272 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA. 



profitably raised. In the eastern part especially there is a long belt 

 stretching northerly from Jervis Bay along the coast to Broadsound, 

 where the rainfall is more than 20 inches during the summer months, 

 which is there the rainy season. Here there is an extensive climatic 

 zone, lying between the twenty-second and thirty-fifth parallels, favor- 

 able to the cultivation of maize. Outside of this region, including all 

 the coastal country from Adelaide north to Toowoomba, the rainfall is 

 more than 10 inches during the six winter months, which represent the 

 agricultural season there. These are simply the natural agricultural 

 regions in eastern extra-tropical Australia, or that part of our territory 

 where the climate is favorable to the cultivation of maize and wheat. 

 In many other districts there are enormous areas of rich soil whose 

 highly productive qualities could be profitably utilized by irrigation were 

 adequate means iDrovided for the conservation of water. But this is a 

 subject upon which little attention has hitherto been bestowed, although 

 it is of the most vital importance to the nation and one which can not 

 be much longer neglected if the resources of our country are to be 

 adequately developed. 



In this address I have attempted to give as concise and, at the same 

 time, comprehensive an account of the physical geography of our con- 

 tinent as it is possible for me to do under the circumstances. The 

 subject is a vast one with which to deal in any form, and the smallest 

 of our colonies could easily have furnished abundant material without 

 exhausting the rich source of supply. Its chief merit is that it is based 

 upon the most recent information, derived from official sources, and in 

 this respect it is reliable and trustworthy, the writer having aimed at 

 these rather than mere literary style or elegance of diction. Appended 

 is a selection of what will no doubt be considered useful information, 

 but which could not be conveniently included in the narrative portion 

 of this address without making it unnecessarily ponderous. It consists 

 of schedules of our principal rivers and mountains; the lengths, drain- 

 age areas, etc., of the former, and heights of the latter. The prepara- 

 tion of these has entailed a great deal of labor, but it was thought that 

 the data would be useful for educational purposes and serviceable to 

 my successors, who will thus be supplied with available information 

 to enable them to follow up this interesting and vitally important 

 subject. 1 



In conclusion I desire to acknowledge my obligations to the Hon. A. 

 B. Bichardson, M. L. A., commissioner of crown lands, Western Aus- 

 tralia; to Mr. William Houston, under secretary for lands, Sydney, and 

 to Mr. William Strawbridge, surveyor-general of South Australia, for 

 valuable information specially prepared by them for this address. 



1 The schedules referred to are here omitted. — Editor. 



