5 Tr ansae tions . — Misce I laneous . 



Art. VI. — Oil Dusky Sound. 



By EiCHARD Henky, Government Eesident in charge of 

 Eesolution Island Reserve. 



Communicated by Sir James Hector. 



[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 17th July, 1895.1 



Eemembeeing the interest you take in such things, I venture 

 to send you the following about Dusky Sound. I have been 

 nearly all through it nov7, and its islands; also up x\cheron 

 Passage, into Breaksea, and into Wet Jacket as far as the 

 island. 



Boat-harbours are everywhere, and altogether it is a safe 

 place for boating, when we have camping outfit on board. I 

 have a young fellow with me, and intend to keep him as long 

 as I can. We have been often on Resolution, in many places; 

 all round it, except on Five Fingers ; and we have cut tracks 

 upon two mountains on this side of it, which w^e have been up 

 on six different occasions, but saw no signs of life above the 

 bush except parrakeets and the tracks of rats. There is a 

 good deal of tussock above the bush on Mount Phillips, and it 

 is a grand mountain to climb, the peak is so sharp and lonely 

 — 800ft. above the bush — whence can be seen nearly all the 

 sound with its many islands, and the greater part of Resolu- 

 tion. The latter appears to have high, rough mountains all 

 round it, with lower and smoother land in the centre, the out- 

 lets being Duck and Cormorant Creeks ; but there is nothing 

 like a flat anywhere, and just one little lake south of Useless 

 Harbour. Eoas and woodhens are plentiful in the bush, with 

 nearly all the small birds, including crows and thrushes ; but 

 there are no kakapos nor grey kiwis. The kakapos on the 

 mainland are breeding this year, so I did not like to disturb 

 their curious arrangements by removing them, especially when 

 I found that there were plenty in favourite places ; but there 

 are long stretches of coast without any. On the south side of 

 Dusky, east of Cooper Island, there are two great landslips, 

 some hundreds of acres, covered with green scrub, where 

 we heard them drumming in dozens in January. And in 

 February, under Mount Foster, at the mouth of Wet Jacket, 

 I found three nests in about an hour ; also further up, at our 

 cainp opposite the island, I found several nests, each with 

 two little young ones. I never found a male near a nest, and 

 I think they know nothing about it. The mother tramps 

 away and carries home food so industriously that she is all 

 draggled and worn, and near the end of her task she becomes 



