Of all the navigators of the eighteenth century, the greatest addition to a thorough knowledge of the Pacific and its islands resulted from the famous voyages of Captain Cook. Having coasted New Zealand in 1769, he sailed north west, and explored the eastern coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales. Passing through Torres Strait, between Australia and New Guinea, he returned home round the Cape of Good Hope. His second voyage was mainly devoted to the exploration of the great Southern Ocean. In 1776 he set out again to find a north-west pump from the Atlantic into the Pacific by Behring's Strait. He attempted this from the Pacific, but after succeeding in entering the Arctic through Behring's Strait, he could not penetrate fur ther than Icy Cape. On his way home he explored the Sand wich Islands, and was there murdered by the natives in 1779. Another attempt to discover a north-west passage by Beh ring's Strait was made in 1785 by La Perouse, and indirectly resulted in an examination of the Islands of Japan and Saghalien, the strait between which was named after him. In 1797 Mr. Bass coasted the Australian shores in an open boat from Port Jackson ; and two years later Flinders cir cumnavigated Tasmania, and named the channel between that island and Australia after Mr. Baas. The discovery of New
South Shetland in 1816, by Captain Smith, of the brig " William," bound for Valparaiso, completed actual discovery in the Pacific ; the subsequent discoveries further south by l3alleny and others will be noticed in connection with the Antarctic Ocean. The necessities of a constantly increasing commerce rapidly led up to a careful examination of the more frequented routes ; the numerous reefs were specially investigated, as being the most dangerous element in the navigation of the Pacific. Recently the great "South Sea" has been scientifically explored by the Challenger, the Gazelle, the Tuscarora, and other vessels. The course of the Chal lenger in the Pacific may be roughly marked by lines joining the following places : Melbourne, New Zealand, Friendly Islands, Torres Strait, Hong Kong, Admiralty Islands, Japan, Sandwich Islands, Tahiti, Valparaiso, and Magellan Straits.