General remarks--Result of the expedition--Previous anticipations--Mr.
Oxley's remarks--Character of the Rivers flowing westerly--Mr.
Cunningham's remarks--Fall of the Macquarie--Mr. Oxley's erroneous
conclusions respecting the character of the interior, naturally
inferred from the state in which he found the country--The marsh of the
Macquarie merely a marsh of the ordinary character--Captain King's
observations--Course of the Darling--Character of the low interior
plain--The convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the
interior--Surveyor-General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition.
RESULT OF THE EXPEDITION.
Whether the discoveries that have been made during this expedition,
will ultimately prove of advantage to the colony of New South Wales, is
a question that time alone can answer. We have in the meanwhile to
regret that no beneficial consequences will immediately follow them.
The further knowledge that has been gained of the interior is but as a
gleam of sunshine over an extensive landscape. A stronger light has
fallen upon the nearer ground, but the distant horizon is still
enveloped in clouds. The veil has only as it were been withdrawn from
the marshes of the Macquarie to be spread over the channel of the
Darling. Unsatisfactory, however, as the discoveries may as yet be
considered in a commercial point of view, the objects for which the
expedition had been fitted out were happily attained. The marsh it had
been directed to examine, was traversed on every side, and the rivers
it had been ordered to trace, were followed down to their terminations
to a distance far beyond where they had ceased to exist as living
streams. To many who may cast their eyes over the accompanying chart,
the extent of newly discovered country may appear trifling; but when
they are told, that there is not a mile of that ground that was not
traversed over and over again, either by Mr. Hume or by myself, that we
wandered over upwards of 600 miles more than the main body of the
expedition, on different occasions, in our constant and anxious search
for water, and that we seldom dismounted from our horses, until long
after sunset, they will acknowledge the difficulties with which we had
to contend, and will make a generous allowance for them; for, however
unsuccessful in some respects the expedition may have been, it
accomplished as much, it is to be hoped, as under such trying
circumstances could have been accomplished. It now only remains for me
to sum up the result of my own observations, and to point out to the
reader, how far the actual state of the interior, has been found to
correspond with the opinions that were entertained of it.
MR. OXLEY'S REMARKS.
I have already stated, in the introduction to this work, that the
general impression on the minds of those best qualified to judge was,
that the western streams discharged themselves into a central shoal
sea. Mr. Oxley thus expresses himself on the subject:--
"July 3rd. Towards morning the storm abated, and at day-light, we
proceeded on our voyage. The main bed of the river was much contracted,
but very deep; the waters spreading to the depth of a foot or eighteen
inches over the banks, but all running on the same point of bearing. We
met with considerable interruptions from fallen timber, which in places
nearly choked up the channel. After going about twenty miles, we lost
the land and trees; the channel of the river, which lay through reeds,
and was from one to three feet deep, ran northerly.--This continued for
three or four miles farther, when, although there had been no previous
change in the breadth, depth, or rapidity of the stream for several
miles, and I was sanguine in my expectations of soon entering the
long-sought-for Australian sea, it all at once eluded our farther
pursuit, by spreading on every point from N.W. to N.E. among the ocean
of reeds which surrounded us, still running with the same rapidity as
before. There was no channel whatever among those reeds, and the depth
varied from three to five feet. This astonishing change (for I cannot
call it a termination of the river) of course left me no alternative
but to endeavour to return to some spot on which we could effect a
landing before dark. I estimated, that during the day, we had gone
about twenty-four miles, on nearly the same point of bearing as
yesterday. To assert, positively, that we were on the margin of the
lake, or sea, into which this great body of water is discharged, might
reasonably be deemed a conclusion, which has nothing but conjecture for
its basis. But if an opinion may be permitted to be hazarded from
actual appearances, mine is decidedly in favour of our being in the
immediate vicinity of an inland sea, or lake, most probably a shoal
one, and gradually filling up by numerous depositions from the high
lands, left by the waters which flow into it. It is most singular, that
the high lands on this continent seem to be confined to the sea-coast,
and not to extend to any distance from it."
MR. CUNNINGHAM'S REMARKS.
In a work published at Sydney, containing an account of Mr. Allan
Cunningham's journey towards Moreton Bay, in 1828, the following
remarks occur, from which it is evident Mr. Cunningham entertained Mr.
Oxley's views of the character and nature of the Western interior.
Towards the conclusion of the narrative, the author thus observes:--
"Of the probable character of the distant unexplored interior, into
which it has been ascertained ALL the rivers falling westerly from the
dividing ranges flow, some inference may be drawn from the following
data.
"Viewing, between the parallels of 34 degrees and 27 degrees, a vast
area of depressed interior, subjected in seasons of prolonged rains to
partial inundation, by a dispersion of the several waters that flow
upon it from the eastern mountains whence they originate; and bearing
in mind at the same time, that the declension of the country within the
above parallels, as most decidedly shown by the dip of its several
rivers, is uniformly to the N.N.W. and N.W., it would appear very
conclusive, that either a portion of our distant interior is occupied
by a lake of considerable magnitude, or that the confluence of those
large streams, the Macquarie, Castlereagh, Gwydir, and the Dumaresq,
with the many minor interfluent waters, which doubtless takes place
upon those low levels, forms one or more noble rivers, which may flow
across the continent by an almost imperceptible declivity of country to
the north of north-west coasts, on certain parts of which, recent
surveys have discovered to us extensive openings, by which the largest
accumulations of waters might escape to the sea."
CHARACTER OF THE RIVERS.
It is the characteristic of the streams falling westerly from the
eastern, or coast ranges, to maintain a breadth of channel and a
rapidity of current more immediately near their sources, that ill
accords with their diminished size, and the sluggish flow of their
waters in the more depressed interior. In truth, neither the Macquarie
nor the Castlereagh can strictly be considered as permanent rivers. The
last particularly is nothing more than a mountain torrent. The
Macquarie, although it at length ceased to run, kept up the appearance
of a river to the very marshes; but the bed of the Castlereagh might
have been crossed in many places without being noticed, nor did its
channel contain so much water as was to be found on the neighbouring
plains.
There are two circumstances upon which the magnitude, and velocity of a
river, more immediately depend. The first is the abundance of its
sources, the other the dip of its bed. If a stream has constant
fountains at its head, and numerous tributaries joining it in its
course, and flows withal through a country of gradual descent, such a
stream will never fail; but if the supplies do not exceed the
evaporation and absorption, to which every river is subject, if a river
dependant on its head alone, falls rapidly into a level country,
without receiving a single addition to its waters to assist the first
impulse acquired in their descent, it must necessarily cease to flow at
one point or other. Such is the case with the Lachlan, the Macquarie,
the Castlereagh, and the Darling. Whence the latter originates, still
remains to be ascertained; but most undoubtedly its sources have been
influenced by the same drought that has exhausted the fountains of the
three first mentioned streams.
In supporting his opinion of the probable discharge of the interior
waters of Australia upon its north-west coast, Mr. Cunningham thus
remarks in the publication from which I have already made an extract.
"To those remarkable parts of the north-west coast above referred to in
the parallel of 16 degrees south, the Macquarie river, which rises in
lat. 33 degrees, and under the meridian of 150 degrees east, would have
a course of 2045 statute miles throughout, while the elevation of its
source, being 3500 feet above the level of the sea as shown by the
barometer, would give its waters an average descent of twenty inches to
the mile, supposing the bed of the river to be an inclined plane.
"The Gwydir originating in elevated land, lying in 31 degrees south,
and long. 151 degrees east, at a mean height of 3000 feet, would have
to flow 2020 miles, its elevated sources giving to each a mean fall of
seventeen inches.
"Dumaresq's river falling 2970 feet from granite mountains, in 28 1/4
degrees under the meridian of 152 degrees, would have to pursue its
course for 2969 miles, its average fall being eighteen inches to a
mile."
As I have never been upon the banks either of the Gwydir or the
Dumaresq, I cannot speak of those two rivers; but in estimating the
sources of the Macquarie at 3500 feet above the level of the sea, Mr.
Cunningham has lost sight of, or overlooked the fact, that the fall of
its bed in the first two hundred miles, is more than 2800 feet, since
the cataract, which is midway between Wellington Valley and the
marshes, was ascertained by barometrical admeasurement, to be 680 feet
only above the ocean. The country, therefore, through which the
Macquarie would have to flow during the remainder of its course of 1700
miles, in order to gain the N.W. coast, would not be a gradually
inclined plain, but for the most part a dead level, and the fact of its
failure is a sufficient proof in itself how short the course of a river
so circumstanced must necessarily be.
MR. OXLEY'S OPINIONS.
Having conversed frequently with Mr. Oxley on the subject of his
expeditions, I went into the interior prepossessed in favour of his
opinions, nor do I think he could have drawn any other conclusion than
that which he did, from his experience of the terminations of the
rivers whose courses he explored. Had Mr. Oxley advanced forty, or even
thirty miles, farther than he did, to the westward of Mount Harris;
nay, had he proceeded eight miles in the above direction beyond the
actual spot from which he turned back, he would have formed other and
very different opinions of the probable character of the distant
interior. But I am aware that Mr. Oxley performed all that enterprise,
and perseverance, and talent could have performed, and that it would
have been impracticable in him to have attempted to force its marshes
in the state in which he found them. It was from his want of knowledge
of their nature and extent, that he inferred the swampy and
inhospitable character of the more remote country, a state in which
subsequent investigation has found it not to be. The marsh of the
Macquarie is nothing more than an ordinary marsh or swamp in another
country. However large a space it covers, it is no more than a
concavity or basin for the reception of the waters of the river itself,
nor has it any influence whatever on the country to the westward of it,
in respect to inundation; the general features of the latter being a
regular alternation of plain and brush. These facts are in themselves
sufficient to give a fresh interest to the interior of the Australian
continent, and to increase its importance.
CAPT. KING'S OPINIONS.
With respect to that part of its coast at which the rivers falling from
the eastern mountains, discharge themselves, it is a question of very
great doubt. It seems that Capt. King, in consequence of some
peculiarities in the currents at its N.W. angle, supports Mr.
Cunningham's opinion as to their probable discharge in that quarter.
But I fear the internal structure of the continent is so low, as to
preclude the hopes of any river reaching from one extremity of it to
the other. A variety of local circumstances, as the contraction of a
channel, a shoal sea, or numerous islands, influence currents
generally, but more especially round so extensive a continent as that
of which we are treating; nor does it strike me that any observations
made by Capt. King during his survey, can be held to bear any
connection with the eastern ranges, or their western waters. It may,
however, be said, that as the course of the Darling is still involved
in uncertainty, the question remains undecided; but it appears to me,
the discovery of that river has set aside every conjecture (founded on
previous observation) respecting the main features of the interior
lying to the westward of the Blue Mountains. Both Mr. Oxley and Mr.
Cunningham drew their conclusions from the appearances of the country
they severally explored. The ground on which those theories were built,
has been travelled over, and has not been found to realise them, but
subsequent investigation has discovered to us a river, the dip of whose
bed is to the S.W. We have every reason to believe that the sources of
this river must be far to the northward of the most distant northerly
point to which any survey has been made, as we are certain that it is
far beyond the stretch of vision from the loftiest and most westerly of
the barrier ranges; from which circumstance, it is evident that
whatever disposition the streams descending from those ranges to the
westward may show to hold a N.W. course more immediately at the base,
the whole of the interior streams, from the Macquarie to the Dumaresq,
are tributaries to the principal channel which conveys their united
waters at right angles, if not still more opposite to the direction
they were supposed to take, as far as is yet known.
COURSE OF THE DARLING.
The Darling River must be considered as the boundary line to all inland
discoveries from the eastward. Any judgment or opinion of the interior
to the westward of that stream, would be extremely premature and
uncertain. There is not a single feature over it to guide or to
strengthen either the one or the other.
CHARACTER OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR.
My impression, when travelling the country to the west and N.W. of the
marshes of the Macquarie, was, that I was traversing a country of
comparatively recent formation. The sandy nature of its soil, the great
want of vegetable decay, the salsolaceous character of its plants, the
appearance of its isolated hills and flooded tracts, and its trifling
elevations above the sea, severally contributed to strengthen these
impressions on my mind. My knowledge of the interior is, however, too
limited to justify me in any conclusion with regard to the central
parts of Australia. An ample field is open to enterprise and to
ambition, and it is to be hoped that some more decisive measures will
be carried into effect, both for the sake of the colony and of
geography, to fill up the blank upon the face of the chart of
Australia, and remove from us the reproach of indifference and inaction.
BARBER'S STATEMENT.
Since the above pages were written, an expedition was undertaken by
Major Mitchell, the Surveyor-General, to ascertain the truth of a
report brought in by a runaway convict of the name of Barber, or
Clarke, who had been at large for five years, at different times, among
the natives to the northward of Port Macquarie. This man stated that a
large river, originating in the high lands near Liverpool Plains, and
the mountains to the north of them, pursued a N.W. course to the sea.
His story ran thus: Having learnt from the natives the existence of
this river, he determined to follow it down, in hopes that he might
ultimately be enabled to make his escape from the colony. He
accordingly started from Liverpool Plains, and kept on a river called
the Gnamoi, for some time, which took him N.W. After a few days'
journey, he left this river, traversed the country northwards, and
crossed some lofty ranges. Descending to the N.E. he came to another
large river, the Keindur, which again took him N.W. He travelled 400
miles down it, when he observed a large stream joining it upon its left
bank, which he supposed to be the Gnamoi. The river he was upon was
broad and navigable. It flowed through a level country with a dead
current and muddy water, and spread into frequent lakes. He found that
it ultimately discharged itself into the sea, but was uncertain at what
distance from its sources. He was positive he never travelled to the
SOUTHWARD OF WEST. He ascended a hill near the sea, and observed an
island in the distance, from which, the natives informed him, a race of
light-coloured men came in large canoes for a scented wood; but having
failed in the immediate object of his journey, he was eventually
obliged to return.
MAJOR MITCHELL'S REPORT.
The following official report of Major Mitchell will sufficiently point
out the incorrectness of the preceding statement. It is most probable
that Barber merely told that which he had heard from the natives, and
that having a more than ordinary share of cunning, he made up a story
upon their vague and uncertain accounts, in hopes that it would benefit
him, as in truth it did.
* * * * *
Bullabalakit, on the River Nammoy,
in lat. 30 degrees 38 minutes 21 seconds S.,
long. 149 degrees 30 minutes 20 seconds E.
23d December, 1831.
SIR,
I have the honour to state, for the information of His Excellency the
Governor, the progress I have made in exploring the course of the
interior waters to the northward of the Colony, with reference to the
letter which I had the honour to address to Col. Lindesay, on this
subject, on the 19th ult.
On crossing Liverpool Range my object was to proceed northward, so as
to avoid the plains and head the streams which water them, and avoiding
also the mountain ranges on the east.
I arrived accordingly, by a tolerably straight and level line, at
Walamoul, on Peel's River; this place (a cattle station of Mr. Brown)
being nearly due north from the common pass across Liverpool Range, and
about a mile-and-a-half above the spot where Mr. Oxley crossed this
river.
PEEL'S RIVER.
I found the general course of the Peel below Walamoul to be nearly
west; and after tracing this river downwards twenty-two miles (in
direct distance), I crossed it at an excellent ford, named Wallamburra.
I then traversed the extensive plain of Mulluba; and leaving that of
Coonil on the right, extending far to the north-east, we passed through
a favourable interval of what I considered Hardwicke's Range, the
general direction of this range being two points west of north.
On passing through this gorge, which, from the name of a hill on the
south side, may be named Ydire, I crossed a very extensive tract of
flat country, on which the wood consisted of iron-bark and acacia
pendula; this tract being part of a valley evidently declining to the
north-west, which is bounded on the south by the Liverpool Range, and
on the south-west by the extremities from the same. On the west, at a
distance of twenty-two miles from Hardwicke's Range, there stands a
remarkable isolated hill named Bounalla; and towards the lowest part of
the country, and in the direction in which all the waters tend, there
is a rocky peak named Tangulda. On the north, a low range (named Wowa),
branching westerly from Hardwicke's Range, bounds on that side this
extensive basin, which includes Liverpool Plains. Peel's River is the
principal stream, and receives, in its course, all the waters of these
plains below the junction of Connadilly,--which I take to be York's
River, of Oxley.
THE RIVER NAMMOY.
The stream is well known to the natives by the name Nammoy; and six
miles below Tangulda, the low extremities from the surrounding ranges
close on the river, and separate this extensive vale from the
unexplored country which extends beyond to an horizon which is unbroken
between W.N.W. and N.N.W.
The impracticable appearance of the mountains to the northward, induced
me to proceed thus far to the west; and on examining the country thirty
miles N.E. by N. from Tangulda, I ascended a lofty range extending
westward from the coast chain, and on which the perpendicular sides of
masses of trachyte (a volcanic rock) were opposed to my further
progress even with horses: it was therefore evident that the river
supposed to rise about the latitude of 28 degrees would not be
accessible, or at least available to the Colony, in that direction, and
that in the event of the discovery of a river beyond that range flowing
to the northern or north-western shores, it would become of importance
to ascertain whether it was joined by the Nammoy, the head of this
river being so accessible that I have brought my heavily laden drays to
where it is navigable for boats, my present encampment being on its
banks six miles below Tangulda. From this station I can perceive the
western termination of the Trachytic range, and I am now about to
explore the country between it and the Nammoy, and the further course
of this river; and in the event of its continuance in a favourable
direction, I shall fix my depot on its right bank, whence I now write,
and descend the stream in the portable boats.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
T. L. MITCHELL,
SURVEYOR-GENERAL
The Hon. The Colonial Secretary.
* * * * *
Peel's River, 29th February, 1832.
SIR,
I have the honour to inform you, for the information of His Excellency
the Governor, that I have reached the left bank of this River with my
whole party on my return from the northern interior, having explored
the course of the river referred to in my letter of 22nd December last,
and others within the 29th parallel of latitude.
There was so much fallen timber in the Nammoy, and its waters were so
low, that the portable boats could not be used on that river with
advantage, and I proceeded by land in a north-west direction, until
convinced by its course turning more to the westward that this river
joined the river Darling. I therefore quitted its banks with the
intention of exploring the country further northward, by moving round
the western extremities of the mountains mentioned in my former letter,
and which I have since distinguished in my map by the name of the
Lindesay Range. These mountains terminate abruptly on the west, and I
entered a fine open country at their base, from whence plains (or
rather open ground of gentle undulation) extended westward as far as
could be seen. On turning these mountains I directed my course
northward, and to the eastward of north, into the country beyond them,
in search of the river KINDUR; and I reached a river flowing westward,
the bed of which was deep, broad, and permanent, but in which there was
not then much water.
THE RIVER KARAULA.
The marks of inundation on trees, and on the adjoining high ground,
proved that its floods rose to an extraordinary height; and from the
latitude, and also from the general direction of its course, I
considered this to be the river which Mr. Cunningham named the Gwydir,
on crossing it sixty miles higher, on his route to Moreton Bay. I
descended this river, and explored the country on its left bank for
about eighty miles to the westward, when I found that its general
course was somewhat to the southward of west. This river received no
addition from the mountains over that part of its left bank traversed
by me; and the heat being intense, the stream was at length so reduced
that I could step across it. The banks had become low, and the bed much
contracted, being no longer gravelly, but muddy. I therefore crossed
this river and travelled northward, on a meridian line, until, in the
latitude of 29 degrees 2 minutes, I came upon the largest river I had
yet seen. The banks were earthy and broken, the soil being loose, and
the water of a white muddy colour. Trees, washed out by the roots from
the soft soil, filled the bed of this river in many places. There was
abundance of cod-fish of a small size, as well as of the two other
kinds of fish which we had caught in the Peel, the Nammoy, and the
Gwydir. The name of this river, as well as we could make it out from
the natives, was Karaula. Having made fast one tree to top of another
tall tree, I obtained a view of the horizon, which appeared perfectly
level, and I was in hopes that we had at length found a river which
would flow to the northward and avoid the Darling. I accordingly
ordered the boat to be put together, and sent Mr. White with a party
some miles down to clear away any trees in the way. Mr. White came upon
a rocky fall, and found besides the channel so much obstructed by
trees, and the course so tortuous, that I determined to ascertain
before embarking upon it, whether the general course was in the desired
direction. Leaving Mr. White with half the party, I accordingly traced
the Karaula downwards, and found that its course changed to south, a
few miles below where I had made it, and that it was joined by the
Gwydir only eight miles below where I had crossed that river.
Immediately below the junction of the Gwydir (which is in latitude 29
degrees 30 minutes 27 seconds, longitude 148 degrees 13 minutes 20
seconds) the course of the river continues southward of west, directly
towards where Captain Sturt discovered the River Darling; and I could
no longer doubt that this was the same river. I therefore returned to
the party, determined to explore the country further northward.
The results of my progress thus far were sufficient, I considered, to
prove that the division of the waters falling towards the northern and
southern shores of Australia is not, as has been supposed, in the
direction of the Liverpool and Warrabangle range, but extends between
Cape Byron on the eastern shore, towards Dick Hartog's Island on the
west; the greater elongation of this country being between these
points, and intermediate between the lines of its northern and southern
coasts. The basin of the streams I have been upon must be bounded on
the north by this dividing ground or water-shed, and although no rise
was perceptible in the northern horizon, the river was traversed by
several rocky dykes, over which it fell southward; their direction
being oblique to the course, and nearly parallel to this division of
the waters. I beg leave to state, that I should not feel certain on
this point without having seen more, were it not evident from Mr.
Cunningham's observations, made on crossing this division on his way to
Moreton Bay. Mr. Cunningham, on crossing the head of this river, nearly
in the same latitude, but much nearer its sources, found the height of
its bed above the sea to be 840 feet; at about forty-five miles further
northward the ground rose to upwards of 1700 feet, but immediately
beyond, he reached a river flowing north-west, the height of which was
only 1400 feet above the sea. He had thus crossed this dividing higher
ground, between the parallels of 29 degrees and 28 degrees. It appears,
therefore, that all the interior rivers we know of to the northward of
the Morumbidgee, belong to the basin of the Karaula; this stream
flowing southward, and hence the disappearance of the Macquarie and
other lower rivers may be understood, for all along the banks of the
Karaula, the Gwydir, and the Nammoy, the country, though not swampy,
bears marks of frequent inundation; thus the floods occasioned by these
rivers united, cover the low country, and receive the Macquarie so that
no channel marks its further course.
That a basin may be found to the northward receiving the waters of the
northern part of the coast range in a similar manner is extremely
probable, and that they form a better river, because the angle is more
acute between the high ground, which must bound it on the N.E. and the
watershed on the south. I therefore prepared to cross the Karaula, in
hopes of seeing the head at least of such a river, and to explore the
country two degrees further northward, but moving in a N.W. direction.
My tent was struck, and I had just launched my portable boat for the
purpose of crossing the river, when Mr. Surveyor Finch, whom I had
instructed to bring up a supply of flour, arrived with the distressing
intelligence, that two of his men had been killed by the natives, who
had taken the flour, and were in possession of everything he had
brought--all the cattle, including his horse, being also dispersed or
lost. I therefore determined not to extend my excursion further, as the
party were already on reduced rations, and on the 8th instant I retired
from the Karaula, returning by the marked line, which being cut through
thick scrubs in various places, is now open, forming a tolerably direct
line of communication in a N.W. direction from Sydney, to a river,
beyond which the survey may be extended whenever His Excellency the
Governor thinks fit.
The natives had never troubled my party on our advance; indeed I only
saw them when I came upon them by surprise, and then they always ran
off. Their first visit was received at my camp on the Karaula, during
my absence down that river, when they were very friendly, but much
disposed to steal. Various tribes followed us on coming back, but never
with any show of hostility, although moving in tribes of a hundred or
more parallel to our marked line, or in our rear; it was necessary to
be ever on our guard, and to encamp in strong positions only, arranging
the drays for defence during the night: three men were always under
arms, and I have much pleasure in stating, that throughout the whole
excursion, and under circumstances of hardship and privation, the
conduct of the men was very good. I took an armed party to the scene of
pillage, and buried the bodies of the two men, who appeared to have
been treacherously murdered while asleep by the blacks during the
absence of Mr. Finch: no natives were to be found when I visited the
spot, although it appeared from columns of smoke on hills which
overlooked if, that they were watching our movements.
The party has now arrived within a day's journey of Brown's station,
and I have instructed Assistant-Surveyor White (from whom I have
received great assistance during the whole journey) to conduct it
homewards, being desirous to proceed without delay to Sydney, and to
receive the instructions of His Excellency the Governor.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
T. L. MITCHELL,
SURVEYOR-GENERAL.
THE HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, "&c. &c. &c."