AUSTRALASIAN RAINFALL. North than in the South Island. At Auckland and Wellington in the North Island, the rainfall during 1891 was 36.04 inches and 35 125 inches, and the number of wet days 149 and 166 respectively, while at Te Aroha and Rotoru, districts south-east of Auckland, the rainfall during the same year was as heavy as 43.270 and 48.940 inches respectively. At Dunedin and Lincoln in the South Island the fall was 32.734 and 20.575 inches, and the number of wet days 151 and 98 respectively. The following table illustrates the rainfall of Australasia :— Rainfall area in square miles for each division. Australasian rainfall. 2 I Growth of Australasian shipping. TH SHIPPING. HE earliest date for which there is reliable information in regard to Australasian shipping is 1822. The growth of the trade of Australasia since then has been marvellous, and although the rate at which population has advanced, has been as large as could reasonably be expected, the growth of shipping has been even more rapid. Taking the whole period covered by the following table the increase of population has averaged about five per cent. yearly, while that of shipping has slightly exceeded seven per cent. The summary herewith gives the total tonnage which entered and cleared the various ports of the Colonies, including both foreign and intercolonial trade. Should any comparison be made between Australasia and other countries, the figures would have little significance, as the traffic between the various ports of the Colonies, which is included in the statement, becomes merely coastal trade when the whole of the Colonies are taken as one country. This distinction is kept in view throughout this chapter as well as in the succeeding one dealing with exports and imports: : Tonnage entered and cleared. In the year 1822 all the settlements on the mainland were comprised in the designation of New South Wales, and as late as 1859 Queensland formed part of the mother Colony. Thus an TONNAGE OF AUSTRALASIA. exact distribution of tonnage can only be made subsequent to the year last named, and this is given in the following table : Australasia (external).. 1,961 1,076,856 2,344 1,279,416 3,635 3,153,087 4,390 6,457,050 23 The tonnage of Australasia, as well as that of nearly all of the provinces individually, for the year 1891 is the highest on record, being about 12 per cent. more than that of the previous year. This result is partly due to the circumstance that a large amount of goods remained unshipped at the close of 1890, owing to the maritime strike, which of necessity appears in the returns of 1891. Australasian tonnage. per vessel. In the following tables the average tonnage of vessels trading Average tonnage with Australasia, and the daily movements of tonnage are given. The year 1861 is made the first point of comparison, the nature of the returns being such as to render it impossible to satisfactorily exclude the coastal trade from the general tonnage before that date. The average tonnage per vessel for each of the four periods stated was: |