In praise of the Darling Downs - 1894

This post is a republishing of an article in the Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser of Saturday 17 November 1894.  It is clearly an advertising text. But amidst all the hyped praise are some very interesting observations about the potential seen in the Darling Downs over 125 years ago. We have seen drought and fire that makes the water supply seem a fantasy. Some commodities like tobacco have been and gone.  Opium was perhaps never produced, but curious it should have been considered. The last sentence is a beauty ... even if all you do is scroll to the end it will be worth it for the laugh.

A good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depth that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates i ; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness. — Deuteronomy, chap. 8, ver. 7, 8, 9.

THE DARLING DOWNS is the fairest and fattest portion of the northern colony, and may be rightly described in the words of Scripture as a land flowing with milk and honey. On the fertile uplands the cattle and sheep lie in pleasant content all the year round, the streams gurgle in merry tune, and the birds pipe melodiously. The barns of the farmers, as a rule, are choked with the produce of the well-cultivated earth, the reward of honest industry. The fields are mantled with green grass and white clover, through which gay wild flowers peep, and over all the land rest peace and plenty. It is impossible for anyone to visit the Downs towards the close of the year without being entranced by the glorious beauty of the undulating plains and the little hills. Grass is in abundance everywhere, so high and luxuriant that in the fields the calves can play hide and seek and the lambs can nestle and cover themselves with a cool screen ; the young corn is a living green, so green that it fairly shimmers and dazzles as the sun's rays flood it with light and throw into sharp contrast the dark red earth. The wheat is golden, or rather a delicate bronze, fast deepening into a rich yellow ; the streams are running swiftly through the lands with a harmonious sound ; the cattle, horses, and sheep are sleek and fat : overhead the birds are flitting to and fro, singing and chirping; and altogether there is an inclination to break forth into singing at every step taken, from blithe companionship with the full nature around. At harvest time the Darling Downs is at its best ; never does it look so green and pure and lovely ; never is the honeysuckle so fragrant nor the roses so laden with delicate perfume. Every garden is full of loveliness, clothed with masses of bloom and sweet with delicate odours. The orange and lemon trees are laden with fruit, the peach tress are heavy with promise, "the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell." 

 

PALMERIN STREET, WARWICK --- LOOKING SOUTH

GENERAL VIEW, WARWICK

The Darling Downs extends from the crest of the Main Range at Toowoomba in a due westerly direction for almost 80 miles to Warra, on the Western line, and south to the Killarney Ranges, or to the New South Wales border, embracing the watershed of the Condamine River, for nearly 80 miles. It thus comprises over four million acres of magnificent soil, nearly the whole of which may be termed first class agricultural land. The Downs is a vast pasturage encircled by mountains, and compassed by belts of richly-timbered scrubs. It is an enormously fertile district, showing a wealth of vegetation probably unsurpassed in the world. At present it is a great wheat, lucerne, and corn country ; the home also of stud sheep and cattle and famous horses ; but it is prominently a dairying and fruit district, and as the colony of Queensland advances it is probable that the growing and har-vesting of bulky crops will be left to the farmers on the eastern slopes, while butter, cheese, and fruit of excellent quality and flavour will be exported from the Downs to all parts of the world. The day will come when there is likely to be as much interest shown in the establishment of fruit-preserving works on the Downs as at present exists in regard to meat-preserving works in suitable districts, and it will be found that there is money in it for both raiser and manufacturer. At agricultural shows on the Downs housewives have shown samples of preserved fruit which ought to have been quite sufficient to open the eyes of moneyed men to the vast possibilities of this trade. In Queensland pastoralists and planters divide the honours and share the profits of production between them, and the fruit grower and smaller agriculturist only get a poor show. Yet there are two million acres of land on the Downs eminently suitable for fruit production and only awaiting the advent of brains and money. 

MR. J. FOGARTY, M.L.A., TOOWOOMBA.
(From a portrait by Jones and Co., Brisbane.)

MR. ARTHUR MORGAN, M.L.A., WARWICK.
(From a photo. by Poul C. Poulson, Brisbane.)

HON. W. H. GROOM, M.L.A., TOOWOOMBA.
(From a photo, by J. Bain, Brisbane.)

It is matter for regret that much of the very best land on the Downs still remains devoted to grazing. Sheep and cattle walk where there should be cultivated farms. The large landed proprietors are recognising that their estates are becoming too valuable to be set apart merely for sheep and cattle raising, and not a few of them are turning their attention to the growing of cereals, and are also endeavouring to promote settlement on their estates. The breaking up of the freeholds is merely a question of time. In the near future the Downs will be the home of millions, for there are openings on this fertile region for working farmers of small means probably unequalled in any other part of Australia or America. The Downs carries at present about 2,500,000 sheep, and 200,000 cattle, besides a large number of pigs, the breeding of which has of late engaged the attention of the farmer. About 80,000 acres are under close cultivation, held in farms of from 5 to 50 acres. Of course there are many farmers with larger areas under cultivation, and many of the pastoralists have of late gone in extensively for the growing of wheat. At Gowrie, Yandilla, and Canning Downs stations, for instance, between 600 and 1000 acres have in each place been sown with wheat, and the combination of grazing and agriculture has met with encouraging success, so much so that almost all the old-time squatters are fast becoming modern farmers, and are bringing into use the latest agricultural machinery. Six-furrow ploughs are not un-common, and steam threshers are on every farm with any pretensions. £26,000 worth of harvesting machinery has been imported on to the Darling Downs since the beginning of 1890, notwithstanding an ad valorem duty of 2d per cent, which exists. The farmers at the Back Plains, near Clifton, a very enter-prising lot, have during the last three years purchased £10,500 worth of agricultural implements. Wheat and corn are at present the principal productions of the Darling Downs, and they are likely to retain their supremacy for some time to come, notwithstanding the low prices which have prevailed for a few years, and the excessive railway rates which are alleged to he antagonistic to profitable farming. To the fact that these crops are easily raised, and are rapidly convertible into cash or goods, may be attributed the position which they hold, but it is becoming apparent that the farmer must vary his crops and grow something which will place him beyond sudden and ruinous fluctuations in the market, and which also will afford employment to the growing members of his family. four-fifths of the wheat produced in Queensland is grown on the Downs. To the west of the Great Dividing Range are situated the districts which, for all practical purposes, contribute to the wheat production of the colony. According to the official reports, during the year 1893, 27,932 acres, or 93 per cent, of the total area under wheat, were planted in the locality referred to, and 85 per cent, of this, or 81 per cent, of the total area, was located in the three districts of Toowoomba, Warwick, and Allora. The mean average yield for five years was 16-28 bushels per acre, a return more than double the average result secured by South Australia, and about 60, 34, and 33 per cent, in excess of the averages of Victoria. New South Wales, and Western Australia, each respectively. This estimate considerably exceeds that of some of the great wheat districts in the United States. in some of which the estimate for 1893 is put down at from 11 to 12 bushels. Some surprising results are occasionally obtained. I have known a 5-acre patch yield 250 bushels of first class milling wheat, and 40 to 45 bushels are not an uncommon return in a good year from well-cultivated land. It is apparent, therefore, that the open Downs land, is marvellously well adapted for the economic production of the cereal, but prices of late have not been encouraging. Maize may perhaps be set down as the staple crop of the Downs. Last year 38 per cent. of the total land under cultivation was devoted to maize production, and 25 per cent. of the entire yield of the colony was contributed by the Darling Downs. The average yield per acre for five years is about 24-65 bushels. Seventy bushels have repeatedly been taken off choice spots. Paddy rice has been successfully cultivated on the Downs, and at Allora 18 acres returned the high average of nearly 62 bushels to the acre. Rye, barley, potatoes, lucerne, oats, and all classes of green forage show similar high returns, sufficient to justify the Darling Downs being called "the Garden of Queensland." 

Viticulture is making rapid progress on the Downs. About 380 acres are under grapes in Toowoomba, Warwick, and Allora. For table grapes there is always a good demand in Brisbane, and nearly 400,000lb. were sent from the Downs last year, while 42,000 gallons of wine were manufactured, a good deal of it of a poor character. It is only fair to mention that at the display of colonial wines at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, held in London, a Toowoomba vigneron, Mr. H. Hertzer, secured first honours. Downs wines require age, and unfortunately the vignerons are not in a position to cellar their productions for a sufficiently long period to allow them to mature and to take on the constitution of high-class wines. 

R. C. Convent, Warwick

The cultivation of the orange is making marked progress, and it has been amply demonstrated that, with, the exception of the Wide Bay districts, there is no place in Queensland more suited than the Downs for the growth of the fruit. In the Highfields and Toowoomba districts 311,000 dozen oranges were taken from 83 acres, and the fruit was of a most luscious character. It will be necessary, however, to find a foreign market for this fruit before the farmers enter into the cultivation with any spirit, the local price being altogether unremunerative, about 3d per dozen being the maxi-mum to be obtained for the best kinds. Peaches, apples, passion-fruit, apricots, melons, guavas, strawberries, &c., all flourish well on the Downs, and give encouraging returns. 

As may be supposed, butter, cheese, honey, and bacon are very largely produced on the Downs. Recently a great impetus has been given to butter making by the introduction of centrifugal separators and the establishment of central factories, and it may be safely asserted that the quality of the Downs butter is equal to that of the best English. Every farmer is of course, more or less a butter producer, and in the Toowoomba district this rule peculiarly applies. The average to each producer for 1893 is set down at 1772lb., a remarkably high return. Prices vary from 3d to 1s a pound, and I have frequently known the latter price paid at the Saturday morning auction sales for butter of good quality. Of late years the quality of cheese has largely improved, and this is due to the fact that several factories have been established on the Downs and elsewhere. Similar remarks apply also to bacon and honey. Near the Killarney Ranges the cultivation of tobacco has been carried on for some time, but this crop is mainly left to the Chinese, and they have proved that the seductive weed is the most profitable thing that a Downs farmer can handle. It is hard to give any sound reason why the Chinaman is a monopolist in this particular domain of agriculture. Poppy cultivation is likely to be tested on the Downs, as no less than £51,491 worth of opium was last year imported into Queensland, and poppies grow like weeds on the broad acres of the undulating black soil. As Queensland last year imported nearly one million pounds' worth of produce it is evident that there is yet ample room on the Downs for quite an army of intelligent farmers who will adopt the latest scientific methods of culture. 

The great majority of farmers on the Downs are of Irish or German nationality. The lands of the Darling Downs consist principally of open plains and gently undulating ridges, lightly timbered with apple-tree and gum-topped box. The soil is of volcanic character of the richest description— black, red, or chocolate varying in depth from 10ft. to 60ft., and every acre is available for agriculture or advanced grazing. There are running creeks in every district, and water in any quantity can be obtained by sinking, from 12ft. to 100ft. Nearly every bore which has been put down has discovered water at a comparatively shallow depth. The selling value of the land may be estimated at from £3 to £8 per acre. Good cleared scrub land has quite recently sold at £13 2s 6d an acre, and the Clifton lands are selling readily at £5 per acre. These lands are marvellously prolific, and the farmer is not only able to alternate his crops, but he can reap two crops within the 12 months. Wheat is sown in May and reaped in December, and maize sown in January is ready for gathering in April. Many of the scrubs are dense, and composed principally of brigalow, ti-tree, myall, sandalwood, wild apple, figs, honey suckle, &c., interspersed with clumps of pine, cedar, ironbark, and other timbers. On the summit of the Main Range, stringy bark, blackbutt, turpentine, bloodwood, hoop and bunya pine are to be found in great quantities, while along the slopes and in the forests are ironbark, red gum, spotted gum, cypress pine, and other commercial woods. 

Ornamental trees grow on the Downs profusely, and the streets of the principal towns are rendered particularly attractive by the magnificent fir, plane, and camphor laurel trees which some far-seeing public men have had planted years ago. Herries-street in Toowoomba, and Palmerin-street in Warwick, may rank among the best street-avenues in the world. Extensive coal deposits have been found on the Downs at Gowrie, for instance, a coal mine is being worked, affording employment for 45 men, while the coal is of excellent quality. It is readily purchased by the Government, and used on the Southern and Western railways. 

Good seams of coal have been found at Westbrook and at Clifton. In fact, coal has been discovered on all parts of the Downs— what is wanted is a market. Traces of gold have frequently been discovered near the Killarney Ranges, but so far nothing of a payable character. Beyond Warwick there are goldfields which are a source of revenue ; but they are really outside the boundaries of the Darling Downs. The rich red and black soil of the plains is a goldfield which will never cease to yield excellent returns as long as it is industriously worked. Around Toowoomba ironstone and copper have been found, but not in sufficient quantities to even enable a rapidly-to-be-ruined company to be floated. The Downs cannot be said to be rich in mineral wealth. 

There is no lack of railway communication on the Downs. The Southern and Western line travels right through the plains, and passengers from Sydney to Brisbane are enabled to enjoy the varied and beautiful scenery. Toowoomba is 100 miles from Brisbane, and in the matter of railway trains is well served. Out from Warwick and Toowoomba run branch lines, to such growing places as Pittsworth, Crow's Nest, Emu Vale, and Killarney. Few farmers on the Downs are more than eight miles from a railway. It is hardly possible to exaggerate the qualities of the Downs climate. For 11 months in the year the people enjoy a succession of bright, genial sunny days. During the summer months the heat of the day is sometimes considerable, ranging from 80° to 96°, but the nights are perfection, a soft balmy breeze always finding its way across the plains. In winter the weather is bracing and sharp. Ground frosts prevail, and ice is not a stranger. Snowstorms are unknown, but fogs in the early morning are trying to those of delicate constitution. Heavy rains are usually in the month of February. 

THE CONDAMINE RIVER, AT WARWICK.

Taken all round, the Darling Downs is far and away the healthiest place in Queensland, if not in Australia. The mortality varies from a minimum of only 4.73 in September to a maximum of 8.28 in January, the mean for the year being 6.69— these figures being calculated at per 1000 of mean population per annum for five years. The men of the Downs are stalwart, broad-shouldered, and bucolic in appearance — good types of English yeomen. The women are big, buxom, rosy-cheeked, and pleasant to look upon.