418 AUSTRALASIA. 



precious metal. Since those days Ballarat, like Melbourne, has surrounded itself 

 with villas, gardens, plantations, and has even constructed an artificial lake in the 

 vicinity. Other flourishing towns, such as Smi/fhesda/c, Cresirick, Chmes, Dai/IeHford, 

 Kyneton, and Castlemaine, are dotted over the district, beyond which follow the 

 prosperous Sandhurst or Bendû/o, rival of Ballarat itself, and Eaglehawk, both at 

 the northern extremity of a chain of hills at the approach of the plains watered by 

 the Bendigo and Campaspe affluents of the Murray. Three railways radiate from 

 Sandhurst, one of which, crossing the Murray on a bridge 1,900 feet long at Ecfmca, 

 runs northwards through New South Wales to the flourishing town of Deniliquin. 



Echuca, the chief riverain port on the main stream, is conveniently situated on 

 a peninsula at the confluence of the Campaspe. 



Although not quite so thinly settled as Gipp's Land, the western part of Vic- 

 toria has not yet developed any important centres of population. Warrnamhool, 

 Belfast, and Portland are small trading places following each other along the coast 

 westwards from Port Phillip ; but Portland is likely to attract a considerable 

 traffic as soon as the roadstead is sheltered by the new breakwater from the fierce 

 south-east gales. In the interior of this region the largest settlements are Ararat 

 and Staice/l, both founded in mining districts. The Stawell and Sandhurst gold 

 mines are the most productive in the colony ; the latter had been sunk in 1888 to a 

 depth of 2,400 feet. 



Victoria is one of the Australian states that depend least on the Central Gov- 

 ernment, which is here directly represented only by the Governor. The Legislative 

 Council, or Upper House, is elected bj^ ballot, each of the fourteen provinces 

 naming three members, one-third of whom retire every two years, so that the whole 

 representation is renewed every six years. The Legislative Assembly, or Lower 

 House, elected by universal suffrage, consists of ninety-four members returned for 

 three years, and receiving an allowance of £300 a year. No allowance is made to 

 the Legislative Council, the members of which body must possess an estate of the 

 annual value of not less than £100, while the electors must own or occupy property 

 rated at £10 if freehold, or £25 if leasehold. 



The land forces comprise nearly five thousand men of all arms, and the fleet, 

 which includes an armoured turret- ship and several gunboats and torpedo boats, is 

 manned by about five hundred hands. 



Tasmania. 



Although the smallest in extent of the Australasian colonies, the island of 

 Tasmania, formerly Van Diemen's Land, has a much larger population than the 

 vast territory of West Australia ; relatively to the superficial area it is even the 

 most densely peopled of all these states with the single exception of Victoria. So 

 early as 1804 it began to serve as a penal station, and the Central Government 

 continued to send thither convicts from Great Britain till 1853, the year before 

 Tasmania entered into the comity of the Australasian States : but after its 

 political separation from New South Wales it received most of its free immigrants 

 from that colony. But the discovery of the gold-fields on the mainland brought 



