Country and Climate n 



free settlers. Convict stations had been estab- 

 lished on the coast, and free men had only been 

 too glad to escape the convict taint by pushing 

 across the Dividing Range, where the early ex- 

 plorers had found passes through the hills to the 

 good land beyond. The wisdom of Captain Mac- 

 arthur, who provided the new country with a 

 breed of sheep bearing the finest wool, was justified 

 by the reputation gained by Australian merino 

 wool in the markets of the Motherland. There 

 was plenty of room for all while the foundations 

 of the great pastoral industry, Australia's sole re- 

 source until the middle of the nineteenth century, 

 were being laid. Then came the discovery of the 

 gold, which attracted throngs of enterprising and 

 adventurous men to Australia. In those stirring 

 times, the coastal cities began to expand: their 

 harbours were full of shipping, and their streets 

 were crowded with newcomers. These spread 

 over the face of the land, passing from one newly 

 discovered goldfield to another, everywhere form- 

 ing fresh settlements. When the gold fever 

 abated, many of them reverted to their original 

 occupations, while others obtained grants of land 

 from the Government, and occupied themselves 

 with farming and pastoral pursuits. 



Thus Australia obtained population, but with 

 the decline of the goldfields came the discovery 

 that farming did not pay. The farmers suffered 

 from the want of a large local market, and from 

 the isolated position of Australia, which at that 



