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THE ARU ISLANDS--RESIDENCE IN DOBBO.
(JANUARY TO MARCH 1857.) On the 8th of January, 1857, I landed at Dobbo, the trading settlement of the Bugis and Chinese, who annually visit the Aru Islands.

It is situated on the small island of Wamma, upon a spit of sand which projects out to the north, and is just wide enough to contain three rows of houses.

Though at first sight a most strange and desolate-looking place to build a village on, it has many advantages.

There is a clear entrance from the west among the coral reefs that border the land, and there is good anchorage for vessels, on one side of the village or the other, in both the east and west monsoons.