TIME’S SECRETS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3519, 23 August 1921, Page 5

TIME’S SECRETS.

WAS HAWAII ONCE PART OF AUSTRALIA? SYDNEY, August 10. Professor Lawson, of the Chair of Botany at the Sydney University, welcomed to Sydney the other dav an interesting friend in the person of his old chief at Stanford University, Dr D. H. Campbell, whose knowledge of ihe world’s plants would be hard to excell. Dr Campbell has been surprised by the similarity between some Australian plants and those of Hawaii, especially between the acacia, of the latter and the wattle here. He accepts it as an indication that there must at one time have Peon much larger land formations in the Pacific, for America, which is much nearer the Hawaiian*, has none of these similarities. “Hawaii,’’ he says, “undoubTsdiy must have been nearer to Australia at one time, but, by earth disturbances at distant periods in the past areas intervening have been swept, away.” This, together with animal similarities, he regards as most remarkable. During his visit lie intends to prosecute investigations in North (Queensland and Western Australia.