One feature, though, mars that well-laid out, well-built and well-managed city. It is a privately owned and privately managed street railway system, which is of the antiquated cable type. Some fifteen years ago a franchise was granted by the city to a company to install street railways, of cable type, for a term of 20 years. The fare is six cents, and the light in the cars is from murky, coal oil lamps. The street railway company is getting all it can out of the system, for it is well aware that at the expiration of the franchise the city will not renew the agreement, but will at once tear up the present line and construct a modern one, more in keeping with Melbourne.
Melbourne is the capital of the State of Victoria and temporary capital also of the Commonwealth. Victoria is termed "The Garden State," and the prosperity of the country is reflected in every part of the city by the splendid homes of its citizens. They are healthy looking, well fed and well dressed. This State, being visited by a regular rainfall, suffers less from drought than West Australia, South Australia or New South Wales.
The arrangement and scope of parks is admirable, and seats are free. Streets, boulevards and roads here could not be bettered. Within the city limits are over 5,000 acres of parks and public gardens. An imposing Parliament House, a splendid museum, art gallery and a zoo are other notable features.
Americans are not the only people who speak with a "twang," for one meets persons in the capital city whose "twang" would make a down-east Yankee green with envy. Still all have the British accent. By nature, the Australian is unreserved, and seems more American than British.
Melbourne is termed the "American City," and in the nature of wearing apparel there is no difference in the cut of theclothes. In South Africa, among the English-speaking people, the brand of England is stamped on most customs, but in Australia there is a difference.
Splendid college buildings, with nice grounds; training schools, technical schools—at every turn the air is punctured with turrets and spires on buildings in which the citizens of Victoria are taught the sciences that enable them to take a leading part in the advancement of the world.
The weather being so moderate in Australia, parks so attractive, and bathing beaches so convenient to the coast cities, indoor life loses its charm. In Melbourne the weather seldom gets cold enough to freeze, and, if so, it would occur not more than one or two nights during the winter season. The mean temperature of that section of Australia is 55 degrees.
Athletic sports are very popular, as the weather permits of such recreation the year round. Horse racing, as an amusement, has a strong hold on Australians, and the same horde of nondescripts and non-producers found in other countries, who live by their wits on "the sport of kings," thrive and flourish here on the money of those who earn an honest living.
"Mate" is the way Australians address each other, and for an off-hand salute, sounds better than "Bill" or "Stranger." "Right, ho," with scarcely a sound of the "h," is used entirely in place of our "All right." A man with a small business—say, a news store, green grocery, or printing office—is termed a "cockatoo" news dealer, a "cockatoo" grocer and a "cockatoo" printer. The term "cow" is used to express displeasure or disgust with fowl, animals and even inanimate things. "On the wallaby trail," or "on the wallaby," is applied to a fellow "on his uppers." "No chop" means there is nothing in a proposition made to the fellow who says "No chop." "He 'bally' well knew he was wrong" is an instance of how the word "bally" is used here, as in England. "Tucker," in Australia, is the term used when speaking of food, in the same sense as "grub" in America.
The educational system of Victoria is of the same high character as that of West Australia. The sum required to educatea scholar a year is $19, $2 less in Victoria than in West Australia. It is the boast of State and government officials that a child whose parents live in isolated parts receives as good teaching as children in city schools. With such a splendid school system, it is needless to touch on the advanced intellectual position of Australians.
Government pensions for both husband and wife are paid when they have reached the age of 60 years, and when their income does not exceed $250 a year. The pension paid is $2.40 a week each, $4.80 for the old couple. Citizens who are incapacitated, and have not reached the age of 60 years, are also paid the $2.40 a week. Young persons deformed or mentally incompetent also receive the pension, or, rather, their guardians do. In cases where a man dies and leaves a widow and children without means of support the government looks after them. Any representative citizen living in the community in which the fatherless family resides will accompany a family to court. He tells the judge the circumstances attending the bereavement of the family, and declares the widow is unable to support herself and children. The mother then surrenders her children, and they become wards of the State. When that phase of law has been gone through, the judge next appoints the mother guardian of the children. Each child thereafter receives $1.20 a week from the State. The children must attend school, though, from the age of 6 to 14 years. This is the minimum sum given by the State, but there also are municipal and other funds to help needy citizens. Should a boy of such a family become apprenticed to a trade after leaving school, the employer pays the wages of the boy not to the mother, but to a State official, in charge of that department. The boy's earnings are put in a savings bank until he has reached his majority. Reports are made as to his habits from time to time, and, should he be of an industrious nature, the money that he has earned while an apprentice is returned to him when he has become a journeyman. How many poor, fatherless boys in other countries have several hundred dollars handed them at 21 years of age?
No State or municipal poorhouses are found in Australia. Homes, however, are provided for infirm persons, but these are maintained by religious and charities bodies. The State, of course, would lend a helping hand were these organizations crippled for funds to carry on their laudable work.
To help settlers cultivate government land, from $250 to $10,000 is advanced to an immigrant who means well. Certain conditions in the nature of improvements and residence must be complied with. The time given the settler in which to pay back money advanced is 20 to 33 years. The interest charged is four to five per cent. If drought or other agencies renders the settler's crop a failure and he has no money to meet his payments, the government does not swoop down and take his farm, but advances more if circumstances threaten to drive him from the land. He will be looked after until he has good crops. The government has yet to lose a copper from advancing money to settlers. Agricultural Department officials visit farmers to teach them how to get best results from the soil. The land does not become freehold property, however, but is leased for a long term.
Two persons out of every five of the citizens of Victoria have savings bank accounts. The average wealth in this State per head of population is $1,253. An income tax is collected on all salaries of $1,500 and over. The tax becomes greater in proportion to the larger salaries or incomes received.
Previous to 1901 each State was a separate division, fixing its own customs dues, legislating only for itself, and at each State boundary line were custom houses and State officers. The federation of States into the Commonwealth took effect January 1, 1901.
There is an average of three beeves to each person, and 20 sheep to each inhabitant. Mutton, beef, cheese, wine, fruit, grain, flour, wool, hides, tin, silver, copper and iron ores are exported from that far-off country to centers north of the equator.
Melba, the opera singer, is from this State. In Paul Kruger, South Africa produced probably the greatest man born southof the equator, and the fair State of Victoria has reason to be proud of the diva, the most widely known woman born south of the equatorial line. These two seem to be the total of the Southland's contribution in recent times to the world's great personages.
Some Chinamen live in Melbourne, but a majority of them came to Australia years ago. These are mostly engaged in furniture manufacturing, and Mongols practically control the industry. The slogan, "A White Australia," is as pronounced in Victoria as in other States. To gain entrance to Australia an Asiatic must pay an immigration tax of $500.
Good newspapers are published in that city, but none issues Sunday editions. Printers on these earn from $25 to $30 a week. Other mechanics receive $18 to $21 a week.
Meat sells from 6 to 12 cents a pound; eggs from 20 to 36 cents a dozen. House rent, which is paid by the week, runs from $3.50 to $4.50.
Class distinction is usually foreign to any new country, but the lines are tightly drawn between labor and capital in Australia. Skilled mechanics and laborers generally stand together in political matters on election day, and the employer, capitalist and that class of citizen oppose the labor party.
Traveling from Melbourne to Adelaide, 483 miles, gave opportunity to study Australian railways. The railroads are State or government owned, and the fare is two to three cents a mile. The coaches are of European type, the schedule 30 miles an hour. Compartments are generally fitted for eight persons. One difference was observed in these coaches from the South African—no free sleeping accommodation was provided. Sleeping cars are run on Australian lines, however, but a berth costs $2.40 a night. The system of heating the compartments in chilly weather is by iron pipes, like those used in the South African trains—foot warmers. But there is one commendable feature about the Australian railway system, namely, no steps to the cars, the platforms of all stations being built on a level with the platform of the passenger coach.
"Mate, you may share part of my rug," spoke the man sitting opposite in the compartment. "There'll be no chance to get our feet on the foot-warmer, and the atmosphere will grow chilly before morning. It is large enough for us both," he kindly added. As in South Africa, almost every one in Australia carries a rug, or blanket, as we call them. His kindness was much appreciated, for, as it turned out, the foot-warmer did not move in our direction for the night. This is another instance of how obliging I found Australians.
A city looking more like a large park than a business center is how Adelaide appeared. When laid out, in 1837, it comprised a tract of land a mile square, and around this area is a park strip of land half a mile wide. The mile square area was originally the business and home section of Adelaide, but residential requirements have far outgrown the original space. Over two thousand acres of land in and about the city are setapart for public and botanical gardens, park squares and for sports grounds. The city is located in a fertile plain, encircled by a range of green hills on two sides, and has as a foreground the blue water of St. Vincent's Gulf.
A pathetic incident accompanied the laying-out of this beautiful city. After the surveyor, Colonel William Light, had selected the site and surveyed the streets his plan was ridiculed by his fellow colonists. Being of a sensitive nature, their criticisms and jibes so worried him that he found relief from taunts in an early grave. In Victoria Square stands a splendid bronze monument to the designer of Adelaide, with this brief inscription chiseled out of the granite base: "Light."
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, has a population of 200,000. Its wide streets and great park space make the area as large as that usually required for a city of half a million.
An agricultural college, mining college, and other means of popular education insures a high percentage of intellectual attainment. The same splendid public school system that has been touched on as existing in West Australia and Victoria is maintained by both the municipal and State educational departments here. Money for educational purposes is voted to an almost reckless degree by the States of the Commonwealth.
The homes of the people of Adelaide are fine. Where they are not entirely built of stone, there is at least a stone front and brick side walls. The houses are mostly one story, containing from five to seven rooms, with a veranda on each and flowers in every yard. Most of these homes are owned by the families who occupy them, but some rent at from $3.50 to $4.50 weekly. "Poor," "slum" and "wealthy" residential distinctions are pleasantly absent in Australian cities.
The botanical garden, zoo, museum, State and municipal buildings, business blocks, the lighting and street railway systems are all very good. The ambition of the Australian seems to aspire to the best, as little of a shoddy character is in evidence. The statues about the cities also are as good as one will see the world over. The stores and shops compare with any for quality and attractiveness.
Ordinary meals could be had for 25 cents, and comfortable accommodation, with good food, was obtainable in any of the cities for $1.50 a day.
The bird life of the country adds to its attractiveness. The emu, next in size to the ostrich, is on his native heath, and the lyre bird is a native of Australia, too. In the "bush," as the woods of Australia are termed, revel the cockatoo, macaw, parrots of different species; the kookooburra, or laughing jackass, and the smart magpie are quite numerous. Australians are very proud of the native birds. Chasing the emu on horseback is a sport indulged in in some sections.
The English sparrow was taken to Australia by settlers from the British Isles, and he has proved a source of annoyance to the people of that country, as well as that of others. Another bird imported from England, the starling, a very dirty and destructive one to berries, is also an eyesore to the people. This bird is numerous in Adelaide. Rabbits were unknown in Australia before settlers from the North made that country their home. Being very destructive to crops, large sums of money are expended to build rabbit-proof fences about tracts of farming land owing to the millions of these creatures that infest the country. The moderate climate admits of perpetual breeding. Australians do not eat rabbit meat.
The rabbit trapper of Australia is an independent sort of a citizen. His disposition is akin to that of the fellow who will sit on a log all day to catch a six-inch fish, and considers his time well spent when he walks into his home, carrying his quarry by a spear of long grass pulled through the vent in the gills. Ships loaded with frozen rabbits leave Australian ports for England at frequent sailings.
The kangaroo is termed in Australia "the native," and is harmless when met with under any circumstances. The smaller specie is known as the wallaby. Kangaroo is the biggest game on the Australian continent. Its tail is the only part used as food, and then only for soup.
A story is told of an English woman who became engaged to a native Australian. She started from England to meet herfiancé at Adelaide. She had told her friends she was to be married to an Australian native. When she reached the end of her long journey and came ashore friends in Australia who met her, pointing to a kangaroo close by, remarked that the animal was the native Australian. "What!" shouted the bride-to-be. "Am I engaged to marry a kangaroo?"
The national flower is that of the wattle tree. This tree grows large, its leaves are small and of a very dark green color, and the limbs are dense. Blossoms come out very thick, and leaves, limbs and body of the tree are hidden from view under a profusion of rich, gold-colored flowers. Tracts of wattle-tree groves extend for miles, and when all the trees are in bloom it is a treat for the eyes seeking floral beauty.
Mutton and lamb are the meats chiefly eaten. One seldom gets a good cup of coffee in British territory, for the reason that the British are a tea-drinking race, and the same applies to Australia. As evidence of the hospitality met with in homes of British colonists, food dainties are always served with tea to callers.
After having said good-by to Adelaide, we boarded a train going to Melbourne. Upon reaching Ballarat, having heard of the Eureka Stockade, behind which gold miners defied militia in 1854, induced a longing to see this historical spot on the Australian continent where men faced each other with firearms. The skirmish between miners and troops came about through the authorities charging miners exorbitant sums for gold mining licenses. A stockade was thrown up—it is there to-day—and from that shelter bullets whizzed at the troops, and soldiers' bullets whizzed at the miners. The battle lasted ten minutes, after two dozen miners had been killed. With this exception, Australia is as barren of warfare lore as a large part of the country is of vegetation. Gold mining is still in active operation, and profitable. While gold is mined in all the States of the Commonwealth, the output of the West Australia mines is greater than the combined production of the other five.
When gold was discovered in Ballarat, in 1850, 65,000 people landed in Melbourne the next year, and in five years337,000 had found their way to the diggings, although in those days vessels were small and slow, and the distance from Europe to Melbourne is 13,000 miles.
Ballarat has a population of 50,000, is in the State of Victoria, and 75 miles west of Melbourne. One of the principal streets is 168 feet wide. How many cities are there in the United States, the size of Ballarat, having an art gallery, a museum and creditable botanical garden? Ballarat has these. A nice lake also is within the city limits. The attractiveness of this place is unusual for a gold mining center.
With an acquaintance, a football game between two crack elevens was attended, and the price of admission to the grounds was 12 cents.
Ballarat holds her own in the matter of buildings, good lighting and street car systems.
Passing from the ocean through The Heads to Sydney Harbor, there unfolds to the eye perhaps the grandest foreground of a city, landscape and soft-water scene to be found in any part of the world. From the harbor—scalloped with pretty bays—to the left rise, on a gentle slope, bright-colored brick and red-sandstone homes with red-tiled roofs, the openings carpeted with ever-green lawns, animated by flowering gardens, a soft brush-grown space here and there, or a blushing cove, walled by friendly rock—a willing partner to molding the frame incasing this splendid picture. Traveling toward the city, the vessel circuits evergreen islands, passing smart sailing craft and swift-moving launches, when a point of land, part of an attractive park, invitingly juts its grassy space into the noted harbor. The Botanical Garden next comes to view, when the Norfolk Island pine tree—none more shapely in the world—seems to suggest to the visitor that there is something good even beyond. To the right of the harbor—also fringed with cozy bays and rippling coves—on another slope, there spreads out a grand landscape that can come only from gum bush and tropical foliage, the former in this instance. The harbor becomes dotted with hurrying ferry boats, carrying people from one side to the other. The city of Sydney then becomes outlined, and, from the striking panorama of red-sandstone structures, there is revealed a galaxy of towers, turrets, spires and domes that unerringly suggest the highest industrial ideal of a people living in a center of civilization and modern achievement.
Parliament House, Melbourne(top), andVictoria Markets, Sydney(bottom).Australia.
Parliament House, Melbourne(top), andVictoria Markets, Sydney(bottom).Australia.
As Capetown is the cradle of South Africa, so is Sydney the cradle of Australia. Nine miles from Sydney, in Botany Bay, James Cook, an Englishman, anchored his shipEndeavor.That was in 1770, six years before the Declaration of Independence was signed by the American colonists. For two hundred years previous to Captain Cook's raising the British flag on the shores of Botany Bay, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish navigators had gotten glimpses of that great continent, but failed to implant the ensigns of their respective countries on it as Cook did. It was anybody's country up to the year 1770. Section after section had been annexed by the English from time to time, until all the continent and islands close by had become British territory. Not a shot was fired to acquire these different sections. Eight years after Captain Cook reached Botany Bay, Arthur Phillips landed and formed a convict settlement on the site from which Sydney had grown.
In 1788 there were but six head of cattle in Australia; to-day there are over 15,000,000. In the same year there were but 29 sheep; to-day nearly 100,000,000.
Heated arguments take place frequently anent the merits of Sydney harbor and that of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said to be the two best harbors in the world. The distinction between these two grand havens is similar to that existing between Victoria and Niagara Falls. Where the land about Sydney harbor gracefully slopes and admits of the striking panorama from The Heads, or entrance to the Harbor, to Circular Quay, hills shut from view the attractive city of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian capital cannot be seen at a point where Sydney harbor's beauty reaches its climax. On the other hand, Rio de Janeiro's harbor is twice larger, dotted with over a hundred tropical islands, and of good depth. The length of Sydney harbor is eight miles, with comparatively few green islands, and at places the water is none too deep for ships of great draught. Also The Heads of Sydney harbor are squatty compared to the high, bold stone pillars between which vessels sail through a narrow but deep channel into Rio de Janeiro's haven. It would seem that Sydney's harbor is the prettier, Rio de Janeiro's the greater and better.
Three-quarters of a million busy and industrious people are engaged in factory, mill, shop, office and store in modern Sydney.Every one of these will do any task with pleasure that tends to enhance the commercial prestige and attractive appearance not only of their city but of the Commonwealth. In no other country will one find a more patriotic race of people; but, though British subjects, their patriotism seemed to be for Australia. They have a national flag, national emblems on their money coins—in fact, Australia is deeply stamped on any and every thing Australian.
Travelers are often disappointed when visiting points of interest based on local reputation; but Sydney is the exception to the rule. One can spend at least two weeks in the State capital, going to different attractions from day to day, and will find everything reputed to be of interest worth one's time going to see. For this reason it has become known as the "holiday city." Sydney is one of the most difficult cities in the world to describe, because everything is so good. One would be justified to begin and finish an account of Sydney with the word "Splendid."
Not until I reached the capital of the State of New South Wales did I find government or municipal ownership of public utilities meant anything in the way of cheaper or better service. The street-car service of Sydney is, I believe, the cheapest in the world. The charge is two cents for each "stage," but the "stages" in Sydney are far apart. The clumsy, slow, double-decked car is not to be seen.
An express train leaves Sydney for Melbourne at 8 o'clock every evening, and had one decided to start that journey on a Sunday and depended on street car travel to the railway station, he would surely miss his train. The cars come to a standstill from 7 to 8 o'clock, while church services are being held.
A loaf of bread in Sydney must be a loaf of bread. The legal weight is two pounds, and employes of the city bureau who look after the staff of life keep a close watch on bakers to see that customers are not cheated. An inspector is apt to halt a driver of a baker's wagon at any point, jump into the vehicle, pick up a loaf of bread, take from his pocket a collapsible scale, put the loaf in the tray and particularly note itsweight. If the bread should be an ounce under weight the baker will be fined $5, and should the loaf be two ounces short of weight he would be fined $10—$5 for every ounce under two pounds. The quality of the bread, by the way, is, like everything that goes to make up Sydney, excellent.
Vulgarity or profanity is not heard about the streets. Any unsavory remark that reaches the ears of a policeman will cost the careless one at least $2.50.
Stopping at a small and tidy hotel, located three squares from the postoffice, the rate was but $1.50 a day. Good meals were served at restaurants about the city at 25 cents. Serviette is the word always used in British territory for table napkin.
House rent for working classes ranged in price from $15 to $20 a month, payable weekly. Meat sold at 6 to 12 cents a pound. Clothes are cheaper in Australia than in South Africa, because Australia uses its own wool.
"When you will have brains enough to owe your butcher $15, you'll get a better grade of meat." Two women were seated on a bench in a park, talking about dresses, hats, engagements, marriages and babies, when they touched on household matters. One told the other her troubles with her butcher—could not understand why she got inferior meat. Her companion asked if she paid cash for her goods, and the complaining one answered, "Yes." It was then that the suggestion contained in the first sentence was made.
Concerning freedom of speech and liberty in a general sense, one sees no difference from what he has been used to in his own country while traveling about, but does admire the quality of law that is dispensed and maintained in British territory.
While looking about the exhibits at a State agricultural fair one can reach a fair conclusion as to the nature of a country by the products shown, more particularly if one has been raised on a farm. At a fair visited there were cattle with backs almost as broad as a full-sized bed. The weight of some of these animals was 2,500 pounds down to 2,000. It seemed as if an exhibitor would be laughed at were he to enter a steer that weighed under a ton. Horses on exhibit were of the same highclass. The reputation of the Australian horse extends beyond local bounds, and he is known as the Australian "whaler." Sheep, chickens, pigs—from the top of the list to the last only the best of each kind were exhibited. Australian cattle and horses are aristocrats compared to South African breeds.
Education for children living in the "back blocks," as distant parts of Australia are termed, is hauled on wagons. A government teacher travels about in a wagon covered with a tent and stops at the home of every settler who has children. The tent is lifted from the wagon to the ground, and school exercises are gone through. Would not the trouble and expense that the Commonwealth of Australia goes to for fitting its people to meet the struggles of life "warm the cockles of your heart" to such a government! This is called the "traveling school," and it would be a waste of time to dwell in detail on universities, colleges, technical and the lower-grade schools of the educational department of New South Wales.
The conditions of giving land to settlers by the State of New South Wales are liberal. If one is a white man, is willing to work, and wants a farm, he will get the land, and money to make a start with, too.
The English system of money is in use. That system is not on a decimal basis, which deficiency seems out of place in an advanced country like that of the Commonwealth. For this reason efforts are being put forth to change the system to a decimal basis. The kangaroo and emu are stamped on the face of some of the money coins in use, but these will not be accepted as legal tender in other British countries.
"Smoke, ho," is the term one might hear were he to pass a gang of men working on a railroad or at any work where a group of men are employed. The weather gets very hot in summer, and rests are taken at intervals. When the foreman of the gang says "Smoke, ho," that means a breathing spell, or quitting time.
The State of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, is the richest in the Commonwealth. The sheep industry is the greatest. Smokestacks from factory and mill arethickly dotted not only about the city but far into the suburbs. Great quantities of butter, beef, mutton and wool, wheat and flour are exported from that State, besides ores and coal. The exports from Australia now are very large, but what will they be when the country becomes even one quarter settled?
Wages have increased from time to time in Sydney, until now bricklayers receive $5 a day. That figure is good wages in Australia, for the climate permits of outside work the year round. The city is growing all the time, the demand for mechanics naturally increasing. Few mechanics receive less than $3. The lowest wages laborers receive are $2, but that figure is often exceeded. Printers on newspapers earn $27 to $30 a week, the working time not exceeding 36 hours. Good board can be had at $4 to $6 a week. No one works Saturday afternoons in the British colonies visited.
Excellent newspapers are published in Sydney—fully in keeping with the city. On looking over their pages, one must give much credit to the publishers for the cable dispatches printed, as the news rate must be high when sent from centers 6,000 to 13,000 miles away.
A thousand acres of splendid park area are located in and close to Sydney, divided into 37 parks. Within a radius of 25 miles are 70,000 acres of park land. Besides, there are half a dozen good bathing beaches within easy reach.
Over a hundred miles from Sydney, in the Blue Mountain range, is located a tract of stalactite and stalagmite caves. These are the property of the government, and known as Jenolan Caves. The caves cover a large area of land, and exploration is going on all the time. Over a dozen of these are now open to visitors, and the trip is well worth while taking. But while Jenolan Caves are much greater than those of Luray Caverns, Virginia, one will find in Luray better formations and a prettier grade of that mineral than can be seen in Jenolan. It is another case of Victoria Falls and Niagara. Jenolan Caves are much the greater, but Luray Caverns are the prettier. In caves of this character columns of stalactite and stalagmite a foot in diameter may be seen, and when it is remembered that,in one instance at Jenolan, a stem of stalactite has grown but one-thirty-second part of an inch in 30 years, what a tremendous age the larger columns must have attained! The atmosphere in this section of the Blue Mountains is of a deep blue color. Mount Kosciusko is the highest peak of Australia, rising 7,308 feet.
In that section of country kangaroo may be seen hopping about the hills, feeding on grass and sprouts, or standing up on their hind legs to watch if any one is coming their way. Timidity starts them, at the slightest alarm, to holes in the mountain, and where rocks are located at the place of concealment these are as polished granite from their heavy tails passing over them on coming out and going in.
The difference in railroad gauges is proving a source of much inconvenience to transportation. In New South Wales the gauge is standard, 4 feet 8½ inches, and in Queensland the railroad is narrow-gauge, 3 feet 6 inches. So, going from Sydney to Brisbane, passengers, cars and freight must be changed; also in going from Sydney to Melbourne, when the Victoria border has been reached, a complete change has to be made, as the Victoria gauge is broad, 5 feet 3 inches. The width of South Australia railroads is 5 feet 3 inches and also 4 feet 8½ inches, but those of West Australia are again narrow-gauge.
One not familiar with the population of American cities would come to the conclusion that San Francisco, Cal., was the greatest in the United States, judged from the number of times it is mentioned by Australians. As a matter of fact, both Melbourne and Sydney have a greater population than the Californian metropolis. Seldom are New York, Philadelphia and Chicago mentioned. This is accounted for by San Francisco being nearer to Australia than any other American city.
"Two years before the fleet came," and "About a year after the fleet was here," are instances of how recent great events are referred to. Evidently the visit of the American battleships to Australia, when the fleet made its trip around the world, proved an epoch in this country.
Before leaving the "mainland," I want to acknowledge my gratitude to Australians for the many courtesies extended and kindnesses bestowed. I had been offered work in most of the places visited.
From Melbourne we sailed across Bass Straits up the Tamar River to Launceston, Tasmania, located at the northern part of the island. Abel J. Tasman, a Dutch navigator, discovered what is now Tasmania, in 1642, after whom the island is named. Van Diemen's Land, however, was the name given to Tasmania by its discoverer, but was changed later. The Dutch seemed to have been good navigators in early years in the Pacific and Indian oceans, but they proved poor land-grabbers. With Tasmania as a key to the mainland, it would seem the spirit of daring did not extend further than the decks of ships, for Tasman finally left Tasmania, and later on it fell into the hands of British navigators.
Tasmania is the smallest of the six States of which the Commonwealth is composed. It has its upper and lower legislative bodies, a governor from England—in all respects a self-constituted State. The length of the island from north to south is 150 miles.
Tasmania is known as "the sanatorium" of Australia on account of its good climate. At Launceston this was plainly borne out by the rosy cheeks of the people. The city itself, of 25,000 population, is attractive from its parks, its iron-latticed porches and verandas, a splendid stretch of natural scenery known as the Gorge, and the unassuming nature, plain but tidy appearance, and contentment of the people. Few smokestacks were in sight, and as a business center it does not hold kinship to the bustling cities of the mainland.
"This is the way it is all the time!" said a second-hand clothing dealer who had invited me to call at his store, he having gone from America to the Southland to make his fortune. The store was as empty of customers as a church is of worshipers at midnight.
The commendable custom of Sunday evening concerts in the colonies was in vogue in Launceston, only the one attended here was held in a beautiful park instead of in a town hall. As in other places, the concert did not begin until after church services. In the same park is a small zoo, very good for the size of this city.
The wages of workers are low, mechanics receiving from $2 to $2.50 a day. Calling on one of the daily newspapers to see how things looked, when it became known that I was from the United States most of the composing room force stopped work, gathered about me, questions coming eagerly concerning conditions in America from every angle. I was to leave the city a few hours later, when two of the force left their work and saw me on the train.
Hobart, 135 miles south of Launceston, was the next stop. This is the capital of Tasmania, and has double the population of Launceston. Hobart is situated at the delta of the Derwent River, and has a splendid harbor, with Mount Wellington behind the city, water in front, and a large domain or park at one side. While showing little life commercially, there is a charm about the Tasmania capital that sticks to one.
Three women to one man is Hobart's unequal population. The wages are so small that any young fellow with an ounce of pluck will cross Bass Straits to the mainland cities, where his labor sells for more than a bare living wage, with opportunities for amounting to something later that Tasmania does not offer. A preserve or jam factory in Hobart furnishes girls and women with employment.
Food and house rent are cheap, and for these reasons, together with the splendid climate all the year round, a considerable number of ex-British army officers, who have a pension, go there to spend their last days.
No stale fish is eaten in Hobart. At the wharfs many fish dealers are found, and their stock is kept in barges or scows containing enough water for the fish to swim in. A customer points out the fish he wants to buy, when it is speared and handed to the purchaser alive. One fish found in that locality—the"trumpeter"—is as sweet as American shad, and it has fewer bones. Oysters do well also in Hobart waters, as that city is nearly as far south of the equator as New York is north of that line. Fish caught in a warm climate have not the same flavor as fish that inhabit the waters of a colder one. An angler is at home when lolling about the brooks and rivers that abound a short distance from the city.
A dollar a day was all I paid for accommodation at a tidy hotel. That sum included three meals and a room.
One will find here a good museum, creditable art gallery and splendid park system, also a good street car system, electric lights, gas and other utilities.
"Appleland" would be a suitable name for Tasmania, as upward of 3,000,000 bushels of apples are shipped from that island each year, and the shipments are increasing. The Huon district, some 20 miles from Hobart, is the great apple growing section of southern Tasmania. Apple trees grow in these parts where nothing else would thrive, and large tracts of orchards are seen on the sides of rocky hills. Trees are not allowed to grow over six feet high, which adds much to the convenience and cheapness of picking. They are trimmed each season, and the stumps are eight inches in diameter in some instances, but only the stump, which will not rise over six inches above the ground, is left. The sprouts grow from the stump, and these do not, as stated, exceed six feet tall. These apples do not hang only from the ends of the limbs, as they do from most apple trees in America. Blossoms bloom from the body of the limb, and the limb and trunks of the sprouts are entirely covered with apples. Apples grow from the limbs as freckles on an arm. Ten acres of apple land in southern Tasmania bring in a nice yearly income. The trees grow bushy, and as many as 20 bushels are often picked from one. Most of the apples shipped from Hobart go to England, the time of shipment being from February to June.
Fifty miles from Hobart stands the walls of the old Port Arthur Prison, as well as the walls of the church, cracked and ready to fall, covered with ivy vines, where the prison officersworshiped; the nice avenues of trees where the freemen enjoyed the shade on a hot day are very pretty, and the cozy bay, with Point Peur jutting into still and attractive waters, suggest nothing, so far as nature is concerned, as to the place having been one of the most inaccessible, impenetrable prisons of the world. What was known as the hospital building is in good condition, and serves the small community of Carnarvon as a town hall and public school.
Port Arthur has been changed in name—to Carnarvon—as most of the places that have had anything to do with the early prison days of Van Diemen's Land. The prison was located on a strip of land, 12 miles in length, called Tasman Peninsula. Water naturally borders both sides of the peninsula, and the narrow neck of land at the head—Eagle Hawk Neck—of the peninsula is less than a quarter of a mile wide.
Just across the small bay from Port Arthur is Point Puer, on which for years there had been a boys' prison. Both men and boys sent to these prisons, located 13,000 miles from England, had committed alleged offenses in Great Britain. In addition to these two male prisons there was also one for women, but the latter was not located at Port Arthur. The ages of boys sent to the Point Puer ranged from 12 to 15 years. A number committed suicide, induced by homesickness and other causes. This inhuman state of affairs being brought to the late Queen Victoria's attention, she ordered the boys' prison razed to the ground.
The narrow neck of land referred to separates Norfolk Bay from the Pacific Ocean. To-day there are, or were recently, a row of posts standing across Eagle Hawk Neck—from Norfolk Bay to the ocean. To these posts dogs had been chained, the chains just long enough to allow a dog fastened to one post to meet the other. Some of these posts were driven in the bottom of Norfolk Bay, and on them was built a rest for the dogs to jump on when the tide was in. On each side of the narrow strip of land soldiers were stationed, the string of dogs between. Were a prisoner, in trying to escape the hardships of Port Arthur, to get beyond the sentries, and attempt to get bythe dogs, an uproar would be made by the canines, and the sentries on the other side would be on the alert if a prisoner chanced to get by the vicious dogs; so that any effort to escape by that route would be futile.
Norfolk Bay at that point is also narrow—not over a quarter of a mile wide—several prisoners making their escape by swimming across. To forestall further escapes by that means, sharks, which had been imported, were placed in the bay and fed. So, between the soldiers and the dogs on guard at Eagle Hawk Neck and Norfolk Bay full of sharks, once brought to Tasman Peninsula escape was impossible.
Masks were worn by prisoners when they attended church services, so that no recognition could take place. In addition to that precaution, the seats in the church had a board at the back as high as a man's head, and the prisoner was closed in by boards on each side. The preacher was the only man that could be seen when sitting in the box seat. From 1842-46 19,000 convicts were sent to Tasmania. Sometimes many died during the voyage. The only humane feature connected with the convict traffic was that the ship doctor received $2.40 for every prisoner who landed in Tasmania. Naturally, the doctor would do his best to collect the fee. The last shipment of convicts took place in 1877. It is said some prisoners sent to Tasmania had committed minor offenses, such as shooting a rabbit on another's property, stealing chickens, inability to pay debts, and similar charges.
Eucalyptus trees are said to grow to a height of 350 feet in certain parts of Tasmania, and also in some other States.
Reading accounts of the products of the Commonwealth, its exports of wool, meat and ores, and being unfamiliar with the obverse side of the picture—droughts, deserts and the rabbit pest—one would little expect to hear the question asked, "Will the 5,000,000 industrious populace of Australia, a name that fascinates as does California, and having an area one-quarter that of the British Empire, ever increase to 25,000,000?"
Only a fringe of this continent is habitable, behind these fertiletracts being expansive wastes, on portions of which rain does not fall, at times, for several years. No such river as the Nile or Mississippi flows through these salt deserts. Near the coast, visited by moderate rainfalls, are sections in which drought is ever feared, where wells have been bored to depths of thousands of feet, only to find, when a water vein has been pierced, that, in many instances, the flow proves to be salt water, unfit for drink or irrigation purposes. The two chief rivers of Australia—the Darling and the Murray—are small compared to waterways that course other countries. In dry seasons the water becomes low, and in drought periods the bottoms of these rivers offer little more moisture than is found on the plains.
Not more than one per cent. of the land of this great continent is under cultivation. In order to insure the harvesting of crops in favorable seasons, millions and millions of dollars have been expended by the government in building rabbit-proof fences; the quantity used would encircle the globe nearly half a dozen times. Added to this outlay, large sums have been expended in boring wells, building reservoirs and establishing water stations on cattle and sheep ranges. Buying land from landowners controlling large tracts, obtained by devious means in the early stages of the country's development, is still another heavy national expense. This land, when allotted to small farm settlers, is leased. Leasing the land, instead of granting the freehold, does not augur for a rapid increase in the rural population.
Quality, not quantity, seems to be the aim of the Commonwealth in regard to the immigrant entering its shores. "Assisted passages" apply chiefly to domestic help and agricultural workers of British birth or of British descent, and these must be in good health and of sound body. A strong sentiment seems to be prevalent for immigration, but those engaged at the various trades, and even the professions, do not encourage the coming of additional artisans to the respective vocations or an increase of names to the professional roster. Hence, the small volume of immigration to the Antipodes.
With a desert comprising a major portion of the continent, a temperature of 100 to 120 degrees prevailing over a large area, with but few rivers, pure water lakes or refreshing streams, and the bowels of the earth giving up brackish and salt water, thereby dispelling hope of the sandy wastes being reclaimed and the ravages of drought counteracted—meeting with failures in battling to overcome these natural barriers to development, we can picture running through the Australian's mind the paraphrased biblical quotation: "Paul may plant, Apollo may water, but God must give the increase."
Our first stop in New Zealand was at Bluff, a small port nearly a thousand miles eastward across the Tasman Sea from Hobart. Though composed of only a few hundred people, this place, nevertheless, commands the attention of a traveler, as it is one of the most southerly outposts of civilization, there being no white habitation between Bluff and the South Pole. Tons of cheese and butter were here loaded into the ship, brought by rail from Invercargill, eighteen miles inland, the commercial center of a thrifty farming district.
Abel J. Tasman, in 1642, was the first white man to discover New Zealand. He was frightened away by a warlike and fearless race of natives, but mapped out the coast line roughly, and named the country Staaten Island, which Dutch officials altered later to New Zealand. Captain James Cook, in 1769, was the first to land on New Zealand soil, which he did after much dickering with the Maoris; it then became a British possession.
While traveling through Devereux Straits from Bluff to Dunedin, one of the three islands comprising New Zealand—Stewart Island—was to the south. It has an area of 665 square miles, a mild and pleasant climate, and was a favorite assembling place for American whaling ships twenty-five to thirty years ago. A Maori settlement, most of the natives being fishermen and oysterers, form the chief inhabitants. Oban, twenty miles from Bluff, is the principal town. The straits between South and Stewart Islands was red with prawns, and thousands of fowl were feeding off these crustaceans; the birds make their home on the latter island. Later we reached the Heads of Otaga harbor, passed Port Chalmers, and seven miles further the vessel docked at Dunedin, a stronghold of the Scotch.
In 1848, after a voyage of several months in sailing vessels, two ship loads of Scotch Presbyterians from Scotland sailed up Otaga harbor and disembarked at what is now known as Dunedin, where they formed a settlement. Scotch energy was at once put into action—some of the colonists building homes, others turning over the soil of this virgin country, then seeding the land, later harvesting their meager crops—all initial undertakings requiring more patience and persistence than afterward, when better supplied with tools and implements, and more familiar with natural requirements. From this small beginning— followed by periods of anxiety, disappointment and hardship, as settlers, with more courage than money, in most all new countries have endured in battling with the uncertain phases which confronted them—the pluck of these hardy pioneers is represented in Dunedin being the metropolis of southern New Zealand.
Losing time hunting for level land or gently sloping hills on which to establish a city was not the Scotch way of doing things. The hills are so high, steep and rugged where the citizens of this center live that electric power would fail to draw street cars up some of the inclines; hence steps are cut into the rocks, and walks, made of boards, lead up to many of the homes. Like the rocky hills within the municipality, Dunedin is solidly built. Dark graystone figures largely in building, and streets are good and well looked after. An electric street car system is another asset, and the railway station is one of the best government buildings in New Zealand. Numerous church steeples rising about the metropolis attest the well-known religious tendency of this race; an art gallery, museum, libraries, schools, colleges and other factors indicating intellectual advancement, are found here—14,000 miles from Scotland and the gateway to the Antarctic region—a credit to Scotland grit. Among the manufactures are woolen goods and farm machinery. Frozen meat exports from the Island Dominion, as this country is often termed, are large. This great industry had its inception here, the first cargo being shipped in a sailing vessel from this port in 1881. Burns' clubs, bagpipe bands—which thrilla Scot wherever found—and Caledonian societies have flourished here since its settlement. The bands keep things lively, appearing frequently in complete regalia, the pipers holding their own with any in Scotland.
Sixty thousand people live in Dunedin, these being mainly Scotch. Some of the early colonists came from Dundee and others from Edinburgh, Scotland. While settlers from the former were bent on naming their new home Dundee, those from the latter wanted the place called Edinburgh. A compromise was finally reached by their taking the first syllable of Dundee (Dun) and the first and second syllables of Edinburgh (Edin), calling the place Dun-edin.
Ho! An American flag was flying from the mast of an old three-masted schooner in Otaga harbor. Though I had traveled nearly 22,000 miles since leaving New York and had been at the main ports of three continents, this was the only occasion the Stars and Stripes was observed flying from a vessel.
Little difference was observed here in the clothes worn or the general customs in vogue in America; but British names for certain business callings are the rule, such as ironmonger, fishmonger, mercer, draper, etc.
Everybody cuts their own bread in Dunedin. Sometimes resting on a wooden dish, and in other instances on an ordinary piece of board, the loaf is placed on the table, with a big knife alongside. Meat is served carved, however.
Splendid horses are noticeable—the big, heavy-bodied, hairy-legged Clydesdale breed.
Street cars do not run earlier than 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoons, when church services are over.
Liquor licenses are issued only to hotel-keepers; none to places where travelers are not accommodated. Hotel expenses were only $1.50 a day.
South Pole expeditions sailing from Europe generally call and remain some time at Port Chalmers to refurnish their stores before piercing the icy reaches of the Antarctic division of the world, and this is the first port explorers reach upon emerging from that but partially known region. Dual names tomany seaports throughout the British Empire prove confusing to the ordinary person. A news cablegram may tell of a South Pole exploring vessel having reached "Port Chalmers, N. Z." Seafaring men would know at once by the name the message bore that the explorers were in Dunedin; but very few persons in America or Europe would know that Port Chalmers and Dunedin denote the same place. Durban, South Africa, is another instance of a place known by two names. A seafaring man would call Durban "Port Natal" instead of the name by which it is better known; and cables also give it as Port Natal. Instances could be cited of a captain saying he was sailing to a certain "port" which a passenger never heard of, but who would readily recognize the place if the name was mentioned as it is designated in books.
The apteryx—or kiwi, as this bird is generally called—is a native of New Zealand, and one of the strangest fowl in the world. Man, beast, animal and fowl have been provided with two arms and two legs, four legs, or two legs and two wings, respectively. The kiwi, as large as a hen and brown of color, however, has been furnished with two legs, but has no wings. Its feet are similar to those of other fowl; it has a long bill, and thin, scattering feathers grow straight from its head. The sides of the kiwi appear as free of wings as those of a cat. The habits of that strange bird are similar to the pheasants. Its call note, "ki-i-wi!" uttered during the early hours of the night, has great penetrating power, and ceases after midnight.
"Not far from here is a waterfall with a drop of 2,000 feet—the highest in the world," remarked a patriotic New Zealander. "Is it an uninterrupted waterfall?" was asked. "No, there are several breaks," was the answer. When reminded that Yosemite Falls, in California, has a sheer drop of 1,600 feet and a total descent of 2,400 feet, it occurred to him he may have used the word "world" inadvisedly. Not far from Dunedin is the natural scenic section of that country, with a splendid chain of lakes, glaciers, high mountains and attractive gorges. The highest mountain in Australia is 7,000 feet, and Mount Cook, not far from Dunedin, rises to 12,000feet. Cold weather prevails in this section in winter, accompanied by ice, snow and blizzards.
No snakes or poisonous insects are said to be found in that country. One may lie down on the earth in any place and have no fear of being bitten or stung by anything that lives under or on the surface.
From Dunedin to Christchurch I had my first experience riding on New Zealand trains, owned by the government. Some of the passenger coaches are patterned after the American cars. The track is more than a foot narrower—3 feet 6 inches—which does not allow room for two persons on a seat on each side of the car aisles. One row of seats will seat two persons, but those on the other side accommodate but one person. Seats are upholstered, and the train schedule is 30 miles an hour. This was a first-class car, and the fare three cents a mile. Some of the second-class coaches are not as well equipped. Boards, secured to the sides, with only a thin cushion over them, run the length of the vehicle. It is merely a bench, no partition separating passengers, the side of the coach serving as a back rest. The corner seats are coveted ones, as a passenger can put his back to the end and stretch his legs. It is the worst accommodation I have seen in railroad coaches. The government charges its patrons two cents a mile; no reduction in fare is allowed for return tickets.
A hundred miles south of Christchurch the road passes through a rich farming country known as Canterbury Plains. Farm land in that district sells at $200 to $300 an acre. Great quantities of frozen mutton, wool and grain are shipped from Timaru, a seaport town in that section. As many as 6,000,000 carcasses of mutton and lamb are shipped from New Zealand each year. There are over 25,000,000 head of sheep in the Island Dominion.
One would never think it was possible to conduct a farm on an eight-hour basis, yet those are the hours worked by farm hands in New Zealand, with extra pay for overtime. Wages are good, also, as they run from $30 to $40 a month with board.
One would feel safer with hobnails in the soles of his shoeswhile walking about some of the residential sections of Dunedin, so steep are the hills; but Christchurch is built on a level surface—on Canterbury Plains. Dunedin, as stated, was settled by the Scotch, but Christchurch was settled by the English in 1850, two years after the foundation of Dunedin was laid.
Instead of States, the Dominion of New Zealand is divided into provinces, and Christchurch is the metropolis of the Canterbury Provincial District. It has a population of 70,000 thrifty people, and the city is rich in beautiful flower gardens, fruit trees, and grassy lawns, while the River Avon, its water of a glassy clearness, and its grassy and tree-covered banks, uniting in forming a picture, winds attractively through the city.
Here may be seen splendid churches, colleges and schools. Seldom is a church the center or hub of a city, yet street cars stop and start from the Cathedral of Christchurch, and it is the point from which distances are measured. No skyscrapers, nor such grand buildings as Melbourne and Sydney can boast of are seen here, yet everything has a solid, attractive and complete appearance.
The homes of the people attract attention by the large space in front of them and at the sides. Each lot contains one-quarter of an acre—66 feet in front and 136 feet in depth. Houses are mostly one story, and flowers, shrubs and grass in front and at the sides add much to their comfortable appearance. Most of these are owned by their occupants, and where rent is paid, which, as in Australia, is on a weekly basis, the rate is from $3 to $5. Every home has its own reservoir or water supply. Some thirty feet under the surface there is said to be a lake, and each householder bores in his yard until the water gushes up. The waste water running from these thousands of wells serves as a flushing system. Christchurch streets are of good width—66 feet.
One could not expect to visit a prettier place than Hagley Park, through which the beautiful Avon River runs. Weeping willow trees grow on the banks, and the ends of their drooping limbs are constantly refreshed by the water in which they rest. Besides the general attractiveness of the park, thereis a splendid museum containing much of interest, built within the grounds.
"Wait Until Car Stops, Fine $25," is a caution to passengers posted in street cars of that city. Were street car companies in some American cities fined $25 every time a conductor forgot to signal a stop at places where he was requested to do so there would be more appointments kept, money saved passengers, and less wrangling.
Every one is his own bread carver here, as in Dunedin. The New Zealander, like his Australian brother, is a meat eater. Beef sold at 10 to 12 cents, mutton at 6 to 8 cents, and pork at 12 cents a pound.
Good newspapers are printed in this city. Wages are $15 to $16 a week. Laborers receive $2 a day. An eight-hour day is universal in New Zealand.
The system of measurement in both New Zealand and Australia is that of the chain—66 feet. A chain wide, two chains, two-and-a-half chains long, are the terms used.
Prohibition has a considerable hold on the people, as most of the smaller cities are "dry."
Double fare may be charged by cab drivers on holidays only, but in other countries cabbies collect excess fares any time patrons will pay them.
Theaters, bioscopes, amusements and sports of all sorts are found in the city, being freely patronized.
The kea bird of New Zealand is destructive to sheep, and for that reason the government pays a bounty of $5 for every dead kea. This bird is of the parrot species, dark green in color, with a bill an inch and a half in length, curved like a parrot's beak. It will alight on a sheep's back, and at once attack the animal in the section of the kidneys with its sharp bill, as the only part the kea cares for is the fat growing about the kidneys. The animal naturally bleeds to death in a short time, when the bird gratifies its appetite at leisure. The desire for this food is an acquired one, as the kea first got its taste for sheep fat from skins hung on fences and other places to dry.
The islands of New Zealand are divided by Cook's Straits,which are 40 miles wide. One section, lying south of Cook's Straits, is known as South Island, and the land north of the straits is termed North Island. We have been traveling in South Island, which is far richer.
Port Lyttleton, the port for Christchurch, is located nine miles from the metropolis. Boats run to Wellington daily, the sailing time being ten hours.
One man one vote, and one woman one vote, is the scope of franchise New Zealand offers. Parliament is composed of 70 members, elected for three years. Several political parties exist in the Dominion, and the one in power chooses from among the Assembly a successor for the Premiership. Although the Premier is the responsible head of the government, over him is an imperial official, a governor-general, from the British Isles, who is appointed by the King of England. New Zealand, in common with other colonies of the British Empire, pays the governor-general's salary. The Cook group of islands, located 1,800 miles northeast of Wellington in the Southern Pacific Ocean, is a dependency of New Zealand, and its affairs are administered by the Dominion Parliament.
Previous mention has been made of a good railway station in Dunedin, and that nearly completed the substantial government buildings seen when that country was visited. We also commented on the poor accommodation furnished second-class passengers on railway trains, though paying two cents a mile. A wooden building—if it has not since been replaced—"the largest wooden office building in the world," is pointed out to visitors to Wellington. A government office building in the capital of a country—built of wood! The worst public building in the splendid city of Christchurch was the government railway station; the station at Wellington would not make a decent sheep shed. With passenger and freight rates sufficient, and a heavy import duty collected on most commodities entering the country, together with an annual tax on incomes of $1,500 and over, the dearth of creditable public buildings, and the inferior railway accommodation afforded second-class passengers, would seem to suggest that government managementdid not bear the mark of striking efficiency. On the other hand, the people are thrifty, courteous, kind, congenial and mostly in good circumstances.
The business portion of Wellington is built at the bottom of a chain of high hills, with a splendid harbor front. These hills are so steep that stairways and cable lines figure largely as utilities by which residents reach their homes. One misses the convenient squares and parks found in other centers in that part of the world, but the absence of these here is accounted for by lack of room, as the space between the butts of the hills and the docks is limited even for business purposes. Some distance from the business center, however, is a good botanical garden, and in another direction are creditable parks, with sports grounds included, which enable the capital to make a fair showing in this particular.
Most of the dwellings are of wood, and rents are, like the hills surrounding the city, high. The weekly system of paying bills is customary here. Some of these homes, for which $25 and $35 a month rent is paid, are difficult to reach, even after one has alighted from a cable car. Rents are higher in Wellington than in any city of Australasia. Wages, too, are comparatively low. Laborers receive no more than in cities where rent is much cheaper. Mechanics receive about $3 a day.
One cannot but observe the trend of industrial advancement in almost every quarter of the globe visited. It is a very dull place, indeed, where houses or buildings of some sort are not under course of construction. In Wellington the sound of hammer and saw is heard in valleys and on hillsides miles away from the city. Landlords squeezed their tenants so hard that the government was finally induced to help the citizens by advancing money with which to build homes on sites some distance from the capital.
Arbitration courts fix wages, but that system of settling disputes between employer and employe works out better in theory than in practice, judging from the number of strikes that so frequently take place. Anyway, one clause of this law is very effective—if a man works for an employer for a less wage thanhad been fixed by the court, both employer and employe are fined.
Double-decked street cars are in use in Wellington, as in cities of the South Island. A few cars run on Sunday up to 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The fare up to that hour being 12 cents, persons going to and from church might have reason to pinch on the contribution to make up for excessive street-car charges. The custom is hard to explain. Certainly, it is too far to walk from some of the valleys to the city, but, as a limited number of cars are run for the convenience of churchgoers, why this overcharge? It is possible church-going people have a Sunday commutation ticket; if so, non-churchgoers who patronize the cars would pay the freight.
Gas costs $1.80 a thousand feet here. A private company controls this commodity.
Wellington, with a population of 75,000, is the chief seaport of New Zealand. In addition to being located in the center of the two islands, its good, land-locked harbor, deep enough to admit vessels of great draught, adds greatly to its commercial prestige. Big vessels plying between England and New Zealand dock and start from here.
Meat is no dearer than in other New Zealand cities—6 to 12 cents a pound. Telegraph messages cost but 12 cents for 12 words.
The government pays pensions to citizens who have reached the age of 65 years and whose incomes do not exceed $240 a year. This rate is the same as is paid in Australia—$2.40 a week each to husband and wife.
The Town Hall, with other municipal and business buildings, is a creditable one, and its auditorium and balconies are packed with people who attend the Sunday evening concerts, furnished by the city, which do not begin until church services are over. A good museum is another attraction. Little in favor of the streets can be said, however, for they are poorly laid out and are not kept as tidy as those in other cities.
Newspapers are well up to the mark for the size of the city,and had I been short of funds, I could have kept my head above water, as I was offered work here.
The standard of law and order maintained in the Island Dominion may be inferred when it is mentioned that there are no keys to doors in some hotels. When shown to a room at one place the absence of a key was brought to the attention of the clerk. "There are no keys to any of the rooms," he explained, in a matter-of-fact manner. Notwithstanding high rents and the high price of gas, hotel expenses were only $1.20 a day.
Pelorus Jack, the pilot fish, lives on the other side of Cook's Straits from Wellington. Like the kea bird and the kiwi, he is in a class by himself—the most remarkable fish in the world. He is perhaps the only pilot that ever lived who knows nothing about the science of navigation. Pelorus Jack belongs to the dolphin family. His length is about 14 feet, and he is bluish-white in color. His home is in Pelorus Sound, and the channel from that body of water to Nelson is very tortuous. Where the channel becomes dangerous for ships, Jack will be found, waiting. When a vessel reaches the mouth of the channel, the dolphin sallies forth, faithfully following the curves of the route, and the ship is steered in accordance with his trail. Outgoing vessels are also met by this remarkable fish, who precedes the ship until it has reached safe water. The Maoris aver that Jack has lived in these parts for generations, and in their eyes he is an ocean god. An act of Parliament was passed in 1904 protecting all fish of that species in New Zealand waters. As Jack is probably the only fish of his sort living in Cook's Straits, he enjoys the exclusive protection of the legislative decree.