Produced by Sue Asscher and Col Choat
EXPLORATIONS
IN
AUSTRALIA:
1. EXPLORATIONS IN SEARCH OF DR. LEICHARDT AND PARTY.
2. FROM PERTH TO ADELAIDE, AROUND THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT.
3. FROM CHAMPION BAY, ACROSS THE DESERT TO THE TELEGRAPH AND TO ADELAIDE.
WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE CONDITION OF
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
BY JOHN FORREST, F.R.G.S.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY G.F. ANGAS.
1875.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY
FREDERICK ALOYSIUS WELD, ESQ., C.M.G.,
GOVERNOR OF TASMANIA,
LATE GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
MY DEAR GOVERNOR WELD,
It was during your administration of the Government of Western Australia,
and chiefly owing to your zeal and support, that most of the work of
exploration described in this volume was undertaken and carried out. Your
encouragement revived the love of exploration which had almost died out
in our colony before you arrived.
With gratitude and pleasure I ask you to accept the dedication of this
volume as an expression of my appreciation of your kindness and support.
Yours very faithfully,
JOHN FORREST.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
Previous Expeditions into the Interior.
Attempts to Discover a Route between South and Western Australia.
Eyre's Disastrous Journey.
Leichardt, the Lost Explorer.
The Latest Explorations.
CHAPTER 2.
FIRST EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF LEICHARDT.
Statements made by the Natives.
An Expedition Prepared.
Leader Appointed.
Official Instructions.
The Journal.
CHAPTER 3.
SECOND EXPEDITION. FROM PERTH TO ADELAIDE, ROUND THE GREAT BIGHT.
A New Exploration suggested.
Proposal to reach Adelaide by way of the South Coast.
The experience derived from Eyre's Expedition.
Survey of Port Eucla.
Official Instructions.
The Start.
Dempster's Station near Esperance Bay.
The Schooner at Port Eucla.
Journal of the Expedition.
CHAPTER 4.
RECEPTION AT ADELAIDE AND RETURN TO PERTH.
Departure from Gawler and Arrival at Adelaide.
Appearance of the Party.
Public Entrance.
Complimentary Banquet.
Grant by the Government of Western Australia.
CHAPTER 5.
THIRD EXPEDITION. FROM THE WEST COAST TO THE TELEGRAPH LINE.
Proposal to undertake a New Expedition.
Endeavour to Explore the Watershed of the Murchison.
Expeditions by South Australian Explorers.
My Journal.
Fight with the Natives.
Finding traces of Mr. Gosse's Party.
The Telegraph Line reached.
Arrival at Perth Station.
CHAPTER 6.
PUBLIC RECEPTIONS AT ADELAIDE AND PERTH.
Procession and Banquet at Adelaide.
Arrival in Western Australia.
Banquet and Ball at Perth.
Results of Exploration.
APPENDIX.
Description of Plants, etc.
Report on Geological Specimens.
Note by Editor.
Governor Weld's Report (1874) on Western Australia.
Table of Imports and Exports.
Ditto of Revenue and Expenditure.
Public Debt.
Population.
List of Governors.
MAPS.
1. General Map of Australia, showing the Three Journeys.
2. From Perth to Longitude 123 degrees in Search of Leichardt.
3. From Perth to Adelaide, around the Great Australian Bight.
4. From Champion Bay to Adelaide.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait of John Forrest.
The Horses Bogged at Lake Barlee.
Portrait of Alexander Forrest.
Arrival at the Great Australian Bight. Fresh Water found.
Public Welcome at Adelaide.
Attacked by the Natives at Weld Springs.
On the March. The Spinifex Desert.
Reaching the Overland Telegraph Line.
EXPLORATIONS IN AUSTRALIA.
CHAPTER 1.
Previous Expeditions into the Interior.
Attempts to discover a Route between South and Western Australia.
Eyre's Disastrous Journey.
Leichardt, the Lost Explorer.
The Latest Explorations.
As the history of the principal expeditions into the interior of
Australia has been narrated by several able writers, I do not propose to
repeat what has already been so well told. But, to make the narrative of
my own journeys more intelligible, and to explain the motives for making
them, it is necessary that I should briefly sketch the expeditions
undertaken for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the vast regions
intervening between Western and the other Australian colonies, and
determining the possibility of opening up direct overland communication.
With energetic, if at times uncertain, steps the adventurous colonists
have advanced from the settlements on the eastern and southern coasts of
the vast island into the interior. Expeditions, led by intrepid
explorers, have forced their way against all but insurmountable
difficulties into the hitherto unknown regions which lie to the north and
west of the eastern colonies. Settlements have been established on the
shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Burke and a small party crossed
Australia from south to north, enduring innumerable hardships, Burke,
with two of his associates, perishing on the return journey. About the
same time Stuart crossed farther to the west, reaching the very centre of
Australia, and telegraphic wires now almost exactly follow his line of
route, affording communication, by way of Port Darwin, between Adelaide
and the great telegraphic systems of the world.
ATTEMPTS TO CROSS THE DESERT.
The telegraph line divides Australia into two portions, nearly equal in
dimensions, but very different in character. To the east are the busy and
rapidly advancing settlements, fertile plains, extensive ranges of grassy
downs, broad rivers, abundant vegetation; to the west a great lone land,
a wilderness interspersed with salt marshes and lakes, barren hills, and
spinifex deserts. It is the Sahara of the south, but a Sahara with few
oases of fertility, beyond which is the thin fringe of scattered
settlements of the colony of Western Australia. To cross this desert, to
discover routes connecting the western territory with South Australia and
the line marked by the telegraph, has been the ambition of later
explorers. Mr. Gregory attempted, from the north, to ascend the Victoria
River, but only reached the upper edge of the great desert. Dr.
Leichardt, who had previously travelled from Moreton Bay, on the eastern
coast, to Port Essington on the northern, attempted to cross from the
eastern to the western shores, and has not since been heard of. Mr. Eyre
made a journey, memorable for the misfortunes which attended it, and the
sufferings he endured, from Adelaide round the head of the great bay, or
Bight of Southern Australia, to Perth, the capital of Western Australia;
and much more recently Colonel Egerton Warburton succeeded in crossing
from the telegraphic line to the western coast across the northern part
of the great wilderness, nearly touching the farthest point reached by
Mr. Gregory.
EYRE'S JOURNEY.
It was in the year 1840, only four years after the foundation of South
Australia, that the first great attempt to discover a route from Adelaide
to the settlements in Western Australia was made. There then resided in
South Australia a man of great energy and restless activity, Edward John
Eyre, whose name was afterwards known throughout the world in connexion
with the Jamaica outbreak of 1865, and the measures which, as Governor,
he adopted for repressing it. It was anticipated that a profitable trade
between the colonies might be carried on if sheep and other live-stock
could be transferred from one to the other in a mode less expensive than
was afforded by the sea route between Adelaide and the Swan River. Eyre
did not believe in the possibility of establishing a practicable route,
but urged, through the press, the desirability of exploring the vast
regions to the north, which he anticipated would afford a good and
profitable field for adventurous enterprise. He offered to lead an
expedition which should explore the country around the great salt lake
lying to the north-west of the settled portion of the colony, and to
which the name of Lake Torrens had been given. Very little was known of
this lake, and absolutely nothing of the country beyond. The general
supposition, in which Eyre shared, was that there existed a large space
of barren land, most probably the bed of a sea which had at one time
divided the continent into several islands; but it was hoped that no
insuperable difficulties in the way of crossing it would present
themselves, and beyond might be a fertile and valuable district, offering
an almost unbounded field for settlement, and with which permanent
communications might without great difficulty be established. Some
geographers were of opinion that an inland sea might be in existence,
and, if so, of course water communication with the northern half of
Australia could be effected.
Mr. Eyre's proposition found ready acceptance with the colonists, The
Government granted 100 pounds--a small sum indeed--but the colony was
then young, and far from being in flourishing circumstances. Friends lent
their assistance, enthusiasm was aroused, and in little more than three
weeks from the time when Eyre proposed the expedition, he started on his
journey. Five Europeans accompanied him, and two natives, black boys,
were attached to the party, which was provided with thirteen horses,
forty sheep, and provisions for three months. Lake Torrens was reached,
and then the difficulties of the expedition began. Although dignified
with the name of lake, it proved to be an enormous swamp, without surface
water, and the mud coated with a thin layer of salt. The party struggled
to effect a passage, and penetrated into the slime for six miles, until
they were in imminent danger of sinking. The lake, or rather salt swamp,
presented a barrier which Eyre considered it impossible to overcome. The
party turned in a westerly direction, and reached the sea at Port
Lincoln. Here a little open boat was obtained, and Mr. Scott, Eyre's
courageous companion, undertook to attempt to reach Adelaide and obtain
further supplies. This he successfully accomplished, returning in the
Water Witch with stores and provisions, two more men, and some kangaroo
dogs. Thus reinforced, the party reached Fowler's Bay in the great Bight
of South Australia. The map shows that a journey of more than 200 miles
must have been made before the point was reached. Thence they attempted
to make their way round the head of the Bight, but were twice baffled by
want of water. Nothing daunted, Eyre made a third attempt, and succeeded
in penetrating fifty miles beyond the head of the Bight. But the result
was achieved only at a cost which the little party could ill sustain.
Four of the best horses perished, which deprived Eyre of the means of
carrying provisions, and he had to decide between abandoning the
expedition altogether or still further reducing the number of his
companions. Mr. Scott and three men returned to Adelaide, leaving behind
a man named Baxter, who had long been in Eyre's employ as an overseer or
factotum; the two natives who had first started with him, and a boy,
Wylie, who had before been in Eyre's service, and who had been brought
back in the cutter.
Six months after Eyre had started from Adelaide, he was left with only
four companions to continue the journey. He had acquired considerable
experience of the privations to be encountered, but refused to comply
with the wishes of Colonel Gawler, the Governor, to abandon the
expedition as hopeless, and return to Adelaide. Indeed, with
characteristic inflexibility--almost approaching to obstinacy--he
resolved to attempt the western route along the shore of the Great
Bight--a journey which, only a few months before, he had himself
described as impracticable.
The cutter which had been stationed at Fowler Bay, to afford assistance
if required, departed on the 31st of January, 1841, and Eyre and his
small party were left to their fate. He had been defeated in the attempt
to push forward in a northward direction, and he resolved not to return
without having accomplished something which would justify the confidence
of the public in his energy and courageous spirit of adventure. If he
could not reach the north, he would attempt the western route, whatever
might be the result of his enterprise. After resting to recruit the
strength of his party, Eyre resolutely set out, on the 25th of February,
on what proved to be a journey attended by almost unexampled demands upon
human endurance.
Nine horses, one pony, six sheep, and a provision of flour, tea, and
sugar for nine weeks, formed the slender stores of the little party,
which resolutely set forward to track an unknown path to the west.
Accompanied by one of the blacks, Eyre went on in advance to find water.
For five days, during which time he travelled about 140 miles, no water
was obtained, and the distress endured by men and animals was extreme. It
is not necessary to dwell on every incident of this terrible journey.
Eyre's descriptions, animated by remembrances of past sufferings, possess
a graphic vigour which cannot be successfully emulated. Sometimes it was
found necessary to divide the party, so wretched was the country, and so
difficult was it to obtain sufficient water in even the most limited
supply for man and beast. Once Eyre was alone for six days, with only
three quarts of water, some of which evaporated, and more was spilt. But
his indomitable determination to accomplish the journey on which he had
resolved never failed. He knew that at least 600 miles of desert country
lay between him and the nearest settlement of Western Australia; but even
that prospect, the certain privations, the probable miserable death, did
not daunt him in the journey. The horses broke down from thirst and
fatigue; the pony died; the survivors crawled languidly about, "like
dogs, looking to their masters only for aid." After a few days, during
which no water had been obtainable, a dew fell, and Eyre collected a
little moisture with a sponge, the black boys with pieces of rag. To
their inexpressible joy, some sand-hills were reached, and, after
digging, a supply of water was obtained for their refreshment, and for
six days the party rested by the spot to recruit their strength. The
overseer and one of the natives then went back forty-seven miles to
recover the little store of provisions they had been compelled to
abandon. Two out of the three horses he took with him broke down, and
with great difficulty he succeeded in rejoining Eyre. At this time the
party were 650 miles from their destination, with only three weeks'
provisions, estimated on the most reduced scale. Baxter, the overseer,
wished to attempt to return; but, Eyre being resolute, the overseer
loyally determined to stay with him to the last. One horse was killed for
food; dysentery broke out; the natives deserted them, but came back
starving and penitent, and were permitted to remain with the white men.
Then came the tragedy which makes this narrative so conspicuously
terrible, even in the annals of Australian exploration. Two of the black
men shot the overseer, Baxter, as he slept, and then ran away, perishing,
it is supposed, miserably in the desert. Eyre, when some distance from
the place where poor Baxter rested, looking after the horses, heard the
report of the gun and hurried back, arriving just in time to receive the
pathetic look of farewell from the murdered man, who had served him so
long and so faithfully.
Wylie, the black boy, who had been with Eyre in Adelaide, now alone
remained, and it is scarcely possible to imagine a more appalling
situation than that in which Eyre then found himself. The murderers had
carried away nearly the whole of the scanty stock of provisions, leaving
only forty pounds of flour, a little tea and sugar, and four gallons of
water. They had also taken the two available guns, and nearly all the
ammunition. The body of Baxter was wrapped in a blanket--they could not
even dig a grave in the barren rock. Left with his sole companion, Eyre
sadly resumed the march, their steps tracked by the two blacks, who
probably meditated further murders; but, with only cowardly instincts,
they dared not approach the intrepid man, who at length outstripped them,
and they were never heard of more. Still no water was found for 150
miles; then a slight supply, and the two men struggled on, daily becoming
weaker, living on horse-flesh, an occasional kangaroo, and the few fish
that were to be caught--for it must be remembered that at no time were
they far from the coast.
On the 2nd of June, nearly four months after they had bidden good-bye to
the cutter at Fowler's Bay, they stood on the cliffs, looking out over
the ocean, when they saw in the distance two objects which were soon
recognized as boats, and shortly afterwards, to their unbounded joy, they
discerned the masts of a vessel on the farther side of a small rocky
island. Animated by a new life, Eyre pushed on until he reached a point
whence he succeeded in hailing the ship, and a boat was sent off. The
vessel proved to be a French whaler, the Mississippi, commanded by an
Englishman, Captain Rossiter. The worn-out travellers stayed on board for
a fortnight, experiencing the utmost kindness, and with recruited
strength and food and clothing, they bade a grateful farewell to the
captain and crew, and resumed their journey.
For twenty-three days more Eyre and his attendant Wylie pursued their
way. Rain fell heavily, and the cold was intense; but at length, on the
27th of July, they reached Albany, in Western Australia, and the journey
was accomplished.
For more than twelve months Eyre had been engaged forcing his way from
Adelaide to the Western colony; and the incidents of the journey have
been dwelt upon because afterwards I passed over the same ground, though
in the opposite direction, and the records of Eyre's expedition were of
the greatest service to me, by at least enabling me to guard against a
repetition of the terrible sufferings he endured.
EXPLORATIONS BY LEICHARDT.
It is further necessary to refer to another of the journeys of
exploration which preceded my own--that of the unfortunate Leichardt. He
endeavoured to cross the continent from east to west, starting from
Moreton Bay, Queensland, hoping to reach the Western Australian
settlements. In 1844 Leichardt had succeeded in crossing the
north-western portion of the continent from Moreton Bay to Port
Essington, and he conceived the gigantic project of reaching Western
Australia. Towards the end of 1847, accompanied by eight men, with
provisions estimated at two years' supply, he started on his journey. He
took with him an enormous number of animals--180 sheep, 270 goats, 40
bullocks, 15 horses, and 13 mules. They must have greatly encumbered his
march, and the difficulty of obtaining food necessarily much impeded his
movements. His original intention was first to steer north, following for
some distance his previous track, and then, as opportunity offered, to
strike westward and make clear across the continent. After disastrous
wanderings for seven months, in the course of which they lost the whole
of their cattle and sheep, the party returned.
Disappointed, but not discouraged, Leichardt resolved on another attempt
to achieve the task he had set himself. With great difficulty he obtained
some funds; organized a small but ill-provided party, and again started
for the interior. The last ever heard of him was a letter, dated the 3rd
of April, 1848. He was then in the Fitzroy Downs; he wrote in good
spirits, hopefully as to his prospects: "Seeing how much I have been
favoured in my present progress, I am full of hopes that our Almighty
Protector will allow me to bring my darling scheme to a successful
termination."
THE FATE OF LEICHARDT.
From that day the fate of Leichardt and his companions has been involved
in mystery. He was then on the Cogoon River, in Eastern Australia, at
least 1500 miles from the nearest station on the western side of the
continent. His last letter gives no clue to the track he intended to
pursue. If a westerly course had been struck he would have nearly
traversed the route which subsequently Warburton travelled; but no trace
of him has ever been discovered. Several expeditions were undertaken to
ascertain his fate; at various times expectations were aroused by finding
trees marked L; but Leichardt himself, on previous journeys, had met with
trees so marked, by whom is unknown. Natives found in the remote interior
were questioned; they told vague stories of the murder of white men, but
all investigations resulted in the conclusion that the statements were as
untrustworthy as those generally made to explorers who question
uninformed, ignorant natives. The white man's experience is usually that
a native only partially comprehends the question; he does not understand
what is wanted, but is anxious to please, as he expects something to eat,
and he says what he thinks is most likely to be satisfactory.
Leichardt was certainly ill-provided for an expedition of the magnitude
he contemplated, and it appears to be at the least as probable that he
succumbed to the hardships he encountered, or was swept away by a flood,
as that he was murdered by the blacks. Twenty-seven years have elapsed
since he disappeared in the interior; yet the mystery attending his fate
has not ceased to excite a desire to know the fate of so daring an
explorer, and ascertain something definite respecting his course--a
desire which was one of the principal motives that prompted my first
expedition into the unknown interior dividing the west from the east.
In 1872, Mr. Giles headed an exploring party from Melbourne, which
succeeded in making known a vast district hitherto unexplored; but his
progress was stopped, when he had reached longitude 129 degrees 40
minutes, by a large salt lake, the limits of which could not be
ascertained. In the following year Mr. Gosse, at the head of a party
equipped by the South Australian Government, started from nearly the same
point of the telegraph line, and at the same period as the Warburton
expedition, but was compelled to return after eight months' absence,
having reached longitude 126 degrees 59 minutes. Gosse found the country
generally poor and destitute of water. He was perhaps unfortunate in
experiencing an unusually dry season; but his deliberate conclusion was,
"I do not think a practicable route will ever be found between the lower
part of Western Australia and the telegraph line."
VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS.
At the instance of Baron Von Mueller, and assisted by a small
subscription from the South Australian Government, Mr. Giles made a
second attempt to penetrate westward. He reached the 125th degree of east
longitude, and discovered and traversed four distinct mountain ranges, on
one of which Mr. Gosse shortly afterwards found his tracks. One of his
companions, Mr. Gibson, lost his way and perished in the desert, and
therefore Mr. Giles turned his face eastwards, and, after an absence of
twelve months, reached Adelaide. He encountered many perils, having been
nine times attacked by the natives, probably in the attempt to obtain
water; and on one occasion was severely wounded and nearly captured.
On the 20th March, 1874, Mr. Ross, with his son and another European,
three Arabs, fourteen horses, and sixteen camels, started from the
telegraph line, near the Peake station in South Australia. He was
compelled to return through want of water, although, soon after starting,
he had greatly reduced the number of his party by sending back three of
his companions, two of the horses, and twelve of the camels.
Such, in brief, have been the results of the efforts made to cross
Australia between the telegraph line and the west coast, and ascertain
the probability of establishing a practicable route. I have referred to
them to show how persistent has been the desire to achieve the exploit,
and how little daunted by repeated failures have been Australian
explorers. I now propose to relate my own experiences--the results of
three journeys of exploration, conducted by myself. The first was
undertaken in the hope of discovering some traces of Leichardt; the
second nearly retraced the route of Eyre; the third was across the desert
from Western Australia to the telegraph line in South Australia. The
first journey did not result in obtaining the information sought for; the
second and third journeys were successfully accomplished.