(*Footnote. Captain Kirby of the Firefly has since published a pamphlet
in which he states that my party were at times in a great state of alarm,
but in fairness to them I may mention that although they had frequently
much reason to be so, I never saw them exhibit any traces of fear. He
further states that from what he saw of them they showed great ineptitude
for camping out. This is surely very unlikely as we were all old
travellers, three of my party and myself had at one time been
gold-diggers, a mode of life well calculated to give the necessary
experience in this way. And as for Captain Alison, who had never been a
gold-digger, I observed on the island that his tent was particularly well
pitched.)
...
(NUMBER 2.)
(COPY.)
Sweer's Island, 8th October, 1861.
To Captain Norman, of H.M.C.S. Victoria, and Commander-in-chief of the
Northern Expedition Parties.
Sir,
I have the honour to inform you of the following particulars with regard
to the Albert River:
On Tuesday morning (the 1st instant) at 8 o'clock we reached the mouth of
the Albert River, on the sandy beach of Kangaroo Point.* There were about
a dozen blacks, who appeared friendly and kept speaking to us as long as
we were within hearing; but none in the barge (not even the native
troopers) understood them. With the exception of Kangaroo Point, on the
east bank, the river has an unbroken fringe of mangrove to a point two
miles in a straight line from its mouth, and an unbroken fringe to a
point three miles in a straight line from the mouth on the other side of
the river. Above these points the lower part of the river has (where the
edges have no mangrove) fine hard sandy sloping banks which are well
adapted for landing horses or goods. A short time before we reached the
point, above thirteen miles in a straight line from the mouth of the
river where we anchored for the night, we saw about six blacks, who were
very friendly and followed us for some time. We found that the water was
fresh when we reached Alligator Point, about twenty miles in a straight
line from the mouth of the river; above this point the fringes of
mangrove are scarce on the edges of the river, and back from the river
there is rising ground, consisting of fine, well-grassed, and slightly
timbered downs. On passing up the river, on the left bank, we observed a
blackfellow asleep. At sunset we anchored at a point about twenty-six
miles in a straight line from the mouth of the river, where a river from
the southward, which Mr. Woods called the Barkly, joins the Albert River.
(*Footnote. Kangaroo Point would in my opinion be a healthy site for a
township. The ground is sufficiently high along the shore at that place,
and without mangroves. We did not find water there, but, as there were a
few blacks almost always in that neighbourhood, I have no doubt that
there is some surface water, or that it is easily procured by digging.)
On going on shore on the western bank of the Albert River I found within
a hundred yards of it a waterhole at which it would be more convenient to
water stock than the river, as the banks of it are at this place too
steep. Above the junction of the Barkly the Albert River is not navigable
for even boats, from its being too full of snags. On the following
morning we went up the Barkly on the barge for about two miles, to where
it was too full of snags to proceed further up the river by water. We
then took a walk over the Plains of Promise and crossed at a point about
three miles from where we had left the barge. In doing so we started a
black man and woman; they were both old and naked; the former went out of
sight by running down the bank and plunging into the river, and the
latter climbed up a tree, where, while we remained, she continued
speechless. Where we crossed the Barkly it had a narrow muddy bed, the
water in which was cool from its being shaded with pandanus, palms, and
Leichhardt-trees. A short distance lower we recrossed by a tree which the
carpenter felled for that purpose, at a point where the deep water in it
is caused in some measure by the rise of the tide; afterwards we followed
down the river to the barge. At different places we marked the trees, but
did not see any that had been marked previously, nor indeed any traces of
any European parties. After walking over the Plains of Promise we went
down the river and anchored opposite the point where the cliffs are
mentioned in the charts as thirty feet high. In the morning, accompanied
by the native troopers Jemmy and Jackie, I went north-westerly over
slightly timbered grassy plains, and reached in about a mile a waterhole,
and in about another mile a narrow mere, which I called Woods Lake,
extending northerly and southerly at least for a mile or so in an
unbroken sheet of water. I went southward along the edge of Woods Lake to
a clump of box and tea-trees, and while I was marking a tree Jackie shot
(chiefly with one discharge of his gun) about half a dozen of
whistling-ducks and a large grey crane. As I never saw so many aquatic
fowls assembled as were at this place it is to be hoped that, when we
reach the Albert River again, we will be able to shoot great quantities
of them for fresh food.
The bank on which I marked the tree will, probably at no very distant
time, be chosen as the site of a homestead for a sheep establishment, as
it is surrounded by fine dry plains which are covered with good grasses,
among which I observed sufficient saline herbage to make me feel
satisfied that they are well adapted for sheep runs. As the wind was
unfavourable during the afternoon the crew had to row down the river. On
passing near where we saw the blacks on our way up we found about twenty,
counting men, women, and children, waiting to see us as we passed. On the
following morning we went ashore and got water in a waterhole near the
bank, and also firewood off an old fallen tree, which, I think, is
probably the real ebony. Late in the evening we reached a point on the
eastern bank about three miles above Kangaroo Point.
We went ashore and in the course of a walk started on the wing two large
bustards, and also, within shot of us, two or three wallabies.
In our way up and down the river the temperature ranged on the bar from
74 to 94 degrees. The nights were agreeable, and we were fortunately not
troubled with mosquitoes or sandflies.
On the upper part of the river we saw altogether three crocodiles, but
they were so shy that they remained in sight only a few seconds.
The slightly timbered downs and plains on the banks of the Albert River
are, as I hoped they would be from their western position, of a similar
character to good inland settled sheep country of New South Wales and
Queensland; the trees that we saw are all small; but as sheep do best in
Australia where the temperature is dry, the soil rich, and slightly
timbered, and as this is the general description, I believe, of the
country and climate of the Albert River, the sheep farmer should be
willing to put up with the inconvenience caused from the want of good
timber for building purposes.
We saw large quantities of the small white cockatoos, and the
rose-coloured ones, which are to be found only in the inland settled
country of New South Wales and Queensland. The Albert River being
navigable will make the country on its banks very valuable, as I believe
sheep will do well on it, more especially as they do well on
inferior-looking country within the tropics to the north-west of
Rockhampton.
Allow me to recommend for the depot which you propose forming with the
Firefly hulk on the Albert River some place as convenient as possible to
Woods Lake, or the waterhole that I mentioned that I had found near the
head of the navigation, and as there is very little forage on board the
Firefly it would be advisable to land, as soon as possible, the horses on
the west bank of the river above the second inlet, that is, if there is
any chance of the Firefly being delayed in proceeding up the river.