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they support does not win the prize, and first pass the goal. When the wished-for day of the equestrian games arrives. before sun-rise all run headlong to the spot, passing in swiftness the chariots that are to run; upon the success of which their wishes are so divided, that many pass the night without sleep." Lactantius confirms this account, and says, that the people often quarrelled and fought from their great eagerness.

We have already mentioned the few remains which exist of the Circus Maximus. In ancient times, there were many others within the walls of Rome. Of the Circus Agonalis, supposed to nave been built by the emperor Alexander Severus, we may still trace the exact form, as well as the name, in the modern Piazza Navona. The piazza now forms a fine open space, surrounded by buildings, in which the round end of the circus is fully retained; its length is about 750 feet. The great church of St. Peter is built upon the site of the Circus of Nero. But that of which we have spoken as standing without the walls of Rome, about two miles from the Porta S. Sebastiano, near the Appian Way, is the only one in good preservation. It is commonly called the Circus of Caracalla, but the authority on which the name rests is fairly stated by Mr. Mathews. "There is a coin of Caracalla's, with a circus on the reverse side;-here is a circus that wants an owner; how easy the inference then, that it must have been Caracalla's. No proof has yet been obtained, from inscriptions or other sources, that this is the circus built by that emperor, and commemorated on his coins. The fortunate accident of being situated at a distance from the city, has, probably, saved it from ruin. The outer wall remains

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almost entire; as does the spina also. "The pavilion and tower," says Simond, "where the emperor sat, and the other tower opposite, probably occupied by the judges of the race, are still visible, as well as the spot on the spina where the Egyptian obelisk, now on the Piazza Navona, once stood. The turf of the fine and smooth area was browzed short by goats, long-haired and white, and innumerable birds fluttering among the ivy, which mantled over the old walls in hereditary luxuriance, sung the approach of Spring."

The principal dimensions of this circus are as follows:the length 1630 feet, the breadth 320 feet, the length of the spina 908 feet, the distance from the carceres to the spina 505 feet. The width of the space between the spina and the inner walls of the circus,-or, in other words, the width of the race-course,-varies, both because the two long sides of the circus are not quite parallel, and because the spina is always much nearer to the left wall than to the right one. Between the spina and the right wall the width gradually diminishes from 136 feet at the first goal, to 123 feet at the second goal; the course then sweeps round the second goal, and narrows between the spina and the left wall, from 109 feet at the second goal, to 98 feet at the place where it returns to the first goal. The seats, rising in rows one above the other, were supported by an arch; and in order to lighten the weight of the materials used in its construction, large amphora, or round earthen jars, have been employed in the crown of the arch. "Each pot might be considered a kind of arch supporting the masonry above; and they themselves being hollow, the entire mass supported by the arch below was less than if the whole were solid."

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wilneho PART OF THE TEMPLE OF PEACE, OR BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE.

LONDON: Published by JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND; and sold by all Booksellers

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Magazine.

1ST, 1837.

PRICE ONE PENNY.

LONE

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PORT JACKSON, FORT MACQUARIE, AND PART OF SYDNEY COVE,

SKETCHES OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

No. XVI.

SOME ACCOUNT OF SYDNEY AND PORT JACKSON, AND THE COUNTRY TOWARDS BOTANY BAY. SYDNEY is situated on the south side of Port Jackson, about seven miles west within the headlands. It may be said to be built upon undulatory land, the lowest part being about the centre of the town, and it is almost surrounded on three sides by water, girded with sloping rocky edges. It is It is bounded on the west by Darling Harbour, on the north by the Government Domain and the Cove, on the east by Wolomoloo Bay and the Windmill Ridge, and on the south by the Brickfield Hills. These are, however, but the natural boundaries,-they may not be the appointed limits of the town. The streets are tolerably wide, and laid out to run north and south, and east and west, intersecting each other at right angles, and the longest extend southward for more than a mile from the harbour. Most of the principal streets appear like those of an English town, but the side walks are not paved. The houses are two and three stories high, some are built entirely of brick, others are fronted with stone, and many have the necessary luxury of spacious verandahs. The houses and cottages in the minor streets have mostly small gardens before them, and are built on the ground-floor only; but some of them are neat, elegant, and roomy.

The hotels are numerous, and many of them good. The public buildings are mostly exceedingly plain, and by no means striking in their appearance; nor do the churches display any attempt at ornamental or tasteful architecture. Elegant and massive porticoes of white stone upon plain brick walls, cannot be correct. It is unsightly, and the effect of wrong taste; such, however, are the decorations of the principal church. The Military Barracks and Square faces George-street, and has an elevated situation. It is a long row of yellow-looking buildings, two stories in height, with numerous windows, and surrounded by a spacious verandah. The centre of it has an angular facing, or pediment, on the top, with a verandah projecting above as well as below, and the mess-rooms are at either end of the building. Some of the officers' quarters occupy the north and south ends of the square.

The police-office, a plain, heavy, brick building, adjoins the market-place; the theatre is also situated in George-street, the front of which is the royal hotel. On the top of this building there used to be an immense windmill, which was taken down by order of the government. At the remote end of Georgestreet is the turnpike gate, and near it, a little off the main road, a building called Carter's Barracks. Here prisoners, who are boys, are confined, and made to work according to their capacities. There is also a treadmill attached, which is generally kept going by the bodily exertions of offenders. For merly, all requisitions for drays, carts, bullocks, harness, &c., were made at this department, from which circumstance it derives its name. It is a neat, cleanly-looking building, and kept in excellent order. The distilleries and warehouses, both in, and about the neighbourhood of Sydney, are of large dimensions, and are mostly built of brick.

The north-west corner of Sydney is an elevated rocky point, projecting out a considerable distance (several hundred yards,) towards the Parramatta River, and forms one side of the celebrated Cove. Government storehouses and dockyard, mercantile warehouses and wharfs, surround the edge of this promontory, on every side; and, what is most remark

able, ships of almost any size and tonnage may ride close alongside the very walls. So valuable are these deep blue waters. A site for a new dockyard was for some time in contemplation, and I believe it was fixed upon, on one of the islands in the harbour towards the Parramatta River; it was begun some time ago, and may now be completed. Of the public works and buildings upon the summit of this elevated point, the most conspicuous are, Dawes Battery, which faces eastward and commands the Cove, and a view of the whole port; the Signal Staff, &c., a clever contrivance, embracing a complete code of signals, and the Government Magazine. Houses of various shapes and sizes built mostly of stone, show their white fronts to the shipping, and a quarry on this point, of the most valuable material for building, a durable freestone*, has for many years supplied the town with ample means for elegant buildings, and ornamental decorations. A delightful public walk extends along the Cove, close to the water, immediately in front of the Government House and grounds, which are here walled in. It passes over a flight of steps cut out of the solid rock, and enters by this way the Domain, which of late years has also been thrown open to the public for carriages, as well as foot passengers. After ascending the steps, you arrive at a building called Fort Macquarie, an ornamental work of yellow sandstone, consisting of (I believe) an octagon tower and raised battery, whose foundation is the solid flat rock jutting out into the harbour. This tower and battery are accessible only over a kind of bridge, built of the same material. It is altogether a pretty object on a commanding situation. After entering the Domain, the walk opens into the carriage road, which is shaded on either side with thick and luxuriant indigenous shrubs for some way, until it passes the north wall of the Botanical Garden, where a bay and harbour opens into view, offering a prospect of bright waters, and fanciful masses of rock fringed with a variety of beautiful evergreens.

The road then continues on toward Wolomoloo Bay, and turns in rather a sharp angle round what is called the " Point," or termination of the Domain. Here, there is a seat cut out of a rock, with an inscription upon it, which is called Mrs. Macquarie's chair. It is a delightful spot, from which there is an excellent view of the harbour. Garden Island, celebrated as the burial-place of one or two persons of distinction, lies off at a little distance from this point. The formation of the island is rather long and narrow, but not high: it is covered with shrubs, and rendered a pleasing object by having two knolls or rounded hills rising upon it.

A stranger in the Domain would be struck with the remarkable noise of the insects, which keep up an incessant loud and shrill buzzing, that can be heard a great way off; and there is a great variety of them about Sydney of the most beautiful and brilliant order. There are two or three other entrances from different quarters of Sydney into the Domain, which, in short, may be termed a most extensive and elegant shrubbery, almost encircled by water, and the freshness of the sea air, interwoven with various roads and walks, and accommodated here and there with

"Some freestones are formed of particles of sand, cemented together by different substances, the cementing matter being sometimes siliceous, at others calcareous, and at others, again, formed of oxide of iron. In the first case, the freestone would not suffer from the chemical action of atmospheric influences upon it; while in the second, rain-water, containing carbonic acid, would tend to dissolve And in

the calcareous matter, and deprive the sand of its cement. the third, the action of atmospheric influences would tend to render the material unsightly, by staining it with iron rust."-De tu becke. I am of opinion, that the freestone with which Port Jackson abounds, is mostly of the latter kind, especially by the water-side, but the calcareous is also found in abundance.

seats cut out of the rock,-seats formed of wood, and grass plats to recline upon, with scenery around of water, wood, and rock,—not mountainous or grand, but singularly pleasant and refreshing, and, perhaps, peculiar only to that part of the world.

Darling Harbour and the Domain both afford most convenient spots for the healthy and necessary recreation of bathing. The angular corners formed by the irregular indentation of the rocks, are generally filled with beds of fine white sand*, which gradually shelves off into deep water. It is generally in such spots that the bathing-places are selected; for, it must be remarked, that in the neighbourhood of Sydney there are no beaches fit for bathing; the termination of most of the bays being very shallow, and the water covered with thick sea-weeds. Many families have private and commodious bathing-houses erected, and there are many retreats for bathers about the Domain, secluded and sheltered by the natural formation of the rocks in a very singular manner. There is one place in particular, which, though much noted and frequented, is admirably adapted for the purposes of bathing: it is situated on the west side of Wolomoloo Bay, and may be between 30 and 40 feet of steep declivity below one of the public roads of the Domain; canopies of overhanging rocks, wild fig-trees, and other shrubs, conceal people from view, and afford convenient shelter; underneath which are rude seats of rock, which also afford additional accommodation. There is a curve in the declivity down which steppingplaces have been formed; and here the shrubs, from the wear and tear of persons going up and down, have disappeared. The rocks at the edge of the water have been cleared of their oyster-shells, (the principal source of annoyance in unfrequented spots,) and a jetty of flat rock runs out into the deep water for the swimmer to plunge off, while the sand gently slopes away for the accommodation of the timid.

Where there is so much bathing it may naturally be supposed there are good swimmers, and Sydney is celebrated for them. There are many young men who think no more of swimming out a mile or more and back, than a stranger would of taking a walk that distance. From habit, the exertion is not fatigue to them. Men and women, boys and girls, all more or less indulge in this healthy enjoyment; and so much, indeed, was bathing in fashion at one time, that it was impossible to walk out any time of the day, by the water-side about Sydney, without being annoyed by bathers in all directions t. This was deemed incorrect; and a government order was issued that no person should be allowed to bathe openly, either in the Domain, or within the precincts of Sydney, after six o'clock in the morning, or before six in the evening, without incurring a heavy penalty, which order was duly observed by the inhabitants.

Experience has already proved, that the vine can be cultivated in the colony with success; and there appears no reason why New South Wales should not, in after-times, become as celebrated for its vintage, as it is in the present day for its superior wool. In the Botanical Garden of Sydney, one of the walks is ornamented with trellis-work, which supports a light roof. There is a dome at either end of the walk, the interior of which is furnished with seats for the accommodation of visiters. The whole

From a late discovery made by a gentleman, it has been ascertained that the fine sand in the bays about Port Jackson, and elsewhere, possesses mineral properties for making a peculiar and valuable kind of glass.

It was not uncommon to see several girls, from eight to twelve years of age, bathing in Darling Harbour in the middle of the day. I myself have seen them fearlessly plunging off into very deep water, and most of them can dive and swim remarkably well.

walk is shaded with the broad and luxuriant leaf of the vine, which produces grapes in great abundance and perfection. In many parts of the colony the vine is being propagated, and the creditable attempts of several gentlemen have met with the greatest encouragement. At Regent Ville (the seat of Sir John Lamison,) there are several acres of ground planted with a variety of vines, which are under the management of a first-rate gardener, who thoroughly understands the cultivation of it. Wine has been made from this vineyard and sent to England, but I am not aware of the particular sort or quality of it. At Bathurst it has also been cultivated with similar success, and the dry soil on many parts of those plains is particularly favourable to the growth of the vine. The climate is favourable for fruits of every description, which may be brought to the greatest perfection with common care. Peaches grow in orchards as the apple in England, and many make a kind of cider from them; but these trees are generally much neglected, and, though they produce fruit in abundance, it is of an inferior kind, being small and tough; those, however, that are nurtured in gardens, produce fruit equal in quality to the English peach. There is a great variety of melons in the colony,—a most desirable fruit in a warm climate; they thrive wonderfully, and seem to grow without any care or trouble. Oranges and lemons are also plentiful, but the pine-apple is not much cultivated, which is rather surprising; very few attempts have been made to rear this noble fruit, and, consequently, it is very scarce in the colony. The figs and mulberries are very fine, and a fruit called the log-not is commonly reared. Every other English fruit is more or less cultivated, but there is not that attention paid generally to gardening which might be expected in such a luxurious climate.

The Sydney market-place is conveniently situated. in the centre of George-street, and very commodious buildings have been erected for so necessary a requisite to the town. Square stone pillars, of good height, support the roof, and form spacious and roomy colonnades, where fruits and other produce of the country are exposed for sale.

Sydney of late years has been considerably enlarged and improved by the grant of allotments, on what was called the Windmill Ridge, east of Wolomoloo Bay. These were given, I believe, conditionally, to the principal civil and military officers, who have since built elegant mansions thereon, which are occupied by their respective owners.

Although the land about Sydney is for the most part sandy, barren, and rocky, yet, as I have stated before, it was by nature covered with the most luxuriant and beautiful shrubs. Thus, in the case of this land, most of the gentlemen who had grants cleared away, rooted out, and destroyed the whole of the indigenous plants upon their ground, leaving it perfectly naked; while one or two, by merely removing those shrubs that were in the way, and the most unsightly, laid out their ground with taste and judgment. It would be absolutely necessary to clear away for a garden-piece, but the natural vegetation must have assisted in laying out the pleasure-ground, whatever might be the desire of the owner. This ridge is somewhat elevated, possesses a commanding view, and falls away rather abruptly on either side. A good road passes along the summit of it, joining the South Head road close to the site of the New Gaol, the outer walls of which have been built many years on a grand scale, but the proposed building within, from some cause or other, has never been carried into effect. The principal roads which lead

from Sydney are, the main road into the interior, | offer a cheering and ever-changing prospect; and, through George-street; the road to Botany Bay, and the South Head road *.

eastward is the open sea, reminding one of home, and the grand rocks of the bold headlands. There are already several good houses, and building is increasing on this road. A new race-course has been laid out, a short distance southward of it; and it is very probable that, in a few years, the barren aspect of these hills will be changed, and the works of man

The road, before it reaches the South Headland, descends into a flat, swampy on both sides, and then ascends gradually towards the summit. This headland forms the other gigantic feature to the entrance of Port Jackson; and although it is not quite so high, nor so situated as to appear so strikingly bold as the rock of the North Headland, it must also be considered a majestic barrier.

It may be said to partake of the same 'singularity as the other headlands mentioned in a former paper, as it is separated from the range leading from Sydney, by a low, sandy flat, connecting a deep bay of the harbour with a romantic bay of the sea, called Bundi. The view of Port Jackson from this headland is very fine. There is something altogether about the formation of it, which bids defiance; and it is evident from its natural features, that a system of fortification could be effected in it, which no other harbour in the whole world can equal. It may be rendered perfectly impregnable, and there is not a rock in it but which may hereafter be turned to account. To point out its advantages, however, in the position of its headland, in the bracing of its numerous projecting points, and its rocky islands,-to show their capabilities of improvement, and their power of being strengthened by forts and batteries, as well as the security of anchorage in its different bays and coves, would require the aid of both naval and military science; but, as far as regards a mercantile point of view, its advantages are sufficiently known and valued.

The principal public buildings which surround this open space are the Prisoners' Barracks, St. Philip's Church, and the Supreme Court-House; all these are built of brick, and the two last are ornamented with porticoes of freestone. The Council Chambers and Military Hospital form one side of Macquarie-make up for the deficiency of nature. street, which leads southward directly into the Park; they are built entirely of plain stone, with spacious verandahs all round, both above and below, and they are well situated. A Catholic chapel, also on a showy plan, has been built on this ground for many years, but it has never been completed for the want, I believe, of pecuniary means. It is quite detached from any other building, but badly situated, being on the slope of the range, so that it does not appear to advantage from the points where it ought. Hyde Park may be termed the Campus Martius of Sydney. The military are reviewed here every three months, and on certain days. Cricket-playing, and games and exercises of all kinds, daily take place here, and the ground frequently presents a lively and animated scene. The road to South Head passes in a straight line through the centre of this public ground, and then turns eastward, up a rising ground, towards the gaol-wall before mentioned; it then continues over tolerably level ground along a range, which in some places falls abruptly, and with broken undulations, towards the harbour. The soil on either side is very sandy and barren, and the vegetation poor. Trees of stunted growth cover the lateral ranges, which shoot from this road in a northerly direction towards the harbour, but on the south side scarcely any trees are seen,-nothing but low bushes and numerous swamps. A range of hills are seen, extending southward along the coast towards Botany Bay, where they terminate; they are covered with loose sand and sombre-looking plants, and the whole Upon a commanding point of the headland is the distance of interjacent country, for about seven Lighthouse, erected during the governorship of General miles, exhibits a barren, naked, and monotonous Macquarie. It is a neat and substantial stone building, appearance. In one of the swamps, not far from the the lamp of which may be about forty feet from the road, and about three miles from Sydney, there is ground. There is also a signal-staff on this point, an excellent spring of water, which is conducted into at no great distance from the edge of the precipice, the town by means of an underground channel and which communicates with the telegraph at Sydney. pipes. This was an undertaking of some years, and Information of ships seen to the northward or southit was supposed that the gentleman who had the ward is instantly given, and the town's-folk are management of it would have failed in his attempt. apprised of a vessel's approach, and know what ship, The difficulty was owing, most probably, to the in- where from, and the nature of her cargo, long before correctness in taking the first levels, as the ground is she makes her appearance. The signal-staff at Sydvery uneven between the points. At length, how-ney has a yard-arm, whose position is due north and ever, the long-expected water made its appearance in south, similar to the staff on the headland. If, Hyde Park, where there is a pump, which supplies therefore, a ship is seen to the southward, a round, the water-carts daily. Notwithstanding, however, black ball, large enough to be seen at a great distance, the sterile appearance of the adjacent hills, many is hoisted to the south end of the yard; if to the points on this road present a variety of scene and ex- northward, to the north end, and so on. But the tensive landscape, consequently it is the most fashion- code of signals is very great, and very ingenious, and able and frequented drive in the neighbourhood of require a book of reference to understand and become Sydney. Southward, Botany Bay spreads itself like acquainted with them. This telegraphic communicaa wide enclosed lake, and the high range of the tion is carried on to Parramatta, where there is a Illawarra Mountain and Bulgo Cliff are seen frown- similar signal station in the domain of the governor's ing over the sea coast; westward, Sydney, with its residence. spire and chequered buildings appears in view, and the far-distant summit of the Blue Mountains t. To the north, the different bays, islands, and project' ing points of the harbour, with vessels sailing about,

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The summit of South Head is entirely destitute of timber, and covered with a rough kind of herbage. Many persons cannot endure to look down a perpendicular precipice, nay, some feel a sensation of giddiness before they reach the brink; and it requires a firm nerve to stand by the edge of this tremendous rock, and coolly look below to watch the foaming surge: it is truly awful and terrific.

W. R. G.

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