The Grey River Argus. TUESDAY. December 6th, 1932. AUSTRALIA’S BACK DOOR.

Grey River Argus, 6 December 1932, Page 4

The Grey River Argus. TUESDAY. December 6th, 1932. AUSTRALIA’S BACK DOOR.

A new move, whether purely developmental, or partly , strategical, is obviously afoot iu Australia. toward the empty Northern Territory. Some time ago, when

the Singapore naval base was to the fore, the Australian Navy visited Port Darwin, and the excellent facilities there for a naval base were noted. It has hitherto been impossible to settle any considerable population in the surrounding region, lack of the means of transport and of any .inducement to provide these beingmore of an obstacle than the difficulty which the climate creates for white men. The news from Darwin in recent years, except that of aviators coming and going, has been chiefly about the hard I ships ami protests of the uncni-! ployed there. The territory has probably attracted the attention of Asiatics, by its scarcity of inhabitants. What has riveted European attention has chiefly been the geographical relation of the area to the possibilities .of aviation. Instead of remaining the back door, it. bids fair now to become the front door of Australia, as being the nearest landing place for aviators to land or depart. on European journeys. Yesterday’s cables recorded the decision of the Federal Government to adopt a recomcmudation by the Commonwealth Air Communications Committee to call tenders at once for four mail services, eluding one between Darwin and Singapore, another between (lath crine and Berth, and a. third between Darwin and Cootamuudra the latter place to become Hie dis tributing centre lor the air mailt for Sydney and Melbourne. The Government has decided to lak« control of an air 'mail service be tween Darwin and Singapore th,, cost of which, it is said, will no! be so great as if the Common wealthNerc to contribute to ward an imperial mail service. This decision has at. once gained the commendation 01. a. Jemini'.’ London journal. But. upon .he lieels of these reports there, e-imes the news that the federal Go-ern meat is now considering a ii’-otv ambitious proposal, the construction of a railway’ from Bourne, .1.-” in New South W't’CS.

across Lower Western Queensland and the Territory to Darwm, Such a venture is calculated tc revolutionise the outlook in Northern Australia, as it would undoubtedly attract population thither in a gradually increasing number, just as the trans-Conti-iiental line to Westralia is doing The means whereby it is suggested that the line to Darwin would be put through are an echo of the pioneering days, involving as they do the tinding of the money by granting vast tracts of laud to the Anglo-Australian syndicate which offers to carry out the work. To-day the meat magnates hold a great groa there, but the likes of Vestey’s would scarcely pave the way for settlement upon a proper scale. The syndicate might have also the idea of establishing huge ranches, after the Argentine pattern, but would

doubtless be equally disposed, if endowed with so much land, to cut it up in a certain degree for pastoralists at a price that would show a profit. It could also establish the stations within its territory, and thereby derive eventually a revenue from the holdings. No doubt, the syndicate, alive alike to the aviation and strategical aspects, and particularly to Australia’s present lack of ready cash, has deemed this the psychological moment for the proposition, which it obviously would appear to be. It may be said that the most important present consideration is not primarily the alienation of so much of thecountry’s area to private owners as it. is the desirability of opening up and settling the Territory, and the impetus that might be there by given to settlement and proi duct ion. It has long been realis- | ed that Australia needs not only j a greater, but a. better-distributed population, especially in the regions which, on account of the

absence of occupants, go to lend colour to such questions as that raised by the Japanese regarding the disproportionately large part of the earth’s surface which is coloured red on the map. Aerial navigation Ims given a new complexion to a onec-prominent phrase. “The All lied Route.” A syndicate capable ot finding fifteen millions sterling for the projected line might he imagined to have the backing of 'interests so | wealthy that lheir acquisitions have taught them the potentiality of protit in this undertaking. Aet by no other means does it seem feasible at this juncture tiS undertake the work. The mat lev would, of course, call for Parliamentary sanction, so that at least the probable price in territory which the country would be calk’d on to pay would thus be made known to the public in time, to prevent a. bad bargain being concluded. Assuming that, sanction were, given, ono might foresee a tairly bright future for Darwin and possibly other settlements, as well s.s an expansion of industry which would quickly eclipse the-pioneer Missionaries in their plucky endeavours to save and educate the blacks who have still such a monopoly of the Territory. One might envisage a new era in the history of Australia with such a railway in existence, although it would be wise to avert anything like the institution of a scheme such as those of the old chartered companies, and confine the concessions to a value proportionate to the outlay entailed by the work of railway construction. It is not desirable that, for the sake of anticipating by a few years

the provision of communications which will inevitably come in any event, concession hunters should be allowed the pick the eyes of the Territory, but if a reasonable bargain is struck, it should make for the lasting progress of Australia.