Melbourne is situated, as you know, on the Yarra Yarra, [Footnote:  A native term, which means “always running."], which has not nearly so large a bed as the Dart, although more navigable.  It is narrow but very deep, and so far resembles a canal rather than a river.  The town, or city, as they call it, is situated low, but laid out on a good scale.  The streets are very wide, and I think when filled with houses it will be a fine place; but what spoils the appearance now is, the number of wooden buildings they are throwing up, as they cannot get workmen for others.  When we were there, butter was from two shillings and fourpence to three shillings per pound, bread fourpence, milk eightpence per pint, vegetables enormous, butcher’s meat and sugar, as at home.  Fruit very dear; a shilling would not purchase as much as a penny in England.  Beer and porter, one shilling per pint in Melbourne, but from two shillings to two and sixpence here.  The town of Melbourne is all on one side of the river, but on the opposite bank is Canvas Town, connected with Melbourne by a good bridge of one arch.  Canvas Town takes its name from being entirely composed of tents, except a few wooden erections, such as a public-house, and the Immigrant’s Home, where we had lodged.  I do not like Melbourne in its present state.  You are not safe out after sundown, and in a short time you will not be safe during the day.  There were some men taken out of the river drowned, suspected to have been murdered, and several attempts at robbery, while we were there.  I sold my box of chemicals, after taking out what I wanted, for 4 pounds, and the soda-water apparatus for 2 pounds 5 shillings.  I also sold some books that we could not carry, but got nothing for them.  Scientific works do not take.  The people who buy everything here are the gold-diggers, and they want story books.  A person I know brought out 100 pounds worth of more serious reading, and sold the lot for 16 pounds.

We started from Melbourne on a Saturday, with the drays, eight bullocks to each, laden entirely with the luggage of the party, twenty-three in number.  We made only five or six miles that afternoon, and slept under some gum trees.  Our clothes were nearly saturated with dew; but as we advanced farther inland, the dews decreased, and in a night or two there was no sign of them.  The land for a few miles is dry and sandy, but improves as you proceed.  The woods extensive, sometimes without interval for two or three days’ march.  There was no scarcity of water, except for the first fifteen miles, after leaving Melbourne.  We enjoyed the journey much, and shot many birds, which constituted our principal food.  Ducks abound in the creeks, [Footnote:  Watercourses, running in flood time, but partially dry in dry seasons.] and up this way there are fine white cockatoos, which are good eating, and about the size of a small fowl.  There is also a bird very plentiful here which they call a magpie.  It is somewhat the colour of our magpie, but larger,