DIABASE OF TASMANIA. 263 
respecting the material resources of the Island is much im- 
peded by the want of a map giving its surface configuration 
in sufficient detail for the purposes of the geological surveyor, 
the prospector, the intelligent tourist, or the general public. 
In a memorandum, written as far back as 1878, (1%) on the 
subject of the preparation of what is now the official map 
of the State, I suggested that the first step should be the 
delineation of the orographical features of the country, by 
means of rough contour lines, for the guidance of those to 
whom the final drafting of the map should be entrusted. 
A map of this description is urgently required, and sufficient 
information for all practical purposes could probably be 
supplied at a moderate cost by the District Surveyors, so far 
as their jurisdiction extends, and by the other professional 
officers whose services have been utilised in laying out tracks 
through the unsettled lands. 
” Parliamenta:y Paper, No. 109 H.A., Tasmania, 1878, 
p. 5. 
