VICTORIA 



tiOTS 



VICTORIA 



king. He kept himself constantly in the Held, 

 enduring hardships and exposing himself to 

 dangers. 



Consult Gardiner's The War l.urtls ; Vucares- 

 co's Kings and Queens I Have Knoicn. 



VICTORIA, the smallest and most densely 

 populated state of the Commonwealth of Aus- 

 tralia. It has an area of 87,884 square miles, 

 which is a little less than that of Great Britain 

 or the combined areas of Virginia and North 

 Carolina. Victoria occupies the extreme south- 

 -a stern portion of the continent, and is roughly 

 triangular in shape (see colored map, follow- 

 ing page 488). 



People and Cities. Victoria ranks second 

 among the states of the Commonwealth in 

 population, being surpassed only by New South 

 According to the census of 191 1 its popu- 

 lation in that year was 1,315,551. In 1916 it 

 was estimated to be 1,437,000. Nearly ninety- 

 eight per cent of the inhabitants are of British 

 r ; over three-fifths of the total popula- 

 tion of the state live in cities and towns. The 

 chief municipalities are Melbourne, the capi- 

 tal; Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Warrnambool, 

 Castlrmame, Maryborough, Hamilton, Mildura 

 and Stawell. 



Physical Features. The coast line, which has 

 an extent of about 800 miles, is extremely ir- 

 regular. Chief among its numerous indenta- 

 tions is the magnificent Port Phillip Bay, one 

 of the largest and deepest land-locked bays in 

 the world. It has an area of 875 square miles 

 and an entrance barely two miles wide, afford- 

 ing safe anchorage for the largest ships. At 

 the head of this bay is situated the city of 

 Melbourne. 



The eastern portion of Victoria is traversed 

 by numerous mountain ranges known as the 

 Australian Alps, whose highest peak, Mount 

 Bogong, has an altitude of 6,508 feet. This re- 

 gion is famous for its beautiful scenery. The 

 mountains are covered with dense forests of 

 eucalyptus or gum trees, some of them being of 

 gigantic proportions. The northwestern portion 

 consists of level or slightly undulating plains, 

 covered with grass. The state is watered by a 

 number of rivers, most of which flow through 

 fertile and well-settled valleys. The chief river, 

 the Murray, for a distance of over 670 miles 

 forms the northern boundary of the state, 

 separating it from New South Wales. 



Victoria has a warm, pleasant and healthful 

 climate. In the lowlands the temperature sel- 

 dom reaches the freezing point, but in summer 

 the thermometer sometimes registers over 100 



in the shade. The rainfall is usually regular 

 and abundant, but droughts sometimes occur. 

 Natural Resources. Victoria is the chief agri- 

 cultural state in the Commonwealth, and pos- 

 sesses over six million acres of land under 

 cultivation. The chief crops are wheat, oats, 

 barley, potatoes and hay. Grapes take the lead 

 among fruits, and 

 much attention is 

 given to the 

 manufacture o f 

 wine. Stock rais- 

 ing is extensively 

 carried on, and 

 dairy farming is 

 well developed. 

 Sheep raising 

 forms one of the 

 chief sources of 



LOCATION OF VICTORIA 



sources 



wealth, the state having over 12,000,000 sheep. 

 The wool clip amounts to over 100,000,000 

 pounds a year. 



The chief mineral wealth of Victoria consists 

 in its gold deposits; gold valued at about 

 $9,000,000 is mined every year. The total 

 quantity extracted from its discovery in 1851 

 until 1914 was 73,958,615 ounces, valued at 

 $1,476,000,000. The richest fields are at Ben- 

 digo and Ballarat. Other minerals found are 

 silver, antimony, tin and coal. 



Commerce. The overseas trade of Victoria is 

 extensive, the principal exports being wool, 

 dairy products, wheat, wine and gold. Most of 

 the trade is with England. The state has over 

 3,850 miles of railroads, which radiate from 

 Melbourne, its chief city and port. The rail- 

 roads are owned and operated by the govern- 

 ment. 



Government and History. The chief execu- 

 tive officer, the governor, is appointed by the 

 British sovereign. The legislature consists of 

 an upper house of thirty-four members, elected 

 for six years, and a lower house of sixty-five 

 members, elected for three years. Women have 

 the right to vote. Victoria sends twenty-one 

 members to the Federal House of Representa- 

 tives. 



The first permanent settlement in this part 

 of the continent was made in 1834, and in 1835 

 the colony was incorporated within the terri- 

 tory of New South Wales. In 1851 it was con- 

 stituted a separate colony and named Victoria, 

 for the reigning British sovereign. The discov- 

 ery of gold brought large numbers of settlers 

 into the state, which developed rapidly. Vic- 

 toria was heartily in favor of the federation of 



