The conditions of giving land to settlers by the State of New South Wales are liberal. If one is a white man, is willing to work, and wants a farm, he will get the land, and money to make a start with, too.
The English system of money is in use. That system is not on a decimal basis, which deficiency seems out of place in an advanced country like that of the Commonwealth. For this reason efforts are being put forth to change the system to a decimal basis. The kangaroo and emu are stamped on the face of some of the money coins in use, but these will not be accepted as legal tender in other British countries.
"Smoke, ho," is the term one might hear were he to pass a gang of men working on a railroad or at any work where a group of men are employed. The weather gets very hot in summer, and rests are taken at intervals. When the foreman of the gang says "Smoke, ho," that means a breathing spell, or quitting time.
The State of New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, is the richest in the Commonwealth. The sheep industry is the greatest. Smokestacks from factory and mill are thickly dotted not only about the city but far into the suburbs. Great quantities of butter, beef, mutton and wool, wheat and flour are exported from that State, besides ores and coal. The exports from Australia now are very large, but what will they be when the country becomes even one quarter settled?
Wages have increased from time to time in Sydney, until now bricklayers receive $5 a day. That figure is good wages in Australia, for the climate permits of outside work the year round. The city is growing all the time, the demand for mechanics naturally increasing. Few mechanics receive less than $3. The lowest wages laborers receive are $2, but that figure is often exceeded. Printers on newspapers earn $27 to $30 a week, the working time not exceeding 36 hours. Good board can be had at $4 to $6 a week. No one works Saturday afternoons in the British colonies visited.
Excellent newspapers are published in Sydney—fully in keeping with the city. On looking over their pages, one must give much credit to the publishers for the cable dispatches printed, as the news rate must be high when sent from centers 6,000 to 13,000 miles away.
A thousand acres of splendid park area are located in and close to Sydney, divided into 37 parks. Within a radius of 25 miles are 70,000 acres of park land. Besides, there are half a dozen good bathing beaches within easy reach.
Over a hundred miles from Sydney, in the Blue Mountain range, is located a tract of stalactite and stalagmite caves. These are the property of the government, and known as Jenolan Caves. The caves cover a large area of land, and exploration is going on all the time. Over a dozen of these are now open to visitors, and the trip is well worth while taking. But while Jenolan Caves are much greater than those of Luray Caverns, Virginia, one will find in Luray better formations and a prettier grade of that mineral than can be seen in Jenolan. It is another case of Victoria Falls and Niagara. Jenolan Caves are much the greater, but Luray Caverns are the prettier. In caves of this character columns of stalactite and stalagmite a foot in diameter may be seen, and when it is remembered that, in one instance at Jenolan, a stem of stalactite has grown but one-thirty-second part of an inch in 30 years, what a tremendous age the larger columns must have attained! The atmosphere in this section of the Blue Mountains is of a deep blue color. Mount Kosciusko is the highest peak of Australia, rising 7,308 feet.
In that section of country kangaroo may be seen hopping about the hills, feeding on grass and sprouts, or standing up on their hind legs to watch if any one is coming their way. Timidity starts them, at the slightest alarm, to holes in the mountain, and where rocks are located at the place of concealment these are as polished granite from their heavy tails passing over them on coming out and going in.
The difference in railroad gauges is proving a source of much inconvenience to transportation. In New South Wales the gauge is standard, 4 feet 8½ inches, and in Queensland the railroad is narrow-gauge, 3 feet 6 inches. So, going from Sydney to Brisbane, passengers, cars and freight must be changed; also in going from Sydney to Melbourne, when the Victoria border has been reached, a complete change has to be made, as the Victoria gauge is broad, 5 feet 3 inches. The width of South Australia railroads is 5 feet 3 inches and also 4 feet 8½ inches, but those of West Australia are again narrow-gauge.