XXV111 HISTORY OF 
Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa; the whole of the Wairau Valley, from the 
mouth of the river to its sources in the rugged Spenser Mountains; the 
upper Clarence Valley, with its tributaries; the Waiau and Hurunui 
Valleys, with the adjacent mountains; also the Canterbury Plains and 
various parts of Banks Peninsula. His discoveries included many singular 
and prominent species, and the genus T'raversia was named in his honour 
by Sir J. D. Hooker. He contributed many papers and addresses more 
or less relating to the botany of the colony to the “ Transactions of the 
New Zealand Institute.” and was an earnest and assiduous supporter of 
botanical research up to the time of his death in 1903. 
The well-known geologist and explorer Sir Julius Haast first landed at 
Auckland in 1858. Meeting Dr. Hochstetter, the geologist to the “* Novara ” 
expedition, he travelled with him through the greater part of the interior 
of the North Island, subsequently visiting portions of the Nelson District. 
After Hochstetter’s departure, he accepted an engagement from the Nelson 
Provincial Government to explore the western and southern portions of 
the province, a work which occupied the greater portion of 1860, and during 
which he became familiar with the alpine vegetation of that part of the 
colony. In the following year he was appointed geologist for the Province 
of Canterbury, and at once commenced a series of expeditions into the then 
little-known Southern Alps for the purpose of studying their geology and 
physical structure, and of forming botanical and zoological collections. 
The botanical results, with which we are alone concerned, proved to be 
most important, and cast a flood of light on the nature and distribution 
of the alpine flora of the colony. I quite concur with Sir J. D. Hooker's 
opinion that it is difficult to imagine how Sir Julius Haast, with so many 
and such arduous duties as surveyor and geologist, could have personally 
effected so much for botany as he has done. Most of his botanical work 
was performed in the years between 1860 and 1870, but his interest in the 
subject remained undiminished until his death in 1887. His name is appro- 
priately commemorated in the genus Haastia, the three or four species 
of which rank amongst the most curious and remarkable in the flora. His 
collections were either forwarded to Kew or distributed among Huropean 
museums, but few being retained in the colony. 
Dr. Lauder Lindsay, a well-known British botanist, visited New Zealand 
in the summer of 1861-62, and spent nearly four months in investigating 
the botany of eastern Otago, the district examined stretching from Dunedin 
to the mouth of the Clutha River, and inland to Tuapeka. The results 
of his journey were published in 1868 under the title of “* Contributions to 
New Zealand Botany,” with four coloured plates. Dr. Lindsay gives the 
total number of species collected at 612, of which 199 were phaenogams and 
413 cryptogams. The memoir contains much information of value, the 
critical notes in particular being copious and interesting. 
Mr. John Buchanan arrived in New Zealand prior to 1860, taking up 
his residence in Dunedin. He at once commenced an assiduous study of 
the native vegetation, making many important discoveries and collecting 
large suites of specimens. In 1862 he accepted the appointment of draughts- 
man and botanist to the Geological Survey of Otago, then being organized 
by Dr. (now Sir James) Hector. In the two or three years immediately 
following he accompanied Sir James Hector in a succession of adventurous 
journeys, during which a great part of central and western Otago was 
visited and explored. The collections made, which were mostly forwarded 
to Kew, contained many interesting and remarkable discoveries, among 
