CHAPTER III. 
Geology and Palaeontology. 
History of geological and paleontological explorations. — Present state of knowledge. — 
Synoptical view of the formations and strata at present known. — Secular elevations and 
depressions. — Former connection with other bodies of land. — Earthquakes. 
The discovery and first exploration of New Zealand by Cap- 
tain Cook and his companions towards the close of the last century 
took place at a time when geology as a science had scarcely taken 
its first start. Rich in results as these earliest voyages were for 
zoology and botany, they yielded scarcely any thing noteworthy 
with regard to the geology and palaeontology. The scientific*- expe- 
ditions of the French, English and North Americans, that touched 
New Zealand after Cook, also found but little of geological inter- 
est on the coasts and the much frequented harbours North and 
South. 
White Island, Whakari of the natives, on the East coast of 
North Island was the first volcano noticed upon New Zealand; and 
in 1839 Mr. Rule brought the first fragment of a fossil bone found 
upon the North Island to London , from the structure of which 
Prof. Richard Owen was able to prove, that it had once formed 
part of a huge bird. 
These are the first facts, that have become known with regard 
to the Geology and Palaeontology of New Zealand, and till within 
the last years, the communications from missionaries, colonists and 
