Laing. — Botany of the Spenser Mountain* . 61 



but it has not been thought advisable to include them in our list. Indeed, 

 it appears to us that several of those there recorded are most unlikely 

 inhabitants of the district — e.g., Dodonaea viscosa, Gentiana concinna, G. 

 saxosa, Dracophyllum Urvilleanum (typical form), Veronica odora, Ranun- 

 culus pinguis. Various species, also, which we had expected to get were not 

 found by us. Amongst these may be noted Celmisia Traversii, of which, 

 however, we saw specimens from Mount Percival, at the back of Hanmer. 

 and Ranunculus Lyallii, which we did not see at all, though we were 

 assured that it grows in the district. It is quite clear that neither of these 

 species are common in the Spenser Mountains. 



There are several reports on the geology of the district. References 

 to it will be found in Haast's " Report of a Topographical and Geographical 

 Exploration of the Western Districts of the Nelson Province," 1861. He 

 visited the Buller and Grey Valley in 1860, and saw the Spenser Mountains 

 from their western sides. He speaks of " the high mountain-chain, called 

 by my friend Mr. Travers the Spencer [sic] Mountains, whose highest peak, 

 clad with eternal snow, rose grandly above the low hills in front of it. I 

 named this mountain. Mount Franklin, in honour of the late Sir John 

 Franklin." 



In the " Reports of Geological Explorations during 1888-89 " (Wel- 

 lington, 1890) there is an article by Mr. A. McKay on the " Geology 

 of Marlborough and the Amuri District of Nelson," which describes the 

 geology of the eastern slopes of the Spenser Mountains (throughout the 

 report spelt " Spencer "). 



Topographical. 



The Spenser Mountains are some twenty-five miles in length, and are 

 generally regarded as lying between the saddle of the Ada (3,300 ft.) and 

 Mount Franklin (7,671 ft.). The peaks are of a nearly uniform height of 

 7,000 ft., with an upward tendency towards Mount Franklin. The height 

 of 10,000 ft. allotted to Mount Franklin by some of the earlier explorers 

 was an error, doubtless due to its extensive snowfields and alpine magnifi- 

 cence. The Waiau, Clarence, and Wairau all converge upon this peak, and, 

 indeed, their chief sources lie upon it. To the south are Mounts Guinevere, 

 Aeneid (7,050 ft.) , Princess (6,973 ft.), Una (7,510 ft.), and Faerie Queene 

 (7,332 ft.). The Tennysonian names are due to Governor Weld.* In the 

 valley of the Waiau lies Lake Guyon, and in that of the Clarence Lake 

 Tennyson. Both are glacier lakes, due to the banking-up of the waters 

 by morainic deposits. Indeed, the whole country gives evidence of 

 having at one time been heavily glaciated. The Ada Stream runs 

 through a wide glacial valley, and there has been a large terminal 

 moraine across the Waiau about a mile and a half below its junction with 

 the Ada. The head of the low saddle lies also in a flat open valley, about 

 200 yards wide, having at its highest portion a Sphagnum bog. This valley 

 shows no terracing. Opposite its mouth there are a number of parallel 

 lines extending up to about 800 ft. on the left bank of the Waiau. These 

 are perhaps lines of glacial pressure. Glacier Gully has doubtless at one 

 time carried a secondary glacier, but now it can scarcely be regarded as 

 true to name. It opens out at its head into a large cirque on the flanks of 



* '" Account by P. A. Weld of an Expedition with a View of Discovering a Direct 

 Route between Nelson and Canterbury " (" Canterbury Provincial Gazette," vol. 2, 

 No. 13, p. ;3l). Weld's trip was made in 1853. 



