Cirrus@Austlit

'The work consists of a series of 'yarns' supposed to be told by the crew of a pleasure-boat when camping out on an excursion to Middle Harbour. There is nothing particularly new either in the idea or in the stories, but the work is written in an amusing style, and will serve excellently well to while away an idle hour.'

The hero spends some time in New South Wales, gold-digging, kangaroo-hunting, etc. 'Even when, after a time, Mr Bucknall settles his hero down to some sort of employment at a station, we hear much more of laughing kingfishers and picnic flirtations than of sheep-farming. If Victorian sheep-stations are usually like the stations of "Mannerim" sheep-farming must be a very easy vocation.'

'an improvement on its predecessors... the poetical articles are mostly by Mr Henry Halloran and Mr Henry Kendall, the latter of whom evinces in his poem called "Daphne" all his usual facility of both rhythm and rhyme.'