At 16 years of age he was working in the western district of New South Wales, shooting rabbits.
By August dry conditions were, as is usual for El Niño years, general except in coastal districts of New South Wales and the southeast of Western Australia.
April was also very wet in the southern coastal districts of New South Wales, but May and June saw an unseasonal continuation of easterly winds.
In the 1870s Mathews was posted successively to the districts of Deepwater, New South Wales, Goondiwindi and Biamble.
The coastal districts of New South Wales and southern Queensland, however, became extremely dry by September.
The species ranges along coastal districts of New South Wales from Murwillumbah to Batemans Bay.
It occurs mostly in coastal districts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, although it is also found in the Blue Mountains.
One of his first tasks was to survey the southern districts of New South Wales as far as the Illawarra.
The club is based in the town of Mulwala located in the Riverina district of New South Wales.