ABSTRACT
In his great work The Melanesians, 1 Dr. R. H. Codrington says (p. 17) :—‘‘The Tas in the middle of Santa Maria [Gaua] in the Banks Ialands is the only lake of considerable size in Melanesia. It is about five miles long, occupying the hollow of an ancient crater, into which the steaming hill Garat has been intruded; the waters pour out in a magnificent waterfall … the Tas of Santa Maria will surely reward its first scientific visitor.” It has been my fortune to be its first scientific visitor.
