Evening star., 1925-08-16
AUSTRALIA IS STILL
NEVER-NEVER LAND
Weirdest Animals and Plants
on Earth Are Found In
Its WiIdS.

American Jack Tars in a discur-
sive mood will find plenty to write
home about Australia, the fartheek
point to be reached by the u s. feet,
now on a friendship cruise to the
South Seas. A bulletin from the
Washington headquarters of the
National Geographic Society says:
Although a white continent,
peopled with English-speaking inhabi-
tants and having every luxury and
convenience of modern civilization,
Australia is still the 'Never-Never'
land, the lonely continent and the
home Of the weirdest of the earth's
living flora and fauna. It is a land
Of extremes, of great deserts and
dense forests, huge ranches and
garden plots of ferns as big as trees,
and trees that shed their bark in
stead of their leaves.
Emu the National Bird
out in the back blocks as the
open country beyond civilization is
known, is the kookooburra bird, the
famous laughing Jackass,' whose
taunting cry drives the lonely bush
men insane. If they are lucky, too,
the American 'gobs' may see the
emu, Australia's national bird, per
haps looking a trifle self-conscious
craze.
THE American visitors, on this
the most ambitious cruise since the
voyage round-the-World squadron
| under Admiral Evans in 1908, will
find Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
Hobart and other ports in the Anti
podes up-to-date and attractive cities
Sydney, on the West coast, is the
! metropolis of Australia. 1t resembles
San Francisco. 1t is Americanized
! with its skyscrapers, its regular.
| well paved streets and its sbun-
/ dance Of American-made automobiles.
1 Sydney has one Of the finest harbors
| in the world, experienced travellers
| comparing it, for scenic beauty and
| extent, with Naples, Rio de JaneirO
| and Constantinople. The first dump
| ing place of convicts from England.
| the city has grown and prospered un-
| tll 1t Is now, with a population of
| 9O5,000, the sixth city in size in the
| entire British Empire.
/ "A West coast stop that proba bly
! will be made is Brisbane, which lies
| not far south of the Great Barrier
| Reef, chain of corals as long az
from Chicago to New Orleans Bris-
bane is another city that has ex-
| perlenced a mushroom growth. Fifty
years ago 1t was a village of wooden
/ huts. Today. with 2l0, 900 people, il
| is the fourth city Of the common
wealth and the capital of the progress
siVe state of Queensland, Australia
| sugar bowl
| THE city proper is cut in two b,
! the picturesque Brisbane River. which
| is wide and deep enough to be navi-
| gated by ocean vessels. The famous
| song about a banana shortage was
certainly not written of Queensland.
! which has such a large export of the
| frnniral ff~Ilir ho II &c
| ferred TO as the Banana State
| Melbourne, scheduled for the lon
est stop, is the present seat of gov
| ernment Of the commonwealth. as
I well as the capital of the state OF
Victoria. The former honor. how
ever, is not expected TO be long hers
for a federal district, such as our
own District of Columbia, has beer
laid out in the mountains midway be.
tween Melbourne and Sydney and vii!
soon be ready to take over the reins
of government.
Gold Started Boom.
| Melbourne, like San Francisco
| (Which began its modern development
| about the same time), owes its rapid
growth largely to the discovery OF
gold in the nearby hills and the sub
sequent boom. Like san Francisco.
| it soon passed the boom stage and
| became a permanent city, to be pride
| fully referred to today as marvellous
Melbourne. 1t is built on generous
| lines, is SUNLESS and rich in beauti-
full parks and broad, tree-lined streets
and avenues. Attractive residential
suburbs, connected with paved bouIe.
| wards, sweep along the edge of the
bay for Is miles from the business
| center, while other homes cluster
about the city in every direction. The
1rar
racy and wealth diffusion that is SO
characteristic of the entire continent.
has brought into prominence another
| American institution, the fat or
| apartment house.
| Those in the cruiser divisions will
| see in Hobart another striking city
The capital of Tasmania is an old
fashioned place. recently rejuvenated
| by hydro electric power from the great
lake of the island. Through the magic
force of electricity and its marvellous
| harbor. second If not equal to Syd-
ney's, Hobart is fast forging TO the
fore among the cities of the British
empire. With a ships anchorage
more than SO miles long and 40 feet
| deep at low tide, Hobart could easily
take care of the 90 ships of the
! friendship fleet and several other
squadrons of equal size at the same
! time. Mount Wellington, looming up
like huge skyscraper to the rear Of
| the city, dominates the surroundings
| and is to the harbor what Vesuvius is
to the Bay of Naples.
| Perhaps while in Tasmania the
American seaman may catch
| glimpse of that rarest of living things.
the platypus. a description Of il
! sounds like a conundrum. 1t has a
| bill like a duck, fur like a seal, a
pouch like a kangaroo, is at home
equally on land or water, lays eggs,
and yet is a mammal, and suckles its
| young. They may see, too, the abort
gines, a few scattered remnants OF
| the natives found by the earliest ex-
plorers, and who are today probably
the most backward members of the