©3? « ♦ >S<£2S§S«m f. ,«1 «•+' "g^ftiJ THE PROVINCE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA WRITTEN FOR THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BY JAMES DOM I NICK WOODS, J. P.; WITH A SKETCH OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY, By H. D. WILSON. C. E. r.RISTOW, GOVERNMKNT I'RIXTrCR, NORTII-TF.I^K ACK 1894. PREFACE. THE following account of the Province of South Aus- tralia, from its discovery in 1627 to the end of 1892, was written under the authority of the Government of the Colony. The work differs in plan and arrangement from other books of a similar character which have appeared in former years. Besides being brought down to a later period, the volume includes much that has not hitherto appeared in print in a collected form. Apart from the official aid which has been received by the author in the execution of his work, he is indebted to many friends and others for useful suggestions and valuable information, of which he has been glad to avail himself. They are too many to be indicated by individual names, but it is hoped that they will kindly accept the grateful and sincere acknowledgments for their assistance which are tendered to them here, Adelaide, December, 1893. lS.2i5'/S CONTENTS. Page. Chai'tek I. — DiscovEUY OF South Austhalia .. .. 1 " 1 1.— Physical Featuiies .. .. .. .. 12 " III.— Fauna .. .. .. .. .. 25 " IV.— Flora . . . . . . . . . . 35 " V. — Climate and Meteorology . . . , . . 43 " VI. — Foundation and Settlement .. .. .. 62 " VII. — Progkess and Development . . . . . . 79 " VIII. — Progress and Development .. .. .. 93 " IX. — Explorations of the Interior .. .. 107 " X.- Explorations of the Interior .. .. .. US " XI. — Explorations of the Interior . . . . 129 " XII. — J'olitical Constitution . , . . . . . . 145 XIII.— I;Aw, Crime, &c. .. .. .. .. 161 " XIV.— Land Laws .. .. .. .. .. 184 " XV.— Population .. .. ., .. .. 211 " XVI. — Agriculture .. .. .. .. .. 227 " XVII. — Mines and Minerals .. .. .. .. 253 " XVIII.— Pastoral .. .. .. .. .. 285 " XIX.— Commerce .. .. .. .. .. 297 " XX. — Revenue: Public Debt: Public Works .. .. 315 " XXL— Education .. .. .. .. .. 333 " XXII. — Religious and Charitable Institutions . . 350 " XXIII. — Municipal Institutions and Gteneral Matteks . . 368 " XXIV. — Aborigines .. .. ., .. .. 3,s7 " XXV. — Northern Territory .. .. .. .. 415 SOUTH AUSTEALIA. CHAPTER I. Discovery of Soi-th Australia.— Nuyts ix 1627— The Great Australian- Bight — The Coastline — Captain Flinders in the "Investigator" Sights Cape Leuwin in December, 1801 — Fowler's Bay and Banks' Peninsula— Lands on Thistle Island— Mr. Thistle and his Boat's Cre-w Lost — Port Lincoln, Spencer's Gulf — Kangaroo Island, St. Vincent's Gulf — Troubridge Island and Shoal — Mount Lofty — Head of St. Vincent's Gulf — The Hummocks — Mount Brown — Mount Arden — Yorke's Peninsula — Backstairs Passage — Encounter Bay — Meets "Le Geographe" — Proceeds to Sydney — Loss of the "Porpoise" — Sails for England in the "Cumberland" — Arrival at Mauritius — Kept Prisoner for Six Years and a Half — Returns to England — His Death — Captain Barker — His Arrival in St. Vincent's Gulf- Ascends Mount Lofty — Penetrates to the Murray Mouth — Murdered by the Natives. The discovery of that part of New Holland -which now constitutes a portion of the province of South Australia was made in the year 1627, by a Dutch navigator who named it Nuyts' Land. The newly-found country' extended along the greater part of the coastline which forms the Great Australian Bight. Its appearance was not attractive. All that was seen from the ships was two long lines of cliffs about 400ft. high, brown and dark-colored at the top, and nearly white at the bottom, which extended for several hundred miles. The aspect of the newly-discovered land was not of a kind to encourage further investigation, even if the discoverer had at command the time and the means necessary for such an undertaking. It is not surprising, therefore, that that portion of Australia was not again visited for nearly two hundred years. The founding of the colony of New South Wales led to the organisation of many expeditions to examine and explore the coasts of the territory which had been newly acquired by England. They were gradually extended both north and west, and were rewarded by most important discoveries. Admiral D'Entrecasteaux, a French officer, commanded an expedition to seek for La Pcrouse, who had not been heard of iov many years. Li the coui-se of his search he made imj)ortaiit discoveries in Van Diemen's Land, as Tasmania was then called, visited the west coast of Australia, and steering along the south part of New A Z SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Holland, reached Fowler's Bay about the end of the year 1792. Lieu- tenant Grant, R.N., was sent from England, in command of the Ladij Nelson, a brig of sixty tons burthen, for service as a surveying ship, under the direction of the Governor of New South Wales. On his way to Bass's Straits, through which he had been instructed to pass on his way to Botany Bay, he discovered Cape Banks and Cape Northumber- land. He also saw Mount Gambler and Mount Schanck, both of which were named by him. These are the earliest recorded discoveries of the country now called South Australia. Matthew Flinders, a midshipman on board the Reliance, who had long been engaged in exploring and surveying work at Moreton Bay, returned to England in the year 1800. He had distinguished himself greatly in naval explorations, but especially with Mr. Bass in sailing through Bass' Straits, and in proving what had only been conjectured before — that Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land as it was then named, was an island. In England his discoveries became known through the exertions of Sir Joseph Banks, who brought Flinders and his projects for further explorations in the seas of New Holland prominently before the Admiralty, then directed by Earl Spencer as its First Lord. A ship was purchased for the purpose of carrying out Flinders' plans, and he was appointed to command her. The vessel was not new, but she was considered to be good enough for the work which was before her. She was thoroughly refitted and coppered, and was provided with all that in those days was deemed necessary to ensure the success of the expedition. Her burthen was only 340 tons. She was re-named the Investigator. She had previously sailed under the name of the Xenophon. Mr. Robert Brown accompanied Flinders as botanist to the expedition, and Mr. Westall, the celebrated landscape painter, as artist. A well-known writer on the subject of the exploration of Australia*, observes " that a more fortunate selection for the purpose could not have been made. Australia owes very much to both those men. The labors of Brown upon the coast left nothing to be desired. Of course he could not see everv- thing ; but he saw so much that one is astonished to observe how little was left for others to do. Since his time naturalists have had hard work to glean novelties from the regions near which Brown had set his foot. To Westall the same meed of praise can be given. The classic story of Flinders is rendered truly charming by the poAverful pencil of the artist." Mr. Franklin, cousin to Flinders, who (as Sir John Franklin) became Governor of Van Diemen's Land and Avho subsequently died in the Arctic regions when in command of an expedition to discover the north-west passage, was a midshipman on board the Iiivestigator. * J. E. Tenison Woods, Discovery and Explorations of Australia. London, 1865. ITS DISCOVERY. 3 The Investigator left Spithead on the 18th of July, 1801. The voyage to Cape Leuwin extended over a period of five months, including a brief stay at Madeira and the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Leuwin was .sightod on the 6th of December. Flinders entered King George's Sound with the intention of making some necessary repairs to his ship, but he found no place suitable for the pm*pose. He accordingly moved on to a neighboring inlet called Princess Royal Hai-bor, where the Investif/a'or was overhauled and her defects made good. On leaving the harbor. Flinders kept close in to the land in the expectation of finding some opening ; none, however, existed. There was a gap for a short space in the line of the cliffs, and smoke was seen inland, but the break did not continue for any great distance and the high land appeared once more. * The length of these cliffs from their second commencement is thirty- three leagues, and that of the level bank from Cape Pasley no less than 145 leagues. The height of this extraordinary bank is nearly the same throusrhout, being: never less than 400ft. and nowhere more than 600ft. In the first twenty leagues the rugged tops of some inland mountains were seen above it, but during the remainder of its long course the bank was the limit of the view. Flinders pursued his voyage to the eastward, still keeping near to tht* coast until he saw the end of the second range of cliffs. Here it became sandy and turned north-east for some few miles. He had reached the head of the Great Australian Bight, f A few hours' sail brought him to Cape Nuyts, beyond which no exploration had extended. Here the country showed signs of improvement ; it was fairly wooded, but the soil appeared to be sandy. After passing Cape Nuyts several bays were found. The first, Fowler's Bay, was named after the first lieutenant of the sliip ; Smoky Bay, Streaky Bay, Anxious Bay, and Coffin's Bay were visited in turn and named, but the country nowhere presented features of interest. After spending some short time in surveying the various inlets which abound off that portion of the eastern limit of the Great Australian Bight, he followed the coastline past Point Sir Isaac until it began to trend to the north. On the 17th of February, 1802, Flinders 1 mded. The place where he disembarked was thought to be connected with the mainland, but it was soon ascertained that it was an island. This was named "Thistle Island," after the mate of the Investigator. Numerous seals were seen there and many traces of kangaroos ; no natives, however, were met with. To the nortti a group of islands was discovered, and a boat was sent away under the charge of Mr. Thistle and a midshipman * Flinders' Voyages to Terra Australis. London, ISU. t About 160 miles west of this is situated the small port of Kucla, discovered m 1863 by Captain E. A. Deiisser (formerly of 79th Ri-giraent) 4 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. named Taylor to examine them and to find a suitable watering place. After cruising about for some time the cutter was seen under sail apparently on her way back to the ship. As night came on the boat was lost sight of, and those on board became anxious, as there was no soimd nor sign that she was approaching the Investigator. Captain Flinders, on hearing that the cutter had not returned, sent Lieutenant Fowler away with a boat to see what detained the missing craft. Tavo- hours passed, and as the second boat did not return a gun was fired ; Lieutenant Fowler at once came back, but without tidings of the missing cutter. He had found no trace of her, but he had met with broken water close by the spot where the object of his search had last been seen,, which was sufficient to have upset his own boat if it had been under sail. At daylight the Investiyator stood in towards the mainlaind in the direction in which the cutter was last sighted, and after anchoring in a small cove in which the ship was well sheltered, a boat was sent away to search for the cutter. It soon returned towing the Avreck of the missing craft bottom upwards. She had been dashed against the rocks and broken- to pieces. Of the crew there was not the slightest trace, nor was any ever seen. They were either carried out to sea, or, what is more pro- bable, taken by the sharks, which at all times abound in those waters. Flinders named the cove in which the wreck was found " Memory Cove," and he left behind him a copper plate, on which the particulars of the misfortune were engraven. After designating several of the islands in the neighborhood by- the names of the men who had formed the crew of the cutter, he proceeded on his voyage. The southern point of the mainland was named " Cape Catastrophe," as a memorial of the first serious misfortime that had fallen upon the expedition. In the course of the boat expeditions in search of the cutter, a beautiful bay AA-as discovered. This was called Port Lincoln. The harbor is magnificent, and the climate, especially in the summer months, delightful ; but the country which surrounds it, except in a few places,, is not good ; and although at one time it Avas looked upon as a proper site for the capital of the colon)', it has ncA-er made any great progress. After surveying the islands AA'hich form the Sir Joseph Banks' Group, the Investiyator proceeded up the remarkable indentation Avhich bears the name of Spencer Gulf. The coast on the western side was flat and. sandy, AA'hilst that on the east Avas high and bold. Near the shore it was loAv and not Avell grassed, but it rose in the distance to a fine mountain range. Flinders steered up the gulf in the expectation of finding a riAer, but his expectation was not realised. The shores of the guK gradually contracted. The mountain range to the east was very near, and in the we.st a series of moderately high flat-topped hills Avas discoA'ered. ITS T:)TSrOVERY. 5 IVIount Biwvn was \'isible in the distance, but the western hills seemed to mark the end of the indentation. Flinders then determined to examine the head of the gulf. He could not take his ship into the inlet in which it terminated ; he therefore proceeded onward in a boat. The inlet followed a serpentine course for some miles, between banks covered with mangroves. After considerable trouble a landing was made, but no fresh water could be found. Much disappointed. Flinders returned to his ship. Messrs. Brown and Westall in the meantime had made an excursion to the eastern mountains, now known as the Flinders Range, with the intention of going to the top of Mount Brown. They travelled for a distance of about sixteen miles to the foot of the mount, and reached the summit early in the evening. 'I'here they remained all night without water, but they were amply rewarded for the hardships thev had under- gone in reaching the crest by the splendid view which lay before them. The mount is over 3,000ft. above the sea level. It is described as sublime solitude and desolation. To the west was the gulf meandering through low cliffs, topped with sand or shrubs, which in the distance looked like yellow meadows. Further in, distance merged both scrub and sand into ■one subdued dusky bro^^^l tint, out of which square blue blocks of table- land rose here and there in the distance. To the east was wood and plain and swelling hills, with mountains beyond, rugged and baiTen ; but on every side, north, south, or east, the dusky brown or misty blue was not broken by a single silvery spot of water. Time has wrought a great change in this part of the country. The inlet that cost Flinders so much disappointment is now an important port, named Port Augusta, which is the centre of a large import and export trade, and the desolate looking country around Mount Brown is extensively and profitably culti- vated. In the middle of March, 1802, Flinders returned down the gulf, €xaminiiig the eastern side as he ])rogressed. One large bay, called Hardvvicke Bay, Avas discovered, but although it is safe and commodious it is not much in use. The coast as seen from the sea is low and sanily, but inland the country is fertile, and is mostly imder cultivation. After passing the southern headland of Yorke's Peninsula, which was named Cape Spencer, the Investigator was driven by stress of weather to take shelter under the land which lay to the south. This was at Kangaroo Island. The point which afforded the vessel protection from the storm was called Point Marsden. Beyond this was a bay, named Nepean Bay, where the vessel anchored. Flinders remained here for three days, during which he endeavored to penetrate inland, but the scrub was so dense and the trees so high, that nothing could be seen. The crew of the ship employed themselves in killing kangaroos and 6 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. skinning- and preparing them for food. These animals were so tame that they allowed themselves to be knocked over with clubs Avithout any attempt to escape. After living on salt provisions such as were then supplied to all ships, the change afforded by a most abundant supply of fresh meat must have been both useful and welcome to the crew. In gi-atitude for so seasonable a supply of fresh food Flinders named the place Kangaroo Island. The animals killed were of large size and weight, and it is certain that they must have been extremely numerous. Very recently nine specimens were captured on the island, though for many years it was thought that they had ceased to exist. After the crew had recruited themselves in this way, the Inve&tigatur s commander set saiL to pursue his exploration on the coast from Cape Spencer. A broad strait intervenes between Knngaroo Island and the southern head- lands of the main. This channel was named Investigator's Strait. It may be as Avell in this place to state that Kangaroo Island is to the south of the mainland. It is about a hundred miles long from Cape Willoughby on the east to Cape Borda on the west, and about thirty-six miles broad in its widest part. From Cape Gautbeaume on the south to Point Marsden on the north the coastline is high, rocky, and dangerous to approach. It is well wooded, indeed rather thickly timbered. It con- tains a great deal of good land and is fairly well Avatered. The climate is excellent, and there is an abundance of fish all along the seaboard. It is, however, very thinly populated, and it is only in a few places that any settlers are to be found. After quitting the island the ship headed up St. Vincent's Gulf, where Troubridge Island and Shoal were first seen. Flinders had seen Mount Lofty from Xepean Bay. As he proceeded up St. Vincent's Gulf he again saw the eminence which formed the highest peak of that mountain chain which stretched from Cape Jervis to the head of Spencer's Gulf, where Port Augusta is now established. The coast appeared low, and apparently composed of sand and rock, but the aspect of the country continually changed. As the hills came into view the slopes appeared to be well timbered and the intervening land well grassed Smoke seen in various places denoted the existence of native camps inland. Proceeding onward for some distance the Investigator anchored off a sandy beach. Mangrove swamps were noticed on the horizon as the evening drew on. Next day Flinders left his ship in a boat to examine the head of the gulf. It greatly resembled the head of St. Vincent's Gulf. There were wide mud iiats, at times covered with water, and an abundance of mangroves ; but where the shores converged, the water was salt. There was no sign of any fresh water stream flowing into the sea. A port is now established ITS DISCOVERY. 7 there called Port Wakefield. A boat's crew Avas sent on shore with orders to ascend some hills, now known as the Hummocks, which lay a few miles inland. They did not come up to them, because they had not made preparation to remain on shore. Flinders reached the top of a smaller elevation to gain a view of the whole of the inlet. He noticed that the Mount Lofty Range ran within a few miles of the Hummocks. The soil appeared to be sandy, but the trees were large. Between the two ranges there was a broad swamjjy valley, into which water ran from the hills during the rainy weather, and found its way thence into the gulf. He came to the conclusion that the eastern ridge which rose from Cape Jervis was identical with that which he had seen in Spencer's Gulf, whose summit had been ascended and named Mount Brown, and whose furthest point north was designated Mount Arden. He estimated the distance as 300 miles, but the range extends much further. The peninsula which hems in the eastern side of St. Vincent's Gulf was called Yorke Peninsula ; its outline is not unlike that of Italy. The length of the peninsula is over 100 miles, its breadth at the head of the gulf about thirty-two miles, fi-om Royston Head to Troubridge Point about forty-six miles, and from Point Turton to Sturt Bay about ten miles. The Investigator returned to Kangaroo Island without examining any more of the coast, except that portion which is opposite to Cape Jervis. The strait which lays between the island and the cape is not more than seven miles wide, and is named Backstairs Passage. After passing through this passage to the eastward, three small granite islands were discovered. They con- siste.i of bare rock, and are known as The Pages. These are situated at the western extremity of that large indentation of the coast into which the River Murray flows, marked on the charts as Encounter Bay. and lying between the 138th and 140th meridians of E. longitude. This designation owes its origin to the circumstance that in this bay (longitude 138° 58" E. and latitude 35° 40" S.) the Investigator fell in with the French ship Le Gengraphe, under Captain Baudin, which was also on a voyage of discovery. She had parted fi-om her consort, Le Natuy-ahste, in a heavy gale that had overtaken them in Bass's Straits. Captain Flinders Avent on board the Geographe, and exchanged credentials with the commander, and compared experiences. Captain Baudin liad explored the coast from Western Port to the spot where the vessels met, so that the whole of the southern boundary of New Holland had been examined from east to west. Here the history of the discovery of South Australia comes to an end. A portion of it had been seen, but not examined, in 1627. That section of the province which starts from Nuyts' Point, and includes Banks' Peninsula, the Sir Joseph Banks' group of islands, the two gulfs, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, 8 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. and that space which inten^enes between Cape Jervis and the Murray Mouth, was first discovered, and to a large extent surveyed, by Flinders alone. The remaining portion, from Encounter Bay, near the Murray Mouth, to Discovery Bay, at the eastern boundary of South Australia, was claimed to have been discovered b}' Baudin — who, however, did not recognise, or perhaps did not know of, the discoveries of Lieutenant Grant in the Ladij NeUon. He contented himself with naming the prominent features of the coast, without making surveys or determining longitudes. The subsequent career of Captain Flinders does not immediately concern the Province of South Australia. It was so remarkable, however, that it deserves to be briefly related. After proceeding to S3Tlney, and from thence to the Gulf of Carpen- taria, where he did good work. Flinders was compelled to return to Port Jackson, owing to the ravages of scurvy amongst his crew and the unseaworthy condition of the Investigator. He applied to the Governor of New South Wales (Cajit. King, R.N.) for another ship, but, not .'succeeding in obtaining one, he determined to proceed to England and apply to the Admiralty. He left Port Jackson in the Porpoise on the 12th July, 1803, and five days afterwards was wrecked upon a reef in about longitude 150° 0" E. and latitude 22° 11" S. He returned to Sydney in the longtjoat of the wrecked vessel, and, obtaining assistance, he rescued all his crew from the reef. He then determined to sail to England in a small schooner, the Ctimberland, of only twenty-nine tons. He reached the island of Mauritius in safety, but his little craft wanted thoroughly refitting. On landing he exhibited his passport as an explorer, but the authorities of the island would not recognise it, treated him as an impostor, and detained him in custody for six years and a half. He did not reach England till the year 1810. The history of his discoveries and his hardships was published in 1814, in "which year he died, it is said, on the very day that his splendid work was published. The treatment he received from the French Government Avas execrable. M. Peron, the naturalist on board the Giographe, in his work on the dis- coveries made by Captain Baudin, absolutely ignored all that Flinders had done. In the French maps published, the names of capes, headlands, islands, Sec, fixed on by Flinders were all changed, and French names substituted. So complete was the alteration that not even the smallest island escaped. The thoroughness of the surveys made by Flinders may be judged from the fact that surveys made a few years back by Captain Hutchinson, R.N., and Staff" Commanders Howard, R.N., and Goalen, R.N., fully confirmed the accuracy of his work as far as it had gone. After the lapse of nearly ninety years they are still reliable South Australia has no monument in honor of that gallant officer, to whom its ITS DISCOVERY. 9 ■discovery is mainly due, except an obelisk erected to his memory at Port Lincoln by his cousin. Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N., when he Avas Governor of Van Diemen's Land. Time, hosvever, has done justice to iiis achievements. The names which he originally gave to the places he had discovered and made known to the world, have all been restored to the charts, and are now universally recognised, whilst those substituted by the French are almost forgotten. Captain Flinders was an enterprising explorer and also a scientific navigator. lie was gifted with courage, perseverance, sound judgment, and unflinching fortitude. His name deserves to take an honorable position amongst England's most renowned navigators, but more especially amongst the names of those whose discoveries form a glorious introduction to the liistory of the island continent of xVustralia. Many years elapsed from the time that Minders parted company with Captain Baudin and the Geographe in Fiucounter Bay in 1802 before any expedition was set on foot to ascertain what kind of country lay behind the extensive coastline which had been discovered by those navigators. Whatever interest might have been aroused in England when Flinders' work wa° published in 1814, it soon faded out. The exciting events Avhich preceded and followed the close of the great European struggle in 1815 left little room for considering what immediate or future value the remote territory of New Holland and its dependencies might possess for the British nation. In New South Wales the case was different. The Governors of that settlement from time to time sent forth exploring parties in various directions to acquire some knowledge of the immense territory which, with so little trouble and cost, had become a part of the Colonial Empire of the United Kingdom. It c(mld not have been sup- posed even in those days that sucli an extent of country as that, bounded by the Indian seas on the north and west and the Southern and Pacific -oceans on the south and east, could be peopled by means of the colonising plan then in force. The transportation system had not been a success as far as it had been followed out, and it must soon have become evident that discoveries of large tracts of land suitable for the settlement of white men must effect some modification, at the least, of the experimental process under which the first colony had been established at Botany Bay. In 1828 Captain Sturt, afterwards Colonial Secretary in South Australia, was commissioned by Sir Ralph Darling, then Governor of New South Wales, to explore the Macquarie river westward as far as he coidd and it possible to its mouth. He set out on the 10th of November, and ho closed his arduous and distressing journey by reaching the Darling River in longitude 145° 33' E. and latitude 29° 37' S. He was not able to proceed further, and after an absence of nearly five months regained hi.s starting 10 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. l)oint ill Wellington Valley. In the following year Sturt again started out, this time for the purpose of tracing down the course of the Murrum- bidgee and all the rivers connected with it as far as was possible. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the details of his voyage, or upon the sufferings which he and his party endured. He traced the River Darling down to its junction Avith the Murray, and floated along that stream in the face of the most frightful difficulties, until he came into Lake Alcxandrina. At the lake he saw Mount Barker, but he mistook it for Mount Lofty. He had achieved a great triumph, however, for he had traced the Murray nearly to its mouth, and thus solved the question of all the western waters from the Darling Downs to the Australian Alps. On the return voyage Sturt and his party suffered even more than they did on the outward passage, for they were worn out with exhaustion fi'om overwork and starvation. They were just six months away, during which the party, comprising only six men, had ventured some thousands of miles in an open whaleboat through a country infested by hostile savages. Captain Collet Barker, of the 39th Regiment, who had been employed at Port Kaflles and afterwards in Western Australia, on leaving King- George's Sound was directed by the Governor of Xew South Wales to call at Encounter Bay, in St. Vincent's Gulf. He arrived at its entrance in April, 1831. His object was to find some communication, if any existed, between Lake Alexandrina and the Gulf. Finding none, he landed in company with Mr. Kent, and penetrated so far inland as to ascend Mount Lofty. From that height they saw before them those beautiful plains in which Adelaide is situated. They examined the coast anew, again landed, and crossed the country eastward to Lake Alexandrina. When they had penetrated thus far they made their way to the channel through which the Murray flows into the sea. Barker thought it was about a quarter of a mile Avide, and he decided to swim across it in order to take some bearings from a sandhill on the other side. He crossed in safety, and Avas seen to ascend the sandhill, and then move down toAvards the beach. Here all traces of him AA'ere lost. His companions waited for hours for his return. Nothing could be seen, except that there were fires all round the sandhill AA'hich he had ascended. Having ^iA^en up all hope of his return, thej^ went back to their ship. His party procured the aid of a black woman from Cape Jervis and two sealers from Kangaroo Island, and eventually ascertained the particulars of his fate. He had been attacked by the natives, AA'ho were in great numbers at the place he landed, and " as he took to the Avater to avoid them he Avas speared through the body in a dozen different places. Afterwards, the murderers said, they threw the body into the sea ; but no one who knoAvs the horrible habits of these ITS DISCOVERY. 11 natives will believe that part of the story."* Mr. Kent took the com- mand of the expedition, and, having made a short further exploration by returning up the valley of the Inman Kiver, proceeded in the ship to Sydney. With this lamentable occurrence the history of the discover}' of South Australia comes to an end. The exploration of the interior was left to be accomplished by the settlers who first colonised it, a few years afterwards. * Discovery, &c., of Austraha. London, 1865. 12 SOUTH AUSTKAI>IA. CHAPTER II. Boundaries of South Australia — Enlargement of its Akea — Extent of the Province — Length of Coastline — Rivers Abutting on the Coast — Lakes in the South- East— Lakh Alexandrina and Lake Albert — Probable Cause of their Formation— Varied Characteristics of South Australia — Probable Division of Australia into Two or More Parts IN Earlier Geologic Times — Evidence in Support of this View — The South Australian Mountain Chain Unconnected avith any other Mountain System — The Adelaide Plains— Mineral Riches — Description OF the Leading Physical Features of the Colony — Extent of the Mountain Region — Heights of the Highest Peaks — The Flinders Range — The Adelaide Chain— The South-Eastekn Plain — Its Extent — Fertility of the Hills and Valleys — Geological Features of South Australia — Extinct Animals, &c. The territory Avhich originally constituted South Australia — that is to siij, the province established by the Act of the Imperial Parliament, 4 and 6 of William IV., cap. 95 — commenced on the west at the 132nd and stretched eastward to the 141st meridian of east longitude. Its northern boundary was the 26th parallel of south latitude, from which it extended down to the Southern Ocean. Its extreme southerly limit is in about 38° S. latitude, at a point some five miles east of Discovery Bay. The area of this large tract of country was about 300,000 square miles. The fixing of the western boundary at longitude 132° E., left a space inter- vening between that line and the eastern boundary of Western Australia about ninety miles wide, which had not been specifically appropriated to any of the colonies, although it formed part of the territory legally belonging to New South Wales. This region, containing between 80,000 and 90,000 square miles, was added to the province of South Australia in 1861. A further addition of territory was made to the province in 1863, when all the country extending north from the 26° of S. latitude to the Indian Ocean in latitude IT S., and between 129° and 138° E. longitude, was annexed to South Australia. The general area of the province was thus increased (as estimated) to about 900,000 square miles. The Northern Territory, as the new region was designated, although politically a portion of South Australia, is virtually a separate country, differing from the parent colony in climate, soil, and general resources. The south coast of the colony, which stretches over 12° of longitude, following the outlines of the Great Australian Bight. Spencer's and St. Vincent's Gulfs, and along Encounter Bay, Lacepede Bay, Rivoli Bay, &c., PHYSICAL FEATURES. 1;3 is about 1,600 miles in length. Along the whole of this immense coast- line there is scarcely a single river which is navigable from the sea, except the Miu-ray, which flows into Encounter Bay in longitude 138° 58' E. and latitude 35° 4' S. The entrance to the Mm-ray is exceedingly dangerous and becomes quite unapproachable when the winds blow strongly either from the south, south-west, or west. The Glenelg River, near the eastern limit of the province, cannot be entered, its mouth being closed by a sand bar. Travelling westward from the Murray there are two rivers which open into the bay, the Hindmarsh and the Inman. Sand bars and reefs of rocks, which extend far out into the sea, effectually prevent all access to them from that direction. Following the coastline to Noarlunga, the Onkaparinga, which rises in the Mount Loftv ranges, opens into St. Vincent's Gulf, and is navigable for some distance by small coasting craft, and is used occasionally in the wheat season. The next fresh water river that is met with is the Sturt, or rather, the Patawalonga Creek, which comes down to the gulf at Glenelg. It is not navigable from the sea, although boats occasionally can be taken into it from the bay. This water-course rises in the Mount Lofty ranges. At a point fourteen miles north of the Sturt the coastline is broken by an arm of the sea which runs inland for about eight miles in a due south direction to Port Adelaide, which is the principal harbor of the colony. To the south and east of this estuary the River Torrens is foimd. It rises in the Mount Lofty ranges, near Mount Pleasant, folloAAang a tortuous coui'se for many miles in a westerly direction until it reaches the Torrens Gorge, where it emerges from the hills and flows through the Adelaide plains. It separates North Adelaide from the southern part of the city, and thence after a course of about six miles spreads its waters over a tract of swampy land at a short distance from the seacoast, which is known as the Reedbeds. The Torrens is a large watercourse, which carries away the largest portion of the drainage from the hills which lie to the east of Adelaide. In the rainy season it often swells into a dangerous mountain torrent. In the summer months it is dry in places, although at the Gorge, ten miles cast of Adelaide, where it enters the plains, the flow of water never ceases. Twelve milts north of the city another stream appears, which is named the Little Para. It flows from east to west, but its waters do not reach the sea. They are lost in an extensive sw^amp lying to the east of Torrens Island, near the entrance to the inlet which terminates at Port Adelaide. About ten miles north of the entrance to Port Adelaide the Gawler River flows into the gulf at Port Gawler. Twelve miles furtlier north the River Light flows westward from the hilly country towards the coastline, and dies out on the flats eight miles north of the Gawler River 14 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. and about two miles from the shore. North of this up to the head of the gulf, which terminates at Port Wakefield, except a creek at Port Arthur at the head of the gulf on the western side, there are only small channels which trend towards the sea, but they are unimportant, and for the most part spread out and disappear before the coastline is reached. There are no permanent streams which flow into the sea on either the eastern or western sides of Yorke's Peninsula. Indeed, along the shores of Spencer's Gulf, only one large watercourse is met with, the Back Creek at Port Broushton, midway between Wallaroo and Port Pirie. ■^•'Fiom the eastern boundary of the colony to Rosetta Head, at the western extremity of Encounter Bay, the coast is generally low and flat. From Cape Northumberland to Rivoli Bay it is occasionally dotted with rocks which do not rise much above the level of the sea. From Rivoli Bay to Cape Jaffa it is very dangerous to navigators, in consequence of extensive reefs of rock which stretch out from the shore, sometimes for many miles. From Rosetta Head round to Cape Jervis the coastline is mostly bold and rugged, though, as at Tunkalilla, small accessible beaches are occasionally seen. From Cape Jervis to Brighton, on the east shore, the outline is high and rocky, and from thence to the head of the gulf an almost continuous line of sand dunes extends to its head. From Cape Banks, in latitude about 37° 50" S.. to Guichen Bay, a distance of some sixty miles, and lying but a short distance inland from the coast, several lakes exist. Lake Bonney, one of the largest, is a louo- sheet of fresh water, twenty-five miles in length and seldom more than two miles wide. It is shallow, but is surrounded by moderately high banks. Next comes Lake George, about ten miles long and not more than half that distance wide in its broadest part. Lake St. Clair is much smaller, salt, shallow, and apparently di-ying up. Lake Eliza is separated from this by a narrow strip of land ; it is about seven miles long and about half as wide. This is also salt and shallow, and shows signs of drying up. Lake Hawdon is situated to the north and ease of Lake Elizd ; it is more than forty miles long, and its greatest width about eight miles. This, however, is more a morass than a lake. About forty miies north-west of Lake Hawdon is the Coorong. This is an arm of the sea, having its opening not very far from the Murray Mouth. It runs parallel to the coast for about seventy miles, and is nowhere more than about four miles wide. It terminates in a small creek, which runs for some distance inland. Two remarkable lakes lie at the mouth of the River Murray — Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. They are connected by a narrow- strip of *Geo. Obs. in South Australia. London, 1862. PHYSICAL FEATURES. 15 water. The former is about twenty-four miles in its longest measure- ment from south-west to north-east, and about fourteen miles in width taken from west to east. It was evidently a deep bay at tlie period when the mouth of the Murray was at its northern end. It is verv shallow, and, in consequence of the large quantities of sediment brought down occasionally by the floods, is gradually becoming more shallow still. Lake Albert is irregular in outline, and about fourteen miles long from north to south and eight wide in its broadest part. That also appears, like Lake Alexandrina, to have been a bay of the sea. It seems as if both of these lakes owed their origin to a cause like that which foimed the Coorong. The upheaval of the land has raised from the sea certain eminences which e.^isted underneath the water as banks or shoals, and these, being higher than the bottom between them and the shore, locked in the water as soon as they were above its level. The hollow of the lake was doubtless caused by the river, and the sediment brought down by it may have caused the banks, which, now being upheaved, form its southern boundary. The observations here recorded have related jjrincipally to the coast- line and the contiguous country. So far as they have extended they do not suggest much expectation of fertile regions inland, or afford any satisfactory indications of the nature of the interior of South Australia. Little, indeed, could be inferred in this direction from the imperfect and unsatisfying glimpses of the country Avhich were obtained by navigators as they viewed it from the sea. Scientific examinations of its chief characteristics, however, show that "there is no country more interesting in its formations or more varied in its mineralogical productions than South Australia. Lofty mountains, extensive and fertile plains, sandy deserts, and inland seas are all included in its far-stretching boundaries. With a climate like that of the south of Spain, it possesses the scenery of the Highlands in some places, whilst in others deserts like those of Arabia, and vieing with them for bleakness, aridity, and burning heat. There are chains of salt lakes which render unprofitable a larger area than England. There are marshes and salt swamps more dank, unwhole- some, and extensive than any in the United State*. There are rocky precipices and chasms and waterfalls to rival almost the Alps. There are extinct volcanoes of large dimensions almost as numei'ous as those of Auvergne. And, finally, there are caves which exceed in magnitude the Guacharo Caves of Humboldt, or, in stalactites, the Antiparos of the ^^gean Sea."* The limits of a work like this forbid any lengthened exposition of all the evidences on which these assertions re.st. The accumulation of the • Geo. Obs. in South Australia. J^ondon, 1862. 16 SOUTH AllSTKALIA. facts has spread over many years in point of time, and has taxed the energies of many men whose bravery, perseverance, and self-sacrifice could alone have accomplished the arduous tasks which they set for themselves, and whose labors have added so much to the imperishable records of natural science in this portion of the globe. All that can be accomplished in these pages is to give a general outline of the results which have been attained. Flinders was the first to discover the most remarkable physical features of this portion of New Holland in tracing out Spencer's Gulf and its neighbour. Gulf St. Vincent. These singular indentations present an mimense coastline, and with various bays and shipping places, which are now in daily use, make up in one respect for the absence of navigable rivers. It is supposed that the deep indenta- tions in Spencer's Gulf, Gulf St. Vincent, Yorke's Peninsula, Cape Jervis, and Kangaroo Island indicate that there was formerly a separa- tion of the continent into two portions prior to the deposition of the Cretaceous formation. There is no similar indentation along the coast until the Gulf of Carpentaria is reached, and the separation must have been along an irregular line drawn between the Gulf of Carpen- taria on the north to the head of Spencer's Gulf on the south. Some of the reasons are that at Cape Jervis a mountain range commences, which runs nearly north and south, and this is bounded on the east and w^est by Tertiary deposits. These beds thin out to the east very near to the boundary line between South Aiistralia and Victoria, and are immediately succeeded by extinct volcanoes and altered Primary rocks, which do not appear to have been covered by any Tertiary sea. To the westward of the same range the beds have been traced through the greater portion of the Great Australian Bight, until they are terminated by the Primary rocks of Western Australia, which also do not appear to have been covei ed by a Tertiary sea. Thus we have the east and west sides of the continent occupied by Primary rocks, and the centre by Tertiary beds, enclosing an abundance of fossil shells. This is pretty strong pre- sumptive evidence of their previous separation. Again, Spencer's Gulf bears most unmistakable signs of having formerly been much larger, or rather to have been better filled by the ocean than it is at present. To the end of Spencer's Gulf there is an uninter- rupted tract of waste marshy lowlands, continuing far due north, w^hich has been found wherever examined (with some small exceptions) to consist of limestone w'ith recent marine shells and salt water, while other parts are immense plains of shingles without any shells, probably portions of the ocean bed which were too deep for the support of any animal life. Geologists are not well acquainted with the exact nature of the rocks round the Gulf of Carpentaria, but it is not unhkely that PHYSICAL FEATVRES. 17 they ai-e Tertiary. The high land of Cape York on the eastern side is known to be Primary, as also the highest land in Arnheim's Land. This would certainly seem to correspond with the opening for Tertiary beds at the Southern Alps. It is not, therefore, hazarding too much to say that a sea has at no very distant period rolled between the east and west portions of the continent. It may be mentioned that Yorke's Peninsula, which divides the southern gulf, is composed partially of Tertiary rock, and there- fore shows its existence to have been coeval with the continent itself. * Mr. H. Y. L. Brown, the Government Geologist, states that since the above was written (1862) the progress of geological inquiry has resulted in shoAving that enormous deposits belonging to the Mesozoic period occupy an extensive deep basin existing in the interior of Australia, covering portions of New South Wales, South Australia, and Queens- land. These, being pierced, have yielded very large quantities of artesian water ; boring operations have thus been encouraged, and pastoral under- takings greatly promoted. There is other evidence in support of the theory of the separation of New Holland into two parts. The author of the above quoted observations, in some essays on the age of the Australian continent, f says: — *■' Australia has a marvellous, unaccountable difference in the flora of her east and west sides. From this it is inferred that there must at one time have been a separation between the two parts of the continent. This inference may not seem clear, but other facts confirm it. For instance, there is a greater difference between the flora of Victoria and that of AVestern Australia than there is between that of Victoria and that of the rest of the world; and it is remarkable that the genera are the same. Gumtrees, honey- suckles, tea-trees, and acacias abound in both. There are 133 acaciae, fifty-five eucalypti, twenty-seven melaleucse, and fifteen banksiaj in south- east Australia, according to Hooker, and not one of the same species is found in Western Australia; yet the same district has 100 mclaleucae, ninety -nine acaciae, forty-six eucalypti, and thirty-eight banksiac. This is singular enough, and strongly confirmatory of the inference that a former separation existed between the two parts. But there is another proof : the intermediate country, instead of having its own species and being a peculiar botanical province, is strictly intermediate in character too — that is to say, its flora is made uj) of plants which are common to botli west and east Australia. The trend or trough of the continent in which a basin of salt lakes lies is the point of the junction of the two provinces. It is therefore an inference almost as certain as a matter of fact, that, as the centre of the south side of the continent was gradually raised from the waters, it became colonised by a flora which spread down from the • Geol. Obs. S.A., pp. 16 and 17. 'J. E. Tenison Woods, Australasian, 1S66. B 18 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. east and west sides, and had there been any union between the two parts of the continent on the north side the distinctive features of the two sides woukl not have been so well preserved." * As far as scientific investigations go, there now can be little doubt that the existing territory of New Holland was not originally one immense island, but consisted of two, and possibly more, distinct portions with seas intervening between the separate parts. When Flinders took refuge in Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island, he named the headland which was prominent on the north side of Backstairs Passage, Cape Jervis. From this point starts the mountain chain which stretches northwards beyond the head of Spencer's Gulf. The highest point is Mount Lofty, 2,334ft. above sea leA^el. This range of mountains is not connected with the mountain systems of the neighboring colonies. It has been supposed that at one time the hills were much higher than they are now, and there are evidences which suggest that in eai'lier periods there were glaciers. Traces of these were seen by Selwyn at the Inman river, and the writer of these pages has noticed them in the gorge of the ToiTens, which flows through the moimtains at a distance of some ten miles east from Adelaide. Still more marked evidence of glacial action may be seen at Hallett's Cove, on the seacoast at Black Point, about fourteen miles south-east of Adelaide. Doubtless more extended and substantial evidences will be forthcoming when the South Australian chain shall have been more minutely explored and examined than it has been up to the present day. The South Australian chain, as already stated, is bounded on its eastern and western sides by recent Tertiary beds. The eastern side consists of an extensive fertile plain, which extends from Brighton, on the east coast of Gulf St. Vincent, up to and round its termi- nation. The whole of this plain is now cultivated. In the valleys formed by the hills and on the uplands all through them, some of the finest agri- cultural land in the province is situated. The hills themselves abound in minerals of various kinds, which will be noticed in the proper place. Without entering here into the special characteristics of the South Australian chain, a general view of its principal features will be foimd interesting. Mr. Tate, Professor of Geology in the Adelaide University, describes them as follows : — f "The mountain ranges in South Australia proper follow the general di- rection of the two gulfs, St. Vincent's and Spencer's. The elevated regions of the southern portion of the province occupy three well-defined areas, separated from each other by the gulfs mentioned ; but in the northerly extension they approach each other, and to the north of Lake Torrens no well-defined mountain system exists. Our ranges are of a rather composite * Tenison Woods, Australasian, 1866. I ir ersary Address, Adelaide Philosophical Society, 1878-9. PHYSICAL FEATIRES. If) character, consisting of parallel ridges, often separated by deep and plain- like valleys. This feature is most prominent to the north of Koorino-a. The first group is that of the Adelaide chain, commencing at Cape Jervis and occupying the coastline to tlie north as far as Xormanville and to the east as far as Port Elliot, and continues -with varied height in a nearly northerly direction to beyond Lake Frome, a distance of 350 miles. It attains its greatest elevation in the Mount Lofty and Barossa districts, and its chief and highest points are Mount Lofty, 2,334ft. ; Kaiserstuhl, 1,973ft.; Lagoon Hill, 2,23oft.; and, north of the Burra, Mount Cone, 2,601 ft.; and Razorback, 2,834ft. It is very little interrupted in its course, and that only by a few narrow gorges through which are dis- charged our insignificant rivers, emptying thfsmselves into St. Vincent's Gulf. Two spurs are thrown ofP on its western side within our imme- diate district (Adelaide), one terminating in the sea cliffs between Marino and Morphett Vale, and the second in those forming the southern boundary of Aldinga Bay. "The second group is that of the Flinders Kange, which commences on the elcA-ated land of northern Yorke's Peninsula in the conspicuous hills termed the Hummocks, at the head of St. Vincent's Gulf; thence it follows a curvilinear line, with a general northerly direction, round to the head of Lake Torrens. The east coast of Spencer's Gulf has the same general direction as this chain, to which it is in close proximity, and, because of the small annual rainfall (about 12in.), though the eleva- tion of the range is higher than that of the Adelaide chain, the rivers are all short, and for the most part do not reach the sea or Lake Torrens. The highest points of this range are amongst the highest in South Australia. They are the Bluff, 2,404ft.; Mount Remarkable and Mount Brown, about 3,000ft. All these elevated regions are constituted of the .fundamental rocks and their associated granites. " The Adelaide chain is bounded on its west side by the vast and fertile plain of Adelaide, which extends from Marino on the south, and sweeps round the head of St. Vincent's Gulf on the north. Xo incon- siderable portion has been removed by the action of the sea, as it is abruptly terminated on the shores of Holdfast Bay and at Ardrossan on either side of the gulf. The period of its formation is comparatively recent. Plains of like character are interspersed in longitudinal bands among the parallel ridges of the Flinders Range and the northern •extension of the Adelaide chain, though not one is equal in magnitude to the Adelaide Plain. The two southern spurs of the Adelaide chain enclose undulating plains, in part partaking of the character of the Adelaide Plain, but mainly constituted of rocks of much older deposits (?), though of Tertiary date ; the northern one is the Willunga Plain; the southern, the Myponga Flat. 20 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. '' On the eastern side of the Adelaide chain there stretches far and wide the plain of the south-east, towards the western boundary of which flows the Lower Murray. The dimensions of this plain extend about 290 miles from north to south, and on an average of 100 miles from east to west. The general level, which is broken by low ridges, does not exceed 200ft. The rocks composing it are of the same age as those composing the Willunga Plain and the lower tracts of Yorke's Peninsula. The prevailing uniformity of scenery is relieved in two limited areas by isolated hills of granite and A'olcanic materials, and towards the seaward by immense swamps. Xo rivers originate in this plain, though a few short ones traverse its western margin in their passage from the Adelaide chain to the River Murray. •• To the north and west from Lake Torrens there stretch almost illimitable plains somewhat similar in their character to the portions of the south-east plain. The western section is probably conterminous \N-ith the Bunda plateau around the head of the Great Australian Bight." The interest which the " Hills," as they are called, afford to those who may visit them cannot be foreshadowed by Professor Tate's description of their physical features. They abound in wonderful scenery. They are everywhere full of the most fertile valleys in which the inhabitants are able to produce fruits and vegetables of most European kinds that are difficult to grow on the hot plains, lying west of the mountain system which forms such a magnificent background to the city of Adelaide on its southern and eastern sides. Lakes do not exist in or near them, but abundance of excellent water is found in the valleys, and they provide a delightfully cool resort in the hot season. Here, indeed, are found summer homes, which in healthi- ness and coolness of temperature more than rival many of the watering places which lie upon the coast. From a few of the high portions of the hills, which front the west, the prospect is marvellous. Kangaroo Island, about ninety miles away, may be distinctly seen from the tops of some of the hills, and even the lower outline of Yorke's Peninsula can be plainly traced when the sunlight is not too strong. The hills, however, have attractions beyond those which interest the traveller, who looks only for grandeur of mountain scenery. They indicate material wealth, for they are full of mineral riches. Gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead are found amongst them, and other minerals of greater or less commercial importance. Emeralds, diamonds, and other valuable gems have been found in various places adjacent to and sub- sidiary to the ranges. At Encounter Bay, near the mouth of the Inman river, gem sand is found, which contains in minute forms some varieties of precious stones of commerce. The mineral resources of the colony are great, and will be noticed further on. PHYSICAL FEATURES. lil The following observations by Mr. H. Y. L. Brow-n, Government Geologist, furnish a brief account of the geological features of South Australia : — " Plutonic Rocks. — Granite outcrops in small areas near Kingston and in the various places in the Xinety-Mile Desert (S.E. district), at Port Victor, Murray Bridge, Kangaroo Island, Yorke's Peninsula, near Port Lincoln. Streaky Bay to Fowler's Bay, Pidinga, Prichard Desert, the Warburton ranges, &c., and in larger and more extensive masses in the north-east, near Boolcoomata, Thackaringa, near Mount Babbage, and Mount Adams, north of Lake Frome, and is reported to constitute the prevailing rock of the Musgrave Ranges, in the north-west of South Australia proper. Porphyry, felspar porphyry, syenite, granidite, and greenstone are generally found near, or associated "with, these rocks, the Gawler Ranges being principally composed of felspar porphjTy. "A decomposed amygdaloid trap occurs in the neighborhood of Wool- tana, near Lake Frome, in connection with greenstone porph^TV and serpentine rocks. With all the outcrops of granite rocks metamorphic gneiss and granite are associated, into which igneous dykes have been injected. These dykes are numerous in most of the old metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, and doubtless are of many different ages. On Yorke's Peninsula there are granitic and metamorphic rocks unconformably over- laid by beds of crystalline fossiliferous marble, grit, conglomerate, kc, AS'hich are considered to be of Lower Silurian age. " In the main range, extending from Cape Jervis, in the south, to Mount Babbage, its northern extremity, there are dykes of granite, greenstone, porphyry, kc, which have been intruded into the stratified rocks, which are nowhere seen to overlie them uncomformably — it is probable, therefore, that the granite rocks of Y'orke's Peninsula are of a much greater age than those of the ranges extending from Cape Jervis northwards. " As a proof of the time which has elapsed between the intrusion of the various plutonic rocks, it has been observed that some of the old conglomerates containing granite boulders have been pierced by veins of a more recent granite. " Metamorphic rocks, azoic or silurian gneiss, conglomerate, micaceous and hornblende schists, clay and micaceous slates, ciystalline limestone or marble, quartzite, Sec, are found to occur over all the area occupied by granite rocks, and in conjunction with them. Into these, dykes of igneous rocks and masses are intruded. Some of the metamorphic, gneissic, and granite rocks consist of conglomerates containing water- worn pebbles, and boulders with crystals of felspar. 22 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. "Silurian Rocks. — These . consist of incluied conglomerates, grits,- quartzites, sandstones, limestones, dolomites, clay, and micaceous slates and shales. No fossils have been obsei-ved in them generally, and. so far as examined, they appear to be of the same age as the more highly metamorphic rocks, but are less altered through the absence of intrusive dykes. The crvstalline limestones of Ardrossan contain trUobites and corals which have been recognised as Lower Silurian. There are bands of similar limestone on the eastern side of Si. Vincent's Gulf, interbedded with the slates and quartzites of the Mount Lofty Range. " West of Port .\ugusta, and in other places to the eastward, there are- quartzites, shales, sandstones, and conglomerates in undulating and hori- zontal beds, which are apparently an upper series of rocks which may be of Devonian age, although no fossils have hitherto been observed in them. •' The highly metamorphic, azoic, and Silurian rocks extend in more or less continuous ranges from Kangaroo Island to Mount Babbage, near the head of Lake Frome, and to near Mount Xor-West, with a north- easterly extension in the dii-ection of the Barrier Ranges, in New South. "Wales. " Smaller patches occur on Yorke's Peninsula, the Port Lincoln District, the Dennison and "Warburton Ranges, and east of the Musgiave Ranges. " These are the mineral-bearing rocks, and in them copper, lead, gold, manganese, and other metals have been discovered, and in many cases worked, over a distance extending from south to north of more than six degrees of latitude. " Mesozoic Rocks (Cretaceous or Oolitic). — A large portion of the interior northward of the main range, extending into Queensland, Xew South "Wales, and "Western Australia, is occupied by rocks of mesozoic age. They occupy a depression, of which Lake Eyre is the lowest part. The physical aspect of the country is that presented by table hills and table lands, plains, and stony and sandy deserts, with vast salt lakes, such as Lakes 'Eyre, Frome, &cc., into which discharge large watercourses and creeks, w^hich are liable to floods during long intervals, sometimes for years, caused by rain which falls on the surrounding ranges, which in some cases are hundreds of miles distant. *' This reg-ion Avas originallv a basin, which is now filled with more or less horizontal beds of clay, slate, limestone, gj-psum, sand, gravel, kc, overlaid in patches by a yellow jasper rock, known as desert quartzite, fragments of which are strewed over the surface of the plains and do\\Tis. " This is the chief artesian water-bearing formation. The greatest depth at which a flowing or artesian well has been met with is at Tarkanina,, where a large supply was struck by boring, at a depth of 1,200ft. PHYSICAL FEATURES. 23 " Tertiary Rocks. — The largest portion of South Australia is covered by Tertiar]r and post-tertiary deposits. " Older tertiary rocks are found along the coast, from the Victorian border, near Moun<- Gambier, to Eucla, on the West Australian border. They extend inland for a considerable distance, up the Murray River, on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges ; and occupy smaller areas at near Port "Willunga, on Yorke's Peninsula, and various other places, at generally a less elevation above the sea, although, in one or two instances, cappings are found at a higher elevation. *' They consist of coralline and shell limestones, sandstone, clay sands, calcareous sandstones, and argillaceous limestones, rich in fossils. "The Xullarbor Plains, in the western portion of the pro\ince, between Fowler's Bay and Eucla, are composed of hard crystalline limestone, resting on soft chalky limestone with flints. These beds form perpen- dicular cliffs, rising from 2.50ft. to StiOft. along the coast between the two places named, the formation extending inland over 100 miles. Fossils are very plentiful in these rocks wherever found. " Middle tertiary beds of limestone, calcareous sandstone, sandstone, shell limestone, kc, overlie the older tertiaries along the coast. " The volcanic rocks, consisting of basalt, lava, scoria, ash. \c.. of the Mount Gambier district, are of a newer age than the older tertiary limestone. Mount Gambier and Mount Schank are two of the principal points of eruptions. Volcanic rocks also occur in the Mount Burr Range, not far from Mount Gambier. " Pliocene Tertiaries. — Old river deposits, which appear to be of the same age as the old gold drifts of Victoria and New South Wales, occur as cappings, and covering large areas, at elevations sometimes amounting to 1 ,000ft. above the sea, at the Mount Lofty and other portions of the ranges. It is evident that they are the remains of an old river system. '• Where prospected, as at Barossa and Echunga, gold has been found in them. A very large area still remains available for this purpose in the neighborhood of these goldfields and elsewhere. " Post Tertiary and Recent. — All the previously mentioned rocks are, to a less or greater extent, covered over in patches by a varying thickness of allu\-ium. Sand in dunes, as along the coast, or in wide undulating plains and ridges, as in the interior. The extent of country covered by these hills and rivers is very great. " On the seacoast at a place called Hallett's Cove, in the hundred of Noarlunga, and distant from Adelaide in a south-westerly direction about eleven miles, ice-marked rocks are seen. The cliffs forming the northern boundary of this cove consist of purple shales, slates, and quartzites, ■which have been contorted and twisted into an anticlinal, the crown of 24 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. which extends along the edge of the crown northward for some distance, forming a narrow strip of rock outcrop; the latter is observed to be polished, and sometimes striated. The most southern of these exposures is immediately over the end of the anticlinal. Here, at a height of about 60ft or 70ft. above the sea, on the top of the cliff, over an area of some 30 square yards, the rock has been smoothed and striated. This floor dips S.S.W. at an angle of about 10°. The groovings are of all sizes up to l^in. in width, with a depth of about vVin. The general direction of the grooves is from N. 30° W. and N.W. to W.N.^V. The rock is a purple slaty shale. ' The second exposure is close to the edge of the cliff, about 300 yards further northward. The polished and grooved rock is here a hard quartzose sandstone, at a height of about 50ft. or 60ft. above the sea. The area exposed is some .12 or 15 yards; it dips west at an angle of from 25° to 30°, and the direction of the grooves is north and south along it in horizontal and inclined lines. Boulders, pebbles, and shingle of gneiss, granite, and quartzite, sandstone, limestone, slate, &.C., together with ragged blocks and masses of grey limestone and limstone boulder conglomerate, on a brittle shale and clay, are scattered about on the slope of the hill above the ice-scratched rock. The ice-grooves and polishing of the rocks appear to have been caused by floating drift ice in narrow channels, or along the shore, the boulder drift having been deposited on the melting of the ice which stranded on the spot." In many parts of the province the remains of huge extinct marsupials have been discovered, such as Diprotodon, the Macropus Titan, &c. Fossil bones of cetacea have been found on the banks of the Murray, with shark's teeth, &c. An immense shark's tooth, over Sin. long and 4in. wide at its base, was picked up at Lake Hope some years ago, and is now in the museum at Adelaide. It will be understood that a thoroughly complete survey of the geological features of the country has not yet been made. Investiga- tions of this kind in this colony do not date back for more than thirty- two or thirty-three years. In future days, when more time and money can be devoted to accomplish an exhaustive geological survey of the colony than are expended upon the work at the present time, it may be expected that many interesting and important discoveries will be recorded, which will add largely to our knowledge of this part of Australia, and not improbably to some extent qualify existing ideas as to its early history. ITS KALNA. 25 CHAPTER III. South Australian Fauna — Animals — Birds —Reptiles — Insects — Fishes. The native animals which inhabit South Australia are identical w-ith "many of those which are common to other portions of New Holland. It has no species peculiar to itself, and none are found there which are not found in other parts of the continent. Various species of kangaroo f MacropusJ were abundant all over the colon}^ wherever there was food for them, although they have now entirely disappeared from the settled districts for a long distance both north and south of Adelaide. In those parts of the country where scrub abounds and there is still shelter for them, wallabies ^//rt/ma^^/rj/sy of various kinds are still plentiful. Bandicoots f PaiamelesJ existed in considerable numbers on the grassy plains before settlement and cultivation drove them away. Kangaroo rats f Hypsiprhmius J were also at one time niimerous, but they have almost ceased to exist within the settled areas. The native bear fPhascolarctosJ, thought to be peculiar to New South Wales, has been found, though rarely, in the Murray scrub. The wombat f Pliascolnmysj is abundant in the south-eastern district, where it lives in holes under the limestone crust which covers a considerable part of that country. The oposslun fDidelphyaJ abounds wherever there are large trees, such as the gum, kc, in Avhich they live in hole.^ and hollows high above the ground. These animals are most destructive to gardens which may be near their haunts. The native cat ( Dasyuru^ ) , a carnivorous marsupial, and the Phnscogale, also carnivorous, are fairly distributed over the coimtr^- ; the former are occasionally migratory, and they are both destructive to poultry. The duck-billed platypus ( Ornithorhyncus paradoxus ) inhabits South Australia, but is very rarely found. A dead specimen, brought down by a flood, was found floating on the Torrens Lake last winter. Mr. W. Forester, of the Railway Department, saw it and lifted it into his boat, but it was so much decomposed that he was obliged to throw it hack into the water. It must have been washed away from some of the creeks which empty themselves into the River Torrens on the western side of the Mount Lofty ranges. The brush-tailed ant eater f MyrmecnbhisJ, and the spiny ant eater (Echidna), are also very rare. One of the great pests of the colony is the dingo, or native dog, which abounds in the northern and south-eastern pastoral districts. It is believed by naturalists to have been introduced into Australia. It is most destructive to sheej), and the settlers wage constant war upon it. 26 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Of late years its numbers have been much reduced. It is savage and cowardly, but has not been known to attack man. • There are several kinds of rodents {Hapalotis, Mus, Sec), and a few water rats, vampires, and bats of various species are enumerated amongst the fauna of the province, though many of them are rare. *In the late Mr. Harcus' work on South Australia, Mr. F. G. Water- house, C.M.Z.S. and F.L.S., then curator of the Adelaide Museum, supplied a list of South Australian mammals which enumerates twenty- seven of different genera, and of marsupials notices forty-three. A new animal was discovered in 1890 on the Idracowra run, a cattle station comprising several hundred square miles of country in the southern part of the Northern Territory of South Australia. It is a marsupial mole and is named Notoryctes typhlops. It is about 5Ain. long. The fur may be described as being generally of a light fawn color, long, soft, and of a bright lustrous and silken appearance ; in parts it deepens to a glistening golden hue, and in others it inclines more to a silvery aspect. Perpetual burrowing seems to be the characteristic feature of its life. It enters the sand obliquely and travels underground for a few feet or for many yards, not apparently reaching a depth of more than 2in. or 3in., for whilst underground its progress can often be detected by a slight cracking or moving of the surface over its position. In penetrating the soil free use as a borer is made of the conical snout with its horny protecting shield, and the powerful scoop-like foreclaws are also brought into play. As it disappears from sight the hind limbs as well are used to throw the sand backwards, which falls in again behind it as it goes, so that no permanent tunnel is left to mark its course. Again emerging at some distance it travels for a few feet upon the surface and then descends as before. In this singular animal no eyes are visible externally, and the smallest opening through the skin corresponding to their position cannot be detected. The ear openings are distinct, though almost completely concealed by the fur, which grows right up to their margins. The tail is hard, tough, and leathery in texture and appearance, and for the greater part is marked \\ith conspicuous annular ridges down to the point. It is thick at its insertion and tapers down to a blunt or knob-like tip. The marsupium, or pouch, is reflected backwards. These animals do not appear to be numerous. All the specimens hitherto obtained have been found within a circumscribed area, about four miles from the Idracowra station, on the Finke river, in Central Australia, and almost invariably amongst sandhills. It is said also to have been seen south of the Macdonnell Ranges, and one specimen was found droA^med at Tempe Downs, 120 miles south of Alice Springs. There are some excellently * South Australia : Harcus. London, 1876. IT.S FAUNA. 27 preserved specimens in the Adelaide Museum. "^^ It is supposed to feed on ants and other insects, debris of these having been found in its intestines. The Notoryctes is a marsupial in all essential details, yet in its outward form, and especially in its stronp: digging limbs and rudimentary eyes, it resembles the true moles (Talpce). It is still more like the moles of S. Africa and the Chri/sochloris, both of which genera belong to the Insectivora, an order which is not represented in Australia. As regards birds, none of the leading orders are wanting in South Australia. The genera of representative species are all closely allied to the birds which occupy similar positions in other countries — eagles, hawks, harriers, and owls fill their usual positions. The swallow and its congeners come and go as regularly in the southern parts of Australia as in England, and so do the cuckoos. There are many other birds which migrate thus, but the extent of their journeys has not been ascertained. In South Australia there are swifts, swallows, martens, and flycatchers, and also goat suckers fPodargusJ. Petrels, gulls, albatross, terns, and penguins, frequent the coasts, and there is an abundance of cormo- rants in all the estuaries and rivers. Pelicans arc found in both the north and south parts of the colony, on the sandy spits and patches of the streams. The swamps and lagoons are covered with ducks, grebes, rails, &c., of the same types as those inhabiting the northern hemisphere, but in almost every case of distinct species. The number of ducks i.s truly surprising, and one writer stated that he had travelled in winter along the River Murray and the long estuary of the Coorong. and for upwards of 120 miles he was never out of sight of large flocks which literally darkened the water and airf The special features of the birds of Australia are its parrots, its mound building birds, its bower birds, and certain anomalous passerine genera which have no parallel in other parts ot the globe. There are no vultures and no trogons. There are over sixty species of parrots, scarcely any of Avhich are found outside Australia and its islands. They include the cockatoo parrot (a beautiful little bird), the cockatoo (three species), many varieties of the rosella parrot f Plati/cercusJ, grass parrots, grass parakeets, lorikeets, k.c., &.c. There are large numbers of pigeons, the most beautiful being the bronze wing, of which there are seven species ; there are also owds, goat suckers, herons, bitterns, spoon bills, ibis, black swans, and other birds too numerous to mention in detail. The order Eaptores, or falcons, has twenty-six representative species in South Australia. * A full description of this .singular creature appears in the transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 1891, by E. C. Stirling. M.D., Cantab., and F.R.O.S., Eng., Lecturer on Physiology in the University of Adelaide, t Essay on the Natural History of New South Wales : Tenison Woods. Sydney, 1882. 28 SOUTH AUSTKALIA. Stngid(s, or owls, 7 ; night jars, 4 ; swifts, 2 ; swallows, 5 ; kingfisliers, 9. Meliphagirtcc, or honej^ eaters, 45 ; cuckoos, 11 ; Psittacidce (parrots and cockatoos), 37 ; Charadridce (plovers and dottrells), 18; herons, 24; pelicans, 11: grebes, 3 ; penguins, 1. But it is needless here to extend the list. Those who desire to go fully into this portion of the natural history of South Australia can refer to Goidd's magnificent works on the subject. The bower birds f Chlamydera michalis and C. MaculataJ, which are found only in the interior far away from all settlement, are peculiar in their habits. In addition to their nests they build bowers on the ground several feet long, which they adorn with shells and various trifles they pick up in the bush. These bowers are used as playgrounds, and that is all can be conjectured. The laughing jackass fDacelo GigasJ is widely distributed, but does not live far from water. It is remarkable for its Aveird laughter-like cry; so also the magpie of the colonists for its curious musical note. These birds are easily tamed, and will remain about a house unconfined; they make most interesting pets, and the magpie can -without much difficulty be taught to repeat w^ords and to whistle scraps of tunes. One bird which is peculiar to Australia deserves special notice — the emu ( Dromanius) . It stands about 5ft. high and has no wings ; the feathers mostly are harsh, coarse, and hair-like, and of a dusky greyish- brown. They live mostly on the plains not far from scrub, in which they breed. They are hunted for the sake of their skins, which make neat mats, and for their oil, which is said to be efficacious as an outward application for rheumatism. The natives hunt the emus for food. These birds are easily domesticated : that is, if not hunted about they will stay about the stations of sheejifarmers in the bush. There are two living species, and one, extinct, of miich larger size named by Professor Owen Dromornis Australis. South Australia has no birds of song, though there are many whose notes are distinctly musical. There is only one kind of crow f Corvus Australis J, which is distributed all over the continent of Australia. The lyre bird { Menura superhaj is famed for its beautiful and gracefvd plumage. The tail feathers take the form of the ancient classic lyre, and have eyes at the upper ends of the two principal plumes like the spots which are spread over the tail of the European peacock. These birds were always difficidt to procure, but they are becoming more rare year after year, in consequence of the merciless and inconsiderate manner in which they are destroyed by bushmen for the sake of their feathers. The native pheasants, or mound-making birds fLeipoa ocellata and JSIegapodius tumulusj, lay their eggs in a few leaves and twigs, ITS FAUNA. 29 surrounded by large mounds of sand, which the birds scrape together for the purpose. The eggs are left to hatch themselves by the heat of this compost heap. The eggs of the Leipoa are so thin that the birds could scarcely sit upon them without breaking them. They are generally found in desert scrub, are of large size, and much esteemed as articles of food. Most of the native birds are protected during portions of the year. During these times it is illegal to shoot them, to have them in possession, or to expose them for sale. The bustard, or wild turkey f Chariot Is AiistraUsJ is very widely distributed. These birds afford excellent sport dui'ing the open season, but, however, are very shy, and generally not easy to apjDroach. They are splendid birds for the table, being of large size and of excellent flavor. In former years quails were very abundant. They were obtainable in the sandhills on the coast, all over the plains, and on the slopes which stretch down from the hills. They still are seen about the wheatfields at harvest time. The aborigines are exempt from the operation of the statutes which determine the close seasons. The kangaroo (Macropus major), whose skin is of considerable commercial value, is now protected during certain months. In the South- East, that is that part of the colony which lies between the Murray and its eastern boundary, some years ago a premium of so much per head was paid for its destruction. Kangaroos were so numerous that the settlers found that the number of sheep which the runs were able to carry was seriously restricted in consequence of their enormous consumption of grass. They were rounded up in droves and slaughtered in hundreds. On one station alone £800 was paid in one year for their destruction, and that, at 6d. per head, gaAc a total of 32,000. This was only a small part of what was done in the whole district. From the nature of the country, and the shelter they are able to secure amongst the ferns and in the scrub which abounds there, it is not likely that they will be exterminated. Their numbers, however, have been greatly diminished of late years in the good country. The increase in the value of their skins has prompted the Parliament to pass a special Act (No. 527 of 1891) to protect them, and prevent their wholesale destruction. Those Avho admire and pay long prices for seal skins and other furs might well turn their attention to the beautiful skins which are obtainable all over Australia. It is true that fur is not in much use in this part of New Holland as a defence against the cold, but feminine fashions have quite as much influence in the Sunny South as elsewhere, and tippets, boas, and miiffs of the skins of native animals are not altogether disregarded. The Reptilia in South Australia are not very numeious. There are 80 SOUTH Al'STRALIA. «ome two or three species of frogs, but lizards are more abundant. The largest of them fHydrosaurusJ inhabits the gullies in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the plains in various parts of the country. One specimen in the museum measures nearly 5ft. from the muzzle to the tip of the tail. The jew lizard ( Amphiholorus barhatusj is common. It is remarkable for a peculiar frill about the neck, which appears not unlike a beard, from which probably it derives its common name. Another kind, known as the sleepy or club-tailed lizard, is found amongst the sandhills on the coast and on the plains, and is probably identical with the Trachysaurus of New South Wales. The most singular lizard found in South Australia is the Moloch horridus. It looks ugly, but is harmless. It is €in. or Tin. long, and covered with large curved spines, very sluggish in movement, and easily captured- Its food consists of ants and small insects. The reptile is most common in the region of Port Augusta, at the head of Spencer's Gulf. It does not live in captivity. Snakes, both venomous and harmless, are denizens of the colony, but they are not very numerous. There are twenty-two species, of which the majority are poisonous. The " death " or " deaf " adder {Acan- ■thopis) is frequently met with in the scrub and in solitary jjlaces. Its bite is most deadly. The genus Hoplocephalus frequents moist grassy places and the herbage bordering iipon swamps. There is also the Pseudychis porphyriaca, or black snake. All of these are dangerous, their bites being frequently fatal within a few hours. Although there are a few which are non-venomous, it is wise to avoid snakes of every sort. As a rule these reptiles always glide away when human beings approach them, but if surprised they are likely to attack an intruder. Accidents from snake bite are often recorded in the other colonies which are followed by fatal results. Generally here the settlers do not ti'ouble much about them, except to kill them when they can, and very few casualties from this cause are heard of. The natives eat all kinds of snakes, but they will not touch those which they have not killed for themselves. The flesh of snakes, as well as of lizards, is said to be delicious. It is white and tender, not unlike that of chicken. Mr. Zietz, of the South Australian Museum, has prepared a list of the Ophidia which inhabit the colony. He enumerates twenty species which have been described and defined, and two whose species is imcertain. Four species are considered to be peculiar to South Australia, viz., Peters' blind snake f Typhlops hituherculahisj, the Port Lincoln snake f Hoplo- cephalus spectabilisj, Flinders' snake fH. aterj, and Masters' snake fH. Masterii ) . The two species of blind snake f Typhlops bituberculatus and T. nigresce7isj. and also the carpet snake fMorelia variegataj, are not venomous. All the other snakes found in South Australia are venomous. ITS FAUNA. 31 •and five species are dangerous to mankind, viz., two species of black ■snake fPseudichis Australin and P. porphyriacusj, two specie's of Hoplocephalus, and the " death " or " deaf " adder fAcanthopis antarcticaj.^' A peculiar long-necked tortoise f Chelodina longicollisj inhabits the River Murray, and a few other fresh-water streams. It is not of large «ize, seldom exceeding 9in. in length in the carapace and 6in. or Tin. in width. Its very long neck projects sometimes as much as Tin. from the carapace. They are eagerly sought after by the aborigines for food, and the colonists are not at all insensible to their gastronomic value. Entomologists will find a wide field for their investigations in South Australia. It possesses numerous varieties of Coleoptera, or beetles ; Hymenoptera, or flies and wasps; and Hemiptera^o'c bugs. It is also well endowed with Lepidoptera, or butterflies and moths. It is a scientific fact that in all these orders the peculiar characteristics of the insects of Australia are so marked that an expert would at once know any specimen from New Holland. Amongst the Hymenoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, and Neurojitera, not much has been done in Australia towai'ds describing and cataloguing the different species. It is noticeable that most of the familiar forms of insect life find their representatives here. Thus there are dragon flies, wasps, hornets, and bees. Mosquitos are very abundant and in many varieties in moist places, and in all swamps, both on the sea-shore and inland, though from dry desert tracts they are absent. This province, favored as it has been in many respects, has been bountifully supplied, though perhaps not more than other colonies, with unts. There are many varieties of these creatures — small as well as large — from the little pismire, as its prototype is called in England, to the formidable insect known in South Australia, as the soldier ant, which is ■quite an inch and a quarter in length. The jaws of this terror to those who may provoke its hostility are a full quarter of an inch long. The bite of this ant leaves bad consequences behind it in the shape of a sore which is not easy to heal. These ants live for the most part in sandy country. There are two sorts specially noteworthy — the soldier, which is scarlet, and the bulldog, of a deep shining blue. Besides these there are white ants, which are destructive to soft timber, books, and other things which come within their reach ; black, blue, and red ants, night ants, large, blind and harmless; and one, seen in the sub-tropical region, which is green. It is a most hideous-looking insect, with a wedge- shaped head which seems to be all teeth. The small ants, when they find their way into houses, as they sometimes do, are great pests. They attack everything — meat, sugar, sweets of all kinds, indeed almost all * Trans. Roy. Sou. S.A.: A. Zietz, 1887. 32 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. that is edible. Kerosene or tar placed in their holes, however, soon gets rid of them. Other ants, which live in gardens and on the plains, must do much good. They devour all sorts of insects, centipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, and spiders of various kinds ; and they do not apjjroach dwellings unless a few stray ones are brought there with firewood. They never domicile themselves as some of the smaller varieties do. Nevertheless it is as well to avoid them, because when they do bite, the sensation, though not lastiuij, is not unlike that of a hot needle stvick into the flesh. South Australia has many species of spiders, but the branch of entomology which treats of the Arachnid(e has not received much atten- tion, and little is known about it. Several of them are to some extent poisonous, and the bite, if not dangerous, is certainly painfid, and occasions much constitutional disturbance in some cases. One spider, which builds its nests in low bushes, spins beautiful silk of a yellow color. It is sometimes found stretching for many feet from one bush to another, and is extremely strong and tough. The nests are often as large as a moderately sized egg. They are most common in the North. Another most interesting species excavates a hole in the ground, which it covers with a beautifully fitted lid, and closes it down when it captures anything, so as to prevent the escape of its prey. The fishes which abound along the shores, from the Great Australian Bight as far, at least, as the Glenelg river, are to a great extent identical with those which are found ofE the coasts of Victoria and New South "Wales, as far north as Sydney. Schnapper fPagrus unicolorj, mullet fmugilj, several species ; mackerel (Scomber antarcticusj, whiting fSillago maculataj, rock cod f Pseudophycis harbatusj, leather jacket f Monocanthus ayrandij, flathead f Platycephalus J , several species ; salmon f Aripis salar ), gurnard (TriglaJ, are common to both Spencer and St. Vincent guKs, whilst the muUoway fSciaena antarctica) abounds in the Murray near the mouth as far as the water is salt. Bream ( Chrysophrys Australis) and perch {Sates colonorunij are plentiful in the streams which open into Encounter Bay, and also in the Onkaparinga, near its entrance to the sea. The sweep fScorpis oequipennisj, a most delicious fish, is abundant in New South Wales, where, strange to say, it is not thought much of. It is found at Port Elliot, on the south coast, near Pullen's Island, and in the deep water which skirts the rocks at Commodore Point, in Encounter Bay. The sole ( Synaptura nigerj is found at Port Lincoln, at Kangaroo Island, and occasionally in Gulf St. Vincent. It is somewhat scarce, and rarely brought to market in the capital. Crabs fNeptunus pelagicus) are plentiful on sandy beaches in shallow water, on sand banks in deeper water, and ia ITS FAUNA. 33 rocky places. They are of a small size, but of excellent flavor. The spiny lobster or crayfish fPaliniirus hugeliij abounds on the South Australian coast wherever it is rocky. It is abundant at Port Elliot, Encounter Bay, Port MacDonnell, Guichen Bay, Kangaroo Island, &c., &c. The Murray cod (Oligarus), of which there are twu species, is found principally in the x'wgx from which it takes its name. It occurs, however, in other rivers in the west of New South Wales, and also in a few of the eastern rivers north of Sydney. The Oligarus Macquariensis, or true Murray cod, is a valuable fish for the table. It is extremely voracious, and specimens have been known to weigh as much as 120lbs. The second species fO. MitchelliJ, called by fishermen the Murray perch, differs from the first in many particulars, but is not much inferior in size. Many other fishes frequent the coast whose names and characteristics have not been recorded. The late Sir William MacLeay published a most valuable " Descriptive Catalogue of Austrahan Fishes," and the late Count J. de Castelnau, has treated of " Australian Fishes, new or little known," &c., but as yet no census of the filches peculiar to South Australia has been prepared, so that probably much has yet to be learned respecting them. Sharks of various species infest the coastline of South Australia in every direction, and are at all times dangerous. One kind, known in New South Wales as the " Grey Nurse " f Odotitapsis Americaniis J , which is frequently seen in the South Australian gulfs, is a formidable monster. It is recorded in " Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales, 1882," that it has been known " to seize hold of the steer oar of a whaleboat when the boat was moving rapidly through the water and shake it with its teeth two or three times, let go its hold, and pursue and seize it again as if it were a living object." Some years ago a party in a boat oflf the Sema- phore struck one, which was lying on the surface of the water, with a boat hook. It attacked the craft and tore away a part of the side, and the occupants were obliged to cant the boat to get into sliallow water where the shark could not follow it. More recently a midshipman belonging to H.M.S. Clio, the flagship of Commodore Stirling, which was at anchor off" Largs Bay, was paddling around the ship in a canoe. One of these sharks rose from underneath, seized the canoe and tore out a portion of the bottom. In the planks of the canoe several of the shark's teeth were left embedded in the wood; they were from lin. to \\\n. in length. One specimen of the swordfish /'Xi/pliiasJ was captured at the head of Spencer's Gulf, at Port Augusta, and is now in the Adelaide Museum A Lnth, or leathery turtle, was taken a few years ago ofl' Torrens Islanil. in the arm of the sea which extends to Port Adelaide. These were 34 ^^OUTH AUSTRALIA. probably accidental visitors, inasmuch as no similar specimens have been seen since. The fresh- water fish in the smaller streams are few and of small size. They appear to be little known to science; nevertheless, they are delicious, and not unlike whitebait. In all the deep holes in the inland moxmtain streams a kind of crayfish is always procurable. In form it much resembles the European lobster, but is small, varying from 3in. to 6in.in length. It is of a dull bluish black when taken out of the water, but turns red on being boiled. It is of delicate flavor, though its edible part is small. There is one lobster— a true lobster — f Atapopsis serratus J y\h.\c\i is obtainable in the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers. It averages about a foot in length, and is niarked in u-regular dark and light patches. When boiled parts of the shell remain cream colored whilst the others turn red. It is in season in the winter time, but is scarce in the Adelaide market. In South Australia one of the finest kinds of oyster covers extensive beds on some parts of the western coasts of the colony. It is of large size, splendid flavor, and abundant, and is known by the name of the Port Lincoln oyster, though it is found not only at Poit Lincoln but in numerous places along the coasts of Banks' Peninsula, and elsewhere in that region. The indiscriminate way in Avhich some years ago these bivalves were dredged ujj and sent to market necessitated legislation, and as occasion requires the old beds are closed for various ^^eriods, so as to prevent the exhaustion, if not the ultimate destruction, of the valuable oyster grounds. Of late oysters have become dear, inasmuch as in the season they are exported to the eastern colonies. New South Wales has extensive beds of rock oysters, which, though delicate and admirable, are not large ; but that colony has nothing to represent the unrivalled products of Port Lincoln. Shrimps, or rather prawns, abound along shallow sandy beaches, but they are not very frequently seen in the shops for sale. ITS FLORA. ;^,5 CHAPTER IV. SovTH Australian Plants— The Forest Land Region— The Schuh Land Region — The Grass Land Region, &c. To speak of the botanical features of South Australia is in reality to speak of the botanical characteristics of western and eastern Australia. The region of South Australia, from its position and its o-eolo^ical conditions, could scarcely be expected to develop flora much different from those which exist on the eastern and western sections of the continent that form her natural boundaries. Thus it is seen that the two genera of the eucalyptus and the acacia preponderate over the whole ]n-ovinco, as they do in other portions of the great continent; but of 134 eucalypti which are at present known in Australia, only thirty, and of acaciee, of Avhich 300 species are recorded, no more than seventy, are fotmd in South Australia. Apart from other characteristics, the trees of South Australia are not as tall as those which are found on the north-east and west of her territory. The eucalypti do not exceed 100ft. to 120ft. in height, whilst in Western Australia one species attains the height of 400ft., and one specimen in Victoria measured 420ft. in length. This was a fallen tree in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. Amongst the eighteen to twenty species of eucalyptus which appear in the extra-tropical jiart of South Australia, there are only a few kinds which are held in special estimation. They are commonly called the red. white, and blue gum, stringybark, and peppermint. These are used for various purposes, such as building, rough carpentry, wheelwrights' work, and for fuel. The redgura fKucalijptus rust rata J is very hard and solid, weighing about 621bs. to the cubic foot, and when properly seasoned is impervious to the white ant : it is, moreover, most difficult to work up. The stringybark fE. ohliqnaj has its habitat principally in the hills. It sheds its bark in long fibrous strings, which loosen and droop down as they become detached by the newly-formed bark underneath. This process gives to the trunks of the trees a ragged untidy appearance. The stringybark grows so straight that the young trees are much used for scaffold poles, spars, &c., in which length, strength, toughness, and straightness are required. Tlu^ wood of these trees makes excellent palings and shingles for roofing, because it Sf)lits evenly and readily. It is also used lart^ely for fencing rails and sometimes for posts ; but it soon perishes in the ground, and the white ant destroys it rapidly. As fuel it is not good. WIumi dry it burns away fiercely; when green or damjj it can with ditficulty he got 36 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. to burn at all, unless mixed with other more combustible wood. The bluegum fE. dumosaj is valuable for all sorts of work, and for fuel as well. The whitegum /"£. viminalisj is generally inferior in durability; it does not resist white ants, and when green or damp it is worse even than stringybark as fuel. The peppermint fE. odorataj is a hard wood, useful for ordinaiy purposes, and very serviceable as fuel. The redgum is widely distributed. It is never far distant from water, and its stately branches are almost invariably noticeable on the margins of creeks and watercourses in the north. All Eucalypti, indeed most Australian trees, are remarkable for their naked appearance. The boughs are always distinctly traceable through the foliage, which is smooth and shiny, in their grey outlines, from which at a distance the leaves scarcely seem to depend. The trees for their size throw little shade, and in some varieties thick branches often drop off suddenly on a perfectly calm hot day, to the certain destruction of any- thing that may happen to be beneath. These trees give a special monotony to the scenery of South Australia. The wood of the acacia is useful only for cabinet work, but the black- wood (Acacia melanoxylon ) has better qualities for purposes of that nature. This tree, however, is common in the south-east, whilst it is rare near Adelaide. It is more common still on the eastern side of the border. Another species of acacia, the wattle of the colonists (A. pycnanthaj, at one time neglected, but now largely cultivated, is valuable for the gum which freely exudes from it and for its bark. The gum is little, if at all, inferior to gum arable, and the bark, bought in England as Mimosa bark, is one of the best of the kinds used for tanning purposes. There are other kinds of acacia which are also valuable for tanning, bvit none are equal to the Avattle. The sheaoak ( Casuarina stricta) is remarkable in appearance. Its fi-onds do not shape as ordinary leaves ; they appear as continuations of the branches ; they never reach any great height, and are almost funereal in aspect. The wind rushing or sighing through them causes a mournful whistling or wailing sovind, according to the force of the breeze. All kinds of cattle eat their fronds greedily. The wood is tough and splits tolerably evenly. It makes excellent spokes for wheels, handles for hammers, &c., and is used also for turnery work and in cabinet-making. As fuel it is excellent. The tea trees (Melaleuca and Leptospermum) mostly inhabit low damp situations, and are to some extent valuable because of the durable nature of their v/ood when used underground, or perhaps in water. It is close- grained and hard, and when dry, heavy. It is generally sound at the heart. The wood of the native pines of this province (Frenela rohusta ITS FLORA. 37 and F. rhomboideaj are not durable, and little used except for fences or for fuel. The Banksia marylnata, or honeysuckle, is occasionally used for cabinet -work, and the Mi/oporum acuminatum, although soft, is tough, and forms excellent knees for boats. The late Dr. Schomburgk, Director of the Botanic Garden, Adelaide, from whose writings the foregoing account has been mainly derived, remarks upon the absence of native edible fruits, " of which there are none deserving the name, except a few berry-bearing shrubs belonging to the orders Epacrida- and Santalacea, Asiroloma and Leucopogon, the principal species of which, the native currant of the colonists f Astroloma humifusiunj and the so-called native peach fFusanus acuminatiisj producing a globular fruit of the size of a small peach, with a succulent pericarp and a hard, bony, much pitted endocarp (the quondong), are all South Australia can boast of. There is also a deficiency in eatable root-bearing plants." There is one of which little notice has been taken— the muntrce. It grows along the ground, and produces a berry of a size somewhat smaller than that of the ordinary Barcelona nut. The smell and taste are strong, and like that of an apple. It may be found on the banks of the Inman and Hindmarsh rivers, on Yorke's Peninsula, and in many other sjjots where sandy soil and moisture exist. A shoot withers rapidly when separated from the parent plant. One peculiarity of the eucalypti has not been noticed, and that is their extraordinary vitality. As long as a strip of bark is continuous from the ground up to the branches, the tree which keeps it lives. Thus trees many feet in diameter at and above the bole, hollowed out by the ravages of insects or by fire, leaving cavities large enough to shelter several grown persons, live and put forth their leaves as if nothing had ever occurred to interfere with their growth. Dr. Schomburgk, however, points out that when eucalypti trees die they begin to die from the topmost branches. The leaves fall off, and nothing but dry twigs and sticks are left until the end comes. The gum trees of all kinds ai-e subject not only' to the attacks of insects which destroy them, but to the visitation of a vegetable parasite called the mistletoe. It attaches itself to the branches and hangs down in long pendulous vitiform bunches, and is not unlike the mistletoe of the oak. When it attacks a tree the life of that tree is only a question of time. The sandalwood tree, which grows in abundance on Yorke's Peninsula, is short in stature, but produces solid and strong wood. When recently cut down it has an agreeable odour, which lasts for a long while, but becoming more and more faint as the trunk dries. It is useful for many purposes. It also does duty as firewood. Those who have read iu •38 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Eastern tales about chambers beiug- scented with burning sandalwood, and imagine that a perfume of a pleasant nature must be the result, would be completely disillusioned by the combustion of our sandalwood. This wood is known even in China as a deadly foe to mosquitoes. This is not surprising, for anyone who has had the good or ill fortiuie to camp by a sandalwood fire in the biish will give his clear testimony to the fact that the smell of the burning wood is bad. It is not too much to say that it verges on the insufferable. Some specimens of the timber have been sent to England, and some forwarded to the Paris Exhibition in 1871, but they have not attracted attention. After noticing the g-eneral features of the flora of South Australia, the author above refei-red to states that " notwithstanding the little apparent difference in the formation of its surface, soil, and climate, the flora of South Australia introduces itself to the observer in its geographical extension by special and peculiar forms of plants in regions. These are the forest land, scrub land, grass land, and the intra-tropical regions." The region of the forest land in South Australia occupies most of the mountain districts, and extends along the base of the mountain chains. The forests have not the fulness and lofty growth of those of other countries. The underwood is of medium size, more open and less difficult to penetrate. The forests are of less extent, and are intercepted by tracts of grass land. The eucalypts are the most predominant forest trees; the stringybark forming often whole forests in some mountainous districts but is seldom seen in the plains. The trees of the forests do not appear crowded, and seldom do the branches of a tree reach those of a neighboring one. The declivities of the mountain ranges are for the most part similarly timbered, the trees sometimes extending to the summits ; often only one-half or two-thirds of the remaining part being grassed, with here and there copses of low shrubs, and stunted and much ramified trees. Often the whole declivities are grassed without even a shrub or tree. " Another feature of the tableland in the hill districts is the appearance of occasional hills clothed only with a scanty covering of tussocky grasses, amongst fragments of ironstone quartz and sand, destitute of all other vegetation, except small scattered trees of the Casuarina stricta, C. glauca, and the peppermint f Eucalyptus odorataj. " The level tableland is generally covered with grass, but is deficient m shrubs. Here scattered are to be seen the most stately and majestic specimens of eucalypts. Such tablelands have a park-like appearance, the trees standing seemingly at measured distances, single or in small clumps, as if planted by a landscape gardener. The soil of these table- ITS FLORA. 39 lands is generally- speaking very rich, and produces abundant crops of cereals. The underwood of the forests is most represented by the follow- ing genera — Corren, Alyxia, Prostranthera. GrevUlea, Hnkea. Isopoyon, Exocarpus, Acacia, Banksia, Cassia, Calythrix, Pomaderris. Leiicopogon, Lepf.ospprmum, Daviesia, Dillwynia, Eutaxia, Platylobium. Puitenaea, and shrubby eucalypts. " The beautiful genus Epacris, which is only represented iu South Australia by one species fE. impressaj, frequently covers whole mountain ridges and declivities : when in bloom the different shades of color of its its flowers produce an effect not readily described. •' A most prominent and striking effect of the mountain forest region is produced by the grass trees X-anthorrhoea quadranyulatis and X. seniiplana. They mostly appear on the ridges and declivities of rocky and stony hills almost devoid of any other vegetation, and are found on some wooded lands, but never on the plains. The first-named j^rows from 10ft. to 12ft. in height, often w4th a trunk fi-om 1ft. to 18in. in diameter, and the flower stalk 6ft. to 10ft. high This species appears only in hilly districts, on rocky declivities : it drives its straggling roots into the crevices of the rocks several feet down into the accumulated vegetable soil. These grass trees are of slow growth — the largest specimens must be several hundred years old. The second species, X. semiplana, is often found at the base of the hills in sandy soil. It forms its stem underground, extending often 2ft. or 3ft. before the roots appear. The leaves lie close to the ground. Both species exude a resin, which contains nitro-picric acid, from which a valuable dye can be made." These grass trees exist in thousands on the sandy flats in the Ninety-Mile Desert, which lies between the Murray River and the Victorian border. The roots of these plants are edible ; the gum. when it could be procured, was used by the natives to fix stone points on to the wooden shafts of their spears and to fasten axe heads fashioned of stone to their helves, as other paleolithic savages did in earlier geological epochs. The X. quadnmgidnfis not long ago existed in tolerably conside- rable numbers in the Waterfall Gully, a favorite resort of holiday makers, about six miles east of Adelaide, and in the gully ending with the Morialta waterfalls. But holiday-making at most times means spoliation of some sort, and, of course, when wild flowers, ferns, ivc, are trophies of holiday expeditions, grass trees could not be expected to escape. Some lives have been lost in consequence of over-confident climbers ascending the steep rocks in which they grow, and in inaccessible places they remain in their solitary greatness. They are mostly known to old colonists as •* black boys," and at a distance the strange shapes these trees assume is suggestive of the colloquial name. 40 SOLTll AUSTRALIA. The gullies which intervene between the hills ai-e filled with shrubs and ferns, and some of the most beautiful plants in the province are foimd there. Handsome ferns, accoi'ding to Dr. Schomburgk, flourished there in great profusion, and man}' are still to be seen, such as the Todea Africana, whose stems are sometimes over 18in. in diameter. There are others also which need not be enumerated, some of which thrive in the crevices of rocks and some which border the edges of brooks and rivulets, which in the gullies are almost always flowing in the hottest weather. Terrestrial orchids inhabit the bases and slopes of the hills in places where they are not overshadowed by the undergrowth. There are about twenty genera in South Australia. The regions of the scrub land appear over the whole area of the province; they stretch to greater or less extent in different districts, and are estimated to cover about one-eighth of the whole area of the colony. They are most extensive in the north and east, and in the south-east bordering on the Murray. They* include wearying, desolate, and arid plains, the soil being of the poorest description, unfit for cultivation, and changing from loamy clay to pure sand ; the surface is covered with frag- ments of silicious or ferruginous sand and iron stone. The vegetation is stunted. The scrub itself is nearly destitute of grasses and other herbage. No indication of water is seen in such places. There are but few genera of grasses, and they grow only in tufts considerably apart from each other. The absence of other herbage is as great during the summer, but this great deficiency is compensated by a large variety of genera and species of shrubs The monotonous and dismal look of an extensive tract of scrub is depressing wiien viewed from an eminence. The uniformity in the height of the vegetation, and the dull glaucous color of the foliage, look in the distance like a rolling sea reaching the horizon. Such at least is the impression which is usually ])roduced by the first glimpse of the Murray scrub, which extends for hundi-eds of miles. All the scrub in the different districts produces the same impression, but the plants inhabiting these tracts are not of the same genera and species, because the locality and soil affect tne character of the flora Shrubs of one kind or other are found in flower throughout the year. Most kinds bloom in September and October; the rainy season therefore alters the outward appearance of the scrub only to a small extent : but it calls into life the terrestrial orchids, of which a good many kinds inhabit it. Their duration is short, and they dis- appear as rapidly as they spring up. A most valuable plant appears in abundance in the northern districts. It is known as the saltbush ( Atriplex NummulariaJ, on which sheep subsist and thrive dm-ing the summer and in times of drought. If all ITS FLORA. 41 other vegetation is suffering from drought, the saltbush alone •withstands the heat of the sun, maintains its freshness, and saves thousand;? of sheep from starvation. The grass land region forms the principal part of the whole area of South Australia. It consists of vast xmdulating plains, stretching from the coast to the north and east. But along the coast and for hundreds of miles inland the grass plains have for the most part disappeared, and now foiTU agricvdtural districts which produce the finest cereals known. The great plains of the interior, especially towards the north, so extensive as to be lost in the hoiizon, like deserts, are emphatically monotonous and desolate. Only here and there are fomad fertile spots of grass land, but not of large extent. They alternate with bare sandstone ridges or rolling sandhills, interspersed with stony and waterless flats. Their surface is often saline, covered with sharp angular or weather-worn fragments of various sizes, of ironstone quartz, reddish sandstone, and conglomerate, supporting only a scanty herbage of perennial gi-asses, that grow in tufts and tinge the sandy surface. Groups of stunted shrubs and small ramified trees, mostly of limited extent, rise from the plains like islands. They consist of varieties of the sheaoak { CasuarinaJ, eucalyptus, and wattle (Acacia pycnanthaj. The plains near the coast are of a difEerent character. The soil is mostly fertile, extending often down to the sea, and constituting a great portion of the arable land of the colony. The fertile earth covering these plains gives rise to an essential alteration in their vegetation. Xom-ishing grasses of various kinds make their appearance. Shrubs of small stature, with sheaoaks, wattles, pines, &c., sometimes single, but occasionally forming groves without underwood, like oases in the desert, are scattered about. The banks of the rivers and creeks, which mostly cease running in the summer, are lined Avith tall gum trees of immense size, and shrubs which spread out more or less into the plains according to the nature of the soil In the month of May the rainy season generally commences. The rain has a wondrous effect upon the herbage of the plains. A few heavy showers change the patches of dried-up grasses and herbage into a beautiful green sward. The rapidity with which the grasses, especially the anniials, spring up, is such that in a few days the plains are covered with luxuriant verdure which ordinarily only northern countries produce. For the few months that the wet season or winter lasts, every week adds new colors to the vegetation of the plains. By the middle of November the number of flowering plants lessens rapidly. Tlie annual grasses and other herbaceous plants begin to dry up, droop, and disappear. In January the plains present a dried-up and withered appearance. Tlic seeds of 42 SOUTH ALSTKALIA. the annual plants have been scattered ; perennial herbage has returned to its dormant state until the advent of the next rainy season. . . . . There is another kind of grass land to be met with here and there in large parts, called " Bay of Biscay land." Such places have a peculiar undulating surface. The soil is considered very good. It is of a chocolate color, and produces fine wheat crops, but it takes several years' ploughing to render the surface level. The flora of the Bay of Biscay land has its peculiarities. Gum trees f Eucalyptus J shun such tracts, but they are rich in Composite and grasses. CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. i'-j CHAPTER V. Climate — Area — Productiveness of the Province — Varvinu Rainfall — Meteorological Records — The Government Astronomer's View> — Foreign Plants and their Progress — The Hills and Plains — The Seasons — Delightful Climate — Sir G. Kingston's Observai ions— Course of Winds — The Influence of the Monsoons — Hot "Winds — Meteoro- logical Tables, &c. The climate of South Australia, although occasionally somewhat tiying in the summer months, is unquestionably one of the most agrreeable and most healthy in the world. It has been compared with that of the south of Sjjain. Its skies have been justly described as surpassing those of Italy. The purity and dryness of its atmosphere are quite equal to similar climatic characteristics which prevail in the best portions of Algeria. In fertility of soil it is not interior to that of the most favorc-d districts in those sunn)' lands. The enormous territory which is em- braced within the limits of South Australia proper, having an area of about 380,070 square miles, or 243,244,800 acres, naturally includes considerable climaiic differences. The climate in the hills and in the high lands is temperate and genial, and not marked by an excess of cold during the winter months. On the plains the summer weather is most felt, for, as the winter and spring rains cease, they become dry and hot and unfavorable to the growth of many plants which belong to cooler countries. In the hills almost all the fruits and vegetables which grow in Europe and in the more temperate regions of Asia, as well as many that are indigenous to Africa and America, thrive splendidly. The produc- tiveness of the colony depends to a very great extent upon the rainfall, and that varies remarkably, not only in different localities, but in different seasons. Thus the rainfall at Mount Lofty, in 1889, amounted to 67-010 inches ; in 18.39 it was 32-000. At Parallana, in the far north, in 1888. it was 1-710 inches, and in 1885 it had been 20-40.5. In some parts of the north, such as Lake Frome, only 5 inches were recorded. The average rainfall in the whole of the agricultural districts of South Aus- tralia, from Melrose to Cape Northumberland, in 1890* was 26-646 inches; the mean for previous years being 21-476. The highest total was in 1889, when 30-874 inches were recorded at the Adelaide Observatory; and the lowest in 1876, when no more than 13-434 inches were noted at the same place. It is somewhat strange that the heaviest rainfall known in the colony should not h ave been followed by • Pailiameutary Paper al of ISiM, Kumlall in South AustraUa : <.'. loiUl, Government Astronomer. 44 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. something approaching to a corresponding increase in the harvest ; yet, in 1863, with a rainfall in Adelaide of less than 24 inches, the yield was nearly double what was secured in 1889, when the rainfall was nearly 31 inches. This noticeable discrepancy, however, maybe ascribed to causes not altogether dependent on the actual quantity of rain that descends. The time of the year at which the rains set in, their duration, and then again the temperature which immediately follows upon the rains when they continue late and come down to the verge of summer, and the early visitation of north winds, which in the summer are hot, all have their share in influencing the quantity of the yield. Other circumstances, not meteorological, have also their effect upon the harvest. The observations of the i-ainfall which occurs in the various parts of the colony are recorded at 368 stations. At several of these the daily range of the barometer and thermometer are noted, with all the particulars which accurately describe the meteorological conditions of the place. These are forwarded to the central station, where, under the direction of C. Todd, Esq., Postmaster-General and Government Astronomer, they are collated, tabulated, and prepared for publication. By means of the telegraph, which extends from Adelaide to the Indian Ocean on the north, to Melbourne and Sydney on the east, almost to the extreme north of Queensland on the north-east, and from Adelaide to North- West Cape in Western Australia, the Government Astronomer is able to publish weather forecasts, which, being generally reliable, are alike interesting and useful to the public, and are eagerly looked for in the columns of the daily journals. From this it will be seen that this colony (as well as the other colonies whose meteorological records are collected and made up on the same system) is in a position to furnish daily accounts of meteorological phenomena which occur over most of the continent, that can be regarded as authentic. The record of the rainfall dates back as far as 1839, when it was commenced by the late Sir George Kingston, formerly Speaker of the House of Assembly, and who kept it up till within a very short period of his death in 1880. The record at the Observatory was commenced in 1856, since when its operations ba^e been gradually extended all over the province, so that its meteorological arrangements are as complete as it has been possible to make them. The Postmaster-General and Astronomer to the colony published in 1876* a paper which gave inter-esting particulars of the climatic pecu- liarities of South Australia, as well as a detailed account of the Observatory and its appliances. Since the publication of that memoir *Observatorv and Meteoroloo;v of South Australia: C. Todd, C.M.G., F.li.S., Jcc, 1876. CLIMATE AM) METEOROLOGY, 45 the climate of the colony has not sensibly changed. There have been in-egularities in the seasons, or rather irregularities in the special phenomena of those seasons, especially of late years, which should, if duly weighed by those who are interested in the culture of the land, whether as fruit growers, vignerons, market gardeners, or producers of grain, largely influence the horticulture and agriculture of the future. The indigenous plants of the province were not capable of maintaining a large population. The food of the aborigines indeed consisted almost entirely of animals, birds, reptiles, fishes, and even insects. The soil and climate, however, which produced so little for the food of man, before the coming of the white settlers, amply rewarded the adventurers who migrated to the province when they planted the seeds of their European homes in South Australian soil. Everything, or almost everything, throve at first. As experience of the country extended, and the different plants became acclimatised, they increased in strength and productiveness. The late Dr. Schomburgk stated, and it has been proved, that the South Australian cereals are the finest that are grown in the world, and, with the exception of those that are intra-tropical, all fruits fi-om other parts of the world come to a perfection in size and flavor in the different districts of the province hardly known in other countries. Most fruits, vegetables, and useful plants are found to improve by the change, as the climatic conditions to a great extent modify as well as develop them. The finest grapes are grown upon the plains ; they ripen in perfection and in profusion. At the present time South Australian wine has obtained no inconsiderable reputation in the markets of Europe. On the plains apples, pears, loquats, plums, walnuts, and chestnuts, as also apricots, peaches, nectarines, oranges, citrons, lemons and .shaddocks, cherries, grapes, figs, almonds, mulberries, olives, &,c., thrive splendidly, and many of them in the gullies in the hills. In these gullies vegetables of the finest quality and all culinary herbs grow in all seasons. They flourish also on the plains during the rainy season. Cauliflowers of large size, cabbages, turnips, asparagus, artichokes, leeks, onions, beets, carrots, potatoes, endive, lettuce, celery, &.c., as well as cucumbers, sweet and water melons, pumpkins, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables attain a size and flavor which are not common in Europe. In the memoir on the climate which has been referred to, Mr. Todd states that " the observations at the Observatory satisfactorily represent the climate of the plains for some distance north and south of Adelaide, but in the Mount Lofty ranges, close by, the citizens can in an hour or two find a much lower temperature, and twenty minutes by railway will carry them to the invigorating breezes of the gulf; and, except when kept back by strong easterly and northerly winds, the sea 46 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. breeze sets in soon after 10 a.m. and sweeps across the plains, tempering the heat during what would otherwise be the hottest hours of the day. " The hottest months in the year are December, January, and Feb- ruary, when the temperature on the plains frequently exceeds 100° in the shade. November and March are also hot ; but the nights, especi- ally in the former month, are cooler, and the heat is seldom of long duration, rarely reaching 100° in the shade, and, coming in suddenly with a strong hot wind, is followed quickly by a change to cool, or even cold, weather. A few hot days occasionally occur in October; but, even in the hottest months, especially in December, the weather is often broken by cloudy, cold intervals, with strong south-west winds, veering gradually to south and south-east. This state of things will continue for several days, during which the Mind from the south-east will usually freshen towards sunset, a bank of cloud forming over the Mount T.ofty ranges, with cold nights, the temperature falling rapidly after sunset. The duration of these south-easterly winds appears to depend upon the weather on the eastern coast: and the presence of the bank of cloud on the ranges, and the persistence and force of the wind, often indicate gales and rain on the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland, although the weather here may be fine and clear overhead. As the easterly wind modei-ates it gradually hauls to the north, and alternate land (easterly) and sea (south-westerly) breezes set in, with fine weather, getting warmer and warmer, till another spell of extreme heat is expe- rienced. The heat is sometimes followed by rain, especially in the earlier part of the season, setting in with the surface wind light at north-east, but the upper current north-west. This is usually presaged by aggregations of cirro-cumuli, which close up and form a bank with a hard sharply-defined outline, gradually spreading over the sky, the clouds at the same time increasing in density as they change their character, with scud forming beneath. 'I"he rain increases as the wind veers to the north-west, and often e.xtends over a large area to the north, and is some- times accompanied with heavy thunder and lightning, usually terminating with a gale from the south-west. The same thing occurs in the winter; but the wind at that season hangs longer about the west, often backing to the north-west, with henvy rain and wind. These are usually our heaviest and most widely diffused falls, the rains from the south-west seldom extending far inland. " The summer may be regarded as extending from October to March. After that month the temjierature falls rapidly, very rarely reaching 90° in the shade. . . . The weather during April and a great part of May is simply perfection, and the same applies to most of the winter and till the end of October. Although corresponding to the autumn or CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. 47 early winter of Europe it is virtually spring, when vegetation, refreshed by the first rains after the drought of summer, bursts into fresh life, and the whole surface of the land is clad with verdure." Heavy lains frequently fall in May, and the greatest downfalls usually occur in that month. The coldest months are Jmie, July, and August, but the mean temperature in those months has not fallen below 51*o°. Although the temperature is not very low, the cold is sometimes much felt in the winter months, because of the contrast it emphasises between the summer weather and the genial temperature which prevails in other portions of the year. Frosts occasionally occur on the plains, and frequently in the hills. Ice, perhaps a quarter of an inch thick, is occasionally noticeable in shallow surface pools, but this rarely if ever survives an hour's sunshine. Snow has sometimes fallen at Mount Lofty and on other high summits in the ranges, and at other times a few miles north of Kooringa, which is ], 560ft. above the sea level. Snow is, however, quite phenomenal in South Australia, and the drift does not remain on the ground for more than an hour or two, whenever it does occur. * In writing on the subject of the course of the seasons or *' weather forecasts," Sir George Kingston gave the following as the results of his observations extending over forty years : — " The heaviest rains through- out the year may be expected with a wind at about north-east, the rain then commencing to fall gently and the wind light — both gradually increasing as the latter veers round to the north, and thence to the north-west, when the violence of both rain and wind has much increased. After this the wind may be expected to draAv round to the west, with still increasing violence, till it has got to the south of west, when the rain generally ceases— or at least rarely falls except in heavy squalls and showers — and the weather clears up. The time occupied by a continuous fall of rain, as thus described, rarely amounts to twelve hours. The wind will, however, frequently hang at about west, Avith a few points of variation to the south and north, for some days — during which period rain occurs in showers if to the south, and more steadily in proportion to the northing of the wind. The heaviest rains — assuming a tropical character — may be expected after a hot north-east wind, drawing round to the north-west, at which point an inch of rain and upwards has often fallen within the hour, accompanied with heavy thunder and lightning; or, as in October, 1854. the rain is represented by tremendous hailstorms — the hail assuming the form of flat pieces of ice. * Parliamentary Paper. Honsi- of A>seiiil> v, X'>. 74 of 1->7V'. Sir (J. 5>. Kingston's Analysis of Rain Ucgisler, 1S:>9 lo ISTO. 48 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. " As regards the use of the barometer, in forming a judgment on the weather to be expected I have to observe that the barometer invariably begins to fall Avith a north-east wind, continuing to fall as the wind increases in violence and draws round by the north, north-west, and westerly, at or about which point it reaches it lowest figure. The baro- meter generally begins to rise with the least southing in the wind. Now, although a low barometer thus agrees with the heaviest fall of rain, it is impossible to draw certain conclusions from it as to probability of rain or otherwise — unless, indeed, when the wind is violent, as then, even with every appearance of heavy cloudy weather, rain rarely occurs. Calm, murky weather, accompanied by a low state of the barometer, is the most favorable indication for rain. I have frequently seen the baro- meter at its lowest point (as observed by me), 29-3 — blowing hard, and accompanied by cloudy weather — when no rain has fallen : on the other hand, I have known some of the steadiest and most copious rains to occur with the barometer at 30-2 and falling, the wind light or nearly calm. " I may add, that generally during fine weather a land and sea breeze alternates during the twenty-four hours. After sunset the wind gene- rally blows from about south-east to east, dying away about daylight, and a light south-west wind springs up about 9 a.m. — but, failing to do so, the land wind towards morning draws round from east to north-east by north to north-west, and west towards the afternoon ; and shoidd it hano- to the north of east, with a falling barometer, it is a certain pre- cursor of a hot wind. " [t may not be uninteresting to add here that, when Sydney was visited by tremendous storms and floods from the 19th to the end of July, 1860, the weather here was then unusually fine for the time of year; the barometer was, during all that time, above SOin. and very steady — oscillating slightly each day, its whole range not exceedingr 0-2 ; the wind was very light, from south-east to north-east and north-west. I did not record a drop of rain all that time — an unprecedented event at that period of the year." " The winds," according to JNIr. Todd. " during the summer tend generally on all sides to the heated interior, which may be roughly described as a vast plain broken by a fesv ranges, none of which are of any great size or magnitude ; on the south coast the wind being south-east and south varied by occasional south-west gales following a hot wind from the north-east and north, whilst during the winter north-east and northerly winds predominate. On the east coast it is south-east, east, and north-east, whilst further north and round the north coast, the north-west monsoon for some months before and after the simimer solstice presses down south with varying force, often making itself felt as far south as the Macdonnell ranges on the southern edge of CLIMA.rE AND METEOROLOGY. 49 the tropics in the centre of the continent. North of the Macdounell ranges the winds during the summer season are variable, south- east and north-west winds alternating with calms, and heavy electrical storms with rain prevail with increasing intensity northwards to tlie coast. South of the Macdonnell ranges south-east winds prevail duvin"- the greater part of the year, but in the summer they are often influenced by the north-west tropical current, and then veering to the north-east and north will sweep over South Australia as a hot wind, the birthplace of which seems to be, speaking approximately, somewhere about latitude 26°. Our experience of the climate of the interior of Australia is as yet but limited, but the stations on the great overland telegraph now furnish accurate daily reports of the weather, direction of upper currents, and rainfall. These reports show that the prevailing wind, except during the middle of the summer, is south-east." In connection with Sir George Kingston's " weather forecasts " the following observations from Mr. Todd may be read with interest : — " I have long been of opinion that the southerly dip of the monsoon largelv influences the climate of South Australia proper as well as that of Victoria. In seasons of drought, or when the summer in the interior is dry, the north-west monsoon rains thin off, and rarely reach the centre in occasional storms. But when the monsoon is strong and blows well home, the tropical rains and thunder storms will stretch right across the continent well into the northern country of South Australia to within about two or three hundred miles of Adelaide, and occasionally these tropical rains will reach the south coast. A wet season in the interior will probably coincide with a hot summer in South Australia and Victoria ; whilst a cool summer, when strong polar currents keep the temperature down and the south-east w^inds are powerful, will denote or coincide with a dry summer in the interior and a weak north-west monsoon. The winter i-ains of the south, it may be remarked, thin off at about three or four degrees north of Adelaide, rarely penetrating to latitude 28°, and summer rains are not to be depended upon far south of the tropics. Between those parallels is a wide belt of five or six degrees having an uncertain rainfall, subject to droughts, very seldom getting rain during the winter, but mostly depending on summer thunder- storms, the frequency and intensity of which, it is not improbable, may be found closely to coincide with the magnetic cycle of eleven and a quarter years, which is believed to determine the frequency of aurora\ magnetic storms, and solar spots. This of course is conjectural, and is not to be accepted till proved by increased experience." From the foregoing a tolerably accurate conception of the South .-Vus- tralian climate may be formed. There is one thing, however, whicli D .50 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. deserves some notice here. In many published articles in newspapers and magazines the hot winds of Australia, and specially of South Aus- tralia, have been mentioned in highly-colored terms. They have been described as terrific, and have been dwelt upon as though the chmate of this province was somewhat worse than tropical. It is quite true that hot winds are not pleasant, in fact they are enervating, and whilst they last are exceedingly exhausting to persons who are in a feeble state of body; but they seldom last for more than a very few days, and when the westerly breezes which succeed them set in, sometimes suddenly, all the bodily malaise which they may have caused quickly disappears. They have, hoAvever, a most beneficial effect in purifying the atmosphere. They destroy noxious germs which may float about in the air, and other- Avise do an immense amount of good. At the same time their effect upon tender plants is severe, and all kinds of flowers and shrubs which are not hardy or tolerably well protected from them droop and shrink, and are sIoav to recover their strength until a much cooler temperature prevails. Even with the drawback of occasional hot winds, there is seDom such severe heat in the summer as to prevent persons from following their ordinary occupations out of doors. There are only forty-five days in the year, taking the average of 34 years 1857-90, on which the temperature rises above 90". The Government Astronomer has noted this fact, and states that " our climate, beautiful as it really is, affording as it does a greater number of pleasant days on which outdoor pursuits can be carried on with buoyancy of spirits, one must confess is a Avee bit dry, a fact which vegetation on the plains in our summer season sufficiently attests. The clearness or transparency of our atmosphere is something Avonderfid, and owing to its dryness, except on hot-Avind days, is seldom oppressive unless one is lazy. Cricket matches are played with the usual enthusiasm before crowds of spectators Avith the thermometer ranging between 90= and 100= in the shade, and the AA-riter has ridden fifty miles in the day with the temperature as high as 110° Avithout much incon- venience or distress ; the secret of which is that these high temperatures are ahvays accompanied by such an extreme diyness of the air that perspiration affords instantaneous relief. When a fierce hot Avind is bloAving, and the thermometer stands at perhaps something over 100°, the Avet bidb thennometer Avill shoAV 65°, and it is this Avhich enables persons to bear the heat of summer and carry on their usual pursuits Avith less inconvenience and discomfort than is felt in damp climates, though the temperature maybe 15° or 20° loAA-er, but nearly saturated Avith aqueous vapors, as at Port DarAvin, AA-here, during the rainy season of the north-Avest monsoon, the thermometer may stand at only 88°, whilst the Avet bulb indicates 86^ Such an atmosphere, Ave need hardly sav, is far more enervating than the hot and dry air of the Adelaide Plains." CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. a One peculiarity of the Australian climate is the occurrence of drought. Droughts are either general — that is to say, they aifect the whole of the Australian continent in a greater or less degree — or thev are ])artial. that is confined within limited areas. South Australia is probabh more subject to visitations of this kind than any other portion of Australia, owing to some extent to the absence of high mountain ranges in the interior. The causes of these droughts have been very carefully investigated by the official heads of the meteorological departments in the princijjal colonies, and as far as their observations have extended they are generally in accord upon the subject. The following paper prepared by Mr. Todd wiH be found most interesting. It enters some- what fully into the subject and will repay perusal : — " Australia, lying between the parallels of 11° and 39° south, has a tropical and sub-tropical climate, with summer monsoon rains on the north coast, extending for some distance inland, and winter rains on the south coast. The greater part — all the interior — is within the anti- cyclonic region of high pressure and the dry south-east trades. It is. therefore, a land subject to drought. Sometimes, as durhig the present year (1888). the drought embraces the whole of the continent, in other years it is more or less local, whilst some regions suffer from almost perpetual drought. The driest portion is a belt of country reaching from a little north of the Grea,t Bight, or from about latitude 30° to the north-west coast, which throughout the year is swept by the south-east trades. The bounding limits on either side are not well defined, but they extend fiom Avell to the west of the 130th meridian to the east of Lake Eyre. I he average rainfall in the immediate neighborhood of Lake Eyre is a little over 5 inches, and even this low average is only reached by the help of occasional heavy storms. Thus at the Peake on the west, and Cowarie on the east side of the lake, the average is a little over 5 inches, and at Charlotte Waters to the north (26° S.) 6-0o2 inches. The rainfall at these places in individual years was as follows : — Year. 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 188 1 Peake. ^ . Charlotte Cowane. Waters. Year. Inches. Inches. Inches. , 4-452 — 4-982 5-840 — 3-615 1-690 — 1-710 7-335 — "-775 12-620 — 11-245 6-340 — 10-610 3-630 — 5-515 2-475 ■ 2-495 ; 1 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 up to De- cember 27* Peake. Cowarie. Inches. Inches. 6-420 3-120 2-170 I 050 3-315 3-600 6-935 I ' -535 7-440 8-515 6-765 8-220 1 2 200 0-200 Charlottr Waters. Inches. 5-890 1-365 2-965 8 --1 05 S-ioo 8350 5-920 Or, for the year — Peake, 3-280; Cowarie, 0-650; Charlotte Waters, 7-080. 52 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. At Charlotte Waters (latitude 26^) the driest period since our records commenced in 1874 was from the end of February, 1875, to the end of December, 1876 — a period of twenty-two mouths — during which only 1*910 inches were recorded. Of this 0-73 inch fell in May, 1876, and 0-819 inch in the last three mouths of that year, leaving only 0*470 inch to be accounted for during the remaining eighteen months ; whilst this year (1888), up to December 27th, at Cowarie only 0*200 inch has fallen. These figures Aviil show the severe droughts to which this pare of the country is exposed ; yet it is occupied by settlers determined to. conquer all difficulties. " Our records of rainfall in the interior extend over too short a space to afford any clue as to periodicity. The foregoing table, however, as far as it goes, seems to indicate wet periods extending over three consecutive years, about nine years apart ; but at Alice Springs, where the rainfall is almost entirely dependent on the southerly reach of the monsoons — the winter rains rarely penetrating so far north — no such period is indicated. The mean rainfall there is 11*411 inches ; the greatest fall in any year since 1874 was 27*210 inches in 1879, and the least 5*390 inches in J884. The proximate cause of this extreme aridity of climate is not far to seek. During the winter months the south-east trades extend in the interior, . from about latitude 27° to beyond the north coast, as a dry wind, precipitating no rain. The barometer is high, and the nights are cold, radiation, owing to the extreme dryness of the air and absence of cloud, being unimpeded and very rapid. Occasionally the areas of cyclonic depression, which pass along our southern coast in regular succession,, extend their influence well into the interior, and then the south-east wind dies away and gives place to a northerly wind on the advancing or north-eastern quadrant of the disturbance. When this happens we may generally expect a good or general rain over the northern portions of the colony, in some cases, but very rarely, even reaching up to the tropics. The majority of these storm areas, however, as they pass the meridian, of Adelaide, have their centre well to the south of Kangaroo Island, in which case the rain is mainly confined to the southern extremity of the Flinders Range, the Mount Lofty Kanges, and the southern or coastal districts of the colony. These cyclones evidently skirt the southern margin of the anticyclonic region lying to the north, and have a pro- gressive march to the east. We have traced some from the Mauritius to New Zealand. Their approach is heralded on the west coast by northerly winds and falling barometers at Perth and Cape Leuwin. On the following day the winds in South Australia veer to the north-east, the barometer begins to fall, the temperature rises, and light cirri appear as the vanguard of tho approaching disturbance. The low pressure- CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. 53 frequently shoots xip into the Great Bight, the depression assuming what is termed a V shape, wedged in between two areas of higher pressure. From this point it follows the trend of the coastline, but its onward progress depends nn the high-pressure systems to the north and over ■south-eastern Australia. If the barometer there is high and the pressure is maintained, the storm centre is driven off to the south, and barelv affects our weather in South Australia, and we may have but little rain except on the coast and ranges ; but if the pressure gives way the storm centre will keep a more easterly course, and the rain will be more or less general over the colony. Victoria, south of the dividing range, and Tasmania, are, in most cases, well within the influence of these dis- turbances, and generally, therefore, get rain, with strong westerly gales through Bass's Straits. Having reached Tasmania, the centre will pass over to New Zealand in from twenty-four to thirty hours, on a south- east course. Sometimes these storm areas come up from the south-west - and the first intimation we have of their approach is a fallini; barometer in Tasmania, over which the depression passes, occasionally extending some distance up the east coast of Australia before recur^•ing to the • south-east, CM .rOM^e to New Zealand. These storms bring strong south- west to south winds in South Australia, with cloudy weather, but little or no rain, except oh the coast and Mount Lofty Ranges, where there may be a few light showers. It will thus be seen that the winter rainfall and its northerly extension in South Australia largely depend on the barometric pressure in the interior. As the summer advances, the belt •of south-east trades and hish pressure recede to the -outh, the interior becomes intensely heated, the barometer falls through the rarefaction of the air, and the vapor-laden north-west monsoon sets in on the north '<;oasr, with electrical disturbances, followed by heavy rains lasting until towards the end of March, dying away in April as the sun again passes to the north of the equator. The southerly reach of the monsoon will evidently depend on the pressure in Central Australia. In some years it will extend south of the tropics, or even as far as Lake E}Te ; in other years only a few hundred miles inland. We thus have a wide belt of country — say, roughly speaking, from the 18th to the 30th parallels — which is constantly exposed to drought, or whenever the winter rains fail north of 30^, or the monsoons do not extend far inland from the north coast. When both of these conditions occur in succession the drought is intensified and wider spread. The north-west monsoon rains in 1887-8 wei-e in excess on the coast, and about an average as far south as Barrow Creek until the end of February ; but in March they were very light at Port Darwin (4- 160 inches, or 7 inches below the average), and altogether failed inland, whilst this .season the monsoon has so far proved abnormally light. 54 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. " A.t Singapore the present year is described as unusually dry, the rainfall up to the end (if November being only about 6;^ inches, or some 40 inches below the average. At Banjoewangie, where it usually rains heavily from December to .VI arch (both inclusive), and often till June, the north-west monsoon has only just set in, the rainfall in October, November, and December (up to the 18th) being only 5061 inches, and from the beginning of the year 4r'234 inches, or 10 inches below the average ; whilst at Baravia the fall up to December 17th was 61 inches, or 14 inches below the average. The meteorological reporter to the Government of India (Mr. Blanford) sends me the following telegram from Simla : — ' Comj)lete rainfall data, present year not collected. So far as can be judged, total rainfall for the year is in excess of average. Distribution has. however, been unusually irregular, as is frequently the case at minimum sunspot phase in India. Last winter rains slightly below average. Snowfall on Himalayas much below average, and depth of water, snow-fed rivers, also much below average. This year tem- perature very excessive in April, May, and June, during which period several tornadoes in Northern India of excessive and unusual violence. South-west monsoon rains set in very irregularly. They have been in excess in Burmah, Northern and Central India, and Bombay ; deficient in central provinces, and very deficient in districts west of Arravalli Hills and in North Madras. South-west monsoon current retreated earlier than usual, and crops in Bengal and Behar have suffered to some extent from early termination of rains, although rains ample up to that time. Only area of general drought includes West Rajpiitana, Guzerat,. Katheawar, and Cutch ; but even there famine is not anticipated. Partial drought in North Madras, compensated by heavy rain October and November. Whole of Southern India has received abundant rain past two months from so-called north-east monsoon. Early termination of rains over Northern India has been followed by persistent excessive pressure. Before and during rains pressure was steadily below average in Northern India, more especially Punjab and the north-western provinces.' " Comparing our records with those of India, I find a close corres- pondence or similarity of seasons with regard to the prevalence of drought, and there can be little or no doubt that severe droughts occur, as a rule, simultaneously over the two countries. 'Ihe most remarkable instance of this was the disastrous drought of 1876, the year of the great Indian famine. This drought, it is said, has been traced from 30° south in Australia to 60" north, over 90° of latitude and 100° of longitude. In India it prevailed in all Madras and Deccan, Mysores and the south part of Hyderabad, followed by severe famine in those districts, and a drought CLIMATE AM) METEOROLOGY. 00 in the central and north-western provinces in 1877. It was also felt at Mauritius. On the north coast of Australia the monsoon rains of 1875-76 were a good average as far south as latitude 22°. At Alice Springs, however, the rainfall during the seven months — October, 1875. to April, 1876 (the usual wet season) — was less than 3 inches, or excep- tionally small, being 5^ inches below the average : and during the twelve months following, or the year ending April, 1877, only 4-346 inches fell, or 7 inches below the average. South of tropics, or around Lake Eyre, the rainfall for the whole year 1876 was only about If inches. At Adelaide it was 13-434 inches, and the mean over the agricultural districts 15*742 inches. Everywhere the rainfall was largely deficient. The following shows the coincidence of drought in India with years of deficient rainfall at Adelaide : — Year of Drought in India. Rainfall in Above Average. Adelaide. Below Average. Remarks. 1839 1844 1853 i86o 1861 Inches. 5-9 2-9 _ 3-8 Inches. 1-3 4-3 2-6 5-6 i-o 1-2 6-4 3-9 / '/ At Hobart, 9 inches below: at Sydney 3j inches below Drought in Australia 1865 1866 1868 1869 1874 1876 1877 Great drought in Australia Very dry in some parts Intense in India Great drought and famnie in India : gnat drought in Australia " With regard to the periodical recurrence of droughts, Mr. Blanford finds that, eliminating those which have occurred in some })art or other of the peninsula, ii appears that they have recurred with remarkable regu- larity at intervals of from nine to twelve years — or, taking an entire cen- tury, a mean interval of ten and one-third years. 'Sir. Meldrum — ^^ ho included in his investigations the pluvial statistics of Mauritius. Cape of 56 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Good Hope, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney — arrived at the conclusion that years ot maximum aud minimum rainfall closely coincided with Wolff's years of maximum and minimum sun spots. According to Wolff the years of minimum sun spots were 1843, 1856, 1867. 1878. At Adelaide the rainfall in 1843 was 17'192 inches, or 3 inches below the average : in 1856 it was 24'93l inches, being the middle and wettest year of three good years ; in 1867 it was 19'051 inches, or 2 inches below the average ; and in 1878, which was also the middle year of three good years, it was 22*083 inches. It curiously happens that two years preceding each of the years of minimum sun spots were cimracterised by very small rainfall, thus: — 1841, 17-956 inches; 1854, 15-346 inches ; 1865, 15 5U6 inches: 1876. 13-434 inches. The rainfall at Adelaide, and to some extent at Melbourne, is often deficient in those years which are wettest on the east coast, and vice versa. Taking the seven months, April to October — i.e., the wheat-growing season — the mean rainfall over the agricultural districts south of Mount Remarkable, deduced from fifty stations fairly evenly distributed, is 16-878 inches, the mean for the year being 21 387 inches. Comparing the rainfall during this season in each year since 1860 with the temperature and pressure of the previous five summer months (November to March) I find: — 1. That in the sixteen years when the mean summer temperature was below the average, the followinj; winter rainfall was below the average in eleven Years, above the average in two years, and about an average in three years. 2. That in the twelve years when the summer temperature was above the average, the following winter rains were above the average in eight years, below in three years, and about an average in one j-ear. 3. That in the fifteen years when the barometric pressure w^as above the average in the summer, the following winter rains were below the average in teii years, above in three years, and about an average in two years. 4. That in the thirteen years AA'hen the summer jDressure was below the average, the winter rain was above the average in seven years, below in four years, and about an average in two years. " By combining the pressure and temperature it was found :— 1. That in the eleven years when the summer pressure was above the average and the temperature below, the following winter rain was below the average in eight years, above the average in only one year, and about an average in two years. 2. That in the eight years when the summer pressure was below and the temperature above, the winter rain was above the average in six years, below in only one year, and an average in one year. From which we obtain the following general rule : — Summer cool, with high barometer; winter (fry. Summer Ao^, with Zoif^ barometer; winter ?fe^." CLIMATE AND METEOROJ.OG V. The table which follows gives the decennial returns of the rainfall recordecl at the Adelaide Observatory in each month, and also the montlily average, for tifty-two years (1839-1890) : — 1 •+• •* oc 'O _^ oo LO o PI ^ r^ ri -t- ro 00 00 N -C X o o 1^ 1^ LO rv^ o I^ o C\ oc X ^ Lr\ O 1^ -^ c^. ri o t. :* °o > O 3 - O o o M M M PI « » o — <"*- 2 •^ po 00 o o O O LO O b - ■ ■ '■O Lo -r c^ I ^ 1^ ij~) — CN o - - oo — ro r^ — M OC U-) OO O O 00 o 00 t^ u-> Th O O PO t^ O — PO ' oo b PO b o o X o — ro — X o CO ri - 'O - b X M o ") -1- C^ O PI X o O ■- " PJ X o PI o PI PO -1- o O X o - PI o o M C^ ^ o o h« ■- J^ PO o -)- ■" o o o " PI o 5 - b Pl X o X o o - - b PI c^ to PI X 'O PO PI 'O O o - po o - - o o 00 00 d OS P) o — PI 1^ — X PO "1 - o - - "1 PI •-0 LO -i- o ~ '■'-> — O PO oo ~PO b 0^ PO M O X — PO o o X o o o O o X X O CTv O H - - _ o PO LO c^ n -< •:J- -. n » 3" r-~ -!*- PI PO o "H 1^ PI X o O t^ o M o -1- o ■" c — pn 1^ X PO r^ o o o PI PI "^ PI ""' o — O o LO «^ U-, —V PI X PI PO o u-i u^ IT) o r^ n -t- -1- LO o PI X •^ o O X ►-• — 1^ Pl PI t^ o X ^ X pp) LO PO O PI o o ^ "^ -t- "" "• ■" ^ o o X 2 >. 1^ «= » B X be -g. 5 0) 6 x o 58 SOriH AUSTRALIA. 1 vO o o O' ^ lo ^ I^ o o ^ , O t^ 1 "5 c E o 11 Si's o o b ro LO ro - LO 00 o ro N ro 1 N ro i-o o OO ■rf o ro -^ LO "^t M t^ o ^1 lOO-VV ito ^ L o lO ro o »0 00 o ro l^ O LO LO uo ^ ■^ ^ •*• ro ro •* ■^ '^ LO 'i- o O o o o r^ o LO ro LO 00 LO vO O • ■un^ m o O t^ ':1- U-) „ lO r^ 00 o CO o ro O 1 isaq^tjj iBnjov 00 O x^ U-5 ■^ ro ro ro o LO o 00 oo oo ^"5 rO O LO ■o N N '^ O LO o N -^ -* ■S ■uns HI 1 o ^ ro C^ o t^ r) «- CO LO ^ 00 ^ On isaqSiH UBai\: i 'J- ^ ro n N r^ ro T)- r-i ] '"' >-• M "^ '"' ' ' _ — " ' ■ ■"' ■e J3 1 •UOIJUJodBAJ 1 00 o <^ Tt- ro ro O 00 ON N ro r^ ro •-1 ^^ 10 a.in} O O oo \-n M C> t^ 00 . o r^ -O 00 'J- s -B.iadraaj, ubsk o o >-^ >-o lJ-> rt- •* -n- LO LO LO LO F^ ■c06 papaaoxa a.mi'B.iadmax "- CN O "" o O O o O ■"• LO •^ SAEd JO .laq ^ -uinx oSB.iaAV j^ o •rh C- u- o 1^ 00 ,_, 00 "^ ro 00 ^ ■aauB>i c ro ro •- IX -&■ M ro -^ t^ ON N ro 00 .,^ tBu.mid uuajv; N M M " — "" N N ■" « 2 3 •aq-'K ^ 00 CN r^ 00 c- M >-< r^ ro 00 ro ro § am auTjnp ;s^Ai07 UB3i\[ o M OOO ThOO •<:hOOO •-. LO LO LO ON LO ro LO ;2 :^ M or, o ON O 00 ,^ N o ^« >» ABQ aqi Strtjnp o O ^ b ro "^ <:> t^ o ••o ^ 00 N M '^ Q isaq^iH UBajv 00 00 00 «^ \J^ LO LO O VO 1^ t^ 00 ^ „ u-l 00 M LO M M t^ LO LO ON On r- ^ •mnunuiH lO 'J- '^•^•:*-rorOrororo ON ro ro ■-0 00 Cs 00 N O LO M M o ON t-. •uBajv o -h W C^Nf^r^ro-H roi^ _ r-^ o N 1^ 1^ o •o LO LO LO LO 1^ O ^O t^ o O »i? « i^ o n t^ o o M o o „ ^ B-; 1- ro «^ ^ oc P) ^ ro oc N LO « •jsaAiOT i' ro iy-)u^co-^ro>-OrorO ro Y^ w N .Vj ■C S • 2 ctn ON S"/^^ 1 s R' ►H <^ 00 CT\ O ►- O ■51- ro -^ N ro ro N ro O 8 ^ ON On 1 ro o S = ■5 2 2 •jsaqSiH is, ■^ tn tj~, \o o j-^ r^ >0 LO r^ 6 ro .5 «^ >- 0^ t^ OO M C4 ^ 00 LO ro ro '-' LO LO r^ LO 00 O 5=« •in'B ucajt O " 6 ro PI M — • 9 o ON ON N b ro o; *^ ft^ >i >-. s -a 1. S 1 1 ^ < > > < a o ST 02 1 c > o 12; e c o Q CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. 09 ADELAIDE OBSERVATORY. Hygrometric Results for the Ten Years. 1 881-1890. Montb. January . February . March . . . April . . . May June . . . . July August September October . November December Year. Mean Temperature of Dew Point. Degrees. 50-9 507 49-5 48-3 47-3 45-4 42-8 44-2 45-2 462 477 49-4 Mean Elastic Force of Vapor. Inches. 0-374 •370 •354 •338 •327 ■304 -276 •290 •300 •314 •332 •353 47-1 •324 Mean Deffree of Humidity (Saturation = 100). 44 4'^ 4.S 57 68 75 74 70 64 58 50 46 57 Rainfall ac Adelaide Ohscjvatniy • * Rainfall (52 years, 1839-1890). Mean Months \ Evaporation (21 vearsl. Mean Mean No. of Greatest ; Least (Inches). Wet Days. (Inches). . (Inches). January 0-734 4-3 i 4-000 o-ooo 9-023 February 0-684 33 3-100 ; 0-000 7-252 March 0-988 6-0 4-600 0000 6-068 April 1-823 9-r 6-780 0086 3-670 May 2-884 13-8 7-751 0-245 2-149 June 2-988 15-6 7-800 0-423 I-4IO July 2-705 16-4 5-380 0-505 1-504 August 2-566 i6-6 6-2qo 1 0-675 2-065 September 1-972 13-8 4-640 0-686 3-042 October 1-771 IO-8 3-834 1 0-306 4-062 November 1-157 7-8 3-550 0-039 6-512 December •932 6-1 3-977 0-105 8-423 Year 21-204 123-6 *30-874 ; ti3-434 56-080 • In 1889. + In 1876. 60 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Table showing the Monthly and Annual Mean Teinperature at following Stations in the Nothern Territory, together with the Absolute Alaximum and Minimum Temperature in each Month and the Year in 1890. Port Dakwin. Alice Springs. jMean Tempera- ture. Maximum, Minimum. Mean Tempera- ture. Maximum. Minimum. 1890. 84-1 837 85-0 83-0 8i-5 797 75-4 79-1 83-0 86-0 86-5 86-7 January Febr-iiary March. 98-5 97-3 97-3 97-2 94-1 92-5 90-5 95-0 969 97-2 99-3 100-9 74-1 72-2 72-6 68-6 65-9 61-3 F'' 61-0 67-1 72-1 68-8 70-9 ■84-2 85-6 ■ 78-8 66-0 59-6 ■557 51-8 .59-0 7?i 109-6 104-8 106-4 88-3 857 ■81-6 ■ ■ 79-5 ^9-5 103-4 6l-4 60-3 46-9 April May June July August September. October 453 357 29-3 26-7 29-6 488 Xovember December 78-0 82-4 ■ 105-6 110-9 49- 5 54- r Year 82-8 ! 100-9 1 57-1 — 110-9 26-7 Table showing the Monthly and Annual Mean Temperature^, dr»c.— continued. 1890. January .... February . . , March April May June July August September . . , October November . . December . . , Year . . , Port At-gusta. Mean Tempera- ture. 82-1 78-2 75*4 68-1 60-0 56-2 52-0 537 6i-8 66-6 696 74-5 66-5 Maxim m. ; Miniiiium. IIO-8 I02-I IOI-2 91-5 80-3 72-9 66-3 76-5 93-5 92-7 101-9 991 IIO-8 56-8 59-0 52-9 50-2 42-7 357 36-6 36-0 44-1 44-9 49-3 51-2 357 ECCLA AND TO THE WESTERN PaRT OF THE Colony. .Mean Tempera- ture. 71-S 72-6 67-4 66-1 61-0 56-1 52-2 54-1 61-4 62-4 65-0 68-1 63-2 Ma.\imum. II5-0 98-8 104-4 91-7 .87-2 76-1 697 87-4 96-1 102-8 108-7 105-9 115-0 Minimum. :>- - 522 46-6 46-1 37-6 36-2 38-1 33-9 34-5 39-0 43-8 497 33-9 CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. «1 Mean Annual Rainfall in South Australia and Northern Territory^ and Greatest aiid Least Raitt/all. station. NoKTHEKN Territory. Port Darwin Southport Yani Creek Pine (reek Eiver Katherine Daly Waters Powell's Creek Tennant's Cr^ek Barrow Creek Alice Springs Charlotte Waters Peake South Australia (proper). Strang ways Springs .... Farina Beltana Blinman Outalpa Tardea Port Augusta Melrose Orroroo Georgetown Clare Kooringa Kapunda Wallaroo Edithburgh Tanunda Gawler Adelaide Gumenicha Mount Barker Strathalbyn . . - Eucla Streaky Bay Port Lincoln Wentworth Blanchetown Naracoorte Robe : . . . . Penola Mount Gambler Cape Norihumberland. . Mean Rainiall. No. of Years. Greatest. 62-945 63-204 47-794 43-326 39-525 29-293 18-160 17-298 13-913 11-469 6-402 5 541 5-176 6-708 9-310 13-823 To-084 10-374 9-2/3 ; 24-263 j 15-098 ) 17-759 i 24-330 I 17-920 j 20-0II I 13-622 17-168 22 036 19-302 21-204 33-555 30-601 19074 9-7II 16-380 19-977 12-257 12-064 22-492 24-669 27-570 31-806 27-406 21 15 16 10 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 12 17 25 23 14 31 27 18 17 29 32 30 27 16 23 30 52 22 30 30 15 13 25 22 23 23 30 30 30 25 81-725 88-800 74-440 57-500 54-576 43 905 29-985 26-110 31-270 27-210 11-775 12-620 11-315 12-408 16-580 23-460 19-235 17-040 15-085 38-780 25-140 28-980 38-540 27860 32-155 22-623 22-945 31-588 30-691 30874 48-330 46-470 26-225 13-775 23-500 28-875 27-767 19-710 34-860 33-169 40-947 55-675 35-025 In. 003 879 879 879 873 873 877 877 879 879 877 878 1890 1890 1872 1889 1890 1872 1872 1870 1889 1889 1889 1875 1889 1890 1889 1889 1889 1875 1889 1889 1877 1890 1890 1870 1870 1889 1861 1863 1861 1870 Leiist. In. 45 -000 41-815 28-370 31-972 21-720 15-809 10-325 7-205 4-780 5-390 I 365 I -690 1-665 2-300 4-850 5823 1-840 6-510 2-214 12-150 7-390 IO-58S 14-270 9-754 13-230 7-805 10-940 15-525 12-475 13-434 22-172 21-295 12-038 6-373 9-480 14-960 4-590 6-140 16-300 17-210 18-800 21-520 20-735 1881 1881 1881 1874 1883 1883 1878 1884 1881 1884 1883 1876 1884 1888 1888 i{ i{ 1881 1865 1888 1888 1876 1865 1859 l86: 1888 1888 1882 1865 1876 1869 1869 1869 187S 1881 1867 1888 1888 1869 1877 1877 1877 1888 62 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. CHAPTER YI. A New Colony Projected — Promoteks Fail to Obtain a Charter — The South Australian Association — Bill for Founding South Australia Passed IN 1834 — Act of William IV., Cap. 95 — Outline of its Provisions — The New Colony to be Free from the Introduction of Convicts — Difficulty in Disposing of Land Sufficient to Establish the Colony — The South Australian Company — The Wakefield System — Land Sales — Statutory Deposit of £20,000 — Colonel Napier— Captain Hindmarsh, R.N., appointed Governor — Sailing of the "Cygnet'" and "Rapid" to Found the Settlement — Arrival of Captain Hind- marsh— Proclamation OF THE Colony — Divided Authority — Disputes between the Governor and His Officebs — The Site of Adelaide Chosen— The Governor's Disapproval -Settlement of the Dispute — Town Suka'ey Completed — Sale of City Lands — Resignation of Colonel Light — His Death — Captain Hindmarsh Recalled — First Anniversary of the Foundation of the Colony, the 28th December — Arrival of Cattle Ovekland— Arrival of Colonel Gawler — Captain Hindmarsh's Administration — Dual Control Abolished — Act of 1 AND 2, Victoria, Cap. 60 — State of the Public Finances — Colonel Gawler's Difficulties — His Bills Dishonored — His Recall — Arrival of Goveknor Grey — His Policy— His Difficulties — Ordered to Send all Emigrants Employed by Government to Sydney — Declines tc Carry Out those Instructions —Assistance Given by the Imperial Government— Captain Grey Appointed Governor of New Zealand — Progress of the Colony — Discovery of the Kapunda and Burra Mines — Colonel Robe Appointed Governor — His Policy and Adminis- tration — State Aid to Religion— Mining Royalties — Defeat of the Governor's Proposals— Colonel Robe's Troubles — His Resignation — Progress of the Colony Under His Rule. The discoveries which Captain Sturt had made in the course of his long and miserable voyage down and up the Murraj' created some stir when the news of his heroic adventure reached England, and this was increased as soon as the later discovery of an enormous fertile country, as seen from Mount Lofty by the ill-fated Captain Barker, became known. At that time the mother country was in a troubled state. The French Revolu- tion, the agitation precedent to the passing of the Reform Bill, and other social and political causes turned the eyes of many to distant lands, in the hope of bettering their fortunes, which, in those days, showed but a gloomy prospect in the future. As early as 1831 a number of gentlemen formed themselves into a committee for the purpose of founding, a colony as an outlet for some of the population, on the principles on which South Aus- tralia was afterwards established. Even at that time a number of persons who desii"ed to settle in the projected new colony had been collected FOUNDATION AND SETTLEMENT. 63 together. They were disappointed. The committee carried on a long and unsatisfactory negotiation with the Government of that day in order to obtain a charter to found a colony. 'I'hey were not successful, and the intending emigrants were dispersed. The projects of the committee were abandoned, but only for a time. In 1834 another committee was formed, having in view objects similar to those of its predecessor. It was called the " South Australian Association." It consisted at first of twenty-nine gentlemen, all of whom occupied leading positions in England, and of whom eighteen were Members of Parliament. By great exertions that committee obtained a Bill for the colonisation of South Australia, which passed the House of Commons with the support of the Right Hon. Spring Rice, then Secretary of State for the Colonies. On the last day of the session of 1834 it received the Royal assent. During its passage through the House of Lords it was supported by the Duke of Wellington. The Act of 4 and 5, "William IV., cap. 95, under which South Australia was founded, empowered the Crown to erect "one or more provinces" in that part of Australia lying between the 132nd and the 141st meridians of E. longitude and between the 26th° of S. latitude and the Southern Ocean. It further enacted that all persons residing within the said jiro- vince or provinces should be free, " not subject to the laws or constitution of any other part of Australia, but bound by only those which should be constructed especially for their own territory." It enacted that the Crown might empower any persons, who should seem fit to the Privy Council, and resident within the said Province or Provinces, to frame laws and establish courts, to appoint officers, chaplains, and clergymen of the established churches of England or Scotland, and to levy such taxes as should be necessary to the well-being of the colony\ These laws were to be laid before the King in Council with due expedition. Three or more Commissioners were to be appointed by the Crown to carry certain parts of the Act into execution, and their proceedings were required to be laid before Parliament once a year. The Commissioners were appointed to declare all the lands of the colony, excepting roads and footpaths, to be open to purchase by British subjects, to make regulations for the survey and sale of such lands at such price as thev mi^ht deem expedient, and for letting unsold lands foi periods of not less than three years. They might sell the land by auction or otherwise, but for ready money only, at a price not less than 12s. per acre, and the price was to be uniform. The whole of the cash proceeds without deduction (with a reservation subsequently provided for) constituted an Emigration Fund, to be employed in conveying poor emigrants from Great Britain or Ireland to the colonv. The sexes of tlie emigrants 64 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. were to be, as far as possible, in equal proportions, and they were not ta be more than 30 years of age. A resident Commissioner of Lands in the colony was to be appointed, with a requisite staff of surveyors. The Commissioners were empowered to borrow £50,000 at an interest not exceeding 10 per cent., the capital sum to be expended on emigration until the sale of public lands had produced an amount sufficient to defray the cost of conveying such a number of poor emigrants to the' colony as might be thought desirable. Beyond this the Commissioners were authorised to raise £200,000 on bonds, to be termed " South Australian Colonial Revenue Securities," for defraying the necessary costs, cliarges, and expenses of founding the colony and of providing for its government; and the bonds were declared "to be a charge upon the* ordinary revenue or produce of all rates, duties, and taxes to be levied within the province." The Commissioners might reduce the rate of interest by taking np sums of money at a lower rate than 10 per cent, to- pay off any existing security, and the lands of the colony were deemed to become a collateral security. One most important section in the Act (22nd) ran as follows :—" No- person or persons convicted in any covirt of Justice in Great Britain, or Ireland, or elsewhere, shall, at any time or under any circumstances,, be transported as a convict to any place within the limits hereinbefore described." The operation of this special enactment has conferred an absolutely distinctive character upon South Australia. Its value in developing the resources of the colony cannot be over-estimated, and the present inhabitants of the province cannot be too grateful for this indica- tion of the foresight of the founders of their homes. The Act contained a provision which made it lawful to establish a constitution or local government for " any of the South Australian provinces" possessing the population of 50,000 souls. The Com- missioners were restrained from entering upon the exercise of their r^eneral powers until they had invested £20,000 in Exchequer Bills, or other securities, and until land to the value of £35,000 had been sold. The investment of £20,000 iir Exchequer Bills was required hs security that no part of the expense of founding and governing the intended colony should fall on the mother country. There was some difficulty in disposing of a sufficient quantity of land to enable the Commissioners to realise the sum of £35,000 which was required, and to secure funds sufficient to enable them to proceed to found the colony, so that after the lapse of two months from the com- mencement of the sales considerably more than one-half of the extent of land required to be disposed of remained unsold. The Commissioners at the outset had fixed the price of the land at £1 per acre, and each FOUNDATION AXl) SETTLEMENT. 65 land Older was for eighty acres of country land and one acre of town land; the price being £81. About this time the "South Australian Company "' was formed, with a laryje capital, intended to be emploj-ed in the improvement of the colony. It was set on foot by the late George f'ife Angas. This company offered at once to purchase the remaining lots of land, provided the price was reduced to 12s. per acre. The Com- missioners readily fell in with the proposal. In order, however, to do equal justice to all purchasers, they issued " modified regulations for the disposal of the land " under which the price of all the lands which had been alienated up to that time was reduced to the sum charged to the South Australian Company. Of course no money was returned, but those who had paid for eighty acres of land at £1 per acre received instead 134 acres at 12s. per acre. The principles on which the colony was established originated with Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. He had noted the evils which had sprung from the plan that had been followed in establishing the colony of Western Australia. Large grants of lands, amounting to tens of thousands of acres, had been made to intending settlers. Those grants were altogether out of proportion to individual requirements, or to the capacity of the grantees to deal with the enormous tracts of country which had been assigned to them. The capital that was introduced into Western Australia was, therefore, wasted, and many of the immigrants who had intended to settle there, and who could get away, left the country in disgust and disappoint- ment. Indeed the colony of Western Austi-alia has only recently emerged from the difficulties which arose from the land-grant system, and the discouragements which consequently crippled the efforts of the limited population that remained in the colony. Wakefield's theory was that a colony should be self-supporting, and that a revenue should be created by the sale of the waste or unappropriated lands within it; that the whole of the revenue obtained in this way should be used as an emigration fund, and that the price of the land should be fixed sufficiently high to secure a constant supply of hired labor for its cultivation. On this basis South Australia was founded. It was claimed by the promoters of the new colony that, under the regulations made for the sale of land within its boundaries, the tenure of land was superior to that by which it was held in the other Australian colonies. In those settlements the Cro■\^^l had reserved to itself the right of mining, of cutting timber and stone for public works, and of making roads across any estate at pleasure ; whilst in South Australia the land was sold in unconditional and absolute fee simple, without any reserve for any purpose. A sufficient quantity of land was sold, and the investment of the £20,000 in Exchequer Bills as required by statute was completed. The E 66 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Commissioners then set about making the necessary arrangements for the founding of the colony. The Governorship was offered to Colonel Napier — better known as Sir C. J. Napier, who won his honors as conqueror of Scinde. He demanded a small military contingent for the defence of the colony, and, in addition, power to draw upon the Home Government for funds, if required in emergency. The colony, however, was intended to be self-supporting, therefore his proposition could not be entertained ; he consequently declined the proffered honor. Captain Hindmarsh, R.N., was gazetted to the post on February 4th, 1836. On the 20th March, 1836, the Cygnet, 239 tons, sailed from Loudon, taking to the new settlement Mr. G. S. Kingston, second in command of the surveying staff, with Captain Lipson, R.N., harbormaster, and Messrs. Finniss, Neale, Symonds, Hardy, and Cannan, surveyor^ ; Dr. Wright, surgeon; Mr. T. Gilbert, storekeeper; .Mr. John Morphett, passenger; besides a number of surveyors' laborers, gardeners, and others, with their wives and families. On the 1st of May the Rapid, of 131 tons, followed, under the command of Colonel Light, with Messrs. Field, R.N., Pullen, R.N., Hill, and Messrs. Jacob and Claughton, sm-veyors ; Mr. J. Woodforde, surgeon ; and some survey laborers. Each of those vessels was provisioned for twelve months, and provided with all necessary instru- ments for survey operations. The Rapid arrived at Kangaroo Island on the 19th August, and the Cygnet on September 11th. On arriving at Nepean Bay, Colonel Light assumed command of the expedition. After examining Kangaroo Island and all the east coast of Gulf St. Vincent, he visited Port Lincoln, in Spencer's Gulf. None of the conditions which he considered necessary to fit the place for a large settlement were apparent there. On his return he determined to seek for a better site for the capital of the new colony, on the east coast of the gulf, which he had examined. He soon discovered the inlet or arm of the sea on which Port Adelaide is established, and he had no diflB.culty in fixing the site of the chief town.*' Governor Hindmarsh sailed from England in H.M.S. Buffalo, on July 23rd, and arrived in Holdfast Bay on December 28th. He landed on the same day with his family and suite. They were received by the officers and gentlemen who had previously arrived, and had fixed their habitations at what is now known as Glenelg. His Excellency met the members of his Council in the tent of the Colonial Secretary, where the Orders in Council for erecting South Australia into a British Province and appointing the colonial officers were read, as was also His Excellency's commission as Governor and Commander-in Chief. The Governor, the members of his Council, and the other officers were then sworn in. The * Capper's South Australia. Lond., 1839. FOUXDATIOX AND SETTLKMF.XT. 67 ■Governor's commis>ion n'as afterwards read to the settlers, of whom there Avere about three hundred present, and the British flag was displayed under a royal salute The marines who formed the Governor's escort or guard of honor fired fni ae juie, and a salute of fifteen puns was fired from the Buffalo^'- This was the ceremony of founding South Australia. Whilst the Governor possessed the necessary powers for the ordinary government of the colony, he could not exercise any control over the administration of the land. That was in the hands of Mr. James Hurtle Fisher (afterwards knighted), Resident Commissioner under the Board of Commissioners who were in London. This division of authority gave vise to serious disputes between the Governor and his officers, and much public inconvenience was felt in consequence. Colonel Light, the Surveyor- General, had served with considerable distinction in the Peninsular war, and had been on the staff of the Duke of Wellimrton. He had great nautical knowledge, for he had been an officer in the Turkish navy. He was a man of varied but solid acquirements, of considerable force of character, genial manners, and in all respects well fitted to fill the post which he had undertaken. Before selecting the present site of Adelaide he had examined the coast carefully: Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln were abandoned by him as unsuitable for settlement, and Encounter Bay was rejected on similar grounds. The site of -Adelaide was not determined on without anxious care and deliberation. It seemed to him (and experience has amply confirmed the soundness of his views) that the spot he had chosen possessed all the requirements Avhich appeared to be indispensable for the establishment of a large city. There was water in abundance (the Torrens f flowed through it), the country surrounding it was level and fei'tilc. well timbered and well grassed. The elevation of the site above the sea level was admirably suited for drainage, if ever that became necessary: there were no hostile aborigines to contend against, and the climate in his judgment was all that could be desired. Captain Hindmarsh, however, did not approve of the site of the new city of Adelaide ; he Avished to bring it considerably nearer to the sea shore. To this Colonel Light would not consent. Amongst the settlers themselves there was much diversity of opinion as to Avhere the city should be located. Eventually a meeting of persons who had bought land assembled to consider the question, and the choice of Colonel Light was endorsed by such a majority that all controversy on the subject was extinguished. In the meantime the surveys went on very slowly. There * Capper's South Australia. Lond., 1830. t The native name of this stream was Karri- Wina-Parri (Wyatt). 68 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. was a great deficiency of the appliances required to move the surveyors- and their camps from place to place, and much dissatisfaction arose. Whatever inconveniences might have been felt by those who were on the spot, and who had been there from the outset, the arrival of a large number of emigrants before the surveys were sufficiently forward to enable them to be settled on the land only made matters worse. Much of this trouble was distinctly due to the provisions of the Act, which required £35,000 to be raised by the Commissioners from land sale& before they could make any arrangements. Thus it was that many purchasers, whom the Commissioners could not control or influence, left England in a few months after the departure of the first expedition, instead of waiting until advices had been received as to the site of the capital. The town surveys were completed by the 10th March, 1837; 1,042 acres had been laid out and numbered, part in North Adelaide and part in South Adelaide, and a plan of the town prepared and exhibited for public inspection. On the 23rd the Resident Commissioner and the Surveyor- General put the representatives of 437 preliminary sections in. possession of their allotments. On the 27th the remainder of the 1,042. acres were put up to public auction at the upset price of £1 per acre. They realised an average of £6 Os. 9d. each. Meanwhile Mr. Kingston had proceeded to England to lay before the Commissioners a plan for prosecuting the surveys in a more expeditious way than that in which they were being carried on. The Commissioners adopted Mr. Kingston's suggestions, and they instructed the Resident Com- missioner to follow out the course that had been proposed by him. If the Surveyor-General declined to do this, Mr. Kingston was to take charge of the surveys and Colonel Light was to be otherwise employed. On receipt' of the new instructions Colonel Light resigned, and all the surveyors resigned with him. These circumstances did not add to the harmonious progress of affairs in the infant settlement. Colonel Light took the circumstances which led to his resignation much to heart. His position preyed upon his mind, and in the following year he died. His remains were accorded a public funeral, and he was buried in the centre of the public square which bears his name. A monument was erected over his grave ; and, at the time of writing, a proposal is on foot to replace it by another more in accordance with the public estimation in which his eminent services are held. Mr. Kingston was much blamed for what had taken place, but without just reason. Colonel Light thought he had been under- mined by him. A Committee of the House of Commons, which after- wards inquired into South Australian affairs, completely exonerated him from all blame in the matter. FOUNDATION AND SETTLEMENT. 69 The Governor was continually embroiled with, and, it may be believed, embarrassed by, those over whom he was supposed to have official control. Eventually complaints were forwarded to the Secretary of State, who recalled Captain Hindmarsh in 1838. He left the colony on the 14th of July in that year. The day before he embaiked he was presented with an address signed by some of the most influential colonists upon his relinquishing the Governorship of the colony, Mr. George Milner Stephen was sworn in as Acting Governor pending the arrival of Captain Hindmarsh's successor. Colonel Gawler, which took place on October 1 7th in the same year. Captain Hindmarsh's rule extended over a little more than eighteen monihs ; but even during that short time some progress had been made towards foimding the judicial system, vrhich was developed with so much success in subsequent years. A Supreme Court was established, and Ordinances to enable the Governor to create districts, and for the erection of Courts of resident magistrates ; to levy certain duties on spirits and tobacco, on property sold by auction, and for licensing auctioneers, wholesale spirit dealers, distillers, and rectifiers : to levy Customs duties, and for the preservation of the port, harbors, kc, and for the regulation of shipping. On the 3rd June, 1837, the second number of The South Australian Gazette and Coloiiial Register was published in the colony. The first number appeared in London previous to the departure of the Buffalo with the main body of emigrants. That literary enterprise still flourishes in the shape of The South Australian Register, one of the leading daily papers in the colony. The first anniversary of the foundation of the colony, by the landing of Governor Hindmarsh and its pioclamation by him, was celebrated by a public dinner " at the Southern Cross Hotel in commemoration of that event, on which occasion forty-eight gentlemen sat down to an excellent dinner of four courses and dessert." The South Australian of to-day celebrates the foundation of the colony in a different fashion. The 28th December is always observed as a strict public holiday, and tens of thousands of prosperous colonists flock to Glenelg by rail to enjoy the festivities which are always indulged in on that occasion. Their com- fortable appearance, their orderly behavior, their well-dressed wives and families, who form no insignificant part of the annual demonstration, give stronger evidence of the general prosperity of the colonists than pages of writing could supply. On the 1st January, 1838, the first races were held in Adelaide, "and it is said that on the first day upwards of 800 persons were present."* On the 26th the Governor laid tiie foundation of a ston3 church (Trinity Church, on North-terrace), and the ceremony * Capper's South Australia. 70 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. was concluded by the Rev. C. B. Howard, Colonial Chaplain (Church of England), addressing the assembly and invoking the Divine blessing on the undertaking. On A.pril 3rd an important event, which had a Avonderful influence on the development of the colony, took place. Mr. Joseph Hawdon arrived in Adelaide overland from Sydney, after a journey of ten weeks. He brought with him a mixed herd, comprising 335 bullocks, cows, heifers, and horses. He lost only four bullocks in the course of his long' and certainly risky journey. This welcome addition to the resources of the new settlement so elated the colonists that a public dinner was given to Mr. Hawdon, which was attended by some ninety persons. A snuff- box was presented to him in the name of the people of South Australia, and an ox from his own herd was roasted whole to do honor to him and the occasion. His arrival had established a series of facts of the utmost importance to those portions of the continent which lay to the east of South Australia. The country he had traversed was fairly good, and a practi- cable route existed for the introduction of all kinds of stock. There was no further danger of any prolonged scarcity of beef and mutton, and a new source of trade was opened up. Mr. E. J. Eyre* soon after arrived with another mixed herd of 300 head of cattle, and a few months later Captain Sturt (subsequently Colonial Secretarj') with another herd of 400 head. The travels of those enterprising bushmen were often impeded by attacks uiade upon them by the natives, and much trouble ensued. These savages were in course of time forced to leave travellers alone, and it was not long before the overland journey from Sydney became safe from all dangers, excej^t those arising from bush fires and periods of drought. Captain Hindmarsh's successor was Colonel Gawler, an old Peninsular officer, who had served with great distinction in no less than six general engagements in Spain, and on the memorable 18th of June, 1815, with the 5'2nd regiment. He arrived in the colony on the 12th October, 1838. Captain Hindmarsh's administration of the affairs of the colony cannot be regarded as a success. His early training in the navy in the days of Nelson, under whom he served at the battle of the Nile, was not of a kind calculated to develop those qualities of diplomacy and statesmanship, which, if necessary in the government of a well-settled community, were absolutely indispensable in the founding of a new state, where every institution had to be built up. If he failed it could not be surprising ; because, under the circumstances in which he was placed, and hampered, as he was, with the acts of an official not responsible to him, it would * Mr. Eyre atterwards became Protector <'f Aborigines, then Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, and eveiitually Governor of Jamaica. FOUNDATION AND SETTLEMENT. 71 have bepii difficult for any one to succeed. When he arrived in South Australia the population amounted to 54fi souls ; when he retired it had increased to 2,377. The large increase in the number of settlers overtook him and the other authorities in the colony before they were properly prepared for them. The twofold control of the Governor and the Resident Commissioner was determined by the Act 1 and 2 of Victoria, cap. 60. The new Act provided that, instead of the making of law^s and the levying of taxes being left as provided for in the Act of William IV., cap. 9.5. those powers should in future be exercised by three or more persons resident in the colony, chosen by the Sovereign in Council ; and the authority to appoint officers, chaplains, and clergj-men was repealed. The Sovereign was empowered to appoint the members of the Council and the officers of the Government under the sign manual, instead of by orders in Council. " The Commissioners were empowered to raise the residue of the £200.000 mentioned in the former Act. and also other sums which they were by either Act authorised to raise, by selling redeemable annuities. They were also empowered to employ money raised on land or revenue securities convertibly, and to raise money on the security of the revenue to pay debts incurred to either fund; the debt incurred to the Emigration Fund was never to exceed one-third of its amount for the current year, and the Commissioners were authorised to apply the proceeds of land sales in payment of revenue securities." This Act materially altered the position of affairs in the colony, and if it had come mto operation earlier than it did, ^Jerhaps some of the troubles which fell upon the colony might have been avoided. In 1836 and 1837, the first two years of the colony's existence, there was no revenue. The cost of the Governor and the officers under and independent of him, for salaries alone, was £4,250 : the Governor's salary being £800. These expenses were paid from moneys raised by loans and by advances made from the Emigration Fund. In 1837 the public expenditure amounted to £5.283. whilst the revenue was nil. In 1838 the revenue amounted to £1,4)8, and the expenditure to £16,580. The prospects of the future were not very hopeful from a financial point of view, because there was a certainty that the ex- jienditure Avould increase, and almost an equal certainty that the revenue would not keep pace with the requirements of the public service. When Colonel Gawler arrived he found things in a very unsatisfactory condition. There was a population of 3,680 souls in the colony, but little, or, it might be .said, nothing, had been done towards settling them on the land. Adelaide then consisted of about ;i30 dwelling-houses of various descriptions, a great number of them built substantially 72 SOUTH AUST R A I> T A . of brick or stone ; but the country sections had not been in the hands of the proprietors for more than four months, and only about 200 acres had been ploughed. It was hoped, however, that at least 2,000 acres would be under cultivation in the course of another year. Still, the people remained about the city, which was not in a prosperous condition, for a great deal of land specidationhad been carried on. which had caused much financial embarrassment Colonel Gawler did his utmost to compel landowners, w'ho were squatting on the park la-xds, to betake themselves to their own possessions and lo cultivate their land. He also projected extensi^'e public w^orks to provide employment for those who had no land of their own, and who would otherwise have become a burthen on the community. The outcome of this policy was a heavy expenditure, which the revenue of the colony was insufficient to meet. Colonel Gawler drew upon the Home Government in order to meet current liabilities, and as his authority to do this was not recognised, his bills were returned dishonored. The revenue for 1839, 1840, and 1841 amounted to £75,773. The expenditure during the same period was £357, 61y, leaving a deficiency of £281,842. The return of Colonel Gawler's bills brought about a complete financial collapse in the colony, and numbers of persons were absolutely ruined. The temporary prosperity which had been secured by the Governor's policy was purchased at a very dear rate. Colonel Gawler was recalled, and was superseded by Captain Grey, who, it is said, entered Government House on the loth May, 1841, without giving any previous intimation of his proposed visit, and annoimced to Colonel Gawler that his bills had been dishonored. He then produced Colonel Gawler's letter of recall and his own appointment as Governor in his place. It is difficult to believe that the British Government would act with such discourtesy to any official, especially to one who had served his country so well as Colonel Gawler had done, but the fact has been publicly stated in several works on South Australia, and has never been contradicted. There is no doubt that Colonel Gawler was badly treated. Indeed, the fact is clear from the following extract from the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to investigate the affairs of South Australia : — " With regard to Colonel Gawler, it is impossible to doubt that when he entered on the duties of his office things were in a state of great confusion, and that the difficulties he had to contend with were most embarrassing ; that, shortly after he arrived in the colony, he represented these circumstances and gave the Commissioners reason to expect a considerable excess of expenditure over what had been provided ; that amongst those witnesses who have most decidedly pronounced his expenditure excessive, none have been able to point out rOUXDATIOX AM) SKTTLEMEXT. 73 uny specific item which could have been reduced -without great public inconvenience ; whilst the chief item of expenditure, incurred on account of the Goveinment House and the public offices, was one that the late board had authorised." In 1840 there was some trouble with the natives in the South-East. About the middle of the year, a brig named the Maria was cast away on the south coast, about three days' journey to the south-east of the mouth of the Murray River, and a report reached Adelaide, several days after- wards, to the effect that all of the survivors of the wreck had been murdered by blacks. A party was sent out under the charge of Lieut. Pullen, R.N. (now Admiral), to visit the district and inquire into the •circumstances. After a short search, the dead bodies of seventeen men, women, and children were discovered, partlj' buried in the sand. The flesh had been completely stripped off the bones of one, which was that of -a woman. It was believed that it had been devoured by the murderers. The blacks in the neighborhood had the clothes and blankets of the men, as well as bonnets, shawls, &c.. whi'h had belonged to the women. On receipt of Lieut. Pullen' s report. Governor Gawlcr dispatched Major O'Halloran, the Commissioner of Police, and a strong party, with instructions, if possible, to find out the guilty persons, and to punish them. The offenders belonged to a tribe which inhabited the south coast, near Lacepede Bay. The expedition crossed the mouth of the .Murray •on August 21st, and on the following day made prisoners of thirteen men, two boys, and about fifty women and children. Tlie men were retained in custody, and the rest were set at liberty. All the captured natives had in their possession some portions of the shipwrecked persons' •effects, and some of the clothes were satuiated with blood. After some trouble, two more blacks were arrested, and on the following day they were tried by court martial for the murders. Tavo of them were found guilty and sentenced to death. The condemned men were hanged next day in the presence of a large number of the tribe, who had been collected to witness the executions. This summary act of retribution made a profound impression on the natives, and it had a much more salutary effect upon them in checking attacks upon white people than if the guilty persons liad been brought to Adelaide for tiial in the usual way. The punishment which overtook the murderers was inflicted under the Governor's sanction. It was probably not in accordance with law, and Colonel Gawler was severely blamed by tlie authorities in England, and by others for the cou -se that he had jjursued. Perhaps the Governor overrated the extent of his authority in dealing witli such a contingency; but there can be little doubt as to the wisdom of his policy in convincing the natives of the ovcrwhehuing power of the white peojjle. /4 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Colonel Gawler returned to Eno-land, and Captain Grey, acting under instructions, set to work to effect the most sweeping retrenchments. The Commissioners in London had been abolished, and the government of South Australia was in the hands of the Secretary of State for Colonies. The sudden collapse of the province was so disastrous that its condition pressed itself upon the attention of the British Parliament. A Select Committee, which investigated the affairs of the new settlement, brought up a report which helped much to restore its fortunes. A sum of £155,000 was voted by l^arliament as a loan to cover some of Colonel Gawler's bills. This was afterwards converted into a free gift. Besides this sum £27,900 was loaned to the colony for the payment of Colonel Gawler's bills on the Colonisation Commissioners, and £32,646 to meet bills drawn by Governor Grey for the support of " paiiper immigrants," and to meet the charge of the interest on the bonded debt of the colony, temporarily assumed by the consolidated debt of Great Britain. Those two sums were punctually repaid, and the debt due by the Colonial Government to the English Government was thought to have been extinguished in 1851 ; but in 1887 a claim for £15,516 for interest was made against South Australia. As a matter of equity, this svun was not properly chargeable against the colony, although it was promptly })aid. This ended the troubles that arose from Colonel Gawler's administration. Captain Grey was the servant of the Secretary of State, and to all intents and purposes South Australia became a Crown colony. It was ruled by the Governor and his Executive Council, vmder instructions from England. The people had no voice in public affairs, no con- trol over the taxation imposed upon them, nor over the public expen- diture. They had no representation except in the city council, which was quite at the mercy of the Governor. His Excellency appeared to thro-w every obstacle in the way of its operations, and it finally collapsed in 1843. The retrenchment policy of Governor Grey was the cause of considerable public dissatisfaction. In one of his despatches to the Secretary of State he stated* that he was often threatened with personal violence ; that tumultuous meetings were held and seditious language used; the police Avere tampered with, and he was for some time without the means of resisting any attack that might be made, and of which he was in hourly expectation. jNo outbreak, however, took place, and the people, becoming scattered over the country in the employ of landowners, generally resigned themselves to the new state of affairs, which gradually and stea-iily improved. The Home Government, however, did not seem to have much confidence in the future of the colony, even under Governor Grey's rigorous administr.ttion. f " In the month of August * Governor Grey to Lord Stanlev, October 24th, 1842. t South Australian, March 3id, 184 3. FOUNDATION AND SETTLEMENT. 75 last His Excellency received instructions from the Right Honorable the Secretary for the Colonies to send to Sydney all the laborino- emigrants at present on Government works." The Governor did not obey those instructions. He knew that a large number of persons had left the colony for Xew Zealand and elsewhere. He saw also that the expense of doing what he was directed to do would be much greater than that which would be incurred by keeping them em- ployed at the cost of about £4,000 per quarter. He wrote to Lord Stanley* and said. " Had I at once sent all the emigrants away, the colony would have been irretrievably ruined, and the whole of the expenditure laid out upon it would have been utterly lost. I should, in the first instance, have had to send away 2,427 souls, that is one-sixth part of the whole population ; the fact of having done so would have made paupers of a great many more, who must have been removed in the same manner, and there would have been no laborers remaining in the colony to procure food for those who were left." Previous to the arrival of this despatch in London the " Act to provide for the better government of South Australia" was forwarded to Governor Grey, and that Act, with the pecuniary help given by the Imperial Government, terminated the difficulties and uncertainties which had inflicted very severe injury on the colony. Captain Grey retained his Governorship until the 25th of October, 1845. His task was a hard one. His retrenchment policy had pressed sorely on many of the colonists, who could not forget what they had endured in consequence. The ordinary revenue of the colony, during the whole course of his administration, was iiever equal to the exjienditure, and the balance had to be j^rovided for out of the proceeds of land sales. When he assumed office the popula- tion was 14,562 ; when he left, in 1845, it had increased to 21,759. The steady increase in the number of the people did not tend to decrease the difficulties of his position. Whatever they had been, he had overcome them all, and he left for his new Government in New Zealand Avith tlie regrets and good wishes of a large majority of those who remained behind. It may be doubted whether his administration alone would have placed the colony in the greatly improved condition in which it was when he retired. Other causes had contributed to the revival of trade and prosperity. The discovery of the Kapunda Mine, in 1842. and of the Burra Mine, in 1845, did much to infuse a new spu'it into the colonists. Trade extended, the land sales increased, and the future progress of the province seemed to be assured. In 1841, about nine months after the execution of the Maria Creek murderers, some stockowners who were travelling overland with sheep • Governor Grey to Lord Stanlev. December "iCth, 1^4■2. 76 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. were attacked by the Rufus tribe of blacks near the N.W. Bend of the River Murray. Mr. Inman, who was the leader of the party in charge of the sheep, and two of his men were badly wounded, and all of the sheep, numbering about 7,000, were taken by the natives. When the circumstance became known, Major O'Halloran was sent out in command of an expeditionary force to punish the assailants if they could be traced out. After an absence of a few days, during which nothing had been done, the expedition was recalled, in consequence of the censures that had been passed upon Colonel Gawler for his actions in connection with the Maria Creek murders. As soon as Major O'Halloran reached Adelaide, a volunteer party under Lieut. Field, R.N., set out to endeavor to recover the sheep which had been stolen. Nine days after their departure, they met a body of natives between 200 and 300 strong. They at once attacked the white men and endeavored to surround them. Lieut. Field and his party escaped with difficulty, after shooting some of their assailants. After their return to Adelaide another expedition was organised, bu' the Governor (Captain Grey) would not permit its members " to levy war or to exercise any belligerent actions " against the offenders. Nothing resulted from this expedition except the finding of a white man who had lost all his cattle ("00) in an attack made by the natives, and three members of his party who were killed by them. The overland journey to Adelaide fi-om the eastward had now become dangerous in conse- quence of the unremitting hostility of the tribes. An inspector of police (Mr. Shaw) with twenty-nine men was sent away into the disturbed country to meet some people who were bringing cattle overland, in order to protect them from the outrages of the natives. The cattle owners had been attacked by the blacks, but had repulsed them. A few days afterwards the police party was assailed by them. They persistently rejected all friendly overtures on the part of the whites, and, probably confident in their numbers, pei'severed in their attacks. A short conflict ensued, in which thirty of the aborigines were killed and about ten wounded. When the expedition returned to Adelaide, an official in- vestigation was made into the circumstances of the case and the conduct of the inspector and his men. The police party was completely exonerated from all blame in the matter. In order to obviate, as far as could be done, any further troubles, Mr. E. J. Eyre was apjiointed pro- tector of aborigines, and stationed at Moorundi, on the Murray. He soon secured the confidence of the natives, and from the time of his appoint- ment outrages by the blacks upon travelling Avhite men entirely ceased. Colonel Robe became Governor on October 2oth, 1845. His acceptance of office was not due to personal inclination or to ambition, but solely to FOUNDATION AND !!ETTLEMENT. 77 his obedience to commands placed upon him. He did not like his position, and he was not adapted to fill an onerous post, such as that which had been vacated by Govenor Grey. He was essentially a soldier, and unacquainted with the exigencies of a civil administration. Nevertheless, the colony progressed greatly during his regime; but its progress sjjrang from the development of some of the newly-discovered resources of the province more than from any special statesmanlike policy of his own. Some important measures were initiated by him in Council, but they caused dissatisfaction amongst the colonists, and one of them was signally defeated. At the time he became Governor, the whole of the legislative power was vested in him, as Governor, and eight members of the Executive Council, four of whom held official positions, the other ibur being nominated by the Crown. The Council thus formed was presided over by him, but it was necessary that five of the Council besides himself must be present in order to form a quorum. In 1846 a proposition was brought before the Council for making State grants to certain religious bodies. It is not clear whether the proposal originated with the Governor, or was suggested by a member of the Council. The proposition was agreed to, and the grants made under it continued m force until 1851. The passing of this measure was very ill received by the public. It was a distinct violation of one of the principles upon which the colony was founded — that there should be no connection between Church and State ; moreover, the grant was most unfair in its operation, because it could not extend to all the various religious sects which were represented in the colony. Men of all shades of religious opinions concurred in condemning and denouncing the law, and the Governor fell greatly in public estimation. In 1848 Governor Robe sanctioned the grant of an acre of land in Victoria- square to the Right Rev. A. Short, D.D., then newly appointed Anglican Bishop of Adelaide, as a site for a cathedral. This grant was not made known at the time it was executed, and it was not registered in the General Registry Office for more than three years after. If the fact had become public, the issue of the grant would probably have been resisted without any delay. It certainly would have formed ground fur an appeal to the Secretary of State in England, and it could not have failed still more to embitter the public feeling against the Governor, which was already very strong * Another source of public dissatisfaction arose in consequence of the introduction of a Bill into the Council to place a roya lty on all minerals * This subject cropped up in 1855. In that year Bishop Short claimed the acre in Yictoria-square, and the Corporation of Adelaide resisted his Lordship's claim. The Bishop brought an action in the Supreme Court to assert his right, but the case went against him. The verdict was not challenged, so the matter ended. 78 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. raised in the province. The official members of the Council were compelled to support the Governor's proposal ; the non-official members were ail opposed to it. If the question had come to the vote, the Bill must have been carried by the Governor's casting vote. Seeing this, the non- official members left the Council Chamber in a body before the division could be taken. There was no quorum ; the business, therefore, could not be proceeded with, and the measure was shelved. The Governor then attempted to impose the royalty without the concurrence of the Council ; but a trial in the Supreme Court ended in a decision that the Governor did not possess the power that he had claimed to exercise. Governor Robe, wearied out at last with the turmoils in which he was continually plunged, was relieved of his office at his own request. He was succeeded by Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, on August 2nd, 1848. Although CJolonel Robe was not successful as a Governor, South Australia made great and substantial jn'ogress during the term of his administra- tion. The population had increased from 21,759 in 1845, to 38,666 in 1848. The ordinary revenvie had grown from £32,433 in 1845, to £82,411 in 1848; and in each of the last years of Colonel Robe's rule there was a considerable surplus of revenue over expenditure. The sale of land also had advanced considerably. In 1845 the quantity of land that had been sold from the date of the founding of the colony was 380,371 acres. In the three years ending in 1848, 123,605 acres had been disposed of. The proceeds of the land sales up to the end of 1845 amounted to £363,017. From 1846 to 1848, inclusive, they amounted to £167,865, the grand total being £530,877. The colony now was thoroughly established, its public affairs were in a prosperous condition, and there was apparently little cause for anxety for the future. PROGKESS AND DEVP:L0PMENT. 79 CHAPTER VII. Sir Hexry Young — Introduces the Main Road System and District CoiNCiLS — Change in the Form of Government — The Legislative Council — State Aid to Eeligion Abolished — The Gold Discoveries — Exodus of the Population — Run on the Banks — Suspension of Trade — Disbandment of the Civil Servants — Sir Henry Young's Difficulties — A Gold Commissioner appointed on the Diggings — The Overland Gold Escort — Want of a Circulating Medium — Expedients OF Store and Shop Keepers — The Bullion Act — Hesitation of the Governor to Assent to It — The Act Assented to and Passed in a Few Hours — Large Profits of the Banks — The Turning Point in- South Australian History — ^Large Demand for Land — Opening up op the Murray — Captain Cadell — Mr. W. Randell — Voyage of the "Lady Augusta " — Reaches Swan Hill, on the Darling — Success of the Expedition — The Murray River Trade — Clearing the Murray — Refusal of the Victorian Government to Assist — Port Elliot — Victor Harbor — Large Increase in the Population — A Xew Con- stitution Bill — Returned "Without the Royal Assent — Demand for Self-government — The Administration of Governor I'oung — Large Increase in Population and Reve.vue — Unwise System of Immigra- tion — Loss TO THE Colony in CoNseauENCE — Sir R. G. MacDonnell — The Crimean War — Preparations for the Defence of the Colony — The New Constitution -Governor Favors a Single Chamber— The Xew Constitution Framed — Assented to by the Queen — Is Proclaimed AND Comes into Force — ^The First Ministry' — The Governor's Attitude Towards It — Meeting of P.irliament — Its Proceedings — Sir R. G. MacDonnell' s Administration. SiK Henry Young was transferred from the Eastern Pro^•ince of the Cape of Good Hope, of which he was Lieutenant-Governor, to take a similar rank and position in South Australia. He had pre\'iously been Governor of Prince Edward's Island. Unlike his predecessors in office, he hnd had considerable experience in civil administration. He was not a man of shining ability, but he was thoughtful and cautious, and able to rise to the occasion if any serious difficulty pressed upon him. Reserved in manner and somewhat exclusive in his associations, he never became popular, but he deservedly gained the respect of all those with whom he came in contact. Durin;^ his tenure of office, which lasted from the middle of 1848 to the end of 1854, momentous events occurred, which permanently changed the condition of the whole of the Australian colonies, except that of the struggling settlement at Swan River. The colony is indebted to him for the initiation of an extensive main road svstem, which provided the principal means of communication between the outlying country and the cajjital and port, before railways were con- structed. He also introduced the district council system from the Cape 80 SOUTH AUSTRAl.IA. of Good Hope, which has become the most vahiable of existing institu- tions in the colony for local self-government. Whilst it conferred upon locally- elected bodies very large privileges and powers, it imposed on them considerable obligations, and it gradually weaned the country settlers from that unwholesome dependence on the Government which had hitherto prevailed to do for them most things which they ought to have done for themselves. It took many years to bring about this result. The Corporation of the City of Adelaide, whose powers and functions had been in abeyance for nine years, was revived by him in 1852. Previous to this a great alteration had been made in the political condition of the colonists. In 1851 the old system of government by the Governor and his nominee Council was abolished, and a Legis- lature of one Chamber, composed of sixteen elected members and eight nominees, erected in its stead. Four of the nominated members were members of the Executive Council, and filled the chief official posts in the colony. The remaining four were appointed by the Governor him- self, subject to the approval of the Crown. This approval, however, was merely a matter of form. The Legislative Council, as the new Chamber was designated, exercised control over the expenditure charge- able to the general revenue of the province, whilst the Governor, as representing the Crown, possessed the disposal of all the income derived from the sale or leasing of the public lands. This form of government was originated by Earl Grey, K.G., who at that time was Secretary of State for the Colonies. Although not adapted to fulfil all the require- ments of a rapidly growing colony, it was gratefully accepted. It had one merit — that it conferred upon the colonists representation, not complete, but still representation, and a considerable share in the legislative power which Avas exercised through the Crown. One of the earliest and most valued of the Acts of the new Legislature was to abolish for ever all State aid to religion. The question had rankled in the public mind ever since the rule of Colonel Robe ; and, at the first elections which took place under the new law, it was made the principal test of the candidates. The elections over, the objectionable law was summarily disposed of, and the question was finally set at rest. Ever since then all religious bodies have been upon an equal footing in their relations to the State. They are all self supporting, and work out their own progress in complete freedom. The Legislative Council had little time to develop any of the ideas which were entertained by the newly-elected members before a surprise came upon Australia which unsettled the whole of the colonies, except perhaps Western Australia, with which there was very little intercourse at that time. PROGRESS AXI) DEVELOPMENT. 81 Gold in large quantities had been discovered in California, and manv persons left Australia to try their fortunes in that distant and then unknown country. In 1851 gold was found in greater abundance, first ill the colony of New South Wales, and in a very short time afterwards in Victoria. When the news arrived in the province and was confirmed, everything was suddenly turned upside down. All business was suspended whilst the wonderful discoveries were discussed, and then an exodus began. The miners left the Burra Burra and Kapunda copper mines, and all operations there were svispended. The shopkeepers foi- the most part closed their places of biisiness and made for the diggings. Every one who could raise sufficient funds for the journey went away. The ships in harbor, which traded only between the mother country and the colony, were laid on the berth between Adelaide and ^Melbourne to carrj' off the intending diggers, who were wild with excitement. Most of the able-bodied men left the colony, and the population which remained was composed principally of women, of men who were in- cajjable of hard work, and small children. Gold seekers in numbers took with them their boys of nine and ten years of age to help them. The lads could not die, but they could rock cradles for washing the auriferous dirt. Many took their whole families to live with them on the goldfields in tents or huts, or under any shelter that was procurable or could be dcAased. People who could not pay their passages from port to port walked overland to the diggings, a distance of over 500 miles. A large part of the journey Avas through the desert, Avhich stretches for ninetv miles between the River Mvuray and the boundary of the colony. Water was procurable there in those days in only two or three places, and provisions on the direct line of route were unobtainable. For all this the adventurers pressed on, and notwithstanding the difficulties which they encountered, and the privations they were compelled to suffer, there are few records of casualties amongst them. The banks were besieged, and the pro^nnce almost entirely drained of specie. On the diggings bank notes were of little use, gold coin was not obtainable, and those who drew money from the banks to pay their way outMard were compelled to take silver in such currency as the banks could supply. Bags containing shillings, sixpenny pieces, fourpenny pieces, and coppers were handed across the bank counters in liquidation of cheques drawn against deposits, and it was with difficidty that the banking institutions were able to hold their own. Bills on England were scarcely negotiable, so great was the strain upon the banks to meet the incessant local demands upon their resources. With the suspension of trade which took place the revenue fell off. Sir Henry Young accordingly set to work to retrench. A large number of the civil servants sent in F 82 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. their resignations; the remainder, with very few exceptions, were relieved from their duties. They received, in some cases, leave of absence with- out salary, with the promise that they would be reinstated in the service when better times came. Those promises, however, were not generally- adhered to. The staff of public officers was so reduced that in many departments one only was retained, just to perform the very small amount of routine work which arose, and some departments were closed entirely. There were no complaints of the action of the Governor in the emer- gency ; his course was unavoidable. His great difficulty^ was to provide for the wives and families of those who had gone away, in the event of their not being successful on the goldfields, or of their not returning. Fortunately, after a few months, the most cheering intelligence of the general success of the South Australian adventurers arrived in Adelaide. The most of them had done well. Gold they had, but it was difficult to remit funds, because communication between the two colonies was so uncertain. Sir Henry Young, at the suggestion of some merchants, caused the formation of a gold escort, to proceed to the diggings and bring back to Adelaide the gold belonging to the South Australian diggers. A gold commissioner for South Australia was appointed, and Mr. Tolmer, Chief Inspector of Mounted Police, took charge of the first escort. It was composed of several troopers, who took with them an ordinary spring cart with iron boxes in it to contain the gold. The route over which the party travelled had been well explored. Cattle had been brought overland years before through quite as bad country. The natives were harmless. Hundreds of diggers had walked safely overland without any escort at all. The only danger to be apprehended was from bushrangers — " old lags and Vandemonians," as they were called, of whom there were not a few — on and hanging about the diggings and their approaches, who certainly were dangerous to isolated travellers and small parties of men moving from place to place — that is if they had anything worth plundering. The escorts started fortnightly, commanded, as circumstances required, by Inspectors Alford, Stuart, and Crombie. During the many months in which they travelled backwards and forwards no attempt was made to molest them in any way, and none of the gold was lost either through accident or by robbery. When the gold came into the colony a new difficulty arose — what could be done with it ? Crude metal was not a legal tender. There was no coin in the place, or so little as to be wholly inadequate to meet the most common requirements of trade. In order to provide small change some of the store and shop keepers issued notes for sixpence, threepence, and even twopence. This kind of currency was accepted, and remained in use until small coins and copper, or copper tokens, which answered the PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 83 temporary purjjose just as well, were imported and placed in general cir- culation. The banks were willing enough to buy the gold, but they could not deal Avith the bullion in the only way in which it could become serviceable to the owners who were on the spot and to the public. Mr. George Tinline was at that time acting manager of the South Australian Bank, the first bank founded in the province, and then the largest and most influential in the colony. He advised Sir Henry Young to introduce a Bill into the Legislative Council making gold, under certain conditions, a legal tender, so as to establish some kind of currency to tide over the existing deficiency of specie. The Royal instructions to the Lieutenant- Governor expressly forbade him to sanction any measure for altering the currency without the previous concurrence of the Sovereign. Sir Henry Young was fully aware of the gravity of the situation, but he had done nothing to meet the emergency : he recognised the pressure of the cir- cumstances, but he hesitated ; he was cautious, his own official position being in the balance. At length, however, after much deliberation, he gave way, and the Bullion Act was introduced into the Legislative Coimcil, and passed into law in the course of a few hours. Under this Act, which was to remain in force for one year only, gold assayed and reduced to standard fineness became a legal tender at £3 lis. per oz. An assay office was established in order that the gold dust and nuggets might be reduced to standard ingots, and gold tokens were coined to take the place of sovereigns. These tokens were worth about 22s. or 23s. each. Of course this step, whilst it gave great and imme- diate public relief, was of enormous advantage to the banks. The gold, for which they paid £3 lis. and upwards per oz., fetched up to £3 17s. 9d. per oz. in England, and the tokens yielded a large profit per cent., because the gold w^as paid for in notes, and the tokens when paid into a customer's account were reckoned as being worth no more than £l each. The difference in value was appro- priated by the banks, who did apparently nothing for the gains they realised. There can be no doubt now that the discovery of the gold- fields in the adjoining colonies and the passing of the Bullion Act made the turning point in the fortunes of South Australia. Mr. Tinline, at whose instance the Act was passed, was entertained afterwards at a public banquet, and presented with a service of plate and the sum of £2,500 in recognition of the services he had rendered to the colony. Towards the middle of 1852 the diggers began to return to South Australia. Trade generally revived and extended with a rapidity unparal- leled in the colony. A sudden and immense demand for land sprang up, and at the Government land sales the auction room was always thronged with eager purchasers. All, or nearly all, the South Australian gold- 84 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. seekers were anxious to obtain land of their own, and many Victorian diffgrers were filled with the same desire. At this time the land laws in force in Victoria were so restrictive that small areas of land for agricul- tural purposes were unobtainable. Most of the countrj- there was in the possession of pastoralists, Avho would neither surrender their holdings nor consent to any modifications of the conditions under which they held them. Those who wanted land were thus driven to South Australia, where it was obtainable in suitable areas and at a reasonable price. These circumstances laid the foundation of that agricultural development and prosperity for which this colony has ever since that time been distinguished. In 185.3, when the gold fever had somewhat abated, the navigation of the River Murray became a subject of absorbing interest and importance. Since Sturt had come doAvn the stream in 1829, the vahie of that river, or rather its eventual importance to the internal trade of nearly one half of Australia, had not been thought of . In August, 1852, Captain Francis Cadell came down the river in a canvas boat, from about the junction of the Darling, with the object of examining it and ascertaining to what extent it was navigable for large craft. The result w^as most satisfactory; and, on the fact becoming known, a reward of £4,000 was offered, under certain conditions, for the first two steamers which should be navigated from Goolwa, near the sea entrance to the Murray, to the junction of that stream with the River Darling. A company called the River Murray Navigation Company was formed by Captain Cadell, with the assistance of Mr. William Younghusband, one of the leading merchants in the colony, and the Lady Auc/usta steamer was built and started on her trial voyage. Previous to this Mr. Wm. Randell had built a small steamer at Mannum, on the Murray, about eighty miles above Goolwa, and had steamed up the Murray and for some distance along the Darling, but his craft did not fulfil the conditions which would entitle him to the reward. The trip of the Lady Augusta Avas thoroughly successful. The Governor and his wife, with a large party of ladies and gentlemen, accompanied Captain Cadell. The Lady Augtista steamed as far as Swan Hill, on the Darling, a distance of about 1,500 miles. From this point Sir Henry Young wrote to the Secretary of State announcing the success of the expedition. The opening up of the Murray and the establishment of an intercolonial trade in the adjacent country did not realise the expectations which those who established it had anticijjated. Many steamers were placed on the river, but the trade waned and finally dwindled down to unremunerative proportions. Nearly all the persons who were engaged in it at the outset lost heavily, and Captain Cadell was nearly ruined by it. South Australia did her utmost to secure the PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 85 trade by engaging in extensive operations to clear the river of obstruc- tions, but the Victorian Government refused to assist or co-operate in this useful work. That colony was anxious to secure the trade for herself, and in a short time constructed a railway to Echuca to intercept the traffic and bring it into Melbourne. South Australia for years after- wards did not attempt to connect the Murray with her own seaboard, and when she did the golden opportimity had passed away. Sir Henry Young, it is true, caused a tramline to be constructed from Goolwa to Port Elliot, where it was expected that wool would be shipped for England. That port, however, was in every way unsuitable for shipping, being small and rocky, with bad anchorage, and dangerous to approach. The Queen of Sheba, a barque of 600 tons, did enter it, and she got out again, but she never renewed her visit. Several small craft were lost in the port itself, and after a short period of unsatisfactory experience the place was abandoned. This experiment cost the colony nearly £50,000. Since then a railway has been made westward, from Goolwa to Victor Harbor, in Encounter Bay, and a splendid breakwater constructed at the latter place from Granite Island. There is deep water there, perfect shelter from the prevailing winds, and the harbor is accessible in almost all weathers ; yet the place is now but little used. Most of the wool which comes down the Murray is taken direct by rail from Morgan to Port Adelaide, thereby saving much time in shipment and considerable expense in loading and vmloading. In 1853 the population had grown so, thnt the inhabitants of the colony ■numbered 79,000 souls In the Imperial Act under which the colony was established it was provided that the inhabitants might frame a constitution for themselves as soon as they numbered 50,000. That limit had long been passed, and it was considered time to exercise the privilege promised to them. A Constitution Bill was passed by the Legislative Council, consisting of two chambers, one elected by the people and the second nominated by the Crown for life. The experience gained by the enactments of a single nominee chamber were fresh in the minds of the colonists, and the proceedings of the single chamber, composed of elected members and nominees in the proportion of two of the former to one of the latter, had not been altogether satisfactory. Property (lualification was the basis of the representative element, officialism the principle of the nominee element. The admixture did not work well. The Governor was nearly always able to secure a majority in favor of his o^v^l projects, and he had the sole disposal of the land fund, independent of the Legisla- tive body. The principle of a dual control, which had proved a failure when the colony was founded, was now revived in a more powerful and more objectionable form. As the colony advanced the land sales had 86 SOrXH AUSTRALIA. become large, and constituted the most fertile source of revenue. The Governor could deal -with it at pleasure, subject always to responsibility to Downing-street. The people wanted self-government, and that they conceived they could not obtain as long as they were fettered either by the independence of the Governor in his disposal of the land fund, or by the independence of an upper chamber whose appointment vested in the Crown. The proposed new constitution did not satisfy the colonists. An agitation against it, in which the late Sir George Kingston took a leading part, was set on foot. Remonstrances and petitions were forwarded to the SecretaiT of State, who returned the Bill to the colony foi further consideration, the Royal sanction having been withheld. No other occuiTence of serious import to South Australia took place during the remainder of Sir Henry Young's tenn of office. He was p:-oinoted to be Governor of Tasmania, and left the colony at the end of 1854. The administration of Governor Young has been dwelt upon at some length, because the period it embraces constitutes the most eventful epoch in the history of South Australia. From the time at which the- reaction took place, when the settlers returned from the goldfields, its- individuality became firmly established and its future successful develop- ment rendered certain. It was no longer a sluggish and struggling settlement ; it had become a prosperous, well-ordered, and enterprising community, destined to undertake a leading part in legal reforms, in laying bare the secrets of the interior of the continent, and in introducing some of the most valuable adjuncts to civilization, which have largely and beneficially influenced the advancement of the whole of the Australian colonies.* Under Sir Henry Young the land revenue increased from £32,935 in 1848 to £383,470 in 1854. The general revenue increased from £82,911 in 1848 to £595,356 in 1854, and commercial prosperity kept pace with these figures, which indicate the financial position of the colony. Yet much of the money was wasted. In 1848 the population amoiinted to 38,666 persons. Between that time and the end of 1854 no less than 93,140 persons entered the colony. The increase- of births over deaths in the same period was 7,897. The population, thus should have been increased by 101,037 souls. The population- in 1849 amounted to 52,904. Without emigration the total should have been 153,941. However, in the same period 46,481 persons * Amongst these may be mentioned the passing of Torrens' Real Property Act, now adopted in all the colonies ; Stuart's explorations ; the construction of the overland telegraph line across the continent : the making of a railway to the Victorian border : the telegraph line to the boundaiy of Western Australia. These were carried out by South Australia unaided. PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 87 left the colony; thus the population should have been 106,460 souls. At the end of 1854 it seems that the total population was no more than 92,545, so that there remained a balance against the colony of 13.915 souls. The fact was that immigration was carried on on a large and expensive scale by the South Australian Government. Many persons who were introduced at the public charge only used South Australia as a point from which they could reach the goldfields : the colony thus lost many of the people introduced at her cost ^'ictoria was by this means largely provided with popvdation by the immigration fund of South Australia. This improvident system of dealing with the proceeds of land sales, and of bringing people to the colony, was not discontinued for many years. The actual loss to South Australia which arose from this cause has never been properly ascertained, but it must have been immense. Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, who succeeded Governor Young, did not arrive in the colony until June, 1855 ; the affairs of the province being administered in the interim by Mr, B. T. Finniss, who up to that time had been Colonial Secretary. Sir Richard MacDonnell was transferred from the government of the Island of St. Vincent. He had preA'iously been Chief Justice of one of the settlements on the West Coast of Africa, and subsequently Governor of the same dependency. In 1854 the Crimean Avar broke out, and the colonists were mostly occu- pied in devising means for their defence, and in organising a military force to resist attack. A strong regiment of foot was enrolled, with a small con- tingent of cavalry and three field batteries of artillery. The men were badly armed, even for those days. There was only a bare supply of old percussion muskets for the infantry, the armament of the cavalry was insufficient, and the artiilery mustered only six light six-pounders, four nine-pounders, and two 24lb. howitzers. The men were good enough ; they were strong and healthy, accustomed both to the country and climate, and equal to anything if properly equipped and disciplined. At that time there were no heavy guns to protect either the entrance to the Port or the shipping. However, the forces were not put to the test, and their organisation was scarcely more than fairly under Avay when the war came to an end. Governor MacDonnell found the colony m a prosperous state, with a large revenue and no pressing public difficulties to grapple with. There was the new constitution to be framed, discussed, and adopted. In order to ascertain the wishes of the colonists on this important subject, the Legislative Council was dissolved in 1855. The members returned were nearly all in favor of manhood suffrage and vote by ballot. This clear expression of the popular feeling considerably simplified the future deliberations of the Council. 88 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. When the session was opened after the general election, the Estimates framed by the Governor were forwarded to the Legislative Council. Instead of being discussed in the customary way, they were referred to a select committee. The reason for this unprecedented course was never made clear. The Governor's policy had not caused any dissatisfaction out of doors. Probably the members of the Council, in view of the framing of the new constitution, desired to gain some insight into the inner working of the Government establishments, which had hitherto been a sealed book to them. It was certain, however, that some of the leading members of the Council were determined to exercise to the fullest extent such powers as they possessed, and to limit those of the Governor as far as was possible. The constitution of the committee was singular. The Covm- cil was composed of sixteen elected members and eight nominees. The committee comprised six elected members and only one nominee. The Governor's policy was apparently at their mercy. The committee protracted its sittings for several mcmths, and the public service was carried on by means of credit votes on the basis of the Estimates as laid before the Council, so that in the end no economy — if such a thing had been seriously contemplated — was secured. Reports were brought up by the committee from time io time, which were always more or less ad%erse to the Governor and his policy, and at length an address was sent to the Governor requesting him to send revised Estimates for the consideration of the Council. Sir Richard MacUonnell replied by message, which embodied a trenchant commentary on the acts of the select committee. It dealt with the whole case in such a masterl}^ way as to turn the tide of public opinion completely against the proceedings of the committee. The Governor's views were subsequently supported by public meetings, -w^hich were held in various parts of the colony. The select committee achieved nothing. " The mass of work which the special committee had under- taken, which extended not only to the examination of the public accounts, but also to an inquiry into the financial position of the colony generally, for which purpose the managers of the banks were summoned to appear and were examined. To some questions they refused to reply, as the evidence sought %vas of too inquisitorial a nature. It may easily be inferred that the Government officers were dealt with in a similar spirit. "* Whilst the committee on the Estimates was sitting, the Constitution Act was introduced into the Council. There were conflicting elements of various kinds iu the Legislatm-e which it was difficult to harmonise or even to reconcile, so strange was the mixture of Liberalism and Conservatism, not alone in parties, but in individuals, so that the problem of framing a constitution for the colony Avas not easy of solution. * Constitutional History of South Australia : Finniss. Adelaide, 1886. PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 89 Sir Richard MacDonnell's own views were, that a single chamber wholly -elective would answer all the aspirations of the colonists.* These views were not considered by the Legislative Council, and the form of Constitu- tion -which was adopted was modelled somewhat on the lines of the Legislature in England. It was determined to establish a Parliament of two Houses — a Legislative Council and House of Assembly, but both of them elected. The former was chosen on the basis of a property qualifica- tion, for the electors but not for the elected. The House of Assembly was chosen by manhood suffrage ; that is, that all adult males who were twenty-one years of age, and who were registei'ed as electors, were entitled to vote. The qualification for the Legislative Council was a £50 free- hold ; a lease, registered, having three years to run : or a right of pur- chase of the annual value of £20 ; or the tenancy of a house of the clear annual vahie of £25. Any one was eligible as a member for the Ljiper House if he were a natural-born or naturalised subject of the Queen and thirty years of age, and had lived in the colony for three years. The Legislative Council consisted of eighteen members, elected for twelve years, and not subject to dissolution, but one-third of the members were to retire every third year, the order of retirement being determined by ballot after the first election had taken place. The members were elected by the whole province voting as one constituency. The House of Assemby consisted of thirty-six members, elected by electors on the basis of six months' registration and manhood suffrage. It was liable to dissolution by ihe Governor ; failing such an event the members retained their seats for three years. They were elected for certain districts into Avhich the colony was divided, and the mode of election in both cases was by ballot. The principle of the ballot was adopted at the instance of the late Mr. F. S. Dutton, who is the father of the ballot in Australia. The Act was allowed by the Queen, and returned to the colony un- altered. It was passed in the last session of the old Legislative Coimcil of 1855-G, and was proclaimed to come into force as soon as it was received from England. It contained one most important jJi'Ovision — that no alteration in the Constitution should become law unless it was passed by clear majorities of both Houses of Parliament. The judges were declared by the Act to be removable only on addresses from both Houses. Five Ministers were appointed, who were responsible to Parliament, and no act of tiie Governor cculd have any force unless countersigned by one of them. The Act materially altered the position of the Governor. He was no longer the mere representative of the Crown, responsible only to Her Majesty through the Secretary of State ; he was bound to act on the advice of his responsible Ministers, although required by certain * Goveniinciit Gazelle, August 17, 18-55. 90 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. clauses in his instructions to reserve Bills dealing with particular questions- for the signification of the Royal assent. Sir Richard MacDonnell had never been Governor of a colony with an independent constitution, and he was not easily reconciled to the altered position in which he found himself. His oavu view was that it was for him to prescribe the policy of the Ministry, instead of merely formally concurring in that which they might advise. Consequently there arose considerable friction between him and his first Ministers, who did not meet the new Parliament for some months after they had been sworn in. The situation was novel and complicated. Tlie Governor had been compelled to form the first Ministry out of the only materials which were available, namely, three heads of departments who were members of the Executive Council — the Hon. B. T. Finnish, M.P., Chief Secretary; the Hon. K. D. Hanson^ M.P., Attorney-General; the Hon. R. R. Torrens, MP., Treasurer; with the Hon. Chas. Bonney, M.P.. Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the Hon. Samuel Davenport, M.L.C., Commissioner of Public Works. Tbi& was a makeshift Ministry, for, with the exception of the official mem- bers, no one knew anything about what was contemplated for the future or what had gone on before. As a matter of fact the Ministers did not possess the Governor's confidence, and, as circumstances unfolded them- selves, it became evident that they were not inclined to submit to the direction of the Governor, who did not desire to surrender the prerogative which he had been accustomed to use during the whole of his official career. The problem, however, was soon solved. The new Ministry met the Parliament in April, 1857, and resigned in August, after existing for less than four months. It would not have survived even that brief period but for a conflict which had sprung up between the two branches of the Legislature on the question of Money Bills. The two Houses, according to the Constitution Act, claimed equal powers as conferred upon them (by clauses 1 and 40 of the Act of 185.5-6) with regard to all Bills, with the exception that Money Bills must origi- nate in the House of Assembly and only on the recommendation of the Governor. A Bill to levy and regulate certain tonnage dues was introduced into the Assembly, as required by the terms of the Constitution Act. It was passed in due course, and forwarded to the Legislative Council for concurrence. In its progress through that House important amendments were made in it, and, as altered, it was returned to the Assembly. That House refused to recognise the right of the Council to make alterations in any Money Bill, and a long and heated debate followed, which ended in the rejection of the measure. Later, an arrangement or compromise took place between the Houses, under which they consented in the future to make " suggestions " as to amendments in Money Bills for the considera- PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 91 tion of the House of Assembly, instead of making the amendments directly, and that arrangement has been in force for about thirty-five years. The debate which grew out of the privilege dispute kept the Ministry in office, but not substantially in power, and shortly after the settlement of the constitutional question a new Ministry came on the scene. The fact was that members of the Assembly were ambitious. There were no parties in that House, and just then none were possible. The Assembly did not want officials in power who had been under the direct control of the Governor and who might be influenced by him, but Ministers Avho would not act otherwise than with the confidence of a majority in the popular branch of the Legislature. The Ministry was out-voted, and new men assumed office : that Ministry lasted for nine days only. Another succeeded and survived just twenty-nine days. A third was called to the Governor's Councils, which held office for two years and nine months. With this new combination the reign of officialism ceased, and from that time until now the Government has been carried on in accordance with the constitutional principles which are established in the mother country-, as far as they can be applied to local conditions. During the tenure of office of the third responsible Ministry " The Real Property Act" was passed. It originated with Mr. K. R. Torrens (afterwards created K.('.M.G.) It changed the system of the transfer of real property, and simplified it, so that it was effected with almost as much ease as the transfer of ordinary chattels which pass from hand to hand. The details of this valuable enactment, which has been adopted in all of the Australian colonies and in Xew Zealand, Avill be given in another place. It need only be stated here that its introduction has conferred incalculable benefits upon almost every landholder in those dependencies of the British Crown in which the law has been brought into force. The first railway connecting Adelaide with its chief port was completed and opened for traffic in Sir Richard MacDonnell's time, as well as the railway line from Adelaide to Gawler, which was the first stej) towards opening out the northern portions of the colony. The lines were projected and originated by Sir Henry Young, by whom a bonded ciebt in South Australia was first incurred.*" To Sir Richard MacDonnell the establishment of the Adelaide and Suburban "Waterworks is attributable.! The value of this undertaking has been so great that the water supjdy has been extended to all the suburbs, and in the country it has led to the construction of other hydraulic works which render many places entirely independent of the uncertain and intermittent rainfall. In this very dry country hydraulic works wanted only a beginning. The * Act No. 18 of 1853 and Act No. 18 of 1854. t Act No. 28 of 1855-6. 92 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. colony is now reaping the advantage of the useful but limited scheme which was set on foot in 1855-6. Sir Richard MacDonnell remained in the colony up to the day of the arrival of his successor. He was a popular Governor, an excellent administrator, and a cultivated gentleman of large mental capacity. He was somewhat persistent in his own views, and not easily moved from fixed opinions. The colony progressed well during his governorship, but his personal plans for her advancement were greatly cheeked by the introduction of constitutional Government. Neverthe- less, he has left behind him an excellent reputation. He certainly deserves to be regarded as the most able Governor of the transition stage of the colony's existence. The progress of the province during Sir Richard MacDonnell' s tenure of the governorship is indicated by the following figures : — The population had increased from 92,545 in 1854 (the year of his arrival) to 126,830 at the end of 1861 (a few months before his departure) : the revenue in 1855 was £453,641. in 1861 it was £558,587; the expenditure was £689,696 in 1855, in 1861 it amounted to £482,951 ; the area of land under cultivation in 1853 (there are no returns for 1854-5) comprised 129,692 acres, in 1862 it had expanded to 320,160 acres ; the number of sheep in the colony had increased from 1,768,724 in 1853 to 3,431,000 in 1862 ; the imports had decreased from 2,147,107 in 1854 to £1,820,656 in 1862; whilst in the same period the exports had grown from £1,322,822 to £2,145,796. The immigration at the public cost into the colony was very considerably restricted during the period to which the foregoing figures relate. From 17,258 souls in. 1854, it was reduced to 2,685 in 1862. The emigrants who had been sent to the colony were to a great extent unsuitable to its requirements, especially the female portion, and Sir R. MacDonnell found his resources severely taxed in securing their distribution and absorption amongst the colonists in the rural districts. PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 93 CHAPTER YIII. Sir Bominick Daly — His Arkival — Unsatisfactory State of the Sui-reme Couut — Sir Charles Cooper — His Retirement — Mr. Justice Boothby's Protest Against the Pension Act— Claims to be Chief Justice— Difficulties Consequent upon the Claim — Acts Declared Invalid — Addresses to the Crown to Remove Mr. Justice Boothby — Addresses Not Complied avith — Further Difficulties in the Supreme Court— A Fresh Application to the Secretary of State — Lord Carnarvon Refuses to Comply with the Request to Remove the Judge — Suggests His Re.moval in Terms of an Imperial Statute — That Suggestion Adopted — Enquiry into the Judge's Conduct — His Removal — Visit of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, K.G. — Death of Sir Dominick Daly — Progress of the Colony — Colonel Hamley — Alteration in the Land Laws — Arrival of Sir James Fergusson — Inauguration of the Overland Telegraph Line — Progress of the Colony — Sir A. Musgrave — Ministerial Disputes and Changes — Arrival of Sir "W. "W. Cairns — His Resignation — Sir W. F. D. Jervois Appointed Governor— Sir W. C. F. Robinson Appointed — The Earl of Kintore. Sir Dominick Daly entered upon his government on March 4th, 1862. He had passed through a long official career in Canada, and had been a member of one of the early responsible Ministries in that great dependency of the Crown, after its affairs had been settled by the late p]ari of Durham. His Excellency was transferred from Prince Edward's Island, of which he was Governor, to South Australia, where he remained until the time of his death. The colony was in a flourishing condition when he was appointed, and it made great progress under his rule. The general policy of the province being determined by Ministers >yho were answerable to Parliament, there was not much scope for the exercise of a Governor's statesmanship in directing the course of political events. Sir Dominick Daly, however, possessed a clear perception of the duties which devohed upon him as head of the Executive, and was well versed in the principles and usages of constitutional government. Whilst he was never unmindful of the claims of the dift'erent Ministries which succeeded each other during his Governorship to his co-operation and support, he preserved his posi- tion and his dignity with all of them, and thus gained the confidence of the Parliament and the universal respect of the colonists. Sir R. G. MacDonnell had left beiiind him a very troublesome matter, which had arisen in his time. It related to the conduct of business in the Supreme Court, and the course pursued by one of the judges of that tribunal. Mr. Benjamin Boothby, who had been Recorder of Pontefract and a revising barrister of one of the Ridings of Yorkshire, was api)ointcd Second Judge in succession to Mr. Justice Crawford, who had died. The appointment had been made by letters patent under the great seal of the 94 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. province, by Sir H. E. F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, acting in pursuance of a warrant under the Royal Sign Manual directed to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated in February, 1853. Mr. Boothby acted as Second Judge of the Supreme Court until the Chief Justice, Sir Charles Cooper, went to England on leave. Mr. Justice Boothby was then appointed Acting Chief Justice during Sir Charles Cooper's absence fi'om the colony. Previous to this the office of third judge of the Supreme Court had been created, to which Mr. Edward Castres Gwynne was appointed, in order to facilitate the administration of justice, on account of the divergences of opinion which had occurred between the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Boothby on many of the questions of law which came befoi-e the Court. Sir Charles Cooper resigned his office at the end of 1861, and the Hon. R. D. Hanson, Attorney-General at the time, was appointed to the vacant position. The Parliament passed an Act conferring on Sir Charles Cooper a pension of £1,000 a year for life, in recognition of his long and distinguished services to the colony. Mr. Justice Boothby took exception to that Act, and he memorialised the Secretary of State for the Colonies in order to induce him to advise the Queen not to assent to it. on the ground that it made no provision for any other of the judges of the Supreme Court who might retire. The Duke of Newcastle, however, declined to act on Mr. Justice Boothby's suggestions, and intimated that if he desired to bring the matter before the Privy Council he must do so at his own cost. The new Chief Justice was sworn in in due course. When he attended to take his seat upon the Bench, Mr. Justice Boothby raised the objection that Mr. Hanson's appointment was illegal and invalid, and that he had no right to the position of Chief Justice. This objection was overruled as untenable, and Mr. Hanson entered upon the functions of his office. Mr. Justice Boothby claimed to be entitled to the position of Chief Justice, and on various occasions asserted himself to be the only lawfully appointed judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. From this circumstance serious difficulties arose. Mr. Justice Boothby pronounced the Constitution Act to be invalid, and declared that all the laws which had been enacted under its provisions were also invalid. Many other enactments were also held by him to be invalid or inoperative, because they were either ultra vires or repugnant to the law of England. He considered that there was no Attorney-General, and he postponed the trial of prisoners who were arraigned before him because grand juries had been abolished, and indictments preferred by the Attorney-General had no legal force. The whole of the judicial system of the colony was thus disarranged. The delays which followed in determining suits that were brought in the Supreme Court, the constantly recurring differences PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 95 •which arose between Mr. Justice Boothby, his colleagues on the Bench, and the Bar generally, created great public dissatisfaction and excitement. At length the Parliament took notice of the state of the Supreme Court, and addresses fi-oni both branches of the Legislature were passed and forwarded through the Governor to the Secretary of State, praying Her Majesty to remove Mr. Justice Boothby fi-ora office. The Duke of Newcastle, acting on the advice of the law officers of the Crown in England, decided not to comply with the prayer of the addresses, on the ■ground that, although Mr. Justice Boothby might have been wrong in many cases in his exposition of the law, in some of the positions taken up by him he had been right. In order to remove exjjressed doubts as to the state of the law in the colony, and to prevent the recurrence of similar difficulties in the future, validating Acts were passed by the Imperial Parliament, which, it was expected, would terminate the unsatisfactory condition of affiairs which had deprived the Supreme Court of the province of much of its usefulness. This expectation was not realised. Mr. Justice Boothby's opinions underwent no change in fact, nor were they even modified in degree. His claims to be the sole judge of the Court were persistently re-asserted, and the altercations between himself and the other judges, as well as members of the Bar, were con- tinually renewed. * The proceedings of the Supreme Court and the impediments which were thrown in the way of the dispatch of the business of that tribunal formed the subject of a vohmiinous correspondence between the Governor, the Secretary of State, and Mr. Justice Boothby. It bi-ought about no satisfactory result, and it forced itself anew upon the consideration of the Legislature. The Imperial Government was again urged to dismiss Mr. Boothby. The Earl of Carnarvon, who held the seals of the Colonial Office in succession to the Duke of Newcastle, after reconsidering the whole case ab initio, intimated to the Governor that the question of Mr. Justice Boothby's conduct was so intermixed with matters of law that, in his judgment, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was the proper tribunal whose advice should be sought for the purpose of determining the case. His Lordship concluded his despatch with the following words: — "If Mr. Boothby's conduct justified, and the interest of the ■colony required his prompi removal, it would have been far better to have adopted the responsibility of removing him under the Act of 22nd George III., Chap. 75, than to have transmitted an ex parte case to be dealt with by Her Majesty's Government at the other side of the world, with the evident probability that their first step would be to put Mr. Boothby on his defence, and the possibility of calculating the delays to which this * Parliamentary Paper No. 22 of 1S67. 96 SOITH AISTRALIA. necessary step might lead. I am inclined to think that even now your Government would act wisely by commencina: proceedings under that Act; but they will do M-ell to bear in mind that, in that case, their decision will be subject to appeal to the Privy Council, and that, with a view to that appeal, their charges must be adequate and precise, that the evidence of the fact must be sufficient, and that Mr. Boothby must be fully heard in his defence." *•' In April. 1867, the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Gwynne wrote to the Governor complaining of the offensive conduct of Mr. Justice Boothby towards themselves, of the obstacles his demeanor threw in the way of the equal administration of justice, and requesting His Excellency to adopt such remedial measures as it might lay in the jiower of the Govern- ment to apply. On the 26th May, 1866, the Attorney-General (the Hon. James Penn Boucaut, M.P., now second Judge of the Supreme Court) had forwarded a report to the Governor on the conduct of Mr. Justice Boothby, in which the whole of that judge's proceedings were reviewed at length. That report substantially formed the basis of the application to the Secretary of State which drew forth the Earl of Carnarvon's des- patch quoted above. At length it Avas determined to proceed against Mr, Boothby in accordance with the Act of George HI., Chap. 75, as had been suggested by Lord Carnarvon. The Governor and flxecutive Council met on the 24th June, 1 867, to investigate the charges brought against the judge, which were as follows : — " 1. Conduct and language contumacious and disrespectful to the Court of Appeals, and obstructive to the said Court in the performance of its duties. 2. Perverse refusal to acknowledge the authority of Parliament and to administer the laws of the Province. 3. Expressions on the Bench disparaging and insulting- the Legislature, the Government, and the institutions of the province, and language and behavior on the Bench calculated to bring the administra- tion of justice into contempt. 4. Language on the Bench offensive and irritating to the other judges, and public denial of their authority. 5. Allowing private and personal feeling to interfere with the fair and impartial administration of justice." Mr. Justice Boothby attended the Coimcil on the first day of its sittings, but he denied its authority and ignored its proceedings. After reading a paper containing a demand for certain documents, he left the chamber, and did not again appear before the Council. The Council sat for eight days and eventually found the charges provqd. An order was then made by which Mr. Boothby was amoved from his office. Mr. Boothby had determined to appeal to the Queen in Council against the order, but his death, which occurred a few months after, brought the controversy to a close. * Despatch of the Earl of Carnarvon to Governor Sir D. Daly, Febioiary 26tb, 1867. PROGRESS AND DEVEl.OPMEXT. 97 Towards the end of 1867, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh paid a State visit to South Australia. He was in command of H.M.S.S. Galatea. He landed on the 31st of October, and was received with the utmost enthusiasm. The city Avas illuminated, triumphal arches were built, balls, hunting parties, and other festivities were arranged, and the colony was en fete diuring the whole period of his stay. An open vote to cover the expenses of his reception was passed by Parliament, and everything was done to do honor to the distinguished visitor, and to make his stay agreeable to him and to his suite. He sailed for Victoria on the 21st November, apparently much gratified at the reception which had been accorded to him. Early in 1868 Sir Dominick Daly, who had been in feeble health for several months, was attacked by a serious illness from which he never rallied, and he died on the 19th February. A public funeral was accorded to his remains, which Avere interred with military honors. Xo greater public demonstration than that which took place at the interment has been witnessed in the colony. Sir D. Daly was the only Roman Catholic Governor ever appointed to South Australia. He was not a brilliant man, but he possessed great tact and a singularly coiTect judgment ; he was also a good administrator. He was pre-eminently just, and strictly impartial in the midst of the frequent Ministerial changes which occurred during his official career in South Australia. His manner was gentle and dignified, and without being demonstrative he was sincere. The Imperial authorities were so Avell satisfied with his administration that they had decided to re-appoint him as Governor for a second term of office. Xo Governor enjoyed a greater measure of popularity than Sir D. Daly, and none more Avorthily merited the excellent reputation which he left behind him. His decease was deeply lamented by every class in the province. At the time of his arrival in 1862 the population numbered 135,329 souls, at the time of his decease it had increased to 172,680. The revenue Avhich amounted to £548,709 in 1862 had grown to £716,295 in 1867. The expenditure in each of those years was £579,381 in the former, and £1,003,272 in the latter — the last, however, included loan moneys raised for public works ; 491,511 acres were under cultivation in 1862, in 1867 the area had increased to 810,734 acres. The colony possessed 56,25 1 horses in the former year, and 74,228 in the latter. In the same years the number of sheep in the colony were 3,431 ,000, and 4,447,445, respectively. The cattle, however, had decreased from 258,342 to 122,200. The reason for this remarkable falling off is not ascertainable. The value of the import trade increased from £1,820,056 to £2,506,394, and that of the export trade from £2,145,796 to £3,164,622. The railway system, then in its early 98 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. infancy, showed only fifty-six miles in operation. In 1862 there were 1,026 miles of telegraph wires erected, communicating with thirty-five stations ; in 1867 1,642 miles were erected, connecting sixty-five stations. The assets of the banks grew from £1,930,914 in 1862 to £3,234,209 in 1867, and their liabilities from £958,824 to £1,549,195. On the decease of the Governor the administration of the Government devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel F. G. Hamley, of the 50th Regiment, the senior military officer on active service in the colony, and he held office until the Right Hon. Sir James Fergusson, Bart., who was appointed to succeed Sir D. Daly, arrived in South Australia on February 15th, 1869. The new Governor had been a member of the English Parliament, and had filled the offices of Uader Secretary of State for the Home Department, and Under Secretary of State for India. He had also held a commission in the Coldstream Guards, and had served in the Crimean war, and at the siege of Sebastopol. where he was wounded. During Colonel Hamley's administration considerable changes took place in the manner of disposing of the waste lands of the Crown. Before then land had been sold by auction, but this system had created a class of persons known as " land sharks," w^ho attended all Government land sales, and bid for and bought all they covild secure, for the purpose of obtaining lai-ger prices from the people who required the land for bond fide settlement, whom they had been able to outbid. It also gave rise to extensive land monopolies, which kept farmers off the soil and thus restricted settlement. South Australia lost some of its population through the operation of those causes. At length a change Avas brought about by the new Land Act, or '' Strangways' Act " as it was called. The land was sold on credit, the full sum bid for it being payable within four years from the date of the sale. The purchase- money bore interest at the rate of 5 per cent., the whole of which was payable in advance at the time the land was sold. Besides that, cei-tain areas in different parts of the colony were proclaimed to be agricultural areas, in which land was open for selection by intending purchasers, and when two or more persons applied at the same time for the same block, the applications were decided on by lot. All the land that had been put up at auction aad not sold was open for selection ; but a definite value was assigned to each section, and, if not taken up, the price was gradually reduced until it became^j-ated at £1 per acre. The change did some good ; but if the auction system had evils of its own, the new law generated new evils. The limit of selection was 640 acres. The land monopolists were equal to the occasion ; they purchased lands in the names of persons who were under their control, and the residence clauses were evaded by the presence of dummies. Some of PROGRESS AXD DEVEr.OPMENT. 99 the dummies got the better of their principals, by keeping the land bought in their names and complying with the terms of the Act. Tho«e who prompted the dummying for their own purposes coidd neither sue nor prosecute, and in some cases lost their money and the land. Various amendments in the land Acts followed from time to time, until they developed into the land laws now in force, as will be noted in a subse- quent part of this work. Sir James Fergusson remained in South Australia till April, 1873, when he was transferred to the Government of Xew Zealand. He identified himself with all movements for the advancement of agriculture, and took a most substantial and generous part in useful popular move- ments. The great event of his administration, howevei', was the opening of the Overland Telegraph Line, constructed by South Australia across the continent to Port Darwin, which placed the .Australian colonies in direct communication with Great Britain, and, consequently, with all the telegraphic systems of the civilised workl. The completion of the Overland Telegraph Line was inaugurated by a public banquet in the Town Hall of Adelaide, and it was announced by the Governor on that occasion that the Chief Secretary (the Hon. Henry Ayers, M.L.C.) had been honored by the Queen by being created K.C'.M.G., and Mr. C. Todd (Postmaster-General, under whose sviperintendence the work had been carried out, and who, in fact, had originated the scheme) was made C.M.G. The Hon. H. B. T. Strangways, the Minister who had intro- duced the Act authorising the Avork into Parliament, and by Avhose exertions it became law, received no recognition of his valuable and important services to the colony in promoting the enterprise. During Sir J. Fergusson's rei/i?ne the Duke of Edinburgh visited the colony a second time, but not in his official capacity. His only public act was to lay the foundation-stone of the Sailors' Home at Port Adelaide in February, 1869. The progress of the province between 1868 and the end of 1872 — shortly after which Sir R. D. Hanson, Chief Justice, administered the Government, 2)ending the arrival of Sir James Fergusson's successor — may be traced by the following brief statistics : — The population increased from 176,298 to 192,223; the revenue declined from £716,004 to £697,442 ; the expenditure fell from £852.689 to £700,255 ; the quantity of land under cultivation in 1868 wos 808,234 acres, in 1872 1,164,846 acres; the number of horses in the colony in the former year was 75,409, in the latter 82,215 ; the horned cattle numbered 123.213 in 1868, and 151,662 in 1872 ; the sheep depastured in 1868 were 4.987,024. and in 1872, 4,900,687 ; the combined value of the import and export trades was £5,057,810 in 1868, and £6,540,194 in 1872 ; in 1868. 1,642 miles of telegraph line had been erected connecting sixty-five stations. 100 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. in 1872 there were 3,731 miles, connecting eighty-six stations ; the asset* of the banks increased from £3,234,209 to £3,509,452, and their liabilities from £1,549,195 to £2,010,183. Sir James Fergusson was an excellent administrator, a forcible speaker, and a far-seeing politician. It was he who originated the idea of a bold public works policy, the carrying out of which has helped very largely ta develop the productiveness and increase the wealth and prosperity of the province. He was courteous in his demeanor, though at times somewhat austere. He did not succeed in acquiring such a wide-spread popularity as Sir D. Daly, but he was greatly respected as an upright conscientious gentleman and an exemplary man. Sir James Fergusson sustained a severe loss in the death of his wife. Lady Edith Fergusson, daughter of the Marquis of Dalhousie, who had been Governor-General of India. She expired on the 28th October, 1871. Her ladyship had gained the sincere admiration and gratitude of all classes by her widely extended but unostentatious charity, and the deep interest she manifested in the welfare of the poor and suffering of her own sex. Mr. Anthony Musgrave, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, succeeded Sir James Fergusson in the Governorship. He held office from June 9th, 1873 imtil March 24th, 1877. His regime Avas eventful as far as political conflicts were concerned, but uneventful as far as regarded his position as Governor. The political disturbances arose from the accession of Mr. J. P. Boucavit (now second Judge of the Supreme Court) to power. He proposed to borrow some £3,000,000 for public works, and to meet the interest upon the debt thus incurred by the imposition of fresh taxation, in the shape of Stamp taxes and Probate and Succession Duties. His proposals were welcomed and easily carried in the House of Assembly, but the Legisla- tive Council rejected them. Without the additional taxation he refused to borrow. The Parliament was prorogued and met again in a very few weeks, when the taxation proposals were again carried in the Assembly and again rejected by the Legislative Council ; Mr. Boucaut thereupon declined to proceed with his public works projects. The Parliament was again prorogued. Before it met again Sir R. D. Hanson, the Chief Justice, died suddenly, and the Hon. S. J. "Way, Attorney-General, was appointed in his place. This circumstance necessitated a re-arrangement of the Ministry, from which some of its members seceded, and Avhen the Parliament re-assembled the Hon. Mr. Boucaut's Ministry was removed by a no-confidence vote. The Hon. John Colton (now Sir John Colton, K.C.M.G.) formed a new Cabinet, which adopted the whole of the retiring Ministers' policy except as to taxation. The sum of £3,000,000 was raised on loan, and various new railways were PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT, 101 projected, all of which have since been constructed. The Probate and Succession Duties were adopted and became law, but the Stamp Act which had been contemplated was not proceeded with. During all these political changes the Governor was necessarily inactive, except as to the exercise of his ordinary functions as chief of the Executive. He was essentially of retiring and studious habits, having no taste for the tur- moils of party conflict, and he did not court publicity to any remarkable extent. He occupied a kind of negative position with regard to the colonists. He was neither popular nor unpopular, but he left behind him on his retirement the reputation of being a well-meaning, undemonstra- tive, and eminently efficient Governor. Mr. Musgrave was made a K.C.M.G. shortly after his arrival in the colony. His ser\-ices in other colonies had certainly entitled him to this distinction before he was appointed to rule over a jirovince which ranks in the Colonial Office as a first class colony. Sir A. Musgrave was promoted to the Governorship of Jamaica, and he left South Australia for his new seat of Government on January 23rd. 1877. Pending the arrival of his successor. Sir W. W, Cairns, K.C.M.G., who was transferred from Queensland, His Honor the Chief Justice, Mr. S. J. Way, filled the office of Administrator. This was from January 29th, 1877, till March 24th, in the same year. From 1872 to 1876, inclusive, the position of the province will be understood from the subjoined figures. The population had gro-\\m from 192,223 to 225.677. The revenue increased from £697,422 to £1,320,205. The expenditure had augmented from £700,255 to £1.323,337. The quantity of land brought into cultivation had extended from 1,164,846 acres to 1,514,916 acres. The horse stock had multiplied from 82,215 head to 106,903, and homed cattle from 151,662 to 219,441. The increase in the number of sheep depastured in the colony was from 4.900,687 to 6,133,291. The total value of the import and export trades (which was £6,540,194 in 1872) amounted to £9,392,353 in 1876. The tonnage of shipping inwards and outwards sprang up from 347,360 tons to 732,330. [n 1872, 202 miles of railway were open and at work, and in 1876. 328 miles; 3.731 miles of telegraph line connecting 86 stations were in operation in 1872. and in 1876, 4,486 miles of line connecting 112 stations. The assets of the banks had accumulated from £3,509,452 to £6,346,127, and the liabilities had grown from £2,010.183 to £3,826,354. Sir William Wellington Cairns was sworn in as Administrator of the Government, in the customary way, when he landed in South Australia, and was received with the cordiality and respect with which all the Governors have without exception been greeted. His career, however, was very brief. The only public functions performed by him were the 102 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. opening of the Victoria Bridge, on April '24th, 1877, and being present at the inauguration of the Senate of the Adelaide University and the enrohnent of its members. He resigned his office on May 17th, after holdiu" it for less than two mouths, so that the colonists had no opportunity of judging either of his personal character or of his official capabilities. The Cnief Justice again became Administrator. an