The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-09-01
THE CITY OF TUMUT.

~ UT Of Australian obscurity the village OF
4 Tumut has been raised to fame by having
- greatness thrust upon it. The commission
appointed to select site for the capital OF the
commonwealth completed it's labors some time ago
by the selection of Tumut, and now the world
takes sudden interest in the place It is said to
have had the last census 800 inhabitants to be
practically half way between the two rival cities
of the commonwealth, Melbourne and Sidney, and
to be pleasantly located the center of "a highly
! cultivated plain 'abuhdantly watered and blessed
with a good climate.
If the Australians are satisfied. no one else has
right to complain but if it is to be the capital OF
the great new comnonwealth, whose future IS
bound be glorious, it is to be hoped the nafnc
will be summarily changed Tunut is a good
name for a village, it is not bad for Australian
county seat but it sounds too much like the utter
ance of a. kangaroo to be acceptable as the name
of great capital: 1T would never do, for example
ito have the capital of the United States located
lin aplatecc91ed Podunk or: Oshkosh, and yet
either of those. names is better than umut, for
indeed IuTnut has no charm: other tran. that de-
rived from the fact that whether spelled forward
or backward it reads the same: :: 1854.
The chief reason for: the selection of Turnut ,ap.
RS to be the Quantity Of water that it possesses
It stands upon the. banks of piut River, and we
are told that the river runs through the entire year
and did not: dry. up even during: the recent long
drought: once upon time there was a:consider-
able gold industry in the :neghborhood, but the
paying deposits have been exhausted and. the.
dwellers in the plain now follow the much more
profitable industry Of fruit. growing. :.
+ A correspondent: Of the London Standard in de-:
.sctbing the village says 1T lies spread over a
lsde, its long main street falling along the slope
from the bush. covered hilltop to .the.winding
river below: The: majority Of the houses:are one:
storied weather board: COTTAGES" with marrow We
randas along their street frontage The Better class
buildings. are of brick of the ordinary: bungalow
type: with deep verandas. on every: side Only in
the central part Of the town do we find two.stofed
houses. The banks, four in number the hotels.
ten in all, and the stores are the only buildings
that. soar higher than the ordinary single story
leyel." -. -: -.
Such is Tunltt, the proposed capital 'of the.
youngest of conmonwealthsf but one that has pos
sbilities of growth equal TO those Of the greatest
of. existing nations: The town saw STORMY times
in the old days of the gold excitement but of late
it has Had a quiet and sIeepyexstence: Now il. is
to become again the. center Of storms The pot:
clans of=the: commonwealth will doubtless make
the town ring louder than the iminets did, Mean
time the first work in the direction of establishing
a. capital there will be that of building a railroad
&c. the place.; for as yet IT is in wilderness and
:one has to: make journey of twenty. miles from
the nearest railroad station to:Teach it.