of 1798-99 that Tasmania, or as it was 
then known. Van Diemen’s Land, was 
first circumnavigated by Bass and Flind¬ 
ers in their Ufi-ion sloop the Norfolk. 
As far as the Fast Coast is concerned, 
the first detailsd surveys were carried 
out by the French during Baud in’s ex¬ 
pedition in 1802. It was owing to the 
attention being paid to this portion of 
the great Southern Continent by the 
French which caused the first settlement 
of the English on the Derwent on Sep¬ 
tember 7, 1803. From the foregoing it 
will be seen that the south-eastern por¬ 
tion of Tasmania's const lin has an in¬ 
teresting history, and when we pitched 
our ramp amidst the eucalypfs, on a 
knoll overlooking a long section of the 
coast, it is not to he wondered at that 
we let our thoughts revert to days gone 
by. 
We dw ll in the present, however, and 
the arrival of the main warty at 11 
o’clock on Thursday evening gave an 
animated appearance to the camp. From 
now onward . .a* camp was in full swing. 
We were particularly fortunate as re¬ 
gards the weather. Each day was a 
-1>1 ndid example of Tasmania's autumn 
at. its best, A grey dawn gave place to 
radiant sunshine, which irildrd the fore¬ 
shore. and caused the breaking rollers to 
merge into millions of glittering gems 
of light. Neptune’s (lenient called forth 
the campers, and the majority partici¬ 
pated in aquatic evolutions until the 
sound of the breakfast gong echoes 
through the forest. Before long a gen¬ 
eral assembly took plat* under the large 
dining lent, and full justice was done 
to the first meal of the day. Plans 
would then he made for the excursions, 
and soon various parties, carry in-' well- 
filled kit hags, containing the midday 
meal, would be s en leaving the camp. 
Some would be bent upon collecting 
natural history specimens, others on 
securing photograph-, while many went 
forth in the full enjoyment of the open 
air life to enjoy a day amid tli. beauties, 
of nature. All places were visited. Some J 
preferred the surge of the sea and the] 
towering storm cleft cliffs, some th, wood -1 
ed hillsides and the rocky mountain 
crags, while others wended their way to 
the romantic fern gullies, where the 
beech - and diek-onias met overhead and 
formed an emerald dome. 
To the north of the bay there was the 
Tosselated Pavement. Fitaroy Glen, and 
other places well worthy of visiting. To 
the south, within a mile or so of the . 
camp, were the Blowhole, Tasman’s 
Arch, the Devil's Kitchen, and Fossil 
Island; while further south was Water¬ 
fall Bay and The Pinnacle. Behind the 
camp rose Cash’s Lookout, and it was 
from here that many of the campers 
used to spend pleasant hours in observ¬ 
ing the panorama spread at the base of 
the hill, and rolling away into the dim 
distance until the blue tones of the sea 
and sky merged into one, or the grey 
shades of the inland mountains were ab¬ 
sorbed by (lie clouds. As the campers 
boiled their billies among such sur¬ 
roundings ne these it is little no be 
wondered at that they should desire to 
know something of tlie early history of 
the locality, and that such should be 
asked for and given in impromptu talks 
by those who chanced to be conversant 
with it. 
With clear autumn skies and scarcely 
a ripple on the water for the whole 
period of the camp, 1 it was only natural 
that every advantage should be taken of 
tho beautiful weather and excursions 
made to the numerous places of interest. 
Here all sections found much to admire, 
while the more scientific members pur¬ 
sued their botanical or zoological studies, 
and at the same time made holiday in 
true camping spirit. The botanical 
section, under the leadership of Air. 
Bodway, had a busy time. As regards 
the zoology, we were unable to undertake 
ally marine dredging work this year, 
owing to the laek of a suitable boat. It 
is also to be regretted that the native 
mammalian fauna of Tasmania cannot 
be studied without long excursions be¬ 
ing made into the less settled parts of 
the bush. The present indiscriminate 
destruction of our native fauna is a 
matter that demands immediate atten¬ 
tion if we are to preserve certain 
species from extinction. One day dur¬ 
ing; the eanip a number of us spent dig¬ 
ging in the sandhills in an endeavour 
to locate some more aboriginal remains, 
as a few months ago I had removed 
portion .‘ of about a score of skeletons 
from this locality lo the Tasmanian 
.Museum (as reported in the proceedings 
of the lioyal Society of Tasmania for 
1918). We now long for relics of the 
extinct Tasmania a.hoiiginals, and 
they have a high scientific value. But 
we do not take heed of the teaching of 
history. Unless active steps are taken, 
many highly interesting forms of our na¬ 
tive fauna will soon be as extinct as 
the Tasmanian aboriginal and the Tas¬ 
manian emu. 
Batter protection should also be afford- 
‘ed our natural beauty spots. The won¬ 
der- nf (file Blowhole and Tasman's 
Arch attract thousands of tourists to 
this locality, and tho native flora around 
these places should be preserved. In- 
otead of this, we found the country 
cleared by fire. A pretty patch of na¬ 
tive trees near the Blowhole was burnt 
out on Easter Sunday, and was evidently 
wilfully set on fire. As well as better 
protection being afforded to safeguard 
tho natural features, a little expendi- 
