156 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXHI. 



ACROSS THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE, BRITISH NEW 



GUINEA. 



By C. C. Simpson. 



(Communicated by J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S.) 



(Read before the Field Naturalists' Qlub of Victoria, IWi Nov., 1906.) 



The chief object of my journey into the bush from Port Moresby 

 was to pass over the Owen Stanley range of mountains and reach 

 Kokoda, a Government station in the Northern Division. The 

 Owen Stanley range of mountains separates the Northern Division 

 from the Central Division of British New Guinea. I also hoped, 

 by camping for a few days at various places along the route, to 

 obtain a collection of birds of paradise, there being a number of 

 species to be met with at various elevations above the sea level in 

 the Central Division. I had received from the Government a 

 permit to shoot a few specimens of each species. 



My party consisted of twenty boys from the Sogeri and Moroka 

 districts, who accompanied me through the whole of my travels. 

 I had also, when marching, thirty carriers, whom we obtained 

 locally in the different districts we visited. The carriers were 

 chiefly women, some of whom carried a baby, in addition to a 

 load of thirty pounds, over steep and difficult hills. For the first 

 few days we had about fifty people, in addition, following us for 

 pleasure. 



Anthony, who has had great experience as a bushman in British 

 New Guinea, and is responsible for the success of the expedition, 

 had charge of everything. He was recently manager of Sogeri 

 Coffee Plantation, and is on very friendly terms with the chiefs of 

 the Sogeri, Moroka, Eafa, and Kage districts. We were con- 

 sequently able to travel through these districts without trouble. 

 The natives will only carry for the traveller if they have a friendly 

 feeling for him. I learnt from Anthony something about the 

 birds we obtained, which were beautifully skinned by him. 



On 28th October, 1905, we started into the bush from Mr. 

 Ballantine's coffee plantation in Sogeri district, about thirty-five 

 miles east and slightly north of Port Moresby, and 1,600 feet above 

 sea level. Our destination was a cave at the base of Mount 

 Oriori, in a north-easterly direction, the cave probably being 

 about 3,500 feet above sea level. By taking this direction we 

 kept well to the east of the track in use to reach the gap in the 

 Owen Stanley Range, and as far as the gap we were on tracks of 

 which little is known. Our march to Mount Oriori was chiefly 

 through the Moroka district, the track at first passing through 

 country consisting of blade grass and low scrub, and then of high 

 scrub and successive ridges. We travelled slowly, stopping one 

 whole day at a Moroka village on the way, and reaching Mount 



