A Jlii/f-cdsfc I'dKiiid II III II. I :') 



first occupants of Australia were a jiure I'mimaii family, of which 

 the Tasiuanians are the lineal descendants, whilst the Australian 

 ahori<:inal has resulted from a crossing, on the mainland, of that 

 primitive stock by one, or two, other subsequent invasions. 



Howitt. in his "Native Tribes of South-East Australia" (14) 

 does not make it very clear as to whe;her he holds the Tas- 

 manian as most nearly allied to the Papuan or not. Ills exact 

 words are that he would suggest the following tentaitive hypo- 

 thesis : 



'■ An original Negrito population, as represented by the wild 

 tribes of Malaysia : a subsequent offshoot, represented by the An- 

 damanese and Tasmanians ; and another oti'shnot in a higher state 

 of cultui'e, originating the Melainesians." So tar as I can interpret 

 this view. Howitt at all events regards the Papuan as not being 

 farther removed from the Tasmanian than a younger brother is 

 from his elder bi'other, and if this interpretation be correct, it 

 Ijrings Roth's (12) view that the Tasmanian is most nearly 

 allied to tiie Andamanese into line with all the othtr views 

 quoted. An objection to the ailliance between the Andamanese 

 and the Tasmanian is Huxley's remark that the .Vndanuinese 

 skull is brachycephalic or mesaticephalic. whilst the Paptian is 

 maikedly dolichocephalic. 



It is. therefore, perhaps not too much tn assume XhvX the 

 native Tasmanian is more nearly allied to the Papuan than to 

 any other race, and in assuming even this much, it must be re- 

 membered that nothing mure is meant than tha.t the Papuan as 

 we now see him. the Tasmanian as he recently existed, and, 

 possibly, tlie Andamanese Islander, are not more widely apart 

 than arc the sons of one father. In this eoimection. however, 

 it ought to be possiljle in a country like Australia:, with one of 

 the families actually living in close contact with the mainland, 

 and the other luily recently extinct, and e(pially accc-sil)le, to 

 obtain positive proof, for what is necessary is an examination of 

 the >kulls aind other osteological remains of the two branches 

 of the race. If stich an examination be not conducted, and that 

 at once, it will be little short of a national disgrace, whilst for 

 the policy which consists in scattering the most valuable Tas- 

 manian nuiteriail et hoc genus omne in European and other 

 foreign nuiseums, I have nothing but condenunition. The 



