tuation. But it would also appear as if
there were not the same go-ahead spirit in Sydney that so
pre-eminently characterises her sister city. Instead of the
splendidly broad, well-paved, and well-watered streets of Melbourne,
here they are narrow, ill-paved, and dirty. Such a thing as the
miserable wooden hut which serves for a post-office would not be
allowed to exist for a day at Melbourne. It is the original office,
and has never been altered or improved since it was first put up. I
must, however, acknowledge that a new post-office is in course of
erection; but it shows the want of public spirit in the place that the
old shanty should have been allowed to stand so long.

The railway terminus, at the end of George Street, is equally
discreditable. It is, without exception, the shabbiest, dirtiest shed
of the kind I have ever seen. They certainly need a little of the
Victorian spirit in Sydney. The Melbourne people, with such a site for
a city, would soon have made it one of the most beautiful places in
the world. As it is, nothing can surpass its superb situation; the
view over the harbour from some of the higher streets being
unequalled,--the numerous ships lying still, as if asleep on the calm
waters of the bay beneath, whilst the rocky promontories all round it,
clothed with verdure, are dotted with the villas and country mansions
of the Sydney merchants.

One of the busiest parts of Sydney is down by the quays, where a great
deal of shipping business is carried on. There are dry docks, patent
slips, and one floating dock; though floating docks are of minor
importance here, where the depth of water along shore is so great, and
the rise and fall of the tide is so small. Indeed, Sydney Harbour may
be regarded as one immense floating dock. The Australasian Steam
Navigation Company have large ship-building and repairing premises at
Pyrmont, which give employment to a large number of hands. Certainly,
the commanding position of Sydney, and the fact of its being the chief
port of a great agricultural and pastoral country in the interior,
hold out the promise of great prosperity for it in the future.

Every visitor to Sydney of course makes a point of seeing the
Government House and the Domain, for it is one of the principal sights
of the place. The Government buildings and park occupy the
double-headed promontory situated between Wooloomooloo Bay and Sydney
Cove. The Government House is a handsome and spacious castel