4 
Tom Irbdalb. 
to, but when intensive eolleetinn; is carried out it may become easy to fix the 
exact place as the species are comparatively well defined. 
When Eyre crossed from South to West Australia he noted shells scat- 
tered about on the ground but that does not concern us as none apjiears to 
have been collected. It must be recalled that he was succoured by Captain 
Eossiter of the French wlialer Alississi])))! on June 2, 1841. That particular 
captain happened to be a very zealous amateur conchologist, and later settled 
in Sydney, when the well-known professional conchologist John Brazier mar- 
ried hi.s sister. Later Brazier circulated shells collected by his brother-in-law, 
who had secured them on the islands of the Recherche Archipelago when 
whaling about them. 
Until this date all the sjiecies had been described in Europe, and a few 
collected by Dr. Bacon in the Swan River Settleitient were named by Benson, 
but now Australian eouchologists became qualified, and Cox, Hedley, Angas, ' 
Brazier, Tate arid Hedley have all made additions to our knowledge. Still the 
spell of the e.xtraliinital worker held, although he was ignorant of local con- 
ditions and heedless of geography and history. Thus E. A. Smith in the 
Zoology of the Voyage of the Erebus and Terror dealt with two plates (that 
had been prepared for Stokes) under the impression that they had something 
to do with that voyage. Fortunately the species figured were so distinct that 
he could not make many mistakes, hnl he managed to confuse matter.s a little. 
Smith, however, assisted onr study, when he prepared the first complete 
account of Western Australian land-shells based npon a collection made by 
the well-known (‘ntoniologi.st, J. J. Walker,* wlien he was chief engineer on 
H.M.S. Penguin, surveying off the Xorth-West coast of Australia. It is unfor- 
tunate for Australian students that Walker’s collection was made on almost 
inaccessible islands, l)iit bis discoveries opened a new vista for the forms were 
of novel facies ami now provide the most intriguing problem in our science. 
W. W. Froggatt, a professional entomological collector, went to Derby 
and explored the Xa|)ier and Oscar Ranges, and brought back some twenty 
species of land and fresb-water inolliises. Some of these were described by 
Cox and others by the great French conchologist Anecy, but no complete study 
of the collection was atleinpted. The bulk went into the .Macleay Mnsenm and 
lias been here utilised. Years later Dr. Herbert Basedow wimt into the Xapier 
Ranges, and an excellent collection was briefly recorded by Hedley. The 
dominant Western Austi'alian group, Bothripmbi'iion, was carefully mono- 
graplied by Pilsbry, who had nuicb material sent him for the purpose by Cox, 
but the localities iirovided by the latter were untrustworthy and misleading. 
Kobelt, a year later, also catalogued the grouj), practically following Pilsbry. 
Some odd siiecies have been named by P'nlton, Preston, Gude, Odlnier and 
Thiele. The two latter dealt with collections mad(' by Swedish expeditions 
to the Xortli-West, and German expeditions to the South-West, respect iv'oly. 
Mr. Sidney W. Jackson visited Western Australia in 1!)12, and working 
in the Bow River district, south coast, made a line collection which was acconi- 
jianied by excellent field notes. This series iticlnded many novelties and was 
examined by Hedley hut the results were never published. About ton simeics 
were secured, all of them new, and suggest great i>ossibilitics to some local 
enthusiast. 
The only rocenl collectors have been Mr. L. Glauert, the Director of the 
Museum, to whom 1 am greatly indebted for the oiiportunity of studying the 
material in that Alnsenm, npon which this review is primarily based: Mr. P. 
R. Bradshaw, of Tambelhip, and Ylr. E. Sedgwick, of Xangeenan, each of 
whom have sent me very interesting shells. 
* Died February. 1939. 
