570 puesident's address. — section gh. 



enough to speak of over-production ; but the time has not yet arrived 

 ■when the plough or the loom may be idle for want of needs to supply, 

 and I shall endeavour to show what activity and progress in the 

 primary industries are awaiting development in the continent of 

 Australia. 



In newly-settled and comparatively undeveloped countries like 

 Australia, one would naturally suppose that the preponderance of 

 population would be in the rural districts, but the tendency is to 

 accumulate to a surprising extent in the capital cities. Mr. G. H. 

 Knibbs, the Federal Statistician, points out in his Commonwealth 

 Year Book that this meti'opolitan aggregation is so remarkable that 

 it ranges from 19 to 46 per cent, of the total population of the respec- 

 tive States. 



In South Australia the Adelaide population is 46 per cent, of the 

 whole State; in Victoria, the Melbourne population is 43 per cent.; 

 the population of Sydney is 35 per cent, of the whole State; of 

 Brisbane, 24 per cent. ; Perth, 20 per cent. ; and Hobart over 19 per 

 cent. 



Taking the whole Commonwealth, the six capital cities have a 

 population equivalent to 35 per cent, of that of tlie entire Common- 

 wealth. 



That so large a proportion of our Australian population should 

 crowd into the capital cities is hardly a satisfactory condition of 

 things. It cannot be explained as the result of abnormal expansion 

 of manufacturing industries, as is the case with older countries where 

 the same social phenomenon is experienced ; consequently, we may 

 derive some satisfaction from the apparent fact that the production 

 fiom primai-y sources in this land is so great and valuable as to 

 admit of a very large proportion of its population who are engaged 

 in distribution and secondary production living in urban centres. But 

 surely it is this very evidence of the great value of oiu' primary 

 products which should be the strongest incentive to the following of 

 agrarian pursuits. In America the increased town population has 

 been accompanied by a corresponding increase in agrarian settle- 

 ment. 



In v.hat measure the tendency in Australia may be attributed 

 either to a disinclination to country work and life, or to an actual 

 difficulty in getting on the land, I am not prepared to say, but 

 mo;;t likely botli are contributing factors. 



To what extent we can revert more to agrarian occupations or 

 at laast maintain a reasonable balance between the primary and 

 secondary industries is the problem before us. 



In Australia pastoral ]>ursuits were for a long period the para- 

 mount agrarian industry. Agriculture, until recent times, was of 

 little account, but it has now reached a stage of such importance, 

 ajid is expanding so rapidly, that it bids fair ere long to rival and 

 surpass tho older industry. 



Just 120 years ago Captain Phillip started us with 7 horses, 6 

 head of cattle, 29 sheep, 12 pigs, and a few goats. In 1800 we had 

 203 horses, 1,044 cattle, 6,12'4 sheep, and 4,017 pigs. In 1850 such 



