The National tribune., 1901-05-16

1
| lrrlgate the country.
| The convict colony was source of
| great annoyance. This ceased to exist
| with the exception of West Australia
| by the abolition of the expectation of con-
| victS in 1910.
| The first industry in Australia was
| whaling, the vessels sent for this purpose
touching on the western shores to accom-
| pliSh the needed work.
Wool was the second and stands today
| among the most important exports of the
| island. At first the wool sent to England
was so coarse that it was not considered
| available, but through the importation OF
Merino sheep it grew to such proportions
| that new paStUrage was a necessity; as
| this was found beyond the Blue Noun
| tainS. the hope of thus gaining a fortune
| attracted so many settlers that the mar
ket was flooded; with the crash that fol-
! lowed came the glut of sheep, which sold
for one shilling head.
| 1t was found, however, that their bod
| les melted into tallow brought a larger
amount, and thus a new industry arose,
| phoeniX-like. from the chaos. Boiling
down establishments were built, 40 of
| which were in New South Wales; sta
tistics show that 100000 sheep, as well
as hundreds of hullocks, were each year
| converted into tallOw.
The carcaSses We're, however, absolutely
wasted. This fact led to meat canning,
and eventually to the building of ship
| refrigerators, which made it possible to
ship whole carcasses to England.
As prosperity returned to the country
the sale of wool revived, and in 1885, in
New South Wales alone, 5,T20,316 pounds
were exported.
As the interior of Australia is-princi-
pally in the fertile spots-deyoted to pas
turage of sheep, it is sparsely settled, ow-
ing to the fact that each sheep requires
two and half acres for feed, which
makes it readily seem that each farm
must necessarily be of enormous propor>
tions where owners count their herds by
the 10000.
The professional sheep-shearers can
clip 100 sheep per day, for which he re.
ceives 50, with extra pay for additional
labor. This is such a good business that
it is much sought after.
The finding of gold in Australia in 1850
caused q rush of immigrants. These
were often men of hard reputation, who,
together with the free cOnvicts, made it
dangerous. Crime and bloodShed were no
uncommon occurrence in this period of
Australia's history. Although the mines
were rich with ore, large nuggets of the
priced gold were no common occurrence.
On an average workmen who at other call
ings realized So per day would make more
money than here. Yet with the gold
fever upon them and the chance of a
lucky hnd, they pressed on.
The largest nugget found was the
Welcome" a cast of which is to be seen
in the Museum at Melbourne. Originally
il weighed 2,300 ounces, and was valued
at S46,e00. y story comes to my mind,
told me by a friend, of a master who,
while at dinner, had one of his shepherds
burst into the room, crying: "Ohi Massa;
white man find little fellow and big fellow
in the forest On investigation two mug
gets were found that brought the sum Of
1000 pounds.
But Australia is rich in other minerals
beside gold. Here is found iron, copper,
tin, lead, freestone and COAL the quality
of which is equal to any found in Great
Britain; some of this bituminous coal is
white.
Sugarcane fiourishes in this climate, and
the manufacture of sugar forms another
industry of this continent; together with
cotton, the fruit of the vine, converted
into wine: and pearl oysters. Many of the
latter are so large that they weigh eight
pounds each.
The country is thickly settled along the
coast; beautiful cities have sprung up,
wing with each other in their magnificent
buildings and parks. .z
1t seems hardly possible that the Aus
tralia of today, teeming with life and in
dustry, connected by rail and telegraph,
can be the penal colony of the days gone
y
infancy, for in the years to come she will
stand forth, unequaled in her wealth, the
richness of her land, and the salubrity
Of her climate, which, extended as it is
over 20 degrees of latitude, would nat
urally be expected to show a great di-
Yersity, while in reality it varies less than
any climate in the known world So mild
are the Winters that cattle are never
housed to escape the severity of the eli
mate.
Inland the heat is often intense in Sum
mer, but upon the coast the nights are al
ways cool. In fact, it is so healthful in
Australia that the death-rate is only II
to 1000.
Australia has been called by writers the
"Upside-down country" for when it is
Summer here it's Winter there. The
trees, that with us shed their leaves, there
shed their bark. The foliage of the trees,
which with us is horizontal, there hangs
with US Is inside, in Australia is on the
outside. Their swans are black, and
eagles white. The emu, bird as large
as an ostrich, runs like horse. When
our days are longest, theirs are shortest;
and to reach the tropics We travel south,
while they travel north.
Many peculiar trees are found here,
some of which grow to enormous nights;
as the bay pine, which reaches often $50
feet Here is found the gum tree, rose
wood, tulip, sandal wood, satin wood and
the junk tree, so called from its shape,
resembling a junk bottle, and its body be-
ing always filed with water; together with
many others which are too numerous to
mention.
The aridits of the climate, principally
in the northern part, causes the absence
of mosses and lichens.
Very few of the animals found here
are indigenous to other countries. The
kangaroo, of which there are 60 varieties,
and the dingo dog, brought to these shores
probably by Capt. Cook, are the most de-
structive; the former, on account of their
consumption of the grass needed for
sheep; there are, ON an average, $4,000
kangaroos killed here every year; the lat
ter, for its proclivity to murder sheep by
biting their throats and sucking their
blood.
The birds are very brilliant in plumage.
Sixty varieties live on this island. The
Tyre bird is very beautiful; its tail when
spread resembles Tyre An amusing
anecdote is told concerning this bird,
which was spoken of by an Irishman as
lawyer bigd." "And why" asked his
employer, do you call it lawyer bird?'
Oh" was the ready answer, because it
| has a big brow and long bill"
The bower-building satin birds erect
bowers, into which are stuck brilliant
feathers, bright bits of glass, and over
which is spread the yellow flowers OF the
| tree.
| Here are found the mound-raising meg
apodes, who build mounds often IS feet
in hight