DECEMBER, 1017. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 589
THE SETTLEMENT OF TROPICAL AUSTBALIA.
32.5.c (9 4 By GRIFFITH TAYLOR, D. Sc., Physiographer.
(Commonwcnlth Meteorological Bureau, Melbourne, Austnlia).
[Reprlnlrd/rom The Herald, Melbourne, Victorin, Oct. 27,1917.11
The fundamental problem in Australia is the settle- ment of her empty tropical area. Opinions as to its economic value are most conflicting. A recent report stated that it is "undoubtedly the best and richest por- tion of the continent"; while I have just heard of a returned settler who declared that the 0111 as cct of
ironi the stern of a southbound steamer! The truth, as usual, lies between. It is on the whole fair pastoral country-which is very lightly stocked at present. lt has limited areas of rich, a ricultural land- which are prncticnlly untouched. In t h e hinterlands it has numerous mining fields, usunlly of medium grade-many of which liave been abandoned owing to lack of labor. No serious student can doubt that natural resources of very considerable ralue are awaiting exploitateion-but the .great handicap, whether it be actual or only imagined, IS certainly to be found
the Territory which plensecl him was that wiich T f ie saw
- in the climate.. In the following brief article I shall dwell chiefly on this aspect of the prouhleni, more espeaidy ns i t coiicerns the undeveloped meus in the Territory and Wcst Rus tralin. A ver cursory acqunintnnce with hygienic and econo-
climatic features which are most usunlly cliscussed-i. e., average temperature and annual rainf all-are of relu ti vely minor importance. As regards the hunian organism the factor of humidity is of renter importance than temperature. As regtircls
as important as the total amount. We can, with comparative ease, map Australia to show the rain reliability fairly accurately. Su pose we consider the annual rainfall a t Melbourne
normal in each year. We observe, of course, that in some
cases the total annual rainfall is above the avernge (35 inches) a t other times below this figure. If we tnkc these
deviations and average them, we find an average devia- tion of 12 per cent from the normal. Thus we niay ordi-
narily es ect fluctuations from 23 inches to 25 inches a
If now we a ply the same test to the eastern portion
Northern Territory-we find that the reliability is much less and the avera-ge deviation is nearly 50 per cent (see the shaded areas in the map). Hence here the rainfall may be anything between 12 inches and 3'7 inches-al- though on the average it is much the same as a t Mel- bmrne. So far as I know those optimists who propose to grow wheat in our tropical lands have given little attention to the season of the rain; and none a t all to it-s reliability as discussed above! As I have shown elsewhere there are some regions where economic wheat growin0 may he ossible in our hot lands-but they are neitKer in the garkly Tableland nor in the south of the Territory. Now let us turn our attention to another factor which is a potent control in tro icd lands. enernlly
ment for testing the suitnhility of a region as regards habitability, is the wet-bulb thermometer.
mic pro i lems leads one to the conclusion that the two
plant 5 .fe the season and reliability of the rain are a t least
for a P ong period of years, and find the deviation from the
year at 9 elbourne.
of the Barkly I p ableland-a vnluable grazing area in the
It is accepted by phyvsiologists t g n t the best nvnilub f e instru-
1 Communlcaled by the author.
40093-1&-2
Prof. Gregory has adopted 7S'F. (wet-bulb) as an upward limit-" above which continuous hard work becomes impracticable." I do not agree with him alto- gether, for 7S"B'. (wet-bulb) is quite common along our northern coast-but this statement (b a stron s u p
deductions from a char e of exaggeration.
adopted 70'F. (wet-bulb) as the limit of conifort for our mce. This means that when the average wet-bulb remains aboye 70'F. clay after day for a Ion period con- ditions are not favorable for close white sett T cment. An open-air, active occupation, such as stock-riding, has little to fear; but strenuous field labor, sedentary indoor life, and especially domestic work and the care of young children cannot (in my opinion) be carried on under f avorable circumstances at present, with continuous high wet-bulb temperatures of this order. Here I shall be met with numerous descri tions as to
how " Mrs. Jones raised five healthy children " ; how that cscellent clerk Brown "pines to return to the healthy life in the north", and so on and so forth. These statements are all true-but they do not repre sent average conditions, nor are these sturdy pioneers (to w~hom be all honor) typical emigrants. Close settlcment, uiifortunntely, depends on an influx of average settle?. There is nowhere in the world, so far as I am able to d~s-
coyer, n region resembling our northern const lands with an important white settlement.
I I
porter of tropical white settlement) will ? ree the fo f owing
For remons which I % ave elaborated elsewhere, I have
how "John Jones lived to 95 and never left t P io tropics";
a 3
0
-
FIG. 1.-Important climrrtologieal houndsries lor A!iqtralla. A-B separates the eastrm Iairly uniIonn run region Irom the wcrtem wnter-drought region. Shaded areas have very erratic rains (40 per cent variability). Lines connect oints having the ssmc number 01 months with an a'verd&% wet-bulb temperature 0170' 3, e. g., Thursday Island has 12 months, Rri.ibane,he 2 months 01 that condition. Approximatc scale 01 miles is indmted on the Tropic 01 Capricorn.
In the map (fig. 1) I indicate approximate1 how this
Many of m rcslders have anat.hcma-
reenble a feature of Sydne (and indeed in much less
%et Sydne has no month approach an average of
months, and conditions become cont.uiuously less attract- ive as we travel up the coast. At Mackay such high wet- bulb temperatures obt,ain for 6 months in the year, at Cooktown for 10, and at Thursday Island all the year
round.
question of wet-bulb temperatures affects c 3 ose settle-
tized those oppressive days in Fe 55 ruary which are so dlsa-
$e ree are not unknown in J elbourne).
70' (wet-bul i ). Brisbane has two sufh disagreeable
ment in our tropics:
DECEMBER, 1917 500 MOSTHLP WEATHER REVIEW.
Probably one or two disngrceable months in the year havo no particular efiect on thc well-bcing of the settler- but let us follow the 6-months isopleth on thc map. It
runs along the Queensland coast north of Mackay, sweeps to the north of the Athcrton Tableland (that most proniising re ion i n our tro ics!); alon the Gulf
W. A. This line is no fanciful creation but is a definitc clinia- tological boundary. Yet I should point out that the unfavorable zone thus niarked out is not all of one type. Anothcr factor comes 111 which, luckily, greatly unielio- rates conditions on t.he Queciislnnd coast. here blow the steadiest onshore winds in the world-the Sout.henst Trades. A high wet-buib temperature, if accompanied by a fresh brcezc, is robbed of half it.s terrors. Unfortu- nately the effect of local winds on health and comfort has not becn inrest.igntcc1 in our tropics, and niy own ex erionce is liniitetl to the Queeiislitnd coast. !having shown that the 6-mont.hs isoplet,li on the map has a r e d climat,ological value, what hearing has i t on tlie settlement of our tropicsf It will hc not.iced that it is precisely the low-lguig rivcr alluvials which arc adversely nftected. Herc irrigation may ultinintcly be possihlo, for there are ninny truly fine rivers running into our nort.lieni seas. But I doubt if a white furniing coni- muiiity will settle in these suitable tireas for T-ery maiiy yeais, and this brings nie to tlie last section of t h e article. I hnvc found i t a corn arntively siniplc mnt.t.er (by means of <litigranis wliicli ! l?a\-e c n l ~ ciiniograplis) to compnrc wry closely tlic +iat.oltigiyn! coi$t iocs in our tropicid towns with co~:tIi~iol;s obtnnlii:g in other parts of the world. Thus Dnruin has thc sanii? climate ns
Cutt.ack, in India; Broome is lilic t.lm nioutli of the Congo; Towiisvillc rcscmhles Calcutta closely.* Assuming that these and similar parallels are correct, we see that the analogous rc4olis (homoclimcs) for Dar- win are settled hy Sianicsc, hdians, ant1 Bantu lhcks, and in iiortlierii Brazil by linlf-cast e Portuguese. Wyncl- ham (+e hot.test of all moist cliniat.es recorclccl), has for
honioclime only the estmnie tip of India. Broonies homoclime is srttlccl by Bantu. Oiily in tlic inlniid country like that around Tonnnnts Creek, have we a homoclime even s nrscly scttlcd by north Europeans. This is the recent P y conquered Ger- man territory of Southwest Africa. In eastern Brazil is R niost interesting series of set,t,lc- merits; but thc Gorniai s l!a\-c scttlcd in t.hc homoclinic of Grufton ; thc Italians in Brazilian I  Brishiic,:: and only tlie Spanish eniigrniits touch cren the coolcst trop- ical re4ms. We %am, thorcforo, from our briof but comprehensive climat,ologicnl study that Australia is ahead in tropical settlenieiit as in other sociological ex eriments. Her white sugar growers around Cairns aril hiourilynn arc the advance guard of the wliite farmer in the Tropics. I have no spacc to do more than nicntion ono great asset in our northern Innds-their reninrhble frcedoiii from such scourges as yellow fever, bcri-beri and malaria. Thoro seems good retisoil to h o p that even tho latter will soon bo almost stamped out. What then is indicated as reeards thc ininiediato futuro of our empty northern Ian&? I have no novel suggestions to mako. l h e country is n pastorid one-
coast, through D 9 y Waters, an s along to A oeburne,
18cr Commonrcnllh Rurmii of bretcorologv Ihilletln No. 14: Control or scltleincnt by hiimidily mid Icnipmturc . . . by orintth Tuglor. Kelbournc, SolJLcmbcr,
1916. 84 p. 21 m. 4 0 .4 . A., jr.
it is not, in my opinion, an a,gicultural revion.
that the north coast agricultural areas are suitable for white labor a t present. I have several timos in this article hintcd that condi- tions may he more favorahlo in the future. I n four or
five gcncrations there is reason to believe that our natiyo born will become thoroughly acclimatizod in the subtropical areas, and will gradualfy expand into hotter and inore humid zones to thc north. Until that time arrires let us develop the pastoral industries. Let us build railways, dig wells, and sink artesian bores. Let us strengthen our naval and acrid fleets. Let us, abore all, have scientific direction and a
definite aim. It is the lack of these which has ever hindered British ontcrprise, while thoy have mado the Gernians a world-shaking power. Fas est et ab bosh doceri.
npnrt from questioiis of labor and market I 80 not
5-5-/- ..-7.f : SC]. .5@ p
PBACTICAL HINT IN FOBECASTWG MINIMUM TEMPERATURES.
By WILLIAM G . REED, Meteorologist.
[Dated: Pomona, Cd., Dee. 16,1917.1
Rcfcrring to the use of the Smith-Donne1 mothod of estiniating the probnblc minimum temperature (this
10!7, pp. 405 f .), I have tried REV~EW, August., the stmidit-line equation or the colic itions a t Pomonn, Cnl., an9 wliilc tlic values of a. and b were determined froni insufficioiit data yet the method seems applicable to this locality. Whilo n and b nro most conrenientlg coiiiputctl by Profcssor Smiths form of the equation
(SCC 3, helow1 I suggest that in ractical use the hygro-
f
nictric formula bo cspresscd as P ollows:
is tho cvcning tlewpoint. T is t P io rolntivc humidity, and
t n =f d + (a+br), (1)
where f,, is the mininiuni tem eratiiro nest morning, ts
a,, .I ), nro constt1nt.s to he tlcterniinod. Mathematically this cspression is idcntical with
t, - td = a + br, (32
which Prof. Smith has written floc. cit., equation 1) as
E*= a + bR, (3)
The ndvnntwes of the form of (1) are that tho quan- tity snuglit is tyie only tcriii on the lcft-hand side of the cyuiition; tho pnssilh doubt as to the sign of Y, or f, - fd, is rcniovetl ; and tlic oqutition represents directly what it actunlly is to the forecaster, viz, a means of moclif\4ng or corrccting tho current dcwpoint so that it. shall bccomo the minimum temperature of the next morning. While tliere should be no doubt as to the sign of Y, in practice 3 have found tahat I have hesitated in writing the <Iui1ntit.y, between t ,-t d and td-t,,. I brlievc that any change in the statenicnt of the formula, which will mnlie tlic mechanical oporation automatic will bc an advantngc in practice. The form of tho statenicnt by Prof. Smith is better for tho study of the rclntionship and the theoretical tlerclopmcnt of the nicthod; the form hcro suggested is intended only to niinimizc tho chance of errors in the practical application of tho relationship in actual fore- cast iiig. ---_ ----
1 Conduclng Werthcr Bureau investigations into protectlon agslnst frost.