starting-ground

Updated: June 18, 2025

Government had put up a wooden defence, at a cost of something like 2000 pounds, but there was no getting any firm starting-ground, and a few freshes carried embankment, piles, and all away, and ate a large slice off the bank into the bargain; there is nothing for it but to let the river have its own way.

Samuel Butler - A First Year in Canterbury Settlement