His explorations had given him the idea
that Australia was of a volcanic origin. He judged it to have been, at
some period, a series of islands, each with its own volcano. These
islands had risen from the sea, been licked into shape probably by
earthquakes, and coming gradually together, had formed a continent.
During his Governorship of South Australia, Sir George fell upon a piece
of evidence which materially supported this belief. The skeleton of a
whale, as Sir Richard Owen certified the specimen, was discovered quite
inland, beyond the first mountain range. If Sir George had arrived at
some view, after long deliberation, he liked it to be accepted, as we all
do. Therefore he welcomed the discovery of that whale.
'I was laughed at,' he commented, 'when I insisted that the natives of
Australia must have come from a race more civilised than themselves. A
variety of reasons supported my estimate of their origin; as that, all
over native Australia, there appeared to prevail a rigorous law governing
marriage.
'It demonstrated that the natives understood the effect which blood
kinship would exercise upon the stamina of a race. There was no single
great tribe in Australia, but a series of tribes; yet this law was
general among them. No conqueror could have imposed it; instead, it must
have sprung from a family coming in, and bringing it with them.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87