SOME DIFFERENCES 81 



The average annual rainfall for the State of Victoria 

 during the last thirty years has been 26'68 inches. 

 Townsville (considered to be one of the driest places on 

 the coast of North Queensland) averaged 45'54 inches 

 during the period of thirty-four years. 



Twenty-five miles further north the rainfall for 1904 

 exceeded that of Dunk Island by 6 inches more than the 

 average rainfall of the upper basin of the Thames Valley, 

 which is given as 28 inches. Australia is big there is 

 bigness in our differences. 



Here in the tropics we have the finer weather no excess 

 of either heat or cold, no sudden, constitution-shattering 

 changes. At Wood's Point (Victoria) rain fell on 185 days 

 in 1903, and on 166 days in 1904. At Dunk Island rain 

 occurred on 107 days in 1903 and on 92 days in 1904. We 

 had many more days of picnic weather, notwithstanding 

 our overwhelming superiority in quantity of rain. More- 

 over, in the tropics the bulk of the rain falls after sundown. 

 After a really fine day in the wet season the hours of 

 darkness may account for several inches of rain. Here 

 over 12 inches have been collected between sundown and 

 nine o'clock the following morning. 



Particular references are confined to seasons three or 

 four years past because recent official data, necessary for 

 enlightening comparisons are not available, but in confirma- 

 tion of statements concerning the meteorological conditions 

 of the coast of tropical Queensland, the record of rainfall 

 at Dunk Island since 1903 may be quoted : 



1904 94H 1 inches. 



1905 89-06 



First nine months of 1906 . . 13470 



Of the latter total, 56 inches occurred in February, two 

 days (6th and i8th), accounting for 22*95 inches more than 

 half the average rainfall of the State of Queensland. 



An illustration homely but graphic of climatic 

 differences may be given. During the first five months of 

 1904 the rainfall of Dunk Island amounted to 75'I5 inches, 

 the lowest monthly record being May (5'3O inches) and 



