176 Austin, A Visit fo the Great Barrier Reef. [ist^ApHl 



A Visit to the Great Barrier Reef. 



By Thos. p. Austin. 



While on a two-months' holiday to North-Eastern Queensland, 

 through the kindness of Mr. E. M. Cornwall, of Mackay, I was 

 giv^en the opportunity of visiting many of the islands and banks 

 off that part of the coast. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, i6th 

 November, 1907, Mr. H. Gogay and myself went on board Mr. 

 H. Neilson's beautiful little three-ton yacht Lassie, and, after 

 spending two hours taking in a supply of stores, &c., also forty 

 gallons of drinking water, we sailed down to the mouth of the 

 Pioneer River, to there await the arrival of Mr. H. Neilson 

 himself and Mr. J. W. Healey, two gentlemen who have had 

 many years' experiences along the north-eastern coast, also the 

 tide, to permit of our sailing over the sandbank across the 

 entrance to the river. 



At 4 p.m. we hoisted the sails, and, after a run of 17 miles 

 with a fair wind, we reached the pretty little Victor Island 

 just after' dark. Having already partaken of tea, we at once 

 launched the dingy (which we carried on board), and, with the 

 assistance of a powerful acetylene lamp, visited the sandy banks 

 which are a few hundred yards from the main island. We 

 turned the light upon a large flock of Terns, but could not with 

 certainty identify them. A little further on we heard the 

 plaintive cry of the White-shafted Ternlets {Sterna sinensis), 

 which gave us to believe they were breeding there. This proved 

 to be the case, for we saw several nests with eggs. Next 

 morning before breakfast we visited the main island, and here 

 also saw nests of Sterna sinensis on the shelly beach. A little 

 higher up, amongst the rocks, just in the scrub, we saw a few 

 nests of the Reef-Heron {Deviiegretta sacra). Some of these 

 nests appear to have been rebuilt year after year, a few of them 

 standing from 3 to 4 feet high, others being only a few sticks on 

 a bough of a low tree or between large rocks. By 8 a.m. we 

 were all on board the Lassie, and in a quarter of an hour were 

 on our way to Taffy Island, which we reached in a little less 

 than two hours. Here we again saw Reef- Herons breeding, 

 also Sooty Oyster-catchers (Hcematopus nnicolor) and White- 

 rumped Wood-Swallows {Artamiis leucogaster). Leaving Taffy 

 about mid-day, we dropped anchor off Cape Palmerston Island 

 at 2 p.m. Here only Mr. Neilson and myself went on shore, 

 but before we landed we saw running along the beach some fine 

 Pied Oyster-catchers {Hcematopus longirostris), which from their 

 behaviour gave us to believe they had young, also tlie Large- 

 billed Stone-Plover {Orthorhaniphns niagnirostris). On this 

 island vye saw a rookery of Silver Gulls {Lams novce-Jiollandice). 

 Most of the nests had two eggs, and breeding with them were a 

 ^zw Sooty Oyster-catchers, In the middle of this rookery was a 



