THE HISTORY OF ZOOLOGY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
51 
The next references to Western Australian animals are con- 
tained in the journals of Francis Pclsart, whose ship, the 
Batavia,” struck on Houtman’s Abrolhos on June 4th, 1629. 
The crew and passengers having been landed on the islands, 
Pelsart left them in the ship’s boat to look for water. Having 
examined the islands in vain, he crossed over to the mainland 
but the precipitous nature of the coast prevented their landing 
for some days. On the 14th, in latitude 24 S., a little north of 
Sharks Bay, six of the men swam ashore, but were again un- 
successful in the quest, though thev saw some aborigines. The 
following day they landed again and found some good water in 
rock holes. “ It was evident that some savages had been there 
a short time before, as they found the remains of crabs and some 
ashes.” 
On the morning of the 16th they landed again. “ The 
country was flat without vegetation or trees, with nothing in view 
but ant-hills, and these so high that they looked afar off like the 
huts of negroes, and at the same time they were so plagued with 
flies, and those in such multitudes that they were, scarce able to 
defend themselves. ... At length, finding that there was no 
hope of obtaining water, they determined to leave the coast and 
resolved to make the best of their way to Batavia, to inform 
the governor of their misfortune, and to solicit assistance for 
the people they had left in the islands.” 
In this they were successful, and returned to the Abrolhos, 
only to find that in their absence the villainous Cornelis and his 
associates had murdered over 100 of their fellow castaways, 
with the hope of seizing the relief ship and becoming pirates. 
Being frustrated in this design, they were captured and executed, 
with the exception of two of their number, who were landed on 
the mainland and abandoned there. These two unfortunate 
convicts were thus the first white inhabitants of Western Australia. 
From Pelsart ’s description of Houtman’s Abrolhos we 
obtain the following zoological information : ' The sea abounds 
in fish in these parts ; they are mainly of three kinds, but very 
different in shape and taste from those caught on other coaMs. 
All the islands about here are low-lying atolls or coral-islets and 
rocks, except two or three large islands (the Wallaby Islands). 
.... We found in these islands large numbers of a species of 
cats, which are very strange creatures ; they are about the size 
of a hare, their head resembling the head of a civet-cat ; the 
forepaws are very short, about the length of a finger, on which 
the animal has five small nails or fingers, resembling those of a 
monkey’s forepaw. Its two hind-legs, on the contrary, are 
upwards of half an ell in length, and it walks on these only, on the 
flat of the heavy part of the leg, so that it does not run fast. 
Its tail is very long, like that of a long-tailed monkey ; if it eats. 
