4 Voyage of the No vara. 



meroLis coves of tlie splendidly situate Bay of Port Jackson, a 

 city of such magnificence, so large and so beautiful, that it 

 has been called the '' Queen of the South," or even, with more 

 enthusiasm than accuracy, " Little London." The population 

 of the city and environs is estimated at 93,000, that of this 

 single colony at 350,000, while its trade has increased to such 

 an extent that it keeps employed 1000 ships and 18,000 men, 

 the value of exports of raw, and import of manufactured pro- 

 ducts, amounting for this one port to upwards of £ 12,000,000 per 

 annum. The discovery of abundant gold-fields in the adjacent 

 colony of Victoria has undoubtedly materially contributed to 

 this enormous expansion, and has perceptibly increased the 

 immigration, but the development of the capabilities of the land 

 itself has not been less steadily increasing, wherever the 

 population have pursued the surer and more solid occupation 

 of agriculture and cattle-rearing. The wool growth of Aus- 

 tralia, which in 1820 was barely 50 tons, has since then risen 

 to nearly 25,000 tons, rivalling in bulk and quality that of 

 the Cape, and rapidly becoming a dangerous competitor with 

 those countries of Europe, whose wools have hitherto com- 

 manded their own terms in the English market. 



A continent of such immeasurable natural resources, with a 

 climate,* especially on its southern coasts, remarkable for its 



• The mean of thermometrical readings on the north coast is 80°. 6 Fahr. ; — at Port 

 McQu.irrie, in S.E. Australia (31° S.), 68° Fahr. ; at Port Jackson (34° S.) 66°. 5 Fahr. ; 

 at Port PhiHp on the south coast (38" S.), 61°.3 Fahr.; at Perth on the west coast 

 (32° S.) 62^ 6 to 64°. 4 Fahr, The annual rain-fall in New South Wales is 4.') inches. 



