THE AUSTRALIAN MISSION

AUSTRALIA lies about seven thousand miles to the southwest of San Francisco, and nearly fifteen thousand miles to the southwest of London, requiring from the former place a sea voyage of twenty-four days, and from the latter, if the journey is made wholly by water, a voyage of forty-two days. It is not strange, therefore, that this far-away country should be little thought of by the people of the United States, and but little understood by the people of England, except by the few who have visited it, and by those who have commercial relations with it. Yet we find Australia to be a continent, measuring nearly two thousand miles from north to south, and two thousand four hundred miles from east to west, and containing about four and one-half millions of English-speaking people. Its settlements are chiefly on the south, east, and west coasts.HSFM 91.1

About one hundred and eighty miles south of the southeastern portion of Australia, lies the island of Tasmania, having a little more territory than the five States of Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Tasmania, with the small islands near it, has a population of nearly two hundred thousand. Hobart is the capital. About twelve hundred and fifty miles east of Tasmania and the southern part of Australia, are the islands of New Zealand, which, although very different in shape and character, lack but one-eighth of being as large as England, Scotland, and Ireland combined, and have a population, exclusive of natives, of over half a million.HSFM 91.2

The history of the seven English Colonies which occupy these countries is mostly covered by the last sixty years. Victoria, the smallest of the five Australian Colonies, has about a million inhabitants. It occupies the southeastern portion of the continent, and has Melbourne as its capital. New South Wales, which is the oldest of the Colonies, lies immediately north of Victoria, and it also has about a million inhabitants. Sidney its capital is a free port, and is more English in its ways than Melbourne. These are the two leading cities in Australia, and they contain about three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants each.HSFM 91.3

The capital of Queensland, which occupies the northeastern portion of the island, is Brisbane, situated in the southeastern portion of the Colony, about five hundred miles north of Sidney. South Australia, with North Australia to which it is united, occupies a strip of country more than six hundred miles in width, and extending from south to north across the continent. It was first settled by an English colony in 1837, and has Adelaide for its capital in its southeast corner. West Australia, whose capital is Perth near the southern extremity of the west coast, was settled by a colony in 1829. Although covering an immense tract of territory, this Colony has scarcely fifty thousand inhabitants at the present time.HSFM 91.4

In each of these Colonies the capital is the center of all commercial interests. The railroads center in these cities, and all business gravitates to them. In this there is a marked contrast with the United States. Up to the present time the efforts made to form an Australian confederation, like that formed by the different provinces in Canada, have been unsuccessful. Not only are the Colonies independent of one another, but the people are quite different in their manners and customs. Each Colony has its own customs and laws, and regulates its own traffic, custom duties, etc., so that the passing from one Colony to another is similar to passing from one nation to another in Europe, except that here all speak the English language.HSFM 92.1

New Zealand, which is considered by many as an unimportant country lying close to Australia, is in fact twelve hundred and fifty miles distant, and five days are required to sail from Sidney to Aukland, New Zealand. New Zealand is made up of two large islands and one small one. The two large islands are each about five hundred miles in length, the greatest breadth of one being two hundred and the other two hundred and fifty miles. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, and Aukland its largest city. There is as much difference between the habits of the people in Australia and those in New Zealand as there is between those of New England and the Pacific Coast.HSFM 92.2

North of Australia, and lying within twenty degrees of the equator north and south, there are many islands, settled mostly by the French, the Italians, and the English. The people of Australia, are mostly from England and Ireland; and it seems to be the policy of the leading men to avoid commercial relations with America, lest the American spirit should lead to a separation from their mother country. Millions of pounds sterling have been loaned to the Colonies by the capitalists of England, and with this money, railroads and other government works have been built. Nearly all the banks of Australia have connection with, or are branches of, English banks. Thus the Colonies are bound by many financial interests to England; but the land is largely owned by capitalists in Australia.HSFM 92.3

South Australia is chiefly settled by people from England and America who have gone there for their health. This Colony is said to have a very healthful climate; and from what we learn we think it a most promising field for the present truth. Of the two million people in Victoria and New South Wales, nearly one-half are Roman Catholics. In New Zealand it is quite different. The Orangemen have a strong organization there, and the Catholics are on the decrease. The people are principally English, Scotch, and Protestant Irish. In Queensland and the eastern part of North Australia there are large settlements of French. In Victoria and South Australia there are large settlements of Germans and Scandinavians.HSFM 92.4

All the principal cities of the Colonies are well laid out, and are beautified by large parks, or domains. Some of these are covered with a great variety of trees, and there is one in Sidney which contains birds of every species, brought from all parts of the world. On Sunday these domains afford excellent opportunities for preaching. Tens of thousands of people flock together here, and are entertained by speakers on various subjects.HSFM 92.5

With the exception of some modern American inventions, almost everything that can be found in the world is to be obtained in these Colonies. Land is dear, rents are high, and things in general are more costly than in England or America. In Australia the people are very conservative. The newspapers claim to be liberal; but from our standpoint they would be considered quite conservative. In New Zealand they are more liberal. The people of the Colonies have established many libraries; they are a great reading people. Sidney and Melbourne have very large libraries. The Melbourne library is one of the largest in the world. Its readers are estimated to be over one thousand a day. Besides this there are district libraries all through the country. In Victoria there are more free libraries than in any of the other Colonies. In many of the district libraries a small sum is paid yearly for the privilege of drawing publications.HSFM 93.1