The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-05-23
ACROSS CONTINENT.
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LINE OF RAILS TO SPAN AUS
TRAllA.
Road to Be Built Across
the South Part Of the Country, Con-
Meeting All the More Important
Centers of Population.

Centers OF Population.
A great railroad enterprise is getting
under way in Australia. The surveys
have been made for a railroad from
Port Augusta, in the State of South
Australia, clear across the southern
edge Of the continent to the mining
town of Coolgardie, in western Aus
tralia. AS Coolgardie is already Joined
by rail to Perth, OIL the west coast, the
transcontinental road will be complet-
ed when it reaches that point
The road will run quite near the sea,
where telegraph has for years con-
nected the eastern and western coasts
Of the continent. Nine-tenths of the
mileage will be through one Of the most
barren deserts in the world, but the
building Of railroads through desert
lands no longer offers difficult problems
to engineers. The problems have been
solved, and no one doubts that the
stretching Of railroad across this
part Of Australia will be successfully
carried out.
The engineers say that the limestone
plateau to the north Of the Great Aus
tralian Blight, along whose shores the
track will he laid, is the only part OF
the continent where there are no ma
tive tribes. A considerable number of
natives, however, live in the western
part of the region to be trayersed.
Until the engineers recently went
over this desolate country the region
had been crossed only by Eyre, who,
while vainly hunting for new pasture
lands, made the journey in 1S4O-41 that
cost him so much suffering and the
loss Of his white comrades.
This railroad will complete the con-
nection by rail of all the important CELL
tiers Of population in Australia, except
ing some isolated settlements on the
north and northeast coasts. Heretofore
1t has always been necessary to travel
by sea between Perth, Fremantle and
Albany, the most important towns in
the state Of western Australia. and the
well-developed region Ut Victoria and
New South Wales.
But with the building of this railroad
the journey may be made from the
southwest corner Of Australia through
all the southern states of the common
wealth, and north along the east coast
as far as Northampton. OH the middle
coast of Queensland. Thus nearly all
the great mining regions and agricultu-
raj districts will be connected by rail,
either by the line along the coast or by
branches from it already in opera ton
in Eastern Australia. which penetrate
into the mining and wool-producing
districts Of the interior.
Eyre was saved from death when he
crossed the continent by the discovery
that he could obtain water by digging.
1t will be remembered with what in
finite difficulty the famous overland
telegraph line from South to North
Australia was carried across the water
less interior to meet the submarine
cable on the north coast.
But a great deal has been learned
about practical methods for carrying
on enterprises in the deserts since the
overland telegraph was stretched
across the sandy wastes of Australia,
and there is no reason to doubt that
the desert railroad now to be built will
be completed without very great diff
cutl New York Sun.