Absence of Information respecting Interior. i8r 



portance in the north, which he had very fully described in 

 all other essentials, if not geologically. The renowned 

 American geologist, Dana, when attached to the great expe- 

 dition despatched by the United States to the Southern 

 Ocean,* landed at the Bay of Islands, the most important 

 harbour in the north, and had given full geological details of 

 that neighbourhood. Moreover, my friends, the Rev. A. Gr. 

 Purchas and C. Heaphy, Esq., during my stay in the 

 country, visited several districts in the north, whence they 

 brought me collections and specimens of every kind, so that 

 I was by no means unacquainted with the north. On the 

 other hand, the broad interior of the southern part of the 

 province seemed to me to be almost entii'ely unexplored. 

 Since Dieifenbach's remarkable voyage in 1840, no natur- 

 alist had visited the remarkable volcanic peaks of the 

 interior, .the beautiful inland lakes, the boiling springs, the 

 Solfataras and Fumaroles. The geological information re- 

 specting these conveyed by Dieifenbach's narrative of travel, 

 seemed to me very meagre, while topographically the 

 interior was a blank. Accordingly, a visit to it seemed to 

 promise the most important results. 



" Towards the end of February all necessary preparations 

 had been made ; Capt. Drummond Hay, well known as one of 

 the best Maori scholars, was commissioned by Government to 

 lay out my route and act as interpreter. The Government, 



* Commanded by Captain Wilkes, recently so notorious by his conduct with 

 reference to the English mail-steamer Trent, in Nov. 1881. 



