68 inches
represented the sum of the blessing for 1903, while during 24 hours in
December that year the Dunk Island gauge registered just 11 inches, and
that quantity was 3 inches more than could he spared for Eulolo for the
whole of 1904.
During 1904 Cape Otway Forest (Victoria), registered 40.92 inches,
Townsville (North Queensland) 26.32 inches, and Dunk Island--only 110
miles from Townsville--94.14 inches. That was a dry year with us. What
is known in this neighbourhood as "the drought year" gave just 60 inches.
Plants unaccustomed to such hardship, and therefore devoid of inherent
powers of resistance, then gave way with pitiful lack of resource, and as
speedily recovered on the return of normal conditions. Yet the 60 inches
of "the drought year" represented more than twice the average rainfall of
London.
The average annual rainfall for the State of Victoria during the last
thirty years has been 26.68 inches. Townsville (considered to be one of
the driest places on the coast of North Queensland) averaged 45.54 inches
during the period of thirty-four years.
Twenty-five miles further north the rainfall for 1904 exceeded that of
Dunk Island by 6 inches more than the average rainfall of the upper basin
of the Thames Valley, which is given as 28 inches.
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