Page:The aborigines of Australia.djvu/115

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THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA.

infant colony, if so disposed and if influenced by common motives.

Few, if any, of the citizens of Sydney are unacquainted with those localities, situate between Sydney and the Heads, known as Manly Beach and Rushcutters' Bay. The former of these localities has been beyond recollection the favourite resort of amateur fishermen and the more adventurous class of pleasure-seeking excursionists; the other is the long-established rendezvous of "cits" and their families, seeking every Sabbath a little relaxation amid the pleasures of rustic scenery from the monotonous recurrence of their everyday avocations; yet comparatively few of those who from time to time derive pleasure from a visit to those scenes are aware of the origin of the names by which they are designated—if, indeed, they have ever given the subject so much as a passing thought. Well, now that we have, as we fondly imagine, excited their curiosity on this point, we purpose to satisfy the inquiries which must naturally follow. And, first, to describe one of these scenes: Manly Cove, or Manly Beach as it is sometimes called, is one of the first of these indentations of the harbour to be met with, on the north side, after entering the Heads; it is sheltered, as most of these beautiful little bays are, by a gently ascending enclosure, covered with a luxuriant wood—the surrounding eminence separated from the waters of the bay by a sloping sandy beach, extending into the harbour for several paces at a moderate depth. Here