# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/South Australia

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​SOUTH AUSTRALIA, a British colonial state, forming part of the Commonwealth of Australia. (For map, see Australia). It lies between 129° and 141° E. long., has Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria on the E., Western Australia on the W., and the Southern Ocean on the S. Originally its northern line was 26° S. lat.; by the addition of the Northern Territory the area was extended from 380,070 sq. m. to 903,690, and the northern border carried to the Indian Ocean; ​but by acts of 1910 this territory was made over to the federal government. It is, however, described below.
The southern coast-line shows two large gulfs, Spencer and St Vincent—the first 180 m. long, the other 100. Spencer Gulf is open to the ocean, while St Vincent Gulf is partly shielded by Kangaroo Island, with Investigator Straits as its western and Backstairs Passage as its eastern entrance. Yorke Peninsula separates the two gulfs. Eyre's Peninsula is to the west of Spencer Gulf, and at its southern extremity are Port Lincoln, Sleaford Bay and Coffin's Bay, of which the first is the most important. Along the Great Australian Bight are several small bays, and the junction of South and Western Australia is on the Bight. Going eastward from the Gulf of St Vincent is Encounter Bay, through which there is an entrance to Lake Alexandrina, the mouth of the Murray river. The Coorong is the name given to the narrow sheet of water, nearly 200 m. long, formed by the Murray and separated from the ocean by a very narrow strip of land. Lacepede and Rivoli Bays are the only other important indentations of this coast. In Northern Territory are several important indentations, Melville, Adam, Arnheim and Raffles Bays, Van Diemen's Gulf, Port Essington and Port Darwin (lat. 12° S.). The Gulf of Carpentaria divides the territory from Cape Yorke Peninsula of Queensland, the more important inlets on the shore of the gulf in Northern Territory being Caledon Bay and Limmen Bight. The principal island belonging to South Australia is Kangaroo Island, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St Vincent; it is also the longest Australian island, measuring 210 m. by 85 m. at its widest part. Off the north coast of Northern Territory are Melville and Bathurst Islands, the Wessel group, and Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Mountain ranges are not an important feature of the country, which, on the whole, is level where not slightly undulating. In the south of the state the principal ranges run north and south; the Mount Lofty range, beginning at Cape Jervis, runs parallel with St Vincent's Gulf and at one or two points touches 3000 ft., Mount Lofty, near Adelaide, having an elevation of 2330 ft. The Flinders range rises on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf and extends north for several hundred miles, terminating near the so-called Lake Blanche; there are in this range several isolated peaks which attain 3000 ft., the most prominent being Mt Remarkable, 3100 ft., Mt Brown, about the same height, and Mts Arden and Serle, about 3000 ft. The Gawler range, running across Eyre's Peninsula, south of the lakes, attains an elevation of about 2000 ft. at several points. Beyond Lake Torrens the ranges tend in the direction of north-west and afterwards east and westerly; and occasional summits reach 5000 ft. Northern Territory is traversed by several minor ranges, but the country has not been thoroughly explored and the heights and direction of the ranges have not been in all cases determined; no elevation above 2000 ft. has, however, been discovered.
South Australia is by no means a well-watered country, but there are some fine streams in the north of Northern Territory. In South Australia proper the Murray enters the sea at Lake Alexandrina, after having received the drainage of three states. The Torrens, Wakefield, Hindmarsh, Tuman and Gawler are unimportant streams; on the banks of the first named is situated the city of Adelaide. From Queensland flows the Barcoo, or Cooper's Creek, into Lake Eyre, which also receives the Macumba, with its tributary the Alberga, and several other rivers. These are rivers only when they are filled with the torrential rains of the interior, and for the most part are depressions destitute of water. Northern Territory is marked by an absence of water except at the extreme north, where there are several fine rivers, some of which are navigable for over 100 m.; the most noteworthy are: the Roper, flowing into Limmen Bight in the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Liverpool, the South Alligator, the Adelaide, the Daly and the Victoria. There are numerous lakes shown on the maps of South Australia, but none are permanent; they are depressions filled by the rivers in times of flood, but otherwise waterless or containing shallow pools of salt water. (T. A. C.)
Geology.—South Australia may be divided geologically into four parts, the geology of each of which is so distinct that they may be conveniently considered apart. These divisions are (1) the Great Valley of South Australia and the adjacent highlands that border it, (2) the Lake Eyre Basin, (3) the Western Plateau, (4) the basin of the Lower Murray, with (5) the Northern Territory.
The western division consists of a plateau of Archean gneisses, granites and schists, which extend across Australia from the Eyre Peninsula on the south to the northern coasts on Port Darwin. In the south-western corner of the state the Archean plateau is separated from the Southern Ocean by the Cainozoic limestones of the Nullarbor plains, which extend from the shore of the Great Australian Bight to the foot of the great Victorian desert. Thence northward, the Archean rocks form the whole foundation of the country, until they end in a scarp, the "so-called coastal range," to the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and in the exposures near Palmerston, on Port Darwin. This plateau bears occasional deposits of later age. The chief of these are the Ordovician rocks of the Macdonnell Chain; they there trend approximately west-north-west to east-south-east, and represent part of the old Lower Palaeozoic mountain chain, which appears to have once extended across Australia from Kimberley to Adelaide and Tasmania. To the north-east of the Ordovician rocks of the Macdonnell Chain are the Cambrian deposits of Tempe Downs and the head of the Herbert river. Some Jurassic freshwater deposits occur in basins on the plateau, having been proved by a bore, now being put down, in the hope of forming a flowing well at Lake Phillipson.
In contrast to the striking uniformity of the Western Plateau is the geological complexity of the part of South Australia known as "the Counties," including the settled districts in the south of the state around Spencer Gulf. The country is underlain by Archean and granitic rocks; they are exposed in the Gawler Range to the west, in the Archean outcrops near the New South Wales frontier, on the railway to Broken Hill, and at the foot of the highlands, along the western edge of the Murray basin. The highlands of South Australia consist mainly of contorted Lower Palaeozoic rocks, including the best representative in Australia of the Cambrian system. These Cambrian deposits, in addition to yielding a rich Cambrian fauna, contain a long belt of glacial deposits, the discovery of which is due to W. Howchin. These highlands form the whole of the mountainous country to the east of Lake Torrens; they extend southward to the highlands behind Adelaide, and form the axis of Kangaroo Island, while a branch from them forms the backbone of Yorke Peninsula. The highlands end to the north along a line running approximately east and west through Mt Babbage and the Willouran and Hergott ranges, to the south of Lake Eyre. The country to the west of Lake Torrens is a plateau, capped by the Lake Torrens Quartzites, which are apparently of Upper Palaeozoic age. This plateau has been separated from the South Australian highlands by the formation of the rift valley, in which lie Lake Torrens and Spencer Gulf. St Vincent Gulf occupies a foundered area between the Mount Lofty ranges, the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. The south-eastern corner of South Australia is occupied by the basin of the Lower Murray, which in middle Cainozoic times was occupied by a sea, in which was laid down a thick series of marine sands and limestones. These rocks have yielded a rich fossil fauna from the cliffs beside the Murray. In the southern part of this district there is a western continuation of the basaltic sheets so conspicuous in Victoria. Some of them have been ejected from volcanoes, of which the vents are still well marked. The best extinct crater known is Mt Gambier.
The Lake Eyre basin occupies a vast depression to the north of the South Australian highlands; it is bounded to the west by a line of ridges and mountains of Archean and Lower Palaeozoic rocks, which connect the north-western end of the South Australian highlands with the mountains on the Archean plateau at the head of the Macumba and the Finke rivers. The Lake Eyre basin was occupied in Lower Cretaceous times by a sea, which extended southward from the Gulf of Carpentaria; and it appears to have been bounded to the south by the northern edge of the South Australian highlands. In this sea were laid down sheets of clays, known as the Rolling Downs formation. After the retreat of this sea the clays were covered by the Desert Sandstone, which has been cut up by denudation into isolated plateaux and tent-shaped hills. On the margin of the Desert Sandstone in Queensland there are some marine beds interstratified with the Desert Sandstone, and the fossils fix its age as Upper Cretaceous. The origin of the Desert Sandstone has given rise to considerable discussion; but it is no doubt in the main a terrestrial formation including some lake deposits. The surface is often converted into a vitreous quartzite by deposition of an efflorescent chert. Obsidian buttons are scattered over the central deserts, and have been regarded as of meteoric origin; they have also been considered proof of local volcanic action, but they have probably been scattered by the aborigines. Extensive estuarine deposits of Pliocene or early Pleistocene age, with a rich fauna of extinct marsupials and birds, occur on the plains to the east of Lake Eyre. The Northern Territory includes the mountains of the Macdonnell Chain, and all the country thence to the northern coast. It consists of an Archean plateau, covered in places by Cambrian and Ordovician deposits. To the north of the Victoria river and the Roper ​River, the country rises into a high, dissected table-land of Archean rocks; but round the coast there is a coastal plain including Permo- Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Cainozoic deposits. The Cretaceous deposits include ammonites of the varians type and a species of Aucella.
The chief mineral product of South Australia is copper, the mines of which occur in Cambrian limestones along the western edge of the South Australian highlands at Moonta, Wallaroo and Burra Burra. Gold occurs in numerous small mines in the South Australian highlands; and also in the Western Plateau, as in the Tarcoola goldfield; and in the Northern Territory, in the Arltunga goldfield, at the eastern end of the Macdonnell chain. Gold and tin are scattered in the Arnheim Peninsula of the Northern Territory; but hitherto the gold-mines of South Australia have been less important than those of any other of the Australian states. The only coal deposits are those formed in lacustrine deposits of Jurassic age, as at Leigh's Creek, east of Lake Torrens, where they have been mined.
Most of the geological information regarding South Australia is scattered in a series of reports, mainly by H. Y. L. Brown, published in the parliamentary papers of South Australia. There are also numerous reports by R. Tate, W. Howchin, &c. in the Trans. R. Soc. S. Austral. The geology of the Macdonnell range is described in the reports of the Horn Expedition, and the fauna of Lake Callabonna in Memoirs issued by Stirling and Zeitz, published by the Royal Society of South Australia. The literature is catalogued in Gill's Bibliography of South Australia (Adelaide, 1885), and that of the Lake Eyre basin and its adjacent islands in J. W. Gregory, The Dead Heart of Australia (1906). The Miocene marine fauna has been catalogued last by Dennant and Kitson, Records Geol. Survey, Victoria (1905), No. II. (J. W. G.)
Fauna.—South Australia is not separated from the neighbouring colonies by any natural boundaries; hence the fauna includes many animals which are also to be found in the land lying to the east and west. The northern half of the colony lies within the tropics, and possesses a tropical fauna, which is, however, practically identical with that of Northern Queensland. In spite of its immense extent north and south, and a corresponding diversity in climate, the colony is poorer in animal life than its neighbours. It possesses thirty-five genera of mammals. These include both genera of the order Monotremata—the Echidna, or spiny ant-eater, and the Ornithorhynchus, or duck-billed platypus, both of which are found also in Eastern Australia and Tasmania. The other order of Mammalia associated with Australia, the Marsupialia, is well represented in South Australia. It contains seven genera of Macropodidae or kangaroos, including the wallaby and kangaroo rat, four genera of Phalangistidae, or opossums, and five species of Dasyuridae, or "native cats." Two genera of this family are peculiar to the region—the Chaelocercus and the Antichinomys; the latter is found in the interior. It is a mouse-like animal with large ears, and is remarkable for the elongation of its fore-arm and hind-foot and for the complete absence of the hallux. The Phascolomys, or wombat, one of the largest of the marsupials, is also found in South Australia, and the curious Myrmecobius, or ant-eater of Western Australia. This remarkable animal is about the size of a squirrel; it possesses fifty-two teeth (a greater number than any known quadruped), and, unlike the other members of its order, the female has no pouch, the young hanging from nipples concealed amongst the hair of her abdomen. The Choeropus, with peculiarly slender limbs and a pouch opening backwards, is found in the interior. The remaining Mammalia consist of the dingo, or native dog, and a few species of Muridae, the mouse family, and Cheiroptera, or bats. There are about 700 species of birds, including 60 species of parrots. Of the 9 families peculiar to the Australian region, 5 are well represented, including the Meliphagidae (honey-suckers), Cacatuidae (cockatoos), Platycercidae (broad-tailed and grass parakeets), Megapodidae (mound-makers) and Casuaridae (cassowaries). The last-named family is represented by the Dromaeus, or emu, which is hunted in some parts of the colony. Reptiles are fairly represented : there are fifteen species of poisonous snakes. The lizards are very peculiar; South and Western Australia contain twelve peculiar genera. No tailed Amphibia exist in the continent, but frogs and toads are plentiful.
Flora.—The plant species resemble those of the eastern colonies and Western Australia, but are more limited in variety. The colony, from its dryness, lacks a number known elsewhere. Enormous areas are almost destitute of forests or of timber trees. The Eucalyptus family, so valuable for timber and gum as well as for sanitary reasons, are fairly represented. Acacias are abundant, the bark of some being an article of commerce. Flinders range has much of the valuable sugar-gum, Eucalyptus Corynocalyx, which is being now preserved in forest reserves. Its timber is very hard and strong, not warping, resisting damp and ants. The head-flowered stringybark, Euc. capitellata, has a persistent bark. A sort of stringybark, Euc. tetrodonta, is found in Northern Territory. The gouty-stem tree (Adansonia) or monkey-bread of the north is a sort of baobab. About 500 northern plants are Indian. The Tamarindus indica occurs in Arnhem land, with native rice, rattans and wild nutmeg. The cedar is of the Indian variety. Pines are numerous in the south, palms in the north; among the most beautiful is the Kentia acuminata. Banksias are very common in sandy districts. Flowering shrubs are common in the south. There are 130 known grasses in Northern Territory.
Fisheries.—Whaling was formerly an important industry about Encounter Bay, as sealing was in Kangaroo Island. The whales have migrated and the seals are exterminated. On the northern side trepang or bêche-de-mer fishery is carried on, and pearl fisheries have been established. Of fish within colonial waters there are forty-two peculiar genera. The tropical north has similar fish to those of north Queensland, while those of southern bays resemble many of the species of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. There are the barracouta, bonito, bream, carp, catfish, rock cod and Murray cod, conger, crayfish, cuttle, dogfish, eel, flatfish, flat-head, flounder, flying-fish, gadfish, grayling, gurnard, hake, John Dory, ray, salmon (so-called), schnapper, seahorse, shark, sole, squid, swordfish, whiting, &c. Though called by English names, the fish do not always correspond to those in Europe. The Murray cod is a noble fresh-water fish.
Climate.—The climate of South Australia proper is, on the whole, extremely healthy, and in many respects resembles that of southern Europe. In the south-eastern corner of the state the spring and winter seasons are most pleasant, and although the thermometer occasionally registers high in summer, the heat is dry and much more endurable than a much lesser heat in a moist climate. In the interior districts, however, the heat is sometimes very trying to Europeans. In Northern Territory the climate is of a tropical character, except on the table-lands where it is comparatively cool. Observation has determined the area of the state adapted by reason of seasonal rains to the growth of wheat, and in this area crops are almost certain; agriculture outside this area is, however, purely speculative. The average rainfall at Adelaide taken for a period of 52 years was 21·204 in. As the rain falls at seasonable times the quantity is sufficient for cereal cultivation. The maximum shade temperature recorded at Adelaide Observatory in 1905 was 109·7—the highest for any Australian city; the minimum was 34·8 and the mean temperature 61·1.
Population.—The population of South Australia in i860 was 124,112, and the province was third in importance among the states forming the Australasian group. In 1870 the population stood at 183,797, and in 1880 at 267,573; in 1890 it was 319,414; in 1901, 362,604; and at the end of 1905, 378,208. These figures are inclusive of the population of Northern Territory, the province of South Australia, properly so-called, containing 374,398 inhabitants, and Northern Territory, 3810, the respective density of the two divisions being one person per square mile and one per 128 sq. m. The estimated population of Adelaide in 1905 was 175,000. The number of males in 1905 was 197,487, and the females 180,721. The births in the same year were 8868 and the deaths 3804, representing 23-44 and 10-05 per 1000 of population respectively. The birth-rate has declined greatly.
Dividing the years from 1861 to 1905 into five-yearly groups the following were the average birth-rates:—
Illegitimate births are less frequent in South Australia than elsewhere in Australia; in 1905 the proportion of illegitimate to total births was 4·37%.
The death-rate has always been remarkably light, not having exceeded 13 per 1000 in any year since 1886. The averages for each quinquennial period from 1861 were as follows:—
The excess of births over deaths in 1905 was 5071 or 13·48 per 1000 of population. The number of marriages celebrated during 1905 was 2599; this represents a marriage-rate of 6·87 per 1000. The number of divorces and judicial separations during the ten years closing with 1905 was 72.
​The people are mainly of British race; out of 362,604 persons whose birthplace was ascertained at the census of 1001, 348,352 were of British or Australian parentage, the number born in the Commonwealth being 289,440, and in South Australia itself 271,671; 9396 were born on the continent of Europe, of whom 6664 were Germans, and 931 Scandinavians and 3253 were Chinese. The total foreign-born element of the population numbered only 3·73%.
The census showed the number of breadwinners in the state to be 153,296—120,328 males and 32,968 females. Agriculture, the main industry, provided employment for 34,186 persons, of whom 33,039 were males and 1147 females. Pastoral pursuits employed 4193, dairying 2868 and mining 6301. The industrial class may be divided into (a) persons engaged in manufacturing industries, 18,163 males, 6761 females; (b) persons engaged in the construction of buildings, railways, roads, &c.; numbering 8652; and (c) persons engaged in other industrial pursuits, 7657—these are chiefly persons whose census description is merely labourer. The commercial class, including trades of all kinds as well as persons engaged in finance, numbered 20,165, namely 17,080 males and 3085 females. The professional class comprised 5372 males and 3485 females, or a total of 8857; while the domestic class—comprising persons engaged in providing board and lodging, hotel and restaurant keepers, as well as servants—numbered 17,981, namely 3452 males and 14,529 females. The foregoing classes show the distribution of employment amongst the 153,296 breadwinners; the remainder of the population, comprising 209,308 persons (64,094 males and 145,214 females) were dependent on the breadwinners.
Administration.—South Australia, as one of the states of the Commonwealth, returns six senators and seven representatives to the Federal parliament. The local parliament consists of a Legislative Council and a House of Assembly. The former has eighteen members, elected by the districts into which the state is divided for that purpose, the franchise being limited to persons with freehold or leasehold estate, and to occupiers of dwellings of £25 annual value; while the Assembly contains 42 members, elected by 13 districts; the electoral qualifications for the Assembly are the attainment of the age of 21 years, and having been upon the electoral roll not less than six months. Women have the right to vote.
Local Government.—Adelaide was the first Australian city to acquire the right of self-government; on the 31st of October 1840 the first municipal elections in Australia were held in that city. There are 33 municipal councils and 142 district councils in the settled parts of the state, the area under local government being about 43,000 sq. in. Local rates are assessed upon the assumed annual value of the properties liable to be rated; and the amount of such assessed annual value was, in 1905, £2,739,808, and the capital value 55 millions. The revenue of the various local bodies in 1905 was £294,723, of which £170,235 was obtained from rates, £30,618 from government endowment and £93,870 from other sources; £130,489 was spent on public works. The total debt of the local bodies in that year was £102,261.
Education.—The South Australian system of popular education in its present form dates from 1878. It is compulsory, secular and free. The compulsory ages are over seven and under thirteen years, but children who have attained a certain standard of education are exempt from compulsory attendance. Religious instruction is not allowed to be given in state schools except out of ordinary school hours. Secondary instruction is in the hands of private and denominational establishments, and the university of Adelaide is well endowed and efficient. The state maintained in 1905 722 schools, with a gross enrolment of 59,026 pupils, and the average attendance was about 41,807. The sum expended in that year on public instruction was £181,583, and of that amount £150,000 was on account of primary instruction. Although education is free, the instruction department has a small revenue; this in 1905 amounted to £12,783, of which £6131 was derived from rents, £3630 from the sale of books and school material, and £682 from fees; the greater portion of the fees comes from the advanced school for girls, the remainder being paid by pupils attending classes in agriculture held in the public schools. The average cost of primary instruction to the state, including cost of school premises and maintenance, is about £3, 11s. 41/2d. per scholar in average attendance. The revenue of the Adelaide University in 1905 was £21,462, 15s. 7d., of which £6639 was obtained from the government, £9845 from fees and £4979 from other sources. The number of students attending lectures during the same year was 595, of whom 366 had matriculated. Technical education is well advanced; the School of Mines and Industries, founded in 1899, had in 1905 an enrolment of 1600 students. Private schools numbered 213, with 725 teachers and 10,206 scholars. Of the teachers 559 were engaged in general instruction, while 166 were specially engaged in particular subjects.
The peculiarity of religion is the strength of the non-Episcopal churches. The Church of England, which includes over 40% of the population of the other Australian states, claims only 27% in South Australia; and the Roman Catholic Church, whose adherents number 22% in the other colonies, numbers about 14% in South Australia. The Presbyterian churches have also fewer supporters, for only 5·5 % of the population belong to such churches, compared with 13% in the other colonies. To the Wesleyan churches 19 % of the population belong, to the Congregational churches 3·7%, Baptists 5·5%, Lutherans 7·5%, and other Protestants about 8%.
Finance.—For the year ending June 1905 the state had a public revenue of £2,798,849, which is equal to £7, 10s. 2d. per inhabitant. This amount includes revenue received by the Commonwealth government on behalf of the state. The principal sources of public revenue were: customs duties (balance of amount collected by the Commonwealth government), £555,692; land, income and other taxes, £442,030; railways, £1,279,481; public lands, £192,337; other revenue, £527,843. In 1871 the revenue of the province was £778,000, or £4, 4s. 3d. per inhabitant; from that year it rose rapidly until in 1881 it stood at £2,172,000, or £7,16s. 10d, per head; in 1891 it was £2,732,000, or £8, 11s. 1d. per head. The expenditure for the year ended the 30th of June 1905 was as follows: railway working expenses, £746,636; public instruction, £181,583; interest and charges of public debt, £1,049,643; other services, £915,261. The debt charges amount to £2, 11s. 8d. per head, and absorb 36·28 % of the total revenue of the state. Against this must be placed the net return from services upon which the loan moneys were expended; this amounts to about £746,459, so that the real burden of the state’s debt is reduced to £303,184 per annum. On the 30th of June 1905 the public debt of the state stood at £28,727,895, which is equal to £78, 1s. 1d. per head; and the purposes for which the debt was incurred were: railway construction and equipment, £13,732,567; water supply and sewerage, £4,993,638; telegraphs and telephones, £1,010,738; and other works and services not producing direct revenue, £8,990,952. These figures include the debt of the Northern Territory. The amount of the debt at certain periods beginning with 1861 was:—
Defence.—As part of the Commonwealth the defence of South Australia is undertaken by the Federal government. On the 31st of December 1905 the defence force of the state totalled 5066 men, comprising 1262 partially paid troops, a paid staff of 37 and 3178 riflemen. In addition to the land force there is a corps of 127 men capable of being employed on local war vessels, or as a light artillery land force.
Minerals.—South Australia, though without coal, was the first Australian colony to have a metallic mine, and the first to possess a gold-mine. In 1841 the wheel of a dray, going over a hill near Adelaide, disclosed to view silver-lead ore. In the midst of the bad times in 1843 the Kapunda copper-mine was found. In 1845 the wonderful Burra Burra copper was first wrought. The land, 10,000 acres, cost £10,000; and for several years the dividends to shareholders were 800% per annum. The first colonial mineral export was 30 tons of lead ore, value £128, in 1843. The copper declined as prices fell. It was £322,983 in 1885, when rates were £50 a ton, but £762,386 ten years before with over £90. In 1886 most of the mines were closed. Between 250 and 400 m. north of Adelaide a very rich copper district exists. Lead is very abundant. Manganese, nickel, bismuth, antimony and silver have been mined. Tin is seen in granitic places. Iron occurs in almost all formations and in all conditions. There is abundance of haematite, micaceous, bog and other ores rich in the metal. Talisker and other mines paid in silver. The wonderful Silverton, of Barrier Ranges, in a desert, is just outside the boundary, though 300 m. only from Adelaide while 600 from Sydney. Gold was got from a quartz vein at the Victoria mine, near Adelaide, as early as 1846, but did not pay the company. Partial gold working has been conducted at Echunga, &c., in southern hills. There are rich alluvial and quartz gold mines in Northern Territory, at from 100 to 150 m. south of Port Darwin. For the year 1884 the yield was £77,935. Of 1349 miners 1205 were Chinese. Gold is now worked at Waukaringa, 225 m. north of Adelaide. Copper, tin and silver are found in Northern Territory. Among other minerals asbestos, roofing slates and fine marbles may be named. Some forty years ago precious stones, especially garnets and sapphires, were gathered in the Barossa Hills. Carbonaceous material is found at the Coorong, &c., yielding 50% of oil. Lake Eyre has a rude coal. Kapunda marble quarry is a success. The great copper mines at Moonta and ​Wallaroo are still worked, but the production has greatly fallen off. In 1900 the value of copper raised in the province was £386,015, and the gross production to the end of that year amounted to £22,321,969. The production of copper in 1905 was £470,324. Gold to the value of £85,555 was won in 1905, being chiefly obtained in Northern Territory; the total production of gold prior to that year was £2,764,336. The value of minerals other than gold and copper won during 1905 was £96,672. In 1871 the mineral production of the state was valued at £725,000, in 1881 at £421,000, in 1891 at £365,000 and in 1905 at £652,551.
Land System.—The aggregate area of South Australia, exclusive of the Northern Territory, is computed to be 380,070 sq. m., or 243,244,800 acres. About 136,828 sq. m., or a little more than one-third, represent the limits within which the country is at present occupied. The 46 counties proclaimed to date embrace an area of 80,453 sq. m. or 51,489,920 acres, of which 7,955,305 acres are purchased, 365,526 acres are partly purchased and 121,735 acres have been granted for public purposes, making the total area alienated, wholly or conditionally, 8,442,566 acres; 176,537 acres are set apart, but not granted, for forest purposes, and 42,870,817 acres are still in possession of the Crown but occupied under various kinds of tenure, chiefly for pastoral purposes. In addition to the land alienated, there are 17,104,062 acres held direct from the Crown by 19,511 lessees for farming or grazing purposes. Outside the counties are 299,617 sq. m. or 191,754,880 acres, of which 1105 acres are purchased, 23 granted for public purposes, 76,570,750 held by 497 lessees as sheep or cattle runs, leaving 115,184,130 acres open for pastoral settlement, if suitable.
Agriculture.—South Australia is essentially an agricultural state. In its first establishment the land was cut up for sale into eighty-acre lots with the view of settling the people on arrival, and concentrating them, instead of having them scattered as in the neighbouring colonies, in which pastoral pursuits completely dwarfed the farming industry. This wise provision made the colony for years the supplier of breadstuffs to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland. As neighbours became wheat-producers, Adelaide merchants had to seek markets in Natal, Mauritius, the Cape, or even Europe. At all times the state has lent every assistance to agriculture. As the colony suffers more from drought than anything else, public reservoirs are constructed and artesian wells are sunk. Forest culture has especially attracted government attention. Reforesting and the establishment of nurseries for the trees, fruits and vegetables of other lands go hand in hand. Hundreds of thousands of trees are planted annually.
The chief industry is wheat-growing; out of 3,342,626 acres under cultivation in 1905, 1,757,036 acres were under wheat for grain and 317,924 under wheat for hay. In some parts of South Australia fine yields are obtained; but taking it as a whole, the yield of the province is light. During the ten years 1891–1900 the return per acre varied from a minimum of 1·7 bushels in 1897 to a maximum of 6·1 bushels in 1893. South Australian wheat is of excellent quality and strength, and well known in European markets, to which the province has sent wheat since 1850. There has been little expansion of wheat cultivation since 1880; nor, indeed, has there been any material expansion in the total area under crop. Up to the year mentioned, every season showed an additional area devoted to cultivation; but repeated failure of crops, due to want of seasonable rain, have disheartened farmers, and much land that was formerly cultivated now lies fallow; 1,087,057 acres were fallow in 1905. The following is a statement of the area of wheat harvested for grain at specified intervals from 1861:—
The total area under crop during the same period was: 1861, 400,717 acres; 1871, 837,730 acres; 1881, 2,156,407 acres; 1891, 1,927,689 acres; 1901, 2,369,680 acres. In 1905 other leading crops grown with this acreage were: oats, 56,950 acres; barley, 26,250 acres; potatoes, 9540 acres; vines, 23,603 acres; other crops, 30,532 acres.
In viticulture the province has made considerable progress, and many Germans are employed in the industry. The production of wine for the year 1905 amounted to 2,845,853 gallons, while 16,714 cwt. of currants and 8697 cwt. of raisins were also made. The wine made is of excellent quality, and 718,660 gallons, of a total production of 2,845,853 gallons, were exported in 1905, principally to London.
The production of wool has been one of the chief industries since the foundation of the state, but of late years it has been much affected by droughts and low prices, so that the export of locally-grown wool in 1901 was considerably less in quantity than in 1880, and little more than half as valuable. In 1861 the colony carried 3,038,000 sheep; in 1871, 4,412,000; in 1881, 6,811,000; in 1891, 7,745,000; in 1900, 5,283,247; and in 1905, 6,202,330. The quantity of wool exported in the year last named was equal to 45,214,766 ℔, valued at £1,668,214. As a cattle-breeding country South Australia does not take a prominent place beside the three eastern states of Australia. The province depastured, in 1905, 647,631 cattle as against 520,379 in 1904, 347,666 being in Northern Territory. In 1891 the number was 677,000, and 1881, 315,000. It was between 1881 and 1891 that Northern Territory was stocked. The horses in South Australia number about 216,350; the number in 1881 was 159,678.
Although there are some 30,000 persons engaged in one form or other of manufacturing, only 18,664 are accounted for in the annual statistics of the state; these hands are employed in 1339 establishments. The horse-power employed in the manufactories is 11,756, the value of the plant being estimated at £1,730,000.
Commerce.—The tonnage of shipping entering the ports in 1905 was 2,625,997, which is equal to upwards of 6 tons per inhabitant, a very considerable ratio compared with most countries; but this tonnage is quite beyond the requirements of the province, whose trade represents only about 750,000 tons per annum, and is due to the fact that Adelaide is a place of call for all the great lines of steamships trading between Europe and Australia; but when every allowance is made, it will be found that Adelaide is a great shipping centre and the third port of Australasia. The tonnage entering at Adelaide during 1905 was 2,106,854; at Port Pirie, 226,903; at Wallaroo, 105,228; and at Port Darwin, 116,981. The value of the total imports was £8,439,609, and the total exports £9,490,667. The ports command the greater part of the trade of the Broken Hill and trans-Darling districts of New South Wales, and this trade is very valuable both to the merchants and the railways of the province. The trade at the periods specified was:—
The great expansion following 1881 was due to the opening up of trade with the western districts of New South Wales. The exports of domestic produce, the value of which is given in the last column, when compared with the other figures in the table, show how greatly the province depends upon its re-export trade. The chief items of trade are breadstuffs, wool and minerals; the export of breadstuffs is very variable, depending so largely upon the rainfall, which in South Australia is extremely uncertain. In 1884 the value of wheat and flour exported was £2,491,896, falling to £633,426 in 1886, and rising again to £2,197,735 in 1888. Since the year last named there have been great fluctuations; in 1898 the export fell to £261,898; in 1899 it was £785,341; in 1900, £837,642; in 1901, £1,329,059; in 1904, £1,649,414; and in 1905, £1,877,318.
Railways.—The first railway was opened in 1856, and connected Adelaide with its port, and the following year saw a line constructed to Gawler, 25 m. from Adelaide. The inability of the government to borrow money at reasonable rates greatly retarded the construction of railways in the province, and in 1875 there were less than 200 m. of line: in the next ten years 800 m. were opened for traffic, and in 1905 there were 1746 m. in the state proper and 146 m. in Northern Territory. There were, in addition, 34 m. of privately owned lines. The cost of constructing and equipping the state lines stood at £14,766,465 and the net earnings at £538,890; this represents 3·64% on the capital invested. The actual interest paid by the state upon its outstanding loans was in the same year 3·79%: there was therefore a loss of 0·15% upon the working of the lines; but the state claims that the indirect benefits of railway construction far more than compensate for the direct loss. The gross earnings for the year 1905 were £1,318,521, and the working expenses £756,403; the net profit per average mile open being £297, and per train mile 34·68 pence. In 1905 the number of passengers carried was 9,870,821, and the goods tonnage 1,684,793. South Australia has two gauges, namely 508 m. of 5 ft. 3 in., and 1384 m. of 3 ft. 6 in. line. The line joining Adelaide with the Victorian border, as well as several of the trunk lines, is on the wider gauge.
Posts and Telegraphs.—In 1905 there were 711 post-offices in the state of which 299 were also telegraph stations. The business transacted was: letters and postcards transmitted, 26,230,337; newspapers, 6,717,787; packets, 1,659,775; and telegrams, 1,244,126. The total revenue from these services for the year 1905 was £274,892, and the expenditure £259,656; in these sums are included the ​ telephone revenue and expenditure, the former amounting to £25,815. These sums are exclusive of revenue received by the Commonwealth government. The use of telephones in Adelaide is rapidly extending; in 1905 there were eleven exchanges and 2284 telephones in actual use. There were 6092 m. of telegraph line in operation in that year; the state owns the principal overland line by which communication with Europe and the East is maintained.
Banking.—The assets of all the banks of issue trading in South Australia at the end of December 1905 amounted to £7,425,775, and the liabilities to £7,623,060; these latter comprised deposits at call and at interest, £6,866,281; notes and bills in circulation, £381,573; and other liabilities £52,929. Among the assets were coin and bullion £1,861,691. The South Australian people are very thrifty, and thirty-one in every hundred have accounts with the savings banks. On the 30th of June 1905 the depositors numbered 126,821, the amount of their credit being £4,380,358, a sum equal to £34, 10s. 9d. per depositor. Taking deposits in banks of issue and in savings banks together, the total was £11,186,639, which is equal to £29, 12s. 4d. per inhabitant.
Authorities.—E. G. Blackmore, The Law of the Constitution of South Australia (Adelaide, 1894); H. Y. L. Brown, A Record of the Mines of South Australia (Adelaide, 1890); John Ednie Brown, A Practical Treatise on Tree Culture in South Australia (Adelaide, 1881); J. F. Conigrave, South Australia: A Sketch of its History and Resources. A Handbook compiled for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, 1886 (Adelaide, 1886); B. T. Finniss, The Constitutional History of South Australia, 1836–1857 (London, 1886); R. Gouger, The Founding of South Australia, edited by E. Hodder (London, 1898); William Harcus, South Australia: Its History, Resources, Productions and Statistics (London, 1876) ; Edwin Hodder, The History of South Australia, with maps (2 vols. 8vo., London, 1893); S. Newland, The Far North Country (Adelaide, 1887); South Australian Year Book (1904–1905); T. A. Coghlan, Australia and New Zealand (1903–1904). (T. A. C.)
History.—Though the coast of Northern Territory was well known to Portuguese and Spanish navigators as early as perhaps 1530, being called Great Java, it was not surveyed till 1644, when Tasman laid down the line of shore pretty accurately. The western part of the southern coast had been seen and named Nuyt’s Land in 1627. But Flinders, by his discovery of the two great gulfs, Kangaroo Island and Encounter Bay, in 1802, was the first to reveal South Australia proper. Captain Sturt descended the Murray in 1830, and looked over the hills near Adelaide. The first to direct attention to a settlement there was Major Baron, who communicated with the colonial office in February 1831. His suggestion was to establish, at no charge to the British government, a private company, that should settle a party on Yorke Peninsula. He believed a large river entered Spencer Gulf. In August Colonel Torrens and others proposed to purchase land between 132° and 141° —500,000 acres at 5s. an acre. Some were in favour of Spencer Gulf, others of Kangaroo Island, and a few for the mainland towards the Murray. Memorialists in 1832 sought a charter for the South Australian Association, giving extensive powers of self-government. Land sales were to pay the passages of free labour, chiefly young married people, and no convicts were ever to be sent thither. Lord Goderich did not favour the scheme, and thought a colony with free institutions might prejudice the interests of New South Wales, while free trade would interfere with the English navigation laws. After much negotiation, the English authorities regarded the scheme more favourably, but would not consent to give the company the powers they sought. The company receded in their demands, and offered security for the proper observance of law and order, while depositing cash for the purchase of land. Captain Sturt in 1834 informed the colonial secretary that Spencer Gulf and Kangaroo Island were objectionable, but that the eastern side of St Vincent Gulf was the best locality. In 1835 the ministry got an act passed for the erection of a colony under commissioners appointed by the Crown, who would be responsible for their acts to the British government. It was arranged that a local government should be established when the settlement had 50,000 people. Mr George Fife Angas advanced a large sum as security to the state. Though the first settlers were sent to Kangaroo Island, all were afterwards gathered on the Adelaide plains. The colony was proclaimed under a gum tree on the 28th of December, 1836. Great delay took place in the survey of land. The South Australian Company purchased large tracts from the commissioners at 12s. per acre and sold at 20s. A general speculative spirit arrested progress. Governor Gawler went into extravagant outlay on public buildings, &c, and drew against orders upon the English treasury. Such difficulties arose that the British rulers had to suspend the charter in 1841 and make South Australia a Crown colony. A revival of prosperity took place when the farms were tilled and poverty had taught prudence. Copper and lead mines were subsequently discovered. Kapunda in 1843, and the Burra Burra copper-mine in 1845, greatly aided in the restoration of commercial credit. The gold fever in Victoria drew off numbers in 1852; but the good prices then realized for breadstuffs gave a great impetus to farming.
In 1856 the colony was given its own constitution and self-government. On the attainment of autonomy Governor MacDonnell, in closing the last session of the then partially nominated legislature, made use of the following words: “I confidently expect that the extended political power entrusted to the people of this country, and the universal suffrage conceded by the new constitution, will prove in reality a safe and conservative measure; and whilst conferring the utmost possible power of self-government, will render stronger and more enduring than ever the cherished ties of affection and loyalty which link this province to the throne of our respected and beloved sovereign.” This prediction appears to have been amply verified: South Australia enjoys the reputation of being one of the most progressive and at the same time one of the most stable of existing communities. From its origin as the venture of private enterprise the state has passed through orderly stages of evolution up to the zenith of democratic government. Such alterations as have been made in the constitution have been in the direction of a still further enlargement of the franchise. Payment of members proved to be the corollary of manhood suffrage. In 1887 a temporary act was passed for the payment of £200 a year to each member of both houses, and in 1890 the law was made permanent. Thus was rendered possible the direct representation of all classes. Soon afterwards the parliamentary Labour party came into existence; this forms a considerable proportion of the membership of both houses, and includes in its ranks men of the highest intelligence, industry and eloquence. In 1894 the principle of “one man one vote” was extended to that of “one adult one vote” by the inclusion of women as voters on terms of absolute equality with men. There is no bar to the election of women to parliament whenever the electors think fit to be so represented. The delegates to the Federal convention and to the Commonwealth parliament were in South Australia elected by the combined vote of men and women. Elections were formerly held in successive batches, but since 1893 they have taken place simultaneously in all the districts. Electoral expenses are rigidly limited, both as to objects and amount, and a declaration of money thus expended has to be filed by every candidate. Experience has demonstrated that, owing to the intrusion of the personal element, general elections have often failed to afford conclusive evidence of the state of the popular will. Attention was therefore directed towards the referendum as a means of obtaining an unquestionable verdict on important public issues, although no general statute was formulated on the subject. In 1896, at the general elections, the following questions were submitted to the electors: “Do you favour (1) the continuance of the present system of education in the state schools? (2) the introduction of scriptural instruction in the state schools during school hours? (3) the payment of a capitation grant to denominational schools for secular results?” An overwhelming majority pronounced in favour of (1) and against (2) and (3). Again, in 1899, a direct vote was similarly taken on the question of household franchise for the legislative council. Undoubtedly the practical application of the referendum in South Australia facilitated the adoption of this principle in the ratification and in the method of amendment of the Commonwealth constitution. The right of the Second Chamber to suggest amendments to bills which it has not power to amend was borrowed by the Commonwealth from the constitution of South Australia, as ​ also was the idea of a simultaneous dissolution of both houses as a means of overcoming possible deadlocks between the chambers. As one among many improvements in parliamentary procedure may be mentioned the practice of permitting bills lapsed owing to prorogation to be replaced on the notice paper in the ensuing session by motion without debate.
In partially settled countries such as South Australia the Crown lands policy rivals finance in engrossing the attention of the legislature, but as time goes on the relative importance of these subjects varies in inverse ratio. The earlier budgets, compared with those of later years, when the country had become more fully developed, might be saidCrown Lands. to resemble the finances of the nursery, whereas the initial alien- ations of land, comprising the most central and most valuable blocks, necessarily surpassed later transactions in significance. Many phases of public opinion as to the method of disposing of the Crown lands have been witnessed. A general review indicates clearly that the change has been uniformly in the direction of removing impediments and increasing facilities for the settlement of the people, either as freeholders or as state tenants, on the land. Under the auction system the land was allotted to the highest bidder, with the result that the payment of the purchase-money frequently exhausted the resources of the settler, and subsequent relief had to be afforded by relaxation of the conditions of the agreement to purchase. Eventually land boards were created to allot selections to applicants at low rates and deferred purchase. Perpetual leases are now taking the place of absolute alienation. The tenure is equally good for all purposes of the bona-fide settler, and capital which would otherwise be sunk in acquiring the freehold is set free for making improvements, purchasing machinery and the manifold requirements of efficient husbandry. Small blocks of 20 acres, or not exceeding Â£100 of unimproved value, can be obtained by working men in the vicinity of towns, thus on the one hand affording the necessary supply of agricultural labour during the busy seasons, and on the other hand providing a homestead which the holder can with advan- tage cultivate at slack times when unemployed. Provision was made, under the Closer Settlement Act of 1897, for the repurchase of large estates for agricultural purposes; these lands are leased to farmers at an average rent of about 41/8% on the value. The industry of wheat-growing has received an impetus through the system of drilling in a small quantity of phosphatic manure with the seed. By this means exhausted lands have been restored almost to primi- tive fertility. Vine-growing has now become one of the staple industries, and, owing to stringent precautions, the state remains free from the scourge of phylloxera. The great bulk of Agriculture and Water.the unalienated land of South Australia is held in huge areas by Crown tenants, known as squatters, under pastoral leases, which now have a currency of 42 years, with security of tenure. In 1893, when the unemployed were very numerous, the government established co-operative village settle- ments on tracts of land adjoining the river Murray. Seven of these are now in existence as irrigation colonies. The water is raised from the river by rotary pumps, and distributed by means of channels, after the plan adopted at Renmark. By the application of water to the adjacent sun-steeped soil miles of worthless mallee scrub have been converted into vistas of vineyards, orange groves and orchards. The paramount importance of water-supply and conservation has received ever-increasing recognition. The Beetaloo reservoir has a capacity of 800,000,000 gallons, and from its 695 m. of trunk mains a district of over 1,000,000 acres is reticulated. The supply of Adelaide and its vicinity has been reinforced by a reservoir at Happy Valley, having a contour of about 71/2 m. at high- water mark, and containing 2,950,000,000 gallons. The reservoir was formed by the construction of an earthen embankment 2645 ft. long and 72 ft. high ; this is filled from the Onkaparinga river through half a mile of steel main, 6 ft. in diameter, and 31/2 m. of tunnel. Works on a large scale have also been constructed at Bundaleer and Barossa. The custom for many years past has been to construct these and other great public works departmentally instead of by contract. Many artesian wells have been sunk on the routes for travelling stock in the interior. The bores of some of these exceed 3000 ft. in depth, and the supply varies from 200,000 to 1,000,000 gallons a day. Around some of these wells in the far north plantations of date-palms have yielded excellent results.
South Australia was founded when the tide of the laissez-faire regime was running high, and a patriotic bias in the customs tariff was regarded as an unwarrantable restriction; it is therefore not surprising that free trade should at the outset have received many adherents. There were not wanting, however, some who saw clearly that a country almost entirely occupied in primary production would prove but a barren field for the cultivation of the many-sided activity necessary to a complete national life. It was also main- tained that if inducements were given to capital to embark inhome industries, a cheapening of the product, due to approximation of supply and demand, would ensue. In accordance with these views, a protective tariff was adopted in 1885. Two years later the duties were increased and extended. The establishment of manufactures
and new industries opened a career for youths of inventive and mechanical aptitude, and in several instances the predicted reduction in price of the protected article has been strikingly manifested.
One of the most notable developments in public policy consisted in the extension of the sphere of the state so as to embrace activities formerly considered to be solely within the province of private enterprise. Railways from the outset have been government undertakings, so also have been waterworks of any degree of magnitude; telegraphsGovernment Enterprise. and telephones, taken over by the Commonwealth, have always been regarded as state monopolies. A public trustee undertakes, when desired, the administration of estates. In 1895 a state bank was established to provide farmers with the necessary working capital at lowest current rates of interest. A state produce dépôt was also organized at the same time to assist farmers in placing their produce to the best advantage on the world's markets. Produce is received by the department of agriculture, prepared for shipment, certified as to quality, and graded. Small parcels from a number of producers are grouped together in one consignment and shipped at the lowest rates. The government of South Australia also undertakes, if so desired, to act as agent in London for the consignor, and to arrange for the sale of his produce; so that a farmer who has no representative at the port of destination, but is desirous of ascertaining whether a profitable trade can be established in any class of produce, has only to send the goods to the depSt, and await .the arrival of a cheque when the sales accounts come to hand. An advance amounting to three-fifths of the value of the produce at 5 % is made if desired. Wine shipped through the produce dep6t is analysed and examined in bulk by government experts, and if found to be both sound and pure is sent to the bonded d6p6t in London with a certificate to that effect: this is recorded on the label of the bottles in which it is retailed, under the name of the " Orion " brand. Cyanide works have been erected in various centres for treating ore raised by miners working in the neighbourhood. State smelters for copper ore have been built at Port Augusta, but are not now in operation. There is a Factory Act permitting the establishment of wages boards, and also legislation providing for a weekly half- holiday and the early closing of shops. A compulsory Conciliation Act deals with the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. The Right Hon. C. C. Kingston was the pioneer in Australasia of legislation of this description. These measures were at first denounced by some as Socialistic, and were regarded by many as an undue interference with private enterprise. Some of the state aids were, however, speedily recognized as affording additional incentives to industry, and by enabling producers and workers to obtain a better return for their labour may fairly be held to have assisted rather than to have retarded private enterprise. In 1893 a bonus on butter exported to the world's markets was successful in bringing into existence a fully equipped export trade. Public opinion in South Australia has little tolerance with laxity. Children are pre- vented from selling articles in the streets after 8 p.m., and are not allowed to fetch beer from public-houses. The age of consent has been raised to 17 years. The notification by medical men of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis to the local authorities is compulsory.
No pains have been spared to keep pace with modern improvements in popular education as an indispensable feature in democracy. South Australia holds in reverent and loving memory the name of John Anderson Hartley, the originator of the state school system, who died in 1896, and to whose character as a man and genius as an organizer the schools of South AustraliaEducation. will remain as a perennial monument. School fees for children under the compulsory age of 13 were abolished in 1891, and in 1898 the older children were also admitted free. Students in training have now the advantage of a two-years' course at the university. Technical education has received much attention. A foundation was long ago laid in the primary schools by the inclusion of drawing as a compulsory subject, and by affording facilities for manual training. In 1889 the South Australian School of Mines and Industries was established, and under the presidency of Sir Langdon Bonython proved a most valuable institution. Other technical schools are in operation in industrial and mining centres. A reserve of 2 acres is attached to all new country schools, and systematic lessons in practical agriculture are given by many teachers. In order to encourage tree-planting, a yearly school holiday devoted to this purpose, and known as Arbor Day, was established in 1886. With a similar object the state has distributed, free of charge, 5,000,000 forest trees to 21,000 persons. Over 1,250000 vines have also been given away. The boys' field club (1887), with the motto "The Naturalist loves Life," under the direction of Mr W. C. Grasby, was one of the pioneers of Nature-study. A state secondary school for girls has been for many years self-supporting, and in 1897 secondary agricultural schools for boys were organized in Adelaide and other centres. Half the school hours of each day are spent in the class-room, the remainder being devoted to workshop, field and laboratory practice. An agricultural college at Roseworthy, 25 m. north of Adelaide, imparts a high-class theoretical and practical training in the various branches of agriculture, including viticulture and wine-making. The fee charged is £30 a year, including board and lodging. Information ​as to practical and scientific husbandry is disseminated among the farmers by means of an agricultural bureau, with numerous branches throughout the country. A journal is published conjointly by the departments of agriculture and industry, containing reports of the proceedings of the bureaus and articles by government experts, together with industrial topics and matters of interest to artisans, and also particulars furnished by the labour bureau as to prospects of employment in various districts.  (J. A. Co.)