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Title: Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information
Author: Queensland
Language: English
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[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE]
JUBILEE MEMORIAL VOLUME
OUR FIRST HALF-CENTURY
A REVIEW OF QUEENSLAND PROGRESS
BASED UPON OFFICIAL INFORMATION
[Illustration: QUEENSLAND JUBILEE 1859-1909]
BY AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF QUEENSLAND
BRISBANE
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ANTHONY J. CUMMING, GOVERNMENT PRINTER
1909.
PREFACE.
The object of this work, as the title implies, is to furnish the
reader with a succinct review of the salient facts of Queensland
progress, first as an autonomous British colony of the Australian
group, and second as a State of the Commonwealth of Australia,
retaining all constitutional rights unimpaired save in so far as they
may be qualified by the provisions of "The Commonwealth of Australia
Constitution Act of 1900." In treating of federation as thus
accomplished the object has been to set forth dispassionately, yet
clearly, the general results of the change upon the well-being of the
State, and the reasonable anticipations of its future when the objects
of federal union have been more completely attained.
This is not a volume of statistics, yet in a fifty-year review it
would be impossible entirely to avoid the use of figures. These,
however, have been availed of sparingly; and, to avoid encumbering the
text, tables compiled by the Government Statistician contrasting the
progress made, by presenting the figures for the first, middle, and
last (available) years of the fifty-year period, have been included
as appendices. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, and to
embody in the volume all the information possible without overloading
it with detail.
For the series of diagrams illustrative of the subdivision of
Australia into separate colonies between 1787 and 1863 acknowledgment
is due to the Under Secretary for Lands of New South Wales, under
whose authority they were compiled from data in the Public Library,
Sydney.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGES.
PREFACE iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS v-x
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi-xiv
INTRODUCTION xv-xx
THE SUBDIVISION OF AUSTRALIA xxi-xxiv
JUBILEE ODE--"QUEEN OF THE NORTH" xxv-xxviii
_PART I.--OUR NATAL YEAR._
CHAPTER I.
THE BIRTH OF QUEENSLAND.
Issue of Letters Patent and Order in Council.--Appointment
of Sir George Ferguson Bowen as First Governor.--Continuity
of Colonial Office Policy.--Instructions to Governor.
--Munificent Gift of all Waste Lands of the Crown.
--Temporary Limitation of Electoral Suffrage.--Responsible
Government Unqualified by Restrictions or Reservations.
--Governor-General of New South Wales Initiates Elections 1-4
CHAPTER II.
INITIATION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
Arrival of Sir George Bowen in Brisbane.--The First
Responsible Ministry.--Injunctions to Governor by
Secretary of State in regard to Choice of Ministers.
--Ex-members of New South Wales Legislature take Umbrage.
--The Governor on the Characteristics of Various Classes
of Colonists.--The Governor a Dictator.--The Microscopic
Treasury Balance.--Gladstone as Site of Capital.
--Mr. Herbert as a Parliamentary Leader 5-7
CHAPTER III.
DIFFICULTIES OF EARLY ADMINISTRATIONS.
Meeting of First Parliament.--Amendment on Address in
Reply defeated by Speaker's Casting Vote.--Adoption of
Address in Reply.--Compromise between Parties
Indispensable.--Successful Inauguration of Responsible
Government.--The Governor's Egotism.--Mr. Herbert's
Retirement.--Mr. Macalister Succeeds.--Financial and
Political Crisis.--Proposed Inconvertible Paper
Money.--Governor Undeservedly Blamed 8-10
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST SESSION OF PARLIAMENT.
Work of the First Session.--Four Land Acts Passed.
--Summary of Land "Code."--Pastoral Leases.--Upset
Price of Land £1 per acre.--Agricultural Reserves.
--Land Orders to Immigrants.--Cotton Bonus.--Lands
for Mining Purposes.--Renewal of Existing Leases.
--Governor's Laudation of "Code."--Praises Parliament.
--Abolition of State Aid to Religion.--Primary and
Secondary Education.--Wool Liens.--First Estimates and
Appropriation Act 11-14
CHAPTER V.
QUEENSLAND IN 1860.
Rush of Population.--High Prices for Stock for occupying
New Country.--Sparse Population.--Rockhampton most
Northerly Port of Entry.--Navigation inside Barrier Reef
Unknown.--Tropical Queensland Unexplored.--Ignorance of
Climate, Resources, and Conditions.--Primary Industries
in 1860.--Primitive Means of Communication.--Public
Revenue, Bank Deposits, and Institutions 15-18
_PART II.--FROM NATAL YEAR TO JUBILEE._
CHAPTER I.
THE LEGISLATURE.
The Governor.--His Functions: Political and Social.
--His Emoluments.--Administrations that have held
Office.--Number of Members of Council and Assembly.
--Emoluments of Assembly Members.--Good Results of
Responsible Government in Queensland 19-32
CHAPTER II.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1859-1884).
Importance of Sound Finance.--A Great Colony Starts upon
a Bank Overdraft.--First Year's Revenue.--Land Sales as
Revenue.--Deficits in First Decade.--Transfer of Loan
Moneys to Revenue to Balance Accounts.--Heavy Public
Works Expenditure.--Crisis of 1866.--Inconvertible Paper
Currency Proposals.--Flotation of Treasury Bills.
--Higher Customs Duties.--Wiping Out a Deficit by Issue
of Debentures.--Transfer of Surplus to Surplus Revenue
Account to Recoup Loan Fund.--Incidental Protection.
--Railway Land Reserves.--Proceeds Used as Ordinary
Revenue.--Three-million Loan.--Condition of Affairs at
Close of First Quarter-Century.--Phenomenal Progress;
Prospects Bright 33-38
CHAPTER III.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1884-1893).
The Ten-million Loan.--Ministers Practically Granted
Control of Five Years' Loan Money.--Vigorous Railway
Policy.--Effect of Over-spending.--Inflation of
Values.--Increased Taxation.--Succession of Deficits.
--Second McIlwraith Ministry.--A Protectionist Tariff.
--Temporary Increase of Revenue.--Heavy Contraction
in 1890.--Another Big Loan; Failure of Flotation.
--The First Underwritten Australian Loan.--Amended
Audit Act Limiting Spending Power of Government 39-42
CHAPTER IV.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1893-1898).
Sir Hugh Nelson at the Treasury.--Credit of Colony
Restored.--Assistance to Financial Institutions and
Primary Industries.--Savings Bank Stock Act.--Public
Debt Reduction Fund.--Treasurer's Cautious and Prudent
Administration.--Money Obtained in London at a Record
Price 43-45
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1898-1903).
The Philp Ministry.--Large Surplus.--Loan Acts for Seven
and a-half Millions Sterling.--Drought Disasters and
Sacrifices for Federation.--Accumulated Revenue Deficits
of over £1,000,000.--Rebuff on London Stock Exchange.
--Resignation of Philp Ministry 46-48
CHAPTER VI.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1903-1909).
The Morgan-Kidston Ministry.--Economy in Revenue
Expenditure.--Great Reduction in Loan Outlay.
--Equilibrium Established at the Treasury.
--Retrenchment and Taxation.--Improvement of
Finances.--A Record Surplus for Queensland.--Land
Sales Proceeds Act.--Abstention from Borrowing.
--First Loan Floated since 1903.--Sound Position
of Queensland.--Value of State Securities.
--Reproductiveness of Railways Built out of Loan
Money.--Public Estate Improvement Fund.--How
Recourse to Money Market has been Avoided 49-53
CHAPTER VII.
THE BOOM DECADE (1880-1890).
A Great Boom Decade.--Causes of Inflation of Values.
--Excessive Rating Valuations.--False Basis of
Assessing Capital Value.--Prodigality Succeeded by
Financial Stringency and Collapse of Boom.
--Difficulty in Determining Real Values.--Sir Hugh
Nelson's Legislation.--Sound Finance.--Stability of
State.--Prospects Good To-day 54-56
CHAPTER VIII.
CROWN LANDS LEGISLATION.
The Code of 1860.--Crown Lands Alienation Act of
1868.--Pastoral Leases Act of 1869.--Homestead Areas
Act of 1872.--Crown Lands Alienation Act and Settled
Districts Pastoral Leases Act of 1876.--The
Griffith-Dutton Land Act of 1884.--Co-operative
Communities Land Settlement Act.--Land Act of 1897
--Forms of Selection.--Act to Assist Persons to
Settle on Land by Advances from the Treasury.
--Extension of Pastoral Leases.--Closer Settlement
Act.--Land Orders 57-65
CHAPTER IX.
APPROPRIATION OF LAND REVENUE.
Land Sales Receipts; not Consolidated Revenue.
--Arguments used in favour of Treating Proceeds as
Ordinary Revenue.--Auction Sales have now Practically
Ceased.--Certain Proceeds Payable into Loan Fund.
--Special Sales of Land Act; Appropriation of Receipts 66-68
CHAPTER X.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN QUEENSLAND.
First Municipality Established.--Brisbane Bridge Lands.
--Grant for Town Hall.--Consolidating Municipalities
Act.--Provincial Councils Act.--Government Buildings
not Rateable.--Brisbane Bridge Debentures and Waterway
Acts.--Municipal Endowment.--Local Government Act of
1878.--Divisional Boards Act of 1879; Success of the
Act.--Local Works Loans Act.--Two Pounds for One Pound
Endowment Repealed.--Rating Powers Extended by Local
Authorities Act of 1902.--Cessation of Endowment.
--Valuation and Rating Act.--Decline in Land Values.
--Unequal Incidence of Rates Levied.--Efficiency
of Local Authorities 69-77
CHAPTER XI.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Primary Education: Board of National Education; Education
Act of 1860; Board of General Education; Education Act of
1875; Department of Public Instruction; Higher Education
in Primary Schools; Itinerant Teachers; Status of
Teachers; Statistics.--Private Schools.--Secondary
Education: Grammar Schools Act; Endowments, Scholarships,
and Bursaries; Success of Grammar Schools; Exhibitions to
Universities; Expenditure.--Technical Education:
Beginning of System; Board of Technical Instruction;
Transfer of Control to Department of Public Instruction;
Statistics; Technical Instruction Act; Continuation
Classes; Schools of Arts and Reading Rooms.--University:
Royal Commissions; University Bill; Standardised System
of Education 78-85
_PART III.--OUR JUBILEE YEAR._
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL REVIEW.
Good Seasons and General Prosperity.--Land Settlement and
Immigration.--The Sugar Crop.--Gold and Other Minerals.
--Reduction in Cost of Mining and Treatment of Ores.
--Vigorous Railway Extension.--Mileage Open for Traffic.
--Efficiency of 3 ft. 6 in. Gauge.--Our Railway Investment.
--The National Association Jubilee Show.--The General
Election.--The Mandate of the Constituencies.--Government
Majority.--Practical Extinction of Third Party.--Labour a
Constitutional Opposition.--Federal Agreement with States.
--Federal Union Vindicated 86-91
CHAPTER II.
THE FEDERAL OUTLOOK.
Proclamation of the Commonwealth.--The Referendum
Vote.--Queensland's Small Majority in the Affirmative.
--Representation in Federal Parliament.--The White
Australia Policy.--Temporary Effect on Queensland.
--An Embarrassed State Treasury.--Assistance to Sugar
Industry.--Continued Protection Necessary.--Unequal
Distribution of Federal Surplus Revenue.--The
Transferred Properties.--Effect of Uniform Tariff.
--Good Times Lessen Federal Burden on State.--The
Agreement between Prime Minister and Premiers.--Better
Feeling Towards Federation.--National Measures of Deakin
Government 92-96
_PART IV.--THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES._
CHAPTER I.
THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY.
Importance of Industry.--Small Beginnings in New South
Wales.--Extension of Industry.--Stocking of Darling Downs
and Western Queensland.--Rush for Pastoral Lands.
--Difficulties of Early Squatters.--Influx of Victorian
Capital.--Changes in Method of Working Stations.--Boom
in Pastoral Properties.--Checks from Drought.--Discovery
of Artesian Water.--Conservation of Surface Water.
--Introduction of Grazing Farm System.--Closer Settlement
of Darling Downs.--Cattle-Rearing.--Meat-Freezing Works.
--Over-stocking.--Dairying.--Station Routine.--Charm of
Pastoral Life.--Shearing.--Hospitality of Squatters.
--Attraction of Industry as Investment and Occupation 97-112
CHAPTER II.
AGRICULTURE IN QUEENSLAND.
Tripartite Division of Queensland.--Climate.--Development
of Agriculture in Queensland.--Wide Range of Products.
--Early History.--Exclusion of Farmers from Richest Lands.
--Origin of Mixed Farming.--Extension of Industry Westward.
--Inexperience of Early Settlers.--Cotton-growing.--Chief
Crops.--Dairying.--Cereal-growing.--Farming in the Tropics.
--Farming on the Downs.--Farming in the West.--Irrigation.
--Conservation of Water.--Timber Industry.--Land Selection.
--Assistance Given by the Government.--Immigration.
--Attractions of Queensland.--Defenders of Hearth and Home 113-131
CHAPTER III.
THE SUGAR INDUSTRY.
Sugar-cane in the Northern Hemisphere.--The Rise of the
Beet Industry.--Abolition of Slave Labour in West
Indies.--Reorganisation of Industry on Scientific
Basis.--Establishment of Industry in Queensland.
--Difficulties of Early Planters.--Stoppage of Pacific
Island Labour.--Evolution of Small Holdings and Erection
of Central Mills.--Reintroduction of Pacific Islanders.
--Stoppage of Pacific Island Labour by Commonwealth
Legislation.--Bonus on White-grown Sugar.--Benefits
Arising from Separating Cultivation and Manufacture.
--Contrast between Past and Present Methods.--Scientific
Cultivation.--Recent Statistics.--The Future of the
Industry.--Queensland Leading the Van in Establishing
White Agriculturists in Tropics 132-143
CHAPTER IV.
A HALF-CENTURY OF MINING.
The Quest for Gold a Colonising Agency.--Earliest
Discoveries of the Precious Metal in Queensland.--Port
Curtis.--Rockhampton District.--Peak Downs.--Gympie.
--Ravenswood.--Charters Towers.--Palmer.--Mount Morgan.
--Croydon.--Later Discoveries.--Yield at Charters
Towers and Mount Morgan.--Copper Mining.--Tin.--Silver.
--Queensland the Home of All Kinds of Minerals and
Precious Stones.--Mineral Wealth in Cairns Hinterland.
--Copper Deposits in Cloncurry District.--The Etheridge.
--Anakie Gem Field.--Opal Fields.--Extensive Coal
Measures.--Railway Communication with Mining Fields.
--Value of Queensland Mineral Output.--Prospects of
Industry 144-152
CHAPTER V.
OUR ASSET IN ARTESIAN WATER.
Erroneous Judgment of Western Queensland.--Scarcity of
Surface Water.--Water Supply Department.--Discovery of
Artesian Water in New South Wales.--Prospecting in
Queensland.--Difficulties Experienced by Early Borers.
--First Artesian Flowing Bore.--Dr. Jack's First
Estimate of Artesian Area.--Revised Figures.--Number of
Bores and Estimated Flow.--Area Capable of being
Irrigated with Artesian Water.--Cost of Boring.--Value
of Artesian Water.--Extent of Intake Beds.--Waste of
Water.--Necessity for Government Control of Wells.
--Value of Water for Irrigation, Consumption, and
Motive Power.--Artesian Water a Great National Asset 153-161
_APPENDICES._
APPENDIX A--READJUSTMENT OF WESTERN BOUNDARY 162-163
APPENDIX B--THE FIRST PARLIAMENT 164
APPENDIX C--THE EIGHTEENTH PARLIAMENT 165-166
APPENDIX D--FIFTY YEARS OF LEGISLATION 167-183
APPENDIX E--LAND SELECTION IN QUEENSLAND 184-195
APPENDIX F--IMMIGRATION TO QUEENSLAND 196-197
APPENDIX G--SOME STATISTICS AND THEIR STORY 198-209
APPENDIX H--DIGEST OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEER'S REPORTS 210-230
APPENDIX J--CLIMATIC CONTRASTS 231-237
APPENDIX K--EDUCATION STATISTICS 238
APPENDIX L--INAUGURATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND 239-257
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
Government House (_C. E. S. Fryer_) _Frontispiece_
Facing Page
First Gazette, 10th December, 1859 xiv
Writ of Summons for First Election xx
Governors of Queensland (_C. E. S. Fryer_) xxiv
Premiers of Queensland " " xxviii
Houses of Parliament, Brisbane " " 4
View from River Terrace, Brisbane " " 8
Barron Falls, Cairns Railway, North Queensland " " 12
Treasury Buildings, Brisbane " " 16
Coal Wharves, South Brisbane " " 20
Executive Buildings, Brisbane " " 24
Views of Rockhampton, Central Queensland " " 28
Townsville: Flinders Street, looking West " " 32
Hinchinbrook Channel, North Queensland " " 36
The Narrows and Mount Larcombe, near Gladstone " " 36
Barron Gorge below the Falls, Cairns Railway " " 40
On the Road to Market, Central Queensland (_W. E. Perroux_) 44
Fat Cattle, Central Queensland " " 44
Maroochy River and Ninderry Mountain, N.C. Railway (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 48
Scene on Barcaldine Downs, Central Queensland (_W. E. Perroux_) 52
Barcaldine Downs Homestead, Central Queensland " " 52
Swan Creek Valley, near Yangan, Warwick District (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 56
Surprise Creek Falls, Cairns Railway " " 60
Forest Scene near Woombye, North Coast Railway " " 64
Hauling Timber, North Coast Railway " " 68
Stony Creek Bridge and Falls, Cairns Railway (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 68
Timber Getting, North Coast Railway " " 72
Cairns Range and Robb's Monument, N. Queensland " " 76
View of Gympie from Nashville Railway Station " " 80
Coke Ovens, Ipswich District " " 80
Gulf Cattle Ready for Market (_H. J. Walton_) 84
Brigalow Country, Warra, Darling Downs 84
Hereford Cows, Darling Downs 84
Above Stony Creek Falls, Cairns Railway (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 88
Mount Morgan: Open Cut and Dumps (_Mount Morgan G.M. Co._) 92
Mount Morgan: Mundic and Copper Works " " 92
Cattle Country, West Moreton 100
Fat Cattle, Central Queensland (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 100
Horses at Gowrie, Darling Downs 104
Sheep at Gowrie, Darling Downs 104
Horses, Western Queensland (_H. J. Walton_) 104
Fat Cattle, Burrandilla, Charleville " " 104
Wool Teams, Wyandra, Warrego District (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 108
Hauling Cedar, Atherton, North Queensland " " 108
Dairy Cattle on Darling Downs 112
Sheep, Jimbour, Darling Downs 112
Horses, Ivanhoe Station, Warrego 112
Harvesting Wheat, Emu Vale, near Warwick (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 116
Surprise Creek Cascade, Cairns Railway " " 120
Pineapple Farm, Woombye, North Coast Railway " " 124
Sugar-Mill, Huxley, Isis Railway " " 124
Field of Maize, Eel Creek, Gympie " " 124
Threshing Wheat, Emu Vale, Killarney Railway " " 128
Coffee Plantation, Kuranda, Cairns Railway " " 128
Sugar-Mill, Childers, North Coast Railway " " 132
Sisal Hemp and Cane Fields, South Isis " " 136
Canefields, Isis Railway (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 136
Sugar Cane and Mill, Huxley, Isis Railway " " 136
Cambanora Gap, Head of Condamine, Killarney " " 140
Minto Crag, Dugandan, Fassifern District " " 140
Mount Morgan: Copper Works, looking North (_Mt. Morgan G.M. Co._) 144
Mount Morgan: General View of Works " " 144
Charters Towers: Plant's Day Dawn (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 148
Gympie: Scottish Gympie Gold Mine " " 152
Gympie: No. 1 North Oriental and Glanmire " " 152
Flowing Artesian Wells, Western Queensland:
1. Beel's Bore, Cunnamulla (_Kerry_) 156
2. Bore on Thurulgoona Station " " 156
3. Charleville Bore (_C. E. S. Fryer_) 156
Aberdare Colliery, Ipswich District " " 160
Cocoa-Nut Palms, Johnstone River, North Queensland " " 164
Custom House and Petrie Bight, Brisbane " " 164
In the Scrub Country, Kin Kin, North Coast Railway " " 168
On the Blackall Range, North Coast Railway " " 168
Barron Gorge, Cairns Railway, North Queensland " " 176
Farm Scene, Blackall Range " " 184
Sisal Hemp, Childers, North Coast Railway " " 184
Wool Teams, Longreach, Central Queensland " " 184
View on Barron River, Cairns Railway " " 192
Hauling Timber, Barron River, North Queensland " " 200
Falls near Killarney " " 208
Aboriginal Tree Climbers " " 208
Scene on Logan River, South Queensland " " 216
Cooktown and Endeavour River, North Queensland " " 224
Pearling Fleets off Badu Island, Torres Strait 224
Government House, now Dedicated to University purposes
(_C. E. S. Fryer_) 238
View of Dedication Ceremony (_H.W. Mobsby_) 242
The Premier (Hon. W. Kidston) Opening the Proceedings " " 244
His Excellency Sir W. MacGregor Addressing the Audience " " 248
His Excellency Unveiling the Dedication Tablet " " 250
Lady MacGregor Planting the University Tree " " 256
MAPS.
(_Prepared by Survey Office, Department of Public Lands._)
Subdivision of Australia xxii, xxiii
Australia before Captain Cook 96
Australia, Showing First Settlement 96
Queensland in 1859 96
Queensland in 1909 96
Australia in 1859, Showing Self-Governing Colonies 96
The World, Showing Relative Position of Australia 96
Queensland, with British Islands Superimposed 232
[Illustration: Royal Coat of Arms]
QUEENSLAND
=Government Gazette.=
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY.
No. 1.] SATURDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 1859.
PROCLAMATION
By His Excellency SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, Knight Commander
of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George,
Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Colony of
Queensland and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same,
&c., &c., &c.
WHEREAS by an Act passed in the Session of Parliament holden in the
eighteenth and nineteenth years of the Reign of Her Majesty, entitled,
"_An Act to enable Her Majesty to assent to a Bill as amended of the
Legislature of New South Wales 'to confer a Constitution on New South
Wales, and to grant 'a Civil List to Her Majesty,'_" it was amongst
other things enacted that it should be lawful for Her Majesty, by
Letters Patent, to be from time to time issued under the Great Seal
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to erect into a
separate Colony or Colonies, any territories which might be separated
from New South Wales by such alteration as therein was mentioned, of
the northern boundary thereof; and in and by such Letters Patent, or
by Order in Council, to make provision for the Government of any such
Colony, and for the Establishment of a Legislature therein, in manner
as nearly resembling the form of Government and Legislature which
should be at such time established in New South Wales as the
circumstances of such Colony will allow; and that full power should
be given in and by such Letters Patent, or Order in Council, to the
Legislature of the said Colony, to make further provision in that
behalf. And whereas Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers so vested
in Her Majesty, has by Her Commission under the Great Seal of the
United Kingdom, bearing date the sixth day of June, in the year of Our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, appointed that from
and after the publication of the said Letters Patent in the Colonies
of New South Wales and Queensland, the Territory described in the said
Letters Patent should be separated from the said Colony of New South
Wales and be erected into the separate Colony of Queensland: Now,
therefore, I, SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, the Governor of Queensland,
in pursuance of the authority invested in me by Her Majesty, do hereby
proclaim and publish the said Letters Patent in the words and figures
following, respectively.
QUEENSLAND.
_LETTERS PATENT erecting Moreton Bay into a Colony, under
the name of_ QUEENSLAND, _and appointing_ SIR GEORGE FERGUSON
BOWEN, K.C.M.G., _to be Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief
of the same_.
VICTORIA, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, to Our
trusty and well-beloved SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, Knight
Commander of Our most distinguished Order of St. Michael and
St. George,--
GREETING:
WHEREAS by a reserved Bill of the Legislature of New South
Wales, passed in the seventeenth year of our reign, as amended
by an Act passed in the Session of Parliament holden in the
eighteenth and nineteenth years of our reign, entitled, "An
Act to enable Her Majesty to assent to a Bill, as amended, of
the Legislature of New South Wales, to confer a Constitution
on New South Wales, and to grant a Civil List to Her Majesty,"
it was enacted that nothing therein contained should be deemed
to prevent us from altering the boundary of the Colony of New
South Wales on the north, in such a manner as to us might seem
fit; and it was further enacted by the said last recited Act,
that if We should at any time exercise the power given to Us
by the said reserved Bill of altering the northern boundary of
our said colony, it should be lawful for Us by any Letters
Patent, to be from time to time issued under the Great Seal of
our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to erect into
a separate Colony or Colonies any territories which might be
separated from our said colony of New South Wales by such
alterations as aforesaid of the northern boundary thereof, and
in and by such Letters Patent, or by Order in Council, to make
provision for the Government of any such separate colony, and
for the establishment of a Legislature therein, in manner as
nearly resembling the form of Government and Legislature which
should be at such time established in New South Wales as the
circumstances of such separate Colony would allow, and that
full power should be given by such Letters Patent or Order in
Council to the Legislature of such separate Colony to make
further provision in that behalf. Now know you, that We have,
in pursuance of the powers vested in us by the said Bill and
Act, and of all other powers and authorities in Us in that
behalf vested separated from our colony of New South Wales,
and erected into a separate Colony, so much of the said colony
of New South Wales as lies northward of a line commencing on
the sea coast at Point Danger, in latitude about 28 degrees 8
minutes south, and following the range thence which divides
the waters of the Tweed, Richmond, and Clarence Rivers from
those of the Logan and Brisbane Rivers, westerly, to the great
dividing range between the waters falling to the east coast
and those of the River Murray; following the great dividing
range southerly to the range dividing the waters of
Tenterfield Creek from those of the main head of the Dumaresq
River; following that range westerly to the Dumaresq River;
and following that river (which is locally known as the
Severn) downward to its confluence with the Macintyre River;
thence following the Macintyre River, which lower down becomes
the Barwan, downward to the 29th parallel of south latitude,
and following that parallel westerly to the 141st meridian of
east longitude, which is the eastern boundary of South
Australia, together with all and every the adjacent Islands,
their members and appurtenances, in the Pacific Ocean: And do
by these presents separate from our said Colony of New South
Wales and erect the said territory so described into a
separate Colony to be called the Colony of Queensland.
And whereas We have by an Order made by Us in our Privy
Council, bearing even date herewith, made provision for the
government of our said Colony of Queensland, and we deem it
expedient to make more particular provision for the government
of our said Colony: Now know you, that We, reposing especial
trust and confidence in the prudence, courage, and loyalty
of you, the said Sir George Ferguson Bowen, of our especial
grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have thought fit
to constitute and appoint, and do by these presents constitute
and appoint you, the said Sir George Ferguson Bowen, to
be, during our will and pleasure, our Captain-General and
Governor-in-Chief in and over our said Colony of Queensland,
and of all forts and garrisons erected and established, or
which shall be erected and established within our said
Colony, or in its members and appurtenances; And we do hereby
authorise, empower, require, and command you, the said Sir
George Ferguson Bowen, in due manner, to do and execute all
things that shall belong to your said command and the trust
We have reposed in you, according to the several powers,
provisions, and directions granted or appointed you by virtue
of our present Commission, and of the said recited Bill, as
amended by the said recited Act; and according to our Order
in our Privy Council, bearing even date herewith, and to such
instructions as are herewith given to you, or which may from
time to time hereafter be given to you, under our Sign Manual
and Signet, or by our Order in our Privy Council, or by Us,
through one of our Principal Secretaries of State; and
according to such laws and ordinances as are now in force in
our said Colony of New South Wales and its dependencies,
and as shall hereafter be in force in our said Colony of
Queensland.
2. And whereas it is ordered by our said Order, made by Us
in our Privy Council, bearing even date herewith, that there
shall be within our said Colony of Queensland a Legislative
Council and a Legislative Assembly, to be severally
constituted and composed in the manner in the said Order
prescribed; and that We shall have power, by and with the
advice and consent of the said Council and Assembly, to make
laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of our said
Colony in all cases whatever: And it is provided by the above
recited Act, that the provisions of the Act of the fourteenth
year of Her Majesty, chapter fifty-nine, and of the Act of the
sixth year of Her Majesty, chapter seventy-six, intituled,
"An Act for the Government of New South Wales and Van Diemen's
Land," which relate to the giving and withholding of Her
Majesty's assent to bills, and the reservation of bills for
the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon, and the
instructions to be conveyed to Governors for their guidance
in relation to the matters aforesaid and the disallowance of
Bills by Her Majesty, shall apply to Bills to be passed by the
Legislative Council and Assembly constituted under the said
Reserved Bill and Act, and by any other Legislative body or
bodies which may at any time hereafter be substituted for
the present Council and Assembly: Now We do, by virtue of the
powers in Us vested, hereby require and command, that you do
take especial care that in making and passing such laws, with
the advice and consent of the said Legislative Council,
and Legislative Assembly, the provisions, regulations,
restrictions, and directions contained in the said Acts of
Parliament, and in Our said Order made in Our Privy Council,
bearing even date herewith, and in Our instructions under
Our Sign Manual, accompanying this Our Commission, or in such
future Orders as may be made by Us in Our Privy Council, or in
such further instructions under Our Sign Manual and Signet as
shall at any time hereafter be issued to you in that behalf,
be strictly complied with.
3. And whereas it is expedient that an Executive Council
should be appointed to advise and assist you, the said Sir
George Ferguson Bowen, in the administration of the Government
of our said Colony: Now We do declare Our pleasure to be, that
there shall be an Executive Council for Our said Colony, and
that the said Council shall consist of such persons as you
shall, by instruments to be passed under the Great Seal of our
said Colony in Our name and on our behalf, from time to time,
nominate and appoint, to be members of the said Executive
Council, all which persons shall hold their places in the said
Council during Our pleasure: But We do expressly enjoin
and require that you do transmit to Us, through one of Our
principal Secretaries of State, exemplifications of all such
instruments as shall be by you so issued for appointing the
members of the said Council.
4. And we do hereby authorise and empower you, the said Sir
George Ferguson Bowen, to keep and use the Great Seal of our
said colony for sealing all things whatsoever that shall pass
the Great Seal of our said colony.
5. And we do hereby give and grant to you, the said Sir George
Ferguson Bowen, full power and authority, by and with the
advice of the said Executive Council, to grant in Our name
and on Our behalf, any waste or unsettled lands in Us vested
within Our said Colony, which said grants are to be passed
and sealed with the Great Seal of Our said colony, and being
entered upon record by such public officer or officers as
shall be appointed thereunto, shall be effectual in law
against Us, Our heirs or successors: provided nevertheless,
that in granting and disposing of such lands you do conform to
and observe the provisions in that behalf contained in any
law which is or shall be in force within our said colony, or
within any part of our said colony, for regulating the sale
and disposal of such lands.
6. And we do hereby give and grant unto you, the said Sir
George Ferguson Bowen, full power and authority, as you shall
see occasion, in our name and on our behalf, to grant to any
offender convicted of any crime in any court, or before any
judge, justice, or magistrate within our said colony, a
pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions or any
respite of the execution of the sentence of any such offender,
for such period as to you may seem fit, and to remit any
fines, penalties, or forfeitures which may become due and
payable to us, but subject to the regulations and directions
contained in the instructions under Our Royal Sign Manual
and Signet accompanying this our Commission, or in any future
instructions as aforesaid.
7. And We do hereby give and grant unto you, the said
Sir George Ferguson Bowen, full power and authority, upon
sufficient cause to you appearing, to suspend from the
exercise of his office, within our said colony, any person
exercising any office or place under, or by virtue of, any
Commission or Warrant granted, or which may be granted by Us,
or in Our name, or under Our authority, which suspension shall
continue and have effect only until Our pleasure therein shall
be made known and signified to you: And We do hereby strictly
require and enjoin you in proceeding to any such suspension,
to observe the directions in that behalf given to you by Our
present or any future Instructions as aforesaid.
8. And in the event of the death or absence of you, the
said Sir George Ferguson Bowen, out of Our said colony of
Queensland and its dependencies, We do hereby provide and
declare Our pleasure to be, that all and every the powers and
authorities herein granted to you shall be, and the same are
hereby vested in such person as may be appointed by Us,
by Warrant under Our Sign Manuel and Signet, to be Our
Lieutenant-Governor of our said colony, or in such person
or persons as may be appointed by Us, in like manner, to
administer the government in such contingency; or, in the
event of there being no person or persons within our said
colony so commissioned and appointed by Us as aforesaid, then
Our pleasure is, and We do hereby provide and declare, that in
any such contingency the powers and authorities herein granted
to you shall be, and the same are hereby granted to the
Colonial Secretary of our said colony for the time being,
and such Lieutenant-Governor, or such person or persons as
aforesaid, or such Colonial Secretary, as the case may be,
shall exercise all and every the powers and authorities
herein granted, until Our further pleasure shall be signified
therein.
9. And We do hereby require and command all our officers and
ministers, civil, and military, and all other the inhabitants
of our said colony of Queensland, to be obedient, aiding and
assisting unto you, the said Sir George Ferguson Bowen, or, in
the event of your death or absence, to such person or persons,
as may, under the provisions of this our Commission assume
and exercise the functions of Captain-General and
Governor-in-Chief of our said colony.
10. And We do declare that these presents shall take effect so
soon as the same shall be received and published in the said
colonies.
In Witness whereof we have caused these our Letters to be made
Patent. Witness Ourself at Westminster, the sixth day of June,
in the twenty-second year of Our Reign. By warrant under the
Queen's Sign Manual.
C. ROMILLY.
Given under my hand and Seal at Government House, Brisbane,
this tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third
year of Her Majesty's Reign.
(L.s.) G. F. BOWEN.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
R. G. W. HERBERT.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
PROCLAMATION
By His Excellency SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, Knight Commander
of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St.
George, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Colony of
Queensland and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same,
&c., &c., &c.
WHEREAS Her Majesty has been graciously pleased, by Letters
Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the sixth
day of June, in the twenty-second year of Her Majesty's Reign,
to separate from the Colony of New South Wales the territory
described in the said Letters Patent, and to erect the same
into a separate Colony, to be called the Colony of Queensland,
and has further been pleased to constitute and appoint me,
SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, _Knight Commander of the Most
Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George_,
to be Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over
the said Colony of Queensland and in Dependencies: Now,
therefore, I, the Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief,
aforesaid, do hereby proclaim and declare that I have
this day taken the prescribed oaths before His Honor,
Alfred James Peter Lutwyche, Esquire, Judge of the
Supreme Court, and that I have accordingly assumed the
said office of Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief.
Given under my hand and seal at the Government House,
Brisbane, this 10th day of December, in the Year of Our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, and in
the twenty-third year of Her Majesty's Reign.
(L.s.) G. F. BOWEN.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
R. G. W. HERBERT.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
_Government House,
Brisbane, 10th December, 1859._
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR will hold
a Levee at Government House, on
WEDNESDAY, December 14th, at 11 o'clock,
a.m.
_By Command_,
C. E. HARCOURT VERNON,
Commander, R.N., A.D.C.,
REGULATIONS FOR THE LEVEE.
All gentlemen attending the Levee, to be
dressed in uniform or evening costume.
Each gentleman to be provided with two
cards with his name legibly written thereon;
one card to be left in the Entrance Hall, and
the other to be given to the Aide-de-Camp.
_Colonial Secretary's Office,
Brisbane, 10th December, 1859._
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR has been
pleased to appoint
ROBERT GEORGE WYNDHAM HERBERT, ESQ.,
to be Colonial Secretary of Queensland.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
R. G. W. HERBERT.
_Colonial Secretary's Office,
Brisbane, 10th December, 1859._
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR has been
pleased to appoint
ABRAM ORPEN MORIARTY, ESQUIRE,
to be His Excellency's Acting Private Secretary.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
R. G. W. HERBERT.
_Colonial Secretary's Office,
Brisbane, 10th December, 1859._
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR has been
pleased to appoint
COMMANDER CHARLES EGERTON HARCOURT
VERNON, R. N.,
to be His Excellency's Acting Aide-de-Camp.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
ROBERT G. W. HERBERT.
_Colonial Secretary's Office,
Brisbane, December 10, 1859._
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR has been
pleased to appoint
RATCLIFFE PRING, ESQUIRE,
of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, to be
Attorney-General of Queensland.
_By His Excellency's Command_,
ROBERT G. W. HERBERT.
BRISBANE: By Command: T. P. PUGH, Printer,
George Street.
INTRODUCTION.
Terra Australis: The Fifth Continent.--Dampier lands on
North-west Coast.--Cook lands at Botany Bay.--Annexes entire
Eastern Coast North of 38 deg. S.--Phillip annexes whole
of Eastern Coast and part of Southern Coast, including
Tasmania.--Fremantle annexes all the rest of the Continent.
--Erroneous Impressions of Early Explorers regarding
Australia.--Discovery of Bass Strait.--Completion of Coast Map
of Australia.--Six Colonies constituted.--Queensland's Natal
Day.--Proclamation of Commonwealth.--Inland Exploration.
Without disparagement to the adventurous foreign navigators who
for centuries earlier than the British occupation had suspected the
existence of "Terra Australis," the "fifth continent" of the globe,
and had done their best to discover it, it may be safely contended
that the honour of the delineation of the coast-line belongs to
Englishmen, the chief of whom were William Dampier and James Cook. In
1688 Dampier, as super-cargo of the "Cygnet," a trading vessel
whose crew had turned buccaneers, landed on the north-west coast of
Australia in lat. 16 deg. 50 min. S. In the year 1699 he again visited
the coast in charge of H.M.S. "Roebuck," landing at Shark Bay, and
sailing thence northward to Roebuck Bay.[a] Afterwards Captain James
Cook, in voyages which extended until 1777, delineated the eastern
coast-line, and opened up the continent to European enterprise
and settlement. On 29th April, 1770, Cook, in the little barque
"Endeavour," 370 tons burthen, entered Sting-ray Harbour (Botany Bay),
remaining there until 6th May, when he sailed northwards, and, not
entering Port Jackson, named Port Stephens, "Morton Bay," Bustard
Bay, and Keppel Islands, landing at several places for the purpose of
obtaining fresh water and making observations. Thus, coasting along
for nearly 1,300 miles, on 11th June he narrowly escaped the total
loss of his vessel when north of Trinity Bay by striking a coral reef.
After enduring great hardships, and jettisoning all surplus gear, the
vessel was sailed into the mouth of the Endeavour River, and there
careened. During the succeeding two months she was thoroughly
repaired. In August the captain set his course again for the north;
and on the 23rd of that month, after navigating among the dangerous
rocks of the Barrier Reef Passage, he safely reached open water and
landed on Possession Island, near Cape York. There he took formal
possession, "in right of His Majesty King George III.," of the land he
had discovered from lat. 38 deg. S. to lat. 10 deg. 30 min. S.
Sailing through Torres Strait, Cook reached the English Channel in
the "Endeavour" on 18th June, 1771[b]. It was not until 7th February,
1788, however, that Captain Phillip, as Governor-General of the vast
territory then called New South Wales, read to the people whom he had
brought to Port Jackson in the first fleet his commission proclaiming
British sovereignty over the whole of the eastern coast of Australia
and Tasmania, and also over the then unknown southern coast as far
west as the 135th degree of E. longitude.[c] On 2nd May, 1829, Captain
Fremantle, hoisting the British flag on the south head of the Swan
River, took possession of all those parts of Australia not included in
the territory of New South Wales.
Thus a new continent was added to the British Empire. It was occupied
by only a few score thousand native blacks, and was believed to be
uninhabitable by civilised people unless possibly along a strip of
land south of the Tropic of Capricorn on the eastern, western, and
southern shores of the continent. Of the north-west Dampier had
written: "The land is of a dry, sandy soil, destitute of water,
unless you make wells, yet producing divers sorts of trees." Cook
occasionally found difficulty in getting water unless by sinking in
the shore sand; he made no attempt to penetrate the fringe of coast
or even to explore its inlets. It was not until 1798 that Flinders
and Bass discovered the channel through Bass Strait, and the former's
discoveries may be said to have completed the coast map of Australia.
By successive proclamations six colonies were subsequently
constituted, the last being that of Queensland on 10th December,
1859. On 1st January, 1901, Queen Victoria's proclamation of the
Commonwealth of Australia was formally made at Melbourne, the
prescribed place for the sitting of the Parliament until the federal
seat of government had been determined. This important step was
taken 131 years after Captain Cook had annexed the eastern coast
at Possession Island, and 72 years after Captain Fremantle made the
possession of the continent as British territory complete by hoisting
the flag at Swan River.
The story of Australian land exploration is a long one, and it would,
if complete, reveal many a startling tale of privation and death.
The earliest exploring expeditions were those of Governor Phillip, in
1789, when he set out from Sydney to discover Broken Bay first, and
then explore the Hawkesbury River.[d] At that time the undertaking no
doubt seemed great, but to-day Broken Bay may almost be regarded as a
suburb of Sydney. In the same year Captain Tench discovered the Nepean
River. By the end of the eighteenth century, despite many expeditions,
the total of the discoveries were the rivers Hawkesbury, Nepean,
Grose, and Hunter, and the fertile Illawarra district to the south of
Sydney. In 1813 Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth discovered a pass over
the Blue Mountains, and opened the way to the interior. Later in
the same year, following in their footsteps, George William Evans
discovered a river flowing inland, which he named the Macquarie, and
that led to the discovery of the Bathurst Plains, and other country
beyond the Blue Mountains. John Oxley, who in 1817 penetrated the
country until he struck rivers flowing to the south-west, found
himself in shallow stagnant swamps, with no indication that the rivers
reached the sea. Oxley and Evans made further discoveries to the
north-west of Sydney during the next seven years, the principal result
being the finding of Liverpool Plains. Cunningham, the botanist,
also was in the field of exploration in 1823. In the year 1824 Hume,
accompanied by W. H. Hovell, crossed the Murrumbidgee River, and some
time afterwards saw the snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps.
In their progress to Port Phillip they discovered the Murray River,
and ultimately reached their destination, which proved to be the
seashore near the site of Geelong.
In 1828 Captain Charles Sturt discovered the Darling River. In the
next year he reached the Murray near its confluence with the Darling;
in 1830 he went down the stream by boat, and finally reached the sea
at Encounter Bay, east of St. Vincent Gulf. In 1826 Major Lockyer
founded King George Sound Settlement; in 1828 Captain Stirling
examined the mouth of the Swan River, and was afterwards, in 1831,
appointed Lieutenant-Governor at Perth, the settlement established in
1829 by Captain Fremantle. Other explorers traced the country for some
distance to the northward, and a settlement, called Port Essington,
which had an ephemeral existence, was formed on the northern coast. In
1831 Major Mitchell explored the country north-west from Sydney, and
in 1845-6 he traversed the Darling Downs, afterwards penetrating as
far north as the Drummond Range. Allan Cunningham had previously, in
1827, discovered the Darling Downs, and in the next year, by locating
Cunningham's Gap, he connected the Downs with the Moreton Bay
Settlement. A year later he explored the source of the Brisbane River,
that being his last expedition.
In 1831 Major Bannister crossed from Perth to King George Sound.
In 1836 John Batman landed at Port Phillip, and permanently settled
there. The same year Adelaide was founded by Captain Sir John
Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia. In 1838 E. J.
Eyre discovered Lake Hindmarsh on his journey from Port Phillip to
Adelaide. Next year George Hamilton travelled overland from Sydney to
Melbourne, and Eyre penetrated from the head of Spencer's Gulf to Lake
Torrens.
In 1840 Patrick Leslie settled on the Condamine; in the year following
Stuart and Sydenham Russell formed Cecil Plains station. In 1842
Stuart Russell discovered the Boyne River, travelling from Moreton
Bay to Wide Bay in a boat. In 1844-5 Captain Sturt conducted his Great
Central Desert expedition. In the same year Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt
started on his first expedition from Jimbour station to Port
Essington; and in the next year Sir Thomas Mitchell went on his Barcoo
expedition. In 1846 A. C. Gregory entered upon his first expedition in
Western Australia. In 1848 Leichhardt set out upon his last journey,
from which he never returned. In the same year Kennedy made his fatal
venture up the Cape York Peninsula, and A. C. Gregory explored the
Gascoigne. Next year J. S. Roe, Surveyor-General of Western Australia,
travelled from York to Esperance Bay. In 1852 Hovenden Hely, in charge
of a Leichhardt search party, started from Darling Downs. In 1855
Gregory and Baron von Mueller started on an expedition to North
Australia in the same search, and discovered Sturt's Creek and the
Elsey River.
In 1858 Frank Gregory reached the Gascoigne River, Western Australia,
and discovered Mount Augustus and Mount Gould. A. C. Gregory in the
same year, when searching for Leichhardt, confirmed the identity of
the Barcoo River with Cooper's Creek. In 1858 also McDouall Stuart
started on his first expedition across the continent; in the following
year he started again, and one of his party, Hergott, discovered and
named Hergott Springs. In 1859 G. E. Dalrymple discovered the main
tributaries of the Lower Burdekin, also the Bowen and the Bogie
Rivers, and in the year following Edward Cunningham and party explored
the Upper Burdekin.
In 1860 the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition left Melbourne, and
reached the Gulf of Carpentaria, but their return journey resulted in
the death of Burke, Wills, and Gray.
In 1861 McDouall Stuart crossed the continent; Frank Gregory
discovered the Hammersley Range, and the Fortescue, Ashburton, de
Grey, and Oakover Rivers in Western Australia. In the same year
William Landsborough left the Gulf of Carpentaria in search of Burke
and Wills; and Alfred Howitt started from Victoria on the same errand.
Edwin J. Welch, Howitt's second in command, found King, the only
survivor of the expedition; and McKinlay, with W. O. Hodgkinson as
lieutenant, started from Adelaide in the search, and crossed the
continent, reaching the coast at Townsville. In 1863 John Jardine
formed a settlement at Somerset, Cape York; and in the next year
his adventurous brothers, Alexander and Frank, travelled overland to
Somerset along the Peninsula, which Kennedy had failed to do.
In 1864 Duncan McIntyre travelled from the Paroo to the Gulf of
Carpentaria, and died there. Next year J. G. Macdonald visited the
Plains of Promise, and Frederick Walker marked the telegraph line from
Rockingham Bay to the Norman River. In 1869 Mr. (now Sir John) Forrest
made his first expedition to Lake Barlee; in 1870 he travelled the
Great Bight from Perth to Adelaide, and in 1871 took charge of a
private expedition in search of pastoral country. In 1872 William
Hann, a Northern squatter, led an expedition equipped by the
Queensland Government, and discovered the Walsh, Palmer, and Upper
Mitchell Rivers, and found prospects of gold which led to great
mineral discoveries in North Queensland. Hann reached the coast at
Princess Charlotte Bay. In the same year J. W. Lewis travelled round
Lake Eyre to the Queensland border. Ernest Giles also made his first
expedition in 1872, discovering Lake Amadeus, and on a second trip in
1873 discovered and named Gibson's Desert, after one of his party who
died there. In 1873 Major Warburton crossed from Alice Springs, on the
overland telegraph line, to the Oakover River, Western Australia. In
1875-6 Ernest Giles made a third and successful attempt from Adelaide
to reach Western Australia. In the same year W. O. Hodgkinson started
on a north-west expedition to the Diamantina and Mulligan Rivers, on
which he officially reported.
In 1878 Prout brothers, looking for country across the Queensland
border, never returned. In 1878 N. Buchanan, on an excursion to
the overland telegraph line from the Queensland border, discovered
Buchanan's Creek. In 1878-9 Ernest Favenc, starting from Blackall
in charge of the "Queenslander" transcontinental expedition, reached
Powell's Creek station, on the overland telegraph line; four years
later he explored the rivers flowing into the Gulf, particularly the
Macarthur, and then crossed to the overland telegraph line. In 1878
Winnecke and Barclay, surveyors, started to determine the border lines
of Queensland and South Australia, returning in 1880 with their work
done. In 1879 Alexander Forrest led an expedition from the de Grey
River, Western Australia, to the overland telegraph line, discovering
the Ord and Margaret Rivers.
By this time there was little left of the continent, save Western
Australia, to explore, though men in search of pastoral country still
found occupation in expeditions to discover the unknown in Queensland
and the Northern Territory. In 1896 Frank Hann, younger brother of the
explorer, who had left Queensland, traversed the country to the
north of King Leopold Range, discovering a river which he named
the Phillips, but which was afterwards renamed the Hann by the
Surveyor-General of Western Australia. Afterwards Hann travelled from
Laverton, Western Australia, to Oodnadatta, in South Australia. F. S.
Brockman is another explorer who was leader of a Kimberley expedition
a few years ago, and discovered in North-west Australia 6 million
acres of basaltic country clad with blue grass, Mitchell and kangaroo
grasses, and other fodder vegetation. The Elder expedition, projected
on an ambitious scale in 1891 to complete the exploration of the
continent, started under David Lindsay, but the results were less
valuable than its generous and enterprising originator anticipated.
From a second Elder expedition under L. A. Wells no great results were
recorded. The same may be said of the Carnegie expedition in Western
Australia. Yet the sum total of the information obtained was valuable.
Australia owes much to her adventurous explorers, as well as to
the men who, following up their tracks, placed stock on much of the
country that produced great wealth to the people, though as a rule
neither explorers nor pastoral pioneers personally benefited much by
their labours and privations.
[Footnote a: See Dampier's "Collection of Voyages, 1729."]
[Footnote b: See Cook's "Journal during his First Voyage Round
the World, 1768-71." W. J. L. Wharton, 1893.]
[Footnote c: Historical Records of New South Wales, vol. i.]
[Footnote d: See "History of Australian Exploration," 1888;
and "Explorers of Australia," 1908, both by Ernest Favenc.]
[Illustration (hand-written letter):
Victoria by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c.
In pursuance of Our Order made by and with the advice of our Privy
Council on the 6th day of June in the year of Our Lord 1859, We do by
these presents summon and call together a Legislative Assembly in and
for Our Colony of Queensland to advise and give consent to the
making of Laws for the peace, welfare and good Government of our said
Colony.----
And we do enjoin and require Our subjects, inhabitants of Our said
Colony, and being duly qualified in that behalf, to proceed to the
Election of Members to serve in the said Legislative Assembly in
pursuance of Our Writs to be issued in Our name, in the first instance
by Our Governor of Our Colony of New South Wales, and thereafter by
Our Governor of Our said Colony of Queensland.----
----And We do further enjoin and require the Members who shall be so
elected, to assemble and meet together and to be and appear before Us
for the purposes aforesaid at the Court House Buildings Brisbane on
the 22nd day of May in the present year.
----In testimony whereof we have caused the Great Seal of Our Colony
of Queensland to be affixed to this Our Writ.----
----Witness our trusty and well-beloved Sir William Thomas Denison,
Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor
General in and over all Her Majesty's Colonies of New South Wales,
Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland,
and Captain General and Governor-in-chief of the Territory of New
South Wales and Vice Admiral of the same &c. &c. &c. at Government
House Sydney, in New South Wales aforesaid this twentieth day of March
in the Twenty third year of Our reign, and the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixty--
W. Denison
By His Excellency's Command
Robert G. W. Herbert
God save the Queen!]
THE SUBDIVISION OF AUSTRALIA.
(MAPS 1 AND 2.)
Since the issue of Captain Arthur Phillip's Commission as Governor
in 1786 there have been no less than ten successive modifications in
Australian boundaries, all internal save the first, which severed
Van Diemen's Land from New South Wales. Map 1 represents Australia as
depicted before the time of Captain Cook. Map 2 shows the territory as
divided into two parts by Governor Phillip's Commission. The continent
was severed by a north-and-south line along the 135th meridian of east
longitude, and all the eastern part declared to be the territory of
New South Wales.
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND (MAP 3).
Under an Imperial Act of 1823 a Royal Commission was issued to
Governor Arthur on 14th June, 1825, erecting Van Diemen's Land into a
separate colony, as shown in Map 3.
NEW SOUTH WALES--ALTERED BOUNDARY (MAP 4).
On 6th July, 1825, a Commission appointing Sir Ralph Darling Governor
of New South Wales, after describing the boundary of the colony as
then existing, declared that the western boundary should be extended
6 degrees further west to the 129th meridian of east longitude,
including all the adjacent islands in the Pacific Ocean.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA (MAP 5).
Although Western Australia had been occupied in 1826 by Major Lockyer,
and a settlement had been established at Swan River in 1829, the
boundaries of the colony were not definitely described until 1831,
when Sir James Stirling's Commission of appointment as Governor gave
him authority over all that part of the continent to the west of 129
degrees east longitude. A supplementary Commission issued in 1873
included all the adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA (MAP 6).
South Australia was proclaimed a British Province by Letters Patent on
the 28th December, 1836; bounded on the north by the 26th parallel of
south latitude; on the south by the Southern Ocean; on the west by the
132nd meridian of east longitude; on the east by the 141st meridian.
VICTORIA (MAP 7).
In 1851 the territory previously known as Port Phillip was separated
from New South Wales. In July, 1851, the legal symbol of the fact was
found in the issue of writs of election for members of the
Legislative Council. This was done under an Act of the New South Wales
Legislature, passed to give effect to the Act passed in 1850 "for the
Better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies." Boundaries:
On the north and north-east by a straight line from Cape Howe to the
nearest source of the River Murray; thence by the course of that river
to the eastern boundary of South Australia; and on the south by the
sea: the River Murray to remain within New South Wales.
NEW SOUTH WALES--ALTERED BOUNDARY (MAP 8).
By a later statute passed in 1855, the boundaries of New South Wales
were defined as follows:--"All the territory lying between the 129th
and 154th meridians of east longitude, and north of the 40th parallel
of south latitude, including all islands and Lord Howe Island, except
the territories comprised within the boundaries of the province of
South Australia and the colony of Victoria as at present established."
[Illustration: Map 1 (1770).]
[Illustration: Map 2 (1786).]
[Illustration: Map 3 (1825).]
[Illustration: Map 4 (1825).]
[Illustration: Map 5 (1831).]
[Illustration: Map 6 (1836).]
[Illustration: Map 7 (1851).]
[Illustration: Map 8 (1855).]
[Illustration: Map 9 (1859).]
[Illustration: Map 10 (1862).]
[Illustration: Map 11 (1861-3).]
[Illustration: Map 12 (1863).]
QUEENSLAND (MAP 9).
In 1859 Queensland was severed from New South Wales by Letters
Patent issued to Sir George Bowen, the boundaries being given as
follows:--"So much of the said colony of New South Wales as lies
northward of a line commencing on the sea coast at Point Danger, in
latitude about 28 degrees 8 minutes south, and following the range
thence which divides the waters of the Tweed, Richmond, and Clarence
Rivers from those of the Logan and Brisbane Rivers, westerly, to the
Great Dividing Range between the waters falling to the east coast
and those of the River Murray; following the Great Dividing Range
southerly to the range dividing the waters of Tenterfield Creek from
those of the main head of the Dumaresq River; following that range
westerly to the Dumaresq River; and following that river (which is
locally known as the Severn) downward to its confluence with the
Macintyre River; thence following the Macintyre River (which lower
down becomes the Barwan) downward to the 29th parallel of south
latitude; and following that parallel westerly to the 141st meridian
of east longitude, which is the eastern boundary of South Australia;
together with all and every the adjacent islands, their members and
appurtenances, in the Pacific Ocean; and do by these presents separate
from our said colony of New South Wales and erect the said territory
so described into a separate colony to be called the 'Colony of
Queensland.'"
ANNEXATION TO QUEENSLAND, 1862 (MAP 10).
On 12th April, 1862, the Duke of Newcastle advised Governor Bowen that
Letters Patent, of which a copy was enclosed, had been issued annexing
to Queensland the following territory--namely, "so much of our colony
of New South Wales as lies to the northward of the 21st parallel of
south latitude, and between the 141st and 138th meridians of east
longitude, together with all and every the adjacent islands, their
members and appurtenances in the Gulf of Carpentaria." The area thus
annexed added to Queensland about 120,000 square miles of territory,
which now comprises such centres as Birdsville, Boulia, Cloncurry,
Camooweal, and Burketown.
ANNEXATION TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA (MAP 11).
An Imperial Act of 1861 enacted that "so much of the colony of New
South Wales, being to the south of the 26th degree of south latitude,
as lies between the western boundary of South Australia and 129
degrees east longitude, shall be and the same is hereby detached
from the colony of New South Wales and annexed to the colony of South
Australia, and shall for all purposes whatever be deemed to be part of
the last-mentioned colony from the day in which the Act of Parliament
is proclaimed."
THE NORTHERN TERRITORY ANNEXED TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA (MAP 12).
There still remained, nominally belonging to New South Wales though
detached from that colony, the country now known as the Northern
Territory and forming part of South Australia, lying northward of
the 26th parallel of south latitude, and between 129 degrees and 138
degrees east longitude. That area was by Letters Patent, dated 6th
July, 1863, issued under the Imperial Act of 1861, annexed to South
Australia until it was "the Royal pleasure to make other disposition
thereof."
[Illustration]
GOVERNORS OF QUEENSLAND.
(1) SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN, G.C.M.G.: Dec. 1859--Jan. 1868.
(2) COLONEL SAMUEL WENSLEY BLACKALL: Aug. 1868--Jan. 1871.
(3) MARQUIS OF NORMANBY: Aug. 1871--Nov. 1874.
(4) WILLIAM WELLINGTON CAIRNS, C.M.G.: Jan. 1875--Mar. 1877.
(5) SIR ARTHUR EDWARD KENNEDY, G.C.M.G., C.B.: April 1877--May 1883.
(6) SIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE, G.C.M.G.: Nov. 1883--Oct. 1888.
(7) SIR HENRY WYLIE NORMAN, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., C.I.E.: May
1889--Dec. 1895.
(8) LORD LAMINGTON, G.C.M.G.: April 1896--Dec. 1901.
(9) SIR HERBERT CHARLES CHERMSIDE, G.C.M.G., C.B.: Mar. 1902--Oct.
1904.
(10) LORD CHELMSFORD, K.C.M.G.: Nov. 1905--May 1909.
(11) SIR WILLIAM MACGREGOR, G.C.M.G., C.B.: Dec. 1909--
QUEEN OF THE NORTH.
ESSEX EVANS.
Stand forth, O Daughter of the Sun,
Of all thy kin the fairest one,
It is thine hour of Jubilee.
Behold, the work our hands have done
Our hearts now offer unto thee.
Thy children call thee; O come forth,
Queen of the North!
Brow-bound with pearls and burnished gold
The East hath Queens of royal mould,
Sultanas, peerless in their pride,
Who rule wide realms of wealth untold,
But they wax wan and weary-eyed:
Thine eyes, O Northern Queen, are bright
With morning light.
Fear not thy Youth: It is thy crown--
The careless years before Renown
Shall load its tines with jewelled deeds
And press thy golden circlet down
With vaster toils and greater needs.
Fear not thy Youth: its splendid power
Awaits the hour.
Stand forth, O Daughter of the Sun,
Whose fires through all thine arteries run,
Whose kiss hath touched thy gleaming hair--
Come like a goddess, Radiant One,
Reign in our hearts who crown thee there,
With laughter like thy seas, and eyes
Blue as thy skies.
Ah, not in vain, O Pioneers,
The toil that breaks, the grief that sears,
The hands that forced back Nature's bars
To prove the blood of ancient years
And make a home 'neath alien stars!
O Victors over stress and pain
'Twas not in vain!
Jungle and plain and pathless wood--
Depths of primeval solitude--
Gaunt wilderness and mountain stern--
Their secrets lay all unsubdued.
Life was the price: who dared might learn.
Ye read them all, Bold Pioneers,
In fifty years.
O True Romance, whose splendour gleams
Across the shadowy realm of dreams,
Whose starry wings can touch with light
The dull grey paths, the common themes:
Hast thou not thrilled with sovereign might
Our story, until Duty's name
Is one with Fame!
Queen of the North, thy heroes sleep
On sun-burnt plain and rocky steep.
Their work is done: their high emprise
Hath crowned thee, and the great stars keep
The secrets of their histories.
We reap the harvest they have sown
Who died unknown.
The seed they sowed with weary hands
Now bursts in bloom through all thy lands;
Dark hills their glittering secrets yield;
And for the camps of wand'ring bands--
The snowy flock, the fertile field.
Back, ever back new conquests press
The wilderness.
Below thy coast line's rugged height
Wide canefields glisten in the light,
And towns arise on hill and lea,
And one fair city where the bright
Broad winding river sweeps to sea.
Ah! could the hearts that cleared the way
Be here to-day!
A handful: yet they took their stand
Lost in the silence of the land.
They went their lonely ways unknown
And left their bones upon the sand.
E'en though we call this land our own
'Tis but a handful holds it still
For good or ill.
What though thy sons be strong and tall,
Fearless of mood at danger's call;
And these, thy daughters, fair of face,
With hearts to dare whate'er befall--
Tall goddesses and queens of grace--
Fill up thy frontiers: man the gate
Before too late.
Sit thou no more inert of fame,
But let the wide world hear thy name.
See where thy realms spread line on line--
Thy empty realms that cry in shame
For hands to make them doubly thine!
Fill up thy frontiers: man the gate
Before too late!
Prepare, ere falls the hour of Fate
When death-shells rain their iron hate,
And all in vain thy blood is poured--
For dark aslant the Northern Gate
I see the Shadow of the Sword:
I hear the storm-clouds break in wrath--
Queen of the North!
[Illustration]
PREMIERS OF QUEENSLAND.
(1) SIR R. G. W. HERBERT: Dec. 1859--Feb. 1866; July 1866--Aug. 1866.
(2) HON. ARTHUR MACALISTER: Feb. 1866--July 1866; Aug. 1866--Aug.
1867; Jan. 1874--June 1876.
(3) SIR R. R. MACKENZIE: Aug. 1867--Nov. 1868.
(4) SIR CHARLES LILLEY: Nov. 1868--May 1870.
(5) SIR A. H. PALMER: May 1870--Jan. 1874.
(6) HON. GEORGE THORN: June 1876--Mar. 1877.
(7) HON. JOHN DOUGLAS: Mar. 1877--Jan. 1879.
(8) SIR THOMAS MCILWRAITH: Jan. 1879--Nov. 1883; June 1888--Nov.
1888; Mar. 1893--Oct. 1893.
(9) SIR S. W. GRIFFITH: Nov. 1883--June 1888; Aug. 1890--Mar. 1893.
(10) HON. D. B. MOREHEAD: Nov. 1888--Aug. 1890.
(11) SIR H. M. NELSON: Oct. 1893--April 1898.
(12) HON. T. J. BYRNES: April 1898--Sept. 1898.
(13) SIR J. R. DICKSON: Oct. 1898--Dec. 1899.
(14) HON. A. DAWSON: 1st Dec. 1899--7th Dec. 1899.
(15) HON. R. PHILP: Dec. 1899--Sept. 1903: Nov. 1907--Feb. 1908.
(16) SIR A. MORGAN: Sept. 1903--Jan. 1906.
(17) HON. W. KIDSTON: Jan. 1906--Nov. 1907: Feb. 1908 (still in
office).
[Illustration]
PART I.--OUR NATAL YEAR.
CHAPTER I.
THE BIRTH OF QUEENSLAND.
Issue of Letters Patent and Order in Council.--Appointment of
Sir George Ferguson Bowen as First Governor.--Continuity of
Colonial Office Policy.--Instructions to Governor.--Munificent
Gift of all Waste Lands of the Crown.--Temporary Limitation
of Electoral Suffrage.--Responsible Government Unqualified by
Restrictions or Reservations.--Governor General of New South
Wales Initiates Elections.
Fifty years ago an emphatic expression of confidence in the
self-governing competence of the people of North-eastern Australia
was given by the British Government of Lord Derby. On 6th June, 1859,
Queen Victoria in Council adopted Letters Patent--which had been
already approved in draft on 13th May--"erecting Moreton Bay into
a colony under the name of Queensland," and appointing Sir George
Ferguson Bowen to be "Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the
same." On the same day an Order in Council was made "empowering the
Governor of Queensland to make laws and provide for the administration
of justice in the said colony"; also to constitute therein a
Government and Legislature as nearly resembling the form of Government
and Legislature established in New South Wales as the circumstances of
the colony would allow. This meant that representative and responsible
government had been granted to the people of the new colony to the
full extent that it was enjoyed by the people of New South Wales under
the epoch-making Constitution Act of 1855. It meant also that the
whole of the unalienated Crown Lands of the colony were vested in the
Legislature.
Next day, the 7th June, the annual session of the Imperial Parliament
was opened, and four days later an amendment upon the Address in Reply
was carried in the House of Commons, whereupon Lord Derby and his
Conservative colleagues forthwith resigned, and were succeeded by a
Liberal (or Whig) Ministry under Lord Palmerston. The new Government
included men of such distinction as Mr. W. E. Gladstone, Lord John
Russell, and the Duke of Newcastle, the last-mentioned assuming the
office of Colonial Secretary. The change of Ministry, however, caused
no interruption in the continuity of Colonial Office policy; and no
time was lost in despatching Sir George Bowen to discharge the highly
responsible duties imposed upon him by the Queen's Commission.
In notifying Sir George Bowen of his appointment, Sir Edward Bulwer
Lytton tendered him some friendly advice. He said that Sir George
would experience the greatest amount of difficulty in connection with
the squatters, and he went on in these words:--"But in this, which is
an irritating contest between rival interests, you will wisely abstain
as much as possible from interference. Avoid taking part with one
or the other.... The first care of a Governor in a free colony," he
continued, "is to shun the reproach of being a party man. Give
all parties and all Ministries formed the fairest play." In
public addresses Sir George was advised to "appeal to the noblest
idiosyncracies of the community--the noblest are generally the most
universal and the most durable. They are peculiar to no party.
Let your thoughts never be distracted from the paramount object of
finance. All states thrive in proportion to the administration of
revenue." A number of excellent maxims followed, among them--"The more
you treat people as gentlemen the more 'they will behave as such.'"
Again, "courtesy is a duty which public servants owe to the humblest
member of the community." And, in a postscript, "Get all the details
of the land question from the Colonial Office, and master them
thoroughly. Convert the jealousies now existing between Moreton Bay
and Sydney into emulation." All these generous didactics from the
great novelist and Tory statesman, followed by congratulations and
good wishes, must have been stimulative to the aspirations of the
embryo Governor charged with the foundation of a new colony at the
Antipodes.
The value of autonomous government is generally appreciated; but
the free gift of land made by the Imperial authority to the various
self-governing colonies has no parallel in human history. In the case
of Queensland the recipients were a mere handful of people, mostly
settled at one end of a vast territory, at least half of which was
unexplored. Plenary authority was in fact given to manage and control
the waste lands belonging to the Crown, as well as to appropriate the
gross proceeds of the sales of any such lands, and all other proceeds
and revenues of the same from whatever source arising, including all
royalties, mines, and minerals, all of which by the Letters Patent
and the Order in Council were vested in the Legislature. This vesting,
however, was subject to a proviso validating all contracts, promises,
and engagements lawfully made on behalf of Her Majesty before the
proclamation took effect. The proviso also stipulated that there
should be no disturbance of any vested or other rights which had
accrued or belonged to the licensed occupants or lessees of Crown
Lands under any repealed Act, or under any Order in Council issued in
pursuance thereof.[a] This reservation was really for the protection
of a number of people in the colony, and not for the benefit of the
Imperial Government. The licensed occupants would be subject to the
mandates of the Legislature; while the reservation in favour of the
owners of freehold lands was of a comparatively trivial nature, the
total area alienated from the Crown a year after the establishment
of the new colony amounting to only 108,870 acres, which had yielded
£305,250 as purchase-money chiefly to the New South Wales Treasury.
Taking the 670,500 square miles within the colony thus handed over to
be worth five shillings per acre, or £160 the square mile, the total
value of the Imperial gift to Queensland would be £107,280,000. Of
course that price was not immediately realisable, and before much of
the vast area could be utilised millions of capital must be expended
in reclamation and development; but as some indication of ultimate
value it may be pointed out that the land sold up to 31st December,
1860, realised at the rate of nearly £3 per acre. That the "waste"
land was not a dead asset was shown by the fact that the public
revenue of the colony for the first year of its existence was
£178,589, to which rents and sales of land contributed a substantial
proportion. It was not surprising, therefore, that Sir George Bowen's
early despatches to the Secretary of State testified to the grateful
and enthusiastic loyalty of the people of the colony to the Queen and
the mother country.
When the previously established Australian colonies were severally
constituted the people were kept for years in a state of tutelage, so
to speak, power being exercised in each case by a Governor advised by
Ministers appointed by and responsible only to the Crown. The single
Chamber of the Legislature, if not wholly nominated, included a
prescribed number of members appointed by the Governor, and was
practically under his control. It had therefore been supposed by
many colonists that separation having been hotly opposed by some
influential residents of the territory concerned--and having been
emphatically condemned by an official despatch received in England
from Sir William Denison, then Governor-General of New South Wales,
almost at the last moment--conditions in restraint of popular
government would have been imposed on the establishment of Queensland.
For the separation struggle had been long continued, and marked by
much personal and party bitterness. The agitation had been originated
and chiefly maintained by people on the seaboard led by ardent
patriots introduced a few years previously under the auspices of Dr.
John Dunmore Lang, who while undoubtedly a great Australian patriot
was unhappily not a _persona grata_ with the controlling authority at
the Colonial Office. The movement was from its initiation protested
against by the enterprising Crown tenants who had driven their flocks
and herds overland from New South Wales, and had, taking their
lives in their hands, adventurously formed stations in the remote
wilderness. They not unnaturally dreaded the effect of popular
sovereignty upon what they deemed their vested interests. But British
statesmen, whether Conservative or Liberal, appear to have felt that,
responsible government having been granted to and enjoyed by the
people of New South Wales--and consequently to the people of that part
of its territory about to be separated--any Imperial limitation of
popular rights already conferred would be regarded as an unjustifiable
encroachment upon public liberty achieved after many years of ardent
struggle in the parent colony. True, the language of the Letters
Patent and Order in Council was afterwards construed to involve some
temporary limitation of the manhood suffrage which had been affirmed
by the Parliament of New South Wales; but whether this limitation
was actual or inadvertent does not clearly appear. It was not of much
practical consequence, perhaps, in a new country that was rapidly
multiplying its scant population, whether or not the electors for
the first Legislative Assembly were required to have some other
qualification than adult age and six months' residence; but the
incident operated prejudicially against the Government, and gave a
rallying cry to Opposition politicians.
A somewhat singular course adopted by the Home Government was the
authorisation of the Governor-General of New South Wales to appoint
the first members of the Queensland Legislative Council, with a term
of five years, although subsequent appointments were to be made by the
Governor of Queensland for the term of the members' natural lives.
Sir William Denison was also empowered to summon and call together the
first Legislative Assembly of Queensland; to fix by proclamation the
number of members; to divide the colony into convenient electoral
districts; to prepare the electoral rolls; to issue the writs of
election; and to make all necessary provision for the conduct of the
first elections. It was required, moreover, that the Parliament should
be called together for a date not more than six months after the
proclamation of the colony, and should remain in existence, unless
previously dissolved by the Governor, for a period of five years. Yet
there was practically no limitation of popular authority except
in respect of the preliminary arrangements, for the Queensland
consolidating and amending Constitution Act of 1867 reaffirmed all
rights and privileges conferred by the New South Wales Constitution
Act.
[Footnote a: These powers were given in the New South Wales
Constitution Act, 1855, Sect. 2.]
[Illustration: HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, BRISBANE]
CHAPTER II.
INITIATION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
Arrival of Sir George Bowen in Brisbane.--The First
Responsible Ministry.--Injunctions to Governor by Secretary
of State in regard to choice of Ministers.--Ex-members of New
South Wales Legislature take Umbrage.--The Governor on the
Characteristics of Various Classes of Colonists.--The Governor
a Dictator.--The Microscopic Treasury Balance.--Gladstone as
Site of Capital.--Mr. Herbert as a Parliamentary Leader.
When on 10th December, 1859, Governor Bowen, accompanied by Mr. Robert
George Wyndham Herbert, his private secretary, had landed amidst great
popular rejoicings at Brisbane, read the Queen's proclamation of the
new colony, and been sworn in as Governor by Mr. Justice Lutwyche (the
Resident Supreme Court Judge for Moreton Bay), he was compelled to
choose Ministers and then govern the colony for nearly six months
before they could be constitutionally approved by the representatives
of the people in Parliament assembled. Sir George Bowen was faced by
the dearth of seasoned public men, and by the dread of enlisting the
services of strong partizans whose opinions and personal qualities
were alike unknown to him. But as a constitutional Governor he could
do no executive act until he had secured responsible advisers, and
therefore the immediate appointment of Ministers was imperative. Hence
on the day of the official landing a "Gazette" notice contained the
proclamation of the Queen's Letters Patent, and notification of the
appointment of Mr. Herbert as Colonial Secretary with Mr. Ratcliffe
Pring as Attorney-General. Thus with the Governor and his two
Ministers an Executive Council was at once formed; and five days later
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Robert Ramsay Mackenzie was gazetted Colonial
Treasurer.[a]
These appointments gave umbrage to certain colonists, particularly to
those who, having represented Moreton Bay constituencies in the New
South Wales Assembly, were deemed in many respects most eligible as
advisers of the Queen's representative. Mr. Herbert had come out from
England with Sir George Bowen as private secretary at the moderate
salary of £250 a year. He was a scholarly young man of 28 years, and
among other advantages had enjoyed the privilege of holding for a
time the post of private secretary to Mr. Gladstone. Indeed, both the
Governor and his secretary, although the former had been selected
by Sir E. B. Lytton, Colonial Secretary in the superseded Derby
Administration, may be classed among the Gladstone school of
politicians. Sir George Bowen probably recollected the injunction of
Sir E. B. Lytton against partizanship, and the danger of identifying
himself with the "squatters." For not only were they, speaking
generally, partizans of a pronounced type, but the reservation of
tenant rights made by the Order in Council of 6th June was calculated
to taint them with a strong personal, or at least class, bias in land
legislation and administration.
In his official despatches to the Colonial Secretary Sir George Bowen
did not mention at length these initial difficulties; but to Sir E.
B. Lytton he wrote more fully. "I have often thought," he said, under
date 6th March, 1860, "that the Queensland gentlemen-squatters bear a
similar relation to the other Australians that the Virginian planters
of 100 years back bore to the other Americans. But there is a
perfectly different class of people in the towns. Brisbane, my present
capital, must resemble what Boston and the other Puritan towns of
New England were at the close of the last century. In a population
of 7,000[b] we have 14 churches, 13 public-houses, 12 policemen. The
leading inhabitants of Brisbane are a hard-headed set of English
and Scotch merchants and mechanics; very orderly, industrious, and
prosperous; proud of the mother country; loyal to the person of the
Queen; and convinced that the true federation for these colonies is
the maintenance of the integrity of the Empire, and that the true
rallying-point for Australians is the Throne."
To the Under Secretary for the Colonies (Mr. Chichester Fortescue)
Sir George Bowen wrote on 6th June, 1860:--"At the first start of all
other colonies the Governor has been assisted by a nominated Council
of experienced officials; he has been supported by an armed force;
and he has been authorised to draw, at least at the beginning, on the
Imperial Treasury for the expenses of the public service. But I was an
autocrat; the sole source of authority here, without a single soldier,
and without a single shilling. There was no organised force of
any kind on my arrival, though I have now, by dint of exertion and
influence, got up a respectable police on the Irish model, and a very
creditable corps of volunteers. And as to money wherewith to carry
on the Government, I started with just 7½d. in the Treasury. A
thief--supposing, I fancy, that I should have been furnished with some
funds for the outfit, so to speak, of the new State--broke into the
Treasury a few nights after my arrival, and carried off the 7½d.
mentioned. However, I borrowed money from the banks until our revenue
came in, and our estimates already show (after paying back the sums
borrowed) a considerable balance in excess of the proposed expenditure
for the year."
Sir George Bowen's initial difficulties were not chiefly financial,
however; neither was the lack of material force to give effect to the
law a serious embarrassment. He was empowered practically to select
the seat of government by determining where the Parliament should
first assemble. Among the opponents of separation had been certain
squatters who sought to place the capital of the new colony in some
more geographically central place than Brisbane. Of these Mr. William
Henry Walsh, of Degilbo, Wide Bay, one of the most able and virile of
the Moreton Bay ex-members of the New South Wales Parliament, was very
prominent. Offended by the Governor's selection of Mr. Herbert for
the Premiership, Mr. Walsh refused a seat in either House of the new
Parliament, and sought to create an agitation in the more northerly
ports of Maryborough and Rockhampton, each containing about 500
inhabitants, in favour of Gladstone as the capital--a place which
Sydney political influence had always indicated as the future seat of
government when a new northern colony came to be established. But
each of the towns mentioned had ambitions of its own, and regarded
Gladstone as a rival. The movement therefore failed; but the colony
for years lost the benefit of Mr. Walsh's services at a time when
every capable man was needed to assist in organising the government
and directing the Parliament of political novices who took their
seats a few months later. Mr. Arthur Macalister, solicitor, another
ex-member of the New South Wales Parliament and an excellent debater,
was perhaps equally disappointed, but he was at least more diplomatic.
As member for Ipswich he took his seat on the Opposition benches, and
after two years' service in the Assembly was invited by Mr. Herbert to
join the Government. This invitation he accepted, and four years later
he became the party leader. The sequel proved that the Governor had
made no mistake in selecting Mr. Herbert for his Premier. He proved
a first-rate parliamentary leader, and succeeded in giving the
new colony the inestimable advantage of over six years of stable
government at the outset of its career, in marked contrast to the
kaleidoscopic Administrations which so greatly hindered political
progress in more than one of the southern colonies.
[Footnote a: For personnel of first Ministry and Parliament,
see Appendix B, post.]
[Footnote b: The census of 1861 showed that then the
population was only a little over 6,000.]
CHAPTER III.
DIFFICULTIES OF EARLY ADMINISTRATIONS.
Meeting of First Parliament.--Amendment on Address in Reply
defeated by Speaker's Casting Vote.--Adoption of Address in
Reply.--Compromise between Parties Indispensable.--Successful
Inauguration of Responsible Government.--The Governor's
Egotism.--Mr. Herbert's Retirement.--Mr. Macalister
Succeeds.--Financial and Political Crisis.--Proposed
Inconvertible Paper Money.--Governor Undeservedly Blamed.
On the 7th of May, 1860, the 26 members of the first Legislative
Assembly--among them the three Ministers of the Crown--having been
returned, Parliament was summoned to meet at Brisbane on the 22nd
of that month, just a few days before the maximum limit of delay
specified by the Queen's Order in Council. On 1st May Sir William
Denison had appointed 11 members for a five years' term to the
Legislative Council, and three weeks later Sir George Bowen,
conceiving the number insufficient, appointed four members additional
for a life term, raising the total number to 15. Thus the first
Parliament of Queensland was at length fully constituted, and all
preliminaries had been completed for entering upon the work of the
first session.[a]
On the 22nd of May the session opened, and after members had been
sworn in Sir Charles Nicholson, for some years Speaker in the Sydney
Parliament, was elected President of the Council, and Mr. Gilbert
Eliott--formerly an officer of the Royal Artillery--the member for
Wide Bay, Speaker of the Assembly. Both Houses then adjourned for a
week.
The Governor's Speech, which was of great length, having been
delivered, the Address in Reply was moved in both Houses. In the
Council the leadership had been entrusted to Captain Maurice Charles
O'Connell, Minister without portfolio, who had long been in the
Port Curtis district as a trusted official of the New South Wales
Government, and in early life had served with great distinction as
a British soldier in Spain. In the Council no difficulty arose in
adopting the Address. But in the Assembly an amendment moved for the
adjournment of the debate at an early stage was only defeated by the
Speaker's casting-vote, one member being absent. It thus appeared that
the Assembly was almost equally divided. This was a dangerous position
to be faced by a new Premier without a day's previous experience in
Parliament, and with the two most formidable debaters in the House,
Mr. Macalister and Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Lilley, in active
opposition. Mr. Herbert made a diplomatic speech, however, and the
Address passed without much further contention. The division list
showed that, despite the efforts of the Governor and his Premier to
avoid identification with the squatters, the votes of the latter were
essential to the existence of the Ministry, since the members of the
Opposition consisted almost exclusively of town representatives. The
following day (30th May) the Government nominee for the Chairmanship
of Committees, Mr. C. W. Blakeney, was defeated by 15 votes to 7, and
Mr. Macalister, who was nominated by the Opposition, was thereupon
elected on the voices. The division of parties evidently made
compromise indispensable to the passing of much-needed legislation.
But much had been gained by the Government. All its members had
been elected by the constituencies, and the Assembly had practically
acknowledged that it was entitled to a fair trial. Seeing that
for nearly six months Ministers had held their portfolios without
parliamentary sanction, and had naturally made many executive mistakes
during that time, it may be held that the first session of the first
Parliament had been inaugurated successfully from the Ministerial
standpoint. In his official despatches, as well as in private letters
to friends in England, Sir George Bowen revealed himself as a genial
though apparently unconscious egotist. His assumption of what must
strike the discriminating reader as a dominating influence in the
political and executive affairs of the colony was scarcely consistent
with his position as a ruler representing the Queen, and competent
to act only on constitutional advice. An impartial survey of Mr.
Herbert's six years of office as Premier leads to the conclusion
that chiefly to his judicious counsel and incomparable tact in the
management of men the Governor owed the exemplary success attained in
the organisation and government of the colony.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM RIVER TERRACE, BRISBANE]
The Governor's complete if rather florid reports to the Colonial
Office, however, justly evoked cordial responses from the Secretary of
State. Sir George Bowen was a most capable man, but sometimes betrayed
want of both reticence and dignity. He was enthusiastic as well as
optimistic, and his retention in Queensland for the unusually long
period of eight years is an unanswerable certificate of his official
merit. Yet it is undoubted that when bad times overtook the colony in
1866 both the Governor and his Premier appeared to have outlived their
popularity, though their combined action at that time for restoring
the public credit was perhaps the most eminent service that either of
them had ever rendered. Mr. Herbert had formed no ties in Australia;
he had exercised supreme influence in the local Legislature; but
now that there were several members with both natural capacity and
parliamentary experience aspiring to the Premiership, believing that
he had better prospects of preferment in the Imperial service, he
determined to return to England. His subsequent long career at the
Colonial Office justified his anticipations, and it may be safely
said of his departure from Queensland that the colony's loss was the
Empire's gain.
The ex-Premier did not leave the colony abruptly, however, on handing
over, on the 1st of February, 1866, all ministerial responsibilities
to Mr. Arthur Macalister, his senior colleague in the Cabinet. He
occupied his seat for nearly six months, in fact, and conducted
himself with native dignity and becoming self-effacement as an
unofficial member of the Assembly. Unhappily he was not to leave
Australia without having a wholly unexpected shadow suddenly cast over
his long administration of affairs. In mid-July the news reached the
colony of the catastrophic failure of the Agra and Masterman's Bank,
which had undertaken to finance the Queensland railway loan then being
rapidly spent. The financial crisis of 1866 played havoc in London; it
was of crushing effect in Queensland, for the Treasurer could not
meet his obligations, and the railway workmen threatened a riot
in consequence of non-payment of their hard-earned wages. In this
emergency, Parliament being in session, the Treasurer, Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Joshua Peter Bell desired to adopt the recent American expedient
of issuing an inconvertible paper currency. The Cabinet approved, but
on the Governor being consulted before the introduction of the bill he
emphatically declined to promise the Royal assent to the measure, if
passed. This he did for the all-sufficient reason that his Imperial
instructions compelled him to reserve the assent to all measures
affecting the currency. Ministers immediately resigned, and the
Governor became the victim of irrational public obloquy for a time.[b]
Mr. Herbert consented to lead a stop-gap Administration, and under his
guidance a bill was at once passed empowering the Government to raise
£300,000 by the issue of Treasury bills bearing not more than 10
per cent. interest per annum. They were forthwith disposed of at a
premium, and the credit of the Government was restored. The temporary
Government then resigned, and Mr. Macalister resumed office. Thus
Queensland was saved from the double peril of paralysed credit and a
debased paper currency.
[Footnote a: The names of the first Ministers, and of members
of both Houses of the first Parliament, will be found in
Appendix B. It may be of interest to mention that of all these
representative men one, Mr. A. W. Compigne, who resigned his
seat in the Council in 1864, alone survived till the Jubilee
Year; and that he died at his residence, Brisbane, on Sunday,
4th July, 1909, in the 92nd year of his age.]
[Footnote b: Sir George Bowen, writing to the Right Honourable
Robert Lowe, afterwards Lord Sherbrooke, said:--"Several
leading members of Parliament were ill-treated in the streets;
and threats were even uttered of burning down Government
House, and of treating me 'as Lord Elgin was treated at
Montreal in 1849.'"]
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST SESSION OF PARLIAMENT.
Work of the First Session.--Four Land Acts Passed.--Summary
of Land "Code."--Pastoral Leases.--Upset Price of Land £1
per acre.--Agricultural Reserves.--Land Orders to Immigrants.
--Cotton Bonus.--Lands for Mining Purposes.--Renewal of
Existing Leases.--Governor's Laudation of "Code."--Praises
Parliament.--Abolition of State Aid to Religion.--Primary
and Secondary Education.--Wool Liens.--First Estimates and
Appropriation Act.
The first session closed on the 18th of September, having extended
over nearly four months. On the 28th of August, Sir Charles Nicholson
having determined to retire and go to England, Captain O'Connell
was appointed President of the Legislative Council by the Governor's
Commission. Mr. John James Galloway at the same time accepted the
appointment of Minister without portfolio, and held the leadership of
the Council for the remainder of the session. Without other change in
the personnel of the Cabinet the session was brought to a close with
the position of the Government considerably improved. They had not
carried all the measures promised in the Opening Speech, but the
new Acts passed numbered sixteen, some of them important, and all
necessary. Seeing that both Houses were new to their work, the result
went to prove that the confidence of the Imperial Government in the
self-governing competence of the colonists had not been misplaced.
Even the "Moreton Bay Courier," then hostile to the Government,
admitted that much good work had been done, the chief exception taken
being to the Act authorising the granting of a five years' additional
term for existing pastoral leases. The Act reserved power of
resumption during the currency of the lease, but the Opposition
contended that the power would never be exercised.
No less than four Land Bills were passed during the session, and the
Governor, writing to the Secretary of State, said, referring to them,
that these Acts might be called "The Land Code of Queensland." The
first of the "Code," which was entitled the Unoccupied Crown Lands
Occupation Act, repealed the New South Wales pastoral leasing law of
1858, and the Orders in Council then in force in Queensland in so far
as they were repugnant to the new Act. Any person was to be permitted
to apply for an occupation license for one year for a run of 100
square miles, and if there were more than one applicant for the same
run preference was to be given to any person who had occupied it for
two months previously. Within nine months after the granting of the
license application might be made by the occupier for a 14 years'
lease conditionally on the run having been stocked to one-fourth its
assumed carrying capacity of 100 sheep or 20 head of cattle per square
mile. An absolute power of resumption at any time during the lease
on 12 months' notice was given. The second was the Tenders for Crown
Lands Act, authorising the issue of 14 years' leases to lessees of
runs already liable for rent; also authorising the acceptance of
tenders (which had been held over awaiting legislation) for runs
occupied since 1st January, 1860, and the granting to the tenderers of
14 years' leases.
The third measure of the "Code" was the Alienation of Crown Lands Act,
which fixed the minimum upset price at auction or otherwise at £1 per
acre; and which provided for the setting apart, within six months from
the bill becoming law, of not less than 100,000 acres on the shores
or navigable waters of Moreton Bay, Wide Bay, Port Curtis, and Keppel
Bay, and also within five miles of all towns with upwards of 500
inhabitants, as agricultural reserves of not less than 10,000 acres
each, which should not be for sale by auction, but surveyed and opened
to selection as farms of not less than 40 nor more than 320 acres
at the fixed price of £1 per acre; the purchase money to be paid in
advance, and the Crown grant issued at the end of six months if the
selector had occupied the land and commenced to improve it during
that term. If a selector failed so to occupy and improve, the
purchase-money was to be returned to him, less 10 per cent., and the
land again opened for selection. A selector was also entitled to lease
three times the area of his farm--but so that the whole should not
exceed 320 acres--in one lot or conterminous lots within the same
reserve, for a term of five years, at sixpence per acre rent, with
right of purchase, if fenced in, at £1 per acre at any time during the
currency of the lease. A further provision of importance in the
same Act was the granting of a land order for £18 on arrival to each
immigrant from Europe who paid his own passage, and a further land
order for £12 at the end of two years' residence in the colony. It was
also provided that two children between the ages of four and fourteen
should be reckoned as one statute adult. Further provision was made
by which a bonus in land was to be paid during the next three years of
£10 per bale of good cleaned Sea Island cotton, and for the two years
next following £5 per bale. And finally any person or company was
empowered to purchase land not exceeding 640 acres in one block for
mining purposes, other than for coal or gold, at the upset price of
20s. per acre.
The fourth measure of the "Code" was the Occupied Crown Lands Leasing
Act, which enabled the lessee of any Crown land held under previously
existing regulations, or under the Tenders for Crown Lands Act of the
current session, to get a five years' renewal at the end of his term.
The principle of compensation was recognised in these leasing Acts,
but no provision was made for the continuance of the pre-emptive right
of purchase, conferred by the old Orders in Council.
[Illustration: BARRON FALLS, CAIRNS RAILWAY, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
Sir George Bowen wrote to the Secretary of State in terms of exalted
laudation of these four Acts. "I regard them," he said, "as a
practical and satisfactory settlement of this much-vexed question,
which is still embittering the social life and retarding the material
advance of the neighbouring and elder colonies." To a friend in
England he wrote,--"The legislation of our first Parliament has
settled the long quarrel between the pastoral and agricultural
interests which has raged in all new countries ever since the days of
Abel, the 'keeper of sheep,' and Cain, the 'tiller of the ground!'" To
the Secretary of State he added,--"This Parliament may fairly boast
of having passed, with due caution and foresight, a greater number
of really useful measures, and of having achieved a greater amount of
really practical legislation, than any other Parliament in any of
the Australian colonies since the introduction of parliamentary
government." Sir George quotes a Sydney journal,[a] which before
separation was antagonistic to that movement, as saying,--"The
Government of Queensland has been either very fortunate or very
judicious. The last to enter the race, Queensland has shot ahead, and
taken the first place. While in Melbourne the popular rage has been
worked up by its guardians into riot, and while in Sydney the tactics
of the popular party have succeeded in placing the land question in a
position of chronic blockade, in Queensland it has been settled on
a moderate and reasonable basis, and without so much as a single
ministerial crisis."
In the prorogation speech Sir George Bowen reviewed at length the work
of the session. From that and other sources it may be stated that
the limitation of the number of salaried officials capable of being
elected to the Legislative Assembly had been fixed so as not to
exceed five; the collection of parliamentary electors' names had been
discontinued, and facilities provided for self-registration; State
aid to religion had been abolished, the rights of existing incumbents
being preserved; the existing system of primary education had been
abolished, and provision made for the appointment by the Governor in
Council of a "Board of General Education," a body corporate authorised
to expend such sums as Parliament might vote for primary education.
The Board was empowered to assist any primary school that submitted
to its supervision and inspection, and conformed to its rules and
by-laws; but it was forbidden to contribute to the repair or building
of any school unless the fee-simple thereof had been previously vested
in the Board. And nothing in the Act could be held to authorise any
inspection of or interference with the special religious instruction
which might be given in such school during the hours set apart for
such instruction. Not more than 5 per cent. of the Board's funds might
be applied to granting exhibitions at any grammar school to primary
scholars who had passed the competitive examination prescribed by the
Board.
The Board was also authorised to devote a portion of its funds to
assist in the establishment of normal or training schools, or to
industrial schools. The Grammar Schools Act of 1860, which with a few
amendments is still in force, was passed. An Act for taking the
census of the colony on 1st April, 1861, became law. An Act for the
appointment of Commissioners to adjust accounts with New South Wales
was another measure of the session. It may be remarked, however, that
an adjustment was never reached, but the amount in dispute became
so comparatively small when mutual credits had been allowed that the
question was permitted to lapse. Another measure of some practical
importance was the Liens on Wool Act, which extended also to mortgages
on sheep, cattle, and horses; and the Scab in Sheep Act, the main
provisions of which are still in force. The gold export duty was
abolished by an Act which merely validated the then official practice
of omitting to collect the duty imposed by a New South Wales Act
passed seven years previously.
It must be admitted that this record of work done by a new Parliament,
in a colony that had no existence as a self-governing entity twelve
months before, deserved much of the approbation expressed of its
proceedings by the Governor. Indeed, the "Courier" of the day, in
commenting upon the work of the session, gave honourable members
of both Houses hearty credit for the assiduity with which they had
attended to public duty, even to the neglect in many cases of their
own personal and business affairs. There was then no payment of
members in any form. And there were other matters than legislation
which deserve notice. The Estimates had been passed, totalling
£220,808 for the service of the year; and the Governor had
congratulated the Assembly upon having appropriated one-fourth of the
total estimated revenue to roads, bridges, and other public works,
besides ample sums to hospitals, libraries, botanic gardens, and
schools of arts. No less than £31,261 was voted for police, of which
£13,516 was absorbed for the native troopers then necessary for the
protection of the adventurous pioneers who were conducting what may be
termed exploratory settlement in the remote interior.
[Footnote a: "Sydney Morning Herald," September, 1860.]
CHAPTER V.
QUEENSLAND IN 1860.
Rush of Population.--High Prices for Stock for occupying New
Country.--Sparse Population.--Rockhampton most Northerly Port
of Entry.--Navigation inside Barrier Reef unknown.--Tropical
Queensland Unexplored.--Ignorance of Climate, Resources, and
Conditions.--Primary Industries in 1860.--Primitive Means
of Communication.--Public Revenue, Bank Deposits, and
Institutions.
Thus was Queensland fairly launched on her career as a self-governing
state of the Empire. The very announcement of impending separation had
caused a rush of population from the southern colonies; while even the
Crown tenants, who had for years regarded the movement with aversion,
found much compensation in their escape from the operation of the
imminent Robertson land law which threatened free selection before
survey throughout the entire area of New South Wales. The rush for new
pastoral country not only attracted the most adventurous bushmen in
Australia to the new colony, but also sent up the prices of sheep and
cattle to fabulous rates, as country tendered for could not be held
unless stocked to the prescribed minimum number. At the time a large
area of coast country was occupied by sheep, and symptoms of disease
were so menacing that the sales for stocking up new country proved the
salvation of some of the "inside" squatters; although looked at in the
light of experience it may be doubted whether the too rapid occupation
of the wilderness country, then inhabited solely by the aborigines,
was not partly accountable for disastrous results when the demand for
stocking up ceased, and the natural water on most runs proved wholly
insufficient to carry stock through the mildest drought. Still, at the
time Queensland attracted a population of seasoned Australians whose
colonising value was inestimable; and these in addition to many
immigrants from the mother country. Consequently the colony made
phenomenal progress.
A glance at the official statistics for the year 1860--the earliest
available--will illustrate the insignificance, compared with the
vast area of the territory held, of the population, trade, and liquid
capital of the community. The total population on 31st December,
1860, was estimated at 28,056, most of these people being more or less
concentrated in the towns. The rest were scattered sparsely over the
country between the southern boundary and the tropic of Capricorn for
a distance of about 250 miles back from the coast-line. Rockhampton
was then the most northerly port of entry; the site of the present
town of Bundaberg was virgin forest, the entrance to the Burnett
River from Hervey Bay being as yet unknown; Mackay, Bowen, Townsville,
Ingham, Geraldton, Cairns, Port Douglas, Cooktown, and the Thursday
Island settlement were non-existent; and of the coast waters beyond
Keppel Bay little more was known than the narratives of Captain
Cook and Lieutenant Flinders at the close of the eighteenth century
disclosed.
The existence of the magnificent natural harbour of 1,000 miles in
length formed by the Great Barrier Reef was undreamt of; the passage
was regarded rather as one of Nature's traps for the unwary navigator
than the future safe and easily traversed route of great steamship
lines along a coast dotted with prosperous ports kept busy as the
outlets of a richly productive hinterland.
The tropical climate of the northern coast lands was then supposed to
be deadly to members of the white races; the interior was declared to
be almost entirely devoid of surface water--for the greater part of
the year a fiery furnace, and at intervals of capricious periodicity
ravaged by destructive floods. It was assumed to be a country where
the white man would wither and the coloured man thrive--a land wholly
unfit for the home of civilised peoples, and only adapted to the wants
of the degraded aboriginal native. It was ignorantly affirmed that the
sheep stations intended to be formed in the far western country must
be failures, and English experts held that under the tropical sun the
sheep, if it could live in Queensland at all, would soon carry
hair instead of wool. Even in Southern Queensland the agricultural
possibilities of the land were sadly unappreciated. True, in the
population centres there were loud preachers of the gospel of
reclamation of the wilderness so that it might bud and blossom as the
rose; but their homilies for the most part fell upon deaf ears--the
seasoned bushman, like the great squatter, tenaciously held that even
the Darling Downs would not grow a cabbage.
So backward was the farming industry that in 1860 the total area under
cultivation was 3,353 acres in a country of greater extent than France
and Germany combined. Of this trifling cultivated area only 196 acres
were under wheat, and not an acre under sugar-cane. True, there were
nearly three and a-half million sheep, half-a-million cattle, and
24,000 horses finding subsistence on the limitless but ill-watered
natural pastures. But at that time the annual clip from the sheep,
though wool was the chief export of the colony, totalled only
5,000,000 lb., or equal to about 1½ lb. to each fleece. Mining,
except for coal, of which 12,327 tons was raised in 1860, was almost
non-existent, although 2,738 fine ounces of gold are shown by the
statistics to have been won during the year.
[Illustration: TREASURY BUILDINGS, BRISBANE]
In 1860 there was not a mile of railway either open for traffic or
under construction; not a mile of electric telegraph wire; nor, save
between Brisbane and Ipswich, was there a formed or metalled road, the
only avenues of transport being along the bridle path or the
teamsters' track. The country was destitute of culverts and bridges
over watercourses, and the so-called roads were impassable for days,
weeks, or even months in succession after the seasonal rains. The
northern shipping trade was limited to a small steamer running once a
fortnight between Brisbane, Maryborough, and Rockhampton, but even
that had been arranged after the proclamation of the colony, partly to
meet administration exigencies, with the assistance of the new
Government. A fortnightly steamer from Sydney ran direct to
Maryborough, and another to Rockhampton, with the apparent object of
discouraging mutual intercourse among the ports. A weekly steamer ran
between Brisbane and Sydney, in addition to a few small sailing craft
for cargo purposes.
Although Sir George Bowen declared that on arrival he found nothing in
the Treasury save a few coppers, the revenue for the first year
reached £178,589. The expenditure for the year 1860 was £17,086 less
than the revenue, yet, through the Government having to lean upon the
banks in December, 1859, there was an overdraft of over £19,000 at the
end of the first year. But the banks themselves had little money among
them, the net assets slightly exceeding half a million sterling, and
the aggregate deposits totalling less than a quarter of a million. At
the end of 1860, out of the 28,000 people in the colony 163 were
"small capitalists" with an aggregate of £7,545, or about £46 per
depositor, in the Savings Bank. Yet there were six charitable
institutions in which 397 persons found relief. Of subscribers to
"public libraries" there were 538, and they had at their disposal
5,000 volumes from which to select reading for the leisure hour. There
were 41 schools, with a total of 1,890 pupils. The number of letters
posted showed a low degree of cultivation, for the average number
posted as well as received by each person was just seven a year, or
slightly more than one every two months. Of newspapers a rather fewer
number passed through the post office. Surely all these things were on
a microscopic scale, recollecting that the people of Queensland had
been endowed with autonomous government, and had unfettered control of
more than one-fifth of the total area of Australia.
Old Queenslanders who still survive, and can meditate retrospectively
upon the past, will be impressed with the marvellous optimism of all
classes of the population 50 years ago. The townspeople, enfranchised
with most political power by reason of their numbers, knew little of
the dormant resources of the inland country or its climatic vagaries.
They could not realise the privations, the hard labour, and the deadly
monotony of early settlement upon the land. The farmer had usually no
market, and in raising his produce he had to contend against droughts,
floods, pests, and isolation, and he was fortunate if his produce
brought from the store-keeper the cost of rations on which his family
could frugally subsist. The squatter, too, incurred enormous risks,
though he had a market for his wool at all times; and, if there was no
domestic consumption of sheep and cattle upon which he could rely, his
surplus stock brought a fair return from the boiling-down pots. But he
had to get his produce to port before a money return could be secured;
and as pastoral settlement pushed further out transport obstacles were
often crushing. It was no unusual occurrence for one wool clip to
be detained on a remote station until the next year's shearing had
commenced. A lien had therefore usually to be given on the clip, and
the rate of interest, including agent's commission, was commonly
12 per cent. per annum, while the high carriage rate made rations
extremely costly; so that even with good seasons the margin of profit
was small. In bad years ruin became well-nigh inevitable. The pioneer
squatter spent most of his strenuous life in the saddle, alternately
worried by bad seasons, low prices, and his bank overdraft. It is
easy, therefore, to understand the temptation which assailed him to
regard as his own the country which he had reclaimed at the expense of
his vitality as well as his capital. When he visited town after a
term of voluntary exile human nature often asserted itself, and
the holiday-making squatter disbursed his hard-earned money with a
prodigal hand, a fact not forgotten by his political opponents. The
shepherd, too, yielded to temptation, and at the end of a year's
solitary life in his bush hut longed for nothing so much as an
alcoholic stimulant or a bottle of pickles and gay human society. Thus
he prodigally knocked down his cheque in town, and in a week or two
again abandoned civilisation at the call of the bush. Fifty years
ago the urban people perhaps lived almost as comfortably as they
do to-day, but the bushman, whether farmer, squatter, shepherd, or
stockman, had usually a life of exhausting labour, bad food, dull
surroundings, and often in consequence indifferent health. Still the
landless colonist of 1860 had unbounded faith in his country; and if
he fought earnestly, sometimes passionately, against what he termed
squatting encroachment, it is now apparent that had not the pastoral
tenure been jealously limited by Parliament insurmountable obstacles
would have been placed in the path of progress. In future pages of
this work it will be seen that the often too sanguine anticipations of
individual colonists of Queensland's natal year were rudely shattered
by stern experience; while, on the other hand, the opening up of
unsuspected resources as often enriched the general community.
PART II.--FROM NATAL YEAR TO JUBILEE.
CHAPTER I.
THE LEGISLATURE.
The Governor.--His Functions: Political and Social.--His
Emoluments.--Administrations that have held Office.--Number
of Members of Council and Assembly.--Emoluments of Assembly
Members.--Good Results of Responsible Government in
Queensland.
In a self-governing dependency of the Empire the King's
representative, while competent to take official action only on
constitutional advice, is not a mere figurehead in the Government.
He is, so to speak, one of the three branches of the Legislature.
No expenditure can be voted by Parliament except after receipt of a
message of appropriation from the Governor; and no bill can become law
without the Royal assent, which he, subject to certain reservations,
is empowered to give. As President of the Executive Council, too,
the Governor has a voice in administration, although the actual
power vests in the Ministry so long as it commands the confidence of
Parliament. But the Governor is in constant touch with his Premier,
and therefore, apart from the official intercourse at meetings of the
Executive Council, His Excellency exchanges ideas informally with the
executive head of the Government. The Governor has social duties, too,
and these are not unimportant as bringing the King's representative
into personal contact with his Majesty's colonial subjects of both
sexes and various classes. The Governor's attendance at public and
social functions also furnishes a touch of sprightly colour to the
drab shade which would otherwise often characterise public
gatherings. He carries with him a distinctive atmosphere of Imperial
comprehensiveness which usefully neutralises a narrow parochialism
that might tend to induce men and women to forget that they, while a
politically independent community, yet form an integral part of the
great Empire of the Mistress of the Seas. Thus it is that our most
experienced public men have emphasised the importance of maintaining
direct communication with the Imperial authority through a Governor
appointed by and responsible to the King.
Pending the decision of Parliament, the Imperial Government
provisionally fixed the salary of the first Governor at £2,500 a
year. In the session of 1861, Parliament, representing a population
of 34,000 persons, not only voted an increase to £4,000, but also by
statute made the payment retrospective as from 1st January, 1860. At
this sum the salary remained until 1874, when Mr. Oscar de Satge, a
member of the Opposition, carried a motion affirming the principle of
an increase. This motion the Government accepted, and the salary was
increased to £5,000 a year, at which figure it remained from that
time until 1904, when it was reduced to £3,000. Three Governors
successively filled the office for the fifteen years ending with
November, 1874; and six for the thirty years between 1874 and October,
1904. In the latter year an amendment of the Constitution Act was made
by a bill introduced by the Government, reducing the salary of future
Governors to £3,000, for reasons exhaustively set forth by the Premier
in moving the second reading. The chief grounds of reduction, it may
be mentioned, were the altered situation created by the establishment
of the Commonwealth, and the steps of a similar character already
taken in the Southern States.
Twenty-five Ministries have held office during the fifty-year period.
On that led by the late Sir Robert Herbert comment has already been
made. It ended a useful Queensland career in 1866, after more than
six years of office. The succeeding Macalister Ministry, with an
interruption of eighteen days by a second Herbert Ministry of an
ephemeral nature, and with reconstructions, lasted until August, 1867,
when it was displaced by the Mackenzie-Palmer Administration. Mr.
Macalister was a clever politician; a concise and trenchant speaker;
and a capital parliamentary leader in so far as the House work
was concerned. But he was lacking in force, and his Ministry was,
moreover, much in the nature of coalition representing both squatting
and anti-squatting interests at a time when bitter controversy
prevailed. Mr. (afterwards Sir) R. R. Mackenzie, who was held in
general respect for his personal qualities, likewise lacked strength
as a politician, and the real force behind him was Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Arthur Hunter Palmer. His Ministry was at the time termed "pure
merino," every member of it, save Mr. Pring, the Attorney-General,
being identified with the pastoral industry.
In November, 1868, the Lilley Ministry was formed. It lasted only till
April, 1870, and was more than once reconstructed during its tenure of
office. It included Mr. Macalister, between whom and the Premier
there was inconvenient rivalry, but its members were all Liberals by
reputation. The Premier, however, was Radical rather than Liberal
in his opinions, and his abolition of primary school fees without
parliamentary authority, and the ordering of the steamer "Governor
Blackall" in Sydney, with the object of fighting the A.S.N. Company,
without the consent even of his colleagues, brought about the downfall
of the Ministry as soon as Parliament met in 1870, only one supporter,
the late Mr. Henry Jordan, voting with them in a division on a want of
confidence motion. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Lilley was perhaps
the most accomplished debater that ever spoke in the Queensland
Parliament, and throughout most of his public career, as the member
for Fortitude Valley, he was a popular hero. As an educationist he was
undoubtedly both sincere and enthusiastic, but his colleagues found
his imperious moods difficult to contend against.
[Illustration: COAL WHARVES, SOUTH BRISBANE]
The Palmer Ministry met Parliament in May, 1870, and held office for
more than three and a-half years, although for a great part of the
time the Government had no working majority. Indeed, for months it
fought, with a majority of one in a full House of 32, a determined
Opposition in the Assembly ably led by Mr. Lilley. All business was
blocked for many weeks, and eventually 13 members of the Opposition,
headed by Mr. Lilley, waited as a deputation upon the Governor
(Colonel Blackall) requesting his intervention on the ground that
Ministers did not possess their confidence or the confidence of the
House. The Governor declined to interpose, and subtly remarked that he
had known many Oppositions in Parliament, but never yet knew one that
had confidence in the Government of the day. The interview did not
assist the Opposition cause. A second session opened on 5th July,
1870, and, being defeated two days later by 17 to 11, Mr. Palmer
was granted a dissolution.[a] The Premier had proved himself an
indomitable fighter, and his appeal to the constituencies was not
wholly unsuccessful. Obstruction continuing in the new Parliament, Mr.
Palmer was granted another dissolution in June, 1871, and from that
time had a fairly effective majority at his back for two years, when
being defeated he was granted another dissolution, from which his
party came back unsuccessful. If the Opposition of those days did not
obstruct by means of the "stonewall" to the same extent that has been
the case of recent years, they attained their end in another way. In
the session of 1871-2 for a period of five weeks the Government failed
to obtain a quorum except on two occasions, on both of which there was
a "count out." The Opposition were desirous of forcing the Government
to pass a Redistribution of Seats Bill before Supply was granted, and
by persisting in these tactics they compelled the Government to agree
to a compromise.
The Palmer Ministry on assuming office had found the public finances
in a bad way, but partly through good management and partly with the
help of good seasons and improving markets for exports, they retired
in January, 1874, after a succession of surpluses, and with railway
construction being vigorously pushed on both in Southern and Central
districts.
In January, 1874, when the new Parliament met after the general
election, Mr. Palmer and his colleagues found themselves in so
hopeless a minority that they resigned without awaiting a debate
on the Address in Reply. Amidst great hilarity in the Assembly, and
despite the vehement protests of the candidate, Mr. William Henry
Walsh was elected Speaker, although a member of the Palmer party; and
on his refusal to accept the office was humorously threatened with
the penalty of disobedience to the order of the House. But after
consideration he assumed the Speakership, and while in the chair
discharged his duties with credit.
The Macalister-Hemmant Ministry forthwith assumed office, Mr. Lilley,
who made the announcement in the Assembly on their behalf, declining a
portfolio. Shortly afterwards he was appointed a Judge of the
Supreme Court. The Ministry was initiated with Mr. MacDevitt as
Attorney-General, but in August following he retired, and Mr. S. W.
Griffith, who had proved an inconvenient supporter of the Government
as the leader of a subsection, accepted the portfolio. Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Thomas McIlwraith was Mr. Macalister's Minister for Works, but
at the close of the first session he differed from the Premier on the
question of a great private railway scheme, and therefore resigned
office. On the House reassembling in 1875 Mr. McIlwraith took the
front cross-bench seat next the gangway on the Opposition side, and,
while not approving of all the tactics of the party led by Mr. Palmer,
gave it his general support. The first session of the Parliament had
been distinguished by the passing of a Customs tariff incidentally
protective, Mr. Hemmant, the Treasurer, showing uncommon qualities as
a financial speaker. He closed his first year at the Treasury with
an apparent deficit of £200,762. His predecessor, when making his
Financial Statement in 1872, had anticipated a deficit. To prevent
this he proposed--and Parliament agreed to the proposition--to
transfer £350,000 from the Loan Fund to the Consolidated Revenue
Fund to meet the Treasury bills floated or authorised to cover the
accumulated deficits of earlier years. Mr. Hemmant disapproved of
this method of financing, and rectified matters as far as possible by
transferring to a Surplus Revenue Fund £240,000, which left him with a
deficit of £200,762. This was equivalent to recouping the Loan Fund to
the extent of £240,000, as the money was to be used for public works
which would, under ordinary circumstances, have been constructed out
of loan moneys. In the next year, 1876, soon after the opening of
Parliament, the appointment of the Premier as Agent-General was
announced. Ministers consequently resigned, and the Governor (Mr. W.
W. Cairns) sent for Mr. George Thorn, who to the surprise of political
circles succeeded in forming a Ministry including Mr. Griffith
and most of the late Cabinet. Mr. Thorn was personally a general
favourite, but not conspicuously fit for the position which he had
fortuitously attained. Mr. Griffith became the actual leader, however,
and the session was completed without disaster. During the recess Mr.
Thorn retired, to visit England, and was replaced in the Cabinet
by Mr. John Douglas, whose scholarly speeches had given him a high
reputation in the House. As Premier, however, Mr. Douglas was less
successful than had been anticipated. Conspicuously fair in debate, he
appeared invariably to feel the force of his opponents' arguments more
than those on his own side of the House, and therefore his leadership
wanted decision; but the sessions of 1877 and 1878 were passed through
without any defeat compelling a premature dissolution.
The Liberal Ministries from 1874 to 1878 had been fertile in
legislation, but after the retirement of Mr. Macalister they were
badly led, Mr. Griffith, who attained the Attorney-Generalship at the
age of twenty-nine, having been unwisely kept in the background on the
plea of political immaturity. It was evident, however, that chiefly to
him the passage of all important measures of legislation had been due.
The colony suffered severely from drought during the years 1876-7-8;
financial depression was the inevitable result, and, as usual under
such circumstances, the Government lost popularity.
In November, 1878, the general election resulted in the return of
a House determined to effect a change of Administration. On the
new Parliament assembling in January, 1879, Ministers were at once
defeated, and Mr. McIlwraith was sent for by the Governor. He met
Parliament a few days afterwards with colleagues representing all
parts of the colony, and obtained a four months' recess in which to
mature his policy. On Parliament reassembling in mid-May, however, the
position of the Government was less strong than had been anticipated.
During the recess they had been retrenching sharply, and a number
of dismissals from the Ipswich railway workshops were declared to be
tainted with partizanship. At no time in the first session, in a test
division, did the Government sit with a majority of more than six, and
usually they commanded only two or three. The Opposition, led by
Mr. Griffith, were always at their posts, and the Government were
frequently on the verge of defeat. The passing of a Three-million
Loan Act and of the Divisional Boards Act, however, strengthened the
Government's position, and in the following session the Torres Strait
mail contract, making Brisbane the Australian terminus, though opposed
by stonewalling measures for six consecutive weeks, added to their
popularity.
In the session of 1880 grave accusations were made against the Premier
by Mr. Hemmant, who had taken up his residence in England. Mr.
Hemmant presented a petition to Parliament charging the Premier with
complicity in certain transactions connected with the purchase of a
large quantity of steel rails for the Government which had involved
Queensland in a heavy loss. The matter was referred to a select
committee, on whose recommendation a Royal Commission was appointed
to take evidence in England. Mr. Griffith visited London during the
recess, and acted as honorary counsel for Mr. Hemmant. The Commission
exonerated the Premier, but a great deal of party animosity was
engendered, which did not die out for several years.
In 1883 Sir Thomas McIlwraith ordered the British flag to be hoisted
at Port Moresby, in Eastern New Guinea, annexing to the Empire that
portion of Papua not already claimed by the Dutch, an act which showed
true statesmanship and prophetic vision. Unfortunately, the Secretary
of State for the Colonies, Earl Derby, repudiated the annexation on
the ground that it was a usurpation of the sovereign rights of the
Imperial authorities. At the same time he acknowledged the patriotic
motives which had inspired the Premier of Queensland, and declared
that the British Government would regard any attempt at annexation by
a foreign Power as an unfriendly act. Whatever may have been the views
of political parties at the time, matured judgment formed in the light
of subsequent events endorses the action of Sir Thomas. The hoisting
of the German flag on the northern portion of the territory annexed
by Sir Thomas has brought a foreign Power almost to our doors, and too
late the home Government endeavoured as far as possible to retrieve
their blunder by annexing the south-eastern portion of Papua, which
was handed over to the Commonwealth after federation.
In the same year, the Premier, who had for many years been a strong
advocate of railway construction by private enterprise on the
land-grant principle, brought forward a bill authorising the
construction of what was commonly called the Transcontinental Railway,
from Charleville to Point Parker, on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Against
this proposal great popular clamour arose; the majority of the
squatting members of the Assembly combined with the Opposition, and
the second reading of the bill was negatived by 27 votes to 16. Sir
Thomas McIlwraith, rightly regarding the rejection of the measure as
equivalent to a vote of want of confidence, advised the Administrator
of the Government, Sir J. P. Bell, to dissolve the Assembly. His
Excellency accepted the advice, and the Premier asked for five
months' Supply. Mr. Griffith, the greatest constitutional authority
in Queensland, approved of the decision of the Administrator of the
Government, only objecting to Supply being given for such a length of
time. However, the House, by 24 to 19, agreed to pass the Supply asked
for, and the dissolution took place in the middle of July.
[Illustration: EXECUTIVE BUILDINGS, BRISBANE]
The Opposition, led by Mr. Griffith, were returned with a large
majority. Being defeated on the election of a Speaker and in two
subsequent divisions, the Government resigned. Mr. Griffith was sent
for, and formed a strong Administration. Parliament adjourned from
November to January, when some pressing legislation was passed at
once, including the repeal of the Railway Companies Preliminary Act,
under which proposals were made by railway syndicates. On 6th March
Parliament was prorogued until 8th July.
The Premier had chosen as his Lands Minister Mr. Charles Boydell
Dutton, a Liberal Barcoo squatter, with no previous experience of
parliamentary life, but a determined land reformer. With the Premier's
aid Mr. Dutton got the Land Act of 1884 safely through, and the
Government secured credit for passing a most important measure of
reform, one important change being the introduction of grazing farm
leases, and another the resumption of the halves of all runs included
in a comprehensive schedule of the unsettled districts. But the
historical measure of the session and the decade was the Ten-million
Loan Bill, which embodied a grand scheme for providing the entire
colony with railways. The Opposition protested against the loan as
unconstitutional on the ground that it covered a programme of railway
construction which could not be completed for several years, but they
dared not oppose any specific railway, and the bill passed without
amendment. Sir Thomas McIlwraith retired from the Assembly in 1886,
and during the whole life of the Parliament the Opposition found
themselves helpless to resist the domination of the Ministry. But as
the Administration aged its political force waned, and in 1887
the Treasurer, Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. R. Dickson, and Mr.
Macdonald-Paterson retired from the Ministry because of their
disagreement with a land tax proposed in Cabinet by the Premier.
Despite the large loan expenditure, too, there was a portentous
succession of deficits, due to unfavourable seasons, and Sir Samuel
Griffith found in 1887 that his Government and party had outlived
their popularity.
Like his great rival, Sir Samuel gave abundant proof during his
tenure of office of broad statesmanlike conceptions. No public man in
Australia has done more to foster the federal spirit and bring about
the union of the Australian colonies. He played a foremost part in
creating the Federal Council, and to him is due the credit of drafting
in 1887 the measure which was passed by all the colonial Parliaments
granting a subsidy to an auxiliary Australasian naval squadron,
although parliamentary vicissitudes robbed him of the honour of
passing the bill in his own State until 1891. He is also entitled to
the credit of making provision for the administration of British New
Guinea by Queensland.
In April, 1888, Parliament was dissolved, and when the new Parliament
met in June the enfeebled Griffith Government were promptly ejected
from office. Sir Thomas McIlwraith came in with a strong following,
and he at once formed a Ministry which seemed likely to endure for
several years. But at the close of the first session Sir Thomas
retired from the Premiership with a view to visiting England on
business. Mr. Boyd Dunlop Morehead then succeeded to the leadership.
In September, 1889, Sir Thomas McIlwraith resigned his seat in the
Ministry, and the following session he appeared in the Assembly as an
open opponent of his late colleagues. To make provision for a revenue
deficit, the Government brought down a proposal for a general property
tax. This quickly brought Sir Thomas McIlwraith into concerted action
with Sir Samuel Griffith, then leading the Opposition, and caused the
resignation of the Ministry in August, 1890. Almost immediately the
Griffith-McIlwraith Ministry was announced. A year or two earlier such
a fusion of parties would have been deemed impossible, but the two
leaders had fought away their mutual differences, and the financial
outlook was so alarming that the coalition was generally admitted to
be imperative. The new Government carried many important measures, and
effected material improvement in the finances.
In March, 1893, just before the banking catastrophe occurred, Sir
Samuel Griffith accepted the Chief Justiceship, and Sir Thomas
McIlwraith assumed the Premiership. A dissolution followed, the
Government securing a commanding majority in the new Assembly. But
the Premier's health failed, and in October following his Ministry
was merged into that of Mr. (afterwards Sir) Hugh Nelson. Sir
Thomas retained office without portfolio until March, 1895, when his
connection with the Government ceased, though he retained his seat as
a member of the House until the dissolution in 1896. After resigning
office he left the colony, and died in England on 17th July, 1900.
The new Premier proved a most capable financier, and although the
depression in financial, commercial, and industrial affairs continued
with great intensity he turned successive deficits into annual
surpluses, and was soon enabled to negotiate loans in the London money
market on unprecedently favourable terms. In April, 1898, Sir Hugh
Nelson resigned Ministerial office and accepted the President's chair
in the Legislative Council, that post having just become vacant by the
death of Sir Arthur Palmer. Mr. Thomas Joseph Byrnes succeeded to the
Premiership, and with Mr. Robert Philp as Treasurer it appeared as
though the reconstructed Government had before it a life of several
years. Five months afterwards, however, the young, brilliant, and
much-esteemed Premier was removed by death, and Mr. Dickson was
called to the Premiership. Fifteen months later the Dickson Government
suffered defeat, and resigned office.
Mr. Anderson Dawson, the Labour leader in the Assembly, being sent
for, assumed the Premiership with six other Labour colleagues, but was
defeated immediately he met Parliament a few days later, and resigned.
He was succeeded by Mr. Philp, who assumed office on 7th December,
1899. There had been a drought in most parts of the West for a year
or two previously, but wool prices were high, and better seasons were
anticipated. The country had almost recovered from the blow sustained
in 1893. Federation threatened some loss of revenue, but compensation
was looked for in the enhanced prosperity resulting from interstate
free trade. But for the two first years of the twentieth century there
was everywhere in the State a very deficient rainfall, and in most
inland parts absolute droughts. The double loss to the Treasury
through Federation and parsimonious Nature was very serious. Mr.
Philp made reductions in public service expenditure, but kept loan
expenditure at the normal level, sanguine that when the change
came there would be a swift recovery, and hesitating to add to the
depression by suspending the construction of railways and other
public works. Though by the end of June, 1903, the accumulated deficit
exceeded a million sterling, and the general election of 1902 had
given the Government a rather diminished majority, there appeared to
be no apprehension of a crisis even when Parliament met for its second
session in July, 1903. But the weight of successive deficits and the
protracted tenure of the "Continuous Ministry" inspired a general
desire for change; and, in September, Mr. Philp suddenly found himself
without adequate support as the result of a number of influential
Government supporters joining forces with the members of the Labour
party.
A new Ministry was at once formed, the Speaker, Mr. Arthur Morgan,
resigning the chair and assuming the Premiership, Mr. William Kidston
joining him as Treasurer. With a policy of retrenchment and reform
the new Administration entered upon its career sustained by a strong
backing of public opinion. Retrenchment had already been initiated
by the late Government, and it was continued by Mr. Morgan and his
colleagues. The bottom of the depression having been touched with
the break-up of the drought, the financial year 1903-4 closed with
a merely nominal deficit. In the next session, which opened in May,
1904, the Government encountered so much opposition that a dissolution
was granted in July. So strongly were the constituencies in favour of
the retention of office by Ministers that their party numbered 55 in
a House of 72 when the new Parliament met in September, and the
Government in that and the three following sessions were accordingly
able to carry many of their measures of reform.
In January, 1906, the death of Sir Hugh Nelson created a vacancy in
the Presidency of the Legislative Council. The Premier, who had earned
a reputation during his four years' occupancy of the Speaker's
chair for an intimate and comprehensive knowledge of parliamentary
procedure, was generally designated as peculiarly fitted to succeed to
the position of President; and, having resigned both the Premiership
and his seat as a member of the Assembly, he was translated to the
Legislative Council.
Mr. Kidston then became Premier. On the 11th of April, 1907, the
Assembly's term having almost expired by effluxion of time, a
dissolution took place, and a general election followed. The two chief
objects for which the coalition between Liberals and Labour members
had been brought about in 1903--sound financial administration and
electoral reform--having been secured, disintegration had commenced to
set in in the Government ranks. On the one hand some of the Liberals
were desirous of reunion with their former associates led by Mr.
Philp, and on the other the more extreme section of the Labour party
adopted a socialistic platform, thereby causing their more moderate
colleagues who followed Mr. Kidston to break with them before the
election. The respective manifestoes of the Premier and the leader of
the Opposition, issued some weeks before the dissolution, were found
to embody practically the same policy in so far as vital measures of
legislation were concerned. Both emphasised the necessity of having
in office a Ministry possessing the steadfast support of a united
following if full effect were to be given to their programme. The
result was disappointing, for when the new House met in July the Philp
party numbered 29, the Government party 25, and the Labour party
18. After a fight over the choice of the Speaker and Chairman
of Committees, the Labour members gave a general support to the
Government, but comparatively little progress could be made in
consequence of the uncertainty of that support. The Legislative
Council rejected several measures which both the Government and the
Labour party were very anxious to see placed on the Statute-book. With
a view to taking concerted action to overcome the veto of the Council
on democratic legislation, Mr. Kidston made overtures to the Labour
party for an offensive and defensive alliance in Parliament and at
the polls. The Labour party replied that they were unable to give any
assurance on the subject. Mr. Kidston then advised His Excellency,
Lord Chelmsford, to recognise the principle that there resided in the
Crown the power to nominate to the Legislative Council such a number
of new members as might be required to overcome obstruction, and that
the power should be exercised if, in the opinion of His Excellency's
responsible advisers, such a course became necessary. The Governor
declined to accept this advice, and the Premier resigned on 12th
November.
[Illustration: ROCKHAMPTON 1. Quay Street, from the North Side.
2. Custom House, Quay Street. 3. East Street.]
Mr. Philp, being sent for by His Excellency, formed a Ministry,
which was at once met in the Assembly by successive votes of want
of confidence, the members of the Labour party uniting with the late
Ministerialists in the divisions. A dissolution was granted, even
though the House refused to vote Supply to the Government, and early
in the new year (1908) a general election took place, Mr. Philp losing
four seats, the Labour party gaining that number, while the Kidston
party were again returned with the same following. The effect was that
the Philp and Kidston parties each numbered 25 and the Labour members
22. As the two latter parties had in most cases assisted one another
at the elections, the Philp Government resigned, and Mr. Kidston being
recalled found his position practically unchanged, so far as relative
numbers were concerned, and yet greatly strengthened as regards the
constitutional reform he desired to effect. A short session was at
once held. A reform of the Constitution limiting the vetoing power of
the Legislative Council by providing for a referendum on any measure
which the Council rejected twice, and also a number of democratic
measures rejected by the Council in the two preceding sessions, were
passed with the aid of the Labour party. When, however, the Government
turned to legislation affecting the material progress of the State,
and introduced two bills to authorise the construction of railways to
mineral fields (to Mount Elliott in the Cloncurry copper area and to
Lawn Hills in the Gulf district) on agreements made with two private
companies who undertook to provide in one case one-half and in the
other case three-fourths of the capital required, despite the fact
that the railways were to be constructed, worked, and managed by the
Railway Commissioner, that the companies were to receive no interest
on the money they advanced until the railways earned it, and that
when at the end of fifteen years the Government repaid the advance the
companies were only to receive a sum equal to what their investment
was then earning capitalised at 3½ per cent., the bills were
obstructed by the Labour party, and were only passed with the
assistance of the Philp party, under the closure, the Estimates being
forced through by the same means at the close of the session. Before
leaving on a mission to England, Mr. Kidston publicly intimated that
he could no longer work with the Labour party. He returned in
October, and the Philp party, recognising the mischievous futility of
three-party government, agreed to accept the programme enunciated
by Mr. Kidston at the election in 1907, and to join the Ministerial
party, the Premier being granted a free hand, both by his colleagues
and followers, in reconstructing the Government.
The fusion of the two parties led to the immediate resignation of
two Ministers and the formation of an Independent Opposition by
these gentlemen and four more seceders from the Kidston party. A
reconstruction of the Cabinet followed, three members of the Philp
party taking office under Mr. Kidston. Mr. Philp declined to accept
a portfolio, but undertook to give the new Government support as
an unofficial member of the Assembly, an undertaking most loyally
observed. Dissatisfaction was naturally felt by several members at the
composition of the Cabinet, and when Parliament met on 17th November
it was evident that the fusion had not had the desired effect of
reducing the number of parties to two. On the Opposition side of the
Chamber were the Labour party in direct opposition and the Independent
Opposition of six sitting on the cross-benches, while on the
Government back cross-benches were three or four members who joined
forces with the Opposition in every division. The cohesive majority
was still large enough to enable the Government to pass several
railways, two or three bills, and the Estimates; but, unfortunately,
it was found necessary to have recourse again to the closure to get
the Estimates through the House before Christmas.
Further defections took place during the recess. The sudden death of
the Speaker, Mr. John Leahy, and the election for Bulloo of a Labour
member in his stead, reduced the Government majority to two. Such a
condition of affairs rendered it impossible for any party in the House
to carry on public business. A trial of strength took place over the
election of a Speaker when the House met on 29th June, the Government
having a majority of two. Two days later Mr. Bowman, the leader of the
Labour party, moved a want of confidence amendment on the Address in
Reply. A very protracted and acrimonious debate took place, and
the motion was only defeated by a majority of one in a full House.
Arrangements had been made earlier in the year for the holding of a
conference of Commonwealth and State Premiers and Treasurers with
a view to making a final effort to arrive at a mutual understanding
regarding the financial relations of the Commonwealth and the States
after the expiry of the ten-year period provided for by section 87 of
the Commonwealth Constitution. As it was considered highly important
that Queensland should be represented at this Conference, which was
to be held in mid-August, the Government secured an adjournment for a
fortnight, but only by applying the closure.
The Conference came to a unanimous agreement with regard to the future
division of the surplus Customs and Excise revenue, justifying the
determination of the Government of this State to be represented. But
the efforts of the Opposition to defeat the proposal of the Government
to adjourn furnished additional evidence, if any were needed, that no
business could be done in a House so evenly divided. When the Premier
returned from the Conference, which had been held in Melbourne, after
consultation with his party, he advised the Lieutenant-Governor to
dissolve the Assembly, provided it agreed to grant temporary Supply.
His Excellency accepted Mr. Kidston's advice, but stipulated that the
Supply must be for the shortest time in which it was possible to hold
an election and summon the new Parliament. After another fight, the
Government closured through an Appropriation Bill covering Supply for
ten weeks, and the House was dissolved on 31st August, the election
being fixed for 2nd October.
The result of the appeal to the country has been to bring about a
practical restoration of two-party government, an ideal for which the
Ministerialists have been striving ever since the session of 1906.
The Government have won 41 seats and the Labour party 27, while the
Independent Opposition, which went out 12 strong, have been reduced
to 4. The Government have thus a majority of ten over the combined
Opposition parties, and should be able to carry to a successful
issue their policy of railway construction, immigration, and land
settlement, and to steer the State through the temporary difficulties
arising from the pending rearrangement of the financial relations
between the Commonwealth and the component States.
It may be of interest to add that the last was the seventeenth
Parliament of Queensland, which gives to each an average of about
three years, the present maximum statutory term of the Legislative
Assembly. The explanation is, of course, that in the earlier years
of the colony the limit of the Assembly life-term was five years.
As already stated, the Legislative Council when first constituted
comprised 15 members. Since then the number has been periodically
increased to correspond with the enlargement of the other Chamber. The
present number of members of the Council is 44. Until 1865 the number
of members of the Assembly was 26; thence till 1873 it was 32;
thence till 1875 it was 42, increased in 1875 by the creation of the
electorate of Cook to 43, at which number it remained until 1879, when
there were 55 members. In 1886 the number was increased to 59, and
in 1887 to 72, at which it still remains. Payment of members of the
Assembly was first sanctioned in 1886 by an allowance of two guineas
a day for attendance, and 1s. 6d. a mile for travelling expenses, the
total in any one year for attendance not to exceed £200. In 1889 the
payment was fixed at £300 a year, with a mileage allowance for one
journey to and fro each session, unless where an adjournment exceeded
thirty days, when mileage was again payable. In 1892 the salary was
reduced to £150 a year. In 1896 it was again raised to £300, at
which amount it still remains. The members of the Legislative Council
receive no payment.
In the foregoing sketch of the Legislature of Queensland many
omissions will probably be detected by the careful reader. But as
a rule mention of the names of public men has had to be confined to
Premiers and such other Ministers or members to whom for some
usually apparent reason it is necessary to give prominence. Had space
permitted, many interesting character sketches of prominent men of the
past, as well as of the present, might have been written; and it must
not be forgotten that some of the services most worth recording have
been rendered by men whose names have not become household words, and
whose reward has been found in the lifelong consciousness that they
have unobtrusively done their duty to the State. Enough has probably
been said to prove that responsible government in Queensland,
initiated among a mere handful of people fifty years ago, and carried
on amidst discouraging difficulties until to-day, has been attended by
results of which no patriotic subject of the King need feel ashamed.
[Footnote a: An interesting incident occurred at the opening
of the second session. The Speaker announced the receipt of a
writ of election endorsing the return of the Right Honourable
John Bright as member for Kennedy. As Mr. Bright had not been
present during the preceding session--which had only lasted
from 26th April till 4th May--the seat was declared vacant.
This was not the first instance of an Australian constituency
voluntarily disfranchising itself by electing a prominent
British statesman by way of protest against some real or
fancied injustice.]
[Illustration: TOWNSVILLE: FLINDERS STREET, LOOKING WEST]
CHAPTER II.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1859-1884).
Importance of Sound Finance.--A Great Colony Starts upon
a Bank Overdraft.--First Year's Revenue.--Land Sales as
Revenue.--Deficits in First Decade.--Transfer of Loan
Moneys to Revenue to Balance Accounts.--Heavy Public Works
Expenditure.--Crisis of 1866.--Inconvertible Paper Currency
Proposals.--Flotation of Treasury Bills.--Higher Customs
Duties.--Wiping Out a Deficit by Issue of Debentures.
--Transfer of Surplus to Surplus Revenue Account to Recoup
Loan Fund.--Incidental Protection.--Railway Land Reserves.
--Proceeds Used as Ordinary Revenue.--Three-million Loan.
--Condition of Affairs at Close of First Quarter-Century.
--Phenomenal Progress; Prospects Bright.
Sound finance is the sheet anchor of any Government, whether despotic
or democratic. Without a prudent guiding hand at the Treasury the ship
of State might as well be rudderless. In the fifty years of Queensland
history financial mistakes have been made, from which much public loss
as well as individual suffering has resulted. If those mistakes, or
some of them, are laid bare in this book, the object is not to reflect
upon Governments or individual Ministers, but to treasure the lessons
thus taught for future use.
Queensland began its career with a bank overdraft, for with "7½d.
in the Treasury" on the date of the Queen's proclamation of the
colony it was necessary to provide funds in anticipation of revenue
collections. But at the outset borrowing was indulged in on a modest
scale. For 1860 the revenue was £178,589, and the deficit only £1,514.
For the second year there was a revenue surplus of £2,442 over the
expenditure of £235,796. But there had been during the period an
outlay of £63,210 on loan account. Besides this, of the total revenue
for the two-year period--including the twenty-one days of 1859--the
cash receipts from land sales, which strict political economists
hold to be capital, were £114,803, equal to 27 per cent. of the total
revenue. It may be assumed that the loan expenditure was entirely for
permanent or reproductive works; but only 73 per cent. of the money
spent for the service of the year was strictly revenue, the remainder
arising from land sales. Yet as New South Wales practice had lent
sanction to the use of land sales receipts as revenue, the Treasurer
(Mr. R. R. Mackenzie) may be admitted to have managed well, since at
the outset the estimates of revenue and expenditure were both wholly
conjectural. Mr. Mackenzie's successors were less fortunate; for
during the first decade, although the annual revenue had quadrupled,
there were only two years with surpluses.
There was another scarcely defensible transaction during the first ten
years' term. In 1864 the Treasurer, finding he would otherwise have
a relatively heavy deficit, balanced his budget by transferring from
Loan Fund to Revenue the total expenditure incurred upon immigration
since the foundation of the colony. In that year the loan outlay was
£401,421, including the transfer to revenue, an increase of £337,950
in a single year. Thus the loan expenditure was at the rate of about
£5 10s. per head of the population as ascertained by the census of the
year. The deficit of 1864 seems less excusable because the revenue had
increased by over 25 per cent. for the year. The incident illustrates
the danger of suddenly increasing loan expenditure, which produces
industrial and commercial activity, but at once adds to the cost of
public administration in various ways. Loan money spent on the same
scale per capita in Queensland to-day as in 1864 would mean a total
sum of about £3,000,000 a year, whereas, even with the numerous
railways lately started, the loan disbursements for 1908-9 did not
quite reach 1¼ millions. Another consideration is that up to 1865 none
of the loan works had become reproductive, and the 21¼ miles of
railway then open for traffic did not earn working expenses. Further,
the Government had been borrowing at 6 per cent. interest, which meant
that the 1¼ millions of loan indebtedness at the end of 1865 imposed a
burden upon the taxpayers of about £75,000 a year, or not far from £1
per head of the population.
In 1866, the time of the great crisis, the revenue expenditure
increased by £241,690, creating a deficit of £200,653 for the year.
The loan expenditure for the year was £965,346, bringing the total
debt up to £2,214,123, equal to over £23 per head of the population.
The total expenditure for the year, including loan, reached nearly £17
per head. It is not surprising that a mere handful of people,
plunging into debt at that reckless speed, found their credit suddenly
shattered. In 1869, the last year of the decade, though the revenue
had advanced to nearly three-quarters of a million, there was a
deficit for the year of £37,217. For the ten years the net accumulated
revenue deficit was £386,527, and the aggregate indebtedness nearly
3¼ millions. The interest charge was then about £225,000 per annum,
and the entire weight of it fell upon consolidated revenue. The
population being 109,897, the interest burden was at the rate of over
£2 per head. It may here be remarked that in 1907-8 it was only
£2 16s. 9d. per head, less railway net earnings of about £1 12s.,
reducing the net burden to about £1 5s. per head. Recurring to the
debacle of 1866, it should be mentioned that the catastrophe was
largely due to the failure of the Agra Bank, when all railway works
were suddenly suspended, and the colony was plunged into the depths
of extreme depression. During the two preceding years the loan
expenditure had been largely in excess of revenue disbursements, no
less than £685,246 of borrowed money having been spent in 1865. This
was at the rate of nearly £8 per head of the total population, and its
sudden cessation threatened thousands of the people of the colony with
ruin. For not only had their sources of income been suddenly cut off,
and landed property become almost valueless, but increased taxation
had to be imposed.
Yet the catastrophe was not wholly the fault of the Government. It was
the consequence of the monetary and commercial crisis in the mother
country in 1866. The Sydney branch of the Agra and Masterman's Bank
had engaged to furnish £50,000 monthly to the Queensland Government
for the prosecution of railways and other reproductive works pending
the negotiation of the loan authorised by Parliament. The bank was of
good standing, and under ordinary conditions its contract would have
amply secured the position of the Treasury. Its failure could not have
been foreseen; but the incident proves the unwisdom of a Government
leaning upon any banking institution for heavy advances which can
only be made on the assumption that normal deposits are maintained.
In Queensland the position was intensified by the proposal of the
Macalister Government to issue inconvertible legal tender notes,
because it gave countenance to the economic fallacy that any
Government can make money to an indefinable amount with the aid of the
printing press. The resignation of Ministers because their advice had
been refused by the Governor shook for the moment the very foundations
of authority; and had not Mr. Herbert's services been available on
the eve of his departure for England the consequences might have been
grave indeed. But he consented to take office without portfolio for
a few days with several other members, and, by getting authority
from Parliament to issue Treasury bills, he saved the country from
financial chaos. As it was, the ordeal proved a severe test of the
loyalty of the people of the colony.
On the establishment of Queensland a Customs tariff imposing light
revenue duties was inherited from New South Wales. Under it spirits
bore a duty of only 7s. per gallon. In 1865 the Treasurer, Mr.
(afterwards Sir) Joshua Peter Bell, introduced a bill to raise the
spirit duties by 3s. per gallon, and the duty on other intoxicants in
proportion. The bill passed the second reading without debate, for it
must have been felt that with the rapidly increasing interest charge
further taxation ought years before to have been imposed. After the
crisis of 1866 had subsided, further increased duties for temporary
purposes were passed, as were also stamp duties, so that the revenue
for the following year, despite the depression, showed the important
increment of about £120,000. Happily the Crocodile goldfield, near
Rockhampton, was discovered towards the close of 1866, and the Gympie
goldfield during the next succeeding year. Hence for the remainder
of the decade revenue, despite prolonged stagnation in business,
steadily, if not rapidly, increased.
In 1869 authority had been obtained from Parliament to liquidate the
accumulated deficits by the issue of Treasury bills for the sum
of £350,000, the increased duties of Customs imposed for temporary
purposes in 1866 being at the same time continued for twelve months.
In January, 1872, the Treasurer (Mr. Bell) referred in committee of
the Assembly to the accumulated deficit, stating that the Treasury
bills which had temporarily provided for it were falling due, and that
there was no hope of paying the amount out of revenue. He therefore
announced the intention of the Government to retire the bills and fund
the debt by issuing long-dated debentures. That having been done, the
effect was to produce a surplus for the year 1872 of £487,333. This
indicated that had the Government exhibited a little more confidence
the whole amount of the deficit might have been paid off out of
revenue; for in the next year, shortly before the Palmer Government
went out of office, a further surplus of £158,874 was realised. This
sum, with the excess surplus of £137,333 for the preceding year,
totalled £296,207, leaving only £53,793 short of the entire amount of
the Treasury bills. In the next year there would have been a surplus,
but the Macalister Ministry, which assumed office early in January,
1874--Mr. William Hemmant being Treasurer--carried £240,000 to a
surplus revenue account, and ended the year with a revenue deficit of
£200,762. While the revenue of that year only increased by £40,913,
the expenditure, in addition to the surplus revenue item, increased by
£160,550. The Macalister Ministry could not keep down expenditure,
and in 1875-6--the end of the financial year having been changed from
December to June--with a revenue slightly exceeding 1¼ millions, they
had a further deficit of £51,663. The same party continued in power
for a further two years under the leadership successively of Mr.
George Thorn and Mr. John Douglas. Revenue continued fairly elastic,
and the deficit period was followed by two years showing small
surpluses.
[Illustration: HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: THE NARROWS AND MOUNT LARCOMBE, NEAR GLADSTONE]
Early in 1879 the McIlwraith Ministry assumed office, at a time when,
as the Premier himself admitted in his Budget speech of 1880, the
colony was "emerging from a state of depression induced by three bad
seasons of an extraordinary character," so that the year 1878-9
closed with the considerable deficit of £216,808. This was partly due,
however, to the operation of the Western Railway Act and the Railway
Reserves Act, by which the most saleable land in the colony had been
included in railway reserves, and the proceeds of sales, instead of as
previously going into consolidated revenue, were placed to the credit
of a special fund. Mr. (afterwards Sir Thomas) McIlwraith while in
opposition had predicted that this course would produce a revenue
deficit; consequently on attaining office he induced Parliament
to sanction the transfer of all these sums, totalling £382,346,
to consolidated revenue. Mr. McIlwraith argued that it would be
impossible to construct a tithe of the railways needed in different
parts of the colony out of the proceeds of land sales, and that it
would be sufficient if the interest on railways, until they became
fully reproductive, were defrayed from that source. Parliament
accepted that view, and forthwith authorised a loan of 3 millions for
a comprehensive schedule of railways proposed by the Government in
1879-80. Between August, 1879, and May, 1883, loans amounting
to £5,553,000 were floated and a further sum of £1,233,000 was
authorised, but not placed on the market. During the McIlwraith
Administration of 1879-83 the revenue increased from rather less than
1½ millions to 2½ millions. The period was characterised by
two deficits and three surpluses, showing accumulated surpluses of
£272,412, without taking into account the sum of £382,346 transferred
to revenue. During these years the colony was prosperous, the
fair seasons, large loan expenditure, the establishment of the
British-India service _via_ Torres Strait, and the free introduction
of immigrants, all combining to push the country along the path
of progress; but prosperity had compelled a _pro rata_ increase of
expenditure.
At the end of the quarter-century in 1884 the public debt was
£16,570,850, on which the interest charge was £701,565. Of this amount
£9,417,318 expended on railways was earning £2 18s. per cent. The
length of lines open for traffic totalled 1,207 miles. The population
was 309,913. About £2,350,000 had been spent on immigration, of which
nearly a third of a million had come from revenue, £1,778,000 from
loan, and the rest from "special receipts"--partly contributions
from immigrants. The year's imports were of the declared value of
£6,381,976, and the exports £4,673,864. Joint stock bank assets
exceeded 11 millions, liabilities were nearly 7¾ millions, deposits
exceeded 6 millions, and savings bank deposits were over 1 million. Of
cattle there were 4¼ millions, of sheep less than 9½ millions, while
horses numbered 253,116. There were 6,979 miles of telegraph line
constructed. There were over 7 million acres of land alienated, which
had produced over 4¾ millions sterling of revenue. The value of
minerals won for the year was £1,325,624. There were 528 schools with
60,701 scholars, 5,185 subscribers to public libraries, and 60,257
volumes. Comparing these figures with those of 1860 it will be seen
that, despite droughts, floods, and financial crises, the progress
attained had been phenomenal.
Thus in a financial aspect the first quarter-century closed glowingly,
despite a severe Western drought in 1883. There had been rapid and
apparently solid progression, and the disasters of 1866, which seemed
at the time to threaten the solvency of Government and people alike,
had become an unpleasant memory--a catastrophe very unlikely to recur
for various reasons, among them being that the railways were beginning
greatly to facilitate transport, as well as to show considerable net
earnings; while instead of the Government borrowing at 6 per cent., as
formerly, money in abundance could be got at 3½ per cent. Moreover,
mortgage loans and bank overdrafts bore a greatly reduced rate of
interest.
CHAPTER III.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1884-1893).
The Ten-million Loan.--Ministers Practically Granted Control
of Five Years' Loan Money.--Vigorous Railway Policy.--Effect
of Over-spending.--Inflation of Values.--Increased Taxation.
--Succession of Deficits.--Second McIlwraith Ministry.
--A Protectionist Tariff.--Temporary Increase of Revenue.
--Heavy Contraction in 1890.--Another Big Loan; Failure of
Flotation.--The First Underwritten Australian Loan.
--Amended Audit Act Limiting Spending Power of Government.
At the end of 1883 the Griffith Ministry succeeded to office with a
strong following. It was early in March, 1884, that the Appropriation
and Loan Acts for 1883-4 became law, but the regular session of the
year did not begin until 7th July. It was in this session that the
Government introduced their colossal railway extension scheme, and
their famous "Ten-million Loan Act"--actually, however, the amount was
£9,980,000. This sum was to be spent during the following five years,
which meant that the members of the Assembly voted in a lump sum, and
on an unprecedented scale, the loan expenditure for the maximum term
of the Parliament. The effect was also to ensure the life of the
Ministry for the same term, as it was intended to expend about 2
millions sterling a year, or about £6 10s. per annum per head of
the population. This was equal to about three-fourths of the total
consolidated revenue for 1884.
The Ministry no doubt meant well, and their preparation of a schedule
of works to extend over five years was in the abstract commendable.
But the expenditure of so much loan money provoked inflation in
values, and led to unhealthy speculation in land. Although Ministers
did not in any one year quite reach their 2-million conventional
limit of loan outlay, the 10 millions were exhausted soon after their
retirement from office, and a further loan had to be authorised to
finish their uncompleted works. While such railways as the "Via Recta"
(Ipswich to Warwick) and the Cloncurry to the Gulf lines were both
on the 1884 loan schedule--the amount set down for each being
£500,000--they have never been even commenced to this day, a quarter
of a century since they were passed by the Assembly. Other lines then
authorised absorbed more than the amount voted, and necessarily had
afterwards to be completed to make them reproductive.
The revenue not proving as expansive as the necessities of the
Treasury required, an Act passed in 1885 imposed 5 per cent. ad
valorem duties upon most kinds of industrial machinery, increased the
spirit duties to 12s. per gallon, and levied upon log and undressed
timber a duty of 1s. per 100 feet superficial and upon dressed timber
of 1s. 6d. per 100 feet. In the following year the ad valorem duties
were increased to 7½ per cent., except as to machinery, which
remained at 5 per cent.; but small levies like these were as drops in
the bucket by comparison with the constantly expanding needs of the
Treasurer.
The 10-million loan schedule did not exhaust the list of what were
deemed necessary works. In 1886 a special Act was passed appropriating
£123,000, to be raised by Treasury bills having a term of five
years, for the duplication of the Brisbane-Ipswich railway, and the
completion of the lines from Mackay to Eton and Hamilton, and from
Ravenswood Junction to Ravenswood, respectively. In the year following
an Act was passed authorising the issue of further Treasury bills
amounting to £349,834 for the construction of eight small lines, and
the extension of the Brisbane and Southport line, with a branch to
Beaudesert, thus bringing the railways and works loan schedule of the
Griffith Ministry up to £10,452,834.
By the advent of the financial year 1888-9, most intelligent public
men felt gravely disturbed. The bank deposits, which had been trebled
in a decade, had to earn interest on the additional 7 millions of
money held and advanced. When the Griffith Ministry retired from
office in June, 1888, they had recorded four successive annual
deficits aggregating £968,313, although between 1884-5 and 1887-8 the
revenue had increased by £456,861, and there had been spent over 1¾
millions of loan money per annum in addition. During the year 1888-9,
after Sir Thomas McIlwraith assumed office, the expenditure increased
by £128,922, but he obtained a revenue increase of about £437,000.
This increase chiefly arose from the heavier duties levied under the
protectionist Customs tariff of 1888; but in 1889-90 there was an
almost equivalent shrinkage in both Customs and total revenue. Bad
times partly accounted for the subsequent inelasticity of Customs
receipts, for not until 1895-6 were the total revenue figures of
1888-9 again touched.
The year 1889-90 was characterised by a deficit of £483,979, for the
drop of £402,857 in revenue and the increase of £197,969 in
expenditure dislocated the finances, and caused the retirement of the
Morehead Government after an ineffectual attempt to impose a general
tax of 5 per cent. on all property, both real and personal. The
coalition Griffith-McIlwraith Administration followed, but could not
in such a time of value shrinkages materially increase revenue, while
expenditure was thought to be irreducible. Despite a Loan Act for 1½
millions passed in 1888-9, to provide for works temporarily met by
floating Treasury bills during the two preceding years, another large
loan was authorised in 1890, its total being nearly 3¾ millions
sterling. This money was needed to retire debentures maturing on 1st
July, 1891, amounting to £1,170,950, and no less than £422,850
deficiency loss on the loans of 1882, 1884, and 1889, thus leaving
little more than 2 millions for railway and harbour works. This 3¾
million Loan Act did not receive the Royal assent until December,
1890, and the stock was issued a few months later at a most
unfortunate time. The monetary tension which culminated in 1893 was
already felt in the London market, and the credit of Queensland had
become much impaired by the fact that during the preceding decade
(1880-81 to 1889-90) the colony's obligations had increased by
£16,706,834, bringing the funded public debt up to £28,105,684--nearly
£70 per head of the population--while railway net earnings were
steadily dwindling.
[Illustration: BARRON GORGE, BELOW THE FALLS, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
The cable soon flashed the unwelcome news that only £1,554,834 was
subscribed. After some difficulty a Stock Exchange syndicate was
formed to underwrite £1,182,400 of the balance, the price realised for
the whole amount taken up averaging £87 6s. 1d. per £100 of 3½ per
cent. stock. Thus the net proceeds of the loan of £3,704,800 were only
£3,234,376, a depreciation loss of £470,424. The interest charge on
this new loan was £129,668; so that the interest, while nominally
3½ per cent., was really just 4 per cent. on the money received,
and, in addition, at due date (1930), £470,424 depreciation will have
to be made good. But the tragedy did not end there, for the money
borrowed, or the greater part of it, had not reached the Treasury
in 1893, but ranked among the "suspended bank deposits" which then
paralysed both Government and private depositors.
That the time chosen for going on the money market was not opportune
may be gathered from the fact that in 1889 Queensland 3½ per cent.
stock had brought £96 0s. 11d. per £100, and in 1894--three years
after the forced sale at £87 6s. 1d. in 1891--an issue of our stock
of the same denomination brought £98 14s. 0¼d. per £100. It may be
noted that the Queensland loan of 1890-91 was the first underwritten
Government loan issued by an Australian colony, though since that time
all Government loans have been underwritten. Heavy as our sacrifice
in 1891 may have been, it was infinitely less disastrous than making
default must have proved; and perhaps after all the experience gained
was worth its cost, for, although the colony staggered under the blow,
its progress was checked only for the time.
In 1890 an amending Audit Act was passed--Sir Thomas McIlwraith being
then Treasurer--section 4 of which made the important provision that
it should not be lawful for the Colonial Treasurer to expend any
moneys standing to the credit of the Loan Fund Account except under
the authority of an annual or special Appropriation Act, in like
manner as moneys were expended out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
for the current expenses of government. By section 6 it was provided
that, when it was necessary to expend for any work money in excess
of the appropriation, then, if such sum were included in any
Appropriation Act, the Governor in Council might authorise the
additional expenditure from the Loan Fund. By section 8, annual Loan
Estimates, specifying the nature of the work proposed, were to be
submitted, as in the case of the Estimates of ordinary expenditure.
This Act was passed to avoid the evil of placing large amounts of
borrowed money at the uncontrolled disposal of the Ministry of the
day.
CHAPTER IV.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1893-1898).
Sir Hugh Nelson at the Treasury.--Credit of Colony Restored.
--Assistance to Financial Institutions and Primary Industries.
--Savings Bank Stock Act.--Public Debt Reduction Fund.
--Treasurer's Cautious and Prudent Administration.--Money
Obtained in London at a Record Price.
When the banking crisis occurred in 1893, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Hugh
Nelson, who had previously held office with distinction as Railway
Minister for about two years, reluctantly took charge of the
embarrassed Treasury. Entering Parliament after the general election
in 1883, he had from the first given evidence of more than common
knowledge of public finance. Mr. Nelson was an exceedingly modest man,
and an indifferent public speaker at best; but he possessed courage,
thoroughness, and scholarly knowledge. In public matters he always
aimed at taking the line of least resistance; but knowing what he knew
in March, 1893, his assumption of office as Treasurer must be regarded
as an act of heroism dictated by regard for the public welfare.
Quietly and unobtrusively he worked, refusing all invitations
to appear on public platforms, and while affecting contempt for
politicians who constantly apostrophised "the people," he determined
to set the affairs of the colony straight. Revenue at that time had
almost touched bottom, and was very inelastic; and Mr. Nelson followed
the example of his immediate predecessor in keeping a tight hand upon
expenditure. For 1892-3 there had been a reduction of outlay of about
£70,000 only, as compared with the preceding year, the June deficit
having been reduced to £111,676; but in the next year he realised
rather less revenue, yet reduced expenditure by £206,000, closing the
year with a small deficit of £8,467. As this was the time in which
most commercial and financial disaster was suffered from the crisis,
this economy was a feat worth accomplishing, although the drastic
reduction of expenditure tended to aggravate the crisis by delaying
the restoration of confidence. After 1893-4 followed six surpluses.
In the midst of the bank reconstructions of 1893 there had been a
general election, and Parliament met on 25th May. Between then
and 18th October, 1893, Mr. Nelson, as Treasurer in the McIlwraith
Ministry, passed those financial measures which were the greatest
achievements of his career. An unpopular measure was his Civil Service
Special Retrenchment Act, but it was imperative, and civil servants
were indeed fortunate, when so large a number of their friends
in private life were left destitute, in being able to draw their
diminished salaries month by month. The Queensland National Bank
Limited Agreement Act enabled that institution to resume business,
though the public sacrifice was great. Acts were also passed for
encouraging meat and dairy works; for advancing guaranteed loans by
the Treasury to sugar works companies; for Treasury advances upon the
notes of suspended joint stock banks; for the issue of Treasury notes,
made legal tender throughout the colony save by the Treasury; and
for the imposition of a yearly tax of 10 per cent. on notes issued
by banks. In the same session was passed an Act for giving relief to
public depositors, such as treasurers of hospitals and other public
institutions, by making Treasury advances upon the amount of their
locked-up deposits.
Another important measure of this period was the Government Savings
Bank Stock Act of 1894, under which any savings bank depositor may
exchange his deposit for £10, or any multiple thereof, of Government
stock redeemable in 1945, and bearing not more than 3½ per cent.
interest. In 1897 the amount of such stock issuable was increased
from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000. The object of this measure was to give
depositors the opportunity of making investments in small amounts of
Government stock, for which there would always be a buoyant market in
the event of cash being required; and also to safeguard the Treasury
by reducing the amount of money held on account of savings bank
deposits repayable at call. In 1897 the total deposits did not exceed
2½ millions; to-day they total over 5 millions. It is therefore
satisfactory to note that the Treasurer (Mr. Hawthorn) early in the
current year made arrangements for enlarging the sale of savings bank
stock in the manner intended by the author of the Act.
In 1895 Mr. Nelson passed the amended Audit Act under which, if it
appears by the Treasurer's annual statement that there is a surplus of
receipts for any financial year, the money shall, before the 31st
day of December following, be paid to the trustees of the Public Debt
Reduction Fund created by the Act, and by them applied, first to the
purchase of Treasury bills, and then to the purchase of inscribed
stock at the current market price, stock so purchased to be cancelled.
As a Treasurer with a deficit is bound to make provision for its
liquidation at the end of a financial year, the effect of the Act
has been to start every year with a clean sheet. By this practice an
ingenious Treasurer is deprived of the opportunity of juggling with
accumulated surpluses.
[Illustration: ON THE ROAD TO MARKET, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: FAT CATTLE, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
In April, 1898, when Sir Hugh Nelson retired from active politics, he
had just completed five years' service as Treasurer. During that time
he had gone to the London money market only twice, and had issued
stock to the amount of only 3¾ millions. Of that sum, moreover, the
2 millions asked for in 1894 was for retiring Treasury bills, and for
the liquidation of the deficit on account of previously issued loans.
In 1896 the Loan Act totalled £2,324,480, though it was not all placed
by Sir Hugh Nelson. It provided for further railway extensions, and
included half a million sterling for loans in terms of the Local Works
Loans Act under the Sugar Works Guarantee Act; £600,000 was applied to
the purchase at par of savings bank stock for cancellation, only 1½
millions being placed on the London market. Of these two loans issued
subsequent to the 1893 crisis, the first, bearing 3½ per cent.
interest, realised £98 14s. 0¼d. net per £100 of stock, and the other,
floated in 1897, bearing 3 per cent., brought £95 15s. 10¾d., the
record price for money obtained by the issue of Queensland Government
stock in London.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1898-1903).
The Philp Ministry.--Large Surplus.--Loan Acts for Seven and
a-half Millions Sterling.--Drought Disasters and Sacrifices
for Federation.--Accumulated Revenue Deficits of over
£1,000,000.--Rebuff on London Stock Exchange.--Resignation of
Philp Ministry.
When Mr. Philp took charge of the Treasury in March, 1898, the credit
of the colony appeared to have been fully restored. True, the funded
public debt had grown to 33½ millions, but the population had also
increased to 484,700, so that the public debt proper was slightly more
than £69 per head. The year 1897-8 closed with the small surplus of
£20,724 at the Treasury, and revenue was steadily improving. In June,
1899, Mr. Philp had the largest surplus realised for seventeen years,
nearly £150,000, but then an era of drought began. Still revenue
continued to advance until the establishment of federation in 1901,
when financial trouble was accentuated. The year 1899-1900 had shown a
small surplus of £47,789, to be followed by three successive deficits
aggregating £1,151,469. Mr. Philp, an old colonist, an experienced
business man, and with a full knowledge of its varied resources, had
unbounded confidence in the future of the State. Soon after he became
Premier at the close of 1899, he essayed a bold public works policy,
and during his first three years of office he induced Parliament to
sanction the borrowing of nearly 7½ millions sterling. But he did not
issue the whole of the last 2¼ millions. Owing principally to the
South African war, colonial stocks were not high in favour in 1900,
and the Queensland Government, acting on the best advice, decided to
call for tenders for the £1,400,000 of 3 per cent. stock placed on
the English money market in July of that year. The loan only realised
£91 5s. 1½d. per cent., about the same price that was obtained by New
South Wales and West Australia in the same year. Of the balance of
the loan, £900,000 was taken up in Queensland by the trustees of the
Government Savings Bank at £97 per cent., and £46,600, sold locally
and bearing 3½ per cent. interest, realised £99 10s. 8¼d. net, the
local market not being affected by the adverse influences and the
choice of investments which operated in London. In October, 1901,
for £1,374,213 offered in London at 3 per cent., the extremely low
price of £88 12s. 4d. was obtained; and in 1903, when the then
Treasurer (Mr. T. B. Cribb) again sought to enter the London market
with 3½ per cent. stock, he could only place £750,000 worth at the
low rate of £92 19s. 11¾d. Times had indeed changed, and for the
moment the State was practically excluded from the London money
market. The balance of the loan has been, and is being, issued in
Queensland, about £456,000 being still unsold.
The year 1899-1900, from the revenue standpoint, was the record year
of the century. Wool brought extremely high prices in London, and loan
expenditure had been maintained during the previous two years at an
average of a little over £1,000,000 per annum. For the next year,
one-half of which was subsequent to the proclamation of the
Commonwealth, revenue showed a decline of nearly half a million
sterling, although loan outlay had been increased rather than
lessened. Two reasons could be assigned for this shrinkage--a bad
season in the West, and the dislocation of accounts resulting from
federation. Still, in 1899-1900, the expenditure from revenue was
fully maintained, with the result that on 30th June, 1901, the deficit
exceeded half a million.
In the next year, 1901-2, there was a further decline of about half a
million in revenue, arising (1) from one-fourth of the State's Customs
revenue and the whole of its postal revenue being retained by the
Commonwealth, and (2) from the sparse rainfall and the heavy drop in
London wool prices. Thus, although the apparent expenditure showed a
decline of about £650,000 due to the cost of the transferred
departments being defrayed by the Commonwealth, the financial year
ended with a deficit of £431,940. The year 1902 was the most
disastrous with respect to rainfall that Australia ever experienced,
and the drought struck Queensland with cruel intensity. The revenue of
1902-3 was maintained at nearly the level of the previous year, good
rains having fallen early in 1903, while the expenditure was cut down
by about a quarter of a million; yet there was a further deficit of
£191,341, despite the fact that an income tax had been imposed and a
Public Service Special Retrenchment Act passed which resulted in a
saving of £87,000.
The Philp regime practically ended with an accumulated deficit, as
above mentioned, of £1,151,469; for, about two months after the close
of the financial year 1902-3, the Ministry were compelled by a schism
in their party to resign office. They had been long popularly
stigmatised as the "Continuous Government." The work of the coalition
of 1890 having been accomplished, Ministers had exhausted their
popularity; yet the probability is that but for the financial debacle
the end would not have come quite so soon. The drought having by this
time broken, a return of prosperity was naturally expected; but on the
one hand Ministers had made enemies by severe retrenchment, and on the
other hand they were blamed for having failed to balance their budget.
When Parliament met on 21st July, 1903, Mr. Philp appeared still to
command a working majority--though somewhat diminished by the general
election of 1902-3 compared with that which had followed him for three
years previously. But on the 8th of September the Treasurer, Mr. T.
B. Cribb, carried his taxation resolutions in Committee of Ways and
Means, after an acrimonious debate, by a majority of only two votes in
a House of sixty-five, several prominent Government supporters voting
with the Noes. Mr. Philp then moved the adjournment of the House, and
next day announced the resignation of his Ministry.
[Illustration: MAROOCHY RIVER AND NINDERRY MOUNTAIN, NORTH COAST
RAILWAY]
CHAPTER VI.
PUBLIC FINANCE (1903-1909).
The Morgan-Kidston Ministry.--Economy in Revenue
Expenditure.--Great Reduction in Loan Outlay.--Equilibrium
Established at the Treasury.--Retrenchment and Taxation.
--Improvement of Finances.--A Record Surplus for Queensland.
--Land Sales Proceeds Act.--Abstention from Borrowing.
--First Loan Floated since 1903.--Sound Position of
Queensland.--Value of State Securities.--Reproductiveness of
Railways Built out of Loan Money.--Public Estate Improvement
Fund.--How Recourse to Money Market has been Avoided.
On the 15th September, 1903, the Speaker's resignation was announced,
and on the 17th Mr. (now Sir) Arthur Morgan announced the formation of
a new Ministry with himself as Premier, his colleagues including the
leader, (the late Mr. W. H. Browne) and another prominent member of
the Labour party (Mr. W. Kidston). The new Ministry came in expressly
to restore the financial equilibrium, the Treasurer being Mr. Kidston.
Retrenchment became the order of the day, although the Estimates of
the late Government were adopted, having regard to the fact that
the first quarter of the financial year had practically expired. The
pruning-knife was applied with vigour, and loan expenditure rapidly
lessened, although existing railway contracts had of course to be
completed.
On 30th June following, revenue showed an increase of £69,000, while
expenditure had been reduced by £110,000, the financial year ending
with a deficit of only £12,424. Loan expenditure had been brought down
to £603,805, a reduction of no less than £418,600 compared with
the previous year. In the middle of the session of 1904 the Premier
advised a dissolution, which was granted; and after the general
election the Ministry returned in such strength as to warrant
Parliament in treating their policy, especially the financial part of
it, as practically a mandate from the constituencies.
In 1904-5 the revenue being within £41 of the amount of the preceding
year, while the expenditure was about £26,000 less, a surplus, the
first for five years, was recorded for the nominal sum of £13,995.
Seeing that loan expenditure had been reduced to less than a quarter
of a million, that general retrenchment had been carried out, and that
a recovery of trade and industry was not yet clearly apparent,
the result must be deemed highly satisfactory; also, the Treasurer
refused, after his first year of office, to continue the practice of
charging to loan fund the amount spent by the Commonwealth Government
on new works and buildings. The amount was not large, but even the
£20,000 to £30,000 per annum so expended would, if transferred to
loan, have improved the appearance of the State revenue account.
In 1904 the obnoxious but necessary Special Retrenchment Act was
re-enacted for the nine months of the financial year still remaining,
the rate of deduction being diminished by one-half, while provision
was made that any surplus revenue for the financial year should
be paid to the public servants. The year closed with a surplus of
£13,995, which was at once distributed _pro rata_ among the retrenched
officers. The continuation of the Act was not popular among public
servants, but it was deemed necessary in the interests of the wider
community; and, as the net result was that a public officer only lost
7s. 6d. for every £1 deducted from his salary during the two previous
years, it can hardly be considered unfair, having regard to the
losses sustained by the general public during the same period. Another
unpopular measure was the Income Tax Amending Act, which exempted
from taxation incomes of £100 and under, but in regard to the larger
incomes somewhat increased the taxation then levied. In 1906 a further
Income Tax Amending Act was passed, adding to the taxation in some
cases, but raising the exemption to £160 and granting an exemption of
£120 on incomes between £160 and £200. In 1907 another amendment of
the Act increased the exemption to £200 on all incomes, and reduced
certain imposts, which had the effect of relinquishing revenue to
the extent of £40,000 to £50,000 for the year. But times had then
improved, and the Treasurer could afford this grateful relief to the
poorer classes of the community.
Early in 1906, owing to the death of Sir Hugh Nelson, Mr. Morgan
retired from the Ministry, Mr. Kidston becoming Chief Secretary in
his stead, while still retaining the Treasurership. Mr. Morgan then
accepted the Presidency of the Legislative Council. In the year
1905-6 the revenue had become buoyant, the increase for the year being
£258,124. The expenditure had also increased by over one-half that
amount, the year closing with the surplus of £127,811. Loan outlay
also showed an increase, totalling nearly £300,000. In 1906-7 there
was a revenue jump of £454,389, with an increase in expenditure
of £186,085, the record Queensland surplus of £396,115 being
realised.[a] For 1907-8 the revenue increase was £180,486, while the
expenditure increase was £461,299, and the surplus only £115,302.
Loan outlay also advanced to £1,033,676. Including the Commonwealth
collections the total revenue for 1907-8 approached 5½ millions,
or nearly 1 million in excess of the most fruitful year before
federation.
In November, 1906, a brief but important Act was passed providing that
all moneys received in payment for auction sales of town, suburban,
and country lands, or of such lands if subsequently purchased by
selection, should hereafter be paid into the Loan Fund Account. But
proceeds of the land sold under the Special Sales of Land Act of 1901
were not included, those moneys having been already appropriated to
the repayment of sums borrowed upon certain Treasury bills issued
in aid of revenue in former years. It is the policy of the Kidston
Government, however, not to alienate lands under the Special Sales
Act; therefore the deficits of former years which had been liquidated
with the proceeds of Treasury bills, and practically formed a floating
debt, are being gradually compensated for by the transfer of annual
surpluses to the Public Debt Reduction Fund, the total amount of stock
thus cancelled having on 30th June, 1908, reached the respectable
amount of £942,641 since the inception of the fund.
One of the wise determinations of Mr. Kidston as Treasurer was to
keep off the London money market for several years at least after the
rebuff received by his predecessor in 1903. Consequently he abstained
from making any attempt to float a loan till March, 1909, when
£2,000,000 worth of 3½ per cent. stock was disposed of. The net
proceeds were equal to £94 9s. 6½d. per cent., a price about
equivalent to that obtained by New South Wales a little earlier in
the year. This, although dearer money than was obtained by issues of
Queensland stock in the closing decade of the last century, compares
not unfavourably with the prices obtained earlier in the financial
year for other gilt-edged securities on the London market.
The net average rate of interest payable on the public debt of
Queensland on 30th June, 1908, was £3 14s. 1d. per cent., but this
rather high rate arose from the fact that more than a moiety of the
total debt was incurred many years ago, when all Australian stocks
bore 4 per cent. interest. The lowest average rate now paid by any
Australian State is £3 8s. 9d. by Western Australia, most of whose
stock was issued during the closing decade of the 19th century, and
bears from 3¼ to 3½ per cent.
Speaking generally, Queensland stands well on the London money market
at present, as, according to the "Commonwealth Year Book" quotations
from the "Economist" newspaper, the "middle price" of her 3½ per
cents. quoted on 'Change on the 25th September of last year was £100,
a figure only equalled at the time by Victoria among the Australian
States; and in December following £99, which was on a par with New
South Wales stock on the same date, and only 10s. per cent. below the
quotation for Victorian stock. These prices, however, for comparative
purposes seem to need slight adjustment on account of the interest
respectively due at date of quotation.
Having regard to the fact that the public debt of Queensland is higher
than that of any other Australian State per head of the population,
the policy of abstention from further borrowing from 1903 until 1909
has been vindicated in a most gratifying manner. A pregnant fact is
that more than one-half the entire public debt has been invested in
railways which in 1908-9 returned £883,610[b] in net earnings, all
available for the payment of interest on capital, or equal to about £3
7s. 6d. per cent. per annum, which meant that our railway system was
almost self-supporting, besides being the source of a large indirect
gain to the Treasury by providing facilities for transport over 3,498
miles of line. It is no exaggeration to assert that directly and
indirectly the railways assist the Treasury to the amount of the
annual interest charge on the entire public debt of the State. Instead
of the railways being a burden upon the taxpayer, as in former years,
they have undoubtedly now become the backbone of the public credit.
Seven years ago the interest charge on railway capital falling on the
taxpayer amounted to £513,128. To-day, as shown by official figures,
there is practically no such burden, and the existing state of the
investment not only forms a complete justification for the railway
policy of the past, but also for the vigorous way in which the
construction of new lines is being pushed forward. With a continuance
of good management it is apparent that the time is within measurable
distance when the Railway Commissioner will, unless rates be reduced,
hand to the State Treasurer a large annual surplus which will be
available for lightening the public burdens.
Among other minor financial reforms for which the Morgan and Kidston
Governments have earned credit is the creation of the Public Estate
Improvement Trust Account, to which is charged the cost of roads,
water supply, and other improvements made to Crown lands about to be
thrown open for settlement, such cost being afterwards added to the
selling price of those lands. Up to 30th June, 1908, 1½ million
acres of Crown land had thus been made available for selection by
a total expenditure of £85,784, the value of which has thus been
enhanced, it is estimated, by more than half a million sterling. This
amount will ultimately find its way into consolidated revenue. And all
this with a debtor balance of the account on 30th June, 1908, of
only £58,287. Allowing that the profit is shown in figures yet to be
realised, the estimated margin is so large that the result cannot be
doubtful.
[Illustration: SCENE ON BARCALDINE DOWNS, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: BARCALDINE DOWNS HOMESTEAD, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
Loan expenditure on public works, though greatly reduced, was never
entirely stopped by the Morgan and Kidston Governments. In 1903
they inherited from their predecessors a loan cash balance of
1¼ millions. By compelling the local bodies to pay up arrears of
redemption on local loans, by investing about £603,000 of revenue
surpluses in unissued stock, with the help of interest accruing on
public loan cash balances, and the annual instalments paid by the
Queensland National Bank in liquidation of its extended deposit debt,
nearly 3½ millions sterling was spent on loan account during the
five years ended 30th June, 1909, without placing on the money market
any part of the then unissued balance of the 1902 loan.
[Footnote a: The so-called surplus of £487,333 in 1872
was obtained by the transfer of £350,000 from loan fund to
revenue.]
[Footnote b: These net earnings are Treasury cash figures.
They differ somewhat from the departmental figures, which do
not deal with cash, but with book receipts and expenditure.]
CHAPTER VII.
THE BOOM DECADE (1880-1890).
A Great Boom Decade.--Causes of Inflation of Values.
--Excessive Rating Valuations.--False Basis of Assessing
Capital Value.--Prodigality Succeeded by Financial
Stringency and Collapse of Boom.--Difficulty in
Determining Real Values.--Sir Hugh Nelson's Legislation.
--Sound Finance.--Stability of State.--Prospects Good
To-day.
The prospects of Queensland had seldom been brighter than they were at
the opening of the 1880-90 decade. The seasons were good, the outlook
was regarded as brilliant, and a general air of confidence reigned.
The Government were spending loan money lavishly, and large amounts
were being spent in introducing a stream of immigrants from Europe.
These and other causes contributed to the prevailing over-confidence
and the consequent excessive values put upon fixed property. One
was the influx of capital for investment on private account, for the
confidence felt in Queensland mortgage securities not only extended
to the other colonies of Australia, but also to the mother country.
Another was the discovery of subterranean water in Western Queensland,
and the opinion expressed by geologists that more than one-half the
total area of the colony, and that in the driest parts of the far
West, was artesian water-bearing country. The discovery, it was
argued, had added a new province to Queensland, and one whose
fertility, water once provided, would not be excelled, despite a
normally light rainfall, by any other part of the continent. One
consequence was the sale of Western stations at high prices, and
the investment by their late owners of the proceeds in city and town
properties. They had experienced the risks of the far inland climate,
and they wanted to invest in land in the seaport towns, which must
quickly become centres of extensive trade.
Another cause was the raising of rating values by the local
authorities, of whom those having jurisdiction in suburban or country
areas were endowed with £2 from the Treasury for every £1 raised by
rates. To augment the claims for endowment, although the rate levies
were in a few cases raised to the maximum legal limit, in most the
valuations alone were raised, and the rate levy left untouched. It was
held that it paid the property owner to contribute a high rate when
with the endowment it meant three times that sum, most of which would
be spent in improving his land by making roads and carrying on other
local works calculated to enhance property values. A further cause
of inflation was the cutting up of suburban land into 16-perch
allotments, and selling them on long terms to working men and to
speculators. A still further cause was, as already mentioned, the
influx of external money at reduced rates of interest through the
financial institutions. At first rents were so high as apparently to
justify an advance on true values; but as the expanding process went
on vendors ridiculed a capital value based on income-earning capacity.
"What is the use of talking nonsense!" the agent would exclaim; "it is
not what this property will bring in annually now, but what it will be
worth in twenty years' time."
Even conservative loan institutions accepted valuations based on
actual sales. Prices in many cases doubled and quadrupled in a few
months without much regard to the income-earning power. Then people
were told that Brisbane would by and by, with an immense railway
mileage finding its terminus at the wharves, be as big as Sydney or
Melbourne; that land in George-street and Collins-street was realising
£2,000 per foot frontage, bare; and that therefore choice sites in
Queen-street could not be worth less than £1,000 per foot frontage.
Thus prices advanced until the second half of 1888, when the demand
for real property almost ceased. From that time until 1893 values were
as far as possible upheld by the mortgagees, for they believed that
the stagnation must be but temporary. Then came the crisis in the
world's money markets, and it smote Queensland with prostrating force.
The gradual reduction of local authority endowments, followed by their
abolition in the year 1902-3, and the consequent increase of rate
burdens, had a depressing effect upon property values, so that even
to-day, more than sixteen years after the collapse of the boom, city
lands do not realise more than one-half the prices demanded and often
obtained in 1888.
It is easy to blame the leading parliamentarians of the time for their
prodigality in expenditure; but, when the most experienced bankers of
the time threw prudence to the winds under pressure of a flooded money
market, we may at this distance of time judge public men less harshly
than they were judged in 1893. Confidence was universal, and the
man who raised a warning voice found himself figuratively "sent
to coventry." An epidemic of swollen values pervaded the entire
continent. Even so late as 1893, two skilled and disinterested
Ministers of the Crown, and both possessed of banking experience, who
were commissioned by the Government to report confidentially on the
securities of the Queensland National Bank soon after its suspension,
failed to realise the full extent of the inflation of past years,
or the depreciation in land values that had taken place despite the
efforts made to maintain them. For they gave such a report of the
values of the bank's securities as induced the Legislature to sanction
an abortive scheme of reconstruction and the retention of Government
moneys. It is, however, to Sir Hugh Nelson's credit that, three years
later, he passed through Parliament an amending Act, embodying the
scheme which has since restored the bank to the status of a "national"
institution.
Nineteen years have elapsed since the close of this period of
extravagant borrowing and reckless expenditure, both public and
private. For some years past Queensland has been enjoying almost
unexampled prosperity, and the question naturally arises whether
that prosperity may not be followed by another crisis. On this point
examination of fixed property values, which are a good index, leads to
a favourable conclusion. Of city or town lands there has of late years
certainly been no inflation. Farming and dairying land values have no
doubt risen rapidly, but not more, perhaps, than in proportion to the
enhanced stable income-earning value arising from the success of the
sugar and dairying industries and the enlarged markets available since
federation to farmers all over Australia. In pastoral country there
has certainly been no such inflation as occurred in the 1880-90
decade. Buyers discounted the future when, to justify their
anticipations, the 372,105 square miles of artesian water-bearing
country should have been already opened up and the country made
increasingly productive by the streams from thousands of bores.
To-day, as shown elsewhere in this book, artesian water is flowing
to such an extent in Queensland that it would, with complete
reticulation, supply 12,000,000 people with 40 gallons a day each.
This in a country, too, which formerly was almost destitute of surface
water. More bores are every year being put down, while geological
research has lately added considerably to the area of artesian
water-bearing country in Queensland. Generally trade is sound to-day,
while banking deposits have made but gradual progression in volume
during the last twenty years. Close settlement is rapidly going on,
and the pastoral industry, which furnishes about 50 per cent. of our
exports, is in a most prosperous condition after several good seasons
capped by recently advancing prices. Wool alone, whose producers are
realising highly satisfactory profits, formed 28·55 per cent. of our
exports in 1907. Over gold mining there may be a fleeting cloud, but
every year's laboratory research extends the area of remunerative ore
deposits by reducing the cost of treatment. The cost of production and
transport in all the primary industries is being gradually lessened.
Happily there is no boom, present or prospective, to disturb the
steady progress of the country; and it is reassuring to learn from
recent public speeches by eminent Australian bankers that they are
refusing to make advances for other than legitimate development.
[Illustration: SWAN CREEK VALLEY, NEAR YANGAN, WARWICK DISTRICT]
CHAPTER VIII.
CROWN LANDS LEGISLATION.
The Code of 1860.--Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1868.
--Pastoral Leases Act of 1869.--Homestead Areas Act of 1872.
--Crown Lands Alienation Act and Settled Districts Pastoral
Leases Act of 1876.--The Griffith-Dutton Land Act of 1884.
--Co-operative Communities Land Settlement Act.--Land Act
of 1897.--Forms of Selection.--Act to Assist Persons to Settle
on Land by Advances from the Treasury.--Extension of Pastoral
Leases.--Closer Settlement Act.--Land Orders.
The land code of the session of 1860, so enthusiastically eulogised
by Sir George Bowen in his despatch to the Secretary of State,
unfortunately by no means settled the complex questions involved in
the management of public lands extending over 15 degrees of longitude
and 18 degrees of latitude. Indeed, to-day the land laws are probably
as complicated as ever they were in the history of Queensland,
notwithstanding the desire of the Legislature to make them as simple
as possible, and to meet the wants of every description of settler,
whether he be a homestead selector with his 320 acres, a grazing
farmer with his 20,000 acres, or a pastoral lessee with his 1,000
square miles.
During the first decade several Land Acts, amending the Acts of 1860,
were passed; but by the advent of the year 1867 it was found that
the facilities offered for settlement were inadequate, and that new
methods, especially in the direction of mixed farming adapted to the
country and climate, and demanding holdings of increased area, were
indispensable if there was to be close settlement on a more extensive
scale than that contemplated by the pastoralist. Among the members of
the Assembly in 1867-8 was Mr. Archibald Archer, of Gracemere, then
member for Rockhampton, who earnestly voiced the popular contention
that the upset price of £1 per acre was excessive, and that the
holdings permitted to the settler by law were too restricted in
area. In October, 1867, the Minister for Lands was Mr. E. W. Lamb, an
old-time New South Wales land office official, and then a Peak Downs
squatter. He introduced a Crown Lands Alienation Bill, which,
after discussions showing its futility, was, on the motion of Mr.
Macalister, then in opposition, referred to a Select Committee
comprising the Minister and Messrs. Archer and Fitzgerald, the latter
member for Kennedy. In the next session a new bill was introduced,
giving effect to the recommendations of the Select Committee, which
provided for the resumption of the halves of all runs within the
Settled Districts, and for making available such resumed areas
wherever required for settlement. The bill also provided for the
opening of these areas to free selection before other than a
feature survey had been made. This land was to be classified as (1)
agricultural, in areas not exceeding 640 acres and at 15s. per acre;
(2) first-class pastoral, in areas not exceeding 2,560 acres, at 10s.
per acre; and (3) second-class pastoral, in areas not exceeding 7,680
acres, at 5s. per acre. The purchase was to be conditional upon actual
occupation and improvement, the payment being spread over ten
annual instalments, called rents, of 1s. 6d., 1s., and 6d. per acre
respectively. Provision was also made for homestead selections not to
exceed 80 acres of agricultural land or 160 acres of pastoral land,
at a yearly rental for five years of 9d. an acre in the case of
agricultural land and 6d. an acre for pastoral country. This measure,
having become law, caused a tremendous rush for land, and in some
cases, no doubt, too large areas were taken up, regarded from the
standpoint of the public interest, the abuse partly arising from
faulty classification by the Government Commissioners. By at least one
of these officers it was held, for example, that land, no matter how
accessible or good its quality, was only second-class pastoral if
destitute of surface water. But, whatever abuses crept in, there can
be no doubt that the Act of 1868 was the first legislation to place
the people on the land in areas of such extent, of such quality,
and at such prices as were then deemed requisite for successful
occupation. Many of the most prosperous farmers of to-day, or their
parents, settled under the 1868 Act, and now form most valuable
members of the community.
In 1869 the Pastoral Leases Act was passed by the Lilley Government,
and gave the lessees in the unsettled districts a better tenure
than they had before enjoyed--21 years in respect of new country and
renewed leases, and 14 years in the case of existing leases, with
septennial automatic reappraisements of rent in all instances. The
Liberal members of the Assembly assented to a pre-emptive purchase
clause in this Act by which a lessee was empowered to purchase on his
run without competition an area of 2,560 acres, containing permanent
improvements made by him, at the price of 10s. per acre. But it was
only discovered by many members after the Act had become law that a
run might mean a block of 25 square miles, and that a lessee with a
dozen blocks could secure strategic freeholds in as many different
parts of his holding. However, the provision remained unaltered until
in 1884 the Minister for Lands in the Griffith Ministry (Mr. Charles
Boydell Dutton) refused to sanction further purchases of the kind, and
during the same year endeavoured to sweep away the privilege by new
legislation. Parliament, however, refused to repeal the provision, and
would only consent to withhold the privilege of pre-emption in
respect of leases acquired after the passage of the Land Act of 1884.
Altogether 363 pre-emptive selections in respect of as many runs were
made. By the Act of 1868 the pastoral lessees in the settled districts
had also been granted ten years' leases for the unresumed halves of
their runs; but in both cases the Minister was empowered to resume
part of any run on giving six months' notice.
The Homestead Areas Act of 1872 provided for the setting apart of
special areas as "homestead areas," to be exclusively settled as
homestead selections, or selections taken up by virtue of land
orders issued under the Immigration Act of 1869. A departure from the
generally accepted principle of "homestead" settlement--that the
land is granted at a nominal price in consideration of the selector
personally residing on it--was made in providing for increased areas
up to 320 acres at conditional purchase prices. This anomaly was
corrected by the Act of 1876, which styled such larger homesteads
"Conditional purchases in homestead areas."
In 1876 Mr. Douglas, as Mr. Thorn's Minister for Lands, introduced
an amending and consolidating Land Bill, repealing all existing
alienation Acts. Extended powers were given to Land Commissioners to
expedite settlement. Monthly Commissioners' Courts were provided
for, but no decision of a Commissioner's Court, except in case of
certificates of performance of conditions, was to be final until
confirmed by the Minister. The most noteworthy provision reduced the
maximum area that one person might select. The area conditionally
selectable by one person was made not less than 40 acres nor more than
5,120 acres. The Act declared all leased land reverting to the
Crown on the Darling Downs to be homestead areas, and empowered the
Government to establish such areas elsewhere. Within these areas
conditional purchase selections were restricted to 1,280 acres and
homesteads to 80 acres. Personal and continuous residence by the
selector was made compulsory, and, before the fee-simple could be
acquired, permanent improvements to the value of 10s. per acre were
required to be made. A homestead was protected against claims for
debt. A Settled Districts Pastoral Leases Bill also became law this
year, providing that on the expiration of the ten years' leases then
held runs should be offered at auction on a five years' lease at a
rental of not less than £2 per square mile, an outgoing lessee being
allowed six months' grace in which to remove his stock. In 1882 the
Act of 1876 was amended so as to abolish the sale of runs by auction
unless when there was no application for re-lease by the existing
lessee, and lessees under the Act of 1876 were given the right to an
extension of their leases for a period of ten years instead of five
years. The rent, however, was to be subject to appraisement.
The next great land measure was the Griffith-Dutton Act of 1884. Its
main features were the abolition of the pre-emptive rights of pastoral
lessees; the creation of a Land Board consisting of two members--an
independent tribunal acting like Judges of the Supreme Court, and,
like the Judges, holding office during good behaviour; and the
introduction of the leasehold tenure in connection with grazing and
agricultural farms. The object of the Government was to bring about
close settlement. As it was recognised that it was not feasible at
that time to devote the lands of Western Queensland to agriculture,
provision was made for the gradual substitution of a smaller class of
graziers for the pastoral lessees with their many hundreds of square
miles of territory. Accordingly inducements, by way of fixity of
tenure and compensation for improvements, were offered to pastoral
tenants to surrender their existing leases and bring their holdings
under the Act. The Crown was thereupon entitled to resume one-half,
one-third, or one-fourth of such holdings, the proportion varying
inversely with the length of time the leases had to run. These resumed
areas were then divided into smaller holdings called "grazing farms,"
the maximum area being 20,000 acres, which were to be opened to
selection on a thirty years' lease, with periodical reappraisements
of rent by the Land Board. It was believed that the lessees of these
smaller holdings would so improve the country that its carrying
capacity would be greatly increased, and the Crown would derive a
larger revenue from its pastoral lands, whilst at the expiration of
the leases agricultural settlement might be possible. The success of
the grazing farm system has amply justified the expectations of
the framers of the Act. The leasehold principle was also applied
to agricultural farms, the maximum area of which was fixed at 1,280
acres, with a fifty years' tenure, but the selector was given the
right to acquire a freehold after ten years' (later reduced to five
years) personal occupation. Although dropping the name of "homestead,"
the Act maintained the homestead principle by providing for the
freeholding of agricultural farms not exceeding 160 acres in area at
2s. 6d. per acre after five years' personal residence by the selector.
The Act, which practically superseded the Pastoral Leases Act of 1869,
continued the right of pastoral lessees to depasture their stock on
the resumed areas until they were required for closer settlement.
It also repealed existing alienation Acts, and provided for all the
contingencies which might be expected to arise. Among the repealed
Acts were two which had given rise to much party contention in
previous Parliaments--the Western Railway Act and the Railway Reserves
Act, to which allusion is made in the parts of this work dealing with
"Public Finance" and "Fifty Years of Legislation."
[Illustration: SURPRISE CREEK FALLS, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
Amending Acts were passed in 1885, 1886, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1894, and
1895, but these do not call for mention except to say that the Act
of 1891 introduced a new mode of selection called "unconditional,"
providing for selections up to 1,280 acres at prices one-third greater
than those for agricultural farms, and payable in twenty annual
instalments.
In 1890 an Act was passed providing for a five years' extension of
leases held under the 1869 Act and not affected by the Act of 1884. In
1892 an Act (extended in 1894, 1895, 1897, and 1898) was passed giving
a seven years' extension of term to pastoral lessees, and an extension
of five years (afterwards increased to seven years) to the lessees
of grazing farms selected before the introduction of the bill and
situated in the southern part of the State, who should enclose their
holdings with rabbit-proof fences.
In 1893 the Co-operative Communities Land Settlement Act was passed
at a time of stress, with a view to enabling men of good character
but without capital to settle on the land with the aid of Government
advances. In all, twelve "self-governing communities" were formed with
a total adult male membership of 485. In no case did the venture
prove successful, and by an amending Act passed in 1895 the several
communities were dissolved, the members thereof were absolved from all
liability to the Government for advances made, and the land and assets
were suitably apportioned among the remaining members of the dissolved
groups, to the number of 88. They were assigned an area aggregating
13,491 acres to be held on a five years' tenure at a rental of ¾d.
per acre per annum, subject to a condition of personal residence and
to the purchase of the land during the fifth year at 2s. 6d. an acre.
Only three-fourths of these 88 settlers brought their selections to
freehold, and the last transaction was not closed till ten years
had elapsed, instead of five, from the dissolution of the groups.
Consequent on another period of depression, Parliament in 1905
authorised another experiment by way of Government assistance to
would-be settlers without means, but the communal element is not so
prominent in the new measure, and the "self-government" principle is
excluded. Only one settlement has been formed under the Act of 1905,
and it is under Government control. While holding out some promises of
success, these are not so tangible as to lead to further ventures of
the sort. Indeed, the need for them has disappeared with the return of
prosperity.
The last comprehensive Act, extending over 101 pages of the
Statute-book, was passed in 1897, and it still remains the principal
Land Act, upon which all subsequent amending measures have been
grafted.
It is fitting to set out briefly what are the modes by which it is
sought to secure settlement on the public lands of the State after
half a century of legislation.[a] There is, first, the agricultural
farm, in areas up to 1,280 acres on a tenure of twenty years and
paying an annual rental of one-fortieth part of the purchasing price,
such rentals being actually instalments of the price, and leaving only
one-half of the price to be paid at the end of the term. The price
cannot be lower than 10s. per acre, and there are conditions of
occupation and improvement to be performed. There is the agricultural
homestead in areas ranging up to 640 acres, the area varying inversely
with the quality of the land. This form of settlement is subject to
conditions of personal residence and improvement. The homesteads are
capable of being converted into freeholds after five years and up to
ten years for a total price of 2s. 6d. per acre, payable at the rate
of 3d. per acre per annum. There is the unconditional selection in
areas up to 1,280 acres, with no conditions to perform but the
payment of rent during twenty years at the rate of 5 per cent. of
the purchasing price each year, the purchasing price being one-third
higher than that at which the land was available for agricultural farm
selection. There are the grazing selections in the remoter districts
in areas up to 60,000 acres. These selections are not capable of being
made freehold, but are held on leasehold tenures of 14, 21, or 28
years, at rentals ranging from ½d. to 6d. per acre per annum, and
subject to conditions of occupation and fencing. There are the scrub
selections not exceeding 10,000 acres each, intended to secure
the destruction of useless scrub in the remoter districts and the
conversion of the land into good pasture. The tenure is purely
leasehold, with a term of thirty years and at a peppercorn rental
for a period having relation to the extent of scrub to be destroyed.
Leasehold tenures are preferred for the remoter lands, and they
have the advantage of leaving the settler's capital free for the
development of his land. In case any should prefer a leasehold tenure
in the more closely settled districts, the law now provides for the
substitution of "perpetual leases" for the agricultural farm tenure.
The rapid spread of the prickly pear in some parts of the State has
been a peremptory call for the occupation of the threatened country
on any terms. Provision has accordingly been made for prickly pear
selections under conditions of eradicating the pest, the value of the
land being assessed at rates ranging from a sum paid by the Government
to the settler in addition to a free gift of the land, to a sum
perhaps as high as £1 per acre to be paid by the settler to the Crown,
such payments being in annual instalments of one-fifth or one-tenth,
and commencing ten or five years respectively after the commencement
of the lease, the period of exemption from payment having to be
devoted to the task of eradication.
Until 1901 the competitive principle was general in the selection of
Crown lands, but in that year provision was made by a special Act to
allot land non-competitively to bodies of settlers coming from abroad,
who naturally desired to be assured of obtaining land in proximity
to each other before pulling up their stakes and migrating to a new
sphere of activity. Successive amendments have been made in this law,
and, while in its inception it had application only to agricultural
homestead selection, it has since been extended to all forms of
selection tenure.
The great drought, which ended in 1902, has stamped its mark indelibly
upon the land legislation of the State. The earliest cry for relief
came from the far West, where the remaining tenancies under the
Pastoral Leases Act of 1869 chiefly lay. Large tracts of country had
become forfeited, and the Crown tenants, unable to hold on to the
remnants of their runs at the rents chargeable under their leases,
applied for relief. To meet their case, the Pastoral Leases Act of
1900 was passed, which required the reoccupation of the abandoned
country at nominal rents, and reduced the rents of the retained
country to an extent that secured the reoccupation of 13,000 square
miles. In the following year the Pastoral Holdings New Leases Act
promised the relief of extended leases to the holders of pastoral
country in the rest of the State, where the Act of 1884 operated; but
the drought still continuing, a further appeal was made to Parliament,
and in the Pastoral Leases Act of 1902 opportunity was given to
lessees to secure extensions of leases up to forty-two years according
to situation, subject to reappraisement of rent and to certain rights
of resumption reserved to the Crown. The chief desideratum of the
lessees was extended tenures to enable them to finance on more
favourable terms and recover from their immense drought losses. In
consideration of this concession and the surrender of resumption
rights which it involved, the State had to look for increased rentals.
The reassessments of the rentals under the new leases, however,
have not compensated the State for the large concessions made to its
tenants.
The Closer Settlement Act of 1906 superseded the Agricultural
Lands Purchase Acts, 1894 to 1901. These statutes provide for the
acquisition by the Government of private estates for the purpose of
subdivision and sale in areas adapted for closer settlement, payments
being extended over twenty-five years. The principle is not quite
impervious to criticism, for unless great prudence is exercised the
acquisition of these large estates has a tendency to raise the value
of agricultural land; but a few figures showing the settlement which
has taken place furnish convincing proof that the primary object of
the Legislature has been achieved, and that rich arable lands, which
previously produced nothing but natural grasses for the sustenance of
sheep and cattle, have become the homes of many hundreds of thriving
yeomen farmers and the support of numerous rising townships. Since the
passage of the first of these Acts in 1894, a total area of 537,449
acres has been repurchased at a cost of £1,490,489. Of this area
456,742 acres had been surrendered by the former owners at the close
of 1908. By the same date 364,334 acres had been selected at an
aggregate price of £1,050,864, and 10,677 acres, with the improvements
thereon, had realised £70,727 at auction, the purchasing price of the
whole area disposed of amounting to £1,144,081. The area remaining in
the hands of the Government, after deducting roads and reserves, was
78,781 acres, valued at £264,200, almost entirely consisting of land
only recently acquired and not yet offered for settlement. On 31st
December last, no less than 1,654 agricultural selectors, the majority
with families, and holding among them 1,909 selections, were settled
upon what but a few years ago were twenty-six sheep and cattle
stations, with a mere handful of employees.
It has been mentioned that the Alienation of Crown Lands Act of 1860
provided for granting to any immigrant who had paid his passage-money,
or to any other person by whom it had been paid, an £18 land order
on arrival, and a further land order for £12 after he had resided two
years in the colony. These land orders were made receivable as cash at
any Crown land sale, and they led to a large traffic, as the fact that
land orders could be bought from immigrants at a discount stimulated
the demand for land, especially for town lots. At first these
instruments could be bought at very low prices, but after a time the
£18 land order had become of the recognised market value of £15 to £16
cash, and could be readily purchased at those prices from agents in
Queen-street, Brisbane. But the effect upon land sales revenue alarmed
the Government, and after a time they refused to receive land orders
as payment in lieu of cash at sales of other than country land. In
1864 an Immigration Act was passed providing for the appointment of
an Agent-General for Emigration in London, and for the repeal of the
land-order sections of the 1860 Land Act. A new provision was made
by which the Agent-General was empowered to issue to an approved
passenger in London who had paid his passage-money a land-order
warrant for £30. On arrival in the colony the passenger was granted in
exchange for the warrant a non-transferable land order receivable as
cash at face value at sales of suburban and country lands only. These
restrictions lowered the market price of the instrument, although by
means of a power of attorney the non-transferable provision was for a
time evaded. Eventually, however, the restrictions were made so
severe that for market purposes the land order was worth little, and
immigrants who had come out and failed to settle on the land found
themselves in possession of a document of no practicable value. The
extent to which the land-order traffic prevailed will be understood
when it is mentioned that, in 1865, of £218,431, the total revenue
from land sales, only £59,461 was cash, the remainder being
represented by land orders. By 1875 the system had become discredited,
and was abolished by legislation, but outstanding land orders were
still used. In 1883-4 the amount so received had fallen to £16, while
the cash receipts for sales were £378,637. The total value of land
orders received as cash between 1861 and 1883-4 was £853,583. Some
public men have contended that, if the initial practice of receiving
the land order at face value in payment for any Crown land sold at
auction had been continued, the Treasury would have been recouped by
the larger demand and higher prices realised, but obviously a system
which stimulated speculation in land was not good for the country,
besides which it encouraged dummying. In 1886 the Griffith Government
determined to give the system a further trial, and in the Crown Lands
Act Amendment Act of that year power was given to the Agent-General
to issue land-order warrants to persons paying their own passages to
Queensland. Each member of a family of twelve years of age and upwards
was entitled to a £20 land order, and each child between the ages of
one and twelve entitled the parent to a land order for £10. The land
orders were not transferable, except in case of death, and were
available for ten years for the payment of rent of Crown lands
acquired by the immigrant. The Act authorising the issue of these land
orders was repealed in 1894. The value of land orders issued under the
Act amounted to £62,140, and of this sum only £8,956 was utilised. The
great majority of the immigrants who received the orders had no desire
to go on the land, and as the orders were not transferable they lapsed
at the expiration of their currency to the extent of 85 per cent. of
the whole.
[Footnote a: For fuller details regarding various forms of
land selection, see Appendix E, post.]
[Illustration: FOREST SCENE NEAR WOOMBYE, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
CHAPTER IX.
APPROPRIATION OF LAND REVENUE.
Land Sales Receipts; not Consolidated Revenue.--Arguments used
in favour of Treating Proceeds as Ordinary Revenue.--Auction
Sales have now Practically Ceased.--Certain Proceeds Payable
into Loan Fund.--Special Sales of Land Act; Appropriation of
Receipts.
The revenue from sales of land for the first quarter-century was
£4,672,659, besides £853,583 representing grants made in consideration
of land orders issued to immigrants but not included in the revenue
and expenditure returns. Nor does it include the sum of £382,346
received in cash for land sold within railway reserves and afterwards
transferred to revenue. The latter amount must, however, be added to
the cash receipts for land sold, which therefore totalled £5,055,005.
The practice of treating proceeds of land sales as ordinary revenue
has already been incidentally alluded to, but it may be well to refer
more fully to the subject. It is held that the taxpayer ought annually
to provide for current expenditure, and that if land is alienated
from the Crown at all the net proceeds, after defraying the cost of
administration, should be applied to the construction of public works
that would otherwise be of a character to justify charging their cost
to the Loan Fund.
This principle in the abstract is unexceptionable; but in a new
country much work is expected to be done by the Government for
posterity in the nature of "invisible improvements"; in fact, it is
so done, and cannot well be provided for by loan. Roads have to be
cleared and formed, and buildings erected for the benefit of posterity
as well as of those who so invest their money.
Moreover, the advent of population enhances the value of both public
and private estates, while the maintenance of great public works like
railways involves in most cases a heavy revenue loss for years after
the lines are open for traffic. Only in very recent times have our
railway earnings approximated, after payment of working charges and
maintenance, to the amount of the interest charge upon the capital
invested in them; but they have immensely benefited the country by
providing facilities for internal transport, and by enhancing the
value of the land, Crown and other, which they intersect and make
accessible. Years ago, when the railway debt of Queensland stood at
about 17 millions, an official estimate showed that, in making good
the annual deficiency of interest and working expenses on the various
open lines, at least as much had been spent by the Treasury as
the entire first cost of their construction. So that contemporary
colonists have still a charge against posterity for public works to
be handed down, even though the first cost remains a liability in the
form of interest upon inscribed stock held by the public creditor.
Further, it has to be said that, since the railways have begun nearly
to defray interest upon capital, the auction sale of Crown land,
except in small areas, has practically ceased. The receipts from
auction sales in 1907-8 totalled only £33,391, and much of that
sum would be absorbed were it charged with its share of the cost of
administration. By the Land Sales Proceeds Act of 1906, all moneys
received in payment for land sold under the authority of Part VI. of
the Land Act of 1897--by auction sales of town, suburban, and country
lands, or of such lands sold by selection after having been so
offered--must be paid into the Loan Fund Account, and be applied to
defraying the cost of such works as Parliament may from time to time
determine shall be executed out of moneys standing to the credit of
that fund. True, receipts for lands sold under the Special Sales of
Land Act of 1901, being applied to the special purpose of retiring
Treasury bills issued to make good revenue deficits, are excluded from
the general law in this respect. But it is satisfactory that, even
though the recognition of the principle that land is capital and not
revenue has been tardy, it has now in Queensland the full force of
statute law.
As to the past, it has been argued with much reason that small areas
alienated were for farming purposes, and soon became far more valuable
than when held for grazing purposes by tenants of the Crown. As to
the future, what Parliament seems determined to guard against by every
possible means is the alienation of large areas of the public domain
to persons who will use the land for speculative purposes, or who by
locking it up will seek to check the wave of closer settlement which
it is obviously in the best interests of the State to foster and
stimulate.
As the Special Sales of Land Act of 1901 still remains upon the
Statute-book a few words in explanation of its provisions and objects
may be useful. The first Act of this kind was passed in 1891--(1) to
provide for maturing Treasury bills for £500,000 authorised but not
issued in 1887; (2) to make provision for meeting Treasury bills for
£500,000 floated to cover a revenue deficit in 1890; (3) to make good
an anticipated deficit of £300,000 for the financial year 1891-2; and
(4) to retire £120,945 worth of Brisbane Bridge debentures--a total
of £1,420,945. Despite any statute to the contrary, country lands, not
within twenty miles of a railway or the permanent survey of one, or of
any navigable stream, were authorised to be sold by auction in areas
of 320 acres to 5,120 acres, at the upset price of 10s. an acre.
Payments might be extended over three years, but the unpaid
instalments must bear 5 per cent. interest. Any land so offered and
unsold would remain open for six months for purchase at the same price
and on the same terms.
The proceeds of these sales were to be applied (1) to payment of the
sums appropriated by Parliament for the service of the financial years
1891-2 and 1892-3 respectively, and (2) to the payment of interest
upon and retirement of the Treasury bills before mentioned. In 1901
the Philp Government were in financial trouble through federal charges
and the unexampled drought, and they passed a Treasury Bills Act and a
Special Sales of Land Act, the former for the sum of £530,000; and the
proceeds of the latter to be applied (1) to making good any revenue
deficiency during the years 1901-2 and 1902-3, and (2) to the payment
of interest upon and retirement of the bills issued under the Treasury
Bills Act. In 1902 another Treasury Bills Act covering £600,000 was
passed by the same Government. The Auditor-General in his report for
1907-8 showed that there were still outstanding £1,130,000 in Treasury
bills issued under the 1901 and 1902 Acts, and maturing in 1912 and
1913 respectively. In the same report the Auditor-General refers to
the sum of £8,148 received from special sales of land during the year,
and appropriated to the payment of interest on Treasury bills. For
some years past these special sales of land have been stopped,
but instalments of payments were received annually until last year
(1907-8), when they amounted to £3,279; but none are now outstanding,
and the Act is practically a dead letter.
[Illustration: HAULING TIMBER, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
[Illustration: STONY CREEK BRIDGE AND FALLS, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
CHAPTER X.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN QUEENSLAND.
First Municipality Established.--Brisbane Bridge Lands.--Grant
for Town Hall.--Consolidating Municipalities Act.--Provincial
Councils Act.--Government Buildings not Rateable.--Brisbane
Bridge Debentures and Waterway Acts.--Municipal Endowment.
--Local Government Act of 1878.--Divisional Boards Act of
1879; Success of the Act.--Local Works Loans Act.--Two Pounds
for One Pound Endowment Repealed.--Rating Powers Extended by
Local Authorities Act of 1902.--Cessation of Endowment.
--Valuation and Rating Act.--Decline in Land Values.
--Unequal Incidence of Rates Levied.--Efficiency of Local
Authorities.
When Sir George Bowen proclaimed the establishment of Queensland there
was only one municipality within the boundaries of the new colony.
Brisbane had been incorporated just three months earlier, probably
with the view of having the Mayor of a local authority to take his
part in the inaugural celebrations. At that time the New South Wales
Municipal Institutions Act of 1858 was in force, but it was quite
inadequate to the needs of the country. Sir George Bowen, coming from
residence among the crowded populations of Great Britain and several
European countries, and recognising what powerful safeguards to
public liberty municipal corporations had proved, publicly urged the
establishment of local government in Queensland on every favourable
opportunity.
In 1861 two Municipalities Acts were passed, one empowering the
Brisbane City Council to build a bridge across the river, and
providing for endowment in the form of grants of Crown land not
exceeding two-thirds of the unsold town and suburban allotments of
Brisbane; also empowering the council to borrow for the purpose
of erecting the structure. The other Act gave extended powers to
municipal councils generally. It defined the rateable value of
unoccupied lands to be 8 per cent. of their actual capital value, but
the minimum rate of any allotment was not to be less than 10s. per
annum. It also provided that unoccupied land might be leased for
fourteen years by a council when rates had been permitted to fall into
arrear for a term of four years. It further empowered a council to
borrow on mortgage a sum not exceeding the estimated revenue for the
ensuing three years. As additional endowment, it was provided that
the Governor in Council might pay to a municipal council every year
one-third of the proceeds of land sold within its jurisdiction; and
where one-half of the land in a municipality had been sold the council
were to be entitled to one-half of the proceeds of future sales.
In 1863 an Act was passed giving the Brisbane Council power to erect a
town hall on allotment 4 and part of allotment 3 of section 12, with a
frontage to Queen street and Burnett lane respectively of 99 ft., and
a depth of 138 ft., to be granted by the Government on the passing of
the Act. The council were empowered to borrow £20,000 for the purposes
of the hall. The Brisbane Waterworks Act empowered the Government to
grant a site for the proposed works on the heads of Enoggera Creek,
but the Government were to borrow the sum necessary for construction,
and to hand over the money to the council as it might be required.
In 1864 an amending and consolidating Municipal Institutions Act was
passed giving larger and more specific powers to municipal bodies.
In the same year a Provincial Councils Act was passed, empowering
the Government to appoint such councils in the country districts, and
place at their disposal money from time to time voted by Parliament
for roads and bridges within their jurisdiction. But the members, not
being elective, had no power to levy rates, so that the councils would
at best have been no more than bodies delegated with power by the
Works Department to carry out works with which the Government could
not conveniently grapple. The only provincial council established
under the Act, however, was one for the Peak Downs district, of which
all the members were Crown lessees. That council had its place of
meeting at Clermont, and on first assembling it resolved not to admit
the Press to its meetings. This exclusive policy, combined with the
class character of its members, made the council at once unpopular,
and after spending £2,000 which had been placed to its credit by the
Government it ingloriously collapsed.
In 1865 an Act was passed dividing the Brisbane Municipality into six
wards, each returning two members. In 1868 an amendment of the 1864
and 1865 Acts was passed enabling councils to forbid the erection of
inflammable buildings. In the following year an Act was passed which
forbade the levy of rates upon Government buildings. An Act of the
same year enabled the Governor in Council to rescind any proclamation
of town or suburban lands.
In 1870 the Brisbane Bridge Debentures Act and the Brisbane Waterway
Act were passed. By the former the council were empowered to issue
debentures, bearing 5 per cent. interest and covering £121,250, for
the payment of its bridge liabilities. The preamble recited that
a contract had been entered into with Mr. John Bourne for the
construction of the bridge; that owing to alterations in the plan
assented to by the Government the cost had been largely increased, and
the work had in fact been suspended; that the bank overdraft, secured
upon all the bridge lands and the rates, exceeded £100,000; and
that Thomas Brassey, having supplied the ironwork of the bridge, had
undertaken to complete the structure on certain conditions involved
in the issue of the debenture loan above mentioned. The Waterway
Act provided for the repayment to the council of the cost of certain
waterways by the sale of lands specified in the schedule.
In 1875 another Act was passed providing for the payment to the
Brisbane Council of the cost of certain drainage works by the sale of
city lands specified in its schedule. In the same year the Rockhampton
Waterworks Act, being the first for a provincial body, was passed. In
1876 an Act was passed for endowing municipalities to the extent of
£2 for £1 on the rates collected for the first five years after
incorporation and £1 for £1 in subsequent years.
In 1878 was passed the ponderous Local Government Act, adapted from
the recent Victorian legislation, but denounced by the Opposition
in the Assembly at the time as far too cumbrous save for town
municipalities. It formed, however, one of the bases of the Local
Authorities Act of 1902. In 1879 a new departure was made by the first
McIlwraith Government by passing a rudimentary measure--the Divisional
Boards Act--in which the Government took power to apply the Act
simultaneously to all parts of the colony. It gave power to levy
rates, and therefore excited popular anti-tax demonstrations. But
much that was said against the bill proved on investigation to be
inaccurate, and the endowment it provided of £2 for £1 collected in
rates for the term of five years ultimately went far to neutralise the
hostility expressed towards the measure. Also the bill provided that
to give the boards a start an additional £100,000 should be divisible
among them as soon as their respective valuations had been made and
a certified copy of each had been forwarded to the Treasury. After a
stern and protracted struggle in the Assembly the bill was passed, and
immediately the Colonial Secretary of the time (Mr. A. H. Palmer) cut
into "divisions" the entire area of the colony outside the boundaries
of existing municipalities, and proclaimed seventy-four local
governing areas under that name, each in three subdivisions with nine
members for each body. Then every division was invited to elect its
first members, and rather more than one-half of them did so.
Within four months from the passing of the Act--on 13th February,
1880[a]--the whole of the members were gazetted, the Government having
taken advantage of the power given to the Governor in Council to
appoint the first members where no action had been initiated to elect
them within ninety days after the passing of the Act. Thus the names
of between 600 and 700 members were proclaimed on one day, and the
new boards forthwith proceeded to put the Act into execution. In a
comparatively short time valuations were made, and on receipt of a
copy the Treasurer placed to the credit of the board, in the branch of
the Queensland National Bank nearest to the division, an amount equal
to 1s. in the pound of the valuation. This done, works were forthwith
commenced in all parts of the country, and a few years later visitors
from the South were wont to compliment the people of Queensland on the
vast improvement made in their bush roads.
In the following year (1880) the Local Works Loans Act was passed,
and attracted attention in different parts of the Empire as the first
measure that provided for advancing local loans by a Government on the
scientific basis of a term measured by the life of each work, and in
accordance with an actuarial scale set out in a table in the schedule.
The longest term was forty years, that being given for the most
durable works, the rate charged being 5 per cent. interest, with
16s. 8d. per annum redemption money. Thus a council could borrow for
waterworks on a forty years' loan, and redeem the principal as well
as defray the interest charge, by payment of regular half-yearly
instalments of £2 18s. 4d. per cent. during the term. This Act
soon became very popular, and with slight amendments--one being the
reduction of the interest charge to 4 per cent., and the half-yearly
instalment in the case of a forty years' loan to £2 10s. 0½d.
per cent.--it still remains on the Statute-book as part of the Local
Authorities Act of 1902. Several millions sterling have since been
lent by the Government under this Act, and scarcely a local authority
has defaulted except for a short period. The principle has also been
extended to sugar works and other loans not contemplated originally;
yet with firm administration, such as the Government for several years
past have insisted upon, the future losses, if any, will be slight,
and the benefit of the Act continue to be great.
[Illustration: TIMBER GETTING, NORTH COAST DISTRICT]
In 1887 Sir S. W. Griffith passed an amending and consolidating
Divisional Boards Act in which many defects of the original measure
were corrected. About the same time he passed an Act to relieve the
Treasury from the excessive burden of the £2 for £1 endowment, which
had been extended in 1884 for a second five-year period. Under the
amended law only such sum as Parliament might vote in each year was to
be rateably divided among all local authorities. After that time
the endowment diminished until in 1893 it reached a very small sum.
Afterwards the amount remained at about 6s. in the pound until 1902,
when, in passing the new amending and consolidating Local Authorities
Act of that year, the Philp Government made no provision for
continuance of the endowment. In 1903, therefore, owing to the
embarrassment of the Treasury in consequence of heavy deficits for
several years in succession, the endowment altogether ceased, and
since that time the Government have steadfastly refused to listen to
proposals for renewing the payment, on the ground that each governing
authority should raise its own revenue by taxation or otherwise, and
not depend upon endowments collected by any other governing authority.
The stoppage of the endowment was in some degree compensated for by
the extension of the rating powers of the local authorities, but the
exercise of these has no doubt accentuated the drop which occurred
in assessment values after the crisis of 1893. Some councils,
through failure to make use of their powers of rating, have had an
insufficient income, so that in parts of the country the roads are now
in a less traffickable condition than they were a quarter of a century
ago. In other cases, however, the local bodies have so used the
powers conferred upon them that they make no complaint of insufficient
income.
From the day of the presentation to Parliament of the Divisional
Boards Bill there had always been an outcry, among the farming
ratepayers chiefly, against the taxation of improvements. In 1890,
therefore, after ten years' experience, the Government of the
coalition, whose leaders had long been severed by difference of
opinion on the subject of land taxation, perceived in a universal levy
on the unimproved value, so called, a method of mutual reconciliation
which would meet the demands of many true exponents of local
government principles, and they agreed to introduce the new system.
The "unimproved value" is by no means an accurate definition of what
either the taxpayers or the Legislature at the time desired. But no
one has yet discovered a more satisfactory definition, and therefore
it stands.
Up to 1890 the assessment had been on the net rent a property might
be reasonably expected to yield after deducting the cost of rates
and insurance and the amount necessary to maintain the property in a
condition to command such rent. This was, in short, the old basis of
assessment in the mother country; but to meet the objection to the
assessment of improvements the Government, in introducing the first
Divisional Boards Bill, had modified the valuation clause by the
proviso that the improvements on land should be assessed at one-half
their value. This was a modification of the New Zealand assessment
method, and it gave fair satisfaction for a time.
Country ratepayers for the most part approved the change to the
unimproved value assessment; but speculators in unoccupied city,
town, and suburban lands regarded it as a gross injustice. They not
unnaturally complained that an allotment bare, or with a mere hut upon
it, would pay as much in rates under the new system as the adjoining
allotment which might be the site of spacious business premises or
of a palatial dwelling. To this the reply was that the speculative
holding of city and suburban lands inflicted gross injustice upon the
man who wanted at existing value an allotment for his own use.
The Valuation and Rating Act of 1890 passed, however; and the law as
it stands has the undoubted merit of simplicity in valuations. On the
other hand, the rate levied under the unimproved value assessment upon
vacant lands is sometimes oppressive, and appreciably reduces their
capital value. Another unforeseen effect has also been realised. The
value of a highly improved allotment tends to become depressed to
the value of the unproductive and unoccupied allotment contiguous or
adjacent to it. Hence an intending buyer is apt to ascertain the local
authority valuation of any land he needs, and to regulate his price
accordingly. In a buoyant land market this might not much affect the
selling value, but for twenty years past the land market for city or
suburban properties has been the reverse of buoyant. So the unimproved
value mode of assessment has apparently assisted to make a substantial
reduction in the market value of city and suburban properties. But
that is perhaps a less evil than may at first sight appear. The
speculative inflation of land values is simply a tax upon the user
for all time; and the moment the income-earning value is exceeded the
excess must be regarded as an unjust charge upon posterity.
Of course land values will eventually find their true level, whatever
law of rating may be in force. It may be conceded that the unimproved
assessment has caused distress among landowners who had no means of
improving their properties, and could only find a market for them at
a heavy sacrifice. Still there is no disposition on the part of the
majority of ratepayers to revert to the old annual value system, and
there is not likely to be any alteration in the law in this respect
unless for the removal of some obvious administrative anomaly. For,
as the coalition leaders agreed nineteen years ago, the local rate has
become a land tax pure and simple, and if it be held that more money
is wanted for development the simpler course is to allow the local
authorities to give another twist to the rating screw. This, as a
matter of fact, most of them have of late years done, and in many
local jurisdictions the rate is now 3d. in the pound, when twenty
years ago only 1d. or 1½d. was levied. In 1884 the total local
rates levied were £120,479; in 1908 the total was £452,052 for, it
must be remembered, an identical aggregate area. A local authorities'
rate has the distinct advantage in a young State like Queensland that,
whereas a Treasury land tax would reach only the freeholders of
less than 20,000,000 acres, the local government rate is levied upon
460,000 square miles.
The subjoined table is compiled from Statistics of Queensland for 1884
and 1908 respectively:--
AMOUNT LEVIED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
------------------------+-------------------------+------------------------
Year 1884. | Year 1908. | Increases, 1908.
------------------------+-------------------------+------------------------
CITIES AND TOWNS-- £ | CITIES AND TOWNS-- £ | CITIES AND TOWNS-- £
General Rates 46,208 | General Rates 150,744 | General Rates 104,536
| |
Separate 4,845 | Separate} | Separate or
| } 87,155 |
Special 7,583 | Special } | Special 74,727
------- | -------- | --------
Total £58,636 | Total £237,899 | Total £179,263
| |
DIVISIONS-- | SHIRES-- | SHIRES--
Total £61,843 | Total £214,153 | Total £152,310
------- | -------- | --------
Grand Total £120,479 | Grand Total £452,052 | Grand Total £331,573
------------------------+-------------------------+------------------------
Thus, since the unimproved value system came into force, the levies
of the local authority rates have multiplied about three and a-half
times. In 1884, when the first quarter-century closed, the divisional
boards drew £2 for £1 as Treasury endowment, which, assuming the
rates were all collected, made their incomes from the combined sources
£185,529 for the year. In 1908, without a penny of endowment, their
successors'--the shire councils--rate levy totalled £214,153, or
£28,624 in excess of both rates and endowment in 1884. In 1884 the
city and town councils levied rates amounting to £58,636, which with
endowment added should have given them £117,272. In 1908 the cities
and towns levied an aggregate of £237,899, an increase upon 1884 of
£120,627, despite the loss of the £1 for £1 endowment.
These figures are interesting in view of the agitation for a Treasury
land tax. They show that in 1908, with a total of 53,948 city and town
ratepayers, their rate contribution was on the average £4 8s. 2d. per
ratepayer. At the same time 97,553 shire ratepayers contributed the
average of only £2 3s. 11d. each. The wide discrepancy between the
payments of town and country ratepayers seems anomalous, but when
it is recollected that the urban councils, of which there are only
thirty-five, undertake many public services, and that the entire area
of incorporated cities and towns is only about 354 square miles, it
will be realised that the circumstances widely differ from those of
the shires, whose various jurisdictions embrace almost the entire area
of the State, the official estimate being 669,901 square miles. This
area includes 210,359 square miles of unoccupied country, much of
which is traversed by roads, but which presumably yields no rate
revenue. Hence no useful comparison can be made between the rate
levies of town and country local authorities respectively. At the same
time a local "land" tax--which ranges from the general-rate of ½d.
in the pound in the case of shires, to 3d. in the pound, besides
special and separate rates, in cities and towns, and which makes the
average total contribution of town ratepayers more than twice the
amount levied upon country ratepayers--may at no distant time call
for rectification, especially if a so-called bursting-up tax should be
deemed necessary to meet the wants of close settlement.
Meanwhile there is room for congratulation in the fact that every
square mile of the vast area of the State--coastal islands alone
excepted--is incorporated, and that 160 local authorities with 1,310
members carry on the entire local government work of the country.
These men, unlike members of Parliament, are unremunerated by the
State, even free railway passes not being conceded to enable them to
attend the periodical meetings. The alderman or shire councillor gives
purely honorary service, and relieves the State Government of a vast
amount of worry and expense.
[Illustration: CAIRNS RANGE AND ROBB'S MONUMENT, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
One good effect of local self-government is the exclusion from
Parliament of the pestilent road-and-bridge member who in former
years made himself so troublesome to Ministers and so often twisted
the decision of the Assembly on important questions.
It would be a bad thing indeed for Queensland if the local
authorities, or any substantial percentage of them, became
inefficient. There may be room for anxiety at evidences of decadence
which at times come to the surface; but that local government in
Queensland is a vigorous and living entity is fairly evident from
the fact that with very few exceptions the 160 city, town, and shire
councils are members of the Local Authorities' Association which
annually makes itself heard in conference in Brisbane. Manifestly the
spirit of decentralisation is not dead in Queensland. The manner in
which the various bodies have survived the stoppage of the Treasury
endowment, simultaneously with the thrusting upon them of many new
responsibilities by the Act of 1902, must be regarded as a clear
indication that local government in Queensland retains undiminished
vitality.
[Footnote a: See "Queensland Government Gazette" of date
mentioned.]
CHAPTER XI.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Primary Education: Board of National Education; Education Act
of 1860; Board of General Education; Education Act of 1875;
Department of Public Instruction; Higher Education in Primary
Schools; Itinerant Teachers; Status of Teachers; Statistics.
--Private Schools.--Secondary Education: Grammar Schools Act;
Endowments, Scholarships, and Bursaries; Success of Grammar
Schools; Exhibitions to Universities; Expenditure.--Technical
Education: Beginning of System; Board of Technical Instruction;
Transfer of Control to Department of Public Instruction;
Statistics; Technical Instruction Act; Continuation Classes;
Schools of Arts and Reading Rooms.--University: Royal
Commissions; University Bill; Standardised System of Education.
From 10th December, 1859, the date of the founding of Queensland, to
30th September, 1860, primary education was under the control of a
Board of National Education appointed by the Governor in Council. That
board consisted of Sir Charles Nicholson (chairman), Messrs. R. R.
Mackenzie, William Thornton, George Raff, and D. R. Somerset; the
secretary was William Henry Day. There were then only two national
schools in the whole of Queensland--namely, one in Drayton and one in
Warwick. The system of primary education obtaining in New South Wales
was continued, but the subject of education was one of the earliest
matters which received the consideration of the first Parliament of
Queensland, and in 1860 an Act to provide for primary education was
passed. The Bill was initiated in the Legislative Council by Captain
O'Connell, and Mr. R. G. W. Herbert had charge of the measure in the
Legislative Assembly. The object of the Bill was to provide primary
education under one general and comprehensive system, and to afford
facilities to persons of all denominations for the education of their
children in the same school without prejudice to their religious
beliefs.
PRIMARY EDUCATION.
The Act provided for the appointment of a Board of General Education
to consist of five members, together with a Minister of the Crown who
would, _ex officio_, act as chairman. The members of the first Board
were:--Mr. R. R. Mackenzie (chairman), Dr. W. Hobbs (vice-chairman),
and Messrs. W. H. Day, J. F. McDougall, W. J. Munce, and George Raff.
The scheme of primary education which the board framed was based
generally upon the national system in operation in Ireland. Schools
were divided into two classes--vested and non-vested. The vested
schools were unsectarian in character. The aid granted by the board
towards the establishment, equipment, and up-keep of schools varied
from time to time, and ranged from one-half to two-thirds. The board
appointed the teachers. The salaries of teachers were supplemented
by school fees, ranging from 3d. to 1s. 6d. per week for each scholar
according to his standard in the school work. When the board took
office there were 10 teachers, 493 pupils, and 4 schools--Drayton,
Warwick, Brisbane (boys), and Brisbane (girls). The total expenditure
in 1860 was £1,615 2s. 3d. School fees were abolished by the Premier,
Mr. Lilley, from the 1st of January, 1870, and since that date primary
State education has been free, Queensland being the first of the
Australian colonies to adopt the principle of free public education.
The Education Act of 1860 was superseded by the State Education Act of
1875, which came into operation on 1st January, 1876, and is still
in force. When passed it was regarded as the most progressive Act
in Australia. Its author was Mr. S. W. Griffith, the present Chief
Justice of the Commonwealth, and he was the first Minister for Public
Instruction. The first Under Secretary was Mr. C. J. Graham. On 31st
December, 1875, there were 230 schools in operation, the aggregate
enrolment for the year being 33,643, and the average attendance
16,887. The number of teachers employed was 595, and the total
expenditure for the year was £83,219 14s. 9d.
The new Act provided that the whole system of public instruction in
Queensland, formerly administered by the Board of General Education,
should be transferred to a department of the public service, to be
called the Department of Public Instruction.
The Act provided that one-fifth of the cost must be contributed
locally in the first instance towards the purchase of a school
site, the erection of the necessary buildings, and the providing of
furniture; thereafter the State bore the whole expenditure. Thus the
State defrayed the total cost of repairs and maintenance, renewals,
additions, and the like. State aid to non-vested schools was withdrawn
as from 31st December, 1880.
In 1895 a resolution was agreed to by the Legislative Assembly in
favour of the establishment of superior State schools with a view to
providing higher education for children in towns and populous centres
where grammar schools did not exist. The ultimate result of this
action was the passing of the State Education Act Amendment Act of
1897, which gave the Governor in Council power to prescribe that any
subjects of secular instruction might be subjects of instruction in
primary schools. The department immediately took advantage of this
amending Act, and provided for the teaching of mathematics, higher
English, and science in the fifth and sixth classes.
So far as the resources at its disposal have permitted, the Department
of Public Instruction has done what it could to bring primary
education within the reach of all the children of the State, and it
may be safely claimed that wherever twelve children can be gathered
together there exists a school. But where the children cannot be
gathered into groups the department goes to the homes of the pupils.
Itinerant teachers, fully equipped with buggies, camping outfits,
school requisites, and other necessaries, traverse the sparsely
settled districts in the far West and North where the establishment of
schools is not possible. The travelling teachers look for the homes
of the pupils, be those homes rude wayside inns, log cabins, or even
tents, and an effort is made to visit each home not less than four
times a year. Under this system the little ones are at least taught
to read, to write, and to count. The itinerant teacher system was
initiated in 1901, when one teacher was appointed. There are now
twelve of these teachers, and the expenditure in this direction has
risen from £411 per annum to £5,129 per annum.
In 1906 the department began to appoint trained teachers to the charge
of all schools where the attendance exceeded twelve. By this process
properly qualified teachers will soon be in charge of 90 per cent. of
the schools of the State. One of the most difficult problems which
has to be faced in England, Scotland, America, and also in some of our
sister States, is the adequate staffing of small country schools by
efficient teachers. Queensland has solved that problem, and it is
doubtful if any country has done better in that respect.
Primary school teachers are officers of the State, and are not
subject to the caprices of boards or local committees; they enjoy the
protection and privileges of the Public Service Act, and the interests
of no branch of the public service are more zealously protected by
Parliament. They stand high in public estimation in Queensland,
and that estimation is steadily rising. The pay on the whole is
good--particularly that of head teachers, and the conditions of
service are by no means unattractive.
In 1908 the total expenditure on education (including school
buildings) was £393,378 1s. 8d.; the total number of departmental
schools open during that year was 1,141, the net enrolment of pupils
being 94,193, and the average daily attendance 67,309.
[Illustration: VIEW OF GYMPIE FROM NASHVILLE RAILWAY STATION]
[Illustration: COKE OVENS, IPSWICH DISTRICT]
PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
The number of private schools in operation in Queensland during 1908
was 157, namely:--Church of England, 8; Roman Catholic, 61; Lutheran,
2; undenominational, 86. These schools are not subsidised by the
State. The number of teachers employed in them during the year
totalled 665. The total enrolment of scholars was 14,098--males,
5,934; females, 8,164. The total average number of scholars attending
the schools was 11,928--males, 5,114; females, 6,814.
SECONDARY EDUCATION.
In 1860, that is within one year of the founding of Queensland as a
separate State, an Act was passed to provide for the establishment
of grammar schools, in which was to be given an education higher than
that which could be given in the elementary schools. The following
remarks made by Mr. R. G. W. Herbert, who introduced the bill in the
Legislative Assembly, are very interesting. He said: "The question of
education might be considered under three heads as primary, grammar
school, and collegiate. The bill introduced into the other branch
of the Legislature was intended to provide for primary education,
principally under the national system, and would make adequate
provision for imparting fundamental instruction at a cheap rate to all
classes of youth without distinction of creed or religious profession.
The bill he now introduced was intended to provide for a higher order
of instruction of a useful and thoroughly practical character by
establishing grammar schools easily accessible to the colonial youth
of all denominations throughout the colony.... It was desirable
that the instruction to be afforded in the grammar schools should
be afforded at a cheap rate, so that as many as possible might avail
themselves of it, and that it should be such as would best qualify the
youth of the colony for discharging the duties that would devolve upon
them in after life."
Captain O'Connell, who had charge of the measure in the Legislative
Council, said: "It was merely a sequel to the Primary Education Bill,
and was designed to give those who might desire it a higher education
than could be afforded by the primary schools. It was a matter of the
greatest importance that a system of this kind should be established
on a broad and permanent foundation, and therefore it was not
difficult to perceive that the creation of primary schools such as
were contemplated under the other bill would be found extremely useful
in carrying out the great objects now proposed to be accomplished."
Under the provisions of the Grammar Schools Act a school may be
established in any locality where a sum of not less than £1,000 has
been raised locally, and the Governor in Council may grant towards
the erection of school buildings and a residence for the principal a
subsidy equal to twice the amount raised locally. An amending Act
was passed in 1864 providing that when certain conditions had been
complied with an annual endowment of £1,000 might be granted to each
grammar school. Each school is governed by a board of seven trustees;
of these, four are appointed by the Government, and three are
nominated by the subscribers to the building fund; they hold office
for three years.
There are ten grammar schools in the State--seven in Southern, two
in Central, and one in Northern Queensland. The Ipswich Boys' Grammar
School was the first to be established; it was erected in 1863. The
last established was the school for girls in Rockhampton, which was
founded in 1892.
Each of the schools has qualified for the annual endowment of £1,000;
of this amount the State pays £750 a year unconditionally, and £250
on the understanding that the school will receive a certain number of
State scholars per annum, the scholarships held by these pupils being
known as district scholarships. Queensland has always been liberal
in the granting of scholarships, and at the present time no less than
102, including the district scholarships, are granted every year; of
these, 70 are available for boys, and 32 for girls. Each scholarship
has a currency of three years. The State also grants seven bursaries
to boys and three to girls. A bursary entitles the holder to free
education at an approved secondary school for three years, together
with a cash allowance of £30 per annum. The trustees of the various
grammar schools also grant scholarships in addition to those provided
by the State. In 1908 the aggregate enrolment of pupils in attendance
at the grammar schools was 1,101, with an average daily attendance
of 970; and of these pupils fully one-third were the holders of
scholarships. Free railway passes to the nearest grammar school are
granted to the holders of scholarships.
To assist the children of poor parents to avail themselves of the
scholarships which they may win, the Government grant a living
allowance of £12 per annum to the winners of scholarships, provided
that the income of the parents does not exceed £3 per week, or £30
per annum for each bona fide member of the family. This rule came into
operation on the 1st of January, 1909.
It is generally recognised that the Queensland grammar schools do
good work; the success of their students in the junior and senior
examinations of the Sydney University abundantly justifies this
conclusion. Each school constructs its own programme, but, broadly
speaking, the curriculum of the several schools is designed to lead
up to the Sydney University. As each school practically shapes its own
course, the success of the institution depends very largely upon the
personality, efficiency, and vigour of the principal. In addition to
the State-endowed grammar schools there are several other secondary
schools. Some of these are denominational, and others are conducted by
private persons. Schools of this class are not endowed by the State,
but the winners of State scholarships or bursaries may attend these
institutions if the Governor in Council is satisfied that they are of
a sufficiently high standard.
Queensland has not so far placed the coping-stone on her educational
system by establishing a University, but each year she grants three
exhibitions to Universities outside the State. The exhibitions
are open to competition, and the test examination is the senior
examination of the Sydney University. Each exhibition has a currency
of three years, and is worth £100 a year. The winners may attend any
University approved by the Governor in Council.
It will thus be seen that Queensland has been fairly liberal in
providing the means of higher education for her children. A comparison
with her sister States of New South Wales and Victoria emphasises this
fact. During the year 1906-7 New South Wales, with a population of
1,528,697, and a revenue of £13,392,435, granted £12,945 towards
secondary education; Victoria, with a population of 1,231,940, and a
revenue of £8,345,534, granted £5,874; Queensland, with a population
of 535,113, and a revenue of £4,307,912, granted £12,909, this
amount being exclusive of the £900 per annum granted on account of
exhibitions to Universities. In 1908 the amount granted by the State
towards secondary education in Queensland was £14,272 11s. 11d.
TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
The system of technical education in Queensland is in its infancy, but
no branch is likely to make more rapid and lusty growth or to have a
more important bearing upon the industrial and commercial development
of the State.
The Brisbane Technical College has been in existence as a distinct
institution since 1882. It is only since July, 1905, that the
Education Department has been closely associated with the
administration of technical education. Previous to 1902 technical
colleges, with the exception of the Brisbane College, were carried on
in connection with schools of arts under the control of local
committees, the State subsidising the colleges to the extent of £1 for
each £1 paid in fees or subscribed for technical college purposes.
In 1902 a Board of Technical Education was created; the board held
office until 1905, when this branch of education was placed under
the control of the department, and a special officer was appointed to
supervise the work. Endowment is now paid upon a differential scale,
the distribution being based on the general and practical utility of
the subjects taught, the subsidy ranging from 10s. to £3 for every £1
collected in fees. There were seventeen colleges in operation during
1908. The progress which has been made during the past five years is
shown in the following table:--
---------------------+---------------------+----------------
Year. | Number of | Endowment.
|Individual Students. |
---------------------+---------------------+----------------
1904 | 3,600 | £4,732 4 6
1905 | 3,892 | 5,460 4 11
1906 | 4,321 | 7,930 13 5
1907 | 4,702 | 9,610 4 2
1908 | 5,187 | 10,719 12 7
---------------------+---------------------+----------------
The importance of a highly developed system of technical education has
been fully realised in this State, and in 1908 a Technical Instruction
Act was passed. It provides for the establishment of a central
technical college in Brisbane which shall be maintained by, and be
under the direct control of, the State. It is intended that this
college shall be the recognised technical institute of Queensland,
and it is hoped that it may ultimately be one of the most important
institutions of the kind in Australia. The colleges outside the
metropolis will be affiliated with the central college, but will
remain under local control.
In addition to liberal assistance to technical education, provision
has been made for evening continuation classes. These classes are to
enable pupils who have left school before completing their primary
education to continue their education; to assist persons to obtain
instruction in special subjects relating to their employment; and to
prepare students for the technical colleges. The classes are liberally
endowed by the State, and very comprehensive regulations have been
framed for their administration, the system being probably the best of
its kind in the Commonwealth.
[Illustration: GULF CATTLE READY FOR MARKET]
[Illustration: BRIGALOW COUNTRY, WARRA, DARLING DOWNS]
[Illustration: HEREFORD COWS, DARLING DOWNS]
Schools of arts and reading rooms are also fostered by the State. A
grant of 10s. is made for each £1 of subscriptions or donations, but
the grant to any one institution cannot exceed £150 per annum.
The State subsidises reading rooms at shearing sheds, sugar mills,
and meat works to the extent of £1 for £1, with a view to assisting
to provide reading matter, and such suitable recreation games as
draughts, chess, &c., for the workers in those industries.
The amount contributed by the State towards schools of arts and
reading rooms is £5,000 per annum, and in 1908 there were 181 of these
institutions.
UNIVERSITY.
The question of establishing a University has been under consideration
from time to time for the past thirty-five years, and more than one
Royal Commission has been appointed to inquire into and report upon
the subject. In 1874 a commission recommended the immediate foundation
of a University. In 1891 another commission was appointed, and made a
similar recommendation. For various reasons, however, but principally
financial stringency, no action was taken until September, 1899,
when the Government introduced a bill for the establishment of a
University. Unfortunately the bill did not become law, and Queensland
remained without a University for another decade.
The Government programme for the first session of 1909 included a
University Bill, but owing to the untimely dissolution of the Assembly
nothing was done in the matter. When Parliament met again on 2nd
November, the bill was the first measure proceeded with. Both Houses
being unanimously in favour of establishing a University on modern,
democratic lines, it was speedily passed, and on 10th December,
the jubilee of the foundation of Queensland, Government House was
dedicated to the purposes of the University by His Excellency the
Governor, Sir William MacGregor, in the presence of a large and
representative gathering of citizens. With the State system of primary
education established on a sound basis; technical education placed on
a firm foundation and progressing steadily; secondary education
linked to the other branches, and all leading towards the University,
Queensland will have a system of education which will place her on a
level with the most progressive of the nations.
PART III.--OUR JUBILEE YEAR.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL REVIEW.
Good Seasons and General Prosperity.--Land Settlement
and Immigration.--The Sugar Crop.--Gold and Other
Minerals.--Reduction in Cost of Mining and Treatment
of Ores.--Vigorous Railway Extension.--Mileage Open for
Traffic.--Efficiency of 3 ft. 6 in. Gauge.--Our Railway
Investment.--The National Association Jubilee Show.
--The General Election.--The Mandate of the Constituencies.
--Government Majority.--Practical Extinction of Third
Party.--Labour a Constitutional Opposition.--Federal
Agreement with States.--Federal Union Vindicated.
During the half-century of Queensland's existence she has never
experienced a more prosperous year than that of her Jubilee. Not only
have the seasons been good, the rains well distributed though in
some parts light, but prices of staple products have been high in the
world's markets. The increase of sheep, cattle, and horses has
been unusually large this year; the clip of wool has been highly
satisfactory both in respect of quality and market value; the yield of
butter and cheese has been above the average; and crops generally
have been remunerative to the farmer. The wheat crop at the time
this chapter is being written promises well, the area showing a
considerable increase upon last year, while prices are certainly
above the average. Trade and commerce have consequently been brisk and
sound, and nearly all classes of the community have participated
in the prosperity that has prevailed. Settlement upon the land has
progressed by leaps and bounds; immigrants have begun to flow into
the country in encouraging numbers, and, with few exceptions, the new
arrivals have found a market for their labour at wages contrasting
favourably with their earnings in the mother land.
Of all staple products sugar alone shows declension in yield this
year, but that arises, not from the season of 1909, but from the
unprecedentedly severe frosts of the previous year. Yet, despite
the lessened yield of cane, the sugar-growers do not complain of bad
times, nor is their outlook discouraging.
The gold yield has continued to fall off, but that is partly due to
the prosperity of the pastoral and agricultural industries, which have
attracted both capital and labour that under other circumstances would
have been employed in prospecting for the precious metal. Silver and
the baser metals have also exhibited a shrinkage in output, but that
is explained by the low prices which have ruled since the American
crisis of two years ago. Two of the great mining companies in Central
Queensland--the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company and the Great Fitzroy
Copper Mining Company--have both had a prosperous year, having
found in simultaneous mining for gold and copper abundant scope for
enterprise and energy; and improved methods of raising ore, as well as
constantly lessened expense of treatment, have made the prospect for
the future reassuring. Large profits are being made to-day in the
treatment of the less rich but more abundant ores, which could not
have been utilised even ten years ago except at ruinous loss. It is
now recognised that a well-organised laboratory is as essential in the
equipment of a great mine as a corps of skilled miners or a range of
smelting furnaces. Hence it is that the mining outlook is encouraging,
and that in the opinion of scientific experts the industry in
Queensland has scarcely yet passed the infantile stage.
It is natural that in accordance with the progressive spirit of the
times the Government should have induced Parliament to authorise the
expenditure of much more than the recent average amount of loan money
in the construction of railways and other public works. No less than
eleven railways, as stated in the Commissioner's report recently
published, have been under construction this year. These lines are
expected to be completed within a few months, so that nearly 4,000
miles will be open for traffic before the close of the financial year.
Besides this large mileage for a population of 568,000 persons, 446
miles of other railways and tramways, more or less under the control
of the State, are available for public traffic. Being of the same
gauge as the State railways, they have been the means of developing
large areas and materially improving the position of the Government
lines. Thus the length of railway which will be open for traffic
before 30th June, 1910, will amount to 4,320 miles of the standard 3
ft. 6 in. gauge, which will be equal to the traffic of a comparatively
dense population. The increased breadth of rolling-stock has been
found to conduce to comfort without imperilling the safety of
passengers, and by the use of heavier rails and more powerful engines
the carrying capacity of the narrow-gauge lines has of late years been
greatly increased.[a]
The Commissioner puts the total cost of our railway system on 30th
June last, including £1,139,405 spent on lines not yet open, at
£24,534,727. The total authorised outlay is, however, given as
£27,221,805, so that at the rate of expenditure of last year the
balance unexpended will enable construction to be continued for over
two years. The net revenue available for the defraying of interest
accruing on capital for the financial year 1908-9 was £883,610,[b]
equal to £3 7s. 6d. per cent. The mean rate of interest payable on
the total public debt of Queensland, which includes much stock bearing
more than 3½ per cent., is £3 14s. 1d. per cent., so that our
railways may be deemed almost directly reproductive; and, what is
still more satisfactory, they are rapidly improving in net earning
capacity. As every extension adds to the volume of traffic, apart
altogether from the added value given to Crown lands by providing them
with railway communication, every inducement is held out to maintain a
vigorous policy of construction. There is every reason to believe that
in a few years our railway system will be the greatest and most
stable of all contributors to the Consolidated Revenue; and when it is
recollected that forty-five years ago there was not a mile of railway
or tramway open for traffic in Queensland, the progress made in
providing transport facilities is brought out in bold relief.
One of the most noteworthy events of the Jubilee Year was the
thirty-fourth exhibition of the National Agricultural and Industrial
Association. This exhibition is the occasion of the most generally
observed holiday of the year in the metropolis, and attracts thousands
of visitors from all parts of Queensland, and many from the Southern
States. It has come to be regarded as the annual meeting-ground of
friends from widely separated localities. Year by year the attendance
of visitors has grown, and the interest taken in the display has
increased. This year special efforts were put forth by the council
of the Association; and, fearing that their own resources would prove
unequal to the strain, they applied to the Government for a jubilee
grant. But the Government refused to do more than provide jubilee
medals for certain classes of successful exhibitors, and enter some
splendid exhibits from the State farms and others illustrative of the
mineral wealth of Queensland. They held that to accede to the request
would be to supply a precedent for similar applications from kindred
associations in provincial towns, and that one of the glories of the
metropolitan exhibition is that it is a self-supporting, self-reliant
institution. The sequel proved the correctness of this view, for the
exhibition far exceeded all predecessors in magnitude, and gave a
handsome profit to the National Association, which richly deserved
such a reward for months of self-sacrificing work.
[Illustration: ABOVE STONY CREEK FALLS, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
The official opening was attended by unusual pomp and ceremony, the
Governor-General of the Commonwealth, the Earl of Dudley, performing
the task of declaring the exhibition open. His Excellency took
advantage of the opportunity to impress upon the people of Queensland
the urgent need for a vigorous immigration policy if the country is to
be successfully developed and its well-being maintained.
To attempt a detailed description of what was not inappropriately
termed "Our Jubilee Carnival" would be beyond the province and the
scope of this volume. When it is mentioned that the exhibits numbered
over 8,000, the magnitude of the undertaking will be realised. It will
be sufficient to mention a few salient points. For example, there
were no less than 1,580 exhibits of live stock; and as, in the case of
sheep and cattle, an entry often included pens and not single animals,
the provision made for this attractive and paramount feature of
the show was taxed to its utmost capacity. These pastoral exhibits
represented stock yielding more than a moiety of the £14,000,000 worth
of annual exports; and the industry connected with grazing stock on
the natural pastures of the country not only employs much labour and
contributes largely to the revenue of the State directly in the shape
of Crown rents and railway freights, but it assists the Treasury
indirectly in many other ways. The magnificent display of stud and
pedigree stock and their products spoke volumes for the value of
the indigenous grass crop which costs nothing to raise and only wire
fencing to protect.
Among the exhibits was a trophy of that world-commanding product,
wool, of which the value exported from Australia in 1908 is given
in the Federal Treasurer's Budget delivered in August last as
£22,914,236. The Commonwealth returns do not differentiate between the
various States, but, assuming the average value of the fleece to be
the same throughout Australia, the value of Queensland's share of the
clip was about £5,000,000. Another product which has the world for
its market is cotton. Of this article there were three splendid
exhibits--one from West Moreton, in Southern Queensland; another from
Rockhampton, in Central Queensland; and the third from Cairns, in
Northern Queensland. Nothing save the cost of labour in picking
prevents cotton being classed among the staple products of our State,
and it is hoped by experts that as families upon the farms increase
this difficulty will be removed. The Cairns exhibit was of Caravonica
cotton, a variety of the valuable Sea Island species, concerning the
extensive cultivation of which the most sanguine anticipations are
expressed. In agricultural products emulation was greatly stimulated
by the district exhibits, of which there were five, and on the
whole they were superior to any that had ever before been shown in
Queensland. Almost every product of the temperate and torrid zones
appeared among the exhibits, though, of course, many of them are not
yet being cultivated on a commercial scale. Among the most prominent
of those of commercial value may be mentioned sugar, butter, cheese,
hams, bacon, wheat, maize, fodder crops, potatoes, pineapples, and
citrus and deciduous fruits, in all of which the displays were a
revelation, not only to visitors from other parts of the continent and
oversea, but also to many of our own people. The same may be remarked
of the magnificent exhibits of gold, copper, tin, coal, and other
minerals, which form so large a proportion of our wealth-producing
exports. Statistics relating to the production and export of these
commodities will be found in the appendices to this volume, and need
not be further referred to here. Another attraction meriting special
notice was the collection of gems and precious stones, the industry
represented by which is at present struggling against the want of
access to profitable markets; but the great interest aroused at the
Franco-British Exhibition of last year by the magnificent display of
Queensland gems is calculated to remove this disability, and to place
the industry on a prosperous and permanent footing. The great variety
of foods manufactured in Australia was another feature of the display,
while in the machinery section the entries surpassed any previous
exhibition in Queensland. Consequent upon the removal of border duties
and the adoption of a uniform tariff, Queensland has suffered keenly
from the competition of the Southern States. Statistics abundantly
prove that some of our nascent manufactures have been checked
seriously by such competition, although these losses are being
gradually compensated for by gains in the form of enlarged free
markets for products in which Queensland is safeguarded by natural
conditions; but even freetraders must admit that our protective
Customs duties are stimulating what are called native manufactures
in a surprising degree, and that year by year Queensland and the
Commonwealth at large are becoming less dependent upon the outside
world for the products and manufactures which are essential to the
existence of a civilised nation.
Politically, 1909 has been rather a trying year, but the result of the
general election on 2nd October seems to give promise of better things
in Parliament. Both the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition agree
that the practical extinction of the third party by the appeal to
the electorate will be beneficial to the country. The election also
ratifies the fusion of parties carried out towards the end of last
year, with the consequential placing of the Labour party in the
position of a constitutional Opposition. These salutary changes are
held to be equivalent to a restoration of responsible government,
which had been practically suspended by the impossibility of any party
carrying on the work of legislation without making humiliating terms
with an irresponsible section. It was contended that there were three
parties in the country, and that the existence of the same phenomenon
in the Assembly proved it to be a true reflex of the electorate at
large; but the late general election has dispelled that illusion, for
on no occasion since the splitting up of parties had the issue been
put in so clear-cut a form to the country. Another result of the
election has been to add somewhat to the strength of the Labour
members, who are now sufficiently numerous in the Assembly to give
them a reasonable expectation of being called upon in due time to
assume the responsibilities of government. The State must gain from
the resolution of the House into two parties, for the purity and
effectiveness of party government demand that His Majesty's Ministers
shall always be faced by an Opposition fitted and prepared to become
the advisers of the King's representative whenever the existing
Administration loses the confidence of the Parliament and the country.
As mentioned elsewhere, a most satisfactory event of the year is
the prospect of a settlement of the financial relations between
Commonwealth and States on a durable and mutually acceptable basis.
Public opinion throughout the continent is so clearly in favour of
the agreement that its ratification seems certain during the present
financial year, and it seems also certain that it will come into force
on 1st July next. From that date there is reason to hope that the
benefits of federal union will become so conspicuous as to silence
cavilling opponents and justify the aspirations of its advocates. The
general opinion throughout the Commonwealth with respect to the vital
question of national defence has undergone a marvellous change for
the better during the past twelve months, the unanimity displayed
justifying the most sanguine anticipations of future unbroken concert
between Great Britain and her self-governing dominions, and the
supremacy of the British Empire on the ocean, a supremacy which means
the protection of the world's trade routes and unimpeded maritime
commerce.
[Footnote a: As indicative of the progress made in the local
manufacture of railway stock, it may be mentioned, on the
authority of the Commissioner, that one Brisbane engineering firm
has this year completed its 100th locomotive for the Department.]
[Footnote b: Treasury figures. The Commissioner's figures differ
somewhat from those of the Treasury. In estimating the percentage
return the Railway Department takes into account only the
expenditure on open lines, whilst the Treasury bases its
calculations upon the expenditure on all lines, and charges the
Railway Department with its proportion of loan deficiencies and
flotation charges.]
CHAPTER II.
THE FEDERAL OUTLOOK.
Proclamation of the Commonwealth.--The Referendum
Vote.--Queensland's Small Majority in the Affirmative.
--Representation in Federal Parliament.--The White
Australia Policy.--Temporary Effect on Queensland.
--An Embarrassed State Treasury.--Assistance to Sugar
Industry.--Continued Protection Necessary.--Unequal
Distribution of Federal Surplus Revenue.--The Transferred
Properties.--Effect of Uniform Tariff.--Good Times Lessen
Federal Burden on State.--The Agreement between Prime
Minister and Premiers.--Better Feeling Towards Federation.
--National Measures of Deakin Government.
After several vain attempts on the part of Australian statesmen to
bring about federation, the Commonwealth Constitution Act was adopted
by the several States in 1899 and ratified by the Imperial Parliament
in 1900; and Her Majesty Queen Victoria issued a proclamation,
declaring that on and after 1st January, 1901, the colonies of New
South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania,
and Western Australia should be federated under the name of the
Commonwealth of Australia, the several colonies being thereafter known
as "States." The union took place by the freewill of all the colonies,
a popular vote being taken in each. The poll was small, only 583,865
electors recording their votes, of which number 422,788 voted for
federation and 161,077 against, the majority in favour being 261,711.
In Queensland 38,488 voted in the affirmative and 30,996 in the
negative, giving the narrow majority of 7,492, equal to only 10·78
per cent. of the total votes polled. That majority was obtained by an
almost block pro-federation vote throughout the Centre and North of
the colony, the majority in the Southern district, which contained
about two-thirds of the population, being adverse to union. There was
no objection to the abstract principle or to the wisdom of a federal
union--rather the reverse; but Queensland had not been represented at
any of the Conventions at which the Constitution was drafted, and no
provision was made, such as was made in the case of West Australia,
to meet the peculiar geographical, industrial, and financial
circumstances of this State. In the absence of legislative safeguards
and guarantees, the unsatisfactory experience of New South Wales
administration in pre-separation days led the people of Southern
Queensland to doubt whether the vaunted fraternal spirit would
withstand the actual attrition of business competition. They feared
that the great urban populations of Sydney and Melbourne would,
under the proposed democratic Constitution, secure for themselves
industrial, commercial, and administrative advantages at the expense
of their brethren, but none the less rivals, in the more remote
parts of the continent. Believing that, though their occupations
and products were the same as those of the Southern States, their
interests were conflicting, the majority in Southern Queensland cast
their votes against the union. Finding themselves in a minority, many
of the opponents of federation deliberately refused to exercise the
franchise in the first election, held in 1901. Instead of taking steps
to secure the return to the Commonwealth Parliament of men who would
try to avert any evil consequences arising from non-representation at
the Conventions and who would oppose any unfair discrimination, the
short-sighted abstention of these people from voting enabled the
Labour party, who certainly did not comprise a majority of the
electors, to return nine out of our fifteen representatives in the two
Houses.
[Illustration: MOUNT MORGAN: OPEN CUT AND DUMPS]
[Illustration: MOUNT MORGAN: MUNDIC AND COPPER WORKS.]
One of the first results of this predominance of Labour representation
was the early passage of legislation abolishing Pacific Island
labour in the sugar industry--which is almost exclusively confined
to Queensland--and requiring all the islanders to leave Australia for
their native homes not later than 31st December, 1906. With a view
to compensating the cane-growers for the added cost of labour, and to
induce them to abandon all forms of coloured labour, a bounty, ranging
at the present time from 7s. 6d. per ton of cane in the extreme North
to 6s. per ton in Southern Queensland and on the Northern Rivers of
New South Wales, was offered upon all cane grown exclusively with
white labour; while to provide funds for payment of the bounty an
excise duty, first of £3 and then £4 per ton, was imposed. These
radical changes occurred at a time, unfortunately, when the State
was suffering from severe depression resulting from an unprecedented
succession of adverse seasons and the substitution of a uniform
protective Customs tariff for the State tariff, which had for years
previously yielded a large revenue per head while affording protection
to many native industries. The abolition of interstate Customs
duties caused a further loss to the Queensland Treasury; so that the
Government felt compelled to ask Parliament to impose new taxation as
well as sanction severe retrenchment in order to check the alarming
series of revenue deficits which, despite large loan expenditure,
marked the stressful period. All this tended to make federation
unpopular, and obscure the benefits the union under the Commonwealth
Constitution was calculated to confer eventually.
The popular sentiment was, however, overwhelmingly in favour of the
White Australia policy; and even most of its opponents took exception
to the hasty methods of enforcement rather than to the principle
itself. Much difficulty was at first experienced in securing reliable
white workers, but the remuneration year by year attracted, in
increasing numbers, men accustomed to farm work, until, in 1908-9, the
owners of about 90 per cent. of the cane grown found themselves in a
position to claim the bounty. Pacific Island labour is now almost a
thing of the past, though a few islanders who were not repatriated
still engage in field work. In the more severely tropical of the sugar
districts some Asiatic labour is also employed, the planters alleging
that white men will not, unless at prohibitory wages, face the muggy
heat of the cane-brake. The bounty, together with the £6 import duty,
appears at length to have re-established the industry on a durable
basis; but many growers look forward with some apprehension to the
gradual extinction of the bounty and the possibility of a reduction
in the import duty, holding that without the protection at present
afforded Australian cane sugar cannot compete against the product of
the cheap coloured labour of Java, Fiji, and Mauritius, or the beet
sugar of Europe.
A further objection to federation was found in the mode adopted of
distributing the Federal surplus revenue among the States. The 87th
section of the Constitution required that for ten years the Federal
Government should not expend on its own purposes more than one-fourth
of the net Customs and Excise revenue of the Commonwealth, and that
the balance of such revenue should be returned to the States. Prior
to federation this had been interpreted to mean that each State would
receive back not less than three-fourths of the net Customs and Excise
revenue collected within its jurisdiction. But the Commonwealth Crown
law officers placed a different construction on the section, and held
that, so long as at least three-fourths of the net Customs revenue was
distributed collectively, the Commonwealth had no obligation to
return that proportion to any individual State. This has caused great
uncertainty and embarrassment to the Queensland Treasurer, and has
impelled many public men to stigmatise the union as a curse instead of
a blessing.
In illustration of the unequal division of the surplus Federal revenue
among the States, it may be mentioned that, according to a table
published by the Commonwealth Auditor-General, while the aggregate sum
beyond the three-fourths of Customs and Excise revenue returned to the
States amounted to £6,059,087, Queensland actually received £44,951
less than her three-fourths during the eight and a-half years ended
30th June, 1909; and her Treasurer was much embarrassed by the
uncertainty of the return owing to tariff alterations and the
determination of the Federal Government to defray from revenue
otherwise accruing to the State under the Constitution Act the cost of
permanent buildings, which the State had formerly provided for out of
loan moneys.
Another grievance of the States--especially of Queensland, which
borrowed largely to construct its 10,253 miles of telegraph lines,
and incurred a heavy annual charge upon revenue in providing postal
communication throughout its vast and scantily populated territory--is
that the Commonwealth Government treat section 85 of the Constitution
as a dead letter. This provision expressly enacts that "the
Commonwealth shall compensate the State for the value of any property
passing to the Commonwealth under this section"; but not a penny of
compensation has ever been paid, although there is a considerable
interest charge to be met annually by the State Treasuries on account
of money borrowed for the purposes of these transferred properties.
The chief revenue loss suffered by the Queensland Treasury under
federation arose from the passing of the uniform tariff, which drew
considerably less than the former State tariff from the pockets of the
taxpayers. Of course the remedy had to be sought in other taxation,
and it could only be found in direct levies much more objectionable
than the indirect charge imposed by Customs duties. However, the feat
was ultimately accomplished, despite the depressed condition of the
State through years of scanty rainfall and the enormous losses of live
stock consequent thereon; but successive State Governments have had to
bear much unmerited odium and have suffered in popularity on account
of their efforts to restore financial equilibrium when the principal
disturbing element was the advent of federation and not State
mismanagement.
Since times began to improve throughout Australia, the Federal burden
has been less in evidence; and at the late Melbourne Conference, held
to confer with the Commonwealth Government with the view to adjust
mutual relations, no State Premier recognised more frankly than did
Mr. Kidston the claims of the Federal Government to increased revenue
to defray the cost of old-age pensions, naval and military defence,
and other great national objects. The provisional agreement entered
into by the Conference was recognised by all the Premiers as less
advantageous than they had desired, but they were unanimous in
admitting that under the altered conditions it was the best they could
now hope for. On the Commonwealth side it was recognised that the
States had made a large voluntary surrender, and that the position of
the Federal Treasury would be greatly strengthened under the operation
of the agreement. The apparent dread of diminishing Customs revenue
in after years was clearly not well founded, because the Commonwealth
Parliament can easily, by readjustment of duties, make up any
deficiency. On the other hand, an immense advantage will be gained by
both parties to the agreement from the separation of Federal and State
finances except in respect of the liability of the Commonwealth to
hand over, and the right of the States to receive, a fixed annual
contribution of 25s. per head of the population. The representatives
of the States granted a further concession to the Commonwealth by
permitting the retention of an additional £600,000 of the Customs
revenue for the current year to reimburse the cost of old-age pensions
not already provided for by the Commonwealth Trust Fund created by the
Surplus Revenue Act of 1908. The bill embodying the agreement received
the approval of the statutory majority in both Houses of Parliament.
It now rests with the electors of the Commonwealth to accept or reject
the necessary amendment of the Constitution; and there is every reason
to hope that the compact will be made as permanent as any other part
of the Constitution. In that event, the relations between Commonwealth
and States will undoubtedly improve, and harmonious co-operation for
the public welfare may be safely anticipated from the Parliaments.
The Federal session of 1909 has been distinguished by the passage
of epoch-making bills for the appointment of a High Commissioner
in London and for naval and military defence, measures which are
calculated to raise the Commonwealth to an exalted position in the
scale of young nations.
[Illustration: QUEENSLAND 1859]
[Illustration: QUEENSLAND 1909]
[Illustration: AUSTRALIA 1859 SHOWING SELF-GOVERNING COLONIES]
[Illustration: THE WORLD Showing relative position of AUSTRALIA.]
PART IV.--THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES.
CHAPTER I.
THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY.
Importance of Industry.--Small Beginnings in New South
Wales.--Extension of Industry.--Stocking of Darling Downs and
Western Queensland.--Rush for Pastoral Lands.--Difficulties
of Early Squatters.--Influx of Victorian Capital.--Changes
in Method of Working Stations.--Boom in Pastoral Properties.
--Checks from Drought.--Discovery of Artesian Water.
--Conservation of Surface Water.--Introduction of Grazing
Farm System.--Closer Settlement of Darling Downs.
--Cattle-Rearing.--Meat-Freezing Works.--Overstocking.
--Dairying.--Station Routine.--Charm of Pastoral Life.
--Shearing.--Hospitality of Squatters.--Attraction of
Industry as Investment and Occupation.
The pastoral industry in Queensland is, in point of duration, well
within the compass of a single life. In about seventy years it has
attained its present dimensions, and, as progress in the early years
was very slow, its magnitude to-day supplies striking testimony to
the energy and enterprise of two generations. The description
of Queensland as a huge sheep and cattle farm with contributive
industries, which without very great extravagance might have been
offered forty years ago, has long ceased to be applicable. But
though other industries have grown into importance, reducing its
pre-eminence, the pastoral still retains its unquestioned lead and is
deservedly regarded as the main source of the State's wealth. Bearing
in mind that the total exports from Queensland for 1907 were rather
over fourteen and a-half millions sterling, of which pastoral produce
claimed more than half, it will be seen that this title to
precedence cannot be challenged. With an abatement of £529,000 for
butter--dairying being associated with agriculture--this imposing
sum is the direct product of the natural grasses. It can hardly
be surprising then, after realising the potential wealth of
these pastures, that visitors should be struck with the fact that
rainfall--past, present, and prospective--is a constant and very
prominent topic in all grades of social intercourse.
That a continent so suited to the abundant propagation of animal life
should have been so poorly equipped by Nature with an indigenous fauna
can only be accounted for by Australia's primeval isolation. Similar
vast prairie lands, which in America sustained countless herds of
bison and in Africa literally swarmed with antelope and many species
of game, were in Australia almost uninhabited. The absence of large
rivers and a general scarcity of water had doubtless much to do with
this destitute condition of the great pasture lands of the interior,
but still the wonder remains that a continent which now carries more
sheep than any other country in the world should have been in its
original state, except along its coastal belt, almost tenantless. The
fierce carnivora of the older world were entirely unrepresented, the
principal denizen of the lonely land being the timid kangaroo; but the
curious problems presented by the Australian fauna have compensated
the naturalist for its modest numbers.
In Queensland what is recognised as the Western Interior occupies
about half the area of the State and is distinct in its geological
formation from the coastal belt, the waters of which run into the
ocean to the east and north. The region of these watersheds, with the
exception of some comparatively limited areas of downs country on the
heads of the rivers, is regarded as unsuitable for sheep, the rainfall
being more abundant than on the Western waters and the grass coarser,
so that cattle are almost exclusively run there. In the Western
Interior are the true sheep pastures. The farther one goes west the
more treeless the country becomes. Here undulating downs for the most
part stretch to the horizon, intersected by watercourses fringed with
timber, and although in summer many of these creeks shrink to a chain
of disconnected waterholes, few of which are permanent, they offer
abundant opportunities for water conservation. In the last few years
many for several miles of their course have been converted into
running streams by artesian bores.
Before, however, dwelling on the present position, we must briefly
glance at the origin of pastoral enterprise in Australia and its tardy
extension to Queensland.
As soon as settlement was established, the new land had to be stocked
with the domesticated animals of the old. Captain Phillip, the first
Governor, in 1788 made a very modest start. He brought with him from
England 7 horses, 7 cattle, and 29 sheep, besides pigs, rabbits, and
poultry. Remembering that in those days England was from six to nine
months distant from the new settlement, it is not perhaps surprising
that pastoral progress was slow. In 1800 there were only 6,124 sheep
and 1,044 cattle in Australia. But five years prior to this the seed
destined to produce a giant growth was already germinating. A shrewd
young soldier had detected the germ of Australia's future wealth.
With a strange prescience, unaided by experience, Captain Macarthur
recognised that the dry climate of Australia was peculiarly adapted to
the growth of a fine type of wool. Starting from most unpromising ewes
from India, he gradually improved the strain by the introduction of
Spanish blood. He was fortunate at the start in getting three rams
from the Cape, part of a gift from the King of Spain to the Dutch
Government, and by sedulous culling with a bold disregard for
carcass, although fat wethers at the time sold for £5, he succeeded
in establishing a good merino flock the wool from which created
an excellent impression in England. English manufacturers, who had
hitherto drawn their limited stocks of clothing wool from Spain,
welcomed the promise of a new source of supply.
Macarthur had taken some wool with him to England, when deported in
consequence of a fatal duel in 1803, and its fine quality was at once
recognised and appreciated. He was fortunate in being still there in
the following year, when George the Third, in the hope of encouraging
the production of fine wool, sold a portion of his Kew stud flock, the
progeny of Negretti sheep, another gift of the Spanish King, so that
they might be distributed amongst his subjects. Macarthur was the
principal buyer, securing seven rams and a ewe at very moderate
prices, the highest being under £30. He was an enthusiast, and could
see the enormous possibilities of the virgin continent he had left,
with its mild dry climate and almost limitless pasture lands, for the
maintenance of great flocks, the wool of which could be improved to
the finest type. He asked the British Government for a grant of land
to feed his flocks, assuring them that he was "so convinced of the
practicability of supplying this country with any quantity of fine
wool that it may require that I am earnestly solicitous to prosecute
this important object, and on my return to New South Wales will devote
my whole attention to accelerating its complete attainment." This
request--in spite of the adverse opinion of Sir Joseph Banks as to the
suitability of the new land for wool-growing--was granted, Lord Camden
instructing the Governor of New South Wales to grant Macarthur such
lands "as would enable him to extend his flocks in such a degree as
may promise to supply a sufficiency of animal food for the colony
as well as a lucrative article of export for the support of our
manufactures at home." Macarthur selected near Mount Taurus, and the
Camden estate, long famous as the source from which many studs were
either formed or replenished, was established. How limited at this
time was the world's production of this superfine wool--suited to the
manufacture of the finest fabrics--may be gathered from the fact of
one bale of Macarthur's being sold at Garraway's Coffee House in 1807
at 10s. 6d. per lb., the cloth from which provided England's Farmer
King with a coat.
But not till the merino had passed beyond coastal influences was
the improvement of growth due to an eminently suitable habitat fully
realised. Wentworth and others had in 1813 pushed across the Blue
Mountains, and the occupation of the interior began. In the Mudgee
district, which was stocked with sheep about 1824, the clip improved
so distinctly on the original Spanish stock as to form almost a new
type. Increasing in length and gaining in softness and elasticity, it
has commanded ever-increasing attention from manufacturers, and has
long been recognised as the premier fine wool of the world.
Tasmania, starting with Macarthur's stock, and following on his
breeding lines, had proved peculiarly adapted for the growth of a
dense fleece of fine wool. As numbers rapidly increased in this small
island, flockmasters had to look about for an outlet. This was easily
found on the mainland, and sheep were soon pouring across the narrow
strait into the district of Port Phillip, which in 1851 was proclaimed
the colony of Victoria.
After Macarthur's death in 1834, his system of breeding was carefully
followed by his widow, and when in 1858 the flock was dispersed the
stud ewes numbered about 1,000. These, passing into the hands of
flockmasters of New South Wales and Victoria, were the foundation of
many of the noted studs of to-day. The Victorian flocks, starting
from the Tasmanian, early competed with the island of their origin in
excellence, and, though Tasmania still maintains its reputation as
the home from which the studs of the other States are constantly
replenished, it has of late years gone largely into crossbreds. The
most noted studs, however, are still maintained undefiled, except that
the introduction of the American Vermont blood has been in some cases
cautiously tried, with results that have provoked much controversy.
Other pioneers of the industry, the Rev. Samuel Marsden for one,
started with the same Spanish blood, crossed with the hardy and
prolific Indian ewe, but unlike Macarthur they found the temptations
of the fat stock market irresistible. Remembering the great price fat
wethers commanded in those early days, it must be admitted that the
temptation was considerable. Macarthur, however, by steadily rejecting
all mutton breeds and making a fine description of fleece his one
object, deserves grateful recognition as the founder of the Australian
merino.
[Illustration: FAT CATTLE, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: CATTLE COUNTRY, WEST MORETON]
Although the settlement of Moreton Bay was started in 1824, it was
long before the pastoral industry made any progress in the territory
which is now Queensland. In that year Governor Brisbane sent Oxley
to explore Moreton Bay and report on its suitability for a convict
out-station. From information given by two white castaways living with
the blacks, he found the river which Cook in 1770 and Flinders ten
years later had failed to discover--though both, confident of its
existence, had spent days in the Bay searching for its embouchure.
Sheep and cattle were sent as supplies. But in a few years the
settlement was abandoned, the officials and prisoners returning to
New South Wales; and in 1842, when Moreton Bay was proclaimed a free
settlement, the Government live stock were dispersed by sale amongst
the settlers. Blacks were numerous and very hostile, and, though
cattle throve well, the country was found unsuitable for sheep, so
that expansion from the Moreton district was very slow.
But already in 1827 one man had been favoured with a glimpse of what
is still regarded as the garden of Queensland. Allan Cunningham,
starting from the Hunter, had pushed steadily North for 500 miles till
he emerged from the broken highlands of New England on to the famous
Downs which he named after Sir Charles Darling. He was enraptured with
the country, which he described as clothed "with grasses and herbage
exhibiting an extraordinary luxuriance of growth." Yet it was thirteen
years before anyone took advantage of his discovery. To a later
generation acquainted with the great value of the lands, which as a
distinguished botanist Cunningham could not have failed to recognise,
this appears one of the most astounding facts in the history of
exploration. Many a time he must have discoursed to his friend Patrick
Leslie on the rich vision he had been privileged to look on, yet it
was not till 1840 that the latter with a small flock followed in his
footsteps. What increases the surprise at this apparently strange lack
of enterprise is that the year after Cunningham had found the Darling
Downs he visited Moreton Bay, and succeeded in crossing the range from
the coast by a gap since known by his name and reached the vicinity
of his old camp, thus demonstrating that the natural port of this rich
region was little over a hundred miles distant. Leslie, who settled in
the neighbourhood of where the flourishing town of Warwick now stands,
was rapidly followed by others who established the fine squattages
that have since become famous. Although a few sheep had previously
been introduced in the Moreton district, Leslie and his confreres must
be regarded as the fathers of sheep-farming in Queensland.
Difficulties of carriage long retarded any attempt to occupy the
splendid territory farther West which Sir James Mitchell had explored
in 1846 and Kennedy had farther penetrated a year later, crossing
the Barcoo and discovering the Thomson River. Though the existence of
these vast rolling plains was known, the presumption that no industry
requiring a fair amount of labour could pay, handicapped with five
to six hundred miles of land carriage, checked any attempt to occupy
them. Nor was this unreasonable. The difficulties and uncertainties of
such an undertaking might well prompt hesitation. Yet, in view of
the rich returns from flocks elsewhere, it was impossible that
these solitudes should for very long await easier conditions. A few
adventurous spirits pushed out to these great undulating plains. Their
example was quickly followed. In the early sixties a general migration
westward began, and wherever water was met with the country was taken
up. In 1869 an Act was passed granting 21-year leases to applicants
who had taken up areas and stocked them to the extent of twenty-five
sheep or five cattle to the square mile. It was found that on these
Western pastures, rich with succulent grasses and saline shrubs
all the year round, and in winter abounding in herbage of many
descriptions, all stock grew and fattened amazingly. The climate, too,
falsified all predictions, and instead of converting the wool to hair,
which experts had prognosticated as the inevitable result of an ardent
summer, grew an excellent fleece of fine lustrous combing wool. A
frantic rush for country set in. Flocks and herds were hurried out by
jealous owners anxious to forestall one another in the scramble for
leases. In a few years the whole territory, except where absence of
water forbade settlement, was parcelled out in sheep and cattle runs.
It had not yet been recognised how country destitute of surface water
could be utilised. On these neglected areas are now many prosperous
sheep-runs, the pioneers little suspecting the inexhaustible supplies
awaiting the magic touch of the boring-rod to provide the abundant
streams they longed for.
With such easy conditions of tenure and lands of unsurpassable quality
for grazing, it might naturally be expected that these pioneers
amassed easy fortunes. The falsification of such expectation is a
melancholy story. Though the cattle-men in many cases managed
to struggle on, the majority of the sheep-owners went under. The
difficulties were enormous. Railways had not yet penetrated the
country, though a small start had been made. Wool took from six to
nine months reaching the coast by bullock dray, and the carriage
of supplies to the station cost more than the goods themselves.
Frequently the next clip was awaiting carriage ere the previous one
had left the station. Wages were high, and all forms of labour scarce.
The quality of sheep, too, was poor, many of them being the culls from
Southern flocks, bought at high prices. The depression in the wool
market, with high rates of interest on borrowed money, strained the
pioneer's resources to breaking point, and in too many cases years of
strenuous endeavour and hardship ended in ruin.
But brighter days were in store. As railways pushed out, the attention
of Victorian capitalists was attracted by the potentialities of
Western Queensland. The phenomenal gold production of Victoria had
produced a plethora of money seeking investment, which constituted
Melbourne the financial capital of Australia. This accumulated wealth,
after fructifying New South Wales, flowed into Queensland. A Victorian
invasion began. The knell of the shepherd had sounded, wire fences
taking his place. Sheep that had hitherto been run in flocks of 1,500
to 2,000, tended during the day by a man and a dog and yarded at
night, were now turned into large paddocks by tens of thousands with
only a boundary rider to look to the fences. It was found by this
method that the carrying capacity of country was enormously increased.
Yarded sheep, driven to and fro twice daily, destroy more grass than
they can eat, whereas when left to themselves it is all utilised. The
smaller the paddocks, the less the sheep wander and the larger the
number that can be carried on a given area. It was found, too, that
stocking greatly improved the water. On the spongy surface of virgin
country, untrodden by any hoof, there was little "run" off the
surface after rain, but when hardened by the tread of stock the creeks
received a fairer share of the downpour. The best rams procurable
from the Darling Downs and noted Southern studs rapidly improved the
flocks. In 1873 wool rose to a price not touched for many years; a
boom in Queensland stations set in, and the remnant of the pioneers
who elected to do so sold out at prices that gave a rich though tardy
reward for long and toilsome enterprise.
Although the general course of the industry has been one of great
prosperity, it has not been without its serious checks. A severe
drought throughout nearly the whole of Australia, culminating in
1902, inflicted terrible losses of both sheep and cattle. Waterholes
supposed to be permanent dried up; and pastures within reach of those
which proved permanent were trodden into a desert condition till the
stock were too weak to travel back to the surviving pasturage. The
outlook was so gloomy that almost universal ruin seemed impending.
It is sad to think that whilst stock were perishing in multitudes
abundant subterranean streams, flowing southward to discharge
uselessly in the Great Australian Bight, might have been available to
avert this national calamity. The uses of adversity have never been
more strikingly exemplified than by the number of artesian bores
put down since that hard experience. These, as the cost of sinking
decreases, are multiplying yearly. The artesian basin exists
throughout nearly three-fifths of Queensland, and whilst the origin
of these subterranean stores is still somewhat of a mystery they are
apparently inexhaustible. The supply and the depth at which water
is obtained vary considerably; the former runs as high as 3,000,000
gallons per diem, and the latter averages about 1,600 feet.
Whilst artesian boring has been prosecuted with commendable
enterprise, the storage of surface water on an extensive scale has not
yet received the attention it deserves. Many schemes have been mooted
for conserving a portion of the huge volume of water that in the rainy
season flows through regions which would gladly retain a share, to
waste itself in the Southern Ocean. Doubtless in the future a problem
of such fascination will attract the best engineering skill, and a
number of inland lakes will result. But that day may yet be distant.
One such scheme only need be noticed. The Diamantina River, which
in time of flood stretches out to many miles in breadth, flows
south-westward through several degrees of Western Queensland. At a
point known as Diamantina Gates it finds an exit through a narrow
gorge in a low range. Although never yet tested by accurate survey,
competent judges have surmised that a substantial dam at this spot
would throw back an amount of water which would constitute a veritable
inland sea. Other large rivers--the Thomson, Barcoo, Hamilton,
Georgina--also offer to the hydraulic engineer splendid opportunities
of winning distinction.
In 1884 a notable change of land policy was adopted. The 1869 leases
were expiring, and it was recognised that the big squattages could
not longer be allowed to monopolise the country. Room was required for
smaller holdings. All available country was already occupied under
the 1869 leases, and, although under another Act 5,120 acres could be
acquired with conditions of improvement and residence, there was no
way of getting an area capable of carrying 10,000 sheep. There did
not exist a small squatting class. The Minister for Lands, Mr. C.
B. Dutton--himself a large squatter--recognised the desirability of
creating such a class, which would stand in the same relation to the
"squattocracy" that the yeomen of Britain do to the large landowners.
In granting a new lease to the original lessee, Dutton's Act required
him to surrender a portion of his run, from a half to a quarter
according to the length of time his lease had been running. A Land
Board independent of Ministerial control was appointed to arrange an
equitable division of the runs and to fix the rent of the new lease,
which was for fifteen years. Two years later this was increased to
twenty-one years, on condition of the lessee surrendering another
quarter of his area at the end of the fifteenth year. The portions
resumed from the old squattages were surveyed into areas up to 20,000
acres and thrown open to selection. The old lessee--who regarded any
area under 400 square miles as a paltry holding and counted his crop
of calves by thousands and his yearly lambing increase by tens of
thousands--ridiculed the new departure, maintaining that any man must
starve on such an absurdly inadequate area as 20,000 acres. But
these sinister predictions did not deter selectors from testing the
question. At first grazing farms were only very gradually applied for,
but a few years' experience justified Mr. Dutton's expectations, and
a great demand set in, till now, as soon as opened to selection, there
is a keen competition for them. The difficulty is to survey them fast
enough to provide for requirements. The maximum area has since been
increased so that now as much as 60,000 acres can be held by an
individual, provided the total rent does not exceed £200. It is not
unusual for three or four grazing farmers to combine and manage the
combined leasehold as a co-partnership, which, although not provided
for in the Act, is sanctioned by the Land Court.
[Illustration: HORSES AT GOWRIE, DARLING DOWNS]
[Illustration: SHEEP AT GOWRIE, DARLING DOWNS]
[Illustration: HORSES, WESTERN QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: FAT CATTLE, BURRANDILLA, CHARLEVILLE]
A new Act in 1902 offered those who elected to take advantage of it
a fresh lease, at the expiration of the current one, of from ten to
forty-two years, according to classification; and farther resumptions
were made for closer settlement. The classification, which was decided
by the Land Court, was governed by the degree of remoteness from
railway and the demand for land in the neighbourhood.
The low range of hills surrounding the Darling Downs encloses over
2,000,000 acres of land of a quality that invites the plough to
convert it into the granary of the State. As the railway to the New
South Wales border takes its rather serpentine course southwards,
coasting round many of the undulations to avoid cutting through them,
the traveller looks upon a land which he must recognise as capable
of maintaining a large farming population. What he actually saw till
quite recently was paddock after paddock of sheep on each side, then
a paddock of cattle and horses, and again more sheep. It was palpable
that this could not continue indefinitely. The railway built at the
cost of the general taxpayers had greatly increased the value of these
estates and rendered their working more profitable. The owners
of these flocks and herds had done good service to the State, and
deserved the most generous treatment. Successors of the original
pioneers, they had bred the stock that helped to occupy the West, and
had founded studs that enabled others to replenish their flocks and
herds from the purest sources. It was important above all things that
no legislative interference should harass men who deserved so well of
Queensland, and that no step should be taken to dispossess them which
could be suspected of any taint of harshness. In time, doubtless, they
would themselves have parcelled out their estates for tillage, but the
process would have been slow, the easy terms of payment possible to
a Government borrowing money at a low rate of interest not being
generally convenient to an individual, and time in the development of
a young country is important. Parliament therefore took the matter
in hand and decided that where possible these landholders should be
bought out on a valuation made by an independent tribunal. A number
of properties have been bought by the Government, cut up into farms of
from 80 acres upwards, and sold to farmers on liberal terms, payment
extending over twenty-five years. Mixed farming and dairying are the
chief purposes to which the land has been put, and busy townships
have sprung up at the railway stations where a few years ago the
stationmaster, his family, and an assistant porter formed the bulk of
the resident population. Breeding lambs for export is found to be
a profitable branch of the pastoral business on the Downs, and the
breeding of crossbreds is consequently increasing, the Lincoln or
Leicester being mated with the merino. Southdown and Romney rams have
also been tried, but the Lincoln cross has been generally preferred.
Crossbred lambs three to four months old bring 10s. in Brisbane, the
railage costing from 1s. to 1s. 3d.
So far little mention has been made of cattle. It may be generally
stated that where country is suitable for sheep, or, more accurately
speaking, where they can be profitably run, cattle are only depastured
in very small herds. The coastal belt and the Northern Gulf region are
exclusively cattle country, and in the extreme West, although sheep
thrive excellently, the long carriage causes cattle to be preferred,
the expense of cattle management being much below that of sheep. The
product of these distant pastures travels on the hoof to market, the
Western cattle being noted for their great weight of flesh and the
distance they carry it without great waste. Most of the herds have
been improved to a high degree of excellence by importation of some
of the best blood in England, and high-class stud herds have been long
established in the different States from which drafts of herd bulls
are drawn as required at from about 10 to 15 guineas per head.
With a population of little over half a million occupying a territory
of 670,500 square miles, it will be realised that the yearly cast of
"fats" greatly exceeds local requirements. The Southern States take a
large number. New South Wales and Victoria are the best customers, as,
with a combined population of roughly five times that of Queensland,
the total of their cattle is only slightly in excess of the Queensland
herd. South Australia is also a regular buyer of "fats." The "stores"
that go South to be fattened beyond the State are almost exclusively
bullocks of three to four years. Amongst the "fats" of ripe ages is
a proportion of dry cows, and a limited number of breeders and mixed
cattle also find sale with Southern buyers. But these outlets would
have been quite inadequate for the absorption of the Queensland annual
surplus had not meat-preserving come to the rescue of the stock-owner.
Before freezing works were established, boiling down was the one
resource, the tallow, hides, and sheepskins giving a meagre return,
whilst the valuable carcass went to the pigs. The late Sir Arthur
Hodgson, a leading pastoralist, used to relate with humorous comments
his experiences with a first draft of sheep from his Darling Downs
station (Eton Vale), brought to Brisbane to be boiled down at the
Kangaroo Point works. During the process the owner--educated at Eton,
and subsequently a Minister of the Crown in Queensland--went round
daily with a handcart selling the legs of mutton at sixpence apiece.
Such commercial enterprise has long fallen into desuetude.
To bring the surplus meat of Australia within reach of the eager
millions of Europe has not been an easy problem, but it has at length
been fairly solved by freezing the carcass, though much has yet to be
done in discovering the best method of distribution of so perishable
an article and its proper treatment from the freezing chamber to the
spit. The various works buy cattle at about 18s. to 20s. per 100 lb.,
the weight of bullocks averaging about 750 lb., though many mobs,
notably the huge beasts from the West, go as much as 200 lb. beyond
this. The works are also buyers of fat sheep, a 50-lb. wether two or
three months after shearing bringing from 9s. to 10s. In the six years
1901-6 the exports of frozen meat from Australia totalled 353,514,135
lb. of beef and 371,692,090 lb. of mutton.
An occupation the profits of which are capable of such large additions
by increasing numbers is apt to foster a spirit of gambling. In a
season of bountiful rainfall it is almost impossible to over-stock
country, and owners too often take the risk of availing themselves
to the full of Nature's prodigality. Such a policy is most dangerous.
When the time of more limited rainfall comes the owner of over-stocked
pastures pays a heavy toll for his improvidence, whereas he who has
regulated his numbers on the assumption of fair average seasons comes
scathless through the time of trial.
Dairying comes more within the department of agriculture, as crops
must be grown for feed, the dairy-farmer being necessarily the
occupant of a very limited area. The benefit dairying has been to the
small stock-owner can hardly be exaggerated. In old days the owner of
a herd of 50 to 100 head could look only for a poor living, working
for wages for part of the year whilst his family looked after the
herd. Now he is a rich man. The monthly cheque from the creamery for
a man milking 25 cows easily reaches an average of £20. Except in
the few cases where the business has been conducted in a large way
by capitalists, it is mostly an enterprise for small men. The work is
unremitting, the herd having to be milked twice a day, but the rewards
are sure and ample. Butter and cheese factories have sprung up like
mushrooms in the last few years, there being now 79 in the State. The
yield of butter for 1907 totalled 22,789,158 lb. As returns depend on
the amount of butter-fat produced, owners have converted the ordinary
breeds of cattle to good dairy herds by plentiful introductions of
the true milking strains--Jersey, Alderney, Ayrshire, Holstein, and
milking Shorthorn.
Many will probably wonder how cattle grazed over an area of many
hundred square miles of country, which in the outside districts is
probably unfenced, can be mustered or even kept on the run. Cattle
are docilely subservient to custom, and once broken into "camps" will
voluntarily seek repose in these shelters. On a well-managed station
the crack of a whip will start any mob within hearing trotting for
their camp, formed in a clump of shade on the creek, or, if shade is
available, on some better galloping ground. Others, seeing them on the
move, head towards the same well-known resort, there to pass the day
till the shadows lengthen, only moving off in the cool of the evening
to feed. If they are being mustered for branding, the cows with calves
are "cut out" and brought to the stockyard to be dealt with; if for a
butcher to select a draft of fats, these only are taken and delivered
either on the spot or where arranged. At the general muster, which is
only made every few years, as the cattle are brought in they are put
through a lane in the yard, the long lock at the tip of the tail being
cut short; they are thus easily distinguished on the run, so that
only long-tails are brought in subsequently. A "bang-tail" muster is
recorded in the station books, and, as all sales and other disposals
are carefully noted and an allowance made of from 3 to 5 per cent. for
deaths, it is not necessary to repeat an operation taxing horseflesh
so severely at nearer intervals than three to five years. Stock-horses
become very clever, and will turn and twist with a beast through the
mob, the rider's whip playing on either side till the animal is run
out. Large tailing yards are maintained in different parts of the run
to avoid much driving, and at weaning time the weaners are herded for
a month or six weeks and yarded at night, which has a quieting
effect they never forget. A well-managed herd is noted for absence of
rowdyism amongst its members. On a well-improved station the bullocks,
heifers, and weaners will be in separate paddocks, and at a certain
season the bulls are taken out of the herd and put in a paddock by
themselves.
[Illustration: WOOL TEAMS, WYANDRA, WARREGO DISTRICT]
[Illustration: HAULING CEDAR, ATHERTON, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
Much has been written of the Australian squatter's life, both in fact
and in fiction; yet the charm it exercises remains unexplained. The
invigorating influence of perfect health doubtless has something to
do with it, as well as the utter freedom and escape from all
conventionality. Much of the bushman's time is passed in the saddle,
and his dress consists of moleskin trousers, the sleeves of his shirt
rolled up to the elbow, and a soft shady hat. He rises at daybreak and
after an early breakfast starts his day's work. As frequently he
will not return to the homestead till nightfall, his lunch is in his
saddle-pouch, to be enjoyed in the shade by some waterhole, where he
boils the quart "billy" that dangles all day from a dee on his saddle,
and makes the inevitable brew of tea. Probably he has companions and
is mustering a paddock half the size of an English county; bringing
the sheep to the drafting yards, it may be to draft out the fats from
a mob of several thousand wethers, or perhaps to take lambs from
their mothers for weaning, or to separate the sexes in a mob of mixed
weaners, or to bring sheep to the shed for shearing.
Shearing is of all times the busiest. At this season men, each usually
riding one horse and leading another packed with his swag, roam the
country in gangs and undertake the work at contract rates, which of
late have been raised from 20s. per 100 to 24s. There will be from
ten to forty men on the shearing board, according to the size of the
flock; and in most of the large sheds men write beforehand to bespeak
a stand. Shearers earn great wages; a good man will do from 100 to
200 per day, though the latter number is of course exceptional. The
introduction of shearing machines has helped to increase the shearer's
daily tally. A host of other men are employed in the shed. Boys gather
the fleeces which they throw on a table where they are skirted, the
trimmings being divided into "locks and pieces" and "bellies," and
the rolled fleece is thrown on another long table at which the
wool-classer presides. He is an expert, and orders each to its
respective bin, according to quality--judged by condition, length of
staple, and brightness. From the various bins so graded men feed the
wool-press worked by two wool-pressers, who turn out, sew, and brand
the bales, of an average weight of from 3 to 4 cwt. Wagons are waiting
to convey these to the railway, horse and bullock teams being almost
equally used. A whip cracks like a pistol shot, and with lowered
heads, the bullocks straining at the yoke, the first team draws slowly
off to the incomprehensible objurgations of the driver, an incredible
number of bales in three tiers piled on the wagon and securely roped.
But this bustling activity is not confined to the shed. Shorn sheep
have to be returned to their paddocks, fresh mobs brought in, and the
morrow's shearing housed in the shed to escape the night's dew or a
chance shower. From daylight to dark during this harvest time everyone
is at full stretch. The shearers have their own cook and "find"
themselves, sharing together in a general mess; and as they earn good
money they "do themselves" really well, denying themselves no delicacy
obtainable at the station store. The whistle sounds at 6 p.m.; the
last fleece has been gathered, and the men stroll to their camp to
discard sodden shirts and moleskins and clean up generally before
supper. The twilight is short, night chasing it swiftly from the
world. The weird charm of a Queensland night in the bush penetrates
with a calm satisfaction difficult to analyse. It is, let us suppose,
spring or summer, and the stars appear to hang low from the deep clear
indigo vault. The silence is unbroken, appealing to some indefinable
emotion. No cry of beast or bird ruffles the stillness, save perhaps
the faint tinkle of the bell-bird or the solemn plaint of the mopoke
from some distant scrub. The men are sitting outside their hut
smoking, or with tired limbs stretched on the short dry grass lying
full length drawing the quiet night into their blood, its cool
soft breath soothing the fatigue of the arduous day's toil. Very
entertaining to a listener would be the symposium of experiences
and amazing political theories of these rough good-humoured toilers,
whilst in the pauses one might perhaps enjoy the fantasia executed by
the musician of the party on his concertina.
Life at the homestead of many of the old-established stations differs
little from that of a wealthy country home in other parts of the
world. Froude in his "Oceana" draws a diverting picture of his
anticipations of a bush home and its reality. He had pictured a
log-hut in the wilderness, and was taken to Ercildoune, where he was
amazed to find a mansion amidst splendid gardens, with conservatories,
elaborate drawing-rooms, well-dressed ladies, and all the
appurtenances and customs of refined life. Expecting chops, damper,
and tea, the culinary triumphs of a skilful _chef_ would strike an
author in quest of the barbaric life with a keen reproach. Had Mr.
Froude visited Queensland, he might have found something more suitable
for literary treatment. Although in the older settled districts,
especially on the Darling Downs, the lessees live in comfortable,
well-furnished homes, many bush homesteads are still very primitive.
The farther a station is from the railway the more the owner is
inclined to dispense with the superfluous, till in many cases he
restricts himself to the absolutely necessary. But every year sees
an improvement in this respect. Hospitality is unlimited, any visitor
being sure of a welcome and a night's lodging; he turns his horses
into his host's paddock, and, if there are ladies of the household,
his evening is enlivened with music and cultured talk.
Some of the more gigantic enterprises are conducted by squatting
companies, the sheep numbering several hundred thousand and the cattle
up to thirty or forty thousand. But these stupendous figures need not
deter small investors. In the purchase of a station the goodwill is
an asset to be paid for, and in many cases this is valued at a high
figure. The selector who takes up a grazing farm pays nothing for
goodwill, and gets into what is possibly a going concern from the
outset with no other payment than the year's rent and the value of the
existing improvements erected by the former lessee before the area was
resumed from his holding. It may happen that the country is bare of
all improvements, in which case he has to fence it before he gets a
lease, his neighbours being liable for half the cost of this work,
which forms their common boundary. He pays a higher rent than the
representative of the pioneer who created the goodwill which has
descended by purchase. What more desirable opening can be found for a
young man of limited capital than a farm that will carry 10,000 sheep
or 1,500 cattle? He leads the healthiest life in the world, and,
although it is full of hard work and includes what would be thought
hardships in the home he comes from, a manly youth takes the latter
with a frolic welcome, and if he works hard he also plays hard when
the occasional races, cricket carnival, and festivities in the nearest
township or perhaps at some neighbouring station give the occasion.
But above all things it is important that he should not invest till
he has gained experience. There is no difficulty in acquiring this, as
stockowners are without exception glad of the assistance of a willing
young fellow who accepts the knowledge acquired and perhaps a trifling
salary as an equivalent for his time and work. After a couple of years
of this novitiate as a "Jackeroo," he will be equipped for facing the
future on his own account, which with ordinary steadfastness, energy,
and forethought he may regard with confidence.
[Illustration: DAIRY CATTLE ON DARLING DOWNS]
[Illustration: SHEEP, JIMBOUR, DARLING DOWNS]
[Illustration: HORSES, IVANHOE STATION, WARREGO]
CHAPTER II.
AGRICULTURE IN QUEENSLAND.
Tripartite Division of Queensland.--Climate.--Development of
Agriculture in Queensland.--Wide Range of Products.--Early
History.--Exclusion of Farmers from Richest Lands.--Origin of
Mixed Farming.--Extension of Industry Westward.--Inexperience
of Early Settlers.--Cotton-growing.--Chief Crops.--Dairying.
--Cereal-growing.--Farming in the Tropics.--Farming on the
Downs.--Farming in the West.--Irrigation.--Conservation of
Water.--Timber Industry.--Land Selection.--Assistance Given by
the Government.--Immigration.--Attractions of Queensland.
--Defenders of Hearth and Home.
Situated between 10½ degrees and 29 degrees South latitude and 138
degrees and 153½ degrees East longitude, Queensland covers 670,500
square miles, or 429,120,000 acres--greater than the combined areas
of France, Germany, and Austro-Hungary. Of this immense territory 53·5
per cent. lies within the Tropics, and 46·5 per cent. within the South
Temperate Zone.
The State may be divided into three belts--the tropical, stretching
from Cape York to the 21st parallel in the neighbourhood of Mackay;
the sub-tropical, between Mackay and Gladstone, about 24 degrees
South; and the temperate, from Gladstone to the 29th parallel on the
border of New South Wales.
These three zones lend themselves, in turn, to a tripartite
subdivision of littoral, tableland, and Western plain. Running
generally in a North and South direction, and distant from the Eastern
coast 30 to 100 miles, the Great Dividing Range separates the littoral
from a series of tablelands having an altitude of 3,000 ft. at the two
extremes, with a lesser elevation between Herberton in the North and
the Darling Downs in the South. Almost imperceptibly the intermediate
plateau sinks into a vast plain, which extends westward for hundreds
of miles and into South Australia.
The mountain barrier between coast and tableland, though rarely
exceeding 4,000 ft. in height, is still sufficiently lofty to cause
the clouds of the Pacific to deposit most of their moisture on the
Eastern slopes. The precipitation in this coastal belt ranges from
a yearly average of 135 in. at Geraldton (at the foot of the
Bellenden-Ker Mountains, in the North) to 40 in. between the Tropic of
Capricorn and Brisbane, with a heavier fall wherever the mountains
are in close proximity to the ocean. On the Western side of the Great
Divide the rainfall decreases from 40 in. to about 30 in. at the
Western limit of the tableland, and, gradually diminishing with
increasing distance from the seaboard, averages only about 10 in. in
the extreme South-west.
Temperature, rainfall, and soil necessary for the successful
cultivation of almost every known crop are to be found in Queensland.
Pastoral pursuits and mining have been the principal wealth-producers
in the past; but steadily agriculture is coming to the front, and,
long before the present generation has passed away, will occupy first
place among the primary industries. That it has not done so already
is due partly to the comparative youth of the country and its small
population, and partly to its rich natural pastures and vast mineral
resources. For many years the fascination of a pastoral life and
the search for gold, with the hope of winning fortunes in those
avocations, proved more attractive than the regular, uneventful life
of the farmer, with its prospect of a competence; but the old-time
glamour of grazing and mining is passing away, and the independence
of the farmer is now preferred to the lot of station hand or working
miner.
On the inestimable value of a rural population to the permanent
well-being of a nation Mr. Roosevelt, the late President of the United
States, lays stress in these pregnant words:--
"I warn my countrymen that the great recent progress made in
city life is not a full measure of our civilisation; for
our civilisation rests at bottom on the wholesomeness,
the attractiveness, and the completeness, as well as the
prosperity, of life in the country. The men and women on the
farms stand for what is fundamentally best and most needed in
our national life. Upon the development of country life rests
ultimately our ability, by methods of farming requiring the
highest intelligence, to continue to feed and clothe the
hungry nations; to supply the city with fresh blood, clean
bodies, and clear brains that can endure the terrific strain
of modern life; we need the development of men in the open
country, who will be in the future, as in the past, the stay
and strength of the nation in time of war, and its guiding and
controlling spirit in time of peace."
Too large a proportion of the people of Australia is already
congregated in the capital cities on the seaboard, and this
centripetal tendency constitutes one of the problems most difficult
of solution in our young communities, as it is proving in the older
countries of the world. Here, however, we are not confronted with the
obstacle of high-priced land, and no effort is being spared to turn
the tide of settlement to the true source of national virility and
prosperity--the land.
The suitability of the State for agriculture is amply demonstrated
by the condition of those engaged in that industry, for there is no
considerable class in the community so prosperous. Comfortable homes,
well-stocked farms, overflowing barns, and other evidence of labour
richly rewarded, bear witness to this fact. The abundance of a series
of fat years more than compensates for the loss of crops and stock
in occasional years of drought, and these losses it is possible to
minimise by devoting attention to afforestation, the conservation of
water, irrigation, and the storage of fodder.
Diversity of products is to be expected in a country stretching
through 18½ degrees of latitude, possessing an infinite variety
of soils, and divided into a hot and humid coastal belt, an elevated
tableland with cool climate and moderate rainfall, and a huge plain
with light rainfall and dry, invigorating atmosphere. There is
probably no country in the world with so wide an agricultural range.
To mention crops which can be, and are being, grown with gratifying
results would be to set forth in detail nearly every crop of economic
value found in the torrid or the temperate zone. Wherever Nature is
so generous with her gifts there must be accompanying drawbacks in
the shape of vegetable and insect pests, but, by the application
of intelligence and industry, the farmers of Queensland are able to
combat these petty foes.
Some of the principal objects of culture have a remarkably extensive
distribution. Citrus fruits, fodder crops and artificial grasses,
pumpkins and melons, flourish in every part of the State. Maize is
very prolific throughout the littoral and on the tableland. Sugar-cane
and tropical fruits grow luxuriantly on all the coastal lands. Most
of the fruits of the British Isles and Continental Europe are at home
everywhere except on the coast north of the Tropic of Capricorn, and
reach perfection on the elevated lands of the Darling Downs. Cereals
and root crops are produced in the Southern and Central West districts
equal in quality and yield to the crops in the Southern States and
oversea countries.
"Agriculture," says Professor Robert Wallace, of Edinburgh University,
"is one of the oldest of human arts, dating from long before the dawn
of history. The savage who lives on the roots and fruits he finds
ready to his hand stands lower in the scale than the huntsman living
by the chase. The herdsman leading a nomadic life belongs to a higher
stage of human culture; but civilisation in any full sense only begins
amongst men with settled habitations, who till the soil for their
sustenance." Judged by this standard, Queensland has passed through
the evolutionary stages. Eighty-five years ago, when the first British
settlers landed on the shores of Moreton Bay, the country was sparsely
inhabited by savages of the lowest type, dependent upon native
roots and fruits and the chase for a subsistence. For a quarter of a
century, settlement on the coast was confined to a few convicts and
military guards stationed at Brisbane and Ipswich, and a handful of
free settlers. In the year 1840 some adventurous spirits, searching
for sheep country west of the Main Range, found themselves on the
magnificent tableland which Allan Cunningham had discovered in 1827,
and which, during the intervening years, had remained untrodden by the
foot of a white man. Soon the whole of the Darling Downs was parcelled
out into large sheep stations. Agriculture, until the advent of small
selectors many years later, was only represented by garden patches
of cereals, vegetables, and fruit trees, grown for the use of the
station-owners and their employees.
On the Eastern side of the Range the industry was in almost as
backward a state before the arrival of the first shipment of
agriculturists in the ship "Fortitude" in January, 1849. Gangs of
convicts felled the scrub on the banks of the Brisbane River adjacent
to the barracks; with the hoe they planted maize among the stumps and
tree-trunks under the constant surveillance of armed guards, and,
when the corn was ripe, dragged it in carts to the windmill on
Wickham terrace, still a conspicuous landmark, though now used as an
observatory. There the maize was ground into "hominy," an important
item in the menu of those days.
A band of Moravian missionaries settled at what is now known as
Nundah, and they and the majority of the "Fortitude" immigrants were
the real pioneers of agriculture in the infant settlement.
Land orders, free immigration, and the discovery of gold were all
factors in the development of the country, and the demand for farm
lands led to the unlocking of areas previously given over to grazing.
The pastoralists regarded agriculturists with disfavour, and in some
cases with open antagonism. By the exercise of "pre-emptive rights,"
which their influence in the Legislature secured for them, they
converted into freehold large blocks of the best land, as well as
strategic areas by the possession of which they were able to close
against settlement immense tracts preeminently suitable for farming.
This was particularly the case in the settled districts of Moreton,
Darling Downs, Wide Bay, and Burnett, and to a lesser degree in
Maranoa. To such an extent was the right of preemption used that many
squatters seriously crippled themselves, the price paid being too high
for grazing to be remunerative on their freehold lands.
[Illustration: HARVESTING WHEAT, EMU VALE, NEAR WARWICK]
When, in after years, it would have been to their advantage to
subdivide and sell to farmers, it was not in their power to give
titles. In the course of time railways were built through some of
these large estates, but their earning power was seriously hampered
by country capable of supporting a very large agricultural population
being devoted to pasturing sheep and cattle. As the most satisfactory
solution of the difficulty, successive Governments have repurchased
a number of properties at a cost exceeding a million sterling, and
resold them in small areas to farmers, with highly gratifying results
both to the settlers and to the State.
The immediate effect of the exclusive policy adopted by the
pastoralists, however, was to force many selectors to take up land in
dense scrubs on steep mountain slopes and in river pockets which were
useless to stockowners. They had literally to hew their homes out
of the jungle. Having no roads, they were thrown upon their own
resources, and were obliged to live very largely upon the produce of
their farms. Erecting a rude makeshift fence around a clearing of a
few acres, the "cocky" or "cockatoo farmer," as he was contemptuously
styled by those who regarded him as an interloper, planted maize and
pumpkins among the remains of the scrub. Despite the ravages of bird
and beast, he persevered, until at last success began to crown his
efforts. A cow or two provided him with milk and butter, any surplus
butter being sold to the storekeepers in the towns which quickly
followed in the wake of settlement. Lucerne, sorghum, and other fodder
crops formed part of his husbandry, live stock multiplied, and thus
commenced that system of mixed farming to which thousands of the
farmers of Queensland owe their prosperity. The coming of neighbours
and the making of roads rendered life less lonely. With increasing
prosperity, improved implements and methods were adopted. The plough
succeeded the hoe; the harvester or the reaper and binder took the
place of sickle and scythe; and the slab humpy or bark hut gave way to
the comfortable farmhouse.
Though these early selectors were driven into almost inaccessible
scrub, they were at least within the region of heavy rainfall, and,
even where some distance from permanent streams, suffered little from
drought. Settlers who went over the Range, profiting by the experience
of the pastoral pioneers regarding the vicissitudes of climate,
avoided the mistake of relying upon a single crop, or, to use a
homely phrase, of putting all their eggs in one basket--an error which
brought ruin to thousands upon thousands of the people who, between
thirty and forty years ago, flocked from the Atlantic seaboard to the
arid regions of America, west of the Mississippi. Mixed farming became
the general rule on the further side of the Main Range, so that, if
wheat and maize failed, the farmers had their flocks and herds
and their shearing cheques as a standby until the next harvest was
garnered.
It is sometimes said with scorn that there is comparatively little
real farming in Queensland; but the conditions peculiar to
settlement in the State are responsible for the trend of agricultural
development. In the United States and Canada, the flood of immigration
and the part played by the great railway companies as land-owners and
promoters of settlement to provide traffic for their railways led
to the creation of small holdings, which, in turn, led to intense
cultivation of field and orchard crops. In Queensland, immigration has
never been conducted on an extensive scale, and, indeed, for over a
decade almost ceased. There was no great demand for land, and, as the
mistaken belief long prevailed that the quantity of arable land was
small, the area of so-called agricultural farms was made sufficiently
large to enable a man to make a living from stock-raising, dairying,
and pig-breeding. Field labourers being scarce and stock cheap, the
farmer's aim has rather been to grow feed for his stock than crops for
human consumption. He has followed the line of least resistance, so
using his land as to carry on his operations with family labour and a
little casual assistance during the busy seasons.
Events have justified this mixed farming from the point of view of
the farmer, and doubtless the monthly returns from dairying will cause
most of the farmers of Southern and Central Queensland to rely chiefly
upon that industry so long as high prices continue, and to look to
pig-breeding and lamb-fattening as subsidiary branches. But for the
swelling tide of newcomers the supplies of rich scrub, alluvial flat,
and volcanic downs country must sooner or later prove inadequate.
Indeed, within the last few years settlers have been turning their
attention to land which was once regarded as inferior. From the
lighter soils of plain and upland larger and more certain crops of
grain are being won, and on these lands dairying will take second
place to cereal production.
Since an enlightened Legislature has resumed many millions of acres
previously held under pastoral lease, and repurchased large estates in
districts enjoying the advantages of railway communication, there
has been no need to go far afield, and settlement has been chiefly
confined to the lands adjacent to the rivers and railways in the
coastal belt, on the Darling Downs, and, of recent years, in the
Burnett district.
Still, within the last thirty years, from one cause or another, groups
of settlers have made their homes far beyond those limits. Thus the
wheat lands of Maranoa were settled when there was no farming more
than a few miles to the west of Toowoomba. Over eighteen hundred years
ago Tacitus wrote of our Saxon forefathers: "They live apart, each by
himself, as woodside, plain, or fresh spring attracts him." And
this racial characteristic is strong in many of their descendants in
Queensland. Better results and greater profits might have accrued from
concentration, but the wonderful development of the British
Empire owes much to this centrifugal impulse and to the spirit of
independence and self-reliance which it has fostered; and as the flag
has followed the adventurer in so many parts of the globe, so are the
scattered pioneers of our Western lands nuclei around whom settlement
is gradually gathering.
To people coming for the most part from the mother country, experience
constituted no safe guide to the agricultural possibilities of their
new home in the South. Naturally, mistakes were made and time
and money lost before they discovered which crops were the most
profitable, and on what kind of land those crops could be grown with
greatest certainty of success.
When Dr. Lang induced the "Fortitude" immigrants to cast in their lot
with the Moreton Bay settlement, in whose welfare he took so deep an
interest, his desire was to establish the cultivation of cotton, to
which he believed the climate and soil were specially adapted. But,
despite the heavy crops produced on the river flats, cotton did not
prove remunerative until, after the outbreak of the American Civil
War in 1861, the Lancashire spinners were reduced to such straits
that they gladly paid high prices for all that could be obtained from
Queensland. The product was of excellent quality, but the cost of
picking precluded competition with countries where cheap labour was
plentiful, and, with the return to normal conditions in the United
States after the termination of the war, cotton passed almost out
of cultivation, and has never since become a crop of commercial
importance. An effort was made some years back to resuscitate the
industry by the offer of a Government bonus upon manufactured piece
goods. The bounty was earned by a mill at Ipswich, but the industry
did not long survive the stoppage of the bonus. Since the drought
of 1902 cotton has again been grown, principally in West Moreton
and North Queensland, as a subsidiary crop, and farmers have been
encouraged to extend their operations by the recent offer of a
bounty by the Commonwealth; but, until machinery takes the place of
hand-picking, farmers are likely to prefer crops which are not subject
to competition with the cheap labour of other lands.
The first European colonists in America found there two valuable
native products--maize and tobacco. Australia, on the other hand,
presented a virgin field to the agriculturist. Like the rest of the
Commonwealth, Queensland, blessed with the richest natural pastures,
possesses no indigenous food plants of proved economic value. The
early settlers naturally availed themselves of the wealth of native
grasses and edible shrubs, and became graziers. When a commencement
was made with agriculture, farmers sowed the crops to which they had
been accustomed in Great Britain. Though these grew well, it was soon
found that they were, on the whole, better adapted to the elevated
downs than to the forcing climate on the coast. Maize, sugar-cane, and
the fruits of the tropics, on the other hand, revelled in the sunshine
and moist atmosphere of the seaboard.
The farmer's first consideration is how he may utilise his land to the
best advantage. The most profitable crops are those for which there
is a world-wide demand but only a limited area of production, and
therefore little competition for the grower; or, alternatively, crops
which, by reason of natural advantages, he can produce more abundantly
and at less cost than his competitors. Next in value are crops for
which he has a monopoly in a limited but protected market, or enjoys
natural advantages which give him a partial monopoly in such a market.
Of less value, but still profitable, are crops which he can place on
the market as cheaply as his rivals.
In the first-mentioned category the Queensland farmer has butter,
cheese, hams, and bacon. With good stock, cheap land, unrivalled
pastures, and a climate which permits production to go on
uninterruptedly from January to December, Queensland is most
favourably situated, and farmers have not been slow to profit by their
natural advantages.
Large as are the present dimensions of the dairying industry, they are
small compared with the possibilities of expansion. Already the value
of butter, cheese, and milk is well over £1,000,000 per annum, the
butter export alone being worth considerably more than half that
sum. The export has multiplied tenfold in the last six years; and, as
Queensland is the leading cattle State, there is every justification
for believing that in dairy produce she will soon become one of the
principal exporting States of the Commonwealth.
[Illustration: SURPRISE CREEK CASCADE, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
So late as twenty years ago, much of the butter consumed in Queensland
came from the Southern States. The local product was inferior in
quality, although an agreeable change from the imported salted butter.
The passage of the protective tariff of 1888 gave a great impetus
to the production of butter and cheese. A heavy impost was placed on
dairy produce, and the Government lent further aid to the industry by
sending experts through the farming districts in charge of travelling
dairies. Valuable instruction was given; the cream separator came
into general use, and there was soon a noticeable improvement in
both butter and cheese. Factories sprang into existence in every
agricultural centre, and by degrees the farmers became suppliers of
cream instead of manufacturers of butter. Speedily production overtook
the local consumption, importations ceased, and manufacturers began
to look oversea for a market for their surplus stocks. Difficulties
at once arose in connection with refrigerated space and freight rates.
Regular shipments and rapid transport involved transhipment at
Sydney from the coastal steamers, increased expense, and risk of
deterioration. A State subsidy induced first one and then another
shipping company to make Brisbane its terminal port in Australia, and
to provide refrigerated chambers for butter at reduced freights; and
now Queensland, in respect of these matters, is on precisely the same
footing as the other States.
On the first appearance of Queensland butter in London, lower prices
were obtainable than were paid for other brands with an established
reputation, and some dissatisfaction was expressed by buyers on
account of variations in quality. To remedy this, legislation was
passed providing for Government inspection and grading of all butter
intended for export. Whether grading and price do or do not stand in
the relations of cause and effect, it is beyond dispute that it is
only since the initiation of the system that Queensland butter has
been on a parity with the butter of the Southern States and New
Zealand, and the general standard is undoubtedly higher than in
pre-grading days.
Coincident with the improvement in the quality of the butter, a great
change for the better has taken place in the dairy herds. Good milking
strains have been introduced, and more attention is paid to the
feeding of the cows, with the result that it is by no means uncommon
for the milk from one cow to bring as much as £8 or £9 a year.
The tariff of 1888 and the educative policy of successive Governments
have also been largely responsible for the establishment of the allied
industry of bacon and ham curing on a firm basis, and local brands are
favourably known in many parts of the world.
Under the heading of crops for which our farmers enjoy a monopoly in
a limited but protected market--or natural advantages which are
equivalent to a partial monopoly--are sugar, maize, tomatoes, tropical
and citrus fruits, and cigar tobacco. The Commonwealth tariff gives
Queensland a practical monopoly in Australia for sugar. She has a
virtual monopoly for tropical fruits, being the only State in which
these are produced in excess of local requirements. The warmer climate
and earlier crop give her temporary command of the Southern markets
for citrus fruits, tomatoes, maize, and a number of minor products,
before they mature in the cooler South, an advantage that will extend
in time to many other crops, with the increasing interchange arising
from interstate free trade.
Chief among products which can be placed as cheaply on the market as
in other countries are the cereals. Queensland has all the essentials
of a great grain-producing country. Her name does not yet figure
among the list of exporters of foodstuffs, but the reasons for her
backwardness are not far to seek.
At the close of 1908 the number of people in the State, scattered over
its 670,500 square miles of territory, was only 558,000--little more
than the population of Sydney or Melbourne, and less than that of
several second-class cities in the mother country. Probably not more
than ten per cent. of the people are engaged in farming, but, acre for
acre and man for man, Queensland compares favourably with countries
that are regarded as primarily agricultural. The lands most sought
after have been scrub, deep alluvial flats, and black and chocolate
loams; and, until recently, it was on land of this kind that most of
the wheat and barley was grown. Heavy crops were harvested, as a
rule, but the results were not uniformly satisfactory, and it is now
recognised that these highly fertile lands are better suited for other
forms of cultivation than the growth of cereals. For several years,
incoming selectors--many Southern wheat farmers from preference--have
been settling to the west of the heavy Downs country on the lighter
soils of ridge and plain. From these lands, of which Queensland has a
practically unlimited supply, but which the settlers of twenty or even
ten years ago regarded as poor, more and more of the wheat crop is now
coming. With less labour and at less expense than on the heavy soils,
the farmer has greater certainty of a payable yield.
Sugar has first place among agricultural products from Port Douglas
to the Mary River, followed by maize and the luscious fruits of the
tropics. From Maryborough to the Tweed, maize takes precedence of
sugar. Crops of less importance are potatoes, pumpkins, citrus fruits,
pineapples, and bananas. In the Central and Southern divisions of the
coastal belt, where dairying is the chief industry, large areas are
under fodder crops and permanent grasses. From the Northern section
of the littoral, thousands of bunches of bananas are shipped weekly
to the South. Mangoes and pineapples are also sent South in very
considerable quantities. Citrus fruits and tomatoes ripen at least
two months earlier in North Queensland than in New South Wales and
Victoria, and this fact has led to an important and profitable trade
in these commodities being opened up with Sydney and Melbourne. The
spices and food and other economic plants of the tropics grow to
perfection north of Mackay. Cigar tobacco of good quality is being
grown in small quantities in several parts of the North, and the
Commonwealth bounty and the willingness of manufacturers to take
the leaf should lead in time to the bulk of the cigars consumed
in Australia being made from Queensland leaf. Despite the heat and
humidity of the climate, dairying is being carried on with success as
far north as Cairns, and at Atherton on the hinterland it promises to
become an important industry.
Except on the Darling Downs, progress on the tableland has been
retarded until a comparatively recent date through the land being
locked up in pastoral leaseholds. At Atherton in the North and on
the Burnett lands in the South, however, agricultural settlement is
proceeding by leaps and bounds. Following the usual practice on scrub
land, maize and grasses are the principal objects of culture, as they
can be planted among the fallen timber and converted into milk long
before the land can be put under the plough.
The Darling Downs, famous for their beauty and fertility, well deserve
their title of "Garden of Queensland." Other districts, notably
Atherton and the Burnett, have as good land, and the latter may
have an equal area; but nowhere can there be seen 4,000,000 acres of
splendid agricultural country requiring so little labour to bring it
under cultivation. Far beyond the horizon stretch these fine lands,
formerly clothed with nutritious natural grasses, but now passing into
cultivation and dotted over with prosperous homesteads. More than 70
per cent. of the wheat, oats, and barley of Queensland comes from the
Downs, which are capable of supporting a population far larger than
the whole State now contains. Shipments of malting barley grown on
the Downs attracted such favourable notice in England a few years
back that offers were made to buy large quantities, and modern and
well-equipped malting houses have since been built at Toowoomba and
Warwick by a leading firm of English maltsters. Oats are grown for
hay, no grain being ground into meal. There is an increasing tendency,
founded on experience, to look to the lighter soils for cereal
production, and to put the heavier volcanic soils of the Eastern Downs
to uses for which they are better adapted. To dairying much of the
prosperity of the Downs farmers is due. Butter and cheese factories
have been erected every few miles along the railway line, and the
number of cream-cans awaiting transport on every platform bear
striking testimony to the importance of the industry. Most of the
fruits of Northern and Southern Europe flourish, and the many fine
orchards between Stanthorpe and the New South Wales border are giving
handsome returns to their fortunate owners. In the neighbourhood of
Texas, to the west of Warwick, pipe tobacco of fine flavour is being
cultivated. The extension of the railway from Warwick to Goondiwindi
has rendered available additional areas suitable for this crop, and
circumstances favour the creation of a great industry.
The boundless plains of the West, where the annual rainfall varies
from 30 inches to 10 inches, are the seat of the pastoral industry,
and agriculture is still in its infancy. In the vicinity of Roma, on
the Southern and Western Railway, wheat is the staple crop. Further
West, on river banks and adjacent to artesian bores, vegetables,
grapes, and oranges are grown. The oranges at Barcaldine, in the
Central West, have been pronounced by the Government Fruit Expert
to be the finest he has seen. In the same locality areas of grain,
lucerne, and other hay crops show the capabilities of the plain lands
when irrigated; but these small patches do not constitute an
industry. The soil has in it all the elements of fertility, and is
of inexhaustible depth; but, unhappily, the rainy season does not
coincide with the period of growth of the cereals for which these
lands seem otherwise intended by Nature; and until science becomes
the handmaid of husbandry, and irrigation is demonstrated to be both
practicable and remunerative, agriculture is likely to make little
headway in the West.
[Illustration: PINEAPPLE FARM, WOOMBYE, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
[Illustration: SUGAR-MILL, HUXLEY, ISIS RAILWAY]
[Illustration: A FIELD OF MAIZE, EEL CREEK, GYMPIE]
The farmers of Queensland may well lay to heart the experience
of America. Forty years ago disaster overtook every attempt at
cultivation west of the Mississippi basin until the aid of irrigation
was invoked. The response to the application of water was immediate,
and millions of acres are now under intense cultivation in the dry
belt, and supporting a population far outnumbering that of Australia.
These are the words in which an American writer graphically describes
the wonderful work that has been done on lands that bear a striking
resemblance to those of Western Queensland both in regard to climate
and soil:--
The actual amount of land that may be reclaimed and cultivated
in the semi-arid region furnishes no measure of the value of
irrigation in this vast district. By enabling thousands to
engage in farming, irrigation has made it possible to use the
surrounding plains as the pasture for great numbers of beef
cattle. In many instances small herds are owned by the farmers
themselves, but to a large extent their crops are bought by
those whose sole business is cattle-raising. Thus all the
resources of the region are brought into use, and a wonderful
prosperity has followed as the logical result.
From Canada to Mexico the revolution of the Great Plain is now
in full tide. It is the most democratic page in the history
of American irrigation. It has saved an enormous district from
lapsing into a condition of semi-barbarism. It has not only
made human life secure, but revolutionised the industrial and
social economy of the locality.
To a considerable extent it has replaced the quarter-lot
with the small farm, and the single crop with diversified
cultivation. It has transformed the speculative instincts of
the people into a spirit of sober industrialism. It has raised
the standard of living and improved the character of the
homes. It has planted the rose bush and the pansy where only
the sunflower cast its shadow, and it has twined the ivy and
the honeysuckle over doors which formerly knew not the touch
of beauty. It has made neighbours and society where once there
were loneliness and heart-hunger. It has broken the chains of
hopeless mortgages and crowned industry with independence.
The history of irrigation in the United States reads like a romance.
Competent authorities have expressed the opinion that truly scientific
farming is only possible where irrigation takes the place of rain,
and where the elements of fertility are retained in the soil. American
experience supports this view. Farms of from ten to forty acres
support whole families in comfort, if not in affluence, and one acre
yields as much as five of the best land in the rainfall belt. Whether
land is used for mixed farming or crop cultivation, the best results
are achieved when moisture can be applied or withheld according to the
needs of the crop. Without irrigation, crops may be more certain
in the coastal belt and on the intermediate tableland, but with
irrigation the advantage will undoubtedly lie with our Western lands.
A downpour may do irremediable harm to a ripening crop or at harvest
time, and to that danger the plain lands of the interior are less
liable than those in the region of heavier rainfall.
In some parts of Queensland, principally near the coast, irrigation
has already attained some prominence. In 1907 water was applied
artificially to 9,612 acres. Of this area, 4,492 acres were in the
Burdekin Delta, the water being drawn from the Burdekin, from lagoons,
and from wells. The rainfall is comparatively light, and the marked
increase in the cane crop on the irrigated lands is apparent to the
most casual observer. In the Bundaberg district 2,350 acres were
irrigated from the Burnett River and from wells; the vegetable and
fruit growers of Bowen irrigated 356 acres; and water was applied
to 482 acres in the neighbourhood of Rockhampton. Artesian water was
supplied to 100 acres at Barcaldine and 240 acres at Hungerford far
out on the New South Wales border.
In the Western States of America, where water is measured out
with mathematical accuracy and applied with clockwork regularity,
agriculture has been raised almost to the rank of an exact science.
The soil of Western Queensland is quite equal to that of the States
in fertility, and similar methods should here produce similar results.
When even the sterile Sahara is gradually disappearing before the
irrigation works of French engineers, there is no need to despond
regarding the future of the very driest parts of Queensland.
In Egypt and Spain and in several of the American States, the water
for irrigation is obtained from perennial streams drawing their
supplies from distant snow-clad mountains. Kansas differs in this
respect from other States. The description of the rivers of Western
Kansas by an American humorist might have been penned with equal
appositeness of the rivers of Western Queensland: "They are a mile
wide, and an inch thick; they have a large circulation, but very
little influence." Fortunately for Kansas, water is everywhere
procurable by sinking shallow wells. In Dakota and Texas, thousands of
millions of gallons are poured on to the land daily from thousands of
artesian wells. Though lofty mountain chains are lacking, with summits
high above the line of perpetual snow and giving birth to rivers
rivalling Nile and Mississippi in volume, both of these latter sources
of supply are available in Queensland. East and west of the Great
Divide, abundance of water has been obtained from wells. Our western
rivers may flow intermittently on the surface, but sub-artesian water
is plentiful in many localities, and the great artesian basin, with
its area of no less than 372,000 square miles, coincides generally
with that part of the State which has a rainfall of 20 inches or less,
a wise Providence having apparently created this huge subterranean
reservoir to guard against excessive evaporation and to compensate for
the light rains.
There is still another supply open. Allowing for a very large
percentage of the water that finds its way into the watercourses of
the West sinking into the earth or being lost through evaporation, a
tremendous quantity that now runs to waste could be conserved by works
such as the Government of New South Wales are constructing in the
Murrumbidgee basin. Irrigation on a large scale is beyond the means of
individuals--it must be undertaken either by private co-operation
or by State enterprise; and preferably the latter. Irrigation and
afforestation are both necessary for the successful development of
the West. If water can be supplied to settlers at a cost which is
not prohibitive, whether it be drawn from storage reservoirs or from
subterranean sources, the face of the country will quickly be changed.
Instead of a handful of pastoral lessees controlling in some instances
areas of hundreds of thousands of acres, a much larger population of
grazier farmers will be settled on much smaller holdings, enjoying
all the benefits--educational, social, and civic--which result from
concentrated settlement.
A product of the land which is intimately connected with settlement,
if somewhat outside the scope of this chapter, is timber. The forests
of Queensland are very extensive, and contain numerous timbers of
great value for building and cabinet-making. Chief among the former
are several species of pine, hardwood, beech, and ash. The most
beautiful and valuable of the ornamental woods are red cedar, silky
oak, bean-tree, and maple. In the earliest settled districts in
the South most of these have become comparatively scarce. The
timber-getter has been through the scrubs and forests, and much that
could not be converted into lumber has been destroyed by fire, to make
the ground ready for the plough. In North Queensland there are immense
quantities available, especially of the ornamental varieties, and
a profitable trade has been opened up with the southern part of the
State and with Sydney and Melbourne. Formerly the timber became the
property of the selector, but now a royalty is charged, which yields
the Crown a considerable revenue, and selection is deferred until the
marketable trees have been removed. To prevent the exhaustion of the
supplies, and as a preliminary to reafforestation, reserves have been
proclaimed in several parts of the State to act as nurseries.
Of the 429,120,000 acres contained in Queensland, at the close of 1908
some 21,500,000 acres--or just one-twentieth of the total area--had
been selected as agricultural farms and homesteads; 31,000,000 acres
were held as grazing and scrub selections, 56,000,000 acres were under
occupation license or depasturing right, and 186,000,000 acres under
pastoral lease, the remainder consisting either of reserves, mineral
lands, or unoccupied land in remote localities.
From every district where land is open to agricultural selection,
however, comes the report that the demand is keen. No sooner is an
area thrown open to selection than it is eagerly applied for, and the
number of those who signify their desire to become personal residents
in order to obtain priority is fast increasing. The Australian States,
New Zealand, the British Isles, and Germany are all furnishing their
quota of seekers after the cheap and excellent lands Queensland has to
offer.
Provision has been made by the Legislature for all kinds of
settlement--purely agricultural, mixed farming, and grazing. The
areas vary, being governed by the quality of the land, rainfall, the
presence or absence of permanent water, and proximity to a market or a
railway--in other words, by the amount required to provide the settler
with a comfortable income. The State is a generous landlord, and every
allowance is made for the difficulties of selectors in the earlier
stages of their occupancy. The man who wishes to acquire a freehold
has the opportunity of gratifying his desire. The man who objects to
that tenure has it in his power to obtain a lease in perpetuity. The
best settler being generally the man who intends to earn his living
entirely from the soil, and is prepared to reside continuously upon
the land, men of that class are very properly accorded priority over
those who do not intend to reside in person. Particulars regarding the
different tenures and the conditions upon which land may be obtained
from the Crown will be found in Appendix E.
The State assists the agriculturist in many ways. The Agricultural
College at Gatton is doing valuable service in training young men and
in carrying on experimental work. Six State farms, at two of which
apprentices are taken, have been established in as many widely
separated districts to ascertain by experiment the crops and methods
of cultivation most suited to local conditions, and impart the results
of their labours to the neighbouring farmers. Some of these farms have
valuable stud flocks and dairy herds, from which settlers can obtain
high-class stock. At Cairns tropical products are being tested and
propagated at a State nursery. Useful educational work is also being
done at the Sugar Experiment Station at Mackay. These institutions are
under the direct supervision of the Department of Agriculture, which
also employs experts in dairying, fruit culture, and tobacco growing
and curing. A botanist, an entomologist, and an agricultural chemist
are highly necessary and valuable members of the departmental staff,
and much useful information is disseminated through the medium of the
"Agricultural Journal," published by the Department.
[Illustration: THRESHING WHEAT, EMU VALE, KILLARNEY RAILWAY]
[Illustration: COFFEE PLANTATION, KURANDA, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
In addition to giving instruction, the Government have built sheds in
the principal farming centres on the Darling Downs for the storage of
wheat and other grain until the farmers can dispose of their crops
to advantage. Cheap money is supplied through the medium of the
Agricultural Bank. There are trust funds from which advances are made
to those who desire to build co-operative flour or sugar mills, butter
and cheese factories, or meat-preserving works. Railways have been
constructed in the older farming districts, produce is carried at
moderate rates, and subsidies are given to steamship companies for the
carriage of produce to oversea markets.
All this has been done for the man already on the land. Much is
likewise being done to help the man who wishes to become a settler.
Railways are being built into districts in which the Crown owns large
areas fit for close settlement. In other localities roads are made,
land is cleared, and wells and bores are sunk. Money is advanced on
liberal terms and at a low rate of interest by the Agricultural Bank
for the making of improvements and the purchase of stock, implements,
and machinery. Land is cheap, and special concessions are given by
the Railway Department to new settlers when taking up their land. The
annual rent forms an instalment of the purchase money, and payments
may be deferred during the initial years of occupancy, when the
selector is under heavy expense and is getting little or no return
from his land.
North and south along the coast, and west to the setting sun, long
stretches of thick wood or grassy plain present themselves to the eye,
solitary as in the dawn of creation, only awaiting the advent of the
settler to be transformed into a scene of bustling activity.
Endowed with a sunny and salubrious climate, a fruitful soil, an
immense territory, Queensland has room for many millions of people;
but those people must be of European birth or descent. For many
years the settled policy of the country in regard to immigration was
conservative. Now, however, all political parties are agreed upon the
need for a larger population--but primarily an agrarian population.
The great obstacles to immigration from Europe on any considerable
scale are distance and expense. America is distant but a few days'
sail, and the cost of a passage is correspondingly low. To place
Queensland on an equally favourable footing, the Government have
arranged with the British-India Steam Navigation Company to bring
adult males from the United Kingdom to the State upon payment by the
immigrants of £4 each. The rate for adult females is £2 per head,
and £8 for males and females over 40 and under 55 years of age. Free
passages may be granted to agricultural labourers introduced under
contract if the employer pays a fee of £5 and guarantees a year's
employment at approved wages. The balance of the passage-money in
every case is paid by the State. Female domestic servants, and the
wives and children of contract or part-paying immigrants, are carried
free. Immigrants may select land before leaving the old country, with
the option of getting a refund if not satisfied with their choice
after their arrival in Queensland. Full particulars of the various
forms of immigration will be found in Appendix F.
In 1908 the number of those who came from the British Isles was only
2,584, but the numbers are increasing since the inauguration of the
B.I.S.N. service _via_ Torres Strait, 2,737 immigrants having arrived
during the first nine months of this year. Hundreds of desirable
settlers and their families are coming every year from the Southern
States and New Zealand, attracted by the cheaper land and brighter
prospects. The stream of newcomers is now but a tiny rivulet; but,
when each proclaims to his friends his success in the land of his
adoption, that rivulet will swell to a mighty river.
Cheap passages and the cheap land across the Atlantic have till now
turned westward the eyes of the millions of Europe anxious to become
their own masters and to live a wider, freer life than is possible
in their native lands. Queensland is taking steps to bring her
attractions more prominently under the notice of the British and
European public in order to secure a share of the rural populations
of the Old World for herself. She has advantages--natural, material,
social, and political--in no way inferior to those presented by other
countries. Life and liberty are nowhere more secure. A wide expanse of
sea divides us from the nearest foreign Power. Living is cheaper and
existence easier than in those lands to which the people of Europe are
flocking. The sun is always shining, and winter, instead of being a
period of enforced idleness, is a season when labour is greatly in
demand. Crop succeeds crop without pause, and seed-time and harvest
follow each other in quick procession. Stock feed in the open
throughout the year, and winter brings little diminution in the yield
of dairy produce.
With free institutions, individual liberty, and great natural
resources, Queensland is destined to become the home of a numerous and
prosperous people. It is our manifest duty to see that it forms part
of a strong, self-reliant, British nation beneath the Southern Cross,
linked in the bonds of affection with the Motherland and our brethren
across the seas, with arms open in welcome to our kin and colour, but
ready to defend ourselves against aggression. In the great work, the
men who are subduing the wilderness and converting it into a smiling
garden can be relied upon to play their part. Nature is a tender
foster-mother; freedom is in the air. Stalwart in frame, courageous
in heart, true scions of the race from which they spring, rejoicing in
their manhood, grateful for their heritage, the yeomen of Queensland
are the pride of their country.
"Not without envy Wealth at times must look
On their brown strength who wield the reaping-hook
And scythe, or at the forge-fire shape the plough
Or the steel harness of the steeds of steam;
All who, by skill and patience, anyhow
Make service noble, and the earth redeem
From savageness. By kingly accolade
Than theirs was never worthier knighthood made."
CHAPTER III.
THE SUGAR INDUSTRY.
Sugar-cane in the Northern Hemisphere.--The Rise of the
Beet Industry.--Abolition of Slave Labour in West Indies.
--Reorganisation of Industry on Scientific Basis.
--Establishment of Industry in Queensland.--Difficulties
of Early Planters.--Stoppage of Pacific Island Labour.
--Evolution of Small Holdings and Erection of Central
Mills.--Reintroduction of Pacific Islanders.--Stoppage of
Pacific Island Labour by Commonwealth Legislation.--Bonus
on White-grown Sugar.--Benefits Arising from Separating
Cultivation and Manufacture.--Contrast between Past and
Present Methods.--Scientific Cultivation.--Recent Statistics.
--The Future of the Industry.--Queensland Leading the Van in
Establishing White Agriculturists in Tropics.
Long before the Christian era classical and sacred writers made
mention of that "sweet cane" whose product plays so important a part
in the everyday requirements of modern life.
Sugar-cane was introduced into Spain by the Moors early in the eighth
century. The Moorish empire sank before the combined might of Spain
in 1492, and in that year Columbus added a new world to the realm of
Castile. Within a few years the sugar industry had taken firm root
in the West Indies, and on every isle dotting the Spanish Main waved
countless fields of cane, yielding crops beside which the production
of Andalusia, already waning under the dead hand of Spain, paled into
insignificance.
To the first Spanish planters is due the system upon which the sugar
industry was conducted in the tropics for more than three hundred
years. The haughty hidalgo, scorning to labour with his own hands,
forced into his service the unresisting natives of the West. Unused
to strenuous toil, they sank beneath the burden. Touched with pity for
their sad lot, and anxious to save them from extirpation, Las Casas,
"the Apostle of the Indians," urged the substitution of the children
of Ham, whom he and all good Christians believed to have been doomed
to perpetual bondage; and African slavery thus became an established
institution in the West.
Whether under Spanish or British rule, the sugar industry of the West
Indies, and of all other tropical countries to which it was extended,
was carried on under a system of large plantations, owned as a rule
by men of good family, who, deeming personal control beneath their
dignity, deputed to overseers of meaner rank the supervision of their
servile labourers. The profusion of Nature, coupled with vicarious
management and the absence of competition, engendered extravagance,
improvident husbandry, and wasteful and unscientific manufacture, the
while there rose to Heaven--
"Steaming up, a lamentation and an ancient tale of wrong,
Like a tale of little-meaning, tho' the words are strong;
Chanted from an ill-used race of men that cleave the soil,
Sow the seed, and reap the harvest with enduring toil."
[Illustration: SUGAR-MILL, CHILDERS, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
Until well on in the nineteenth century little progress was made
either in cultivation or manufacture. For more than three hundred
years the history of the industry was one of slave labour, crude
methods, and planters to whom life in the tropics meant exile from
Europe, and whose sole object was to amass wealth to be spent in the
pleasures of the courts of St. James, Versailles, or Madrid.
The first blow struck at the old-time theory that the tropics were
created solely to supply the needs of dwellers in temperate climes
was dealt by Napoleon when he took steps to establish the beet-sugar
industry in France. His object was twofold--to render Continental
Europe, which was then lying at his mercy, independent of Britain and
the British colonies; and to cripple the trade of the only Power which
had never stooped to his sway. Unconsciously, at the same time he laid
the foundation of a tropical Britain peopled by the British race.
The successful establishment of the beet-sugar industry called for the
application of industrial, scientific, and organising capacity of
the highest order, and the Governments of France and other European
countries fostered its development by heavy bounties.
The abolition of slavery in the British West Indies in 1834 and the
later emancipation of the negroes in the United States so disorganised
the sugar industry of the West that those engaged in it were too
engrossed with their own affairs to heed the progress of the beet
industry of Europe. The output of beet sugar steadily forged ahead
until, in the early eighties, it was almost equal to the output of
cane sugar. Tropical planters and manufacturers then found themselves
engaged in a life-and-death struggle for which they were ill-equipped.
Forced by inexorable necessity to face the situation, they realised
that only by following the example of their rivals--by calling in the
aid of science both in cultivation and in manufacture, and by
paying the strictest attention to the financial side of their
enterprise--could they hope to hold their own.
Just at the time that the Southern States of America were fighting
desperately in defence of the slave system, the foundations of the
Queensland sugar industry were being laid. Despite the high prices
then ruling for sugar, the profits were not large, owing to the
primitive methods of cultivation and manufacture adopted on the
plantations. In time, even in this remote quarter of the globe the
growth of the beet industry compelled the planters to make radical
changes. Antiquated husbandry, crude processes, and wasteful
management were superseded by modern scientific methods. The
subdivision of large estates, the substitution of small white growers
for gangs of unskilled coloured labourers, and the establishment of
co-operative central factories were Queensland's contribution to the
solution of the problem of Beet _versus_ Cane.
As Napoleon in his wildest dreams had no conception that his
anti-British policy would ultimately lead to the expansion and
evolution of the sugar industry of the tropics, so the Queenslander
who first planted a few sticks of sugar-cane on the shores of Moreton
Bay half a century ago little foresaw that from that humble beginning
would develop the greatest agricultural industry of this State--an
industry which, if treated with continued consideration and sympathy
by the Commonwealth, bids fair to revolutionise the hitherto accepted
view of the relations of the white races to the tropics. Yet, if we
read aright the brief history of the Queensland sugar industry, and
appreciate its present position, that first planter commenced a work
which is likely to lead to permanent settlement in the tropics by men
of European descent.
There was little to distinguish the establishment of our sugar
industry from similar ventures in other parts of the tropics where
the supply of cheap coloured native labour was insufficient for
the requirements of the planters. The men who opened up the first
plantations in Queensland were not Australians, except by adoption.
Their experience had been gained in Java, Mauritius, the West Indies,
and elsewhere. They came to this country imbued with the old notion
that the best and most economical means of carrying on tropical
agriculture was to cultivate large estates by the aid of gangs of
coloured labourers; and it is a moot point whether, fifty years ago,
any other method of establishing tropical industries in Queensland
was possible. Certain land concessions were given to encourage the
newcomers, and they were permitted to import Pacific Islanders, under
Government supervision, as contract labourers for work in the fields.
Not all the early planters had been sugar-growers previously. In the
Mackay district, which has always been one of the chief sugar centres,
the first settlers grew cotton, tobacco, and arrowroot. But early in
the sixties it was recognised that the production of sugar offered
the most satisfactory and profitable field for their enterprise.
Generally, they were representatives of that class of whom Benjamin
Kidd, in his "Control of the Tropics," says: "The more advanced
peoples, driven to seek new outlooks for their activities, will be
subject to a gradually increasing pressure to turn their attention
to the great natural field of enterprise which still remains in the
development of the tropics."
It was not sufficient for these early planters to take up land and
plant their crops; they had to erect mills, where the cane could be
converted into sugar, and this required capital. The cost of labour,
provisions, and supplies was enormous. Communication along the coast
was such that goods were taken North in small sailing vessels, and the
pioneers were quite accustomed to travelling in a small steamer which
anchored under the lee of a convenient island during the darkness
of the night. Those who see the condition of the industry which has
evolved from these first efforts must, in justice to the pioneers,
recall the difficulties and risks which were faced by them.
Forty years ago the industry was an infant struggling with its
teething troubles, still liable to premature death. In 1871 there were
only 9,581 acres under sugar-cane in the whole of Queensland, and the
production of sugar was only 3,762 tons, not equal to half the output
of one of our large modern factories. The industry was then chiefly
confined to the South, but it soon made its way northwards, and
expanded so rapidly that, in 1881, the area under cane had increased
to 28,026 acres, and there were no less than 103 mills in operation.
The industry then entered upon the first of its great reverses. Owing
to the enormous increase in the output of beet sugar in Europe, prices
fell rapidly. The first of the larger class of factories, conducted on
modern lines, with improved appliances, came into existence, and small
mills, unable to compete successfully, began to close. Labour supplies
from the South Sea Islands became more expensive, and a class of white
men, originally labourers who had saved money, took up selections
as sugar farms, and sought to dispose of their crops of cane to the
planter-proprietors of existing mills. The latter, alarmed by the
passage of legislation decreeing an end to the employment of coloured
labour, planted larger areas with the object of taking off as much
cane as possible before they were deprived of the services of the
Polynesian labourers then under contract. The immediate result was
that the small farmers were unable to sell their crops at reasonable
rates; and to help them the Government of the day, whose avowed policy
it was to have the industry carried on by white labour, decided to
advance money to groups of these farmers to enable them to erect
co-operative factories for the treatment of their cane. As an
experiment, two such factories were built in the Mackay district,
where the need was most clamant; and thus was laid the foundation of
the central mill system, which has given such an impetus to the growth
of the industry, conducted on the basis of white labour. Tentative
though the experiment was, and though for many years not a complete
financial success from the point of view of the mills, the erection of
these mills at least showed that the interests of the farmer and the
factory were mutually interdependent.
It was seen almost at once by the large planter that the farmer,
working in the field beside his employees, was more eager for success
than when he worked as labourer or overseer for another. The control
of the factories, under directorates of farmers, was found to be more
satisfactory and more economical than when in the hands of planters
or managers with old-fashioned ideas of organisation--with managers,
sub-managers, and large administrative staffs. Five years after the
first loan was granted by the Government, and barely three after the
rollers were started in the first of the two pioneer mills, these
facts had become manifest. It says much for the sense and courage
of the planters that this revolution in established methods did
not dismay them, and their wisdom was shown in setting to work
energetically to put the new methods into practice in the conduct of
their own business.
In 1891 the Colonial Sugar Refining Company set the example by cutting
up one of its large estates into farms of moderate size. Ten years
earlier that estate was a cattle station, employing a couple of white
men and a few aboriginals. Before the first six months of 1891 had
passed, it was the home of fifty or sixty settlers, a number trebled
within the next few years.
The new departure largely overcame the labour difficulty; in addition
to that, it went far to meet the low prices for sugar. Many of the
factories still continued to make sugar for sale in the open market,
and a considerable quantity found its way, profitably, to London.
In 1892 a special Commissioner of the London "Times" (Miss Flora Shaw,
now Lady Lugard) travelled through the sugar districts, and noted the
evolution which was taking place. She seemed to foresee the future
more clearly than many of those actually engaged in the industry.
"Even the sugar industry," she wrote, "appears as a whole to be
half-unconscious of the results of the reorganisation through which it
has passed, and lies, as it were, still asleep in the dawn of its own
prosperity."
[Illustration: SISAL HEMP AND CANEFIELDS, SOUTH ISIS]
[Illustration: CANEFIELDS, ISIS RAILWAY]
[Illustration: SUGAR CANE AND MILL, HUXLEY, ISIS RAILWAY]
The middle nineties saw the fuller development of the central mill
system. More groups of farmers were formed, loans were obtained
from the Government, and further factories, mostly large and all
well-equipped with the most modern machinery, were erected. A sudden
demand arose in all parts of the coastal belt for sugar lands. The
wiser of the planters subdivided their estates; owners of lands
hitherto unutilised cut them up, and sold them to the inrush of
farmers. The financial crisis of the early nineties and the action
of Parliament in removing the embargo on the introduction of Pacific
Islanders were no doubt contributing factors to the rapid increase in
the number of would-be sugar-growers; but, whatever the cause, certain
it is that at this time the spurt in cane cultivation and white
settlement was greater than at any other period in the history of the
industry in Queensland.
The year 1898 saw no less than 111,012 acres under cane, with a sugar
production of 163,734 tons. The factories employed 3,709 men, nearly
all Europeans, and the declared value of the sugar sent away
from Queensland exceeded £1,300,000. The actual number of farmers
cultivating cane in that year is not ascertainable, but it
approximated 2,500.
It may fairly be claimed that Queensland has conquered her tropical
littoral. Between Nerang in the South and Port Douglas in the North
stretches a coastline of nearly 1,000 miles. At intervals along this
great distance are large areas under cane and a number of considerable
towns almost entirely dependent upon the sugar industry--including
important centres like Bundaberg, with over 10,000 inhabitants, and
Mackay and Cairns, each containing over 5,000 souls. Uninhabited
swamps and forests and mountain lands--covered with rank tropical
grasses or dense growths of trees and creepers--have given place
to cultivated fields, in which stand thousands of comfortable homes
rendered accessible by well-made roads, while many districts are
provided with most of the adjuncts to modern civilisation. In fact,
the white settler and worker live under conditions in no way inferior
to those prevailing in agricultural centres in other parts of the
world. European brains and European labour have brought into being
a flourishing industry, and converted into one of the healthiest
portions of Australia, fitted to become the permanent home of millions
of our own race, a malarial belt where it had for long been thought
none but coloured people would ever be able to labour and live.
The latter end of the nineties and the opening years of the present
decade saw a further development of the principle of white settlement
in our tropics. The federation of the Australian States offered the
sugar-producer some escape from the keen competition of the world's
markets through its fiscal policy of unhampered interstate freetrade,
with protection against the world.
The Commonwealth Parliament, in its first session (1901), decided that
the eight or nine thousand Pacific Islanders employed in cultivation
should be returned to their islands, granting, by way of compensation
for the increased cost of production, a bounty upon all white-grown
sugar. As was the case under somewhat similar circumstances nearly
twenty years before, this withdrawal of coloured labour gave a great
impetus to planting. There was naturally some anxiety as to whether
the supply of white labour in the future would be sufficient; but the
profits made in the industry enabled the farmers to pay high wages at
harvest time, and men flocked to the sugar districts from all parts of
Australia.
One result of the labour legislation has been that many of the growers
on large areas have considered it to their interest still further
to subdivide their holdings, and their action has had the effect of
increasing largely the number of farmers. It was estimated that last
year the registered white growers of sugar-cane in Queensland numbered
no less than 4,425. In addition to these, there is still a small
number employing casual coloured labour. Of the whole output of
151,000 tons of sugar, fully 93 per cent. was produced without the aid
of any coloured labour. In other words, white men almost exclusively,
whether as employers or as workers, are now engaged in developing
our tropical resources, and peopling with our own race solitudes
previously untrodden save by a few aboriginal natives.
Less than thirty years ago it was the belief of most of those engaged
in sugar production that the work of the mills was one of extreme
complexity, and that success depended upon the possession of some
special secret in the working. At that time the planter was also the
miller. Now the work of cultivation is generally dissociated from the
manufacture of sugar. Principally owing to the proprietary interest of
the farmers in the various central mills, every stage of the work
is openly and intelligently discussed, results are compared, and an
efficiency attained which in many respects is equal to any in the
sugar world. The factories no longer make sugar for the open market,
but sell to the refiners. Analytical chemists check the work at every
stage in the factory, and labour-saving appliances are the rule and
not the exception. A modern factory is a wonderful illustration of
the application of science, mechanical invention, and organisation to
human industry.
Nothing can better indicate the evolution of the Queensland sugar
industry during the past forty years than a comparison between one of
the first mills established in the State and one of the most modern.
Forty years ago the sugar-cane was drawn in a cart close to the single
set of crushing rollers, flung on the ground, and then fed, stick by
stick, through the rollers, emerging with less than half the juice
extracted. The crushed sticks were taken out and spread on the ground
in the open, until dry enough to be collected and brought to the
furnaces for use as fuel. In the modern factory the cane arrives by
tram or train, is mechanically placed on a long endless carrier, and
passes, at the rate of twenty tons or more per hour, through several
sets of rollers, the refuse, caught by strainers, returning to the
rollers, while the megass, or exhausted fibre, goes direct to the
furnaces.
The old mill crushed enough cane during six months to make two or
three hundred tons of sugar. The modern factory deals with sufficient
to produce anything from six to ten thousand tons, and in some cases
more.
Steam has taken the place of fires at the boiling stations, and
boiling _in vacuo_ has been as fully adopted in Queensland as in other
parts of the sugar-producing world. In the old mill the _masse cuite_,
the last stage of the product before the sugar is dried off, had to
be dug out from tanks, men standing up to their knees in the sticky
substance, and handling it in buckets. Now, the _masse cuite_ goes
direct from the vacuum pans to the receivers, and thence into the
centrifugals. There the molasses is separated, and the sugar is
carried automatically to the bags standing on weighing machines only a
few feet from the railway trucks which are waiting to take the product
to the ship's hold.
The old-style factory carried on its operations solely by day. The
present-day factory is lit throughout with electric light, and works
day and night (Sunday excepted) for five or six months, employing,
according to its capacity, from 100 to 150 men. Around each factory
has sprung up a small settlement of artisans, storekeepers, and
others, while, under a statute passed by the Queensland Parliament,
the employees are decently housed, fed, and assured of good
sanitation, their mental, moral, and financial welfare being provided
for by the institution of reading and recreation rooms, and the
establishment of branches of the Government Savings Bank.
Turning to the agricultural operations, similar evidence of the
evolution of the industry is to be found. Time was when a visitor
could stand on some slight eminence and look over vast areas of cane,
the vista unbroken save for a few trees, or the plantation roads
running like ribbons through a sea of waving green. Now the prospect
discloses the homes of farmers standing out amongst the cane, with all
the evidences of a closely settled and thriving population. The large
gangs of labourers tending the cultivation have for the most part
disappeared. Instead, the farmer and his sons, with possibly one or
two labourers, work side by side in the fields.
At harvest time long lines of carts drawing cane to the mills no
longer make a picturesque feature in the landscape; locomotives now
haul cane-trains over the hundreds of miles of narrow-gauge tramline
which radiate from the factories to all points from which supplies of
cane are drawn. Where but a few years back was naught but the lonely
bush, its silence broken only by the lowing of a few cattle, the
occasional passing of an aboriginal stockman or a party of drovers,
carriers, or a chance swagman--birds of passage between the inland
stations and the ports on the coast--townships have sprung into being,
and every half-mile reveals the home of the farmer nestling among his
fields of emerald green.
During the past few years, mainly owing to the satisfactory prices
received for their cane, the farmers have been profitably employed.
They have learned in the school of experience that cane cultivation
requires practical knowledge, and that in many cases their land needs
special treatment, which they must study for themselves. Nothing has
brought this fact home to the farmers more thoroughly than the work
of the Sugar Experiment Station at Mackay, and the valuable reports
published by the late Director, Dr. W. Maxwell.
In the early seventies the sugar-planters of Mackay awoke one morning
to discover the whole of their crops destroyed, as if a fire had
passed over them. They then grew only one variety of cane, which had
become diseased. Fresh varieties had to be introduced from abroad,
with all the risk of introducing canes that were worthless, or,
worse still, of bringing in pests or diseases. So far, sugar-cane
in Queensland has been singularly and fortunately free from
natural enemies. Thanks to the work of Mr. H. Tryon, the Government
Entomologist, the grower readily recognises the presence of insect
pests, and knows how to deal promptly with them on their first
appearance.
The farmer is learning to know his cane; he studies its habits, and
is quick to appreciate the good and bad effects of his operations. The
analyses at the mills have directed his attention to the importance
of cane being a good sugar-producer, and, as he is in many cases a
shareholder in a factory, he is alive to the fact that weight of cane
is not the only essential to success. For many years the need for
securing canes richer in sugar was largely neglected all over the
world, but recently efforts have been made to repeat in the case of
cane the splendid results won by such men as the late Sir J. B.
Lawes and the French chemist, Vilmorin, in connection with the
sugar-producing qualities of the beet. The officials at the Queensland
Sugar Experiment Stations have tested fully sixty varieties of cane,
including some from Papua, to discover the agricultural and milling
value of each.
[Illustration: CAMBANORA GAP, HEAD OF CONDAMINE, KILLARNEY]
[Illustration: MINTO CRAG, DUGANDAN, FASSIFERN DISTRICT]
It is only natural that in an industry whose operations extend over so
many degrees of latitude conditions must greatly vary. Irrigation is
necessary in some districts, notably in the Burdekin Delta, which
lies in a dry belt. Drainage is the prime requisite in other places.
Fertilisation varies with the soils, and information as to the latter
has been compiled in a series of exhaustive analyses made by Dr. W.
Maxwell at the laboratory in Bundaberg. In South Queensland the cane
frequently takes two years to mature, while in the extreme North
fifteen months after planting it is fit for the rollers.
According to the official estimate of the Commonwealth Treasurer for
1908, 4,825 farmers were then engaged in the industry in Queensland,
91·7 per cent. of whom employed white labour only, the number of
employees being in round figures 30,000. In 1902 the number of farmers
was only 2,496, showing the rapidity with which closer settlement is
taking place. It is true that of late there has been a reduction in
the area under cultivation, but this is probably attributable to the
tendency to make "intense cultivation" a feature of the industry in
order to solve the labour problem. Some of the larger areas under crop
have been curtailed, and the reduction has not been made good by the
increased settlement; but, as in the eighties those engaged in the
industry found, possibly unconsciously, a remedy for the dearth of
labour, so we may reasonably expect that the present difficulty in
obtaining men for the ordinary work of cultivation will be met by new
developments.
What does the future hold for us? Can we continue the work of building
up a white nation beneath a tropical sun--a task which in many parts
of the world is considered quixotic? The areas available for cane
cultivation are still enormous, and, though hesitancy and doubt may
for a time join hands in checking expansion, the main facts remain
that there is room for the people and that there is a demand for the
product. Australia, in her fiscal policy, has recognised that the
sugar industry is a national industry, and our statesmen realise that
it is doing for the Australian tropics what no other industry on the
coastal lands has yet seriously attempted--what, indeed, no other
country in the world is as yet prepared to try.
Assuming, as we have a right to assume, a sympathetic Australian
Government, we can turn to the future with eyes full of hope. There
are many directions in which we may look for the expansion of the
industry. The increasing population of the Commonwealth involves
an added capacity to consume the product. The field of invention
in regard to the harvesting of the cane has yet to be explored and
exploited. At present the cost of cutting and loading a field of cane
is from eight to ten times that of harvesting an equal amount of
sugar beets. Experiments are constantly being made with mechanical
appliances for cutting and loading and unloading cane, and this is
one direction in which Queenslanders may look forward hopefully to the
time when they will not only lessen the volume of labour required, but
when they will reduce the burdensome nature of the work, and place
the cane-sugar industry in a position to compete successfully with the
great beet-sugar industry of Europe.
Some 250,000 gallons of rum are distilled annually at Bundaberg, but
we are told officially that 4,000,000 gallons of molasses go to waste
every year. The conversion of this product into foodstuffs for live
stock as an adjunct to the main industry would add materially to the
profits.
In some sugar districts, dairying is finding a footing, and possibly
the time is not far distant when a form of mixed farming will enable
the cane-grower to utilise more of the by-products of his industry,
at the same time rendering him more independent of unfavourable
meteorological conditions. Generally speaking, improvement in
the quality and quantity of the cane, intense culture, mechanical
inventions, and the use of by-products are all within the bounds of
possibility, and will make for further progress.
But all these things are of secondary importance compared with the
need of a settled working population. Back from the coast lies a range
of mountains, rising often 3,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Along and behind these mountains are excellent lands, well suited for
close settlement and for the production of cereals, and the fruits and
vegetables so greatly needed in the more humid areas of the littoral
belt. The climate of this elevated hinterland is excellent, and the
close settlement of these lands will furnish one of the safeguards
of the sugar industry, seeing that a permanent population within easy
reach will always be available for employment in the canefields and
sugar-mills. To a large extent, the populations of the lowlands and
the highlands will be mutually dependent upon each other.
In the early days of settlement in East and West Moreton and on the
Darling Downs, the small selector, with no capital in many cases save
a pair of strong hands, a courageous heart, and a tireless energy,
made his way every year to the squatter's shearing shed. No thought
had he of "knocking down" his hard-earned cheque. Labour disputes
never entered his mind. With his earnings he paid his rent and
improved his land. It was men of this stamp who built up the great
agricultural industry of Southern Queensland, and they and their
descendants of the second and third generations are the very cream
of the farmers of to-day. It is to a similar class of settlers in
the sugar districts and their hinterland that we look for the
proper settlement and development of our tropical lands. And in our
aspirations for a great white agricultural population we are entitled
to expect the sympathetic assistance of our kinsmen in the South and
of the Empire at large. For not only are we doing what we can to make
a prosperous and contented people, but we are doing a great work for
the whole of the white races. We are proving that the tropics can
be conquered and permanently settled by people of our own race and
colour; we are holding one of the gateways of the East; and we are
garrisoning an important outpost of the Empire. Kipling's stirring
words, written of Queensland, find an echo in the hearts of
Queenslanders--
The northern stirp beneath the southern skies--
I build a Nation for an Empire's need,
Suffer a little, and my land shall rise,
Queen over lands indeed!
CHAPTER IV.
A HALF-CENTURY OF MINING.
The Quest for Gold a Colonising Agency.--Earliest
Discoveries of the Precious Metal in Queensland.
--Port Curtis.--Rockhampton District.--Peak Downs.
--Gympie.--Ravenswood.--Charters Towers.--Palmer.--Mount
Morgan.--Croydon.--Later Discoveries.--Yield at Charters
Towers and Mount Morgan.--Copper Mining.--Tin.--Silver.
--Queensland the Home of All Kinds of Minerals and Precious
Stones.--Mineral Wealth in Cairns Hinterland.--Copper
Deposits in Cloncurry District.--The Etheridge.--Anakie Gem
Field.--Opal Fields.--Extensive Coal Measures.--Railway
Communication with Mining Fields.--Value of Queensland
Mineral Output.--Prospects of Industry.
The quest for gold, to say nothing of other minerals, has had much to
do with the settlement and development of Queensland, apart from the
direct advantages conferred on the State by her mining industry.
It has brought to our shores many thousands of people who would not
otherwise have come here; it has helped to open up for occupations
other than mining previously unknown and unexplored regions that, but
for the prospector, might have lain dormant for many more years;
while the successful development of the territory's rich and almost
unlimited mineral wealth has aided in making our State known in other
parts of the world, and thus assisted in attracting hither the people
and capital that have been the chief contributing factors to our
wonderful progress.
Fifty years ago, when what is now Queensland, casting itself free
from the parental skirts of New South Wales, began to walk alone, its
mining industry did not exist. It would not be correct to say that
gold--here, as elsewhere in Australia, the first to be sought and
found of the numerous minerals that have since proved a source of
so much wealth to the State--had not been then discovered upon
our shores. Fifteen years before, men attached to an official
establishment at Gladstone, Port Curtis, found "colours" of the yellow
metal; and in 1858, the year preceding "Separation," occurred the
Canoona "rush," which proved so disastrous to the 15,000 or 20,000
adventurers who then swarmed to the Rockhampton district in search
of the "saint-seducing gold." But the so-called "colours" detected at
picturesque Gladstone were nothing more than can to this day be traced
in scores of places in Queensland; while the find at Canoona proved a
fiasco so great as to spread abroad the impression that this part
of Australia, as a prospective field for mining enterprise, was a
delusion. But was it? Within a dozen miles or so of the scene of the
Canoona disappointment was situated the "mountain of gold" that has
since earned world-wide fame under the name of Mount Morgan; and
by the end of Queensland's first half-century the Rockhampton (or
Central) district has turned out gold to the sum of nearly 3,500,000
fine ounces, representing a money value of over £14,500,000--the bulk
of it won within the last moiety of the half-century.
[Illustration: MOUNT MORGAN: COPPER WORKS, LOOKING NORTH]
[Illustration: MOUNT MORGAN: GENERAL VIEW OF WORKS]
Three years after the foundation of the colony of Queensland gold
in payable quantities was discovered on the Peak Downs, inland from
Rockhampton; but it was not till the finding of the Gympie field
late in 1867--eight years after severance from New South Wales--that
Queensland first definitely took rank as a gold producer. Within six
months from the time when the wandering digger Nash, fossicking in
the gullies running into the upper Mary River, found the promising
specimens in his dish which made him hasten to Maryborough to report
his discovery, 15,000 men had flocked to the spot from all parts of
Australia. The place had hardly been heard of before. Pressmen in
Brisbane did not even know how to spell the name "Gympie" when first
the news arrived; but within a very few weeks its fame spread far
and wide. The gullies in the vicinity of Nash's claim were rich
and numerous. One nugget brought to light weighed nearly a thousand
ounces, and was worth £3,675. Soon alluvial gave place to quartz
mining, and within five years gold to the value of more than
£1,500,000 had been won. Up to the end of 1908--that is, in forty-one
years--the field had produced gold worth £10,350,000, and is still
"going strong." Like all other fields, it has of course had its
ups and downs, and just now is recovering its feet after one of
its "downs." Last year Gympie produced gold to the value of nearly
£270,000; the grade of its ore is improving, and its monthly yields
are now showing comparative increases.
Since the discovery of the Gympie goldfield there has been no
cessation in the progress of mining in Queensland. From one end of the
territory to another the existence of gold and other minerals has from
time to time been disclosed. For many years--
"Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold--"
but still much to be desired--was the magnet which attracted the
peripatetic prospector away from the comforts of civilisation into
the rugged wilds of the coastal ranges and the gullies and stony
stream-beds of the eastern watershed; and for a long while it was only
the gold discoveries that attracted much attention. A year or so after
the Gympie find, the Ravenswood goldfield, south-west from Townsville,
"broke out," to use the phrase of the old-time digger. In 1869 the
precious metal was found on the Gilbert River, and the Gilbert,
Etheridge, and Woolgar fields were proclaimed. Then came Charters
Towers, our premier goldfield, in 1872; the Palmer, inland from
Cooktown (then the very far North), in 1873; the Hodgkinson, a little
more to the south, in 1875; the great Mount Morgan in 1882; Croydon in
1886; and other discoveries, until Dickie, a veteran prospector, found
the Hamilton and Alice River fields in the Peninsula--the former in
1899 and the latter as late as 1904.
In its thirty-six years of existence Charters Towers has turned out
over 5,800,000 ounces--more than £24,600,000 worth of gold; last
year's output was of the value of £700,000; and to-day the indications
in the deeper ground of the field are such that there is reason to
expect that both the term of its existence and the volume of its
output will be greatly extended. At Mount Morgan--the show mine of
Queensland, and one of the greatest in the world--there has been
quarried out of the hill and dug from the depths beneath stone that,
under treatment by works in every way worthy of such a mine, has, in
a little over twenty-two years, yielded gold to the value of over
£13,760,000; has paid in wages and other expenditure about £7,000,000;
and has given to the fortunate holders of its 1,000,000 shares some
£7,230,000 in dividends. That is what the big mine has done. What is
it doing now? True, the phenomenal yields of gold and the high grade
of its auriferous ores that characterised the earlier years of its
history showed signs of diminishing as time went on; but diminishing
yields were counterbalanced by improved methods of mining and
treatment, with consequent reduction of costs; and a few years since
copper as well as gold was found in the lower levels, with the result
that the mine has become at once the most productive copper and the
most productive gold mine of the State. It has already turned out
copper to the value of about £1,500,000, which has to be added to the
gold yield, given above, to arrive at its total product; while the
value of the mine's aggregate output for 1908 (over £1,017,000) was
greater, with perhaps one exception, than that of any previous year in
its history.
Though for some years gold was the only string to the bow of
Queensland's mining industry, that state of things has long since
changed. In the early sixties copper was mined in the State, but then
and for many years afterwards only to a limited extent. Tin came
on the scene in 1872. During the first forty years of Queensland's
existence the gold won within her borders was four times the worth
of all other minerals and coal produced; but so rapid has been the
increase during the past ten years in the production of the industrial
metals--or "other minerals," as they are officially termed, to
distinguish them from gold--that in 1907 their value exceeded that of
the gold yield by over £170,000. Indeed, during the five years ending
with that year there was an almost phenomenal expansion. The output
of 1902 was of the value of only £589,960. In the following year it
increased to £846,280, and then for four years jumped up by leaps and
bounds, until in 1907 the yield was worth no less than £2,153,226.
The known mineral-producing country of Queensland extends over an
immense area. It begins on the southern border, where the Silver Spur
mine maintains a constant output of silver and other mineral products,
and where the Stanthorpe district, our first stanniferous field, still
materially assists, with the aid of dredges, in the tin production of
the State; and extends northerly a hundred miles beyond the goldfield
of Coen, in the Cape York Peninsula. Over this immense distance of
some 1,300 miles from south to north, and extending inland from 50
to 200 miles from the eastern coast, are located at varying intervals
fields producing gold, silver, copper, tin, coal, lead, sapphires,
manganese, wolfram, molybdenite, bismuth, and graphite; while further
to the west are the opal fields of Jundah, Opalton, and Kynuna, the
copper deposits of the vast Cloncurry district, the silver-lead mines
of Lawn Hills in the Burketown district, and the Croydon goldfield,
also on the Gulf waters. Queensland, with a huge area of 670,500
square miles and a scant population of little more than half a million
of people, has a hundred proclaimed gold, mineral, and coal fields,
having a combined area of about 50,000,000 acres.
Apart from goldfields, by far the most important and productive of
these areas is the tract of country which forms the hinterland of
the port of Cairns--a tract which includes the tin-mining centres of
Herberton, Stannary Hills, Irvinebank, Nymbool, and Reid's Creek;
the copper and silver-lead mines of Chillagoe and Mungana; the copper
mines of Mount Molloy and O.K.; the wolfram, molybdenite, and bismuth
mines of Wolfram Camp, Bamford, and Mount Carbine; and the antimony
deposits of the Mitchell River. The two large mineral fields into
which this portion of the State is now officially divided--Chillagoe
and Herberton--have together an area of over 8,500,000 acres. The port
of Cairns was not established till 1876--seventeen years after the
foundation of the State. Now there yearly pass through it from the
area mentioned minerals worth from £600,000 to £800,000, exclusive of
the mineral product from the Etheridge and Croydon fields, which also,
for the most part, finds an outlet through the same channel. Copper
and tin are responsible for more than half the amount named, but the
potentialities of the district as far as other minerals are concerned
are almost unlimited. Of wolfram--taking only one example--this part
of the State alone can supply the world's demand, and have a good deal
to spare afterwards. The Queensland Government Geologist has estimated
that the wolfram-bearing country in this portion of Queensland extends
over an area of 3,500 square miles. Given anything like a permanent
demand and a fair and steady market, wolfram production would soon
take a prominent position in our mining industry. The historical tin
mine of the district is the Vulcan, at Irvinebank, which has attained
the greatest depth (1,450 feet) reached by any tin mine in Queensland,
and where the appliances for recovering the metal are more up-to-date
than at Dolcoath, the most famous tin mine of Cornwall. During the
twenty-five years of its existence, the Vulcan Mine has from 106,000
tons of tin ore produced over 9,790 tons of concentrates, worth
something approaching £500,000, and has paid its lucky shareholders
dividends to the extent of £160,000. The opening up of this large and
prolific district is largely due to the enterprise of the Chillagoe
Company, which not only has developed extensively its several mines
and erected large ore-treatment works, but has built the railway--in
length 93 miles--which connects those mines and numerous others with
the Government railway at the top of the Coastal Range at Mareeba,
and is building a further extension to the Etheridge field, nearly 150
miles further inland.
Queensland is known as a country of magnificent distances, and one
example of its vast expanse is the extent of the copper area of the
Cloncurry district, which is tapped by the Great Northern Railway 480
miles westward from the port of Townsville. This district is by far
the largest tract of copper-bearing country in Australia, and one
of the largest in the world. As the crow flies, it extends north and
south for more than 150 miles, and east and west some 80 or 100 miles.
Over this large area, covering at least 15,000 square miles, copper
has been proved to exist. At the close of 1907 there were on the
Warden's books over 800 mineral leases, besides some hundreds of
claims and several freeholds. The outcrops throughout the district
have been described by one of the Government Geologists as innumerable
and phenomenally rich. But the district is still in the prospecting
stage, and it is yet too soon to pronounce an opinion as to whether
the deposits generally will live at depth, or of what value they will
be if they do, although it may safely be said that the developments
in the more important mines during the past twelve months have been
distinctly encouraging. Smelting operations are already in progress
at two, if not three, of the principal mining centres of the district,
and a railway extension from Cloncurry 74 miles southward is now
in course of construction. Another Queensland mineral field of
vast extent is the Etheridge. It has an area equal to half that
of Scotland, and the Warden for the field, when he undertakes his
periodical patrol, has an itinerary of about 400 miles.
[Illustration: CHARTERS TOWERS: PLANT'S DAY DAWN]
Passing reference has been made to the sapphire field of Anakie, in
Central Queensland, and to the opal to be found in her trackless West.
As a matter of fact, isolated finds of many kinds of gems besides
these two have been made in widely separated parts of the State, but
as a recognised branch of the mining industry opal and sapphire mining
has for years occupied an important place. In the Anakie field, 190
miles from Rockhampton, on the Central Railway, the existence of
gem-stones was officially reported as early as 1892. Ten years later
the Government Geologist, reporting on these sapphire fields, stated
that "the total distance along which deposits are found ... is
altogether about fifteen miles. Of an area of 400 square miles
examined, fifty square miles contain deposits carrying sapphires of
more or less value." In 1905, another member of the Geological staff
reported that the most important recent development had been the
opening up of a second bed of the sapphire wash at a depth of 25 feet,
and that excellent stones, freer from flaws than those nearer the
surface, were being obtained from the lower deposit. Mining for these
precious stones, many of which are of the most beautiful description,
has been to a considerable extent detrimentally affected by the
difficulty experienced in getting a regular market and what is
considered a fair price for the gems; but, notwithstanding this
drawback, there was a large expansion in the industry during the four
years preceding 1907--the annual production having increased in that
period from £7,000 to £35,000 in value. In 1908, however, there was
a considerable falling off, mainly because miners were not satisfied
with the prices obtainable; but, with an improvement in this respect,
renewed activity on the field, which even now supports a population of
over 1,000 persons, may be looked for.
The opal-bearing country extends over a much wider area than
sapphires. The width of this country is, roughly, about 250 miles,
while in length it extends right from the New South Wales border
half-way up the State in a curve bending towards the South Australian
border. The chief centres of production have been Kynuna (near
Winton), Opalton and Fermoy (in the Longreach district), Eromanga, and
Yowah (near Thargomindah). The Queensland opal is recognised as being
unsurpassed for its brilliance and iridescence, and there is reason to
believe that much more will be found than has yet been unearthed; but
the quest for it is difficult owing to the arid nature and vast extent
of the western plains where it occurs. In good seasons men in those
regions find ready employment on the pastoral stations; in very dry
ones, they cannot prospect for the precious stone, and the result has
been that the industry has fluctuated even more than that of sapphire
mining. The highest point was attained in 1895, when the value of the
opal product reached nearly £33,000. Of late years Queensland has been
blessed with good seasons, and the uncertain occupation of opal
mining has, with many men, given place to the more regular and more
comfortable station life. While the opal, the sapphire, and other
precious stones have been dug from Queensland's earth, her Northern
waters have for years yielded the lustrous pearl, and in 1908
pearl-shell to the value of £71,000 was exported.
Sir William Ramsay, speaking as a scientific authority, lately stated
that the day will come when Great Britain, if she continue to be
dependent on her own coal supplies, will find it difficult not only to
carry on her manufactures but to provide fuel for household purposes.
Well, when that day does come, she can send to Queensland for what
coal she wants. Here there are coal measures in abundance--in the
South, Central, and Northern divisions of the State, and on the
Darling Downs. True, we have not yet done much in the way of
production, but all that is wanted is a market, and coal, both
bituminous and anthracitic, can be dug out of the earth and sent away
in practically unlimited quantities. Of ironstone, also, there is an
abundance, and that, too, in such close proximity to the coal supplies
that when the time arrives for Australia to enter earnestly into the
enterprise of iron and steel manufacture Queensland should play an
important part both in producing the raw material and in preparing the
product for the market.
With only one or two exceptions, all the important mining centres of
Queensland are now connected with the eastern coast by rail, and
those that are not are being rapidly linked up. During the year 1908
thirteen new railways were authorised by Parliament, five of them
to serve mineral districts. Four of these lines are now under
construction; and in addition the railway to the Etheridge field is
completed for two-thirds of its length.
To sum up: Queensland during the half-century of her existence has
produced gold to the value, in round numbers, of over £69,000,000,
and other minerals, coal, and precious stones worth more than
£21,000,000--or an aggregate of £90,000,000. Last year's mineral
production was worth £3,844,000, so that, even at the same rate
of output, in less than three years we shall have topped the
£100,000,000. The number of men obtaining employment in connection
with the industry during 1908 was just upon 21,000--only 4,000 less
than Queensland's total population in 1859. The value of machinery and
plant used for mining and ore reduction purposes throughout the State
is over £2,000,000. The worth of the coal output of the West Moreton
district alone last year (£193,000) was more than the total revenue of
Queensland during the first year of her existence; while the mineral
product of the Herberton district during the same period was nearly
four times as great.
In the space available for this article it has been possible to take
but a cursory view of the mineral progress which has characterised the
first half-century of Queensland's life, but enough has been written
to show that that progress has been remarkable, if not phenomenal. And
who shall say what strides will be made during the next fifty years,
or venture to predict what will be the value of our mineral wealth in
the year 1959? It is a safe rule "not to prophesy till you know," but
even the most timid prophet could hardly hesitate to predict expansion
for Queensland's mining industry. Where there has been so much growth
in the past, and where there is such an unlimited field for greater
growth in the years to come, it would be absurd to suppose that there
will be no further advance. As a matter of fact, many well qualified
to judge do not hesitate to say that the industry is as yet in its
infancy. It has been truly said of gold that "what it is, there
it is"; and what you have to do is to find where it is. When it is
remembered, however, that the prominent hill known as Mount Morgan,
with its millions' worth of golden ore, was within a day's journey
of the populous town of Rockhampton, and remained undiscovered until
1882, although alluvial gold had been found at its base for years
previously and the disappointed miners from Canoona had twenty-three
years before swarmed in its vicinity; when we recollect that only
quite recently nuggets have been found in the streets of some of the
oldest of Victorian mining townships, who shall say what has yet to be
unearthed in the wide expanses of Queensland's bush, a great deal of
which is already known to be "rich with the spoils of Nature"?
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear;"
and the experience of the last half-century amply justifies the belief
that untold millions lie hidden in the earthen depths of Queensland.
[Illustration: GYMPIE: SCOTTISH GYMPIE GOLD MINE]
[Illustration: GYMPIE: No. 1 NORTH ORIENTAL AND GLANMIRE]
CHAPTER V.
OUR ASSET IN ARTESIAN WATER.
Erroneous Judgment of Western Queensland.--Scarcity of Surface
Water.--Water Supply Department.--Discovery of Artesian Water
in New South Wales.--Prospecting in Queensland.--Difficulties
Experienced by Early Borers.--First Artesian Flowing Bore.
--Dr. Jack's First Estimate of Artesian Area.--Revised Figures.
--Number of Bores and Estimated Flow.--Area Capable of being
Irrigated with Artesian Water.--Cost of Boring.--Value of
Artesian Water.--Extent of Intake Beds.--Waste of Water.
--Necessity for Government Control of Wells.--Value of Water
for Irrigation, Consumption, and Motive Power.--Artesian Water
a Great National Asset.
Fifty years ago the white population of Australia, including Tasmania,
scarcely exceeded a million persons. At that time the theory was
generally accepted that only a fringe of the coast south of the
tropic of Capricorn would be found habitable by a British or European
population. The reports of explorers led to the conclusion that the
vast inland area of our continent was an irreclaimable arid desert,
save when, at long and uncertain intervals, it was ravaged by
destructive floods, the water from which, licked up by a fiery sun
or absorbed by a porous subsoil, disappeared from the surface with
marvellous rapidity. A little more than forty years ago squatting
occupation had been pushed towards the interior of the continent
with not only rapid strides, but it was held by many explorers with
a presumptuous boldness that could only be followed by disaster. So
deeply had this conviction been driven into the minds of experienced
men that a distinguished Australian explorer, the late Sir A. C.
Gregory, declared in his late maturity, little more than ten years
ago, that on what is now some of the richest and most productive
country in Western Queensland a bandicoot could not live; and on the
statement being challenged he said he spoke from personal experience
as an explorer after two visits separated by an interval of nine
years. The country more particularly so condemned was the well-known
pastoral run, Wellshot, a little to the south of Longreach, and one of
the largest and finest wool-growing properties in Australia.
It must be frankly conceded that the occupation by flocks and herds
nearly forty years ago of what was then known as the Barcoo and
Thomson country was venturesome to the point of recklessness. Except
in the sandy beds of these rivers there was practically no surface
water of a permanent nature; and the average rainfall was so
inadequate, not to mention its capriciousness, and the ground in many
places so porous, that any attempt to provide artificial water by the
construction of dams or tanks seemed almost tempting Providence. Yet
there arose a persistent belief, afterwards more than justified, that
underneath the arid surface was flowing water in great abundance. The
rainfall, however copious in exceptional seasons, certainly did not
reach the sea, and the hypothesis that great subterranean rivers would
disclose themselves to a systematic search attracted much notice. In
the dry year of 1883 the necessity of an improved water supply if
the country was not to be denuded of stock forced itself upon the
attention of our leading public men. The Premier, the late Sir Thomas
McIlwraith, decided to constitute a Government Hydraulic Department
with a competent engineer at its head. There had previously been
so-called hydraulic engineers, but their work was chiefly confined to
the water supply of a few towns and of the more settled districts on
the coast. But Sir Thomas McIlwraith, as a runholder in the Far West,
realised that nothing but heroic efforts, assisted by the Government,
would save the country from desertion, with appalling loss to its
adventurous occupiers and their flocks and herds. Mr. J. Baillie
Henderson was at the time in the Queensland public service, and the
Premier knew that he had served with distinction as an engineer in
the Water Supply Department of Victoria. That gentleman was therefore
selected to organise a Water Supply Department in Queensland, and on
1st February, 1883, he was gazetted Hydraulic Engineer, an appointment
which he has ever since held with credit to himself and advantage to
the country.[a]
At that time the existence of artesian water in Queensland was no more
than suspected. It had been tapped four years previously in New South
Wales, but the boring appliances were so inadequate as to make the
process tedious and of questionable practicability on an extensive
scale. In Queensland some prospecting work had been done, and in some
places fair supplies of water obtained by sinking ordinary wells.
But in the Far West there was little scope for enterprise in
that direction. Hence some extensive dams were constructed across
watercourses ordinarily dry, but without conspicuous success. For
often the rush of flood waters either carried away the embankments,
or the reservoirs they created quickly silted up, or the porousness of
the subsoil could not be entirely combated by "puddling." Then streams
at times complaisantly abandoned their old channels and formed new
ones, leaving the intended reservoirs high and dry after the most
deluging rains. After a time it was found that better sites than
the beds of main watercourses could be found for dams, and that
the construction of tanks would suffice in many places to provide
sufficient water for a scattered population and the increasing numbers
of live stock, although the expense of this mode of conservation was
great for the limited supply obtained. Evidently, if the Far West
was ever to be completely utilised, its almost illimitable areas of
splendid pastures must be watered by some more effective means.
Attention was at this time attracted to the success of the few
artesian bores in New South Wales, and to the vast scale on which
water had been tapped by that means in the United States of America.
The chief obstacles, however, were the great depth at which artesian
water might be expected to be found, and the utter inadequacy of the
boring machinery then in use in Australia; moreover, the search was
most needed in the areas practically inaccessible by reason of the
absence of surface water. For a considerable time, as is disclosed in
the digest of the Hydraulic Engineer's annual reports reproduced in
Appendix H, little progress could be made.
It was not until October, 1884, in fact--just twenty-five years
ago--that information was obtained of the striking of sub-artesian[b]
water by the Messrs. Bignell at Widgeegoara Station, close to the New
South Wales border. The place was visited by Mr. Henderson, and by him
reported upon encouragingly. In the same month the Treasurer received
a letter from the late Hon. George King, of Gowrie Station, Darling
Downs, directing attention to the "Walking Beam Rig" machine, an
American well-boring apparatus, by the use of which it had been
ascertained that his firm might have saved £4,500 out of the £6,000
spent by it in well-sinking in the Warrego district. The letter being
referred to the Hydraulic Engineer, that officer recommended the
introduction of American bore-sinking machinery, and the engagement of
American skilled drillers who would undertake to give instruction in
the use of the machinery as well as engage in drilling work for the
Government of Queensland. Delays occurred, however, apparently through
the unwillingness of the Government to adopt the advice tendered. It
was not until December, 1885, that Mr. Arnold, an American well-borer,
was despatched to Blackall to sink a bore there. The first attempt
failed, but afterwards water was struck in abundance, though not by
him, or until after the first Queensland flowing well had been sunk by
the Government at Barcaldine in December, 1887.
In April, 1887, the Hydraulic Engineer had visited Thurulgoona
Station, and there found that Mr. Loughead, with the "Canadian Pole
Tool" boring apparatus, had obtained a supply of excellent fresh
artesian water from a depth of 1,009 feet, the flow rising 20 inches
above ground. From that date boring went on apace, and the exploratory
success of the Government encouraged private persons to follow their
lead. There were failures to strike artesian water, of course, both on
the part of the Government and private persons, but on the whole the
results have been such as to add to Queensland occupiable country
equivalent to a great new province in the Far West.
[Illustration]
The map presented herewith shows the area of artesian water-bearing
country in Australia as estimated by Dr. R. L. Jack, formerly
Government Geologist. Since 1893 Queensland has been credited with the
area of 376,832 square miles, this being equal to 56 per cent. of
the estimated total. But that total has since been reduced to 569,000
square miles, and late information shows that the approximate area of
the Queensland artesian basin, as ascertained by scaling off the
most recent map issued by the Hydraulic Engineer, is 372,105 square
miles--4,727 square miles less than the area given in his report for
1893. Yet the revised figures bring the Queensland artesian area up to
65 per cent. of the Australian total. The difference is accounted
for by later information acquired in the field. Of the 372,105 square
miles mentioned the area of 146,430 square miles has been tested and
found to be less or more artesian or sub-artesian. Mr. Henderson
says: "The flows from many of the artesian bores which at one time
or another yielded artesian water have failed, but owing to the
suspension of the hydraulic survey the available data are quite
insufficient to admit of a trustworthy estimate being made of the area
so affected."
[Illustration: FLOWING ARTESIAN WELLS, WESTERN QUEENSLAND]
The total supply of bore water has not been ascertained by actual
measurement except from Government bores. But all possible reports of
reputed flows have been obtained from the owners of private bores, and
the figures cut down to 47 per cent. of the furnished estimates. This
reduction is not an arbitrary one, however, but is the equivalent of
the difference found to exist between the average estimate and the
measured flow of such bores as the Hydraulic Department has been
enabled to test.
Information from the Hydraulic Engineer's office shows that up to the
end of May last there were 716 flowing bores in Queensland, pouring
forth an enormous supply of sparkling water estimated at slightly over
479¼ million gallons a day, equal to a discharge of 175,000 million
gallons per annum.[c] This flow, if conserved in tanks and pipes,
would furnish a population of nearly 12 millions with 40 gallons of
water per capita a day. It would irrigate 644,366 acres of cultivated
land with 12 inches of water per annum.[d] An area so irrigated,
utilised solely for wheat-growing, would produce, at 20 bushels per
acre, nearly 13 million bushels of grain, which is equal to 28·87 per
cent. of the entire Commonwealth wheat crop for the year 1907-8.
The average Commonwealth yield for the last five years, however, was
61½ million bushels. The average area under wheat for the same
period was 5,864,114 acres, the average yield for the Commonwealth
therefore being slightly over 10½ bushels to the acre. As much
wheat is cut for fodder, and as irrigated land should produce a
largely increased crop, 20 bushels per acre for such land seems a
moderate estimate. Moreover, in 1902-3, the Commonwealth crop was
under 12½ million bushels, or less than one-fifth of the mean
average for the succeeding five years. At the same time the area
of land under crop was in 1902-3 but little below the succeeding
five-year average on an acre of land.[e]
The presumably perpetual daily flow of 479¼ million gallons of
artesian water--the quantity named being equal to only 47 per cent. of
the reputed flow in the case of unmeasured wells--has cost, so far as
an estimate can be made, £1,873,515. This works out at the average of
£2,616 per flowing bore, supplying 669,369 gallons a day. Calculating
on the basis of 5 per cent., including interest and redemption
payments, the annual charge for this money is equal to £131 per
well, spread over a forty-one years' term, the average cost to each
well-owner being thus £1 for 1,865,000 gallons of water a year. Thus,
although much money has been lost in sinking unsuccessful bores, the
investment has on the whole been amazingly profitable, even allowing
that a further annual charge for maintenance must be added.
It need hardly be said, however, that in practice this enormous
flow of artesian water could not be utilised solely either for human
consumption or for irrigation. Under existing conditions the first
claim upon it may be said to be for the sustenance of live stock, as
the domestic consumption in the region of the flow is comparatively
trifling. And here arises a problem of vast importance. Will this flow
be perpetual, or will it gradually decline until exhaustion of the
sources of supply ultimately takes place? The latter contingency there
seems to be little reason to fear, for the area of the intake beds,
estimated by Dr. R. L. Jack at 5,000 square miles, affords the
assurance that our artesian springs will be constantly replenished by
the rainfall over that large extent of country. Yet, when the existing
number of artesian wells has been doubled or trebled, it seems not
improbable that many of them will become sub-artesian, and only
yield their fertilising streams in response to pumping-power. On this
question, however, expert opinions widely differ. But, taking the
experience of America and other countries in which artesian springs
have been tapped, it may be said that the flow steadily decreases as
the number of bores multiplies.
The Hydraulic Engineer estimates that about two-thirds of the artesian
water at present tapped flows to waste. As to the definition of
"waste," however, there is sharp conflict of opinion. A pastoralist
who distributes a supply of a million gallons of bore water a day
by replenishing dry creeks or constructing artificial channels may
contend that in his case the loss by evaporation or soakage is not
waste, but an expenditure of water necessary to make his artesian
well serve its desired purposes. To control and distribute by means of
reticulating pipes the product of all Queensland's flowing bores would
involve a heavy investment of capital, and one not warranted by
the existing population in the artesian area--a population mainly
dependent upon sheep-raising and wool-growing for subsistence. But the
time may come when it will be deemed indispensable that flowing
wells should be brought under Government control, or their product
be subject, as in the case of surface water, to riparian rights.
The pastoralist who has spent several thousand pounds in sinking a
successful bore not unnaturally claims the water issuing from it as
his own property; but public policy may require that after diverting
so much as may be requisite for his reasonable individual uses the
remainder shall be made available for the occupiers of neighbouring
lands.
The information that little more than one-half the area of the
artesian basin in Queensland has yet been explored is in some respects
disappointing, but it is reassuring in others. For if the unexplored
country yields as much water per square mile of surface as is now
pouring forth from the wells on the tested area--which is not yet
fully developed--the total daily yield will ultimately approach 1,000
millions of gallons. Never, according to official information, was
bore-sinking more active than it is during the current year, and
the thoughtful reader will sympathise with Mr. Henderson's repeated
expression of regret that want of money some years ago compelled the
department to discontinue both exploration on scientific lines and the
periodical measurement of all artesian flows. For with careful surveys
of the entire water-bearing area much capital might be saved by
teaching where copious springs might or might not be expected to be
met with; while with measurement and registration of all flows the
question as to the perpetuity or the contrary of the supply would be
placed beyond controversy. In that case legislation could be initiated
with confidence, and the public interest safeguarded with the least
possible disturbance of private interests.
An important consideration in connection with the artesian area
is that the land watered by bores is as a rule more than commonly
fertile. Its pastures produce some of the most nutritious natural
grasses and herbage found on the face of the earth; and, what is of
immense significance, they are grasses and herbage that either would
not live or would deteriorate under a tropical sun, with a rainfall
equal to the coastal average. Thus it may be argued that artesian bore
water--at any rate, when so free from mineral impregnation as to be
unquestionably potable--is more valuable, gallon for gallon, than the
supply direct from the clouds.
In several of his numerous reports the Hydraulic Engineer makes
reference to the subject of irrigation by means of artesian water.
It is certain that the water from some bores, while useful for live
stock, is not fit for either domestic use or for irrigation. The
Hydraulic Department many years ago began what was intended to be
a systematic analysis of bore water with the view to providing an
official record that would be highly useful for public purposes. But
in one case at least water pronounced by the Government Analyst as
useless even for stock was highly esteemed on the run whence it was
obtained; and evidently much has yet to be learned as to the value of
subterranean waters not regarded as potable by scientific standards.
Some of the most copiously flowing bores, however, discharge water
of unexceptional quality, whether for domestic use, manufacturing
purposes, or irrigation. The Hydraulic Engineer doubts, having regard
to the immense quantity of water required for irrigation, whether it
will ever be found useful for that purpose in so far as the greater
agricultural industries are concerned; but for intense cultivation
around the homestead he thinks bore water might well be utilised. In
some cases it would be in sufficiently large supply for the raising of
green fodder for stud stock--perhaps even for protection against minor
local droughts. An irrigated crop needs three or four waterings of
3 inches each, and as each inch means 22,614 gallons, the quantity
required for a crop, with four waterings, would be 271,368 gallons per
acre; so that a cultivation plot of 20 or 30 acres would absorb from
5 to 8 million gallons a year, according to the seasons, the nature of
the soil, or the soakage.
While doubtful as to the suitability of bore water for irrigation on
a large scale, Mr. Henderson strongly advocates its being applied to
machinery of small power. Many years ago he directed attention in
one of his annual reports to the extensive use of water power
in competition with steam in certain parts of America; and it is
satisfactory to note that in some inland towns of Queensland the
American example has been followed. In quite a number of towns the
public water service is artesian, and in a few it is the motive power
of electric lighting systems. The information that the flowing wells
of Queensland are discharging daily 320 million gallons of water "to
waste" indicates that when population in the artesian area becomes
more dense bore power will become an invaluable aid in economic
manufacture. The water so harnessed would not be wasted, as every
gallon would still be available for human or animal consumption.
[Illustration: ABERDARE COLLIERY, IPSWICH DISTRICT]
The money value of the water annually discharged from the flowing
bores of Queensland runs into stupendous figures, even at the rate
of 6d. per 1,000 gallons. At that rate its annual value would exceed
4¼ millions sterling. Capitalise this sum at 4 per cent., and the
artesian water flow of Queensland becomes worth upwards of 109¼
millions sterling, less, of course, the cost of maintenance and
supervision similarly capitalised. And this colossal endowment is the
result during the last quarter of a century of a total expenditure of
less than 2 millions sterling. Granting that to utilise all this water
already under pressure would mean a very large additional expenditure
in tanks, aqueducts, and pipes, that expenditure may be calculated in
advance to a minute fraction in every case, and it would of course
be disbursed gradually as the demand for the delivery of water
under pressure developed with the increase of population and the
multiplication of industries. It must be apparent, therefore, that any
needful public expenditure to ascertain whether the flow diminishes or
increases as the years go on, and to prevent waste if waste there
be, is more than justified. Indeed, should any great public loss be
suffered for want of State control of this life-giving national asset,
it might be difficult for Parliament entirely to clear itself from
blame if charged with neglecting the reiterated advice of its own
responsible officer in this respect.
[Footnote a: For digest of Hydraulic Engineer's reports, 1883 to
1908 inclusive, see Appendix H, post.]
[Footnote b: "Sub-artesian" is a term applied when the water in
a bore rises to or near the surface, but does not automatically
flow along it.]
[Footnote c: It will be seen on reference to Appendix H that
since the Hydraulic Engineer supplied his figures a number of
additional flowing bores have been sunk, and have substantially
increased the aggregate flow, although, the figures not having
been officially verified, the aggregate flow remains in the
text as from the 716 bores recognised by the Hydraulic Engineer.]
[Footnote d: The quantity of water deposited on an acre of land
by an inch of rain is 22,614 gallons.]
[Footnote e: See "Commonwealth Year Book," 1909, page 382.]
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
READJUSTMENT OF WESTERN BOUNDARY.
The following summary of correspondence between Governor Bowen and the
Secretary of State for the Colonies gives information in addition to
that furnished in "The Subdivision of Australia," page xiv., relating
to the readjustment of the Queensland western boundary:--
On 30th September, 1860, Sir George Bowen--in transmitting an Address
passed by the Queensland Legislature asking that "the western boundary
of Queensland should be declared to extend at least so far as to
include the Gulf of Carpentaria, without which declaration the
Legislature would not feel authorised in taking steps towards the
development of the colony in that direction"--referred to the opinion
of Mr. A. C. Gregory, then Surveyor-General, that "a boundary at the
141st meridian would just cut off from Queensland the greater portion
of the only territory available for settlement, _i.e._, the Plains of
Promise, and the only safe harbour, _i.e._, Investigator Road, in the
Gulf of Carpentaria." The Governor added that until receipt of the
Duke of Newcastle's despatch of 21st October, 1859, enclosing the
opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, the general belief here was
that the western boundary of Queensland was identical with the eastern
boundary of Western Australia, that is, with the 129th degree of east
longitude. But now the Law Officers had declared expressly that the
141st meridian was the western boundary, he urged that the prayer
of the local Legislature should be complied with by extending the
boundary to the 138th meridian of east longitude.
On 8th December, 1860, Governor Bowen again wrote to the Colonial
Office urging that the boundary should be extended, and contending
that the question was of Imperial as well as colonial importance.
Replying on 26th February, 1861, the Duke of Newcastle said that South
Australia had asked for the territory desired by Queensland, and that
certain gentlemen in Victoria were desirous of forming a settlement
on the northern coast of Australia. His Grace added that there were
doubts whether the Government had the power to annex the territory as
desired, and if these doubts had any foundation he would submit a Bill
to the Imperial Parliament to remove them. In September, 1861, Sir
George Bowen again urged the annexation of the territory, remarking
that "Queensland can gain little but trouble and expense from
undertaking the management and protection of any future settlement on
the Gulf of Carpentaria; for it is certain that so soon as it becomes
self-supporting it will demand to be erected into a separate colony."
On 14th December following the Duke of Newcastle wrote to the Governor
stating that he had "no objection to the proposal that this territory
should be temporarily annexed to the colony of Queensland, and
accordingly that Letters Patent would be issued for giving effect to
this arrangement under 24 and 25 Vict., cap. 44." But his Grace warned
the Governor that the annexation would probably be revoked when
the growth of population or other circumstances rendered separation
desirable in the interests of the new territory. He closed with these
words--"I am not prepared to abandon definitely, on the part of
Her Majesty's Government, the power to deal with districts not yet
settled, as the wishes or convenience of the future settlers may
hereafter require."
APPENDIX B.
THE FIRST PARLIAMENT.
(First Session, 1860.)
THE GOVERNOR:
His Excellency Sir George Ferguson Bowen, K.C.M.G.
THE MINISTRY:
_With Seats in the Legislative Assembly._
Colonial Secretary--The Honourable Robert George Wyndham Herbert.
Attorney-General--The Honourable Ratcliffe Pring.
Colonial Treasurer--The Honourable Robert Ramsay Mackenzie.
_With Seats in the Legislative Council._
Minister without Portfolio--The Honourable Maurice Charles O'Connell.[a]
Minister without Portfolio--The Honourable John James Galloway.[b]
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (15).
President--The Honourable Sir Charles Nicholson.[c]
Chairman of Committees--The Honourable Daniel Foley Roberts.[d]
[c] Balfour, Hon. John.
[c] Bigge, Hon. Francis Edward.
[c] Compigne, Hon. Alfred William.
[d] Fitz, Hon. Henry Bates.
[c] Fullarton, Hon. George.
[c] Galloway, Hon. John James.
[d] Harris, Hon. George.
[c] Laidley, Hon. James.
[c] Massie, Hon. Robert George.
[c] McDougall, Hon. John Frederick.
[c] O'Connell, Hon. Maurice Charles.
[d] Simpson, Hon. Stephen.
[c] Yaldwyn, Hon. William Henry.
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (26).
Speaker--The Honourable Gilbert Eliott (_Wide Bay_).
Chairman of Committees--Arthur Macalister (_Ipswich_).
Blakeney, Charles William (_Brisbane_).
Broughton, Alfred Delves (_West Moreton_).
Buckley, Henry (_East Moreton_).
Coxen, Charles (_Northern Downs_).
Edmondstone, George (_East Moreton_).
Ferrett, John (_Maranoa_).
Fitzsimmons, Charles (_Port Curtis_).
Forbes, Frederick Augustus (_Ipswich_).
Gore, St. George Richard (_Warwick_).
Haly, Charles Robert (_Burnett_).
Herbert, Robert George Wyndham (_Leichhardt_).
Jordan, Henry (_Brisbane_).
Lilley, Charles (_Fortitude Valley_).
Mackenzie, Robert Ramsay (_Burnett_).
Moffatt, Thomas de Lacy (_Western Downs_).
[e] Nelson, William Lambie (_West Moreton_).
O'Sullivan, Patrick (_Ipswich_).
Pring, Ratcliffe (_Eastern Downs_).
Raff, George (_Brisbane_).
Richards, Henry (_Brisbane South_).
Royds, Charles James (_Leichhardt_).
Taylor, James (_Western Downs_).
Thorn, George, sen. (_West Moreton_).
Watts, John (_Drayton and Toowoomba_).
[Footnote a: Captain O'Connell resigned on 28th August, and
became President of Legislative Council.]
[Footnote b: Appointed 28th August, 1860; resigned 10th
November, 1860.]
[Footnote c: Appointed for five years by Sir William Denison.]
[Footnote d: Appointed for life by Sir G. F. Bowen.]
[Footnote e: Unseated on petition in June, 1860--disqualified,
being a minister of religion; succeeded by Joseph Fleming.]
[Illustration: COCOA-NUT PALMS, JOHNSTONE RIVER, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: CUSTOM HOUSE AND PETRIE BIGHT, BRISBANE]
APPENDIX C.
THE EIGHTEENTH PARLIAMENT.
(1909.--Second Session.)
THE GOVERNOR:
His Excellency Sir William MacGregor, G.C.M.G., C.B.
THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR:
The Honourable Sir Arthur Morgan.
THE MINISTRY:
_With Seats in the Legislative Assembly._
Vice-President of Executive Council and Chief Secretary
--The Honourable William Kidston.
Secretary for Public Lands
--The Honourable Digby Frank Denham.
Treasurer
--The Honourable Arthur George Clarence Hawthorn.
Secretary for Public Instruction and Secretary for Public Works
--The Honourable Walter Henry Barnes.
Home Secretary and Secretary for Mines
--The Honourable John George Appel.
Secretary for Railways and Secretary for Agriculture
--The Honourable Walter Trueman Paget.
_With Seats in the Legislative Council._
Minister without Portfolio--The Honourable Andrew Henry Barlow.
Attorney-General--The Honourable Thomas O'Sullivan.
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (44).
President--The Honourable Sir Arthur Morgan.
Chairman of Committees--The Honourable Peter MacPherson.
Annear, Hon. John Thomas.[a]
Barlow, Hon. Andrew Henry.
Beirne, Hon. Thomas Charles.
Brentnall, Hon. Frederick Thomas.
Brown, Hon. William Villiers.
Callan, Hon. Albert James.
Campbell, Hon. William Henry.
Carter, Hon. Arthur John.
Clewett, Hon. Felix.
Cowlishaw, Hon. James.
Davey, Hon. Alfred Allen.
Deane, Hon. John.
Fahey, Hon. Bartley.
Gibson, Hon. Angus.
Gray, Hon. George Wilkie.
Groom, Hon. Henry Littleton.
Hall, Hon. Thomas Murray.
Hart, Hon. Frederick Hamilton.
Hinchcliffe, Hon. Albert.
Jensen, Hon. Magnus.
Johnson, Hon. Thomas Alexander.
Lalor, Hon. James.
Marks, Hon. Charles Ferdinand, M.D.
McDonnell, Hon. Frank.
McGhie, Hon. Charles Stewart.
Miles, Hon. Edward David.
Moreton, Hon. Berkeley Basil.
Murphy, Hon. Peter.
Nielson, Hon. Charles Frederick.
Norton, Hon. Albert.
O'Sullivan, Hon. Thomas.
Parnell, Hon. Arthur Horatio.
Plant, Hon. Edmund Harris Thornburgh.
Power, Hon. Francis Isidore.
Raff, Hon. Alexander.
Smith, Hon. Robert Harrison.
Smyth, Hon. Joseph Capel.
Stevens, Hon. Ernest James.
Taylor, Hon. William Frederick, M.D.
Thomas, Hon. Lewis.
Thynne, Hon. Andrew Joseph.
Turner, Hon. Henry.
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (72).
Speaker--The Honourable Joshua Thomas Bell (_Dalby_).
Chairman of Committees--William Drayton Armstrong (_Lockyer_).
Allan, James (_Brisbane South_).
Allen, Barnett Francis Samuel (_Bulloo_).
Appel, Hon. John George (_Albert_).
Barber, George Phillips (_Bundaberg_).
Barnes, George Powell (_Warwick_).
Barnes, Hon. Walter Henry (_Bulimba_).
Blair, James William (_Ipswich_).
Booker, Charles Joseph (_Maryborough_).
Bouchard, Thomas William (_Brisbane South_).
Bowman, David (_Fortitude Valley_).
Brennan, James (_Rockhampton North_).
Breslin, Edward Denis Joseph (_Port Curtis_).
Bridges, Thomas (_Nundah_).
Collins, Charles (_Burke_).
Corser, Edward Bernard Cresset (_Maryborough_).
Cottell, Richard John (_Toowong_).
Coyne, John Harry (_Warrego_).
Crawford, James (_Fitzroy_).
Cribb, James Clarke (_Bundanba_).
Denham, Hon. Digby Frank (_Oxley_).
Douglas, Henry Alexander Cecil (_Cook_).
Ferricks, Miles Aloysius (_Bowen_).
Foley, Thomas (_Townsville_).
Forrest, Hon. Edward Barrow (_Brisbane North_).
Forsyth, James (_Moreton_).
Fox, George (_Normanby_).
Grant, Kenneth McDonald (_Rockhampton_).
Grayson, Francis (_Cunningham_).
Gunn, Donald (_Carnarvon_).
Hamilton, William (_Gregory_).
Hardacre, Herbert Freemont (_Leichhardt_).
Hawthorn, Hon. Arthur George Clarence (_Enoggera_).
Hodge, Robert Samuel (_Burnett_).
Hunter, David (_Woolloongabba_).
Hunter, John McEwan (_Maranoa_).
Keogh, Denis Thomas (_Rosewood_).
Kidston, Hon. William (_Rockhampton_).
Land, Edward Martin (_Balonne_).
Lennon, William (_Herbert_).
Lesina, Vincent Bernard Joseph (_Clermont_).
Macartney, Edward Henry (_Brisbane North_).
Mackintosh, Donald (_Cambooya_).
McLachlan, Peter Alfred (_Fortitude Valley_).
Mann, John (_Cairns_).
Maughan, William John Ryott (_Ipswich_).
May, John (_Flinders_).
Morgan, Godfrey (_Murilla_).
Mulcahy, Daniel (_Gympie_).
Mullan, John (_Charters Towers_).
Murphy, William Sidney (_Croydon_).
Nevitt, Thomas (_Carpentaria_).
O'Sullivan, James (_Kennedy_).
Paget, Hon. Walter Trueman (_Mackay_).
Payne, John (_Mitchell_).
Petrie, Andrew Lang (_Toombul_).
Philp, Hon. Robert (_Townsville_).
Rankin, Colin Dunlop Wilson (_Burrum_).
Roberts, Thomas Robert (_Drayton and Toowoomba_).
Ryan, Thomas Joseph (_Barcoo_).
Ryland, George (_Gympie_).
Somerset, Henry Plantagenet (_Stanley_).
Stodart, James (_Logan_).
Swayne, Edward Bowdick (_Mackay_).
Theodore, Edward (_Woothakata_).
Thorn, William (_Aubigny_).
Tolmie, James (_Drayton and Toowoomba_).
Walker, Harry Frederick (_Wide Bay_).
White, John (_Musgrave_).
Wienholt, Arnold (_Fassifern_).
Winstanley, Vernon (_Charters Towers_).
[Footnote a: Acting Chairman of Committees.]
APPENDIX D.
FIFTY YEARS OF LEGISLATION.
In the following epitome of Queensland legislation during the last
half-century no mention is made of Land Acts, Local Government Acts,
Revenue or Loan Acts, or Education Acts, those subjects being dealt
with in the text of the book. The rule has been to notice in this
appendix the first legislation of the Parliament on each subject
exclusive of those above mentioned, and only to refer to amending Acts
of a consolidating and extending character. Nor is any attempt made to
furnish a digest of the Acts mentioned, but only to direct attention
to what are deemed the salient points of each.
The first session of the first Parliament has been specially dealt
with in "Our Natal Year."
THE FIRST PARLIAMENT: 29th May, 1860-22nd May, 1863.
It may not be generally known that in 1861, before Government railways
were authorised in Queensland, an Act was passed incorporating the
Moreton Bay Tramway Company, formed to construct a railway "from
Ipswich to the interior of the colony." The company failed to raise
the capital required, however, and the project fell through. In the
same year a Loan Act was passed, but it made no provision for railway
construction. In 1861 an Act was passed giving facilities for the
naturalisation of aliens. A Fencing Act, a Carriers Act, and a Masters
and Servants Act also found a place on the Statute-book. There were
also passed a Savings Bank Act, a Supreme Court Act, and, among
several others, twenty-two in all, the Real Property Act of 1861,
which adopted the Torrens system of registration of titles, and may be
regarded as one of the most useful reforms of the fifty-year period.
An Act to facilitate the incorporation of religious and charitable
institutions also became law. In 1862 an Act to provide for the
appointment of a second Supreme Court Judge, at a salary of £1,500 a
year, was passed, the result being the introduction of the late Chief
Justice Cockle, much to the dissatisfaction of the late Mr. Justice
Lutwyche, who, having been sole Judge before separation, preferred a
prior claim to the appointment. Interference with political and party
affairs was the alleged cause of this non-recognition of seniority;
and the charge had some justification, as his Honour once issued an
address to the electors through the Press urging them to vote for a
Liberal candidate. Another noticeable measure was an Act to provide
for the introduction of labourers from British India. In all
thirteen measures were passed in this session, the last of the first
Parliament.
THE SECOND PARLIAMENT: 22nd July, 1863-29th May, 1867.
In 1863 the second Parliament passed twenty-seven Acts, among them
one empowering the Government to construct a railway from Ipswich to
Toowoomba, "and such other lines as may hereafter be specified," and
providing generally for the management of railways. The Inquests on
Fires Act, the Liens on Crops Act, the Trading Companies Act,
the Queensland Bank Act, the Civil Service Act--providing liberal
allowances for retiring public officers--Police, Publicans, and
Quarantine Acts, and other measures, made this a very fertile session.
In 1864 no less than thirty Acts became law, including the Gold Export
Duty Act, imposing a duty of 1s. 6d. per ounce on the precious metal.
The Immigration Act of 1864, providing for the issue of land-order
warrants by the Agent-General, instead of land orders, and generally
restricting the traffic in these instruments, was passed. The Marriage
Laws Act, the Military Contribution Act, appropriating £3,640 towards
the cost of Her Majesty's troops in the colony, the Volunteer Corps
Act, the Small Debts Act, the Roads Closing Act, the Bank of New South
Wales Act, and the Brisbane Gas Company Act, with several others,
became law. The publication of "Hansard" was begun in this year.
Twenty-two Acts were passed in 1865, among them one for the Prevention
of the Careless Use of Fire, a Selectors Relief Act, the Industrial
and Reformatory Schools Act, and eight measures amending the Criminal
law. In 1866 twenty-six measures were passed, including the Friendly
Societies Enabling Act, the Inquests of Deaths Act, abolishing
coroners' juries and providing for magisterial inquiries at a cost
of two guineas each as a fee to the presiding justice. The Standard
Weight for Agricultural Produce Act and an Act declaring Port Albany,
Cape York, a free port also became law, as well as a number of legal
statutes.
THE THIRD PARLIAMENT: 6th August, 1867-27th August, 1868.
The third Parliament commenced its career in 1867 with a list of
forty-eight Acts. The Constitution Act of 1867 and the Legislative
Assembly Act of the same year laid the foundation of the Queensland
Legislature, while the basis of our judiciary is the Supreme Court
Act, the District Court Act, the Small Debts Act, and the Jury Act,
all passed in the same session. Other important measures which
were passed were Probate Act, Succession Act, Statute of Frauds and
Limitations, Equity Act, Trustees and Incapacitated Persons Act, and
the Polynesian Labourers Act, the latter the first of a long series
of statutes legalising and regulating Polynesian labour. Most of the
others were amendments of Acts passed in previous sessions. In August,
1868, the Parliament was prematurely dissolved.
THE FOURTH PARLIAMENT: 18th November, 1868-13th July, 1870.
The fourth Parliament opened in November, 1868, and the first session
lasted till April, 1869. Only nineteen Acts were passed in the two
sessions of 1868 and 1869. In the latter year two measures were passed
to encourage the establishment of industries, one by means of grants
of land, while the other authorised bonuses for the manufacture of
woollen and cotton goods--the growth of cotton having attained some
prominence during the American Civil War in the early sixties.
The principal work of the session, however, was the passage of the
Pastoral Leases Act, and an Act to repeal the Civil Service Act of
1863, on the ground that it was imposing undue liabilities on
the Treasury. The session of 1870 only lasted for a week, and was
consequently barren.
[Illustration: IN THE SCRUB COUNTRY, KIN KIN, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
[Illustration: ON THE BLACKALL RANGE, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
THE FIFTH PARLIAMENT: 16th November, 1870-21st June, 1871.
The fifth Parliament lived only seven months. It met in November,
1870, and passed twenty-two Acts, among them being the University
Act of 1870, giving the Governor in Council power to establish local
examinations for degrees in connection with universities in Great
Britain and Ireland. In this year an Act legalising the collection
of border duties was passed. An Act providing for a pension of £400
a year to the Assembly's first Speaker also became law, but has not
since been used as a precedent. By the Country Publicans Act a license
for a house not within five miles of any town in which the Towns
Police Act was in force was reduced to £15. The Gold Fields Homestead
Act authorised the granting of agricultural leaseholds not exceeding
forty acres on any proclaimed goldfield. A Wages Act enabled an
employee to claim six months' pay from a mortgagee on taking over
a property. In the session of 1871 only six Acts were passed, one
repealing the proviso to section 10 of the Constitution Act of 1867
which required a two-thirds majority of both Houses to a bill altering
the number or apportionment of members of the Assembly. The other
measures of this session demand no notice here.
THE SIXTH PARLIAMENT: 8th November, 1871-1st September, 1873.
The sixth Parliament met in November, 1871, and passed six measures in
its first session, none of them of more than temporary importance save
the comprehensive Brands Act, which received the Governor's assent in
the following year. The main session of 1872 was fertile in practical
legislation, the Health Act and a Railway Act--providing for the
fixing of compensation for land resumptions by a railway arbitrator,
and empowering the Governor in Council to accept proposals for railway
construction from private individuals or corporations--becoming law
with twenty-four other measures. An Act of this year provided for the
gradual abolition of the export duty on gold; another provided for
homestead areas on liberal terms; and another for the sale of mineral
lands. A number of legal measures, all of an amending character, also
became law. And finally, a Loan Act, authorising the Government
to raise £1,466,499 for railways from Ipswich to Brisbane and from
Westwood to Comet River on the Central Railway, and other public
works, gave a new impetus to development. In 1873 the Parliament met
at the end of May, and after the session had lasted two months the
Houses were prorogued for the purpose of a dissolution. Only six Acts
were passed during the session, and those of no permanent significance
except, perhaps, an equally elaborate and Algerine Customs Act.
THE SEVENTH PARLIAMENT: 7th January, 1874-2nd October, 1878.
The seventh Parliament opened on 7th January, 1874, and the Palmer
Government, being defeated on the election for the Speakership, at
once retired. After nearly three months' adjournment to enable the new
Ministry to formulate its policy, the session was resumed at the end
of March, and eighteen public and six private Acts were passed. Among
the most important was the Audit Act, which, among other provisions,
altered the opening date of the financial year to 1st July, instead of
1st January, with the object of getting the work done during the cool
weather. But the Act failed in this respect, for Governments seldom
care to call Parliament together much before mid-July, in time to
provide for the first Treasury payments of the new financial year.
On the other hand, the Assembly members usually protract the sittings
until close to Christmas week, at whatever date the session opens.
Among the other measures passed in 1874 were the Insolvency Act,
of which Mr. S. W. Griffith was the author; the Crown Remedies Act,
providing for the conduct of suits on behalf of the Crown; a Supreme
Court Act, making provision for the appointment of a third Judge to be
stationed at Bowen, and fixing the salaries and pensions of the Judges
at the amounts still payable; a comprehensive Goldfields Act; an
Act for the protection of oysters and the establishment of oyster
fisheries; and an Act to encourage the manufacture of sugar. In 1875
sixteen Acts were passed, one of the two most important being the
Western Railway Act, providing for the reservation of the land for
fifty miles on either side of a straight line drawn from Dalby to
Roma, and the sale of such lands to pay for the construction of a
railway to connect the two towns. The other and great measure of the
session, however, was the State Education Act, the scope of which is
elsewhere explained.
In 1876 twenty-three Acts were passed, two of them being temporary
Supply Acts, measures which first became necessary with the alteration
of the date of the financial year. A Crown Lands Alienation Act,
passed this year, is noticed elsewhere, as is also the Customs
Duties Act, introducing a tariff incidentally protective. Mr.
Groom's Friendly Societies Act became law, as also did Mr. Griffith's
Judicature Act, and the Fire Brigades Act. A Municipality Endowments
Act provided a £2 for £1 endowment for municipalities during the
first five years after their establishment, and then £1 for £1. The
Department of Justice was provided for, enabling a layman to hold
the portfolio of Minister for Justice in a Ministry, and, so far as
official practice was concerned, to qualify such Minister to discharge
the duties of the Attorney-General.
In 1877, twenty-eight measures were placed on the Statute-book,
including the Navigation Act, Bank Holidays Act, Chinese Immigration
Regulation Act, an Act to punish disorderly conduct in places of
religious worship, the Victoria Bridge Act, and the first of a series
of enactments for the destruction of marsupials and the protection
of native birds. But the most important piece of legislation was the
Railway Reserves Act, which, before it was finally repealed, caused
considerable trouble in regard to the disposal of the moneys received
from the sale of land within the reserves which were set apart in the
various districts to provide funds for the construction of railways in
the several reserves.
In 1878, the last session of the seventh Parliament, only a few
measures were passed, among them, however, being the Deceased
Wife's Sister Marriage Act, the Intestacy Act, a comprehensive Local
Government Act, and a Volunteer Act. An Electoral Districts Act
redistributed the electorates of the colony, and increased the number
of members of the Assembly from 43 to 55.
THE EIGHTH PARLIAMENT: 15th January, 1879-26th July, 1883.
In January, 1879, a new Parliament opened, and the ensuing five years
contributed but a moderate number of Acts to the Statute-book. First
in political importance was the Divisional Boards Act of 1879; then
the Licensing Boards Act; the Orphanages Act; the Bills of Exchange
Act; and the Life Insurance Act, providing among other things
that after an insured person had held a policy for life assurance,
endowment, or annuity for three years his age, unless in the case of
fraud, should be deemed to have been admitted by the company, and also
protecting the interest of the assured in the event of his insolvency.
A short Act was passed requiring all moneys received under the
Western Railway Act and the Railway Reserves Act to be paid into the
consolidated revenue fund; and a Loan Act for £3,053,000 was also
placed on the Statute-book. The Local Works Loans Act, referred to
elsewhere, was also passed. The Rabbit Act, passed on the initiative
of a private member, Mr. E. J. Stevens, was the forerunner of several
measures having for their object the extermination of this national
pest. In 1880, out of the twenty-four Acts passed, four were for
appropriations, and four for private purposes. A new Pacific Island
Labourers Act became law, providing for the engagement of all
islanders under the inspection of a Government agent travelling in
the recruiting vessel, restricting the employment of the islanders to
tropical and semi-tropical agriculture, and making provision for their
payment and treatment. The Post Card and Postal Notes Act provided for
the issue of those instruments. The greatest political measure was the
Railway Companies Preliminary Act, passed with the view of inducing
capitalists to undertake railway construction in consideration of land
grants.
In 1881 fifteen Acts, exclusive of appropriations, were passed, among
which were the Macalister Pension Act, authorising the payment to
the ex-Agent-General of a pension of £500 a year; the Pearl-shell
and Beche-de-mer Fishery Act; the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, and the
United Municipalities Act. In 1882, with the exception of the Tramways
Act, nearly all the measures passed were amending Acts.
In 1883 only two measures were passed--the Queensland Stock
Inscription Act and an Appropriation Act--dissolution following
upon the defeat of the Government on the second reading of the
Transcontinental Railway Bill, which was introduced to ratify an
agreement made with a company, represented by General Feilding, under
the provisions of the Railway Companies Preliminary Act of 1880, for
the construction of a railway from Charleville to Point Parker on the
Gulf of Carpentaria.
THE NINTH PARLIAMENT: 7th November, 1883-4th April, 1888.
The ninth Parliament opened on 7th November, 1883, and the Government
resigned after being thrice defeated. Mr. Griffith became Premier, and
he at once set to work to reverse the policy of his rival in several
respects. The Assembly passed a bill to repeal the Labourers from
British India Acts of 1862 and 1882, but the Council rejected it. The
passage of the Chinese Immigrants Regulation Act (introduced by Mr.
Macrossan as a private Opposition member), which restricted the number
of Chinese passengers arriving by any vessel to one to every fifty
tons register, and imposed a landing fee of £30 per head on such
passengers, had a salutary effect in limiting this form of Asiatic
immigration. The Pacific Island Labourers Act Amendment Act further
safeguarded the interests of white workers in Queensland. The Railway
Companies Preliminary Act was repealed, and its repeal put a stop
to the negotiations which had been going on in connection with the
Transcontinental Railway under the previous Government.
The chief measure passed in the regular session of 1884 was the
Crown Lands Act, which has been dealt with elsewhere. A comprehensive
Defence Act established the principle of compulsory service in time
of war. Among other measures passed were a comprehensive Health Act,
a Bills of Exchange Act, a Wages Act, a Pharmacy Act, and the Native
Birds Protection Act; also the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act.
Many of the other Acts were legal measures, but one may be mentioned
as of interest--the New Guinea and Pacific Jurisdiction Contribution
Act, which provided for the amount of annual contribution by
Queensland in the event of a British Protectorate being established
over Eastern New Guinea and other islands in the Western Pacific. An
Act of interest to civil servants was that which required all fees
thereafter received by them to be paid into the Treasury. The Acts of
this single session--the first of Mr. Griffith's Premiership--extended
over 405 pages of the then quarto Statute-book.
The Officials in Parliament Act--passed to create an additional
Minister, to readjust the division of portfolios between the two
Houses, and to render officers in the Imperial and Queensland military
and naval forces eligible to sit in the Legislative Assembly--had the
effect of bringing about an innovation not intended at the time the
Act was passed, and which had no parallel in parliamentary government
in the Empire. The passage of section 3 involved the repeal of
sections 5 and 6 of the Legislative Assembly Act of 1867, the latter
of which made it obligatory for members of the Assembly to submit
themselves for re-election upon taking office as Ministers. Curiously
enough, the effect of this repeal was not discovered until certain
Ministerial changes were made in 1893. The members of the McIlwraith
Government in 1888 and the members of the Griffith-McIlwraith
Coalition in 1890 went before their constituents for re-election; but
since the latter year the practice has ceased, and the electors have
now no opportunity of showing by their votes whether they approve or
disapprove of Cabinet changes.
The session of 1885 was also productive of much legislation. There
were a new Licensing Act containing local option provisions, a Federal
Council (Adopting) Act, and an Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention
Act, making the minimum width of new streets 66 feet, and of lanes
22 feet, and buildings were not to be erected within 33 feet of the
middle line of a lane; while suburban or country lands could not be
sold in areas of less than 16 perches. This measure put a stop to
subdivisions which could only be regarded as a grave abuse. The law
relating to parliamentary elections was consolidated and amended.
Another Act prohibited the introduction of Pacific Islanders after
31st December, 1890. Altogether eighteen measures, irrespective of
appropriations, were passed. During this and the following session a
series of conflicts arose over the power of the Legislative Council
to amend bills dealing with appropriation and taxation. In 1884 a bill
was introduced which made provision for granting to members of the
Assembly payment of expenses at the rate of £2 2s. per sitting day,
with a maximum amount of £200 per annum, and in addition payment of
travelling expenses to and from electorates once a year at the rate
of 1s. 6d. per mile. The bill was laid aside by the Council. It
was reintroduced in 1885, and again laid aside by the Council.
The Government thereupon included a sum of £7,000 in the annual
Appropriation Bill for the payment of members' expenses, and the
Council took the extreme step of amending the Appropriation Bill by
omitting this vote. After communications had passed between the two
Chambers, it was agreed to submit to the Imperial Crown Law Officers
two questions to settle whether the Council possessed co-ordinate
powers with the Assembly in the amendment of all bills, including
money bills, and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decided
against the Council. The following year, the Members' Expenses Bill
was passed by the Council without any attempt at amendment. The
Council having also amended the rating clauses of a Local Government
Bill in 1885, the bill was laid aside by the Assembly. It was
reintroduced next year, and again amended by the Council. Warned by
the fact that a Divisional Boards Bill had been laid aside by the
Council because the Assembly claimed that the Upper House had no
power to amend rating clauses, the Assembly accepted the Council's
amendments, but at the same time asserted their sole power of altering
taxation provisions.
In the year 1886 no less than thirty-two Acts, exclusive of
appropriations and private measures, were passed. Among them was the
Elections Tribunal Act, which gave to a Supreme Court Judge, assisted
by a panel of members of the Assembly acting as assessors, the
decision of election petitions, as the trying of such petitions before
an Elections and Qualifications Committee consisting of members of
the Assembly had proved unsatisfactory. The Members' Expenses Bill was
also passed. The important Justices Act was a measure of this session.
The Labourers from British India Acts were repealed, the repealing
measure having been rejected by the Council in the 1883-4 session,
thus closing the door to the long-desired importation of coolie labour
for pastoral holdings. Two measures of great importance to workers
which were placed on the Statute-book in this session were the
Employers Liability Act and the Trade Unions Act. The Offenders
Probation Act embodied a new departure in the treatment of first
offenders, which has since been copied by many other countries.
Another Act which proved of material assistance to the working
classes was the Building Societies Act. Several of the measures were
amendments of the work of former Parliaments.
The session of 1887, though less fruitful than the three preceding
sessions, was by no means barren. Twenty-one bills were passed, one
of which made provision for a contribution to the British New Guinea
civil list. The Divisional Boards Bill, which had been laid aside by
the Council in 1886, was reintroduced. The taxation clauses were
this year embodied in a separate bill--the Valuation Bill--and both
measures became law. An Electoral Districts Bill was also passed,
increasing the number of members of the Assembly to 72. No change has
since been made in the representation of the State. The passage of
this bill was urged as a reason for not passing the Australasian Naval
Force Bill, the Opposition contending that no important legislation
should be attempted after Parliament had agreed to a redistribution
of seats, and Sir S. W. Griffith was in this way prevented from giving
legislative force to the agreement which he had drafted, and which was
passed into law in all the other colonies before its author finally
succeeded in securing its passage in Queensland in the year 1891. The
session closed in December, 1887, but the Assembly was not dissolved
until four months later.
THE TENTH PARLIAMENT: 12th June, 1888-5th April, 1893.
The tenth Parliament opened on 12th June, 1888, and the Griffith
Ministry gave place to that of Sir Thomas McIlwraith. Only ten public
measures were passed, however, exclusive of appropriations.
The struggle of the session arose on the Customs Bill, imposing
protectionist duties, and increasing the complexity of the tariff. On
entering Parliament in 1874, Mr. Macrossan had earnestly demanded, on
behalf of the Northern miners, effectual anti-Chinese legislation,
but the attitude of the Imperial Government compelled the Queensland
Parliament to proceed warily. In 1877 an Act was passed requiring the
master of any ship to pay £10 for each Chinese passenger landed, and
forbidding more than one to every 10 tons burthen, a penalty of
£10 being imposed in each case of breach. In 1884 the number to be
introduced was further restricted to one Chinese for each 50 tons,
with a landing payment of £30, and £30 penalty for each landed in
excess of the prescribed number. In 1888 the representatives of the
various Australasian Governments met at Sydney, as, owing to the
unwillingness of the Imperial Government to give the Royal assent
to the legislation desired, there was doubt as to whether a measure
passed by an individual colony would be assented to. The conference
agreed to a bill, and the Queensland Parliament passed it in 1888, but
it did not become law until February, 1890. It placed the limitation
at one Chinese passenger to every 500 tons registered, made the
penalty on the master £500 for every Chinese landed in excess of the
number, and, in default of payment, twelve months' imprisonment, and
£100 for a master failing to report at the Customs. For failure
to supply a correct list of Chinese passengers the master rendered
himself liable to a penalty of £200 for each act of default, and £30
for permitting Chinese to land without payment of the landing tax. A
Chinaman landing illegally, either overland or by ship, was himself
liable to a penalty of £50, and, in default of payment, to six months'
imprisonment. A comprehensive Railways Act was passed, its main object
being to entrust the control of the railways to three Commissioners.
The other measures were not of permanent interest.
The session of 1889, under the Morehead Administration, was more
productive. The Totalisator Restriction Act was among the measures
passed, as was also the Trustees Act. The Civil Service Act, which
embodied superannuation provisions on the basis of a 4 per cent.
contribution from salary, was passed, but the superannuation sections
were repealed in 1894 chiefly because of the representations of
junior officers who alleged that the system was unjust. The Payment of
Members Act repealed the Members' Expenses Act of 1886, and under
it members were paid an annual salary of £300. The session was also
notable by reason of the passage of the Defamation Act, introduced
by Sir S. W. Griffith as a private member, by which journalists
were relieved of the Algerine law under which their profession had
previously been carried on.
The session of 1890 was marked by the formation of the
Griffith-McIlwraith Ministry, and the passing of twenty-seven Acts,
many of importance, one of them being the Married Women's Property
Act. The dividend duty was first imposed in this session, and
sketching fortifications was made a penal offence; but the more
important measures of this year are elsewhere noticed.
In the session of 1891 a comprehensive Water Authorities Act, which
is still in force, became law. An Act permitting solicitors to do work
for their clients by agreement was passed, as was also an Act for the
better protection of women and girls. In all thirty-eight measures,
many of them of a legal character, became law in this session. The one
of greatest importance was the Australasian Naval Force Act, to which
allusion has already been made.
In 1892 thirty-nine Acts were passed, among which was one for the
treatment and isolation of lepers; others provided for strengthening
the law penalising bakers for selling bread under weight; for
subsidising railway construction by grants of land; for the
establishment of harbour boards, and the levy of harbour dues; for
penalising the publication of indecent advertisements; for making a
person accused of an indictable offence and the wife or husband of
such accused person a competent but not a compellable witness for the
defence; for raising the Chief Justice's salary to £3,500 with a
view to securing the services of Sir S. W. Griffith; for reducing the
payment of members of the Assembly to £150 per annum; and for taxing
the receipts of totalisators on racecourses, a duty being imposed of
sixpence in the pound of money passed through the totalisators. A new
principle in rabbit legislation was introduced by an Act encouraging
pastoral lessees to destroy the pest by granting them an extension
of their leases as compensation for their outlay. The Pacific Island
Labourers (Extension) Act reversed the decision of Parliament in 1885,
and permitted the reintroduction of islanders for work in the sugar
industry. The recruiting continued from this date until terminated by
the Commonwealth legislation of 1901. This session proved a very long
one, the Houses sitting from March till November.
THE ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT: 26th May, 1893-22nd February, 1896.
The eleventh Parliament was opened on 26th May, 1893, Sir Thomas
McIlwraith being then Premier. A Ministerial crisis was produced on
the Railway Border Tax Bill, which imposed a duty of £2 10s. per ton
on every bale of Queensland wool taken across the border. Ministers
tendered their resignations, but the Governor, Sir Henry Norman,
declined to accept them. In a minute read in the Assembly, His
Excellency expressed the opinion that the vote in question did not
constitute a vote of want of confidence in Ministers, and he gave it
as his belief that on most questions of importance likely to arise
they would have the support of a substantial majority of members of
the Assembly. Consequently Sir Thomas McIlwraith continued in office,
and both Houses passed the bill. It was a retaliatory measure against
the New South Wales Railway Commissioners because of the preferential
rates conceded by them to draw traffic to Sydney that legitimately
belonged to Brisbane. The Meat and Dairy Produce Act became law in
this year; also the Sugar Works Guarantee Act, and the Co-operative
Communities Land Settlement Act, which proved an utter failure in
spite of the passing of amending Acts in the two succeeding years.
Various financial measures noticed elsewhere were also passed, these
last being rendered imperative by the banking crisis which then
paralysed industry and commerce. At the end of the session, Sir Thomas
McIlwraith's health failing him, he retired from the Premiership,
which was taken by Sir Hugh Muir Nelson.
In 1894 the session opened on 17th July, and one of the most hotly
contested measures was the Peace Preservation Bill, introduced in
consequence of the disturbances connected with the shearers' strike
in the West in 1891, and the apprehension that they would be repeated
unless drastic legislation was enacted. Its passage was strenuously
opposed by the Labour Opposition, and it was only forced through the
Assembly by the application of the closure. Violent scenes culminated
in the suspension of eight Labour members, the suspension being
followed by an appeal by the ejected members to the Supreme Court,
when that court decided that Parliament was the only tribunal for
determining matters affecting its own jurisdiction. In all thirty-six
measures were passed, but the majority were either financial
or designed to amend existing statutes which caused friction in
operation. The effort at this time seemed to be rather to pass
practicable laws than enact measures embodying so-called advanced
principles. The most noteworthy of these laws was the Agricultural
Lands Purchase Act, which authorised the purchase by the Government
of large estates at a cost not exceeding £100,000 in any one year, and
the subdivision of the land into farms.
In 1895 thirty-five Acts were the product of the session, and they
were generally characterised by the same adaptation of means to ends
that was noticeable in the preceding year. In fact, during these two
years the colonies were all suffering a recovery which did not incite
to heroic legislation for securing the rights of man, including woman.
Deserving of special mention are the Suppression of Gambling Act, and
the Railways Guarantee Act which made provision for local authorities
guaranteeing the State against loss in connection with the
construction and working of railways built under the Act. In
consequence of friction between the three Railway Commissioners, an
Act was passed in this year reducing the number of Commissioners to
one, Mr. Mathieson, the Chief Commissioner, being retained. A short
measure of considerable value was the Standard Time Act, the object
of which was to place Queensland in line with New South Wales and
Victoria by adopting the time of the 150th meridian of east longitude
as the standard time for the three colonies.
[Illustration: BARRON GORGE, CAIRNS RAILWAY, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
THE TWELFTH PARLIAMENT: 17th June, 1896-15th February, 1899.
In 1896 there was a general election, and the new Parliament opened
on 17th June. Public confidence had been fairly restored after the
financial crisis of 1893, and thirty-five Acts were passed, not one of
which was of a highly contentious political nature. Even the Factories
and Shops Act, introduced by the Government, was supported by the
Labour party; indeed, no party or section opposed it, although the
compulsory closing of shops at 1 p.m. on Saturdays throughout an area
within the radius of ten miles of the General Post Office excited much
individual opposition. Mr. Mathieson having accepted the position of
Chief Commissioner of the Victorian railways, an amending Railways
Act was passed empowering the Governor in Council to appoint a
Commissioner for three years, reducing the salary from £3,000 to
£1,500, and providing for the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner.
Mr. R. J. Gray, one of the three original Commissioners, was appointed
Commissioner, and Mr. Thallon, the present Commissioner, became his
deputy. A measure of some importance repealed the existing Payment
of Members Act, and made the new Act an integral part of the
Constitution, the salary being fixed at £300 a year. The object, as
stated by the Government, was to stop the incessant agitation that was
carried on in political circles on the one hand for an increase, and
on the other for a reduction of the salary.
In the session of 1897, Sir Hugh Nelson being still Premier, thirty
Acts were passed. There was again a remarkable absence of measures of
a party character, most of them being useful amendments of existing
laws. Of these the Elections Consolidating Act was important. The Home
Secretary, Mr. J. F. G. Foxton, deserves credit for introducing this
session the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of
Opium Act, the first measure for the preservation and care of our
fast-disappearing aboriginal blacks. It must be recorded with shame
that the Government of Queensland should have allowed so many years to
pass before taking steps to protect the race who had been dispossessed
of their heritage from some of the curses attendant on our
civilisation. Since 1897 the stigma no longer rests on our fair
fame, everything possible being done now to save the natives from
extinction. In this year, too, the Mareeba to Chillagoe Railway Act,
which has proved very beneficial to the Cairns hinterland, became law.
A comprehensive Land Act, occupying 110 pages of the Statute-book, was
passed, and also an amending and consolidating Trustees and Executors
Act.
The session of 1898--the last of the Parliament--opened on 26th July,
and closed on 30th December. The principal work of this session was
the passage of an amending Mining Act which greatly improved the
condition of the working miners. Other measures were an Act to
incorporate the Brisbane Technical College, and the Game and Fishes
Acclimatisation Act, providing for the proclamation of districts, for
an open season, for the issue of game licenses, and the appointment of
guardians. Sir Hugh Nelson, in consequence of the death of Sir A.
H. Palmer, had been translated to the Presidency of the Legislative
Council, and the Premiership was assumed by Mr. T. J. Byrnes on 13th
April. Mr. Byrnes died in the following September, and was succeeded
by Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. R. Dickson.
On 1st December, 1899, Mr. Dickson and his colleagues resigned in
consequence of a vote of the Assembly, and for seven days the Dawson
Labour Ministry held office, but they were defeated immediately on the
reassembling of the House. In the meantime Mr. Philp had been chosen
leader of the Opposition, and on 7th December he returned to power as
Premier with most of his old colleagues.
THE THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 16th May, 1899-4th February, 1902.
The year 1899 was remarkable for the passage of two great
measures--the Australasian Federation Enabling Act, passed in a
session specially summoned for the purpose, which authorised a
referendum to be taken on the new Constitution; and the invaluable and
monumental Criminal Code Act, extending with its four schedules over
270 pages of the Statute-book. The Code was compiled by Sir S. W.
Griffith, and was afterwards submitted to the whole of the Judges of
the Supreme and District Courts before being presented to Parliament.
A bill was also passed legitimising children born before marriage on
the subsequent marriage of their parents. The other public measures of
the session were for amending purposes.
The session of 1900 was a fairly active one, thirty-four measures
being passed. A short Act of far-reaching importance empowered the
Government to enter into arrangements with the Governments of the
United Kingdom, Canada, Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand,
for laying a Pacific cable. By a short measure the Government were
empowered to prohibit the exportation of arms or naval stores. A great
consolidating and amending Health Act was passed; also a measure, in
connection with the appointment of Dr. Maxwell, of Honolulu, for the
establishment of sugar experiment stations. In this year the Railway
Commissioner was reappointed for three years at a salary of £2,000 per
annum, being an increase of £500. The Factories and Shops Act of 1896
was repealed, and a more comprehensive measure passed. An amending
Defence Act was passed providing, among other things, for the military
training of boys between twelve and eighteen years. An Act also became
law providing for the inspection of grammar schools by a graduate of
a British or Australian University. Another measure provided for the
holding of the first Commonwealth elections, and for the temporary
division of the State into nine electorates for the House of
Representatives election. Several bills authorising the construction
of railways to mineral fields by private companies evoked the bitter
opposition of the Labour party. To force them through the popular
House the Government were obliged to introduce an amendment of the
Standing Orders, colloquially known as the "guillotine," and to
closure the bills through the House.
In the session of 1901 twenty-seven Acts were passed. The Chief
Justice's salary, on the retirement of Sir S. W. Griffith to accept
the Federal Chief Justiceship, was reduced to its former amount of
£2,500 a year. The first legislation to eradicate the prickly pear
took place in this year. The bill was introduced by a private member,
Mr. Bell, who has always taken a keen interest in the destruction of
this pest. It was based on the principle that close settlement is the
only effective remedy, and offered inducements to settlers to select
infested lands. The Public Service Act was so amended as to constitute
the members of the Ministry for the time being the members of the
board. A measure was passed requiring every life assurance company
carrying on business in Queensland to hold £10,000 in Queensland
securities, and otherwise protecting policy-holders. An Agricultural
Bank Act was passed authorising the Government to advance to settlers
on the land loans for carrying out improvements. An Animals Protection
Act was also passed for the more effectual prevention of cruelty to
animals.
THE FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 8th July, 1902-21st July, 1904.
The fourteenth Parliament opened on 8th July, 1902, twenty-seven
public measures becoming law in the first session. An amending
Aboriginals Protection Act, chiefly dealing with the sale of opium,
was passed. The sum to be paid as duty on totalisator stakes or bets
was increased to one shilling in the pound from the sixpence provided
by the Act of 1892. A Railway Act amending measure was passed
authorising the appointment of a Commissioner for a term of seven
years, and making other changes to facilitate the working of the
department. In consequence of the drought and Federal embarrassments,
the Public Service Special Retrenchment Act was passed, reducing the
salaries of public servants on a sliding scale; and an Income Tax
Bill became law, imposing a tax of sixpence in the pound upon incomes
derived from personal exertion, and one shilling in the pound when
derived from property, incomes under £100 being mulcted in 10s.,
and when not exceeding £150 £1 a year. Provision was made for the
appointment of a Government department for collecting the tax, and the
last section enacted that the tax should cease on 1st January, 1905.
The monumental Local Government Act of 1902 also became law in this
year.
The next session opened in July, and closed in December, 1903, but
in mid-September progress was suspended by a change of Ministry, the
Morgan-Kidston Government assuming office. Among the measures passed
after the change of Ministry was an Act providing that the senior
puisne Judge resident in Brisbane should be the senior puisne Judge of
the Supreme Court, and discretionary power was given to the Governor
in Council with regard to filling the vacancy created on the Supreme
Court bench through the acceptance by Sir S. W. Griffith of the
more dignified position of Chief Justice of the High Court of the
Commonwealth. The Government were subjected to severe criticism for
making no appointment, but the number of Judges was allowed to remain
at four until the appointment of Mr. Justice Shand in November, 1908.
Parliament reassembled in May following, and sat two months, when a
dissolution was granted on 21st July, in consequence of the Government
being left without a working majority.
THE FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 20th September, 1904-11th April, 1907.
The fifteenth Parliament opened on 20th September following, and sat
until Christmas. Among the measures passed was a comprehensive
Dairy Produce Act providing for the appointment of inspectors; the
registration of premises, a fee being charged proportioned to the
number of cows kept; for compulsory grading of butter for export; and
for the general regulation of dairies. The Income Tax was continued,
but gave relief to persons with small incomes, though on the whole
it yielded more revenue. Owing to the exigencies of the Treasury, the
Public Service Special Retrenchment Act was continued for a further
period of nine months, but the rate of retrenchment was reduced by
one-half, and provision was made for devoting any surplus revenue
at the close of the year to the repayment to public servants of the
amounts so deducted from their salaries, and in this way they received
a return equal to 8s. in the pound.[a] A Registration of Clubs Act and
fourteen other measures were also passed.
An extraordinary session of twenty days was held in January, 1905, to
reconsider the Elections Bill, rejected by the Legislative Council
in December previously. This having been done, and the Council having
agreed to the bill, Parliament was prorogued, and met for the regular
session of the year in July following, the sittings being continued
till the Christmas holidays.
The ordinary session of 1905 was a busy one, though the measures
generally were short and of a practical nature. A distinguishing
feature of the work of this Parliament was the humanitarian and social
legislation which was placed on the Statute-book. The interests of
workers generally were conserved by the Workers' Compensation Act,
which made injuries or fatal accidents met with by employees a charge
upon the industry in which they were engaged. The comfort of a very
large number of workers in the pastoral and sugar industries was
provided for by the Shearers and Sugar Workers Accommodation Act. A
most valuable piece of legislation was the Infant Life Protection Act,
the object of which was to prevent the alarming sacrifice of infant
life in nursing homes from neglect, all such homes having to be
registered and made subject to Government inspection. An Act imposing
a penalty of £10 upon any person selling or giving tobacco or cigars
to a young person under the age of sixteen years was passed, as was
also an Act forbidding the sale or supply of firearms to a young
person under fourteen years, and also forbidding such young person to
use or carry firearms, the penalty for a breach of the Act being
£20. Another measure of interest, which was passed in response to the
request of a large number of workers, was an Act providing for railway
employees a Board of Appeal against disciplinary decisions of
superior officers. A short Act became law giving the right to women
to admission and practice as barristers, solicitors, or conveyancers.
Quite a number of other small Acts was passed, among them being a
Fertilisers Act, the object of which was to prevent loss to farmers by
the sale of fraudulent fertilisers.
The most contentious measure of the session of 1906, which opened, as
usual, in July, was the Railways Act, its principal object being to
hold the ratepayers of a benefited area responsible for all losses in
working a newly-constructed railway. It empowers the local authority
to levy a railway rate to make good the deficiency, if any, after
providing for working expenses and interest at the rate of three per
cent. on capital expended on the line. If the local authority fails to
levy and collect the railway rate, the Commissioner is empowered to
do so. An important principle of the Act requires, when lands in
a benefited area are being valued for rating purposes, that to the
capital value shall be added the enhancement through the railway
facilities provided. The object of the Act is undoubtedly good, in so
far as it discourages landowners from agitating and bringing political
pressure upon the Government in favour of railway undertakings not
justified by the prospective traffic. It was supposed that persons
desiring a new railway would hesitate to guarantee the Government
against loss through its construction, but the applications for new
lines have not been less numerous since the passing of the Act than
when the burden fell entirely upon the general taxpayer. Yet there can
be no doubt that many unwarranted undertakings have been quashed by
the liability imposed upon local landowners.
During the session there were thirty-four Acts passed, among them one
for the protection of opossums, native bears, and other wild animals
specified in the schedule, by the proclamation of a close season, and
the prohibition of the use of cyanide as poison by collectors of skins
for export. The Mining Machinery Advances Act empowered the Minister
to advance loans from moneys appropriated by Parliament to persons
or companies erecting machinery for carrying on mining operations or
treating metalliferous ores, such loans to be made on the basis of £1
for £1 of money expended by the applicant. A comprehensive Weights and
Measures Act also became law. Another useful measure was the amending
Public Works Land Resumption Act, the compensation provisions being
greatly improved. The Etheridge Railway Act also passed in this
session despite the objection of several members of the Labour party
to "syndicate" lines. The opposition of these members, however, was
not characterised by the obstructive tactics adopted in regard to
similar measures in 1908.
[Footnote a: See page 50, ante.]
THE SIXTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 23rd July to 31st December, 1907.
The sixteenth Parliament was elected in May, 1907, but none of the
three parties, into which the Assembly was divided by the cleavage
between the moderate and the extreme sections of the Labour party
consequent upon the adoption by the latter of the socialistic
objective at the Convention held earlier in the year at Rockhampton,
came back with a majority, and little legislation was found possible,
the only public Acts passed relating to Appropriations, Children's
Courts, Poor Prisoners' Defence, and an amending Income Tax measure
raising the exemption to £200, and giving other relief to taxpayers.
Towards the end of November the Government, failing to pass several
democratic measures through the Council and to obtain adequate support
from the Labour party, resigned, and Parliament was dissolved on 31st
December on the advice of Mr. Philp, who had been called on to form a
new Government from the Opposition party, and had failed to secure a
parliamentary majority.
THE SEVENTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 3rd March, 1908-31st August, 1909.
The result of the appeal to the constituencies was to leave parties
much as before, the Kidston and Labour parties being slightly
strengthened numerically, and the Philp party--the Government at the
moment--weakened correspondingly, they and the Kidston party numbering
25 each, while the Labour party were 22 strong. Mr. Philp's appeal
having thus failed, he retired, and Mr. Kidston, being recalled,
sought to secure for his Government more than casual support from the
Labour party. The House met on 3rd March, 1908. The session lasted
barely seven weeks, and among the fifteen measures which became law
were the following:--An amending Constitution Bill repealing the
provisoes to section 9 of the principal Act, the first of which
required a two-thirds vote of both Houses to any amendment for varying
the mode of appointment or number of members of the Legislative
Council; and the second, that any such amending bill should not
receive the Royal assent until it had lain thirty days on the table
of both Houses of the Imperial Parliament. Another Constitution Bill
provided for a referendum to the electors when a bill passed by the
Assembly had been twice rejected by the Council. The first of the
above-mentioned bills received the Governor's assent forthwith, but
as to the second such assent was reserved, and the bill transmitted
to England. On 19th August, however, the King's assent was
proclaimed, and the incompatibilities between the two Houses were thus
satisfactorily adjusted by a comparatively simple process. A measure
which aroused strong party feeling was a bill to amend the Elections
Act by repealing the postal voting sections, substituting provisions
to enable absent voters to vote at any polling place in the State, and
also ensuring greater secrecy by having the ballot papers from places
where a small number of votes are recorded counted in some larger
centre. A useful Land Surveyors Act was passed, requiring registration
after approval of candidates by a board to be constituted under the
Act, and prescribing a variety of other regulations for the purposes
of securing the competence and protecting the interests of surveyors
generally. Other measures placed on the Statute-book included an Old
Age Pensions Act, which has now lapsed in consequence of the passing
of a Commonwealth pensions law; an Act for the Inspection of Machinery
and Scaffolding; an amending Factories and Shops Act containing many
democratic provisions; a Wages Boards Act, which has been kindly taken
to by both employers and employed, and promises to adjust most of the
differences between masters and men; a Religious Instruction in State
Schools Referendum Act, the poll to be taken on the same day as the
polling for the first Federal election after the passing of the Act;
and an amending Technical College Act dissolving the councils of both
metropolitan technical colleges, and vesting the property and future
management in the Government. Two bills were also passed authorising
the construction of railways to the Mount Elliott and Lawn Hills
mineral fields. These bills directly led to the Labour party assuming
an attitude of open hostility to the Government, and brought the
latter and the Opposition, led by Mr. Philp, together, as the policy
put before the electors by these two parties was identical in almost
every respect.
Before the opening of the second session on 17th November, 1908, the
Kidston and Philp parties were fused into one on the common basis
of the policy enunciated by Mr. Kidston in 1907 at Rockhampton. A
reconstruction of the Cabinet preceded the meeting of Parliament. When
the session closed on 22nd December very little legislative work
had been done, most of the Government time being occupied with
consideration of the Estimates, the Labour party, which had then
become the Opposition proper, again offering obstruction to Government
measures, and again compelling resort to the closure. An important
measure of a non-party character was passed, however, for a revision
of the statute law in many important details. The most significant
measure of the session was the Loan Act of 1908, authorising the
borrowing of £3,208,000, the vote affording proof of the determination
of the Government and Parliament to enter upon a vigorous policy of
railway and public works extension.
The third session of the seventeenth Parliament opened on 29th June,
1909. The two sides of the House were so evenly balanced, owing to
several supporters of the Government having crossed to the Opposition
benches, that the majority of the Government was reduced to one.
Finding themselves impotent to transact public business, the
Government advised the Lieutenant-Governor to grant a dissolution,
provided the House would grant Supply. This was done, and His
Excellency accordingly dissolved the Assembly on 31st August.
THE EIGHTEENTH PARLIAMENT: 2nd November, 1909.
The eighteenth Parliament met on 2nd November. The Address in Reply
was adopted without division on the 5th, and Parliament at once
proceeded to the business outlined in the Opening Speech of His
Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, a laudable desire to transact
business without unnecessary discussion being evinced. The most
important measure was the University of Queensland Act, which was
passed in time to enable the dedication ceremony to take place on 10th
December, Queensland's jubilee day. Of vital importance to Brisbane
and its suburbs was the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Act. An
amendment of the Workers' Compensation Act and a Workers' Dwellings
Act also became law. Resolutions were also passed approving of the
construction of railways in various parts of the State.
APPENDIX E.
LAND SELECTION IN QUEENSLAND.
[OFFICIAL COMPILATION.]
The State is divided into Land Agents' Districts, in the principal
town of each of which there is a Government Land Office and Land
Agent. Plans and information respecting the quality, rents, and
prices of lands available for selection may be obtained on personal
or written application to the Land Agent of the District in which
the land is situated, or to the Officer in Charge, Inquiry Office,
Department of Public Lands, Brisbane.
Land is opened or made available for Selection by proclamation in the
_Government Gazette_. The proclamation, which is made not less than
four weeks before the time appointed for the opening, specifies the
modes in which the land may be selected, the area, rent, price, &c.
The several modes of Selection for which the law provides are--(1)
Agricultural Selections, _i.e._, Agricultural Farms, Perpetual Leases,
Agricultural Homesteads, and Free Homesteads; (2) Grazing Selections,
_i.e._, Grazing Farms and Grazing Homesteads; (3) Scrub Selections;
(4) Unconditional Selections; and (5) Prickly Pear Selections. The
more accessible lands are usually set apart for agricultural selection
in areas up to 1,280 acres, or, if pear infested, as Prickly Pear
Selections in areas up to 5,000 acres; while opportunities of
acquiring Grazing Selections in areas up to 60,000 acres are given
over a great extent of Queensland territory.
Except in the case of Scrub Selections, Unconditional Selections, and
Prickly Pear Selections, no person who is under the age of sixteen
years, or who seeks to acquire the land as the agent or servant or
trustee of another, will be allowed to select. A single girl under
the age of twenty-one years is debarred from selecting an Agricultural
Homestead, Free Homestead, or Grazing Homestead. A married woman is
not competent to select a Homestead unless she has obtained an order
for judicial separation or an order protecting her separate property,
or is living apart from her husband and has been specially empowered
by the Land Court to select a Homestead. A married woman may, however,
acquire a Grazing Homestead by transfer after the expiry of five years
of the term of lease. An alien may, under certain conditions, acquire
a selection, but, unless he becomes a naturalised British subject
within three years thereafter, all his right, title, and interest in
the land will become forfeited.
Applications for selections must be made in the prescribed form, in
triplicate, and be lodged with the Land Agent for the District in
which the land is situated.
[Illustration: FARM SCENE, BLACKALL RANGE]
[Illustration: SISAL HEMP, CHILDERS, NORTH COAST RAILWAY]
[Illustration: WOOL TEAMS, LONGREACH, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND]
They must be signed by the applicant, but may be lodged in the Land
Office by his duly constituted attorney, and must be accompanied by
the prescribed deposit. In the case of a Prickly Pear Selection the
deposit must be the full amount of the prescribed survey fee, and in
other cases, except Free Homesteads, a year's rent and one-fifth of
the survey fee. In the case of a Free Homestead application the
deposit consists of an application fee of £1 and one-fifth of the
survey fee. Ordinarily, applications take priority in the order of
their being lodged with the Land Agent, but applications lodged
_prior_ to the time proclaimed as that at which land is to be open
for selection are regarded as simultaneous with those lodged at that
time.
If land is open for Selection in two or more modes alternatively,
and there are simultaneous applications to select it under different
modes, priority among such applications is given to an application for
the land as an Agricultural Homestead as against an application for it
as an Agricultural Farm; to an application for it as an Agricultural
Farm as against an application for it as an Unconditional Selection;
and, if the land is open for Grazing Selection, to an application
for it as a Grazing Homestead as against an application for it as a
Grazing Farm.
In the case of simultaneous applications for the same land, as an
Agricultural Farm, priority is secured by an applicant, other than
a married woman or a single girl under twenty-one years of age, who,
when making application, undertakes to personally reside on the
land during the first five years of the term. In other cases of
simultaneous applications for the same land by the same mode of
selection, priority is determined by lot, unless in the case of
simultaneous applications for the same land as a Grazing Selection,
Unconditional Selection, or Prickly Pear Selection, a higher rental
is tendered than that proclaimed. In that event the tender most
favourable to the Crown secures priority.
Under the Special Selections Act land may be set apart for any body of
settlers who, having some measure of common interest or capacity for
mutual help, are desirous of acquiring land in the same locality. The
procedure to be followed is for a request to be made to the Minister
by the members of the body, explaining the grounds on which they are
co-operating and setting out the land they desire to acquire. Should
the request be acceded to, the land will be opened for selection in
the usual way, but for a period to be set out in the proclamation it
will only be available for the members of the body of settlers for
whom it has been set apart.
When an application has been accepted by the Land Commissioner
and approved by the Land Court, and the applicant has paid for any
improvements there may be on the land, he becomes entitled to receive
a license to occupy the land in the case of an Agricultural Selection
or a Grazing Selection, or a lease in the case of a Scrub Selection,
Unconditional Selection, or Prickly Pear Selection. Within six months
after the issue of a license, the selector must commence to occupy
the land, and must thereafter continue to occupy it in the manner
prescribed.
AGRICULTURAL SELECTIONS.
AGRICULTURAL FARMS.
The largest area that may be acquired by any one person as an
Agricultural Farm is 1,280 acres. If the same person is the selector
of both an Agricultural Farm and an Agricultural Homestead, the joint
areas must not exceed 1,280 acres. The purchasing price may range from
10s. an acre upwards, as may be declared by proclamation. The term is
twenty years. The annual rent is one-fortieth of the purchasing price,
and the payments are credited as part of the price.
The land must be continuously occupied by the selector residing
personally on it or by his manager or agent doing so. Within five
years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such extended time
as the Court may allow, the selector must enclose the land with a good
and substantial fence, or make substantial and permanent improvements
on it equal in value to such a fence. On the completion of the
improvements the selector becomes entitled to a lease of the farm, and
may thereafter mortgage it; or, with the permission of the Minister,
may subdivide or transfer it; or, with the approval of the Court, may
underlet it.
The selector of an Agricultural Farm, who has obtained priority by
undertaking to reside personally thereon during the first five years
of the lease, must comply strictly with that undertaking, and is
not allowed during such period to mortgage, transfer, or assign the
holding.
After five years of the term have elapsed, the prescribed conditions
of occupation and improvement having been duly performed, a deed of
grant may be obtained on payment of the balance of the purchasing
price and deed fees.
PERPETUAL LEASE SELECTIONS.
Land proclaimed to be open for Agricultural Farm Selection may also
be opened for Perpetual Lease Selection, and the latter mode may be
conceded priority of application over the former. The rent for the
first period of ten years of the lease is 1½ per cent. on the
proclaimed purchasing price of the land for Agricultural Farm
Selection. The rent for each succeeding period of ten years shall be
determined by the Land Court. The same conditions of occupation and
improvement as are prescribed for Agricultural Farms are attached to
Perpetual Lease Selections, and, except as specially prescribed, the
provisions relating to Agricultural Farms apply to them also. As the
name implies, the selections are leases in perpetuity, and are not
capable of being converted to freeholds.
AGRICULTURAL HOMESTEADS.
Land open for selection as Agricultural Farms is not available for
Agricultural Homesteads unless so proclaimed. The area allowed to be
selected as an Agricultural Homestead varies with the value of the
land, and is fixed by proclamation within the following limits,
viz.:--160 acres in the case of land valued for Agricultural Farm
Selection at not less than £1 an acre; 320 acres in the case of land
valued at less than £1 but not less than 15s. an acre; and 640 acres
in the case of land valued at less than 15s. an acre. The price for
an Agricultural Homestead is 2s. 6d. an acre, the annual rent 3d. an
acre, and the term ten years.
The land must be continuously occupied by the selector residing
personally thereon.
Within five years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such
extended time as the Land Court may allow, the selector must enclose
the land with a good and substantial fence, or make substantial and
permanent improvements on it equal in value to such fence. On the
completion of the improvements the selector becomes entitled to a
lease, which, however, is not negotiable in any way.
At any time after five years from the commencement of the term, on the
selector proving that the conditions have been duly performed and that
the sum expended in improvements on the land has been at the rate of
10s., 5s., or 2s. 6d. an acre respectively according to the value of
the land, he may pay up the remaining rents so as to make his total
payments equal to 2s. 6d. an acre, and obtain a deed of grant of the
land in fee-simple. A deed fee must be paid.
FREE HOMESTEADS.
Land is not available for Free Homestead Selection unless specially
so proclaimed, and the area of no selection must exceed 160 acres. The
term is five years, and during that period the selector must occupy
the land by personally residing on it, and must effect improvements to
the total value of 10s. per acre. A Free Homestead cannot be sold or
mortgaged until a deed of grant is obtained.
GRAZING SELECTIONS.
GRAZING FARMS.
The greatest area which may be applied for as a Grazing Farm under any
circumstances is 60,000 acres, but, as in the case of other modes
of selection, each proclamation opening land for grazing selection
declares the maximum area which may be selected in the area to which
it applies. In the event of lands open under different proclamations
and of a total area exceeding 20,000 acres being applied for by the
same person, a rental limitation of £200 per annum must be observed as
well as the maximum areas declared by the several proclamations. Thus,
of lands open at 2d. an acre, the greatest area obtainable would be
24,000 acres; at 1½d. an acre, 32,000 acres, and so on. The term
may be fourteen, twenty-one, or twenty-eight years, as the opening
proclamation may declare. The annual rent for the first period of
seven years may range from ½d. an acre upwards, as may be proclaimed
or tendered. The rent for each subsequent period of seven years will
be determined by the Land Court.
A Grazing Farm must be continuously occupied by the selector residing
personally on it, or by his manager or agent doing so.
Within three years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such
extended time as the Land Court may allow, the selector must enclose
the land with a good and substantial fence, and must keep it so fenced
during the whole of the term. In the case of two or more contiguous
farms, not exceeding in the aggregate 20,000 acres, the Court may
by Special License permit the selectors to fence only the outside
boundaries of the whole area. If the proclamation declaring the land
open for selection so prescribed, the enclosing fence must be of such
character as to prevent the passage of rabbits. In the case of a group
of contiguous Grazing Farms not exceeding eight in number, or 200
square miles in total area, and which are situated within a District
constituted under "_The Rabbit Boards Act, 1896_," the Court may by
Special License permit the enclosure of the whole area with a fence
of such character as to prevent the passage of rabbits, instead of
requiring each farm to be separately enclosed.
The selectors of a group of two or more Grazing Farms, the area of
none of which exceeds 4,000 acres, may associate together for mutual
assistance, and on making proof of _bona fides_ to the Commissioner
may receive from him a Special License enabling not less than one-half
of the whole number by their personal residence on some one or more of
the farms to perform the condition of occupation in respect of all the
farms.
When a Grazing Farm is enclosed in the manner required, the selector
becomes entitled to a lease of it, and may thereafter mortgage it; or,
with the permission of the Minister, may subdivide or transfer it; or,
with the approval of the Court, may underlet it.
GRAZING HOMESTEADS.
Land open for selection as Grazing Farms must also be open for
selection as Grazing Homesteads, and at the same rental and for the
same term of lease. As already stated, an application to select as a
Grazing Homestead takes precedence of a simultaneous application to
select the same land as a Grazing Farm. The requirements of the law
as regards Grazing Homesteads are the same as in the case of Grazing
Farms, except in the following respects:--
(1.) During the first five years of the term of a Grazing
Homestead the condition of occupation must be performed by the
continuous personal residence of the selector on the land.
(2.) Before the expiration of five years from the commencement
of the term, or the death of the original lessee, whichever
first happens, a Grazing Homestead is not capable of being
assigned or transferred. Unless with the special permission of
the Minister, a Grazing Homestead may not be mortgaged.
SCRUB SELECTIONS.
Lands entirely or extensively overgrown by scrub may be opened for
selection as Scrub Selections up to 10,000 acres in area and with a
term of thirty years. These are classed according to the proportion
covered by scrub, and for periods varying from five to twenty years,
according to the classification, no rent is chargeable. During the
first period the selector must clear the whole of the scrub in equal
proportions each year, and must keep it cleared, and must enclose the
selection with a good and substantial fence. The annual rent payable
for the subsequent periods ranges from ½d. to 1d. an acre. A
negotiable lease is issued to the selector when his application has
been approved by the Court.
UNCONDITIONAL SELECTIONS.
The greatest area allowed to be acquired by any one person as an
Unconditional Selection in one district is 1,280 acres; the price per
acre ranges from 13s. 4d. upwards, and is payable in twenty annual
instalments. As the term implies, no other condition than the payment
of the purchase money is attached to this mode of selection. A
negotiable lease for the term of twenty years is issued to the
selector when his application to select has been approved by the
Court. A deed of grant may be obtained at any time on payment of the
balance of the purchasing price and the deed fee.
PRICKLY PEAR SELECTIONS.
PRICKLY PEAR INFESTED SELECTIONS.
Prickly Pear Infested Selections comprise lands heavily infested with
prickly pear. The area must not exceed 5,000 acres.
The term is fifteen years, with a peppercorn rental for the first ten
years and an annual rent of one-fifth of the purchasing price for the
remaining five years. During the first ten years of the term the land
must be absolutely cleared of prickly pear--one-tenth of the pear
being eradicated during each year--and must be kept clear for the
remainder of the term. The freehold may be obtained prior to the
expiry of the term on proof being made that the land has been
maintained free from prickly pear for three years consequent on the
eradication having been completed in advance of the prescribed period.
PRICKLY PEAR FRONTAGE SELECTIONS.
Prickly Pear Frontage Selections are confined to proclaimed prickly
pear frontage areas, comprising lands free from or only lightly
infested with prickly pear, but which adjoin and do not extend for
more than seven miles from lands heavily infested. The greatest area
allowed is 5,000 acres.
The term is fifteen years, with a peppercorn rental for the first five
years and an annual rent of one-tenth of the purchasing price during
the remaining ten years. During the first five years of the term the
land must be absolutely cleared of prickly pear, one-fifth of the pear
being eradicated during each year, and must be kept clear during the
balance of the term. The freehold may be obtained prior to the expiry
of the term on proof being made that the land has been maintained free
from prickly pear for three years consequent on the eradication having
been completed in advance of the prescribed period.
PRICKLY PEAR (BONUS) SELECTIONS.
In the case of Prickly Pear (Bonus) Selections, the freehold of the
land, and a bonus in addition, are granted in return for the complete
eradication of the pear. The maximum amount per acre payable as bonus
is stated in the opening proclamation, but each applicant must lodge a
tender specifying a bonus per acre not in excess of that mentioned
in the proclamation. In the case of simultaneous applications for the
same land, priority attaches to the lowest tender. The size of the
portions opened must not exceed 2,560 acres. The term of lease is ten
years, at a peppercorn rental throughout. The land must be absolutely
cleared of prickly pear during the first seven years--one-seventh
each year--and the clearing must be maintained until the expiry of the
lease. One-seventh of the bonus payable may be claimed at the end
of each of the first seven years of the term, on proof to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner that the condition of eradication has
been complied with. If the eradication is completed at an earlier date
than is required by the conditions of the lease, the balance of the
bonus will then become payable. The freehold may be obtained prior
to the expiry of the term on proof being made that the land has been
maintained free from prickly pear for three years consequent on the
eradication having been completed in advance of the prescribed period.
OTHER MODES OF ACQUISITION.
Crown lands may be acquired in fee-simple by auction purchase in areas
up to 5,120 acres. There is no limitation to the area of freehold land
which may be held by any one person. The minimum purchasing price for
agricultural land bought at auction is £1 an acre, and for other land
10s. an acre. Terms up to ten years may be allowed, with interest at 5
per cent. per annum on instalments paid after six months from the time
of sale, or the purchaser may elect to hold the land as a lease in
perpetuity at a rental, for the first ten years, equal to 3 per cent.
of the purchasing price, and for such rent for each succeeding period
of ten years as the Land Court may determine.
Opportunity is also afforded for the occupation of Crown lands for
pastoral purposes from year to year under an occupation license, or
for a fixed term not exceeding forty-two years under pastoral lease.
There is no limitation to the area which may be held by one person
under either of these tenures.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SELECTION ON REPURCHASED ESTATES.
"THE CLOSER SETTLEMENT ACT OF 1906."
AGRICULTURAL FARMS.
1. An application to select must be made in the prescribed form, in
triplicate, and be lodged with the Land Agent for the district in
which the land is situated. It must be signed by the applicant, but
may be lodged in the District Land Office by his duly constituted
attorney, and must be accompanied by a deposit of one-tenth of the
purchasing price of the land and one-fifth of the prescribed survey
fee.
2. In the case of simultaneous applications for the same land,
priority is secured by an applicant, other than a married woman or
a single girl under twenty-one years of age, who, when making
application, undertakes to reside personally on the land during the
first five years of the term of lease. In other cases of simultaneous
applications for the same land priority is determined by lot.
3. Land cannot be acquired in the interest of another person, and an
applicant is required to declare that he requires the land for his own
exclusive benefit, and not as the agent, servant, or trustee of any
other person. An alien may, on passing a reading and writing test,
acquire a selection; but unless he becomes a naturalised subject of
the King within three years thereafter, all his right, title, and
interest in the land will become forfeited.
4. The term of the lease of a selection is twenty-five years,
dating from the 1st January or 1st July nearest to the date of the
Commissioner's license to occupy the land.
5. No rent will be payable during the second, third, or fourth years
of the term. The rent payable during the remainder of the term will
be at the rate of £8 2s. 7d. for every £100 of the purchasing price of
the land, and will be allocated to principal and interest according to
the table appended hereto.
6. Within two years of the issue of a license to occupy, the selector
must enclose the land with a good and substantial fence, or make
substantial and permanent improvements on it of a value equal to the
cost of such a fence, and must within such period make application
to the Commissioner for a certificate that he has performed this
condition.
7. When the prescribed improvements are made, a lease will be issued
to the selector, and the selection may then be mortgaged, or, with the
permission of the Minister, may be subdivided or transferred, or, with
the approval of the Land Court, may be sublet, except in the case of
a selection on which the selector has undertaken to reside personally
during the first five years of the term, in which case neither the
lease nor the selector's right, title, or interest thereunder can be
mortgaged, except to the trustees of the Agricultural Bank, assigned,
or transferred during such period.
8. A selection must be occupied by the residence thereon of the
selector in person, or by his duly appointed agent, as the case may
require or permit, during the whole term or until the leasehold tenure
is determined by freehold.
9. At any time after five years' occupation the leasehold tenure may
be converted into freehold by payment of the unpaid balance of the
purchasing price. The amount payable in any year, after payment of the
rent for that year, shall be at the rate specified in the last column
of the appended table for every £100 of the purchasing price.
TABLE OF THE ANNUAL PAYMENTS TO BE MADE AS INSTALMENTS OF PURCHASE
MONEY (SHOWING PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST SEPARATELY), AND THE PAYMENT,
EXCLUSIVE OF RENT, TO BE MADE IN ANY YEAR AFTER THE FIFTH TO ACQUIRE
THE FREEHOLD OF ANY SELECTION UNDER "THE CLOSER SETTLEMENT ACT OF
1906."
----------+-----------------+----------------+-----------------+---------------
| ANNUAL PAYMENT. | Payment to be
| | made in any
+-----------------+----------------+-----------------+ Year after the
| | | | Fifth to
| Principle. | Interest. | Total. | acquire
| | | | Freehold.
----------+-----------------+----------------+-----------------+--------------
| £ _s._ _d._ | £ _s._ _d._ | £ _s._ _d._ | £ _s._ _d._
| | | |
1st year | 10 0 0 | ... | 10 0 0 | ...
2nd " | ... | ... | ... | ...
3rd " | ... | ... | ... | ...
4th " | ... | ... | ... | ...
5th " | ... | 8 2 7 | 8 2 7 | ...
6th " | ... | 8 2 7 | 8 2 7 | 98 4 2
7th " | ... | 8 2 7 | 8 2 7 | 94 19 10
8th " | ... | 8 2 7 | 8 2 7 | 91 12 3
9th " | 1 18 7 | 6 4 0 | 8 2 7 | 88 1 6
10th " | 3 14 6 | 4 8 2 | 8 2 7 | 84 7 0
11th " | 3 18 2 | 4 4 5 | 8 2 7 | 80 8 10
12th " | 4 2 1 | 4 0 6 | 8 2 7 | 76 6 9
13th " | 4 6 3 | 3 16 4 | 8 2 7 | 72 0 6
14th " | 4 10 6 | 3 12 1 | 8 2 7 | 67 10 0
15th " | 4 15 1 | 3 7 6 | 8 2 7 | 62 14 11
16th " | 4 19 10 | 3 2 9 | 8 2 7 | 57 15 1
17th " | 5 4 10 | 2 17 9 | 8 2 7 | 52 10 3
18th " | 5 10 0 | 2 12 7 | 8 2 7 | 47 0 3
19th " | 5 15 6 | 2 7 1 | 8 2 7 | 41 4 9
20th " | 6 1 4 | 2 1 3 | 8 2 7 | 35 3 5
21st " | 6 7 4 | 1 15 3 | 8 2 7 | 28 16 1
22nd " | 6 13 7 | 1 9 0 | 8 2 7 | 22 2 6
23rd " | 7 0 4 | 1 2 3 | 8 2 7 | 15 2 2
24th " | 7 7 4 | 0 15 3 | 8 2 7 | 7 14 10
25th " | 7 14 10 | 0 7 9 | 8 2 7 |
+-----------------+----------------+-----------------+-------------
| £100 0 0 | £80 14 3 | £180 14 3 |
----------+-----------------+----------------+-----------------+-------------
[Illustration: VIEW ON BARRON RIVER, CAIRNS RAILWAY]
AN ACT TO FACILITATE THE ACQUIREMENT OF SELECTIONS BY CERTAIN BODIES
OF SETTLERS.
"THE SPECIAL SELECTIONS ACT OF 1901."
PREAMBLE.
Whereas it is desirable to promote closer settlement upon the
agricultural lands of Queensland by affording to bodies of settlers
special facilities for the acquirement of Agricultural Selections
to be held in conjunction with portions in adjacent Agricultural
Townships: Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council
and Legislative Assembly of Queensland in Parliament assembled, and by
the authority of the same, as follows:--
SHORT TITLE AND CONSTRUCTION OF ACT.
1. This Act may be cited as "_The Special Selections Act of 1901_,"
and shall be read and construed with and as an amendment of "_The Land
Act, 1897_," hereinafter called the Principal Act.
PROCLAMATION OF LANDS TO WHICH THIS ACT APPLIES.
2. (1.) The Governor in Council may from time to time, by
proclamation, declare any unoccupied country lands to be open for
selection as Agricultural Homesteads, or as Agricultural Farms, or
as Prickly Pear Selections, or as Perpetual Lease Selections, or as
Grazing Selections, or as Agricultural Farms to be held in conjunction
with Grazing Farms under the provisions of this Act by members of the
body of settlers in the proclamation specified.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section eighty-three of the
Principal Act, such proclamation declaring the lands mentioned therein
open for selection as Agricultural Homesteads need not also declare
such lands to be also open for selection as Agricultural Farms.
No Agricultural Homestead to be selected under the provisions of this
Act shall exceed three hundred and twenty acres.
No Prickly Pear Selection to be selected under the provisions of this
Act shall exceed two thousand five hundred and sixty acres.
No Grazing Farm to be held in conjunction with an Agricultural Farm
selected under the provisions of this Act shall exceed two thousand
acres, and the total aggregate area of the Agricultural Farm and the
Grazing Farm held in conjunction therewith shall not exceed three
thousand two hundred and eighty acres.
No other Grazing Selection to be selected under the provisions of this
Act shall exceed three thousand acres.
Such lands shall remain open for selection under the provisions of
this Act for such time as may be declared by Proclamation.
During such time such lands shall be open to be selected only by
persons who shall, at the time and in the manner prescribed, furnish
to the Commissioner for the District in which the lands are situated
proof that they are members of the body of settlers for whom such
lands have been set apart.
MAXIMUM AREA.
(2.) No person shall at the same time apply for or hold two or more
Homesteads under the provisions of this Act the aggregate area of
which is greater than three hundred and twenty acres, or two or more
Prickly Pear Selections under the provisions of this Act the aggregate
area of which is greater than two thousand five hundred acres, or
two or more Grazing Selections under the provisions of this Act the
aggregate area of which is greater than three thousand acres.
AGRICULTURAL TOWNSHIPS.
(3.) The Governor in Council may by proclamation set apart any Crown
lands in the said District as Agricultural Townships, and may cause
the whole or any part of such lands to be subdivided into portions
for purposes of residence. Such lands shall be in the vicinity of the
lands open for selection under the foregoing provisions.
The area of any portion shall not exceed ten acres.
Any selector of a selection under the provisions of this Act shall
also be entitled to one of the portions in an Agricultural Township,
which portion shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be
a part of the Selection, so that the condition of occupation may be
performed by the residence of the selector either upon the Selection
or upon the portion in the Township.
The area of the portion in the Township shall not, however, be taken
into consideration in estimating the maximum area which a selector may
apply for or hold.
IMPROVEMENTS.
(4.) In order that the selector may become the purchaser of an
Agricultural Selection under this Act, the certificate of the
Commissioner given under section one hundred and thirty-four or one
hundred and thirty-eight, as the case may be, of the Principal Act
must show that a sum at the rate of ten shillings per acre has been
expended in substantial and permanent improvements on the land.
The value of any improvements made upon the portion in the Township
shall be reckoned as part of the improvements required to be made upon
the Selection.
The provisions of this subsection do not apply to Prickly Pear
Selections or to Perpetual Lease Selections or Grazing Selections.
CONDITION OF OCCUPATION.
(5.) During the first five years of the term of the lease of an
Agricultural Farm (including an Agricultural Farm held in conjunction
with a Grazing Farm) selected under this Act, the condition of
occupation shall be performed by the continuous and _bona fide_
personal residence of the lessee on the Selection; and subsection
5A of section one hundred and thirty-two of the Principal Act shall
accordingly be applicable.[a]
(6.) During the first five years of the term of the lease of a Prickly
Pear Selection selected under this Act, the lessee shall occupy
the land; such condition of occupation shall be performed by the
continuous and _bona fide_ personal residence of the lessee on the
Selection; and during such period subsection 5A of section one
hundred and thirty-two of the Principal Act, except the last paragraph
thereof, shall be applicable to every such Prickly Pear Selection.
(7.) Notwithstanding anything in the Principal Act, or any Act
amending the same, when the proclamation opening the land for
selection so declares, lots which are not contiguous may be applied
for and held as one selection under this Act.
REGULATIONS.
3. The Governor in Council may make Regulations prescribing the manner
in which applicants for selections under the provisions of this Act
shall give proof of their qualification to become selectors, and
prescribing such other matters and things as may be necessary to give
effect to the provisions of this Act.
[Footnote a: Inter alia the subsection referred to provides
that the lessee shall not, during the first five years of the
term of the lease, mortgage, assign, or transfer the lease.]
APPENDIX F.
IMMIGRATION TO QUEENSLAND.
[OFFICIAL COMPILATION.]
ASSISTED IMMIGRANTS.
1. Immigrants approved by the Agent-General, who deposit with him
the sum of £50, shall be provided with passages by a steamer from the
United Kingdom to any port in Queensland for £5, the £50 deposit to be
returned to them on their arrival in Queensland.
NOMINATED IMMIGRANTS.
2. Persons resident in Queensland wishing to obtain passages for their
friends or relatives in the United Kingdom, or on the Continent of
Europe, may do so under the provisions of the 9th section of "_The
Immigration Act of 1882_," at the following rates:--
£ _s._ _d._
Males between 18 and 40 years 4 0 0
Females between 18 and 40 years 2 0 0
Males and Females over 40 and under 55 years 8 0 0
A full description of the nominee must appear on the application form
supplied by the Immigration Department of Queensland. The application
must be signed by the nominor, who must be of full age.
The Immigration Agent or Clerk of Petty Sessions must satisfy himself
by personal inquiry that the person for whose passage application is
made is a relative or personal friend of the applicant.
Passage warrants shall be made out in duplicate. One copy, to be
marked "provisional," will be issued to the applicant and the other
copy, to be marked "final," will be sent to the Agent-General,
who will cause inquiries to be made through his agents as to the
eligibility of the persons named therein to be nominated under the
provisions of this Order.
If the Agent-General is satisfied that all the conditions of
this Order have been complied with he will, upon surrender of the
provisional warrant, issue the final warrant to the person nominated,
which will entitle him to a passage contract ticket.
A memorandum shall be printed on the provisional warrant stating that
it must be surrendered and exchanged for a final warrant at the office
of the Agent-General before a passage can be obtained.
The Agent-General will refuse to issue a final warrant to any person
named in a provisional warrant if he finds that such person is not
eligible to be nominated under the provisions of this Order, or
that the description in the application is incorrect in any material
particular, or that the nominee is otherwise undesirable.
CONTRACT IMMIGRANTS.
3. Free passages may be granted from the United Kingdom to any part of
Queensland to agricultural labourers introduced under contract if the
employer pays a fee of £5 for each labourer introduced, provides him
with suitable accommodation, and guarantees him a year's employment at
wages approved by the Chief Secretary. The choosing of such labourers
to be left to the Agent-General, unless they are known to the
applicant, in which case the Agent-General's duty is restricted to
passing or rejecting them.
FREE IMMIGRANTS.
4. The Agent-General may grant free passages to the wives and children
(under the age of 18 years) of assisted, nominated, and contract
immigrants and to female domestic servants who are desirous of
emigrating to Queensland.
5. The Chief Secretary may direct that a passage warrant be not issued
in respect of any person nominated or proposed to be indented.
6. The Order in Council of the fourth day of June, 1891, published in
the _Government Gazette_ of the 5th June, 1891, shall be and is hereby
rescinded.
And the Honourable the Chief Secretary is to give the necessary
directions herein accordingly.
APPENDIX G.
SOME STATISTICS AND THEIR STORY.
The figures contained in this Appendix, save those for 1908, and in
relation to certain financial matters for 1908-9, are drawn from the
Statistics for 1908 laid before Parliament this year, but all are
official.
GROWTH OF POPULATION.
The population of Queensland, estimated at 28,056 on 31st December,
1860, a little more than a year after separation from New South Wales,
more than doubled during the succeeding three years. Thence it again
more than doubled in the next eight years, the census of April, 1871,
providing a basis for the estimate of 125,146 at the end of that year.
Thence to 1882, two years before the close of the quarter-century,
the figures had again nearly doubled, the population on 31st December,
1884, reaching 309,913.
Of the number of arrivals in excess of departures there is no record
for 1860 or 1861, but of the total increase, 51,509, for the four
years ended 1865 the recorded arrivals in excess of departures
aggregated 46,422, leaving only 5,087 for excess of births over deaths
for the period. In 1866, in spite of the crisis resulting from the
Agra and Masterman's Bank failure, there was still an excess of 6,632;
but by the next following year the number of such excess had fallen to
917, while the net increase of population in that year was only 3,648.
The census of 1886, the second year of the new quarter-century, showed
a total population of 342,614, and the next census five years later
410,330. This marked the end of the "boom" period, and the amount
spent on immigration, as compared with 1883 and 1884, was cut down in
the next year by nearly three-fourths, or from the maximum of £361,632
in 1883-4 to £91,143 in 1889-90. In 1891 there was severe commercial
depression, and by that time arrivals had annually decreased, and
departures came very near in numbers to the arrivals. During the next
ten years the increase in population, as shown by the census, was
95,614, bringing the total up to 505,944.
Here it may be explained that the intercensus estimates between 1891
and 1901 proved fallacious, for the total number in the latter year
was 6,660 less than the estimate had been for two years previously,
although the arrivals for the intervening period recorded an excess
over departures of 6,389. So that adding to that number the 17,350
increase by excess of births over deaths the population in 1901 would
have been shown as 536,343 had the estimates between the censuses been
continued on similar lines. The error would therefore have been 30,399
had not the census figures in 1901 enabled an adjustment to be made.
Similar over-estimating had occurred previously, it is understood,
through many oversea departures not being recorded by those who
supplied information to the department. Of late years allowances have
been made for unrecorded arrivals and departures in preparing
the intercensus returns, and it may be hoped that in future the
discrepancies will be less disconcerting than in the past.
The population at the end of the first quarter-century having been
309,913, and on 31st December last year (1908) 558,237, the increase
for the period was 248,324. But the second quarter-century does not
actually close until 31st December next, when the total population
should be approximately 570,000 souls. During the half-century,
therefore, the number of people in Queensland as compared with the
population in 1859 may be taken to have multiplied by twenty-two.
In other words, at the time of separation, a year earlier than the
official record begins, the total population was scarcely greater than
it now is in several of our provincial cities.
PUBLIC FINANCE.
Public revenue, which began in 1860 with a total of £178,589, reached
£2,720,656 in 1884-5, the figures of the natal year being multiplied
nearly fifteen times at the close of the quarter-century. The second
quarter-century showed continued increase until 1888-9, but the
figures of that year were not again reached until 1895-6. They
progressed until in 1899-1900, the last year before federation, they
reached over 4½ millions sterling, an amount not again realised till
1908-9. In 1901 the State figures were considerably disturbed by the
proclamation of the Commonwealth on 1st January. In 1901-2 there was
a large apparent decline of £1,053,145, the Commonwealth having
taken over the whole of the postal and telegraph revenue and about
one-fourth of the Customs. There was also a considerable loss by the
discontinuance of State border duties, as well as by the Commonwealth
tariff, which took effect in the second quarter of 1901-2, many
revenue duties being either sacrificed or lowered in favour of
protectionist imposts which only yielded revenue until they excluded
imports. By 1908-9, despite the loss of post-telegraph and Customs
revenue, the total receipts at the State Treasury formed the
half-century record of £4,766,244.
The expenditure on loan account began with the foundation of the
colony. At the end of the first quarter-century the public debt
amounted to £16,570,850, exclusive of Government Savings Bank and
Treasury bills obligations. In the first decade of the second quarter
it had almost doubled, standing at the end of 1894 at £30,639,534.
By the end of 1900 there had been a further increase of nearly 5
millions, and on 30th June, 1909, it stood at £41,568,827, or at the
rate of £74 per head of the estimated population. But the railway net
earnings alone of the last two financial years (1907-8 and 1908-9)
have provided a mean sum of £884,616 per annum towards the interest
charge.
LAND STATISTICS.
In 1860 there were 108,870 acres of land alienated in Queensland.
In 1872 the area exceeded 1 million acres, the first quarter-century
closing in 1884 with over 7 million acres. The 10-million-acre limit
was passed in 1890, and the 15-million-acre limit in 1908, when the
total area alienated was 15,108,439 acres.
The cash received at the Treasury from land sales up to the close
of 1884 was over 4¾ millions, and at the close of 1908 exceeded 8½
millions sterling. In process of alienation there were then over
6 million acres. For the last ten years the total area leased or
otherwise in occupation has been recorded. In 1899 the area thus
occupied was 296½ million acres, and in 1906 only 247 million
acres. Since then there has been some recovery in this respect, the
total occupied area of Crown lands being now 273,180,864 acres. The
unoccupied area in 1899 was over 131¼ million acres, and in 1902
only 121½ million acres. Since then there has been both an increase
and a decrease, the area unoccupied in 1908 being almost 135 million
acres, equal to nearly one-third of the total area of the State. This
unoccupied land consists largely of rangy and waterless country, but
a not inconsiderable area would be occupiable were water and transport
facilities provided, and much of it is in what the geologists have
delimited as the artesian area.
LIVE STOCK.
In 1860 the number of live stock in Queensland totalled--Horses,
23,504; cattle, 432,890; sheep, 3,449,350; pigs, 7,147. There was an
almost continual yearly increase in horses until 1902, when drought
reduced the number by 62,997, or at the rate of about 14 per cent. Not
until 1907 was this loss recovered, when the total number of horses
stood at 488,486, the number being still further increased in 1908 to
519,969. There was an almost uninterrupted increase of cattle until
1882, when the total exceeded 4¼ millions. At the close of the
quarter-century the number was 4,266,172. In 1885 and 1886, owing to
a drought, there was again a small decline in cattle numbers, but from
that time there was a continued increase until 1894, when the total of
7 millions was recorded. But droughts and the tick pest had cut them
down to less than 2½ millions in 1903. In 1908 the number had
recovered to 4,321,600. The enlarged Australian consumption has been
a factor in the shrinkage of numbers, but the large increase in prices
fully compensated the owners for the diminished numbers of their
herds. The increased price of wool during recent years renders the
same remark applicable to the sheep-owners of the State; and it may
be said generally that the pastoral industry was never in a more
flourishing condition.
Sheep, which totalled fewer than 3½ millions in 1860, reached 7¼
millions in 1866, and 9 millions two years later. Thence till 1878
there was a series of fluctuations which brought the total in that
year below 6 millions. But in 1882 the number had vaulted to over 12
millions, after which there was a descent to a little more than 9¼
millions at the close of the quarter-century. The year 1885 closed
with a further decrease, but by 1887 the number had increased to
nearly 13 millions. Three years later it reached 18 millions, and in
1892 it touched the record of nearly 21¾ millions. By 1900, which
had been preceded by bad seasons, the number of sheep had dropped to
10-1/3 millions, and in the second year of the twentieth century the
low-water mark of less than 7¼ millions was touched. Since then
there has been a rapid increase, and the numbers in 1908 had recovered
to 18,348,851, or within 3,359,459 of the record number of seventeen
years ago. It must be mentioned that, while scanty rainfall on the
Western pastures was accountable for much of the depletion in stock
numbers, overstocking and absence of possible provision for bad
seasons had much to do with the losses incurred. However, the second
quarter-century will close with flocks in number almost equal to those
of 1892, and with fleeces immensely more valuable than the pastures
then carried, and the stock-carrying capacity of the country has
also been much increased by fencing, water conservation, and artesian
wells.
Pigs are also becoming a valuable asset of the Queensland
dairy farmer. In 1860 they numbered 7,147; at the close of the
quarter-century, 51,796; and in December, 1908, 124,749.
[Illustration: HAULING TIMBER, BARRON RIVER, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
DAIRYING.
The phenomenal growth of the dairying industry is shown by the table
headed "Dairying." It shows that, whereas in 1860 10,400 lb. butter
were imported and 450 lb. exported, in 1908 there were 23,838,357 lb.
made, 13,752,118 lb. exported, and only 201,924 lb. imported. Even in
1896 Queensland could hardly be accounted a butter-exporting country,
when the shipments were only 13,942 lb., the imports 1,003,680 lb.,
and the quantity made 6,164,240 lb., for in that year the excess
of imports was 989,738 lb.; while in 1908 the excess of exports was
13,550,194 lb., or more than a moiety of the amount manufactured. Of
cheese, in 1896 the quantity made was 1,921,404 lb., whereas in 1908
it had increased to 3,199,510 lb., and the amount exported was 732,090
lb., the excess of exports over imports being 685,629 lb. Twenty-five
years ago the excess of imports over exports was 1,068,033 lb., which
meant that there were practically no exports. Even in 1896 the cheese
exported totalled only 8,505 lb. It is evident that the dairying
industry in Queensland is yet only in its youth, and that in another
quarter of a century the exports of both cheese and butter will have
increased enormously.
SUGAR PRODUCTION.
Sugar first appears as a Queensland export in 1870, the quantity
being, however, only 26 cwt. By 1879 the quantity had reached 206,269
cwt., the quarter-century closing in 1884 with 368,626 cwt., valued
at £454,759. But these figures do not represent the quantity of sugar
manufactured, the total in 1884 being given at 33,361 tons, the export
being 18,431 tons. In 1885 the export, as compared with the previous
year, increased by 58½ per cent. in value. In 1888 the value
declined to £384,375, or by more than one-half as compared with
1886. Thence for many years there was a fluctuating export, a drop to
£681,038 in 1897 being followed by a jump to £1,329,876 in 1898. Two
years later there was a heavy fall to £669,389 worth; then two years'
progression followed by a fall to £646,875 in 1903. In 1904, owing
to the Commonwealth bounty and good seasons, there was a recovery to
£1,257,815, followed by substantial progression each following year,
till 1907, when the record export of £1,779,624 was made. In 1908,
owing to abnormal frosts, there was a decline to £1,482,320.
The quantity of sugar made of course showed corresponding
fluctuations. In 1896 the 100,000-ton limit of manufacture was for the
first time passed. It was followed by a slight drop in the following
year, but in 1898 the record to that date in manufacture, as well as
in export, was made, the product of the mills reaching the high figure
of 163,734 tons. After that year there was a fluctuating decline in
manufacture to the minimum of 76,626 tons in 1902, the great drought
year; but there was an improvement in 1903, and in 1905 152,722 tons
were manufactured, the two following years being very close together
with a mean production of 186,342 tons. In 1908 the sugar manufactured
was 151,098 tons, a decrease, through frost, of 37,209 tons for the
year. In glancing through the figures not only will the effects of
good and bad seasons be recognised, but also of the suspension of
kanaka labour importation in 1888, its revival in 1890, and the
payment of the Commonwealth bounty during the last five years.
MINERAL PRODUCTION.
When in 1866 railway construction suddenly ceased, both on the
Southern and Central (then called the Northern) lines, there was
general distress, mitigated shortly afterwards by the discovery of
gold at the Crocodile Field, near Rockhampton; and in 1867 by the
opening up of the Gympie Goldfield. The first important discovery of
gold, however, had been on the Peak Downs in 1862, after which the
production of that metal advanced from 2,783 oz. in 1863 to 15,660 oz.
in 1864, slightly in excess of which level it remained for the next
two years. The gold raised then jumped to 35,581 oz. in 1867, and to
111,589 oz. in 1868. During the next two years the production dropped
by about 19,000 oz., but it recovered to 115,986 oz. in 1871. In 1874
it made another big jump to 254,959 oz., owing to the discoveries at
the Palmer, Charters Towers, and elsewhere in the North. This volume
of production was rather more than maintained during the next two
years, after which there was a fluctuating annual diminution until
1887, when there was a recovery to 348,890 oz. For seven years of
the first quarter-century the value of gold won exceeded a million
sterling per annum, high-water mark being touched in 1875--a year of
heavy rainfall and abundant water--with a gold yield of £1,196,583.
In gold production the second quarter-century opened well with a total
of 250,137 oz., and this yield for 1885 was followed by continuous
progression until 1889, when the total of 634,605 oz., valued
at £2,695,629, was reached. Thence for seven years there was a
fluctuating decline, the minimum of 477,976 oz. being touched in 1891.
From that year there was a gradual recovery until in 1898 647,487 oz.
was reached, the record being made with 676,027 oz. in the last year
of the century. Since then there has been a continuous annual decline
until the total gold raised in 1908 had fallen to 465,085 oz., which
is rather less than half the quantity declared to be exported in 1898
and 1903. But the export and production figures of course differ, the
former being the actual weight exported in the year, which may be
less or more than the production. Moreover, the production figures
are stated in fine ounces, so that the difference between gold won and
exported is considerably less than the figures would at first sight
indicate.
Of copper the recorded quantity produced in 1860 was only one ton,
valued at £50; but two years later the value reached £10,332 through
the discovery of the Peak Downs mines. The two following years showed
an almost entire cessation of export, although some £90,000 worth had
been won. In 1865 the value of copper produced was £58,440. Thence
there was fluctuating progression until 1871, when the value rose to
£174,300, with a further rise to £196,000 in 1872. Declension
followed until in 1882 the production had dropped to £14,982, the
quarter-century closing in 1884 with a total of £30,872 worth. The
explanation is that during the period there was practically only one
copper mine at work in Queensland, and that in 1871 the policy was
commenced of smelting all the richer ores and paying the highest
possible dividends. In one year an amount of about £300,000, equal
to the total capital of the company, was distributed, and shortly
afterwards the mine was closed for want of remunerative ore. Had money
been freely spent in exploration, as at the Mount Morgan Gold Mine,
and only moderate dividends paid to the shareholders, it is
believed that the life of the Peak Downs Copper Mine would have been
indefinitely prolonged.
During sixteen years of the second quarter-century copper mining
languished, the highest production in any one year being valued at
£20,340, while in 1891 the lowest descended to £865. In 1901, however,
through the opening of the Chillagoe mine, the production rose to
£194,227 worth; by 1906 it had continuously ascended to £916,546,
and in 1907 to £1,028,179. In 1908 there was a phenomenal decline in
production value, owing to the low price obtainable for copper, the
total being stated at £882,901.
The first production of tin is recorded in 1872, when the yield was
valued at £109,816, through the discovery of stream tin in the Severn
River district of Queensland. The record year for tin production of
the half-century was in 1873, when the value raised was £606,184.
Thence there was a fluctuating decline in output till 1884, which
closed with £130,460 worth for the year.
In the second quarter-century there was a fluctuating diminution of
production, till in 1898 it was only worth £36,502. After that date
there was a continuous improvement, the figures reached in 1907 being
£496,766. The tin won in 1908 was declared to be of the value of only
£342,191, the reduction arising chiefly from lowered market prices.
The coal raised in Queensland in 1860 was only 12,327 tons; in 1884
120,727 tons were raised; and in 1908 the production was 696,332 tons,
valued at £244,922.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.
The imports into Queensland in 1860 were of the declared value of
£742,023; at the close of the first quarter-century they exceeded
6¼ millions a year; in 1900 they exceeded 7 millions; in 1908 they
totalled nearly 9½ millions.
The declared value of exports totalled a little more than half a
million in 1860; the first quarter-century closed in 1884 with a total
of under 4¾ millions. In 1889 the value was slightly under 7¾
millions, and in 1908 it reached over 14 millions. During the last
quarter-century the exports have trebled in value, while the imports
have increased by only about 48·4 per cent. These figures indicate
that the State is rapidly liquidating its external indebtedness
on private account, whatever may be the increase in public loan
obligations.
RAILWAYS.
Railways form a very gratifying asset. In 1865 there were only
twenty-one miles open for traffic, and they yielded no net revenue.
In 1884 there were 1,207 miles open, of which the net earnings were
£273,096. In 1898 2,742 miles open had £534,992 of net earnings. In
1901 there were 2,801 miles open, with net earnings of £223,853 only,
the cause being the historic drought of the period. Since then there
has been a rapid increase in both traffic and profit, the net earnings
of 3,498 miles in 1908-9 having been £885,622. These figures afford
complete justification for a policy of vigorous construction, for they
show that the capital invested in our railways, £25,183,529, earned
£3 10s. 4d. per cent. in 1907-8. In 1908-9 the net earnings were
£883,610, the return on capital invested being £3 7s. 6d. per cent.
With the object of supplying the latest official data, the Government
Statistician, Mr. Thornhill Weedon, has compiled the following tables,
which practically divide the half-century into four equal periods. It
must be borne in mind that, except under the heading "Finance," the
statistics are for the calendar year and not for the financial year,
which closes on 30th June:--
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS.
VITAL STATISTICS.
-----------------------+-------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Births No. | 1,236 | 5,265 | 10,679 | 14,017 | 14,828
| | | | |
Marriages No. | 278 | 1,125 | 2,661 | 2,823 | 4,009
| | | | |
Deaths No. | 478 | 1,936 | 6,861 | 5,645 | 5,680
| | | | |
Population, State No. | 28,056 | 133,553 | 309,913 | 472,179 | 558,237
| | | | |
" Brisbane [a] No. | 6,051 | 15,002 | 23,001 | 110,554 | 137,670
-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
[Footnote a: The area in 1860, 1872, and 1884 is not quite the
same as that in 1896 and 1908, but the population quoted is
fairly representative.]
FINANCE.
----------------------+----------------------------------------------------
| FINANCIAL YEAR.
+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1883-4. | 1895-6. | 1907-8.[b]
----------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------
REVENUE-- | | | | |
| | | | |
From Customs and | | | | |
Excise £| 59,210 | 419,853 | 900,916 | 1,361,212| 1,498,131
| | | | |
From other sources £| 119,379 | 576,471 | 1,665,442| 2,280,371| 3,953,501
| | | | |
Total Revenue £| 178,589 | 996,324 | 2,566,358| 3,641,583| 5,451,632
| | | | |
EXPENDITURE-- | | | | |
| | | | |
From Revenue £| 161,503 | 865,743 | 2,532,045| 3,567,947| 5,336,330
| | | | |
From Loan ... ... £| 19,384 | 156,424 | 1,665,823| 592,158| 1,033,676
| | | | |
----------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+----------
[Footnote b: The figures for 1907-8 include both Federal and
State collections and disbursements on Queensland account.]
BANKING.
----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+---------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
----------------+---------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------
BANKING | | | | |
COMPANIES-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Assets £| 574,661 | 2,200,346 | 11,155,423 | 18,850,945 | 19,122,646
| | | | |
Advances £| 490,861 | 1,489,515 | 9,338,716 | 15,481,960 | 14,698,195
| | | | |
Liabilities £| 332,173 | 1,842,848 | 7,662,543 | 11,346,303 | 16,072,757
| | | | |
Deposits £| 286,917 | 1,590,283 | 6,322,025 | 10,879,640 | 15,440,427
| | | | |
SAVINGS BANK-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Depositors No.| 163 | 8,121 | 33,067 | 58,226 | 100,324
| | | | |
Amount to credit| | | | |
at end of year £| 7,545 | 466,754 | 1,220,614 | 2,329,381 | 4,921,881
----------------+---------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------
CROWN LANDS.
-----------+---------------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-----------+------------+------------+------------+------------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-----------+-----------+------------+------------+------------+------------
Area | | | | |
Alienated | | | | |
Acres | 108,870| 1,069,208| 7,099,275| 12,850,843| 15,108,439
| | | | |
In Process | | | | |
of | | | | |
Alienation | | | | |
Acres | ... | ... | ... | 1,776,034| 6,200,930
| | | | |
Leased or | | | | |
otherwise | | | | |
occupied | | | | |
Acres | 41,027,200| 123,737,093| 316,113,760| 254,787,200| 273,180,864
| | | | |
Not | | | | |
occupied | | | | |
Acres |387,983,930| 304,313,699| 105,906,965| 159,705,923| 134,629,767
-----------+-----------+------------+------------+------------+------------
LIVE STOCK.
-------------+------------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
Horses | 23,504 | 92,798 | 253,116 | 452,207 | 519,969
| | | | |
Cattle | 432,890 | 1,200,992 | 4,266,172 | 6,507,377 | 4,321,600
| | | | |
Sheep | 3,449,350 | 6,687,907 | 9,308,911 | 19,593,696 | 18,348,851
| | | | |
Pigs | 7,147 | 35,732 | 51,796 | 97,434 | 124,749
-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
DAIRYING.
------------------+------------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-----------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------
| | | | |
BUTTER-- | | | | |
Made Lb.| ... | ... | ... | 6,164,240 | 23,838,357
| | | | |
Imported Lb.| 10,400 | 454,698 | 1,271,964 | 1,003,680 | 201,924
| | | | |
Exported Lb.| 450 | 1,310 | 12,724 | 13,942 | 13,752,118
| | | | |
Excess of | | | | |
Imports Lb.| 9,950 | 453,388 | 1,259,240 | 989,738 | ...
| | | | |
Excess of | | | | |
Exports Lb.| ... | ... | ... | ... | 13,550,194
| | | | |
Estimated | | | | |
Wholesale | | | | |
Price of | | | | |
Butter Per Lb.| 1s. 11¼d. | 9½d. | 11d. | 10d. | 10¾d.
| | | | |
| | | | |
CHEESE-- | | | | |
Made Lb.| ... | ... | ... | 1,921,404 | 3,199,510
| | | | |
Imported £| 1,559 |lb. 186,916 | 1,069,620 | 77,275 | 46,464
| | | | |
Exported £| 247 |lb. 20 | 1,587 | 8,505 | 732,093
| | | | |
Excess of | | | | |
Imports £| 1,312 |lb. 186,896 | 1,068,033 | 68,770 | ...
| | | | |
Excess of | | | | |
Exports £| ... | ... | ... | ... | 685,629
------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------
AGRICULTURE.
-----------------------+----------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-------+--------+------------+-----------+----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-----------------------+-------+--------+------------+-----------+----------
| | | | |
Total Area Cropped | | | | |
Acres| 3,838 | 62,491 | 187,381 | 322,678 | 535,900
| | | | |
Wheat, Area for Grain | | | | |
Acres| 196 | 3,661 | 11,389 | 34,670 | 80,898
| | | | |
" Result of Crop | | | | |
Bushels| ... | 78,734 | 195,727 | 601,254 | 1,202,799
| | | | |
Maize, Area for Grain | | | | |
Acres| 1,526 | 21,143 | 61,064 | 115,715 | 127,655
| | | | |
" Result of Crop | | | | |
Bushels| ... | ... | 1,312,939 | 3,065,333 | 2,767,600
| | | | |
English Potatoes, area | | | | |
Acres| 333 | 2,837 | 3,775 | 7,672 | 6,227
| | | | |
" Result of Crop | | | | |
Tons| ... | ... | 6,834 | 18,451 | 11,550
| | | | |
Sugar-cane, Area Cut | | | | |
Acres| ... | 5,018 | 29,930 | 66,640 | 92,219
| | | | |
" Result of Crop, | | | | |
Cane Tons| ... | ... | ... | ... | 1,433,315
| | | | |
" Result of Crop, | | | | |
Sugar Made Tons| ... | 6,266 | 33,361 | 100,774 | 151,098
-----------------------+-------+--------+------------+-----------+----------
MINING.
-------------------+-----------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+--------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------
Gold raised in | | | | |
Queensland Oz.| 2,738 | 124,163 | 250,127 | 502,146| 465,085
£| 11,631 | 537,365 | 1,062,471 | 2,132,979| 1,975,554
| | | | |
Silver raised in | | | | |
Queensland £| | | 35,327 | 32,162 | 117,889
| | | | |
Copper raised in | | | | |
Queensland Tons| 1 | 2,448 | 1,653 | 580 | 14,698
£| 50 | 196,000 | 30,872 | 21,042 | 882,901
| | | | |
Tin raised in | | | | |
Queensland Tons| | 1,407 | 3,383 | 1,554 | 4,826
£| | 109,816 | 130,460 | 49,018 | 342,191
| | | | |
Coal raised in | | | | |
Queensland Tons| 12,327 | 27,727 | 120,727 | 371,390 | 696,332
£| 9,244 | 16,120 | 60,025 | 154,987 | 244,922
| | | | |
All other in | | | | |
Queensland £| | | 6,469 | 30,440 | 281,030
| | | | |
Total £| 20,925 | 849,301 | 1,325,624 | 2,420,628 | 3,844,487
-------------------+--------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------
SECONDARY PRODUCTION.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALENDAR YEAR.
-----------------+-------+---------+-----------+------------+------------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1906. | 1908.
-----------------+-------+---------+-----------+------------+------------
FACTORIES No.| 13 | 593 | 955 | 1,332 | 1,481
Hands | | | | |
Employed No.| | | | 19,733 | 29,510
Plant and | | | | |
Machinery £| | | | 6,145,548 | 4,484,340
Output £| | | | 6,482,824 | 11,242,437
Leather Lb.| | 427,168 | 2,221,856 | 3,324,832 | (c)152,611
Butter Lb.| | | | 6,164,240 | 23,838,357
Cheese Lb.| | | | 1,921,404 | 3,199,510
Bacon and | | | | |
Hams Lb.| | | | 5,108,726 | 11,324,323
Meat, | | | | |
Cured Lb.| | | 4,283,024 | 69,442,447 | 50,418,522
Timber, Sawn | | | | |
Super. Ft.| | | | 22,309,900 | 100,759,016
-----------------+-------+---------+-----------+------------+------------
[Footnote c: Now collected on sides.]
IMPORTS.
---------------------+-----------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+---------+----------+----------+-----------+---------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
---------------------+---------+----------+----------+-----------+---------
Apparel, including | | | | |
Boots and Shoes £| 32,701 | 113,371 | 318,910 | 232,077 | 552,071
Linen, Drapery, and | | | | |
Haberdashery £| 154,454 | 293,155 | 742,357 | 806,638 |1,233,776
Wine, Beer, and | | | | |
Spirits £| 66,909 | 177,601 | 394,764 | 247,259 | 325,484
Tobacco, Cigar, &c. £| 17,727 | 30,659 | 78,093 | 74,501 | 204,131
Wheat, Flour, | | | | |
Biscuits, &c. £| 95,318 | 208,447 | 383,504 | 555,460 | 483,794
Other Grain and | | | | |
Products thereof £| 4,867 | 42,991 | 197,929 | 118,968 | 202,549
Potatoes and Onions £| 3,410 | 15,789 | 77,897 | 104,233 | 147,584
Green Fruit, Jams, | | | | |
and Jellies £| 3,487 | 27,755 | 118,309 | 73,184 | 175,967
Hardware, Machinery, | | | | |
Metals, and Metal | | | | |
Goods £| 63,622 | 217,659 |1,019,374 | 766,217 |1,661,999
Stationery, Books, | | | | |
Paper, &c. £| 16,482 | 26,528 | 148,682 | 135,127 | 220,746
Kerosene and other | | | | |
Oils £| 3,916 | 32,580 | 69,202 | 94,048 | 156,460
| | | | |
Total all imports £| 742,023 |2,218,717 |6,381,976 |5,433,271 |9,471,166
---------------------+---------+----------+----------+-----------+---------
EXPORTS--HOME PRODUCTION.
----------------------+-------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
Wool--Clean Lb.|}5,007,167{|12,622,067| 9,030,701|24,479,769|23,459,014
Greasy Lb.|} {| 5,171,245|26,495,276|64,012,465|66,802,873
| | | | |
Clean £|} 444,188{| 952,450| 682,774| 1,130,170| 1,670,664
Greasy £|} {| 217,362| 1,206,730| 1,846,814| 2,459,190
Total Value £| 444,188 | 1,169,812| 1,889,504| 2,976,984| 4,129,854
Tallow--Quantity Tons| 640 | 2,890| 2,623| 18,554| 7,292
Value £| 25,628 | 100,201| 76,019| 337,967| 197,229
Gold--Value £| 14,565 | 660,396| 923,010| 2,089,166| 1,941,229
Copper--Value £| 50 | 257,723| 3,014| 32,401| 831,699
Tin--Value £| ... | 108,310| 228,457| 46,779| 290,389
Live Stock (Horses, | | | | |
Cattle, Sheep) £| 510 | 366,003| 572,010| 859,367| 1,699,381
Meat (all kinds, | | | | |
including extract) £| 5,356 | 67,579| 70,833| 898,545| 850,772
Sugar--Quantity Cwt.| ... | 23,959| 368,626| 1,507,503| 2,645,333
Value £| ... | 36,833| 454,759| 863,080| 1,482,320
Hides and Skins £| 14,030 | 93,218| 109,291| 449,265| 421,987
Pearlshell £| ... | ... | 94,021| 94,865| 49,898
+-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
Total all Exports £| 523,477 | 2,998,934| 4,673,864| 9,163,726|14,194,977
----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
[Illustration: FALLS NEAR KILLARNEY]
[Illustration: ABORIGINAL TREE CLIMBERS]
INTERCOMMUNICATION.
-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+--------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
-----------------+--------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
RAILWAYS-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Miles Open | ... | 218 | 1,207 | 2,430 | 3,498
Passengers No.| ... | 40,539 | 1,025,552 | 2,462,020 | 6,538,411
Cost of | | | | |
Construction £| ... | 2,345,385 | 8,631,835 | 17,248,678 | 23,102,158
Net Revenue £| ... | 18,213 | 273,096 | 424,862 | 806,797
| | | | |
SHIPPING-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Inward Vessels | | | | |
No.| 210 | 522 | 1,042 | 649 | 881
Tonnage| 45,736 | 148,630 | 572,124 | 562,759 | 1,601,107
| | | | |
Outward Vessels| | | | |
No.| 183 | 507 | 1,061 | 645 | 847
Tonnage | 39,503 | 143,380 | 579,988 | 531,289 | 1,563,911
-----------------+--------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
--------------------------+---------------------------------------------
| CALENDAR YEAR.
+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------
| 1860. | 1872. | 1884. | 1896. | 1908.
--------------------------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------
| | | | |
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Number | 6 | 21 | 46 | 77 | 107
Persons Relieved | 397 | 2,796 | 11,614 | 19,917 | 28,310
| | | | |
EDUCATION-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Number of Schools | 41 | 210 | 528 | 957 | 1,104
Scholars on Rolls | 1,890 | 23,728 | 60,701 | 103,733 | 105,436
Average Attendance | ... | ... | ... | ... | 67,309
| | | | |
PUBLIC LIBRARIES-- | | | | |
| | | | |
Number of Subscribers | 538 | 1,711 | 5,185 | 6,904 | 12,770
Volumes in Libraries | 4,945 | 20,890 | 60,257 | 129,883 | 249,257
--------------------------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------
APPENDIX H.
DIGEST OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEER'S REPORTS.
OUR ARTESIAN WATER SYSTEM.
The water supply problem is of importance so momentous, and the
official information collected by the Hydraulic Engineer being
scattered through reports covering about twenty-five years--from 1883
until 1908--it is thought desirable to present the main official facts
in a convenient digest for the general reader.
SUB-ARTESIAN WATER IN 1884.
Up to 1883, when the McIlwraith Government created the Hydraulic
Engineer's Department by appointing Mr. J. B. Henderson to organise
it, little had been done by the State for the improvement of the water
supply of the country except in cities and towns. At that time no
artesian water was known to exist in Queensland, but there was a
popular belief that there were great underground supplies, especially
in Western Queensland. Many station-owners had been active, and the
diamond drill had been brought into use, but deep drilling had
not then been undertaken. In October, 1884, the Hydraulic Engineer
reported that he had just visited Widgeegoara Station, where the
owners, Messrs. E. and J. Bignell, partly by sinking shafts and partly
by boring, had obtained an underground pumped supply aggregating
94,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. This resulted from sinking
four 5 ft. × 2½ ft. shafts an average depth of 102 ft. each, and
thence boring and tubing below the bottom of each shaft to the average
depth of 161 ft. Of the total quantity 20,000 gallons a day was
obtained from the Four-mile well, a shaft sunk to a depth of 150 ft.
below the natural surface. Besides this there was a homestead well
33 ft. deep. Analyses of the water showed that, in the opinion of the
Government Analyst, only in one bore was it useful for watering sheep,
it being brackish; but according to the station reports the supply
from the Four-mile well and Nos. 1 and 2 shaft-bores was good
stock water. Mr. Henderson warmly commended the Messrs. Bignell's
enterprise.
IMPROVED BORING MACHINERY.
During the same month the late Hon. George King, of Gowrie, brought
under the notice of the department a report by Mr. Darley, C.E.,
to the Government of New South Wales respecting certain American
well-boring machinery by the use of which in Mr. King's opinion
three-fourths of the cost of £6,000 incurred by his firm in sinking
shafts in the Warrego district might have been saved. Besides which
much greater depths could be reached, a machine costing £600 in
America being capable of boring 2,000 ft. The matter being referred to
the Hydraulic Engineer, that officer made inquiries which induced him
heartily to endorse Mr. King's suggestion that the Government should
secure from America a machine with two men experienced in working it
and capable of themselves making any ordinary repairs. Mr. Henderson
also recommended that a staff should be trained by the Americans after
arrival, and expressed the opinion that this course would save both
money and time, and prove a large gain to the colony. But he reminded
the Minister that until there had been an abundant rainfall extensive
operations in bore-sinking in the West could not be carried on, though
he advised the introduction of a sufficient number of machines and
enough tubing in order that during the next season, if rain fell, work
should be vigorously commenced.
On 4th September, 1885, the Hydraulic Engineer replied in unequivocal
terms to a minute of his Minister requesting him to comply with the
wish expressed that he should purchase a Victorian diamond drill, then
under offer, for coal-prospecting purposes. Mr. Henderson strongly
recommended that no drill be purchased unless capable of boring holes
at least from 5 in. to 2 in. in diameter. He also pointed out that
where drifts and loose gravels were met with, and tubed, a deep bore
must be commenced of large diameter to ensure success. Although the
proposed drills were not ostensibly to be used for water-finding, it
is evident that the Hydraulic Engineer, in reporting upon them, had
that kind of work in view.
GOVERNMENT URGED TO IMPORT PLANT AND MEN.
On 2nd December following the Hydraulic Engineer addressed the
Minister touching water-boring operations, and pointed out that, while
there would be no difficulty in importing the machinery and appliances
requisite for deep bores, he was convinced that men must be introduced
from America to start and teach others here to work them. He
recommended that an efficient plant should be ordered capable of
boring up to 12 in. in diameter to a depth of 2,500 ft., for (say)
£1,000, delivery at the works, and four good drillers under a two
years' engagement brought out to work them at 21s. to 23s. per day,
apparently of twelve hours; board, lodging, and travelling expenses to
be defrayed by the Government.
OBSTACLES FROM DROUGHT.
On 20th February, 1886, the Hydraulic Engineer wrote that,
understanding from conversations with the Minister that "the policy of
the Government is to carry on water conservation works and boring for
underground water with increased energy, he recommends the purchase of
three Wright and Edwards' boring machines, capable of reaching a depth
of 1,000 ft., for delivery within four months from the date of order."
Three days later Mr. Henderson wrote:--"Unfortunately it can be said
with much truth that, ever since the department's existence, the
seasons have been unfavourable in the extreme for carrying out its
plans." After mentioning the specific difficulties encountered, he
added:--"I do not share in the idea that the late rains broke up the
drought, as I cannot disguise from myself the fact that they have not
been general, or even yet of sufficient quantity."
FIRST BORING STARTED AT BLACKALL.
Although the Hydraulic Engineer, so long before as December, 1884, had
recommended the Minister to import American boring machinery with men
trained to work it, it was not until 19th October, 1886, nearly two
years later, that he was able to announce that his advice had been
so far followed that Mr. Arnold, an American borer from Honolulu,
had gone to Blackall with a Pennsylvania Walking Beam Oil Rig boring
machine which had been constructed in Brisbane. It seems that so long
previously as July, 1885, two tenders for boring by Americans--one
being from Mr. Arnold--were submitted by the Hydraulic Engineer to
the Minister, with the intimation that they were both too vague for
acceptance, and expressing the hope that Mr. Arnold, "who seemed a man
of considerable experience, would submit a more liberal and definite
offer." The same report mentions that on the 30th June previously the
Blackall bore had been carried to a depth of 775 ft., and that at 127
ft. good water had been struck that rose to a height of 60 ft. below
the surface, but was deemed insufficient for the requirements of the
town. Up to that time nine bores had been completed, chiefly by the
ineffective Tiffin auger, but not one had reached artesian water, the
deepest being that at Blackall, and the average depth 371 ft.
ARTESIAN WATER STRUCK AT THURULGOONA.
In his report of 12th November, 1887, the Hydraulic Engineer states
that it is essential that only the best quality of tubing, or
"casing," should be used in bores. In April he had visited, by
direction of the Treasurer, Thurulgoona Station, on the New South
Wales border, and there carefully inspected boring operations. He
found that one bore had, by means of the Canadian Pole Tool boring
machine, been sunk to 1,079 ft., a supply of excellent water having
been struck at a depth of 1,009 ft., "the water overflowing in my
presence to a height of about 20 in. above the surface of the ground."
This was apparently the first artesian water Mr. Henderson had seen in
Queensland, though he had years previously seen the artesian well at
Sale, in Victoria; and he naturally pronounced the opinion that the
result at Thurulgoona was "very satisfactory." During this year
boring had been carried on in Queensland without success so far as the
formation of flowing wells was concerned. Mr. Arnold, having sunk
to 1,039 ft. at Blackall, resigned, but it was decided to continue
sinking, all the tubing being recovered with the exception of a few
feet, and being capable of use several times over if need be. During
this year also tenders had been received from Mr. Loughead, of
Thurulgoona, to put down three bores of 2,500 ft. in Queensland, and
Mr. Henderson reported that there was every prospect of a tender being
received from a company recently formed in Brisbane at a slightly
lower price than Mr. Loughead had named.
GOVERNMENT'S FIRST FLOWING WELL.
It was at this time, after three years' fighting with difficulties
arising from drought, the want of knowledge of deep-boring machinery,
and the indisposition of the Government to spend much money in so
speculative an undertaking, that the first gleam of daylight appeared.
On 6th October, 1888, the Hydraulic Engineer reported that four
contracts had been entered into for deep boring, with as many
different persons or companies, in the aggregate over 20,000 ft.
Included among these was the contract with the Canadian Pole Tool
Company (of which the late Mr. Percy Ricardo was then the financial
head, and Mr. William Woodley, who had been induced to come over from
Canada, was the head driller) for completing the Blackall bore to a
depth of 2,000 ft. if necessary. In this bore, on 26th April, 1888,
after many vexatious stoppages, "an abundant supply of overflowing,
sparkling, fresh artesian water, excellently adapted for domestic
purposes, was tapped at a depth of 1,645 ft." The rate of flow, as
measured from 3 in. piping attached to a screw plug and valve to
control the flow, was found to be 210,000 gallons per diem, with a
temperature of 119 degrees. This had been an expensive bore, for it
cost £5,748. It was not the first artesian water officially utilised
in Queensland, for four months earlier than water rose to the surface
in the Blackall bore the Barcaldine bore was yielding 175,416 gallons
of water a day, at a temperature of 101 degrees, obtained from a depth
of 691 ft., and at a cost of only £1,220.
THIRTEEN ADDITIONAL BORES.
These results were so encouraging that the Hydraulic Engineer
recommended the sinking of thirteen additional bores, and the
recommendation was approved. As early as possible tenders were
advertised, and there then seemed some difficulty in getting eligible
applications, partly, it may be assumed, because of the activity
of private enterprise in bore-sinking. To those engaged in this
undertaking Mr. Henderson in his 1889 report pays a graceful tribute,
congratulating them on their successes, and expressing regret at their
failures, in which they only met the same luck as the Government had
encountered. It was in this report also that the Hydraulic Engineer
suggested that a map be prepared showing the position, altitude, and
other useful particulars of all Government and private bores and wells
in Queensland, and he invited information from all persons capable
of giving it. Mr. Henderson mentioned the successful sinking of
the Cunnamulla bore, having a flow of 22,500 gallons per hour of
"excellent fresh water," with a pressure of 186 lb. to the square
inch, a temperature of 106 degrees, and a depth of 1,402 ft. The total
cost of this bore was £1,928. The success of the Tambo bore was also
reported at the same time, 8,333 gallons per hour having been obtained
at a depth of 1,002 ft., with a temperature of 98 degrees, and for a
cost of £1,515.
THE CHARLEVILLE BORE.
The Hydraulic Engineer's report dated 11th September, 1890, supplies
evidence of the importance of the discoveries made up to that date of
artesian water in Queensland. The striking of a supply of 3,000,000
gallons a day of "water clear, colourless, soft, and potable" in the
Charleville bore is noted with satisfaction. In the text of the report
this was said to be, so far as the writer knew, the "best well in
Australia," but a footnote added that soon afterwards a bore in the
Cunnamulla district was reported to have been tapped with a daily
supply of 3½ million gallons. The depth of the Charleville bore
was only 1,370 ft., and its cost £2,389. The striking of a supply of
1,095,000,000 gallons per annum at so small a cost was naturally a
subject for both official and general congratulation.
INFORMATION SOUGHT AS TO PRIVATE BORES.
In the same year is reported the striking of water in the Muckadilla
bore, which yielded about 10,000 gallons a day from a depth of over
3,000 ft., and was then believed to be the deepest bore in Australia.
The cost was £2,673. A somewhat better supply was afterwards struck at
3,262 ft. In this report the Hydraulic Engineer expresses regret that
through the absence of barometrical measurements, owing to scarcity of
money, the height above sea level of proposed sites for bores was
not known, but sites were selected from surface indications and the
results achieved by sinking in the neighbourhood. The wells sunk by
the Government had been of much use in assisting private enterprise
to select likely sites, but it would have been more satisfactory
had better information been obtained by the use of the spirit level.
Acknowledgments were made to those who had responded to the circular
invitation sent out for information, and regret was expressed that in
some cases there had been no response. The effort made, however, had
enabled several new features to be embodied in the report, among which
was a table containing a list of both public and private bores, and a
large map locating, so far as possible, the position of each. Another
map showed the rainfall in different parts of the colony, while a
handsome diagram of the Brisbane rainfall was furnished for the first
time. Both of these remained features of the Hydraulic Engineer's
annual reports until 1901, when revenue considerations compelled their
suspension.
HINDRANCES FROM FLOODS.
During 1890 excessive rains and bad roads hindered work in
bore-sinking, instead of the dry periods which had been the cause of
embarrassment for the preceding seven years. The only newly completed
bore during this year was that at McKinlay, which at 1,002 ft. gave a
supply of 224,000 gallons a day. Water was struck in two other bores,
but of insufficient quantity, and work was still proceeding. The
obstacles encountered in boring, often from the breaking of machinery,
but more frequently from the want of thoroughly skilled drillers, must
have been disheartening, especially in cases where the sinking was
done without useful scientific information, and bores had to be
abandoned after months--even years in cases--of labour and worry.
In his report of 20th January, 1893, the Hydraulic Engineer discusses
at length the question of artesian water supply. The country is, he
holds, now in a much improved position to encounter long droughts.
Valuable information has been and is still being obtained by
exploration as to the prospects of artesian water being found, and
also as to the conservation of surface water by artificial means. He
says that fifteen bores, averaging 1,571 ft. each, have been sunk by
the department, and that although the work has been of a pioneering
character only one sunk to the contract depth has proved a failure. He
estimates that about 88,000 square miles in the western country have
been proved to be water-bearing, and he urges that as large areas
still remain to be explored the present is a favourable time for
inviting tenders for the work.
STREAM-GAUGING RECOMMENDED.
In this report the Hydraulic Engineer directs attention to
the necessity of acquiring information as to the extent of our
surface-water resources. In three of the southern colonies, he
mentions, a systematic practice of gauging streams has for some time
been in force. The work will be useless unless it is carried on for
a number of years. The essential thing to be ascertained is not the
maximum flow of a stream, but the minimum; or rather, perhaps, the
maximum that can be expected from a stream in a season of maximum
aridity. "Without such data," he continues, "no fair distribution of
water, no scheme of water supply, or irrigation, or drainage can be
well considered; nor can storage and distribution or drainage works be
economically designed, or their permanency and efficiency ensured."
He therefore urges the matter of stream-gauging upon the favourable
consideration of the Government, adding that the paramount necessity
of active administration in respect of water conservation generally
has been recognised by Parliament by legislation already placed upon
the Statute-book.
WASTE OF ARTESIAN WATER.
Two official pages of the 1893 report are devoted to the "misuse
of water," a member of Parliament having already objected to the
application of the word "waste" to water allowed to flow unchecked
from bores. The aggregate capacity of the ten Government bores then
flowing was 5,000,000 gallons daily, all measured; while of the 137
private wells the flow was estimated at 100,000,000 gallons daily.
This total of 105,000,000 gallons would be equivalent to a rainfall
of 29 in. on 91 square miles of country. This was the rate of average
rainfall on the assumed outcrop of water-bearing country that supplied
the artesian area. And it had to be remembered that a part of this
rainfall of 29 in. had to be carried off by streams as well as by
evaporation, and therefore did not sink into the water-bearing strata
of the arid west. As to the extent of the outcrop, it was estimated
not to exceed one-eighth of a mile, with a total length of 1,600
miles, which meant a total supply of 200 square miles of water-bearing
outcrop area.[a] Arguing on these and other grounds, the report
contends that the falling off of the yield of many bores affords proof
that, wherever the supply comes from, the outflow already exceeds the
inflow. The Engineer can only regard as wasted two-thirds of the water
that now flows from the artesian bores in Queensland; indeed, adopting
the language of an American, "the waste is a crime against the
well-owner and against the State."
[Footnote a: For fuller particulars see Hydraulic Engineer's
Report for 1893, pages 5 and 6.]
CONTROL OF FLOW NECESSARY.
The Hydraulic Engineer adds that while he cannot assert that the
artesian flow is being exhausted, he yet holds that the flow ought to
be controlled by legislative action.[b]
[Footnote b: On this passage the Hydraulic Engineer notes
that, in 1891, a bill was introduced into Parliament by Sir
Thomas McIlwraith for controlling the artesian water supply,
and passed through the Assembly, but was rejected by the
Council. Since then no action in that direction has been
taken.]
IRRIGATION BY BORES.
The same report contains an interesting article on irrigation.
It points out that at the beginning of 1892 there were only 200
irrigators among the land cultivators of the colony, and that the area
irrigated was only 5,000 acres. It was believed that in the last year
the amount of land so fertilised had largely increased. Many of the
plants and distributing apparatus were of a most primitive kind.
"Some are expensive, others badly erected, and not a few are of a type
ill-adapted to the object in view."
The report goes on to discuss the probability or otherwise of water in
sufficient quantities for irrigation being obtainable by conservation.
In summarising his argument the Hydraulic Engineer says, "Looking at
the question broadly, I am much disposed to regard the possibilities
of a sufficiently abundant supply of water being obtained for
irrigation, especially for land in small areas devoted to intense
culture, as of considerable promise." He then urges the inadequacy of
artesian wells for the irrigation of large areas, pointing out, among
other things, that the entire discharge of the wells then flowing in
Queensland would suffice to irrigate only 219 square miles to a depth
of 1 ft. He thinks that in Queensland we shall have to depend upon
"natural" water for irrigation purposes.
A VALUABLE MAP--376,832 SQUARE MILES IN ARTESIA.
A new feature in the 1893 report was the map giving information as to
(1) artesian bores applied for, (2) under contract, (3) in progress,
and (4) completed. It showed that out of a total of 668,497 square
miles of the "Rolling Downs Formation" (Lower Cretaceous) no less
than 376,832 square miles, chiefly in the arid west, was likely to be
water-bearing. This estimate, it may be noted, has been very slightly
reduced of late, but the scope for exploration in water-finding seems
still great in Western Queensland. The report alludes to the success
attained in the Queensland manufacture of well-boring machinery. All
the plant used, the wire rope alone excepted, was manufactured in the
colony, where improvements had been made in the originally imported
article. Yet it is admitted that the apparatus used was "not a
perfectly scientific one, because it does not produce a core by means
of which the nature of the strata and the angle and direction of the
dip can be fully ascertained." Queensland yellow-wood (_Flindersia
Oxleyana_) had quite replaced American timber in the manufacture of
drilling poles.
[Illustration: SCENE ON LOGAN RIVER, SOUTH QUEENSLAND]
EFFECT OF GOOD SEASONS.
In closing, the Hydraulic Engineer reports that the succession of good
seasons experienced (years 1890-93), and the abundance of water
and grass resulting, has occasioned much inattention to water
conservation, and he also expresses regret that financial exigencies
have compelled the dispensing with some valued members of his staff.
The article is illustrated by diagrams, and the studious reader will
peruse it with profit.
THE SOURCE OF ARTESIAN WATER.
In his report for 1st November, 1894, the Hydraulic Engineer recurs to
the source of artesian water. He regrets that very little can be added
to the previous assumption that it lies in the outcrops of the porous
beds of the Lower Cretaceous formation on the western slope of the
coast range; and he urges the necessity of accumulating facts relating
to the bores already sunk, and complains that some owners neglect to
give the department the information sought. He urges that legislation
should make the furnishing of statistical matter of this kind
compulsory. He doubts whether, in the absence of information as to the
precise geological conditions subsisting beneath the surface, a map of
Queensland can ever be prepared showing with certainty where artesian
water can be found; but much may be done by accumulating accurate
information with respect to the sinking of bores, nature of strata
passed through, amount and pressure of flow, temperature of water, and
depth beneath the surface whence obtained in each case. The map issued
by the Geological Department would show the water-bearing areas, which
means the formation in which water may be expected to be found; but
bores can only be put down with reasonable certainty when the entire
western country has been prospected.
THE LIFE OF ARTESIAN WELLS.
The life of an artesian well with a permanent spring, says the report,
is limited by the durability of the casing. The corrosive action
of some water is much greater than others; but there should be no
difficulty in renewing the casing when necessary. It has often
been discovered that an interruption of the flow, or its serious
diminution, is the result of worn-out casing. So much is this the case
that there is still controversy as to whether there is any general
diminution in the supply consequent upon continuous waste.
ARTESIAN WATER POWER.
The report then discusses the question of using artesian water for
power in the industries. The Hydraulic Engineer points out that of the
total horse-power used in the United States at that time about 39·5
per cent. was hydrodynamic. Artesian water, he says, can be applied
to driving all kinds of machinery, "from a sewing machine or a cream
separator to a saw or flour mill; and for fire-extinguishing it is
most excellent." He therefore recommends the employment in Western
Queensland of turbines and Pelton wheel motors for sheep-shearing,
electric lighting, and other kinds of machinery used there, pointing
out that the horse-power available was--At Blackall, 8·04; at
Cunnamulla, 41·53; at Charleville, 123·41; and at Thargomindah,
63·51.[c] He further recommends the utilisation of the artesian supply
for street mains, a suggestion since carried out with great public
advantage in several western towns. While Mr. Henderson doubts the
utility of artesian water for irrigation, he says that, generally
speaking, it is quite as valuable as that from town mains, rivers,
and falls for developing power. The aggregate area to date in which
precious artesian water has been found in Queensland is 117,000
square miles, and he feels that this area would be rapidly enlarged
by exploration by both Government and private borings. The shallowest
completed flowing well in Queensland at that date was 60 ft., and the
deepest 3,630 ft.; the average depth so far as known to the department
was 1,289 ft.
[Footnote c: Mr. Henderson notes that these horse-powers have
since been very much reduced.]
STATIC PRESSURE AND HYDRAULIC PRESSURE.
Explaining why the volume flowing from a well does not depend upon
the diameter of the "static" pressure of the water, Mr. Henderson says
that the flow depends principally upon the relative altitudes of the
outcrops of the water-bearing beds, and of the mouth of the bore or
well, and upon the character and texture of the porous beds from which
the well derives its supply. The static pressure is ascertained by
stopping the flow by artificial means, when the pressure generally
rises, sometimes quickly, at other times slowly, until it reaches a
maximum. But when the well is again opened it will be found that
the static pressure has been more or less reduced by friction. This
reduced pressure is called the "hydraulic." The hydraulic pressure can
never exceed the static pressure; nor can the volume of water flowing
from an artesian well be ascertained by its pressure, or the height to
which the water may rise over the top of the casing, any more than the
pressure can be ascertained by knowing its volume.[d]
In the same report is announced the striking at Winton, at a depth
of 3,235 ft. of a supply amounting to 100,000 gallons a day, at a
temperature of 140 degrees. It was determined to continue sinking
under a new contract.
[Footnote d: See Votes and Proceedings, 1894-5, for Hydraulic
Engineer's Report, 1st November, 1894, page 5.]
SUBTERRANEAN WATER BELONGS TO THE STATE.
Mr. Henderson again returns to the misuse of water, suggesting that
the utility of the artesian supply can easily be tested by intense
cultivation of a small area at each bore. He complains that one of
Queensland's most valuable assets is not as carefully guarded as it
should be. He estimates that the quantity allowed to run uncontrolled
and generally misused amounts to 66,000,000 gallons per diem, or
66 per cent. of the estimated total flow in Queensland. He invites
attention to a recommendation in a previous report that all
underground or artesian water should be declared State property.
This would not prevent owners of artesian water taking and using a
reasonable supply of water, but all consumption beyond what might be
called a "liberal" amount should be paid for, the State receiving the
water rate. The experience of America in this matter proved that in
some States control by the Government was enforced, while in others
the greatest care was exercised to prevent any further granting of
subterranean water franchises unless the absolute right of the State
was reserved to regulate the consumption. Appended to the report is a
copy of a recommendation by a Commission in the State of Colorado for
regulating, distributing, and using water. Mr. Henderson thinks the
recommendation too severe, but insists that some State control should
be exercised.
The same report contains an interesting review of the condition of
irrigation enterprise in Queensland, and again insists that scientific
stream-gauging is indispensable if surface water is to be made
generally available for irrigation purposes.
EXTENT OF ARTESIAN SUPPLY.
The report dated 5th October, 1895, recurs to the Hydraulic Engineer's
previous estimate that the outcrops of the water-bearing beds of the
country covered an area of about 200 square miles. He is glad to learn
that Mr. R. L. Jack, Government Geologist, had since worked the matter
out, and, while approving of Mr. Henderson's suggestion as to the
source of artesian supplies in Queensland, estimated the area as
5,000 square miles, or twenty-five times the Engineer's estimate.
This information seems to have allayed Mr. Henderson's dread of the
exhaustion of the supply, for he says that the Geologist's figures
indicate that "the gathering-ground is larger than can possibly be
required for years to come if there is no extensive leakage, of
which as yet there is no evidence that I am aware of." He next writes
strongly in favour of a comprehensive search for artesian water by
the Government, and of Government aid being offered by loan to persons
willing to sink bores on Crown lands or even on private property.
Such assistance would encourage settlement by leaving the settler in
possession for other purposes of money which would otherwise be spent
on water provision on his holding, and prove an incalculable benefit
to the State by mitigating periodical droughts.
PROGRESS TO 1895.
The report then gives statistics relative to artesian bores as
follows:--Number of bores, 397; average depth, 1,195 ft. Of these
286 overflow with a total output of 213½ million gallons per diem.
Total cost of boring and casing, £860,321, as nearly as could be
estimated, "remarkable results for eight years' work, as in 1887
boring in Queensland was in its infancy." With a view to greater
accuracy provision for the salaries of two inspectors had been made
on the Estimates for the year, in order that uniform records might
be secured as to the strata pierced, the flow, the pressure and
temperature of the water, amount of rainfall at the outcrop of
water-bearing beds, and the alleged diminution of artesian streams.
The suggestion is then made that land, the leases carrying water
rights, might be made available for settlement in small areas around
tanks and bores.
THE WINTON BORE.
In this report the Hydraulic Engineer is able to announce the success
of the Winton bore. At about 3,555 ft. a daily supply of 720,000
gallons of excellent artesian water was struck, and boring being
continued to 4,010 ft. without increasing the supply work ceased,
the total cost of the bore having been about £7,000. An article on
irrigation shows a total irrigated area of 7,641 acres, an increase
for the year of 2,240 acres. Included in the area are 2,000 acres of
natural grass land and 2,000 acres sown with artificial grasses; also
11½ acres irrigated from artesian wells in the Warrego district.
Flood mitigation is also dealt with at length, and a system of flood
warnings on the various streams recommended.
DR. R. L. JACK'S OPINION.
The report for 2nd October, 1896, brings records up to date. By map it
is shown that not only does the water-bearing country extend over 56
per cent. of the area of Queensland, but also continues into New South
Wales and South Australia, and enters Western Australia. It "marks
the position of the ancient Cretaceous sea which connected the Gulf
of Carpentaria with the Great Australian Bight," and "divided the
continent into two islands." "They were," wrote Dr. R. L. Jack, "laid
down by this sea; their present position is due to subsequent general
upheaval, and they lie directly and unconformably on schists and
slates of undetermined age, or on granite or gneiss. Except in
Queensland, where they are overlaid here and there by the remains of
the Upper Cretaceous or Desert Sandstone formations which have not
been removed by denudation, they seem to be covered to a considerable
extent by Tertiary rocks. The Desert Sandstone beds lie horizontally
but unconformably on those of the Rolling Downs, which dip to the
south." [e]
[Footnote e: See "Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland and
New Guinea," by R. L. Jack, F.G.S., Government Geologist,
and R. Etheridge, jun,. Government Palaeontologist, New South
Wales, page 390.]
IMPROVED DRILLING MACHINERY.
In the same report the improvement in drilling machinery is discussed,
and Queensland manufacturers are congratulated on making American
and Canadian machines with improvements which greatly add to their
efficiency. Bores in Queensland are generally begun with 10-in.
casing, and carried to not lower than 500 ft. Then 8-in., 6-in.,
and 5-in. casings are used. The necessity of these casings being as
perfect as possible is emphasised by the Engineer. The cost of sinking
bores by contract, which is almost the universal method, depends
upon the facilities offered by the site for the transport of wood and
water, but the range then was from 17s. to 24s. per foot for the first
500 ft., and increased with depth until, at 4,000 ft. odd, sinking
had cost 55s. per foot. The inspectors appointed the previous year had
done good work, though the wet season delayed travelling. Sectional
diagrams compiled from the inspectors' reports appear among the
appendices.
Then follows an interesting description of surface artesian water
known as Elizabeth Springs, in latitude half a degree south of the
tropic, and in 140¾ degrees west longitude. The account of these
remarkable springs is well worth reading.[f]
[Footnote f: See Votes and Proceedings for 1897 for Hydraulic
Engineer's Report, 2nd October, 1896, page 5.]
PROGRESS TO 1896.
Number of bores in Western Queensland to October, 1896, 454; average
depth, 1,168 ft.; feet bored, 530,332 (nearly 100 miles); overflow,
193,000,000 gallons per diem. There were also nineteen deep bores on
the coast. The total cost had been £928,081.
BORES IN THE GULF TOWNS.
Reporting on 2nd August, 1897, the Hydraulic Engineer mentions that
the Burketown bore has been carried to a depth of 2,304 ft., with a
supply of 155,560 gallons of good water at a pressure of 60 lb. per
square inch, and a temperature of 155 degrees, the cost being £4,155.
A few months earlier the Normanton bore had struck water at 2,330 ft.,
for 293,000 gallons a day, with a temperature of 151 degrees, at a
total cost of £3,803.
PROGRESS COMPARED WITH SOUTHERN COLONIES.
The same report glances at the progress made in artesian water
discovery in the southern colonies. Queensland aggregate flows on
30th June, 1897, were estimated at 140,000,000 gallons daily, or
51,135,000,000 gallons annually. This would suffice to cover 294
square miles with water 1 ft. deep, or 100 square miles 35-1/3 in.
deep. In New South Wales, in 1897, there were thirty-four flowing and
twelve pumping bores, yielding 22½ million gallons of water per diem.
In Victoria only one or two flowing bores had been put down, the
country being generally unfavourable for artesian water. In South
Australia there were in all sixty-two bores, seven being still in
progress, but of the total only nineteen wells gave good fresh
water, and twenty-two wells salt water. Seeing that artesian water
exploration began in the three colonies named before any steps were
taken in Queensland, the success here may be regarded as phenomenal,
although of course a very considerable amount of capital was lost in
sinking abortive bores.
GRAZING FARM SELECTORS' BORE.
The report dated 15th September, 1898, mentions that the Bando bore
sunk for the Lands Department for the accommodation of grazing farm
selectors was completed during the year at a depth of 2,081 ft.,
giving a supply of 2,000,000 gallons daily, and at a cost of £3,289.
It was estimated to water 146,000 acres. The Roma bore for the town
supply had also been completed at a depth of 1,678 ft., and yielded
a controlled supply of 111,000 gallons daily, which sufficed for the
wants of the town.
STATISTICS TO DATE.--THARGOMINDAH ILLUMINATED.
Particulars of thirty-seven bores sunk in the colony to a depth of
3,000 ft. and over are given. Of these eleven had reported flows,
either large or small, during the year, three had been abandoned, and
nine were still in progress. The yield of 376 bores in the colony was
estimated at 214,000,000 gallons a day, the average per bore being
over half a million gallons. Besides these, fifty-five sub-artesian
wells--those whose water did not rise above the surface--yielded
2½ million gallons a day; and perennial springs gave an ascertained
continuous flow of nearly 4,000,000 gallons a day. The report calls
attention to a serious diminution in the yield of certain wells, and
says that it has been ascertained in some cases that the loss was due
to loss of head, and not to any leakage or obstruction in the casing.
The Hydraulic Engineer therefore again urges legislation to give the
Government control of bore water. As to power, it is mentioned that a
small electrical installation had been set up at Thargomindah by
the Bulloo Divisional Board, and that the number of lamps of sixteen
candle-power that would exhaust the bore power was 150 to 200.
THE DROUGHT OF 1899.
When the report dated 30th August, 1899, was prepared the country was
held in the throes of a protracted drought, and the Hydraulic Engineer
speaks of compression in his report on the ground of economy.
For years past the reports had been becoming increasingly bulky,
appendices and maps being supplied on a generous scale. Government
expenditure in bore-sinking had now nearly ceased, presumably because
private enterprise had already benefited greatly by Government
prospecting for water, and the same necessity did not exist for State
action as in previous years. The new feature of the departmental
year's work is stated to have been the comparative analysis of the
height of bore sites and the water potentials thereat, upon which the
iso-potential map, with the full description given in page 56 of the
report, is based. By this time the number of bores sunk to a depth of
3,000 ft. and over was fifty, an increase for the year of thirteen,
which shows that private enterprise was still active in the search for
artesian water. The total number of flowing bores in the colony was
given as 440, with a yield of water of nearly 266½ million gallons
a day.
The report dated 25th August, 1900, mentions that during the year in
the Adavale bore 9,000 gallons of water a day had been struck at 1,494
ft., and although further sinking had been carried to 2,930 ft. there
was no increase in the supply. By this time the number of bores sunk
to 3,000 ft. and over had increased by nine, or to fifty-nine, while
the aggregate flow of artesian water was put at over 321½ million
gallons per day.
REGRETTABLE ECONOMIES.
The report dated 31st August, 1901, was the last to supply the very
full information customarily given annually by the department. There
was almost universal drought and difficulty. In some parts of the
State, however, the drought had broken, so that needful works could be
again pushed on. But this was by no means the end of the great drought
of 1898-1903, and the appendices and valuable maps which added so
greatly to the permanent value of the reports of the department were
discontinued, and only a brief report was presented. This is much to
be regretted, but retrenchment was enforced by revenue shrinkages and
the dislocation temporarily caused by federal union. Happily, however,
the information has since been carefully collected, and is now
available to complete this sketch of the work done and results
achieved since the year 1883, when the department was created under
Mr. Henderson's direction. In the 1901 report the success of the
Adavale bore is recorded, the depth being 3,398 ft., with a flow of
990,890 gallons per day, and at a total cost of £5,369. The striking
of a supply of water in the Dalby bore to the amount of 46,470 gallons
an hour at a depth of 1,841 ft. is also mentioned in this report.
This success is interesting on account of the site being the furthest
easterly where artesian water has been found.
The report for 1902 was cut down to the minimum limit. It was prepared
while the country was in the grip of the worst drought ever known,
and yet private enterprise was active as ever in bore-sinking, no less
than thirty-six flowing wells having been completed during the year.
The total number in the State was thus brought up to 563, yielding
375,000,000 gallons a day, the average flow per bore being 666,231
gallons.
ADDITIONAL FLOWING BORES IN 1903.
The report for 1903 was brief. During the year the number of flowing
bores had increased by thirteen, and the aggregate flow by 10,000,000
gallons. The average flow was 669,279 gallons, or 3,048 gallons
increase upon the flow for the preceding year. This in the face of
the diminution of the flow in many bores cannot be considered
unsatisfactory. The entire cost of well-boring in the State to 1903 is
set down at £1,463,326, including abortive bores, and heavy sums for
carriage of boring plant in the earlier days. It is mentioned in this
report that the Whitewood bore, Bimerah, yielding only 70,000
gallons a day, at 5,045 ft., is still the deepest in Queensland. The
shallowest is given as at Manfred Downs, at 10 ft., yielding 2,000
gallons a day; and the hottest water at Elderslie No. 2, where from a
depth of 4,523 ft. emerge more than 1½ million gallons per diem at
a temperature only 10 degrees below boiling point. The greatest static
pressure is at the Thargomindah bore, where it is nearly 240 lb. to
the square inch.
LATER INFORMATION.
Since 1902 until this year annual reports at length have not been
furnished by the Hydraulic Engineer; but this year the work has been
resumed, and advance information supplied in a condensed form.
In the foregoing epitome of the Hydraulic Engineer's reports extending
over twenty-five years, no particular mention has been made of the
failures inevitable when either the Government or private persons
were engaged in deep boring for water exploration. The following
particulars show some of the obstacles encountered in tapping the
subterranean springs of our arid western country:--
In his report for 1902 the Hydraulic Engineer mentioned that a
contract had been entered into with Mr. W. Woodley for the sinking of
a bore at Eromanga to a depth of 2,000 ft. for the sum of £1,438, but
that work could not be prosecuted in consequence of the prevailing
drought in the West. The contract depth was reached on 29th August,
1903, without finding water. A further contract to carry the bore to
3,000 ft. was subsequently entered into, and on 30th June, 1904, at
a depth of 2,612 ft., the work was suspended until the arrival of
casing, which was delayed by rain. It was not until November, 1904,
that the casings reached the bore site, and that work could be
resumed. A suspension of work occurred on 4th March following for want
of a competent driller. Boring was resumed in August and continued
till March, 1906, without success. The only water tapped up to that
time was a supply of 10,000 gallons per diem at a depth of 1,640 ft.
The casings were allowed to remain in the bore, the gross cost of
which had been £4,480. In May, 1906, a new contract with Mr. Woodley,
for sinking another bore to a depth of 3,000 ft., was entered into. At
1,660 ft. a supply of 12,000 gallons a day was tapped; but, this being
considered insufficient, another contract for deepening the bore to
3,500 ft. was entered into with Mr. Woodley, the additional cost being
£1,000. On 9th March, 1908, the depth of 3,500 ft. was reached without
any additional supply. Then a contract for sinking a further 500 ft.
was entered into. At 3,980 ft. a small flow was tapped which dribbled
over the surface, and the 4,000 ft. depth being reached arrangements
were made for sinking another 100 ft. At 4,050 ft. a small flow of 110
gallons per hour was struck. At 4,135 ft. the flow increased to 250
gallons per hour. Delays occurred after this, until January, 1909,
when boring was resumed, and at 4,270 ft. a flow of 306,234 gallons
per diem was struck. The water was then brought under control,
and found to have a pressure of 219 lb. per square inch, with a
temperature of 198 degrees F. The water was fresh and drinkable,
though having a slightly gaseous taste; but this was not noticeable
after it had stood exposed to the air for a little time. On completion
of the surface fittings the discharge was measured, and the flow
ascertained to be 256,825 gallons per diem. The cost had not been
adjusted at the date of our information, but it will be understood
that a work extending over five years, and then yielding a
comparatively small supply, makes bore-sinking a highly speculative
industry, even in what the geologists declare to be artesian
water-bearing country.
[Illustration: COOKTOWN AND ENDEAVOUR RIVER, NORTH QUEENSLAND]
[Illustration: PEARLING FLEETS OFF BADU ISLAND, TORRES STRAIT]
At the Kynuna bore, work had been suspended at the time of the last
annual report at a depth of 2,221 ft., the flow being 807,608 gallons
a day. When cased to the bottom the flow was 880,154 gallons per day.
It was handed over to the Winton Shire Council, the total cost having
been £2,610, half of which was granted as a loan to the council by the
Government, and the other half as a free gift.
Another unsuccessful bore was at Windorah, where, under contract, a
depth of 4,000 ft. was reached, with no water save an insignificant
spring touched at 103 ft. below the surface. The total cost, including
casing and supervision, was £7,508.
A bore at the joint expense of the Booringa Shire Council and the
Government was started at Mitchell in January, 1908, and on 18th May,
at a depth of 1,405 ft., the work was stopped, the supply, equal to
205,000 gallons a day, being considered sufficient. The cost of the
bore was £1,935.
SUMMARY BY THE HYDRAULIC ENGINEER.
Summarising the information supplied in the accompanying tables, Mr.
Henderson writes:--"The total continuous yield from 716 bores--the
flows from which have been estimated by various persons, not connected
with the department, and communicated to me either directly or through
the public prints, for the accuracy of which I cannot vouch, and
measured under the hydraulic survey which was suspended in 1899 and
not yet resumed--is now estimated at 479,268,000 gallons per diem;
hence the average flow per bore is 669,369 gallons in the same time.
"These figures do not include the flows from nine sub-artesian wells
the flow from which is artificially produced by cutting down the
outlet, but which it is understood have since ceased to flow, nor do
they include the yield from 215 sub-artesian wells which are pumped
more or less regularly during periods of drought, and which are
estimated to yield 8,600,000 gallons per day, or an average of 40,000
gallons per well if pumped continuously night and day; but as it is
impossible to form a trustworthy estimate of the daily volume raised
I have put it down at what I think is approximately true--namely,
1,720,000 gallons.
"I may also mention that owing to the suspension of the departmental
hydraulic survey previously mentioned, I have obtained no official
data relating to perennial springs. The last data to hand are given in
my summarised report for the year 1902."
WELLS SUCCESSFUL AND ABANDONED.
The following table shows the progress of boring and artesian supplies
to end of 1908 [but it must be stated that only part of the data for
the years 1907 and 1908 is to hand]:--
----------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+--------
| Artesian | Pumped | Progress |
Sunk by | Flows. | Supplies. | Abandoned or | Total.
| | | Uncertain. |
----------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+--------
[g] Government | 32 | 10 | 76 | 118
Local Governing Authorities | 16 | 0 | 24 | 40
Private Owners | 668 | 205 | 315 | 1,188
+----------+-----------+--------------+--------
Total to end of 1908 | 716 | 215 | 415 | 1,346
----------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+--------
[Footnote g: Pioneering bores sunk to explore and ascertain
the artesian possibilities of new country.]
AGGREGATE MILEAGE BORED, AND AVERAGE FOR EACH WELL.
For comparison with former years I may mention (writes Mr. Henderson)
that the total aggregate number of feet bored in search of artesian
water in Queensland up to end of 1908 is estimated, from the best
information at hand, at 1,498,700 ft., equal to 283·84 miles. The
average depth per bore is 1,113 ft. The total aggregate depth bored is
as follows:--
-------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------
Date | Miles. | Increase in Each Year.
-------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------
Up to the end of October, 1894 | 82·75 |
" " " 1895 | 92·21 | 9·46 miles in twelve months
" " September, 1896 | 102·43 | 10·22 miles in eleven months
" " June, 1897 | 111·02 | 8·59 miles in nine months
" " " 1898 | [h]135·85 | [h]24·83 miles in twelve months
" " " 1899 | 159·61 | 23·76 miles in twelve months
" " " 1900 | [i]184·98 | [i]25·37 miles in twelve months
" " " 1901 | 202·01 | 17·03 miles in twelve months
" " " 1902 | 215·04 | 13·03 miles in twelve months
" " " 1903 | 221·87 | 6·83 miles in twelve months
" " " 1904 | 225·04 | 3·17 miles in twelve months
" " " 1905 | 229·53 | 4·49 miles in twelve months
" " " 1906 | 236·41 | 6·88 miles in twelve months
" " " 1907 | [j]273·66 | [j]37·25 miles in twelve months
" " December, 1907 | [k]276·50 | [k] 2·84 miles in six months
" " " 1908 | [k]283·84 | [k] 7·34 miles in twelve months
-------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------
[Footnote h: This includes a considerable number of old bores
discovered and added to the 1898 year's list.]
[Footnote i: This includes thirty-four sub-artesian wells
and bores in the Dalby district, representing an aggregate of
3,500 ft.]
[Footnote j: Data collected by Police Department at the
beginning of 1907, which include a number of old bores not
previously heard of.]
[Footnote k: Only a small part of data to hand, which was
chiefly compiled from newspaper reports. It is a fact well
known to this Department that never before was there in any
year so much boring done as during the years 1907 and 1908.]
FLOWING ARTESIAN BORES--1908.
Number of artesian flows of various magnitudes to end of 1908:--
Under 10,000 gallons per day 49
From 10,001 to 150,000 gallons per day 151
" 150,001 to 750,000 " " " 296
" 750,001 to 1,500,000 " " " 129
" 1,500,001 to 2,500,000 " " " 57
Exceptional flows of over 2,500,000 gallons per day 34
----
Total flowing bores 716
The continuous yield of water is estimated at 479,268,000 gallons per
diem, equal to 1,763·22 acre feet, or 2·755 square miles of water 1
ft. deep, in the same time.
The average flow of the 716 bores is thus 669,369 gallons per day, and
their average depth is 1,575 ft.
The estimated value of 1,346 borings is £1,873,375.
ARTESIAN WELLS OVER 3,000 FEET DEEP.
The following is a list, compiled from the latest available
information, of the Artesian Wells of the State over 3,000 ft. deep,
in order of their depth:--
---------------------------+------------------+-------+---------------
Name of Bore. | Date of | Depth.| Date of
| | | Completion or
| Commencement. | | Suspension.
---------------------------+------------------+-------+---------------
| | Feet. |
1. Bimerah Run, No. 3, | 11 Aug, 1898 | 5,045 | June, 1900
Whitewood | | |
2. Bimerah Run, No. 1, | May, 1895 | 4,860 | July, 1897
Bothwell | | |
3. Elderslie Run, No. 2, | April, 1900 | 4,523 | Sept., 1902
Cathedral | | |
4. Ruthven Run, No. 1 | 1 Aug., 1905 | 4,515 | April, 1908
5. Ayrshire Downs Run, | Jan., 1895 | 4,438 | Sept., 1897
No. 1 | | |
6. Warbreccan Run | Jan., 1894 | 4,333 | 22 April, 1898
7. Manuka Run, No. 1 | Aug., 1896 | 4,310 | April, 1898
8. Bimerah Run, No. 2, | Oct., 1897 | 4,310 | Jan., 1900
Munjerie | | |
9. Eromanga (Government) | 16 July, 1906 | 4,270 | Jan., 1909
10. Rockwood Run, No. 1, | 15 Dec., 1891 | 4,220 | 15 July, 1897
Glenariffe | | |
11. Albilbah Run, No. 1, | 1 July, 1889 | 4,205 | Sept., 1902
Cable End | | |
12. Ruthven Run, No. 1 | 1 Aug., 1903 | 4,105 | 22 June, 1905
13. Lorne, No. 1 | ... | 4,057 | In Progress
14. Minnie Downs Run | 11 May, 1899 | 4,040 | 30 April, 1902
15. Malboona, Manuka | 18 Feb., 1899 | 4,032 | 7 June, 1900
Resumption | | |
16. Winton (Government) | 16 July, 1889 | 4,010 | 25 June, 1895
17. Darr River Downs Run, | | |
No. 4, Overnewton | Feb., 1892 | 4,006 | 28 Mar., 1894
18. Thornleigh (Kargoolnah | May, 1901 | 4,003 | 15 Sept., 1902
Shire) | | |
19. Windorah (Government) | 1 July, 1902[l]| 4,001 | 24 May, 1905
20. Vindex Run, No. 2 | Oct., 1898 | 4,000 | June, 1900
21. Ayrshire Downs Run, | Sept., 1899 | 3,983 | Sept., 1902
No. 3 | | |
22. Katandra and | | |
Stamfordham Runs, No. 1 | 8 Oct., 1892 | 3,980 | -- 1896
23. Evesham, No. 1 | ... | 3,970 | In Progress
24. Malvern Hills Run, | 1 July, 1890[m]| 3,942 | 10 May, 1894
Gowan | | |
25. Darr River Downs Run, | | |
No. 2, Fairlie | 1 Nov., 1899 | 3,890 | May, 1891
26. Talleyrand, Camoola | ... | 3,870 | -- 1898
District | | |
27. Burenda Run, No. 3, | | |
Gidyea Creek | 16 Oct., 1895 | 3,840 | Sept., 1898
28. Oondooroo Run | Jan., 1900 | 3,800 | 1 April, 1901
29. Mount Abundance, No. 2 | -- 1907 | ... | -- 1908
30. Albilbah Run, No. 2, | 21 Dec., 1889 | 3,800 | -- 1893
Jackson's | | |
31. Greendale, No. 1 | ... [n] | 3,799 | In Progress
32. Vindex Run, No. 3 | 24 July, 1901 | 3,795 | 6 Sept., 1902
33. Muckadilla (Government)| 21 Oct., 1889 | 3,762 | 24 Dec., 1898
34. Redcliffe Run, | Jan., 1893 | 3,750 | 20 Mar., 1895
Redcliffe | | |
35. Clio G. F., Ayrshire | | |
Downs Resumption | -- 1901 | 3,745 | April, 1902
36. Katandra and | | |
Stamfordham Runs, No. 2 | ... | 3,723 | -- 1896
37. Ayrshire Downs Run, | 11 April, 1898 | 3,721 | Sept., 1899
No. 2 | | |
38. Roma Town, No. 2 | 28 June, 1899 | 3,710 | 17 Oct., 1900
39. Nive Downs Run, No. 2, | | |
The Ironbarks | 1 Jan., 1893 | 3,710 | 5 Sept., 1894
40. Roma Mineral Oil | -- 1907[o]| 3,702 | Dec., 1908
Company | | |
41. Wellshot Run, No. 4 | Sept., 1901 | 3,698 | -- 1902
42. Elderslie Run, No. 3 | Mar., 1900 | 3,680 | 18 May, 1901
43. Kensington Downs Run | -- 1897 | 3,650 | June, 1898
44. Wyora, Winton District | 23 May, 1899 | 3,650 | 12 Mar., 1900
45. Darr River Downs Run, | Jan., 1890 | 3,650 | Aug., 1891
No. 3 | | |
46. Darr River Downs Run, | | |
No. 1, Nine-mile | 23 Dec., 1888 | 3,600 | Mar., 1899
47. Longreach Town, Aramac | April, 1897 | 3,590 | 10 Dec., 1897
Shire | | |
48. Noondoo Run, No. 2, | Nov., 1897 | 3,586 | July, 1899
Dareel | | |
49. Manuka Run, No. 2 | Feb., 1899 | 3,581 | June, 1901
50. Fairbairn, Dagworth | -- 1900 | 3,579 | Sept., 1900
Resumption | | |
51. Wellshot Run, No. 3, | 27 Oct., 1894 | 3,561 | 17 June, 1895
Totness | | |
52. Barcaldine Downs Run, | | |
No. 1, Twenty-mil e| -- 1889 | 3,533 | 21 Jan., 1896
53. Lansdowne Run, No. 3, | Oct., 1894 | 3,529 | Jan., 1896
Downfall | | |
54. Jericho (Government) | Mar., 1902 | 3,518 | 15 June, 1903
55. Lerida Run, No. 1 | Sept., 1897 |?3,511 | 16 July, 1898
56. Katandra and | | |
Stamfordham Runs, No. 4 | ... [p]| 3,510 | -- 1907
57. Wellshot Run, No. 1, | 16 Nov., 1892 | 3,504 | 2 Nov., 1893
Bradnich | | |
58. Elderslie Run, No. 1, | Oct., 1896 | 3,500 | July, 1898
Farewell | | |
59. Lerida Run, No. 2, | 12 July, 1898 | 3,500 | 3 Mar., 1900
Glenullen | | |
60. Westlands Run, No. 2, | 18 April, 1893 | 3,480 | 13 May, 1896
Buffalo | | |
61. Acacia Downs G. F., | Feb., 1897 | 3,480 | 20 July, 1897
Bowen Downs | | |
62. Hamilton Downs Run, | | |
No. 2, Campsie | July, 1898 | 3,457 | Jan., 1900
63. Tintinchilla Run, Milo | Before 1895 | 3,411 | Mar., 1895
64. Dagworth Run, No. 2, | April, 1898 | 3,400 | Dec., 1898
Pinnacle | | |
65. Adavale Town | 27 Dec., 1899 | 3,398 | 8 Nov., 1900
(Government) | | |
66. Westbury, Camoola | ... | 3,340 | -- 1900
District | | |
67. Dagworth Run, No. 1, | | |
Crescent Creek | April, 1892 | 3,335 | July, 1893
68. Arabella Run | 13 April, 1896 | 3,335 | 16 May, 1897
69. Jacondol G. F., , | | |
Campbell's Barcaldine | Mar., 1895 | 3,333 | -- 1905
70. Thomson Watershed | Aug., 1891 | 3,319 | July, 1893
(Government) | | |
71. Burenda Run, No. 2, | Nov., 1894 | 3,315 | 14 Sept., 1895
Burenda | | |
72. Bowen Downs Run, | | |
No. 4, Muttaburra road | Aug., 1891 | 3,308 | Oct., 1894
73. Hamilton Downs Run, | ... | 3,301 | April, 1895
No. 1, Clio | | |
74. Noorindoo Run, No. 1 | Mar., 1901 | 3,300 | -- 1904
75. Cooinda, Winton North | 7 June, 1898 | 3,298 | 20 Jan., 1899
District | | |
76. Portland Downs Run | 14 Aug., 1897 | 3,280 | 14 June, 1899
77. Chatsworth Run, No. 1 | ? 1894 | 3,266 | 5 Feb., 1895
78. Sesbania Run, No. 2 | May, 1898 | 3,252 | 19 Sept., 1898
79. Alice Downs Run, |11 April, 1898 | 3,248 | Dec., 1898
No. 2, Norwood | | |
80. Mount Cornish Run, | ... | 3,219 | 4 June, 1907
No. 2 | | |
81. Sesbania Run, No. 5 | 5 June, 1901 | 3,186 | Mar., 1902
82. Sesbania Run, No. 6 | ... | 3,179 | -- Aug., 1909
83. Terrick Terrick Run, | -- 1907[q]| 3,140 | -- 1908
Lorne | | |
84. Sesbania Run, No. 4 | Feb., 1899 | 3,103 | Jan., 1900
85. Noorindoo Run, No. 2 | Feb., 1903 | 3,103 | 2 April, 1904
86. Noondoo Run, Narine | -- 1896 | 3,098 | Nov., 1897
87. Birkhead Run, No. 1, | 29 June, 1898 | 3,095 | -- 1906
Macfarlane | | |
88. Authoringa and | 1 Jan., 1896 | 3,086 | June, 1898
Riversleigh Runs, | | |
No. 2, Rocky | | |
89. Llanrheidol Run, No. 2,| June, 1896 | 3,085 | 3 April, 1897
Acacia | | |
90. Hughenden M. C. | 3 Jan., 1894 | 3,069 | July, 1898
Town Bore | | |
91. Muttaburra District, | ? 1895 | 3,065 | April, 1895
Brookwood | | |
92. Authoringa, No. 3, | Aug., 1898 | 3,060 | -- 1899
Spinifex | | |
93. Muttaburra District, | | |
Weewondilla | ... | 3,060 | Dec., 1903
94. Albion Downs Run | Oct., 1897 | 3,033 | Sept., 1899
95. Muttaburra District, | -- 1906 | 3,030 | 27 July, 1908
Crossmoor | | |
96. Barcaldine North | | |
District, Fairview | ... | 3,028 | 20 July, 1907
97. Myall Plains, Boombah | Feb., 1907 | 3,024 | Dec., 1908
98. Lansdowne, No. 2, | Nov., 1889 | 3,005 | Feb., 1892
Narambla | | |
99. Yarrawonga Run, Ada | ... | 3,000 | June, 1898
100. Tarra Grazing Farm, | ... | 3,000 | -- 1906
No. 4 | | |
---------------------------+------------------+-------+---------------
[Footnote l: Abandoned or suspended at 4,001 feet.]
[Footnote m: Abandoned at 3,942 feet.]
[Footnote n: In progress at 3,799 feet.]
[Footnote o: In progress at 3,702 feet.]
[Footnote p: Abandoned or suspended at 3,510 feet.]
[Footnote q: In progress at 3,140 feet.]
The hydraulic survey, suspended some years ago, has not yet been
resumed; therefore the foregoing return, furnished by the Hydraulic
Engineer in advance of his report, has been compiled from unofficial
documents which have not yet been verified, and is given for what it
is worth.
STATISTICS SUPPLIED BY WELL-BORING COMPANIES.
In order to make the record of artesian boring in Queensland as
complete as possible, the following information has been obtained from
the two principal drilling firms at present engaged in the State.
It will be noticed that the list of the Intercolonial Boring Company
includes three bores in South Australia:--
LIST OF BORES OVER 3,000 FEET IN DEPTH PUT DOWN BY INTERCOLONIAL
BORING COMPANY, LIMITED.
Depth.
Name of Bore. Feet. Date Completed.
Ayrshire Downs, No. 3 3,983 September, 1902
Brookwood, No. 1 3,065 May, 1895
Boombah, No. 1 3,024 December, 1908
Chatsworth, No. 1 3,266 February, 1895
Cooindah, No. 1 3,289 January, 1899
Dagworth, No. 1 3,335 July, 1893
Dagworth, No. 2 3,400 December, 1898
Dareel, No. 1 3,586 July, 1899
Elderslie, No. 3 3,626 May, 1901
Evesham, No. 1 3,970 In progress
Fairview, No. 2 3,028 July, 1907
Greendale, No. 1 3,799 In progress
Goyder's Lagoon, S.A. 4,850 March, 1905
Hamilton Downs, No. 1 3,301 April, 1895
Hamilton Downs, No. 2 3,457 January, 1900
Kynuna, No. 7 3,226 December, 1908
Lerida, No. 1 3,511 July, 1898
Lerida, No. 2 3,500 March, 1900
Llanrheidol, No. 2 3,085 April, 1897
Lorne, No. 1 4,057 In progress
Manuka, No. 2 3,581 June, 1901
Mungeranie, S.A. 3,360 February, 1900
Mulka, S.A. 3,445 December, 1906
Mount Cornish, Tablederry 3,219 June, 1907
Mount Cornish, No. 3 3,015 June, 1909
Narine, No. 1 3,098 November, 1897
Ruthven, No. 1 4,105 June, 1905
Ruthven, No. 2 4,515 April, 1908
Roma Mineral Oil 3,715 In progress
Sesbania, No. 2 3,252 September, 1898
Sesbania, No. 4 3,103 January, 1900
Sesbania, No. 5 3,186 March, 1902
Sesbania, No. 6 3,179 August, 1909
Vindex, No. 2 4,000 June, 1900
Vindex, No. 3 3,795 September, 1902
Warbreccan, No. 1 4,333 June, 1898
Winton (deepened) 4,010 June, 1895
Wyora, No. 1 3,600 March, 1900
Note.--Bores marked S.A. are in South Australia.
Brisbane, 1st October, 1909.
BORES COMPLETED AND IN PROGRESS BY WOODLEY LIMITED, BRISBANE, SINCE
31ST MARCH, 1909.
1. Bore at Millie Station, near Charleville, D. McNeill owner.
Depth, 1,732 ft.; water 8 in. over casing; flow ¾-million
gallons per diem.
2. At Claverton Downs, near Wyandra, Mrs. Whitney owner.
Depth, 1,955 ft.; water 22 in. over casing; flow about 1½
million gallons.
3. At Bendena Station, Burgess and Co. owners. Depth, 2,232
ft.; water 4 ft. 6 in. over casing; flow about 3½ million
gallons.
4. At Bonus Downs Station, Mitchell, Sir S. McCaughey owner.
Depth, 3,424 ft. 6 in.; water rising to 60 ft. below surface;
boring ceased in slate formation.
5. At Eurella Station, Donald Fletcher owner. Depth at end
of September, 2,124 ft., still in progress; water rising to
within 150 ft. of the surface.
6. At Clifton Station, C. H. T. Schmidt owner. Depth, 26th
June, 225 ft.; in progress.
7. At Koreelah Station, Charleville. Depth at end of June, 400
ft.; in progress.
8. At Comongin Station, Bulloo, McLean, Barker, and Co.
owners. Depth on 30th June, 600 ft.; in progress.
9. At Aberglassie Station, J. R. and H. C. Loughran owners.
Starting.
10. At Cytherea Station, R. T. Winter owner. Starting.
11. At Airlie Downs, A. Leeds owner. Starting.
APPENDIX J.
CLIMATIC CONTRASTS.
COMPARATIVE VITAL STATISTICS.
Vital statistics are set forth by the various Government Statists
of Australia with extreme particularity. But it is not easy to make
comparative analyses for the purpose of ascertaining the birth rates,
marriage rates, or death rates in the different States of Australia.
The birth rates per 1,000 of the population give no accurate bases for
comparison. They supply only what the statists call the crude birth
rate. The information necessary to ascertain true comparative birth
rates involves knowledge of the number of women of the different
child-bearing ages in the several States; the proportion of marriages
at different ages in each; the number of married women, their ages,
and also the number of spinsters. Married women in their teens are
more fertile than in their twenties, in their twenties than in
their thirties, in their thirties than in their forties. So that to
ascertain the true birth rate the comparative number of married or
marriageable women in the contrasted countries must be ascertained.
For example, if there were 20,000 married women in Queensland between
twenty and thirty; and 60,000 married women of the same age in New
South Wales; and if the number of births among those 20,000 and 60,000
respectively were ascertained, the true birth rate among women of that
age would be obtained. Similar remarks apply to the death rate. The
comparison must be made between a given number of men or women of the
same ages, and then the true comparative death rate per 1,000 of such
persons will be ascertainable, but not otherwise.
It is supposed in many parts of Australia that North Queensland is
less salubrious than South Queensland, and that the Southern States
are healthier than Queensland as a whole. The crude death rate does
not give a basis for this assumption, because there are fewer old
people and fewer young children per 1,000 of the population in
sparsely peopled areas than in settled districts. The lightest average
mortality is among persons between the ages of two and eighteen years;
the greatest mortality among children under two years. Information
is not procurable showing the number of persons in Queensland in age
groups, this information being only obtainable in census years.
The Queensland Government Statistician has furnished the accompanying
table, based on the results of the censuses of 1891 and 1901, showing
the relative salubrity of different parts of the Commonwealth in those
two years for all the States save Western Australia; and it will be
noticed that it differentiates also between children north and south
of the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland. These figures are valuable
for comparative purposes.
It will be noticed that among children under two years the rate of
mortality north of the Tropic of Capricorn in 1891 was 74.85
per 1,000, and in 1901 73.42 per 1,000. South of the tropic the
corresponding figures were 70.33 and 64.97 per 1,000 respectively, the
difference in favour of the south being 4.52 and 8.45 per 1,000. Of
children under five years in the north the mortality was 39.44 and
32.80 respectively; while south of the tropic it was 33.54 and 29.72
respectively. Thus the difference in favour of the south was 5.90 and
3.08 respectively. Above the age of five years the difference between
north and south is rather more marked, but the comparison of
these, for reasons analogous to those stated above with respect to
comparative birth or death rates, is valueless.
If we take the New South Wales figures, we find that as to children
under two years the mortality in 1891 was 85.12, and in 1901 72.42 per
1,000. Thus North Queensland compares very favourably with the parent
State by 10.27 in 1891, and unfavourably in 1901 by only 1 per 1,000.
With South Queensland the comparison shows a difference against New
South Wales in 1891 of 14.79 per 1,000, and of 7.45 per 1,000 in 1901.
As to children under five years the difference in favour of New South
Wales in 1891, as against North Queensland, was only 0.16 per cent.,
and in 1901 0.43 per 1,000; and as against South Queensland it was
5.74 on the wrong side in 1891, and 2.65 in 1901. It is needless
further to analyse the figures, but evidently the only States
whose mortality among young children is more favourable than South
Queensland are South Australia and Tasmania.
Although these figures are official it may be wise to use them with
reservation. The comparatively high mortality north of the Tropic of
Capricorn is fully accounted for by the absence of the comforts of
life in that newly settled area. In 1901 the mortality beyond the
tropic was, for children under five years, almost the same as in
New South Wales and Victoria. So that, so far as young children are
concerned, we need not fear that the climate of Tropical Queensland
will be found unfavourable to the British race.
The death ratio of the population is somewhat higher in the tropics
than in the South for each age group mentioned, and consequently of
course for persons of all ages; this applies to both the years cited,
1891 and 1901. These years have been selected as, being "Census"
years, the numbers at each age can then be definitely determined. The
mortality rate for 1901 showed a distinct improvement on that for 1891
in all instances except with persons over five years of age in the
South; as regards these the experience for 1901 was fractionally less
satisfactory than in 1891.
[Illustration: "QUEENSLAND and Territory of PAPUA 1909"]
RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF
MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.
----------------------------+----------------------------------------++
| 1891. ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
| Census | Number of | Ratio ||
------ | Population. | Deaths. | per 1,000 ||
| | | of the ||
| | | Population. ||
----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++
QUEENSLAND-- | | | ||
| | | ||
NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF | | | ||
CAPRICORN-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 6,426 | 481 | 74·85 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 15,061 | 594 | 39·44 ||
Over 5 years | 93,925 | 1,088 | 11·58 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 108,986 | 1,682 | 15·43 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF | | | ||
CAPRICORN-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 18,598 | 1,308 | 70·33 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 45,264 | 1,518 | 33·54 ||
Over 5 years | 239,468 | 1,970 | 8·23 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All Ages | 284,732 | 3,488 | 12·25 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
WHOLE STATE-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 25,024 | 1,789 | 71·49 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 60,325 | 2,112 | 35·01 ||
Over 5 years | 333,393 | 3,058 | 9·17 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All Ages | 393,718 | 5,170 | 13·13 ||
----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++
[cont.]
----------------------------++----------------------------------------
|| 1901.
++--------------+-----------+-------------
|| Census | Number of | Ratio
------ || Population. | Deaths. | per 1,000
|| | | of the
|| | | Population.
----------------------------++--------------+-----------+-------------
QUEENSLAND-- || | |
|| | |
NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF || | |
CAPRICORN-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 6,933 | 509 | 73·42
++--------------+-----------+-------------
Under 5 years || 17,166 | 563 | 32·80
Over 5 years || 132,466 | 1,448 | 10·93
++--------------+-----------+-------------
All ages || 149,632 | 2,011 | 13·44
||==============|===========|=============
|| | |
SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF || | |
CAPRICORN-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 18,454 | 1,199 | 64·97
++--------------+-----------+-------------
Under 5 years || 45,460 | 1,351 | 29·72
Over 5 years || 308,174 | 2,645 | 8·58
++--------------+-----------+-------------
All Ages || 353,634 | 3,996 | 11·30
||==============|===========|=============
|| | |
WHOLE STATE-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 25,387 | 1,708 | 67·28
++--------------+-----------+-------------
Under 5 years || 62,626 | 1,914 | 30·56
Over 5 years || 440,640 | 4,093 | 9·29
++--------------+-----------+-------------
All Ages || 503,266 | 6,007 | 11·94
----------------------------++--------------+-----------+-------------
NOTE.--Death rates calculated on the estimated mean population of
the two years mentioned above and published in the Reports on Vital
Statistics were--
1891 12·77
1901 11·88
The utilisation of Census figures in order to quote the age condition
at the time is accountable for the slight difference in the total
ratio.
RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF
MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.--_continued:_
----------------------------+----------------------------------------++
| 1891. ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
| Census | Number of | Ratio ||
------ | Population. | Deaths. | per 1,000 ||
| | | of the ||
| | | Population. ||
----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++
NEW SOUTH WALES-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 66,719 | 5,679 | 85·12 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 165,750 | 6,510 | 39·28 ||
Over 5 years | 966,484 | 9,776 | 10·12 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 1,132,234 | 16,286 | 14·38 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
VICTORIA-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 62,102 | 5,822 | 93·75 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 148,359 | 6,518 | 43·93 ||
Over 5 years | 982,104 | 12,113 | 12·33 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 1,130,463 | 18,631 | 16·48 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
SOUTH AUSTRALIA-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 17,875 | 1,180 | 66·01 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 45,166 | 1,407 | 31·15 ||
Over 5 years | 270,367 | 2,804 | 10·37 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 315,533 | 4,211 | 13·35 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
TASMANIA-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | 8,414 | 524 | 62·28 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 21,466 | 599 | 27·90 ||
Over 5 years | 125,201 | 1,635 | 13·06 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 146,667 | 2,234 | 15·23 ||
|==============|===========|=============||
| | | ||
WESTERN AUSTRALIA-- | | | ||
| | | ||
Under 2 years | ... | ... | ... ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
Under 5 years | 6,835 | 293 | 42·87 ||
Over 5 years | 42,947 | 576 | 13·41 ||
+--------------+-----------+-------------++
All ages | 49,782 | 869 | 17·46 ||
----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++
[cont.]
----------------------------++---------------------------------------
|| 1901.
++--------------+-----------+------------
|| Census | Number of | Ratio
------ || Population. | Deaths. | per 1,000
|| | | of the
|| | | Population.
----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------
NEW SOUTH WALES-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 64,376 | 4,662 | 72·42
++--------------+-----------+------------
Under 5 years || 159,146 | 5,151 | 32·37
Over 5 years || 1,199,987 | 10,870 | 9·06
++--------------+-----------+------------
All ages || 1,359,133 | 16,021 | 11·79
||==============|===========|============
|| | |
VICTORIA-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 54,669 | 3,817 | 69·82
++--------------+-----------+------------
Under 5 years || 131,986 | 4,251 | 32·21
Over 5 years || 1,069,355 | 11,653 | 10·90
++--------------+-----------+------------
All ages || 1,201,341 | 15,904 | 13·24
||==============|===========|============
|| | |
SOUTH AUSTRALIA-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 15,988 | 1,059 | 66·24
++--------------+-----------+------------
Under 5 years || 39,940 | 1,166 | 29·19
Over 5 years || 318,568 | 2,808 | 8·81
++--------------+-----------+------------
All ages || 358,508 | 3,974 | 11·08
||==============|===========|============
|| | |
TASMANIA-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 8,484 | 492 | 57·99
++--------------+-----------+------------
Under 5 years || 20,865 | 531 | 25·45
Over 5 years || 151,610 | 1,283 | 8·46
++--------------+-----------+------------
All ages || 172,475 | 1,814 | 10·52
||==============|===========|============
|| | |
WESTERN AUSTRALIA-- || | |
|| | |
Under 2 years || 9,303 | 882 | 94·81
++--------------+-----------+------------
Under 5 years || 20,675 | 957 | 46·29
Over 5 years || 163,449 | 1,562 | 9·56
++--------------+-----------+------------
All ages || 184,124 | 2,519 | 13·68
----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------
RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE.
The subjoined map shows the curves of equal mean annual rainfall
for every 10·0 inches for Australia, compiled from the most recent
information:--
[Illustration: DISTRIBUTION OF THE RAINFALL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA]
The following table shows the relative rainfalls at the six Australian
capital cities for the periods set severally against them; also for
the ten-year period subsequent to 1896, during which the average
precipitation was much below that of the total number of years over
which the records extend:--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten Years'
Total Average Ten Years' Difference Difference Percentage
Place. Number Rainfall Average between for per Annum
of for all Rainfall. the Two. Ten Years. above or
Years. Years. below
True Mean.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches.
Brisbane 57 47·47 39·16 -8·31 83·10 -18
Sydney 67 48·80 44·28 -4·52 45·20 -9
Melbourne 63 26·35 25·50 -0·85 8·50 -3
Perth 31 33·03 32·54 -0·49 4·90 -1
Hobart 66 23·38 22·98 -0·40 4·00 -2
Adelaide 67 20·89 20·53 -0·36 3·60 -2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The following table supplies similar information with respect to
seventeen representative Queensland stations, from which it will be
seen that the mean annual rainfall at Geraldton for twenty-one years
was 145·27 inches, and for the ten years subsequent to 1896 135·81
inches. Thus Geraldton is by far the wettest place in the State.
The lightest mean rainfall for the same period was at Boulia, which
recorded 11·45 inches; and for the ten years, 8·72 inches. The last
column of the table shows that the fall for the ten years was under
the average at every station mentioned, the shortage at Cooktown
having been 28 per cent. each year of the ten. The number of wet days
is not supplied, except for the capital cities. The driest part
of Australia--that which receives a rainfall of 10·0 inches
and under--comprises an area equalling nearly one-third of the
Commonwealth, and includes the central Territory of South Australia,
the extreme western parts of New South Wales, the south-western
parts of Queensland, and the south-eastern, central, and part of the
north-western portions of Western Australia. The limits of this dry
area are shown by the 10·0-inch isohyetal line:--
------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
| | | | | |Ten Years'
|Total | Average |Ten Years'|Difference|Difference|Percentage
|Number| Rainfall | Average | between | for |per Annum
Place. |of | for | Rainfall.| the Two. |Ten Years.|above or
|Years.|all Years.| | | | below
| | | | | |True Mean.
------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
| | Inches. | Inches. | Inches. | Inches. |
| | | | | |
Cooktown | 29 | 68·96 | 49·91 | -19·05 | 190·50 | -28
| | | | | |
Geraldton | 21 | 145·27 | 135·81 | -9·46 | 94·60 | -7
| | | | | |
Brisbane | 57 | 47·47 | 39·16 | -8·31 | 83·10 | -18
| | | | | |
Mackay | 36 | 69·42 | 61·73 | -7·69 | 76·90 | -11
| | | | | |
Maryborough | 36 | 46·58 | 39·49 | -7·09 | 70·90 | -15
| | | | | |
Goondiwindi | 28 | 29·27 | 22·99 | -6·28 | 62·80 | -21
| | | | | |
Tambo | 21 | 22·87 | 18·08 | -4·79 | 47·90 | -21
| | | | | |
Bowen | 36 | 40·40 | 35·62 | -4·78 | 47·80 | -12
| | | | | |
Blackall | 27 | 22·59 | 17·92 | -4·67 | 46·70 | -21
| | | | | |
Charleville | 34 | 19·71 | 15·30 | -4·41 | 44·10 | -22
| | | | | |
Hughenden | 22 | 19·12 | 14·92 | -4·20 | 42·00 | -22
| | | | | |
Thursday | | | | | |
Island | 16 | 68·11 | 63·99 | -4·12 | 41·20 | -6
| | | | | |
Springsure | 30 | 26·25 | 22·54 | -3·71 | 37·10 | -14
| | | | | |
Boulia | 21 | 11·45 | 8·72 | -2·73 | 27·30 | -24
| | | | | |
Thargomindah| 25 | 12·53 | 10·03 | -2·50 | 25·00 | -20
| | | | | |
Cloncurry | 23 | 19·35 | 17·02 | -2·33 | 23·30 | -12
| | | | | |
Normanton | 35 | 37·11 | 35·26 | -1·85 | 18·50 | -5
------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
The following table shows the distribution of the average rainfall
from 10·0 inches and under to over 40·0 inches:--
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
Average Annual | | | | |
Rainfall. | N.S.W. | Victoria. |Queensland.| South |
| | | | Australia.|
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| sqr. mls. | sqr. mls. | sqr. mls. | sqr. mls. |
| | | | |
Under 10 inches | 81,144 | nil | 135,600 | 306,663 |
10-20 " | 116,363 | 36,300 | 255,300 | 57,935 |
20-30 " | 77,910 | 27,900 | 173,400 | 13,908 |
30-40 " | 20,414 | 18,770 | 58,700 | 1,198 |
Over 40 " | 14,541 | 4,914 | 47,500 | 366 |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
Total Area | 310,372 | 87,884 | 670,500 | 380,070 |
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
[cont.]
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
Average Annual | | | |
Rainfall. | Northern | Western | Tasmania.| Commonwealth.
| Territory.| Australia.| |
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
| sqr. mls. | sqr. mls. | sqr. mls. | sqr. mls.
| | | |
Under 10 inches | 6,300 | 408,300 | nil | 938,007
10-20 " | 213,430 | 400,720 | nil | 1,080,048
20-30 " | 96,790 | 113,700 | 11,395 | 515,003
30-40 " | 120,600 | 39,100 | 5,396 | 264,178
Over 40 " | 86,500 | 14,100 | 9,424 | 177,345
+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
Total Area | 523,620 | 975,920 | 26,215 | 2,974,581
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
The comparative rainfalls and temperatures at the respective State
capitals, and at Canberra, the embryo Federal capital, are shown in
the following table:--
------------+-------+--------------------------------+
| | ANNUAL RAINFALL. |
Place. | Height+----------+----------+----------+
| above | | | |
| M.S.L.| | | |
| | Average. | Highest. | Lowest. |
------------+-------+----------+----------+----------+
| Ft. | Ins. | Ins. | Ins. |
| | | | |
Perth | 197 | 33·05 | 46·73 | 20·48 |
Adelaide | 141 | 20·38 | 30·87 | 13·43 |
Brisbane | 137 | 50·00 | 88·23 | 24·11 |
Sydney | 144 | 49·35 | 82·81 | 23·01 |
Melbourne | 91 | 25·62 | 44·25 | 15·61 |
Hobart | 160 | 23·40 | 40·67 | 13·43 |
Canberra {| 2,000 |} | | |
(District) {| to |} 23·00 | 50·69 | 16·56 |
{| 2,900 |} | | |
------------+-------+----------+----------+----------+
[cont.]
------------+-------+-----------------------------------------------------
| | TEMPERATURE.
Place. | Height+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
| above | Mean | Mean |Highest | Lowest | Average| Average
| M.S.L.| Summer.| Winter.| on | on | Hottest| Coldest
| | | | Record.| Record.| Month. | Month.
------------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
| Ft. | Fahr. | Fahr. | Fahr. | Fahr. | Fahr. | Fahr.
| | | | | | |
Perth | 197 | 73·9 | 55·6 | 112·0 | 33·6 | 75·1 | 54·6
Adelaide | 141 | 72·3 | 52·0 | 116·3 | 32·2 | 73·3 | 52·5
Brisbane | 137 | 76·0 | 60·0 | 108·9 | 36·1 | 77·3 | 58·0
Sydney | 144 | 70·8 | 53·9 | 108·5 | 35·9 | 71·5 | 52·3
Melbourne | 91 | 64·9 | 49·2 | 111·2 | 27·0 | 66·3 | 47·7
Hobart | 160 | 61·4 | 47·0 | 105·0 | 27·7 | 62·1 | 45·7
Canberra {| 2,000 |} | | | | |
(District) {| to |} 69·7 | 45·0 | 109·0 | 16·0 | 72·0 | 42·0
{| 2,900 |} | | | | |
------------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
The mean humidity at the several capitals is as follows:--Brisbane
mean averages, 68·1; highest, 85; lowest, 47. Sydney mean averages,
73, 90, 55. Melbourne mean averages, 72, 76, 67. Adelaide mean
averages, 56, 84, 33. Perth mean averages, 63, 83, 45. Hobart mean
averages, 72, 76, 67.
APPENDIX K.--EDUCATION STATISTICS.
I.--STATE PRIMARY EDUCATION (1907).
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
| Queensland.| New South Wales.| Victoria. |
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
| £ s. d. | £ s. d. | £ s. d.|
Amount per head of estimated| | | |
population | 0 10 11 | 0 10 6 | 0 9 6 |
Amount per district scholar | 3 3 2 | 3 9 2 | 2 18 7 |
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
II.--PRIVATE SCHOOLS (1908).
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Undenomi-|Church of| Roman |Lutheran.| Total.|
|national.| England.|Catholic.| | |
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
Number of schools | 86 | 8 | 61 | 2 | 157 |
Teachers--Male | 26 | 6 | 57 | 2 | 91 |
Female | 170 | 32 | 372 | | 574 |
Gross enrolment--Male | 786 | 236 | 4,883 | 29 | 5,934 |
Female | 1,386 | 344 | 6,400 | 34 | 8,164 |
Average daily attendance| | | | | |
--Male | 654 | 216 | 4,220 | 24 | 5,114 |
Female| 1,289 | 297 | 5,200 | 28 | 6,814 |
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS (1909).[a]
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+
Schools. | On Roll. | Average | Teachers. |
| | Attendance. | |
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+
St. John's Day School, | 44 boys, | 33 boys, | 6, and 1 music |
Brisbane | 134 girls | 107 girls | and 1 drawing |
| | | |
Holy Trinity Day School, | 33 boys, | 30 boys, | 3 |
Woolloongabba | 42 girls | 37·6 girls | |
| | | |
St. Paul's Day School, | 35 | 29 | 2 |
Maryborough | | | |
| | | |
High School for Boys, | 112 | 112 | 9 |
Southport | | | |
| | | |
Glennie Memorial School | 50 | Very good | 6 |
for Girls, Toowoomba | | | |
| | | |
Eton High School for | 50 | 97 per cent. | 9 |
Girls, Toorak, Hamilton | | | |
| | | |
St. Paul's Day School, | 35 boys, | 25·3 boys, | 4 |
Ipswich | 62 girls | 47 girls | |
| | | |
Theological College, | 14 students| ... | 3 |
Nundah | | | |
| | | |
Tufnell Orphanage, | 70 children| ... | 5 workers |
Nundah | | | |
| | | |
Industrial Home, | 21 inmates | ... | 2 instructors |
Clayfield | | | |
| | | |
High School for Girls, | ... | ... | ... |
Stanthorpe | | | |
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+
[Footnote a: Furnished by Mr. A. A. Orme, Diocesan Registry, Brisbane.]
ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS (1909).[b]
-------------------------------------------------------+---------+
SCHOOLS TAUGHT BY SISTERS-- | On Roll.|
| |
_Archdiocese of Brisbane_-- | |
| |
Brisbane (High School), All Hallows; (Primary) | |
--Elizabeth street, Ivory street, South | |
Brisbane, Kangaroo Point, Red Hill, Wooloowin, | |
Toowong, Rosalie; Sandgate; Ipswich; | |
Helidon; Toowoomba (2); Dalby; Roma; Warwick; | |
Stanthorpe; Gympie (2); Maryborough; | |
Bundaberg; Beaudesert; Southport; | |
(Orphanage), Nudgee | 6,226 |
| |
_Diocese of Rockhampton_-- | |
| |
(High School), Rockhampton; Townsville; | |
Charters Towers; (Primary), Rockhampton; | |
Townsville; Charters Towers; Mount Morgan; | |
Hughenden; Gladstone; Longreach; | |
Winton; Mackay; Ravenswood; Clermont; | |
Emerald; (Orphanage), Neerkol | 4,228 |
| |
_Diocese of Cooktown_-- | |
| |
(High School), Cooktown; (Primary), | |
Cooktown; Cairns; Geraldton; Mareeba | 572 |
| |
SCHOOLS TAUGHT BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS-- | |
| |
_Archdiocese of Brisbane_-- | |
| |
(College), Nudgee; (High School and Primary), | |
Brisbane; Ipswich; Toowoomba; Gympie; | |
Maryborough | 1,880 |
| |
_Diocese of Rockhampton_-- | |
(High School and Primary), Rockhampton; | |
Charters Towers | 740 |
|-------- |
Total | 13,646 |
-------------------------------------------------------+---------+
[Footnote b: Supplied by the Church authorities.]
[Illustration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE, NOW DEDICATED TO UNIVERSITY PURPOSES]
APPENDIX L.
INAUGURATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND.
In older lands Time seems to move with so deliberate a step that his
march is scarcely noticed, and the passing of fifty years is but a
small matter, though within the past half-century discovery after
discovery, advance after advance, has been made. Still these things
have come gradually, and, like all the great triumphs of peace, have
been achieved calmly, orderly, and almost imperceptibly. It has been
different in these new countries, whose practical history comprehends
scarcely more than the span of one man's life. Queensland has grown
out of nothing (from the point of view of civilisation) to a fair
stature of importance. Fifty years is the sum of its existence as a
self-governing State, but within that brief period the country has
been reclaimed from the wilderness, and made the home of a happy,
progressive, and enlightened people. Bearing in mind what Queensland
was fifty years ago, and what it is to-day, it will be admitted that
its jubilee was eminently worth celebrating, not in a mere spirit of
festivity, but in the spirit of a people conscious of what has been
done, and full of enthusiasm for continued development. No better
evidence of that could have been afforded than by the particular
method of celebration decided upon--the dedication of the most
historic building in Queensland to the purposes of a University.
It would have been easy to have devised a more showy plan, to have
arranged for festivities that would have given greater immediate
pleasure, but it would not have been possible to have marked the
jubilee day with anything so admirably calculated to promote the best
interests of the people, or so likely to abide in the public memory.
That was the view of Mr. Kidston and his Government, to whom belong
the honour of having given effect to the long-cherished aspirations of
that numerous body who desire to see Queenslanders an educated as well
as a prosperous people. For many years there had been a movement afoot
for the establishment of a University. As far back as 1891, a Royal
Commission, under the presidency of the late Sir Charles Lilley,
had inquired into the matter and reported strongly in favour of the
project. Premiers who were themselves graduates of universities and
cultured, far-seeing men had recognised the need for a University, but
the matter obstinately remained in the air. For some sixteen years,
largely supported by the Sydney University, a Council had carried on
University Extension Lectures, educating not only the students, but
the public. Finally, the present Premier, realising that the time was
ripe for a definite forward move, placed educational reform in the
forefront of his policy, and succeeded in getting legislation passed
for the establishment of the institution and in securing a liberal
provision for maintaining it. This much achieved, everything was
sufficiently far advanced for an impressive dedicatory ceremony on
the day chosen for celebrating the jubilee of Queensland--Friday, 10th
December, 1909. It was not possible, of course, for the University to
be actually in operation by that date, but it was possible to take
the first step by solemnly setting apart for its uses the building in
which it is proposed to conduct it. That was precisely what was done
on this occasion, and with a simple dignity and an earnestness of
purpose that could not well have been surpassed. Everything combined
to make the day and the event memorable, to lift it out of the
commonplace of public occasions, in a word to make it historic--the
most historic event since the promulgation of Queensland's free
Constitution. The building itself had been the honoured home of every
Governor since 1861. As was happily phrased in one of the speeches,
it had been the centre of social and political life. What more
appropriate than that it should be invested with a new function--be
given, as it were, a new lease of life in the great cause of
citizen-making? What more interesting than that the chief figure
in the ceremonial should be Sir William MacGregor, himself a great
witness to the value of university training, a distinguished servant
of the Empire, one of the select band of Empire builders who have
united ripe scholarship with tireless energy and firm grasp of
national business and the ways of the world? It was a singularly happy
circumstance that this was his first important public act as Governor
of Queensland. But a few days before he had taken over the reins
of government from the hands of the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Arthur
Morgan. As befitted the occasion and the interest which they had taken
in the matter of the University, Sir Arthur and Mr. Kidston also took
a prominent part in the ceremony. The presence of Professor David, of
the Sydney University, who was a prominent member of the Shackleton
Expedition to the Antarctic regions, and of Professor Stirling, of the
Adelaide University, lent additional distinction to the event, visibly
representing, as it did, the cordiality with which those important
institutions regarded the advent of Queensland into the sisterhood of
Australian University-States.
Never before in its history had Government House been the scene of
a gathering so unique. The Premier struck the keynote of the whole
proceedings, when he said that they were met "to erect this white
stone, as it were, to mark this point in our national progress." He
was alluding to the marble tablet, which had been affixed to the wall
near the main entrance, recording the dedication of the building to
its new purposes. Also, he declared the democratic foundation of the
institution in the significant sentence: "In very truth it may be said
that the Queensland University is of the people, and I trust that the
Senate, when they start to manage this institution, will remember that
it is also to be for the people."
To the ceremony were bidden all who could lend to it distinction and
interest. It was no mere official or exclusive gathering, but one
which represented in full measure the democratic character of the
Queensland people. Those high in place were there; those who in
university life had won honour; those who had laboured to lay
the foundations of the educational system of which this was the
culmination; the people for whose children this was to be in a real
and practical sense the great training school and character-building
institution; the children from whose ranks were to be drawn the
earliest students. The scene was one which will live in memory long
after the University has begun its work, and will be recalled when in
their gladsome, perhaps boisterous, fashion the students hold their
commemoration days, or when in more thoughtful times the men and women
who have gone forth from it girded for the battle of life revisit
its shady walks and studious halls. The building and its charming
environments lent themselves to an impressive spectacle. In the
bright summer day, the well-kept grounds and the rich foliage of the
neighbouring gardens presented a picture of rare colour and beauty.
Beyond lay the broad river glistening in the sunlight. Above arched
the ineffable azure scarcely flecked by clouds. In the distance lay
the far spreading city, with its pulsating life and varied activities.
Under the shadow of the graceful building and in a sweeping
semi-circle were massed the spectators, with eyes concentrated on
the main portico, which had been converted into a stage for the
interesting drama of the afternoon. A curved structure had been thrown
out from the masonry, and decorated and canopied with maroon and
white. Grouped around this were arranged the chairs provided for the
seven hundred invited guests. Among these were many wearing their
university costumes, which vied in colour and variety with the dresses
of the ladies. Beyond this enclosure were drawn up, rank behind rank,
250 boys and 550 girls chosen from the fifth and sixth classes of the
metropolitan schools, each wearing Queensland's colours, maroon and
white, and 200 State school cadets in uniform. All had been assembled
in Alice street, and marched in procession to the space allotted to
them. They were there for the double purpose of supplying a choir and
adding to the representative character of the assembly. Beyond
their lines were gathered the members of the general public. The
arrangements entailed a good deal of planning and forethought, but
every part of the ordered and dignified ceremony was smoothly carried
out. The military element, drawn from the 9th Australian Infantry
Regiment, was lined up along the whole front of Government House, the
scarlet coats and white helmets supplying a fringe of colour to that
part of the picture.
The time fixed for the ceremony was half-past 3 o'clock. The reserved
enclosure was then filled, the intermediate space was thronged with
school children and cadets, and the outer circle was made up of those
whom interest or curiosity had drawn to the spot. It was no small
evidence of the genuineness of that interest that, though hundreds
were too far away to hear the speeches, they remained during the whole
proceedings. They took their cue from those who were nearer, and
when they saw or heard them applauding they joined in and swelled the
volume of enthusiasm. One of the first to take his place on the dais
was Mr. W. H. Barnes, to whom it had fallen, as Secretary for Public
Instruction, to pilot the University Bill through the Legislative
Assembly. Not long afterwards there came Mr. A. H. Barlow, M.L.C., the
veteran Minister, who had had much to do with the preparation of the
measure, and who had charge of it during its progress through
the Upper House. Among early arrivals were Miss MacGregor, His
Excellency's daughter, and Mrs. Kidston. Punctually at half-past 3 His
Excellency the Governor, Sir William MacGregor, arrived, dressed in
his Windsor uniform and wearing the long flowing blue silk cloak
and decorations of the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George,
accompanied by Lady MacGregor and Mr. Kidston, Premier of Queensland.
Mrs. Kidston presented Lady MacGregor with a beautiful bouquet, and
almost at the same time the band of the 9th Regiment struck up "The
National Anthem," the whole assemblage rising as the patriotic strains
were heard. The duties usually devolving upon a chairman fell to
the Premier, who occupied a chair on one side of a small flag-draped
table, while His Excellency sat on the other side. Near by were the
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Arthur Morgan, wearing his robes of office,
the Chief Justice (Sir Pope A. Cooper) in court dress, the Speaker
of the Legislative Assembly (Mr. J. T. Bell) in his flowing robes,
Professor David (representative of the Sydney University) in
his official robe, Professor Stirling (the representative of the
University of Adelaide) wearing the scarlet robe of an M.D. of
Cambridge, and His Grace Archbishop Donaldson in the scarlet and
ermine of a D.D. Central Queensland had a venerable representative in
the person of the Right Rev. Dr. Hay, Moderator of the Presbyterian
General Assembly. The Roman Catholic Archbishop, the Right Rev. Dr.
Dunne, had as his representative Rev. Father Byrne, the Administrator
of his diocese. The distinguished company included also Mr. Justice
Real and Mrs. Real, Mr. Justice Chubb and Mrs. Chubb, Mr. Justice
Shand, Mr. D. F. Denham (Minister for Lands) and Mrs. Denham, Mr. T.
O'Sullivan, M.L.C. (Attorney-General) and Mrs. O'Sullivan, Mr. W. T.
Paget (Minister for Agriculture and Railways) and Miss Paget, Mr. J.
G. Appel (Home Secretary) and Miss Appel, Mrs. Barnes, Mr. A. G. C.
Hawthorn (Treasurer) and Mrs. Hawthorn, Mr. W. Lennon, M.L.A. (Acting
Leader of the Opposition) and Mrs. Lennon, Miss Celia Cooper, Mr.
C. W. Costin (Clerk of Parliaments), Mr. Anthony Musgrave, (Private
Secretary to His Excellency), Captain Scarlett, A.D.C., and Captains
Newton and Claude Foxton, honorary AA.D.C. Members of both Houses
of Parliament, prominent public servants, the mayors and aldermen of
Brisbane and South Brisbane, representatives of other metropolitan
civic bodies, leading citizens, and consular representatives had their
seats in the enclosure fronting the official dais.
By a happy arrangement the ceremony was inaugurated by the assembled
children singing "The National Anthem," to which were added three
of the patriotic verses of "The Australian Anthem" composed by
Queensland's sweet singer, the late J. Brunton Stephens. The fresh
musical voices rang out true and clear, carrying far through the
still, scented air the simple words of devotion and patriotism--
What can Thy children bring?
What save the voice to sing
"All things are Thine"?--
What to Thy throne convey?
What save the voice to pray
"God bless our land alway,
This land of Thine"?
Oh, with Thy mighty hand
Guard Thou the Motherland;
She, too, is Thine.
Lead her where honour lies,
We beneath other skies
Still clinging daughterwise,
Hers, yet all Thine.
Britons of ev'ry creed,
Teuton and Celt agreed,
Let us be Thine.
One in all noble fame,
Still be our path the same,
Onward in Freedom's name,
Upward in Thine!
[Illustration: VIEW OF DEDICATION CEREMONY]
The last notes had scarcely died away, when the Premier rose to
invite His Excellency to assent to the University Bill of 1909, and to
dedicate the building to the University. He prefaced that proceeding
by a speech, which summarised the course of progress in Queensland,
touched upon the difficulties it had been necessary to overcome, and
the achievements in settlement and development which had made this
ceremony possible. More than that, it focussed as it were in a few
sentences the destined scope of the University, and the liberal
provisions by which it was to be made accessible to "all our young
people without regard to class, or creed, or sex." Twenty foundation
scholarships were the generous birthday gift to the University. There
was a great outburst of enthusiasm at this announcement, and the
applause rang out again with renewed strength when His Excellency
stepped forward, and read a congratulatory message from His Majesty
the King. This was a fitting prelude to the able and statesmanlike
speech which His Excellency made. This over, Mr. Costin presented the
University Bill for His Excellency to sign. His Excellency dipped his
pen in the ink held by a handsome silver inkstand, and affixed his
signature to the charter of the University. Then, pressing an electric
button, he revealed to view a marble tablet--the white stone of
which the Premier spoke--designed "to mark this point in our national
progress."
The building had now been dedicated, but it yet remained symbolically
to hand it over to the people. This was done by His Excellency's
presentation to Mr. J. T. Bell of the University Act, and Mr. Bell's
acceptance of it on behalf of the people of Queensland. Eloquent
speeches from Mr. Bell, Professor David, and Professor Stirling
followed, each in his turn drawing from the assemblage the endorsement
of enthusiastic applause. Once more the aid of the children was
invoked, and, under the direction of Mr. George Sampson, F.R.C.O.,
they sang to the music of "The Old Hundredth" "The Children's Ode,"
specially written for the occasion by Mr. W. J. Byram--
Dear land, the queen of all fair climes!
To jewels of thy diadem
We add to-day its brightest gem,
A guiding star for after-times.
Thy sons shall grow in wisdom's power,
Thy daughters win an ampler grace,
And both shall mould that higher race
Gifted with learning's priceless dower.
Here as the seasons wax and wane
May Science still increase her store,
And Truth be reverenced more and more,
And Tolerance and Justice reign.
Father of all, our effort bless!
Without thy aid we are as nought,
We are but children to be taught
Thy way that leads to perfectness.
One graceful ceremony remained, and that typical of beauty, life, and
growth--the planting of a tree to be known as "The University Tree,"
its destiny to grow with the University, and afford grateful shade
to those brought within its wholesome influence. The pleasant duty of
planting devolved upon Lady MacGregor, and it was carried out by means
of a silver trowel presented to her by the Premier. The business
of the afternoon had now concluded; the first step toward the
establishment of the University had been taken: its future home had
been dedicated.
THE DEDICATION SPEECHES.
The PREMIER (Hon. W. Kidston), in rising to ask His Excellency to
dedicate Government House to the purposes of the University, said:
Your Excellency and Ladies and Gentlemen,--To-day Queensland completes
her first half-century as a self-governing community; and we are met
to honour the occasion--to erect a white stone, as it were, to mark
this point in our national progress. Fifty years ago a handful of
settlers, not quite 24,000 in number, claimed and obtained the right
to manage their own affairs; and the British Government, in granting
that right, virtually handed over to those few pioneers the ownership
of this vast territory now called Queensland--a territory exceeding
in area the combined areas of England, Scotland, Ireland, France,
Portugal, Spain, and Italy. If we consider how few they were and the
way in which they undertook the work of opening up and civilising this
vast territory, we must recognise that our first pioneers were men
of enterprise, of self-reliance, and of high courage. (Hear, hear.)
Although our population has increased twenty-four times since then, we
are still but a handful in this vast land. When we try to compare the
Queensland of to-day with the Queensland of fifty years ago--the
cities and towns that have been built where then was the untrodden
bush; the thousands of miles of railways and the many thousands of
miles of roads, like a network all over this great area; the rivers
that have been spanned by bridges; the harbours that have been made;
the endless miles of telegraph lines that give rapid communication
between the townships scattered all over the State--all the things
that go to mark a civilised people--when we consider to what extent
that work has been carried out by such a mere handful of people, we
may well commend the men who have preceded us. (Hear, hear.) And it
was not only in the matter of material development that these men did
good work. Many years ago they established an educational system which
still obtains--a system so effective and comprehensive that all over
this vast territory of Queensland wherever ten or a dozen children can
be brought together there you will find a State school. (Hear, hear.)
And even beyond that, by means of the itinerant teachers, the
scattered children of the bush are sought out and have at least the
rudiments of education brought to their isolated homes. (Hear, hear.)
To-day we seek to commemorate our establishment as a self-governing
community, and at the same time to show our appreciation of the
excellent work done by our predecessors in opening up this new land
and in promoting the civilising and humanising agencies that have made
Queensland what she is; and I hold that we can show our appreciation
of the good work our predecessors did in no better way than by
imitating and continuing that good work. We who have eaten of the
fruit of the trees which our predecessors planted; we, the men of
to-day, may also seek to plant so that the children of to-morrow may
gather the fruit. (Hear, hear.)
[Illustration: THE PREMIER (HON. W. KIDSTON) OPENING THE PROCEEDINGS]
Perhaps, Your Excellency, I am not just the person to discuss
educational methods, or to seek here to give instructions to the
Senate who will manage this University; but I may express the hope
that the University of Queensland will provide for the youth of
Queensland the highest culture and the best university training that
can be got, at any rate, this side of the line. (Hear, hear.) At the
same time I would not have it forgotten that Queensland is a hive of
working bees; and all our educational institutions, from Kindergarten
to University, should keep that fact in view. There is this difference
between the youngest University in the Empire and the oldest: Oxford
was established by a King; the University of Queensland is established
by the People. (Hear, hear.) Queensland is democratic not only in her
political institutions: she is democratic in heart and sentiment; and
the desire of our people for a University is simply the desire that
Queensland may be an educated democracy--the safest, the strongest,
and the happiest community in which men can live. (Hear, hear.) I
would have the Senate always remember that it was the desire of our
people that inspired the crowning of our educational system by the
establishment of a University, that in very truth the Queensland
University is "of the people," and I trust that the Senate will never
forget that it should be "for the people." (Hear, hear.) It is not all
of us who can go to a University or directly share in its advantages;
yet the whole community should, and I hope will, receive a general
benefit. I hope that its influence will radiate downwards through all
the ranks of our social organism; that those who have the advantage
and the privilege of the more liberal education which our University
will give will be like the leaven which the woman put in three
measures of meal, and will leaven the whole community. (Hear, hear.)
Parliament has made what I think is fairly adequate financial
provision for our University. A sum of £50,000 is being set aside from
this year's revenue for meeting what may be called the initial cost.
(Hear, hear.) And, besides that, a sum of £10,000 a year is being
provided for what may be called the annual working charges. (Hear,
hear.) I may also announce to-day that the Cabinet, subject of course
to the approval of Parliament, has resolved to institute a certain
number of foundation scholarships as a step towards equalising
educational opportunities for our young people and by way of opening
the door to ability and special merit. (Applause.) It has been decided
to establish twenty foundation scholarships--(applause)--tenable for
three years, each of which will carry free entrance to the University
and £26 per year, or, in cases where students, to attend the
University, must live away from home, £52 a year. These scholarships
will be equally open to all our young people without regard to class,
or creed, or sex. (Applause.) There will also be a foundation gold
medal, carrying a prize of £100 a year for two years, for the purpose
of encouraging original chemical research--(applause)--a similar
medal and prize of a similar amount, tenable for two years, for
engineering--(applause)--and a foundation travelling scholarship of
£200 a year, tenable for two years. (Applause.) The scholarships will
of course be competed for annually, so that in the third and each
succeeding year there will be sixty of these scholarship students at
our University. (Applause.)
I now ask Your Excellency, as representing His Majesty, to assent to
the Bill, which has been approved by both Houses of Parliament, for
the establishment and endowment of the University of Queensland, and
on behalf of our people to dedicate this building, now your home, to
the purposes of the University. (Loud applause.)
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR WILLIAM MacGREGOR said: Mr. Kidston, Ladies and
Gentlemen,--The first duty I have to perform here to-day is to read
to you a telegram which I received this forenoon from the Right
Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies. This telegram
is dated London, 9th December, at 1.45 p.m., and is addressed "The
Governor, Brisbane." The Secretary of State says:--
"I am commanded by His Majesty the King to convey to you the following
message:--
"His Majesty the King heartily congratulates the people of
Queensland on the completion of fifty years of responsible
government. It is the earnest hope of His Majesty the King
that the enterprise and loyalty which have marked the first
half-century of the State of Queensland may be its abiding
heritage and that the prosperity which is evident at the close
of this period may be multiplied abundantly in the years to
come." "CREWE."
For two reasons I have put in writing what I have to say on the
important subject that has brought us here to-day. The first is that
I cannot make myself heard by a large audience. The second is that we
are assembled here on the occasion of the Jubilee of Queensland, and
that fifty years hence the Jubilee of the University of this
State will also be celebrated, and it is desirable that those who
participate in that ceremony should know in what spirit the
University is being founded: what are our hopes, our aspirations, what
appreciation we have of our duty towards our posterity and the future
of the great country we and they have to develop. I trust that for
this reason all speeches made here to-day may be carefully recorded,
as we now enter upon a new phase of the intellectual life of
Queensland, a matter that cannot but be of far-reaching importance to
the next and succeeding generations of this State.
I deem it a fortunate circumstance that, a few days after my arrival
in Brisbane, I should have the privilege of participating in a
ceremonial for the establishment of "The University of Queensland," of
taking part in a State function of historical and of great social and
economic importance.
We live in an age of more rapid progress than any that has ever
preceded our own day: and for my part I am prepared to believe that
we owe to education the enormous advances in recent years in health,
wealth, and in the amenities and comforts of life. It is now well
known to us all that the nation that is backward in education is, or
soon will be, behind in all that makes a people great and prosperous.
I am aware that these facts were fully recognised by many men in
Queensland long years ago, for I well remember the former efforts
that were made to found a University here--efforts that failed through
causes that happily no longer exist. One of the most noticeable facts
in the social and economic life of English-speaking people in recent
years is the great impulse that has been given to the development and
extension of university teaching. It may with a good show of reason be
said that Australasia led up to the great educational revival of
the last quarter of a century, by the opening of the now famous
Universities, of Sydney in 1852, of Melbourne in 1855, and of Adelaide
in 1876. Then followed the University of Tasmania in 1889. The wave of
university education has left the United States with 40 universities,
16 of which are very great, and 415 colleges. The movement has been
as pronounced in Canada, where higher education is receiving great
attention, due in a large measure to the splendid liberality of
wealthy and patriotic citizens. The same influence has been profoundly
felt in the United Kingdom. The Victoria University was founded in
1880, and the London University was reconstituted in 1900. Birmingham
University dates from 1900, Liverpool University from 1903, the
University of Wales from 1903, Leeds University from 1904, Sheffield
University from 1905, and the two national Universities of Ireland
from 1908. To come nearer home, New Zealand has her University and
affiliated colleges; and West Australia is at this moment taking
active steps for the establishment of her own State University,
so that it remains at present doubtful whether Queensland or West
Australia is to play the part of the most retiring of this pleiad of
Australasian Universities. Hitherto the youth of Queensland has had
to go elsewhere for residential university education. Fortunately
for Queensland, she has had an active and influential committee for
university extension lectures, the members of which have patriotically
performed good service to the State by arranging for lectures that
have helped to procure from beyond the State university certificates
of competence by a considerable number of the youth of this country.
This committee has fortunately been able to do enough to demonstrate
how much we need a University of our own. They are entitled to the
warm thanks of the community for what they have done. I have had an
opportunity of knowing from the admirable lectures of Professor David,
on the 4th and 8th of this month, how interesting, instructive, and
valuable those lectures can be. I have said enough to show you that
if Queensland did not now, without any further delay, proceed to
found her University, this, one of the greatest, most promising, and
wealthiest provinces in the Empire, would, as far as education is
concerned, occupy a very conspicuous and unenviable position among
the great countries of the world; especially would this be the case in
regard to the sister States and Dominions.
What is a University? I have seen a University defined as a place at
which students from any quarter of the universe could be received
to study, irrespective of nationality. What we understand here by a
University, and what we aim at, is an institution where any person
can find the fullest and best instruction of the day in any branch of
knowledge. It will be the head corner-stone of the system of
education that has been legalised in this State, a school that will be
accessible to all, and will afford equal chances and opportunities
to rich and poor alike, without reference to sex or religious
denomination. I know of no institution in modern social life that
equals the University in giving a fair chance in life to the youth
that is capable and is able and willing to work; although, for my
part, I can only regard schools of all grades as only preparatory for
the studies that have to be incessantly pursued after one ceases to
attend classes, if one does not resign oneself to falling behind; thus
the primary school prepares for the secondary school, and that school
leads to the university, which last furnishes the highest and best
intellectual equipment for one's life work, an equipment of such
character that it can be obtained and be certified to by the
university, and by that alone. It supplies to the bearer the hall-mark
of the State that the man or woman that bears it has had the best
instruction that the country can supply.
[Illustration: HIS EXCELLENCY SIR W. MACGREGOR ADDRESSING THE
AUDIENCE]
What is to be taught in the University? You will find that the
University Act makes provision for the establishment of certain
faculties in which instruction shall be given; the preamble shows that
the University is to provide "a liberal and practical education in the
several pursuits and professions of life in Queensland." In no other
country can the pursuits and professions of social and economic life
be greater than they are, or will be, in Queensland, having regard to
the extraordinary multiplicity of its resources. Such a broad purpose
as that set out in the University Act leaves little option to the
ruling power of the University as to what subjects are to be taught.
That question is determined in a large measure by the work of other
universities, for it is a foregone conclusion that the University
of Queensland is not to occupy a position in the educational world
inferior to that of any sister university in Australasia. We are well
aware that their standard is high; and we recognise that we start
late, and are therefore behind, and that we have a hard task before us
to overtake the other universities; but this has to be done, and will
be done. I dwell on this because there should exist no misconception
as to the scope of the Queensland University, especially in regard to
what is called the classical side of instruction, in contradistinction
to the scientific or practical. We recognise that the literary records
of the world have, in the main, been successively committed to
the languages of the Chaldeans, the Greeks, the Romans, and the
Anglo-Saxons. If those languages are dead, their remains are so
constantly brought before us every hour of our lives that acquaintance
with those of them that are usually taught in what is called the
faculty of arts forms a necessary and indispensable part of the
education of every accomplished or finished scholar, and of most
professional men or women. At the same time, therefore, that this
University will provide the best tuition in the classical languages
of the past, we cannot but see that times have changed; that, for
example, in no country in Europe or America could the Prime Minister
now conduct official business in Latin with King or Governor, as was
the case in England not very long ago. No Prime Minister could now
electrify a drooping Parliament with a Latin quotation, as Pitt did.
So far as I know, the last Parliament in Europe to use Latin as its
language ceased to do so some three-score of years ago. The classics
have come into disfavour owing in a large measure to the fact
that they were overdone, that time was wasted on utterly valueless
subtleties in learning them. They were associated with too much
book and too little practical work. Here we shall have a course of
classics, an arts faculty, equal to that of other universities,
but without unduly encroaching on other faculties of more modern
development and of more direct utility in the evolution of modern
economic life. It would, however, be unreasonable to expect that the
University of Queensland could be brought into the world full-grown at
its birth. The University of Sydney began with four professors. I am
informed by the very distinguished gentleman who is Chancellor of
the University of Adelaide that the now great University of that city
entered on its career, in rented premises, thirty-four years ago, with
three chairs--classics, mathematics, and natural science. Now it has
faculties of arts, science, law, medicine, electrical, mining, civil
engineering, commerce, and music; and it has ranked, by letters
patent, for the last twenty-eight years, with the old universities of
the United Kingdom. The Adelaide University now has eleven professors
and twenty-six lecturers. It supplies to us a splendid example of
courage, of energy, and of perseverance, and that example we mean to
follow. (Applause.) Our late start is not without some compensation,
for not only are we able to profit from the experience of others, but,
what is equally important, we can adapt our University courses to
the needs of the country untrammelled by the vested interests and the
threadbare traditions that make it so difficult for old universities
to adapt themselves to the exigencies of modern educational
requirements. If one thinks of Queensland as she was this day fifty
years ago, and as she is to-day, it can be seen that he would be
a bold man that would predict what faculties, what tuition, may
be required, and may be given, in the Queensland University half a
century from now. The moral to be drawn from this is, to make a start
on an elastic plan that may admit of indefinite expansion. We
require a broad and strong foundation, able to carry a great edifice,
sufficient to provide the most comprehensive tuition, not only in what
is known, but also to facilitate and encourage original research and
invention, as set out in the Act. Even sport will not be forgotten,
for it is an important consideration, in a non-residential university,
to foster that feeling and regard for a bountiful mother that
should animate the students of every great University. One thing is
abundantly clear: that because we are determined to have a university
equal to the needs of this great State, a university that shall
stimulate those of the sister States, and because we start at so
late a date, we must begin with the very best teachers that can be
procured, the most learned and enthusiastic men in their several
departments. On those men will in a large measure depend the future
character and standing of our University. The best men will be the
cheapest. Queensland can afford to employ them, and we know they will
be a profitable investment. (Applause.) A university costs money, much
money, especially in the technical departments, such as engineering,
mining, and agriculture. The endowment of universities has been
recognised in recent years as having such strong claims on public
funds that they cannot be overlooked. That principle is accepted here.
Our nearest neighbours have conferred valuable land areas on their
universities; and they have been very liberal to them in money grants.
In this respect the oldest of our Universities, that of Sydney, led
the way with wisdom and a liberal hand, and to-day New South Wales
reaps her reward. It may safely be assumed that the Parliament and
Government of Queensland will be equally liberal and far-seeing.
But the different Universities have in recent years profited in an
extraordinary manner from the munificence of private citizens. In ten
years the technical schools, colleges, and universities of the United
States received in that way £23,000,000. Perhaps the largest amount of
such gifts in any one year was in 1903, when they received £3,350,000.
It appears that in 1907 nearly £300,000 was bequeathed to universities
and colleges in the United Kingdom. It has become a common practice
for private citizens to found a university chair to bear the name of
a person whose memory it is desired to preserve and to honour. Others
that are not in a position to do so much as that have very frequently
established a bursary or scholarship, sometimes sufficiently large
to maintain a student at the university, or to partly do so. The
bursaries that produce the best results are those that are given by
open competition. But others that are limited to a specified name or
locality, according to the desire of the donors, are very useful. Some
men of good will are not permitted by their means to do more than to
found a prize for proficiency in some branch taught in the university.
This State possesses an enormous area; the productions are varied in
a very unusual degree, and they are of enormous value present and
prospective; and there can be no reason to suppose that Queenslanders
are to be less generous and patriotic towards their University than
our neighbours have been towards theirs. I shall be satisfied if we
have citizens here as generous as Russell in Sydney, as Ormond in
Melbourne, and Elder and Hughes in Adelaide. I think that no more
patriotic nor useful disposition of one's money could be made. We
start under the best auspices, for we have before us now a most
gracious message of congratulation and good wishes from His Majesty
the King, whose life is devoted to the welfare of his subjects, and
there are with us to-day representatives from the great Universities
of Sydney and Adelaide. Each of these Universities has sent us a man
of world-wide reputation. I know well what I am saying when I tell you
that the names of Professors David and Stirling are as well known,
and are as highly honoured, by the learned men and women of Europe
and America as by the people of Australia. (Applause.) It is a great
honour to us to have such representatives here to-day, and for their
presence we owe hearty thanks to their respective Universities, and
I bid them a hearty and appreciative welcome to Brisbane, for I feel
sure that they and the Universities they represent will always extend
to us sympathy, good advice, and an excellent example; and I am
certain that they will be delighted to see us here in a position to
offer them that healthful emulation that cannot but be advantageous to
all concerned. I now, ladies and gentlemen, take the first practical
step towards the founding of the University of Queensland by complying
with the request of the Hon. William Kidston, Premier of the State, to
assent to the University Bill of 1909; and I shall thereafter, in your
presence, deliver this copy of the Act to the Hon. Joshua Thomas Bell,
who will receive it on behalf of the people of Queensland; and, this
done, I shall, by unveiling a commemorative tablet, dedicate this
building to the purposes of the University of Queensland. (Loud
applause.)
[Illustration: HIS EXCELLENCY UNVEILING THE DEDICATION TABLET]
HIS EXCELLENCY, having signed the University Bill, and assented to it
on behalf of His Majesty the King, handed a copy to Mr. Bell, Speaker
of the Legislative Assembly, saying: It is with profound pleasure and
great hope that I present this Act to you on behalf of the people of
Queensland. (Applause.)
HIS EXCELLENCY: I now proceed to unveil the commemorative tablet which
dedicates this house to the University of Queensland.
By pressing a button, His Excellency unveiled a tablet bearing the
following inscription:--
DEDICATED
TO THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND
BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR,
SIR WILLIAM MACGREGOR, G.C.M.G.,
ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF QUEENSLAND,
ON 10TH DECEMBER, 1909,
THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
IN QUEENSLAND.
W. KIDSTON,
CHIEF SECRETARY.
The HON. J. T. BELL (_Speaker of the Legislative Assembly_) said: Your
Excellency, Mr. Kidston, Your Grace, Ladies and Gentlemen,--If I
may for a second, before uttering the few sentences I propose to do,
mention a personal matter in regard to His Excellency, I should like
to do it, and that is to express the consternation I felt at the
announcement which His Excellency made that in his opinion all the
speeches that are delivered upon this occasion should be of such a
character that they may be perused with pleasure and with instruction
by those who are celebrating the jubilee of this institution fifty
years hence. May I say that I find it sufficiently difficult to cope
with my contemporaries without having to make in addition provision
for posterity? I listened to His Excellency's address with the
greatest satisfaction, as everyone did who heard it, because it was
felt to be a fitting deliverance for such an occasion as this. Whether
now, or five years hence, or ten years hence, or when the jubilee of
this institution is celebrated--as it will be celebrated--anyone
who wants authoritative information concerning the present education
systems of the world, of the Empire, and particularly of Australia and
in regard to this University, can turn to His Excellency's deliverance
with the knowledge that he can get all the information there. (Hear,
hear.) I at least feel--and so does everyone who has any acquaintance
with the fact--sympathy with the allusion which His Excellency made
during his remarks to that body of men who are known as the University
Extension Council. I do not know how far back their labours began--it
was certainly more than ten years--but these men, free from any
instinct of self-advertisement, and prompted only by influences that
were unselfish, did their very best in our small community years ago,
and year after year, to lay the foundations of a university. (Hear,
hear.) I am of opinion, although these things are difficult to trace,
that it was the labour of these men of the University Extension
Council, and their influence upon the public and upon the men in
public life, which really laid the foundations of this gathering, and
caused the Government of the day to institute the University. I
say all honour to those men, and I hope that their names will be
perpetuated somewhere or other. (Hear, hear.) I should like to say
that in dedicating this building to the purposes of a University,
those of us who are Queenslanders born and bred, not of the first
but even of the second generation, must feel some interest in the
transformation that such an edifice undergoes. I can only hope that
it will play its part as well as a University edifice as it did as a
Government House. Ever since, I suppose, 1861 or 1862, it has been the
home of Her Majesty's or His Majesty's representative in this State.
It was the headquarters of the social and political life of the State,
and it has, through its various inhabitants, performed its duties
well. There is this to be said, that it has housed in the past men
of the character that it will house in the future--men who possessed
qualifications that equally adapted them to live in this building in
the future, and within its new surroundings, as they were qualified to
inhabit it in the past. Let us think for a moment of some of the men
who have made this building historical. Let us think of Sir George
Bowen, our first Governor, a man who, before he became private
secretary to Mr. Gladstone, was the representative of the Crown in the
Ionian Isles, was an Oxford don, a fellow of his college, and a man
with an academic reputation. He came out here and lived with us, and
in one way at least his classical impulses have left their impression
on the community in the nomenclature of a number of creeks and hills
in Southern Queensland. (Hear, hear.) Then we had Lord Lamington,
a man of some academic pretensions; but, greatest of all from a
university standpoint, we had Lord Chelmsford, a man who was an honour
to his college, his university, and to the State which he governed.
(Hear, hear.) He was one of the very few men in the public service of
Great Britain who had ever come south of the line who were able to
say they were fellows of All Souls--(applause)--which represents in
university distinction what the V.C. means in the military field.
(Applause.) He was a man of qualifications that we were proud to have
in our Governor, and I know that when the proposal was made to him
that this building which he inhabited should be converted into a
university he was one of the first and most enthusiastic advocates of
the proposal. (Applause.) Lastly, we come to the last occupant of the
building, our present Governor, Sir William MacGregor, and no happier
instance can be found of what a university education can do to produce
an Empire builder and a stern man of the world than is to be found in
the person of His Excellency. Whatever may be the class of inhabitants
who are going to labour within these walls in the future, they have
had forerunners of whom they have no reason to be ashamed. Just let me
add a few sentences more. This building has some distinct advantages
from a university point of view. The sole object of a university is
not to instruct men to pass examinations; it has a wider sphere than
that. There was a time--it existed through ages--when the conception
of a university was an institution that turned out scholars. To-day, I
venture to say, it has become recognised that the duty and the object
of a university is the production of citizens. (Applause.) And you
will not produce citizens merely by making them go to lectures and
periodically answer questions in an examination. In the university
life one of the chief and most valuable features is the comradeship,
the common citizenship with the other members of the university, the
participation in athletic sports, the _esprit de corps_ that comes
from belonging to such an institution. And from that aspect I look
with pleasure upon the Brisbane River, only a few yards away, where we
shall find in the future, I hope, a university boat club, which club
has always been a prominent feature of universities in Great Britain,
as it is now becoming in Germany. And in connection with athletics,
and especially aquatic athletics, you will find the students of this
University will uphold the reputation of British students. (Applause.)
I do not propose to speak at any greater length. I am convinced that
after the liberal and, as far as we can see at the present time,
adequate provision that has been made by the Government of the day for
the management of this University, you will see men attending it who
will make their mark upon the community. (Hear, hear.) I repeat that
I hope that the test of the success of this University is not going to
be purely a literary test, though let it be tested in that way too.
I am convinced that those who look at the University from the broader
standpoint feel confident that this University is not going to turn
out merely scholars--merely men who can pass examinations--but is
going to turn out men of the world, and is going to have a striking
effect upon the tone of our citizenship. (Hear, hear.) I hope that
not merely morals, but, in some degree at all events, manners, will be
cultivated in this University; and we, a handful of people, who
spend comparatively enormous sums every year on primary and secondary
education, shall have additional reason to be proud when we see the
effects of the University now inaugurating being spread throughout the
land. (Applause.) I thank Your Excellency for dedicating this building
to the purposes of a University, and I rejoice that we have a man of
your character performing such a ceremony. (Applause.)
THE HON. W. KIDSTON: I have here apologies from the Chancellors of the
Universities of Melbourne and Tasmania, regretting their inability
to be present with us to-day. One of the pleasing features of this
celebration is the kindly and friendly way in which the Universities
of sister States have received the advent of their younger sister, the
University of Queensland. (Hear, hear.) But the Universities of
Sydney and Adelaide have done more: they have sent Professor David
and Professor Stirling respectively to say a few words to us on this
occasion and to wish us Godspeed. I now ask Professor David to speak.
(Applause.)
PROFESSOR DAVID (_Sydney University_) said: Your Excellency, Mr.
Kidston, Your Grace, and Ladies and Gentlemen,--It is a great honour
for me, as representing the elder sister amongst the Universities of
Australia, to bring a message of goodwill to our young University--the
University of Queensland. (Applause.) It is under happy auspices that
this young University is having this grand building, with such fine
memories of the past, dedicated to its uses. We have in our present
representative of His Majesty a gentleman of ripe scholarship and
learning, one who has been throughout his whole life, as he is now and
as he long will be too, a great power for good, a great power for all
that is uplifting and ennobling to the British Empire--Sir William
MacGregor. (Applause.) We have, too, this dedication ceremony
performed in the presence of a representative of the Government who
has shown that he has the greatest possible grip of all that is
needed to make a university such as this young University a People's
University; one, too, who has at heart, I know, the good and
prosperity of his country--the Honourable the Premier, Mr. Kidston.
(Applause.) The present Ministry, with great foresight, have resolved
to make this University not merely a University of Brisbane, but the
University of Queensland. (Hear, hear.) And it seems to me, as one who
has studied university matters for some years in the past, that it is
an act of great wisdom on the part of those who have controlled the
inception of this movement that they have decided to associate here
together the Technical College and the University. (Applause.) I
feel sure that the association will make for the good of both these
institutions, which never should be divorced from one another, and
between which there should be nothing more than friendly rivalry, and
always an interchange of courtesy, of hospitality, and of confidence.
(Applause.) Another point, and a very important one, which I
was delighted to hear from the lips of Mr. Kidston, is that this
University is to be able to appeal to the farthest boundaries of this
great State, by virtue of these sixty splendid scholarships which the
Government have decided to endow--(applause)--that will bring in many
boys and girls who otherwise, through remoteness or want of means,
would have been unable to avail themselves of this University
education. Thus I am sure that, although this University will start,
no doubt, with but a small number of students, even amongst the small
group of students who may come first to this University the nation
will reap no less rich reward than did the University of Sydney when
it started with a mere handful of students. That University celebrated
its Jubilee only in 1902, and amongst its first handful of students
was no less a man than he who was the honoured Chancellor of our
University, Sir William Windeyer; than he who did so much not only
for New South Wales but Australian science, our late Government
Astronomer, Mr. H. C. Russell; than he who is now an ornament to the
Bar, an honour to his University, and a great honour to this State and
to the whole of this Commonwealth, Sir Samuel Griffith. (Applause.)
Certainly it will not be for want of plenty of good material that this
University will not flourish, for we in Sydney know of what splendid
materials your grammar schools, both for boys and girls, are made, as
well as many of your other schools. We know it right well in Sydney,
for there, many a time and oft, your boys and girls take prizes over
the heads of our own. (Applause.) Then a word in conclusion, and that
is this, Your Excellency, and ladies and gentlemen: That, just as in
medieval times when the universities were started, Feudalism, which
made for isolation and all that was selfish, was broken down chiefly
by the University influence, which gathered the people and drew them
together in that great bond of brotherhood and learning, so in these
troublous times, when class is ranged against class, and when Labour
is pitted against Capital, surely we need the levelling influence of
a University--not an influence to level down but an influence to level
up in a noble, common brotherhood. (Applause.) We need universities as
well as we need "Dreadnoughts" and Kitcheners--as we do need them to
keep our country foremost in the arts, not only of war--even in war a
university may do much; we have a Director of Military Studies at our
University at Sydney, and I trust you will have one here--but to keep
us foremost in the arts of peace. In the matter of the foundation
of the universities of the Old World, you will remember that it was
through the Crusaders that those universities were founded. It was the
fiery zeal for Faith that started those universities. The Crusaders
were brought into contact with the learning of the Eastern World,
and so Learning and Faith were brought together in the foundations of
those old Universities of Paris and Oxford. Sometimes Learning only
flourished: sometimes only Faith: sometimes Reverence only, sometimes
Faith. May it be our fervent prayer that in this noble hall both
Reverence and Learning shall for ever dwell together in sweet harmony.
(Applause.) As representing the older sister University of Sydney,
from the bottom of my heart I wish to our young sister University on
this historic occasion all goodwill--a message of goodwill, a message
of Godspeed. (Applause.)
PROFESSOR STIRLING (_Adelaide University_) said: Your Excellency, Mr.
Premier, and Ladies and Gentlemen,--My first duty is to present to the
Government of Queensland, on behalf of the University of Adelaide, its
very cordial thanks for the invitation so courteously extended to it
that it should be represented on an occasion which will assuredly be
a memorable episode in the annals of this great and prospering State.
And in this connection I am desired by our Chancellor, Sir Samuel Way,
to convey to this gathering his great regret that his judicial duties,
now of a very exacting kind, have prevented his acceptance of the
invitation extended to him in the first place as our chief official,
and of doing honour to the event that is being celebrated. My second
and principal duty is to offer the cordial congratulations of the
University I represent to the Government of Queensland, and through it
to its whole people, that now at last, after many years, the keystone
is being placed upon the arch of the educational edifice of this
State. (Hear, hear, and applause.) I have had the honour of being
connected with the University of Adelaide ever since its foundation,
now thirty-four years ago. I can well remember its early struggles,
its efforts to take a fitting place in our national life, and I
am glad to have lived long enough to see many of its aspirations
fulfilled--(hear, hear)--aspirations that have been fulfilled in spite
of what has not always been a very whole-hearted support either on the
parts of successive Governments or of the people for whose benefit
it was intended. But I think it is now well recognised that the
University is playing a useful and essential part in the intellectual
life of the community, and that any arrest to its progress would be
nothing short of national disaster. These recollections of our early
struggles lead me to say that it will now be very interesting to us,
as onlookers, to see whether this last-born of the great educational
centres of Australia--founded as it has been by a Government that
claims to be at least as democratic as the Governments of its sister
States--will escape the criticisms, sometimes quite undeserved, that
have at one time or another been directed, certainly against my
own University, and, as I think I may say also, against its sister
institutions. Then, too, in the adjustment of the work of the
University there will no doubt recur the perennial discussion--indeed
it has already been initiated to-day by His Excellency--as to the
relative importance in an educational system of culture as opposed to
material science. I am glad that I am not called upon to enter into
that question to-day. But, speaking now from a point of view which
concerns literature no less than science, I may be permitted to say
that it is gratifying to hear the announcement of the Honourable the
Premier that the claims of original research will be brought
within the scope of the institution which takes its origin to-day.
(Applause.) Surely it is a desirable, even a necessary, function of
the chief seat of learning of a State that its professors and teachers
should not only teach that which is known, but that they should
themselves be contributors to the sum of human knowledge. There can be
no doubt that the prestige of a university depends far more upon the
extent to which its teachers are known as originators of knowledge
than upon their daily routine lectures, however honestly or however
ably these may be delivered.
[Illustration: LADY MacGREGOR PLANTING THE UNIVERSITY TREE]
Every professor worthy the name will admit that the burden of
teaching, unrelieved and uninspired by the stimulus of independent
work and thought, may indeed become destructive of the intellectual
energies. This infant University, launched as it is upon its career
with the goodwill of a prudent Government and with, I believe, to an
unusual degree the good wishes and support of the people, has the
great advantage that it may profit by the example of the institutions
that have preceded it; and fortunate will be the University of
Queensland if, by adopting the good that may be discerned in its
sister institutions, and by avoiding their mistakes, if such have
been made, it shall enter upon and pursue a blameless career of which
all men shall speak well. Even in their relatively short careers, as
time goes for States and institutions, it can be perceived that the
Australian Universities have to some extent developed individualities
of their own, and this is just what is to be desired. A Minister of
France under the Third Empire once made it his boast that on the same
day and at the same hour every corresponding class in every Lycee
throughout the length and breadth of the land was performing the same
allotted task. That boast bespoke an undesirable uniformity which is
not likely to find favour in British communities, least of all in
these States, where we have become accustomed to strike out new lines
in education for ourselves. Therefore, it is to be desired that the
University of Queensland will in its turn, evolve an individuality of
its own, that it will be inspired by the particular requirements of
the State whose interests it serves; and, further, may I express the
hope that the fact will become recognised, which has not easily
gained recognition in the Australian communities--namely, that a
well-founded and well-equipped university may be one of the best
assets, material as well as intellectual, that can be possessed by
any State or Nation. Your Excellency, I have been ordered to be brief
in my remarks, and, interesting as are many of the thoughts that
arise on such an exceptional occasion, I must conclude by expressing
once more, on behalf of the University I have the honour to represent,
and with all earnestness and sincerity, our fervent hope that this
University of Queensland, so auspiciously inaugurated, will prosper
to the uttermost, and that it will grow in usefulness and dignity as
it grows in years, and that at length it will stand forth as a noble
monument to the great State whose far-seeing Government and whose
public-spirited citizens have this day launched it on its career of
promise. (Applause.)
THE HON. W. KIDSTON: I have now to invite Her Excellency, Lady
MacGregor, to plant a "University tree," which I hope will grow and
flourish as we expect the University to do, and that in the years to
come, when many who are here to-day have passed away, the tree will be
known as "Lady MacGregor's tree."
On a spot in front of the dais, Her Excellency planted a tree with
a silver trowel on which was inscribed: "To Lady MacGregor, from the
Chief Secretary of Queensland, Hon. W. Kidston, 10th December, 1909."
Lady MacGregor then declared the tree well and truly planted.
BRISBANE:
ANTHONY JAMES CUMMING, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.
1909.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Missing or damaged punctuation has been repaired.
The mid-dot, usual for the period, was used for decimals, and
where used, has been retained.
L.s., _locus sigilli_ ( = the place of the seal).
Part of the text of Map 8 was on the next page after 2 pages
of maps, and has been moved to join the beginning of the map 8
text, for better flow.
The Barwan River, described in the Proclamation in the Government
Gazette, and under Queensland (Map 9) is now known as the Barwon
River.
Illustrations (photographs) through the book appear facing
every 4th or 8th page. Where a photograph intersects a
paragraph of text, it has been moved to the end of the
paragraph.
Page 27: 'freetrade' corrected to 'free trade' "... the
enhanced prosperity resulting from interstate free trade."
Page 69: 'arrear', archaic, but probably correct in 1909.
"... unoccupied land might be leased for fourteen years by a
council when rates had been permitted to fall into arrear for
a term of four years." (Webster's Dictionary, 1913 Edition).
Page 207: Mining: 1872: Gold raised in Queensland: £537,365.
The first '3' could be '2'. The scan is smudged and unclear.
Page 229: 'Mount Cornish, No. 3'.
The '3' may be a '5'. The scan is unclear, even at different
magnifications.
Page 237: Brisbane, mean summer temperature, '76.0' could be
'73.0' or '75.0'. This is a 'best guess'; the scan is smudged
and unclear, and part of the number is missing. '76.0' has
been selected after a careful comparison of the '6' with nearby
numbers. 76.0°F is also closest to the current Brisbane mean
summer temperature of 24.8°C, or 76.6°F, and in the same chart,
the current Brisbane mean winter temperature of 15.6°C, or 60°F
is the same as that given in this 1909 book (60°F).
Page 243: 'acessible' corrected to 'accessible'.
"... by which it was to be made accessible to all our young
people without regard to...."
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information" ***
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