president's address. 147 



Mines and Agriculture. This is nearly doul)le the quantity 

 raised in 1893, the amount for that year being 179,288 ozs., 

 valued at £651,28."), 



Of the amount of gold raised last year the new goldfield of 

 Wyalong contriliuted 9649 ozs., valued at £35,946, and Garan- 

 gula 1205 ozs. 



As representing the subject of geography as well as geology at 

 the University of Sydney, I trust I may be allowed to say a little 

 about recent research in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The 

 latter region in particular touches very nearly the work of our 

 Society, and the pro])lem of the possible biological relations of the 

 Australian fauna to that of the old fauna of the Antarctic 

 continent of New Zealand and South America has already 

 engaged the attention of one of our most active members, Mr. 

 Hedley. 



Arctic Exploration. 



At least three expeditions last year were malting for the North 

 Pole. Nansen, the hero of the " First Crossing of Greenland," 

 strong in will and liml), was, and we hope still is, drifting with 

 his thirteen men in his wooden ship the Fram in the ice pack, 

 from N.E. Siberia towards the strong ocean stream flowing south 

 between Spitzbergen and Greenland, to which he trusts for 

 carrying his ship over the North Pole. Nansen, v/hen he bade 

 good-bye to Dr. John Murray, who had expressed some doubt as 

 to whether he should ever see again Nansen's ship, the Fram, 

 said, " I think you are wrong. I believe you will welcome me on 

 this very deck, and after my return from the Arctic, I will go to 

 the South Pole, and then my life's work will be finished." 



The American naval engineer. Lieutenant Peary, with a party 

 of fourteen, including Mrs. Peary and her maid, started in July, 

 1893, for Whale Sound, on the west coast of Greenland. The 

 chief object of the expedition was to complete the map of Green- 

 land, but he also intended to reach the highest northern latitude 

 available. He landed at Bowdoin Bay on March 6, 1894, and 

 started overland with dogs and sledges for Independence Bay. 



