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AUSTRALIA [statistics the Collie river, near Bunbury, to the south of Perth. The coal stones, including the sapphire, emerald, oriental emerald, ruby has been treated and found to be of good quality, and there are opal, amethyst, garnet, chrysolite, topaz, cairngorm, onyx,’zircon grounds for supposing that there are 250,000,000 tons in the field. &c., have been found in the gold and tin-bearing drifts and river Dr Jack, late Government geologist of Queensland, considers the gravels in numerous localities throughout the states. The extent of the coal-fields of that state to be practically unlimited, sapphire is found in all the states, principally in the neighbourand is of opinion that the Carboniferous formations extend to a hood of Beechworth, Victoria. The oriental topaz has been found considerable distance under the Great Western Plains. It is in New South Wales. Oriental amethysts also have been found in roughly estimated that the Coal Measures at present practically that state, and the ruby has been found in Queensland, as well as explored extend over an area of about 24,000 square miles. Coal- in New South Wales. Turquoises have been found near Wangarmining is an established industry in Queensland, and is progressing atta, in Victoria, and mining operations are being carried on in satisfactorily. The mines, however, are situated too far from the that state. Chrysoberyls have been found in New South Wales • coast to permit of serious competition with Newcastle in an export spinel rubies in New South Wales and Victoria ; and white topaz trade, and the output is practically restricted to supplying local in all the states. Chalcedony, carnelian, onyx, and cat’s eyes requirements. New South Wales still exports coal to Queensland. are found in New South Wales; and it is probable that they are The production of the state is about 400,000 tons a year, three- also to be met with in the other states, particularly in Queensfourths of which is obtained in the Ipswich district. The coal- land. Zircon, tourmaline, garnet, and other precious stones of fields of New South Wales are situated in three distinct regions— commercial value are found throughout Australia. the northern, southern, and western districts. The first of these little Commerce. The shipping trade has expanded very greatly since comprises chiefly the mines of the Hunter river districts; the 1871. In that year the tonnage entered in all the ports of second includes the Illawarra district, and, generally, the coastal was only 1,679,700 tons; in 1899 it was upwards of regions to the south of Sydney, together with Berrima, on the Australia 9,998,000 tons. These figures must be taken with qualification, as table-land ; and the third consists of the mountainous' regions on many of the steamers trading between Europe and Australia call at the Great Western Railway, and extends as far as Dubbo. The the principal of West Australia, South Australia, Victoria total area of the Carboniferous strata of New South Wales is and New Southportsales, and are set down in the returns as entered estimated at 23,950 square miles. The seams vary in thickness. at all these ports, so that the total tonnage is exaggerated ; but One of the richest has been found at Greta in the Hunter river when every allowance is made on this score, it will be found’that district; it contains an average thickness of 41 feet of clean coal, Australia required nearly six times much shipping in 1899 to and the quantity underlying each acre of ground has been com- carry its trade as it did in 1870. Theasvalue goods imported into puted to be 63,700 tons. The coal mines in New South Wales the various states in 1899 was £61,801,076 ; of in 1891, £63 505 225 • give employment to 10,340 persons, of whom 8220 are employed 188 1> £44,094,538 ; and in 1871, £26,195,760 ; and the exunderground and 2120 above ground, and the annual production m during the same period were—1899, £74,488 792 • 1891 is about 4,100,000 tons. Black coal has been discovered in ports £61,698,032; 1881, £41,111,798; 1871, £32,360,762. The imVictoria, and about 250,000 tons are now being raised The ports in 1899 represent £17, 11s. Od. and the exports £21, 3s. Id. principal collieries in the state are the Outtrim Howitt, the Coal per inhabitant. These figures, however, refer to the gross trade • Greek Proprietary, and the Jumbunna. In South Australia, at to arrive at the trade with countries outside Australia a considerable Leigh s Creek, north of Port Augusta, coal-beds have been dis- reduction will have to be made, as the value of re-exports in 1899 covered. The quantity of coal extracted annually in Australia has was approximately £18,636,000, equal to £5, 5s. lOd. per inhabitnow reached 5,250,000 tons, the estimated production of each state ant; m that year the net imports amounted to £12, 5s 2d per up to the end of 1899 being as follows :— inhabitant, and the net exports to £15, 17s. 3d. The bulk of the Tons. Australian trade is in British hands, about 35 per cent, of the imNew South Wales .... 86,000,000 pel ts are fiom Great Britain and about the same proportion of the Jlctori1a , 1,500,000 expoits are sent to that country. Australia has long been a Queensland 5,700,000 favourite place for British investments, and under normal conThis industry gave direct employment in and about the mines to ditions the exports should exceed the imports to the extent of about the following numbers of persons in the several states £10,000,000 or £11,000,000 sterling,which is the amountof income derived from British investments in Australia; but as the state New South Wales Tollo Governments are constantly adding something to their indebtedness Victoria ...... ’900 and capital is still being sent to Australia for investment the Queensland ’ 1 100 excess of exports rarely equals the amount named. The principal items of export are wool, skins, tallow, frozen mutton, chilled C r0 S 11 e s la c beet preserved meats, butter, and other articles of pastoral produce— a ^. 1 ,Wales. ,r n ^ It ] is(torbanite) is cannel found coal, in several partssimilar of New bouth a species of somewhat to timber, wheat, flour, and fruits ; gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, and the Boghead mineral of Scotland, but yielding a much lamer other The weight of wool exported was 458,783,000 lb percentage of volatile hydro-carbon than the Scottish mineral which metals. by 100,000,000 lb than the export in some previous ihe richest quality yields about 100 to 130 gallons of crude oil per years isthelessfalling-off being due to the effects of the dry seasons ton, or 17,000 to 18,000 cubic feet of gas, with an illuminating have prevailed throughout Australia for nearly five years. power of 35 to 40 sperm candles, when gas only is extracted from which Almost the whole of the railway lines in Australia the shale. From the year 1865, when the mines were first opened areHallways. the property of the state Governments, and have been conto the end of 1899, the quantity of kerosene shale raised has structed and equipped wholly by borrowed capital. There were amounted to 996,000 tons, valued at £1,908,000. J-olfO, 12,448 miles open for traffic, upon which deposits of alum occur close to the Village of Bulladelah, £118,483,048 had been expended. The railways are of differ30 miles from Port Stephens, New South Wales. It is said to ent gauges, the standard narrow gauge of 4 feet 84 inches yield well, and a quantity of the manufactured alum is sent to only in New South Wales ; in Victoria the gauge Sydney for local consumption. Marble is found in many parts of prevailing is 5 feet 3 inches New South Wales and South Australia. Kaolin, fire-clays and o inches, and in the other states 3 feet 6 inches. Taking bnckrdays are common to all the states. Except in the vicinity feet of dties and townships, however, little use has been made of the the year 1900, the gross earnings amounted to £10,094,431, the abundaiit deposits of clay. Kaolin, or porcelain clay, although working expenses, exclusive of interest, £6,164,402, and the capable of application to commercial purposes, has not as yet been net earnings £3,930,029; the latter figure represents 3-3 per cent, upon the capital expended upon construction and equipment. any eXte althou h g found in several places in New In two of the states, New South Wales and South Australia South Wales and, m w’ West Australia. Asbestos has been found in New South Wales in the Gundagai proper, the railways yield more than the interest paid by the Bathurst, and Broken Hill districts—in the last-mentioned district Government on the money borrowed for their construction - in in considerable quantities. Several specimens of very fair Uqualityy Victoria, the return is equal to 2-8 per cent., in Queensland 27, New South Wales 3‘6, West Australia 5'8, and South Australia have also been met with in West Australia. ^ Many descriptions of gems and gem stones have been discovered proper 3’9 per cent., but in the Northern Territory of the latter colony the working expenses have exceeded the gross earnings ever nS Pa tPe U trallan sta bJT° i principally tes, but has been made andsystematic the noble search opal since the railways were constructed. The earnings per train mile 1f Vfor the diamond vary greatly ; but for all the lines the average is six shillings, and “iaS ^ f0Un'!firi a,1 tihe States ; but only in New South the working expenses about three shillings and sixpence, making S„ The pf any work diamonds the diamond dnfts. bestattempts of the been New made South toWales are the net earnings two shillings and sixpence per train mile The harder and much whiter than the South African diamonds ratio of receipts from coaching traffic to total receipts is about 40 and are classified as on a par with the best Brazilian gems’ per cent., which is somewhat less than in the United Kingdom • but but no large specimens have yet been found. The finest opal the proportion varies greatly amongst the states themselves, the more densely-populated states approaching most nearly to the 18 ob tamed m the Upper Cretaceous formation at White British standard. The tonnage of goods carried amounts to 1, Wl Ca IH NeW S Uth at YaleS’ and Other theseprecious mines about 13,091,000 tons, or over 3-7 tons per inhabitant, which about Ton 700 men Vfindt constant + ? employment. must be considered fairly large, especially as no great pro-
 * in South Australia 5 feet 3 inches and 3