ldiers to keep order
among a population of only 10,000 indicates very plainly what was the
character of these people, and almost justifies the sweeping assertion
of Macquarie, that the colony consisted of those "who had been
transported, and those who ought to have been". Yet Macquarie uniformly
showed a kindly disposition towards the convicts; he settled great
numbers of them as free men on little farms of their own; and if they
did not succeed as well as they might have done, it was not for want of
advice and assistance from the Governor.

#2. Road over the Blue Mountains.# The most important result of
Macquarie's activity was the opening up of new country. He had quite a
passion for road-making; and though, on his arrival in the colony, he
found only forty-five miles of what were little better than bush tracks,
yet, when he left, there were over three hundred miles of excellent and
substantial roads spreading in all directions from Sydney. He marked out
towns--such as Windsor, Richmond, and Castlereagh--in suitable places;
then, by making roads to them, he encouraged the freed convicts to leave
Sydney and form little communities inland. But his greatest achievement
in the way of road-making was the highway across the Blue Mountains.
This range had for years presented an insurmountable barrier. Many
persons--including the intrepid Bass--had attempted to cross it, but in
vain; the only one who succeeded even in penetrating far into that wild
and rugged country was a gentleman called Caley, who stopped at the
edge of an enormous precipice, where he could see no way of descending.
But in 1813 three gentlemen--named Wentworth, Lawson, and
Blaxland--succeeded in crossing. After laboriously piercing through the
dense timber which covers some of the ranges, they traversed a wild and
desolate country, sometimes crawling along naked precipices, sometimes
fighting their way through wild ravines, but at length emerging on the
beautiful plains to the west. On their return they found that by keeping
constantly on the crest of a long spur, the road could be made much
easier, and Governor Macquarie, stimulated by their report, sent
Surveyor Evans to examine the pass. His opinion was favourable, and
Macquarie lost no time in commencing to construct a road over the
mountains. The difficulties in his way were immense; for fifty miles the
course lay through the most rugged country, where yawning chasms had to
be bridged, and oftentime