rate executive, legislature and judiciary: convicts; Western Australia had a popu -New South Wales (capital Sydney) included the two colonies which are now known as Victoria and Queensland; South Australia (Adelaide); Van Diemen's Land (Hobart Town); and Western Australia (Perth). New Zealand (Auckland) was founded in 1840. In that year the press was free everywhere; the administration of justice included trial by jury; every colony had a legislature, although to none of them except New South Wales had the principle of representation been conceded, and in that province only to a very partial extent. To two of the colonies-New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land-transportation was continued; the others had been entirely peopled by free settlers. The system of granting land without payment, originally in force in New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia, was abandoned in favour of sales of the public lands by auction at the upset price of twenty shillings per acre, and the system of squatting licences was instituted, under which colonists were allowed to occupy the waste lands on payment of a small annual licence. Exploration was continued in the northern portions of Australia, and Leichhardt lost his life in an expedition westward from Moreton Bay in 1847. Immigration was encouraged, one-half the revenue from the crown lands being devoted to that purpose; and under the squatting system the number of sheep, cattle and horses, and the consequent export of wool and tallow, gradually increased. In 1846 a new colony was founded at Port Curtis, north of Moreton Bay, but it was very soon abandoned. In 1851, when separate autonomy was granted to Victoria, and when a semi-representative legislature was instituted in South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, the parent colony had a population of 187,243; the imports were £2,078,338, and the exports £2,399,580; the revenue was £575,794, and there were in the colony 13,059,324 sheep, 1,738,965 horned cattle, 132,437 horses. Victoria had a population at the time of its separation from New South Wales of 77,345, its other statistics being included with those of the parent colony. South Australia had a population of 63,700; Tasmania had a population of about 70,000, of whom about 18,000 were lation of about 12,000, and New Zealand of 40,000. In 1851, the year in which Victoria commenced its separate existence, and in which gold was discovered, the total population of Australia did not exceed 450,000.-Gold was discovered at Lewis Pond Creek, near Bathurst, in March 1851, and at Clunes and Ballarat, in Victoria, during the months of July and August of the same year. The history of Australia will henceforth be found under the head of each separate colony, although there are a few events which belong to the history of Australia as a whole. After the Gold Discovery. Transportation to New South Wales finally ceased in 1849, but it was continued to Van Diemen's Land till 1853. The discovery of gold in New South Wales, followed as it was by the discovery of richer goldfields in Victoria three or four months later, attracted a large immigration from all parts of the globe, but more especially from the United Kingdom; and it was thought inadvisable to continue the transportation system, the more especially as it was intensely unpopular. Western Australia became a penal colony in 1850; but in 1868, at the earnest wishes of the other Australian colonies, transportation to any part of Australasia finally ceased. For several years after 1851 unassisted emigration to Australia was almost confined to Victoria, the arrivals in the other colonies being for the most part emigrants whose passages had been paid by the local governments. But by degrees the population of the other colonies increased as fast as that of Victoria. In the original Constitution Acts of the various Australasian colonies, power was given to the local legislatures to frame constitutions for themselves. Each colony took advantage of this provision, and framed a constitution under which it enjoyed entire local self-government, possessed full authority over the public lands within its boundaries, while the Executive Council, instead of being responsible to the Crown or its local representative, was made responsible to the local legislature. The qualifications for elector and elected, the fiscal policy, and the regulations under which the public lands can be alienated or occupied, differ in each colony, but the same system of government prevails throughout. Western Australia did not become a constitutional colony until after the passage through the Imperial Parliament of the Western Australia Constitution Bill, which received the royal assent in August 1890. Queensland, formerly the Moreton Bay district of New South Wales, became a separate colony in 1859; and the Fiji Islands, to which a large number of Europeans, Australians and Americans had emigrated, was ceded to the British Crown in 1874 by the native ruler, King Thakombau, and was constituted into a Crown colony. The Northern Territory of South Australia (capital Port Darwin) was first settled in 1863. New Guinea, lying off the northeastern coast of Australia, at a distance of sixty miles from it, was annexed to Queensland in 1883, but the step was not approved by the Imperial Government. In Nov. 1884 the southern coasts, to the eastward of 141° E. long., were proclaimed under British protectorate; and in Sept. 1888 the British sovereignty of the eastern half of New Guinea was formally proclaimed. The first railway in New South Wales-that from Sydney to Paramattawas opened on Sept. 26th, 1855. The Hobson's Bay line-from Melbourne to Sandridge, in Victoria-was used for traffic in 1854. Since that period the railway system has been extended to all the Australasian colonies, including New Zealand and Tasmania, and at the end of 1889 there were 11,216 miles actually open, and about 2000 in actual construction. The population of Australia has increased by leaps and bounds since 1851, and at the present time amounts to upwards of 4,000,000. Since 1851 exploration has been actively continued, until at the present moment there is no portion of the island continent which is entirely unknown. The more important of the many expeditions were those of Gregory in north and north-western Australia; Stuart, who explored the country north of Adelaide; Burke and Wills, who, starting from Melbourne, crossed the continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and lost their lives in the return journey, there being only one survivor. Various important discoveries were made by Major Warburton, W. O. Hodgkinson, Ernest Giles, John Forrest, and others.Efforts are now being made to federate Australasia, under the provisions of the "Federal Council Act of Australasia, 1885." A council, representing Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, met in 1886 and 1888. In 1889 South Australia joined the other colonies. In 1890 all the Australian colonies, including New South Wales and New Zealand, which had hitherto kept aloof, sent representatives to a conference, which met at Melbourne in Feb. 1890, and agreed to the following resolutions :-(1) That members of the conference should take the steps necessary to induce the legislatures of their respective colonies to appoint during the present year delegates to a national Australian convention, empowered to consider and report upon an adequate scheme for the Federal Constitution. (2) That this convention should consist of not more than seven members from each self-governing colony, and not more than four from each Crown colony. The convention referred to met at Sydney in March 1891, and agreed upon a constitution, which has been referred to the legislatures of the different colonies for consideration. Under the provisions of the Australasian Naval Force Act, a fleet of five fast cruisers, each of 2575 tons of displacement and 7500 horse-power, and two torpedo boats of the most improved modern build, each of 735 tons and 4500 horse-power, were to be equipped for the Australian seas. These vessels have been built by the British Government, the Australasian colonies paying jointly interest at the rate of 5 per cent. on the original cost, and all costs of maintenance.. All the colonies are parties to this agreement.-Physical Geography. Australia is the largest island in the world, about onefifth less than Europe, and about as large as the United States excluding Alaska. It is about twenty-six times as large as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and fifteen times as large as France. Australia lies to the S.E. of Asia, between the parallels of 10° 39′ and 39° 11′ S. lat., and between the meridians of 113° 5' and 153° 16′ E. long. Its greatest length from N. to S. is from Cape York to Wilson's Promontory, in Victoria, a distance of 1971 miles; and its greatest width from W. to E. is from Steep Point, opposite Dirk Hartog's Island, in Western Australia, to Point Cartwright in Queensland, 2400 miles. Its coastline is about 7750 miles in length, and its extent is computed at about 2,994,628 square miles, 1,884,561,920 statute acres, or, including Tasmania and New Zealand, 3,124,300 direction. The longest and most considersquare miles, or 1,999,552,000 statute able rivers in Australia rise on the western acres. The northern shores of Australia are washed by the waters of Torres Strait, which separates it from New Guinea, the Arafura Sea, and the Indian Ocean. It is bounded on the S. by Bass's Straits, which divide it from Tasmania, and by the South Pacific Ocean; on the E. by the South Pacific Ocean, and on the W. by the Indian Ocean.-Australia may be divided into three great divisions-West, Central and East. The western is occupied by Western Australia, the central by South Australia and its Northern Territory, and the east by Queensland on the north, New South Wales in the middle, and Victoria on the south. Tasmania slopes of the main chain, and fall into the ocean east of this Cape Jervis range. But there are many rivers which, rising to the east and south-east of the main chain, flow directly to the sea. The most important of the former group are the Murray, which separates Victoria from New South Wales, and falls into the ocean in South Australia; the Murrumbidgee, in New South Wales; the Darling and its tributaries, in New South Wales and Queensland. Amongst the latter group are the Glenelg and Yarra, in Victoria; the Hawkesbury, Hunter, and Clarence, in New South Wales; the Brisbane, the Fitzroy, the Mary, and others, in Queens is an island S. of Victoria; New Zealand. The rivers in South Australia land consists of two large and one small island, about 1200 miles S.E. of Victoria; and the Fijian Islands are about 1000 miles E. of northern Queensland. If continental Australia were divided into 100 parts, Victoria would occupy 3, New South Wales 10, Queensland 23, South Australia 30, and West Australia 34. But Victoria and New South Wales, although covering not more than one-eighth the area, contain three-fourths the population of continental Australia. - Australia being nearly as large as Europe, the climate varies very considerably. The whole island is an immense plateau, rising gradually from west to east, and in the east and south-east a narrow piece of land intervenes between this plateau and the ocean. On the west side of the continent the land is rarely more than 1000 feet above the level of the ocean; on the east coast the elevation is frequently as much as 2000 feet. The south side is either level with the ocean, or abuts upon the sea in cliffs of from 300 to 600 feet in height. To the south and south-east, commencing with the Grampians in Victoria, mountains commence which extend eastwards to the Australian Alps, and then go northwards the whole length of the continent to Cape York. The highest peak, Mount Kosciusko, near the point at which the range begins to trend northwards, is about 7000 feet high. Scattered all over the continent are detached ranges of hills, the most important being that which lies at the back of Adelaide, in South Australia, and extends from Cape Jervis about 600 miles in a northerly proper, except the Murray, are unimportant; but there are large rivers in the northern territory of South Australia and in the northern portion of Western Australia. On the east coast of Australia, from Cape York to Wilson's Promontory, there is considerable although irregular rainfall, and the supply between the mountains and the ocean in Victoria and South Australia is as a rule sufficient. A considerable quantity of rain falls in the mountains, and feeds the rivers which rise in them. But the rainfall gradually diminishes so soon as the influence of these mountains ceases to be felt, with the result that a very large portion of the continent is at present unfit for settlement, or even occupation by stock. Great efforts are made to preserve the water by dams; wells are sunk wherever practicable, and irrigation is being attempted. At present the annual rainfall in some portions of the coast districts of tropical Australia exceeds 50 inches per annum, and in no part of the coast-line of tropical Australia is it less than from 20 to 30 inches per annum. In the country east and south-east of the mountains, and in the mountains themselves, stretch of country which includes a considerable proportion of Queensland outside the tropics, of New South Wales, and the greater portion of Victoria, the rainfall is between 20 and 30 inches. The same condition of affairs exists in the south-western districts of Western Australia. In the southern portion of South Australia, the north of Victoria, the western slopes of the New South Wales a and Queensland mountains, and on the west coast of Western Australia, the annual rainfall is not more than from 10 to 20 inches. In the interior of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia the annual rainfall is less than 10 inches. With so small a rainfall cultivation is impossible unless with the aid of irrigation, and even pastoral occupation is precarious, as the rainfall in addition to being slight is irregular, and rain sometimes does not fall for two years. Australia del Espiritu Santo was the name given by the Spanish navigator Quiros to the land seen by him in 1606, which is now believed to have been part of the New Hebrides group. Australia Felix was the name given by the explorer Mitchell to that part of the colony of Victoria which he traversed in 1836. Australian Agricultural Company, founded in London in 1824, was the first public company formed to develop Australia by the growth of wool, the cultiva tion of the vine, and the introduction of emigrants, and had a capital of £1,000,000 sterling, of which £430,000 was paid. The company received a grant of 1,000,000 acres of land, and for many years had a monopoly of the coal mines of Newcastle. The company is still in existence, and is engaged in coal mining and sheep and cattle farming, and occasionally sells its land. The dividend in 1890 was £3 12s. per share, £21 10s. paid up. The net profit for 1891 was £84,700, which would enable a dividend of £4 4s. to be paid. The first manager of the company was Sir Edward Parry, and amongst the first shareholders were a large number of distinguished persons, including Lord Brougham and Joseph Hume. The original grant of land was for the country between the Hastings and the Hunter, but a block of inferior land about 535,000 acres in extent was changed for more open country on the Peel and Mooki rivers, as a return for an expenditure by the company in the colony of £250,000. A sale of this estate was made to the Peel River Company in 1853 for £500,000, and the capital of the Australian Agricultural Company reduced to £500,000, at which time it was stated that the export of coal was about 300,000 tons per annum. Australian Alps, Vict., the dividing range between Gippsland and the Murray varies in height from 1000 to 7000 feet, the principal peaks being Mt. Smyth. Mt. Selwyn, the Twins, Forest Hill, and the Cobberas. Mt. Kosciusko, 7308 feet high, is at the east point of the Alps, and is actually in New South Wales. Australian Bight, W.A. and S.A. A great indentation in the southern coast, and extends from the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia to Spencer's Gulf in Southern Australia. The coastline consists of cliffs from 400 to 600 feet high, and the country behind them is entirely devoid of rivers, although there is believed to be a drainage underground. Australind, W.A. A town near the sea-coast 100 miles S. from Perth, situated on the Leschenault estuary, and 7 miles from the port of Bunbury. Avenel, Vict. An agricultural township on Hughes Creek, on the North-Eastern line, 72 miles N.E. from Melbourne, and 10 from Seymour. Population between 400 and 500. Avisford, N.S.W. A gold-mining town, on the Meroo river, in co. Wellington, 186 miles N.W. of Sydney. Population, with district, 150. Avoca, Tas. A town in the centre of a mineral district in which tin and silver and lead have been found in payable quantities 103 miles E. of Hobart and 52 miles S.E. of Launceston, at the con fluence of the St. Paul and South Esk rivers. Population 250. Avoca, Vict. A mining and agricultural town on the Avoca river, at the foot of the Pyrenees, 127 miles N.W. from Melbourne, on the line of railway from Castlemaine and Maryborough to Ararat. Population of town and district 4578. Local newspapers, Avoca Mail and Avoca Free Press. Avoca, Vict. A river which rises in the Pyrenees, and flows in a northerly direc tion for 163 miles. In wet seasons its waters find their way into Lake Bael Bael; a western branch discharges itself into Lake Tyrrel. Avon Plains, Vict. A township situated in an agricultural and pastoral district, 5 miles E. of the rivers Richardson and Avon, 175 miles N.W. from Melbourne. Population of district 2500. Axedale, Vict. A small township on the banks of the Campaspe, 13 miles E. of Sandhurst and 90 miles N. from Melbourne. The railway line between Sandhurst and Heathcote passes through it. Population 208. Ayr, Qd. A township on the Lower Burdekin river, in the sugar districts on Plantation Creek, near Bowen. Population 100. Bacchus Marsh, Vict. A township and railway station in the neighbourhood of the Lerderderg and Werribee rivers, 31 miles N.W. from Melbourne. Farming and dairying are the characteristics of the district. Population, with district, 2500. Local newspaper, Bacchus Marsh Express. B Balcairn, N.Z. An agricultural town and station on the Amberley line, 30 miles N. of Christchurch, on the Kowai river, between Mount Grey Downs and the sea. The district is intersected by the Northern railway. Population 70. Balclutha, N.Z. A town and railway station lying in a horseshoe bend of the Molyneux river, 52 miles S.W. of paper, Clutha Leader. Backstairs Passage, S.A. A narrow strait between the mainland of South Dunedin, with which city there is railway Australia and Kangaroo Island, leading communication. The junction of the line from the ocean to the Gulf of St. Vincent. to Kaitangata, and also to the Molyneux The width, from Cape Jervis on the main- is here. Brown coal is found in the land to the nearest point of Kangaroo neighbourhood. Population 1000. NewsIsland, is nearly 8 miles, and the strait soundings varying from 12 to 22 fathoms. The Yatala shoal, and a group of small rocks called the Pages, are in this strait. Bagdad, Tas. A town in a grazing and farming district on the Strathallen and Bagdad creeks, 23 miles from Hobart, and 5 miles from Kempton or Greenponds. Bagot's Well, S.A. An agricultural town and railway station 545 miles N. of Adelaide. Population 50. Bagshot, Vict. A township on the Bald Head, Vict. A peak in the Dividing range, 4625 feet high. Balhannah, S.A. A town and railway station 1110 feet above sea-level, on the Nairne line, 29 miles E. of Adelaide, on the Onkaparinga river. One mile from Balhannah is a bismuth and copper mine. Population 95. Ballan, Vict. A township on the Werribee river, between Melbourne and Ballarat, 45 miles N.W. of the metropolis, access to which is by rail from Ballarat. Sandhurst and Echuca railway, 112 miles Population, with district, 6500. N. of Melbourne, and 11 miles from Bairnsdale, Vict. A mining, agricultural and pastoral township on the Mitchell river, 108 miles by rail E. from Melbourne, and 42 N.E. from Sale. Population, with district, 10,000. Newspapers, Bairnsdale Advertiser Bairnsdale and Bruthen News. and Balaclava, Vict. A part of the borough of St. Kilda, and station on the Melbourne and Brighton railway, 5 miles S.E. of Melbourne. Balaklava, S.A. An agricultural and pastoral town and railway station on the river Wakefield, 67 miles N. of Adelaide. Population, with district, 1435. Balbarrup, W.A. A small town site 161 miles S. of Perth, Ballandean, Qd. A township in a tin mining and agricultural district, on the Severn river, 221 miles S.W. of Brisbane, and near the frontier of New South Wales. Population 110. Ballangeich, Vict. A town in an agricultural district, 151 miles W. from Melbourne, and 16 miles N. from Warrnambool, on the main Mortlake road. Population of town and neighbourhood 475. Ballarat, Vict., is a large mining, business and agricultural centre, 76 miles W.N.W. from Melbourne, but distant 100 miles by railway. It is a great railway centre, and an important station on the main line from Adelaide to Melbourne, and the starting point of the line to Maryborough, 42 miles, to Ballan 244 |