THE MAGIC NORTH.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 620, 19 November 1913, Page 5

THE MAGIC NORTH.

+ A PRESENT-DAY ELDORADO. Much as tbe advice that is dinned into the ears of intending emigrants to Canada is "Go West," so I helirve the cry of tbe future in Queensland will be "Go North." 1 have come North, and bfen enchanted with everything I have ncen. Before very long oae will be able to travel from Brisbane to Cairns by rail, but at pram* the journey occupies about five days by steamer, including the time put in at intermediate ports. When Cairns is reached a wonderful railway journey awaits you. With great sweeping curves, numerous tunnels, and steep gradients, the iron road gradually ascends the mountain range. As you stand on the observation platform of the railway car, you experience many thrills for at ,onc moment you are hanging over a precipitous slope, and the next you are thundering over a frail structure spanning a deep, rocky gorge, with a magnificent waterfall alongside, But the scenery aad climate, which attract hundreds of visitors from Victoria aad New South Wales every winter, will have oaly a secondary interest for those who are looking to Queensland primarily for a home and a livelihood. The Atherton table-land, some <JO odd miles from Cairns, and about 2.500 ft. above sea-level, is particularly delightful as regards climate. In winter it is never too cold, and extreme heat in the summer is also avoided at thkj altitude. There is no danger of dTongtot in this district ; right in mid-winter fresh growth will spring up after a fall of rain, followed by the genial warmth oi the winter sun. Dairying is in its infancy in the Atherton dfctrtet ; bat the famous "scrub." that takss its name from the locality, grows excellent grasses when cleared, and the rainfall gives an extraordinary richness to the cream produced. Sugar is a great autl growing industry in North Queensland. It is practically tbe only tropical culture that is carried on to any extent, though bananas and coffee are grown, too, and a visit to the Kamcrunga State nursery, near Cairns, and a conversation with Mr. H. Newport, V R.H.S., Instructor in Tropical Agriculture to the Queensland Government, have convinced me that it is in tropical culture that the greatest possibilities for the future of North Queensland lie At the Kamerunga State nurßery it has been practically demonstrated that such things as cocoa, tapioca, ginger, vanilla, and other tropical products can be grown profitably. But the product that will interest most readers is rubber. In almost any other tropical country where rubber is grown you must have a large capital of some thou* sands if you want to go in for this culture. In Queensland you can start on twenty acres, work your own holding, and make a good living at it. It takes rubber six years to grow to a siac when it is safe to tap tho trees, but while your rubber is coming into bearing you can be enjoying a good living from bananas planted between the rows. Once' your rubber trees come into beariag, the yield increases year by year, and, beyond keeping weeds under control, you have little to do except gather your harvest year by year for the rest of your life. The trees will certainly outlive you. Of course, to buy twenty acres of land, say, at £5 an acre, cash, and get it quickly cleared and under crop, would require a capital of £3OO or perhaps £4OO ; but there are ways in which a start can be made practically without capital at all. North Queensland has a great advantage over most other tropical regions in that it is a country where a man can bring his wile and children with him and make his home.— Answers."