AUSTRALIA 



AUSTRALIA 



grazing lands, the number in the Common- 

 wealth averaging about 10,000,000, about as 

 many as in Texas and Iowa together. Since 

 the discovery of successful cold-storage meth- 

 ods much beef has been exported, and butter 

 is also sent to Asia and to Europe. (More 

 detailed information as to agricultural products 

 as well as commerce may be gained from the 

 articles on the separate states.) 



Manufactures. Until the establishment of 

 Commonwealth in 1901 the manufacturing 

 industries had been but slightly developed, but 

 that date they have grown steadily. 

 Manufacturing, however, is still far from rank- 

 ing as one of the chief industries, for mining 

 and the raising of live stock have been so 

 profitable that it has seemed unwise to devote 

 large capital and energy to the making of 

 articles which could be obtained cheaper from 

 other countries. The majority of the factories 

 established deal with raw materials which can- 

 not be shipped safely or with profit, so indus- 

 tries connected with food and drink rank high 

 in the scale. Others of chief importance are 

 the clothing and textile industries, metal work- 

 ing and the manufacture of machinery. 



Transportation and Communication. Since 



the rivers of Australia are few, railways must 



run everywhere if there is to be intercommuni- 



>n and development, but much of the 



country beyond the coast regions is so sparsely 



floilutai/s 



for cons tfuc liott. 

 Railways projfclfCt . 



AUSTRALIAN RAILROADS IN 1916 



settled that it can afford no proper ret 

 cij.ital inv.M.,1 in nilroada. Government con- 

 struction has thus been made necessary, and 

 to-day private companies own fewer than 2,000 

 out of a total mileage of 19,737. It is 

 the states and not the Common wr.-i 1th which 

 have built these lines, but the Federal govern- 



ment was engaged during 1916 on a trans- 

 continental line joining the railways of South 

 Australia with those of Western Australia, and 

 there will probably be begun in the near future 

 a line from the northern limit of South Aus- 

 tralia to Pine Creek in the Northern Territory, 

 the terminus of the road from Darwin. The 

 accompanying map shows actual lines in exist- 

 ence in 1916, those under construction and 

 those merely proposed. Government invest- 

 ments in railroads have been more profitable 

 than it was believed frhey could be, yielding a 

 net return annually of Jour and a half per cent 

 on the cost of construction and equipment. 



The Commonwealth government owns and 

 operates the telegraph and telephone systems, 

 which furnish excellent service. Telegraph 

 lines extend across the continent from north 

 to south and from east to west, and connect all 

 the important towns. In all, there are about 

 50,000 miles of line. A continent so entirely 

 cut off from the rest of the world has great 

 need of cable communication, and two main 

 lines connect it with all the countries of the 

 world. There are also cable connections with 

 Tasmania and New Zealand. 



As the world's greatest producer of raw 

 material in proportion to population, Australia 

 has established a very large foreign commerce, 

 the per capita value of its trade each year 

 being over $150. Millions of tons of merchan- 

 dise enter and leave its ports each year, by 

 far the larger proportion coming from or going 

 to British possessions. The chief exports are 

 wool, hides, wheat, butter, meat and gold, while 

 the imports, sometimes exceeding them in 

 value, include manufacture -d goods of all kinds. 



Education. As in the United States, there 

 is no national system of education, but each 

 state has its own carefully worked-out system. 

 Attendance is free and compulsory for children 

 between the ages of six and fourteen, and of 

 recent years the compulsory law has been very 

 strictly enforced. Even in the rural districts 

 where but a few children can be brought 

 together schools are provided. High schools, 

 colleges MM. I universities complete the scheme, 

 tin- states differing little save in the working 

 out of details. At each state capital a um 

 Mty is located, the one at Perth having been 

 opened in 1913. 



A distinct \ re of the Australian schools 



is tin rrliniMM* HIM rnet ion that is provided by 

 It is Kivon outside of school hours, 

 however, and by ministers instead of the reg- 

 ular teachers. 



