AUSTRALIA'S TRADE.

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 31, 7 February 1927, Page 11

AUSTRALIA'S TRADE.

As the volume of imports into the Commonwealth for the five months ended 30th fcSfSii^r 1 £70 '492'733. against vSk ™ t Or Period in 1925, Now South Wales, as the heaviest borrower lias been the recipient of most gi> ™, lhe fißures are New South Wales £20,572,000, Victoria £23,681,000. South Australia is third with £6,780,000 and Queensland fourth with £5,908,000. Late borrowings no doubt have had a good deal to do with the large import figures recorded. Loan expenditure in New South Wales for 1925-28 aggregated £12,900,000. Victoria spent £7,876,400, South Australia £0,5a2,000, and Queensland came fourth with £4,951,000. Imports have been received in the same order as this expenditure has gone on. What has to be appreciated 'in connection with the imports is that an average duty of about 18 per cent, is collected on all imports as represented by borrowings abroad. That fact has to _be taken into account when consideration is given to the large revenue the Commonwealth derives from Customs duties. .The following table shows imports and exports by. States for the five months ended 30th November, 1926-27:— * Imports. Exports. 1926-27. 1926-27. £ £ New South Wales .. 29,572,992 28,726,093 Victoria 23,680,529 10,612,857 Queensland 5,907,844 6,688,649 South Australia 6,780,017 5,498,289 Western Australia . 3,805,499 4,040,443 Tasmania * 734,333 616,689 Northern Territory ... 11,519 14,733 70,492,733 56,197,753

OIL AND COAL.

The secretary o£ Coal, Oil (N.Z.), Ltd., Sydney, furnishes reports of recent surveys for the company if its oil properties at Waipatiki, Hawkes Bay, and at Calliope, Denniston, West Coast, respectively. The surveys were made by Messrs. J. M'Geachie, Sydney, and G. Lindesay Clark, Melbourne, consulting mining engineers. The reports may be summarised as follows:—Oil: Chief indications of petroleum are oil gas wells, the largest of which is at Waipatiki, northern extremity. Prom this well gas flowed strongly and burnt freely on ignition. The other gas wells in tlie locality, all in vicinity of bore-hole. Gas does not escape under great pressure, but flows steadily out of the_ ground, an encouraging feature indicating strong resistance in the cover over the horizon of oil pools to the primary high pressure that may be reasonably expected at the seat of their location, gas steadily flowing from Waipatiki well for over fifteen years. It is -reasonable to assume that the source of supply is of some magnitude, at least one authentic occurrence of liquid petroleum, known and identified by Professor Speight in sands from bottom of borehole and yielding 2 per cent, of oil calculated on water-free material. Definite indications of petroleum in the district. Indications sufficient to warrant continuation of search for oil.

Calliope coal property is situate fourteen miles from Westport; total area 1277 acres. Coal "fii'st-class quality," particularly at southern or Denniston end of the coalfield. Shipping facilities well ahead of the present output of coal. Coal from the adjacent Denniston mine is of "rejnarkably good appearance" and readily saleable throughout the Dominion. "A colliery opening up on this property, with improved methods of mining and handling coal specially directed to ensure a maximum percentage of large screened coal in best marketable condition, would experience minimum difficulty in the disposal of output."