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The Utility of, and Necessity for, a Geographical Society.

By A. C. Macdonald.

As to the utility of and necessity for a Geographical Society in Australia there can, I submit, be no question.

When the establishment of this Society was first mooted, it was objected by some that an Australian Society was unnecessary—that the Royal Geographical Society of England was the proper authority for operations, and was quite sufficient for all that was required—that the amount of country still unexplored was so small as to be of little or no importance.

I think that the following considerations are sufficient answer to these contentions.

It has long been a subject of regret to all who have an interest in the prosperity of our Australian Colonies that, although much has been attempted and much accomplished in the direction of exploring and developing its great resources by individual enterprise, yet, so far, practically nothing has been done in the way of collecting and distributing the results in such a manner that they may be useful and accessible to the world at large.

When I say nothing has been done, I must not forget the praise-worthy efforts made of late by the Press of Victoria and Queensland. This is a step in the right direction, and one of its results, and not the least, has been to intensify the feeling to which I allude—the feeling which has induced several gentlemen to agitate with the view of forming in Victoria a branch of the Society lately so successfully established in Sydney.

The spirit of exploration has reached such a pitch that it requires some organization in order that the fullest benefit may be derived from its labours. There is no doubt that even now many important discoveries have been made which are lost to the public owing to the want of some such organization, and there is always the certain danger that men engaged in what may be termed private exploration are apt, however well they do the work from one point of view, to neglect many matters which, though not perhaps of direct importance from a business standpoint, may be vastly important in the interests of science. This would not be the case were a Society in existence having its members and correspondents spread over the continent, watchful and ready to collect and report any discoveries of scientific or general interest.

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There is probably no civilized country, certainly none of such importance, of which less of the geography is generally known, not only to the outside public but to its own inhabitants, than this our own Australia. We have here no wars, no great revolutions, to draw upon us the eyes of the world, but must depend on the more prosaic and matter-of-fact, but still more certain and enduring potency of the innate capabilities of our country. Commercially, through force of their great business, and partly through their Exhibitions, our Colonies are becoming well known—that is to say, people in England and elsewhere are becoming aware that in Australia several large cities are springing up which offer a profitable field for commercial speculation, but they are not yet fully aware that at the back of those cities is a vast extent of country rich in natural products and capabilities—that in Australia is a new world open to receive the inhabitants of the overcrowded countries of the old world, to the mutual benefit of both. A body which will spread this information, show the natural resources of the country, the vast field it presents for both labour and capital—show that Australia does not consist merely of a few large towns kept alive by mining or agricultural or pastoral pursuits, but that it is a new continent possessing all the conditions necessary to a great commercial country—a body, I say, which has these things for its aim needs not to have its utility questioned, it will do more to turn the tide of emigration of the right class towards our shores than all the State-aid lectures and emigration agents in the world, with the advantage that the increase of population so derived will be a natural and not a forced one.

These things it will be the aim of the Geographical Society of Australasia to accomplish, by its correspondence and mutual interchange of information with the many kindred Associations throughout the world; but to enable it to do so thoroughly it must have, as we have every reason to hope it will have, the earnest and practical support and co-operation of all the able, scientific, and practical geographists and explorers throughout the continent, the men whose energy and pluck have already done so much in the cause.

Then whilst we are attending to the mote in our neighbour's eye, let us not forget the beam in our own eye. Whilst we are educating other countries, let us not forget ourselves. Mr. La Meslée said in his remarks at the opening meeting in Sydney, that the average Englishman knows more of the geography of Central Africa than of that of Australia. I think we can go further, and say that the average Victorian youth knows more of the geography of Egypt and its surroundings than of that of Western and Central Australia, not to mention the many other places that should interest him. It was only the other day that page 135 we heard some of our State School teachers complaining that although they had abundance of information of other countries, they had no reliable and comprehensive text-book of Australian Geography. This should not be. Of course there is yet much to learn, but it should be the aim of this Society to see that all the information now available and that may from time to time be obtained, is collected in such a manner that it may be used in our schools. Then, again, there are important discoveries daily made in other parts of the world with which it is necessary for the education of a people that they should be acquainted. This is only to be thoroughly done through the agency of a body which will collect the information from its many scattered sources and place it in an accessible manner before the public.

I have so far spoken chiefly of discoveries already made and information already obtained, but not yet turned to their fullest advantage. In addition to this there are still large portions of Australasia still unexplored, which offer a wide field for geographical and scientific research.

As to the idea that the unexplored portions of our vast Australasian continent is so small as to be unimportant, a glance at the map will show its fallacy. Besides New Guinea and other large and important islands, a great part of Northern, Western, and Central Australia are still unknown lands. These also should engage a large share of the Society's attention in the endeavour, whilst promoting exploration, to see that it is carried out in a systematic, scientific, and thorough manner.

I think that most men will agree with me that the object of a Geographical Society in this matter should be to promote and assist explorations in every possible way, and to see that they are so carried out as to be in the interest and to the benefit, not of private individuals or syndicates merely, but of the community at large, as unfortunately much of what has already been done has not been.

I do not wish it to be understood from my remarks that I in any way condemn or undervalue private enterprise as a means of developing a country. I am too well aware that it has been and ever will be the grand factor of success in British colonization, and that without it all the Societies in the world would be of no avail; but still, that individual enterprise may be turned to its fullest advantage it requires organization.

It is only natural that if a man or men make discoveries at great expense of money and labour to themselves, they make them for their own use and benefit, irrespective of the public welfare. If a man discovers a gold-field, we do not expect him to publish the information until he secures the choicest pickings for himself. It is true that in this matter a man cannot benefit himself without to some extent benefiting the community in which he dwells; but with us the grand object in view should be, not the amassing of page 136 wealth for a fortunate few, but the hastening of that day when Australia shall be not merely a place at the world's end where a man may come and gather wealth with a view of enjoying it elsewhere, but a country complete in itself, and second to none in the world, having a voice and carrying weight in the affairs of nations; the day when smiling homesteads, flocks and herds, towns and cities shall be in places that are now wildernesses; when the railway and telegraph shall have spread their distance-mocking arms over what are now trackless wastes; the day when a man may proudly say "I am an Australian."