We remained at Sydney, refitting ship and enjoying the unaccustomed pleasures of civilized society, from the 23rd of January, 1881, until the 16th of April, 1881, but as little of general interest occurred during this period, and as Sydney with its surroundings is a place about which so much has been written by better pens than mine, I think I shall be exercising a judicious discretion by passing over this period in silence, and resuming the narrative from the time when we started on our next surveying cruise.

On leaving Sydney we received a welcome addition to our numbers in the person of Mr. W. A. Haswell, a professional zoologist, residing at Sydney, who expressed a wish to accompany us as far as Torres Straits, in order that he might have opportunities of studying the crustacean fauna of the east coast of Australia. He was consequently enrolled as an honorary member of our mess, and Captain Maclear kindly accommodated him with a sleeping place in his cabin. I am indebted to Mr. Haswell for much valuable information concerning the marine zoology of Australia.

Steaming northwards, along the east coast of Australia, the first place at which we anchored was Port Curtis, in Queensland, where we took up a berth in the outer roads close to the Gatcombe Head lighthouse. The place bore a rather desolate appearance. There was no building in sight except the lighthouse. The beach was lined with a dense fringe of mangrove bushes, behind which rose a straggling forest of gums and grass trees (Xanthorrhoea), and for a long time we saw no living thing excepting several large fish-eagles (HaliÆetus leucogaster), and an odd gull that hovered about our stern, picking up the garbage that drifted away from the ship.

On the following morning two of us landed and set to work to explore the mudflats, which, stretching out for a long distance from the beach, were laid bare by the ebb tide. As we ranged along in search of marine curiosities, we encountered a solitary individual attired in the light and airy costume of a pajama sleeping suit, and carrying a Westly-Richards rifle on his shoulder. We soon made his acquaintance, and found that he was in quest of wild goats, the descendants of some domestic animals originally let loose by the keeper of the lighthouse. He was an Englishman named Eastlake, and held the position of "government immigration agent" on board a ninety-ton schooner, the Isabella, which at the time was anchored just outside the lighthouse point, awaiting a favourable wind to enable her to put to sea. She was engaged in the "labour traffic" and was just then about to return to the Solomon Islands with some "time-expired" native labourers. The Queensland government compels every vessel engaged in the "labour traffic" to carry an immigration agent, who is accredited to and salaried by the government. His duty is to see that the natives who are shipped from the islands for transit to Queensland come of their own free will, and under a proper contract, and that during the voyage they are treated well and are furnished with proper accommodation, and are dieted according to a scale laid down by the government. In the afternoon I accompanied Mr. Eastlake on board. The Isabella, a vessel of ninety tons, was allowed to carry eighty-five natives besides her crew of some half-a-dozen hands. She had now on board about a dozen natives of New Hebrides, who had completed their time as contract labourers in Queensland, and were about to be returned to their island home. The skipper of the vessel was an old Welshman, who, in the true spirit of hospitality, did the honours of the ship, and pressed me to partake of such luxuries as the stores in his cuddy afforded.

Among the articles which the New Hebrides men had purchased in Queensland with the proceeds of their labours were a number of old muskets, which they seemed to set great store by. These weapons are probably destined to be brought into action against some future "labour vessel," or "slaver," as they are commonly called by the Australians, which may violate the provision of the "Kidnapping Act" by forcible abduction of natives.

We worked the dredge from the ship as she swung round her anchor in seven fathoms of water, and also dragged it from a boat in shallower water inshore. Conspicuous by their abundance amongst the contents of the dredge, and by their curious habit of making a loud snapping noise with the large pincer-claw, were the shrimps of the genus Alpheus. When placed in water in a glass jar, the sound produced exactly resembles the snap which is heard when a tumbler is cracked from unequal expansion by hot water. We also obtained a good many whitish fleshy GorgoniÆ, and among Polyzoa the genera Crisia and Eschara afforded a good many specimens. A moderate-sized brownish Astrophyton was generally found entangled in the swabs, but in most cases some of its brittle limbs had parted company with the disc, so that we got scarcely a single perfect specimen. A good many crabs were found on the foreshore; among others were species of the genera Ozius, Gelasimus, and Thalassina; the latter a lobster-like crustacean which burrows deeply in the mud about the mangrove bushes, and throws up around the aperture of its burrow a conical pile of mud.

On April 23rd we got under way, and steamed for five miles further up the bay, anchoring immediately off the settlement of "Gladstone." Nothing could exceed the hospitality shown to us by the inhabitants of this quiet little Utopia. Our stay of five days was occupied by an almost continuous round of festivities, during which we were driven about the country, had a cricket-match, shooting expeditions, two balls in the Town Hall, and sundry other amusements. The settlement contains a population of only 300, and seems to have been of late years rather receding than advancing in numbers, as many of the settlers had moved on to other more promising centres of industry. There was the old story of a projected railway which was to open up the country, develop its hidden resources, connect it with the neighbouring town of Rockhampton—distant about eighty miles—and give a fresh impetus to trade; but the hopes of its construction were visionary.

We made several shooting excursions in quest of bird specimens, and found the pied grallina (G. picata), the butcher bird (a species of Grauculus), the garrulous honeyeater (Myzantha garrula), the laughing jackass (Dacelo gigas), and many doves and flycatchers abundant in the immediate vicinity of the settlement. Walking one day through the forest about two miles inland, we came upon a grove of tall eucalyptus trees, on the upper branches of which were myriads of paroquets, making an almost deafening noise as they flew hither and thither, feeding on the fragrant blossoms. Among them were three species of Trichoglossus, viz., T. novÆhollandiÆ, T. rubritorquis, and T. chrysocolla. We also shot specimens of the friar bird (Tropidorhynchus corniculatus), and several honeyeaters, flycatchers, and shrikes; so that as a place for bird collecting it was exceedingly rich, both in numbers and species.

We got under way on the 30th of April, in the morning, and on the following day anchored off the largest and most northern of the Percy Islands. I landed with Haswell in the afternoon, and after exploring the beach in search of marine specimens, we directed our steps towards the interior of the island. We followed a narrow winding foot track, which led us to a rudely-built hut, in which dwelt an old Australian colonist named Captain Allen, to whom the island virtually belongs. He had a small kitchen garden in the bed of a valley, through which ran a tiny stream; and his live stock consisted of a herd of goats and a number of poultry. We understood that he intended eventually to undertake regular farming operations, but that he at present merely occupied the land in order to retain the "pre-emptive" right until the Queensland government should be in a position to sell or let it. It appeared that as yet it was not certain whether the colonial government had a clear title to the group of islands, or whether—being on the Great Barrier Reef, and detached from the mainland by a considerable distance—it was still under the control and jurisdiction of the imperial government.

We noticed very few birds: among these were a Ptilotis, a flycatcher, a crow, and a heron; but we were told that in the less frequented parts of the island there were brush turkeys, native pheasants, and black cockatoos.

Among the rocks bordering the shore, a large white-tailed rat—probably of the genus Hydromys—was said to be abundant. The only other mammal recorded was a large fox-bat, a skeleton of which was found hanging on a mangrove bush.

We left our anchorage at the Percy Islands on the morning of the 2nd of May, and on the forenoon of the 3rd steamed into the sheltered waters of Port Molle, i.e., into the strait which separates Long Island from the main shore of Queensland; and we finally came to an anchor in a shallow bay on the west side of Long Island, where we lay at a distance of about half-a-mile from the shore.

The island presented the appearance of undulating hills, covered for the most part with a thick growth of tropical forms of vegetation, but exhibiting a few patches of land devoid of trees, and bearing a rich crop of long tangled grasses. On landing, we found that there was no soil, properly so-called, but that the forest trees, scrub, and grass sprung from a surface layer of shingle, which on close inspection contrasted strangely with the rich and verdant flora which it nourished. Small flocks of great white cockatoos flew around and above the summits of the tallest trees, and by the incessant screaming which they maintained, gave one the idea that the avifauna was more abundant than we eventually found it to be. On the beach we collected shells of the genera Nerita, Terebra, Siliquaria, and OstrÆa, and among the dry hot stones above high-water mark we found in great numbers an Isopod Crustacean, and as the females were bearing ova, Haswell took the opportunity to make some researches into the mode of development of the embryo.

I spent another day accompanying Navigating-Lieutenant Petley, who was then cruising from point to point in one of our whale-boats, determining on the positions for main triangulation. In the course of the day we visited the lighthouse on Dean Island, and on arriving there found a large concourse of blacks on the hill above, looking on our intrusion with great consternation. The lighthouse people told us that the natives, from their different camps on the island, had observed our approach while we were yet a long distance off, and hastily concluding that we were a party of black police coming to disperse (i.e., shoot) them, had fled with precipitation from all parts of the island, to seek the protection of the white inhabitants of the lighthouse. It appeared that some few years previously the natives of Port Molle had treacherously attacked and murdered the shipwrecked crew of a schooner, and in requital for this the Queensland Government had made an example of them by letting loose a party of "black police," who, with their rifles, had made fearful havoc among the comparatively unarmed natives. The "black police," or "black troopers," as they are more commonly called, are a gang of half-reclaimed aborigines, enrolled and armed as policemen, who are distributed over various parts of the colony, and are under the immediate direction of the white police inspectors. Their skill as bush "trackers" is too well known to need description, and the peculiar ferocity with which they behave towards their own countrymen is due to the fact that they are drawn from a part of the continent remote from the scene of their future labours, and from tribes hostile to those against which they are intended to act. Through their instrumentality the aborigines of Queensland are being gradually exterminated. In the official reports of their proceedings, when sent to operate against a troublesome party of natives, the verb "to disperse" is playfully substituted for the harsher term "to shoot."

But to return to our friends at Dean Island. Our peaceful aspect, and a satisfactory explanation on the part of the white people in charge of the lighthouse, soon set matters right, and the wretched blacks were now so delighted at finding their fears to be groundless, that they crowded about us—male and female—to the number of forty or fifty, brought us some boomerangs for barter, and finally shared our lunch of preserved meat and coffee, of which we partook on the rocks near where the boat was moored. I was surprised at noticing a large proportion of children, a circumstance which does not support one of the views put forward to account for the rapid decrease in numbers of the race.

Most of the men had a certain amount of clothing, scanty and ragged though it was, but the children were all stark naked, and some of the women were so scantily attired that the requirements of decency were not at all provided for. They seemed to be fairly well nourished, and from their cheerful disposition I should imagine that they were not undergoing any privations which to them would be irksome.

On re-embarking, we sailed along the western shore of the island, and again landed in a small bay about a mile to the northward of the lighthouse. We then proceeded to ascend a hill, on which Petley wished to erect a mark for surveying purposes. The natives, although quick enough about following us along the seashore, showed no inclination to follow us up the hillside, and before we had gone a few hundred yards they had all dropped off. Possibly the fear of snakes was the deterring influence.

Port Molle proved to be an excellent place for obtaining examples of the marine fauna of this part of the coast. A great extent of reefs was exposed at low spring tides, exhibiting Corals of the groups AstrÆa, Meandrina, Porites, Tubipora, Orbicella, and Caryophyllia, besides a profusion of soft Alcyonarian Polyps. Holothurians were abundant, as were also some large Tubicolous Annelids, with very long gelatinous thread-like tentacles. We also got a few PolynÆ, and several other annelids of the family AmphinomidÆ. A Squilla, with variegated greenish markings on the test, made itself remarkable by the vigour with which it resented one's attempts, for the most part unintentional, to invade the privacy of its retreat. An active black Goniograpsus was a common object on the reefs, and the widely distributed Grapsus variegatus was also met with. Haswell obtained from the interior of the large Pinna shells examples of a curious small lobster-like crustacean, which is of parasitic—or perhaps rather commensal—habit, like Pinnotheres. Not uncommon in the rock pools was a bivalve shell of the genus Lima, which on being disturbed swims about in a most lively manner by flapping its elongated valves, exhibiting at the same time a scarlet mantle fringed with a row of long prehensile tentacles. Shells of the genera Arca, Tridacna, and Hippopus were common, and three or four species of CyprÆa were seen.

We dredged several times with one of the steam-cutters in depths varying from twelve to twenty fathoms, obtaining several species of Comatulas, two or three Astrophytons, Starfishes, Ophiurids, Echini of the genera Salmacis and Goniocidaris, small Holothurians, many species of Annelids, two or three Sponges, a great variety of handsome GorgoniÆ, Hydroids of the group Sertularia and Plumularia, Polyzoa of the genera Eschara, Retepora, Myriozoum, Cellepora, Biflustra, Salicornaria, Crisia, Scrupocellaria, Amathia, etc., and Crustaceans of the genera Myra, Hiastemis, Lambrus, Alpheus, Huenia, and many others. Among the Annelids was one with long glassy opalescent bristles surrounding the oral aperture, and projecting forwards to a distance of one and a half inches from the prostomium. Another Annelid (species unknown) was peculiar in having two long barb-like tentacles projecting backwards from the under part of the head. On examining the proboscis of the latter, while it was resting in sea-water in a glass trough, Haswell noticed a number of singular bodies being extruded from the mouth, which he eventually ascertained, to his great astonishment, were the partially developed young of the worm.

One of the large Astrophytons which came up with the dredge was seen to exhibit nodular swellings on several parts of the arms, but principally at the points of bifurcation. Each of these swellings was provided with one or more small apertures, and had the general appearance of being a morbid growth. On incising the dense cyst-wall a cavity was exposed, containing a tiny red gastropodous mollusc (of the genus Stilifer), enveloped in a mass of cheesy matter, which contained moreover one or two spherical white pellets of (probably) fÆcal matter. Haswell obtained about a dozen specimens of the shell from a single astrophyton.

Port Denison is only forty miles to the northward of Port Molle, so that we accomplished the passage in about six hours, and before dusk took up a berth in the shallow bay about a mile and a half from the shore, and three-quarters from the end of a long wooden pier, which was built some years ago in the vain hope of developing the shipping trade of the port. The township of "Bowen" is built on a larger scale than "Gladstone"—of which we had such pleasant reminiscences—but did not appear to be in a more flourishing condition, a "gold-rush" further to the northward having drawn off part of the population, and some of the trade which had previously gone through the port. On the outskirts of the town were some large encampments of the blacks, who lived in a primitive condition, and afforded an interesting study for an ethnologist. Like most of the Australian aborigines, their huts were little better than shelter screens to protect them from the wind and sun. In some instances the twigs on the lee side of a bush, rudely interlaced with a few leafy boughs torn from the neighbouring trees, afforded all the shelter that was required. Both men and women, especially the latter, seemed to be in a filthy, degraded state. They had just received their yearly gifts of blankets from the Queensland Government—I believe the only return which they receive for the appropriation of their land. It appears, however, that they do not much appreciate the donation, for soon after the general issue many of the blankets are bartered with the whites for tobacco and grog. Some of the young men are really fine-looking fellows, and seemed to feel all the pride of life and liberty as they strutted about encumbered with a variety of their native weapons, among which I saw the nulla, waddy, shield, huge wooden sword, spear without throwing-stick, and different patterns of boomerangs. They are very expert in the use of the latter. It was the first time that I had seen the boomerang thrown, and I can safely say that its performances, when manipulated by a skilful hand, fully realized my expectations. I noticed that whatever gyrations it was intended to execute, it was always delivered from the hand of the thrower with its concave side foremost—a circumstance I was not previously aware of. Some of the children were amusing themselves in practising the art, using instead of the regular boomerang short pieces of rounded stick bent to about the usual angle of the finished weapon; and I was surprised at noticing that even these rude substitutes could be made to dart forward, wheel in the air, and return to near the feet of the thrower. I had always imagined up to this time that the flat surface was an essential feature in the boomerang.

The foreshore at low-water afforded us examples of a great many flat Echinoderms of the genus Peronella, Starfishes of the genus Asteracanthus, and Crustaceans of the genera Macrophthalmus, Matuta, Mycteris, etc. We made several hauls of the dredge in four to five fathoms of water, obtaining a quantity of large Starfishes and Gorgonias, and Crustaceans of the family PorcellanidÆ.

We left Port Denison on the 24th of May, and continued our coasting voyage northward, anchoring successive nights off Cape Bowling Green, Hinchinbrock Island, Fitzroy Island, Cooktown, and Lizard Island. We landed at the island last mentioned for a few hours. On the shore of the bay in which we anchored was a "Beche-de-mer" establishment, belonging to a Cooktown firm, and worked by a party of two white men, three Chinese, and six Kanakas. The buildings consisted of two or three rudely-built dwelling huts, and a couple of sheds for curing and storing the trepangs. We learned from the "Boss" that his men had been working the district for the previous twelve months, and having now cleared off the trepangs from all the neighbouring reefs, he expected soon to move on to some other location further north.

The Beche-de-mer industry seems simple enough to conduct. The sluggish animals are picked off the reefs at low tide, and at the close of each day the produce as soon as landed is transferred to a huge iron tank, propped up on stones, in which it is boiled. The trepangs are then slit open, cleaned, and spread out on gratings in a smoke-house until dry, when they are ready for shipping to the Chinese market. The best trepangs are the short stiff black ones with prominent tubercles.

Since the above notes were written, a horrible catastrophe occurred at Lizard Island. The bulk of the party had gone on a cruise among the islands to the northward, leaving the station in charge of a white woman—wife of one of the proprietors—and two Chinamen. A party of Queensland blacks came over from the mainland, massacred these three wretched people, and destroyed all the property on the station.

On the evening of the 29th of May we anchored off Flinders Island, in latitude 14° 8' S., and before darkness came on we spent a few hours in exploring. The shore on which we landed was covered with large blocks of quartzite stained with oxide of iron, and disseminated among them were many large irregularly-shaped masses of hÆmatite. Immediately above the beach, and among the familiar screw-pines, we saw a few fan palms, the first met with on our northern voyage.

Groping among the rocks of the foreshore, I encountered a multitude of crabs of the genera Porcellana and Grapsus, and caught after much trouble a large and uncommonly fierce specimen of the Parampelia saxicola. On anchoring, the dredge had been lowered from the ship, and when hauled up after the ship had swung somewhat with the tide, a curious species of Spatangus, a Leucosia, and a somewhat mutilated Phlyxia, were obtained.

Early on the following morning I accompanied Captain Maclear and Mr. Haswell on a boat trip to Clack Island (five miles from our anchorage). We were anxious to see and examine some drawings by the Australian aborigines, which were discovered in the year 1821 by Mr. Cunningham, of the Beagle, (see "King's Australia," vol. ii., p. 25), and since probably unvisited. After about an hour's sailing we reached the island—a bold mass of dark rock resembling in shape a gunner's quoin; but we now found it no easy matter to find a landing-place. On the south-east extremity was a precipitous rocky bluff about eighty feet in height, against whose base the sea broke heavily, while the rest of the island—low and fringed with mangroves—was fenced in by a broad zone of shallow water, strewn with boulders and coral knolls, over which the sea rose and fell in a manner dangerous to the integrity of the boat. After many trials and much risk to the boat, we at length succeeded in jumping ashore near the south-east or weather extremity of the island. Here we found abundant traces of its having been frequently visited by natives, but it did not appear as if they had been there during at least half-a-dozen years prior to the time of our visit. We saw the drawings, as described by Cunningham, covering the sides and roofs of galleries and grottoes, which seemed to have been excavated by atmospheric influences in a black fissile shale. This shale, which gave a banded appearance to the cliff, was disposed in strata of about five feet in thickness, and was interbedded with strata of pebbly conglomerate—the common rock of the islet. In these excavations, almost every available surface of smooth shale was covered with drawings, even including the roofs of low crevices where the artist must have worked lying prone on his back, and with his nose almost touching his work. Most of the drawings were executed in red ochre, and had their outlines accentuated by rows of white dots, which seemed to be composed of a sort of pipe-clay. Some, however, were executed in pale yellow on a brick-red ground, and in many instances the objects depicted were banded with rows of white dots crossing each other irregularly, and perhaps intended in a rudimentary way to convey the idea of light and shade. The objects delineated (of which I made such sketches as I was able) were sharks, dolphins, dugong, turtle, boomerangs, waddies, shields, woomerahs, pigs, dogs, birds, jelly-fish, etc. There was one well-defined sketch of a medusa, showing the position of the radiating canals and eight marginal tentacles. Trochus shells in great profusion were strewn about the old camping places, as well as bones of the dugong and turtle, the pursuit of the latter having been probably the main inducement to visit the island.

A careful hunting of the holes and crevices in the face of the cliff resulted in the acquisition of some portable specimens of native art in the shape of drawings on old pieces of driftwood, on Melo shells, turtle skulls, and tortoise shell. These luckily afforded us good examples of the style of art, and were accordingly, and without many conscientious scruples as to the sacred rights of ownership, carried off in triumph and deposited on board.

After leaving Flinders Island, we continued our voyage northward, anchoring each of the three following nights successively at Clairmont Island No. 6, Clairmont Island No. 10, and Bird Island. On each occasion we dredged to a small extent, and collected specimens from the reefs and beaches. On the evening of the 2nd of June we entered the narrow strait which separates Albany Island from the mainland of north-east Australia, having the small settlement of Somerset on our port hand, and on our starboard side a pearl-shell station known as Port Albany. The anchorage at Somerset being of bad repute on account of the strong currents which sweep through it, we steamed on to the northern extremity of Albany Island, where at about 4 o'clock in the evening we dropped our anchor in six fathoms. A party of officers landed at once on the shore of the mainland, and while some wandered through the woods in search of birds, the boat was employed in dredging over the bottom of mud and sand in depths varying from three to five fathoms. Among the contents of several hauls were a large number of Comatulas, a few Ophiurids, several examples of a Pentaceros, a Goniocidaris, a spider-crab of the genus "Egeria," an Alpheus, a Galathea clinging to the feathered arms of a purple Comatula, and many specimens of an Isopod adhering to the oral surfaces of the comatula discs. There were also a few shrimps, two species of Murex, and a volute. Some small fishes were also brought up—apparently a species of Platycephalus.

On the following morning some of the boats were employed in searching for an uncharted rock which was reported by the pearl fishermen as existing somewhere near our anchorage, while Haswell and I had the use of a whaleboat for a couple of hours' dredging. We worked across the channel towards the mainland in eight fathoms over a bottom of mud and sand, obtaining a quantity of Comatulas and Gorgonias, a large grotesque Murex, several small Synapta, and a large flat sponge.