Australia New Zealand And The Pacific Islands Second Edition

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Australia, New Zealand, and the

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OEMES30 D

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, AND
THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

AUSTRALIA,
NEW ZEALAND,

AND THE

PACIFIC ISLANDS

Edited by
E. D.LABORDE

PH.D., F.R.G.S.

FORMERLY AN ASSISTANT MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL

SECOND EDITION

WILLIAM KEINEMANN LTD
MELBOURNE : LONDON : TORONTO

First published in 1932
Second Edition 1952

PRINTED BY THE REPLIKA PROCESS
IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

LUND HUMPHRIES
LONDON ' BRADFORD

AUTHORS:
R. J. EVANS

D. GRAY, assisted by$. H. DELL and L. HL GILBERT
J. H. STEMBRIDGE

T. TANQUERAY

E. D. LABORDE

FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION

This book has been completely revised and brought up to
date, the authors having borne in mind throughout the
requirements both of the. general reader and of the new
General Certificate Examination at all levels.

Since the first edition was published, there have been
great changes in the political and economic life of the
region, mainly as a result of the Second World War. In
particular, the considerable development of the Austra-
lian economy has necessitated a thorough revision and, in
places, rewriting, of the relevant sections. This has been
carried out by Mr. R. J. Evans, with the critical assistance
of Mr. Clarence Martin, Lecturer in Geography in the
University of Adelaide. Recent developments in New
Zealand have also been fully covered, and all statistics
have been brought up to date. The political situation in
the Papuan region is still fluid; and it has therefore been
thought best to omit the original concluding chapter on
Pacific problems.

Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Hale, Director of the
South Australian Museum, and to Mr. N. Tindal, the
Museum's anthropologist for their criticisms and corre-
ctions; to Mr, H. A. Bennett, who drew many new maps
for this edition; and to the High Commissioner for New
Zealand, the Australian News Information Bureau,
London, and Messrs. Dorien Leigh Ltd., for permission to
use copyright photographs.

CONTENTS

AUSTRALIA

CHAP. PAGE

I. WORLD POSITION AND IMPORTANCE . . 3
II. DISCOVERY 8

III. EXPLORATION 16

IV. STRUCTURE AND RELIEF .... 26
General Considerations The Eastern High-
landsThe Central Lowlands The Western
Plateau The Great Barrier Reef.

V. CLIMATE 41

Temperature Pressure and Winds Rainfall
Cyclones and Local Winds River Regime
Rivers of Oceanic Drainage Rivers of
Inland Drainage.

VI. PLANTS AND ANIMALS .... 58

Tropical Rain Forest Temperate Forest
Savana Woodland Savana and -Scrub
Lands Deserts Alpine Flora Tasmania
Origin of the Australian Flora Fishes
Amphibians and Reptiles Birds Mammals.

VIL THE ABORIGINES 77^

VIII. THE BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT . . 85

IX. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY .... 92
Introductory The Pastoral Industries
Agriculture Mineral Wealth Forestry
Fisheries Manufactures Trade and Com-
merce Tariff Policy Communications.

X. THE REGIONS 115

The Eastern and Southeastern Coastlands
The Eastern Highlands Tasmania The
Central Lowlands South Australia The
Northern Regions The Western Tableland
Swanland.

A* X

CONTENTS

CHAP.

XI. THE STATES AND TERRITORIES . . .127
New South Wales Tasmania Victoria
Queensland South Australia Western
Australia Northern Territory Federal
Capital Territory.

XII. CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT . . .131
The Labour Movement - Land Policy
Population.

XIII. AUSTRALIAN LIFE 144

NEW ZEALAND

XIV. NEW ZEAL AND: PHYSICAL CONDITIONS . 151
Relief Climate Rivers Vegetation
Animals The Maoris.

XV. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT . , . . 173
Pastoral and Agricultural Activities
Sheep Farming Dairy Farming
Fisheries Sport Mineral Production
Hydro-Electric Power Manufactures
Trade Transport, Towns and Population.

XVI. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . 191
Discovery and Settlement Government and
Administration The People of New Zealand.

THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

XVII. THE PAPUAN REGION : PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 203
Structure Climate and Natural Vegetation
Animals Natives .

XVIII. LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS . . .216
Celebes The Moluccas Lesser Sunda
Islands Timor Group Timor-Laut Group
New Guinea Exploration by Europeans.

XIX. THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC , . . 235
Structure and Origin Physical Types Coral
Formation Climate Vegetation
Animals Race and Customs European .
Settlement Importance of the Islands.

INDEX #63

MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

AUSTRALIA

THE EASTERN TRIANGLE 4

MAIN VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY IN THE SOUTHWESTERN

PACIFIC u

EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA 17

GEOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA (SIMPLIFIED) . . . -27

TOPOGRAPHICAL RELIEF 28

SECTION EAST AND WEST THROUGH QUEENSLAND . 29

SECTION EAST AND WEST THROUGH NEW SOUTH WALES 31
THE ARTESIAN BASINS AND DRAINAGE . . . .32

SECTION ACROSS THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PENINSULAS . 35

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF 30

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE, JANUARY AND JULY . 43

DISTRIBUTION OF PRESSURE, JANUARY AND JULY . . 45

DISTRIBUTION OF MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE 46

PRESSURE : MAY 3isT, 1895 46

PRESSURE : MAY SIST, 1909 47

PRESSURE : NOVEMBER SIST, 1917 . . . . 47

DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL, JANUARY AND JULY . . 49

RAINFALL REGIONS 50

DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETATION 59

DISTRIBUTION OF PASTORAL, AGRICULTURAL, ETC., LAND '94

IRRIGATION IN S,E. AUSTRALIA 102

FUEL, POWER AND MINERALS 104

RAILWAYS AND AIRWAYS . . . . " . .113

MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

NEW ZEALAND

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE :

JULY 156

JANUARY 157

TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL :

AUCKLAND AND CHRISTGHURCH . . . . 159

HOKITIKA AND DUNEDIN . . . . l6o

ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL . . . , 161

FORESTED AREAS 166

ECONOMIC PRODUCTS AND CHIEF TOWNS , . .187

THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

LINES OF VOLCANOES IN THE EAST INDIES . . . 205

THE PAPUAN REGION 214

CELEBES 217

THE MOLUCCAS AND THE SOUTHEAST ISLANDS . .221

NEW GUINEA 226

ARCS OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC . . . . 236

TAU 238

TOFUA^ 238

THTTHIA ...,.,... 239

MOTHI ......... 240

NUKUFETAU 240

VITI LEVU : RAINFALL PILLARS 243

Vm LEVU : RAINFALL MAP 244

GROUPING OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS .... 248

THE FIJI GROUP 253

HAWAII 255

SAMOA . 2 5 6

TONGA 257

LIST OF PLATES

PLATE TO FACE PAGE

I A. Tasmania: Tree Ferns in Weldborough

Pass 76

B. South Australia: Swan Reach on the
River Murray 76

II, A. Australian Aborigines ... 77

B. An Australian Merino Stud Station . 77

IIL A. Rounding up Cattle in New South Wales 1 16
B. Cutting Sugarcane in Queensland . .116

IV. A. Broken Hill 117

B. Sydney 117

V. A. Lake Matheson reflecting Mts. Tasman

and Cook, South Island . . .172

B. Milford Sound and Mitre Peak, South
Island 172

VI. A. Sheep Pastures, Gisborne, North Island 173
B* Cattle Muster, Otago, South Island . 173

VII. A. A Maori Study at Rotorua, North Island 200

B- Auckland, with Devonport and Rangitoto
Island in the background . . ,200

VIIL A. The Interior of New Guinea . . .201
B* Hawaii: Coast of Kauai . . .201

AUSTRALIA

CHAPTER I
WORLD POSITION AND IMPORTANCE

MOST people base their ideas of world position on the
suggestion of atlas maps that the surface of the globe is
divided into five continents and five oceans. Few sugges-
tions are more misleading. The earth is not a flat surface,
but a sphere, and study of a globe shows clearly that the
fundamental fact of land and sea distribution is the
existence, not of five, but of two oceans. What we call
the North Atlantic forms a pool of which the South
Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mediterranean and
Arctic Seas may be considered arms, the whole being
surrounded by a broken ring of land. The pool and ring
make up roughly one, half of the globe. Into this pool
drain most of the world's greatest rivers, and its shores,
dominated by the European, form a world of their own,
which we conveniently summarize as " the West." The
other half of the globe contains the Pacific and Indian
Oceans, really one ocean which forms almost a complete
water hemisphere.

An effort is required to realize the size of this waste
of water. Perhaps a true idea of its vastness may best
be grasped by noting that the i8oth meridian passes
over the ocean almost throughout its length, while the
greater arc of the Equator between longitude 80 W.
and longitude 45 E. a distance of 235 passes over
land for less than 20 of its path.

But this ocean is not entirely empty. Its northwestern
segment is more or less filled with disconnected units
of land, including China, India, Australia, and New
Zealand. The triangle formed by these countries is a
separate world. It is, in part, thickly populated, but

4 WORLD POSITION AND IMPORTANCE

LATENESS OF COLONIZATION 5

not with a population imbued with European culture.
It is not the West, but the East the world of colour.

Historically, it is the base of the triangle which counts.
China and India, separated both from one another and
from the civilization of the West by a long and dangerous
land journey, each developed a high civilization of its
own. One or both of these cultures might have been
expected to spread throughout the remainder of the
triangle, for at first sight the East Indies, Australia and
New Zealand seem to be the natural fields for the
expansion of the peoples of southwestern Asia. This
expansion, however, never took place on more than a
trifling scale ; a failure for which several reasons may be
suggested.

The simplest explanation is that until modern times
none of the Asiatic peoples ever felt economic pressure
sufficiently severely to make expansion a necessity. There
may be some truth in this, but in any case the task
would have been extremely difficult. Although they are
immensely productive, the East Indies, which form, as
it were, the first step towards expansion, are not climati-
cally suited to the development of a progressive race, so
that the occupation of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo would
not necessarily lead to further expansion. The next step
was harder still.

Northern and western Australia for the most part offer
a singularly unattractive appearance to the -would-be
settler and are deficient in indigenous food-stuffs. That
this is true is proved by the opinion of New Holland held
by the Dutch, before the time of Cook. There is little
incentive to settlement on these coasts, and the infinitely
more attractive conditions in southeastern Australia and
New Zealand could not of course have been guessed, even
if the existence of these lands had been known.

Nature would also seem to have planned Australia
and New Zealand deliberately as lands which could only
be approached, as it were, from the wrong side, after a
long and dangerous voyage. It is a most significant fact

6 WORLD POSITION AND IMPORTANCE

that the great civilizations of China and India left the
southern lands practically untouched, and that their
exploration and settlement was eventually undertaken by
a maritime people from the other side of the world. A
somewhat similar case can be imagined if we suppose that
the Americas had been turned round so that the steep
and difficult western shores had faced the Atlantic.
European settlement would obviously have been a much
longer and more laborious process. From the European
point of view the world has been very conveniently
arranged.

Neither the Chinese nor the Indians developed ship-
building and the art and science of navigation to a degree
which would have made the long, hazardous journey to
southeastern Australia or New Zealand one of reason-
able security. Consequently, the coloured peoples did no
more than follow the line of least resistance, and thdr
migrations resulted in a partial and desultory occupation
of many islands and in a great deal of racial intermixture
which offers complex problems of ethnology to-day.

So the East missed the opportunity which lay before it.
In due time, the European perfected his ships and his
methods of navigation until he was in a position to carry
his ideas and culture all over the world. In America he
found comparatively empty spaces, and only a relatively
feeble opposition ; but the arrival of Vasco da Gama at
Calicut in 1498 brought the East and West face to face,
and there began that painful adjustment of different
civilizations with different ideals which in our own day
seems to be approaching an acute stage.

In Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands,
however, the white man found an almost clear field for
his energies. In New Zealand the Maori fought the
inevitable with stubbornness and chivalry, and has since
assimilated European civilization with remarkable suc-
cess ; a racial and cultural development hardly paralleled
elsewhere, In the Islands the native was too weak to
resist the white man, but has yet to prove that he is strong

DIVERSITY AND CONTRAST 7

enough to emulate the Maori. Australia proudly boasts
that her history is unstained by war within her borders.
Her aboriginal people, never a danger, are to-day merely
a challenge to the white man's conscience, and, one may
say, a challenge which the Australian Government has
not refused. It is difficult to visualize a widening horizon
for these survivors of a past age, but at least they are
protected from the sad consequences which have too often
followed the contact of a primitive race with a civilized
people.

So it has happened that the Western Pacific has become
biologically as well as physically an area of arresting
diversity and even contrast. Here survives the old table-
land of western Australia, one of the most ancient lands
in the world, while to the north and east are the tangled
chains where the two great belts of world-folding finally
meet one another. Here too are archsean crust-blocks
and coral islands ; volcanoes and glaciers ; snow-covered
mountains and tropical swamps : the world's greatest
artesian basin and its finest geyser. Everywhere is con-
trast, and everywhere the new jostles the old. Almost
every kind of climate is represented the torrid heat of
New Guinea is opposed by the glacial conditions of the
Southern Alps, and the maritime, almost English, air of
Tasmania contrasts with the Mediterranean conditions of
" Swanland." The flora and fauna are even more diverse
and full of peculiarities, and the introduction by man of
exotic species has added to the diversity and offered new
problems.

3HAPTER II
DISCOVERY

SINCE the Pacific was the last ocean to be entered by
Europeans, the discovery and exploration of its lands
comes late in the history of European expansion. This is
not surprising in view of the world-positions of Europe
and the Pacific. What is surprising is the length of time
which elapsed between the first entry into the Pacific and
the first serious attempt at settlement outside the East
Indies.

Magellan crossed the Pacific in 1520, and the existence
and to some degree the size of these lands had been known
for pretty well a century and a half before the first settle-
ment was established in Australia in 1788. The occupa-
tion of New Zealand began even later. This delay is
explicable only when the history of Pacific exploration is
considered.

Magellan's voyage resulted in a treaty which extended
to the Pacific the famous Papal line dividing the known
world between the Spanish and the Portuguese. About
1584 Spain occupied the Philippines (a discovery of Magel-
lan's) and under the treaty, Spanish ships sailed to Manila
in latitude 15 N. by a westerly route only actually
from the American port of Acapulc'o in latitude 11 N.
This route enabled them to use tl^e Trades on the out-
ward voyage, while on the return they worked north and
so got the Westerlies. But both routes lie far to the north
of Australia, New Zealand, and the principal island
groups, which accordingly were never sighted. The
Portuguese worked eastwards to the Moluccas, but as
their route from the Cape of Good Hope coasted along the
shores of Africa as far north as Zanzibar and then crossed

THE EARLY VOYAGES 9

the Indian Ocean to Ceylon, they too were so far north
that no discovery was possible. Thus, knowledge of the
southern lands was postponed until the beginning of the
iyth century, when the Portuguese had given place to the
Dutch.

Almost from the beginning of the Age of Discovery,
the belief was widely held that there must exist a large
land-mass in the Pacific. This belief was a revival of the
old Greek idea of world-symmetry which appeared to
require a continent in the fourth quarter of the globe to
balance the other land-masses. It was known that South
America was much smaller than Asia, and so, in perfect
good faith the i6th century geographers placed on their
maps the enormous " Terra Australia nondum cognita."
Magellan's voyage was considered to support the theory,
his strait being thought a continental strait, while the
discovery of Drake that to the south of Cape Horn the
eastern and western seas* " meet in a most free scope "
does not seem to have been appreciated at its true value.
As late as 1595 the great geographer Hondius expressed
doubt as to the insular character of Java, which might, he
thought, be part of the southern continent.

The 1 6th century did not itself see much addition to
the knowledge brought home by Magellan. In 1527 a
Spaniard called Meneses sighted the north coast of New
Guinea, which later became a familiar sight to sailors,
though no one seems to have been sufficiently curious
to carry investigations any further. In 1595 another
Spaniard, Mendana, sighted the Solomon and Santa
Cruz groups, and his discovery supplied the impulse to
the voyage of de Quiros, which we may fairly take as the
beginning of western Pacific exploration proper.

In December, 1605, a Portuguese sailor, de Quiros, left
Callao in command of a Spanish expedition to find the
southern continent, and to do so took a more southerly
course than any hitherto attempted. As a result he
passed through the Low Archipelago and found the New
Hebrides, which he called Australia del Espiritu Santo,

io DISCOVERY

but losing heart, he sailed north and eventually returned
to America after calling at Guam. His second-in-
command, a Spaniard named Torres, lost touch with
him and sailed west. His course took him through the
Louisiades and so to Torres Strait, through which he
passed within sight of Australia, though its continental
nature does not seem to have been recognized. The
voyage terminated at Manila, and neither Torres nor
any one else apparently realized the magnitude of his
exploit. No account of his voyage was published, and
the whole affair sank into oblivion for more than 150
years. And yet Torres was not the discoverer of Australia.

In June, 1606, the Dutch authorities at Batavia sent
a small vessel, the Duifken, under William Janszoon, to
search for new spice lands to the east. The Duifken
sailed along the south coast of New Guinea, crossed Torres
Strait under the impression that it was a bay, and coasted
the Gulf of Carpentaria as far as latitude 13 45', this feat
taking place a few months before Torres' passage of the
strait, and, as in his case, no particular importance seems
to have been attached to the voyage. It was in fact the
discovery of Australia.

A few years later the Dutch authorities ordered their
captains to take a more southerly route when sailing across
the Indian Ocean from the Cape of Good Hope to their
eastern possessions, in the hope that by doing so they
would find an easier passage. These orders, issued solely
in the interests of navigation, resulted in the discovery
of large parts of Australia. In 1616 Dirk Hartog sighted
Australia in latitude 26 and landed" on the island which
now bears his name. He was only the first of many,
and by 1640 Dutch skippers had seen and charted
most of the coast from Cape York round to de Nuyts
Archipelago, the name of which commemorates the
voyage of Peter de Nuyts, who in 1627 surveyed the
whole south coast from Cape Leeuwin to longitude 133 E.
Nowhere, however, had they reported fertile land or
possibilities of trade, nor was it clear what relation the

MAIN VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY

n

12 DISCOVERY

various coasts had either to one another or to the so-
called Southern Continent. These problems were to
some extent solved by the voyage of Abel Tasman.

Acting under the orders of Van Diemen, the Dutch
Governor of the East Indies, Tasman left Batavia in
August, 1642, watered at Mauritius, and sailed southwards
to latitude 40 S. where he turned east, and on November
4th sighted the western coast of Tasmania. The south
coast was charted, the land being considered as an
extension of de Nuyts land, and the voyage eastwards
was resumed. On December 13th a new land was
sighted in latitude 42 10' S. This was the western coast
of New Zealand, and after an unsuccessful attempt to
penetrate Cook Strait, Tasman followed the coast north-
wards to Cape Maria van Diemen. From here he sailed
northnortheasf and discovered Tonga and Fiji before
rounding the north of New Guinea and reaching
Batavia after one of the most remarkable voyages in the
history of exploration. Broadly, he showed that Aus-
tralia had no connection with the Southern Continent
(which was thought of as immensely bigger than Aus-
tralia itself), and by his discovery of New Zealand he
placed on the map the last habitable land-mass of any
size in the world. Two years later, on a second voyage
Tasman sailed along the Australian coast from Cape York
to de Witts land in latitude 20 S ., so that by 1 644 two-thirds
of the coast were tolerably well known, while Tasmania
and New Zealand had been visited, From the Dutch
point of view, however, these discoveries were all worth-
less. It was evident that none of the new lands provided
any source of trade or wealth (as they understood it)
and so the practical Dutch simply let the matter drop.

The century following Tasman's discoveries is rela-
tively a barren period in Pacific discovery. Ship after ship
visited various parts of the Pacific, and in an unsystematic
fashion many islands were placed on the map, but no
really big step forward was made until Cook sailed on his
first voyage in 1 768, Between 1 688 and 1 70 1 the English-

CAPTAIN COOK 13

man Dampier continued Tasman's survey of the north-
west Australian coast, and in 1722 Roggeveen made the
last of the great Dutch circumnavigations and discovered
Easter Island with its mysterious statues. Byron in 1765
touched at the Gilbert Islands, and in 1767 Wallis dis-
covered Tahiti in the Society Islands. In the following
year the French sailor, Bougainville, discovered the Samoa
group, and gave the name Louisiades to the group first
seen by Torres. Bougainville's voyage merits attention,
less for its discoveries than for the fact that the expedition
was the first to be properly equipped for its work, the
personnel including several eminent French scientists.
In this sense Bougainville is the forerunner of Cook.
Interesting in their way, and important as these voyages
are, they did nothing to solve the big problems the
relation of Australia to New Zealand ; the extent of the
latter ; the existence of the Southern Continent. The
extent and boundaries of the Pacific were little better
known than in the time of Tasman. Cook's voyages
settled all these questions, and in doing so practically
brought to an end the exploration of the Pacific Ocean.
In. 1768, as master of the Endeavour, a Whitby collier
of 360 tons, Cook led an expedition whose declared
object was to observe a transit of Venus from Tahiti,
but whose real purpose we now know to have been the
annexation of the greater lands in the Western Pacific.
The British Admiralty, alarmed by French projects in
this ocean, determined to forestall their rivals. On
October 8th, 1769, Cook reached the east coast of New
Zealand in latitude 38 39' S. at the place now known
as Poverty Bay. After sailing south to Hawke Bay, he
turned and made a complete circuit of the North Island ;
so proving what Tasman had suspected, the existence of
Cook Strait. A careful and admirable chart of the coast
was made, and frequent landings provided the scientists
with much information about the country and its inhabi-
tants. On reaching Hawke Bay, Cook turned the
Endeavour southwards, and circumnavigated South Island

i 4 DISCOVERY

with the same care and thoroughness, the only error of
any importance being the failure to recognize the insular
character of Stewart Island. After resting at an anchorage
in Cook Strait, the expedition sailed westwards from Cape
Farewell on March 3ist, 1770, over five months having
been spent on this survey of the coast of New Zealand.

On April igth, he sighted Australia near Cape Howe
in latitude 37 S., and a little later made a landing at
Botany Bay. As he proceeded northwards, Cook carried
out the same careful charting and examination of the
coast until Cape York was reached, the Endeavour narrowly
escaping disaster on the Barrier Reef. Passing through
Torres Strait, he called at Batavia before returning to
England, which he reached on May isth, 1771. The
knowledge gained was very great. In brief, he proved
that there was no possibility of continental land in the
southwestern Pacific north of latitude 40 S. ; he showed
the position, size and shape of New Zealand by a chart,
the accuracy of which excites admiration even in the
20th century, and explored with equal skill practically
the whole eastern coast of Australia ; finally, he verified
the track of Torres in 1606 by his passage between Aus-
tralia and New Guinea.

On his second voyage, between 1772 and 1775, Cook
definitely showed that the idea of a vast southern conti-
nent must be abandoned. In a series of cruises from his
base in New Zealand the South Pacific was thoroughly
explored. The Hervey or Cook Islands and New Cale-
donia were discovered ; the Antarctic Circle crossed ;
and the " permanent " Antarctic ice sighted for the first
time in history. But he found no big land area, and he
stated that if there were a continental mass it lay in such
high latitudes that it must be useless to man ; in which
statement he was perfectly correct.

His third and last voyage was directed towards the
practically unknown * north! Hawaii was discovered,
though it seems probable that the group had been sighted
in the i6th century by Spaniards, and then forgotten ;

FLINDERS AND BASS 15

and much of the American coast and Behring Strait
charted before the fatal return to Hawaii and Cook's
murder there by the natives on February i/^th, 1779. His
second-in-command, Captain Clarke, finished the survey
on the Asiatic side of Behring Strait, so that on the
expedition's return in October, 1780, the unveiling of
the Pacific was practically complete.

There remained one small Australian problem, which
was solved a few years later by Flinders. In company
with a naval surgeon, called Bass, he carried out the
circumnavigation of Tasmania in 1 798, so proving the
existence of Bass Strait, completed the exploration of
the Australian coast from de Nuyts Archipelago to Cape
Howe in 1801-2 ; and finally carried out the first circum-
navigation of the continent in 1803. The discovery of
Australia was finished, but the exploration of the interior
had scarcely begun.

CHAPTER III
EXPLORATION

THE opening up of Australia formed one* of the major
tasks of igth century exploration, and is of great interest
since the conditions under which the work was done were
In many respects unique. Australia presented a com-
bination of physiographic and climatic difficulties which
largely dictated the actual lines of advance, which led
incidentally to much hardship and even to loss of life,
and which evoked feats of extraordinary gallantry and
endurance. Australia is justly proud of the pioneers
whose work fills the most glowing pages of her history.

On January i8th, 1788, acting under orders from the
British Government, Governor Phillip landed in Botany
Bay, and a few days later founded the first permanent
settlement on the neighbouring harbour of Port Jackson.
Before many years were past the growing colony realized
that its expansion was narrowly limited by the line of
the Blue Mountains, but when attempts were made to
cross the barrier by the usual and natural method of
following up the rivers v an unexpected obstacle was
encountered.

The Blue Mountains form a monoclinal fold of hard
sandstone capping soft shales, which has resulted in the
rivers eating out broad, precipitous-sided amphitheatres
on the flat above the fold, but at the fold itself have only
been able to cut narrow notches, so producing the famous
" bottle-necked " valleys which excited the curiosity of
Darwin. The early explorers would follow up a river,
struggle with difficulty through the inevitable gorge and
then instead of reaching a pass through the opposing
mountains, they invariably found their progress barred
by a wall of cliff at the head of the amphitheatre.

16

CROSSING OF THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS 17

Not until 1813 (twenty-five years after the founding of
the colony) did Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson effect

a crossing by following up the ridge between two small
streams, which after much hardship led them on to the
crest of the main i;,ange. Their success led to the founding

1 8 EXPLORATION

of Bathurst and to the rapid exploration of the immediate
hinterland by Evans, Oxley, Cunningham and others j
while Hume and Ho veil in 1824 succeeded in reaching
the site of Geeiong after a difficult journey. Thus by
1830 knowledge had increased considerably, and had
brought with it a problem which puzzled the settlers for
many years.

Almost every expedition returned with particulars of
rivers and streams which flowed westwards. Many of
these when traced down apparently ended in marshes,
but others, such as the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee,
seemed much too big for such a fate. The puzzle was to
find what did happen to them. Practically the whole
Australian coast was well known, and no one had ever
reported the existence of a large river-mouth at a point
which could bear any relation to these newly discovered
streams. So there sprang into existence the plausible
theory of an Inland Sea, into which the rivers were
supposed to drain ; and round which there was pre-
sumably an almost illimitable stretch of fertile land.

The idea touched the imagination of many men, and
of no one more strongly than Captain Sturt, who, after
several preliminary expeditions, carried out in 1828-29 the
journey which solved the problem. Dragging a boat
overland, he voyaged down the Murrumbidgee, and so
on to the Murray, which led him and his five companions
after a long and arduous journey to its junction with the
sea at Lake Alexandrina. The return journey nearly
resulted in disaster through shortness of food, hostile
natives, and the difficulties of working against the stream ;
but it was safely accomplished. Sturt had exploded the
theory of the Inland Sea, and when in 1836 Mitchell
opened up the Great Valley of Victoria, long known as
Australia Felix, and Hindmarsh established a settlement
at Adelaide, a chapter in the history of Australian
exploration was ended. The geographical framework
of the great southeastern quadrant from Brisbane to
Adelaide, which is still, and probably will remain,

PROBLEMS OF THE INTERIOR 19

the centre of Australian civilization, was known, and
a host of small expeditions working on the data of
the great pioneers rapidly filled in the necessary
detail.

By 1840 the original colony at Port Jackson had
multiplied into numerous settlements of varying degrees
of prosperity and scattered over a wide area, but in the
main already tending to centre round three foci the
present-day cities of Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney
while away in the southwest was the isolated settlement
of Western Australia founded in 1829 on the banks of the
Swan River.

The greater part of the continent however still remained
unknown, and its unveiling took the better part of forty
years. The expeditions which accomplished the task can
be divided into two groups. From the Adelaide and
Perth districts efforts were directed which first established
contact between those two areas, and later led to the
opening-up of Western Australia : while from the eastern
settlements another series of expeditions completed the
work already begun. Practically all these efforts had the
same objective to reach the heart of Australia, and then,
if possible, achieve the transcontinental journey an idea
which seems to have had the same fascination for these
later explorers as the Inliand Sea had had for their pre-
decessors.

Ever since his voyage down the Murray, Sturt had been
eager to penetrate to the heart of the continent, and in
1844 he started from the junction of the Murray and the
Darling and pushed his way to the northwest. He made
fair progress over an arid country as far as the Grey
Range, but beyond this he met some of the worst conditions
Australia has to offer. Stifling heat and an almost total
absence of water caused incredible hardships and brought
the expedition to a standstill for months ; but eventually
Sturt succeeded in pushing over a naked desert beyond
Cooper Creek, which he mapped for about 100 miles
before returning. This is perhaps the hardest journey in

20 EXPLORATION

the history of Australian exploration. The party were
utterly exhausted, Sturt himself became almost blind, and
his second-in-command, Poole, died.

In the next year, Mitchell, who had followed up pre-
vious exploration in the south with some useful work in
tracing the feeders of the Upper Darling, started on an
attempt to find the watershed between the southern rivers
and those flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria. In this
he failed, but he reached Cooper Creek, known
above its junction with the Thompson as the
Barcoo. Two years later Kennedy showed the identity
of the two streams by following it down to Start's
turning point of 1844. The success of these two
expeditions was partly due to their being made in
the wet season, and neither man experienced the
hardships from thirst suffered by other explorers in this
area.

Meanwhile a great journey had been accomplished in
the north. The increasing sea traffic round the north of
Australia had led to the establishment of a government
post at Port Essington in Arnhem land, and it was
earnestly desired to find an overland route which would
link this settlement with the stations of the southeast. In
1844 Leichhardt started from Moreton Bay and in Decem-
ber 3 1.845, Cached Port Essington after a journey of over
3,000 miles through a country of the most broken topo-
graphy, hampered by tropical heat and rain, impeded by
dense, often impenetrable vegetation, and menaced by
the wild tribes of the north, It was a remarkable achieve-
ment, but unfortunately of little immediate value.
Leichhardt and his men reached Port Essington in rags,
at the point of starvation, and it was evident that the
route was not a practicable one. Accordingly, in 1848
Kennedy attempted a new route to Cape York. His party
was landed near Rockhampton, and after a terrible
journey, similar in character to Leichhardt's, was am-
bushed by natives near Cape York. All the white members
of the expedition were killed, save two, who escaped

BURKE AND WILLS 21

mainly through the faithfulness and bush skill of their
native interpreter Jacky. The same year saw yet another
tragedy. Leichhardt started to cross the continent from
east to west. He made good progress, and in a letter
written from his camp on the Cogoon in April, 1848,
seemed full of confidence. From that moment nothing
more was ever heard of him, and his actual fate still
remains a mystery, in spite of the most careful attempts
to trace his movements.

Three years later the great Australian "gold rush"
began, and for ten years exploration was at a standstill
while the country grappled with the problems of vast
immigration and mining camps ; so that it was not until
1860 that the next expedition started, this time from
Melbourne, under the leadership of Burke and Wills.

The expedition was definitely planned to cross the
continent. It was supported by private and public sub-
scription, and its departure from Melbourne was the occa-
sion of universal interest. Progress being slow, Burke and
Wills with a small party pushed ahead and reached
Cooper Creek without difficulty, having given the third
in command, Wright, instructions to follow on as quickly
as possible and establish a permanent camp on the
river. After waiting in vain for Wright, Burke and
Wills left part of their provisions at a depot in charge of
a small party, and with two others, Grey and King,
started off northwards with a very inadequate outfit.
Fortune favoured them, and their progress was fairly
rapid in spite of many difficulties and privations owing to
the nature of the country and their meagre equipment.
They reached the Flinders River and followed its course
to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The continent, had been
crossed.

Their return was one long drawn-out tragedy. Food
ran short, Grey died from his exertions, and the three
survivors struggled to the depot, to find it empty and
abandoned. In actual fact, the base party had only left
that very morning and at the moment were only a few

22 EXPLORATION

miles away. After some consultation a fatal decision
was taken to try and reach the South Australian settle-
ments via Mount Hopeless, They soon found themselves in
a foodless, waterless country, and after trying to exist for
some time on the seeds of a swamp plant known as nardoo,
Burke and Wills died of starvation, while King at his last
gasp was found by some natives who succoured him to
the best of their ability. News of their failure to return
was brought to Melbourne by Wright, who visited the
depot on Cooper Creek only a few days after Burke and
Wills had found it deserted, and when they were only
a short distance away. He does not seem, however, to
have observed any traces of their visit, nor to have realized
the necessity for rapid and vigorous action, but merely
returned to Melbourne by easy stages. The anxiety in
Melbourne was intense, and four well-equipped expedi-
tions set out in search of the lost explorers.

Of these expeditions, Howitt's, starting from Melbourne,
succeeded in tracing the lost party's tracks, rescued King,
and found the bodies of Burke and Wills, so clearing up
the mystery of their disappearance. Walker skilfully led
a party from the east coast to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and
though, of course, failing in his main object, actually
found the tracks of Burke and Wills and mapped a good
deal of the Queensland tableland. McKinlay started
from the Lake Torrens district and made a remarkable
journey to Cooper Creek, found Grey*s body, pressed
on to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and finally made his way
to the coastal settlements in Queensland. Finally, Lands-
borough, starting from the Gulf of Carpentaria, made a
brilliant transcontinental journey to Melbourne.

The scope of these expeditions and the thorough and
successful manner in which they were carried out, left
practically no exploration on the grand scale to be done
in Eastern Australia, and the unveiling of this area may be
said to have ended with Landsborough's arrival in Mel-
bourne. During these same years the centre of the con-
tinent had been revealed through the exertions of Stuart,

STUART CROSSES THE CONTINENT 23

Between i85&-6o this skilful explorer, who had got his
early experience with Start, had made a series of journeys
into the districts west and northwest of Lake Torrens and
had opened up the country as far north as the present
town of Oodnadatta. In 1860 he discovered the moun-
tains which now bear his name and succeeded in reaching
the centre of the continent, but was foiled in an attempt
to reach the Victoria River. A second attempt in 1861
also resulted in failure, Stuart being compelled to return
not far from latitude 1 7 S. A third attempt in 1862 was
successful. After a difficult march he reached the
Adelaide River and so made his way to the north coast,
his route being practically that followed later by the
transcontinental telegraph line. Stuart must rank as one
of the greatest of Australian explorers. Both the extent
of his discoveries, and the efficiency and skill with which
they were conducted over some of the most trying and
difficult country in Australia, stand out in sharp contrast
with many less fortunate expeditions.

The story of Western Australia begins with the founda-
tion of Perth in 1829. Within a few years the settlers
had roughly mapped most of the southwestern area, which
still remains the most developed portion of the modern
State. Cut off from the eastern settlements, the wes-
terners steadily carried out the exploration of their
hinterland, in spite of the grim fact that the reports of
each expedition seemed only to emphasize the barren and
worthless nature of the country. The story is thus one
whose main interest lies in the triumph of human hardi-
hood over the obstacles and perils of Nature, and it was not
until many years later that the discovery of mineral wealth
and the gradual development of stock routes showed that
the work of the pioneers was, after all, well worth while.

For over thirty years exploration was mainly directed
to the coastal districts. Between 1829 and 1840 George
Grey (afterwards the famous Governor of New Zealand)
and Stokes mapped the coast northwards from Perth ;
Grey in particular doing extremely valuable work in the

24 EXPLORATION

neighbourhood of Shark Bay. In 1841 came one of the
most remarkable journeys of the century, the story of
which deserves more attention than it has ever received.
Edward Eyre, who in the preceding year had done
some valuable work in the Lake Torrens district, started
from Port Lincoln to open up a coastal route to the
western settlements. His expedition consisted of himself,
a white overseer named Baxter, and three native boys. A
small flock of fourteen sheep formed their main food supply
and on February 23rd, 1841, they began their march west-
wards, and on March 3rd reached the head of the Great
Australian Bight, from which point onwards the country
was unexplored. The unknown country which they now
entered proved worse than their gloomiest imaginings.
They covered no miles without finding a trace of water,
and Eyre was compelled to leave his companions in camp
and hurry on in advance for another twenty-five miles
before finding a spring. After resting for a few days they
started off again, and this time had to cover 160 miles
before again reaching water. How they ever survived
the journey is a mystery, but even so, Eyre was only at
the beginning of his troubles. Their food supply was
rapidly becoming exhausted, and the natives frightened
and mutinous. On the night of April sgth Eyre left the
camp to recover a strayed horse, and hearing a gunshot,
turned back to find Baxter lying dead and two of the
three natives with most of the food and gear missing.
The horror of his position can hardly be exaggerated. He
was over 600 miles from King George Sound ; his cloth-
ing and boots were nearly in rags, his food reduced to a
mere handful, and his only companion a native of doubt-
ful loyalty. And yet Eyre never wavered for a moment,
but continued his journey with dogged pertinacity.
Fortunately, the remaining native proved faithful ; but
their sufferings during the next four weeks were almost
beyond endurance. By June 2nd they were on the verge
of exhaustion, foodless, and in such a condition that the
white man could hardly be distinguished from the native.

A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE 25

They approached the sea shore and suddenly caught
sight of a ship at anchor below them ! a coincidence
which borders on the miraculous, and without which
they would certainly have perished. It was the French
whaler Mississippi, which had put in for water and some
minor repairs, and its commander, Captain Rossiter, did
everything in his power to assist the explorer. Eyre
rested on the ship until the i4th and then, restored, to
vigour and provisioned, started off again, and was able
to complete his journey with no more than the hardships
usual to such an undertaking, reaching Albany on July yth
after a journey which has few, if any, equals in the history
of exploration.

The next chapter of western activity is mainly concerned
with the brothers Gregory, who between 1846 and 1861
practically completed the exploration of the coastal
areas as far north as the Victoria River, opening up new
pastoral areas in doing so. The turn of the interior came
in the seventies, when a series of expeditions crossed from
the west coast to the line of Stuart's journey in 1862.
Perhaps the most important of these was that of Giles,
who in 1875-6 made the crossing in both directions.
In 1883 the discovery of gold in the Kimberley district
started a series of prospecting movements which led to the
establishment of the numerous mining towns and settle-
ments of the present day ; and brought to a close the
period of extensive exploration rather more than a century
after the landing of Governor Phillip at Botany Bay.

With it there closed the " heroic " period of Austra-
lian history, a period of which the glories are now
largely forgotten outside Australia ; but a knowledge of
which is essential to a real understanding of the Common-
wealth. Few stories reveal such suffering, hardihood, and
endeavour. Without the efforts of the pioneers there would
beno Commonwealth of Australia to~day,anditwas thequal-
ities exhibited by the host of explorers, named and unnamed,
which achieved such glory in later years on the fields of South
Africa, Gallipoli, France, Libya, and the S.W. Pacific.

CHAPTER IV
STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

AUSTRALIA is a land of little topographic variety. Two
great earth-folds curve across the globe and meet in the
East Indies, after giving to Europe, Asia, and America
some of their chief physiographic characteristics. Australia
lies outside the area affected by these movements, and
accordingly lacks the grander features of the other
continents. Its main elements are four in number. The
Eastern Highlands, a complex mountain system rather
than a simple range, run from Cape York to the Grampfeas
in Western Victoria. They are separated by the
Central Lowlands from the Western Plateau, a single
topographical area which includes just over half the area
of the continent. In South Australia the Mount Lofty
and Flinders Ranges, with the Spencer-Torrens Sunklands,
form a separate unit due to local earth movements.

The geological history of these elements seems to be
somewhat as follows. In the Primary Age Australia
apparently consisted of the platform or crustal block now
known as the Western Plateau, and two similar but
smaller blocks to the southeast now included in the
Eastern Highlands. In late Secondary and early Ter-
tiary times there took place a series of thrusts from the
Tonga Deep' against the Western Plateau, The small
eastern blocks with the later sediments surrounding them
were uplifted with much folding and faulting to form the
Eastern Highlands, which then extended much farther
east than at present, and stretched south to include Tas-
mania. Westwards, the resulting downfold seems to
have formed great gulfs, or more properly, sea, separating

THE BUILDING OF THE CONTINENT 27

the new mountain ranges from the old Western Plateau.
Australia may thus have consisted of two large islands,
though possibly the two units may have been connected
by a low ridge in the north.
In this central sea level-bedded sediments were laid

down, which a later Tertiary uplift converted into the
present Central Lowlands, linking the Eastern Highlands
with the Western Plateau, and draining southwards to
the Southern Ocean.

At the end, of the Tertiary Age more local movements
followed, which produced the South Australian Gulfs and

28 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

Highlands. In this process the drainage to the south
was blocked, and the present system of draining into Lake
Eyre resulted.

One or other of these Tertiary movements was accom-
panied by a coastal subsidence which gave the Eastern

Highlands their present form. The connection with
Tasmania was broken, and a large area lost on the eastern
side-

THE EASTERN" HIGHLANDS

The Eastern Highlands form a belt about 150 miles
wide, stretching from Cape York to the Grampians in

THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS 29

Western Victoria. They are separated from the sea by
coastal plains, generally narrow, and in some places
almost non-existent. The eastern face is markedly
steeper than the western, a fact which, as we have seen,
greatly hindered the exploration of the interior. They
do not form a single mountain range in the true sense of
the word, but rather a complex mountain system which
reflects their geological history. They are divided into a
series of more or less separate blocks, each probably
representing an original granite nucleus and each of
which has a river system of marked peculiarity. Many of
the present-day eastern rivers are consequent on the
original uplift only in their lower courses. Their head

Faulted & Sunken Coast

G*? Ba r Her Reef *

Cairns I I
M^BartleFrere Diane Reef

_ , ^ \ Holmes Reef

Secon dary Rocks aMl^fc r * I

T

Primary Rocks
SECTION EAST AND WEST THROUGH QUEENSLAND.

waters apparently consist of the upper -courses of rivers
originally flowing west. Some geologists attribute this
unusual arrangement to structure, others, including
Griffith Taylor, holding that the Tertiary uplift blocked
the course of the old westerly rivers, shifted the water
parting westwards, and so produced the existing easterly
systems with their reversed tributaries.

Southwards from Cape York the Queensland High-
lands reach their greatest height in the Bellenden-Ker
group (Mount Bartle Frere, 5,438 feet) on the edge of the
Atherton Plateau, which at an altitude of 2,000 feet is
probably the healthiest district of tropical Australia. In
Southern Queensland" they have a marked plateau
character, and include the fertile Darling Downs on their

3 o STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

western flank. The chief rivers are the Burdekin and the
Fitzroy, both considerable streams, the basin of the
Fitzroy in particular being comparatively wide and of
great fertility. For over two-thirds of its length the coast
is faced by the coral formation of the Great Barrier Reef,
of which an account will be given later.

In New South Wales the plateau characteristics largely
disappear. Individual hill masses, presenting difficult
obstacles to travel, are well marked, which explains the
familiar, but unfortunate, name of the Great Dividing
Range so often employed. The New England block
rises abruptly from the eastern coast to a height of over
3,000 feet, its highest point, Ben Lomond, being over
5,000 feet ; and consists mainly of very hard sedimentary
rock with granite intrusions. The short rapid rivers,
often rushing through narrow and remarkably beautiful
gorges, offer hydro-electric power which is being
developed, notably at Nymboida on a tributary of the
Clarence.

The Cassilis Gate formed by the Hunter and Goulburn
rivers provides an easy route into the interior, and
separates the New England massif from the Blue Moun-
tains, which for so long blocked the expansion of the
early settlers from the Sydney district. Their general
structure is similar to that of the New England block,
consisting mainly of ancient slates and limestones on the
western side, buttressed by granite and faced on its
eastern slope with a hard Triassic sandstone, This
coastal face forms a simple monoclinal fold which has
had remarkable results on the drainage. Ou the western
side of the fold the tributaries of the Hawkesbury have
cut down their beds into huge amphitheatres with preci-
pitous sides, in some places as much as 2,000 feet high.
On the fold itself, however, the rivers have been able to
saw only a narrow notch, so producing the famous
" bottle-neck " valleys which we have already mentioned.

To the south is Goulburn Gate, a gap caused by a
fault in which lies the Lake George depression. This gap

TASMANIA 31

provides a good route from Sydney to the southwest and
separates the Blue Mountains from the high Monaro
region which lies athwart the New South Wales- Victoria
boundary. The western half of this region is the most
elevated portion of Australia, for it includes the Kosciusko
massif (Mount Kosciusko, 7,328 feet). This is the only
part of the continent where snow lies all the year round, and
even here it is confined to one or two tiny spots. The area
is drained southwards by the Snowy River which waters
the fertile coastal district of Gippsland, while on the north
side the Murray and Murrumbidgee have their sources.

The Monaro gives place westwards to the rather lower
Bogong and Hotham groups which extend to nearly due
north of Melbourne, where the Kilmore Gap provides an

Cobar-Wyalong Peneplain \uonocHnalfblel

~ J$? e y

Triassic Sandstone ,
Permb-CarboniferousSyncltne

SECTION EAST AND WEST THROUGH NEW SOUTH WALES.

excellent gateway to the interior. On the other side of
the Gap lie the West Victorian Highlands, including the
Grampians and Pyrenees groups. These represent the
worn-down remnants of an old mountain range and form
low plateaux, the chief constituent of which is basalt.
The fertile soil of the surrounding plain is due to disinte-
gration of the basalt.

Geologically and structurally Tasmania forms a sepa-
rate but related section of the Eastern Highlands. It
has the same association of old sedimentary rock and
granite masses of high mineral value, with later car-
boniferous strata in isolated deposits, but in addition, in
Western Tasmania there are kirge flows of basalt. The
island consists essentially of dissected plateaux, mostly
over 3,000 feet, the highest point being Legge's Peak
(5,160 feet), surrounded by a coastal plain.

32 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

The central plateaux contain many lakes (Great Lake,
50 square -miles), and is drained by a series of rivers, the
chief of which form three pairs, occupying three valleys,
which cross the island from N.W. to S.E, and probably

DRAINAGE

PACIFIC

O C EA N

'Diamantlna
"itzroy

OCEAN

Cooper
' Creek

Darling

'Hunter

'kesbury
Loch/art
wy
Murrumbidgee

ARTESIAN
BASINS

NORTH
Carnarvon\ WEST

BASIN |

, .....COASTAL
Perth

MILES O

Brisbane

as / iydne y

Mdj/ourne

BASIN

follow old fault lines. In the north is the Tamar-
Macquarie line, the Pieman-Derwent line approximately
cuts the island in half, and in the south is the Gordon-
Huon line.

THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS

The Central Lowlands extend from the Eastern High-

THE DEAD HEART OF AUSTRALIA 33

lands to the Western Tableland and thus in situation,
but unfortunately not in character, correspond to the
Middle West of the United States. The Great Artesian
Basin forms the northern half of the area, and the Murray-
Darling Lowlands occupy the south.

(i) The Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin is roughly triangular in
shape, stretching from Normanton in Queensland south-
eastwards to Moree in New South Wales, and westwards to
Lake Eyre in South Australia. The Barkly Tableland,
which is composed of Silurian sediments, forms the main
water-parting, the lower land to north and south being
mainly permeable sandstones and shales, frequently
covered with a blue clay. The Gulf country is thinly
forested, with many rivers, the coast-line usually fringed
with mangrove swamps a type of country which extends
round to Cape York. South of the water-parting there
is excellent pastoral land in the down-like country of
South Queensland, but west and southwest, as the land
levels out, its value rapidly diminishes on account of the
climate until the desert region surrounding Lake Eyre
is reached. Practically all this section drains into Lake Eyre,
but none of the rivers Cooper Creek, Diamantina, etc.
ever flows for more than a short period, and Lake Eyre
itself is usually a sheet of salt. Owing to the very slight
gradient, and the hardness of the surface, heavy rainfall
is apt to produce the vast floods of short duration which
misled so many of the early explorers in their estimate of
the country. This forbidding region is dealt with in
Professor Gregory's book, " The Dead Heart of Aus-
tralia." Far more important than its river-system is the
existence of underground water on an unusual scale
which has given the district its name. On the eastern
side of the Basin the porous sandstones are exposed and
receive a heavy rainfall which, sinking in, flows west and
northwest, and is finally impounded against the " wall "

34 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

of the Western Tableland. Since 1887 more than 2,000
bores have been sunk, and in spite of the great
leakage which probably exists into the Gulf of Carpen-
taria, a sufficient water supply has been obtained to
form the basis of great pastoral activity. It seems,
however, more than doubtful if the artesian water will
ever be of much value for irrigation, owing to the limited
supply, and its high mineral content.

(2) The Murray-Darling Lowland

On three sides east, south and west this area is well-
defined by the Eastern and Victorian Highlands and the
Flinders Range, but to the north its limit is somewhat
arbitrary, being usually taken as the southern edge of the
Great Artesian Basin. Over the east and centre the old
palaeozoic rocks are buried beneath the debris and sedi-
ments brought down from the Eastern Highlands, though
here and there fragments of the older series project as
isolated heights ; but in the west, round the mouth of the
Murray, is a large tract of Tertiary deposits.

The Eastern district includes the foothills of the High-
lands, and slopes down from about 1,500 feet before
levelling out into the central division which is about
500 feet above sea-level. The area includes the head-
waters of the Murray-Darling system and is well-watered,
with much good land, as in the Liverpool Plains around
the Namoi River.

The central district has the same geological characteris-
tics, and consequently has large areas of fertile land, but
westwards and northwards the rainfall decreases rapidly,
the country to the northwest deteriorating into Sturt's
Stony Desert. The district is traversed by the chief
rivers of Australia, the Murray, the Darling, the Lachlan
and the Murrumbidgee, but the Murray is the only true
perennial stream, so that with the exception of the
Riverina district in the south, irrigation is needed if the
hopes of making this an area of close settlement are to be
realized.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SUNKLANDS 35

To the west is the area of Tertiary deposits occupying
the gulf by which the chief rivers of the Murray system
formerly reached the sea. This is a semi-arid district in
which the Murray functions as a very inferior Nile. The
Wimmera district in northwest Victoria is drained by
rivers from the Grampians^ which however rarely reach
the Murray! There is much mallee scrub, but in the south,
where the rainfall is greater, large areas are now producing
wool and wheat, and towards the Murray artesian bores
and an irrigation channel are making stock profitable.
(3) South Australian Highlands and Sunklands

This well-defined geographical unit divides the Murray
Basin from the Western Tableland, and is of great struc-
tural interest. The main feature is the series of north-
south ridges, the highest being the Flinders Ranges,,
built up of Cambrian sediments, mostly slates and lime-
stones (St. Mary's Peak, 3,900 feet), separated by hollows,
such as the downfaulted Lake Torrens and Lake Frome.
This north-south series seems to be the original structure,
*nd it is probable that originally Lake Eyre and the central
rivers drained to the Southern Ocean by way of these

Mt Lofty Range
Yorke Pen.

SECTION ACROSS THE PENINSULAS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
Spencer and St. Vincent Gialfs are clearly shown to be sunklands.

longitudinal valleys. At some later date earth move-
ments produced a counter-series of east- west undulations ;
the Gawler Range, and possibly the southern end of
Yorke peninsula, and Kangaroo Island being suggestive
in this respect. These later movements destroyed the
original drainage, and were either accompanied or fol-
lowed by the faulting which produced the present gulfs
and the sunkland of Lake Torrens. The /relation of

36 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

Spencer Gulf to Lake Torrens is probably similar to that
of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Jordan Valley. There are
no rivers of importance, and the lakes which figure pro-
minently on maps are mostly shallow sheets of salt water
which increase greatly in size after heavy rain.

THE WESTERN PLATEAU

If size were the only criterion this would be by far the
most important region of Australia, since it accounts for
just over half of the land surface, but the knowledge that
it contains only 6 per cent, of the population gives us a
juster estimate of its value. The greater part in fact forms
a vast area of semi-desert. It is a remarkably uniform
geological and topographical unit, so much so that it is
difficult to find any satisfactory regional divisions. For
our purpose it can perhaps best be considered as consisting
of (a] the interior, and (b) the coastal area.

(a) The Interior

The interior forms a rectangular area about 1,000
miles from east to west and 600 from north to south,
including parts of Western Australia, South Australia and
the Northern Territory. The Western Australian section
consists of Archaean rocks, mostly schists and gneisses,
lying at an altitude of about 1,000 feet. Little can be
added to the fact that it is usually an uncompromising
desert, certain parts of which have a high mineral value.

The eastern side is more interesting. The early reports
of explorers from the Adelaide districts were by no means
hopeful, Stuart in 1858 calling the country west of Lake
Torrens " a dreary, dreadful, dismal desert." Later his-
tory has considerably modified this view. The South
Australian portion consists of belts of fair pastoral land,
alternating with strips of scrub or desert land. Its chief
drawback (characteristic of the whole central region) is
the great unreliability of the rainfall, which results in what
one year appears to be good pastoral country becoming
practically desert the next. Under such a handicap per-

SWANLAND 37

manent settlement becomes intensely difficult. North of
this region the so-called " Gibber " desert (" gibbers " =
masses of indurated sandstone) leads to the Central High-
lands, a series of parallel east-west ranges of palaeozoic
sandstones and limestones in the south passing into
gneisses and schists of the Western Australian type on the
north. The Macdonnell Ranges are rather more than
3,000 feet in height (Mount Zeil, 4,955 feet). The"
most striking feature of the region is due to the existence
here of a system of antecedent drainage. The rivers, chief
of which is the Finke, flow towards Lake Eyre across the
ranges in which they have cut narrow but extremely
deep gorges, their tributaries having worked out lateral
trenches, such as the Horn Valley, in the softer outcrops.
Some of these remarkable gorges contain permanent pools
of water, often of considerable size, while on the exposed
plain outside the rainfall is rapidly evaporated. Beyond
the Central Highlands there appears to be some fair
pastoral land northeastwards in the direction of the
Barkly Tableland, while northwards the land falls to the
peneplain for which the name 'Darwinia' has been
proposed.

(b) The Coastal Areas

From the Gulf of Carpentaria round to Shark Bay the
land seems to have much the same characteristics. A low
coastal plain, perhaps 100 miles wide, with isolated areas
of higher land, gradually rises 1,000 feet to the interior
plateau. The rocks are largely palaeozoic with patches
of late sediments, but no detailed geological survey is yet
available. In the tropical areas of the north are some of
the finest rivers of Australia, such as the Roper and
Victoria, and much of the land is good pasture ; but
westwards, as the rainfall diminishes, the rivers shrink in
number and size, and the value of the land decreases.
South of Sharks Bay the coastal strip widens into the more
varied country of " Swanland." This is a triangular area
rather larger than England. It is built up mainly of

3 8 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

Archaean granites and gneisses, but thanks to its enjoy-
ment of the most reliable rainfall in Australia, the rivers
have produced a more varied topography than the
Western Plateau can show elsewhere. It seems probable
that the district owes some of its character to a series of
north-south faults similar to the South Australian series.
The coastal strip around the Swan River ha$ been " dis-
sected into wide shallow valleys, in*which old-looking
rivers meander " (Jutson). Behind, the Darling escarp-
ment rises to 1,500 feet and gradually gives place to a
forest-covered plateau, which, in turn, passes through a
district of scrub into the central desert behind. In the
south the Blackwood and Stirling Ranges (Bluff Knoll,
3,640 feet) appear to be the result of a fairly recent
uplift.

Eastwards, Swanland 5 gives place to some of the most
difficult country of the continent. This is the large
Tertiary area, mostly limestone, which lies behind the
Great Australian Bight. Steep cliffs border the coast,
behind which is an arid, riverless country gradually
passing into desert. Part of the land around Eucla forms
an artesian bas?n, but much of the water is brackish.
There is no system of permanent drainage, but on occa-
sion the district is subject to extensive but short-lived
floods, such as caused much trouble to the Transcon-
tinental Railway in the last weeks of 1950,

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

The greatest single mass of coral structure in the world
stretches approximately 1,500 miles from Torres Strait
southwards to Lady Elliott Island off Cape Sandy. It is
often thought of as a single coral reef, but in fact it is by
no means entirely coral, and, far from being a single reef,
includes a maze of islands, cays and reefs, intersected with
lanes and channels, some of which are several miles wide,
though the majority are so narrow as to make navigation
dangerous.

From Torres Strait to Cairns the name Barrier Reef

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

39

has some slight justification, but southwards the so-called
reef consists of widely-separated patches and groups of

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF OF AUSTRALIA.
Notice the broken nature of the Reef.

islands. The width of the " lagoon " between the coast
and the Barrier varies from less than io to over iqo miles,

40 STRUCTURE AND RELIEF

the average distance being perhaps 20 miles. It is not
proposed to deal here with the construction of the reefs,
a matter which is still the subject of investigation and
discussion, but it may be noted that the foundation of the
Reef is almost undoubtedly the old coastline of the con-
tinent. The actual area above sea level can only be
estimated., since only a part has been surveyed in detail,
but probably 80,000 square miles is an underestimate.
What proportion of this figure is made up of islands and
what of reef pure and simple it is impossible to say.

The islands fall into two classes. The " high " islands
which lie close to the shore are of a rocky nature, similar
to the continental land opposite, and consist frequently of
a central peak from which deep valleys radiate outwards.
The height may be considerable, Hinchinbrook Island,
for instance; having several peaks over 3,000 feet high.
They are generally heavily forested, at any rate on the
windward side, and are partly or wholly surrounded by a
fringing reef. The " low " islands represent every stage
of coral growth from a simple mass of coral sand piled
on a reef to the much more complex low wooded island
whose formation is still a matter of debate. The coral
reefs proper are innumerable and are usually crescent-
shaped with the convex side turned towards the open sea.

The Great Barrier Reef is a striking natural phenomenon
whose interest and value has only recently been recog-
nized. Commercially, the possibilities of hauls of beche-
de-mer, pearls, guano, turtles, and fish are very great
indeed, and efforts are being made to study the resources
of the Reef. But there are drawbacks, for the dangers
incurred by shipping in the surroundings is considerable.
The steamship routes from Australia to Japan, China and
the East Indies pass through the " lagoon." Apart from
perils of reef and current to which the experiences of
Captain Cook bear witness, there is the risk of hurricanes
at certain times of the year, and the great tidal range
caused by the funnel shape of the " lagoon," especially
during a southeast gale, increases the dangers.

CHAPTER V

CLIMATE

AUSTRALIA, lying between latitude 10 S. and 40 S.,
is placed mainly in the Southeast Trades, and corre-
sponds very closely in position to South Africa ; but,
whereas in the latter the dry effect of the Trades is con-
fined to the Kalahari, in Australia the greater part of the
continent is arid, the Southeast Trade being a moisture-
bearing wind on the east coast only. Most of Australia's
difficulties arise from the fact that she is 20 too far north.
If only the whole continent could be shifted 520 to the
south it would be mainly in the belt of westerly winds,
and would have climatic conditions similar to those of
Western Europe.

Both in the north and in the south the land-mass pro-
jects beyond the Trade Wind belt. The northern half
lies within the Tropics and comes under the influence of
monsoons, while the southern edge feels the influence of
the Westerlies.

The continent is extremely compact in shape, with its
greatest length from east to west bean-shaped, as
K-endrew calls it. This is unfortunate, as thereby the
drying effect of the Southeast Trade is increased, and
little modification is secured from the relief. The
Eastern Highlands act as rain-producers for their own
area, but project a rain shadow over the Central Low-
lands, which rapidly become arid westwards, and the
Western Plateau, which overs nearly half the continent,
is semi-desert until the west coast is reached.

Briefly, the main characteristics of the Australian
climate are a temperature range from warm temperate to
tropical : a pressure range based on its position in a sub-

41

42 CLIMATE

tropical high-pressure belt, with a consequent procession
of anticyclones from west to east ; and a rainfall which is
largely of a marked seasonal nature, and over a large
part of the continent is either deficient or unreliable.
From the human and economic point of view this last
fact is by far the most important, being probably the chief
factor in the future of Australia.

TEMPERATURE

During the summer months the warmest region is the
northwest, where the isotherm for 90 F. encloses a large
area in December, while practically the whole continent
north of the Tropic has a temperature of over 80 F.
The interior is uniformly warmer than the coasts, the
lowest figure being returned by southern Victoria, where
the isotherm for 65 F. cuts Melbourne, showing clearly
the steady decrease in temperature from northwest to
southeast. In winter the warmest region is still the
northwest, but no longer in the interior, the isotherm
for 75 F. cutting the coast of northern Australia and
just touching Cape York, The temperature diminishes
southwards fairly regularly, but Victoria is still the
coolest part of the continent, most of the State being
under 50 F. The transition from summer to winter
conditions has no strongly marked feature beyond a
rather sudden drop in temperature all over the continent
in April.

The interior of Australia has naturally provided some
very high temperature readings. Marble Bar on the Pil-
barra goldfield in West Australia has recorded a maximum
of 90 F. or over on 151 consecutive days, while Alice
Springs, situated on the Tropic, records 115 fairly fre-
quently. Though less persistent, equally high figures
have been reached in the south, Adelaide's record being
1177, and Melbourne's ii4'i. It should be carefully
noted that these high temperatures are not unduly
oppressive owing to the extreme dryness of the air.

THE WARM, DRY INTERIOR 43

Wet-bulb readings are low, and conditions even at
Pilbara are not unbearable.

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY (SUMMER)
AND JULY (WINTER).

As would be expected, the range of temperature, both
annual and diurnal, increases with distance from the sea.
Darwin, a coast town in the Tropics, has an annual

44 CLIMATE

range of about 8 ; in the south, Melbourne has a range
of 19 F., but Alice Springs in the interior one of 32 F.
All over the continent south of the Tropic the tempera-
ture may fall below freezing point in winter. At Alice
Springs the thermometer has been known to fall as low
as 25 F. , which is lower than any recorded temperature
at Adelaide or Melbourne. Diurnal ranges show the
same contrast. Much of the continent is sufficiently
high for a " plateau effect " to operate, and nights in the
interior are almost always cool and pleasant during the
winter. Throughout the year the east coast as a whole
is cooler than the west, in spite of the presence off the
west coast of the cooler waters of the Antarctic Drift.
This is in marked contrast to the conditions in South
Africa and South America, and is probably due to the
shorter extent of the West Australian coast line, and the
presence to the northwest of shallow and very warm seas.

PRESSURE AND WINDS

An isobaric map of Australia showing air pressure at
any time of the year shows a " ridge " of high pressure as
its main feature. This " ridge " is really a series of anti-
cylones moving from west to east at rather less than
20 m.p.h. Remembering that an anticyclone consists of
descending air, it follows that land under such an influence
must be dry. In fact, much of Australia, including most
of the interior, only gets rain when there exists a definite
" trough " of low pressure between two anticyclones.

The seasonal movement of this high-pressure belt
largely determines the rainfall of the continent. In
winter the belt lies in its most northerly position following
the swing of the wind belts, and encloses the continent
as far north as the Tropic of Capricorn. North of the
Tropic pressure is less, the prevailing wind being then the
normal Southeast Trade. This is the dry season in North
Australia. In the south conditions are entirely different.
The low-pressure belt of the westerlies is now placed

DISTURBANCES OF PRESSURE

45

immediately to the south of the continent, and a series
of eastward moving cyclones controls the weather of

DISTRIBUTION OF PRESSURE IN JANUARY AND JULY.

southern Australia. Actually, the greater number of
cyclones pass clear of the land, but with the exception of
the country round the Great Australian Bight, all
southern Australia gets an adequate rainfall from the

CLIMATE

DISTRIBUTION OF MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE.

The number of consecutive days in which the maximum exceeds

90 F. is shown by isolines.

A TYPICAL PATTERN OF PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION.
Anticyclone producing dry weather over the Continent.

CHANGES IN PRESSURE

47

29-6

29*9

30-1

A TYPICAL PATTERN o* PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION.

An "Antarctic Low" between two "Highs," producing rain in
southeastern Australia and dry weather elsewhere.

-29-8

29-8

29-9

30- O

29-9

30-0

A TYPICAL PATTERN OF PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION.

Displacement of High " by an extension (Tongue) of tropical

low pressure producing rain in eastern Australia.

48 CLIMATE

secondaries and V-shaped depressions which frequently
accompany the main cyclones. Victoria occasionally ex-
periences exceptionally rough, wet weather, owing to the
cyclones taking a more northerly route than usual.

In summer the anticyclonic belt moves south, and in
consequence the influence of the westerlies is hardly felt
in Australia. This is the dry season in the south, except
in parts of Victoria which extend farther south than the
rest of the continent and are in consequence to some
extent subject to cyclonic conditions at all seasons. In
the north a low-pressure area is centred round about
the Pilbara district, and tropical Australia has its wet
season, getting a copious rainfall from a northwest
monsoon.

RAINFALL

Four main rainfall regions can be distinguished :

(1) East coast and Highlands Rain at all seasons.

(2) North Summer rain.

(3) South Winter rain.

(4) Centre Arid (less than 10

inches) or desert.

"The rainfall is essentially peripheral " (Kendrew), a
fact brought out very clearly on a map: It is necessary to
remember that both maps and figures of Australian
rainfall may be very misleading, as unfortunately much
of the rainfall is of an uncertain character. This applies
particularly to regions lying between the isohyets for
10 and 30 inches, which include large parts of New South
Wales and Victoria, and in these districts drought is a
formidable enemy. In good seasons settlers establish
themselves and prosper, but when a bad year comes the
flourishing settlements are abandoned, and widespread
ruin follows. Drought and the high degree of evapora-
tion and consequent loss of water are the most pressing
meteorological problems which the Australian people
have to solve.
Although it is convenient to treat the east coast and

THE SOUTHEAST TRADES

49

Highlands as one region, its rainfall is due to more than
one cause. The part of Queensland included lies in the

DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL. (The figures denote inches.)

Southeast Trades all through the year. Coming from
warm seas, and rising over the Highlands, they are
copious rain-bringers to the upland districts, especially

50 CLIMATE

in summer and autumn. The coast averages 50 inches
per annum, a figure which rises to 140 inches in the
Bellenden-Ker Mountains, but falls off rapidly towards
the west.
The coastal belt between Brisbane and Melbourne lies

in the path of the great anticyclonic procession, and has a
less simple rainfall scheme. Precipitation is mainly due
to east winds blowing out from anticyclones over the
warm Tasman Sea, but much of it is also caused by
southward extensions of a tropical low-pressure system
which frequently appears during the summer months,

RAINFALL SYSTEMS 51

and often causes floods in New South Wales and Victoria,
The passage of cyclones, especially if these take a track
more to the northward than usual, is not without some
effect.

In New South Wales the coastal districts receive 40 to
50 inches fairly evenly distributed through the year, the
amount steadily decreasing inland. But in Victoria the
Highlands are the wettest areas (50 to 60 inches) with a
slight but distinct winter maximum. The whole of the
eastern region is liable to exceptionally heavy downpours,
usually caused by a southward extension of the tropical
low-pressure system. Many places have received 20 inches
in one day, and near Brisbane a fall of 150 inches in
twelve days has been recorded.

The north has a well-marked seasonal division. From
May to September practically no rain is received, the
region being entirely under the influence of the Southeast
Trades. Frequent thunderstorms mark the change to the
wet season, which extends from October to April, the
northwest monsoon dominating the region throughout
the period. Weather conditions during this half of the
year are extremely trying. The temperature is high,
heavy rain falls daily, and the relative humidity of the
atmosphere is very high. Precipitation is greatest in
coastal districts (Darwin, 60 inches), but diminishes
rapidly inland, the isohyet for 10 inches passing near
Alice Springs.

In the south there is an equally well-marked seasonal
division. During the summer the region is under the
influence of the anticyclonic . belt, and there is prac-
tically no rain, but in winter the swing of the wind-belts
brings the Westerlies over the southern edge of the con-
tinent, their effect being especially felt in the districts
which project southwards. The Darling Range in c Swan-
land' exercises a marked influence in producing relief
rain, Perth getting 34 inches, and a very considerable
area over 25 inches. The mountains of South Australia
function similarly, giving Adelaide 21 inches and pushing

5 2 CLIMATE

the isohyet for 10 inches well inland. These two regions
form the Mediterranean area of Australia, and it should
be noticed that their growing prosperity largely results
from the fact that the rainfall, though not large, is one of
the most reliable in the continent. The Bight country
lying between them is practically rainless.

The arid region of Central Australia receives rain at
irregular and infrequent intervals, usually during the
summer. The showers are as a rule accompanied by
thunderstorms, the causes of which depend on local
meteorological conditions.

Tasmania, lying at all seasons in the path of the
Westerlies and having considerable mountain ranges, has
rain throughout the year. As one would expect, the
amount diminishes sharply from over 100 inches at many
places on the western to less than 30 inches on the eastern
side.

CYCLONES AND LOCAL WINDS

Both northwestern and northeastern Australia suffer
from tropical cyclones known in the northwest as
" Willy-willies." These originate in the warm Timor
Sea during summer and autumn, travel towards the
southwest, and then curve southeastwards. In the coastal
districts they are very destructive, but inland they are
welcomed as rain-bringers. The accompanying down-
pour is very heavy, sometimes exceeding 20 inches. The
northeastern cyclones are similar in character. They
usually originate near Fiji, and strike the coast of Queens-
land between Brisbane and Cairns, sometimes causing
great damage.

The southeast is subject to hot, dry, dusty winds from
the interior, which occasionally produce very high tem-
peratures in Melbourne. " In Victoria the hot winds are
known as ' Brick-Fielders, 5 a name originally applied to the
' Southerly Bursters ' in Sydney, because of the dust they
raised from the brickfields to the south of the city. When
the goldfields were discovered in Victoria, the miners

MEAN TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL 53

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54 CLIMATE

hailing from Sydney gave the name to the dusty winds
from the opposite quarter " (Australian Tear Book}.

The Southerly Burster itself is a cold wind from the
south due to the passage of a V-shaped depression between
two anticyclones. The front half of the depression con-
sists of a warm northerly wind, but with the passage of
the trough this is succeeded abruptly by the cold south
wind, which forms the rear half. The temperature drops
suddenly, usually about 20 F., and the phenomenon is
accompanied by a roll of cumulus cloud and heavy rain.
They are commonest in spring and summer, and are most
characteristic in the coastal districts of New South Wales.

RIVER REGIME

Australian rivers fall naturally into two classes : those
of the coastal plains draining to the ocean, and those of
the central plains draining to Lake Eyre, the latter class
providing one of the best known examples of inland
drainage. Owing to the absence of high mountains in
Australia, both groups depend almost entirely on rain-
fall for their water supply. Most of the rivers drain large
areas, but the loss of water due to evaporation and seepage
is so great that the discrepancy between the total amount
of rainfall and the volume of water discharged by the
rivers is often very considerable. It has been calculated,
for instance, that only 10 per cent, of the rain which falls
on the catchment area of the Darling River above Bourke
actually passes the town. Elimination of this loss would
be an incalculable gain to Australia.

RIVERS OF OCEANIC DRAINAGE

The coastal rivers have, in general, a moderate gradient,
though the nearness of the Eastern Highlands to the coast
gives a steeper slope to most of the eastward flowing
streams in this region. As a rale they are not navigable
far inland.

RIVER REGIME 55

(1) The Eastern Rivers

The Queensland rivers derive their water supply from
the copious rains brought by the Southeast Trades, and
there are in consequence some large streams, such as the
Burdekin and Fitzroy, which flow throughout the year,
though towards the end of spring even these shrink to
narrow streams. In New South Wales the Hunter and
Hawkesbury are large, and have a perennial flow, but
here also variation is very great. Extensions of the tropical
low-pressure centres frequently cause disastrous flooding
throughout the eastern region, while in contrast the
increase of population in recent years has compelled
recourse to storage schemes to tide over dry seasons.
Those rivers which rise in the Kosciusko area are unique
in Australia in that they alone derive their water supply
in part from melting snow, and so have a degree of reli-
ability unapproached elsewhere. Of those not forming
part of the Murray-Darling system, the Snowy, which
drains Eastern Gippsland, is characteristic and is being
harnessed for the development of hydro-electric power.

(2) The Murray-Darling System

The Murray rises near Mount Kosciusko, and has a
course of some 1,600 miles. It is fed by melting snow and
is therefore a permanent stream, the only occasion on
which it has been known to fail being during the excep-
tional drought of 1914. Its first important tributary, the
Murrumbidgee, runs low during the summer, but rarely
ceases altogether, and in winter time is a fine body of
water. It is connected with the Murray by a series of
creeks, or " billabongs," in which a flood on the Murray
sometimes causes a reversal of the current for many miles.
The Murrumbidgee receives the Lachlan, which has a less
plentiful water supply, and so becomes a string of water-
holes in summer. The Darling is the longest river of the
system, being 1,800 miles from its source to its junction
with the Murray at Wentworth, but for the last 500 miles
it receives no tributaries except in flood time. Gonse-

56 CLIMATE

quently the Lower Darling resembles the Lachlan In
dwindling to a series of water-holes during the summer,
and may be blocked for several years during a series of
dry seasons. Below its junction with the Darling the
Murray has no real tributaries, the short streams of the
Wimmera only making a connexion in time of excep-
tional flood. It is this lack of tributaries, coupled with
great evaporation, which makes the Murray a smaller
stream in its lower than in its upper reaches, and so
prevented regular navigation until a system of locks and
weirs was provided.

(3) The Western Rivers

The rainfall of Swanland shows a marked winter
maximum, but since the summer gets a regular though
small amount of rain, the rivers, of which the Swan is the
chief, are mostly permanent, though frequently much
shrunken in January and February. Further north the
rivers, such as the Murchison and Ashburton, are defi-
nitely not permanent, being dry gullies in the hot season,
and at other times frequently brackish, though Willy-
willies and other storms may produce temporary floods.
In the Kimberley district, which feels the influence of the
northwest monsoon, rivers like the Fitzroy and the Ord
are flooded from December to March, but shrink to a
chain of water-holes or disappear altogether in the dry
season.

(4) The Northern Rivers

These exhibit the same characteristics in general as
those of the Kimbepley district, but a few are big enough
to be permanent, and form some of the finest streams on
the continent. The Victoria River has a permanent
course of over 100 miles from tidal water, and in the wet
season is over 300 miles long. The Roper is very similar,
and the Flinders, which enters the Gulf of Carpentaria,
is even larger.

THE EYRE BASIN 57

RIVERS OF INLAND DRAINAGE

The Lake Eyre drainage system, consists of many
streams, all of which are intermittent, and in conse-
quence have a severely limited value. All are alike in
that they flow (except in their upper courses) only during
the wet season and have a very slight gradient. An
exceptionally heavy fall of rain thus produces floods
which often cover hundreds of square miles, but last only
for a short time, evaporation from the hot dry ground
being very great. In the space of a month vast areas
may change from an arid wilderness to an inland sea,
and back again. It is only during these times of flood
that streams such as Cooper Creek and the Diamantina
actually enter Lake Eyre, which, like the majority of the
so-called lakes shown in atlases, consists of a salty plain,
containing water, inevitably salt, only in its northern
arm. The Finke, which, coming from the Macdonnell
Range, gathers up most of the streams from the centre of
the continent, has stretches of permanent water in the
deep gorges through which its upper course is cut, but
like the eastern rivers of the basin is a continuous stream
only in flood time.

As a result of exceptionally heavy rains in Queensland
during 1949-50, water flowed down the Cooper to Lake
Eyre North, filling it to a maximum depth of 13 feet over
an area of 50,000 square miles. This inland sea showed
well-marked capes and bays on the southern and western
margins, and extensive mud-flats and deltas on the north
and east. Although the water did not flow into Lake
Eyre South by the narrow connecting -channel, local rains
produced a wide sheet of water here also.

CHAPTER VI
PLANTS AND ANIMALS

PLANTS

AUSTRALIA was cut off from Asia at an early date, and
the vegetation consequently has a monotony unlike that
of any other continent. The general layout is simple. A
centre of desert sand dunes is almost surrounded by a belt
of mixed woodland and grassland, and outside this in turn
is a zone of forest. But in spite of the great size of
Australia, and the wide variation of climate, there is
comparatively little variety in the plant life. Almost all
the trees belong to two genera. In the outer zone they
are practically all eucalypts, while the inner ring is domi-
nated by acacias. There are, of course, many varieties
of each ;but the general effect is nevertheless monotonous.
The most important eucalypts or gums are Coolabar,
Ironbark, Jarrah, Karri, Stringybark and Blue Gum, and
the best known acacias, found mainly in the intermediate
zone, are Brigalow and Mulga.

(i) Tropical Rain Forest

The only places where tropical rain forest occurs in its
typical forms are on the east coast of Queensland in a
few isolated patches. It reaches its fullest development
in the region of greatest heat and humidity in the neigh-
bourhood of Cairns, where the vegetation is so densely
matted with creepers, lianas, and undergrowth that it is
most easily penetrated on all fours. Clematis and jasmine
loop from tree to tree, numerous orchids and ferns occur
in the undergrowth, and in some parts the " lawyer cane "

58

TROPICAL VEGETATION

59

and climbing bamboo make the thickets almost impene-
trable.

Further to the south near Brisbane is another large area, .
which although it does not consist of the same plants has
an almost equally tropical appearance ; it is sometimes

distinguished as tropical brush. Mrs. Dominic Daly, who
visited Brisbane in 1870, describes it thus :

"On the bank within a stone's throw of us rose
clumps of feathery bamboos ; masses of scarlet poinsettias
glowed bravely against the dark green background formed
by broad-leaved plantains whose tattered leaves rustled

60 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

with every gust of wind which, reached them. Palms
towered majestically over the heads of the lower shrubs,
and camellias and stephanotis and many other semi-
tropical flowers were growing luxuriantly in the open air."
There are also in many places fringes of mangrove
swamp. The plants rise on their stilt-like roots out of
the sea water and have the peculiar habit of germinating
their seeds on the parent plant itself and subsequently
planting them out by dropping them like darts into the
mud entangled in the roots of the tree.

(2) Temperate Forest

Two areas of temperate forest occur, one in the south-
eastern and the other in the southwestern corner of
the continent. The southeastern area includes a part. of
Ne>v South Wales and Victoria, and extends over portions
of Tasmania. The southwestern area covers roughly the
district of c Swanland.' During his voyage on the Beagle
Charles Darwin made an excursion by carriage from
Sydney to Bathurst in which he appears to have crossed
the southeastern temperate forest at its extreme northern
end. He says :

" The extreme uniformity is the most remarkable
feature of the landscape. . . . Everywhere we have an
open woodland, the ground being covered with very thin
pasture with little appearance of verdure. The trees
nearly all belong to one family (Eucalypts) and have
their leaves placed in a vertical instead of a horizontal
position. The foliage is scanty and of a peculiar pale
green without -any gloss. Hence the woods appear light
and shadowless ; this, although it is a loss of comfort to
the traveller, is of importance to the farmer as it allows
grass to grow where otherwise it would not."

Darwin also comments on the Untidy and desolate
appearance produced by the annual shedding of the

NATIVE HARDWOODS 61

bark of the trees. The wooded area through which he
passed, through marked as temperate forest on the
map on page 59, is not of the normal type ; but
farther south is found something more like the true tem-
perate forest. Jn Gippsland are found some of the
largest trees in the world. According to the official returns
the size of the tallest measured tree here is given as :
height 326 feet, girth 25 feet 7 inches measured 6 feet
above the ground ; locality. Mount Baw Baw, 91 miles
from Melbourne.

In this area are also found the celebrated Victorian
fern gullies. These occur to the west of Gippsland and
in the valley of the Yarra River. In them the eucalypts,
which dominate the forest, grow near enough together
for their crowns to touch, and beneath them is found a
dense undergrowth of tree ferns and smaller plants of the
same species. There are thickets of dogwood, native
hazel (no relations of the European plants of those names),
and cottonwood, which is a groundsel. Festoons of
clematis loop from tree to tree, and there is even said to
be a fern allied to our polypody which behaves like a
liana.

The temperate forest in Swanland contains the finest
eucalypts in Australia. The heavier rainfall has led to
bigger trees standing closer together than elsewhere, and
to the presence of an undergrowth of cyclads and grass
trees, instead of the grass found in other districts. The
finest tree is the jarrah, a dark grey tree with furrowed
bark, 90 to 120 feet high and stems 3 to 5 feet in diameter,
rising 50 or 60 feet to the first branch. Its red wood in
the form of paving blocks was very familiar to Londoners
before wood paving went out of favour. Another, the
karri, deserves to be called a giant tree. It has yellowish
white bark which flakes off like that of our plane ; it may
rise to a height of 200 feet with its first branch 150 feet up.
Tuart and wandoo are valuable timber trees, and further
inland, as the rainfall decreases, the york, mallet and

salmon gums link up with the mulga country.

c*

62 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

(3) Savana Woodland

A belt of savatia woodland extends all round the
northern and eastern end of the continent from Kirnberley
through Arnhem land, the Cape York Peninsula, parts of
Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, Its general
character is fairly uniform, but it is subject to considerable
local variations. In general It consists of an open park-
like growth of eucalypts with more or less grass between
and beneath them. In early life the trees are fairly
densely covered with foliage, but as time goes on they
become gaunt and lanky. As the more arid central
portions of the continent are approached the trees become
more scattered and tend to occur only in long rows beside
the water channels. In places, however, where there is
water all the year round, especially in Arnhem land, the
vegetation is described as taking on the character of a
tropical rain forest in certain small areas. Mrs. Aeneas
Gunn in " We of the Never-never " thus describes the
vegetation of these denser parts :

" Two wide-spreading limpid ponds, the Warloch lay
before us veiled in a glory of golden-flecked heliotrope
and purple water lilies, and floating deep green leaves
with here and there little seas of water opening out among
the lilies ; and standing knee deep in the margin a
rustling fringe of light reeds and giant bulrushes. All
round the pond stood dark groves of Pandanus palms
and among and beybnd the palms tall grasses and forest
trees with here and there a spreading coolabar festooned
from summit to trunk with brilliant crimson strands of
mistletoe (i.e., native mistletoe) and here and there a
gaunt and dead old giant of the forest. . , . Everywhere
upon the floating leaves myriads and myriads of grey
and pink galah parrots and sulphur-crested cockatoos
preened feathers and rested sipping at the water. "

Or again on the Roper: "A wide and spreading
banyan tree with its propped-up branches turning and
twisting in long winding passages and balconies over a

SCRUB 63

feathery grove of young palm trees that had crept into its
generous shade. 5 *

The same writer describes other parts of Arnhem land
as grown over with long grass 10 feet high for many
miles, while in the neighbourhood of the Gulf of Car-
pentaria the vegetation scarcely deserves the name of
forest at all. This area is subject to severe floods and there
are more termites' nests to the acre than trees, and such
trees as do grow are stunted and small.

(4) Savana and Scrub Lands

Within the belt of the savana forest lies a fairly con-
tinuous stretch of savana proper extending along the
north, east, and south of the continent. Every here and
there, however, this is interrupted by extensive tracts in
which the grass is interspersed with areas over which
low-growing trees or bushes are scattered or even replace
the grasses entirely. The most important of these scrub
bushes are the brigalow, mulga, and mallee. The factor
which determines the presence of one or other type is
partly rainfall, but soil conditions and susceptibility to
forest fires are probably more important. Brigalow is a
species of acacia of gnarled and irregular habit. Mulga
is also an acacia, but mallee is one of the genus Eucalyptus
so common throughout Australia. It has several straggling
stems rising from one swollen root stock and little foliage
except at the ends of the branches ; an untidy and melan-
choly looking tree. Natives occasionally dig up the roots
and suck them to relieve their thirst with the small
quantities of liquid they contain, and Europeans have
occasionally tried to do likewise usually with undesir-
able results.

In certain places the savana may entirely give place to
scrub ; for instance, in the interior of Queensland there
is an extensive stretch of brigalow scrub ; in the centre
of the continent between the two main areas of desert
next to be described is a stretch of mulga scrub, while

64 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

another occupies the northwest corner of Western
Australia. Mallee scrub extends along the south coast of
South Australia and into Western Australia, thus isolating
the area of temperate forest in Swanland. Schom-
burgk, writing in 1875 of the scrub of South Australia,
says :

" The general impression given by the scrub is dismal.
... It reaches a height of 4 to 6 feet interspersed with
stunted and ramified trees of Casuarina, Eucalyptus,
Banksia and others. Smaller shrubs cover the ground
and are overtopped by the higher growing ones forming
sometimes impenetrable thickets. Its dominant colour
is glaucous green interspersed here and there with whitish
leaves of some shrubs and reddish-brown leaves of others.
. . . Everyone avoids the scrub as much as possible ;

many have lost their way there and perished for want of
water."

Many travellers comment on the remarkable change
which comes over the face of the scrub and the savana on
the fall of rain. Schomburgk describes the richly
coloured carpet of flowering plants, white, blue, yellow,
violet and red, which spring up especially alongside the
watercourses ; Carnegie in " Spinifex and Sand," says :
" not only vegetable but also animal life is affected
by it (i.e., the rain) ; the bush is enlivened by the twit-
tering of small birds which come from nobody knows
where, build their nests, hatch their young and disappear.
Almost every bush held a nest, usually occupied by a
diamond sparrow."

(5) Deserts

In the interior of the continent are two large but
unequal areas of desert, the larger of which lies in the
west. This one has been vividly described by Carnegie.
Its outline is very roughly that of a molar tooth with the
crown to the west and the two fangs pointing to the east.
The northwestern corner very nearly reaches the sea

SPINIFEX AND ACACIA 65

coast in the middle of the Ninety-Mile beach. Different
parts of it have received special names, e.g., Victoria
Desert, the Great Sandy Desert, etc. It consists of fiercely
baked arid plains where no water is to be found except in
occasional "soaks," "gnamma holes" (i.e., hollows in the
rocks) and clay pans. These often, dry up entirely, and
the clay pans are usually salt and often covered with a
crust with almost no moisture underneath. In spite of
these terribly arid conditions the country is not entirely
lifeless, but is overgrown with the " hateful spinifex" and
even timbered in some places with desert gums. Of this
plant Carnegie says :

" It grows in round isolated hummocks one to three
feet high ; these are a dense mass of needle-like prickles
and from them tall blades of very coarse grass to a height
sometimes of six feet. . . . Whatever form it takes it
seems to be so arranged that it cannot be stepped over or
circumvented ; one must in consequence walk through
it and be pricked unpleasantly. . . , There are two
varieties, - spinifex ' and * buck spinifex.' . . . There are
a few uses for this horrible plant, for example it forms a
shelter and its roots make food for the kangaroo-rat or
spinifex-rat ; from its spikes the natives (in the northern
districts) make a very serviceable gum ; it burns freely,
serves in a measure to bind the sand and protect it from
being moved by the wind and it makes a good mattress
when it is dug up and turned over. I should advise no
one to try and sleep on the plant as it grows for ' he who
sitteth on a thistle riseth up quickly.' But the thistle
has one advantage, viz., that it does not leave its points
in the victim's flesh. In North Australia it is in seed for
three weeks and when in this state forms most excellent
food for horses and fattens almost as quickly as oats. For
the rest of the year it is useless."

From the edge of the desert to Mount Worsnop, a
distance of nearly 200 miles, there is a continual series of
sand dunes, sand flats, stretches of spinifex, and gravel
ridges. There are, however, a few other plants besides
spinifex hi some places, e.g., the remarkable parakeelia, a

66 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

small plant with long fleshy projections in place of leaves
and pretty little lilac flowers. It is eagerly devoured by
the camels which learn to seek it even in the middle of
the spinifex clumps. It can be eaten by human beings.
There is an acacia with a flower like a golden powder puff ;
and the quondong or native peach, a graceful little
black-stemmed tree with fresh green leaves and a bright
red fruit the size of a cherry. The fruit, however, is almos t
all stone, and the rind is usually worm-eaten. Camels
eat the fruit and reject the stones when they chew the
cud. An occasional native poplar and a " black boy "
or grass-tree also occur.

Around the salt lakes grows the samphire, a plant with
somewhat the appearance of heather and, when green, an
excellent food for camels.

The eastern deserts lie to north and northeast of the
Lake Eyre basin, and in their general appearance are not
very unlike those of Western Australia. From these they
are separated by a belt of savana and mulga which in
some places, e.g., in the Musgrave and Macdonnell ranges,
is fair pastoral country.

(6) Alpine Flora

The only part of Australia with a typical Alpine flora
lies in the Australian Alps, on the borders of New South
Wales and Victoria, for here alone the mountains rise above
the tree line. Near Mount Kosciusko the upper slopes
are described as producing yellow and white butter-
cups, forget-me-nots, the woolly daisy, the woolly lily,
and woolly composites. The same plant is often found to
change its form as it ascends the mountain, becoming
dwarfed and spreading to support the weight of the snow
in winter and covered with hairs as a protection against
the clear summer sun.

(7) Tasmania

The larger eastern part of Tasmania, which is also the

EFFECTS OF ISOLATION 67

drier, is covered with a eucalypt forest not unlike that seen
covering the southeast part of Australia. The smaller
wetter western part, however, is unlike anything in that
continent, but is said to be more suggestive of Tierra del
Fuego. Its main constituent is the beech, but it also has
several pines, at least two tree saxifrages, and two coni-
ferous shrubs whose only other known habitat is South
America. On the summits of the mountains the vegeta-
tion assumes a sub-Alpine character.

ORIGIN OF THE AUSTRALIAN FLORA

It was pointed out by Wallace that there are in the
Australian flora two distinct types of plants which he
called the tropical and the temperate. Moreover, the
difference between them is not merely that one is
adapted to a tropical and the other to a temperate
existence. Nearly 500 of the tropical species are
identical with, or close relatives of, plants found in
India and Malaya, whilst the temperate genera contain
an enormous number of peculiar species. According to
Wallace there are at least seven genera, each containing
more than 100 species, widely distributed in Australia,
but all highly characteristic of that continent. Diels
refers to the sharp line of demarcation between the two.
He describes the scattered denizens of the eucalyptus
park as occupying the centre of the stage, while in the
dark wings the tropical rain forest rises abruptly like
a precipitous wall.

Wallace is inclined to explain these facts by supposing
that at any rate the western half of Australia has for a
very long time been completely isolated and has evolved
a flora of its own ; much more recently there has been
an invasion of at least the north and east by Malayan
and Indian forms. The peculiar flora of the eastern
half of Tasmania also lends some support to the sug-
gestion that there has been another invasion of forms
from lands now submerged lying to the south. This

68 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

hypothesis would also account for the presence in the
island of forms showing an alliance with South America.

ANIMALS

The fauna of Australia shows signs of belonging to a
phase of development which has been outgrown in the
other continents. Protected by their isolation, a number
of peculiar animals have survived here and have developed
along lines not known elsewhere. For this reason the
study of Australian animal life never fails to excite interest.

(i) Fishes

Among the most remarkable of the animals of Aus-
tralia is the lung-fish, which occurs in two Queensland
rivers. It is a large fresh-water fish 3 or 4 feet long with
a tail which tapers to a point instead of having the almost
universal fan shape. The streams in which it lives are
subject to partial drying-up, and this emergency it is able
to meet by the use of nostrils and a lung. Normally, it
breathes by gills, taking in breath at intervals only, but
when the water becomes foul it is observed to rise more
and more frequently to the surface. That this mode of
respiration is efficient is seen by the fact that living speci-
mens have been observed in a pool containing the dead
bodies of other fishes. It feeds on small animals adhering
to vegetation and to get these takes in quantities of water-
weeds, decaying sticks and the like, which it bites up with
great curved crushing plates in the mouth.

It has only two near living allies, one in Africa and the
other in South America. In geological times, however,
its family was numerous and widespread. The explana-
tion of these facts is probably that the group was at one
time numerous and successful, but that it has succumbed
in competition with modern forms, only persisting in
one or two out-of-the-way corners of the earth to which
competitors have not succeeded in penetrating. This
case has been dealt with in detail because it is typical

THE EMU AND THE CASSOWARY 69

of the distribution of many of the native animals of
Australia. Other fishes of which much the same story
might be told are : the scleropages of the Queensland
rivers ; a so-called native trout ; and the Port-Jackson
shark, a representative of an old and vanishing family
now confined to eastern waters.

(2) Amphibians and Reptiles

Among the amphibia we notice a total absence of the
tailed-forms, newts, salamanders, and their kin, while
there are a number of peculiar toads and tree frogs.

There are many snakes, most of which are venomous,
and along the northern coasts many kinds of sea snakes
are plentiful. In the deserts is found a very peculiar
lizard, the moloch, whose flattened body is covered all
over with blunt spines and protectively coloured. Two
species of crocodiles occur, one of them in the northern
rivers ; while the other, marine and estuarine, sometimes
grows to 30 feet in length. It also occurs in India and
Malaya. The leathery turtle is occasionally seen,
while other marine turtles, green, hawksbill and logger-
head, are common on the tropical coasts. There is one
family of fresh-water tortoises which occurs only in
Australia and South America, though widely distributed
in the fossil state.

(3) Birds

Among the birds primitive characteristics are also
noted. Of all living birds those with an unkeeled breast-
bone (the ostriches and their allies) are the simplest.
At the present time this group is fairly well represented in
Australia and the neighbourhood though poorly else-
where. The emu, not so common as formerly, occurs in
pastoral districts, chiefly in western New South Wales and
southwest Queensland. It is a large bird very similar to
the ostrich though somewhat smaller and possessing three
toes instead of two. It makes a shallow apology for a nest

70 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

in which numerous eggs are incubated by the male. In
northeast Queensland one species of cassowary occurs,
an emu-like bird with a peculiar casque or helmet-
shaped structure over the head and brilliant turquoise-
blue wattles.

Opinion has swung back and forth several times con-
cerning this group of birds. At times it has been main-
tained that they were an ancient group which had
formerly a wide distribution, now dispossessed by the
smaller flying birds from all but the most secluded corners
of the earth (of which Australia is one) . Others have
maintained they are degenerate descendants of flying
birds, each specially adapted to the region in which it
lives. Recent research seems rather to confirm the former
view.

Australia has also numerous flying birds ; in fact, out
of about 700 species, 690 can fly. The pigeon family
which is distributed over the whole world has more
representatives from there than from any other region.

There are three species of a remarkable group of birds
known as mound builders, the scrub fowl of the northern
coasts, the brush turkey of the eastern forests, and the
mallee hen of the mallee scrubs to the south and west.
They are nearly allied to the curassows of South America
and are peculiar for their very strange habits of nest
building. In the brush turkey several females, possibly
assisted by their males, raise a large mound of earth
which may be 6 feet high. In a cup-shaped depression
on the top of this a number of eggs are laid, covered over
with decaying vegetation and more earth, and in this
artificial hotbed are hatched by the heat produced by
fermentation, It is said that in the case of the mallee
hen each female makes a mound of its own.

Another remarkable bird" is the lyre bird, so called
from the peculiar structure of the tail of the cock. In
this, there are two large curving feathers like the frame-
work of a classical lyre. They are used for purposes of
display in courtship. The bird is remarkable for the

PECULIAR BIRDS AND ANIMALS 71

facility with which it can imitate the cries and song of
other birds, or even humanly-produced sounds such as
whetting a scythe or sharpening a saw. It lays a single
purple egg in a covered nest built on the ground or on a
low tree stump.

Equally peculiar are the famous bower birds, which
have the habit of constructing playgrounds or " bowers "
of twigs or grass stems and ornamenting them with shells,
bright pebbles, flowers or even articles of human work-
manship, which are collected in many cases from quite
long distances. As a rule the bower is not very near the
nest, with which it has nothing to do. In some cases it
is a straight tunnel-shaped structure opening on a sort of
yard or playground at one end. Also characteristic of the
country are lorikeets or brush-tongued parakeets, cocka-
toos, and the little budgerigars, or grass parakeets. The
former are similar to the parrots, and like them they feed
mainly on succulent vegetables and fruits, but owing to the
possession of a curious brush-like tongue they are able
to supplement this with honey from the flowers of euca-
lyptus and other plants. Many of them are beautifully
coloured. The cockatoos are also handsomely coloured
and have a feathered crest, while the grass parakeets are
well known in this country as pets. They are small birds,
rather larger than a sparrow, brilliantly marked with
yellow and green picked out with bright blue. They fly
quickly in straight lines and often flock together on grassy
spots to feed on the seeds. They keep up an incessant
amorous bickering, accompanied by shrill warbling cries.
Other families of birds represented are the kingfishers, of
which the laughing jackass is the best known example,
and the birds of paradise. This latter group is much more
numerous in Papua and the neighbouring islands, but a
few species occur in the eastern parts of Australia*

(4) Mammals

Striking as are the characteristics of the birds, reptiles,
and fishes of Australia, those of the highest class of verte-

72 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

brates, the mammalia, are even more so. To understand
how remarkable they are, it will be necessary to allude
very briefly to their classification, though no details of
structure will be referred to.

The whole class can be divided into three large sub-
divisions depending on certain peculiarities in their
modes of reproduction and anatomical structure. Mem-
bers of the simplest group are characterized among other
things by the fact that they lay eggs and that the young
are born in an extremely immature condition, and,
though like all mammals they are nourished by milk
secreted by the mother, they do not suck it from teats,
but lick it off the hairs of the underside of the body.
The teeth are only present for a short time, if at all,
and when present are quite unlike those of any other
living mammal. The only two members of this group still
to be found are inhabitants of Australia, Tasmania," and
Papua. One is the duck-billed platypus, or duck mole, of
eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is rather smaller than
an otter, covered with somewhat woolly fur, and pro-
vided with Webbed feet and a horny bill like a duck's,
but shorter and broader. The first specimens which
were brought to this country were treated by naturalists
with scepticism, as they were thought to be fakes made
by joining parts of different animals together. The
animal feeds upon insects and worms, is nocturnal and
shy in its habits and lives in burrows in the river banks.
In these the female lays two small oval eggs, brown in
colour and about as big as a robin's..

The other member of the group is the spiny ant-eater,
which ranges from Tasmania to New Guinea, where
there is also a second kind. Its feet are provided with
claws which it uses for burrowing. It feeds on ants and,
like the duck-billed platypus, it has a beak, but this is
long and narrow and not broad and flat. It also lays
eggs, two at a time, and incubates them in a special
pduch into which the milk-glands open.

Neither of these creatures has any close relative either

CHARACTERISTICS OF MARSUPIALS 73

living or extinct in any part of the world. To find their
nearest allies we should probably have to search among
the earliest known mammalian fossils of the Triassic or
Jurassic ages.

The next group of mammals is that known as the
marsupials. These are distinguished by the fact that in
most cases the female has a pouch on the under side of
the body, in which are the teats. As in the last group, the
young are born in a very undeveloped state. A new-born
domestic kitten may be 3^ inches long. A new-born
kangaroo is about an inch in length, though its parent
may stand 4 feet high or more. These blind, hairless,
helpless offspring crawl into the pouch, and their
mouths remain attached to the mother's teats for a con-
siderable time. They are born as a rule in January, and
do not leave the pouch until October. Even when they
are able to care for themselves they retreat to the pouch
on the approach of danger. To this remarkable group
of animals belongs the majority of the native mammalia
of Australia, and with the exception of the American
opossums and coelonestes they are found in the living
state nowhere else. Moreover, they exhibit an amazing
diversity of structure, being adapted to live the life of
moles, squirrels, dormice, cats, dogs and other animals.
The student will naturally wonder why, if this is the case,
they should all be classed together in one group instead of
being placed in the orders in which the moles, squirrels,
cats, etc., of the rest of the world are placed. The answer is
that though superficially they resemble the creatures named
they all agree in a number of important peculiarities of
which the possession of a pouch is one and the structure of
the brain, the teeth and the reproductive system are others ;
peculiarities which are not possessed by any other living
animals of the world. In fact the earliest explorers were so
struck by this fact that they actually suggested that per-
haps the various species interbred freely with one another.

Among the best known of the carnivorous marsupials is
the Tasmanian wolf or tiger, a striped animal like a small

74 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

wolf, now confined to Tasmania and almost exterminated
owing to its partiality for sheep killing. Another, equally
destructive but smaller, is the Tasmanian devil, while
still smaller are the native cats about the size of a
domestic cat or less and similar in their habits to the
weasels, martens, and polecats of the Old World.

Among the insectivorous members of the group may be
mentioned the bandicoots, which supplement a diet of
insects and worms with roots and other vegetables. The
largest of them is about the size of a rabbit, to which it is
sufficiently similar to have acquired the name " native
rabbit " in some places.

The truly vegetarian forms are very numerous. The
wombats are like small bears and the largest of them
attain a length of 3 feet. They live in burrows and
emerge only at night. The beautiful flying opossums
(which are not closely related to the American opossums)
possess a broad fold of skin extending from the little finger
to the ankle and use it to parachute from branch to branch
of the gum trees, on the blossoms of which they feed.
Finally, we have the kangaroos and wallabies. These
are mostly the inhabitants of the grass lands. They stand
erect on the hind feet, partly supporting themselves with
the tail, and progress by a series of short hops. When
alarmed, however, they can make immense leaps. A few
aberrant species live in trees and among rocks*

The only living marsupials known outside Australia
are the American opossums and the little creature called
coelonestes, of the Argentine. In the fossil state, however,
they were widely distributed.

Of the third and highest class of mammalia, which
includes by far the greatest number of species of the order,
only two or perhaps three groups are represented. Of the
bats, which owing to their powers of flight are able to
spread widely over the earth, there are several genera also
common in Asia.

There are a large number of rodents, including the
large aquatic beaver-rats, various kinds of jerboa-rats,

A FOSSIL FAUNA 75

and more ordinary-looking rats and mice placed in
numerous genera, many of them allied to forms known
in the Old World.

There is also the native dog, " Yellow Dog Dingo " of
the " Just-so Stories/ 5 which was quite possibly introduced
by the aborigines. Then there are seals, whales, dolphins
and a dugong, to which, of course, the sea does not act as
a barrier.

This concludes our* sketch of the plants and animals
native to Australia ; but it would be wrong to suppose
that all of these are common objects to be seen there at
the present day. Since the advent of Europeans many
foreign plants and animals have been introduced both
from South Africa and South America as well as from
the northern hemisphere, and they have in many cases
found the surroundings so congenial that they are rapidly
ousting the native forms and in some cases developing
into pests. The prickly pear covered 60,000 to 70,000 square
miles in 1922 and was then increasing at the rate of about
230 square miles per annum; it is now largely controlled ty
the cactoblastis caterpillar, introduced from SouthAmerica.
The rabbit increased so rapidly that rabbit-proof fences have
been constructed right across the west end of the continent
and across southern Queensland; the fox and the starling
have also proved a pest on introduction into the continent.

To explain the remarkable assemblage of animals which
has thus been briefly reviewed we may compare Australia
with the " Maple-White land " of Conan Doyle's story,
" The Lost World." Those who have read that interest-
ing romance will recall that it describes a plateau whose
precipitous sides retained and preserved samples of many
bygone geological periods which had elsewhere been
exterminated by the evolution of more modern forms. In
Australia we do not find actual living examples of the
animals of the Jurassic, Cretaceous, or any other bygone
period. Probably no single fossil species of any antiquity,
geologically speaking, is found living there, with the possible
exception of the lung-fish and some invertebrates, but the

76 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

native fauna as a whole certainly has an ancient look, and
it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the country was
populated at an early date when the majority of the
mammals on the earth were of the Australian type. It
then lost its connection with the main land-masses of the
world and its fauna continued to develop in a cloistered
seclusion which is now being rudely shattered by the
introduction of more progressive types from the con-
tinents of the northern hemisphere.

By what route it received its original fauna is doubtful.
According to some the last land bridge to be severed was
in the direction of the Malay Peninsula and the East
Indian Islands. Others point to the similarity of the
animals of South America as evidence of a connection
through Tasmania with a northern extension of Antarc-
tica. Still others find evidences of two invasions ; an
earlier one by way of the Malayan connection, introducing
the ancestors of the duck mole and the spiny ant-eater,
and a later one from South America introducing the
marsupials. The discussion of these topics is, however,
beyond the scope of this book.

PLATE II

\Au$tnHi(\n Nws Information Jinmnt

A. AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES

A group singing sacred songs preparatory to blood-letting and decoration for
snake corroboree.

[Australian Nrivs Information Ihireau

CHAPTER VII
THE ABORIGINES

THE first European settlers found two distinct races in
occupation, one in Tasmania and the other on the main-
land. It is uncertain whether the Tasmanian natives
migrated from the equatorial lands of southern Asia and
occupied Australia and Tasmania before Bass Strait was
formed, or whether they were driven southwards by the
Australian natives who killed or absorbed their fore-
runners on the mainland of Australia, but who were held
up by the newly-formed strait. Both races seem *o have
remained undisturbed from these very early days until
the first European settlers discovered them.

Of the Tasmanians little need be said, for they have
been exterminated by the white settlers. They were a
black-skinned people of medium stature : their woolly
hair placed them in the negrito group of races, but unlike
the negroes of the west, they possessed strong projecting
eyebrow ridges which, together with the deep depression
at the notch of the nose, gave them a particularly brutal
appearance. Completely isolated, the Tasmanians re-
mained an unprogressive, but mild-tempered people,
until the invading white man upset the even balance of
tt\eir lives. So stagnant and rude was their culture that
they have been called a palaeolithic people. In winter
they wore kangaroo skins, but usually they dispensed
with all clothing. They had no houses, but erected simple
screens against the wind. Their weapons spears and
clubs were made of wood ; their implements and tools
were of chipped stone. Hunters and grubbers, they
levied toll on the animals, birds, reptiles, and insects of

77

78 THE ABORIGINES

their island, but the art of fishing they had not learnt,
though they were skilful divers for the shell-fish of the
shallow waters. They navigated the coastal waters in
bark rafts* At the highest estimate these simple people
numbered only 2,000 and after the fighting which ended
in 1831, there remained only 200. A belated attempt to
save the remnant failed, for kindness proved as" destruc-
tive as the harsh policy which preceded it. We know
very little of their social organization and religion ;
indeed the study of human culture has suffered grievously
from the cruelty, ignorance, and carelessness of the early
settlers in the island.

Like the Tasmanians, the natives of Australia received
their characteristic physical features in a hotter land than
that of their adoption. They are of medium stature, their
brown skin colour varying in intensity. Prominent eyebrow
ridges and a flat retreating forehead give them a very prim-
itive appearance, especially when associated with a project-
ing lower jaw and a very broad nose. The Southern people
were stoutly built, hairy bodied, and thick-legged. The
Northerners were lean, spindly legged, relatively hairless,
and often very dark. The woolly or spiral hair of the negrito
survives only in the Atherton Plateau of Queensland, and a
few small highland areas in the southeast and southwest.
The more usual wavy or curly hair places them as very
primitive representatives of the great group of races' to which
we ourselves belong, and which stretches across the southern
* fringe of Eurasia and the Archipelago to Oceania. He was
probably in occupation of Australia in the late Pleistocene
Age, for the Talgai skull in Queensland presumed to be of
that age exhibits most of the features of the existing native.
If we ignore the effects of contact with the Melanesiaftjs
and Papuans of New Guinea in the extreme north, the
Australian has remained isolated throughout these
thousands of years. He has provided students of human
culture with a magnificent opportunity, ap.d indeed our
knowledge of the Australian is in marked contrast with
that of the Tasmanian. Here is, or rather was, a primitive

ABORIGINAL CULTURE 79

people still in the hunting stage of culture and unspoilt by
contact with other races ; surely here, students used to say,
we can see fossilised a stage of evolution through which
we all have passed. No longer, however/ is the confident
belief held that all mankind has passed through the same
stages of cultural evolution,, nor, indeed, is Australian
culture fossilised ; but in Australia can be studied a
really important example of the reaction of man to his
environment in the case of an isolated hunting people.

It is the men's work to hunt the kangaroo, the emu,
and the opossum, to dig out the wombat, and to bring
down the duck and the pigeon. Meanwhile, the women
and young children are collecting wild yams and grub-
bing for insects. The marsupials provide the family
with meat, birds are plentiful, reptiles make good eating,
and fish are caught with barbed spears and fish-hooks or
trapped in cleverly constructed weirs. Even in the dry
lands the native lives where the white man dies, for he
has learnt to find water in the roots of trees. In his
weapons as well as in his manner of hunting the Aus-
tralian shows an advance on the Tasmanian. He has
learnt the art of hailing and possesses cleverly chipped
stone spear-heads, axes, adzes, and knives, hafted to
wooden handles. He possesses, too, the spear-thrower
which enables him to kill at a distance of 50 yards, and
the many kinds of boomerang. The boomerangs used in
hunting are big and heavy, but thin and offering little
resistance to the air ; they travel far and hit indeed
they are difficult to avoid. The better-known returning
boomerangs, used chiefly for sport, are small, very thin,
and very strongly curved.

The Australian huts, or wurleys, are simple erections of
branches often intended for but a brief stay. Except
when the cold nights compel the use of kangaroo or
wallaby skins, the natives go nude or wear hip girdles only.
They share with the Tasmanians a love of coloured pigments
for decoration, and while the women wear necklaces of
kangaroo teeth, the men prefer the nose pin, a piece of

80 THE ABORIGINES

wood thrust through the nasal septum and projecting
beyond the face on both sides.

In their simple social organization the family is the
basic institution, though more important is the clan, a
kind of extended family in which descent is counted in
some cases through the male, in others through the
female. Usually the clans are totemic ; their members,
that is, are associated in a mystic bond of kinship with
some class of animals, birds, insects or, less commonly, of
inanimate objects. Clans are grouped together into
tribes, often speaking a common dialect. In the days
before the white invasion, the hunting and grubbing
grounds of each tribe were respected by their neighbours,
and within each tribe the clans had their customary
territory. There was very little inter-tribal fighting, for
the Australian was not a warlike savage.

It is generally true of simple societies that the duties
and obligations of their members are determined by their
blood relationship to each other, so that a knowledge of
marriage regulations stands at the very heart of the
understanding of their conduct. Amongst some Aus-
tralian tribes a man marries his first cross-cousin, that is;
his mother's brother's daughter, and in other tribes his
second cross-cousin, a woman who is usually his mother's
mother's brother's daughter's daughter. A mere mention
of these relationships shows that we are moving now in a
carefully regulated social system, in which such rough
and ready practices as marriage by capture are almost
unknown. Indeed, the savage lives in an orderly society,
and so long as he remains uncontaminated by white
contact, he is a model law-, or rather, custom-abiding
clansman. So far is marriage a matter of regulation and not .
of private initiative that a woman may well be, and often
is, betrothed before she is born if an Irishism be per-
mitted. Now, as in all Australian clans descent is reckoned
through one side of the family only, male in some cases,
female in others, a man in marrying his cross-cousin is
marrying a woman of another clan ; marriage is in fact

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS 81

exogamous. To marry within the clan is to commit the
most serious and abominable crime known in savage
society.

So brief a description of native marriage regulations
may, through its inadequacy, be confusing. For our
purpose it is necessary to remember not so much the
regulations as the fact that services and duties are based
on relationship. A man must deport himself in one way
in the presence of his father, in another in the presence
of his mother, still another towards his mother's brother
and so on throughout the complex of relationships.
From his day's hunting, for instance, certain gifts of food
must be reserved for his father. Or again, for years
before his marriage, a man's father will have made gifts
to the father of his son's future wife, that is, his wife's
brother in the simple system. Further and here we
touch on really difficult questions as the clan is a quasi-
familial organization, it is not difficult to see that a man
may owe the same services not only to his own father, but
also to all the men in the clan of the same generation. In
fact, he calls them all by the same name. Carry the argu-
ment further again and we find that there is not a member
of his own clan or his wife's clan to whom he does not
stand in a definite relationship carrying with it a definite
code of conduct, so that his whole social behaviour is
regulated from birth to death. Outside the kinship
system there is no code, and no obligations, so that we
can understand the panic of Professor A. R. Brown's
black servant who stood outside a strange camp until he
had undergone the catechism beginning with the question
" Who is your father ? " Moreover, this social system
explains the dualism of savage ethics, for whereas there is
the strictest code of behaviour within the system, outside
it is the uncharted world of the unknown where the
savage wanders with no guide as to mine and thine, or as
to right and wrong.

Clan discipline is, or rather was, maintained by the
old men who lead by reason of their experience and of

82 THE ABORIGINES

the tradition of obedience. They form a natural aristo-
cracy ; there are no appointed chiefs or kings. Amongst
them a man of strong personality is accepted as leader.
A medicine-man may or may not be in the circle of the
elders ; his powers are specialized, his training is both
vigorous and painful, and usually he maintains a high
standard of professional conduct which puts the welfare
of his people before his own. He is more priest than
scientist, for disease comes from the unknown that realm
where primitive religion and magic consort. The savage
has no comprehension of natural causes of disease, so
that the savage doctor uses his prestige as a dealer in the
unknown to replace fear by confidence and to cure by
suggestion.

The position and services of the medicine-man lead us
to the part played by religion in Australian aboriginal
life. For whereas social organization shows us the
mechanism of life, it is religion amongst savages which
provides the power driving that mechanism. Crude in
its expression and entirely dependent on concrete sym-
bolization, the religious life of the Australian is still
extraordinarily active and vigorous. It enables him to
conquer the rigours of life in the hot desert, to face
hunger and thirst. It is the source of his very will to live,
and, in spite of his adverse environment and of his slender
control thereof, the will to live well.

He worships no gods, and indeed, much of his supposed
belief in spirits is the overstatement of observers. Among
the Aranda of Central Australia, for example, religious
rites are concerned with a sacred power or " tjurunga "
which can be discovered in sacred objects. It is a power,
secret, occult, and ancient, which can destroy those who
approach it in a profane spirit, but which strengthens and
restores those who approach it with due respect, that is,
those who keep the traditional taboos. It brings not only
plentiful food, but those spiritual benefits which can best
be described in the simple words of one of the natives who
said he became " strong, glad and good." That this

THE TOTEM 83

sacred quality is attached to certain stone " bull-roarers "
and can be transferred to the native by the simple pro-
cess of rubbing the " bull-roarer " on his stomach, though
miraculous in itself, means that we are dealing with a
people for whom spiritual values can be conveyed only
by concrete symbol and dramatization. But the values
are the reality, and their origin, in this case in the wooden
" bull-roarer " which emits its unearthly moan and roar, is
easily comprehensible when we remember that such an
uncanny noise proceeding from an apparently ordinary
piece of wood fills the savage mind with those emotions
of awe and wonder which lie at the heart of religion.

Two very briefly described examples of widely different
aspects of Australian religion must suffice. Firstly, let us
take ceremonies connected with the provision of daily
food. Among the central tribes the totemic groups per-
form rites which have as their object the increasing of the
food supply, a vital matter in the hot desert. Each group
is responsible for its own class of animal, bird or plant.
The kangaroo men, for instance, assemble at the sacred
rock of the kangaroos and amidst solemn chants allow
their blood to flow freely over its hallowed surface. Then
follows a sacrificial meal in which certain parts of a
kangaroo are sparingly eaten by the old men of the
totem, the younger ones continuing their already long
fast. The ceremony, lasting two or three days, is set^ in
a traditional routine : for the time being the totemites
have passed out of the world of profane commonplace
happenings into that of the sacred. Henceforward they
eat but very little of kangaroo flesh, and of some parts they
eat nothing, but they have helped to fill the larder of their
fellow tribesmen of other totems, who through their own
appropriate rites do a like service for the kangaroo men.

And, secondly, let us turn to the elaborate initiation
ceremonies. Like other savages, the Australian parent is
proud of his children and showers his affection on them.
But the time comes when the boys must become men,
when the care of the young passes out of the hands of the

84 THE ABORIGINES

parents into the stern control of society. The boys under-
go a period of discipline and education which for ever
impresses on their minds a respect for the customs of the
tribe and for the elders who rule over it. For weeks they
live in the bush under the strictest rule of silence. The
elders teach them the tribal ceremonies and the stories of
the past. Each day and night dramatic performances tell
them of the doings of their ancestors in the Altjeringa y the
golden age of the past. At customary times in this
strenuous education, severe tests of physical endurance
are imposed, traditional and painful mutilations are per-
formed by those elders whose kinship gives them the
honourable position of teachers of the young. At each
critical stage in the initiation ceremonies the silent, fasting
lads are cowed by the wild noise of the " bull-roarers,"
which have been hitherto preserved in complete secrecy.
Finally, they are told of the source of the mysterious music
and come to understand the vehicle of the sacred power.
From such an ordeal they emerge into the profane world
as men, social conduct and ceremonies for ever stamped
into their minds. Such indeed is the complex nature of
Australian religious life that throughout their early man-
hood they undergo a series of increasingly arduous tests
until they in their turn become the guardians of tribal lore
and the instructors of the young. " Thus/ 5 says Dr.
Marett, " is custom exalted, and the coercive power
amplified, by the suggestion of a power . . . that ' makes
for righteousness,' and, whilst beneficent, is full of terrors
for offenders*"

CHAPTER VIII

THE BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT

IT has been seen in previous chapters that the great
island continent, isolated in a very marked way from the
larger land-masses of the world, is a region of great
interest to the biologist and anthropologist. In the follow-
ing chapters an attempt is made to show that Australia is
no less interesting as the scene in which other matters of
the greatest human interest may be studied. For example,
one of the outstanding facts of modern history has been
the spread of the European into regions which are far
removed from his last centre of dispersion in Western
Europe. This development of new lands by the European
may be studied most simply in Australia because, in
the first place, the land was only very sparsely populated
before his arrival, and, secondly, the occupation has been
carried out almost entirely by people of one nationality.
Again, as a self-governing Dominion within the British
Empire, Australia is part of that unique development of
modern history the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Still another feature of much interest to the student of
politics is to be found in the constitutional and industrial
laws of the country. A great group of the English-speaking
people has been transplanted, has embraced whole-
heartedly the democratic ideals of the British people,
while it has rejected equally emphatically the aristocratic
traditions and anomalies of the English constitution. In
legislation on industrial questions the Australians have
made bold experiments in state regulation of industry and
commerce. Finally, in bringing a vast new territory into
full productivity, the scientists and agriculturists of Aus-
tralia have been among the first to see the part that is to

D 85

86 THE BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT

be played by the natural sciences in the solution of the
world's economic problems. It may therefore be said that
Australia is not only a museum for the naturalist and
anthropologist, but also a laboratory for the student of
economics and political science.

The real beginning of effective British settlement was in
January, 1788, when Captain Phillip arrived with " The
First Fleet " and his company of 700 convicts at Botany
Bay. The commencement of a great experiment in
colonization with such human material may at first
sight seem unpromising, and no doubt many of the
convicts were of bad, and even dangerous, character ; but
it must be borne in mind that a great many were trans-
ported for petty crimes and for political offences. Among
the latter were many men of upright character, whose
crime had been nothing more than the sturdy indepen-
dence with which they had held certain political opinions.
Men of such character played an important and valuable
part in the political and economic development of the
early colonies. Many of the later convicts were Chartists,
who lived to see the adoption of their democratic pro-
gramme in the new lands long before it came to be
accepted in Britain. On the other hand, it cannot be
denied that the nature of the early settlements, combined
with the great distance from Europe, acted as a deterrent
to the immigration of free settlers, and accounts for the
slow growth of the early colonies.

It is not easy to appreciate the difficulties and dangers
which confronted these early settlers. Almost from the
beginning the existence of two or three classes in these
settlements proved fruitful of disputes. There were the
officials, the convicts, the " emancipists," i.e., those con-
victs who had been liberated on the expiration of their
sentences, and, finally, the free settlers. Moreover, quite
early in the history of the colony, bands of bushrangers,
i.e., escaped convicts and outlaws, made themselves a
serious danger to outlying settlements and to communi-
cations between them and the towns, Tasmania suffered

THE FIRST COLONY 87

terribly from these men ; and in Victoria the numbers of
the bushrangers were increased by the many undesirables
who were attracted by the gold rush of the early fifties.
An additional cause of anxiety in the first few years was
a very real danger of famine through shortage of all sorts
of supplies. One or two unlucky wrecks caused acute
distress, and the steady stream of convicts, many of whom
arrived exhausted and ill after their long voyage, tested
the ingenuity and courage of Captain Phillip to the utter-
most.

The great wall of mountains which looks down upon
the eastern coastlands for long proved a very effective
barrier to any penetration of the interior. The coast-
lands were given over to farming of a mixed type, although
sheep rearing was prominent very early. The labour on
the farms, as well as on roads and other public works,
was largely carried out by convicts hired out as bond
servants. There is an interesting comparison to be made
between the early history of these colonies and that of the
English colonies in North America. In both cases a great
system of mountains confined the settlements to the
coastal plain, and the crossing of the barrier was followed
by rapid expansion into the interior. In both cases also
it will be seen that the problem of developing the hot
coastal regions nearer to the Equator raised the question
of coloured labour.

There was in reality no early settlement at Botany Bay
because there was discovered almost immediately the
much better site of Port Jackson at Sydney Cove. Wheat,
barley, and vines were planted, and merino sheep from
South Africa were introduced a few years later. Very
soon small settlements were established at Norfolk Island
and on the Hawkesbury River. The mineral wealth of
Australia was first exploited in the form of coal at New-
castle in 1796. Wool was first exported in 1803. Settle-
ments in Tasmania were made about this time for the
detention of the more dangerous types of convicts, and
this was the beginning of an unhappy series of events

88 THE BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT

which marred the history of that lovely island . Through-
out this early period there was continued anxiety as
to supplies of the bare necessities of life, but the period
of beginnings may be said to close in 1813 with the
successful crossing of the Blue Mountains, and the dis-
covery of the wonderful grasslands of the interior. It is
significant of the later history of the country that this first
act in the opening up of Australia was due to the fact that
the sheep farmers of the coastlands had been driven by
a disastrous drought to seek new pastures for their flocks.
In the early days a great deal depended on the character
of individual colonists and a good idea of the early life
of the colony may be gained from the biographies of some
of these men. One of the most important was Captain
John Macarthur. He was the son of a Scottish Jacobite,
who fled abroad after 1 745, but returned later to settle in
Devonshire. John Macarthur became an officer in the
Army and in 1789 came to Australia in the iO2nd Foot,
or New South Wales Corps. As was the custom with
many of the officers, he took up a grant of land and
engaged in farming and commerce. It was he who
imported some Spanish merino sheep from South Africa
in 1796, and he bred from them a very promising flock.
In consequence of a quarrel with a brother officer, he was
sent to England for a court-martial and took with him
specimens of wool which created a very favourable
impression on English manufacturers. In 1805 he settled
on a large estate near Sydney and introduced into Aus-
tralia the olive tree. The Governor of New South Wales
was at that time engaged in an attempt to put down the
liquor trade in the country, and a long struggle ensued
on this point between him and Macarthur. The out-
come was a peaceful revolution in which the Governor
himself was arrested, and Macarthur was placed in a high
position in the provisional government. The consequent
legal proceedings again took him to England, and after
spending some time in France in order to study viti-
culture, he returned to Australia to plant a vineyard.

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS CROSSED 89

Macarthur may be said to have founded the wool and
wine industries of Australia.

The story of the Blaxland brothers is also typical of the
early days. These two men went to Australia in 1805 as
free settlers, having contracted with the home authorities
to occupy and develop 8,000 acres and to employ 80
convicts. The fact that they were free settlers and there-
fore not completely under the Governor's authority led
to frequent disputes with the latter. For example,, they
persisted in rearing cattle while the Governors wished to
develop the cultivation of wheat. They took some part
in the mutiny of Macarthur against Governor Bligh, but
they usually kept out of politics so long as they were left
to farm in their own way. It was the younger Blaxland
who first crossed the Blue Mountains and found the great
pasture lands lying to the west.

A good idea of the early days may be gathered from
the following extracts from the journal of a traveller in
1836. In describing a journey over the Blue Mountains
from Sydney he writes : '

" We set out at an early hour to Penrith on the Nepean
River. Our guide was a black called Simeon. His
wife was killed, about two years ago, by some of those
whom he termed c Wild Natives. 3

"After breakfasting at a respectable inn, we pro-
ceeded to the station of an c ironed-gang/ on Emu Plains.
They have been employed in cutting a new road up Lap-
stone Hill, the ascent of the Blue Mountains.

" On leaving the gang, we proceeded along dusty
mountain roads, through forests of gum and stringy-
bark, in some parts of which fire was raging with fury.
Bullocks travelling with settlers' drays were ill-favoured
and lean-fleshed, from the scarcity of grass. Dead bul-
locks were numerous by the roadside.

" As we descended the hills, Bathurst Plains opened to
our view, relieving the eye after a long incarceration in
thick, or in open forest, by a fine undulating expanse,
watered by the Macquarie, formed here by the junction
of the Campbell and Fish rivers, all running westward.

go THE BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT

" At a short distance from Bathurst, a man was feeding
a bullock, by the roadside, which had fallen from exhaus-
tion. Should there be no rain for a few weeks longer, it
will be keenly felt. In many places the ewes are so weak
as to be unable to feed their lambs ; and to the south-
ward, the influenza, a destructive disease, is prevailing
among the sheep."

In the early part of the igth century two great con-
tinents were at the same stage of settlement North
America and Australia. The romantic adventurers in
their " prairie schooners " and the " forty-niners " of
California have their counterparts in the equally bold
settlers and " diggers " of Australia. Flood and drought,
and human outcasts, whether black or white, took their
toll of the indomitable men and courageous women who
faced the heart-breaking tasks of the pioneer. In those
early days none of them can have been ordinary people
or nonentities. Only those whose careers in the home
country had been unusual, or who were possessed of the
roving spirit, would be found in Australia in the twenties
and thirties of the last century.

It is tempting to try to imagine the varied motives of
the emigrants, but it has been done for us admirably in a
work of fiction, " Geoffry Hamlyn," by Henry Kingsley.
The following quotation from that novel gives an excel-
lent glimpse of the settlers as they moved in to the new
land :

" We could hear the rapid detonation of the stock-
whips loud above the lowing of the cattle ; so we sat
and watched them debouch from the forest into the
broad river meadows in the gathering gloom ; saw the
scene so venerable and ancient, so seldom seen in the
Old World the patriarchs moving into the desert with
all their wealth, to find a new pasture ground. A simple
primitive action, the first and simplest act of coloniza-
tion, yet producing such great results on the history of
the world, as did the parting of Lot and Abraham in
times gone by.

" First came the cattle, lowing loudly, some trying to

PIONEER LIFE 91

stop and graze on the rich pasture after their long day's
travel, some heading noisily for the river, now beginning
to steam with tfce rising evening mist. . . . Behind the
cattle come horsemen, some six or seven in number, and
last, four drays, bearing the household goods, come
crawling up the pass.

" We had time to notice that there were women on the
foremost dray, when it became evident that the party
intended camping in a turn of the river just below. One
man kicked his feet out of the stirrups, and sitting loosely
in his saddle, prepared to watch the cattle for the first
few hours till he was relieved. Another lit a fire against
a fallen tree, and while the bullock drivers were busy
unyoking their beasts, and the women were clambering
from the dray, two of the horsemen separated from the
others, and came forward to meet us. 35

The history of a nation is something made up of the
individual lives of its citizens, but the result is something
more than a mere collection of biographies. The birth
and growth of this young nation, only a few generations
old, is a romantic and heroic story.

Life was evidently not easy in the young colony, and
the difficulties were increased by the vast distance which
separated the colonists from the Motherland and the
length of time required for communication with " the
old country." But the leaders had the experience of the
English settlers in North America before them, and they
were conscious of being the foundation builders of a
mighty limb of the British Empire. We shall try to show
in the next chapters what they made of their task.

CHAPTER IX
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTORY

THE woolsack, which serves as a seat for the Lord Chan-
cellor in the House of Lords, is a symbol of the fact that
in mediaeval times England was the great source of raw
wool for the textile industries of Flanders, and that the
export of wool at that time laid the foundation of English
wealth and commerce. The centuries have wrought
great changes in the functions of different regions of the
world, and now England, part of an island which was
formerly on the outskirts of the civilized world and a
great producer of raw wool, is one of the greatest
manufacturers of woollen cloth and draws the bulk of
its raw material from the island continent on the other
side of the world.

As we have seen, the prosperity of Australia was early
connected with sheep farming, and it is appropriate that
a study of the economic geography of the country should
begin with a consideration of its pastoral industries.

THE PASTORAL INDUSTRIES

(i) Sheep

The leading position of Australia in the production of
wool is well known, and although the industry has
suffered severe fluctuations in its history, mainly on
account of droughts, nevertheless it is undoubtedly the
basis of Australian prosperity. The importance of the
industry may be realized from a study of the following
figures for Australian exports in 1948-49 :

Value of total exports . . ^547,000,000
Value of wool exports , . ^240,000,000

THE DISTRIBUTION OF SHEEP 93

Again, the importance of Australia as the leading
country in the production of wool is shown in the follow-
ing figures for the same year :

millions of Ibs.

Australia . . . .1,026
Argentine .... 450
New Zealand . . . 365
U.S.A. .... 307

U.S.S.R 260

South Africa . . . 210

Rest of the World . , .1,152
The production of wool is in fact the staple industry,
although in relation to other Australian industries it has
decreased considerably.

The distribution of sheep in Australia is determined by
climate and food supply. The sheep is an animal of the
temperate zone and lambs cannot stand the high tempera-
tures of the north. Heavy rainfall is also unfavourable,
and the sheep do not generally flourish in regions with a
rainfall of over 30 inches. They are therefore not 'found in
the north or on the eastern coastal plain to any great ex-
tent. On the other hand, few sheep can be pastured in
lands which have less than 10 inches of rainfall per annum.
All round the great desert is the saltbush country, which
provides excellent fodder for sheep. The saltbush, how-
ever, is slow to recover after it has been cropped, and this
region therefore cannot support such large flocks as the
natural grassland. By far the greater proportion of the
flocks is to be found on the rolling grasslands between the
eastern mountains and the desert. This is indeed the
best sheep country in the world. Of the whole Australian
flock in 1944, New South Wales had 46 per cent., Queens-
land 1 8 per cent., and Victoria 15 per cent.

Just as the predominance of the pastoral industry has
become steadily less marked in the economic life of
Australia with the rise of other industries, so also the pre-
dominance of wool fras decreased in the sheep-rearing
industry as a result of the introduction of cold storage

94

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

which made it possible to breed sheep for mutton as
profitably as for wool. Up till 1880 the merino sheep
were favoured for their fine wool, but since then cross-
breds have challenged them because they are larger and

hardier animals. On the eoastlands, and still more in the
highlands, the crossbreds for mutton and coarser wool are to
be found in the majority. It is only on the western slopes of
Queensland, NewSouthWales, and Victoria that the merino,
with its fine wool, holds its own. Tasmania, with its cooler
climate, plays a special part in breeding good vigorous stock

THE PROGRESS OF SHEEP FARMING 95

which can be drafted into the flocks on the mainland.

The huge sheep-runs of former times are gradually
disappearing, and in many cases farmers are combining
sheep rearing with other kinds of fanning. In former, and
more spacious, times the flocks ranged over great areas
and a life similar to that of the American cowboy was
characteristic of early Austrian days. Great fortunes
were made, and lost as well. Tfie life was full of hardships,
in which droughts, floods, and pests had to be contended
with. There was frequent trouble with the natives, and
occasionally with the bushrangers or escaped convicts.
The most disastrous year was in 1902, when, with the
runs overstocked, a severe drought occurred. It was
estimated that it caused a loss of 127,000,000 to Aus-
tralia. Now, however, the industry is more stable, if less
romantic. Fenced-in paddocks, machine shearing, the
sinking of artesian wells, and the growing of fodder crops,
have changed the industry greatly. By careful breeding
the average weight of the fleeces has been almost trebled,
and it is safe to say that the industry will be the most
important in Australia for many years to come.

One of the chief problems now facing the Australian
farmers is the rabbit plague. Introduced into an environ-
ment in which most of their natural enemies are absent,
these animals have multiplied enormously and do untold
damage in destroying the natural food supply of the
sheep. Great sums of money have been spent in con-
structing rabbit-proof fences, which have provided a
considerable, but not complete measure of security.
During the last ten years the export of frozen carcasses to
the United Kingdom has become increasingly important,
and in view of the world shortage of protein, this may
develop into a permanent and valuable trade.

The sheep are shorn before the beginning of the hot
weather. Shearing is a very heavy job, even with
machinery, and it is also highly skilled work, for the wool
must be clipped close to the skin without wounding the
sheep. A good man will deal with more than a hundred

g6 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

animals In the day. It is usual to employ vocational
shearers, who are engaged in advance and go round from
station to station. The operation of shearing takes place
in a great shed, where the wool is not only removed from
the sheep, but also sorted. (The best wool comes from
the shoulders and the poorest from the legs and tail.)
It is then pressed and baled and sent off for sale in the
Australian ports, where great markets are attended by
buyers from Europe, America, and Japan. Some of the
wool is exported for sale in London or in other European
markets. Although the export figures mount year by
year, there is a growing industry of woollen manufacture
in Australia itself, and every year more and more wool is
consumed in Australia. The spectacular rise in wool
prices is disliked by thoughtful Australians. It has led to a
general rise in prices, considerable inflation, and by en-
couraging farmers to sacrifice everything to wool pro-
duction has resulted in neglect of mutton and lamb, just
when world meat requirements are greater than ever before.
Tallow and stearine, for the manufacture of soap and
candles, are obtained as by-products from the treat-
ment of the wool. The horns and hoofs are not of great
importance, but are used for the manufacture of combs ?
handles and glue. Paradoxically, catgut is made from the
intestines of sheep,

(2) Cattle

The farming of cattle definitely ranks below that of
sheep as a great pastoral industry of Australia, but it is
undoubtedly an increasingly important industry and
capable of great expansion. The great beasts pastured in
the^ north are splendid beef animals, and the suitable
regions have not been by any means fully occupied. In
the extreme north, on the coastlands and islands, the
Asiatic buffalo was introduced early in the igth century.
A large number of them escaped and there are now many
herds of them in a wild state. They reach enormous
weights and are hunted for the sake of their hides.

CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING 97

Fortunately, the interests of the owners of sheep and
cattle do not clash, as the land which is suitable for cattle
is much less so for sheep. For beef purposes the best
land is in the north, where the cattle find good pasture,
and where the heat does not affect them adversely as
would be the case with sheep. Here great herds of
magnificent cattle are ranched. Queensland is the fore-
most cattle state in the Commonwealth.

The history of the two great pastoral industries is very
similar. In both cases the pasturing of great flocks and
herds over wide areas continues, but tends to give
way to more restricted and les$ wasteful methods. The
practice of refrigeration and cold storage has resulted in
a great increase in dairy farming, and this of course has
been encouraged by the growth of large cities. For dairy
purposes the eastern coastlands, with the milder climate
demanded by dairy cattle, are admirably suited. As in
almost all dairying countries, co-operative methods have
been adopted with great success. In Queensland all
butter factories are co-operatively owned, as are the
majority in New South Wales and about 50 per cent, of
those in other States.

AGRICULTURE

In the following account of agriculture in Australia no
attempt is made to give a description of every crop culti-
vated. Only those crops will be dealt with which are of
special interest or importance in Australian agriculture.

(i) Wheat

Among the cultivated crops of Australia, wheat is much
the most important, and Queensland and Tasmania are
the only states in which it does not occupy first place. It
is, however, only recently that w*heat has gained an
important place in the exports of the country. Until the
second half of last century Australia depended for much
of her wheat upon foreign countries, especially South

9 8 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

America, and wheat did not figure as an Australian export
until 1 897. To-day Australia is among the first ten wheat-
producing countries.

The best conditions for wheat cultivation are found in
the interior lowlands of New South Wales and Victoria,
in South Australia round Spencer Gulf, and in the southern
parts of Western Australia. Here the climatic conditions
are excellent so long as there is at least 10 inches of rain-
fall in winter. The average yield per acre is poor, but is
being improved ; and the quality of Australian wheat is
so good as to fetch very high prices. The area under
wheat has been considerably extended by practising
" dry farming." Australian wheat exports go chiefly to
Great Britain ; but Italy, France, and Japan are important
customers. The trade with Japan is likely to increase as
there is a steadily growing demand for wheat in that
country.

A great deal of splendid work has been done by
scientists in breeding and selecting varieties of the wheat
plant which are specially suited to Australian conditions.
In this connection it is impossible to pass over the work
of William James* Farrer (1845-1906). In spite of
obstacles of every kind, and the ridicule and contempt of
so-called experts, he spent many years of devoted and
patient research in the cross-breeding of varieties of
wheat, so that Australian farmers might be able to make
the most of their particular soils and climate. His
discoveries entirely changed agricultural conditions in the
wheat lands of Australia ; the average yield was raised
by two bushels per acre, and the world price of Australian
wheat by 2s. a quarter.

(2) Maize, Sugarcane, and Cotton

These crops are grown almost entirely in Queensland
and New South Wales. Successful cultivation of sugar-
cane and cotton is complicated by political problems and
fluctuations in the world markets. The political problem

SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE 99

involved is that of coloured labour. It may be said that
conditions of soil and climate are excellent, but that the
conditions of labour are very difficult for Europeans.
Australians would prefer to leave the land undeveloped
rather than see the establishment of a large population of
coloured labour.

Much has been done, however, in the invention of
machinery which can take the place of human labour.
In various ways, also, sugar-cane and cotton growing have
been encouraged by government aid. Maize and sugar-
cane are well established, while cotton still depends on a
continuance of the present vigorous Government support.

(3) Wine and Fruits

The vine was cultivated in the original settlements
round Sydney in the very early days, but it has not been
developed in New South Wales so much as in Victoria
and South Australia. In those parts of these two States
where the climate approximates to that of the Mediter-
ranean lands, the vine is grown very successfully for
wine, for table grapes, and for raisins and currants. The
ravages of the phylloxera caused a temporary set-back,
and Australian wines have still to win the reputation of
wines from countries where wine-making has flourished
for centuries, but there has been a steady increase in
production and export.

Of other fruits produced there is a very wide range,
although, of course, certain types of fruit predominate in
the different States according to climatic conditions.
Thus, Tasmania is pre-eminently an apple - growing
country and produces more apples than all other States
combined. On the other hand, the cultivation of
bananas and pineapples is extensive in Queensland and
negligible elsewhere. Citrus fruits are grown in all the
States except Tasmania, but chiefly in New South Wales.
Stone fruits are most successful in Victoria, and the chief
fruits of Western Australia are apples, oranges and pears.

ioo ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

(4) Water Supply

The area of Australia is roughly equal to that of the
United States of America, yet in all this vast territory, the
total population is only seven-tenths as great as that of the
city of New York. The chief reason for this state of
affairs is that a great part of the country consists of desert
which can never be occupied because of the lack of water
supply. Estimates as to the future growth of population
and as to the maximum population possible for the whole
continent differ very widely ; but the water supply is the
controlling factor in all these calculations,

Drought figures repeatedly in the tragic story of
Australian exploration. In Carnegie's fascinating book,
" Spinifex and Sand," a vivid account is givea of the
trials of a gold prospector in Western Australia, and in the
whole book there is hardly a page without reference to
the difficulties of finding water. More concrete proof of
the supreme importance of this question can be shown in
the statistics at the time of the Great Drought at the
beginning of the present century. Between 1895 an( *
1902 the number of sheep in Australia fell from
106 millions to 53 millions. In 1901, 25 million bushels
of wheat were exported, while in 1903, 1 1 million bushels
had to be imported. It is obvious that the future of the
country is closely bound up with the increase in the
water supply.

(5) Artesian Water

The largest and most important of the artesian basins
covers more than half of Queensland, and much of the
interior of New South Wales and South Australia. Other
basins are the Murray River Basin, the Eucla Basin on the
Bight, and three basins on the west and northwest coasts
of Western Australia.

Geologists are sharply divided in their opinions as to
the origin of the water obtained from these basins.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DROUGHT roi

Professor J. W. Gregory believes in what is known as the
plutonic origin of the water, i.e. 9 that it is derived from the
rocks which lie deep below the earth's crust. The more
generally accepted view is that the water is derived from
the rain which falls on the Jurassic sandstones of eastern
Queensland and collects underground in porous beds with
impermeable rock beneath.

This scientific problem is of great practical importance,
because it is at present impossible to know whether this
water supply can be relied upon indefinitely. It is
certain, at any rate, that the flow tends to diminish if too
many bores are sunk in any particular district. The
chemical quality of the water is also important. It is
certainly invaluable to pastoralists, especially in keeping
open the great stock routes ; but for agricultural purposes
the artesian water in some districts is much less useful
than in others. Soil which is irrigated by artesian water
usually becomes impregnated with salts.

(6) Irrigation

Artesian water is primarily of benefit to the pastoralists,
but irrigation on a big scale is only profitable when used,
if possible intensively, for agriculture. Naturally enough,
the greatest developments have taken place round the
great river system of the Murray and its tributaries.
Since 1917 the R. Murray Commission has had control of
all navigation and irrigation schemes in the area, the
Federal and State Governments sharing the costs. Several
large scale schemes are in vigorous operation, and others
are projected.

The Burrinjuck reservoir on the Murmmbidgee has a
capacity of 771,000 acre feet, and supplies a flourishing
fruit and dairying area round Griffith. The Hume
Reservoir at the junction of the Mitta Mitta and the
Murray is even bigger (1,250,000 acre feet), and with the
Goulburn Dam provides the water utilized by a series of
projects in the Murray area, notably at Echuca and
Cohuna. Near the confluence of the Murray and the

102

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Darling, Mildura and Renmark are important fruit-
growing areas* Other projects and extensions are
planned, the most spectacular being the Snowy River
Scheme, by which water from this east-flowing river will

be taken in a tunnel under the Australian Alps to augment
the supply in the Murray basin.

The chief crops in these areas are lucerne, vines, fruit
and cereals including both wheat and rice. In northwest
Victoria a large stock area benefits greatly from artesian
bores, and from water supplied from the Goulburn by the
150-mile Waranga Channel. There are other schemes

THE GOLD RUSH 103

for the improvement of stock rearing and domestic uses,
notably in the " billabong " country between the Murray
and the Murrumbidgee.

Outside the R. Murray area proper, a 235-mile pipe-
line from Morgan supplies water for the shipbuilding and
steel industry at Whyalla, a branch running north from
Port Augusta to the new rocket range at Woomera. In
West Australia a reservoir at Mundaring, near Perth, is
used by another pipe-line to supply the Coolgardie and
Kalgoorlie districts nearly 400 miles away, and the
Canning and Stirling Dams irrigate about 13,000 acres
near Bunbury in Swanland. Queensland has about 50,000
acres of irrigated land, made up of numerous small
schemes, the largest of which is the sugar-growing district
of Ayr.

MINERAL WEALTH

It is very interesting to compare the influence of the
pastoral and mining industries upon the development of
Australia. The influence of the former has been steady,
continuous and progressive. The influence of mining has
been spectacular and erratic, but almost as important,
in the long run, as the pastoral industry. The gold
rushes introduced a very disturbing element into the
economic history of the country and were responsible for
a very rapid increase of population between 1850 and
1860, when the population rose from 405,000 to 1,146,000.
The production of gold resulted in a great advance in
public and private wealth, but the really important
result was the stimulus given to agriculture by a greatly
increased population.

(i) Gold

The existence of gold in Australia had been proved
for some years before any sensational development took
place, and the real genesis of the gold mining industry of
Australia is to be found in the Californian rush of 1849.

104

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Edward Hargraves, a small squatter near Bathurst, went
to try his fortune in California, and was struck by the
similarity of the geology of California and the Bathurst

region. When he returned to New South Wales in 1851
he at once set out to prospect for gold, and was almost
immediately successful in discovering the precious metal
in the land round the headwaters of the Macquarie
River.

Much more sensational, however, were the events
which followed in Victoria in the same year. Rich
fields were discovered at various points in the mountains

MINING FOR GOLD 105

to the northwest of Melbourne, and a stampede to the
diggings at Bendigo, Ballarat and Mount Alexander,
threw the economic life of the country into the utmost
confusion. The problem of maintaining order was
extremely difficult, and there were many ugly incidents.
In one month after the discovery of gold at Ballarat,
2,500 people arrived, and the stream continued at the
rate of 100 a day. Very soon to these were added ship-
loads of adventurers from every part of the world. A
great strain was thrown upon the Government of the
newly-formed colony of Victoria, and attempts to collect
licence fees from the diggers led to the outbreak of wild
disorder which could only be quelled by the use of
troops.

After 1856 there was a steady decline in the produc-
tion of gold until the last decade of the igth century,
when the discovery of rich fields in Western Australia
caused another rapid expansion. The discovery of gold
at Coolgardie in 1892, when two prospectors collected
500 ozs. in one afternoon, was followed by several other
finds in the same region. The year 1903 saw the peak
of production reached when Australia produced over
16,000,000 worth of gold. Since then there has been a
rapid and continuous decline, the 1948 output being worth
9,500,000. The devaluation of sterling and the Austra-
lian pound will encourage the industry, but no spectacular
expansion is expected.

The methods by which gold is obtained vary according
to the resources of those engaged and the conditions in
which the gold is discovered. The individual miner and
prospector is usually concerned with alluvial gold, i.e.,
gold in the form of nuggets and dust which is to be found
in sands and gravels. In these cases the gold is separated
by comparatively simple methods which involve the use
of currents of air and water. A gold-mining company,
on the. other hand, usually treats gold which is to be
found in reefs of quartz and other rocks. The rock is
crushed in great batteries and the gold separated by

io6 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

chemical and mechanical processes. The dredging of
river beds for gold is also usually carried out by gold-
mining companies.

In general, it may be said of gold mining in Australia
that the indirect effects of the industry have been more
important than the actual value of the gold produced.
Much of the exploration of the great continent was
carried out by prospectors, especially in Western Australia.
The attraction of a great number of immigrants to the
gold diggings accelerated the rather slow growth of
population and greatly encouraged the development of
agriculture.

(2) Other Minerals

Coal was discovered at Newcastle in New South Wales
as early as 1797, and was first exported in 1799. Since
then the production has steadily increased, and it is now
the most valuable mineral mined in Australia. The chief
fields lie on the seaward side of the Eastern Highlands,
the most important being the great Newcastle-Lithgow-
Bulli field over the centre of which lies Sydney. The
Ipswich field in south Queensland has good coking coal,
and further north the undeveloped Dawson field is
credited with the largest reserves on the continent. The
browi* coal at Morwell, in Victoria, is obtained by open-
cast mining at Yallourn, and is used to generate electricity
for Melbourne. No coal is at present mined in South
Australia, but the small Collie field about 125 miles south
of Perth is important locally, and there may be large
reserves in the Kimberley region near the Fitzroy River.

Extensive searches have been made for oil, but so far no
field of any real importance has been found, possibly
because Australia lies outside the great world systems of
young folded mountains, on whose margins lie most of
the world's important oil reserves. There are, however,
considerable deposits of oil shale in Tasmania and New
South Wales, which may become commercially profitable
with the development of modern methods of extraction.

MINERAL WEALTH 107

Iron is fairly abundant, though there is nothing com-
parable with the huge reserves of North America. By far
the most important area is that of Iron Knob and Iron
Monarch, about 32 miles from Whyalla on Spencer Gul
The ore, a high-grade hematite, is quarried from the
benched hillsides, railed to Whyalla, and shipped to steel
works at Newcastle and Port Kembla (N.S.W.), which
are now producing annually 200,000 tons of commercial
iron and steel. Other deposits at Yampa Sound (W.A.)
are being exploited, and in 1947 a blast furnace was blown
in at Wundowie which now supplies most of the needs 01
the state. With the post-war growth of the shipbuilding,
motor-car and aircraft industries, arising from the
Australian need for self-defence, iron and steel production
will show a steady expansion in the future.

In the southwest corner of New South Wales is the
famous mineral region of Broken Hill, one of the most
remarkable mineral agglomerations in the known world,
which, since its inauguration by Charles Rasp in 1883,
has produced metals worth nearly 200 millions. The
outcrop of the lode is 3^ miles lo^g, and varies in width
from a few feet to 200 or so. Tin, lead, zinc and silver
are all present in the form either of oxides or sulphides,
and in spite of the output to date, large reserves of ore
remain. Nearly all the traffic to and from the mines
passes through Port Pirie on Spencer Gulf.

Other silver-lead mines are at Captain's Flat in N.S.W.,
at Mount Isa in Queensland, which has been described as
a second Broken Hill, and at Mount Zeehan in Tasmania.
Tin, which was the first mineral mined at Broken Hill,
now comes mainly from Mount Bischoff in Tasmania.
Copper is present at Mount Isa, and is mined in Queens-
land also at Mount Morgan and Cloncurry, but the chief
field is again in Tasmania at Mount Lyell. Zinc is perhaps
the most important item of Broken Hill's present-day
output, and gives Australia fourth place in world pro-
duction. There is also a small production at Mount
Zeehan.

io8 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Minerals of less commercial value include salt from
small lakes in the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas, tungsten
from one of the world's biggest deposits on King Island,
Tasmania, and the newly discovered uranium deposits
in the Flinders Range. Queensland has long been
famous for opals; and sapphires, a few diamonds, platinum,
molybdenum and osmiridium have been found.

FORESTRY

Although only a very small proportion of Australia is
under forest, and although the imports of timber con-
siderably exceed the exports, nevertheless there are points
of importance to be noted in connection with the
Australian timber industry. The forests of economic
importance are situated either in the southwest, the east,
or in northern Queensland,

In Western Australia, in the region lying between
Perth and Albany, are great forests of jarrah and karri,
both of which are very valuable timber trees. Jarra is
particularly useful for road paving, railway sleepers,
wharves and telegraph poles, because it is very hard and
resists the attacks of insects. Karri is very strong and
tough, and is specially valuable for heavy construc-
tional work. The trees may grow to the height of 300
feet.

In New South Wales there are many varieties of hard-
woods, of which ironbark and blue gum are the best
known, and there are some beautiful soft woods for
furniture and cabinet work, such as cypress pine, red
cedar, rosewood, tulipwood, and sandalwood. Eucalyptus
oil, obtained from the leaves of many varieties of eucalypts,
is an important article of commerce. A sample of the oil
was sent to England as early as 1789 by Govemor Phillip,
and it was probably the first natural product to be
exported from Australia.

The care of forests is vested in the individual states,
and a great deal is being done to check unwise destruction
of forests, and to train a body of skilled foresters.

GROWTH OF INDUSTRY 109

FISHERIES

Although the consumption of fish in Australia is
comparatively small, the fishing industry is capable of
expansion. This is shown by the fact that there are
considerable imports of dried and canned fish and that
there are many excellent food fishes to be obtained in
Australian waters. The industry in general is, however,
unimportant, although there are one or two interesting
features. There was a considerable export of trepang or
beche de mer, a sea slug, to China, where it is considered
a delicacy. The industry centres on the Great Barrier
Reef. To the north of this region, in Torres Strait, as well
as along the northern coasts of Western Australia, there
is a very flourishing industry in pearls and pearl shell A
large number of schooners are engaged on this trade. The
divers are generally Japanese, Malays, and Torres Strait
Islanders, and sometimes Papuans and Australian abori-
ginals form the crews. In the Shark Bay district of
Western Australia, pearls are obtained more usually by
dredging.

MANUFACTURES

Australia aims at the achievement of economic inde-
pendence, and her young manufacturing industries are
being assiduously encouraged. The day has long gone by
when Australia could be regarded simply as an exporter
of raw materials and an importer of manufactured goods.
In actual fact, the total annual value of all manufactures
even surpasses that of all raw materials produced. But
manufactured articles only take a very small place among
Australian exports, while on the other hand they bulk
largely in the imports, particularly under the headings of
textiles and metal manufactures, Statistics as to the
numbers and size of factories, and the power used in
them, show that there is a steady expansion. Many
European firms are establishing factories in Australia.

no ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

The chief manufacturing states are New South Wales
and Victoria, and it seems reasonable to predict the
growth of great industrial centres on the coalfields round
Newcastle (N.S.W.) and Morwell (Victoria). The chief
features are, as might be expected, the treatment of the
raw materials of the agricultural, pastoral and mining
industries, as well as the manufacture of machinery for
agriculture and mining. In the invention of agricultural
machines Australia has been a pioneer.

The development of hydro-electric power is not great
compared with some other countries. Five stations are
planned in the Snowy River Scheme. Plants are in
operation at Barron River (Q.), Nymboida (N.S.W.),
and Eildon Weir (Vic.), but the output of each is
small, At present, Burrinjuck has the biggest output of
the mainland stations. Thanks to a mountainous terrain,
and ample rainfall, Tasmania has been able to make
considerable progress. Waddamana and Tarraleah are
the biggest plants, and their capacity is being increased.

TRADE AND COMMERCE

The war completely disrupted the pattern of Australian
trade, and it is not yet possible to see what form it will
ultimately take. In the present abnormal state of affairs,
as a member of the sterling area she holds a key position as
a supplier of foodstuffs, and so long as the "dollar problem"
persists it is likely that she will continue to be one of Great
Britain's main sources of supply. She is in fact largely
increasing her production, with the direct intention of
helping Great Britain, but it is difficult to imagine that she
either should or could remain purely a primary producer.
The war greatly accelerated the development of industry
in Australia, and when conditions once again permit any-
thing like world trade, she will undoubtedly figure as an
exporter of manufactured goods, though, as in America,
agriculture will always form the basis of the country's
prosperity.

TRANSPORT in

TARIFF POLICY

In colonial days, customs and excise provided the main
source of revenue. Subsequently the individual colonies
adopted tariffs for purposes of both revenue and protection
of local industries. It was obvious that this had a detri-
mental effect in placing obstacles in the way of full
economic development. As soon as the Federation took
place, free trade between the states greatly stimulated
Australian industry by providing one large home market
for Australian manufacture. The adoption of tariffs by
the Commonwealth was done with the object of establish-
ing economic independence.

COMMUNICATIONS

Prior to the construction of railways in the second half
of the i gth century, inland transport was dependent on
the horse and camel and on a few navigable rivers. The
camel was introduced about 1840, and it has been
invaluable for transport in the dry parts of the interior,
especially to those engaged in work connected with
surveys, police and the overlap d telegraph line. The
Murray, the Darling, and the Murrumbidgee were of
considerable service to transport in the agricultural region
through which they flow, but seasonal fluctuations in the
volume of the rivers rendered this service intermittent.

To-day as a mode of transport the camel has disap-
peared, and it is unlikely that the rivers will ever again
carry anything but small passenger and pleasure craft.
This is due to the internal combustion engine, which both
on land and in the air has revolutionized transport in
Australia. Twenty years ago it was assumed that while
road and river transport might develop slowly, there
would unquestionably be a comprehensive system of
continental railways sooner or later. Even that is now
doubtful.

Railways have played a great part in opening up
Australia, though not so strikingly as in North America.

ii2 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

The pastoral and mining industries were well established
before the coming of the railways, and although to-day
much of their output travels by road, the railways still
maintain their superiority for heavy long-distance trans-
port, in spite of great drawbacks.

Owing to the independent growth of the original colo-
nies, railway development was haphazard, stemming from
the great ports, without any particular system or overall
plan. The physical difficulties were great, partly because
of the awkward layout of the country, with its dissected
plateaux near th coasts, partly because of the absence of
great river systems to provide easy natural routes. In the
early days, therefore, communication was largely by sea,
and no one seriously envisaged a national continental
railway system, such as the United States naturally
developed, since she was a continental unity before the
railway age,

This unplanned growth has resulted in one great mis-
fortune ; the existence in Australia of three different
railway gauges. Victoria adopted a 5 ft. 3 in. gauge,
New South Wales the standard 4 ft. 8| in., and Queens-
land and the north generally the cheaper 3 ft. 6 in. South
Australia followed the example of Victoria, but the
Federal trans-continental line from Port Pirie to Kal-
goorlie, built in 1917, is standard gauge, while from
Kalgoorlie onwards West Australia uses the narrow gauge.
There is thus a vast amount of exasperating expense,
delay, and handling of goods, which can only be ended
satisfactorily by making the standard gauge universal.
This might by now have been accomplished but for two
factors.

The two world wars inevitably delayed work on such
schemes, and now the conquering advance of motor-cars
and aircraft hs -led many Australians to think more
of road and air transport and less of a complicated and
expensive railway reconstruction. It is recognized that
there must be a continental trunk line of standard gauge,
and before long it should be possible to travel from Brisbane

TRANSPORT

to Perth by way of Sydney, Broken Hill, and Adelaide
without changing gauge. The alternative and commer-
cially more valuable "coastal" route via Melbourne will be

RT HEDLAND

ALICESPRING

WILUNA

MT MAGNET

BROKEN BOURKE
HILL

GERAL
-TON

PERTH

^ N E

IEWCASTLE
r SYDNEY
IBERRA

AIRWAYS

WYND.H'AM

BROOME

PERTH

300 MILES

a more difficult and more expensive proposition. The other
much discussed trans-continental railway from Adelaide
to Darwin has now largely lost favour, partly from a
realization that most of its route lies through poor arid

H4 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

country, but more, perhaps, from the success with which
the aircraft has met present needs.

Flying in Australia has developed very rapidly. The
dry sunny climate ensures freedom from all the problems
and dangers created by cloud and mist. The absence of
great mountain ranges means that over most of Australia
an aircraft is perfectly safe at a height which in other
continents would often spell disaster. The marked indi-
vidualism of the Australian finds flying a congenial occupa-
tion, and the relative backwardness of the railway system
has operated strongly in its favour.

The first long-distance air service was set up from
Geraldton to Daly in West Australia as early as 1922.
Within the next ten years routes were established by which
it was possible to fly, in stages, from Brisbane via Sydney,
Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth to Darwin, with numerous
radiants inland. To-day there are regular services con-
necting all the state capitals, in addition to transcontinental
routes from Darwin to Sydney and Adelaide, which are
really the last links in the regular routes from Europe.
Australians are thus markedly air-minded, and flying is a
commonplace so far as passenger traffic over long distances
is concerned.

For short distances and the transport of goods, cars and
lorries have come into general use, and, as in other
countries, have taken away from the railways much of
their most profitable traffic. This development is bound
to continue, since so much of the country, apart from the
difficult Eastern Highlands, is such that usable tracks and
routes can be made readily and cheaply. It is significant
that when the war necessitated a land route from the south
to Darwin the Government did not complete the railway
from Alice Springs to Daly Waters, but constructed a
motor road instead. In the fullness of time Alice Springs,
which is more or less the geographical centre of Australia,
may become a great crossways city, with airports and
coach stations, but it is unlikely to become the centre of a
busy continental railway network.

CHAPTER X
THE REGIONS

AUSTRALIA is divided by the physical aspects which we
have considered above into seven geographical regions.
These do not coincide exactly with the political divisions,
but correspond closely enough to them to demonstrate
the control of geography over man-made boundaries.
These regions we shall now consider in detail.

THE EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN COASTLANDS

From Cape York in the north to Wilson's Promontory
in the southeast, the coastlands consist of a series of low-
lands frequently interrupted by spurs from the Eastern
Mountains. The range of latitude is from 10 S. to 38 S.,
and it is natural, therefore, to look for considerable dif-
ferences of climate and a wide variety of agricultural
products as we go from the north southwards.

In Queensland the coastal region is dominated by the
Great Barrier Reef, which runs from Cape York south-
wards nearly to the latitude of Rockhampton. It acts as
a natural breakwater for the ships which ply from Sydney
or Brisbane to Asiatic ports, but the innumerable reefs
constitute a serious danger to shipping. It may fairly be
said that the sea plays a more important part in the
economic life of Queensland than in that of any other
Australian state. Here is the flourishing trepang fishery,
and further north the valuable pearl and pearl shell
fishery with its headquarters at Thursday Island in
Torres Strait.

The lowlands are extremely fertile, rich with alluvium
and soil formed by decayed forest vegetation. In many

us

ii6 THE REGIONS

parts the tropical forest may be seen with all its wonderful
plants, giant trees, tree ferns, creepers, and orchids. Many
valuable timber trees are exploited. The heat and rain*
fall make it possible to cultivate maize and sugar-cane at
several points along the coast, notably near Mackay,
Cairns and Bundaberg. Cotton is still grown, but is
still aided by a Government bounty. In the neighbour-
hood of the towns dairying flourishes and continues to
make progress. Tropical fruits of all kinds are grown, the
most important being pineapples and bananas. Finally,
it should be noted that much interest as to the future of
Australia centres round this region, since it is here that one
may see in operation the experiment of tropical coloni-
zation by Europeans.

There are many good harbours, usually formed by sub-
sidence of the coast. Brisbane (pop. 402,000 in 1947) is
situated about twelve miles up the river of the same name.
The river enters the sheltered waters of Moreton Bay,
where an early convict settlement was established.
Situated in the extreme southeast of the state, Brisbane
is less central as a state capital city than Melbourne or
Sydney, but it is the centre of the most closely settled part
of Queensland, having the Darling Downs as its hinter-
land and the important Ipswich coalfield nearby. North-
wards there are several other ports in similar situations.
Such towns are Rockhampton, near Mount Morgan, with
an important railway to Longreach ; Townsville, the
port for Charters Towers and Cloncurry ; and Cairns,
the port for Herberton. These ports are all linked by a
line which runs along the coast, but Cooktown, in the
Cape York Peninsula, with a short railway running
inland, is still unconnected with the main system.

The boundary between Queensland and New South
Wales follows the bold Macpherson Range, which closely
approaches the sea and cuts off the Brisbane valley from
the lowlands of the Richmond and Clarence Rivers.
Nevertheless, the fine climate and the fertility of the soil
make it possible to cultivate many of the tropical crops

PLATE III

[Australian AVu's Information Bureau

A. ROUNDING UP CATTLE IN NEW SOUTH WALES

[Australian News Information Bureau

B. CUTTING SUGARCANE IN QUEENSLAND
Australia is the only country to cultivate sugarcane entirely by. white labour.

[To face page l\&

PLATE TV

[Australian News Information Bureau
A. BROKEN HILL

The surface works of the Zinc Corporation are backed by the citrus orchard,
trees and lake of Albert Morris Park barren land until 1936.

[Australian News Information Bureau
B. SYDNEY

Behind the Harbour Bridge lies the city's business area. Left centre is a large
area of parkland, behind which are the southern suburbs.

[To face page 117

NEW SOUTH WALES 117

of Queensland in this northern part of New South Wales.
Maize, sugarcane, and dairying are the chief features of
this rich region which is centred on Lismore and Grafton,
Further south the Hunter River valley is very fertile and,
in addition, has a splendid coalfield. It leads to one of
the most important gaps in the eastern mountains, and
all these considerations indicate that the Maitland-New-
castle region is destined to be a very prosperous part of
Australia. Newcastle is the second city in New South
Wales and has a considerable export trade in coal.

While Queensland and northern New South Wales have
a marked maximum of rainfall in the summer months,
the coastlands south of the Hunter River enjoy a good
rainfall at all seasons. This, together with lower tempera-
tures, produces a change in the agriculture. Dairying
becomes more and more important, while sugar-cane and
cotton are no longer to be found. The Nepean valley
is a fertile farming country.

Sydney, the fourth city of the Commonwealth, with
a population of a million and a half, is situated on Port
Jackson harbour, a drowned river valley with a shoreline
of 183 miles. The main inlet is perfectly sheltered,
accessible from the ocean by a passage a mile wide between
the North and South Heads, from which it immediately
bends southwards behind a high ridge, before turning
westwards for some 14 miles. Both this main channel
and the numerous smaller ones which branch from it are
almost entirely free from silt, owing to the absence of any
large streams flowing into the harbour. The city itself
is typically modern in its build and layout, with fine
broad streets, massive public buildings and extensive
parks. The scene is dominated by the great Sydney
Harbour Bridge, opened in March 1932. It carries a
Go-foot roadway, four railway tracks, and two lo-foot
footpaths at a height of 1 70 feet above the water. To the
south of Sydney the mountains approach very near to the
coast, and there is very little lowland. The deep harbour
of Jervis Bay is a station of the Royal Australian Navy.

ii8 THE REGIONS

From Cape Howe to Wilson's Promontory there is a
much broader lowland than any in New South Wales.
This is the rich region known as Gippsland in the state
of Victoria. It is a very beautiful part of Australia,
splendid forests of eucalypts alternating with fine farm
lands. In addition to dairy farming, lumbering and coal
mining are important industries. Indeed, to the south-
east of Melbourne lie great deposits of brown coal which
are being used for electric power. The chief town in
this district is Morwell. The dairy farms and sheep-runs
of the western coastal district of Victoria centre on Geelong
on the west shore of Port Phillip.

Melbourne, the second city of Australia, is well placed
to be the state capital of Victoria. It is on the river
Yarra where it flows into Port Phillip. There is easy
communication along the coastlands in either direction
and across the mountains to the interior by way of the
Kiimore Gap. The largest steamers use Port Melbourne,
but the city's harbour has been greatly enlarged and im-
proved in recent years, and now accommodates ships of
30-foot draught. The city itself is planned on spacious
lines with splendid broad thoroughfares, notably Collins
Street, over 6,000 acres of parks, a famous cricket ground,
and Flemington racecourse. For many years after the gold
rush of 1851 Melbourne was the largest Australian city.
The population in 1947 was a million-and-a-quarter.

THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS

The splendid system of mountains which stretches from
Cape York to the Australian Alps in Victoria is a very
important feature of Australian geography in its effect on
climatic conditions, on lines of communication, as a
barrier to early exploration and as a region of great
mineral wealth. In the north, the broad Atherton
Plateau is very important in that it provides an upland
in the tropics where white men can live in comparative
comfort. Here there is already a large dairying industry
and this is likely to grow steadily. Important mining

TASMANIA 119

towns in the Queensland Highlands have grown up at
Charters Towers (gold), Chillagoe (tin and copper) ,
Mount Morgan (gold and copper), Herberton (tin), and
Clermont (coal). In Queensland the highlands do not
usually present serious obstacles to railway construction,
but further south they rise to considerable heights, and
by reason of their geological structure and the com-
plicated river system they form a region of wild impres-
sive scenery which is very difficult to cross. As a con-
sequence certain gaps are of great importance, notably
the Gassilis Gate, the Goulburn Gate, and the Kilmore
Gap north of Melbourne, Throughout this upland
region there is an alternation of woodland and pasture for
sheep and cattle, with many mining centres.

TASMANIA

Tasmania is the only Australian state where there is
no region which suffers from drought. Indeed, in the
west rainfall is too heavy for successful agriculture and
population is confined to a few mining towns. The
island, consisting of Palaeozoic rocks, granites and basalt
flows, is rugged, mountainous, and well forested. Popula-
tion centres in the valleys of the Tamar, around Laun-
ceston, and of the Derwent, around Hobart, and in the
mineral region already mentioned. The climate is ideal
for Europeans, and the island comes next to Victoria in
density of population.

The economic products show in general the same
features as those of the mainland. For example, there is
the fluctuating prosperity of the mining population and
the comparatively steady prosperity of pastoral and
agricultural industries. In early days whaling and sealing
were important/

The climate is too rainy for wheat farming to be very
successful and the most important agricultural products
are potatoes in the north and apples in the south. Sheep
have lost some of their former importance. For some

120 THE REGIONS

decades the Tasmanian flocks were the chief source of
supply of rams for some of the mainland areas, such as the
western districts of Victoria and the southern Riverina.
These districts have now largely developed their own
pedigree flocks, and the Tasmanian trade in stud animals
has diminished, though a few relics still remain. The
quality of Tasmanian wool is still considered the finest in
the Commonwealth.

In the west and northwest are the famous mining
centres of Mount Lyell (copper), Mount Bischoff (tin),
and Mount Zeehan (silver lead). These are connected
The small coalfields have been little developed, owing to
the superior attractions of hydro-electric power, of which
Tasmania possesses about 75 per cent, of the Common-
wealth's potential resources. The water of the Great
Lake is utilized nearly 1,000 feet lower in the Ouse valley
at Waddamana. Lake St. Clair feeds a station at Tarra-
leah, and there are smaller plants at Duck Reach on the
South Esk River, and at Lake Margaret. Approximately
100,000 h.p. is now utilized, and the small size of the
island enables the energy to be distributed everywhere.

The population of Tasmania is about 275,000. The
capital, Hobart (77,000), has a good harbour on the R.
Derwent, in the centre of a great fruit and hop growing
district. Launceston (38,000), on the Tamar, is the
largest town in the north, and has most of the Victorian
trade.

THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS

From the east coast the mountains of Eastern Australia
appear like a great range or series of ranges, but once this
rampart has been scaled it is found that the Highlands
slope very gradually to the west until they merge imper-
ceptibly into the Central Lowlands. The northern parts
of these lowlands form a great artesian basin. Here
vast herds of cattle are pastured, and further south, e.g.,
round Longreach, the importance of sheep becomes
evident. In the west of Queensland the mineral deposits

THE CENTRAL LOWLANDS 121

of Mount Isa have been increasingly exploited in the last
ten years, and now supply large quantities of silver, lead
and copper. The Gulf of Carpentaria is shallow and its
coasts, formed of flat alluvial land, are usually masked
by mangrove forests. This region, as well as the Cape
York Peninsula, is very thinly populated.

The boundary between the great artesian basin and
the lowlands of the Murray-Darling basin is not very
definite, but the region drained by the one great river
system of Australia is a very distinct unit. In the east of
the basin and among the slopes of the Eastern Moun-
tains, wheat farming is practised successfully and in the
irrigated lands of the southwestern parts of the basin
fruit farming has become increasingly important. Rain-
fall decreases steadily from east to west, and the woodlands
of the foothills give place to splendid rolling grasslands,
with lines of trees following the watercourses. Finally,
this grass gives way to scrub and desert. The great pro-
portion of the basin, however, is given over to sheep
fanning, and this region claims to be the finest sheep
country in the world.

Developments of recent years have somewhat blurred
the old distinction between the wheat and sheep lands,
though it is still true that the sheep thrive on the drier
slopes to the west of the so-inch isohyet which marks the
limit of the grain westwards. The chief town is Albury,
situated where the Murray breaks through the mountains.
Upstream is the great Hume Dam; downstream are
numerous irrigation settlements. To the northwest are
the wheat and wool lands; to the southwest excellent
mixed farming country. It is a busy road and rail centre,
where the standard 4 foot 8| inch gauge changes to the
Victorian 5 foot 3 inch. Albury has a bright future.
The plains bordering the Murray on the Victorian side
are the most important of the irrigated areas of Australia.
Echuca, Swan Hill and Kerang, are thriving settlements,
while further west Mildura in Victoria and Renmark
in South Australia produce much wine and fruit. North-

I22 THE REGIONS

wards, between the Murray and the Murrumbidgee, Is the
famous Riverina whose already large production of wheat
and wool is increasing with the development of irrigation.
The uniform relief of these lowlands is broken by the
metalliferous rocks of the Cobar and Broken Hill districts,
the latter of which is very important. Broken Hill is the
third town in New South Wales and is the centre of a
populous and wealthy area. Although within the borders
of New South Wales, its natural outlet is through South
Australia.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN HIGHLANDS AND SUNKLANDS

The life of this important region centres on Adelaide.
It is characteristic of all Australian states that the popu-
lation tends to concentrate on one or two centres, and this
is specially true of South Australia. The long inhospi-
table coast of the Bight is practically uninhabited, and the
great desert and semi-desert plains to the north and
northwest, with a few stations and some railway and
telegraph outposts, are also very sparsely inhabited.
Where, however, the monotony of these regions is broken
by the great inlets of Spencer and St. Vincent Gulfs,
the hills of the Flinders and Mount Lofty Ranges and
Yorke Peninsula, or by the winding course of the Murray,
one of the most steadily prosperous parts of Australia

The rainfall of this region is not large, but it has two
great merits. It comes in the winter, and it is one of the
most reliable in Australia. The slopes of the Mount Lofty
Range attract a sufficiently heavier fall to be well
forested with red gums and stringybarks. Where the forest
has been cleared on the western slopes, fruit, especially
the olive and the vine, do well. Over 70 per cent, of
Australia's wine production comes from this district. In
the valleys mixed farming, with an emphasis on dairying,
is important. On the plains of the sunklands to the west
the rainfall is smaller but generally reliable, and so Yorke
Peninsula and the coastal plain from Adelaide to Lake

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 123

Torrens is a most prosperous agricultural region. The
chief crop is wheat, the quality of which is among the best
in the world, but there are numbers of vineyards especially
in the sheltered Barossa valley, and it is the chief sheep
area of the state. The southern part of Eyre Peninsula
lies within the area of reliable rainfall, and is now develop-
ing along the same lines. The chief town is Port Lincoln
on a splendid harbour.

Minerals are now less important in South Australia
than formerly, except for the mines of Iron Knob and Iron
Monarch whose iron is exported through Whyalla on
Spencer Gulf. Opposite Whyalla is Port Pirie (12,000),
which grew up as the outlet for Broken Hill, but Is now also
exporting quantities of wheat and wool.

The capital, Adelaide (383,000), stands on the plains
between the Mount Lofty Ranges and the sea, and is a
beautiful and well-planned city. The small river Torrens
has been dammed, forming a long and beautiful lake, after
the manner of the Alster at Hamburg. The broad
streets cross at right angles, and are lined with ornamental
trees. The city is plentifully supplied with public
buildings, and is the meeting place of many routes. The
city's port is at Port Adelaide, seven miles away, on a tidal
reach of the Torrens.

THE NORTHERN REGIONS

That part of the continent which borders on the Gulf
of Carpentaria and the Timor Sea together with, the
uplands lying to the south form a fairly well-defined
unit in the geography of Australia. It is certainly a
region of difficulty and is developing very slowly, although
there are certain districts which may prove to have a
prosperous future. It is at present very sparsely inhabited,
the census of 1947 giving a population of io 3 868 whites.
The region is generally thinly forested, but there is good
pasture, especially for cattle on the Barkly Tableland, in
the Victoria Valley, on the uplands of the Northern Tern-

124 THE REGIONS

tory and in the Kimberley Division of Western Australia.
In these uplands there are also several important mining
centres such as Cloncurry (gold and copper), Pine Creek
(gold and tin), and HalFs Creek. Isolation, however,
makes the whole region suffer from scarcity of labour,
and transport is costly: A railway from the Barkly
Tableland to the Gulf coast or into Queensland would
undoubtedly prove very helpful.

The coasts have a few towns scattered at wide intervals.
On the Gulf there are few settlements apart from occa-
sional mission stations. The Arnhem Peninsula is simi-
larly undeveloped, but at Darwin there is a small port.
As the natural landfall for aircraft from Europe it is
rapidly becoming one of the key airports of the continent.
At certain points along the coasts there are small settle-
ments connected with pearl and pearl shell fishing. This
industry extends westwards as far as Shark Bay in Western
Australia and an allied industry is the collection of
guano from the islands of the north and west coasts. It
is interesting to compare the location of this latter industry
on islands off the desert coast of Australia with that on
islands in similar positions off the desert coasts of South-
west Africa and the Pacific coast of South America.
Broome is the chief centre of the pearl and pearl shell
fishery. At Hamersley Range blue asbestos is being
produced, and an up-to-date township, Hamersley
Range, has been established.

THE WESTERN TABLELAND

The vast peneplain of Western Australia is of a fairly
simple relief, but the area is so large that there must
obviously be a considerable variety of conditions within
the region. Only in the southwest is it in any sense
closely settled, and this part is so clearly marked
off by climatic conditions from the rest of the tableland
that it will be dealt witih in a separate section. The rest
of the tableland is marked by arid or desert conditions

THE WESTERN TABLELAND 125

generally, but differences of soil and slight differences of
rainfall make it possible to discriminate between various
parts of the region.

In the centre of the continent rise the Musgrave and
Macdonnell Ranges. In the deep gorges of these hills
water is usually obtainable in considerable quantities,
and the pastoral possibilities of the country are by no
means negligible. Considerable mineral wealth of gold
and mica exists. The railway from Port Augusta has
made Alice Springs into a small tourist centre for the
scenery of the Macdonnells, and it is also a Flying Doctor
base with an up-to-date hospital.

To the west and south of these Highlands stretctes
part of the region which has been called the 'Dead
Heart of Australia. In some places it consists of
sandy desert with the sand piled in long high ridges
which proved heartbreaking obstacles to early pioneers.
Elsewhere the surface is marked by plains of clay or
pebbles, sheets of salt marsh and stretches of poor grass
and thickets of stunted trees and bushes. Near to the
western coast sheep and cattle can be pastured* The
boundaries of the region are the Indian Ocean on the
west and the great Australian Bight on the south.

Apart from pastoral activities, however, there is one
very important occupation, namely, gold mining. Until
the discovery of gold at Coolgardie in the later years of
last century, the development of Western Australia lagged
far behind that of the other states, and although the
output is at present decreasing, gold is still the most
valuable of the products of this state. Apart from the
Kimberley district already mentioned in the far north,
there are the northwest group of goldfields, of which
Pilbara is a centre, with an isolated railway to Port
Hedland ; the Murchison and Yalgoo fields with a port
at Geraldton, and the famous fields of Coolgardie,
Kalgoorlie, and Southern Cross, served by the great
transcontinental line and its branches. The railways are
supplemented by motor transport.

is6 THE REGIONS

SWANLAND

There are three main belts. The southwest coastal strip
has fine orchards, vineyards and dairy farms, with a
growing citrus production. Behind this the land rises to
the plateau, where there are splendid forests of karri and
jarrah. Where the trees have been cleared the land is as
good as the plain for dairy farming and apple and pear
orchards. Bridgetown is an important centre, and
Albany on King George Sound is the port, exporting both
timber and wheat. Behind the jarrah region lies the
wheat belt, a strip of the plateau having a reliable rainfall
of between 10 and 25 inches. The chief towns here are
York and Northam. Eastwards as the rain failfe, wheat
gives place to sheep.

Perth, the 'capital of West Australia (273,000), is
beautifully situated on the north bank of the Swan
River, 12 miles from its port of Fremantle, at the mouth
of the river. It is a prosperous, rapidly growing city with
numerous modern public buildings, and is the centre of a
railway network covering all Swanland, and connecting
with the transcontinental line to Port Augusta.

CHAPTER XI

THE STATES AND TERRITORIES
(i) Jffw South Wales

The name of New South Wales was originally applied
to the whole group of British colonies in eastern Australia,
but with the growth of widely separated communities, it
became clear that subdivision was necessary and the
State of New South Wales is now bounded on the east by
the sea, and on the west by longitude i4iW. The
northern border follows latitude 29 S. from the western
border to a tributary of the Darling ; from here it follows
this tributary to its source and then continues along a
secondary watershed to the sea. The southern border
follows the Murray to its source and then cuts across in a
straight line to the sea at Cape Howe. It will be seen,
therefore, that Australians have had to follow the usual
custom in new countries of adopting lines of latitude and
longitude for frontiers. It is apparently the best that can
be done, but inevitably anomalies arise later when the
regions thus partitioned come to be developed and it is
found that the frontiers bear no relation to the natural
features.
(2) Tasmania

Tasmania is the only Australian state whose boundaries
follow natural geographical lines throughout. The early
settlements on the rivers Derwent and Tamar were made
to anticipate a possible occupation of the island by the
French. The occupation of the island has developed
from these points where Hobart and Launceston are the
chief towns. In the early days the Settlements suffered
terribly from the activities of escaped convicts and from
the hostility of the Tasmanian aborigines. The latter
were provoked by the ill-treatment which they received

127

THE STATES AND TERRITORIES

at the hands of the bushrangers. They were nearly
exterminated in a fierce struggle and the few survivors
have since died out. In 1853 transportation of convicts
to the island ceased, and the present name of Tasmania
was adopted instead of that of Van Diemen's Land. The
first Tasmanian parliament under responsible government
met in 1856.

(3) Victoria

The landward boundaries of Victoria are, in the west,
longitude 141 E., and on the north the River Murray
to its source. From that point a straight line is taken
to Gape Howe. This is the smallest and most closely
settled of the states on the mainland. It developed
from early settlements round Port Phillip and leapt into
importance with the gold rush of 1851, Almost at the
same time it was recognised as a colony separate from
New South Wales, and its early days as a colony were
stormy. Responsible government was inaugurated in
1855-

(4) Queensland

The first settlement was a convict station at Moreton
Bay where the capital, Brisbane, now stands. The coast-
lands to the north and the interior were steadily opened
up and developed, and with this growth came the demand
for separation from New South Wales. The colony of
Queensland came into separate existence in 1859, and the
first parliament met in the following year. Queensland
has special problems which marked the state off from its
neighbours. The successful development of tropical lands
with the allied problem of labour are of special importance
here. It is a very large state, and if these problems are
solved its future prosperity is assured by the great diversity
of its agricultural and mineral resources.

(5) South Australia

Historically, South Australia differs from the other
states in that there was never any settlement of convicts
in any part of the state. Colonization in this region

WESTERN AUSTRALIA 129

began in the twenties and thirties of last century as the
result of the agitation of Edward Gibbon Wakefield for a
scientific system of colonization. Briefly, the principle of
Wakefield's scheme was that Crown land should be sold
at a sufficiently high price to oblige immigrants to work
for a landowner for some time before holding farms
of their own. The money realized from these sales
was to be used to provide free transport for emigrants
from England. It undoubtedly led to an increase in
emigration from England to Australia, but the plan was
not very successful. One of the misfortunes in the early
history of South Australia was a feverish speculation
in land values. The landward boundaries of the state
are longitudes 129 E. and 141 E. and latitude 26 S.
Responsible government was accorded to the colony in
1856.

(6) Western Australia

As in the case of Tasmania, a settlement was made on
the western coast of Australia in order to establish a claim
for Great Britain before a settlement should' be made by
the French. The colony developed from the Swan River
Settlement and the State of Western Australia is the
largest in area of all the Australian states. Progress at
first was very slow, and the transportation of convicts was
essential for the supply of labour. The system therefore
continued to a much later date than was the case in the
other colonies. Transportation ceased in 1868, and
responsible government was granted in 1 890. Population
increased rapidly in the last decade of the igth century
after the discovery of the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie
goldfield.

THE TERRITORIES

(i) Northern Territory

The establishment of a small settlement on Melville
Island in 1824 was carried out in order to forestall the
occupation of the north coast by a foreign power. For
some time the settlement was under the administration of
the New South Wales Government. Later all the region

i 3 o THE STATES AND TERRITORIES

lying to the north of latitude 26 S. and between longi-
tudes 129 E. and 138 E. was named Northern Territory
and placed under the control of South Australia. In
1911, however, the territory was taken over by the
Commonwealth Government ; in 1926 it was divided into
two sections, North Australia and Central Australia, but
in 1931 this arrangement was abandoned, and the area is
now administered from Darwin as the Northern Territory.
In 1947 it was granted a measure of self-government.

(2) Federal Capital Territory

After much discussion, a site for the capital city of the
Commonwealth was selected in 1908 at Canberra, and in
the next year the territory, 900 square miles in area, was
handed over to the Federal Government. After some years
of preliminary work and survey, a design by Walter
Burley Griffin of Chicago was selected for the new city.
The site is on a plain, at a height of 1,900 feet, on both
sides of a tributary of the Murrumbidgee, the Molonglo,
which here flows below hills rising to 2,800 feet. The
plain is on the western side of the Eastern Highlands,
where there is a fairly easy crossing to the coastlands.
The territory is entirely in New South Wales, about 170
miles from Sydney, near the Victorian border, and is on
the railway line from Melbourne to Sydney, and about
80 miles from the coast at Jervis Bay. The climate is
good, the summer heat being tempered by the height, and
the rainfall is about 19 inches. The Cotter Dam, across
the river of the same name, provides an ample water
supply.

The inauguration of the city took place in 1927 when
the King, then Duke of York, opened the first sitting of
the Commonwealth Parliament. Since then great pro-
gress has been made, and to-day Canberra is a unique
combination of political capital and garden city, remark-
able for the beauty of its trees, shrubs and flowers. The
population is about 1 7,000, and will grow as rapidly as is
permitted by the controlled planning of the Government.

CHAPTER XII
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THE Commonwealth is a Federal State and a self-
governing Dominion within the British Empire. It has
reached this status by a steady growth through more
than a century of experiment in the adaptation of British
constitutional theory and practice to the special condi-
tions of Australia. It is unnecessary to trace in detail the
process by which the present constitution has been
evolved, but the broad outline is significant and typical
of much that took place in other continents where Anglo-
Saxons have established themselves. In general, it may
be said that the constitutions of the individual states and
of the Commonwealth are very closely modelled upon
that of the home country. The Crown is represented by
a Governor-General for the Commonwealth, and by
governors in the different states. These men perform
the functions which the King performs in Great Britain.
With the exception of Queensland, which has only one
legislative house, there are two houses of legislature
roughly corresponding in function tb the Houses of
Parliament at Westminster. The most obvious difference
is the fact that in the Australian upper houses member-
ship is not hereditary. The executive and legislative
bodies are linked, as in Britain, by the Cabinet system.

As might be expected, the younger country has been
less conservative in its constitutional development, Its
parliamentary life is more purely democratic, and there
are few anomalies to recall the early stages of constitu-
tional history. There is no plural voting, and usually no
property qualification for electors or members of parlia-
ment in Australia ; while in adopting manhood suffrage,

131

i 3 2 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

the vote by ballot, payment of members and women's
suffrage, Australia anticipated events in England by
many years. In some elections voting is compulsory.

The form of the federal constitution bears a close
resemblance to that of the United States. The con-
stituencies for the House of Representatives are arranged
on a basis of population, though a minimum of representa-
tion is guaranteed to each state. In the Senate each
state is equally represented. All federations are unions
of separate political groups which surrender certain
functions of government to the federal power. In
Canada the powers of the provincial governments
are enumerated, and all other matters are considered
to be under the jurisdiction of the Dominion Govern-
ment. In Australia and the United States, on the other
hand, the opposite is the case, for there it is the sphere
of the federal authority which is defined, and all
other matters are in the control of the different states.
The difference is important and is probably to be ex-
plained by historical and geographical circumstances.
When federal unions are formed, the contracting states
are, naturally unwilling to surrender more authority than
is .necessary. The extent of the powers of the federal
government will probably depend upon the extent to
which a strong central power is needed. When the
Commonwealth of Australia was founded external
dangers were not very much in evidence. Federation
was a convenience rather than a necessity, and conse-
quently a minimum of authority was delegated to the
Federal Government.

The future relationship of the Commonwealth Govern-
ment with the individual states is difficult to forecast, and
it will probably be a long time before any condition
approaching permanence is attained. But there is now a
large body of practical experience to draw upon, and
many of the earlier problems have been solved. The
difficulties arising from the lack of co-ordination in rail-
way construction are practically over. There are very

COMMONWEALTH AND STATES 133

efficient methods of industrial arbitration in operation
covering workers under both Federal and State awards,
and there is usually close, harmonious liaison between the
two authorities. Federal and State Arbitration Acts,
codes and regulations, follow similar lines in fixing wages,
hours, working conditions, and so on.

A typical example of co-operation is provided by the
R. Murray Commission, which controls the utilization of
the Murray-Darling system, a matter directly involving
three states. The Commission is charged with the duty
of giving effect to the agreement of 1914 between the
Commonwealth and the states of New South Wales,
Victoria and South Australia for the "economical use of
the waters of the R. Murray and its tributaries for irri-
gation and navigation"; and, therefore, controls the
construction and maintenance of all riparian works and
allocation of water. Other special organs of Common-
wealth and State co-operation are the Loan Council,
which deals with matters of common finance, and the
Premier's Conference for general affairs.

The war of 1939-45 naturally increased the power of
the Federal Government, and it seems unlikely to lose its
gains in the future. In a world dominated by problems
of political danger and economic control, of which the
recent (1950-51) spectacular rise in the price of wool is an
excellent example, the central government must be
strong, and capable of rapid and decisive action. On the
other hand this very growth of power at the centre has
produced a strong reaction at the periphery, and there
is now a strong demand for the establishment of new
states. This most interesting development is powerfully
supported in New South Wales and Queensland, and if
successful would lead to the creation of two new states in
eastern Australia. This demand for a smaller state unit
arises directly from the characteristic Australian deter-
mination to retain local and personal rights, in spite of
the greatly increased cost of maintaining their own
individual administration. Considered historically it is a

134 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

healthy and desirable phenomenon likely to maintain a
just balance between State and Commonwealth.

THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

A description of Australian politics would be incomplete
without an account of the Labour Movement. There has
always been a strong radical element in the country ever
since many Chartists and Irish went out as political
exiles. These were reinforced by political refugees from
European countries after the turmoil of 1848 the year
of revolutions. All these newcomers brought with them
a well-founded hatred of political autocracy and of the
economic theory of laissez-faire. The doctrine that the
Government should not interfere in industrial affairs had
led to its logical consequence in the horrible conditions of
the English working classes before the passing of the
Factory Acts. The gold-rush of 1851 brought great
numbers to Australia who, disappointed on the gold-fields,
swelled the urban populations.

The artisans and labourers in Australia had from the
beginning been provided with an inducement to unite
against the use of convicts and Chinese, and gradually the
trade union movement developed along familiar lines.
Largely by means of strikes a high standard in wages,
hours and conditions of labour was achieved, but this
culminated in the disastrous strikes of 1890, when the
trade unions suffered very heavy defeat.

After 1890 a change came over the movement. Strikes
unfortunately did not cease, but labour began to concen-
trate on political action. Harking back to the Chartist
demands, the labour leaders agitated for the adoption of
vote by ballot, of payment of members, and the abolition
of plural voting. When success -had been achieved in this
direction the Labour Party rapidly rose to power. It has
held office in the Federal Parliament and in every state.
The ideal of the party may perhaps be fairly described as
the maintenance in Australia of a high standard of living

PROBLEMS OF LABOUR AND LAND 135

for white men, even if this involves economic sacrifices and
a retardation in the full development of the resources of the
continent,

LAND POLICY

" And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground. 55

It is a profound truth that the oldest quarrel in the
history of man is the undying feud between the pastoralist
and the agriculturist. On the fringes of the great deserts
bordering on the Mediterranean, or where the practice of
transhumance brings flocks of sheep and goats through
the vineyards and farmlands of Italy and Spain, or on
the grasslands of Australia, the conflict of interests still
persists. As Joseph warned his famine-stricken brethren,
when they came to him in Egypt, " every shepherd is an
abomination to the Egyptians."

Among all the questions which have agitated Australian
politics, the question of the land, and its utilization and
tenure, has been predominant. Even to-day the problem
is far from being solved. The subject is of great interest
to the British people, because the questions arising out
of the occupation of vast new regions are of vital impor-
tance to the Empire, and are very unfamiliar to the
Inhabitants of the British Isles.

In this connection Australia has certainly been spared
one problem which has to be solved in our African terri-
tories, the question of the rights of the aborigines. The
Australian and Tasmanian aborigines were in the early
days treated with much cruelty. Their numbers are now
so small that it is not difficult to make provision for them
in the vast territories of the north. With the above excep-
tion, however, it may fairly be said that the land question
in Australia has bristled with difficulties.

From the beginning it has been assumed that all land
is Grown property until it has been transferred to some
other owner. Throughout the first half of the igth cen-

i 3 6 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

tury the interests of the " squatters/ 5 or great sheep owners,
were paramount. No other interest had anything more
than local importance. The welfare of the whole country
was bound up in that of one industry. A change, how-
ever, came with the great gold rush of 1851 , when other
activities developed ; and in recent times the interests of
squatters have come more and more into line with
those of the mining and agricultural communities.

Until 1831 land was granted freely to any who desired
to occupy it, and sometimes very large areas were trans-
ferred to one man, or to a company for the grazing of
sheep. The fact that some parts of such a district might
be more suitable for other and more profitable use was
the root cause of all later trouble. Moreover, occupation
of the interior by the squatters proceeded so rapidly that
in many cases they were occupying land to which they
had no right and which had not yet been surveyed. To
secure themselves in undisturbed possession, they fre-
quently bought from the Crown strategic points, such as
water holes, fords, etc.

To meet the difficulties caused by this concentration of
land in the hands of a few men engaged in one industry,
various experiments were tried without much success.
Sales by auction only resulted in a fever of land specula-
tion. The system of selection proved even more disas-
trous. By this system, a settler might select some land for
his farm even if it were in the middle of a sheep run. If
he resided on the land and developed it satisfactorily he
was allowed to purchase it outright. The squatters
countered this by buying up the strategic points, or by
paying others to make bogus purchases for them. On
the other hand, some men bought land in the territories
of the squatters, without intending to develop it, but so
as to force the latter to buy them out at exorbitant
prices.

This system of selection before survey, in fact, not only
failed to attain its object, for gradually the land drifted
back into the hands of the squatters, but it also lowered

SQUATTER AND FARMER 137

the standard of honesty in business relations and greatly
aggravated the bad feelings between different classes of
the community.

The claims of the farmers of fruit, wheat and cattle,
however, were not to be denied, and the great period of
squatter supremacy has passed away. The greater part
of the inhabitable land has now been surveyed and
classified according to its suitability for different
kinds of occupation. Queensland, developing late, has
avoided many of the mistakes of the other states,
and only about one-eighth of her land has passed per-
manently out of State ownership. Here the system of
perpetual lease is very promising. In the other states,
the break-up of large estates into smaller farms may be
achieved by the compulsory powers of purchase by the
State. The institution of a land tax has also succeeded in
inducing owners of large tracts to make the most econo-
mical use of their fertile land. Finally, an interesting
experiment has been made in the adoption by some land-
owners of the " metayer " system of Mediterranean lands.
By this system the landlord supplies the capital, the stock,
the implements, and the land, while the tenant farmer
works the land. The income from the farm is divided
between landlord and tenant in agreed proportions. In
the opinion of some, this system has done more to develop
a body of small farmers than all effort by the states.

POPULATION
(i) Composition

Australian statesmen are faced to-day with a great
dilemma. If they are to justify their claim to exclude
other races from the continent, they must develop and
settle the land as fully as possible. The natural rate of
increase in population is very small and without a large
increase through immigration the day when the continent
will be properly settled lies in a very distant future. The
wholesale admission of immigrants, however, would

138 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

undoubtedly disturb the social and economic life of the
country and would lower the high standard of living
which Australians cherish so greatly. The problems of
the White Australian policy, of the closer settlement of
the country and of immigration policy, are thus connected
in a very intricate manner. What does the future hold
for this great continent which has roughly the same area
as the United States but only a small fraction of the
population of that country ?

The first point to be noted is that the great majority of
Australians are determined to preserve the existing
population against the introduction of a lower standard
of living. They have been called " more British than the
British/' and it is true that 97 per cent, of the population
is of British descent. This state of affairs is surprising
when the Australian population is compared with that of
almost all other new countries. It must be remembered
that when the country was first occupied, English colonists
elsewhere were not alive to the problems which were later
to emerge as a result of the employment of coloured labour.
But for the fact that convict labour was available, the
early Australian settlers would undoubtedly have em-
ployed great gangs of Indian or Chinese coolies. Aus-
tralia is not only fortunate in having no problem of the
aboriginal races, but also in being free from the legacy of
slavery.

After the cessation of transportation the question of a
labour supply became serious. The owners of great sheep
runs were inclined to experiment with indentured coolies
from India, Japan, China and the Pacific Islands. Later
on they were joined in this policy by the sugar-cane
planters of Queensland. At one time in the latter part
of the igth century there were many thousands of Kanakas
in Queensland. The redruiting of these in the islands led
to grave scandals, and some British schooner captains
gained a notorious reputation for kidnapping. In 1843
the working men of Sydney had begun to organize opposi-
tion to the introduction of labourers whose standards of

THE WHITE AUSTRALIA POLICY 139

living were so low that it was impossible for white men to
compete with them. Finally, in the first year of the
Commonwealth, the Federal Government abolished the
indenture system.

Apart from the question of indentured labour, public
opinion in Australia steadily grew more hostile to Asiatic
immigration in general. The gold discoveries attracted
many Chinese, and there were frequent riots in the
mining centres in consequence. Attempts at exclusion
were made by the enforcement of large fees to be paid
by Asiatics on entering the country, but this frequently
placed the Imperial Government in an embarrassing
position with regard to friendly countries such as China
and Japan. Since the federation a language test has been
applied, and this has virtually excluded Asiatics from
settling in Australia. The Asiatic population has fallen
from 47,000 in 1901 to less than 13,000 in 1947, and the
majority are Chinese,

Thus has emerged the White Australia policy. It
seeks " to prevent the free influx of labourers and artisans
whose traditions, and whose political, social and religious
ideas differ so much from ours, that it would be very
difficult .to assimilate them." The policy is not really
directed against the coloured races as such, nor is it
simply inspired by selfish motives on the part of Austra-
lian labour. It aims at the preservation of opportunities
for human welfare which are far greater than those
existing in most of the other parts of the world.

At the census of 1947 the population numbered
7,579,358, of which 99*5 per cent, were of British extrac-
tion, and 90* 2 per cent, were born in Australia. Since the
war, immigration has gone on at a high rate, and for the
first time Australia has been taking relatively large numbers
of Continental Europeans. In order of preference
Australia is taking European immigrants from :

i. British Isles. 2, Northern and Western Europe.

3. Central Europe. 4. Southern Europe.

140 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Thus in the future the racial basis of the Australian
stock will widen, almost certainly to the nation's benefit,
though the marked dominance of the British element will
continue for a long time.

In November 1949, the Australian Government an-
nounced that the population had passed the eight million
mark.

With regard to the distribution of population, it is at
first surprising to find that in a new country such a large
proportion of the people are concentrated in a few great
cities. This is mainly due to the fact that the pastoral
industries require comparatively few workers on the
stations, but give employment to a great many factory
hands, clerical and transport workers in the towns.

(2) The Future Growth of Population

Assuming that the population of Australia will remain
of the same character as at present, it remains to be seen
what total population may be expected in the future.
This is a subject which has been widely discussed and
very different estimates have been made, ranging from
a maximum of 10 millions to one of 200 millions. The
question is of very great importance because the military
strength and economic stability of the country depend
upon the size of the population, which in turn raises the
question of emigration from Great Britain, through which
alone any appreciable increase in the adult population can
be secured in a short time. The two great causes which
place limits on population are (i) insufficiency of rainfall,
and (2) the difficult conditions of life in a hot climate such
as that of tropical Australia.

Professor Ellsworth Huntington, of the United States,
estimates the highest possible population for Australia
to be 15 millions, and says : " The more I study this
matter, the more I am filled with amazement that the
Australians so constantly talk about the desirability of a

CAPACITY FOR POPULATION 141

large population. Australia must decide how dense a
population it wants 5 and then should take every feasible
measure to keep its population at about that density."
This estimate may be contrasted with that of Professor
Geisler, of Germany, who thinks that Australia could
maintain a population of from 150 to 200 millions. He
divides the continent into forty-three divisions and esti-
mates the possible density of each. Some of his calcula-
tions seem to be optimistic, but they are based on careful
study of local conditions. He gives a possible density of
65 per square mile to the Barkly Tableland, of 78 to the
Atherton Plateau in Queensland, and to the Sharks
Bay region in Western Australia, and of 130 to a large
tract in the outh and west of Western Australia.

The chief protagonists in the discussion have been 3
however, Professor Gregory, of Glasgow, and Professor
Griffith Taylor, of Toronto. Professor Gregory main-
tained that Australia could easily support a population
of 100 millions, while Professor Taylor held that an esti-
mate of 50 millions was very optimistic. The latter
pointed out that no continent has so great a proportion of
its area subjected to dry conditions. Possibly three-
quarters of the continent is condemned by lack of moisture
to be devoted solely to gfazing, which can only support
a very small human population. Mining by its very
nature Cannot give rise to permanent close settlement of
the country, except possibly on the coalfields. A large
population may be expected to develop in the areas
which receive more than 20 inches of rainfall per annum,
but Professor Taylor pointed out that in the United States
the 20-inch isohyet bounds the country which supports
a density of six or more persons to the square mile.
With regard to the tropics. Professor Taylor was emphatic
that a large white population would never be established
there. It is true that Australia is less afflicted by tropical
diseases than is the case with other hot countries, possibly
because there is such a small native population. But the
conditions of life are still very hard, especially for women.

142 CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In this connection the following figures are of interest.

Square

%of
Aust.

Persons

%of

Aust.

Mascu-

State

Miles

Total

1947

Total

Density

linity

N.S.W.

309 3 433

10*40

2,984,838

39*38

9-65

99-97

Vic.

87,884

2-96

2,054,701

27*11

23*38

97-42

Que.
S.A.

670,500
380,070

22*54
12-78

1,106,415
646,073

14-60
8-53

1*65
1*70

105*29
98-16

W.A.

975*920

32*81

502,480

6-63

0*51

I05'59

Tas.

26,215

0-88

257*078

3*39

9'8i

IOI*IO

N.T.

523,620

17-60

10,868

0-14

0-02

2 1 1 -40

A.C.T.

939

0*03

16,905

0*22

1 8 *oo

116*37

Aust.

2,9745 8 i

1 00' 00

7,579)358

100*00

2*55

100*41

Professor Taylor pointed out that a clear idea may be
gained of the climatic conditions to be faced in tropical
Australia by a comparison of the following pairs of towns
which have very similar climatic data : Townsville
(Queensland) and Calcutta ; Darwin (Northern Territory)
and Cuttack (Bay of Bengal) ; Wyndham (Western
Australia) and Tinnevelly (South of Madras).

In an article in the Contemporary Review (October,
1929), Professor Gregory vigorously attacked those who
adopted what seemed to him unduly conservative figures.
In particular he selected Professor Taylor's figures for
Victoria as being quite inadequate. Professor Taylor
estimated that the population capacity of Victoria was
1,613,000, but Professor Gregory pointed out that that
figure had already been passed (1,670,852 in 1925), that
there were still very large tracts capable of agriculture
waiting to be occupied, and that Victoria, in proportion
to area, receives more immigrants than the other States.
If the population of Victoria were to be multiplied by five
the state would still only have a density of population,
equal to that of Spain. He concluded :

" The table that assigns to Victoria a lower potential
population than it already has, assigns to the whole of
Australia a population of 29,600,000. If that table
underrates the capacity of the rest of Australia as much

FUTURE POPULATION 143

as it does that of Victoria, my former estimate of the
future population as 100 millions appears moderate."

Where so many eminent authorities fall out, it is
difficult for others to come to a definite conclusion. It
does, however, seem to be the case that those who adopt
conservative estimates tend to ignore the possibilities of
scientific discoveries which may greatly alter the condi-
tions. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that Aus-
tralia in her coalfields has a very important asset,
especially in view of the fact that all over this part of the
world, in the East Indies and the Southern Pacific, large
populations will be growing up. Of recent years instructed
opinion has tended to agree more with Professor Taylor's
conservative estimate of the possibilities, and it is con-
sidered that at the present stage of scientific development
the maximum population which Australia could maintain
at a reasonable standard of living is somewhere about
thirty millions three times the present count of Euro-
pean or similar stock; but it must be emphasized that, if
science can advance as fast during the next fifty years as it
has during the last fifty, the whole situation may be
transformed.

CHAPTER XIII
AUSTRALIAN LIFE

The narrow ways of English folk

Are not for such as we ;

They bear the long accustomed yoke

Of staid conservancy :

But all our ways are new and strange,

And through our blood there runs

The vagabonding love of change

That drove us westward of the range

And westward of the sun.

Our fathers came of roving stock

That could not fixed abide :

And we have followed field and flock

Since e'er we learnt to ride ;

By miner's camp and shearing shed,

In land of heat and drought,

We followed where our fortunes led.

With fortune always on ahead

And always further out.

IT might be supposed from the above lines that in the
course of more than 150 years the British people in
Australia would have entirely changed their ways of life
in the new surroundings. It is therefore of interest to
note how deeply rooted are the cultural traditions of a
people who look back on hundreds of years of unbroken
history. To an English visitor there is obviously much in
Australian life which appears new and strange, but a
foreigner like Professor Demangeon is impressed not so
much by the differences as by the similarities between
English life at home and overseas. He notes the per-
sistence of English ways in spite of potent geographical

144

SPORT AND CULTURE 145

and historical influences. He observes in the Dominions
the English passion for " unremunerated physical
activity/' cricket, horse racing, and football ; the
ubiquity of the English Sunday ; the large and fre-
quent meals ; the habits of diet, clothing and daily
routine, which seem to defy climatic considerations.
The common language, similar religious, legal, and
political institutions all tend to draw the British com-
munities together all over the world. In the case of
Australia this is very marked in the sports of the people.
Horse racing is extremely popular in a country where
many of the people spend their lives in the saddle.
Above all, cricket is played with an enthusiasm un-
paralleled even in England.

It is, indeed, perhaps a misfortune that the Australians
have not more readily broken away from the traditions
of European culture. In a young country there is no
leisured class and so the development of aesthetic and
intellectual interests is delayed. There is a tendency to
follow the conventional taste and the artistic fashions of
the home country, even when in political and social life
the old traditions are ruthlessly abandoned. It cannot
yet be said that Australia has found her place in the world
of Art, Music, and Literature, although there are many
promising signs.

The development of Australian architecture exem-
plifies what has just been said. In church architecture
it was perhaps to be expected that the buildings should
be reminiscent of worship in England. In domestic
architecture, after the raw days of wooden huts and
corrugated iron, domestic architecture was modelled
almost exactly on that of the home country. It is,
however, interesting to note that such modification as
has taken place has been similar to that which occurred
in America. Verandahs, balconies, and porticoes recall
the beautiful American " colonial " style of Arlington
and Mount Vernon in Virginia. Most middle-class
houses are single-storey buildings designed to meet the

146 AUSTRALIAN LIFE

difficulties of housekeeping in a land where there is a
shortage of domestic labour. The straight streets and tall
buildings of the business quarters in the cities also show
American influence.

The development of any distinctively Australian school
of artists was long delayed. There were many early
painters of views and portraits, but little of merit was
achieved until the later decades of the igth century.
Australian scenery for long seemed to be uncongenial
and strange. In the 'eighties, however, a group of
Australian artists came under the influence of the Impres-
sionists in Europe. Arthur Streeton, born in 1867, was
the leader of this group, and under his influence there
has grown up a definitely Australian school of landscape
painters, who saw Australian scenery with the eyes of the
native born. Hans Heysen is a notable modern painter
who shows a true appreciation of the beauties of the
Australian bush.

The Sydney Bulletin, founded in 1881, has done a great
deal to help Australian poets and artists, and the associa-
tion with this paper of Phil May, the English artist in
black and white, led to the appearance of Australian
cartoonists 'noted for their vigorous and racy work. The
recent inauguration of a society of painter-etchers indi-
cates another branch of Australian art.

It may now be said that Australian artists have come
into their own. Sir Bertram Mackennal, the sculptor, was
a Royal Academician, and many Australian artists have
had their work "hung on the line" at the Royal Academy.
Among these such men as William Dobell, Will Dyson,
and Sir Lionel Lindsay have a world-wide reputation.

Of all the arts, Music has found the readiest welcome
in Australia. A piano was one of the first articles to be
landed from "The First Fleet" in 1788, and musical
societies were established in the leading cities in the early
part of last century. Music has an important place in the
general education of the country, and its value is certainly
appreciated very widely. Among Australians who have

AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE 147

played a leading part in the world of Music are Dame
Nellie Melba, Ada Crossley, and Percy Grainger.

In Literature the best work has been done by writers
of ballads and lyrical verse. Australian writers have
generally failed when they have modelled themselves
upon European standards, and they are at their best when
writing abou&themselves and about Australian bush life.
There is a racy humour about much of the best work.

" True patriots all, for be it understood,
We left our country for our country's good."

The language is usually terse, direct, and forcible. In
many of the poems there is a melancholy note reflecting
the hardships of life in the early days, while in others a
vigorous pride of achievement is reminiscent of much of
Kipling's poetry.

Henry Kendall (1841-1882) was the first poet of mark,
and much of his work has real lyrical beauty inspired by
life in the bush. The tragic Adam Lindsay Gordon in his
ballads tells of life on the sheep stations, in a free reckless
verse which seems to gallop with the horses which figure
so largely in Australian life. His is the famous quatrain :

" Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone ;
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own."

A, B. Paterson, some of whose lines are quoted at the
beginning of the chapter, must be accounted a great
ballad writer by any standard. "The Man from Snowy
River" is a pocket Australian epic, and "Waltzing
Matilda" has become the unofficial National Anthem.

During the last twenty-five years the mass and variety
of Australian literature has greatly increased. It still
bears the mark of youth, and in all forms is largely de-
scriptive and closely related to the social history and life
of the people. There has not yet been time for the
development of individual intellectual work on a high and
reflective level, though there is an increasing promise for

148 AUSTRALIAN LIFE

the future, and it is unfortunate that many of Australia's
best brains have emigrated to countries of more mature
culture instead of remaining at home to build up their own.

In several directions Australia has been a pioneer as
regards the application of science to practical economic
problems. Farrer's work on the wheat plant has already
been noted, and much similar work has been done in the
application of Mendelism to plant and animal breeding.
Australian inventors were specially successful in designing
agricultural machinery for thrashing and harvesting wheat
in the special conditions which confronted Australian
farmers. One of the finest examples of a true scientist was
Lawrence Hargrave, whose early experiments in aviation,
for the results of which he refused to take out patents,
were of great importance to early inventors in this branch
of engineering. His work was not properly recognized in
Australia, although it was used and acknowledged by the
Wright brothers in America.

Perhaps the most obvious expansion of economic
activity resulting from scientific work has been in con-
nection with the refrigeration of meat. For twenty years
Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, a prominent business man in New
South Wales, conducted experiments in this direction.
He died just before the result of his work was realized,
when in 1880 a cargo of 48 tons of frozen meat was
successfully brought to London from Australia. In the
next fifty years exports grew steadily, but soon after the
first world war the development of chilling processes in
South America threatened the Australian industry with
ruin, for the appearance, flavour and quality of the chilled
meat was far superior to that of the frozen. The
Australian Government therefore set up the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research to investigate the
problem. Experiments began in 1931, and in 1934 the
first small shipment of chilled beef was made. In 1939
about 40 per cent, of the beef export was chilled, but the
outbreak of the second world war then halted develop-
ments. Great Britain was obliged to revert to frozen

A GREAT EXPERIMENT 149

meat, which could be kept longer in store: and this
consideration will probably prevent any change until
such time as she can abandon the rationing of meat.

The C.S.I.R.0. has also spent much time and effort
in improving the conditions of the industry ; and pastures,
herds, transport and station management generally have
greatly improved in consequence.

The future of the cattle raising and meat exporting
industry seems bright, but progress will require big capital
expenditure and the constant adoption of new and better
methods as they become available. When Great
Britain can once more take regular and large supplies of
chilled meat, Australia should be a big supplier 3 to the
advantage of both countries.

CONCLUSION

The colonization of Australia by the people of the
British Isles has been a great experiment. A vast area
has been seized upon by the Anglo-Saxon race and is in
process of occupation. A social and political way of life,
formed by centuries of history in a small group of islands
on the other side of the world, has been transplanted to
an entirely new environment and is there being altered
and adjusted to meet the new conditions. From the
colonial stage, the Australians, in a little more than 100
years, have advanced to full nationhood and now take
their place among the great peoples of the world. Coming
from the cool temperate climate of Western Europe, they
have tried to occupy regions to which they were not at all
acclimatized. Hence, it is difficult to say whether they will
be entirely successful. Since their appearance in these
regions, new great nations have developed and are
peopling the adjacent lands, and the whole problem of
international relations in the Pacific awaits solution.

In the economic life of the country, no less than in
politics, the near future may bring great changes. The
world has in the last few decades become one vast market

i 5 o AUSTRALIAN LIFE

and almost every considerable industry suffers great
fluctuations between depression and prosperity, arising
from economic developments in distant parts of the world.
It almost seems as though the time were coming when vast
international organizations of certain industries will be
necessary to stabilize conditions throughout the world.
It seems strange and wasteful, for example, that the apple
growers of Tasmania should depend on the English
market to such an extent that they suffer the greatest
uncertainty as to the future owing to the competition of
English and Canadian producers. The whole world of
production awaits organization.

Geography and History are the study of Man in his
environments of Space and Time. In early history and
prehistory he was almost entirely at the mercy of an
apparently blind and indifferent Nature. He was, deci-
mated by famine, plague, and disease, terrified by startling
phenomena, overawed by manifestations of unseen and
incomprehensible powers. Through thousands of years
the indomitable animal has advanced, his audacity grow-
ing with his knowledge. Nature is no longer his implac-
able enemy ; rather he has come to understand something
of her. While he can never hope to be independent of
geographical circumstance, still he does steadily increase
his power to adapt himself to it. With increasing skill he
is eliminating the dangers of drought and flood and pesti-
lence, is more and more stabilizing his conditions, and
transforming the raw material of his environment to his
own advantage. By a fascinating accident of historical
and geographical circumstance the first and last stages of
this old story may be seen together in Australia.

NEW ZEALAND

CHAPTER XIV
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

NEW ZEALAND lies 1,200 miles to the south-east of
Australia from which it is separated by the turbulent
Tasman Sea ; 1,200 miles from Antarctica ; and 5,000
miles from South America. The Panama Canal is 6,500
miles, the Malay Peninsula 5,350 miles, and South Africa
7,500 miles distant from New Zealand*" The Dominion
proper consists of a group of islands and islets, of which the
chief are the North Island (43,131 square miles), the South
Island (58,120 square miles), Stewart Island (662 square
miles) , and the Chatham Islands lying some 500 miles to
eastward. The area of New Zealand is rather less than
that of the British Isles, though the South Island is about
the same size as England and Wales. The estimated popu-
lation in 1949 was 1,873,000, including 112,000 Maoris.

Annexed to New Zealand are the Cook Islands and
certain neighbouring islands in the Western Pacific ; while
the western islands in the Samoa group are administered
by New Zealand under a trusteeship agreement of the
United Nations, this having replaced a mandate granted
by the former League of Nations. The Ross Dependency
in Antarctica is also under the jurisdiction of New Zealand.

The main group extends from latitude 34 S. to latitude
48 S. and has a length of about 1,000 miles, whilst its
greatest breadth is about, 280 miles. Its coastline is
approximately 3,000 miles long, and no portion of the
country is more than 75 miles from the sea.

The rocky coasts of New Zealand are generally straight
and contain, for the most part, few good harbours.
They are often bordered by extensive beds of sand and
shingle. The mouths of many of the rivers are blocked
by sand* and shingle bars which form a great hindrance

151

152 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

to navigation. In the North. Island there are good
harbours in the northeast, such as the ria opening on
which Auckland stands, whilst that of Wellington, on
Cook Strait, is one of the finest in the world. The
western side of this island has, however, few good
openings.

In the South Island the rather poor natural harbours of
Lyttelton and Otago have been improved by dredging and
the construction of breakwaters. In the southwest of
the South Island the mountainous coast is cut up by
numerous fjords known as sounds. These rival in grandeur
the fjords of Norway and British Columbia. Above their
rocky sides rise snow-clad peaks, whilst over their steep
bounding walls the waters from countless falls continually
pour. Farther north the coastal strip of Westland is
broken by few inlets.

STRUCTURE

Since the earliest times the portion of the earth's crust
which we now know as New Zealand has undergone
many changes. At one time it has been raised far
above the level of the ocean and at another time it has
sunk beneath its surface. Throughout the different
geological periods constant changes, in most cases
gradual, have been taking place.

During the Primary period New Zealand probably
formed part of a great land mass which extended far to
the west. This finally disappeared, but in the early part
of the Tertiary period New Zealand was probably con-
nected, or nearly connected, by land with Australia and
New Guinea. In the middle of the Tertiary period the
land subsided, but, later, portions were again elevated
and a land-mass arose which included New Zealand and
the Chathams, and which stretched southwards to the
Antarctic continent* A vast snow-field covered the
mountain ranges of New Zealand, which were far higher
than the present Southern Alps. The sides of these
mountains were seamed with glaciers.

THE BUILD OF THE LAND 153

Later, the climate underwent a change and became
milder ; the glaciers receded and rock waste from the
melting ice and snows was carried down by rushing tor-
rents, thus helping to build up the plains of Canterbury
and Southland. These deposits formed a very fertile soil,
and the plains formed by them are to-day amongst the
richest grazing areas in New Zealand.

Though the present-day glaciers of New Zealand are
small when compared with these mighty giants of the
Ice Age, yet there are many evidences which testify to
the recent presence of vast glaciated areas : U-shaped
valleys, cirques, erratics, as well as vast quantities of
morainic material, occur over large areas.

Volcanic action, though now confined to the North
Island, was probably continuous throughout the group
during the Tertiary period, for many igneous rocks also
occur in the South Island. The coal measures of New
Zealand were probably laid down during the latter part
of the Secondary and the earlier part of the Tertiary
period.

RELIEF

In the extreme southwest of the South Island there is
a block of ancient mountains whose grain runs north-
west and southeast. Further north parallel ranges run
in a northeasterly direction through the island and,
except for the break of Cook Strait, are continued across
the North Island to East Cape. From the main chains
branching spurs run out towards the east and the west
coasts. North of the Southern Alps, as the main chains
of mountains are called in the South Island, are the
Tasman Range on the west, and the Kaikoura Range
on the east. The latter rise steeply from the coast,
culminating in long rows of notched peaks.

In the North Island the mountains have a lesser eleva-
tion than in the more southerly island, and with the
exception of four volcanic cones none exceed 6,000 feet
in height. It is in the South Island that the mountains

'154 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

reach their greatest breadth and their maximum height,
and here Mount Cook attains a height of 12,349 feet, whilst
there are also some sixteen peaks of over io 5 ooo feet in
altitude. There are large glaciers in the higher parts of
the Southern Alps : the Tasman Glacier is over eighteen
miles long and one and a half miles broad ; such glaciers
as the Murchison, the Godley, and Franz Joseph are all
over eight miles in length. On the western side of the
Southern Alps some glaciers descend to within 700 feet
of sea level. Of the countless waterfalls the three leaps
of the Sutherland Falls total 1904 feet. Arthur's Pass
is the main route over the mountains. It leads to the
Otira Gorge through which wind the road and railway
that connect the eastern and western sides of the island.

The western portion of the South Island is extremely
mountainous. North of latitude 44 S. a narrow strip of
country, called Westland, runs for about 250 miles
between the Alps and the coast. It is, however, a rather
hilly region and is of little use for agriculture, except in
one or two more favoured areas. In the east of this island
the Canterbury Plains extend for nearly 200 miles parallel
to the east coast, but though they have in parts a breadth
of about 40 miles, the richer lands do not extend for more
than from 10 to 15 miles from the coast.

In the North Island the higher mountains occupy about
one-tenth of the surface and there are lowlands of varying
extent. The chief are the Waikato-Thames Plain extend-
ing inland from the head of Hauraki Gulf, and the
Manawatu-Horowhenua Coastal Plain in the southwest,
watered by the Manawatu and other rivers. Plains of
more limited extent include the Taranaki Plain, an upland
plain stretching from the west coast to the slopes of the
extinct volcanic cone of Mount Egmont ; the Wairarapa
Lowland, running inland from Cook Strait between the
mountains to the west and the downland country to the
east ; and the Heretaunga Plain opening to the south of
Hawke Bay.

In portions of both the North and the South Islands are

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY 155

regions of low, undulating, hilly country lying between
the mountains and the coast. These hills, which are
usually between 1,000 and 2,000 feet in height, are known
as Downs. They consist of rocks which, because they
are somewhat harder than the surrounding ones, have
been able to withstand the forces of prolonged erosion.
The most extensive area of Down country is in the
Taranaki and Hawke's Bay districts of the North Island,
and in the northern part of Canterbury in the South
Island. Once covered with forests, these regions have now
been converted into pastures.

To the west of the main chains there is in the North
Island a volcanic region where the cones of Tongariro
(6,458 feet), Ngauruhoe (7,515 feet), Ruapehu (9,175
feet) rise high above the surrounding plateau. This line of
volcanoes is continued northeast through Tarawera to
White Island in the Bay of Plenty. Unlike the solitary
cone of Mount Egmont in the west, these volcanoes are
not extinct : Ruapehu was particularly active in 1945.

A remarkable system of hot springs and geysers lies on
either side of the line of volcanoes with whose formation
they are closely connected. The springs vary in tempera-
ture from boiling point to tepid. In some pools steam and
sulphurous fumes rise from seething, black water ; but in
others bright bubbles shoot to the surface from clear,
green depths. Some of the geysers eject columns of
boiling water and mud at regular intervals.

The principal thermal centres are round Lake Rotorua,
formed by the damming up of the normal outflow of a
river by a stream of lava. The famous Pink and White
terraces which were situated in this district were destroyed
by the eruption of Tarawera in 1886- Apart from the
general interest of such a region, its importance lies in
the fact that the mineral waters of the springs have a
great medicinal value, which the New Zealand Govern-
ment has not been slow to recognize. Lake Taupo, the
largest lake in this area and also in New Zealand, is
about 25 miles long and 17 miles broad. Its formation

156

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

was possibly due to the subsidence of the land after a
volcanic eruption. There are, in addition^ a number of
smaller crater lakes.

CLIMATE

Though New Zealand is the antipodes of Spain and
Portugal, its climate resembles that of the British Isles.

JULY

(WINTER)

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE IN JULY.

This is largely due to the fact that the extensive ocean
of the southern hemisphere causes a reduction in

TEMPERATURE

temperature latitude for latitude. At Auckland the tem-
perature graph is strikingly similar to that of Plymouth,
while Dunedin corresponds closely to Dublin. The bleak-
ness of Stewart Island is reminiscent of the northwest

JANUARY

(SUMMER)

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY.

of Scotland. The resemblances are only in general,
however, and there are many differences in detail.

Owing to the fact that New Zealand extends for about
a thousand miles from latitude 34 S. to latitude 48 S.
there are, of necessity, many climatic variations. Speak-

158

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

ing broadly, the temperature decreases from north to
south, the difference between the means at Auckland and
Invercargill being about 10 F. On the low lying coastal
lands of North Island frosts seldom occur during the
winter months, though they are sometimes severe on the
higher lands of the interior., but on the South Island they
are more frequent.

In winter the west coast of New Zealand is somewhat
wanner than the east on account of (i) the warm waters
of the East Australian current which increases the tem-
perature of the air that blows over them ; (2) the greater
dampness of the atmosphere consequent upon the pre-
vailing Westerlies, In summer, however, the land tends
to heat up more quickly than the sea and, therefore, the
westerly winds have a cooling effect on the west coast.
Their cooling influence is little felt in the east, for this
part of the South Island lies on the leeward side of the
Southern Alps. The west winds deposit most of their
moisture on the windward slopes and summits of the
mountains. When the pressure is low on the leeward side
the air descends with great rapidity and becomes con-
tracted and warmed. This dry, warm wind of the foehn
type, during its occasional occurrences, greatly increases
the temperature on the east side of the Southern Alps.

The winter temperature at Christchurch is 42 F.,
whilst that of Hokitika, on the west coast, is some 3
higher. In summer, however, Christchurch, with an
average temperature of 62 F. is 2 warmer than Hoki-
tika.

January.

July-

Annual
Range.

Rainfall.

Auckland
Christchurch .

67 F.
62 F.

52 F.
42 F.

15 F.

20 F.

44 in.
26 in.

Hokitika

60 F.

45 F.

15 F.

Dunedin

58 F.

42 F.

i6F.

37 in.

During the summer months when the wind belts shift

RAINFALL

southwards, most of the North Island lies within the
southeast trade-wind area. This has the important effect
of reversing the position of the windward slope of this
island according to the season.

In many respects the rainfall of New Zealand resembles

AN FES MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUC SEP OCT NOV DEC

AUCKLAND

_L L

JAN FEE MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUC SEP OCT NOV DEC

CHFUSTCHURCH
TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL AT AUCKLAND AND GHRKTCHURCEL

Note the greater range of temperature and the lower rainfall at
Christchurch.

that of the British Isles. Both regions lie in a westerly
wind belt and have their highest land in the west. The
Southern Alps, in the South Island, are, however, much
higher and more continuous than the Western Uplands of

i6o

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

Britain. The west coast of both groups receives a much
heavier rainfall than most of the eastern portions.

In New Zealand the amount of rain which falls on this
western side increases from north to south. At Auckland

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUC SEP OCT NOV DEC

HOK1TIKA

60 .p
flj

50 g.
J

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUC SEP OCT NOV DEC

DUNED1N
TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL AT HOKTTIKA AND DUNEDIN.

Contrast the rainfall at Hokitika and Christchurch, and the temperature
at Dunedin and Auckland.

the mean annual rainfall is 44 inches ; at Hokitika it is
n 6 inches ; in the southwest it is well over 200 inches.
The eastern side is considerably drier. The annual rain-
fall at Christchurch is only 26 inches an amount some-
what similar to the annual amount of rain which falls over
much of eastern England each year. One of the driest

RAINFALL

161

Over 1OO Inches

Between 7Oand/OO/ns
" 50 " 7O
* 40 " 5O
" 30 40
" 20 " 30

Under 20 Inches

ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL.
Note the decrease in amount from west to east in the South Island.

parts of New Zealand is in central and northern Otago,
where the annual rainfall is between 13 inches and 20
inches only.

i6* PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

Owing to the fact that the mountain barrier is neither
so continuous nor so high in the North Island as it is in
the South the annual rainfall is much more evenly dis-
tributed. The region around Mount Egmont receives
about loo inches per year and the higher slopes of the
mountain itself receive even more. This is, however,
exceptional, and the average rainfall for the whole of
North Island is 50 inches : a somewhat greater amount
than that of South Island, where the average rainfall is a
little over 45 inches.

The average amount of sunshine in New Zealand is a
little over 2,000 hours per year. There is more sunshine
on the drier eastern side than on the wetter west.
Napier, on Hawke's Bay, has an annual average of
2,550 hours. This is considerably greater than that of
the British Isles, which have an average of about 1,400
hours, whilst Italy has between 2,000 and 2,400 hours.
The high average of New Zealand is somewhat remark-
able when one considers the fairly heavy rainfall and
the consequent cloudiness. The large amount of sun-
shine tends to show that when rain falls it is heavy and
that there are a large number of days when there is little
or no rain and when the sky is clear. Statistics show that
in the North Island the average number of rainy days in a
year is i6a and in the South Island 155.

RIVERS

Owing to its plentiful rainfall and to the hilly and
mountainous nature of the country New Zealand is
well supplied with rivers. But the limited area of both the
North and the South Islands, and their relative lack of
breadth, have precluded the development of long rivers.

Few of the New Zealand rivers are of sufficient length or
volume to be navigable, apart from the fact that most of
them are liable to sudden floods and are also obstructed by
bars at their mouths (see p. 151). On the other hand.

THE RIVER SYSTEMS 163

because of their speed and the reliability of their flow, they
are of great value as sources of hydro-electric power.
Among the chief rivers used for this purpose are the
Waitaki and the Waipori in the South Island, and the
Waikato in the North Island.

The Waikato, rising on the snow-clad slopes of Rua-
pehu, flows northwards in its torrent track to Lake
Taupo. Issuing from this lake the river dashes over
falls formed by a hard bed of resistant volcanic rock.
After flowing through wild gorges and over numerous
rapids, it reaches the plain, where it winds through small
lakes and marshes until it enteis the sea by a broad
estuary, the entrance to which is blocked, as in the case of
so many other New Zealand rivers, by a bar.

The Wanganui rises on the north side of Tongariro and,
after running in a northerly direction, turns south. It
flows between high perpendicular cliffs in a gorge which
is cut below the level of the surrounding plain. This
gorge, whose steep sides are clad with luxuriant vegeta-
tion, is somewhat more than 80 miles long. In its lower
course the Wanganui crosses the coastal plain and enters
the .sea through a deep estuary. The river flows over
numerous rapids, but these do not affect navigation except
when the water in the stream is low, and they can be
negotiated by river steamers, which thus provide transport
into the interior where other transport is not available.

Owing to the proximity of the Southern Alps to the
west coast of the South Island the rivers on that side are
comparatively short and extremely rapid. The streams
on either side of the Southern Alps are fed by the melting
snows of spring and early summer, and several of the
larger rivers are glacier-fed. A good example of this is
the Waitaki, which receives affluents from the Tasman
Glacier. The extremely heavy rainfall of the western
side of New Zealand increases the volume of water
which is carried down by the streams in this region.

Many of the rivers, especially in the southern half of
the South Island, have their headwaters in glacial cirques.

164 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

They then often flow through narrow gorges and over
boulder-strewn beds until their valleys widen out into
typically U-shaped valleys, whose steep sides rise up
sharply to the gently sloping alpine pastures above. On
reaching the plains the streams flow in deep channels
which they have cut through the debris once brought down
by glaciers and streams from the upland regions. In this
part of their course terraces often occur which serve to
mark the successive levels of the streams. The mouths of
many rivers are blocked by bars of sand and shingle. In
time of flood the current may sweep the bar away but
soon the drift of the waves closes it once again.

The Clutha is not only the largest river in the South
Island, but it has also a greater volume than any other
New Zealand river. The main stream is formed by two
rivers which flow respectively out of Lake Wanaka and
Lake Hawea. Later the Kawarau, draining Lake Waka-
tipu, pours its waters into the Clutha. Such lakes tend
to prevent floods and also to reduce the amount of sedi-
ment that the rivers carry to their middle and lower
courses. Some 10 miles from its mouth the Clutha divides
into two portions, but it -unites again and thus forms the
island of Inch-Clutha. West of the Clutha is the Waiau,
which drains Te Anau and a number of other lakes.

Such lakes as Te Anau, and those drained by the Clutha,
are mountain ribbon lakes whose formation is at least
partly due to 'the grooving action of ice ; and like most
lakes of the type they are of considerable depth. There
are also in the Southern Alps numbers of small rock tarns,
perched high up in the mountains, as well as numerous
morainic dammed lakes.

VEGETATION

^\ damp climate such as that of New Zealand is
specially suited to the growth of trees. At one time
most of this country was covered with dense evergreen
forests and masses of tangled fern scrub. At present,

WOODLAND AND FOREST 165

owing to felling, or to the burning of forests to clear land
for pasture, only 18 per cent, of New Zealand is still
forested. In some areas the clearance of forests in past
decades has bequeathed to the present generation a legacy
of soil erosion. To-day the most extensive forests are
found on the windward slopes of the Southern Alps,
notably in the fjordland region, and in the less accessible
parts of the Kaimanawa and Raukumara Ranges in the
North Island. Elsewhere, stands of forest are found
scattered throughout the wetter parts of the country.

Most of the forests may be classed as belonging to the
subtropical rain-forest type. Some develop buttress-like
supports, whilst round their trunks twine vines and
creepers ; bushes and shrubs crowd together under the
higher trees, and flowering trees and shrubs lend a touch
of colour to the more sombre greens and browns of the
foliage. In the less elevated forests giant tree ferns spread
their graceful fronds as much as 40 feet in the air, whilst
in the month of February miles of forest are bright with
the crimson flowers of the feathery rata a creeper that
twines around the trees and in time kills them. And
yet these luxuriant forests are not hot and steamy like
those of the tropics, but their atmosphere resembles
rather that of some English woodland.

The North Auckland Peninsula is the home of the kauri
pine, which yields valuable hardwood. Unfortunately,
the trees were felled by settlers for timber, and burnt by
prospective pastoralists, and by seekers of kauri gum who
also devastated many acres no longer bearing forests to
obtain fossilized gum. However, a sufficient number of
stands of kauri remain to give more than a hint of their
once much greater extent.

" Where the undergrowth is scanty the stately kauris
appear in all their grandeur, their huge shining columnar
trunks rising sixty feet, and may-be eighty feet, without
a branch, and dwarfing altogether the other trees. High
above the general forest roof tower the great spreading
branches, themselves equalling forest trees in size. . . .

i66

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

In some instances these trees have a circumference of
nearly fifty feet when measured six feet from the ground,

FORESTED AREAS OF NEW ZEALAND.
Forested areas are shaded.

and reach one hundred and fifty feet in height. The
kauri is a slow grower and it is estimated that the giant
tree referred to took root over 2,000 years ago." l

1 Dr. L, Cockayne: ffao Zealand Plants.

SOFTWOODS AND GRASSES 167

Forests of beech are found both, on the mountain slopes,
and also on the lowlands. Various kinds of pines are
common ; timber from the red and the black pines is
used for building houses and that obtained from the white
pine for making cheese and butter boxes. Introduced
pines include the American insignis pine, a tree that thrives
on the Canterbury Plains where long lines, planted as
shelter belts, are a feature of the landscape. Other intro-
duced trees, such as English oaks and Australian eucalypts,
do well and frequently attain a height and girth unknown
in their original habitats. New Zealand imports much
hardwood timber, such as jarra, from Australia, and
exports softwoods to that country.

Native grasses once covered much of the slopes of the
hills and mountains. The tussock grass grows in clumps
which are interspersed with stretches of shorter grass.
Much of this native grass has now been resown with
English pasture varieties.

There are over a thousand plants in New Zealand that
are peculiar to the country. It is interesting to note that
the Ghathams and the Kermadec Islands both have
species that are common alone to them and to the rest of
the New Zealand group. A number of plants are found
in both Australia and New Zealand, whilst about a hun-
dred are common to the latter country and the South
American continent. An important native plant is the
New Zealand flax, yielding a fibre from which rope,
twine, and coarse cloth can be made. There is a remark-
able wealth of Alpine flora and among these plants may
be numbered the most beautiful of the flowers in New
Zealand.

FAUNA

The native animals are few in species and number.
Apart from the seal, the only mammals are two kinds
of bats. The long-tailed variety is also found in parts
of Australia, but the short-tailed bat is peculiar to New
Zealand. The Maoris introduced the Maori dog and

i68 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

the rat, and, though the former is now extinct, the rat
still lives in the depths of the forests. There is a great
variety amongst the native birds, many of which, such
as the kiwi, are quite unable to fly, and the remainder
can only rise for short distances. New Zealand is prob-
ably the home of the penguin, for there is only one
variety which is not found within the country. Starlings,
sparrows, and rabbits introduced by early settlers have
become so common that they prove pests to farmers.

THE MAORIS

When New Zealand was first discovered by Europeans
it was found to be inhabited by the Maoris, a people
who seem akin to the Polynesians and, like them^ to
have originated in the Malay Archipelago. The main
migration of these people took place about 500
years ago, but smaller bands had visited New Zealand
before that date. Their name for the new country was
Ao-Tea~Rua, the Land of the Long White Cloud, The
Maoris were not, however, the first Polynesian race to
settle in New Zealand, for before their time a primitive
folk, the Morions, had made their home there. These
people were, however, driven out by the Maoris, and at
the present time they have entirely disappeared from
New Zealand, though a few still survive in the Chatham
Islands, some 500 miles to the east.

It is not improbable that the migration of comparatively
large numbers of Maoris .was due to quarrels at home, as a
result of which the vanquished tribes determined to find
a new land in which to live. Most of the Polynesians
were skilful and daring sailors and thus they were able
to undertake a voyage of such magnitude as one from
Tonga to New Zealand. They had^ for a primitive
people, an extensive knowledge of the stars, the winds,
and the ocean currents. Their long double-decked
canoes were between 100 and 200 feet long and were
most seaworthy craft. In boats of this size it was pos-

MAORI LIFE i6g

sible to carry supplies of provisions and to supplement
them en route by fish. Stoppages were made at various
islands for revictualling. On arrival in New Zealand
the main tribes beached their canoes at different points
along the coasts and established settlements at these
places.

Land was held as the communal property of the whole
tribe and did not belong to individuals ; the humbler folk
had a vested interest in the land belonging to the clan
just as much as the chiefs. But whilst the land was in this
way common property, yet individual members of the
community could own personal property such as houses,
tools, food, and clothes.

The villages were usually built on an elevation near the
coast or on a bluff overlooking the winding bank of some
stream, and thus they were easily defended. As the
Maoris depended largely on fish as an article of food, it
was necessary that their settlements should be near the
water. Around each village, or pa, was a stout stockade,
whilst large wooden towers some 40 feet in height pro-
vided additional protection in time of war.

The houses themselves were built on a wooden frame-
work of totara wood. The thatched roof was high pitched
and the walls which were constructed of reeds were low.
The floor of the hut was usually sunk somewhat beneath
the ground. At one end was a small door and a window.
However large the hut might be, there was never more
than one door and one window, and thus the ventilation
was extremely bad. These huts had no fireplaces or
chimneys, for the cooking was done in outdoor ovens.

In addition to fish, they ate the flesh of birds, dogs, and
rats, whilst practically their only vegetable was the fern.
They were fond of dried shark's flesh, which was cut into
strips and dried. Their fishing nets were woven from the
fibre of the native flax, whilst the fish hooks were of bone.
The Maoris did not understand the use of the bow and
arrow, but killed birds by means of spears some 30 feet
in length. After battles they used to feast on the flesh of

170 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

their dead foes, but it must not be imagined that canni-
balism was an everyday practice.

The life of each clan was more or less self-contained :
they caught their fish, speared their birds, collected their
ferns, tilled little plots of land near the villages, and made
their own stone tools and weapons. They had no flocks,
and the only animals they knew, apart from wild birds,
were the dog and the Maori rat, which the first arrivals
had brought with them. Of trade there was none, though
there was sometimes an exchange of gifts between the
different tribes.

The fibre of the flax provided materials from which
kilts and cloaks could be woven, but both the preparation
of the fibre and the weaving took a considerable amount
of time. The dresses of the chiefs were most elaborate and
their mantles of feathers extremely beautiful, and in their
gala dress they presented a very striking appearance.

The Maoris vary from light to dark brown in colour,
and their black hair is either wavy or straight, but not
woolly like that of the negro. Their noses are broad
and flat and their lips are thick. The men are sturdy
and thick set, with somewhat long bodies and short legs.

Though the practice is rare to-day, moko or tattooing
was originally carried on as a fine art. The designs took
the form of graceful curves and spirals, and in these one
may trace the influence of their surroundings : the deli-
cate spirals of the sea-shells or of Nature's own tracery on
some tree trunk. The design was first of all drawn upon
the client's face and then it was pricked out by needles
and a blue pigment was inserted. The process often took
months to complete ; but the more elaborate the design,
the more was the owner looked up to by his fellows.

During the whole of the time that the tattoo was being
done both the patient and the craftsman were sacred or
tapu ; it was necessary for them to dwell apart from their
fellows, and they were not even allowed to feed them-
selves. This principle of tapu was often most incon-
venient, for things or people under tapu might never be

MAORI CULTURE 171

touched. Public opinion allowed no breaking of tapu,
and if this was done the subject would probably be left to
perish. Another custom of the Maoris was that of mum :
if a man suffered disaster his friends would immediately
descend upon him and rob him of all his possessions in
order to ensure that the disaster was complete.

The Maoris had no written language and their stories,
traditions, and songs were handed down by word of mouth.
They had, however, a sense of beauty and poetry which
they expressed in these stories, songs, and dances. Many
told of their origin, and their dances usually depicted some
event in their history, and in most of them, as one would
expect from their traditions, the sea figured largely. As a
rule the performers simply swayed from side to side and
changed their position very little ; but they were extremely
graceful and intelligent.

It is improbable that the Maori population of New Zea-
land ever numbered more than 200,000 people. Since
the beginning of the present century their number has
more than doubled and is now 1 12,000. Their principal
settlements are in the Hot Springs district of the North
Island.

The decrease in number was partly due to the physical
and moral deterioration which so often sets in when
races come in contact with White civilization, for, unfortu-
nately, these peoples seem often to acquire the vices of the
white man without assimilating his better qualities. An
additional factor in the decline in numbers of the Maoris
was their neglect of the most elementary rules of hygiene
and sanitation. Their badly ventilated "houses, their
putrid food, and their lack of washing told on a race whose
natural home was in the tropics rather than in a region
where the climate was for them somewhat extreme.

In recent times much has been done to improve the lot
of the Maoris. There is a Maori Land Board to ad-
minister Native lands and to assist the people to farm their
holdings. There is also a Board of Native Affairs, and a
Native Land Court, as well as a Native Trustee. In

iy2 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

passing it may be noted that in New Zealand the term
Native is applied both to full-blooded Maoris and to half-
castes. The Maoris elect four Members of Parliament of
their own race to the House of Representatives.

There is no colour bar in New Zealand. Maori
children are free to attend either the usual schools or
special Native village schools. In the latter, emphasis is
laid on the teaching of Maori arts and crafts, songs,
legends, and history, and on hygiene and elementary
agriculture. This training of the younger generation of
Maoris should enable this remarkably fine race to play an
increasingly important part in the life of the country.

PLATE V

[High Commissioner for AVo, 1 Zealand

A. LAKE MATHESON REFLECTING MTS. TASMAN AND COOK, SOUTH ISLAND

[High Commissioner for New Zealand

. MILFQRD SOUND AND MITRE PEAK, SOUTH ISLAND

[To face page 172

PLATE VI

[High Commissioner fat Nezu Zealand

A SHEEP PASTURES, GISBORNE, NORTH ISLAND

Commissioner for New Zealand

B. CATTLE MUSTER, OTAGO, SOUTH ISLAND

[To face page 1 73

CHAPTER XV
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES

THE temperate climate and the fertile soil, coupled
with freedom from drought, make New Zealand an ideal
pasture country, and it is from the products of the land that
the chief wealth of the Dominion lies to-day. In addition
to the regions which were originally covered with native
grasses, extensive stretches of sometime forest land have
been cleared for pasture. In the latter case the bush, as
the New Zealand forest is called, is usually burnt and the
gfound then sown with grass. Over iyf million acres
have been sown in this way, while the average still
covered with native tussock grass is about 14 millions.
Farmers are constantly improving their pastures by
sowing free grasses. The Government Agricultural
Department includes amongst its many activities the
improvement of the pasture lands, and farmers can not
only obtain information as to the best grasses to sow
with a view to improving present pasture lands, but they
can also get advice as to the best seed for newly-broken
bush or scrub land. Fertilizers, such as lime and super-
phosphates, are used in order to improve the soil.

Farming not only provides the basis of New Zealand's
prosperity, but is also responsible for the main features of
the country's contrasting cultural landscapes. The type
of farming naturally varies with the altitude, the climate,
and the fertility of the soil. Broadly speaking, sheep
farming is carried on in the higher and drier areas, dairy
farming in the moister lowland districts. But most dairy
farms carry some lambs and sheep, and many sheep
stations support a certain number of beef-cattle, partly to
eat off the fern and coarse grass left by the sheep,

173

174 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The introduction of the refrigerator revolutionized
agriculture in New Zealand. Before this event the market
for such commodities as meat, butter, and cheese was of
necessity limited, whereas for cereals it was not. When,
however, the farmers were able to secure a market for
meat and dairy produce in the United Kingdom they
found it more profitable to concentrate on these products
than to grow cereals ; and nowadays wheat is imported
from Australia to supplement home-grown supplies.
Arable farming is confined mainly to the South Island, and
more especially to the east of the Canterbury Plains and to
certain parts of Otago, where the low rainfall, the sunny
summers, and the level nature of the land provide favour-
able conditions. Wheat is grown chiefly on mixed farms
on which lambs, sheep, and beef-cattle are fattened. A
typical mixed farm of (say) 400 acres is usually divided
into about a dozen paddocks, half of these being under
grass or green fodder crops, and the remainder being
devoted to wheat though some oats, potatoes, and peas are
also grown. The whole routine of the farm is geared to a
rotation cropping plan : paddocks are rarely left under
permanent pasture but are ploughed up every two or three
years and then sown with grain, which is followed in
rotation by green fodder crops, more graiix, grass, and
possibly roots.

Fruit is produced chiefly for the home market, the -kind
depending largely on climatic conditions. There are
many apple orchards in the coastal districts fronting
Tasman Bay and Hawke Bay. Citrus fruits, such as
oranges and lemons, do well in Auckland, and subtropical
fruits such as passion fruit, are cultivated in the northern
coastal region of this province.

The table on p. 175 gives the approximate number of
sheep and cattle in Australia and New Zealand for the
year 1948-49, and also the export of wool and meat, and
butter and cheese for the same period. New Zealand has
little more than one-third as many sheep as Australia, but
exports nearly one-fifth as much wool. And although she

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND COMPARED 175

Australia.

New Zealand.

Number of sheep
Number of cattle

102,500,000
I33785jOOO

32483,000
4,700,000

Exports :
Frozen meat
Butter \Dairy
Cheese J produce .
Wool ....

A22,000,000

A2o,6oo,ooo
A3,263,ooo
A i 48,000,000

NZag,ooo 3 ooo
NZ28,8oo,ooo
NZ 1 1, 600,000
NZ3 1, 900,000

has roughly one-third the number of cattle that there
are in Australia, yet she exports nearly double the amount
of frozen meat. Again, though New Zealand has only
3.7 million cattle against 13.7 million in the larger coun-
try, yet her exports of butter and cheese greatly exceed
those of Australia. On a post-war average wool accounts
for rather more than 30 per cent, of the total annual value
of Australia's exports, and nearly 25 per cent, of those of
New Zealand* On the other hand, dairy produce (butter
and cheese) only amounts to about 5 per cent, of the total
value of Australia's exports compared with 32 per cent, in
the case of New Zealand.

The chief reason for the greater importance of dairying
in New Zealand is that this country has a damper climate
than Australia. Dairy cattle, which require rich pasture,
thrive in New Zealand, but in Australia, with its drier
climate, the rearing of beef-cattle is relatively more im-
portant than dairy farming. For a similar reason many
Australian farmers breed sheep for their wool rather than
for their mutton ; but those of New Zealand rear a higher
proportion of sheep capable of producing both mutton and
wool

The increase of scientific and intensive methods is
leading to a reduction in the size of the New Zealand
farms. The sheep farmer improves his land and is then
able to devote a portion to the feeding of milch cows.
This greatly increases the value of the land and also

176 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

creates a demand for labour : it is generally estimated
tliat one man is required to look after 1,000 sheep, 100
cattle, or ten milch cows. Thus, this sub-division of the
farms is leading to increased production and settlement.

SHEEP FARMING

In 1949 New Zealand, with about 32,483,000 sheep,
was the seventh country in order of world production, and
Australia, with over 102,500,000, was first. Great
Britain, with some 18,000,000, ranked behind New Zea-
land. Australia has, however, an area of over 3,000,000
square miles, but that of New Zealand is only just over
103,000 square miles less than that of Great Britain.

Nearly half the entire land surface of New Zealand is
devoted to grazing sheep and, as so much of the land so
used is quite unsuitable for any other type of farming, their
importance in the economy of the country is obvious.

Their distribution is largely conditioned by relief and
rainfall. As sheep do not thrive in regions. of excessive
rainfall few are found on the wet western slopes of the
Southern Alps. In the North Island, apart from the
volcanic plateau where flocks are lacking, sheep are fairly
evenly distributed, though there is a greater concentration
in the hill country than the lowlands. The North Island,
with 56 per cent, of the total, carries rather more sheep
than the South Island. The chief sheep rearing areas in
order of importance are the Wellington and Canterbury
Provincial Districts, the downs around Hawke's Bay and
Poverty Bay, Otago, Southland, and Auckland. The
carrying capacity of the land varies from one sheep to ten
acres on. the tussock grasslands of the South Island hill
country to six or more animals per acre on the sown
pastures of the plains. One of the earliest breeds of sheep
to be introduced into New Zealand was the Merino, which
thrives on upland pastures. But the most important sheep
to-day is the Romney, and this constitutes 18 per cent, of
the flocks as a distinctive breed, and is the predominating
strain in 70 per cent, of New Zealand's crossbred sheep.

THE EXPORT OF MUTTON 177

In New Zealand the shearing season start5 in October
in the North Island. Shearing is specialized work, and the
shearers travel from one farm to another. Expert shearers
may commence in October in the North Island and work
southwards through the country until March. The shear-
ing is carried out by machinery, and a skilled machine
shearer can shear over 350 sheep in eight hours.

After the sheep have been sheared, the wool is carefully
sorted and graded and is then packed into bales and sent
to the market. During the last war Britain purchased the
whole of New Zealand's wool clip and she still buys the
bulk of her output. Much is sent to the entrepot port of
London from which it is re-exported. The wool destined
to supply the Yorkshire mills is forwarded either to London
or to Hull, Liverpool, or Manchester,

The slaughtering of sheep, for the meat market, begins
in November and lasts until mid-winter (June). As a
rule the companies either buy the stock alive on the farm
or by weight after the carcases of the animals have
been frozen. The meat has to satisfy the Government
standards before it can be exported, and thus the de-
servedly high reputation of New Zealand lamb and
mutton is maintained.

The refrigerator ships can usually carry from 70,000 to
100,000 carcases. These steamers generally call at a
number of ports before starting on their 12,000 miles
journey to the British Isles or to other countries.

An important fact which contributes to the success of
sheep farming is the utilization of by-products. The
skins of the sheep are tanned for leather, the horns and
hoofs can be used for buttons, etc., the fat can be turned
into tallow for making soap and candles, the trimmings
of the skins can be sent to the glue factories, from the
intestines sausage casings are manufactured, and even the
blood has a market value as manure. In a recent year
the total value of these by-products somewhat exceeded
12,000,000.

The profits made by modern industry often depend on

1 78 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

the adoption of similar methods to those employed by
these sheep farmers, and it is by employing up-to-date
methods that the high standard of living demanded by
the New Zealand worker is maintained.

DAIRY FARMING

Of New Zealand's 4,700,000 cattle, about if million are
dairy cows of which 80 per cent* are grazed in the North
Island, where the chief dairying districts are the lowland
areas of Taranake, the Waikato, and those around the Bay
of Plenty. The rainfall is ample, and the mild winters
make it unnecessary to house the animals, or to supplement
the pastures with other fodder since even in the coolest
months the growth of grass is seldom arrested.

The milking is done by machinery. The machines are
worked by electricity or by oil engines, and in this way
two or three men can milk about 100 cows twice a day in
some three hours. On the majority of the farms the milk
is separated by hand-separators and the skimmed milk thus
obtained is used for feeding calves, pigs, etc., whilst the
cream is taken to a central factory. This method not only
reduces the cost of transport by decreasing the bulk to be
carried, but it is found that the cream arrives at the factory
in a much better condition than does unseparated milk.
Nearly three-quarters of the factories are run on co-
operative principles and they are owned by the farmers
who supply them. This co-operative method, which is
largely practised throughout New Zealand, does much to
reduce overhead charges.

After the butter has been made, it is packed in boxes,
each of which contains some 56 Ibs. It is kept in freezing
chambers at the factory and at the port of shipment. At
the latter place both the butter and cheese are graded and
are stamped with the " New Zealand Produce " Govern-
ment mark. They are then sent in ships fitted with cold
storage rooms to their destination which is, in most cases,
the British Isles. In addition to butter and cheese, dried

THE FRUITS OF THE SEA 179

and condensed milk and casein are also manufactured.
Of the total amount of butter and cheese produced in New
Zealand about one-fifth is used for home consumption.

FISHERIES

The fisheries of New Zealand are as yet little developed.
The total number of persons engaged in the industry
is less than 1,500 and the total annual value of the catch
is only about three-quarters of a million pounds. There
is, however, an abundance of edible fish around the
coasts, and with proper organization the future of the
industry should be a profitable one. The east coast
grounds are the only ones that have as yet been tapped,
whilst deep-sea fishing has been entirely neglected.

The principal edible fishes are bottom species, such as
flounders, and line fish, such as blue cod and gropers.
The river fisheries are developed chiefly as a means of
sport rather than for purely commercial motives. There
are important oyster beds in Foveaux Strait as well as on
the east and west coasts of the Auckland Peninsula. For
a considerable period attempts were made to introduce
Atlantic salmon into New Zealand waters, but it was not
until comparatively recently that these efforts met with
success. In 1908 the Government made a determined
effort to establish salmon in New Zealand, and in that
and subsequent years large numbers of eggs were intro-
duced from Canada and England. A hatchery was^
started on the Waiau. As a result of prolonged and care-
ful experiment the fish have been established and are
increasing rapidly.

Whaling, at one time an important industry, has greatly
declined and there is now only one shore station, this being
situated in Queen Charlotte Sound.

THE TOURIST TRADE

Those tourists and sportsmen who visit New Zealand
are more than rewarded, since few other countries in the

i8o ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

world can show, in so comparatively small an area, such
a wide range of attractions as does this Dominion for those
in search of pleasure, health, or sport. Its varied scenery
ranges from the snow-clad peaks and glaciers of the
Southern Alps, from deep-set lakes, swiftly flowing streams,
and winding fjords, and from the dignity and luxuriance
of its forests to those wonderful hot springs and geysers of
the volcanic district of the North Island. These springs
are remarkable not only for their thermal activity, but
also for their curative powers.

The Southern Alps, though not reaching the height of
their Swiss namesakes, are yet far higher than any
mountains in the British Isles, and they provide a field
of adventure worthy of the hardiest mountaineer. The
sounds of the southwest are perhaps some of the most
beautiful in the world, and here the lover of Nature
may feast both eye and mind amidst winding inlets,
whose lower slopes are clothed with tangled forest and
whose sides are seamed with foaming torrents and
dashing waterfalls.

Many of the rivers and lakes are well stocked with fish,
of which trout, originally introduced from the British
Isles and North America, are the most common. The
trout fishing of Lake Taupo is probably among the best
in the world.

To those sportsmen who prefer a gun the country offers
plenty of shooting ; pheasants and quail abound, and in
such districts as Wanganni in the North Island, or in
Westland in the South Island, it is possible to get
excellent deer stalking.

The people of New Zealand are, like those of Australia,
extremely fond of horse racing ; the meetings are usually
attended by large crowds and the Government derives
a considerable revenue from the totalisator. Of other
forms of sport Rugby football is probably the first in
public favour, but, as one would expect in a land with
so genial a climate, all kinds of outdoor activities
camping, motoring, boating are extremely popular.

COAL, GOLD, AND KAURI GUM 181

MINERAL PRODUCTION

The number of mineral deposits in New Zealand is
considerable, but, except for coal, gold, and some iron
ore, the economic value is not great. Coal ranging from
anthracite to brown coal occurs in a number of regions.
The coal mined in this area is of a remarkably high quality
and ranks amongst the best in the world. Westport, at
the mouth of the Buller River, is the principal coal-
exporting port in the Dominion, and Greymouth, farther
south, has also a considerable coal trade. 2,775,886 tons
of coal were mined in New Zealand in 1948, and about
nine-tenths of this amount was consumed in the Dominion
itself.

Since the first discovery of gold in 1853, New Zealand
has produced over 100,000,000 worth of this metal.
The output has, however, shown a great decline since
1940, and the average annual yield is less than 1,500,000.
To-day the bulk of New Zealand's gold is won by dredging,
costs being reduced by cheap hydro-power. The principal
scene of operations is the west coast of the South Island.
Some alluvial mining is also carried on in this area and in
Otago and Southland, but the total yield is small. Gold
is obtained by quartz mining at such places as Waihi in the
Coromandel Peninsula, and from the Hauraki Goldfield.
In the latter field it is found alloyed with silver.

There are extensive deposits of iron ore and of iron
sand in New Zealand, but at present production is very
limited, and it has not yet been found possible to obtain
iron from iron sand at an economic rate.

For decades many acres in the Auckland Peninsula have
been pitted by kauri-gum diggers. This product, ob-
tained from the ground in a fossilized state, is classed as a
mineral. The gum is chiefly used in the production of
varnish and linoleum. The best grades are used for
making the former, whilst the lower are used in the
manufacture of the latter. The output of this commodity

i8a ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

is now small, and the average value of the gum does not
exceed 100,000 a year.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER

Probably no other country of similar area in the
world has such great reserves of hydro-electric power as
New Zealand. The mountain streams and the vast
amount of water stored in the upland lakes represent stores
of potential energy whose value it is difficult to estimate.
These great natural resources are being gradually
developed under Government control, and wide and far-
reaching schemes have been planned, and are being taken
in hand, in order to cope with the demands of the future.
The right to develop hydro-electric power is vested in
the Crown, but the latter has power to grant a licence to
local authorities, private companies, and individuals.
Electric power boards, with wide authority over the
general development of the industry, have been set up
throughout the Dominion.

There are numerous plants in all parts of the country
and both urban and rural areas are supplied with elec-
tricity. There are to be, however, three main hydro-
electric plants in each island. In the North Island the
principal power stations are those at Arapuni and Kara-
piro, both on the Waikato River, whose total output is
somewhat mofe than 200,000 kilowatts ; and on Lake
Waikaremoana, where there are three stations with a
combined output of 92,000 kilowatts.

In the South Island the main plants are at Lake
Coleridge ; Highbank, on the middle Rakaia River ; and
on the Waitaki River, near Kurow. These three stations
have an installed capacity of 120,000 kilowatts; and there
is another at the Waipori Falls, which supplies Dunedin
with electricity.

The cost of these schemes has proved considerable, but
the advantages obtained thereby in the development of
the Dominion have more than compensated for the initial

THE BEGINNINGS OF INDUSTRY 183

outlay, and the ultimate saving has been very great. It is
now possible to provide electricity at a very cheap rate,
and town dwellers, factory owners, and transport com-
panies benefit, as well as rural industries. The extension
to rural areas is of great importance, since anything that
tends to increase the amenities of country life is of great
benefit to the State in general. There is no doubt that
hydro-electric power is one of New Zealand's greatest
assets, especially as the country is not particularly well
endowed with coal.

MANUFACTURES

In a young country such as New Zealand manu-
factures, apart from those connected with the preparation
of primary products, are not of first class importance.
Most of the population is engaged in primary production,
based mainly on pastoral -activities connected with sheep
farming and dairying. Owing to the comparatively
small population, there is a great demand for labour,
and consequently wages are high. Therefore, unless the
other costs of production are extremely low, an improb-
able supposition, manufactured goods will be unable to
compete in the world markets. Capital, too, is put into
the primary industries, where it is more certain of a sub-
stantial return. There is, however, a noticeable tend-
ency to produce goods wherever possible in the country
itself and secondary industries have grown considerably ;
but manufacture, as it is known in the large, populous
towns of older countries and in the United States and
Eastern Canada, has not yet placed its impress upon any
New Zealand city. The Dominion manufactures clothing,
boots and shoes, textiles, motor-car bodies, and electrical
equipment, as well as agricultural machinery and chemical
fertilizers. These industries have been greatly stimulated
by the development of the country's hydro-electric power
resources.

184 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

TRADE

In 1947 the total exports of New Zealand were about
127,000,000 and her imports were 128,000,000, thus
showing a fairly even balance of trade. The exports per
head were nearly 70, ranking as the highest in the world.
In considering the import and export trade one must,
however, remember the invisible imports in the shape of
the capital so needed to develop the country, interest on
investments outside and money brought in by immigrants,
tourists, etc. Owing to geographical isolation there is
little entreat trade.

Practically the whole of the exports consist of primary
produce dependent on the pastoral industries, the chief
being wool, butter and cheese, frozen lamb and mutton,
hides, skins, and tallow. These have already been dis-
cussed, but, in this respect, it is interesting to note the
seasonal variation of the export trade, which shows a great
increase in the summer months. The peak is reached in
January-February, whilst the lowest months are the winter
ones of August-September.

In 1948 over 75 per cent, of the export trade of the
country was with the British Isles, and New Zealand's
next best customers were the United States of America,
France, Australia, and Canada.

In the same year manufactured, or mainly manufac-
tured, articles accounted for nearly 60 per cent, of the total
value of the imports. Of all imported goods, those from
the United Kingdom were about 43 per cent, of the total.
In 1947 New Zealand imported goods to the value of
23,000,000 from the United States and these included
tractors and other machinery as well as petroleum ; nearly
J 5? 500*000 worth from Australia, wheat and cane-sugar
ranking high on the list ; and over 11,500,000 from
Canada. India and Pakistan supplied produce valued at
4,600,000, the chief items being bags and sacks, floor
coverings, and tea; Ceylon goods to the value of 1,950,000

TRANSPORT 185

including tea, rubber, and cane-sugar ; and much cane-
sugar was also imported from Fiji, whose total exports to
New Zealand were valued at 2,250,000. Imports from
Persia were valued at 1,800,000, petroleum being the
leading product.

There is a tariff on imports, and the Government grants
a preference to British goods and, in some cases, admits
them free of duty.

TRANSPORT, TOWNS, AND POPULATION

The importance of adequate transport in the develop-
ment of a country can scarcely be over-estimated^ for trans-
port is the life blood of modern industry. It is largely
through her excellent overseas transport system that New
Zealand has attained her present position in the world
trade of today. Though one is sometimes apt to regard
one of the chief duties of transport as the carrying of people
from one place to another, yet most of the great steam-
ship and railway lines depend for their trade on the goods
they convey rather than on their passenger traffic. It
was the introduction of up-to-date steamers with refri-
gei^ators that revolutionized the trade of New Zealand and
made it possible for her to send her otherwise perishable
goods all over the world.

In the early days of settlement such local trade as there
was between the towns was mostly carried on by small
coastal steamers, for railways were non-existent, and it
was not until 1860 that the first line was constructed.
Little further progress was made until the Railway Act
of 1870, which laid down a well-thought-out policy. After
this date development was comparatively rapid, and by
the year 1876 over 700 miles of railway line had been
built. At the present time there are over 3,000 miles of
railways in New Zealand : in Great Britain there are over
20,000 miles. The New Zealand railways are State-owned.

There are local steamer services between various ports,
of which that between Wellington and Lyttelton is the

i86 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

chief. Boats run every night in the week, except on
Sundays, and the time occupied over the journey is about
ten hours.

Steamers link New Zealand with the British Isles,
Australia, North America, and other parts of the world.
Owing, however, to the great loss of tonnage during the
last war, services are much more restricted than in pre-
war years, and it will undoubtedly be some time before
sailings are normal.

The regular steamer service between Vancouver, Hono-
lulu, Suva (Fiji), Auckland, and Sydney was resumed in
September 1947. There are other services between New
Zealand and Australia, but at present they are rather
infrequent and it is much easier to obtain a passage by air.

All the chief New Zealand towns are linked by air, and
there are also overseas services. By air Auckland is gj
hours from Sydney, whence it is another 4 days to London.
From Auckland to San Francisco and Vancouver the time
taken is about 2 days.

The two chief ports of the country are Wellington and
Auckland. The former is the premier port as regards
total tonnage of shipping, but Auckland handles a some-
what greater volume of the .export trade. Standing on the
peninsula that links the northern and southern portions of
the North Isfand, Auckland has an excellent position
for trade. It collects much of the produce of the
northern part of the Island, and to it are sent wool, dairy
produce, fruit, and frozen meat. In addition to its harbour
on the east side of the Island the town is connected by rail
with Onehunga, some eight miles away, standing at the
head of the Manukau Harbour on the west coast. The
railway to the south links Auckland with Wellington.

Wellington stands on a magnificent hill-girt harbour in
the south of the North Island. Its central position
makes it well placed to be the capital and leading com-
mercial centre of New Zealand. Apart from steamer and
air connections with other parts of the country, it is the
southern terminus of the North Island railway system. A

THE LARGEST TOWNS

187

line serving the west coast area passes through the inland
town of Palmerston North (30,100), a pastoral centre and

-22^o,

[ Coal

Kauri Cum

Food Qrtnk Tobaco
Manufactured Goods

^Dairy Produce. Apples.
Woo/. Frozen Mutton

SOUTH ISLAND

ECONOMIC PRODUCTS AND CHIEF TOWNS.

the port of Wanganui (28,200), to New Plymouth (22,000),
the principal town and port of the Taranaki lowlands.

i88 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Another railway striking northeast runs through Hastings
(22,200), with large sale-yards and a canning factory, and
Napier (22,300), a port and commercial centre on Hawke's
Bay, to Gisborne (18,500), the outlet for the pastoral
district around Poverty Bay.

The chief towns in the north of the South Island are
Nelson (18,200), an apple-collecting centre on Tasman
Bay, and Blenheim, the capital of Marlborough. A rail-
way connects Lyttelton, on a sheltered harbour, with
nearby Christchurch, the largest town in the South
Island. ^Founded as a Church of England settlement,
Christchurch still presents many of the features of an
English county town. It is a well-planned city, with
broad streets, squares, and gardens, and it is, at the
same time, the chief industrial centre of New Zealand*
Here are situated works for the manufacture of railway
rolling stock, agricultural implements, woollen and leather
goods, and many other articles.

Since the opening in 1923 of the Otira tunnel, Christ-
church has been connected by rail with the Westland
district. This trans-montane line passes through some of
the finest scenery in the Dominion. The tunnel through
which the railway runs is the seventh longest in the world
and the longest in the British Empire, and this section of
the line has been electrified. Greymouth, where the rail-
way reaches the west coast, is a small coal and timber
exporting port, and Westport, farther north, is the chief
coal port of the country, the mineral obtained from this
region being of a remarkably high quality.

South of Christchurch the railway runs across the
Canterbury Plains through Timaru (22,100) to Dunedin.
Founded as a Scottish settlement, Dunedin is picturesquely
placed on hills at the head of Otago Harbour, a sinuous
inlet that requires dredging to keep it open for shipping.
On it stands the outport of Port Chalmers.

Invercargill (30,000), the chief town of Southland, still
bears the impress of the early settlers who laid it out in
square blocks, with exceptionally broad streets to facili-

POPULATION 189

tate the housing of their wagons and bullock drays. Its
recent history, marked by steady development, reflects the
growing prosperity of a countryside concerned partly with
dairying and growing oats, but mainly with the produc-
tion of wool, lamb, and mutton. It is 17 miles from its
port of The Bluff, on Foveaux Strait, on the south side of
which lies the thickly forested Stewart Island.

In the early days of settlement the number of inhabi-
tants in the North Island exceeded that in the South
Island. Gradually, however, the number of people in
the former island grew somewhat less and the greatest
population was found in the South Island. The Maori
Wars of 1860-1870 had much to do with retarding the
development in the North Island. In 1901 it was found,
however, that this latter area had once more the greater
population, and since this date it has retained its lead.
Today about 67 per cent, of the 1,834,000 people in the
Dominion live in the North Island.

Somewhat more than 40 per cent, of the people are
found in the four chief centres of Auckland, Wellington,
Christchurch, and Dunedin, and 55 per cent, of the in-
habitants live in urban areas. It must not, however, be
forgotten that in many of the smaller urban areas the
people are largely engaged in agricultural pursuits. -In
the decade preceding the war of 1939-45 there was a
marked decrease in the drift to the urban areas, but since
the war there has been an increase in the urban population.

There are no really large towns in New Zealand like
Sydney or Melbourne in Australia, but like those in the
latter country most of the larger New Zealand towns are
ports or are situated close to the sea. Auckland has a
population of 290,000, Wellington of 186,000, Christ-
church one of 164,000, Dunedin of 88,000. Of the
remainder four Invercargill, Palmerston North, Hamil-
ton and Wanganui are around the 30,000 mark, four
more New Plymouth, Hastings, Napier, and Timaru
are in the neighbourhood of 22,000, and two Gisborne
and Nelson have a population of somewhat more than

i go ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

18,000. There are five towns with about 10,000 inhabi-
tants, and nine with between 10,000 and 5,000. The
secondary towns are widely distributed, and though most
towns have increased in size since the beginning of the
present century, there does not appear to be any likelihood
of an undue concentration of the population in some
particular district, such as there is, for example, in the
industrial regions of the British Isles.

CHAPTER XVI
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT

TASMAN'S discovery of New Zealand was merely
nominal. On sighting the Southern Alps, he had cruised
northwards and anchored in Golden Bay at the eastern
end of Cook Strait. After an encounter with the natives,
he had set sail with the intention of exploring the Strait,
but adverse winds had driven him back. He had there-
fore continued his way northwards and at the North Cape
had taken leave of his latest discovery, to which he had
given the name of Staten Land. The Dutch Government
had not followed up his exploration, and for over a
hundred years New Zealand remained forgotten.

Cook's arrival at Poverty Bay in 1769 was the second
and practical discovery of the group. But for a long time
little attention was paid to New Zealand by the British
Government. However, with the settlement of Australia,
British seamen increasingly visited the waters around New
Zealand for the purposes of whaling and sealing. Many
of these seafarers founded settlements, especially on the
North Island. The natives, though warlike, were quite
willing to trade, and such things as axes were in especial
demand, for until this time iron was unknown to the
Maoris, who had lived in a Stone Age, but they were very
quick to perceive the advantage of an axe over a weapon
made from stone. The seamen found that such things as
kauri pine masts fetched a very high price in Sydney. A
trade, too, rose up in tattooed heads, but this gruesome
traffic was ultimately suppressed.

In 1814 the Rev, Samuel Marsden, a missionary, came
to New Zealand and landed at Whangaroa a spot at

191

192 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

which there had been a massacre some five years pre-
viously. Though for a space of nearly ten years no con-
verts were made, yet the example of the missionaries had
such an effect on the Maoris that slavery and cannibalism
were almost abolished. The missionaries also introduced
a system of writing for the Maori language. For a con-
siderable time they were opposed to the annexation of the
country and thereby caused much feeling at times between
themselves and the early settlers.

Meanwhile the musket had been introduced, and in the
tribal wars which persisted from 1818 to 1835 ^ caused a
large reduction in the native population.

In 1833 New Zealand was nominally joined to New
South Wales, and a resident officer was appointed ; and
some six years later the New Zealand Company was
founded. The chief personality in the company was
Colonel Edward Gibbon Wakefield. He had been unfor-
tunate in his private life, but he was one of the few people
who had the vision to see the great future that lay before
New Zealand and in the British Empire in general. The
officials of the Colonial Office and the authorities of the
Church Missionary Society opposed Wakefield and his
plans. Unable to obtain help or even encouragement
from the Government, the New Zealand Company, with
Wakefield's advice, resolved to send a pioneer party to
New Zealand under the leadership of Wakefield's brother.
Large tracts of land were secured in the neighbourhood
of Cook Strait and soon, even before a report was received
from the pioneer party of the Company, fresh settlers
were dispatched to the country. This first band of real
settlers arrived in their new home in January 1840 and
took up their abode round Port Nicholson on Cook Strait.

At last the Home Government decided to annex New
Zealand, and Captain Hobson was detailed to carry out
the work. By the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed
in May 1840, the Maori chiefs of North Island acknow-
ledged British sovereignty and a few months later the
South Island also passed under British rule. On the

EARLY STRUGGLES 193

signing of the Treaty the Governor issued a proclamation
stating that no land purchases from the Maoris would be
recognized unless they had been carried out under
Government sanction. This proclamation was really
aimed at land speculators, many of whom had obtained
grants of land from the natives by very questionable
methods. But the result was great confusion. Many of
the colonists who had purchased the land from the New
Zealand Company, in perfect good faith and at high rates,
were now deprived of it. After much delay the New
Zealand Government cut down the amount of land which
Wakefield had bought on behalf of the Company from
20,000,000 acres to something under 300,000.

Hobson established the capital of the new state at
Auckland in the North Island. The town was situated in
an excellent strategic position on the peninsula joining
the two portions of North Island. This was not, however,
the reason for Hobson 5 s selection, for owing to his dislike of
the New Zealand Company the Governor did not wish to
make Wellington, the town which the company's colonists
had founded, the chief town. Later the capital was
moved to the latter town which, on account of its central
position, proved the most suitable place for government.

The weak policy of Governor Fitzroy, who succeeded
Hobson, led to native risings and in 1844 there was a serious
outbreak of fighting between the colonists and the natives.
This was settled by Sir George Grey, who was sent to
replace Fitzroy. After peace had been restored Grey
saw that if the natives were to remain contented they
must be occupied, and he employed many of them at good
wages on works of road construction. Grey also bought
large tracts of land from the Maoris and did much to
settle outstanding land questions. He made a study of
the native tongue and traditions and gained a very con-
siderable insight into their character. He was much
helped by Bishop Selwyn, who also did a remarkable work
in carrying out the organization of the Episcopal Church
in New Zealand.

194 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Meanwhile, Scottish Presbyterians established a settle-
ment at Dunedin in 1848, and in 1850 English Church-
men founded Christchurch. In the early days there was,
owing to lack of roads and difficulties of transport by sea,
little communication between the various settlements,
though with the advent of steam and the making of roads
these difficulties gradually disappeared.

In 1850 the New Zealand Company surrendered its
charter. It had had to face discouragement and opposi-
tion throughout its career, and though it did not appear
at the time to have been a great success, yet it was the
early colonists sent out by the Company who laid the
foundations upon which the young State grew and
prospered.

During his term of office, from 1845 to ^53^ Sir George
Grey did much to establish the young colony on a firm
basis and to prepare the way for self-government, which
was granted in 1852 and which became effective in 1854,
a year after Grey had retired.

In 1860 land troubles again broke out. The immediate
cause was a dispute between the Government and one of
the native tribes over a matter of land purchase in the
Waitara district in the west of the North Island. The
real reason which underlay the dispute was, however, the
fear of the Maoris that the white settlers would soon
acquire all their lands. War broke out and intermittent
fighting continued until 1870, when the struggle at last
ceased, and peace was finally restored between the white
and the native races.

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

As one of the Dominions which compose the common-
wealth of nations known as the British Empire, New
Zealand forms a self-governing unit. In 1 907 the designa-
tion of the country was changed from the Colony of New
Zealand to that of the Dominion of New Zealand.

By the Constitution of 1852 the government was vested

THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT 195

in a Governor, representing the British Sovereign, and the
General Assembly. The latter consisted of two chambers
an upper one known as the Legislative Council and a lower
one termed the House of Representatives. There were
also to be six Provincial Councils.
. The Legislative Council is a nominated body and
consists of thirty-four members. Before 1891 they were
appointed for life, but since that date the period of office
has been limited to seven years, though members are
eligible for re-appointment. The Governor is also
empowered to appoint not more than three Maori
members. In 1914 an act was passed which made pro-
vision for an elective Legislative Council to be set up
at some future date, but this act has not yet been
implemented.

The House of Representatives is a popularly elected
body. It has eighty members including four Maoris.
The whole adult population is entitled to vote. The
country is divided into single-member constituencies,
which are adjusted after each five-yearly census. There
are four electoral districts for the Maori population, who
are not allowed to be registered on the ordinary electoral
roll. The term of Parliament is fixed for three years.

Each House is presided over by a Speaker, and members
receive a salary and free railway passes. As in Britain,
the power of the purse is vested in the popularly elected
House.

The Provincial Councils were necessary in the early
days, when difficulties of communication made it impos-
sible for a central government to function properly. But
when settlement increased and it became obvious that
development ought to proceed on national rather than on
provincial lines, they were swept away, being formally
abolished in 1875. The Local Government of New Zea-
land is now carried out through counties, boroughs, and
independent town districts. There are also a number of
Boards which manage the roads, water supply, land
drainage, hydro-electric power, etc.

ig6 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

New Zealand is one of the most advanced democracies
in the British Commonwealth, and yet, at the same time,
it prizes the connexion with Britain more than most.
There are no other countries in the Commonwealth,
except the United Kingdom, where the State itself directly
controls so many activities.

Of these the railways are one of the most important, and
as in other countries, especially in those which are not yet
fully developed, they form a vital factor in promoting
settlement and trade and in increasing land values. As
in the British Isles, the posts and telegraphs are worked
by the State as well as such services as education and
public health. There is a State Hydro-electric Depart-
ment and a State Life and Fire Insurance Company.
The Government has a special department for advancing
loans to settlers and to local authorities. New Zealand
was the first country to introduce old age pensions, whilst
at a later date widows' pensions were also given. There
is, in addition, a system of family allowances : grants are
made to parents whose means are limited and who
through this reason would otherwise be prevented from
providing a proper up-bringing for their children.

Both primary and secondary education are free, secular,
and compulsory; and pupils who qualify for a university
course receive a grant for tuition fees. Every effort is
made to provide education for children in isolated
districts. Free passes are given on the railways, and Local
Education Boards are empowered to provide free trans-
port, where necessary, by school buses. Grants are
also given to pay for the board of children who are
obliged to live away from home in order that they may
attend school. Since 1922 a system of correspondence
lessons for children livirtg in particularly isolated areas
has been organized by the Education Department: This
system has proved quite successful.

The University of New Zealand was formerly an
examining and controlling body only, to which were
affiliated four colleges situated respectively at Dunedin,

THE BRITAIN OF THE SOUTH 197

Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. By the Act of
1926 its constitution was altered and these colleges be-
came university colleges. Each of the four in addition to
providing the ordinary university education, specializes in
some particular branch. There is, for instance, a School
of Mines at Auckland and an engineering school at Can-
terbury. There are also a number of agricultural colleges.
All the institutions receive an annual grant from the
Government, which helps to meet their expenses. And
the clever child, otherwise handicapped by lack of means,
is able to climb the educational ladder from the bottom to
the topmost rung.

The educational system of New Zealand may be
regarded as typical of a country where there is, so far as
is humanly possible, equal opportunity for all ; where
there are no leisured classes and few class distinctions ;
and where there is no hereditary aristocracy, and few cases
of excessive wealth.

THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND

New Zealanders often call their country " The Britain
of the South," and of all the Dominions this outpost of
our Commonwealth is certainly the most British, for 98
per cent, of her population is of British descent.

Like the Mother Country, New Zealand is an island
group, but, whereas the former lies in the centre of world
trade routes, the latter is situated on the outskirts ; the
Mother Country is a highly-developed land with a large
surplus population, whilst the daughter is a youthful state
with empty spaces that need peopling.

And it is probably because of her isolation that New
Zealand fully realizes the advantage, one might say the
necessity, of Commonwealth tie. She is fully conscious of
her own individuality and refuses to be regarded as an
outlying portion of Australia, stressing in this respect her
position as a completely independent and self-governing
dominion of the British Commonwealth. In this she is
right, for she lies some 1,200 miles eastward of the larger

ig8 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

country, and, though many of her problems may resemble
those of Australia, yet she feels that she must settle them in
her own way.

Never was New Zealand's attachment to the Mother
Country more in evidence than during the wars of
1914-18 and 1939-45. ^ n each of these about 10 per
cent, of the total population served in the Armed Forces,
and distinguished themselves on many fronts.

To New Zealand have come settlers from all parts of
England, Scotland, and Ireland. There is, it is true, a
Scottish element around Dunedin in the south, an English
around Christchurch, and various Irish elements in many
of the mining centres ; but all these stocks have blended
together in a greater degree in New Zealand than in the
British Isles, The relative isolation of their country has
.helped to develop in the New Zealanders an independent
spirit, and their close contact with the land has stimulated
in them a love of freedom.

New Zealand owes much to the early colonists of the
New Zealand Company who established themselves
around Port Nicholson in 1840 and to the Scottish and
English settlers who made their headquarters in the South
Island, for nearly all these early pioneers were men and
women of sterling character, foresight; and vision, and
their descendants have played no small part in the
building up of this new land beyond the seas.

Unlike Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand lies
outside the tropics, and therefore the whole of her lands
are climatically suited to white settlement. Thus, the
difficult problem of the development of extensive tropical
areas, such as are found in the more northern portion of
Australia, fortunately does not arise.

The people of New Zealand, like the Australians, are
determined that their country shall be a white man's land,
and they do not allow non-Europeans (i.e* 9 those who are
not of white descent) to settle within their boundaries.
Since 1861 somewhat more than half a million people,
mainly of British extraction, have migrated to New

IMMIGRATION 199

Zealand. In the early pioneer days the colony relied
largelyonimmigrationtoaugmentherpopulation. Sincethe
'seventies, however, the increase in population has been
chiefly due to natural causes, namely the excess of births
over deaths. In recent decades immigration has contri-
buted little towards increments in population. In 1926
the excess of immigrants over emigrants was 11,800, *but
during the world trade depression of 1931-35 there was
actually a net exodus from New Zealand of nearly 10,000
people. In 1936, when economic conditions began to
improve, a small inward flow was again resumed, but
chiefly owing to war conditions scarcely more than 14,000
settlers entered New Zealand between 1936 and 1945.
Since the end of the war the total number of immigrants
has been small, and has not exceeded 5,000 persons in any
one year. Thus as regards immigration in post-war years,
New Zealand presents a marked contrast to Australia,
where, largely owing to the determination of the Govern-
ment to increase the population of their country, there has
been a steady flow of settlers v , the majority coming from the
British Isles.

The question of the native Maori race is not a serious
problem when one compares New Zealand with such
countries as South Africa or even with the United States
of America. The Maoris are comparatively few in
number (109,000) and they have been, in recent years, a
peaceful race. At one time it appeared that they were
rapidly dying out, but fortunately this is no longer the
case. There is no real colour question in New Zealand in
the sense in which the phrase is usually understood.

As compared with the British Isles, the climate is on
the whole milder, and there is much more sunshine.
Thus, the people live more of their life in the open air
than do the average British folk. These facts help to
make the New Zealanders a healthy stock, and a visitor
from England is at once struck by their tanned appear-
ance. Few live far from the sea. Many have their homes
beside it and the crash of the Pacific breakers upon the

200 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

shore is ever in their ears. They are great swimmers.
They are also great sportsmen : cricket, Rugby football,
and horse-racing are among their main pastimes. But
most of them work hard, and the output per head of the
farming community is one of the highest of any country in
the world.

The main business of the New Zealanders is the deve-
lopment of the land, and they are, as a nation, in the
primary stage of production. The comradeship of the
land produces a sense of equality, and in New Zealand the
democratic way of life is seen to the best advantage. The
social services are among the most advanced of any nation
in the British Commonwealth. In short, New Zealand is
outstanding as a " welfare state", and no other country
provides a better example of Government "of the people,
by the people, for the people".

PLATE VII

. , ,, -

[Ht'gA Commissioner for New Zealand
A. A MAORI STUDY AT ROTORUA, NORTH ISLAND

Commissioner for New Zealand
B. AUCKLAND, WITH DEVONPORT AND RANGITOTO ISLAND IN BACKGROUND

[To face page 200

[To face page 201

THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

XVII. THE PAPUAN REGION : PHYSICAL CONDITIONS . . . 203

XVIIL LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS 216

XIX. THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC 235

MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

Lines of Volcanoes in the East Indies .... 205

The Papuan Region 214

Cel6bes 217

The Moluccas and the Southeast Islands . . . .221

New Guinea 226

Arcs of the Western Pacific ...... 236

Tau 238

Tofua 238

Thithia 239

Mothi 1240

Nukufetau * 240

Viti Levu : Rainfall pillars 343

Viti Levu : Rainfall map 244

Grouping of the Pacific Islands 248

The Fiji Group 253

Hawaii 255

Samoa 256

Tonga * 257

CHAPTER XVII

THE PAPUAN REGION: PHYSICAL
CONDITIONS

THE region here named Papuan is taken to include a
large number of islands, some of which show an affinity
with the Australian continent, while others are more closely
related to Asia. Geologically and biologically, it is diffi-
cult, if not impossible, to mark a definite line of division
between the two continents. The structural movements
which first separated them have left so narrow a gap
between, that the animal and vegetable life from each
side has mingled to form a broad transition belt. The
migrations of men have been equally facilitated, and
settlement has led to a widespread mixture of race and
culture. Structurally, it is an area of unrest, and the
surface of the earth's crust above and below sea level is
far from being settled to permanent stability.

STRUCTURE

Till near the end of the Mesozoic epoch Asia and
Australia were united in one land mass ; but during the
Cretaceous period (to which the chalk of the English
Downs belongs), and in the Eocene period, volcanic
activity was widespread in Africa, India, Australia, and
America. Then, after an interval of rest, volcanic
eruptions and earth movements on a large scale recom-
menced during the Miocene period.

The upheavals and depressions which at the end of
the Mesozoic epoch divided the two continents were
more extensive to the east than the west, and Australia
was the first to be broken up. This is shown by the deep

203

204 THE PAPUAN REGION

seas dividing the Moluccas from each other ; while the
proximity of the 50-fathom line to Java, Sumatra, and
Borneo indicates subsidence of much more recent origin.
The deep channels dividing the islands of Bali and Lom-
bok and passing through the Macassar Strait to the
Celebes Sea mark the structural division of the two
continents and the limit of the Asiatic undersea plateau.

The tectonic movements of the Cainozoic period left the
folded systems, known as the Alp-Himalayan and the
Circum-Pacific. These, though approximately contem-
poraneous, differ in that the direction of the former was
influenced by pressure from northern blocks, while that
of the latter was ordered by the subsidence to which the
Pacific ocean owes its origin. The folds of the crust,
forming the Alp-Himalayan Cordilleras, have extended
eastwards In two lines, the southern one passing through
the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java a and Flores, the
northern one passing through Buru and Ceram to the
mountains of New Guinea.

Later fractures occurred in the area between these two
lines round the island group of Banda : subsidences
formed the Banda and Weber Deeps (3,560 fathoms), and
cross fractures broke up the land into islands and separated
the Moluccas from New Guinea. These last earth move-
ments are apparently still in progress. The sedimentary
rocks of the Kei Islands were laid down in the middle of
this subsidence from the materials deposited in the same
basin as the lowlands in southern New Guinea.

The present instability of the earth's crust in this part
of the Pacific is further proved by the almost continuous
chain of volcanoes that extends along the western side of
Sumatra, through Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands as
far as Timor. It then turns north to the Southwest
Islands, makes an eastward loop through the Banda
group, then westward by Amboina to Buru 3 where it
turns north to the Moluccas. The range is here broken,
but another starts in the extreme north of Celebes
and passes to the Philippines. A high proportion of

LINES OF VOLCANOES

205

2o6 THE PAPUAN REGION

these volcanoes are active, and the natives of these
islands are said to reckon time by the recurrence of their
eruptions.

On the other hand, the islands of Celebes (with the one
exception mentioned), Sumba, Timor-Laut, Ceram,
Misol, and New Guinea, lying on either side of the
volcanic belt, which averages 50 miles in width, are
entirely free from volcanoes. This suggests that the
volcanic belt marks the boundary of ancient continents
of which the other islands formed part and affords some
explanation of the distribution of flora and fauna in the
archipelago to-day. The volcanic soils have added
largely to the fertility of the ground, as it has been found
to do on the sides of Mount Vesuvius.

The coasts of most of the islands, notably on the west
and east of Timor, the strings of islands east of Java,
portions of the Moluccas, and the Kei and Aru islands,
are raised from coral formations, and this gives the
characteristic whiteness to their shores.

CLIMATE AND NATURAL VEGETATION

All the islands here under survey lie within 12 of the
Equator, and are therefore in the equatorial belt of climate,
similar to that found in the basins of the Amazon and the
Congo. The temperature is oppressively hot all the year
round, with an average of about 80 F., and this uniformity
is further enhanced by the maritime position of the islands.
The uniformly high temperature is caused by the vertical
angle at which the sun strikes the earth in these latitudes :
the noon position of the sun is never more than 35 from the
zenith, and the diurnal period ranges only between eleven
and thirteen hours. Within 4 of the Equator, the range
of temperature never exceeds 5 F., and the temperature
reaches its highest point twice in the year, each time
shortly after the equinoxes. This illustrates the greater
force of the sun-ray, the more vertically it meets the
earth. The mean monthly temperatures at Port Moresby

MARITIME EQUATORIAL CONDITIONS 207

in New Guinea (lat. 9 S.) will serve as an example of the
type:

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

Jun.

77 F.

76 F.

77 F.

77 F.

77 F

76 F.

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

75 F.

74 F.

75 F.

76' F.

76 F.

78 F.

The rainfall of this region is also of the equatorial type,
and is largely controlled by the convectional currents of
air in the belt over the Equator. The general uniformity
of temperature in the upper and lower layers of atmo-
sphere results in constant precipitation throughout the
year,, but these islands are further moistened during the
southern summer by the monsoon wind blowing off the
sea between November and March. The migration of
the sun to the southern Tropic causes a shifting of the
wind systems of the world some 10 degrees to the south,
and thus the Northeast Trade, which prevails normally
between the Equator and lat. 30 N., is drawn south of
the Equator and, being deflected in the southern hemi-
sphere to the left according to Ferrel's Law, becomes a
northwest wind. This hot air draws from the sea mois-
ture which condenses as the air is forced upwards to cool.

The land mass of the Australian continent heats up
under the rays of the summer sun, and this results in the
formation of a low pressure system which attracts the air
towards it, thus gradually strengthening the force of the
monsoon as the depression deepens. The effect of the
moisture-bearing monsoon from the northwest is apparent
from the vegetation, and its diminishing effect as it passes
east is exposed by a similarly diminishing verdure. Thus
Java may be cited as receiving the fullest benefits of the
monsoon, as is seen by the luxuriant vegetation of its
equatorial forest, but the east end of the island is drier,
and the islands of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Flores
become increasingly less fertile, until Timor is found to be
an arid waste. Timor and the group of islands around it

so8 THE PAPUAN REGION

prove their affinity with the Australian desert by this
climatic distinction.

It is the rising air over the continental desert that
diverts the monsoon 3 and the heat of the air prevents the
condensation of the water- vapour that it bears, and this is
the cause of the diminishing benefits of the monsoon. At
Kupang, on the west coast of Timor, the days with rain
in each month between May and October average less
than four, and the mean monthly rainfall is less than
2 inches.

Where the monsoon brings rain, luxuriant forest covers
the islands from sea level almost to the mountain tops,
and New Guinea, the Moluccas, and Celebes are all so
covered, except for occasional tracts due perhaps to
ancient clearing and cultivation or to fires. In Lombok,
Sumbawa, and Flores the trees gradually change towards
the east into the thorny and prickly type, and the forest
degenerates to scrub. In the sparse vegetation of Timor
the Australian type only is found, the eucalyptus, acacia,
and sandalwood ; but mostly coarse and scanty grass
prevails. Where more moisture exists locally a more
luxuriant verdure is seen. The islands Wetter, Kamb-
ing, and Roma are completely desolate. The Moluccas
are the home of the spices, nutmeg and clove ; palins,
Kanary trees, and dammar pines predominate in the
forest ; and ferns, creepers, and flowering shrubs form
the undergrowth.

From March to November the Southeast Trade wind
prevails and generally produces a parching effect upon
the lands that it crosses ; but the mountain barrier of New
Guinea forces it through the Torres Strait, where it picks
up moisture from the sea. This it abundantly deposits
upon the island groups of Timor-Laut and Kei, with the
result that every rocky islet is clothed with verdure.

The abundance of the rainfall is everywhere controlled
by altitude, and thus local differences are marked. Again,
the main structure lines affect local rainfall conditions.
The southern coast of New Guinea, a^ well as its

EUROPEAN LIFE 20 g

northeast coast, has a dry belt, stretching for about 100
miles and caused by the direction of the mountain ranges.
Where the prevailing southeast wind blows parallel to the
main mountain system little moisture is dropped, but
wherever spurs run in a westerly or easterly direction the
wind rises and causes precipitation. Port Moresby, with
an annual mean of 39 inches, is the centre of one of
the dry coastal belts. But practically the whole rainfall
occurs in the months of January, February, and March,
causing a greenness in the vegetation at that time, while
for the other nine months of the year nothing but brown,
bare waste is visible. A similar irregularity of rainfall is
noticed in other districts. Thus, the three wettest months
of the year at Samarai are March, April, May ; at Kikori
(annual average, 239 inches), May, June, September ; at
Woodlark Island, January, March, September ; at Dam,
January, March, and April.

The European's ability to live in the Hot Belt depends
very largely upon the humidity of the air. If the atmo-
sphere contains more than a certain percentage of
moisture, the evaporation from the skin is checked,
causing an unhealthy perspiration, which leads to a feeling
of indolence. The capacity of a cubic foot of dry air
heated to 100 F. is 1977 grains of water, whereas if the
air be cooled to 32 F. it can only hold 2*11 grains of
water. The capacity of air is therefore dependent on
temperature. For the purpose of considering the capa-
bility of a European to live in the tropics, the readings of
the wet bulb give a more exact indication of the tempera-
ture to which he can adapt himself and, if a relative
humidity of 75 per cent, at a temperature of 80 F. be
taken roughly as the point where life becomes generally
uncomfortable, the following figures for towns, occupied
on the coast of New Guinea, may be studied :

Port Moresby

Wet bulb average temperature, 76-1 F. ; relative
humidity, 76 per cent.

210 THE PAPUAN REGION

Samarai

Wet bulb average temperature, 76-5 F. ; relative
humidity, 80 per cent.

The constancy of the sea breezes, which are compara-
tively cool, makes the heat in these islands more tolerable.

NATIVE PLANTS

The natural vegetation is controlled principally by the
rainfall, but largely, too, by differences of soil and
altitude. The equatorial forest, with its teak, ebony, iron-
wood, palms, and bamboos, with its undergrowth of
lianas, epiphytes, ferns, and flowering shrubs, pre-
dominates on the mountains and far up the mountain
sides, but towards the mountain tops the character of the
forest changes to the temperate type with oaks, laurels,
conifers, and even heaths, and the mass of rattans
and other climbers gives way to a more penetrable under-
growth.

As we pass east we find the species of plant gradually
changing from the Asiatic type, with its fig-trees and ferns,
its parasite orchids and pitcher plants, to the eucalypts
and acacias of Australia. Thus, Celebes is without the
spices of the Moluccas or the camphor and benzoin of
Borneo, but has eucalypts and cycads. In the northern
part of Papua there is a predominance of gigantic trees
which are covered with lianas, are essentially of the
Malayan type, and show little diversity of species, while
the southern plains are covered with Australian eucalypts.

The northern forests, where there is a greater rainfall,
are of the equatorial type on the lowlands and often
degenerate into densely wooded bogs ; but the mountain
ridges are clad in temperate forests. The southern low-
lands have a mixture of the Australian rain forest, though
more luxuriant, and every variety of the monsoon forest.
The spices, for which the East Indies first became famous,
are indigenous to the Moluccas, viz., the clove, nutmegs,
kardamoms, pepper ; the Kanary nut and cajaput tree

ANTMAL LIFE 211

produce oil, the massorinde cinnamon. Flores is remark-
able for its sandalwood and sapan wood (which are
both dyewoods), and teak is indigenous in Sumbawa,
Volcanic soils, as in the Moluccas, have added enorm-
ously to the fertility of the islands.

ANIMALS

The division between Asia and Australia is further
marked by the distribution of the fauna on both sides.
The characteristic Australian species exist in the islands
which have been described as "Australian, but are not
found on the western side of what is known as the
Wallace Line. This faunistic frontier was first pointed
out by A. R. Wallace, the co-discoverer of the theory of
natural selection, and it is therefore named after him.
Wallabies abound in New Guinea, and a species of cuscus
is found in all these islands as far west as Bali. The
cuscus is a woolly opossum, usually of a white colour ; it
climbs trees and for this purpose is endowed with a long
prehensile tail ; its meat is much sought after by the
natives, but its thick woolly coat protects it against their
darts, and they have considerable difficulty in killing it.
Bats are numerous, and wild pigs are found everywhere.

The birds present endless varieties, all of Australian
origin, and add gorgeous colouring to the forests.
Parrots, kingfishers, pigeons, and the strange mound
builders are among the commonest and most typical.
The last named is a peculiar kind of fowl which builds
a mound of leaves over its eggs and so causes them to
hatch by the fermentation of the decaying vegetation.
Wingless birds are represented by the cassowaries, while
the gorgeous colouring of some varieties of the birds of
paradise is a feature of New Guinea and the surrounding
islands of the Australian continental shelf. It should be
noticed that structure accounts for the distribution of
the fauna : among these islands we have differences of
vegetation, ranging from the rich luxuriance of the

212 THE PAPUAN REGION

Moluccas to the desert aridity of Timor, but the birds
and insects are alike in species, suggesting that the dis-
tribution of animal life is not wholly controlled by
climate and vegetation.

The island of Celebes is geologically a portion of an
ancient block and represents the point of contact between
the two continents. Its natural history suggests that
upheavals on either flank have at one time connected it
with Asia, at another with Australia* Thus, the island
differs from Java and Borneo in having no tailed monkeys,
no insectivora, no felines or canines, no elephants, no
rhinoceroses or tapirs. It has five large quadrupeds : a
large tailless ape, a small buffalo, a wild pig, the horned
pig, or babirusa, and a deer. The last is similar to that
of Borneo and, like the tarsier (one of the lemurs) and
the civet cat among the smaller quadrupeds, was prob-
ably introduced in a domesticated condition from Malaya,
for the Malays often keep them as pets. Among the smaller
animals are five kinds of squirrel, two of rat, and two of
cuscus of the New Guinea type. The ape, the buffalo, or
anoa, and the babirusa are peculiar to this island and
appear to have belonged to it before it had been connected
with either Asia or Australia.

The seas abound in fish, the commonest being huge
rays and gropers of brilliant hues, mullets, oysters, and
sharks. Dugongs, which live in the sea, but have
stomachs like the ox and eat grass, wallow among the
rocks of the New Guinea coast.

NATIVES

The distribution of races throughout the Pacific
shows a variety of mixtures ; but the migrations, though
largely hypothetical, can be based upon the more certain
geological history. Melanesia was first peopled toy an
eastward drift across southern Asia, when the present
islands were united by land passages. These people all
had woolly hair and were of pygmy stature : isolation
in the Nassau Mountains of New Guinea has preserved

A RACIAL HOTCH-POTCH 213

remnants in the Tapiro, who are obviously of negrito
origin, with short black hair, abundant on face and body,
and yellowish-brown pigmentation. They are charac-
terised by a deep and convex upper lip. Similar traces
are to be found in other tribes in New Guinea, and they
are represented in the Aridamanese, the Semangs of
Malaya, the Toalas of Celebes, and the Aetas in the
Philippines.

The pygmies are supposed to be a variety of the primi-
tive eastern round-headed, crinkly-haired race, one branch
of which drifted south into central Africa. But it may be
inferred that all members of this race were not of excep-
tionally small stature. Hence, other less extreme forms
may be found in New Guinea, which marks the eastern
limit of the drift across land. A taller variety than the
Tapiro are the " Goliath " pygmies, who are also found
in the Nassau range. In the upper reaches of the Mam-
beramo is a mountain tribe, the Timorini, who are very
short, but not pygmy, and have rather longer heads than
usual among these peoples. The Ipi tribes of the Gulf
Papuans are the tallest of this variety, while the Maipua,
inhabiting the Purari Delta, are short, but definitely long-
headed.

The peoples of the northern and southeastern coasts of
New Guinea are later immigrants, as is proved by their
language and general culture ; they are mesocephalic
and have a lighter skin-colour, and a considerable variety
of hair is to be seen. As in central Africa, so in New
Guinea, the pygmies have been gradually pressed into the
dense equatorial forests.

Another early drift from Asia of a very long-headed
people has left traces in the population of the East Indies,
notably in the Kubus of Sumatra. They are akin to the
Veddas of Ceylon and the Sakai of the Malay Peninsula,
but they are taller and have rounder heads and broad,
flat noses. In skin colour they are dark brown or black.

The typical Papuan has woolly hair, is dark in colour,
short of staturfc and long-headed, but there is evidence of

214

THE PAPUAN REGION

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LANGUAGE COMPLICATION 215

a round-headed folk migrating overland to the south of
New Guinea. These people have spread widely over
Melanesia.

They represent the most primitive inhabitants of the
islands, and their earliest members did not advance
beyond savagery ; but very much later in time a series of
migrations spread in a southeasterly direction from Asia.
The newcomers were of much higher culture : they were
tillers of the soil, not mere hunters and collectors : they
came by sea, after the mainland was separated from the
islands, and presumably in outrigger canoes : they intro-
duced a new type of language, Austronesian. These men
were lighter of skin than their forerunners, and their
hair was wavy or straight. They soon mixed with the
Papuan stock and formed what are usually called the
Melanesians. There have been later sporadic movements
from Polynesia into Melanesia, but only of local influence.
The variations on the north coast of New Guinea, on its
southeastern peninsula, and in the archipelagoes beyond,
are explained by the migration of Melanesians into those
parts.

Language is of little or no assistance in determining the
origin of the people, and nearly every tribe has a form of
speech peculiar to itself. Generally in the Moluccas and
in the islands west of New Guinea some variety of Malay
prevails : in New Guinea the dialects are mostly of
Papuan origin, and differ from the Melanesian and
Austronesian languages, but have an affinity with
Australian. On the eastern coast and in the smaller
islands to the east and southeast Melanesian is spoken,
but the same speech does not extend far beyond the
coast. The small island of Rossel uses Papuan. The
islands of Woodlark, Misima, and Sud-Est use a hybrid
of Melanesian, known 'as Melano-Papuan.

The population throughout the islands is mainly con-
fined to the coasts because of the inaccessibility of the
interiors, owing to either their mountainous nature or
their dense forests.

CHAPTER XVIII
LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

THIS region is divided politically between the Dutch,
Portuguese, Australians, and the Republic of Indonesia.
The Portuguese hold the northeastern half of Timor and a
small coastal area west of the port of Atagupu in the same
island. The Dutch hold the western half of New Guinea
and the small islands connected with it. The rest now
forms part of the Republic of Indonesia, an independent
sovereign state in union with the Netherlands. This part
of Indonesia is divided into three provinces : (i) Celebes,
(2) Moluccas, and (3) the lesser Sunda islands.

CELEBES

The island of Celebes, which covers an area of 4.8,061
square miles, is of a peculiar spider-like shape, spread-
ing in four long and narrow peninsulas to the south
and east. In the widest part is.a mountainous tableland,
from which high ridges run along each of the peninsulas.
On either side the ridges fall steeply to the sea, and no-
where is there a broad coastal plain. Mount Klabat
rises as a peak of 6,621 feet at the northern extremity and
Mount Bonthain over 10,000 feet at the southern end of
the westernmost peninsula. The surface is broken by
rifts, and in Minahasa solfataras and hot springs point
to a volcanic formation. The northern peninsula is
extended in the Sangihe Islands, the southwestern in
Saleier, the southeastern in Muna and Buton, while that
between the Gulfs of Tomini and Tolo passes under
water to the Peleng and Sula Islands. The Spermonde

CELEBES

217

Archipelago off the coast of Macassar is also structurally
a remnant of Celebes. Numerous lakes are to be found
on the plateau, of which Poso and Towuti are the largest.
Owing to the configuration of the island the rivers are

Cj&/<Sjfr:$ $* <J^tf

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CELEBES.

short 3 the Sadang, which rises in the central massif, and
runs in a southerly direction to the west ..coast, being the
largest. The course of the streams is necessarily over
constant rapids, and their heavy loads tend to block their
mouths, so that they are not navigable, though the Poso

218 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

and Sadang are open to boats some part of the way up-
stream.

The population, which has now reached 5 millions,
is confined chiefly to the narrow coastal plain, and is most
dense in Minahasa, with 105 people to the square mile.
At least six native peoples are included among the in-
habitants, the Toalas, Torajas, Buginese, Macassarese,
Minahasese, and Gorontalese* The Toalas are the most
primitive, living in the forests and being partly nomadic.
They are found in communities among other tribes, show-
ing that at one time they were enslaved. The Torajas
represent a more highly-developed people, but are only
gradually emerging from savagery 3 since they occupy
fortified villages and practice head-hunting. They live
in isolated groups on the highlands and the lowlands, but
the mountain life has preserved a greater vigour among
the former, while the latter have become weak and lazy.
They are primitive agriculturists and display the elements
of culture in the arts of plaiting, pottery, wood-carving,
and iron-work. Society is based on the family and the
tribe is merely an extension of the family, without social
distinctions or tribal chiefs.

The Buginese and Macassarese, both probably of Toraja
descent, show a still higher standard of development, and
as shipbuilders they are unsurpassed in the archipelago.
Their prahus are to be found sailing in every sea, which
they traverse with keen trading instinct. At home they
are employed in collecting the forest products and keeping
buffaloes, cattle, and horses on the grass lands, while
their industries, if not highly developed, are various.
Weaving is the chief, especially for making sarongs, the
skirts of the native dress. Plaited goods are made in
Watampone (Boni) ; gold and silver work in Macassar,
Majene, and Watampone ; and iron-work in Palopo and
Majene. For amusement they are devoted to feasting,
gambling, and cock-fighting.

The Minahasese are quite distinct from all the others
and have spread to the Sangihe Islands. These people

LIFE IN CELEBES 219

were entirely savage until the introduction of the coffee
plant by the Dutch in 1822 brought the islanders to an
agricultural and settled way of farming. Rice is grown
in the swamps, and maize on the drier ground, and these,
with sugarcane, tobacco, and vegetables, compose the
main food crops. Coffee, as well as rubber, kapok, 1
and nutmegs, is grown for export. Copal, 2 dammar, 3
and rattans are collected from the forests and are
exported, together with hides and horns of cattle. There
is, besides, a considerable trade in ebony, sandalwood,
and other timbers. Three gold mines are working near
Manado, and the seas are fished for turtle and mother-
of-pearl.

In the villages the women are mostly occupied in
pounding and cleaning rice for daily use ; in fetching
wood and water ; and in cleaning, dyeing, spinning, and
weaving cotton for making sarongs. The men do the
ploughing with the help of buffaloes as soon as the rainy
season begins, and plant rice, which can then be left till
harvest. They grow a few vegetables and occupy the
rest of their time in occasional mending of their houses or
basket-making, but much time is given to idleness.

As the normal means of communication is by the sea
the only towns of any size are on the coast. Only in
Minahasa are centres of a considerable population to be
found inland, as at Tondano, standing 2,000 feet above
sea level. Manado is the chief port and centre of adminis-
tration of this part. Macassar, which is situated on the
most extensive part of the coastal plain, is the capital of
Celebes and is the largest port. Numerous small ports,
like Bonthain, receive regular visits from the Dutch Royal

1 Kapok a tall forest tree, whose seed-pods produce silky fibres like
cotton. The fibre is remarkable for its lightness, buoyancy, and impermea-
bility, and is therefore most used for stuffing lifebuoys, cushions, etc. Oil
expressed from the seeds is used to make oil-cake, margarine, soap.

2 Copal a resin, used in the manufacture of varnishes and enamels.

8 Dammar the resin of a conifer, used for varnish manufacture, pro-
duced either by natural exudation from the tree-stem or by tapping.

220 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

Mail Packet Company. Gorontaio has an excellent har-
bour, and, like Manado, is in direct touch with Java and
Singapore.

THE MOLUCCAS

The name Moluccas was originally confined to the
group of islands off the west coast of Halmahera
(Ternate, Tidore, Makyan, and Motir), from which the
nutmeg came. Various island groups have been added
to them politically, Bachan, Obi, Ceram, Bum, Amboina,
and the Banda Islands. Halmahera is the largest, and
its composition of gabbro and other eruptive rocks
points to its volcanic origin. The island consists of four
long and comparatively narrow peninsulas ; mountain
chains of an average height of 3,000-4,000 feet run
along these peninsulas, and where they sink to the sea
on the east are the three bays of Kau, Buli and Weda.
On the western side is the smaller bay of Dodinga. Coral
is found around the coast, and in the interior, high up
on the mountains, coral formations are visible, pointing to
the upheavals that the land has undergone. Limestone
occurs in the southeast, and there are stalactite grottoes
at Sagea. The mountain sides are covered with forests,
which yield dammar and iron-wood and in which the
nutmeg grows wild. Rice is grown in the swamps, but
the sago palm is the mainstay of the native diet. The
Dutch Royal Mail Packet Company's boats call at Patani,
the chief port, and at Galela, Tobelo, Kau, and Weda.
Fishing for trepang and pearl shells offers further occupa-
tion.

Here is to be found a true forest people, partly nomadic,
living only in shelters. They are clothed in nothing but
a loin-cloth and head-dress, and they live by fishing,
hunting, and collecting, and by the simplest cultivation of
the ground.

Separated by the Patiente Strait, Bachan lies off the
southwest corner of Halmahera, In the south the

THE MOLUCCAS AND SOUTHEAST ISLANDS 221

Land over 6OOfeet

Jailolo
Ternateo
Tidore

THE MOLUCCA ISLANDS

Miles

50

HALMAHERA

* OBI

C E R A M

BURU

THE SOUTH EAST ISLANDS

Miles

25 5O

Land over 6OO feet \

Babar 1?

THE MOLUCCJAS AND THE SOUTHEAST ISLANDS*

The town of Jailolo is on Dodinga Bay*

222 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

mountains rise to 6,000 feet. Sulphurous springs are still
active, and small quantities of.gold and copper have been
noted. The surface and soil present considerable variety,
and small streams wash the mountain slopes. The forest
contains particularly fine trees, as well as screw pines.
The chief products, sago, coconuts, cloves, nutmegs, and
dammar, are exported from Bachan, the chief port and
capital.

The islands of Tidore and Ternate are volcanoes rising
out of the sea. When first visited by Europeans, each of
these islands contained a powerful sultan, and Ternate
was until recently the residence of the Dutch governor.

Another Dutch governor resided in Amboina, a small
island consisting of two peninsulas, joined by a sandy
isthmus about a mile wide. The western inlet thus
formed provides a magnificent harbour, rich in corals.
On its north side the swamp is cleared ; coral rocks are
visible, protruding through deep red earth, while the
forests are a mass of palms, ferns, and rattans. Ceram, a
larger island to the north of Amboina, specializes in the
production of sago. The staple food of all these islands is
sago. The ease with which a palm can be peeled and the
pith extracted and cleaned makes living simple, and a
tendency to indolence in the people is the natural result.
It has been reckoned that ten days' work will provide a
man with a year's food, ready cooked. The tree, too,
which is a species of nipa palm, provides the material for
houses, and the long spinnate leaves are used for thatch-
ing.

LESSER SUNDA ISLANDS

The string of islands from Lombok to Flores together
form a minor natural region, in possessing a unity of
volcanic and mountainous structure and of rice as the
staple" food* The natural vegetation tends to become
more thorny as the drier climate prevails. Water has to
be conserved and irrigation is practised for the cultiva-
tion of tobacco, cucumbers, yams, beans, maize, and

LESSER SUNDA AND TIMOR 223

sweet potatoes. Lombok is the most highly developed
in this way ; Sumbawa has no natural reservoirs and the
streams, dashing down precipitous mountains, often dry
up in the summer. The coasts are broken Sumbawa
is cut nearly in two by a long and deep gulf and
the seas are made more dangerous to shipping by the
surf. The interior of Lombok is a mass of abrupt rocky
hills and steep ravines, covered with clumps of bamboos
and palms. A higher region is much drier, and cultiva-
tion here is only possible on the borders of the streams ; In
the centre of the island are expanses of short turf, dotted
with clumps of trees. The forests produce sandalwood,
sapan, and beeswax, and teak is indigenous to Sumbawa.
Sumbawa and Flores export ponies.

Mataram is the capital of Lombok, and Amparan,
which carries on a trade mainly in rice and coffee, is the
chief port.

TIMOR GROUP

Timor roughly 300 miles long by 60 miles broad
has no volcanoes, except Timor Peak, which has been
quiescent since 1 638. The adjoining islands of Kambing,
Wetter, and , Roma are, however, volcanoes, and now
desolate masses of rock. The drought and poor soil
produce little natural vegetation but scrub, though on the
higher parts coarse grass prevails. Here sheep and ponies
are raised. Cultivation is practised, but only of a primi-
tive kind ; wheat is grown at 3,000 feet. Gold, copper,
gypsum, and petroleum are present, but are not being
exploited.

Civilization has hardly penetrated into the island
beyond the coast. The native Timorese mostly live in-
land in the mountains and have not yet risen above bar-
barism ; the various tribes are frequently at war with
each other, and most of the villages are consequently
stockaded. Their houses, round in shape, are built on
piles, with a roof of grass or palm leaf thatch. The men

224 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

are armed with bow and arrow, spear and sword, and use
a blow-pipe for hunting. Taboo and polygamy are cus-
tomary, and each village usually has a special taboo
house called Uma Lull. The men dress in a two-piece
garment of patterned cotton, tied by a decorated belt, and
often wear a kind of shawl and a sort of turban. The
women wear the sarong and numerous ornaments, while
tattooing on both sexes is usual. They engage themselves
in weaving and plaiting and in the manufacture of
weapons and ornaments. Along the coasts fishing and
copra growing are the chief occupations.

The lack of inland communications retards develop-
ment, but sandalwood, copra, ponies, cattle, and hides
are exported, chiefly from Kupang, the main port,
though landing is difficult here during the Northwest
Monsoon, and from Atagupu. The Portuguese capital,
Dilli, exports coffee, copra, hides, cocoa, shells, and wax,
and imports cotton goods, petroleum, and wine.

The islands off the southwest coast, Semau 3 Rotti, and
Savu, also belong to this group.

TIMOR-LAUT GROUP

This group (see map, p. 221) consists of Yamdena,
Selaru, Larat, and several smaller islands, mainly of coral
formation. A mountainous ridge runs along the east
coast of Yamdena, and from there it sinks towards the
west until only the higher parts appear as islands above
the water. The mountain sides are thickly wooded,
and the lower west coast is fringed with coconut and
sago palms and mangroves along its narrow foreshore.
Many of the other islands have extensive swamps. In
these islands, owing to a drier climate, maize becomes the
staple crop and food, though rice is grown in small
stretches, where the conditions are favourable. Yams
and fruits, like mangoes and plantains, grow well, but
owing to the small depth of soil the trees do not grow to
normal height. The low rainfall causes a lack of fresh

EQUATORIAL GLACIERS 225

water and an absence of rivers. The Inhabitants are
primitive savages of a virile type, many of them
standing over 6 feet high. They hunt and fish and
practise a primitive agriculture ; but the men are in the
main indolent, and most of the work is done by the
women. They are remarkable for a high artistic sense,
which is shown in the carving on the pillars of their
houses and their work in iron and copper and gold.
Though the tribe has a headman, the people live a
communal and independent life.

NEW GUINEA

New Guinea, with an area of 312,329 square miles,
contains two mountain chains, separated by McCluer
Gulf. One, contained in the northwest peninsula of
Berau, is the end of an upraised arc, which extends
westwards through Misol, Obi, and the Sula islands.
The other chain extends the length of the island under
various names* At the western extremity are the
Charles Louis Mountains, then the Nassau Mountains,
rising to 16,000 feet. The snow-line is at about 14,600
feet, and Mounts Idenburg (15,150 feet) and the Carstensz
peaks (16,400 feet) have glaciers. The next section to
the east is called the Orange Mountains and contains
Mount Wilhelmina (15,312 feet). Passing again eastward
through the Bismarck Mountains, of an average height of
about 1 3,700 feet, which apparently form the main water-
shed, we come to the southeastern part of the chain, the
Owen Stanley, in which Mount Albert Edward (13,220
feet) is the highest point.

The southeastern peninsula extends into the d'Entre-
casteaux and Louisiade Archipelagoes, where volcanic
activity is easily discernible, while the northern part of
the system is continued in the Bismarck Archipelago and
Solomon Islands. The hills in the south between the
rivers Digul and Fly are structurally an extension of
Australia. The northern coast falls steeply to the shore,

aa6 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

THE INTERIOR OF NEW GUINEA 227

and the steepness of angle is continued into the floor of
the ocean. On the southern side the mountains overlook
a wide lowland, which sinks into the sea to reappear in the
Am and Frederick Henry Islands. The mountain ridges,
which strike generally in a southwesterly direction, are
divided by deep furrows, so narrow that vocal communica-
tion is easy from mountain to mountain though they may
be a three days' journey apart to the traveller. This
structure of the country impedes communication, espe-
cially as the valleys and mountain sides are covered with
dense forest ; and exploration of the interior is still only
beginning. The tree limit may be set at over 10 500
feet.

The rugged mountains and deep chasms, together with
numerous streams and cascades, falling over frequent
rapids, provide a scenery of remarkable beauty. The
Mamberamo River rises in the Nassau Mountains and
flows into the Pacific Ocean near Cape d'Urville on the
north coast : the mouth is in the only wide lowland plain
on the north, coast and is easily the largest opening into
the central plateau from this side. Further to the east the
Sepik enters the sea, draining the mandated territory
of Northeast New Guinea. Sea-going vessels penetrate
this river for 180 miles.

The largest river in the south is the Fly, which rises in
the Victor Emmanuel Range. It is joined by the Strick-
land in the middle of the lowlands and emerges from a
region of flats and swamps into the Gulf of Papua. It
is navigable to whaleboats for 600 miles. The Digul
also, with its headwaters in the Star Range, meanders
across^the plain in a southerly and then more westerly
direction to discharge its waters by a long estuary into
the Arafura Sea, just north of Frederick Henry Island.

These rivers and the smaller ones are the only means of
intercommunication, and travelling is naturally done
everywhere by boat. Exploration of the upper waters is
still being carried out gradually by Government patrols.
When it is remembered that the mouths of most of these

228 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

rivers are liable to be blocked by sandbanks or their
channels overgrown with the dense equatorial foliage, it
will be realized how difficult of penetration the country
is. Moreover, the whole island is thickly covered with
jungle and, even now, practically no roads exist.

This difficulty of penetration, coupled with the isolation
caused by a world position off the track of commerce, at
the extremity of the land hemisphere and on the edge of
the ocean hemisphere, has caused the island to be little
affected by external influences, and thus we find here men
still living in savagery and barbarism, such as man passed
through in other parts of the world in the Stone Age.

The native population is confined chiefly to the coasts
and to the river banks, and, as these areas have been the
first to feel outside contacts, their inhabitants have been
the first to make progress. But the few tribes spread
over the interior have been more averse to accepting
enlightenment owing to their greater isolation. Though
most of the tribes have now reached the state of a settled
village life, based on horticulture, there are still many,
especially in Netherlands New Guinea, which are nomadic
or semi-nomadic. They live largely by hunting and collect-
ing. Where sago is the staple food, there is little incentive
to work ; coconuts are usually abundant, and the sweet
potato, sugarcane, plantain, papaw, and tobacco can
be cultivated with a minimum of energy. Fishing by
hook or spear affords easy food for those living on the
coast or rivers.

The houses are usually built on piles for protection
against wild beasts or, in the deltas, to prevent their being
flooded. In most of the villages along the Sepik River
and along the Papuan Gulf there is a large house built for
the habitation of the unmarried males, who are initiated
at an early age and pass through a series of mysteries as
they grow up, each stage presenting a new revelation of
life.

The chief pleasures of the people are feasting and head-
hunting ; the latter, less common since more enlighten-

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 229

merit has been brought by the European, is often con-
nected with a theory of winning new names, because the
conqueror assumes the name of the man whose head he
captures, and so, no doubt, in theory the strength of the
victim. Cannibalism still exists in many parts and is
probably a relic of human sacrifice, but the cannibals see
nothing indecent in eating their fellow men, and, as a rule,
they are quite easily persuaded to substitute a pig where it
is required for ritualistic purposes. The drum is the
characteristic musical instrument. Every native is
addicted to chewing the betel nut, though now tobacco
is becoming almost universal as an alternative.

The men have little clothing beyond a loin cloth, but
the women wear the sarong. In some localities their
bodies are tattooed, in others covered with cicatrices, and
the wearing of jewellery is common. Their weapons are
usually the bow and arrow, spears, and occasionally
daggers, mostly made of stone. In the Dutch territory
some tribes use daggers made of the jawbone of the
crocodile or the thigh bone of the cassowary. This illus-
trates how these folk have not yet reached the "iron"
age.

The social organization is fundamentally based upon
the clan, which is a far wider order than the family.
Theoretically, all its members have a blood relationship
to each other, but their kinship has often become remote
according to our Western ideas. Kinship is normally
traced through the mother, and family names are
unknown. Usually no two persons of the same clan may
marry, though in a few cases a man may not marry out-
side the clan. With the clan organization is connected
totemism, which is based on a theory that the souls of the
clan were once a certain species of animal or bird, and
apparently the modern representatives of the species are
therefore sacrosanct, as containing the life of the clan. In
many cases the totem is a linked one and contains a
species of bird, snake, plant, and fish. No one will on any
account kill his totem ; but, on the other hand, their

230 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

consciences are apparently not offended if they see others
destroy it. In fact, one tribe will encourage the spread
of its totem in order to provide food for a friendly tribe
which is not under the same obligation.

A cult of the dead exists among some tribes, but it is
not connected with the gods. Occasionally a god-cult is
to be found, and with it a priesthood. Mohammedanism
has spread in some form or other from the west into many
districts. Sorcery and witchcraft play a large part in the
daily life, and a death by natural causes is always attri-
buted to such arts. A universal belief in ghosts adds to
the sense of fear that prevails.

Netherlands New Guinea has been very little developed,
except on the extreme western coastal plain facing Ceram,
and parts of the northern coast. Geelvink Bay is blocked
with islands, including the Schouten Islands, and trade is
developing among them. The Royal Mail Packet Com-
pany calls at Seruei, on the south coast of Japen Island.
The natives ply a lucrative trade by collecting the natural
products of the forest copra and nutmeg ; and they hunt
the cassowary for its valuable feathers. Merauke is the
chief port of the south and here is the only considerable
white settlement, the residence of the Dutch Gezaghebber
or Governor.

British settlement in Papua began with the arrival of
prospectors in search of gold. But, though a fair amount
has been exported, the winning of it has not always been
worth the expense ; yet there are fair prospects of dredg-
ing the northern rivers with more lucrative results in the
near future. Copper is being mined with good hopes near
Port Moresby, and petroleum was discovered in 1911
round the Gulf of Papua, though the conditions make the
sinking of wells difficult. But, as has since been discovered
in both Australia and South Africa, though it was not
realized by the Spaniards in Peru during the sixteenth
century, the real and lasting prosperity of a country
depends upon the products of the soil, acquired by agri-
culture ; and it is in the fertility of the soil, together with

ECONOMIC PRODUCTION 231

a constant supply of rain and warmth, that the future
wealth of Papua rests. Such is the richness of this land
that, where a road has been cleared, in three weeks' time
the whole of the ground is covered with creeping plants
of some size.

The genial conditions have odd effects upon plants
addicted to more temperate conditions, tending to pro-
vide a luxuriance of quantity rather than quality : thus
the English apple-tree will grow to the size of an oak, but
the fruit is small, if prolific, and of no value ; a single
cob of maize will triplicate, but very little flour can be
produced ; wheat has hundreds of heads, containing
seed the size of pin-heads ; the common couch-grass
grows to a height of 19 feet.

The crops which are most suited to the climate and have
done best are coconuts and rubber, and these, with sisal-
hemp, now of little consequence, were doing well until the
conditions of the 1914-18 war spoilt the market. The Aus-
tralian Navigation Act, too, which has the force of allow-
ing cargoes between Australia and Papua to be carried in
none but ships manned by Europeans, has had a dele-
terious effect upon the exports, especially when constant
strikes in Australian ports have limited the number of
ships plying to Papua.

The mentality of the native, who has grown up for so
many generations to regard a minimum of labour in the
fields as all that is necessary to provide him with a suffi-
cient food supply, proves a difficulty for the European
planter in search of labourers, and the lack of an agricul-
tural tradition makes it hard to teach the native the
rudiments of the art. Consequently, it has been almost
impossible to try skilled planting on a wide scale. Tea
would flourish on the hillsides, but its commercial exploi-
tation depends upon a sufficiency of cheap labour. In
Papua labour is cheap, but sufficient numbers of men
cannot be persuaded to enrol. The cultivation of rice is
more suited to the native temperament, as it does not
require such constant attention, and the numerous

232 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

swamps and river beds provide ground fitted for the
planting. Though good crops are being obtained, how-
ever, the transport difficulty arises before they can be
put upon the market.

The forests provide numerous and valuable commo-
dities, especially tannin from the mangroves and the
many and varied products of the sago palm. The pith of
the latter is dried for export as the commercial sago, and
the heads of the fruit are stripped for the vegetable ivory
they contain, while the timber is useful for matches,
veneers, and three-ply wood* Resins, gutta-percha, and
dye-plants are also collected, together with oil and medi-
cinal plants, and are brought down to the ports for ship-
ment. Ebony and cacao may be added as two other
sources of wealth.

Agricultural development and exploitation of the forest
are alike seriously handicapped by lack of roads. The
native instinct to move by water limits the use that would
be put upon these costly symbols of civilization, and
the expense of making them and repairing the constant
damage caused by the monsoons is prohibitive. Before a
new road can be sanctioned by the Government, a definite
objective must be found, such as a region bound to be
developed, and in the present condition of native life
such a demand is hard to prove. Roads do not encourage
settlement, and until they do it is hard to find an excuse
for making them.

The settlements are all on the coast and serve as entre-
pots for trade. The chief are Port Moresby, Daru, and
SamaraL The last is on an island off the eastern end
of Papua and is set in beautiful surroundings. Daru, on
the western side of the Gulf of Papua, is also on an island
in order to avoid the swamps of the mainland. Port
Moresby is the headquarter station of Government, but
is not a pretentious town. The money spent on it has
been applied principally to hygiene, and this scheme has
been highly successful^ for the settlement has a fine record
of health.

THE EUROPEAN ENTERS 233

An interesting contrast in the customs of two colonising
powers may be seen by comparing the Government
buildings in Port Moresby with those at Rabaul. The
former are marked by simplicity because they have been
erected at small cost, while far more has been expended
in opening up the interior of the country ; but the late
German headquarters at Rabaul have a pretentious edifice,
calculated no doubt to impress the native mind with the
power of Government ; yet, in spite of the expense
incurred in this way, little attempt had been made to
press far into the interior of the land under their adminis-
tration.

EXPLORATION BY EUROPEANS

The Spice Islands, though long known by reputation,
were ultimately placed on the map by two of Albuquerque's
officers, d'Abreu and Serrano, in 1511, soon after his occu-
pation of Malacca as the key to a Portuguese Empire in the
Indies. Their expeditions gained some knowledge of Java
and Sumbawa, and finally reached Amboina and Ternate.
The voyage of Magellan, too, under Spanish auspices,
which culminated in the first circumnavigation of the
world, had the Moluccas as an objective, and these were
reached in 1520. The rivalry for empire and commerce
between Spain and Portugal was brought to an end in
1529 by a treaty by which Spain withdrew her claims for
a sum of money, and Portuguese forts and factories were
established in Amboina, Banda, Celebes, and Halma-
hera. Drake visited the East Indies in 1579, but English
seamen confined their interests in these parts to trade and
exploration.

Before the end of the sixteenth century the Dutch had
arrived on the scene to avenge their wrongs at the hands
of Spain. This took the form of an attempt to monopolise
the spice trade, and in 1602 the Dutch East India Com-
pany was incorporated. By a treaty of Westminster in
1674, the English East India Company agreed to leave
the East Indies to the Dutch and to confine to India its

234 LARGE ISLANDS AND GROUPS

activities in this sphere. For the next 100 years the
Dutch were in the ascendant, until their power gradually
declined towards the end of the eighteenth century.

In 1 8 10 Amboina, Banda, and Ternate were captured
by the British, who regarded them as part of the Napo-
leonic Empire, but the islands were handed back to the
Dutch at the Treaty of Vienna in 1814. During the
remainder of the nineteenth century the Dutch extended
their territories, thereby involving themselves in a succes-
sion of wars with native princes, but reform of govern-
ment accompanied their successes in all the islands,
including Java, Celebes, the Moluccas, the Sunda Islands,
and New Guinea.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century the Chinese
and Japanese began migrating to the East Indies in
increasing numbers, and anxiety from this cause led the
European Powers mutually to define their claims. Thus,
in 1895, New Guinea was divided between the Dutch,
Germans, and British. The Germans, however, lost their
territory after the Great War, when it was mandated to
the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1898, as a result of
the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, Sula Islands,
and Guam in the Ladrones, were ceded to the United
States, while the Carolines were sold to Germany. The
latter were occupied by the Japanese during the 1914-18
war and were administered by them under a mandate until
I 945 3 when they were conquered by the Americans.

The war of 1941-45, during which all the Papuan islands
except part of New Guinea were occupied by the Japanese,
produced a social and political upheaval in the islands
held by the Dutch. The Dutch still hold their portion of
New Guinea, but the remaining parts of the Netherlands
East Indies now form the unitary Republic of Indonesia.

CHAPTER XIX
THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

STRUCTURE AND ORIGIN

THE vast surface of the Pacific Ocean is dotted with
myriads of islands, large and small. Some lie on the
shelves of the marginal continents, while others stand
isolated in mid-ocean. It is with the latter only that we
have to do here, and our attention will be concentrated
more particularly on those situated in the southwestern
Pacific and known by the romantic name of the South
Sea Islands.

Though purely oceanic in climate, flora, and fauna, the
islands appear for the most part to lie along well-marked
lines which are often continued under the sea by submarine
ridges. The map on the next page will make this clear.
Whether these lines are remnants of former continental
highlands is unknown, though the Solomons, Santa Cruz,
New Hebrides, and New Caledonia look very like con-
tinuations qf the lofty mountains of New Guinea, and the
submarine ridge on which they stand points to some
possible connection with New Zealand. Eastwards of
this arc is another containing thousands of small islands,
but the structural rock seldom comes to the surface. The
festoon arrangement of the peninsulas and island groups
of Eastern Asia is well known. Perhaps the Pacific arcs
are a similar, though feebler manifestation, their relation
being to the mountains of eastern Australia. The Bonin-
Ladrones festoon meets and joins the outer arc of the
Pacific in the Marshall Islands. The only true oceanic
islands therefore are those which lie outside these arcs.

Many of the islands are volcanic in origin. The inner
arc is a portion of the cc fiery girdle of the Pacific " and

235

236 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

contains an almost continuous chain of cones. Recent
volcanoes occur in the Solomons and New Hebrides, while

Tinakoru in the Santa Cruz group and Tanna in the New
Hebrides are still active. Earthquakes are not uncommon
along this line. In the outer arc volcanic activity has
almost died out, the cones being extinct. Tonga and

HIGH AND LOW ISLANDS 237

Samoa alone have recent volcanoes. Dead cones occur
sporadically beyond the arcs,, and many of the Isolated
islands, like Easter Island, are ancient volcanoes. Hawaii
deserves special mention. Its main island rises like a
huge boil 26,000 feet from the ocean floor and is topped
by the giant crater of Mauna Loa, which, with its
adventitious crater, Kilauea, is one of the world's most
peculiar volcanoes. Constantly active, its vast crater
forms a wide cauldron in which molten rock of unusually
high fluidity is for ever boiling. At times the lava over-
flows, scarring the hillside with its glassy rock. Often
it cools into a treacherous crust at the crater lip, forming
terraces and making approach dangerous for the unguided
tourist. When seen at night, the dark red of the boiling
rock is very impressive and recalls the image of the
Miltonic hell. Farther eastwards, the Galapagos Islands
also owe their existence to volcanic action and contain at
least one recent cone. In Fiji the volcanoes have been
eroded almost into stumps, but Mount Washington in
Kandavu still preserves the characteristic form.

Physical Types

Physically, the islands are of two kinds : the high and
the low. The former occur sporadically everywhere, but
are found especially in the west, where whole groups fall
under this head. Most of them are volcanic in structure
and rise abruptly from the sea to a height of 3,000 or,
in the case of the larger islands, 4,000 feet. All the more
extensive islands belong to this kind, the most important
being the bigger individuals of the Fiji group. New Cale-
donia, and the Solomon Islands in the southern hemi-
sphere and Hawaii in the northern. Steep gradients,
combined with a heavy rainfall, have caused "a high rate
of denudation, and the surface relief is much broken and
the topography extremely irregular. The diagrams on the
next page show two sub-types of high islands. The first is
typical of the single peak which raises its top above the
ocean ; the second is a volcanic cone, complete with

238 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

THE ISLAND OF TAU IN THE SAMOA GROUP.

It is just the top of a single-peaked mountain, with gradients varying
between i in $Jr and i in 5. The cross-section, which is drawn on a true
scale, gives an idea of its appearance.

THE ISLAND OP TOFUA IN THE TONGA GROUP.

It is a typical volcanic cone, complete with crater lake, and rises starkly
from the sea.

CORAL REEFS AND ISLANDS 239

crater lake. A third sub-type, which is not illustrated
here, is the whale-backed island caused by the protrusion
of a ridge above the surface of the sea.

Coral Formation

Some of the intertropical high islands are surrounded by
a fringing reef of coral. This variety of coral formation is
not so common in the Pacific as it is in the West Indies,
but the diagram below shows a perfect specimen. The
majority of the islands are ringed
about by barrier reefs which lie at
distances ranging from a few hundred
yards to 10 or 12 miles. Into the calm
water enclosed by them innumerable
streams, fed by a heavy rainfall, pour
a mass of sediment, flooring the area
within the reef with a thick layer of
mud. Hence, in spite of their steep
sub-aerial gradients, the high islands*
have wide, low foreshores sloping TmTHI t' FlJL

i . i 11 AI . A high island bor-

gently into a shallow sea. Almost dered | y a fringing
everywhere the ebb tide uncovers a r cef.
strip several hundred yards wide, though the tidal range
does not exceed 3 or 4 feet. This tide-washed mud is
favourable to the mangrove, which in course of time adds
a' strip of alluvial lowland to the majority of islands.

The diagram at the top of p. 240 shows a small island with
a fringing reef and also a curiously arranged barrier reef.
In many cases the barrier reef occurs without an enclosed
island. These are the thakau^ or atolls, concerning whose
mode of formation Darwin and Murray have put forward
rival theories. Their shape is determined by the relief of
the peak on which they are built and is by no means as
symmetrical as book diagrams often suggest. The figure
on p. 240 shows a good specimen. In this case the
reef is roughly square and contains a lagoon whose water
reaches a depth of 20 fathoms in places. The habit-
able areas are narrow strips of soil formed by accumula-

240 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

MOTHI, Fiji.

A high island bordered by a fringing reef and enclosed in a barrier
reef.

S iwlc&

NUKUFETAU, IN THE ELLICE ISLANDS.

A thakau or atoU. The shaded areas on the reef are covered with soil
and contain bushes and coconut trees. Note the passage into the
lagoon.

TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY 241

tions of coral sand and jetsam of various kinds in the first
instance, and later added to and enriched by decaying
vegetable matter and the droppings of sea birds. Coconut
palms and other trees grow in profusion, together with an
undergrowth of shrubs . Such islands are " low ' ' and exist
in many thousands in the Pacific. For instance, Tonga,
the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, and Paumotu, consist
almost entirely of them. In them alone exist the clear
lagoons which are so often wrongly attributed to the high
islands.

A further manifestation of coral reef formation is the
sea reef, of which the Great Barrier Reef of Australia is
the largest specimen. It occurs when a submarine ridge
approaches sufficiently near the surface in tropical waters
for the coral polyps to build upon it. Its form is a long line
of reef stretching for miles, but containing no definite
islands. A typical example is found in the Great Sea
Reef stretching westward for over 50 miles from the
island of Vanua Levu in Fiji (see p. 253).

Climate

A few of the islands lie just outside the tropics and enjoy
a delightful subtropical climate. Unfortunately, their
fewness and smallness make them unimportant. South-
wards from the Tropic of Capricorn the islands rapidly
become bleak and wind-blown. The intertropical islands
have an equatorial climate of a maritime type. In the
low islands the control of the sea reaches its maximum.
The midday temperature seldom rises above 80 F., nor
does it fall below 78 F. Towards the Tropics groups like
Fiji and Hawaii have a noticeable cool season and a
slightly greater range. The great humidity of the air
makes the heat oppressive and almost unbearable in
summer to the European. Temperatures of 78 F. in Fiji
make even indoor work nearly impossible for English
officials between noon and 3 p.m., while in Queensland
in the same latitude life is tolerable with the thermometer
at 120 F. Great seasonal displacement of the thermal

242 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

equator takes place in the southwest. In January this
line passes well to the south of the main Fiji group,
causing the N.E. Trades to visit those islands in February
and March. The influence of the rotation of the Earth,
however, makes these winds change their direction
and blow from the northwest soon after they enter the
southern hemisphere. From May to December the
S.E. Trades prevail, the thermal equator having moved
north again.

The passage of the Doldrum belt over the intertropical
islands causes great disturbances in the weather. Terri-
fying thunderstorms are frequent, and incredible torrents
of rain, accompanied at rare intervals fay destructive,
slaty hail, descend on the land. Downpours of 10 inches
in a few hours are not infrequent. The greatest on record
was 33 inches in a single night at Suva in March, 1903.
About this time, too, the islands are liable to be swept by
severe cyclonic storms. In Fiji the " hurricane season "
lasts from December to May. The damage caused by the
passage of these storms is extreme. Houses are blown
down, ships wrecked, and trees uprooted wholesale by
the violent winds, while destructive floods are caused by
the accompanying rain. Whole plantations of banana
trees are sometimes blown over.

Except for a few weeks when the midday sun is at its
lowest, the sky is covered with a pall of clouds which
blanket the heat and often make the nights sleeplessly hot.
During the short period of clear skies radiation is intense
after sunset, and the thermometer may fall 15 or 20 F.
within an hour. It seldom goes below 50 F. at night,
however, except at high altitudes, and frost is unknown.
This season is pleasant in the islands close under the
tropics ; June in Fiji, Tonga, and Tahiti, and January in
Hawaii being mild and not too damp. To the European
who has spent several successive hot seasons in the tropics
the air is distinctly chilly at this time, while the native
feels it necessary to warm himself at night by lighting a
fire in his windowless hut.

RAINFALL 243

The rainfall is more or less evenly distributed through-
out the year, with one or two maxima at the time of the
overhead passage of the midday sun. In low islands the
rain is conventional, and therefore the fall is less abundant
than in the high islands, where relief is a potent factor in
condensation. Windward slopes show a markedly higher
precipitation than lee slopes, as the accompanying graph,
drawn from official statistics in Fiji, will illustrate clearly.
When a reversal of the Trade Wind occurs, owing to the

JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND

LAUTOKA SUVA

VTTT LEVU : RAINFALL PILLARS.

Suva, on the southeast (windward) coast, has a far higher rainfall than
Lautoka on the west (leeward) coast. The latter place gets its heaviest rain
during the short period of the Northern Trades. Scale of diagram :
& inch of height = i inch of rainfall.

displacement of the thermal equator, the normal lee slope
may become tfre windward slope for a short time and get
a maximum rainfall then.

Vegetation

The vegetation is comparatively poor in species, The
coconut tree grows everywhere on the coast. Solitary,
wind-bedraggled palins may be seen struggling for
existence on small portions of reef which have just
escaped the reach of the tide. On the low islands they
form the principal tree and grow to a height of 60 or
80 feet. Where the soil is sufficient, they are accompanied

244 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

by varieties of tropical evergreens, and bushes and coarse
grass form a dense undergrowth. The high islands have

J8

1

o ^
d 03

^ is

"2

8

She
- o
8-3

is

a luxuriant vegetation. Their low foreshores are fringed
with mangrove, while behind this belt or on sandy stretches
of shore stand groves of coconut palms 3 and the hillsides are

NATIVE AND ANIMALS 245

covered with dense bush or forest. The latter is tropical
In nature and lacks the tangled, creeperbound character
of the continental equatorial forest. The trees are some-
times soft and sappy., at other times they are hardwood.
Many of the latter are peculiar to the Pacific, Thej>dfo,
which gives a finely feathered board, the dakua or Fijian
kauri, and the richly red damanu, yield excellent cabinet
woods. Sandalwood occurs in most of the high islands,
but wasteful felling of the trees in days gone by has
ruined the trade in it. Forest usually covers the
sheltered valleys and the slopes of hills, while exposed
ridges and spurs are as a rule clad in bush. In those
islands which are sufficiently far from the equator to have
a decidedly prevailing wind, the lee slopes are covered
with tall reeds. The accompanying map of Viti Levu,
the largest island in Fiji, illustrates this fact. A noticeable
feature about the native flora is its apparent inability to
hold its own against introduced species. Thus, the
vigorous guava tree, which was brought as a fruit tree
from the West Indies, has become a pest in some islands
owing to the rapidity with which it ousts the native bush
and covers the hill slopes with its tough, wiry stems.

Animals

Native animals are almost absent. A small brown rat
is the only indigenous quadruped in many of the islands,
while some do not have even this. The huge fruit-eating
bat known as the flying-fox is found in all the western
high island groups, and birds, of course, are plentiful in
number, though relatively few in species. The most
striking is a gaudy little parrakeet which is much prized
by the natives for its feathers. The early navigators made
a habit of leaving pairs of domestic animals on the in-
habited islands, 1 and in many high islands there are now

1 Captain Cook gave a bull and a cow to the chief of Tonga. As the
natives convey no idea of sex in their language, they failed to grasp the
gender distinction between " bull " and " cow, n and mistook the phrase
for the species of animal. Hence, the corruption bulumakau is the Pacific
term for any bovine creature and even for beef.

246 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

wild pigs which have reverted to their ancient fierceness.
The tusks of the boars form a cherished native ornament
for the neck. In the New Hebrides hermaphrodite
pigs are very common and are regarded with a kind
of religious respect by the natives. The streams are full
of prawns which are good eating and form one of the
delicacies of the native diet, while the sea abounds in
fish, which is much eaten by the coa^t folk. Mussels and
oysters are also collected in large quantities from off the
roots of the mangroves.

Race, Customs^ etc.

Apart from recent immigrants, the islands are peopled
by three distinct races : Malays, Polynesians, and negroes.
The Malays have drifted in comparatively recent times
from the East Indian Archipelago into the swarms of
tiny low islands forming the Pelew, Marshall, Caroline,
and Ladrones groups. As they have been described in a
previous chapter, it is unnecessary to say more about
them here. The groups in which they live are known
collectively as Micronesia (see map, p. 248) on account
of the sinallness of their component individuals. Many
of the islets are uninhabited.

The origin of the Polynesian is obscure. Some scholars
think him an Asiatic who has worked his way along the
outer arc of islands, but, though this seems to be the only
alternative to regarding him as a separate racial type,
there are objections to this theory. The Polynesian is
very tall ; in fact, according to Ripley he is one of the
tallest people in the world. Moreover, he has a well-
built, somewhat European figure. His hair is black and
straight, but his face is not flat, nor are his eyes of the
Mongolian cast. His skin is of the rich olive-brown com-
plexion seen in Southern Europeans, and it is without the
yellow tone of the Asiatic. If Asia was his original home,
his new environment has modified him considerably. He
is a fine specimen of human physique, strong and athletic,
yet not coarse of limb. The men are often handsome of

THE POLYNESIANS 247

face, but the women are usually ugly. This reversal of
what is commonly found among other peoples of the
world is a noticeable peculiarity among the races of the
Pacific.

The Polynesians are brave, though not warlike, and they
are excellent sailors and navigators. Up to fifty or sixty
years ago the Tongans used to make frequent voyages to
and from Fiji in their frail outrigger canoes, finding their
way without compass or sextant. Their only navigational
instrument was a curious map made of cross-laid sticks
which represented winds and currents, while shells tied
on in appropriate places marked the positions of islands.
Nowadays, they sail in five- or ten-ton cutters of Euro-
pean model, but they still substitute innate skill for
scientific navigation.

Their costume in days gone by consisted of an apron
of grass or tapa, a kind of paper-cloth made by beating
together strips of the bark of various plants. But, except
in remote islands, they have discarded this for a sort of
kilt, or sulu, of cotton cloth, and they now frequently wear
a shirt. The women, whose dress was formerly the same
as the men's, now wear the sulu together with an upper
garment resembling a European dressing-gown of cotton
cloth. Their diet consists largely of native vegetables,
chiefly taro, a spherical root 3 or 4 inches in diameter.
To these they add fish, shell-fish, and crabs. Their
cooking is done in a hole lined with stones. A fire is
lighted in the hole and withdrawn as soon as the stones
are hot. The food is then wrapped in banana leaves and
buried in the hole. At the end of an hour or so the baking
is complete.

They live in villages, each family having a neatly
built, one-roomed house whose fabric consists largely
of the trunks and fronds of the coconut tree. The floor
of trodden earth is covered with skilfully woven mats of
grass gaily fringed with parrakeet's feathers or, in modern
times, dyed wool. Boys and unmarried men live in a
special house. The clan is the social unit, but powerful

248 THE OF THE

chiefs have brought whole islands or even groups under
their sway. Thus, Tonga has a recognized king. The
club was their chief weapon, though spears were also

used. Their wars were usually undertaken for the exten-
sion of a chief's rule, and prisoners were eaten, European
influence, both administrative and religious, has put a stop
to these 'Wars and the concomitant cannibalism.

THE MELANESIANS 249

The Polynesians are a polite, gentle-mannered people,
fond of music and ceremonial oratory. The islands
inhabited by them are the great majority, as the accom-
panying map shows . The Hawaiians undoubtedly belong
to the Polynesian race, though they often have a very
Malayan cast of countenance. However, this group is
usually excluded from Polynesia.

The negroes belong to a previous wave of drift from
southern Asia. They contain a strong pygmy strain
which is probably very ancient. Small, long-headed,
and kinky-haired, they are probably related to the
Veddas of Ceylon, the Andaman islanders, and other
backward peoples who have survived in the backwaters
of the stream of race drift. Until influenced by Euro-
pean civilization, they were in the stone age. Their
weapons consisted of the bow and arrow, the latter
tipped with fish bone or flint chips, and the spear, whose
head was just the sharpened end of a pole hardened by
charring. Nowadays the coast tribes, at any rate, have
iron spear-heads, steel knives, and other important tools.
Their huts are light constructions with wattled sides and
thatched roofs. On marshy coasts the foundation con-
sists of tall piles, and farther inland the huts are sometimes
perched like nests in the fork of a tree. The type of
house improves with distance from New Guinea, prob-
ably owing to Polynesian influence. In the Solomons,
villages which recall the Maori pa sometimes occupy
hill-tops and are fortified with moat and palisade.

Costume is of the simplest and consists of a fringe
of grass suspended by a string tied round the waist.
A necklet of boar's tusks or wooden beads is worn by
way of ornament. The long, crinkled hair, which stands
erect 6 or 9 inches on the head and has the appearance
of a busby, is often dyed red or bleached to a sickly
cream. Their diet is chiefly vegetable, eked out with
fish and any insects or shell-fish which can be collected.
They have disorderly plots oftaro, kumala a kind of sweet
potato and yams. Their mode of tillage consists of

2 5 o THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

clearing the bush from a selected spot, digging the re-
quired number of holes with a stick, and planting the
slips. No further attention is paid to the crop until it is
ripe for the harvest. An amazing want of foresight is
shown in connexion with the amount planted and with
the using up of the roots when fit for eating.

Their social organization is that of the clan. Each
clan occupies a separate village and lives at feud with its
neighbours. Cannibalism is the regular sequel to their
raids and skirmishes. They are very treacherous and
prefer ambushes and the stalking of individuals to open
warfare. The head of the clan is a hereditary chief, who
rules according to established tribal law. The life of the
people is strictly regulated by traditional custom. The
Englishman's submission to good form is complete liberty
of action compared with the restriction under which
these negroes live. Their religion is animistic, though
totemisin is also observed in some degree. In Fiji the
principal god, though represented by a shark, is an ances-
tral hero in traditional legend.

Civilization has scarcely touched many of the groups
inhabited by this race, but its mere imminence seems to
have an influence in decreasing the population. This
falling off was actively helped in days past by the practice
of " blackbirding," which aimed at providing labour for
the plantations of Queensland. The extension of the
negro race is limited to certain western groups, namely,
New Britain, the Solomons, Santa Cruz, New Hebrides,
New Caledonia, and the Loyalty Islands, which together
with New Guinea are accordingly known collectively as
Melanesia.

The Fijians form an interesting transitional people
between the Polynesians and the Melanesians. The
western islands of the group and the remote highlands
of the two larger islands are peopled with pure negroes
who are Melanesian in all but stature. The eastern
islands of the group are inhabited by almost pure Poly-
nesians, whose forbears came from Tonga within historic

THE FIJIANS AND THEIR CUSTOMS 251

times. The rest of the group contains a mixture of the
two races. Fijian legend relates the arrival of the first
inhabitants from the west in consequence of a large
canoe having been blown eastwards by a storm, and the
village of Vunda (= our beginning) is pointed to as the
first settlement. The language is a dialect of the tongue
spoken by the Polynesians of Tonga and Samoa, and the
culture is a mixture of that of the two component races.

Some of their customs are widespread in the Pacific,
and have an interest for Europeans from their strange-
ness. Thus, the practice of kerekere enables persons
within a certain degree of intimacy to borrow each
other's goods permanently. In modern times it is a
great obstacle to progress, since it checks acquisitiveness.
The young Fijian has no inducement to thrift, for the
visit of a friend may deprive him at one blow of the
savings of months. Better known in Europe is the
custom of tambu, 1 or veto, which chiefs may lay on
objects p places, forbidding their use. Its observance
was enforced in former times by " club law," but even
to-day a rod with the bark stripped in a certain way and
fixed upright in a well-used path will close that route
more effectually to natives than an iron gate. One of
the chief features of a native village is the Mi, or drum,
made of a hollow, boat-shaped log. Besides its use for
summoning the villagers to communal labour and for
other similar purposes, it acts as a wireless set for broad-
casting news. Europeans are astonished at the distance
its sound carries, but they are amazed at the- speed with
which it can spread accurate and detailed information
by means of relays for hundreds of miles* It is a curious
fact that the natives are not conscious of any recognized
system of signals.

1 The sound represented by the letter b in English is not found in some
Pacific dialects without a preceding m. Hence the missionaries in reducing
ihe native language to writing tried to economise by giving b the sound of
mb. The word tabu, pronounced tambu, reached England in the spelling
of the missionaries, was pronounced with a wrong accent, and has finally
become a loan-word whose form is taboo.

252 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

European Settlement

Within the last eighty or ninety years immigration has
brought people of many races to the Pacific Islands. The
chief are of British, American, or French origin, and these
nations have divided the islands among themselves. Per-
manent settlement is difficult, if not impossible, for the
European in most parts ; hence, the few thousand immi-
grants of this race are administrators, traders, or planta-
tion managers. Hawaii has an American garrison, which
increases its white population. Excluding these troops,
the total number of persons of European descent in the
Pacific Islands cannot exceed fifteen or twenty thousand.
Japanese and Chinese immigration is numerically greater.
Large numbers of these Asiatics have settled in Hawaii
and in the Micronesian groups. In the former they are
mostly domestic servants or labourers who work on the
plantations. Laundry work and market gardening are
almost entirely in Chinese hands, not merely in Hawaii,
but also in Fiji and wherever a European settlement
provides an opening. The Japanese owned the Micro-
nesian islands until 1944-45.

The admission of Asiatics into the European or
American possessions is unwillingly allowed, but is forced
by labour problems. Since neither the Polynesian nor
the Melanesian will work continuously, steadier labour
must be imported for the economic development of
the land. The government of Fiji tried to solve the
difficulty by importing coolies from India. . After five
years' work on a plantation these Indians could elect to-
be sent home or to be granted a plot of land on certain
easy terms. As the latter choice was nearly always taken,
the population of the colony includes 1 26,000 Indians to
128,000 natives, a fact which raises a problem.

The table below shows the chief groups of islands and
their political connexions. The islands near South
America have been omitted, since they are wholly undeve-
loped and mostly uninhabited. They belong to Ecuador

POLITICAL CONNEXIONS 253

or Chile. The New Hebrides are governed jointly by
Britain and France on an unworkable system known as
condominion. Until it is abolished, progress will be

impossible. Norfolk Island is politically a part of Aus-
tralia, and the Chathams and other southern groups
belong to New Zealand. The western islands of Savaii
and Upolu in Samoa,, which were formerly held by Ger-

254 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

many, are now administered by New Zealand under a
mandate from the League of Nations, and New Britain
and Nauru have been acquired by Australia in the same
way. The Cook Islands were taken over by New Zealand
in 1901. The occupation of a large number of the islands
by European powers is merely nominal.

TABLE OF CHIEF GROUPS AND POLITICAL DISTRIBUTION

Group

British.

French.

United States.

Melanesia

Solomon Is,
New Britain
(cap. Rabaul)
Santa Cruz
New Hebrides
(with French}
Fiji (cap, Suva)

New Caledonia
(cap. Numea)
Loyalty Is.
New Hebrides
(with British]
Bougainville
(Solomon Is.)

Polynesia

Gilbert and
Ellice Is.
Phoenix Is.
Tokelau
Tonga
Samoa (Savaii,
Upolu ; cap.
Apia)
Cook Is.
Scattered islands

Tahiti
Paurnotu
Marquesas
Tabuai

Tutuila and
Manua
(Samoa)
Hawaii (cap,
Honolulu)

Micronesia

Guam
(Ladrones)
Bonin Is.
Pelew Is.
Caroline Is.
Marshall Is.
Ladrones Is.

Importance of the Islands

Apart from the interest arising from their inhabitants,
the Pacific Islands have definite economic values. Chief
among these at the moment is the use of certain islands
as ports of call and refuelling stations along the trans-
Pacific sea and air routes. Fiji and Hawaii are nodal
points, and are thus of outstanding importance. Great
steamship routes run from Vancouver and San Francisco

OCEAN ROUTES

255

to New Zealand and Australia. The Vancouver-Auck-
land-Sydney route touches at Honolulu in Hawaii and at
Suva in Fiji. The San Francisco-Auckland route also
passes at Honolulu, but calls at Samoa instead of Fiji. In

the North Pacific the Yokohama-Vancouver trade follows
the great circle route, but American trade with Japan uses
a longer passage in order to touch at Hawaii. The route
from the Panama Canal to New Zealand often uses Papeete
in Tahiti as a port of call, though ships sometimes follow

256 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

the great circle which takes them to the south of Poly-
nesia. Communication between Brisbane and Sydney,

F

5 5

11

SI -

CO >

ol
n>

I

on the one hand, with the Panama Canal on the other, lies
through Suva. Transoceanic cables come ashore at
various islands. Thus, the All Red Cable has stations

STRATEGIC VALUE 257

at Fanning Island, Fiji, and Norfolk Island. The advent
of wireless telegraphy has increased the centralization of
British administration in Suva. A powerful station has

VAVAU CROUP //?

*: //

Late^ '^V*

Kotu^ . , Q,Uiha

'" V

1 * '

OtuTolu Group

, \ t TQNCATABU
Tongatabu ^-S CROUP

TONGA.

The group contains a few small high islands and four clusters of low islands.
The dotted lines are 100 fathom contours.

been installed at that town and is used for the purposes of
relaying messages and for broadcasting news.

Many of the islands are of great strategic value. Aus-
tralia's interest in the Pacific groups is largely derived
from her anxiety lest a foreign nation should establish a
naval base near her shores. Suva is the British naval head-

258 THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

quarters in the South Pacific, but there are no fortifica-
tions, and the naval force usually consists of a gunboat.
The positions of Hawaii as an American naval base for
operations against Japan led to the attack on Pearl
Harbour. It also forms with Guam and Midway Island
a link between the United States and the Philippines.

The islands are capable of important economic produc-
tion. The sandalwood, which attracted the early traders,
has been used up by " robber economy," but scientific
forestry might restore the industry and extend it to the
local cabinet woods. Efforts have been made to establish
rubber plantations in Fiji, but so far production has been
on a small scale. The most universal product is copra.
The coconut palm grows readily even in places where
other trees cannot establish themselves and, except in
certain islands like Viti Levu, where insect pests nip the
fruit in the bud, it produces abundantly. The easy culti-
vation makes copra planting suitable for Polynesian
labour. After the land has been cleared and the nut
planted, weeding is only necessary at intervals and only
so long as the tree is quite young. As soon as the planta-
tion is established, cattle are turned in to keep down the
bush, and the collection of the huts and the extraction of
the kernel is the only further labour required. The cattle
are used locally as meat, though hides and bone manure
are exported as by-products. It is possible that in the
future copra will be grown in the low islands, smaller high
islands, and in the less fertile parts of the larger high
islands, the more fertile parts of the latter being used for
other crops.

Sugar now ranks above copra in importance. The damp
valleys of the high islands are ideal for the sugarcane,
and plantations are gradually being established. Unfor-
tunately, the fluctuations of the market and the competi-
tion of beet sugar make the crop a paying one only when
grown on a large scale. This limits its extension to the
larger valleys of big islands like Viti Levu. At present
Fiji leads in sugar production, though the Solomons may

ECONOMIC PRODUCTION 259

be developed later on. The Colonial Sugar Refining
Company of Queensland is the largest sugar planter and
has developed the industry especially in the valleys of the
Rewa and Mba Rivers in Viti Levu. Where the high
islands are too dry or where for some other reason sugar
is not a suitable crop, various kinds of tropical fruit are
grown. Bananas are cultivated extensively in Fiji and
Samoa, whence they are shipped to New Zealand and
Canada. In Hawaii the pineapple industry has attained
great importance under the encouragement of the United
States administration. Selected fruit are exported to San
Francisco, but large canneries have been established in
the islands in order to supply the United States with
tinned and preserved fruit.

There are other products, though of less importance.
In some groups, e.g., Fiji, sea-slugs (trepang) are gathered
in shallow water by the natives, cleaned, smoked, and
exported to China, where they are used for making soup.
The animals are about 9 inches long. They have a semi-
circular section and look from above like brown, over-
ripe cucumbers. Various kinds of shell are gathered in
the shallow water about the reefs and exported to Japan
and elsewhere to be made into cc pearl" buttons. The
chief kinds arc the trochus and the nautilus shells. Shell
is also got from sea turtles and becomes the tortoise-shell
which is used for making combs and other small articles.
Minerals are of little importance on the whole, but the
nickel mines of New Caledonia were formerly one of the
chief sources of the supply of that metal. The mines used
to be worked by convicts transported from France, but
the protests of Australia, who objected to having a penal
settlement at her doors, cut off this source of labour in
1898. Nauru and Ocean Island have large deposits of
phosphates, and some of the islands adjacent to the South
American coast also yield guano, Gold is mined in Fiji,

Many of the islands arc moderately large. Viti Levu
is 87 miles long by 54 broad, and contains 4,112 square
miles of surface. It is therefore slightly less than half the

2 6o THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

size of Wales. Several of the Solomons are about the same
size, while New Caledonia is even bigger. The develop-
ment of the British islands is chiefly in the hands of Aus-
tralian organizers, but, as Australia has her own tropical
north, it is probable that New Zealand will be the real
economic godmother in the future. Her interest in the
islands was clearly shown by her attachment of the Cook
Islands and by her eagerness to take over Samoa from the
Germans in 1914. Under her control they may become
the source of her supplies of tropical products.

The islands are also health and pleasure resorts for the
adjacent temperate lands. Suva is a winter station for
New Zealand, and the equivalent to the Englishman's
cruise in the Mediterranean is for the New Zealander a
month's round trip through Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.
The tourist trade is by no means well organized or deve-
loped as yet, however,, though Suva has an excellent up-
to-date hotel. Hawaii, on the other hand, under American
advertisement, has become the playground for the mil-
lionaires of California and British Columbia. Great
hotels which line the Waikiki beach, and an efficient
tourist organization which provides visits to Manna Loa
and the huge geological fault of the Pali, attract thousands
of wealthy visitors every year.

Among the interesting features of the islands is the fact
that the iSoth meridian passes through them, actually
cutting some. The inconvenient, if sometimes comic,
effects of this may best be illustrated by a couple of
anecdotes. In the early days of European settlement in
Fiji a very religious Scotchman is said to have proposed
to open a store in Taviuni, an island cut by the iSoth
meridian. With the help of a ship's navigator he drew
the meridian on the ground and built his store half on
one side and half on the other. In time the store was
opened. When the, week-end carne, one morning the sun
rose on the shop, bringing Sunday to the west side, which
consequently remained religiously shut. As, however,
it was Saturday on the east side business went on as usual.

THE ROMANCE OF THE SOUTH SEAS 261

Next morning was Sunday on the east side, but Monday
on the west, so that the Sabbath never wholly closed
down the canny Scotchman's business. Unsympathetic
Governments have made such ingenuity of no avail nowa-
days by devising an artificial international date line which
does not touch land anywhere. But the device does not
free ships from date troubles, and the writer can remember
crossing the meridian on one occasion in company with a
number of American passengers. The meridian was
approached on July 4th, on which day many Americans
were laid low by the celebration of their national inde-
pendence. As the meridian was crossed that night the
survivors duly celebrated July 4th on the following day
for the second time.

A word must be said in conclusion about the romance
of the South Sea Islands. The writer who will enshrine
the glamour of the islands in a great work has yet to be
found. R. L, Stevenson, who lived for some time in
Samoa and was buried near Apia, might have done it
perhaps, but his novels about the Pacific have not caught
the atmosphere. It will be a matter for regret if the
writer does not turn up soon, for the economic develop-
ment of the islands must in a few years destroy their
romance. There is a charm which pervades the islands
and grips the imagination of visitors. Europeans who
spend several years in them are often unwilling to leave.
They get malua> the native term for the spirit of lotus-
eating. Hardly anyone who has spent some years in them
escapes afterwards from the echo of the waves beating on
the coral reefs during st ; ll evenings. The savage wildness
of the Melanesian, the suave and aristocratic manner of
the Polynesian, and a hundred and one quaint native
customs make a profound impression on the traveller and
leave an indelible mark on his mind.

INDEX

ADELAIDE, 19, 42, 44, 51, 113

Afforestation, 167

Airways, 112-114

Alexandrina, Lake, 18

Alice Springs, 42, 44, 114, 127

All Red Cable, 256

Amboina, 204, 216, 220, 222, 233

Amparan, 223

Antarctic Continent, 1 52

discovered, 14
Apia (pron. Ah-pee-d)) 261
Arafura Sea, 227
Arnhem Land, 122

vegetation in, 62
Artesian Basin, the Eucla, 37
the Great, 31,32

basins, 100
Aru Islands, 206, 227
Ashburton River, 56
Asiatic immigration, 135, 136, 198,

234, 252
Atagupu, 224
Atoll, 239
Auckland, 152, 156, 186, 189, 193

196

Peninsula, 165

Australia, a field for Asiatic expan-
sion, 5

and Japan, 268

an experiment in colonization,
145-147

an "old world," 7

art and culture in, 142 144

capacity for population, 137-140

Cook's arrival in, 14

discovery of, 10

exploration of the interior, 19

first settlement of, 16

government of, 129-130

origin of fauna, 75

science in, 145

unattractive appearance in north

and west, 5
Australian Alps, 66

influence in the Pacific Islands,
260

Australia's Mediterranean region,
7, 52, 125

BACHAN ISLAND, 220

Port, 222
Ballarat, 105
Bananas, 259
Banda Deep, 204

Islands, 204, 220, 233
Barcoo River, 20
Barkly Tableland, 32
Barrier Reef, the Great, 14, 29,

38-40, 1 08, 114,241
Bass, George, 15
Bathurst, 18, 104
Bellenden-Ker Mountains, 29, 50
Bendigo, 105
Berau Peninsula, 225
Bismarck Archipelago, 225
Black-birding, 136, 250
Blaxland, Gregory, 1 7, 89
Blue Mountains, 16, 30, 66, 88, 89
Bluff, the, 1 86, 189
Bonthain, Mount, 216

Port, 220

Boomerang, the, 79
Botany Bay, 14, 86, 87
Bottle-necked valleys, 16, 30 .
Bougainville, Louis-Antoine de

(1729-1811), 13
"Brick-Fielders," 52
Brigalow Scrub, 63
Brisbane, 112, 114, 116
Broken Hill, 107, 113, 122, 123
Buginese people, the, 218
Buli Bay, 220
Burdekin River, 29, 55
Burke and Wills, 21
Burrinjuck, no
Buru, 204, 220
Bushrangers, 87
Buton, 216
Byron, Admiral John (1788-1824),

13

CANBERRA, 128
Cannibalism, 169, 248, 250

264

INDEX

Canterbury Plains, 153, 174, 176,

1 88

Caroline Islands, 234, 246,
Carpentaria, Gulf of, 10, 20, 21, 37,

5 6

Cassilis Gate, 30, 118
Cattle, 96-97, 173
Celebes, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212,

213, 216, 233

Sea, 204
Central Australia, 52, 130

Lowlands, 26, 31-35, 120
Charters Towers, 116, 119
Chatham Islands, 151, 152, 167,

168, 253

Christchurch, 158, 188, 189, 196
Civilization, assimilation of, 6

on native races, effect of, 6
Climate, desert, 52

maritime equatorial, 206, 241

temperate, 52, 156-162

Mediterranean, 51

tropical monsoon, 5 1
Cloncurry, 116
Clutha River, 164
Coal, 1 06, 117, 181, 188
Coffee, 219, 223, 224
Cold storage, 145, 174, 177
Colonization of Australia, 5
Condpminion, the, 253
Convict labour, 86, 133
Cook, Captain James (1728-1779),
5, 12, 13, 14, 191, 245

Islands, 14, 151, 254, 260

Mount, 154

Strait, 152, 191

Coolgardie, 102, 104, 125, 129
Coolie labour, 138, 252
Cooper Creek, 19, 20, 21, 22,^33, 57
Copal, 219
Copra, 224, 258

Coral formations, 38, 39, 239-240
Cotton, 98-99, 115
Culture, native, 247, 249
Cunningham, Allan, 18

DAIRYING, co-operative, 97, 178

Daly Waters, 114

Dammar, 219

Dampier, William (b . 1 65 1 ) , 1 3

Darling Downs, 29

River, 20, 34, 54, 55
Daru, 209, 232
Darwin, 113, 114, 124, 130

Charles, 16, 60

Date Line, the International, 261
"Dead Heart of Australia," the, 33

Democratic ideals, 200

d'Entrecasteaux Archipelago, 225

de Nuyts, Peter, 10

de Quiros, Pedro F ernandez, 9

Diamantina, 33, 57

Digul River, 225

Dilli, 224

Dingo, the 74

Dodinga Bay, 220

Drake, Sir Francis, 9, 233

Drought areas, 48

Duck-bill, the, 72

Dunedin, 157, 182, 189, 194,

196
Dutch discoveries, 10, 12, 13, 233

EASTER Island, 237

Eastern Highlands, 26, 28 ff., n8

Triangle, the, 3, 4
Education in New Zealand, 196
Egmont, Mount, 155, 162
Ellice Islands, 241
Emu, the, 69

English discoveries, 12, 13
Eucla, 37
European life in the Hot Belt,

209,

Evans, G. W., 18
Exploration of the interior of

Australia, 19
Eyre, Edward John, 24

FANNING Island, 257

Farrer, William James (1845-1906),

98, 144

Federal Capital Territory, 130
Federation, nature of, 132
Fiji, 52, 237. 241, 242, 245, 254, 257,
259

discovery of, 1 2
Finke River, 36, 57
Fishing, 40, 109, 179
Fitzroy, Governor, 193

River, 29

Fjords of New Zealand, 152
Flax, New Zealand, 167
Flinders, Matthew (1760-1814), 15

Range, 33, 34, 57

River, 56

Flores, 204, 207, 208, 211, 222
Fly River, 225, 227
Fossil fauna, 75
Frederick Henry Island, 227
Fremantle, 126
French discoveries, 1 3
Fruit, 99, 174

INDEX

265

GALAPAGOS Islands, 237

Galela Port, 2 so

Gawler Range, 35

Geelong, 18

Geelvink Bay, 230

Germany in the Pacific, 234, 235

" Gibber " Desert, 36

Gilbert Islands, 13, 241

Gippsland, 31,615 1 1 8

Gisborne, 188

Glaciers of New Guinea, 225

of New Zealand, 153, 154
Gold, 103, 117, 123, 181, 219, 259

discovery of, 25, 103

Rush, the, 21, 103
Gorontalo, 220
Goulburn Gate, 30, 119
Government of the Moluccas, 222
Grampians, 26, 28, 35
Great Sea Reef, 241
Grey, Sir George, 23, 193, 194
Greymouth, 181, 188
Guam, 10, 234, 258
Guano, 40, 124, 259

HALMAHERA, 220, 233
Hartpgj Dirk, 10
Hastings, 188

Hawaii, 14, 237, 241, 242, 252, 254,
' 2 5 8 > 259
Hawke Bay ? 1 3
Hawkesbury River, 30, 55, 87
Herdsman v, agriculturalist, 135-

^37

Hermaphrodite pigs, 246
High Islands, 38, 237
Hindmarsh, 10
Hobart, 119, 120, 127
Hobson, Captain, 192
Hokitika, 158
Hondius, 9
Honolulu, i86 5 255
Hovcll, William Hilton, 18
Howe, Cape, 1 5

sighted by Cook, 14
Howitt, A, W., 22
Hume, Hamilton;, 18
Hunter River, 55, 117
Hurricanes, 242
Hydro-electricity, no, 162, 182

IMMIGRATION, 137-139, 198
laws, 139, 199

Indonesia, Republic of, 216, 234
Industry, in New Zealand, 183
in Australia, 109

Inland drainage, 57

Sea of Australia, 18
Invercargill, 188

Iron, 107, 181

Irrigation, 33, 34, 101-103, 121,

122, 222

JANSZOON, William, 10
Japen Island, 230
Jarrah, 61, so8, 126

KAIKOXTRA Range, 153
Kalgoorlie, 102, 112, 125, 129
Kambing Island, 208, 223
Kandavu, 237
Kangaroo Island, 35

the, 72
Kapok, 219
Karri, 61, 108, 126
Kau Bay, 220

Port, 220
Kauri gum, 181

pine, 165

Kei Islands, 204, 206, 208
Kennedy, Edmund, 20
Kermadec Island, 167
Kikon, 209
Kilauea, 237
Kilmore Gap, 31, 118
Kimberley district, 56, 1 06, 1 24
Klabat, Mount, 216
Kosciusko, Mount, 30, 55, 66
Kupang, 208, 216, 224

LABOUR, coloured, 99, 231, 252
movement, the, 134
problems, 263

Lachlan River, s8, 55
Ladrones Islands, 246
Lake Eyre, 28, 33, 35, 54> 57

Frome, 35

Rotorua, 155

Taupo, 155, 1 80

Te Anau, 164

Torrens, 26, 28, 35

nft valley, 35, 120
Land, former distribution of, 26-28,
203, 235

ownership, 169, 193

policy, 132
Landsborough, 22
Languages, native, 215
Larat Island, 224
Launceston, 119, 127
Lawson, W., 17
Leeuwin, Cape, 10

266

INDEX

Leichhardt, Ludwig, 20

Lesser Sunda Islands, 204, 222-223

Liverpool Plains, 34

Lombok, 204, 207, 208, 216, 222

Louisiades, the, 10, 225

Low Archipelago (Paumotu), 9, 241

Low islands, 39, 237, 239-241, 243

Loyalty Islands, 250

Lyttelton, 152, 186, 188

MACARTHUR, John, 88-89
Macassar, 2 1 7, a 1 8, 2 1 9

Strait, 204

Macdonnell Range, 36, 66
Magellan, F., 8, 9, 233
Maize, 98, 116, 174, 219, 222
Majene, 218
Makyan, 220
Mallee Scrub, 34, 63
Mamberamo River, 213, 227
Manado, 216,219
Maoris, 151, 168-172, 192, 195, 199
Marshall Islands, 246
Mataram, 223
Mauna Loa, 237
McClure Gulf, 225
McKinlay, J., 22
Melanesia, 212, 215, 250
Melanesians, 249 ,
Melbourne, 19, 21, 42, 44, 118
Mendana, A. de, 9
Meneses, 9
Merauke Port, 230
Micronesia, 246, 252
Mildura, 121
Minahasa, 216, 218
Mining methods, 105
Misima Island, 215
Misol Island, 206, 225
Mitchell, Sir Thomas, 18, 20
Moluccas, the, 8, 204, 206, 208, 210,

211, 215, 220-222, 233

Monsoon effect, 207, 208

Morioris, the, 168

Mother-of-pearl, 219

Motir, 220

Mount Morgan, 107, 119

Mulga Scrub, 63

Muna, 216

Murchison River, 56

Murray River, 1 8, 31, 34, 5556,

101-102, in, 127
explored, 18

Murrumbidgee, 18, 31, 34, 55, 101
Mutton, 174

NAPIER, 188

Nassau Mountains, 213, 225
Native culture, 169, 224, 229
Nauru Island, 254, 259
Nelson, 188
New Britain, 250, 254

Caledonia, 14, 235, 237, 250, 259
Newcastle, 108, 117
New England Range, 30

Guinea, 7, 9, 204, 206, 208, 211,
213,215,225-234,250

Hebrides, 9, 235, 236, 246, 250,

253

South Wales, 29, 48, 51, 60, 127
Zealand and the Pacific Islands,
260

charting of the coasts by Cook,

*3

discovery of, 12
New Plymouth, 187
Norfolk Island, 253, 257
North Australia, 129
Northeast New Guinea, 227
Trade Wind, deflection of, 207,

242

OBI Island, 220, 225
Ocean Island, 259
Oceanic Islands, 235
Oil, 106
Oodnadatta, 23
Otago, 152, 176
Otira Gorge, 154
Oxley,John, 18

Pa, 169, 249

Pacific Hemisphere, the, 3

Ocean, its size, 3
Palmerston North, 187, 189
Palopo, 218
Papal Line, the, 8
Papeete, 255
Papua, 71, 72, 210, 230

Gulf of, 227
Patani Port, 220
Patiente Strait, 220
Paumotu, 9, 241

Pearl shell, 109, 115, 124, 220, 259
Pearls, 40, 109, 115, 124
Peleng Islands, 217
Pelew Islands, 246
Perth, 23, 51, 126
Pests, 75, 95, 245
Phillip, Governor, 16, 86, 108
Political distribution of the Pacific

Islands, 252-254
of the Papuan region, 216
Polynesia, 2 1 5, 249
Polynesian, origin of the, 246

INDEX

267

Polynesians, seamanship of, 168
Population, Maori, of New Zealand,
171

of Australia, 137-143
Population of Celebes, 218

of New Zealand, 189

of the Pacific Islands, 252
Port Jackson, 16, 19, 87, 117

Moresby, 230, 232
rainfall at, 1209
temperatures at, 206

Phillip, 1 1 8, 128

Pirie, 107, 112

Portuguese discoveries, 8, 9, 233
Poso, Lake, 217
Poverty Bay, 13
Primitive societies, 80
Problems:

Labour in the Hot Belt, 231, 252

Land ownership, 135-137, 193

Water supply, 100-7102

White Australia, 138-140
Pygmies, 213, 249

QUEENSLAND, 63, 97, 128, 133, 138

RABAUL, 233
Race drift, 213, 246

prejudice, 265
Races, education of backward, 7,

269

Racial problems, 6
Railways, 1 1 1 -i 1 3, 1 85
Rainfall in Australia, 48-52

in Fiji, 242

in New Zealand, 160-162

in the Papuan region, 208, 209
Rice, 219, 222, 223
Riverina, the, 34, 122
Rockhampton, 116
Roggeveen, J., 13
Roma Island, 208, 223
Roper River, 37, 56, 62
Rossel Island, 215
Rotti Island, 224
Routes, Ocean, 151
Ruapehu, 155, 163
Rubber, 219, 258

SADANG River, 217

Sagea, 220

Sago, 222, 228

Saleier, 216

Samarai, 209, 232

Samoa (pron. SQh~md-&h) 9 237, 251,

253, 259, 260

Sandalwood, 208, 21 1, 219, 245, 258

Sangihe Islands, 216

Santa Cruz Islands, 9, 235, 250

Savaii, 253

Savu Island, 224

Schouten Islands, 230

Science and Farming, 173, 175

Scrub vegetation, 63

Sea Slug (trepang or b&he de mer}^ 40,

109, 115, 220,259
Selaru Island, 224
Selwyn, Bishop, 193
Semau Island, 224
Sepik Island, 228
Seruei Port, 230

Settlement, early, in New Zealand,
191-192

European, 252

the first, in Australia, 86
Shark Bay, 24, 37
Shearing, 95, 177
Sheep, 87, 92, 173, 176-177, 223
Sheep-farming, by-products of, 96,

'77
Singaraja, 216

Society Islands, 13

Solomon Islands, 9, 225, 235, 236,

237, 249, 250, 259, 260
South Australia, 122, 128
Southern Alps, 7, 152, 180

Island, the, surveyed by Cook, 13
Southwest Islands, 204
Spanish discoveries, 8, 9
Spermonde Archipelago, 217
Spice Islands, 233
Spices, 208, 210, 222
Spinifex, 65
Sport, 145, 1 80
Squatters, 136
Stewart Island, 14, 151, 157
Stokes, Captain, J. L., 23
Stuart, John MacDougall, 23, 36
Sturt, Charles, 18, 19, 20
Sud-Est, Islands, 215
Sugarcane, 98-99, 219, 258
Sula Islands, 217, 225, 234
Sumba, 206

Sumbawa, 207, 208, 211, 223, 233
Sunda Islands, ? 16
Suva, 242, 255, 256, 258, 260
Swanland, 7, 37, 51, 56
Swan River, 19, 37
Sydney, 87, 113, 114, 117

TAHITI, 13, 242, 255
Tamar River, 119, 127
Tambu (taboo), 170, 251
Tanna, Mount, 236

268

INDEX

Tapiro people, the, 213

Tasman s Abel Janszoon (1603-

1659), 12, 13,191

Tasmania, 7, 87, 119, 127

aboriginals of, 77

climate of, 52

discovery of, 12

first settlements in, 87

regional description of, 119

structure and relief, 31

vegetation of, 66
Tasman Range, 153
Tattooing, 170
Taviuni, 260

Tectonic movements, 26, 27, 35, 204
Ternate, 220, 222, 233
" Terra Australia," 9
Thermal Equator, displacement of,

242

Tidore, 220, 222
Timaru, 188
Timber, 108, 167

native, 245

Timor, 204, 206, 207, 208, 223-224
Timor-Laut, 206, 208, 216, 224-225
Tinakoru, Mount, 236
Toala people, the, 218
Tobacco, 219, 222
Tobelo Port, 220
Tolo,Gulfof,2i6
Tomini, Gulf of, 216
Tondano, 219

Tonga (pron. T6ng-ah, not rt Tong-
ga"), 236, 241, 242, 248, 250,

251

Deep, 26

discovery of, 12
Tongariro, 155, 163
Torres, 10 ,

Strait, 10, 14, 38
Totem, the, 80, 183, 229
Tourist trade, 179-180, 260
Townsville, 116
Towuti, Lake, 217
Traditional behaviour, 250
Turtles, 40, 69, 219, 259

UPOLU, 253

Urban population, large, 137, 189

U.S.A. and Japan, 258
in the Pacific, 234

VANUA Levu (= u big land" ;

pron. Van-^o-ahLe'v-voo)) 241
Vasco da Gama, 6
Victoria, 42, 48, 51, 60, 87, n8,

128

Vine, the, 87, 122, 123, 126
Viti Levu (=" great Fiji ss ; pron.

Vee-tee Uv-voo), 245, 258, 259
Volcanoes in the East Indies, 204,

2l6, 222

in New Zealand, 153
in the Pacific, 236

WAIKATO (pron Why*kdh-to) 9 163,
178, 181, 182

Waikiki beach, 260

Waitaki, 163

Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 129,

192

Wallace Line, 2 1 1
Walhs,S,,i3
Wanganui, 180, 187

River, 163

Watampone (Boni), 218
Water-holes, 64
Weber Deep, 204
Weda Bay, 220

Port, 220

Wellington, 152, 176, 186, 189, 196
Wentworth, W. G., 17
Western Australia, 63, 129
exploration of, 23
founded, 19
Westport, 1 88
Wetter Island, 208, 223
Whaling, 179

Wheat, 87, 97-98, 12i, 126, 174
White Australia question, 137-139
" Willy-willies," 52
Wimmera, 56
Wine, 99, 121
Woodlark Island, 209, 215
Wool, 87, 92-96, 174

YAMDENA, 224
York, Cape, 14

128965