CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



aborigines. Brisbane, the capital, situated on 

 Brisbane River, in the district of Moreton Bay, 

 has a population of 12,000. Next to Brisbane in 

 population are the towns of Rockhampton and 

 Ipswich, the former containing 5226, and the latter 

 5021, inhabitants in 1868. 



Queensland is in general well watered. At a 

 distance of from 50 to 100 miles from the eastern 

 sea-coast, runs north and south a great mountain- 

 range, which throws out numerous spurs (com- 

 posed principally of quartz) towards the sea, and 

 whose summits rise from 2000 to 6000 feet above 

 the ocean-level. The chief rivers are the Logan, 

 the Brisbane, the May, the Caliope, the Fitzroy, 

 the Pioneer, and the Burdekin. The Brisbane 

 is navigable for 75 miles by good-sized vessels. 

 The Fitzroy, which is navigable for 60 miles, 

 drains an area of 50,000,000 acres. Beyond the 

 Dividing Range there are immense plains, com- 

 posed of rich black soil, and watered by numerous 

 streams. Queensland is, in several respects, 

 among the most promising colonies of Austral- 

 asia. It is a great sheep country, although 

 not to the extent anticipated some years ago, 

 when sheep were driven overland from some 

 of the other colonies to its pastures. It is liable 

 to serious periodical droughts, which wither 

 the grass. It is admirably suited for cotton and 

 sugar-cane. A system of free selection in land 

 prevails here, as in New South Wales and Victoria. 

 The imports of the colony in 1871 amounted to 

 ^2,434,480, and the exports to j 1,539,968. The 

 staple exports are wool, valued in 1871 at 

 5 l 7t5 l S tallow, of the value, in 1870, of 

 ^60,483; raw cotton, in 1871, amounting to 18,512 

 cwt of the value of j 3,292. In 1870, there were 

 5000 acres under sugar-cane in Queensland, 39 

 sugar-mills, and 10 distilleries. Labour from the 

 South Sea Islands is employed in connection with 

 the growth and manufacture of sugar. In 1867, 

 gold was discovered. The principal gold-field is 

 at Gympie's Creek. The total gold-produce of the 

 colony in 1870 was in value .489,539. In that 

 year there were 12 gold-fields and 15,000 miners. 

 The form of government is the same as that of 

 Victoria. 



The climate of Queensland resembles that of 

 Madeira, 



Western Australia. 



Western Australia includes all that portion of 

 New Holland situated to the westward of the 

 1 2gth degree of E. long. ; its greatest length being 

 1280 miles from north to south, and its breadth 

 from east to west about 800 miles. The area is 

 about 1,000,000 square miles. Western Australia 

 was first settled in 1829. In 1849, at the request 

 of the colonists, convicts were sent to it, and the 

 colony has the fruits of their labour in roads, 

 bridges, &c. In 1860, the sending of convicts 

 was discontinued. In all, there were sent to 

 Western Australia 10,000 convicts. The whole 

 population of the colony is 25,353. I n 1871, the 

 imports amounted to ^198,010, and the exports 

 to ; 1 99,280. The chief exports are wool, cop- 

 per, lead-ore, pearl-shell, and timber. In 1871, 

 there were 671,000 sheep, yielding an export in 

 wool of 111,061. In 1871, sandal -wood was 

 exported to the 'value of ,26,926 ; and pearl- 

 shell, of ,12,895. Perth, the capital, is situated 

 on a lake of brackish water formed by the Swan 



3;'2 



River, and has 6000 inhabitants. The revenue 

 of Western Australia in 1871 was ,97,605. It 

 has no public debt. 



TASMANIA. 



Tasmania, formerly Van Diemen's Land, is an 

 island lying off the southern extremity of the 

 mainland of Australia, from which it is separated 

 by Bass's Strait. The length of the island is 240 

 miles, and its breadth 200. It was first dis- 

 covered in the year 1642 by Abel Jansen Tas- 

 man, a celebrated Dutch navigator, and was 

 by him called Van Diemen's Land, in honour 

 of Anthony Van Diemen, at that time governor- 

 general of the Dutch possessions in the East 

 Indies. In 1803, it was formally taken possession 

 of on the part of Great Britain, as a receptacle 

 for convicts, and to this purpose, Van Diemen's 

 Land was exclusively devoted until 1819, when it 

 was thrown open to free settlers. Convicts ceased 

 to be sent to Tasmania in 1853. 



Tasmania presents a constant alternation of 

 hill and dale, with occasional flats or plains. 

 These plains are in general exceedingly fertile, 

 and being often but thinly interspersed with trees, 

 present a most delightful appearance. The land 

 already alienated amounts to 3,413,810 acres, 

 leaving 13,468,971 acres of unalienated land. 

 The climate is exceedingly pleasant and salubri- 

 ous, and is especially adapted to the constitutions 

 of the natives of Great Britain. The mean tem- 

 perature of Hobart Town is 54 92'. 



In 1870, the population of Tasmania amounted 

 to 99,328 persons. Hobart Town, the capital, con- 

 tains 20,000 inhabitants. The emigrants were in 

 excess of the immigrants in the years 1868-71. In 

 1871, the imports amounted to 778,087, and 

 the exports to .740,638. The staple export is 

 wool, of value, in 1871, ,298,160. The minerals 

 include copper, iron, lead, zinc, gold, coal, &c. 

 The revenue in 1872 was ,234,608 ; and the public 

 debt, ,1,455,900. A railway 43 miles in length, 

 opened in 1871, connects Launceston with Dole- 

 raine. In April 1869, telegraphic communication 

 with the mainland of Australia was established 

 by a submarine cable. There is a telegraphic 

 system with 14 stations on the island. A consti- 

 tution was given to Tasmania in 1854, similar to 

 that of the Australian colonies. 



The aborigines, who numbered 3000 at the date 

 of the first colonisation of the island, have all 

 died out 



Determined efforts have been made by the 

 colonists to introduce salmon and British trout 

 into the Tasmanian rivers ; the trout have suc- 

 ceeded, but no salmon have yet been caught 

 The sperm-whale abounds in Bass's Strait 

 Tasmania grows British fruits admirably, and 

 produces excellent timber. 



NEW ZEALAND. 



New Zealand, first visited by Tasman in 1642, 

 and surveyed by Captain Cook in 1769, is 

 situated about 1200 miles eastward from Tas- 

 mania, between the parallels of 34 and 48 S. 

 lat. and the meridians of 166 and 179 E. long, 

 being about the antipodes of Great Britain, from 

 which it is 16,000 miles distant It consists of 

 three main islands, lying in a line nearly north 





