As they disappeared
beneath the water they were changed to stone, and the stone rose in
fantastic shape, and from that day Pee-rahm-ah has weathered all the
storms of the Pacific and formed a feature in the loveliest scene these
isles reveal.
The largest of the neighbouring isles, Bedarra, has less than a square
mile of superficial area; the smallest but 4 or 5 acres. The smaller are
made up of confused masses of granite, for the most part so overgrown
with fig trees, plumy palms, milkwoods, umbrella-trees, quandongs,
eugenias, hibiscus bushes, bananas and lawyer vines, as to be
unexplorable without a scrub-knife; for the soil among the rocks is soft
and spongy, the purest of vegetable mould, and encourages luxurious
growth. The jungle droops over the grey rocks on the sheltered side.
Twisted Moreton Bay ash and wind-crippled scrub spring up among the
clefts and crevices on the weather frontage--the south-east--while a
narrow strip of sand, the only landing-place, is a general characteristic
of the north-west aspect. Birds nest in numbers in peace and security,
for the islets are off the general track. Seldom is there any disturbance
of the primeval quietude, and in the encompassing sea, if the fish and
turtle suffer any excitement, rarely is the cause attributable to man.
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