THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 185 



A VISIT TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 



By D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S. 

 {Read hefore the Field Naturalists^ Gluh of Victoria, loth January, 1900.) 

 In reading these notes it must be borne in mind that they apply 

 only to the south-western portion of the colony, between Perth 

 and Albany, that being the only portion visited. 



I left Melbourne on 2nd OctolDer for Perth, arriving there on 

 the 9th, having travelled overland from Albany. One often has 

 the idea, before visiting this city, that it is only a hot, dusty, and 

 sandy place, but personally I was much surprised and pleased at 

 the natural beauty of its situation, built as it is on the banks of 

 the Swan River, which is here a wide, shallow estuary, about 14 

 miles from the mouth. 



There is also a large park adjoining the city and situated 

 on high ground overlooking the river. It is kept in very good 

 order, and the views to be obtained over the water are very 

 beautiful. The museum is as yet small, but the collection is 

 gradually mounting up, and is a great help to visitors wishing to 

 identify the fauna of the district, but the Curator, Mr. Bernard 

 Woodward, has no skilled assistants, except the taxidermist, 

 which naturally handicaps him and prevents much useful work 

 being done. The birds have their nests and eggs placed along- 

 side them as they are obtained, which is an improvement. I hope 

 the same will be done with our local birds in the Melbourne 

 Museum. A Zoological Gardens has also been formed at South 

 Perth ; it was only opened a little over a year ago, and the Director, 

 Mr. E. A. Le Souef, has evidently lost no time in pushing on with 

 the work. They are well laid out, with neat buildings and fences, 

 and the various enclosures and houses fairly well stocked either 

 with foreign or native animals and birds, and it is to be hoped 

 that special efforts will be made to exhibit the local fauna of 

 the country. The gardens are gay with flowers, which seem to 

 grow to perfection, but all the soil being nearly pure sand, every 

 blade of grass has to be planted and then kept well watered. 

 The footpaths have to be made like a macadamized road, which 

 involves much labour and expense. The situation of the gardens 

 is very good, overlooking as it does the river. They are well 

 supplied with water from a deep artesian bore, a little over 1,800 

 feet in depth, the water being hot when it comes to the surface. 



Most of the country round about Perth consists of sand ridges, 

 with patches of good soil here and there. The vegetation is 

 brushwood of various kinds and smaller plants, but very little 

 grass, and during the summer months none at all. The principal 

 eucalyptus ^ tree is the Jarrah, Eucalyptus marginata, which is 

 very plentiful in places, and its beautiful wood forms a large 

 export trade. Although I had heard much of the Western Aus- 



