AUSTRALASIA. 



59 



colonies, 520,328 to other British possessions, 2,- 

 064,964 to the United States, and 8,674,348 to other 

 foreign countries. The overland trade in 1896 

 amounted to 3,125,671 for imports and 4.769,738 

 for exports. The land under tillage in 1897 was 

 1,659,717 acres, only four fifths of 1 per cent, of the 

 total area of the colony. The total land alienated 

 up to Jan. 1, 1897, was 45,257,468 acres, while 126,- 

 307,790 acres were occupied under leases from the 

 Government. The chief products of the soil are 

 wheat, corn, barley, oats, hay, sugar, wine, brandy, 

 and table fruit, mostly oranges. The live stock in 

 1897 consisted of 510,636 horses, 2.226,163 cattle, 

 48.318,790 sheep, and 214,581 pigs. 



The exports of gold coin and bullion f iv m Victoria 

 in 1897 were 3.299,012 in value. The wool exports 

 were 146,516,567 pounds, valued at 4,959,404. of 

 which half was the product of other colonies, the im- 

 ports being valued at 2,270,496. The exports of live 

 stock, valued at 337,541, were less than the im- 

 ports. Exports of breadstuffs were valued at 596,- 

 168; refined sugar, 134,392; apparel, 151,127; 

 tallow, 180,855. There are 2,838 manufacturing 

 establishments, employing 42,332 hands. The 

 quantity of gold produced by 32,123 miners in 1896 

 was 805,087 ounces of the value of 3,220,348. The 

 cultivated area in 1897 was 3,093,000 acres, produ- 

 cing 7,076,000 bushels of wheat, 6,819,000 of oats, 

 824,000 of barley, 146,000 tons of potatoes, and 449,- 

 000 tons of hay. The live stock in 1891 comprised 

 436.469 horses, 1,782,881 cattle, 12,692,843 sheep, 

 and 282,457 pigs. 



The chief exports from Queensland were gold for 

 2.104,257, silver for 59,192, tin for 46,779, copper 

 for 32,401, wool for 2,984,210, sugar for 863,080, 

 hides and skins for 449,265, tallow for 337,967, 

 preserved and salted meat for 344,318, frozen meat 

 for 491,850, meat extract for 52.758, green fruit 

 for 67,013, and pearl shell for 94,865. Nearly 60 

 per cent, of the total area of the colony is leased in 

 squatting runs, of which there are 3,218. Half the 

 total area is covered with forests, but little has been 

 done to develop forestry. Only 336,000 acres are 

 cultivated. Water is easily obtained by boring ar- 

 tesian wells, some of which yfeld millions of gallons 

 a day. There are several coal mines. The product 

 of gold in 1896 was 640,386 ounces. There were 

 83,000 acres under sugar cane. The chief grain 

 crop is corn. 



The exports of wheat from South Australia were 

 valued at 89,515 ; those of flour at 523,541 ; wool, 

 1,228,991 ; copper, 219,052. The areaunder tillage 

 in 1897 was 2,584,395 acres, two thirds of it under 

 wheat. The total area passed to private ownership 

 is 9,147,783 acres. The product of wheat fell off 

 from 14,261,000 bushels in 1880 to 2.804,000 in 1896. 

 There were 1,473,216 gallons -of wine made in 1897. 

 The live stock numbers 177,078 horses, 337,225 

 cattle, and 6,323,993 sheep. 



The export of gold from Western Australia in- 

 creased from 421,385 in 1893 to 787.099 in 1894. 

 879,748 in 1895, and 1,068.808 in 1896. In 1897 

 there wei'e 674,993 ounces exported, valued at 2,- 

 564,976. There were 20,236 men employed in the mines 

 in 1896. The number of mining leases was 8.141. 

 Other exports in 1896 were : Pearl shell, 30.213 ; 

 pearls, 20,000: sandalwood, 65.800; timber, 116.- 

 420 ; wool, 267,506 ; skins, 18,111. Agriculture 

 and stock-raising are rapidly increasing. The live 

 stock in 1896 consisted of 57,527 horses, 199,793 

 cattle, and 2,248,976 sheep. 



The chief exports from Tasmania were: Wool, 

 290,971; gold, 232,180; silver and silver ore, 

 222,948; green and preserved fruit, 169,705 ; tin, 

 159,038; timber and bark. 01,426; hops, 21.665. 

 . The values of the principal exports from New 

 Zealand were: Wool, 4,391,848 ; frozen meat, 1,- 



251,993; gold, 1,041.428; Kauri gum, 431,323; 

 butter and cheese, 411,882 : grain and flour, 408,- 

 405; hides, skins, and leather, 324,060; tallow, 

 208.821; timber, 133,511: grass seed, 81,175; 

 preserved meat, 75.661 ; New Zealand hemp, 32.- 

 985; specie, 21,198; bacon and hams, 18,367; 

 live animals, 17,704. The quantity of wool was 

 129,151,624 pounds ; of frozen meat, 1,103,362 hun- 

 dredweight; of butter, 71,353 hundredweight; of 

 cheese, 71,372 hundredweight ; of gold, 263,364 

 ounces ; of Kauri gum. 7,126 tons. The live stock 

 in 1897 consisted of 249,732 horses, 1,138,572 cattle, 

 19,138,493 sheep, and 209,853 pigs. 



Fiji has been a British possession only since 1874. 

 The European settlers cultivate cocoanuts, sugar 

 cane, bananas, and to a small extent pineapples, pea- 

 nuts, rice, tea, cotton, and tobacco. They raise cattle 

 and some sheep and Angora goats. The external 

 trade is almost entirely with Australia and Great 

 Britain. The sugar exported in 1896 was 27,334 

 tons, valued at 339,929 ; copra, 5,487 tons, valued 

 at 48,950 ; value of bananas, etc., 18,490 ; of rum, 

 10,163. 



There was a remarkable efflux of gold from the 

 Australasian colonies in 1897. The total export, 

 chiefly in sovereigns, was 13,500,000, and it was 

 continued in 1898. This movement reduced the 

 coin in the banks by 3,689,000. The imports 

 showed an increase, but apart from gold, the export 

 trade declined. The total production of gold in 

 the seven colonies was 2,899,650 ounces, against 

 2,378,126 ounces in 1896. 



Navigation. The number of vessels and the 

 tonnage entered and cleared at the ports of the 

 several colonies during 1896 are given in the follow- 

 ing table: 



The registered tonnage in New South Wales wa> 

 112,634; in Victoria, 95,760 ; in Queensland, 22,970; 

 in South Australia, 40,477 ; in Western Australia, 

 8,113 ; in Tasmania, 18^871 ; in New Zealand, 76,556 ; 

 in Fiji, 492. 



Com inimical ions. The number of miles of rail- 

 road opened to traffic in 1896 and the mileage of 

 telegraph in the Australasian colonies are shown 

 in the following table : 



The number of telegrams sent in New South 

 Wales in 1896 was 2,796,776: receipts, 431,762; 

 net revenue, 159,741. In Queensland the number 

 of messages was 1,035.601 ; receipts, 71,758. In 

 Tasmania 208,784 internal and 107,669 cable mes- 

 sages were forwarded; net revenue, 19,111. The 

 number of messages dispatched in Victoria was 

 1,872,649 ; revenue^ 101,928. In Western Australia 



