AUSTRALIA'S CAPITAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2335, 30 October 1908, Page 4

AUSTRALIA'S CAPITAL.

(SYDNEY CONTENTED

ADVANTAGES OF THE SITE

The selection of the A ass-Canberro, district is regarded in Sydney with profound satisfaction. Bank manager and merchant, and manufacturer am. business men generally hail the resultof the ballot- in the House of Representatives as entirely ill accord with the true Federal spirit, and as a guarantee that the compact concerning the establishment or the permanent seat of government for the Commonwealth is to be observed both in the spirit and the letter. It mattered little whether there was .material advantage in having the seat of government established in Alelbourne or in Sydney; the point was that certain rights having been conceded to New South Wales, that State could not, without loss of dignity, allow those rights to be treated as non-existent. The right thing (says a Sydnev journal) has at last been done, and in the right way. The strain placed upon the faith or the people of New South Wales in the equity and good conscience of the Federal Legislature lias been removed. Federation as a. cause, lias been restored to the wholesome atmosphere of eight years ago. Those who know the country lying between Yass and Queanbeyan •and between the Alurrumbidgee and Yass Rivers agree that half a dozen or more suitable sites are to be found there. The whole country is fertile; it is well supplied with the raw material for building a great city, and it can be served ""with an unlimited water supply, drawn from the Alurrumbidgee. * Recognition of the facts that tlie Afurrumbidgee has a catchment of 5000 square millet, and that the Barren Jack D im will hold one and a half times as much water as Sydney Harbor, absolutely shuts out the element of doubt concerning the water supply. AYlien the late Mr A. Oliver imported on the Yass site in 1900 there was no Barren Jack Dam. hence his misgivings concerning tho cost of a water supply to what he described as one of the three most suitable sites in the State. “If.” he added, “final selection of a site is to be governed mainly by consideration of cost- of acquisition, and present accessibility as between. New South Wales and \ ictoria. A ass would be entitled to first place: but the resources of that site for an effective water supply for a largo population are not a? satisfactory as could be desired.” Now. however, the great Barren Jack scheme not only ensures a permanent water supply, but tho water can be served to any portion of the... country lying between Yass and Queanbeyan. It would cost least, perhaps.' to serve what is known as the Canberra site of 110 square miles, lying eight miles front Queanbeyan and 30 miles from Yass, but aao matter what particular area be served the cost would not be unduly large, for the country presents no engineering difficulties. And as with the water supply, so with the railway service. If a site near Y r ass be selected, a few miles of deviation would carry the main trunk liiao past the front door of the Federal House of Parliament. If a site more to the solatia be chosen, tlao cost of a braiach. line through Federal territory, linking up the’Yass and Queanbeyan stations, would not be heavy. The total length froiaa Yass to Queanbeyan is about 46 miles, and a ruling" grade of 1 in 100 caai be obtained.

Little remains to be said concern* ing the Canberra country. It con* sists generally of extensive undulating plains, partly sound sheep country, and partly eminently suitable for agricultural and orchard purposes. The site offers everv facility for the architect and engineer to lay out and build an up-to-date city oil modern lines. It is well defined and panoramic, and its slight undulations and gradual slopes to the river make it comparatively inexpensive for road and boulevard making and building sites in all directions, and require no alterations from natural configuration. The elevation above sea level at about the centre of the site is between 1900 and 2000 feet; the mean temperature in summer is 66.3 degrees, and in winter 45.0 degrees, while the annual rainfall averages 23.25 inches, and appears to be evenly distributed throughout the year. There is an ample suiiply of first-class building stone, witlf extensive deposits of loam, clky, and shale, suitable for brickmaking of excellent quality.

Note.—The Yass site has been selected by the Federal House of Rep- * resentatives. _ The Senate is to* ballot On the question of the capital site on November '