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- clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Rambles in Australia, by Edwin Sharpe Grew -and Marion Sharpe Grew</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Rambles in Australia</p> -<p>Author: Edwin Sharpe Grew and Marion Sharpe Grew</p> -<p>Release Date: April 26, 2021 [eBook #65166]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAMBLES IN AUSTRALIA***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by Nick Wall, Charlie Howard,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (https://www.pgdp.net)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (https://archive.org)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/ramblesinaustral00grewiala - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="center larger bold">Transcriber’s Note</p> -<p>Larger versions of most illustrations may be seen by right-clicking them -and selecting an option to view them separately, or by double-tapping and/or -stretching them.</p> -</div> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h1>RAMBLES IN AUSTRALIA</h1> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="newpage bbox"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1 center" id="MILLS_BOONS">MILLS & BOON’S<br /> -RAMBLES SERIES</h2> - -<p>“<i>The books are not designed as guides. Up to a point they may be used -as such. They are really very pleasant essays by writers who know their -subjects, and they may be read with pleasure and instruction quite apart -from their utilitarian value to the traveller.</i>”—Liverpool Courier.</p> - -<div id="booklist"> -<p>Rambles around French Châteaux.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By FRANCES M. GOSTLING, Author of “The Bretons at -Home.” With 5 Illustrations in Colour by <span class="smcap">L. Lelée</span> and <span class="smcap">C. R. -Andreae</span>, 33 from Photographs, and a Map. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles about the Riviera.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By FRANCES M. GOSTLING. With one Illustration in Colour -and 40 from Photographs. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in the Black Forest.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By I. A. R. WYLIE, Author of “My German Year,” “Dividing -Waters.” With 5 Illustrations in Colour and 24 from Photographs. -Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles with an American in Great Britain.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By CHRISTIAN TEARLE, Author of “Holborn Hill.” With -21 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in Norway.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By HAROLD SIMPSON. With 8 Illustrations in Colour by -<span class="smcap">Paul E. Ritter</span>, and 32 from Photographs. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in Florence.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By G. E. TROUTBECK. With 8 Illustrations in Colour by <span class="smcap">Rose -McAndrew</span>, and 32 from Photographs. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in Ireland.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By ROBERT LYND, Author of “Home Life in Ireland.” With -5 Illustrations in Colour by <span class="smcap">Jack B. Yeats</span>, and 25 from Photographs. -Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in Holland.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By EDWIN and MARION SHARPE GREW. With one Illustration -in Colour by <span class="smcap">Douglas Macpherson</span>, 32 from Photographs, -and a Map. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in Australia.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By EDWIN and MARION SHARPE GREW. With 32 Illustrations -from Photographs and a Map. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> -</div> - -<p>Rambles in the North Yorkshire Dales.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>By J. E. BUCKROSE. With 4 Illustrations in Colour and 23 -from Photographs. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. net.</p> -</div></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="newpage figcenter illowp47" id="i_1" style="max-width: 29em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_001.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>KARRI COUNTRY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.</p></div> - <div class="captionr"><p>Frontispiece.</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="newpage p4 center vspace wspace"> -<p class="xxlarge"> -RAMBLES<br /> -IN AUSTRALIA</p> - -<p class="p2">BY<br /> -<span class="large">EDWIN & MARION SHARPE GREW</span><br /> - -<span class="small">AUTHORS OF “THE COURT OF WILLIAM III”<br /> -“THE ENGLISH COURT IN EXILE: JAMES II AT ST. GERMAIN”<br /> -“RAMBLES IN HOLLAND”</span></p> - -<p class="p2 smaller">WITH THIRTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND A MAP</p> - -<p class="p2 large">MILLS & BOON, LIMITED<br /> -<span class="smaller">49 RUPERT STREET<br /> -LONDON, W.</span> -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 smaller"><i>Published 1916</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4"> -TO<br /> - -<span class="larger">OUR AUSTRALIAN HOSTS</span><br /> - -<span class="smaller">IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE<br /> -OF MUCH KINDNESS</span> -</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">This</span> little book aims at giving such general -impressions of Australia as could be gleaned -during a visit lasting from July into September, -and including some time spent in each state. We -have tried to convey some idea of the aspect of -the country itself, with its brilliant sunshine, -great plains and trackless forests; of the social -atmosphere of warm-hearted hospitality; of -its economic problems and democratic legislative -experiments. These last are so essentially Australian, -that it seemed impossible to omit some -reference to them, but they hardly fall within -our scope, and are only lightly touched upon. -Figures and facts quoted are taken from official -handbooks and pamphlets.</p> - -<p>With regard to the illustrations, those of -Western Australia were provided by the kindness -of Mr. Gibbs, of the Lands Department at Perth, -and Mr. L. V. Shapcott, Premier’s Office, Perth, -who was good enough to take special photo<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span>graphs -for us. For those of South Australia we -have to thank Mr. Vaughan of the Lands Department.</p> - -<p>At Melbourne the Secretary of the admirably -organised Government Tourist Bureau was kind -enough to have the views of Victoria specially -printed for reproduction. For the views of New -South Wales we have to thank the Hon. Dugald -Thomson, and for those of Brisbane the Secretary -of the Government Tourist Bureau for -Queensland. Lastly, our grateful thanks are due -to Captain Muirhead Collins, Permanent Secretary -of the Australian Commonwealth in London, -for his great kindness in reading the proofs and -for much valuable criticism.</p> - -<p>If <i>Rambles in Australia</i> leads even a few readers -to wish for a closer acquaintance with, and a better -understanding of, this great country of which we -are so ignorant at home, it will not have been -written in vain.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_I">PART I. WESTERN AUSTRALIA</a></td> -</tr> -<tr class="small"> - <td class="tdr">CHAPTER</td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">I.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Land of the Unlatched Door</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_3">3</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">II.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">First Impressions</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_9">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">III.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Perth: a Paradise for the Working Man</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_20">20</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">In the Bush</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_34">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">V.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Agriculture and Gold</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_51">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_II">PART II. SOUTH AUSTRALIA</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Bird’s-Eye View</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_73">73</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Adelaide</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_88">88</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Compulsory Training and Social Life in Adelaide</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_98">98</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_III">PART III. VICTORIA</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Collins Street—Melbourne</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_113">113</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">X.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Social Life in Melbourne</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_121">121</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ballarat</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_132">132</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Black Spur</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_146">146</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">x</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_IV">PART IV. NEW SOUTH WALES</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sydney Harbour</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_165">165</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sydney and its Neighbourhood</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_173">173</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Blue Mountains and a Bush Picnic</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_186">186</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_V">PART V. QUEENSLAND</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Banana-Land</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_205">205</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Beginning of the Tropics</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_212">212</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Day in the Queensland Bush</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_221">221</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">In and About Brisbane</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_230">230</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc chap" colspan="3"><a href="#PART_VI">PART VI. TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Great Barrier Reef</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_245">245</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr top">XXI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Northern Territory</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_272">272</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">xi</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="loi" summary="List of Illustrations"> -<tr> - <td class="tdl bpad"><span class="smcap">The Illustration on the Cover of a Clearing in the -Bush is from a Water-Colour in the Possession of Major C. J. Martin, F.R.G.S.</span></td></tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Karri Country, Western Australia</span></td> - <td class="tdr smaller"><a href="#i_1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> -</tr> -<tr class="smaller"> - <td class="tdr" colspan="2"><i>Facing page</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Perth from “The Narrows”</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_2">20</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Felling Karri</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_3">43</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Oxen Harnessed to a Log at Big Brook</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_4">49</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Orchard and Homestead, Bridgetown</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_5">59</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Premier of Western Australia</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_6">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">North Terrace, Adelaide</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_7">89</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Wool Store, Port Adelaide</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_8">94</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Waterfall Gully, Burnside, near Adelaide</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_9">104</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ostrich Farm, Sooth Australia</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_10">108</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The River Yarra, Forty-eight Miles from Melbourne</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_11">122</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Australian Alps, North-East Victoria, Mount Feathertop, 6,300</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_12">143</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Dividing Range</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_13">147</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tree Ferns in the Bush, near Melbourne</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_14">155</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">View of the Australian Alps from the Murray River Flats</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_15">158</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">xii</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Circular Quay, Sydney</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_16">178</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">South Coast, New South Wales</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_17">180</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">National Pass, Blue Mountains</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_18">188</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Shearing Time, New South Wales</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_19">193</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Flock of Sheep, Kinross Station</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_20">195</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Manly Beach</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_21">198</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Brisbane River</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_22">214</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charleville Bore</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_23">218</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Nambour</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_24">226</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Botanic Gardens, Brisbane</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_25">238</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Townsville</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_26">248</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Barron Falls Scenery at Cairns</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_27">254</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Barron River</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_28">258</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Thursday Island</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_29">265</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">View near Darwin</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_30">275</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Coconut Grove, Darwin</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_31">279</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Anthills, Northern Territory</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_32">289</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_I">PART I<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">WESTERN AUSTRALIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_map" style="max-width: 50em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_002.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="large vtight"> - <div class="caption"> - -<p class="floatl in1"> -<span class="small">MAP OF</span><br /> -<span class="bold larger">AUSTRALIA</span><br /> -<span class="small">to illustrate</span><br /> -“RAMBLES <span class="allsmcap">IN</span> AUSTRALIA” -</p> -</div> - -<div class="caption"> -<p class="floatr l1 smaller"> -<cite>George Philip & Son L<sup>td</sup></cite> -</p> -</div> - -<div class="caption"> -<p class="floatc gesperrt smaller">Mills & Boon L<sup>td</sup></p></div> -</div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="RAMBLES_IN_AUSTRALIA">RAMBLES IN AUSTRALIA</h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_3" class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">INTRODUCTORY: THE LAND OF THE -UNLATCHED DOOR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Opposite</span> to us was Australia. During the -long days of the voyage across the bleak -South Indian Ocean it had seemed no more than -a vague area on a map, small, as all countries and -even continents are, compared to the interminable -stretches of the sea. But the voyage was ended -now, and Australia, first no more than a blur on -the horizon, and then solidifying into a shore -with green trees, had now become resolved into -an island with a lighthouse; and now into a -harbour with wharves and quays and a background -of houses behind the sheds and derricks. -There was a train puffing in the distance; and -here fussed a launch bringing with it people -from the shore....</p> - -<p>Quite suddenly the Blue Funnel Liner which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> -has had the accustomedness of a home to us for -all these weeks, shrinks to the aspect of a ship, of -no more importance to us than a passenger train; -and impatience seizes us to be off. There is the -land, alluring in a glow of sunset barred with -feathery clouds ... there’s a shore breeze calling, -let us go!</p> - -<p>So much for the emotions of arrival. They -are quickly submerged by occurrences which are -no less stubborn in the poetic moments of -reaching a new land, than at any other time. The -Blue Funnel Liner had been behind her time, -and had not wired her subsequent gain of a -few hours; our arrival had been expected, and -was to have been made the occasion of a greeting -by the Government of Western Australia to -the members of a scientific mission on board. -Western Australia’s first greeting was to have taken -the form of a garden party at Government House, -Perth; and as the invitations had been distributed -over hundreds of miles of a wide country weeks -before, no postponement had been possible. The -garden party was being held—in our regretted -absence—and the Port Medical Authorities, not -to be done out of their festivity, had gone to it. -So there Western Australia was—at our garden -party, and there peering at the land of promise -were we.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span></p> - -<p>Hours went by. Those of us who had hastened -over lunch and wrestled impatiently with trunks -and hold-alls that be they attacked ever so early -never can be packed at leisure, wandered about -the decks, finding that they had lost their friendliness -with their deck chairs, and had become as -little homelike as a railway platform. The deck-steward, -who had become merely a deck-steward -instead of philosopher and friend, recovered some -of his old standing by telling us that we were to -have an early dinner on board, after all. But it -was an empty meal. We so much desired to be -gone. And at last we were. The sunset had -faded, the swift dusk had deepened into night, -when at last we went down the gangway and -stood in Australia.... It was Australia, though -beneath our feet were the planks and rails of -a wharf. The French have a proverb that -at night all cats are grey. This wharf, might -it not have been the wharf at Liverpool or -Tilbury? Not quite. There was the Southern -Cross overhead; and in the warm darkness -there was a something—something that was -not England.</p> - -<p>The party that had been so long companions -split up and were scattered. The writer of these -lines became for an hour or so more single than -any of them, for business took him at once into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -Perth, where he had to find Reuter’s Agency. So -looking back, and sorting out his recollections, he -remembers first the friendly host that met him -and walked to the railway station at Fremantle; -and after that the Swan River shining in the -starlight as the train crossed it; and after that -nothing but the soft Australian night stealing in -through the open carriage windows and seeming -to come through whispering trees—until the -train drew up at the lighted terminus of Perth. -And Perth? In the darkness it was much like -any other town at which one should arrive at -night. Not like Paris, where, as a Frenchwoman -in Bâle once said to us, at ten o’clock “Ça -commence,” nor yet like London, where, in -times of peace, the streets are still open-eyed. -But not unlike a provincial town; with some -shops still brightly lighted, though most of them -and the office buildings, are shut; a town with -lights, but not lit; and with streets that are -kept awake only by the street lamps. Through -one such street I tracked down the office I -sought, receiving much friendly aid by the -way; and finally arriving at it in company -with the publisher’s clerk of the Perth newspaper.</p> - -<p>That is another outstanding recollection: the -publishing office with two clerks, one rather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -sleepy, the other painstakingly deciphering an -obituary notice which a small girl had brought -in. When he had at last made it out, and felt -that he could leave the office for a few minutes in -charge of his companion, he put on his hat and -said he would come with me. So he did. As a -matter of history his kindness was unavailing, -except to make me feel that Australia was filled -with friends, for the office we wanted was vacant. -So back I went through the gaunt streets and on -to the railway station, where I was too new to the -country to disregard the notice that smoking was -not allowed on the platform; and presently the -train was again taking me back to the suburb of -Cottesloe Beach.</p> - -<p>This was a country railway station, evidently. -Just like one at home, to the two lighted shops -just outside, and the white road stretching -up a hill in the starlight. The road up which -I was directed was dotted with houses wide -apart; with shaded lamps which I could -see through the shrubs; and now and again a -piano tinkling. It was very still. At last I found -the house I sought. Very white, with trees -about it, and a windmill for its well; and -windows lighted for the stranger. No; not the -stranger, but the unknown, welcome guest. The -gate in the wooden fence was swung back;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -there was a light in the hall; and the hall door -was wide open, though the hall was empty. And -that was how I thought then, and have always -thought of Australia. It is the “Land of the -Unlatched Door.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_9" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">FIRST IMPRESSIONS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">It</span> behoves visitors to Australia to realise that -they will have a good many things to do for -themselves that they have never done before, and -that the conditions of travelling, for instance, -are very different from those in Europe. To -begin with, the station porter is absent, and -everyone has to carry his own hand baggage, -for in a country, where labour is very scarce and -very highly paid, there are no loafers ready to -scramble for odd jobs, even at a port. What -cannot be carried ashore by the passengers is left -to be dealt with, frequently much to its detriment, -by agencies whose representatives come -on board for the purpose and convey it, or some -of it, to its owner’s destination. Stray packages, -providentially arrive in time to go on to the -next stopping-place with their owner. This -applies not only to landing, but to railway -travelling; so that it can easily be arranged for -by those who are prepared in advance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span></p> - -<p>It was quite dark when we went ashore, and -it is the oddest sensation to land in an unknown -country after dark. We had been told on the -boat that the station was at a distance of ten -minutes’ walk, but in the absence of cabs -and porters its whereabouts was problematical. -We therefore deposited our bags and awaited -events.</p> - -<p>Then out of the obscurity a man came up with -some hesitation and asked us our names. It was -our host, who had been guided to us in the dark -by some occult sense, for we were unknown to -each other except by name. He greeted us -heartily with the kindly solicitude of an old -friend, took possession of us and the larger share -of our hand baggage, and carried us off to the -station.</p> - -<p>It was our first experience of an Australian -welcome and Australian hospitality; that hospitality, -which for unaffected kindness and -generosity, can surely have no counterpart on -any other continent. The hospitality that makes -a guest free of all his host’s possessions, that -grudges no time or trouble in his guests’ interest, -and that is bestowed in the spirit not of a giver, -but the receiver of a benefit. As we walked -towards the train the ground seemed curiously -soft, as if we were walking ankle-deep in dust.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -It was not till next day that we found that this -part of Western Australia consists everywhere of -loose yellow sand like that by the seashore. The -night was very mild after the keen sea air, and -encumbered with bags and our heavy coats, we -arrived at the station in time to see the train go -out, and waited for the next one in a large -empty booking-hall. At last the little train -rattled in, and we started. We crossed the broad -Swan River, above which a crescent moon was -hanging, and Venus shone with the luminous -brilliancy of southern skies. One of us went on -to Perth: the other descended at Cottesloe -Beach.</p> - -<p>Here the station fly was waiting. It was -shaped like a French diligence and drawn by two -ruminative old white horses. The driver, surprised -and startled at the apparition of a fare, climbed -down, and lit a candle inside the fly, the light of -which disclosed white lace curtains at the windows -tied up with red ribbon. A few minutes jolting -drive, and we were at our destination, and, -jumping out, plunged immediately into soft, -deep sand, before the entrance to a large one-storied -house, its corrugated iron white-painted -roof shining in the starlight as if it were covered -with snow.</p> - -<p>Our hostess, who had waited dinner for us an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -unconscionable time, had neither allowed that, -nor her welcome to get cold in the interim, and -took us to a room sweet with the scent of a great -bowl of wattle, and a bunch of very large, deep -purple violets—a room that seemed strangely -quiet after the long-heard straining and cracking -of the timbers in our cabin. Here our sleep was -lulled only by the fitful creaking of the little -windmill in the garden.</p> - -<p>The charming house in which we stayed at -Cottesloe Beach was typical of nearly all West -Australian houses. It stood, as even the smallest -workman’s cottage stands, in its own grounds -detached from its neighbours’, a roomy bungalow -with a broad verandah running right round it. -The verandah is an essential, all-important part -of a West Australian house. The family sleep in -it all the year round, using the bedrooms merely -as dressing-rooms; they live on another side of it -during the day.</p> - -<p>In the country suburbs the houses are built on -piles to protect them from the attacks of white -ants. White ants can eat everything except -jarrah, a hard red eucalyptus wood, which has -been tried for paving London streets. The -foundations of all the houses are formed of jarrah -piles; on the top of every pile is put an iron -saucer, and on this again is erected the superstructure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -of the building. The iron saucer is -indispensable, and, “capping the pile,” takes the -place of laying the foundation-stone. The white -ants can neither penetrate it, nor run outside it, -for they won’t come into the light.</p> - -<p>An immense corrugated galvanised iron water-tank -stands beside every house, and most of the -larger ones have their own windmill for pumping -up water.</p> - -<p>All the gardens were gay with flowers in this -beautiful climate, even at the end of the winter. -Masses of purple kennedya,<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> a showy climbing -plant with a small pealike flower, hung from a -high wooden fence surrounding our host’s house. -Geraniums grew like shrubs, and a magenta -bougainvillea was a curtain of colour.</p> - -<p>We arrived in Australia with the wattle; the -mimosa sold in London shops can give but little -idea of its trees, shining like cloth of gold among -the grey eucalyptus, and outlining the streams. -It is comparable to our hawthorn, though it is -not in the same way a harbinger of spring, for -the mild and flowery winters have no terrors. -Australians are immensely proud of their wattle. -They never lose an opportunity of commenting -on its beauty, and just as no two Irishmen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -can agree on the exact identity of the Irish -shamrock among a variety of small trefoils, so -wherever you go in Australia a different variety -of mimosa is pointed out as the “true” Australian -wattle.</p> - -<p>One soon takes as a matter of course the -brilliant unvarying Australian sunshine, but on -our first walk the day after our arrival, it seemed -as if we were wandering in a land of limelight; its -hard dazzling white brilliance appeared artificial -and unreal. There seemed to be an absence of -chiaroscuro, and of atmosphere, the clear-cut -distance gave an illusory impression of nearness, -annihilating perspective; the eucalyptus with -their light, springing branches, sparsely covered -with long, narrow leaves, give little shade. -From pictures and photographs one is led to -suppose that Australian scenery is not unlike -that of England. It is wholly and entirely -different, not only in its atmospheric effect, and -in the more uniform and heavier colouring of its -foliage, but every individual plant is unfamiliar. -Australia, one may say, roughly speaking, is one -vast forest of eucalyptus or gum tree. The gums -have many varieties, far too numerous for the -traveller to distinguish, from the slight pale trees -that are not unlike a silver-barked birch, to the -soaring giants of the karri forest, with their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -smooth white stems; but whatever the variety, -the prevailing tinge is a bluish grey. Sometimes -the forest or “bush” has been cleared away to -make room for orchards, and crops, or towns, or -grazing land; sometimes acres of trees have been -“ringbarked,” as it is called, a rapid and cheap -way of clearing land, by cutting out a ring of -bark so that the tree dies, and only a skeleton -forest remains, letting in light and air to the soil. -But the “bush” is never very far away. It -seems to be only waiting to close in again, and -swallow up once more what has been so laboriously -cleared. West, east, north, and south, the gum -tree predominates, though the bush varies in the -nature of its undergrowth, which in the tropics -becomes rich and beautiful.</p> - -<p>The general effect of Australian landscape to -English eyes produces an impression of austerity. -It is never friendly, perhaps because of the -general absence of water, the sombre wooded -hills, the vast dun plains, have something aloof -and forbidding.</p> - -<p>It would be difficult to find anything in life -more stimulating and delightful than the first -walk in a new country, where every sight and sound -is unfamiliar. Strolling along the soft, hot sandy -road that first morning, past the low-verandahed -houses, each with its wooden palisade, its windmill<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -and big grey water-tank, we came to rising -ground overlooking the Swan River. Behind -were the low deep blue hills of the Darling -Range, and the broad river lay glassy in the heat -of the sun, blue as the Lake of Geneva on a -summer’s day. Its wooded banks run out in -little spits of land with white sandy foreshores, -one or two small white-sailed boats were floating -idly on it, and some water-fowl swam on its -unruffled surface. The foliage of the gums with -which its banks are covered is dark and uniform -in colour, and had the massive effect of our trees -in autumn, before the leaves have begun to turn. -The air was heavy with the scent of some white-flowering -shrub, the stillness was unbroken -except by the note of a magpie; the place seemed -a paradise. So it must have looked to the first -settlers, the first pioneers, who stood, as we stood, -looking down on it. It left an ineffaceable impression, -and we never again saw anything more -beautiful than that view.</p> - -<p>Western Australia is famous for its wild flowers. -We were a month too early, but even so we saw -many strange and beautiful varieties. They are -more numerous here than anywhere else in the -world, even now many have not been classified. -The most characteristic are as unlike as possible -to our delicate evanescent wild flowers at home;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -strongly growing, determined, having adapted -themselves, by becoming wiry or leathery, to all -exigencies of heat or drought. The banksia, for -instance, looked as if a fir-cone had suddenly -burst into bristling pink flowers; the hard cone -of it is called by the natives a “mungite,” and is -used to kindle fire. Some unobservant person once -told the West Australians that their birds were -all songless, their flowers all scentless, and being -naturally self-depreciatory, they have quoted -it ever since. The bird-notes are very beautiful -and clear in quality of tone; the note of the magpie -will at once occur to the most casual observer, -to quote only one instance. Old Dampier, in -1699, on his first landing in Western Australia -was struck with “the small birds, all singing with -great variety of fine shrill notes.” He mentions -too, being observant, as befits an explorer, “the -small flowers growing on the ground, that were -sweet and beautiful,” and where else is there a -better description of the eucalyptus “sweet-scented -and reddish within the bark,” and -“with long narrow leaves ... on one side whitish -and on the other green.” But the “racoons” -(kangaroos) which were so numerous as to be -easily caught, and were “very good meat,” are -now but rarely to be seen, where he first sighted -them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span></p> - -<p>Cottesloe Beach, our headquarters while we -were in Western Australia, is a pleasant seaside -suburb, with, as its name suggests, an -immense beach of finest white sand, lapped by -smooth waters and protected by Rottnest Island -from ocean storms. The cliffs of Rottnest Island, -showing yellowish in the bright sunshine, with -the white needle of the lighthouse sharply defined -are the first sight of land as ships approach West -Australia.</p> - -<p>The half an hour’s railway journey to Perth -runs through other little garden suburbs, for -all Australian towns straggle out for many miles -into the country, and cover a very large extent of -ground. Space is unlimited, and nobody’s domain -large or small, need elbow that of his neighbour. -The little train on its narrow gauge railway rattles -past roads of one-storied houses, standing on -their piles; each with its verandah, and sloping -iron roof, each surrounded by its palisaded -garden, with its purple kennedya, its pink -geranium and wattle, each with its inevitable tall -grey iron water-tank; somewhere about there is -sure to be an array of the ubiquitous kerosene tin, -utilised either as a pail, a basket, a flower-box, or -all three. We saw them used to form chimneys, -even to construct a raft. These suburbs have an -air of having loose ends left hanging out. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -all so new; there is no time to attend to details -when time is so essentially money. So bordering -the low fences are rough undergrowth -and gum trees and banksias, and coarse wiry -grass—the beginning and the end of the bush.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_20" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">PERTH: A PARADISE FOR THE -WORKING MAN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> city of Perth is in a transition stage. -Scattered over the low hills of the Swan -River, its situation is magnificent, and its climate -superb, but it is as yet only partly built, or rather -it is undergoing the gradual process of rebuilding. -As the municipality becomes more wealthy, -handsome houses are replacing temporary structures, -so that imposing white official buildings -alternate with makeshift affairs hurriedly run -up in earlier days, when need was urgent and -money was scarce. Perth is, then, on its way to -becoming a fine town, and its public buildings -are being constructed from simple designs in -good taste.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_2" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_021.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>PERTH, FROM “THE NARROWS.”</p></div> -</div> - -<p>But what most impresses the new-comer from -Europe in Australian towns is not the buildings, -but the people. Here is no miserable sordid -fringe of the poor and wretched. In this happy -country there is no poverty. Its people are well -fed, well clothed, well housed, well-to-do. Whatever -her problems, and they are many and difficult,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -and not to be lightly pronounced upon by -the casual visitor, it is the glory of Australia that -she has no poor.</p> - -<p>It appeared to us, especially in the West, that -a characteristic type is developing; lean, loosely -hung, wiry, with eyes deep-set from the strong -sunlight. In odd contrast to European towns, -men everywhere preponderate over women in -the streets. Perhaps because of its newness, the -attitude of the other states to Western Australia is -still a little patronising. Western Australians themselves -are fully conscious of this, they on their -part always talk about “the East” in tones of -desire: “I hope we shall go to the East next -year,” is often heard in Perth. At first we -thought they meant China or Japan, but we -soon found that in Western Australia “the East” -means Melbourne or Sydney. They stand for -London or Paris, and one lady said plaintively: -“If I have a nice dress, when I go to see my sister -in ‘the East,’ she says, ‘You didn’t get that -made in Perth.’”</p> - -<p>Perth, however, is looking forward. She -knows the time will come when she can compete -fearlessly with her elder sister the capital of “the -East.” Meanwhile she has achieved the acquisition -of the most attractive zoological gardens -of any Australian city. They are small, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -charmingly laid out, the animals left free to -roam about in their own little grassy paddocks. -The pleasant shady walks are lined by the pretty -Cape lilac, which in July is bare of leaves, but -covered with clusters of yellow berries, very decorative -in effect. These gardens lie on the far side -of the Swan River, and a ferry-boat plies across -its shining blue waters. Numbers of black and -white water-fowl swim alongside, diving below -and bobbing up again, or settling on a row of -posts that run out from the shore, each one like -a little black and white carved ornament. The -gardens are a few minutes’ walk from the landing -stage. We found them charming, the darker -evergreens everywhere lighted up by patches of -golden wattle. The kangaroos and wallabies -feeding in their little enclosures hop up and -put gentle inquiring noses into your hand.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it is because the little wild Australian -animals are so pathetically confiding that they -are becoming extinct. The authorities do all -they can to preserve them, but it appears to be -inevitable, though deplorable, that the native -wild animals of Australia, charming little inoffensive -creatures, are becoming rarer every -year, in spite of large reserves or national parks, -where everything is left untouched in its wild -state. Unfortunately some of the most interesting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -cannot be kept in captivity. This applies, for -instance, so we were told, to the koala, or little -tree-bear, and to the curious duck-billed platypus, -a little animal covered with a wiry brown fur, with -the bill of a bird, and something of the habits of -our river otter. The gardens possessed a one-eyed -alligator that caught pigeons in its mouth with -astonishing dexterity, and swallowed them whole -in two gulps; and some fascinating cranes with -beautiful vermilion legs, that danced as gracefully -as any ballerina. Our own visit to the -gardens was pleasantly concluded by tea, which -an Australian lady was hospitably dispensing to -ourselves and some other English visitors.</p> - -<p>Tea is a most important feature of Australian -life. Tea comes in with the maid and hot water -in the mornings, and tea is drunk at breakfast; -“Morning tea” is a settled social institution. -We were invited to it on several occasions, it is -served at eleven o’clock. Tea next appears at -or after lunch. Afternoon tea is a matter of -course everywhere; but it comes in again at or -after dinner, and is very often drunk the last -thing at night. One would think so much tea -would undermine the strongest constitution, -but it is made very weak with a great deal of -milk. Australians themselves feel that their -indulgence in tea-drinking is rather excessive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -but they account for it by saying that “In the -bush you cannot get anything else to drink,” and -neither seek nor offer other explanation.</p> - -<p>It was at this Perth tea-party that we first saw -the brown heavily scented “boronia,” for which -West Australia is famous. The tables were -decorated with that and the delicate pink Geraldstown -wax flower. Boronia has a small chocolate-coloured -flower, yellow inside, and is so sweet -that its scent is overpowering in a room or on a -dinner table. The genus was named after an -Italian botanist. There are many varieties in -Australia, which, to the uninstructed eye, do not in -the least resemble each other. <i>Boronia megastigma</i>, -the West Australian variety, is used for the -manufacture of scent, and is cultivated for sale; -it is one of the most characteristic spring flowers.</p> - -<p>We were not long in discovering that Western -Australia, whatever course its future development -may take, is at present a paradise for the -working-man. Nowhere else is life made so -pleasant and easy for him in such matters as -housing and education; nowhere else are his -children given such facilities for making their -way in the world in their turn. To begin -with, education is provided free of cost, -from the primary school to the University. In -the primary schools boys are given manual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -training, and girls are taught cooking and -domestic economy. Special facilities are provided -by the Government to meet the needs of -scattered settlers in the bush remote from -centres of population; wherever it is possible to -assure an average attendance of even ten children -within a radius of three miles, schools are already -established. The Education Act even takes into -consideration the case of isolated families, where -the muster of children is less than ten; the -department pays £7 a year for each child on -condition that the parents find a suitable teacher, -and will supplement this grant, so that he may -have a minimum of £30 a year over and above the -cost of his board and lodging.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> In effect the -Government pays part of the salary of a private -tutor. It can be easily imagined that the education -grant must be a very heavy one, in proportion -to the population. It amounts, in fact, to -about £1 annually for every individual in the -state.</p> - -<p>From the primary schools children are drafted -into the secondary schools, when they are able -to profit by the advanced standard of teaching. -There are also technical schools, where trades are -taught, and a training college for teachers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span></p> - -<p>We visited one of the intermediary schools, the -Perth Modern School, as it is called, at Leederville, -a suburb between Perth and Cottesloe Beach. -We found a handsome red brick building, looking -like a Nonconformist college in one of our older -Universities. In the large, well-kept grounds -there is room for football, tennis, hockey, and a -gymnasium is provided in a detached building.</p> - -<p>The school is admirably constructed for its -purpose, the classrooms opening out of a large -central hall. We were unexpected and unannounced. -In the course of our researches in -pursuit of the headmaster we were impressed -with the excellent discipline and tone of a -school in which the children’s attention was not -to be distracted by the presence of strangers -glancing into their classrooms in passing. The -teachers, masters, and mistresses, all wore university -gowns. The headmaster, alert and enthusiastic, -showed us over his spacious, airy school-buildings, -including the well-equipped laboratory -and the department of domestic economy. Western -Australia does not neglect the practical side -of its children’s education, and here the girls are -taught dressmaking, millinery, and cooking. The -dining-rooms of the staff, and those pupils whose -homes are at a distance, had the air of a well-appointed -restaurant, with its small tables daintily<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -set out with clean linen, and fresh flowers brought -by the children. We noticed among them what -looked like a small edelweiss, the Australian -“flannel flower.”</p> - -<p>The period of education at these intermediate -schools consists of a four years’ course lasting -from 12 to 16. A “Leaving Certificate” -on the completion of the four years’ course -must be obtained by examination to enable the -student to pass into the University. Some students -are drafted into the Training College for Teachers, -or, after the four years’ course is finished, students -may stay on at the school to study special subjects. -We were impressed with the appearance of the -children. They were healthy, well-to-do, and -attractive; their manners were frank and without -self-consciousness.</p> - -<p>One of the older girls, who was deputed by the -headmaster to show us the way to the station, -would have compared favourably with any -English schoolgirl of the same age. Her father -had visited England, “and you have no <em>sand</em> in -England,” she added, half incredulously, “and -father could not make them understand about the -sand here.” She came from up-country, and was -able to tell us that two handsome large grey and -black birds with a singularly limpid note were -“rain birds.” She also pointed out to us two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -large castor-oil trees, and told us that the magpies, -predatory, knowing-looking birds, which are to -be seen everywhere in Australia, are called -“break o’ day boys” in the country, because, -like our cocks, they call the neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>It is only quite recently that Western Australia -has acquired its University; it is in fact of -such new foundation, that, like some of Perth -itself, it is still housed in temporary buildings. -Its professorial staff is appointed, and it confers -degrees, but the scene of its labours is at present -in a number of classrooms beneath a corrugated -iron roof, opposite the charming gardens of -Government House—Australia is very good to its -governors in the matter of houses and gardens. -But Perth is developing with great rapidity, and -a probable permanent site for the University is -already talked of, on the banks of the Swan -River, in the National Reserve or King’s Park.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p> - -<p>If working-men are liberally treated by the -state as regards education for their children, they -are treated no less generously as regards housing -accommodation.</p> - -<p>One afternoon we visited, in company with -the State Premier, some of the houses the state<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -builds for working-men. The bungalows were -built on the Western Australian plan on piles; -one-storied verandahed houses each in its own -palisaded plot of ground about a quarter -of an acre in extent. Outhouses, including a -washhouse, were at a little distance from the -main building. The houses were pretty and -picturesque; they were constructed of coloured -“sand” bricks, made of cement and sand, and -had corrugated iron roofs. They vary in type, -and the intending purchaser can see the plans -and make his own selection according to his -taste and means. Those we visited were situated -on the pleasant outskirts of Perth, with a view -over the Swan River. We went over several in -the course of construction, and then made our -way to a street of occupied houses. We left the -motor-car behind here, for the roads were of soft -sand like a sea beach. The sand was held together -by a low-growing plant, a kind of mesembryanthemum, -locally known as “pig’s face.” -It has very thick, succulent leaves and an attractive -flower like a large primrose-coloured thistle. -Sheep or cattle will eat it, and it is almost independent -of moisture. We visited some new-comers -who had lately taken one of the houses. -The owner was a member of the Legislative -Council, and had recently left the goldfields to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -come and live in Perth; for Western Australia -holds that it pays its legislators to legislate, and -requires of them whole-hearted devotion to the -service of the state for their £300 a year salary. -He had already made his garden. The front lawn -was sown with grass and sanded over, and he -was busied in making a vegetable garden in the -sand, in which early spring flowers were showing -even then.</p> - -<p>Inside, the rooms were large and well furnished, -the bedrooms opening on to the broad, shady -verandah that faced what would eventually be the -lawn. As we drove away the Premier pointed -out a small wooden house in a tiny plot of ground—that, -he said, is all a man can do without state -aid for the same money.</p> - -<p>As to the financial part of the scheme, it is -regulated on no principle of extravagant philanthropy, -but is conceived on a sound commercial -basis, to repay the Government the interest of -4½% on the capital expended. The payments of -the tenants are calculated on a basis of 5%, with a -rebate of ½% on punctual payment. The land on -which their houses stand is inalienable, that is, -at the end of ninety-nine years it reverts to the -state, and in the meantime the owner cannot -dispose of it except to the Government, who will -take it back on a valuation, allowing compensation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -on improvements, or making deductions from the -original cost on depreciations. To be eligible as a -tenant a man’s income must be under £400 a year, -and he pays a small deposit. The most expensive -houses vary from £600 to £700. The tenant’s -weekly payments, which may be spread over a -period of thirty years, eventually make the house -his own; but his payments may vary in accordance -with his means, and he can make his house his -own at any point by paying off the balance. No -wonder that with such inducements to linger in -the neighbourhood of a town, men should shrink -from the harder, more vigorous life up-country. -Yet it is “up-country” men that Australia wants, -to clear, sow, and till her rich, fertile soil; with -enterprise and energy to win certain fortune, and -courage to face the initial hardships and loneliness, -which bring their own reward.</p> - -<p>With all her natural advantages Western -Australia’s development is only a matter of the -last twenty years. Like most of the rest of the -continent, she has an inhospitable and forbidding -coast. The Dutch knew of the existence of a -southern land or, “Terra Australis,” before the -end of the sixteenth century, and Dutch captains -sailing from the Cape to Java and the East Indies -not infrequently found themselves within sight -of a desolate and unknown coast, which they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -gradually charted, till it was mapped in outline -from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Cape Leeuwin. -It was not, however, till nearly the end of the -century that the first Englishman landed in -Australia, when Captain Dampier, commanding -the “Roebuck,” navigated the western and -north-western coastline in 1699, and was not -encouraged by what he saw there.</p> - -<p>Sailing from the Downs in January with fifty -men, and twenty months’ provisions, Dampier -sighted the low, even shores of Australia in -August of the same year, and entered Shark’s -Bay, as he called it. He and his men went ashore, -but sought in vain for water on that waterless -coast, digging wells, but to no purpose. A hundred -years later, in 1803, the continent was -circumnavigated by Matthew Flinders, who -suggested that “Australia” should be substituted -for the Dutch name of New Holland.</p> - -<p>Still nearly another century passed away before -Western Australia begun to grow and prosper. In -1826 Major Lockyer was sent from Sydney, with -troops and a party of convicts, to occupy King -George’s Sound on the south coast, where the -Port of Albany stands to-day, and a few years -later the Swan River Settlement was formed in -the neighbourhood of Fremantle and Perth; -but these first beginnings of the colony were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -unpropitious, and it languished till the discovery -of gold brought the first great influx of population, -and with it the consequent demand for -agricultural produce, which at last gave an -impetus to Western Australian development.</p> - -<p>Slowly the outside world began to realise the -immense possibilities of this great territory, -which occupies about one-third of the whole -continent, and has an area eighteen times that -of England and Wales. Within its fertile and -beautiful interior, stretching from the temperate -to tropical zones, were found districts well fitted -for raising cattle and sheep, for agriculture, and -fruit-growing and the cultivation of vines. Vast -primeval forests of valuable timber cover many -square miles, while the discovery of coal and other -minerals accompanied that of gold. Western -Australia is no less fortunate in its climate -than in its natural resources: over the greater -part of the state it is equable and pleasant -without violent extremes. The dry season lasts -into April; the greater part of the rainfall, which -varies in different districts of the state from -40 to 10 inches, taking place between May and -September.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_34" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">IN THE BUSH</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">One</span> great source of wealth to Western -Australia are the karri forests, covering -thousands of square miles. Karri is a kind of -eucalyptus closely allied to the better-known -jarrah, one of the hardest woods in existence. -It has been used at home to pave the streets of -London. In all but one respect karri is as good -as jarrah, its only point of inferiority is that it -cannot be employed for underground purposes, -while jarrah can be left under water for twenty -years without being any the worse for it. Karri -has to be specially prepared—“powellised” is -the technical term—and that is an expensive -process. Otherwise it is almost impossible to -tell the two woods apart, except by the ash -after burning.</p> - -<p>Western Australia asserts that its karri trees -are the tallest in the world, though Victorians -make the same claim for the giant gums of -Gippsland. So far these Gippsland trees have -been proved to be the tallest in Australia.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -The official measurements are: height, 326 feet -1 inch; girth, 25 feet 7 inches; measured six -feet from the ground.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> Their dimensions are -surpassed by the Californian redwood, which -have been found attaining a height of 340 feet; -but whatever the actual measurements, the effect -of the immense height of the Australian trees -is everywhere imposing enough to warrant competitive -statements concerning it.</p> - -<p>Remote from all habitation, the difficulties in -the way of felling and transporting the karri are -very great, and the Western Australian Government -have in consequence established some state -sawmills about two hundred miles up-country, in -the heart of the primeval, uncleared forest. It -is the nucleus of a new township called Big -Brook. Australia has not shown herself altogether -felicitous in her nomenclature, for generally it is -neither original nor descriptive, except where -native names have been adopted, which, if not -euphonious, have a meaning.</p> - -<p>We had the good fortune to be in Perth on the -occasion of an official visit organised by the -Government. Australian trains always run at -night, and so avoid much tedium and loss of -time. After an early dinner, we started from -Perth at 7.30 for Big Brook in a special train.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span></p> - -<p>The line, like all Western Australian railways, -was laid on a narrow gauge, with the result -that the carriages jolted and rocked like a small -boat in a storm. An odd little characteristic -feature of West Australian travelling is that at -the end of each carriage is suspended a canvas -water-bag, with a cup attached to it. They are -also seen hanging in verandahs, impressing on -the stranger that he is in a dry and thirsty land, -where water is always precious.</p> - -<p>One of the advantages of the Western Australian -climate is that the nights are cool, though the -spring sunshine was intensely hot. Whoever organised -this Government visit to the sawmills had -a very high standard of comfort, for from first -to last it was most admirably arranged. We were -a small but very pleasant little party, and met -and talked in the friendly Australian way, in -each other’s compartments. About nine o’clock -a light supper was brought round, and we soon -after went to bed and fitfully to sleep under a -mountain of rugs. Whenever the train stopped -there was a loud chorus of frogs from unseen -swamps.</p> - -<p>We were called next morning by the conductor -bringing us tea, and later, while we -were dressing, he came round with fruit. -We woke to find ourselves already in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -depths of the forest among the soaring white -trunks of the karri, the early sun tinging their -smooth trunks with red. The line had been -recently made, and the sleeping cars were very -heavy, so we proceeded slowly. There was very -little sign of life; we could almost feel the great -deep silence of the forest, moist, and fresh, and -cold, in the frost of early morning, for it lies 400 -feet above the sea level, and the temperature -was very different from that of the dry sandy -plains of Perth. At long intervals solitary wooden -houses stood in little clearings, with grave-eyed -children before the doorway, shading their eyes to -watch the unfamiliar passage of a big train. More -seldom we came upon a scattered village of tents, -roughly put up like a gipsy encampment, pitched -among the damp undergrowth. There was -something pathetic in the deep isolation of these -pioneers, though the near neighbourhood of the -railway made their lives almost metropolitan, -compared with those of many Australian -settlers.</p> - -<p>As we drew nearer to our journey’s end, we -passed an occasional small clearing, where the -yellow sandy soil had already been planted with -apple trees for the fruit growing, which is one -of the industries of the future for Western -Australia; or patches of forest had been ringbarked,<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -and left to die, after the cheap but -wasteful method of clearing in use. Visitors to -Australia cannot help being impressed with the -waste of timber, which seems appalling to an inhabitant -of an over-populated northern country, -where everything grows slowly, and every inch -of wood has its economic value. They are too -ready to rush into print, or public pronouncements, -on a subject of which only prolonged -residence in the country, and a more than superficial -study of its economic problems, could enable -them to judge. In the first place the cost of -transport is prohibitive, or means of transport -may even be non-existent; and secondly, in a -new country time is money. Great tracts of -forest all over Australia are ringbarked and left -to rot. In the Government sawmills at Big -Brook, the debris of the great karri trees is -lost. There is wholesale waste, wholesale destruction -of timber going on in Australia, the -least intelligent observer cannot fail to mark it, -but time is literally money in Australia. “We -can’t afford to wait,” said one of the leading -statesmen of Western Australia, commenting on -the waste of timber at Big Brook. “We sacrifice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -five pounds to gain twenty,” said one of the -shrewdest and best-informed officials of Victoria.</p> - -<p>By the common process of ringbarking, dead -trees are left standing over great areas of forest -land, vast white skeleton armies, a strange and -desolate sight. If the land is to be used for arable -purposes, the trees have to be removed; but for pasture, -when the trees are dead, and can no longer -deprive the grass of nourishment and moisture, -they remain standing for years, till in time with the -process of the seasons, and the attacks of insects, -the hard wood decays and crumbles away. -Thus the destruction of forests goes on in -order to provide timber for building; for -fencing, mining, fuel, as well as for commercial -purposes of export, or to improve, or create, arable -or pasture land. In Western Australia besides, -green timber is cut for fuel, in the neighbourhood -of the goldfields, because of the scarcity of coal, -but natural reafforestation is usually allowed to -proceed. However, when all these necessities -are admitted, there has been a deplorable waste -of timber, the want of which is already felt in -settled districts; and it is hoped that further -wanton destruction will be prevented, and replanting -will be undertaken by all the states. -Official opinion is becoming alive to the importance -of the question to the future history<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -of Australia. Victoria and New South Wales are -doing some planting, but South Australia is the -only state in which forest plantation is being -carried on on a large scale.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a></p> - -<p>The railway ended abruptly in a large clearing -in the forest about fifteen miles from the coast -and two hundred miles from Perth. The air -was that of a keen autumn morning, and we -climbed down from our carriages, for there was -of course no platform, feeling stiff and chilly, to -find breakfast waiting for us in a big wooden -hall, with a great fire blazing in the kitchen, which -opened out of it, the most cheering and comfortable -sight in the wilderness. These halls are a -feature of backwood settlements in Australia; -they are utilised for all social and business purposes, -and are the common meeting ground of -the community. In this instance the landlord -leased the building from the state, and provided -meals for the men employed in the sawmills. -He invited us to inspect his pleasant kitchen, the -floor sanded with sweet-smelling, deep-red sawdust. -At the back he was putting up bedrooms -in small detached one-storied wooden -buildings. Big Brook with its keen, pure air, the -sweet, clean scent of the fresh-sawn wood, and all -round, the illimitable forest, mysterious and impenetrable,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -would be an ideal resting-place, if -anyone in Australia were ever over-worked.</p> - -<p>But meanwhile breakfast was waiting for us, a -never-to-be-forgotten breakfast of good coffee, -hot rolls, porridge, new-laid eggs, and chops the -tenderest in the world, the product of the local -sheep. Fig jam, with which it concluded, was -excellent. Figs grow readily in Western Australia, -and produce abundant crops of fruit. They -were very noticeable at this time of year, as they -were the only deciduous tree.</p> - -<p>After breakfast we visited the whole settlement, -which of course was built entirely of wood. In -the school, in a bright, cheerful classroom, a -master was conducting the tiny classes of well-dressed, -rosy-cheeked children. Opposite the -school was a billiard-room, where the men could -meet in the evenings; there was also a bank, and a -post office. We were impressed by the splendid -physique of the men; they were as agile as cats, -muscular and supple; and these qualities were -necessary, for the work is very dangerous from -the moment the axe is laid to the root of the tree. -The logs are of immense weight, they bound and -crash down the incline to the back of the mill, -when they are unloaded from the truck, and fly -asunder with great force when they are sawn. -The log, or trunk of the tree is first sawn in two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> -longitudinally, and is then again cut into smaller -and smaller slices, till it becomes planks. The -saws are graduated, becoming more and more -fine. The task of keeping them true is an accomplishment -of great delicacy, it is one man’s work; -he corrects deviations in the metal with a hammer, -judging them entirely by eye.</p> - -<p>In the neighbourhood of the sawmill all the air -is filled with flying sawdust, and the sweet scent -of the freshly sawn wood. The dust falls to the -ground in deep red masses, the flying chips look -like scraps of raw meat, but the rich colour fades -when they dry. The process of preparing the -karri wood for use is at present a very expensive -one. The planks have to be stewed in order to -preserve them. They are put for this purpose -into immense tanks of molasses, and left seething -there to harden. It is hoped that scientific experiment -may evolve a less costly method. After -going over the mills we were taken up a little -railway line into the forest to see a tree felled. -We sat on benches on trucks behind the engine, -which carried a supply of wood for its boiler, for -the cost of bringing coal up to Big Brook would -be quite prohibitive. Even the boilers that work -the mills are fed with wood. The engine was -run by a magnificent-looking old stoker with -a white beard and the air of a patriarch. When<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -we scrambled off the trucks on to the soft, rich -earth of the forest, we had to wait to let a bullock -team go by, twenty-four of them pulling one log -with a big metal “shoe” on the end to prevent -its digging into the ground. The passage left a -deep slide in the red earth. The bullocks are -bound together in twos by very uncomfortable-looking, -heavy wooden yokes, and their progress -is punctuated by frightful yells and cracking of -whips from the drivers.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_3" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_042.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>FELLING KARRI.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>We had not far to walk; the sun was now -almost oppressively hot, and the steamy atmosphere -was full of the rich, moist smell of the -damp earth and the undergrowth. The woodcutters, -who fell these immense trees, are so -skilled that they can gauge the exact spot on -which they will fall to within a few inches; such -accuracy is a matter of life and death in tree-felling. -When we arrived on the scene the great -trunk of the karri was already sawn through by -two men working on a kind of little platform -erected round it. For an instant the slim, white -tree tottered, while we held our breath, then it -began to fall slowly, at first with a crackling -sound; finally it came crashing and tearing its -way among the neighbouring trees, followed by -a shower of leaves; there was a sound as of the -firing of a big gun; all the earth trembled; it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -seemed, as if the whole vast silence of the forest -was shaken. A second tree that we saw felled -measured one hundred and fifty-eight feet to -the first fork.</p> - -<p>The woodcutters are paid by the load that the -bullocks draw, the bare trunk of the tree when its -branches have been lopped off. We were told -that they can make as much as £6 a week. The -cost of living does not amount to much more -than 25s. a week for a single man, as he can -board sumptuously at the Hall for 22s., and the -price of lodgings is about 1s. 6d. This leaves a -considerable surplus, and in Big Brook there is -no means of spending money. In consequence, -men occasionally go off to the nearest town -when they have amassed a small capital, and -stay there till it is all spent, and they have nothing -to show for it. They work eight hours a day, -and everything is regulated by contract. They -are of various nationalities, but all of magnificent -physique. While we were waiting to remount -our railway trucks, a team of forty-eight bullocks -passed, dragging one enormous log of twenty tons -weight, the drivers cracking their long whips, -screaming and leaping into the air in a frenzy of -inarticulate excitement that somehow conveyed -a meaning to the bullocks. Soon after we began -the return journey we passed through a belt of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -jarrah, the still harder kind of eucalyptus that -we had only seen in the form of piles; the -trunks were reddish instead of white like the -karri.</p> - -<p>We saw also for the first time a common feature -of the Western Australian bush, the curious “Black -Boys,” called in Queensland “grass trees.” They -look like a knotted dead trunk with bulrushes -growing on the top in thick bunches. Sometimes -the trunk is forked, and there are a pair -of odd bushy heads on one black misshapen -trunk.</p> - -<p>The bush in this part of Australia has little -diversity. The keen air of the early morning -had made us very hungry, in spite of so substantial -a breakfast, and we were not sorry to reach -Jarraduck, the settlement in the forest where -lunch was waiting in another large wooden hall. -The long tables were decorated with masses of -golden wattle and purple kennedya. Lunches of -this kind, and we sampled very many, are always -just alike, varying only with the resources of the -neighbourhoods,—lots of flowers and a warm -welcome, plates of assorted cold meats, of which -turkey is an almost inevitable ingredient; elaborate -sweets, of which one is always an excellent -trifle, and fruit of the district, in this case the -small, sweet, thick-skinned local orange.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span></p> - -<p>The refined-looking, sweet-faced landlady -seemed inappropriate to the rough surroundings. -“We shall just stay here till we can better ourselves,” -she explained. A few more hours brought -us out of the forest, there were more clearings, -homesteads became more frequent, the red soil -was freshly ploughed for oats, orchards began to -take the place of the eucalyptus, with apple trees -not yet in blossom, and orange and lemon trees -covered with fruit. The country became hilly, -and half-castes were at work in the fields, shock-headed, -and unintelligent-looking. We had left -the bush behind, and were now in the region of an -older settlement, the fruit-growing district of -Western Australia. Fruit-growing is becoming -one of the most important factors of Western -Australian industry, and it is hoped that it will -prove an even greater source of prosperity, because -a more permanent one, than the gold that cannot -last for ever. The climate, and much of the -soil in the South-West are admirably adapted -for all kinds of fruit-growing. The apples are -excellent, so are the oranges, pears, plums, -apricots, and peaches, strawberries and gooseberries, -all of which are grown successfully. Fruit-growers, -who have taken care in selecting a -holding where the soil and conditions are favourable -for their crops, have not long to wait before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -reaping their profits, as six-year-old apple trees -have been known to produce from £50 to £60 -an acre. It is important also to select a fruit for -growing that will travel and keep. In 1913 there -were still more than 88,000 acres suitable for the -cultivation of fruit or vine-growing, subdivided -into convenient blocks and waiting for selectors.</p> - -<p>Bridgetown is the centre of the fruit-growing -district of Western Australia. Motor-cars were -waiting to show us the neighbourhood, and we -started in the golden light of the late afternoon -sun to see something of the country. It was -our first experience of Australian motorists. To -enjoy motoring in Australia one must have an -adventurous disposition. Except in the neighbourhood -of large towns the roads are very -rough; indeed, the long droughts make it -impossible that they should be otherwise. The -soft, dry soil crumbles away, the light dust is -stirred up by every passing vehicle, leaving deep -ruts, so that the same road is often on different -levels, and a car runs along at a sharp angle, -with one wheel poised on the edge of a rut, and -the other in a hollow. Practised drivers achieve -this difficult accomplishment with much skill and -the minimum of jolting, but even so, the car -often takes flying leaps. So we started on an -apparently breakneck career, holding tight on to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -the sides of the motor, and dashed up and down -hills that an English motorist would have hesitated -to look at, red and rutty as a Devonshire -lane in winter. We never knew the name of that -kindly motorist, who so gallantly risked his own -and our lives, not to mention his machine, in -showing us as much as possible of the surrounding -country before the light faded. He was one of -the many, many unknown friends who did us -some passing kindness on our rapid journey, -leaving only a warm memory behind it. Hail and -farewell to each and all of them!</p> - -<p>The country-side was very beautiful, more -English, and less unfamiliar-looking, than anything -we had yet seen, with steeply undulating hills and -valleys, springing young green crops, and orchards, -with apple trees whitened against some parasitical -scab, or oranges and lemons. The comfortable -homesteads had a more finished and abiding -air than anything we had yet seen; for Bridgetown, -as our host explained to us, “is a very old -settlement—sixty years old!” It even possessed a -tiny stone church, which gave it a pleasantly -homely and established air. We crossed the beautiful -Blackwood river by a picturesque wooden -bridge where the river flows through a deep gorge -up which black and white wild duck were sailing. -In the fading glow of the sunset the country -looked still more English, for the groups of gum -trees that crowned the hills were indistinguishable, -and the evening light seemed to diffuse an -atmosphere of calm contentment over the -thriving country-side, as of a day’s work well -done. We ran through the little scattered -township, to the Freemason’s Hotel, at which -our friend the motorist deposited us, and vanished -into the dusk.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_4" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_048.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>OXEN HARNESSED TO A LOG AT BIG BROOK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>As we went in out of the darkness one of our -fellow-travellers brought us a specimen of the -pretty, curious “kangaroo paw,” a flower that -looks as if it had been cut out of bright red and -green moss, whose buds take the exact shape of -a kangaroo’s little foot. After dinner we strolled -along the broad, silent country road, leading -out into the deep stillness beyond, broken only -by the barking of the village dogs, and the -croaking of unseen frogs. The men of the -neighbourhood loitered in the light of the shop -windows, kindly looking and highly curious. We -met at Bridgetown a Government official at the -head of the Fruit-growing Department. He told -us that this corner of South-Western Australia, a -district as large as the state of Victoria, was the -finest soil for fruit-growing in the whole state. -The industry was of very recent growth, the first -trial shipment was only made ten years ago, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -since 1907 the trade had been established upon a -commercial basis, and the export of apples was -greatly increasing every year in quantity.</p> - -<p>Western Australia has also successfully exported -grapes, but unfortunately the manufacture of -wine is now on the decline. A very delicate and -pleasant chablis is produced there. We tasted -two kinds, a pale, and a warmly coloured golden -chablis. They compared favourably with the -light wines of Italy, and though like them, they -would probably lose all their character and flavour -after being fortified for export, they could be -grown for home consumption. The explanation -of the decline given to us at Bridgetown was -that since Federation, and the abolition of -inter-state customs, growers cannot afford to -mature their wines sufficiently to compete with -the longer established trade of the Eastern -states. It is hoped that raisins and currants -may be produced, and the climate is also -suitable for the growth of olives; the evergreen -trees would serve the further purpose of -affording shade for the cattle. Our return -journey was made successfully and uneventfully, -and we slept soundly, only awaking occasionally, -to find ourselves being shot to and fro like shuttles -in a spinning mill; and arrived home to breakfast -at Cottesloe Beach.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_51" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> - -<span class="subhead">AGRICULTURE AND GOLD</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">It</span> was the discovery of gold in West Australia -that gave the first real impetus to the -development of the state. In the earlier half of -the nineteenth century the country was urgently -in need of labour, and from 1843 onwards was -glad to supply the deficiency by the importation -of convicts. The convict system “assigned” -people, as it was called, to the settlers to live -upon their property and perform compulsory -labour for them; the residue worked in “road -gangs” or in Government penal settlements. -All the other states, as they grew and prospered, -began to resent the dumping on their shores of -the least desirable element of the population -from home. As early as 1837 a Parliamentary -Committee was appointed to inquire into the -whole question, both from the point of view of -the unhappy convicts and their Australian hosts, -and recommended that the practice should -cease. It was, however, too convenient a solution -of a difficulty to be readily relinquished by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -home authorities. It continued in a modified -form till the Eastern states protested so vigorously -and actively, that soon after 1848 the home -Government, not without reluctance, were -obliged to limit the importation of convicts to -Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was then -called, and Western Australia.</p> - -<p>The fact that Western Australia was glad to -utilise this forced labour, and continued to do -so, for many years later, provoked deep resentment -in the Eastern states; it was seriously -suggested that Western Australia should be boycotted -by the other colonies. It was not till -1868 that transportation was finally abolished, -and by that time the colony was firmly established.</p> - -<p>So far the most important product of Western -Australia has been her mineral wealth. As early -as 1842 mining operations were begun with the -discovery of lead and copper. Minerals form -three-fourths of the value of all the exports by -the state since 1900, and nearly a third of the -whole mineral produce of the continent from -the same date. The chief mineral has of course -been gold. It was discovered in the north -at Kimberley in 1882, and the announcement of -the discovery brought many fortune seekers -whose adventure ended in disappointment, for -Kimberley has not produced any startling results.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -The real history of mining in Western Australia -did not, however, begin till 1892. It was in the -early nineties that the gold rush took place to -the mining centre of Coolgardie, and it is the -East Coolgardie goldfield which includes the -mining centre of Kalgoorlie, that has produced -more than half of the whole value of the mineral -products of the state. The total produce was -calculated up to the end of 1912 at more than -£113,000,000, and of this total more than 54% -was produced by the East Coolgardie goldfield.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> -The principal part of it came from the famous -group of mines which form the “Golden Mile” -at Kalgoorlie. Much has been written about -the goldfields of Western Australia, and the -gold rush of the early nineties. Now Coolgardie -has burnt itself out, is a dead city, though -mining is still carried on at Kalgoorlie. When -gold was discovered there was no water within -three hundred miles of Coolgardie, and an -engineer of rare gifts and indomitable enterprise, -conceived a scheme for conveying water from -the hills round Perth the three hundred odd -miles through the intervening almost desert -plains. His name was C. Y. O’Connor, and he is -also responsible for the artificially constructed -harbour at Fremantle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p> - -<p>He got his water from the Darling Range, the -low wooded hills that make such a charming -background to the Swan River, utilising a -stream in the hills to form a great dam or weir. -Mundaring Weir is one of the sights of Perth, -not merely as a triumph of engineering, but -for its beautiful scenery. We started early in -the afternoon one hot day on the pretty little -journey up to the granite slopes of the Darling -Range. The intervening country is almost -populous, and very busy. The line runs through -Midland Junction, where the rolling stock for -Western Australia is constructed, and past a -blank stretch of brickfields. The granite begins to -crop out on the grassy slopes of the hills as the -train approaches Mundaring. The neighbourhood -is very fertile, with large vineyards, and groves -of orange trees covered with fruit. The river, -which forms the weir, had the appearance of a -large lake lying between steep, wooded banks, in -the hot afternoon sun. It was faintly reminiscent -of Coniston, except that a large area of the trees on -the distant hills had been ringbarked to increase the -water supply. They stood a melancholy sentinel -company on the hills they had once clothed, -tossing twisted, white arms to Heaven in mute -appeal. The air was heavy with the scent of -wattle flashing golden among the sombre grey<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -of the other trees. The distant rattle of frogs in -some backwater below, and the occasional sharp -trill of a bird were the only sounds to break the -stillness. We descended the rocky bank to get a -better view of the great dam. Its concrete walls -are so sloped that the falling water does not -leave them at any point, and so an impact that -would wear out the wall is avoided.</p> - -<p>In the course of its construction a large fissure -was discovered in the bed of the river, which -had to be filled in with cement. We visited the -power-house, where the great pumps are busy -day and night sending water to the goldfields. -It took eleven days from the time the first trickle -of water left Mundaring Weir for it to reach -Coolgardie. While the work was nearing its -completion, its successful achievement seemed -incredible to the outside world. Unfortunately -the inventor of this great experiment, Mr. C. Y. -O’Connor, died just too soon to know that -the water from Mundaring Weir had covered the -three hundred odd miles to the goldfields. A -statue of Western Australia’s famous state engineer -stands on a hill above the scene of his greatest -achievement. The execution of this scheme, as -well as that of the harbour at Fremantle, were -largely due to the influence and interest of -Sir John Forrest, first Premier of Western<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -Australia, to whose enlightened views and active -patriotism the state has owed much.</p> - -<p>We had tea at a hotel, whose verandah overlooked -woods falling steeply away at the back. -It was a charming little place, and we should have -liked to stay there, forgetting that in Australia -there is no soft, lingering twilight, but dusk -follows immediately, darkness very swiftly, on -the setting of the sun. Sometimes there is an -afterglow, a luminous orange light suffuses the -darkness, and the heavy masses of gum trees -stand out inky black on the horizon. Such an -afterglow illuminated our return journey from -Mundaring Weir to Perth.</p> - -<p>Apart from its natural beauty and engineering -achievement, Mundaring Weir, or at least its -neighbourhood, has a peculiar interest for the -zoologist. It is the home of a certain little black -animal. To the uninitiated its appearance is -something between that of a small black slug and -a caterpillar, but to the scientific man it is of -paramount importance, because its legs are not -real legs. Peripatus is its name, and it lives under -stones. Only recently, however, the secluded and -innocent life of the unfortunate peripatus has -been rudely interrupted, and he was in fact well-nigh -exterminated by the visit to Perth of a -learned society all in search of specimens. So<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -that henceforth the peripatus will be more -esteemed than ever in the scientific world.</p> - -<p>We said it was the gold rush that created, or -at least accelerated the agricultural development -of Western Australia. The influx of population, -with the direct aim of gold-digging, brought in -its train a dependent and attendant crowd of -settlers to minister to its needs by the provision -of agricultural produce, meat, flour, butter, and -vegetables. Moreover, many of those who had -come out to seek gold in the mines, sought it -instead in the fruits of the earth, in grain, and in -hay, in fruit and corn-growing. In the extreme -north, known as the Kimberley country, cattle -are raised; south of that, in the south-west -pastoral district, sheep are the principal stock. -The wheat belt, as it is called, is a strip of country -stretching about five hundred miles from the -Murchison River in the north, to the south coast -east of Albany. But the limits of the wheat-growing -area cannot at present be defined, the -riverless districts of Australia are not desert in -the sense that the Sahara is a desert; strips -throughout the so-called desert are pastoral -country on which grass will grow, supporting a -more or less sparse vegetation. After rain the -desert is clothed with vegetation, and the permanent -plants depend on small local supplies of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -subterranean water. But there is besides a -vast artesian storage. These so-called desert areas -are shrinking every year, and the “wheat-line” is -encroaching upon and absorbing them as improved -methods of agriculture prevail. Thus at -present farmers “are getting remunerative crops -from regions of low rainfall and light sandy -soil, which would have been looked upon as -chimerical a decade ago.”<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a></p> - -<p>The land laws in Western Australia are framed -on easy terms for the settler. The holdings are -limited to two thousand acres of agricultural -land, including a homestead farm, or the equivalent -of five thousand acres in grazing land, but -the husband or wife of the holder may select an -additional thousand acres of agricultural land, or -two thousand five hundred acres of grazing land. -A homestead farm of 160 acres can be taken up -by new settlers on payment of about £9 in fees, -with an additional 30s. for a Crown grant at the -end of seven years. Larger grants may be had -at from 10s. an acre, payable in twenty years -without interest. Certain conditions attach to -land purchase. The holder of a homestead -farm of 160 acres, for instance, must reside -there for six months in each of the first five -years; he must expend four shillings an acre<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -within the first two years, and a total of fourteen -shillings an acre in seven years, of which total -only £30 is allowed to be deducted in value for -the cost of his house. Half the land must be -fenced within five years, the whole within seven -years. One hundred to a thousand acres of -“Conditional Purchase Land,” at from 10s. an -acre, may be taken up. It is paid for in forty -half-yearly instalments, which, during the first -three years, need not exceed 3d. an acre. Conditions -of residence, relating to improvements -and fencing are, of course, attached to these -holdings. Conditional purchase by direct payment -is made on equally easy terms.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_5" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_058.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>ORCHARD AND HOMESTEAD AT BRIDGETOWN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>We spent a Sunday in Perth, which was devoted -partly to attending the cathedral service, and -partly to visiting a native compound some distance -away. Perth appeared to be a church-going -place, and its people, Prayer Book in hand, and -in their Sunday clothes, were setting off to their -various places of worship, of which the neighbourhood -affords a great variety. The service in the -cathedral was well attended, and was conducted -with that dignified simplicity characteristic of the -best traditions of English church worship; and -the familiar words of the liturgy seemed more -deeply filled with meaning in this far-off country. -The singing of the choir was an admirable performance,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -and would compare favourably with -that of most English churches.</p> - -<p>After the service we were to lunch with the -State Premier, and his car was waiting for us. -The chauffeur was not the uniformed and -correct personage, who drives our cars at home, -but, as befits a democratic country, a genial and -friendly soul, who having bade us welcome to the -car, whirled us up to Mount Lawley, throwing -occasional information at us over his shoulder. -Mount Lawley is a pleasant suburb of Perth, if -one can talk of suburbs where all is suburban; -it lies upon the slopes of the Swan River, and -commands an inspiriting view of the city, -spreading out far and wide over its hills in -vigorous new growth. This Australian household -in which we were guests had a charmingly -patriarchal atmosphere, for three generations sat -at table: a delightful, picturesque old couple, -who had come out to Australia in those hard and -grinding early days, before a colonist had his -bread buttered, and his house built for him -immediately on his arrival.</p> - -<p>It was on this occasion that we saw for the first -time those formidable, but insignificant-looking -Australian pests, the white ant. We had gone -out to see our host’s collection of wallabies, large, -brown, rat-like creatures, with the hind legs of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -rabbit, and we expressed a wish to see also the insect -that could eat everything except iron and jarrah -wood. Australians cannot bear to disappoint a -guest. They would regard it as a breach of -hospitality, and an exhaustive search was made at -once, till some white ants were discovered under -a wooden tub of plants—tiny white specks -hurrying away from the light.</p> - -<p>The road to the Native Compound, for which -we started after lunch, led through the King’s -Park or Government Reserve. Near all large -townships the Government has wisely set apart -a tract of country to remain public property. -These are not parks in our sense of the word, for -they are not laid out in trim lawns and flowerbeds, -or at least only a small fraction of them; -but the bush is left in its wild state, a sanctuary -for birds and animals. In the King’s Park red -carriage drives lead through the bush, at one point -giving place to lawns and flowering trees, and commanding -a fine view of the Swan River and of -Perth, whose extent we for the first time realised. -We were impressed by the prosperous air of the -crowds, whom the fine warm Sunday afternoon -had brought out; there were none among them -who did not look well-to-do. But our afternoon -was only beginning. The Native Compound lay -in the direction of Guildford, a village about ten<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -miles off, a settlement of some antiquity compared -to Perth. The way out into the country -was crowded with innumerable buggies taking -whole families for an airing, and a haze of red -dust hung over the road.</p> - -<p>We passed the race-course, as indispensable to -an Australian town as the post office, and the -football ground, where we paused for a moment -to look on at a vigorous match between “the -jockeys” and the “bread-carriers.” Farther on -people were playing on a newly laid-out golf-course, -driving off from tees on which the -unfailing kerosene tin did duty for sand-boxes, -though one would hardly have thought it -necessary to collect sand in boxes in Western -Australia. Turning up a narrow, muddy road, -we passed a lot of small nursery gardens, “Chinamen’s -gardens,” with the Chinamen busy in -them, but the activity of the Chinaman in -Australia is hardly more popular than that of -the white ant. We ploughed and splashed our -ways along this side track, for the road was not -made, till it ended abruptly in a gate. Now inured -to the methods of the Australian motorist, we -almost expected the car to take the gate in its -stride, but having opened it, we ran up the side -of a grassy bank on to a sort of plateau, girdled by -the bush, with what looked like a very low-class<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -gipsy encampment in one corner, not aristocratic -gipsies with vans, but dirty little round tents like -those that were formerly dotted about the banks -of the Thames, near London, in haymaking time, -but which have vanished before a too inquisitorial -County Council.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_6" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_062.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>This was the native camp we had come to see; -it had been a camping-ground for the blacks from -time immemorial, and the present owner of the -estate leaves it free to those, whose camping-ground -was formerly the whole vast continent. -There are not very many natives in Australia -now; it is supposed by some that they were never -very numerous, that the struggle for existence on -those arid plains and waterless hills was too -severe for these hardy nomads. Be that as it -may, they are dwindling, and in contact with the -whites they lose the primitive virtues they -possess. The natives we saw at the camping-ground -near Perth certainly did not appear to -have primitive, or any other virtues. They were, -it is true, principally half-breeds, and whether -regarded from the physiological or moral point -of view, they were a depressing spectacle. They -were provided with Government blankets, instead -of kangaroo skins, and some form of a mission was -singing hymns for their edification; but both -men and women were a miserable, degenerate,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -apathetic looking crew. They talked English with -a cockney accent. The strange mob of yapping, -small dogs of indistinguishable breeds were the -only thing that evinced much vitality.</p> - -<p>There were, however, among them a few full-blooded -blacks. One of these, a shrewd-looking -old woman with a grizzled mop of hair, told us -that when she was a baby, “the white people -took me, but I lay in the wood and listened to my -people talking till I learnt their language; then -I ran away and went back to them.” We were -anxious for an exhibition of throwing the -boomerang, or “kyle,” as they call it, that -curved stick, which, apparently missing its aim, -describes an arc and returns to the hand that -threw it. The half-castes have lost the art both -of throwing and carving the kyle, and are too -indolent to achieve either, but an old native -stepped out from among them to show us how it -was done. He had thick black hair, and his bright -dark eyes gleamed in his flat, glistening, ebony -face. It was very curious to watch him standing -there turning his head about, sniffing and feeling -the direction of the wind, and at last he threw -the kyle, spinning, circling, returning, many times, -while we watched him fascinated, and the -motley crowd of half-breeds looked on too at -the art they had no skill to practise. They have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -even lost the art of making fire with the hard -fruit of the banksia, “mungite” is the native name -for it. “Never go before a black,” they say in -Western Australia; they can’t be trusted, apparently, -not so much from their malevolence as a -sort of light-hearted instinct of destruction. For -instance, seeing a man standing by the wall of a -small shed at a little distance from the camp, one -of the blacks playfully let fly at him with a -boomerang. He fortunately missed the man’s -leg, but made a hole in the building.</p> - -<p>We left the camp, for there appeared a pretty -little English girl, who, having heard that there -were visitors to the compound, had been sent by -her mother to ask them to tea in the hospitable -Australian fashion; so following a grassy track, -we came to our great surprise upon a dignified -old country house on a wooded promontory -overlooking a higher reach of the Swan River. -The owners of this beautiful estate belonged to -one of the “Seven Families” of Western -Australia; that is, they were descended from -Australian grandparents on both sides. In -Australia one says, “My grandmother came -over in 1830,” as we should say in England, -we came over with the Conqueror; for 1830 -is in the West, at all events, the beginning -of Australian civilised history, and those early<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -settlers had a heroic struggle, and had to face -every sort of hardship, hunger, and the want of -any kind of comfort, in a way that settlers of -to-day, even those who venture upon the strenuous -life of the backwoods, can never experience. The -details of the lives of these pioneers would form -an extraordinarily interesting chapter in Australian -history, and, as was the fashion at that time, they -beguiled their loneliness with keeping diaries, a -most valuable fashion to the historian, for even -the dullest chronicler unconsciously throws light -on manners and customs of the day, commonplaces -to him, that the next generation has forgotten. -But invaluable as these old diaries would be, -they have unfortunately been in most cases -destroyed.</p> - -<p>Our hostess told us regretfully of several -instances she had known of this being done by -very old people. They were very small communities -in those days, the life was rough and -wild, and there was no public opinion to control -it, and, for that very reason, these intimate -records would have been all the more valuable -and curious. As we sat at tea in the charming -drawing-room, with something of an old-world -atmosphere, somebody commented to our hostess -on the extremely difficult approach. Yes, she -said, matter-of-factly, I prefer to have no road<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -to the house, it keeps “sundowners” away. The -sundowner is the Australian tramp; he arrives at -nightfall and demands food and lodging; if he -does not get it, the householder pays the penalty -in missing poultry, or burnt ricks. Of course he -only extorts this toll in lonely places; but what -a delightful career for a man of indolent habits, -and sufficient obtuseness of feeling, to wander -through that beautiful country, where the sun -always seems to shine, sure, if not of a welcome, -of supper, bed, and breakfast, where he would.</p> - -<p>The golden light of the setting sun was flooding -the river and the wooded hills, when we came -away, our host and hostess pointing out to us sadly -a noble English oak tree on their lawn, that the -white ants had riddled through and through, -reducing it to touchwood. We hurried back, -entering once more, as we neared Perth among -a crowd of returning cars, buggies, and bicycles, -a haze of its soft red dust, while from its hills -the city itself was wrapped in a mysterious dull -grey twilight.</p> - -<p>On one of our last days at Perth we paid a visit -to the Parliament House. Only the back is -finished, and is impressive in its simplicity of -white freestone columns. The designs for the -front are very effective, the interior simple and -well proportioned. While as for the Upper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -House it is as luxurious as the council chamber -of a medieval Dutch town hall. We observe in -passing that they provide remarkably agreeable -hot buttered toast there.</p> - -<p>Our host on this occasion was an ex-Minister of -Education, from whom we learned many interesting -facts about the social and economic development -of Western Australia. He was especially -enthusiastic on the importance and good results -of cadet training, which he had done much to -promote. In the case of schoolboys of twelve -to fourteen years old it consists mainly of physical -training calculated to produce better development. -This training carried out by the school teachers -is given for not less than fifteen minutes a day, -the boys learn marching, drill, and either first aid, -swimming, or miniature rifle-shooting. Teachers -are trained for the purpose of giving this special -education in Government Schools of Instruction, -where certificates of proficiency are conferred; -but the whole subject of the complete and -admirable system of Australian military training -is dealt with in another chapter.</p> - -<p>Soon after our arrival we were overtaken by -rumours of European war, almost incredible, except -that Europe seemed so remote. Then came -the news that Germany had declared war on Russia -and France. Great Britain, it was said, would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -stand aloof. Even so the news was sufficiently -serious, and telegrams on the Perth post office -were eagerly scanned. It was not till quite -the end of our visit that definite intelligence -arrived that England had joined the cause of the -Allies, and even then nobody realised it in the -least.</p> - -<p>Our last day came all too soon, warm and -sunny, when we made the short journey from -Cottesloe Beach to Fremantle. The war news -seemed more real, when we saw a German tramp -held up in the harbour, with the guns of the forts -trained on her. The big Orient liner was lying -alongside, and we boarded her with many regrets -at what we were leaving behind, for we had to -say good-bye to many friends, and our cabin was -filled with flowers, sweet violets, and the heavy -scented boronia, of which Western Australia is so -proud. At last we started on the four days’ -voyage to Adelaide, and it was not till we reached -Northern Queensland that we again encountered -that atmosphere of primitive freshness and -novelty, that we were leaving behind. So we -left Western Australia, with its warm-hearted, -generous people, its vast, almost untouched -resources of primeval forest, and rich soil, its -social problems, on which the visitor is incompetent -to pronounce, problems acute in the old<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -world, making themselves felt even here, especially -that seemingly irreconcilable one of the interests -of the Labour man and the Liberal. Irreconcilable -so it seemed to us, for the Labour man may be -clear-sighted, but he cannot afford to be far-sighted, -because, as he himself would put it, he -can’t afford to wait.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_II">PART II<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">SOUTH AUSTRALIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_73" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> a poem written long ago by Bret Harte the -opening of the Pacific Railroad which joined -East to West was commemorated in an imagined -dialogue between the engines that met midway -on the track.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">What was it the Engines said,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Pilots touching—head to head,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Facing on the single track,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Half a world behind each back?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">This is what the Engines said</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Unreported and unread.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">Then Bret Harte went on to record the puffing -phrases in which each engine described what it -brought from the land of its base: the engine -from the East, speaking of the shores where the -Atlantic beats, and the broad lands of forest -and of prairie; and the engine from the West -rejoining that it brought to the meeting the -storied <span class="locked">East:—</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">All the Orient, all Cathay</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Find through me the shortest way.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">That parable will find a new application (will have -found, perhaps, we should say) in the meeting of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -the engines on the track which is to join Western -Australia to South Australia, Perth and Albany -to Adelaide. One might speculate on what the -engine from the West would say on this occasion. -It might breathe a few words of the Orient, and -would be entitled to add others concerning -Afric’s sunwashed lands, for it is not to be -denied that the bulk of the liners coming through -Suez, and all those from the Cape, make West -Australia their headland. But East Australia -touches Cathay more nearly both in climate and -in steamer connections, and a day will dawn when -the construction of yet another railway from -Port Darwin in the Northern Territory will make -that port the nearest to Europe; and there are -yet other projects for joining Australia in shorter -and shorter links to Panama and San Francisco. -So perhaps the engines will call a truce over their -claims on the older East and West, and will -confine them to that newer West and fast-developing -East which the Australian continent -provides within itself.</p> - -<p>The engine from the West, if it were of a -philosophic turn might say that the land it came -from was of immemorial age, a relic of the world -before the Deluge; that its strange flowers, its -bush coming as close to its towns and settlements -as grass to the trees on a lawn, were older than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -mankind, and if by some accident of social -progress its towns and villages were swept away, -then in a few years Western Australia would slip -back through time till it became again a strip of -the earth as the earth was when first the mammals -began to appear on its surface. Western Australia -is as old as that; and he who looks on it now with -any spark of imagination cannot but be thrilled -at the vision afforded him of the planet as it was -millions of years ago. No tropical country, -perhaps no country at all which men inhabit, -except Patagonia, conveys this impression of the -unaltered primeval world. But one could hardly -expect a locomotive, a thing of steel and steam, -to dwell on this aspect of the land of its adoption. -Rather would it say that in Western Australia you -could see at its earliest and best, man the pioneer, -making for himself a clearing, a home, a community -in the wild, blazing out the trails, watering -the desert, laying a toll upon the elements. -Here he had built a town growing like a city of -enchantment in the bush; here he had found -gold in the wilderness; and here—you could see -him at the beginning—he was carving wheat-lands -and orchards from the forest. Now, -lastly, he was going to bring his fields and forests -and the harvest of his untapped sea-board by rail -to the markets of the East.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span></p> - -<p>The locomotive from the East, with puffs -which politeness had hitherto repressed, would -yield the point about antiquity in order to show -that in the more modern period the East had done -very well with its time. On the progress of -Melbourne and Sydney it would not enlarge; -suffice it to point out the advantages of Adelaide.</p> - -<p>It lies between the hills and the sea, a trap for -sunbeams; a garden city sweet with almond -blossom in spring, tree-shaded in summer. A -girdle of parks is about its comely waist, and -beyond them lie suburbs, where the houses all -have room to breathe. In the towns of the old -world the houses are on the top of one another, -and the people too. In Adelaide expansion takes -place laterally, stretching out always to the -encircling range of hills; and the houses are one-storied. -The city is linked with its suburbs by -radiating tramlines; and here one may pause to -interpolate an anecdote. Some years ago, when -the writer was in Naples, he was journeying by -one of the trams which runs round the rim of -Naples’ incomparable bay. On the garden seat -in front of him were two Americans, who looked -with him at the lovely vision, and said one of -them: “Well, I’ve been most everywhere, and -seen most everything, but I’ve never seen anything -to compare with——” The writer leaned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -forward to catch the anticipated eulogy on the -view. “But,” concluded the American lady, -“I’ve never seen anything to compare with our -car service at Seattle!”</p> - -<p>That is what the locomotive from the East -would say about the car service at Adelaide, -which links up the spreading homesteads of the -periphery with the nucleus of handsome buildings, -official, municipal, educational, commercial, at -the centre of the city. Adelaide is a city within -a park, surrounded by a garden suburb, and that is -as good a definition as one can find of it. It is -handsome within its city limits, taking a pride in -its big buildings, the University standing among -lawns, its handsome private houses, its broad -streets, its general air of competence; but outside -them, beyond the parks, one would rather -call it charming. The motor-car is bringing its -changes to Adelaide as to other places in the -world. Just as in London a generation ago the -merchants and the well-to-do City men built big -houses at Streatham and Dulwich, but now are -moving out to Ascot or Sunningdale, so in -Adelaide the prosperous are now building towards -Mount Lofty and the hills—though the -gradients here are trying even to the hard-driven -Australian motor-car. The fringe of suburbs is -therefore occupied by what in England we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -should call the professional classes, though no -such conventions segregate the trading, the -commercial, the professional classes in the same -way as in the home country. But Adelaide is in -one respect different from other Australian cities. -It has more nearly a professional class—or may -we say a professorial class?—than Perth or -Melbourne, or Sydney, or Brisbane. An English -journalist once tried to express it by saying that -Adelaide represented “culture” in the Commonwealth; -but that is unkind both to Adelaide -and the Commonwealth, for the soil of Australia -is unfavourable to the growth of culture or any -other pretences. But Adelaide has a large -population in its trim bungalows of the suburbs, -interested in university work, in education, in -social and democratic problems, in art, in literature. -It has the most eclectic collection of pictures -of any of the states; and here perhaps one -may tell another story. In the year before the -War there was an outbreak of allegorical canvases -on the walls of the New English Art Club where -a return to primitive methods of expression in -paint reflected the activities of Post-Impressionism -and Cubism and Futurism which permeated the -studios of Europe. Among others who had a -hack at allegory was that most capable of the -younger school of painters, Mr. W. Orpen, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -he produced a representation of “The Board of -Irish Agriculture sowing the Seeds of Progress in -Ireland.” It was a picture which was full of -remarkably fine drawing, as one might expect -from one of the best two draughtsmen in Britain, -and the nude figure of the lady distributing seed -(on the left of the canvas), as well as the two -naked babies in the middle, and the black-clothed -missioner on the right, were all admirable. -But what did it mean? Most English critics -were silent on this point, and nobody seems to -have troubled Mr. Orpen to explain himself, for, -as Wilde wrote to Whistler, “to be great is to be -misunderstood.” However, the picture was -bought for the Adelaide Art Gallery, which is -rightly anxious to collect work of the younger -artists, and made no mistake in choosing Mr. -Orpen as one of the most brilliant among them.</p> - -<p>When, however, the picture was hung at -Adelaide, the people gasped. Then they wrote -to the newspapers. Then artists wrote to the -newspapers. Some of them sympathised with -the public bewilderment. One of them, the best -of Australian water-colourists, bludgeoned the -public for their ignorance in not appreciating -the colour and drawing of the masterpiece; but -he did not insult the picture by saying what it -meant, and that was what the public wanted to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -know.... Probably the discussion would be -going on yet, but the War put an end to it, and -the picture in 1915 still adorned the Art Gallery; -and we hope it may continue to do so, though it -was rumoured that Mr. Orpen had offered to -substitute something less recondite. However, -this anecdote will perhaps illustrate the vividness -of the interest which Adelaide takes in artistic -and intellectual movements. It is an interest -which may be perceived in its active University, -a University that has contributed several first-class -men to English Universities, and is no less -perceptible in its society which reproduces very -closely the social atmosphere of an English -University town such as Cambridge. The -resemblance becomes closer still if the comparison -is made between Adelaide’s flowering and tree-shaded -suburbs and the residential environs which -stretch away from the University town at home.</p> - -<p>Such is Adelaide. Beyond and outside it, and -on the farther side of the tree-covered barrier of -hills is rural South Australia, which, if one were -to indicate on a map, one might shade off to the -northward as the population grew less dense and -the region of widely separated sheep stations -became more prevalent. As the herbage grows -more scanty and the water supply more precarious, -the sheep stations themselves become<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -larger and fewer, till they give place to desert. -Perhaps the greatest surprise to a European -visitor is the kind of land which in the more -distant stations, where the rainfall sinks very -close to the margin of double figures per annum, -is called pasture land. It is khaki-coloured and -scanty, and one would imagine that only a persevering -sheep could find anything on it to eat. -Industry is certainly demanded of the sheep, for -the phrase of three acres and a cow is altered in -Australia to five acres to a sheep. When the -rainfall sinks the sheep has still farther to travel -for its daily meal; when it fails, the back block -sheep farmers see their sheep die by the thousand -and ruin approaching.</p> - -<p>Nowhere does the rainfall become a factor -that can be neglected, and South Australia was -suffering from drought in the year 1914, when -we visited the state; but though the extremity -of scarcity had not been reached, there seemed -to eyes accustomed to English well-watered -pastures, hardly any water at all. From the -summit of Mount Lofty, whence one could so -easily see the vast shield of the sea, there were -also pointed out to us nearer patches of water -shining like dull steel in the hollows of low hills. -These were the reservoirs, basins filled by streams -which we called brooks. These storage reservoirs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -are the device which South Australia is developing -to counteract drought; and we visited a new -one in course of construction among the hills to -the north-west of Adelaide.</p> - -<p>That was the day on which we visited -Mr. Murray’s sheep farm, a mere trifle of -forty miles from Adelaide. Before leaving the -subject of the reservoir, which was interesting -from the engineering design of its dam, then -being thrown across the gap of two hills—a -difficult and masterly piece of work—one may -give some idea of the size of the basin by remarking -that Mr. Murray, who lived some ten miles -away, had protested against the first plans. The -reason was that when the reservoir became filled -it would have come flooding up to his front door. -A very pleasant front door it was too, belonging -to something that was part manor-house, part -farm, and the counterpart of which might have -been found in many an English county. A long, -low house with windows meant to shade large, -cool rooms, a wide hall, with pictures and polo -sticks and photographs—photographs of famous -sheep—and a side table gleaming with silver—the -cups won as prizes. In front of the house -roses and flowering borders and a lawn—on it -playing a collie and a tame kangaroo. Beyond, -the orchard garden. And not a sheep in sight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span></p> - -<p>Far better as a picture, our host and his tall -sons on the stone steps to welcome us; and in -the pretty drawing-room—the drawing-room of -a Victorian house at home—the hostess and her -daughter. You might see them both any summer’s -day at Hurlingham, or Henley, or at Lord’s -when the Oxford and Cambridge match is being -played.</p> - -<p>However, our purpose was to see sheep. Could -this be a sheep farm? Where were the countless -thousands which ought to have filled the landscape—as -they do in the photographs? We had -driven over rolling downs of short grass, through -clearings of trees, and by tracks which made the -car leap like a tiger as it cleared the ruts, but -where were the sheep? We had seen other -things that filled us with delight, a flock of wild -cockatoos—and though that may seem nothing -to you who read, let us add that there is an inexplicable -thrill in seeing wild anything that one -has never before beheld except captive. There -were flocks of green and red and blue parrots too, -and the laughing jackass perched on the tree-stumps. -But about the sheep?</p> - -<p>They are there; no doubt about that. An -Anglo-Australian whom we know at home once -confessed to us that the only blot on life in that -southern continent of free air and sunshine was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -that there was too much sheep in the sheep-rearing -districts—there was nothing else to talk -about. And at this point we recall an anecdote -told to us by Dr. E. S. Cunningham, the editor -of “The Melbourne Argus.” There was a -Colonial Conference in England some years ago, -and he and some of the others who came to it, -Mr. Deakin among them, went back to Australia -across the United States. One night in the Far -West their train was held up by accident, and -they stopped at the hotel of some wayside station. -After supper, as they sat round the red-hot stove -of the hotel parlour, some of the citizens of the -township blew in for their evening conversazione, -and hailed the opportunity of conversation with -strangers.</p> - -<p>They quickly found that the strangers were -Australians, and as quickly turned the conversation -on to the comparative advantages of the -two continents.</p> - -<p>“I suppose now,” said one of them, “that -you reckon to have a few sheep in your country. -We have sheep here too. Some. Now what -size holdings do you put up down there?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Deakin, to whom the question was -addressed, paused reflectively and said: “Well, -I don’t know that I’m well posted about sheep; -but I believe my friend has some knowledge of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> -the subject. Cunningham, what was the size of -that farm that Colonel Burns got rid of last -autumn?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t quite tell you the size,” said Dr. -Cunningham, after assumed cogitation. “It was -pretty big. There were about a quarter of a -million sheep with it.”</p> - -<p>The American looked from one to the other, -and expectorated at the stove in a discontented -manner. After a minute or two he started in -again.</p> - -<p>“We get a good figure for our stock hereabouts,” -he observed; “we breed for quality. I guess -wool is your strong suit. Now what about is -your figure per sheep over there?”</p> - -<p>Again Deakin referred to Cunningham, the -authority.</p> - -<p>“What was it Murray of Adelaide was asking -for that merino ram of his, Cunningham—it was -called Lion II, I believe?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what he was asking,” returned -Cunningham swiftly, “but I can tell you what -he got for it. He took eleven hundred guineas.”</p> - -<p>The American looked from one to the other -and swallowed hard.</p> - -<p>“Thunder!” he said. “Give me cattle!”</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p>Well, we didn’t see the quarter of a million<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -sheep, and Mr. Murray’s thousand-guinea ram -lives only in portraiture in the hall of his farm; -but we did see some of the famous herd of which -Lion II was the congener. They had been -rounded up for us, about fifty of them, in one of -the shearing yards; and most attractive animals -they were. Their thick merino fleece was about -five inches deep, like soft fibre, and their thick -necks were in folds—concertina folds, as they -are called. They have been bred to this type, -and their peculiar scientific interest is the information -which they afford to the explorers of -Mendelian principles of the permanence of the -so-called “factors of heredity.” But to the -practical stock-breeder their immediate interest -is the vast amount of wool they yield. Mr. -Murray said (if memory is not at fault) that they -each yielded about fifteen pounds’ weight of -wool at a shearing.</p> - -<p>Of course the reason why we saw so few sheep -is that, though this was a comparatively small -holding of very good pasture, and the sheep on -it are all, in a sense, specimen sheep, yet here, as -elsewhere, the thousands of the flock are spread -over a very wide area of pasturage. It is only at -the shearing season that the sheep would be -brought together in great numbers. These -occasions, and the life on sheep farms—especially<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> -in the back blocks, where the life is wilder, the -herbage scanty, the seasons precarious—are interesting -enough, though here we cannot dwell -on them. What does remain as the recollection of -Mr. Murray’s sheep farm is that of a hospitality -and a generosity which are so natural that they -are never ostentatious, but which, long after the -day and hour have gone, warm the heart with the -memory of them.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_88" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">ADELAIDE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">We</span> had been warned to expect cold and -rough weather, if anywhere, in the great -Australian Bight, but like everything we had ever -been told about Australian weather, the prophecy -was fallacious. The Tuesday in August on which -we sailed from Fremantle and the four following -days of the voyage were fine, calm, and sunny. -We skirted a coast bound by gneiss rocks, rounded, -ground, and weather-worn to smoothness, with -immense breakers dashing their foam up the face -of the cliffs. Except the beautiful harbour of -Albany, it is a most inhospitable-looking coast.</p> - -<p>On the third day out a wireless message from -Perth warned the captain to alter his course and -to moderate the ship’s lights at night so as to -disguise her. It was a significant suggestion, that -the War, the outbreak of which took place while -we were at sea, but in which we hardly yet -believed, was a matter of grim earnest. Otherwise -the voyage was uneventful. We reached -Adelaide, sliding in through glassy water, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -land on either side, and numbers of diving birds -swimming round us. After the inevitable delay -of disembarkation that seems so unnecessary to -the impatient traveller, we at last got ashore, -walked through the Customs, merely an amiable -formality, and took the train for Adelaide, which -is at some distance from its harbour. The line -runs through salt marshes, dotted with pink -mesembryanthemum in flower. Then come trim -suburbs with English names, a Cheltenham among -them; presently the train appeared to be running -through the streets of a big city, and we -had arrived at Adelaide station.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_7" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_088.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>NORTH TERRACE, ADELAIDE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The different capitals of the Australian states -are as unlike each other as possible, and Adelaide -is especially distinctive. This graceful garden -city has none of the rawness of our dear Perth. -She has, on the contrary, an established air. The -hotel at which we stayed might have been in any -large town in the world, except for a certain -friendly loquacity on the part of the staff, and -a trifling indifference to details characteristic of -Australia.</p> - -<p>The first impression of Adelaide is a delightful -one. She is a city of space and light and air, with -broad, tree-planted streets and fine buildings; -in fact, more like the Australia we had imagined, -because less unlike England, than the West. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -cathedral with its twin spires dominates the whole -from rising ground. The city is laid out in -straight lines, separated by parks from its spreading, -growing suburbs, the whole place is green and -restful.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon of our arrival we were -motored round the city and its suburbs, and a -closer acquaintance deepened this impression, -for we passed through avenues of plane trees and -saw English plants growing in the gardens. -Rising ground revealed the lovely situation of -Adelaide and gave a view of the city as a whole, -scattered among her trees and gardens, girdled -by green hills rising abruptly from its environs, -with the grey Pacific spread out to infinite distance -beyond. The cloudy, hazy distances, a -certain crispness in the air, as on a fine March -day at home, the grass that grows freely everywhere, -and suburbs with such names as Knightsbridge, -all deepened the sense of familiarity. -We shall always see Adelaide in imagination as -we looked down on her that early spring day, -with all her orchards a delicate pale pink mist of -almond blossom, and the soft grey distances that -felt like home.</p> - -<p>Of course, there was a great deal that was -unfamiliar: here were hedges of olive, thick-set -and cut like box, other hedges were made of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -South African box-thorn, and everywhere the -sides of the roads were yellow with a pretty pale -oxalis, regarded by the inhabitants as a noxious -weed and called Sour Sod. There were many -vineyards, and sheep and lambs feeding, for South -Australia is largely a pastoral state. The development -of pastoral industries has been an important -element in her general prosperity. The pastoral -settler gauged the capacities of the land and -paved the way for agricultural and closer settlement. -South Australia now has a larger acreage -under cultivation in proportion to the population -than any other state, and the annual returns from -pastoral industries amount to nearly £4,000,000. -In 1912 between two and three million pounds’ -worth of pastoral products were exported, including -sheep, cattle, horses, frozen meats, skins, -hides, tallow, and wool.</p> - -<p>South Australia was declared a province under -the British Crown in 1836 by Governor Hindmarsh -in the reign of William IV, so that the -state has a history stretching back over a period -of nearly eighty years, during which time she -has progressed rapidly, and at the time of our -visit was actually enjoying great prosperity after -a series of good seasons, though we heard on all -hands in Adelaide that there had been two dry -springs and rain was badly wanted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span></p> - -<p>The climate is mild, the high temperatures -that occur in summer are mitigated by the -absence of humidity, and extreme cold in -winter is unknown. Sheep, cattle, and horses -live out of doors all the year round and thrive -on natural herbage, so that neither artificial -feeding nor housing is necessary, and the cost -of production is thus greatly reduced. It is -superfluous to enter here into figures showing the -purposes for which the area of the state is leased -or alienated, but beyond the limits of agricultural -settlement more than 143,000 square miles are -held by Crown lessees as sheep or cattle runs. -Formerly the principal part of South Australian -wool was shipped to London, and it was not till -within the last forty years that local wool auctions -attained importance.</p> - -<p>Agriculture is determined by the rainfall, -which varies from 10 or 11 inches in northern and -inland districts to 30 or 35 inches in the south -and in the more hilly regions. Within these -widely varying conditions almost anything can -be grown from corn to grapes, nearly every -kind of cereal, fruit, or vegetable. But economically -all the conditions of agriculture are very -widely different from those at home, for it -must be taken into consideration that the wages -of farm labourers are about double those paid in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -England, and the cost of plant and implements -about 50% more. Wheat predominates in the -value of all crops grown, for while it is estimated -that the total value of all crops, including fruit, -amounts to £18 per head of the population, the -value of the wheat crop for grain and hay is over -£13 per head. The production of hay in Australia -is intimately associated with the cultivation -of cereals, as the greater bulk of this fodder is -composed of wheat or oats. The Year Book -returns for 1911–12 show more than two million -acres under wheat cultivation with a total production -of over twenty million bushels, a low -average compared with other countries, but -against which must be set the exceptionally low -cost of production brought about by conditions -of soil and climate.</p> - -<p>One peculiarly local industry is the growth of -wattle for its bark, which is utilised for tanning -leather. The industry is a lucrative one. At -from five to seven years old, when they are fit to -strip, the trees yield from one ton an acre, and -the market price of the bark is from £5 to £8 a -ton.</p> - -<p>But we must again insist that in trying to -estimate the position of agriculture in Australia -the different labour conditions have to be taken -into consideration. In the first place it is possible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> -for a man owning a team of eight or ten horses -and the latest and best machinery, to do all the -work on a holding of from 200 to 240 acres of -wheat himself, with some extra help at harvest -time, so extensive is the use of labour-saving -machinery—multiple furrow ploughs, for instance, -12 or 14 furrow twin ploughs on the -lighter land, and 8 to 10 horse cultivators. -This being so, it can be easily seen that there is -no surplus of skilled labour, for under such conditions -a capable man very soon saves enough -to begin farming on his own account, especially -as he can get cheap land on easy terms. This, -of course, applies to Australia generally; at -harvest time, though the demand for labour is -great and the pay high, thoroughly efficient men -are not to be had. The same thing is true of -dairying, so that the farmers are actually reducing -their herds to numbers that can be conveniently -managed by their own families with the aid of -milking machines.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_8" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_095.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>WOOL STORE, PORT ADELAIDE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>At the same time the Labourers’ Union has -drawn up a “log” of prices and hours of labour, -and requires its acceptance on the part of the -farmer, who would be willing enough if the -supply of labour were efficient. Economists -question whether, if these conditions, including -the regulation of hours, were enforced, the result -produced might not be an increased adoption of -grazing, where hardly any labour is required.</p> - -<p>In the pastoral industry all conditions of labour -and living are fixed by the Arbitration Court, -and good accommodation is provided for shearers. -Among farmers, on the other hand, though good -food is always provided, the men often have to -sleep in machinery sheds. Here, as everywhere else, -labour is dependent not merely on supply and -demand, but on desirable conditions of employment, -and it is extraordinarily interesting to see -our tentative efforts in the direction of Wages -Boards, and the regulation of employment, reproduced -in the form of the finished article in the -Commonwealth, which had no great mass of vested -interest and tradition to oppose to a generous -system of Labour Legislation. It must be remembered, -however, that Australia can hardly yet be -considered as a manufacturing country, though -her industrial development has been so rapid in -recent years, that the total value of manufactures -already amounts to more than a quarter of the -whole production of the country. It is calculated -that the value of productions from all sources -per head of the population exceeds that of any -other country.</p> - -<p>The Australians meanwhile, seeing the course -which the future development of their country<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -is likely to pursue, have taken time by the forelock, -and in order to obviate the recurrence of the -disastrous conditions in the Old World have -inaugurated an elaborate system of Labour -Legislation calculated to safeguard the interests -of working men and women in all branches of -occupation. Such measures as Wages Boards, -Conciliation and Arbitration Court Systems, a -minimum wage under the Factory Acts, an eight-hours -day, early closing, and holiday regulations, -are accomplished facts all over Australia, though -their constitution is not uniform in the different -states.</p> - -<p>A Government Labour Exchange was established -in 1911 to bring employer and workmen -into communication. This does not, of course, -include professional and clerical labour. All the -departments of Public Service, including the railways, -apply to the Labour Exchange for workmen, -and if the work lasts for less than two -months the men’s fares are refunded to them.</p> - -<p>Of course, not all Australians see the social -development of their country in the same rose-coloured -light. The social reformer and the -moral enthusiast are seldom business men; to -such the question appears in a wholly different -aspect—in terms of material profit and loss.</p> - -<p>Each state has its own industrial problems, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -the question of water supply occupies the attention -of all who are concerned with the development -of South Australia, for the only area in the -Commonwealth having an average annual rainfall -of less than five inches, the Lake Eyre region, -lies within the limits of this state. Throughout -the more closely settled part of the state the -difficulty has been met by the Government by the -construction of reservoirs and the distribution -of supplies.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_98" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">COMPULSORY TRAINING AND SOCIAL LIFE -IN ADELAIDE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="smcap1">Adelaide,</span> when we reached it, was like the -rest of the Australian continent, celebrating -the declaration of war by a tremendous outburst -of patriotism; the whole place fluttered with -little flags, Union Jacks were on every bicycle or -cart or motor-car, loyal crowds were assembling -at street corners. We in England have no -conception of the depths of feeling that our -fellow-countrymen in Australia have for “home.” -It embraces all those who come out there on a -visit, so that instead of strangers in a strange land -they feel like a dear and welcome friend returning -to his own people. By the evening the occasion -had been felt to be so momentous that the youthful -male population, with whom the streets were -crowded, had celebrated it in some cases to excess, -and this was the sole occasion on which we saw -anything approaching to intemperance while we -were in Australia, or on which the population -forsook its habitual and universal beverage of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -weak tea. That they were carried away by -enthusiasm was all to their credit. Trained to -military service from his school days every -Australian realises, as few Englishmen have yet -done, the importance of self-defence, and the -obligation of every man in the country to take -his share in it.</p> - -<p>We have much to learn from Australia, -but in no respect more than in her admirable -system of universal military training. We have -already mentioned her cadet training in schools. -When a boy reaches the age of fourteen he becomes -a senior cadet, and a general military -training is added to the physical training that is -already part of his school curriculum. At the -beginning of the year in which he reaches his -fourteenth birthday he has to be registered, and -his registration papers are sent to the Area Officer, -under whose jurisdiction he now passes. This -officer sees that the boys go up for their medical -examination; after passing this, a boy is measured -for his uniform, and allotted to his company in -the senior cadet battalion of the area. The -average percentage of rejections after the medical -examination is only seven and a half. The senior -cadet is now subject to military discipline and -becomes part of the military system of the -country. He has to attend four whole-day drills<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -of at least four hours, twelve half-day drills of -two hours’ duration, and twenty-four night drills -of one hour’s minimum duration. Boys who are -still at school may be formed into special companies. -It is an important feature of the system -that all the companies in a battalion area form -one battalion independently of the numbers -involved, for the battalions are training, not -fighting, units. The training for senior cadets -consists of physical drill, company and some -battalion drill, field training and musketry. An -excellent provision secures good work on the part -of the cadets. At the end of each year’s training -an inspection takes place, and all who fail to -satisfy the regular officer responsible, lose the -value of their year’s work, as the Act requires -an additional year’s training for each failure of -the inefficient.</p> - -<p>Ammunition and uniforms are supplied free. -In his fourth year of training the senior cadet -must satisfy the medical officer of the training -area of his fitness, those falling below the standard -are certified in their record books as “exempt.” -In the third stage of his training, from eighteen -to twenty-six years old, the young Australian -becomes a member of the Citizen Forces. This -system is gradually superseding the older militia, -which prescribed a period of three years’ training<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> -only, and consequently attains so much the more -an efficient military standard. The training is -arranged as far as possible with a view to the -convenience of the men, who are only obliged -to be absent from home during a short period -spent in camp every year. Parades are held on -holidays, Saturday afternoons, or in the evening. -In some districts Sunday training has been -advocated and has raised considerable opposition, -but Brigadier-General J. G. Legge, <span class="allsmcap">C.M.G.</span>, commanding, -at the time of writing, the Division -of the Australian Forces in Egypt, in an -article on Australian Defence,<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> reminds his -readers that “not so many centuries ago it was -the law of England that every able-bodied man -should practise with the bow at the village butts -on Sunday after church hours, and why not now on -Sunday afternoons? This would get over the -difficulty with employers quite well.” Pay is given -for attendance at parades in the Citizen Forces.</p> - -<p>Under the universal training system all start -as privates, and each rank competes for promotion -to the one immediately above it. But it must be -remembered that in Australia, as in other new -countries, there are no sharply drawn class distinctions, -there hardly exists an idle class, and -to quote Brigadier-General Legge once more:<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -“Brains and practical proficiency alone will carry -weight with units such as we now have to lead -and discipline in Australia.” There is no room in -that happy land for the promotion of influential -incompetence.</p> - -<p>The Australian system is working smoothly and -well, and presents the spectacle of a trained and -disciplined people, far indeed removed from -militarism, yet with a corporate sense and a deep -and zealous patriotism. Almost equally important -is the fact that the Australian Government -makes ample provision for all munitions of war -and equipment for its forces.</p> - -<p>It is with the boys that every country must -begin. “I believe this,” wrote Lord Methuen,<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> -“to be the proper solution for the national -defence of this country.... It is to be noted -that each colony has adopted compulsory cadet -training as its foundation. We worked on Lord -Kitchener’s admirable Australian scheme in forming -the Citizen Army in South Africa.... The -physique and discipline of our nation will gain -enormously if the lad is trained from the age of -twelve till he reaches eighteen.... Let the -nation accept the principle and the details can -be made to fit in without any difficulty.”</p> - -<p>With regard to Education South Australia is,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -in one respect only, the least progressive of the -states, for it has fixed the minimum age at -which children may be employed in factories at -thirteen, as compared with fourteen elsewhere. -Victoria leads the way with a minimum of -fifteen for girls. On the other hand, the state -has been a pioneer in dealing with destitute and -neglected children. The Chief Secretary of the -Government appoints a State Children’s Council -composed of men and women. Its work is -conducted on the most enlightened methods. -The children, whether, as in most cases, they are -boarded out, or in institutions, are judiciously -looked after and provided for, till the boys have -reached the age of eighteen, and the girls of -twenty-one years. The work, whether paid or -unpaid, of the large staff of assistants in urban -and country districts, is given alike “ungrudgingly -and in the spirit of the volunteer,” says Mrs. -Margaret Wragge, a member of the council. -Thus the state is providing with foresight for the -useful careers of every one of its future men and -women.</p> - -<p>In the matter of general education the system -is that in force elsewhere. Primary education is -free and compulsory, there is an elaborate system -of training for teachers, who are given every -facility for self-improvement. Technical education<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> -is provided for by the “School of Mines and -Industries.” The Adelaide University is of -comparatively old foundation, as it dates from -1874. It has been fortunate in receiving generous -endowments from local benefactors, and has -handsome spacious buildings. The name of the -late Sir Samuel Way, the Chief Justice, and a -prominent, active citizen, will always be associated -with the progress of the University.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p>As we have said, Adelaide is girdled with hills, -of which the most important is Mount Lofty, -and part of this high ground has been set aside -as a national reserve, a park in perpetuity for -the community; a large area left in its natural -state, to show what Australia once was to the -children’s children of the first settlers.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_9" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_105.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>WATERFALL GULLY, BURNSIDE, NEAR ADELAIDE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The drive up the hills is not an easy one, for -the road ascends steeply and the ground falls -sharply away. The view over Adelaide grows -more and more beautiful with every few feet of -the ascent, as the semicircle of hills, with their -valley and city, and the illimitable expanse of -ocean are spread out below. The reserve is a -vast area of sloping green lawns, more or less -thickly covered with trees. Growing among the -gums were the curious shea-oak, and the still more -curious wild cherry, whose stone grows outside<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -the fruit; the wattle was here only bursting its -yellow balls into flower. We saw a clump of the -pretty drosera or sundew, and a quantity of -small purple orchids not unlike our blue squills -in shape and size.</p> - -<p>All kinds of birds live in this retreat: especially -the Australian magpie with his odd conventual -air, and the white cowl and black frock that make -him look like a Dominican friar.</p> - -<p>The magpies are sociable birds, friendly and -companionable. They are, besides, greedy and -carnivorous. An Australian lady, who was acting -as our hostess on this occasion, told us she had -once seen a magpie swallow three mice in succession, -and sit afterwards ruminating over their -digestion with the three tails hanging down from -his beak.</p> - -<p>There, too, was the laughing jackass, or to call -him by his musical native name the “kookaburra,” -who resembles in shape and colour a large untidy -jay. We heard for the first time the sweet note -of the Australian thrush, and saw several redheaded -parrots. The road led into a beautiful -wooded glen, a favourite place for picnics.</p> - -<p>Picnics are a great institution in Australia, and -to avoid the dangers of bush fires little open-air -hearths are made in such places as these, with an -iron rod across them and hooks for hanging the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> -“billy” to boil the water for the weak tea that -is the invariable accompaniment of all meals. -There is always plenty of dry wood in that dry -climate, and generally a little shelter is put up, -with a rough table and benches, sometimes a tank -for rain water, but this, when it is there, has a -way of being rusty. On this occasion time -demanded our return, for we were lunching with -one of the University professors, so we came back -to the city that is only less pastoral than its hills, -and were deposited at our destination by the -kind new acquaintances, who had devoted a long -morning to us.</p> - -<p>Our hosts lived in a charming bungalow on the -side of a hill, the garden was full of early spring -flowers, jonquils and other bulbs. Their guest -house was detached, as it were, in a little garden -of its own, which seemed a particularly pleasant -way of entertaining one’s friends, giving a sense -of freedom both to visitors and hosts. In the -drawing-room was a big bowl of camellias, which -flourish in the open air in Australia. Our host -and hostess came of one of the oldest Australian -families; that is, their daughter told us her grandfather -came over in 1837 and her grandmother -three years later. Life was a hard thing in those -days. To begin with, there was the six months’ -voyage in the old sailing ships. In their early<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> -days of married life they had no food except salt -pork and damper, or a kind of bread made without -yeast, which is very nice on a picnic, but -would be trying as a staple form of food. On -Sundays they had rice boiled in water and raisins. -“My grandfather used to be so hungry that he -once shot a sitting magpie.” It must, even so, -have been a meal of bones and feathers.</p> - -<p>There was something patriarchal about this -pleasant, cultivated household. The settlement -which the earlier generation had won from the -bush remained in the family, and the descendants -of its servants still served them. After lunch we -were taken off to tea in the hospitable Australian -way to some friends of our hosts’ who were giving -a tea-party. Their house lay at some distance -from the town, with its back to the hills. It was -approached by a park much like an English park, -with eucalyptus for oaks and magpies for rooks, -and the house itself was much like an English -country house, and an English tea-party, with great -bowls of roses and violets in the drawing-room.</p> - -<p>It would be difficult to find anywhere a lovelier -situation than the slopes of these hills, facing the -far-distant sea. The entrance to the drive was -heavy with the scent of stocks, and gay with -masses of red geranium, a bougainvillea covered -with purple flowers hung over the flight of steps,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -and below the garden lawns, on which the large, -handsome black and white Australian wagtails -were hopping about, orange trees displayed their -golden fruit and glossy leaves against a background -of almond blossom, and ripe limes and -grape fruits.</p> - -<p>As it was only about three miles back into -Adelaide, with a good road and a fine evening, -we proposed to walk home to our hotel, as we -had had no exercise since we had left England. -The suggestion, however, was considered so -entirely impracticable as to be not worth discussing. -It was merely waved aside, and the -whole time we were in the country we were -impressed by the fact that Australians never -seem to walk. They motor, they have excellent -tram services, but except up-country they don’t -seem to ride. An older resident at Adelaide -lamented that there were actually so few young -men who could ride in the district, that their -numbers were insufficient to keep up the local -Hunt Club.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_10" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_109.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>OSTRICH FARM, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>We left Adelaide on a warm sunny August day. -The long, long railway journeys from one state -capital to another are made by night. The -trains are dusty, the scenery monotonous, so that -the tedium and discomfort are by this means -minimised as much as possible. Of course, there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -are beautiful tracts of country, that the railroad -passes through, but in a land where the eucalyptus -is everywhere the prevailing form of vegetation, -and water is rare, monotony is inevitable. On -leaving Adelaide the main line towards Melbourne -runs through charming park-like country, with -green lawns and trees and deep gorges. The train -climbs the Mount Lofty range with delightful -glimpses of the sea, and an ascent punctuated by -peculiarly sulphurous little tunnels, reminiscent -of those on the Apennines.</p> - -<p>Afterwards we crossed a spacious pastoral -country dotted sparsely with homesteads, peaceful -in the great calm of the luminous evening, -then the swift dusk fell and blotted out all. -At Murray Bridge we paused for dinner, in the -old-fashioned continental way. Dinner in railway -stations in Australia is simple and expeditious, -and in our experience invariably excellent. It -is thrown at the traveller by a miscellaneous -assortment of young women, who fall over each -other in their hospitable anxiety to get through -the menu in time. That, however, did not suffice, -for having hastily despatched our soup and the -very good turkey, which is always a standing dish -in Australia, and trifled with a sweet, we were -summoned back to the train. Here we observed -in passing along the corridor to our own carriage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> -a bulky-looking passenger disgorging from his -pockets large quantities of the dessert, which we -had had no time to eat, and which he had adroitly -commandeered. He was bulging with it, in fact, -and was now proudly exhibiting a selection of it -spread out on the opposite seat of the carriage—five -oranges, three apples, and some bananas. -Seeing our eye upon him he offered us a share of -the spoils, as a species of hush money in kind. -Oranges and apples and bananas are delicious in -Australia; the dry soapy things sold for bananas -in London give no idea of what a pleasant form -of food a fresh banana can be.</p> - -<p>He is no traveller who cannot sleep on any -occasion under any circumstances, even in a -rattling and draughty train. After a good night -we woke up next morning to see an immense -grassy plain stretching away to the horizon on -either side. Cattle and sheep were feeding, and -there were patches of plough land. For the first -time the “bush” had retreated to a respectful -distance.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_III">PART III<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">VICTORIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_113" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">COLLINS STREET—MELBOURNE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">On</span> the day we reached Adelaide the train -that took us from Port Adelaide to the city -slipped by an encampment of tents, those of the -naval division; and on the day we left Melbourne -we saw the recruits for Australia’s first contingent -swing past us along Collins Street. -Splendid they looked: young and strong and -confident. The cars and motor omnibuses -bunched up by the pavement, and the people -hung out of the windows to cheer as they went -by. I remember I suddenly found myself -without a hat and the tears running down my -cheek, when the last of them disappeared in -the dust, the crowd closing in behind them. -There was only a fortnight or so between that -first glimpse at Adelaide that war had begun, -and the assurance that Australia had grasped -what was to be her share in it, when she sent her -boys on the way to camp through Collins Street.</p> - -<p>Collins Street. For better or worse, for richer -or poorer, Melbourne will always be expressed to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> -us in terms of Collins Street. It is a wide street -of tall buildings, and it photographs well. It has -not grown up haphazard. It is rectangular; and -it exhibits Melbourne’s ideal of doing the thing -well, and of doing it in an official way. No street -in London is very like it, though Melbourne has -more in common with London than any other -city we have ever seen. There is the same -nucleus of business and trading, shopping and -luxury; the parks almost, but not quite, set in -the middle of things; and trams and suburban -lines linking up nearer suburbs (with High Streets -of their own), and more distant ones with large -houses and their gardens, and more distant ones -still where the houses are cheaper. It has an -official residence for the Governor-General, set, -as Buckingham Palace is, in a green park; and -it has a river though we will not press the point -of any resemblance in it to the Thames. In short, -if you were to name anything in London to us—Regent’s -Park or Tottenham Court Road, the -Mansion House or the Natural History Museum, -St. Pancras Railway Station or the Reform Club—we -believe we could find you something of the -kind in Melbourne. They have even a Tate -Gallery, and it has pictures which might have -been the choice of the Chantrey Bequest.</p> - -<p>One word more about Collins Street, and then,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -having served its purpose as a simile, we may -leave it. It is a London street, the artery of an -organism much smaller than London, so that it -is a composite. It has shops and clubs, hotels -and banks, and nearly all are square and solid. -It is as wide as Kingsway, but less uniform than -that thoroughfare will be; as busy as Cheapside, -but less heterogeneous; as popular as Regent -Street, but one of less specific attractions; and -the one characteristic of it which is unmistakable -is that it is the principal street of a big city. -That is what Melbourne is. It is a city, a city -where money is made, and big business goes on. -It is to Melbourne and to Collins Street that you -must come if you are to talk to the men who are -planning and financing and ordering the Australia -of the future.</p> - -<p>There is a Melbourne of another kind, just as -there are many Londons. There is Melbourne of -the University, nestling in its gardens and secure -in the strongest foundation a University can -have, the solid research of its professors and -teachers. It would not thank us for any forced -comparison with the ineffable charm that the -years and memories have brought to our own -older Universities; but it has their air of unself-consciousness -and breeding.</p> - -<p>There is Melbourne, too, which sets the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> -fashion; and which, if the word were not so -detestable, forms the “society” of the capital. -But “society,” so misused a word elsewhere, is -more vague in its application in Australia than -elsewhere. Government House is the vortex -about which it eddies; and perhaps cards for -Government House garden parties, or receptions, -or invitations to Government House -luncheons and balls may be the fount of as much -rivalry and as many heartburnings as in the -oldest capitals of Europe. Certainly Government -House maintains a ceremoniousness which is in -extraordinary contrast to every other usage in -this land of democracy. Ladies curtsey to the -Governor-General’s wife and to the Governor-General, -as if they were of Royal blood, instead -of the representatives of Great Britain. The -Governor-General goes out to lunch attended by -an aide-de-camp; nobody would go to a reception -at Government House in anything other than the -most official dress he was entitled to wear; nor -would any lady go in anything that was a stitch -less than the best of her dresses—for Government -House is the Court. And yet ... one day when -one of us was lunching at the Melbourne Club,<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> -the Governor-General came into the luncheon -room and sat down at our round table, with his aide<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> -and a friend, and the other lunchers at the same -table, who all more or less impartially went on -with their own conversation or exchanged a word -or an answer with the Governor-General, were -an editor, a doctor, two business men, a lawyer -and a geologist. There was somebody else whose -profession I have forgotten, but the luncheon -party was very typical of the social life of Melbourne, -and typical, too, I think, of what is the -most vivifying and vigorous thing in Australian -intercourse and converse.</p> - -<p>In England, not altogether as a consequence of -our social conventions, though they are the chief -thing, the people of one social circle know very -little of one another; and doctors, lawyers, -artists, or literary or scientific men, merchants, -men in commerce or finance, tend to limit their -intercourse to those of the same profession as -themselves. There are exceptions to this rule, -of course; and it grows less rigid. But in -Australia such limitations hardly exist at all. If -you have a job of any kind, in letters, or politics, -or science, or commerce, or trade, and are doing -it well; and if you are a man of intelligence—then -you stand on your merits, not on your social -position, and you are of the same standing as -anyone else. A few years ago in an English novel -written by a lady of talent and insight, a duke<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> -is made to say, as almost his last utterance on his -death-bed, “We big-wigs have a good time.” -Such an incredible observation would appear -even more fatuous in Australia than in Eaton -Square; for there are no “big-wigs” in Australia.</p> - -<p>It would be hard to say who or what takes their -place in such a democracy: talent perhaps; -ability in such public affairs as bring a man into -relation with European politics or with the home -country, though in politics or affairs men do -not stand apart from their fellows as they do -over here. In England, or in any European -country, the men of affairs are known to their -countrymen chiefly by their photographs. How -many people, for example, in England have -ever seen Sir Edward Grey? But in Australia -the public men are not photographed; they are -known to everybody and are spoken to by everybody. -The only exceptions are the Governors. -If they are men of great ability, a limited divinity -hedges them, but they are the only people thus -fenced in, and the fence can be seen through if -they are not first-rate. If there are no big-wigs in -Australia, the land is knee-deep in critics.</p> - -<p>In the absence of any deeply separated social -circles in Melbourne, there is a social life of unbounding -vitality and capacity for enjoyment. -During our stay there, despite the outbreak of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> -war, a great deal of ceremonial festivity was -taking place, so that abundant opportunity was -given for surveying Melbourne in its ball-dress at -Government House, or in its silk hat and morning -coat at official garden parties. One impression -left on the mind and the eye was that these things -were sufficiently uncommon and sufficiently -enjoyed for no one to leave them out if they -could attend them. I have a recollection of -good-tempered struggles for hats and coats at -the City Museum and Library (where a conversazione -was held), such as obliterated every -other impression—even the impression of that -massive and graceful City Library with its -domed roof and white arcading; or of the -serried multitudes coming and going from the -supper rooms. There was the hunt for the motor-car, -too ... in a sudden night wind that brought -stinging dust from the north ... and there were -the throngs of ladies quite cheerfully sacrificing -their satin shoes as they walked along the streets -to the cars, sometimes to the street cars. For if -you go home by street car in Melbourne it makes -no difference to your social standing.</p> - -<p>Gay, cheerful, social, hospitable Melbourne. -It is full of memories of kindnesses, of hospitality, -of dinner parties, of gay and—forgive the blighting -phrase—of that cultivated converse which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> -our better instructed grandfathers called “good -talk”; of houses which were luxurious and -homes which were deeply comfortable—and of -one house, to which, however long and tiring the -day, we always came back as those who come -back home.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_121" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> - -<span class="subhead">SOCIAL LIFE IN MELBOURNE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> country surrounding Melbourne was far -more populous than anything we had yet -seen. The land was very flat, and the plain -was extremely bare, even denuded; there was -hardly a tree to be seen on the great expanse; -scattered over it were innumerable little yellow -boulders, thousands of them. Sometimes they -had been laboriously collected and heaped up to -form walls. These are the recollections which -the approach to the Victorian capital by railway -from the west leaves in the mind. The entrance -to Melbourne itself is much like that to any other -great seaport. The masts of the ships showed -above the houses, the air was cool and fresh, and -invigorating after the night in the train. Melbourne -was in fact the coldest place we visited in -Australia, but even here heavy winter clothing -such as one would wear in an English winter is -unnecessary in that dry air and brilliant sunshine.</p> - -<p>Our hosts had sent their car to meet us, and we -spun out of the station yard into a city of immensely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> -wide straight streets, sometimes rather -sharply ascending and descending, with handsome -tall buildings, some of which had a quite -venerable air; the cathedral of St. Paul’s, for -instance, is grimy with age. From a local station -people from the suburbs were pouring out to their -day’s business, as if it were a London terminus, -and there was little to distinguish them in -general appearance from the London morning -throng. We gleaned a rapid impression of gardens -and parks and open spaces, and after crossing -the Yarra River, arrived in the pleasant green -hilly suburb of South Yarra, where we were to -stay. The car drew up at a large bungalow in a -sloping street of bungalows each in its own -garden. A broad verandah ran round the one-storied -house; at the entrance to the garden a -pepper tree had been cut back and a rose trained -over it. These lovely trees, with their grey fern-like -foliage and strings of red berries are very -common in Australia, but they are untidy things -in a garden, with obstreperous roots. Geraniums -were in flower even here, and a pink camellia -bush.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" id="i_11" style="max-width: 30em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_123.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE RIVER YARRA, 48 MILES FROM MELBOURNE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The door was flung open by our hostess almost -before we had had time to ring the bell. We had -arrived unseasonably early in the morning, -rather chilly, rather tired, with that uncomfortable,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> -unkempt sensation attendant on a hurried -toilet in a rocking train, breakfastless, very -hungry, and it is only on such an occasion that -the whole-hearted warmth of an Australian -welcome can be appreciated at its true worth, a -welcome no less generous to strangers than to -recovered friends. Our host and hostess in -Melbourne had never seen us before, yet not -only were we made to feel as if we belonged -there, as if their house was a home in which we -had the claim of longstanding friendship or -relationship, but though they were both very -busy people of many engagements, their car was -placed at our disposal during our visit, and they -themselves made use of the very efficient Melbourne -tram service. Perhaps this extraordinary -and generous kindness, which we met everywhere, -differing only in degree, not in kind, -exists in Australia as nowhere else.</p> - -<p>It is sometimes spoken of as Colonial; and so -in the best sense it is. We had some foreshadowing -of it at the Cape. Here certain of the -passengers had a collective invitation to a motor -drive round Table Mountain by the members of -the local automobile club. A day’s entertainment -was planned by them, but owing to contrary -currents our boat was late. We only had a -few hours to spend there. It was between seven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> -and eight o’clock in the morning when we went -on deck, and our host for the moment, a boy of -about seventeen, came up smiling and helped us -into our fur coats. “Are you always as nice as -this to strangers?” we asked. “<em>You’re</em> not -strangers,” he said, with genuine surprise, and even -a little hurt. And it is that feeling that makes -colonial travelling such a delightful experience. -Even the conductor on the train will bid you -a cordial farewell and hope you will enjoy -yourself. England must seem a cold place to -Australians when they come to it on a visit. -We once heard some travelled Australians discussing -this very point. After lavishing hospitality -on his English visitors the Australian -comes to London, and perhaps meets his former -guest at a club. After some few minutes’ conversation -he says, “When are you going back?” -and adds, “Ah, I hope I shall see you again before -you go!” and that is all.</p> - -<p>On the afternoon of our arrival in Melbourne, -we went to a tea given by the Women’s Union -at the University. Australian women are in a -very superior position to their British sisters; -they have the vote, and their share in political -life takes place quite unobtrusively and as a -matter of course. Women’s suffrage was adopted -in Victoria comparatively recently, and the state<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> -is now governed by the vote of all those over the -age of twenty-one who have not been convicted -of felony. Consequently there is no aggressive -“Women’s Movement,” though women have -their own separate clubs in all the large towns, -and do useful and active work both in connection -with public bodies concerned with their interests, -and in political organisation. We were -frequently asked with surprised incredulity if -the newspaper reports of suffragette activities at -home were not wholly untrue or at least greatly -exaggerated. To women in peaceful possession -of the vote, the exasperated fuss on both sides -about conferring what seems to them so simple -and obvious a benefit was wholly incomprehensible. -It appears that in Australia it has had very -little effect on the balance of parties except that of -strengthening the Labour vote to some extent.</p> - -<p>An active and experienced citizen of Melbourne -has recorded his own conviction that the measure -“has produced little or no change for better or -worse in the general course of legislation. It has -not purified public life in the sense in which the -term is generally used; it has not enabled women -to obtain adequate treatment in the subjects -they are specially interested in. It has in my -opinion made but one substantial alteration—the -capacity of women to organise political<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> -associations has been demonstrated repeatedly, -and the interest of women in public affairs is in -conspicuous evidence.”<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> Working women are, -however, already in a better position in Victoria -than in any other part of the world. As long ago -as 1873 an Act was passed forbidding the employment -of any female for more than eight hours -in any day in a factory. Nowhere is the factory -worker, whether man or woman, better looked -after as to his wages, personal safety, health, and -moral surroundings than in Victoria.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> A little -over 33% of all the women in the state are employed -in factories, earning an average wage of -17s. 4d. a week.</p> - -<p>In any comparison of labour conditions at -home and in Australia it must be borne in mind -that though foodstuffs cost about the same, -imported manufactured goods of all kinds are -dearer. The higher wages are not therefore -proportionately greater in purchasing power. -They have, however, been much affected by the -institution of Wages Boards. These were first -established in 1896 with the definite object of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> -raising the wages of women employed in the clothing -trade, especially the sweated home workers. -The measure had the immediate effect of raising -wages in this trade. The Boards, which are -composed of equal numbers of employers and -employed, elect a neutral chairman, discuss all -the aspects of the trade, and fix a minimum wage -accordingly. The system has now been gradually -extended to practically all urban industries, in -which wages have in consequence steadily risen. -The Wages Board, says the Chief Inspector of -Factories, “has now come to be regarded pretty -generally as the most nearly perfect system of -fixing fair wages and conditions that has yet -been devised.”<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> It is a cardinal principle of the -Victorian system that, having provided the -workers with the means of securing a fair living -wage, it takes no cognisance of strikes. It is -claimed that the Victorian method has had the -result of preventing strikes.</p> - -<p>But to return to the Women’s Union tea at -the University. Our hostesses were representative -of Melbourne’s social activities, and it was a -pleasant and interesting festivity, as well as an -introduction to the University, the centre of -Australian intellectual life. The University has -done much to leaven Melbourne society, and has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -been fortunate in securing first-rate men, not -merely in point of scholastic attainment, but in an -equally invaluable social refinement. A splendid -growing country like Australia should have only -the best we have to send, whether as teachers or -governors, nothing less is worthy of her deserts -and importance as a factor in the empire. The -University is the coping-stone of the educational -machinery of Victoria, where the whole of the -primary and secondary education is in the hands -of the state, with the exception of certain schools -owned by religious corporations. There is an -admirable system of small rural schools, and -teachers earn promotion by good work done in -them. There are also a number of technical -schools and Agricultural High Schools—an interesting -development—one of which we visited.</p> - -<p>The University Buildings stand in tree-planted -grounds, with the imposing Wilson -Hall in the foreground. It is used principally -for social purposes and for examinations, and is -an ecclesiastical building, like a large college -chapel, spacious and well proportioned. In front -of the open doors stands an immense Moreton -Bay pine, one of the handsomest of Australian -trees, evergreen, like all the native vegetation, -large and shapely with glossy dark leaves. It is -so called from the beautiful Queensland bay on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> -which Brisbane stands, where it grows in great -profusion. On the lawn beyond, two great black -swans were feeding, looking oddly incongruous. -The various schools have their main lecture -rooms and laboratories grouped round an artificial -lake in the middle of the grounds. Residential -denominational colleges are erected on -grants of land within the University precincts. -One of them, the Methodist College, we visited -through the kindness of the wife of the President, -who showed us over the buildings.</p> - -<p>It was vacation, and all was swept and garnished, -but we saw the little chapel, the dining-hall, -library, and the men’s rooms. All was very -pleasant and comfortable, with fine views over -Melbourne, and all was as unlike as possible -from the dreamy, stately old halls where our -English boys go and learn to be luxurious and -extravagant at home, and also learn other things -which after all cannot be learnt elsewhere. We -were present at the conferring of some honorary -degrees at the University. It was a gay and -picturesque scene, with the doctors’ scarlet -gowns on the platform; and what we missed in -the ancient academic atmosphere that gives to -such functions their impressiveness at home, was -compensated for by the lively interest and enthusiasm -of the visitors by whom the hall was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> -filled. The ceremony was incidentally memorable -from the fine enunciation and beautiful voice of -the Professor who presented the candidates to -the Chancellor.</p> - -<p>After the degree ceremony we went on to -the Town Hall, where the Lady Mayoress was -giving a tea-party. Mayors and Mayoresses are -very important people in Australia; they are -lavish in their entertainment of strangers, and -are the centre not only of the civic life of a town, -but often of its social life as well, the two things -being usually indistinguishable. The Melbourne -Town Hall is worthy of a great city that is the -seat of government, and the rallying point of all -the different phases of life on the continent. -One sumptuous council chamber is decorated -with Australian woods, many of them very -beautiful, the central panels of black wood -especially, which were delicately variegated like -the back of an old fiddle.</p> - -<p>The same day we went to an evening party at -Federal Government House. Melbourne is the -seat of the Federal as well as of the State Government; -and the balls or receptions at Government -House bring together what in a less democratic -country one would call the society of the -state. Society in Melbourne is very cultivated -and agreeable. It is more settled, more homogeneous,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span> -more cosmopolitan than elsewhere in -Australia, so that here, if anywhere, one loses -the sense of a new country, which is at the same -time part of its charm. The women and girls in -Melbourne are also prettier, and more prettily -dressed than elsewhere, and it makes a cult of -charming-looking, elderly, white-haired matrons, -wearing the dignity of their years becomingly. -Not that pretty women and girls are not to be -found everywhere, but Melbourne has a colder, -more bracing climate, and is more in touch with -the outside world. Two facts that tell in complexions -and clothes.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_132" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">BALLARAT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Nobody</span> has seen Australia who has not -seen a goldfield, and though with a certain -reluctance, for the way was long and the trains -unprovided with restaurant cars, we decided to -visit one from Melbourne, whence, as one counts -distance in Australia, they were easily accessible. -The choice seemed to lie between Bendigo and -Ballarat; they were equal as far as we were -concerned, but there was something about the -name of Bendigo that expressed a smug prosperity, -while Ballarat suggested something of the unbridled -spirit of adventure and undisciplined -audacity of the pioneer. We elected in favour -of Ballarat. We started very early in the morning, -as you have to do in Australia if you want to get -anywhere, feeling full of enterprise and prepared -for any hardship. There had been a riot in -Ballarat, they told us, quite a serious affair, with -military intervention. The line to Ballarat runs -at first through the flat country that we had -already traversed, covered with the odd little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -yellow boulders, which a well-informed passenger -now assured us were formed of lava. There had -been a lava flow all over the plain in some former -geological period, he said, and the lava had -gradually broken up into these little yellow -boulders. The line then crosses the Bacchus -Marsh Valley; this neighbourhood is the centre -of the milk and butter trade, and china clay is -also found in the district. Farther on we passed -through the beautiful Werribee Gorge, remarkable -for having been “eroded through glacial -conglomerate into the underlying Ordovician -sediment,” a well-informed passenger hastened -to explain to us. While we listened respectfully -an immense bird appeared hovering, lonely, -majestic, above the gorge. “Aquila audax,” -cried the too well-informed passenger eagerly; -the largest known eagle. “How do you spell -“Hordax?” inquired a lady. This tacit reflection -on his pronunciation so discomfited -him that he retired to another carriage, and we -proceeded on our way unenlightened.</p> - -<p>No sooner were we within sight of Ballarat -than all our hopes of adventure were dashed; -instead of the mining town that we had expected -with little rows of corrugated iron huts, -and miners in wideawakes and shirt-sleeves, what -we did see was a cloud of white dust driving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> -along a road, and behind it a town like any other -town, containing, as a guide-book informed us, a -“Hospital, Orphan and Benevolent Asylums, -Women’s Homes, Mechanics’ Institute, with -Library, Fine Art Gallery, Banks, Commercial -Houses, two Town Halls, three theatres, forty -churches, School of Mines and Museum, Agricultural -High School, State schools, six iron-founderies, -a brewery, a flour and two woollen -mills, boot and other factories...!”</p> - -<p>We were fifty years too late. We had come to -see Ballarat, and we were shown it by a kind and -hospitable stranger to whose care we had been -consigned for the purpose. There is a tremendous -fund of local patriotism in Australia. Everybody -is very proud of their own town, for the simple -reason that they have seen it grow and helped to -make it. They have a paternal or proprietary -interest in it. In Ballarat they are most proud, -and justly so, of their principal street, Sturt -Street, called presumably after the pioneer who -named that wonderful hanging scarlet and black -flower “Sturt’s desert pea.” Ballarat lies on -the side of a hill, and Sturt Street, very wide -and planted with trees in the centre, slopes -sharply away through and out of the city towards -a green hill that rises abruptly, and is framed, -as it were, by the street.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span></p> - -<p>Ballarat, we found, was gradually relapsing into -what it had originally been, an agricultural centre. -It was in the year of Queen Victoria’s accession -that six prospectors, seeking good pastures for -their flocks, reached Mount Buninyong, and looking -westward saw a rich expanse of well-watered -country that was soon settled as sheep runs, with -its centre at Buninyong. It was not till 1851 -that gold was first discovered in New South -Wales, and the Melbourne authorities, alarmed -at the consequent exodus of population, offered -a reward of two hundred guineas for the discovery -of gold in the state of Victoria. In July a man -accidentally discovered gold in felling a tree at -Buninyong, and a further search revealed the -presence of gold in immense quantities on the -site of what is now Ballarat. In those early days, -“The Roaring Fifties,” as they were called, -diggers hastened to Ballarat from all parts of the -world, including New South Wales itself, for -gold in such quantities had never been seen before. -The whole neighbourhood became a vast encampment -of tents and huts, and the peaceful sheep-farmers -were forced to migrate.</p> - -<p>The Government sought to enforce order -among the cosmopolitan riotous crew of diggers. -Licences were issued for a fee permitting them -to work within certain specified limits, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> -violence used in enforcing this rule in 1854 -produced a riot among the diggers, who opposed -armed resistance to the police and Government -soldiers at what was known as the “Eureka -Stockade.” Order was restored after some -bloodshed, but the ringleaders went unpunished, -for public opinion was on the side of the diggers. -The gold licences were withdrawn and the grant -of parliamentary representation soon brought -about more civilised conditions, or, in the words -of the local guide, “Thus these early years of -revelry and devilry have faded and dissolved into -the far-famed golden city of the south, the -garden city of Ballarat.”</p> - -<p>That was sixty years ago. The greatest output -of gold for any one year in Victoria occurred in -1856, and amounted to nearly £12,000,000 in -value; for many years afterwards the mines yielded -annually more than five millions sterling. It can -be easily seen that the discovery of gold had a very -great influence on the prosperity and development -of the State and the disposition of its cities. -Ballarat and Bendigo, for instance, are respectively -the second and third cities in Victoria. As the -extraordinarily rich surface alluvial deposits of -gold were exhausted, mining was carried on at -lower depths, involving greater expenditure of -plant and machinery, and producing smaller profits.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -But in Ballarat, both east and west, there is a -profitable field for further development. After -having been well fortified with lunch, our host -of the day took us off to see a gold mine.</p> - -<p>We motored through the handsome main street -of Ballarat, noting with surprise the number of -very large and important drapers’ shops, with -their impressive expanse of plate glass. They -were all having what they called “clean up sales,” -and we wondered how a population of about -42,000 could possibly support them, till our -chauffeur, who was also the owner of the car, -explained that Ballarat was the metropolis for the -whole surrounding agricultural neighbourhood of -the mines. On the way we passed through old -Ballarat, the driver jumping a gutter with surprising -skill. Old Ballarat is a wonderful, ramshackle-looking -place, run up anyhow in the early -days of the gold rush, when fortunes were made -in other ways besides digging, and a “pannikin -of rum” fetched an ounce of gold. It had the -air of Earl’s Court after the season, when the -exhibition is shut; the houses were of all shapes -and sizes, and the arcades over the pavement -were the only concession to convenience.</p> - -<p>Gold-mining, like all other forms of mining, is -an untidy process, and we presently came to -rough, shapeless patches of irregular yellow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -ground, all holes and hillocks, and now partly -overgrown, where mining had formerly been -carried on. Our destination was a hill of grey -heaps and smoking chimneys. Even an Australian -motor-car looked askance at the approach to it, -so we walked up, for this was the mine we were -asked to visit. We were shown into an office out -of which opened two dressing-rooms. A litter of -old boots was on the floor, the walls were hung -with derelict felt hats and clean suits of butchers’ -blue overalls. Here we were asked to attire ourselves -suitably for the occasion. It is an odd -feeling that of walking out into the light of day -for the first time untrammelled by skirts, but this -agreeable sensation was detracted from by -carrying several pounds’ weight on either foot -and by the difficulty of keeping on a large alien -hat. Some other visitors were going down the -mine, and one of the ladies’ hats blew off. Retrieving -it from the mud, a man politely offered -her his own, a quite clean one, in exchange. It -belonged to somebody else, but he had had the -foresight to select it in the dressing-room in -preference to those provided for visitors. We -were each furnished with a tallow candle.</p> - -<p>Going down a gold mine feels exactly like -being one of a new box of Bryant and May’s -matches. A little two-storied platform takes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> -down eight adventurous souls at a time. There -is a bar across to hold on to; two people stand on -either side squeezed close together. Then the -platform is lowered so that four more can get on -to its upper story. With stringent warnings to -inexperienced passengers to keep their free arm -pressed close to their side, the platform descends -the shaft just like a box of matches being pushed -into its case. It is quite dark in the shaft. A -sound of running water accompanied us, and we -could hear it swishing far below. As we got lower -it got hotter and hotter, till it felt as if we were -suspended above the steam of some immense -kettle, producing a curious feeling of suffocation, -which, however, wears off. We had a general -impression that the bottom of a gold mine would -be a beautiful, glittering thing, with shining -white walls of quartz and glimmering threads -and patches of gold shining in it like the small -samples given as mementoes to visitors. Nothing -of the kind. It might as well have been a coal -mine. On scrambling rather breathless out of the -little cage, we found ourselves in a low, small, -open space, with walls of some dun-coloured -reddish stone, and narrow tunnels running off -it with wooden supports for the roof. That was -the gold mine, and except that in this Turkish -bath of grotto and passage men were “picking”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -walls like rock-salt or alabaster, nothing more is -to be said.</p> - -<p>Coming up the shaft we were on the top of -the platform, and the water we had heard going -down now splashed on to us, as if somebody -with a primitive sense of humour was watering -us from above with a large watering-can. Altogether, -we were very grateful for the blue overalls -and the hats. Apropos of these, when we had -recovered our own clothes and were waiting to -inspect the machinery above ground, a distraught -gentleman was passionately inquiring for his hat. -The lady who had exchanged hats observed innocently -that there was quite a nice hat hanging up -in her dressing-room. He hurried off to look, and -emerged ruefully with the hat in which she had -been down the mine. It had been well watered -with muddy water, and was now almost indistinguishable -from the hats provided for the purpose.</p> - -<p>The machinery was to the uninitiated much -like other machinery. There were enormous -pumps, fascinating like all such powerful, ruthless -looking things. We saw the slim-looking cable that -draws the cage up the shaft—(“Looks thin, don’t -it?” said the workman in charge of it)—and -the stamper for breaking up the quartz, and the -sifters, which sift the mineral when it is crushed.</p> - -<p>But there was much more to see. We were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -taken to see the Agricultural High School. These -schools are an interesting feature in the Australian -system of education, and play an important -part in it. The Ballarat Agricultural -High School is a large, well-lighted building -standing in its own grounds, where students -can learn the practical arts of agriculture, at -the same time that they attend classes, they -learn to test milk and to understand the properties -of soils. As it was Saturday we were unfortunately -unable to see any classes at work. The art -room had a south light, which is the aspect -corresponding here to our north. The afternoon -was now far advanced, so we paid a rapid visit -to the Botanical Gardens, very large and handsome -ones, adorned by statuary that is the great -pride of Ballarat, the work of a local artist.</p> - -<p>Finally, skirting Lake Wendouree, a piece of -ornamental water on which pleasure steamers -run in the summer, our host took us to his house, -where we had a high tea, with one of those -sumptuous cakes that only Australian housewives -can produce. The journey back seemed very -long, and we were very tired. There were -innumerable stations, all quite dark, so someone -ran along the train, inquiring at each -carriage, “Anyone for ...?” whatever the -name of the place happened to be. There<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> -never seemed to be anyone, and he then said in -disappointed tones, “Right Oh! Jerry,” and we -slowly creaked under way again.</p> - -<p>We were very glad when we at last steamed into -the brightly lighted Melbourne station, and -found our kind host and hostess waiting there for -us with their car, in spite of the lateness of the -hour. Afterwards, in talking over the development -of Australia with the people who lived there, -we learned how great a part had been played by -the discoveries of gold in populating the state. -The first permanent settlement in Victoria, the -smallest of the five states of Australia, was made -by some immigrants from Van Diemen’s Land, -as Tasmania was then called, in Portland Bay in -1834. This is an open bay which lies at some -distance from Melbourne to the south-west; it -was found to be unsafe for shipping, and there -was a lack of good land in its immediate neighbourhood. -Melbourne was founded the next -year at the head of the deep inlet called Port -Phillip Bay by parties of settlers from Van -Diemen’s Land. Other settlers came from -Sydney, and beginning to explore the interior -were struck with its great capabilities. Immigration -rapidly progressed, regular government -was established under Captain William Lonsdale -in 1836, and the capital was named Melbourne.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_12" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_142.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS, NORTH-EAST VICTORIA. MOUNT FEATHERTOP 6,300 FEET.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>By the end of 1850 the population already -numbered more than 76,000 people. The next -year gold was discovered, and in 1851 the population -had risen to over 400,000, and was six -times that it had been before. The gold boom -brought in its train cultivators, and pastoral -settlers, for the staple of Australia is still wool. -The state has an area of 56 million acres, less than -6 millions of which are under cultivation. The -climate varies greatly according to rainfall and -elevation, and there are even snow-bound districts -during the winter months. Part of the country -with a low rainfall is excellent for the cultivation -of wheat, and one of the principal problems in -Victoria is to guard against an uncertain rainfall -by the conservation of water. For the north-east -and north extensive irrigation works have -already been undertaken, but the whole question -awaits further investigation.</p> - -<p>At present it is not known whether drought -cycles can be predicted; how far the large -quantities of water which flow through the -Murray River and its tributaries could be utilised -for irrigation; how far improved methods of -farming will increase the extent to which the -rainfall can be utilised. “No country in the -world,” says Dr. T. W. Barrett, whom we -have already quoted, “is more dependent than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> -Australia on such knowledge as can be afforded -by meteorology; and perhaps no country in the -world is more disadvantageously placed, since at -present there is no means of obtaining information -from the waste of ocean which lies to the south.”</p> - -<p>This brings us to a problem of very great -interest in the land question in Victoria, a -tendency to convert agricultural into grazing -land. Returns show that the very large holdings -of 10,000 acres are decreasing in number, and -that an aggregation of holdings of from 500 to -800 acres constitutes the present problem. The -successful farmer tries to increase his holding, -but when he begins to grow old, and is confronted -with the disorganisation and high wages of -agricultural labour, he relinquishes cultivation and -resorts to grazing stock on his larger area, which -will provide him with a comfortable living. -Consequently less labour is employed, the local -schools decline, the trade of the neighbourhood -languishes. So it comes about that many of the -richest districts of the state are the least progressive. -“The land around these centres,” -says Professor Cherry of Melbourne University, -“is probably as rich as that in any part of the -world. But instead of the farm areas being -reduced by subdivision they are steadily growing -larger by aggregation.... The evil is intensified,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -because as the land goes out of cultivation, the -workmen leave the district and general stagnation -ensues.... Not one-tenth of the available land -is under cultivation.”<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> And it must be borne in -mind that agriculture is the basis of existence in -Victoria.</p> - -<p>The Government realise this. There are the -Agricultural High Schools, an Agricultural -College, a School of Agriculture at the University, -and every primary school has its experimental plot -of ground for gardening. Australia has its own -peculiar problems to solve here as in other districts, -especially that of breeding wheat which will -be “drought-resistant and capable of growing -outside the existing rainfall margin of profitable -cultivation.” It is believed that vast areas of -pastoral country in the interior of the continent, -which now support a few sheep, might be successfully -brought under cultivation, if a kind of -wheat could be evolved that would grow, as -many native grasses grow, under a low rainfall. -As yet the average of wheat grown per acre is -very low, only amounting in ten seasons up to -1911–12 to 10·58 bushels an acre, due, it is believed, -partly to imperfect methods of cultivation, as -well as to the growth of wheats that are not well -adapted to local conditions.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_146" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BLACK SPUR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> Victorian bush is very beautiful owing -to the immense tree-ferns that grow among -the gums, and during our stay in Melbourne we -were motored out to Black Spur, a favourite -objective of Melbourne picnic and week-end -parties, and a point of the “Great Divide,” as -the Dividing Range of Australia is familiarly -called. From Melbourne, which lies at the edge -of a plain, the country rises to the great Dividing -Range. This belt of highlands starts from -Queensland, and separates the coastal drainage -from that flowing westward. An early rain had -laid the dust, so that we had ideal conditions for -motoring, as we left the city behind us, and passed -through a region of trim villas or bungalows in -gardens, each one of which showed its patch of -wattle gleaming among the grey gum trees. At -one point the road was bordered by fir trees, often -planted by early Scotch settlers to remind them -of home. Presently we had left all traces of the -suburbs behind and were crossing “Kangaroo -Ground,” where, alas! kangaroos have long -ceased to browse and skip. The distant mountain -range loomed up before us gloomy and threatening. -Every stream we crossed had its course marked -by a ribbon of wattle flashing among the sombre -eucalyptus. Boys were going out rabbiting this -spring morning with bags of ferrets; the whole -country-side lay open to these infant patriots -intent on slaying their country’s enemies. The -day was like a showery April morning at home, -with heavy drifting clouds, that threw deep -shadows on the dark mass of the mountains -rising on our left. Sometimes we ran through -cleared open country with pale patches of early -crops, oats or barley, springing here and there, -or lean store cattle, brought from up-country to -be fattened for sale, and feeding on the richer -pastures. Sometimes our way led through the -bush, sometimes through occasional villages.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_13" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_146.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE DIVIDING RANGE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>At last we had climbed Christmas Hill, and -stopped to survey the famous view from its -summit. Here the road runs between banks with -the dark shining gum trees stretching away on -either side. We climbed through a fence, where -a little cleared space enabled us to look over the -tops of the trees to the valley of the Yarra spread -out beneath; a wide, wide plain with the stern-looking -ranges in the background. Below us the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> -Yarra meandered like a yellow ribbon threaded -through the green, for its course was outlined by -flowering wattle. Beyond, the gloomy and forbidding -wall of the Great Divide went up to -meet the low-hanging clouds.</p> - -<p>At the foot of the Black Spur there is a -sort of pleasure place, with villas, hotels, and -a golf course. Immediately afterwards we began -to ascend a very steep gradient. Here the -Government have taken over a reserve large -enough to provide a sufficient water supply for -Melbourne. From time to time we had seen the -aqueducts on our way. In the early part of the -year there had been a great bush fire; it had raged -for three weeks, and the smoke had hung about -distant Melbourne like a fog. The after effects -of the fire were curious and very interesting. -In some places a whole gully had been burnt out, -leaving only the immense white poles of the gums -upstanding like the masts of ships. So wonderful -is their vitality that in many cases the gum trees -had begun to reclothe themselves with young -green shoots as if with ivy. Great tree-ferns shot -up too in the cleared spaces, repairing the havoc -that the fire had wrought; bracken covered -the ground, and some kind of pink heath was -coming into flower. The fire had been curiously -partial, sometimes leaping the road, sometimes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span> -leaving a small area untouched. Nothing can be -done to stem the torrent of these fires or to arrest -their course, for they travel at sixty miles an -hour.</p> - -<p>Descending from Black Spur, we stopped to -lunch at one of the characteristic Australian -picnic places, above a tumbling mountain stream -close to a place called Fernshaw. A fine rain was -falling, and it was pleasant to find the shelter of -a roof, and dry benches and tables. The place -was a bird sanctuary; beautiful, and to us, unknown -varieties came and watched us from a -wooden fence that bordered the little clearing, -or hopped about on the grass. The gorgeous -Australian robin flaunted his brilliant vermilion -and black plumage, here was the fabled “blue -bird” in the life, a kind of wren; green finches, -a large crow, the ever-present magpie, of course, -and pretty fawn-coloured honey birds, said to cull -honey from the flowers like bees, and the peewit, -black and white, like a smaller magpie, and so -called from his shrill, insistent note.</p> - -<p>On the slopes of the Black Spur the eucalyptus -attain to an unusual height, even for their -soaring growth, and some of the tallest trees in -Australia are to be seen here. It is impossible to be -long in the country without hearing much discussion -on questions of forestry. A great part of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -Victoria is still forest, about 4,000,000 acres of -which are reserved by the state. But though there -is much valuable timber—in the mountain ranges -in the north-east especially—it is impossible to -transport it. Much forest country is let for -grazing at nominal rents, and forest let for grazing -is inevitably burned. The timber is cleared out -by fire to obtain pasture. The fires are generally -lighted on purpose, with the consequent enormous -destruction of valuable timber. On the -other hand, there are few cases in which the -timber could be profitably sent to any market, -and a land covered with forest cannot be used -for grazing. Australian public opinion is becoming -alive to the importance of this question, -and there is a Department of Forests in the state -of Victoria, but it is not considered that its -powers are sufficiently drastic and untrammelled, -or its supply of expert opinion adequate.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a></p> - -<p>The return journey was an exhilarating experience, -for it was downhill most of the way, -and we spun through the sweet invigorating air, -with one wheel generally poised on a higher level -than the other, bumping and plunging, dodging -the deep broad ruts, holding on tight with that -pleasant sense of adventure and hairbreadth -escapes that only an expert Australian motorist<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> -can give. At one point we stopped to take a -photograph of the Yarra, where its swift green -stream took a sharp bend in a low-lying meadow. -Its opposite bank was one brilliant blaze of wattle; -through a gate in the hedge the mountains -showed blue and distant. While we were adjusting -the lens a kookaburra somewhere out of -sight burst into his peals of derisive laughter; the -shrill chorus of unseen frogs, an ever-present -accompaniment to the stillness of the Australian -country, was the only other sound. It was so -typical, so arresting, so unlike anything to be -seen elsewhere, that we wished we could have -transferred the whole scene with its intensity of -colour and freshness to these pages. While we -were busy on the bank a boatload of rough boys -swung into sight, shouting, barging, and splashing, -disturbing the peaceful charm of the little -picture, breaking up and destroying the reflected -wattle on the smooth water by the bank. We -called to them to put ashore. They immediately -did so, and, landing, came up to us and asked -some technical question about the photographic -process—it was a colour photograph on glass—with -perfect civility and friendliness. The little -incident was such a marked contrast to the -relationship of different classes of the community -at home that it impressed us as being equally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> -characteristic with the scene in which it took -place.</p> - -<p>As we neared Melbourne the wet roads of the -morning had already dried and we were swept -home in a cloud of dust. We arrived in time for -a very late tea, and went on to dine at one of those -pleasant colonial houses, whose warm friendliness -and lavish hospitality is so homelike and -yet so un-English.</p> - -<p>The next day, after lunching at Government -House, we visited the zoological gardens. This -was the first unpleasant example of Australian -weather; it was like a nasty March day, with -gusts of cold wind sweeping up swirling clouds of -blinding, stinging dust. It only lasted one day -as a weather sample, but it was a singularly -objectionable day, with a kind of parching -quality in the air.</p> - -<p>On this occasion we pursued a fruitless quest -on which we had already exercised considerable -energies since our arrival in Australia. We were -very anxious to see a live platypus, that curious -little hairy animal, with the bill of a duck, which -burrows, or used to burrow, for it is becoming -very rare, in Australian river-banks. We were told -that if we wanted to see a platypus we must go -to Tasmania, there were plenty there, but this was -not part of our programme; however, there was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> -actually at the moment a live platypus in Melbourne. -They do not survive in captivity, but -this hapless platypus had been sacrificed in the -interests of science, and was on exhibition at the -zoological gardens. We therefore made our way -thither, our hearts beating high with hope and -excitement. The porter at the gate was calm, -not to say indifferent; it was also approaching -closing time. We entered vaguely, none of the -animals could help us in our quest for the platypus, -neither the mild and browsing kangaroos, the -haughty eagles on their perch, or the slim cranes, -like the answer of the winds brought by ‘sage -Hippotades,’ “they knew not of his story.”</p> - -<p>We were at last directed to a large wire enclosure, -in the midst of which lay a little muddy -pool, it was planted with tall bamboos, amid -which fluttered innumerable small birds. Here, -said a passing official, the platypus was incarcerated. -We eagerly watched and watched in -vain the unruffled and opaque surface of the -pond. The platypus had effectually concealed -his outraged feelings in the mud. He is a shy -animal and resents observation. By this time, -however, we felt that our journey to Australia -was vain unless we saw that platypus. Night -was drawing on, it was long past closing time. -In these desperate straits we penetrated with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -sacrilegious feet a threshold inscribed “private” -and unearthed the daughter of the keeper. She -was very sympathetic, but not encouraging. -Her high authority, however, produced a man -with a key, and we squeezed in among the bamboos, -which we found sharp and aggressive plants, -and with ruthless cruelty warmly applauded the -efforts to stir up the platypus out of the mud -with a stick; but the despairing platypus had -buried itself beyond the reach of human intervention. -We were forced to give up and retreat, -and it seemed to us, as we went out of the gates, -that the large blue parrot, who sits sentinel on his -perch at the entrance, winked at us derisively.</p> - -<p>The same evening we were at least gratified by -the sight of a stuffed platypus. It was at the -museum, where there was a civic reception. The -municipal buildings at Melbourne are on a most -imposing scale. The museum, picture galleries, -and free library are all under one roof. The -museum is beautifully arranged. Most interesting -to English visitors are the complete collections -of native animals of all kinds. Every sort of -kangaroo and wallaby is represented. From -immense creatures sitting up with that air of -surprise peculiar to them, as if they were wondering -what had happened to their forelegs, to little -things of the same species no bigger than a cat.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -We saw the curious sharp-nosed bandicoot, and -at last our search was rewarded by a sight of -the platypus. All these smaller animals were -exhibited under their life conditions, with sandy -burrows, or whatever they might be, carefully -reproduced.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" id="i_14" style="max-width: 29em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_154.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>TREE-FERNS IN THE BUSH NEAR MELBOURNE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The picture gallery consists principally of -modern paintings, many of them by Australian -painters or of Australian scenes.</p> - -<p>It seemed to us that the painter has yet to -arise who will really capture the spirit of Australian -scenery. It is so wholly individual a -thing in colour and chiaroscuro. In a photograph -it shows not unlike Europe, but the heavy opaque -look of the gums seen massed together at a little -distance does not resemble anything on this -continent, nor does the rather sad, almost dun-coloured -effect of the grey eucalyptus, near at -hand, nor the translucent atmosphere, the clarity -of light, the brilliancy of sun, that makes a -London winter seem a thing of abysmal gloom -following on those illumined days.</p> - -<p>Leaving the picture gallery, a long corridor -leads to the free library, and Melbourne is justly -proud of its beautiful and luxurious reading-room, -in every way worthy of the chief city of a -great democratic country. Circular in shape, -it is surmounted by a dome so high that it rather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> -dwarfs its proportions. But looked down upon -from an upper gallery the effect of space and the -soft radiance of the electric light falling on the -white walls combine to give a charming architectural -effect to the whole. Every member of -the public over fourteen years of age has the right -of free access to the library. The trustees have -evolved an admirable system of a “travelling -library,” for circulation among country residents -of the state.</p> - -<p>It was a very pleasant evening. Every section -of Victorian social and official life was represented, -for in an Australian town if there is an -evening party everyone goes to it, because there -are not dozens of other things going on at the -same time as in London. So that everyone goes -to everything, and thus in the smaller societies -of colonial towns a few days in a place suffice to -make many acquaintances, and a visitor can never -feel a stranger.</p> - -<p>The authorities, however, always hopefully provide -an amount of cloakroom accommodation, -which is to the needs of the guests in the proportion -of a sentry-box to an army. Having -already experienced this idiosyncrasy at Adelaide, -we prudently deposited our wraps behind a large -stuffed kangaroo and asked him to keep an eye on -them. He faithfully fulfilled his charge.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span></p> - -<p>We lunched next day with one of the leading -citizens of Melbourne, one of those active, -public-spirited men that colonial life produces, -whose patriotism has grown with the growth of -the town he has done his part in building. It was -interesting, because in the colonies everyone is -doing something and is ready to talk about his -business, whatever it is. One of the guests, for -instance, had a thousand acres of dairy farm -in the neighbourhood of Bacchus Marsh. He -could grow seven or eight crops of lucerne a year, -but it cost him 30s. an acre for irrigation. Our -host had a fascinating hobby of keeping a small -private menagerie. In a sloping paddock beyond -the garden a number of kangaroos were nibbling -the grass; they were quite tame, but their pace -if they are startled is incredible; they don’t -appear to touch the ground, but seem to fly with -their long hind-legs stretched out like a bird, skimming -the ground with a curious effect of great speed.</p> - -<p>This was the only occasion during our stay in -Australia on which we saw a wombat. He is a -thick-set, squat animal, about three feet long, -and not unlike a large guinea-pig in build. He -lives on grass and roots, and in his native state -burrows a home for himself with his sharp claws. -He is such an inveterate burrower that in captivity -he can only be kept in an enclosure with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> -a concrete floor and corrugated iron sides without -a door; in fact, his pen resembled those in -which pigs are incarcerated for life at Las Palmas, -except that it was quite clean. He seemed not -unfriendly in a molluscous way; he lifted his flat -head to take grass from our hands, and his odd -bristly fur felt like the spines of a porcupine to -the touch.</p> - -<p>But the most engaging denizens of the garden -were the little opossums. The opossum bears a -rough sort of resemblance to a squirrel with a -long prehensile tail, and, like squirrels, lives in -trees. When we went to look at them only the -little pink inside of an ear was showing through -the open door of their hutch. Then one brown -eye appeared, a little hand-like claw was cautiously -advanced towards the biscuit held out to -it, a bushy whisker emerged, and slowly the whole -opossum came into the open. They are most -charming little things, very gentle and well-mannered; -they gingerly hold your hand in -their tiny white claws while they delicately -nibble at your biscuit, and if they inadvertently -bite your finger by mistake they immediately -draw back with an air of distressed apology. -Little Australian animals have an exquisite -urbanity that makes them the most endearing -acquaintances.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_15" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_159.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>VIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS FROM THE MURRAY RIVER FLATS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span></p> - -<p>It was a bright afternoon of sunshine, and the -Botanical Gardens to which we went on the way -to an At Home were looking their best after an -earlier rain. They are laid out on rising ground, -with ornamental water, sloping lawns, and graceful -groups of trees.</p> - -<p>In the evening we dined very pleasantly with -a university professor, when a fellow-guest at -dinner described his experiences in shooting the -rapids of an Australian river. He and the friend -who went with him had to keep their food in -watertight bags, as the canoes continually upset. -The one thing, he said, was whatever happened -never to let go of the canoe, or you would find -yourself two hundred miles from anywhere, bereft -of all means of existence. “Was it dangerous?” -somebody asked. “You are never out of danger,” -was the reply. And it is this sense of the possibility -of adventure that constitutes part of the -charm of colonial life, where men come into -contact and into conflict with a nature not yet -all sleek and combed.</p> - -<p>Our last day at Melbourne we spent in driving -round the city and such of its environs as we had -not already seen. We visited St. Kilda’s, the -watering-place of Melbourne. A low, grey, -cloudy sky threw a pale light on the waters of -the great inland sea, with its pretty opposite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> -shore. This is Melbourne’s pleasure-place, with -hotels along the front.</p> - -<p>Returning through the older part of Melbourne -we saw the old road along which men went out -to the diggings, with some of its original galvanised -iron buildings still standing. We passed -by the cemetery, where the first settlers were -buried, closed long ago. As we returned into the -everyday busy streets of the great city we met -the newly formed Australian contingent of -troops marching out to their camping-ground. -There can be few people so invertebrate -that they can watch levies on the march -without a responsive thrill, even in time of -peace, and these men were going to fight not -for their homes and families and country, but -were relinquishing all for their distant kindred -in a life-and-death struggle miles away. This -great unpeopled country, where men are so -urgently needed, was gladly sending of its best -to “the Old Country”—“home,” as they -tenderly call it, with a depth of sentiment incomprehensible -here, and incomprehensible to -anyone who does not know and feel his own -patriotism awake and flourish on alien soil.</p> - -<p>Our last visit was to the Tourist Bureau, which -in general management and organisation is incomparably -the best in Australia. Here we were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> -given our choice of the admirable views of Victoria -and small handbooks of local interest. -That afternoon our visit concluded.</p> - -<p>We left Melbourne feeling more Australian -than the Australians. The afternoon sun was -gilding the level plain as we sped across it, passing -scattered villages, often little more than clusters -of iron-roofed shanties, with a horse, its bridle -hitched to a post, and children and dogs playing -in the road. After the swift darkness had -come, there was a clear night of stars lighting up -the dim country, the great spreading empty -plain with its scattered gum trees, while the -lamps of the carriages sent out shafts of light, like -searchlights, across brilliantly illuminated patches, -momentarily visible in the darkness.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_IV">PART IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">NEW SOUTH WALES</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_165" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">SYDNEY HARBOUR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">When</span> we were sailing from Batavia in Java -to Colombo there was a New Yorker on -board, who was buying rubber in anticipation of -the needs of belligerents, and who knew most of -the places in the world where rubber was to be -raised or bought. His views on Australia we have -forgotten, and his denunciation of the Indies, as -places where the white resident must deteriorate, -do not matter here. What we do recall is the dislike -he expressed, as an Eastern American, for the -pretensions of the West, especially of California. -“There’s nothing they’ve got,” he would say, -“that they don’t want to tell you about. Why, -you take a Californian, and he’ll stand there and -blow out his chest, and talk to you about his -climate and climate! There’s Los Angeles.... -I want to tell you right now, that Los Angeles -is the one place on God’s earth, where you can -get a sunstroke and a frozen foot at the same -time.”</p> - -<p>Other Americans, Californians, to whom we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> -have repeated this description, attempt to palliate -it, but they admit its force; and the fact is -that being a people with a sense of humour, they -recognise the exaggeration as the recoil which we -all experience when anything is over-praised to -us. It is very hard for a young country not to -praise its possessions, not out of conceit, but -from a human desire to elicit praise from a -superior critic. We “know you’ve got some -great things,” they say by inference to the -visitor, “but you’ll admit that this thing of ours -is not so bad.” Thus when the citizen of Ballarat -points out to you the glories of his main street, he -does not ask you to compare it with Piccadilly -or the Champs Elysées, but he would like you to -think that it is something for a mining community -to have cut out of the Bush.</p> - -<p>So now to Sydney Harbour. Long before we -ever saw it we had heard of it. They think no end -of Sydney Harbour, we had been told. They say -it’s better than the Bay of Naples. “If ever you -meet an Australian, and tell him you’re going to -Australia,” Phil May once said to the writer, -“he’ll be sure to say, ‘Well, you look out for -Sydney Harbour.’ It’s a fine place,” added May -reflectively; “but, you know, if you tell an -Australian that the only thing you have to complain -of in Australia is the toughness of its beef,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> -he’ll say, ‘Tough? Well, what of it? You have -to have it tough to sole boots with it.’” With -which cryptic observation he left the subject of -Sydney Harbour, of which he was quite incapable -of giving any further description.</p> - -<p>We are in not much better case. But let us -say at once that whatever one might expect of -Sydney Harbour, whether having heard so much -of its beauties, one came to it prepared to deny -them, or whether merely eager to confirm one’s -expectations, Sydney Harbour would always be -ready with its surprise. It reminds one of that -Street in Tours to which Balzac paid so affectionate -a tribute, the Street where there was always sunshine -and shadow and a fountain playing, the -Street that was like a coquette ... in brief, the -Street where he was born. For Sydney Harbour, -too, is everchanging; the Pacific is at its gates; -and it has a beauty which captures affection; in -brief, it has charm. But it is quite unlike what -one expects of it. Our first glimpse of it was from -a heavy vehicle ferry, and when we rubbed the -rain from the windows of our car, we looked -through rain on a prospect that might have been -Portsmouth, so little could we see. But if anyone -should come to Sydney Harbour by sea, he might -arrive at the right first impression. If you will -lay your hand on the table with the fingers spread,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -you will have some sort of a notion of the shape of -this noble inlet. From the sea you would come -into it at the wrist between Sydney Heads, which -are jutting cliffs of sandstone, with the sea -breaking at their base. Then far away inland, -the fingers of the harbour stretch for miles, -fingers very uneven in length and thickness and -formation. On one of them stands Sydney and -the suburb melodiously named Wooloomooloo, -which was once a swamp, and is now as valuable -as Brixton. On other fingers are springing -up Dulwich’s and Wimbledon’s and Surbiton’s; -some fingers dig so far into the continent that -their headwaters are lost among tree-clothed hills -miles and miles away ... and all this, town and -suburb, and garden city and seaside and country -village—all is Sydney Harbour. We saw it a bit -at a time, as this or that excursion took us along -its ramifications, now in a motor drive to Sydney -Heads, or in a taxi through the park that runs to -the edge of its waters. But it was most familiar -to us, as to anyone who lives in Sydney, by its -ferry-boats, which run to and from its many -promontories and its growing suburbs, and find -their terminus at the Charing Cross of the -harbour—Circular Quay. At night with their -lighted saloons and incessant movement, coming -and going, the ferry-boats make Sydney Harbour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -into a feast of lanterns. In the daytime no one -could describe it and convey any impression of -it; for it changes so, and has so many aspects:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The haze on the hills northward and westward.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The large and small steamers in motion....</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The white wake left by the passage, the quick tremulous whirl of the wheels.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The flags of all nations, the falling of them at sunset.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The scallop-edged waves in the twilight.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The stretch afar growing dimmer and dimmer, the grey walls of the houses by the quays.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">On the neighbouring shore the fires from the foundry chimneys burning high in the night.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Or again:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">I too, many and many a time crossed the harbour of old.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Watched the seagulls....</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Saw the slow-wheeling circles and the gradual edging in towards the south.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Saw the reflection of the summer sky in the water.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Had my eyes dazzled by the shimmering track of beams.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Looked towards the lower bay to notice the vessels arriving.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Saw their approach, saw aboard those that were near me.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Saw the white sails of schooners and sloops, saw the ships at anchor....</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>That was written by a poet of another harbour, -but it catches better than any description I can -give, the life, the humanity of Sydney Harbour.</p> - -<p>It will be the same, perhaps not less beautiful, -fifty years hence. But people who have lived -there long, look at the encroaching villas of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -Mosman’s Bay, and all the suburbs on that side, -and say rather sadly, “I can remember the time—ten -years ago, twenty ... when there wasn’t a -house there.” And one cannot help an apprehension -lest in years to come, the tree-clothed -heights and headlands may not all be whity-brown -with the houses of citizens. Doubtless on -the side of the harbour opposite to Circular Quay -another Sydney will spring up which will be to the -old one what Brooklyn is to New York, and will -have its own factories and its own Mayor. One -can hope only that it will grow up maintaining -some idea of public parks—which ought all to -come down to the water, and fend off the encroachments -of houses—and of town-planning. There -is plenty of room now. Room will be dearer -later on.</p> - -<p>Sydney itself is an object-lesson. It is a fine -town in parts. It has a fine park. Macquarie -Street is fine; so is the enclosure of the University; -and there are the Botanic Gardens, and -the Domain. You cannot ask for better than -that. At least I cannot, who am a Cockney, and -found in Sydney a town which had grown up -haphazard very much like London. Its best -streets rather narrow and far from straight, just -like London’s; its Circular Quay bearing signs -of reform that must have been very much needed;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> -its plebeian insertion of Wooloomooloo dropped -in the middle of the town much as Clare Market -and Drury Lane were, or are, left in between the -Strand and Holborn. To a Londoner Sydney will -always be a homelike place. Those who live there -will seem to him like lifelong friends, and it -will be his fault if they are any less.</p> - -<p>The Glasgow Scot, it will be remembered, said -that Glasgow was a gran’ place to get out from; -and New South Wales is very accessible from -Sydney. During most of the year the inhabitants -do not live very far from the city; for it is so -much more easy to reach the spring woodlands, -the summer and the sun than it is from London. -Manly Beach and surf-bathing are just over the -road; Broken Bay, where the simple life presents -itself without affectation, is round the corner; -Pitt Water and sounds and creeks and broads, -where in September the wild swans come, are a -cycle ride away. In the background hover the -Blue Mountains; rather mysterious heights, -because the light reflected from the glossy leaves -of the trees which wrap these hills as closely as -fur, gives always to them a bluish sheen. Even -Melbourne admits the Blue Mountains, and says -without grudging that nowhere is there anything -quite like them. In the hot days of -summer ... it can be hot in Australia—once on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> -a scorching day at Lord’s I remember that Jim -Phillips, the umpire in many Test matches, responded -to a remark on the heat: “Hot? Why, -in Australia they’d call this ‘a break in the heatwave!’” -... in the hot days of summer people -take bungalows in the Blue Mountains and come -by morning train to town. It is worth it. In -the winter, by way of contrast, the holidaymakers -can go still farther up-country, and obtain -ski-ing.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_173" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">SYDNEY AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> approach to Sydney by rail lies through -wooded hills with beautiful views of dark -ranges in the distance. It had been raining -overnight, and everything was glistening in the -early morning sun that lighted up the red shoots -of the gum trees. Along the line were small -encampments of workmen, who have to live -under canvas to be within reach of their employment -on the railway.</p> - -<p>We had been told that Sydney would be very -hot, but our first impression was one of all-pervading -moisture, for after the long spell of -dusty, dry weather, the rain had caught us up at -last; a fine driving rain that made everything -sodden. Our host met us at the station, and took -us to identify our luggage, which was lying in the -mud on another platform. Our first view of -Sydney was of tall houses crowded together in -narrow streets, more like those of a European -town; for the city has grown up anyhow, -instead of being schemed on the rectangular,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> -spacious plan of the newer capitals. We caught -passing glimpses of fine buildings and open spaces, -“Hyde Park,” and Macquarie Street, the Harley -Street of Sydney, where all the doctors live, -advertising their whereabouts with immense -brass plates on the railings of their houses.</p> - -<p>Descending this broad street, we were on the -famous Sydney Harbour, the most beautiful in -the world, Valparaiso its only rival. One always -thinks of a harbour as a round place full of -shipping, with crowded, dirty wharfs. Sydney -Harbour is quite different from this; it is a series -of creeks running up into the land, its different -arms separated by wooded hills, whose trees are -rapidly disappearing in a tide of villas. Wherever -you are in Sydney, you are never far away from -some fresh aspect of the harbour.</p> - -<p>Our car ran on to a steam-ferry, already -crowded with cars and carts, climbed the bank -on the other side, and passing a terrace of houses, -like an old-fashioned London suburb, drew up at -a garden gate. We never saw anything prettier -in Australia than that garden. A sloping tree-shaded -lawn, bordered by grey, close-clipped salt -bush, led down to an old house, chocolate-coloured, -two-storied, gabled. On the right of -the path was a large tree, still bare of leaves, but -covered with long, scarlet blossoms. It was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span> -coral-tree (erythrina), common in the warm -north-eastern latitudes of Australia. The house -itself had an old-world charm, and a certain -exquisite freshness that caused us some anxiety -as to the effect of our very travel-stained luggage -on its spotless interior; but the wise Australian -hostess, whom long experience has acquainted -with the treatment her guests’ trunks will have -received at the hands of railway officials, sets an -uncarpeted room apart for their reception. -Here the muddy, battered things are deposited, -and their owner can gingerly approach them -there, for it is not usual in Australian households -for the maids to unpack visitors’ luggage, and, -generally speaking, one may say this is fortunate -for the visitor.</p> - -<p>The front of this charming old house was no -less beautiful than the back. It had been built -long ago by convict labour, and was heavily barred -and shuttered against their possible depredations. -The bedrooms looked out over the harbour, a -beautiful view of never-ending kaleidoscopic -fascination. Beneath the trees under the window -large steamers came, and the busy traffic of smaller -craft slipped soundlessly to and fro. It was a -scene of continual colour, movement, and life, -with its silent background of wooded hills.</p> - -<p>Sydney, with the exception of two days of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> -heavenly blue skies, was unpropitious in its -weather during our stay; when it wasn’t raining, -which it did intermittently with great violence, -it was blowing up clouds of dust, in preparation -for the next shower, and no amount of rain -seemed really effective in laying its stinging, -swirling clouds. However, we set off after lunch -to visit the University, and walked down a steep -lane to the little pier where the steamers call for -the Circular Quay, whence the different boats -run to one and another point in the harbour. -It is a charming little journey from Kirribilli -Point, by which musical native name, with -its characteristic reduplications of the vowel -sounds, our temporary home was called; Old -Admiralty House lies picturesquely among its -high gardens, and on the opposite shore, on a -green mound with two sentinel trees stands -the little fortress-like building where the first -governors of the colony lived.</p> - -<p>A tram from the Circular Quay runs up the -principal street of Sydney, past the Town Hall -and the Cathedral to the University grounds. -We made a dash through the pouring rain to the -University buildings, which stand on high ground, -overlooking the town. The University was -founded in 1850, though its scope has since been -greatly enlarged. It comprises faculties of arts,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> -law, medicine, and science. As at Melbourne, -denominational colleges, of which the principal -ones are Church of England and Presbyterian, -have been established and incorporated with it. -A woman’s college, undenominational, has also -been built within the University grounds, as well -as a hospital, where medical students and nurses -are trained. The fees for tuition are fifteen -guineas a year in the Faculty of Arts, and twenty-seven -guineas a year in the professorial schools; -but though these fees are hardly more than -nominal, pupils from the Government High -Schools or Registered Schools, can be awarded -exhibitions on the result of the Leaving Certificate -Examination of the Department of Public -Instruction, which give the privilege of free -education during the University course. These -exhibitions are, however, limited in number.</p> - -<p>The handsome University main building will -eventually form the front of a proposed quadrangle. -There is a large hall for examinations -and public meetings, and lecture-rooms for -general subjects; but the Science and Medical -Schools are separately housed. The general -educational system of New South Wales, -primary and secondary, is established on much -the same lines as that already described in -Western Australia. Only those children are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> -admitted to the secondary schools who have -obtained a qualifying certificate. Every precaution -has been taken to render the technical -education of the colony as efficient as possible. -Conferences, attended by both employers and -workpeople, discussed and drew up a course of -instruction. Trades schools were established that -should lead up to the technical colleges, and by -a wise provision, without which the whole fabric -of technical education is rendered nugatory, an -“entrance qualification” for the trades schools -was made compulsory. In some trades, by -arrangement with the employers, apprentices -attend a trades school during working hours. -Every precaution is taken that the children in -scattered, outlying districts shall not elude the -benefits the state provides. Wherever central -schools are possible, children are taken to them -free by coach, or in the coastal districts by launch. -“Bush” children have “Provisional” or “Half-time” -schools,<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> provided for them. “Caravan” -schools visit scattered families. “Flying Camp” -schools accompany railway construction.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_16" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_179.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>CIRCULAR QUAY, SYDNEY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It is claimed that New South Wales exhibits -the most perfect existing system of centralised -educational administration. All state education<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> -is controlled by the Public Instruction Department, -and the whole cost is paid out of consolidated -revenue. There is no educational tax -or local rate.</p> - -<p>It seemed to us, as we assimilated all these facts, -that first day in Sydney, that our colonies were -doing things while we talk about them; but it -must be remembered that they have to form, -while we have to reform, and the first is much -the easier task.</p> - -<p>We got back to Kirribilli Point, eluding the -heavy showers as far as possible, but Sydney -looked as miserable as all towns on a thoroughly -wet day, producing a confused impression of -chilly damp, streaming shop windows, jostling -umbrellas, and liquid mud. The next day was -better, fortunately, as the Governor of New -South Wales was giving a garden party.</p> - -<p>Government House, itself an unimportant -structure, is charmingly placed on a point of the -harbour, with gardens sloping down to the water. -Towards evening the sun shone out, and gave us -the first impression of the real Sydney, and our -host seized the opportunity to show us something -of the place as it ought to look. We motored to -South Head along a road, where verandahed and -balconied houses clustered in gardens on the hills -above the harbour, clinging, as it were, to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> -rocks, which crop out everywhere among the -short grass, smoothed and weathered by time. -Graceful grey pepper trees grow in many of the -gardens, drooping over the fences. The road, -which ran up and down hill, ended abruptly in -a boulder. We got out, and walked along to the -edge of the South Head, the southern extremity -of the entrance to the harbour, where the purple -Pacific booms in the cavities of the high sandstone -cliffs. This view from the South Head is one of -the most beautiful in Australia. The blue waters -of the harbour are guarded by sentinel cliffs, and -misty range on range of low hills stretch away -inland.</p> - -<p>Here we saw growing for the first time the -lantana, a hardy shrub, not unlike the “meal tree” -of our hedges at home, but with pink and yellow -flowers. It is a very decorative thing, but is -regarded in Australia, and especially in Queensland, -as a noxious weed.</p> - -<p>We returned home by way of the Domain, or -public park, adjoining the Botanical Gardens, -along a road lined by the stately Morton Bay -Pine.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_17" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_181.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>SOUTH COAST, NEW SOUTH WALES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>One day in Sydney was devoted to an -excursion by boat round the harbour. It is -a curious fact that Captain Cook, in his -careful survey of the east coast of Australia,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> -should have missed Sydney Harbour. When -exploring the east coast of Australia in the -“Endeavour,” a ship of 368 tons, he spent some -time in Botany Bay in the spring of 1770, where -he buried one of his men, took in wood and -water, and made some ineffectual attempts at -friendly negotiation with the natives. He gave -the bay the name by which it was afterwards -known because of the “great quantity of plants, -that Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander collected in this -place.” He then sailed away to the North, passing -Sydney Harbour at two or three miles’ distance; -merely noting that “there was there a good bay -or harbour, in which there appeared to be good -anchorage,” which he called Port Jackson. Here, -years later, after the revolt of the American -colonies; when the English Government was -faced with the difficulty of disposing of the -convicts, who had been formerly shipped to -America; a scheme was set on foot, partly through -the initiation of Lord Sydney, for shipping them -to Botany Bay, and founding a colony there. An -expedition was sent out under Captain Philip, -the first governor of the colony. The fleet sailed -in May, seventeen years after Captain Cook’s -exploration of the coast of New South Wales, as -he had named it, and took thirty-six weeks to -reach Botany Bay by way of the Cape and Brazil;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> -but on his arrival Governor Philip came to the -conclusion that Botany Bay was not suitable for -a settlement, and, coasting north, entered the -opening between the north and south heads of -Port Jackson, and discovered the magnificent -harbour inside.</p> - -<p>He selected as a landing-place a bay four miles -from the opening of the harbour, where there -was a good spring of fresh water, and excellent -anchorage for many of the largest ships of that -day. He therefore made this his landing-place, -and called it Sydney Cove, after the then Secretary -of State for the Colonies. On January 26th, -1788, the date now commemorated as the anniversary -day of the Foundation of the Colony, the -rest of Captain Philip’s fleet sailed round from -Botany Bay, and anchored in Sydney Cove, near -what is now known as the Circular Quay, though -at that time the cove ran a good deal farther -inland. It was Governor Philip who planned the -principal streets of the new township of Sydney -with a width of 200 feet, which was instead -unfortunately, reduced to sixty feet by his -successors, producing a narrow, crowded effect, -instead of the generous sense of space characteristic -of cities in the new world.</p> - -<p>The quay was a process of slow development. -As late as 1803 Governor King issued a general<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> -order which stated that “The framing, -lengthening, and planking of the wharf on the -eastern side is complete, and the inhabitants -are expected to cart material to fill it up and to -make a way to it.” An admirably simple method -of accomplishing public works; equally salutary -with the measures then in vogue for dealing with -loafers: “All persons loitering about the -wharves will be put to hard labour for the rest -of the day.” The wharves grew up, like the city, -in gradual response to the needs of the increasing -population.</p> - -<p>But in 1900 an outbreak of plague produced -stringent reforms. In order to prevent its recurrence -the Government took over the whole -of the wharves, regardless of cost, placing the -business of their reconstruction in the hands of -a Harbour Trust, who have swept away old -wharves, provided new ones, and had the foreshores -made rat-proof.</p> - -<p>Sydney Harbour baffles description; pages -would give no idea of its varied charm and -beauty. It is difficult even to realise that its -shores occupy a length of 188 miles, made up of -innumerable bays and creeks running up among -its wooded hills. Some of these, in the neighbourhood -of the main centres of traffic, are -fringed with busy wharves and lined with shipping.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> -On the opposite side from them the hills are -thickly dotted with villas, but in the more remote -arms of the harbour the bush remains still untouched -and primeval, hiding quiet sandy beaches -in its recesses.</p> - -<p>Roughly speaking, one may say the harbour -divides itself into two main sections; that on the -northern side of the entrance called Middle -Harbour, and the more extensive southern portion -which, with all its many ramifications, runs west -and ends in the Parramatta River. It is on the -southern shores of this side of the harbour that -the commercial life of Sydney is centred, the great -and busy city with all its thronging wharves. On -the northern shores are the picturesque houses of -the well-to-do residents; for Sydney is also a -pleasure city, and the land-locked waters of the -upper reaches of the harbour are delightful for -sailing, rowing, fishing, and bathing, while in the -immediate neighbourhood are the popular surf-bathing -beaches of Manly and Coogee.</p> - -<p>We had already visited some of the northern -shores of the harbour, but we had not penetrated -to the west. The day was fine, the weather -propitious. Our steamer started from Fort -Macquarie, and we sailed first to the outer -harbour, gaining varied impressions of the -serrated, undulating shores; past the old Federal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> -Government House, and the beautiful Botanic -Gardens, which adjoin the public park, known as -the Domain, and run down to the shore; past -Macquarie Point and Wooloomooloo; past Rushcutter’s -Bay, and past the charming Rose Bay, to the -steep escarpment of the North and South Heads, -where the Pacific comes rolling up its breakers. On -the return journey we went as far as Cockatoo -Island in the Parramatta River, one of the most -westerly of the many picturesque islands scattered -within the harbour. Here are the Government -docks, originally constructed by convicts; for -Cockatoo Island was formerly a penal settlement. -In the last year or two the docks have been very -much extended, and shipbuilding is now carried -on on a large scale.</p> - -<p>At the colliery of Balmain coal-mining is -carried on at a great depth below the harbour. -It was growing late when we returned to our -starting-point, but the evening light was loveliest -of all on Kirribilli Point above which a crescent -moon was hanging.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_186" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND A BUSH -PICNIC</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">We</span> had heard much of the famous Blue -Mountains during our progress from -West Australia to New South Wales and were -anxious to visit them. In the early days they -formed an impenetrable barrier between Sydney -and the rich country beyond. Many vain and -unsuccessful attempts were made to cross these -labyrinthine ranges. Each successive line of -heights is so like another, its eucalyptus-covered -shoulders with the deep, blind gorges between, -for long baffled and defied all attempts at exploration. -The first of these efforts was undertaken -as early as 1793–4 by three naval officers; but it -was not till 1813, in the time of Governor -Macquarie, that some settlers interested in stock-breeding -won their way through. For a time, -like all their predecessors, they got entangled -in the bewildering network of gorges that make -travelling here so difficult, but at last, chancing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -upon a dividing spur that ran westward, they -pursued its ridge till, arriving at the summit, they -saw below them a fairly open valley with a running -stream and good pasture.</p> - -<p>Governor Macquarie at once followed up the -important discovery by sending out another -expedition, which led to the discovery of a -river flowing westward, the “Macquarie River,” -and subsequently opened up the country beyond. -A road was constructed across the mountain in -1815. Early inland exploration in Australia -forms an interesting and often tragic chapter in -the history of the continent. Its story has been -told in detail in Favenc’s “Australian Exploration.”</p> - -<p>We got up very early in the morning. How -delightful it was to throw open the shutters on to -the green trees and lawns of the garden with the -busy blue waters of the harbour below, the big -ships lading and unlading their cargo on to -tenders, the little local steamers bustling to and -fro, looking as if there was not room for them all. -Breakfast, including a very agreeable kind of -marmalade jelly, made of sweet oranges, was -brought to us at seven o’clock, and we started -shortly afterwards. It was a still morning with -a threat of rain, and heavy, drifting clouds. The -water round the little wooden landing-stage of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> -Kirribilli Point is so clear that small shoals of -fish can be seen distinctly swimming about the -piles, and we watched for some time a little -speckled thing that looked like a mouse in shape.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_18" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_189.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>NATIONAL PASS, BLUE MOUNTAINS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>We passed out of the suburbs of Sydney, -through the outlying red wooden houses, with -corrugated iron roofs, surrounded by greenery -and standing in cleared spaces. Then came green -fields, sometimes with the dead trees or their -stumps still remaining. We noticed numerous -orange trees before we left the populated district. -The hour was still very early; we slept peacefully -for the greater part of the journey. Unless -the faculty of sleeping in a train is cultivated, -there is no enjoyment for the Australian traveller, -for he must always journey scores of miles to get -anywhere, and the country, generally speaking, -varies little in character. On this occasion we -awoke to find ourselves in a sort of Swiss scenery, -with range on range of blue hills. This endless -vista of gum-covered hill after gum-covered hill -made it easy to see why for years the Blue -Mountains were the despair of pioneers, who, -surmounting one range, found another in front -of them exactly the same. The view was only -varied by red escarpments in places. The -stopping-places, as we slowly mounted higher, -were entirely conventional. We might have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span> -looking out on a suburb of London—Sydenham, -for instance, as far as the aspect of the neat suburban -houses was concerned. The illusion was -deepened by the appearance of “Springfield -Ladies’ College,” very trim and sedate among its -neighbours, only the gardens bore camellia -bushes for roses.</p> - -<p>Leura, on the other hand, gives the illusion of -a Swiss village, with its background of high dark -hills, large flourishing hotels, and rows of fir -trees. Our destination was Katoomba. These -hill settlements are on the way to becoming -thriving towns. A large and excellent hotel -already dominated the one main street of shops. -The Blue Mountains are a popular week-end, or -holiday resort for Sydney, whose residents can -easily attain the pure mountain air, after the -steamy heat which is said to be the normal -condition of the city in summer. Katoomba could -only boast of one modest street, but it supported -two chemists’ shops, and a furnishing company, -conducted by a man of unsurpassed initiative -and a sense of the dramatic. One would not have -supposed that there was scope for such a faculty in -the furnishing trade. But in his shop window was -represented not mere specimens of his wares, not -merely pillow-slips and dining-tables to tempt the -hardy pioneer from the backwoods, but that hardy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> -pioneer himself. The whole shop front had been -converted into a scene representing a sumptuously -furnished hotel bedroom, in which a young -man, a wax figure, had retired for the night. His -clothes were thrown carelessly about the room, his -boots and socks kicked off by the bedside, his gun -leant in one corner, the contents of his small tin -trunk were neatly arranged on the dressing-table. -A small table, on which were a pack of cards and an -empty champagne bottle, bore testimony to his -gay bachelor habits, but before he went to bed -his last thought had been otherwise, for open -upon the writing-table was a letter written in a -large bold hand to his “Dearest Henriette,” -lamenting his loneliness, and asking when the -happy day would come on which they should set -up house together. The whole scene was so -realistic that the youth of Katoomba could not -linger long unmoved in contemplation of it.</p> - -<p>We lunched at the large hotel of the little -settlement, its verandah overlooking a fine vista -of misty hills that must have been superb on a -sunny day, but the rain clouds hung heavily over -them, diffusing an exquisitely soft light under the -low grey sky. After lunch we started on the top -of a coach drawn by five horses to see some of the -falls for which the neighbourhood is famous. -It took skilled driving over the rough tracks that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -did duty for roads. We bumped up and down -steep ascents and descents, swung round impossible -corners with glimpses between the trees of -range on range of misty blue mountains stretching -away illimitable, mysterious, aloof, with no sign -of life on their soft gum-clad slopes.</p> - -<p>Occasionally the coach stopped, and we got -down, while the guide who accompanied us -pointed out some famous views or some especially -beautiful fir-clad gully, with a little trickle of -water falling from the rocks and tinkling away -unseen. There seemed to be no birds or animals. -The guide said that the foxes were killing off the -small native animals in these gorges, and that of -the koala bears, which were once numerous, there -were very few left. A price is given for foxes’ -skins in the hope of exterminating them. We -were told in Melbourne that they fetched 10s. -On one of these occasions we heard a curious -noise, something like the gobbling of a turkey, -made by a large brown bird, which the guide -affirmed to be a lyre bird.</p> - -<p>The Katoomba Falls, which we visited last, -were on a much more imposing scale. The water -comes down from a great height in a succession -of falls. As a matter of fact an extra supply of -water was turned on for the benefit of ourselves -and some other visitors, so that altogether our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> -impression of Katoomba was that of a very -sophisticated spot. The excellent hotel and the -soft sweet air, even in winter, though it is 3000 -feet above sea level, would certainly make it an -ideal place for rest, with an endless variety of -delightful walks, which would reveal in their -season all kinds of plants, animals, and insects, as -well as the magnificent mountain views. It was -dark when we started on the return journey, -which seemed so interminable that we marvelled -at the hardihood of the people who actually live -at such places as Katoomba and go into Sydney -for business, for such we were told there are. -The lights of Sydney and a very belated dinner -were more than welcome.</p> - -<p>It is difficult in a new country to think in large -enough terms—to realise, for instance, that New -South Wales is more than two and a half times -as large as the whole British Isles. In this vast -expanse of country the climate varies greatly, -from that of Mount Kosciusko in the south, -where ski-ing and other Alpine sports are carried -on in the winter, to the warm and humid districts -of the north. There is thus a correspondingly -great variety of products; from wheat, barley, -and maize to sugar-canes and tobacco, cotton, and -olives; from strawberries to that much over-rated -tropical fruit, the mango.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_19" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_192.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>SHEARING TIME, BURRAWONG STATION, NEW SOUTH WALES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The state of New South Wales may be roughly -divided, geographically, into three areas. A coastal -district; plateaux or tablelands, of which the -Blue Mountains form part; and the western or -inland plains. Agricultural and pastoral production -varies according to the character of these -different areas.</p> - -<p>Dairying is making rapid progress in the -coastal districts of the north; the tablelands -afford admirable conditions for mixed farming, -in which the raising of sheep and cattle is combined -with the growth of cereals; the western -slopes are the centre of the wheat industry; -while the vast area of level grass land in the -far west give pasturage to 40,000,000 merino -sheep.</p> - -<p>For the chief contributing factor to the pastoral -wealth of Australia has been wool. By far the -greater part is exported, for though local woollen -mills have been started they do not absorb much -more than 1¼% of the whole clip. It was the -introduction of the merino sheep from South -Africa, through the agency of a Captain MacArthur -in 1797, that laid the foundation of the -Australian wool trade, for the merino unites the -faculty of producing the finest wool with the -capacity of seeking its food over the most extended -areas, and of resisting drought.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span></p> - -<p>New South Wales is now the most important -wool producing state in Australia, and exported -in 1912 44·4% of the total export of wool from -the continent. The Commonwealth Returns -for 1911 show that Australia exported 44% of -the total value of all wool imported into the -United Kingdom alone, in round numbers more -than fourteen million pounds’ worth, as compared -with seven millions from New Zealand, and two -from Cape Colony.</p> - -<p>By far the most important product after wool -is wheat. In 1911–12 a little over 65% of the -whole area under cultivation was devoted to -wheat. At present less than 2% of the land in -the state is under cultivation, though over 92% -is occupied. “In the past New South Wales has -filled a most important place as the premier wool-producing -country in the world. But during -later years the production of wheat and other -cereals has been steadily increasing.... The -land is the great source of wealth, and we cannot -continue to let the great part of such wealth lie -idle.... Australia, and more particularly New -South Wales, may confidently accept “mixed -farming” as the solution of the land problem.”</p> - -<p>The days of enormous runs, at all events on -land suitable for agriculture, are numbered ... -the big run, having served its turn, is fated to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> -undergo subdivision and closer settlement.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> -Under the Closer Settlement Act large areas of -good land have been repurchased by the Government -and disposed of at from 25s. to £5 an acre. -The terms are very easy; a small deposit has -to be made, and the remainder is paid off over a -term of years. Many large private estates are -being periodically cut up, and under the Closer -Settlement Promotion Act three or more persons -having agreed with the owners of land as to price -and area, may apply to the Crown to purchase the -lands.<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> The system of “Shares Farming” is -being worked with great success in New South -Wales at present. The landowner supplies the -land, the tenant the labour, the produce of the -combination is equally divided. By this means -the farm labourer without capital soon acquires -land of his own.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_20" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_194.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>“A FLOCK OF SHEEP,” KINROSS STATION, NEW SOUTH WALES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Among the many charms of Sydney and its -neighbourhood are the flat sandy beaches that -have made surf bathing popular. Our host had -planned a delightful expedition by motor and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -motor-launch that was to culminate in a real -Australian picnic in the bush with “billy” tea -and damper, showing us on the way Manly Beach. -The morning was drizzling and heavy, but -Australian weather at its worst always has lucid -intervals, and soon after our early start the rain -had cleared off. Our way led through the extensive -suburbs of Mosman, past many arms of the -harbour, like lovely inland lakes with wooded -banks, down to a narrow point called the Spit, -from which a ferry crosses to the eastern side. -Here we met many other motor-cars, all converging -on the same point, and after crossing on the -ferry and climbing a steep hill, we had left -Sydney and its harbour behind, and presently -began to have glimpses of the Pacific. The drive -was one of endless charm and novelty: sometimes -we passed what looked like a rushy inland lake, -sometimes we were close to the shore. Several -miles of the coast land here have been bequeathed -to the Salvation Army, which has erected various -buildings on this beautiful site. At one point a -sandy bar separated a reach of still water from -the great sunlit breakers beyond, and within it -hundreds of black swans were swimming.</p> - -<p>There were numerous week-end cottages among -the gum trees. The road ended under a steep -hill, its hedges covered with a sweet-scented<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span> -yellow flower. We had reached our destination -of Pittwater, an arm of Broken Bay, so named by -Captain Cook. It looks like a great lake, the -low hilly shores covered with trees down to the -water’s edge. Our motor-boat was waiting at -the end of a little jetty. The tide was low, and -in the mud alongside were myriads of little crabs -that disappeared with astonishing rapidity, scuttling -into their holes. It was a pretty little voyage -across this smooth arm of the sea, in which big -yellowish-green jelly-fish floated beside us. At -the landing on the opposite side of the creek the -shore was fringed with small oysters.</p> - -<p>In the bush spring flowers were already beginning -to appear. Ferns and cotton palms grew -among the gums, a yellow clematis was coming -into flower, and the lovely pink starlike Queensland -rose, that is not really a rose, but a kind of -boronia. We lunched at one of the picnic places -provided by the forethought of a paternal government, -with a place to boil the billy all ready, and -a wooden shelter with rough benches and table. -There is always plenty of dry wood in Australia; -a soft-water tank was part of the equipment, -and the billy was soon boiling; so we had -our billy tea and damper, a kind of unleavened -bread that is very agreeable, and it was great -fun, though the pioneer effect of it was rather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> -diminished by such accessories as hock and salmon -sandwiches. Then we gathered a bunch of -the lovely unfamiliar flowers and started on our -return journey, which was varied by our running -along Manly Beach, crowded with Sunday -pleasure-seekers even in these early spring days.</p> - -<p>Sydney is so split up and scattered over its -hills that it takes some time for a stranger to -realise its extent. All these Australian towns are -so extraordinarily well-to-do; there is never -anything like our working-class suburbs. “Where -do the poor people live?” we used to ask. The -obvious answer being that there are <em>no</em> poor.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_21" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_199.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>SURF BATHING, MANLY, NEAR SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>For us Sydney will always mean Kirribilli -Point, and the old house, whose owner called it -by the pretty native name of Wyreepi—“Come -and stay”—a name eloquent of the unfailing -kindness and hospitality within its portals—an -old house shuttered and barred against the -depredations of the early lawless convict settlers -who had helped to build it. The name evokes -a mental picture of its red gables and chocolate-coloured -walls, with the gravel paths to match; -its hedge of grey, closely clipped salt bush, its -sloping lawns and tall trees, its beds of sweet -peas and stocks, sweetest of spring flowers, the -coral-tree its bare boughs hanging with scarlet -flowers; and in front the grass sloping to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> -water’s edge, and the endless panorama of the -harbour.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p>Those who have unlimited time at their -disposal can choose between taking ship at -Sydney and coasting up to Brisbane in preference -to the very long and exhausting railway journey -of about thirty hours; though by so doing they -would miss the magnificent scenery of the -Hawkesbury River, and the smiling suburban -country-side that the train passes through after -leaving Sydney, with the red iron-roofed houses -scattered among the gum trees. The Hawkesbury -River runs into the northern extremity of -Broken Bay, bordered here by a national reserve -of great beauty called Kuring-gai-Chase. -Formerly trains from Sydney were met on the -shores of the river by a steamer, which took -passengers across to the other side to continue -their journey; a delightful experience on a fine -day, for every traveller on its shores must long -to make a closer acquaintance with this noble and -mighty river. Now, however, it is spanned by a -bridge, which crosses to Long Island, where it -resembles an Italian lake. Along the shore the -water showed through a fringe of coral-trees. -Farther north the country grew more tropical;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> -we noticed a tiny house flanked on either side -by two tall brugmancias in flower. And the undergrowth -of the bush became more varied. We saw -for the first time a curious kind of white bulrush, -growing like the “black boys” of Western Australia. -They looked just like very tall church -candles, their black spikes forming the wick. The -bush is always the same, that is, it is always a -forest of gums; but it has nevertheless an individual -character from the undergrowth in the -different states and latitudes.</p> - -<p>We stopped for some time at Newcastle, an -inferno of smoking chimneys and coal-dust. -The coal deposits of New South Wales are its -most important source of mineral wealth, and -her coalfields are greater in area, and produce a -better quality of coal than those of any other -state; it is hoped for that reason that New South -Wales may become the principal centre of -manufacture in the continent. Coal was first -discovered in 1797 in the coalfield south of -Sydney, and soon after coal was found in the -cliffs at Newcastle, which has become an important -centre of export.</p> - -<p>After leaving Newcastle the line turns westward -from the coast and crosses the fertile -Hunter River valley, where the soil is so rich that -it yields as many as eight crops in one year,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> -averaging between three and four tons to the -acre. We stopped for dinner at what we supposed -to be in the dark a small wayside station called -Singleton. It is actually a town of considerable -importance, with a population of 10,000, and -the neighbourhood is famous for its breed of -horses. We dined in the characteristic wooden, -iron-roofed hall. An immense advertisement of -the local hairdresser at one end inquired, “Is -your hair ringbarked?” A selection of the -population, boys in front and men behind, a -serious, rough-looking group, watched us at our -meal with silent and rapt attention from the -open doorway.</p> - -<p>Soon after passing Singleton the line ascends -steeply, crosses the Liverpool Range and runs -through the Liverpool Plains, where some of the -best wheat is grown. We awoke next morning -to find ourselves passing through forest, and -changed trains at Wallangarra, the border station -where the gauge changes from four feet eight and -a half inches to three feet six, so that all passengers -and luggage must be transferred.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_V">PART V<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">QUEENSLAND</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_205" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">BANANA-LAND</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Oh Land of Ours, hear the song we make for you—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Land of yellow wattle bloom, land of smiling Spring—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hearken to the after words, land of pleasant memories.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Shea-oaks of the shady creeks, hear the song we sing.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Those</span> lines were written by an Australian -in exile, for he was with the Australian -contingent in the war in South Africa. He is -dead now, and he did not long survive the brave -soldiers whose epitaph he wrote beginning with -those words, which seem, to one who has known -Australia only a little, to sum up in a wonderful -way the clinging memories of the land. He -spoke too of the “blue skies clear beyond the -mountain-tops,” and “the dear dun plains where -we were bred,” and there are no two sentences -which more simply or clearly bring back Australia -to the mind. But it is the Australia of the west -and the south. When the Hawkesbury River is -crossed eastwards, and the flats where the first -Cornstalks were raised have been left behind, a -new country comes into vision. It is tropic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> -Queensland, whose inhabitants are called Banana-landers, -because the banana finds the climate -very suitable to its growth.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></p> - -<p>Naturally the change is not immediately -apparent in the long, long journey by rail. The -enchanting cool stretches of the Hawkesbury give -place to the ascending grades of the hills; then -there are interminable stretches of the dun plains, -broken by lengths almost as long of gaunt forest, -sometimes dead wood. Then the plateau of fine -pasture of the Darling Downs, and the descent -warmer and moister and greener as you go into -the land of the banana and the pine. It is also, -if you strike far enough north, the land of the -prickly pear.</p> - -<p>Railway journeying is not a bad way of seeing -a country if you have no better. One can gain -an impression of China such as nothing can obliterate -by taking the North China Railway up -to Harbin; and people have written books of -impressions of Java on the strength of the five -days’ journey which can be made from the port<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> -of Sourabaya, through crumbling Djokjokarta -and the wondrous Javanese highlands to Batavia. -So something of the nature of Queensland can be -arrived at by that long night and half-a-day journey -by rail, though if we were asked what was the -chief impression which, at this distance of time, -is left on our minds, we should answer that it -was one of wood and pasture lying waiting for -men and money—vast resources which need the -spade and the axe and the drill—and more -railway.</p> - -<p>Side by side would be quite another impression, -one quite without significance. It was that of -the little township, one of many, where we stopped -for supper—a meal engulfed in all possible haste, -and yet in the midst of it there suddenly appeared -on the platform of the hall, which on ordinary -occasions is probably used as a cinema theatre, the -Mayor. We were, as we should again explain, -members of a large travelling party, and the -opportunity was one which the Mayor could not -resist. He bade us welcome to —— (the name is -forgotten), and added what delight it was to see -among us so many happy faces.... Then having -had our meal cut short by the oration, we hastened -back to the waiting special.</p> - -<p>Queensland is full of townships like that—townships -which are springing into towns. Sometimes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> -they seem to consist of a few boards -knocked together with telegraph wire; at a later -stage they have added a handsome Town Hall, -a Catholic cathedral in red brick, a humbler -Church of England one ... but most of them -retain the suburb of wooden-frame houses. -They do not spring out of the bush in the same -way that the towns of Western Australia do; -perhaps because the clearings have been made -larger. But everywhere you seem to see right -back to the beginnings of the place, when a -few people settled there and lived there; and -gradually added this and that to it, till Townsville, -or Maryborough, became to them the finest -place in the world—because they called it home. -Even Brisbane, with its broad bank-building-fronted -Queen Street, retains something of the -same aspect.</p> - -<p>But Queensland is not its towns. Queensland, -if you go but the smallest distance away from -them, is the unconquered wild; the land where -the blacks still signal with fires; where the forests -smoulder and blaze for days in the burning sun; -a land where it is possible still to be an explorer. -Only a few days ago we were speaking to a -professor in a laboratory in London, who lived -ten years in Australia, and mentioned Queensland. -His face lit up in a reminiscent gleam. “I once<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span> -went for a holiday on the Queensland coast,” -said he, “and we had rare sport. We used to go -shark-spearing. It can only be done on a few -nights in the year. The season is when the -sharks come in to the coast; and it must be -moonlight ... and you race along the beach -with nothing on, and you can see the sharks in -the under curve of the big rollers as they break -on the beach. And if you are quick and have the -knack you can stab at them from underneath, -and they can’t get you. I got two or three, -though I was only a learner ... the finest -sport ...” His voice trailed away into silence. -Our friend the distinguished physiologist had -gone from dusty London to a place in a tropic -land eleven thousand miles away.</p> - -<p>That is Queensland as it seemed to us: a -place in which the towns were still additions -rather than a part of a land where enchantment -and adventure still linger. There is an island on -the coast which is quite near a thriving town of -meat-packing warehouses, streets full of sun and -dust and flies, and it is called Magnetic Island. -You can reach the island by a steam launch, and -the people of the town often make the trip, and -when they get there presumably they have lunch -at the boarding-house hotel. It is a wooden building -with washing hanging out in the backyard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> -and a dissipated emu stalking among the fowls. -A melancholy bird which seems to have come -unstuffed. So there is nothing romantic at the -outset of a journey to Magnetic Island.</p> - -<p>But wait. Twenty paces away from the hotel -is a stony path, and the trees have closed in -behind you. A hundred yards, and if you strayed -away from the path the way would be lost. -Dense trees, rock cropping out at times, and no -way out. A strange bird calls somewhere in the -distance, but it is otherwise very still and stifling. -There is a tree covered with yellow flowers, but -it has a poisonous look; and if you venture to -pluck it a regiment of stinging ants sallies out at -you. So you drop it and go on. And here is a -tree covered with butterflies, thousands upon -thousands of them. And now you come to a -mangrove swamp, and if you look down at the -roots of the mangroves you will find the rare fish -that live half in and half out of the water, and -can hop about in the mud. So suddenly you -realise that this is an island such as all the adventurers -and pirates and wrecked sailors have been -cast upon in the romances. Here they would -have sought long for water, and perhaps have -sought in vain. Here they would have had -painful experiences with poisonous berries, and -would for many days have had to live on shellfish.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> -Perhaps one day they would have seen -ascending smoke behind that rocky ridge, and -realised that hostile natives were waiting to fall -on them. Long, long they would have waited -for help and rescue, and perhaps have left only -their whitening bones to tell other mariners in -other years that rescue came too late....</p> - -<p>If you would add verisimilitude to these -fancies you can find it, for on a secluded beach of -Magnetic Island lies the skeleton of a ship that -was wrecked there. It will lie there for many -years to come, for it is worth no one’s while to -salve it. But to one who saw it a year ago it was -a priceless relic, for it proved to him that even -now in Queensland the old romance, the old -adventure, and the spirit of them still linger in -the lands that lie within our reach beyond the -seas.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_212" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BEGINNING OF THE TROPICS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Soon</span> after crossing the Queensland border -we entered a stony country in which intrepid -settlers had built themselves houses among granite -boulders. In spite of this the soil of the surrounding -district is very rich, and consists largely of -decomposed granite, which stretches for eight -hundred miles round the township of Stanthorpe, -and is specially good for fruit-growing and vineyards. -“There,” observes the guide-book poetically, -“roses bloom all the year round on the cheek -of the young, and vigour characterises the movements -of the old.”</p> - -<p>The line then crossed open country cleared of -gums; on the pastures numbers of horses were -feeding. Mountain ranges stretched away to the -far distance with deep grassy gorges. At one -point we passed a large patch of prickly pear, one -of the most terrible of Queensland pests which has -had to be dealt with by special legislation, both in -Queensland and new South Wales. Botanically it is -known as a form of <i>Opuntia inermis</i>. It resembles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> -the cactus hedges common in Southern Italy, -and was introduced by Governor Philip in 1789, -who brought it from Rio de Janeiro as food for -the cochineal insect. It is said that the first -plant was regarded as so great a curiosity that a -gardener was dismissed for neglecting to water it. -This may be an apocryphal story, but at any rate -the prickly pear took so kindly to the Australian -soil, and climate, that vast areas have been overrun -by it to an entirely disastrous extent. No -entirely successful measures have been evolved -for coping with its devastating increase. It is a -most serious anxiety to agriculturists, for it is -estimated that in Queensland alone thirty million -acres have been affected by it, and that it spreads -at the rate of one million acres a year. It has -found its opportunity in the fact that the districts -best suited to it are sparsely populated. No -economical means of eradication have been -devised. In New South Wales the cost of -destroying this pest was calculated a year or two -ago at ten or twelve million pounds. Its barbed -spinules produce severe irritation in men and -animals, and besides its habit of entrenching -itself in gullies, on hilltops, and places difficult -of access, it is propagated by birds and stock, -which eat the seeds; and every joint, or piece -of one, forms a new plant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span></p> - -<p>The township of Warwick lies in the foot hills -of the Darling Downs, which the line now -crosses. This is one of the most fertile areas in -the state. There are over four million acres of -rich black soil, formed of decomposed basalt and -many feet in depth. It is well watered, has a -plentiful rainfall and a temperate climate. Toowoomba -is the capital of the district. It is a -thriving, growing town, an important centre of -agricultural, and especially dairy, produce. The -line now turns sharply east, and descends again -to the plains, where we saw fields of Indian corn -or maize, the stalks left standing after the crops -had been gathered.</p> - -<p>Long before we arrived at Brisbane it was -dark. The less said about Brisbane hotels the -better—in all respects. There seemed to be a -billiard-room somewhere below our uninviting -quarters, for we heard the click of balls, and a -man’s voice thickly reproached a comrade for -having “given his girl a rosary and made her a -Roman Catholic”—an interesting sidelight on -the ease with which conversion may be effected. -It was so pleasant to be out of the train, that -after dinner we strolled about the brightly -lighted arcaded streets of the town, and found -our way to a broad, swiftly flowing river that -reflected the lights of the city.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_22" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_215.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE BRISBANE RIVER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>We had now left the mild Australian winter -behind us, and were in the height of an English -summer, wearing the thinnest summer clothes, -though Brisbane counted it as early spring. -Brisbane is a most beautifully situated town, set -among hills washed by the river, which runs -into the sea eighteen miles away. Its many -handsome public buildings are fronted by -gardens full of tropical vegetation, its broad -arcaded streets, filled with people, prosperous-looking -like all Australians. In the charming -suburbs on the slopes of the green hills, the -houses are all built high on piles, each capped by -its inverted saucer to ward off the depredations -of white ants. The deep, verandahed houses are -screened from the sun by straw blinds.</p> - -<p>Politically, Queensland is the youngest of all the -Colonies. A convict settlement was founded at -Moreton Bay by Governor Brisbane in 1824, but -it languished and was soon afterwards abandoned. -In 1842 Moreton Bay was proclaimed a free -settlement. Not till 1859 was state separated -from New South Wales by Letters Patent establishing -Moreton Bay as a new colony under the -name of Queensland. The constitution of the -colony is modelled on that of New South Wales; -that is to say, there is an Assembly or Lower -House, whose members are salaried and elected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> -by manhood and womanhood suffrage. The -Legislative Council or Upper Chamber has a -continuous existence. It is interesting to note -to what extent the Australian Second Chambers -have acted as a retarding influence on the democratic -legislation of the Assemblies. A well-known -Australian writer observes that: “Designed -as Conservative bodies, the Councils have -certainly fulfilled the retarding function of a -Second Chamber. Nearly every measure which -is claimed as democratic and progressive has had -to pass the ordeal of several rejections.... The -resistance of the Councils to drastic schemes for -breaking up the large pastoral holdings, and to -land taxation, and the brake they apply to -‘Socialistic legislation,’ have driven many if not -into the ranks, at any rate to the support of the -Labour Party, and have been the main cause of -the zeal of that Party for enlarging the powers of -the Commonwealth Government, in whose constitution -a forward policy has to encounter no -such obstacle.”<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a></p> - -<p>The promoters of the Colony in these early -days had little idea how rapid would be its -growth or how great its material prosperity. -Very little was known of that vast area, and its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> -resources were practically undiscovered. As for -the coastal waters, little more was known of -them than had been described by Captain Cook -and Lieutenant Flinders. The stretch of smooth -water that forms a natural harbour for a thousand -miles inside the great barrier reef was unimagined. -The northern coast land was believed to be uninhabitable -by white men; the interior was -supposed to be an almost waterless area of intolerable -heat, while experts affirmed that if -sheep survived at all beneath the tropical suns of -Queensland, they would grow hair instead of -wool.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the young Colony throve and -prospered, and in 1909 held an exhibition of her -products to celebrate the completion of the first -half-century of her separate existence. Besides -live stock, raised on the rich, indigenous grass -crops, which cost nothing except wire fencing, -Queensland products include cotton, sugar, -butter, cheese, bacon, wheat, maize, potatoes, -oranges, pineapples, and other tropical fruits. -Her minerals consist of gold, copper, tin, coal, -besides gems.</p> - -<p>It is, however, Queensland’s pastoral industries -that are the main source of her wealth, and which -form more than half the total value of her -exports. The great sheep district is in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span> -“Western Interior,” which occupies about half -the area of the state. Here undulating downs -extend to the horizon, almost treeless, except -above the watercourses. In the summer season -many of these become a mere series of water -holes, but the discovery of the great supply of -underground water, over a district reaching from -the extreme north of Queensland into New South -Wales and South Australia, has made it possible -to transform them into running streams by -means of artesian bores. It is a melancholy fact -that many of the pioneers in the industry got -poor returns for their hard and strenuous enterprise. -In the early days labour was scarce and -dear, and in the absence of railways or good roads -it took from six to nine months to convey the -wool to the coastal district by means of bullock -drays. It was many years before the great -agricultural possibilities of the Darling Downs -were discovered and utilised, though this rich -district supplies more than 70% of all the oats, -wheat, and barley grown in Queensland. The -Queensland farmer is at present in a most fortunate -position; he has good stock, cheap land, first-rate -pastures, and a climate which allows production -to go on all the year round. As immigrants -from Great Britain are under normal conditions -admitted on payment of a nominal fee as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> -passage money, there is an unlimited scope for -agricultural enterprise.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="i_23" style="max-width: 29em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_219.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>CHARLEVILLE BORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The morning after our arrival at Brisbane we -went out to gain our first impression of the city -and its immediate neighbourhood. The air was -soft and humid, as it is all along the north-eastern -Australian coast line, and our first walk -left upon us a mingled impression of brilliant -sunshine, dust, and palm trees. In Brisbane there -is tropical vegetation everywhere; the charm of -the tropics, their glorious never-failing sunshine, -and the picturesque and profuse vegetation is -first felt here. If it were not for the fine, all-pervading -dust, it would be Paradise. Here, too, -we first encountered tropical fruits. The pawpaw -looks like a dark green elongated melon. Its -firm yellow fruit is rather tasteless, but eatable -with sugar. On the whole, we came to the conclusion -that it was not worth while, and the -same may be said generally of all tropical fruits. -The smell of a ripe mango is sufficient to deter all -but the hardiest vegetarian. The pawpaw plant is -handsome, tall, and palm-like in growth, closely -resembling the small greenhouse auralia. It is -common in the gardens of Brisbane suburbs.</p> - -<p>All the public buildings are dignified and -handsome, with white stone fronts. The University -buildings are adapted from a former Government<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> -House, and stand in beautiful grounds which -run down to the river.</p> - -<p>The Botanical Gardens, which flank the drive, -are also washed by the broad, swiftly flowing -river. They are enchanting to linger in more so -even than the world-famous tropical gardens of -Buitenzorg in Java. Perhaps it was the moisture -and greenness after the arid look of most of the -rest of Australia at the end of the dry season, -that seemed to us so refreshing and delightful. -At any rate, we never tired of wandering in these -gardens, where hedges of sweet peas and stocks -alternated with every kind of gorgeous tropical -flowering shrub, now just coming into bloom. -Here were palms and sloping lawns; by the -river grew the curious bunya bunya trees, with -their bare arms and mop-like ends; here were -greenery and quiet; and, most blessed of all, -freedom from dust. Above the river two large -kingfishers often glanced to and fro; they must -have had a nest close at hand.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_221" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A DAY IN THE QUEENSLAND BUSH</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">This</span> was one of the most delightful of all -the many crowded days we spent in -Australia, for it revealed to us the wonder and -the beauty of the Queensland Bush.</p> - -<p>We started early for the station through the -streets that leave on one’s mind, looking back, -an impression of sharply defined black and -white, from the contrasting sunlight and shadow -in that brilliant atmosphere. The three hours’ -journey to Nambour, where we were to see a -sugar manufactory, was full of interest. The line -passes quite near the curious peaks, which Captain -Cook called the Glass House mountains. The -origin of the name is conjectural, but it is -supposed that the conical shape of some of them -resembled the glass-blowing factories in the -England of his boyish days. These bare, isolated -peaks push themselves up sharply and precipitately -from the plain. They are formed of trachyte or -some kindred igneous rock, and geologists are not -agreed as to their origin among the surrounding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span> -sandstone. We saw again many of the grass trees, -as they call the Queensland variety of the West -Australian “black boy.” The tropical bush -begins about fifty miles from Brisbane, where -a Government Reserve has been created on -either side of the line, which passes through a -belt of forest with palms and ferns and richly -varied undergrowth. Now and then a little -party of men at work on the line would shout -clamorously for “papers.” Their only chance of -getting news of the outside world is to attract -the attention of passengers in the passing trains, -and get them to throw out newspapers. The -country round here is very rich and fertile, and -for the first time we saw pineapple farms. In a -good year pineapples can be bought in some parts -of Queensland for threepence a dozen, so we -were told. They are very good and juicy, and -they make a very pleasant form of jam. The -plants look like rows of low-growing rushes or -very coarse grass.</p> - -<p>Towards twelve o’clock the train pulled up -between a field of sugar-canes and the Moreton -Central Sugar Mill. Sugar is a very handsome -crop, when the canes are bearing their tall, -feathery flowers. The canes themselves are dark -red, jointed like bamboo; the plant is not unlike -a very large maize in general effect. Nambour is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span> -a centre of the sugar-growing industry, and there -are plantations on the slopes of the hills and the -banks of the rivers. Two hundred and eighty -tons a day are crushed at the Moreton Sugar -Mills just outside the town. Its neighbourhood -is pervaded by the peculiar sweet, thick, cloying -smell of the canes, a smell that can never be -forgotten; we recognised cargoes of raw sugar -afar off on every wharf and landing-stage and -railway station on which we encountered it, -during the remainder of our stay in Australia.</p> - -<p>The history of sugar-growing here is very -interesting. It was started originally on the -system of large plantations worked by coloured -labour. No other system of working sugar -plantations in the tropics was known. Natives -were imported from the Pacific Islands. Planters -erected their own mills, and conducted their -business through managers and overseers. In -the early seventies the industry was rapidly -developing, but two circumstances intervened to -hamper it. The price of cane sugar fell owing -to the great increase in the manufacture of beet -sugar in Europe; the Government prohibited -the employment of coloured labour. These -circumstances revolutionised the industry. The -large plantations gave place to smaller farms -worked by white labour; the farmers received<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span> -Government grants to enable them to erect -co-operative factories; further, a Government -bounty was imposed as a compensation for the -withdrawal of coloured labour; this was subsequently -abolished. The Central Mill System by -which groups of farmers control the factories -continues. The canes are crushed and the sugar -sent to the refiners. The work of manufacture -is carried out under scientific supervision, and -state sugar experimental stations test the various -species of cane, and determine which are most -productive, and most immune from disease. Thus -the Queensland Sugar Industry is specially interesting, -because it has solved the problem of -carrying on a tropical manufacture with white -labour.</p> - -<p>The Moreton Central Sugar Mill, which we -visited, is close to the main line of railway, but -light railways run in all directions through the -district to bring the canes up on trucks to the -mill. Masses of dark red cane were lying about -round the mill, and coming in on little trucks. -The raw cane tastes faintly sour. The sugar mill -itself was filled with the all-pervading sickly, -thick, sweet smell of the raw sugar, and streaming -with moisture. The temperature is very high. -We climbed under and over moving machinery, -were asphyxiated with steam, nauseated with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span> -sweetness, and covered with molasses, all in the -pursuit of knowledge.</p> - -<p>Still it was a very interesting experience. All -processes of manufacture are interesting. The -canes are shot in from outside, and crushed by a -series of heavy rollers till a thick juice pours out. -When this is all extracted the exhausted fibre is -burnt in the furnaces. The juice of the cane is -boiled in great vats. In its final stages of boiling -it is thick and black as tar. It is then run into -revolving cylinders, called centrifugalisers. These -rotate at a very great rate, and are fascinating to -watch, for in a few minutes the dark, sticky mass -has disappeared, and the sides of the cylinder are -coated with a coarse yellow sugar very much -sweeter than that which appears on our tea -tables.</p> - -<p>We at last emerged from the mill, instructed, -but very sticky, and cast about for some spot in -which it would be possible to obtain soap and -water. There were buildings of some kind close -by, warehouses or something of the sort, connected -with the station, with two men sitting on -the verandah. We asked them if they could tell -us the nearest way to soap and water. One of -them indicated with his pipe a large galvanised -iron tank with a tap in the bottom, and a broken -tumbler, but they shook their heads over the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> -problem of soap. We turned on the tap hopefully, -but the Australian rainfall was quite -inadequate to remove molasses. So we went in -search of the Nambour hotel. However new -an Australian town may be, it always has an -hotel or two, and a sort of communal hall. -Nambour has in addition a few shops and some -stray cows and horses. We watched a cow eating -sugar cane with every manifestation of pleasure. -It was not till we got to Queensland, by the way, -that we began to see horses everywhere, just as -we had imagined them in Australia, hitched up -to gates by the bridle.</p> - -<p>We made our way to the hotel, where everyone -was very busy preparing lunch. There was no -hot water upstairs, but, penetrating into the -kitchen, where there was a great bustle, and -anything extraneous was very much in the way, -we succeeded in getting a pudding basin full of -hot water and a teacloth, and attacked the -molasses in the yard outside, before an audience -of poultry. Molasses, however, appears to yield -to nothing, not even chemical cleaning. It always -re-emerges. So relinquishing the vain attempt, -we repaired to lunch.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_24" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_227.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>NAMBOUR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Whatever you <em>don’t</em> have for lunch in Australia, -you always seem to have turkey. It is like the -inevitable <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">poulet</i> in Continental hotels. There<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> -must be enormous quantities of wild turkeys -there; at any rate, they are always succulent. -We also always had very good and elaborate -trifles, and very weak tea, and, on this occasion, -strawberries and cream and pineapple. After -lunch there was a long interval, while we sat on -a fence, and watched another ruminative cow -eating sugar cane. We were waiting for the -“loco.” We were not very clear what it was, and -when it arrived, it turned out to be a little engine -drawing some trucks, across which rough planks -had been thrown for seats, like those at Big Brook; -but whereas the engine on that occasion was -stoked with logs, and gave out a fragrant aromatic -smoke, this dilatory “loco” burnt some kind of -soft coal, and had a very short chimney, so that -we were deluged with large and solid smuts, in -comparison with which the molasses were the -merest trifle. However, the country through -which it took us was so beautiful and enchanting -that nothing else mattered. It was our first -experience of tropical bush. Elsewhere there -had been little undergrowth, the tall gums soared -upwards unimpeded. Here the vast white -eucalyptus trees were festooned with thickly interlacing -creepers hanging in great ropes. High up -on the trees grew masses of staghorn ferns and -orchids. Far out of reach the graceful, delicate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> -“rock lily” hung its pendulum of pale chablis-coloured -bells, and still more exquisite were the -fragile white blooms of another orchid. In -places were stretches of sugar plantation, and -banana fields, always with their background of -hill and forest. The fresh greenness of everything -was delightful, for the district is well -watered.</p> - -<p>The line, which was sometimes laid across -rough logs thrown over a small gorge, with a -stream running through it, ended abruptly in -the Maroochy River, swift-flowing between low -banks, with the tall trees of the forest on one -side, and a sugar plantation waving feathery -heads of bloom on the other. We walked back -with two friends. It was much more silent than -an English forest. There was no pattering of the -small feet of birds on the dry, dead carpet of -leaves, and no continual twitter. A profusion of -ferns grew along the track, and a quantity of -large scarlet raspberries. The gum trees were -putting out their red spring shoots. Sometimes -the clear, sharp call of the peewit sounded, or -the infectious peal on peal of mocking giggles -from the kookooburra, sometimes the frogs were -crying all together, as they cried in Aristophanes’ -time, “Breckkek kek kek—koax koax,” and now -for the first time we heard the Australian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span> -bull frog that clucks like a hen. Here and there -was a clearing with a homestead with high -verandahs. They made one long to spend a -month in that lovely place, and feel day by day -the great peace of the forest, with only the frogs -and the trickle of a stream over its smooth, -brown rocks to break the stillness.</p> - -<p>We passed occasionally a little camp with a -rough cooking place, but there was never anyone -in them. As we emerged from that charmed -country into the more prosaic, cultivated land, -where pineapples were growing, and bananas with -their great purple bells, we saw a beautiful brown -bird with a long tail, silent and stately as the bush -itself. It looked down on us from the high fork -of a gum tree, but did not condescend to fly -away. Hospitable Nambour had prepared tea for -us on our return; not what we mean by tea at -home, but the Australian tea, a meal calculated -to stand a traveller in good stead till breakfast -next morning. Of all our sunny Australian days -that walk in the bush was one of the most charming -episodes.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_230" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">IN AND ABOUT BRISBANE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> Brisbane River, flowing gently between -its green banks, is a favourite resort of -picnic parties, one of the most popular forms of -entertainment in Australia, where dry wood is -abundant and the weather can be depended -upon; and the party pride themselves on their -skill in producing “billy” tea in the shortest -possible space of time. One sunny afternoon we -started up the river in a motor launch. On either -shore were pretty suburban houses, each with -its shady verandah, and palm trees in the gardens. -The river does not, however, always flow softly -and invite pleasure-seekers to embark upon it. -Brisbane people often allude in awestruck tones -to “the Flood,” when the river rose and swept -away the peaceful bungalows on its banks and -wrought much havoc. After a pleasant little -voyage we landed with some difficulty on a -rickety wooden pier, on the banks of an immense -meadow of coarse rough grass stretching away -for many acres, with other scattered picnic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> -parties in the far distance; evidently a favourite -spot. Our billy was soon boiling, and when tea, -which is on these occasions a sort of sacrificial rite, -reminiscent of the early settlers, was over, we -went up the bank to prospect, and heard for the -first time the sound which so many Australians -had described to us, “the moaning” of the shea-oak -in a rising wind. We had heard it described -as “weird” and “depressing,” and it is certainly -extraordinarily uncanny. The foliage of the -shea-oak is like a lot of knotted whip-cord, and -when all its strings are swept together by the wind -it gives rise to a strange cry that seems to come -from far and near, shrill, insistent, and full of -foreboding. It is impossible to compare it to -any other sound.</p> - -<p>Among Queensland products are its precious -stones, and Brisbane at first seems to support a -quite disproportionate number of jewellers’ shops. -It is specially famous for its black opals, which -are not black, but a sort of peacock blue, with -wonderful high green lights. These beautiful -stones are of infinite variety in depths of colouring, -and their very novelty makes them attractive, -but all the same the visitor should only make -purchases in the presence of an expert adviser, -for, even in the case of jewellers of high repute, -he will find that what he pays for his stones in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span> -Brisbane may bear no relation to the value -attributed to them by a London firm. Almost -every known precious stone is found in Queensland, -including diamonds. Opals occur in the -upper cretaceous rocks in the western districts -of Queensland, and sapphire mining is carried -on to a considerable extent in the Anakie district -west of Rockhampton. The stones are blue, -green, or yellow in colour. They occur in an -alluvial lead, and their original matrix is a basalt -found near the source of the alluvial deposit, the -gems having been set free by the weathering of -the rock.</p> - -<p>We saw some opal cutting in Brisbane. It is -done in the jewellers’ workshops. They buy the -rough-looking brown lumps from the miners, -and they are cut open and polished with emery -to test their value.</p> - -<p>One characteristic Australian sight we were -unable to see, the “wool sales.” The trade in -this principal source of the continent’s wealth -was at the time practically at a standstill. Owing -to the war the annual wool sales could not be held. -Before the war, the buyers, chiefly German and -French, attended the wool sales in the principal -Australian towns, so there was practically no -market for the fine merino wools. September -ought to have been a busy month in Brisbane,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span> -for that is the season of the wool sales. But if -we could not see the sales, we thought it would -at least be interesting to see the wool, and as in -Australia you need only express a wish to have -it gratified, an acquaintance of our river picnic -of the day before volunteered to show us the -principal Brisbane wool store.</p> - -<p>It was a morning of dazzling Queensland sunshine, -with a light breeze off the sea, when we -motored down to the wharf where the big store-houses -are built. Here the wool comes in on -trucks in bales of jute, and at first the visitor -sees only endless rows of shelves stacked with -brown bales. These bales, or jute sacks, which -are made in India, are all marked with the name -of the grower and the district and quality of the -wool, in a kind of shorthand unintelligible to the -layman. The “clips,” as they are called, are -separated into the fleeces proper and the other -parts, packed in the jute sacks, labelled, and sent -straight to the storehouse. Our expert friend -could tell, by taking a handful of the wool out -of any sack at random, the district from which -it came, explaining to us that this handful was -stained with the red earth peculiar to certain -plains, while another contained the characteristic -“trefoil burr,” a little seed-vessel, which curls -itself tightly among the wool. In the sales<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span> -samples of the wools of different growers are -taken from the bales and spread upon tables in -an immense upper room. The walls were -painted a light blue, to soften the glare of the -light and throw a becoming tinge on the wool, -as pink lamp-shades are used for the complexion. -Here the dealers inspect it, and it is afterwards -sold by auction, though the seller puts a reserve -price upon it. From the warehouse the bales -can be run down a sort of shaft directly on to the -cargo boats for Europe; but the wool packs, as -they are called, are first squeezed in a press and -bound with iron bands to facilitate their shipment -and storage. Some deterioration takes place -in the colour if it is kept longer than two years.</p> - -<p>The most remarkable thing about the presence -of this immense quantity of wool was that, though -the sheep are not washed before they are sheared, -the fleeces had none of the oily unpleasant smell -of a flock of sheep, but the warehouse only smelt -of the jute bales. As we were coming away we -were shown some merino rams in a little pen yet -in possession of their deep silky fleeces. The breed -of merinos has been so greatly improved since its -introduction in 1797 that merino rams fetch as -much as five hundred guineas, while in 1913 two -rams actually were sold for 1600 and 1700 guineas -respectively. Merino sheep did not, however,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span> -thrive on the coastal districts, and British sheep -were therefore imported for breeding purposes.</p> - -<p>It was later the same day that to escape from -the dust, which is Brisbane’s besetting curse, we -went by tram out into the suburbs. Brisbane -itself is on the sea level, but its suburbs climb the -hills behind it. The suburbs are only scattered -bungalows dotted among the green, with their -flowers and paw-paw trees and palms. Patches -of eucalyptus scrub remain here and there, and -rough roads connect them with the main road, -up which the tram climbs steeply. After its -terminus the road still climbs the hill and we -climbed with it, till we came to a green lane, -where was a rare butterfly with wonderful -metallic blue wings fluttering above a yellow-berried -duranta bush, and where we heard a -laughing jackass, and watched some untidy-looking -magpies. All Australian birds are rather -untidy-looking, as if they had lived so long in the -bush by themselves, that their toilets could not -be regarded as of consequence.</p> - -<p>From these innocent diversions we were -driven by a smart shower to take refuge in the -nearest bungalow, which had an inviting verandah. -The house belonged to a Scotch settler, -who welcomed us like old friends, brought out -cushions for the wicker chairs, and when the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span> -shower was over begged us to prolong our visit—it -was “so nice to see someone from home.” -Last summer, she told us, had been the hottest -for thirty years, but with that exception she had -not felt the tropical heat excessive. When we -came away she gave us the handgrip of the exile.</p> - -<p>The most beautiful point within easy reach -of Brisbane, commanding a magnificent bird’s-eye -view of the city, the bay, and surrounding -country, is Mount Coot-tha Reserve, or One -Tree Hill. It is only a few miles out of the town, -and a friend motored us up there one afternoon. -On the way we stopped to have tea at her house. -In the drawing-room was a heavily carved massive -upright piano. We commented on its unusual -case, and our hostess told us it had been in “the -Flood,” and the works were ruined, but it was -impossible to get them replaced in Australia. -Going on to talk of the drawbacks to life in -Brisbane, she said that before a storm the house -would be filled with flying cockroaches and other -insects, and she showed us photograph frames -and book bindings riddled with small holes by -the ravages of silver fish. Under her carpets -were quantities of crushed naphthaline to prevent -their being eaten, and a winter coat that was left -hanging up by some oversight, she said, was -immediately ruined. We were considerably<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span> -perturbed after this on coming across a large -whiskered silver fish among our clothes, when we -were packing, but his wicked intentions were -frustrated prematurely, and there were no ill-effects -from his presence, though we actually -brought a silver fish home to London, where he -was found between a trunk and its cover, and -instantly slaughtered as something exotic and -uncanny by the maids who were unpacking. He -probably, however, came from Java.</p> - -<p>After tea we continued our journey to One -Tree Hill, our hostess actually was wearing a -stole made of the skin of a platypus. The fur -was curiously wiry to the touch. Mount Coot-tha, -like all reserves, is the original untouched -gum forest with carriage drives running through -it. At one point the trees had been cleared away -to give a view of Lake Enoggera, the reservoir of -Brisbane, cradled in green hills some miles away.</p> - -<p>From the western extremity of the hill the -view is very extensive and extremely beautiful. -Brisbane is spread out below nestling in greenery, -with its winding river, and Moreton Bay far off -lying placid in the sunshine. The view is bounded -by distant hills.</p> - -<p>There is generally some one feature of a town -that stands out afterwards more distinctly than -the rest. In the mental picture that the name of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span> -Brisbane evokes it will always be the Botanical -Gardens, cool and quiet with their banks sloping -to the river, that wake the pleasanter memories. -Here we came often to escape from the all-pervading -dust, and here we came on our last -evening in the brief twilight that intervenes for -some few minutes between sunset and the fading -of the afterglow. The level rays of the sun -silhouetted the grotesque bunya-bunya trees on -the river-banks so that they looked like bunches -of crooked housemaids’ mops. The peace and -calm of the quiet place were intensified by the -rapidly falling dusk. Except for the scolding and -chattering of a party of white Australian cockatoos -in an aviary, there was no sound but the -swishing of the wind in a grove of dry bamboos, -and the little cropping noise of some kangaroos -feeding and skittering about in a paddock. In a -small round pond fringed by Cape lilies a bull-frog -was beginning to cluck. Already the palm -trees were black against the fading orange afterglow. -A too peremptory custodian cut short -the enchanting moment; it was closing time he -said. So we made our way back through the busy -clangour of the crowded streets, and for the last -time sat out on the balcony after dinner in the -dusty half-light of the street lamps and the stars, -and watched the Southern Cross above the palms,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> -and Venus shining with a lustre and a brilliancy -unknown to northern skies.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" id="i_25" style="max-width: 29em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_239.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>PALM AVENUE, BOTANIC GARDENS, BRISBANE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Our last morning came filled with the bustle -of packing and departure. And for the last time -let us urge upon travellers to Australia to take -far less luggage than they can possibly imagine -they will want. Let them bear in mind, in the -first place, the great inconvenience of transferring -small luggage, when there are no porters, the -hideous nuisance of packing and unpacking if -they have to do it for themselves; the very much -simpler standard of dress that prevails in a new -country, where even in the capital people are -contented to go out to dinners and theatres by -tram; well-to-do people dressed in elaborate -cloaks and satin shoes. The variation of climate -compels a fairly large assortment of clothes of -different weight. But cut it down rigorously. -This digression is inspired by the recollection of -the exhausting nature of our packing in the heat. -When it was done we had to charter a cart and -a man, and freightage in Australia is far from -cheap, to take it the half-mile to the station, where -its mountainous bulk was with difficulty packed -into the very dusty little train that runs from -Brisbane to Pinkenbar, lower down the river, -whence the steamers sail for the Northern -Territory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span></p> - -<p>We had already paid one visit to Pinkenbar to -engage a porter, a lean, tall, weather-beaten -old man, selected on the wharf, to bring a truck -to the station and convey our luggage to the boat. -When we arrived and got out of the train with -a litter of small baggage, the first thing we saw -was a large American trunk tightly jammed half -in and half out of the window of the guard’s van, -the guard having got so much of our luggage -between himself and the door that he could not -get it open. Fortunately, however, our porter -from the wharf was on the spot in every sense -of the word. He first shouted encouraging -directions to the guard, and then by the exercise -of brute force thrust the trunk back through the -window without doing any serious damage to -that perturbed official. Eventually, with the -help of another man, we got under way and -proceeded to the landing-stage. The rough -intervening ground was overgrown with tall blue -thistles with flowers like pale yellow anemones; -they looked as incongruous as if someone had -stuck them on. After seeing our luggage over -the ship’s side and consigning it to the steward, -we returned to Brisbane in search of lunch and -recovered our calm, for the boat did not sail -till towards evening.</p> - -<p>It was after lunch on this last day that we saw<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span> -a thing we had always wanted very much to see -and despaired of doing so. It was the little -Australian tree bear, or koala bear, once very -common, now becoming rare. We heard from -a French waiter that there was one in the hotel, -and presuming on our experience of Australian -good nature, sent a message to its unknown owner -to ask if we might see it before we left. He -brought it down immediately, carried in the arms -of his little girl, and it really was an adorable -little thing. It was about the same size as the -very largest child’s “Teddy Bear,” grey in -colour. Its little hand-like fore paws were holding -on to the lace of the little girl’s pinafore, one on -each side of her neck, and it turned its head and -fixed a pair of wistful eyes upon us. She said it -slept all day and woke up at night, when it cried -for milk like a cat. It only ate gum leaves. -“When we were boys,” said its owner, “we used -to hunt them. It took thirty or forty shots to -bring one down, and then it would take eight -or ten dogs to finish one, they are so tough.” -Even so, these charming and harmless little -animals, which live in the gum trees and feed on -their leaves, are becoming exterminated.</p> - -<p>It was late afternoon when we made our third -and last visit to Pinkenbar. The scene in the -neighbourhood of the station was so typically<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span> -Australian that we lingered regretfully to take a -last look at it. The rough dusty road that led -away inland, the drove of horses in an enclosure -waiting to be entrained for the War, with another -horse hitched on to the fence by its bridle, the -clear strong stereoscopic light, a paddock of burnt -grass, the scattered row of houses beyond, with -flat grey roofs, built high on piles, and beyond -again gum trees and more gum trees. We turned -away towards the wharf with a certain sadness, -for this spacious country with its austere beauty -and its handful of warm-hearted inhabitants is -wonderfully endearing in spite of, or perhaps -because of, all its crudeness. We distributed our -newspapers among the men loafing and smoking -on the wharf, who took them with that frank -friendliness of a country, where class distinctions -are almost unfelt; and went on board the boat -that lay alongside, still busy with the bustle of -departure.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_VI">PART VI<br /> - -<span class="subhead1">TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_245" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE GREAT BARRIER REEF</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">We</span> had already made acquaintance with -the “Montoro” when she was unlading -in Sydney Harbour, her final port of call, and we -now spent on board three of the pleasantest -weeks of our journey. There is a great sense of -peace and cleanliness on a ship after long dusty -travels. The “Montoro” was a small boat, less -than 6000 tons, but remarkably well-appointed and -arranged, our airy bedstead cabin was positively -spacious, with the luxury of a large wardrobe and a -full length looking-glass in its door. The staff were -Chinese, efficient, ubiquitous, noiseless, and their -gentle soft-voiced ways were particularly restful -after the rough and ready Australian servant. On -board we found awaiting us letters from home, -the last we were to get for two long months, for -our Java mail, delayed by the war, followed us to -England. Presently we were slipping down to the -sea between the low banks of the green river, with -a light breeze. Venus was rising and the moon, -and the shore lights began to glimmer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span></p> - -<p>Our first day out was choppy and rough, but -a heavy shower smoothed out the sea like oil, and -the next day saw us inside the Barrier Reef, in -the Coral Sea that stretches away to the extreme -north coast. Captain Cook had made the same -voyage that we were making in the summer of -1770 in a boat of 368 tons, and we thought our -boat small! He noted and named every headland -and bay along “this dangerous coast, where the -sea in all parts conceals shoals that suddenly -project from the shore, and rocks that rise -abruptly like a pyramid from the bottom, for -more than 1300 miles.” Even now, when every -inch of the course has been charted, the voyage -is dangerous for the same reason, the low flat -islands are nearly indiscernible at night. The -mountainous coast is almost uninhabited, except -by natives, unfriendly now as then; and is almost -entirely unlighted, as hitherto the Government -has not been able to incur the expense of erecting -and maintaining lighthouses, except in the neighbourhood -of the few existing townships. No -ship’s library on this course should be without a -copy of “Captain Cook’s Voyages,” or, at any -rate, no traveller should fail to provide himself -with one, as the record of this early navigator -in these seas adds immensely to the interest of the -journey to-day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span></p> - -<p>The voyage within the Barrier Reef will -always be one of the most beautiful in the world. -Once inside the Coral Sea, to awake in the morning -and go on deck is to dream an exquisite dream. -Here is halcyon weather, the heat of the sun -tempered by light airs off the water, and seas of -an indescribable translucent turquoise green -rippling past among innumerable islands. One -after another they appear in the distance, -shadowy and vague as clouds; slowly they take -shape like brown uncut opals; a nearer view -discloses sandy coves, grassy slopes, pine trees and -forest. They grew more and more numerous, -and, as the day closed in beneath plum-coloured -clouds, the soft light lay gently and hazily upon -them, till the sun sank in a sky of vivid orange. -The charm of this wonderful passage never palls, -for its variety is endless. Sometimes the austere, -dark mountainous shore is visible, with columns -of smoke upon it, native fires as Captain Cook -saw them two hundred years ago, for they are -still used as signals.</p> - -<p>The sea is rich in all kinds of life for those who -care to look for it, and we were fortunate in -having on board an accomplished naturalist, who, -in shirt-sleeves for coolness, and a large-brimmed -hat, looking like a sort of drawing-room pirate, -sat all day in the bows searching the clear blue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span> -water with a pair of field-glasses, and shouting -to all, who were interested, to come and see what -he had found. It was he who taught us how and -where to look for, and what to call, the unfamiliar -birds and sea beasts that we saw.</p> - -<p>On the June days two hundred years ago on -which Captain Cook cautiously essayed his -dangerous journey in a rickety boat on uncharted -seas, he often named the islands and headlands -after days of the week or month. So it happens -that one of the loveliest points on the voyage is -known as “Whit-Sunday Passage,” because it -was on that day that Captain Cook navigated it.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_26" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_249.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>TOWNSVILLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Our fourth day out we reached Townsville -early in the morning. Its absurd name is said -to be due to the fact that the inhabitants wished -to commemorate the benefactions of a fellow-citizen -called Town, and did not know how to -achieve their end less tautologically. We woke -early to find ourselves in a beautiful land-locked -bay, called Cleveland Bay by Captain Cook, who -recorded that “the east point I named Cape -Cleveland, and the west, which had the appearance -of an island, Magnetical Isle, as we perceived -that the compass did not traverse well when we -were near it.” “They are both high, and so is the -mainland within them, the whole forming a -surface the most rugged, rocky, and barren of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> -any we had seen upon the coast.” He also notes -that they saw “several large smokes upon the -main.” To-day a picturesque little township -lies under a sharply escarped granite hill, with -stately, misty coastal ranges in the background. -Probably Captain Cook, like ourselves, saw the -beautiful yellow “white-headed eagles” flying -across the harbour. We took some time getting -in because the pilot ran on to a mud-bank, for -the bay is very shallow. At last we came alongside -a wharf, and at once went on shore and started -on the long walk to the town. It was very, very -hot on shore, and clouds of grey dust met us all -along the road from the landing-stage. We hoped -to reach the church on the hill, at all events before -the Sunday service was quite over.</p> - -<p>Townsville is a picturesque little place, a -mining port growing continually in importance; -and in that transitional stage, when rough wooden -corrugated iron buildings are giving place to -brick. There were some very showy hotels -calculated to attract the miner with his pockets -full of money, when he comes to town to taste -the sweets of such civilisation as it affords, to -spend all he has gained, and to live riotously as -long as it lasts. This at least is the popular conception -of the habits of miners, which was continually -impressed upon us. We were never able<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span> -to verify these statements, because though we -occasionally conversed with miners, they looked -anything but dare-devils and spendthrifts, and -it seemed scarcely delicate to ask them if it was -true that they periodically repaired to the nearest -town to paint it red as long as their money lasted. -As for the shops on either side of the broad, -dusty, empty streets over which the heat brooded, -they seemed to consist principally of lettering. -Every minute shanty had above it vast boards -proclaiming in letters as large as itself the name -of its owner and the superiority of its stock, -whether bicycles or tents, both essential articles -of merchandise in an outlying Australian town. -The more ambitious shops had placards inside. -One enterprising draper called on the passer-by -to observe the rebuilding of his “palatial -premises,” while another drew attention to -“Dame Fashion’s latest caprices.”</p> - -<p>We passed a cotton tree with ripe pods, growing -in a garden, and several coco palms, the coconuts -hanging in yellow bunches like a cluster of -immense bananas. After crossing a river bordered -by mangrove swamps, and passing through the -main street, we struck off up a steep hill in quest -of the church. On climbing a granite mound -we found ourselves at its doors, with a beautiful -view of the bay and its green shores, but no service,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span> -for probably to suit the habits of the people -in a hot climate, it had ended about the time our -churches at home are beginning. Following an -admirable plan, pursued elsewhere in Australia, -only a section of the church had been completed. -There was an apse, and enough space beyond it -to seat a fairly large congregation. It was very -simply constructed, and had the dignity that -simplicity gives to a building. It was of red -brick with an ambulatory and a kingbeam roof, -and had an air of being carefully tended. We -lingered there a little wistfully, for in a country -very far from home there is a sense of intimate -nearness in hearing read that familiar liturgy, -which contains the noblest prose in the English -language. Leaving the church behind we wandered -down towards the shore, and came to a -wonderful tangled garden. Tall palms grew -there, and masses of feathery crimson grasses; -bananas drooped their immense purple bells, and -the frangipani tree was bursting into bloom, -holding out to us over the fence bunches of its -dazzling, scented, creamy blossoms at the end -of its bare, blunt boughs. Returning, we faced -the strong breeze off the sea, which had been at -our backs on the way up. We knew all about the -dust on that walk, and were very glad to attain -once more the haven of the ship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span></p> - -<p>In the afternoon the whole population came -down to the wharf in cars and buggies to inspect -the Australian hospital ship, which was lying -alongside ready to sail. We strolled on the shore, -where a large convolvulus with very succulent -leaves grew profusely among the stones; and -watched a forest fire on a mountain at the -farther end of the bay; since the morning it -had gradually worked its way right round the -crest and was crawling down one side. Our stay -at Townsville should have been a very brief one, -but we were delayed there for three or four days -by the Customs officials, as we were carrying a -contraband cargo of meat. Nobody wanted to -stay in Townsville, as there was nothing to be seen -in the neighbourhood, and it would mean cutting -short the duration of the ship’s visit to the -Northern Territory.</p> - -<p>The second day of our stay there, we climbed -the granite peak that rises behind the town, -going across by a little ferry-boat that plies -between the wharf and the opposite side of the -harbour. A strong wind was blowing in from -the sea, as we steamed across to Townsville, lying -deep in dust in the hot sun. We made our way -up to the Castle Hill, the red granite peak that -dominates the town. A very steep path leads -up to it, and on the rocks above some goats and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span> -kids were silhouetted against the clear blue sky -like a scrap of Swiss scenery. The town from this -side is scattered along the shore, and the slopes -above it half hidden in tropical foliage. Below -us were the Botanical Gardens, the hospital -embowered in trees, with the patients lying out -on a shady balcony. Everywhere was the heavy -scent and glorious bouquets of gold and white -frangipani. We had been sent in the wrong -direction, and missed the path, so that the ascent -was very steep and rough, but we went on, -slipping and scrambling up among falling stones, -clinging on where we could, among big butterflies -and lizards, and large brown grasshoppers -with black spots. As we climbed higher Townsville -spread itself out beneath us charmingly. -Bungalows nestled among vivid green foliage, -beyond were the blue bay, and its boats, ours -amongst them, riding gaily at anchor, with the -dark green wooded mass of “Magnetic Island” -rising behind. Higher still we rested, while a -fish hawk soared far above in the clear blue, and -on the southern side Townsville looked like -nothing but a vast mud flat with the river -winding through it, and houses dotted among -the mangrove swamps. One fancied that one -big wave might submerge the whole.</p> - -<p>On Wednesday we sailed early, keeping fairly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span> -near the coast, and reaching Cairns the same -night. Cairns is the port of Trinity Bay—“a -large and deep bay which I called Trinity Bay -after the day on which it was discovered,” says -Captain Cook, who had spent the intervening -days in coasting up here from Whit-Sunday -Passage. At Cairns we wished profoundly that -the stringent Australian labour laws would -prohibit night work, for our boat was lading or -unlading with all the clangour and shouting -incidental to these operations till 3 a.m. We had -to be called early, because we were only to wait -long enough in port to give the passengers an -opportunity of making the return journey to the -famous Barron Falls, about twenty miles inland -from the coast, among some of the most celebrated -Australian scenery. From the porthole -of the ship’s corridor we looked straight into a -mangrove swamp, beyond was a background of -misty dark hills with heavy clouds rolling down -them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_27" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_255.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BARRON FALLS SCENERY AT CAIRNS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Cairns, apart from its fame for the beauty of -its falls and mountain scenery, is already an -important place, and will become much more so, -for it is the port for the rich inland districts, with -which it is connected by railway. This fertile -country is suitable for bananas, maize, for dairying, -as well as for the timber trade. In the -neighbourhood of Herberton, south-west of -Cairns, fruit-growing is carried on, and apples, -plums, pears, peaches, and vines are all successfully -cultivated. The sugar industry is, besides, -a most important factor in the prosperity of -Cairns. Not far from the railway station of -Redlynch, at the foot of the Barron Range, are -the Kamerunga State Nurseries for growing -coffee, bread-fruit, coconut, and rubber, and -carrying out all kinds of experiments designed to -solve the problems of tropical agriculture.</p> - -<p>The country is also rich in minerals. Herberton -is the principal centre for the production of tin, -and the Herberton and Chillagoe districts contain -deposits of tin, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, -gold, and coal.</p> - -<p>Our time, however, did not admit of our penetrating -far enough into the interior to inspect the -development of all these agricultural and mineral -sources of wealth, which have so great a future -before them; nor did it admit of our extending -our journey far enough for even a glimpse of the -curious and beautiful volcanic Lake Eacham. -We had to content ourselves with the Barron -Falls. We went ashore early, but the boat was -late, and the train had got tired of waiting and -gone away, so there was a long interval while it -was fetched back and put together again. We sat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span> -about on sacks on a high covered platform, and -conversed with some of the lean, long-limbed -Australian workmen about the Australian labour -question.</p> - -<p>Immediately in front three ibises were feeding -on a sort of salt marsh. The range of hills -behind was half hidden in cloud. There was an -all-pervading smell of raw sugar from bales -awaiting shipment, and though it was not yet -very warm the atmosphere was heavy with -moisture like that of a hothouse. There did not -seem to be very much of Cairns—one or two -hotels and boarding-houses, a few wide grassy -streets. The scattered houses on high piles had -a more than usually unfinished air, with washing -hanging out, kerosene tins lying about, and bare-legged -children playing among them. There -were a great many goats; two of them had discovered -a bag of maize on the wharf and were -having a happy time. At last our train arrived, -consisting of one or two carriages, so arranged -that the backs of the seats could be reversed, and -as they all turned sideways you faced the whole -length of the carriage, like a Pullman car, and we -got the whole of the view during the journey, -for most of the time the train has one side against -the hill.</p> - -<p>The line from the wharf runs among the houses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span> -to the station, where the school children were just -arriving from up country settlements. After -passing some tea gardens, which looked oddly -sophisticated in the bush, we found ourselves -among banana fields and pineapples, but everything -was more or less obscured by fine driving -rain. There was still a fair number of scattered -houses, built of wood and iron, with a deplorably -drenched air, and handfuls of draggled English -flowers in their little gardens among tropical -fruits, paw-paws, and lemons. When the ascent -begins the line soon enters the wonderful tropical -forest—indescribable, unimaginable in the -abounding luxuriance and the variety of its -tangled, matted growth. The stately soaring -eucalyptus is always the staple factor in Australian -scenery, but here they are linked together -and festooned with heavy ropes of giant creeper, -“vines” they call them in the tropics.</p> - -<p>In the thick undergrowth are ferns, paw-paw -trees, bananas, mango trees, with dark -glossy leaves and feathery flowers, and the -poisonous “nettle tree,” or “stinging tree” -(<i>Laportea gigas</i>). The leaves are very large, of -delicate pale green in colour, and covered with -soft hairs. The stinging hairs, though not large, -are so virulent that cattle have been known to -die from the poison. An Australian botanist,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span> -Mr. A. G. Hamilton, “once saw a cow which -had rushed through a lot of small plants. She had -lost all her hair and looked like an india-rubber -cow.”<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_28" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_259.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BARRON, RIVER CAIRNS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The construction of the line must have involved -a considerable feat of engineering, for it -winds up the hills like an Alpine railway. Presently -we began to have glimpses of deep dark gorges -with a broad green river flowing beneath us, then -we crossed a waterfall slipping down an almost -perpendicular rock, and in flood covering the -railroad. The rain had ceased, and now the -rolling clouds, soft loose masses resting gently -on the tops of the tallest gums, suddenly drifted -away and revealed a vast landscape of rare -loveliness. Looking down the opening gorge, we -saw the valley of the Barron River, for almost its -whole course, winding to the sea, a pale streak -below the dark slopes of the mountains. The train -stopped within sound of the thunder of the -Barron Falls. The swirling water takes its magnificent -plunge in tumultuous clouds of white -froth to the gorge below, where rare butterflies -hover, and white cockatoos flutter among the -tops of the gum trees. Above all the tumult two -swallows were darting to and fro, they carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span> -one’s thoughts home. Higher up the river there -were silent green backwaters, and soft sandy foreshores, -where little pink bivalve shells were lying. -A big hotel dominated the neighbourhood of the -little station, and a young man and woman, -faultlessly attired in bathing costumes that would -have done credit to a French watering-place, -were picking their way daintily down the steep -slopes to the river, giving the oddest note of -incongruity to the wildness of the place. We -weighed anchor as soon as the tourist train -brought us back to the wharf.</p> - -<p>We now entered on what proved to be the most -interesting part of our journey, for we kept -farther inshore, and the coast became continually -more enchantingly beautiful and more full of -interest. It was a time of halcyon days and balmy -nights. The ship’s company were very young and -gay and musical. In the starlit darkness of the -tropical evenings they sang and played charmingly. -The Marconi-man was a violinist, the supercargo -had a fine baritone,—the very name of supercargo -suggests the atmosphere of Captain Marryat’s -novels, an atmosphere of adventure. The night -we left Cairns the captain had some of the deck -lights turned out, because they made steering -more difficult. He said that on a rainy night he -was obliged to anchor, for the coral sea is here often<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span> -only six or seven fathoms deep; but that on a clear -night, even when there was no moon, the officer -on the watch could still “pick up the islands with -glasses.” The small coral islands are innumerable, -and often quite flat, so that only a practised eye -could discern their neighbourhood at night, even -with glasses.</p> - -<p>A great charm of travelling by sea is that it -brings one into intimate relationship with all sorts -and conditions of men. People who stay at home -have a tendency to get into sets, to associate too -exclusively with people of their own kind, whose -points of view, standards of life and habits are all -more or less the same as their own, and so they -settle into grooves and get dull, and their minds -become inelastic. On a ship, at sea, especially a -small ship, the society may be as varied as the -world. One of the most interesting people we met -on our travels was a passenger on the “Montoro.” -His business was shipping. He knew all the islands -that are scattered in enticing little groups from -the Torres Straits to beyond New Guinea. He -could distinguish at a glance the different types -of natives—Kanaka boys from the Torres Straits -islands, pale-skinned, shock-headed Papuans, -yellow Melanesians, or sooty Cingalese. He knew -every inch of the route we were travelling, having -often made the journey. Formerly boats of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span> -line had gone across to Port Moresby, in New -Guinea; and our original intention had been to -visit the island and gain at least a passing glimpse -of the curious native life there. But the boats -had been taken off, because, as our fellow-passenger -explained, the route was too dangerous -and expensive in ships and lives. Outside the -Barrier Reef there is always a swell, in which the -small boats rolled heavily, and the passengers -grumbled proportionately. On the return journey -the prevailing strong winds heap up heavy seas, -and are apt to drive a ship past the narrow opening -in the Reef. Small boats of about 800 tons -now run directly from Thursday Island to Port -Moresby. But though we had all the inclination, -we had no time to make this most interesting -journey.</p> - -<p>Our fellow-passenger had an interest in the -Pearl-fishing Industry carried on in the neighbourhood -of Thursday Island, by the “Island boys.” -These natives of the Torres Straits Islands, for -that is what the term means, have a Government -inspector to look after them, and see that they -get a fair proportion of the profits of the trade. -Whatever those profits may be, they are sometimes -hardly earned, for there are many sharks. -On one occasion a boy was diving and a shark -seized his head in its mouth. The boy dug his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> -knees and nails into its throat, forcing it to let -go, and was rescued by his friends, his whole chest -horribly lacerated. He was taken ashore as quickly -as possible, and eventually recovered; but the -doctor, who was summoned to his aid, was so -impressed with his marvellous escape from death, -that in the interests of science rather than of his -patient, he sent for a photographer and had the -boy photographed as he was, before applying his -medical ministrations. One photographer had -the photographs made into picture post-cards. We -could buy them, our informant said, when we -reached Thursday Island. The proofs of this -story are, unfortunately, incomplete. We -hurried to the post-card shop, when we landed a -few days later, but the photographer, who also -sold stamps and string, sword-fish’s fins, coral, -and newspapers, said the post-cards were sold -out. We asked to see the negative, but being -busy with other customers, he excused himself -from finding it. We were unable to inform the -narrator of this missing link in his story, for he -had left us to embark for New Guinea on a -little boat, in which he would sleep on deck, and -have his meals in the one cabin by the light of a -swinging lamp. We were sorry to lose his amusing -company.</p> - -<p>It was during the passage between Cairns and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span> -Thursday Island, that Captain Cook, after having -so far successfully navigated these dangerous seas -in his small sailing ship, “became,” by running -on to the Barrier Reef, “acquainted with misfortune.” -The name Cape Tribulation marks the -headland to the north of the scene of his disaster. -His boat had passed safely over a shoal, while the -ship’s company was at dinner, though the sudden -shallowing of the water to eight fathoms had -caused some temporary alarm. Nevertheless, -all seeming once more safe, “the gentlemen left -the deck in great tranquillity, and went to bed.” -A few minutes before eleven, however, they -had struck upon the Barrier Reef, and remained -immovable, except by the heaving of the surge -that beat her against the edges of the rock upon -which she lay. In a few minutes everyone was -upon the deck, “with countenances which sufficiently -expressed the horrors of the situation,” -for “we had too much reason to conclude that -we were upon a rock of coral, which is more fatal -than any other, because the points of it are -sharp, and every part of the surface so rough as -to grind away whatever is rubbed against it, -even with the gentlest motion.” It was not till -a week after this disaster, a week of continual -labour and acute anxiety, that they succeeded in -getting the ship ashore at Endeavour Harbour.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> -The place of Captain Cook’s landing is marked by -a low brownish green mound jutting out from the -coast, which along here has a most inhospitable -air, the coastal ranges coming down to the water’s -edge. The days passed into weeks before the -damage could be sufficiently repaired to set -sail again. As we passed near inshore these same -coastal ranges were deeply purple, with clouds -rolling down their sides. There was no sign of -life, not even the smoke of a native fire, the scene -had great breadth and solemnity.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_29" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_264.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THURSDAY ISLAND. VIEW OF THE HARBOUR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It was on the same day that we too saw the -Barrier Reef, at first looking like a long sandy -bar. Presently the coral itself showed with some -pelicans on it. Here, too, were the blue lagoons -of fiction, small coral islands, with little sandy -coves, and pelicans, the only inhabitants, walking -under the trees. The warm water of the sea was -full of life. Yellow-banded snakes swam by, from -two to four feet long. We counted twenty of them -in one day. Dampier, exploring the west coast -of Australia in 1699, notes these curious water -snakes, which are said to be very poisonous. He -was sailing out of Shark’s Bay when he observed -some “serpents swimming about in the sea, of a -yellow colour spotted with dark brown spots. -They were each about four feet long, and about -the bigness of a man’s wrist.” On several -occasions we saw turtles swimming just below -the surface of the water. Sometimes the sea -was covered with a thick floating yellow substance -not unlike the brown “scum” which coats -stagnant pools at home. Some of it was collected -by letting down a bath sponge on a string. The -microscope revealed it as a low form of animal -life.</p> - -<p>Frigate birds were not uncommon, and one -night there came on board two lovely bright -green “bee-eaters.”</p> - -<p>So the long sunny days slipped away, and towards -sunset the misty coastal ranges became -dim and unsubstantial in the dove-coloured -evening light, while inshore one little white -sail could be seen, that might have been the -ghostly vessel of Captain Cook himself. Wednesday -Island was passed the next morning. The -islands here mark the days on which Captain -Cook sighted and named them, and we entered -the narrow Thursday Island Passage.</p> - -<p>Thursday Island lies at the extreme northerly -point of Australia, Cape York Peninsula, that -juts out, and narrows into a point forming the -eastern side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. To the -north of it are the Torres Straits, to the south -Prince of Wales and other islands, among them -that Possession Island on which Captain Cook<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span> -landed, and formally took possession of the whole -eastern coast in the name of George III, calling -it “New South Wales.”<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> It is a centre for -pearl-fishing, and a Naval Base. It is a sort -of native cosmopolis. Every shade and tone -of colour can be seen here, Chinese, Island -boys, Papuans, and Malays. We entered the -harbour, where the water was again that wonderful -greenish blue turquoise, and the little fleet -of pearling boats rode at anchor, for the War -had put a stop to the industry. Thursday Island -itself was a gay-looking little place, its shores -covered with scattered bungalows, and a tropical -forest covering the hills beyond. Moored near -to our own boat was the little New Guinea -steamer, manned by native Papuans. They -wore nothing, down to their waists any way, -which was as much as we could see of them, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span> -were a pale chocolate-au-lait colour, with great -mops of black hair. They returned our enraptured -staring by grinning at us with all their -white teeth, aware that they were objects of -interest and beauty. This was the first time we had -seen all kinds of natives, of different shades. They -manned the boats round the steamer, that brought -on board plenipotentiaries of the official visits -which always precede and delay a landing. At last -we drew up alongside the jetty, and were allowed -to go ashore.</p> - -<p>On the shore were innumerable empty coconut -shells, also all the derelict kerosene tins that -had not been utilised by Australia were washed -up on the beach. Many of the little shops sell -pearls, but the uninitiated will find that they will -do a better bargain with their own jeweller at -home, though the blister pearls are extremely -pretty, and can be bought for a few shillings. -We also bought for threepence a copy of the -Thursday Island daily paper, which measured a -few inches, and was only printed on one side. It -contained war news of a bewildering nature. All -the shops had large printed notices up in the -windows, warning the inhabitants what to do in -case of a raid by a German cruiser, for the “Emden” -and the “Scharnhorst” were then at -large. At the ringing of a bell the women and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span> -children were at once to repair to certain specified -places of refuge. The little native children are -extraordinarily tough, and must be nearly as -difficult to finish off as a koala bear. We saw a -small black naked baby of about two years old -fall off a verandah. It rolled down a steep flight -of steps like a football. We were hurrying forward -to pick it up, but it immediately scrambled -to its feet, whimpered a little, and trotted off, -none the worse.</p> - -<p>The post office to which we went to see if -there were any telegrams, with news from home, -had rows of private letter boxes with glass -windows, as it was the custom for people to -fetch their own letters. A notice warned the -owners that they must do their own repairs to -these boxes, as their messengers were in the habit -of smashing the glass to extract the letters. -Another notice proclaimed that a murderer was -wanted. He was eighteen years old, the son of a -half-caste Chinese mother and a Kanaka father, -a parental combination which one could imagine -was fraught with dire possibilities. We walked -about the island in an almost intolerably hot sun, -on loose cobbles, alternating with deep, soft -sand. It is an arid, stony place, and bristled with -khaki-clad men. Inside the provision stores, which -stood wide open, Japanese were mending sails.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span></p> - -<p>Following the path above the little town through -a sort of rough scrub, the ground was overgrown -with some strongly smelling aromatic herb, -burnt brown in the sun. We saw here one of the -rare ornithoptera, a gorgeous blue velvet butterfly, -and numbers of grasshoppers with yellow -wings that made an odd noise like little castanets -as they came out of the dead herbage. There -did not seem to be many living things except -coconut palms and the beautiful heavily scented -blooms of the frangipani. We met the gorgeous -nuns belonging to some Roman Catholic sisterhood, -dressed in dazzling blue raiment, which -would have put the “lilies of the field” quite -out of countenance; and we avoided the tropical -forest that clothed the farther side of the island, -tempting as it looked at a distance, and were glad -that we had done so. Several of the passengers, -who had made an expedition to it in search of -entomological specimens, brought back more -than they intended, as they got badly stung by -green ants and ticks. The green ants are very -pretty and interesting at a safe distance; they are -green with bright red legs, and make their nests -by sewing together the leaves of a tree, so as to -form a sort of large bag, but their sting is very -gainful. The ticks are much more seriously -unpleasant, as they burrow in the skin to lay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span> -their eggs there, leaving their legs sticking out, -and if the victim fails to extract all portions of -them they produce a sore and painful scar.</p> - -<p>Thursday Island has an interesting church—the -“Quetta” Memorial Church. It stands in -a green enclosure, with a blooming frangipani -tree, and commemorates the loss of the S.S. -“Quetta” of Glasgow, which some years ago -sank on an uncharted rock one moonlight night, -with the loss of nearly all hands. We went into -the quiet and airy place. Just inside the door -hangs in a frame, what seems to be a collection -of coral and shells, but closer inspection showed -it to be a porthole, that sixteen years later had -been recovered, after having “suffered a sea -change,” and become so encrusted with the -beautiful growth of the sea floor that it was -hardly any longer recognisable.</p> - -<p>Returning to the ship, glad to escape from the -blinding heat, we found an oil boat moored -alongside. On her some Japanese were eating -their rice with chop sticks, while a brown boy of -unknown nationality, and a picturesque absence -of clothes, cleaned cooking pots.</p> - -<p>We now had to cross the wide mouth of the -Gulf of Carpentaria, and round the westerly -headland, behind which is the bay, that shelters -Port Darwin in the Northern Territory, our last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span> -port of call in Australia. We sighted two frigate -birds and quantities of large white jelly-fish. -We often saw, too, bones of the cuttle-fish -floating on the water, like bits of white paper. -They were noted also by Dampier on approaching -the Australian coast: “We began to see some -scuttle bones floating on the water,” he remarks, -“and drawing still nearer we saw quantities of -them.” The voyage after getting free of the -Barrier Reef was less entirely pleasant, as all deck -and cabin lights had to be darkened, or left -unlighted at night, to disguise or conceal the -ship from prowling German cruisers. The portholes -were blackened and kept shut, the windows -of the dining saloon boarded up each evening, -so that dinner was a stifling affair, and our pleasant -informal musical evenings came to an end, for -no one could endure the atmosphere of the music-room. -There was, however, compensation, for -the darkened decks were very restful in the -evening, and the stars were brilliant as they had -never seemed before, Venus making a path along -the water like moonshine.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div id="toclink_272" class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE NORTHERN TERRITORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> Northern Territory is one of Australia’s -many problems. How can the immense -tract of rich and fertile country with its tropical -northern area be cultivated, and its great -resources developed, without the importation of -coloured labour? The native black population, -though they are useful and efficient with stock, -are found to be unadapted for agriculture, and -incapable of the steady methodical work essential -to its success. The immigration of Chinese, who -formerly were the market gardeners of the -neighbourhood of Port Darwin, supplying the -small resident white population with fruit and -vegetables, has now been discouraged, and we saw -the plantations they had cultivated falling back -into, and becoming merged with the wilderness -of the bush. It is still an open question -whether white men can perform manual labour -under the tropical suns of the coastal belt. -Yet the future of Port Darwin must be assured -if it is eventually to become our nearest and most<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span> -direct port of call in Australia. It will in time be -connected by railroad with the southern states, -as it now is by the telegraph service. In the -interior nomadic tribes of blacks hunt and fish -and wander; hardy settlers have pitched their -homesteads in a clearing in the forest, and raise -cattle there, with the nearest neighbour a hundred -miles away; the lonely buffalo hunter plies his -lucrative trade with the help of native hunters.</p> - -<p>The Australians themselves do not seem to -know very much more about the Northern Territory -than the average Englishman. They speak -of it as an arid wilderness, much in the same -way as they regard Western Australia; yet, to -the visitor from home, it is the beauty and the -wildness of Western and Northern Australia, that -make an appeal far more profound than that of -the busy, civilised, and comparatively populous -southern and eastern states. With all their -differences they are still too much like home to -stir the imagination. What is popularly known -about the Northern Territory is largely learned -from the writings of a clever Australian woman,<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> -who has lived the isolated yet stimulating life -of the settler’s wife in the interior. The part -to be played by women in the future of the -Northern Territory is a very important one. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span> -is a hard thing for a man to go into exile with his -cattle and his black retainers, but if Australian -or European women will consent to share the -hardships, and the rough life, and the loneliness, in -order to make a home for their men; bringing to it, -as opportunity offers, the atmosphere and the comforts -of civilisation, the problem of opening up -the inland country is helped considerably on its -way. That there are compensations in the life -no one can doubt, who has talked with those who -know it, or seen the lonely homesteads in the -bush, that wonderful primeval forest with its -manifold beauty and mystery.</p> - -<p>For those who stay at home, no better idea of -it can be derived than from reading Mrs. Gunn’s -“We of the Never Never,” in which she describes -the daily life of a cattle station up-country, and -all her odd adventures with the native servants, -honest warm-hearted creatures, with the artless -cunning, and the caprices of children. -The residents of Port Darwin talked of the -light-hearted gaiety of their native servants, and -their happy irresponsibility. Yet they seem to -work well in their own erratic way; but from time -to time they find the call of the wild irresistible, -then they obey it, and steal away to their native -island, or forest tribe, till the conditions of life there -weary them, and the whim seizes them to return.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_30" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_274.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>VIEW NEAR DARWIN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Approaching Port Darwin from the east the -navigation is difficult and dangerous. All the -day before, we had steamed very slowly in order -to avoid reaching the passage of the Vernon Isles -after nightfall. The islands are inhabited, and -the smoke of bush fires was frequently to be seen, -either signal fires lighted by the natives, or by -Europeans, to burn off the dead grass at the end -of the winter.</p> - -<p>The approach to Port Darwin is charmingly -pretty. The tropical vegetation that comes down -nearly to the water’s edge is a vivid green, and -the cliffs that fringe the shore a warm red. The -tops of quite important-looking houses were -showing among the trees.</p> - -<p>This was Port Darwin, where we had been told -there was “nothing to see,” for it was only “an -arid wilderness.” There is no sensation quite -like that of steaming slowly into an unknown -port, the future is so fraught with delightful and -unusual possibilities. The shores take shape and -colour, houses just descried with glasses become -clear and distinct, people are seen on the beach, -the vegetation can now be identified, and finally -the ship draws up alongside of the wharf, or the -tender has come to fetch us, and we set foot on -a strange shore in quest of new adventure.</p> - -<p>At Port Darwin adventure had come to us.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span> -It was the prettiest scene imaginable. The -coming in of a boat is a gala day for Port Darwin. -It brings letters, and newspapers, and butter, -and contact with the outside world. So the -rough wooden pier wore an air of some gay -festival, for most of the European inhabitants had -come down to welcome us on our arrival, and to -claim those among us, who had had introductions -to them from friends in the other states. The -men were all in sun helmets and white ducks, -the women in white linen, and the little pier, -crowded with its throng of white figures in the -strong sunshine, had for background the brilliant -red and green of the shore. We were fortunate -in falling to the share of an official who knew and -cared for the district, and could tell us all we -wanted to know about it. His wife was with him, -and another lady, to whom we had had an introduction, -and whose husband was kept busy by -the incoming mail.</p> - -<p>They are great organisers at Port Darwin. -We were to be taken to a tea-party in the -Botanical Gardens, and received there by the -Administrator, as the Governor of the Northern -Territory is called, and his wife; and an evening -lecture was to be given by one of the passengers. -With Australians you become friends in a very -short space of time in their own country. Of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span> -their generous kindness and hospitality too much -cannot be said, and the very fact that you are -ignorant of all they know is a bond. At home it -is different. They are often a little on the defensive, -because they have an idea that we shall -assume superior airs and consider them “colonial”—a -vague term of opprobrium. Then, too, our -ways chill them; their open-handed, open-hearted -hospitality is the natural thing there. In a -country, where there is a perennial shortage of -servants, nobody minds or regards it, if the hostess -and daughter of the house change the plates, -except in the richest and most sophisticated -circles. We should put off a dinner-party if -our servants were ill, because we are so hampered -by hard-and-fast conventions, not so much -because we are inhospitable, but because we must -maintain an accepted standard—it must be -impossible for an Australian quite to understand -this.</p> - -<p>A little stuffy lumbering train takes passengers -and merchandise from the wharf to the foot of -a steep hill that leads up to Darwin. But it was -too beautiful to immure ourselves in it, so we -walked to the shore, where a Government horse -and cart had been commandeered on our behalf. -Its reins were held by “Tommy,” also in white -ducks and all smiles. Tommy was the native<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span> -servant who, with his “lubra” and a Chinese cook, -ran our friend’s house. We got in and began -the ascent of the steep red hill. The Government -horse was tough but deliberate, and crawled -leisurely through the thick red dust. The air -was heavy with the sweet strong scent of a -curiously twisted Japanese-looking tree, not unlike -an olive. It was covered with small white -flowers, and was called a milkwood tree. The -natives say that the milky juice of the wood -produces blindness.</p> - -<p>At the entrance to Darwin is the Chinese -quarter, all tumble-down tin shanties, unsightly -and comfortless, and very poverty-stricken looking, -with shrill children screaming and playing -in the dust. Its appearance gave one an inkling -why Australians would rather dispense with -the cheap and efficient Chinese labour than -leaven the population of their great clean land -with people who could thrive contentedly in a -little colony of pigsties. Here suddenly was a -bullock cart laden with wood, the little Chinese -driver in his immense flat hat, looking exactly -as if he had just stepped off a valuable old tea-tray. -It was the very soul of all Oriental picturesqueness. -Leaving behind the comfortable -verandahed houses of the European residents, -we struck into a soft red road that led through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span> -the bush to the Botanical Gardens. It seems -incongruous to talk of Botanical Gardens in a -place that is yet hardly a town, but in a new -country foresight is essential, and the Government -has set apart here as elsewhere a reserve -for the future, when Port Darwin shall be a great -busy port crowded with shipping, and its lonely -shores thronged with houses.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_31" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_278.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>COCONUT GROVE, DARWIN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It was just at the end of the dry season when -we were there, and as we drove along between -eucalyptus and coco palms, and all kinds of unfamiliar -tropical plants, their vivid green contrasted -oddly with the absolutely bare red soil—there -was not a blade of grass or green upon it. -This is its normal condition in the dry season, -which occurs with perfect regularity from May -to October. The rains are ushered in by violent -thunderstorms and hurricanes, increasing in frequency -till the end of November, when about -an inch of rain falls nearly every day. In January -the wet season has penetrated to the heart of the -continent.</p> - -<p>Of course, these climatic conditions do not -exactly apply to the whole of a tract of country, -which covers more than 500,000 square miles. -From north to south the Territory extends for -about 900 miles, and it is roughly divided into -three areas, according to its climatic conditions.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span> -The northern coastal belt is well watered by -numerous rivers, many of them navigable for -some distance inland; the district is very fertile, -especially in the neighbourhood of the rivers. -It is described as “luxuriantly grassed” and well -adapted for dairying, for intensive farming, -which is, however, at present non-existent, and -for the growth of many subtropical products.</p> - -<p>Farther from the rivers the land is held to be -suitable for agriculture and grazing. This tract of -country stretches inland to the tablelands, where -different conditions prevail, and which form the -second climatic zone. The rainfall here is less than -half that of the coastal area. The land rises to -some fifteen hundred feet above the sea, and the -sharp distinction between the wet and dry seasons -is less strongly marked. In these tablelands, -though there is a poor supply of surface water, -subartesian water is available by shallow boring. -The conditions here are admirable for stock -raising. The third area stretches into the -temperate latitudes of the South Australian -border, where the rainfall is variable, but on the -average low. Here are the McDonell Ranges, -including fine tracts of country that compare -favourably with any part of Southern Australia. -But when all this has been said there remains at -present the question of transport. The great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span> -transcontinental railway has now been extended -from Pine Creek to Katherine River, and the -Government has decided to construct another -section from Katherine to Bitter Springs.</p> - -<p>Till lately, settlement has not progressed rapidly -on the land in the immediate neighbourhood of -the railway. It is hoped that the Northern -Territory lands will be better developed as the -trade in frozen beef develops. At present the -mainstay of the state is beef-production. In an -article on the Northern Territory in “Australia -To-day,” December, 1914, Mr. W. H. Clarke, -late Director of Agriculture, states it as his -opinion that: “The possibilities in this direction -are not far behind those of Queensland, -where the meat export industry is taxing already -to the utmost the output of cattle.” He goes on -to say, however, “That many holdings have been -stocked and abandoned, hundreds of leases have -been taken up and forfeited. Men of sound -experience and substantial means have tried the -industry in different parts of the Territory, and -given it up in despair. To-day some of the foremost -cattlemen condemn the country outright, -yet there are many stations carrying between -them about half a million head of cattle.” He -explains the causes of this anomalous state of -affairs by the distance from markets, “the waste<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span> -and anxiety of inadequately watered stock routes, -an industry in most cases on lines of crudest -pioneering,” a lack of fences or musterers, and, -in the dry season, drinking-places that become -“boggy death-traps,” which hundreds, sometimes -thousands of cattle frequent, “till their -numbers are decimated.” The opening of the -Freezing Works at Darwin, and the extension of -the railway are the first steps towards making it -worth the while of the Territory pastoralist to -remedy these defects. Freezing Works are being -erected.</p> - -<p>Agricultural lands are granted in the Territory -on perpetual leases as long as the holder complies -with certain conditions, such as the erection of a -house within two years on his lands, and residence -there for a certain number of months in each year. -Pastoral leases are granted on still more easy -terms, and advances are made to settlers for the -purchase of building materials, plant, fencing, -and stock.</p> - -<p>The mineral wealth of the Northern Territory -is as yet unexplored, and is still awaiting a more -complete geological survey, before it can be -estimated accurately. Gold, tin, and copper have -been found in considerable quantities, but have -not as yet been adequately worked.</p> - -<p>When we visited Port Darwin the rains were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span> -expected. In about another week, said our host, -they would begin, and in less than a week from -that time the bare red soil would be covered with -springing vegetation, three or four feet high. -Here the mango trees, that we had seen in flower -at Cairns, were already bearing the yellow globes -of their fruit. Among a grove of coco palms we -saw the picturesque corkscrew palm, with its odd -spiral stem, but we saw no animal life, except a -few peeweets of the smaller kind, though our host -said the flocks of wild geese, that herald the coming -of the rain, had already begun to pass overhead. -He also pointed out a spot on the road, in which -a short time before, a large kangaroo had run out -of the bush and, startled at seeing him, cleared his -horse’s head at one bound.</p> - -<p>At the entrance to the Botanical Gardens we -saw our first banyan tree, bare of leaves, and -showing the curious formation of the branches. -Later we passed one that had already burst into -leaf. The drive afforded lovely glimpses of the -harbour, its bright blue waters lapping the green, -wooded shores. In the Botanical Gardens there -were as yet few flowers. The scarlet coral-tree -was there, and another scarlet flowering tree, and -some waxy, red hibiscus. The Administrator and -his wife received their guests upon a lawn, that -had somehow retained its grass, and we then sat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span> -about at little tables, and were waited on by the -young daughters of the residents; and anyone -seeing their pretty bright faces and healthy colour, -would feel that the much-abused climate of Port -Darwin had been greatly vilified. The scent of -a wood fire was wafted over to us, from where -the billy tea was boiling on some logs. The air -was delicious; but we had not started till the -heat of the day was over, for, owing to the unfortunate -detention at Townsville, our stay at -Darwin, a place of a hundredfold its interest, had -been lamentably curtailed. We had hoped to see -something of the native life. Here the native -population has retained its primitive simplicity. -The natives of the interior do not come into contact -with other races. They are, unfortunately, -dying out, like the native Australian animals, -for what reason is not definitely known. The -Commonwealth Year Book for 1912 gives the -total number of the native population of the -Northern Territory as 20,000, and adds that it is -believed they are rapidly dying out. Of these, -1223 were semi-civilised, through coming into -contact with, or being in the employment of, -European residents.</p> - -<p>The Australian native has always been in a -different position from other primitive peoples. -He has not had to contend either with races<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span> -superior to himself in intelligence, or with savage -wild animals. Consequently he has had nothing -to sharpen his wits, and remains the most backward -race now existing. Professor Baldwin -Spencer, the most recent authority on this -subject, points out that though the natives make -use habitually of numerous kinds of grass seed, -which they grind, and make into cakes, it has -never occurred to them to sow these seeds and -secure a regular crop. And he adds: “In many -tribes, at least, this is because he knows nothing -of the relation between the seed and the adult -plant, and thinks that the latter grows because he -makes it so do by magic.” The habits and character, -the strange customs and ingenious superstitions -of these interesting people have been -charmingly delineated in a series of unpretending -sketches called “The Little Black Princess,” by -Mrs. Gunn. It is a sort of popular Fraser’s -“Golden Bough,” and is valuable as preserving -a record of the everyday life of the Europeans in -the Northern Territory under conditions that -must of necessity soon pass away.</p> - -<p>We could not hope to see the “myals,” or wild -blacks, and it was already drawing towards nightfall. -Our host, with delightful resourcefulness, -proposed to take us to the local gaol, as it afforded -the only opportunity of our making acquaintance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span> -with the natives. It was a question whether we -could get there before it was dark. A Government -motor-car had just driven up, arrived back from -the Daly River. Its driver was having a hurried -sandwich, which he must have badly wanted, -but he at once consented to take us. It was a -powerfully built car, covered with dust, and with -no doors, so that we had to scramble in over the -sides, which we did with great alacrity. As we -were starting one of the ladies who had taken -charge of us said, “Of course you will dine with -us to-night. Our servants have gone off, and we -have got workmen in the house, but that will -make no difference, if you will come.” There -was the typical Australian hospitality, which is so -unlike what we mean by the word. If we had -accepted, we should no doubt have had an excellent -dinner served on the verandah; but we -declined, as we had to dress for the evening -lecture, and accepted instead an invitation to -supper afterwards.</p> - -<p>This point satisfactorily settled, we proceeded -to the gaol. The gaol looked very clean and new -and official. Its gates were closed, and some -scarlet hibiscus was in flower by the fence. On -a look-out station a sooty black man was keeping -watch with a telescope for incoming vessels. -The prisoners had all gone to bed for the night,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span> -but they were fetched out to make our acquaintance, -and lined up in the grounds. Inside it was -cool and airy, with black cement floors, to match -the inmates. Out they came, the poor gaol-birds, -wild things of the woods, with the limitless -forest to roam over, cooped up in a cell for -following the natural bent of any wild animal to -fight and kill. They have little sense of time, and -their sentences are not for long; they spend -nearly all their day in the open air. They stood -in a pathetic little row in their dark blue prison -dress, with their sooty, shaven heads. One was in -chains, as being held to be dangerous and likely -to give trouble. There seemed to be different -types, some of them were much flatter-nosed -than others. Most of them were in for murder; -in two cases it had been provoked by cruelty. -In one of these a white man had justly earned -the hatred of his black neighbours. The case, -said our friend, had been very well got up.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> It -was proved that the dead man was fishing for -bêche-de-mer<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> one moonlight night; the natives -whom he had injured lay in wait for him, and -speared him to death. Morally they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span> -justified by their own code, but the forces of -order were obliged to assert themselves.</p> - -<p>Life sentences are imposed for murder, but the -prisoners are always released, the period of their -detention depending on their good behaviour, -for often they pine away in captivity.</p> - -<p>Looking at these simple, childlike, confiding -creatures, who play marbles for amusement, one -felt that any white who could treat them cruelly -deserved all he got. Only one of them looked at -us with the gloomy, smouldering eyes of a caged -animal. The others all greeted our host with -beaming confidence. One man’s skull was deeply -cleft horizontally for about two inches. “By -a black fellow,” he remarked without resentment. -Another from Pine Creek was asked what -he was in for. “Longa fight Chinaman,” he -responded with a reminiscent chuckle of satisfaction. -It was the last amusing thing the poor -fellow had done. Another was in “longa kill -Chinaman,” as he unconcernedly explained. Our -friend with the cleft skull had committed a very -cruel murder. After acting as guide to a white -man in the bush, he followed him secretly for -days, and finally murdered him in his sleep for -the little food he had got left, and he was almost -starving at the time. We had come from England -and must return, our host told them. “No<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span> -savvy,” they replied vaguely. So we said good-bye -to our poor little dusky brothers, and -turned back to the Botanical Gardens to recover -the Government cart and horse. At parting, our -driver took out of a native basket a little collar of -coloured beads made by the natives up the Daly -River, and gave it to us as a memento of our brief -acquaintance.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_32" style="max-width: 46em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_288.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>ANT-HILLS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>There were only three cars in Darwin, and the -snorting noise made by the one in which we -returned awoke our horse to such terrified and -mettlesome curvetting, that we could only -remount the seat with considerable difficulty. -We drove back through the gathering dusk with -flying foxes soundlessly flitting across our path. -By the time we reached the jetty darkness had -come on. We had to make a hasty change, and -after a hurried dinner, we started back again in -the heavy, moist, scented darkness to find the -hall in which the evening’s lecture was to be -delivered. It was very funny to find that early -closing was compulsory in Darwin. Chinatown -must hate it. The little shops were half lighted, -and in the dusk seated figures like small Buddhas -were dimly discernible outside. A strong, -Oriental smell hung over it all.</p> - -<p>We shall always remember the scene of the -lecture in the Town Hall. The moist heat, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span> -little red ants that swarmed on the floor, above -the voice of the lecturer, the frail rattle of the -grasshoppers outside insistent and unceasing; and -the white-clad rows of men, gravely, unwaveringly -attentive.</p> - -<p>After the lecture the kindly lady, who is the -wife of the Administrator, proposed a delightful -scheme of giving us an early breakfast at seven, -and driving us out to the nearest native compound. -How exquisite the freshness of morning would -have been in that tropical country, and how full -of interest and novelty the whole expedition. -We were only too eager to go, but there were -depressing rumours of our departure at dawn. -We were now to visit our hostess of the afternoon, -and, guided by our host, we stumbled -across what they called a paddock, which seemed -to be full of tussocks of some dead weed that -smelt like horehound.</p> - -<p>The stars were brilliant, the Southern Cross -pointing our way as it hung just above the dark -roof of the house. At the entrance to the garden -was a banyan tree, and there were green ants’ -nests among the leaves of the other trees, neatly -sewn up like long, narrow bags, and green ants -with red legs were running about everywhere, -even on the window-sills. We sat on the verandah, -and were given buffalo tongue sandwiches, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span> -have an agreeable, esoteric flavour, quite incomparable -to anything else. It was all very -pretty and comfortable, despite the absence of -servants. The Port Darwin housewife has to -wage an active and unceasing warfare against -insect pests. Food cannot be left on the table -for a short time without ants swarming on it. -Large cockroaches three or four inches long lurk -behind furniture; the destructive silver fish -conceal themselves in unopened drawers, and -mosquitoes make life a continual irritation, unless -ceaseless precautions are taken. Still, active -vigilance will reduce all these pests to a -minimum.</p> - -<p>The pleasant evening slipped away too soon. -It was time to return to the port. We strolled -back through the mysterious night, moist and -warm and scented by flowering frangipani in -the gardens of the dimly seen bungalows. Our -boat lying below in the harbour was a blazing -patch of light; the glow of a distant bush fire -lit up the opposite coast; and that was all—all -that we saw of the Northern Territory, mysterious -fascinating, and beautiful, with its vast and intricate -problems of labour and climate waiting -solution. For with early morning we slipped -away from its red and green shores, just as the -rising sun had crimsoned all the glassy sea. That<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span> -is our last memory of Australia, and of all the -places we visited it was Port Darwin that -we were most loth to leave, for we somehow -felt that Australia had kept her best till -last.</p> - -<p class="p4 center small vspace"> -PRINTED BY<br /> -WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD.<br /> -PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND -</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="footnotes"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> A genus named after a nurseryman who introduced these -Australian plants into London.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> On the goldfields the grant is £8 10s. per each child and -the teacher’s income £40.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> A summary of the history of Western Australian Educational -Development will be found in the State Handbook, contributed -by the Hon. Walter Kingsmill, formerly Minister for Education.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> From the Federal Handbook to Australia, p. 204.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> “Ringbarking” is effected by cutting away an encircling -strip or ring of bark round the trunk and so slowly killing the -tree.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> See Federal Handbook for this question, pp. 171, 414.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> Federal Handbook, pp. 445–53.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> Federal Handbook, p. 173.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> “Army Review,” Vol. IV., January, 1913.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> “Times,” January 28, 1915.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> Ladies are not admitted to the Melbourne Club.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> Dr. J. W. Barrett, <span class="allsmcap">C.M.G.</span>, <span class="allsmcap">M.D.</span>, in the “Handbook to -Victoria.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> See Mr. H. M. Murphy, Chief Inspector of Factories, on -the “Victorian Labour Laws,” “Handbook to Victoria,” -p. 203.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> H. M. Murphy.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> “Handbook to Victoria,” p. 40.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> “Handbook to Victoria,” p. 42.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> In the “Half-time” school the teacher divides his time -between two centres.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> See “Sheep and Wool for the Farmer,” Part I., J. Wrenford -Matthews. Published by the Department of Agriculture, -N.S. Wales.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> For details of this system see “Wheat in New South -Wales,” by G. L. Sutton, Tourist Bureau, Sydney.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> “Farming on the Shares System,” Government Tourist -Bureau, Sydney.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> In reference to the vast amount of sand in West -Australia, the West Australians are called “Sand-gropers.” -Life was hard in early South Australia, and hence the South -Australians remain “Crow-eaters”: Victorians, proud of -their giant gum trees in Gippsland, are called “Gum-suckers,” -and only the New South Wales people are genuine “Cornstalks.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> W. Harrison Moore, Professor of Law at the University -of Melbourne.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> “Flora of the South Coast,” “Handbook to New South -Wales,” p. 395.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> There has been considerable difference of opinion among -writers on the early history of Australia, as to whether Captain -Cook did or did not name the whole of this district New South -Wales. It is true that the name New South Wales does not -appear in Cook’s journals, and Bladen, editor of the “Historical -Record of New South Wales,” says that “the name appears to -have originated with Hawkesworth,” who edited “Cook’s -Voyages.” Kitson, however, cites a letter written by Cook, -1771 (“Life of Cook,” p. 149), in which the words occur, -“The east coast of New Holland, or what I call ‘New South -Wales.’” Hawkesworth therefore did obtain the name from -Cook.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> Mrs. Æneas Gunn, “We of the Never Never.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> An account of this interesting trial has been brilliantly -given in “An Untamed Territory,” Macmillan and Co., by -Miss Elsie Masson.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> In Malay called tripang.</p> - -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unpaired -quotation marks were remedied when the change was -obvious, and otherwise left unpaired.</p> - -<p>Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned -between paragraphs and outside quotations. 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