466 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 
evolved by this volcano when I state.that, for some time 
after it broke out, the water of the bay was all at scalding 
heat for at least six miles distance from it. Blanche Bay 
is about 15 miles in length from Praed Point* to the head 
of Simpson’s Harbour, and by the Blanche’s survey had 
no bottom at seventeen fathoms up the centre of it for 
nearly the entire length, and yet at Malakuna, at the head 
of Simpson’s Harbour, Mr. Hicks assured us that the water 
was all at scalding heat for several days, and this was con- 
firmed by our own experience. The fish were all killed, 
and the turtles were so much cooked that when the natives 
got them most of the shell (tortoise shell) had dropped off. 
I have described this new submarine volcano first because 
we went to it first, and because it preceded the eruption 
from the old crater on the mainland by a few hours. The 
recently-formed island was about three miles in circum- 
ference, and about a mile wide. As Mr. Hicks, the trader 
here, was the first foreigner to land upon it, and had 
already taken possession of a good portion of it by planting 
cocoanuts before it was quite cool, we thought it right 
to name it after him, and so proposed to call it Hicks 
Island. 
The crater on the mainland is on the opposite or north 
side of the bay, situate between the Mother and the South 
Daughter. I have no works here to which I can refer, 
but I believe that Captain Hunter saw this crater in action on 
his passage from New South Wales to Batavia on May 22nd, 
1791; at all events the old people here say that there was a 
small eruption, not nearly so large as the present one, some 30 
or 40 years ago. Since then it has been very quiet indeed. 
I have ascended it twice during the past two years, and 
found it to all outward appearance nearly extinct, as there 
was only a very little light smoke ascending from the 
bottom of the crater, not even visible on the top of it. 
I took one or two photographs of it at the time. The 
side of the old crater on which my camera stood then has 
disappeared, and that place is now the centre of the new 
crater. 
The present eruption was preceded by frequent earth- 
quakes, which are described as having been very heavy 
indeed on New Britain, but which we (on Duke of York 
Island), only 20 miles distant, never felt. On the night 
of Sunday, 3rd Feb., the earthquakes were very violent 
indeed, and on Monday morning there were two tidal | 
waves, which destroyed a good deal of the shore-line, soon 
after which clouds of steam were observed rising from the 
