Mar.,-j AuDAs, A Botautst in the Portland District. i6y 



Battery Point, the shore was decorated with many of the 

 l)eautiful white flowers of Helichrysum leucopsidium and 

 Pimelea spathulata, the blue of Sccevola suaveolens, and the 

 gorgeous orange-coloured blooms of Senecio lautus and Heli- 

 chrysmn apicidatimi; wliile in sheltered situations Calystegia 

 {Convolvulus) soldanella, with its lilac-striped flowers, was 

 seen. 



At the foot of Black Nose Point, and along the face of the 

 cliffs wherever a holding offered, Atriplex cinerea, Bursaria 

 spinosa, Senecio odoratus, Olearia viscosa, Coprosma hirtella, 

 Casuarina quadrivalvis, Leucopogon Richei, Acacia verticillata, 

 Exocarpos cupressiformis, and Alyxia buxifolia flourished. 

 The latter is a tall shrub, and forms close thickets even on the 

 incline of the shore. It has dark green, glabrous leaves 

 (whitish-yellow when young) and white s})iral flowers. 

 Mesemhry anthem mn cequilaterale trailed down the cliffs, and 

 made a fine show with its fleshy and angular-shaped green 

 leaves and large rose-coloured flowers. Scrambling over the 

 ground were masses of the Bower Spinach, Tetragonia 

 implexicoma, the coastal salt-bush, Rhagodia Billardieri, and 

 the wiry trailer M uehlenbeckia adpressa, known locally as 

 Native Sarsaparilla, while the Bidgee-Widgee, Acmia sanguis- 

 orhcB, extended its prostrate stems over a considerable area. 

 It is virtuaUy a weed ; its barbed fruits germinate readily, and 

 adhere to feathers of birds, and are thus spread broadcast. 

 Higher up, clumps of the Coastal Tea-tree, Leptospermum 

 IcBvigatmn, were passed through. 



A httJe further on is situated the remarkable Pebbly Beach, 

 with its mile and a half of pebbles, of which many hundred 

 tons have been taken to Broken Hfll, where they are used in 

 the smelting works. Further on is Point Danger, connected 

 by a reef with Lawrence Islands, distant about two miles ; 

 another reef connects them with Cape Grant — a bold headland 

 —the whole formation making a great natural breakwater 

 protecting Portland Bay. These islands are the home of 

 hundreds of Penguins, Gannets, and Mutton-birds, and are 

 worthy of a trip for a fishing excursion. From here onward 

 the coast rises rapidly to about 300 feet at Cape Nelson. The 

 lighthouse there is worthy of inspection, and from it Lady 

 Juha Percy Island, off Port Fairy, can be clearly seen. Next 

 comes Shefly Beach, w^here many beautiful shells can be 

 obtained, ancl occasionally, after easterly winds, the much-prized 

 so-called Nautilus shells are beached. Hanging over steep faces 

 of the cliffs are large masses of PultencBa canaliculata, mixed 

 with small tufts of Pea Billardieri, and in crevices of the bare 

 rock minute specimens of Colohanthus Billardieri are seen. 

 The latter is only recorded from the south-west, but recently 



