Our First Half-Century Part 32

Depth.

Name of Bore. Feet. Date Completed.

Ayrs.h.i.+re Downs, No. 3 3,983 September, 1902 Brookwood, No. 1 3,065 May, 1895 Boombah, No. 1 3,024 December, 1908 Chatsworth, No. 1 3,266 February, 1895 Cooindah, No. 1 3,289 January, 1899 Dagworth, No. 1 3,335 July, 1893 Dagworth, No. 2 3,400 December, 1898 Dareel, No. 1 3,586 July, 1899 Elderslie, No. 3 3,626 May, 1901 Evesham, No. 1 3,970 In progress Fairview, No. 2 3,028 July, 1907 Greendale, No. 1 3,799 In progress Goyder's Lagoon, S.A. 4,850 March, 1905 Hamilton Downs, No. 1 3,301 April, 1895 Hamilton Downs, No. 2 3,457 January, 1900 Kynuna, No. 7 3,226 December, 1908 Lerida, No. 1 3,511 July, 1898 Lerida, No. 2 3,500 March, 1900 Llanrheidol, No. 2 3,085 April, 1897 Lorne, No. 1 4,057 In progress Manuka, No. 2 3,581 June, 1901 Mungeranie, S.A. 3,360 February, 1900 Mulka, S.A. 3,445 December, 1906 Mount Cornish, Tablederry 3,219 June, 1907 Mount Cornish, No. 3 3,015 June, 1909 Narine, No. 1 3,098 November, 1897 Ruthven, No. 1 4,105 June, 1905 Ruthven, No. 2 4,515 April, 1908 Roma Mineral Oil 3,715 In progress Sesbania, No. 2 3,252 September, 1898 Sesbania, No. 4 3,103 January, 1900 Sesbania, No. 5 3,186 March, 1902 Sesbania, No. 6 3,179 August, 1909 Vindex, No. 2 4,000 June, 1900 Vindex, No. 3 3,795 September, 1902 Warbreccan, No. 1 4,333 June, 1898 Winton (deepened) 4,010 June, 1895 Wyora, No. 1 3,600 March, 1900

Note.--Bores marked S.A. are in South Australia.

Brisbane, 1st October, 1909.

BORES COMPLETED AND IN PROGRESS BY WOODLEY LIMITED, BRISBANE, SINCE 31ST MARCH, 1909.

1. Bore at Millie Station, near Charleville, D. McNeill owner.

Depth, 1,732 ft.; water 8 in. over casing; flow -million gallons per diem.

2. At Claverton Downs, near Wyandra, Mrs. Whitney owner.

Depth, 1,955 ft.; water 22 in. over casing; flow about 1 million gallons.

3. At Bendena Station, Burgess and Co. owners. Depth, 2,232 ft.; water 4 ft. 6 in. over casing; flow about 3 million gallons.

4. At Bonus Downs Station, Mitch.e.l.l, Sir S. McCaughey owner.

Depth, 3,424 ft. 6 in.; water rising to 60 ft. below surface; boring ceased in slate formation.

5. At Eurella Station, Donald Fletcher owner. Depth at end of September, 2,124 ft., still in progress; water rising to within 150 ft. of the surface.

6. At Clifton Station, C. H. T. Schmidt owner. Depth, 26th June, 225 ft.; in progress.

7. At Koreelah Station, Charleville. Depth at end of June, 400 ft.; in progress.

8. At Comongin Station, Bulloo, McLean, Barker, and Co.

owners. Depth on 30th June, 600 ft.; in progress.

9. At Abergla.s.sie Station, J. R. and H. C. Loughran owners.

Starting.

10. At Cytherea Station, R. T. Winter owner. Starting.

11. At Airlie Downs, A. Leeds owner. Starting.

APPENDIX J.

CLIMATIC CONTRASTS.

COMPARATIVE VITAL STATISTICS.

Vital statistics are set forth by the various Government Statists of Australia with extreme particularity. But it is not easy to make comparative a.n.a.lyses for the purpose of ascertaining the birth rates, marriage rates, or death rates in the different States of Australia.

The birth rates per 1,000 of the population give no accurate bases for comparison. They supply only what the statists call the crude birth rate. The information necessary to ascertain true comparative birth rates involves knowledge of the number of women of the different child-bearing ages in the several States; the proportion of marriages at different ages in each; the number of married women, their ages, and also the number of spinsters. Married women in their teens are more fertile than in their twenties, in their twenties than in their thirties, in their thirties than in their forties. So that to ascertain the true birth rate the comparative number of married or marriageable women in the contrasted countries must be ascertained.

For example, if there were 20,000 married women in Queensland between twenty and thirty; and 60,000 married women of the same age in New South Wales; and if the number of births among those 20,000 and 60,000 respectively were ascertained, the true birth rate among women of that age would be obtained. Similar remarks apply to the death rate. The comparison must be made between a given number of men or women of the same ages, and then the true comparative death rate per 1,000 of such persons will be ascertainable, but not otherwise.

It is supposed in many parts of Australia that North Queensland is less salubrious than South Queensland, and that the Southern States are healthier than Queensland as a whole. The crude death rate does not give a basis for this a.s.sumption, because there are fewer old people and fewer young children per 1,000 of the population in spa.r.s.ely peopled areas than in settled districts. The lightest average mortality is among persons between the ages of two and eighteen years; the greatest mortality among children under two years. Information is not procurable showing the number of persons in Queensland in age groups, this information being only obtainable in census years.

The Queensland Government Statistician has furnished the accompanying table, based on the results of the censuses of 1891 and 1901, showing the relative salubrity of different parts of the Commonwealth in those two years for all the States save Western Australia; and it will be noticed that it differentiates also between children north and south of the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland. These figures are valuable for comparative purposes.

It will be noticed that among children under two years the rate of mortality north of the Tropic of Capricorn in 1891 was 74.85 per 1,000, and in 1901 73.42 per 1,000. South of the tropic the corresponding figures were 70.33 and 64.97 per 1,000 respectively, the difference in favour of the south being 4.52 and 8.45 per 1,000. Of children under five years in the north the mortality was 39.44 and 32.80 respectively; while south of the tropic it was 33.54 and 29.72 respectively. Thus the difference in favour of the south was 5.90 and 3.08 respectively. Above the age of five years the difference between north and south is rather more marked, but the comparison of these, for reasons a.n.a.logous to those stated above with respect to comparative birth or death rates, is valueless.

If we take the New South Wales figures, we find that as to children under two years the mortality in 1891 was 85.12, and in 1901 72.42 per 1,000. Thus North Queensland compares very favourably with the parent State by 10.27 in 1891, and unfavourably in 1901 by only 1 per 1,000.

With South Queensland the comparison shows a difference against New South Wales in 1891 of 14.79 per 1,000, and of 7.45 per 1,000 in 1901.

As to children under five years the difference in favour of New South Wales in 1891, as against North Queensland, was only 0.16 per cent., and in 1901 0.43 per 1,000; and as against South Queensland it was 5.74 on the wrong side in 1891, and 2.65 in 1901. It is needless further to a.n.a.lyse the figures, but evidently the only States whose mortality among young children is more favourable than South Queensland are South Australia and Tasmania.

Although these figures are official it may be wise to use them with reservation. The comparatively high mortality north of the Tropic of Capricorn is fully accounted for by the absence of the comforts of life in that newly settled area. In 1901 the mortality beyond the tropic was, for children under five years, almost the same as in New South Wales and Victoria. So that, so far as young children are concerned, we need not fear that the climate of Tropical Queensland will be found unfavourable to the British race.

The death ratio of the population is somewhat higher in the tropics than in the South for each age group mentioned, and consequently of course for persons of all ages; this applies to both the years cited, 1891 and 1901. These years have been selected as, being "Census"

years, the numbers at each age can then be definitely determined. The mortality rate for 1901 showed a distinct improvement on that for 1891 in all instances except with persons over five years of age in the South; as regards these the experience for 1901 was fractionally less satisfactory than in 1891.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "QUEENSLAND and Territory of PAPUA 1909"]

RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.

----------------------------+----------------------------------------++ 1891. +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Census Number of Ratio ------ Population. Deaths. per 1,000 of the Population. ----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++ QUEENSLAND-- NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN-- Under 2 years 6,426 481 7485 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 15,061 594 3944 Over 5 years 93,925 1,088 1158 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 108,986 1,682 1543 ============== =========== ============= SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN-- Under 2 years 18,598 1,308 7033 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 45,264 1,518 3354 Over 5 years 239,468 1,970 823 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All Ages 284,732 3,488 1225 ============== =========== ============= WHOLE STATE-- Under 2 years 25,024 1,789 7149 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 60,325 2,112 3501 Over 5 years 333,393 3,058 917 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All Ages 393,718 5,170 1313 ----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++

[cont.]

----------------------------++---------------------------------------- 1901.

++--------------+-----------+------------- Census Number of Ratio ------ Population. Deaths. per 1,000 of the Population.

----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------- QUEENSLAND-- NORTH OF THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN-- Under 2 years 6,933 509 7342 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years 17,166 563 3280 Over 5 years 132,466 1,448 1093 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All ages 149,632 2,011 1344 ============== =========== ============= SOUTH OF THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN-- Under 2 years 18,454 1,199 6497 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years 45,460 1,351 2972 Over 5 years 308,174 2,645 858 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All Ages 353,634 3,996 1130 ============== =========== ============= WHOLE STATE-- Under 2 years 25,387 1,708 6728 ++--------------+-----------+------------- Under 5 years 62,626 1,914 3056 Over 5 years 440,640 4,093 929 ++--------------+-----------+------------- All Ages 503,266 6,007 1194 ----------------------------++--------------+-----------+-------------

NOTE.--Death rates calculated on the estimated mean population of the two years mentioned above and published in the Reports on Vital Statistics were--

1891 1277 1901 1188

The utilisation of Census figures in order to quote the age condition at the time is accountable for the slight difference in the total ratio.

RETURN SHOWING THE POPULATION, NUMBER OF DEATHS, AND THE RATE OF MORTALITY AT CERTAIN AGES FOR THE YEARS 1891 AND 1901.--_continued:_

----------------------------+----------------------------------------++ 1891. +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Census Number of Ratio ------ Population. Deaths. per 1,000 of the Population. ----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++ NEW SOUTH WALES-- Under 2 years 66,719 5,679 8512 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 165,750 6,510 3928 Over 5 years 966,484 9,776 1012 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 1,132,234 16,286 1438 ============== =========== ============= VICTORIA-- Under 2 years 62,102 5,822 9375 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 148,359 6,518 4393 Over 5 years 982,104 12,113 1233 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 1,130,463 18,631 1648 ============== =========== ============= SOUTH AUSTRALIA-- Under 2 years 17,875 1,180 6601 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 45,166 1,407 3115 Over 5 years 270,367 2,804 1037 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 315,533 4,211 1335 ============== =========== ============= TASMANIA-- Under 2 years 8,414 524 6228 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 21,466 599 2790 Over 5 years 125,201 1,635 1306 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 146,667 2,234 1523 ============== =========== ============= WESTERN AUSTRALIA-- Under 2 years ... ... ... +--------------+-----------+-------------++ Under 5 years 6,835 293 4287 Over 5 years 42,947 576 1341 +--------------+-----------+-------------++ All ages 49,782 869 1746 ----------------------------+--------------+-----------+-------------++

[cont.]

----------------------------++--------------------------------------- 1901.

++--------------+-----------+------------ Census Number of Ratio ------ Population. Deaths. per 1,000 of the Population.

----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------ NEW SOUTH WALES-- Under 2 years 64,376 4,662 7242 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years 159,146 5,151 3237 Over 5 years 1,199,987 10,870 906 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages 1,359,133 16,021 1179 ============== =========== ============ VICTORIA-- Under 2 years 54,669 3,817 6982 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years 131,986 4,251 3221 Over 5 years 1,069,355 11,653 1090 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages 1,201,341 15,904 1324 ============== =========== ============ SOUTH AUSTRALIA-- Under 2 years 15,988 1,059 6624 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years 39,940 1,166 2919 Over 5 years 318,568 2,808 881 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages 358,508 3,974 1108 ============== =========== ============ TASMANIA-- Under 2 years 8,484 492 5799 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years 20,865 531 2545 Over 5 years 151,610 1,283 846 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages 172,475 1,814 1052 ============== =========== ============ WESTERN AUSTRALIA-- Under 2 years 9,303 882 9481 ++--------------+-----------+------------ Under 5 years 20,675 957 4629 Over 5 years 163,449 1,562 956 ++--------------+-----------+------------ All ages 184,124 2,519 1368 ----------------------------++--------------+-----------+------------

RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE.