preceding year; and the pigs increased from 35,732 to 42,884 in 1873. With respect to the income derivable from these vast pastoral resources, the exports of live stock borderwise for 1873 were

265 horses, valued at

31,113 cattle,

£2,385 179,090

Exported borderwise.

in exports derived from pastoral sources; and even this does not include the meat, hides, leather, &c., used for home consumption; these and sugar being some of the few items for which Queensland is not dependent on extraneous aid, as she is for clothing, breadstuffs, &c. On the vast array of storekeepers, agents, drovers, and banks, who thrive and fatten on all this teeming produce, we need not here enlarge. Suffice it that squatting still continues to be the leading industry of the colony, though of late years it naturally enough has not continued to grow with the same rapid strides which have marked the other and younger branches of our productive wealth.

The wool, in lbs., exported in 1873, was 19,763,113 lbs. The wool exported in 1874 was 20,859,346 lbs. of the value of 1,420,8817. The gross exports for 1874 were of the value of 3,750,0487., which, reckoning population at 160,000, is 237. 10s. per head per annum, unrivalled in the world. The above are official returns.

DIVISION XV.

Is devoted to the illustration of Queensland towns and villages. The numbers of the photographs run from 137 to 144 and include views of Somerset, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cardwell, Gladstone, and Maryborough.

DIVISION XVI.

Is also devoted to the illustration of Queensland Towns.

The numbers of the photographs run from 145 to 154 and include views of Maryborough, Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba.

A short description of the rise and progress of some of these towns is taken from the "Queenslander.”

Rise and Progress of Brisbane.

Brisbane, the metropolis of Queensland, occupies a fine hilly, bold site on the banks of the river of same name, which is here about 1,000 feet wide. It is neither the prettiest nor yet the ugliest capital in Australia; it lacks the noble harbour of Sydney, and the snow-capped background of Hobart Town; but still it has its distinguishing advantage, for none of the sister cities command anything approaching such a sweep of really grand view in every direction as Brisbane does, and extending 160 miles from north to south, and 100 from cast to west-an area nearly equal to all Tasmania. On the south are visible Mount Lindsay, nearly 100 miles ride from Brisbane; also the great rainy M'Pherson's Range, a wall at right angles to the coast, and nearly 6,000 feet high in places; while, on the north, the eye commands the Kilcoy and other ranges which shed the distant head waters of the Mary and the Burnett rivers on their northern slopes. To the west, the dim blue peaks of the Main Range, serrated by the gaps of Koreelah and other passes, loom 70 miles away, and mark the site of Darling Downs; while, to the east, the sea view is shut in by the cypress pine hills and sandy cliffs of Moreton and Stradbroke islands, thirty miles away. Brisbane is built on a cape of land formed by a bend of the river, the said cape pointing to the south-east. On the north-east and south-west of

Brisbane is the river, 1,000 feet wide; on the south-east of the city lie the Botanical Gardens, and on the north-west rise the Windmill Hill and Wickham Terrace Reserves, so there are fresh air and "lungs" in plenty all round the pretty metropolis of Queensland. And speaking of fresh air we are reminded of fresh water, with which no city in the world is better supplied in proportion to its population than Brisbane is. About seven miles back from town, and at an elevation of 240 feet above the tidal river level, the waters of Enoggera Creek are dammed back to form a lake of about 200 acres in extent, and 40 feet in depth, and creating a water supply which, for volume and pressure, surpasses that of Sydney, with six times the population of Brisbane. The reservoir is thus constantly fed by the waters of a pure mountain stream which rises in broken granitic country that surpasses in unfrequented wildness and difficulty of access even the loftier ranges of the tin country, and so fortunately guarantees a continued freedom from any impurity. Beautiful villas-commanding extensive and picturesque views of mountain, sea, river, garden, farm, and forest, in every shade of pleasing tint and sharp outline, under the clear sky of Australia—are found on all the surburban roads. The present population is about 25,000.

Rise and Progress of Ipswich.

This town, formerly called "Limestone," from its geological formation, was established as a branch penal station in connexion with Brisbane, at the same time as the latter was, and being at the head of river navigation, and the spot where the steamers and bullock drays met and exchanged their respective loading, such as wool for station supplies, in the old days before railways were thought of, Ipswich soon became a thriving place after the settlement of Darling Downs, and contained at one time no less than 30 "hotels;" and the boiling down of stock added still more to the bustle of its daily life. So great indeed were its vitality and growth, and the energy of its inhabitants, removed as they were from the enervating influence of the sea air, that at the time of Separation, its population and electoral roll being about equal to those of Brisbane, it disputed the right of the latter place to be declared the seat of Government of the new colony. Since that time, however, Ipswich has, owing to the advent of railways, and the cessation of boiling down of stock, and other causes, not progressed so rapidly as in the first few years of its existence. It is a neat, clean town, with some four or five thousand inhabitants, a creditable volunteer force, numerous branch banks, Government offices, and depends at present for its support on the magnificent agricultural district by which it is surrounded. The abundance of coal in its immediate vicinity gives promise of its being the seat of manufacturing industry in the future, and there seems little doubt about its becoming ultimately a large and populous town. Its present population is about 6,000.

Rise and Progress of Toowoomba.

This township was once the site of a grassy camping ground for the Darling Downs bullock teams in olden times; and, it being a well-watered open dell near the edge of the Main Range, and some 2,000 feet above the sea level, teams used to rest here both before making the descent and after accomplishing the ascent of the Corderilla, especially as the grass was splendid, the soil a dark red, and the open timber of gigantic stringy bark and green wattle, rich in gum and bloom, bespoke a wholesome, pleasant country to dwell in. Two large swampy "sponges," separated from each other by a ridge, gradually converge, and unite to form the head of Gowrie Creek. This place, known once as "Drayton Swamp,-in honour of the ancient healthy and now almost obsolete township of Drayton, of 1843-1857-is now the leading township of Darling Downs. It had in 1854 but one house on it; in 1857 it was still inferior to Drayton; but by 1859 it had asserted itself, and the parent township had to take a secondary position. Since that time Toowoomba, nourished by the trade. arising from pastoral and agricultural sources alike, and with some hope of minerals too looming in the future has continued to go ahead, its only check having been during 1866 and the following years. Its public buildings, stores, streets, shops, churches, chapels, and volunteer corps (captained by Sydney Smith, a Crimean officer), all denote substantial prosperity and genuine public spirit, and a healthier, pleasanter, "pluckier " township does not exist in Queensland. It enjoys railway communication with Brisbane, Ipswich, Warwick and Dalby, the two latter lines converging at Toowoomba. A powerful well-organised agricultural a

pastoral society holds its useful periodical show meetings here, and the mountain air, keen breeze, rich pastorage and the grand wine and wheat country around this favoured spot of earth, all help to impart a vigour to its denizens and doings which is thoroughly English in character, and the cheeks of the people are quite as rosy as their apples, which is, indeed, saying a great deal. The mean temperature is 62°, which is considered by physicians to be the happy medium furthest removed from undue heat and cold alike, and the one most suited to the human constitution. Its present population is about 4,000.

Rise and Progress of Warwick.

Warwick is situated on the southern part of Darling Downs, on the banks of the Condamine River, a gravelly dry site, and a very English-looking place altogether. There are fine farms and vineyards all round it, and the splendid pastoral properties which are close at hand, as well as the tin mines only fifty miles away from its railway station, give Warwick a comfortable status amongst the Queensland towns. Its present population is about 3,000.

Maryborough

Is a municipal township on the River Mary 60 miles from its mouth, about 180 miles north of Brisbane. It is the port of shipment for the greater portion of the Wide Bay and Burnett district, and is in the centre of a large agricultural population settled on the banks of the Mary River, both above and below the town. It will be seen from the panoramic view of the town exhibited in Division XV. that there is still plenty of room for the erection of buildings even in some of the main streets.

That these gaps will soon be filled up, however, there can be little doubt, since it is one of the soundest business towns in the colony, and has a large and increasing trade, from the mining, agricultural, and pastoral district of which it is the port.

The present population of the municipality is about 5,000, of the suburbs and the agricultural settlements in the neighbourhood about 4,000 more.

Rise and Progress of Rockhampton.

This town did not exist in 1857; when the announcement at the Surveyor-General's office in Sydney (by a Brisbane gentleman visiting there,) of the fact that there existed in Keppell Bay a navigable river called the Fitzroy, as wide and as deep as the Thames, caused a surveyor to be sent up and a township to be laid out at once, about 45 miles from the river mouth, and just below a reef of rocks which barred all further navigation upward for large vessels. The streets were judiciously planned, like those of Melbourne, two chains wide, an and Rockhampton is consequently a well-built and fine-looking town, and being the focus and shipping port ef a vast rich mineral and pastoral belt of country on the Dawson, Mackenzie, Isaac, Comet, and other rivers, t well as of the Peak Downs country, it possesses a great trade, and will in time, when railways pierce th interior become a place of very considerable importance. The Athelstan Range, at the south of the town, ris to the height of about 150 feet, and on it are situated the suburban residences of the leading townspeop Water is supplied from the Yeppen Yeppen and Crescent Lagoons, and there is steam communication wi! Yaamba, some distance further up the river.

Mount Berserker affords a rich field of research to the botanist and geologist. In fact, Rockhampton is th centre of a rich gold and copper district, and minerals are found in nearly every direction you can travel fr it. The present population is about 5,500.

Rise and Progress of Gympie.

A wild and unfrequented spot on the banks of the Upper Mary River, and one of little use for pastoral pr poses, and so, consequently, seldom traversed, was suddenly, towards the close of the year 1867, awakene! : brisk life by the discovery, at the hands of a man named Nash, of a rich deposit of alluvial gold contain' some 17,000l. worth of dust. He took it up very quietly, and sold some of it in Brisbane as "Cape River gold; but the secret oozed out at last, and Gympie Creek was worked for alluvial digging. Strange a wonderful adventures befel the few citizens of Brisbane who essayed the perils by flood and field of an overla

trip to that unexplored country (supposed in olden days to consist of mahogany swamps and sour grass ranges) which lay between the metropolis and the golden creek (for the Moololah, Maroochydore, and other rivers with rich soil banks were unknown to fame then). By and by, however, the alluvial was found to be a shallow myth, and rich reefs of quartz and calespar traversing a greenstone or diorite rock were found to contain fabulous wealth in gold, and the New Zealand, Lady Mary, Smithfield, Monkland, Caledonia, and other famous reefs began to send forth their splendid specimens to astonish the metropolitans, and the machine crushings soon placed Gympie at the head of the world in the return of gold per ton of quartz; the magnificent and unrivalled average of nearly 2 ounces to the ton having been maintained on this field up to the end of 1870. The road to Brisbane was put in order, and Cobb and Co. began to appear on the scene. A well-conducted newspaper soon graced the new township, and Gympie from 1868 to the present time has continued to be one of the "great facts" of Queensland. Like other large quartz-crushing centres of industry, it has been afflicted with one drawback, and that is in the manner in which all the luck seems to flow into few hands, who became inordinately rich, and all the rest of the people correspondingly poor. This is the case at Gympie, where many a man, who never would have owned 1007. anywhere else in the world by his own exertions or brains, has found the gold grow, as it were, wherever he went to dig. Some of the early crushings at Gympie were wonderful; there was really more gold than quartz in some of the veins, even in mere bulk, and the machine had to be stopped sometimes, as the soft, malleable, ductile metal remained immovable and insensible under the stampers to the action of the water, clogging like so much "toffy" or cobbler's wax, and so had to be cleared away before the steel hammers could be effectually brought to bear on the ordinary quartz. Gympie continues to flourish, and presents as fine an opening for capital as any gold field in the world. The present population of Gympie and its suburbs is about 6,000.

Rise and Progress of Townsville.

That “trade makes the port," and not the port trade, cannot be better exemplified than in the case of Townsville.

This port is situated in latitude 19° 10′ south and 146° 58′ E. longitude, and is only about 80 miles from the town of Bowen, which enjoys one of the finest harbours in Australia, whilst every facility can be given to the shipment of produce; yet Bowen has suffered a continued decadence since the formation of Townsville, the progress of the latter, (with not a tithe of its facilities for trade as far as the port is concerned,) having been continuous, as the following comparison of exports and imports, between 1865 and 1875 will show :

Port of Cleveland Bay. 1865, imports 570l., exports 8,145l., customs receipts 1127. 15s. 4d.; half-year ending 30th June 1875, imports 67, 1167., exports 168,8857., customs receipts 17,4117. 5s. 8d.

The agricultural resources of Townsville, and the immediate district around it, are not great; but extensive and permanent gold fields, and a vast area of pastoral country, for which it forms the natural port, have combined to raise it into importance.

These gold fields are Star River, Ravenswood, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Gilbert and Etheridge.

The copper mines principally awaiting the pushing out of a railway from Townsville westward before development, are situated on Star River, and Copperfield River.

The amount of gold exported from the port of Townsville is as follows, and there can be little doubt that the mineral wealth of the district, for which Townsville is the port, is as yet only developed to a very small extent, and will be greatly increased in the future. Its population is about 1,800.

Total of gold exported since its discovery in 1866 to June 30th, 1875, 569,818 ounces; value 1,990,6107. Although situated well within the tropics, the heat to be naturally expected at Townsville is tempered by the influence of the south-east trade winds, and with properly constructed residences, and attention to keeping them cool, there seems no reason why the inhabitants should not enjoy as good health as those who reside in Brisbane or Maryborough.

Cardwell, its Rise and Progress.

In Rockingham Bay, some 90 miles to the north of Townsville, is the pretty little town of Cardwell. The bay which it faces is one of the most beautiful, as well as the finest harbour in Northern Queensland. It picturesque situation at the foot of the loftiest mountains of the coast range, its elegant public buildings, an tropical scenery, render it a study for the painter. The difficulty of overcoming the coast range has hitherto presented an obstacle, not altogether insuperable, to its rapid progress; but this drawback, it is confidently expected, will shortly be overcome, as an accessible road has lately been discovered over the range. It population, including that of the neighbourhood, is estimated at about 300. The gold escort from t Etheridge has its head-quarters here. The surrounding districts are pastoral principally, and large numbers of sheep and cattle are reared on its rich pastoral lands. Tropical fruits grow here in wild luxuriance. It from this port that the squatters and Herbert River planters draw a large proportion of their supplies. A jetty, 2,000 feet long, extends into the bay. Cardwell contains a court-house, two hotels, two stores, a national school, a branch of the Bank of New South Wales, a telegraph office, a post office, and a dugong ol factory.

Should the Palmer River diggings approach Cardwell as closely as they at present promise to do, a great future is yet in store for this lovely town. A peculiarity of Cardwell is the springs of fresh water which are constantly running on the beach, even below high-water mark. A pilot, pilot cutter, and crew are station here. The steamers of the Eastern and Australian Company call here.

Cooktown.

A newly proclaimed mining township situated on the northern bank of the Endeavour River about 1,05) miles N.W. of Brisbane.

Though the town has been born in a day, it will most likely take its place as one of the most importa centres of the colony, should the yield of gold continue from the Palmer River district for which it forms the port.

Already a large population has settled at Cooktown, and as the available sites for building are limited, it is likely that such sites will become very valuable.

Somerset

Is a small township situated at Cape York 1,550 miles N.W. of Brisbane.

It is a harbour of refuge and a place of call for the vessels engaged in the Bechè le mer and pearl sh fishery of Torres Straits, which is now employing a large fleet of ships.

At the present time there are fifty large boats engaged in the fishery.

As an instance of the profitable nature of this trade, it may be mentioned that a vessel made in one seano less a sum than 6,000l.

DIVISIONS XVII. AND XVIII.

Are devoted to miscellaneous subjects, photographs of public buildings, views on the railway lines of colony, &c., and in the table cases are grouped,-miscellaneous products and manufactures.

A few statistics of a miscellaneous character selected from "Queenslander," will also be here introduced.

Climate of Queensland.

On this subject we must needs have a "chequered tale to tell," in traversing 19 degrees of latitude. ( thing, however, is certain and universal, and that is, that there is a most decided and palpable yearly with met with in every part of the great colony. First, we have the winter of Scotland, which obtains amer the huge Aberdeen cairngorms, blue topazes, and smoky quartz crystals which head the gullies in the t