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the harbor to the open ocean. Of course this can be
prevented, but I think it will be a difficult and expen-
sive undertaking, permanently to secure such a work
against the force of the waves.

The entrance of the harbor is by no means wide,
and in one part it is divided into two narrow channels,
by what is called the "Entrance Rock" nearly in the
centre of the deep water passage, but, as it is well
inside, and in smooth water, it is of comparatively
little consequence. The least water is 20 feet with a
rise and fall of tide from 3 to 5 feet; ships of
1,000 tons enter the harbor but do not take a full
cargo, I should say—the vessels of from 300 to 600
tons are best adapted for it. There is a large extent
of shoal water and mud-flat inside, extending for a
considerable distance up the Hunter, much of this
has been already reclaimed, and the work is still pro-
gressing, so that deep water frontage with valuable
land for commercial purposes, is constantly increasing,
and eventually the harbor will be able to accommo-
date a large fleet of colliers, even now it is a remark-
ably busy, lively, flourishing little port, and a won-
derful example of what a place may be made by coal
alone. A dozen years ago Newcastle was a mere
village, with only one colliery of any importance
working, and one horse tramway for taking coal from
the mine to the shipping place, now it is a thriving
district with a population of 8,000, nearly 4,000 of
whom live in the town and suburbs, more than 1,000
tons of coal are shipped daily, the harbor is constantly
alive with ships and steamers, and locomotive engines
with trains of coal, and other goods, passengers, &c.,
are constantly rushing about, giving the whole very
much the appearance of a small seaport town in
England. It has a rapidly increasing trade, and a
solid foundation of future prosperity, in its magnificent
and inexhaustible coal-field, which is being worked
and developed with talent, energy, and enterprise
worthy of its vast importance.

I was informed by Mr. Winship, that on some estates
of the A.A. Co. situated in Port Stephens, some 30
miles further along the coast, north of Newcastle,
there is a seam of coal 30 feet thick, and an abundant
supply of good ironstone in the immediate neighbor-
hood, both near deep water frontage; this being the
case, and Port Stephens being a very fine harbor,
there can be little doubt, that before long, ironworks
will be established there on a large scale, particularly
as these valuable minerals belong to such a wealthy
and enterprising company.

About 12 or 15 miles south of Newcastle, is the
entrance of a very large inlet of the sea, or rather
saltwater lake, called "Lake Macquarie." This lake
is very irregular in shape, about 15 miles long, and
varying in breadth from 1 to 5 miles; round its shores
which are composed of the same regular flat sandstone
formation, so characteristic of this part of the
Australian Coast, a coal seam 13 feet thick crops
out close to the water, so that vessels can be
moored close alongside of the mouth of a mine; but
this advantage is counterbalanced by the circum-
stance, that the entrance to Lake Macquarie, is not only
exposed to the open ocean, but is at times, having
a shifting bar, with a depth of only from 4 to 8 feet at
high water. In spite of this very serious drawback,
coal is about to be worked there, by an enterprising
company, which has had two new flat bottomed
schooners sent out from England, for the purpose of
conveying coal from there. I saw one these vessels
on the patent slip in Sydney, it was 90 feet long, 17 feet
6 inches broad, with 5 feet 6 inches depth of hold,
registered 90 tons, but to carry 100 tons of coal
when loaded, drawing at the same time 2 feet 9 inches
of water, but with a centre board to be used when
needed, that these vessels in spite of their peculiar con-
struction, are pretty good sea-boats, is proved by the
fact, that they both sailed out from England; before a
strong breeze they will go 11 miles an hour, and work
to windward in a gale without ballast. This style of
vessel might, I think, meet some of our requirements
in New Zealand, particularly on the West Coast.
Whether with such great disadvantages in harbor,
the coal at Lake Macquarie will be able to compete
with that of Newcastle, is yet to be proved, but the
fact, that in New Zealand, the importance attached to this
branch of industry in New South Wales, is that they
work a bar harbor, with only from 4 to 8 feet of
water at high tide, and for colliery purposes, appears
to me almost hopeless.

South of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, the same
formation continues, but the coal seams are below
the level of the sea, and are not seen again till they
appear on the coast about 40 miles south of Sydney,
in the Illawarra district, where they are worked in
various places, the principal being Bulli, Bellambi, and
Wollongong. From this it would appear, that the
whole of the coal-field is actually under the City of
Sydney, though at what depth, or in what condition
is not yet ascertained.

Being anxious, before leaving New South Wales,
to see the southern part of the coal-field, and having
letters of introduction from Mr. Watkins, of the New
Zealand Bank, to Mr. Waring, mayor of Wollongong,
we started by railway from Sydney to Campbell-
town, and took coach from thence. After passing a
small village called Appin, about ten miles from
Campbelltown, we rose rapidly on to a sort of barren
table-land, covered with flat coarse sandstone rocks,
stunted scrub, and a little native grass, the whole
very much resembling the table-land of Mount Roch-
fort, both as to its geological formation, and the
character of its vegetation. This continues for many
miles, till the road begins to descend the seaward
edge of the frontage, which is a steep mountain side
about 1,500 feet above the sea, overlooking the coast
from Bulli to Wollongong. On the side of this hill
the coal crops out in thick seams, and has been
traced 20 miles further south, gradually rising in
that direction; there is no doubt that it extends
under the table-land I have spoken of, thus forming
a large district rich in coal, in a very accessible
position.

At the edge of the plateau the character of the
country rapidly changes, the stunted scrub is suc-
ceeded by fine heavy timber, with a dense growth of
underwood and every indication of good land, this
continues to the sea coast, and for 30 miles along it
to the south, it is called Illawarra District, and is the
finest country I have seen in New South Wales.
With a long frontage to the sea it is backed by a
range of mountains, along the side of which fine seams
of coal can be worked by free level, almost the whole
length of the district; the distance of these moun-
tains from the sea in the widest part is about fifteen
miles, and the whole of this is fine undulating country
fit for agricultural purposes, it is extensively cultivated
and laid down with artificial grasses, and is charac-
terized as a dairy district. But along the whole coast
there is no good natural harbor, vessels generally
taking in and discharging cargo in the open road-
stead, or alongside of jetties put out into the open
sea.

At Wollongong we visited the Mount Pleasant
and Mount Keira mines, both working the same seam,
which is about 7 feet thick, and crops out on the hill
side about 600 feet above the sea, it dips into the hill
about 1 in 20, and at Mount Pleasant is drained by a
drift from a lower level, which cuts the seam 200
yards from the mouth of the mine, and the water