There is no state church. Amongst the different denominations the Church of England, at the date of the last census, numbered 37·5 % of the population, the Roman Catholic 24·5%, the Presbyterians 11·7, the Methodists 9·5, the Baptists 2·60, the Jews 0·2, other Christian bodies 12·3, Pagans and Mahommedans, 4·43.
Finance.—For the year ending June 1905, the receipts amounted to £3,595,399, equal to £6, 17s. 10d. per inhabitant. The chief items of revenue were: taxation, £454,574; crown lands, £623,416; railways, £1,409,414; balance refunded by the federal government, £752,532. The expenditure for that year was £3,581,403, equal to £6, 17s. 4d. per inhabitant; the chief items being:—interest on public debt, £1,547,091; railways, £812,931; education, £322,496; charitable institutions, £135,338.' The public debt of the state at the end of 1905 was £39,068,827, or £74, 6s. 3d. per inhabitant; an actual
the bulk of this sum, £23,567,554, having been expended on railways. The following shows the growth of the public indebtedness:—
| Year. | Total Debt. | Debt per Inhabitant. | |||||
| 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1905 |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
£70,000 4,047,850 13,245,150 29,457,134 39,338,427 39,068,827 |
£2 32 58 73 76 74 |
0 6 7 12 8 6 |
9 11 2 5 6 3 |
||
Defence.—The Commonwealth defence forces in Queensland had stren th at the end of 1905 of 7212 men, comprising a permanent force of 258, 2486 militia, 959 cadets and 3189 riflemen.
Mining.—In Mount Morgan Queensland possesses one of the chief gold mines of the world, and this mine is also one of the leading copper mines of the Commonwealth. In 1905 the value of the mineral production of the state was £3,726,275, being an excess over that of the previous year of £22,034, the highest in the history of the state. This advance was due, not to any improvement in the gold yield, which, latterly, has receded from the high level of former years, but to the increased output of the industrial metals. The value of the minerals, other than gold, won during 1905 amounted to £1,208,980, almost one-third of the total value of the year’s mineral production, in which gold represented £2,517,295§ silver, £69,176; Copper. £503,547; tin, £297,454, and coal, £155,477.
Agriculture.—The total area under cultivation in Queensland in 1905 was 622,987 acres, the principal crops being:—wheat, 119,356 acnes; maize, 113,720 acres; hay, 37,425 acres; green forage, 66,183 acres; potatoes, 7170 acres; barley, 5201 acres. Sugar-cane cultivation is important. The progress of the industry may be gauged from the following figures:—area under cane in 1864, 94 acres; 1871, 9581 acres; 1881, 28,026 acres; 1891, 50,948 acres; 1901, 112,031 acres; 1905, 134,107 acres. The greater part of the field work on the Queensland plantations was long performed by coloured labour, chiefly South Sea islanders. In 1901, however, the federal parliament passed an act under the provisions of which a limited number of Pacific islanders were allowed to enter Australia up to the 31st of March 1904, but after that date their coming was to be prohibited. All agreements for the employment of these Kanakas were to terminate on the 31st of December 1906, after which date all Pacific islanders were to be deported. Fruit cultivation has attained considerable importance. In 1905, 2044 acres were under vines; 6198 under bananas; 1845 under pineapples; 3078 under oranges; 374 under mangoes; 173 under strawberries; 537 under apples. The soil and climate of Queensland are admirably fitted for the production of excellent cotton, but this promise has not been realized. In 1871 the export of this staple was over 2,600,000 Tb, valued at £79,000; the production gradually diminished and in 1898 absolutely ceased. The year 1902 saw a revival when 8 acres were planted; and in 1905 171 acres were devoted to cotton growing. While the area set apart for tobacco cultivation continues to increase, the yield in 1905 being 10,230 cwt. (cured leaf) from 933 acres, the production of coffee dropped from 132,554 Ib in 1904 to 82,230 Tb in 1905.
Stock-raising is, however, the principal industry of the country. At the close of 1905 the numbers of the principal kinds of stock depastured were: cattle, 2,963,695; sheep, 12,535,231; horses, 430,565; swine, 164,087. The cattle industry has been greatly affected by the ravages of the cattle tick and by a succession of disastrous seasons, and the number in the state in 1905 was considerably less than half the number mustered in 1894. As the state is very lightly stocked a few good seasons will serve to bring the number of cattle up to the previous greatest record. The sheep industry in Queensland though of less importance than the cattle, is still considerable, and of the six states of Australia, Queensland ranks second in the number which it departures. The sheep depastured in 1905 were some nine millions less than in 1892. The weight of wool exported in 1905 was 53,072,727 lb; in 1892, however, the export was over 105 millions. Good progress has been made in dairying, the production of butter in 1905 being 20,320,000 lb; of cheese, 2,682,089 Tb; of bacon and ham, 10,500,335 lb. It is estimated that the annual value of the pastoral and dairying industry of Queensland is about £8,224,000. The export of live cattle in 1905 amounted in value to £1,500,85; of fresh and preserved meat, £707,345; of wool, £2,280,924; of tallow, £183,3721n 1894 the tallow export was nearly 30,000 tons, valued at £596,000.
Manufactures.—Queensland is not populous enough to have manufactures on a large scale, nevertheless there are 21,705 persons employed in the 1911 establishments of the state. The majority of these persons are engaged in the preparation of natural products for export, such as sugar, preserved meats and the like, or in industries arising out of the domestic requirements of the population. The horse power employed in 1905 was 28,009; the value of plant and machinery was £3,988,056; and of land and premises £2,709,951; while the value of the output stood at £8,130,480.
Commerce.—The shipping entering Queensland ports in 1905 had a tonnage of 1,067,741 as compared with 468,607 in 1890. The imports in 1905 were £6,699,345, which is much less than the average of Australia, but nearly all the Queensland importations are for home consumption, whereas New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have a large re-export trade. In 1861 the imports were valued at £968,000, or £31 per inhabitant; in 1871, £1,563,000, or £13 per inhabitant; in 1881, £4,064,000, or £18, 6s. per inhabitant; in 1891, £5,079,000, or £12, 155. per inhabitant; in 1900, £7,184,112, or £14, 13s. 3d. per inhabitant. The disparity between the capitation figures of various years is due chiefly to two causes: the irregularity of Ethe state borrowings, and the manner in which private capital has been sent from England and from the Australian states for investment in Queensland, both the borrowings and the investments appearing in the imports. The important bearing of these two items on the Queensland import trade may be gathered from the fact that, since 1863, there has been an inflow of capital into the state at the rate of about one million and a quarter sterling per annum. The exports from Queensland in 1905 were valued at £11,939,5Q4, which is equal to the very high average of £22, 14S. 3d. per head; nearly the whole amount represents goods and produce of local origin. Going back to 1861 the amount of exports at the various decennial periods was:—
| Year. | Value of Total Exports. | Exports per Head. | |||||
| 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
£709,599 2,760,045 3,540,366 8,305,387 9,249,366 |
£22 22 15 20 18 |
14 18 18 13 5 |
8 8 6 6 10 |
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Brisbane is the chief seat of trade, but this port does not hold so predominating a position as do the chief cities of the other states in regard to their minor ports. In 1905 the trade at the seven principal seaports of Queensland was:—
| Port. | Imports. | Exports. | ||
| Brisbane Rockhampton Townsville Bundaberg Maryborough Mackay Cairns |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
£4,104,574 437,068 671,853 121,567 157,023 80,468 184,716 |
£3,524,939 1,708,489 1,838,055 498,381 248,706 499,034 873,370 |
Railways.—Up to 1905 the state had expended £21,683,355 upon the construction and equipment of railways. The mileage open for traffic at the end of that year was 3113; there were also 268 m. of privately owned railways. Railway construction in the state commenced in 1864, some five years after the introduction of responsible government. Progress during the early years was very slow; in 1871 only 218 m. had been constructed and in 1881 only 800 m.; between 1881 and 1891 railway construction was pushed on rapidly, an average of 152 m. a year being opened between those dates. In 1891 the length open for traffic was 2320 m., and in 1901 2801 m. The state railways in 1905 earned £1,483,535 and the working expenses were £851,627, leaving the net earnings £631,908, which is equal to 2·91% upon the capital expended. As the rate of interest paid on the outstanding loans of the Queensland government is 3·94, there is an actual loss to the state of 0·30 %. This loss, however, is more than counterbalanced by the advantages resulting from the construction of the railways.
Posts and Telegraphs.—There were 1360 post offices in the state in 1905; telegraph stations numbered 515, and there were 19 telephone exchanges. The revenue from these three services in 1905 was respectively £233,523, £88,285 and £31,765—a total of £353,573, as against an expenditure of £415,420.
Banking.—The liabilities of the eleven banks trading in the state in 1905 totalled £13,770,865, and the assets £16,362,292. The deposits amounted to £13,217,084. The banks held coin and bullion to the value of £1,897,576. In the Government Savings Bank there was a sum of £3,992,758 to the credit of 84,163 depositors. The deposits in all banks amounted, therefore, to £17,209,842, which represents £32, 11s. 10d. per head of population.
Authorities.—Statistical Register of Queensland (annual); Queensland Official Year Book (1901); Reports of the Government Statistician; H. Russell, Genesis of Queensland (Sydney, 1888); T. Weedon, Queensland Past and Present (Brisbane, 1897); T. A. Coghlan, Australia and New Zealand (Sydney, 1904); F. M. Bailey, Notes on the Flora at Queensland. (T. A. C.)
