Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-09-29

~~t-A the exception Of the island Of
Tasmania is the smallest ST. Of the
commonwealth Of Australia, occupies the
southeastern corner Of the country. Its
length is 420 miles and from north to
south 250 miles. Ii contains S7,SS4 square
miles, 56,245, 760 acres, which is about the
size of the State Of Kansas with Con
necticut thrown in. It's population is
1900, 900, Of which 725.OOO live in the cap
ital, Melbourne, and its suburbs. Il is a
significant tribute TO the richness Of the
states soil that less than half Of its peo-
pie live in the country yet are able not
only to feed the whole state, but export
great quantities of primary products as
well.
1t will keep clear in your mind & great
many things III these articles If You viii
remember that in Australia the relations
of the states 20 the federal government.
or commonwealth. is different from that
Of the United States. The United States
Government is supreme and the State
governments secondary. In Australia the
commonwealth is only twenty years old
and the states have turned over to it
only a small part of the rights which
they enjoyed before 1901. up to which
time they were separate and distinct from
each other and had no binding ties. Much
listed then is to be found in the states
still, although they do not officially in
dulge in the neighborly throat-cutting
which once was so common. In the
earlier days Victoria was a part Of New
South Wales and wanted to be indie
pendent, but the officials at Sydney
which is the capital Of New South Wales,
baked it from 1889 to 1851, and thus
gave birth TO a feud which is not entirely
wiped out yet, although now it is ex-
pressed mostly in the efforts of Mel
bourne and Sydney to Guido each other
Fifty years ago, however. the rivalry was
so keen that the state built railroad lines
right up to the border between them and
tried to steal each others trade by Of
fering ridiculously low rates for ship
ments OF products which originated on
the other side Of their dividing line.
SAVED IT FROM
CONVICT SETTLEMENT.
The early visitors to the coast Of Vie
toria were not attracted by it. Port Phil
lip, as the harbor OF Melbourne was
named, was an uninviting place, bordered
by SAND dunes, and the venturesome white
men who made short trips of expIora-
tton beyond the shore line brought back
reports of great tribes of eborigines. or
blacheuows, who were quite unfriendly
These reports also branded the country
as unit for cultivation and not likely ever
to amount to anything. The error Of
these explorers saved Victoria from being
the site of a convict colony, for the gov
exnor who was sent there to establish a
settlement of felons wrote back such dis
paraging letters and such strong pleas
that another place be chosen that finally
he was permitted to move the whole es
Enlistment across Bass Straits to Tas,
mania.
SO PORT Phillip was let severely alone
xor great many years. But from SID
ney at different times exploring exposf-
tons kept going south and west and dis
covered some OF the rich lands which
row are within the boundaries Of Vic
toria- The coast line, however, was not
touched until several hardy souls from
Tasmanta, driven by that spirit which
has urged the worlds pioneers. crossed
over and located themselves in the de-
spised district and proved that It was
possible to make things grow there and
20 raise stock. And where thew bIazed
the trail others soon followed Port
Phillip became a snail settlement, little
more than gateway to the fertile graz
ing plains west and north of II. but Fl
had come to stay and ultimately to
grow into the ninth largest city Of the
British empire. The government Of New
South Wales had to recognize it then and
sent down an administrator to take
charge. He had his hands full, too. for
most OF the newcomers took to the coun-
try and settled on large tracts OF land
and began to graze cattle.
What these old settlers started the neo-
pie OF Victoria have kept up today. for.
almost hundred years later, I find it
still q state where agriculture and live
stock raising predominant, and wool
hides, meat, wheat, other grains and
dairy produce are the principal articles
Of export The state could hardly be-
come manufacturing leader, for It has
little coal, and without fuel manufactur-
Ing Is impossible. But to put 1t slang
lily, Victoria should worry" ANY state
or It's size which has between $500 600
and 100000 acres under cultivation and
raises crops on three-fourths of it each
year Is getting along all right With
production last year of more than 40
100000 bushels Of wheat and a constantly
increasing number Of sheep (they now
number 15,o00Oo0) and 100000 head Of
cattle ranging on It's plains and hills.
Victoria Is firmly esta blished as an agr4-
cultural and pastoral state.
DRY FARMERS OF
AUSTRALIA LEAD.
Some of our party were quite fascinat-
ed by the wheat harvest in the dry
farming districts in the interior Of Vic
torfa. In the United States they never
had seen machines which nip of the
heads Of the wheat, thrash it and sack
It all In one operation. But twelve
years ago 1 had seen similar machines
at work In the Argentine Republic and
had wondered why American farmers
did not use them instead Of sticking to
the old method of cutting and binding
the wheat in sheaves and thrashing II
later. But l soon discovered that these
machines Will not work in any except
a very dry country. In Vctoria's dry
districts, where the rainfall averages
around fifteen inches in normal years and
where great irrigation projects are
either completed or being constructed,
these combined harvesters and thrash
- ers help to lower the cost of wheat pro-
duction.
1 believe that the dry farmers Of Aus
tralia are among the best in the world.
The Victorian government sent a keen
observer to the United States several
years ago to study our methods of dry
farming in the West and they told it to
me in Melbourne as q good joke that
he reported that he hadn't been able to
find anything new, that the methods
which America dry farmers used were