May 5, 1887J 



NATURE 



13 



Islands, 500 miles to 'the westward, are a well-known 

 example of thriving coral life. 



W. J. L. Wharton. 



H.M. Surveyhtg- Vessel " Flying-Fish" 

 January 31, 1887. 



Christmas Island is 190 miles from the nearest point of 

 Java, from which it is separated by a depth of 2450 

 fathoms. It is formed of coral limestone, has no fringing 

 reef, but rises abruptly from the sea in cliffs about 30 feet 

 high, very much underworn, and in many places hollowed 

 out in caverns ; the shore is steep-to : generally a depth 

 of 100 fathoms is found at one to two cables from the 

 cliffs. 



In appearance it is somewhat saddle-shaped, rising 

 from a long back in the middle, 700 to 800 feet high, to 

 hills at the north-eastern and at the western sides ; the 

 western summit is double, and is the best-defined mark : 

 its height is 1580 feet. The shape is irregular quadri- 

 lateral ; it extends through 12' of latitude, and about the 

 same in longitude. 



The island is densely wooded all over, except where the 

 cliffs are too steep to allow anything to grow. From the 

 northern side the ascent is gradual to the highest parts ; 

 but on the southern side, after rising gradually for half a 

 mile from the sea cliffs, a second wall of limestone cliffs 

 is met, estimated at 200 to 300 feet high, and thence 

 slopes gently again to the top. 



The shore cliffs are almost continuous, making the 

 island inaccessible except at a few places. These cliffs 

 are split by deep fissures extending several feet below 

 water ; where these have become enlarged, and the 

 adjacent cliffs have fallen in, a small white beach of frag- 

 mentary rock is thrown up, and at such places on the lee- 

 side landing can be eflfected. 



From the blown direction of the trees on the south 

 side, and from the weather-worn aspect of rocks exposed 

 to the southward, it is manifest that the south-eastern is 

 by far the prevailing wind. 



The north side of the island forms a large bight, in 

 which the water is quite smooth, so that a boat can go 

 close up to the cHffs, but on the southern and eastern 

 sides a heavy sea dashes against the rocks. 



The Flyi7ig-Fish steamed close round the island 

 looking for anchorage, but found none, except in a small 

 cove two miles to the westward of the north point of the 

 island — this has been named Flying-Fish Cove ; here she 

 anchored in 22 fathoms, with her stern secured by hawsers 

 to the trees, to prevent slipping off the bank. 



The hill rises nearly perpendicularly at the head of the 

 cove in the form of a horseshoe, and slopes gradually 

 down to the two arms forming the cove. The bare 

 beach is not more than 20 yards wide, and, from the 

 look of the fragments that compose it, must be thrown up | 

 in northerly gales ; the upper part of the beach to the 

 foot of the hill, a distance of some hundred yards, is of 

 just the same material, viz. fragments of coral rock and 

 coral limestone, but it has a covering of mould from fallen 

 leaves, and is thickly wooded, many of the trees on it 

 being forest trees of 12 feet girth and of great height, 

 apparently hundreds of years of age, showing that a very 

 long time must have elapsed since that beach was raised 

 from the water. 



One very large tree had something like the letters 

 W W cut inside a scroll, and nearly illegible from time ; 

 this was the only sign of the island having been visited 

 before ; but one of our officers heard at Batavia that a 

 Dutch vessel was wrecked on the south-east point of the 

 island in a calm about fifteen years ago, and that the crew 

 escaped and lived many months on the island before they 

 were taken off, but I have no other details about the 

 affair. 



No running water was seen, but the droppings from 

 the leaves during rain and dew must be great, as holes 



in the rocks and cup-shaped leaves were filled with water. 

 As it was raining over some part of the island (generally 

 the western) great part of the time the Flying-Fish was 

 in the neighbourhood, and clouds were continually being 

 formed over the island from the moist air driven up the 

 side by the south-east wind, a great deal of water must 

 be deposited, and probably be absorbed by the soil. At 

 the eastern end of the cove, among the trees, where had 

 seemed at first the most likely place for a watercourse, a 

 few volcanic stones were found, but everywhere else the 

 only rock seen was coral limestone ; the cliffs above from 

 which detached pieces had fallen to the beach were the 

 same ; the soil under the^trees was a rich moist mould, 

 apparently formed from decaying vegetation. 



Landing was also effected at another small beach in 

 the northern bight near the north-west point ; the general 

 features were the same, but there was no anchorage at 

 half a cable from the shore. A few cocks and hens were 

 landed here, but as the crabs immediately began to chase 

 them, I doubt if they will survive and produce. 



No large animals were seen, nor marks of any. An 

 iguana, said to be 4 feet in length, was seen in a tree, 

 high up, but was not captured. Rat-holes were numerous, 

 and one rat was secured, also a large bat. Several 

 insects, spiders, flies, beetles, and butterflies, were col- 

 lected ; there were sand-flies, but no mosquitoes. Large 

 crabs were very plentiful, and appeared equally at home 

 running over the sea-cliffs and climbing up the trees ; 

 they were very ravenous, pouncing quickly on a dead 

 gannet and devouring other injured crabs, and they must 

 be terrible enemies to the birds generally. 



Gannet and frigate-birds frequent the island, and evi- 

 dently breed there, but it was not the breeding-season, 

 and very few eggs were found ; the young birds were 

 nearly grown. Besides the sea-birds there was the large 

 green Torres Strait pigeon : one was shot, with three large 

 red berries in his crop. These pigeons seemed to frequent 

 the higher trees well up the hill. Also a ground-thrush, 

 of a sooty-brown colour, just the colour of the fallen 

 leaves among which it ran nimbly, apparently looking 

 for insects ; and a little fly-catcher of the same sombre 

 colour. As evening advanced, a small swift appeared, 

 which flew about the jungle on the margin of the beach, 

 fly-catching : none of these three last were secured. No 

 bones were found on the beach, nor remnant of any 

 animal ; not even turtle-remains. 



The flora appeared to be the same as that of the neigh- 

 bouring islands, the'Moluccas. As before stated, the island 

 is densely wooded, and many of the trees attain great 

 size. Chief amongst them I recognized two iron-wood 

 trees, one with straight stem and round trunk, and the 

 other with strong buttresses from the roots ; both are 

 natives of Celebes. Creepers were as thick as in the 

 Moluccas, and covered the top branches of the trees. 



Two palms — one I take to be the sago-palm, growing to 

 a great height ; and the pandanus — were abundant : cocoa- 

 nut trees were not seen, though husks were found on the 

 beach, apparently washed up from elsewhere. At a small 

 beach on the eastern side there appeared to be banana- 

 trees, but they looked withered and there were no signs 

 of fruit. 



No mangroves were seen : the flora of the coast was 

 generally such as is found in all tropical islands. 



I regret to say that nearly all the botanical specimens 

 that were collected were destroyed by insufficient drying 

 in the exceedingly damp weather we experienced. 



(Signed) J. P. Maclear, 

 Captain. 



NOTES. 

 On March 9, on the invitation of the Chief Justice of Queens- 

 laiid, a public meeting was held at Brisbane, to consider the 

 establishment of a University for that colony. A resolution was 



