1. GENERAL HISTORY.

1606. Torres, a Spaniard, passed through the strait that bears his name, and first brought intelligence to Europe of a vast terra incognita in the south seas, although it appears to have been first seen in 1601 by Manoel Godenho, a Portuguese. In the same year William Verschoora, a Dutchman, saw Cape York.

1608-28. During these twenty years, Tasman, and other Dutch navigators, e.g., Dirk Hartog, in 1616 (see p. 153), explored various parts of the coast; their explorations in this direction being accounted for by the flourishing state of the Dutch possessions in India and the East Indies. Tasman called the vast island-continent NEW HOLLAND, like a loyal Dutchman, and give his own name to the smaller island south of it. The Dutch took no steps to colonise their great discovery of New Holland, as they of course continued to called it, but kept it secret.

1684-90. The Englishman William Dampier, a sort of Middle-age Viking, half explorer, half buccaneer, re-surveyed the W. and N.W. coasts.

1770. Cook carefully surveyed the eastern coast-line. He was sent out to seek a suitable settlement for convicts, the scum and refuse of the criminal population of the mother country, and recommended Botany Bay; and to this bay accordingly the first batch was sent, but the Governor chose Port Jackson, instead, and history has justified his choice. This was in 1787.

1789. Captain Bligh surveyed the N.E. coasts, and added largely to the information possessed by Europe.

2. COLONIAL HISTORY.

A few great historical facts in the history of each colony may now be given, in order of settlement :

1. New South Wales, 1788.

In 1770 Captain Cook explored eastern coasts.

In 1787 six transports and three store ships sailed from England, convoyed by a frigate and an armed tender, carrying 565 male and 192 female convicts, under the command of Captain Phillip. Including Captain Phillip, 1792, and Sir H. G. R. Robinson, the present Governor, there have been in all 23 Governors.

1788. Settled in Port Jackson.

For five years Governor Phillip fought his battle against unruly convicts, treacherous blacks, rebellious settlers, famine, flood, and drought -fought it like a hero, and won. His immediate successors, Hunter, King, and Bligh (of the "Bounty "), had hard work, but not so hard as his.

1803. First newspaper published.

1810. Population about 8293, cultivating 98,000 acres of land.

1813. First discovery of a passage through the Blue Mountainsdiscovered on account of a severe drought compelling the squatters to look out for more pasture. Captain Macarthur had some years before introduced the merino sheep, which had multiplied rapidly. 1828. Population about 37,000.

1836. Population of Sydney about 20,000. Victoria first settled. 1840-1. Transportation of convicts ceased.

1848. Constitution proclaimed.

1851. GOLD discovered near Bathurst.

1852. Population 208,000.

1856. Victoria had a constitution granted.

1859. Queensland had a constitution granted. 1861. Population 359,000.

Probably the following statistics indicate the prosperity of the colony as well as it is possible to put the matter. They are taken from an authoritative Statistical View of the Progress of the Colony of New South Wales from the year 1862 to 1871 inclusive."

1862 367,495 1040 273,389 2,620,383 6,145,651 125,541 476,522 13,482,139 7,102,562 1871 519,182 7017 304,100 2,014,888 16,278,297 213,193 898,784 65,611,953 11,245,032

2. West Australia, 1829.

In 1829 Captain Stirling founded the colony, and was appointed first Governor; but it increased very slowly, and was in danger more than once of having to be abandoned. In 1832 its population was only 1540. The transportation of convicts has now ceased, but there are yet a few in the colony who are working out their period.

3. South Australia, 1834.

This colony was founded in 1834 by the South Australian Company, but very little was done in the way of colonising until 1837.

1842. In this year traces of the vast stores of COPPER were discovered accidentally (like the silver of Potosi, the gold of New South Wales, &c.), by Menge, a German geologist, but his statements were at first ridiculed.

1847. By this year thirty-one copper mines were opened, and the original £5 shares of the Burra-Burra mine, 85 miles N. of Adelaide, had risen to £160.

1856. A constitution was granted.

1872. The line of telegraph through to Port Darwin completed, and great rejoicings took place.

4. Victoria, 1836.

This grand colony was originally the Australia Felix or Port Phillip district of New South Wales, and as such it was settled in 1836-7.

In 1851 it had increased so rapidly, that jealousy of the Government of Sydney caused it to seek a constitution of its own, which was given in 1856. By this the administration was invested in a Governor and two Houses.

In 1851 gold was discovered, and 1856 will ever be memorable as the year of great rushes to the gold-fields, on account of which sheep were left unshorn, corn unreaped, and ships without sailors. The production that year was over 3,000,000 oz.

5. Queensland, 1859.

Queensland was originally the Cooksland or Moreton Bay district of New South Wales,

In 1834 the foundation of Brisbane was laid by Mr Oxley. Jealousy of the New South Wales Government led to a desire of separation on the part of Queensland-as the colonists elected to have their country called-and accordingly a constitution was given them in 1859.

3. EXPLORERS.

A full account of the explorations in Australia for the last thirty years would fill many volumes. The student should read any of those that have been published by the various travellers, to acquire an idea of the dangers and excitements of traversing unknown lands. We can give only a very brief summary of names and doings.

1817. Cunningham explored the Macquarie and Lachlan. 1844. STURT and John McDoual Stuart passed along the Darling, and struck off to the interior. They discovered Cooper's Creek, Sturt's Stony Desert, and reached lat. 24° 20′ S. long. 138° E., to within 150 miles of the centre of the continent-"Sturt's farthest, 1845"-and were then compelled to return to Adelaide, after an absence of nineteen months.

Eyre explored Eyria peninsula, and found it a stony desert. 1845-7. LEICHARDT, a wealthy German with a taste for wild travel, started from Sydney and went N. about 200 miles from the coast, until he struck the Gulf of Carpentaria. He explored the Burdekin and several other rivers, in what is now Queensland, and the whole of the southern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, terminating his adventurous journey at Victoria, on Port Essington, in Cobourg peninsula. In 1848 he started on another expedition, and perished.

1847. KENNEDY first explored York peninsula. He then penetrated as far S. as lat. 26°, near the Barcoo or Victoria. Afterwards he went into the peninsula again, where he was murdered. He was followed by Sir Thomas Mitchell and others (Mitchell river). The river Pavroo (Booro Poro) is supposed to be the Nivelle of Sir Thomas Mitchell.

1856. GREGORY explored the Victoria river from Cambridge Gulf. He had been preceded by Stokes, but went farther S., crossed the dividing range, and was compelled to return by meeting dry beds of salt lakes, in a desert country covered with ridges of red drift sand (Gregory's farthest, S. lat. 20°). After returning to the Gulf of Carpentaria, he went to Sydney on Leichardt's route. The New South Wales

Government sent him to find poor Leichardt, but he did not succeed.

1861. F. T. Gregory, a brother of the Victoria river explorer, travelled up the De Grey river, until he was stopped by ridges of drift sand-lat. 22° S., long. 122° E. He after

wards travelled in the country E. of the Swan River settlement, and found numerous salt lakes.

1858. STUART, the companion of Sturt (1845), explored the Horseshoe Lake, Torrens, and found it a myth. He discovered the mountain ranges and lakes now laid down there on the maps. Previous explorers sent by the South Australian Government-Hack, Warburton, Fielding, Babbage-had given such contradictory accounts of this supposed lake, one saying it was a lake, another, he had never seen it—that the Government were determined to have the mystery solved, and Stuart did it.

He

Stuart was now determined to cross the continent. may be considered the pioneer of the telegraph, completed in 1872.

In 1860 he reached the centre, and writes, April 23 :-"Today I find from my observations on the sun that I am now camped in the centre of Australia." He did not find it a sandy desert, as the maps unblushingly declared in large letters, but a splendid grassy plain.

Leaving this, he pushed up to 18° 47'-2° further N. than Gregory's farthest S.; but was compelled to return by hostile native tribes.

In 1861 he tried again and failed, after reaching 17° S.

But he set off again the same year, nothing daunted, and on the 25th of July he planted the British flag on the Indian Ocean while shedding tears of joy at his well-merited success. The South Australian Government liberally rewarded every member of the expedition, and gave Stuart himself £2000. In the same year he received the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal.

1860. BURKE and WILLS. These intrepid but unfortunate men led an expedition, fitted out at Melbourne, for traversing the whole country to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Their headquarters were to be Cooper's Creek (Sturt, 1845). They reached the Gulf in February 1861, having explored parts of the valleys of the rivers Flinders, Leichardt, Norman, &c. Leichardt had given the name of Plains of Promise to this inland region, S. of the Gulf of Carpentaria, with which these travellers quite agreed. Then they returned to Cooper's Creek, but found the expedition that had been sent from Melbourne with provisions, &c., for them had left a few days before, and they were too weak to follow. By what a trifling error or mistake the lives of brave men may be sacrificed! Grey died first; Burke and Wills struggled a little farther, and then died. King was rescued by a second search expedi

tion. Their bodies were removed to Melbourne. Their names remain in such places as Grey's Creek, Burke's Creek, King's Creek in the far interior; but even more imperishably as the pioneers of the knowledge of the Australian interior. It appears to be the sad fate of pioneers to die.

Various expeditions were fitted out in search of these men, as they did not return within the time expected. Of these we may mention those headed by

a. Norman, the commander of H.M.S. Victoria, who endeavoured to reach them from the S. shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

b. M'Kinlay was sent out by South Australia. He found the place where Burke and Wills died. He then went N. to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, a little E. of the track of Burke and Wills. He explored more of the Burdekin, and struck the E. shore at Port Denison, lat. 20°. He reported well of the interior plains N. of 20°.

c. Landsborough was sent by Captain Norman from the S. shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria. He went as far as 20° S., and then returned, having found the country coast well watered. ("Landsborough's farthest, December 1861.") He then set out again through the Plains of Promise, went along the Flinders, thence into the Thomson valley, thence to William's Station on the Warrego, which he reached May 1862. ("Landsborough 1862, from Carpentaria.") He then returned.

d. Walker left Rockhampton on Keppel Bay in 1861, and travelled across to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria in about four months.

Since these expeditions, surveying and exploring has gone on rapidly. Each Government maintains its own staff of surveyors, engineers, draughtsmen, &c., and in time the whole country will be known. South Australia still keeps to the front, for she has lately (1872) finished a telegraph line the whole distance from Adelaide to Port Denison, nearly along the line of route that Stuart took. Just as the old Dutch names along the coasts commemorate 17th century navigators, so do the names of mountain, river, and creek (the Australian for a river that runs nowhere), bear the names of modern travellers, their friends or patrons. Captain Stokes in 1839 named Mount Lyell in the Fitzroy range in the N.W. In 1841 he was in the Plains of Promise. Other travellers are Dixon (Bogan Valley 1833), Lefroy (1863), Hunt (1864)-salt lake district E. of West Australia. Besides these, Oxley, Hume, Hovell, and many others whose names are known and honoured in the colonies.