202 president's address — section e. 



home in fighting icebergs or the Spanish Armada ; Hudson and Baffin^ 

 Jas. Cook, Parry, the Rosses, and Frankhn, and many others ; whilst 

 the interview between young Horatio Nelson and the polar bear cannot 

 be forgotten. 



Of what advantage is polar exploration ? Why risk human life 

 and treasure in endeavoring to wrest from nature her secrets in these 

 regions of such desolate and inhospitable character ? These questions 

 have been often asked, yet might not similar questions have been asked 

 with reference to Australia, wheii the gallant Sturt returned from his 

 central Austrab'an expedition ? On Sturt's track there now stands 

 one of Australia's most important mining centres, a city of 30,000 

 inhabitants, the ^v^orld-famed Broken Hill. On one memorable occasion 

 Sir John Franklin traversed the ice-bound regions of far north-west 

 America, suffering the greatest possible hardships and having actually 

 to eat his boots to maintain life. What benefit to mankind could such 

 a country be ? In it now the miner is hard at work, and Klondyke, 

 the Yukon, and Cape Nome are household words. 



Taught by experience on their western boundary, where, through 

 the carelessness of British statesmen of the past, they now find them- 

 selves shut out from access to the seaboard, our Canadian fellow-citizena 

 are steadily extending their dominion and the boundaries of the Empire 

 by including the ice-bound islands to their north ; and it may be asked 

 whether Australia should not take similar action with reference to these 

 southern seas, its scattered islands, and Antarctica. Apparently value- 

 less at present, are they not possibly future Klondykes 1 Indepen- 

 dently of the possible future value of these polar regions to the human 

 race, their exploration and scientific examination produce data of con- 

 siderable practical value in solving the problems of meteorology and 

 terrestrial magnetism, whilst the work has been noted for its value in 

 developing the best characteristics of the British seamen. 



As geographical students we are deeply indebted to those exploiers 

 who have given us a knowledge of the world's great geographical 

 features which govern the development of nations and determine 

 their lines of communication. To the civil engineer, more especially, 

 a thorough grasp of the geography of the country in which his work 

 is located becomes of vital importance, so that he may take advantage 

 of all favorable conditions and guard against or minimise the effect 

 of all unfavorable ones. On the other hand, it falls to the lot of the 

 civil engineer to alter or modify geographical conditions. By piercing^ 

 the Alps he has brought Southern and Northern Europe into close 

 touch with each other ; with his barrages, canals, and other irrigation 

 works he has enormously increased the prosperitv and productiveness 

 of Egypt and of India ; whilst with the Suez Canal he has revolutionised 

 the commercial relations between Europe and the eastern world. We 

 may, therefore, note with satisfaction that our American cousins have 

 actively resumed operations at the Isthmus of Panama, and that there 

 is every prospect of the great scheme originated by Lesseps being 

 carried to a successful termination by people of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

 Whilst , necessarily, this great work will principally benefit American 

 commerce, Australasia cannot fail to profit from it immensely. 



