ABORIGINAL NAVIGATION AND OTHER NOTES. 213 



land of Australia by Bass' Strait. I am of opinion, how- 

 ever, that it is quite possible that the Tasmanians crossed 

 over in their rafts from island to island, long after the 

 continuous land connection had been broken through by the 

 sea. For a long period subsequent to the first severance 

 of Tasmania from Victoria, there probably was a chain of 

 islands extending from Wilson's Promontory via Kent's 

 Group, Flinders and other islands to Oape Portland. There 

 were no doubt other islands at moderate intervals, reaching 

 across from Oape Otway via King island to Oape Grim, 

 and at other places as well. All such islands, with the 

 exception of those at present in existence, have disappeared 

 either by subsidence or by the wearing action of the sea. 



The hypothesis just stated appears to me more reason- 

 able than the old theory that the Tasmanians travelled on 

 dry land all the way from Victoria to their final home, 

 because it brings us down to a much later geological epoch 

 and agrees better with the time usually assigned to the 

 advent of man. Moreover, from my investigations among 

 the natives of South-east Victoria, as well as among those 

 of the Great Australian Bight, I am disposed to think that 

 there is not much difference between them and the defunct 

 inhabitants of Tasmania, pointing to the conclusion that 

 they have not been separated by a very great interval of 

 time. 



In certain northern portions of Australia, abutting on 

 the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the natives employed 

 two or three or more pieces of bark in building a canoe, 

 and it is noteworthy that such crafts are more elaborate 

 in their manufacture than those in use in the southern 

 parts of the continent, a fact which might suggest foreign 

 influence, such as that of the Malays or Papuans at some 

 comparatively recent period. Hafts and logs were like- 



