the falls was frozen. This beautiful siL'bt at tracteil main- sightseers. One 'of them, venturing too ni'ar in an effort to f;et. a better view on lite ice, fell to Ihe bottom and was dashed to pieces. Next day other visitors arrived on the scene of the accident, and one met willi a similar fate almost at the same

i'HE IRONWORKS. On ihe Sydney side of the mountain mie pees ihe mighty works and glorious beauty of nature, and is struck uiih aue as one looks from the top of the mountains enchanted when oiw

lmds his way down and wanders through the lovely natural ferneries, now different is the scene when one crosses the mountains and gets down to Eskbank and Lithgow. There one 1 sees a great work of men's hands, that ' are taking tribute of results of ages of Nature's unceasing efforts and making use of the minerals delved from the earth for the benefit of the people of tic land. In the valley where lie the nourishing towns of Eskbank and LithRow coal is dug, copper and iron are "on from the ore, and steel is manufactured through the enterprise of men /i;<r u- VU "T comc ma »y and great . .cu'ties and now seem likely to cet t leir roward. It is many years since "•oil was first narked, but hitherto suchas been small. Wo decide to run up to see. these mueh-talkcd-of blast furnaces and iron and copper works at Lithgow, the former of winch had been in working nfr-'u r " rtl "K ,lt . !»id had lieen ofea ]y ° ppn , 1)y tho pi . om . ci J>oen ays before. Ihe journey up is not of special interest except 'for the views tile rugged ICanimhla and Close val ° nbo % Bit,Cß ° f the hurl,l f "T™ ln K «'o reach hi best point on the line, 3638 feet above the sea level. Here we pass 1 t J~ . TOl >s'stmg almost solely ~'f amonn't"] M " nb - r { with shce, ad™ !' h S T ri '' t "'" nks nf intere O t<' og ■ pi, Ih ' S Sn T' ,SO(I t0 the I'ipm. tw?'"' i ! ,OStS " f cnnt,.w- " lrhf,s 111 thickness Zealand tel.lT''''] mai '' tPC,l ' V witl ' New tiler on ' ft* u'bnt'n • famous Zigzag icio in a very short distance we <lrop about fiOO feet. We execute arunning straight clown to the first

to" the' t, "V'a™ is shunted > the other end of the train, and at the next corner goes through the same process Then passing the coal mines ot Eskbank, we run into tho dirty station of Lithgow. The hills all round are almost totally bare of vegetation, and have a very curious formation, two strata of rock running right round the line of hills. It seems almost a sin to see so fair a valley despoiled of its beauty to make a manufacturing town. And what a dirty town it is! We seek in vain for a cleanlooking restaurant. Everything in tho town seems grimy. However, we are out to see the works. So, enquiring at the office, we are very courteously received and supplied with a pass to see all there is to be seen. Wandering through the different departments, but with a cautious eye to avoid being showered with sparks, we see holts rough-formed, headed and trimmed olf; fishplates welded, bent and cut, and finally finished olf oil tho forge by the workman's hammer, the squaring, we are surprised to see, being done only with the aid of tho finisher's eye, instead of, as we expected, by the aid of machinery. Another interesting process was the rolling out of short thick bars of red hot iron into lone strips. One feature of the whole works was the number of boys employed. The men are well paid and seem satisfied with their treatment, but it is terribly wearing work. On our way to the blast furnace we pass the copper-reducing works, and as we pass the retorts we notice some little excitement and consternation amongst the men, and find that one of the retorts has burst and liquid metal is running fast through a hole in the bottom. lieaching the furnaea we arc courteously shown over the engine room. All the engines are in duplicate in ease of a break", the seriousness of which is apparent when n° "ZJ 01 ? t,lat ft cosis something ■ T start tho furnaco working. I lie power used is steam, and besteani is caugh tr.nd condensed for use ngnin. Behind tlm engine room are scores of jets of condensed water being cooled by playing like small fountains into a reservoir. We were lucky enough to get there shortly before the furnace was to bo tapped. The outlet u.Y Which tho molten pig iron flows out into the mould is plugged up by clay fired into the aperture by means of a blast of steam, and this clay took sixmen fully fifteen minutes to pierce, so hard had it set. Tho moulds are laid m sand and a pretty sight it is to see the molten metal, glowing white and red, flow doivn the sand channel into tho sets of moulds. On each of the wooden bars used to shape tho moulds H stamped the name of the proprietor, :"!■ Sandford, and this is consequently branded on every bar of pig iron. I he coke and limestone are obtained on „ the ore comes from wircoar, about 70 miles away. There IS, it is reckoned, almost an 'unlimited supply of all these requirements, and the iron and steel are said to he of excellent quality. In connection with the works a. tram belonging to the company is used to convey ore and materials to the furnace and eart awav the slag, ' which is the scum that gathers on top of the metal. It is inorestiiig to watch the regularity with which loads nf material go up on lifts to be tipped into the furnace the empties returning on the other side of the lift. Nearly £200,000 has been sunk in the venture, giving employment to about 200 hands, and tho company is sanguine of success. The visit , to the works was intensely interesting and made extremely pleasant by the uniform courtesy shown by all to whom application was made for information. J no industry has promoted a great in crease in the size of the town, which now has about 11,000 inhabitants If it is successful there will be a great future ahead of Lithgow.