50 



AUSTRALASIA. 



other countries. Of the total exports 2,80.) , 8t 

 went to Great Britain. 3.037.S78 to Australian 

 colonies, 517.823 to other British possessions, 

 247 to the United States, and 1.426.001 to lor- 

 -itni countries. The wheat crop of 1901 was I 

 iii;:U43 bushels, an increase oi about 3,000.001 

 bushels in the yield of 1!MM). 



In Western Australia then- were 180.390 acres 

 under crops in 1S99. less than a three-thousandth 

 part of the surface of the colony, but still show- 

 ing a rapid increase in agriculture. \\ heat and 

 liuv are the main crops. The area already sold 

 to 'set tiers was U.47S.1M!) acres. There were 2,009 

 lea si-* of gold-mines, which pave employment to 

 10.0SO men, while 4.920 were employed in washing 

 pold. The gold production for 1899 was 1,043.877 

 ounces, valued at 0.240,732. The production of 

 27 copper-mines was 1.991 tons, valued at 41,- 

 452; of 103 tin-mines. 308 tons, valued at 23,- 

 103. There were 23 leases of lead and copper- 

 mine-* and 71 leases of coal-mines. The export of 

 pold in 1899 was 1.434.570 ounces, valued at 5,- 

 451. 30S. In the northern and northeastern parts 

 of the colon v are about 20,000,000 acres of good 

 prazinp lands along the stream beds. The live 

 stock on Jan. 1. 1900. consisted of 65,817 horses, 

 296.207 cattle, and 2,273,240 sheep. The export of 

 pearl shell in 1890 was 90,047 in value; of 

 iM-arls. about 20.000; of sandalwood, 29,719; 

 of timber. 553.198: of wool, 423,290; of skins, 

 01.998. Of the total imports Great Britain 

 supplied the value of 1.550,029, Australasian 

 colonies 2.312,357. other British possessions 

 103.190, the United States 203,777, other 

 countries 244.179. Of the exports Great Britain 

 took 3.774.247. Australasian colonies 2,937,- 

 574. other British possessions 191,554, the 

 United States 78, and. other countries 82,189. 

 Western Australia is the source of the most valu- 

 able of the hardwoods that are used for sub- 

 marine construction, street pavements, etc. The 

 jarrah and karri woods are regarded as unri- 

 valed for piles, bridges, and railroad ties, and 

 streets paved with jarrah have stood heavy traffic 

 for many years. Karri, though less durable 

 under water and not so easily wrought, is more 

 valuable for bridges and floors, and equally good 

 for street blocks. Efforts have been made to have 

 these woods and the various kinds of eucalyptus 

 and other woods found in the virgin forests of this 

 and other colonies adopted in Great Britain for 

 Htreet pavements and various structural purposes 

 instead of timber imported from America. 



Over one-fourth of the area of Tasmania has 

 been sold or granted to settlers. There were 225,- 

 120 acres under farm crops in 1900, while 288,777 

 acres were sown to grass and 13,172 acres were 

 orchard. The yield of wheat was 1,101,303 

 bushels; of oats, 1,148,160 bushels; of hay, 51,123 

 tons; of hops, 589,793 pounds. The exportation 

 of apples and other fruits is very large. The live 

 stock in 1900 comprised 31,189 horses, 160,204 

 cattle, 1,672,068 sheep, and 74,451 pigs. The 

 colony contains rich deposits of tin, copper, ga- 

 lena, and iron ores, and coal. The alluvial de- 

 posits of pold have been worked out, but there 

 are gold-mines, producing the value of 205,936 

 in 1899, when the silver export was 208,869 and 

 that of copper ore 761,880. The quantity of 

 silver and copper ores raised was 417,866 tons, 

 valued at 1.033,724. The value of the tin export 

 in 1899 was 281,947, making a tatal of 6,961,- 

 249 exported from the beginning of mining. The 

 production of the coal-mines was 43,113 tons 

 value _ 17, 008. The export of wool in 1899 was 

 2357,767 in value; of silver and silver ore, 

 208,869; of timber and bark, 70,584; of hops, 



13,555: of fruit, fresh and preserved, 244,143. 

 The imports of textiles were valued at 380,175; 

 hardware, 100,353; sugar, 104,490; machinery, 

 98.720. Of the total imports the value of 501,- 

 ]->0 came from Great Britain, 799,907 from Vic- 

 toria. 275,414 from New South Wales, 158,099 

 from other British colonies, and 50,405 from for- 

 eign countries. Of the total value of exports 

 1.039,640 went to Great Britain, 391,602 to 

 Victoria, 701,524 to New South Wales, 117,- 

 232 to other British colonies, and 327,477 to 

 foreign countries. 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered at 

 the ports of New South Wales during 1899 was 

 3,219, of 3,468,591 tons, of which 2,908, of 2,977,- 

 0\)t tons, were British or colonial and 311, of 

 491,494 tons, were foreign; cleared, 3,199, of 

 3,526,960 tons, of which 2,877, of 3,036,277 tons, 

 were British or colonial and 322, of 490,683 tons,, 

 were foreign. The merchant fleet of the colony 

 consisted on June 30, 1899, of 502 sailing vessels,, 

 of 55,554 tons, and 498 steamers, of 67,193 tons. 



The number of vessels entered at Victorian 

 ports was 2,024, of 2,662,792 tons, of which 393, of 

 1,009,272 tons, were British, and 1,321, of 1,218,480 

 tons, were colonial; cleared, 2,031, of 2,678,663 

 tons, of which 411, of 1,063,142 tons, were British, 

 and 1,284, of 1,079,507 tons, were colonial. The 

 merchant shipping comprised 233 sailing vessels, 

 of 37,837 tons, and 148 steamers, of 60,964 tons. 



At the ports of Queensland 662 vessels in the 

 foreign trade, of 730,450 tons, were entered and 

 630, of 733,613 tons, were cleared during 1899. 

 In the coasting trade 6,692 vessels, of 3,896,597 

 tons, were entered and 6,588, of 3,527,266 tons 

 were cleared. The shipping of the colony con- 

 sisted of 144 sailing vessels, of 9,928 tons, and 90 

 steamers, of 12,867 tons. 



There were 1,020 vessels, of 1,708,556 tons, en- 

 tered and 1,025, of 1,720,810 tons, cleared at South 

 Australian ports during 1899. The merchant 

 shipping of the colony consisted of 227 sailing 

 vessels, of 22,421 tons, and 108 steamers, of 28,- 

 445 tons. 



At West Australian ports 685 vessels, of 1,333,- 

 052 tons, were entered in 1899, and 668, of 1,305,596 

 tons, were cleared. The colonial shipping con- 

 sisted of 135 sailing vessels, of 6,653 tons, and 

 30 steamers, of 5,442 tons. 



The number of vessels entered in Tasmania dur- 

 ing 1899 was 797, of 662,757 tons; cleared, 755, of 

 655,358 tons. The shipping belonging to the 

 colony consisted of 156 sailing vessels, of 8,894 

 tons, and 44 steamers, of 6,485 tons. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 railroads of New South Wales on June 30, 1900,. 

 had a total length of 2,896 miles, of which 2,811 

 were built by the Government at a cost of 38,- 

 477,269. The gross receipts in 1900 were 3,163,- 

 572; working expenses, 1,769,520, being 55.93 

 per cent, of the receipts. The Government tram- 

 ways had a length of 71 miles, built at a cost of 

 1,924,720, and earning 409,724 in the year, less 

 341,127 for working expenses. 



The state railroads of Victoria had a total 

 length on June 30, 1899, of 3,160 miles, built at a 

 cost oi 38,974,410, of which 2,908,121 was pro- 

 vided out of the revenue and the rest was bor- 

 rowed. The gross receipts in 1899 were 2,873,729,. 

 and expenses were 1,797,726, being 62.6 per cent, 

 of the receipts. The net income was equal to 2.77 

 per cent, of the cost of construction, or 2.98 per 

 cent, of the borrowed capital, on which the aver- 

 age rate of interest is 3.8 per cent. There were 

 45,805,043 passengers and 2,779,748 tons of fright 

 carried in 1899. 



There were 2,800 miles of railroads in operation 



