March, 1923 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
13 
Kabbks have 'ceased to be a iiulsaiiee in soinei of tlie 
eounlries where they were fonnerly a'bandant, e.g., 
Spain. Tnniwiaj and Algeria, attliongli they are still found 
in considerable niunbers in the lastmentioned country. 
inlroduclion Into Australia. — In spite of the evi- 
dence of the dangei* of so doing, rabbits were deliberately 
brought to Australia by the earliest white settlers. 
They may, indeed, have been “first fleeters’’ 
like one species of prickly pear, since with 
a despatch from Govej'uor Phillip to Lord 
Sydney, dated at Sydney on 9th Jnly, 17M8, was 
enclosed a return of 'dji\'e Stock in the Settlement. May 
1st, 1788." This return included five i^abbits, three of 
which belonged to the (rovernor. and two to the otficcrs 
and men of the detachment (25, p. 52). According to 
P. (hinuinghaiu. Surgeon, R.N., rabbits were bred al)ont 
liOLiset^ in Port Jackson Settlement in 1825, but there 
were no Avild ones in enclosures (26). Rabbits, both 
domesticated and common, were introduced into Tas- 
mania quite a century ago. In “The Colonial Times" 
(Tas.) of 11th May. 1827, api)ears the statemenl that 
"the eomuioii rabbit is becoming so nninerous througliout 
the C^olony that they running about on some large 
estates in thousands" (27, p. 9), Ju Victoria, the pres- 
ence .of doinestiecded I'abbits is also reported in the 
'early days of the settlement, a dispute as to the ownership 
of some of these rottents having arisen in May. 1886 (26). 
Abo’r.t the year 1844 tvibblls were “thriving well in the 
vieinity of the Western Market, Melbourne^ tlieir presHuice 
being due to escapes from bntches in the market place 
(26). In the same year Rabbit Island, off Wilson's Pro- 
montjory, Av'as siaid to be abounding in rabbits." which 
liad evidently been Jntrodneed by wdialers, but, being 
isolated, eo'uld not escai)e to tlie mainland (26), x\pi»ar- 
ently it was not nntii tlie late .fifties that wild rabbits 
were introduced to Australia. In 1859 the cliiiper ‘‘Light- 
ning” brought to Victoria for Mr. Thos. Austin, of 
llamvon Park, near Geelong, what was described as an 
“excellent addition tlie live stock of the colony in tlie 
sluqie of 66 partridges. 4 iiares, and 24 Avild Lmbbits” 
(28, ]j. 36). Mr. Frank Mack, of Narromine. a nepheAv 
of Mr. Thos. Austin, informed the Avriter tJial, on arrival, 
the rabbits “Avere enclosed In yards made of paling fences 
(no Avire netting in those days) and a special gamekeeper 
ap])ointed to feed and tend fliem and deslrby their 
natural enenr'es Later on, a high flood sAA’iept 
