212 
]\Iaitlaxd. — irestev}} A usiralian GcoJoijy. 
hns (loiio (luring rlio rolativijiy sliort ])t>ri(Hl of its ('xistenoe. Never- 
tlieless it should not 1 h‘ forgotten that tlie President and Couindl 
eaiinot do (‘verytliiiig to niakt' and keej) the Society as successful 
as it has l)een :iik1 (uiglit to conliniie to he without the very activ(’ 
^upj'ort (tf tlie nieinhers theuisi'lves. It is ho|K‘<l, therefore, that 
nH'mi>ers will coiitimiu to evince that interest in all that makes for 
the well-heiiig and progress of tlu‘ Society, and that the younger 
uienihers (most of whom have been trained in our local educational 
institutions), in whose hands the future ultimately rests, will come 
forward and contrihiite some of the results of their investigations, 
adding in this way their (piota to the sum total of human know- 
ledge and thus assisting in the solution of those numerous problems 
which have long aroused the keenest interest amongst the scientific 
workers of all nations. 
This brief I'oference to what might be called the material 
asjiect of tlie affairs of the Society brings the somewhat dis- 
turbing reflection that custom prescribes that the President on the 
termination of his year of office sh.all carry out the law of pri'ce- 
dence by delivering an addriss on some de))artment of science to 
\.hich his attention has lieen more especially devoted. 
There is an old ])roverb that “ (distom must be indulged by 
Custom or Custom will die,*’ and while I have no desire to dej)art 
frf)in traditional usage, tlie circumstance that Wi'stern Australia 
hojies next month to liave the honour of welcoming, for the first 
time in the State’s history, tlu* members of tin' Australasian Associ- 
ation for tlie Advancement of Science, suggests that T should defiart 
smnewliat from the usual custom and devoti' an academic hour to 
liriuging under notice the main contril)utions which Western Aus- 
tralia luKS made to the geiiei-al ]n-iiiciples of (xeological Science, 
the full lieariugs of which, owing to the relative isolation of this 
]i;.rtion of imr island continent, have nut been, lu-rhajis, sufficiently 
recognised. 
Tn lieiiding myself to tiiis task an emh'avour will l>e made 
to follow out Pindar’s advice: 
“With vivid Avords your Just conce])tions gra<-e, 
-Murdi truth compressing in a narrow space.” 
It Avas found necessary in tlie yian* 1890 to establish a perma- 
nent lu’anch of the Public Service i-harged with a more or less 
coni])rehensiA'e and systematic survey of the geological structure of 
the State and all that is connected tluu-eAA'ith. Such geological 
investigations involved, intcy alia, the apiilication of tlie principles 
(>f the science to the exploration and ex])loitation of the State’s 
mineral deposits, which have played a very important part in its 
economic and industrial development, for modern industry is more 
