CIVIL SERVICE PAPERS. 



101 



oootfta of thin inland are generally r < vated, presenting 



hi^li |.i-..iu..!.t. i ii-.s to the, Hurroun ding MM. 1 



or headlands are Cape Grim, the north- went point ; 



..!> tin- north ; Cape Portland, the north-cant point ; st. 

 1 1. .ocl, Cape Lodi, and Cape Pillar, on the east ooant ; 

 Tasman Head, the south-eastern extremity <>f Hnini Inland, 

 M.uth-oast of Tasmania; South Cape, and South- Went Cape; 

 :, Cape Sorel, and Wont Point, on the went 

 coast. The chief inU-ls of the ttca are Storm Bay, at the 

 mouth of tho river Derwent, and further north, Oyster Bay, on 

 the sonth-eoHt ; tho month of tho Tamar on the north ; Mac- 

 quarrie Harbour on the went ; and Port Davy on the south-west. 

 The peninsulas are Taunan, east of Storm Bay ; Forestier, oon- 

 neoted with the former by an isthmus of half a mile's breadth ; 

 uixl Freycinet, on the east ride of Oyster Bay. The islands are 

 lint ni, formerly mentioned, which in separated from Tasmania 

 by 1> Kntrecasteaux Channel; Maria, north of Tasman Penin- 

 sula ; the Farm-mix group, to the north-fast ; Hunter's group, 

 to the north-west ; and several others. The mountains are 

 Wyld Crag, in tho middle of Tasmania, which is 4,500 feet high ; 

 Table Mountain, behind Hobart Town, 3,750 feet high, and fur 

 eight months of tho year capped with snow ; and Benlomond, 

 in the north-east, 4,200 feet high. The principal rivers ore tho 

 Derwent and the Tamar; the former, 130 miles long, falls into 

 Storm Bay, and the latter into Boss Strait, admitting vessels of 

 500 tons at its mouth. The relative positions of Australia, Tas- 

 mania, and New Zealand, with their chief towns, are shown in 

 the map of Central Oceania in page 37 of this volume. Norfolk 

 Island, which is annexed to the government of Van Diemen's 

 Land, and lies at the distance of 900 miles from the east coast 

 of Australia, was formerly a penal settlement ; it contains an 

 area of about 14 square miles, and has an eminence called 

 Mount Pitt, which rises to the height of 1,050 feet. 



New Zealand lies to the south-east of Australia, at the 

 distance of about 1,400 miles ; and it is surrounded on all sides 

 by the Pacific Ocean. The most northerly point of this group is 

 North Cape, in lat. 34 29' S. and long. 172 49' E. ; tho most 

 southerly southern point, in lat. 47 13' S. and long. 167 27' E. ; 

 the most easterly, Cape East, in lat. 37 45' S. and long. 178 

 36' E. ; and tho most westerly, Cape West, in lat. 45 54' S. 

 and long. 166" 10' E. The names of the two large islands are 

 New Ulster and New Munster, and of the smaller one New 

 Leinster ; otherwise, they are denominated the North, Middle, 

 and South Islands of New Zealand. The North and Middle 

 Islands are separated by a channel called Cook Strait ; and the 

 Middle and South Islands by Foveaux Strait. The surface of 

 North Island is reckoned about 57,500 square miles ; of Middle 

 Island, about 47,850 square miles ; and of South Island, about 

 900 square miles ; making in all a surface of 106,250 square 

 miles. New Zealand, therefore, is larger than Great Britain ; 

 and, being situated nearer the equator, its climate must (other 

 things being equal) be deemed superior to that of our native 

 country. 



As to the I'nlets of the sea in this group of islands, which 

 nearly correspond to the antipodes (i.e., people whose feet are 

 exactly opposite to ours, when they stand on the surface of the 

 earth) of Great Britain, there are the Bay of Islands, the Gulf 

 of Hauraki, the Bay of Plenty, and Hawke Bay, on the east 

 coast of North Island ; in Cook Strait, on the east side, are 

 Palliser Bay, Port Nicholson, and the Harbour of Porirua ; and 

 on the west side, Cloudy Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, Admiralty 

 Bay, Blind Bay, and Massacre Bay. On the east coast of 

 Middle Island are Pegasus Bay, Akaroa Harbour, and Port 

 Otago. On the west and south-west coast of the same are 

 Chalky and Dusky Bays, and Wangaroa, Manukao, and Kaipara 

 Harbours. Cook Strait is about 15 miles broad at the narrowest 

 part ; it is indented on the west side with narrow lochs or arms 

 of the sea. The islands in this channel are D'Urville and 

 Wellington Islands, with the island of Kapiti. The breadth of 

 Foveaux Strait is, on an average, 14 miles. There are mountain 

 ranges in tho two principal islands of New Zealand, which run 

 parallel to their east and west coasts. Mount Egmont, pn the 

 western side of North Island, is 8,270 feet high. Ruapahu, a 

 snowy mountain, is reckoned upwards of 9,000 feet high. In 

 Middle Island, the snowy peak of Kaikoras rises to the height 

 of 9,300 feet. Banks Peninsula is a rugged and mountainous 

 tract in Middle Island. North Island has some rivers, two of 

 which are 170 miles and 140 miles in length respectively. The 



former of these can bo navigated to a ^'irtfrtH** of 100 mile* from 

 the net, by ve*el* of thirty ton* burden. There is a lake called 

 Taupo, which lie* at the height of 1,887 feet above sea-levd, 

 and ha* an an* of 300 square mile*. 



Tho Auckland Inland* are situated at the dicteaoe of about 



.. aouth of New Zealand. The largest u 25 mil** long, 



and the area of the whole group 187 square mile*. The 



Chatham Inlands are distant about 700 mile* eastward of Mew 



Zealand. 



of the inlands that do not belong to Great Britain in An*. 

 trolaitia, and have not been described at length in oar I won, 

 none are of any importance at proeent in a commercial point of 

 view. Papua, or New Guinea, which u the largest Uland m U><- 

 world next to Borneo, in partly claimed by the Dutch, who trade 

 with the inhabitant* for timber need for ornamental purposes, 

 camphor, nutmegs, spice*, and the beautiful bird* known an 

 " bird* of paradise." 



The following is a summary of the chief of the British colonies 

 in Australia, giving the superficial extent of each, approximately 

 stated, with the chief town, population, etc., and date of esta- 

 blishment a* a colony : 



CIVIL SERVICE PAPERS. VIII. 



INDIAN CIVIL ENGINEERING COLLEGE. 



THIS College was established at Cooper's Hill, Surrey, in 1870, 

 with a view to the education of Civil Engineers for the service 

 of Government in the Indian Public Works Department ; but 

 it is open, to the extent of the accommodation available, to all 

 persons desirous of following the course of study pursued there. 



Sixty students are admitted yearly to the College. Candi- 

 dates for admission must be between the ages of 17 and 21 

 years on the 1st day of July of the year of admission, and of 

 good moral character ; they must have had a good general 

 education, and have attained to a sufficient degree of proficiency 

 in elementary mathematics to enable them to follow the College 

 course with advantage. 



Applications for admission, supported by certificates of 

 character and evidence of age, should be addressed to the 

 Secretary to the College, not later than the last week of June 

 in each year. Candidates whose applications are found satis- 

 factory aa to age and character are required to undergo an ex- 

 amination, held at the College, about the end of June, in the 

 following subjects : (1) English composition, to the extent of 

 being able to write grammatically, and with correct spelling, in 

 a neat and legible hand. (2) The following branches of mathe- 

 matics viz., arithmetic, algebra (the minimum includes quad- 

 ratic equations and the binomial theorem), geometry (the first 

 four and the sixth books of Euclid), mensuration and plane trigo- 

 nometry (the minimum includes the solution of plane triangles). 

 They will also be required to give evidence of having received 

 a fair general education, by certificate from their school or 

 college, or by undergoing an examination in some classical or 

 modern language, and in history or geography. In the event 

 of there being more candidates for admission than the College 

 can receive, the preference is given to qualified candidates 

 according to the date of their applications for admission. 



A fee of "2 is payable in advance by each candidate accepted 

 for examination, and under no circumstances is this returned. 



The engineering course extends over three years, and that in 



