Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26, 1938. AUSTRALIA’S DAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 49, 26 January 1938, Page 8

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26, 1938. AUSTRALIA’S DAY.

To-day Australians are honouring a most notable event in their history, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the first British settlement, at Sydney, on the beautiful shores of the great harbour of Port Jackson. The celebrations have brought to the Mother State capital a large concourse of people, eminent visitors from overseas, and sportsmen of every kind to participate in the events arranged for the occasion. It is fitting that the celebration should take place in Sydney, apart from the fact that it is the centre of the first settlement, for it is the Commonwealth’s greatest city, which has attracted a preponderant part of the State’s population. To-day Australians look back with pride and satisfaction to the remarkable growth of their country during the past one hundred and fifty years, and they honour the memory of the great men and women who have played a distinguished part in their history. To Governor Phillip and his party much thought will be given. It was on January 18, 1788, that as commander of the first fleet of eleven ships sent from England to found the settlement, he arrived at Botany Bay in a man-of-war accompanied by three transports. Two days later the rest of his complement reached their rendezvous. But he was not satisfied with the prospects of Botany Bav, and on January 22 exnlored in the little shin Supply the waters ,of Port Jackson, to become convinced of its superiority as the first British settlement. Three days later his whole fleet, weighed anchor and sailed northwards—a decision of great moment which reached its climax on January 26, when a landing was made and the new country was claimed in the name of Ring George TTT. Disembarkation was completed by February 6 and the next day the formal •nroclamntion was made establishing British rule.

The occasion will be found one for retrospect by Australians. As a chronicler states, ‘‘the tranquillity of the first scene is now replaced by the tumult of a vast metropolis. The virgin bushland, which once was but a monotonous prospect, has given place to buildings, tall and stately, which rear their dominating outlines against the city’s horizon. The vast waterways of the harbour —upon which the tiny Supply was but a solitary and isolated vessel when it first entered the harbour—are now the venue of the city’s varied

shipping- craft, the port of the mighty leviathans of the deep, all of which pass beneath a mighty bridge. To the memory of those sturdy pioneers, whose wisdom and whose courage brought th r ' change about, we pay a willing and a grateful tribute.” The early years were difficult and at times disastrous. The hard-pressed colony was faced with famine at an early stage, and military rule for a decade from 1800 caused serious dissension. But progress was inevitable as sheep-raising and agriculture gained strength. Exploration followed, and soon the hinterland became known to “men of rugged zeal and doggedness of purpose, who extended the limits of the coastal colony to the western plains and the Darling Downs.” In 1840 the British Government abolished transportation to New South Wales; two years later representative government was granted, and in 1851 responsible government, a year associated with the discovery of gold which has contributed so largely to Australia’s wealth and population. The first railways were constructed in 1852, progress that went hand in hand with the development of the primary industries. To-day Australia is continuing her remarkable expansion. She has emerged prosperous from the disastrous times of several years ago. , Her secondary industries are flourishing and primary production each year adds its strength to the economic structure. New Zealand takes a special interest in the sesquicentenary celebrations, for there is a bond of mutual interest with Australia. From its shores came the early traders, leaders of religion in Marsden and Samuel Leigh, Busby as British Resident, and Hobson as LieutenantGovernor, this country then being a dependency of the Mother State. On Gallipoli, in Palestine, and on the Western Front New Zealanders fought side by side with their Australian cousins, and the bond between the two countries, in spite of what differences may arise, is real. The best wishes go from this country to Australia on this eventful occasion.