patriarchal. The sheep were kept in flocks varying from 800 to 2000
head, according to the character of the country, tended all day by
shepherds, and inclosed at night in hurdle yards. As a further
protection against lurking blackfellow or prowling dingo, a man slept in
a small wooden portable cabin, called a watch-box, close by the sheep.
It was no uncommon thing for the men to be roused up two or three times
during the night; but, as they had plenty of time to sleep during the
day, this was thought no great hardship. The shepherds led an
inexpressibly dreary life; they were out at daybreak, and, having turned
their sheep in the proper direction, they followed them all day, seldom
exchanging a word with a human being till they returned to the hut at
night. Many of them became eccentric, or, as the working bushmen called
it, "cranky," and were quite unfit for any other occupation. As the
stock increased, the whole flock could not be fed from the home station,
round which the grass was usually reserved for the horses and working
bullocks; huts were then erected from three to ten miles or even farther
away, according to the size of the station or run, as the leaseholds
were called. At these huts, known as out-stations, generally two flocks
of sheep were kept, a hut-keeper being employed to cook for the
shepherds and shift the hurdle yards every day, so that the sheep might
have a clean bed.
'In the old days the country was all unenclosed from one end to the
other. Vehicles were scarce--there were few coaches, and occasionally a
gig would be seen on a main road. The ordinary mode of travelling
through the country was on horseback. On arriving at a station the usual
plan was to ride up to the principal hut, ask for the proprietor, and
announce your name; an invitation to stay all night followed as a matter
of course. Hospitality was a duty that was most religiously performed by
almost every squatter. There were a few exceptions, and they were
branded with the prefix of "hungry" attached to their names, and, being
known, were avoided alike by horsemen and footmen.
'Improvements in bush life were being steadily made when the discovery
of gold brought the country prominently under the notice of European
countries. The old pastoral life, with all its rustic charm and
quietude, disappeared as thoroughly as if it had never been. In the rush
and turmoil that ensued many of the old squatters were ruined, while
others, more lucky, succeeded in making immense fortunes. Over the
greater portion of Victoria and a considerable area of New South Wales
the land has been converted into freeholds, and squatting is confined to
Queensland, and the vast sultry plains of Northern, Central and Western
Australia. In these countries the areas held under leasehold from the
Crown are of immense size, many of them being capable of carrying
300,000 sheep in good seasons. These great runs are all fenced in and
subdivided by wire fences. The sheep are run in paddocks often
containing over 20,000 acres. As there are few watercourses the stock
are watered by means of immense excavations, called tanks, containing an
area of 10,000 cubic yards of water when filled. Large as they are many
of them were dried up by the long drought of 1885 and 1886. The result
has been that the holders of these great pastoral properties have
suffered heavy losses. I passed by one cattle station in Queensland,
four years ago, on which 60,000 head of cattle were grazing. Since then,
so severe has been the drought, the stock has been reduced by deaths
from starvation to 20,000 head. The deaths of stock on the sheep
stations in the same district have been equally heavy. When the seasons
have a fair average rainfall in these hot districts everything goes
well, and squatting is the most profitable occupation in the colonies,
but when a series of dry years set in the squatter's lot is a
heartrending one. He can do nothing for the poor creatures he sees
slowly starving to death, while overhead, month after month--ay, and
year after year--there is the cruel clear sky and the bright hot sun
steadily withering up all life. The birds and wild animals die in
thousands, and the few that still live are so feeble that their wild
nature seems gone out of them. This last drought is not an exceptional
event. Since Central and Northern Australia have been known, the country
has suffered from periodical droughts; but every year the skill of the
squatter is exercised in providing fresh supplies of water for his
stock, and that is the great requisite in this climate. Given a good
supply of water, and it is wonderful what a little food will keep sheep
alive on the plains of Central Australia. I have seen sheep in excellent
condition on country that to all appearance was absolutely bare of
grass. A stranger would not believe that any animal could support life
on such scanty pastures.
'Under the new order of things that followed the discovery of gold many
large freehold estates were put together by the old squatters, and then
it was found that a different style of management was required to make
the properties pay interest on the capital expended on them. The runs
were fenced and subdivided, dams were constructed on the watercourses,
and where the country was too flat for dams tanks were made for
supplying the stock with water. Good houses were built, and fine gardens
and pleasure-grounds formed. As the proprietors of these estates became
wealthy, they erected houses that for size, style and convenience would
rival the pleasant homes of the country gentlemen of England. Often in a
country that a score of years ago was considered a remote district in
the back country, one will now meet with a handsome mansion surrounded
by extensive gardens, pleasure-grounds and plantations. Where in the old
squatting days water was often very scarce, there is now ample to
irrigate a garden, and indeed water is usually laid on all over the
modern squatter's establishment.
'Over a large area of New South Wales and Victoria the surface of the
country was covered by a dense forest of the eucalypt called the
box-tree. They were of medium size, and their timber was of little or no
value. Having surface roots, they robbed the soil of all substance, and
the result was that the box-forest country was always bare of grass. It
was noticed by a few observant bushmen that the soil in these forests
was excellent, and a few experiments were made in the way of clearing
the land. The result was satisfactory, but felling the trees was too
expensive to practise on a large scale, while the stumps were very apt
to throw up a number of vigorous shoots that did as much harm as the
parent tree. What use to make of the box-forest country was a puzzle,
and most people regarded it as worthless. At this time a firm of
squatters astonished their neighbours by purchasing a block of 20,000
acres of box-forest, at L1 per acre, that the Surveyor-General of the
colony declared was not worth 2_s._ 6_d._ per acre. The plan they
adopted for killing the box-trees was one that had only lately been
tried. It consisted in cutting a notch round the tree through the bark
and into the sap wood, to prevent the sap rising. This plan, called
'ring barking,' when performed at the proper season, effectually kills
the tree, and it has since come into general practice all over
Australia. I have ridden over the estate in the box-forest that was
formed by the squatting firm mentioned, and where, years ago, there was
not a blade of grass to be seen, is now a fine pasture, that even in
indifferent years will keep a sheep to the acre.
[Illustration: RING BARKING.]
'Drought does not always ruin the squatter, and there are many instances
of their surviving the hard time. A squatter of my acquaintance embarked
in a heavy purchase in Central Australia. The run was of vast size, and
the soil admirable, but soon after he purchased the property a severe
drought set in, water was scarce, and grass almost entirely disappeared.
There was no disposing of a portion of the sheep, for every one was
short of grass, and there were no buyers. Before the drought broke up he
had lost eighty thousand sheep from starvation, and the remainder of the
flock were in a very emaciated condition. At last the welcome rain set
in--not in a heavy shower, but in a continued downfall that lasted for
several days. Such an ample rain at that time of the year meant
abundance of food and water for the next twelve months. The squatter was
a man of quick perception and prompt to act in an emergency. His station
was in telegraphic communication with Melbourne, and, knowing how to
operate, he purchased through the stock agents about ninety thousand
ewes to lamb from the best flocks in the country. The story is told that
he walked up and down his verandah watching the rainfall, and as each
successive inch was registered over a certain point he telegraphed to
Melbourne to purchase ten thousand more sheep. He got the season's
lambing and the fleece from the sheep he bought, and then sold the
greater portion for nearly double what he paid for them a few months
before. That splendid rain made all the difference between ruin and
wealth.
'Sheep-farming is carried on everywhere in Australia, while squatting on
Crown lands, as we have said, is confined to the vast area of Central
Australia and Western Australia. The shearing on one of the great
stations in the interior is a most important operation, there being a
small army of men employed while it lasts. Some of the wool-sheds are of
great extent, and provide shelter for seven thousand sheep. I have seen
as many as a hundred shearers at work at once. They work very hard, and
earn a considerable amount of money during the season. They form bands
of from forty to eighty men, and start in Queensland in July, gradually
working their way south. During shearing-time the wool-shed presents a
very busy and interesting scene. A hundred shearers are all working as
if for a wager, for the element of rivalry enters largely into the work;
a dozen half-clad blacks, male and female, are picking up the fleeces
and carrying them to the wool tables, where they are skirted, rolled up,
sorted and thrown into their several bins. Immediately behind the
wool-bins are the presses, in which the wool is packed into bales, and
at the rear the waggons are loading with bales for the distant railway
station. Outside the shed men are engaged in branding the sheep after
each man's work has been counted from his yard.
'The waggons load heavily, and have often teams of twenty bullocks each,
while there are always a few spare bullocks travelling loose to be used
as required, when one of the team gets a sore neck or knocks up. The
carriers form a distinct class in the back country. They generally
travel in bands of four or six teams, which are often owned by one man,
who generally accompanies the caravan in a buggy, or, if unable to
afford that comfort, drives one of the teams.
'A peculiar feature in station life in Australia is the existence of a
class of wanderers known as "swagmen," or "sundowners," who wander over
the face of the country under the pretence that they are looking for
work; but they seldom accept it when offered. They lead a lazy, careless
life, making for the shelter of some station towards the close of the
day, when they go through the formula of asking for work, after which
follows the usual inquiry for accommodation for the night. On some
stations these men are such a nuisance that huts are put up for their
accommodation; and, instead of permitting them to mingle with the men at
their meals, they are given a certain quantity of flour, and sometimes
meat. During the day they camp by the side of a creek where there is
shelter from the sun, whence they do not stir till it is time to start
for the station where they intend passing the night, timing their
arrival about sunset. Once a man becomes a "sundowner" he is useless for
any honest employment.
'The life of a successful squatter is a very pleasant one, with a large
freehold estate in a settled part of the country, and an extensive
mansion in which to entertain his friends, he can pass a few months very
enjoyably in the country; but his real home is in one of the most
aristocratic suburbs of Melbourne or Sydney, where he lives in a house
that cost fully five times the value of his squatting run in the old
pioneer days. The pioneers deserve rest and prosperity. They did good
work in their day, and their successors are emulating their example in
the great sultry plains of Central Australia.'
In due course everywhere the Australian squatter gives way to the
agriculturist. The sheep become a secondary agent to the plough. In
place of the squatter we have the 'selector.' Land is not given away by
the state in Australia to the immigrant, and yet it is unusually
easy--even for a new country--for the poor man to start farming. This
remark is made on the authority of Mr. T. K. Dow, the agricultural
'special' of the _Australasian_ newspaper, with whom the writer
conversed on the subject for the purposes of this volume. Mr. Dow had
just returned to the colonies after a tour through America, made for the
purpose of procuring information on agricultural matters, and he could
thus speak as an expert. He says:--
'In Australia a man selects a piece of land; he pays the survey fee, and
then he pays for the fee-simple by annual instalments. But nearly all
the land so selected is fit for the plough. The man gets a crop off it
the very first year, so that he can pay his way as he goes. The land you
get for nothing in other countries is worth nothing in the first
instance. It has to be made valuable. There are expensive improvements
that have to be effected, and so you want more money to start with there
than you do in Australia. It is surprising with how little capital men
do start here.
'The Australian harvesting system is the cheapest in the world, and is
peculiar to the country. There is a dryness about the crops of the
northern plains, on which the bulk of the wheat in South Australia and
Victoria is grown, and this enables the "stripper" to be used. The
stripper is an Australian invention. It is described by its name. It
squeezes the corn out, and leaves the stalk standing. The corn is
threshed upon the straw, and the straw is afterwards burnt off or is
ploughed in.'
Mr. Dow is an enthusiastic irrigationist, and it is pleasant to hear
him converse about what is to be the future of farming in Victoria,
when water has been systematically impounded, in order to flood the land
in due season. Our farmers, it is to be noted, have hitherto sought the
plains, where the timber was not more than was required for firewood,
and where they could sow and reap at once. But the value of the forest
country is now being appreciated. There is heavy clearing to be done, no
doubt; but then the land is rich, and gives astonishing root crops, and
fattens many sheep to the acre. And when a railway is run into the
forest it is found that the timber pays for itself, and for the land
also, and is as good a crop as the selector is ever likely to take off
the soil.
The following are the present conditions under which land can be
selected in Victoria: The best unsold portions of the public estate,
amounting in the aggregate to 8,712,000 acres, are divided into 'grazing
areas,' not exceeding 1000 acres in size, each of which is available for
the occupation of one individual, who is entitled to select, within the
limits of his block, an extent not exceeding 320 acres, for purchase in
fee simple at L1 per acre, payment of which may extend over twenty
years, without interest. The selected portion is termed an 'agricultural
allotment,' and of it the selector is bound to cultivate one acre in
every ten acres, and make other improvements amounting to a total value
of at least L1 per acre. The unselected portion of the original area is
intended for pastoral purposes, and for this the occupier obtains a
lease, at a rental of from 2_d._ to 4_d._ per acre, for a period of
fourteen years, after which it reverts to the Crown, an allowance up to
10_s._ per acre being made the lessee for any improvements he may have
effected calculated to improve the stock-carrying capabilities of the
land. In New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia, and Western
Australia, the facilities are greater than in Victoria. But it is better
to state the minimum than the maximum advantage. All classes go on the
lands with success, because 'high farming' or 'scientific culture' is
not attempted in the bush--only in exceptional instances near the towns.
A county prize for the best-kept farm was recently awarded to a
freeholder whose culture and whose crops were highly commended by the
judges. 'You were trained in a good school, evidently,' said one of the
judges to the prize-taker. 'Not at all, sir,' was the reply; 'until I
took up this land I was serving all my life behind a linen-draper's
counter.' A handsome endowment has, however, just been made for the
establishment of Agricultural Colleges in Australia.
Without a wife the settler's is but a lonely lot. There are bachelors,
of course. Our picture represents a forlorn individual returning to his
home. He will have a warmer welcome no doubt some day from wife and
weans than that which he receives from the cockatoo which he has taught
and tamed.
The settler has few enemies. The only two worth naming are drought and
fire. The systematic storage of water throughout the country is in part
mitigating the one, and already in Victoria no selector is more than
three miles from permanent water for his stock. And as irrigation is
coming apace, the fire risk, such as it is, will be diminished. Even now
it is not serious. Not one farmer will be burned out, but at the same
time a watch is required to see that no flame gets the upper hand. When
a man burns off stubble he must give notice to his neighbours.
[Illustration: A BUSH WELCOME.]
Some of the most dramatic incidents of bush life occur when an alarm of
fire has been given, and the entire neighbourhood turns out to beat down
the conflagration with bushes. The males form a line and work with all
their energy to stamp out the flames, and the women and children help by
supplying the toilers with refreshments and with a fresh stock of boughs
and bushes.
'Black Thursday' (February 5, 1851), the memorable day of the colonies,
would be impossible now. On that dread occasion Southern Australia was
all ablaze, there was a sad loss of life, and the lurid atmosphere was
noticeable as far away as New Zealand. Bishop Selwyn (who was afterwards
translated to Lichfield) told the writer that he was in his yacht off
the New Zealand coast at the time, and he was struck by the appearance
of a fiery glow in the sky towards the island continent.
But the year 1886 unexpectedly witnessed a 'Black Thursday' on a small
scale. In one corner of Victoria are situated the Cape Otway ranges,
which are covered by fine forests and are the scene of a new and sparse
settlement--hardy pioneers venturing in advance of the railways which
they expect in due course to come up to them. The summer of 1886 opened
with great heat: 100 deg. F. was registered in the shade, and over 150 deg. in
the sun. And soon the news spread in the towns and cities of a disaster
at the Otway. Steamers coming into port reported that they had passed
through a pitchy darkness in the straits. One of their log records
reads: 'Off Cape Otway at noon the darkness became so intense that it
was necessary to light the binnacle lamp. The gloom was caused by smoke.
A considerable quantity of ashes and charred sticks fell upon the deck.'
This smoky volume rolled across the straits to Tasmania, and it
proclaimed the fact that the forest was on fire. Fortunately to the
south there is nothing behind the forest but the sea. The northerly
wind, which alone fans these conflagrations, blew smoke and fire, not
over parched tracts ready to burst into flame, but across the straits
towards Tasmania, and the enveloped ships were not put in jeopardy, as
hamlets would have been. At first it was almost forgotten that the
forest was no longer lonely, but was showing here and there patches of
occupation; but so it was, and a sad tale of ruin was soon told. Mr. S.
H. Whittaker, who was on the heels of the flames as an '_Argus_
special,' kindly supplies the following narrative: 'The night before the
great fire was an anxious one in the forest. There was an ominous
deep-red glow at sunset--a redness deepened by smoke rising from distant
hills. The settlers, as they watched the smoke from the highest points
near their selections, fervently hoped for a change of wind, for the
country, scorched by the heat of midsummer, was ready to burst into a
blaze. Daybreak brought with it the fierce north wind, fiery as the
blast of a furnace, and strong as a gale. The bush fires could be
plainly seen from many a homestead, but there was at first no
apprehension of a general calamity. Some damage is done in the forest
every year by fire, but never before has one hundred miles of country
been left a smoking ruin. Never before have the selectors been driven
half-blinded from their houses, which they had vainly sought to save, to
find refuge only for their lives in their small green patches of
cultivation. The settlers had seen brushwood fires, had fought the
flames and conquered them after suffering some loss, and, profiting by
the experience, had cleared the brushwood around their homesteads. The
whole forest ablaze, the sky red with lighted fragments flying before
the high wind over cleared spaces, creeks, and roads, and igniting, like
the torches of a thousand incendiaries, fences, orchards, farms, crops,
and buildings in many places at once, had happily never been seen
before. The people vividly remember the scenes of that terrible day--how
the smoke made the day blacker than night, until the flames got nearer;
how these made "leaps and bounds" from tree to tree, and the terrified
wallaby, dogs, cattle, fowls, and kangaroo helplessly crowded among the
people, seeking shelter and protection from the common danger.
'The struggle to save the home is sometimes touchingly told. Mrs. Hurley
was alone on the selection at Cowley's Creek with her seven children,
her husband being away cutting grass-seed to plant in the autumn. The
eldest children were a boy of fourteen and a girl of twelve. She said:
"When I saw the fire coming I sent the children to the water-hole to get
water in the bucket and dipper and everything that would hold it. We put
the water on the fence and houses. The children all worked till they
were ready to drop to save the place, even the youngest. The boy was on
the roof of the house pouring water on the rafters, and the girl was on
the shed. The fire came quick and scorched us. It burned in the tree
branches more than on the ground. The wind blew the big sparks right at
us and burned our clothes, but the little ones and myself kept going to
the water-hole with the dippers and pans to keep the house wet. The boy
kept the house well soaked on the roof, and I thought we might keep it
safe, when one of the girls cried out, 'Mother, it's alight inside.'
Then the place went all up on fire, and we couldn't get anything out.
The sheds and the reaper and binder and thresher went just after, and
the orchards and fences as well. The children asked me to run with them
to Mrs. M'Donald, our neighbour's. I told them to run on ahead, as one
of the boys had a bad foot, and I had to help him. The other children
got to Mrs. M'Donald's all right, but before I could get through with
the boy the forest was all burning, and the branches were coming down in
showers. My boots were burnt off my feet, and I have not been able to
wear a boot since. Mrs. M'Donald and the neighbours kindly helped me to
put some things on the children, and Bob Cowley gave me the tent we're
living in now."
'The cry, "The house is alight inside," was the despairing message from
many a watcher to those who, mounted on the ridge, were striving in the
blinding smoke and scorching heat to beat back the fire from the
dwelling. The high wind blew live coals underneath the shingles to
enkindle the canvas lining, and then the exhausted settler, foiled in
his endeavour to save his or his neighbour's home, could only throw
himself face downwards in his potato crop to get a breath of fresh air.
But Mrs. Power, of Curdie's River, was more fortunate, and it was
impossible to belie the simple and unaffected sincerity with which she
devoutly ascribed her escape to the direct interposition of Providence.
Her husband, like too many other selectors in the wild and inhospitable
Heytesbury forest--inhospitable until by laborious toil it has been
reclaimed--was away at other work when the fire happened. The holding
was directly in the track of the fire. "It was on the hill yonder," said
Mrs. Power, "that we were burned out seven years ago--I mean there where
the scrub is as thick as ever, which shows how hard the scrub in this
forest is to kill. After we lost our first home we came to this side of
the creek, and got on a little better. On the Tuesday morning the fire
got all about us, in spite of my boys cutting down a tree and putting
water on the fences and houses to keep them from burning. They said we
had better go away; but wherever I looked there was fire; and I said,
'Where shall we go? We might as well be burnt here, beside the old
place, as anywhere else.' So I got the boys around me, and I dropped on
my knees just here and prayed to the Almighty God that it should be His
will to spare us, and not leave us again without a home over our heads.
The clothes of one of the boys caught fire, as you see, so did the
pigstye, and the eighteen bags of grass-seed that I had put in the
little garden in front of the house. I expected it to go every minute,
but the house stood through it all. It took fire in four places inside
and out, but it did not burn, and the roof was left to cover us, in
answer to my prayer. It was too hot to go into the house, and I stayed
under the blackwood tree; and the wind changed, and the drenching rain
came and doused the fire. If the rain had not come, there is no knowing
where the fire would have stopped."
[Illustration: BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE.]
'The rain, which will be remembered as one of the greatest downpours
ever experienced in the colony, did indeed save the forest selectors
from annihilation. It came just when the fire was at its height, when
the trees were crashing to the ground in all directions, and when the
fire, not merely scorching and singeing the bark of trees, as bush fires
usually do, was consuming thousands of huge boles to charcoal, and the
ground, as can still be seen, was at white heat, like a smelter's
crucible. The mournfulness of the gaunt, weird scene which the fire has
left is peculiarly striking and depressing. Such a mingling of night and
day as the sunlight lighting the pitchy blackness of the landscape, as
far as the eye can reach, is indescribably grotesque and desolate. It is
hard to conceive anything like this contrast of the sunshine sparkling
brightly upon the wide, inky, silent waste. It is almost like a smile
upon a ghastly death's-head. There is not a bird to flutter a wing or to
break the oppressive silence with a single note. There is no sign of
life or what has been life, except here and there the roasted carcase of
a wallaby or kangaroo. The dense forest of straight black bare boles
alone reveals the might and fury of a bush fire.'
More frequent than the fire, and as thrilling, is the episode in bush
life of 'the lost children.' This is a drama that is constantly enacted
in the one place or the other. Australian children are quick, and they
learn in a wonderful way how to travel about country, but still, where
there is scrub in the neighbourhood or much undergrowth of any kind, the
younger members of the family are terribly apt to go astray. The father
or mother returns home to learn that 'little Johnny and the girl' were
playing about, and did not come in for their evening meal. They could
not have tumbled into the water-hole, for that is fenced off. They have
not found their way to neighbour Dean's. There is no time to be lost.
The biggest boy jumps on the colt and rides in hot haste to the nearest
police-station, and rouses up neighbours on his way. The policeman
telegraphs all about for aid, but faster still 'the bush telegraph'
spreads the intelligence that 'Big Giles, of Wattle Tree flat, is in
trouble. Two of his little ones are astray.' Then it is that human
fellowship shows to advantage. All business is laid aside. The sheep
that were being bargained for are neither bought nor sold; the hay is
left unstacked; the reaping is discontinued. Nothing can be done that
night beyond searching around the homestead, but all night long the
clatter of horses' hoofs will tell of new arrivals, and the morning will
witness a couple of hundred men ready to be divided into parties and to
take care that no portion of the country is unsearched. From east and
west parties will return disconsolate and silent; but the joyous
'Coo-e-e!' of the returning horsemen on the southern hill-top will tell
its own tale of rescue. But rarely does a second night elapse before the
distracted mother has her children with her again, and one night in the
Australian bush is not likely to have injured the little ones much.
One of the most singular cases on record is that of the girl Clara
Crosbie, who was lost for twenty days in the depth of winter in the
Victorian uplands, where frosts will set in and where snow will fall,
and who lived without food during that time. Clara was a town-bred girl,
twelve years of age. Her mother took a situation in the year 1885 as
housekeeper to a Lilydale farmer, some twenty-five miles away from
Melbourne towards the mountains. Clara was left at a neighbour's house
after she had been a few days in the district, but before she was
fetched she wanted to go to her mother, and so she slipped out, got off
the track easily enough, and was soon hopelessly involved in the reedy
fens with which this part of the country is intersected.
[Illustration: FOUND!]
[Illustration: A SQUATTER'S STATION.]
APPENDIX.
THE RELIGIOUS STATISTICS OF THE CHIEF COLONIES.
Numbers are but poor tests of the religious condition and progress of a
country, but they have their value, and many of the readers of this
volume may find the following facts interesting. It has not been found
possible to get the information respecting Queensland and Western
Australia. It is quite evident at a glance that there is a large number
of trained men who are engaged in the great work of the Gospel, and that
their efforts are supported by a very considerable section of the
Australian people.
VICTORIA.--There being no State religion in Victoria, and no money voted
for any religious object, the clergy are supported by the efforts of the
denomination to which they are attached. The ministers in all sections
of the Church number 828, of whom 185 belong to the Church of England,
121 to the Roman Catholic Church, 177 to the Presbyterian Church, 161 to
the Methodist Churches, 54 to the Independent Church, 38 to the Baptist
Church, 29 to the Bible Christian Church, 56 to other Christian
Churches, and 7 to the Jewish Church. Besides these there are other
officials connected with these bodies, who, without being regularly
ordained, perform the functions of clergymen, and are styled lay
readers, lay assistants, local preachers, mission agents, &c. The number
of these is not known, but it no doubt materially swells the ranks of
religious instructors in the colony. The buildings used for public
worship throughout Victoria number at the present time (1886) about
3700, of which 2000 are regular churches and chapels, 400 school-houses,
and 1400 public or private buildings. Accommodation is provided for
500,000 persons, but the number attending the principal weekly services
is said not to exceed 315,000. More than 304,000 services are performed
during the year. Of the whole number of buildings used for religious
worship, 764 belong to the Church of England, 618 to the Roman
Catholics, 906 to the Presbyterians, 962 to the Methodists, 76 to
Independents, 99 to the Baptists, 154 to the Bible Christians, 146 to
other Christians, and 6 to the Jews. The Salvation Army have erected
their "barracks" in various localities, and sometimes rent edifices for
Divine Service, but no statistics of their operations have yet been
obtained.
NEW SOUTH WALES.--With regard to religion, all the Churches stand on the
same level of equality, there being no Established or State Church.
These Churches are supported entirely by voluntary subscriptions, as all
State aid ceased in 1862, except some small outstanding liabilities to
the then existing incumbents. Roughly speaking, out of a population of
950,000 there are some 600,000 Protestants, the great majority belonging
to the Church of England, and about 280,000 Roman Catholics, the
remainder being made up of various denominations. At the taking of the
census of 1881 the numbers were as follows: Church of England, 342,359;
Lutherans, 4836; Presbyterians, 72,545; Wesleyan Methodists, 57,049;
other Methodists, 7303; Congregationalists, 14,328; Baptists, 7307;
Unitarians, 828; other Protestants, 9957; total Protestants, 516,512;
Roman Catholics, 207,020: Catholics undescribed, 586; total Catholics,
207,606; Hebrews, 3266; other persuasions, 1042; unspecified
persuasions, 13,697; Pagans, 9345. In 1883 there were 770 ministers of
religion and 1521 churches, with an average attendance at public worship
of 243,369 persons. The Sunday Schools have 105,162 scholars on their
registers.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.--Of this Colony the only facts obtainable are the
following round numbers. The number of churches or chapels existing in
1884 was 928; the number of sittings provided was 200,123; the number of
Sunday schools was 727; teachers, 6729; scholars. 57,311.
INDEX.
ABORIGINES:
appearance, 167;
life, 168;
fighting, 168;
Mr. Moore's narrative about, 169;
customs, 169;
dress, 170;
Mr. Carr's story, 170;
Ngooraialum and Bangerang tribes, 170;
weapons, 173;
fierceness of Northern blacks, 173;
Corroboree, a, 174;
cannibalism, 174;
trackers, their usefulness as, 174;
Mission stations, 175;
Lake Tyers station, 176;
Hagenauer, Rev. F. A., letter of, about, 177
Acacia, 200
ADELAIDE:
founding, 103;
Glenelg, 103;
houses, 103, 104;
streets and parks, 103;
surroundings, 103;
churches, 104;
Victoria Square, 105;
King William Street, 105;
Botanical Gardens, 105
Albany, 138
Albert, river, 125
Alligator stories, 113
Amadeus, lake, 101
Araucarias, 202
Argus snipe, 192
AUSTRALIA:
former errors about, 14, 23;
exports, 14;
population, 14;
prosperity, 14;
colonies, 15;
capitals, 15;
people, 16;
area, 19;
mountains, 20;
snow, 20;
river system, 20;
physical geography, 21;
climate, 21, 76, 101, 112, 138;
hot winds, 22;
temperature, 22;
storms, 22;
natives, 23, 167;
fires, 23, 213;
rainfall, 24;
drought, losses by, 25, 76, 94, 208;
not yet fully explored, 25;
democracy, 29;
securities, rise in, 30;
federation movement, 30;
immigration, 30;
wages, 30;
prices, 31;
religion, 31;
service, a rural, 32;
Sunday observance, 32;
sects, 34;
Sunday schools, 34;
church building, 34
_Australia Felix_, 40
Australian Alps, the, 40
Avon, river, 68
BAIRNSDALE, 69
BALLARAT:
impressions, 59;
Botanical Gardens, 60;
discovery of gold, 60;
situation, 61;
the Corner, 61;
Trollope on, 62
Barcoo, river, 164
Barrier Reef, the, 123
Barrow Creek, station at, 109
Bass, story of, 155
Bass's Straits, 144
Bathurst, 93
Batman, settlement of, in Victoria, 38
Baudin, M., treachery of, 157
Baxter, murder of, 158
Bear, native, 181
Beechworth, 69
Belfast, 66
Ben Lomond, 147
Bendigo, _see_ SANDHURST.
Big Scrub, New South Wales, 95
Birds of Paradise, 186
Bishopscourt, view from, Melbourne, 43
Black boy, 202
Black-fish, 194
Black Spur, the, 72
Black Thursday in South Australia, 213;
in Victoria, 214
Blackheath, 90
Blayney, 94
Blue gum, 200
Blue Mountains, 87
Blue wren, 186
Boomerang, the, 173
Booth, Mr. E. C., on Shepparton, 67
Boroina, 202
Bosisto, Mr. J., on Eucalyptus, 199
Botany Bay, discovery of, 76
Bottle-tree, 201
Bourke Street, Melbourne, 49
Bourke, New South Wales, 94;
a winter day at, 94
Bowen, 123
Box-tree, 208
Bower bird, 188
Box-scrub, the, 136
Bream, 193
Breeza plains, 95
Bremer, river, 119
Bremoroma, 94
Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, 43
BRISBANE, population, 119;
site, 119;
streets, 119;
beauty, 120;
garden of Acclimatisation Society, 120;
houses, 121
Broome, Sir F. N., on life in Western Australia, 140
Brown, Mr. G. A., on sheep breeding, 205
Buffaloes, 113
Bulmer, Rev. J., at Lake Tyers, 176
Bundaberg, 112
Bunbury, 135
Burke, R. O'Hara, expedition of, 161
Burketown, 125
Burnett, river, 122
Bustard, 190
CAIRNS, 124
Caldwell, Mr. W. H., on the platypus, 185
Cam, river, 146
Camels at Beltana, 107
Canoona rush, the, in Queensland, 129
Cape Grant, 67
Cape Nelson, 67
Cape Otway ranges, fire at, 214
Capertee, 91
Capitals, 15
Cardwell, 124
Carr, Mr. E. M., on the natives, 170
Carriers, 210
Castle hill, 87
_Casuarina Striata_, 200
Cats, native, 182
Cattle-raising, 204
Cattle, number of, in Australia, 14
Central Trunk Railway, Queensland, 122
Charters Towers, 123
Churches, the, state of, 31
Clarence, river, 96
Clermont, 123
Climate, 21, 76, 101, 112, 138
Coaching, Trollope on, 70
Cobb, who he was, 70
Cockatoo, 186
Cohan, 94
Colac lake, 65
Collins lands at Sorrento, 38
Collins Street, Melbourne, 49
Concherry, river, 162
Cook, Captain, discovers Botany Bay, 76
Cooktown, 124
Cooper's Creek, native settlement at, 164
Corangamite lake, 64
Corra Linn, 145
Corroboree, a, 174
Cotton growing in Queensland, 129
Crosbie, Clara, story of, 219
Cunningham's Gap, 119
Cutting out cattle, 204
Cycads, 202
DALBY, 122
Darling Downs, 118, 119
Darling, river, 21, 94
_Dasyuridae_, the, 182
Deloraine, 145
Democracy, 29
D'Entrecasteaux Channel, 151
Depot Glen, Sturt at, 23
Derwent, river, 150
Devil, Tasmanian, 182
Dibbs, Mr., on losses by drought, 25
Dingo, 183
Dog, wild, 183
Don, river, 146
Dow, Mr. T. K., on farming, 211
Drought, losses by, 25, 76, 94, 208
Dubbo, 94
Ducks, wild, 191;
mountain duck, 191;
black duck, 191;
wood duck, 191;
teal, 191;
widgeon, 191;
blue wing, 191
EAGLEBANK NECK, 151
Elder, Sir Thomas, introduces camels, 107
Emu, chase of, 188
Emu Plains, 88;
Dr. J. E. Taylor on, 90
Eucalypt, 194
_Eucalyptus amygdalina_, 196
_E. dumosa_, 199
_E. ficifolia_, 199
_E. globus_, 200
_E. rostrata_, 197
EXPLORATION:
Sturt's exploration, 23;
Bass and Flinders, story of, 155;
Baudin, M., treachery of, 157;
Eyre, E. J., travels of, 158;
Forrest, J., journey of, 159, 164;
Leichhardt, L., story of, 159;
Kennedy disaster, the, 160;
Stuart, J. McDougall, journey of, 161;
Burke's expedition, 161;
M'Kinlay's party, 164;
Landsborough's party, 164;
Walker's party, 164;
Howitt's party, 164;
Warburton's party, 164
Exports of Australia, 14
Eyre, E. J., explorations of, 158
Eyre, lake, 101
FARMING, 211
FAUNA:
alligators, 113;
buffaloes, 113;
pearls, 139;
kangaroo, 'old men,' 181, 185;
marsupial mouse, 181;
wombat, 181;
flying fox, 181;
native bear, 181;
native cats, 182;
Bass River opossum, 182;
Tasmanian tiger-wolf, 182;
Tasmanian devil, 182;
dingo, 183;
platypus, 185;
birds, 185;
parrots, 185;
birds of Paradise, 185;
king parrot, 186;
blue mountain parrot, 186;
lories, 186;
parroquets, 186;
love-birds, 186;
blue wren 186;
cockatoos, 186;
lyre-birds, 186;
bower birds, 188;
laughing jackass, 188;
emu, 188;
bustard, 190;
native companion, 191;
wild ducks, 191;
black swan, 191;
snipe, 191;
quail, 192;
wonga-wonga, 192;
bronze-wing pigeon, 192;
snakes, 192;
shark catching, 193;
trout, 193;
salmon, 193;
perch, 193;
bream, 193;
Murray cod, 193;
sea salmon, 193;
Murray-perch, 193;
golden-perch, 193;
black-fish, 194;
whiting, 194;
schnapper, 194
Favenc, Mr. E., on exploration, 25
Fawkner, settlement of, in Victoria, 39
Fawkner's Park, 39
Federation movement, the, 30
Feilberg, Mr. C. A, on Queensland, 117
Ferns, 196
Fig-tree, the, 126
Fingal, 147
Fires, 23, 213
Fish River caves, 91
Fitzroy, river, 122
Flame-tree, 201
FLORA:
nettle-tree, 127;
poisonous plants, 136;
box scrub, 136;
rock plant, 136;
heart-leaf plant, 136;
York road plant, 136;
wild flowers, 138;
eucalypt, 194;
mallee scrub, 195;
giant gums, 195, 197;
spinifex, 195;
ferns, 196;
palm-tree, 196;
musk-tree, 196;
_Pittosporum_, 196;
silver gum, 197;
red gum, 197;
jarrah, 136, 198;
blue gum, 200;
acacia or wattle, 200;
tea-tree scrub, 200;
shea-oak, 200;
bottle-tree, 201;
flame-tree, 201;
cycads, 202;
palm lilies, 202;
grass-trees, 202;
warratah, 202;
boroina, 202;
araucarias, 202;
heaths, 202;
grapes, 202;
Mitchell grass, 205;
box-tree, 208
Flinders, story of, 155
Flinders' Lane, Melbourne, 44
Flying fox, 181
Forbes, 94
Forrest, John, journey of, 159, 164
Firth, 146
Fremantle, 137
_Gastrolobium anylobiaides_, 136
_G. bilobum_, 136
_G. callistachys_, 136
_G. calycinum_, 136
Gardiner, lake, 101
GEELONG, founding, 62;
growth, 62;
exports, 62;
tweeds of, 63
Geraldton, 135
Gippsland, scenery of, 67
Gladstone, 122
Glenelg, 103
Golden perch, 193
Golden Point, discovery of gold at, 60
Gould on Australian birds, 186
Grant, Lieut., discovers Port Phillip, 37
Grapes, 202
Grass-trees, 202
Gray, story of, 161
Great Divide, the, 96
Great West Railway, New South Wales, 87
Grey, Earl, circular of, on convicts, 135
Guildford, 135
Guilfoyle, Mr., director of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, 52
Gulf of Carpentaria, 125
Gums, giant, 195; height of, 196, 197
Gympie, 123;
discovery of gold field at, 130
HAGENAUER, Rev. F. A., on the aborigines, 177
Harvesting system, 211
Hawkesbury sandstone, 90
Hayter, Mr. H. H., on wages, 30
Heart-leaf, the, 136
Heaths, 202
Henty, Messrs., in Portland Bay, 38
Heron, river, 151
Heytesbury forest, 215
Hindmarsh, Captain, first governor of South Australia, 103
Hobart, description of, 150
Hoddle, Robert, lays out Geelong, 62
Holdfast Bay, first landing at, 103
Horses, number of, in Australia, 14
Horsham, 67
Hospitality, 207
Hot winds, 22
Hovell arrives at Port Phillip, 38
Howitt, party of, 164
Hume arrives at Port Phillip, 38
Hurleys, the, at the fire at Otway ranges, 215
IMMIGRATION, extent of, 30
Ipswich, 119, 122
JACKY, the black, fidelity of, 160
Jarrah forests, 136, 198
Jenola, 91
KANAKAS, the, 128
Kangaroo, old man, 181, 185
Kangaroo hunting, 184
Kennedy, Edmund, story of, 160
Kiama, 87
King, story of, 161
King George's Sound, 138
Kingfisher, or laughing jackass, 188
Knocklofty, 150
LAKE ST. CLAIR, 150
Lake Sorell, 150
Lake Tyers Mission Station, 176
Landells, story of, 161
Landsborough, expedition of, 164
Laughing jackass, 188
Launceston, 144
Leichhardt, Ludwig, story of, 159
_Leptospermum_, 200
Lithgow Vale, New South Wales, 91
_Livistonia_ palm, the 196
Loddon, river, 68
Lories, 186
Lorne, 72
Lost in the bush, 217
Loutit Bay, 72
Love-birds, 186
Lyre-bird, 186
MACARTHY, RIVER, 111
Mackay, 123
Macquarie Harbour, 151
Macquarie, river, 93
Magpie, musical, 188
Mallee scrub, rabbits in, 68;
extent of, 195
Mary, river, 121
Maryborough, 121
MELBOURNE:
site, 43;
population, 43;
area, 43;
description, 43;
houses, 43;
Government House, 43;
Exhibition Building, 43;
streets, 43;
Flinder's Lane, 44;
Collins Street, 49;
Scott's, 49;
Bourke Street, 49;
inrush and outrush, 49;
railways, 49;
public buildings, 50;
university, 52;
botanic gardens, 52;
water supply, 52;
reserves, 53;
cricket, 54;
the Yarra, 54;
drawbacks, 55;
climate, 55;
unearned increment, 56
Meander, river, 145
_Menura Victoriae_, the, 186
Merino sheep, 206
Mermaid's Cave, the, New South Wales, 90
Mersey, river, 145
Mitchell, Sir Thomas, verdict of, 39
Mitchell grass, 205
M'Kinlay, expedition of, 164
Moreton Bay, 118
Moore, Mr. G. F., on aborigines, 169
Morriss, Mr., school teacher to the blacks, 176
Morsman's Bay, view from, 80
Mosquito Plains, caves of the, 106
Mount Barker, 106
Mount Baw-Baw eucalypt, height of, 197
Mount Bischoff tin mine, 146
Mount Clay, 67
Mount Franklin, 40
Mount Kosciusko, 20
Mount Lindsay, 96
Mount Lofty range, 103
Mount Wellington, 150
Mountain system, 20
Mouse, marsupial, 181
Mudgee line, New South Wales, 91
Mueller, Baron von, on tea-tree scrub, 200
Murray cod, 193
Murray perch, 193
Murray plains, 67
Murray, river, 21, 100
Musk-tree, 196
Myers, Mr. F. H., on Sydney, 79
NARRAWONG, 67
Nash discovers Gympie gold-field, 130
Native companion, the, 191
Natives, destructiveness of, 23
Nettle-tree, the, 127
New Norfolk, 150
NEW SOUTH WALES:
area, 15, 75;
population, 15;
losses by drought, 25;
climate, 76;
drought, 76, 94;
settlement, 76;
Port Jackson, 76;
statistics, 79;
Sydney, 79;
South Coast Railway, 84;
Kiama, 87;
Great West Railway, 87;
Paramatta, 87;
Castle Hill, 87;
Toongabbie, 87;
Blue Mountains, 87;
Emu Plains, 88;
Penrith, 89;
Windsor, 89;
Richmond, 89;
geology, 90;
Blackheath, Mermaid's Cave, 90;
Lithgow Vale, 91;
Capertee, 91;
Mudgee line, 91;
Walerawang, 91;
Tarana, 91;
Fish River caves, 91;
Jenola, 91;
Bathurst, 93;
Blayney, 94;
Orange, 94;
Forbes, 94;
Wellington Valley, 94;
Dubbo, 94;
cattle, 94;
Darling, the, 94;
Cohan, 94;
Bourke, 94;
Bremoroma, 94;
Welcanna, 94;
Wentworth, 94;
Great Northern Railway, 95;
Newcastle, 95;
Breeza Plains, 95;
Richmond, the, 95;
Tweed, the, 95;
Big Scrub, 95;
Cane fields, 96;
Great Divide, the, 96;
Mount Lindsay, 96;
Clarence, the, 96;
Nightcap, the, 96
Newcastle, 95
Nightcap, the, New South Wales, 96
Norman, river, 125
Normanton, 125
North Esk, river, 144
Northern Territory, _see_ S. Australia.
Northern Trunk Line of Queensland, 123
OAKLEIGH, a suburb of Melbourne, 43
Opossum, 182
Orange, 94
_Ornithorhynchus_, the, 185
Overland Telegraph Line, 108
PALM-LILIES, 202
Palm-trees, 196
Palmer gold-field, 124, 130
Palmerston, mines of, 111
Palmerston and Pine Creek line, 110
Paramatta, 87
Parrots, 185
Parroquets, 186
Peake Telegraph Station, 109
Pearl fisheries of Western Australia, 139
Penrith, 89
Perch, 193
Perouse, expedition of, 76
Perth, description of, 136
Phillip, Captain Arthur, governor at Port Jackson, 76
Physical geography, 21
Pigeon, bronze-wing, 192
Piping crow, 188
_Pittosporum_, 196
Platypus, 185
Poole, death of, at Depot Glen, 23
Population of Australia, 14
Porcupine grass, 195
Port Arthur, convicts at, 151
Port Darwin, vegetation at, 111
Port Douglas, 124
Port Essington, 113
Port Jackson, 76
PORT PHILLIP:
discovery, 37;
beauty, 38;
Howell and Hume arrive at, 38;
settlement, 38
Portland, 66
Portland Bay, 67
Potatoes, yield of, 66
Power, Mrs., at the fire at Otway ranges, 215
Prices, 31
QUAIL, 192
Quamby Bluff, 146
QUEENSLAND:
area and population, 15;
description, 117;
settlement, 118;
convicts there, 118;
Toowoomba, 119, 122;
Bremer, the, 119;
Ipswich, 119, 122;
Brisbane, 119;
Maryborough, 121;
Rockhampton, 121;
Bundaberg, 122;
Gladstone, 122;
Warwick, 122;
Stanthorpe, 122;
Dalby, 122;
Roma, 122;
Central Trunk Railway, 122;
Clermont, 123;
Gympie, 123, 130;
Mackay, 123;
Bowen, 123;
Barrier Reef, the, 123;
Townsville, 123;
Charters Towers, 123;
Ravenswood, 123;
Northern Trunk Line, 123;
Cardwell, 124;
Cairns, 124;
Port Douglas, 124;
Palmer gold field, 124, 130;
Cooktown, 124;
Thursday Island, 124;
Gulf of Carpentaria, 125;
Normanton, 125;
Burketown, 125;
cattle, 125;
sheep farming, 125;
agriculture, 126;
scrublands, 126;
vegetation, 126;
labour question, the, 127;
sugar growing, 128;
exports, 128;
cotton growing, 129;
olives, 129;
almond, 129;
figs, 129;
silk, 129;
mineral wealth, 129;
coal, 129;
Canoona rush, the, 129;
Nash discovers Gympie gold field, 130
RABBITS, CURSE OF, 68
Raffles Bay, 113
Railways in Victoria, 49;
in Sydney, 84;
in Tasmania, 152
Rainfall, 24;
in Sydney, 84;
in Tasmania, 152
Rainfall, taking advantage of, 209
Ravenswood, 123
Red gum, 197
Richardson, river, 68
Richmond, 89
Richmond, river, 95
Ring barking, 209
River system, 20
Rock plant, the, 136
Rockhampton, 121
Roeburne, 135
Roma, 122
Roper, river, 111;
alligators in, 113
Russell, Mr. H. C., on physical geography and climate of Australia, 21
ST. HELENS, 147
St. Mary's Pass, 147
Sale, 69
Salmon, 193
Sandhurst, ups and downs of, 56;
gold in, 60
_Sarcophilus_, the, 182
Satin bird, 188
Schools of Victoria, 70
Schnapper, 194
Scott's, Melbourne, 49
Sea-salmon, 193
Selectors, 212
Service, a rural, 32
Settler's clock, 188
Shark catching, 193
Shea-oak, 200
Sheep, number of, in Australia, 14
Sheep breeding, 205
Sheep runs, 207
Sheep shearing, 210
Shepherds, life of, 206
Shepparton, 67
Silk cultivation in Queensland, 129
Silver gum, 197
Smith, philosopher, story of, 146
Smyth, Mr. B., on native weapons, 173;
on gum-trees, 197
Snakes, 192;
treatment for bites of, 193
Snow, 20
Snipe, 191
Sorrento occupied by Collins, 38;
beauty of, 38
SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Area, 15, 99;
population, 15;
divisions, 99;
Murray, the, 100;
scenery, 100;
Lake Torrens, 101;
Lake Eyre, 101;
Lake Gardiner, 101;
Lake Amadeus, 101;
climate, 101;
fruits, 102;
Adelaide, 103;
Mount Lofty range, 103;
industries, 105;
wheat, 106;
Mount Barker, 106;
Caves of the Mosquito Plains, 106;
camels at Beltana, 107;
Overland Telegraph Line, 108;
Peake Telegraph Station, 109;
Barrow Creek 'stuck up' at, 109;
railway construction, 110;
Northern Territory: history, 110;
settlement, 111;
climate, 112;
Roper, the, 111;
Macarthy, the, 111;
alligators, 113;
buffaloes, 113;
Black Thursday, 213
South Coast Railway, N. S. Wales, 84
South Esk, river, 144
South Sea Islanders in Queensland, 128
Spinifex, 195
SQUATTERS AND SETTLERS:
Description, 203;
cattle raising, 204;
cutting out, 204;
sheep breeding, 205;
merino sheep, 206;
hospitality, 207;
mode of travelling, 207;
sheep runs, 207;
drought, 208;
houses, 208;
sheep shearing, 210;
carriers, 210;
swagmen or sundowners, 210;
farming, 211;
harvesting system, 211;
stripper, the, 211;
selecting,
mode of, 212;
fires, 213;
lost in the bush, 217
Staghorn fern, 196
Stanthorpe, 122
Stapleton, Mr., murder of, 110
_Sterculia acerifolia_, 201
Stevenson, falls of the, 72
Stirling, Sir James, in Western Australia, 134
Storms, 22
Strangways Springs, 110
Stripper, the, 211
Stuart, J. M. D., travels of, 110, 161
Sturt's detention at Depot Glen, 23
Sunday observance, 32
Sundowners, 210
Surrey Hills, a suburb of Melbourne, 43
Swagmen, 210
Swan, black, 191
Swan, river, 135, 138
SYDNEY:
harbour, 79;
North Shore, 79;
view from Morsman's Bay, 80;
churches, 80;
public buildings, 80;
railways, 84
Sydney Cove, 76
TAMAR, river, 144
Tarana, 91
TASMANIA:
a holiday resort for Australians, 143;
Tamar, the, 144;
Launceston, 144;
North Esk, the, 144;
South Esk, the, 144;
Corra Linn, 145;
Deloraine, 145;
Menada, the, 145;
Mersey, the, 145;
sheep, 145;
Quamby Bluff, 146;
Don, the, 146;
Cam, the, 146;
Forth, the, 146;
Mount Bischoff, 146;
Waratah, the, 146;
Ben Lomond, 147;
St. Mary's Pass, 147;
Fingal, 147;
St. Helen's, 147;
macadamised road, the great, 148;
Hobart, 150;
Derwent, the, 150;
Lake St. Clair, 150;
Lake Sorell, 150;
New Norfolk, 150;
convicts at Port Arthur, 151;
Eaglebank Neck, 151;
D'Entrecasteaux Channel, 151;
Heron, the, 151;
Macquarie Harbour, 151;
area, 151;
population, 152;
revenue, 152;
railways, 152;
exports and imports, 152
Taylor, Dr. J. E., on Geology of Emu Plains, 90
Tea-tree scrub, 200
Temperature, 22
Tennison Woods on the caves of the Mosquito Plains, 106
Thomas, Mr., on Lake District of Victoria, 64
Tiger snake, 192
Tiger-wolf, Tasmanian, 182
Thursday Island, 124
_Thylacinus_, the, 182
Todd, Mr. Charles, and the Overland Telegraph Line, 108
Toongabbie, 87
Toowoomba, 119, 122
Torrens, lake, 101
Trackers, black, 174
Townsville, 123
Trollope, Anthony, on Ballarat, 62;
on coaching, 70
Trout, 193;
fly-fishing for, 194
Turkey, wild, 190
Tweed, river, 95
VICTORIA:
area, 15;
population, 15;
protectionist, 30;
foundation, 37;
convicts there, 38;
bad name given to, 38;
settlement, 38;
mountains, 40;
Melbourne, 43;
railways, 49, 56;
Sandhurst, 56;
Ballarat, 59;
Wendouree, lake, 60;
discovery of gold at Golden Point, 60;
Geelong, 62;
Corangamite, lake, 64;
Lake Colac, 65;
Warnambool, 66;
Belfast, 66;
Portland, 66;
potatoes, 66;
Portland Bay, 67;
mountains, 67;
Gippsland, 67;
Murray plains, 67;
Shepparton, 67;
Wimmera District, 67;
rabbits, 68;
Avon, the, 68;
Richardson, the, 68;
Wimmera, the, 68;
Loddon, the, 68;
wheat lines of railway, 68;
Beechworth, 69;
Sale, 69;
Bairnsdale, 69;
State schools, 70;
Cobb, story of, 70;
coaching, 70;
Falls of the Stevenson, 72;
Black Spur, the, 72;
Loutit Bay, 72;
Lorne, 72;
Black Thursday, 214
WAGES, 30
Walerawang, 91
Walker, expedition of, 164
Wallace, Mr. A. A., on flowers of Australia, 138
Waratah, river, 146
Warburton, expedition of, 164
Warratah, 202
Warwick, 122
Wattle, 200
Welcanna, 94
Wellington Valley, 94
Wendouree, lake, 60
Wentworth, 94
WESTERN AUSTRALIA:
area, 15, 133;
population, 15;
foundation of the colony, 134;
large estates in, 134;
convicts, 135;
Swan, river, 135;
Fremantle, 135;
Perth, 135;
Guildford, 135;
Bunbury, 135;
Albany, 135;
Geraldton, 135;
Roeburne, 135;
vegetation, 136;
jarrah forests, 136;
poisonous plants, 136;
King George's Sound, 138;
climate, 138;
wild flowers of, 138;
Sir F. N. Broome on life there, 140;
gold discoveries, 140
Western District of Victoria, 40, 63;
Mr. Thomas on, 64
Wheat lines of Wimmera, 68
Whittaker, Mr. S. H., on fire at Otway ranges, 214
Whiting, 194
Wianamatta Shales, the, 90
Wills, W. J., story of, 161
Windsor, 89
Wimmera District, 67;
rabbits in, 68;
wheat lines of, 68
Wimmera, river, 68
Winter day at Bourke, New South Wales, 94
Wombat, 181
Wonga-wonga, 192
Wornambool, 66
Wreck Creek, native encampment at, 173
Wright, story of, 161
Wylie, the black boy, faithfulness of, 158
_Xanthorrhoea_, 202
YAGAN, an aborigine, story of, 169
Yarra Park, Melbourne, 54
Yarra, river, 54
York-road plant, the, 136
LONDON: WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND
CHARING CROSS.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Punctuation has been standardised.
Unexpected spelling has been retained as it appears in the original
publication for Lechlan (which might be meant to be Lachlan), Morsman's
Bay (possibly now Mosman's Bay), Woolahra (Woollahra), Walerawang
(Wallerawang), Wornambool (Warnambool).
Both Goldfields and Gold-fields have been retained as they appear in the
original.
The following changes have been made:
Title Page - Add closing ' to 'The Melbourne Argus'
Page 8 - Waterfall at Gowett changed to Waterfall at Govett
Page 9 - Corra Lynn, Tasmania changed to Corra Linn, Tasmania
Page 9 - Ludwig Leichardt changed to Ludwig Leichhardt
Page 64 - There is no indication in the original publication where the
quotation starting "This lake country ..." attributed to Mr. Julian Thomas ends
Page 84 - Paramatta and Lan Cove changed to Paramatta and Lane Cove
Page 87 - Begar changed to Bega
Page 94 - brigalow and nulga changed to brigalow and mulga
Page 110 - lonely hut beleagured changed to lonely hut beleaguered
Page 139 - expecially at Shark Bay changed to especially at Shark Bay
Page 139 - Avicula margaratifera changed to Avicula margaritifera
Page 143 - Corra Lynn, Tasmania changed to Corra Linn, Tasmania
Page 155 - Ludwig Leichardt changed to Ludwig Leichhardt
Page 159 - Ludwig Leichardt changed to Ludwig Leichhardt (3 instances)
Page 197 - Ecalpytus rostrata, or red gum changed to Eucalyptus
rostrata, or red gum
Page 202 - The boroina, with change to The boronia, with
Page 206 - There is no indication in the original publication where
the quotation attributed to Mr. G. A. Brown in Sheep Breeding in
Australia ends
Index - boroina, 202; change to boronia, 202;
Index - Gympsie, 123; changed to Gympie, 123;
Index - Leptospernum, 200 changed to Leptospermum, 200
Index - Leichardt changed to Leichhardt (2 instances)
Index - Menada, river, 145 changed to Meander, river, 145
Index - Nash discovers Gympsie changed to Nash discovers Gympie
Index - Tennisson Woods on the caves of the Masquito Plains, 106;
changed to Tennison Woods on the caves of the Mosquito Plains, 106;
End of Project Gutenberg's Australian Pictures, by Howard Willoughby