Evening star., 1901-04-15
THE AUSTRALIA OF TO-DAY
THO-THIRDS DESERT, YET IT'S PRO-
DFCTIyF.NEss Is ENORMOUS.
Average Individual Wealth the High
est In the WOrid-PeOpie Are Ag-
gressive and BrOadminded.


G. sheridan Dwell IN Ain~lee's-
Strong from the outdoor life they lead and
from contention with the difficult condi-
lions that have confronted them. the Aus
tralians as a people have become tall and
straight like their gum trees, broad-shoui-
dered. deep-chested and wiry. They are
clear of eyes ard skin, of remarkable
so,iuduess and whiteness in their teeth, OF
Iuxuriant, fine-textured hair Bertiilon
says: when you see these characters
ties generally marked you may know you
are in the presence of great people
Magnificent distances stand before them
wherever they travel within their own
country, and the long travel develops en-
drrance and calm power against ADVERSE
tbs. as we'll as the gift to laugh at the
smaller difficulties and embarrassments OF
everyday life. The f40000,0OO worth of
products which the country exports annu-
ally TO England comes chiefly from the vast
Interior and there hundreds and hundreds
OF men dwell in stations separated by days
Of jOurneying- There, in lonely isolation
among millions of gum trees. they tend
fiOcBs of sheep numbering upward to 2OO.-
Oso per flock. There among the far
stretching hills and mountains they round
up ranges bearing 1900 to 10000 head of
cattle. And the life that these men lead
leaves its impress upon the nation.
Men who dwell in the interior of Aus
tralia are ever in the presence of valleys,
plains and gOrEeS stretching in all dfrec-
tions. with mountains pushing upon noun
tains till. in the hazy distance, they are
lost iE the sky liue-uO mans land, desc
late. untenanted: theirs II they want 1t,
only most of them already have more than
they know what to do with. The i'm
mensity. the scolOssal expansion presided
over BY an almost awe-inspiring stiffness,
become either maddening or sublime. ac-
cording to the temperament. Curiously
enough. ii Is usually the sublimity that
prevails.
Lived in SOIitudes.
Another effect, and one which plays
equally strong in shaping the qualities OF
the nation. has arisen from contact with
the wilderness. The Australians that lived
fn great soIitEdts could not afford to bt
exclusive. They felt out for hand Theil
hospitality was eager The bush was Oper
house. Thus his environment forced away
Inherited exClusiveneSS and the Australian
became a different man from the Briton-
broader. franker and more unseltish. He
has utgrown repression and the sense o
superiority. He has had enough eXpe
rieuce TO give him wholesome sense o
humor. He has worked hard enough t
appreciate relaxation. He has borne int,
the new land the liking of his home coun
TRY for sport. but he has followed 1t ol
a broader scale. He has his horse races
as i'm England but he has his kangaroo
hunts. which make the hare hunting o
England seem like schoolboy's play
Life TO the Australian is as his continent
There have been times when both life am
the continent were hard to hold. but tn
probation period is passed. Australia TO
Australians has become an unchanging i'm
pulse OF all the people. The inhabitant
have come to realize that the power I
grow. to spread their influence beyond tn
country's borders-in other words, to as
sume nationaliry-is now theirs.
Aspirations above mere money-makin
have been generated. Australians feel tn
desire to rub against the people of othe
countries and to test the gifts and aC
quirements of their long struggle in tn
redemption Of the continent. In othe
words. political ambition has arisen Th
federation is the means chosen to realiz
that ambition.
The people of Australia love the HON
government, and presumably never wi
separate from it. But they have becon
sufficiently important to possess the al
tonomy and the practical participation
governing which belong to a state that
an integral part Of any central governmen
Prior to the federation their governor
were appointed in Downing street. The
LEGISLATORS had personal voice In pa
LAment. They themselves had no eaualii
or Intercourse with the great political Gel
ters of the world. All these developing r