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AUSTRALIA 1
Statistics. Climate. — The tropic of Capricorn divides Australia into two parts. Of these the northern or intertropical portion contains 1,145,000 square miles, comprising half of Queensland, the Northern Territory of South Australia, and the north - western divisions of West Australia. The whole of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia proper, half of Queensland, and more than half of West Australia, comprising 1,801,700 square miles, are without the tropics. In a region so extensive very great varieties of climate are naturally to be expected, but it may be stated as a general law that the climate of Australia is milder than that of corresponding lands in the Northern Hemisphere. During July, which is the coldest month in southern latitudes, one half of Australia has a mean temperature ranging from 45° to 61°, and the other half from 62° to 80°. The following are the areas subject to the various average temperatures during the month referred to :— Temperature Area in Fahr. Square Miles. 45°-50° 18,800 50°-55° 596,300 55°-60° 681,800 60°-65° 834,400 65°-70° 515,000 70o-75° 275,900 75°-80° 24,500 The1 temperature in December ranges from 60° to above 95 I ahr., half of Australia having a mean temperature below 84°. Dividing the land into zones of average summer temperature, the following are the areas which would fall to each :— Temperature Area in Fahr. 0 Square Miles. eo^-es 67,800 65o-70° 63,700 70oo-75° 352,300 75 -80° 439,200 80°-85° 733.600 85o-90° 570.600 90°-95° 584,100 95° and over 135,400 Judging from the figures just given, it must be conceded that a considerable area of the continent is not adapted for colonization by European races. The region with a mean summer temperature in excess of 95° Fahr. is the interior of the Northern Territory of South Australia north of the 20th parallel; and the whole of the country, excepting the seaboard, lying between the meridians of 120° and 140°, and north of the 25th parallel, has a mean temperature in excess of 90° Fahr. Recent observations confirm the earlier opinions as to the dryness of the Australian climate, and it may be taken that nearly 40 per cent, of the area of the continent has not a greater annual rainfall than 10 inches. This dry area is shaped like a flattened oval lying between the 117th and 142nd meridian east and the parallels of 21° south. Very little of Queensland and New South Wales and no part of Victoria lie within this area. The following table shows the rainfall zones in square miles : Rainfall Areas in Rainfall. Square Miles. Under 10 inches 1,219,600 10 to 20 „ 843,100 20 to 30 „ 399,900 30 to 40 225,700 40 to 50 ,, 140,300 50 to 60 ,, 47,900 60 to 70 56.100 Over 70 ,, 14.100 Total 2,946,700 1 These statistics refer only to the continental states of the Federation, not to Tasmania.
[statistics Population. — The Australian people are mainly of British origin, only 5 per cent, of the population of European descent being of non-British race. It is certain that the aborigines are very much less numerous than when the country was first colonized, but their present numbers can be given for only a few of the states. At the census of 1891, 38,879 aborigines were enumerated, of whom 8280 were in New South Wales, 565 in Victoria, 23,789 in South Australia, and 6245 in West Australia. It has been asserted by the Queensland authorities that there are 70,000 aborigines in that state; but this is a crude estimate, and may be far wide of the truth. In South Australia and the Northern Territory a large number are outside the bounds of settlement, and it is probable that they are as numerous there as in Queensland. The census of West Australia included only those aborigines in the employment of the colonists; and as a large part of this, the greatest of the Australian states, is as yet unexplored, it may be presumed that the aborigines enumerated were very far short of the whole number of persons of that race in the state. Taking all things into consideration, the aboriginal population of the continent may be set down at something like 200,000. The Chinese number about 36,000, and are chiefly found in New South Wales and Queensland; South Sea Islanders and other coloured races number probably about 16,000, and are to be found principally in Queensland. On the 1st January 1900 the population of Australia was 3,535,430, but this figure is exclusive of aborigines living outside the boundaries of settlement. The increase of population since 1870 was as follows1870, 1,549,706; 1880, 2,130,686; 1890, 3,013,790. The expansion has been due mainly to the natural increase; that is, by reason of excess of births over deaths. Immigration to Australia has not been on a large scale since the first gold discoveries. The distance from Europe and the cost of the passage tend to prevent the flow of population, but added to this there has been lately a disinclination on the part of the Australian Governments, except those of Queensland and West Australia, to encourage immigration and provide for the welfare of the immigrants on their arrival. During the last ten years the inflow of population has not averaged more than four or five thousand a year, and in 1899 there was an actual excess of emigrants to the number of 5189. The natural increase of population is about 141 per thousand, a ratio very little higher than in Great Britain, where the excess of births over deaths is about 12 per thousand, and far below the average obtaining in these states a few years ago. In 1899 the births numbered 95,964 and the deaths 45,425, showing a ratio per thousand equal to 27'25 and 12-90 respectively. In 1891 the births numbered 105,215 and the deaths 45,187, giving the ratios of 34'42 and 14‘7 8 per thousand respectively. There has been a very great falling-off in the proportion of births to marriages, to such an extent indeed that the rate of Australia, which was formerly very high, has now dropped to the European level. This change has taken place since 1884. On the other hand there has been an improvement in the death-rates. The marriages in 1899 numbered 24,811, which gives a proportion of 7'05 per thousand inhabitants. This ratio is below the normal, and may be expected to be increased to about 7-50 per thousand, which was about the average for the years 1886 to 1890. The decline in the Australian marriage-rate was largely due to the bank failures which occurred in 1893, and from which the states have made a very slow recovery. Australia contains only four cities whose population exceeds 100,000, and fifteen with over 10,000. The principal cities and towns are Sydney (pop. 489,000), Newcastle,
