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SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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See also:SOUTH See also:AUSTRALIA , a See also:British colonial See also:state, forming See also:part of the See also:Commonwealth of Australia. (For See also:map, see AUSTRALIA). It lies between 129° and 1410 E. See also:long., has See also:Queensland, New South See also:Wales and See also:Victoria on the E., Western Australia on the W., and the See also:Southern Ocean on the S. Originally its See also:northern See also:line was '26° S. See also:lat.; by the addition of the Northern Territory the See also:area was extended from 380,070 sq. in. to 903,690, and the northern border carried to the See also:Indian Ocean;
but by acts of 1910 this territory was made over to the federal See also:government. It is, however, described below.
The southern See also:coast-line shows two large gulfs, See also:Spencer and St See also:Vincent—the first 18o m. long, the other too. Spencer Gulf is open to the ocean, while St Vincent Gulf is partly shielded by See also:Kangaroo See also:Island, with Investigator Straits as its western and Backstairs Passage as its eastern entrance. See also:Yorke See also:Peninsula separates the two gulfs. See also:Eyre's Peninsula is to the See also:west of Spencer Gulf, and at its southern extremity are See also:Port See also:Lincoln, See also:Sleaford See also:Bay and See also:Coffin's Bay, of which the first is the most important. Along the See also:Great Australian See also:Bight are several small bays, and the junction of South and Western Australia is on the Bight. Going eastward from the Gulf of St Vincent is Encounter Bay, through which there is an entrance to See also:Lake Alexandrina, the mouth of the See also: Lacepede and;Rivoli Bays are the only other important indentations of this coast. In Northern Territory are several important indentations, See also:Melville, See also:Adam, Arnheim and See also:Raffles Bays, See also:Van See also:Diemen's Gulf, Port Essington and Port See also:Darwin (lat. 12° S.). The Gulf of See also:Carpentaria divides the territory from Cape Yorke Peninsula of Queensland, the more important inlets on the See also:shore of the gulf in Northern Territory being See also:Caledon Bay and Limmen Bight. The See also:principal island belonging to South Australia is Kangaroo Island, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St Vincent; it is also the longest Australian island, measuring 210 M. by 85 m. at its widest part. Off the See also:north coast of Northern Territory are Melville and See also:Bathurst Islands, the See also:Wessel See also:group, and Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
See also:Mountain ranges are not an important feature of the See also:country, which, on the whole, is level where not slightly undulating. In the south of the state the principal ranges run north and south; the See also:Mount Lofty range, beginning at Cape Jervis, runs parallel with St Vincent's Gulf and at one or two points touches 3000 ft., Mount Lofty, near See also:Adelaide, having an See also:elevation of 2330 ft. The See also:Flinders range rises on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf and extends north for several See also:hundred See also:miles, terminating near the so-called Lake See also:Blanche; there are in this range several isolated peaks which attain 3000 ft., the most prominent being Mt Remarkable, 3100 ft., Mt See also: South Australia is by no means a well-watered country, but there are some See also:fine streams in the north of Northern Territory. In South Australia proper the Murray enters the See also:sea at Lake Alexandrina, after having received the drainage of three states. The Torrens, See also:Wakefield, Flindmarsh, Tuman and Gawler are unimportant streams; on the See also:banks of the first named is situated the See also:city of Adelaide. From Queensland flows the Barcoo, or See also: In the south-western corner of the state the Archean plateau is separated from the Southern Ocean by the See also:Cainozoic limestones of the Nullarbor plains, which extend from the shore of the Great Australian Bight to the See also:foot of the great Victorian See also:desert. Thence northward, the Archean rocks See also:form the whole See also:foundation of the country, until they end in a scarp, the " so-called coastal range," to the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and in the exposures near See also:Palmerston, on Port Darwin. This plateau bears occasional deposits of later See also:age. The See also:chief of these are the Ordovician rocks of the See also:Macdonnell See also:Chain; they there trend approximately west-northwest to east-south-east, and represent part of the old Lower Palaeozoic mountain chain, which appears to have once extended across Australia from See also:Kimberley to Adelaide and See also:Tasmania. To the north-east of the Ordovician rocks of the Macdonnell Chain are the See also:Cambrian deposits of See also:Tempe See also:Downs and the See also:head of the See also:Herbert river. Some See also:Jurassic fresh-water deposits occur in basins on the plateau, having been proved by a See also:bore, now being put down, in the See also:hope of forming a flowing well at Lake Phillipson.
In contrast to the striking uniformity of the Western Plateau is the See also:geological complexity of the part of South Australia known as " the Counties," including the settled districts in the south of the state around Spencer Gulf. The country is underlain by Archean and granitic rocks; they are exposed in the Gawler Range to the west, in the Archean outcrops near the New South Wales frontier, on the railway to Broken See also: The highlands end to the north along a line running approximately east and west through Mt See also:Babbage and the Willouran and Hergott ranges, to the south of Lake Eyre. The country to the west of Lake Torrens is a plateau, capped by the Lake Torrens Quartzites, which are apparently of Upper Palaeozoic age. This plateau has been separated from the South Australian highlands by the formation of the rift valley, in which See also:lie Lake Torrens and Spencer Gulf. St Vincent Gulf occupies a foundered area between the Mount Lofty ranges, the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. The south-eastern corner of South Australia is occupied by the basin of the Lower Murray, which in See also:middle Cainozoic times was occupied by a sea, in which was laid down a thick See also:series of marine sands and limestones. These rocks have yielded a rich fossil fauna from the cliffs beside the Murray. In the southern part of this See also:district there is a western continuation of the basaltic sheets so conspicuous in Victoria. Some of them have been ejected from volcanoes, of which the vents are still well marked. The best See also:extinct See also:crater known is Mt See also:Gambier. The Lake Eyre basin occupies a vast depression to the north of the South Australian highlands; it is bounded to the west by a line of ridges and mountains of Archean and Lower Palaeozoic rocks, which connect the north-western end of the South Australian high-lands with the mountains on the Archean plateau at the head of the Macumba and the Finke rivers. The Lake Eyre basin was occupied in Lower Cretaceous times by a sea, which extended southward from the Gulf of Carpentaria; and it appears to have been bounded to the south by the northern edge of the South Australian highlands. In this sea were laid down sheets of See also:clays, known as the See also:Rolling Downs formation. After the See also:retreat of this sea the clays were covered by the Desert See also:Sandstone, which has been cut up by denudation into isolated plateaux and See also:tent-shaped hills. On the margin of the Desert Sandstone in Queensland there are some marine beds interstratified with the Desert Sandstone, and the fossils See also:fix its age as Upper Cretaceous. The origin of the Desert Sandstone has given rise to considerable discussion; but it is no doubt in the See also:main a terrestrial formation including some lake deposits. The See also:surface is often converted into a vitreous See also:quartzite by deposition of an efflorescent chert. See also:Obsidian buttons are scattered over the central deserts, and have been regarded as of meteoric origin; they have also been considered See also:proof of See also:local volcanic See also:action, but they have probably been scattered by the See also:aborigines. Extensive estuarine deposits of See also:Pliocene or See also:early See also:Pleistocene age, with a rich fauna of extinct marsupials and birds, occur on the plains to the east of Lake Eyre. The Northern Territory includes the mountains of the Macdonnell Chain, and all the country thence to the northern coast. It consists of an Archean plateau, covered in places by Cambrian and Ordovician deposits. To the north of the Victoria river and the Roper River, the country rises into a high, dissected table-land of Archean rocks; but See also:round the coast there is a coastal See also:plain including Permo-Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Cainozoic deposits. The Cretaceous deposits include See also:ammonites of the varians type and a See also:species of A well a. The chief See also:mineral product of South Australia is See also:copper, the mines of which occur in Cambrian limestones along the western edge of the South Australian highlands at Moonta, See also:Wallaroo and B-urra See also:Barra. See also:Gold occurs in numerous small mines in the South Australian highlands; and also in the Western Plateau, as in the Tarcoola See also:goldfield; and in the Northern Territory, in the Arltunga goldfield, at the eastern end of the Macdonnell chain. Gold and See also:tin are scattered in the Arnheim Peninsula of the Northern Territory; but hitherto the gold-mines of South Australia have been less important than those of any other of the Australian states. The only See also:coal deposits are those formed in lacustrine deposits of Jurassic age, as at See also:Leigh's Creek, east of Lake Torrens, where they have been See also:mined. Most of the geological See also:information regarding South Australia is scattered in a series of reports, mainly by H. Y. L. Brown, published in the See also:parliamentary papers of South Australia. There are also numerous reports by R. See also:Tate, W. Howchin, &c. in the Trans. R. See also:Soc. S. Austral. The geology of the Macdonnell range is described in the reports of the See also:Horn Expedition, and the fauna of Lake Callabonna in See also:Memoirs issued by See also:Stirling and See also:Zeitz, published by the Royal Society of South Australia. The literature is catalogued in Gill's Bibliography of South Australia (Adelaide, 1885), and that of the Lake Eyre basin and its adjacent islands in J. W. See also:Gregory, The Dead See also:Heart of Australia (1906). The See also:Miocene marine fauna has been catalogued last by Dennant and Kitson, Records Geol. Survey, Victoria (1905), No. II. (J. W. G.) Fauna.—South Australia is not separated from the neighbouring colonies by any natural boundaries; hence the fauna includes many animals which are also to be found in the land lying to the east and west. The northern See also:half of the See also:colony lies within the tropics, and possesses a tropical fauna, which is, however, practically identical with that of Northern Queensland. In spite of its immense extent north and south, and a corresponding diversity in See also:climate, the colony is poorer in See also:animal See also:life than its neighbours. It possesses See also:thirty-five genera of mammals. These include both genera of the See also:order See also:Monotremata—the See also:Echidna, or spiny See also:ant-eater, and the Ornithorhynchus, or See also:duck-billed See also:platypus, both of which are found also in Eastern Australia and Tasmania. The other order of See also:Mammalia associated with Australia, the See also:Marsupialia, is well represented in South Australia. It contains seven genera of Macropodidae or kangaroos, including the See also:wallaby and kangaroo See also:rat, four genera of Phalangistidae, or opossums, and five species of Dasyuridae, or " native See also:cats." Two genera of this See also:family are See also:peculiar to the region—the Chaetocercus and the Antichinomys; the latter is found in the interior. It is a See also:mouse-like animal with large ears, and is remarkable for the See also:elongation of its fore-See also:arm and See also:hind-foot and for the See also:complete absence of the hallux. The Phascolomys, or See also:wombat, one of the largest of the marsupials, is also found in South Australia, and the curious Myrmecobius, or ant-eater of Western Australia. This remarkable animal is about the See also:size of a See also:squirrel; it possesses fifty-two See also:teeth (a greater number than any known quadruped), and, unlike the other members of its order, the See also:female has no pouch, the See also:young See also:hanging from nipples concealed amongst the See also:hair of her See also:abdomen. The Choeropus, with peculiarly slender limbs and a pouch opening backwards, is found in the interior. The remaining Mammalia consist of the See also:dingo, or native See also:dog, and a few species of Muridae, the mouse family, and Cheiroptera, or bats. There are about 700 species of birds, including 6o species of parrots. Of the 9 families peculiar to the Australian region, 5 are well represented, including the Meliphagidae (See also:honey-suckers), Cacatuidae (cockatoos), Platycercidae (broad-tailed and grass parakeets), Megapodidae (See also:mound-makers) and Casuaridae (cassowaries). The last-named family is represented by the Dromaeus, or emu, which is hunted in some parts of the colony. See also:Reptiles are fairly represented: there are fifteen species of poisonous See also:snakes. The lizards are very peculiar; South and Western Australia contain twelve peculiar genera. No tailed See also:Amphibia exist in the See also:continent, but frogs and toads are plentiful. See also:Flora.—The plant species resemble those of the eastern colonies and Western Australia, but are more limited in variety. The colony, from its dryness, lacks a number known elsewhere. Enormous areas are almost destitute of forests or of See also:timber trees. The See also:Eucalyptus family, so valuable for timber and See also:gum as well as for sanitary reasons, are fairly represented. Acacias are abundant, the bark of some being an See also:article of See also:commerce. Flinders range has much of the valuable See also:sugar-gum, Eucalyptus Corynocalyx, which is being now preserved in See also:forest reserves. Its timber is very hard and strong, not warping, resisting See also:damp and ants. The head-flowered stringybark, Euc. capitellata, has a persistent bark. A sort of stringybark, Euc. tetrodonta, is found in Northern Territory. The gouty-See also:stem See also:tree (Adansonia) or See also:monkey-See also:bread of the north is a sort of See also:baobab. About 500 northern See also:plants are Indian. The Tamarindus indica occurs in See also:Arnhem land, with native See also:rice, rattans and See also:wild See also:nutmeg. The See also:cedar is of the Indian variety. Pines arenumerous in the south, palms in the north; among the most beautiful is the Kentia acuminata. Banksias are very See also:common in sandy districts. Flowering shrubs are common in the south. There are 130 known See also:grasses in Northern Territory. See also:Fisheries.—Whaling was formerly an important See also:industry about Encounter Bay, as sealing was in Kangaroo Island. The whales have migrated and the See also:seals are exterminated. On the northern See also:side trepang or beche-de-mer See also:fishery is carried on, and See also:pearl fisheries have been established. Of See also:fish within colonial See also:waters there are See also:forty-two peculiar genera. The tropical north has similar fish to those of north Queensland, while those of southern bays resemble many of the species of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. There are the barracouta, bonito, See also:bream, See also:carp, catfish, See also:rock See also:cod and Murray cod, conger, See also:crayfish, cuttle, dogfish, See also:eel, flatfish, See also:flat-head, See also:flounder, flying-fish, gadfish, See also:grayling, See also:gurnard, See also:hake, See also: The maxi-mum shade temperature recorded at Adelaide See also:Observatory in 1905 was 109.7—the highest for any Australian city; the minimum was 34.8 and the mean temperature 61.1. See also:Population.—The population of South Australia in 186o was 124,112, and the See also:province was third in importance among the states forming the Australasian group. In 187o the population stood at 183,797, and in 188o at 267,573; in 1890 it was 319,414; in 19o1, 362,604; and at the end of 1905, 378,208. These figures are inclusive of the population of Northern Territory, the province of South Australia, properly so-called, containing 374,398 inhabitants, and Northern Territory, 3810, the respective See also:density of the two divisions being one See also:person per square mile and one per 128 sq. m. The estimated population of Adelaide in 1905 was 175,000. The number of See also:males in 1905 was 197,487, and the See also:females 180,721. The births in the same See also:year were 8868 and the deaths 3804, representing 23.44 and 10.05 per moo of population respectively. The See also:birth-See also:rate has declined greatly. Dividing the years from 1861 to 1905 into five-yearly grdups the following were the average birth-rates: Period. Births per moo period. Births per moo of Population. of Population. 1861-1865 44.14 1886-1890 34'48 1866-1870 40.6o 1891-1895 31.24 1871-1875 37.24 1896--1900 26.59 1876-188o 38.28 1900-1905 24.46 1881-1885 38.52 Illegitimate births are less frequent in South Australia than elsewhere in Australia; in 1905 the proportion of illegitimate to See also:total births was 4.37 %• The See also:death-rate has always been remarkably See also:light, not having exceeded 13 per moo in any year since 1886. The averages for each quinquennial period from 1861 were as follows: Period. Deaths per moo Period Deaths per boo of Population. of Population. 1861—1865 15.70 1886-1890 12.55 1866-187o 15.01 1891-1895 12.08 1871-1875 15.83 1896-1900 11.93 1876-188o 14.90 1901-1905 10.78 1881-1885 14.71 _ i The excess of births over deaths in 1905 was 5071 or 13.48 per f000 of population. The number of marriages celebrated during 1905 was 2599; this represents a See also:marriage-rate of 6.87 per moo. The number of divorces and judicial separations during the ten years closing with 1905 was 72. The See also:people are mainly of British See also:race; out of 362,604 persons whose birthplace was ascertained at the See also:census of 1901, 348,352 were of British or Australian parentage, the number See also:born in the Commonwealth being 289,440, and in South Australia itself 271,671; 9396 were born on the continent of Europe, of whom 6664 were Germans, and 931 Scandinavians and 3253 were See also:Chinese. The total See also:foreign-born See also:element of the population numbered only 3.73%. The census showed the number of breadwinners in the state to be 153,296—120,328 males and 32,968 females. Agriculture, the main industry, provided employment for 34,186 persons, of whom 33,039 were males and 1147 females. See also:Pastoral pursuits employed 4193, dairying 2868 and See also:mining 6301. The See also:industrial class may be divided into (a) persons engaged in manufacturing See also:industries, 18,163 males, 6761 females; (b) persons engaged in the construction of buildings, See also:railways, roads, &c., numbering 8652; and (c) persons engaged in other industrial pursuits, 7657—these are chiefly persons whose census description is merely labourer. The commercial class, including trades of all kinds as well as persons engaged in See also:finance, numbered 20,165, namely 17,080 males and 3085 females. The professional class comprised 5372 males and 3485 females, or a total of 8857 ; while the domestic class—comprising persons engaged in providing See also:board and lodging, hotel and restaurant keepers, as well as servants—numbered 17,981, namely 3452 males and 14,529 females. The foregoing classes show the See also:distribution of employment amongst the 153,296 breadwinners; the See also:remainder of the population, comprising 209,308 persons (64,094 males and 145,214 females) were dependent on the breadwinners. See also:Administration.—South Australia, as one of the states of the Commonwealth, returns six senators and seven representatives to the Federal See also:parliament. The local parliament consists of a Legislative See also:Council and a See also:House of See also:Assembly. The former has eighteen members, elected by the districts into which the state is divided for that purpose, the See also:franchise being limited to persons with See also:freehold or leasehold See also:estate, and to occupiers of dwellings of £25 See also:annual value; while the Assembly contains 42 members, elected by 13 districts; the electoral qualifications for the Assembly are the attainment of the age of 21 years, and having been upon the electoral See also:roll not less than six months. See also:Women have the right to See also:vote. Local Government.—Adelaide was the first Australian city to acquire the right of self-government; on the 31st of See also:October 184o the first municipal elections in Australia were held in that city. There are 33 municipal See also:councils and 142 district councils in the settled parts of the state, the area under local government being about 43,000 sq. m. Local rates are assessed upon the assumed annual value of the properties liable to be rated; and the amount of such assessed annual value was, in 1905, £2,739,808, and the See also:capital value 55 millions. The See also:revenue of the various local bodies in 1905 was £294,723, of which £170,235 was obtained from rates, £30,618 from government endowment and £93,870 from other See also:sources; £130,489 was spent on public See also:works. The total See also:debt of the local bodies in that year was £102,261. See also:Education.—The South Australian system of popular education in its See also:present form See also:dates from 1878. It is compulsory, See also:secular and See also:free. The compulsory ages are over seven and under thirteen years, but See also:children who have attained a certain See also:standard of education are exempt from compulsory attendance. Religious instruction is not allowed to be given in state See also:schools except out of See also:ordinary school See also:hours. Secondary instruction is in the hands of private and denominational establishments, and the university of Adelaide is well endowed and efficient. The state maintained in 1905 722 schools, with a See also:gross enrolment of 59,026 pupils, and the average attendance was about 41,807. The sum expended in that year on public instruction was £181,583, and of that amount £150,000 was on See also:account of See also:primary instruction. Although education is free, the instruction See also:department has a small revenue; this in 1905 amounted to £12,783, of which £6131 was derived from rents, £3630 from the See also:sale of hooks and school material, and £682 from fees; the greater portion of the fees comes from the advanced school for girls, the remainder being paid by pupils attending classes in agriculture held in the public schools. The average cost of primary instruction to the state, including cost of school premises and See also:maintenance, is about £3,11s. 4d. per See also:scholar in average attendance. The revenue of the Adelaide University in 1905 was £21,462, 15s. 7d., of which £6639 was obtained from the government, £9845 from fees and £4979 from other sources. The number of students attending lectures during the same year was 595, of whom 366 had matriculated. Technical education is well advanced; the School of Mines and Industries, founded in 1899, had in 1905 an enrolment of 1600 students. Private schools numbered 213, with 725 teachers and Io,2o6 scholars. Of the teachers 559 were engaged in See also:general instruction, while 166 were specially engaged in particular subjects.
The peculiarity of See also:religion is the strength of the non-Episcopal
churches. The See also: The principal sources of public revenue were: customs duties (See also:balance of amount collected by the Commonwealth government), £555,692; land, income and other taxes, £442,030; railways, £1,279,481; public lands, £192,337 ; other revenue, £527,843. In 1871 the revenue of the province was £778,000, or £4, 4S. 3d. per inhabitant; from that year it See also:rose rapidly until in 1881 it stood at £2,172,000, or £7, 16s. See also:Tod, per head; in 1891 it was £2,732,000, or £8, Its. Id. per head, The See also:expenditure for the year ended the 3oth of June 1905 was as follows: railway working expenses, £746,636; public instruction, £181,583; See also:interest and charges of public debt, £1,049,643; other services, £915,261. The debt charges amount to £2, I Is. 8d. per head, and absorb 36.28 % of the total revenue of the state. Against this must be placed the See also:net return from services upon which the See also:loan moneys were expended; this amounts to about £746,459, so that the real See also:burden of the state's debt is reduced to £303,184 per annum. On the 30th of June 1905 the public debt of the state stood at £28,727,895, which is equal to £78, Is. Id. per head; and the purposes for which the debt was incurred were: railway construction and equipment, £13,732,567 water See also:supply and See also:sewerage, £4,993,638; telegraphs and telephones, £1,010,738; and other works and services not producing See also:direct revenue, £8,990,952. These figures include the debt of the Northern Territory. The amount of the debt at certain periods beginning with 1861 was: _ Year. Total Debt. Debt per Head. L s. d. 1861 866,500 6 16 8 1871 2,167,700 II 13 7 1881 11,196,800 39 2 I 1891 20,347,125 62 9 2 1901 26,423,805 73 2 6 1905 _ 28,727,895 1 78 x See also:Defence.—As part of the Commonwealth the defence of South Australia is undertaken by the Federal government. On the 31st of See also:December 1905 the defence force of the state totalled 5066 men, comprising 1262 partially paid troops, a paid See also:staff of 37 and 3178 riflemen. In addition to the land force there is a See also:corps of 127 men capable of being employed on local See also:war vessels, or as a light See also:artillery land force. Minerals.—South Australia, though without coal, was the first Australian colony to have a metallic mine, and the first to possess a gold-mine. In 1841 the See also:wheel of a dray, going over a hill near Adelaide, disclosed to view See also:silver-See also:lead ore. In the midst of the See also:bad times in 1843 the See also:Kapunda copper-mine was found. In 1845 the wonderful Burra Burra copper was first wrought. The land, io,000 acres, cost £10,000; and for several years the dividends to shareholders were 800 % per annum. The first colonial mineral export was 3o tons of lead ore, value £128, in 1843. The copper declined as prices See also:fell. It was £322,983 in 1885, when rates were £5o a ton, but £762,386 ten years before with over £90. In 1886 most of the mines were closed. Between 250 and 400 M. north of Adelaide a very rich copper district exists. Lead is very abundant. See also:Manganese, See also:nickel, See also:bismuth, See also:antimony and silver have been mined. Tin is seen in granitic places. See also:Iron occurs in almost all formations and in all conditions. There is abundance of See also:haematite, micaceous, See also:bog and other ores rich in the See also:metal. Talisker and other mines paid in silver. The wonderful Silverton, of Barrier Ranges, in a desert, is just outside the boundary, though 300 M. only from Adelaide while 600 from See also:Sydney. Gold was got from a See also:quartz vein at the Victoria mine, near Adelaide, as early as 1846, but did not pay the See also:company. Partial gold working has been conducted at Echunga, &c., in southern hills. There are rich alluvial and quartz gold mines in Northern Territory, at from too to 150 m. south of Port Darwin. For the year 1884 the yield was x77,935. Of 1349 miners 1205 were Chinese. Gold is now worked at Waukaringa, 225 m. north of Adelaide. Copper, tin and silver are found in Northern Territory. Among other minerals See also:asbestos, roofing slates and fine See also:marbles may be named. Some forty years ago See also:precious stones, especially garnets and sapphires, were gathered in the Barossa Hills. Carbonaceous material is found at the Coorong, &c., yielding 5o% of oil. Lake Eyre has a See also:rude coal. Kapunda See also:marble See also:quarry is a success. The great copper mines at Moonta and Wallaroo are still worked, but the See also:production has greatly fallen off. In 1900 the value of copper raised in the province was £386,015, and the gross production to the end of that year amounted to £22,321,969. The production of copper in 1905 was £470,324. Gold to the value of £85,555 was won iii 1905, being chiefly obtained in Northern Territory; the total production of gold See also:prior to that year was £2,764,336. The value of minerals other than gold and copper won during 1905 was £96,672. In 1871 the mineral production of the state was valued at £725,000, in 1881 at £425,000, in 1891 at £365,000 and in 1905 at £652,551. Land System.—The aggregate area of South Australia, exclusive of the Northern Territory, is computed to be 380,070 sq. m., or 243,244,800 acres. About 136,828 sq. m., or a little more than one-third, represent the limits within which the country is at present occupied. The 46 counties proclaimed to date embrace an area of 80,453 sq. m. or 51,489,920 acres, of which 7,955,305 acres are See also:purchased, 365,526 acres are partly purchased and 121,735 acres have been granted for public purposes, making the total area alienated, wholly or conditionally, 8,442,566 acres; 176,537 acres are set apart, but not granted, for forest purposes, and 42,870,817 acres are still in See also:possession of the See also:Crown but occupied under various kinds of See also:tenure, chiefly for pastoral purposes. In addition to the land alienated, there are 17,104,062 acres held direct from the Crown by 19,555 lessees for farming or grazing purposes. Outside the counties are 299,617 sq. M. or 191,754,880 acres, of which 1I05 acres are purchased, 23 granted for public purposes, 76,570,750 held by 497 lessees as See also:sheep or See also:cattle runs, leaving 115,184,130 acres open for pastoral See also:settlement, if suitable. Agriculture.—South Australia is essentially an agricultural state. In its first See also:establishment the land was cut up for sale into eighty-See also:acre lots with the view of settling the people on arrival, and concentrating them, instead of having them scattered as in the neighbouring colonies, in which pasforal pursuits completely dwarfed the farming industry. This See also:wise See also:provision made the colony for years the supplier of breadstuffs to Sydney, See also:Melbourne, See also:Brisbane, See also:Perth and See also:Auckland. As neighbours became wheat-producers, Adelaide merchants had to seek markets in See also:Natal, See also:Mauritius, the Cape, or even Europe. At all times the state has See also:lent every assistance to agriculture. As the colony suffers more from drought than anything else, public reservoirs are constructed and artesian See also:wells are sunk. Forest culture has especially attracted government See also:attention. Reforesting and the establishment of nurseries for the trees, fruits and vegetables of other lands go See also:hand in hand. Hundreds of thousands of trees are planted annually. The chief industry is wheat-growing; out of 3,342,626 acres under cultivation in 1905, 1,757,036 acres were under wheat for See also:grain and 357,924 under wheat for See also:hay. In some parts of South Australia fine yields are obtained; but taking it as a whole, the yield of the province is light. During the ten years 1891–1900 the return per acre varied from a minimum of 1.7 bushels in 1897 to a maximum of 6.1 bushels in 1893. South Australian wheat is of excellent quality and strength, and well known in See also:European markets, to which the province has sent wheat since 185o. There has been little expansion of wheat cultivation since 188o; nor, indeed, has there been any material expansion in the total area under See also:crop. Up to the year mentioned, every See also:season showed an additional area devoted to cultivation; but repeated failure of crops, due to want of seasonable rain, have disheartened farmers, and much land that was formerly cultivated now lies See also:fallow; 1,087,057 acres were fallow in 1905. The following is a statement of the area of wheat harvested for grain at specified intervals from 1861: Year. Acreage under Production. Average Yield Wheat. per Acre. Acres. Bushels. Bushels. 1861 350,636 3,410,756 11.o 1871 692,508 3,967,079 5'7 1881 1,768,781 8,087,032 4.6 1891 1,552,423 6,436,488 5.6 1899 1,778,770 8,778,900 4'9 1900 1,821,137 8,453,135 4'6 1901 1,913,247 11,253,148 5'9 1905 1,757,036 20,143,798 11.46 The total area under crop during the same period was: 1861, 400,717 acres; 1871, 837,730 acres; 1881, 2,156,407 acres; 1891, 1,927,689 acres; 1901, 2,369,680 acres. In 1905 other leading crops grown with this acreage were: oats, 56,950 acres; See also:barley, 26,25o acres; potatoes, 9540 acres; vines, 23,603 acres; other crops, 30,532 acres. In viticulture the province has made considerable progress, and many Germans are employed in the industry. The production of See also:wine for the year 1905 amounted to 2,845,853 gallons, while 16,714 cwt. of currants and 8697 cwt. of raisins were also made. The wine made is of excellent quality, and 718,66o gallons, of a total production of 2,845,853 gallons, were exported in 1905, principally to See also:London. The production of See also:wool has been one of the chief industries since the foundation of the state, but of See also:late years it has been much affectedby droughts and See also:low prices, so that the export of locally-grown wool in 1901 was considerably less in quantity than in 188o, and little more than half as valuable. In 1861 the colony carried 3,038,000 sheep; in 1871,4,412,000; in 1881, 6,811,000; in 1891, 7,745,000; in 1900, 5,283,247; and in 1905, 6,202,330. The quantity of wool exported in the year last named was equal to 45,214,766 lb, valued at £1,668,214. As a cattle-breeding country South Australia does not take a prominent See also:place beside the three eastern states of Australia. The province depastured, in 1905, 647,631 cattle as against 520,379 in 1904, 347,666 being in Northern Territory. In 1891 the number was 677,000, and 1881, 315,000. It was between 1881 and 1891 that Northern Territory was stocked. The horses in South Australia number about 216,350; the number in 1881 was 159,678. Although there are some 30,000 persons engaged in one form or other of manufacturing, only 18,664 are accounted for in the annual See also:statistics of the state; these hands are employed in 1339 establishments. The See also:horse-See also:power employed in the manufactories is 11,756, the value of the plant being estimated at £1,730,000. Commerce.—The See also:tonnage of See also:shipping entering the ports in 1905 was 2,625,997, which is equal to upwards of 6 tons per inhabitant, a very considerable ratio compared with most countries; but this tonnage is quite beyond the requirements of the province, whose See also:trade represents only about 750,000 tons per annum, and is due to the fact that Adelaide is a place of See also:call for all the great lines of steamships trading between Europe and Australia; but when every See also:allowance is made, it will be found that Adelaide is a great shipping centre and the third port of See also:Australasia. The tonnage entering at Adelaide during 1905 was 2,106,854; at Port Pirie, 226,903; at Wallaroo, 105,228; and at Port Darwin, 116,981. The value of the total imports was £8,439,609, and the total exports £9,490,667. The ports command the greater part of the trade of the Broken Hill and trans-See also:Darling districts of New South Wales, and this trade is very valuable both to the merchants and the railways of the province. The trade at the periods specified was: Year. Imports. Exports. Total Trade. Exports of Domestic Produce. £ £ £ £ 1861 1,976,018 2,032,311 4,008,329 1,838,639 1871 2,158,022 3,582,397 5,740,419 3,289,861 1881 5,320,549 4,508,754 9,829,303 3,755,781 1891 10,051,123 10,642,416 20,693,539 4,810,512 1899 6,884,358 8,388,396 15,272,754 3,945,045 1900 8,131,782 8,122,100 16,253,882 3,770,983 1905 8,439,609 9,490,667 17,930,276 6,031,619 The great expansion following ,1881 was due to the opening up of trade with the western districts of New South Wales. The exports of domestic produce, the value f which is given in the last See also:column, when compared with the other gures in the table, show how greatly the province depends upon it re-export trade. The chief items of trade are breadstuffs, wool a minerals; the export of breadstuffs is very variable, depending $o largely upon the rainfall, which in South Australia is extrem uncertain. In 1884 the value of wheat and See also:flour exported Jvas £2,495,896, falling to £633,426 in 1886, and rising again to 2,197,735 in 1888. Since the year last named there have been great-.fluctuations; in 1898 the export fell to £261,898; in 1899 it was £!85,341; in 1900, £837,642; in 1901, £1,329,059; in 1904, £1,649,414; and in 1905, £1,877,318. Railways.—The first railway was opened in 1856, and connected Adelaide with its port, and the following year saw a line constructed to Gawler, 25 M. from Adelaide. The inability of the government to See also:borrow See also:money at reasonable rates greatly retarded the construction of railways in the province, and in 1875 there were less than 200 M. of line: in the next ten years 800 m. were opened for See also:traffic, and in 1905 there were 1746 M. in the state proper and 146 m. in Northern Territory. There were, in addition, 34 M. of privately owned lines. The cost of constructing and equipping the state lines stood at £14,766,465 and the net earnings at £538,890; this represents 3'64% on the capital invested. The actual interest paid by the state upon its outstanding loans was in the same year 3.79%; there was therefore a loss of o. 15% upon the working of the lines; but the state claims that the indirect benefits of railway construction far more than compensate for the direct loss. The gross earnings for the year 1905 were £1,318,521, and the working expenses £756,403; the net profit per average mile open being £297, and per See also:train mile 34.68 pence. In 1905 the number of passengers carried was 9,870,821, and the goods tonnage 1,684,793. South Australia has two gauges, namely 508 m. of 5 ft. 3 in., and *_384 M. of 3 ft. 6 in. line. The line joining Adelaide with the Victorian border, as well as several of the See also:trunk lines, is on the wider See also:gauge. Posts and Telegraphs.—In 1905 there were 711 See also:post-offices in the state of which 299 were also See also:telegraph stations. The business transacted was: letters and postcards transmitted, 26,230,337; See also:newspapers, 6,717,787; packets, 1,659,775; and telegrams, 1,244,126. The total revenue from these services for the year 1905 was £274,892, and the expenditure £259,656; in these sums are included the See also:telephone revenue and expenditure, the former amounting to £25,815. l hese sums are exclusive of revenue received by the Commonwealth government. The use of telephones in Adelaide is rapidly extending; in 1905 there were eleven exchanges and 2284 telephones in actual use. There were 6092 M. of telegraph line in operation in that year; the state owns the principal overland line by which communication with Europe and the East is maintained. Banking.—The See also:assets of all the banks of issue trading in South Australia at the end of December 1905 amounted to £7,425,775, and the liabilities to £7,623,060; these latter comprised deposits at call and at interest, £6,866,281; notes and hills in circulation, £381,573; and other liabilities £52,929. Among the assets were See also:coin and See also:bullion £1,861,691. The South Australian people are very thrifty, and thirty-one in every hundred have accounts with the savings banks. On the 30th of June 1905 the depositors numbered 126,821, the amount of their See also:credit being £4,380,358, a sum equal to £31, 10S. 9d. per depositor. Taking deposits in banks of issue and in savings banks together, the total was £11,186,639, which is equal to £29, 12s. 4d. per inhabitant. See also:History.—Though the coast of Northern Territory was well known to Portuguese and See also:Spanish navigators as early as perhaps 153o, being called Great See also:Java, it was not surveyed till 1644, when See also:Tasman laid down the line of shore See also:pretty accurately. The western part of the southern coast had been seen and named Nuy is Land in 1627. But Flinders, by his discovery of the two great gulfs, Kangaroo Island and Encounter Bay, in 1802, was the first to reveal South Australia proper. See also:Captain See also:Sturt descended the Murray in 1830, and looked over the hills near Adelaide. The first to direct attention to a settlement there was See also:Major See also:Baron, who communicated with the colonial See also:office in See also:February 1831. His See also:suggestion was to establish, at no See also:charge to the British government, a private company, that should See also:settle a party on Yorke Peninsula. He believed a large river entered Spencer Gulf. In See also:August See also:Colonel Torrens and others proposed to See also:purchase land between 132° and 141°—500,000 acres at 5s. an acre. Some were in favour of Spencer Gulf, others of Kangaroo Island, and a few for the mainland towards the Murray. Memorialists in 1832 sought a See also:charter for the South Australian Association, giving extensive See also:powers of self-government. Land sales were to pay the passages of free labour, chiefly young married people, and no convicts were ever to be sent thither. See also:Lord Goderich did not favour the See also:scheme, and thought a colony with free institutions might See also:prejudice the interests of New South Wales, while free trade would interfere with the English See also:navigation See also:laws. After much negotiation, the English authorities regarded the scheme more favourably, but would not consent to give the company the powers they sought. The company receded in their demands, and offered See also:security for the proper observance of See also:law and order, while depositing See also:cash for the purchase of land. Captain Sturt in 1834 informed the colonial secretary that Spencer Gulf and Kangaroo Island were objectionable, but that the eastern side of St Vincent Gulf was the best locality. In 1835 the See also:ministry got an See also:act passed for the erection of a colony under commissioners appointed by the Crown, who would be responsible for their acts to the British government. It was arranged that a local government should be established when the settlement had 50,000 people. Mr See also:George See also:Fife Angas advanced a large sum as security to the state. Though the first settlers were sent to Kangaroo Island, all were afterwards gathered on the Adelaide plains. The colony was proclaimed under a gum tree on the 28th of December, 1836. Great delay took place in the survey of land. The South Australian Company purchased large tracts fromthe commissioners at 12S. per acre and sold at 205. A general speculative spirit arrested progress. See also:Governor Gawler went into extravagant outlay on public buildings, &c., and See also:drew against orders upon the English See also:treasury. Such difficulties arose that the British rulers had to suspend the charter in 1841 and make South Australia a Crown colony. A revival of prosperity took place when the farms were tilled and poverty had taught prudence. Copper and lead mines were subsequently discovered. Kapunda in 1843, and the Burra Burra copper-mine in 1845, greatly aided in the restoration of commercial credit. The gold See also:fever in Victoria drew off numbers in 1852; but the See also:good prices then realized for breadstuffs gave a great impetus to farming. In 1856 the colony was given its own constitution and self-government. On the attainment of See also:autonomy Governor MacDonnell, in closing the last session of the then partially nominated legislature, made use of the following words: " I confidently expect that the extended See also:political power en-trusted to the people of this country, and the universal See also:suffrage conceded by the new constitution, will prove in reality a safe and conservative measure; and whilst conferring the utmost possible power of self-government, will render stronger and more enduring than ever the cherished ties of See also:affection and See also:loyalty which See also:link this province to the See also:throne of our respected and beloved See also:sovereign." This prediction appears to have been amply verified: South Australia enjoys the reputation of being one of the most progressive and at the same See also:time one of the most See also:stable of existing communities. From its origin as the venture of private enterprise the state has passed through orderly stages of See also:evolution up to the See also:zenith of democratic government. Such alterations as have been made in the constitution have been in the direction of a still further enlargement of the franchise. See also:Payment of members proved to be the corollary of manhood suffrage. In 1887 a temporary act was passed for the payment of £200 a year to each member of both houses, and in 1890 the law was made permanent. Thus was rendered possible the direct See also:representation of all classes. Soon afterwards the parliamentary Labour party came into existence; this forms a considerable proportion of the membership of both houses, and includes in its ranks men of the highest intelligence, industry and eloquence. In 1894 the principle of " one See also:man one vote " was extended to that of " one adult one vote " by the inclusion of women as voters on terms of See also:absolute equality with men. There is no See also:bar to the See also:election of women to parliament whenever the See also:electors think See also:fit to be so represented. The delegates to the Federal See also:convention and to the Common-See also:wealth parliament were in South Australia elected by the combined vote of men and women. Elections were formerly held in successive batches, but since 1893 they have taken place simultaneously in all the districts. Electoral expenses are rigidly limited, both as to See also:objects and amount, and a See also:declaration of money thus expended has to be filed by every See also:candidate. Experience has demonstrated that, owing to the intrusion of the See also:personal element, general elections have often failed to afford conclusive See also:evidence of the state of the popular will. Attention was therefore directed towards the See also:referendum as a means of obtaining an unquestionable See also:verdict on important public issues, although no general See also:statute was formulated on the subject. In 1896, at the general elections, the following questions were submitted to the electors: " Do you favour (1) the continuance of the present system of education in the state schools? (2) the introduction of scriptural instruction in the state schools during school hours? (3) the payment of a capitation See also: See also:Cyanide works have been erected in various centres for treating ore raised by miners working in the neighbourhood. State smelters for copper ore have been built at Port See also:Augusta, but are not now in operation. There is a Factory Act permitting the establishment of See also:wages boards, and also legislation providing for a weekly half-See also:holiday and the early closing of shops. A compulsory Conciliation Act deals with the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. The Right Hon. C. C. See also:Kingston was the See also:pioneer in Australasia of legislation of this description. These See also:measures were at first denounced by some as Socialistic, and were regarded by many as an undue interference with private enterprise. Some of the state See also:aids were, however, speedily recognized as affording additional incentives to industry, and by enabling producers and workers to obtain a better return for their labour may fairly be held to have assisted rather than to have retarded private enterprise. In 1893 a See also:bonus on See also:butter exported to the See also:world's markets was successful in bringing into existence a fully equipped export trade. Public opinion in South Australia has little tolerance with laxity. Children are pre-vented from selling articles in the streets after 8 p.m., and are not allowed to fetch See also:beer from public-houses. The age of consent has been raised to 17 years. The notification by medical men of cases of pulmonary See also:tuberculosis to the local authorities is compulsory.
No pains have been spared to keep See also:pace with See also:modern improvements in popular education as an indispensable feature in See also:democracy. South Australia holds in reverent and loving memory Edncaa the name of John See also: In order to encourage tree-planting, a yearly school holiday devoted to this purpose, and known as Arbor See also:Day, was established in 1886. With a similar See also:object the state has distributed, free of charge, 5,000,000 forest trees to 21,000 persons) Over 1,250 000 vines have also been given away. The boys' See also: A public trustee undertakes, when desired, the administration of estates. In 1895 a state See also:bank was established to provide farmers with the necessary working capital at lowest current rates of interest. A state produce depot was also organized at the same time to assist farmers in placing their produce to the best advantage on the world's markets. Produce is received by the department of agriculture, prepared for shipment, certified as to quality, and graded. Small parcels from a number of producers are grouped together in one See also:consignment and shipped at the lowest rates. The government of South Australia also undertakes, if so desired, to act as See also:agent in London for the See also:con-signor, and to arrange for the sale of his produce; so that a See also:farmer who has no representative at the port of destination, but is desirous afforded by relaxation of the conditions of the agreement to purchase. Eventually land boards were created to allot selections to applicants at low rates and deferred purchase. Perpetual leases are now taking the place of absolute See also:alienation. The tenure is equally good for all purposes of the See also:bona-fide settler, and capital which would otherwise be sunk in acquiring the freehold is set free for making improvements, purchasing machinery and the manifold requirements of efficient husbandry. Small blocks of 20 acres, or not exceeding £See also:ioo of unimproved value, can be obtained by working men in the vicinity of towns, thus on the one hand affording the necessary supply of agricultural labour during the busy seasons, and on the other hand providing a See also:homestead which the holder can with advantage cultivate at slack times when unemployed. Provision was made, under the Closer Settlement Act of 1897, for the repurchase of large estates for agricultural purposes; these lands are leased to farmers at an average See also:rent of about 4t % on the value. The industry of wheat-growing has received an impetus through the system of drilling in a small quantity of phosphatic manure with the See also:seed. By this means exhausted lands have been restored almost to See also:primitive fertility. See also:Vine-growing has now become one of the See also:staple industries, and, owing to stringent precautions, the state remains free from the See also:scourge of See also:phylloxera. The great bulk of Agriculture the unalienated land of South Australia is held in huge and Water. areas by Crown tenants, known as squatters, under pastoral leases, which now have a currency of 42 years, with security of tenure. In 1893, when the unemployed were very numerous, the government established co-operative See also:village settlements on tracts of land adjoining the river Murray. Seven of these are now in existence as See also:irrigation colonies. The water is raised from the river by rotary pumps, and distributed by means of channels, after the See also:plan adopted at Renmark. By the application of water to the adjacent See also:sun-steeped See also:soil miles of worthless mallee scrub have been converted into vistas of vineyards, See also:orange groves and orchards. The See also:paramount importance of water-supply and conservation has received ever-increasing recognition. The Beetaloo See also:reservoir has a capacity of 800,000,000 gallons, and from its 695 M. of trunk mains a district of over 1,000,000 acres is reticulated. The supply of Adelaide and its vicinity has been reinforced by a reservoir at Happy Valley, having a See also:contour of about 71 M. at high-water See also:mark, and containing 2,950,000,000 gallons. The reservoir was formed by the construction of an earthen See also:embankment 2645 ft. long and 72 ft. high; this is filled from the Onkaparinga river through half a mile of See also:steel main, 6 ft. in See also:diameter, and 31 M. of See also:tunnel. Works on a large See also:scale have also been constructed at Bundaleer and Barossa. The See also:custom for many years past has been to construct these and other great public works departmentally instead of by See also:contract. Many artesian wells have been sunk on the routes for travelling stock in the interior. The bores of some of these exceed 3000 ft. in See also:depth, and the supply varies from 200,000 to 1,000,000 gallons a day. Around some of these wells in the far north plantations of date-palms have yielded excellent results. South Australia was founded when the See also:tide of the laissez-faire regime was running high, and a patriotic See also:bias in the customs See also:tariff was regarded as an unwarrantable restriction; it is therefore not surprising that free trade should at the outset have received many adherents. There were not wanting, however, some who saw clearly that a country almost entirely occupied in primary production would prove but a barren field for the cultivation of the many-sided activity necessary to a complete See also:national life. It was also maintained that if inducements were given to capital to embark in See also:home industries, a cheapening of the product, due to approximation of supply and demand, would ensue. In accordance with these views, a protective tariff was adopted in 1885. Two years later the duties were increased and extended. The establishment of manufactures as to practical and scientific husbandry is disseminated among the farmers by means of an agricultural See also:bureau, with numerous branches throughout the country. A See also:journal is published conjointly by the departments of agriculture and industry, containing reports of the proceedings of the bureaus and articles by government experts, together with industrial topics and matters of interest to artisans, and also particulars furnished by the labour bureau as to prospects of employment in various districts. (J. A. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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