200 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



Nassau Island (possibly identical with Ranger Island) lies 

 in Lat. 11° 33' S., Long. 165° 25' E., immediately south of 

 the Danger Islets, and north-west of the Hervey or Cook 

 Group. It was discovered in March, 1835, by the Captain of 

 an American whaler ; it is about fifty feet high, with a 

 fringing reef. The island was uninhabited when discovered, 

 but in 1877 one white man and two Danger Island natives 

 with their wives took up residence there. -^^ In 1892 Nassau 

 Island was annexed by Great Britain and incorporated with 

 the Line Islands ; it now forms a dependancy of New 

 Zealand.32 



The implement exhibits the following characters and pro- 

 portions : — 



Ft. In. 



Length overall, and measured on the level 1 



Tang, from the shoulder to the poll, on the level — 3f 



Width across the slightly rounded cutting edge — 3| 



Width at the poll — If 



Length of the blade (oblique) — 3| 



Width at the shoulder — 2| 



The adze is U-backed, that is, it is markedly concave longi- 

 tudinally from the poll to the posterior margin of the blade, 

 and practically flat transversely ; the front face is flat longi- 

 tudinally and transversely from the shoulder to within about 

 one inch of the cutting edge, where there is a slight rise. 

 The sides are quite flat transversely, and sub-parallel to one 

 another. The tang is plano-convex, plain or flat on the back, 

 convex on the front face. At the poll the adze projects 

 downwards, or at right angles to tlie longer axis, in two 

 nipple-like projections. The thickest part is immediately at 

 the posterior edge of the blade, i.e., at that point where the 

 longitudinal concavity of the back ceases forward ; here it is 

 2iin., at the shoulder it is 2in., and mid-way between the 

 two IJin. The angle of inclination of the blade to the axial 

 plane from its posterior margin to the cutting edge is 21°, 

 and of the tang 14°. The implement is composed of a light 

 grey volcanic tuff, and the weight is five and a quarter 

 pounds. 



31 Findley— Directory S. Pacific Ocean, 5th Ed., 1884, p. 652. 



32 Pacific Islands, iii. (Eastern Group) , Sailing Directions, 4th Ed., 

 1909, pp. 187-8. 



