Australia and the Goldfields: Chapter IV

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G. Y mae yn debyg ei fod yn lle da i seiri?
A. Ydyw; y maent yn ennill llawer iawn, yn enwedig llifwyr. Nid ydynt yn derbyn eu cyflogau yn wythnosol, ond yn mhen y “cyfrif,” pryd y bydd ganddynt swm mawr o arian i’w dderbyn. Ond yr hen a ddywedir yn gyffredin am forwyr, a ellid ei gymhwyso gyda’r un priodoldeb at grefftwyr Awstralia, sef eu bod yn “ennill eu harian fel ceffylau, ac yn eu gwario fel mulod:” y maent yn aml yn difa y cwbl ar un derm ynfyd. Yr oeddynt, cyn darganfod yr aur, yn ennill o ddwy bunt i dair yn yr wythnos, tra y treulid ychydig iawn ar fwyd a dillad. Yr wyf yn cofio am “gwmpeini llawen” o honynt, wedi derbyn “cyfrif” mawr, yn anfon am ffircyn o rum a baril o win. Gosodant yr olaf i sefyll ar unpen yn nghanol y bwth, nes iddynt “wneyd y goreu” o’r rum, a neidiodd un o honynt i’r baril i ymdrochi.

Q. It is likely a good place for artisans?
A. Yes; they earn very well, especially sawyers. They do not receive their wages weekly, but at the end of the “account,” at which time they can expect to receive a large sum of money. But that old saying about sailors could with equal propriety be applied to the craftsmen of Australia, that is, “they earn their money like horses, and spend it like mules:” they often squander it all on one mad spree. Before the discovery of gold they earned from two to three pounds a week, while very little was spent on food and clothing. I remember a “merry company” of them, who having received a large “account,” sent for a firkin of rum and a barrel of wine. They set the last on one end in the middle of the hut, till they “made the best” of the rum, and one of them leapt into the barrel to bathe.

G. A oes yno lawer o dai yn cael eu hadeiladu yn gwbl o goed?
A. Oes, yn y wlad, neu y “berth”, fel y dywedant. Y mae yno ddigonedd o goed da i bob defnydd. Y coed a elwir y rhisglyn-llinynog, derw y gors, molwydd, cedrwydd, pren haiarn, &c., a ddefnyddir yn helaeth. Y mae y cedrwydd yn gwneyd dodrefn hardd iawn: y mae yn meddu lliw tywyll godidog, ac yn cymeryd caboliad uchel. Y mae graen ei riddyn yn hynod o brydferth, ac “yn gweithio” mor lathraidd a gwydr. Adeiledir y tai yn y “berth” trwy yru polynion unionsyth i’r ddaear, a gosod swmerau y nen i orphwys arnynt. Oddiallan, hoelir ystyllod ar y polynion i ffurfio pared, gan adael y naill ystyllen i orwedd tros ymyl y llall, fel ceryg tô, i gadw gwlaw allan; ac oddimewn y maent yn cael eu plastro neu eu dwbio â chlai. Y rhai hyn, pa fodd bynag, ydynt dai o’r fath oreu; yn aml gosodir yr ystyllod ar eu penau fel palis, heb ddim plastr o’r tufewn. Bûm yn cysgu yn nhŷ cyfaill cyfrifol yn y “berth,” ac yn gallu gweled y lleuad yn llawn lloned o’m gwely, fel yr oedd yn saethu ei phelydrau arianaidd trwy dalcen rhigolog y plasdy, a’r ser tanbaid yn dysgleirio trwy ganol y pared.¹ Y pren gwely y gorweddwn arno a wnaethid trwy yru pedwar post blaenllym, wedi eu dirisglo, i’r ddaear, a gosod pedair erchwyn, heb eu hysgwario, i orphwys arnynt, ac yna hoelio rhyw nifer o bolion hollt ar eu traws: ond cysgais yn gysurus. Y mae math o swyn yn mywyd “y berth,” oblegid nad oes ar ddyn yno eisieu dim o wir anghenrheidiau bywyd. Tra y mae yn feistr arno ei hun, heb fod dan rwymedigaeth i hwn, ac yn nyled y llall—y mae yn annibynol ar y byd. Y mae y tai yn fynych wedi eu töi â singlau neu “lechau-coed;” ond y mae llawer wedi eu diddosi â rhisgl, yr hwn a bilir oddiar y coed yn llabiau mawrion, fel lleiniau anferth o ledr, yn hanner cant neu driugain o droedfeddi ysgwâr. Y mae yr aelwydydd yn ëang, a’r tânau ar lawr o dan fantell simdde agored o’r hen ddull gwladaidd. Ond y mae rhodfa o amgylch i’r tai goreu i ymoeri o dan bendistiau neu verandah. Nid oes yno, yn gyffredin, ddim ffenestri gwydr, ond math o drap-ddor yn agor allan i awyro yr ystafelloedd. Nid oes dim llofftydd i’r tai. Pethau gwladaidd iawn hefyd sydd yn eu dodrefnu. Nid oes yno ddim cadeiriau yn y wlad, ond meinciau ac ystolion-trithroed, neu yn aml heb un troed o gwbl, ond wedi eu llunio trwy “daflu” pren, a’i lifio, yn ei grynder naturiol, yn byttiau tua dwy droedfedd o hyd. Y seddau moethus hyn a osodir i orphwys ar unpen yn rhenciau o amgylch bwrdd mawr yn sefyll ar ganol llawr pridd.² Fe allai nad oes dim pobl mwy croesawus yn y byd na phreswylwyr y “berth,” na lle â mwy o lawndra o fwyd a dïod yn cael ei gymhell gyda charedigrwydd diragrith ar bob ymwelwr ac ymdeithydd: ond dichon na welwch un ddysgl, na chyllell na fforch, heblaw eich bys a’ch bawd, a’r twca yn mhen y bwrdd i wr y tŷ “gerfio” yn haelionus.

Q. Are there many wooden houses there at all?
A. Yes, in the country, or the “bush”, as they say. There is plenty of good wood there for all purposes. The trees they call the stringy-bark, swamp-oak, gum-tree, cedar, ironwood, &c., are widely used. The cedar makes very handsome furniture: it has an extraordinary dark colour, and takes a high polish. The grain of its heart-wood is remarkably beautiful, and “works” as smooth as glass. In the “bush” the houses are built by driving posts straight into the earth, and the roof-beams are rested on top of them. On the outside, boards are nailed to the posts to form a wall, letting one board lie over the edge of another, like roof-slates, to keep rain out; and on the inside they are plastered or daubed with clay. These, at any rate, are the best kind of house; often the boards are set on end like a paling fence, with no plaster inside. I once slept in the house of an esteemed friend in the “bush”, and was able to see the full moon from my bed, shooting its silver rays through the slits in the gable of the house, and the bright stars twinkling through the cracks in the wall.¹ The bedstead on which I lay was made by driving four sharp stakes into the ground, and resting four unsquared sides on them, and then nailing a number of split poles across them: but I slept comfortably. There is a kind of charm in the life of the “bush,” where a man lacks for none of the true necessities of life. While he is master of himself, under obligation to no one, in debt to no one—he is independent of the world. The houses are often roofed with shingles or “wooden slates,” but many are covered with bark, which is peeled from the trees in great strips, like huge straps of leather, fifty or sixty feet square. The hearths are large, and the fires are lit on the floor under the mantelpiece of an open chimney in the old country style. But around the best houses there is a covered walk or portico where one can stay cool, called a verandah. There are generally no glass windows there, but a kind of trap-door opening out to air the rooms. The houses have no upper stories. They are furnished in a very rustic way as well. There are no chairs in the country there, but benches and three-legged stools, or often stools with no legs at all, made by “throwing” [= felling] a tree, and sawing it in the round, into short pieces about two feet in length. These comfortable seats are placed on one end in rows round a large table standing in the middle of the earthen floor.² There are perhaps no more welcoming people in the world than the inhabitants of the “bush,” nor a place where a greater abundance of food and drink is urged with genuine kindness on every visitor and traveller: but you might not see a single dish, or a knife or fork, apart from your own fingers and thumb, and the knife at the head of the table with which the man of the house will “carve” generously.

G. Gan fod boneddiges yn Awstralia yn cynghori ymfudwyr i ddyfod â llestri pridd gyda hwynt, a ydynt yn uchel bris yno?
A. Y mae potiau gwynion yn ddrudion iawn, ond gwneir llestri duon a chochion cyffredin yn y drefedigaeth.³ Ond tê ydyw y prif groesaw, a rhaid i chwi yn wastad aros i’w yfed: y mae y tegell (neu y crochan) bob amser yn “canu” yn nghrog wrth y pren du, a gwraig y tŷ yn pobi yn ddiddiwedd. Math o fara cri a fwytëir fwyaf—teisenau neu dorthau (fel bara llech sir Fon?) a elwir yn dampers, ac a grasir yn y marwor ar yr aelwyd.⁴ Ysgubir y lludw o un ochr i’r tân, dodir y toes ar y llanerch poeth, a thynir y marwor arno. Cymerir dyrnaid o dê o’r gist, sydd bob amser yn sefyll rywle tua chongl y simdde, a dodir ef yn y “pot” i drwytho. Y mae digon o dê da (yn syth o China) yn cael ei werthu yn Sydney am swllt y pwys. Y mae coffi yn llawn gan rhated; a sugr (o Ynys Ffrainc) i’w gael am bris llawer is nag yn Lloegr. Y mae yr ymenyn a’r caws a wneir yn y “berth” yn bur dda yn gyffredin. Y maent yn yfed tê deirgwaith yn y dydd, o leiaf.

Q. As a lady in Australia has advised emigrants to bring earthenware with them, how expensive is it there?
A. White pots are very dear, but common black and red vessels are made in the colony.³ But tea is the chief hospitality, you must always stay to drink it: the kettle (or the pot) is always “singing”, and the woman of the house bakes endlessly. A kind of unleavened bread is mostly eaten—cakes or loaves (like the bara llech [= bakestone bread] of Anglesey?) called dampers, baked in the embers on the hearth.⁴ The ash is swept to one side of the fire, the dough is placed on the hot part, and the embers are drawn over it. A handful of tea is taken from the caddy, which always stands somewhere near the chimney-corner, and put in the “pot” to infuse. Plenty of good tea (straight from China) is sold in Sydney for a shilling a pound. Coffee is just as cheap; and sugar (from the Île de France) is available at a much lower price than in England. The butter and cheese made in the “bush” are generally very good. They drink tea three times a day, at least.

G. Clywais foneddwr a fu yno yn dyweyd eu bod yn berwi y tê mewn crochan; a dywed Mr. Earp eu bod yn rhoddi y tê a’r sugr ar y tân i’w berwi ynghyd—ai gwir yw?
A. Nis gwn arferion teuluaidd y “berth” ganoldirol, ond ni welais erioed mor goginiaeth hòno yn y parthau y bûm yn ymdaith.

Q. I heard a gentleman who has been there saying that they boil the tea in a pot; and Mr. Earp says they put the tea and the sugar on the fire to boil together—is it true?
A. I do not know the domestic habits of the interior “bush,” but I never saw such cookery in the parts I travelled.

G. A ydynt yn bobl fudron yn eu tai, ac yn aflerw yn eu gwisgiad—y meibion yn gwisgo barfau o dwf blwyddyn, eu gwallt yn gynffonau yn disgyn ar hyd eu cefnau, fel y dywed rhai?⁵
A. Nac ydynt, hyd y gwelais; ond y maent yn ddigon glanwaith mewn ffordd rwydd a gwladaidd.

Q. Are they dirty people in their houses, and untidy in dress—the men wearing a year’s growth of beard, their hair in pigtails hanging down their backs, as some say?⁵
A. No, as far as I saw; but they are cleanly enough in an easy rustic way.

G. A oes llawer o fuarthau a thai allan yn perthyn i’r ffermydd yno?
A. Y mae y tyddyndai wedi eu hamgylchu â buarthau eang. Amgeuir y buarthau â rheilwaith o bum cledren, wedi eu morteisio i byst cryfion. Y ceuad rhwng y meusydd a wneir o glywdi tair neu bedair rheilen, ac o’u hamgylch â phum cledren, i gadw yr anifeiliaid rhag tori i’r ŷd, clofer hâd, neu ryw gnwd arall; ac y maent yn gyffredin yn rhy geuad i borchell ymwthio rhyngddynt. Y mae y rhisglyn haiarn yn hollti yn rhwydd, ac yn hynod o barhaus.

Q. Do the farms there have many farmyards and outhouses?
A. The farmhouses are surrounded by large farmyards. The yards are enclosed with railings of five rails, mortised to strong posts. The fencing between the fields is made of three- or four-railed gates, with five rails about them, to keep the animals from breaking into the corn, seed clover, or other crop; and they are generally too close for a pig to push between them. The iron-bark splits easily, and is remarkably durable.

¹   Y mae y lloer a’r ser yn ymddangos yn brydferthach yn Awstralia nag, fe allai, yn un parth arall o’r byd, a hyny i’w briodoli i glirder yr wybren. Ond nid yr un ser sefydlog a ganfyddir yno a’r rhan fwyaf a welwn ni. Y cydser mwyaf hynod yno ydynt, y Groes Fawr Ddeheuol, y Cwmpas, Llong Arydd, &c.; a’r ser unigol hynotaf ydynt, Achernar, Canopus, y ddwy seren fawr yn y Cwmpas, a’r seren-ddwbl wrth droed y Groes.
²   Ond y mae tai y “perthwyr” cyfoethocaf yn lleoedd mwy trefnus, ac yn llawn o bob anghenrheidiau, eto fel hyn y mae pob perthwr yn dechreu ei fyd. Yn hyn nid oes dim gwahaniaeth rhwng y “berth” yn Awstralia, a’r “sefydliadau cefn” yn America.
³   Gellwch ddrachtio eich dïod o godard neu bicyn mor awchus ag o wydr naddedig. Yn ofer yr edrych am y piano, y glwth a’r sofa, yr ochr-fwrdd mahogany, a’r cyffelyb. Y maent wedi rhoddi lle i’r gasgen-halltu, y gist-dê, y felin-law, y bwced, y crochan haiarn, a’r badell bridd; neu am y drychau a’r darluniau goreurog ar y parwydydd, y maent hwythau wedi cilio oddiar ffordd y badell-ffrïo, y gogr, y clorian, y fwyall, y cryman, &c. Ond y mae gan ambell “berthwr” lyfrgell go helaeth. Y mae rhai tai wedi eu heilio â gwiail a’u dwbio â chlai, eraill â’u parwydydd i gyd o risgl, oddigerth y cynnalbyst. Adeiledir bwthyn o’r fath yma mewn rhyw ddeuddydd neu dri o’r hwyaf. Y mae yn gyffredin yn ugain troedfedd wrth bedair ar ddeg.
⁴   Dywedai Mr. Whittaker, ei fod wedi gweled rhai yn eu cymysgu yn “ysgafn” fel crimpogau neu fara-sur-geirch, yn eu “tywallt” i dwll yn ochr y tân, ac yna yn rhiglo marwor arnynt. Soniai hefyd am ddull o rostio pysgod a chig a gafwyd oddiwrth y brodorion; sef, trwy boethi ceryg, a’u gosod yn bentwr ar y twll lle y dodasid y bwyd i gael ei goginio yn y lludw.
⁵   Gartref, yn y berth bell, yn ol tystiolaeth Mossman, y mae yr yswatiwr yn gwisgo barf, ac yn dilladu ei berson yn od, gan broffesu ei hun yn ddyn o genedl neillduol, a eilw efe yn “Berthwyr Awstralia;” ond pan ddaw i dref, y mae yn tori ei farf, ac yn gwisgo fel dyn arall. Go wan, yn wir!

¹   The moon and the stars appear more beautiful in Australia than perhaps in any other part of the world, and that is to be attributed to the clear sky. But the majority of the fixed stars to be seen there are not the same as those we see. The most notable constellations there are, the Great Southern Cross, the Compasses, the Ship Argo, &c.; and the most notable individual stars are, Achernar, Canopus, the two large stars in the Compasses, and the double star at the foot of the Cross.
²   But the houses of the wealthiest “bushmen” are more orderly places, furnished with all necessities, still every bushman starts his life like this. In this there is no difference between the “bush” in Australia, and the “back settlements” in America.
³   You can quaff your drink from a “goddard” or a piggin as keenly as from cut glass. In vain will you look for the piano, the lounge and the sofa, the mahogany sideboard, and the like. They have given way to the salt-box, the tea-caddy, the hand-mill, the bucket, the iron pot, and the earthenware pan. As for the mirrors and gilt pictures on the walls, they have yielded to the frying-pan, the sieve, the scales, the axe, the sickle, &c. But the occasional “bushman” has a sizeable library. Some houses are built of wattle and daubed with clay, others have all their walls made of bark, apart from the supporting posts. A hut of this sort can be built in two or three days at longest. They are commonly twenty feet by fourteen.
⁴   Mr. Whittaker says he has seen some mixed “light” like pancakes or bara surgeirch [a kind of leavened bread made in North Wales], “poured” into a hole beside the fire, and then brushed over with embers. He also mentions a method of roasting fish and meat taken from the natives; that is, by heating stones, and piling them on the hole in which the food has been placed to cook in the ashes.
⁵   At home, in the remote bush, according to the testimony of Mossman, the squatter wears a beard, and clothes his person in an odd fashion, professing to belong to a race apart, which he calls “Australian Bushmen;” but when he comes to town, he cuts his beard, and dresses like any other man. Rather weak, really!

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The content of this page,
and of the entire "Old Welsh Books with English Translations" website
is, save where prior right apply,
Copyright © John Bear.