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protruding in various places, bearing from eacli other a little 

 to the west of north. I found the fern Todea Afrieana, but 

 differing in habit from those in Northern Tasmania. Here it 

 grew on the steep rocky banks of the Davey Eiver with 

 hardly any stem ; there it is usually by the side of a creek, 

 with large stems a yard or so in diameter. An Alsophila 

 is met with up Pine Creek, but which variety I had not the 

 opportunity of ascertaining. 



The great drawback to the settlement at Port Davey is the 

 absence of all educational advantages for the children. When 

 Mr. Collis was stationed at Recherche Bay, some of the 

 settlers managed to send children round there, but since his 

 removal they are entirely dependent upon what the parents 

 can impart, and as a rule there is too much hard work to be 

 done to leave any time for that purpose. It is one of those 

 exceptional spots which should not be tied down to the strict 

 rules of our educational system. The people have also been 

 utterly neglected by the clergy of all denominations, the 

 latest visit being that of Archdeacon Davies, on the occasion 

 of a pleasure trip in the City of Hobart 15 years ago, when 

 he held a service at Bramble Cove, 8 miles from the settle- 

 ment, so that hardly any could attend except the excursionists. 

 I am certain that the visit of a regular clergyman would be 

 well received there, without any fear of such a reception as 

 described (on 15th April last) by a Mr. Cameron, with 

 reference to some parts of the Huon district, of which he is 

 reported to have said : " In many of these places a minister 

 of the gospel would be hooted." 



For a florid, yet not inaccurate, description of the scenery, I 

 would recommend any one to look up the account by David 

 Burn of Sir John Franklin's visit in 1842, published in the 

 United Service Magazine for 1843. In an older work. Views 

 in Australia, published in 1824, by J. Lycett, artist to Major- 

 General Macquarie,the author's fancy carries him to the future 

 when its shores will be dotted with villas and gentlemen's 

 residences. James Backhouse also describes the place in 

 chapter 3rd of his book on the Australian Colonies, having 

 been obliged to spend 17 days there in 1832, during which 

 the sheep were put ashore to feed. He mentions also the 

 heaps of oyster shells. 



But as I have endeavoured to make these remarks as short 

 as possible, and to limit them chiefly to my own experiences at 

 Port Davey, I shall not go into its previous history or 

 industries, or discuss its capabilities of improvement and 

 settlement, or the probability of its being a mineral district. 

 I hope to pay it another visit to further test the latter point. 



I shall therefore conclude by placing on record the 



