“Rents for bungalows about as good as ordinary cottages in Rushden are anything from 30s. to £2 a week. Workers are worse off now on £5 a week than they were before the war (then a struggle) on £3 a week.”

Mr J Cowley, of Church-street, recently returned from the Australia for a second time, told this to our reporter.

Mr Cowley went out to Australia in 1913 and again last August. He says that, although it is a fine country to the young and strong, it is no place for elderly folks. In fact, old people are not wanted in Australia. At the same time, he says, although it is essentially a “young folks’ country,” Australia children are under very little discipline.

Describing his tour and stay, Mr Cowley says: On the journey from Melbourne to Sydney we started at 4.30. After leaving we ran into the open country, which lay rather flat for some 50 miles. The land looked rather rugged, with large stones, and then we began to get into the “bush” and hilly country, and we met with some very pretty scenes of farmsteads hidden away between the ranges of hills. After some 70 miles we made a halt for refreshments for ten minutes, and then we made the next stage of our journey, which was of the same sort of country, consisting of some flat tableland, and then we began to get into the night and of course we could not see very much. By the way, I did right in getting down to the station in time, as I was enabled to get a corner seat for the

First Stage of The Tour

which ended at about ten o’clock at night, when the cry went up “All change,” which meant that we had come to the border of Victoria and were about to enter New South Wales. Of course, being night, we could not see very much, but one thing I noticed was that the train was of a very different type, as the centre of the train was the gangway, with seats holding two persons, and the carriage ran up to a slope to the top, and if one did not mind when one was sitting near the window one would get a bump on the head. The line is of much narrower gauge from the Victoria one, so that one train will not run on the other lines. I was enabled to get another corner seat near the window, and so, after we began the second stage of our journey, we began to settle down to sleep; but, of course, there was not too much sleep, as we would run a few miles and then make a stop for some passenger to get out. The moon rose about one o’clock, which made it a little lighter, but not enough to see much. The country looked to me to be rather flat with a lot of wood about it, with a small township. After a while we arrived at Mass Vale, where we had a stop of about 20 minutes for breakfast or other refreshment. It was a nice morning, as the sun had risen, but there had been rather a sharp frost, so was rather cold being about 2,800ft. above sea-level. After leaving Mass Vale we began to run into some of the dairy stations and saw a lot of cattle about, with milk-cans for Sydney. The mountain ranges looked very grand in the morning sunlight. Then we got into the large sheep stations and saw nothing but sheep, and there were some thousands of them; and as we began to get nearer Sydney there was a great lot of fruit orchards, and of course, the fruit had been gathered and sent into the market, as it was rather late in the season. There were some rather nice houses along the track, and a lot right out in the country looked some miles away on the hills and in the valleys. Sydney is not in itself a large place as far as the city is concerned—nothing like Melbourne, but the suburbs are largely crowded and are still extending out. Sydney station for want of forethought, is

A Poor Place

as they did not expect it to grow as it has done, and they cannot extend it in any way, so they are rather cramped. I got a good reception at Sydney, had dinner, and went out for a bit just to see about. After tea we went about five miles out of the city to see some friends that were giving a birthday or a farewell party, and there I had a very good time: met several people from Rushden, several from Higham, and another from Finedon, and two or three asked me to see some friends for them just to say that they were all right. After a pleasant evening a Mr Bates, from Raunds, proposed a toast to Mrs Burfield and wished her bon voyage, my name being coupled with the toast, wishing me a safe journey home. Mrs Burfield called on me to reply to the toast, and of course I had to reply. We arrived home about twelve, and soon went to bed. In the morning Mr Burfield and I went to see some of the outskirts of Sydney. The part that we visited was rather high, and there did not seem very much vegetation, but a lot of bush. In the afternoon we went to the Dominion House. We did not stop to hear the speakers, but went on a trip round the bay, and it was well worth going, and as it took about three hours to do we saw some pretty sights of the harbour from many pointes. Sydney Harbour is one of the sights of the world, and the people always ask “Have you seen our harbour?” and they go crazed over it. After tea I went to Church, and then bed following a very enjoyable day. Monday morning, after breakfast I went down to the bay and took a ticket to one of the seaside places. One has to cross the bay and go by the heads, and the place is called Manley. After landing one goes through the town, which is on a narrow strip of land some 300yds. or so, and then one come right on the open sea, and it is one of the places where they go “surfing,” as the waves come in with a great dash and the spray or surf is great, and the people are covered with it and have to mind that they are not drawn back into the sea. It is rather dangerous, as there are sharks nearly always about, and sometimes they get one. After spending some time there I started back by the tram. After climbing round the hills and getting some fine views of the suburbs and harbour, we ran right down to one of the points and had to cross over by the ferry and take the tram for another long stretch of the bay to another point, and then cross over by boat to the quay. After having a look rounds the boat that i was going home by and the town, I went back to my “digs” and did not go out again; but next day I went into the city and into the Town Hall, which is a grand place, and they have a very fine organ there. It has five manuals, 76 stops on one side, and about 67 on the other side. We then went into the cathedral, and there are some lovely stained glass windows. It is a very fine place.

Whilst there the Boy Scouts came along to the Town Hall yard and then marched down to the boat that they were going to travel to England on, and I stayed to see the send-off, and it was

An Extraordinary Sight

to see the lads bidding “good-bye” to their mothers, sisters, etc., and then to see the send-off as the great ship began to move from the quay and the thousands of streamers held at each end by individuals, and the cheers and words of advice that were given! It was inspiring in the extreme, and as the ship made her way down the harbour the great crowd began to melt away. After dinner I took a trip down to Johnston Bay just to see what they call “The Gap.” It is just away from the “Heads.” They came on and crashed right in and on to the cruel rock, and only one man escaped of all the crew and all on board. But now no one can mistake the “Heads” as the lighthouses and lights guide all ships safely into the harbour. (to be continued)