The inhabitants of a place occupying a position on the surface of the
globe directly opposite to our own country are called our Antipodes, a
name derived from two Greek words meaning _opposite_ and _foot_. If
Hobart Town, the capital of Van Diemen’s Land, were about fourteen
hundred miles farther east, and about five hundred miles farther south,
the inhabitants of that place and the inhabitants of London would stand
with their feet planted exactly against each other. As it is, the
difference in longitude occasions a difference between the time of the
day with them and with us of nearly ten hours--or, when it is noon, for
example, with us, it is about ten o’clock at night with them. The more
remarkable difference, however, between their situation and ours is that
arising from the circumstance that we lie on the one side of the
equator, and they nearly at as great a distance on the other. The
consequence is, that when it is winter in England, it is summer in Van
Diemen’s Land; when winter there, summer here; and that all the
appearances of the year, in short, are completely reversed in the two
countries. Thus the spring quarter of the Van Diemen’s Land year begins
in September, on the first day of which month, as is seen by the
Calendar in the Van Diemen’s Land Almanack, the sun rises and sets at
the same hours as it does with us on the 4th of March; and the day is
lengthening, as in our spring. It continues to do so till the 21st of
December (our shortest day), when it is at the longest; and then it
gradually diminishes in length through the summer and autumnal months of
January, February, March, April, and May, till on the 21st of June (our
longest day) it reaches the utmost limit of its contraction. The
latitude of Hobart Town, however, being not quite so high as ours, the
longest day there is not so long, nor the shortest day so short, as with
us. The length of their 21st of December is about 15 hours 12 minutes,
that of our 21st of June being 16 hours 34 minutes; and that of their
21st of June is 8 hours 48 minutes, that of our 21st of December being
only 7 hours 44 minutes. Our earliest sunrise is at 43 minutes past 3,
theirs at 24 minutes past 4; our latest sunset is at 17 minutes past 8,
theirs at 36 minutes past 7. At no period of the year, therefore, do
their days either increase or decrease so fast as ours. In reviewing the
different seasons with reference to this particular of the continuance
of the sun above the horizon, it may be stated generally that September,
October, and November in Van Diemen’s Land answer very nearly to March
and April in England; December, January, and February there, to May,
June, July, August, and about the first third of September with us;
March, April, and May there, to the remainder of September, October, and
the first third of November with us; and June, July, and August there,
to the remainder of November, December, January, and February here.
There are other circumstances, however, besides the mere length of the
days, which affect the progress of the seasons; and therefore the
succession of the natural appearances of the year in the two countries
will not be found to follow exactly the commencement and close of these
corresponding periods.
---------------------