PRESIDENTS ADDRESS. 7 



and worn down by the continuous roll of the Pacific Ocean ? 

 assisted by the revolution of the earth, which, co-operating with 

 it, unceasingly hurls the whole of the eastern face, at the rate of 

 about 500 miles an hour, against the waters of the ocean (which 

 are not able to move as quickly as the solid land), and so increases 

 their power. 



By these means the inhospitable looking cliffs, which form a 

 great part of our eastern boundary, are being continually thrown 

 down and crushed into sand, available for the formation of the 

 sandstone rocks of the future. 



The loss of land, on the eastern side, was wholly or partially 

 compensated, by the upheaval (?) on the south side, of a large 

 tract of land, in the great Australian Bight, of over 200 miles in 

 length with an extreme depth of 150 miles. It is, however, by 

 no means clear that this was a case of upheaval, for it is possible 

 that it, and many other so-called upheavals, are really due to the 

 sinkage, into the body of the earth, of portion of the water 

 forming the oceans lying on its surface, which are being thereby 

 continually lowered. 



Although it is evident that, after Australia first appeared as 

 dry land, enormous disturbances took place on its eastern side, 

 the far distant interior with its immense plains, inexpressibly 

 dreary in their dull arid uniformity, does not appear to have 

 undergone similar disturbances ; and, being situated on a parallel 

 unaffected by the comparative regularity of the weather of the 

 Torrid and Arctic zones (the rains of which, as a general rule, 

 exhaust themselves before reaching the desolate expanses which 

 scarcely afford subsistence to the few miserable savages who roam 

 over them) has only of late years been opened up to investigation 

 by scientific men, and occupation by graziers. 



A great portion of the Blue Mountain Range can hardly be con- 

 sidered asmountains, being really onlya.n elevated plateau, through 

 which great gorges have been cut by the rains of long ages ; but, 

 in the interior, many of the mountains, such for instance as the 

 McDonnell Ranges, are quite entitled to the designation. These 

 last are supposed, by some of the leading scientific men of 



