Vol.^xi J Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union. 1^3 



The retiring president, Mr. A. J. Campbell, Col. Mem. B.O.U., 

 then read his address, dealing with 



A History of Australian Ornithological Research. 



Such a work, were it published, would form one of the most 

 fascinating, interesting, not to say valuable, chapters ever printed ; 

 but wiiere is one to get the lifetime and opportunities needed to 

 delve into the literature of the world and weave, chronologically, 

 a sure skein of information pertaining to Australian ornithology ? 



It is not generally known that an extensive historical collection 

 of fourteen thousand books, pamphlets, maps, &c., concerning 

 Australasia and Polynesia from the sixteenth century — is in the 

 Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, the invaluable gift to the 

 nation of one of our members, Mr. Edward Augustus Petherick, 

 F.L.S., &c. In connection with and founded upon that collection 

 Mr. Petherick has compiled a manuscript bibliography, in 66 vols., 

 containing not less than 100,000 titles, classed and chronicled 

 according to subjects — Voyages, Geography and Exploration, 

 Natural and Physical Sciences, &c. 



1508. — In glancing through the ornithological section you will 

 find that the first mention of birds by explorers in the Australian 

 region {i.e., taking the region zoogeographically from Wallace's 

 line on the west to the Hawaiian Islands on the east) is as early 

 as 1508, when they found the " Divine Bird," or the " Bird of 

 God," as the Bird-of-Paradise was first called. But, keeping 

 more strictly to the Australian sub-region, we find the early dawn 

 of Australian ornithology was as poetic as it was prophetic. 

 After its discovery by the Portuguese, our continent bore the 

 name of Psittacormn Regio — " The Land of Parrots."* 



1697. — Then there occurs a long blank in time till the discovery 

 in 1697 of Black Swans on a river named " Swanen Rivier " by 

 Vlamingh, the Dutch explorer. The English translation states : — 

 " January 7th. — The crew returned on board, bringing two young 

 Black Swans " (p. 123). " nth. — At break of day we again 

 ascended the river, and saw many Swans (our boat knocked over 

 nine or ten), some ' Rotganzen,' Geese, some Divers, &c." " On the 

 I2th (January) I again went on shore, with our chief pilot, some 

 sailors, and two blacks. . . . The men, the birds, the 

 Swans, the Rotganzen, Koopganzen, the Geese, the Cockatoos, the 

 Parroquets, &c., all fled at the sight of us." " 15th (lat. 30 deg. 

 17 min.) we proceeded a league and a half inland ; but we saw no 

 men, or fresh water, but several footprints of men and prints 

 like those of the dog and of the Cassowary." 



1699. — In his " Voyage to New Holland," Dampier mentions 



*A quarter of a century ago, Mr. Petherick pointed out the fact that when 

 European navigators first discovered this Australasian Region, they named 

 it the " Bird Country " from the great number of birds observed, the 

 Western Coast being described on the earlier maps as the Psittacorum Regio, 

 or " Land of Parrots," and the northern part (New Guinea) as the Terra 

 Piccinacoli or " Land of the Bird-of-Paradise." 



