UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 
 
 822 00323 9241 
 
 3 1

 
 THE 
 
 AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS 
 
 THEIR 
 
 LABOURS, PERILS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS 
 
 BEING A MREATIYE OF DISCOVERY FROM THE LANDING OF CAPTAIN 
 COOK TO THE CENTENNIAL YEAR 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE GRIMM, M.A. 
 
 MINISTER OF ST, PAUL S, BALMAIN WEST, SYDNEY ; AND TUTOR IN 
 APOLOGETICS AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY TO THE PRESBY- 
 TERIAN CHURCH OF NEW SOUTH WALES 
 
 GEORGE ROBERTSON & COMPANY 
 MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY 
 
 1S8S 
 
 xO' 
 
 w
 
 1>LL 
 
 TO THE MEMORY 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 JOHN DUNMORE LANG, D.D. 
 
 IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE 
 
 OF MUCH PLEASANT INTERCOURSE 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Story of the Exploration of Australia is 
 one which we cannot willingly let die. There are 
 many reasons for keeping alive the remembrance of 
 such heroic deeds. It is due to the memory of those 
 men who took their lives in their hands, and, in many 
 cases, laid their bones in the desert ; it is an act of 
 gratitude on our part, who have entered on their 
 labours ; and it is a kind of information indispensable 
 to every Australian who desires to know the history 
 of his country. And yet there is great danger of their 
 being practically forgotten. The time when the 
 harvest of discovery was reaped has faded into the 
 past, and a generation is growing up not well 
 informed on these most interesting adventures and 
 achievements. Nor are the sources of information easily 
 obtainable by those who purposely put themselves on 
 the search. The journals of the explorers, never too 
 plentiful, have now become scarce. They are only 
 occasionally met with in private hands, where they 
 are, for good reasons, held as a treasure. A consi( IcrabK' 
 number of these works are to be found in the Sydney 
 School of Arts, but they have been withdrawn from 
 circulation, and are now kept for special reference 
 only, in a glass case, under lock and key. The
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 Government Library contains the best collection 
 extant, but even there it has been deemed necessary to 
 adopt restrictive regulations, with the view of giving 
 the books a longer lease of existence. This scarcity 
 of the sources of information, and these restrictions 
 which fence in the few that remain, may be accepted 
 as a sufficient plea for the effort here made to 
 popularize the knowledge they contam. But I would 
 warn the reader not to expect from this small volume 
 what it does not profess to give. In no sense does it 
 pretend to be elaborate or exhaustive. I have had to 
 study brevity for another reason than its being the 
 soul of wit. It would have been a pleasant task to 
 write long descriptions of Australian scenery, and to 
 follow the explorers even into the by-paths of their 
 journeys; but the result would have been just what I 
 have had to avoid — a bulky volume. Yet, such as it 
 is, I hope the book will be found acceptable to the man 
 of business, who can neither afford to be ignorant of 
 this subject nor find time to enter into its minutijB ; 
 to the youth of our country, who cannot obtain access 
 to the original sources ; and to the general reader, who 
 desires to be told in simple, artless language the main 
 outlines of this fascinating story. 
 
 Having written on a subject in no waj' connected 
 with my profession, I may be allowed to say, in a 
 word, how my thoughts came to be diverted into this 
 channel. Probably they would never have been so 
 directed to any great extent had it not happened that 
 the path of duty led me into the tracks of several of
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 the most eminent explorers. In earlier days it was my 
 lot to travel, in the service of the Gospel, most exten- 
 sively in the interior of Queensland, principally on 
 the lines of the Condamine, the Dawson, the Balonne, 
 the Maranoa, and the Warrego rivers. In these 
 situations it was natural to wish for information as to 
 the way and manner in which those pastoral regions 
 had been opened up for settlement. Not much was 
 to be gleaned from the occupants themselves ; but it 
 fortunately happened that Sir Thomas Mitchell's 
 journal fell into my hands when amidst the scenes 
 of one of his most splendid discoveries, the Fitzroy 
 Powns, and almost under the shadow of his well- 
 named Mount Abundance. The taste then obtained 
 was sufficient to whet the appetite for more, and the 
 prosecution of this favourite study has issued in 
 what I may be permitted to call a tolerable acquaint- 
 ance with the exploration of Australia. About seven 
 or eight years ago I wrote a series of papers on this 
 subject for the Sydney Mail, bringing the history 
 down to the expedition of Burke and Wills. The 
 proprietors of that journal have kindly permitted me 
 to make use of my former articles in the preparation 
 of this work; but of this permission, for which I 
 would here record my thanks, I have availed myself 
 only to a moderate extent. The whole has been re- 
 written, some inadvertencies liave been corrected, and 
 the history in its main outlines l)rought down to the 
 present time. Although my principal concern has 
 been with the land explorers, I liave, in the iiitroduc-
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 tion, given a sketch of the discoveries made on our 
 coasts by the navigators. So much was necessary to 
 the completeness of my plan, and also because the 
 achievements of both to some extent dovetail into 
 one another. In the arrangement of the succeeding 
 chapters I have followed the chronological order, 
 except in a very few cases where a more important 
 principle of classification will be obvious to the 
 reader. 
 
 As regards authorities, I have spared no pains to 
 get at the original sources of information, and have 
 succeeded in all but a few unimportant exceptions. 
 In these cases I have derived some help from inter- 
 views with surviving relatives of the explorers and 
 several very old colonists. I have also been indebted 
 for further lio-ht to works of acknowledsfed merit 
 which have been for some time before the public — 
 notably, to the Rev. J. E. Tenison Woods's " Explora- 
 tion of Australia," and to Mr. Howitt's " Discoveries 
 in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand." My best 
 acknowledgments are also due to the Honourable 
 P. G. King, Esq., M.L.C., for the excellent notes he 
 has written on the discoveries made by his dis- 
 tinguished father, Admiral King. 
 
 That this small volume may be found to aftbrd 
 pleasant and profitable reading is the earnest wish of 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Balmaiin" West, Sydney, 
 18th May, 188S.
 
 CON T E N T S. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction — The Australian Nayigators - 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Pioneers of the Blue Mountains - - 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Evans's Discovery of the Lachlan and Macquarik M 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Oxley's Expedition to the Lachlan and Macquarik 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Hume and Hovell's Expedition from Lake George 
 
 TO Port Phillip - - - - - 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Allan Cunningham's Explorations - - - 53 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Captain Sturt's Three Expeditions - - 66 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Evre's Adventurous Journey along the Great 
 
 Australian Bight - - - - 96 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Sir Thomas Mitchell's Four Expeditions - - 110 
 
 1
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I* AGE 
 
 Kennedy's Disastkoi s Expekition to Cape York - 144 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Leichhardt's Expeditions to Port Essington .vnd 
 
 INTO THE Interior - - - - 152 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Mr. a. C. Gregory's Expedition to the North- 
 west Interior - - - - - 163 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Burke and Wills's Expedition Across the Aus- 
 tralian Continent _ _ _ _ i67 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Search Expeditions in Quest of Burke .^'d 
 
 Wills ------ 182 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 John M'Douall Stuart's Expeditions in the South, 
 
 TO the Centre, and Across the Continent - 194 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Colonel Warburton's Journey" across the "\^'estern 
 
 Interior ------ 210 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Hon. John Forrest's Explorations in Western 
 
 Australia ------ 219
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mr. Ehxbst Giles's Explohatioxs in CK>rTRAL .\:nd 
 
 Westekx Australia _ - _ _ 228 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Other Explorers in Western Australia — Conclusion 2^7
 
 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 INTRODUCTION: PIONEER NAVIGATORS. 
 
 The eastern coast of New Holland, as Australia was 
 then called, was discovered by Captain Cook, while 
 engaged in the hrst of his voyages round the world. 
 Leaving Cape Farewell, in New Zealand, on the l.Sth 
 of March, 1770, and steering a north-westerly course, 
 on the 18th of April he found the new continent rise 
 into view in one of its south-eastern headlands, which 
 was then named Point Hicks, but is now known as 
 Cape Conran, and reckoned within the territory of 
 Victoria. Henceforward the Endeavour was navi- 
 gated along the coast to its most northern limit. In 
 these southern waters no practicable landing-place 
 was observed till Botany Bay was reached. Here the 
 good sliip came to anchor, and nearly a week was 
 passed amidst the strangest sights and scenes. This 
 brief interlude being over, the northern voyage was 
 resumed in quest of further discoveries. Scarcely 
 luul the Botany Heads faded from the view when 
 another large inlet was sighted from the deck of 
 the vessel, but, unhappily, not visited. The point
 
 2 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 of observation being miserably inadequate, the great 
 navig-ator was all unconscious of his being abreast of 
 the finest harbour pf the world, and havinof oiven it 
 the name of Port Jackson, in honour of a dis- 
 tinguished English friend, held on his course without 
 pause or delay. For a while all went well witli the 
 navigator, but in an hour when no danger was 
 expected a cry of " breakers ahead " brought to 
 everyone on board a sense of extreme peril. By dint 
 of the captain's superior seamanship, and his perfect 
 command over the crew, the ship was turned from the 
 rocks in a critical moment, and tlie expedition rescued 
 from a disastrous termination. The locality of this 
 threatened calamity was marked by a projection of the 
 land, overhung by a conspicuous hill, to which Cook 
 gave the respective names of Point Danger and Mount 
 Warning, positions which the reader will recognize as 
 now forming the coastal Ijoundary between New 
 South Wales and Queensland. But the Endeavour 
 was not to finish her voyage without making a still 
 closer acquaintance with misfortune. Having un- 
 consciously approached a hidden danger in the far 
 north, she landed bodily on a reef, and sustained most 
 serious damage. It was only after the sacrifice of 
 much valuable cargo that she could be floated, and 
 then it taxed all the skill of the captain and the 
 utmost energies of his crew to bring her to the nearest 
 anchorage. The port of safety, reached with so much 
 difficulty, proved to be the mouth of a small river, 
 which has since borne the name of the Endeavour.
 
 INTRODUCTION. ii 
 
 The repair of the crazy vessel occupied a period of six 
 weeks, during which " Jack ashore " enjoyed rather 
 exciting holidays, making his lirst acquaintance with 
 the kangaroo and other grotesque oddities of the 
 Australian fauna. Having again put to sea, only one 
 stage more remained, and this over, the great navi- 
 gator reached Cape York, the extreme northern limit 
 of this new territory. Cook succeeded in his object 
 to a degree that must have surpassed his most 
 sanguine anticipations, and now took care that his 
 labours should not be in vain, but redound to the 
 benetit of liis country. All that was wanting was a 
 declaration of ownership, and this he accordingly 
 made on the spot : " As I am now about to quit the 
 eastern coast of New Holland, which I have coasted 
 from 88° latitude to this place, and which I am 
 confident no European has ever seen before, I once 
 more hoist the English colours (although I have 
 already taken possession of the whole eastern coast by 
 the name of New South Wales, from its great 
 similarity to that part of the principality of Wales), 
 in the right of my sovereign, George III., King of 
 Great Britain." 
 
 This welcome gift fell into the hands of the nation 
 in a time of need. Transportation to Virginia having 
 come to an end through the revolt of the American 
 colonies, the Enolish oaols were beino- tilled to overflow 
 with criminals, and a new outlet was imperatively 
 required. Somewhere in the world a place had to be 
 found for a penal settlement. The publication of
 
 4 THE AUSTEALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Cook's discoveries came in the nick of time, and 
 delivered the Government from embarrassment. It 
 was resolved accordingly to establish a crown colony 
 at Botany Bay, which had been fully and only too 
 favourably described by the circumnavigator. On the 
 ISth of March, 1787, a fleet consisting of eleven ships, 
 carrying 757 convicts and 200 soldiers, was despatched 
 under the command of Captain Phillip, a retired 
 military officer. The voyage being somewhat cir- 
 cuitous, its destination was not reached till the IStli 
 of January following. Less than a week sufficed to 
 show that Cook's picture of Botany had more of colour 
 than correctness. The shores were found to be shallow, 
 the roadstead exposed, and the adjacent lan<l ill suited 
 to the purpose in view. Without loss of time, the 
 Governor, with his assistants, proceeded to examine 
 the capabilities of Port Jackson, which had been 
 cursorily seen at a distance by Cook and dis- 
 missed in a single sentence of his otherwise copious 
 narrative. The exploration issued in unmeasured 
 satisfaction and surprise. The party returned to the 
 encampment with the tidings of a harbour with a 
 hundred coves, on the ample bosom of which all the 
 navies of Europe might ride at anchor. Orders to 
 decamp were issued forthwith, and the removal of the 
 nascent colony was the work of but a day or two. The 
 spot selected for the permanent home is contiguous to 
 the modern Circular Quay, and was recommended for 
 acceptance by a clear and limpid stream that glided on 
 its course underneath the indigenous copse. The
 
 INTRODUCTION, 5 
 
 infant colony had its baptism of hardship, but was 
 able to survive the struggle for existence. The 
 inauguration took place on the 7th of February, 1788, 
 when tlie settlement was formally proclaimed a crown 
 <3olony, in circumstances of no small state and 
 ceremony. 
 
 The passion for discovery soon took possession of 
 the new arrivals, and the adventurous Governor placed 
 himself in the front of this enterprise. To us who live 
 in times when Australia has ceased to be an unknown 
 land, their efforts in this direction may appear to have 
 been small and the results insignificant, l:»ut it should 
 not be forgotten that the horizon was at that time the 
 limit of discovery, even in meagre outline, whilst an 
 accurate survey had scarcely proceeded a couple of 
 miles beyond the settlement. On the 2nd of May the 
 Governor and party sailed off in the long-boat for the 
 purpose of exploring Broken Bay, which had been 
 seen and named by Captain Cook, but not entered. 
 It proved to be the entrance to a large river, ex- 
 panding to an immense width, and abounding in 
 exquisite natural scenery. Having crossed the bar, 
 three distinct divisions of Broken Bay were explored, 
 and to the last of which they gave the name of Pitt 
 Water, in honour of the far-famed English premier. 
 Next year this success was followed up with the 
 exploration of the river (the Hawkesbury) which here 
 enters the sea. Large tracts of rich alluvial land were 
 found on both sides. In a short time hence these 
 fertile flats became the homes of an industrious
 
 () THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 agricultural population, who frequently saved Sydney 
 from the horrors of famine. This voyage of discovery 
 was continued as far ^s Richmond Hill (the Kurrajong), 
 from which position the chasm in the mountains was 
 distinctly seen, and the sentries which guard its 
 entrance named the Carmarthen and Lansdown Hills. 
 It was the exploration of the coast-line, however, 
 that principally engaged the attention of the infant 
 colony, and for this work two men of rare ability 
 stepped to the front. In 1795, just seven years after 
 the foundation of the colony, Captain Hunter, having 
 been appointed Governor in succession to Captain 
 Phillip, arrived in Port Jackson with the Reliance 
 and the Supply, bringing George Bass as surgeon and 
 Matthew Flinders in the capacity of midshipman. 
 These adventurous and truly kindred spirits lost no 
 time in girding themselves up for the work of 
 discovery. They had been barely a month in the 
 country when the colonists saw them start on their first 
 expedition. Taking only a boy for general service, 
 and embarking in a boat not more than eight feet 
 long — very suitably named the Tom Thumb — they 
 sailed round to Botany Bay, thence up George's River, 
 which was now explored for 20 miles beyond what was 
 previously known. The results were, the opening up 
 of much available land and the commencement of a 
 new settlement under the name of Bankstown, which 
 is still retained. But the success attending this 
 adventure was eclipsed by next year's discoveries, which 
 were achieved under similar difficulties. The tiny
 
 INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 Tom TliiiAnb, with its crew of three all told, again left 
 Port Jackson for the purpose of examining a large 
 river which was supposed to enter the ocean to the 
 south of Botany Bay. Having stood out to sea in 
 order to catch the current, the voj'agers unwittingly 
 passed the object of their search and were carried far 
 southward. Bad weather now supervened ; the little 
 craft was tossed like a cork on the billows, and 
 finally beached in a heavy surf with the loss of many 
 valuables on board. Being now in want of water, the 
 party were compelled to leave the rock-bound coast 
 and steer still further south, in the hope of finding a 
 more favourable locality. Eventually they cast 
 anchor about two miles beyond the present to^^^l of 
 Wollonoono- in an inlet which, in commemoration of 
 this incident, still bears the name of the Tom Thumb 
 Lagoon. The blacks, it was ascertained, called the 
 district Allourie, which has, doubtless, been trans- 
 formed into the more euphonious Illawarra. On the 
 homeward voyage Bass and Flinders made a season- 
 able discovery of a snug little shelter, which they 
 called Providential Cove, but which is now generally 
 known by the native name, Wattamolla, About four 
 miles further north they were fortunate at last in 
 hitting upon the real object of their search. It prove<l 
 to be a laro-e sheet of water stretchini»: several miles 
 inland, and presented the appearance of a port rather 
 than a river. The natives spoke of it as " Deeban," 
 but it is now called Port Hacking, it is believed in 
 acknowledgment of the services of a pilot of that
 
 8 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 name. Having accomplished far more than the object 
 they had in view, the daring seamen returned to 
 Sydney Cove, after passing through a succession of 
 perils and privations which give to their narrative the 
 character, not of sober history, but of wild romance. 
 
 The next important expedition was carried out 
 under the sole conduct of Bass. On his own petition 
 the Governor furnished him with a whale-boat, 
 carrying a crew of six seamen and provided with 
 supplies for six weeks only. With so slender an 
 equipment this born adventurer sailed from Port 
 Jackson on a voyage of GOO miles, along a little- 
 known and possibly perilous coast. One lovely 
 summer evening, which happened to be the 3rd of 
 December, 1797, the little whaler with its stout- 
 hearted crew bore round the South Head, and bravely 
 turned its prow towards its unknown destination. 
 Scarcely had the familiar landmarks dropped out of 
 sight when the elements engaged in tempestuous fury, 
 and the storm drove the adventurers to seek shelter 
 hrst at Port Hacking, next at Wattamolla, and again 
 near Cook's Red Point, on the Illawarra coast. The 
 headland, under the lee of which the vessel took 
 refuge, stands a little to the south of Lake Illawarra, 
 and still bears the name of Bass' Point, Not long- 
 after the voyage was resumed he discovered the 
 embouchure of a river in an inferior harbour, wdiich he 
 called Shoalhaven, believing it deserved no better 
 name. Jervis Bay was next entered, but this was no 
 discovery, for it had been previously explored by
 
 INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 Lieutenant Bowen, whose name is still preserved in 
 an island lying near the entrance. Bass, however, 
 had the good luck to discover Twofold Bay — a scene 
 of never-failing beauty, and a place of importance in 
 our early history. Passing rapidly southward he 
 rounded Cape Howe, and first noticed the Long 
 Beach, but was unable to identify Point Hicks. He 
 was now .300 miles from Sydney, and whatever 
 remained of the voyage was along an absolutely 
 unknown coast. Some important discoveries were 
 made at various points, but the most valuable portion 
 of his labours was the exploration of Western Port. 
 Here he remained thirteen days, during which this 
 commodious harbour was carefully examined and 
 fully described. A leading object of the voyage had 
 been to settle the question of the suspected insularity 
 of Van Diemen's Land. Bass had really solved the 
 problem without knowing it, for he had passed 
 through the strait whicli now bears his name. That 
 it was detached from the continent his own bearings 
 rendered almost a certainty. To do more was impos- 
 sible in the circumstances. He had already been 
 seven weeks from Sydney, which had been left with 
 only six weeks' provisions. These, though eked out 
 by an occasional supply of fish and fowl, were nearly 
 exhausted, and the homeward voyage was made on 
 the shortest course. During an absence of eleven 
 weeks he had examined the coast for GOO miles soutli 
 of Port Jackson, the latter half of which had been 
 utterly unknown up to the time of this expedition.
 
 10 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 There still remains for review another memorable 
 voyage of discovery, undertaken by Bass and Flinders 
 conjointly in the year 1798. The object of this 
 expedition was to demonstrate the existence of the 
 probable strait and the consequent insularity of 
 Van Diemen's land ; and the way it was proposed to 
 accomplish this double object was to sail through the 
 channel and circumnavigate the island. Bent on this 
 adventure Bass and Flinders left Sydney Cove on the 
 7th Octolier, in the Norfolk, a good sea-going sloop of 
 25 tons burthen. The run over the known waters was 
 made purposely in haste, because the time was limited. 
 Their cruise in the channel disclosed a large number 
 of islands, the haunts of myriads of sea-fowl, 
 particularly the sooty petrel, which, though far from 
 savoury, served as an article of food. This strange 
 bird was found, like the rabbit, to burrow in the 
 ground, where it was easily captured in the evening. 
 Flinders says it was simply necessary to thrust in the 
 whole lenoth of the arm into the hole, whence one 
 would be almost certain to bring out a petrel — or a 
 snake. The alternative was not a pleasant one, but 
 the commander had to husband up the provisions and 
 the sailors were not unwilling to run the risk. The 
 circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) 
 commenced at the northern point, known as Cape 
 Portland. Nothing specially remarkable occurred till 
 a point was reached which they named Low Head, 
 immediately after which the Norfolk entered an arm 
 of the sea more than a mile in width. This appeared
 
 INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 to be a discovery of sufficient importance to devote 
 sixteen days to its exploration. It proved to be the 
 embouchure of what is now known as the River 
 Tamar, on which Launceston, the second town of the 
 island, is built. The discoverers sailed up the estuary, 
 following its course for many miles inland. It was 
 found to be alive with aquatic fowls, particularly 
 black swans, sometimes numbering 500 in a flock. 
 This unexpected diversion proved rich sport, and 
 afforded a pleasant interlude to the monotony of life 
 at sea. But the expedition was not for play, but 
 work, and the ship was again upon her course. After 
 a short sail to the westward they found tliemselves 
 rounding the north-west cape, and with glad hearts 
 could perceive the shore trending away for many a 
 league to the south. The proljlem was already 
 virtually solved. " Mr. Bass and myself," says 
 Flinders, "hailed it with joy and mutual congratula- 
 tion, as announcing the completion of our long- 
 wished-for discovery of a passage into the southern 
 Indian Ocean." This fortunate issue of their labours 
 marked an epoch both in the history of discovery and 
 the progress of international commerce. The cir- 
 cuitous route round the south of Van Diemen's Land 
 could henceforth be avoided, and in our day the 
 intervening strait has become tlie ordinary highway 
 for the Australian trade. It being still deemed 
 advisable to carry out tlie instructions to the letter, 
 the circumnavigation of the island was prosecuted 
 with varying interest. In the southern parts some
 
 12 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 valuable discoveries were made, and errors of previous 
 observers corrected. In consequence of unfavourable 
 weather the run along the eastern coast was made for 
 the most part out of sight of land, but on the Gth of 
 January it was found they had completely rounded 
 Van Diemen's Land, and so brought their work to an 
 end. The time allotted for the expedition having also 
 expired, the heroic navigators returned to Sydney, 
 bringing the welcome intelligence that doubt was no 
 longer possible concerning the insularity of Tasmania, 
 and the practicability of the intervening channel as 
 a highway of commerce. The merit of this latter 
 discovery is almost equally due to both navigators, 
 but with a generosity which reflects credit, and is as 
 noble as it is rare, Flinders prevailed on Governor 
 Hunter to call it Bass' Strait. 
 
 What had now been done for the island of Van 
 Diemen's Land by Bass and Flinders conjointly was 
 next to be achieved for the continent of Australia by 
 Flinders single-handed. Before his time much had 
 been done in enterprises of discovery on numerous 
 and distant parts of the coast by various commanders 
 and by different nations ; but as these eflbrts had been 
 conducted under no comprehensive plan, there was no 
 continuous line of exploration, and accordingly the 
 discoveries hitherto made were known only as dlyecfa 
 rtieinhra, lying at wide intervals in the Southern 
 Ocean ; but whether they were the extremities of one 
 and the same continent, or a cluster of sporadic 
 islands, there was not yet sufficient evidence to show.
 
 IXTRODUCTIOX. 13 
 
 To settle tlii.s (question was tlie true mission of 
 Matthew Flinders, and the method he adopted was to 
 circumnavigate the whole territory, keeping so near 
 tlie land as to have his eye on the raging surf, except 
 when the darkness of the night and the wildness of 
 tlie weather rendered this purpose impracticable. On 
 the very day of his death the printing-press issued a 
 record of his labours in a couple of goodly quartos 
 entitled " A Voyage to Terra Australis." This name 
 was proposed for the new country as a fair and likely 
 means of overcoming an acknowledged difficulty. The 
 ]3utch had Iouq- ag-o discovered the western coast and 
 called the country New Holland, whereas the English, 
 having performed a similar service for the eastern 
 side, gave the name of New South Wales to this and 
 the parts adjacent. Herein lay the difficulty ; to call 
 the whole continent New Holland seemed unfair to 
 the English, whilst it appeared equally unjust to the 
 Dutch to give the entire country the name of New 
 South Wales. Flinders thought Terra Australis 
 would be a reasonable compromise, but ad<led, in an 
 ail-important footnote — " Had I permitted myself any 
 innovation upon the original term, it would have been 
 to convert it into AUSTRALIA, as beino- more agree- 
 able to the ear and an assimilation to the other great 
 portions of the earth." The suggestion was a most 
 fortunate one, in spite of the innovation, and the 
 remark shows that, among other and greater obliga- 
 tions, we are indeV)ted to this navigator for the name 
 of our country.
 
 14 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 On the 18th of July, 1801, Flinders saile<l from 
 Spithead in the Investigator for the circumnavigation 
 ■of Australia. The. continent was first sighted on the 
 6th of December at the old landmark of the Leeuwin, 
 which had hitherto been believed to be an island, but 
 was now found to be connected with the mainland, 
 and henceforth known as Cape Leeuwin. Having 
 visited Kino- Georo-e's Sound, the run was next made 
 along the Great Australian Bight to Fowler's Bay and 
 Nuyt's Archipelago. Other navigators had visited 
 this part and examined it with more or less attention. 
 All the knowledge o-ained in the next stage had the 
 merit of original discoveries. Foremost among these 
 were Spencer and St. Vincent Gulfs, with Yorke 
 Peninsula intervening, and a large island lying nearly 
 opposite. On the latter they found no human in- 
 habitants, but marsupials and seals were seen in 
 prodigious numbers, and hence the explorers gave it 
 the name of Kangaroo Island. Having never met 
 with any of Adam's children till now, the denizens of 
 the island showed no timidity in the presence of the 
 strangers, nor expected any harm ; and this indifference 
 was observed to continue much longer with the 
 kangaroos than with the seals. Flinders was of 
 opinion that the kangaroos mistook their visitors 
 for a variety of seals, but the seals soon became too 
 knowing to confound them with kansraroos. A little 
 sharp experience led both classes of animals to regard 
 the intruders as deadly enemies. From that hour 
 <;onfidence departed and fear took its place. Shortly
 
 INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 after the navigator left this island a very memorable 
 incident occurred. A sailor from the mast-head 
 reported a white rock in sight. On a nearer view it 
 proved to be the sails of a ship — of all things surely 
 the last to be expected in this unknown i^uarter of the 
 world. Both vessels met in these strange waters, and 
 then the apparition turned out to be the French ship 
 the Geographe, also on a voyage of discovery, under the 
 command of Captain Baudin. The jealous Frenchman 
 ill concealed his vexation on meeting with a rival who 
 had reaped the harvest of discovery over so many 
 leagues of a coast-line which he believed himself to be 
 the first to visit. Nor was jealousy his only or his 
 worst fault. This unscrupulous navigator had the 
 audacity to proceed as an explorer in unknown 
 waters, and lay claim to discoveries which the 
 Englishman had just made. Flinders, on the contrary, 
 acted like the model of integrity which he was. He 
 maintained the right of prior discovery in respect to 
 all the places he had Ijeen the first t(^ visit, leaving to 
 Baudin an undisputed claim on such as he had already 
 examined. This is the reason why the names of local- 
 ities to the westward of this point are predominantly 
 English, while those lying to the east are French. To the 
 placid of uieeting, as Ijeing a sort of double discovery. 
 Flinders gave the name of Encounter Bay. A minute 
 examination of the remaining portions of this coast 
 having been rendered unnecessary, in consequence of 
 Baudin's cruise, Flinders now pushed on to Bass' 
 Strait and entered an inlet which he supposed to be
 
 16 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Western Port. This conjecture turned out to be a 
 mistake, for the place, so far as Flinders was con- 
 cerned, proved to be. a new discovery. Subsequently, 
 however, he ascertained that the inlet had been visited 
 al)Out ten weeks earlier by Lieutenant Murray, who 
 had given it the name of Port Phillip. Perceiving- 
 the importance of the place, Flinders wisely devoted 
 one week to the examination of the bay and the 
 exploration of the immediate neighbourhood. Having 
 seen so many capabilities of land and water, he put 
 on record his opinion that " a settlement would 
 probably be made at Port Phillip some time after." 
 This hesitating prophecy was uttered as late as the year 
 1802, and the locality in question is the site on which 
 the great city of Melbourne now stands, with its 
 population of 300,000 souls ! Having again stood out 
 to sea, the Investigator was soon abreast of Western 
 Port, the utmost limit of Bass's discoveries, and now 
 the vessel was considered to be in known waters. A 
 direct run was accordingly made for Port Jackson, 
 and Sydney was reached on tlie 1st of May, 1802. 
 
 Philip Gidley King was at that time governor of 
 New South Wales, and Flinders had the good fortune 
 to find in him both the courtesy of a gentleman and 
 tlie kindness of a friend. Permission having been 
 obtained from the Admiralty, the Governor placed the 
 Lady Nelson at the service of the indefatigable navi- 
 gator, and in every possible way encouraged his 
 enterprise. Being thus supplied with all requisites 
 which the young settlement could furnish, the
 
 INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 Investigator, accompanied by the Lo.dy Nelson as 
 tender, resumed the voyage of circumnavigation 
 under promising auspices. Since the time of Cook 
 the north-eastern coast had been visited in various 
 parts by different navigators, but much yet remained 
 to lie done before a correct map could be drawn up, 
 and Flinders had it among his instructions to supply 
 the deficiencies of his predecessors wherever that 
 might be possible. Having taken the trouble to find 
 out what portions of the coast Cook had passed in the 
 night, he made it his business to keep a sharp look- 
 out on such localities, and in this way became the 
 discoverer of Curtis Bay and other inlets of consider- 
 able importance. He was able also to correct many 
 of Cook's observations, and being provided with 
 better instruments, supplied, in not a few cases, the 
 shortcomings of several other predecessors. But his 
 most valuable services in this quarter were his 
 observations on the Great Barrier Reef, which for 
 more than a thousand miles runs nearly parallel with 
 the northern coast, and had hitherto been viewed as 
 the terror of navigators. To pierce this obstruction 
 and get out into the open sea was an undertaking of 
 so much intricacy that seamen were accustomed ta 
 call it " threading the needle." Even Cook, prince of 
 navigators as he was, failed in the attempt. Flinders 
 persevered till he discovered a safe gap in the mighty 
 rampart, and showed succeeding navigators an easy 
 escape from a grave difficulty. An outside course 
 was then followed to the extreme north. Ha\'ing
 
 18 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 now passed through the Endeavour Strait, Flinders 
 came to anchor in the Gulf of Carpentaria, where he 
 found a new scene for his energies and a rich field of 
 discovery awaiting him. 
 
 The Gulf of Carpentaria had been early visited by 
 the Dutch navigators, but its exploration — if this word 
 could be applied at all — had been conducted in a 
 desultory and piecemeal fashion. Its turn had come 
 at last, and the same painstaking service was to be 
 rendered here which had made the south and eastern 
 coasts so correctly known. Flinders found the gulf 
 defined on the chart by a vague and hesitating coast- 
 line, which turned out, in most cases, to be more 
 imaginary than according to nature, and he left it so 
 accurately described that his successors have been 
 able to add little to his careful investigations. In this 
 patient research four months were consumed, during 
 which period he examined the whole coast from end 
 to end, including Arnheim Bay. The three sea- 
 boards of Australia, south, east, and north, had now 
 been explored in the Investigator. It need not, 
 therefore, occasion surprise to hear of her showing 
 signs of decay. This matter had to be attended to 
 before commencing the survey of the western coast, 
 which was meant to be as thorough as that of the 
 other three had been. After making a call at Timor 
 with despatches, a rapid run was made for Port 
 Jackson by the western coast, but out of sight of 
 land. Cape Leeuwin, the point from which the circum- 
 navigation had started, was reached on the 13th of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 May, 1803, and thus the heroic undertaking was 
 virtually accomplished. Shipwreck, tragic sufferings, 
 and diabolical treachery cut off the possibility of any 
 further exploration of the western coast by Matthew 
 Flinders. 
 
 The work which was thus left imj)erfect through a 
 long series of misfortunes was afterwards resumed, 
 and very satisfactorily completed, by another dis- 
 tinguished navigator. Captain, and subsequently Ad- 
 miral King. He played a prominent part in this 
 period of our history, and was much beloved for his 
 sterling qualities both of head and heart. He made 
 four voyages to the western coast, in every one of 
 which excellent service was rendered to the cause of 
 exploration. The following interesting abstract of his 
 discoveries has been kindly furnished by his son, the 
 Hon. P. G. King, M.L.C. :— 
 
 " On the 4th of February, 1817, Lieutenant Philip 
 Parker King, of the Royal Navy, the only son of 
 Captain Philip Gidley King, the third Governor of 
 New South Wales, was appointed by the Lords Com- 
 missioners of the Admiralty to carry out a survey of 
 the then unexplored parts of the ' coasts of New 
 South Wales,' which comprised from Arnheim Bay, 
 near the western entrance of the Gulf of Carpentaria, 
 westward, and southward as far as the South-West 
 Cape, including the opening or deep bay called Van 
 Diemen's Bay, and the cluster of islands called the 
 Rosemary Islands, and the inlets behind them. He 
 was also to examine the coast between Cape Leeuwin
 
 20 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 and Cape Gasselin in M. De Freycinet's chart, and to 
 complete the circumnavigation of the ' continent.' 
 
 " The Governor . of the colony was directed ta 
 place at his disposal any suitable vessel for his 
 purpose, and accordingly the Mermaid, a cutter 
 recently arrived from India, of 84 tons burden, was 
 placed under his charge. Mr. F. Bedwell and Mr. 
 John Sej)timus Roe (afterwards Surveyor-General of 
 Western Australia) were his assistants, and Mr. Allan 
 Cunningham, the botanical collector, specially ap- 
 pointed by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist of Cook's 
 expedition. The chief of the Broken Bay tribe of 
 aborigines, ' Boon-ga-ree,' accompanied the little ex- 
 pedition, and much service was obtained from him in 
 the various interviews with the natives. 
 
 " Taking advantage of the westerly monsoon, the 
 Mermaid commenced her work, leaving Port Jackson 
 on the 22nd of December, 1817, and, proceeding by 
 Bass' Strait, arrived off the North- West Cape on 
 the 10th of February. The favourable wind lasted 
 till the beofinnino- of March, when the south-east 
 monsoon obliged the vessel to be worked to the 
 eastward, for the purpose of running before it on her 
 work. Having examined the coast and islands as far 
 as Depuch Bay, the survey was resumed at the 
 Goulburn" Islands. Port Essington was examined ; 
 also. Van Diemen's Gulf and the Alligator Eiver. A 
 survey was made of the northern shore of Melville 
 Island and Apsley Strait, till the 31st of May, when, 
 provisions drawing to an end and water failing, the
 
 INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 little vessel stretched across 'the Great Australian 
 Strait ' to Timor, and anchored off the Dutch settle- 
 ment of Coepang on the 4th of June. On the 19th 
 Montebelle and Barrow Islands were surveyed. 
 Dysentery now attacked the ship's company, and 
 further work had to be given up for this. Lieutenant 
 King's first voyage, which, lasting 31 i weeks, ter- 
 minated in his return to Port Jackson on the 29th 
 of July. 
 
 " The winds not proving favourable for the pas- 
 sage through Torres Strait by the eastern coast till 
 February in the following year, 1819, a voyage was 
 made in the interval to Van Diemen's Land, and a 
 survey was made of Macquarie Harbour, on the west 
 coast, and a departure was taken for the second 
 voyage on the 8th of May, during which a running 
 survey was made, including an examination of the 
 entrance of Port Macquarie, from the entrance of the 
 inner passage through the Barrier Reefs at Breaksea 
 Spit to the Endeavour River, thence northerly as far 
 as Cape York, A stretch was now made across the 
 Gulf of Carpentaria, and various parts of the coast to 
 the westward were examined, and Cambridge Gulf 
 and Admiralty Gulf were discovered and surveyed. 
 A second visit had to be made to Coepang to obtain 
 supplies, to enable the vessel to retui'n to Port 
 Jackson, where they arrived on the 12th December, 
 after an absence of 80 weeks. During this voyage 
 a survey had been made of 540 miles of the 
 northern coast, in addition to oOO on the pre\ious
 
 22 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 expedition, as well as on this occasion making a 
 running survey on the eastern coast of 900 miles. 
 
 " The third expedition comprised a further survey 
 of the 900 miles just alluded to, and of the north-west 
 coast in various parts. It may be noteworthy that 
 the cutter was rigged on this occasion with rope made 
 in New South Wales from New Zealand flax (pJior- 
 iniiuin tenax). The third voyage was completed on 
 the 9th of December, 1820, having occupied a period 
 of 25^ weeks. 
 
 " For the fourth voyage it was found necessary to 
 purchase a larger vessel, and, accordingly, Captain 
 King, who had now received his promotion, found 
 himself in command of a brig of 170 tons, which was 
 thereafter called the Batliiirst. The coast north- 
 wards to Torres Strait was further examined. The 
 Mauritius was visited, and the west coast examined 
 from Rottnest Island to the Buccaneers' Archipelago. 
 The BatJturst returned to Port Jackson on the 2oth 
 of April, 1822, after an absence of 344 days. Captain 
 King was then ordered by the Admiralty to return 
 to England, to prepare his charts and journals for 
 publication. 
 
 " It is impossible in such a short resume oi his 
 voyages to allude to the numerous and interesting 
 interviews with the aborigines which he fell in with, 
 further than to state that they were always con- 
 ducted with a desire to establish friendly relations. 
 Captain King's services were approved by the 
 Admiralty, as he was entrusted with another com-
 
 INTKODUCTION. 23 
 
 mand of two vessels, to survey the southern coasts of 
 South America." 
 
 From 1839 to 1845 the survey of the north-western 
 coasts was continued with the Beagle, first under the 
 command of Captain Wickham, and subsequently of 
 Lieutenant Stokes. Soon after arriving from Eng- 
 land, in the close of 1837, the coast was examined 
 from Roebuck Bay to King's Sound, during which 
 cruise the Fitzroy River was discovered and navi- 
 gated for 90 miles from its entrance. In another 
 voyage to the north the coast was explored in the 
 vicinity of Port Essington, which was found to be a 
 spacious harbour. Whilst examining Clarence Strait 
 they made the important discovery of the Adelaide 
 River, which was subsequently described by Mr. J. 
 M'Douall Stuart as one of the best possible situations 
 for a new settlement. Port Darwhi was also discovered 
 during this voyage. The Beagle now proceeded to 
 Cambridge Gulf, and discovered the Victoria and 
 Fitzmaurice Rivers. The former was navigated for 
 50 miles, and rather hastily described as one of the 
 finest rivers of Australia. The run was now made to 
 Swan River, and thence, after a cruise among the 
 islands, to Port Jackson. In June, 1841, the Beagle 
 again left Sydney, to examine the southern coast of 
 the Gulf of Carpentaria. Some important discoveries 
 were made during this cruise. A fine river, which the 
 explorers named the Flinders, was found, and na\i- 
 gated for 30 miles. On the 1st of August they 
 discovered the Albert. Having ascended to a splendid
 
 24 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 sheet of water, which was named Hope Reach, they 
 found themselves in the midst of enchanting scenery, 
 which Captain Stokes thus describes : — " It was as 
 glorious a prospect as could greet tlie eye. A mag- 
 nificent sheet of water lay before us in one unbroken 
 expanse, resembling a smooth translucent lake. Its 
 gentle repose harmonized exquisitely with the slender, 
 motionless boughs of the drooping gums, palms, and 
 acacias that clustered on the banks, and dipped their 
 feathery foliage in the limpid stream that, like a 
 polished mirror, bore within its bosom the image of the 
 graceful vegetation by which it was bordered. The 
 report of our guns, as they dealt destruction among 
 the quails that here abounded, rolled for the first 
 time alono- the waters of the Albert, breakino- in on 
 the hush of stillness that appeared to reign over all 
 like the presence of a spirit. The country which 
 stretched away from either bank was an extensive 
 plain, covered with long, coarse grass, above which was 
 occasionally seen the head of a kangaroo, listening 
 with its acute ear to our approach." It was not 
 possible to ascend much higher than this reach, on 
 account of the fallen timber wdiich blocked the 
 channel. The explorers then landed on immense 
 plains, which, perhaps with too hasty judgment, they 
 named the Plains of Promise. During this voyage 
 they had examined the Gulf coast for 200 miles, 
 making the discovery of twenty inlets and two large 
 rivers.
 
 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 25 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PIONEERS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Persons who have yet to make their acquaintance 
 with the early history of New South Wales will learn 
 with surprise that the colony had been founded for 
 almost a quarter of a century before the Blue Moun- 
 tain barrier was crossed. For so long a period it was 
 scarcely possible to proceed more than forty miles 
 from Sydney in any direction. Many a despairing- 
 look must those early settlers have cast on the 
 frowning ramparts of the range, which, leaving only a 
 narrow margin between itself and the sea, threatened 
 to convert the cradle of the colony into a Procrustes' 
 bed, to which its dimensions would have to conform in 
 the future, as they had done in the past. This sense 
 of confinement was the harder to l)ear tliat it was met 
 with in a land of freedom ; and many a time did the 
 caged eagfle dash itself with fruitless rao-e against the 
 bars of its prison. A record of the unsuccessful 
 attempts to get beyond the main range would form a 
 heroic chapter of our history, and one, too, of which 
 we might well feel proud, if there is any truth in the 
 saying that in great undertakings it is glorious even 
 to fail. Within four months after the arri\al of the 
 " first fleet " our annals present a picture of Governor 
 Phillip and party struggling laboriously westward to
 
 26 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the gorges of the mountains. In 1793 Lieutenant 
 Dawes, with Captains Trench and Paterson, put forth 
 equally persistent, but just as unsuccessful, efforts to 
 scale the sandstone cliffs and reach the interior. 
 During this year, also, H. Hacking, of the Sirius, 
 with two companions, penetrated twenty miles into 
 the mountains, passing over eighteen or nineteen 
 ridges or gullies, and returned to the settlement after 
 an absence of seven days. Three years later George 
 Bass, the famous, though unprofessional, navigator 
 and discoverer of the strait which still bears his 
 name, did all that marvels of perseverance could 
 accomplish in the hope of forcing a passage by way 
 of the valley of the Grose. Taking a party on 
 whose courage he could rely, Bass had his feet armed 
 with iron hooks that he might scale the cliffs, after the 
 mamier of a spider, and made his men lower him with 
 ropes into the outlying chasms. But it was all in 
 vain. After fifteen days of heroic endeavour, he 
 returned to Sydney, bringing the cold comfort of 
 impossibility of transit. Bass assured his fellow- 
 colonists that a passage over the Blue Mountains did 
 not exist, even for a person on foot. It is possible 
 that this strong statement was disproved almost 
 immediately after. A tradition, not too well authen- 
 ticated, speaks of a convict of the name of Wilson 
 actually crossing the mountains in 1799. With 
 another advance we eet better footino- and read of a 
 Lieutenant Barrellier making a similar attempt, but 
 onlv to add another name to the list of failures. Two
 
 THE PIONEERS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 27 
 
 years later an effoi't of a more promising character 
 was made by a botanist of the name of Cayley, who 
 pushed his way into the heart of the mountains as far 
 as the present Numantia, where he erected a cairn of 
 stones to mark the furthest limit of exploration to 
 the west. He left his rude monument without a name, 
 but Governor Macquarie, in a sportive mood, called it 
 " Cayley 's Repulse," and by this brand it is still remem- 
 bered by old colonists. The late Dr. Lang thus refers 
 to it in his "History" : — " The place was pointed out to 
 me by a respectable settler of the Bathurst district on 
 crossino- the mountains for the first time in the vear 
 1826. It is certainly a most remarkable locality, 
 nothing being visible in any direction but immense 
 masses of weather-beaten sandstone rocks, towering 
 over each other in all the sublimit}' of desolation ;. 
 quite a deep chasm, intersecting a lofty ridge covered 
 with blasted trees, seems to present an insurmountable 
 barrier to all further progress." 
 
 At this outpost discovery appears to ha^■e stood still 
 for a considerable period. If further attempts were 
 entered on in the succeeding years very little has been 
 said about them. The settlers must have made up 
 their minds for tlie time being to submit to the 
 inevitable and reconcile themselves to the situation 
 with the best consolation they could find. But a 
 pressing emergency assailed them before long which 
 aroused the slumbering energy and led to another 
 assault on the western ramparts. A continuous 
 drought had succeeded equally disastrous Hoods in
 
 28 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the Hawkesbury. The live stock of the settlement 
 had by this time increased to 65,121 sheep, 21,343 
 horned cattle, and 1,891 horses, and all these had to 
 be kept during a season of drought on an area of 
 80 miles by 40, the greater part of which in the 
 best of times was hopelessly sterile. In this trying 
 situation it became very manifest that one of two 
 alternatives had to be faced — either the Blue Moun- 
 tain barrier must be forced at all hazards and a way 
 found into the interior, or, should this prove to be 
 absolutely impossible, the surplus stock would have 
 to be removed from the colony, if they were not to 
 perish from starvation. The crisis was a serious one, 
 but it happily called forth an effectual remedy. Three 
 most capable men now came to the front to scale the 
 mountain ramparts from which so many assailants 
 had already been cast down ; and now, at last, fortune 
 was pleased to smile on the enterprise. The foremost 
 of this memorable trio was Gregory Blaxland, a 
 native of Kent, and born of an old English family in 
 1779. The second on the expedition was William 
 Lawson, who was formerly lieutenant in the 102nd 
 regiment, but had latterly retired to " Veteran Hall," 
 his own country seat near Prospect. These two 
 leaders, on whom the whole responsibility devolved, 
 were joined by a third person, then wholly unknown, 
 but who afterwards made for himself a name not to 
 be forgotten in New South Wales. This was the 
 embryo patriot and statesman, William Charles 
 Wentworth. Blaxland was now in his 35th year,
 
 THE PIONEERS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 29 
 
 Lawson about the same age, but Wentworth was- 
 barely out of bis 'teens, and professedly joined the 
 expedition in a freak of youthful adventure. 
 
 This memorable expedition, consisting of the three 
 parties named, together with four attendants, a few 
 pack horses, and several hunting dogs, left Blaxland's 
 farm, at South Creek, on the 11th of May, 1813. 
 The same afternoon the Nepean was crossed at Enui 
 Ford, and the first encampment made the same even- 
 ing at the foot of the mountains which had so lono- 
 marked the western boundary of the settlement. 
 The plan they resolved to follow was to adhere to 
 the dividing ridge or watershed between the Warra- 
 gumby and Grose Rivers, being careful to head all 
 the tributaries departing to the right or to the left. 
 This determination proved the secret of their ultimate 
 success, and put the explorers in possession of the 
 only key to the situation. Next morning the Emu 
 Plains were left behind and the ascent of the 
 mountains commenced. The high land of Grose Head 
 is noted as being about seven miles to the north- 
 east, and the place where the ascent began must have 
 been considerably to the north of the present Zig-zag, 
 and near the starting point of the original Bathurst- 
 road. Having scaled the steepest part of the ridge, 
 here about 800 feet high, the travellers were careful 
 to head all the watercourses on both sides, in the hope 
 of finding that the highest ground would also be 
 continuous. The first day's progress amounted to a 
 little over three miles, generally in a south-western
 
 30 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 •direction, and the night's encampment was made at 
 the head of a deep gully, where a small supply of 
 water was found in the rock. Next mornino- a start 
 was made about 9 o'clock. After proceeding about a 
 mile they had the good luck to hit upon a large 
 tract of forest land. Here was discovered the track 
 of a European, who had marked the trees. This belt 
 of open country ceased about two miles ahead, at 
 which point further progress was obstructed by 
 impenetrable brushwood. The remainder of the day 
 having been consumed in fruitless efforts to round 
 this obstacle, the night was spent in the former 
 position. Next morning the axes were early at work 
 hewing a track through the scrub, which could 
 neither be avoided nor penetrated. This step-by-step 
 progress had to be endured for five miles, until a 
 more open patch was reached. Nor was this an 
 exceptional case. A great part of the route over the 
 mountains had in like manner to be laid open by the 
 axe, thus making it necessary to travel three times 
 over the same ground. First, the track had to be cut 
 out ; next, they had to return for the horses ; and 
 then the real advance was made for another stase. 
 On the fifth day the brushwood proved so formidable 
 that their progress did not exceed two miles. The 
 following day was Sunday, and the explorers enjoyed 
 the Sabbath rest as much as any toil-worn slave that 
 •ever breathed. On the 17th the horses were loaded 
 with a supply of grass, as the country was becoming 
 still more inhospitable, and an advance of seven miles
 
 THE PIONEERS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 81 
 
 was made through a track which the axe had laid 
 open. But the windings of the watershed now 
 appeared interminable, and the real progress, if 
 measured in a straight line, was small indeed. Yet it 
 was only by this tedious course that the mountains 
 could be crossed, if crossed at all. The locality of the 
 next encampment was destitute of water, and what 
 could be obtained in the vicinity had to be carried up 
 a precipitous clili' 600 feet in height. The horses had 
 to shift as they best could for that evening. To 
 aggravate matters, if such a thing were possible, a 
 more serious obstacle now rose in front of the in- 
 trepid explorers. The ridge, which was their only 
 hope, contracted to a width of 20 feet, and appeared 
 to terminate in a huge rock rising 30 feet directly in 
 front. But perseverance, which overcomes all things, 
 Ijrought them safely over this barrier too. Wednes- 
 day, the 19th, was a red-letter day, for they now 
 reached the summit of the second elevation of the 
 main range. The site also was suitable for a camp, 
 and offered a good supply of grass and water. Next 
 day a five-mile stage was accomplished, and the camp 
 formed on the margin of a lagoon with a small stream 
 of water running through it. Here the horses were 
 left till the men had cut another day's march through 
 the scrub. Soon after the ridge began to widen, but 
 proved to be more rocky than ever. From the 22nd 
 to the 28th the advance was made at much the same 
 rate and without any incidents calling for particular 
 remark. At last the pioneers had the inexpressible
 
 32 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 satisfaction of finding themselves on the western fall 
 of the mountains. But the slopes facing the interior 
 were exceedingly rugged, and a practicable descent 
 was nearly despaired of. After much difficulty a 
 barely feasible one was discovered, by means of 
 which the party got clear of the mountains and 
 found themselves in a lovely valley, afterwards 
 called the Vale of Clwydd, and now well known as. 
 the site of the town of Hartley. 
 
 Now, at last, the Blue Mountains had been crossed, 
 but the pioneers continued their journey a short 
 distance further, to make sure that every obstacle 
 had been overcome. After leaving the range they 
 advanced two miles to the westward on the same day, 
 and encamped on the bank of a fine stream, probably 
 what was afterwards known as the Rivulet, and now, 
 by an absurd blunder in spelling, the Biver Lett. 
 The last encampment was made on another brook,, 
 since called Farmer's Creek, but not from any con- 
 nection with the farming interest. Here Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell lost his favourite horse "Farmer," and 
 considered the event of sufficient importance to have 
 its remembrance preserved in the name of the creek. 
 From this outpost of the expedition Blaxland went 
 forth on the last afternoon of May, 1813, and ascended 
 a neighbouring hill, from the top of which he beheld a 
 magnificent expanse of pastoral country, sufficient, in 
 his reckoning, to meet the wants of the colony for 
 thirty years to come. This l;)eing the extreme point 
 reached in this enterprise. Governor Macquarie paid
 
 THE PIONEERS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 33 
 
 the leader a well-merited compliment in associating 
 the name of Blaxland with this memorable peak. 
 
 The object of the journey being now happily 
 attained, it was judged unnecessary to travel further. 
 Twenty days had been spent in forcing a passage 
 through the formidable mountain barrier, and the 
 progress had been so slow that not much more than 
 three miles per day had been averaged. The actual 
 distance travelled along this tortuous rid^e was 
 reckoned at fifty miles, and eight more had been 
 added on the other side. The return journey calls for 
 no detailed remarks. The explorers were greatly 
 fatigued, in very poor health, and their clothes had 
 been torn to rags. Their outward track had been 
 too laboriously hewn through the brushwood to be 
 difficult to find on their return. The colonists at 
 Sydney hailed with welcome the tidings of this signal 
 success, and lost no time in turning the wished-for 
 discovery to practical account.
 
 34 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SURVEYOR Evans's discovery of the lachlan and 
 
 MACQUARIE RIVERS AND THE BATHURST PLAINS. 
 
 Delighted with the success which had rewarded the 
 Blue Mountain enterprise. Governor Macquarie took 
 prompt action in following up this conquest over 
 nature's barrier. A new and very capable man was 
 now ready to enter the field. This was Mr. George 
 W. Evans, who at that time filled the office of 
 Deputy-Surveyor. His name occupies an honourable 
 place in our early annals. It were to be wished 
 we had fuller particulars of this first effort of his in 
 the exploration of the colony than are now to hand. 
 The following brief sketch embodies all that is really 
 known on this subject : — He was absent only seven 
 weeks on his first journey, and in 21 days hud 
 penetrated 98 miles beyond the most advanced camp 
 of his predecessors. This new explorer crossed the 
 Nepean at Emu Ford on the 20th of November, 1813, 
 and, six days after, arrived at the termination of the 
 journey of the Blue Mountain pioneers. Proceeding 
 westward, he crossed a well- grassed but broken and 
 rugged country, which was subsequently called the 
 Clarence Hilly Range. By the 30th he had reached 
 the dividing ridge which forms the watershed be- 
 tween the eastern and western streams. Soon after 
 this he discovered, in a well-grassed valley, the head
 
 SURVEYOR EVANS. 35 
 
 waters of a stream that abounded in fish, and hence 
 received the name of the Fish River. He continued 
 to trace it, winding its course through a fine country, 
 suitable for agricultural and grazing purposes, till the 
 7th of December, when it was joined by another 
 stream, which he named the Campbell. To the river 
 which was thus formed by these tributaries he gave 
 the name of the Macquarie, after the Governor, but 
 the natives called it the Wambool. Continuing on 
 the lead of the Macquarie, he followed it through rich 
 alluvial land — the Bathurst Plains — destitute of 
 timber, but abounding in game. During the whole 
 journey Evans met with only six natives, but saw the 
 smoke of their encampments in many places. He 
 returned to Sydney on the 8th of January, 1814. 
 After a short interval he was ao-ain sent out to the 
 same district, with a small party and one month's 
 provisions. During this second journey Limestone 
 Creek was discovered and explored ; but its chief 
 result was the discovery of another large river, which 
 he called the Lachlan, after the christian name of the 
 Governor. The Lachlan and the Macquarie formed 
 an enigma to the early geographers. Their sources 
 were in the same neighbourhood, but both flowed 
 towards the interior and kept diverging from one 
 another during every mile of their known course. 
 
 The proper sequel to Evans's discoveries was the 
 formation of a road over the mountains to Bathurst 
 Plains. This was done in the same year by gangs of 
 convicts under the command of one Cox, in an
 
 36 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 incredibly short space of time, as tradition reports. 
 This road, 100 miles in length, was formally opened 
 in May, 1815, by the Governor and Mrs. Macquarie, 
 who rode the whole distance on horseback. Bathurst 
 was then laid out, and has ever since continued to be 
 one of the most flourishing places in the colony, as 
 might well be expected from a town which commands 
 50,000 acres of first-class land within a radius of ten 
 miles.
 
 OXLEY. 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 oxley's expeditions to the lachlan and 
 macquarie rivees. 
 
 The passion for exploration was not yet allowed to 
 slumber. Deputy-Surveyor Evans's discovery of the 
 Bathurst Plains, with two promising rivers, only 
 whetted the desire for further knowledge. It was 
 presumed that the Lachlan and the Macquarie united 
 their waters in some part of their course and finally 
 disembogued in an unknown part of the eastern 
 coast. But all this was mere conjecture, which 
 required to be cleared up by actual exploration. A 
 new expedition was accordingly set on foot by the 
 Governor, and a fit person appointed to the post 
 of leader. This was the Surveyor-General, John 
 Oxley, B.N., who appears to have been both an able 
 and amiable man, combining the fortiter in re with 
 the suaviter in oiioclo. Allan Cunningham, who 
 was his close associate, always spoke of Oxley in 
 terms of admiration and endearment. Amono; other 
 meritorious services he had the credit of giving to 
 New South Wales the first map of her immense 
 territories, a task for which he was well qualified by 
 extensive colonial travel in his official capacity, 
 
 I. 
 
 This expedition, as finally organized under the 
 conduct of Oxley, consisted of Allan Cunningham, as
 
 38 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 king's botanist, Charles Frazer, as colonial botanist, 
 William Parr, as mineraloo^ist, and eight others. On 
 the 20th of April, '1817, all the members of the 
 expedition met at a store depot on the bank of the 
 Lachlan River, which had been fixed as the point of 
 departure. The details of their weary wanderings 
 have been recorded only at too great length in 
 Oxley's published journals. The author in the com- 
 mencement of his work apologized for the uneventful 
 character of the narrative, and if this was necessary 
 when enthusiasm for exploration was at fever heat, 
 the reader of the present day is not likely to consider 
 it superfluous. The fault, however, did not lie with 
 the writer, but is to be attributed to the unin- 
 teresting materials which form the staple of his 
 bulky volumes. The country he had to traverse soon 
 turned out to be singularly tame and tedious. The 
 sea coast, with its never-ending scenes of beauty, had 
 been left far behind ; the mountain ranges, with 
 their vast and varied grandeur, had sunk below the 
 horizon, and in place of both were found only the 
 dull and dreary plains of the Australian bush. Were 
 it not that the whole of the country was new, this 
 record of daily travel would read like the diary of a 
 conscientious but uneventful life. It will be desir- 
 able, therefore, to touch only on the chief points of the 
 narrative. 
 
 Starting from the point previously indicated, the 
 party proceeded on their travels along the southern 
 bank of the river. Wild fowl appeared in large
 
 OXLEY. 39 
 
 numbers, offering excellent sport. The natives also 
 were met with more frequently than would have been 
 agreeable had they been disposed to be troublesome, 
 which, fortunately, they were not. The one thing 
 which surprised the explorers was the behaviour 
 of the Lachlan, which, after showing itself a goodly 
 river of a hundred feet in width, threatened to end 
 its career in a most undignified fashion. This it very 
 soon did, as they believed, by resolving itself into a 
 succession of marshes, to which they gave the name 
 of the Lachlan Swamps. Being unable to trace the 
 river any further, Oxley now resolved to abandon 
 the enterprise and return home by a different route. 
 He made up his mind, accordingly, to make for the 
 southern coast, which he hoped to strike about Cape 
 Northumberland, and thence reach Sydney by sea. 
 In this direction the course was steered till the 4th 
 of July, when further progress became extremely 
 difficult, from the sterility of the country and almost 
 interminable forests of mallee, which Oxley, in a play 
 of the imagination, named the Euryalean scrub. 
 At last it became apparent to all that they would 
 have to return to the Lachlan, through the want of 
 water, if for no other cause, and this was now 
 done. The retrograde movement was singularly 
 unfortunate. Had they proceeded only twenty miles 
 further the Murrumbidgee would have been dis- 
 covered, with its never-failing volume of water. 
 But, in their ignorance, it was otherwise determined, 
 and a laurel lost to the wreath of this distinofuished
 
 40 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 explorer. Nineteen weary days were consumed on 
 this return journey, at the end of which the Lachlan 
 was reached, a long distance below the swamps from 
 which it had emerged, and was flowing in a strong 
 current confined within high banks. Water fowl were 
 again seen and causjht in abundance. Fish also 
 were plentiful, some of them — the " Murray cod " — 
 weighing sixty or seventy pounds. This good 
 fortune induced the explorers to continue their 
 journey down the river, in the hope of reaching 
 some satisfactory result. This expectation was not 
 realized. They were again landed among swamps 
 and marshes, which were now regarded for certain 
 as the termination of the Lachlan, and the exploration 
 was conducted no further in this direction. Here, for 
 the second time, Oxley narrowly missed discovering 
 the Murrumbidgee, from which he was distant not 
 more than two days' journey. The Lachlan had now 
 been followed for about 500 miles from the place 
 where the expedition had started, and it was resolved 
 to proceed no further. A return was now made to 
 Bathurst in an oblique direction, with the intention 
 of striking the Macquarie at a point considerably 
 below the place where it had first been seen by 
 Evans. Some important discoveries were made 
 during this cross-country cut. The Elizabeth River, 
 Bell's River, and the Rivulet were met with and 
 named. Most important of all was the discovery 
 of Wellington Valley, an extensive tract of the finest 
 country, well suited to all the purposes of civilized
 
 OXLEY. 41 
 
 man, and diversified with scenery of great beauty. 
 After travelling 150 miles from the lower swamps of 
 the Lachlan the Macquarie was struck about 50 miles 
 below the place where it had been seen by Evans. It 
 was a river of good promise, and Oxley was strongly 
 inclined to follow it, as he had done the Lachlan, 
 but the slender remnant of provisions forbade the 
 attempt. The expedition, therefore, made for 
 Bathurst, which was reached on the 29th of August, 
 after an absence of nineteen weeks. The distance 
 travelled from start to finish amounted to 1,200 
 miles. 
 
 II. 
 
 Undeterred by the difficulties incurred on the 
 Lachlan, Oxley, during the following year (1818), 
 engaged in a similar expedition for the exploration of 
 the lower course of the Macquarie. Tracing the 
 Tinknovv^n stream to the westward, he found himself 
 led out of the region of hills into a country presenting 
 a dead and monotonous level. Here the river began 
 to lose its well-defined course and to spread its waters 
 over the dreary expanse. With great difiiculty, he 
 succeeded in distino-uishino; the river from the lake 
 for a short distance onward, after wliich further effort 
 in a wide waste of water was to no purpose. Now, at 
 last, he lost sight of land and trees altogether, though 
 again able to discern the current of the Macquarie in 
 a stream three feet deep winding in and out among 
 thickets of reeds, which here grew to a gigantic
 
 42 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 height. Oxley conjectured he had now reached the 
 commencement of an inland sea — a phantom which 
 long played fast and loose with those who loved to 
 speculate on the mysterious regions of Central 
 Australia. In this pet fancy the explorer, like many 
 other theorists, was quite mistaken, for this delusive 
 expanse of water was not even the termination of the 
 Macquarie River. Ten years later Captain Sturt 
 succeeded in tracing it for 6Q miles further, and found 
 it ending its dubious career in the River Darling. 
 
 Two courses were now open to the expedition — 
 either to return home disappointed, or strike out in a 
 new direction and make fresh discoveries. The latter 
 alternative was adopted. During an earlier part of 
 the journey their attention had been drawn to a lofty 
 range of dark mountains lying athwart the northern 
 horizon. The march was now towards this prominent 
 landmark of the unknown domain of nature. Before 
 it was reached, and after the expedition had been out 
 for about two months, progress was arrested by the 
 discovery of a river running in high flood. This was 
 named the Castlereagh, and a safe passage was 
 obtained after a short delay. There remained a weary 
 journey to the range which had so long loomed in the 
 distance, and was reached after much difiiculty, owing-^ 
 to the boggy character of the ground. One of the prin- 
 cipal elevations was ascended, from which a magnificent 
 prospect was obtained, and the height ascertained to 
 be about 3,000 feet. Oxley gave to this chain the 
 name of the Arbuthnot Range, but it is still most
 
 OXLEY. 43 
 
 generally known as the Warrambungle Mountains. 
 The course of the expedition was now directed 
 toward the east, in the hope of ultimately reaching 
 the coast somewhere northward of Sydney. This 
 purpose was rewarded by the discovery of the Liver- 
 pool Plains, the most valuable find that had hitherto 
 fallen to the lot of any explorer. This is a splendid 
 area of first-class land, consisting of level country 
 embracing about 17,000 square miles, supposed ta 
 have formed in past ages the bed of a small inland 
 sea. The next discovery was the Namoi River, called 
 after Sir E-obert Peel by Oxley, but it is still best- 
 known under the native designation. After traversing 
 the Liverpool Plains the expedition entered upon the 
 very dissimilar New England country, and experienced 
 fatiguing travel in mountain ranges, which was 
 rewarded by the discovery of another river, named the 
 Apsley. One of the loftiest peaks in this region was 
 ascended by Oxley, and found to be about G,000 feet 
 in height. From the crown of this mountain giant he 
 was gratified with a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, and 
 very fittingly gave to his position the name of Mount 
 Seaview, Shortly after the descent from this monarch 
 of the mountains another important river was met 
 with. Oxley called it the Hastings, in memory of the 
 notorious Governor-General of India, and here, for 
 once, the name has stuck. This river was now 
 followed to the sea and the entrance named Port 
 Macquarie, hitherto unknown to Europeans. The 
 exploring party, having now done their work so well.
 
 44 THE AUSTKALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 resolved to make for home by travelling along the 
 coast. Difficulties undreamt of were encountered in 
 the indentation of the shore and the estuaries of the 
 rivers, one of which, the Manning, was now first 
 discovered. These obstacles might well have proved 
 insuperable but for their good luck in meeting with a 
 boat, probably the relic of a wreck, which was 
 stranded and half-buried in the sand. The welcome 
 treasure was carried on their shoulders for 90 miles, 
 and put to use in crossing estuaries as they came in 
 the way. With this unexpected help in time of need 
 the party were enabled to reach Port Stephens. This 
 harbour had been discovered by Surveyor Grimes 
 and was now well known. Thence conveyance was 
 obtained by sea to Newcastle, where the toil-worn 
 adventurers found themseves once more within the 
 pale of civilization.
 
 HUME AND HOVELL. 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HUME AND HOVELL's EXPEDITION FROM LAKE GEORGE 
 TO PORT PHILLIP. 
 
 Sir Thomas Brisbane succeeded to the Government of 
 New South Wales on the 1st of December, 1821. The 
 work of exploration, which had received such extra- 
 ordinary impulse under Macquarie, was taken up 
 with corresponding zeal by the new Governor. The 
 southern limit of discovery at this period stood some- 
 where about Lake George ; and public attention was 
 largely directed to the unknown country lying beyond 
 this outpost. The passion for exploration in this 
 quarter had been discouraged, but not suppressed, by 
 a rash and unwarranted statement made by Oxley 
 in the journal he had given to the world. " We had 
 demonstrated beyond a doubt," said he, " that no river 
 could fall into the sea between Cape Otway and 
 Spencer's Gulf — at least, none deriving its waters from 
 the eastern coast — and that the country south of the 
 parallel of 34 deg., and west of the meridian 147 deg. 
 30 min. was uninhabitable and useless for all the pur- 
 poses of civilized man." This singularly unfortunate 
 assertion should have been affirmative instead of 
 negative, for the principal rivers of the continent 
 enter the sea within the limits here specified, and 
 some of the larcjest tracts of jjood land in Australia 
 are enclosed by these lines of longitude and latitude.
 
 46 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Governor Brisbane, fortunately, was not convinced by 
 this so-called demonstration, and felt disposed to have 
 the question practically tested. "With this object in 
 view, he proposed to the late Alexander Berry, him- 
 self no mean explorer, to land a small party of con- 
 victs at Cape Howe or Wilson's Promontory, with 
 instructions, under promise of reward, to find their 
 way overland to Lake George as they best could, and 
 ultimately to Sydney. Mr. Berry cordially fell in 
 with the proposal, and recommended as leader of the 
 party a young man who had already made his mark 
 as a bushman. The latter, however, demurred to the 
 plan of the expedition, wishing it to start from Lake 
 George and work its way overland to Western Port, 
 in Bass' Strait. This suggestion was adopted without 
 scruple or delay, and the offer of his services gladly 
 accepted. 
 
 This young man's name was Hamilton Hume. He 
 was a native of the colony, having been born at Parra- 
 matta in 1797. In those early days educational 
 facilities were few, and it fell out from this cause that 
 Hume owed all the learning he possessed to the 
 instructions of his kind mother. In after life he was 
 more indebted to his instincts than to his education. 
 A bushman, like a poet, is born, not made ; and Hume, 
 before leaving his 'teens, proved that genius for 
 exploration was part of his nature. In company with 
 his brother, and when but fifteen years of age, he 
 discovered the district of Berrima, and shortly after 
 completely explored that part of the country. In
 
 HUME AND HOVELL. 47 
 
 1817 lie passed the southern boundary of the known 
 territory, and, in conjunction with Surveyor Meehan, 
 made the discovery of Lake Bathurst and the Goul- 
 burn Plains. Again, in the year 1821, he proceeded 
 further out, along with several mates, and came upon 
 the Yass Plains. All these discoveries, however valu- 
 able for stockholders, may be regarded as but tentative 
 essays in the work of exploration in comparison with 
 what was to follow ; yet they must have been highly 
 advantageous in qualifying Hume for the arduous 
 expedition on which his fame must chiefly rest. 
 
 While the necessary preparations for this under- 
 taking were afoot, Mr. Berry intimated to the 
 Governor that another person was desirous of being 
 associated with Hume in the position of leader. This 
 was Captain Hovell, of Minto, a retired shipmaster. 
 Having been a professional navigator, he was pre- 
 sumed to be able to reckon longitude and latitude, an 
 accomplishment which the defectively-educated Hume, 
 with all his bushmanship, did not possess. The two 
 men being thus furnished with complementary quali- 
 fications, their association in the conduct of the 
 expedition was counted as a certain advantage. This 
 was surely a reasonable expectation ; but the event 
 proved that a greater mistake could not have been 
 made. The two leaders, like jealous rivals, quarrelled 
 from the start, kept wrangling throughout the 
 expedition, and, after it was over, maintained a bitter 
 feud, till death put an end to their animosity. The 
 principal sliare in this work, and credit for the results,
 
 48 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 have been claimed by both, and it is not easy to satisfy 
 oneself as to the real merits of the case. All things 
 considered, the balance of evidence is in favour of 
 Hume, and he shall have the more prominent place in 
 the following sketch of the expedition. 
 
 However favourable the Government might be to 
 the progress of discovery, a poor provision was made 
 for this long and perilous journey. The chief burden 
 of the equipment fell upon the explorers themselves, 
 who were ill able to bear the strain. Hume keenly 
 felt the sacrifice of a favourite iron plough in order to 
 purchase supplies. One way or other, a tolerable 
 provision was forthcoming ; and then the explorers, 
 accompanied by six servants, started on the pioneer 
 journey on the 17th of October, 1824. At the close 
 of the first day's march they encamped on the bank 
 of a river near the site of the present town of Yass. 
 From the 19th to the 22nd the expedition was 
 detained in its progress by the Murrumbidgee. In 
 the preceding year this river had been first seen by 
 Europeans in its upper course in the Monaro country ; 
 but for all that Hume had virtually the merit of being 
 the discoverer. The Murrumbidgee was found to be 
 in hiofh flood, and threatened an efiectual bar to fur- 
 ther progress. But difficulty aroused this explorer to 
 Herculean effort. Being supplied with a provision- 
 cart, Hume took off" the wheels, and, with the help of 
 a tarpaulin, improvised it into a rough-and-ready 
 punt, which, assisted by one of the men, he dragged 
 across the swollen river. Another day's march
 
 HUME AND HOVELL. 49 
 
 brought them to the Narreno-ullen Meadows, where 
 the party encamped for two nights. Again proceed- 
 ing southward, tlie Tumut Kiver was discovered, and 
 crossed without difficulty. Soon after, the expedition 
 was sahited by a splendid surprise. From the sum- 
 mit of a ridge, a little before noon on a clear and 
 beautiful day, the magnificent amphitheatre of the 
 Australian Alps, robed in snow, burst upon the view, 
 and was now first seen by civilized men. About this 
 time, or shortly before, it became evident to Hume that 
 it would be necessary to direct the line of march more 
 to the west, in order to avoid the Snowy Mountains. 
 From this proposal Hovell dissented. Both leaders 
 continued obstinate, and each persisted in following a 
 different course with his respective adherents. A 
 division of property had now become inevitable, and 
 the principle of partition seems to have been that 
 primiti\"e one in virtue of which the stronger gets 
 the larger share. There being only one frying-pan 
 remaining, each of the stalwart leaders simultaneously 
 caught hold of this handy domestic article, and the 
 poor pan went to pieces in the struggle, the result 
 ])eing such as would have followed the adoption of 
 Solomon's advice to halve the livino- child. The 
 separation of the leaders was not so irremediable as 
 the division of the frying-pan. Hovell soon dis- 
 covered the folly of schism, and, better thoughts pre- 
 vailing, returned to re-unite his party with Hume's. 
 
 After this incident nothing calling for special men- 
 tion occurred till the IGth of November, which was
 
 50 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 signalled by the discovery of the principal river of 
 Australia. Here was an agreeable surprise, coming as 
 it did in defiance of the prediction of Oxley, who 
 was reckoned the highest authority of the period. 
 Hume called this river after his father ; but, forgetful 
 of this fact. Captain Sturt, having hit it in its lower 
 course, gave it the name of the Murray, by which it 
 is now known through its whole length. The party 
 who thus found themselves brought to a stand-still 
 naturally looked upon the crossing of so large a river 
 as a formidable undertaking, and some even insisted 
 on regarding it as the limit of the expedition — per- 
 haps homesickness also was beginning to prevail over 
 their ardour for exploration. Hume was inflexible, as 
 usual, threatening to throw one of the remonstrants 
 into the river if he would not cross over of his own 
 free will. The menace was effectual, and the heroic 
 leader had the satisfaction of seeing the whole of the 
 expedition on the other side of the Murray, having 
 escaped without a hitch or accident. Soon after, a 
 tributary, the Mitta Mitta, was reached, and crossed 
 by means of a float constructed of wattles, and 
 covered with a tarpaulin. Turning its coiirse more 
 to the westward, the expedition continued to advance 
 towards the attainment of its object. Passing near 
 the site of the present Beechworth, the Ovens and 
 Goulburn Rivers were crossed without serious diffi- 
 culty. In fact, the whole journey up to this point 
 had been remarkably uneventful for an Australian 
 tour of exploration. But for the leaders' quarrels and
 
 HUME AND HOVELL. 51 
 
 separations it might have sunk into a rather tame 
 and monotonous affair. Now at length, however, 
 a Titanic obstacle had to be encountered. Mount 
 Disappointment (of which Mount Macedon is a con- 
 tinuation) stretched across the track, as if to defy 
 further progress. For a while they nobly persevered 
 in hewing their way through the dense, tangled, and 
 apparently interminable brushwood, being animated 
 by the assurance of Hume that the opposing barrier 
 could be nothing else than the Dividing Range, which 
 betokened the near termination of their labours. 
 Unfortunately the life and soul of the expedition, 
 now more than ever indispensable to its success, here 
 met with a disabling accident from a stake. The way 
 through the scrub had to be abandoned, and a more 
 circuitous route followed. The most serious difficulty 
 on the march was a boggy creek in the locality where 
 the town of Kilmore now stands. Here again an 
 attempt was made to throw up the undertaking and 
 return home. Hume, feeling certain in his own mind 
 that they could not have much further to go, entered 
 into a compact with the discontents, engaging to turn 
 back in the course of two or three days should the 
 goal of the journey fail to come in view within that 
 period. On the same day, the l.Sth December, the 
 Dividing Range, in this part known as the Big Hill, 
 was finally crossed, and all difficulties came to an end. 
 Hume, having proceeded a short way in advance, and 
 keeping an anxious look-out, observed an opening in 
 the mountains and a falling of the land toward the
 
 52 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 south. This was a clear token heralding the approach 
 to the close of their wanderings. Hume, alone as he 
 was, gave way to an outburst of gladness, and awoke 
 the echoes of the ranges with his lusty cheers. His 
 men came speedily round him and shared his joy. 
 Their fatigues and disappointments were henceforth 
 things to be remembered, but no longer felt. The 
 same evening they encamped on the splendid Iramoo 
 Downs, having the ramparts of the range at their 
 backs, and in three days more saw the long-desired 
 billows of the ocean rolling at their feet. Having- 
 reached the close of the journey, they formed the 
 last encampment within twelve miles of the present 
 town of Geelono- after travellins^, since their start 
 from Lake George, not less than 670 miles.
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM'S EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 Few visitors to the Sydney Botanic Gardens can fail 
 to notice a memorial obelisk standing on a shady 
 islet in the lower grounds. This monument, as the 
 inscription declares, was erected in memory of Allan 
 Cunningham, an eminent botanist, and for some time 
 curator of these Gardens. But beyond the scanty 
 information here given, very little is now generally 
 known of the life and work of this Avorthy man. 
 Restrained by that modesty which is so often a con- 
 comitant of real genius, lie shrank from publicity 
 during his own brief and busy lifetime ; and 
 posterity, ever too forgetful of the obligations of the 
 past, have allowed his achievements to lapse into 
 unmerited oblivion. This is tiao'rant ingratitude 
 which should be brought to an end by a generous 
 endeavour to resuscitate a heroic and patriotic 
 memory. 
 
 Alhin Cunningham was born at Wimbledon, England, 
 on the 18th of July, 1701, and was of Scotch extrac- 
 tion on the father's side. Being designated for the 
 l)ar he entered in due time upon the legal profession, 
 l)ut soon abandoned it as uncongenial to his tastes 
 and habits. Tlie study of 1>otany proved an irresis- 
 tible fascination to young Allan, who soon became a 
 proficient in this science. Having been introduced to
 
 54 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Sir Joseph Banks, he obtained, through his influence, 
 an appointment as King's Botanist for Australia, with 
 the view of furnishing the Royal Gardens at Kew 
 with a collection of new plants from the southern 
 hemisphere. He sailed, accordingly, for his destina- 
 tion ; and, after spending a short time in Brazil, 
 landed in New South Wales, probably in December, 
 1816. As noticed in a preceding chapter he was 
 associated with Oxley in his expeditions to the 
 Lachlan and Macquarie rivers, and it was during 
 these wanderings that the young botanist conceived 
 a passion for exploration which did not leave him 
 till the day of his death. This tour being ended, 
 Cunningham returned to Parramatta, where he fixed 
 his home, so far as he had one, during his life in 
 Australia. 
 
 In the close of 1817, the Meimiaid, under the com- 
 mand of Captain, afterwards Admiral, King, was 
 preparing to leave Port Jackson on a voyage of dis- 
 covery on the western coast of Australia. Cunning- 
 ham, to his intense satisfaction, received a letter from 
 Sir Joseph Banks, directing him to join this expedi- 
 tion, in the interest of botanical science. Sailing 
 through Bass' Strait the Mermaid came to anchor in 
 KinCT Georo-e's Sound and other harbours, which 
 proved to be well suited for the botanist's purpose, 
 and yielded 300 species of new plants. With this 
 spoil he came home fully satisfied. His next essay in 
 this field was an excursion to Illawarra, which was 
 always a favourite district with him. But this ramble
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. oa 
 
 was only an interlude. In 1819 he again joined 
 Captain King in an expedition to the Macquarie 
 Harbour, on the western coast of Van Diemen's Land 
 (Tasmania), where also he collected many valuable 
 specimens for the Kew Gardens. Soon after he was 
 again associated with the same navigator on another 
 voyage to the north-western coast. Still two more 
 expeditions to the same coast were undertaken and 
 successfully carried out within the next two years. 
 The results in every case were highly successful, and 
 the boundaries of science gained further extension 
 from these enterprises. 
 
 Having spent four years on these voyages with 
 King, Cunningham became inoculated with the spirit 
 of adventure, and thirsted for an exploit on his own 
 account. The feat he proposed to himself was to open a 
 practical route from Bathurst to the Liverpool Plains. 
 This splendid district, as already narrated, had been 
 discovered by Oxley three years previously ; but he 
 ha<l entered it from the western side — so to speak, by 
 the back door — on his journey from the marshes of 
 the Macquarie. The discovery had, consequently, 
 been useless, and the Liverpool Plains were as yet 
 known only by name. Sir Thomas Brisbane, the 
 Governor of the day, entered heartily into Cunning- 
 ham's scheme, having clearly understood the import- 
 ance of the object in view. Orders for an equipment 
 were issued to the full extent of the explorer's require- 
 ments. All things being ready by the 31st of March, 
 1823, the party, consisting of the leader, with tive
 
 56 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 men, and five pack-horses, carrying provisions for ten 
 weeks, left Parramatta for Bathurst, which was 
 reached on the oth of April, and then the northward 
 journey commenced. After many weary stages, during 
 which the patience of the men and the strength of the 
 horses were severely tried, they reached the Warram- 
 bungle Mountains, which form the southern boundary 
 of the Liverpool Plains ; but the difficulty in finding 
 a passage through this barrier appeared to be 
 insuperable. The first fortnight was spent to no 
 purpose in attempting to discover an opening on the 
 south-eastern side. Almost in despair, the party re- 
 traced their steps and fell back on a former encamp- 
 ment on the Goulburn River, the principal tributary 
 of the Hunter. Provisions were now getting short, 
 and the allowance had to be reduced ; but, in spite 
 of all these dispiriting circumstances, Cunningham 
 still resolved to prosecute his enterprise by making 
 another stru2:2:le to find an entrance from a different 
 point. Turning now to the north-west, and searching 
 along the front of the range, he succeeded at last, on 
 the oth of June, in discovering a gap which afforded a 
 good passage into the Liverpool Plains. To this 
 entrance he gave the name of Pandora's Pass, believing 
 it would become the chief if not the only means of 
 communication between the settlers at Bathurst and 
 the Hunter Piver and the occupants of the plains. 
 The following memorandum was buried in a valley 
 immediately below the pass : — 
 
 " After a very laborious and harassing journey from
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 57 
 
 Bathurst, a party, consisting of five persons, under 
 the direction of Allan Cunningham, H.M. Botanist 
 (making the sixth individual), having failed of finding 
 a route to the Liverpool Plains, whilst tracing the 
 south base of the barrier mountains (before us, north), 
 so far as 50 miles to the eastward of this spot, at 
 length, upon prosecuting their research under this 
 great mountain belt, north by west from this tree, to 
 the very extensive levels connected with the above- 
 mentioned plains, of which the southernmost of the 
 chain is distant about 11 or 12 miles N.N.W. from 
 this valley, and to which a line of trees has been 
 carefully marked, thus opening an unlimited, un- 
 bounded, and seemingly well-watered country N.N.W, 
 to call forth the exertions of the industrious agricul- 
 turist and grazier, for whose benefit the present labours 
 of the party have been extended. . . . Buried 
 for the information of the first farmers who may 
 venture to advance so far to the northward as this 
 vale ; of whom it is requested that this document may 
 not be destroyed, but carried to the settlement at 
 Bathurst, after opening the bottle." 
 
 This memorandum was found a few years ago, and 
 the explorer's directions carried out. The object of 
 the expedition being now accomplished, the party 
 returned on the homeward track, and Allan Cunning- 
 ham reached Parramatta on the 21st of July, 1823. 
 
 In the next important enterprise he is found 
 associated ^\'itll Oxley, exploring the country around 
 Moreton Bay. They surveyed the Brisbane River,
 
 58 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 pushing up the stream as far as was practicable in 
 their boat. It turned out to have but a short course, 
 and they were disappointed in their expectation of 
 being carried for some distance into the interior. Yet 
 this labour had the negative value of satisfying the 
 public that the Brisbane was not one of the great 
 rivers of Australia. The Kino-'s Botanist aoain found 
 rich spoil for the Boyal Gardens at Kew. 
 
 During the winter months of 1825, being again 
 bent on travel, Cunningham started for a northern 
 tour. Leaving Parramatta, he crossed the Hawkes- 
 bury and proceeded towards Wollombi, one of the 
 tributaries of the Hunter Biver. Still pushing ahead 
 he reached Mount Danger, then Pandora's Pass, and 
 entered upon the Liverpool Plains. These he now 
 found to be a region of swamps and marshes as the 
 consequence of a rainy season. Having crossed this 
 district as best he could, the ardent traveller pressed 
 on through Camden Valley and reached Dunlop's 
 Head, at no great distance from the Biver Darling, 
 which, with a little presentiment, he might soon have 
 discovered and anticipated Captain Sturt. But as 
 the country was now begimiing to dip perceptibly, 
 being in many places covered with water, which had 
 accumulated during recent wet weather, he deemed 
 prudence the better part of valour, and abandoned a 
 hopeless enterprise. He was again in his own home 
 by the 17th of June, having travelled in all about 
 700 miles. 
 
 After a short season of rest, during which New
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 59 
 
 Zealand was visited, this untiring scientist returned 
 to the colony and offered himself for further explora- 
 tion with renewed zest and zeal. The time was 
 opportune, for the Governor had been anxiously 
 looking- about for a suitable leader to conduct an 
 expedition to the distant north. Cunningham's offer 
 was therefore eagerly accepted, and ample provision 
 made for his requirements. All things being ready, 
 the start was made on the 30th of April, 1827, with 
 six picked men and eleven heavily-laden horsemen. 
 The route skirted the western flank of the Liverpool 
 Plains, and by the 11th of May the party entered 
 upon ground hitherto untrodden by civilized man. 
 A fine valley now opened to view, and was named the 
 Stoddart, in remembrance of an old friend of the 
 explorer's. The Namoi River was next forded, and by 
 the 25th the hilly country on the west had sunk into the 
 plain. The scene that now lay before them will be 
 best described in the words of the leader of the 
 expedition. " A level open interior of vast expanse, 
 bounded on the north and north-west by a distant 
 horizon, broke suddenly on our view. At north-west, 
 more particularly, it was evident to all of us that the 
 country had a decided dip, and in that bearing the 
 line of sight extended over a great extent of densely 
 wooded or brushed land, the monotonous aspect of 
 which was here and there relieved by a brown patch 
 of plain ; of these some were so remote as to appear 
 a mere speck on the ocean of land before us, on 
 which the eye sought anxiously for a rising smoke
 
 CO THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 as indicative of the presence of the wandering 
 aborigines, but in vain ; for, excepting in the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood of a river of the larger magni- 
 tude, these vast solitudes may be fairly said to be 
 almost entirely without inhabitants. We had now 
 all the hiofh grounds on our rioht, or to the east of 
 us, and before us, to the north, a level wooded country." 
 These j^lains which ran out towards the western 
 interior, having turned out to be drier than was 
 expected, the line of route was now directed more to 
 the north and north-west, with the result of discover- 
 ing and crossing the Dumaresq River, within a few 
 days. The course next lay for some time through a 
 poor and inhospitable country in which the jaded 
 horses fared badly enough. By the 5th of June, this 
 sterile belt was left behind, and now the eyes of the 
 patient explorers rested on one of the finest regions 
 they had ever beheld. For many a league north, east, 
 and west the field of vision was filled with a pano- 
 rama of boundless plains, rolling downs, and azure 
 mountain ranges. This magnificent territory, rivalling 
 a principality in size, was clad with luxuriant vegeta- 
 tion and generally well watered. The name Darling- 
 Downs was subsequently bestowed on this fine country 
 in honour of Governor Darling, and it now forms one 
 of the most valued possessions in the colony of 
 Queensland. The average elevation of this table-land 
 Cunningham found to be about 1,800 feet above sea- 
 level. Had this worthy man performed no other 
 public service during his lifetime, the discovery of
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 61 
 
 the Darling Downs would have given him a strong- 
 claim on the gratitude of posterity. 
 
 Having now sufficiently realized the aim of the 
 northern expedition, Allan Cunningham ceased to 
 push farther in that direction, and made eastward 
 for the coast. Here also was made an important 
 discovery on a smaller scale in the unexpected appear- 
 ance of a fertile valley, with a river of greater size 
 than a mountain stream. To both the valley and the 
 river he gave the name of Logan, in compliment to 
 the commander of the penal settlement at Brisbane. 
 The expedition tarried for some time in this lovely 
 vale, where both men and beasts of burden enjoyed 
 much-needed repose. Cunningham himself, who 
 scarcely understood what rest meant, botanized as 
 usual, and examined the physical configuration of the 
 country. On a fine morning he scaled one of the 
 impending peaks, from the summit of which he 
 obtained a comprehensive view of the situation and 
 its surroundings. To the south-east, at the distance 
 of GO or 70 miles, the towering cone of Mount 
 Warning, the sailor's beacon, rose in impressive 
 grandeur ; while towards the north-east the environs 
 of Moreton Bay were plainly visible. This latter 
 revelation made it obvious that the proper route to 
 the Darling Downs would be from Moreton Bay, by 
 the Brisbane River, and through the Main Range. 
 Hence it became a matter of the first importance to 
 find a passage through the mountains, if within tlie 
 bounds of possibility. An effort was accordingly
 
 62 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 made, and an opening, as he believed, discovered, but 
 its complete verification had to be deferred till 
 another opportmiity;> The homeward journey was 
 resumed on the 16th of June. On the 80th, the 
 Dumaresq River was crossed 50 miles above the out- 
 ward bound track of the expedition. In ten days 
 more a large river was reached, and is now well- 
 known under the native name Gwydir. They next 
 came upon a wooded tract, reached by a descent of 
 1,200 feet, a sore task for the weary horses. On the 
 19th the party were again on the Liverpool Plains, 
 and a few days' more travelling brought them to their 
 welcome homes. They had journeyed over 800 miles, 
 and been absent thirteen weeks. One noteworthy 
 incident connected with the tour was the paucity of 
 native inhabitants met with in any of the districts. 
 Only five times, from first to last, had the black- 
 fellows put in an appearance, and even then the 
 explorers had seen nothing but the colour of their 
 skin. 
 
 Cunningham's health now began to give way, and 
 he longed to return to old England, to end his days 
 in the land of his birth ; but, before doing so, he 
 planned and executed another exploring excursion to 
 More ton Bay. His principal object was to obtain 
 certain evidence of the existence and practicability of 
 the pass, which he believed to have been already 
 discovered. After much rough work he had the 
 good foi'tune to set this question at rest and point out 
 a passage into the Darling Downs, as he had formerly
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 63 
 
 done into the Liverpool Plains. This pass still retains 
 the name of Cunningham's Gap. The following 
 succinct but sufficient notice is found in the explorer's 
 own notes : — " This pass, or door of entrance from the 
 sea-coast to a beautiful pastoral country of undefined 
 extent, seen from this point, was this day (25th August, 
 1828) visited by Allan Cunningham and a convict 
 servant, and the practicability of a high road being 
 constructed through it at some future day was most 
 fully ascertained. The pass is in latitude 23" 3' S., 
 and longitude 152° 26' E., and distant 54 statute 
 miles from Brisbane Town." Four years later he was 
 able to carry out his purpose of returning to England ; 
 but his heart was in Australia all the while, and he 
 Ijecame impatient to get back to its sunnj- skies and 
 balmy air. On being offered the situation of Colonial 
 Botanist he accepted tlie appointment, and returned 
 to the land of so many of his labours ; but his new 
 office was not what he expected. Besides keeping the 
 Botanic Gardens, which would, alone, have been a 
 most congenial occupation, he was required to act as 
 landscape gardener for tlie upper classes and take 
 charge of one hundred convicts, forty of whom 
 were lodged in the barracks within the Gardens, and 
 for whose good behaviour the curator was alone 
 responsible. In addition to all this drudgery he was 
 c<impelled to grow vegetables for tlie Government 
 (jfficials. Such servitude was breaking his heart, and 
 it can surprise no one to find liim throwing up the 
 appointment in disgust. Tliis uudignilicd treatment
 
 64 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 of a man of shining merits is tartly alluded to in tlie 
 Sydney Mail of the 29th January, 1838 :— 
 
 " The Botanical, alias the Kitohen Garden. — 
 We have had frequently to call the attention of the 
 colonists to the fact that a kitchen garden, under the 
 pretence of a botanic garden, is supported in Sydney 
 at an expense of from £800 to £1,000 a year. We 
 scarcely ever walk through this garden without 
 seeing some servant with a basket, carrying off 
 vegetables or fruit for Mrs. This or Mrs. That, the 
 wife of some official. Can't these people go to market 
 and purchase their supplies as independent persons 
 do, instead of poaching on what is really public 
 property. Seriously we do say that such an impudent 
 job should be done awaj^ with. It is, in fact, so bare- 
 faced that Mr. Cunningham would no longer consent 
 to remain a mere cultivator of official turnips and 
 cabbages, and accordingly he has resigned the manage- 
 ment of the Botanic Garden in disgust." 
 
 This valuable life was now fast hastening to its 
 close. Twenty-five years of incessant labour, often 
 performed under the most trying circumstances, broke 
 down a constitution never particularly robust, and 
 feeling this to be the case, Allan Cunningham retired 
 from public view into his own hired house — but only 
 to die. At the early age of 48 years, perceiving the 
 hand of death to be upon him, he calmly resigned 
 himself to the will of his Maker, and died as becomes 
 a christian. He expired on the 27th of June, 1839. 
 Admiral King, who had stood his firm friend during
 
 ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. 65 
 
 the quarter of a century of Cunningham's active life, 
 refers to his own bereavement in these touchincv 
 words : — " Alas, poor Allan ! He was a rare specimen, 
 quite a genus of himself ; an enthusiast in Australian 
 geography ; devoted to his own science, botany ; a 
 warm friend, and an honest man ; and, to crown all, 
 when the time came, he resigned himself into the 
 arms of his Saviour without a murmur."
 
 66 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CAPTAIN STURT's three EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 The next hero that steps to the front is Charles Sturt, 
 captain of the 39th regiment, which was stationed at 
 Sydney in the early days of our history. He stands, 
 beyond all question, in the first rank of Australian 
 explorers. His single compeer. Sir Thomas Mitchell, 
 was more fortunate in discovery, but it may be doubted 
 whether he excelled Captain Sturt in real capability 
 for this work. The future historian will probably 
 decide the rival claims by bracketing the two names 
 as holding a joint first in Australian exploration. 
 Naturally brave, resolute, and patient in labour, Sturt 
 was, moreover, a man of varied culture and extensive 
 scientific acquirements. As an officer in the army he 
 had been accustomed to command, and at no time did 
 he experience any difficulty in managing the several 
 exploring parties under his charge, although they 
 were mostly drawn from the ordinary convict element 
 at Port Jackson. This influence over others may have 
 been due to natural tket even more than to acquired 
 habit, but in either case it proved a valuable qualifica- 
 tion, and served him in good stead with the native 
 population as well as with his own men. His heroism 
 often brought him into situations of extreme peril, 
 beins: sometimes environed with savages well armed 
 and out of all proportion to the number of his own
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 67 
 
 men ; but his adroitness never failed to extricate 
 himself and party from the most imminent danger. 
 Scarcely any of our explorers opened up so much of 
 the interior, or so frequently came into contact with 
 savage tribes, and yet his humane disposition preserved 
 him all through his career from shedding the blood of 
 a single individual of that unhappy race which others, 
 with less excuse, have not scrupled to shoot down like 
 dogs. When stooping under the weight of years, 
 with a constitution enfeebled by heroic exertions, and 
 so afflicted with blindness as to be unable to finish 
 his narrative without the aid of an amanuensis, the 
 veteran explorer devoutly thanked God that, amid all 
 his critical encounters and hair-breadth escapes, he 
 had been saved from the necessity of shedding a drop 
 of blood from the veins of the Australian aborigines. 
 
 As early as the year 1818 the Macquarie River had 
 been explored as far as practicable by John Oxley, 
 the Surveyor-General. This indefatigable traveller 
 had traced its course into the far interior till it 
 seemed lost and appeared to terminate in a series of 
 swamps, overgrown with dense reeds. All his efforts 
 to proceed further westward proved unavailing, and 
 he turned aside to other work, being under the 
 impression that he had seen all that was visible of the 
 Macquarie. Like some others of his time, Oxley ha<l 
 taken up with the idea of a mediterranean sea whicli 
 was supposed to cover the interior of Australia; and
 
 68 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 such being his opinion, it was natural to fancy he had 
 reached its margin in those swamps of seemingly 
 indefinite extent into which the Macquarie poured its 
 flood. During the next ten years Cunningham had 
 pushed as far north as the Darling Downs, while 
 Hume and Hovell had been equally successful in 
 forcing their way south to Port Phillip ; but out west 
 no progress was made beyond the goal of Oxley's 
 explorations. But ignorance of the interior hung like 
 a cloud over the settlement, a vague feeling of mystery 
 kept curiosity awake, and a general desire began to 
 be expressed for fresh explorations in that direction. 
 The times, too, which in other respects happened to be 
 signally disastrous, appeared to be just as favourable 
 for such an enterprise. A drought of several years' 
 standing was then devastating the colony ; but this 
 misfortune, which brought ruin to the doors of so 
 many settlers, seemed, strangely enough, to be a strong 
 recommendation to start an exploring expedition. It 
 had been Oxley's misfortune to examine the country 
 during an exceptionally wet season, and it was 
 conjectured that floods had laid under water the low- 
 lying country on the further reaches of the Macquarie,^ 
 and thus interposed a temporary obstruction to the 
 westward advance of exploration. But now, after a 
 drought of long standing, it was hoped that the 
 swamps, if not dried up, would at least be so much 
 reduced as to render the much-desired object more 
 likely to be accomplished. 
 
 Governor Darling, accordingly, determined on
 
 CAPTAIN STUllT. 69 
 
 sending out another expedition. In the all-important 
 question of a leader, he was singularly fortunate in 
 selecting Captain Sturt. The latter took as his 
 -associates Mr. Hamilton Hume, who had already 
 gained his own laurels in exploration, Staff-Surgeon 
 M'Leod, two soldiers, and eight convicts. The instruc- 
 tions received from headquarters were, generally, to 
 follow up the discoveries of Oxley, to endeavour to 
 ascertain the " fate " of the Macquarie, and to put 
 forth the utmost effort to penetrate westward to the 
 furthest possible limit. 
 
 All the material requisites for the expedition were 
 forwarded to Wellington Valley, which at that time 
 was the outpost of civilization toward the west, and 
 Sturt was instructed to form his depot at Mount 
 Harris, which had been Oxley's most advanced 
 encampment ten years earlier. All preparations being 
 made, the party left Sydney on the 10th of September, 
 1828, under the command of Captain Sturt, who 
 •only a week previously had followed the remains of 
 Oxley to the grave. After a few days of uneventful 
 travelling through the settled territory, Wellington 
 Valley was reached, and, by the 10th of December, 
 the explorers were encamped at Mount Harris, the 
 ne plus ultra of their predecessors, and near the sup- 
 posed termination of the Macquarie River. Altliough 
 ten years had passed away, traces of the old camp 
 were easily found. From the summit of tlie mountain 
 a good prospect towards the interior was obtained, and 
 a tolerably favourable impression left on tlie minds of
 
 70 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Sturt and Hume, The marshes were seen to be dried 
 up in some places altogether, and in others very much 
 contracted, and, as thS bed of the river continued to 
 be well defined, there did not appear to be much 
 difficulty in pushing the limit of discovery consider- 
 ably beyond the line at which it had stood for ten 
 years past. 
 
 Following the course of the Macquarie for some 
 miles westward, it was found to enter a swamp of 
 considerable size. As the sluggish current was the 
 only clue to lead them through this ambiguous tract of 
 land and water, it was deemed indispensable to keep 
 to the channel at all hazards as it meandered through 
 the marshes. For this purpose Sturt here turned 
 to account a good-sized boat which had, with a wise 
 foresight, been provided among the travelling 
 requisites. But their progress by water proved to be 
 less expeditious than it had been on the land, for the 
 channel wriggled like a snake, and the navigation was 
 provokingly hindered by snags. Gradually the course 
 of the river became better defined, but only to lose 
 itself again in a labyrinth of creeks and marshes. 
 Puzzled and bewildered, with no hope of further 
 progress in the boat, Sturt and Hume resolved to 
 make separate excursions to the right and left, each 
 taking his own complement of followers. Many 
 hardships had to be endured from heat and drought, 
 while the results were not very considerable. Sturt 
 rode over 200 miles of desert country and was much 
 fatigued. The principal discoveries made about this
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 71 
 
 time were Oxley's Table-land and New Year's Creek, 
 mistaken by the explorers for a branch of the 
 Maequarie, but which was in reality the Bogan River. 
 Eventually both sections of the expedition reunited 
 and bravely struck out for the interior, giving 
 defiance to thirst and fatigue, and devoutly wishing 
 for something to turn up. They had not far to go 
 till this desire was realized. At a moment when they 
 were not thinking of it, the foremost of the party 
 found their progress stopped on the bank of one of 
 the principal rivers in Australia. Its ample channel 
 extended to seventy or eighty yards in breadth, and 
 its bosom was covered with wild fowl of every wing. 
 Almost perishing with thirst, both man and beast 
 rushed down the shelving bank, and in a moment 
 M^ere gulping down the water of the welcome stream. 
 Never did travellers meet with so " bitter " a disap- 
 pointment. " I shall never forget," says Sturt, " the 
 cry of amazement or the look of terror with which 
 they cried out to inform me that the river was so salt 
 as to be unlit to drink." The cup of relief was 
 dashed from their lips, and they were left to the most 
 gloomy reliections on the future supply of this 
 element. They conjectured, not unnaturally, that 
 this saline qualit}' must be derived from near contact 
 with the sea, and anxiously watched for the slightest 
 indications of a rising; or a fallino" tide, but to no 
 purpose. The cause was afterwards traced to briny 
 springs in the river's banks, which must have been a 
 temporary occurrence, for the same inconvenience is
 
 72 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 not met with now. The discovery in all other 
 respects was clearly perceived to be of the utmost 
 value, and went far to* annihilate the pet theory of an 
 inland sea, which thus kept receding further and 
 further from human ken. It was already evident that 
 this noble river must play a principal part in the 
 drainage of the western slope of the mountain ranges, 
 and we now know that it forms the backbone of 
 the river system of eastern Australia and the high- 
 way of intercolonial commerce. Sturt, therefore, paid 
 Governor Darling no mean compliment in associating 
 his name with this grand discovery and calling it the 
 Darling River. 
 
 The expedition now followed the lead of the River 
 Darling for about sixty-six miles. As the country 
 continued to be inhospitable, the blacks troublesome, 
 and the supply of water precarious, it was resolved to 
 proceed no further in that direction. A return was 
 accordingly made to the depot at Mount Harris, which 
 was reached partly by way of New Year's Creek, or 
 the Bogan River, without any serious mishap being- 
 encountered. 
 
 Among the secondary instructions given to the 
 expedition was a direction to push northwards, if 
 baffled and driven back from the western interior. 
 They had not failed in that quarter by any means, 
 but as their work there was finished, and a good supply 
 of provisions left, it was thought advisable to attempt 
 a journey to the Castlereagh, which was simply 
 known to exist. In this effort they were again
 
 CAPTAIN STURT, 73 
 
 successful. Having travelled by way of Morriset's 
 Ponds, a sufficient supply of water was obtained to 
 help them on to the Castlereagh, where, of course, it 
 was expected to be abundant, seeing that Oxley had 
 been able to cross it after some delay and with much 
 difficulty. But this anticipation was doomed to dis- 
 appointment. The bed of the river was found to be 
 as dry as dust. The explorers, after a long search, 
 hit upon only one small pool in the sand which yielded 
 but a temporary supply. The Castlereagh was now 
 traced towards its supposed junction with the Darling 
 for the distance of 100 miles, 4.5 of which were 
 destitute of water. But their perseverance was 
 rewarded with a second view of the Darling, which 
 was struck about 90 miles above the point where the 
 original discovery had been made. The stream here 
 swarmed with fish, but was still salt and unfit to drink. 
 Having crossed over to the further side, a dash was 
 made by a short excursion into the interior, which 
 proved, like the other side, to be a parched wilderness. 
 The state of the country as observed throughout this 
 journey is thus summed up in Sturt's narrative : — " So 
 lono; had the drouoht continued that the vegetable 
 kingdom was almost annihilated, and minor vegetation 
 liad almost disappeared. In the creeks weeds had 
 grown and withered and grown again, and young 
 .saplings were now rising in their beds nourished by 
 the moisture that still remained ; but tlie largest 
 forest trees were drooping, and many were dead. The 
 omus, with outstretched necks, gasping for breatli,
 
 74 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 searched the channels of the river for water in 
 vain ; and the native dog, so thin that it could hardly 
 walk, seemed to inlplore some friendly hand to 
 despatch it. How the natives subsisted it was difficult 
 to say, but there was no doubt of the scarcity of food 
 amongst them." Surely this was no place to loiter in 
 after the work was fairly accomplished. Contenting 
 themselves with the substantial discoveries already 
 made, the explorers resolved to return to the haunts 
 of civilization. They soon found themselves in the 
 lovely Wellington Valley, from which the expedition 
 had been absent four months and a half. After 
 another journey through the settled districts, each of 
 the weary wanderers reached his home, no one having* 
 sustained any injury to life or limb during this long 
 and hazardous enterprise. 
 
 IL 
 
 Captain Sturt enjoyed but a very limited repose 
 after the fatigues of the Macquarie expedition. He 
 had returned to Sydney about the beginning of May, 
 1829, and in September of the same year his undying 
 enthusiasm was once more gratified with instructions 
 from headquarters to get ready for a full exploration 
 of the Murrumbidgee. The Macquarie and the 
 Lachlan, terminating their respective courses in 
 miserable swamps, or being believed to do so, had 
 proved delusive guides to the interior of the continent. 
 But the colonists were resolved to know the heart of 
 Australia at all hazards. It was still believed that
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 75 
 
 some river must lead thither, all previous disappoint- 
 ments notwithstanding. The Murrumbidgee alone 
 remained as an untried experiment, and the little that 
 was yet known of this river gave hope of a successful 
 result. It had been first seen by two military officers, 
 Currie and Ovens, on their discovery of the Monaro 
 country in 1828, and in the year following it was 
 crossed with difficulty by Hume and Hovell on their 
 journey to Port Phillip. Here, at last, was a stream 
 something like those of other countries, rising in the 
 Alpine mountain-land, and flowing with a strong and 
 rapid current in that direction to which the eyes of 
 explorers were being so anxiously turned. It was 
 determined, therefore, to equip another expedition, 
 under the command of Captain Sturt, to explore its 
 unknown course, for the purpose of ascertaining 
 whether it emptied itself into an inland sea or 
 found its way to the southern or to the eastern 
 coast. The party, under Sturt's leadership, consisted 
 of Mr. George Macleay, son of the Colonial Treasurer, 
 Mr. Frazer, botanist, and six others. Among other 
 requisites awhaleboat was provided, which eventually 
 proved of the utmost service to the purpose in view. 
 
 The expedition left Sydney, in full force and high 
 spirits, on the 8rd November, 1829. Goulburn Plains 
 were reached by the 15th, and on the 25th the 
 Murrumbidgee was struck, not far from Jugiong. The 
 appearance of the stream was quite up to Sturt's 
 expectations, but the rugged country on its baid<s 
 delayed tlie passage of the drays, and tlicir |\i;t»gre8S
 
 76 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 was not very rapid. In a little time they reached the 
 junction of the Dumot (Tumut) River, which con- 
 siderably increased thfe volume of the Murrumbidgee, 
 and this addition was accepted as a good omen. In 
 their course along the river, sometimes on one side 
 and sometimes on the other, occasional plains were 
 traversed, extending from 400 to 700 acres in extent, 
 and wholly devoid of timber. Lower down the river 
 one of much larger size was reached, and here the 
 explorers were not sorry to make a short break in the 
 journey. The natives called this plain Pondebadgery. 
 Its size was three and a half by two miles, the soil 
 being rich and the scenery exquisite. On one side 
 was the bend of the river, here 80 yards wide, and 
 a,bounding in fish, one of which was found to weigh 
 40 pounds. Hamilton Plains were next discovered, 
 and named after a favourite stafF-surgeon. The 
 expedition, it was believed, had now come within 2-5 
 miles of the most southern point attained by Oxley. 
 This notable explorer, having reached the swamps of 
 the Lachlan, and being thus driven to his wits' end, 
 resolved to strike southward and make for the coast, 
 but want of water determined him to return to the 
 Lachlan, after weeks of toilsome travel ; whereas, had 
 he only pushed on another 25 miles, the Murrumbidgee 
 would have been discovered, and a new era opened in 
 Australian exploration. Sturt attempted to connect 
 the surveys of Oxley's expedition with his own, but 
 was not successful. As travelling continued to be 
 slow and difficult, it was resolved to launch the boat
 
 CAPTAIN 8TURT. 77 
 
 and build a skiff to convey the provisions. This was 
 accordingly done, some of the party being at the same 
 time sent back to Goulburn with the drays. Seven 
 days having been consumed in these preparations, the 
 remainder of the party boldly committed themselves 
 to the stream. Sturt had a strong presentiment that 
 the Murrumbidgee would join some other river, and 
 hoped to find it navigable for his boat during the 
 remainder of its course. On the following day a serious 
 mishap occurred. The skiff* was sunk by a snag, and 
 the provisions, after being much damaged, had to be 
 recovered by diving. The enterprise was a hazardous 
 one at the best. What with rapids at one time and 
 snags at another, their lives on several occasions were 
 in real jeopardy. But the longest lane has its turning, 
 and this tortuous channel also had an end. On the 
 seventh day after taking to the boat the bed of the 
 river became strangely contracted, and the current so 
 powerful that, in place of rowing, all their strength 
 was needed to steady the boat, which was borne along 
 with the swiftness of an arrow, and in another moment 
 shot forth impetuously into the broad reach of the 
 finest river in Australia. " It is impossible for me," 
 says Sturt, " to describe the effect of so instantaneous 
 a change of circumstances upon us. The boats were 
 allowed to drift along at pleasure, and such was the 
 force with which we had been shot out of the Mur- 
 rumbidgee that we were carried nearly to the bank 
 opposite its embouchure whilst we continued to gaze 
 in silent astonishment on the capacious chamiel we
 
 78 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 had entered, and when we looked for that by which 
 
 we had been led into it we could hardly believe that 
 
 the insignificant gap that presented itself to us was 
 
 indeed the termination of the Ijeautiful stream whose 
 
 course we had thus successfully followed. I can only 
 
 compare the relief we experienced to that which the 
 
 seaman feels on weathering the rock upon which he 
 
 expected that his vessel would have struck, to the 
 
 calm which succeeds moments of feverish anxiety, 
 
 when the dread of danger is succeeded by the certainty 
 
 of escape." This was indeed a noble river. Its width 
 
 was 350 feet, its depth not less than 12, and its 
 
 current was running at the rate of two and a half 
 
 knots an hour. The discoverers believed they had 
 
 now obtained ample reward for all their toils and 
 
 trials. This was the same river which had been 
 
 discovered and crossed by Hume and Hovell where 
 
 the town of Albury now stands, but lietween that 
 
 point, where it had been first seen by civilized man, 
 
 and the part now visited by Sturt, it had received so 
 
 many tributaries as to make it a much larger and, in 
 
 a sense, another river. Sturt called it the Murray, 
 
 after the Imperial Colonial Secretary, but the original 
 
 discoverer had named its upper course the Hume in 
 
 memory of his father. For a time these names were 
 
 confined to the respective parts of the river ; and Dr. 
 
 Lang censured Count Strzelecki for departing from 
 
 this usage in his published work. General practice 
 
 has now deserted the Doctor and followed the Count. 
 
 The number and persistent hostility of the aborigines
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 79 
 
 formed a serious obstacle to the progress of this 
 expedition. It was computed that no fewer than 
 4,000 were met with on the Murray. They were a 
 low type even for Australian savages, and did not 
 give evidence of a single redeeming quality. Addicted 
 to every vice, living in the deepest sink of bestiality, 
 with bodies in many cases rotting with disgusting- 
 diseases, they presented a loathsome spectacle, and 
 were avoided whenever possible. Even when not 
 disposed to be openly hostile, their presence at the 
 camp was a terrible nuisance, and they were generally 
 persuaded to leave, or hunted away. Sometimes they 
 would rally their forces, and then prove not only 
 troublesome but really dangerous. Like all savages 
 they were adepts in deceit, and could wait their 
 opportunity when a purpose had to be served. By 
 dint of numbers and strategy together, they nearly 
 .succeeded on one occasion in annihilatino" the 
 expedition. So long as the river maintained its usual 
 width the boat was tolerably safe in the middle of the 
 channel, for the spears of the savages were nearly 
 harmless when they reached the centre of the stream, 
 but their progress was rapidly approaching a spit which 
 stretched far into the channel, and this position was 
 seen to be occupied by blacks numbering more than 
 fifty to one of Sturt's party. The situation was awfully 
 critical, and in a few minutes more appeared to be 
 positively desperate, for the boat grounded in shoal- 
 water, and the explorers were at the mercy of the 
 savages. Happily at this juncture some other natives.
 
 80 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 who ]iad previously been friendly to the -white men, 
 arrived on the scene, and, through a somewhat 
 barbarous style of intercession, prevailed with their 
 sable fraternity in the interest of Sturt, and the 
 murderous attack was immediately abandoned. 
 
 Travel through an unknown country is usually a 
 series of surprises, and it was no ordinary one that 
 was now in store for the explorers. The spit which 
 had threatened to be so disastrous proved to be an 
 embankment silted up by the entrance of another 
 large river into the Murray. Sturt had already been 
 looking out for the junction of the Darling, which he 
 had discovered on the previous expedition ; and the 
 question now to be determined was whether this could 
 be the embouchure of the same river. He had struck 
 the Darling at two points only a few months before, 
 and at both places its water had been found too salt 
 to drink ; here, howe^■er, it was quite fresh ; but in all 
 other respects appearances were in favour of this river, 
 and the Darling >Sturt maintained it to be. For years 
 after his decision was disputed, and even ridiculed by 
 an authority of no less weight than Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell. Subsequent exploration finally settled the 
 question in Sturt's favour. The river was and could 
 have been no other but the Darling, and thus another 
 important problem of Australian geography was 
 satisfactorily solved. 
 
 Day after day the boat, with its adventurous crew, 
 glided down the united stream of the Murray and the 
 Daiding. Sometimes they passed over wide and long
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 81 
 
 reaches, stretching out for many miles, but occasionally, 
 too, much difficulty was experienced in clearing the 
 rapids. For a considerable part of the course the 
 banks were high and steep, but usually picturesque. 
 The country, so far as could be judged from a passing 
 boat, was mostly of the poorest quality, offering 
 scarcely a patch likely to reward the labour of the 
 farmer. In one respect Stui-t was the most unfor- 
 tunate of the explorers. From first to last he hardly 
 ev^er had the good luck to hit upon a large tract of 
 line country, the Alexandrina district excepted. His 
 mission seemed to be the discovery of deserts, and of 
 these he made known more than enouLjh to sfive 
 Australia a bad name. Such being Sturt's ill-fortune, 
 it is not surprising to find him indulging in gloomy 
 views regarding the great interior ; but even in these 
 forebodings he fell short of Oxle}', who was quite a 
 Cassandra in his way. In the introduction to his 
 narrative the Captain tries to account for the pre- 
 <lominance of poor land in this outlying region of the 
 world, and is inclined to attribute it to the want of 
 decaying vegetable matter, as the trees seldom shed 
 their leaves, and the little that is supplied from this 
 or other sources being usually destroyed by bush fires. 
 But Australia is not the desert land which Sturt 
 imagined,or even portrayed, as will be seen further on. 
 Its richest lands were yet locked up, and this same 
 explorer was unconsciously preparing the key by 
 which tliey were to be opened to private enterprise 
 and the public benefit. Between the entrance of the
 
 82 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Darlino; and what is now known as the Great Bend 
 an important tributary was observed to fall in from 
 either side. The one from the north Sturt called the 
 "Rufus, in honour of Mr. George Macleay, the second 
 on the expedition. Probably the reader fails to 
 perceive the point of the compliment. It lies just 
 here : Mr. Macleay possessed a splendid head of red 
 hair, and rufiis being- the Latin for red, down it 
 went for the name of the river. The Captain, notwith- 
 standing his sombre tinge, must have had a quiet vein 
 of humour in his composition. The other tributary 
 was called the Lindsay, after a gentleman of that 
 name who was then Acting-Governor of the colony. 
 On gaining the lower reaches of the Murray it was 
 observed to widen rapidly, and at the 85° 15' of 
 S. latitude expanded into a magnificent lake 60 miles 
 lono- and 50 in width, which was named Alexandrina, 
 in honour of the young princess, who soon after 
 became Queen Victoria. When the far end of the lake 
 had been reached, persistent but unavailing attempts 
 were made to get the boat to sea. Before leaving 
 Sydney it had been arranged to send a small vessel to 
 St. Vincent Gulf to wait for the expedition, that 
 being the most likely quarter for it to turn up if its 
 course should be directed towards the southern coast. 
 The appointed rendezvous was not far oft', and the 
 explorers had every reason to strive to reach it ; but 
 it was to no purpose that they wearied themselves in 
 the effort. The narrow and tortuous channel which 
 connected Lake Alexandrina with Encounter Bay was
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 83 
 
 impracticable even for a boat. It was, therefore, 
 necessary to return by the way they had come. This 
 was an awfully serious matter. They had now been 
 32 days in the boat, during which one-half of the 
 provisions had been consumed. If the depot on the 
 Murrumbidgee was to be reached on the remaining 
 moiety, it could only be by rowing up the river in 
 the same period of time they had taken to glide 
 down the current. This appeared to be scarcely 
 possible, but all their strength was put forth, and they 
 displayed such pluck and perseverance as shed 
 enduring lustre on the heroism of Australian 
 exploration. " Our journeys," writes Sturt, " were 
 short, and the head we made against the stream but 
 trifling. The men had lost the proper and muscular 
 jerk with which they once made the waters foam and 
 the oars bend. Their whole bodies swung with an 
 awkward and laboured motion. Their arms appeared 
 to be nerveless, and their faces became haggard, their 
 persons emaciated, their spirits wholly sank — nature 
 was so completely overcome that, from mere exhaustion, 
 tliey frequently fell asleep during their painful and 
 almost unceasing exertions. I became captious, and 
 found fault where there was no occasion, and lost 
 the equilibrium of my temper in contemplating the 
 condition of my companions. No murmur, however, 
 escaped them, nor did any complaint reach me that 
 was intended to indicate that they had done all they 
 could do. I frequently heard them in their tent, when 
 they thouglit I had dropped asleep, complaining of
 
 84 THE AUSTRAL I AX EXPLORERS. 
 
 severe pains and of great exhaustion. ' I must tell 
 the Captain to-morrow,' some of them would say, 
 ' that I can pull no" more ! ' To-morrow came, and 
 they pulled on, as if reluctant to yield to circum- 
 stances. Macnamee at last lost his senses. We first 
 observed this from his incoherent conversation, but 
 eventually from his manner. He related the most 
 extraordinary tales, and fidgetted about eternally in 
 the boat." In such a plight did they reach the depot 
 on the Murrumbidgee. Altogether 88 days were spent 
 in the boat, and the distance travelled could not have 
 been less than 4,000 miles. The rest of the journey 
 was performed by easy stages, the party arriving in 
 Sydney on the 25th of May, after an absence of 
 almost seven months. 
 
 in. 
 
 The discovery of a rich territory on Lake Alexan- 
 drina, was made in 1880, and before another decade 
 had passed away the settlement of South Australia 
 was established in this promising region. By a 
 singular fatality, Sturt, as an explorer, had the 
 infelicity of stumbling continually upon deserts, or 
 on tracts only a shade better ; but the termination of 
 the Murray, which he had navigated so courageouslj', 
 brought him to the borders of an ample area of the 
 richest land in Australia. In these circumstances it 
 was natural for him to evince a special fondness for 
 the locality which had been the most fortunate, as it
 
 CAPTAIN STUIIT. 85 
 
 was also tlie latest, of Lis discoveries. The retired 
 explorer accordingly settled down with his family in 
 this chosen haunt, with the intention of making his 
 permanent home in the young colony of South Aus- 
 tralia. He received a civil appointment as Surveyor- 
 General, which enabled him to live in comparative 
 quiet and comfort, and he was highly respected for 
 his o-reat services to Australia in general. After so 
 many years of retirement, probably no one expected 
 to hear anything further of Charles Sturt as an 
 explorer. It could not, therefore, fail to produce a 
 feeling of surprise when it became known that after 
 fourteen years' repose he had sought and obtained 
 from Lord Stanley the necessary requisites for another 
 expedition into the interior. He had again become 
 fired with his old ambition, and was now covetous of 
 the honour of being the lirst European to plant his foot 
 on the centre of Australia. All things being in readi- 
 ness for this heroic undertaking, Sturt left Adelaide 
 on the loth of August, 1S44, with a party of fourteen 
 men, amply provisioned. He chose the route of the 
 Darling and Murray rivers, which he proposed to follow 
 till the outskirts of civilization were reached. The 
 Murray was struck at " Murrundi," the residence at 
 tliat time of another noted explorer, Mr. E. J. Eyre, who 
 had recently accomplished his adventui'ous journey 
 round the Great Australian Bight, and the river valley 
 was thereafter traversed as far as the junction of the 
 AVilliorara, a locality better known now under the 
 name of the Laidley Pomls. This place was becoming
 
 86 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 knowTi to overlandei's, and it was hoped it might 
 prove a suitable site for the first depot ; but this 
 expectation was hardly justified by personal inspec- 
 tion, and it became evident that the expedition must 
 proceed at once into the interior. Sturt according!}' 
 gathered his party around him, and, having engaged 
 in appropriate devotional exercises, in which he com- 
 mitted himself and his men to the watchful care of 
 Almighty God, launched bravely forth into the perils 
 of the wildei-ness. Some distance ahead a mountain 
 chain was visible, to which the name of Stanley, or 
 Barrier Rano-e, was afterwards Q-iven. The march 
 was at first directed towards these heights, in the 
 hope that a river might be discovered on the opposite 
 fall which would lead into the interior. Here again 
 expectation was doomed to disappointment, and the 
 expedition was forced to proceed along the range, 
 where water alone was to be found. Gradually the 
 mountains sank into the plains to the northward, and 
 it was resolved to strike out for the centre from this 
 point, taking the risk of obtaining a sufficient supply of 
 water at tolerable intervals. The country traversed in 
 this direction proved to be cheerless and sterile in the 
 extreme, and the journey was tedious and trying to a 
 corresponding degree. Nevertheless, the party pressed 
 forward, doing their best to deserve success. But it 
 was to no purpose. The country became still more 
 inhospitable, and water utterly failed. It was evident 
 that the object of the expedition could not be reached 
 by this route, and Sturt, wearied in body and chafed
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 87 
 
 in spirit, was compelled to retreat to the mountains 
 on his outward track. This was his first repulse from 
 the centre of Australia. 
 
 A return was made to the depot, which had fortu- 
 nately been established not far from the range, in a 
 lovely oasis in the desert. No reader of the narrative 
 of the expedition can soon forget the strange incidents 
 of this depot in the Rocky Glen, which unexpectedly 
 became the prison-house of the whole party for six 
 months. The supply of water here was good and 
 abundant, though not inexhaustible ; and this advan- 
 tage was of supreme importance, as a drought of 
 unparalleled severity was fast closing in upon the 
 expedition. Being wearied and worn out by the toil- 
 some journey to the northward, Sturt resolved to give 
 his men a brief breathing time in this favoured spot ; 
 and when this temporary repose was ended he found, 
 to his consternation, that his retreat was cut off, while 
 it was equally impossible to advance. Here is his 
 owTi description of the heat and misery they had to 
 undergo : — " The tubes of the thermometer burst, the 
 liullocks pawed the ground to get a cooler footing, the 
 men's shoes were scorched as if by fire, their finger 
 nails were brittle as glass ; the lead dropped from the 
 pencil, the ink dried in the pen, as Sturt wrote up his 
 daily journal ; the drays almost fell to pieces, the 
 screws loosened in their boxes, the horn handles of the 
 instruments and tlieir combs split, the wool on the 
 sheep and their own hair ceased to grow." Many 
 persistent efforts were made on every side to find a
 
 88 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 way of escape ; but all to no purpose, for the drought 
 had closed them in as effectually as a besieging army. 
 There was no help for it but to make the best of tlieir 
 misfortune until rain came to the rescue. Fortunately 
 they had sufficient feed and plenty of water for their 
 live stock, and for such mercies they were truly 
 thankful. As the summer advanced it was found 
 necessary to seek a partial refuge from the scorching- 
 rays of the sun in an underground chamber, which 
 had been constructed for this purpose. The imprison- 
 ment had, at the same time, a few negative advantages. 
 For one thing, the completeness of their isolation 
 formed a sufficient safeguard against the assaults of 
 the barbarous tribes of the interior ; for the same 
 calamity which prevented the one party from getting 
 away equally prohibited the other from approaching 
 this oasis in the desert. During the six months' 
 detention only one blackfellow had been able to put 
 in an appearance, and not till reduced to the last 
 extremity of hunger and thirst. The poor emaciated 
 creature was prevailed upon to remain for the present ; 
 but, having free access to the explorers' mutton, he 
 grew tolerably fat in the course of a fortnight, when, 
 with the usual gratitude of the barbarian, he turned 
 his back upon his benefactors and took the way that 
 pleased him best. The accounts of the interior which 
 Sturt received from this and other aborigines he had 
 previously encountered were disheartening in the 
 extreme, and it was impossible to abstain from gloomy 
 forebodings during this period of enforced incarceration.
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 89 
 
 But whether they were to have any more travelling 
 or not was becoming more and more a matter of bare 
 probability. The herbage of the valley had become 
 reduced to mere dust, and the water had diminished 
 so ominously as to make it apparent that, unless rain 
 fell within a month, the party would certainly find 
 their graves in the Rocky Glen, as one of them had 
 already done. But the future had better things in 
 store, and did not longer withhold them. In one of 
 those sudden changes so characteristic of the Australian 
 climate the sky assumed its curtain of clouds and 
 Ijurst in a storm of rain, which deluged the valley. 
 The roar of the rushing water, Sturt avers, was the 
 sweetest music that ever fell upon his ear. That 
 Avelcome thunderstorm was the key which opened the 
 ■door of the prison and gave liberty to the captives. 
 
 This happy release was followed 'hj a period of 
 successful travelling — not, indeed, void of difficulty, 
 l)ut yet without much of stirring incident. Another 
 <lep6t was formed, which is well known under the 
 name of the Park. Having enjoyed a short breathing 
 time here, the expedition again proceeded eastward, 
 and touched on the northern extremity of Lake 
 Torrens. A survey of this part having been made, in 
 accordance with special instructions, they returned 
 to the Park Depot, which was reached just twelve 
 months after Sturt had left Adelaide. As time 
 was thus rapidly passing away, he now resolved to 
 put fortli all his strength in a bold effort to reach the 
 summit of his ambition and place liis foot on the
 
 90 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 centre of Australia. Wishing to have as little encum- 
 brance as possible, he divided his party, and, having 
 picked three of the best men, started for the goal of 
 his weary journeys, leaving the remainder in the 
 depot. Day after day this forlorn hope toiled on. 
 Plain succeeded plain over a dreary expanse of 
 interminable country, redeemed only by a series of 
 parallel watercourses, which afforded a sufficient supply 
 of that indispensable element. One important creek 
 was crossed, but had to be abandoned, as it headed in 
 a wrong direction. Happily, a sufficient compensation 
 was found in the discovery of another creek, which 
 they called the Eyre, after the adventurous explorer ; 
 and this godsend in the wilderness they were able to 
 follow for a long distance. It was after they were 
 compelled to leave it that they entered upon the stern 
 realities of travel in the untrodden interior. The 
 country now assumed an aspect so sterile and for- 
 bidding as to place it out of comparison with anything 
 which Sturt, the discoverer of deserts, had previously 
 witnessed. For a space of 20 miles nothing was 
 found but a series of sand-rido-es succeedincj one 
 another with the monotonous regularity of the waves 
 of the sea. The faticme which had to be endured in 
 crossing this inhospitable tract was indescribable. It 
 greatly weakened the strength of the party, and it 
 was only the hope of soon meeting a change of country 
 which lured them on. Nor was this expectation 
 doomed to disappointment, for a change they met 
 with at a moment's notice. All of a sudden
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 91 
 
 the jaded explorers found a stony desert spring- 
 ing up beneath their feet and stretching away as 
 far as the eye could reach, while it included within 
 its ghastly embrace more than half the horizon. The 
 suddenness of the appearance of this spectre of 
 desolation struck tliem mute with surprise and horror. 
 One of Sturt's attendants was the first to break the 
 silence, which he did hy raising his hands and 
 exclaiming — " Good heavens ■ did ever man see such 
 country ? '" Probably he ne^■er did. It is worse even 
 than the African Sahara. It is beyond the power of 
 words to describe it as it stands in its lone and 
 dread reality. Sturt's Stony Desert is one unbroken 
 expanse of desolation, a wilderness of red ferruginous 
 sandstone, undergoing perpetual disintegration, con- 
 stituting a natural ruin on a gigantic scale, without a 
 single redeemino- feature. Barrenness has marked 
 this region for her own, and will ever hold it as a 
 special possession. No life can subsist within its 
 1 lorders ; the foot of the sa\'age is not upon its wastes, 
 and the whole region is still and silent as the grave. 
 Such is the dark picture as drawn by the explorer 
 himself. Happily a better acquaintance has led to 
 a more favourable opinion ; though the land of 
 spinifex, it produces other vegetation of nutritive and 
 even fattening properties. The Stony Desert proper 
 consists of many patches, but probably none will be 
 found to be very extensi\e. The stout hearts of the 
 explorers quailed but for a moment. Be the conse- 
 ([uence what it might, they determined to go forward,
 
 92 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 and tlie iirst night found them encamped in the 
 desert without a drop of water. Their only hope of 
 safety consisted in expeditious travel out of this 
 scene of desolation. It was found to extend 50 miles, 
 and when the party reached the other side, they were 
 in a condition which can be more easily conceived 
 than described. Here again they entered upon a 
 similar belt of sand-ridges such as they had found 
 Hanking the Stony Desert on the other side. These, 
 unhappily, were succeeded by another region of sand, 
 utterly destitute of water. Their sufferings, which 
 had formerly been great, were now intolerable. It 
 became apparent that further progress was imprac- 
 ticable, and it was just a question whether retreat 
 was possible — certainly it could not remain so much 
 longer with such heat and drought as were then 
 prevailing. The necessity of retreat was thus forced 
 upon them, but it was a very painful one. They had 
 now travelled more than 400 miles from the depot 
 (and such travelling !) and could they only have 
 advanced another 150 miles they would have pitched 
 their camp in the centre of Australia, the darling 
 object of so many heroic sacrifices. Their reluctance 
 to yield to this last dictate of necessity was extreme. 
 A member of the expedition has pictured Sturt as he 
 sat on one of the sand dunes with his face buried in 
 his hands for a whole hour, while the struggle was 
 gomg on in his own mind. It was not in nature, 
 indeed, to yield without a mighty conflict. But 
 inexorable necessity had to be obeyed notwith-
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 93 
 
 standing, and thus valuable lives were saved. This 
 was his second repulse from the centre of Australia. 
 Nothing is more admirable in the character of Sturt 
 than his magnanimity under adversity. However 
 keenly he may have felt his disappointment, his mind 
 retained its accustomed tranquillity, and during the 
 retreat he went on laying down the bearings of his 
 route for the guidance of others who might follow 
 and obtain the palm he had been compelled to 
 resign. He reached the depot, where he had left the 
 remainder of his party, on the 2nd October, 1845, 
 havino; been absent seven weeks and travelled more 
 than 800 miles. 
 
 After a short period of rest and refreshment this 
 chivalrous explorer, who amid all his heavy mis- 
 fortunes was certainly tenax ])vopositi, to the surprise 
 and regret of his party conceived the design of 
 making one more attempt to reach the centre of 
 Australia. He now determined on trying the line of 
 the creek he had formerly discovered, and now called 
 after Strzelecki, in the hope of its giving him sufR- 
 cient northing to bring him within a practicable 
 distance of the object for which the expedition had 
 been sent. Strzelecki's Creek was found to answer his 
 purpose so long as it lasted, and at its termination 
 led to the discovery of another of much greater 
 importance. To this new river Sturt gave the name 
 of Cooper's Creek, after a distinguished South Aus- 
 tralian judge. Unfortunately it flowed nearly east 
 and west, and, therefore, had to l)e al)and()ncMl in the
 
 94 THE AUSTRALIAN EXFLOREliS. 
 
 prosecution of a northern route. Leaving the plains 
 which extended for some distance from the banks of 
 Cooper's Creek, Sturt again encountered the ominous 
 sand-ridges of which he had had sufficient experience 
 on the former journey, and these being traversed, his 
 hard fate again landed him on the edge of the Stony 
 Desert. His destiny seemed ever mocking him with 
 deserts, but this was the last he ever discovered. 
 Having swept the unvarying horizon long and 
 patiently with his telescope, and finding no break in 
 the terrible monotony, he turned back for the third 
 and last time from the effort to accomplish the dream 
 of his life. After so many magnanimous sacrifices, 
 he finally and for ever waived the palm of reaching 
 the centre of the continent, which, sixteen years later, 
 was won by a member of the same expedition, Mr_ 
 J. M'Douall Stuart, whose march to the coveted spot 
 reads in comparison like a holiday excursion. The 
 party now fell back upon Cooper's Creek, which was 
 traced upwards for a considerable distance. It is a 
 remarkable circumstance that Sir Thomas Mitchell 
 was exploring its upper waters about the same time. 
 But nothing could be more diverse than the two 
 descriptions of the same stream. Mitchell's is quite 
 couleur de rose, and Sturt's has probably been tinged 
 with the effect of his own misfortunes. While the 
 one gave it the name of Cooper's Creek, as already 
 noticed, the other called it the Victoria, after the 
 Queen. This was most unfortunate, as there is another 
 Victoria River on the west coast. However, both
 
 CAPTAIN STURT. 95 
 
 designations are now generally superseded by the 
 native name of Barcoo. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enter into details respecting the 
 lionieward expedition. The outward track was fol- 
 lowed as closely as possible to Laidley Ponds, and 
 thence to Adelaide. The water was rapidly drying 
 up, and the retreat had to be conducted like the forced 
 marches of an army. The men were nearly all ill, 
 more or less, and some of them, being unable to walk, 
 had to be carried long distances. Latterly, the leader 
 of the expedition seems to have been the chief sufferer. 
 Long exposure to the glaring reflection of the sun on 
 the sandy wastes had ruined his eyesight, and not 
 long afterwards he became permanently blind. Even 
 now his constitution was completely shattered, and he 
 had to be laid on a bed of leaves and conveyed from 
 the interior in a cart, from which sufferings he never 
 fully recovered. Such was Charles Sturt, after fifteen 
 months' wanderings in the deserts of our country ; 
 and henceforth this heroic and much-endurinir man 
 disappeared from the stage of Australian history, of 
 ^vhich he had been long a distinguished ornament. 
 He retired on a pension of £000 from the South 
 Australian Legislature, and died at Cheltenham in 
 1869.
 
 96 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 eyre's adventurous journey along the great 
 australian bight. 
 
 Edward John Eyre, the son of a Yorkshire clergy- 
 man, was born in the year 1815. A youthful passion 
 for the heroic led him to chose the military profession ; 
 but, having failed to obtain a commission, he turned 
 his attention to the colonies, and came to Sydney in 
 1833, with the slender capital of £400. Part of this 
 sum was spent in obtaining colonial experience, in 
 which he o^raduated so hio^h as to become the leader 
 in a new Australian enterprise. The newly founded 
 settlements of Port Phillip (subsequently Victoria) 
 and South Australia had created a great demand for 
 stock, all of which had hitherto been carried by sea, 
 and, on reaching their destination, were sold at famine 
 prices. Young Eyre conceived the practicability of 
 an overland route, and proceeded to prove it to a 
 demonstration. In the first of these journeys he took 
 1,000 sheep and 600 head of cattle from the Monaro 
 district, m New South Wales, to Adelaide, in South 
 Australia, by way of the Murray River, and reaped a 
 handsome pecuniary reward in the sale of the stock. 
 Smaller men followed in the wake of this born 
 adventurer, making overlanding the most paying 
 game in Australia, till a glut was produced in the
 
 EYRE. 97 
 
 southern markets. Success having followed Eyre in 
 the new path his enterprise had struck out, he was 
 soon in possession of sufficient funds to begin squat- 
 ting on his own account. He purchased the station 
 " Murrundi," on the Lower Murray, where he resided for 
 several years, acting also as magistrate and protector 
 of the aborigines. Occasionally, too, he varied the 
 monotony of bush life by feats of exploration into the 
 unknown territory, thus keeping alive the spirit of 
 adventure, and unconsciously qualifying himself for 
 the romantic enterjDrise which will transmit his name 
 to distant posterity. 
 
 Up to the 3^ear 1840 Western Australia remained 
 completely isolated from the other colonies, and could 
 be approached only by sea. But as that country was 
 now being extensively occupied, it was of great 
 importance also to the settlers in the south to find an 
 overland route from Adelaide, and it was believed the 
 time had come when a successful effort could be made. 
 The obstacles which barred the way were enormous, 
 and for that epoch insuperable ; but so little were 
 they suspected by the South Australians that the 
 proposed journey was regarded as a pleasure excur- 
 sion, and it was considered advisable to lighten the 
 expense of the expedition by sending over a quantity 
 of stock with the pioneer explorers ! The one man 
 Avlio could correct this public delusion was Mr. Eyre, 
 for he knew enough of the outlying country to feel 
 safe in predicting the failure of the proposed under- 
 taking. By both speech and pen he laboured to 
 
 8
 
 98 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 oppose the misguided enthusiasm, and succeeded in 
 preventing a certain waste of treasure and a very 
 probable sacrifice of -human life. But it was far 
 from his desire to see so much ardour for exploration 
 run to waste, and now that the colony was in high 
 feather for discovery, Eyre made a successful effort to 
 divert it into what he considered a more profitalile 
 channel. Very little was yet known of the country 
 to the north. Why not strike out in this direction 
 now, and make a bold attempt to reach the centre of 
 Australia from the city of Adelaide ? One argument 
 alone was sufficient, and with it Eyre prevailed. He 
 offered to be the leader of the expedition, providing 
 one-third of its expense from his own pocket. Nothing 
 remained now liut to get on with the preparations. 
 
 On the 20th of June, 1840, a well-provisioned 
 party consisting of eight persons, with Eyre in 
 command, supported by two other Europeans, Scott 
 and Baxter, left Adelaide under favourable auspices, 
 and in high hopes of exploring a large portion of the 
 interior if more cherished results should prove 
 unattainable ; but, as the event proved, only to meet 
 with crushing disappointment. Lake Torrens was as 
 yet very imj)erfectly known, and Eyre, misled by 
 refraction, conceived it to be an immense sheet of 
 water in the shape of a horse-shoe, within the bend 
 of which he supposed the expedition was being 
 entrapped. The curve, in reality, was described by a 
 chain of mud lakes partly covered with water, and 
 partly encrusted with salt. Passages are now found,
 
 EYRE. 99 
 
 at intervals, between these mud lagoons, but Eyre 
 had not the good luck to hit on one of them. 
 Aroused by the energy of despair, he next determined 
 to round this impenetrable barrier, and struck out to 
 the eastward, for an isolated peak which he called 
 Mount Hopeless. The name corresponded to the 
 reality, for the outlook from its summit revealed 
 nothing but a barren and burning desert, which 
 forced the expedition to fall back by a western route 
 to the southern coast. 
 
 Headquarters now remained for some time at 
 Streaky Bay, on the eastern shoulder of the Great 
 Australian Bight. Taking a subdivision of the party, 
 he ao-ain and ao-ain endeavoured to round the head of 
 the Bight in the hope of finding better country, 
 which would open a favourable route towards the 
 interior. Here, too, his expectations were baffled in 
 this latter respect, and even Eyre had to abandon his 
 pet project in utter despair. But he was of too 
 <launtless a temperament to brook the idea of re- 
 turning to Adelaide without accomplishing something 
 worthy of remembrance. His next move was com- 
 petent only to a madman or a hero. It was a serious 
 attempt to lead an expedition from the encampment 
 on Fowler's Bay to King George's Sound, along the 
 Great Australian Bight, a journey of more than 1,500 
 miles over the worst country under the sun. He 
 proposed to proceed with his present party unbroken, 
 if Governor Gawler would allow the government 
 cutter to advance to Cape Arid, a sort of half-way
 
 100 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 .station, and there await the expedition, with a supply 
 of provisions. The Governor refused the use of the 
 vessel in connection with so romantic a proposal, 
 except for the purpose of bringing the entire part}- 
 back to Adelaide, and so putting an end to what he 
 must be excused for regarding as a mad freak. But 
 Eyre was a man born to lead, not to be led, and 
 determined to stick to his purpose, with help or 
 without it. Yet, being conscious of the extreme peril 
 that lay on the very face of the undertaking, he 
 resolved to risk the sacrifice of no European's life but 
 his own, and made preparations to send home Scott 
 and Baxter in the cutter. Baxter, an old and faithful 
 servant, who had been overseer on Eyre's station, 
 persisted in clinging to his master, whether for life or 
 death. And, alas ! it was for the latter. The party, 
 as thus reduced, consisted of only two white men and 
 three black boys, one being an old favourite named 
 Wylie. A few horses and sheep, together with a 
 limited supply of provisions, made up the sum total of 
 the expedition. 
 
 Never before was an enterprise of such over- 
 whelming difficulty engaged in by reasonable men. 
 This section of the southern coast was yet scarcely 
 known. The navigators Nuyts and Flinders had 
 cruised over its waters, gazing with mysterious awe 
 on its weather-beaten cliffs, rising to the precipitous 
 heio-ht of 400 or even 600 feet above the water. At 
 intervals along the base the waves had undermined 
 this Titanic sea-wall, causing it to fall in many a
 
 EYRE. 101 
 
 yawning breach, the dehrin of which completely 
 obstructed the passage between the rocks and the sea 
 in the few places where such a convenience might 
 have been previously possible. The crown of these 
 cliffs had not yet been trodden by the white man's 
 foot, and the reports of the sparse aborigines were 
 enough to freeze the ardour of the most adventurous 
 in the heroic age of Australian exploration. On this 
 border-land of earth and sea contending winds had 
 ileposited the dust particles Ijorne on their wings, and 
 rolled them together in heaps, to be met with at long 
 and dreary intervals. These sand-hills, resting on a 
 limestone formation, retained at their base a small 
 supply of water, to be reached only by painstaking, 
 and often painful, digging. For the greater part of the 
 way no other water was to be found on this barren 
 and inhospitable region of parched-up Australia. 
 
 From Cape Adieu, where leave had been taken of 
 the cutter audits passengers, to the first stage at the 
 liead of the Bight, the difficulties were manageable — 
 for this part of the route had been traversed and 
 supplies hidden for future use — but, this over, they 
 had to be faced in all their appalling magnitude. The 
 sand-hills were found to l)e so far apart that it was 
 impossible to bring the stock from the one to tlio 
 other without intermediate supply. When the sheep, 
 and sometimes the horses, couM travel no further, one 
 or two of the parties had to be left in charge while 
 others pushed forward in search of water, and then 
 returned with wliat supply they could bring, when the
 
 102 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLOREES. 
 
 animals were driven on to the station. The dis- 
 couragements were infinite and the labour super- 
 human. Eyre alone .was equal to the strain, and he 
 owed it more to his indomitable spirit than to his 
 natural strength. It was a sore trial to perceive even 
 Baxter to be giving way and wishing to return ; but 
 as this seemed to threaten certain death, he kept to 
 his resolution, and persevered against all hope of a 
 successful issue, so desperate had the aspect of affairs 
 now become. The few sheep having dwindled away 
 with ominous rapidity, it had become necessary to 
 kill several of the horses and eat them, although they 
 furnished little but skin and bone. Matters having 
 come to extremities, the baggage had to be reduced to 
 the smallest proportions, and most of the valuables 
 were thrown away in the wilderness to lighten the 
 burden of carriage. Their sufferino-s from want 
 of water now became indescribable. Man and beast 
 were compelled to travel three or four daj's without 
 getting a mouthful. With onl}" one exception, none 
 had been found but in the sand-hills for the distance 
 of 800 miles, and how hard it was to reach it there 
 has already been described. Even the dew on the 
 sparse patches of grass was put in requisition, as may 
 be learned from the following extract from the journal 
 of the expedition : — " Leaving the overseer to search 
 for the horses, which had strayed, I took a sponge and 
 went to try to collect some of the dew which was 
 hanging in spangles on the grass and shrubs. Brush- 
 ing these with the sponge, I squeezed it, when
 
 EYRE. 103 
 
 saturated, into a quart-pot, which in an hour's time I 
 filled with water. The native boys were occupied in 
 the same way, and, by using a handful of fine grass 
 instead of a sponge, they collected about a quart 
 among them. Having taken the water to the camp 
 and made it into tea, we divided it amongst the party, 
 and never was a meal more truly relished, although 
 we ate the last morsel of bread we had with us, and 
 none knew when we might again enjoy either a drink of 
 water or a mouthful of bread. We had now demon- 
 strated the practicability of collecting water from the 
 dew. I had often heard from the natives that they 
 were in the habit of practising this plan, but had 
 never before actually witnessed its adoption." 
 
 But the climax was yet to come. To privations 
 and difficulties the crime of treachery and murder was 
 now to be added. Two of the blacks proved unfaith- 
 ful, and shot the overseer, Baxter, in cold blood, 
 apparently for the purpose of deserting with as much 
 of the provisions as they could lay hands on, perhaps 
 after the murder of the leader himself. The words 
 in which Eyre describes the anguish of his situation 
 exceed the highest efforts of traged}', and show how 
 fact may become stranger than fiction. " The night 
 was cold, and the wind blowing hard from the south- 
 west, whilst scud and nimbus were passing very 
 rapidly by the moon. The horses fed tolerably well, 
 but rambled a jj^ood deal, threadino- in and out amono; 
 the many belts of scrub which intersected the grassy 
 openings, until I scarcely knew exactly' where our
 
 104 THE AUSTIIALIAX EXPLORERS. 
 
 camp was, the fires having apparently expired some 
 time ago. It was now half-past ten, and I headed the 
 horses back in the direction in which I thought the 
 camp lay, that I might be ready to call the overseer 
 to relieve me at eleven. Whilst thus engaged and 
 looking steadfastly around among the scrub to see if 
 I could anywhere detect the embers of our fires, I 
 was startled by a sudden flash, followed by the report 
 of a gun, not a quarter of a mile away from me. 
 Imagining that the overseer had mistaken the hour of 
 the night, and not being able to find me or the horses 
 had taken that method to attract my attention, I 
 immediately called out, but no answer was returned. 
 I got alarmed, and, leaving the horses, hurried up 
 towards the camp as rapidly as I could. About a 
 hundred yards from it I met the King George's Sound 
 native (Wylie) running towards me, and in great 
 haste and alarm, crying out, ' Oh, Massa ! oh, Massa, 
 come here I' but could gain no information from him 
 as to what had occurred. Upon reaching the encamp- 
 ment, which I did in about five minutes after the 
 shot was fired, I was horror-struck to find my poor 
 overseer lying on the ground weltering in his blood, 
 and in the last agonies of death. Glancing hastily 
 around the camp, I found it deserted by the two 
 younger native boys, whilst the scattered frag- 
 ments of our baggage, which I left carefully piled 
 under the oilskin, lay thrown about in wild disorder, 
 and at once revealed the cause of the harrowing scene 
 before me. Upon raising the body of my faithful
 
 EYRE. 105 
 
 l)ut ill-fated follower, I found that he was beyond all 
 human aid ; he had been shot through the left breast 
 with a ball ; the last convulsions of death were upon 
 him, and he expired almost immediately after our 
 arrival. The frightful, the appalling truth now burst 
 upon me that I was alone in the desert. He who 
 had faithfully served me for many years, who had 
 followed my fortunes in adversity and prosperity, 
 who had accompanied me in all my wanderings, and 
 whose attachment to me had been his sole inducement 
 to remain with me in this last and, to him, alas ! fatal 
 journey, was now no more. For an instant, I was 
 almost tempted to wish that it had been my fate 
 instead of his. The horrors of my situation glared 
 upon me in such startling reality as for an instant 
 almost to paralyze the mind. At the dead hour of 
 night, in the wildest and most inhospitable wastes of 
 Australia, with the fierce wind rao-ino- in unison with 
 the scene of violence before me, I was left with a 
 single native, whose fidelity I could not rely upon, 
 and who for auoht I knew mioht be in leaa'ue with 
 the otlicr two, who were perhaps even now lurking 
 about with the view of taking away my life as they 
 had done that of the overseer. Three days had 
 passed away since we left tlie last water, and it was 
 very doubtful when we might find any more. Six 
 hundred miles of country had to be traversed before 
 I could hope to obtain the slightest aid or assistance 
 of any kind, whilst I knew not that a single drop of 
 water or an ounce of Hour had been left by these
 
 106 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 murderers from a stock tliat had previously been so 
 small. Though years have now passed away since 
 the enactment of this tragedy, the dreadful horrors 
 of that time and scene are recalled before me with 
 frightful vividness, and make me shudder when I 
 think of them. A lifetime was crowded into those 
 few short hours, and death alone may blot out the 
 impression they produced." 
 
 To give decent burial to the body of a friend 
 whom death only could separate would h&ve been a 
 melancholy satisfaction, but even this slight tribute 
 of affection was denied by the situation. No grave 
 could be dug, for sheet-rock, stretching far and wide, 
 formed the adamantine pavement of this horrible 
 place. Wrapt in a blanket for its winding-sheet, the 
 corj)se was left in this lonely wilderness, where it lay 
 undisturbed till it was stumbled on quite recently by 
 the district mailman. On a calmer view of the 
 position, Eyre discovered that the ruffians had left 
 him only forty pounds of flour, a little tea and sugar, 
 and four gallons of water. Such was the provision 
 for two men against a journey of 600 miles! 
 Nothing, however, could be gained by delay in this 
 awful scene, and every consideration counselled an 
 immediate departure — most of all, the knowledge that 
 the two murderers were skulking in the neighbour- 
 hood with the probable design of taking Eyre's life. 
 A start was made without further loss of time. 
 Another horse was killed for food, but the animal 
 having been poor and sickly, its flesh did not agree
 
 EYEE. 107 
 
 with them, and ill health supervened. When thus 
 brought face to face with the last extremity, a sudden 
 vision of deliverance nearly overwhelmed them with 
 joy. Coming unexpectedly on an opening in the 
 Bight, first a boat and then a ship at anchor rushed 
 upon the view. A closer acquaintance proved the 
 apparition to be a French whaling-vessel, under 
 the command of Captain Rossiter, whose name is 
 fittingly perpetuated in the same little bay. The 
 unlooked-for visitors were hospitably entertained 
 and lodged for twelve days in the ship, till they 
 were sufficiently recruited for the remainder of 
 the journey. With rencAved strength, and a fresh 
 supply of provisions, the march through the desert 
 was once more resumed, for the indomitable explorer 
 would not even yet abandon the project. Though 
 hardship had now lost its sting, more difficulties had 
 yet to be encountered than might have been expected, 
 but they were of a different kind from the preceding. 
 Water became only too plentiful, for a wet season had 
 set in, and the travellers had often to wade rather than 
 to walk. But the end of this terrible journey drew on 
 apace. To their unspeakable joy the mountains on 
 the further side of King George's Sound began to 
 loom in the distance, and Wylie, who was a natixe 
 of that district, noAV for the first time showed some 
 confidence in his leader, whom he never expected 
 to bring him back to his home. The welcome 
 sight, in trutli, inspired l)oth the black and the white 
 man with fresli life ; for tlu'v had to make onlv one
 
 108 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 more effort, and, this over, their weary feet found rest 
 in the liospitable settlement of Albany. The heroic 
 endurance displayed- during this journey stands 
 without a parallel in history, but it led to nothing but 
 a barren triumph over stupendous difficulties. Had 
 Eyre kept further inland he would have found a 
 better route and opened up a more profitable country. 
 This discovery had to wait for another and more 
 fortunate explorer. The present expedition, by 
 hugging the shore, travelled over a tract of country 
 that was seen to be utterly useless for the wants of 
 civilization. So patent was this fact to Mr. Eyre 
 himself that he justified the publication of his 
 narrative by the strange argument that no one had 
 traversed this wilderness before and he was perfectly 
 sure none would ever do it again. 
 
 Henceforward Edward John Eyre was known to 
 fame — but not to fortune. Being subsequently 
 appointed Governor of Jamaica, he fell heir to an 
 upheaval of disorder, which culminated in open 
 rebellion. This insurrection Eyre put dowm with an 
 iron hand. Some accused him of needless severity, 
 while others justified his conduct as an act of 
 imperative necessity. The hero-worshipper, the late 
 Thomas Carlyle, defended him bravely, and was 
 seconded by many sympathizers of less note, who 
 came to the rescue with pen and purse. This perilous 
 journey of former years was justly pleaded in Mr. 
 Eyre's favour, but his friends weakened their case by 
 confounding the Great Australian Bioht with the
 
 EYRE. 109 
 
 Gulf of Carpentaria ! Though exonerated by a 
 commission of inquiry, the Governor was recalled, and 
 for four years thereafter harassed by a bitter prosecu- 
 tion, which he probably found harder to endure than 
 his terrible journey on the Great Australian Bight.
 
 110 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SIR THOMAS Mitchell's four expeditions. 
 
 This eminent explorer was a native of Scotland, 
 having been born at Craigend, Stirlingshire, in 1792. 
 He chose the army for his profession, and served 
 under Wellington, in the Peninsular war, from 1808 
 till its close. His career appears to have been a most 
 creditable one. He had a hand in laying out the 
 famous Torres Vedras lines, which gave a fatal check 
 to the ambition of Napoleon. Mitchell left the service 
 with the rank of Major, receiving also a medal and 
 five clasps. Having emigrated to New South Wales, 
 he was appointed Surveyor-General, an office which 
 had fallen vacant by the death of Mr. John Oxley. 
 Being an active and adventurous man, he threw him- 
 self, heart and soul, into the cause of exploration. 
 Mitchell was the most successful of all the explorers, 
 and had the good fortune to open up the magnificent 
 territory which now forms the colony of Victoria. 
 He was the leader of four great expeditions, which 
 shall now be briefly related in the order of their 
 occurrence. 
 
 Among the notabilities of tlie old convict days there 
 are not many who will be longer remembered than
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. Ill 
 
 George Clarke, better known, in his own time, as 
 " George the Barber." This runaway convict having 
 taken to biishranofing; and cattle-stealino- as natu- 
 rally as the duck makes for the water, had also 
 shown himself an adept in the arts which elude the 
 detective. Passing beyond the bounds of settlement, 
 which had now extended 800 miles to the north 
 of Sydney, he fixed his headquarters and erected a 
 stockyard for stolen cattle on the further side of the 
 Liverpool Plains. Here he abjured the last vestige of 
 civilization and associated himself with the aborigines, 
 havino; become a conformist in the first deo-ree. He 
 doffed every article of clothing, blackened his skin, 
 and even scarified his flesh, in order to appear a naked 
 savage pure and simple. But the compliment does 
 not seem to have been reciprocated. He was success- 
 ful, indeed, in gaining the hearts of two black gins, 
 who followed him and his fortunes as far as fate 
 would permit ; but the sable brotherhood did not take 
 kindly to the intruder. Hearing he was wanted by 
 the police to answer for his cattle-stealing propen- 
 sities, they lent a hand to the progress of civilization, 
 and delivered up this spurious brother, who was forth- 
 with lodo-ed in Bathurst S!:aol, Of all the men in 
 the world this runaway convict, who had enjoyed the 
 sweets of liberty, both in the savage and the civilized 
 life, would be the last to brook the restraints of con- 
 finement, and it is no surprise to find him casting 
 about for the means of deliverance. The most 
 feasible way of accomplishing his ol)ject undoubtedly
 
 112 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Itiy in the plan which his native cunning led him to 
 adopt. Popular excitement was then at fever heat on 
 the exploration of the unknown territory. Sturt had 
 recently returned from an expedition in which he 
 had opened up more than 2,000 miles of country on 
 the lower Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers, and had, 
 consequently, given a great impulse to the exploring 
 enterprise. Now was the time for " George the 
 Barber " to tell his secret from Bathurst oaol. Havinof 
 passed beyond a range of mountains to the north- 
 ward of the Liverpool Plains, so his story ran, he had 
 discovered a magnificent river which the natives 
 called the " Kindur." It traversed a splendid country, 
 was itself navigable throughout, and having followed 
 its course on two different occasions, it led him 
 through the heart of Australia to the north coast, 
 without ever turning to the south. Men readily 
 believe what they wish to be true, and such a river as 
 here described was the very thing wanted in order to 
 open up a waterway to Carpentaria. The story 
 accordingly commanded general attention, and most 
 people believed it contained a sufficient degree of 
 verisimilitude to warrant the expense of a special 
 exploring expedition to put it to the proof. 
 
 Major Mitchell was now in the place where he 
 would feel the impulse for exploration with all its 
 force, and so fell in most heartily with the popular 
 excitement. Putting the most favourable construc- 
 tion upon the " Barber's " story, and believing that it 
 contained, at least, a substratum of truth, he expressed
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 113 
 
 his readiness to go in search of the " Kindur," provided 
 the Acting-Governor, Sir Patrick Lindsay, would 
 supply the necessary outfit. This request was readily 
 granted, and Major Mitchell left Sydney on the 24th 
 November, 1831, to run a wild-goose chase or make a 
 great discovery. It was not necessary to organize the 
 expedition before starting, as the country was now 
 settled so far to the north, and final arrangements 
 were accordingly postponed till a nearer approach was 
 made to the unknown land. The early part of the 
 journey was pretty much in the style of a pleasure 
 excursion. The would-be explorer of the " Kindur " 
 passed northward to Parramatta, where he was shown, 
 as a great novelty, the first olive-tree planted in the 
 colony. The Hawkesbury was crossed at Wiseman's 
 Ferry, and in due course the Wollombi, a tributary 
 of the Hunter, was reached. Soon after he proceeded 
 to make up his party, which, when completed, 
 consisted of two gentlemen volunteers, named White 
 and Finch, and fifteen convicts, all of whom, the 
 leader avers, were ready to face fire and water in 
 the hope of regaining that liberty which tlie}' liad 
 forfeited by transgressing the laws of their country. 
 The expedition having been thus organized and 
 supplied with every requisite, moved northward, 
 passing near Muswellbrook, and crossing the Hunter 
 without meeting with anything particularly wortliy 
 of notice, until they came upon the burning hill of 
 Wingen, which attracted their attention as a re- 
 markable curiosity. It is not a volcano, but a 
 
 9
 
 114 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 mountain of coal or shale, on fire underneath, whicli 
 sends forth volumes of smoke through the rents in 
 its surface. On the 5th of December the ascent 
 of the Liverpool Range was gained and a com- 
 manding view of the plains obtained. This fine tract 
 of country had been discovered by Oxley, explore<l 
 by Cunningham, and was now found to be largely 
 occupied by pioneer squatters. The Peel River was 
 struck at Wallamoul, about two miles above the spot 
 where Oxley had first crossed it, and here was found 
 the last station, owned by a squatter of the name of 
 Brown, and containing 1,600 head of cattle. The 
 route of the expedition was now directed towards the 
 lower course of the river, where it becomes known 
 under the native name of the Namoi. The euphonious 
 " Namoi " was music to the ear of Mitchell, for the 
 bushranger had spoken of a river of this name, and 
 was the first to make it known under this designation. 
 The Major was gratified to find this slight confirma- 
 tion of the story that had brought him so far from 
 home, and hastened to make it known to the 
 authorities in Sydney, that " George the Barber " 
 might have the benefit ; and a real benefit it was, for 
 it saved him from the gallows. Having failed to 
 obtain his liberty when his information was acted on, 
 this noted criminal, in his desperation, succeeded in 
 sawing the irons off" his feet, and in this way made good 
 his escape from incarceration. But the law has long- 
 arms, and the " Barber," being again clutched within 
 their iron grasp, was condemned to sufler the last
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 115 
 
 penalty, from which doom he was saved by the 
 timely arrival of Mitchell's letter. 
 
 The terra incognita now was entered upon, and the 
 first object that drew the attention of the explorers 
 was the old stockyard of the bushranger, which, 
 doubtless, was too near a neighbour of Brown's cattle 
 station. About two miles distant the Pic of Tangulda 
 rose to a conspicuous elevation. This was one of the 
 landmarks of the prisoner's tale. The " Kindur" was 
 to be reached by proceeding north-east, over a range 
 of mountains which were visible from this position. 
 Mitchell directed his march accordingly ; but, after 
 several days of distressing travel, found the moun- 
 tains to be impracticable, and was compelled to return 
 to his former camp. Now, for the first time, grave 
 doubts began to fill his mind regarding the truth of 
 the convict's story. No other course being open, he 
 determined on launching a canvas boat and making 
 an effort to sail down the Namoi, to see what fortune 
 had in store for him. The attempt was scarcely well 
 made when it had to be abandoned, on account of 
 snags and shoals in the stream ; but the change of 
 position was sufficient to make it apparent that the 
 mountain-chain which could not be crossed might now 
 be turned. This achievement was next successfully 
 accomplished, and Mitchell at length found himself on 
 their northern flanks. These mountains bore the 
 native name of " Nundawar," and, in respect of their 
 outward appearance, had been described sufficiently 
 well l)y the bushranger. But now came the crucial
 
 116 THE AUSTRALIAX EXPLORERS. 
 
 test of his truth or falsehood. According to the same 
 story the " Kindur" was the first river to be reached 
 beyond these mountains, and, one way or other, the 
 question could not now have long to wait for an answer. 
 A river of some kind was the very thing wanted by 
 the explorers, for they had passed through a rugged 
 and waterless country. Were they now, at last, to 
 drop upon the "Kindur?" Such a discovery would 
 have been doubly welcome, for it would have relieved 
 them from present distress, and proved the goal of a 
 journey which, it was hoped, would place the laurel 
 crown on the brow of the Major and sound the trumpet 
 of freedom to his fifteen convict attendants. The 9th 
 of January arrived, and this day was destined to feast 
 the eyes of the weary travellers with the sudden 
 appearance of a noble river, broader and deeper than 
 the Namoi, and one of which Australia might well be 
 proud. Was this the " Kindur" at last ? Not for a 
 moment. It fiowed in the wrong direction, and lost 
 much of its volume in its downward course ; and 
 Mitchell soon satisfied himself that it was nothing else 
 than one of the many tributaries of the Darling. In 
 fact, it had not the merit of an original discovery. 
 This was the Gwydir, which had been crossed long 
 aofo by Allan Cunninoham. Mitchell turned from it 
 in disgust and made for the north, in the hope of 
 hitting upon some discovery really worthy of the 
 expedition. He was rewarded, in so far that he 
 discovered an important river, called the Karaula by 
 the natives, but now better known as the Macintyre.
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 117 
 
 further exploration proved this stream to be one of 
 the head-waters of the Darling, and, therefore, useless 
 for the purpose of one who was seeking a water- 
 channel to the Gulf of Carpentaria. 
 
 Mitchell's only hope of retrieving himself now lay- 
 in crossing the Darling, and making an inroad upon 
 the interior; but the feasibility of this course was 
 suspended on a doubtful contingency. Fearing his 
 provisions would not hold out so long as would be 
 necessary, he had, before leaving the Peel River, sent 
 Finch back to the Hunter district for fresh supplies, 
 and the future of the expedition depended on 
 this forlorn hope. Finch returned about the time 
 expected, but only to bring a tale of disaster instead 
 of a supply of provisions. All had gone well till 
 they had got beyond the Liverpool Plains, when 
 water began to fail them. Finch had gone on to 
 search the country in advance, and on returning 
 found his party murdered and the camp sacked. 
 This was a crowning calamity. Mitchell, of course, 
 now saw that it would l)e impossible to proceed 
 further, and it was even very doubtful whether they 
 could return in safety. A wet season was setting in, 
 and 200 miles of flooded country lay between them 
 and their homes. Their return, accordingly, was con- 
 ducted after the manner of a retreating army, and 
 the similitude was all the more striking because they 
 were harassed by hostile tribes of aborigines. But 
 the settlied districts were soon reached, and there was 
 no further difficulty in making Port Jackson. It
 
 118 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 was, indeed, a disappointment to the authorities, as it 
 had been to Mitchell, to find they had been duped by 
 " George the Barber." Yet the expedition had opened 
 up a vast extent of pastoral country, and on the 
 whole was fairly successful as an exploring enterprise. 
 
 II. 
 
 Major Mitchell, full of enterprise, was again in the 
 held of discovery in 1835. His failure in the affair 
 of the " Kindur" had not discouraged him, and the 
 experience incidentally gained was an excellent 
 preparation for the more arduous work of the future. 
 Public attention had again turned from the north to 
 the westward of the colony, and another attempt was 
 to be made to lift the veil which still shrouded so 
 much of the interior. At the request of the British 
 Government, Mitchell willingly undertook the conduct 
 of an expedition to the Bogan and the Darling, in 
 order to set at rest some geographical problems which 
 were still attached to the course of these rivers. 
 
 More than any of the other explorers, Mitchell 
 believed in large and liberally equipped expeditions^ 
 here probably erring by excess, and he resolved that 
 the present should not be deficient in either respect. 
 The party, all told, consisted of twenty-four persons — 
 Major Mitchell as leader, E-ichard Cunningham, brother 
 to the more celebrated Allan Cunningham, botanist 
 and explorer, a young surveyer of the name of Larmer, 
 and twenty-one convict servants, nine of whom
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 119 
 
 had been connected with the " Kindur " search. The 
 material resources consisted of two boats, several 
 drays, a good contingent of horses, bullocks, and sheep, 
 together with an ample supply of provisions. The 
 start was made from Parramatta on the 9th of March ; 
 but the work of exploration proper did not commence 
 till they reached Buree, a frontier station near Mount 
 Canobolas, about 170 miles from Sydney. 
 
 Having taken his observations from the summit of 
 this mountain, Mitchell fixed his direction on the 
 bearing of 60" west of north, judging he would thus 
 find a practicable route, and strike the Bogan some- 
 where in its upper course. The result answered his 
 expectation. On the 18th of April he crossed the 
 Goobang, a tributary of the Lachlan, and in two days 
 more the Bogan was reached. Here a most lamentable 
 event occurred, which cast its dark shadow over the 
 whole of their future wanderings. Richard Cunning- 
 ham, the botanist of the expedition, had been too much 
 in the practice of leaving the party for the " pursuit 
 of flora," and now failed to find his way back to the 
 camp. For a long time no trace of the missing man 
 could be found ; but after a most diligent search tracks 
 both of himself and of liis horse were observed. These 
 were followed for 70 miles, but to no purpose ; dis- 
 tressing suspicions also began to arise, pointing to foul 
 play on the part of the natives. But nothing definite 
 could be arrived at, and after a fortnight's fruitless 
 searching and tracking, the expedition was sorrowfully 
 compelled to hold on its course. SubsiM^uciitly it was
 
 120 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 decisively ascertained that Cunningham, ready to 
 perish of hunger and thirst, had sought refuge with 
 the blacks, by four of whom he was savagely mur- 
 dered in his sleep. A full investigation was made by 
 Captain Zouch, who had been despatched from Sydney 
 on this business. He succeeded in discovering the 
 dead man's bones, which were decently interred, and 
 a suitable monument was erected on the scene of this 
 diabolical murder. Three of the perpetrators of the 
 crime were also arrested; but, through the remissness 
 of the constable in charge, two of them managed to 
 escape. 
 
 The explorers still kept the line of the Bogan, 
 moving off and on to its banks according as the want 
 of water, or the desire to cut off an observed elbow, 
 more particularly directed their course. By the 20th 
 of May the expedition had arrived at the Pink 
 Hills, where the best grazing land was met with since 
 the commencement of the journey. From this point 
 Oxley's Table-land, a well-known landmark with 
 former explorers, was plainly visible. On the 25th 
 they were gratified by the discovery of the junction of 
 the Bogan and the Darling rivers. The former of 
 these, though only now brought into prominent notice, 
 had been known to exist for many years past. It was 
 first discovered by Hamilton Hume in connection with 
 Sturt's expedition to the Macquarie, and was then 
 called New Year's Creek. Much later its upper course 
 had been traced by a Mr. Dixon for G7 miles, and the 
 exploration of its whole length was thus completed by
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 121 
 
 Major Mitchell in 1835. The Bogan was found to 
 head from the Her^^ey Range, and this explorer had 
 the good fortune to discover its termination in the 
 Darling River after a sinuous course of 250 miles. At 
 best it is only a third or fourth-class river ; but, as it 
 traverses a tolerably good grazing country, its basin 
 lias become fully occupied for squatting purposes. 
 
 The junction of these two rivers now became an 
 important landmark for the remainder of the journey, 
 And the place has ever since played a conspicuous 
 part in the opening up and settlement of the back 
 -country. The position consists of an elevated plateau 
 overlooking a reach of the river a mile and a half in 
 length, with a hill situated near a sharp turn at the 
 lower end of the reach. Having now travelled 500 
 miles from Sydney, the whole party were in need of 
 rest, and Mitchell wisely resolved on fixing a per- 
 manent depot here. Intending to leave some of his men 
 while engaged in the exploration of the lower course 
 of the river, he considered it an act of prudence to 
 <inclose the depot with a stockade, as he was not yet 
 sufficiently acquainted with the natives of the Darling 
 to trust them with any degree of confidence. A 
 stockade was accordingly constructed of rough logs, 
 and to this, his first attempt at bush fortification, he 
 gave the name of Fort Bourkc, in compliment to the 
 (Jovernor of the colony. Such was the beginning of 
 Bourke, the now famous centre of our back country 
 .settlement, and the present terminus of the Great 
 Western luiilway of New South Wales.
 
 122 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Two boats, as already noticed, had been brought all 
 the way from Sydney as part of the furniture of the 
 expedition, and the time seemed to have arrived for 
 their being; turned to account. Being; found to be in 
 perfect order they were forthwith christened the 
 Discovery and the Resolution, and launched on the 
 feeble current of the Darlmg. But hope was excited 
 to no purpose. The stream was too low and the 
 channel too much impeded to permit of navigation 
 even with the smallest craft, and the undertaking' 
 was no sooner initiated than it had to be abandoned. 
 The former plan of the expedition had again to be 
 adopted, and the progress on the Darling was very 
 similar to what it had been on the Bogan. The 
 country traversed was found to be inferior as a 
 whole, only moderately valuable for pastoral pur- 
 poses, and nowhere adapted for agriculture to any 
 considerable extent. The incidents in this part of the 
 march were neither numerous nor striking. The 
 usual privations arising from want of water were 
 hardly known, as the explorers were never far from 
 the banks of a running stream which takes rank 
 among the foremost in Australia. The saltness of the 
 Darling, which proved such an inconvenience to 
 Sturt, was found by Mitchell to exist in a much 
 less degree, which shows that it must have arisen in 
 part from temporary causes. 
 
 If Mitchell's narrative is not so rich in thrilling 
 incidents as a sensational reader could have wished, 
 it is especially valuable as a record of the manners
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 123 
 
 and customs of the aborigines of those districts, as 
 they appeared to the eye of this intelligent and 
 observant traveller. Sometimes the description is so 
 life-like that we are almost cheated into the belief of 
 a visible reality, and it is impossible to be indifferent 
 to the exhibition, although the whole race has now 
 well-nigh passed away. The account is very generally 
 the reverse of Captain Sturt's, notwithstanding that 
 both of these eminent explorers must have had in 
 view substantially the same tribes. The judicious 
 reader will scarcely be disposed to agree unreservedly 
 with the Captain when he depicts them as the " most 
 miserable wretches " under the sun ; neither will he 
 care to subscribe to the unqualified language of the 
 Major, who describes them as " happy " savages. 
 Truth seldom lies in extremes, and it is to the utmost 
 extreme that these authorities have gone, each in his 
 own way, as determined largely, perhaps, by his idio- 
 syncrasies. But the ethnologist, in particular, will 
 be thankful for the literary photograph of these 
 vanishing tribes which has been preserved in the 
 [)ages of this journal. The general reader, too, will 
 gladly observe some curious incidents of aboriginal 
 life in the interior of Australia. Mitchell specially 
 notices their adroitness in procuring the wild honey 
 of the bush. With great tact they first attached a 
 piece of light down to the bee, which, on being re- 
 leased, would be sure to make straight for its nest. 
 To discover this secret, the blackfellow enijafred in 
 hot pursuit ; and, as his e3'e must be constantly on
 
 124 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the tiny insect, there would, of course, be frequent 
 tripping, and many an awkward fall on mother earth, 
 but the excitement was too great to permit of any- 
 thing short of a serious accident being noticed. 
 Another characteristic of the untutored savages was 
 their unwillingness to recomize the rio-ht of a white 
 man to hold property — it was all meum and no tuum 
 with them. For a while Mitchell tried to satisfy 
 them with liberal gifts, but giving only increased the 
 craving for more; and, what was worse, this liberality 
 on the part of the strangers began to be construed as 
 an indication of fear, and then the demands were more 
 impudently pressed than ever, which caused these 
 gifts, very properly, to cease altogether. And now 
 their thieving propensities broke out beyond all 
 bounds. Mitchell, like Apollo when Mercury filched 
 his bow, hardly knew whether to smile at the 
 adroitness of the thief or wax indignant at the loss 
 of his property. The cunning, craft, and success of 
 these barbarians went almost beyond credence. Not 
 only their hands were busy, but their very feet and 
 toes picked up the strangers' tools as they walked 
 over them. This latter practice was considered a real 
 accomplishment, and these savages seemed to have a 
 genuine contempt for the clumsy white-fellows who 
 could not use their "feet fino-ers." Barrino- this 
 troublesome propensity, the native tribes did not 
 cause much inconvenience to the expedition until 
 it got as far down the Darling as the Menindie 
 quarter, where a serious embroglio occurred, which
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 125 
 
 occasioned the shedding of aboriginal blood, and com- 
 pelled the explorers to desist from the further prose- 
 cution of their journey. For this untoward event, 
 however, Mitchell was not to blame, and he regretted 
 he had to deal with convicts who were so difficult to 
 control. The local tribes having thus become exas- 
 perated, a somewhat hasty retreat had to be made to 
 the central depot at Bourke, after 300 miles of the 
 Darling had been traversed, and little doubt being- 
 left as to the remainder of the course till the junction 
 with the Murray. 
 
 III. 
 
 The exploration and settlement of Victoria are 
 quite recent events in the history of Australia. 
 Important discoveries had been made on the seaboard 
 by Bass and Flinders in the close of the last and the 
 beginning of the present century ; but they had no 
 effect in attracting population. Hume and Ho veil 
 made an overland journey from Lake George to Port 
 Phillip in 1824, and brought to light an enormous 
 extent of fine territory near the southern coast ; yet 
 tlio country remained unvisited by civilization for 
 another ten or twelve years. The original settlers 
 came from Tasmania, and were crowded out of the 
 old rather than attracted to the new home. The first 
 arri\'al seems to have been Edward Henty, who 
 etiectcd a settlement at Portland Bay in 1834. Next 
 year John Batman, a native of Parramatta, who liad 
 latterly resided in Tasmania, crossed Bass' Strait, and
 
 126 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 fixed his headquarters on Indented Head. He 
 bargained with the natives for GOO.OOO acres of the 
 best land in exchange for a few blankets, knives, and 
 such-like commodities. He was followed in three 
 months' time by another of the name of Fawkner, 
 who, leaving " King John " in undisputed possession 
 of Indented Head, pitched his tent on the site of the 
 present city of Melbourne. 
 
 So much and nothing more was accomplished in 
 the settlement of the premier part of Australia, when 
 Major Mitchell crossed the Murray, and astonished 
 the world by a series of .splendid discoveries in what 
 is now the famous colony of Victoria. The surprise 
 was the more telling on this account, that the revela- 
 tions resulted from a mere accident, and were aside 
 from the proper object of the expedition. The explora- 
 tions of Mitchell during the preceding year, which had 
 so largely supplemented the earlier discoveries of Sturt 
 on the Darling, very naturally excited public interest, 
 and created a desire for another expedition. The 
 River Darling was now pretty well known, with the 
 exception of about 200 miles from Menindie to the 
 junction with the Murray ; but this latter river was 
 not yet explored higher up than its confluence with 
 the Murrumbidgee. These two objects being now to 
 be prosecuted, instructions were given to Major 
 Mitchell to organize another expedition ; and into 
 this project, it is needless to say, the gallant Major 
 entered with his accustomed enthusiasm. 
 
 This expedition, numbering twenty-four persons.
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 127 
 
 amply provisioned, and destined to be the most 
 fortunate in the annals of exploration, left the 
 rendezvous near Mount Canobolas, on the outskirts of 
 settlement, on the 17th of March, 1836. The first 
 movement was made towards the old position at the 
 station of Buree, and then the route was followed to 
 the Lachlan. This river, as well as the Murrumbidgee, 
 which was reached on its lower course, had previously 
 been explored, and Mitchell had not much to add 
 that was new or striking. When he conceived he was 
 approaching the junction with the Murray, a depot 
 was formed beside an excellent sheet of water, to 
 which the name of Lake Stapylton was given. 
 Mitchell now divided his party, and, taking an escort, 
 struck out boldly for the Darling, which was still 100 
 miles distant. The usual difficulties of this kind of 
 travelling were encountered ; but no one knew better 
 how to overcome them than this intrepid explorer. 
 The junction of the two chief rivers of Australia 
 was reached without loss of time — a position which 
 Mitchell says he recognized at once from a drawing 
 of Captain Sturt's. This compliment Sturt duly 
 acknowledged, remarking at the same time that it 
 was the only praise he had ever received from Sir 
 Thomas Mitchell, and he was afraid in this case it was 
 not very well deserved, as the drawing had been made 
 from a verbal description, and by an Edinburgh 
 clergyman who had never visited Australia ! Tlie 
 expedition was in great danger here from an 
 exasperated tribe of blacks who kept hanging upon
 
 128 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the rear, and only waited for an opportunity to strike 
 a decisive blow. The aspect of matters was sa 
 threatening that Mitchell resolved to abandon the 
 Darling, and fall back upon his alternative instruc- 
 tions, which directed him to explore the upper 
 courses of the Murray. But the hostile tribe was 
 now between his own party and the depot, which was 
 100 miles away. Their number was rapidly increas- 
 ing, and their attitude growing more menacing every- 
 day. A conflict could not be much longer averted, 
 and Mitchell, as a military man, was not willing to 
 allow the enemy to choose the most suitable time for 
 the attack. The men under his command appear to 
 have understood his intentions, and, without waitino- 
 for orders, fired upon the tribe. Seven were killed, 
 and the multitude dispersed. It was a severe remedy, 
 but also a very effectual one, for this tribe never 
 attempted to cause them further annoyance. 
 
 On arriving at Lake Stapylton, Mitchell had the 
 satisfaction of finding that the depot had been un- 
 molested, a circumstance which relieved his mind from 
 considerable anxiety. The situation of the depot was 
 ascertained to be about ten miles from the junction of 
 the Murrumbidgee with the Murray. The latter was 
 crossed about a mile higher up, and the united exepdi- 
 tion started again with the intention of exploring this 
 interesting but unknown river. From this purpose 
 they were soon diverted by the discovery of an im- 
 portant tributary, which seemed to lead them into 
 a better country than the Murray was likely to do.
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 129 
 
 After losing or leavini; this creek another was dis- 
 covered, of still greater importance, to which Mitchell 
 gave the name of the Loddon, from the marked 
 resemblance he thought it possessed to its namesake in 
 the old home. The country consisted of open downs, 
 and was the richest Mitchell had seen since he had 
 left Sydney. The plains were covered with anthi- 
 stirium, or kangaroo ffrass, which bent under the breeze 
 like a field of oats. The country was so lightly 
 timbered that the explorers could scarcely find fuel to 
 make a fire at several of their places of encampment. 
 This district also yielded many new and beautiful 
 plants, which greatly enriched the botanical collec- 
 tion. Mitchell next ascended Mount Hope, a peak 
 which he so named because he expected to obtain a 
 \'iew of the southern ocean from its summit. This 
 anticipation was not realized, but he enjoyed the 
 prospect of an unlimited reach of the class of country 
 he had already discovered. Another hill, called the 
 Pyramid, from its peculiar form, afibrded also an 
 excellent view, and raised in Mitchell a transport of 
 joy. He could scarcely find words to describe the 
 magnificence of the scene, or express the delight he 
 felt on account of his own good fortune. " The scene," 
 says he, " was different from anything I had ever 
 before witnessed, either in New South Wales, or else- 
 where — a land so inviting, and still without inhabitants. 
 As I stood, the first intruder on the sublime solitude 
 of these verdant plains, as yet untouched by fiocks or 
 herds, I felt conscious of being the harbinger of many 
 
 10
 
 130 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 changes there ; for our steps would soon be followed 
 by the men and the animals for which it seemed to be 
 prepared." And again — " We had at length discovered 
 a country ready for the immediate reception of civil- 
 ized man, and lit to become eventually one of the great 
 nations of the earth. Unencumbered with too much 
 wood, yet possessing enough for all purposes; with an 
 exuberant soil under a temperate climate ; bounded by 
 the sea-coast and mighty rivers, and watered abun- 
 dantly by streams from lofty mountains, this highly 
 interesting region lay before me, with all its features 
 new and untouched as they fell from the hands of the 
 Creator. Of this Eden it seemed I was the only 
 Adam ; and it was indeed a sort of paradise to me, 
 permitted thus to be the first to explore its mountains 
 and streams — to behold its scenery — to investigate its 
 geological character — and finally, by my survey, to 
 develop those natural advantages all still unknown 
 to the civilized world, but yet certain to become at no 
 distant date of vast importance to a new people." No 
 prophet ever spoke truer words than these. 
 
 Soon after the Loddon, the Avoca and the Avon 
 Water were discovered. These streams irrigated the 
 same kind of country as that which had lately been 
 traversed. This tract was evidently an exception to 
 a rule which prevails throughout Australia. Good 
 land is usually poorly supplied with water, while well- 
 watered country is generally of little account in point 
 of fertility ; but here for once was a district which 
 was equally distinguished for the abundance of its
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 131 
 
 streams and the excellence of its soil. The explorei-s 
 now took a direction more to the eastward, to reach 
 a lofty mountain-chain which appeared to be about 
 40 miles distant. This range forms a division between 
 the northern and the southern waters, and is really the 
 extremity of the coast range. Mitchell called these 
 the Grampians, from a supposed resemblance to a chain 
 of the same name in the Southern Highlands of Scot- 
 land. Taking two of his best men, he next ascended 
 Mount William, a peak wliich rises 4,500 feet above 
 the sea and is the highest in the group. The weather 
 being unfavourable to the object in view, it was found 
 necessary to spend a miserably cold night upon its 
 summit, and the exposure permanently injured the 
 health of his two companions, who had followed the 
 explorer on three expeditions. An excellent view was 
 obtained at last, and another great landmark, Mount 
 Arapiles, was fixed upon as the next object toward 
 which they were to move. This was a bold and 
 isolated mountain lying westward of the range. Five 
 streams had to be crossed in passing over the inter- 
 mediate tract, and these were subsequently found to 
 unite and form the Wimmera. It was hoped this 
 important river would lead them to the ocean, but it 
 turned to the northward and flowed into the interior. 
 The tract of country next discovered presented a very 
 singular aspect. The surface, as far as the eye could 
 reach, was studded with lakes, which differed greatly 
 in size, but were circular in form. Tlieir number 
 must have been prodigious ; from one point of view
 
 132 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 no fewer than twenty-seven were counted. Most of 
 these circular lakes were brackish to the taste, and 
 many too salt to be fit for use. 
 
 The extremity of the Grampians had now been 
 reached, and the range was being successfully turned, 
 when the explorers saw before them a fine open 
 country, trending away towards the Southern Ocean. 
 The travelling was often heavy on the soft soil, and 
 they had to be satisfied with six miles a day as the 
 average rate of progress ; nevertheless, the object in 
 view w^as being steadily accomplished, and no country 
 was ever traversed which was richer in the charming 
 incidents of travel. July the 31st was a red-letter day 
 for Mitchell, for it brought the welcome discovery of 
 a fine river, which led the party to the breakers of the 
 Southern Ocean. Its width was 120 feet, with an aver- 
 age depth of 12 feet, and from first to last it continued 
 to flow through the most picturesque scenery. The 
 discoverer gave it the name of the Glenelg, in compli- 
 ment to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The 
 track of the expedition kept as closely as possible to 
 the left bank of the river, which with many windings 
 was found to be steadily making southward. One of 
 the most remarkable features of the Glenelg is the 
 number of feeders which it receives from both sides of 
 its basin. These occasionally flowed through deep 
 ravines, which made travelling difiicult for the drays. 
 But the scenery is described as being exquisite. 
 Mitchell put the English language on the rack to 
 make it express his conception of the lovely scenes
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 133 
 
 which daily met his eye. Either of the valleys of the 
 Wando or the Wannon might well pass for a modern 
 Tempe'. On the 12th of August the Rifle Eange was 
 reached, and from one of the heights Mount Gambler, 
 near Cape Northumberland, was plainly seen, and this 
 was accepted as sufficient evidence that the sea could 
 not be very far distant. After receiving another 
 tributary, which was named the Stokes, the river, 
 affected also by the proximity to the ocean, became so 
 much increased in size as to induce Mitchell to launch 
 the boat which had been brought from Sydney. A 
 depot was accordingly formed at this position which 
 was called Fort O'Hare. Mitchell took two-thirds of 
 his men, and, after a few days' pleasant sail, landed 
 safely at the mouth of the Glenelg. 
 
 Before returning to Sydney it was thought advis- 
 able to make a short journey to Portland Bay, for the 
 sake of examining the intervening country. In this 
 excursion various streams were discovered and 
 crossed, such as the Crawford, the Fitzroy, and the 
 Surrey ; and the prominent peaks, Ellerslie, Clay, and 
 Kincaid, were ascended or sighted. The country 
 generally was swampy in the flats, and poor in the 
 higher o-rounds, until Portland was reached, where 
 the soil was found to be of the best possible descrip- 
 tion. Here a great surprise was in store for the 
 explorers. They had stumbled by mere chance on the 
 newly-formed station of Edward Henty, from Tas- 
 mania, who generously supplied them with provisions 
 for the homeward journey.
 
 134 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Going still forward, Mitchell kept for a con- 
 siderable time on the southern fall of the range, in 
 the hope of finding -a pass which would be generally 
 available. Such an opening he was fortunate enough 
 to discover, near the foot of Mount Byng, which he 
 safely passed through, barring an accident to his 
 travelling gear. While this was being repaired, he 
 made an excursion to a prominent height about 30 
 miles to the south, in the hope of being able to catch 
 a glimpse of Port Phillip, and thus enable him to 
 connect his surveys with this important position. To 
 this height he gave the name of Mount Macedon, and 
 from its summit was able to observe some of the 
 topographical features of what is now the site, or the 
 immediate neio-hbourhood, of Melbourne, and also 
 white sails or tents, which most likely were the 
 encampments of Batman and Fawkner, who had been 
 in their new home only a few months. 
 
 In returning, the Campaspe River was discovered, 
 and other tributaries of the Murray, made known by 
 Hume and Ho^'ell, were crossed without difficulty. 
 The most serious obstacle was the passage of the 
 Murray ; but it was passed without accident or mis- 
 hap, although it was 80 yards in width. Some rugged 
 country had to be encountered before the Murrum- 
 bido'ee was crossed. But this was the ulthnus labor 
 of the expedition, for the settled territory had now 
 been reached. Mitchell accordingly reckoned this 
 outpost the termination of his journey ; and it had 
 not been a short one. He had travelled over 2,400
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 135 
 
 miles of country, and was seven months in the bush. 
 But he had been more fortunate than any of his 
 predecessors ; nor, indeed, has his success been eclipsed 
 to this day. For this splendid service he was 
 worthily rewarded with the honour of knighthood 
 from the British Crown. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The good fortune which had followed Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell throughout his three earlier expeditions did 
 not forsake him during this one, which proved to be the 
 last and most arduous of the series. It was his ambition 
 this time to cross the continent and open an overland 
 route to the distant Carpentaria. Of all men living, 
 he w^as the most likely to accomplish this task. He 
 did not, indeed, attain the desire of his heart, but in 
 all other respects his expedition was eminently suc- 
 cessful, and forms a memorable epoch in the history of 
 exploration. The party mustered at the old rendezvous 
 of Buree, in the Western District, which, tliough no 
 longer the outpost of settlement, was yet a convenient 
 starting-point. Mitchell chose for his second in com- 
 mand Mr. Edmund B. Kennedy, the unfortunate ex- 
 plorer who, several years later, was killed by the blacks 
 when leading a disastrous expedition in Cape York 
 Peninsula. The rest of the party were mostly convicts 
 from Port Jackson, who had volunteered their services 
 in the hope of obtaining their freedom. The little army, 
 consisting of two dozen able-bodied men, amply pro^•i-
 
 136 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 sioned, left Buree on the 15th of December, 1845. 
 The old route was followed for a considerable way, and 
 in a short time the* Hervey Range, containing the 
 sources of the Bogan, was crossed without serious diffi- 
 culty. For a long distance westward the country was 
 now occupied by squatters, but many of the outsiders 
 had already succumbed to the hostility of the Darling- 
 blacks, who had speared their cattle and otherwise 
 harassed them beyond the limit of human endurance. 
 Ten years had now passed away since Mitchell led 
 his preceding expedition through these parts, and the 
 abortive attempts at settlement were the principal 
 changes observable in the general aspect of the country. 
 One very remarkable minor feature was the appearance 
 of couch-grass and horehound, which had sprung up 
 around the stockyards. Mitchell was quite positive 
 in asserting that no specimen of these plants could 
 have been found in the district before the white men 
 settled there. 
 
 The party suffered from want of water till Nyngan 
 was reached, on the 16th January, and then one diffi- 
 culty was quickly followed by another. Most of the 
 men were seized with eye-blight, and compelled to 
 remain in camp longer than was convenient for the 
 object of the expedition. But they were again on the 
 move as soon as circumstances would permit, the 
 march being now directed towards the Macquarie. 
 Meanwhile an encampment was made on the 
 Canonbar, a tributary of the Bogan. While resting 
 here the saltbush became an object of curiosity, and
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 137 
 
 some interesting experiments were made with this 
 singular plant of the interior plains. The tiny leaves 
 were found to be a tolerable substitute for vegetables 
 after boiling, by which process a yield of pure salt 
 was obtained in the proportion of one ounce to the 
 pound. The condition of the stock also bore witness 
 to the fattening quality of the same plant. 
 
 After a few days of eventful travel by way of 
 Sturt's Duck Ponds, the Macquarie River was struck 
 a few miles below Mount Harris, which had been an 
 important landmark for explorers since the time of 
 Oxley. The channel was dry, but the blacks reported 
 a heavy flood as near at hand. Mitchell had often 
 heard of sudden inundations appearing in an arid 
 part of the country, and was anxious to witness so 
 singular a visitation. Late in the still evening there 
 fell upon his ear a dull murmur as of distant thunder, 
 speedily followed by a cracking and crashing of trees, 
 and in a few minutes more the river was overflowing 
 its banks in a wide-spreading flood. The phenomenon 
 is described as beincj orrand in the extreme, and of so 
 improbable a character as scarcely to be credited 
 unless it had been witnessed. 
 
 On the 27th the Castlereagh was reached, and the 
 next day the party found themselves on the banks of 
 the Darling. For many miles in both directions the 
 river at this period was studded with pastoral settle- 
 ments. Having crossed at Warley, near one of the 
 stations, Mitchell now struck out for the Narran, 
 the nearest point of wliich was reckoned to be about
 
 138 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 35 miles distant. The intervening space was found to 
 consist of choice pastoral country, covered with tall 
 kanofaroo crass. Commissioner Mitchell, son of the 
 explorer, had previously traversed these parts, and this 
 expedition soon " pulled up " his tracks. The line of 
 the Narran River having thus been already explored, 
 it was traversed as expeditiously as possible, and this 
 part of the journey was over by the beginning of 
 April, when the Balonne (pronounced Baloon) was 
 sighted. Mitchell described it as the finest river he 
 had seen in Australia, with the exception of the 
 Murray. The current was very slight, but the water 
 stretched out in long; and beautiful reaches. The 
 inarch was once more resumed, and the party moved 
 along the line of this river till St. George's Bridge 
 was reached, where the width expanded to 120 yards. 
 At this point there is a chain of rocks stretching from 
 bank to bank, which has always the appearance, and 
 sometimes the convenience, of a natural bridge. It 
 was this circumstance which led to its being called 
 St. Geors'e's Bridfje, a name Avhich it still retains in 
 common with the flourishing township that has sprung 
 up in the vicinitj'. 
 
 While enjoying a short interval of repose in this 
 enchanting situation, Mitchell had the pleasure of 
 receiving a despatch from headquarters containing a 
 l)rief account of Leichhardt's successful journey to 
 Port Essington, Being somewhat jealous of his rival, 
 and, it may be, concerned for his own laurels, he 
 determined on makino- a redoubled effort to cross the
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 139 
 
 continent and discover a more practicable route than 
 Leichhardt had been able to find. Leaving Kennedy 
 in charge of the depot at St. George, he took a light 
 party and pushed forward, having given instructions 
 to the rest to follow his tracks Avhen the stock should 
 be sufficiently recruited for travel. One day's march 
 brought the advance party to the junction of another 
 important river, which was afterwards found to be the 
 Maranoa. But they still kept the line of the Balonne 
 as far as the Cogoon, a considerable tributary, which 
 was now followed. This led the explorers into a 
 splendid district, known afterwards as the Fitzroy 
 Downs, near the centre of which the town of Roma 
 now stands. This fine region was studded with 
 isolated mountain-peaks, one of which Mitchell hastened 
 to ascend. The prospect obtained from its summit 
 was magnificent, and the pasture so abundant on this 
 heio-ht as to suggest the name of Mount Abundance, 
 which it has ever since retained. At a short dis- 
 tance the three-peaked Bindango, standing near its 
 fellow, Bindeygo, formed most picturesque features in 
 the landscape. It was on IVIount Abundance that the 
 first bottle-tree was discovered. This is the strangest 
 product of the Australian forest, and Sir Thomas was 
 disposed to regard it as a hisi's luituiw in the vege- 
 table kingdom. 
 
 The telescope again brouglit into view a range of 
 hills, Mitchell, bent on reaching Carpentaria, had 
 for some time been disappointed in not finding the 
 division of the northern waters, and fervently hoped
 
 140 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 this distant range would prove to be the dividing 
 line. This watershed was to him, through the whole 
 journey, what the horizon is to the traveller — always 
 appearing near and ever receding. Many a weary 
 day did he toil on, sustained by this expectation, but 
 it kept mocking him to the last, and he went to hi.s 
 grave without havino; crossed the coveted watershed. 
 But for the present he enjoyed the pleasures of hope. 
 Leavino- Mount Abundance he soon discovered the 
 Amby, which, being followed, led on to the Maranoa, 
 whose junction with the Balonne he had previously 
 discovered. Here he established another depot and 
 waited for Kennedy, making in the meantime several 
 .short excursions in various directions. Not far from 
 this depot a squatting station was subsequently 
 formed, and more recently an important town has been 
 built, in both of which the name of Mitchell has been 
 perpetuated. Kennedy having brought up his party 
 in excellent condition, the exj)eriment which had been 
 so successfully made at St. George's Bridge was 
 repeated here — the leader again setting out for the 
 north with a small equipment and a four months' 
 .supply of provisions. The natives in this quarter were 
 not disposed to stand on friendly terms with the 
 strangers, and usually kept at a safe distance. One 
 inconvenience only Mitchell regretted. Many inter- 
 esting natural features were observed, especially 
 mountain-peaks, which he would gladly have made 
 known under the aboriginal names. Failing in this, 
 his favourite custom, he called them after some of the
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 141 
 
 leading men of the time, as Owen, Faraday, Buckland, 
 and P. P. King. As an exception, he named one of the 
 heights Mount Aquarius, in remembrance of a very 
 seasonable supply of water it had furnished for his 
 party. This difficulty now seemed to be overcome 
 for some time by the discovery of the Nive and 
 the Nivelle, important tributaries of a large river. 
 This was the Warrego, which would have been 
 followed had it not persisted in taking a course which 
 would have led them in the opposite direction to 
 Carpentaria. 
 
 The country to the northward continued to rise till 
 it reached an elevation of something like 1,500 feet. 
 Being also of a mountainous character, it was fondly 
 hoped that here, at least, would be found the long- 
 sought watershed. This anticipation was rather con- 
 firmed by the discovery of a beautiful stream, now 
 called Salvator Rosa, which flowed northward with a 
 clear and musical current. This pleasing delusion 
 lasted only one d&j, for on the morrow the lovely 
 river ended its course in a reed}- lake, on the opposite 
 side of which a channel was found, but it contained 
 no water at that time. This is one of the heads of the 
 Nogoa, a river trending too much to the east to suit 
 Sir Thomas's purpose. Other discoveries of streams or 
 watercourses were made soon afterwards, two of the 
 principal being named the Claude and the Balmy 
 Creek. These designations are suggestive of pleasant 
 association.'/, and, while speaking well for the country, 
 sufficiently prove that the expedition had its share of
 
 142 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 enjoyment as well as the usual experience of toil and 
 fatigue. 
 
 The 21st of July Was rendered memorable by the 
 discovery of the Belyando, a fine river, heading 
 towards the north, and offering a better promise of lead- 
 ing to the Gulf. In this expectation, it was eagerly 
 followed, and in four days conducted the explorers 
 across the TrojDic of Capricorn. In many parts the 
 country was excellent, stretching out in splendid 
 downs, which squatters have long since applied to a 
 lucrative purpose, but in other places the axe had 
 to be used to clear a path through the brigalow 
 scrubs. In common with other explorers, Mitchell 
 has noticed that " the Australian rivers have all 
 distinguishing characteristics, which they seem to 
 possess from their source to their termination," The 
 Belyando was no exception. It was found throughout 
 its course to have an unfortunate j)i"op6nsity for 
 splitting into channels, which were often difficult to 
 trace through the thick scrub ; but, as a compensa- 
 tion, these branches afforded excellent facilities for 
 storage of water against dry seasons. Many days of 
 persevering travel gave the party a good northing, but, 
 after passing over three and a half degrees of latitude, it 
 began to be evident that the Belyando also was going 
 to deceive them. It had been steadily, and latterly 
 very decisively, making for the east, thus leaving no 
 hope of conducting the expedition to Carpentaria. 
 Mitchell rightly conjectured that it must be the 
 tributary which Leichhardt had seen joining the
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 143 
 
 Suttor, and, with a crushing feeling of disappoint- 
 ment, determined to change his front and return 
 home. 
 
 Having still a sufficient store of provisions, ho 
 was unwilling to continue his homeward track, and 
 resolved to follow up a river to the westward, which 
 took its rise in the high ground previously mentioned. 
 It was found to lead through hrst-class pasture land, 
 and this excursion resulted in opening up a large area 
 of squatting country. Many tributaries were noticed 
 to fall in on either side, particularly the Alice, which 
 came from the north. The main river was followed 
 till it, too, left no hope of leading to the coveted north. 
 Soon after Sir Thomas gave up the search altogether, 
 and set his face in earnest for the settled districts, 
 which he reached, after no long interval, by way of 
 the Mooni River and the Liverpool Plains. Having 
 failed to enter into communication with the aborigines, 
 he was unable to ascertain the native name of the 
 river which had led him so far to the west. It was 
 the last of his great discoveries, and he called it after 
 the name of the Queen, an unfortunate designation, as 
 there is another Victoria Kiver on the west coast. 
 About the same jDcriod Captain Sturt was exploring 
 on another part of this river, and gave it the name of 
 Cooper's Creek. The natives called it the Barcoo, and 
 by this name it is now generally known throughout 
 its whole course.
 
 144 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Kennedy's disastrous expedition to cape york. 
 
 This chapter is from first to last a tale of woe. The 
 history of exploration, tragic as it has so often been, 
 contains no parallel to the expedition which is now to 
 be described. Of the thirteen brave men who, full of 
 hope, set forth on this memorable journey, only three 
 starved and emaciated shadows of humanity returned 
 to tell the story of their miserable sufferings. The 
 disaster produced in Sydney an impression which 
 was the more saddening as a successful issue had been 
 confidently expected. The leader, Mr. Edmund B. 
 Kennedy, was supposed to be a thoroughly capable 
 person. He had formerly been taken from the Survey 
 Department and placed second in command of the 
 northern expedition of Sir Thomas Mitchell, whose 
 discoveries on the Barcoo and the Warreo-o he had 
 subsequently followed up on his own account. So 
 great care had been taken in selecting the most pro- 
 mising leader, for this reason, simply, that the colony 
 was now passionately in earnest on this business. The 
 rising importance and threatening attitude of Port 
 Phillip made it more than ever necessary to discover, 
 if possible, a practicable route to some northern j)ort 
 which might serve as an entrepot for the trade with 
 India. Mitchell, after doing his best, had failed to
 
 KENNEDY. 145 
 
 supply this want. Leichhardt had, indeed, been more 
 successful, for he had actually reached Port Essington ; 
 but his track was too rough and circuitous to serve the 
 purpose of commerce. Another effort to reach the 
 same object was noAV to be made on a modified plan. 
 To simplify the process, it was proposed to land a 
 party of explorers at Rockingham Bay, with instruc- 
 tions to proceed overland to Port Albany, near Cape 
 York, in the extreme north. This was the primary 
 object, and if it could be attained, other advantages 
 might follow in the opening up of new country, and 
 the eventual connection of the survey with those of 
 Leichhardt and Mitchell. 
 
 The enterprise commenced with unfavourable omens. 
 The voyage to Rockingham Bay was tempestuous, 
 and extended over the unusual period of twenty-one 
 days. By the 1st day of June, 1848, the adventurers 
 had escaped from the perils of the sea, and committed 
 themselves to the guardianship of a land inhabited as 
 yet only by savages. A hazardous journey of six 
 months lay between them and Port Albany, while their 
 only resource against starvation consisted of 1 ton of 
 flour, 90 lbs. of tea, and 600 lbs. of suo-ar, too-ether 
 with a few sheep, which were soon almost wholly lost. 
 It was arranged that a relief vessel should be waiting 
 at Cape York to receive the explorers at the end of 
 their journey, and it was promised also that an 
 attempt would be made to communicate with them at 
 Princess Charlotte Bay, if they could engage to 
 
 reach that place b}' the month of August. With 
 
 11
 
 146 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 these arranojements and understandinp-.s the Turin 
 o Shanter spread sail, and left Kennedy with 
 his heroic dozen to battle with difficulties, known 
 and unknown, as they best could. These unhap- 
 pily commenced at once, and never ceased till 
 nearly all this brave band found rest in the arms 
 of death. The ground on which the landing had 
 been effected was covered with interminable swamps, 
 and five precious weeks were spent in turning these, 
 before any northing could be made. It was the mis- 
 fortune of this ill-provisioned party to encounter 
 within a short compass nearly all the obstacles 
 which have beset Australian explorers, and 
 these, truly, have been neither few nor small. 
 Scarcely had the maze of marshes been left behind 
 when impenetrable thickets threatened to bar further 
 progress. These first visitors to York Peninsula found 
 the scrubs entangled and interlaced by a new creeper 
 which is now known under the name of Calamus 
 Australis, and this novelty proved to be a scourge of 
 the first magnitude. For days in succession the axe 
 had to be used to cut a passage through this exquisite 
 specimen of nature's lattice-work, and then the severed 
 tendrils, furnished as they were with curved spines, 
 and made the plaything of the wind, kept hooking the 
 flesh of the men at work, who were thus subjected to 
 perpetual annoyance. But a more serious enemy now 
 began to hang upon the rear. The blacks, having 
 assumed a threatening attitude for some time past, at 
 last appeared in strong force, painted and armed for
 
 KENNEDY. 14^ 
 
 the light. Outward signs of friendship were still kept 
 up ; but it was too evident that they were bent on 
 mischief, and only waited a tit opportunity for a 
 decisive assault. When least expected a spear was 
 thrown into the camp, which Kennedy determined to 
 accept as a challenge, and gave battle. This decision 
 was exceedingly unfortunate, as it led to extremities 
 at once. Men like Sturt would have tried every con- 
 ceivable shift before allowing matters to come to the 
 dernier ressort, and might have gained their object by 
 the mere sound of a gun. But Kennedy ordered his 
 men to load and fire upon the savages at once. Four or 
 five of the ringleaders fell, and the rest retreated for 
 the present ; but only to nurse their Avrath and medi- 
 tate revenge. Here was the beginning of another 
 train of sorrows, for the barbarians never ceased to 
 <log Kennedy's steps till their enmity was quenched 
 in his blood. 
 
 The progress of the expedition was slow and un- 
 satisfactory. Cases of individual sickness occasioned 
 irritating delays, and physical hindrances became more 
 fre(|uent than e\'cr. A considerable part of the route 
 lay between the spurs of the range which would have 
 to be crossed before Cape York was reached. It was 
 with great difficulty that the drays carrying the pro- 
 visions had been brought over the rugged country, and 
 it had sometimes been necessary to lower them into 
 tlie ravines by means of ropes. As the journey ahead 
 looked still more precipitous, it was judged impracti- 
 cable to take them nmch furtlier, and witli great
 
 148 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 reluctance Kennedy resolved on exchanging this mode 
 of conveyance for pack-horses. Everything that could 
 be spared was accordingly abandoned, for the animals 
 were now too poor to carry heavy loads. In this man- 
 ner and under such difficulties a fresh start was made. 
 Amid so many discouragements only one gleam of 
 hope sustained the heroic adventurers. They were 
 now nearing Princess Charlotte Bay, the appointed 
 rendezvous for themselves and the succour which was 
 promised from the sea. But they had been delayed 
 too long to admit of this assistance being confidently 
 relied on. August was fixed as the time of meeting, 
 but October had now come, and they began to be 
 uneasy lest the vessel should have given them up and 
 returned. These fears, as the issue proved, were only 
 too well founded. The hapless wanderers, standing 
 on the precipices of the range, scanned the inhos- 
 pitable coast for miles around this lonely trysting- 
 place ; but instead of the wished-for help, now a ques- 
 tion of life and death, they were met by nothing but 
 blank despair. With heavy hearts the explorers again 
 set their faces towards Cape York, now knowing for 
 certain that they must either reach this goal or lay 
 their bones in the wilderness. Unhappily, the diffi- 
 culties of travel thickened more and more, and it 
 became painfully evident to Kennedy that he would 
 have to leave the greater part of his men and strike 
 out with all speed, in the hope of returning with 
 assistance. Provisions, too, had become alarmingly 
 short, and under any circumstances starvation seemed
 
 KENNEDY. 149 
 
 all but inevitable. The camp was now on Pudding- 
 p-dn Hill, in the vicinity of Weymouth Bay, and it 
 was determined to leave eight men in this depot for 
 tlie present. All the provisions that could be spared 
 were 28 lbs. of flour and a couple of horses, which 
 Avere only walking skeletons. Kennedy reckoned on 
 reaching Port Albany in about a fortnight, and started 
 with a light party of four men, including an aboriginal 
 of tried fidelity named Jacky Jacky. The remainder 
 of this history is derived from the barely intelligible 
 language of poor Jacky. It appears that for the first 
 three weeks very unsatisfactory progress was made, 
 much precious time being lost in consequence of a gun 
 accident. One of the men being thus rendered unfit 
 for travel, and another required to nurse him, 
 Kennedy resolved to divide his party a second time. 
 He accordingly left three men near Shelborne Bay, 
 and, with only Jacky to accompany him, determined 
 to make a life-and-death struggle to bring succour 
 from Port Albany. But his own strength was rapidly 
 failing, and the hostility of the blacks, who had so 
 long hung upon his rear, was daily assuming a more 
 deadly aspect. This misfortune was the more to be 
 icgrctted as this tedious and toilsome journey was 
 almost at an end. From one of tlio lieights Kenne<ly 
 oauglit a glimpse of Port Albany, with its neigh- 
 bouring island, and pointed them out to his dusky 
 companion. But his life's journey was still nearer its 
 close. The blacks were gathering in hundreds. An 
 inefiectual attempt was tried to elude their vigilance
 
 150 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 by camping in the scrub without a fire, but they again 
 made their presence known by hurling the deadly 
 spear. Jacky made -a rush to rally the horses, which, 
 frantic with their wounds, had begun to dash througli 
 the scrub, and, on returning, found his master had 
 been speared, surrounded, and robbed. A feeble 
 resistance was offered to the assault of the savages, 
 but it had little effect, and was soon over. Jacky 
 thought Kennedy was dying fast, and asked if he 
 was now going to leave him. He said he was fatally 
 wounded, and, havino; o-iven a brief order concerninoj 
 his papers, breathed his last in the arms of his faithful 
 attendant. Such was the end of Mr. E. B. Kennedy, 
 a man who has left his mark on our history, and will 
 be honoured by posterity as one of the most heroic, 
 if not the most judicious, and certainlj^ the least 
 fortunate, of the Australian explorers. 
 
 Jacky, being now alone, and more dead than alive, 
 made his way as best he could to Port Albany. His 
 progress was sometimes less than a mile per day, but 
 he struggled on in the hope of finding the promised 
 vessel. Almost six months had passed away since the 
 party of thirteen disembarked at Rockingham Bay. 
 It was within two days of Christmas, and those in 
 charge of the ship were debating with themselves 
 whether it was worth while waiting any longer, when 
 a poor emaciated creature was observed to drag him- 
 self from the forest and make signs to the vessel. 
 Being conveyed on board, his tale of woe was soon 
 told, in such words as he could use. The gravity of
 
 KENNEDY. 151 
 
 the situation became apparent immediately, and the 
 order was given at once to hoist sail for Shelborne 
 Bay, in the hope of being able to rescue the three men 
 who had been left at Pudding-pan Hill. The search 
 was unsuccessful. No trace of these unfortunates 
 could then, or has ever since been discovered. There 
 still remained the depot at Weymouth Bay, where the 
 necessities of the eight men left there could not be 
 otherwise than urgent in the extreme, if they were 
 still alive. All haste was made to the rescue. The 
 eight were all found, but six of them were dead. The 
 two survivors were more like ghosts than human 
 beings of flesh and blood. The tale of miseries which 
 they had to relate was heartrending. In addition to 
 the lingering horrors of starvation, they had to endure 
 incessant attacks from the blacks, who, knowing the}' 
 had them in their power, enjoyed a savage delight in 
 prolonging the distress of their victims. Yet it appears 
 that the half-dozen eventually died of hunger, a fate 
 which the survivors must inevitably have shared if 
 relief had been much longer delayed. Having been 
 too weak to bury their dead companions, this sacred 
 duty was performed by the ship's crew, who thereafter 
 hastened homeward with the miserable remains of 
 Kennedy's heroic but ill-starred expedition.
 
 152 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 r'a 
 
 LEICHHARDTS EXPEDITIONS TO PORT ESSINGTON AND 
 INTO THE INTERIOR. 
 
 Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt, who was born in Germany 
 and educated in France, came to Australia in the year 
 IS-iO. He commenced his career in Sydney as a 
 lecturer on botany, his favourite science, and became 
 immediately popular. Naturally fond of travel, and 
 being eager for enterprise, Leichhardt took to the 
 bush, where he earned his fame and lost his life. 
 His first essays in exploration were made in the 
 country lying between Brisbane and Wide Bay, 
 which he traversed specially in the interests of 
 botanical and geological science. In these adventures 
 he was associated for the most part with the blacks, 
 who welcomed him as a benefactor on account of his 
 medical skill, of which he gave them the full benefit 
 without fee or reward. 
 
 Having accomplished his object in this part of the 
 country, Leichhardt returned to Sydney, where he 
 found public opinion strongly excited on the question 
 of exploration. Sir Thomas Mitchell, having led three 
 expeditions into the interior with great success, was 
 mainly instrumental in creating this outburst of 
 enthusiasm, which called for other enterprises of a 
 like nature and purpose. At this period, also, a keen
 
 LEICHHARDT. 153 
 
 desire was manifested for an overland route to 
 Carpentaria as a highway, so far, to India, which was 
 supposed to offer an unlimited market for Australian 
 horses. Already a settlement had come into existence 
 at Port Essington, which was reckoned a suitable 
 entrepot for the prospective traffic. The one thing- 
 wanted was an overland route to this place, and it 
 was generally thought the time had come when an 
 attempt should be made to discover it. Sir Thomas 
 Mitchell was again to the front, expressing himself 
 ready for the undertaking, with Dr. Leichhardt as 
 second in command. He had already arranged to 
 proceed to his old depot at Fort Bourke and to strike 
 ]iorth for Carpentaria. But a fatal obstacle was 
 unexpectedly interposed. Sir George Gipps, being in 
 a bad humour with his advisers, refused to confirm 
 tlie vote for supplies which the Council had unani- 
 mously passed, and, as a natural consequence, the 
 whole project fell to the ground. This was a sore 
 blow to Leichhardt, but it did not unman him. 
 Despairing of help or countenance from the Governor, 
 lie volunteered to lead an expedition to Port Essington 
 on his own account if private liberality should prove 
 itself equal to the occasion. In a very short time 
 sufficient resources were forthcoming, and Leichhardt 
 now set himself to redeem his promise. 
 
 In this expedition it was resolve<l to start from 
 Moreton Bay and kee]) the eastern fall of tlie main
 
 154 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 range, thus avoiding the parched-up interior and 
 following a route which was likely to furnish an 
 adequate supply of .water. Leichhardt could never 
 have been far beyond the reach of the sea-breeze — a 
 circumstance which caused Mitchell to speak of him, 
 rather contemptuously, as a "timid coaster." The 
 party, consisting of ten persons, with seven months' 
 provisions, made an auspicious start from Brisbane, 
 and had reached the outskirts of settlement by the 
 1st of October, 1844. Crossing the Darling Downs, 
 the River Condamine was followed as far as practi- 
 cable, after which a dividing; ranoe was traversed and 
 the Dawson River discovered. It flowed through a 
 magnificent valley, which was soon after proved to be 
 an excellent pastoral district. When it turned too 
 much to the east a more northerly course was steered, 
 which led to the discovery of Palm-Tree Creek, in a 
 splendid valley abounding in palms, and hence the 
 name. The next stage was much impeded by 
 brigalow scrub, but a succession of lagoons supplied 
 the party with plenty of water and excellent game. 
 Zamia Creek followed in the line of discovery, 
 bounded by the Expedition Range, which was crossed, 
 and Comet Creek discovered soon after. This latter 
 led on to the Mackenzie, which had to be abandoned 
 in a short time, as it flowed too much to the east. 
 The picturesque Peak Range was now passed. The 
 mountains not only appeared magnificent in point of 
 scenery, but were believed also to contain precioua 
 stones. Leichtiardt says: — "A profusion of chalcedonj-
 
 LEICHHAEDT. 155 
 
 and fine specimens of agate were observed in many 
 places along the basaltic ridges." On the 13th of 
 February they discovered an important river, which 
 was named the Isaacs, but it was not followed, as the 
 course was again directed towards the mountains. 
 Shortly after they had the good fortune to come upon 
 the Suttor, which brought them to the Burdekin. 
 This was the best discovery yet made, as it served 
 them for a e'uide over more than two deo-rees of 
 latitude. When this river also left them for the coast, 
 their route was directed more inland, with a view of 
 reaching Carpentaria. In this cross-countiy journey 
 a conspicuous mountain observed in the distance 
 received the name of Mount Lano- "after Dr. Lang, the 
 distinguished historiographer of New South Wales." 
 A few unimportant creeks having been crossed, they 
 found themselves on the western fall, and discovered 
 one of the Gulf rivers, which was named the Lynd. 
 Here, and at several later camps, the explorers were 
 treated with a visit from some awfully pertinacious 
 intruders. " We had scarcely left our camp," says 
 Lcichhardt, " when swarms of crows and kites took 
 possession of it, after having given us a fair fight 
 during the previous daj's whilst we were dr3'ing the 
 meat. Their boldness was, indeed, remarkable ; and if 
 tlie natives had as much we should soon have to quit 
 our camps." In this district a botanical novelty, in 
 the form of a bread-fruit tree, was found, and used to 
 some advantage. As the Lynd <lid not load in tlic 
 most suitable direction, it was left, and a straiglit linf
 
 156 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 taken to the Gulf. Tliis was the occasion of the 
 <liscovery of another river, which was called the 
 Mitchell, in honour of ^thc distinguished explorer ; but 
 it, too, was given up for a shorter course. In this 
 (quarter a deplorable acci<lent occurred. The camp 
 was attacked during night hj the blacks, when 
 Gilbert, the naturalist to the expedition, was killed. 
 From this point the journey was continued round the 
 head of the Gulf. Numerous rivers were crossed, 
 some of which had been long liefore discovered by 
 exploring navigators, and others were now for the 
 first time brought to light. Among the latter were 
 the Gilbert and the Roper, both receiving names in 
 honour of members of the expedition. The Roper 
 River had many tributaries, one of which was called 
 Flying-Fox Creek, from the myriads of these 
 creatures which had chosen it for their haunt. 
 Leichhardt says : — " I went with Charley and Brown 
 to the spot where we had seen the greatest number of 
 llying-foxes, and whilst I was examining the neigh- 
 bouring tree, my companions shot 67, of which 55 
 were brought to our camp, which served for dinner, 
 supper, and luncheon." By the 24th of November the 
 expedition had crossed the watershed between the 
 streams tiowino; into the Gulf and those heading for 
 the Indian Ocean. After much toilsome travel, the 
 South Alligator River was reached, about 60 miles 
 from its mouth and 140 from Port Essington. In this 
 locality the waterfowl are described as being seen, not 
 in crowds, but in " clouds." " Here," says Leichhardt,
 
 LEICHHAEDT. 157 
 
 " we should ha\'e been tolerably comfortable 1 >ut for a 
 large green-eyed fly, which was extremely trouble- 
 some to us, and which scarcely allowed our poor 
 horses to feed." In order to avoid some bad, rocky 
 ground, the party turned to the south and struck the 
 East Alligator River. The last stage of the journey 
 was travelled under the direction of a native guide, 
 and the goal of the expedition reached in safety. 
 After a month's rest in this settlement, Leichhardt 
 found a schooner bound for Port Jackson, and em- 
 braced this opportunity of returning to Sydney by 
 sea. His unexpected appearance there seemed like an 
 apparition from the other world. For a long time he 
 had been given up for lost, and a search expedition 
 had already come back unsuccessful. The citizens of 
 Sydney at once instituted a public subscription for 
 Leichhardt and his associates, who had thus travelled 
 over 3,000 miles in fifteen months. The amount 
 reached the figure of £1,500, which was supplemented 
 by a Government grant of £1,000. The Ro^-al Geo- 
 graphical Societies, also, hastened to show their appre- 
 ciation of the explorer's labours b}^ presenting him 
 with their gold medals. These rewards had been as 
 honestly earned as they were handsomely made. The 
 route he had laid open was, indeed, useless for the 
 purpose intended, as being impracticable for traftic, and 
 inferior to others which ha\e since been discovered, 
 but the expedition brought to the knowledge of the 
 colonists an immense extent of excellent countrj', 
 wliich was speedily occupied b}' pastoral tenants.
 
 158 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 II. 
 
 A short period of repose sufficed to recruit the 
 wearied explorer and brace him up for future effort. 
 Now more enthusiastic than ever, Leichhardt con- 
 ceived the heroic idea of traversing the entire con- 
 tinent at its greatest width, starting from Moreton 
 Bay and proceeding through the deserts to Swan River 
 in Western Australia. He was now in possession of 
 some private means, and his zeal was again supported 
 by numerous friends. This new expedition consisted 
 of nine persons, and his equipment, especially under 
 the head, of live stock, was provided on the largest 
 scale the colony had yet witnessed. These consisted 
 of 108 sheep, 270 goats, 40 bullocks, 15 horses, and 
 15 mules. His plan was to follow his former route 
 for a few hundred miles, and then bear off to the 
 westward. All went tolerably well till the Dawson 
 country was passed, after which wet weather became 
 a serious hindrance. At Comet Creek the party 
 began to suffer from fever and ague, but still pushed 
 on to the Mackenzie, where they found themselves in 
 a deplorable plight. The resources had been wasted, 
 not so much as a dose of medicine being left for the 
 sick. No one being able to attend to the sheep and 
 cattle, the whole were irretrievably lost. It now 
 became evident to Leichhardt, as it had been for some 
 time to his companions, that it would be the part of 
 madness to attempt the unknown desert so ill-furnished 
 with supplies. Conquered by dire necessity, Leich-
 
 LEICHHAKDT. 159 
 
 hardt returned home with a heavy heart, after a 
 fruitless journey of seven months. The expedition 
 had proved a total failure, and, as the old track had 
 been followed, the journey added nothing to what was 
 already known of the distant parts of the country. 
 
 III. 
 
 In the meantime Sir Thomas Mitchell had made a 
 fourth exploring expedition, and on this occasion had 
 done his best to discover an interior route to Carpen- 
 taria. He failed, however, in this object ; but in all 
 other respects the undertaking had been eminently 
 successful. In one quarter the tracks of the two 
 explorers had approached within a short distance of 
 one another, and Leichhardt, being in possession of a 
 considerable salvage from the wreck of his second 
 expedition, proposed to examine the intervening dis- 
 trict — a fine territory, now known as the Fitzroy 
 Downs. This was a small undertakino- for so o-reat 
 an explorer. Nor was it a very necessary one either, 
 for the squatters were already in possession of the 
 country, and the crack of the stockman's whip .sug- 
 gested to Leichhardt the propriety of returning home 
 and preparing for an enterprise more worthy of his 
 well-won reputation. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Arrangements were again made in earnest for cross- 
 ing the continent to Swan River, all being ready to
 
 160 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 set out from Moreton Bay with a party of only six 
 men, provisioned for a journey which was calculated 
 to extend over two or three years. The second in com- 
 mand was one Classan, brother-in-law to Leichhardt, 
 who had just arrived from German}' to join the 
 expedition. The late Rev. W. B. Clarke, being sur- 
 prised at so peculiar an arrangement, asked the " new 
 chum" what qualifications he possessed for the most 
 perilous enterprise hitherto attempted in Australia ? 
 Classan replied that he was a seaman who had suffered 
 shipwreck, and was, therefore, well fitted to endure 
 hardship ! In this expedition Leichhardt resolved to 
 abandon his old route for that of Sir Thomas Mitchell, 
 which he proposed to follow as far as the bend of the 
 Victoria (Barcoo), and then turn westward. He seems 
 to have fallen into this track near Mount Abundance, 
 in the neighbourhood of the present town of Boma, in 
 Queensland. It is not possible to trace the expedition 
 much further, nor is there any hope of the veil of 
 mystery ever being lifted. Here are Leichhardt's last 
 words to the ci^'ilized world, as written from 
 M'Pherson's station, on the Cogoon, under date of 
 8rd April, 1848 : — " I take the last opportunity of 
 giving you an account of my progress. In eleven 
 days we travelled from Mr. Burrell's station, on the 
 Condamine, to Mr. M'Pherson's, on the Fitzroy Downs. 
 Though the country was occasionally very difficult, 
 yet everything went on very well. My mules are in 
 excellent order, my companions in excellent spirits. 
 Three of my cattle are footsore, but I shall kill one of
 
 LEICHHARDT. 161 
 
 them to-night, to lay in our necessary stock of dried 
 beef. The Fitzroy Downs, on Mdiich we travelled for 
 about 22 miles from east to west, is, indeed, a splendid 
 region, and Sir Thomas Mitchell has not exaggerated 
 their beauty in his account. The soil is pebbly and 
 sound, richly grassed, and, to judge from the myalls, 
 of the most fattening quality. I came right on to 
 Mount Abundance and passed over a gap in it with 
 my whole train. My latitude agreed well with 
 Mitchell's. I fear that the absence of water in the 
 Fitzroy Downs will render this line country, to a 
 great degree, unavailable. I observe the thermometer 
 daily at 6 a.m. and S p.m., which are the only con- 
 venient hours. I have tried the wet thermometer, 
 but am afraid my observations will be very deficient. 
 I shall, however, improve on them as I proceed. The 
 only serious accident that has happened was the loss 
 of a spade, but we were fortunate enough to make it 
 up at this station. Though the days are still very 
 hot, the beautiful clear nights are cool and benumb 
 the mosquitoes, which have ceased to trouble 
 us. Myriads of flies are the only annoyance we 
 have. Seeing how much I have been favoured 
 on my present progress, I am full of hopes that 
 our Almighty Protector will allow me to bring my 
 darling scheme to a successful termination." This 
 last communication, unfortunately, says nothing 
 about the direction in which he intended to travel, 
 and his route henceforth is a matter of pure con- 
 jecture. After years of weary waiting ^Ir. Hovenden
 
 162 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Hely was sent to search for his tracks, but without 
 avail. Hely was played upon by the blacks, who 
 pretended to show hiiii several of Leichhardt's camp- 
 ing grounds, and finally the bones of the murdered 
 party. They turned out, however, to be mutton-bones, 
 and the search ended in nothing. Mr. A. C. Gregory, 
 himself a distinguished explorer, led two expeditions 
 with the same object in view, and discovered a tree 
 marked " L," which may or may not have been made 
 by Leichhardt. Walker, when searching for Burke 
 and Wills, believed he had found some traces of the 
 missing expedition ; but these marks were again 
 successfully contested by Landsborough. Still later a 
 Mr. Skuthorpe, in a most mercenary fashion, tried to 
 persuade the public, and especially the Government of 
 New South Wales, that he had discovered certain relics 
 of the expedition, including Leichhardt's journal in 
 good preservation ; but the affair was looked upon as 
 an imposition, and nothing further has transpired. It 
 cannot be said with certainty that a single trace of 
 Leichhardt has been discovered since he wrote his 
 letter from the Fitzroy Downs.
 
 A, C. GREGORY. 163 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MR. A. c. Gregory's expedition to the north-west 
 
 INTERIOR, 
 
 The part of the continent which shall next engage 
 our attention is the north-west interior. Up to this 
 period of our history very little had been known of 
 this quarter, except along the seaboard and, in sparse 
 places, for a few miles inland. The Victoria had been 
 discovered in 1840 by Captain Stokes, who described 
 it as a rival to the Murray, and, moreover, sailed up 
 its channel for 50 miles without reaching the head of 
 the navigation. By this waterway it was thought 
 possible to reach the north-western interior, in which 
 some traces of Leichhardt might be met with. The 
 conduct of this expedition was entrusted to Mr. A. C 
 Gregory, a very capable explorer, and a man of 
 scientific attainments. His party numbered eighteen 
 persons, including his brother, Mr. H. Gregory, Mr. 
 Wilson, geologist, and the now famous Baron Von 
 Mueller as botanist. The party took with them 50 
 liorses and 200 sheep. The Torn Tougk and the 
 Monarch landed the expedition on the Plains of 
 Promise, near the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria, 
 on the 24th September, 1855. The Monarch then 
 returned to Moreton Bay, while the Tom Tough sailed 
 round to the Victoria, having received orders to wait
 
 1G4 THE AUSTEALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 for the rest of the party, who were to proceed overland. 
 In six days they made the Macadam Range, and in 
 eight more came on to the Fitzmaurice River. At 
 this camp the horses, which had ah^eady been greatlj- 
 reduced in number, were bitten by alligators, and 
 three of them died. On reaching the Victoria the 
 Torn Tough was not to be seen, as she had been 
 driven ashore elsewhere and had sustained severe 
 injury. On the 8rd of January, 1856, Mr. Gregory 
 started with eight men and followed up the Victoria 
 for 100 miles. In latitude 16° 26' S. it split into 
 two branches, each of which was in succession traced 
 up to the vanishing point. The explorers then struck 
 forth into the desert, proceeding on a southerly course. 
 A journey of 300 miles brought them, on the 22nd of 
 February, to a promising creek, to which they gave 
 the name of Sturt, in memory of the eminent ex- 
 plorer. To their intense disappointment, this clue 
 also failed them, for Sturt 's Creek finally resolved 
 itself into a sheet of salt water, to which they gave 
 the appropriate designation of Lake Termination. 
 Two mountains in this neighbourhood were called 
 Mount Mueller and Mount Wilson, after the botanist 
 and the geologist of the expedition. Once more the 
 terrible salt desert lay before the baffled explorers. 
 " Nothing," says the leader, " could have been more 
 forbidding than the long, straight lines of drift-sand 
 which, having nearly an east and west direction, rose 
 beyond each other like the waves of the sea ; and 
 though the red glare of the sand was partially con-
 
 A. C. GREGORY. 165 
 
 cealed by a scanty growth of spinifex, the reflection 
 from its surface caused the passing clouds to be 
 coloured a deep purple. We had long passed the 
 limit to which the tropical rains of the north-west 
 coast extend, and the country south of 19° seemed 
 only to be visited by occasional thunderstorms. Thus 
 for a few miles the grass would be fresh and green, 
 then there would be a long interval of dry, parched 
 country, where no rain appeared to have fallen for 
 a twelve-month. The channel of the creek also 
 decreased in size, and the frequent occurrence of 
 salicornia indicated the saline nature of the soil ; the 
 water became brackish, then salt, and finally spread 
 out and terminated in the dry bed of a salt lake, a mile 
 in diameter, which communicated with a second, of 
 larger size, nine miles lono- and five wide. Though now 
 quite dry, there were marks of water having stood for 
 considerable periods, of from 10 to 15 feet deep, as 
 the shells of mussels in their natural position were 
 abundant more than a mile from the ordinary bank of 
 tlie lake, showing that a large tract of country is 
 sometimes inundated. As the mussels are a species 
 which live in fresh water, it is evident that at such 
 times the lake is not salt, but it would appear that as 
 the waters evaporate and recede they become saline, 
 as the shells found within the limits of the lake were 
 of other species which afiect brackish or salt water." 
 One more attempt to make for the south proved 
 abortive, and, with many regrets, Gregory returned 
 to the depot, after liaving penetrated within 730
 
 166 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 miles of Sturt's most advanced camp towards the 
 centre of Australia. 
 
 Falling back upon alternative instructions, the 
 leader now left the Victoria, and, making his way 
 across Arnheim's Land, reached the River Roper. 
 The track of Leichhardt round the southern shores of 
 the Gulf was followed for the most pai-t. The Plains 
 of Promise were crossed, but Gregory scarcely agreed 
 with Stokes in his unqualified praise of this country. 
 From the Albert River he resolved to seek for a 
 better track to Moreton Bay than Leichhardt's. The 
 Flinders was reached on the 8th of September, 
 between which river and the Gilbert some good 
 country was discovered. The latter was traced for 
 180 miles of its course. The Burdekin was reached 
 by the 16th of October, and a fortnight later its 
 junction with the Suttor. Gregory traced the 
 Belyando to 22°, thus connecting the routes of 
 Mitchell and Leichhardt with his own. Passing the 
 Mackenzie and the Comet, the Dawson River was 
 reached by the loth of November. The course was 
 then made to Brisbane through the Burnett district, a 
 journey of 400 miles. The parties in this expedition 
 had been absent sixteen months from the haunts of 
 civilization. They had travelled 2,000 miles by sea 
 and 5,000 by land.
 
 BUEKE AND WILLS. 167 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BURKE AND WILLS'S EXPEDITION ACROSS THE 
 AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT. 
 
 The golden age of Australian exploration dates from 
 1860, The preceding half -century is rich in heroic 
 eftbrts put forth in this direction, and bears witness to 
 many a conquest over the mysterious interior as the 
 fruit of much self-sacrifice. Yet these results, as a 
 class, were of a secondary character, only sometimes 
 answering the hopes of the explorers themselves, and 
 not doing so at all when these expectations rose to 
 the ambition of crossing the continent. But those 
 days of comparative failure are now over, and 1860 
 marks the commencement of a bright and glorious era 
 for the explorers of this hitherto dark continent. 
 Within the space of the next two years Australia 
 was crossed no fewer than six times, by as many 
 expeditions. The foremost place in time, as well as 
 interest, belongs to Burke and Wills, and for this 
 reason the story of their victory and sufferings will 
 form the subject of the present chapter. 
 
 Victoria has the credit of this expedition. The 
 movement originated in the offer of £1,000 by Mr. 
 Ambrose Kyte, on condition of this sum being doubled 
 by voluntary subscriptions. The terms were soon 
 complied with, after which the Government generously
 
 168 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 came to its aid by a vote of £5,500. The arrange- 
 ments were undertaken by a committee of the Royal 
 Society, and, as the funds were ample, it was deter- 
 mined to equip the expedition on the most liberal 
 scale. As a new feature in exploration, two dozen 
 camels were imported from India, and every provision 
 was made to secure the object on which the young- 
 colony had set its heart. The only difficulty that 
 remained was to find a competent leader. After 
 much delay had been occasioned through unsuccessful 
 negotiation, the command was finally given to an 
 enthusiastic volunteer named Robert O'Hara Burke. 
 This remarkable man was a native of Ireland, but was 
 educated in Belgium, and had served as an officer in 
 the Austrian cavalry. He subsequently returned to 
 the " Green Isle," and entered the constabulary force. 
 Having emigrated to Australia he received a similar 
 appointment, and held the position of inspector of 
 police when this new honour was conferred upon him. 
 He was a brave and generous man — few, indeed, have 
 been more heroic and faithful — but, as he possessed 
 little acquaintance with Australian exploration, and 
 was destitute of special qualifications for the work, 
 his appointment has generally been regarded as a 
 mistake on the part of the committee. The position 
 of second in command, with the office of astronomical 
 observer, was conferred on William John Wills, who 
 had been born in Devonshire as late as 1834. He 
 came out to Australia while a mere youth, and for a 
 time had to betake himself to the humble occupation
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 169 
 
 of shepherd, but being well educated and possessing 
 excellent gifts of head and heart, he soon rose to the 
 position of a government surveyor, and afterwards 
 obtained the honourable office of assistant astronomer 
 in the Melbourne Observatory. 
 
 The expedition, when fully organized, consisted of 
 15 men and 24 camels, with twelve months' pro- 
 visions, weighing in all 21 tons. The start was made 
 from Melbourne on the 20th of August, ISGO — an 
 imposing spectacle, which has yet left its impression 
 on the memories of many of the older inhabitants of 
 that city. By the committee's direction, they were 
 to march first to the Darling, next to the Lower 
 Barcoo (Cooper's Creek), and then strike north- 
 ward for the Gulf of Carpentaria. Melbourne 
 had been left too late in the season, and this 
 disadvantage was aggravated by delays occasioned 
 by the unwieldiness of the expedition and insubordi- 
 nation on the part of some of the men. At length 
 Menindie, on the Darling, was reached. The name is 
 new in the history of exploration, but the locality 
 is in the neighbourhood of Laidley Ponds, a quarter 
 which was then well known to the readers of Sturt 
 and Mitchell. Burke formed a depot here, in which 
 he left the greater part of his men and some beasts of 
 liurden to recruit from the fatigues of their toilsome 
 journey. Taking Wills, together with six men and 
 15 camels, he made his arrangements for a quick 
 journey across to the Barcoo. It had been his inten- 
 tion to follow Sturt's old track, but lie was dissuaded
 
 170 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 from his purpose by a Mr. Wright, superintendent of 
 a neighbouring pastoral station, who told him of a 
 better route further to the north, and volunteered to 
 conduct the party over it in person. Both the advice 
 and the offer were accepted ; nor did experience fail 
 to justify the change of plan. Travelling was agree- 
 able on this new route, and water found at intervals 
 of not more than 20 miles. The march from Menindie 
 to Torowotto was little short of a pleasure excursion, 
 and Burke, with the generosity which was part of his 
 nature, now associated Wright permanently with the 
 expedition, giving him the position of third in com- 
 mand. Being no lono-er needed as a guide, he was 
 sent back from this place to the depot on the Darling, 
 with orders to bring forward the heavy supplies with 
 all convenient speed. The advance party continued 
 their progress into the interior, and, on the 11th of 
 November, struck the Barcoo, which was followed 
 until a suitable place was found where they might 
 encamp till the arrival of Wright with the re- 
 mainder of the expedition. The delay proved to 
 be longer than had been expected ; and, that the 
 time might not be altogether lost, some explorations 
 were made in the surrounding country, and several 
 promising routes to the Gulf were examined with 
 little satisfactory result. Worst of all, some of the 
 camels were lost, and although much time was con- 
 sumed in the search, they were never seen again by 
 the explorers. Wright's dela}' was becoming as vexa- 
 tious as it seemed to be inexcusable. Six weeks had
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 171 
 
 passed away since he left Burke, and yet the whole 
 distance from Menindie to the encampment on the 
 Barcoo had been traversed by the advance party in 
 twenty-two days. Chafed and irritated almost to 
 madness under the disappointment, Burke determined 
 to endure it no lonoer, and resolved " to dash into the 
 interior, and cross the continent at all hazards." For 
 this purpose he again divided his party, taking with 
 himself Wills and two others, named King and Gray, 
 together with six camels, one horse, and twelve weeks' 
 provisions. The camp was now transformed into a 
 permanent depot, in which were left four men, six 
 camels, and four horses. One of the party named 
 Brahe was put in command, with instructions to erect 
 a stockade as a means of defence against the natives, 
 and to detain Wright after his arrival with supplies. 
 Burke was now entering upon the real difficulties of 
 his gigantic undertaking, and had at command only a 
 mere fraction of the means which he had brought out 
 of Melbourne. But of hope and courage he had lost 
 nothino-. On the 16th of December he took leave of 
 Brahe and his men, telling them, with his wonted 
 generosity, that if he were not back in three months, 
 they might consult for their own welfare as should 
 appear to be necessary. 
 
 Burke and Wills, together with their brave com- 
 panions King and Gray, now plunged into the 
 unknown deserts and shaped their course for Car- 
 pentaria. During the earlier stage the whole party 
 rode on the camels or the one horse that accompanied
 
 172 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 them, but the animals got weaiy, and it became 
 necessaiy to trudge it on foot. Burke and Wills 
 walked ahead, carrying a rifle and a revolver, while 
 King and Gray followed with the beasts of burden. 
 Their progress was necessarily slow, even though they 
 had not encountered serious obstacles of a physical 
 kind. Comfort, or anything approaching to it, was 
 utterly unknown. Night after night the toil-worn 
 wanderers encamped sivh Jove frigido, without tents 
 or covering of any sort. Yet these hardships were 
 endured without murmur or regret. Burke is re- 
 ported to have said he would not care though he had 
 only a shirt on his back, if so be that he could cross 
 Australia. It is impossible to give ample details of 
 this northward journey, for the materials are scanty. 
 Burke was not much of a literary character, and 
 found it too irksome a task to keep a diary. Wills 
 was vastly superior in this respect, but yet his 
 journal, otherwise so satisfactory, is defective here. 
 This much is certain, that they pursued a north- 
 westerly course through the interior, by way of what 
 was afterwards known as M'Kinlay Range, discover- 
 ing and naming Gray and Wills creeks. Mount 
 Standish, and other topographical positions which 
 have since become prominent landmarks. By the 
 27th of January they had crossed the northern water- 
 shed and come on to the Cloncurry, which led them 
 to the Flinders. This river was mistaken for the 
 Albert, but was scrupulously followed, in the hope 
 that it would lead to the Gulf. After six weeks'
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 173 
 
 absence from the Barcoo signs of the neighbourhood 
 of the ocean began to appear. The waters of the 
 Flinders became brackish, and gradually widened 
 into an estuarj^ A sight of the ocean w^ould have 
 gladdened the eyes of the explorers beyond measure, 
 but a forest of mangroves deprived them of this 
 gratification. Nevertheless, they had reached the 
 mouth of the Flinders, and were within the limits of 
 the rise and fall of the tide. The object which had 
 cost so many sacrifices was accomplished at last, 
 and tlie continent of Australia traversed from end 
 to end. 
 
 The condition of the explorers was now pitiable in 
 the extreme, and never were men more in need of 
 rest or had better deserved it ; but to rest here meant 
 to perish, for only a fag-end of the rations w^ as left, 
 and if they were to see the Barcoo depot again, it 
 must be by subsisting on the merest pittance for the 
 next two months. For this reason no time was lost 
 at the Gulf, and the return journey was commenced 
 on the 21st February. The weather happened to set 
 in wet, wdiich was a real misfortune, as it added 
 inuuensely to the inconvenience of travel, seeing their 
 strength was almost spent. The camels broke down 
 and had all to be abandoned except two, which were 
 also in a weakly state. The one horse which had 
 been brought from the depot was kille<l and eaten, to 
 save the provisions. In addition to all the other evils 
 sickness began to afiect them, and Gray was so ill 
 that he ha<l to be strapped on the back of a camel.
 
 174 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 The poor fellow, driven by starvation, had lately been 
 caught appropriating more than his share of the pro- 
 visions, and was chastised by Burke for the offence — 
 an act of discipline which might have been spared, 
 for poor Gray was not to eat much more of the little 
 store. Day after day he was carried forward on the 
 journey, but each night found him getting weaker, 
 and it was necessary to make a halt to let him die. 
 He breathed his last in a lonely wilderness, sacrificing 
 his life without a murmur to the cause which he 
 loved not less than his master did. His three sur- 
 viving companions mournfully buried him in the 
 desert with such strength as was still left them, but 
 were so exhausted with the labour of digging his 
 grave as to require a day's rest before attempting to 
 renew the journey. They, too, must have suc- 
 cumbed to their troubles but for the sustaining 
 power of hope, which told them the longed-for depot 
 could not now be far distant. Other indications 
 also pointed the same way, and in four days after 
 leaving Gray's grave their eyes were gladdened with 
 the sight of the familiar landmarks of the old 
 camping ground on the Barcoo. Burke gathered up 
 all his remaining strength and made the desert ring 
 with "cooeys" for his former comrades, and listened 
 for a reply ; but, horresco referens, no response was 
 returned but the echo of his own voice. Could it be 
 possible that the depot was abandoned, and the 
 miserable men left to perish in the wilderness ? The 
 appalling thought was quickly succeeded by the
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 175 
 
 experience of the more terrible reality. The place of 
 the encampment was plainly visible, and the stockade 
 still standing, but no human beino- to break the 
 solitude. Man could not suffer a more crushing- 
 disappointment ; and it is not surprising to hear that 
 Burke now completely broke down. But, after a 
 short interval, one ray of hope sprang up from the 
 depth of despair. A marked tree happened to catch 
 the eye of one of the explorers, which contained the 
 inscription, " Dig three feet westward." Wills and 
 King immediately began to excavate, but Burke was 
 too much unmaiuied to render any assistance. The 
 hole was found to contain a chest with some supplies 
 and a letter of explanation. This unhappy day in 
 the experience of the explorers was the 21st of April, 
 and the letter was eagerly opened to ascertain what 
 time Brahe and his men had left. The date was also 
 tlie 21st of April, at noon — in fact, the ink was 
 scarcely dry, for the letter had been written only 
 seven hours before it fell into the hands of Burke. 
 It stated, in explanation, that they had remained in 
 the depot four months ; that Wright had not come 
 with the supplies from Menindie ; that the blacks 
 were troublesome and their own provisions exhausted. 
 Moreover, as Burke had entjaged to return in three 
 months, they considered, at the end of four, that he 
 must have perished or taken another route. » 
 
 What was to be done \ To remain in the aban- 
 doned depot was to perish, for the amount of 
 provisions could only afford a very temporary relief.
 
 176 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLOEERS. 
 
 Wills recommended an immediate move in the direc- 
 tion of Menindie, on the track of Brahe and party ; 
 but Burke was str(5ngly in favour of making for 
 South Australia, whose pastoral stations now reached 
 as far as Mount Hopeless. At first sight there seemed 
 reason in this advice. Burke argued that it was 
 impossible to overtake Brahe in their emaciated con- 
 dition ; that Menindie was 400 miles from the depot, 
 whereas Mount Hopeless was only 150 ; and that the 
 Barcoo River might be expected to supply them with 
 water for the most of the route. The course to Mount 
 Hopeless was accordingly adopted. Thinking the 
 depot might possibly be visited by a relief party, they 
 took the precaution of burying a letter at the foot of 
 the marked tree, stating the direction they had taken, 
 adding that their weak condition rendered it imjDos- 
 sible to travel more than four or five miles a day ; but, 
 by a strange oversight, left no external indications 
 which would lead such a relief party to conclude that 
 the place had been visited by the explorers. Having 
 taken the handful of provisions, Burke, Wills and 
 King, together with the two surviving camels, started 
 for the most northern settlement of South Australia, 
 striving to make the shortest course, and coming on 
 to the river only when water failed them elsewhere. 
 One of the camels, unfortunately, got bogged, and had 
 to be shot, after two days' labour had been spent in 
 trying to extricate it. As much of its iiesh as could 
 be recovered was dried and added to the small and 
 rapidly diminishing store of provisions. They managed
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 177 
 
 to save a little, also, through an occasional present of 
 fish from the native tribes, who, fortunately, were 
 very friendly. But a great and unexpected misfor- 
 tune now befell the unhappy explorers. The Barcoo, 
 which had been reckoned on to supply them with 
 water, split up into several channels and lost itself in 
 the desert. One branch after another was followed 
 for some distance, but with no other result than the 
 consumption of their provisions and the loss of the 
 one surviving camel. They were now reduced to dire 
 extremity through want of both food and water, and 
 debated with themselves whether they should con- 
 tinue the journey or return and encamp on the nearest 
 waterhole in the river, and endeavour to get sub- 
 sistence from the blacks. It was difficult to say how 
 much ground had been travelled over, but they 
 supposed it must be somewhere about 45 miles. In 
 reality it was about douljle that distance ; and if they 
 could have made another good day's journey to the 
 .south they would have seen Mount Hopeless raise its 
 friendly head above the horizon. But, by another of 
 those fatal decisions which haunted this expedition, 
 they resolved to abandon their journey and return to 
 the banks of the river. Fighting against despair even 
 yet, they conceived a faint hope that the depot might 
 have been visited in the interim, and Wills, with the 
 consent and advice of Burke and King, walked back, 
 as he was able, to see if any relief had arrived. He 
 reached the end of his journey on the 30th of May, 
 
 but found no one there, and saw no indications which 
 
 13
 
 178 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 could lead him to think the place had been visited 
 since his own party had left. Sorrowful at heart, but 
 brave in spirit to the last, Wills again retraced his 
 steps, and returned to his companions in a very 
 exhausted condition ; but he could not have reached 
 them at all without the help of the Ijlacks. All three 
 were now destitute, and, with the exception of an 
 occasional present of fish, had nothing in the shape of 
 provisions. But even yet there appeared to be one re- 
 sort which lay between them and death by starvation. 
 The country aljounded with a plant called nardoo, the 
 seeds of which, when pounded and baked into a cake, 
 were eaten by the natives. The starving explorers 
 adopted the same practice, in the hope of still further 
 prolonging their existence. But a little experience 
 proved that the nardoo cakes, although allaying the 
 pangs of hunger, contained little nourishment, and the 
 heroic sufferers had now fallen into the last stao-e of 
 starvation. If they were to live at all, it Avas evident 
 they must east themselves on the blacks, and trust to 
 their charity. Dreadful as the alternative was, they 
 agreed to adopt it, for life is sweet, even in the 
 wilderness. But just here an insuperable difficulty 
 intervened, for the blacks were not at hand and had 
 to be sought out, Burke and King had yet strength 
 to walk a mile, or perhaps two, in a day. But poor 
 Wills could walk no more, and yet he was willing 
 that his companions should go and save themselves, if 
 too late to save him. They put together a rude 
 shelter, and left to seek the blacks, after taking a
 
 BURKE AND AVILLS. 179 
 
 sorrowful departure, which couhl hardly fail to be 
 final, for his life was visibly ebbing away. But they 
 were not to go far. On the second day Burke 
 succumbed, and felt his end to be at hand. He was a 
 brave man, yet he shrank from the idea of dying- 
 alone, and entreated King to stay with him until all 
 was over. His dying request was religiously observed 
 by his trusty friend, who held him in his arms till he 
 breathed his last. Seeing he could render no more 
 assistance there, King returned to see how it was with 
 Wills, It was all peace, for he, too, lay quietly asleep 
 in the arms of Death. Beside his dead body lay his 
 journal, in which he had made his last entry with his 
 trembling hand, noting the aspect of the weather, and 
 added, with a stroke of pleasantry even yet, that he 
 was just like Mr. Micawber, waiting for something to 
 turn up. Such was the end of William John Wills, 
 the most amiable and noble-minded of Australia's 
 explorers. His life was one of singular promise, and 
 great things might have been expected from him had 
 he not, unhappily, perished in his youth. He was only 
 27 years of age when he fell a sacrifice to the incom- 
 petency of others whom he served or trusted. The 
 disconsolate King was now alone in the wilderness, 
 with his dead leaders on cither side of him. Having 
 performed his last duties to the departed, as best he 
 could, he sought and found his sable benefactors, wlio 
 received him as one of themselves, and proved liy 
 their conduct that hospitality towards the distressed 
 is a virtue which even savages can exercise.
 
 180 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Having seen the last of Burke and Wills, and left 
 King safe for the present in the hands of the friendly 
 aborigines, let us return to the Bareoo depot, in the 
 hope of finding some explanation of the mystery 
 which enshrouds that most unlucky centre of opera- 
 tions. Brahe, as has been already noticed, took his 
 departure on the 21st of April, bound for Menindie. 
 He had travelled only eight days when Wright was 
 met coming on, at last, with the bulk of the supplies 
 for the expedition. After a brief consultation the 
 two leaders resolved to come on to the Bareoo depot, 
 which they reached in another eight days. Burke 
 and party had been there during the inter\'al, but as 
 they left no external marks, Wright and Brahe, after 
 a few minutes' cursory examination, concluded the 
 depot had not been visited, and almost immediately 
 took their departure for Melbouriie, without putting 
 themselves to the trouble of opening the hole at the 
 foot of the marked tree, where the explorers' letter 
 was concealed. Again the place was left without any 
 external indications for the direction of their friends, 
 who might return, and when the depot was visited by 
 Wills, about a fortnight later, he concluded, in the 
 absence of such indications, that no one had been 
 there since his own party left. 
 
 Almost everyone connected with this expedition is 
 to blame in some degree for the disasters in which it 
 ended. The committee at Melbourne went to sleep, 
 and were aroused to vigorous action when it was 
 too late. Burke and party were at fault in leaving
 
 BURKE AND WILLS. 181 
 
 the depot for Mount Hoj^eless without making some 
 external marks which might catch the eye of anyone 
 who shouki come with supplies. Brahe and Wright 
 w^ero guilty of unpardonable neglect in finally leaving 
 the Barcoo depot without opening the cache, to see 
 whether the depot chest of provisions had been taken 
 or not. But the real author of the disasters was 
 Wright, who loitered four months at Menindie, while 
 the heroic explorers were slowly dying of starvation. 
 He alleged in his defence that Burke had asked him 
 to remain until his own appointment was confirmed 
 by the Melbourne committee. But this is extremely 
 improbable, and is contradicted l:)y Burke's owni des- 
 patches. For the shortcomings of the others a toler- 
 able excuse may be made, but for the cruel conduct 
 of Wright there is neither justification nor defence, 
 for all the evidence saddles him wath the responsibility 
 of the horrible tragedy in which this once splendid 
 expedition closed its career.
 
 182 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SEARCH EXPEDITIONS IN QUEST OF BURKE AND WILLS, 
 
 As time passed on and no trustworthy tidings of the 
 missing explorers could be obtained, anxiet}^ on the 
 part of the Melbourne public became unbearaljle. 
 An active search was demanded with an urgency 
 which was not to be resisted. A manifold effort was 
 soon put forth on an unprecedented scale, and in this 
 enterprise Victoria was materially assisted by the 
 sister colonies. This combined action marks the meri- 
 dian of Australian exploration, which, when finished, 
 left little more to be done in the eastern half of the 
 continent. Within the space of two years — from 1860 
 to 1862 — it was crossed no fewer than six times, in as 
 many different directions, by exploring parties. The 
 search expeditions all took the field about the same 
 time. Alfred Howitt was despatched from Melbourne 
 on the footsteps of Burke and Wills ; John M'Kinlay 
 was sent from Adelaide to search the Barcoo and 
 surrounding districts ; Frederick Walker was com- 
 missioned to start from Rockhampton and proceed to 
 the north; while William Landsborough was instructed 
 to begin at Carpentaria, and examine the country to 
 the southward as far as might be necessary. With 
 a view to the support of all these parties, as oppor- 
 tunity might offer. Captain Norman was sent with the 
 Victoria to form a relief depot on the Albert River,
 
 HOWITT. 183 
 
 at the Gulf of Carpentaria. There are tliiis four 
 search expeditions which call for a brief review. 
 
 Mr. Alfred W. Howitt, son of William and Mary 
 Howitt, so well known to the literature of their 
 country, was sent from Melbourne to the Barcoo 
 (Cooper's Creek), by the route which had been taken 
 by the missing expedition. Near Swan Hill he met 
 Brahe, returning with the intelligence that Burke 
 and Wills had not appeared at the depot. Proceeding 
 liy way of Menindie and Poria Creek the Barcoo was 
 reached on the 8th September, 18G1, and the depot at 
 Fort Wills on the 18th. The cacJie, on being opened, 
 was found to contain papers showing that the ex- 
 plorers had been there since returning from Car- 
 ]-)entaria. The members of the expedition having 
 thereafter dispersed in different directions in quest of 
 information, one of them soon came back with the 
 welcome news that King had been found. The sequel 
 had better be oiven in Howitt's own words : — " I 
 immediately went across to the blacks' wurleys, where 
 I fovmd King, sitting in a hut which the natives had 
 made for liiin. He presented a melancholy appear- 
 ance, wasted as a shadow, and hardly to be distin- 
 guished as a civilijced being but by the renniant of 
 clothes upon him. He seemed exceedingly weak, and 
 I found it occasionally ditlicultto follow what he .sai<l. 
 The natives were all gathered round, seateil on the
 
 184 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 pTOund, lookino; with a most oratified and delii^hted 
 expression. I camped where the party had halted, 
 on a high bank, close to the water, and shall probably 
 remain here ten days, to recruit King before re- 
 turning." The story, as given by King, is soon told. 
 From the time he saw his companions dead to the day 
 he was discovered by Howitt's party he had been 
 about two months and ten days in the wilderness. 
 He remained by himself some days before going to 
 the blacks. Upwards of two months had thus been 
 spent with the aborigines. Though desiring to be 
 quit of him at first, they afterwards became very 
 well reconciled to his company. On the whole they 
 behaved very well to the white stranger. As soon as 
 King was able to walk he proceeded seven miles 
 down the creek with the relief party, and showed 
 them the remains of Wills, which he had buried 
 under the sand. At a distance of about eight miles 
 further they found also the body of Burke, which 
 was now interred with due solemnity. The object of 
 the expedition having been thus accomplished, pre- 
 paration was made for the return to Melbourne, but 
 before starting the camp of the natives was again 
 visited, and some presents distributed, in acknowledg- 
 ment of their humane treatment of the forlorn King. 
 
 Soon after this party returned home, a second 
 expedition was organized, under the same leader, to 
 brino; the bodies of Burke and Wills to Melbourne. 
 After reachino- the Barcoo, a considerable time was 
 spent in the further exploration of the surrounding
 
 HOWITT. 185 
 
 country. The Stony Desert was visited, and a horse 
 captured -which had been lost by Captain Sturt IS or 
 19 years before. Having at length taken possession 
 of the bodies, they first conveyed them to Adelaide, 
 by the route which the explorers, when living, had 
 wished in vain to travel. This part of the journey 
 was traversed in seven days. The remains of the two 
 men who had been the first to cross Australia were 
 thence conveyed to Melbourne, where they were 
 interred with every mark of respect for their noble 
 characters, and many a token of regret for the neglect 
 which had left them to perish in the wilderness. 
 
 II. 
 
 Although the object wdiich called forth all the 
 search expeditions was completely attained by the first 
 alone, it is yet worth while to give some attention to 
 the other three, on account of their indirect services 
 in the work of exploration. We shall take next in 
 order the South Australian efibrt. On the IGth of 
 August, 1861, Mr. John M'Kinlay was despatched 
 from Adelaide, with a party of 10 men, 4 camels, 24 
 horses, 12 bullocks, and 100 sheep. Blanchewater, 
 400 miles distant, was crossed at Baker's station. 
 The journey thence to Lake Hope was made through 
 a dry and stony country. From this part all the way 
 to Sturt's Stony Desert the country was poor, but 
 contained an abundance of lakes and creeks, which 
 Averc well supplied with lish. Leaving a depot at
 
 186 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Lake Buchanan, M'Kinlay set out for the Barcoo, 
 again passing through a region of lakes. In the 
 country now visited a number of natives were found 
 wearing pieces of European clothing. A white man's 
 grave was pointed out by the blacks and opened by 
 the explorers. It was really Gray's grave, but they 
 were as yet in ignorance of the true facts of the case, 
 and were, moreover, grossly misled by the aborigines, 
 who pointed to a lake and told them they had killed 
 and eaten white men there. M'Kinlay, hastily con- 
 cluding that this must have been the end of the 
 missing expedition, called the place Lake Massacre, 
 and reported accordingly to the authorities at Adelaide. 
 Fearing that they intended to make the like quick 
 despatch with himself and party, M'Kinlay commanded 
 his men to fire upon them, which made the whole lot de- 
 camp. This was an unfortunate misapprehension, for 
 the blacks, instead of meaning to be hostile, Avere only 
 giving expression to their joy after a fashion of their 
 own. It was, in fact, the same tribe that had treated 
 King so well, and they must have been terribly sur- 
 prised by such an abruj)t termination to friendly in- 
 tercourse. But, in the presence of such strangers as 
 they had encountered, it was a risky thing to boast of 
 killinof and eatino- white men. Having returned to 
 the depot on Lake Buchanan, and thence sent to 
 Blanchewater for supplies, M'Kinlay received correct 
 information regarding the fate of the missing expedi- 
 tion. There was, therefore, no need of doing anything 
 more in this connection ; but, being well supplied with
 
 M'KINLAY. 187 
 
 all necessaries, he wisely resolved to continue his 
 journey of exploration across the continent. On the 
 17th of December they were again on the march, 
 heading in a north-easterly direction, which led them 
 through a country barren in soil, but abounding in 
 lakes much frequented by waterfowl. These lakes 
 were quite as much a distinguishing feature of this 
 region as the springs had been of the country dis- 
 covered by M'Douall Stuart to the east of Lake Eyre 
 — soon to be noticed. Further travelling was rendered 
 difficult, first by excessive rain, and next by intolerable 
 heat. Christmas Day was spent at a splendid lake, 
 called Jeannie, which was found to be the haunt of 
 innumeraljle waterfowl. Here many natives were ob- 
 served pounding the nardoo seed between two stones, 
 which was then baked and roasted on the ashes. At 
 this camping-ground good feed was found for the 
 stock, and the men also were supplied witli abundance 
 of fish l)y the blacks. During the night their sable 
 neighbours proved rather too noisy, but when a rocket 
 was sent up it had the effect of causing a dead silence 
 till morning. The next stage led on to another lake, 
 but it was tlu-ougli a country containing little vegeta- 
 tion except polj'gonum, samphire, and saltbush. One 
 journey more brought them to a magnificent lake, 
 which M'Kinlay called the Hodgkinson, after the 
 second leader of the expedition. A tliree-days' excur- 
 sion from this centre ended in the discovery of quite 
 a number of lakes, abounding in I'xct'llciit fish. The 
 expedition had now spent four months in a region
 
 188 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 of lakes, full or dry, with many creeks and flooded 
 hollows. This was a great surprise in a country which 
 bordered so closely on Sturt's Stony Desert, and is 
 still one of the enigmas of the physical geography of 
 Australia. On the 6th of January a fresh departure 
 was made for the north, but, after weeks of fruitless 
 toil in the midst of a drought, a return had to be 
 made to Lake Hodgkinson, where it was resolved to 
 remain in camp till rain fell. During this enforced 
 delay M'Kinlay, unable to brook idleness, took a small 
 party and made an assault on Sturt's Stony Desert, 
 intimatino; that he mio-ht be absent for three weeks. 
 Four days proved to be quite enough, as he met with 
 nothing but dry lakes, red sand-hills, and bare stones, 
 although he had penetrated 57 miles into this solitude. 
 Having returned to the camp there was nothing but 
 the unpleasant experience of waiting for rain, while 
 the provisions were running down with an uncom- 
 fortable rapidity. Here, too, the blacks, presenting 
 themselves in companies of 400 or oOO, were anything 
 but agreeable neighbours. The explorers also had to 
 put up with heat, flies, ill-health, and all manner of 
 inconveniences, till the lOth of February, when rain 
 came and released them from confinement. - They had 
 now to flounder in the mud through a country which 
 is described as utterly bare of grass, like a field which 
 had been ploughed and harrowed, but not sown. On 
 the 13th an old camp of Burke's was passed, and by 
 the 7th of next month Sturt's Stony Desert was 
 left behind their backs. Towards the middle of
 
 M'KINLAY. 189 
 
 March some tracts of well-grassed country were 
 reached, and named the Downs of Plenty. During the 
 remainder of this month, also, they traversed a 
 tolerably good country, which seemed, however, to be 
 bordered by deserts. Tropical Australia was now 
 entered upon, and during the whole of April the 
 course lay through the most luxuriant vegetation. 
 About the beginning of May the track of Burke on 
 the Cloncurry was crossed. The Leichhardt River 
 was reached during tlie same month. Here the 
 country was simply magnificent, the grass being up to 
 the horses' necks. Another stage brought the expedi- 
 tion to Stokes's Plains of Promise. Finally, on the 
 ISth, they advanced to the tidal waters of the Gulf of 
 Carpentaria, but dense forests of mangrove forbade 
 their approach to the shore. Under date of the 19th 
 of May, and while resting in the GOth camp, M'Kinlay 
 wrote as follows : — " I consider we are now about four 
 or five miles from the coast. There is a rise in the 
 river here of six and two-thirds feet to-day, but 
 yesterday it was a foot higher. Killed the three 
 remaining sheep, and will retrace our steps on the 
 21st." These were the last of the 100 sheep which 
 were started with tlie expedition. M'Kinlay had the 
 credit of being the first to take sheep across the 
 continent of Australia. They now made for the coast 
 of the Pacific, M'hich was struck at Port Denison, but 
 not till a thousand obstacles were overcome and nearly 
 all the camels and horses eaten to keep themselves 
 alive.
 
 190 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 IIL 
 
 On the same errand Mr. Frederick Walker, Com- 
 mander of Native Police, was sent from Rockhampton 
 to the Albert River by the Queensland authorities. 
 Taking a party of mounted troopers, he proceeded to 
 Bauhinia Downs, on the Dawson, where the expedition 
 was finally organized on the 7th September, 1861. 
 The River Noo-oa was reached on the IGth, after 
 which he pushed on through Walker's Pass to the 
 River Nivelle. Bj^ the 27th he had made the Barcoo, 
 which was followed down for three days, during which 
 traces both of Gregory and Leichhardt were discovered. 
 From the Barcoo a passage was made to the Alice 
 through much spinifex country. After crossing the 
 watershed between the Alice and the Thomson, a fine 
 tributary of the latter, called the Coreenda, was met 
 with. By the IGth of October they had got into a 
 country of high mountains, where the natives were 
 observed to be armed with iron axes and tomahawks. 
 Some traces of Leichhardt were also found in this 
 quarter. The advance was now continued through a 
 hilly country in a north-west direction to lat. 21°, 
 where they fell in with the liead-waters of the Barkly, 
 a large tributary, or a main section, of the Flinders 
 River, which led them through splendid countr}\ 
 Another fine tributary of the Flinders was soon after 
 discovered, and called the Norman, in honour of the 
 captain of that name who was in command of the 
 depot on the Albert. Nothing further of special
 
 WALKER. 191 
 
 interest occurred till tlie 30th of October, when they 
 were attacked by a large party of armed natives. 
 Walker commanded his men to fire upon them, when 
 a dozen of these unfortunate creatures fell under his 
 guns. There is reason to fear that the leader's experi- 
 ence as an officer of black troopers had led him to 
 hold the lives of the aborigines too cheap and to forget 
 that they were human beings, of the same blood and 
 brotherhood as ourselves. The explorers now followed 
 the Norman River, but had to dig in its channel for 
 water. On the 25th of November they reached the 
 junction of the Norman and the Flinders, the latter 
 of which being a large and beautiful river. Here the 
 track of Burke and Wills was discovered, leading 
 .south, but could not be followed till fresh supplies 
 were obtained from the depot on the Albert. Early in 
 December the expedition came on to the Leichhardt, 
 and then to the Albert River, the latter flowing over 
 plains and flooded low flats, where the tracks of 
 several other explorers were seen. On the 7th the 
 <lep6t was reached and found to be under the super- 
 intendence of Captain Norman. Walker had thus 
 made the journey in three months and twelve days 
 from Rockhampton. In point of celerity, our annals 
 of exploration contain nothing to beat this record. 
 After passing thirteen days at the depot. Walker 
 started anew to follow up tlie track of Burke and 
 Wills which he had been fortunate enough to discover. 
 He succeeded in running it southward to the ninth 
 camp of the missing expedition, when it ceased to be
 
 192 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 discernible, in consequence of the abundance of vege- 
 tation and the obliterating action of floods. Thinking- 
 Burke had turned off'' to make for the east coast, AValker 
 altered his course to the same quarter, and made a 
 vain attempt to follow him up. After much harassing 
 travel he struck the Burdekin River, at Strathalbyn 
 station, where his troubles came to an end. Making- 
 next for Port Denison, he proceeded thence to Rock- 
 hampton, which was reached on the 5th of June. The 
 journey had thus occupied five months and two weeks. 
 Burke and Wills were not found, of course, but much 
 good country was discovered and the geography of 
 Northern Australia materially advanced. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The last of these eflbrts to bring relief to the missino- 
 explorers was Mr. William Landsborough's expedition. 
 The honour of being a search- party has frequently 
 been denied to this enterprise. Landsborough was 
 plainly accused of having interested objects in view ; 
 and it must be confessed that his journal contains little 
 to refute this charge, for it scarcely ever alludes to 
 Burke and Wills, nor would any reader be likely to 
 suspect that its author was in search of anyone in 
 particular. Be this as it may, in cannot be doubted 
 that, in all other respects, this expedition was a most 
 fortunate one, and excelled all the rest in the extent 
 of fine country which it brought to light. To the 
 leader himself it must have seemed more like a vaca-
 
 LANDSBOROUGH. 193 
 
 tion tour than a perilous journey through an unknown 
 land. With a party of three white men and three 
 blacks, Landsborough sailed from Moreton Bay to 
 Carpentaria on the 24th of August, 18G1. Starting 
 from the shores of the Gulf, he explored the Albert 
 E,iver, under different names, for about 120 miles. 
 This tract of country being exceedingly dry, and the 
 blacks troublesome, he was compelled to return to the 
 depot on the Albert. Captain Norman told him that 
 Walker had been there reporting the discovery of 
 Burke's track on the Flinders. This route was 
 accordingly followed from the Gulf to the source of 
 the river, but neither the tracks of Walker nor Burke 
 were found. After leaving the Flinders, the Thomson 
 was followed, and then Cooper's Creek (Barcoo) was 
 reached on the 19th of April. From this position to 
 the settled districts a route was found without diffi- 
 culty — indeed, with great ease to Landsborough. On 
 the 21st of May, being 103 days from the start, 
 Williams's station, on the Warrego, was reached, 
 where intelligence was first received regarding the fate 
 of Burke and Wills. The remainder of the journey 
 across the continent was made by the Darling River 
 and Menindie to Melbourne. It proved of the highest 
 value to the squatting interest, and led to the occupa- 
 tion of an immense extent of country for squatting 
 purposes. After an experience of twenty years in 
 Australia, Landsborough testified that the best land 
 he had seen was in the district of Carpentaria. 
 
 14
 
 194 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART's EXPEDITIONS IN THE 
 SOUTH, TO THE CENTRE, AND ACROSS THE CON- 
 TINENT. 
 
 The brave adventurer who is next to eng^asje our 
 attention must be placed in the front rank of ex- 
 plorers. John M'Douall Stuart was excelled by none, 
 and equalled by few, in the special qualities which 
 command success in the arduous enterprise to which 
 he devoted his life. As a practical bushman he 
 probably stands without a rival. From first to last 
 he spent over twenty years in the exploration of 
 Australia, during which time he was the leader of six 
 expeditions, in all of which he made important 
 discoveries, and never failed to bring home his men, 
 who had put their lives in his keeping. He first 
 served under a great master. Captain Sturt, whom he 
 accompanied in the capacity of draughtsman to the 
 expedition which started for the centre of Australia 
 in 1844. His own responsible and eminently suc- 
 cessful labours in the same field will be sketched in 
 the sequel. It is not too much to claim for M'Douall 
 Stuart the palm of martyrdom in the cause which lay 
 so near his heart. It is true that after his work was 
 done he was not left without honours, and also 
 rewards, both in land and money, but by that time he
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 195 
 
 had lost the capacity for enjoying any of these things. 
 From his hist journey he returned, or rather was 
 carried, more dead than alive, racked with the pains 
 of scurvy, contracted in the centre of the continent, 
 which he was the first to discover. He subsequently 
 rallied a little, but never recovered his health, and 
 died in Encjland in 1869. 
 
 The first of Stuart's journeys was undertaken on 
 the solicitation, and also at the expense, of his friend 
 Mr. Wm. Finke, and had for its object the discovery 
 of new pastoral country in the unknown territory to 
 the west and north-west of Lake Torrens. On the 
 10th of June, 1858, Stuart started from Mount Eyre 
 with only two men, a white man and a blackfellow, 
 taking with him a small complement of horses and a 
 too scanty allowance of provisions. The first section 
 of the journey, which was rugged and sterile, lay to 
 the west of Lake Torrens, whose surface was occa- 
 sionally sighted. Water was found at moderate 
 distances on this part of the route, but the rough and 
 .stony country proved a serious difficulty to the horses, 
 which were imperfectly shod. This contingency had 
 been strangely overlooked, and no shoes had been 
 provided for the journey. The blackfellow, who wa« 
 supposed to know this country intimately, soon got 
 bewildered, and proved of no service for the purpose 
 he was intended to forward. The leader, being thus 
 thrown upon his own resources, was also greatly
 
 196 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 inconvenienced in shaping his course by the frequent 
 and extraordinary illusions of the mirage of the 
 desert. Referring to one of these perplexing occasions 
 he says : — " I think we have now made the dip of the 
 country toward the south, but the mirage is so powerful 
 that little bushes appear like great gum-trees, which 
 makes it very difficult to judge what is before us ; it 
 is almost as bad as travelling in the dark. I never 
 saw it so bright or so continuous as it is now ; one 
 would think the whole country was under water." 
 Failing to obtain the object of his search in the north- 
 west, Stuart now directed his journey to the south 
 and east, exploring the central region between Lake 
 Torrens and Lake Gairdner. In this quarter some 
 small patches of fairly good country were found, but 
 the water, in the few places where it was met with, 
 proved to be as bitter as the sea. The blackfellow 
 now, thinking it time to shift for himself, took the 
 way that pleased him best, leaving only the white 
 man, Foster, to assist Stuart in the thick of his 
 difficulties. Hope of a successful issue to their 
 labours was now fast ebbing from the breasts of these 
 indomitable adventurers. After journeying hither 
 and thither for 1,000 miles, they had failed in the 
 prime object of the expedition, their provisions were 
 rapidly disappearing, and the horses were too footsore 
 to travel an ordinary day's march. At this stage the 
 monotony of the scene was broken by a high moun- 
 tain coming into view, which Stuart named Mount 
 Finke, and from the summit of which he ventured to
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 197 
 
 hope for a better prospect, or, if not, to alter his course. 
 " If I see nothing from the top of the mount to- 
 morrow," said he, " I must turn down to Fowler's 
 Bay for water for the horses. ... As I could not 
 remain quiet, I got on one of the lower spurs of Mount 
 Finke to see what was before me. The prospect is 
 gloomy in the extreme. I could see a long distance, 
 but nothing met the eye but a dense scrub, as black 
 and dismal as midnight." From this mount, accord- 
 ingly, a straight course was steered to the sea-coast, 
 during which every camping-place is marked on the 
 map by the name of " desert." In the matter of 
 provisions, they had for some time been reduced to 
 one meal a day, and toward the close of the journey 
 it was found that only two more remained to carry 
 them a distance of 100 miles. In this dire extremity 
 they were glad to feed on kangaroo mice, which, 
 happily, were here to be found in great abundance. 
 They are described as elegant little creatures, about 
 four inches in length, of the shape of a kangaroo, with 
 a tail terminating in a sort of brush. By means of 
 this resource against starvation the explorers were 
 enabled to cross the remaining stages of the desert, 
 and so reached the habitations of civilized men. 
 
 II. 
 
 Mr. Stuart was the first explorer who reached the 
 centre of Australia. The journey which led to this 
 memorable achievement is worthy of detailed narra- 
 tion ; but before entering upon this story it may be
 
 198 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 proper to say a few words on two preliminary essays 
 in exploration, which, in some measure, opened the 
 way to this much-desired result. 
 
 About six months after his return from his first 
 expedition, this indefatigable explorer started on a 
 new journey to examine the extensive territory lying 
 to the north of Lake Torrens and the east of Lake 
 Eyre. This country proved, in some respects, a 
 surprise to Australian discovery. It turned out to be 
 unusually well watered, being furrowed at moderate 
 intervals by a series of creeks, some of which were 
 entitled to the name of rivers. But its most aston- 
 ishing feature consisted in the myriads of springs, in 
 groups ranging from two or three to more than a 
 dozen in number. Some of these sent forth a stream 
 of water which might have turned a mill-wheel, and 
 continued to run a mile from the source. From 
 this circumstance the whole territory' has, not inaptly, 
 been called the " spring " country. Another dominant 
 feature was seen in the extraordinary abundance of 
 quartz reefs, many of which bore plain indications of 
 being auriferous, but, of course, could not be fairly 
 tested by any appliances which were then to hand. 
 Towards the close of the same year (1859) another 
 journey was made to this part of Australia, when more 
 accurate surveys were obtained, and the boundaries of 
 a number of squatting runs laid down. In both of 
 these expeditions important service was rendered to 
 the better knowledge of this country, but they were 
 especially valuable as furnishing Stuart with an
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 199 
 
 advanced starting-point for his heroic project of 
 crossing the continent from south to north. This 
 arduous, but happily successful, enterprise will now 
 be described in its main outlines. 
 
 This expedition, which consisted of only three men 
 and thirteen horses, set out on the 2nd of March, 1860, 
 from Chambers's Creek, a valuable water supplj- 
 which had been discovered by Stuart in 1858. For 
 some time his course lay through an extensive tract 
 of country which, though yet unoccupied, had become 
 well known to this, its first explorer. Toward the 
 northern part they followed the River Neale, which 
 furnished plenty of water, and led them into the 
 unknown country. The next important creeks to 
 be discovered and crossed were the Hamilton, the 
 Stephenson, and the Finke. After crossing the latter 
 there began to heave into sight a strange and strikinof 
 mountain structure, which presented the aj)pearance 
 of a locomotive engine with its funnel. " We pro- 
 ceeded," says the journal, "towards this remarkable 
 pillar through heavy sand-hills covered with spinifex, 
 and, at 12 miles from last night's camp, arrived at it. 
 It is a pillar of sandstone, standing on a hill upwards 
 of 100 feet high. From the base of the pillar to its 
 top is about 150 feet, quite perpendicular, and it is 20 
 feet wide by 10 feet deep, with two small peaks on 
 the top. I have named it Chambers's Pillar, in honour 
 of James Chambers, Esq., who has been my great 
 supporter in all my explorations." Much good 
 country had been traversed l)cforc this ptnnt was
 
 200 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 reached ; indeed, the whole of this route was a sur- 
 prise in this respect, as it had been expected to land 
 them in a great central desert. Instead of finding a 
 barren wilderness, the continuation of the journey 
 brought them into another splendid tract, watered 
 by a creek named the Hugh, which, after being 
 followed for a long distance, terminated in a high 
 mountain-chain. To scale its rugged flanks and 
 penetrate the dense thickets of mulga proved to be a 
 most formidable task, their clothes and skin being- 
 torn in forcing a passage through the living and the 
 dead timber. This rano-e — the James — was succeeded 
 by two other chains, which were named the Water- 
 house and the M'Donnell Ranges, the latter of which 
 have since become a well-known landmark in the 
 history of more recent explorations. Stuart thus 
 describes the view he obtained from the north gorge 
 of these mountains : — " From the foot of this for about 
 five miles is an open grassy country, with a few small 
 patches of bushes. A number of gum-tree creeks 
 come from the ranges and seem to empty themselves 
 in the plains. The country in the ranges is as fine a 
 pastoral hill-country as a man could wish to possess — 
 grass to the top of the hills, and abundance of water 
 through the whole of the ranges." Still heading 
 northward, the expedition reached a position, on the 
 22nd of April, which is very memorable in the annals 
 of Australia. The goal which had proved the incite- 
 ment to so many sacrifices during a long period of our 
 history was now reached at last. Mr. Stuart was
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 201 
 
 standino; in the centre of the continent. This achieve- 
 ment, of which he might well have been proud, is 
 intimated by the following modest entry in his 
 diary : — " To-day I find by my observation of the sun 
 — 111° 0' 30" — that I am now camped in the centre of 
 Australia. I have marked a tree and planted the 
 British flao^ there. There is a high mount about 
 two miles and a half to north -north-east. I wish it 
 had been in the centre ; but on it, to-morrow, I will 
 raise a cone of stones and plant the flag there and 
 name it Central Mount Stuart." This ceremony was 
 performed on the day following, when a fine view was 
 obtained from the summit of this high mountain. The 
 aspect of the central region of Australia must have 
 been a surprise to the first discoverer, for it falsified 
 the prophecies c>f half a century. The centre of 
 Australia was as much a matter of curiosity and 
 conjecture in our early history as the North Pole is 
 at the present time. Oxley was first in the field, with 
 his pet theory of an inland sea. This conjecture 
 received its quietus from Sturt, but it was only to 
 make room for the opposite fallacy of a stony desert. 
 Now, at last, when the veil was lifted and the reality 
 disclosed, it turned out to be just that which nobody 
 had prophesied and few had ventured to expect. It 
 was simply a fine country, abounding in grass, and 
 fairly supplied with water. Both now and afterwards 
 it was used by Stuart as a recruiting-ground for his 
 toil-worn expedition. Leaving part of his little force 
 here for the present, the leader made a tentative effort
 
 202 THE AUSTKALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 to ascertain whether there was any practicable route 
 out west to the Victoria River. Finding none, he 
 returned, and kept steering his former course. As if 
 the centre had been the natural goal of the journey, 
 he met with nothing but difficulties in the attempt to 
 penetrate further to the north. He himself had fallen 
 a victim to scurvy, which was only slightly relieved 
 by the native cucumber, his only resource. Water 
 became even harder to find. The horses, also, which 
 were too much of the cart breed, did not well stand a 
 hard pinch. Above all, the blacks, who had never 
 been friendly, became the more hostile the further the 
 expedition advanced. The crisis was reached when 
 they made an encampment on Attack Creek. Here 
 the aborigines set fire to the grass, and tried every 
 stratagem to separate the explorers from their horses, 
 after which there would soon have been an end to the 
 expedition. Failing in this device, they next mus- 
 tered their forces and attacked the strang;ers in the 
 proportion of ten to one. Even so, they had to come 
 off second best for the time being. Nevertheless, 
 Stuart deemed it scarcely prudent to oppose himself 
 to a tribe of warlike blacks in the centre of Australia, 
 with an army consisting of two men, all told, 
 himself being commander-in-chief. Nothino; further 
 remained but to submit to the inevitable, which he 
 accordingly did, and returned to the most northern 
 settlements of South Australia.
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 203 
 
 III. 
 
 Mr. Stuart reached Adelaide in October, 1860. 
 When it became known that he had encamped in the 
 centre of Australia and pushed his way considerably 
 further north, the public enthusiasm again rose to 
 fever heat in the cause of exploration. The Parlia- 
 ment, which never failed in its duty in this business, 
 again came forward with a vote of £2,500 to provide 
 for another and a larger expedition, which was 
 speedily organized, with the old and well-tried 
 explorer for its leader. He took with him seven 
 men, thirty horses, and thirty weeks' provisions. The 
 former route was followed, with a little deviation, as 
 far as Attack Creek, the scene of the previous repulse. 
 In all his journeys Stuart had the shrewdness to 
 search out and follow up mountain-systems, as being 
 the physical conformation most likely to furnish the 
 needful supply of water. Still on the look-out for 
 this good fortune. Attack Creek had not been far left 
 in the rear when an elevated chain — the Whittington 
 Range — was discovered, and followed for a long dis- 
 tance. It led them on to Tomkinson's Creek, 
 containing a large supply of water, which served as 
 a base for immediate operations, and was afterwards 
 turned to good account as a retreat in time of 
 difficulty. Another mountain-system — named the 
 Warburton — was met with in the next stage of the 
 journey. Like the former, it was heading too much 
 to the north to suit Stuart's intention of making for
 
 204 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the Victoria River, on the western coast. Breaking 
 away from the mountains, repeated attempts were 
 made to find a route" in the required direction. The 
 high lands soon shaded away into an interminable, 
 l)ut very fertile champaign country, which received 
 the name of Sturt's Plains, in honour of the " father 
 of Australian exploration." But it proved to be 
 absolutely arid, and blocked on all sides by impene- 
 trable scrubs, varied only by low red sand-hills. 
 Through these impervious scrubs, on the west, a 
 passage would have to be forced, or the expedition 
 must end in failure. The latter alternative was not 
 to be thought of till every expedient had been ex- 
 hausted. Leaving a portion of his force in the depot, 
 Stuart, three several times, started with a light party 
 to pierce his way through the most forbidding obstacles 
 he had ever experienced in his journeys. It w^as with 
 the greatest difficulty the horses could be brought to 
 face this formidable barrier ; and when forced to do 
 so, the animals w^ere injured and the explorers' clothes 
 torn to shreds. It was hard to persevere in the face 
 of such sacrifices ; yet it was done manfully enough, 
 and mio'ht have been crowned with success but for 
 the absolute failure of w^ater. The furthest point 
 reached in these assaults on the impervious west was 
 only a hundred miles distant from Gregory's last 
 camp on the Camfield ; and if this short space could 
 have been bridged over the final aim of the expedi- 
 tion would have been easily attained. To accomplish 
 this object, Stuart did all that man could do in such
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 205 
 
 a situation. Nothing could be more admirable than 
 the pluck and perseverance displayed in this conflict 
 with the impossible. But he, too, like all mortals, 
 had to yield to stern necessity. With a heavy heart 
 he turned his back on the coveted north-west and 
 retreated to the old camping-ground on the Tomkinson. 
 Even yet unwilling to leave any alternative untried, 
 he now modified his plan, and proposed to strike 
 north for the Gulf of Carpentaria, if such a course 
 might be possible. This, unhappily, it proved not to 
 be. His path was efiectually l^arred in this direc- 
 tion also. After the most desperate effort nothing- 
 remained but to abandon the enterprise and return to 
 the haunts of civilization. The following entry in 
 his journal shows with how much regret this retreat 
 was forced upon him : — "It certainly is a great dis- 
 appointment to me not to be able to get through, but 
 I believe I have left nothing untried that has been in 
 my power. I have tried to make the Gulf and the 
 river (Victoria) both before rain fell and immediately 
 after it had fallen, but the results were the same 
 — unsuccessful. I shall commence my homeward 
 journey to-morrow morning. The horses have had a 
 severe trial from the long journeys they have made, 
 and the great hardships and privations they have 
 undergone. On my last journey they were one 
 hundred and six hours without water." So ended 
 this second heroic effort to cross the continent. Not- 
 withstanding his defeat, Stuart had succeeded in 
 penetrating one hundred miles beyond the furthest
 
 206 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 point reached on the previous journey. His most 
 advanced position was lat. 17° long. 133°. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Now, at last, we are to see the reward of perse- 
 verance. If Fortune has any favour for the brave, it 
 was time to smile on John M'Douall Stuart. Two 
 noble efforts had ended in failure, but this third 
 attempt was to be crowned with complete success, 
 and land the explorer on the much-coveted shores of 
 the Indian Ocean. A month had not elapsed since 
 .his return from the second journey when the Govern- 
 ment of South Australia despatched him on his third 
 and final expedition. Being provided with reinforce- 
 ments, he left the settled districts in January, 1862, 
 and by the 8th of April had reached Newcastle Water, 
 the most northern camping-ground of the former 
 journey. Without loss of time he made a renewed 
 attempt to pierce the north-western scrub and carve 
 his way to the Victoria River. But again his Her- 
 culean struggles proved to be only wasted effort. 
 This route was accordingly abandoned, finally and for 
 ever, as being absolutely impracticable. The line of 
 march was now directed to the north, with a view 
 of cutting the track of Leichhardt's and Gregory's 
 discoveries, and thus gaining the Roper River, which 
 enters the Gulf of Carpentaria. This new project 
 proved more easy in the accomj^lishment than he had 
 ventured to expect. There were, of course, stubborn 
 obstacles to be overcome ; but water, the great
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 207 
 
 requirement, was found at manageable intervals, 
 bringing the party on, by a succession of ponds, first 
 to the Daly Waters, and thence to an important river, 
 which was named the Strangway. This bridge over 
 the wilderness conducted them to the much-desired 
 Roper River. It is described as a noble stream, 
 draining a magnificent country, and exceeding in 
 volume any the explorers had hitherto seen. This 
 clue having been followed in the direction of its 
 source, led the expedition a long way towards its 
 destination on the shores of the Indian Ocean. After 
 it failed them by turning too far to the north, only a 
 short intervening tract had to be crossed before 
 the Adelaide River, one of the known western 
 streams, was reached. Again the route lay through 
 some of the finest country in Australia, con- 
 taining much that was new both in flora and 
 fauna. The valley of this river was constantly 
 revealing to the eyes of the strangers some botanical 
 surprise — giant bamboos, fairy-like palms, and 
 magnificent water-lilies on the placid bosom of its 
 longer reaches. There was only one drawback, 
 a,nd that a rather serious one. It was the paradise 
 of mosquitoes, which made a common prey of the 
 intruders, allowing them no rest by night, and 
 leaving mementos of their attachment that could 
 not be forgotten during the day. But through 
 pleasure and pain the expedition pushed on to- 
 wards the attainment of its purpose. The leader 
 so manaojed the last stage as to make the con-
 
 208 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 elusion of the journey a surprise to his men. He 
 knew the ocean to be near at hand, hut kept the 
 good news a secret- till his party should be in a 
 position to behold it with their own eyes. " At 
 eight miles and a half," says he, " we came upon a 
 broad valley of black alluvial soil, covered with 
 long grass. From this I can hear the wash of the 
 sea. On the other side of the valley, which is 
 rather more than a quarter of a mile wide, is 
 growing a line of thick heavy bushes, very dense, 
 showing that to be the boundary of the beach. 
 Crossed the valley and entered the scrub, which 
 was a complete network of vines. Stopped the 
 horses to clear a way, while I advanced a few 
 yards on the beach, and was gratified and delighted 
 to behold the waters of the Indian Ocean, in 
 Van Diemen's Gulf, before the party with the 
 horses knew anything of its proximity. Thring, 
 who rode in advance of me, called out ' The sea ! ' 
 which so took them all by surprise, and they were 
 so astonished, that he had to repeat the call before 
 they fully understood what was meant. They then 
 immediately gave three long and hearty cheers. 
 . . . . I dipped my feet and washed my hands, 
 as I had promised the late Governor, Sir Richard 
 M'Domiell, I would do if I reached it. Thus I have, 
 through the instrumentality of Divine Providence, 
 been led to accomplish the great object of the 
 expedition, and to take the whole party safely as 
 witnesses to the fact, and through one of the finest
 
 JOHN M'DOUALL STUART. 209 
 
 countries man could wish to behold. From New- 
 castle Water to the sea-beach the main body of the 
 horses have been only one night without water, and 
 then got it the next day." The Union Jack was now 
 hoisted, and near the foot of a marked tree there 
 was buried, in a tin, a paper containing the following 
 inscription : — " The exploring party under the com- 
 mand of John M'Douall Stuart arrived at this spot on 
 the 25th day of July, 1862, having crossed the entire 
 continent of Australia, from the Southern to the 
 Indian Ocean, passing through the centre. They left 
 the city of Adelaide on the 26th day of October, 
 1861, and the most northern station of the colony on 
 the 21st day of January, 1862. To commemorate 
 this happy event they have raised this flag, bearing 
 his name. All well. God save the Queen ! " Burke 
 and Wills had crossed the same continent to the 
 Gulf of Carpentaria nearly eighteen months earlier, 
 but this achievement in no way detracts from the 
 merit of Stuart's success, for his journey was entirely 
 independent of their, or any other, expedition. The 
 felicitous termination of this splendid enterprise 
 marks a principal era in the history of Australian 
 exploration. It led directly to three important results 
 — the annexation of the northern territor}' to Soutli 
 Australia, the establishment of a colonial settlement 
 at Port Darwin, and the construction of the trans- 
 continental telegraph along almost tlie whole route (»f 
 this expedition. 
 
 15
 
 210 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COLONEL WARBURTON's JOURNEY ACROSS THE 
 WESTERN INTERIOR. 
 
 M'DouALL Stuart's crowning feat in exploration was 
 soon turned to good account. The idea of a transcon- 
 tinental telegraph now passed from the realms of 
 Utopia and became a realized fact. The commercial 
 interests of Australia had been urgently in need of 
 communication with the Indo-European lines already- 
 existing, but the o-reat desert of the interior was 
 believed to interpose an impenetrable barrier. Now, 
 at last, this misconception, which had been founded 
 on ignorance, was removed by Stuart, who discovered 
 a belt of good country stretching across the interior 
 and reaching to the Indian Ocean. Along this route, 
 with few deviations, the line runs from the Adelaide 
 extension in the south to Port Darwin in the north. 
 In this most creditable enterprise, which was com- 
 completed in 1872, South Australia spent £370,000, 
 and rendered excellent service to the exploration, as 
 well as to the commercial interests, of Australia. Here 
 was a new base-line for explorers, intersecting the 
 continent from end to end. This advantage was not 
 long in being put to j)ractical use. In South Australia 
 the question of further exploration began to be 
 agitated as soon as the line was opened. The Govern-
 
 COLONEL WARBURTON. 211 
 
 ment was importuned for means to provide for an 
 expedition to cut through the western interior, 
 starting from the telegraph line at the centre of the 
 continent. No aid was obtained from this quarter ; 
 nevertheless, tJie projected tour of discovery did not 
 fall through, for two private gentlemen, the Hon. 
 Thomas Elder and Mr, W. W. Hughes, now came 
 forward and oifered to bear the expense of the expedi- 
 tion. The next important step was the choice of a 
 leader, who was happily found in Colonel P. E. 
 Warburton. This brave man was born in Cheshire, 
 England, in 1818. He was early trained for the 
 military profession, and served in India from IS.SI to 
 1853. About the latter date he came out to South 
 Australia, where he was appointed Commissioner of 
 Police, and subsequently held the position of Com- 
 mandant of the volunteer forces till 187-i. During 
 these later years he had been engaged in several 
 essays in exploration, in which he rendered good 
 service to his country and prepared himself for the 
 j)erilous, but successful, journey with wliich his name 
 will ever be associated. 
 
 The proper starting-point for the expedition was 
 fixed for Alice Springs, a station on the overland tele- 
 graph, situated almost in the centre of Australia ; and 
 it was the leader's intention to make for the city of 
 Perth, in the west, by the most direct course that could 
 be found — a purpose which came to be considerably 
 modified under the pressure of a terrible necessity. 
 The rendezvous, 1,120 miles distant from Adelaide,
 
 212 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 was reached by way of Beltana, along a route now 
 beginning to be pretty well known, and all was 
 prepared for the start by the loth of April, 1873. The 
 expedition, now first in the line of march, consisted of 
 Colonel Warburton as leader, K Warburton (his son),. 
 J. W, Lewis, D. White, two Afghans, and a black 
 boy. The only beasts of burden were camels, which 
 amounted to seventeen in number, and the supply of 
 provisions was calculated to last for six months. The 
 route for a short distance northward kept the line of 
 the telegraph, till the Burt Creek was reached, after 
 which it deflected toward the west. The difficulties 
 which beset this journey began at the beginning and 
 continued to its close, only increasing in severit}' with 
 terrible consistency. Want of water compelled them 
 again and again to retreat to former encampments^ 
 thus causing a great part of the route to be travelled 
 over two or three times. From this cause the eastern 
 boundary of South Australia had to be crossed three 
 times before permanent progress could be made in the 
 proper course. From first to last the country proved 
 to be a barren waste, without creek or river affording 
 a supply of water. In the earlier part of the journej' 
 an occasional oasis was met with containing perma- 
 nent lakelets, at which the explorers would gladly 
 have lino-ered to recruit themselves and rest the 
 camels; but this delay meant consumption of the 
 provisions, which it soon became evident were too 
 scanty from the first. Warburton wisely resolved to 
 feel his way as he proceeded through the desert by
 
 COLONEL WARBURTON. 213 
 
 sending scouts in advance to search for water. This 
 was seldom found, except in extremely sparse wells, 
 which were used by the aborigines, and sometimes 
 indicated by the smoke of their camps, but in 
 hardly a single instance was direct information 
 obtained from the blacks. The native wells in the 
 sand not unusually indicated, rather than contained, 
 water, and had often to be excavated to much greater 
 ilepth. In this way, for the most part, was the desert 
 crossed. When water was announced, an advance 
 was made one stage further and a search party again 
 sent out. It often happened that no water could lie 
 found by the scouts after the most exhausting search, 
 further progress being thus rendered impossible. In 
 these cases there was no help for it but to change the 
 direction, as far as their object would permit, and 
 seek another tentative route. This was indescribal)ly 
 trying to their spirits, but the other alternative was 
 to perish in the sand. On some few occasions the 
 clouds came to their relief and l)urst in thunderstorms. 
 Even when only a slight shower fell, a few Ijuckets of 
 water were secured by spreading a tarpaulin on the 
 ground. On the 9th of May a deep glen was found 
 in a range of hills. Here was an excellent supply of 
 water, shaded by basalt rocks, rising to the heiglit of 
 oOO ft. Here, too, the weary wanderers rested for a 
 few days, as also at Waterloo Wells, a little ahead, for 
 which they had to pay a penalty in the permanent 
 loss of four camels, which su<ldenly decampe<l. They 
 were tracked for a hundred miles, but never recovered.
 
 214 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 Hitherto their progress had been slow and dis- 
 couraging. They had travelled 1,700 miles, but were 
 yet at no great distance from Alice Springs. Nor 
 was the outlook any more encouraging. Day after 
 day it was the same weary journeying over spinifex 
 ridges and sandy valleys, without any indication of 
 the fine country they had hojDed to discover ; but, to 
 their credit be it said, no one even hinted about giving 
 up the enterprise. By the 17th of August a notable 
 stage in their progress was reached. Warburton 
 ascertained that he could not be more than ten 
 miles distant from the most southern point reached 
 by Mr. A. C. Gregory in 1856. The Colonel ascended 
 a neighbouring hill to see if he could catch a glimpse 
 of Termination Lake, into which Sturt's Creek had 
 been found to empty itself. This salt lake was con- 
 cealed by a range of sand-hills ; but Warburton 
 verified his position, and thus had virtually connected 
 his own surve}^ from the centre with the Gregory 
 discoveries in the north. Advancing slowly, but 
 surely, towards the west, a fine freshwater lake 
 was discovered on the 30th. It abounded in water- 
 fowl, which were more easily shot than recovered, 
 as they had no means of reaching them in the 
 water. From this point onward their troubles began 
 to thicken with ominous rapidit}'. Eight of the 
 seventeen camels were gone, while the stock of pro- 
 visions, too, began to appear uncomfortably small, and 
 had to be dealt out with a niggardly hand. It now 
 became evident to the Colonel that the original plan
 
 COLONEL WARBURTON. 215 
 
 of proceeding to Perth was impracticable, and he 
 resolved to head further to the north, so as to strike 
 the Oakover River and save the expedition. Their 
 troubles were truly most afflicting in this great and 
 terrible wilderness. The heat and toil of travelling- 
 wore them out by day, and myriads of black ants 
 deprived them of their sleep at night. They were 
 now living on camels' flesh, dried in the sun, the only 
 sauce being an occasional bird which fell to their guns. 
 By the 2nd of November they had been reduced to 
 dire extremity, both of famine and thirst. The Oak- 
 over was estimated to be about 150 miles distant, and 
 it was resolved to make a rush for it, taking their 
 chance of an accidental discovery of water to keep 
 them in life, for it was now a question of mere 
 life and death. Respecting this latter and awfulh' 
 perilous stage of the journey, it will be better to let 
 Colonel Warburton speak for himself. The following 
 extracts are from the entries in his journal as made 
 during the crisis of his sufferings, when hope was fast 
 giving place to despair : — " We killed our last meat 
 on the 20th October ; a large bull camel has, there- 
 fore, fed us for three weeks. It must be remembered 
 that we have had no flour, tea, or sugar, neither have 
 we an atom of salt, so we cannot salt our meat. AVe 
 are seven in all, and are living entirely upon sun- 
 dried slips of meat which are as tasteless and innu- 
 tritious as a piece of dead bark. . . . We have 
 abandoned eveiything but our small supply of water 
 and meat, and each party has a gun. . . . We
 
 216 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 are hemmed in on every side : every trial we make 
 fails ; and I can now only hope that some one or 
 more of the party may reach water sooner or 
 later. As for myself, I can see no hope of life, for 
 I cannot hold up without food and water. I have 
 given Lewis written instructions to justify his leaving 
 me, should I die, and have made such arrange- 
 ments as I can for the preservation of my journal 
 and maps. . . . My party, at least, are now in 
 that state that, unless it please God to save us, we 
 cannot live more than 24 hours. We are at our last 
 drop of water, and the smallest bit of dried meat 
 chokes me. I fear my son must share my fate, as he 
 refuses to leave me. God have mercy upon us, for 
 we are brought very low, and by the time death 
 reaches us we shall not regret exchanging our present 
 misery for that state in which the weary are at rest. 
 We have tried to do our duty, and have been disap- 
 pointed in all our expectations. I have been in 
 excellent health during the whole journey, and am so 
 still, being merely worn out from want of food and 
 water. Let no self-reproaches afflict any respecting 
 me. I undertook this journey for the benefit of my 
 family, and I was quite equal to it under all the 
 circumstances that could be reasonably anticipated, 
 but difficulties and losses have come upon us so 
 thickly for the last few months that we have not 
 been able to move. Thus, our provisions are gone ; 
 but this would not have stopped us could we have 
 found water without such laborious search. The
 
 COLONEL WARBURTON. 217 
 
 country is terrible. I do not believe men ever 
 traversed so vast an extent of continuous desert." 
 They were, indeed, brought to the last extreme of ( 
 misery. But man's extremity is God's opportunity, j 
 A search party found a good well about twelve miles 
 distant, which supplied all their necessities, and saved 
 their lives. Another fortnight brought the forlorn 
 wanderers to a creek with a good store of water at 
 intervals. This proved to be a tributary of the Oak- 
 over, to the banks of which they were thus led by 
 such stages as could be travelled in their deplorably 
 emaciated condition. The outskirts of civilization 
 were all but reached. The pastoral station of De Grey 
 was believed to be only a few days' travelling down 
 the river, and a small detachment was sent to implore 
 succour. The distance was really 170 miles, and three 
 weary weeks had to be spent in hoping against 
 hope till relief arrived. Help did come in abundance, 
 and as speedily as was possible in the circumstances. 
 The toils of the wilderness wanderings were now 
 over ; all that remained was a terrible retrospect. 
 It was reckoned they had not travelled less 
 than 4,000 miles, including deviations and retreats 
 when further advance became impracticable through 
 want of water. Tlie result, looked at from an 
 explorer's point of view, was, of course, a flat dis- 
 appointment. Some had confidently expected to 
 hear of a good pastoral country being discovered 
 in tlie western interior which would prove a new 
 liome to the enterprising squatter, and be depastured
 
 218 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 by myriads of flocks and herds. Instead of* this 
 wished-for diseover}^ Colonel Warburton had to 
 follow in the wake of Captain Sturt, and tell yet 
 another tale of an arid desert with dreary ridges of 
 sand succeeding each other like the waves of the sea 
 — a country of no use to civilized, and very little to 
 savao-e, man. Yet, even so, a jzood service had been 
 rendered to the knowledge of Australian geography. 
 Where the truth has to be known it is something- 
 even to reach a negative result. If the western 
 interior is a desert, it is a real gain to have this fact 
 ascertained and placed on record. Another question 
 set at rest by this expedition is the incomparable 
 superiority of camels in Australian exploration, in 
 point of endurance and in making long stages without 
 water, A horse requires to be watered every twelve 
 hours, but a camel will go without it for ten or 
 twelve days on a pinch. This was not the first time 
 they had been tried in Australia. Burke and 
 Wills started with more "ships of the desert" than 
 Warburton ; but the mismanao-ement which involved 
 that enterprise in fatal disaster deprived the experi- 
 ment of a fair chance of success. Warburton's was 
 pre-eminently the camel expedition of Australia. 
 The result justified the means. With all the aid of 
 these invaluable beasts of burden the expedition, 
 indeed, was brought to the very brink of ruin ; 
 but without them everyone must inevitably have 
 perished.
 
 HON. JOHN FORREST. 219- 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE HON. JOHN FORREST's EXPLORATIONS IN WESTERN 
 AUSTRALIA. 
 
 This distinguished explorer is a native oi' West 
 Australia, and an honour to his country. He is a 
 man of ability, well educated, and thoroughly com- 
 petent for the work to which he has devoted so much 
 of his time and attention. In early life he entered 
 the Survey Department, where his services were 
 appreciated and rewarded by an appointment, in 
 1876, to the office of Deputy Surveyor-General. Mr. 
 Forrest has gained imperishable laurels in the field of 
 exploration. His ser^■ices in the three following- 
 expeditions entitle him to a high position among the 
 Australian explorers. A short notice of each is all 
 that our space permits. 
 
 I. 
 
 About the close of 1868 a report reached Perth ta 
 the effect that natives in the eastern districts knew of 
 a party of white men who had been murdered some 
 twenty years earlier. This rumour was strongly 
 confirmed by a gentleman who ha<l penetrated into 
 the interior in search of sheep-runs. He reported 
 that his native guide had assured him he had been to 
 the very spot where the murder had been connnitted,. 
 and had seen tlie remains of white men. His storv
 
 220 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 was very circumstantial, stating that it was on the 
 border o£ a large lake, and that the white men were 
 killed while making damper. He volunteered, more- 
 over, to conduct any party to the scene of the murder. 
 The story possessed a sufficient likeness to truth to 
 impose on grave and sober-minded men. Among 
 these was Baron Von Mueller, of Melbourne, who 
 organized a party to proceed to the spot, in the hope of 
 finding the remains of Leichhardt's expedition. He 
 intended to take the lead himself, but this purpose he 
 had to change, through business engagements, and the 
 expedition accordingly was placed under the com- 
 mand of Mr. John Forrest. The route lay to the 
 north-east from Perth. The party was able to pene- 
 trate 2.50 miles in advance of former expeditions. 
 This was, so far, another gain to the knowledge of 
 Australian geography ; but the new country was 
 found to be unsuitable for pastoral or agricultural 
 purposes. In regard to its principal object, the 
 expedition turned out a complete failure, adding 
 only one other proof of the utter worthlessness of 
 aboriginal testimony. The blackfellow who had led 
 them out with such confidence made some signi- 
 licant admissions as they proceeded on the journey. 
 First, he had not, properly speaking, been at the place 
 himself, or seen the relics, but had heard of them from 
 others of the black fraternity ; then, again, he could 
 not be sure whether they were the bones of men or 
 horses — more likely, perhaps, the latter. Finally, it 
 was pretty clearly ascertained that the whole story
 
 HON. JOHN FORREST. 221 
 
 had originated from the remains of a number of 
 horses which had belonged to the explorer Austin, and 
 were poisoned in that neighbourhood. No traces of 
 Leichhardt were found in that quarter, nor is it at all 
 probable that he had penetrated so far west. 
 
 II. 
 Almost innnediately after returning from the search 
 after Leichhardt, Mr. Forrest was put in command of 
 a second expedition. Governor Weld was anxious to 
 obtain a more accurate sur\'ey of the southern coast 
 between Perth and Adelaide, with a view to tele- 
 graphic connection. The largest and most difficult 
 part of the route lay along the Great Australian 
 Bight, which had been traversed with terrible suf- 
 fering by Mr. E., J. Eyre thirty years previously. 
 Since that time a little more information had been 
 o-ained, tendino- to lessen the horrors of travel in that 
 forbidding region; and Port Eucla, a valuable harbour, 
 had been discovered just within the eastern boundary 
 of West Australia. But the whole of the southern 
 country from Perth to Adelaide required to be 
 examined afresh for the object which was now 
 contenq-)lated. Mr. John Forrest was easily persuaded 
 to lead this t'xpedition, wliieli consisted of his brother, 
 Mr. Alexander Forrest, as second in couunand. Police 
 Constable M'Larty, a farrier, and two aboriginals. A 
 small schooner, the Ailar, was despatclied, to wait 
 witli supplies at Ivspcrance Bay, Israelite Bay, and 
 Port Euela — an arrangement which greatly lessened
 
 222 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the difficulties and dangers of the expedition. After 
 reaching the Great Bight the party followed, in a 
 reverse direction, the line of Eyre's journey, keeping 
 a little more inland, though they were never more 
 than thirty miles from the sea. So far as the old 
 explorer's tracks were followed, Forrest had the 
 advantage of finding an occasional supply of water as 
 indicated on the chart, and when he deviated from 
 this route he was well rewarded by the discovery 
 of better, and sometimes of really first-class country. 
 The season, though too dry, seems to have been less 
 so than when Eyre encountered the perils of this 
 region, and for this reason occasional surface water 
 was found, in very limited quantities. Yet on several 
 of the lono- waterless stages both men and horses were 
 near their last gasp in the agonies of thirst. From 
 Port Eucla an attempt was made to penetrate for 
 some distance to the north, in the interest of dis- 
 covery. The land appeared, and has since been 
 proved, to be of the best quality, but absolute want of 
 water compelled the explorers to beat a retreat when 
 they had proceeded only about thirty miles inland. 
 The expedition again started on its proper course and 
 rounded the head of the Bight. Soon an escort was 
 in readiness from South Australia, which led them 
 through the Gawler Ranges to the city of Adelaide. 
 The party had started on the 30th of March, 1870, 
 and their destination was reached on the 27th of 
 August — not half the time Mr. Eyre had required for 
 A much shorter journey. This new adventure in
 
 HON. JOHN FORREST. 228 
 
 exploration was highly successful. A practicable 
 route for the telegraph having been found, the line 
 was constructed in the course of another year or two, 
 thus connecting Perth with the intercolonial and 
 also with the European telegraphic systems. Fine 
 reaches of the best pastoral country were examined 
 or indicated lying to the north of the wretched 
 seaboard, the only drawback being the absence of 
 permanent water. This difficulty is now being over- 
 come by boring, by which means an ample supply is 
 obtained at a reasonable depth. The latest proposal 
 is to run a railway from Perth to Port Eucla, with 
 probable extension to Adelaide. A syndicate has 
 offered to construct it on the land-grant system, 
 engineers are presently engaged on the survey, and 
 its completion may be accepted as one of the great 
 events of the near future. 
 
 III. 
 
 Mr. John Forrest's third expedition was much more 
 arduous, as it was also of greater geographical import- 
 ance, than either of the preceding. Before the trans- 
 continental telegraph was fully completed, he proposed 
 to the authorities at Perth to lead an exploring party 
 across the centre of Western Australia from Champion 
 Bay to the route of the new line, on condition of a 
 grant from the Treasury of £400 for expenses, him- 
 self engaging to provide another £200. The proposal 
 was gladly accepted, and no time was lost in making 
 the necessary preparations. His party, as tinall}'
 
 224 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 organized, consisted of Alexander Forrest, five whites, 
 two aboriginals, and twenty-one horses. It being- 
 resolved to keep the line of the Murchison to its 
 sources, the start was made from Geraldton, Champion 
 Bay, on the 1st of April, 1874. For some time the 
 course lay to the south of the river, which was not 
 joined till the 23rd, after which beautifully grassed 
 country was travelled over. The Murchison in its 
 upper waters divided into several channels, causing 
 some perplexity. One of these was selected, and 
 followed as far as it served their purpose, and then 
 the course was directed to the watershed. Now they 
 found themselves in a dry, barren land, which afforded 
 the scantiest supply of water, and only after laborious 
 search — sometimes not even then. Occasionally, but 
 only at long intervals, a good native well was reached, 
 when the temptation to rest for several days was 
 irresistible. To the most noted of these Mr. Forrest 
 gave the name of the Weld Springs, in honour of the 
 Governor, who ever did his utmost to forward the 
 exploration of the interior. The encampment at Weld 
 Springs was not an unbroken pleasure. The blacks 
 were numerous in the neighbourhood, and irreconcil- 
 ably hostile. Finding his party assailed with mur- 
 derous intent, Forrest, seeing it had become a question 
 of self-defence, fired upon the natives, and some blood 
 was shed. But for this act of stern necessity, it is 
 evident that the explorers must have perished. This 
 pleasant spot was but an oasis in a great desert, which 
 became the more inhospital>le the further they pene-
 
 HON. JOHN FORREST. 225 
 
 trated into its secrets. For 600 miles they had to 
 thread their way through a wilderness of spinifex, 
 .sometimes also approaching the verge of despair 
 through want of water, in search of which the scouts 
 had always to scour the country. In this desert the 
 natives were seldom seen, and still more rarely could 
 they be induced to come within speaking distance. 
 At one place they decamped on the first appearance 
 of the intruders on their desert home, leaving a whole 
 kangaroo roasting on the fire. This would have been 
 (|uite a godsend for Warburton and his party, but 
 happily the present expedition was never reduced to 
 such dire necessity. In another respect, too, Forrest 
 seems to have had better luck than his brother 
 explorers. During the latter part of his journey a 
 kind of fig-tree ( Fiats 'platypoda) was occasionally 
 met with, producing an agreeable fruit about the size 
 of a bullet. Such a discovery in the wilds of Aus- 
 tralia is nothing short of a marvel. Nature has 
 reserved few such favours for this country-. Yet still 
 better fortune was at hand. It became evident, first 
 by faint and then by very plain indications, that they 
 were coming on the tracks of Europeans. Only a 
 short time previously Mr. Giles and Mr. Gosse had 
 separately been out in these parts, but had to return 
 for want of water. Still, a marked tree or an old 
 camping-ground was an inspiring object, seeing they 
 had been made by tra\cllers who had started from the 
 opposite end of the journey. Much j-et remained to 
 be <lone, l)ut the ground was now got over with mucli
 
 226 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 better heart. The monotony of the desert-wandering 
 had been much relieved in a manner highly creditable 
 to Mr. Forrest. Here, as in all his explorations, he 
 remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Regu- 
 larly, as the Sunday came round, divine service was 
 read in the camp. Even the old habit of a good 
 Sunday dinner was not forgotten. People in different 
 circumstances might not have thought the cheer much 
 to be envied ; but hunger is the best sauce. If a 
 pigeon or a parrot could be secured at the seasonable 
 time it was reserved as a special treat for the Sunday 
 dinner. But better things were in store. Persever- 
 ance had not much longer to wait for its reward. 
 Following the tracks of the preceding explorers, they 
 came on to the Marryat River, which led them on to 
 the Alberga, and this clue finally conducted the weary 
 wanderers to the long-desired telegraph line. The 
 journal of the expedition contains the following entry 
 for the 27th August, 1874: — "Continued east for 
 about twelve miles, and then E.N.E. for three miles, 
 and reached the telegraph line between Adelaide and 
 Port Darwin, and camped." [The 104th camp from the 
 start.] " Long and continued cheers came from our 
 little band as they beheld at last the goal to which we 
 have been travelling for so long. I felt rejoiced and 
 relieved from anxiety ; and in reflecting on the long 
 time of travel we had performed through an unknown 
 country, almost a wilderness, felt very thankful to 
 that good Providence that had guarded and guided us 
 so safely through it." A well-beaten track had now
 
 HON. JOHN FORREST. 227 
 
 been made along the telegraph line, which the party 
 followed, proceeding to the south. In a day or two 
 the Peak station was reached. From this point 
 the journey to Adelaide was made by easy stages. 
 Forrest's track lay a long way south of Warburton's, 
 and threw a streak of light across another dark region 
 of the western half of Australia. The results of the 
 journey are thus summed up in the explorer's own 
 words : — " The whole of the country, from the settled 
 districts near Champion Bay to the head of the 
 Murchison, is admirably suited for pastoral settle- 
 ment, and in a very short time will be taken up and 
 stocked ; indeed, some has already been occupied. 
 From the head of the Murchison to the T29th 
 meridian, the boundary of our colony, I do not think 
 will ever be settled. Of course, there are many grassy 
 patches, such as at Windich Springs, the Weld 
 Springs, all round Mount Moore, and other places ; 
 but they are so isolated, and of such extent, that it 
 would never jDay to take stock to tliem. The general 
 character of this iunnense tract is a gently undulating 
 spinifex desert — Feducjh (Triodia) irrlfan-'^, the 
 spinifex of the desert explorers, but not the spinifex 
 of science. It is lightly wooded .... and there 
 is a great absence of any large timber."
 
 228 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MR. ERXEST GILES's EXPLORATIONS IN CENTRAL AND 
 WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
 
 Mr. Ernest Giles is a native of Bristol, in England- 
 As soon as his education was finished he rejoined his 
 father and family, who had preceded him to Australia. 
 He very early developed a passion for exploration, and 
 gained valuable experience in connection with various 
 expeditions which he served in a subordinate capacity. 
 His own fame as an explorer rests securely on the 
 following enterprises : — 
 
 Shortly after the construction of the Port Darwin 
 telegraph, Mr. Giles made a persevering attempt to 
 lead a small party from Chambers's Pillar to the 
 sources of the Murchison Hiver. The expenses were 
 provided partly by himself and partly by Baron Von 
 Mueller, of Melbourne. The party consisted of 
 Messrs. Giles, Carmichael, and A. Robinson, with 
 fifteen horses and one dog. The start was made 
 about the middle of August, 1872. For the early part 
 of the journey the River Finke was followed, but it 
 led them into a rugged, mountainous country-, in 
 which travelling was difficult. The scenery was often 
 charming, as one glen after another was explored.
 
 ERNEST GILES. 229 
 
 Palm-Tree Glen, in particular, called forth unceasing 
 admiration on account of the multitude of wild flowers 
 which were " born to blush unseen and waste their 
 sweetness on the desert air." " I collected to-day," 
 says Mr. Giles, " and during the other days since we 
 have been in this glen, a number of most beautiful 
 flowers, which grow in profusion in this otherwise 
 desolate glen. I am literally surrounded by fair 
 flowers of many a changing hue. Why Nature should 
 scatter such floral gems in such a sterile region is 
 difficult to understand ; but such a variety of lovely 
 flowers of every colour and perfume I have never met 
 with previously. They alone would have induced me 
 to name this the Glen of Flowers, but having found in 
 it also so many of the stately palm-trees, I have called 
 it the Glen of Palms." During a further advance 
 among the outlying spurs of the M'Donnell Ranges, 
 the Finke w^s left, or lost, and laborious search 
 had often to be made for water. The mountains 
 were hii>'h, but no creek was found with a lono-er 
 course than twelve miles. The peaks often assumed 
 strange and fantastic shapes, as the explorers have 
 indicated by such names as Mount Peculiar, Haast's 
 Bluff, &c. The following quotation from the journal 
 shows how they were straitened at this time through 
 want of water. After finding a little in the hollow of 
 a rock, just sufficient to save life, Mr. Giles says : — " It 
 was necessary to try to discover more water if 
 possible, so, after breakfast, I walked away, but, after 
 travelling up gullies and gorges, hills and valleys, I
 
 230 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 had to return quite unsuccessful, and I can only 
 conclude that this water was permitted by a kind 
 Providence to remain here in this lovely spot for iny 
 especial benefit. ... I have, in gratitude, called 
 it Mount Udor, as being the only one in this region 
 where a drop of that requisite element was to be 
 obtained. And when I left the udor had departed 
 also." This incident occurred at the twenty-first camp 
 from Chambers's Pillar. From this point a persevering, 
 but unsuccessful, effort was made to strike out west in 
 the direction of a chain named Ehrenberg's Mountain. 
 Want of water again forced the party back on Mount 
 Udor. A more southerly route led to the important 
 discovery of a great saltwater lake, which was called 
 Amadeus, after the then King of Spain, son of Victor 
 Emanuel. Beyond this long, but comparatively narrow, 
 sheet of water, a conspicuous mountain, named Olga, 
 specially attracted the attention of Mr. Giles, who was 
 anxious to reach it by rounding the lake. But this 
 labour was prevented by an incident which, unhappily, 
 caused the purpose of the expedition to collapse. 
 Robinson had lieen seized with home-sickness, and the 
 infection reached Carmichael, who obstinately refused 
 to proceed any further. Giles tried the effect of 
 moral >suasion, which was the only weapon available 
 for a volunteer. He pleaded the large supply of 
 provisions, the importance of the enterprise, and the 
 ignominy of turning back. But it was to no purpose. 
 Carmichael had made up his mind and would listen to 
 no arguments. Giles was now compelled to direct his
 
 ERNEST GILES. 231 
 
 march back to the telegraph line, " a baffled and 
 beaten man." Durino- this inolorious retreat the 
 course lay by the Peterman, the Palmer, and the 
 Finke rivers, and by this route the original camp 
 No. 1 was reached. Here is the conclusion of the 
 whole matter in Mr. Giles's own words : — " My expe- 
 dition was over. I had failed in my object (to 
 penetrate to the sources of the Murchison River) 
 certainly, but not through any fault of mine, as I 
 think any impartial reader of my journal will 
 admit. . . . We travelled to the eastward 
 along the course of the River Finke (homeward), 
 and passed a few miles to the south of Chambers's 
 Pillar, which had been my starting-point. I had 
 left it but twelve weeks and four days to the 
 time I re-sighted it, and during that interval I had 
 traversed and laid down about a thousand miles of 
 country. My expedition thus early ends. Had I 
 been fortunate enough to have fallen upon a good, or 
 even fair, line of country, the distance I actually' 
 travelled would have taken me across the continent." 
 
 II. 
 
 A second attempt was made by the same explorer 
 shortly after his return from the first. The funds 
 being provided by the liberality of the Victorian 
 colonists, a light party, consisting of Messrs. Giles, 
 Tietkens, Gibson, and Andrews, with twenty-four 
 liorses, were despatched for the purpose of crossing 
 the western half of Australia. They left the tele-
 
 232 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 graph road at the junction of the Stevenson and 
 Alberga creeks on the 4th of August, 1873. The 
 latter was followed for some distance westward, after 
 which, by a short cross-country route to the north, 
 the Hamilton River was reached, and taken as a guide 
 so far as was practicable. This journey led to the 
 discovery of four remarkable mountain-chains. The 
 first of these was named Anthony Range. From one 
 of the summits they beheld a sea of mountains, count- 
 less in number, many of which presented the most 
 comically fantastic shapes and forms which the 
 imagination can conceive. Ayer's Range was next 
 reached, and an equally commanding view obtained 
 from one of its heights. The next was the Muso-rave 
 Range, occupying a central position in a far-reaching 
 expanse of good country. Here the natives were 
 encountered in a hostile attitude, but were beaten off 
 by the superior arms of four white men. After a 
 journey of 400 miles they reached Mt. Olga, which 
 had been sighted on the former expedition. In this 
 neighbourhood also, they found the tracks of Mr. 
 Gosse, a contemporary explorer, which led to a devia- 
 tion from the proposed route. In Cavanagh's Range 
 a depot was established, as a basis for tentative explo- 
 rations in a forbidding tract of country. About 110 
 miles from this centre they made a welcome discovery 
 of a waterfall of 150 feet, sending forth a musical 
 roar as it fell, and scattering around a plentiful shower 
 of spray. This gladdening apparition in the desert 
 received the name of the Alice Falls. The country in
 
 ERNEST GILES. 233 
 
 the immediate neio-hbourhood was also well o-rassed. 
 This place has doubtless a future in store for it. 
 Turning more to the north, in the direction of a 
 Ijroken country, another splendid range, named 
 the Rawlinson, w^as discovered. It extended to 60 
 miles in length, with a breadth of live or six. 
 The peaks were remarkably pointed and jagged. 
 From this position an attempt was made to 
 strike out in a north-westerly direction, but bad 
 fortune compelled them to return after Mt. 
 Destruction had been reached. Four of the horses 
 had been lost in a journey of ninety miles ; water 
 was not to be found ; the natives were trouble- 
 some ; and the eye could discern nothing ahead but 
 spinifex desert and rolling sand-hills. A return to 
 the Rawlinson Range was, therefore, imperative. 
 Having again rested for a little, another determined 
 effort was made to force a passage due west across the 
 interior and strike the outposts of settlement in 
 Western Australia. All was done that man could do, 
 l)ut impossibilities are not to be accomplished. The 
 western Hanks of the Rawlinson Range faded away 
 into a barren and waterless desert. Giles and Gibson 
 had, as a gigantic eftbrt of perseverance, penetrated 
 98 miles into this inhospitable waste. But no fuiiher 
 could they go. Here, on the 23rd of April, the utmost 
 bourne of the expedition was reached. One of the 
 two horses here knocked up and died. This was the 
 last time Gibson was seen. Giles did liis utmost to 
 bring him help, but he was never found. His bones
 
 234 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 lie somewhere in that awful wilderness, which to this 
 day bears his name. When the furthest point was 
 reached better fortune seemed to loom in the distance. 
 Another range of lofty mountains was descried 
 athwart the western horizon, which he called the 
 Alfred and Marie, after the Duke and Duchess of 
 Edinburgh. They might as well have been in the moon 
 so far as Mr. Giles was concerned in his now pitiable 
 plight. His own reflections were deplorably bitter: — 
 " The hills bounding the western horizon were between 
 thirty and forty miles away, and it was with extreme 
 regret that I was compelled to relinquish a further 
 attempt to reach them. Oh, how ardently I longed 
 for a camel ; how ardently I gazed upon the scene ! 
 At this moment I would even my jewel eternal have 
 sold for power to span that gulf that lay between. 
 But it could not be ; situated as I was, I was compelled 
 to retreat, and the sooner the better." Such was his 
 destiny. After almost twelve months' wanderings in 
 the wilderness, three of the four explorers escaped 
 with their lives, and reached the central telegraph 
 line on the 13th of July. 
 
 III. 
 
 Such battling with relentless fortune would have 
 extinguished the spirit of adventure in most men. 
 In the case of Mr. Giles it fanned it into a brighter 
 flame. Refusing to be baflied, his noble perseverance 
 was at length rewarded with a double journey across 
 the western half of the continent. This expedition
 
 ERNEST GILES. 285 
 
 was fitted out by Sir Thomas Elder, of Adelaide, who 
 supplied him with nineteen camels and provisions for 
 eighteen months. The party consisted of Messrs. 
 Giles, Tietkens, Young, A. Ross, P. Nicholls, Selah 
 (an Afghan), and a black boy. The route proposed 
 was from Youldah to Perth, and the start was made 
 on the 27th July, 1875. This, though a successful, 
 was a very trying journey. They crossed desert 
 after desert for a distance of 1,500 miles. On one 
 occasion they were reduced to the last extremit}- of 
 thir«t, and saved from perishing by the happy dis- 
 covery of a spring in the Great Victoria Desert, 600 
 miles from the out-settlements of Western Australia. 
 They reached Perth on the 10th November, having 
 travelled a distance of 2,575 miles in about five 
 months. The following is Mr. Giles's summary of the 
 journey : — " The expedition has been successful, yet 
 the country traversed for more than a thousand miles 
 in a straight line was simply an undulating bed of 
 dense scrub, except between the 125th and 127th 
 meridians, the latitude being nearly the 80th parallel. 
 Here an arm of the Great Southern Plain ran up and 
 crossed our track, which, though grassy, was quite 
 waterless. The waters were, indeed, few and far 
 between throughout. On one occasion, a stretch of 
 desert was encountered in which no water was 
 oVjtainable for 825 miles, which only the marvellous 
 sustaining powers of Mr. Elder's all-enduring beasts 
 enabled us to cross. The next desert was onl}' 180 
 miles to a mass of trranite, where I saw natives for
 
 236 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 the first time on tlie expedition. They attacked us 
 there, but we managed to drive them oft". Mount 
 Churchman was now only 160 miles distant, and we 
 found water aoain before reachincj it. We struck in 
 at Toora, an out-station, where the shepherd was very 
 hospitable. At other homesteads we were most 
 kindly welcomed." By another journey, in a reverse 
 direction, across the western interior, Mr. Giles 
 returned to the central telegraph, which for so long- 
 had formed his base of operations. Leaving Perth on 
 the 13th of January, 1876, he pushed north, and 
 struck the Ashburton River, thence passed through 
 1.50 miles of desert, and from the opposite side reached 
 the Alfred and Marie Range, from which he had been 
 so piteously thrust back in 1873. He soon after 
 reached the Rawlinson Range, which he had dis- 
 covered on that same expedition. Being now in a 
 known country, he passed safely through it, and 
 reached the Peak telegraph station on the 23rd of 
 August, 1876. His journey thence to Adelaide was 
 ordinary travel in the Australian bush.
 
 CONCLUSION. 237 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 OTHER EXPLORERS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. — 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 There still remain a considerable number of the 
 explorers of Western Australia, whose achievements, 
 though inferior to the foregoing, would have called for 
 particular notice had this been an exhaustive work. 
 A very brief outline of the journeys of the most 
 prominent is all that can be attempted here. We 
 shall begin with Captain, afterwards Sir George, Grey, 
 so well known in later times as a new Zealand 
 statesman. From 1837 to 1840 he was occupied with 
 two expeditions for the exploration of the country 
 lying between the coast and the first range. Both 
 journeys were exceedingly hazardous — none more so in 
 this department of history. During the first Prince 
 Regent's River was explored ; but the most important 
 result was the discovery of the River Glenelg, which 
 was described as one of the finest in Australia. The 
 second expedition was directed to Shark's Bay, which 
 was reached in February, 1839. The most important 
 discovery during this journey was the River Gas- 
 coyne. The expedition ■\\'as soon overtaken by terrible 
 misfortunes, which compelled the party to make for 
 Swan River liy the quickest route. The first attempt 
 was made in a small boat, wliich got no further
 
 288 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 than Gantheauine Bay, where it was dashed to pieces 
 on the beach. To save their lives they had now to 
 walk on foot along an inhospitable coast for 800 
 miles, with no more provisions than twenty pounds of 
 Hour and one pound of pork to each man. Grey 
 struggled along and gave a heroic example to the men 
 under his charge. When he arrived at Perth he 
 looked like a spectre, and his most intimate friends 
 did not know him. He has himself told us what was 
 the secret of his moral strength : — " It may be asked," 
 he said, " if, during such a trying period, I did not 
 seek from religion that consolation which it is sure to 
 afford. My answer is, yes ; and I further feel assured 
 that but for the support I derived from prayer and 
 frequent perusal of the Scriptures, I should never 
 have been able to have borne myself in such a manner 
 as to have maintained discipline and confidence 
 among the rest of the party ; nor in my sufferings did 
 I ever lose the consolation derived from a firm reli- 
 ance upon the goodness of Providence. It is only those 
 who go forth into perils and dangers, amidst which 
 humanjoresight and strength can but little avail, and 
 who find themselves day after day protected by an 
 unseen influence, and ever and anon snatched from 
 the very jaws of destruction by a power which is not 
 of this world, who can at all estimate the knowledge 
 of one's own weakness and littleness, and the firm 
 reliance and trust upon the goodness of the Creator 
 which the human heart is capable of feeling." 
 
 The next in order is Mr. J. S. Roe, Surveyor-
 
 CONCLUSION. 239 
 
 General of Western Australia. With a party of six 
 men, eleven horses, and four months' provisions, he 
 started from York in September, 1.S48, for the 
 southern part of the colony. Leaving the last sta- 
 tions of the River Avon, he went S. h S. in a direction 
 which had not yet been explored. In a short time he 
 got into a poor country, which contained the heads of 
 the Avon, the Williams, the Arthur, and other rivers. 
 In 45 miles further he came to the Pallinup River, the 
 last water which had been crossed by Eyre on his 
 journey along the Great Bight. He followed it to the 
 neighbourhood of Cape Riche, the latter part of this 
 stage being through a well-grassed country. Here a 
 squatting station was found, and a much -needed rest 
 obtained. The next effort was to make the Bremer 
 Range. In the intervening part, a river, the Jeera- 
 mungup, was discovered in a good tract of country, 
 which was again succeeded by poor land. The Bremer 
 Range was reached by the 3rd November. There was 
 a hard journey thence to the Russell Range, which 
 was near Eyre's country, and of the same description. 
 The coast was reached opposite the Recherche Archi- 
 pelago. Roe had now travelled 1,000 miles from 
 Swan River, and found it necessary to return, and in 
 doing so kept very much to Eyre's track as far as 
 Cape Riche. The most important result of this 
 joiirney was the discovery of several seams of coal. 
 The return to Perth was made by way of the Pallinup 
 River. The party hatl been absent 149 days, and 
 travelled 1,800 miles.
 
 240 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS. 
 
 The third explorer who shall be briefly noticed is 
 Mr. R. Austin, who was Assistant Surveyor-General. 
 He was despatched hj the Government to search for 
 gold in the country north and east of the settled 
 districts. The part}^ consisted of ten men, twenty- 
 seven horses, and 120 days' provisions. By the 10th 
 of July, 1854, they had left the head of SAvan River, 
 and entered on a wretchedly poor country, in which 
 all the bushes were dead. Another fifty miles' travel 
 brought them to a table-land with some hio-h moun- 
 tains, the most conspicuous of which received the 
 name of Mt. Kenneth. Soon after a severe mishap 
 Ijefell the expedition. The horses having eaten a 
 poisonous plant, twenty-four died within a few hours, 
 leaving the explorers in a very helpless condition. 
 They pushed on, nevertheless, and displayed an 
 admirable perseverance. On the 24th of August 
 they reached a magnetic hill, which was called Mt. 
 Magnet, and returned for rest to Recruit Flat. The 
 country next traversed lay between the Great Salt 
 Lake and West Mt. Magnet, dry, rough, and stony 
 throughout. One curious discovery was a cave with 
 life-like figures of animals drawn by the aborigines. 
 Some similar exhibitions of savage art had previously 
 been discovered by other explorers in the north and 
 west. The party came again to poisonous bushes, and 
 the horses had to be watched night and da}'. Thence, 
 taking a westward course, they got within fifty miles 
 of Shark's Ba}', when want of food compelled them 
 to retreat to the Geraldine mines on the Murchison
 
 CONCLUSION. 241 
 
 River. Here the party broke iip, some returning to 
 Perth by sea and the rest overland. The expedition 
 failed in its principal object ; nor was it in other 
 respects much of a success. 
 
 It would be unpardonable to close this list without 
 mention of Mr. F, T. Gregory's services in the 
 exploration of West Australia. In April, 1858, he led 
 an expedition from the Geraldine mines to examine the 
 country between the Gascoyne River and Mt. Mur- 
 chison. This effort was attended with much success. 
 At least a million acres of good land were discovered 
 — quite a Godsend for this colony, which is so rich in 
 deserts. The principal places discovered and named 
 were Mt, Nairn, Lockyer Range, Lyons River, the 
 Alma, and Mt. Hall. 
 
 It is but right to add that the exploration of the 
 interior has been largely indebted to private enter- 
 prise, of which there is no particular record. The 
 pioneer squatters, in search of " fresh fields and 
 pastures new," have not been afraid to invade un- 
 known territories, nor have they gone without their 
 reward. When a line patch of country has Ijeen 
 discovered they have usually been quite willing to 
 sacrifice their merit as explorers to the caresses of 
 private fortune, Ijeing mindful, perhaps, of the old 
 proverb which tells us "the crow would have more to 
 eat if he were less noisy over his food." Tlie same 
 cause has been helped on, also, by the search for gold, 
 
 than wliich nothing: will entice man further from 
 
 17
 
 242 THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS, 
 
 home, or collect them in greater crowds. In this 
 way much available country has lately been opened 
 up in the Kimberley district of Western Australia, and 
 the process is still going on, with many promising 
 prospects. It is extremely probable that this northern 
 region will soon be reckoned one of that colony's most 
 valuable possessions, both in the squatting and the 
 mining interests. 
 
 As the combined result of all the foregoing agencies, 
 Australia has virtually ceased to be an unknown land 
 by the close of the first century of our history. Even 
 the great desert of Western Australia, real or sup- 
 posed, has been crossed again and again, while lesser 
 enterprises, issuing from all sides, have carried the 
 fringe of the known territory further and further 
 inland. Even yet the spirit of exploration keeps 
 awake, and refuses to rest so long as a patch of the 
 interior remains to be examined. While these sheets 
 are passing through the press an exploring party, 
 supported again by Adelaide, are preparing for the 
 interior, in order to wrest from its grasp such secrets 
 as it may yet retain. 
 
 It is pleasing to observe how a better acquaintance 
 with Australia, both in the way of discovery and 
 settlement, is surely leading on to the belief that it 
 will yet be the home of a numerous population. For 
 a long period it was reckoned unfit to be the habita- 
 tion of civilized man, except along the seaboards. The 
 want of water, and continuous deserts, were supposed 
 to have placed the interior beyond the pale of settle-
 
 CONCLUSION. 243 
 
 ment. But experience has already revealed a system 
 of compensations by which this hasty judgment has 
 come to be reversed, and the back country settled by a 
 thriving population. There are deserts, indeed, in 
 which one miwht search in vain for a blade of j^'rass, 
 but they contain many patches of nutritious shrubs, 
 which not only keep alive, but even fatten, stock. 
 Water, too, is scarce, but, by another of these 
 admirable compensations, it is capable of being stored 
 in any quantity, and for any length of time, without 
 becoming putrid — an advantage unknown to the 
 home countries. The rainfall, moreover, is very scant 
 — perhaps not more than seven inches per annum in 
 the far interior — but then the recent borings with the 
 diamond drill have shown that an abundant supply 
 may be obtained from subterranean sources. The 
 latest announcement made to us, now standing on the 
 threshold of the centennial year, is the most en- 
 couraging of all. By the ticking of the telegraph we 
 learn that an experiment at Barcaldine, in Queens- 
 land, has brought to the surface of the bore a daily 
 discharge of something approaching to 100,000 gallons 
 of water tit for all purposes. Experience is ever 
 revealing new relations of material adaptability. 
 There is a sympathy lietwecn a country and its 
 inhabitants, whicli may have a deeper foundation than 
 the fancy of the poet. The land and the people are 
 the complements of one another. " God made the 
 earth to be inhabited," and there is now no fear of 
 Australia being an exception to the rule.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 -•?•- 
 
 Aborigines, 67, 79, 88, 103, 106, 
 123, 120, 127, 128, 136, 140, 
 147, 149, 150, 162, 179, 186, 
 191 
 Abundance, Mt., 160, 161 
 Adelaide, 97 
 
 River, 23, 207 
 Albany, Port, 145, 149 
 Albert R., 23, 182, 193 
 Alexandrina, L., 82 
 Alice R., 143 
 Amadeus, L., 230 
 Arnheim B., 18 
 Austin, Mr. R., 240 
 Australia, wliy so called, 13 
 Western, 97 
 Crossiui;, 209, 210 
 Centre of, 197, 201 
 Austrulis, Calamus, 146 
 
 BalonneR., 13S 
 
 Barcoo R. , 95, 1 43 
 
 Bass's Discoveries, 6- 1 9 
 
 Strait, 11, 12 
 Bathurst, Plains of, 30, 67-70 
 
 Laid out, 36 
 Batman, Jolm, 126 
 Baudin, 15 ^ 
 BelyandoR., 142 
 Bight, Great Australian, 99-101, 
 
 221 
 Blacks— see Aborigines 
 Blaxland, Gregory, 28 
 Blue Jilts., 25-33 
 
 Unsuccessful attempt 
 to cross, 25-27 
 
 Crossed, 28-33 
 Bogaii R., 71, 119-121 
 I'lotany 1)., I 
 liottle Trees, 139 
 Bourke, Fort, 121 
 
 Bridge, St. George's, 138 
 Brisbane R. , 57 
 Broken B. , 5 
 Burdekin R., 166 
 Burke, R. O'Hara, 168 
 
 and Wills, 169-181 
 Byng, Mt., 134 
 
 Camels, 169, 213, 215, 218 
 Campaspe R., 134 
 Carpentaria, 135, 193 
 
 Gulf of, 18, 173,189 
 Castlereagh R. , 42, 73 
 Condamine R. , 154 
 Clark, George, alias " George 
 
 the Barber," 111 
 Coal, Discovery of, 239 
 Cogoon R., 1,39 
 Convicts, 135 
 Cook, Capt., 1-3 
 Cooper's Ck., 93 
 Creek, Chambers's, 199 
 
 Attack, 202 
 Cunningham, Allan, 53-65 
 
 Richard, 119-120 
 
 Gap, 63 
 Curtis B., 17 
 
 Danger Point, 2 
 Darling Downs, 60-61 
 
 R., 71, 72, SO, 122, 137 
 Darwin, Port, 209 
 Dawson R. , 154 
 Depot Glen, S7 
 Desert, Gibson's, 233-234 
 Disappointment, Mt., 51 
 Drouglits, 73, 74, 87 
 
 Eden, a new, 1.30 
 Encounter Bay, 15
 
 246 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Endeavour, ship, 1, 2 
 
 R., -2 
 Essington, Port, 221 
 Eucla, Port, 221 
 Euryaleaii Scrub, 39 
 Evans, Surveyor, 34-36 
 Eyre, E. J., 85, 96-119 
 Creek, 90 
 
 Falls. Alice, 232 
 Fawkner, J. P., 126 
 Farmer's Ck., 32 
 Finke, Mt., 196, 197 
 Fish R., 35 
 
 Fitzmaurice R., 23, 164 
 Fitzroy Downs, 139, 159 
 Fleet, First, 4 
 Flinders' Discoveries, 6-19 
 
 R., 22, 23, 191, 193 
 Floods, Sudden, 137 
 Forrest, Hon. John, 219-22S 
 Foxes, Flying, 156 
 
 Garden, Sydney Botanic, 63-64 
 George's R. , 6 
 Giles, Ernest, 228-276 
 Gipps, Sir George, 153 
 Gosse, Mr., 225 
 GlenelgR., 132 
 Grampians, 132 
 Gregory, A. €., 163-166 
 Grey, Sir George, 237, 238 
 
 Hackmg, Port, 7 
 Harris, Mt., 69 
 Hawkesbury R., 5 
 Hely, Hovenden, 161, 162 
 Henty, Edward, 125, 133 
 Hicks, Point, 1 
 Hastings R., 43 
 Hopeless, Mt., 177 
 Horses Poisoned, 240 
 Hovell, Capt., 47-52 
 Howitt, Alfred, 183-185 
 Hume, Hamilton, 46-52 
 
 Illawarra, 7 
 Iramoo Downs, 52 
 Isaacs, R. 155 
 
 Jackson, Port, 2 
 Jervis B. , 8 
 
 Kangaroo Island, 14 
 Grass, 129 
 Rats, 155 
 Karaula R. , 116 
 Kennedy, E. B., 135, 139, 144, 
 
 151 
 Kimberley, 242 
 Kindur R., 112 
 King, Governor, 16 
 
 Admiral, 19-23 
 Explorer, 171 
 Found with the blacks, 1 84 
 Kites, Plague of, 155 
 Kyte, Ambrose, 167 
 
 LachlanR., 35, 38-40 
 
 Swamps, 39 
 Lakes, 131, 132. 185, 186 
 Landsborough. 182, 192, 193 
 Lang, Mt., 155 
 Lawson, William, 28 
 Leeuwin, Cape, 14 
 Leichhardt, 152-162, 220, 221 
 Ijiverpool Plains, 43 
 Loddon R., 129 
 Logan R., 61 
 Lynd R., 155 
 
 Macedon, Mt., 134 
 Mackenzie R., 154 
 Macquarie R., 35, 41, 42 
 
 Port, 43 
 
 Swamps, 41, 42, 70 
 Mannmg R., 44 
 Maranoa R., 139 
 Massacre, L. , 186 
 : M'Kinlay, John, 182, 185-189 
 Melbourne, 16 
 Menindie, 169 
 Mirage, 196 
 
 Mitchell, Sir Thomas, 80, 1 10-143 
 More ton B. , 154 
 Mosquitos, 207 
 Murchison R., 224 
 Murrumbidgee R. , 48, 75 
 Murray R., 50, 77-84, 128, 134 
 
 NamoiR., 43, 115
 
 INDEX. 
 
 247 
 
 Nardoo, 178, 186 
 New South "\^'ales, M'hy so 
 called, 3 
 Foundation of, 4 
 NiveR., 141 
 Nivelle R., 141 
 NogoaR., 141 
 Norman R., 190, 191 
 
 Captain, 182, 191 
 
 OakoveiR., 215 
 Overlanding, 98 
 Oxley, John, 37-44, 69 
 
 His Journal, 38 
 
 His unfortunate predic- 
 tion, 45 
 
 Palms, Glen of, 229 
 Pandora's Pass, 56 
 Petrel, Sooty, 10 
 Pillar, Chambers's, 199 
 Phillip, Port, 16 • 
 Plant, Poisonous, 240 
 Portland B., 133 
 Promise, Plains of, 23 
 
 Rawlmson Range, 233 
 Reef, Great Barrier, 17 
 Religion, Powerful support of, 
 
 238 
 Roe, J. S., 238, 239 
 Roper R., 206, 207 
 Rossiter B., 107 
 Rufus R. , why so called, 82 
 
 Saltbusli, 136, 137 
 
 Sea, Inland, supposed existence 
 
 of, 42, 201 
 Seaview, Mt. , 43 
 Shoalhaven, 8 
 Snowy jNIts. , 49 
 Soil, Poor, accounted for, 81 
 Sound, King George's, 107 
 " Spring " Country, 198 
 Squatters, Pioneer, 136, 159 
 Stapylton, L., 127 
 Stephens, Port, 44 
 
 Stokes, Capt. , 23 
 
 Stony Desert, 90, 93, 94, 188 
 
 Strzelecki's Ck., 93 
 
 Stuart, John M'Douall, 194-209 
 
 Central Mt., '201 
 Sturt, Capt., 66-95, 166 
 
 Ck., 164 
 
 Plains, 204 
 Sunday Services, 226 
 
 Dinner, 226 
 Sydney Harbour, 4 
 
 Telegraph, Transcontinental, 209 
 Termination, L. , 164 
 Territory, Northern, 209 
 Torrens, L., 98,99, 195 
 Transportation, 3 
 Tumut R.. 49 
 Twofold B., 9 
 
 Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) 
 
 circumnavigated, 10-12 
 Victoria, 125-135 
 
 R., 23, 143,163, 164,202 
 
 Walker, Frederick, 182, 190-192 
 
 Warrego R. , 141 
 
 Warburton, Colonel. 210-218 
 
 Warning, Mt. , 2 
 
 Water, How found, 102, 103, 
 Searching for, 213 
 Subterranean, 243 
 Caught during shower 
 by tarpaulin, 213 
 
 Weld, Governor, 224 
 Springs, 224 
 
 Wellington Vallej% 40 
 
 Wells, Native, 213 
 
 Wentworth, W. C, 28 
 
 Western Port, 9 
 
 Wickham, Capt., 23 
 
 William, Mt., 131 
 
 Wills, W., 168, 169 
 
 Wimmera R. , 131 
 
 Yass Plains, 47 
 York, Cape, 145 
 
 George Robertson and Co., Printers, Melbourne and Sydney.
 
 : - • -.fc ■ ■■», 
 

 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000 886 434 
 
 '^.