PREFACE

For five years, during my residence in Australia, I had the privilege of contributing to the English Christian World a large number of articles on life in the Commonwealth. These articles excited a great amount of interest amongst all classes, and brought me a vast correspondence, which made it abundantly clear that even well-educated people at home know little about the inner life of Australia. This book is an attempt to throw some light upon that far-off country, and to make Australia “live.” Many books have been written about the Commonwealth, but none quite on the lines of the following pages. In a series of impressionist sketches various phases of Australian life are set forth—the life in the midst of which I worked. The editor of the Christian World has generously permitted me to make free use of the articles I contributed to that journal. I gratefully acknowledge this kindness.

Frederic C. Spurr.

Regent’s Park Chapel,
London, N.W.

CONTENTS

PAGE
Foreword: Australia’s Place in the Empire[1]
CHAPTER
 1.Going to the Ends of the Earth[12]
 2.The Golden West[18]
 3.An Accomplished Miracle and a Prediction[26]
 4.Adelaide, the Queen City of Australia[37]
 5.The Romance of Melbourne[46]
 6.The Beauty of Sydney[54]
 7.At Botany Bay[64]
 8.Brisbane, the Queen City of the North[72]
 9.Queensland, the Rich Unpeopled State[79]
10.The Romance of Queensland Sugar[87]
11.The Australian Winter and Spring[95]
12.Bush Holidays[108]
13.Some Bush Yarns[114]
14.A Honeymoon in the Bush[122]
15.The Highwaymen of the Bush[130]
16.A Squatter’s Home and Daughter[138]
17.The Hardships of the Bush[146]
18.Amongst the Aborigines[153]
19.The Golden Cities[160]
20.The Miracle of the Mallee[174]
21.The Annual Shows[182]
22.An Interlude: a Dust Storm in Summer[188]
23.Christmas in Australia[192]
24.Social Life in Australia[201]
25.Labour Conditions in Australia[209]
26.Dead Flies in the Labour Movement[218]
27.Australian Politics[231]
28.Religion in Australia[238]
29.In Van Diemen’s Land—an Impression[257]
30.The Romance of Tasmania[265]
31.A Paradise of Fruit[274]
32.The Outlook in Tasmania[282]
33.Review[289]

FIVE YEARS UNDER THE
SOUTHERN CROSS