18-1 



THE IKKIGATION AGE. 



South Wales, it is instructive to compare the conditions 

 in the two states, to consider what has been done in 

 Victoria, and to examine the results accomplished, and 

 the cost at which these results have been attained. On 

 examining the map of Victoria \ve find that of the 

 total area, amounting to about 87,000 square miles, 

 about 51,000 square miles belong to the basin of the 

 Biver Murray. Of this area of 51,000 square miles, 

 the northern plains and the inallee country represent 

 34,000 square miles. The northern plains are the 

 great field for irrigation in Victoria, their contiguity 

 to the River Murray, and the fact of their being inter- 

 sected by a series of tributaries of that river, affording 

 excellent facilities for irrigation on a large scale. The 

 relatively great area of these plains, the fertility of 

 their soils and their comparatively moderate distance 

 from Melbourne combine to render them of vital im- 

 portance to Victoria. On the other hand, the great 

 field for irrigation in New South Wales that is, the 

 district between the Murray and the Murrumbidgee 

 and the plains on the north side of the latter river 

 though fertile and valuable in a high degree, occupies 

 no such relative position in New South Wales as is 

 occupied by the northern plains of Victoria in that 



state. It is necessary to bear this difference in mind 

 when considering the manner in which the financial 

 aspect of irrigation has been treated in Victoria and 

 the manner in which it is likely to be treated in New 

 South Wales. 



In the early eighties the question of irrigation in 

 Victoria was brought prominently to the front, largely 

 through the eloquence and enthusiasm of Mr. Deakin, 

 who was then premier and minister for water supply. 

 A series of valuable reports were jointly prepared on 

 the subject of water conservation and irrigation by Mr. 

 George Gordon, M. Inst. C. E., chief engineer for 

 water supply, and Mr. Alexander Black, surveyor-gen- 

 eral. The former had a wide experience of irrigation 

 in India, while the latter had a comprehensive knowl- 

 edge of the natural conditions and of the conditions 

 of land occupation in Victoria. Unfortunately, at the 

 outset the business aspect of the irrigation question 

 was lost sight of, and, judging from the subsequent 

 report of a Royal Commission, it would appear that 

 the main object in view was to create what Americans 

 would describe as a great irrigation boom. The first 

 important step was to discard the advice and dispense 

 with the services of the only experienced irrigation 



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