I 10 
The Origin, History, and Work of the 
Geological Survey of Western Australia 
BY A. GIBB MAITLAND, Government Geologist 
[Read May 10th, 1910.) 
Contents. 
Introduction ! U 
History a 
Dr. F. van Sommer, 1847-1851 2 : 
H. Y. Lyell Brown, 1870-73 2 
E. T. Hardman, 1882-84 4 
Rev. C. G. Nicolay, 1884-88 5 
H. P. Woodward, 1887-95 5 
Work : — 
Field Work £ 
Mineral Industry fi 
Pastoral and Agricultural Industry c 
Petrology it 
Chemistry and Mineralogy 12 
Palaeontology if 
Geological Museum 14 
Publications of the Survey iC 
Scientific Results iE 
Introduction. 
The forthcoming visit of the members of the Natural History 
and Science Society of Western Australia to the Geological De- 
partment affords an opportunity of prefacing it by a brief accountl 
of the origin, history and work of the Geological Survey, whict 
really formed the nucleus around which the present Department 
of Mines and the Western Australian Museum sprang. 
As is pretty well known to you all, the physical sciences are: 
included under two main heads: — Astronomy and Geology. The 
former includes all those branches of science which deal with the 
constitution, motions, relative positions, and mutual action oil 
heavenly bodies, whilst the latter confines itself to the study of) 
the one upon which we dwell, or, to put it briefly, Astronomy 
concerns itself with the whole visible universe, and Geology with 
the earth as an individual. 
