Journal and Proceedings

OF

The Royal Society of
Western Australia.

PATRON: HIS MAJESTY THE KING.

Volume V.

1918 - 1919 .

The Authors of Papers are alone responsible for the statements
made and the opinions expressed therein.

PRICE : Five Shillings.

IPeitb :

M6395/2 .

BY AUTHORITY : FRED. WM. SIMPSON, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.

1920.

111 .

CONTENTS

Page

List of Officers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• iv.

List of Members ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... v.

Annual Report — 1918-1919 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ix.

Statement of Receipts and Expenditure ... ... ... ... ... x.

Proceedings ... ♦... ... xi.

List of Societies and Institutions whose publications have been received xiv.

Constitution and Rules ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xvi.

Papers : Mr. W. .1. Hancock (President) on kk /Science and- Civilisation " 1

Professor Woolnough on " Physiographic dements of the Swan

Coastal Plain ” t .. ... ... ... ... ... 15

Mr. J. S. Battye on “ Causes which led to the Colonisation of

Western Australia'" ... 21

Hon. W. Kingsmill on “ Acclimatisation " 33

Mr. W. A. Saw on “ Some aspects of town planning" ... 39

Mr. A. R. L. Wright on k Houses in Western Australia " ... 62

Mr. D. A. Herbert on “ The Western Australian Christmas

Tree ” ... 72

Professor A. I). Ross on ' k Light and the Ether " ... ... 89

Dr. E. S. Simpson on “ Hisingerite " ... ... ... ... 95

Index ... . . ... 98

PLATES AND FIGURES.

Page

Prof , Woolnough' s Paper :

Fig. 1. — Generalised Section of the Swan Coastal Plain 20

Mr, W, A, Saw's Paper :

Figs. 1 to 24. — Views illustrating matters relating to Town Planning 49-61

Mr, Herbert's Pa/per :

Fig. 1. — Section of stem ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 74

Fig. 2. — Sections showing mode of growth 75

Fig. 3. — Medullary rays and mucilage canal ... ... ... ... 76

Fig. 4. — View of a tree 78

Fig. 5. — A young root 79

Fig. 6. — An old root 80

Fig. 7. — Commencement of attack of a root on a root of Jacksonia ... 82

Fig. 8. — Haustoriogen on a young root 83

Fig. 9. — Haustoriogen on a larger root * 82

Fig. 10. — Section of Haustoriogen ... ... ... ... ... ... 84

Fig. 11. — Carrots attacked by haustoriogen 87

Mr. .1, R. L. I! 'right's Paper:

Plates 1, 2, 3, and 4. — Plans of Australian houses ... ... ... 71

Professor Ross's Paper :

Fig. 1. — Deviation of light 94

IV.

LIST OF OFFICERS 1918-1919.

PATRON :

His Majesty the King.

VICE-PATRON:

His Excellency The Right Hon. Sir William Ellis on- Macartney,

P.C., K.C.M.G.

PRESIDENT:

William J. Hancock, M.Tnst.C.E., MJ.E.E., Hon. Lieut. A.A.M.C,

VICE-PRESIDENTS:

G. L. Sutton.

E. S. Simpson, I). Sc., B.E., E.C.S.

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

Professor W. J. Dakin, D.Sc., F.L.S., F.Z.S.

A. Gibb Maitland, F.G.S.

A. Montgomery, M.A., F.G.S.

D. D. Patou, M.A., M.B.

C. E. Lane- Poole.

Professor A. D. Ross, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.R.A.S.

HONORARY SECRETARY:

Mrs. C. M. G. Dakin, B.Sc.

HONORARY TREASURER:

F. E. A Hum.

HONORARY LIBRARIAN:

W. E. Shelton, B.Sc.

HONORARY AUDITORS:

A. O. Watkins, A.R.S.M.

A. Knapp, B.O.A.

PAST PRESIDENTS:

1914- 15— Professor W. J. Dakin, D.Sc., F.L.S., F.Z.S.

1915- 16— A. Gibb Maitland, F.G.S.

1916- 17 — Professor A. D. Ross, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.R.A.S.

1917- 18 — A. Montgomery, M.A., F.G.S.

POSTAL xVDDRESS AND PLACE OF MEETING:

The Museum,

Beaufort Street,

Perth,

Western Australia.

V.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

Honorary Members.

Bird, Mrs. A. M., The Old Farm, Albany.

Cooke, Prof. W. E., M.A., F.R.A.S., The Observatory, Sydney, New
South Wales.

French, Charles, F.L.S., F.R.H.S., Melbourne.

Forrest, Rt. Hon. Baron, G.C.M.G., P.C. (deceased, Sept., 1919).
Maiden, J. H., F.R.S., F.L.S., Government Botanist, Sydney.
Milligan, A. W., c/o Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union,
Melbourne.

Corresp ending M e m b er.

Hedley, C., F.L.S., Australian Museum, Sydney.

Ordinary Mem b ers.

Alder, Miss, 237 Beaufort Street, Perth.

Aldrich, F., Fisheries Department, Perth.

Alexander, W. B., M.A., Museum, Perth.

Allum, F. E., Royal Mint, Perth.

Allum, Miss Enid, 60 Mount Street, Perth.

Andrews, Cecil, M.A., View Street, Cottesloe.

Blackall, W. E., M.D., F.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., Leake Street, Cottesloe.
Blatchford, i\, B.A., Mines Department, Perth.

Boas, I. 11., H.Sc., Technical School, Perth.

Boultbee, G. F., Commercial Union Chambers, Perth.

Bowley, IL, Geological Survey Department, Perth.

Browne, Maurice, M.A., B.A., Government Smelter, Ravensthorpe.
Clark, E. deC., M.A., Geological Survey Department, Perth.

(Teeth, F. B., 39 Broome Street, Cottesloe,

(Teeth, Miss M. E., 38 Wilson Street, Perth.

Curlewis, IJ. B., B.A., F.R. A.S., Observatory, Perth.

Dakin, Prof. W. J., I). Sc., F.L.S., F.Z.S., University, Perth.

Dakin, Mrs. W. J., B.Se., Charles Street, South Perth.

Pa rqnh arson, R.A., M.A., M.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey Office,
Perth.

Feldtmann, E. R., Geological Survey Department, Perth.

Grasby, W. Catton, F.L.S., West Australian Chambers, Perth.

Gray, H. J., M.B., B.S., 25 Richardson Street, Perth.

Hall, A. J., 7 Ruby Street, North Perth.

Hancock, W. J., M.I.C.E., M.I.E.E., Public Works Department,
Perth. '

Hancock, Mrs. W, J., 47 Forrest Avenue, Perth.

Herbert, D. A., B.Sc,, Government Analyst’s Department, Perth.
Holmes, H. D., W.A. Bank, Perth.

Honman, €'. S., B.M.E., Geological Survey Department, Perth.
Johnson, Miss E., ‘'Glen Lyn, ” Shenton Road, Claremont.

Johnston, Capt. F., Wyndham.

Kingsmill, Hon. W., B.A., M.L.C., 49 Outrim Street, Perth.

Knapj), A., B.O.A., Altona Street, Perth.

Lane-Poole, C. E., Forestry Department, Perth.

Lefroy, H. Maxw r ell, Yentnor Avenue, Perth.

Le Souef, E. A., B.V.Se., Zoological Gardens, Perth.

List of Members — continued.

Lipfert, O. H., The Museum, Perth.

Lotz, H. J., F.R.C.S., D.P.H., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., Palace Court,
Perth.

Lovegrove, F., ALB., 8 Australian General Hospital, Fremantle.
Lowe, Miss, Government Girls’ School, James Street, Perth.
Lukin, Mrs., Roberts Road, Subiaco.

Maitland, A. Gibb, F.G.S., Geological Survey Department, Perth.
Maitland, Mrs. Gibb, Yentnor Avenue, Perth.

Male, A., M.L.A., King’s Park Hoad, Perth.

McGhie, L., Department of Agriculture, Perth
McKail, IL, Perth Boys’ School.

McMillan, Horn Sir Robert, Chief Justice, View Street, Cottesloe.
Montgomery, A,, M.A., F.G.S., Mines Department, Perth.
Montgomery, Mrs. A., JO Richardson Street, Perth.

Nisbet, Miss J. A., Fdu cation Department, Perth.

O’Connor, Dr. AT., Weld Club, Perth.

Oldham, Hugh, Public Works Department, Perth.

Parkinson, W. G\, Carnegie Institution Magnetic Observatory,
Watheroo.

Paton, 1). D., M.A., ALB., Ch.B., D.O., 68 St. George’s Terrace,
Perth.

Perry, B., Kenny Street, West Guildford.

Riley, Right Rev. C. 0. L., D.D., Archbishop of Perth, 223 St.

George’s Terrace, Perth.

Rolland, R. A., 29 Walker Avenue, Perth.

Ross, Prof. A. D., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.R.A.S., University,
Perth.

Ross, Mrs. A, D., B.Sc., 41 Ventnor Avenue, Perth.

Saw, W. A., Land Titles Office, Perth.

Shelton, Mrs., 20 Kershaw Street, Subiaco.

Simpson, E. S., D.Sc., B.E., F.C.S., Geological Survey Department,
Perth.

Sutherland, T. G., Fremantle Trading Co., Fremantle.

Sutton, G. L., Department of Agriculture.

Shields, W. IL, B.Sc., 42 Swan bourne Terrace, Cottesloe Beach.
Talbot, IT. W. B., Geological Survey Department, Perth.

Taylor, W. IL, 232 St. George’s Terrace, Perth.

Thompson, J., B.E., M.Tnst.C.E., Esplanade, Cottesloe.

Thorp, C. G., M.B., Onslow, W.A.

Tomlinson, A., M.Sc., University, Perth.

Trethowau, W., M.S., 267 St. George’s Terrace, Perth.

Watkins, A. 0., A.R.S.AL, F.G.S., 67 Malcolm Street, Perth.
Whallev, Rev. D. T., Alborton, S.A.

Webster, Alfred, ALD., 229 St. George’s Terrace, Perth.

Wood, J. A., Government School, Darkan.

Woolnough, Prof. W. G., D.Sc., University, Perth.

Zabel, Mrs. F., 621 Hay Street, Perth.

A ssoeiate Mem b ers.

Allen, F. B., ALA., B.Sc.. F.L.S., Technical School, Perth.

Campbell, W. D., A.K.C., F.G.S., A.AI.T.C.E., Lucknow, St.

Willoughby, New South Wales.

Clark, J., 54 Jewell Street, Perth.

Cleland, J. Burton, M.D., Department of Public Health, Macquarrie
Street, Sydney, New" South Wales.

Creeth, Mrs. F. B., Broome Street, Cottesloe Beach.

Vll.

List of Members — continued.

Duffy, Mrs. Gavau, .11 Heytesbury Road, Subiaco.

Gribble, Rev. E. R., Forrest River Mission, Wyndham.

Hardy, G. H., Museum, Hobart, Tas.

Lapsley, R. G., Government Analyst’s Department, Perth.

Le Mesurier, 0. J. R., 39 St. George’s Terrace, Perth.

Lodge, Mrs., 100 Outram Street, Perth.

Norman, Mrs., Palace Court, Perth.

Patou, Mrs., 16 King’s Park Road, Perth.

Pearson, H. K., B.Se., Modern School, Perth.

Shelton, W. E., B.Sc., Modern School, Perth.

Shelton, Mrs. W. E., 116 Heytesbury Road, Subiaco.

Shelton, Miss K., 20 Kershaw Street, Subiaco.

Shugg, 11. G., School of Agriculture, Xarrogin.

Simpson, Mrs. E. S., ‘ ‘ (’arlingf ord, ’ ’ Mill Point, South Perth.
Steedman, H., Suburban Road, Victoria Park, Perth.

Watson, Mrs. IT., * Mnclibrayoek, ’ ’ South Perth.

Watson, Miss P., 1 Mnchbrayock, ” South Perth.

Wright, A. R. L., L.R.I.B.A., Public Works Department, Perth.
Wood, W. E., Existing Lines Branch, Railway Department, Perth.

S t udent M em her.

Montgomery, S. K., 30 Richardson Street, Perth.

Total Membership.

Honorary Members . . . . . . 6

Corresponding Member . . . . . . 1

Ordinary Members . . . . . . 76

Associate Members . . . . 24

Student Member . . . . . . 1

108

IX:

ROYAL

SOCIETY OR WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
innual Report for the Year 1918-19*

Ladies and Gentlemen —

Your Council beg to submit the annual report for the year
ending 30th June, 1919.

During the year eight new members and four associate mem-
bers were elected and four resigned.

A communication was received from the Royal Society of New
South Wales conveying a request from the Royal Society of London
that a conference of Royal Societies of Australia should be held
concerning matters of interest, and inviting this Society to send dele-
gates to a conference to be held in July at Sydney. The Council
telegraphed to Mr. Maiden of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, and
Professor Cooke, of the Sydney Observatory, asking them to repre-
sent our Society and both these members agreed to represent our
Society at the conference.

During the year there were eleven meeting's of the Council, and
the attendance of members was as follows: — Mr. Hancock 8, Mr.
Sutton 8, Mr. Simpson 8, Mr. Shelton 10, Mr. Allum 10, Mr. Mont-
gomery 7, Professor Ross 9, Professor Dakin 7, Dr. Paton 2, Mr.
Lane-Poole 2, and Mrs. Dakin (secretary) 9.

We record with regret the death of Lord Forrest who was one
of the honorary members of the Society.

Since the last Annual Meeting Mr. W. E. Shelton, B.Sc., has
accepted the position of Librarian left vacant by the departure of
Dr. Stoward for the Eastern States.

The Treasurer's Report shows a credit balance of £36 5s. 4d.
on the 30th June, 1919.

Ihe Publication Committee for the year comprised the Presi-
dent, Mr. W. J. Hancock, and Messrs. Montgomery, Allum, and
Shelton. During the year Volumes 111. and IV. have been published
and issued to members.

The List of Library Exchanges has been revised and extended,
and the Council hopes that this will result in many additions of
value, and will be of interest to members.

There were nine General Meetings held during the year and the
following papers have been given: —

L The Physiographic Elements of the Swan Coastal Plain,
by Professor W. G. \\ r oolnough, D.Sc.

2. Causes which led to the colonisation oE Western Australia,,
by J. S. Lattve (by invitation of the Council).

X.

3. Acclimatisation, by Hon. Walter Kingsmill, B.A.

1. Some aspects of Town Planning, by W. A. Saw.

5. Sheep Disease in Western Australia, by Professor Dakin,

D.Sc.

6. Houses in Western Australia, by A. R. L. Wright, Lie.

R.I.B.A.

7. Nuytsia Floribmda (The Christmas Tree) : Its structure

and parasitism, by D. A. Herbert, B.Se.

8. Light and the Ether, by Professor Ross, D.Sc.

9. Hisingerite from Westonia, by E. S. Simpson, D.Sc.

10. President’s Address on Science and Civilisation, by W. J.
Hancock, M.T.C.E.

The Society had two expeditions during the year, one to Mount
Henry under the leadership of Dr. E. S. Simpson, and the other
to the Observatory by invitation of Mr. IT. B. Curlewis, B.A.

The Annual Conversazione was held at the University on Sat-
urday evening, 28th June, 1919.

Your Council takes this opportunity of acknowledging the cour-
tesy of the University in allowing the Society the use of some of its
rooms on different occasions throughout the year.

WILLIAM J. HANCOCK,

President.

O. M. G. DAKIN,

Hon. Secretary.

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE DURING THE YEAR

ENDED 30th JUNE, 1919.

£ s. cl.

Subscriptions 78 4 0

Interest on Banking Account ... 0 8 8

Author’s fees for extra reprints of

papers 12 4 10

Total Receipts ... ... 90 17 6

Balance in hand at beginning of
year — £ s. cl.

At Bank ... 38 4 8

In Cash ... 0 14 1

38 18 9

£129 16 3

£ s. d.

Printing Vol. III. 37 12 3

Printing Vol. IV. 22 0 0

Lithography Vol. Ill 2 2 9

Lithography Vol. IV 4 16 3

Fees to Trustees of Museum ... 12 0 0
Postage and petty expenses ... 14 19 8

Total Expenditure ... 93 10 11

Balance in hand at end of
year — £ s. d.

At Bank ... 35 8 6

In Cash ... 0 16 10

36 5 4

£129 16 3

(Signed)

Audited and found correct —

(Signed) A. O. WATKINS.

(Signed) A. KNAPP.

5th July, 1919.

F. E. ALBUM,

Hon. Treasurer.

XI.

PROCEEDINGS OF

THE ROYAL SOCIETY
AUSTRALIA.

OF WESTERN

3 Alh August, 1918: Mr. 0. L. Sutton, Vice-President, in the
Chair. Mr. D. A. Herbert was elected a member. Professor Ross
exhibited a drawing* of the Light- curve of the new star in Aqmla from
the beginning of June to date. Mr. Steedman exhibited a cactus
and a palm plant and members discussed the economic value of the
cactus plant* Professor Woolnough contributed a paper on The
Physio graph leal Elements of the Swan Coastal Plain. Messrs. Simp-
son, Montgomery and Grasby took part in the discussion which fol-
lowed.

10 th September, 1018: The President, Mr. W. J« Hancock, in
the Chair. The President referred to the death of Lord Forrest, and
to the loss which the State of Western Australia had sustained. A
message of sympathy with Lady Forrest was passed. Mr. Hugh
Oldham was elected a member; Mrs. Lodge, Mrs. Gavan Duffy, and
Mr. Pearson were elected associate members. Mr. J. S. Battye, on
the invitation of the Council, read a paper on the Reasons for the
Establishment of the Swan River Colong.

8th October, 1918: The President, Mr. W. 1. Hancock, in the
Chair Mrs. Norman was elected an associate member. The Hon.
W. Kings miil gave an address on Ac/Aimatisation, dealing specially
with the work carried on in this State. Professor Dakin, Mr. Le-
Mesnrier and Professor Ross contributed to the discussion.

9 th November, 1918: The President, Mr. W. J. Hancock, in the
Chair. Mr. I. H. Boas was elected a member. Mr. W. A. Saw
read a paper, illustrated by lantern slides, on Some Aspects of Town
Planning. Mr. Allum, Miss Creeth, Professor Boss, and Mr. Shields
discussed the subject of the paper.

10th December , 1918: The President, Mr. W. J. Hancock, in
the Chair. Mr. Montgomery exhibited a specimen of the flower of
the New Zealand Christmas Tree {Metrosideros tomenlosa ), the
Maori name being Pohutukawa. The flower was the first bloom of
a tree about 17 years old which bad been planted in Perth in 1904.
Mr. Simpson exhibited crystals of nure potassium and sodium sul-
phate extracted from West Australian Jarosite. Professor Dakin
read a paper on the so-called Beverley Sheep Disease , giving an
account of his researches on the subject up to date. Dr. Patou and
Mr. Kingsmill discussed various points raised by this investigation.

11 th March , 1919: The President, Mr. W. J. Hancock, in the
Chair. Dr. H. J. Gray, Mr. H. Maxwell I .efrov and Mr. L. McGhie
were elected members. Mr. Wright read a paper on [louses in West-
ern Australia, illustrated by diagrams and lantern slides. A dis-
cussion ensued in which Mr. Shields, Mr. S. K. Montgomery and
Mrs. Dakin took part. Mr. S. Iv. Montgomery exhibited specimens
of a fly of the family A silidae captured carrying its prey.
Mr. J. Clark exhibited some specimens of ant-nest beetles.

Xll.

8 th April , 1919 : The President, Mr. W. J. Hancock, in the
("hair. Mr. H. J. Shugg was elected a member. Mr. D. A. Herbert
read a paper on The West Australian Christmas Tree (Nnytsia flori-
bunda), its structure and parasitism , in which he announced his dis-
covery of definite suctorial organs on the roots; proving* the
parasitic nature of the plant. Professor Dakin, Miss Creeth,
Mr. Shields, Mr. Cation Grasbv, Mr. Alexander and Mr. Lane-Poole
spoke in appreciation of the paper and congratulated the author on
the discovery that he had made. Mr. Sutton exhibited specimens
illustrating an unusual result in the cross-breeding of bearded and
beardless - wheats , being a case in which the character which is usually
dominant appeared as recessive.

Wth April , 1919: The members of the Society, on the invitation
of Mr. Curlewis, visited the Observatory. Mr. Curlewis exhibited
and explained the apparatus in use. The members observed the
Moon and the planets Saturn and Jupiter through the large tele-

scope.

13M May, 1919: The President, Mr. W. J. Hancock, in the
Chair. Mr. G. F. Boultbee was elected a member. Professor Dakin
and Mr. Sutton exhibited examples indicating the operation of Men-
delism in connection with the cross-breeding of wheat. Dr. Simpson
gave a short resume of a paper which he presented on Jlisingerite.
He exhibited a specimen obtained at Westonia, and stated that it
was fhe first time that the finding of this mineral had been recorded
in this State. Mr. Alexander exhibited some specimens of three
forms of white-winged wrens of the genus M alums, viz.: — M. leu -
(Opterus Q. & G., from Dirk Hartog Island, M, edouardi , CampbL,
fiom 1) arrow Island, and M. cyanotiis, Gould, from the mainland. He
pointed out that the two insular forms which were both black and
white had probably been derived independently from the blue and
v I lif e mainland form. Professor Boss gave a resume of a paper
which he presented on Light and the Ether . Pie drew special atten-
tion to the theories of Einstein regarding the bending of a rav of
light passing near to a large body such as the sun, and to the" im-
portance of the conditions provided by solar eclipses for deciding
the question.

10th June , 1919: Mr. W. J.. Hancock delivered his Presidential
Address on Science and Civilisation. Mr. Sutton, Mr. Shields, and
Mr. Wright spoke in appreciation of the address.

28th June , 1919: The Annual Conversazione was held. By the
kind permission of the Senate this gathering took place in the Physi-
cal and Biological Departments of the University.

There was a large attendance of the members and their friends,
and the following exhibits were shown: —

By Professor Dakm: (1) The development of the chick. (2)
The development of the West Australian burrowing frog,
(3) West Australian shells.

XI 11.

By Mr. S. K. Montgomery : Animals thrown up on the sea
beach.

By Mr. A. (' ayzer : West Australian sea-weeds.

By Mr. J. (lark: Ant-nest beetles.

By Mr. G. L. Sutton : (1) Four new varieties of wheat. (2)
Cotton grown at Derbv and Hamel. (3) Flax and millet
from Derby.

By Mr. L. J . Newman : Destructive insects.

By Mr. W. B. 1 lexander : Birds peculiar to South-West Aus-
tralia.

By Mr. E. de (. Clarke and Dr. Simpson : Aluminium ores
from Western Australia.

By Dr. Simpson: Glass sands from the metropolitan area.

Interesting* art craft exhibits were lent by Miss Creetli, Mrs.
Hancock , Mrs. Baton , Mrs. Montgomery, and Mr. Creeth .
Mr. Shelton also had on view a collection of medals, de-
corations and photographs taken from a Turkish officer
in the Palestine campaign.

8th July 9 1919: The Financial Statement for the year ended the
30th June, 1919. was presented and read by the Hon. Treasurer,
and the Annual Report was presented and read by the Hon. Secre-
tary. The nominations for the office-bearers for the ensuing* year
were announced. These coincided with the number of vacancies
and the persons named were therefore declared duly elected. These
names were: —

President — Mr. G. L. Sutton.

Vice-Presidents — Dr. E. S. Simpson and Mr. C. E. Lane-

Poole.

Secretary — Mr. W. B. Alexander.

Treasurer — Mr. F. E. Allum.

Librarian — Mr. W. E. Shelton.

Members of Council — Professor A. D. Ross, Professor W. J.

Dakin, Mr. A. Montgomery, Mr. E. de
C. Clarke, and Mr. W. A, Saw,

Ex-President — Mr. W. J. Hancock.

The retiring’ President (Mr. Hancock) called special attention
to the work which had been done for the Society by Mrs. Dakin dur-
ing the three years that Mr. Alexander had been away from this
State, and emphasised the indebtedness of the members to that lady
for conducting the Secretarial duties for so long a time.

Mr. Alexander gave an address on the Birds peculiar to South-
West Australia , illustrated by mounted specimens and skins. He
stated that out of 178 species of birds only 13 were endemic, and of
these the majority were nearly related to species found in South-
East Australia. The latter had a much greater number of peculiar
species and it must be regarded as the centre of origin of the remark-
able avifauna of Australia. The subject was discussed by Dr. Simp-
son, Mr. Hancock and Mr. Saw.

XIV.

LIST OF SOCIETIES, INSTITUTIONS,
FROM WHOM PUBLICATIONS
CEIVED.

AND INDIVIDUALS
HAVE BEEN RE-

Australia :

Royal Society of South Australia.

Royal Society of Victoria.

Royal Society of Tasmania.

Royal Society of New South Wales.

Royal Society of Queensland.

New Zealand Institute.

Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry.
•Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics.
Geological Survey of Western Australia.

Geological Survey of Tasmania.

Department of Agriculture of South Australia.
Department of Agriculture of Victoria.
Department of Agriculture of New South Wales.
Linnean Society of New South Wales.

Tasmanian Field Naturalists’ Club.

Victorian Field Naturalists’ Club.

Botanic Gardens of New South Wales.

University of Tasmania.

Technological Museum, Sydney.

Australian Museum, Sydney.

C. Hedley, Esq., Australian Museum, Sydney.

J. H. Maiden, Esq., Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
Public Health Department, New South Wales

Asia :

Botanic Survey of India,

Department van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel, Buitenzorg,.
J ava.

Europe :

Royal Colonial Institute, London.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

British Museum, London.

America :

Royal Society of Canada.

United States Department of Agriculture.
United States Geological Survey.
Smithsonian Institute.

XV.

America — continued.

Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
American Association for International Conciliation.
University of California.

University of Nebraska.

University of Minnesota.

University of Illinois.

Missouri Botanic Gardens.

John Crerar Library, Chicago.

Lloyd Library, Cincinnati.

Cuerpo de Tngenieros de Minas del Peru, Lima.

XVI.

CONSTITUTION AND RULES.

CONSTITUTION.

1. The Society shall he called The Royal. Society of Western-
Australia.

2. The Royal Society of Western Australia is founded for the
advancement of Science in all its branches.

3. 'The Society shall consist of members who shall be classed
as follows: (1) ordinary members (who may be life members); (2)
honorary members; (3) corresponding' members; (4) associate mem-
bers; (5) student members.

4. The Society may invite distinguished persons to become
Patrons or Vice-Patrons.

RULES.

MANAGEMENT.

1. The General Management of the affairs of the Society, to-
gether with the custody of its property, shall be vested in a Council,
comprising a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, a Secre-
tary, a Librarian, all ex-Presidents, and five other members.

2. All office-bearers and general members of Council shall be
elected annually by ballot at the Annual Meeting of the Society.

3. The Council shall submit to the meeting in June each year, a
list containing the names of members nominated by them for election
for the ensuing session to the respective offices of President, Vice-
Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian. The meeting shall
then proceed to nominate members for election as general members
of the Council, and may nominate further candidates for offices.
Additional nominations, if duly seconded, may he lodged with the
Secretary within seven days after the June meeting.

4. If the number of nominations for each position does not
exceed the number of vacancies, the Chairman at the Annual Meet-
ing shall declare the persons whose names appear on the list duly
elected. I f the number of nominations for an v office exceeds the
number of vacancies a ballot shall be taken. A ballot-paper con-
taining the names of all persons thus nominated shall be posted to
members at least 14 days prior to the day of the Annual Meeting.
Members shall hand in their ballot-papers, duly filled up but un-
signed, to the Secretary at the Annual Meeting, or post them to him
so as to be received not later than the commencement of the Meeting.
Scrutineers shall be appointed at the meeting and shall announce
thereto the result of the ballot.

5. Any vacancies occurring amongst the office bearers or Coun-
cil during the year shall he filled up by the Council.

XVII.

MEMBERS.

6. Every candidate for admission as an ordinary or associate
member of the Society shall be proposed and recommended by three
or more members of the Society, who shall, at a General Meeting of
the Society, cause to be delivered to the Secretary a nomination form,
signed by themselves, signifying the name, description and usual
place of residence of such person, who must be known personally to
at least one of the recommending members.

i Every nomination form having been read at one of the Gen-
eral Meetings, shall be posted in some common room of the Society,
and the person thus recommended shall fee balloted for at the next
General Meeting, after such reading.

S. No person shall be declared duly elected unless three-fourths
of the number of members balloting* shall vote in bis favour.

9. Persons so elected shall have immediate notice thereof
transmitted to them by. the Secretary, accompanied by a copy of the
R ules.

10. No candidate shall be deemed a member until bis sub-
scription for the current year be paid or the annual payments be
compounded for. If any person elected as a member shall omit to
pay the subscription (or composition in lieu thereof) within six
months after the dav of election, the Council shall have authority to
declare such election void. Associate members wishing to become
ordinary members, or rice versa, must obtain the consent of the
Council.

fl. The annual subscriptions of the various classes of mem-
bers shall be as follows: —

Ordinary members — One guinea*

Associate members — Half- a-guinea.

Student members — Five shillings,
and the composition fee for life membership £15 15s.

1-k f he annual subscription becomes due on the 1st July in
merv year, in advance, and is recoverable as debt due from the
member to the Society. If any member shall be in arrears of his
annual contribution for two years on the day of anv Annual Meet-
ing, he shall be apprised by letter that unless the amount due by him

be paid before the end of the current year bis name will be removed
from the list of members.

f r A ',f, members elected at any time during- tlie latter sis
months ot the financial Year shall pay half the annual subscrip.

turn appertaining to the class to which each is elected for the then
current year.

WITHDRAWAL AND REMOVAL OF MEMBERS

ictv win N °i memb6r f ml1 bB at libert >- t0 withdraw from the Soc-
ty without previously giving notice in writing to the Secretary

XV111.

■of his intention to withdraw , and returning all books and other pro-
perty of the Society in his possession. Retiring members shall be
liable for payment of all subscriptions due to the Society.

14. The Council may, by a majority of* seven of its members,
remove or suspend any member of the Society, with or without as-
signing reasons for such action. But a member whose name has been
removed from the Roll shall have a right of appeal to the Society.
Notice of such appeal to the Society shall be sent by such member
to the Secretary within four weeks of the removal of his name, and
the appeal shall be considered by the Society at the next General
or Special Meeting, a majority of votes recorded at such meeting
sufficing to confirm or annul the decision of the Council.

PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS.

15. Ordinary members have the right to be present and to
vote at all General Meetings; to be eligible for election to a seat on
the Council; to be entitled to receive the publications of the Society;
to propose candidates for admission as ordinary and associate mem-
bers, and subject to the approval of the Librarian, to borrow any
books, papers, manuscript, etc., belonging to the Society.

16. Ordinary members may introduce one visitor at any meet-
ing, provided such visitor is not introduced at more than three meet-
ings in one year.

ASSOCIATE AND STUDENT MEMBERS.

17. Associate members shall have all the privileges of ordin-
ary members, with the- exception that they shall not have the right of
voting, nor of eligibility for office, nor of proposing new members.

IS. Student members shall be persons attending recognised
science classes in Western Australia, who shall, on application to
the Council, be elected by them. They shall be elected for the cal-
endar year. Student members shall not be entitled to any privileges,
except that of attending the Meetings of the Society.

HONORARY MEMBERS.

10. The honorary members of the Society shall be distin-
guished workers in science or zealous patrons thereof, and shall not
exceed 25 in number.

20. Every person proposed as an honorary member shall be
recommended by Council, and be elected and removed in the like
form and manner, and be subject to the same rules and restrictions
as ordinary members. He shall be entitled to all the privileges of
membership except voting.

CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.

21. The Corresponding members of the Society shall be con-
stituted of such persons not resident in Western Australia as may

XIX.

ghow a willingness to promote the objects of the Society, and shall
be recommended and elected and be liable to be removed in like
form arid manner as ordinary members, The corresponding mem-
bers shall be exempt from paying any subscription.

22. In case of corresponding members taking up their resi-
dence in Western Australia, their privileges shall cease at the end
of the current financial year. Provided that the corresponding mem-
ber shall have the privilege - of becoming an ordinary member with-
out ballot on paying: subscription or composition fee.

2d. The Corresponding members of the Society are required to
keep the Secretary informed of their addresses, or of that of some
agent in Western Australia, through whom communications may
reach them.

PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS.

24. The business of the President shall be to preside at all
meetings of the Society and Council, and regulate all the proceed-
ings therein; and generally to execute or see to the execution of
the Rules and Orders of the Society. In the case of an equality of
votes the President shall have a casting vote.

25. In case of the absence of the President from any of the
meetings of the Society or Council, his place shall be filled by one
of the Vice-Presidents, or, in their absence, by a member of the
Council then present, who shall, for the time being, have all the
authority, privileges and power of the President. If no member
of Council should be present at a General Meeting no business shall
be transacted.

TREASURER AND ACCOUNTS.

2(i. The Treasurer shall demand and receive for the use of the
Society all moneys due or payable to the Society, and shall disburse
all sums due by the Society, and shall keep full and particular ac-
count of all sums so received and disbursed.

27. All moneys received on the Society's behalf shall he paid
into an account in the name of the Society in a Bank approved by
the Council.

_8. No moneys shall be drawn out of the said account except
by cheque signed by the Treasurer, Secretary, and President, or any

two of there,, and all payments must first lie authorised by the. Coun-
cil.

29. The accounts shall be made up at the end of every finan-
cial year, June 30, and be audited in the month of July by a com-
mittee of two, to be appointed at the Ordinary Meeting in .Tune.

30. The Auditors shall have the power of calling for a state-
ment of the debts, credits and assets of the Society, and for any
information relative thereto.

XX.

31. The Committee of Auditors shall make their report to the
Society at the Annual Meeting.

SECRETARY.

32. The Secretary shall perform the following duties:—

(1) Conduct the correspondence of the Society and Council.

(2) Attend all meetings of the Society, and take minutes of
the proceedings of such meetings. He shall also summon
such meetings.

(3) Read aloud at the commencement of meetings of Council
and Society the minutes of the previous meeting; read
the nominations of candidates for admission to the Soc-
iety; and read the lists of donations made to the Society.

(4) Keep a list of the attendances of the members of Council
at Council meetings, in order that the same may be laid
before the Society at the Annual Meeting.

COUNCIL.

33. The Council shall meet at such times as shall he appointed
by the President, or, in his absence, by one of the Vice-Presidents,
or Secretary, due and sufficient notice being previously sent to every
member.

34. No business shall be transacted in Council unless there be
four or more members present. Should any member fail to attend
three consecutive Council meetings without satisfactory reason be-
ing given,: his position shall be declared vacant.

35. The Council shall present and cause to be read to the An-
nual Meeting a report on the general concerns of the Society for
the preceding year, and such report shall he printed and transmitted
to the members.

OR DINARY MEETINGS.

36. The Council may institute and enforce any by-laws neces-
sary for the government of the Society, provided that such are not
at variance with these Rules.

37. The General Meetings of the Society shall take place at 8
p.m. on the second Tuesday in every month during the last ten
months of every calendar year unless the Council determine other-
wise. Special meetings of the Society may be called by the Council
whenever it may deem such expedient, or on the requisition of ten
members, in writing, and specifying the purpose for which the meet-
ing is required sent to the Secretary, who shall thereupon call a
meeting within not less than seven days nor more than twenty-eight
days.

38. The ordinary course of proceedings at the General Meet-
ings after the Chair lias been taken, shall be as follows: —

(1) The minutes of the proceedings of the previous meeting.

(2) Correspondence.

XXI.

(3) Communications from Council.

(4) Nominations for membership and election of members.

(5) Donations to be laid on the table and acknowledged.

(6) Any other format or general business to be dealt with.

(7) Papers and exhibits.

(8) Discussions on the various papers and exhibits which

have been brought before the meeting.

39. At the General Meetings of the Society nothing relating
to the regulations or management shall be brought forward, unless
the same shall have been announced in the notice calling the meeting
or be otherwise provided for in these Rules.

ANNUAL MEETING.

40. The Annual Meeting shall be the first meeting held in any
financial year. The course of proceedings after the Chair has been
taken shall he as follows: — -

(1) Reading of the Minutes of the previous Annual Meeting.

(2) Reading of Nominations of Candidates for Council, ap-

pointment of Scrutineers, and opening of ballot.

(3) Presentation and discussion of the Auditors’ Report.

(4) Presentation and discussion of the Council’s Annual Re-

port.

(5) Report of the Scrutineers on the result of the ballot.

(6) Address of Retiring President.

41. At the Annual or any General Meeting seven members
shall constitute a quorum.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIETY.

42. Every paper intended to be read before the Society, of'
whatever character, must be sent to the Honorary Secretary at least
seven days before the date of the next ensuing Council meeting, to
be laid before the Council. It will be the duty of the Council to de-
cide whether such contribution shall be accepted, and whether it
shall be read in full, in abstract, or taken as read. The Council
may obtain an opinion as to the suitability of any paper from any
person it may select for the purpose.

43. A Publication Committee, appointed by the Council, shall
decide whether a paper presented to the Society shall be published
in the Proceedings.

44. The original copy of every paper communicated to the
Society, with its illustrations, shall become the property of the
Society , unless stipulation he made to the contrary, and authors
s iall not be at liberty to publish their communicated papers else-
where, prior to their appearance in the publications of the Society,
unless permission be given by the Council for so doing.

THE JOURNAL

OF

THE ROYAL SOCIETY

OF

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

VOL. V.

Presidential Address.

By William J. Hancock, M.Inst.C.E., M.I.E.E.

(Delivered 10 th June, 1919.)

Ladies and Gentlemen —

On nay retirement from the position of President of the
Society, I wish to state how highly 1 have appreciated the honour
which you conferred on me, and I take this opportunity of thanking
the members of Council, officers and members, for their kind-
ness and consideration in helping me to carry on the work of the
Society. We art 1 greatly indebted to those members who have
presented papers during the season. The papers have been of not
only great interest but of wider range than heretofore, and I feel
sure it is a step in the right direction. 1 cannot but think that all
matters affecting the general welfare and betterment of the con-
ditions of life come within the scope and functions of our Society
equally with matters of scientific interest, whether they be sub-
jects of historic interest to guide us, research work of the present,
or problems of the future, to consider. The field of the Society is
wide, and extending with the progress of science and knowledge.

The papers presented to the Society this year have been of a
varied character. The first this session was by Professor
W oolnough on the “Physiographic Elements of the Swan Coastal

2

Plain/’ a paper throwing light on the geological history of this
portion of the State.

Mr. J. S. Battye’s paper on “Causes which led to the Col-
onisation of Western Australia” was a valuable contribution 1o
the history of our State, and brought before us the need ut some
organisation to save from oblivion many of the interesting docu-
ments, sketches, photographs and data concerning the early settle-
ment of the Colony. As the number of the early settlers is rapidly
decreasing, effort s should be made to collect and sort out historic
data before it is too late.

Mr. \Y. Kingsmill brought before the Society the subject of
•• Acclimatisation and the very interesting work which has been
carried out under his directions. This work is not only of great
interest but is also of economic value to the State, and it is to be

regretted that it is so little known or appreciated by the public.

“Some aspects of Town Manning” was the subject of a paper

by Mr. W. A. Saw, a subject which is slowly but surely being

realised as an important factor in our lives. The improvement in
environment must increase the health and happiness of the com-
munity, and minimise the production of the criminal element. In
the building up of our towns and cities we all realise the necessity
to prevent the growth of slum conditions.

Professor Dakin’s paper on his investigations into a serious
form of sheep disease dealt with a subject of considerable import-
ance and economic value to the State.

A paper by Mr. A. R. L. Wright on “Houses in Western Aus-
tralia” dealt with a subject which is of general interest. The
climate and other conditions naturally must affect the design and
arrangements of our homes.

One of the most interesting papers read during the session
was presented by Mr. D. A. Herbert on the “Xuylsia floribunda , its
structure and its parasitism,” m which lie pointed out its para-
sitical functions, and at last cleared up the mystery which has
surrounded this well known tree for so many years.

The last paper of the session was read by Professor Ross on
“Light and the Ether” in which he explained the interesting
theory recently advanced Avhieh threw doubt on the usually
accepted theory that a ray of light travels through the ether of
space in a straight line, and the especial interest in this year’s
Solar Eclipse, in the attempt of astronomers to answer this
question.

I think the Society may be congratulated on this list of
papers, and I trust that in the future we may have many papers of
a similar nature affecting this land of ours, which is rich in rare
and interesting subjects. No time should he lost in collecting data,
as much of the fauna and flora is rapidly disappearing before
what we are pleased to call civilisation.

3

The natural history of Australia stands out unique from other
parts of the world. The evolution which has produced so many
changes in other lands appears in this Island Continent to have
almost stood still or moved but slowly. This may be due to its
separation from Asia before the Carnivora appeared there. In-
deed, the extraordinarily slow development in Australia points to
what an immensely important factor Carnivora must have been in
the great struggle for existence and survival of the fittest in the
great process of evolution.

While the mammals of other lands are absent in Australia, the
earliest forms of vertebrate mammals in the fossil beds of Europe
are represented by the marsupial Kangaroo of to-day. Many of
the Birds, Fishes, and Crustacea of Australia living at the present
time have long ceased to exist in other parts of the world. In
the Vegetable Kingdom, also, plants of the long past Carboniferous
age are still represented in living form in Australia, whilst our
aboriginal men do not appear to have evolved very far from their
Stone-age ancestors. I have alluded to these conditions so as to
indicate how wide and unique is our field of natural history, to
raise our interest and enthusiasm, to advocate study and record,
for it is one of the functions of our Society to stimulate and assist
research in this wonderland of nature.

SCIENCE AND CIVILISATION

I feel that at the termination of the Great War it will be
opportune to bring before you, for your consideration, a few
points in connection with science and its relation to progress and
civilisation.

In referring to the events of last year it is impossible to think
of any work or progress which has not been connected with or
affected by the Great War. Each of my predecessors took for his
Presidential address some of the educational or industrial problems
which could he expected to arise after such a struggle, and now that
the war is practically over, the problems of Peace are found to be
more serious and more complex tlian those of the War.

The termination of the V ar has come perhaps more completely
and more suddenly than was anticipated. It could hardly have been
expected that the German Navy would surrender without a fight,
and be interned in a British harbour, and that the Allies would so
soon be in occupation of the cities of the Kliine.

As the War involved a greater number and variety of nations
than any previous war, so the problems of Peace must affect every
country of the world, for the spread of international commerce,
with the rapid means of communication by railway, steamer, post
and telegraphs, make any treaty or agreement between nations a
matter of world -wide consequence.

4

We have to go back to the Wars of Napoleon to witness the
breaking up of Empires and the creation of new States on any-
thing like the scale of last year. The Prussian victory over the
French in 1870-1 consummated the federation of the separate
German States into one German Empire, and the defeat of the
Germans last year broke up that Empire into separate States again.

I. think there is little doubt that the separate German States,
possessing common interests, language and ideals, will coalesce,
probably with the addition of Austria, into a United States of
Germany, and if this is the right view it should make us all the
more careful to look at our own position, to see that we do not
lag behind in the march of Progress in Peace and War.

We cannot build any hope that the War of 1914 will alter
human ideas or change mankind, nor that the late war will be the
last one; we can only hope to postpone such a calamity as long
as possible.

The change of the various types of Government in Europe
into more Democratic and Socialistic forms, whether they prove
permanent or not, must have an influence on our own National
organisation and that of our allies. The War has shown many
weak spots in our social organisation, and every citizen who has the
welfare of his country at heart should study the matter so as to
ascertain the causes and remedies and assist in carrying out urgently
necessary reforms for the advancement, welfare, and happiness of
the people.

Democracy is the equality of the educated and uneducated,
and the good and bad alike, and as all modern systems of govern-
ment must ultimately come to the collective vote of the individual,
Right, Justice, and Freedom will depend on the intelligence and
judgment of the individual and everything that can elevate the
mind and body will advance the State to these ideals, and the only
means to attain these ends is a sound education not of the few
but of the many, for by knowledge the Nation gains power while
the uneducated is a danger to himself and a menace to the com-
munity.

Europe will always be the dominating factor in Peace and
War, and it is to Europe we must look for the settlement of prob-
lems between the Nations. Europe is by far the most complex
of all the great divisions of the Earth, with about fifteen different
languages, innumerable and increasing types and forms of re-
ligion, -without any prospect of assimilation or agreement, and
systems of government and politics still more numerous and
unstable. Surely we see in these more than enough elements for
misunderstanding and trouble, but when we go outside Europe we
are faced with further problems in the various forms of language,
religion, and polities. With all these perplexing differences we
naturally look for some factor common to all nations, by which a

5

structure of Justice and Freedom can be built up, and of all the
factors in human affairs Science is the only one which is universal
and common to them all; it cannot be altered by language, religion,
or politics, although it has often been crippled by each.

As to Australia, her isolaled position from all other continents
resulted in a unique and slower course of evolution in her flora
and fauna, and politically she also differs from other continents
in having practically one race of people, one language, and the
oceans as her frontiers; she can thus develop her destiny untram-
melled by the many complex problems and close competition of
other nations separated, as in Fm rope, by a five-wire fence, a river,
or a narrow strip of neutral ground.

Many hold and just experiments in social and industrial
organisations have originated in Australia, hut the question whether
the absence of the stimulus of close contact with the ideas and pro-
gress of oilier countries will he an advantage or otherwise time
alone will answer.

in the Great War, science has been used to the utmost extent
by all the participants, and now with the prospect of Peace, surely
science will be called upon to assist more than it lias ever been
before, in the work of reconstruction of national life and industry.
We cannot go backward, nor can many of the unhappy and un-
just conditions of living be allowed to continue. If the conditions
of human affairs be made better as the result of the War, the
sacrifices involved will not have been in vain.

T refer to science in its widest sense, as the correlation of
knowledge, for to know a truth in relation to another truth is to
know it scientifically.

It would be impossible in a short address to do more than
take a hurried glance at the history of scientific thought which
has attracted mankind from the earliest ages, and realise how
it has been encouraged and suppressed at various periods of
history.

Of all the sciences, astronomy has always appealed to mankind
and has been studied from the earliest times. From time imme-
morial the recurring alternation of day and night and the seasons
have appealed to men’s thoughts, and attempts have been made
to understand and explain these workings of nature. Phen-
omena of non-recurring or isolated events, such as thunderstorms
or earthquakes, have generally in the past, and I fear sometimes
in the present day, been attributed to what is called the super-
natural, which T presume meant that there was no explanation
available. The motions of the Heavenly bodies were observed and
studied in ancient times by the Chaldeans, Chinese, Arabs, Egyp-
tians, and Greeks, and it is from the Chaldeans and Arabs that
many of the names used in astronomy are derived, but it is to
the Greeks that great advances in astronomy and other sciences

6

are due, and if the Greek astronomers had possessed the telescope
and the pendulum, they would probably have brought this science
to a point not actually reached till the time of Sir Isaac Newton.

When we think of the theories and attempts to explain
natural occurrences without the instruments of precision or the
vast accumulation of scientific data which we now possess, we
can only express admiration for thoughts and theories of ancient in-
quirers. 1 might allude to the very interesting and ingenious ex-
planation made by the ancient Egyptians of the alternation of day
and night. It was assumed that the earth, presumably Hat, was cov-
ered by a great dome or arch, and day was caused by the sun travel-
ling along the inner side of the dome from sunrise to sunset; while
from sunset to sunrise the sun on its return journey crossed the
outside of the dome, where it was hkhh n from the earth, and the
stars were blit holes in the dome through which the sunlight
could be seen. This primary idea was not accepted by the Greek
astronomers, as the theory of Hipparchus and Ptolemy (about 160
B.C.) assumed that the sun and other bodies revolved round the
earth as a centre. This explanation gave way to the theory pro-
pounded by Copernicus about 1500 A.D., which is the theory
now accepted by science.

So with other sciences the great doctrine of the conserva-
tion of energy and matter has become one of the basic principles
of physics and chemistry, and the latter science has made extra-
ordinary advances during the last few decades, and was one of
the most important factors in the War, and made use of by both
sides. The newer 1 science of biology is scarcely less important,
and has revealed some of the most beautiful operations in nature.
For instance, for long it was thought that trees and plants de-
rived the material for their structure from the soil on which
they grew, until the biologist showed that about 95 per cent, of
the tree is derived, not from the soil but from the air and water,
through the agency of sunlight acting on that wonderful material
chlorophyll, the green substance of the leaves separating the car-
bon from the carbonic acid gas in the air and the hydrogen from
the water, and these two elements combining to form the wood
structure and returning the oxygen to the air, a process which is
reversed when we burn up the timber. The sister science of bac-
teriology has shown how great is the part played by bacteria
both for good and evil from a human point of view.

The ruins of the great empires of Babylonia and Assyria
testify to the ability of the engineers and builders. Also Persia,
India, China, and Egypt can show that works of great magnitude
were achieved which would even in modern times he considered
formidable, with all our appliances and resources. Indeed, these
ruins show the careful thought and accurate scientific knowledge
that were brought to bear on these ancient works..

7

It is curious to note that most of the mighty nations of
antiquity began and flourished in more or less rainless regions, and
thus made the study of hydraulics a necessity, and engineering
science was directed to water conservation and irrigation, and the
remains of these works show what a high degree of efficiency had
been attained.

In the ancient world, science reached her greatest height when
Greece was at the zenith of her renown; and her temples, monu-
ments and works stand out for all time as a tribute to her great-
ness in science and art, and to her philosophy and freedom of
thought.

Rome never rose to the same high position in science and
philosophy as her elder rival, Athens. Indeed, Rome was,
perhaps, more utilitarian; the great works of the Roman engi-
neers and architects stand to-day, monuments to their ability and
skill. Of this classic period T might mention a few of the great
thinkers and workers in science such as Euclid, Hipparchus,
Ptolemy, Archimedes, Hero, and Democritus, names which prove
that the prosperity and renown of any nation are intimately asso-
ciated with scientific knowledge and its application.

With the rise of Christianity and the descent of the Northern
Barbarians upon Rome and Greece, civilisation and science
suffered an eclipse — and over Europe spread a dense pall of scien-
tific ignorance during the dark ages from the 4th century, when
Hypatia, a celebrated woman philosopher and mathematician, was
murdered by a fanatic mob at Alexandria — to the time of Galileo'
in the 17th century. But even in the darkest hour science never
lacked its devotees, and the sacred torch of science was kept
alight by the great Califs of Bagdad and other cities of Arabia,,
who encouraged science and especially astronomy. The old Greek
works were translated into Arabic, and the Arabian astronomers
carried on the work and made many advances during the centuries
of intellectual darkness in Europe.

Galileo is famous not only for being one of the earliest to use
the telescope, and for his experiments in dynamics, but also be-
cause his teaching of the doctrine of Copernicus that the earth
revolved round the sun brought him under the ban of the Inquisi-
tion, which forced him, in 1633, to abjure the Copernican theory,
and thus brought about the first clear-cut conflict between science
and the powers of the dark ages.

When we look hack at the dark ages, that long period of
1,400 years when scientific thought and experiments were banned
as impious and evil, we must realise that but for this period of
stagnation and oppression science and civilisation would have
advanced vastly beyond the position we occupy to-day. With the
progress of scientific knowledge and thought up to the first few
centuries Anno Domini, many of the great inventions of modern

8

times might well have been made a thousand years ago. The ancient
world, especially Greece, was close on the threshold of great dis-
coveries.

The steam engine, which is, I think, the most important inven-
tion in the history of mankind and one of the greatest factors in
civilisation, was created and operated by Hero, a Greek engineer of
Alexandria as far hack as 150 B.C.

This engine, called by Hero the “Aeolipile” was of a primitive
rotary type, in which the pressure of steam was maintained in the
boiler, and the steam, escaping under pressure from jets, caused the
engine to rotate.

Hero also described his air and water pumps with cylinders
and pistons, and it was not until the lapse of eighteen centuries
that t He steam engine with cylinders and pistons was designed by
Papin and others, and steadily developed into the steam engine of
to-day.

The name Electricity is derived from “Elekfcron,” the Greek
name for Amber— a material which, when rubbed, attracts small
particles of straw, paper, etc.

Thales of Militus, 600 B.C., is credited with having pointed out
this property of Amber, but there does not appear to be any record
of further knowledge on the subject until the 16th century, when
Gilbert published a work on Magnetism and Electricity.

The printing press was known to the Chinese many centuries
ago, but not until the 16th century was it re-invented in Europe.

I think we may fairly assume that but for the dark ages
railways, steamers, electric machinery and appliances might have
been invented a thousand years instead of about one hundred
years ago.

It is hard to realise what our present conditions would be if
the sciences of astronomy, chemistry, engineering and biology and
political economy and social conditions had ten centuries ot know-
ledge and experience behind them. Indeed we have lost a thou-
sand years of progress.

When we look back on the ruins and wrecks of the civilisa-
tions of Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, we may well ask
“Is our own civilisation and science secure from similar annihila-

tion?”

During the last hundred years the teaching of science has
advanced perhaps more than in any other period of history and
it has become world-wide. The same laws and facts are taught
in the class rooms and laboratories in every University throughout

Europe,

Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. The starry
heavens, the seas and mountains, the trees and flowers— sublime
works of nature — are common to all mankind, and the study of
these forms the language and thoughts of science.

9

There are two main factors which science teaches: one, that
we must always be prepared to review our theories and doctrines
in the light of new discoveries and new data, for there is no
finality to scientific knowledge. The scientific beliefs of one gen-
eration have frequently been abandoned by succeeding genera-
tions, because their observation and data have been based on the
apparent and from insufficient knowledge has failed to point the real
factors. I jack of observation instruments prevented early investi-
gators from analysing and proving their theories, and even in the
present day doubt lias been thrown on the existing assumption that
light travels through space in a straight line uneffected by gravita-
tion as of the sun, and it is expected that (he solar eclipse of last
month will decide this question.

We are liable to come to wrong conclusions if we only observe
an • occurrence from one point of view. How often do we notice
when travelling fast in a railway carriage that the sparks from
the engine appear- to rush past; in a nearly horizontal streak
it is hard to realise that the appearance of the fiery track is due
entirely to our rushing past the slowly falling sparks, whereas a
person watching the passing train would notice that the sparks are
slowly falling vertically to the ground. This simple illustration
should teach us to consider both sides of the story before we come
to a conclusion.

Science teaches us that the more we know the more there is
to learn, and every new discovery opens a field for further investi-
gation. If 1 may be permitted to use a simile, take two circles-,
one small and the other large, and take the area of each circle to
represent the extent of knowledge in each case and let the cir-
cumference be called the horizon of ignorance, and you will see
that as the area of knowledge increases so does the horizon of
ignorance increase.

Adam Gowan White, says of knowledge: “Truth is nothing
more than the essence of organised knowledge.” This expression
grows and alters as knowledge grows and alters; it is dynamic, not
static.

1 have i apidly and in a very fragmentary manner referred
to some of the phases in the history of science and its influence on
civilisation, but with such a vast subject it is impossible to
deal with it adequately in one evening.

There are one or two modern phases, however, to which I
would like to allude. For some years before the War, Germany was
recognised as one of the foremost, if not the foremost, nation in
the encouragement of science and in the employment of scientific
works in her industries.

Her scientific workers had gained for her practically a world-
wide monopoly, especially in aniline dyes and also in many other
chemical industries, and this was largely due to their research

10

— thorough and systematic research. I think the War has made it
clear to us that any manufacturer who does not utilise a highly
qualified scientific staff lias no chance against the manufacturer who
does.

We have frequently heard the statement that science made
Germany brutal. With this I do not agree. It might be true to
say that Germany made science brutal, or rather that she used
science in a brutal manner ; but war in itself is brutal.

The difference between British and German science is that
Germany has built successfully by systematically collecting and
co-ordinating the scientific data and investigation of her own and
other countries. Information of inventions and industries is more
easily obtained from German publications than elsewhere. But
British scientists have always led the way in scientific philosophy
and great inventions. British science is built more on initiation,
whereas German science is more encyclopaedic.

No country can compare with Great Britain in the record of
famous men of science, and there is no branch of science wherein
British scientists do not hold a first place. In support 1 may re-
mind you of a few names such as Bacon, Newton, Gilbert, Napier,
Dalton, Harvey, Watt, Davey, Faraday, Joule, Young, Stevenson,
Brunei, Tyndal, Maxwell, Huxley, Darwin, Lister, Herschell, Crooks
and Kelvin.

Coming to Australia, the value of scientific training is slowly
but surely being recognised as a necessary factor in our national
life if we are to bold our place in the world. The Federal Govern-
ment has realised the importance of this matter by establishing
an advisory council of science and industry, and 1 hope the Gov-
ernment support will be continued.

Our Education Department has also realised the economic
value of scientific teaching and has introduced the system into
many of the State schools, and the Department is to be congratu-
lated on its work. Science, however, requires a sound general
education as a basis, and I feel sure the time has arrived when
the maximum compulsory age of school attendance should be
raised from 14 to 1(> years. A girl or boy is ill equipped to start
life at the immature age of 14; indeed, under modern conditions,
and when we realise the great increase of general knowledge dur-
ing the last 50 years that the standard of education has automatic-
ally and irresistibly advanced, it will be admitted that such a child
is distinctly handicapped in starting life compared with those who
have been able to continue their education to a later age.

The educational value of the teaching of science in the schools
was recognised some years ago in Great Britain, the three main
subjects being physics, chemistry, and biology.

11

Physics is always an attractive subject to a boy. It explains
natural phenomena and machines in which a boy is interested and
with which he is familiar, especially as there are so many experi-
ments in physics which are simple and convincing and which can
be performed by a hoy in his spare time. As a certain amount of
mathematics is required in physics, such experiments offer a
practical confirmation of many mathematical problems, which is
also an advantage to the student.

Chemistry has suffered more in the past than any other
branch of science. In elementary teaching its educational possi-
bilities have been greatly underrated. Elementary chemistry
demonstrates to the boy as he proceeds from a simple example,
revealing the nature of the chemical changes, and proving step by
step in the process, so that the student gains a sound idea of a
logical and ordered argument. Chemistry demonstrates this factor
better perhaps than any other science.

Biology also possesses a high educational value, as it trains the
power of observation. Although many of the processes are com-
plex and difficult to follow in the early stages, their study is calcu-
lated to make a boy take a greater interest in life.

Surely the teaching, at the impressionable school age, of the
truths and logical conclusions of science must be for good and
must be beneficial to the youth, for a sound training and judg-
ment are two essentials in whatever path of life he follows.

The modern schools and continuation classes which are de-
signed to encourage education beyond the statutory age are a
great advance. Great Britain during the War raised the age of com-
pulsory attendance at schools under certain conditions from 14 to
16, so that Western Australia has a lead to follow.

The Public Service is sadly behind in these matters. Under
the Public Service regulations the age of 14 is accepted, in that a
hoy of this age can apply for entry to the Service, and if he passes
the qualifying examination (G) at this age he can be appointed
temporarily as a messenger. When he attains the age of 16 he is
appointed as a junior officer, and before IS years he has to pass a
second examination, known as the “F” examination, which is more
or less a test of his official attainments. His way is then clear
without further educational tests to the highest appointment in
the Service. As there are always many applicants from 14 to 16
years of age and as priority counts, students of the University or
secondary schools are practically barred from entering the Public
Service. This system is a contrast with that of the Professional
division, where high educational and technical experience are
necessary qualifications. No doubt with the advent of the Uni-

12

versity and secondary schools the regulations will be modified in
due course, and the sooner the better so as to meet new conditions,

Any discussion in connection with education would be incom-
plete without a reference to our University, which was founded by
Act of Parliament in 1911, and the first lectures began on 91 st
March, 1913.

Before considering our own University it might be interesting
to go back to the 12th century and notice the difference in the
origin and development of the medieval Italian and French Uni-
versities. The early Italian Universities started as a guild of
students desirous of increasing their own knowledge, who com-
bined and contributed to the salary of the lecturers, and also pro-
vided suitable accommodation. On the other hand the French
Universities, such as that of Paris, originated from a Society of
Masters: men well versed in Arts and Literature, who combined
to give a course of instruction, and provided the necessary accom-
modation and charged fees to those students attending the classes.
All the older European Universities followed one or other of these
systems, and as the Universities grew in power and influence they
were frequently the subject of great pressure from the Govern-
ment and from the Ecclesiastical bodies, and in some instances
Universities were stalled in opposition.

Both these systems have undergone modifications from time
to time. All the older English and Scottish Universities show
distinct traces of their original prototype, Oxford and Cambridge
belong to the French or “Master” University type, while the
Scottish Universities clearly show their Italian or “Student”
University origin.

Many Universities have been founded by private individuals
but in almost every instance tuition fees are charged by the Uni-
versity, irrespective of its origin.

The University of Western Australia differs, in that it was
founded and is financed, by the State, and no tuition fees are
charged. Although fees are charged at other Fniversities it does
not follow that the student himself has to bear the cost. There
are numerous instances of public-spirited persons who have pro-
vided the money for the payment of University fees. The Carnegie
trust is a notable instance where the fees of a large number of
students who attend the Scottish Universities are paid. When the
student has completed his course, and has started his subsequent
career, lie is ex r eeled to repay to the Trust the amount of the fees
paid for- his tuition.

The whole tendency of the present day is to remove every
obstacle from the path of the student seeking knowledge at the
centre of learning.

13

The preamble of the University of Western Australia Act
states : — •

And whereas it is desirable that provision should be
made for further instruction in those practical arts and
liberal studies which are needed to advance the prosperity
and welfare of the people:

And whereas it is desirable that special encouragement
and assistance should be afforded those who may be
hindered in the acquisition of sound knowledge and useful
learning by lack of opportunity or means:

And whereas for these purposes it is expedient to in-
corporate and endow a University within the State of
Western Australia.

Provision is made by the Act for payment of £13,500 per
annum.

The enrolments for the first year (1913) numbered 184, and
since then the number of students has more than doubled. The
number of students is as follows :—

Number of

Year. Students enrolled.

1913 184

1914 182

1915 214

1916 214

1917 236

1918 270

1919 400

This involves an increase in the accommodation and in the Teaching
Staff, so that an increase in the annual grant is urgently required.
It is a matter of disap point merit that, with the exception of Sir
Winthrop Hackett, nothing in the way of an endowment has been
made to the University. No doubt when the real value of the insti-
tution is better understood and appreciated the University will have
many more friends and supporters.

There are many persons who do not approve of a free Univer-
sity, and it is said that students do not appreciate learning if it is
free. I do not agree with this view. 1 cannot believe that students
do not appreciate the teaching and personal care given by the Teach-
ing Staff, nor that graduates think less of their degrees because the
State provided the facilities for obtaining them. No doubt there
are students who join without any intention of continuing and who
will drop out during the terms, and such students hinder others of
more serious intent. To charge fees to all students simply in order
to offer some obstacle to those who have no intention of studying
would be hardly just to genuine students.

14

This State is trying the new experiment of a free University,
which is a great step forward in education, but with only six years
of existence, four and a half of which were under more or less war
conditions, l feel that the time is too short to say that the experi-
ment has proved a failure. I am sure it would be a retrograde step
to return to the old system of charging fees for tuition.

One of the difficulties of any change or improvement in an
educational system is the long time which must elapse before the
real effects of a change can be understood or realised. Certainly
it cannot be less than 20 years; not until the students of to-day
have become factors in the life and development of the State, will
the real value of University training be appreciated.

The whole question of Education is undergoing a change, but
it must of necessity be slow. A sound education for all is un-
doubtedly the best investment of the State. The question is not,.
“Can we afford free education,” but “Can we afford to do with-
out it 1 ?”

15

PHYSIOGRAPHIC NOTES FROM THE UNI-
VERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

THE PHYSIOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS OF THE SWAN

COASTAL PLAIN.

By W. G. W oolnougHj D.Sc., F.G.S., Professor of Geology.
( Bead 13/7/ August, 1918.)

The city of Perth stands upon the banks of the Swan River ,
here a mature stream il owing across a sandy plain some twenty miles
in width. This plain has been described as the Swan Coastal Plain
by Jutson in his comprehensive account of the Physiography of the
State.'*

The author desires to point out some details in connection with
the structure to which attention was not drawn by Jutson in his more
general account. On the east the plain is bounded by the scarp
forming the western boundary of the Darling Peneplain.!

Between the laterite-capped summit of the Darling Peneplain
and the reefs of Rottnest Island, Garden Island, etc, the author
believes that at least a dozen distinct physiographic elements may be
recognised. (See Fig. 1.)

(a.) The summit level of the Darling Peneplain.

This rises to a remarkably uniform level of about 800 feet above
sea level and extends almost without variation in character for at
least 200 miles in a north and south direction. It is capped by lat-
erite and is intersected by deep youthful river \ alleys, carved out
of it since its upheaval.

(h.) The edge of the Darling Peneplain is formed by a sharp
escarpement, the “Darling Scarp,” due, proximately, to the under-
mining of the hard laterite capping by the forces of erosion. While,
as Jutson has pointed out, this feature is a fault scarp, the present
edge of the plateau is not coincident with the actual fault plane,
but has retreated some distance to the east of the earth-crack as a
result of erosion.

(c.) West of the cliff-like edge of the laterite capping is a hill
slope, generally fairly steep, leading down to the edge of the plain
itself. This element we may call “the Foothill Zone” On these
foothills are exposed the basement rocks of the Peneplain, chiefly
granites in great variety, seamed with dyke-like masses of basic and
ultrabasic intrusive rocks, mostly somewhat recrystallised. From

fLoc. cit., p. 42, 43, where references to previous literature are a-iven.

16

Gosnells to Mundijong, at least, there appear at intervals
exposures of slaty rocks, dipping at high angles, and apparently
surrounded completely by eruptive materials/ In places, also,
enormous quartz reefs, or sections of one great quartz reef, are
met with (Brunswick, Gosnells, etc.).

Ibis exposure of relatively fresh and undecomposed basement
rocks bespeaks the rapid erosion which is going on throughout the
foothill zone.

(d.) At several points along the outer part of the foothill zone
there appears a laterite-covered shelf at a very strikingly uniform
elevation of about 200 leet above sea level. Tt appears, rather ob-
scurely, at Greenmount and Armadale, much more decidedly at Ridge
Hill, the lower part of the Kalamunda Road, and Waroona. The ap-
pearance of this laterite at all points, and its relationships at Ridge
Hill and Kalamunda, seem to distinguish it from the widely-dis-
tributed detrital laterite described hv Simpsonf as occurring at
low levels. Much more research will have to be carried out before
the existence of this shelf as a definite independent element can he
claimed. Tentatively, however, we may suggest its existence and
explain it as the remnants of a step-faulted portion of the plateau,
let down by a subsidiary fault, immediately to the west of, and par-
allel to the main Darling Range fault.

For this somewhat hypothetical element 1 suggest the name
“Ridge Hill Shelf/

(e.) We reach now the main “Darling’ Fault” which has been
responsible for the entire structure of the region, and which separ-
ates the isostatically adjusted uplift area on the east, and subsidence
area on the west. The actual fault plain is not known to the author
at any point, the line of junction of the ancient crystalline rocks
of the plateau and of the recent accumulations of the plain being
hidden by detritus. Of the existence of such a fault, however, there
can be no doubt, and of its tectonic importance there can lie no
question.

(/.) The “Piedmont Zone” follows next in order and is of the
utmost economic importance. Steep-grade, rapid streams flowing
down from the youthful valleys of the plateau element bear with
them the well rotted detritus derived from both granites and “green-
stones.” On reaching the plains these streams have their velocity
checked and are forced to deposit their sediment as flat alluvial fans
or dry deltas. The streams are legion, and deposits of adjacent streams
uniting at their lateral edges, build up an almost continuous, gently
sloping zone of alluvial matter right along the base of the main hiil
feature. Containing as it does a modicum of potash derived from
the felspars of the granites, and quite a notable amount of lime ob-

*Honman, C. S., The Extension of the Kelmscott Clay Deposit. Bull. Geol. Survey
W.A., No. 48, 1912, pp. 63-65.

t Simpson, E. S. : Laterite in Western Australia. Geol. Mag 1 , n.s. rlec. v. vol. ix.,
p. 399-406, 1912.

17

tained from the greenstone, the soils of this piedmont zone are, rela-
tively, somewhat rich in plant food. The distribution of land suit-
able for citrus fruits, limited on the west by a line approximating
to the South-Western railway is determined by the extent of this

zone.

Each alluvial fan is slightly convex in profile and its stream
occupies a notch on this convex surface. This introduces a tendency
to instability of location of the channel, and there are probably in-
stances of streams having left the convex surface to flow into the
intervening hollows. Mostly, however, the streams occupy notches
on the fans, a feature which is evidenced by the occurrence of the
viaducts along the railway line at the summits of the grades in many
instances. ( A very good example of this is at Keys brook. ) The outer
margin of the piedmont zone is lobate, and cusps of the plain run in be-
tween the lobes. The width of the belt varies considerably with the
magnitude of the constructive streams, but is probably only from
half to one mile on the average.

( g .) The “Bandy Plain” follows the piedmont zone on the
west. Into its constitution a number of sub-elements enter, whose
relations vary considerably from point to point. As a whole the
sandy plain is gently undulating, but quite sharp gradients are by
no means infrequent. These are caused by the dominating structures
of the region, namely, sand dunes of molian origin, geologically re-
cent, but sufficiently old to have been fixed completely and perman-
ently by the growt h of vegetation. Between these dunes there stretch
low lying areas. During the extremely wet winter season the level
of ground water rises to the surface in such localities, arid we have
swampy areas filled with coffee-coloured peaty water. These swampy
areas come to contain a moderate amount of clay substance and
humus so that, when drained and cultivated, they become quite val-
uable agricultural land, particularly for market gardens. The
Chinamen’s gardens in the immediate vicinity of Perth are examples.

Quite distinct Prom these smaller sporadic lagoons, there

is a well-defined zone of large and shallow, hut more or less per-
manent, lakes stretching along a north and south line between the
hills on the east and the coastline on the west, including, amongst
others. Lakes Jandakot, Bibra, Herdsman, Monger, etc. The origin
of these lakes is under investigation and will form the subject of a
further comm imi ration to the Society. Beyond the “Lake Zone” the
sandhills of the plain continue to the west as they do to the east,
hut they become more pronounced and individualised, probably be-
cause more recent, in this western section.

(//,) Forming a continuous belt facing the coast, rising into
\ er\ respectable hills (Buekland ITill 207 feet), and projecting sea-
wards as rocky headlands honeycombed with large and small cavi-
ties, is the zone of “Coastal Limestones.” Formed by amlian action
on the existing coastline, and composed largely of comminuted mar-

18

ine calcareous organisms, these rocks have been consolidated super-
ficially into dense travertine (“cap-stone”) in many places by alter-
nate solution and precipitation of carbonate of lime. As a result of
this mode of origin concretionary structure is very wide spread.
Travertine formation has been very irregular, or else solution chan-
nels have been frequent, or both factors in development have been
operative. As a result extraordinary “nigger-heads” and “teeth” of
limestone have been formed or left amongst 1 Lie less solid sand.
These are well exhibited hi the railway cuttings near the Show Ground
and in the river bank near the boat-sheds at Peppermint Grove.

Plant roots have formed channels for percolating water and
may, perhaps, have contributed organic solvents during life or dur-
ing decay, so that the segregation of calcium carbonate has been
directed, in its first stages at all events, by root distribution. The
structure lines so initiated have been extended and enlarged, produc-
ing the arborescent rods of limestone which form so striking a fea-
ture of the railway cuttings between Oottesloe Beach and North Fre-
mantle.

False bedding has been extensively developed during the forma-
tion of those rocks and gives rise to very striking features in the
topography produced by them (for example, near the Mount Lyell
Chemical Works at Rocky Bay).

In places [e.g, 7 North Fremantle) the superficial crust of lime-
stone is sufficiently pure to be burnt for lime, while at various places
in the Metropolitan area the subjacent calcareous sandstones have
supplied rather inferior building stone and road metal.

(k.) Next in succession we come to the actual “Shore Line” of the
Indian Ocean. This is composed mostly of sandy beaches backed
by actively moving sand dunes, which, in places, are encroaching
very seriously upon residential and industrial areas. Extensive rocky
promontories are scarcely existent, but small headlands of coastal
limestone alternate with the sand beaches. A well-defined wave-cut
platform of limestone is recognisable in places at a level such that it
is extensively exposed at low water. The significance of this platform
is being discussed in another paper by Mr. J. L. Somerville.

(/.) In the immediate neighbourhood of Fremantle the shallow
waters of “Gage Roads” enclosed between the shore and the Iiottnest
Island to Rockingham Bay reefs constitutes another physiographic
element of no mean importance.

(m.) The zone of islands and reefs extending through Carnac
arid Garden Island and, perhaps, Rottnest Island, forms the most
westerly of the physiographic elements included within the scope
of the present paper. The author has not had an opportunity of
examining them personally.

It is obvious, of course, that a method of subdivision like that
attempted above is to some extent a matter of convenience. The
various elements shade off into one another in many instances so

19

that no sharp line of demarcation can be drawn. In other cases
portions of the different elements overlap and become intermingled,
so that, for instance, we not infrequently find the tops of sandhills
cropping up through the red soils of the piedmont zone.

The deposits of the larger streams, essentially resembling those
of the piedmont in composition, may extend completely across the
sand plain and limestone belt to the sea, while the development of a
considerable river valley introduces features which tend to mask
those of the coastal plains. It is in areas between the larger streams
that the consecutive elements of structure can be recognised most
clearly. The best point of outlook known to the author is to be
found on the crest of the hills east of Armadale. In this paper no
attempt has been made to deal with the question of stream develop-
ment in the area, nor to account for the well defined and extensive
coastal lakes and estuaries which present so striking a feature of
the topography from Hun bury to Mandnrak. These have been re-
served for future study and communication to the Society. No bibli-
ography has been included and few references have been given, as
Jutson (loc. cit.) has provided all that is necessary in this par-
ticular.

o'

20

GENERALISED SECTION ACROSS THE
SWAN COASTAL PLAIN.

■a. Summit level of Darling Peneplain (laterite-
capped).

b. Darling scarp.

■c. Foothill zone.

d. Ridge hill shelf (laterite-capped).

'G. Main Darling fault.

/. Piedmont zone with relatively rich soil.

■q. Sandy plain with sand hills (some of them
limestone capped), lagoons, and lakes.

h. Coastal limestones.

1c. Shore line.

7. Shallow roadstead.

m . . Garden Island reef.

21

CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE COLONISATION OF

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

By J. S. B att ye, B.A., LL.B., Chief Librarian, Public Library,

Perth.

(Bead on 10 th September , 1918, by invitation of the Council.)

Although there is a certain amount of evidence which would lead
to the belief that the existence of a continent to the south of the
East Indies was vaguely known nearly four centuries ago, and there
is definite evidence that Dutch voyagers touched at various points
of the western coast of this great continent during the 17th century,
no attempt was made to do anything in the way of establishing a
settlement until the third decade of the nineteenth century, some 40
years after the erection of the penal colony at Botany Bay. That
the Dutch made no attempt to exploit the resources of the new land
was more than likely due to the fact that they were fully occupied
in the task of securing wealth from their possessions in the East
Indies, whilst the reason that no other nation had its attention dir-
ected to the possibilities for colonisation that might exist was pos-
sibly tiie secrecy with which the Dutch surrounded their discoveries.
Some authority for this is to he found in the statement
of the English Ambassador at the Hague in the time of Charles II. t
Sir William Temple, who gave it as his opinion that: “A southern
continent has long since been found out,” which he said was “as long as
Java, and is marked on the maps by the name of New Holland, but
to what extent the land extends either to the south, the east, or the
west, we do not know.” To the same authority we are indebted for
the declaration that the Dutch East India Co. ‘“have long since for-
bidden, and under greatest penalties, any further attempts at dis-
covering that continent, having already more trade than they can
turn to account, and fearing some more populous nation of Europe
might make great establishments of trade in some of these unknown
regions which might ruin or impair what they have already in the

This statement has been vigorously denied by the Dutch, but the
fact, remains that of the voyages made by the Company little was
known until the publication of the instructions issued by the Gov-
ernor General of Batavia to Tasman on his second voyage in 1644.
This curious document was found by Fir Joseph Banks in 1770 when
turning over the old archives at Batavia, and was published by Sir
Alexander Dalrymple in his Collections concerning Papua.

The Dutch voyages were followed from MSS to 1818 by the
English voyages of discovery and survey, notably those of Dam pier,

22

Vancouver, Flinders and King, all of which brought back to Eng-
land accumulative and definite information concerning the western
coast of New Holland. Even with this information, however, in its
possession, the British Government took no steps towards the foun-
dation of a settlement on any part of this wide area. In all likeli-
hood this was owing to the unsatisfactory reports on the new terri-
tory brought hack by the navigators, who, confining themselves to
the more or less uninviting coast line appear to have made little
or no examination of the interior, and so to have missed the more
fertile districts further inland. Another contributing cause may have
been the fact that, the population of the old country, depleted by
the long Napoleonic Avars, had not reached that congested state
which made it necessary for the Government to further the estab-
lishment of new colonies as outlets for the surplus people. At the
same time, private enterprise Avas scarcely likely to be attracted
to the new country, as the only inducement in those days to leave
the comforts of civilisation Avas the almost certain knowledge that
fortunes, great in extent and rapidly gained, were to he secured bv
a few years exile.

All these excuses for the non-fulfilment of her destiny on the
part of Great Britain appear to have, however, gone by the hoard
when the suspicion entered into the minds of the British people
that other nations, and more particularly the French, were contem-
plating new settlements in the South seas. It is impossible to ascer-
tain how those suspicions arose, as an exhaustive examination of the
policy of Napoleon fails to reveal any suggestion in his mind of Aus-
tralian colonisation, and although during the long years of his cap-
tivity on St. Helena, Napoleon discussed very freely his projects,
as well as his successes and failures, Avitli those around him, no men-
tion appears ever to have been made of any project of that char-
acter.

That the suspicion existed in the minds of the members of the
British Government there is, however, ample evidence, and this sus-
picion had also communicated itself to the Directors of the East India
Company one of whom, the Hon. C. F. Greville, wrote to Brown,
the naturalist of the “Investigator,” in 1802, a letter in which he
said: “I hope the French ships of discovery Avill not station them-
selves on the coast of New Holland.”

In his “Recollections, Lord Russell states that during his tenure
of the Colonial Office, a member of the French Embassy called upon
him and asked what portion of Australia was claimed by Great
Britain, to which he replied, “the whole.” As Lord John Russell
was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1839 to 1841, it seems
strange that that question should haA T e been asked at that late
period, but possibly the scientific researches of French navigators
at the beginning of the century may have been present in the French-
man’s mind.

23

Again, the Earl of Ripon in 1833, with regard more particularly
to Western Australia, said: “The present settlement at Swan River
owes its origin, you may perhaps he aware, to certain false rumours
which had reached the Government of the intentions of a foreign
power to establish a colony on the west coast of Australia. The
design was for a time given up entirely on the ground of public
economy, and would not have been resumed but for the offer of a

party of gentlemen to embark in an undertaking of this nature, at
their own risk, upon receiving extensive grants of land, and on a
certain degree of protection and assistance for a limited period being
secured to them by this Government.”

[It is now generally accepted that the French expeditions of the
period had one of two objects in view, either the advancement of
science or the discovery of the fate of La PerouseJ

Having thus discussed shortly the attitude of the British mind
towards French activities, let me turn more particularly to the
causes which led to the colonisation of Western Australia, and which
are to be found in the statement noted above made by the Earl of
Ripon -Firstly, the fear of French annexation; secondly, the offer
to colonise on the part of a syndicate.

It is not necessary to inform you that rumours existed early in
the century that Admiral Baudin contemplated a settlement at West-
ern Port in 1802, and that Freycinet, in 1818, had made an exhaus-

tive examination of the north-west coast. In 1823 we find that a
further French expedition, eonsitsing of the “Thetis” and “Fs-
perance, ' commanded by Bougainville and Du Camper, was cruising
about the southern coasts, and this seems to have made General
Darling, who towards the end of that year had assumed the gover-
norship of New South Wales, anxious that some steps should be
taken to deprive France of the chance of gaining a foothold on Aus-
tralasian soil. Recognising that, in case of dispute, Great Britain
would have difficulty in establishing her claim to the west coast, he
wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies regarding the mat-
ter, and said: It will not he easy to satisfy the French, if they are

desirous of establishing themselves here, that there is any objection
to their doing so on the west coast, and I therefore beg* to suggest
that the difficulty would be removed by a commission describing the
whole territory as within the Government ” (The territory of Vew
South Wales, it may he mentioned, extended westward only to the
129° of F. Longitude.) On 1st March, 1826, the Secretary of State,
joid Bathurst, addressed two despatches upon the subject to Gov-
ernor Darling, and. at the same time, wrote a more or less private and
confidential c-ommuneiation. The first of these despatches instructed
.he Governor to commence immediate preparations for the forma-
tion y a settlement at Western Port, using whatever means he might
lniK best, hi the second despatch Darling was instructed to en-
deavour to procure correct information respecting the country irn-

24

mediately adjoining Shark Bay, ostensibly for the purpose of estab-
lishing a base to which convicts, reconvicted of lighter crimes at
Botany Bay, might be sent and “that possession may be gained of a
port which it may hereafter be found important to have retained.”
In the private communication the Secretary says, “The sailing of two
French ships on a voyage of discovery have (sic) led to the consid-
eration how far our distant possessions in the Australian seas may
be prejudiced by any designs which the French may entertain of
establishing themselves in that quarter, and more especially on that
part of the coast of New South \\ ales which has not as yet received
anv colonists from this country. 1 allude to that line of coast which
extends to the westward from the western point of Bathurst Island

in 129° E. Longitude As this tract of shore is understood to

he for the most part barren and devoid of all circumstances which
could invite settlement, it is probable, if the French Government
should entertain any serious intention of forming an establishment
on that side of the continent, any island with so advantageous a

port as Western Port would not be overlooked by them In

giving those instructions you will observe that 1 have carefully
avoided any expression winch might he construed, in the event of the
instructions being hereafter referred to, as an admission of there not
having been a preoecupaney by us before the French may have
admitted to establish themselves there, and you will regulate your
language accordingly. The establishment to be formed at Shark Bay
is, as you are aware, partly for a different object, but it is equally
necessary that our projects in that quarter should not be anticipated.

The advice to Darling to regulate his language probably ex-
plains why there was no public proclamation of any intention on the
part of the Government to establish a settlement.

On the 11th March a further despatch was sent to the Governor
asking him also to have an examination made of the country around
King George’s Sound, as it might possibly prove a better locality
than Shark Bay. Tn all probability these despatches were forwarded
by the same ship. At any rate, they were answered by Governor
Darling on the 10th October, 1826, who stated that, in his opinion.
King George’s Sound was unsuited even for a penal settlement, and
that Shark Bay was even worse, but that lie would have an exam-
ination made and added, “The French would, therefore, find it diffi-
cult to maintain themselves at either of these places. ’’

Immediately after the receipt of the instructions, the Governor
took steps to have them carried out. Three sites for occupancy were
determined upon, at Raffles Bay, Western Port, and King George’s
Sound, and the officers in charge of the three expeditions were con-
fidentially advised “to avoid any expression of doubt as to the whole
of New Holland being within this Government, any definition of it
which may he supposed to exist under the designation of New South
Wales being merely ideal, and intended only with a view of distin-

25

guishing the more settled part of the country. Should this explana-
tion not prove satisfactory, it will be proper in that case to refer
them to this Government for any further information they may
require.’* They were also instructed that if a landing should have
been already effected by the French, “You will, notwithstanding, land
the troops agreeably to your instructions, and signify that their (the
French) continuance with any view to establishing themselves or
colonisation, would be considered an unjustifiable intrusion on His
Britannic Majesty’s possessions.”

These three expeditions, all of which numbered convicts amongst
them, duly established themselves at the points mentioned, that at
King George’s Sound being founded on Christmas Day, 1826, and
continued until March, 1831, when the convicts were withdrawn, and
the settlement brought under the then new colony at Swan River.

Meanwhile, the arrival of the French corvette “L’ Astrolabe/* at
Sydney, in December, 1826, after spending a month at King George’s
Sound, accentuated the fear of French annexation, and in Governor
Darling’s opinion made it still more necessary that some British
settlement should he established on the west coast.

Fortunately, the opportunity of taking the initial steps towards
that end was ready to hand. A settlement had been established at
Melville Island on the north coast in 1824. which had, from the com-
mencement, been a failure. In consequence, the Secretary of State
instructed Governor Darling to send a war ship to the island for the

purpose of removing t lie settlement to some more suitable site, pre-
ferably further to the east. When the despatch arrived it so hap-
pened that ILM.S. “Success,” commanded by Captain Stirling, was
lying in Sydney Harbour, and the Governor appears to have com-
municated the wish of the British Government to Captain Stirling
in an unofficial way, as the first intimation we have upon the matter
is in the form of two letters from Stirling to the Governor, in the
first of which, dated 8th December, 1826, it was pointed out that the
north-west monsoonal rains would interfere with the removal of the
settlement at Melville Island until after April, while in the second
dated December 14, Stirling suggested that instead of remaining in
harbour until the following April, he should employ the time in mak-
ing an examination of the Swan River. In the prosecution of these
considerations, he says “Certain ideas have been suggested to me by
professional observation, relative to the necessity of immediately
seizing a i ossession upon the western coast of this island near Swan
River.” . . . He concludes his letter with this statement: “Finally,
Sir, at a time when we have one French vessel of war with objects
not clearly understood, and with one American vessel of war being
also in this neighbourhood seeking a place for settlement, it becomes
important to prevent them from occupying a position of such value,
particularly as you were pleased to say that His Majesty’s Gov-
ernment is desirous of not being anticipated in such views by any

26

foreign power.” On the 18th December, the Governor forwarded a
despatch to l ord Bathurst, stating that he had agreed to Captain
Stirling’s proposal ’‘as it is of great importance that so advantag-
eous a position should not be taken possession of by the French. . . .
At the same time, if the French meditated a settlement in New Hol-
land, Swan River, from the accounts given of it by Captain Stirling,
should not be neglected.”

In pursuance of these arrangements. Captain Stirling* left Syd-
ney on the 17tli January, 1827, in the “Success” for the Swan River,
with the ostensible purpose of making up the French survey de-
ficiencies, and of t horoughly examining all the country within a reas-
onable distance of the river. He took with him Mr. Charles Fraser,
who was at that time Colonial Botanist in New South Wales. The
“Success” anchored off the south head of Swan River on the 6th
March, 1827, and early on the morning of the 8th, Stirling proceeded
to carry out the real objects of the expedition, which were “to pro-
ceed, if possible, to the source of the river, to examine the banks
and the depth of water, to fix upon an eligible spot for the settlement,
to ascertain the products of the country, the nature of the soil, and
the practicability of forming a harbour for shipping.”

For the purpose of fulfilling these instructions the ship’s gig
and cutter were provisioned for a fortnight and well armed, after
which, under the command of Captain Stirling, they proceeded up
the river. Mr. Fraser formed one of the party. No difficulties
were met with until they reached the fiats above Ileirisson Islands
(the site of the present Perth Causeway ) , where the water was too
shallow to float the boats, which had to be unloaded and drawn across.
After that the way was tolerably easy, and on the 1.3th they arrived
at ‘what they deemed to be the source of the river.

“At daylight on the 13th,” says Captain Stirling, “we were as
usual in motion, and observed little variation in the appearance of
the land as we ascended, except that the hills on the banks were
higher and more frequent, and the soil upon them of a coarser des-
cription. They are here composed of a red sandstone, red clay, and
an oehry loam, varying between red, brown, blue, and yellow. The
soil on the lowlands continued as good as ever. About an hour be-
fore starting we had the misfortune to stave the cutter on a sunken
tree; lead and fearnought, however, speedily effected a cure, and
we continued to pursue our course amid increasing difficulties from
similar obstructions, and from the decreasing width of the stream.
The hills around us were high, and we ascended them with ease, but
it was in vain that we sought a view of the country; we were the
more disappointed because its character was evidently changing.
At length, after several halts, we reached, about 11 o’clock, a spot
where the river takes an eastern direction, just above a considerable
creek on the left hand. We there found insurmountable obstructions
to our further progress, in fact, we have reached the termination.

27

Far beyond this there was the bed of a torrent, but no longer a river,
nor even a continuation of water except in a succession of distant
parts. Here, then, on a high bank we pitched our tent. The rich-
ness of the soil, the bright foliage of the shrubs, the majesty of the
surrounding trees, the abrupt and red-coloured banks of the river
occasionally seen, and the view of the blue summits of the mountains
from which we were not far distant, made the scenery round this
spot as beautiful as anything* of the kind I had ever witnessed. ’’
During the course of the trip two gardens were planted about
15 miles up the river, and after some trouble friendly intercourse
was established with the natives. The soil along the banks was ex-
examined and an abundance of fresh water found. An ascent of the
hills, to which the name General Darling Range was given, was made
by Mr. Fraser. The cutter then returned to the ship, leaving the
gig, with Lieut. Belches in charge, to make a hurried examination of
a tributary liver (the Canning), to which the French had given the
name of Moreau Inlet. After her return the crew of the frigate
was employed surveying the islands of Ruttnest, Bert boll et (now
Carnac), and Bn ache, as well as the adjacent rocks. On Buache a
garden was planted (from which probably the present name, Garden
Island, was derived), and some cattle and sheep left there. The
“Success” sailed for Geograplie Bay on March 21. Here Stirling
remained until the 25th, when he set his course for Iving George’s
Sound, which was reached on April 2. He remained at the settle-

ment, which did not come up to his expectations, until two days later,
w^ lie. left for Sydney, arriving in Port Jackson on the 15th of
the same month, having been absent about three months.

So far as their reports go, both Captain Stirling and Mr.
Fraser seem to have been greatly impressed with the possibilities of
the newly -exam inerl country. The latter, who had certainly greater
expeiience in judging, was, if possible, the more pronounced in his
good opinion, and there is no doubt that his oninion was largely
relied upon when the question of colonisation was under discussion.
In concluding his report upon the natural history, soil, etc., of the
Swan River district, he says: ‘‘I n delivering my opinion on the whole
of the lands seen on the banks of the Swan, T hesitate not in pro-
nouncing it superior to any I have seen in New South Wales east-
ward of the Blue Mountains, not only in its local situation, but in

many existing advantages which it holds out to settlers, viz. :

(ID The evident superiority of the soil.

(2.) The facility with which settlers can bring their farms
into a state of culture from the open state of the coun-
try, the trees not averaging more than ten to the aero.
(3.) The great advantage of fresh water springs of the best
quality, and consequent permanent humidity of the
soil— two advantages not existing eastward of the Blue
Mountains.

(4.) The advantage of water carriage to their own doors and
the non-existence of impediments to land carriage.

These favourable reports so impressed General Darling that he
forwarded, on April 21st, 1827, a despatch in which he strongly ad-
vised the Home Government to establish a settlement at Swan River
as quickly as possible. In this despatch he points out: “As Captain
Stirling’s visit to Swan River may attract attention and the report
find its way into the French papers, it appears desirable, should His
Majesty’s Government entertain any intention of forming a settle-
ment at that place, that no time should be lost in taking the neces-
sary steps.”

Stirling’s report and the Governor’s despatch appear to have
been conveyed to England by Stirling in person, and were forwarded
by the Colonial Office to the Admiralty for an opinion in regard
to the formation of a settlement at Swan River. The Secretary to
the Admiralty, whilst admitting the physical advantages detailed by
Captain Stirling and Mr. Fraser, was of opinion that the anticipa-
tions of commercial intercourse with India were fallacious, and that
it Avas questionable whether it was advisable to form a settlement
on the west while so many millions of acres of rich country remained
unoccupied on the eastern side. The report concludes with this
statement : “No other motive, I conceive, than the political one of
preventing other nations, as the French or Americans, of possessing
themselves of the south-west corner of New Holland, should induce
us to anticipate them; and even in the event of its falling into the
hands of the one or other of these Powers, it would be a long series
of years before they could give our other colonies much annoyance.”

After consideration of the various reports and opinions dealing
with the question, the Secretary of State for the Polonies wrote lo
Governor Darling on the 2.8th January, 1828, reviewing the adverse
report from the Admiralty, and concluding: “Under these circum-
stances, I am of opinion that it would be inexpedient, on the score
of expense, to occupy this part of the coast, and that it is unneces-
sary, with a view to any urgent interest to attempt, any new settle-
ment. at present in that quarter I shall not fail, however, to

apprise the East India Co, of the circumstances attending the dis-
covery of 'Swan River in case they should consider it advisable to
make any settlements there, but 1 am not aware of any sufficient
motive to induce them to embark in an undertaking of this nature.”

Two days later another despatch was forwarded in which it
was hinted that the same causes would probably induce the Govern-
men!; to withdraw the settlement which had been formed at King
George’s Sound, but that if it were ’finally decided to maintain that
settlement, then, in all probability, the decision not to found a col-
ony at ‘Swan River would he reviewed. This decision was conveyed
by the Colonial Office to Capt. Stirling, but it does not appear to

29

have dissuaded him from continuing' his solicitations for the estab-
lishment of the new colony.

In May and June, 1828, the Earl of Dudley. Lord Palmerston,
and Messrs, Grant and Huskisson retired from the British Cabinet
and a reconstruction of Government followed, under which Sir George
Murray replaced Mr. Huskisson as Secretary of State for War and
the Colonies, and Messrs, R. W. Hay and Horace Twiss became
Under Secretaries. This last appears to have been to some extent
a personal friend of Captain Stirling, and it was probably through
him that Stirling was induced once more to approach the Govern-
ment with the idea of forming a colony. On the 30th July, 1828,
he addressed a long letter to the Colonial Office in which he said,
rater alia, “The French, under the command of Monsieur Baudin,
at the beginning of this century visited that shore (that is, Western
Australia) and rendered an account of it more circumstantial, but
equally unfavourable, as that of the Dutch. The report which 1 had
the honour to make last year to 11 is Majesty’s Government differs
so widely from that of the preceding Dutch and French navigators,
that it will scarcely be believed that we undertake to describe the
same country. For while they report the country as sterile, forbid-
ding, and inhospitable, T represent it as the land out of all that I

have seen in various quarters of the world that possesses the greatest
natural attractions.” He then went on to describe the character of
the country, and concluded: “The above-mentioned recommendations
poin*- it out as a spot so eligible for settlement that it cannot long
remain unoccupied. . . . as, by its position, it commands facilities
fo ‘- ( '<UT\ ing on trade with India and the Malay Archipelago as well
as ‘with ( hina, and as it is, moreover, favourably circumstanced for
the equipment of cruisers for the annoyance of trade in those seas,
some foreign power may see the advantage of taking possession
should His Majesty’s Government leave it unappropriated.”

On the receipt of this letter, Stirling’s original report was ap-
parently looked up, and the whole question re-submitted to the Ad-
miralty. The Secretary to the Admiralty, after a conversation with
Carta-in Stirling, more particularly concerning the merits of Swan
River a« compared with King George’s Sound, exhibited a complete
reversal of the previous Admiralty opinion, and in reply to the Col-
onial Office (under date 2nd August) said: “I think there requires
no hesitation in transferring the establishment at the former (Kin-
George’s Sound) to the latter place (Swan River), and perhaps the
sooner the better, as the publication of the chart containing so fine
an anchorage, entirely overlooked by the French navigators, may
induce that nation, or the Americans, who are prowling about for
some detached settlement, to assume possession of the only spot on
” western coast „f Holl.nd th , lt invitins ”

1 pose, to » Inch we could bare no right to offer any resistance."

30

On the 21st August, Stirling forwarded another communication
to the Colonial Office, in which he gives the first hint of the possi-
bility of the formation of an association for the purposes of coloni-
sation. and a$ks whether, under such circumstances, the association
could seine a proprietary charter upon the principles similar to those
adopted in Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Colonial Office and the
Admiral tv combined suggested that he should make further inquiries
with regard to the question of an association, and that he did so is
evident from a letter dated 22nd October, part of which reads: “But,
notwithstanding this favourable inclination, objections are made
against the enterprise at present, upon the following points. In the
first place there is no information extant, under authority, either
to. the precise intentions of the Government, or of the nature of that
territory, nor do any preparations exist there for the reception of
settlers. In the second place, His Majesty’s right to that country
has never been declared, and as it is reported that the French Gov-
ernment contemplates the formation of a settlement, in New Holland,
the apprehension is entertained that an expedition proceeding there
might find, on its arrival, the best positions occupied, and its aim
defeated to the total ruin of the property engaged in it. . . . T take
the liberty of suggesting that (the difficulties) may he obviated by
despatching at once a ship of war to that quarter. Possession might
thus be taken of the country, surveys commenced, and arrangements
made for the reception of settlers.” The latter suggestion bore im-
mediate fruit, as on the 5th November, the Admiralty was instructed
by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to order the officer com-
manding the naval forces at the (''are, to despatch one of the ships
of war under his command, without loss of time, to the coast of New
Holland, with directions to take formal possession in His Majesty’s
name, and with the further direction that the spot should be at,
or near, the Swan River, and that uninterrupted possession be main-
tained until the arrival of further advices.

These instructions were immediately put in hand, and Admiral
Schomberg, the Commander-in-Clnef at the Cape, was instructed
to detail 1I.M.S. “Tweed” for the purpose of carrying them out. A
couple of days later it was found inadvisable to adopt that course,
and the orders were revoked. At the same time, II.M.S. “Chal-
lenger,” under Captain Fremantle, was despatched from London,
and arrived at Coekburn Sound on the 2nd May, 1829. Formal pos-
session was immediately taken by hoisting the British flag on Ar-
thur’s Head. Although this action set at rest the question of actual
possession,- there does not appear to have been, at that time, a definite
decision to establish a colon v forthwith. Such step was, however,
decided upon within the following month, and was accelerated by
the fact that Captain Stirling’s suggestion to form a syndicate had
taken definite shape in the meantime.

On the 4th November, 1828, a syndicate composed of Mr.
Thomas Peel, Sir Francis Vincent, Mr. Edward Schenley, and Col-

31

onel T. Potter Macqueen, forwarded a memorial to the Secretary
of State, offering' to provide shipping' for the purpose ot taking out
ten thousand persons within a period of four years, and to find these
persons in provisions and necessaries allowed to immigrants. 1 urther
they would take to tin; settlement a thousand head of live stock, and
have three small vessels running between Sydney and the settlement
as occasion required. They estimated that the cost involved would
be £30 per head, £300,000 in all, and in return, asked for land at
the rate of one acre for every Is. 6d. of that amount, or four mil-
lion acres in all.

Acting Upon what they considered to be a personal assurance
of the Secretary of State that their proposal would he accepted,
they proceeded to incur expense to the extent of £20,000 in purchas-
ing a vessel and supplies. Then some inkling was received, appar-
ently personally, as there is no correspondence upon the matter, that
all was not well with their proposal, and, on the 2nd December, they
wrote again to the Colonial Office asking for a written acceptance.
Four days later they received a reply to the effect that their pro-
posals would be accepted except as to the extent of land they would
receive, the Government being prepared to allow only one million
acres. Evidently this decision was not satisfactory to the members
of the syndicate, who, one by one, withdrew from it, leaving Mr.
Thomas Peel to carry the whole burden. He then decided to accept
the Government’s offer himself and made an attempt to carry it out.
With the results of that attempt we are not concerned here, but it
may be mentioned that the scheme was a complete failure from every
point of view.

We are, however, concerned with the original syndicate’s offer
to this extent, that it seems to have been the one additional factor
necessary in order to enable the Government to make up its mind,
for we find that on the 12th November the Secretary of State for
the Colonies addressed a letter to the Admiralty asking that a ship
be provided for the purpose of conveying a detachment of troops
and other persons to the western coast of New Holland “where it is
intended to form a British settlement,’’ and, on the 20th November,
the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lord Hill, was asked to pro-
vide a detachment “to be held in readiness for embarkation for i he
western coast of New Holland, where 1 1 is Majesty’s Government
judge it advisable to establish a British settlement.” Judging from
a letter, dated December 28tli, Captain Stirling was personally in-
formed that he was to be appointed to the command of the new set-
tlement, but the formal appointment was not made until the 30th.
On the following day the administrative establishment was appointed.

Although, as T have said, the proposal of the syndicate seems
to have given just that additional weight necessary to tip the scale
in favour of colonisation, the principal reason, according to the docu-
mentary evidence, was a recrudescence of the fear of French annexa-

32

tion, because we find that when the decision had been arrived at, and
the arrangements completed, the Commissioners of the Treasury were
asked to provide the necessary financial assistance on that ground
alone. In a despatch from the Colonial Office to the Treasury, dated
31st December, 1 <328, we find the statement that: “Intimation having
been received that the French Government are prepared to colonise
some part of the west coast of New Holland, and especially that
portion adjoining to the river lately explored by Captain Stirling,
the Secretary of State has thought it expedient to send out that officer
to form a small settlement in that quarter to which such persons
may advantageously resort as may be desirous of establishing them-
selves in a climate as favourable as New South Wales, and a. soil as
premising, without the disadvantages which attach to a penal colony."
Additional evidence of the fact may also be found in the despatch
forwarded to Governor Darling of New South Wales on the 12th
.January, 1829. After drawing the Governor's attention to a previous
despatch of January, 1828, in which he was informed of the grounds
which induced the Government at that time to relinquish all idea
of colonising the west coast of New Holland, the Secretary of State
goes on to say, “Circumstances have since occurred to render the oc-
cupation of that position desirable.’ 7

This completes, so far as 1 am aware, the documentary evidence
concerning the reasons which induced the British Government to
establish a colony in Western Australia. From that evidence it
seems to me to he abundantly clear that practically the only reason
was the fear of French annexation, though it is doubtful whether that
fear would have been sufficiently strong to cause the Government
to come to a decision had there not been the offer of the syndicate.
This proved that there were, in England, men of financial stability
who were confident that a new colony on the west coast could be
made successful. We may perhaps add to these reasons a further
motive which seems to underlie all the correspondence, namely, the
knowledge that existed in the minds of the members of the Govern-
ment that one or two small settlements on the eastern side of this
great island could not, according to the canons of international law,
be deemed to be sufficient to enable Great Britain to successfully
maintain a claim to the whole of the continent.

ACCLIMATISATION.

By Hon. Walter Kingsmill, B.A., President of the Legislative

Council

(Bead 8th October , 1918.)

For the purposes of definition, acclimatisation may he divided
into two heads — domestication and naturalisation. In the few re-
marks I have to make, my principal references will be to the latter
division. Combining the two, it is sufficient to say that in the his-
tory of mankind there has been no more potent factor towards civili-
sation and progress' than the inherent tendency in man to surround
himself, wherever he may go, with the plants or animals to which
he has been accustomed in his country of origin. It is, therefore,
naturally to be expected that England — the wanderer, the Ulysses
amongst nations — has played a most important part in spreading
throughout the world the various products of the vegetable and ani-
mal kingdoms which her sons have used in their homeland. Always
there is an effort made to create in the many countries beyond the
seas to which their roaming tendencies have brought them — another
England.

This tendency, above referred to, whilst it has given to many
countries of the world practically all that makes life worth living, does
not always make for good, and through this strange development of
home-sickness we have to-day in Australia rabbits, foxes, sparrows,
starlings, thistles, and many more examples of this proclivity to
consider a new home undesirable without the surroundings of the old.

But, on the other hand, it may be said that in the (treater Brit-
ain beyond the seas, Englishmen have brought with them to the land
of their adoption nearly everything that has made that land a fitting
home for them. Perhaps the most wonderful instance of the value
and success of acclimatisation may be found in New Zealand. From
the evidence at our disposal, it appears probable that some 600 years
ago these lovely islands were without human inhabitants. Of mam-
mals there are none; of reptiles very few. The fish in the rivers
were confined to the members of a few insignificant and useless
species. Birds, indeed, in ) leii-tv. Man first made his appearance
from some of the South Sea Islands, bringing with him the dog’ and
the. rat. Then came Cook, the circumnavigator, and released pigs,
which there found their island home so much to their liking that
they flourished exceedingly.

With colonisation there were introduced deer, trout, and salmon,
and to-day we see a land which, in comparatively recent historical
time, was practically devoid of life, looked upon now as a sports-

34

man's paradise, and visited yearly by many thousands of people to
enjoy the resources which have been created by acclimatisation.

That this subject has more than a sentimental significance may
be gathered from the fact that some of our great industries are built
upon its products.

Take, for instance, the rubber industry in the East Indies,
where all the trees cultivated are the progeny of a few Para rubber
trees (llerea lira.? Mentis) introduced to Singapore less than 50
years ago. The same is the case in connection with the quinine in-
dustry in Java, whence a very large proportion of the world's supply
of this indispensable drug is obtained but, perhaps, speaking as I
am to an Australian audience, I might well depend upon the example
of an acclimatised animal which has done more to add to tlie wealth
of Australia than any other — 1 refer to the merino sheep.

One advantage of acclimatisation is that it is not one-sided. As
well as receiving: benefits, most countries give them in return, and
instances of this are not lacking in the case of Australia. We have
sent our euealypts practically all over the world — in North America,
South America, Southern Europe, South Africa, Asia, the Tas-
manian blue gum has become a familiar tree, while South Africa
to-day is sending us, to tan onr leather, wattle bark taken from
trees the progeny of those introduced into that country from Aus-
tralia.

Before the war, annually, large numbers of our kangaroos were
sent to Germany for release in public and private parks, and the
German people much appreciated, as a food, the flesh of this much
u n der-ra t ed a n i m a 1 .

Coming now to what has been done in Australia, we find that
in Tasmania, the Island State, the first instances of useful acclima-
tisation have taken place. How the enthusiasts of the Sixties and
Seventies managed with the slow transport facilities of the day
to bring from the Homeland the ova of trout and salmon is hard
to understand. However, this feat was accomplished, and in their
new home these fish did well and in a few years provided the stock
for the New Zealand rivers. Bed deer, too, sent from Tasmania, were
the progenitors of those which now range the hills of Maoriland.

The other Australian States followed this lead either by the
expenditure of Government funds or by the liberality of public-
spirited individuals, until we see to-day that nearly all the streams
reaching* the ocean on the eastern and south-eastern coasts provide
excellent trout-fishing, and some of these fish are found in the tribu-
taries of the Murray and Darling River system. Deer, too, have
been introduced in many places and have done well. English pheas-
ants and partridges would, perhaps, have stood a better chance of
success had it not been for the fact that in an excess of zeal some
enthusiastic devotees of the chase found it necessary for their peace
of mind to hunt the fox in the land of their adoption, and this am-

35

mal, finding his new surroundings to his liking, has increased to
such an extent as to become one of the most serious pests that Aus-
tralia has yet seen and, in conjunction with the domestic cat returned
to a state of savagery, has rendered the successful rearing of ground
game almost an impossibility as well as destroying in very large
numbers our rare and beant.il id smaller fauna. To come to our own
State, acclimatisation work may be looked upon as a plant of quite
i ecent growth, and while at first the soil in which it grew was en-
riched by the attentions of those in power in granting moderately
generous amounts to tins most national and useful of objects, at the
present day, when, to continue the analogy, our plant has blossomed
and begun to bear fruit, its sustenance is curtailed to such an extent
as to threaten its very life. Surely an instance, even if a small one,
of faulty husbandry.

In Western Australia the principal efforts of those controlling
the work have been directed towards the acclimatisation of fresh”
water fish in our rivers, lakes and other available waters, and in this,
with the experience gained through initial mistakes, a fair amount
of success has been attained. To-day, in nearly every river and
stream in our Southern districts, English perch may be found, and
m some places the fishing will compare very favourably both for
quantity and quality with any part of Australia. This* fish seems
admirably adapted for life in our waters, accommodating itself, ap-
parently, without difficulty to the many changes and chances of tem-
peratures and salinities met with in different localities. Perch have
been taken up to seven lbs. in weight, and in the waters which have
been stocked for the longer periods fish of four pounds and over
are not infrequent. With the increase in size, an improvement in
edible qualities is associated; an occurrence which is somewhat un-
usual. On the whole, the English perch has been found to be easily
the most suitable and adaptable fish for our freshwater areas.

During last year 1,000 fish, in 100 different consignments, were
sent to parts of the State as far apart as Sandstone in the North,
to Man jim up m the South. These fish are delivered free of all
charge at the nearest railway station or siding to the home of any
settler who is willing to take charge of them, release them in the
waters m which they are to live, and return the cans in which they
haye made their journey to the station for carriage to tin depot at
m ow s ell. ^ 1 he distribution of fish alone necessitates, in ad-
dition to the provision of the fish which are caught, caged (to ensure
their better travelling) placed in the cans and taken to the station
at ( ndlows TV ell, a large amount of inspectorial and clerical work
the former to ascertain whether the waters for which fish are re-
quired are suitable as regards size, depth, temperature, salinity, food
supply, etc., and the latter m answering letters of application mak-
mg arrangements for inspections, giving notification to consignees
o the despatch of fish and other numerous directions. All this in-

36

speetorial and clerical work is carried out by honorary effort, and
even then, when it is considered that the grant for all branches of
acclimatisation work (and fish form only one of the branches) ,
amounts to only £75 annually, it must be admitted that the State
receives excellent value for its money, and further that an under-
taking- such as this which has already given to hundreds of settlers
the opportunity of obtaining from the streams or lakes near which
they live, or even in many cases from the dams which they them-
selves have sunk, an abundant and every- ready addition to diet-
ary scale which, in many instances, is unhealthy because of its mon-
otony, is surely worthy of a more generous recognition and a larger
measure of monetary support than is now being accorded to it.

To return from this financial digression, it may be noted that
in the case of trout our experiments have not been so satisfactory
as with perch. In former years, when funds were available, exper-
ience was lacking; and to-day, when by the experience we have gained
we know where these (ish would flourish, we cannot, apparently, ob-
tain the necessary money to carry out this work, which is slightly
more expensive than the cultivation of perch.

Many years ago Murray cod, obtained from South Australia,
were placed in Grassmere Lake, near Albany, but it was only when
some twenty years after the cutting of a drain lowered the level of
the lake that, by the stranding of many large fish, it was found that
they had done well. Specimens of over 601 bs. in weight were found
and opportunity is now to be sought to place yearlings of this
line food fish — the largest of the perch family — in such waters as
by their comparative isolation will not render the voracity of this
species a menace to existing fish life.

Early attempts were made to introduce tench and carp. In the
case of the first-mentioned the attempts were happily unsuccessful.
As regards carp, however, these fish obtained more or less of a foot-
ing, hut they are not any longer being distributed.

Looking to the future of fish culture, it must he admitted that
there is still much to be done. In addition to extending the scope
of our present' work by introducing trout to the suitable streams
which, by examination, have been proved to exist, it is eminently
desirable that an effort should he made to bring to our shores some
of the food (ish of other lands, and the shad, one of the finest and
best of the herring family, is at once suggested. The numerous in-
lets and river mouths on our coast would provide ideal breeding
and feeding grounds for this fish, and that it will repay expenditure
in acclimatising it is evidenced by the fact that many years ago
consignments of these fish and of striped bass, another fish suit-
able for us, were sent right across America from East to West, re-
leased on the Californian coast, and now form a large proportion
of the fish Supply of Western America, and play an important com-
mercial part in the lives of many people.

37

But then it is well to remember that in America they pay some
attention to matters of this kind.

In relation to the introduction of birds suitable for sporting* and
food purposes, it has always been necessary to exercise the greatest
care in the selection of species which, while fulfilling* the above
qualifications, would not prove destructive.

Pheasants and partridges have been tried, but so far without
much success, as they fall easy victims to the ravages of cats, etc.

With guinea, fowl, however, the ease is different, and it is now
found that along our coastal districts following roughly the belt of
tuart timber which exists for some two hundred miles or so within
a few miles of the sea, these birds are doing very well and increas-
ing to such an extent that it is permissible to hope that in a few
more years, with the additional stock which is always being turned
out, and the natural increase, good sport and a valuable food supply
will be available.

In districts further inland, for reasons at present not apparent,
they do not succeed so well.

Black African spur-wing geese are also being distributed, but
it is, as yet, too early to pronounce a verdict on them. Should, how-
ever, the experiment prove successful, this bird, which in South
Africa is much thought of, should prove a valuable addition to our
resources.

The same remarks apply to the ( anadian wild geese, recognised
as one of the finest game-birds of the world, of which specimens have
been sent to one or more districts, the numbers being necessarily
limited by paucity of funds.

The mallard, or Bngtfeh wild duck, in the Zoological Gardens,
and in some of our city parks, rear each year large clutches which
fly away into the country, blit this species is not by any means an
improvement on our own native black duck.

Doves of two species are being continually despatched to ap-
plicants in various country districts and do Well, especially where
pine trees exist for them to nest in. Along the Darling Range and
between the same and the ocean for many miles the laugh of the
kookaburra is becoming a familiar sound, and applications are com-
ing to hand for more supplies, showing in what high estimation
this typically Australian bird is held.

Tn this short record of what has been done with the scanty means
at our command, the efforts which have been made, in some cases
successfully, to acclimatise mammals, must not be lost sight of.

The Scottish red deer, (lie noblest of its tribe, has formed the
subject of experiment in three localities in the neighbourhood of
Albany, close to Cape Leeuwin, and in the unoccupied tract of prac-
tically useless land between Pinjarra and Rockingham.

In the two first-named districts, from causes hard, if not im-
possible to ascertain, no success has followed, but in the case of

38

the last-named experiment the results have been excellent. From
deer released some twelve years ago there has been established a
herd numbering probably over 150 head of remarkably fine speci-
mens which run in this sandy, scrubby stretch of country, and seem
to flourish therein quite as well as in their native land.

Indian black-back, a handsome and harmless antelope, has been
tried with success on our Murchison country, and a small but steadily
increasing* herd of these animals is frequently seen in the vicinity of
Wiluna. There is such a large extent of our inland dry country
suitable for these antelopes that it seems a pity that the necessary
funds to place more of them in our back blocks cannot be found.

The Indian hog-deer, too, would do very well in the swampy
country of our South-West, but, again, lack of money stands in our
way.

It is impossible in a short paper to do more than to merely
touch upon the salient features of what has been accomplished in the
face of great difficulties in our State, but those who are interested
in the subject nm\ perhaps be allowed to hope that in the future
those controlling the affairs of Government may be induced to view
with a more kindly eye than has hitherto been the case, efforts to carry
out this work which, it must he admitted, has an important bearing
on the comfort of the everyday life of those dwellers in our agricul-
tural and pastoral lands whose welfare should he important to ns
all.

39

SOME ASPECTS OF TOWN PLANNING.

By W. A. Saw, Vice-President of the Town Planning Association

of Western Australia.

(Read 19 th November , 1918.)

A publication of the Homestead Commission, Massachusetts,
United States, America, states that Town Planning means:—

•‘Conservation of human energy and preservation of life,
particularly child life; not merely superficial beautification.

Economy, necessity, scientific reality; not extravagance,
dreams, fads.

Conformity to a definite plan of an orderly development
into which improvement will fit as it is needed; not immediate
execution of the whole plan.

Saving in cost of public improvements by business methods
for city business; not the surrender of the city to artists with
vague schemes for city adornment.

Correlation of the city’s activities; not wholesale alterations
at great expense with no assured financial returns.

Encouragement of commerce and facilitation of business;
not the interruption of business and commerce.

Preservation of historic buildings with their traditions; not
the destruction of the old landmarks and city individuality

The rule of common foresight and prudence; not the rule
of chance with ruinous expense and debt.

Happiness, convenience, and health to all citizens; not
merely expensive boulevards and parks available only to the
rich.”

Who can say of the vast army of the unemployed how large
a portion of the industrially inefficient are so because of lowered
physical vitality caused by disadvantageous living conditions? To
what extent is the forbidding atmosphere of so many homes an ele-
ment in the problem of inebriety? Of the burdens which the State
is called upon to bear in the support of almhouses for the dependent,
hospitals for the sick, asylums for the insane, prisons and reforma-
tories for the criminal, what portion can fairly be attributed to early
adverse environment ?

What other Countries are doing.

In 1874 Sweden passed an Act in which it was made compulsory
that “For every town there shall be prepared a plan for its general
arrangements and of the building within it, including the streets, the

40

markets, and other public places. It shall be adopted by the Town
Council, and finally submitted to the King for his approval or re-
jection.

In Italy it. is compulsory that every town of 10,000 inhabitants
must have its town-planning scheme.

In England, Franc, e, Italy, United States, Sweden, Canada,
Nova Scotia, and Germany, town-planning has been in force for
years. Even during the war England has spent many millions and
has other large schemes in hand. In London the .architects, engin-
eers, surveyors, and city officials are working on a comprehensive
plan covering housing and traffic routes over an area of 2,000 square
miles round London. In France, the Senate have passed a law
which provides that every city, town, or village in France, regardless
of whether it is in the destroyed area or not, will be forced to lay its
future developments according to modern city planning principles.

Belgium has appointed a board of town-planners to deal with
the existing, as well as the ruined, towns.

Australia must awake and keep up to the other nations of the
world in the march of progress. We cannot afford to lag behind
them.

It must not be forgotten also that, now the war is over,
some 30,000 soldiers, strong, able-bodied, virile, vigorous men, the
best of our race, will return to Western Australia, and while we
hope that many will take up rural occupations, yet it is almost cer-
tain that the majority of them will settle in towns and suburbs.
This means more rapid development than heretofore. Are we there-
fore to let the present happy-go-lucky style of expansion go on,
and add to our present difficulties'? Let us be wise and plan in ad-
vance of settlement.

City Beautiful.

This is a term we are constantly bearing, mostly in terms of
levity, or sarcasm, but it is possible that those who use the term do
not know what it means, and have a very poor conception of what
town-planners are aiming at.

We are not theorists and idealists. Town planning involves es-
sentially practical considerations. Its bearing on public health
should be sufficient to ensure for it the attention it deserves in a
country which recognises the value both of population and the
efficiency of the individual units.

We see in Australia, this “glorious land of open spaces,” our
large cities congested with physically crushed and mentally warped
men and women.

We note the squalid environment, breeding crime and disease.
We watch death stalking through the slums, and marking down the
defenceless child, passing it out without even a fighting chance. In
this “land of magnificent distances” Sydney has an infant death

41

rate of 11.7 per cent. We in Australia are so crushing our houses
together that the death rate of our children is greater than that of
London, where 0 per cent, go out in their first year. \ et with proper
city planning as at Port Sunlight, England, the death rate can be
lowered to 8 per cent. Some years ago this State had the highest
infant death rate, under one year, in the Commonwealth, at one
time over 14 per cent., but during 1 91(1, 1917, and 1918 it is pro-
bably the lowest in the Commonwealth, being slightly over 6 per
cent, of the births, or 60.5 per .1,000 births. Under 5 years the
deaths averaged 2314 per cent, of the whole deaths. The total death
rate is 9.8 per 1,000 of the population.

We must do better than we have done in conserving our baby life
by taking greater care of the mothers of the nation. We can aug-
ment our man power best by improving the workmen’s homes, by
beautifying them individually, and in the mass, by preserving the
sancitv of the home and keeping the flag ‘‘one family, one house”
Hying by abolishing overcrowding; by getting the factories and the
workers out into the environs of t lie* city by rapid communication
services to zones where land is cheaper, where air is pure, and where
the children, in their garden villages, will grow up taller, stronger,
deeper in the chest, freer from physical defects, happier, more likely
to be stalwart effectives in the wealth-creating forces of the State,
and less likely to he a burden on the community. We wish to look
ahead, and plan tor the future as well as the present, to save piling
up an unnecessary burden on the next generation, which, in many
cases, we can now prevent without cost to ourselves.

A e wish to seize the opportunity when it presents itself, as our
means allow, and at the lowest possible cost, to rectify some of the
many mistakes made in the past, which, if not dealt with, will be-
come more accentuated as time goes on. 1 niniproved. land costs
less to purchase than improved land.

Londo n Conference.

Xow, m 1910 a Town Planning Conference was held in Lon-
don, and there were present 3(58 delegates from 214 Corporations,
Councils, and Societies from all parts of the world.

The Right Hon. John Burns, M.P., was the President and wel-
comed the delegates on behalf of the Prime Minister and His Mai
esty’s Government. Mr. Burns was the author of the English Hous-
ing and Town Planning Act which was passed by Parliament in the

year 1909. T quote a few extracts from his address to the dele-
gates :■ —

“Environment has a wonderful effect on character. It is not an
accident that the beautiful manor house, the restful vicarage the
stately homes of England, and the beautiful public schools and col-
leges have turned out the Ruslans, the Kingsleys, the Morrises the
Ac] sons, the Newtons and the Darwins.

42

Cities are not only emporiums for goods, centres of commerce
and trade. They are something* more than a mere cash nexus: they
are places where utility, comfort, and beauty can be and ought to
be combined, so that the passer by can, from wliat he sees, feel some-
thing to which his sense* of beauty and of domestic comfort can res-
pond all the better for having lived in and seen beautiful buildings
every day of his life; places which by their beauty, their amenity,
their grace, and, above all, their greenery, create a joy in life which
we Britons sometimes lack, and give a spacious leisure in idle mom-
ents, when study wants a respite, and honest labour requires a pleas-
ant rest.

The people of our poorer towns suffer not only from lack of
means, they suffer from poverty of spirit. Their dismal temper is
often caused by their squalid environment. Fverv day we see chil-
dren’s characters spoiled, their natures stunted by the depressing
circumstances in which they live.

Spoiled lives in the soiled homes, in the slatternly streets, are
often causes of dirt, drink, degradation, loading, and dependence in
many of our big cities. When a slum vanishes, a brewery falls and
public houses disappear. The mean street produces the mean men,
the lean and tired woman, and the unclean children.

So long as casual labour broods in squalid lairs, in sunless
streets, and ugly dwellings are its only habitation, we shall continue
to turn out nervous mannikins instead of enduring men.

Motherhood, childhood, youth, society, and the race demand
the demolition of the soul-destroying slum. They ask for the pleas-
ant town, the comfortable yet dignified city.

The artisan is now securing houses at rents and of a character
and beauty that were not within the reach of the average artisan
25 years ago. But, we have to think of those lower than the artisan ;
we have to think of the great mass of mankind, the hewers of wood
and the drawers of water, the skilled, the unskilled, and, above all,
the casual labourer; and the responsibility rests upon us in house
and town planning to see that the labourer is provided with infin-
itely better housing and street accommodation than he now secures.

The expanding village wants town planning, as much as does
the large city; the growing town clamours for town planning; but,
most of all, the straggling suburb round the ever-changing city
gives a stimulus whose call we ought to have answered years ago.
For all these reasons — industrial, social, commercial, and imperial —
town planning must go hand in hand with better housing, higher
wages, and increasing sobriety.”

United States and Canada.

Now, many people in Western Australia consider that town
planning is a fad, not worth wasting time over, but the people of
the United States and Canada are recognised even by our critics as

43

being* smart, cute, and up-to-date. They know and have proved that
it is a money-saving proposition. Listen to what Mr. Daniel H.
Burnham, Chairman of the Committee of Fine Arts, U.S.A., and
tlie creator of the Chicago Exposition, said at the London Confer-
ence in 1910: —

“The inception of great planning of public buildings and
grounds in the United States was in the World’s Fair in Chicago,
1890. The beauty of its arrangement and of its buildings made a
profund impression, not merely upon the highly educated part of
the community, but still more perhaps upon the masses, and this
impression has been a lasting one. As a first result of the object-
lesson, the Government took up the torch and proceeded to make a
comprehensive plan for the future development of the Capitol,
T\ ashington. This action was less than ten years ago, up to which
time there never had been a Plan Commission in the United States,
but since then every considerable town in that country has gone
into this study, and there are many hundreds of Plan Commissions
at work at the present time throughout the land. Is this a fad, an
attractive occupation of the moment, an interest which will dissipate
and pass away? Is it a mere plaything’, or does it mirror urgent
needs, never before felt, but now becoming essential to humanity?
A review of some of the organisations may help to determine the
reality of purpose with which men have now gone into this work.
The Washington Designing Board was appointed by the Govern-
ment, the last President of the I nited States, and, still more, the
present one are at the hack of it, and the Congress has passed an
Act establishing a National Fine Arts Commission as an outcome of
their efforts.

1 hen came the plan of Manila, capital of the Philippines, made
under Mr. Taft, who was then Secretary for War, the initiative
having come from him personally.

Then came Cleveland, Ohio, which State passed a special law in
order to allow large towns to employ expert commissioners, who are
t° design the public thoroughfares and parks, and who are to act
as censors in all public art matters. *

1 lien came San Francisco, where an association of private men
undertook to back the work. And then came Chicago, where the
work was undertaken by the Commercial Club, which appointed a
committee of 15 of its members to conduct the enterprise.

Other places have done the same earnest work, and have shown
the same liberal spirit as those mentioned above. But the most
significant aspect of this new phase of life in the United States lies
m the kind of men who are actively engaged. Thev are the best
and the strongest men of affairs we have. In Chicago,’ in three years,
there were 200 meetings of the General Committee, at which* hun-
dreds of public men— engineers, architects, sanitary, railroad, city
transportation, and other experts— were present. There is not one

44

man of the 15 committee men who is not at the head of some oreat
business, and who is not loaded with the heaviest kind of responsi-
bilities of his own, and yet they all make it a point of honour to be
in their seats when the chairman calls to order, and not for a week
or two, or a month or two, but most faithfully through years, and
it is everywhere the same.

The town planning mer. in every city are the ablest in the com-
munity, and each one feels that lie has no duty more serious or
more important ; and it may he of interest to Englishmen to know
that, just as I was leaving Home a month ago (this was in 1910),
Sir William Horn, Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Pacific
Railroad, wrote to me from Montreal to say that he had taken the
chairmanship ol a Plan Commission and desired to consult me about
an organisation for the development of that city. There you have
one of the three or four first men in Canada, deliberately arrang-
ing to give his heart and hand to the kind of work we are talking
about.

There are many more instances, well worth mention, all going
to show that town planning is not in the hands of people who have
time to waste, but you do not need any more proof. You know well
that the deep interest taken in the subject throughout the world
marks, not a passing fancy, but a definite step in the development
of man.

Australia

And now what is Australia doing? Neither in peace or war
do we lag behind others, but rather do we strive to be in the lead.

In 1917 a Town Planning Conference was held in Adelaide at
which there were 291 delegates from all parts of the Commonwealth
except W.A. ( Owing to the great strike and lack of transport we
were unable to send delegates.) In 191S another conference was
held in Brisbane at which there were 512 delegates, hut only four were
from this State. There were present Cabinet Ministers, Members
of Parliament, Heads of Government Departments of all the States
except Western Australia, Lord Mayors, Mayors and Aldermen,
Representatives of Statutory Bodies, such as Harbour Trusts, Uni-
versities, Metropolitan Board of Wafer Supply and Sewerage, Town
Planning Associations, numerous Local Government Bodies, such as
Cities, Towns and Shires Councils. Other bodies such as Insti-
tutions of Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Architects, Board of Con-
trol of the Soldiers’ Garden Village, New South Wales, Master
Builder^, Health Society, Women’s Horticultural and Home In-
dustries Society, National Council of Women, Municipal Engineers,
Chambers of Commerce and Manufactures, Editors of Daily Papers,
Automobile Club, Labour Council, Women's Club, Federal Institute
of Accountants, Historical Society, Horticultural Society, Pharma-

45

ceutical Society, Employers 7 Federation, Returned Sailors and Sol-
diers 7 Imperial League of Australia, Royal Geographical Society of
Queensland, School for Mothers, Botanic Gardens Board, Wattle
Day League, the Society of Architects, London, and the following
Associations: — British Medical, Art Gallery, Journalists, Australian
Natives, Trained Nurses, Traders, Timber Merchants, Children's
Playground, Master Carriers, National Agricultural and Industrial,
Law, Nurserymens and Workers 7 Educational*

This list gives us some idea of the way in which Town Plan-
ning is engaging the attention of the public, in the other States of
Australia.

There are now two Town Planning Ministers, one in New South
Wales, Hon. J. D. Fitzgerald: and the other in South Australia,
Hon. H. W. Bar well. They each intend to place before Parliament
a Town Planning Bill, and it will be interesting to see which State
will have the honour of passing the first Town Planning Act in Aus-
tralia.

Let me tell you of some of the things that have been done in
Western Australia which could not have happened had there been
a Town Planning Act in force, administered by experts: —

Slums . — We have slums in Perth and Fremantle. In East Perth
there are 11 houses on one allotment of half an acre, some fronting
a narrow lane only 20 feet in width.

In West Perth land is subdivided and built upon with an area
of 10 perches. This equals 16 houses to the acre.

In Leederville there are lots with about 16 to 20 feet frontage
and small depth. They are built upon, one room in width and no
land at the side.

North of Victoria Park Station there are lots so small that 20
are required to make one acre.

In the whole of the Metropolitan Area from Midland Junction
to Fremantle, it was a common thing for the owner of land to have
it subdivided as he pleased, without supervision and without refer-
ence to what the next owner had done or intended to do; the con-
sequence is that many roads end in a cul-de-sac, and do not connect
with one another. These mistakes can never be wholly rectified, and
will cost a very large sum of money to undo some of the mischief.
We have wedge-shaped corners of streets, making them unsightly
and dangerous to traffic. In districts subdivided by private oAvners
sufficient open spaces have not been reserved for parks, recreation
grounds and children’s playgrounds. Claremont has only 1.2 per
cent., Perth Road Board, including Mt. Lawley, less than 1 per
cent,, Bayswater a trifle over 1 per cent., Belmont Park Road Board
Vs of 1 per cent. Town Planners advocate about 10 per cent. To give
an idea as to what it has cost Perth up to the present, although it

46

is well provided with parks and open spaces — but they were un-
evenly distributed — the following is the expenditure: —

£ s. d.

Purchasing land for Parks and Gardens . . . . 37,000 0 0

Opening out Blind Streets — Extension and Wid-
ening 38,563 0 0

Rounding off Street Corners 1,192 0 0

£76,775 0 0

Costs the Ratepayers at 5 per cent, each day of

the year 10 10 0

Per year 3,837 15 0

This is only the beginning. We and our children will have to
pay in Perth alone many tens of thousands of pounds in trying to
undo the errors of the past. Then what will it cost the other towns
and suburbs in this large State of Western Australia'? Hundreds
of thousands, possibly millions.

To prove this let us take Sydney’s and Melbourne’s experience —

Bounding off Street Corners.

A few years ago the Sydney Council bought 5 J /2 square yards
of a corner at the intersection of George and King Streets for which
they paid £1,500. The whole block of land was purchased in 1823
for £63.

Through the action of the Town Planning Association of West-
ern Australia, the local authorities arc making it compulsory in
new subdivisions to round off the corners of new streets and the
Surveyor General has agreed to adopt the same procedure in new
towns and suburbs. This alone will save the next generation many
thousands of pounds, and at no cost to ourselves.

Sydney and Melbourne — Shims and. Housing.

The Sydney Council have during the past 12 years made 83 re-
sumptions to get rid of slums and to widen streets. Up to 1917
the total sum paid was £2,304,047, and other resumptions have since
been made and there will be many more. This is not all loss; it may
be recovered at the end of 50 years when building leases fall in and
through the resale of some of the land. Slum houses were being
knocked down when I was in Sydney last August, but what has been
done in only the beginning.

Melbourne spent £100,000 to resume undesirable areas, but that
sum only purchased two overcrowded block of land, and the au-
thorities are undecided as to what to do further owing to the pro-
hibitive cost.

47

The subject of Housing is a serious problem in Sydney and
Melbourne and disgraceful conditions exist there. Both cities are
overcrowded. The recent report of the Housing Commission which
has been collecting evidence in Melbourne is a very disturbing docu-
ment. It says: “In Fitzroy, a husband, his wife and three children
were found living in one room. In South Melbourne, in a house of
three rooms, three families were huddled. Two families, totalling
eight persons, were discovered in a three-roomed house in Port Mel-
bourne. In St. Kilda, a fashionable suburb, a bedroom 10ft. x 10ft.,
and with damp walls, accommodated a man, his wife, and four chil-
dren.”

In Sydney, Mr. A. B. Piddington (Chairman of the Interstate
Commission), who is inquiring into house rents, said: “I visited
without previous announcement a number of houses in the eastern
suburbs of the city in order to see for myself the nature of the
dwellings which a large number of people occupy. The rooms in
many of the houses were small and low, and the floors rat-eaten.
The back yards at almost all of the houses, on an average, would not
be more than about 10ft. x 10ft, Speaking generally, I formed the
conclusion that a great many of the dwellings in that portion of
the city are just about on the same level as the slum dwellings which
I was shown in South London.”

The Prince of Wales paid a visit recently to Southwark in order
to investigate the housing conditions of the poor. The Mayor asked
the Prince what he thought of them. “It is damnable,” lie said.

The same thing will happen here if we do not take steps to
prevent it. The Workers’ Homes Board have done good work with
the funds that were available, and the proposed housing of soldiers
will assist. This latter scheme is most liberal. Up to £700 will be
advanced to each approved applicant and the interest will be only
5 per cent. Thirty-seven years will be allowed for repayments when
a stone house is erected, and a shorter time if of less enduring
material, viz., 20 years for a wooden house.

C h i l dren’s Playg rou nds .

It is gratifying to know that some ladies are interesting them-
selves in the Children’s Playground at Lake Street in Perth. The
Town Planning Association has appointed some of its members to
advise as to the lay-out. Children’s playgrounds are of recent, origin,
but many cities are providing them. The idea is that no house should
be more than half-a-mile from the playground. There is a Chil-
dren’s Playground Association of Queensland, and Miss Bedford,
the Hon. Secretary, stated that: “In the Brisbane City Area there
are approximately 9,000 children between the ages of three and Hi
totally unprovided for as regards play centres, and, in the Metro-
politan Area, taking a 10-mile radius, there are as many as 48,849
equally unfortunate, with the exception of one district.”

48

Last year T was present at the opening of a Children’s Play-
ground at Ithaca, a suburb of Brisbane. The Ithaca Council allo-
cated £120 for the equipment of the playground, and everything lias
been provided to make for the happiness of the children. At the
higher end of the ground there are two buildings, one a creche and
the other a kindergarten school. They are in charge of two nurses.
At the lower end there is an open air municipal bath. The play-
ground is divided into different sections for boys, girls and infants,
and is well equipped with swings, ladders, climbing poles, rounda-
bouts, slides, wading pool, and other appliances.

One of the nurses said she had appointed 22 boys as policemen
to look after the grounds and to protect the apparatus supplied for
the games.

At Port Pirie, South Australia, on August 17th, 1918, a play-
ground with its buildings, shelters, appliances, carriage drives, foot-
paths, plantations and playing areas was erected and completed in
one day. Over 2,000 employees of the Broken Hill Associated
Smelters gave their services free to do the work.

The company provided the means, and the Corporation the site.
What a lot of good work can be done by co-operation and unity of
purpose !

The Town Planners of this State are encouraged by trie work
of others in all parts of the civilised world. We have pressed stead-
ily on during the past three years, turning neither to the right nor
to the left, ever onward, determined to reach the goal we have in
view, viz., the passing of a Town Planning Act.

We are endeavouring to enlist the sympathy and assistance of
the Government, Members of Parliament, Local Authorities, Socie-
ties, Institutions, Associations, Leagues, Trades Hall, business men
arid the general public, so that they all may he interested in Town
Planning and thus benefit themselves and those who come after
them.

Let each one endeavour to do his or her part as the opportunity
occurs, for if we do not leave a better heritage to our children than
that which we received from those who have “gone before,” we shall
have neglected our duty and betrayed our trust.

49

Fig. L

A factory between tbe Swan River and the King’s
Park, Perth. Out of keeping with its surroundings,
and causing a dangerous bottle-neck on the main road.
Factories should only be allowed in selected areas.

Fig. 2.

Vista pleasing to the eye. Situated at the eastern end
of Murray Street, Perth.

r.

0

Fig* 3.

Vista in William Street, Perth. Tower erected by
Railway Department, with side of tank used for an
advertisement of whisky.

Fig. 4.

Slums in Perth

51 .

Fig. 5.

Slums in Sydney. Fifty houses to the acre.

Fig. 6.

Streets in Leederville, Perth, set out without super-
vision. (What will it cost to rectify this error?)

52

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Fig. 7.

South Perth. Subdivision of two estates. Note the
position of the streets, many have blind ends.

a MOidWV H

53

H AY S T

Perth

A Civic Crime

11 Houses on '/z Acre
7 of them fronting

<a 20 ft Lane

Fig. 8.

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Wb at happens when
there is no control

Fig. 9.

54

Fig. 10.

Wasting time and money at a level crossing in East
Perth. This obstruction to traffic has existed for 28
years.

Fig. 11.

Perth Railway Station and approach. Insufficient
space for future needs. The Railway Station is the
entrance gate to the city, and the volume of traffic
demands a broad open space leading to which wide
radial thoroughfares should converge.

55

Fig. 12.

Union Railway Station — Washington, U.S.A.
(Note the area, reserved for future requirements.)

Fig. 13,

Two very dangerous corners at Claremont, W.A.
(This will have to be rectified some day at the public
expense.)

50

>

Fig. 14.

A 66 feet wide residential street in the metropolitan
area. Expensive to maintain, ugly and dusty, and
unnecessarily wide for the limited traffic.

Fig. 15.

A 20 feet residential street in, a Garden City in
England.. The houses are set back on a building line.
This is a better road than that showing in the pre-
ceding figure, costs less to const met and to maintain,
and could be widened if necessity arose without com-
pensation being paid to the landowners.

57

Fig. 16.

Aldwych, London. Shows rounded corners, which facili-
tate movement of traffic and have a fine effect.

Fig, 17.

Ord Street, Perth , showing the mutilation of trees due to poles and wires

being erected in the wrong position.

58

PERCENTAGE or PARKAREAtoCITYAREA

Fig. 18.

Percentage of park area to city area. The districts
showing the smallest are those which have been sub-
divided by private owners.

Fig. 19.

A children’s playground, Ithaca, Brisbane. Many
cities are now providing such playgrounds. Their pro-
moters urge that no home should be more than half a
mile from a playground.

Fig 1 . 20.

Western Australian Worker’s Home (leasehold).
Three rooms and kitchen. Cost £410. Rent 12s. 6d.
a week. 240 such houses have been built.

Fig. 21.

Western Australian Worker’s Home (freehold).
Cost and repayments not available. There are about
1,100 freehold estates on which houses have been
erected. The Board has advanced over £500,000 for
building houses. (The freehold system has proved
more popular than the leasehold.)

(50

Fig. 22.

North Terrace, Adelaide. Showing the treatment
of a street too wide for present traffic. Note the
Park Ring- in the distance. The land cost under
£3,000, and is said to be now worth several million
pounds.

*

Fig. 23.

Trafalgar Square, London. Showing some of the streets
radiating from this fine open space.

■1* <r

61

Fig. 24.

Place* de la Concorde, Paris. The finest open place in
any European city. (Foreign armies have encamped on
this place on three occasions. The Germans were there
in IS 70, and intended to he there again in 1914.)

(Note. — Only a few of the pictures shown by Mr. Saw
are here reproduced.)

HOUSES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

By A. R. L. Wright, Licentiate R.I.B.A., President of W.A.

Institute of Architects.

( Bead 11///. March, 1919.)

The subject of this paper is of a different character from those
subjects usually discussed in lectures of this Society. It is, how-
ever, a very important one, as the health of the community is so
largely dependent upon satisfactory housing conditions. Moreover,
since we all live in houses, it is a subject of general interest: the
layman as well as the architect can discover inconveniences or other
faults of the house he occupies, or he has ideas of what a house
should be to suit his particular views.

Speaking generally, houses must be well situated, pleasant to
look upon, healthy to live in, and carefully studied in their arrange-
ments, whilst at the same time being economically and substantially
built. To secure these virtues great skill and mature knowledge are
essential in the designer, probably in a greater degree than is re-
quired for a more complex: and expensive building. This fact is not
generally known, and all kinds of people take it upon themselves to
build houses without the most elementary training for the work,
whilst any architect of experience has heard enough opinions from
so-called practical people to make an expert of him. It is a popular
idea amongst ladies who are interested in houses that an architect
either never heard of such a thing as a cupboard, or, from natural
infirmity common to his <dass, has not Sufficient skill to design one.
It is difficult to remove that impression and from the houses one
sees in this country [ think the opinion is quite justifiable, and that
is one of the reasons for the reading of this paper,

A house may be a mansion, a villa, or a cottage, but whatever
it is, it should be of a design adapted to the local climate and cir-
cumstances, and of materials readily obtainable in the neighbour-
hood.

On this vast continent, extending through many latitudes, with
varied climates, soil, and local building materials, we require many
different types of dwellings. A house for Perth is not suitable for
Carnarvon, nor is a country house at Kojonup right for Kimberley.
The requirements are entirely different both for climate and ma-
terial.

In Spain and Italy the houses differ materially from those in
England in style and arrangement, and they are not interchangeable.
Yet in Australia one builds houses in semi-tropical parts almost fit
for an English town. As far as circumstances go, the canvas shanty

of the goldfields and the woodcutter's slab hut have more of fitness
for the locality and circumstances than many of our ordinary houses.

Our usual type of dwelling is derived from England, whereas
our climate and ways of living call for an Italian house, with its
piazza, plain elevation, and heavily projecting eaves. We have
copied our verandahs and balconies from Holland and Germany,
but the inside of the house is certainly English. There has been
little attempt at designing a really Australian house. One might
at first, glance say that the ordinary Queensland wooden houses are
colonial, but they are not, their only idiosyncracv being the height
they are built off the ground. This serves no good purpose, and
only reminds one of the ancient Swiss lake-dwellings.

Now, many of us are trying to copy some Californian type of
house, but transplanting it from a block of an acre or two to one
of 40 feet or less frontage only converts it into a curtailed mongrel.
More especially, when the roof is covered with that material so much
prized by Australians, viz., corrugated galvanised iron of Gospel
Oak, Anchor, or Orb brand. It is hateful to look at, but fortunately
it is no longer cheap. As an alternative, we sometimes use tiles,
but that is because they come from France. If they had originally
been made in Australia they would never have come into use, for
the Australian is a free lover and prefers every country’s products
to his own; even including soldiers’ wives. For this reason, there
is still only % of a man to the square mile over the whole area of
Australia. A country that is endowed by nature with very possible
material for building, fitting and furnishing a house still rakes the
furthest ends of the earth for them: as a nation I suppose we beat
every other in our imports of those articles. My aim is to bring
about the building of a house of Australian type with Australian
materials, for Australians to live in.

How bountifully we are supplied with forests of building tim-
bers of every kind, hard and soft, and of the most beautiful in the
world for furniture and cabinet work. Can we find anything hand-
somer than the Queensland cedar or our .jarrah for red timbers, Tas-
manian black wood, teak, or Queensland bean tree for brown, and '
all the varieties of light-coloured timbers for lining walls or ceilings,
and for furniture'? Eight hundred catalogued varieties in Queensland
alone! And yet we import “British oak” from Austria and Japan,
fir from the Baltic, and oreg-on from America. Some makers are
actually selling furniture made of Australian timbers under the
name of English oak, as they know it will sell more readily than
under the proper Australian name. Why did we leave off using
locally-made pant iles and our fine old sheaoak shingles and take to
galvanised iron, thereby encouraging people in the dirty habit of
drinking roof water mixed with the blow-off from filthy streets! Tf
a material or an article cannot be found or manufactured in one
State, it is possible to get it from another, without leaving this Cm-

64

tinent at all. 1 et us be imbued with a national feeling and promote
the use of our own produets.

When one has the selection of one’s home, one should first con-
sider the locality, then the street, and then the block, and it is fairly
certain that one will considerably modify his requirements before a
decision is arrived at. Means of access, distance surroundings, and
healthiness have all to be taken into aocoount. But once having set-
tled all these points, the actual home enclosure is one’s own particu-
lar business, and if one is not competent to deal with that himself,
the obvious method is to consult an expert adviser, or to employ
him altogether. But whoever the adviser may be, let it be certain
he is not what is known as “a practical man.” He is as ignorant as
a Bolshevik, and as brainless as a kewpie. He is not practical, but a
vain fool, and taking his advice generally entails wasted expense and
dissatisfaction.

I am confining my future remarks chiefly to the metropolitan
area, as the subject is too vast to travel over the State.

The foolish stereotyped method of subdividing land without res-
pect to local features or contours, and blocks in the one locality being
ail of the same size, makes the choice of a building site very trouble-
some. Until town planning lias been in vogue for many years one
will have to submit to the evils resulting from this method, and suffer
the harassing restrictions of antiquated municipal by-laws. These
are benefits of civilisation which we shall probably confer on the
inhabitants of our about -to-be-acqui r*d German colonies who are
at present living the liealtv life that all uncivilised aborigines enjoy.

A chain frontage is, I think, the least one can put up with.
The usual 40 or 50 feet block is really too narrow for an ordinary
house for a family of, sav, six persons in comfortable circumstances.
One’s neighbours are too near, and there is not sufficient room to
properly adapt the bouse to the proper aspect for the various com-
partments. The result is that one sees so many houses which are,
so to speak, “too big for their hoots.” This is notably the case in
the most sought.-for localities. Houses for artisans have in this res-
pect, a distinct advantage over others, and many of them are well
and pleasantly located. But the professional man or the business
man, who likes two or three sitting rooms, has a trouble in settling
a house of his requirements on a block of such restricted frontage.
This brings about the congested appearance that some streets pre-
sent, and it produces monotony in that there is not sufficient space
around the house for shrubberies, etc., which so largely conduce
to the- health and charm of a dwelling. The setting of a house is
as important as the architectural features, which should be as few
as possible, and altogether it should display dignified simplicity.
One or two extremely plain looking houses about Perth strike me
as particularly charming on account of the free-and-easy, not stiff,
arrangement or want of arrangement of trees, shrubs, and walks.

The ever-recurring couch-grass lawns, and the neatly trimmed hedges
which are gradually attaining to the height of a lamp post, pall
on the passer-by, and they also display a lack of thought or interest
in not devising something more varied. It is pleasanter to look at a
garden where one ('an throw down a match, or where children can
play, without causing disfigurement. The drawing-room carpet out
of doors is neither comfortable nor homely. Houses not being asy-
lums or gaols, there is no necessity for enclosing them with high
hedges winch hold the diet off the road and check the breeze, unless
to hide the bed neatly arranged alongside the front door outside the
drawing room window — an arrangement entailed by bad planning.

Peop.e might remember that there are other hedge shrubs besides
macrocarpia, pittosporum, plumbago, and box. The. macrocarpia or
pittosporum hedges and the green patch in front of the house have
been done to death in Perth, and a change is required. In many
cases the absence of a hedge or fence would be a distinct improve-
ment.

Turning our thoughts to the style of bouse most suitable for a
suburb, we fnd tie cottage type prevails, and rightly so, as it is
simple and economical, and it can be made as pleasing as desired.
Now that the garden city idea has begun to be applied to the devel-
opment of suburban estates, there will be less crowding, larger gar-
dens, more open spaces, and houses grouped with regard to archi-
tectural effect. Aspect and vista, and greater freedom of design,
can then be considered. “Houses are built to live in, and not to
look on, ’ said Francis Bacon, but fortunately this aphorism was not
accepted in bis day, nor should it be in ours. Too often the exterior

of the house seems to be designed to suil the street or road, with a
pretentious front, defaced by superfluous and meritricious ornamen-
tation whilst the sides are plain and rough, and the back mean and
squalid. A house should suggest refinement, repose, and individ-
uality, and present an honest face to every quarter. What is more
vulgar than a bouse with the brick front’ painted with hideous so-
called tuckpointing, and the adjacent sides of plain bad brickwork,
or a boarded wall imitating stone blocks? In Adelaide I saw a bouse
with stamped zinc imitation stone weather-boards in front and cor-
rugated iron on the side walls! There is more sham an I shoddy
woik about many of the modern bouses than in those of years ago.
the obi red brick pensioner's houses present an air of honest re-
srectahihtv entirely lacking in hundreds of more recent erections.

Design with beauty; build in truth” is the motto of the London
Architectural Association. Let 11s avoid shams both in construction
and m materials.

The controlling factor in the design of any building is the idan.
11 w ‘‘ Imve ideals of home life, and correspondingly higher

and more complex requirements in planning, these must have the
most important effect on the exterior— on the style of the design.

66

Ruskin said something’ to the effect that a building in which the roof
is not a prominent feature cannot be considered of good design,
but he was not thinking of a galvanised iron or asbestos roof. And
it is, of course, well known that in arranging the [dan of a house,
one always hears the roofing in mind.

In studying the planning of houses in Western Australia, it
appears to he almost a rule to bring the best rooms to the front of
the house, irrespective of aspect and convenience. The harrow width
of frontage may, in many cases, account for this, but often it could
by more consideration be avoided. Little regard is paid to the pri-
vacy of the bedrooms, and the sitting room and kit (‘hen, where, in
many cases, the lady of the house has to spend the greater portion
of the time, often look out on the side fence. In many cases the sun
never shines into these apartments. There shoud be no gloomy
rooms, and the door of the best bedroom should not he opposite the
front door.

Very great attention to the kitchen will have to he paid in
future, as the lack of domestic assistance will be greater than ever.

( onserpu'nl 1 v, it must he conveniently situated, of fair dimensions,
well ventilated and lighted, with a cheerful lookout, and provided
with every contrivance to save labour, and to render the duties per-
foimed therein as palatable as is possible. 1 might almost say that
it should have more consideration than any other apartment. The
stove should be placed so that the draught does not blow out the
ashes, and with the arch high enough to allow one to look into the
pots without striking one’s head, and if possible it should have a light
at the back of the fireplace. The sink should preferably be movable
and away from the walls, not enclosed underneath, the pine for the
tap being extended and the drainpipe detachable to discharge into
a fixed outlet in the floor. The walls should have a hard-faced dado-
all round ol tiles or cement, whilst the upper portion should be oil
painted, or washable distemper. Xo moulding or architraves, skirt-
ing, or doors should he allowed as these are dust traps, and all
angles of walls should be rounded at intersections and at: floor and
ceiling. I he cupboards for crockery should have glared sliding
doors, and the pots should be placed on proper shelves, or hung
on proper bracketing, and not have to be deposited on the floor.
If the sink or table have to touch the wall, the dado should be high
enough to keep splashes off the main portion of wall. If there is no
ice-chest, there should be a cool safe set against a louvred opening in
an outer wall.

I he laundry should be adjacent to the kitchen, and a decent
apartment, not a rough shed. The copper-boiler and tubs should
have lids, and there should he an ironing-table and hinged skirt
board to fold up against the wall. The walls should he at least of
neat brickwork whitewashed, or jarrah hoarding, the ceiling of
painted jarrah boards, with a ventilator, and the floor of polished

67

cement concrete, vintoid, or red earthenware squares. There should,
if possible, be a broom-cupboard, or otherwise suitable pegs.

The other rooms would be designed to suit the individual tastes
of the owner, and it is not possible to deal with them in ertenso
in this paper. I think, however, that economy of labour, and sim-
plicity of design should govern the general rooms. For small rooms
it is not necessary to have them as lofty as the larger ones; 10 feet,
•or even nine feet, would often be sufficient height. The position of
doors and windows and fireplaces should be carefully studied with
an eye to the emplacing of furniture. Windows should extend
as far down to floor and up to the ceiling as possible. The air above
window openings is more or less stagnant. The style of window
should he varied to suit the rooms. A simpler treatment of wood-
work should he adopted; the prevalent moulded architraves, skirt-
ings, and cornices could more fitly be plain to avoid harbouring
dust and to look less vulgar than many T have seen. The centre-
flower in the ceiling, and the coved cornice, might well be dispensed
with. The modern way of treating the ceiling and deep frieze in
continuation to the picture rail is a good and pleasing practice.
The treatment of the Avails can be simple or more elaborate, all ac-
cording to taste and fitness.

In a. wooden house, the walls and ceilings, instead of being plas-
tered, might be of Australian timber boarding, divided into panels
by plain strips if funds will permit. Where plastered or boarded
the ceiling might also display the ceiling joists with good effect.

The trade size of doors is of unpleasant proportions, the metre
unit gives a better appearance. The four panels have also had a
long run; let us have something fresh. On the continent of Europe
doors very often have curved heads and look well. Folding or
sliding doors are often more convenient than doors in one leaf for
large rooms. Bedroom doors should liaA^e opening fanlights.

The fixed lavatory with water laid on is, to my mind, a good
innovation for bedrooms, as the principal washing is done in the
bath-room. With a neat tiled back it could be made a pleasing fea-
ture in a room, and save labour.

In houses Avith a drainage system there should be a slop sink
in proper closet.

The dining room should have near communication with the kit-
chen. One should not have to pass the front door nor walk a 30ft.
passage to bring in meals.

Although many people have another opinion, I hold that a
visitor should he able to go into the dining or drawing rooms without
passing a bedroom door, and I know no good reason for placing the
principal bedroom in the front of the house, unless it is for the
OAvner to be handy to attack an intruding burglar, avIio, by the way
seldom enters by the front door.

68

There should be ample cupboards for linen, stores, clothes,
boxes, etc., conveniently disposed about the house. There is a sad
lack of these necessities in most houses.

The bathroom is, 1 am [ leased to say, an object of great in-
terest to most Australians, and where means allow, it is everything
that it should be. The modern custom of putting it in the house,
instead of on the back verandah, or under the house among the piles,
as they often do in Queensland, is where it should be. It might be
still better placed amongst the bedrooms, and not between the draw-
ing and dining rooms as in many cases I know. In passing* plum-
bers shops, I note that plain galvanised iron baths are still sold.

1 hey should be prohibited, as also the sinks of the same material.
If one cannot afford the expense of the enamel steel bath, the locally
made cement ones are a good substitute. The washtroughs of this
material are fortunately gradually coming into use, and are within
the means of all householders. The English pattern of common
stoneware sink is a very suitable at tide and is made "hero, but, on
account of some regulation 1 understand the imported steel one
must be used. As 1 have before stated, it should be possible to use
local manufacture for everything about a bouse: the demand will
create the supply. We should copy the Americans in thinking that
what our own country produces is best for us.

Before leaving this part of the subject, I wish to call attention
to the usual position of the E.( ., mostly obtrusive and unsightlv,
inconvenient in sickness, and probably very often the cause of colds.
If there is a sewerage system, there is no good reason against having
it inside the bouse. If otherwise, it should be nearer the dwelling
and camouflaged by attachment to a woodshed or washhouse. As at
present, it is a, vulgar abomination. The inside treatment is also bad
and rough. Hard, smooth-plastered ceiling and walls, or wood lin-
ing, and a good close floor, either of cement or wood, are requisite.
The seat should invariably be of polished jarrah ; in England they
always use polished mahogany. The existing by-laws should be
altered to suit these requirements.

Regarding the materials for constructing the house, the primary
factor is cost. One should, if possible, employ materials obtainable
in the locality; stone or brick, if available, otherwise wood, asbestos,
slate, or a mixture of all. The now popular red brick and cement
rough-cast for walls, and red tiles for the roof, are not easily im-
proved upon. The qualities to be avoided, both in bricks and tiles,
are those which many people seem to value most highly — brightness,
uniformity of tint, and smoothness of surface, thereby producing a
stiff dollAs-housv appearance. One should use those with acciden-
tal variation of tint, which aids artistic effect, and tones down to a
pleasant mellow harmony. Very often a more rugged and massive
style of walling might be erected; the pretty, smooth kind prevails
too much. Good bricks and tiles are now made locally, or elsewhere

69

in Australia, and even though the first cost of the latter is .relatively
high, they permanently add to the duration, comfort, and appearance
of a building. The makers will, however, have to produce a lighter
plain ridging to replace the existing clumsy and heavy one. Cheap
plain flat red tiles in varied shades should also be manufactured
for use on roofs and as alternative covering for walls. Slates and
iron are both stiff in appearance, and the latter allows the heat to
pass through.

The verandah is a very important part of a house, for besides
protecting it from the sun’s rays, it serves the purpose of a sitting
place, and, now-a-days, it is in general use for sleeping out. Tt is
therefore, worthy of being treated as an integral portion of the
building, and instead of the general paltry construction with much
unnecessary woodwork and mean turned posts, it would he more
dignified with stout columns or masonry piers, heavy beams and a
good roof. The floor should preferably be of concrete or tiles — red
earthenware squares being very suitable. In the country, a verandah
around the house seems to he appropriate, blit in town or the sub-
urbs it is sufficient to have one in a suitable position, not necessarily
near the entrance, of spacious dimensions, for sitting about, and
another for sleeping out near the bedrooms. This latter might be
louvred or enclosed with fly-proof gauze, or it might have window's
and louvres. At any rale, the air should In* always in motion through
the verandah, and the beds should not be exposed to public view, as
they generally are. Wall beds might be used where space is limited.

The oscillating portal ■wall-bed is a very convenient method of
disposing of the beds out of sight in the daytime, but of course this
adds considerably to the initial cost of a house — about £40 per lied.

Sleeping-out, with thick blinds bung on to the verandah, is
hardly more healthy than sleeping indoors.

It is strange that although most houses have the roof pitched
fairly high, no use is made of the space between that and the ceiling.
It is a great waste of space. Without going* to much expense in
the way of a staireasc, a plain flight of stairs could be constructed
and a large portion of the roof space enclosed as attics. These
could be used as servants’ bedrooms and box rooms, or provide a
good playroom for children. Of course, the size of the attic would
not conform to the size of the rooms below and it would he unneces-
sary to carry up the lower walls. Single boarded partitions only
would be required in the attic, and asbeslos or plaster hoards would
form the ceilings and keep out the heat. Dormer windows properly
placed would give plenty of ventilation, and, if properly constructed,
there is no reason to fear that attics would be too hot.

Respecting* Wooden houses, the municipal authorities wrongly
restrict their erection to certain areas in the suburban townships,
thereby greatly damaging our timber industry, and entailing un-
necessary additional expenditure for brick or stone. In manv^cases

70

this leads to people refraining from building. There is a foolish
prejudice against wooden houses, whereas you all have seen in maga-
zines, cinemas, etc., what delightful timber buildings are erected in
America. I do not refer to Queensland as, although the houses there
are principally wood, they are generally of such mean type that one
would not be induced to employ that material after seeing them. A
house with stone or brick base and walls partly of weatherboards
and shingles of tiles, pleasingly intermixed, can he made to satisfy
the taste of most people. It can be rendered absolutely water-tight
and to last a century. Such a house with proper insulation in walls
is cool in summer and warm in winter.

I have already sufficiently animadverted on the use of galvan-
ised iron for roofs, and 1 extend this objection to fences. No pub-
lic authority should allow a galvanised iron fence to be erected
alongside a street ; it is an offence against good taste. Boards or
split palings can he used which will tone down with age and produce
a homely artistic appearance, and be equally enduring and pur-
poseful.

Finally, let householders study landscape gardening, then they
will discover how, by comparatively simple arrangement, an ordin-
ary building block can be made a pleasure to themselves and to the
general j ublic. ll has always struck me as a display of selfishness
to hide our gardens behind close hedges. It is the duty of every
citizen to assist in improving the town lie inhabits and to pronfdte the
welfare of his fellow men. Surely if one has been blessed with means
to erect a good dwelling with a beautiful garden, one might at least
share th’s pleasure with those who pass by, some of whom may be-
in less fortunate circumstances. In this respect, Continental, Amer-
ican, and Canadian people put English people to shame. The gar-
dens in front of their houses are visible to everybody and add greatly
to the charm of their cities. If I were a town-councillor, I should
endeavour to bring in a by-law prohibiting a high close hedge or
fence in front of a residence. We should all help to make the City
Beautiful and thereby elevate our fellows.

This paper does not pretend to give any instructions, nor to
dogmatise in any way. Everyone has bis own particular ideas and
most of you probably have at one time or another been interested in
buildings, but these few remarks will serve as reminders.

The plans shown are simply an indication of the essential fea-
tures to make a comfortable home, and are all entirely different in
arrangement of the various apartments. Being drawn to the same-
scale, comparison is made easier. One can vary any plan in many
different ways, and it is not possible within the scope of this paper
to illustrate the exteriors. You can see them in plenty in various
publications, also 1 believe at some drapery or other establishments-
in the city.

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71

Tn Russia they think anyone is competent to rule the country
except an educated man. In Perth the idea is evidently growing
that one sells the plans of a house along with a pound of butter.
Such a house requires a high hedge.

In pre-Victorian days the study of the elements of architecture
was included in the curriculum of education of English gentlemen,
and there is no reason why it should not be a subject included in a
liberal education.

The study and practice of domestic architecture is also very
suitable for young women of refined taste with artistic proclivities.
Tn some countries women have attained a high degree of efficiency
in this career, in New Zealand, Queensland, and New South Wales,
and in England and America, there are female members of the archi-
tectural institutes.

I should be pleased to sec some girls adopt this section of the
profession in Western Australia. The selfish and exploded notion
that they would be intruding in a man's domain may be put to one
side.

DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ON PLANS.

Plan A. A town house for a professional man. The bedrooms are
away from the front, and the bathroom and kitchen are well placed.
The side entrance is convenient. The sleeping porch is enclosed above
dado with opening sashes. The inner hall is a room and not merely a
passage. Every occupant, has commended this house. E.C. attached to
woodshed, not shown.

Plan B . — Plan by a Sydney architect, with many alterations. Suit-
able for a wide frontage. Similar accommodation to “A.” The draw-
ing room, hall, and dining room can be thrown into one for dancing.
The back sleeping porch is approached through bedroom and bath-room.
Attached E.C.

Plan C . — Californian house plan altered to suit W.A. Entrance
through living room, and little passage area. Dining and living room
W’ith verandah give ample dancing-room. Front side verandah can be
used for sleeping if required. Inside W.C. for sewerage system. An
economical plan.

Plan D . — A Sydney plan with central living room and bedrooms fitted
with oscillating portal wall-beds which fold into well ventilated compart-
ments in the daytime, and allow the rooms to be used as sewing-room,
etc. All the bedroom equipment is in the dressing rooms. The plan is
complete if ordinary beds are used. House is economically planned.
Inside W.C. for sewerage system, or it can be outside.

These plans are all different from those one usually sees and illus-
trate points in this paper, but they are not given as models of perfect
plans. Every house requires its own individual design to suit the purpose,
locality, and expenditure. A house should be an architectural building’
and not a mere structure.

THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS TREE.

NUYTSIA F LOB IB UN D A (THE CHRISTMAS TREE)— ITS
STRUCTURE AND PARASITISM.

By D. A. Herbert, B.Se., Economic Botanist and Plant Pathologist
to the Western Australian Government.

{Head 8th April , 1919.)

Nuytsia floribunda, the Christmas Tree, is perhaps the most
interesting member of the flora of Western Australia. It is con-
fined to the South-Western division of the State, being found from
the Murchison River round to Esperauee. The tree finally reaches
the height of 30-35 feet, and frequently two or more trunks arise
together. At Christmas time the tree is a brilliant blaze of orange
flowers, which are borne on dense racemes at the ends of the
branches. The immense development of flowers is all the more
remarkable since so few fertile seeds develop. Many trees do not
develop a single seed; others may develop a number — a very small
number in comparison with the tremendous number of flowers —
but very few of these are fertile. Whether fertile seeds will pro-
duce mature plants is a question which will be discussed later in
this paper.

The failure of the tree to produce much seed may be the direct
result of the large production of blossom. A great deal of stored
food material is used up in the flowering period and in Nuytsia
where blossom is so abundant the resources are too much depleted
to provide enough food material for the maturing of the fruits.
This is borne out by the condition of the mucilage in the plant
before and after flowering. Before flowering the mucilage canals
are full of a milky .fluid in such quantity that quite a large amount
is exuded when a. root or branch is broken or cut. 1 his rapidly
coagulates and blackens on exposure to air. It is very palatable
to some animals, especially pigs, which root up the roots for yards
if they are close to the surface. During the flowering period it
decreases rapidly in amount and loses its milkiness, until at the
period when the tree should be fruiting the exudation from a
broken root or branch is almost nil.

That this non-production of fruit is probably due to the large
amount of blossom formed is also borne out by the fact that the
same phenomenon occurs in the case of cultivated trees, such as
th' -pple and the pear. Very frequently such trees have a tre-
mendous development of blossom which results in hardly a single

73

fruit. Thinning out of the blossoms results in the production of
a good yield of fruits for two reasons — firstly there are fewer
fruits to be supplied with food material, and secondly a great
deal of energy has been saved by the loss of the thinned-out
blossoms.

STRUCTURE.

On digging down it is found that long underground
stems run out from the Christmas Tree, sometimes for
great distances (one at Como was traced for 120 yards), and
giving off aerial branches having the appearance of trees at in-
tervals along their length. Small plants, which tnight be taken
for seedlings, are frequently found in belts of country where the
Christmas Tree is common and almost invariably these are found
to be suckers from this long stem. The production of suckers
explains why Nuytsia is so common throughout the South-West in
spite of its extremely small production of fertile seeds.

The growth of the stem is peculiar both microscopically and
mac rosco pica 1 ly, the second peculiarity following from I lie first.
A very noticeable character is the extreme brittleness of the
branches and roots, quite thick members snapping under quite a
small pressure. This is not the case with the young twigs of one
year’s growth. It only takes place after secondary growth, and
the explanation lies in the unusual and remarkable method of
secondary growth of the tree. This is similar in both stem and
root, when allowance has been made for their difference in primary
structure.

In transverse section the young stem is quite normal. (Fig,
1. (A).)

The central zone of pith is surrounded by the vas-
cular bundles and these again by the cortex. In the normal
dicotyledonous stem the cambium between the xylem and phloem
elements divides forming xylem elements on the inner side and
phloem elements on the outer side. In this way a cylinder of
wood surrounded by phloem and cortex is produced. Jn the
Christmas Tree the mode of growth is at first normal. There is a
meristernatie layer between wood and phloem of the primary
bundles and this divides until they have reached a certain size,
when it loses its function and a new cambium is formed in the
thin-walled cells of the inner cortex. This cambium is not con-
tinuous round the stem but occurs in patches several cells in width.
The cortex is divided into two fairly definite layers, the cells of
the inner layer being thinner-walled and its cells smaller and
more compact than those of the outer. When the new cambium
is formed, several of these cells start to divide at different points
round the stem forming typical cambium cells,

A. Young stem.

B. Old stem showing three rings of bundles.

0. Medullary Bay.

a, xylem; b, phloem; c, cambium; d, pith; e, inner cortex; f, outer
cortex; g, interrupted medullary ray; h, mucilage canal; i, pore;

/;)

v u

A. Cambium formed from thin walled cells of inner

cortex.

B. Later stage in development of the bundle. Xylem

and phloem elements have been formed from the
cambium.

.a, xylem; b 7 phloem; c, cambium; d, inner cortex;
e, medullary ray.

7<>

Fig. 3.

Bundle, medullary rays and mucilage canal,
a xvlem; b, c, phloem; d, cells of inner cortex; e, medullary ray;
’ ' f f mucilage canal showing proteid bodies in the mucilage.

77

By repeated division phloem cells are cut off from these
dividing; cells on the outer side and xvlem on the inner side
(Fig. 2B). This cambium continues to grow to a certain stage
when it, too, loses its power of further division and another set
of new cambiums is formed out in the inner cortex in a similar
manner to that described above. This is repeated continually so
that successive rings of vascular bundles separated by thin-walled
cortical tissue are produced (Fig. IB).

Short medullary rays run between the collateral bundles but
these are only the length of the xylern and rarely any longer.
They do not run through the cortical tissue and connect with the
medullary rays of the next ring. The walls of the medullary rays
are pitted (Fig. IC). Pits are often found in the Avails of the
cortical and the pith cells as Avell as in the medullary rays. Vis-
cum, another member of the family, also has cortical cells Avith
pitted walls through which there is protoplasmic connection be-
tween adjacent cells.

Mucilage canals traverse stems, roots, and leaves. They are
formed by breaking down of long rows of cells. In the Awmng
stem there is one canal in the pith. As the stem grows older more
of these appear in the pith and in the inner cortex. When new
layers of cambium are formed in the cortex these are always out-
side the mucilage canals so that canals are found in the cortical
tissue between the successive rows of bundles. A canal less
definite in structure runs along the posterior side of the bundle
of the leaf.

This peculiarity m the internal structure of the stem is also
responsible for the strange macroscopic appearance of the
Christmas Tree

The young branch is at first upright, but as it increases in
thickness it takes on a doAvmvard curve until the angle becomes
too steep, when it ceases growth and another branch further back
takes its place and continues the growth until it, too, becomes too
steeply curved, when another branch takes its place. The portion
of the branch below the end and the new main branch generally
dies back. This strange mode of groAvtb is responsible for the
characteristic rugged appearance of Nuytsia. No such curvature
is found before secondary growth has taken place and curvature
is not due to a more rapid groAYth on the upper side of the stem.
Branches of three or four years’ growth because of their peculiar
internal structure are very easily bent under comparatively light
pressure,, and the weight of the leaves and blossoms (that of the
latter being very considerable) causes the gradual downward cur-
vature.

The secondary growth of the root is of essentially the same
character as that of the stem, though differing a little because of

78

the normal structural
stein, the young’ root
diarch or triarch.

difference of stem and root,
is normal in structure (Fig.

Like the young*
">) and may be

h\g. i

Christmas Tree, showing downward bending in the brandies.

Here again the cambium between wood and phloem divides to
a certain extent forming secondary elements, but soon loses its
function, and new patches of cambium are developed out in the

79

inner cortex. The xylem of the elements formed from these second
cambiums connects with the central xylem strands (which consist

Fig. 5.

Young root of Christmas Tree,
a, xylem; b, phloem; c, cortex.

of the primary and a certain amount of secondary wood) so that
the protoxylems aie surrounded by later formed wood elements
(Fig. 6).

When this second ring of cambium patches has divided to a
certain extent it ceases to divide and another new cambium is
formed outside in the inner cortex. The bundles formed from this
are not connected with the previous year’s bundles, but are separ-
ated, as in the stem, by a layer of cortical tissue. All further
growth in thickness after this is similar to that in the stem. The
result of this method of growth is that the old root shares the
stem’s characteristic of brittleness. Mucilage canals and inter-
rupted medullary rays occur here as in the stem.

PARASITISM.

Nuytsia floribuncla is the sole representative of its genus.
It is classified systematically with the Loranthaceae,* and on ac-
count of this its autonomy lias long been questioned, though no
definite evidence was brought forward.

* See end of paper, p. 88.

*

80

Fig. 6.

Old root of Christmas Tree.

a, position of primary xylem (see Fig. 5) ; b, protoxylem; c, second-
ary wood added to primary xylems by a certain amount of division of
the cambium; c', secondary xylem formed from cambium formed from
inner cortex; d, phloem; e, sclerenchymatous strand external to primary
phloems; f, f', inner cortex; g, outer cortex; li, medullary ray; i, muci-
lage canal; k, cork; 1, bundles formed by the second cambiums formed
in the outer cortex.

81

The tree is frequently in places where parasitism would seem
unlikely. Dr. Diels, on finding* it growing* on barren and healthy
sand-scrub, the solitary tree for miles round, considered it a far-
fetched assumption that the tree would draw on the dwarf bushes
at its base for nourishment, and concluded “Till some counter
evidence is produced we must adhere to the autonomy of Xuytsia
floribunda. ’ ’

Mr. VV. Webb, of King* George’s Sound, furnished some notes
on Xuytsia floribunda in response to some questions asked by
Baron von Mueller and these were published in the Victorian Field
Naturalist in 1894. They are brief and may be given in full: —

We can find thousands of what at first sight appear to
be seedlings but on tracing the roots we always find them
growing from the rootsf of parent trees, and therefore we
think these supposed seedlings are nothing* more or less
than suckers. Up to the present we have not been able to
find the roots attached to anything; they shoot in all direc-
tions and for great distances but never penetrate the soil
deeply, but are always found some few inches below the
surface. In this manner they may and probably do receive
their sustenace from decaying vegetable matter, such as the
roots of numerous species of shrubs amongst which Xuytsia
usually grows. As this plant has a pretty wide range in
West Australia, would it be worth while to ascertain what
trees and shrubs occur in every locality where Xuytsia is
found'? So tar as my memory serves me, I feel certain that
a great: difference will be found in the species of plant life
at different places. My own opinion is that Nuytsia is an
independent tree and il requires certain conditions in the
soil which can only be given to it by certain other species
of plants. However, T have nothing to advance in proof of
the above except that I have never found the roots attached
to the roots of any other plants.

Harvey (Hooker’s Journal of Botany VI., 219) thought it
highly probable that there was connection between the roots but
could offer no proof. Dr. Morrison apparently made some investi-
gations according to a reference by Diels, but I have been unable to
find a record of his work. Tn the Western Australian Year Book,
1902-1904, however, he refers to Xuytsia floribunda as “a lion-
parasitic tree of the Mistletoe family. 7 ’ It would appear, there-
fore, that authorities up to the present, while suspecting the para-
sitic nature of the plant, have had to admit the absence of definite
proof, and in some cases they have finally concluded that the
Christmas Tree is independent.

t The roots referred to are really stems, D.A.H.

82

Figs. 7 and 9.

Figure 7. — Commencement of attack on Christmas Tree root on root of
Jackson ia furcellata, showing the two fleshy arms commencing to
surround the root.

Figure 9. — Haustoriogcn oil a larger root (Melaleuca viminea). Part
of the root has broken off, giving the haustoviogen the appearance
of being the end of the small root.

83

There is nothing* in the appearance of the tree to suggest a
parasitic mode of nutrition. The leaves seem quite capable of
supplying* the organic food material necessary, as they are not
deficient in chlorophyll, while the roots appear quite capable of
supplying* the mineral constituents necessary.

Roots are given off from the long* underground stems and
when they are traced out they are found to branch repeatedly,
finally giving* rise to long white fleshy roots up to about a quarter
of an inch in diameter, and from these branch smaller white and
very fragile roots. It is probably on account of the extremely
fragile nature of these roots that the parasitic nature of the
Christmas Tree has not actually been discovered previously. When
they come into contact with another root, a fleshy outgrowth starts
to develop. Two white fleshy arms start to grow round the
attacked root in opposite directions from the point of contact
(Fig. 7).

Ultimately the two arms meet on the other side of the root
and fuse so that an unbroken fleshy ring encircles the host (Figs.
8 and 9).

Fig. 8.

Haustoriogen on young* root of Hibbertia hypericoides.

On the inner side of this fleshy ring, at the points of contact,
arise the haustoria or suckers, so that it may for convenience be*
called the haustoriogen (Fig. 10). The haustoria are formed on
the inner side of the fleshy arms before the ring is complete. The-
haustoriogen in section is found to contain a very small vascular
bundle, which goes right round; but the greater part of it is com-
posed of simple parenchymatous tissue. The haustoria are small
tongue-like masses of parenchymatous tissue, and when they pierce

84

the cortex of the host plant they appear to derive all food
materials they obtain from it by simple osmosis. There is no
fusion of the cells of host and parasite. The hailstorm never go
in as far as the wood. The wood is the channel of transference of
water containing the organic constituents of plant life and the
cortex and hast the means of transference of elaborated nitro-
genous and noil-nitrogenous organic food materials. The conclu-
sion is that the main object of the parasitism of Nuytsia is to
obtain an additional supply of organic materials, including* nitro-
genous substances.

Fig. 10.

Transverse section of haustoriogen attacking a root of Hibbertia

liypericoides.

a, wood of host; b, cortex of host root ; C, of

d, haustorinm in early stages of attack; e, liaustorium in complete contact
with cortical cells of host, root; f, indications of vascular bundle of the
haustoriogen; g, part of vascular bundle entering haustoriogen; h cor-
tex ot root from which the haustoriogen has arisen.

Tn contrast to this is Nuytsia *s close relation, Loranthus the
Mistletoe. Here we have a plant parasitic for water and salts and
quite well able to provide all the organic food materials it needs.

85

In this ease there is vascular connection between host and parasite.
It has been said that the Mistletoe may be more symbiotic than
parasitic when it is on deciduous trees because it is evergreen and
assimilates carbon dioxide in the winter when the host tree is
leafless. The greatly decreased fruit crop in attacked apple trees
proves that any symbiosis is greatly outweighed by the parasitism
of the mistletoe. A more complete state of parasitism is shown
by Cassytha, the Bush Dodder, which is common throughout Aus-
tralia. This is a twining plant with green leafless stems. From
the point of contact of its stem with the host arise haustoria.
Here again there is vascular connection between host and parasite,
the woods and phloems of each uniting. Cassytha is parasitic for
both organic food materials and transpiration water containing
inorganic salts. Both the Mistletoe and Bush Dodder are aerial
parasites. The natural order If hinanthaceae is notorious for the
number of root parasites amongst its members. These, like Nuyt-
sia, appear to have quite enough leaves to supply all the organic
material necessary, but nevertheless need root connection to en-
able them to reach maturity. Their root system connects with
that of the host root by means of disc-shaped haustoria. The
fleshy ring giving rise to haustoria, as found in the Christmas Tree,
is unique. The seeds of Orobanche, the Broomrape, another exotic
root parasite, will only germinate when in contact with the roots
of a host plant. This is certainly not the case with Nuytsia, the
seeds of which will germinate out of contact with any host root.

Seedlings are very rare and generally die off young. The
survivors owe their success to having obtained connection with a
host root early, while early death is often due to the failure of
the root to find a host and the failure of the leaves to provide all
the organic food materials necessary. One seedling at Mount
Lawlev was found to be drawing on the stem of the couch grass
(Cynodon dad y Ion). This is interesting because it goes to show
that the parasitic attacks of Nuytsia are not limited to roots.
Seedlings may readily be distinguished from suckers by their
stems, leaves, and rate of growth. The sucker appears above the
ground as a stem about a quarter of an inch thick and grows
rapidly so that in a year it is about four (4) feet high. Its pale
leaves are few and sparsely scattered. A seedling, on the other
hand, has a much thinner stem more closely beset with leaves,
which are a brighter green than those of the sucker. One would
expect the seedling to have more leaves and for these to contain
more chlorophyll because it is more dependent on its own resources
than is the sucker which has the reserve food material of the
parent underground stem to draw on. The growth of the seedling
is also much slower, a year-old seedling being several indies only
in height and this is attributable to the same cause. Numerous

86

attempts to raise seedlings of the Christmas Tree have been made
but up to the present all have failed. The nature of the para-
sitism of the tree suggests a method of raising it successfully

the planting of the seed in a spot where its roots when formed
will have easy access to the young roots of a plant which has been
proved to be a host.

The haustoriogen is not the end of tin 1 Christmas Tree Toot.
It is a lateral growth. The root continues to push its way through
the soil to look for fresh victims. If it comes into contact with a
large root it may run along the large host giving rise to a number
of these parasitic outgrowths. Where the Moshv ring is developed
round a root it grows in size but not in internal diameter, so that
as the host root itself grows the haustoriogen acts as a ligature
and gradually strangles it. It is a common thing to ujid a host
root ending abruptly in the Meshy haustoriogen of the Christmas
Tree, because the lower part, being strangled and starved, has died
and rotted away. Sometimes a root attempts to word oil the
attacks of the Nuytsia root by the development of cork and in
some cases is successful in preventing the entry of the haustoria.
If, however, the root is a small one, the haustoriogen ring may be
formed just the same even though the haustoriil cannot gain en-
trance, and the root is strangled by the ligature m time.

In its choice of hosts Nuytsia is very cosmopolitan. It attacks
herbs, shrubs, and trees impartially. Exotics and natives, annuals,
biennials and perennials, monocotyledons and dicotyledons are
treated alike. I have found it attacking geraniums, roses, carrots,
broad beans, black nightshade, sorrel (Rumex acetosella), couch
grass, the so-called tree lucerne (Cytisus prolifera var. alba), vines,
oranges, IJibbertia hyperieoides, Banksia attenuata, Banksia
Menziesii, Stirlingia lati folia, Melaleuca huegelii, Melaleuca
viminea, Conostephium pendulum, Jaeksonia furcellata, Calythrix
Mavescens, and Acacia pulchella. Further search will probably
reveal it on a great many more species. Sometimes in its search-
ings for a host the Christmas Tree roof comes into contact with
another Christmas Tree root and attacks it in the same way that
it would an ordinary root, but this is rare. It is analagous with
the self-attack frequently noticed in such climbing parasites as
Cassytha, the Bush Dodder, which nearly always recoils on and
parasitises itself at some point or other. Very often the attack
of the Christmas Tree is so strenuous that the host plant is starved
and killed, in which case the fragile root which has given rise to
the haustoriogen shrivels away, leaving: the Meshy haustoriogen
attached to the dead host root with hardly any sign of ever having
had any connection, it looks at first sight like a fungal body, but
a section shows its true nature by revealing the vascular tissue
and the haustoria.

87

The haustoriogens are formed along the whole length of the
underground stems and this accounts for their long life in the
soil when the aerial parts have been removed. They can obtain
all the organic and inorganic food materials they need without
assistance of aerial shoots. Sometimes this underground stem can
be traced along by the line of dead, dying, and weakened plants.
In other cases the attack seems to cause the host plants very little
inconvenience. The number of the roots affected is, of course, the
deciding factor as to whether the plant will suffer or not. Some-
times nearly every root is surrounded by the haustoriogens of
Xuytsia. At Como this is the ease with banksias, ti-trees (Mela-
leuca viminea), and numerous other plants, both shrubs and
herbs, many of which have been killed.

Fig. 11.

Carrots attacked by the haustoriogen of
Nuytsia.

A, appearance of attacked carrot.

B, vertical section of same showing ligature

effect of haustoriogen. li, the haustorio-
gen.

The rapidity of growth of the haustoriogen was shown in the
case of the attack on some carrots at Como. These when only
half-grown started to die off and on digging down it was found
that the roots were surrounded by well-developed haustoriogens
over half an inch in diameter (Fig. 11). The rapidity of develop-

88

ment of these coupled with the large number produced along the
length of the underground stems shows that Nuytsia is able to
obtain a large amount of food materials from annuals and other
small plants when growing as the solitary tree in a pasture.

Dr. Diels'* is inclined to regard Nuytsia as being distinct from
the Lorantlmcea* and rather belonging to the common family from
which both the Loranthacere and Proteace?e have sprung. He
summarises his objections as follows: —

It (Nuytsia) cannot truly be said to belong to the real
Lorantliacea? because of its fruit, and its habits remind one
me > re o f the ( J re v i 1 1 eoidflp .

The difference of fruit does not seem sufficient reason for separat-
ing it from the family to which it is assigned, greater differences
of fruit being shown in other families and which are regarded as
generic and not ordinal. The flower is six-partite (the typical
Proteacae have four (4) perianth segments), and is that of a
Loranthus; in fact Labillardiere called the tree Loranthus
floribundus.

With regard to habit, this is typically Loranthaeeous in many
points. Parasitism is characteristic of the family, and the dis-
covery of (his adds another link between Nuytsia and the other
members. The leaves are very similar in their form and fleshiness,
and the twigs of the < 1 1 list mas Tree are very similar to that of
Loranthus celastroides in appearance.

The underground stem may be compared with a similar struc-
ture in the mistletoe. The l)est investigated species of mistletoe
is Y is cum album, a European plant. The seeds germinate on a
host plant; a sucker penetrates into the cortical tissues and bast
and then stops. Subsequent growth of the branch results in the
embedding of this sucker in the later-formed wood so that it ap-
pears to have pierced the wood. Lateral roots are given off and
run along the cortex in both directions. At intervals along this
cortical root arise aerial shoots; from the other side more sinkers
go in as far as the wood, and further growth results in their being
imbedded in the host wood also. This cortical root is analagous
with the long underground stem of Nuytsia and shows similarity
in habit of the two plants, when allowance has been made for the
fact that Nuytsia is a terrestrial root parasite and that the mistle-
toe is parasitic on branches only. The conclusion is, therefore,
that the structure and habits of the Christmas Tree are in accord-
ance with its systematic placing in the Loranthacere.

* Pflanzenvelt von W.A., 1906.

89

LIGHT AND THE ETHER.

By Professor A. D. Ross, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.A.S., F.R.S.E,

(Bead 13th May , 1919.)

The wave theory of light was advanced by Huyghens towards
the close of the 17th century. It gradually superseded the emis-
sion or corpuscular theory which had been held by Newton, but
which was at variance with the fact that the velocity of light is
greater in air than in denser media such as water and glass. The
medium in which the light waves take place on HuygheiFs theory
is termed the aether — a subtle iluid which permeates all space.
And since the velocity of light in air is the same as that of an
electromagnetic wave in air. it is concluded that light itself is an
electromagnetic wave. This conclusion has been generally accepted
as the result of Hertz’s experiments and Clerk-Maxwell
mathematical investigations.

The velocity of light has been determined in a variety of
ways: — 1. From Romer’s observations of the acceleration and
retardation of the times of occuiTen.ce of eclipses of Jupiter’s
satellites depending upon the varying, distance of the Earth from
Jupiter. *2. From Bradley’s investigation of the aberration of
light — light appearing to come from a direction slightly different
from the -true direction in consequence of the Earth ’s motion (the
effect is strictly analogous to the phenomenon of vertically falling
lain appearing to come obliquely from in front against a person
moving through it). 3. From experiments by Foucault, Fizeaii,
Forbes, and others on the time taken by light to travel over a
measured distance not exceeding a few miles.

In Bradley’s investigations of the aberration of light, it was
shown that a telescope used in observing a star was always slightly
inclined to the true direction of the star by an amount depending
upon the ratio of the Earth’s velocity to the velocity of light. The
theory assumed that the aether was at rest while the observing
telescope and the contained air moved through it. As the experi-
ment gave a result in harmony with those of other methods, this
assumption was evidently justified. Airy, however, repeated
Bradley's experiment with the telescope filled with water. Since
light travels in water with only three-fourths of its velocity in air,
the aberration should have been correspondingly greater. It was
found, however, to be quite unaltered. Apparently, then, air
moves freely through the aether, but water drags the aether along,
tresnel made a mathematical investigation of this aether drift,
and his resulting formula was afterwards verified by an ingenious

90

experiment due to Fizeau, in which two rays of light were sent
along the same path , one with and one against a stream of water,
that is, one with and one against the resulting aether drift.

If 1' is the speed at which a swimmer travels through the
water of a river flowing at velocity v, then the swimmer will he
able to travel up, down, and straight across the river at speeds
which are respectively ( V — v), (F 4- v) t and \/( V 2 — v 2 ).
Hence if the river is of width s , the time T ± taken to swim across
and back is 2s/ v' (F 2 — #1, and the time T 2 to swim distance s up
or down the river and back is2Fs/ (F 2 — v 2 ). That is, we have
T t : T x : : F : v ( F 2 - f).

But F is greater than y (F 2 v 2 ) for all possible values of F

and r, and thus the time for a certain journey up arid down stream
is always greater than for the same length of journey across
stream. For example, a person who swims 2 miles per hour will
take less than 3 mins. 28 set's, to cross and re-cross a river four
chains wide (lowing at one mile per hour. He will, however, take
4 mins, to do the same length of double journey up and down the
river.

Now, as the Earth is moving relatively to the Sun, and the
Sun relatively to other members of the sidereal universe, our
Earth is evidently in general travelling through the aether, or, the
aether has a drift relative to the Earth. And for light travelling
at velocity F through an aether drift of magnitude v, the time for
the double journey along the line of aether drift must be greater
than the time for a path of equal length at right angles to, that
is athwart, the aether drift. Michelson and Morley attempted to
test this by experiment. They sent a ray of light along a certain
path and reflected it hack to the point from which it set out.
Another ray was sent an equal distance along a path at right
angles, and any minute difference in the times taken by the two
rays to return could be easily ascertained by a delicate interfer-
ence test. The two rays were found to take precisely the same
time. As this was contrary to theory, it was clear that the path
which was across the aether drift must really have been longer
than the path which lay along the aether drift. Now these paths
were along rigid iron arms attached to a vertical stand floating in
mercury. The apparatus could thus be rotated through a right
angle so that the path which formerly was along the aether drift
was now across it, and vice versa. But on repeating the experi-
ment in this new position there was found again to be no differ-
ence in the times taken by the rays to cover the two paths. Only
one conclusion appears possible — the rigid arms altered in length,
shortening when turned into the direction of the aether drift and
lengthening when turned at right angles to it ! Remarkable as
is this conclusion, there is no escape from it, and scientists now
accept the fact that our standards of length — the standard yard

91

kept in London and Borda’s standard metre — change in length
from time to time as the Earth changes its direction of motion
through space and through the aether, or as these bars are turned
about in the laboratories in which they are kept. We have no
means of measuring our speed relative to the aether. For all we
know to the contrary our Earth may at the present instant have
a speed of, say, 190,000 miles per second relative to the aether. If
it has this velocity, then a man who is 5ft. Sin. high when he
stands up at right angles to this relative motion will be only
4ft. 9in. in height when he lies in the direction of the motion. We
could not tell this difference bv the eye, because the retina of our
eye would have undergone a similar contraction in the same direc-
tion and the image of the 4ft. him man would cover the same pro-
portion of the retina in that direction as the image of the 5ft. Sin.
man would cover in the other direction. We fail to observe this
actual change which takes place in the dimensions of what we call
rigid bodies, not because it is possibly small (it may be great as a
matter of fact), but because it is of such a character as to baffle
all ordinary tests, although it is revealed indirectly by such
peculiarly applied tests as the Micbelson-Morley experiment. The
change will not appear just so difficult for us to admit when we
remember that in all probability the forces of cohesion which bind
together a rigid body are of the nature of electrical forces and
thus act through the aether with its drift relative to the rigid body.

We commonly speak of space as having three dimensions, the
directions which we popularly term up-and-down, to-and-fro,
right-and-left. We can, however, imagine a flat or two-dimensional
universe inhabited by flat beings who would fail to realise what
was meant by the third dimension of up-and-down. And
mathematicians find it just as easy to make calculations for four
dimensions as for only three. It is possible for us, therefore, to
imagine a model (we cannot actually construct it) which would
introduce a fourth dimension, in a two-dimensional diagram we
can show in a graph how the lengths and widths of rectangles of
the same shape as this page are connected. In a three-dimensional
model we could show how the lengths, breadths, and thicknesses
of books of similar shape to this volume are connected. And in a
four-dimensional model we could show in the same way how the
lengths, breadths, and thicknesses of the volumes of Proceedings
of this Society had varied at different times. The mathematician
can, therefore, picture a model in which are indicated by distances
in four directions, mutually at right angles, what we may call
length, breadth, height, and (say) time. But owing to the curva-
ture of the surface of our spherical Earth, the direction which we
call in Perth purely height is a direction in space which is equiva-
lent partly to height and partly to (say) breadth in Sydney, and
equivalent partly to height and partly to (say) length in Roe-

92

bourne.* Now Minkowski has used the fourth dimension of the
nature of time as being of the same essential character as the
others, and so while what we happen to regard as purely height-
in Perth may be regarded as purely breadth in Cape Colony, it
might be regarded as of the nature of time in some other world
possessing a velocity different from that of our Earth, The four-
dimensional construction is very convenient as connecting together
what we term position (or space) and time, so that a graph in it
gives the whole history of progress of a particle in our universe,
Avhat we term the “world-line" of the particle. This four-
dimensional world is spoken of as Minkowski’s space-time world,
and we gather from it that it is impossible to obtain an absolute
separation into space and into time, but only a relative separation
made to suit the particular observer. In Minkowski’s own words,
‘‘Henceforth space and time in themselves vanish into shadows,
and only a kind of union of the two preserves an independent ex-
istence.” This idea is referred to as the principle of relativity,
and we picture the aether as a four-dimensional continuum filling
uniformly Minkowski’s space-time world. In short the position is
this, that just as we have regarded such properties as the colour
and scent of a rose as dependent on the acuteness and accuracy
of the observer's, senses of sight and smell, so we must regard all
ideas of form, position and time as purely relative and as varying
for observers on different worlds having different motions relative
to the aether. Time is no more absolute than our ideas of taste,
touch, smell, colour and sound.

Ail observation consists in the recording of coincidences. For
example, in measuring the size of a microscopic object we note the
coincidence of the ends of the object with two lines on two scale
divisions in a micrometer eyepiece. Hence as the world-line of a
particle gives its full history, observations are merely the dis-
covery of intersections of these woi ld-lines, and we know of the
action of a force on a particle by the deflection produced in the
world-line of the particle. When there is no external action, the
world-line runs straight. The gravitational influence of a particle
throughout its neighbourhood, which leads to it affecting other
particles and deviating their world- lilies, has been accounted for
on a theory which, while it in no way explains the cause of gravita-
tion, brings that action for the first time under the same rationale
as other forces. It is assumed that the gravitational held sur-
rounding a particle is equivalent to a strain or distortion of that
portion of Minkowski’s space-time world, and that the orbit due to
gravitational action of a second particle about the first is a path

* In mathematical language, a. vector which is parallel to the vertical axis OZ for
Perth, has ooinpommt'-i along the vertical axis OZ and the horizontal axis OY at
Sydney, and components along the axes OZ and OX for Roehourne.

through the distorted medium which would be straight if the dis-
tortion were removed. Einstein has found that on this theory a
modification is necessary in Newton’s law of gravitation. One
form of Newton’s law is that expressed in Laplace’s potential
function, but this form cannot be applied to such a force as centri-
fugal force. To get uniformity of treatment of all varieties of
force a modification is needed of the gravitational law from the
statement as originally given by Newton. Einstein lias put for-
ward a modified law which is indistinguishable from Newton’s law
in its effects in all but a few crucial tests: that is to say, the
modification has not upset in the slightest any of our customary
deductions from the old form of the law of gravitation. On the
other hand, using the old form of the law the motion of that point
of the planet Mercury’s elliptical orbit round the Sun which lies
nearest to the Sun was calculated to undergo a movement of 8
minutes 52 seconds of arc per century. Observation, however,
showed the movement to be at the rate of 9 minutes 34 seconds,
and Einstein’s modification of the gravitational law has altered
the calculated value to 9 minutes 35 seconds. Briefly put, Ein-
stein’s theory has not upset one of the innumerable cases where
the old law was in agreement with fact; it lias brought agreement
in one ease (that of Mercury) where grave discrepancy existed,
and in at least one case it has brought closer agreement than
could previously he obtained.

The forthcoming solar eclipse of 29th May, 1919, will afford
an occasion for further testing Kinslein's theory, The Sun during
totality will he in the constellation Taurus, and if photographed
will he obtained surrounded hv certain stars to the north of the
Hyades group. Now on Einstein’s theory light has not only inertia
but has weight, that is to say, is subject to gravitational attraction.
Accordingly, rays of light coming from stars A and / > (see dia-
gram) will he deviated at I y and (/ so that they appear to come
from stars situated at A/ and />'. These stars will therefore appear
to he not merely a solar diameter PQ apart, hut at a rather greater
separation P\)', and stars at B and C, which would otherwise be
occulted by the intervening Sun will he visible at the Sun’s limb.
On Einstein’s theory a distortion of 175 secs, of arc would he ex-
pected from stars such as 4 or I). If no distortion is recorded
we shall have the strange result of light possessing mass hut not
weight, while a distortion of say 0*8 seconds would upset Ein-
stein’s theory hut would show that light was subject to gravity
Davidson and Cortie will observe the eclipse from Sobral in Brazil,
while Cottingham and Eddington will be stationed on Principe
Island off West Africa. The probable meteorological conditions
are not too favourable, and at the best, some time will elapse before
the photographic plates have been fully measured and compared
with others of the same stars taken when the sun lias moved away

94

from the group. The results will be awaited with great interest
by all scientists.

o

[Note added 9th September, 1919. — Reports to hand indicate
that the eclipse was observed under fairly favourable conditions.
The astronomers are, however, waiting on to obtain photographs
of the same stars after the sun has moved away from these stars.
By thus having the two sets of photographs taken with the same
instruments in the same positions, possible instrumental errors will
be reduced to the lowest minimum.]

[Note added 17th January, 1920. — At the joint meeting of the
Royal and Royal Astronomical Societies held in London on 6th Nov-
ember, 1919, the Astronomer-Royal (Sir Frank W. Dyson) an-
nounced that the eclipse observations supported Professor Einstein’s
hypothesis. One of the Sobral cameras and that used at Principe
—both of which produced sharp photographs — gave about l.S
seconds of arc as the distortion of rays of light at the sun’s edge.
The second Sobral camera, despite its unsatisfactory performance,
indicated a distortion greater than 0.8 seconds. The only other
practical tesl of Einstein’s theory which has been suggested, but not
yet confirmed, is a displacement of spectral lines towards the red
in the spectrum of a luminous body of great gravitative power.]

95

HISINGERITE.

By Edward S. Simpson, D.Sc., B.E., F.C.S.

Two hydrous silicates of ferric iron are known in nature — Non-
tronite and Hisingerite. Of these, the former has been recorded
from many different parts of the State including' Weston i a,* but
the latter, which is a much less common mineral, has not previously
been observed. In fact, Anderson’s Bibliography of Australian
Mineralogy shows that up till 1916, at least, it had not been recorded
from any part of the Commonwealth.

Recently, through the courtesy of H. G. Stokes, Esq., of Wes-
tonia, and A. Montgomery, Esq., State Mining Engineer, I have re-
ceived specimens of hisingerite from that centre. Mr. N. S. Stuckey,
Mine Manager, says that the chief occurence is at the 740ft. level
of the Edna May Deeps Gold Mine along a joint plane cutting the
quartz reef at right angles to its strike. The upper water level is at
a depth of only 75ft. and although the main rock masses (granodior-
ite gneiss and amphibolite) arc quite tin weathered at 740ft., distinct
evidences of weathering are apparent along this joint plane. The
occurrence of hisingerite considerably below the surface at a posi-
tion of incipient weathering coincides with the occurrence of non-
tronite prevailing throughout the Western Australian Goldfields.

The mineral at the 740ft. level is found in small masses and
lenses associated with vein quartz, siderite, a little pvrite, and some
indefinite products of rock weathering, possibly including saponite.
The creamy white siderite is found not only in small masses in con-
tact with the hisingerite but also, to a slight extent, scattered in
granules through il. Two other small specimens from the 676ft.
level of the same mine show small crusts of hisingerite and siderite:
in one case coating massive pyrrhotite, in the other coating massive
and crystallised marcasite with quartz. It is possible, therefore, that
the silicate is a replacement of the carbonate, dilute sulphuric acid
from the oxidation of the sulphide serving to upset the equilibrium
originally prevailing. No evidence is available on which to form a
definite explanation of the origin of the hisingerite. Tentatively 1
would suggest —

2FeCO ;r + 0 + 2(RiO.,.3H,0) - (Fe.A-2Sif).,-2H.,0 4- 2H O)

+ 2HCO,.

In this reaction dilute sulphuric acid acts as a catalyst, the pre-
cipitation taking place in an almost neutral solution.

The mineral is typical in appearance. It is apparently amor-
phous, f dense and structureless, with a conchoida! fracture and res-

* E. S. SimpsQn : The Minerals of Westonfa. G.S.W.A. Bull. 71, p 243 (1917)

T Sustschinskey s microscopic study of various specimens of hisinuerite showed that
they wore cryptoerystalline. Zoit. Kryst. 47, 231 (1909).

96

inous lustre. It is opaque (1mm.) with a brownish black colour.
Under the microscope the fine powder is translucent and reddish-
brown in colour. Most of the fragments are isotropic, but some are
strongly hirefringent, indicating the association of a small amount
of cryptocrystalline matter with a colloid. The masses are very
brittle and are penetrated in every direction by minute cracks, pro-
bably shrinkage cracks due to dehydration. The density given by
Dana is 2.5 to 3.0, but a careful determination of the density of the
Westonia mineral gave for four small (2 to tom.) fragments, 2.26,
2.26, 2.27, 2.28 : the mean being 2.27. These determinations were
made by diluting methylene iodide, using quartz (2.65), selenite
(2.32) and opal (2.10) as indicators.

The chemical composition sheds light on this low density. Some
apparently almost clean mineral was taken for a rough analysis.
This was found to he rapidly decomposed by cold 5E hydrochloric
acid, the iron going into solution and gelatinous silicic, acid, in the
form of the original mineral fragments, remaining. Treatment in
this way revealed embedded granules of siderite amounting approxi-
mately to five per cent, of the whole. The analytical results obtained
were —

Fe 2 0.. . . . . 36.8 per cent.

Si0 2 . . . . 31.6 ”

H 2 0 above 100° 6.0

H’O at 100° . . 21.8 ”

Allowing for the siderite these are not unlike Dana’s figures,*
the ratio of Si(\ to F<\,0 being approximately 2 to 1, but the water
is distinctly higher, Dana's average being 21 per cent. The
material analysed had been exposed to the air in the author’s
laboratory for several weeks before analysis, but had not been
long out of the mine, and with lapse of time might well have lost
more water before reaching a condition of equilibrium in air. The
extra, water, which is all lost rapidly at 100°, accounts for the low
density.

The chemical composition of hisingerite has not been defi-
nitely settled. Hintzef does not look upon it as deserving of
specific rank. He says —

u Amongst the hydrous amorphous silicates there is scarcely
one to be found which can be considered as a ‘'mineral,' that is,
as a chemical compound or isomorphous mixture

“A second section of hydrous substances consists essentially
of ferric silicate, partly of lighter, mostly green, colour, such as
the chloropal of Unghvar in Hungary, partly of brownish black
to black colour, such as the hisingerite of Riddarhytten in Sweden:
the black as a rule of greasy lustre, dense with conchoidal frac-

* System of Mineralogy, 1896, Ed., p. 702.
t Handbuch der Mineralogie, II., pp. 1827, 1830.

97

ture. ... In general these iron silicates are plainly still less
homogenous, and on this account still more variable in composi-
tion than the aluminium silicates.”

Further, he quotes Knop as holding that some of these sup-
posed iron silicates are only mixtures of iron hydrate with quartz
or opal.

Dana on the other hand,f without being able to ascribe to
hisingerite a definite formula, accords it full specific rank, as also
does Lacroix. § This attitude is amply justified by the closely
concordant ratios existing between Fe,G :; , Si0 2 , 1LO+ and H.,0 —
in specimens from widely separated localities.

L. Woinschenk many years ago suggested || that nontronite is
the homologue of kaolinite, its true formula being
Fe.X ), • 2 S i (V 2 II, 0.

Chloropal is then a mixture of nontronite with more or less opal.

Reviewing the analyses and chemical and physical properties
of hisingerite it appears to the author that this mineral is a dis-
tinct species, the homologue of hatloysite. Its formula then is —

Fe/F2Si0 2 ‘2II,0 + 2H‘o,

with which further absorbed water is associated at times, e.g., in
the Weston i a mineral. This formula requires

45*4 per cent.

SiO 34-9

ao+ io*2 ”

H 2 0- 10.2 „

t Loc. cit.

§ Miner, de la France I., p. 405.

II Zeit. Kryst. 28, 150 (1897).

9S

INDEX.

Page

Acclimatisation by AV. Kingsmill ... ... ... ... ... ... 33

Aether drift ... ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 90

Aether, Light and the ... ... ••• ••• ••• 89

Antelope, Indian, in W. A. ... ... ... 38

Battye, J. S., on Causes which led to the colonisation of Western Aus-
tralia ... ••• ••• ... ••• ••• ••• 21

Christmas Tree of AV.A. by D. A. Herbert 72

Coastal Limestones of the Swan Coastal Plain 17

Colonisation of Western Australia ... ... ... ... ... 21

Colonisation of Western Australia by a syndicate, Proposal for ... ... 30

Contraction of rigid bodies ... ... ... ... ••• ... ••• 90

Darling Fault ... ... •• ••• ••• lb

Darling Peneplain ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• lb

Darling Scarp ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• lb

Door, Scottish "Red, in W.A. ... ... ... ... ... ... 37

Doves, in W.A. ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 87

Eclipse, solar, observations ... ... ... ... ... ... 93

Einstein’s hypothesis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 89

Fish, acclimatisation of British, in W.A. ... ... ... ... 35

Foothill Zone of Swan Coastal Plain ... ... ... ... ... 15

French annexation of Western Australia ... ... ... ... 22

Geese, African, in W.A. ... ... ... ... ... ... 37

Gravitation, modified law of ... ... ... ... ... ••• 93

Gravitational deflection of light ... ... ... ... ... ... 93

Guinea fowl in W.A. ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 37

Hancock, W. J., (Presidential Address) on Science and Civilisation ... 1

Herbert, D. A., in Nuytsia Floribunda (The Christmas Tree), its struc-
ture and parasitism ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 72

Hisingerito. by E. S. Simpson ... ... ... ... ... ... 95

Houses in W.A t , by A. It. L. Wright ... ... ... ... ... b2

Kangaroo, acclimatisation of, in Germany ... ... ... .... 34

Kingsmill, W., on Acclimatisation ... ... ... ... ... 33

Light, aberration of ... ... ... ... ... ... 89

Light and gravitation ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 93

Light and the Ether ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 89

Light, wave theory of ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 89

Loranthaceous habit of the Christmas Tree ... ... ... ... 88

Minkowski’s four-dimensional world ... ... ... ... ... 92

Nuytsia Floribunda ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 72

Parasitism of the Christmas Tree ... ... ... ... ... ... 72, 79

Peel, T., Proposal to form syndicate to colonise Western Australia ... 30

Peneplain, the Darling ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15

Perch, English, ill AV.A. ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 35

Physiographic Elements of the Swan Coastal Plain ... ... ... 15

Piedmont Zone of Swan Coastal Plain ... ... ... ... ... lb

Presidential Address ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1

Ross, A. D. ? on Light and the Ether ... ... ... 89

Rules of the Royal Society of AV.A. ... ... ... ... ... XVI.

Saw, AV. A., on some Aspects of Town Planning ... ... ... 39

Simpson, E. S., on Hisingerito ... ... ... ... ... ... 95

99

INDEX — continued.

Space and Time

Structure of Nuytsia Floribunda ...

Swan Coastal Plain, Physiographic Elements of
Time and Space

Timber, Australian, for building ...

Town Planning, some aspects of, by W. A. Saw
Trout, English, in W.A.

University of W.A. ...

Wave theory of Light
Western Australia, Colonisation of
Woolnough, W. C., on Physiographic Elements of the
Plain
World-lines

Wright, A. R. L., on Houses in W.A.

Page
92
72, 73
15
92
63
39
36
12
89
30

Swan

Coastal

15

92

62

<v

*« v: ‘

a;

By Authority : Fred. Wm. Simpson. Government Printer, Perth.

■I