DAIRYING.
The phenomenal growth of the dairying industry is shown by the table headed "Dairying." It shows that, whereas in 1860 10,400 lb. butter were imported and 450 lb. exported, in 1908 there were 23,838,357 lb. made, 13,752,118 lb. exported, and only 201,924 lb. imported. Even in 1896 Queensland could hardly be accounted a butter-exporting country, when the shipments were only 13,942 lb., the imports 1,003,680 lb., and the quantity made 6,164,240 lb., for in that year the excess of imports was 989,738 lb.; while in 1908 the excess of exports was 13,550,194 lb., or more than a moiety of the amount manufactured. Of cheese, in 1896 the quantity made was 1,921,404 lb., whereas in 1908 it had increased to 3,199,510 lb., and the amount exported was 732,090 lb., the excess of exports over imports being 685,629 lb. Twenty-five years ago the excess of imports over exports was 1,068,033 lb., which meant that there were practically no exports. Even in 1896 the cheese exported totalled only 8,505 lb. It is evident that the dairying industry in Queensland is yet only in its youth, and that in another quarter of a century the exports of both cheese and butter will have increased enormously.
SUGAR PRODUCTION.
Sugar first appears as a Queensland export in 1870, the quantity being, however, only 26 cwt. By 1879 the quantity had reached 206,269 cwt., the quarter-century closing in 1884 with 368,626 cwt., valued at £454,759. But these figures do not represent the quantity of sugar manufactured, the total in 1884 being given at 33,361 tons, the export being 18,431 tons. In 1885 the export, as compared with the previous year, increased by 58½ per cent. in value. In 1888 the value declined to £384,375, or by more than one-half as compared with 1886. Thence for many years there was a fluctuating export, a drop to £681,038 in 1897 being followed by a jump to £1,329,876 in 1898. Two years later there was a heavy fall to £669,389 worth; then two years' progression followed by a fall to £646,875 in 1903. In 1904, owing to the Commonwealth bounty and good seasons, there was a recovery to £1,257,815, followed by substantial progression each following year, till 1907, when the record export of £1,779,624 was made. In 1908, owing to abnormal frosts, there was a decline to £1,482,320.
The quantity of sugar made of course showed corresponding fluctuations. In 1896 the 100,000-ton limit of manufacture was for the first time passed. It was followed by a slight drop in the following year, but in 1898 the record to that date in manufacture, as well as in export, was made, the product of the mills reaching the high figure of 163,734 tons. After that year there was a fluctuating decline in manufacture to the minimum of 76,626 tons in 1902, the great drought year; but there was an improvement in 1903, and in 1905 152,722 tons were manufactured, the two following years being very close together with a mean production of 186,342 tons. In 1908 the sugar manufactured was 151,098 tons, a decrease, through frost, of 37,209 tons for the year. In glancing through the figures not only will the effects of good and bad seasons be recognised, but also of the suspension of kanaka labour importation in 1888, its revival in 1890, and the payment of the Commonwealth bounty during the last five years.
MINERAL PRODUCTION.
When in 1866 railway construction suddenly ceased, both on the Southern and Central (then called the Northern) lines, there was general distress, mitigated shortly afterwards by the discovery of gold at the Crocodile Field, near Rockhampton; and in 1867 by the opening up of the Gympie Goldfield. The first important discovery of gold, however, had been on the Peak Downs in 1862, after which the production of that metal advanced from 2,783 oz. in 1863 to 15,660 oz. in 1864, slightly in excess of which level it remained for the next two years. The gold raised then jumped to 35,581 oz. in 1867, and to 111,589 oz. in 1868. During the next two years the production dropped by about 19,000 oz., but it recovered to 115,986 oz. in 1871. In 1874 it made another big jump to 254,959 oz., owing to the discoveries at the Palmer, Charters Towers, and elsewhere in the North. This volume of production was rather more than maintained during the next two years, after which there was a fluctuating annual diminution until 1887, when there was a recovery to 348,890 oz. For seven years of the first quarter-century the value of gold won exceeded a million sterling per annum, high-water mark being touched in 1875—a year of heavy rainfall and abundant water—with a gold yield of £1,196,583.
In gold production the second quarter-century opened well with a total of 250,137 oz., and this yield for 1885 was followed by continuous progression until 1889, when the total of 634,605 oz., valued at £2,695,629, was reached. Thence for seven years there was a fluctuating decline, the minimum of 477,976 oz. being touched in 1891. From that year there was a gradual recovery until in 1898 647,487 oz. was reached, the record being made with 676,027 oz. in the last year of the century. Since then there has been a continuous annual decline until the total gold raised in 1908 had fallen to 465,085 oz., which is rather less than half the quantity declared to be exported in 1898 and 1903. But the export and production figures of course differ, the former being the actual weight exported in the year, which may be less or more than the production. Moreover, the production figures are stated in fine ounces, so that the difference between gold won and exported is considerably less than the figures would at first sight indicate.
Of copper the recorded quantity produced in 1860 was only one ton, valued at £50; but two years later the value reached £10,332 through the discovery of the Peak Downs mines. The two following years showed an almost entire cessation of export, although some £90,000 worth had been won. In 1865 the value of copper produced was £58,440. Thence there was fluctuating progression until 1871, when the value rose to £174,300, with a further rise to £196,000 in 1872. Declension followed until in 1882 the production had dropped to £14,982, the quarter-century closing in 1884 with a total of £30,872 worth. The explanation is that during the period there was practically only one copper mine at work in Queensland, and that in 1871 the policy was commenced of smelting all the richer ores and paying the highest possible dividends. In one year an amount of about £300,000, equal to the total capital of the company, was distributed, and shortly afterwards the mine was closed for want of remunerative ore. Had money been freely spent in exploration, as at the Mount Morgan Gold Mine, and only moderate dividends paid to the shareholders, it is believed that the life of the Peak Downs Copper Mine would have been indefinitely prolonged.
During sixteen years of the second quarter-century copper mining languished, the highest production in any one year being valued at £20,340, while in 1891 the lowest descended to £865. In 1901, however, through the opening of the Chillagoe mine, the production rose to £194,227 worth; by 1906 it had continuously ascended to £916,546, and in 1907 to £1,028,179. In 1908 there was a phenomenal decline in production value, owing to the low price obtainable for copper, the total being stated at £882,901.