For a long time (as late as 1828) this part of George Street formed the general boundary line of a large garden, which reached back to the summit of the hill;--and on the opposite side, as far down as the Tank Stream, was the Lumber Yard, which was not sold in separate allotments until the year 1830. Charlotte Place was originally the Parade Ground, and the Guard House stood on the site of the present splendid dwelling-house of Mr. Cleeve.

Proceeding along George Street in a southerly direction, and passing Hunter Street, which abuts on it on our left, we have on the opposite side for some hundred yards a blank wall, at present enclosing the Barrack Square. The extensive quarters provided for the military in the early formation of the colony, at that time bounded the town, and, by their vicinity and commanding position, afforded the protection called for by the peculiar {page 23} nature of its population: having, however, been gradually surrounded by buildings till they occupied the centre of the city, the valuable locale could ill be spared from the space required for the increasing population, and it was found necessary to make provision for the accommodation of the troops in the outskirts of the town. Commodious buildings having been erected at Darlinghurst, the head quarters have been removed thither; and we trust soon to see the straggling and dilapidated erections of the primitive colony replaced by elegant and useful edifices adapted to civil purposes, and the site pierced by the thoroughfares so much required for the circulating current of commercial activity Returning to the corner of Hunter Street we find upon our left hand, or upon the eastern side of George Street, a block of buildings with some architectural pretensions, substantially constructed of brick with stone dressings--the angle occupied by Mr. Skinner's commodious Tavern. Amid a row of elegant and well-stored shops is the office of the Australian General Insurance Company, and at a short distance the massive and old-fashioned stone house occupied by the Bank of New South Wales--the oldest institution of that description in the colony, and a strictly colonial undertaking, established in 1817, with a capital of £400,000. We must not leave unnoticed the office of the Atlas, weekly journal;--originally projected with a view of advocating the pastoral interests of the colony, and at one time powerfully supported by numerous and able contributors. The editorial department has undergone numerous changes, but has always been remarkable for the warmth of style which it has employed in giving expression to its views. The typographical portion, under the able management of Mr. Welch, the proprietor, has all through been remarkable for its excellence.
A short distance further southward are the offices where the business of the now defunct "Church of England Lay Association" was conducted. It is needless, however, to enter into detail upon the objects of an institution no longer in existence. In the same building remains the "Sydney Choral Society," {page 24} founded in March, 1845, with a view to improve the state of choral music in the city, to provide volunteer choirs for the parish churches, and to encourage the practice of music in general. To these objects it has already largely contributed, and promises to diffuse an extensive and cultivated taste for sacred music. At the same office is transacted the business of the "Church of England Cemetery Company," formed in consequence of some objections raised to the consecration of any part of the General Cemetery provided by the Act of the Legislature in the Session of 1847; certain clauses of which were, by the high church party considered objectionable. Here is also the "Australian Benefit Investment and Building Society," yet in its infancy, but having for its object the introduction of a principle which has been found to work beneficially in England.
We now arrive before one of the most important buildings of the colony, not merely as regards the structure, but as being the centre and focus, the heart, as it may be termed, from which the pulse of civilization throbs to the remotest extremity of the land. We mean the Post Office. The projected improvements, commenced last year, in which is contemplated the re-edification of the whole building on a scale commensurate with the growing wants of the community, have not yet progressed beyond the erection of a handsome portico. Six Doric columns support an appropriate entablature and pediment, with the royal arms (executed by Mr. Abraham, an able sculptor resident in the colony,) in the centre of the tympanum. The whole effect is chaste and severe, and much more befitting the aspect of a place of business than a more ornamental and gaudy design would be. When the Barracks are removed the portico will afford a noble termination to the street which will be opened forming a vista in the front of the building. The accompanying engraving, however, will enable our readers to form a better idea of it than a verbal description can by any possibility convey.

A swarm of calumnious libellers have lately found it a profitable speculation, at least so it may be inferred from the assiduity with which they persevere in their vocation, to propagate the most abominable falsehoods respecting the state of society in New South Wales, especially in Sydney. Some person of the name of Byrne in a publication which has lately appeared in London, has however excelled most of his predecessors in fertile powers of unblushing and inventive mendacity. We cannot pass over these systematic attacks upon the fair fame of our adopted land without expressing the indignation they excite, as well as our surprise that the British public should be so far imposed upon as to tolerate and encourage such masses of absurd falsehoods. We can only account for the fact that such books have purchasers, by supposing that it proceeds from the same depravation of public taste that finds greedy readers for highly wrought details of crime and murder, and the extent of credulity for which John Bull is so famous, and which readily gives credence to any thing, however monstrous, which comes from {page 27} a distance. We will not rely upon our own flat contradiction of such malevolent and baseless effusions: we will quote a few lines from an impartial witness, a distinguished foreigner, Count P. E. De Strzelecki, whose valuable work on New South Wales is too profound and scientific to obtain the circulating library notoriety of the mendacious babblers to which we allude. Count Strzelecki wrote in Sydney, under the fresh impression of surprise at the scene which surrounded him, having been deluded into the belief that he could scarcely disembark in Sydney with any degree of safety: he quotes his memorandum, made at the time, in a note upon the introduction of his book:
"Let the authors of these epithets on New South Wales congratulate and applaud themselves; my mystification was complete...I found, however, in the streets of Sydney a decency and a quiet which I have never witnessed in any other of the ports of the United Kingdom. No drunkenness, no sailors' quarrels, no appearances of prostitution. George Street, the Regent Street of Sydney, presented houses and shops modelled after those of London; but nowhere did its lamps and the numerous lights in its windows, reflected upon the crowd, betray those signs of a corrupt society common to the streets of other capitals."--P. 2 Introduction.
We wish our space allowed us to quote more largely from the repeated testimony in favour of the general morality and hospitality prevailing throughout the Colony, borne by one whose minute enquiries and extensive opportunities of observation render it of so much value, while at the same time he may fairly be considered to have written without prejudice or bias. Another foreign gentleman, who enjoyed the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with the state of society amongst us, M. Delessert, has published a pleasing sketch of his rambles in the Colony, in which he records his grateful sense of the kindness and hospitality which greeted him everywhere, and the highly favourable ideas which he formed of the manners and morals of the Colonists. Is it {page 28} not scandalous that we should be compelled to appeal to foreigners against the calumnies heaped on us by our own countrymen?

CHAPTER VII.
ST JAMES CHURCH--KING STREET
The intersecting lines of George Street and King Street--the former from north to south, the latter from east to west--divide the City into four parts; the divisions of the streets, at this point, being designated by the points of the compass. Turning to the left, from George Street, we proceed up King Street East, a portion of which is shown in our Descriptive Engraving--a line of thriving shops, some of them of considerable importance. Passing Pitt Street, Castlereagh Street, and Elizabeth Street on our right and left, we reach a group of public buildings. On the right hand, the Supreme Court of the Colony, and St. James's Church, a view of which is annexed: in front, the pile of building called Hyde Park Barracks, formerly tenanted by the convicts in Government service. Although none of these edifices have much architectural pretension, being constructed entirely of brick and devoid of ornament, yet, the proportions being good, the masses broad, and the lines bold and unbroken, they form an imposing and dignified whole.

St. James Church

St. James's Church is a building of considerable dimensions, the foundation of which was laid on the 7th October, 1819. The spire, surmounting the brick tower at the west end, not only takes away from the heaviness of the edifice, but also forms a conspicuous object from every part of the City and its neighbourhood. The interior, which is commodiously fitted up, received considerable improvements about two years ago; the galleries were altered and enlarged, and the Church now affords sittings for 1500 persons. There is a well toned and powerful organ, and an excellent choir {page 29} under the direction of Mr. James Johnson, to whom the Colony is indebted for the first introduction of this branch of music. The Choral Society, mentioned above, owes its origin to the meetings originally held for practice for the service of this Church. St. James's, although not the oldest, may, probably, be considered the principal Church of the City. Situated near Government House, in the centre of the most fashionable part of the metropolis, the congregation usually includes the family of the Governor, and a large proportion of the leading members of society. It is also decidedly the favourite resort for the more aristocratical among the votaries of Hymen. Divine Service is performed three times on Sunday, every Friday and Holy Day, and Prayers are read every morning at nine. The present Incumbent is the Rev. Robert Allwood, M. A., the learned President of the Theological College at Lyndhurst, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Priddle and the Rev. Mr. Macarthur; the latter gentleman (a native of the Colony) is a younger member of the respected family whose name is so inseparably connected with the early annals of the Colony.
Opposite the north-eastern angle of St. James's Church is the Office of the Bishop's Registrar, the vicinity probably of which, combined with the advantages of locality, and the superior accommodations of the building, renders St. James's, although not the Diocesan Church, the seat of the most important transactions connected with the Church of England. It may not be out of place here to mention that the present Lord Bishop of Sydney, the Right Reverend William Grant Broughton, D. D., is the first Prelate who presided over an episcopal see in this Colony. His Lordship first arrived on the 13th September, 1829, as Archdeacon; New South Wales being then nominally attached to the see of Calcutta, although the distance and unfrequency of communication precluded, of course, any interference on the part of the titular head of our Church. He returned by the Camden, from a visit to England, on the 2nd June, 1836, with the title and authority of Bishop of Australia, and was installed the same day {page 30} in St. James's Church; the ecclesiastical importance of the Colony having been at length considered sufficient to entitle it to release from the imaginary dependence in which it had previously been held. In its connexion with the English Church, Australia is comprehended in the Archepiscopal jurisdiction of Canterbury. Rather more than two years since, his Lordship announced that, having for some time past considered the diocese (including as it did the country from Moreton Bay, to Portland Bay) too extensive to be properly superintended by one Bishop, he had determined on requesting the Government to appoint another. Fearing, however, that objections on the score of expense would be raised to his proposal, he met them in anticipation by the munificent and singularly disinterested offer to sacrifice half his professional income (then £2,500 per annum) as an endowment for the second see:--an instance of self-devotion to which, perhaps, it would be difficult to find a parallel. The Home Government, however, did not think itself justified in taking advantage of this liberality to its full extent; but complied with the suggestion of the Bishop so far as to deduct the sum of £500 per annum from the resources of the Bishopric of Australia, and to sub-divide it into three; Sydney having a metropolitan superiority over the other two, Newcastle and Melbourne. It is almost presumption in us to offer an opinion on the merits of this eminent Prelate; but we cannot refrain from making use of the opportunity now afforded us of recording the humble tribute of our admiration of them. Those who know the many difficulties he has had to contend against can alone appreciate the skill with which he has conducted the affairs of the Church: his zeal for its prosperity is sufficiently demonstrated by the action we have just related. During the already lengthened period of his residence in New South Wales his friends and hearers have gained ample demonstrations of his exalted piety, his profound learning, and his eloquence, clear and simple in its style, and at the same time both commanding and convincing in its earnestness.

Pitt Street, Plate 30A

CHAPTER VIII.
PITT STREET.--ROYAL VICTORIA THEATER.

Retracing our steps from the eastern termination of King Street, we return to its intersection with Pitt Street. The accompanying embellishment comprehends the elevations of the buildings in this Street, proceeding southward from King Street to Market Street; a line which may, on many accounts, claim to be considered one of the most remarkable localities in Sydney, and where, particularly in the evening, when the Theatre is open, among the blaze of gas from the splendid and glittering shops, the music and bustle attending the movements of a crowd bent on its evening's amusement, and those of the multitude still busied in closing the avocations of the day, the new arrival from London may recognise the most striking features of that great City united in the varied scene around him; on a diminutive scale, it is true, as compared with those of the metropolis of the world, but nevertheless the identical features in miniature. He will here find a combination of Bond Street and Drury Lane, while the scene is sprinkled with a sufficiency of blue and red jackets to give it a slight touch of Wapping and Tothill Fields, divested of their grosser and objectionable peculiarities. This portion of the Street presents on the whole the most continuous lines of buildings, perhaps, which can be found in Sydney, and offers fewer objects calculated to remind the new corner that he is in a young town. Selected by the purveyors to beauty and fashion as the mart for displaying their tempting wares, articles are there displayed to attract and tempt the eye, as well as some of the best specimens of domestic architecture which the town affords. Among these, four houses, built under the superintendence of Mr. Duer, Architect, deserve to be particularised on account of the good taste displayed {page 32} in the design, and the excellence of the work and materials employed. The fronts are bold and lofty, faced with fine brick with massive stone dressings and cornices. The spirited proprietor, Mr. Moffitt, deserves great credit for the liberality with which he has contributed towards ornamenting the city. There are also some other good specimens of building, including the Theatre and its dependencies, but for these we reserve a special notice. Among the objects well deserving inspection is the Shakspeare Saloon, (erected in 1846 by its spirited proprietor, Mr. Knight), concealed within the modest exterior of the Shakspeare Tavern, where the visitor is surprised to find a well proportioned apartment lighted from the roof, richly and artistically decorated with designs from some of the most striking scenes in the Bard of Avon's matchless works, painted as vignettes in compartments, upon the walls. These designs sprang from the fanciful pencil of Mr. A. Torning, who was assisted in the execution of them by Messrs. Newall and Balcomb, whose names are registered in the archives of Colonial Art.

Royal Victoria Theatre (interior), Plate 32A

We now turn to the Victoria Theatre, the interior of which forms the subject of one of the pictorial illustrations of the present number. Before, however, entering upon a detailed description of this elegant edifice, it may not be uninteresting to trace the early, rude, and unformed efforts of the dramatic art in this Colony, through their various phases, until they reached the high position of the present day. It is needless to enter into a lengthy dissertation upon the humanizing influences which the drama exercises over mankind: the eloquence of the orator, the philosopher, the poet, and the historian is raised in its laudation; and if they fail to convince, the intense sympathy which the Theatre finds with the people is an unerring testimony of its value. Sergeant Talfourd, one of the first dramatists and lawyers of the day, in descanting upon the subject, with all the feeling of an enthusiastic and powerful mind, writes thus:--"Surely the art which separates, as by a divine alchymy, the artificial from {page 33} real in humanity--which supplies, to the artisan in the capital, the place of those woods, and free airs, and mountain streams, which insensibly harmonise the peasant's character--which gives the poorest to feel the old grandeur of tragedy, sweeping by with sceptred path--which makes the heart of the child leap with strange joy, and enables the old man to fancy himself again a child--is worthy of no mean place among the arts which refine our manners, by exulting our conception." This opinion is particularly echoed in the bosoms of the sons of Britain. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that the first wretched exiles who came into the Colony should have endeavoured to relieve the monotony of a bush life, and to divert their minds from brooding over unpleasant reflections, by getting up a dramatic entertainment. The scale was humble enough, consisting, in the first instance, of mere recitations from well-known authors; these subsequently grew into attempts to produce complete dramas; and singular to relate, in 1826, during the dynasty of General Darling, the Gaol of Sydney was turned into a Temple of Thespis; the debtors' room afforded the arena; and persons of the highest standing in the town were not ashamed to witness the crude representations or these dramatic enthusiasts.
It was some years subsequently to this that his Excellency Sir Richard Bourke granted Mr. Barnett Levy a license for dramatic performances, with a restriction that he should confine himself to the representation of such pieces only as had been licensed in England, by the Lord Chamberlain. Mr. Levy was at that time the owner of the original Royal Hotel, in George Street, and he fitted up the Saloon of that establishment as a Theatre, where the first specimens of the legitimate drama were exhibited in the Colony. The encouragement which this untertaking received induced the spirited Proprietor to enlarge his sphere of action. He caused a Theatre to be built, which was termed the "Theatre Royal," and opened it at the latter end of the year 1833, with the best company that could be {page 34} collected. The first Manager was Mr. Meredith, who, at that time, acquired some celebrity for his personation of old men, but he has since retired, for the most part, from the stage. This gentleman was succeeded in his office by Mr. Simmons, who seceded, after a management of some two or three years, when the Theatre fell into the hands of Mr. Joseph Wyatt, one of the Proprietors of the Victoria Theatre in Pitt Street, the interior of which is the subject of our pictorial illustration.
The foundation stone of this latter building was laid on the 7th September, 1836, by Mr. R. Broad; the architect was Mr. Henry Robertson, many structures from whose hand now ornament the metropolis. The exterior of the building presents an extremely chaste appearance, and is more imposing than if a more florid style of architecture had been adopted. The entrance to the Dress Circle and Upper Boxes is enclosed by a pair of handsome and elaborately designed iron gates; on either side of them are two handsome shops, one of which is occupied as a Tavern, by Mr. Wyatt, and the other by Mr. Blyth, a Confectioner. The entrances to the Pit and Gallery are most conveniently placed on the north side. The size of the Theatre is 100 feet by 50; the stage is 47 feet broad, and 100 feet in depth, 60 feet having been added to the original design, by throwing open some premises at the back. For greater convenience, the Green Room, Dressing Rooms, Scene Painter's Room, and other necessary apartments, although in immediate contiguity with the main building, do not form any portion of it. The interior of the house is arranged into the Upper and Dress Circle, with an extensive Pit and Gallery. The Boxes will hold about 550 people, the Pit 1000, and the Gallery 350, making in all 2000 individuals; but even more than that number have been in the house on particular occasions. The Theatre was opened on the 17th of March, 1838, Mr. Wyatt having offered its service gratuitously for a public ball, in commemoration of the patron Saint of Ireland. In a few days afterwards the performances commenced with an excellent company, and have {page 35} continued with signal success until the present day. Several changes have occured in the Proprietorship and Management of the Theatre since its opening; the former is now in the hands of Messrs. Wyatt and Knight, while the Stage direction vests in Mr. Griffiths.

Pitt Street, Plate 34A
It may appear somewhat invidious to institute comparisons between the early performers at the Victoria and those of the present day, but it is universally acknowledged that the Company was never so strong in all its departments as now. Mr. Nesbitt, Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Arabin, and Mrs. Guerin are the principal supporters of Melpomene; her higher sister Thalia boasts of Mr. Frank Howson, Mr. Hydes, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Hambleton, Mr. Griffiths, and Mesdames Guerin, Gibbs, Ximines, and Carandini: in opera, these ladies are also powerful adjuncts, and, with Mr. John Howson, his brother, and the other aids of the Theatre, many of the most favorite operas on the English Stage have been produced here in a very superior style. In summing up the improvements of late years, the Orchestra must not be forgotten, which, under the able direction of Mr. John Gibbs, has attained a high grade in musical excellence. In quitting this subject, it is due to the Proprietors of the Victoria Theatre to remark, that they deserve the thanks of the public for their exertions in upholding the drama throughout the general depression of colonial affairs, and for having preserved its high tone amongst a community formed of such discordant elements.

CHAPTER IX.
PITT STREET (CONTINUED).--SCHOOL OP ARTS.--INDEPENDENT CHAPEL.

Proceeding along Pitt Street we cross Market Street, at which point the character of the former thoroughfare changes very considerably. The {page 36} fashionable establishments give place in a great measure to those of a more utilitarian description, among which are many wholesale and manufacturing concerns on a very extensive scale. We now arrive at one of the most interesting institutions of the Colony, the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The building at present occupied by the Society, being only intended for temporary purposes, offers no architectural features worthy of being inserted among our illustrations; but if the support of the public should keep pace with the ambition of the managers, the School of Arts, ere many years have elapsed, will form one of the most prominent ornaments of the metropolis. The objects of the Institution are similar to those which have been so successful in the parent country,--the diffusion of useful knowledge, and the awakening a love of Study, by means of a Library, News and Reading Rooms, Lectures, and Classes for instruction, accessible on terms within the reach of the less wealthy orders of Society. Since the year 1823, when the Institution was first projected, it has partaken of the varying fortunes of the prosperity of the Colony, gradually increasing, however, until, at the date of the last report, the number of members was four hundred and ninety-two, of whom fifty-one were life members. Their Excellencies Sir Richard Bourke, the late Governor of the Colony, and his successor Sir Charles Augustus Fitz Roy, have evinced the warm interest they felt in the welfare of the Institution by allowing their influential names to be used as its patrons, and afforded all the support that Government was in a position to extend to it.

The Free Presbyterian Church Pitt Street, Plate 36A

The idea of forming a Mechanics' School of Arts in this Colony was first publicly broached by the Rev. Henry Carmichael and Dr. Band. After some trouble and much discussion a Committee was formed, the only members of which now remaining amongst us are, as far as we have been able to ascertain, Mr. Henry Hollinshed and Mr. Thomas Carter. The Rev. Dr. Lang aided the progress of the infant undertaking, by the loan of apparatus, besides contributing valuable assistance in other respects, {page 37} by his learned and eloquent lectures, and numerous presents. It is also with pleasure we record the names of Dr. Nicholson, the worthy President; Dr. Leichhart, Arthur A'Becket, Archibald Michie, and W. T. Cape, Esqs., who have all, by their exertions either in the delivery of lectures or otherwise, contributed materially to the advancement of the Institution.
The present building contains an ill arranged Theatre, in which the lectures are delivered, (and is also occasionally used for concerts and public meetings, independent of the Institution), Library, and Reading Room, besides private apartments for the Librarian.
The Library itself contains 3000, volumes, embracing every branch of Literature and Science, an extension of which is continually made by purchase and presents: during the last year it was increased by the addition of 138 volumes. The Reading Room, which adjoins the Library, is open daily, from nine in the morning till the same hour at night, for the convenience of its members; and upon its table will be found Blackwood's, Tait's, Fraser's, Bentley's, The Penny, and New Monthly Magazines, The United Service, Art Union, Dublin University, Chambers' Edinburgh, The Civil Engineers and Architects Journals, The Lancet, Quarterly Review, and La Belle Assemblee, together with the Spectator, Evening Mail, Punch, Illustrated London News, Sydney Morning Herald, and Atlas Newspapers. Several other British and Colonial periodicals were formerly received, but it having been communicated to the Library Committee that many of the Reviews and Magazines, and even Newspapers, were never opened by Members visiting the Reading Room, and being desirous of retrenching their expenses, eight of the former and six of the latter were very properly discontinued.
The Institution also possesses a very choice and extensive collection of Fossils and Geological Specimens, and, in connexion with the Lecture Room, complete apparatus for the illustration of lectures on Chemistry, Mechanics, etc., which has cost the Institution upwards of five hundred {page 38} pounds. The annual subscription to the Society is only twelve shillings, and it is equally a matter of surprise and regret that in so extensive a community as that of Sydney there should be found so few who exhibit a disposition to support, either for personal pleasure and improvement or public benefit, such an institution as the School of Arts. Sincerely, however, do we trust that ere long we shall observe an advancement in the march of intellectual taste and refinement, and the classes judiciously projected by the Committee (now almost neglected) become thronged with the youthful members of this Society, emulating each other in the acquirement of useful knowledge.

E'en now the midnight waneth, and the day
Of Truth is dawning with a brighter ray.
O'er this fair land she spreads the fruits of peace,
Bids schools arise--the finer arts increase,
Rebukes the narrow minds that vainly strive
To keep a moral ignorance alive;
And proves Religion, Order, and Repose
Are best preserved as man in knowledge grows.

Pitt Street Uniting (formerly Congregational) Church

The Congregational Church, or, as it is frequently called, the Independent Chapel, Pitt Street, is the handsomest building of the kind in Sydney, or indeed in any of these Colonies. It was designed by Mr. John Bibb, Architect, and erected under his superintendence. The foundation stone was laid by the Rev. Dr. Ross on the 26th of January, 1841; but in consequence of the embarrassed state of the Colony it was soon after thought prudent to suspend the progress of the work, and it was not until October, 1844, that it was determined to recommence it. The Church was opened for public worship on the 1st January, 1846, by religious services in which various Ministers of other denominations of Christians took a part. The whole cost of the erection has amounted to upwards of £6,000, which has been raised by voluntary contribution, it being contrary {page 39} to the principles of this body of Christians to accept of assistance from Government, either for the building of their churches or the support of their ministers.
The front of the building is of the Ionic order of Architecture, with two columns twenty-six feet in height, according to the Ionic Temple of the Ilisus at Athens; and four Antaic pilasters with ornamental capitals; with an entablature and pediment extending over the columns and pilasters. The design is in imitation of the smallest Grecian Temple, denominated by the Greeks a "Temple in Antis" at the principal entrance to the Cella (or interior) of the Temple. The whole front is of polished free-stone, and is divided from the street by an ornamental iron railing on a dwarf stone wall, The pulpit is octagonal, standing on a bold pedestal, and has many carved mouldings of Grecian leaves and ornaments; it is ascended by a winding stair, and is made of the most handsome cedar, which is French polished. The edifice is ninety-five feet long, forty-five feet wide, and thirty feet high, all in clear of the interior. The ground floor has two entrance vestibules, which contain the stairs leading to the galleries, and between them is a room used as a vestry or school room, and which will contain about one hundred and thirty children. Above the vestibules and the vestry is a large room, divided by a balustre railing from the galleries, used also as a school room and sittings for the Sunday school children during divine worship; it will accommodate two hundred and forty children. The interior of the Church is elliptical on the ground plan at the end opposite to the pulpit, and three pews in width against the wall run parallel to the sides and circular end with an elevation of four inches at each pew, an arrangement favourable for conveying the sound to all parts of the spacious building: galleries at two sides and at the end opposite to the pulpit follow the same curve as the walls and pews below, and are supported by fourteen cast iron columns of the Ionic order and fluted. These were cast by Mr. Dawson, of Sydney, in a very neat and {page 40} superior manner, and are the first series of ornamental columns cast in the Colony--they are 'finished in imitation bronze. The Church will accommodate about one thousand persons with sittings, besides the children of the Sunday school. The whole of the pews are of cedar, and the breast-work framing in front of the galleries is of the most choice kind, equal in appearance to mahogany. The place is well lighted with gas, except the pulpit, on each side of which are handsome brass sconces for wax candles. The bronze pendants which hang from the entablature of the galleries are nearly five feet in length, are very massive, and were made, with the other lighting apparatus, under the direction of the Engineer of the Gas Company. There is also a beautiful organ built specially for this Church by Mr. W. J. Johnson of Sydney.
It was not until the year 1828 that the Congregationalists made any movement in Sydney as a distinct body of Christians. Although numerous and powerful in England, their number in this Colony, from various causes, some of them no doubt highly creditable to them, has never been very great. In that year they invited the assistance of the public towards the erection of a Chapel in which they might worship God according to their own principles, and be the means, along with other denominations, of diffusing he knowledge of divine truth among the ignorant and the depraved of this City. By persevering and zealous efforts they succeeded in the purchase of land, and in the erection of a building in Pitt Street, next to the School of Arts, which in 1833 was opened for divine worship, and in which the Rev. W. Jarrett, who came out the same year from England, officiated as their Minister for upwards of five years. Having left the Colony in 1838 he was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Ross, formerly of Kidderminster, in Worcestershire, but who, at the urgent request of the Colonial Missionary Society, resigned his pastoral charge there in order that he might devote himself to the interests of religion, in connexion with the body to which he belongs here, and {page 41} also act as agent of the London Missionary Society, for the numerous important missions it has established in the islands of the Pacific. He arrived in the Colony in February, 1840, and immediately commenced his ministerial duties, which he still continues to discharge. In a short time after his arrival the congregation increased so much that it was considered advisable to erect a larger building,--and the present handsome edifice in which they now worship has been the result, with a large and increasing congregation.

Pitt Street and Hunter Street, 40A

Pitt Street, Plate 40B

CHAPTER X.
PITT STREET NORTH.--UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA.--THE FREE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Having followed Pitt Street in a southerly direction as far as Park Street, we retrace our steps, and our ninth and tenth numbers contain representations of the houses in Pitt Street north, from King Street to its termination; together with a portion of Hunter Street.
The present illustrations are highly characteristic of the transitory state of an infant City, from its primitive bark or slab huts to more convenient weather-boarded cottages, and lastly to the substantial and handsome stone and brick houses, of which we here present some creditable specimens.
Commencing at King Street we have, on the right hand, or east corner, the Rose and Crown Hotel and Restaurant, by Mr. Win. Toogood, and adjoining, a range of respectable houses; the upper portions of several (from their proximity to the Courts of Law) are occupied as chambers by members of the legal profession. On the opposite corner is the Rainbow Tavern, erected a few years since, and opened by Mr. William Toogood--now kept by Mr. T. W. Roche. Proceeding a little further, the first house {page 42} of any interest engaging our attention is that occupied by Mr. Foss, Chemist and Druggist. It was here the celebrated Quaker, John Tawell, resided, and in the year 1823 commenced the business now carried on, and which is said to have been the first regular establishment of the kind in the Colony; this he conducted successfully about four years, when he disposed of the same to the present proprietor, and in the next year, 1828, sailed for England, where, in March, 1845, he was executed for the murder of Sarah Hart at Salt Hill, near Slough, leaving considerable property in the colony.
Adjoining Mr. Alexander's Coach Establishment and Livery Stables, on the opposite side of the Street, is the Office of the "Australian Sportsman," a weekly newspaper conducted with considerable talent, its object being to supply faithful records of every sporting event in the Colonies. The next house is the residence of Dr. Bland, one whose name will ever be remembered with reverence by the colonists, for his unwearied zeal in connexion with the Patriotic Association, in procuring for this Colony a Representative Assembly, and to which, with his compatriot, W. C. Wentworth, Esq., he was returned at the first election, in 1843, as member for this City.

The Union Bank of Australia, Plate 42A

A few yards further is the residence of John Hosking, Esq., (first Mayor of Sydney), and immediately facing is Gill's Hotel, one of the best houses in Sydney. It was erected in 1835, by Mr. Saul Lyons, and used by him as a private residence until 1846, when it was let to the present occupant. We have next a low range of weather-boarded cottages, in the first of which a wealthy old colonist of the name of Connell has resided forty-nine years. The fine row of brick houses opposite, known as Terry's Buildings, form an agreeable contrast to the mean cottages just noticed, and which, it is to be hoped, will soon give place to more substantial and ornamental buildings. Mrs. Terry, widow of the notoriously wealthy Sam Terry, lives in the long stone house on the west side, and, after passing a few small {page 43} shops, the fine range of stone buildings (lately the Fitz Roy Hotel), Messrs. Rowand, M'Nab, and Co.'s establishments, etc., we arrive at the Union Bank of Australia. It was commenced in 1839, and that part extending from Hunter Street as far as the vestibule was completed in April, 1840, when the business of the Bank, which had been carried on from its commencement at temporary offices in King Street, was removed to the new building. The business of the Bank, however, having increased so rapidly, it was found necessary, for further accommodation, to make a considerable addition, and the other portion south of the former was erected in 1846, under the superintendence, and from the designs of, John Bibb, Esq., Architect, to whose taste, skill, and ability the work itself bears lasting testimony.
The Union Bank of Australia was established in London, October, 1837, for conducting the business of Banking in the Australian Colonies, with a capital of £500,000, afterwards increased to £800,000. Branches are formed at Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Portland, and Bathurst, in New South Wales; Hobart Town and Launceston, in Van Diemen's Land; Auckland and Wellington, in New Zealand. The business of each branch is conducted by Local Directors, a Manager, and Accountant--the whole being under the control of the London Board of twelve Directors.
The various branches are under the superintendence of an Inspector--John Cunningham M'Laren.
The Union Bank of Australia is situated at the corner of Pitt and Hunter Streets, the principal front, extending about eighty-five feet, being in the former, whilst the other, to the extent of about fifty feet, is in the latter Street. The whole of the basement story is rusticated, with arched windows and doors, and at the principal entrance to the vestibule of the Bank Offices is a chaste portico of the Grecian Doric order, supporting another on the next story of the Ionic, with ballustrade, pediment, and acroteria; the same order is continued by attached columns between the {page 44} windows in Pitt Street, and by ant pilasters in Hunter Street, surmounted by a handsome cornice; the upper story of both fronts is the Attic order of pilasters and cornice, and crowned on the front in Pitt Street with carved acroteria above the blockings.
Our engraving, however, gives a more correct idea of the building than any description can. We will only remark that whether we consider the light and elegant exterior, or the admirable arrangements within, it must be admitted one of the best buildings in the City, and one of its greatest ornaments.
The Free Presbyterian Church, which forms the subject of our present illustration, is a very neat, plain, and commodious edifice, being centrally situated in Pitt Street, between Market and Park Streets. It was erected in 1830, by the Congregationalists, and, upon the opening of their new place of worship, was purchased, in 1846, for the use of the Free Presbyterian community.
The community worshipping in this Church, under the denomination of the Free Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, occupies the same position in this Colony the Free Church does in Scotland, and its separation, in 1846, from the Synod of Australia (which is also identical with the Established Church of Scotland) arose from the same reasons that caused the disruption at home; esteeming it unscriptural to recognise the supremacy of the civil powers, in spiritual matters. The Minister at present officiating is the Rev. William M'Kee.

CHAPTER XI.
HUNTER STREET--EARLY HISTORY CONTINUED.

The portion of Hunter Street represented in our accompanying plate {page 45} extends from Pitt Street westward as far as Castlereagh Street. The upper line contains the extensive Stores of Messrs. Flower, Salting, and Co.; the private residence of Mr. Young, and Stores belonging to the firm of Young and Co.; whilst the corner (a low verandah cottage, and one of the old style) is occupied by Mr. Armstrong, the Veterinary Surgeon, whose Hospital and Stables are situated in the yard at the back. The house facing, with verandah, is the residence of Mr. T. E. Jones, whose Stables form the Depot for the Hon. East India Company's horses, purchased in the Colony for shipment.
The year 1790 was one of the most disastrous in the annals of the Colony. Early in the year the flour that had been brought from England was exhausted, and there only remained that which had been taken in at the Cape: the harvest, too, had not produced more than would be required for seed, the whole production of the cultivated land at Rose Hill being two hundred bushels of wheat, thirty-five of barley, and a small quantity of oats and maize. The Governor's farm at Sydney, which had only been sown with barley, yielded only twenty-five bushels.
Captain King, however, who had been sent with a number of prisoners and a detachment of marines, to form a settlement at Norfolk Island, having reported favourably of the richness of the soil, and the success attending their efforts at cultivation, notwithstanding the continued drought they had experienced, determined Captain Phillip upon sending thither about two hundred of the convicts, and two companies of the marines, with their officers, and by this means relieving the provision store for a time. It was also determined that, upon the return of the Sirius from Norfolk Island, she should be despatched to China for provisions, if relief had not previously arrived: but, alas! she was doomed never to return. After a fine run of only seven days she landed the convicts and marines in Cascade Bay, when a gale rising she was compelled to run for Sydney Bay, on the lee side of the Island, and came to an anchor, from which however she {page 46} drifted, and, in endeavouring to work out, struck upon the rocks, and became a total wreck. The officers and crew were rescued by being hauled through the surf on a grating; and nearly the whole of the stores were providentially saved.
The return of the Supply to Sydney with this distressing intelligence spread universal dismay, and even the most courageous and sanguine became depressed. Their last hope was now concentrated in the Supply, which was to be despatched to Batavia as soon as she could be got ready. Yet, after their recent misfortune, how fearful to contemplate their very existence as depending upon the safety of one frail bark, which a hidden rock or tempestuous sea might in one moment destroy. As the provisions in store were now reduced to so low a pitch, it was again determined to reduce the already scanty pittance, and from the first of April the weekly ration of each adult was only two and a half pounds of flour, two pounds of pork, and one each of rice and peas; and after having been kept for two years, it can easily be imagined of how inferior a description these were.
The Supply sailed on the 17th of April, and it was estimated she would be absent at least six months.
Two years had now elapsed without any communication from home; the clothing was as much reduced as their provisions, and many died from starvation; some little relief was obtained by fishing, but their lines and nets were also worn out, and the Colony did not even possess the materials requisite to mend them. A convict, however, managed to spin some lines from the bark of a tree, which temporarily supplied their boats.
The greatest caution and severity was necessary to prevent robberies of provisions, which were however frequently committed, and many suffered death for their temerity.
The greatest despondency pervaded all classes, many despairing of ever receiving relief. Yet day after day how many anxious eyes were directed to the signal station in the hope of seeing the desired flag hoisted.
{page 47}
It was not until the third of June the desired signal was hoisted, and truly we may say every pulse throbbed with joyous excitement; the whole place was in the greatest commotion.
The Governor and some of his officers in boats went down the harbour to welcome the arrival, which, instead of a store ship, proved to be the transport Lady Juliana, with two hundred and twenty-two female convicts. She had been ten months making the voyage, and brought the melancholy intelligence of the loss of H. M. S. Guardian, with two years' provisions, clothing, etc., for the Colony. She had touched at the Cape to refresh, and had there taken on board a great number of fruit trees and other plants, as well as seven horses, sixteen cows, two bulls, a number of sheep, goats, and two deer. After leaving the Cape, and when in lat. 45° 54' south, and long. 41° 30' east, on the 23rd of December, she struck upon an ice island, and received so much injury that they were compelled to throw overboard the greatest part of her cargo. Many on board fearing the vessel would founder preferred trusting themselves in the boats to remaining in the ship; and of the five boats which left her, only one reached the land in safety, and she was picked up by a French vessel after many days' sailing. The Guardian, however, reached the Cape, with the remaining provisions in safety; and seventy-five barrels of flour were forwarded to this Colony by the Lady Juliana. The provisions received by the transport were only sufficient to warrant an increase of one pound and a half of flour to their weekly rations, and it was not till the arrival, on the 20th of June, of the store ship Justitian that the full ration was again issued, and labour (which had for some time been suspended) was again resumed. On the 26th and 28th of June three other transports arrived with convicts in a deplorable state, two hundred and seventy-four having died on the passage.
In the month of July the Governor caused the town of Parramatta to be laid out, and houses were immediately erected; several grants of land were {page 48} also made in the vicinity to emancipated convicts, and to some of the marines and sailors lately belonging to the Sirius, instructions to this effect having been received by the last mentioned vessels. Grants were authorised to be made to non-commissioned officers of one hundred and thirty acres, if single, or one hundred and fifty, if married; to privates eighty acres, if single, and one hundred, if married; and to emancipated convicts, thirty acres, if single, and fifty, if married, and ten acres additional for each child they had at the time of granting.
In the latter part of this month, as a midshipman and three sailors of the Sirius were returning up the harbour in a boat, when near Pinchgut Island, a whale rose so near them as almost to swamp the boat with the swell; after bailing out the water they pulled for the shore, but the whale again rose underneath the boat, and capsized it, by which three of them were drowned. The monster did not effect its escape from the harbour, but was some time afterwards ashore in Manly Cove, and was killed by the natives. On the 7th of September the Governor, whilst superintending the erection of a column at the Signal Station on the South Head, observed a number of the natives assembled near the whale at Manley Beach, and having been informed that Benilong (a native who had been in some measure domesticated, but had recently escaped) was amongst them, he took an armed party for the purpose of recapturing him; upon landing they found Benilong; and during the interview a native threw a spear with such force that it entered above the collar bone of the Governor, and the barb protruded at the back; the spear was broken off, and upon his arrival at Sydney the other part was carefully extracted. Fears were entertained for his safety, but by great care he recovered.
In October, after an absence of six months and two days, the Supply returned from Batavia, and was followed in a short time by a Dutch vessel hired at Batavia for the conveyance of the remaining stores. Their arrival was most opportune, for already had the former stores become nearly {page 49} exhausted; and the weather being very hot, and no rain having fallen since June, the crops were in a very sickly condition, and the prospects of harvest any thing but encouraging.
The Storehouse at Parramatta, 100 feet by 24, and the Wharf, were completed, and about thirty cottages or huts erected by the end of the year; and, in Sydney, another Store of equal dimensions, and in a line with that already erected on the east side of the Cove, was commenced.

CHAPTER .
THE ROYAL HOTEL; GEORGE STREET; THE POLICE OFFICE.

This has been truly called the age of action, and of quick and rapid events. In our previous chapter we described the state of things in 1790, when, at one period, there was not in the colony four months' provisions for the entire population, even on the most reduced scale; and when several persons had perished of inanition before the arrival of the transports from the Cape, bringing part of the stores saved from the Guardian and now, by a stroke of the enchanter's wand, we find the scene rapidly changed, and ourselves introducing our readers to a far different state of things:--our denizens of the pasturage--plains boiling down into tallow sufficient meat, per annum, to feed nearly half a million of persons, because we have not mouths to eat it: and our denizens of the city luxuriating in all the delicacies which the well appointed hotels and restaurants of Sydney afford on the most princely scale. Let us ask our readers to turn from the days of 1790-1, when our first brick building was begun and finished, and glance at the engraving which we present of the Royal Hotel, George Street, within whose hospitable walls the starving regime of Governor Phillip is now regarded as one {page 50} of the bygones of doubt and wonder. Few things strike new arrivals with more surprise than the external appearance and the inner appointments of this huge building--its ranges of balconies without, its labyrinth of corridors within. We may observe that the present structure was built on the ruins of the old Royal Hotel, which was erected by Mr. Barnett Levy, to whom the Colony stands indebted for the legalised introduction of the Legitimate Drama into New South Wales; for although, so early as 1796, Plays were performed here, the peculiar circumstances of the Colony's 'penality' prevented the local authorities from sanctioning the regular performances of the stage. It was on the old English Boxing-day, 26th December, 1832, that, in Mr. Barnett Levy's Saloon, "money was publicly taken at the doors," on which occasion Douglas Jerrold was the dramatist honored with the pas, his "Black-eyed Susan" being the play; whilst Billy Moncrieff's "Monsieur Tonson" was selected for the farce. This, however, is not the place where we may linger over dramatic affairs. We accordingly pass to the time when the disciples of Thespis, having removed to a more spacious temple, the old Royal was again devoted to Hotel purposes, and, under the able management of Mr. Sparkes, received the chief share of the patronage of our Settlers and Squatters, who, "on business or pleasure bent," paid their welcome periodical visits to our metropolis. From 1836 to 1840, a period of dazzling but false prosperity, Mr. Sparkes presided over the hospitalities of the old Hotel; but on the night of the 17th of March, in the latter year, the whole of the building was destroyed by fire. A drunken carter, who had been indulging in copious libations to St. Patrick, amused himself by smoking a pipe in an adjoining stable, belonging to Mr. Blanch; and the straw igniting, the immense stack of buildings was speedily in flames. Mr. Joseph Wyatt, the proprietor of the Victoria Theatre, was at this time the owner of this property, which was valued at £12,000, but unfortunately only insured for £3000. Mr. Sparkes' property, valued at £5000, was not insured at all. The total {page 51} damage was estimated at £20,000; and Colonel Barney declared that if the wind had set in freshly, either from the south or west, scarcely any human means could have prevented the destruction of property to the amount of half a million sterling. A grand ball was taking place at Government House when the fire broke out; and Colonel Barney, Capt. Collins, Lieut. Lugard, and other Officers, rushed out in their gay attire and lent their aid in extinguishing the flames. By levelling several tenements in the rear of Mr. Belmore's residence, Lieut. Lugard, in all probability, saved the Victoria Theatre, and also Mr. Nash's premises, from being consumed; and Colonel Barney anticipating, from a slight breeze to the southward, that the flames from the Hotel might communicate to Macdonald's buildings, had a train ready laid to blow up the two first houses, and thereby save the rest from destruction: but this was rendered unnecessary by the providential lulling of the wind. From Mr. Wyatt the fee-simple passed into the hands of Mr. John Terry Hughes, who built the structure which we are now about to describe.

The Royal Hotel, Plate 50A

When George the Fourth's favourite architect built the Church of All Souls in Langham Place, Regent Street, there was a passable joke current, about its 'order' being 'Mr. Nash's positive order'; and, premising that Mr. J. T. Hughes was his own architect when the immense stack of stone and wood-work was raised, which now, under the title of the Royal Hotel, occupies nearly an acre of ground in George Street, Sydney, we set out with the confession that no 'comparatives' or 'superlatives,' that we can command, are adequate to a faithful description of this "Curiosity of Colonial Architecture."
With a frontage of 72 feet, and a depth of 170, the exterior or naked stone walling of the Royal Hotel is extremely plain. Neither architectural nor ornamental character of any kind is assumed, albeit the front is enclosed by a series of balconies supported on Roman columns. The building is five stories in height, with a basement story used for cellars chiefly, {page 52} in one part whereof an imitation of the London 'Shades' has been attempted with partial success. The roof of the main building is flat, covered with lead, and is surrounded with a plain open embrasure, which ill accords with the Roman style of the series of balconies in the front. These balconies, entered from and on a level with the different floors of the building, are wide and spacious, forming a fine promenade in hot and sultry weather; and, giving shade and shelter to the adjoining rooms, are admirably adapted to a climate like ours. Still we cannot refrain from adverting to the recklessness which (with the fate of the old Royal in memory) constructed this immense frontage of Wood! With the exception of the lower columns, the whole of the range of balconies is composed of this combustible material.--A side entrance leads us into an open quadrangular court, situate about the centre of the buildings; and here again we find a series of flights of wooden stairs, ascending to the different stories of the building, with spacious landings or projecting balconies, supported on wooden pilasters. And here are to be found a number of large apartments desolate, unfinished, and perfectly useless, being at an absurd distance from the main part of the Hotel. To this wilderness of stone and wood we would particularly direct the attention of the young builder who would desire to avoid the 'Hughesionian' style of architecture.--But now let us conduct him to the main entrance in George Street, where the excellent cheer of Mr. Sparkes tempts even the hypercritical in art to be blind to the follies of the architect. The principal vestibule is of a good and appropriate size and depth: the bar, which is of polygonal form, and enclosed with glass sashes all round, being at the extreme end. Capacious flights of stairs, well formed and easy of access, run up both from the right and left of the bar. Two grand saloons, nearly 100 feet long, occupy a portion of the south side (the one immediately above the other). In width and height they are sadly disproportionate to their length; and, as many of our readers will admit who have visited the lower room (which {page 53} has been used for Concerts, Bazaars, and Public Meetings), it is extremely ill adapted for any of these purposes.
However, in the centre of the main building are to be found several fine suites of rooms (so far as area and space are concerned); and these, together with spacious corridors, whence run lengthy passages, with a number of single dormitories fitted up with every necessary comfort, impress new corners with high notions of the resources of a city, which can support establishments of so gigantic a design as this. The kitchen, and other culinary offices, are in the basement story; they are dark and ill-suited for the purposes intended, and are by no means compatible with the requirements of an Hotel of this magnitude.
Including the large saloons, the billiard-room, and principal coffee-room, the design of the Hotel contains nearly one hundred apartments, many of which, by the way, now unfinished and closed up, are without the means of being lighted, except by artificial means! With Mr. Hughes's system of building we are not acquainted, but we presume that he never could have placed upon paper, a plan of the huge mass of cumbersomeness which he has piled in George-street? One half of the money wasted thereupon, would have sufficed for a building worthy of the finest street in Europe.
We are glad to be enabled to add to these strictures, that the interior of the Royal Hotel is now undergoing considerable repairs, in so far as relates to the habitable portions. The grand saloon, hitherto unopened, is to be furnished and fitted up, so as to provide for a want generally felt by disciples of Apollo and Terpsichore:--indeed by all parties, desirous of assembling in large numbers, for purposes of festivity or business. The walls, floors, and roof of this part of the building, will be strengthened by means of a number of substantial iron columns, so as to shorten the bearings of the heavy girders, of which we have already complained. Various other improvements are in contemplation; and when we state that these {page 54} important works have been confided to Mr. James Hume, our readers will join with us, in predicting that the Royal Hotel will soon present, in reality, all those facilities which its eccentric and enthusiastic projector imagined he had offered in erecting it.
We may state, in conclusion, that Mr. Daniel Cooper of London, is now the owner of this extensive property.
George Street:--the main artery through which the vital stream of commerce flows to the remotest parts of the Colony, extends in an unbroken line from Dawes' Point, the northern extremity of the City, to the old Toll Bar, at the southern, a distance of two miles, and is continued nearly another mile under the name of Parramatta Street, connecting the extensive and populous suburbs of Chippendale and Redfern with the City, and forming the grand approach from the southern and western districts. The newcomer cannot fail of being surprised with the bustle and animation that pervades this street; numberless Omnibuses in constant motion, Hackney Carriages, Coaches, Gigs, Waggons, and every description of vehicle, from the humble "shay cart" to the regular four in hand, passing and re-passing; with now and then the huge bullock dray, laden with wool or other produce, and drawn by eight or ten immense bullocks, wending its devious way to the Merchant's Stores; gives character to the scene, and stamps it Colonial. That portion of George Street, between the Queen's Wharf and King Street, has already been illustrated by our first five plates, and now after having rambled through a portion of King and Pitt Streets, we return to it again, and the eleventh and twelfth plates represent all the buildings between King Street and the Police Office, commencing at King Street; Mr. Woolley's Ironmongery Stores and Show Rooms (formerly the private residence of William Hutchinson, Esq.), first claim attention, the main building surrounded as it is by the shops facing the street, would hardly be noticed by a stranger; but its interior displays in rich profusion, every article of luxury, taste, or utility, the trade can supply.

George Street, Plate 54A
{page 55}

We have also in this locality, the establishments of all the principal Ironmongers;--facing Mr. Woolley's is that of Mr. R. M. Robey, a spacious and ornamental building, erected some fourteen years since, by Mr. Grose; a few doors further on, we have Mr. C. Scott's, and Mr. R. 0. Reilly's; and next to the Royal Hotel, Messrs. Harper and Moore's; a little further on, Messrs. Hawley and Co.; and after crossing Market Street, the establishment of the late Mr. L. Iredale, opposite the Market. After passing Messrs. S. Peek and Co.'s Grocery and Tea Warehouse (which like Mr. Woolley's, must be examined, to discover its vast extent), we come to a range of highly respectable houses, extending to the Royal Hotel; including the fashionable Tailoring Establishments of H. Hayes and Co.; and Mr. Alderman Broughton; the White Horse Tavern and Coach Office; and the Hot and Vapour Baths of Mr. Robinson.
At the back of Messrs. Harper and Moore's, is the Sydney Foundry, an extensive establishment belonging to the Messrs. Russell; a little further on is the Whip Manufactory of Mr. J. Scott, the only one in the Colony, where every variety of that article is made fully equal to the best London whips.
The adjoining substantial and elegant houses, the property of Mr. M. Joseph, have been erected only some seven or eight years, the sites having been previously occupied by low weather-boarded cottages; and the whole row of houses extending to Market Street, has been renovated or rebuilt, within that period. The houses opposite, occupied by Mr. Titterton, and the Savings' Bank, are creditable specimens of our street architecture.
The Savings' Bank, whose offices occupy the ground floor of one of these houses, (the upper part being the offices of Messrs. Carr and Owen, Solicitors), is an Institution that shows at once, most clearly and incontestibly, the prosperity of the working classes in this Colony, and the great advantages such people have in emigrating hither.
{page 56}
It must be borne in mind we have no Poor Laws, or even need of them, for except by extreme old age, sickness, or some other of "the ills that flesh is heir to," we have few suppliants for relief, and these are provided for by the voluntary contributions of the Citizens. The honest and industrious, no matter of what calling, are enabled to earn a good maintainance, and also to lay by something for the day of sickness or adversity, whilst many who have landed upon these shores destitute, have risen to comparative affluence.
The great advantages afforded to the Operatives, by such an Institution, have long been acknowledged at Home, but it was not until the year 1832, a Savings' Bank was established in Sydney. Since which time, however, it has gradually extended its influence, accumulating capital for thousands who, most probably, would otherwise have wasted or spent it.
The management of the affairs of the Bank is vested (by Act of Council), in eighteen Trustees; His Excellency the Governor being President, the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, Vice President, and George Miller, Esq.,. Accountant; to whose able direction in the details of the business of the Bank, much of its success must be attributed.
By the last quarterly balance, it appears the deposits had increased to upwards of £170,000; and as it was impossible to find profitable and safe investment for so large an amount of capital, a great portion remained unemployed, consequently the rate of interest payable to the depositors, was reduced to two and a half per cent. per annum. By a recent Act of the Legislative Council, the Trustees were empowered to dispose of a portion of their accumulated capital, by way of loans to the Corporations of Sydney and Melbourne, for the general improvement of these Cities; and it is further proposed to employ the available funds in the formation of projected Railways, the Government being responsible for the monies so advanced; an increased rate of interest will therefore be insured; the city improved; and a national benefit derived from this unassuming yet {page 57} invaluable institution.

George Street, 56A

Opposite the Royal Hotel is Mr. Cetta's Picture Frame and Looking Glass Manufactory, from whence all the neighbouring Colonies are almost exclusively supplied; the Carving and Gilding executed at this establishment is of the highest order, and merits the extensive patronage it receives.

The Police office, Plate 56B

At the corner of Market Street, with the front in George Street, stands the "Waterloo Stores," a spacious brick building, erected some twenty years since by Mr. Daniel Cooper; it then stood alone at the corner of the Cattle Market, and was without question the best building in the City, and even in the present day, when the spirit and enterprise of the colonists have caused the erection of many very excellent buildings, it still holds its rank amongst the best. The business of this establishment is conducted by Mr. D. Cooper, Junior, (the son of the above named gentleman) on a very extended scale. Country Stores and Settlers are here supplied with every thing they require: Wines, Spirits, Ales and Porter, Grocery, and Drapery Goods, Slops, and Clothing, Ironmongery, etc., in infinite variety.
Passing onwards we have a continuation of good shops, and facing them the Market Sheds (which will be fully described in a future number), extend southward to the Police Office.
The Police Office, which forms the subject of one of our illustrations, was erected for a Market House, from the design of Mr. Greenaway, and as far as its exterior is concerned, is certainly creditable to the Colony. The Portico on the south side or front, with four Grecian Pillars supporting a pediment and roof, forms the entrance, with doors leading into the Courts on either side.
The building surmounted by its Cupola and Lantern rising from the centre to a considerable height, forms a conspicuous object, visible from all parts of the City, and the Country for many miles round. The internal arrangements however, are both unsightly and incommodious, and anything {page 58} but realize the anticipations formed by the external appearance of the building.

St Andrews Scots Church, Plate 58A

Its appropriation is of course for the exercise and distribution of justice, and is daily opened for this purpose (at 9 o'clock, a.m.), before two or more Magistrates. There are besides the two open Courts of Justice, several other apartments, comprising, the Senior Magistrate's Private Room, and those set apart for the Clerks of the Establishment, as offices. Captain J. L. Innes, the present Senior Police Magistrate, is the successor of Mr. Windeyer, who retired from office after many years' active and able service, on account of his advanced age and declining health rendering him unfit for the further prosecution of so responsible, arduous, and harrassing an office.
Captain Innes also holds the situations of Commissioner of Police, and Visiting Magistrate to the Gaol, and Convict Establishment at Cockatoo Island; and in the efficient discharge of his public duties, he has gained the respect and esteem of the Citizens at large. Laurence Miles, Esq., is Junior Police Magistrate.
The Establishment consists also of one Chief Clerk, seven Junior Clerks, and an Interpreter. The City Police force contains four Inspectors, twelve Sergeants, and seventy-six Constables; and the District force, one Inspector, one Sergeant, and fifteen Constables, all of whom wear the same costume as the London Police Force, and are paid by the Government. The Police force generally muster for inspection every morning in the yard, after the business of the Court is concluded.
The old Police Office was the building now used as the General Post Office, the present one not having been appropriated as such until about the year 1830. It is in contemplation to make some alterations and improvements in the interior of the present building, and we must confess, not before they are required, for it can hardly be expected that a building {page 59} erected for a Market House, and used for some time as a store, should be at all suitable for its present uses.

CHAPTER XIII.
SCOTS' CHURCH.--YORK STREET.

The Scots' Church of St. Andrew's, more generally known as Dr. Lang's Church, stands on the southern extremity of Church Hill, near the entrance to the old Military Barracks, and in the immediate vicinity of the Episcopalian Church of St. Phillip's. It is a commodious and well finished building, and with the gallery capable of holding 1000 persons. Thi s was the first Scots' Church erected in the Colony, for previous to the arrival of the Rev. Dr. Lang, May 23, 1823, there had not been a Presbyterian minister: he commenced his duties in the small chapel in Prince Street (now used by the Wesleyans), on the 8th June, in the same year, and continued to perform service according to the rites of the Scottish Church, in the same place of worship until the completion of the present edifice.
Soon after his arrival in the Colony, a congregation of Scots' Presbyterians was formed, and shortly afterwards it was proposed to erect a Church in Sydney, and upwards of £700 was subscribed for that purpose in the course of a few days.
The Committee of Management addressed a memorial to the Governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was himself a Scotsman and a Presbyterian, praying assistance from the Government in aid of their undertaking, such assistance having been previously afforded to the Roman Catholics of the Colony. To this memorial a most disrespectful reply was sent refusing the sought for aid. The memorial and reply having been published in the Colonial Newspapers, after a time found their way home, and were afterwards {page 60} copied into the Morning Chronicle, together with some stringent remarks from the Editor (himself a Scotsman). These remarks having fallen under the eye of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Earl Bathurst, and feeling the injustice of the whole proceeding, spontaneously directed Sir Thomas Brisbane immediately to advance one third of the estimated cost of the erection, from the Colonial Treasury and afterwards further directed that a salary of £300 per annum, should be paid to the officiating minister, "regretting" at the same time "that his Excellency had put to their probation members of the Church of Scotland in the Colony, the Established Church of one of the most enlightened and virtuous portions of the Empire."
It is but justice to the Governor, however, to state, that previous to the arrival of the above despatches, he had perceived his error, and afterwards did everything in his power to atone for the injury he had occasioned; and although he had caused his name to be erased from the original list of subscribers, he now replaced it, and to show his zeal for his country's religion, laid the foundation stone himself, on the first of July, 1824.
We cannot close this subject without expressing our admiration of the persevering zeal of the Rev. Dr. Lang, who has devoted his exalted talents, his private property, and so large a portion of his life (now upwards of a quarter of a century), to the advancement of religion, and general improvement of the Colony at large. We are not unmindful that in many ways his conduct has been reprehensible, and that he has frequently incurred the displeasure even of his own countrymen, but "to err is human," and his faults have generally been errors of judgement: there are few we believe will deny his grand aim has ever been the advancement of Australia, his adopted country.

King Street and York Street, Plate 60A

York Street is a short street, running north and south, parallel with George Street, extending from the south entrance of the Military Barracks, to the old Burial Ground, and is intersected at right angles by {page 61} King Street West and Market Street; from its central position it might be expected to possess more importance than it actually does; but when the contemplated improvements in the Barrack Square (the whole of which is about being laid out for sale) are completed, it will become a leading thoroughfare, and the value of property in this locality will be consequently much enhanced. Entering York Street from the Old Barracks we meet at each corner (as is generally the case in Sydney) a Public House with open doors, inviting the thirsty traveller to refresh. We pass on, and on the right hand at a short distance stands the "Masonic Hall" kept by Mr. J. Entwisle. The front, which is of two stories, with verandah and balcony supported by columns, is of a plain and unassuming appearance, and conveys no idea of the extent of the internal arrangements and accommodation. A few years since this house was the property of the Freemasons, and the general resort of the brotherhood of that ancient and honorable order, whose lodges were held here--but in consequence of increase of business and the property's being sold to other parties, the Lodges have been removed and it is now the Masonic Hall only in name.
Since the change in the proprietory, Mr. Entwisle has made extensive alterations in the rear of the original house,--having erected a splendid Saloon, surrounded by private rooms on the ground floor and on the first floor by bed-rooms, leading from a gallery which encompasses it and connects it with the main building.
Mr. Entwisle has obtained considerable celebrity for the excellent ordinary served up in the Saloon at one o'clock, which is very respectably and numerously attended by not less than eighty or ninety persons daily.
On the opposite side of the Street immediately facing the Masonic Hall, is a large brick built house with a willow tree in front, which was for many years, the private residence of J. Raymond, Esq., Postmaster General, and is now occupied by Mr. Stewart, Veterinary Surgeon. The extensive back premises belonging to this house are well adapted for the {page 62} use to which they are appropriated, namely, a Horse Bazaar, where, after the style of Tattersall's in London, are held periodical sales of Horses, etc., by auction.
Reader! refer to the plate in the 13th number, and observe that unpretending, but comfortable cottage adjoining the Horse Bazaar. Mark it well: that is one of the few perfect specimens of Colonial domestic Architecture still to be met with in Sydney, which have hitherto escaped being consigned to oblivion, and have not yet given way to the march of improvement, imposed by the present building act. The remaining houses in this portion of York Street, are characterised by no remarkable architectural beauty, but occupied by a business-like class of persons diligently engaged in their several avocations.

Wesleyan Centenary Chapel, Plate 62A

CHAPTER XIV.
WESLEYAN CENTENARY CHAPEL, YORK--STREET; AND JEW'S SYNAGOGUE.

THE Wesleyan Centenary Chapel represented in one of our plates, is one of those few good buildings, of which the Wesleyans particularly, and the Citizens generally have reason to be proud; indeed few of the provincial towns in England can boast of a building equal to this. It was erected by Mr. Jacob Inder, from a design by Mr. Josiah Atwool. The foundation-stone was laid by the Rev. J. M'Kenny, on the 24th of February, 1840, and the building was opened for Divine Worship on the 14th of the same month, 1844. The front is built of dressed freestone, having a rusticated basement, and the portico with four columns of the Doric order, supporting the pediment etc., is approached by a flight of steps extending {page 63} its entire width. The body of the building is of brick, extending backwards eighty feet, with a frontage to the street of fifty feet. The basement is divided into two spacious School-rooms, capable of affording accommodation for five hundred children.
The interior arrangements are in the usual style adopted in England. An aisle leading down on either side, with pews extending to the walls, and occupying the entire centre. The pulpit which is octagonal, with geometrical staircase ascending from the aisle, is a very clever piece of workmanship. The reading desk is in the front of the pulpit; and at the back, in the recess, stands the Organ gallery, with semicircular front. A gallery is now in course of erection, extending round the remaining portion of the building, the panels in front of which, as well as the other fittings are of the choicest specimens of Colonial cedar, and the workmanship equal to any at Home.
When the galleries are finished the Chapel is estimated to contain twelve hundred persons. The cost of erection we are informed has been little short of seven thousand pounds. The Ministers now officiating in the Sydney district are, the Rev. W. Boyce, General Superintendent of the Mission, in this and the neighbouring colonies; Rev. Mr. Turner, for many years in New Zealand, Launceston, and this City; Rev. Messrs. Lewis and Harris.
The Wesleyans are rapidly gaining ground in this Colony, and it must be gratifying to sincere Christians of every denomination, to see a progression so desirable. Thirty years since they had no public place of worship, their first chapel in Macquarie Street, having been opened July 1st. 1821, from which period their numbers have been steadily and rapidly increasing, so that now in the City and Suburbs there are no less than ten chapels, all well attended. The last Census returns show the number of Wesleyans in Sydney to be 2128. And in the whole Colony 7935, being an increase of 4700 during the last five years.
{page 64}

JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.--

The erection of this building was attended at first by many difficulties, which have been happily surmounted, by the incessant efforts of a mere handful of people. After several ineffectual attempts, grants of land were applied for and obtained from the Government, but the authorised sites were never accepted, in consequence of their inconvenience. At length on the 3rd of November, 1841, the present site was purchased at a public sale, for and on behalf of the Congregation, and vested in the names of several Trustees. A Building Committee having been appointed, a plan presented by Mr. Hume was approved of, and the present beautiful building was erected, at a cost of three thousand six hundred pounds. It was opened for the performance of Divine worship after the Hebrew form, in the presence of a numerous congregation, on the 2nd of April, 1844, the consecration service being performed in a most efficient manner by Mr. Isaacs, the Reader, assisted by Mr. Solomon Phillips and others.

The Jews Synagogue, Plate 64A

The records of the early period of the Hebrew religion in this Colony, are not very authentic, but from enquiries made, it appears that in 1817, there were about twenty Hebrews in the Colony, and those little versed in the faith of their ancestors: notwithstanding this they formed themselves into a Society, and raised a subscription for the interment of their dead. At this period the first Hebrew funeral took place. From 1817 to 1820 the Society continue in operation, meeting occasionally to regulate financial affairs. In 1820, a person named Joel Joseph died, and on the application of Mr. A. Levi to the Rev. Dr. Cowper, the right-hand corner of the Christian Burial Ground was allotted to the Hebrews for the interment of their dead.
From the year 1820 to 1828 the Society became extinct, and no attempt was made to revive it except when a death occurred, which did not happen above five times during that period. The worldly condition of the Hebrews in the Colony improved considerably in 1827 and 1828, in consequence of {page 65} the great influx of respectable merchants during that period, and this with other circumstances had raised the Hebrews in the estimation of their fellow-colonists.

York Street, Plate 64B

About this period Mr. P. J. Cohen having offered the use of his house for the purpose, Divine Worship was performed for the first time in this Colony, according to the Hebrew form, and was continued regularly every Sabbath and Holiday. From some difference of opinion then existing amongst the members of this faith, Divine Service was also performed occasionally in a room hired by Messrs. A. Elias, and James Simmons. In this condition everything connected with their religion remained, until the arrival of the Rev. Aaron Levi, in the year 1830; he had been despatched on a special mission to the Colony, by the Chief Rabbi of the British Jews, the Rev. Solomon Hirschell, and being one of the Beth Din, or Rabbies, and duly accredited, corrected many of the errors and abuses then existing, and endeavoured by his judicious management, to instil into the minds of the Hebrew community, a taste for the religion of their fathers; his efforts proved successful, a Roll of the Law (Seiphor Torah) was purchased from him by subscription, Hebrew books of Prayer were also supplied by him to those who had no previous opportunity of possessing them. Divine Service was more regularly conducted, and from this time may be dated the establishment of the Jewish Religion in Sydney. In the year 1832 all the members of the Hebrew faith, resident in the Colony, formed themselves into one Society, selected a Committee to manage their secular affairs, and appointed J. B. Montefiore, Esq., their president. He obtained from the Government a distinct grant of land for a burial ground (the same now used as such), and erected thereon a house for devotional purposes.
Upon the foundation of the Society, it was found necessary to engage a larger place for worship, and the room now used by Mr. Gordon as a store, on the north side of Bridge-street, was used as a temporary Synagogue, {page 66} and named Beth Tephiloh or the House of Prayer. In this year (1832) the first Jewish marriage was solemnized, that of Moses Joseph, Esq., and Miss Nathan, the ceremony was performed by Mr. P. J. Cohen, who was duly authorised by letter from the Chief Rabbi in England, and which was also recorded in the office of the Colonial Secretary. In the year 1835 Mr. Rose and family arrived, bearing credentials from the Chief Rabbi, and was engaged as Reader, Mowell, and Shouchatt, to the congregation, the ceremonies of the Jewish Church having been previously performed by Messrs. Lear and Hyams.
At length the Hebrews became so numerous and respectable a portion of the community, that it was thought necessary to erect a new synagogue, subscriptions lists were opened, and to which many names, belonging to various denominations of Christians, were added, displaying a liberality rarely to be met with even in England, and in a short time upwards of two thousand pounds were collected, and the present chaste and classic edifice, represented in the annexed plate, was erected.
The Hebrews according to the Census of 1846, numbered in Sydney (603) six hundred and three, and in the Colony (1086) one thousand and eighty-six, since which period their numbers have been considerably augmented. Isaac Levy, Esq., is now their President; Elias Moses, Esq., Treasurer; Mr. Jacob Isaacs, Reader, etc.; and Mr. George Moss, Secretary.

York Street, Plate 66A

The continuation of York-street, presents few objects deserving particular notice, for though in the earlier days of the City it was the main street leading into the Country, it ceased to be so upon the regular formation of George-street, in Governor Macquarie's time. Previous to that period the whole of that portion of the City bounded by the line now formed by George-street on the east, Druitt-street on the south, and a line extending from Hunter-street to the waters of Darling Harbour on the north, comprised what was called the Military District, and no Civilians were allowed {page 67} within its limits, which regulation continued in force until the arrival of Governor Macquarie. In those days, it is true, the lines of some of the streets were defined, and occasionally a few connected houses indicated its direction, but they had received no names; and it was not till 1811 that any were given. The first streets were named after the Royal Family; George-street, which then extended from Campbell's Wharf to Hunter-street, was named after the King; Prince-street, after the Prince of Wales; York, Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, Sussex, Cambridge, and Gloucester Streets, after the Royal Dukes. At the same period the City was divided into five districts, with a watch-house in each.
The low weatherboard cottage with small garden in front, next to Mr. Coveny's the Grocer, for many years the residence of Mr. Fairweather, is one of the oldest houses now in the City, having been erected some forty-five years, it was then considered one of the best; the small cottages next are also some of the original houses erected by the Military. The house on the opposite side, retiring a little from the line of street, with balcony in front, was for some time the only Coach-office in Sydney, and kept by the proprietor of the Coaches, Lincoln Bill.
The house used as the Town Council Chambers, since the Incorporation of the City in 1842, was erected by Mr. Commissary Broughton, about the year 1813, on the site of a row of soldiers' huts, known by the name of the Rookery; it was afterwards the residence of the first Colonial Secretary, Major Goulburn; and again that of Sidney Stephen, Esq., and ten years ago it was the Pultenay Hotel, kept by Mr. Levien.
The Market Sheds on the opposite side of the street, were erected about seventeen years since, they consist of four separate buildings, each about two hundred feet long, by thirty in width, and divided into stalls for the sale of the various kinds of produce; the first in York-street is used for the sale of meat, poultry, eggs, butter, cheese, etc., and the next for fruit and vegetables, those on the side of George-street, for wholesale dealers. {page 68} The Markets are opened every day from 7 a.m., till 6 p.m. The first Market was held on that space near the Queen's Wharf now used as a stand by the licensed drays. It was afterwards removed to the open space at the bottom of Charlotte Place, facing Mr. S. Lyons' Auction Mart, and was subsequently removed to the site of the present Market and Police Office; at first this was only a paddock, with occasional bark or slab huts, as a protection from the weather, where the various articles were exposed for sale. The Cattle Market being enclosed by posts and rails; between it and the water, as late as 1810, was the wild bush, through which a road was ordered to be cleared, for the convenience of those who brought their produce by water.

Hyde Park and Elizabeth Street, Plate 68A

CHAPTER XV.
HYDE PARK.--ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL.

Hyde Park, or as it was originally designated the Race Course, is a fine open space, upon the rising ground to the eastward of the City, reserved very judiciously for the recreation of the inhabitants. It is fenced in, and the walks, etc., are now undergoing a complete repair, the main walk forms a very agreeable promenade, having an extensive view of the harbour, and consequently open to the refreshing sea breezes. It also forms the arena in which the native youths delight to contend for the laurels of victory in the noble game of cricket, and in which they certainly excel; there are numerous cricket clubs, which make this their rendezvous, and it is seldom you can pass through the Park without finding some of them at practise, It has for many years ceased to be a race course, although originally cleared for that purpose. In the year 1810 on the arrival of the 73rd Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel O'Connell, {page 69} (the late Sir Maurice O'Connell), who was also Lieutenant Governor of the Colony; it was encamped on the rising ground at the southern extremity of what is now the Park. The Officers of this Regiment, assisted by the Government Officials, and Gentry, desirous of establishing in the southern hemisphere the truly national sport of horse-racing, for which Britons are so justly celebrated, raised subscriptions, and in a short time "cleared the course," where had previously been a wild forest, or in colonial phraseology, the bush, and in October, the same year, held the first racing meeting. The Grand Stand and winning post stood at the top of what is now called Market-street, and the Course took a sweep to the right, in the direction of Hyde Park Barracks, thence near the site of St. Mary's Cathedral and the Sydney College, passing in front of Lyons' Terrace obliquely to the top of Bathurst-street, along what is now Elizabeth-street, to the corner of Park-street, and thence to the winning post. That portion of the Course from Park-street to the corner of Macquarie-street, near Hyde Park Barracks, and from Macquarie-street south, to Bathurst-street may be easily traced to this day, the land having been levelled. When first formed, the length of this Course was one mile and a quarter, but it was subsequently shortened to a mile and six yards. At this first meeting, a horse named "Chance," the property of Captain Ritchie, won the first prize, Colonel O'Connell's horse "Carlo" won another, and a horse belonging to Darcy Wentworth, Esq., took a third. The racing went off with great éclat, and was followed (as is usually the case in England), with a race ball. The races continued to be held here during the administration of Governor Macquarie, the last meeting being in 1821; by this time many houses had sprung up in the vicinity, and several of the public buildings being in course of erection, it became necessary to remove the races further from the town, and subsequent meetings took place at the Sandy Race Course, as it was then called, about four miles to the southward, in the direction of Botany Bay.
{page 70}
The vicinity of the Race Course was selected by Governor Macquarie, probably on account of its elevated and commanding situation, as the site of many of our most important buildings, near it we have the Legislative Council Chambers, the General Hospital and Dispensary; the Supreme Court, St. James' Church and Hyde Park Barracks, are on the north side; St. Mary's Cathedral, the Museum and Sydney College on the east; and on the opposite or west side, the Normal Institution, and Georgian School House, more commonly called the old Court House, from its having been used as such prior to the completion of the present Supreme Court.
The private buildings surrounding the Park deserve particular notice, those on the south side, built by Mr. S. Lyons in the year 1840, and completed in 1841, are without exception the best in the City, and would not disgrace the Regent's Park in London.

Hyde Park and Lyon's Terrace and Burdekin's terrace, Plate 70A

Lyon's Terrace

The other houses on the same side of the Park, as also those on the east, including Burdekin's Terrace, are well built respectable residences, those on the west side are of a motley character, having been erected at various periods, and after every variety of style; there are however many superior houses amongst them, such as the residences of G. Bennett, Esq., M.D. and Dr. Foulis, with the new buildings known as Henderson's Buildings, extending to King-street.
The first place of execution was in the vicinity of what is now Hyde Park; some say it was on the spot now occupied by the St. James' Watch-house, others that it was on the opposite side of Elizabeth-street, where Henderson's Buildings now stand, but by a chart in a French work, published by the authority of Napoleon in 1803, it appears to have been not many yards from the site of the old Court House: on one point, however, there is no difference of opinion, viz., that the exact spot afterwards formed part of a garden that extended up King-street from the corner of Castlereagh-street, embracing part of the site of the Supreme Court, that of the Watch-house and part of the site of the old Court House, and which was {page 71} granted to a person who had been condemned, and whilst under the gallows awaiting execution, was reprieved.
About the year 1804 the gallows was removed to the corner of Park and Castlereagh-street, where the "Barley Mow" public house now stands, again it was erected near the site of Barker's Mills, in Sussex-street, it was afterwards removed to the east corner of what is now the Protestant burial ground, near Strawberry Hill, again over the Sand Hills to the back of the new Military Barracks, and in the year 1820, to the old Gaol in Lower George-street, and finally to the gate in front of the new Gaol at Darlinghurst, where the first execution of two men for murder took place, October 29,1841.
In reviewing the early history of the Colony, it is much to be regreted that its pages are stained with records of so many instances of the sacrifice of human life as punishment for the most trifling offences; even among the small population then in the Colony, the number executed far exceeded that of the present day, with a population of nearly two hundred thousand.
St. Mary's Cathedral was commenced under the auspices of the Rev. J. J. Therry, the first stone having been laid by His Excellency, Governor Macquarie, October 20, 1821. Considering the state of the Catholic religion at that period, and the limited means then existing in the Colony, it must be admitted to have been a noble effort of the worthy founder; it was considered even by many most zealous friends to the cause, as far too extensive an undertaking, and the great length of time taken in the erection proved the justness of their opinions; however by the unceasing efforts of a few individuals all these difficulties were surmounted, and the noble edifice represented in the annexed plate erected. The Church is a vast and lofty pile, in the pointed Gothic style of Architecture, extremely plain and devoid of ornament, yet imposing from its situation and magnitude; the interior however still remains uncompleted. Beneath the Church foundation has been excavated and fitted up as private apartments for religious students, etc. The Church having been erected on rising ground; {page 72} these apartments are on a level with the gardens on the east side, whilst the floor of the Cathedral is a little above the level of the street on the west. On the north side have been erected cloisters, (of a much more ornamental character than the Church itself) connecting the private residence of the Archbishop and priests, with the Cathedral. Adjoining the latter is the very elegant and beautifully finished private chapel of His Grace the Archbishop; the windows are of stained glass, and the seats are of the finest cedar, richly and elaborately carved and polished. Opposite the entrance to this chapel is the library, well stored with valuable books.
Descending the hill at the back of the Cathedral, we come to the School; a building erected about four years since, it is in perfect keeping with the cloisters, and deserves a better position than the one it occupies; it is capable of holding about five hundred persons.

St. Mary’s Cathedral 

It is matter of surprise that the Government of an enlightened nation (as the British claims to be), should have sent to this country so many of its subjects without having made any provision for their spiritual instruction, yet such was the case, and we find the first efforts to establish the Roman Catholic Faith in this Colony, was made by political offenders, who had been banished from their native land, during the Irish Rebellion, in 1798, and sent prisoners to this country. They of course, had no chapel or public place of worship, but performed their religious services in private dwellings, the best way they could. The first mass (it is believed), was performed in the house in Harrington-street, now the residence of Mr. Davies, by a priest who accompanied the French surveying vessels that arrived here in 1802.
We have not been able to trace the progress of the Catholic Religion from that period to the arrival of the Rev. Jeremiah O'Flinn in 1817, but judging from the hearty manner in which he was received, and the success that attended his labours for the short period he was allowed to remain, we cannot suppose the ordinances and practice of their religion had been {page 73} neglected. The Local Government however, a few months after his arrival placed him in confinement, and ultimately sent him away by the first vessel sailing for England.
In order to allay the excitement created in the mother country by the treatment the Rev. J. 0. Flinn, had suffered, the Government there was induced to grant a stipend each to two missionaries, to be sent to this Colony, the Revds. J. J. Therry and Connolly, the latter of whom, shortly after his arrival in 1820, established himself at Hobart Town, leaving this extensive Colony to the sole charge of the Rev. J. J. Therry, through whose exertions, as we have before stated, St. Mary's Cathedral was erected.
The Catholic religion progressed rapidly from this period, for by the Census taken in the year 1828, (which was the first having any returns relating to the religion of the inhabitants) we find the number of Catholics exceeded eleven thousand, in a population of thirty-six thousand; and by the last Census in 1846, they had increased to fifty-six thousand.
The Rev. Dr. Polding, the first Catholic Bishop of Australia, arrived in the Colony, September 13, .1835, and his inauguration took place on the 20th of the same month. He was accompanied by several priests and other ecclesiastics. In many of the towns of the Colony churches were now commenced, and ministers appointed, and to those parts of the Colony where the population was scattered over a vast extent of country, itinerant missionaries were sent.
At the end of the year 1838, the Rev. Dr. Ullathorne, Roman Catholic Vicar General, accompanied by three Priests, and five Sisters of Charity, arrived. In 1840 Dr. Polding embarked for England, and during his visit to Rome was created an Archbishop, and in 1843 he again returned to the Colony, bringing with him nine other clergymen. It was also during this visit to England that Dr. Polding caused to be sent out the first peal of bells, which arrived in 1842; a belfry was erected near the {page 74} Cathedral and the first merry peal upon them ushered in the new year 1843.

CHAPTER XVI.
SUPREME COURT--ELIZABETH STREET.

The Supreme Court represented in the annexed plate was commenced in the year 1820, and completed in August 1828; it was built from the design of Mr. Greenaway the Colonial Architect. It is a very plain brick building, having no pretensions to architectural beauty, neither is it designed after any particular style, except it be that already adopted in the Hyde Park Barracks; its situation, however, on the rising ground at the corner of King and Elizabeth Streets, with the Park at its back, is such as would give good effect to a building of more classic design. The sittings of the Supreme Court, both in its Criminal and Civil jurisdiction, were held in this Court until the erection of the new Court House, Darlinghurst, in 1842; to which the Criminal Court was removed, and the Civil causes alone are now tried here.

Former Supreme Court and Registry Office

The entrance was originally on the west side, (the portico and steps are still remaining) it is now on the north side with a lobby leading into both Courts. At the back are the Judges' Chambers, and a circular stairs leading to the various offices connected with the Court, and which occupy the whole of the upper part of the building.
In the early days of the Colony the administration of justice in Criminal causes was entrusted to a Judge Advocate Colonel Collins (the early Historian of the Colony), and a jury of six officers, naval or military: the Court was convened from time to time under the hand of the Governor, as occasion required; there being no fixed periodical sittings. Similar to {page 75} Courts Martial, witnesses were examined by any member of the Court, the Judge Advocate was president or judge, and sworn in to "well and truly try, etc.", the same as the other members, and retired with them to consult upon the case, and also to vote as a juryman, he had however to frame and exhibit the indictments against the prisoner; the verdict being by a majority of the Court. If guilty, and the offence capital, they pronounced judgment of death, or other punishment, according to the custom in England, as near as the circumstances of the Colony would admit. But no offender could be put to death unless five members of the Court should adjudge him guilty, or until the King's pleasure should be known. The Provost Marshal caused the judgment of the Court to be executed, according to the Governor's warrant, under his hand and seal.
Almost immediately upon the first landing of the prisoners, many of them commenced pilfering, and in order to put a check upon them, the Criminal Court was convened for the first time on the 11th February, (only fifteen days after the first arrival), when one was sentenced to receive one hundred and fifty lashed, and another to be confined on Pinchgut Island for a week, upon bread and water. The mildness of these punishments seemed rather to have encouraged than deterred others, for before the month was ended the Criminal Court was again assembled for the trial of four men who had robbed the public store. They were convicted, and one named James Burrell, suffered death on the following day. This was the first execution that took place in the Colony.
Besides the Criminal Court there was also a Court of Civil Jurisdiction, as it was styled, consisting of the Judge Advocate and two inhabitants of the settlement, appointed by the Governor; which Court had full power to hear and determine in a summary way "all manner of personal pleas whatsoever." From this Court, on either party finding himself aggrieved by the judgment, appeal might be had to the Governor (when the matter in dispute exceeded the value of £300,) {page 76} to the King in Council; these appeals were to be put in, if from the Court, within eight days, and if from the Governor, within fourteen days, after the pronouncing of the judgment. To this Court was likewise given authority to grant probate of wills, and administration of personal estates, of intestate persons dying within the settlement. The first action tried in this Court was in the year 1790, when the captain of one of the convict ships was sued for monies, etc., entrusted to him, for some of the prisoners he brought out, and a verdict was found for the plaintiffs.
Lieutenant Colonel Collins continued to act as Judge Advocate, from the foundation of the Colony to the year 1804, when he was removed to Van Dieman's Land, having been appointed Lieutenant Governor of that settlement; he was succeeded by Richard Atkins, Esq., who continued in the same office until the arrival of Ellis Bent, Esq., in 1810, who also retained the office till his death in 1815.

Hyde Park Barracks 

The Court was held at this time in the building in Bent Street, lately used for the Government Land Sales, and during the administration of Judge Advocate Wylde, who succeeded Ellis Bent, it was held in the building in Macquarie Street, now the Executive Council Chambers. In the year 1817 Judge Field arrived. Although the settlement of Van Dieman's Land had been established twelve years, they had no Court further than that held before a magistrate, and all cases of any importance had consequently to be sent hither for adjudication, this was attended with great expense and inconvenience, and the ends of justice were frequently frustrated by the absence of evidence and other causes, it was therefore determined to form a Court at Hobart Town, and in the year 1818, Judge Field proceeded thither to hold his first Court, under a similar constitution to that in Sydney.

Elizabeth Street, Plate 76A

Up to the year 1824 the Courts retained the same constitution; when a new Charter of Justice arrived, with the proper officers necessary to give {page 77} it effect. Francis Forbes, (afterwards Sir Francis Forbes), arrived as Chief Justice; Judge Advocate Wylde was created Judge (Judge Field having left the Colony). Saxe Bannister came out as Attorney General, John Stephen, Esq, (the father of our present Chief Justice, Sir Alfred Stephen,) as Solicitor General and Commissioner of the Court of Requests. John Mackuness, Esq., as Sheriff, and T. E. Miller, Esq., as Registrar.
The formal promulgation of the new Charter took place at the Georgian School House, Castlereagh Street, in May, 1824, and the first sittings of the Supreme Court, in its Criminal Jurisdiction, was also held there on the tenth of June following. Trial by Jury in Criminal cases was first instituted at the Quarter Sessions held at Liverpool in October the same year; but it was not until February of the next year, 1825, that a Jury was empanneled in a Civil cause, viz: the King v. Robert Cooper, when a verdict was returned for the defendant.
The present officers in the administration of Justice are, Sir Alfred. Stephen, Chief Justice; John Nodes Dickinson, and William. Montague Manning, Esqrs., Puisne Judges; John Hubert Plunkett, Esq., Attorney General; William Foster, Esq., Solicitor General; A. W. Young, Esq, Sheriff; S. T. Milford, Esq., Master in Equity, Curator of Intestate Estates, and Commissioner of the Vice Admiralty Court; G. P. F. Gregory, Esq., Prothonotary and Registrar; Samuel Raymond, Esq., Chairman of Quarter Sessions; and Alfred Cheeke, Esq., Commissioner of the Court of Requests; John Moore Dillon, Esq., Criminal Crown Prosecutor; George Cooper Turner, Esq., Civil Crown Prosecutor; Thos. Callaghan, Esq., Crown Prosecutor of Quarter Sessions; and Edward Rogers, Esq., Clerk of the Peace.
Elizabeth Street, one of the leading thoroughfares, traverses the City in a southward direction from Hunter Street to its termination at the Burial Ground, exceeding a mile in length, and as we have seen in our former plates, forms the western boundary of Hyde Park, from King to Liverpool Street.
{page 78}
Our present plate represents the most respectable portion of the street, namely, from King Street to its northern extremity at Hunter Street; with few exceptions the whole of the buildings are of modern construction, and being situated in the vicinity of the Supreme Court, are principally occupied as Chambers by the Barristers, and other members of the Legal Profession. The first house in the plate is also one of the oldest in the street, having been erected as a private residence for Mr. G. F. Read, of Hobart Town, some twenty-five years since, it was afterwards used as offices by J. Norton, Esq., the Solicitor, and for the last fifteen years it has been in the occupation of the present proprietor, Mr. R. Driver, as a public-house, known as the "Three Tuns," and for a long time the general rendezvous of the Australian Cricketers. Passing onwards we come to the Dancing Academy of Mr. Clark--and as it is one of the places of' public amusement, we cannot pass it by without comment. The ball room on the first floor occupies the full extent of the house, being fifty-five feet long by twenty-five feet wide, and about the same in height, it has a neat gallery erected at one end, for the accommodation of the orchestra, is well lighted from the ceiling with gas, and adjoining are dressing and refreshment rooms, forming together a very complete suite. The Dancing Classes meet on Tuesday and Friday Evenings, and are very numerously attended, particularly in the winter season. Mr. Clark also indulges the votaries of Terpsicore occasionally with public Assemblies, and the eclat with which they go off, proves his efficiency as master of the ceremonies. These balls are always very respectably attended. The ball room from its size being capable of affording accommodation to about five hundred persons, is often used for concerts, etc., for which it is well adapted.
On the opposite side of the street are several verandah cottages, built the style peculiar to the Colony, and which if it be not remarkable for architectural beauty, is at all events best suited for comfort and convenience in this climate. The wide verandahs afford a cool shelter from the intense {page 79} heat of the meridian sun, and give the cottages an air of shady retirement, which has its own peculiar elegance. One of these cottages is occupied as the business offices of George Allen, Esq., one of the most respectable Solicitors, and wealthy men of the City. He was admited an Attorney of the Supreme Court in the year 1822, and his career has strikingly illustrated how high respect and honour can be achieved by persevering industry, and unswerving integrity. Mr. Allen was elected an Alderman of the City at the first Municipal Election, and became the third Mayor of the City. He was also nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council by Sir George Gipps, and re-appointed after the dissolution of the first Legislative Council. In. all these positions his conduct has been such as to command respect and approval, but a far higher claim will endear his name to the Citizens arising out of his sterling worth as a man, and the unbounded philanthrophy which has marked his course through life.

CHAPTER XVII.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER.--HYDE PARK BARRACKS.--MACQUARIE STREET.

The Chamber in which the deliberate wisdom of the Legislators of New South Wales decides on the destinies of the Colony, is by no means imposing in its appearance; there is an entire absence of any attempt at grandeur of effect, in its design and architecture.
Built, at a time, when the Colony was sorely feeling the effects of former extravagance, the economical mind of the then Governor, Sir George Gipps, discountenanced any expenditure for the purpose of mere display.
The building in Macquarie Street, however, is far from being disreputable in its outward aspect, while its interior is at least comfortable if not elegant.
{page 80}
When the Constitution of the Colony was altered;--when New South Wales was permitted to elect representatives, to make laws, whereby her population should be governed; the close chamber which contained the dozen nominees; with its abominable little galleries, like side-boxes at a theatre, was abolished. Fresh figures were introduced into the Estimates for 1843, and the Colonial Architect was put in motion, and perhaps the most decided proof of the promptitude his department can at times display, exists in this building. In about six months after the money was voted, the Chamber was completed; in one short year it had become the arena of fierce discussion.
By some strange chance, the old Council Chamber, a low, mean looking building, adjoined the buildings appropriated to the Medical Department of the Colony, and in the immediate vicinity of the Government Hospital. The new Chamber has arisen in the place of the old, and although the Hospital "stands where it stood," we are happy to say it is now an Institution, supported, not out of Commissariat funds, but by private subscriptions.
It would be out of place to enter here into any details of the proceedings inside of the Legislative Council Chamber of New South Wales; we may perhaps observe, that whether the deliberations have been for good or for evil, they have at all events evinced as much ability, earnestness, and zeal, as the debates of any Legislature in the British Dominions.
The Council consists of thirty-six Members, twenty-four of whom are elected by the people, and twelve nominated by the Government, six of the latter being paid officials, and six non-officials, The first elected Speaker was the Hon. Alexander M'Leay, Esq., formerly Colonial Secretary of the Colony, and an elected Member for the counties of Stanley and Macquarie. On his resignation in consequence of his advanced years, Charles Nicholson, Esq., M.D., was elected, and re-elected at the commencement of the first session of the second elected Council of New South Wales, in 1849.

Macquarie Street, Plate 80A
{page 81}

The proceedings of the Council have at all times been conducted with the utmost decorum, and it is looked up to with that respect and confidence, which can alone attach dignity to the legislature of any country.
Hyde Park Barracks, situated at the eastern end of King Street, and the north-east corner of Hyde Park, (from which it derives its name,) was erected by Governor Macquarie, as the principal convict depot in the Colony, and was first occupied in June, 1819. It is a spacious brick building, and very well adapted for the purpose for which it was designed. On the basement are the offices, and the other part is divided into nine spacious wards, each of the larger ones being capable of accommodating one hundred and fifty men, as many as fourteen hundred have been confined at one time in this building. All convicts, upon their arrival in the Colony, were forwarded here, and after being duly registered, were open for assignment to the free inhabitants as servants; and, if they conducted themselves well, (upon the recommendation of their employer, backed by that of a magistrate,) were entitled to the indulgence of a Ticket of Leave, after a servitude proportionate to their sentence; thus a convict transported for seven years, could apply for his ticket at the expiration of four years, if for fourteen years, at the end of six, and if for life after the eighth year; they frequently however obtained this indulgence as 'a reward for any praiseworthy act; this ticket gives them the liberty to support themselves in any way they choose, within the district for which it was granted, but if they misconducted themselves in any way, or quitted their district, their tickets were cancelled, and themselves returned to the barracks. Masters bad the power to take their assigned servants before a Magistrate, for any misconduct or neglect of duty, when they were, if found guilty, summarily punished by the lash, and returned to their service, but if they became incorrigible, they were usually returned to Barracks and exchanged for others. The prisoners returned to Barracks, or undergoing {page 82} any colonial sentence, were then employed upon the public works or roads of the Colony.
The assignment system has however ceased since the year 1840, and from that period may be dated the decline of the colony from that state of prosperity, for which it was then notorious; many systems have since been adopted, and all have failed most signally, and although we by no means desire a return to the convict system in this Colony, we still believe that it was the best suited, to reclaim the fallen, and to enable him to resume a position in society, and while doing so the country was spared the expense of his support, and enriched by his labour. If any argument were necessary to prove this, we have only to look around us, and how many men of capital, as stockholders, merchants, tradesmen, etc., do we see who have served their time as assigned servants, and who are now as honest, industrious, and in every way as respectable members of society, as any who have arrived free. Will the probationary system of Van Diemen's Land, Maconochie's of Norfolk Island, or any of the newly invented schemes at home, afford any similar results?

Australian Museum

In January, 1848, the prisoners were removed to Cockatoo Island, and the Superintendant's department, to offices in the Executive Council Chambers; since the resumption of emigration, these Barracks have been occupied by the female emigrants, and the offices by the Emigration Commissioners' department.
The first house in our plate of Macquarie Street, is the parsonage house of St. James', and the adjoining premises are the offices of the Attorney and Solicitor Generals, we have then three houses of modern construction, and the original Wesleyan Chapel (the first opened by that body in 1821,) next claims our attention. It has recently been used by a party of Presbyterians, but is at present unoccupied. The succeeding cottages serve to shew the prevailing style of architecture some thirty years since, and by the contrast, give importance to the more modern erections near them. {page 83} The splendid mansion of Mrs. Burdekin, which is next represented, is without exception, the finest private residence in the city, and deserving of particular notice. The premises now used as a Baptist Chapel, was formerly the "Friend's Meeting House." We pass Horbury Terrace, the private residence of many respectable families, and the Australian Library, of which we have previously given a full notice, presents itself; and our plate is completed by the elegant row of modern houses, recently erected, a fitting specimen of the thriving condition of the city. The first two form the private residences of Messrs. Kemp and Fairfax, the proprietors of the Sydney Morning Herald.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM.--NATIONAL SCHOOL.

The next plate by which this work is illustrated is the Australian Museum.
This institution was founded in the year 1836, and originated by a number of gentlemen interested in the promotion of science in Australia. It received the cordial support of Governor Sir Richard Bourke, and since that year a sum of money has been annually placed on the estimates for its support and extension.
The first President was the late Venerable Alexander M'Leay, Esquire, then Colonial Secretary, who made large donations to the institution of valuable scientific specimens, and who actively interested himself in its advancement until the day of his death.
Besides the annual sum voted out of the general revenue, convict servants were assigned to the institution, and under the direction of the Government, Collectors of specimen, chosen from this class, were appointed, at the distant penal settlements such as Moreton Bay and Norfolk Island.
The Museum was first established in a small room attached to the {page 84} Legislative Council, and Mr. Surgeon Bennet was appointed Director, an office he continued to fill for several years, with great advantage to the institution; indeed from its commencement to the present time, the institution has been deeply indebted to the zeal and activity which this gentleman has exhibited in its behalf.
In a short period the specimens having largely increased, the Museum was removed to two rooms in the Surveyor General's Office, and while established there, Dr. Bennet resigned his office of Director in favor of Mr. William Sheridan Wall, who has continued to superintend its management ever since.
In the year 1840, Mr. 'Wall, under the instructions of the committee, and at the request of Governor Sir George Gipps, again removed the Museum, to apartments prepared for it, in the Supreme Court buildings, at Darlinghurst.
But the accommodation afforded in all of these establishments was not only insufficient to admit of any attractive exhibition of the specimens, but did not afford proper facilities for their preparation and preservation: consequently, although the Museum was opened to the public on every Wednesday, but few visitors availed themselves of the privilege, and the advantages of the institution were enjoyed chiefly by the few individuals, whose taste for scientific pursuits led them thither.
The collections of specimens however, under the able management of the Committee, and the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Wall, the Curator, rapidly increased in extent and value, and it being at length found, that to attempt any display of them was impracticable, application was made to the Government for the erection of a building worthy to be devoted to such a purpose, in the first City of this Hemisphere. Accordingly, in the estimates for the year 1846, a sum of £3000 appeared for the building of a Museum, and a site was recommended by the Local Government to be granted for the purpose, at the corner of William and Stanley Streets.

Harrington Street and Jamieson Street, Plate 84A
{page 85}

The design and estimates of the proposed building, were prepared by Mr. Mortimer William Lewis, Colonial Architect, and after considerable delay the building was commenced.
The sum of £3000 was soon found to be utterly inadequate for the purpose, and a supplementary vote of £1500 was passed in the year 1848. Meanwhile the building progressed very unsatisfactorily, which, combined with the unsightly appearance it presented in its half-finished state, began to excite public notice, and frequent complaints were made in public and through the Press. On the occasion of a further vote being asked in the session of 1849, the universal discontent at the conduct of the Colonial Architect's department in the matter, found a voice, and it being represented, that the completion of the building on the original design, would cost a sum nearly equal to that already expended; its continuance was loudly protested against, by several of the representative Members of the Legislative Council.
An enquiry was instituted, when it was discovered that a sum of £1300 had been expended and was due to the Contractors, over and above what had been voted by the Council, and the supplementary vote of the Council, was accordingly restricted to a sum sufficient to roof in the building, so as to prevent injury to the interior from rain.
This neglect and utter miscalculation on the part of the Colonial Architect, contributed very extensively to prejudice the institution, in the eyes of the public. The professed economists in the Legislative Council talked loudly, of the financial difficulties in which the Colony was involved, and denounced the institution, as altogether too expensive for the Colony, and as unproductive of any advantage corresponding with its cost. A more minute enquiry, instituted by the Government, discovered the expenditure incurred in the building to have been very extravagant, and Mr. Lewis retired from his office at the head of the Colonial Department.
In the commencement of 1849, the portion of the building appropriated {page 86} to the accommodation of the Curator and his family having been made habitable, and two smaller rooms prepared for the reception of specimens; Mr. Wall was instructed by the Committee to commence removing the Museum from Darlinghurst, which was accomplished early in March.
The collections at present in the Museum are very valuable, and its usefulness, as an institution for the promotion of science, has been warmly acknowledged, by the most distinguished scientific society in the mother country. They consist principally of a collection of Minerals--Colonial and Foreign; a collection of Shells--Colonial and Foreign; a collection of Geological Specimens arranged by the Rev. W. B. Clarke. But the Museum is chiefly rich in its extensive Ornithological and Zoological Collections comprising thousands of specimens, which from the unfinished state of the building, cannot at present be properly displayed.

Old Fort Street School

A very large proportion of these collections, have accrued as the results of the labours of Mr. Wall.
The Museum has lately presented another feature of a most attractive nature. Dr. Nicholson, Speaker of the Legislative Council, a short time ago, presented the Institution with a princely gift, consisting of a collection of Casts, of the most celebrated specimens of the Italian School of Sculpture.
These, decidedly the most valuable works of art exhibited in the Colony, are already beginning to attract public attention to the institution and this, once obtained, there can be little doubt that it will soon overcome the obstacles that have hitherto beset its career. The great impediment in the advancement of any institution of this nature, is the difficulty in overcoming these prejudices, which interfere with a fair appreciation of merit.
The sordid views of penny wise and pound foolish economy, will soon give way before a generous and liberal admiration of art, and a growing sense of the wonders that the more recluse sciences are daily unfolding to us; and while the diffusion of education in all its grades, is in this century {page 87} admitted, by the most thrifty of politicians to be the wisest and most legitimate mode, of expending the public revenues of all countries, the wiser, and more enlightened statesman will feel, that no greater aid can be afforded to the cause of education, than the promotion of those Institutions which display the excellence to which art may be carried, the mysteries which science can reveal, and, in the admiration they command, excite that generous emulation to equal and excel, which is the nursing mother of all improvement.
Before this feeling, we believe the institution is rapidly gaining ground in public favor, and although its hall of exhibition is now wholly useless for the purposes for which it was designed, we are confident, that, even at a greater cost to the public purse, than could reasonably have been anticipated, the public will readily and speedily acquiesce in its completion.
The engraving presented to our readers is in accordance with the original design, so far as its external appearance is concerned.
The steps at the entrance and the dome in the roof, are not however yet completed.
For a considerable period the all important subject education, has been pressed upon public notice, by many of our enlightened and patriotic colonists, and it is now receiving that attention which the rapidly increasing population demands.
The system of education about to be established, is based upon the Irish National, or Lord Stanley's system, and the books written expressly for the use of these schools, have been received, and are now in the possession of the Board of Management.
The first important movement, in promoting the national system of education, was a vote of the Legislative Council, in the session of 1848, of two thousand pounds for the use of the Sydney or Middle District, one thousand five hundred pounds for that of Port Philip, and for the districts {page 88} beyond the boundaries of location, one thousand five hundred pounds; the like sums have also been voted for the years 1849 and 1850.
In the year 1849, the building formerly used as the Military Hospital, pleasantly situated on the highest ground in the city, near Fort Phillip, was appropriated by the Government, for the formation of the model school, arid at considerable expense, has been entirely remodelled. The exterior aspect has been changed from the unsightly building it was, into that represented in the annexed plate. Its internal economy has also been altered, the old wards having been converted into spacious and convenient class rooms, and the extensive grounds surrounding, afford ample space for exercise and training.
This model school (as the term implies,) is intended for the preparation of efficient teachers, with whom the various district schools of the colony will be supplied, and who upon the completion of their education will have diplomas granted them, the rising generation will thus receive the benefit of every modern improvement in the art. Operations will commence, on the arrival of teachers, daily expected from the Model National School in Ireland.
Upwards of sixty schools on this system, are already in progress in the various districts of the colony, and about twenty are in full operation.
The management of this national undertaking is intrusted exclusively to a board of three gentlemen, and whatever difference of opinion may exist, as to the probable efficiency of a body thus constituted, or of the system introduced, we think there will be none, as to the long known probity, enlightened sentiments and zeal of the individuals themselves, namely,--The Honorable R. H. Plunkett, Attorney General; The Honorable Charles Nicholson, Speaker of the Legislative Council; and J. K. Holden, Esquire; Mr. W. C. Wills is Secretary.

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