Oct., 1907.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 99 



F.G.S., the then Government Geologist, that I succeeded in 

 obtaining the first good photographs of them, slides of which I 

 purpose showing on the screen to-night. 



I was so impressed with the beauty of the caves, as then 

 existing, that when visiting tlie Jenolan Caves, New South 

 Wales, some tune afterwards, I spoke of them to Mr. J. Wilson 

 (opener-up of and then caretaker of Jenolan Caves), and on a 

 subsequent visit to Jenolan provided Mr. Wilson with photo- 

 graphs and a description of the caverns. The result was that 

 Mr. Wilson offered to go to Buchan and devote a fortnight to 

 exploration, providing that he could do so free of cost. Through 

 my efforts arrangements were made for Mr. Wilson's free 

 conveyance from Bairnsdale to Buchan and back, together with 

 free accommodation during the time he vvas to remain at Buchan. 

 His conveyance between Jenolan and Albury had been arranged 

 for, and all that remained was to provide him with a passage 

 over the Victorian lines from Albury to Bairnsdale. 



The late Mr. Foster, then member for the district, vvas now 

 approached in order to try and induce the Government to grant 

 Mr. Wilson a railway pass over the North-Eastern and Gippsland 

 lines, but without avail. Subsequently, when Mr. Foster became 

 Minister of Mines, I again pressed the matter upon him, but still 

 without result, and as there was nothing to justify either party in 

 paying the railway fare out of his own pocket for a national 

 cause, and it appeared hopeless to induce the Government to 

 grant the necessary privilege, the matter was allowed to drop, 

 although after this I frequently brought the claims of the Buchan 

 district forward when lecturing on the Jenolan Caves. Mr. Stir- 

 ling also left no stone unturned in his eflforts to point out the 

 value of the caves to Victoria from a tourist's point of view. 



The caves visited in 1888 were the Spring Creek, Wilson's, 

 and Dickson's. 



Spring Creek Cave is at the back of the township, in the valley 

 of Spring Creek, and about three-quarters of a mile from the 

 police station. The entrance is by a narrow doorway in the 

 hillside, and going along some distance we reached a step in the 

 floor, and at the foot of this a small excavation we made revealed 

 a number of small fragments of bone. These were, I believe, 

 submitted to the late Professor M'Coy, but I never heard anything 

 further of them. 



Leaving this point, we followed the passage for 50 or 60 feet, 

 descending the whole time, and it became smaller and more 

 irregular; at about 150 feet an aperture led into what we called 

 the " Piano Chamber." This name was given it on account of a 

 small formation on the wall only a few inches square, in the form 

 of approximately parallel ridges, each of which gave out a clear, 

 ringing note when struck. 



