The Australian Woman 159 



cloudless blue skies of her surroundings. No- 

 thing is more charming on an Australian holiday 

 than the cheerful effect of the bright but cool and 

 appropriate dresses of the daughters of the people. 

 In the clear sunlight and against the sombre 

 foliage of the trees and shrubs, it becomes at once 

 apparent that the genius of the Australian woman 

 has solved the question of dress, while the halting 

 instinct of man is only beginning to rebel against 

 the conventions imposed upon him by his Old 

 World ancestors. The same genius is shown by ' 

 the woman in the management of her house; 

 if allowed her own way, the furnishings are de- 

 signed for coolness and airiness, no trouble is 

 spared during the glaring daytime to expel the 

 light and the flies, and her own regimen of diet 

 is rapidly approaching that which is natural and 

 healthful in such a climate. It is the Australian 

 custom that pleasure shall mainly be taken out of 

 doors, and to this rule, the Australian woman has 

 not been slow to conform. But there has never 

 been any craze for undue athleticism among the 

 Australian girls, many of whom learn to swim 

 and to ride as a matter of course, leaving the more 

 competitive pastimes to their brothers. It is true 

 that there have been teams of lady cricketers, who 

 enlivened the rather dull life of their rival country 

 townships by matches which attracted consider- 

 able attention. The fact that the attention was 

 attracted proves that the incident was a rare one, 

 and up to the present, the Australian girl has 



