New South Wales.

The Mother Colony; three times the size of Great Britain and Ireland—Sydney the Capital—Founding of the Colony.

William Pitt in 1787 sent Captain Arthur Philip to form a settlement in Botany Bay, where Cook had unfurled the British flag in 1770. Finding Botany Bay unsuitable, he sailed to Port Jackson and founded Sydney, the first English settlement in Australia.

Sydney (see the large picture at the north end of the Court) extends on the shores of Port Jackson, a land-locked harbour of romantic beauty, in page 37 which all the mercantile and armed fleets of the world might safely ride at anchor at the same time.

The Great Pastoral Colony.—In 1792, number of sheep, 105; in 1883, number of sheep, 34,000,000. In 1884, the value of the wool was 9½ millions sterling. See Wool Trophy, and the cases of Preserved. Meat and Fish.

One of the Gold Colonies—Bathurst—the centre of the Gold District.

The gold-bearing area, 70,000 square miles.

Mr. Hargreaves, a colonist of South Australia, went to California in 1848, and noticing that the geological formation of California resembled that of Bathurst in his own colony, he returned, and in 1851 discovered gold.

Great Mineral Wealth.—Copper—Silver—Tin—Antimony, Bismuth, and Cinnibar.

One of the two Coal Colonies.

See the Copper Ingot Trophy, the Gold Trophy, the large Collection of Silver Ores. See also the Collection of Gems and Precious Stones.

Nature seems to have pointed out New South Wales as the great manufacturing colony of Australia. Coal (equal to the best English) is found near abundance of iron ores, limestone, and fire-clay. A variety of coal called "kerosene shale" is sent to England to mix with ordinary coal for gas-making.

Specimens of this coal arc among the coal exhibits. In this Court are also kerosene candles.

Natural History.—See the group of cabbage-tree palms, and tree-ferns, with the wild cats, bears, kangaroos, opossums, laughing jackass, and the settlers hut.

Wine is increasingly made.—The valleys of the rivers Hunter and Paterson are said to be equal to the best French wine-producing districts. See Wine Trophy.

The exhibits of Silk, Sugar, and Arrowroot are important as indicative of future industrial developments.

Photographs—More than 2,000 photographs.

Curiosities—Relics of Captain Cook.