Old Melbourne Memories: Second Edition, RevisedBoldrewood, Rolf
History
Old Melbourne Memories: Second Edition, Revised
Boldrewood, Rolf
Frontier and pioneer life -- Australia -- Melbourne (Vic.); Victoria -- Description and travel; Victoria -- Social life and customs
Mr. Mitchell, I may mention, was one of those investors who apparently
have only to buy a place to make money out of it. He did so at the Mount
Gambier station, knowing no more of cattle and their ways, when he
bought it, than of the habits of the alpaca. He then bought Langa-willi,
with 20,000 sheep or so, having the same pleasing ignorance of their
tastes and management; held it till after the gold; never did any work
himself; spent a fair portion of his time at the Melbourne Club. Finally
sold out at a handsome profit with a large stock of sheep, and departed
to England, never to return.
This looks like luck. Doubtless there was an infusion of that most
agreeable ingredient. But I have no doubt either that the mild and
elegant William possessed a reasonable share of prudence, about which,
like his other endowments and accomplishments, he said nothing. His
first introduction to our Port Fairy community was at race time, when he
appeared with the Hunters and Sturt, riding a beautiful little blood
mare called Medora, a safe and easy mount, his long legs curiously near
the ground. There couldn't be, however, a nicer fellow, and Australia
will ever owe him a debt of gratitude for extending the hand of generous
and delicate hospitality to the artist who first worthily illustrated
her free forest life, her adventurous sons and daughters fair.
Charles Mackinnon, erst of Skye--old Charles as he may possibly now be
called, alas! and may not the insidious adjective be applied to others
of his contemporaries?--dwelt hard by with Mr. Watson, his partner. He
yet lives in my memory as the kindest of men. "Kind as a woman" exactly
describes his disposition as exemplified in my case. There were no
women, by the way, thereabouts in those days, except black ones, who
used to fetch in the horses on foot, carry water, and otherwise make
themselves useful.
While at Kalangadoo I was suddenly knocked over by a feverish
attack--an exceptional case with me--then, as now, tolerably tough; but
an hour or two of that kind of thing takes the conceit out of the best
of us. Shivering and burning by turns, with throbbing headache and
nausea, I had to lie down to it, and was very bad all one night. Charles
Mackinnon watched over me in the most patient manner the while. We were
new acquaintances, too. I remember distinctly his appearance next
morning with a bowl of beef-tea, with which I broke a twenty-four hours'
fast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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