Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/418

* SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 364 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Victoria rivers, is a comple.x of granites and metamorphic and Paleozoic rocks, with numerous intrusions of trap and recent volcanic rocks. The Paleozoic limestones are very rich in copper, and argentiferous lead, bismuth, and gold are also found. Iron exists in large quantities, but it cannot be worked, as there are no coal beds. Mining. Copper is the chief mineral mined, the average annual output being a little less than 100.00(1 hundredweight lictween 1804 and 1900 and the value in the latter year £371.920. AGRicULTrRE. Soutli Australia ranks second among the Commonwealth States in acreage un- der cultivation. It amounted in 1900-01 to 3.279.406 acres. Of this, 1,913,247 acres were under wheat, the chief source of wealth. In the same vear there were 15,352 acres of barley, 27,988' of oats, 341.330 of hay, 35..323 of green fodder, 6628 of potatoes, and 31.841 of minor crops, including fruits. Vine cultivation is a prosperous industry, the area having increased from 12,314 acres in 1891 to 20.158 in 1901, the wine production in the latter year amounting to 1,388.847 gallons. The small rainfall contines farming mainly to the southeastern part of the State. The disposal of the public land by per- petual lease has become connnon. The State has adopted the policy of repurchasing large estates and leasing them to farmers. Some prog- ress has been made in irrigation, the water being drawn from both rivers and ai'tesian wells. The nmnber of sheep declined from about 7.000,000 in 1890 to 5.283.247 in 1901. Cattle increased during that period, being 472,428 in 1901. In that year there were 179.352 horses. JIanufactures. In 1901 there were 17.513 persons employed in 1047 factories. The manu- facturing industry is confined mainly to pro- duction for local consun'iption, or of food pi-od- ucts, especially flour, for export. Commerce. Almost fiom the beginning rail- roads were constructed and operated by the Ciov- ernment. and in 1901 all but 14 miles of the 1916 total mileage belonged to the State. The greater part of this was in the southeast, only 166 miles being in the Northern Territory. The Govern- ment realizes a profit of about 3 per cent, upon its railways. The imports and exports are of about equal value and have each amounted for more than a decade to about eight million pounds sterling in annual value. Adelaide, the chief port, ranks third among the Australian ports. Less than half the exjiorts are of domestic pi'oduce. The most valuable export is wool, after which rank wheat and flour, and minerals. The other Australian States and the United Kingdom handle nearly all the trade. GovERNMEXT. The Ciovernor is apjiointed by the British Government. The Executive Coun- cil is composed of six members. The Legislature consists of a Legislative Council of 18 elected members and a House of Assembly of 42 elected members. The State has extended the right of suffrage to women. The Northern Territory is administered by a commissioner delegated by- the State. Adelaide (q.v.) is the capital. Finance. There is a progressive land and in- come tax. The tax levy is increased upon land held by absentees. The State also collects death duties and stamp duties. The total revenue in 1902 was £2,667.560. and the expenditure £2.650,- 876. The customs revenue for the fiscal year 1901-02 was £605,000. The public debt in 1902 amounted to £27,272,545, the bulk of which is represented by assets of productive public utilities. State Activities. The Government has been very progressive with enterprises that are gen- erally left to private initiative. The telegraph and telephone lines, including the transcon- tinental line from Adelaide to Port Darwin, the postal system, and water works are owned and operated by the Government, The State has tried to foster industries by the establishment of prod- uce depots, and bv porforniing the function of agent in the marketing of produce: and also by the establishment of cyanide works and smelters, A State bank supjilies capital to farmers on easy terms. Laws have been passed to secure the coni' pulsory settlement of industrial disputes. Population. The population increased from 14.600 in 1840 to 319,145 in 1890 and 362,004 in 1901. The majority are in the southeastern part of the State. Only 4096 persons were reported in the last census for the Northern Territory. Nearly the whole population is of British origin. In 1901 Adelaide and its suburbs had about 162,- 200 inhabitants and Port Pirie 7983. Reugion. In 1901 the membership of the principal churches was: Church of England, 106,987; Roman Catholic, 52,193; Methodist, 90,- 125; Lutheran, 26.140; Baptist, 21.764; Presby- terian, 18,357; and Congregationalist, 13,338. EnuCATiON. Primary education is free, and is compulsorv between the ages of 7 and 13. Re- ligious instruction may be given, but not during ordinary school hours. In 1901 there were 69,115 scholars enrolled in the State schools. There is a secondary school for girls at Adelaide, and fees are charged. All other secondary schools are piivate or denominational. In 1901 there were 11,310 scholars enrolled in private schools. The University of Adelaide and a number of technical schools are aided by the State. History, The explorations of Flinders in 1802 and of Sturt in 1830 first called attention to South Australia, Its real settlement was due to an association formed to put into operation the colonization theories of Edward G. Wakefield (q,v, ) : but its early application for a charter, in 1831, was rejected, and it was not until 1835 that permission was given for the formation of the province on condition that no expense should attach to the home Government, A year later settlers landed and founded the town of Adelaide. South Australia became a crown colony in 1841. The early basis for the prosperit.v of South Aus- tralia was agricultural, though in 1841 galena deposits were discovered and in 1842 copper. The population was 19,000 in 1844 and 92.500 ten years later, and the exports increased from £100,- 000 to £1,300,000 during the same period. The Torrens land system was adopted in 1858, A separate colonial constitution dates from 1856, the year of the opening of the first railway from Adelaide to its port. The explorations of Eyre in 1840 opened up the cattle region of the in- terior, and those of Stewart in 1859-62 the way to the Indian Ocean. The Northern Territory was annexed in 1863. The telegraph line, opened in 1872. followed substantially the line of Stew- art's explorations and gave Australia cable com- munication with the rest of the world.