THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



277 



The birds were mostly blue-l)illies 

 and gannets and bos'n birds, such as 

 inhabit Lord Howe Island and the 

 Admiralties. Of the Notornis alfxi, a 

 white bird with a red bill, which seems 

 to have become extinct since Lieut. 

 Ball discovere d it on Lord Howe Island 

 in 1788, I saw no trace. One large 

 black bird, with pink wattles and a 

 hooked beak, which lays a huge egg of 

 a beautiful and delicate shell, full in 

 the centre and tapering rather quickly 

 at each end, is very plentiful here. I 

 have been told it is the frigate bird. 

 And then there is, in its home in the 

 deep clefts of the cliffs, a little, shy, 

 speckled grey and brown bird, about 

 the size of a carrier pigeon. It moans 

 continually in a weird, distressing way, 

 not unlike a man in mortal agony. Its 

 name I do not know. The little whale - 

 bird, so common at Norfolk Island, is 

 here also. The only insect we saw was 

 a green grasshopper ; no lizards, snakes, 

 or rats were observed. 



From the summit of the highest 

 point we had a good view of the greater 

 part of the island, disclosing patches of 

 the above-mentioned fig, a few stunted 

 pandanus trees, a few hibiscus. There 

 was no sign of any timber or other 

 shrubs. The soil is extremely porous 

 and rich. We found no fresh water; 

 it is doubtful if there is any, because 

 of the porous nature of the place. But, 

 as time was short, the wind and sea 

 growing angrier every hour, and pro- 

 gress so difficult on account of he 

 burrs and concealed bird and sul]ihur 



holes, we had reluctantly to be content 

 with only a few hours inspection. The 

 problem of finding our way >)ack to the 

 ketch, on which was the third member 

 of the crew, our collie mascot, had yet 

 to be faced, robbed, as we had been, 

 of our oars, and faced with such a break 

 in the bay where we had been ca];sized 

 that any attempt to launch the dinghy 

 from there would have been madness. 

 There remained only a piece of looard 

 for a scull. With the aid of the rope- 

 painter we dragged the boat uj) a 

 nasty cliff of 200 feet, and with difficulty 

 succeeded in launching her from a 

 jutting reef of rock ; and then, using 

 the board, we reached the ketch at 

 8.30 that night. Next morning we saw 

 that further landing was hopeless, so 

 we heaved u\) the anchor and shaped a 

 course for Fiji. 



Landings might be made, here and 

 there, but they would afford no access 

 to the interior, being bounded by 

 unscalable cUffs. I secured specimens 

 of sulphur rocks, alum, and basalt, but 

 most of them disappeared as we launchd 

 the dinghy. The photographic nega- 

 tives we made were also broken, 

 These losses were very disappointing, 

 but I hope to make up for them when I 

 next visit Hunter Island. When I 

 have more time I intend making a 

 thorough investigation of this strange 

 and unknown place, with its jets and 

 its fuiuf s, visible from the sea on three 

 sides, that call to mind awesome Dore 

 drawings of hissing pools reserved for 

 doers of ill -deeds. 



In the coming August the Pan- 

 Pacific Congress will meet in Mel- 

 bourne and Sydney to discuss pro- 

 blems Avhich are of special interest to 

 the nations bordering on the Pacific. 

 There will be representatives, emineiit 

 scientific men, from all these comitries, 

 and the meeting cannot fail to give an 

 impetus to the study of some of our 

 fundamental questions, zoological, geo- 

 logical, sociological and economic . The 



meetings of the congress A\ill be held in 

 the Universities of Melbourne and 

 Sydney, and it is expected that all those 

 who are interested in the advancement 

 and welfare of Australia will become 

 enrolled as members. Various attrac- 

 tive functions, including receptions, 

 popular science lectures, excursions to 

 localities of interest, will be held in 

 connection with the congress. 



