

A USTRALASIA ILL USTRA TED. 



the elevation being nearly five thousand feet ; but during the spring and summer months 

 Kiandra enjoys an enviable climate. Its establishment is due, like that of many other 

 Australian towns, to the energy of the adventurous digger. Nearly thirty years ago, 

 \\lu-n tin- country traversed by the Snowy River was occasionally used by a few squatters 

 as .i t~ivr summer pasture for their herds, a stock-man accidentally discovered gold in one 

 of tin- water-courses. The news soon spread, and there was a " rush " of gold-seekers 

 from all parts of Australia. The field, however, proved to be small, and gradually the 

 population dwindled away, but there are still many promising mines on the Ranges, and 

 Kiaiulra maintains its character as a prosperous, although quiet little settlement. A little 

 to the north of Kiandra are the celebrated caves of Yarrangobilly, only second in size, 

 wonder and beauty to those of Jenolan. 



On the western slopes of the Snowy Range there are the fertile Tumut Valley and 

 the mining regions known as Tumberumba and Adelong, the last-mentioned being the 

 oldest and most permanent reefing-district of the colony. It has payable gold to a depth 

 of below a thousand feet, and is surrounded by several patches of alluvial country, 

 from which large quantities have been obtained. Tumberumba is a thriving, salubrious 

 little town, with gold in its creek-beds and on its hill-sides. Tumut, placed in the 

 centre of a rich valley, from which large crops of wheat, maize and tobacco are 

 obtained, is one of the most substantial towns of the South. 





KIAMA 



By recrossing the Snowy Ranges to the east, the main road from Cooma to 



Queanbeyan, Bungendore and Goulburn is struck. Along this route a railway has recently 



n laid down and is now open for traffic. The most important centre on the way is 



Queanbeyan, a favourite district with agriculturists, about ten thousand acres being under 



