noon
Our traps did not amount to much , as we had no money to spare for freighting , and when we first stepped upon the soil of Australia , our worldly possessions consisted of four shirts , do . pants , two pairs of boots , blankets , tents , & c. , the whole weighing just one hundred and fifty pounds -- not a large amount , but sufficient for two men , whose wants were easily supplied . There were a dozen rough , loaferish looking men , whiling away their time upon the wharf ; but as they confined themselves to simply asking a few questions as to what part of the world we came from , and received satisfactory answers , they soon lost all interest in us , and began to speculate what time the steamer would arrive . She did not reach the dock until noon ; and as we had seen enough of Williams Town , we readily embarked , and in an hour 's time were at Melbourne , gazing with interest at every thing that met our view . The city was full of life and business : heaps of goods were exposed ready for transportation to the mines , and large , lumbering carts of English build were crawling slowly through the streets , drawn by five and six yoke of oxen , while the drivers , armed with whips , the lashes of which were of immense length , though the stock or handle was barely two and a-half feet long , whirled them over the frightened animals ' heads , and whenever they struck the poor brutes , a small , circular piece of skin was taken out , leaving the quivering flesh exposed to the sun , and a prey for the numerous insects that hovered in the air . We carried our stuff on shore , and then considered what was necessary to get to the mines ; and while we rested upon our bundles , and ate a portion of the salt junk and biscuit that the cook of the ship had insisted upon our taking with us , we took a calm survey of Melbourne -- its advantages and disadvantages . The city occupies two sides of a valley , called East Hill and West Hill , and is well laid out .