Sullivan letter diary, 27 October 1915-9 October 1917 / Eugene Sullivan - Page 59
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[Page 59]
slept in one room and I can tell you we had a lively night of it. It was evidently a Gala day with the vermin and a battalion of bugs set out on a route march across our pillows. As a consequence we had to sleep on the floor in our overcoats only. We couldn't trust any of the bed clothes. Another member of the party had portion of the Red Cross on his sleeve gnawed off by rats during the night.
We took a long walk round the town and out to the hospital, which is some distance from the town, on Sunday in company of one of the residents who pointed out the beauties of the place and filled us with the history of the flood. The town itself is very pretty, most of the buildings being of brick. The streets are lined with trees, mostly pepper trimmed down, and looked very pretty as they stretch along for a great distance without a bend. The main street must be a mile long. Except in this last particular it reminded me of Lismore, only on a much larger scale, as it is walled in on all sides by hills, almost aspiring to the dignity of mountains, and the climate is hot and very moist.
The Peel River, merely a chain of waterholes, runs alongside of the main street in much the same position as the Richmond is to Molesworth Street. The soil is exceedingly rich, consisting of the loam washed down from the surrounding hills, and wheat, lucerne and tobacco are largely cultivated, the last named by a Colony of Chows. There is also a large brewery in the town.