Page:The Irish in Australia.djvu/230

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THE IRISH IN AUSTRALIA.

the Union, and, by a deplorable accident, lost his life in the dark waters of the Missouri; and McManus, having died in San Francisco, was buried with national honours, his body having been conveyed across the American continent, and over the Atlantic, to the Irish metropolis, from which he had been sent into captivity thirteen years before.

The material resources of Tasmania are varied and abundant, though but inadequately developed. Its tin mines have been a source of considerable profit for years, and latterly its gold deposits, after long neglect, are being scientifically and systematically worked to advantage. In making the best use of the mineral wealth at their doors, the Tasmanians, who are said by their neighbours to be constitutionally lethargic, have an extensive field for the exercise of any latent energy and industry they may possess. At present they are principally engaged in agricultural pursuits, and Tasmanian produce always secures good prices in the home and colonial markets.

New Zealand—the "Great Britain of the South," as Captain Cook termed it—would probably object to be classed with the Australian colonies, for it has always professed a lofty and sturdy independence of the big continent in its vicinity. It consists of three islands, originally named after three of the four provinces of Ireland. North Island, or New Ulster, has an area of 44,000 square miles; Middle Island, or New Munster, is somewhat larger, having 55,000 square miles; whilst Stewart Island, or New Leinster, is very small, consisting of only 1,000 square miles. The islands are situated in the South Pacific, at a distance of 1,200 miles from the nearest part of New South Wales. They were discovered by Tasman in 1642, but were not again visited by Europeans until Cook took possession of