Part 33
The subjoined map shows the curves of equal mean annual rainfall for every 100 inches for Australia, compiled from the most recent information:--
[Ill.u.s.tration: DISTRIBUTION OF THE RAINFALL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA]
The following table shows the relative rainfalls at the six Australian capital cities for the periods set severally against them; also for the ten-year period subsequent to 1896, during which the average precipitation was much below that of the total number of years over which the records extend:--
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ten Years'
Total Average Ten Years' Difference Difference Percentage Place. Number Rainfall Average between for per Annum of for all Rainfall. the Two. Ten Years. above or Years. Years. below True Mean.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches.
Brisbane 57 4747 3916 -831 8310 -18 Sydney 67 4880 4428 -452 4520 -9 Melbourne 63 2635 2550 -085 850 -3 Perth 31 3303 3254 -049 490 -1 Hobart 66 2338 2298 -040 400 -2 Adelaide 67 2089 2053 -036 360 -2 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
The following table supplies similar information with respect to seventeen representative Queensland stations, from which it will be seen that the mean annual rainfall at Geraldton for twenty-one years was 14527 inches, and for the ten years subsequent to 1896 13581 inches. Thus Geraldton is by far the wettest place in the State.
The lightest mean rainfall for the same period was at Boulia, which recorded 1145 inches; and for the ten years, 872 inches. The last column of the table shows that the fall for the ten years was under the average at every station mentioned, the shortage at Cooktown having been 28 per cent. each year of the ten. The number of wet days is not supplied, except for the capital cities. The driest part of Australia--that which receives a rainfall of 100 inches and under--comprises an area equalling nearly one-third of the Commonwealth, and includes the central Territory of South Australia, the extreme western parts of New South Wales, the south-western parts of Queensland, and the south-eastern, central, and part of the north-western portions of Western Australia. The limits of this dry area are shown by the 100-inch isohyetal line:--
------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
Ten Years'
Total
Average
Ten Years'
Difference
Difference
Percentage
Number
Rainfall
Average
between
for
per Annum Place.
of
for
Rainfall.
the Two.
Ten Years.
above or
Years.
all Years.
below
True Mean.
------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Cooktown
29
6896
4991
-1905
19050
-28
Geraldton
21
14527
13581
-946
9460
-7
Brisbane
57
4747
3916
-831
8310
-18
Mackay
36
6942
6173
-769
7690
-11
Maryborough
36
4658
3949
-709
7090
-15
Goondiwindi
28
2927
2299
-628
6280
-21
Tambo
21
2287
1808
-479
4790
-21
Bowen
36
4040
3562
-478
4780
-12
Blackall
27
2259
1792
-467
4670
-21
Charleville
34
1971
1530
-441
4410
-22
Hughenden
22
1912
1492
-420
4200
-22
Thursday
Island
16
6811
6399
-412
4120
-6
Springsure
30
2625
2254
-371
3710
-14
Boulia
21
1145
872
-273
2730
-24
Thargomindah
25
1253
1003
-250
2500
-20
Cloncurry
23
1935
1702
-233
2330
-12
Normanton
35
3711
3526
-185
1850
-5 ------------+------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------
The following table shows the distribution of the average rainfall from 100 inches and under to over 400 inches:--
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ Average Annual
Rainfall.
N.S.W.
Victoria.
Queensland.
South
Australia.
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
Under 10 inches
81,144
nil
135,600
306,663
10-20 "
116,363
36,300
255,300
57,935
20-30 "
77,910
27,900
173,400
13,908
30-40 "
20,414
18,770
58,700
1,198
Over 40 "
14,541
4,914
47,500
366
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ Total Area
310,372
87,884
670,500
380,070
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
[cont.]
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------- Average Annual
Rainfall.
Northern
Western
Tasmania.
Commonwealth.
Territory.
Australia.
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
sqr. mls.
Under 10 inches
6,300
408,300
nil
938,007 10-20 "
213,430
400,720
nil
1,080,048 20-30 "
96,790
113,700
11,395
515,003 30-40 "
120,600
39,100
5,396
264,178 Over 40 "
86,500
14,100
9,424
177,345 +-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------- Total Area
523,620
975,920
26,215
2,974,581 -----------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--------------
The comparative rainfalls and temperatures at the respective State capitals, and at Canberra, the embryo Federal capital, are shown in the following table:--
------------+-------+--------------------------------+
ANNUAL RAINFALL.
Place.
Height+----------+----------+----------+
above
M.S.L.
Average.
Highest.
Lowest.
------------+-------+----------+----------+----------+
Ft.
Ins.
Ins.
Ins.
Perth
197
3305
4673
2048
Adelaide
141
2038
3087
1343
Brisbane
137
5000
8823
2411
Sydney
144
4935
8281
2301
Melbourne
91
2562
4425
1561
Hobart
160
2340
4067
1343
Canberra {
2,000
}
(District) {
to
} 2300
5069
1656
{
2,900
}
------------+-------+----------+----------+----------+
[cont.]
------------+-------+-----------------------------------------------------
TEMPERATURE.
Place.
Height+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
above
Mean
Mean
Highest
Lowest
Average
Average
M.S.L.
Summer.
Winter.
on
on
Hottest
Coldest
Record.
Record.
Month.
Month.
------------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
Ft.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Perth
197
739
556
1120
336
751
546 Adelaide
141
723
520
1163
322
733
525 Brisbane
137
760
600
1089
361
773
580 Sydney
144
708
539
1085
359
715
523 Melbourne
91
649
492
1112
270
663
477 Hobart
160
614
470
1050
277
621
457 Canberra {
2,000
}
(District) {
to
} 697
450
1090
160
720
420 {
2,900
}
------------+-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------
The mean humidity at the several capitals is as follows:--Brisbane mean averages, 681; highest, 85; lowest, 47. Sydney mean averages, 73, 90, 55. Melbourne mean averages, 72, 76, 67. Adelaide mean averages, 56, 84, 33. Perth mean averages, 63, 83, 45. Hobart mean averages, 72, 76, 67.
APPENDIX K.--EDUCATION STATISTICS.
I.--STATE PRIMARY EDUCATION (1907).
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
Queensland.
New South Wales.
Victoria.
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
s. d.
s. d.
s. d.
Amount per head of estimated
population
0 10 11
0 10 6
0 9 6
Amount per district scholar
3 3 2
3 9 2
2 18 7
----------------------------+------------+-----------------+-----------+
II.--PRIVATE SCHOOLS (1908).
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
Undenomi-
Church of
Roman
Lutheran.
Total.
national.
England.
Catholic.
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+ Number of schools
86
8
61
2
157
Teachers--Male
26
6
57
2
91
Female
170
32
372
574
Gross enrolment--Male
786
236
4,883
29
5,934
Female
1,386
344
6,400
34
8,164
Average daily attendance
--Male
654
216
4,220
24
5,114
Female
1,289
297
5,200
28
6,814
------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS (1909).[a]
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+ Schools.
On Roll.
Average
Teachers.
Attendance.
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+ St. John's Day School,
44 boys,
33 boys,
6, and 1 music
Brisbane
134 girls
107 girls
and 1 drawing
Holy Trinity Day School,
33 boys,
30 boys,
3
Woolloongabba
42 girls
376 girls
St. Paul's Day School,
35
29
2
Maryborough
High School for Boys,
112
112
9
Southport
Glennie Memorial School
50
Very good
6
for Girls, Toowoomba
Eton High School for
50
97 per cent.
9
Girls, Toorak, Hamilton
St. Paul's Day School,
35 boys,
253 boys,
4
Ipswich
62 girls
47 girls
Theological College,
14 students
...
3
Nundah
Tufnell Orphanage,
70 children
...
5 workers
Nundah
Industrial Home,
21 inmates
...
2 instructors
Clayfield
High School for Girls,
...
...
...
Stanthorpe
-------------------------+------------+--------------+----------------+
[Footnote a: Furnished by Mr. A. A. Orme, Diocesan Registry, Brisbane.]
ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS (1909).[b]
-------------------------------------------------------+---------+ SCHOOLS TAUGHT BY SISTERS--
On Roll.
_Archdiocese of Brisbane_--
Brisbane (High School), All Hallows; (Primary)
--Elizabeth street, Ivory street, South
Brisbane, Kangaroo Point, Red Hill, Wooloowin,
Toowong, Rosalie; Sandgate; Ipswich;
Helidon; Toowoomba (2); Dalby; Roma; Warwick;
Stanthorpe; Gympie (2); Maryborough;
Bundaberg; Beaudesert; Southport;
(Orphanage), Nudgee
6,226
_Diocese of Rockhampton_--
(High School), Rockhampton; Townsville;
Charters Towers; (Primary), Rockhampton;
Townsville; Charters Towers; Mount Morgan;
Hughenden; Gladstone; Longreach;
Winton; Mackay; Ravenswood; Clermont;
Emerald; (Orphanage), Neerkol
4,228
_Diocese of Cooktown_--
(High School), Cooktown; (Primary),
Cooktown; Cairns; Geraldton; Mareeba
572
SCHOOLS TAUGHT BY CHRISTIAN BROTHERS--
_Archdiocese of Brisbane_--
(College), Nudgee; (High School and Primary),
Brisbane; Ipswich; Toowoomba; Gympie;
Maryborough
1,880
_Diocese of Rockhampton_--
(High School and Primary), Rockhampton;
Charters Towers
740
--------
Total
13,646
-------------------------------------------------------+---------+
[Footnote b: Supplied by the Church authorities.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: GOVERNMENT HOUSE, NOW DEDICATED TO UNIVERSITY PURPOSES]
APPENDIX L.
INAUGURATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND.
In older lands Time seems to move with so deliberate a step that his march is scarcely noticed, and the pa.s.sing of fifty years is but a small matter, though within the past half-century discovery after discovery, advance after advance, has been made. Still these things have come gradually, and, like all the great triumphs of peace, have been achieved calmly, orderly, and almost imperceptibly. It has been different in these new countries, whose practical history comprehends scarcely more than the span of one man's life. Queensland has grown out of nothing (from the point of view of civilisation) to a fair stature of importance. Fifty years is the sum of its existence as a self-governing State, but within that brief period the country has been reclaimed from the wilderness, and made the home of a happy, progressive, and enlightened people. Bearing in mind what Queensland was fifty years ago, and what it is to-day, it will be admitted that its jubilee was eminently worth celebrating, not in a mere spirit of festivity, but in the spirit of a people conscious of what has been done, and full of enthusiasm for continued development. No better evidence of that could have been afforded than by the particular method of celebration decided upon--the dedication of the most historic building in Queensland to the purposes of a University.
It would have been easy to have devised a more showy plan, to have arranged for festivities that would have given greater immediate pleasure, but it would not have been possible to have marked the jubilee day with anything so admirably calculated to promote the best interests of the people, or so likely to abide in the public memory.
That was the view of Mr. Kidston and his Government, to whom belong the honour of having given effect to the long-cherished aspirations of that numerous body who desire to see Queenslanders an educated as well as a prosperous people. For many years there had been a movement afoot for the establishment of a University. As far back as 1891, a Royal Commission, under the presidency of the late Sir Charles Lilley, had inquired into the matter and reported strongly in favour of the project. Premiers who were themselves graduates of universities and cultured, far-seeing men had recognised the need for a University, but the matter obstinately remained in the air. For some sixteen years, largely supported by the Sydney University, a Council had carried on University Extension Lectures, educating not only the students, but the public. Finally, the present Premier, realising that the time was ripe for a definite forward move, placed educational reform in the forefront of his policy, and succeeded in getting legislation pa.s.sed for the establishment of the inst.i.tution and in securing a liberal provision for maintaining it. This much achieved, everything was sufficiently far advanced for an impressive dedicatory ceremony on the day chosen for celebrating the jubilee of Queensland--Friday, 10th December, 1909. It was not possible, of course, for the University to be actually in operation by that date, but it was possible to take the first step by solemnly setting apart for its uses the building in which it is proposed to conduct it. That was precisely what was done on this occasion, and with a simple dignity and an earnestness of purpose that could not well have been surpa.s.sed. Everything combined to make the day and the event memorable, to lift it out of the commonplace of public occasions, in a word to make it historic--the most historic event since the promulgation of Queensland's free Const.i.tution. The building itself had been the honoured home of every Governor since 1861. As was happily phrased in one of the speeches, it had been the centre of social and political life. What more appropriate than that it should be invested with a new function--be given, as it were, a new lease of life in the great cause of citizen-making? What more interesting than that the chief figure in the ceremonial should be Sir William MacGregor, himself a great witness to the value of university training, a distinguished servant of the Empire, one of the select band of Empire builders who have united ripe scholarship with tireless energy and firm grasp of national business and the ways of the world? It was a singularly happy circ.u.mstance that this was his first important public act as Governor of Queensland. But a few days before he had taken over the reins of government from the hands of the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Arthur Morgan. As befitted the occasion and the interest which they had taken in the matter of the University, Sir Arthur and Mr. Kidston also took a prominent part in the ceremony. The presence of Professor David, of the Sydney University, who was a prominent member of the Shackleton Expedition to the Antarctic regions, and of Professor Stirling, of the Adelaide University, lent additional distinction to the event, visibly representing, as it did, the cordiality with which those important inst.i.tutions regarded the advent of Queensland into the sisterhood of Australian University-States.
Never before in its history had Government House been the scene of a gathering so unique. The Premier struck the keynote of the whole proceedings, when he said that they were met "to erect this white stone, as it were, to mark this point in our national progress." He was alluding to the marble tablet, which had been affixed to the wall near the main entrance, recording the dedication of the building to its new purposes. Also, he declared the democratic foundation of the inst.i.tution in the significant sentence: "In very truth it may be said that the Queensland University is of the people, and I trust that the Senate, when they start to manage this inst.i.tution, will remember that it is also to be for the people."
To the ceremony were bidden all who could lend to it distinction and interest. It was no mere official or exclusive gathering, but one which represented in full measure the democratic character of the Queensland people. Those high in place were there; those who in university life had won honour; those who had laboured to lay the foundations of the educational system of which this was the culmination; the people for whose children this was to be in a real and practical sense the great training school and character-building inst.i.tution; the children from whose ranks were to be drawn the earliest students. The scene was one which will live in memory long after the University has begun its work, and will be recalled when in their gladsome, perhaps boisterous, fashion the students hold their commemoration days, or when in more thoughtful times the men and women who have gone forth from it girded for the battle of life revisit its shady walks and studious halls. The building and its charming environments lent themselves to an impressive spectacle. In the bright summer day, the well-kept grounds and the rich foliage of the neighbouring gardens presented a picture of rare colour and beauty.
Beyond lay the broad river glistening in the sunlight. Above arched the ineffable azure scarcely flecked by clouds. In the distance lay the far spreading city, with its pulsating life and varied activities.
Under the shadow of the graceful building and in a sweeping semi-circle were ma.s.sed the spectators, with eyes concentrated on the main portico, which had been converted into a stage for the interesting drama of the afternoon. A curved structure had been thrown out from the masonry, and decorated and canopied with maroon and white. Grouped around this were arranged the chairs provided for the seven hundred invited guests. Among these were many wearing their university costumes, which vied in colour and variety with the dresses of the ladies. Beyond this enclosure were drawn up, rank behind rank, 250 boys and 550 girls chosen from the fifth and sixth cla.s.ses of the metropolitan schools, each wearing Queensland's colours, maroon and white, and 200 State school cadets in uniform. All had been a.s.sembled in Alice street, and marched in procession to the s.p.a.ce allotted to them. They were there for the double purpose of supplying a choir and adding to the representative character of the a.s.sembly. Beyond their lines were gathered the members of the general public. The arrangements entailed a good deal of planning and forethought, but every part of the ordered and dignified ceremony was smoothly carried out. The military element, drawn from the 9th Australian Infantry Regiment, was lined up along the whole front of Government House, the scarlet coats and white helmets supplying a fringe of colour to that part of the picture.
The time fixed for the ceremony was half-past 3 o'clock. The reserved enclosure was then filled, the intermediate s.p.a.ce was thronged with school children and cadets, and the outer circle was made up of those whom interest or curiosity had drawn to the spot. It was no small evidence of the genuineness of that interest that, though hundreds were too far away to hear the speeches, they remained during the whole proceedings. They took their cue from those who were nearer, and when they saw or heard them applauding they joined in and swelled the volume of enthusiasm. One of the first to take his place on the dais was Mr. W. H. Barnes, to whom it had fallen, as Secretary for Public Instruction, to pilot the University Bill through the Legislative a.s.sembly. Not long afterwards there came Mr. A. H. Barlow, M.L.C., the veteran Minister, who had had much to do with the preparation of the measure, and who had charge of it during its progress through the Upper House. Among early arrivals were Miss MacGregor, His Excellency's daughter, and Mrs. Kidston. Punctually at half-past 3 His Excellency the Governor, Sir William MacGregor, arrived, dressed in his Windsor uniform and wearing the long flowing blue silk cloak and decorations of the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George, accompanied by Lady MacGregor and Mr. Kidston, Premier of Queensland.
Mrs. Kidston presented Lady MacGregor with a beautiful bouquet, and almost at the same time the band of the 9th Regiment struck up "The National Anthem," the whole a.s.semblage rising as the patriotic strains were heard. The duties usually devolving upon a chairman fell to the Premier, who occupied a chair on one side of a small flag-draped table, while His Excellency sat on the other side. Near by were the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Arthur Morgan, wearing his robes of office, the Chief Justice (Sir Pope A. Cooper) in court dress, the Speaker of the Legislative a.s.sembly (Mr. J. T. Bell) in his flowing robes, Professor David (representative of the Sydney University) in his official robe, Professor Stirling (the representative of the University of Adelaide) wearing the scarlet robe of an M.D. of Cambridge, and His Grace Archbishop Donaldson in the scarlet and ermine of a D.D. Central Queensland had a venerable representative in the person of the Right Rev. Dr. Hay, Moderator of the Presbyterian General a.s.sembly. The Roman Catholic Archbishop, the Right Rev. Dr.
Dunne, had as his representative Rev. Father Byrne, the Administrator of his diocese. The distinguished company included also Mr. Justice Real and Mrs. Real, Mr. Justice Chubb and Mrs. Chubb, Mr. Justice Shand, Mr. D. F. Denham (Minister for Lands) and Mrs. Denham, Mr. T.
O'Sullivan, M.L.C. (Attorney-General) and Mrs. O'Sullivan, Mr. W. T.
Paget (Minister for Agriculture and Railways) and Miss Paget, Mr. J.
G. Appel (Home Secretary) and Miss Appel, Mrs. Barnes, Mr. A. G. C.
Hawthorn (Treasurer) and Mrs. Hawthorn, Mr. W. Lennon, M.L.A. (Acting Leader of the Opposition) and Mrs. Lennon, Miss Celia Cooper, Mr.
C. W. Costin (Clerk of Parliaments), Mr. Anthony Musgrave, (Private Secretary to His Excellency), Captain Scarlett, A.D.C., and Captains Newton and Claude Foxton, honorary AA.D.C. Members of both Houses of Parliament, prominent public servants, the mayors and aldermen of Brisbane and South Brisbane, representatives of other metropolitan civic bodies, leading citizens, and consular representatives had their seats in the enclosure fronting the official dais.
By a happy arrangement the ceremony was inaugurated by the a.s.sembled children singing "The National Anthem," to which were added three of the patriotic verses of "The Australian Anthem" composed by Queensland's sweet singer, the late J. Brunton Stephens. The fresh musical voices rang out true and clear, carrying far through the still, scented air the simple words of devotion and patriotism--
