University pretty girl-students, in black caps and gowns, raced one
another across the grounds to get a second view of the Prince after they
had stood demurely at attention as he went past. On the grassy slopes of
the wide Domain beside the river, backed by an assemblage of ten
thousand delighted school-children, the Prince reviewed the men who had
been keeping the route through the city. To render this possible every
detachment had closed up and followed the procession after the cars had
passed. In this way were gathered some two thousand men representing
every arm of the service. The designations of the First, Second, Third,
Fourth, and Fifth Australian Divisions were in evidence on the flags
carried past the saluting point.
Another interesting occasion during the visit to Brisbane was the local
agricultural exhibition, which never, in the long history of this
popular institution, had been so crowded, the principal stores and
other business establishments having all been closed in honour of the
occasion. The proceedings began with a procession through the wool,
wheat, sugar-cane, fruit, butter, cheese, pig, and cattle exhibitions
halls, the Prince and members of the committee making slow progress in
the crowds of cheering spectators. The afternoon was devoted to a parade
of prize-winning cattle and horses. This was held in a big
amphitheatre--seventy years ago the crude "Bora," sacred initiation
ground, of Queensland savages, now the beautifully turfed show-ring of
the National Agricultural Association. Here, in the presence of some
seventy thousand spectators, the Prince saw some very fine jumping, not
devoid of minor mishaps. He himself ran to help to pick up a girl whose
mount came down at one of the fences. By this time it will be noted that
it was impossible to keep H.R.H. out of any kind of incident not
strictly arranged for. He also assisted at an attempt, not the less
interesting because it just failed of success, to lower the mile
trotting-record of the track.
Leaving the show in the afternoon, the Prince proceeded, in company with
the acting Premier and the Lieutenant-Governor, to Farm Park, where he
took tea upon the grass with the Mayor and Aldermen of Brisbane, in the
midst of thousands of spectators. So closely was the civic tea-table
surrounded that the red cross nurses, to whom fell the duty of waiting
on the Royal party, scarcely had room to perform their functions. The
number of cups and spoons and other articles that became heirlooms in
1920 for the benefit of Australasian posterity must be considerable. The
Prince was eventually extracted from the crush, and embarked, amidst
much cheering and hand-clapping, upon one of numerous decorated
motor-boats which took him, attended by a flock of yachts, across the
wide Brisbane river, in the yellow sunset, on a visit to invalid
soldiers in the fine "Anzac" Hospital on the other side.
Another notable function in Brisbane was the state dinner, at which
representative men from every part of Queensland were present, some four
hundred sitting down. The Prince was between the acting Premier and the
Lieutenant-Governor. The Papal representative, Monsignor Cattaneo,
occupied a seat on the other side of the Lieutenant-Governor. Others
present included the Anglican Bishop, the members of the State Cabinet
and the Legislative Council, and the Chief Justice. The streets outside
were densely packed with people, who became so insistent in cheering
after the Prince had got inside that he left the banquet to wave to them
from the balcony. Mr. Fihelly, in proposing the toast of the evening,
emphasized that their Royal guest had endeared himself to all with whom
he had come in contact, and had been found to be "a man of parts, a man
of ability, able to take his place amongst men, and one who would carry
away with him the goodwill of all the people of Queensland."
Mr. Vowles, Nationalist Leader of the Opposition, spoke in similarly
loyal tone. The Prince rose to reply amidst cheers, and developed his
points in a voice which his hearers noticed had now recovered its
clearness and resonance. In the course of a long and enthusiastically
received speech he dwelt upon the wonderful reception he had had, the
pleasure his visit had given him, and especially on the large part taken
in the receptions by returned sailors, soldiers and women war-workers.
Referring to the soldier settlement he had visited on his way to
Brisbane, he congratulated the Queensland Government on the foresight
and energy with which they had tackled the repatriations problems. "You
cannot do too much," he said, "for your diggers, who played such a big
part in saving the Empire, and who should be looked upon as the backbone
of the Commonwealth.... My tour in Australia, alas!" he continued, "is
nearly over. It is particularly to the future of the Commonwealth that
my thoughts turn. My visit to Australia has taught me that the spirit
wherein your diggers volunteered, and fought and won, is not something
unique or out of the way, which will never happen again, but the natural
outcome of a national spirit which is going to make Australia one of the
great progressive nations of the world. Their free and gallant services
in the war have shown to yourselves, to the Empire and to the world what
you are and what you can do. With such a spirit in its men and women
Australia has a splendid future in its grasp. I came to Australia
already feeling a strong bond of comradeship with your troops: I shall
leave it feeling even a stronger bond of comradeship with the Australian
people as a whole, and my heart will always be with them in their mighty
task of building up the solid British fabric of freedom, justice and
security with fair play for all upon this vast continent."
Another of the Brisbane functions was a popular reception in the public
gardens overlooking the river. Here some thousands of people passed
before the Prince, who stood upon a dais, the acting Premier beside him.
Girls presented bouquets of flowers. Men and women stopped to wish him
good luck on his homeward voyage, or to photograph him at close
quarters. Here and there an old-fashioned curtsy would be dropped, or
cheering or hand-clapping started. The great majority of the people
expressed themselves in a simple nod or smile, or waved hand or hat or
handkerchief as they went by. One could not help recognizing, not only
that they had taken the Prince to their hearts, but that while paying
him the great compliment of ceasing to treat him with formality, there
was no diminution in the deference that was shown. When he left the
reception he went back to his quarters in Parliament Buildings, where,
marching up and down, were armed cadets in full service kit, volunteers
from districts it had not been possible for the Prince to visit, their
expenses all paid by local subscriptions. There was no serious necessity
for the services of these young warriors, but they represented the
universal determination of North-Eastern Australia that "our Prince," as
by this time he had begun to be called, should lose nothing of pomp or
Royal circumstance while he remained the guest of their State.
Before the Prince left, Monsignor Cattaneo, Apostolic Delegate, and the
Very Reverend M. Duhig, Catholic Archbishop of Queensland, asked and
obtained an interview at which they formally presented "the homage and
devotion to the throne of the whole Catholic community of Australia."
They dwelt upon the deep loyalty of this community and declared that the
Prince had won all their hearts.
In the course of his visit to Brisbane H.R.H. was shown State factories,
State shops, State insurance offices, and State markets in full
operation, a class of enterprise under experiment in natural conditions
so favourable as to give it at least a sporting chance. He also heard
much of the sugar-cane, coco-nut-palm and banana plantations, and the
enormous cattle ranges of the northern territories where Queensland
rolls away into the tropics and there is rich land and to spare for a
population as large as that of France.
Leaving Brisbane one day during his visit to that city, the Prince
proceeded by train through a well-wooded country of rich black soil,
just then a quagmire from heavy but welcome rain. He touched at a number
of centres, including Ipswich, head-quarters of woollen mills and
coal-mines, and Harrisville and Boonah, country towns where farming and
pastoral communities predominate. Every stopping-place had been
converted by unpaid local labour into a beflagged forest of greenery, in
the midst of which the inhabitants of the entire neighbourhood, also
many from far distant stations, had assembled. At Ipswich the streets
were lined by operatives and miners, and the welcome of this important
place included a car procession through decorated streets, a popular
reception, a mayoral address, and a civic luncheon served to the strains
of one of the largest and best trained choirs in the State. Vocal music
as the accompaniment of food was an unaccustomed luxury to many of those
present, but it did not appear to interfere with the general appetite.
At Boonah the proceedings were simpler but not on that account less
impressive, although they took place in a pelting rainstorm. The Prince
waded through an ankle-deep stream of flood-water to an exposed
platform, where, surrounded by a crowd of squatters, stockmen, farmers
and their families, including large numbers of women and children, all
standing in the downpour with streaming mackintoshes and umbrellas, he
unveiled a fine marble war-memorial bearing three hundred names. He also
shook hands with relatives of the fallen, and with numbers of returned
men, nurses and other war-workers.
On the way back to Brisbane further centres were visited. Amongst them
were Maryborough, a manufacturing and coal-mining city, where the steel
skeletons of two twelve-thousand-ton steamers, under construction for
the Commonwealth Government, towered amidst the decorations. One of the
arches was surmounted by a group of blacks in native costume, armed with
bows, arrows and spears, which they wielded realistically. Another
carried a dozen diggers in uniform. Other places visited were Tiaro,
where the assemblage that greeted the Prince consisted chiefly of
agriculturalists; Gympie, where the returned men, assembled in a
war-memorial park, included gold-miners as well as farmers; Cooroy,
where the Prince made the acquaintance of a large logging community;
Landsborough, where sugar-cane planters, and banana and orange-growers
preponderated, and Beerburrum, Queensland's biggest soldier settlement,
where he shook hands with a large number of returned men engaged in
growing pineapples.
The Prince finally left Brisbane amidst unforgettable scenes of national
enthusiasm and emotion. The entire population of the city seemed to be
in the streets. The neighbourhood of the railway station was blocked by
masses of cheering men, women and children. The railway station
buildings were besieged, the more influential folk, including the
members of the State Government, and their families, thronged the
platform. The general public crowded windows, balconies, culverts,
overbridges, and fences, wherever a glimpse of the train could be
obtained. The start had to be three times postponed, so many were the
Prince's personal farewells. After the train got into motion, motor-cars
raced beside the track, school-children were found lined up at wayside
crossings, stumps and telegraph poles were perching places for daring
climbers. Everybody waved something, if it were not a handkerchief, a
flag or a hat, it was the nearest thing to hand. I saw a vegetable
hawker wildly flourishing his biggest cabbage, a housewife excitedly
using a tablecloth as a signal of affection, a company of railway
carriage-cleaners throwing their dusters upon the wind. Workmen in
overalls, carters with teams of horses, stockmen riding to their duties
stopped and doffed hats as the train went by. "Old Lang Syne" was taken
up, again and again, by thousands of voices, to be itself drowned in a
chorus of shouted "Goodbyes." All the Members of the Cabinet travelled
upon the Royal train as far as the border of the State. The acting
Premier had to stay behind for urgent public reasons, but was so
determined not to be left out of the proceedings that he attempted to
follow the train in an aeroplane, and was only stopped by crashing
heavily. The demonstration was so remarkable that even the Queenslanders
themselves were astonished at it. Enthusiasm had taken possession of
this democratic people, and there seemed to be no length to which they
were not prepared to go. Here was a country where the people are as
sovereign as anywhere on earth. Yet wayside villages and towns on the
southward journey, one after another, took up and repeated Brisbane's
farewell demonstrations. The crowds at the railway stations, where
addresses were presented, included in many instances definitely more
people than the entire population of the immediate centre, this being
due to farmers, squatters, and settlers bringing their families
incredible distances by train, by motor, in buggies, or on horseback, so
that they might not miss the occasion. In one case four well-mounted
girls galloped astride nearly a mile, keeping abreast with the train,
and arriving at the next station, where an address was to be read, just
as the Prince alighted. Their spirited ride secured them a handshake and
a compliment.
The train halted for the night at Toowoomba, in the heart of a wonderful
agricultural region, which was found smiling under splendid crops. Here
the countryside had long been preparing for the Prince's coming, and the
celebrations were of the liveliest, everything, including decorations,
gathering of returned men, civic banquet, and ball, being planned to
create a record.
The following morning the Prince recrossed the border, over a carpet
woven of yellow wattle flowers. It was a pretty thought and offered him
much.
XXI
THE JACKAROO AND OTHERS
When the Prince left Queensland he had practically completed his
official tour of the Australian States. There remained for him the
improvised series of visits to the back-blocks of New South Wales, which
took the place of the abandoned journey to New Guinea. Here he stayed in
the houses of squatters, some of them controlling sheep-runs hundreds of
thousands of acres in extent, and mingled in the most informal manner in
country life and country pastimes. In the wonderful air of this region
he regained much of the spring and energy he had lost in the preceding
months of strenuous official touring. The Government officers on the
Royal train meanwhile returned to Sydney.
The route taken by the Prince after leaving Wallangarra for the interior
lay through beautiful scenery across the famous Blue Mountains. One
looked out, as the train climbed upwards, across vast stretches of
green-forested gorges and grey crags of fluted limestone, with purple
and aquamarine ridges on the far horizon--a land filled only with the
colour and the form of wild nature. The Prince started on the foot-plate
of the engine, which he drove himself up a one-in-thirty-three grade
slope. Although his journey was now entirely unofficial, numbers of
people assembled and cheered him at the principal stations. At Lawson he
alighted and shook hands with returned men, including Private Duncan
Allan, the oldest soldier in the Australian forces. Later on, crossing
the open Bathurst sheep-downs, a halt was made at the wayside station of
Kelso, where horses were in waiting and he took, in the rain, a brisk
ride across country, rejoining the train that evening at Bathurst.
[Illustration: THE BACKBLOCKS: AN UNOFFICIAL FIXTURE]
[Illustration: HIS FAVOURITE MOUNT]
The following morning the train reached Coonamble, terminus of the
railway, a township of wooden houses, situated on a vast grassy plain,
in the heart of sheep-raising country, two hundred and sixty miles from
Sydney. Here Mr. Oliver, President of the Shire, accompanied by the
local mayor and members of his council, received the Prince upon the
platform, and conducted him in a motor-car procession to a grassy park
in the middle of the town, where he found awaiting him a large
assemblage of people, including the usual contingents of returned men
and school-children, also nurses and other war-workers. An address was
presented, and thereafter the procession was continued to the
racecourse, where horses had been collected. The Prince and his staff
mounted and set off across recently flooded country for Wingadee, thirty
miles distant, where the week-end was to be spent at one of the stations
of the Australian and New Zealand Land Company. Lunch was served in the
open at one of the artesian bore-holes that furnish this country with
water, even the severe drought which preceded the recent floods not
having affected the supply. The Prince here visited a typical bush
saloon and in bush fashion called for drinks for all the settlers he
found there. Later in the afternoon he reached Wingadee, where he was
received by Mr. McEwan, General Manager of the Company. He spent the
afternoon riding about this up-to-date station and going over the
wool-sheds. The host of his visit was Mr. Fechan, the Superintendent.
In the next few days the Prince rode a number of horses, inspecting the
wool-sheds and flocks, chasing kangaroos and emus, and had the
opportunity of forgetting the formalities of public receptions. On the
day of departure from Wingadee he rode thirty miles back to the little
country racecourse at Coonamble, where he remained throughout the
afternoon watching the racing in the casual mud-splashes of his own
ride. The enclosure was crowded with squatters from all parts of
Northern New South Wales, who gave him the most cordial reception, and
followed him afterwards to the railway station to cheer the train by
which he left for Myowera, another small station sixty miles distant in
the same great plain.
Here the Prince stayed on the Canoubar run in the house of Mr. and Mrs.
McLeod, Mr. Niall, managing director of the company, supervising the
arrangements for his entertainment, which were on the most hospitable
scale. At Canoubar he saw the working of a big sheep station in full
operation, including shearing, sheep-drafting, wool-packing, and the
driving of flocks by wonderfully trained dogs, also the handling and
breaking-in of station horses. One of the merino rams shown to him had
recently been bought for two thousand five hundred pounds sterling. As
to the performances of the dogs, the confiding correspondents were told
that they could drive a fowl into a jam tin, but I am not aware whether
H.R.H. was asked to believe this. On the afternoon of his arrival he
rode nine miles, much of it along natural avenues of gum-trees, to the
country town of Nyngan. His host accompanied him, mounted on his fine
steeple-chaser Bullawarra, once sent to England to run in the Grand
National.
At Nyngan the entire countryside was found assembled and the Prince met
a large company of returned men, besides relatives of those who would
not return, nurses and other war-workers. All the school-children of the
neighbourhood were also there. The programme included the laying of a
foundation-stone, after which he rode home escorted by a bodyguard of
light-horsemen, who gave a display of bush-galloping a mile outside the
station.
Next day H.R.H. was made acquainted with the Jackaroo. The Jackaroo is
neither a crow nor a parrot nor any kind of quadruped. He is a young
gentleman of Australia who desires to become a squatter, and who gives
his services on a sheep-run for the opportunity of picking up the
business. He was living, where the Prince encountered him, with, half a
dozen of his fellows, in a comfortable building with roomy sleeping
quarters and an old soldier in charge of the mess. His food is plain but
substantial and appetizing, a leading feature of it, the slab of
"brownie" bread, full of currants, which tells its own tale of his age
and digestion. The Jackaroo spends most of his day in the saddle, riding
long distances to outlying parts of the run, on the hunt for bogged
sheep, or in supervising lambing or moving flocks from one paddock to
another. Often he will not see a living soul from the time he starts out
in the morning until he returns at night, and he may even lose his way.
He then makes a bee-line in the likeliest direction until he comes to
the wire fence of the boundary, which he may follow for miles before he
reaches a landmark he knows. The speedometer of one car which had been
out on fence inspection the day before the Prince arrived, marked 120
miles, travelled in a single day, so it may be presumed that the
Jackaroo's bump of locality develops early. The squatter is generally
glad to take on likely boys, as he finds them, when the first
fecklessness is worn off, on the whole more conscientious than paid
labour, an important point for work that has to be so largely delegated.
The life is healthy and interesting, and on up-to-date runs like the
ones seen, looked exceedingly pleasant. The young fellows come as a rule
from families of good class and generally have means of their own--a
combination which should make the life history of the Jackaroo not
unrewarding to the student of the fauna of these parts. His own point of
view would have been worth obtaining, but being young he was modest and
said little. He rode buck-jumpers for the Prince. He buck-jumped rather
specially well, as might be expected of a Jackaroo. His name is a
felicity that will outlive much topography. One wonders who invented it.
The Prince on several occasions shared in the sport of kangaroo chasing,
which leaves fox-hunting standing. On one occasion he rode all day
guided by sons of his hosts through vast paddocks fenced with wire, over
an even carpet of young green grass, which was then just springing up
after floods following three years of drought, and took many a jump over
fallen trunks of trees killed by systematic ringing to make way for
fodder raising. On the way thirty or forty kangaroos were seen and five
of them were chased over formidable obstacles which the "old men"--the
male kangaroos--cleared with extraordinary ease in their long hopping
stride, at a pace that took greyhounds all they could do to overtake.
These kangaroos eat sometimes by no means an inconsiderable amount of
pasture needed for the sheep, and some years ago were being so
extensively shot down that they were in danger of being exterminated. A
close season was introduced and now they are increasing to the extent,
in some localities, of again becoming troublesome. They are much the
colour of the tree trunks, and until startled are easily overlooked in
the bush. They are off with most wonderful grace and agility the moment
they are disturbed and can even clear the high barbed wire fences by
which the runs are bounded provided they approach at a right angle. When
running parallel to the fence they cannot get the necessary foothold for
a big enough spring. This is sometimes taken advantage of by the rider,
who, being of course unable to put his horse over so formidable an
obstacle, endeavours to head off the kangaroo in such manner that it may
reach the fence at a slanting angle. In this case the chase continues
alongside instead of being finished by the kangaroo's escape over the
fence. When overtaken by dogs, which are often used in the chase, the
kangaroo makes a gallant fight for life, and many a hound has been
ripped open and killed by a well-directed kick from its powerful hind
feet, before it can be shot.