ABOUT AUSTRALIA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9049, 7 February 1908, Page 3

ABOUT AUSTRALIA.

By W.B.

(Concluded). Leaving Dubbo, a town of medium size, at the junction of the BurkeCoonamble line, we travelled northwest, stopping at many places on the way, and finally reached Bourke, the terminus of the western line situated on the river Darling and 508 miles from Sydney. All along this line the drought and grasshopper were playing sad havoc with the grass and crops; in places they had even starved out bunny. Wheat, cattle, sheep and rabbits appear to be the chief products of the surface soil and out of the lower levels a quantity of copper is obtained in places, and also a little gQld. In many places the sheep are not much larger than a good-sized poodle, and run like a hare. They appear to live on the shrubs, chiefly kinds of wild sage plants, most of the year. This is the district I tried to get a shot at the kangaroo and emu, but had to be contented with a few wallaby and a big iguana. We afterwards learnt that we passed quite close to a flock of emu without seeing them. From Bourke we returned to Blayney and caught a train for the south. All the country between Blayney and Wagga Wagga abounds with rabbits. At Albury we stopped for six hours awaiting a fast train for Melboune and had a good look at the town, a place of about 6,000 inhabitants, so 1 was told. Thence on to Melbourne. In Melboune I met several old Mastertonians, including Mr Snowdon, Mr E. Kelleher and Mr C. A. M. Crombie. The latter is in the titles office, and the two former in the Public Works Office. Mr T. S. Farrer, well-known in Masterton and the East Coast, resides about twenty miles out of Melbourne. After haying a look at several parts of Victoria we returned to Sydney and started north, stopping at Newcastle, where, at the Crystal Palace Hotel, I met in the proprietor an old New Zealander, who used to be in the Wellington police force. We also stayed at Mateland, Mirswellbrook, Tamworth and Brisbane. From Brisbane we had a look at the renowned Jimbur Estate, which was resumed, sub-divided and placed on the market. The lard was of firstrate quality, hut no water was. obtainable under 200 feet and the conditions were such as to prohibit anyone with less than £2,500 taking it up; consequently it went beggi/ig. The working man with a few hundreds of capital goes for the cheaper Jand. The price of the Jiinbur Estate averaged about £5 10a per acre; and the conditions were a sort of deferred payment with the initial payment the heaviest. I was inforjned that the climate in this part (Darling Downs) was very precarious, and even in summer time, subject to heavy hail stoiras which flattened crops right out. From there we returned to Sydney, and took the Moeraki for Wellington, and three and ahalf days later landed safely in Ao-tea-roa..