250 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



manners and customs, but we frequently perceived 

 the existence of manners and customs among the 

 islanders not known in Australia ; although, from our 

 imperfect acquaintance with the people, we could 

 form no accurate notions of their nature and details. 



The geographical extent of the countries now oc- 

 cupied by these several races are the following : — 

 The Australian race is strictly confined to the great 

 island of Australia and its immediately adjacent 

 islets. The same race inhabited Van Diemen's 

 Land, or Tasmania, but here, from their physical 

 characteristics, and I believe also from their lan- 

 guage, they seem to have received a slight admixture 

 of the Papuan race. 



The Papuan race exclusively possesses the 

 islands on the north-east of Australia, namely, 

 New Guinea with New Britain and New Ireland, 

 the Solomon Islands, the islands called Tierra Aus- 

 tral del Espiritu Santo, and the New Hebrides, 

 and New Caledonia.* It extends also to the 



* Mr. Blaxland, in the MS. notes mentioned before, remarks 

 that the geographical boundary of the Papuan islanders is pre- 

 cisely coincident with that of the north-west monsoon. This 

 wind, from the months of November to March inclusive, is the 

 prevalent one over all the space extending from the equator to 

 10° or 15° S. latitude, and in longitude from Sumatra to the 

 Feejee Islands. It is sometimes experienced to the west of Su- 

 matra as far as the north of Madagascar, and it sometimes also 

 extends to the east of the Feejee Islands into the Pacific Ocean, 

 but these extensions are irregular, and its usual eastern boundary 

 is precisely that of the Papuan race before described. Mr. 

 Blaxland deduces from this fact, coupled with the little skill of 



