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