London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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- - AUSTRALIA! - - This essay, written by Lloyd Stevenson, was awarded first prize in the Province of Ontario in the Essay com- petition sponsored by the Government of Australia. URING the Seven Years' War in North America, the war which determined the an English officer named destiny of Canada. James Cook served his king on a man-of-war, downfall of Quebec. This and witnessed the oflicer, whose name was later to appear in the history of Canada's great sister dominion, soundings which made it Australia, took the possible for the English ships to navigate the St. Lawrence, and so to bring about the down- fall of Quebec and the conquest of Canada. France, deprived of her greatest colony in the north, began to consider the possibilities of Australia. But Holland claimed the country, and Spain's pretension could not be ignored. None of these nations, however. made any attempt to colonize the land, and Australia still waited for an active claimant. In 1770 Captain Cook sailed westward from New Zealand, and, cruising along the east coast of Australia. landed at Botany Bay, where he planted the British Hag. It was a fateful occa- sion, that autumn morning now more than a hundred and sixty years past, that marked the beginning of England's interest in Australia. That was in March. On June 11th. after a trying voyage, during which his ship was all but sunk, and most of his ship's company died of fever. Cook docked his vessel at Deal, in the south of England. 'We can picture him striding up from the quay in his blue coat and white knee-breeches, bearing a message whose tre- mendous import not even he could guess. Sixteen years passed. and despite the danger of being forestalled England continued to neglect Australia, and probably would have done so still longer had not her hand been forced. For some time it had been the custom to transport political prisoners and other unde- sirables to the American colonies. especially the Southern States. But the American revolu- tion closed the door. and in 1788 Captain Phillip arrived at Botany Bay with the Iirst transport of convicts to settle in Australia. This beginning did not augur well for the future of the new land. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that the great majority of the transported convicts were unfortunate political offenders. and very few were criminals in any real sense of the word. Page Twenty-six During its early history the penal colony at Sydney had a very unhappy existence. But con- ditions gradually improved, and many free settlers began to come across from Great Britain and to take up farms and sheep runs. Those convicts who were disposed to Work were assigned to these settlers as labourers or servants, and were paid small Wages. When their sentences expired, many of them took up land and became enterprising settlers. As the free population increased, the colony began to protest against the transportation of convictsg opinion in England turned against the practice, and it was finally discontinued altogether. Although the system did not give the new land a fair chance, Hit provided, to quote Professor Trevelyan, a convenient base, and a method of communication with distant England, very necessary for the first stages of colonization which speedily followed. ENGLAND CONFIRMED CLAIMS So the island continent awoke to the light. Spain laid claim to itg the Dutch named it New Holland g France designed it for her owng and Captain Cook claimed it for England. But of these four nations, England alone confirmed her claim by colonizing it. Bold explorers now began to push inland, braving the frown of nature, and carrying out their task in the face of incredible difficulties. Lawson, Wentworth and Blaxland succeeded in passing the barrier of the Blue Mountains, which limit the coastal strip where settlement was begun. The frontier moved swiftly inland. Squatters took up land on the Bathurst Plains and founded Australiats pastoral industry. Exploration continued. The names of Leich- hardt. Eyre, Sturt and MacDouall Stuart are cut large in the story of Australia. Their expeditions covered thousands of miles, and gave much important information about the country. Sturt, perhaps the most famous of them all, explored the Murray-Darling river system, and was probably the first white man to see the rich land of the river basins, thou- sands of acres in extent. Navigators had mean- while been exploring the coasts, and the voyages of Bass and Flinders resulted in the accurate charting of the coasts of Tasmania, and many miles of the continental shore-line. THE ORACLE

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SEASON S SQL!-I-UUE I he so sad And all the uorld Smzles down on HIL The tree above Wzth accents lon lVIurrnurs so tlx Its gladnecc to :hon The clouds U1 the km Sail ar aboae The bzrds tn the tree Tuztter thezr lme And o I lze And remmzsce On all tht: uorla' O joyous blns Ernest Harlew DAVV N Peace rests upon a sleeping World Above the dark sky turns to grey A red streak zn the east appears, And past tt now the sunbeams play Up zn the trees the birds awake, The young ones clamour from thetr nest, Whilst on the grass and woodland brake The mornzng dew doth glzstenmg rest And soon I Waken 1n my bed, And thrust my e-vemng sleep away As 7710T7l111g,5 banner zs unfurled And heralds forth another day Graeme Cameron IVC S O U T H C I Page Twenlry fav - V -f- -A.:-fp:-1 ' Y Beneath a tree, i ' , - f , A . S fr A ' ' f ' I gi' f I 'VT' A I 5 , of , , . ' 1 1 , ' X K

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41' auf. v mv 1 f-'W ' N 6 Y I. . Qi ll Q :RI -:T xl 'T tj 11-TZ. -gulf ,i- '95 11:-' :.U 'i' 2e- .Lv ., X Q K - X KX ff . X , , !.:i'.P X X 4,! 5 xl T I KL I A X .u .. - f ,, Y! . 5 . L if X114 .iii I el I. X X .1 1 :T.T '1 P r,-',- I I JS: X x A if . ' NN I ' .! - as ' 1 e . i-. 'U f ., ' '- ,. -,, ,L f- S .7.,,,, -,,..f -, , 5 - v --: . .. ' . ,f ' 3' ,. .f'..1- ., , ,. , I 1 df X 1-' .,J. , 12 -L-. ii' 'Q-51. . , Q .9 -- . -Vu, . . r , X 1-,, -., .-. .. s 1 I--lla.-11,.... .4 .., -1 .,. ut . KU Elir. M I 64' ' 't im V flu 1 E- 'iff I 1 en- T' 3 ---.f.fWfW . I 4, 1. ., . .- 3 f - il I I' , 1 ' S 3 Nm I XN fyv N fi Vw! 'Qi V l li,-Ii. lr ll I . I J ne 1 . if It ' it I, It 'h x 5 fi v 'ml FU- it Sgr fl 1 s. at 'I . vu-I' . 1. 'lf...1 sit Htl ' 'l- ,ntl ' . .:Qf-: 51:51, .- -- f' -- .wg . x H ' i. ,.':v- u V , l xx ' I-If For a long time the progress of the country was slow and steady. But in 1851 the discovery of gold gave new impetus to immigration. When the f1l'St mad rush had somewhat subsided. many of the gold-seekers procured blocks of land, and settled down to become farmers and sheep-herders. The offer of free land to settlers was a further inducement to the people of Great Britain and Ireland to come out to the new con- tinent. In this way Australia acquired a stable population made up of virile, self-reliant Britishers, tempered by a new environment. and given stronger initiative and resource. The years fled swiftly by. Each of the six States made steady progress: but each was sep- arate and distinct from the others, and there were customs duties between State and State. Mutual jealousy between the neighbouring col- onies was detrimental to trade and retarded gen- eral development. But there was a national spirit growing in the land, and, in 1899, proposals for federation were submitted to the people for a general vote. The proposals were accepted: and with the consent of Great Britain, the Common- wealth of Australia came into existence in 1901. The union of the states of Australia was in marked contrast to the similar union which took place thirty-live years earlier in Canada. The Canadian statesmen of that time took the matter into their own hands, and there was no plebiscite. And while the federation of the Canadian provinces took place more than three centuries after the founding of the first colony, union in Australia came little more than a hun- dred years after the landing of the first settlers at Sydney. Australia proved her worth as a nation dur- ing the catastrophe of the World War. Since then she has borne with fortitude the winter of an economic depression, and is now rejoicing in the springtime of returning prosperity. INDUSTRIES AND THEIR FUTURE For many years British freighters discharg- ing at Australian ports sailed empty to China to load cargoes of tea. But. due to the exertions of John Macarthur, who came out to Sydney as an ofiicer in the New South Wales Corps, merino sheep were introduced into the country, and presently small amounts of Australian Wool were sent to England on the returning ships. Macarthur bred sheep scientiiicallyg and pro- duced the Australian merino, a hardy sheep, with a heavy fleece of line wool. In thirty years the expansion of the industry had changed the balance of forces in the wool world and had made Australia's greatest contribution to the strength of the Empire. Ever since the time of Macarthur wool- growing has been Australia's most important industry. It provides approximately half of the annual income of the nation, and gives more employment in the country than any other occupation. How vitally important, then, is the future of the industry, not only to those im- mediately engaged in it, but to the nation as a whole! lCuntinued on Page 663 ,jE'i:-- SOUTH C. I. 47 Page Twenty-seven