Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land, 1830-1840 - Page 19
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[Page 19]
the question of origin is involved in much perplexity, for the blacks of V.D. Land use no canoes as they do in the Australian provinces, & I cannot find the slightest account of [indecipherable] any rational scheme which might have effected the removal of some of any aboriginal tribes of New Holland to this country. I cannot accede to the doctrine promulgated by Lord [indecipherable], that there have been several separate creations in different
portions of the globe, since the Mosaic account of the Creation - The philosopher skilled in natural history will reject such a supposition which is at variance with scriptural text, for nature allows of no procreation, - where men or any other creatures are not of one common origin # I have stated that the natives of this island made
no use of canoes:- when having to cross a river on the Western Coast, they availed themselves of roughly constructed rafts made of some dead wood, and on the Southern coast opposite Bruni Island they made rafts composed of stringy bark, each of wh required two or three tons - the pieces of bark were placed compactly on the top of each other, - the raft was quite flat, excepting the head & stern which were tied so as to be sharp pointed. These rafts they occasionally used, but it was found impossible to