e than a hundred
years old. The township has for years past derived considerable
importance from its wool trade and manufactures; and has now an
excellent fruit trade, which has sprung up quite lately.
Fruit-orchards surround the town, and the orange groves look bright
and green and beautiful with their shiny leaves and globes of golden
fruit. It was almost accidentally that oranges were first grown here.
The unexpected success of the first few orange-pips, which grew and
prospered amazingly, led to the industry being taken up, and splendid
orange groves now surround the town.

[Illustration: Waterfall Gully]

After leaving Parramatta our way still lay through orchards and
vineyards, until we reached Seven Hills Grove, commanding a beautiful
view. Thence we went on to Blacktown, which takes its name from the
large number of aboriginals who formerly lived in the neighbourhood;
but they are now almost extinct. At intervals we either crossed or ran
alongside of the old bullock-track, now a good high road, to Bathurst.
Bathurst can now be reached in a few hours from Sydney. In the old
times it took four days to get there by coach, and much longer, of
course, by bullock team! We crossed a large river, the Nepean, passing
through some charming fern-gullies, and soon afterwards reached the
zigzags of the railway. They are so abrupt, that instead of the train
turning round, it is alternately pulled and pushed up the steep
incline. This seems to me a dangerous plan, and it certainly does not
economise labour or steam force. It was interesting to find at one of
the stations that the engine-driver who was taking the train up had
worked for Mr. Brassey for many years in France and elsewhere, had
married Tom's nurse, and had danced with me at the ball given in the
engine-sheds at Shrewsbury at the great _fete_ on the occasion of our
marriage. At another place where we stopped the station-master for
many years occupied a similar position at Aylesford, near my
brother-in-law's place. They were both anxious to come and see the
yacht, and I was rather amused to hear at lunch that while we were
going up the mountain they had immediately returned to Sydney and had
gone on board.

The view from Springwood is beautiful, and close by lies Sassafras, or
'Flying Fox' Gully, so called from the number of flying foxes found
there. We next passed Falconberg, Sir Henry Parkes's place, and went
on to Lawoon, where we stopped a short time, and wh