"My time had now been stretched to its utmost limit, and I had to prepare for my return to Europe. In a lecture upon the geology of the province, which I delivered at Nelson on 29th September, I presented in a succinct form the results of my observations. An extract from this lecture, accompanied by a copy of my geological map, I presented to the Provincial Government of Nelson and the Colonial Government of Auckland.
"I cannot conclude without recording the numerous instances of consideration and unexpected kindness which I received at the hands of the inhabitants of Nelson, and especially for their flattering and gratifying appreciation of my labours, which at the close of the lecture already mentioned took the form of an address,[59] accompanied by an elegant and appropriate souvenir, consisting of a beautifully-finished cabinet, composed of the various coloured woods of New Zealand.
"On 2nd October, 1859, I embarked for Sydney, on board the steamer _Prince Alfred_. After a short sojourn in the capital of New South Wales, I went on to Melbourne, whence I visited the most important of the gold-fields of the colony of Victoria, and by the middle of November returned _viâ_ Mauritius and the Red Sea to Europe."
Such is the account given by our geologist of his proceedings while the _Novara_ was steering homewards. The voyage to the Society Islands Archipelago promised at first to be very speedy, but ere long was seriously delayed by strong contrary winds, and while, on the one hand, we could make but short tacks, we had on the other not merely to forego the pleasure of clear sunny weather, but had the miserable prospect of nothing but squalls and rain. Our additions to our natural history collections were likewise very scanty, and even our most important capture, a shark 10 feet 4 inches in length, and weighing 174 lbs., was much more of a treat to the sailors than an acquisition to science.