210 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Conclusions lesson in colonial energy it can hardly be surpassed. The Adelaide of the nineties symbolises the irrepressible energy of the pioneers and those who followed them. Upon the "beautiful stream," flanked by large trees, described by Governor Hindmarsh in his letter to Mr. G. F. Angas in January, 1837, has gradually grown a magnificent city. In place of the lines of survey pegs fi.xed among the trees by Colonel Light and his surveyors early in the same year are now great buildings of brick and stone and even of marble, macadamised streets and terraces, and artistically laid-out squares and parks. Except in the Botanic Park, not one of the original trees survive. But the scene of natural beauty that so pleased the eye of Colonel Light in 1836 has been replaced by a scene only less beautiful, and perhaps more stirringly impressive — the handiwork or art of man compared with the artlessness and idyllic abandon of Nature. Adelaide is the proud possessor of most of the advantages of old-world cities. She is the centre of an extensive railway system and of all the great institutions of an important Province. Here and there rise the steeples of cathedrals and churches, or the lofty heights of great public buildings, banking houses, and commercial edifices. Her streets, along which busy throngs daily pass, are wide, and are ornamented with trees representative of many climes, and bounded by continuous rows of buildings. She has an efficient water supply, and the highest laws of hygiene have been obeyed in her drainage system. Well-organised P^ire Brigades, subsidised by the State, provide protection in cases of fire. A Council of clear-headed business men manages her affairs. The parks, reserves, and squares are laid out in avenues and rustic paths, and the Botanic Gardens, supplied in the hothouse and the open with choice and rare blooms, shrubs, and trees of various lands, are a fine example in landscape gardening. Adjoining the latter is a Botanic Park, encircled and divided by charming drive.s, where, side by side with the oak, the elm, and the ash, are great gums, monarchs of the Australian woodlands. Next to this are Zoological Gardens, where the lion, the tiger, and the monkey reside near the opossum, the dingo, and the laughing jackass. An artificial lake is not the least of the beauties of the city. Botanic Gardens
