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Introduction.

Captain William Jackson Barry is certainly one of the most striking figures among us, and when the history of Australasia comes to he written, this remarkable man should occupy a prominent position in its pages. Arriving in Sydney when our present century was but a mere babe in the arms of Father Time, he has seen deserts transformed into gardens and magnificent cities spring up on the sites of bark huts and miserable shanties. He has seen hordes of wild Aboriginal tribes die out to make room for the pioneers of progress and civilisation. He has tried his hand at many occupations, and has always shown untiring energy and indomitable pluck. Like Othello he has had many "hair-breadth escapes," but his unwavering courage has enabled him to surmount all obstacles and to overcome all difficulties. His adventures by "Flood and Field," as narrated in the following pages, cannot fail to be interesting to all readers who desire to be enlightened regarding the "Past and Present" of Australia and New Zealand. Wordsworth's lines on "Peter Bell" will apply to the Captain as a traveller:—

And all along the indented Coast,
Bespattered with the salt-sea foam,
Where'er a knot of houses lay,
On headland or in hollows clay,
Since, never man like him did roam.

It is to be hoped that a hearty and remunerative welcome may be accorded to this volume of records and reminiscences of the Veteran Pioneer of Australasia.

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