arge that it could
accommodate all of the fleets that sail the ocean and have room to
spare.

[Illustration: Melbourne is the largest city of Australia and contains
nearly half a million people]

Of Australia's thirteen thousand miles of railways all but five hundred
miles belong to the colonial government, and are administered in the
interests of the people. So low are the freight and passenger rates that
often a tax has to be levied to meet the deficits. More than half of the
public debt is due to government ownership of the railroads.

Among other prominent places may be mentioned Brisbane, the capital of
Queensland; Adelaide, the capital of South Australia; and Perth, the
capital of Western Australia.

CHAPTER XXVI

TASMANIA

In 1642 a Dutch navigator named Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered the
island which now bears his name. Tasman did not know that he had
discovered an island, but thought that he had discovered a part of the
mainland of Australia; so he named it Van Diemen's Land, in honor of his
patron, Anthony Van Diemen, Governor of the Dutch East Indies.

Tasmania was once one vast plateau, but in time nature worked away on
its broad surface; mountains and valleys were chiselled in its face,
making it a picturesque and diversified island. It is well watered;
streams abound in every part, and many large lakes are found in the
interior. The Derwent in the south is the largest river, and vessels may
go almost to the head of its estuary.

On account of its beautiful mountain scenery, Tasmania is called the
Switzerland of Australia. Deep winding valleys, clothed with groves of
ferns, give added charm to its scenery. In recent years it has become a
famous summer resort for Australians, many of whom pass a portion of the
hot season in its wonderful forest solitudes and secluded fern-tree
vales.

No attempt to colonize Tasmania was made until 1803. In that year four
hundred convicts were brought there and the vessel containing the
prisoners sailed up Derwent River and landed them where the city of
Hobart now stands.

When the convicts landed, they found a very dark-skinned race of natives
in possession of the land. The natives were low of stature, with ugly
broad faces, flat noses, and frizzly hair. Their habits were repulsive,
but they were inoffensive. They lived chiefly on shell-fish and what
they could obtain from the sea. Occasionally they hunted the kangaroo,
and unfortunately a kangaroo hun