Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 15—Agriculture 613
§ Poultry Farming.
Development of the lndustry—Until
recently, poultry farming as a well organised
industry could scarcely be said to exist, although
in metropolitan and suburban districts poultry
has of course long been kept for the table and
egg supplies. The aggregate output, though
considerable, represented relatively little value
beyond the cost of production, owing to
imperfect management. Many farmers also, both
wheat-growers and dairymen, have maintained a
large poultry stock, erecting poultry yards
constructed on modern principles, and feeding
from the stubble fields and waste grain with a
minimum expenditure in tending. This brought
about a considerable addition to the net
agricultural or dairying return. The poultry
industry during recent years has assumed an
independent position among rural industries,
notwithstanding that large numbers of poultry
runs on wheat and dairy farms are still
maintained; poultry farming is also carried on in
conjunction with pig farming. In special poultry
farms, breeding on scientific principles and a
proper arrangement of the runs is secured, and
feeding and reproduction are technically
attended to, and proper shelter is provided
either by means of trees or sheds. Poultry
experts are engaged by the State Governments
to instruct in matters that will amplify the
returns. Poultry for consumption are extensively
reared and the egg-producing qualities of the
birds have also been greatly improved by careful
breeding.
§ Early Attempts at Agriculture.
The instructions issued to Captain Phillip on the
25th April, 1787, directed him, amongst other
things, to proceed as soon as possible to the
cultivation of the soil “under such regulations as
may appear to be necessary and best calculated
for securing supplies of grain and provisions’’.
When the settlers landed at Botany Bay,
however, it was found that the glowing accounts
published in England by members of Captain
Cook’s expedition of the fertility of the soil in
the vicinity of the existing settlement were
considerably overdrawn. Even when Phillip and
his company moved round to Port Jackson on
the 26th January, 1788, matters were for a time
in no better case. The ground in the immediate
neighbourhood of the settlement was not
suitable for the cultivation of cereal crops, and
when the time came to cultivate the soil it was
found that there were very few who possessed
the slightest acquaintance with the art of
husbandry.
Progress of Cultivation since 1860—The
following table shows the area under cultivation
in each of the Commonwealth States at various
periods since 1860 and during each year of the
period 1901–7. The area under artificially-sown
grasses is excluded in all the States, except for
the years 1860–79 in the case of New South
Wales, where the acreage cannot be separated.
During those years, however, the area laid down
under permanent grasses could not have been
very large.
New South
Wales
AREA UNDER CROP IN AUSTRALIA, 1860–1 to 1906–7
Western
Victoria Queensland South Australia Australia
Tasmania
Commonwealth
Acres Acres Acres
Acres Acres Acres
Acres
1860–1 260,798 387,282 3,353 359,284 24,705 152,860 1,188,282
1965–6 378,255 448,194 14,414 547,124 38,180 159,547 1,585,714
1870–1 426,976 692,840 52,210 801,571 54,527 157,410 2,185,534
1875–6 451,139 736,520 77,347 1,111,882 47,571 142,547 2,567,006
1880–1 629,180 1,548,809 113,978 2,087,237 57,707 140,788 4,577,699
1885–6 737,701 1,867,496 198,334 2,298,412 60,058 144,761 5,306,762
1890–1 852,704 2,031,955 224,993 2,093,515 69,678 157,376 5,430,221
1895–6 1,348,600 2,413,235 285,319 2,092,942 97,821 212,703 6,450,620
1900–1 2,445,564 3,114,132 457,397 2,369,680 201,338 224,352 8,812,463
1901–2 2,278,370 2,965,681 483,460 2,236,552 217,441 232,550 8,414,054
1902–3 2,249,092 3,246,568 275,383 2,224,593 229,992 246,923 8,472,551
1903–4 2,545,940 3,389,069 566,589 2,256,824 283,752 259,611 9,301,785
1904–5 2,674,896 3,321,785 539,216 2,275,506 327,391 226,228 9,365,022
1905–6 2,840,235 3,219,962 522,748 2,255,569 364,704 230,237 9,433,455
1906–7 2,826,657 3,303,586 559,753 2,150,291 460,825 244,744 9,545,856