AUSTRALIA'S POSSIBILITIES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16271, 23 July 1918, Page 9

AUSTRALIA'S POSSIBILITIES.

FOB PAPER MAKING,

The serious shortage of paper ana r palp in Australia owing to th® {*k of sapping space for imports has -ted many experiments here to see supplies cannot be produced r®, |v Consequently, the Government r«;.making Committee, under the of Mr W. A. Gullick, SSSSS Printer, have been making ligations for some time. Amoug if Jrsonnel of the committee wo $®, r8 Baker and Smith _ (curator ana Kant-curator respectively of th© Museum, Sydney) and Mr gjM>ner Hay (of the Forestry Dertment). Hie possibilities of tne Pf-jj gum tree readily suggested fSmselvea to these gentlemen. Lx«riments were made, and laboratory tZZa upon a species of gum, a waste J-lw quite useless for any presently commercial purposes, showed that ..-V'Dossesied a fibre of sufficient length nd texture to warrant the _ opinion Jhiit the chemical testa within the laboratory were a success. These, of course, aro not sufficient to . -tify'Tihe Government in launching a scheme of paper pulp manufacture from nun-trees. Commercial _ tests are' necessary, and with a view of secur-1 torthese a consignment of 12 tons cf lops has been forwarded to the SlcGill Onirersity in Canada for treatment. Th o results will be returned to Sydney in the form of commercial J,per of various sizes and qualities, ft u understood that samples of this tjapcr will be offered for sale by -he Government, with a view of giving tho public an opportunity of judging for themselves. Tho Cabinet already thinks bo highly of the enterprise and , 0 f the excellent work done by tho committee that it has ordered immolate and detailed enquiries into" the possibilities of assembling a small-sized pulping plant locally. It is believed that, with the exception of a few parts, we can make a pulping plant ;n Australia. The few items which may he impossible of improvision here can no doubt be imported from America. This will be quite a new departure in the history of Australian manufacture, for while paper is undoubtedly made in Anstralia to-day, none of it is made from wood. What is used at the present time are old rags, old rope, waste yarn, and old papers. From these a limited supply of brown paper is made today. A little white paper is made in the Geelong mills; otherwise wo manufacture only brown paper and cardboard. Once the manufacture of pulp from Australian hardwoods, even if only ; from one species of hardwood, is settled, j there should be enormous possibilities for the industry in New South Wales. Near the upper waters of the Murray river, well within the snow region, there are tens of thousands of acres growing little else but this particular species of eucalyptus, whose name, by tho way, remains a secret. As a timber it is useless—it even makes indifferent fencing posts—bat it is a quick and vigorous grower, and when cut down it will shoot up from the old stumps or grow from the seed of parent trees— which j will, of course A be left at suitable intervals for seeding purposes. The other factors in paper manufacture are to be found in abundance in that locality. These aro water and pofer. He south-eastern corner or New South Wales abounds in hydroejectric schemes. Burrenjuck, Gilmore Creek, Tumnt River, Shoalhaven, and Snowy River schemes —ijhese aro only some t>f a score and more which comd be named in this connexion, while the melting snows* of the Australian Alps are destined ultimately to , draw within their sphere of influence i an ever-increasing share of Australia's fntnre manufacturing industries.— "Sunday Times."