Morning in the Forest.--Flying Foxes.--A Startling
Snake-story.--Geographical.--Want of
Irrigation.--Droughts.--Immense Sheep-Runs.--Seeking a
Shepherd Life.--Wonderful Gold Nuggets.--A "Welcome"
Discovery.--Wool is King in Queensland.--The Chinese
Population.--Education in Australia.--Peculiar Banking
Business.--Waging War upon Kangaroos.--Journalism in
Australia.--Proposed New Colony.
A drive of a few miles inland from Brisbane carries one through pleasant
villages and among farms, plantations of sugar-cane, orchards, and
fields of pineapples, beyond which one enters the forest. The banks of
the rivers and creeks are generally covered with a dense semi-tropical
growth of vegetation, while the forest stretches for many a mile into
lonely districts. A great variety of trees are found here, some of
primeval growth and large size, belonging to the blue-gum species;
others, like sassafras, pine, and cedar, are fragrant and delight the
senses, being surrounded by a thick undergrowth of marvellous
luxuriance. The jungles in India or the islands of the Malacca Straits
are not more dense than some of the wooded districts to be found in
Queensland. These retired spots are filled with bird and insect life,
but with few animals. Cockatoos and parrots, in gay colors and gaudy
combinations, are the prevailing representatives of the feathered
tribe. There are also numberless wild pigeons, in great variety,
uttering a ceaseless, low, brooding note which seems to be in exact
harmony with the sylvan surroundings. The bell-bird, cat-bird, and
laughing jackass announce their presence in unmistakable utterances, all
serving to keep the senses on the _qui vive_.
The early morning was the hour chosen for our visit to one of these
forest glades, while the dew was yet upon the grass. Our companion--a
resident full of enthusiasm and intelligence, and withal a good
horseman--hurried us into the saddle to reach the woods betimes. "At
noon," said he, "you might hear a leaf drop anywhere hereabout, for at
that hour, bird, insect, reptile, even the flies and mosquitoes of the
Queensland 'scrub,' take their siesta; but in the morning and the
gloaming they vie with one another in their vocal demonstrations." The
morning was cloudless; the advancing day was already tempered by the
warmth of the sun, but in the shade of the trees there was a cool
fragrance and only a dim cathedral light.
Flying foxes greatly abound in this vicinity as well as in other parts
of the country, often appearing in surprising numbers, especially on
moonlight nights. They prove most destructive to choice fruits, and are
said to be an increasing nuisance. The leaves of the gum-tree seem to
form their principal food; but at times they visit a cultivated section
in such marvellous numbers as to sweep away every green leaf and tender
shoot in the gardens and fields, like an army of locusts. The natives
and Chinese eat them, but the more civilized inhabitants would as soon
eat rats and mice. These flying foxes are unable to take flight from the
ground, and when they are found there can easily be captured. Neither
can they run rapidly, but waddle toward the nearest tree-trunk, which
they ascend rapidly by means of their long, sharp claws, and from the
branches of which they throw themselves into the air, where they skim
about like a bird on the wing. They are rarely seen until evening,
always performing their depredations by night. It is a remarkable fact
that these peculiarly awkward creatures, whose legs seem utterly
unavailable for ordinary service, unless it be for climbing, will carry
large fruit, weighing nearly a pound, long distances to their nests.
During the day they retire to secluded places in the woods, where they
sleep hanging head downward from the branches by the natural hooks
attached to their shoulders. As with common bats, which they resemble in
some respects, secluded caves are a favorite resort of the flying foxes.
We are reminded in this connection of another remarkable animal found
here, called the flying 'possum,--a creature which does not actually
fly, but which "shoots" across a considerable space through the air,
between tall trees or elevated objects like cliffs, by means of
expanding a loose skin or membrane formed on both of its sides, and
which connects the front legs with the hind ones. This creature, like
the kangaroo, is indigenous, and only found in Australia.
We heard much said about the venomous nature of Australian snakes, and
were cautioned especially to avoid the places known to be frequented by
them. Doubtless there are plenty of snakes in Australia as in most other
regions, poisonous ones also in the bush, and that they do sometimes
fatally bite persons there can be no question; but we did not chance to
see any, either of the venomous or harmless sort. There is one quality
very commendable in the serpent tribe: as a rule, they show a
disposition to get out of the way of human beings. If trampled upon, of
course they will turn and bite or sting; but this is not to be set down
to their discredit, but to the natural instinct of self-defence. One of
the most venomous of all snakes is indigenous to our own
country,--namely, the rattle-snake; but even he never fails to give
ample warning of his presence before attacking any one. The habits of
these Australian snakes are similar to those of their species wherever
found; their usual resort is a hole in the ground under fallen leaves,
or in the decaying trunk of a tree, and they live by preying upon frogs,
mice, lizards, and birds. We were told of some instances of their power
to charm small birds,--an old story to be sure, and one for which we
must have ocular evidence before crediting it. New Zealand is happily
free from the pest of snakes,--there being no more there than in
Ireland. Doubtless Providence had some legitimate purpose to subserve
in creating tarantulas, poisonous spiders, and scorpions in Australia,
but the "why and wherefore" is rather a conundrum.
We heard while in Sydney a singular snake-story, which we have every
reason to believe to be true, the facts of which were said to have
occurred not long before near the town of Parametta. In the family of a
settler who resided some half a league from the town was an invalid
daughter, of an extremely nervous temperament. She was sleeping one
summer afternoon in a hammock swung between a couple of supporting
standards in the shade of the piazza, when she was suddenly awakened by
feeling something cold and moist clinging about her throat. She put up
her hand to the spot and clasped the body of a snake just back of its
head, and with a horrified cry wrenched with all her strength to tear it
away. This was the first instinctive action of the moment, but so great
was her terror that she speedily lost all consciousness of the
situation. Her hand however still grasped the snake where she had first
seized upon it, and with such a convulsive force that the creature was
rendered powerless. The cry of the terrified girl brought the father
from within the house, who instantly came to her relief; but in the fit
which her fright had induced, her hand slowly contracted about the
creature's throat with a force which awake she could not possibly have
exerted, and before her fingers were unclasped by the aid of a bit of
the hammock cord the reptile was completely strangled. Fortunately the
creature had not bitten the girl before she seized it; and after that,
it was unable to do so. It is said to have been four feet long and of a
poisonous species.
Queensland is nearer to New Guinea on the north than Victoria is on the
south to Tasmania. The depth of Torres Strait, which separates
Queensland and New Guinea, is nowhere over nine fathoms. It is generally
believed by those who make a study of such matters that these two
countries were originally connected, and that the sea, aided perhaps by
some volcanic action, finally separated them. After a current between
them was once established, the land on each side would wear away
rapidly. The distance across the Strait is to-day less than one hundred
miles. Doubtless many of the island groups in this region were first
formed in some such manner as we have indicated. By glancing at a map of
the world the reader will observe that there are islands that extend
almost uninterruptedly from the southeastern extremity of Asia nearly
half-way across the Pacific. Oceania is the favorite word applied by
geographers to this world of islands, especially as indicating
Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and their immediate dependencies. Of
this system Australia forms the great central feature. Some idea of the
immensity of the Pacific Ocean may be realized when we see that there is
nevertheless an unbroken waste of waters between these islands and the
coast of America of some two thousand miles in width. These lands of
Oceania are surrounded by water not only of the widest expanse, but
also--as has been proved by scientific soundings--of the greatest depth
of any on the globe.
Queensland is as liable to serious droughts as the rest of Australia on
the slopes of the mountain range of the interior. As we have already
shown, nearer the coast the land is well watered. There are few lakes in
the colony,--indeed, none worthy of the name; and the one river which is
the Mississippi of the country, known as the Murray,--navigable for over
a thousand miles of its course,--is not at all times to be relied upon.
This is an evil which could easily be remedied by skilful engineering.
This river has no proper outlet to the sea, but debouches into a shallow
marsh called Lake Alexandrina. "Sir," said an individual to us at
Sydney, with piscatorial dogmatic emphasis, "No country can be great
without trout or salmon." As Australia has no available rivers for these
fish to swim in, the inference as to her possible greatness was obvious.
We have said that the Murray is the Mississippi of Australia, but it is
no more like that great Father of Waters than Tom Thumb is like
Hercules. Like the Mississippi, however, it has a greater, or at least
longer, tributary than itself. As the American river is the receptacle
of the Missouri, so the Murray obtains its greatest volume by means of
its principal branch and feeder, the Darling. This river extends over
twelve degrees of latitude, and by its winding course would measure
three thousand miles. It is mostly supplied by the snow-clad Australian
Alps. The fitful nature of this watercourse may be judged by the fact
that although it is often in places a torrent, and in others expands
into lake-like proportions over low-lying country, at certain seasons it
may be crossed on foot where it joins the Murray. Below this junction
the latter river frequently expands to three hundred yards and more in
width, with a depth of from ten to twenty feet. For fifteen hundred
miles of its course it is called a navigable river, though it is not to
be relied upon as such,--small river steamers being not infrequently
caught upon shoals, where they are left high and dry for months
together. So with regard to the Darling; notwithstanding its erratic
character, it has often been ascended by light-draught steamers nearly a
thousand miles above its junction with the Murray.
It is singular that in a country where irrigation is so much needed, and
where enterprise is so general in all other directions, this matter does
not receive more attention. To the stranger, irrigation seems to be the
one thing lacking in this favored land. Canals tapping these rivers at
points where they should first be dammed, would pay a twofold
reward,--not only supplying water wherewith to quench the thirst of the
half-exhausted land, but, being made navigable, they would convey to
market the very crops they had already enabled the husbandman to raise.
Where the country is thus irrigated,--as in India and Utah,--the crops
are simply certain, rain or shine; and the transportation is also
assured at a reasonable figure. Australia, with its rich virgin soil and
dry climate, is just the place to repay tenfold all irrigating
enterprise. We were told of certain points on the Murray River, where,
by one properly constructed dam, water in abundance could be held and
thrown back for a distance of thirty miles. It appears that in one year
not long ago, when there was a great drought, over fifteen million sheep
and horned cattle died of thirst in New South Wales and Queensland! This
sounds almost incredible, but it was so recorded in the official reports
of the colonies. And yet the means of conserving water by simple methods
are, as we have seen, quite within the reach of government or private
enterprise. In one year, by suitable arrangements, animal property alone
might have been saved to the value of fifty million dollars. We were
told of one extraordinary period of drought which extended over five
years previous to 1870, which was followed by copious and excessive
rains lasting for months,--"thus," as our agricultural informant pithily
expressed it, "turning a blessing into a judgment."
Queensland, as we have shown, occupies the northeastern portion of the
continent, and measures thirteen hundred miles in length from north to
south, by eight hundred miles in width, containing a population at the
present time of about three hundred and forty thousand. The climate of
Brisbane is often compared to that of Madeira; it is entirely free from
the hot winds which sometimes render Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide so
extremely uncomfortable. The river which divides the city into north and
south Brisbane is crossed by a grand iron bridge over a quarter of a
mile in length, a portion of which swings upon a centre to admit of the
passage of steamers and sailing-vessels, the river being navigable above
the capital.
Political excitement runs high in Brisbane. We were told of scenes that
occurred in the local parliament leading to bitter criminations between
members, which would certainly have resulted in duels in most countries.
Sometimes, however, a different spirit prevails, and a spicing of fun is
introduced. On one occasion the bill of a firm of solicitors against the
Government came up for discussion. The firm name was Little & Brown, and
their account seemed to some of the members to be exorbitant. While the
question of voting the money to pay this bill was before the house,
there was also one pending for the protection of wild birds. At last a
humorous member proposed that the account of the "lawyer-bird" should be
included in the bill. His meaning was not at first apparent to the
assembly, and the presiding officer asked him to explain what this bird
was. His answer created an uproar of laughter among the members. "The
bird I refer to," he said, "is little and brown; and it has a very long
bill!"
The widespread plains of this part of Australia, so specially adapted
for sheep-runs and cattle-ranches, are largely improved for that
purpose; and it is estimated that there are over twelve millions of
sheep upon them to-day. Wool is one of the most valuable raw materials
known to commerce, and that shipped from Queensland has had a
preference, owing to its adaptability to manufacturing purposes.
Sheep-farming is here carried on upon a scale exceeding that of all
other parts of the world. Single individuals hold even larger flocks
than those of New South Wales. We have not seen an official statement of
a year's clip for the whole country since that for 1883, which gave as
the aggregate value of that year something over twenty million pounds
sterling. Besides sheep, the plains also sustain large herds of horned
cattle. One owner told us he had over fifteen thousand cattle on his
ranch, and that some of his neighbors had a still larger number.
The coast portion of Queensland is the most desirable of all the colony.
It is well wooded, and the climate is equable. The entire shore is
studded with picturesque islands and has numerous excellent harbors. The
three summer months--December, January, and February--are hot; but as
plenty of rain falls at this season, tropical moisture and heat are
agreeably combined. Cool southerly winds also prevail during this
season, so that it is rarely oppressively hot. The famous Great Barrier
Reef of Australia belongs entirely to this province, and is twelve
hundred miles in length, extending along the coast from Port Brown to
Torres Strait, the average distance from the shore being about sixty
miles. Though the sea on the coast is made smoother by this giant reef,
navigation in other respects is undoubtedly rendered precarious by it.
Scientists think it indicates the former outline of the coast and
continent, about one fifth of which is supposed to have sunk beneath the
ocean.
Leaving out West Australia, which is at present so little developed, the
country may be divided thus. Queensland is the best and most extensive
pastoral section; in this respect New South Wales comes next. South
Australia should be characterized for its grain-fields, and Victoria is
richest in auriferous deposits; but there is gold enough in all the
colonies to afford constant stimulus to mining enterprise, fresh
discoveries in this line being made every few weeks.
Many young men belonging to the better classes of England's youth,
filled with poetic ideas, come out here to seek employment on
sheep-runs, having imbibed certain notions of a free out-of-door life,
and the charm of a half-wild career in the open country. But the reality
often amazes them. Some of these young men have been accustomed to a
life of elegant leisure, soft beds, dainty food, and plenty of servants
to do their bidding; but actuated by a desire to attain to a condition
of independence of family control, a wish to pay their own way, to earn
money by manly labor, or by some other of the thousand incentives that
not infrequently sever family ties, they have resolved to seek a new
field. In Australia they find freedom, but it is coupled with hard
work. There is no chance for drones in the business of sheep-raising, or
for those who would languish on downy beds of ease. The competitor in
this field must be in the saddle at daybreak, must learn to ride all
sorts of horses, and to catch and saddle the one he does ride; for all
the horses are turned out to get their own feed at large, and are never
stabled. They also get no grooming, except what their riders give them;
they are not even shod, and are sometimes addicted to bucking, which
will require all a man's knowledge of horsemanship to overcome. The
ranch-man has ten hours a day in the saddle, and must often ride fast
and far to round in his flocks. He must acquire the art of counting
them, of judging correctly of their condition, of shearing, and often of
killing them. For all this he may get five or six hundred dollars a year
and his rations, with the advantage, however, of living in the open air,
of having an unobstructed digestion and a ravenous appetite, and of
sleeping the sleep which no opiate can produce. The life upon a
sheep-run will be likely to make a man of him if he has the right
material in him, with plenty of endurance and adaptability.
The idyllic notions of shepherd life which may at first have attracted
him, and the real thing as encountered in the neighborhood of the
Darling Downs of Queensland, are two quite different things. There are
some who experience all this and with their first year's earnings
purchase sheep and go on adding to their flock annually, until by
natural increase and purchased additions they become master shepherds
and owners of great numbers. When success is thus achieved, which is
quite possible under ordinary good fortune, the profit that follows is
almost fabulous.
In a country where there are such enormous sheep-runs and where owners
count their herds by twenties of thousands, there must at times be a
glut of meat, and at all times an endless supply of it on hand. The
cattle-ranches, though not nearly so numerous, nor carrying such large
numbers of animals, yet produce relatively an immense supply of meat,
since one average steer is equal in weight to eight or ten sheep. Before
the present method of shipping fresh meat to Europe was perfected, it
was often the case that tens of thousands of sheep and horned cattle
were boiled down simply to produce tallow; and this practice is even now
resorted to, though to a more limited extent than heretofore. Tallow was
and is very easily packed and shipped. There were at one time over forty
boiling-down establishments in New South Wales alone, and statistics
show that three hundred thousand sheep and some hundreds of bullocks
were in one year converted into tallow by these establishments. The
carcasses of the animals for any other purpose were absolutely wasted,
while the poorer classes of England were denying themselves meat because
of its high cost in their own country. It was a realizing sense of these
facts which first led to the meat-canning process, which is still a
thriving industry here, and afterward to the building of ship
refrigerators, which make it possible to ship entire carcasses fresh to
Europe, where they never fail to arrive in the best condition for the
market.
The very name of Australia has a flavor of gold, and yet not one half of
its auriferous diggings have been discovered,--every twelvemonth
bringing to light new deposits of rich quartz, and fresh alluvial
diggings. While the author was in Sydney, a gold nugget was found at
Maitland Bar and brought to that city, for which the Commercial Bank of
the metropolis paid the finder the handsome sum of seven thousand six
hundred dollars. It soon after passed into the possession of the
Government, and is now held by it for the purpose of being exhibited at
the forthcoming centennial exhibition to be held at Melbourne. At the
museum of this latter city we saw a cast which was taken of the largest
nugget ever found in Australia. As it was perfectly gilded, it seemed in
its large glass case as though it might be the real article. It weighed
originally two thousand three hundred ounces, and was valued at
forty-six thousand dollars. It is known by the name of the "Welcome
Nugget." It seems that the finder had heretofore sought in vain to make
a living at gold-digging, having worked long and patiently in search of
the precious metal. Finally he had reached a condition of poverty and
desperation which had led him that very day to resolve upon throwing up
his claim (nobody would give him anything for it), and to seek work in
the nearest city as a day-laborer; he would thus secure at least food
and a shelter. It was in this frame of mind, weary and hungry, that he
chanced upon this marvellous discovery; and hence he appropriately named
it the "Welcome Nugget." These remarkable "finds," as the miners term
them, happen once in a series of years; but in getting at the average
success of gold-mining the larger number of those who have not been able
to realize even a laborer's day-wages at the business, must be taken
into the account. It is safe to accept the conclusion which every
intelligent person in Australia, New Zealand, and California has arrived
at; namely, that the cost of getting gold out of the earth is as much as
its intrinsic value. To put it in other words: in the long run, the
average laborer, working at any other calling for three dollars or even
less per day, will realize more money in a twelvemonth than the average
gold-miner in the same period. Nevertheless, gold-mining seems to be the
active agent which Providence has employed to people the waste places of
the earth. The Western States of America are ample proof of this.
In glancing at a printed record of the finding of golden nuggets, we see
that among others one of pure gold was found in 1502, in Hayti, which
weighed forty-six pounds troy. Another is mentioned as having been found
in Bolivia in 1730, weighing fifty-five pounds troy. But the wonder of
its time was found in the Ural Mountains in 1842, and weighed
ninety-seven pounds troy. This specimen the author saw, two years ago,
in the Museum of Mining at St. Petersburg. The largest single mass of
pure gold found in the United States came from California, and, if our
memory serves us correctly, weighed a little over twenty-six pounds
troy. All these examples, however, have been placed in the shade by
numerous nuggets that have been found in Victoria in later times. The
"Welcome Nugget," already mentioned, came from Balarat, in Victoria. A
nugget was also discovered here, which should be mentioned even in this
by no means complete list. We refer to that found in 1857, called the
"Blanche Berkeley," after the Governor's daughter, and which weighed one
hundred and forty-five pounds troy.
Far-seeing political economists do not hesitate to pronounce the coal
mines of New South Wales and Queensland of far more value than the gold
mines of Victoria and South Australia; and they claim that these coal
deposits are the most extensive in the world. The government of
Queensland (and we believe the governments of the other colonies also)
pays a gratuity of five hundred pounds sterling to the first discoverer
of gold-diggings, provided the new place be twenty miles away from any
previous discovery. The governments are not affected by the glamour of
the gold; that is a secondary consideration with them, for they know
that it is not the glittering metal itself which enriches the country,
but the vitality imparted by its agency. Men are brought together from
near and far in large numbers, and those are induced to work who have
never worked before. All must live, and to enable them to do so there
must be busy hands and brains occupied in other lines than that of
actual mining. The consumption of many articles is stimulated, and fresh
life infused into new and legitimate channels of trade.
Wool, not gold, is the real "King" in Queensland to-day. It is thought
by many that by and by sugar may become the rival of wool in this
section. Mackay, situated on the Pioneer River, is the chief centre of
the sugar industry of the colony, which extends over a large acreage
north of Cape Palmerston, and around the slope of Mount Bassett. Here
the noise of the crushing-mills in the grinding season, and the busy
whirl of the centrifugal machine greet the ear in all directions. So
prolific is the soil here that the cane is said to grow like weeds, and
without cultivation.
Brisbane, like the rest of Queensland, has not escaped the inroads of
the Chinese; and here they are not favorites any more than elsewhere.
This universal prejudice against the Asiatics is in many respects both
reasonable and unreasonable. That the Chinaman never fails to introduce
certain vicious habits wherever he appears, goes without saying;
opium-smoking and gambling have become as natural to him as breathing.
But he is frugal, energetic, industrious, and in some respects a very
valuable member of a newly colonized country, filling a position which
would otherwise be unoccupied. In Australia he is content to follow in
the white man's footsteps, and utilize--as a miner, for instance--what
is left by his predecessor. A Chinaman will obtain fair results and good
wages by working over the "tailings" of the gold-fields, which are
thrown aside as useless by the more impatient and ambitious English
laborer. John is specially useful in many occupations, and is a natural
gardener, raising the best of vegetables for market upon refuse grounds
that no one else would think it worth while to cultivate. He reduces all
fertilizing matter to liquid form, and industriously applies it by hand,
destroying each insect pest with his fingers. No slug, caterpillar, or
vicious parasite can escape his vigilance. He sacrifices himself
entirely to the object in hand, and as long as there is sufficient light
for him to see to work, he continues to toil: no eight-hour or ten-hour
system answers for him. He is to-day essentially the market gardener of
Australia and New Zealand; no one attempts to compete with him in this
occupation. No European can bear the exposure to the sun or support his
strength under the enervating heat as the Chinaman can do. And yet with
all these qualities to recommend him, so undesirable is his presence
held to be by the people, that a law has been passed by which each
Chinaman landing in any of these colonies is obliged to pay the sum of
fifty dollars "head money," as it is called; and no women of the race
are permitted to land at all. Here, as in California and elsewhere, the
dead Chinaman is embalmed by a cheap process,--the body being finally
enclosed in a lead coffin, which in turn is put into a wooden box, and
exported to its native soil. The poorest Chinaman rarely fails to leave
money enough behind him to accomplish this purpose, and the friends of
the deceased consider it a religious duty to fulfil his last wishes.
Judging critically from what we saw of this race of people in the
various parts of the colonies of Australasia, we should say that they
are individually and collectively superior to the average European
immigrants, in the general characteristics which go to make up a
desirable citizen. In industrial habits they far excel the common
immigrant from England and Ireland. If the Mongolians have some bad
habits, the Europeans have ten to their one. It is mostly the pugnacious
British, striking, never-satisfied laborer who complains of the presence
of the Chinese, because he cannot compete with them in sobriety,
industry, frugality, and faithfulness of service. The Chinese are
naturally very hospitable, and no lonely shepherd or roving prospector
ever came to their cabins hungry, or in want of any special article,
without receiving the needed aid gratuitously. John always marries when
he can induce a European or American woman to have him for a husband,
and there are many such instances all over the colonies. No one ever
hears of a Chinaman abusing his wife; indeed, they are remarkable for
being good husbands. They take particular delight in seeing their wives
well-dressed, especially on all gala occasions, and cheerfully and
liberally contribute the means for this purpose. Chinamen are never seen
here in a state of intoxication; and they thus form a noticeable
exception among a population of such incessant drinkers as one sees
everywhere in these countries. Australasia affords unlimited scope for
Chinese industries, and we hardly know how the colonies could get on
without them.
It is highly gratifying to see how thoroughly the cause of universal
education is appreciated and supported in these colonies, as there can
be no stronger evidence of legitimate progress than this fact furnishes.
Brisbane is no exception to this remark. All education is secular in
character, even the reading of the Bible being omitted in the primary
and other schools. In New South Wales special Scriptural lessons are
read; but in Victoria and South Australia Scriptural teachings can only
be given out of the regular school hours,--and thus the various
denominational prejudices are carefully respected. Victoria furnishes
absolute free education. In the other colonies a very small fee is
charged, which is apparently the best policy; since parents and children
will naturally prize more highly that which costs them money, be the sum
never so small, nor will they willingly neglect that for which they are
required to pay.
The result of this educational zeal is obvious to any one, tending as
it does to raise the character of the colonies at home and their good
reputation abroad. The general population forms already a reading
community which supports a large number of excellent bookstores in each
populous centre, besides public libraries, many newspapers, and
well-conducted local magazines. Concerning the newspapers of
Australasia, let us bear appreciative testimony to their general
excellence, to the able and even scholarly manner in which they are
edited, and to the remarkable liberality evinced in the collecting of
news from all parts of the globe. The mechanical appearance and general
make-up of the colonial newspapers is fully equal to that of the best
American and English dailies. In Auckland, New Zealand, with a
population of not more than sixty thousand, including the immediate
suburbs, we saw one of Hoe's large, rapid, completing presses, printing
the "New Zealand Daily Herald" at the rate of fifteen thousand copies an
hour, folding and delivering it automatically ready for the carriers.
The whole work was done by machinery, the roll of paper being suspended
above the press after the latest improved style, so that no "feeders"
even were required.
One is sure to remark the large number of banking establishments in
every city and considerable town throughout Australasia. We were told
that there are thirty joint-stock banking companies in the country, with
some eight hundred branches more or less. These companies pay an annual
dividend of from ten to fourteen per cent to their stockholders. The
existence of so many successful banks in so circumscribed a community is
a matter not quite clearly understood by the author, though upon inquiry
it was found that the style of banking business done here differed
materially from that transacted in populous cities of the Old World. For
instance, the banks here advance money freely upon growing crops, wool
on the sheep's back, and other similar securities that would hardly be
considered as legitimate collateral in America. The usual rate of
interest to borrowers upon what is considered fair security, is never
less than ten per cent,--twelve and fifteen per cent being most common.
The speculative nature of nearly all kinds of business in the colonies
impairs general confidence, and people come to be unduly sharp,
requiring even heavier rates than those already named where there is any
chance of getting them. They simply illustrate the axiom, that a high
rate of interest signifies a high degree of risk. In the mean time the
banks flourish, occupying the largest and most costly business edifices
that are to be seen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Adelaide.
We did not chance to see any specimens of that curious animal the
kangaroo while we were in Queensland, but this marsupial is represented
to be more numerous and more of a pest here than in any other part of
the country. We were told of a certain sheep-run known as Peak Downs
Station, where the proprietor had been obliged to wage a long-continued
war against them, instituting annual hunts over the extensive district
which he held. He was joined by his friends and neighbors in an annual
raid upon the animals, which lasted not infrequently for ten consecutive
days. He kept an account of the number of kangaroos destroyed upon his
lands, which had reached the almost incredible aggregate of thirty-eight
thousand in a few years. That special district absolutely swarmed with
these animals until the means mentioned for their destruction were
adopted. The kangaroo is very prolific in its wild state, and would, if
allowed to multiply undisturbed, soon drive the sheep from their
feeding-grounds. Its skin, when properly cured and dressed with the fur
on, makes good rugs suitable for domestic use. Leather is also made from
the skin, and when well tanned and carefully prepared is available for
many purposes, although as a regular industry the skin of the kangaroo
has never been made much use of in the form of leather; it is considered
very desirable as a fur robe, or when made up into a garment.
The Darling Downs of Queensland, several times alluded to in these
notes, consist of broad, undulating, grass-covered steppes, with a rich
black soil admirably suited for agricultural purposes. They are easily
reached from Brisbane by rail in a few hours, and at Warwick, the
principal town of the Downs, good hotel accommodations may be found.
Stanthorpe is the centre of the tin-mining industry of this region. For
a number of years surface diggings only were attempted here, but later
many deep shafts have been sunken and are now profitably worked. In this
more legitimate form of mining a permanent industry has been
established. There are so many prolific and excellent tin mines in the
colonies that these special deposits are held to be of no extraordinary
value.
It is proposed, as we were informed at Brisbane, to separate the north
of Queensland from the south, at the twenty-second parallel of latitude,
and to form the northern portion into a separate colony. This purpose
seemed at one time to have very nearly reached consummation, but it has
not been pressed for some unknown reason. As Queensland is larger than
England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark added
together, there can be no want of territory for such a political
division. It is only about thirty years since this province, as it now
stands, was separated from New South Wales.
From Brisbane we returned to Sydney on the way to the southern cities;
and here the journey was broken by a day's rest, as it is nearly twelve
hundred miles from Brisbane to Melbourne.