54 



VII. — On the Encroachments of the Sea alotig the North 

 Coast of Tasmania, ^y Bonald C. Gunn, Esq., F.K.S., 

 dc. [Bead Brd March, 1854.] 



A COMMUNICATION of mine, " On the Encroachments of 

 the Sea at Circular Head and along the North Coast 

 of Tasmania," was read at a meeting of the Koyal Society 

 at Hohart Town on 17th December, 1851. This short 

 paper was the result of observations made during an excur- 

 sion along the coast from Circular Head to Launceston, in 

 October 1851. I have now to add to the remarks I then 

 made, that in October of this year I had occasion to ride 

 from Circular Head to Woolnorth, the extreme north-western 

 point of Van Diemen's Land, and I observed that through- 

 out that line of coast the sea is steadily advancing and 

 gaining upon the land. At the Old Store and Jetty, close 

 to Maandai Point, the configuration of the shore is very 

 materially altered, although the beach consists of large coarse 

 shingle, and of a description such as one would have 

 imagined likely to resist the action of the sea for a long 

 time. Where the road ran in 1838, not an indication 

 remains. 



At Circular Head the encroachments still continue : the 

 sea has advanced considerably since 1851, and I believe 

 that within a few years a large portion of the Peninsula 

 will be swept away. The age and size of the Honey- 

 suckle (Banksia) trees which now lie strewed along the 

 shore, and which were alive and flourishing when I lived 

 at Circular Head in 1836 to 1838, indicate that very 



