Sept, 1924 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
93 
Where the fulgurites are found the sand is somewhat 
yellowish, stained by feruginous or other salts, and this 
suggests itself as being a possible cause for the lightning 
devoting particular attention to the one spot, on account 
of greater conductivity or dampness. There are some 
blackened remnants of vegetation showing that this area 
had not always been the bare sand it is at present. 
o 
NOTES ON LAND VERTEBEATES. 
By Ileber Longman. 
When seen across the sun-lit waters of the Bay, 
Moreton Island presents an interesting ])icture of white 
sand alternating with green foliage. It was our pleasant 
privilege to spend the few da3'S of Easter-time among 
the dunes, swamps, and shores of this large island, sc 
frequentl}^ seen but seldom visited. According to ofticia! 
figures, Moreton Island is twent,v miles in length and 
five miles broad at the noi-thern end, while the area is 
given as LI. 760 acres. The height of Mount Tempest, 
which slightly overtops adjoining ridges, is given as 
910 feet, and those naturalists who climbed its steep 
sides on a waiun day are not inclined to lessen the figure. 
Cape Moreton, Moreton Island, and Moreton BaA^ 
form a triple homonymy associated Avith the explorations 
of (Aok and Flinders. In May, 1770, (’aptain Cook 
passed and named (.'ape Moreton, thinking it a prominence 
of the mainland, and Avhen Flinders, twenty-nine .vears 
later, fruind it to be a ]mrt of an island, he gave the 
name to the whole area. To the aborigines tlie island was 
knoAvn as “ Moorgnmpin/’ and according to (leorge 
Watkins, who published an interesting account in the 
Proceedings of the Ro.val Society of (Queensland for 1891, 
the ‘‘Boorgaimmay’’ tribe, as the Moreton Islanders were 
called, spoke a verv distinct dialect (GoAvar). He also 
quotes Major Loek,ver’s ix'cord in a diary of 1828 of a 
black dingo in Morel en Ba.v. At present there are no 
Aborigines on Moreton Island, but we found around the 
swamps scA'eral fragments of the large pounding-sTones, 
which Avere used to crush the “bungwal.” the roots of 
Blechnum serrulatum, a common article of food. 
Sevei*al traces Avere seen of the Avild pigs, descended 
from domesticated aTiimals introduced in earlier A'ears. 
A complete skull was found, and Master Edwin Palmer 
presented some fine tusks to the Queensland Museum. 
