Victoria, Irwin, Roebourne, and Kimberley districts, as well as at Mount Barren, on the south coast, 120 miles east of Albany, Wongan Hills, Darling and Glenelg Ranges, and near Cape Naturaliste. The copper and lead exports for the colony were:—Copper—1889, £1,904; 1890, £136; 1891, £4,462; and 1892, £8,696. Lead—1889, £2,500; 1890, £2,135; 1891, £250; and 1892, £150.
The general industrial development was satisfactory during 1889-92. The export trade showed an expansion, but it did not keep pace with the dimensions of imports. As the population increased, larger imports were made. The annual Blue Book figures were:—
| Imports. | Exports. | |
| 1889 ... | £818,127 ... | £761,392 |
| 1890 ... | 874,447 ... | 671,813 |
| 1891 ... | 1,280,093 ... | 799,466 |
| 1892 ... | 1,391,109 ... | 882,148 |
Owing to an unparalleled drought the pastoral industry suffered disaster. In 1890-1-2 the losses to stock through want of rain and pasture were terrible. Many squatters in the northern parts of the colony were ruined, while the more stable men found it difficult to tide over the period of distress. Runs were abandoned, the rentals for Crown lands diminished, whole flocks were annihilated and the export returns for wool were seriously affected. For all their years of striving in the semi-tropical country, the squatters had nothing to show but dry fields, covered with white bones. In 1891 the horses of settlers were in such an emaciated condition that men had to carry rations to shepherds on remote parts of some of the stations on foot. Thousands of lambs were killed to save the ewes. On two stations alone 10,000 lambs were immolated to this end, and 26,000 sheep died of starvation. North of Roebourne the scene was horrible and repulsive; the famished animals gathered round the wells, and died there in thousands. Mr. E. T, Hooley, who was nominated to the Legislative Council in December, 1891, in place of Mr. E.R. Brockman, stated in that House in February, 1892, that on one station, where a little more than twelve months before were 28,000 sheep, were now but a thousand odd; another man's flocks had decreased from 14,000 to 1,723, and another from 12,000 to 800. Rain came just in time, for had it held off much longer the whole of the flocks in the north would have been lost. It is not possible to adequately describe the distress caused by these fatalities; men who had been in comfortable and flourishing circumstances were reduced to poverty, with the incubus of heavy debts to liquidate. In 1889 there were 2,366,681 sheep in the colony, and in 1890, 2,524,913; by 1891 these had been reduced to 1,962,212, and by 1892 to 1,685,500. With the natural annual increase, it may be said that the colony lost over a million sheep by the drought. The wool export was:—In 1889, £395,903; in 1890, £261,351; in 1891, £329,365; and in 1892, £326,703. There was a diminution of about £20,000 in the annual rental of Crown lands. The statistics of other stock held in the colony were in 1889:—Cattle, 119,571; horses, 42,806; and pigs, 27,079; and in 1892:—Cattle, 162,886; horses, 44,973; and pigs, 24,417. It will be seen that the cattle industry was slightly improving. Considerable live stock—cattle and sheep for slaughter—was imported.
There is little that is encouraging to be said of agriculture or horticulture. In 1889 the area under wheat was 35,517 acres; under other grains, 8,297 acres; under potatoes, 462 acres; under hay, 25,694 acres; under vines, 1,088 acres; under forage, 329 acres; under gardens, orchards, &c., 2,039 acres; making a total of 73,426 acres cultivated. The area under wheat in 1892 was 35,060 acres; under hay, 35,123 acres; and under vines, 1,218 acres, which with other crops made a total of 79,603 acres cultivated. Food stuffs had still to be imported. In 1889—Grain valued at £12,923, and flour, bran, and meal at £46,058; in 1890—Grain, hay, fruit, meats, &c., at £76,929, and flour and wheat at £40,363; in 1891—Grain at £28,285, and flour, meal and bran at £27,852; and in 1892—Grain and hay at £64,865, and flour, meal, and bran at £64,783. The Agricultural Commission, appointed by Governor Broome in 1887, made its final report in March, 1891. The members collected a mass of evidence in every branch of agriculture, and their report proved a highly valuable record. They decided that under a fair system of farming Western Australia was not behind, as generally supposed, other colonies in the productivity of certain soils. Agriculture, as a pursuit, had not had all the elements in its favour to make it a thoroughly prosperous industry. Says the report—"Close observers of cause and effect will be able to trace many conditions under which agricultural pursuits have suffered, but these conditions are incidental to the peculiar circumstances of the colony—its early settlement, its isolation from general commercial intercourse with the other colonies—to the absence of those attractions which have taken population past our shores to the sister colonies—and are not directly traceable to any inherent infertility of soil." The circumstances adduced in this historical narrative bear out the finding of the commission. "The absence of cash sales," the report continued, "and the establishment of a barter system, supplied only a precarious market—a mixture of barter and tardy cash." The market was not one which stimulated production. Stagnation in enterprise was attributed to these conditions. The report dealt extensively with the various districts in the colony, drew attention to the excellent results following upon the introduction of the bonus system in Victoria, referred exhaustively to the subject of State aid to farmers, the land regulations, factory systems, and the diffusion of agricultural knowledge. Altogether the members of the commission deserved high commendation for their report, and especially the chairman, Mr. H. W. Venn.
The pearl fisheries extended further and further into the deep waters. The natives had a superstitious awe of a diver's dress, and were not greatly used in deep diving. The western coast was prospected to several fathoms deep. Most of the boats in 1890 were concentrated off the Eighty-Mile Beach, some of them working twenty-five miles from land in water varying from fifteen to twenty-five fathoms in depth. The returns in 1891 were particularly large. The annual export of pearl and pearl shell was, in 1889, pearls, £30,000, pearl shell, £88,555; in 1890, pearls, £40,000, pearl shell, £86,292; in 1891, pearls, £40,000, pearl shell, £100,527; and in 1892, pearls, £40,000, pearl shell, £79,259.
The timber and sandalwood exports were good, and excellent developments took place in the hardwood industry. The returns were, in 1889, sandalwood, £57,465, timber, £63,080; in 1890, sandalwood, £51,355, timber, £82,052; in 1891, sandalwood, £37,600, timber, £89,176; and in 1892, sandalwood, £42,870, timber, £78,419. A successful attempt was made in 1890 to manufacture sandalwood oil. In that year oil valued at £1,675 was exported; in 1891 the export was £1,530, and in 1892, £330. The guano export was, in 1889, £8,487; in 1890, £9,782; in 1891, £15,627; and in 1892, £4,389. Small quantities of
