COMMONWEALTH SKETCHES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6871, 15 July 1909, Page 5

COMMONWEALTH SKETCHES

(By T. E. Taylor.) QUEENSLAND, THE GOLIATH STATE. The Conservative press of New Zealand has so persistently asserted that Queensland is more attractive than tho Dominion for both the capital created and the manhood born here, that 1 was very anxious to personally peep into the best-advertised State in Australasia. When ono weighs ail that is said in praiso of the colossal State of the Commonwealth, the fact which stands most to her credit when contrasted with her sister States and New Zealand is that the has vaster unoccupied areas of good land than any of them. It is the earth hunger of mankind that gives land her present advantages, and affords her justification for the extensive and strenuous advertising she is now indulging' in, in tho hop© that her groat need of population may be to some extent satisfied. The railway journey from Sydney to Brisbane occupies about twenty-seven hours, the distance being 725 miles. Between the two ci ties named, both of which are practically at sea-level, there is some of the worst and some of the best land in tbe Commonwealtb, and climates of many kinds. For over 400 miles of the run the altitude varies from 1000 to over 4000 feet above sea-level. One leaves Sydney bathed in sunshine, and summer attire is in general use,' and reaches Himilar conditions in Brisbane, whilst in between the terminal points frost lies upon the earth for scores of miles at the higher levels. Over tho whole Land tho eucalyptus tree caste its shadow. Although the climate of Australia is so much hotter than that of Now Zealand, there is not visible between Sydney and Brisbane an acre of busk so suggestive of a subtropcial climate as is nearly all the forest land of the Dominion. The abundant undergrowth of-the New Zealand forest into which Nature has densely pocked numberless ferns and shrubs —beautiful in form and colour —is missing on the Australian Continent until Ihe coastal region north of Brisbane is reached, and then the combination of heavy rainfall, rich soil and great heat produces a growth of vegetation resembling the fascinating forest which utility is so ruthlessly destroying throughout this fair land. From a scenic point of view the country between Sydney and Brisbane is not without charm. There are many beautiful stretches of fertile and fairly closely settled land, but for the most part the scenery is uninteresting. Contrasted with the ever-changing and continuous beauty which attends a tour of equal distance in New Zealand, travel in the Commonwealth lacks excitement. Now Zealanders must have remarsea how tho fertility of the Darling Downs is nearly always referred to when the praises of (.Kiorn.slaiul are being sounded. In Queensland this section of the country is cited with, pride ns showing the possibility of agriculture, in a State which the popular imagination regards as being almost exclusively a pastoral country.

THE PESTS OF BARLING- DOWNS. If the Darling Downs were representative of the soil of the great State in which they are situate, Queensland could contract to grow food supplies for half the people of the earth. They are not. These famous Downs are the best agricultural land, in the State. It is *,ald that the black rich soil is in some portions thirty feot in depth. That may be true, but it is also true that rich black soil of oven greater depth is valueless unless moisture can be secured. It is the element of uncertainty regarding rainfall, and the puzzling vegetable pest of the prickly pear, the insect pest of the tick, and the stock diseases known as red-water, etc., which necessitate an acclimatised judgment before one can give an opinion of any value as to the alleged superiority of Queensland over New Zealand for farmers or others.

Our sixty-six million acres figure as insignificant alongside Queensland’s 429 million acres, but mere area is no standard by which to judge tho advantages of the two countries. Hero drought is ■unknown and almost impossible. In Queensland drought is constantly dreaded, except in the coastal regions, where the rainfall averages from forty inches in tho south to one hundred and seventy in tho north. It is tho extreme of folly for anyone ■who desires to act freo from prejudice to make it appear that Queensland can offer superior advantages to what ore obtainable here. If a man can. obtain land hero ho should boos happy as in

any part of the world. If Queensland'* great expanse of land attracts a sprinkling of earth-hungry New Zealanders, let the fact bo stated in its true colours; men will drift to and fro upon the earth as long os means of travel exist. Exchange of population establishes no proof of either superior or inferior conditions as between countries. The movement probably has more to do with the character of the person than of the countries.

NO COUNTRY FOR THE POOR MAN. After carefully perusing many publications and discussing tho question with many people, I think'it is quite safe to say that Queensland is the most attractive State in the Commonwealth anyone desirous of making money. Yet it is no country for the poor man or the man of small means as compared with New Zealand. Of its 429 million acres, only some 600,000 acres are under cultivation. The country is ei»e>ntially a pastoral one. Two hundred and sixty-five million acres are held under lease or license for pastoral purposes. Only nineteen million acres out of 429 million have been sold. All the balance is still Crown land, but 130 million acres aro probaby worthless, or so far removed from transit facilities as to render their . use unprofitable for many years. Tbe State has the right to resume any land held under pastoral lease, for close settlement, and has recently resumed numerous areas. Large freehold properties near centres of population have also been bought for closer settlement purposes. The rental received by the : State for the lands leased for pastoral purposes averages about fifteen shillings per annum per square mile. This rent to New Zealanders seems absurd, but when the risks attendant uppn drought, cattle diseases and pests of various kinds are taken into account, the rental is probably not low as compared with those obtaining here. I met one well-known New Zealand farmer in Brisbane who had recently purchased about 15,000 acres of Darling Downs land. He intended his sons to occupy it, but after inspection they preferred remaining in tho North Island. He said he expected to make money even if he lost all his stock by drought every six years. On the other hand, many New Zealanders, after spending months prospecting Queensland for land, have returned here with their affection for these islands deepened by temporary absence.

If one determines to leave New Zealand to make a heme elsewhere, Queens, land should possess strong attractions. Its wealth-producing powers may be readily gauged by the fact that half a million people have an export and import in the neighbourhood of twenty-five million pounds sterling. Someone has said that Queensland posesscs the '‘territory of au empire and the population of a town." Any exhaustive review of the State ■ would need to take notice of the fact that there are three groat divisions in the State, known as the Southern, Central, and- Northern. Some day these divisions will possess their own Parliaments, and send as many representatives to the Federal Parliament as does the whole State to-day. Perhaps the best illustration of the wide range of definite climates within the three great divisions of Queensland, is the fact that all the fruits to which wo are accustomed as well as the fruits of tropical countries, grow in perfection. To enumerate the products which make up Queensland’s annual wealth would require a column of space. It is safe to say that the most vivid imagination would fail to forecast the wealth which Queensland will yield to labour in the years to oome. BRISBANE. Brisbane, the capital of tho State, is a city of some hundred thousands of a population. It has not the metropolitan air of Sydney,- but there are abundant evidences of its commercial prosperity in the handsome thoroughfares and the spacious • warehouses and shops through which the varied products of tho State flow. The site of the city is sufficiently removed from the level 'to permit of many of the leading public buildings and churches being placed in commanding positions. Although the river upon whose banks the city stands cannot compare with the peerless harbour of Sydney for natural beauty, the stream will serve the commercial needs of the State as effectually as does Sydney harbour serve those of tho great southern city. Tho Brisbane river is not ornamental, but its commercial value is inestimable, and its dimensions are ample to meet all the commercial demands of the future.

The prospect from Bowen Terrace is particularly fine. Tho city itself from this point is impressive, but tho great river and the panorama of level plain ami rolling downs, stretching away until they join the distant huls, make a more charming landscape than anything near Sydney affords. The botanical gardens are immature, but the site and general design aro guarantee of their future beauty. The tropical palm lives here, whereas in similar parks fur-

ther south it languishes. In the Brisbane gardens the bamboo is a thing oi beauty, and when in its presence on<begins to understand why Hearn and other writers on the West Indies indulged in such impassioned praise oi this beautiful plant. Not only docs it fulfil overy demand of art in its delicate curves and colour, but ’as the dusters of canes move to and fro they produce continuous and musical sounds. It is only natural that the Brisbane Art Gallery should bo comparatively insignificant when measured by those ox Sydney and Melbourne, but the small collection contains a few very excellent pictures, . Brisbane is well supplied with public produce markets, both municipal and private ventures being thriving concerns. SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY. The city adopted the Saturday halfholiday about eighteen months ago, and extensive inquiries show that it has proved entirely satisfactory. Before its adoption traders expressed grave fears as to the injury the Saturday half-holiday would inflict upon their businesses. For a few weeks after its adoption business was deranged, but before six months had passed matters so far as trade is concerned had reached normal, and to-day the Saturday half-holiday appears to bo as firmly cstablishcd in Brisbane as the most suitable day for all interests, as Thursday and other mid-week days are in New Zealand. Melbourne has also, despite its great size and enormous population, almost Immediately become content with its adoption of a Saturday half-holiday. I made inquiries and was assured that both cities readily accepted Friday night as the late might. The streets on that night are as densely crowded with people as they were formerly on Saturdays, and in each city the Saturday morning trade was brisk and satisfactory. If the Dominion were to send a commission to Melbourne and to investigate the Saturday afternoon holiday question its report would probably lead to the speedy adoption of Saturday in New Zealand. There are those who declare that tho Saturday half-holiday would result in a large volume of trade for the publican, because of the greater number of holiday-makers, I could only hear opinion to the contrary in Brisbane, and am satisfied that increased leisure and opportunity for recreation will lead to increased, health and self-restraint. Tho advocates of covered-in playgrounds for the school children of New Zealand would find justification for their proposals in the numerous roofed playgrounds that are scon everywhere in Queensland. In tho latter country the shelter is from the sun, -but it is just os necessary, and perhaps more so, to protect the children from inclement weather as from sunshine. Queensland is busy improving its education, system. Tho secondary school and university are now being planned as portions of tho State system. In none of the Australian States does education, seem to have received tho attention that it has in New Zealand, and we may regard ourselves as fortunate above our neighbours in this matter. COMMERCIAL GATEWAYS.

It does not require the prophetic instinct to accurately foretell the great future that lies before the principal coastal towns lying to the north of Brisbane. Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Cooktown are all commercial gateways for the giant State. Rockhampton and Townsville are the seaport towns for extensive railway lines running due west, and pending the completion of the main trunk line passing north from Brisbane the two towns named monopolise the commerce of the enormous tracts of land served by the railways referred to. Of ail the inland towns In Queensland, Toowoomba is easily first in importance. Popular imagination sees the Chicago of the Commonwealth in the bustling, handsome, populous city which is tne business centre for the wonderful Darling Downs district. Ipswich, Warwick and other towns have also high hopes of future importance,, and many of the hopes must be realised in a measure beyond- : wildest dream of to-day. The dread of drought has been the most disturbing factor to the farmer and grazier of Queensland in past years. In the coastal areas the rainfall is assured and abundant. It is when the coastal region is left behind and/ one moves westward that the drought becomes a danger to be reckoned with. Although it is not conceivable that it will ever cease to worry the Queensland pastoralist, the discovery in recent years that artesian wells will unlock immense reservoirs of water ha& lessened the risks of the grazier and promises to make life more endurable and human effort more profitable in districts that were almost .uninhabitable before the success of the artesian bore.

The engineering experts who have reported on the subject estimate that artesian supplies of greater or lesser volume should be obtainable within an area of 376,000 square miles or 56 per cent, of the area of the State. Between one and two thousand wells have already been sunk. The average depth of the bores is about 1300 feet. The deepest one is at Bimerah, and goes down 50-16 feet. Some of the wells yield over two million gallons a day, and the average yield is in the neighbourhood of 100,000 gallons a bore. The average cost is near .£ISOO a well, but it will be readily perceived that such a sum is well invested capital if in times of sustained drought the means of watering slock is assured. Coming from such great depths, the water reaches the surface in some instances as hot as 202 deg., and many yarns are told of man and beast getting into hot water unintentionally in their hurry to enjoy the luxury of a bathe. WATER DIVINERS. The artesian well industry finds employment for a number of ‘‘water diviners." The water-finder with his twig is' looked upon with respect by many of the smartest commercial men in Queensland, and large pastoral concerns pay well-known water-finders for their instinctive knowledge of subterranean conditions. I was assured that in a big majority of cases the \yater-finders’ predictions are accurately realised. 1 One of greatest industries is the manufacture of sugar. The methods of cultivation and manufacture are sufficiently interesting to fill more space than I can command in these columns. In company with over a hundred Australian youths we were able to see on-’ sugar district and mill north of Brisbane. In extent and quality of cane Nambour will not comparb with the Bundaberg district, which is the most important sugar-cane area in the State. The visit to Nambour was, however, most instructive and enjoyable. By the courtesy of the sugar mills proprietors the party was taken over the narrow gauge railway system, by means of which the crop is gathered to the mill. Every detail of tho manufacture was carefully explained and the process of extraction and crystallisation demonstrated. The Australian youths referred to as being in the party were physically as fine a group of men as any country upon earth could produce. They were visiting Brisbane in connection with the inter-Stato rowing championship races, and, after sharing the contest on the previous Saturday, made holiday for one day in tho sugar fields. The Brisbane river was thronged with boats of every description, and thousands of people lined the banks of the lower reaches to witness the boat races. In the single sculls. Towns, of Sydney, a brother of a former New South Wales world sculling champion, won easily, and gave a magnificent exhibition of his art. In the eight-oar event Tasmania won after a really fine contest I was much impressed bv tho courteous behaviour of the holiday crowd in Brisbane. Generally speaking, the Queensland people appear to be of a higher type than their neighbours in New South Wales. It is certain that Brisbane City displays no tvpe of beaten humanity such as makes Sydney streets more dramatic, but more disheartening to those who desire to see noble cities peopled by noble men and women. SUNSHINE IN PERPETUITY. To see Queensland even superficially

three months at least should be devoted to the task. The Northern, Central, and Southern divisions of the State are each big enough for a nation to move in. Together they are able to produce in abundance everything that should be necessary to make elad the heart of man. Fruits of every description, from the luscious tropical fruit to those % we regard in New Zealand as being typical of British orchards. Wool, fibre, meat, grains of every description, cocoa, sago, tea, coffee, tobacco, rubber, pearls and precious stones* sunshine in perpetuity —who can limit the possibilities of a country so endowed? If there is not room for a man in the Isles of the Blest. X can imagine no country that can offer better prospects of material well-being to & capable man than does Queensland. After New Zealand it leads Australasia for resources and opportunity of well-being. The people of Australia are so essentially democratic that courtesy is an instinct with them. Of their generous hospitality volumes could be written. It would be a crime if anything is done in the future that tends to prevent the people of the Commonwealth and the Dominion acting together in all matters where their commercial and social interests permit of co-operation.