XXXIV 



NOVEMBER, 1901. 



A iiiocliiig ol' the Koval .Soci<'(.v of 

 Tasmania \va.^ held on Tuesday 

 evening, the otJi November. lUOl. 

 •Alt tlie Museum, Arjiv "e-stroct. Mr. 

 T. Stephens, M.A., F.G'.S., presided, and 

 there was a large attendance of ladies 

 and gentlemen. 



Absent. 



The Chairman said he wat, sorry they 

 were deprived of the presence of His 

 Excellency the Administrator of the Go- 

 vernment"^ (Sir John Dodds, K.C.M.G.), 

 who was prevented from being present 

 by .serious illness in his family. His 

 Excellencv regretted his inability to 

 be there to bid farewell to the Bishop of 

 Tasmania. 



Letters of apology for unavoidable ab- 

 sence were received from the Hon. Sir 

 Jame- Agnew, K.C.M.G., M.D., ajid the 

 \'er" Rev. Dean Kite, and the Hon. N. 

 J. Brown, M.E.C. 



New Member. 

 Dr. Holden, Bellerive, was elected a 

 Fellow of the Society. 



The Bishop of Ta'smania. 



Mr. Alex. Morton, Secretary to the 

 Society, read the following observations 

 with reference to the connection with 

 the Society of the Bishop of Tasmania, 

 now about to leave for England, which 

 had been forwarded by the Administra- 

 tor of the Government : — 



Fellows.— "The Right Rev. Dr. Mont- 

 gomery, eince his arrival in this State 12 

 years ago, has ever taken the deepest in- 

 terest in all matters relating to the 

 Royal Society of Tasmania. During these 

 years, whether as an observant traveller 

 in the more remote parts of the island, 

 or as an enthusiastic contributor to the 

 proceedings of the Royal .Society, or 

 again as a most valued .h-iper as a coun- 

 cillor and vice-president, the Fellows of 

 the Society owe him a debt of gratitude 

 for the yeoman service, sympathy, and 

 encouragement which he has ever been 

 pleased to render to them. He has him- 

 self been an active worker in all matters 

 of research wliich related to the early his- 

 tory of the State. With our late dear 

 friend, Mr. James Backhouse Walker, 

 he ha<s contributed many valuable papers 

 relating to the earlier explorations and 



explorers. Ho has also enriched our 

 proceedings by valuable contributions lo 

 our knowledge on all matters touching 

 the now extinct Tasmanian aborigines, 

 and their half-caste descendants inhabit- 

 ing the islands (FurneaUx Group) of Bass 

 Strait. 



"As regards the half-castes, he has al- 

 ways taken the deepest interest in their 

 well being, and in their industries, chief- 

 ly mutton-birding and fishing. As the 

 Sooty Petrel, or mutton-bird' industry 

 forms almost the sole means of support 

 to these Tasmanian half-castes, it is 

 not surprising that His Lordship should 

 take more than usual interest in the 

 natural history and general habits of this 

 remarkable sea bird. In two of his pa- 

 pers read before the Royal Socit^ty he 

 fascinated the members with his wonder- 

 ful observing powers, and his vivid de- 

 scri[)rion of what he had witnessed dur- 

 ing A night in a petrel rookery,' and 

 also in his interesting 'Notes on the 

 habits of the Cape Barren goo-se.' His 

 Lordship's •Not(\s on the mutton-bird 

 industry' are by far the best and most 

 complete that have yet been published. 



"It is worthy of note that, owing 

 largely to the representations made by 

 His Lordship on the subject, certain is- 

 lands have been reserved from use for 

 the depasturing of cattle, a practice verv 

 destructive to the young birds ; that the 

 sale of eggs has been prohibited ; and 

 that adequate protection has been given 

 to these birds, to seals, and to other 

 members of the indigenous fauna of the 

 islands in Bass Straits. 



"It is also of interest to our Fellows to 

 know that it is mainly owing to His 

 Lordship that the Society possesses its 

 special historical section. One of his 

 best contributions to this section is his 

 paper, 'A surve- of two early journevs 

 westward — Sharland's in 1832, and Sir 

 John Franklin's in ]842.' But, perhaps, 

 the Society owes most to him for his 

 many valuable donations to its library 

 and collections. Among these may be 

 mentioned the very fine series of water- 

 colour sketches from the brushcts 

 of Captain Stanley, R.N., and those 

 of Lieut. Simpkinson de Wessellow, 

 R.N. The latter are not only of 

 the highest artistic merit, but as 

 representing the scenery of Tasmania 



