NORTHUMBERLAND.—ROXBURGH. 61
Molonglo.
The towns are Queanbeyau, the capital, on the river of the same name,
Bungendore, Yass, and Larbert. The population is 3,886.
Northumberland is
bounded by Durham, Gloucester, Hunter, Cumberland, and the sea. This
county is sixty-eight miles long, and fifty-five broad, comprising
1,498,060 acres. Northumberland is second in importance to the
metropolitan county only, being intersected with numerous creeks and
rivers, giving every facility for internal traffic, an advantage which
no other county in New South Wales possesses to the same extent. The
Hunter river affords an outlet for the produce of the whole northern
boundary, and this portion is covered with the most flourishing farms
and estates in the colony. It is the coal district of New South Wales,
and possesses an abundance of this valuable mineral, and facility for
working it, which may vie with its British congener. Some parts of the
county are mountainous, and every part is fertile and highly
picturesque. The valleys are also famed for their beauty, the
Yarramalong especially. Lake Macquarie, the largest lake in New South
Wales, about twelve miles from Newcastle, is famed for the beauty of
the surrounding scenery. Several smaller lakes enrich the surface of
the country, as Brisbane Water, Tuggerah Beach, and Womberall. The
towns are Newcastle, East and West Maitland, Morpeth, Singleton,
Wollambi, Hexham, East and West Gosford, and St. Albans. The population
is 15,207.
Phillip is
bounded by Wellington, Roxburgh, Hunter, Brisbane, and Bligh. Its
length is fifty-three miles, and its breadth forty-one, containing
1,035,520 acres. The county is flat, and there are few rivers of
consequence except the Goulburn. The chief place is Rylstone. The
population is 674.
Roxburgh is
bounded by Phillip, Hunter, Cook, Westmoreland, Bathurst, and
Wellington. It is fifty miles long, and forty broad, containing 972,160
acres. Many portions of this county are highly fertile, and it is
admirably watered throughout. Kelso is the chief town, and Rydal the
only other. The population is 2,538.
