462 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION BR. 
Island. Captain Bligh twice passed through parts of the 
group, and Captain Wilson, of the Mission vessel Duff, 
was nearly wrecked on a reef near Taviuni. 
The first settlers were runaway or shipwrecked sailors, 
and a band of escaped convicts from New South Wales, 
who landed there in 1804. A Swede called Savage was 
recognised as head-man amongst the whites, and he pos- 
sessed great influence in Bau, being made a great chief by 
the rulers there, as his assistance in their frequent wars 
was of the greatest value to them on account of the fire- 
arms which he possessed. He was killed and eaten, how- 
ever, by a hostile tribe, in 1813. The remainder of the 
whites soon died, the greater part being killed in tribal 
wars, or in private quarrels amongst themselves, until, in 
1840, only one man—Paddy Connor—survived. He was 
such a depraved character that the white residents who had 
settled in the islands were afraid of his living near them. 
The islands are principally of volcanic origin, and many of 
them appear to be the tops of submarine mountain 
ranges; but at the present time there are no active 
volcanoes in the group. The mountain ranges, however, 
especially on Kandavu and Taviuni, shew that in the 
distant past there were large and formidable craters on 
them, in full action. Boiling springs are found in several 
parts, and earthquakes are occasionally felt. The soil is 
gravelly, and barren in some places, but generally consists 
of dark red or yellowish clay, which, when well watered, 
is very fertile. Considerable attention has been given to 
the geological and coral formation of this group by Prof. 
Agassiz, of America, in which he was assisted by Mr. E. 
C. Andrews, B.A.,and Mr. B. Sawyer, B.E., both of Sydney 
University. 
New HEpRIDES. 
This group lies between the parallels of 14° 30' and 20° 
16'S. Lat. and between the meridians 165° 40' and 170° 
30’ E. Long. The general trend is from §.8.E. to N.N.W. 
The large island of Espiritu Santo was discovered by De 
Quiros in 1606. Others were visited by Bougainville in 
1768, but the principal exploration and discoveries were 
made by Capt. Cook in 1774, and by him the name of 
New Hebrides was given to the group. La Perouse 
passed through a part of it in 1788, and perished at 
Vanikoro, an island a little further north. The group is 
about 400 miles in length; the principal islands, begining 
from the south, are Aneiteum, Tanna Eromanga, Sandwich, 
Mallicolo, Aoba, Aurora, St. Bartholomew, Espiritu Santo, 
and other small islands. The group contains at least 
