December i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
481 
MAC KAY, QUEENSLAND, THE GREAT SUGAR 
REGION. 
(Written for Ceylon Observer.) 
Mackav, Queensland, 1th Sept. 1881. 
On Tuesday morning, August 31st (the date, in 1G06, 
of the discovery of Torres Straits for which I am 
making), we were roused at half past 3 a.m. (!) in 
order to leave the "Alexandra" steamer and get into 
the small " Dugong." Our steamer, the big one, went 
off north and we had to wait not, only for the steamer 
bound south and take the passengers for Mackay, 
but also, after that, until the tide enabled the 
"Dugong" to go up the Pioneer river to the 
wharves at Mackay, a town which sugar has raised 
from nothing to rapidly increasing importance in ten 
years. Bef ire breakfast, however, we landed on Flat Top 
Island, where there is a lighthouse and telegraph station. 
Hence we telegraphed, had a glorious view of the Pioneer 
river district, of the semi-circular mountain ranges of 
sea and river and laud, sunsliiuo and clouds, for clouds 
were gathering which issued in a truly tropical rain- 
fall dining the night. It was welcome but transient, 
and not a drop has fallen since, to our great comfort 
as knockcrs-abont, but to the regret of the planters 
who have youug cane in the ground. As soon as I 
stepped on shore ou the beautiful little islet (one 
literally of thousands, through which our course has 
run and will run) I was face to face with tropical 
vegetation and much of it common to Ceylon. Ou 
the she re was the goat's foot ipomea, and festooning 
the bushes the very couvolvuli common near Colombo. 
The screw pine was abundant, and in the lighthouse- 
keeper'sgardenthere was a coco palm, vinca rosea (so com- 
mon in our Cinnamon Gardens), &e. There weie forms 
not familiar to me intermixed, however. Going along 
the banks of the Pioneer river, I could almost fancy 
myself on the Kelani or other Ceylon stream. Hibis- 
cus tUiaceilA most conspicuous, and the same trees as 
line the road from the Baidge of Boats to Hauwella 
festooned with the same species of creepers. But 
mixed with forms which 1 recognized were others new 
and interesting. Most conspicuous is what the people 
here call "the palm," or pahna elegans or the Alex- 
andra palm, or the cabbage palm. It resembles a 
thoruless katu-kitul, or rather a very luxuriant areka 
palm, with more of a tendency to bend. These palms 
are in masses everywhere, beside rivers or lagoons 
and add much to the beauty of the scenery. The 
inflorescence and seeds are much like those of the 
areka, only the seeds are much emaller, like wild 
dates, and of a brilliant red as they ripen. This 
palm would be beautiful and useful in Ceylon, so I got 
Mr. Charles Mackinnon (brother to the Argus proprietor) 
who drove me out to a grand sugar est ite yesterday, 
which he has just purchased for £95,000, to get me 
some seeds. Also some of what he called " quad- 
rongs " or Queensland plums, and some ripe Queens- 
land raspberries. This indigenous raspberry exactly 
resembles the cultivated " rasp " in flower and foliage, 
but tho fruit is moie like a strawberry, being almost 
round liko a scarlet inroad button. Very pretty it is, | 
but the Mower is not equal to the true thing. Ifwccan 
grow it from the seed, however, cultivation might im- 
provo it. 
liackay (in 21" 10' south) has about the climate 
of thoBO parts of Bongal wlioro 75 inches of rain 
tail, with a far loss severe hot season, anil what 
grows well hero ought, I think, to do well in our hill 
country. All tho way from Sydney hither the bougain 
Rllea has been blaziug, — pink, magenta, and bright 
scarlet. So with tho blgnonia which tho Tamil coolies 
call th* tangapu or gold Bower. On Sydney bay 
shores tho lantana, ohiefly the pink-blossomed, abiounda, | 
and 011 to this place wo havo Been it. Indued it 
L21 
threatens to take possession of large portion of Queens- 
land, but the colonists are much more troubled about 
a jute-like weed, sidus retusa, I think. It covers 
whole plains and prevents the sheep getting at tho 
grass. The once much dreaded thistle (which grows 
only in good soil and opens it up) is nothing to this 
"curse of Queensland. " Of the blue-blossomed 
durunta and the "shoe-flower" hibiscus they make 
fences here, and in gardens I have seen dates, mangoee, 
coconuts, Jicus oengalemis, ficus religioea (the bo-tree), 
poinciana regia and pines growing together. Some of 
the planters' bungalows are beautiful. At one whero 
we met Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt and Mr. and Mrs. Romilly 
the verandah opens out on the river (Pioneer) 
bank, and they told us that although a little low fever 
and ague occurs occasionally in the district the banks 
of the rivers are the healthiest parts ! The climate, 
after all, is a semi-tropical one, without frost, and 
that it is favourable to human health the looks of 
the people shew. We saw about a couple of hun- 
dreds of " fair women and brave men " at a ball given by 
Mr. and Mrs. Davidson (he a nephew of Davidson of 
Tulloch), and they all looked robust, although tho 
men were browned by the sun, to which all expose 
themselves with impunity. I went yesterday to buy 
a white cotton umbrella, aud the shopman told me 
there was absolutely no demand for men's umbrellas. 
We saw little children lying out bareheaded in the 
sun all day, and we were told that cases of sun- 
stroke are unknown. The gentleman sugar planters, 
like the ploughmen, go about in trousers and shirts, — 
coat and waistcoat generally dispensed with in 
working hours. At Mr. Mackinnon's estate yes- 
terday I saw the hospital for the Kanekas (South 
Sea Island coolies), and it was empty. Of late 
years there has been little sickness or mortality 
amongst these people, and they look well clad, well 
fed, and well-to-do. Each, when he goes back, is 
sure to carry away a gun. This ought to strengthen 
the tribes to which they belong, but the chiefs ob- 
ject to the withdrawal of the youug males, and from 
this cause and the islanders dying out I feel cert- 
ain that ultimately, if not soon, Hindu cooly labour 
must be resorted to. There is a sum of £600 per 
annum on the Queensland estimates for an immigra- 
tion agent, and I believe the necessary law has been 
passed, but the working men and others also are 
strongly prejudiced against the introduction of im- 
migrants other than whites. If they prevail Mackay 
will never turn out, as it is capable of doing, 300,000 
tons of sugar instead of the 10,000 now produced. 
We saw opposite Flat Top Island three schooners 
just arrived from Solomon Isles with "boys" and a 
few women. I never felt so inclined to believe the 
development-from-ape theory as when I saw the 
Kanekas ranged on deck, although they were well 
dressed, in "jolly" condition, aud many of them 
smoking pipes. Their bushy heads of hair were gener- 
ally dyed a bright yellow with lime or ashee, and 
in that repect they reminded us of the Somalia at 
Aden. But their features are even more of the 
negro type, and it seems to me they are the shortest 
race of human beings I have yet seen. At the sug- 
gestion of Mr. Jaffrey, who is very largely interested 
in BUgar, I spoko several seuteuces in Tamil to the 
"coolies," but they only grinned at inc. When our 
steamer left they gave us a loud cheer which went 
off into a yell, such as no doubt they utter when 
attacking their enemies. They make good tart drivers, 
but tho ploughing on tho sugar estates is douo by 
white men, tho proportion of an estate force being 20 
per cent white men to SO per cent blacks. It is 
certain that whites could not do the " trashing," cut- 
ting of tho cane?, &c., or if they could the pursuit 
would not pay. For while tho Kanekas got only i'6 
per aunum, with lodging-, ration* aud medical attend- 
