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Early Days at Glencoe.
At a meeting of the Institute trus-
tees held on Monday evening, a letter
was received from Mr. H. Hickmcr,
donating three framed photographs
as souvenirs of the early days at
Lake Leake and Gleneoe. The donor
was accorded a hearty vote of
thanks. The letter read as follows :
-"Trustees of the Mount Gambier
Institute. Dear Sirs, - I am an old
time resident of this district, first
arriving at Lake Leake in 1851,
where I lived several years, after-
wards removing to the old bark huts
at Glencoe,, and subsequently to the
stone building put up by the late Mr.
R. R. Leake, who called it 'Frontier
House.' As I shall be leaving here
on my return home to-morrow, I
am writing to inform you that last
Saturday I left with your librarian
two photo copies of the original
photos and a photo of a true sketch
(Glencoe), all framed and ready to
hang up, which I ask you to accept
as a free gift to the institution from
me. The first, 'Lake Leake,' is the
first station put up by the Messrs.
Leake, who were the pioneers of this
part, first settling there in the for-
ties. The old hut in the foreground
is where Adam Lindsay Gordon, the
poet, lived, when horse-breaking for
the station. There is not a trace of
the old buildings to be seen, and I
found it very difficult to locate the
spot whore they stood. The Hon.
Geo. Riddoch has erected a cairn of
stones at the, spot where the late Mr.
R. R. Leake first boiled his quart
pot. This is a short distance, say,
20 yards, from, where the old build-
ings stood. The second, 'Glencoe,'
explains itself. The third, 'Two not-
ed Lake Leake and Glencoe Aborigi-
nals, John Hull and Paunchey.' The
former, was presented to the Gover-
nor Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell,
when he and Lady MacDonnell visit-
ed the district, by the late Mr. R. R.
Leake, as representative of the Boan-
dick tribe of blacks. The latter was
a celebrated shepherd, who, with his
two lubras, fattened several flocks of
wethers that fetched 30/ per head.
My object in doing this is to per-
petuate the memory of the early pio-
neering days, of which the photos
are interesting mementoes. - Yours
truly, H. Hickmer."
$