Western Australian Court

Colotzz'al aJZd lndz'an .. Ul•' I N THE WITH .\ PREFACE Gl\'lNG SOME GENERAL INFORMATION AS TO THE LONDON: WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS, LIMITED, Wrintcrs nnb ~ublis!Jers to tf)e lao)ln! Qtommission, 13 CHARING CROSS, S.W., AND AT THE EXHIBITION. x886. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~·~...~ .. ~... ~.. ~~~~~··~~···· _,.!.. Price Twopenre. .... .. ' j Col01z£a! a1;zd f1;zd£an Exhzoz'tz'on, I886. CATALOGUE OF EXHIBITS IN THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COURT. WITH A PREFACE GIVING SOME GENERAL INFORMATION AS TO THE PRESE T CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF THE COLONY. LONDON: WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS, LIMITED, '!!h inters nnlJ tpubiis~crs to tl)e ~O!!al QJ:ommission, 13 CHARING CROSS, S.W., AND AT THE EXHIBITION. x886. LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMIT«D, s·rAMFORD STRmtf AND CHARING CROSS. PREFACE. I:-.l" a few pages it is proposed to give a general outline of the rise and progress of the Colony of Western Australia, the largest and the least known and the least populated of the Australian group. For these reasons it is al o the most important from the point of view of the intending Colonist, who naturally desires to settle where there is still an unworked field for his energies, and where he may be practically a pioneer, rather than a wage-earning competitor against the thousands who have preceded him, as is too often the case with those who emigrate to America, or even to the large centres of population in the Eastern Colonies of Australia. Western Australia includes all that enormous extent of terri tory lying west of the I29° meridian of east longitude up to I I 3° I 5', and from I 3° 45' to 3 5° 5' south latitude, its extreme length being from south to north I,z8o miles, and its breadth from cast to west 8oo miles. Here we have a territory of about a million square miles, eleven times the extent of Great Britain and one-third of the continent of Australia. To those who live in London and the other large overcrowded cities of the mother country, it will be difficult to conceive that so stupendous an area of the earth's surface as vVestern Australia should possess a population of less than 40,000. This mere handful of people, a fraction only of any large London suburb, and about one-eighth of either Melbourne or Sydney, is as a rule settled merely along the seaboard of the Colony. Settlement is extending inland; but practically Western Australia, if not a te1'ra incognita, is an undeveloped territory, capable of sustaining an infinitely greater population than that which at present fringes its coasts. B 2 ( 4 ) Western Australia is the o nly one of the Australian group which is still a " Crown" Colony, that is to say, a British depen dency where the officials of the Government as well as the Governor are appointed by the English Government. In addition to His Excellency the Governor and an Executive Council, there is a Legislative Council, consisting of members of the Executive Council, with the exception of the Colonial Treasurer, four nominees of the Crown, and sixteen elected members. It is not, perhaps, necessary to go into further details of the Govern ment of the Colony ; but it may be added that there are "property" qualifications both for electors and elected members of the Legislative Council. The seat of Government is Perth, and the present Governor is Sir F. Napier Broome, K.C.M.G., whose lecture last year before the Royal Colonial Institute, on which occasion H.R.H. the Prince of Wales presided, has done so much to make the Colony known in England. The products of Western Australia are wool, timber, lead, copper, pearls, pearl shells, guano, sandal-wood, wine, fruits, and wheat and cereals, also horses, cattle, and all live stock; and to the list of minerals must now be added gold. The exports of wool for r885 were valued at £248,400; timber, £67,850; lead ore, £3,255; copper ore,£ r,792; pearls and pearl shell s, £58.496; sandal-wood, £36,2r6; horses, £IOA75; cattle and sheep,£I,242; dogs,£ II7; guano, £3.432 ; gum, £I,09I ; provisions, £8,905 ; skin s, £2,259, &c., &c. To the north of latitude 28° south-writes the Hon. John Fon·est, C.M.G.-" the country is used almost exclusively for pasturage, and is eminently suited for cattle, horses, and sheep. The largest squatting properties are now to be found in the northern districts of the Colony, and pastoral pursuits are suc cessfully followed there by enterprising Colonists. A( the end of r885 there were I,702,7I9 sheep in the Colony, and the estimated value of the export of wool was £248,400, the average price being Is. per pound. " The southern portion of the Colony is suited not only for ( 5 ) pasturage, but also for the growth of cereals and most other tropical products." The following is the retunz of the number of Stock in the Colony, from the last official retums in Blue Book, r885. Horned Sheep. Goats. District. Horses. Cattle. Pigs. Camels. •" ---------------- I. Southern Districts, including Welling- ton, Sussex, Plan- tagenet, Williams, Murray and Black- wood .. .. .. 10,927 27,999 283,392 576 5,149 .. 2. Central Districts, in- eluding York, Too- dyay and Swan .. 12,320 15,489 248,604 1,286 14,327 .. 3· Victoria District, in- eluding Geraldton, Greenough and Irwin . •• 4,481 6,684 310,357 r,266 4,521 .. 4· Gascoyne District .. I ,005 3,004 246,8o6 325 63 27 5· North District .. 5,276 I 5, IIO 557,963 r,o69 213 .. 6. Kimberley District 383 2,122 55.5 97 7 7 .. --- ----- Total .. 34.392 70,408 1,702,719 4,529 24,280 27 Much of the south-western portion of the Colony is heavily timbered, and in this part the celebrated "Jarrah" covers almost endless tracts of country, and from its durability and power of resisting the sea-worm and the white ant is held in high esteem. It is largely used for railway sleepers, piles, and harbour works. The "Karri," specimens of which, as well as "J arrah," may be seen in the "Timber Trophies " of the Exhibition, is almost as valuable a wood. Sandal-wood forms an article of export, in 1885, of over £36,216; the Colony is also rich in minerals. There is practically an unlimited supply of lead, splendid lodes of which, as well as copper, are to be found in the Champion Bay district at Northampton. There are also to be found magnetic iron and zinc ores. In addition to this, that magic metal, gold, upon which the prosperity of the rest of Australia has been based, is now being found. ( 6 ) Northampton is connected by railway with Geraldton, Cham pion Bay, which seaport, it is hoped, will ere long be connected with the capital, Perth, by what will be known as the Midland Railway of Western Australia. The Pearl fisheries of the Colony, which are becoming yearly more famous, are on the north-west coast. The value of the export for 1885 was £58,496, viz., pearl shells, £43,496, the average price being £145 a ton. The pearls were estimated at some £rs,ooo. It may be readily understood that with so small a population, and with temptations of gaining greater prizes in other directions, the purely agricultural progress of the Colony has not been great. Of course, wheat, oats, barley, maize, and other cereals arc grown, and yield a good average ; but the extent of land under cultiva tion is small. Under the existing liberal land laws, and with the increase of.population, which it is to be hoped will be largely of men accustomed to farming, great progress should be made in agriculture during the next few years. It is the object of the authorities to settle on the boundless area of the Colony a vigorous population for the most part of men and women who have sprung from the rural districts of the Mother Country. In the interests of such of these as may look to this great undeveloped colony as their possible future "home," it might be as well to summarise the report of the "Land Regulations," to be found in the Hon. John Forrcst's 'Notes on Western Australia.' The Colony is divided into five land districts, viz., Central, Central-Eastern, South-Eastern, North, and Kimberley. In the Central or Home District land is alienated to the first applicant at ros. an acre, in lots of any size not less than forty acres, except for garden purposes, when as little as ten acres can be bought, or on special occupation, with certain improvements, by annual instalments for ten years of Is. an acre. When the improvements, which consist of fencing the whole and cropping one quarter, are completed, and Ios. an acre is paid, a Crown Grant issues; but until the improvements arc completed the ( 7 ) annual instalment of Is. an acre must be continued, even after the full ros. has been paid. The minimum size of blocks under special occupation is roo acres; there is no maximum. Free selection before survey is permitted. Crown lands are leased for pasture in the Central District in blocks of not less than ro,ooo acres (to the first applicant, at£ r per rooo acres, and on annual license for areas not less than rooo acres) at the same rate. The termination of all leases in this district takes place at the end of r887.

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