IG H/chard J. A. Berry: 



maniiins. Whilst this theory is liardly caii>able, as stated, of be- 

 inir suslained, it is only fair to mention that in favour of it 

 there is a view that, the aboriginal inhabitants of the southern 

 extremities of the three great continents of Australia, South 

 Africa, and South America, tha-t is the Tasmanians, the Bushmen, 

 and the Fuegians, appear to have some features in common, 

 though even this similarity is much, more closely confined to 

 tlie Ti'isinanians and the Bushmen than to the Fuegians, the 

 last mentioned of which differ very markedly in stature from 

 the first two mentioned races. 



If, however, we reverse J?onwick"s theory, and make the Tas- 

 manians emanate from the north instead of from the south, it 

 seems to me that we approach much more nearly to the known 

 facts, and, before broaching this theory, which is no new one, it 

 will be well to state what a.re the facts, uieagre at the best, 

 up;in which we have to build. 



It is certain that the Tasiuanian had no knowledge of naviga- 

 tion ; it is almost certain that he i>; of great anticiuity, and tha.t 

 he is closely allied to the Papuan of the New (luinea district ; it 

 is further known that the Northern or New Guinea section of 

 the family is, or was, until recently, separated from the Southern 

 or Tasniiuiian section by the presence of a different race, the 

 Australian aboriginal; whilst, lastly, it may be taken as fully 

 proved that there was once a land connection between New 

 Guinea, Eastern Australia, and Tasnninia. 



With these, the nearest approaches to facts available to us, 

 and assuming the land connections to have been somewhat -as 

 sketched, the distribution of the rai}»uan race, or the primitive 

 progenitors of that race, would have extended from what is now 

 New Guinea in the north to what is now Tasmania in the snuth, 

 and this extended range would require no knowledge of naviga- 

 tio:i. Tlie separation of New Guinea and Tasmania would then 

 have broken up the race into three areas. New Guinea, tlie nar- 

 row belt of Eastern Australia, or more likely the present Aus- 

 tralian mainland, and Tasmania. The lack of knowledge of 

 navigation would have confined each section to the area on wliich 

 it then found itself, whilst the subsetpient introduction of a new- 

 race into the Australian continent would, on the assumption 

 of those who liold the Australian aluiriginail to be a homogeneous 



