Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-08-04
AUSTRALIANS CENTENARY.
IT'S CELEBRATION BY THE vARI.
Gus COLONIES.
An Interesting Resume OF Australian
Governmental Affairs and the
Country's Condition.


Couutry's Condition.
Especial Correspondence of the REcogD-UNIoS.
MELBOURNE, June 5, 1888
The present year is being observed
| throughout Australia as the centenary of
the settlement of the island. The colony
of New South Wales, representing the
original settlement, and therefore espe-
cially interested in the event, celebrated
the occasion early in the year by sundry
festivities and also by an abortive effort to
change her somewhat cumbrous name for
one more euphonious and distinguished
Meanwhile her precocious daughter, Vic
toria, who has not yet completed her
fourth decade of separate existence but is
already formidable rival of the mother
colony, has seized the opportunity to or.
ganize one of those great international
/ exhibitions which are the recognized
means in the present day of celebrating
! birthdays and other famous events in The
| histories of nations.
And undoubtedly the result of a cent
ury's occupation of Australia should af-
! ford great satisfaction to any who see in
! the extension of the Anglo-Saxon race
! the best promise for the future peace and
advance of the world. Even in the ewes
/ Of those who are not so appreciative of
saxon institutions the reclamation from
savagery to civilization OF so large por-
! ton of the earth's surface must deserve
to rank among the greatest achievements
! of the present century.
! One hundred years ago this territory,
! covering an area Of about 100000 square
miles-that is to say, being approximately
the size Of the United States without
! Alaska, or four-fifths the size Of Europe
/ was occupied exclusively by few thou
. sand savage5 of, probably, the lowest type
men who had no homes, no form
of agriculture, no power of manu-
! featuring anything except the roughest
kind of weapons, and were often cannibals,
while everywhere they were constantly
! occupied in internicene tribal warfare.
And yet the country given over to so
I low race of men was in every way fitted
by nature for a much higher destiny. Ly-
ing between the tenth and the fortieth
parallels of south latitude, Australia
boasts range of climates greater than
that enjoyed by any country in the world
except the United States, and greater
than that enjoyed even by the great re-
public before the acquisition Of its north.
ern dependency. Between TIE tropical
jungle of the northern coasts and the
snow-capped submits of the Australian
Alps, every form of agricultural and pas
toral industry known to the human race
can be carried on.
Nor is Australia better fitted ior the
prosecution of those industries carried ON
upon the surface than for that of those
which dig deep into the earths crust. The
gold fields of Victoria and Queensland.
the copper mines of South Australia and
the coal beds of New South Wales. are
already famous, while every year extends
the ground in which the presence of min
erals Of one kind or another is ascertained.
In addition to this her coasts. which
measure some 1850 miles, not only TEEN
with excellent fish for the nourishment of
her people, but also supply very consid-
| cradle portion Of the mother-of-pearl shell,
used for purposes of decoration throughout
the world.
1t was TO this land Of promise then
| undreamt OF, that on the 26th day of Jan
uary, l7SS, there came the first COLONY Of
English settlers. These were of tvpe
which certainly would not have Justified
| any expectation of the progress which
! Australia has made in the first hundred
years of her settlement The party, which
was under the command of one Captain
Arthur Phillips, consisted of 757 convicts,
of whom 1872 were women and eighteen
were children, and detachment of ma
rInes, which numbered, including officers.
| rather over 200, with the wives OF forty of
| them.
A first landing having been made at
| Botany bay, which was found unsuitable
for settlement, the party was transferred
to the head of Sydney cove, in the mag
nihcent harbOr of Port Jackson. The spot
chosen was described at that time as living
sat the head Of the cove, near run Of
fresh water, which stole silently through
very thick wood To-day it is known as
Circular Quay, the center of the busiest
maritime commerce carried on at any port
in the Southern hemisphere.
1t is interesting to observe to how great
tree the unpromising seed sown on that
day has grown. The mainland of Aus
tralia is now divided between tive distinct
colonies, and with these is always enumer-
ated the colony of Tasmania, formerly
known as Van Dieman's Land, which is an
island about the size of Ireland, separated
from the southern point of Australia
proper by 120 miles OF sea.
Till the other day these colonies were as
politically separate from one another as
either of them is from Canada or India,
aud for nearly all practical purposes they
still are so, though some not entirely abor-
tive efforts in the direction of confeder-
alton have been made which will be re-
ferred to rather more in detail later.
In order that the relative positions and
approximate proportions of the different
colonies may be more clearly grasped. il is
convenient to divide the map of Australia
into three equal parts by lines drawn from
north to south. The western third is ALI
occupied by the backward colony of West
ern Australia. The middle third is all
occupied by the colony of South Austria
lla And the eastern third is divided be-
tween three colonies The northern part
of it, amounting to nearly two-thirds of
the whole, is occupied by Queensland
the central part, nearly half the size of
Queensland, is occupied by New South
Wales, and the small piece which remains,
not much more than quarter the size of
New South Wales. is the famous little col
ony OF Victoria. 1t is a noticeable fact
that the relative advance made bv the
five colonies on the mainland of Australia
is in the inverse ratio of their size.
Taking then Australia and Tasmania to-
setber, we have six colonies All Of these
are theoretically hound by laws passed for
them by the Parliament and Sovereign of
England; but in point of fact all Ct them
except Western Australia enjoy for all
practical purposes almost complete auton-
| omy. And even Western Australia, which
has hitherto remained largely under the
control Of the English Government, will,
during the course of the next year or two.
receive Constitution as liberal as that of
her neighbors in the East.
When it is stated that each OF the colo
II