A public meeting of the citizens of Melbourne was held last night at the
Exhibition Building, in honour of the leaders of the Queensland and South
Australian Contingent Exploration Expeditions and their parties, and to
testify the admiration of the inhabitants of this colony at the
successful and heroic manner in which those explorers had accomplished
their mission. The doors were advertised to be open at seven o'clock, but
it was not until about twenty minutes past that hour that they were
unlocked. In the meantime a vast crowd which had commenced to assemble as
early as half-past six o'clock had gathered in front of the building and
manifested considerable impatience to be admitted. Within a very few
minutes after the doors were thrown open the spacious edifice was densely
crowded in every part. There were probably nearly 3000 persons present.
On the motion of Dr. Macadam the Honourable Matthew Hervey, M.L.C., was
called upon to preside. He was surrounded on the platform by several
members of the Exploration Committee and other gentlemen. Mr.
Landsborough and Mr. McKinlay and some members of their respective
exploring parties were present; as was also Mr. King, the companion of
the unfortunate Burke and Wills; and also Mr. C. Verdon, who was recently
the successful bearer of despatches from the Exploration Committee to Mr.
Howitt.
The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, congratulated the assembly upon
having met together to pay a mark of respect to their distinguished
fellow-countrymen, Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay. (Applause.) They
were doubtless aware of the circumstances under which those gentlemen had
become conspicuous amongst the Australian community. Immediately upon the
discovery of any danger attending the Victorian explorers Messrs. Burke
and Wills--upon discovering that there was a possibility of their being
unable to surmount the difficulties which surrounded them in the desert,
it was thought desirable to start contingent expeditions from the
neighbouring colonies, as well as from Victoria, in search of them. The
people of Melbourne had assembled that evening to congratulate those
distinguished gentlemen, Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay, upon their
safe return from their expeditions. They most cheerfully volunteered
their services to the respective Governments under which they lived to
proceed in search of Burke and Wills, and everyone was aware to some
extent of the result of their labours. They had been most successful
explorers. They proceeded in cheerfulness to encounter the dangers of the
desert, such as in the eye of every individual unaccustomed to bush
travelling seemed insurmountable. (Hear, hear.) They had all heard
something of Mr. Landsborough's expedition from the statement which he
had made before the Royal Society, and they knew something also of the
expedition undertaken by Mr. McKinlay. The immense difficulties which
each had experienced placed both gentlemen side by side as great and
successful explorers. (Cheers.) Having briefly directed attention to the
circumstances under which the meeting had assembled, he would detain them
very little longer. He was sure that they had done their duty as
inhabitants of Victoria in meeting to welcome back again to this colony
the gentlemen who had been sent out in search of those who first crossed
the continent of Australia and brought into conspicuous notice the great
enterprise, which was first initiated by the colony of Victoria, of
exploring the whole of this vast continent. (Applause.)
The Reverend Dr. Cairns, who was called upon to move the first
resolution, remarked that this was a magnificent meeting, and that he had
seldom been more delighted in the course of a long life. (Applause.) When
Mr. McKinlay was received by the Royal Society he (Dr. Cairns) made the
very natural remark that he supposed he would receive a welcome from the
public of Melbourne (hear, hear) that, however cordial might be the
welcome extended to him and to Mr. Landsborough by private committees or
private societies, the community at large had a right to express their
feelings, and in the most public manner to give a welcome to those
successful explorers. (Applause.) He thought then, as he thought now,
that in making that remark he not only expressed his own feelings but the
feelings of the community in general. A very ill-natured notice of his
opinion and conduct in the matter appeared in The Argus of that morning,
but for what purpose it had been written he was unable to say. He
rejoiced in the present meeting, however, as the best of all possible
answers to such a piece of invidiousness. (Hear.) One of the
characteristic signs of the present age was the very great progress of
discovery in opening up regions of the earth which had hitherto been
hermetically sealed even to the eye of intelligence. It was a very
suggestive fact to his mind that the successful exploration of Central
Africa and the great Australian Continent had been reserved for the
present day, that until now these immense dominions had been unknown
lands to the civilised world; and that not until the latter half of the
nineteenth century had the honour been conferred on the enterprising sons
of that wonderful little island far away in the north sea--peopled by
Christian Britons--of penetrating the mystery, and finding out that,
instead of stony deserts and inhospitable wilds, those countries
contained luxuriant fields, abundant waters, and balmy woods--inviting
homes for millions and millions of human beings, or rather let him say
for flourishing nations. (Applause.) The present marked a great era in
the history of this hemisphere. A benignant Providence had lifted the
cloud of their ignorance, and they heard a kindly voice calling upon them
to arise, to go forth, to possess, to subdue, to people this goodly land.
(Hear, hear.) The friends whose success they had met to celebrate that
evening would henceforth have their names enrolled with those of
Mitchell, Leichhardt, Sturt, Gregory, and Burke and Wills, who had
sacrificed their lives to their zeal. (Hear, hear.) To the two latter
explorers belonged the praise--which time would never obscure or
diminish--of having been the first to solve the practicability of
traversing this great continent from south to north. The names which he
mentioned constituted a brilliant catalogue; and he ventured to think
that no inferior splendour would henceforth illustrate the names--now
familiar as household words--of Stuart, Landsborough, and McKinlay.
(Cheers and loud cries of "King.") The name of King ought also most
assuredly to be included. (Cheers.) They were a noble band, and he wished
they had all been present that night. He rejoiced to have the opportunity
of seeing those explorers who were present, of looking on their faces,
speaking to them, shaking hands with them, and calling them friends.
(Applause.) He was proud of these men, and all whom he was addressing
must be proud of them also. They were worthy of esteem, they were
entitled to applause; and mean, base, ineffably shabby, stupidly mean and
base was the soul--if such a soul there were--that questioned their merit
or grudged them a meet reward. (Applause.) He was delighted to have the
opportunity of looking upon the two great heroes, Landsborough and
McKinlay. They had undertaken and accomplished great things. Without
deliberation they undertook the arduous task assigned them and faced its
hazards. They had to contemplate hard privations, and it might be
disease, accident, or even a lingering and lonely death. These were the
terms--the necessary terms--on which they engaged in their uncertain and
perilous speculation. They went forth not knowing whither they went; but
their Heavenly Father watched over them and protected them from dangers,
seen and unseen. He was especially struck with the providence of God in
the case of McKinlay. The flood of waters which troubled him might have
been a deluge to sweep him away, but, by the gracious overruling
providence of God his life was preserved, and he was now in their midst.
Both Landsborough and McKinlay had returned none the worse for wear, but
fresh and blooming, he would say, for the tan which they got from the sun
seemed to him to be the richest of blooms. (Laughter.) They were the very
models of fine, stalwart men. He thanked God for it, who was the author
of all their talents and all their gifts. Their wonderful success, under
God, was attributable to their foresight, prudence, and for want of a
better word he would say their bush experience. From the energy,
sagacity, and unwearied patience which they had exercised the public had
learnt some new things. From Mr. McKinlay they had learnt that it was
possible to drive a flock of silly sheep all the way to Carpentaria and
eat them up one by one at leisure. (Laughter.) They had further learnt
that old horse was very palatable beef to a hungry man, and that boiled
camel was a savoury morsel in a weary wilderness. (Renewed laughter.)
From Mr. Landsborough they had learnt the important lesson that it was
most wise to rest and refresh both man and beast upon that seventh day
which had been ordained us a universal blessing. (Hear, hear.) He quite
enjoyed hearing of Mr. Landsborough and his men luxuriating on a
breakfast of meat and pig-weed, followed, after a due interval, by an
epicurean dinner of cold rice and jam. (A laugh.) The result of their
explorations had been immense, for they had probably tripled, or even
quadrupled, the extent of territory in Australia available for
settlement, and added greatly to the resources of the country. The
advantages thus secured for pastoral purposes were beyond all
calculation, though they could not now be appreciated as they would be
hereafter. They deserved well of their country. In all ages such services
as they had rendered had been regarded as national benefactions. The
principle of the state rewarding such services had been recognised in
this colony and had been reduced to practice. Recompense was decreed by
Parliament to the discoverers of new goldfields, and the admirable
constitution of this colony had provided a most soothing consolation, in
the shape of 1800 pounds per annum, to requite the devotion of those
self-sacrificing spirits who consented to bow their studious heads and
delicate shoulders to the responsibilities of government for the weary
space of two whole years. (Laughter.) If such were the case, what was the
debt which the country owed to those great national benefactors, the
explorers. Their discoveries had opened the eyes of the people of
Australia to the fact that God had given them a most wealthy inheritance,
which might be compared to the whole world in miniature. It had the best
of every clime under the sun, and the gifts of nature were scattered with
great profusion. As to the precious metals it might turn out that what
had been found was only an earnest of what was to follow; but there could
be no doubt that Australia was to be the woolgrower of the whole world,
and that it would grow cotton to feed all the mills of England. Dr.
Cairns concluded by moving the following resolution:
That this meeting begs, in the most cordial manner, to welcome the
explorers, Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay, on their safe return, and
to express admiration of the many excellent qualities displayed by them
in the prosecution of their arduous enterprise, and considers that it is
a duty to acknowledge the hand of Divine Providence in preserving them in
the midst of danger.
...
Mr. King, who was received with great acclamation, said it afforded him
much pleasure to be present on that occasion and join with so many of his
fellow-colonists in congratulating Mr. Landsborough and Mr. McKinlay on
their safe arrival in Melbourne. (Applause.) He was the more glad to
offer his congratulations because he knew the arduous nature of the
journey which Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay had accomplished. He was
little accustomed to appear or to speak in public, but he should have
been sorry to miss this opportunity of expressing his thanks to Mr.
Landsborough and Mr. McKinlay for the manner in which they had
endeavoured to come to the relief of the party of which Burke and Wills
were at the head. However successful they might have been in that
expedition they could have been of very little service to Burke and
Wills, for it would have been impossible to reach them in time to save
their lives. He had much pleasure in seconding the resolution and in
congratulating Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay upon their safe arrival
in Victoria. (Cheers.)
The resolution was put and unanimously adopted amidst cheers, as were
also the resolutions subsequently proposed.
The chairman explained that Mr. Landsborough, having been out of town,
had not yet arrived at the meeting but was expected shortly. In the
meantime he called upon Mr. McKinlay to respond to the compliment which
had just been paid to himself and his brother explorer. He also requested
the meeting to excuse Mr. McKinlay from making any statement with respect
to his journey as he felt bound in the first place to communicate the
particulars to the Government by whom he had been sent out.
Mr. McKinlay, who was received with hearty and prolonged cheering,
briefly returned thanks for the kindness which had been shown him. His
journey had certainly been accomplished successfully, but it had been
undertaken under very favourable circumstances and, had such not been the
case, probably the result might have been very different. He felt himself
compelled to refrain from stating many particulars which the public would
be glad to learn, but they would no doubt be known in due course. At
present he could merely express his sincere thanks for the great kindness
with which he had been received that evening. (Cheers.)
Mr. Wyld, Mr. Poole, Mr. Kirby, and Mr. Davis, fellow travellers with Mr.
McKinlay, were severally introduced to the meeting by the chairman, and
each received a cordial welcome which they duly acknowledged.
Mr. Landsborough, who had in the meantime arrived, then came forward to
address the meeting and was greeted with cordial and enthusiastic
cheering. He was much gratified, he said, at the warm reception which he
had received, and little expected that his humble services would have
been acknowledged in such a public way by such an assemblage as he saw
around him. He had been rather hurriedly called upon as he was unaware
that the meeting was to be held that evening until his arrival from
Geelong an hour or so ago. (Hear, hear.) "My friend and brother
explorer," continued Mr. Landsborough, "has just come in from a glorious
trip from South Australia, by Carpentaria and by Port Denison. I consider
his mode of exploring with livestock consisting of camels, cattle, sheep,
and horses, nearly the best. To make it complete he only wanted some
aborigines as trackers. This I am sure he felt on one occasion when Mr.
Kirby and his sheep were lost for three days. Mr. McKinlay deserves the
greatest credit for being the first to take sheep across the continent.
The camels will yet be found of the greatest value; for it is probable
that other explorers will not find water at such convenient distances as
we have done, and as they can go nearly three times as far as horses
without water they will be of the greatest value for searching ahead for
water, and when water is once found it is very easy to take the party on,
as it is generally found at distances sufficiently near to be reached by
a party like that which Mr. McKinlay and I had. By Burke, Walker,
McKinlay, and myself six of the Carpentaria rivers have been traced.
These rivers chiefly water country of a character which, although dry, is
the kind that I like best for pastoral purposes. And now that my friend
McKinlay has taken sheep across the continent I hope flocks and herds
will soon follow, so that the fine pastures of Carpentaria, instead of
lying waste, will soon become profitable not only to Australia but to the
whole world." (Applause.) In conclusion Mr. Landsborough intimated that
he intended to publish the rest of the information which he had to
communicate in the form of a pamphlet. On resuming his seat he was again
warmly applauded.
Mr. Bourne, the only member of Mr. Landsborough's exploration party now
remaining in Melbourne, was introduced to the meeting, who likewise
honoured him with a round of cheers. He acknowledged the compliment in a
few pertinent remarks. He would rather, he said, perform another journey
through the continent of Australia than make a speech in public, and he
did not seem to be singular in that opinion. On his own behalf, and that
of the rest of the party to which he was attached, he begged to return
thanks, and et cetera. (Laughter and applause.)
Mr. Aspinall, M.L.A., proposed the second resolution:
That this meeting recognises the good services rendered by the
Governments of South Australia and of Queensland in organising these
contingent expeditions with a view to discover and assist the missing
party under the lamented Burke and Wills.
...
It would only, he remarked, be a just compliment to the neighbouring
colonies to adopt this resolution most heartily. (Hear, hear.) Whilst the
meeting recognised these gallant men--Landsborough and McKinlay--men of
heroism and enterprise, men who were an honour to their race and the
colonies which they represented, they ought also to recognise in them a
manifestation on the part of the neighbouring colonies of a hearty
sympathy in a matter concerning the general welfare of Australia.
(Applause.) While doing honour to the men themselves they ought to
express their gratefulness to the Governments and the people who chose
them for the work which they had performed. Those Governments were
willing in a moment to aid the expedition which the Government of
Victoria had sent forth and, as the result proved, they had put the right
men in the right place. (Applause.) The explorers however must be
regarded as the representatives of the sentiment and the feeling of the
colonists who had sent them forth. In sending them forth those colonies
were not influenced by any ideas of the acquisition of territory; and,
whatever advantages they might have gained, their primary object was to
endeavour to rescue Burke and to assist the expedition of which those
unfortunate explorers were the leaders. While admiring the heroism of
Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay, let them add their tribute of
admiration to the colonies which had sent them forth to do the work which
they were so admirably fitted to do. (Applause.)
Mr. Gillbee heartily seconded the resolution, assured that in so doing he
was but expressing the sentiments of everyone present. (Applause.)
The resolution was carried unanimously.
Dr. Macadam, M.L.A., proposed the third resolution which was to this
effect:
That this meeting is persuaded that it is incumbent on the various
Australian Governments to mark in some appropriate manner their sense of
the great merits of the leaders of the contingent exploration parties,
and of the important results which must flow from their discoveries; and
that a copy of this resolution be forwarded for the consideration of the
respective Governments.
Some difference of opinion, he said, had been manifested in reference to
the manner in which the exertions of the respective explorers should be
recognised. He himself had only had one opinion upon the subject, namely,
that they should be recognised through the Legislatures of the respective
colonies to which the explorers belonged. Although he and, he believed,
the committee with which he was connected had been blamed for not
sympathising materially with the subscription being raised for Mr.
Landsborough, he had already personally explained to Mr. Landsborough his
own views. It was held as a general principle that when a national good
was conducted it was entitled to a national reward. (Hear, hear.) He
trusted that this would remove any impression which might exist as to
there being any opposition on his part, or on the part of the Exploration
Committee, to the subscription which was being raised for Mr.
Landsborough; but, as he had already stated to Mr. Landsborough and Mr.
McKinlay, they believed that the legislatures of the different colonies
should recognise that which he thought was a greater benefit than that
for which any amount of money could be spent under any other vote of the
Legislature. (Applause.) He had to make one word of personal explanation
in reference to the meeting. He had been somewhat blamed in The Argus of
that day for having initiated, with his friend Dr. Cairns, a meeting of
that kind. The chairman of the meeting was also the chairman of the
meeting at which it was resolved to present a testimonial to Mr.
Landsborough; and he was aware that this meeting originated in a
spontaneous suggestion made on Friday by Dr. Cairns, who thought that,
while it might be convenient to the Exploration Committee to meet in an
afternoon, it would be a great pleasure to the community at large to hold
an evening meeting at which, instead of merely having the opportunity of
recognising the explorers by their portraits in the Saturday prints, they
might meet them face to face, and speak to them. (Applause.) Influenced
by this suggestion he (Dr. Macadam) set about to make arrangements for
this meeting, and he was sorry to say that he met with considerable
opposition; but he had always found that whenever a man threw himself
upon the public sympathy he was never mistaken. (Hear, hear.) If the
Exploration Committee had not called the meeting they would have been
blamed, and he was quite prepared to see that they would receive a great
amount of opposition from certain quarters. Without further remark upon
this subject he would leave the correction of the error, if error he had
committed ("No, no.") to a gentleman who was present at the Landsborough
testimonial meeting, and who wrote the paragraph in The Argus alluded
to--he would leave it to a gentleman who took a deep interest in his
prospects, and who had the highest admiration of his ability; and he
would refer the meeting to the Yeoman of Saturday for a full,
deliberative, and calm consideration of the whole matter. He regretted
the absence of the Governor from the meeting, but he would explain the
reason. His Excellency instructed him to say that he had exceedingly
regretted to perceive by the newspapers that that day had been fixed for
the grand reception, and stated that his absence was caused by a prior
engagement. Mr. McKinlay had received permission to decline an invitation
which he had received from the Governor that night in order that he might
be present at the meeting. The fact of the invitation however showed the
appreciation in which McKinlay was held by the Governor. (Applause.) In
moving the resolution he had simply to state that he trusted the
Governments of the respective colonies would reciprocate in an adequate
manner the services which had been rendered by the explorers; he thought
the gratitude of the Governments of the respective colonies should also
be shown by their doing more to encourage immigration than that hitherto
done. Some two years and a half ago the task of exploring the continent
was commenced in Victoria and, whatever might be said derogatory to the
management of the exploration, the work had been accomplished, the
continent was now marked out, and it only required private enterprise to
establish communication between every part of it. (Applause.)
Captain Norman, being loudly called for by the meeting, made a few
remarks indicating the cordial unanimity in which he and Mr. Landsborough
had cooperated together, and mentioned that Monday was the anniversary of
their safe arrival at Carpentaria after the wreck of the Firefly in
Torres Strait.
Mr. Ramsay, M.L.A., in seconding the resolution, expressed his full
concurrence with the opinion it contained; and stated that he would do
his best in his place in Parliament to support any motion for carrying it
into practical effect. (Applause.)
The resolution was put and carried.
On the motion of Dr. Wilkie, seconded by Captain Matthews, a vote of
thanks was given to the chairman.
The chairman, in acknowledging the compliment, gave an emphatic
contradiction to an opinion which, he said, he understood had been
expressed in some quarters, that Landsborough and McKinlay had had tracks
to guide them in their exploration journeys.
The proceedings then terminated, the meeting, in response to Dr. Macadam,
giving three hearty cheers for the explorers.