Urban Australia 101 



conventional fashion. The grounds are remark- 

 able for their thick lawns of stiff buffalo grass, 

 springy underfoot, but harsh and coarse to the 

 touch. The luxuriance of foliage and flower is 

 surprising. The long carriage- drive is bordered 

 by great clumps of arum lilies and purple iris, 

 with groves of glossy camellias and ornamental 

 shrubs and trees drawn from every part of the 

 world. Glass-houses, conservatory, and stables 

 are arranged on a scale of luxury and convenience. 

 From the balcony is obtained a magnificent view 

 of the harbour and of the compact city area, 

 bristling with spires and domes and many-storied 

 buildings. It is a pleasant country house, in the 

 heart of a big city. 



The squatter's presence in town is due to the 

 session of the State legislature, for he is a mem- 

 ber of the Upper House, or Legislative Council. 

 The chief function of this Council is to check the 

 Socialistic tendency of the Lower House, the 

 members of which are elected on a basis of man- 

 hood suffrage. A class vote or a nomination 

 secured him his seat in the Upper House, where 

 he sits with men the majority of whom, like 

 himself, are wealthy and have pastoral interests. 

 His legislative duties are not exacting, and he 

 has time to transact business with his city agents, 

 to renew at the club his associations with his in- 

 timates, to see his horse run in the Cup, and to 

 pick up at the stud sales a ram of some celebrated 

 strain which costs him a thousand guineas. 



