Morning Post (Cairns) Tuesday 20 August 1901, p. 2
POSTAL MATTERS.
At a meeting of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce held last
week amongst other matters discussed was that of postal communication from the South.
It is some time since Townsville and its back country received the consideration
from the Government in regard to postal matters that its importance deserves.
The Government was prevailed upon after a long agitation to recognise the fact
that special arrangements should be made to give the North a fast mail service.
As settlement advances in Queensland the unsuitableness of the site of the metropolis
of this State as an entrepot becomes more marked. Situated in the South-East
extremity of this State there is a seaboard of 1500 miles to the North, every
point of which is entitled at some time or other to be placed within reasonable
easy communication of the accidentally situated capital. Any Government which
does not wish to encourage separation is called upon to reduce in some way the
disabilities under which the far North labours with regard to mail service.
Digressing for a moment from our subject-matter, the term far North is commonly
used by Southern politicians, and contains an implication that we placed
outside the bounds of rapid and easy communication. There is no reason why this
implication should obtain, beyond the accident which places Brisbane where it is.
We are nearer the centres of European civilisation and the worlds marts than
our southern sisters, and yet the term, far north is applied as if we were on
the outer bounds of civilisation whereas the contrary is the case. The application
of the term becomes therefore a reproach on the circumstances that have placed
outside the margin of easy communication, a territory which by its relative position
with regard to the older civilisation of Europe is less deserving of the
implication of remoteness than most other portions of this continent.
It is also a reflection on a Government which having the
power to bring us within easy postal range, yet expends in works in the South large
sums of public money, a very small proportion of which would be sufficient to
satisfy our requirements. To remove the cause for this reproach is therefore
clearly the duty of those who wish to preserve for Brisbane the status which by
accidents she holds amongst the towns of Queensland, and to a certain extent
this is being done, partly by the extension of the coastal line of railway
which having reached Gladstone is now being extended to Rockhampton - one more step
to its ultimate destination at Cape York - and partly by the establishment of a
rapid mail service from Brisbane to Townsville, by subsidising the A.U.S.N. Co's
steamer Barcoo, at the rate of £20,000 a year.
The mails are carried from that port to Cairns by the Palmer
which receives a subsidy of £2000 a year. The northern mails leave Brisbane …
at 4 o’clock, a period of – hours. The Palmer leaves with the northern mails at
10 a.m on the same day, but calling in at every little port on the way she only
reaches Cairns on the Tuesday afternoon, thus taking about two-thirds of the
time occupied in the transmission of the mails from Brisbane to Townsville. And
this interval between Townsville and Cairns could be bridged by the Barcoo in
11 hours.
Thus Cairns receives its Brisbane mail on Tuesday afternoon
instead of at 4 o'clock on Monday afternoon. If there were no remedy for this
it would be idle waste of ink to write of it, but fortunately there are two
easy- and effective methods by which it may be obviated, and by which Cairns
may be permitted to participate in proportion to her importance, and her
relation to the resourceful territory lying behind her in the fast mail service
provided by a Government which hugs to its bosom the illusion that Townsville is
the hub of the North. Surely, in view of the vast sums spent in Townsville, Cairns
is entitled to this small consideration. It is unnecessary to wax discursive on
the importance of this port and its back country. As an entrepot for inland
settlement, it yields in importance neither to Rockhampton nor Townsville, and
occupies a similar position with regard to its western trunk line of railway to
those which Brisbane, Rockhampton, and Townsville, respectively, do to theirs.
The requirements of the territory tapped by its inland railway, demand that
Cairns shall share in the consideration shown to Townsville with regard to
postal service. And this may be done in one of two ways. Leaving a margin for
unexpected delay or accident, the Barcoo could leave Townsville immediately on
delivering her mails there, and steam to Cairns and back to Townsville in 24
hours. By this means, Brisbane mails would reach Cairns by this service, on
each Monday afternoon, and there need only be a delay in the departure of the
Barcoo from Townsville for the South of a few hours beyond the present time. A
slight alteration of the timetables for western mails at each coastal town en
route could easily be made to meet the trifling delay in her time of sailing.
We are aware that an objection to this method of expediting
our mail service has been put forward on the ground that the Barcoo would have to
wait for the tides to enter this port but this difficulty could easily be surmounted
by running a small steamer to meet her at the entrance. This objection at the same
time suggests a strong reason why the sand dredge "Hercules" or
"Sampson" should be directed to this harbour. Here lies the
opportunity for vindicating the utility of these dredges. While we urge this as
one of the methods of providing a swift mail service to Cairns we also are
not forgetful of the fact that the period of contract with the A. U. S.N. Co.
practically precludes this method of expediting our mail service. It is not
available at present, but the termination of the contract will bring the opportunity
for applying it.
As a temporary arrangement however, there is the alternative
of a steamer to go direct to Cairns from Townsville leaving the mails for the intermediate
ports to be carried by the steamer leaving Townsville on Monday, evening,
Whatever method is adopted however it is obvious that an important town like
this cannot be expected to calmly submit to having its most important mails
delayed a whole day while there is a comparatively easy remedy for the existing
defective arrangements. Our postal arrangements in other directions are also capable
of improvement. For instance the Saturday steamer arriving from Cooktown leaves
Cairns at all hours on Saturday evening for the South so that it is impossible
for the local Postmaster to notify the hour of closing the mails until
notified of the time of her arrival.
Also the Western Mails arrive at 6 p.m., and in the event of
the steamer leaving early in the evening as she frequently does, but little
time is available for the local officials to make up the mails. As a matter of
fact, on one occasion this steamer went on her way south before the arrival of
the Western Mails, and a special steamer had to be chartered to carry them on
to Townsville. If there were necessity for haste to reach Townsville it would
be another matter, but on Sunday no cargo can be discharged and therefore if this
steamer were restricted from leaving before 9 p.m., both the public and the
post office officials would be better served without any inconvenience or delay
at Townsville. Another matter needing attention was discussed at the last
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in connection with mails from Port Douglas
to Townsville carried by small steamers calling in at every port. If these
mails were transhipped to the large steamers at Cairns, which do not put in at
these intermediate ports, they would reach Townsville three days earlier than they
do at present We think we have said enough to show that postal arrangements in
Cairns need the attention of the Postmaster General of the Commonwealth, and we
would suggest that as the Chamber of Commerce has already taken the matter into
consideration, their hand should be strengthened by a monster petition, and the
cooperation of other local bodies.
