Letters Relating to 1897-1898 Funafuti Coral Boring Expeditions [Tannatt William Edgeworth (TWE) David] (Series 1453)

This series contains letters in Professor TWE David's hand, most addressed to Dr BG Corney, Resident Medical Officer in Fiji. It is not known how the letters came into custody of the University's Department of Geology.

Series 1454 contains drafts of correspondence in Professor David's hand. Series 1456 contains letters addressed to Dr Corney by persons other than Professor David.

Funafuti is an island in the Pacific Ocean at 8 degrees 30 minutes south latitude and 179 degrees 13 minutes east longitude, now in Tuvalu and formerly part of Britain's colony, Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Professor David organised the second and third expeditions to Funafuti in 1897-1898. The first expedition to Funafuti, in 1896, was organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society of London with the purpose of examining the structure of a coral atoll by analysing the contents of a column bored to a depth of at least 600 feet. Charles Darwin had proposed a hypothesis to explain the origin of coral atolls. This hypothesis was challenged. It was hoped that the expedition to Funafuti would clarify the situation. The first expedition to Funafuti was a failure owing to the use of inappropriate machinery for drilling. The Royal Society of London then contacted Professor David and Professor Anderson Stuart with the aim of having the British colony of New South Wales organise another expedition to Funafuti. Funds for the Second Expedition to Funafuti came initially from Miss Eadith Walker of "Yaralla" in Concord. They were supplemented by the NSW Government and other sources.