2 Dendy, The Chatham Islands. 



the configuration of the sea-bed affords us grounds for 

 believing that the New Zealand of to-day is but a fragment 

 of a much larger land area which existed in former times, 

 and which was perhaps nearly, if not quite, connected in 

 the north with northern Australia, and perhaps even, at 

 some extremely remote period, with the continent of 

 Asia. 



It is not, however, of the main islands of New Zealand 

 that I wish to speak to-night, but of a small outlying group 

 situated some 400 miles to the east, and almost in the 

 same latitude as Christchurch. Both in their physiography 

 and in their fauna and flora the Chatham Islands stand in 

 much the same relation to New Zealand as New Zealand 

 does to North Eastern Australia, and the problem of tracing 

 the origin of their existing plants and animals is one of the 

 most fascinating which a naturalist could desire. To the 

 ethnologist also they offer almost equal opportunities for 

 research, for, though the once flourishing Moriori race is 

 now on the extreme verge of extinction, they have left 

 behind a great deal of evidence as to their characters, 

 manners, and customs. 



Our knowledge of these remote islands is still very 

 imperfect, and I can only attempt to place before you 

 to-night some of the facts which came under my notice 

 in connection with a short visit in January of last year — 

 in the Southern summer. 



To reach the Chatham Islands from New Zealand is in 

 itself an arduous task. Two and a half days bucketing 

 about on a rough sea in a small steamboat, with perhaps 

 a thousand live sheep as travelling companions, is enough 

 to deter most people from making the attempt, and, as a 

 consequence, the island is not often visited except by 

 those who have business to transact. Moreover, the 

 steamboat service is hardly what would be considered up 



