February, 1937 The Queensland Naturalist 
21 
frequent references to cocoanuts, frangipanni, weeping 
figs, etc., of other parts, and the absence of mention of our 
own peculiarly interesting flora. Bright exceptions are 
Lake Barrine, The Maze and Fairyland at Kuranda, and 
the Jungle at Malanda, where guides are available. Most 
tourists would prefer to visit sights which they cannot see 
elsewhere, but in other places, particularly at Atherton, 
the tendency is to wipe out the whole of the natural feat- 
ures and substitute therefor alien plants. The proposal, 
fortunately over-ridden by the Government, was made by 
the Cairns City Council, to devote portion of the very 
limited area of 30 acres of Green Island for accommoda- 
tion purposes, including a tennis court, despite the fact 
that this is almost the only true coral island readily ac- 
cessible to tourists. I will only just mention in passing 
the absurdity of referring to native trees as ‘‘oaks,” 
“maple,” and “walnut,” when in reality the proper 
trees bearing these names do not grow in Australia, where 
one would expect that the natural pride of those con- 
cerned would lead to the bestowing of some decisive and 
distinctive names to such ornamental and distinctive 
timbers of North Queensland. Surely it is a reflection 
on the intelligence of those concerned to persist in such 
false, and certainly fraudulent, names. 
It is practically impossible in the short time avail- 
able to do justice to the subject of the treasures of these 
parts — briefly, it can be said that the Great Barrier Beef 
alone offers opportunities for the study of coral forma- 
tion, and its unique animal and vegetable inhabitants 
superior, perhaps, to any other locality in the world, and 
it is exceedingly sad that no concerted action is made by 
any tourist agency to provide properly trained guides. 
One has but to observe the extraordinary interest taken 
by those in the company of a competent guide to appreci- 
ate the value of such a service, and given suitable weather 
and tide conditions, it is rare indeed that any visitor does 
not go away enthralled and with a permanent impression 
of the wonders of the Reef. Yet the Tourist Office still 
fails to warn visitors of the necessity of wearing suitable 
clothing, and that the reef cannot be properly seen ex- 
cept at appropriate tides. 
Of the plants, the botanist has a better field, both with 
regard to variety and number of species, than any other 
part of the Commonwealth with every class of soil and 
climatic condition from the arid west to the wettest dis- 
trict in Australia. The number of new species being add- 
ed as they become known is perhaps greater than that of 
the whole of the rest of Australia. The marsupials and 
other mammals still engage the attention of numerous 
