TO WILD AUSTRALIA

Otago Witness, Issue 3609, 15 May 1923, Page 31

TO WILD AUSTRALIA

SCIENTISTS’ QUEST. SYDNEY, April 4. The British Museum authorities being anxious to procure as complete a collectior of the unique fauna of Australia, of which they have singularly poor specimens, have arranged for a highly qualified expedition of scientists to penetrate wild parts of the continent. Ordinarily the export of Austra lian animals and birds is severely restricted, although it would appear that laxity exists somewhere considering that in 1920-21 the

skins of nearly five million opossums of the ordinary variety, apart from nearly a million and a-half ring-tailed opossums, and ,i similar number of wallabies, left tnese shores. However, for some species the restrictions are much more rigorously applied, but in view of the important scientific character of the expedition special sanction has been given for it by the Federal auhorities. It will be in charge of Mr G. H. Wilkins, a distinguished young South Australian, who has taken part, in Antarctic and Afrii can explorations, served as official photoj grapher at the front during the war, and ; subsequently attempted to fly from England 1 to Australia, being deterred only by his 1 machine crashing on one of the Mediter-

ranean islands. Before his arrival in Australia, from London, during the past week, Mr Wilkins caused advertisements to be inserted calling for applications for scientific posts in the expedition, the Museum authorities having decided that it would be wise to have an entirely Australian staff, and he was gratified to find awaiting him a batch of over 130 applications from which, ne says, he will be able to make a selection of highly qualified men. It curiously happens that Australia herself is almost as badly off for a collection of her fauna as is the British Museum, and with some species of her wonderful mammals in danger of extinction in the next few years it is clearly necessary in the in-

terests of science that a complete collecI tion should be made as soon as possible. This present expedition affords a unique | opportunity, for Mr Wilkins has offered, in | return for the facilities for the expedition I given by the Australian Government, to make a duplicate collection and hand it over to the Government. He suggests that. it might form the nucleus of a central ; museum for all Australia at Canberra. The area to be explored by Mr Wilkins’s party lies principally to the north-east of | Australia. He points out that the country between the main mountain ranges and the coast, from north to south, has already been combed for fauna specimens, and his i pary will explore the country on the in-

land side of the lange. from Seymour in Victoria to Cape Grenville, at Torres Strait. Collecting will begin in the Roma district, in Queensland. Thence a move by steamer will be made to the Gulf of Carpentaria, in the neighbourhood of Groote Island, and then back by boat to Brisbane. After that a survey of the country will follow, work being done at a series of stations 300 miles apart. From tim« to time specimens would be sent by rail to the Brisbane heaoquarlers. Mr Wilkins expects to start from Brisbane about Apul 20. As the stop at e-'ch of the exploring stations in the series planned out will last from six to eight weeks, he does not expect to complete his work for more than a year.