50 
Association in Manchester with the news , that Mr. Hood in Sydney 
had forwarded to him fossil bones from the Waipara River in the 
Province Canterbury, South Island, which belong to a plesiosauric 
reptile, Plesiosaurus australis , and seem to indicate the existence of 
jurassic strata. 
It was accident rather than design or scientific researches , that 
led to the discovery of the mineral treasures , which have continued 
to be developed during the last years: of coal, gold, copper, iron, 
chrome-ore and graphite. Where such a variety of useful minerals 
was presented to the view almost without any intentional effort on 
the part of the discoverers, what remunerative harvests could be 
expected from a systematical exploration! The well-educated class 
of colonists, for which New Zealand is noted, were fully aware 
of the importance of explorations to be made by scientific men in 
behalf of physical geography and geology, and that scientific know- 
ledge aids in the extension and improvement of the industrial arts. 
The provincial Governments shunned no expenses to obtain the ser- 
vices of men, by whose aid the geological and mincralogical ex- 
ploration of the country could be carried through. 
Thus by a lucky juncture of circumstances, I had, in 1859, the 
pleasure of beginning the explorations in the Provinces of Auck- 
land and Nelson , and of sketching the first geological maps of parts 
of New Zealand; and my friend and Tel low- traveller, Dr. Julius 
Haast , had the honour of being the first Government Geologist in 
New Zealand. After having finished, in 1860, some geographical 
and geological explorations in the western Districts of the Province 
Nelson with the best success, he was appointed Geologist by the 
Provincial Government of Canterbury. This laudable example was 
soon followed by of her provinces. Towards the close of 1861, 
Dr. James Hector , the travelling companion of Captain PalUser during 
his expedition through the Rocky Mountains (1857 — 1859), was 
called as Geologist to Otago, and in 1862 Mr. J. C. Crawford was 
appointed Provincial Geologist of Wellington. This was the be- 
ginning of a new era, in which the geological survey of New Zea- 
land is progressing rapidly and systematically. 
