Depth.

Name of Bore. Feet. Date Completed.

Ayrshire Downs, No. 3 3,983 September, 1902 Brookwood, No. 1 3,065 May, 1895 Boombah, No. 1 3,024 December, 1908 Chatsworth, No. 1 3,266 February, 1895 Cooindah, No. 1 3,289 January, 1899 Dagworth, No. 1 3,335 July, 1893 Dagworth, No. 2 3,400 December, 1898 Dareel, No. 1 3,586 July, 1899 Elderslie, No. 3 3,626 May, 1901 Evesham, No. 1 3,970 In progress Fairview, No. 2 3,028 July, 1907 Greendale, No. 1 3,799 In progress Goyder's Lagoon, S.A. 4,850 March, 1905 Hamilton Downs, No. 1 3,301 April, 1895 Hamilton Downs, No. 2 3,457 January, 1900 Kynuna, No. 7 3,226 December, 1908 Lerida, No. 1 3,511 July, 1898 Lerida, No. 2 3,500 March, 1900 Llanrheidol, No. 2 3,085 April, 1897 Lorne, No. 1 4,057 In progress Manuka, No. 2 3,581 June, 1901 Mungeranie, S.A. 3,360 February, 1900 Mulka, S.A. 3,445 December, 1906 Mount Cornish, Tablederry 3,219 June, 1907 Mount Cornish, No. 3 3,015 June, 1909 Narine, No. 1 3,098 November, 1897 Ruthven, No. 1 4,105 June, 1905 Ruthven, No. 2 4,515 April, 1908 Roma Mineral Oil 3,715 In progress Sesbania, No. 2 3,252 September, 1898 Sesbania, No. 4 3,103 January, 1900 Sesbania, No. 5 3,186 March, 1902 Sesbania, No. 6 3,179 August, 1909 Vindex, No. 2 4,000 June, 1900 Vindex, No. 3 3,795 September, 1902 Warbreccan, No. 1 4,333 June, 1898 Winton (deepened) 4,010 June, 1895 Wyora, No. 1 3,600 March, 1900

Note.--Bores marked S.A. are in South Australia.

Brisbane, 1st October, 1909.

BORES COMPLETED AND IN PROGRESS BY WOODLEY LIMITED, BRISBANE, SINCE 31ST MARCH, 1909.

1. Bore at Millie Station, near Charleville, D. McNeill owner.

Depth, 1,732 ft.; water 8 in. over casing; flow -million gallons per diem.

2. At Claverton Downs, near Wyandra, Mrs. Whitney owner.

Depth, 1,955 ft.; water 22 in. over casing; flow about 1 million gallons.

3. At Bendena Station, Burgess and Co. owners. Depth, 2,232 ft.; water 4 ft. 6 in. over casing; flow about 3 million gallons.

4. At Bonus Downs Station, Mitch.e.l.l, Sir S. McCaughey owner.

Depth, 3,424 ft. 6 in.; water rising to 60 ft. below surface; boring ceased in slate formation.

5. At Eurella Station, Donald Fletcher owner. Depth at end of September, 2,124 ft., still in progress; water rising to within 150 ft. of the surface.

6. At Clifton Station, C. H. T. Schmidt owner. Depth, 26th June, 225 ft.; in progress.

7. At Koreelah Station, Charleville. Depth at end of June, 400 ft.; in progress.

8. At Comongin Station, Bulloo, McLean, Barker, and Co.

owners. Depth on 30th June, 600 ft.; in progress.

9. At Abergla.s.sie Station, J. R. and H. C. Loughran owners.

Starting.

10. At Cytherea Station, R. T. Winter owner. Starting.

11. At Airlie Downs, A. Leeds owner. Starting.

APPENDIX J.

CLIMATIC CONTRASTS.

COMPARATIVE VITAL STATISTICS.

Vital statistics are set forth by the various Government Statists of Australia with extreme particularity. But it is not easy to make comparative a.n.a.lyses for the purpose of ascertaining the birth rates, marriage rates, or death rates in the different States of Australia.

The birth rates per 1,000 of the population give no accurate bases for comparison. They supply only what the statists call the crude birth rate. The information necessary to ascertain true comparative birth rates involves knowledge of the number of women of the different child-bearing ages in the several States; the proportion of marriages at different ages in each; the number of married women, their ages, and also the number of spinsters. Married women in their teens are more fertile than in their twenties, in their twenties than in their thirties, in their thirties than in their forties. So that to ascertain the true birth rate the comparative number of married or marriageable women in the contrasted countries must be ascertained.

For example, if there were 20,000 married women in Queensland between twenty and thirty; and 60,000 married women of the same age in New South Wales; and if the number of births among those 20,000 and 60,000 respectively were ascertained, the true birth rate among women of that age would be obtained. Similar remarks apply to the death rate. The comparison must be made between a given number of men or women of the same ages, and then the true comparative death rate per 1,000 of such persons will be ascertainable, but not otherwise.

It is supposed in many parts of Australia that North Queensland is less salubrious than South Queensland, and that the Southern States are healthier than Queensland as a whole. The crude death rate does not give a basis for this a.s.sumption, because there are fewer old people and fewer young children per 1,000 of the population in spa.r.s.ely peopled areas than in settled districts. The lightest average mortality is among persons between the ages of two and eighteen years; the greatest mortality among children under two years. Information is not procurable showing the number of persons in Queensland in age groups, this information being only obtainable in census years.

The Queensland Government Statistician has furnished the accompanying table, based on the results of the censuses of 1891 and 1901, showing the relative salubrity of different parts of the Commonwealth in those two years for all the States save Western Australia; and it will be noticed that it differentiates also between children north and south of the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland. These figures are valuable for comparative purposes.

It will be noticed that among children under two years the rate of mortality north of the Tropic of Capricorn in 1891 was 74.85 per 1,000, and in 1901 73.42 per 1,000. South of the tropic the corresponding figures were 70.33 and 64.97 per 1,000 respectively, the difference in favour of the south being 4.52 and 8.45 per 1,000. Of children under five years in the north the mortality was 39.44 and 32.80 respectively; while south of the tropic it was 33.54 and 29.72 respectively. Thus the difference in favour of the south was 5.90 and 3.08 respectively. Above the age of five years the difference between north and south is rather more marked, but the comparison of these, for reasons a.n.a.logous to those stated above with respect to comparative birth or death rates, is valueless.

If we take the New South Wales figures, we find that as to children under two years the mortality in 1891 was 85.12, and in 1901 72.42 per 1,000. Thus North Queensland compares very favourably with the parent State by 10.27 in 1891, and unfavourably in 1901 by only 1 per 1,000.

With South Queensland the comparison shows a difference against New South Wales in 1891 of 14.79 per 1,000, and of 7.45 per 1,000 in 1901.

As to children under five years the difference in favour of New South Wales in 1891, as against North Queensland, was only 0.16 per cent., and in 1901 0.43 per 1,000; and as against South Queensland it was 5.74 on the wrong side in 1891, and 2.65 in 1901. It is needless further to a.n.a.lyse the figures, but evidently the only States whose mortality among young children is more favourable than South Queensland are South Australia and Tasmania.

Although these figures are official it may be wise to use them with reservation. The comparatively high mortality north of the Tropic of Capricorn is fully accounted for by the absence of the comforts of life in that newly settled area. In 1901 the mortality beyond the tropic was, for children under five years, almost the same as in New South Wales and Victoria. So that, so far as young children are concerned, we need not fear that the climate of Tropical Queensland will be found unfavourable to the British race.

The death ratio of the population is somewhat higher in the tropics than in the South for each age group mentioned, and consequently of course for persons of all ages; this applies to both the years cited, 1891 and 1901. These years have been selected as, being "Census"

years, the numbers at each age can then be definitely determined. The mortality rate for 1901 showed a distinct improvement on that for 1891 in all instances except with persons over five years of age in the South; as regards these the experience for 1901 was fractionally less satisfactory than in 1891.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "QUEENSLAND and Territory of PAPUA 1909"]

RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.

----------------------------+----------------------------------------++

1891.

+--------------+-----------+-------------++

Census

Number of

Ratio

------

Population.

Deaths.

per 1,000

of the

Population.

----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++ QUEENSLAND--

NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF

CAPRICORN--

Under 2 years

6,426

481

7485

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

15,061

594

3944

Over 5 years

93,925

1,088

1158

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

108,986

1,682

1543

==============

===========

=============

SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF

CAPRICORN--

Under 2 years

18,598

1,308

7033

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

45,264

1,518

3354

Over 5 years

239,468

1,970

823

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All Ages

284,732

3,488

1225

==============

===========

=============

WHOLE STATE--

Under 2 years

25,024

1,789

7149

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

60,325

2,112

3501

Over 5 years

333,393

3,058

917

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All Ages

393,718

5,170

1313

----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++

[cont.]

----------------------------++----------------------------------------

1901.

++--------------+-----------+-------------

Census

Number of

Ratio ------

Population.

Deaths.

per 1,000

of the

Population.

----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------- QUEENSLAND--

NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF

CAPRICORN--

Under 2 years

6,933

509

7342 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years

17,166

563

3280 Over 5 years

132,466

1,448

1093 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All ages

149,632

2,011

1344

==============

===========

=============

SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF

CAPRICORN--

Under 2 years

18,454

1,199

6497 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years

45,460

1,351

2972 Over 5 years

308,174

2,645

858 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All Ages

353,634

3,996

1130

==============

===========

=============

WHOLE STATE--

Under 2 years

25,387

1,708

6728 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years

62,626

1,914

3056 Over 5 years

440,640

4,093

929 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All Ages

503,266

6,007

1194 ----------------------------++--------------+-----------+-------------

NOTE.--Death rates calculated on the estimated mean population of the two years mentioned above and published in the Reports on Vital Statistics were--

1891 1277 1901 1188

The utilisation of Census figures in order to quote the age condition at the time is accountable for the slight difference in the total ratio.

RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.--_continued:_

----------------------------+----------------------------------------++

1891.

+--------------+-----------+-------------++

Census

Number of

Ratio

------

Population.

Deaths.

per 1,000

of the

Population.

----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++ NEW SOUTH WALES--

Under 2 years

66,719

5,679

8512

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

165,750

6,510

3928

Over 5 years

966,484

9,776

1012

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

1,132,234

16,286

1438

==============

===========

=============

VICTORIA--

Under 2 years

62,102

5,822

9375

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

148,359

6,518

4393

Over 5 years

982,104

12,113

1233

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

1,130,463

18,631

1648

==============

===========

=============

SOUTH AUSTRALIA--

Under 2 years

17,875

1,180

6601

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

45,166

1,407

3115

Over 5 years

270,367

2,804

1037

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

315,533

4,211

1335

==============

===========

=============

TASMANIA--

Under 2 years

8,414

524

6228

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

21,466

599

2790

Over 5 years

125,201

1,635

1306

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

146,667

2,234

1523

==============

===========

=============

WESTERN AUSTRALIA--

Under 2 years

...

...

...

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years

6,835

293

4287

Over 5 years

42,947

576

1341

+--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages

49,782

869

1746

----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++

[cont.]

----------------------------++---------------------------------------

1901.

++--------------+-----------+------------

Census

Number of

Ratio ------

Population.

Deaths.

per 1,000

of the

Population.

----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------ NEW SOUTH WALES--

Under 2 years

64,376

4,662

7242 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years

159,146

5,151

3237 Over 5 years

1,199,987

10,870

906 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages

1,359,133

16,021

1179

==============

===========

============

VICTORIA--

Under 2 years

54,669

3,817

6982 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years

131,986

4,251

3221 Over 5 years

1,069,355

11,653

1090 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages

1,201,341

15,904

1324

==============

===========

============

SOUTH AUSTRALIA--

Under 2 years

15,988

1,059

6624 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years

39,940

1,166

2919 Over 5 years

318,568

2,808

881 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages

358,508

3,974

1108

==============

===========

============

TASMANIA--

Under 2 years

8,484

492

5799 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years

20,865

531

2545 Over 5 years

151,610

1,283

846 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages

172,475

1,814

1052

==============

===========

============

WESTERN AUSTRALIA--

Under 2 years

9,303

882

9481 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years

20,675

957

4629 Over 5 years

163,449

1,562

956 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages

184,124

2,519

1368 ----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------

RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE.