Out of interest in writing a short story set within a fabulous Moaria, I decided to do a bit of extra research. I found almost nothing about this land, no matter what I tried with Google, except three entries from three dictionaries which explain how its name is derived not from the sea, but from the hypothesis that the gigantic moa birds thrived there! The name itself was proposed by a Dr. Mantell, presumably the geologist and paleontologist Gideon Mantell.
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books.google.com]
This is nothing so important, but Smith mentions the dinornis in a handful of tales, so I wonder if he had a slight fascination for this extinct, exotic bird.