Environs of the lake Alexandrina--Appointment of Capt. Barker to make a
further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay--Narrative of his
proceedings--Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and beautiful country
adjacent--Australian salmon--Survey of the coast--Outlet of lake to the
sea--Circumstances that led to the slaughter of Capt. Barker by the
natives--His character--Features of this part of the country and
capabilities of its coasts--Its adaptation for colonization--Suggestions
for the furtherance of future Expeditions.
ENVIRONS OF THE LAKE ALEXANDRINA.
The foregoing narrative will have given the reader some idea of the
state in which the last expedition reached the bottom of that extensive
and magnificent basin which receives the waters of the Murray. The men
were, indeed, so exhausted, in strength, and their provisions so much
reduced by the time they gained the coast, that I doubted much, whether
either would hold out to such place as we might hope for relief. Yet,
reduced as the whole of us were from previous exertion, beset as our
homeward path was by difficulty and danger, and involved as our
eventual safety was in obscurity and doubt, I could not but deplore the
necessity that obliged me to re-cross the Lake Alexandrina (as I had
named it in honour of the heir apparent to the British crown), and to
relinquish the examination of its western shores. We were borne over
its ruffled and agitated surface with such rapidity, that I had
scarcely time to view it as we passed; but, cursory as my glance was, I
could not but think I was leaving behind me the fullest reward of our
toil, in a country that would ultimately render our discoveries
valuable, and benefit the colony for whose interests we were engaged.
Hurried, I would repeat, as my view of it was, my eye never fell on a
country of more promising aspect, or of more favourable position, than
that which occupies the space between the lake and the ranges of St.
Vincent's Gulf, and, continuing northerly from Mount Barker, stretches
away, without any visible boundary.
It appeared to me that, unless nature had deviated from her usual laws,
this tract of country could not but be fertile, situated as it was to
receive the mountain deposits on the one hand, and those of the lake
upon the other.
FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE COAST.
In my report to the Colonial Government, however, I did not feel myself
justified in stating, to their full extent, opinions that were founded
on probability and conjecture alone. But, although I was guarded in
this particular, I strongly recommended a further examination of the
coast, from the most eastern point of Encounter Bay, to the head St.
Vincent's Gulf, to ascertain if any other than the known channel
existed among the sand-hills of the former, or if, as I had every
reason to hope from the great extent of water to the N.W., there was a
practicable communication with the lake from the other; and I ventured
to predict, that a closer survey of the interjacent country, would be
attended with the most beneficial results; nor have I a doubt that the
promontory of Cape Jervis would ere this have been settled, had Captain
Barker lived to complete his official reports.
CAPT. BARKER'S SURVEY.
The governor, General Darling, whose multifarious duties might well
have excused him from paying attention to distant objects, hesitated
not a moment when he thought the interests of the colony, whose welfare
he so zealously promoted, appeared to be concerned; and he determined
to avail himself of the services of Captain Collet Barker, of the 39th
regiment, who was about to be recalled from King George's Sound, in
order to satisfy himself as to the correctness of my views.
Captain Barker had not long before been removed from Port Raffles, on
the northern coast, where he had had much intercourse with the natives,
and had frequently trusted himself wholly in their hands. It was not,
however, merely on account of his conciliating manners, and knowledge
of the temper and habits of the natives, that he was particularly
fitted for the duty upon which it was the governor's pleasure to employ
him. He was, in addition, a man of great energy of character, and of
much and various information.
Orders having reached Sydney, directing the establishment belonging to
New South Wales to be withdrawn, prior to the occupation of King
George's Sound by the government of Western Australia, the ISABELLA
schooner was sent to receive the troops and prisoners on board; and
Captain Barker was directed, as soon as he should have handed over the
settlement to Captain Stirling, to proceed to Cape Jervis, from which
point it was thought he could best carry on a survey not only of the
coast but also of the interior.
This excellent and zealous officer sailed from King George's Sound, on
the 10th of April, 1831, and arrived off Cape Jervis on the 13th. He
was attended by Doctor Davies, one of the assistant surgeons of his
regiment, and by Mr. Kent, of the Commissariat. It is to the latter
gentleman that the public are indebted for the greater part of the
following details; he having attended Captain Barker closely during the
whole of this short but disastrous excursion, and made notes as copious
as they are interesting. At the time the ISABELLA arrived off Cape
Jervis, the weather was clear and favourable. Captain Barker
consequently stood into St. Vincent's Gulf, keeping, as near as
practicable, to the eastern shore, in soundings that varied from six to
ten fathoms, upon sand and mud. His immediate object was to ascertain
if there was any communication with the lake Alexandrina from the gulf.
He ascended to lat. 34 degrees 40 minutes where he fully satisfied
himself that no channel did exist between them. He found, however, that
the ranges behind Cape Jervis terminated abruptly at Mount Lofty, in
lat. 34 degrees 56 minutes, and, that a flat and wooded country
succeeded to the N. and N.E. The shore of the gulf tended more to the
N.N.W., and mud flats and mangrove swamps prevailed along it.
INVITING COUNTRY--MOUNT LOFTY.
Mr. Kent informs me, that they landed for the first time on the 15th,
but that they returned almost immediately to the vessel. On the 17th,
Captain Barker again landed, with the intention of remaining on shore
for two or three days. He was accompanied by Mr. Kent, his servant
Mills, and two soldiers. The boat went to the place at which they had
before landed, as they thought they had discovered a small river with a
bar entrance. They crossed the bar, and ascertained that it was a
narrow inlet, of four miles in length, that terminated at the base of
the ranges. The party were quite delighted with the aspect of the
country on either side of the inlet, and with the bold and romantic
scenery behind them. The former bore the appearance of natural meadows,
lightly timbered, and covered with a variety of grasses. The soil was
observed to be a rich, fat, chocolate coloured earth, probably the
decomposition of the deep blue limestone, that showed itself along the
coast hereabouts. On the other hand, a rocky glen made a cleft in the
ranges at the head of the inlet; and they were supplied with abundance
of fresh water which remained in the deeper pools that had been filled
by the torrents during late rains. The whole neighbourhood was so
inviting that the party slept at the head of the inlet.
MOUNT LOFTY AND ITS ENVIRONS.
In the morning, Captain Barker proceeded to ascend Mount Lofty,
accompanied by Mr. Kent and his servant, leaving the two soldiers at
the bivouac, at which he directed them to remain until his return. Mr.
Kent says they kept the ridge all the way, and rose above the sea by a
gradual ascent. The rock-formation of the lower ranges appeared to be
an argillaceous schist; the sides and summit of the ranges were covered
with verdure, and the trees upon them were of more than ordinary size.
The view to the eastward was shut out by other ranges, parallel to
those on which they were; below them to the westward, the same pleasing
kind of country that flanked the inlet still continued.
MOUNT BARKER.
In the course of the day they passed round the head of a deep ravine,
whose smooth and grassy sides presented a beautiful appearance. The
party stood 600 feet above the bed of a small rivulet that occupied the
bottom of the ravine. In some places huge blocks of granite interrupted
its course, in others the waters had worn the rock smooth. The polish
of these rocks was quite beautiful, and the veins of red and white
quartz which traversed them, looked like mosaic work. They did not gain
the top of Mount Lofty, but slept a few miles beyond the ravine. In the
morning they continued their journey, and, crossing Mount Lofty,
descended northerly, to a point from which the range bent away a little
to the N.N.E., and then terminated. The view from this point was much
more extensive than that from Mount Lofty itself. They overlooked a
great part of the gulf, and could distinctly see the mountains at the
head of it to the N.N.W. To the N.W. there was a considerable
indentation in the coast, which had escaped Captain Barker's notice
when examining it. A mountain, very similar to Mount Lofty, bore due
east of them, and appeared to be the termination of its range. They
were separated by a valley of about ten miles in width, the appearance
of which was not favourable. Mr. Kent states to me, that Capt. Barker
observed at the time that he thought it probable I had mistaken this
hill for Mount Lofty, since it shut out the view of the lake from him,
and therefore he naturally concluded, I could not have seen Mount
Lofty. I can readily imagine such an error to have been made by me,
more especially as I remember that at the time I was taking bearings in
the lake, I thought Captain Flinders had not given Mount Lofty, as I
then conceived it to be, its proper position in longitude. Both hills
are in the same parallel of latitude. The mistake on my part is
obvious. I have corrected it in the charts, and have availed myself of
the opportunity thus afforded me of perpetuating, as far as I can, the
name of an inestimable companion in Captain Barker himself.
Immediately below the point on which they stood, Mr. Kent says, a low
undulating country extended to the northward, as far as he could see.
It was partly open, and partly wooded; and was every where covered with
verdure. It continued round to the eastward, and apparently ran down
southerly, at the opposite base of the mount Barker Range. I think
there can be but little doubt that my view from the S.E., that is, from
the lake, extended over the same or a part of the same country. Captain
Barker again slept on the summit of the range, near a large basin that
looked like the mouth of a crater, in which huge fragments of rocks
made a scene of the utmost confusion. These rocks were a coarse grey
granite, of which the higher parts and northern termination of the
Mount Lofty range are evidently formed; for Mr. Kent remarks that it
superseded the schistose formation at the ravine we have noticed--and
that, subsequently, the sides of the hills became more broken, and
valleys, or gullies, more properly speaking, very numerous. Captain
Barker estimated the height of Mount Lofty above the sea at 2,400 feet,
and the distance of its summit from the coast at eleven miles. Mr. Kent
says they were surprised at the size of the trees on the immediate brow
of it; they measured one and found it to be 43 feet in girth. Indeed,
he adds, vegetation did not appear to have suffered either from its
elevated position, or from any prevailing wind. Eucalypti were the
general timber on the ranges; one species of which, resembling strongly
the black butted-gum, was remarkable for a scent peculiar to its bark.
AUSTRALIAN SALMON.
The party rejoined the soldiers on the 21st, and enjoyed the supply of
fish which they had provided for them. The soldiers had amused
themselves by fishing during Captain Barker's absence, and had been
abundantly successful. Among others they had taken a kind of salmon,
which, though inferior in size, resembled in shape, in taste, and in
the colour of its flesh, the salmon of Europe. I fancied that a fish
which I observed with extremely glittering scales, in the mouth of a
seal, when myself on the coast, must have been of this kind; and I have
no doubt that the lake is periodically visited by salmon, and that
these fish retain their habits of entering fresh water at particular
seasons, also in the southern hemisphere.
Immediately behind Cape Jervis, there is a small bay, in which
according to the information of the sealers who frequent Kangaroo
Island, there is good and safe anchorage for seven months in the year,
that is to say, during the prevalence of the E. and N.E. winds.
SURVEY OF THE COAST.
Captain Barker landed on the 21st on this rocky point at the northern
extremity of this bay. He had, however, previously to this, examined
the indentation in the coast which he had observed from Mount Lofty,
and had ascertained that it was nothing more than an inlet; a spit of
sand, projecting from the shore at right angles with it, concealed the
month of the inlet. They took the boat to examine this point, and
carried six fathoms soundings round the head of the spit to the mouth
of the inlet, when it shoaled to two fathoms, and the landing was
observed to be bad, by reason of mangrove swamps on either side of it.
Mr. Kent, I think, told me that this inlet was from ten to twelve miles
long. Can it be that a current setting out of it at times, has thrown
up the sand-bank that protects its mouth, and that trees, or any other
obstacle, have hidden its further prolongation from Captain Barker's
notice? I have little hope that such is the case, but the remark is not
an idle one.
BEAUTIFUL VALLEYS.
Between this inlet and the one formerly mentioned, a small and clear
stream was discovered, to which Captain Barker kindly gave my name. On
landing, the party, which consisted of the same persons as the former
one, found themselves in a valley, which opened direct upon the bay. It
was confined to the north from the chief range by a lateral ridge, that
gradually declined towards and terminated at, the rocky point on which
they had landed. The other side of the valley was formed of a
continuation of the main range, which also gradually declined to the
south, and appeared to be connected with the hills at the extremity of
the cape. The valley was from nine to ten miles in length, and from
three to four in breadth. In crossing it, they ascertained that the
lagoon from which the schooner had obtained a supply of water, was
filled by a watercourse that came down its centre. The soil in the
valley was rich, but stony in some parts. There was an abundance of
pasture over the whole, from amongst which they started numerous
kangaroos. The scenery towards the ranges was beautiful and romantic,
and the general appearance of the country such as to delight the whole
party.
Preserving a due east course, Captain Barker passed over the opposite
range of hills, and descended almost immediately into a second valley
that continued to the southwards. Its soil was poor and stony, and it
was covered with low scrub. Crossing it, they ascended the opposite
range, from the summit of which they had a view of Encounter Bay. An
extensive flat stretched from beneath them to the eastward, and was
backed, in the distance, by sand hummocks, and low wooded hills. The
extreme right of the flat rested upon the coast, at a rocky point near
which there were two or three islands. From the left a beautiful valley
opened upon it. A strong and clear rivulet from this valley traversed
the flat obliquely, and fell into the sea at the rocky point, or a
little to the southward of it. The hills forming the opposite side of
the valley had already terminated. Captain Barker, therefore, ascended
to higher ground, and, at length, obtained a view of the Lake
Alexandrina, and the channel of its communication with the sea to the
N.E. He now descended to the flat, and frequently expressed his anxious
wish to Mr. Kent that I had been one of their number to enjoy the
beauty of the scenery around them, and to participate in their labours.
Had fate so ordained it, it is possible the melancholy tragedy that
soon after occurred might have been averted.
OUTLET OF LAKE TO THE SEA.
At the termination of the flat they found themselves upon the banks of
the channel, and close to the sand hillock under which my tents had
been pitched. From this point they proceeded along the line of
sand-hills to the outlet; from which it would appear that Kangaroo
Island is not visible, but that the distant point which I mistook for
it was the S.E. angle of Cape Jervis. I have remarked, in describing
that part of the coast, that there is a sand-hill to the eastward of
the inlet, under which the tide runs strong, and the water is deep.
Captain Barker judged the breadth of the channel to be a quarter of a
mile, and he expressed a desire to swim across it to the sand-hill to
take bearings, and to ascertain the nature of the strand beyond it to
the eastward.
It unfortunately happened, that he was the only one of the party who
could swim well, in consequence of which his people remonstrated with
him on the danger of making the attempt unattended. Notwithstanding,
however, that he was seriously indisposed, he stripped, and after Mr.
Kent had fastened his compass on his head for him, he plunged into the
water, and with difficulty gained the opposite side; to effect which
took him nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. His anxious comrades saw
him ascend the hillock, and take several bearings; he then descended
the farther side, and was never seen by them again.
CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE LOSS OF CAPTAIN BARKER.
For a considerable time Mr. Kent remained stationary, in momentary
expectation of his return; but at length, taking the two soldiers with
him, he proceeded along the shore in search of wood for a fire. At
about a quarter of a mile, the soldiers stopped and expressed their
wish to return, as their minds misgave them, and they feared that
Captain Barker had met with some accident. While conversing, they heard
a distant shout, or cry, which Mr. Kent thought resembled the call of
the natives, but which the soldiers positively declared to be the voice
of a white man. On their return to their companions, they asked if any
sounds had caught their ears, to which they replied in the negative.
The wind was blowing from the E.S.E., in which direction Captain Barker
had gone; and, to me, the fact of the nearer party not having heard
that which must have been his cries for assistance, is satisfactorily
accounted for, as, being immediately under the hill, the sounds must
have passed over their heads to be heard more distinctly at the
distance at which Mr. Kent and the soldiers stood. It is more than
probable, that while his men were expressing their anxiety about him,
the fearful tragedy was enacting which it has become my painful task to
detail.
Evening closed in without any signs of Captain Barker's return, or any
circumstance by which Mr. Kent could confirm his fears that he had
fallen into the hands of the natives. For, whether it was that the
tribe which had shown such decided hostility to me when on the coast
had not observed the party, none made their appearance; and if I except
two, who crossed the channel when Mr. Kent was in search of wood, they
had neither seen nor heard any; and Captain Barker's enterprising
disposition being well known to his men, hopes were still entertained
that he was safe. A large fire was kindled, and the party formed a
silent and anxious group around it. Soon after night-fall, however,
their attention was roused by the sounds of the natives, and it was at
length discovered, that they had lighted a chain of small fires between
the sand-hill Captain Barker had ascended and the opposite side of the
channel, around which their women were chanting their melancholy dirge.
It struck upon the ears of the listeners with an ominous thrill, and
assured them of the certainty of the irreparable loss they had
sustained. All night did those dismal sounds echo along that lonely
shore, but as morning dawned, they ceased, and Mr. Kent and his
companions were again left in anxiety and doubt. They, at length,
thought it most advisable to proceed to the schooner to advise with
Doctor Davies. They traversed the beach with hasty steps, but did not
get on board till the following day. It was then determined to procure
assistance from the sealers on Kangaroo Island, as the only means by
which they could ascertain their leader's fate, and they accordingly
entered American Harbour. For a certain reward, one of the men agreed
to accompany Mr. Kent to the main with a native woman, to communicate
with the tribe that was supposed to have killed him. They landed at or
near the rocky point of Encounter Bay, where they were joined by two
other natives, one of whom was blind. The woman was sent forward for
intelligence, and on her return gave the following details:
ACCOUNT OF HIS MURDER.
It appears that at a very considerable distance from the first
sand-hill, there is another to which Captain Barker must have walked,
for the woman stated that three natives were going to the shore from
their tribe, and that they crossed his tract. Their quick perception
immediately told them it was an unusual impression. They followed upon
it, and saw Captain Barker returning. They hesitated for a long time to
approach him, being fearful of the instrument he carried. At length,
however, they closed upon him. Capt. Barker tried to soothe them, but
finding that they were determined to attack him, he made for the water
from which he could not have been very distant. One of the blacks
immediately threw his spear and struck him in the hip. This did not,
however, stop him. He got among the breakers, when he received the
second spear in the shoulder. On this, turning round, he received a
third full in the breast: with such deadly precision do these savages
cast their weapons. It would appear that the third spear was already on
its flight when Capt. Barker turned, and it is to be hoped, that it was
at once mortal. He fell on his back into the water. The natives then
rushed in, and dragging him out by the legs, seized their spears, and
indicted innumerable wounds upon his body; after which, they threw it
into deep water, and the sea-tide carried it away.
HIS CHARACTER.
Such, we have every reason to believe, was the untimely fate of this
amiable and talented man. It is a melancholy satisfaction to me thus
publicly to record his worth; instrumental, as I cannot but in some
measure consider my last journey to have been in leading to this fatal
catastrophe. Captain Barker was in disposition, as he was in the close
of his life, in many respects similar to Captain Cook. Mild, affable,
and attentive, he had the esteem and regard of every companion, and the
respect of every one under him. Zealous in the discharge of his public
duties, honourable and just in private life; a lover and a follower of
science; indefatigable and dauntless in his pursuits; a steady friend,
an entertaining companion; charitable, kind-hearted, disinterested, and
sincere--the task is equally difficult to find adequate expressions of
praise or of regret. In him the king lost one of his most valuable
officers, and his regiment one of its most efficient members. Beloved
as he was, the news of his loss struck his numerous friends with
sincere grief, but by none was it more severely felt than by the humble
individual who has endeavoured thus feebly to draw his portrait.
From the same source from which the particulars of his death were
obtained, it was reported that the natives who perpetrated the deed
were influenced by no other motive than curiosity to ascertain if they
had power to kill a white man. But we must be careful in giving credit
to this, for it is much more probable that the cruelties exercised by
the sealers towards the blacks along the south coast, may have
instigated the latter to take vengeance on the innocent as well as on
the guilty. It will be seen, by a reference to the chart, that Captain
Barker, by crossing the channel, threw himself into the very hands of
that tribe which had evinced such determined hostility to myself and my
men. He got into the rear of their strong hold, and was sacrificed to
those feelings of suspicion, and to that desire of revenge, which the
savages never lose sight of until they have been gratified.
FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, AND CAPABILITIES OF THE COAST.
It yet remains for me to state that when Mr. Kent returned to the
schooner, after this irreparable loss, he kept to the south of the
place at which he had crossed the first range with Captain Barker, and
travelled through a valley right across the promontory. He thus
discovered that there was a division in the ranges, through which there
was a direct and level road from the little bay on the northern
extremity of which they had last landed in St. Vincent's Gulf, to the
rocky point of Encounter Bay. The importance of this fact will be
better estimated, when it is known that good anchorage is secured to
small vessels inside the island that lies off the point of Encounter
Bay, which is rendered still safer by a horse shoe reef that forms, as
it were, a thick wall to break the swell of the sea. But this anchorage
is not safe for more than five months in the year. Independently of
these points, however, Mr. Kent remarks, that the spit a little to the
north of Mount Lofty would afford good shelter to minor vessels under
its lee. When the nature of the country is taken into consideration,
and the facility of entering that which lies between the ranges and the
Lake Alexandrina, from the south, and of a direct communication with
the lake itself, the want of an extensive harbour will, in some
measure, be compensated for, more especially when it is known that
within four leagues of Cape Jervis, a port little inferior to Port
Jackson, with a safe and broad entrance, exists at Kangaroo Island. The
sealers have given this spot the name of American Harbour. In it, I am
informed, vessels are completely land-locked, and secure from every
wind. Kangaroo Island is not, however, fertile by any means. It abounds
in shallow lakes filled with salt water during high tides, and which,
by evaporation, yield a vast quantity of salt.
I gathered from the sealers that neither the promontory separating St.
Vincent from Spencer's Gulf, nor the neighbourhood of Port Lincoln, are
other than barren and sandy wastes. They all agree in describing Port
Lincoln itself as a magnificent roadstead, but equally agree as to the
sterility of its shores. It appears, therefore, that the promontory of
Cape Jervis owes its superiority to its natural features; in fact, to
the mountains that occupy its centre, to the debris that has been
washed from them, and to the decomposition of the better description of
its rocks. Such is the case at Illawarra, where the mountains approach
the sea; such indeed is the case every where, at a certain distance
from mountain ranges.
ADAPTION OF THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY FOR COLONISATION.
From the above account it would appear that a spot has, at length, been
found upon the south coast of New Holland, to which the colonist might
venture with every prospect of success, and in whose valleys the exile
might hope to build for himself and for his family a peaceful and
prosperous home. All who have ever landed upon the eastern shore of St.
Vincent's Gulf, agree as to the richness of its soil, and the abundance
of its pasture. Indeed, if we cast our eyes upon the chart, and examine
the natural features of the country behind Cape Jervis, we shall no
longer wonder at its differing in soil and fertility from the low and
sandy tracks that generally prevail along the shores of Australia.
Without entering largely into the consideration of the more remote
advantages that would, in all human probability, result from the
establishment of a colony, rather than a penal settlement, at St.
Vincent's Gulf, it will be expedient to glance hastily over the
preceding narrative, and, disengaging it from all extraneous matter, to
condense, as much as possible, the information it contains respecting
the country itself; for I have been unable to introduce any passing
remark, lest I should break the thread of an interesting detail.
The country immediately behind Cape Jervis may, strictly speaking, be
termed a promontory, bounded to the west by St. Vincent's Gulf, and to
the east by the lake Alexandrina, and the sandy track separating that
basin from the sea. Supposing a line to be drawn from the parallel of
34 degrees 40 minutes to the eastward, it will strike the Murray river
about 25 miles above the head of the lake, and will clear the ranges,
of which Mount Lofty and Mount Barker are the respective terminations.
This line will cut off a space whose greatest breadth will be 55 miles,
whose length from north to south will be 75, and whose surface exceeds
7 millions of acres; from which if we deduct 2 millions for the
unavailable hills, we shall have 5 millions of acres of land, of rich
soil, upon which no scrub exists, and whose most distant points are
accessible, through a level country on the one hand, and by water on
the other. The southern extremity of the ranges can be turned by that
valley through which Mr. Kent returned to the schooner, after Captain
Barker's death. It is certain, therefore, that this valley not only
secures so grand a point, but also presents a level line of
communication from the small bay immediately to the north of the cape,
to the rocky point of Encounter Bay, at both of which places there is
safe anchorage at different periods of the year.
HINTS FOR FUTURE EXPEDITIONS.
The only objection that can be raised to the occupation of this spot,
is the want of an available harbour. Yet it admits of great doubt
whether the contiguity of Kangaroo Island to Cape Jervis, (serving as
it does to break the force of the prevailing winds, as also of the
heavy swell that would otherwise roll direct into the bay,) and the
fact of its possessing a safe and commodious harbour, certainly at an
available distance, does not in a great measure remove the objection.
Certain it is that no port, with the exception of that on the shores of
which the capital of Australia is situated, offers half the convenience
of this, although it be detached between three and four leagues from
the main.
On the other hand it would appear, that there is no place from which at
any time the survey of the more central parts of the continent could be
so effectually carried on; for in a country like Australia, where the
chief obstacle to be apprehended in travelling is the want of water,
the facilities afforded by the Murray and its tributaries, are
indisputable; and I have little doubt that the very centre of the
continent might be gained by a judicious and enterprising expedition.
Certainly it is most desirable to ascertain whether the river I have
supposed to be the Darling be really so or not. I have stated my
objection to depots, but I think that if a party commenced its
operations upon the Murray from the junction upwards, and, after
ascertaining the fact of its ultimate course, turned away to the N.W.
up one of the tributaries of the Murray, with a supply of six months'
provisions, the results would be of the most satisfactory kind, and the
features of the country be wholly developed. I cannot, I think,
conclude this work better than by expressing a hope, that the Colonial
Government will direct such measures to be adopted as may be necessary
for the extension of our geographical knowledge in Australia. The
facilities of fitting out expeditions in New South Wales, render the
expenses of little moment, when compared with the importance of the
object in view; and although I am labouring under the effects of former
attempts, yet would I willingly give such assistance as I could to
carry such an object into effect.
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX No. I.
GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS FOUND TO THE SOUTH-WEST OF PORT JACKSON.
Considering the nature of the country over which the first expedition
travelled, it could hardly have been expected that its geological
specimens would be numerous. It will appear, however, from the
following list of rocks collected during the second expedition, that
the geological formation of the mountains to the S.W. of Port Jackson
is as various as that to the N.W. of it is mountainous. The specimens
are described not according to their natural order, but in the
succession in which they were found, commencing from Yass Plains, and
during the subsequent stages of the journey.
Sandstone, Old Red.--Found on various parts of Yass Plains, in contact
with
Limestone, Transition.--Colour dark grey; composes the bed of the Yass
River, and apparently traverses the sandstone formation. Yass Plains
lie 170 miles to the S.W. of Sydney.
Sandstone, Old Red.--Again succeeds the limestone, and continues to the
N.W. to a considerable distance over a poor and scrubby country,
covered for the most part with a dwarf species of Eucalyptus.
Granite.--Colour grey; feldspar, black mica, and quartz: succeeds the
sandstone, and continues to the S.W. as far as the Morumbidgee River,
over an open forest country broken into hill and dale. It is generally
on these granite rocks that the best grazing is found.
Greywacke.--Colour grey, of light hue, or dark, with black specks.
Soft.--Composition of a part of the ranges that form the valley of the
Morumbidgee.
Serpentine.--Colour green of different shades, striped sulphur yellow;
slaty fracture, soft and greasy to the touch. Forms hills of moderate
elevation, of peculiarly sharp spine, resting on quartz. Composition of
most of the ranges opposite the Doomot River on the Morumbidgee, in
lat. 35 degrees 4 minutes and long. 147 degrees 40 minutes.
Quartz.--Colour snow-white; formation of the higher ranges on the left
bank of the Morumbidgee, in the same latitude and longitude as above;
showing in large blocks on the sides of the hills.
Slaty Quartz, with varieties.--Found with the quartz rock, in a state
of decomposition.
Granite.--Succeeds the serpentine, of light colour; feldspar
decomposed; mica, glittering and silvery white.
Sandstone, Old Red.--Composition of the more distant ranges on the
Morumbidgee. Forms abrupt precipices over the river flats; of sterile
appearance, and covered with Banksias and scrub.
Mica Slate.--Colour dark brown, approaching red; mica glittering. The
hills enclosing Pondebadgery Plain at the gorge of the valley of the
Morumbidgee, are composed of this rock. They are succeeded by
Sandstone.--Which rises abruptly from the river in perpendicular
cliffs, of 145 feet in height.
Jasper and quartz.--Colour red and white. Forms the slope of the above
sandstone, and may be considered the outermost of the rocks connected
with the Eastern or Blue Mountain Ranges. It will be remembered that
jasper and quartz were likewise found on a plain near the Darling
River, precisely similar to the above, although occurring at so great a
distance from each other.
Granite.--Light red colour; composition of a small isolated hill, to
all appearance wholly unconnected with the neighbouring ranges. This
specimen is very similar to that found in the bed of New-Year's Creek.
Breccia.--Silicious cement, composed of a variety of pebbles. Formation
of the most WESTERLY of the hills between the Lachlan and Macquarie
Rivers. This conglomerate was also found to compose the minor and most
westerly of the elevations of the more northern interior.
Chrystallised Sulphate of Lime.--Found embedded in the deep alluvial
soil in the banks of the Morumbidgee River, in lat. 34 degrees 30
minutes S., and long. 144 degrees 55 minutes E. The same substance was
found on the banks of the Darling, in lat. 29 degrees 49 minutes S.,
and in long. 145 degrees 18 minutes E.
A reference to the chart will show that the Morumbidgee, from the first
of the above positions, may be said to have entered the almost dead
level of the interior. No elevation occurs to the westward for several
hundreds of miles. A coarse grit occasionally traversed the beds of the
rivers, and their lofty banks of clay or marl appear to be based on
sandstone and granitic sand. The latter occurs in slabs of four inches
in thickness, divided by a line of saffron-coloured sand, and seems to
have been subjected to fusion, as if the particles or grains had been
cemented together by fusion.
The first decided break that takes place in the level of the interior
occurs upon the right bank of the Murray, a little below the junction
of the Rufus with it. A cliff of from 120 to 130 feet in perpendicular
elevation here flanks the river for about 200 yards, when it recedes
from it, and forms a spacious amphitheatre that is occupied by
semicircular hillocks, that partake of the same character as the cliff
itself; the face of which showed the various substances of which it was
composed in horizontal lines, that if prolonged would cut the same
substance in the hillocks. Based upon a soft white sandstone, a bed of
clay formed the lowest part of the cliff; upon this bed of clay, a bed
of chalk reposed; this chalk was superseded by a thick bed of
saponaceous earth, whilst the summit of the cliff was composed of a
bright red sand. Semi-opal and hydrate of silex were found in the
chalk, and some beautiful specimens of brown menelite were collected
from the upper stratum of the cliff.
A little below this singular place, the country again declines, when a
tertiary fossil formation shows itself, which, rising gradually as an
inclined plain, ultimately attains an elevation of 300 feet. This
formation continues to the very coast, since large masses of the rock
were observed in the channel of communication between the lake and the
ocean; and the hills to the left of the channel were based upon it.
This great bank cannot, therefore, average less than from seventy to
ninety miles in width. At its commencement, it strikingly resembled
skulls piled one on the other, as well in colour as appearance. This
effect had been produced by the constant rippling of water against the
rock. The softer parts had been washed away, and the shells (a bed of
Turritella) alone remained.
Plate 1, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent the selenite formation.
Plate 2, represents a mass of the rock containing numerous kinds of
shells, of which the following are the most conspicuous:
Cardium
Pectunculus
Corbula
Arca
Conus, and
Others unknown.
* * *
The following is a list of the fossils collected from various parts of
this formation, from which it is evident that a closer examination
would lead to the discovery of numberless species.
TUNICATA.
PLATE III.
FIG.1 Eschara celleporacea.
2 ------- piriformis.
3 ------- UNNAMED.
FIG.4 Cellepora echinata.
5 --------- escharoides?
6 Retepora disticha.
7 -------- vibicata.
8 Glauconome rhombifera.
All Tertiary in Westphalia and England.
RADIATA
9 Scutella.
10 Spatangus Hoffmanni--Goldfuss.
Tertiary, in Westphalia.
11 Echinus.
CONCHIFERA--BIVALVED SHELLS.
Corbula gallica--Paris basin--Tertiary.
Tellina?
Corbis lamellosa--Tertiary--Paris.
Lucina.
Venus (Cytherea) laevigata--ibid.
----- ---------- obliqua --ibid.
Venus
Cardium?--fragments.
12 Nucula--such is found in London clay.
13 Pecten coarctatus?--Placentia.
------ various?--recent.
14 ------ species unknown.
Two other Pectens also occur.
Ostrea elongata--Deshayes.
15 Terebratula.
16 One cast, genus unknown, perhaps a Cardium.
MOLUSCA--UNIVALVED SHELLS.
Bulla? Plate II., fig. 2.
FIG.17 Natica--small.
18 ------ large species.
Dentalium?
19 Trochus.
20 Turritella.
---------- in gyps.
21 Murex.
22 Buccinum?
23 Mitra.
24 ----- very short.
25 Cypraea.
26 Conus.
27 ----- (Plate II., fig. 3.)
28 Two, unknown, (Also Plate II, fig. 4.)
The above all appear to belong to the newer tertiary formations.
[Fig.17 to 27--These genera are scarcely ever, and some of them not at
all, found in any but tertiary formations.]
A block of coarse red granite forms an island in the centre of the
river near the lake, but is nowhere else visible, although it is very
probably the basis of the surrounding country.
ROCK FORMATION OF THE COAST RANGE OF ST. VINCENT'S GULF.
Primitive Transition Limestone.--Light grey, striped. Altered in
appearance by volcanic action; occurs on the Ranges north of Cape
Jervis.
Granite.--Colour, red; found on the west side of Encounter Bay.
Brown Spar.--South point of Cape Jervis.
Sandstone, Old Red.--East coast of St. Vincent's Gulf.
Limestone, Transition.--Colour, blue. East Coast of St. Vincent's Gulf.
Formation near the first inlet. Continuing to the base of the Ranges.
Clay Slate.--Composition of the lower part of the Mount Lofty Range.
Granite.--Fine grained, red; forms the higher parts of the Mount Lofty
Range.
Quartz, with Tourmaline.--Lower parts of the Mount Lofty Range.
Limestone Flustra, and their Corallines, probably tertiary.--From the
mouth of the Sturt, on the coast line, nearly abreast of Mount Lofty.
APPENDIX No. II.
OFFICIAL REPORT TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.
* * * * *
GOVERNMENT ORDER.
Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney,
May 10, 1830.
His Excellency the Governor has much satisfaction in publishing the
following report of the proceedings of an expedition undertaken for the
purpose of tracing the course of the river "Morumbidgee," and of
ascertaining whether it communicated with the coast forming the
southern boundary of the colony.
The expedition, which was placed under the direction of Captain Sturt,
of his Majesty's 39th Regiment, commenced its progress down the
"Morumbidgee" on the 7th day of January last, having been occupied
twenty-one days in performing the journey from Sydney.
On the 14th January they entered a new river running from east to west,
now called the "Murray," into which the "Morumbidgee" flows.
After pursuing the course of the "Murray" for several days, the
expedition observed another river (supposed to be that which Captain
Sturt discovered on his former expedition), uniting with the "Murray"
which they examined about five miles above the junction.
The expedition again proceeded down the "Murray," and fell in with
another of its tributaries flowing from the south east, which Captain
Sturt has designated the "Lindesay;" and on the 8th February the
"Murray" was found to enter or form a lake, of from fifty to sixty
miles in length, and from thirty to forty in breadth, lying immediately
to the eastward of gulf St. Vincent, and extending to the southward, to
the shore of "Encounter Bay."
Thus has Captain Sturt added largely, and in a highly important degree,
to the knowledge previously possessed of the interior.
His former expedition ascertained the fate of the rivers Macquarie and
Castlereagh, on which occasion he also discovered a river which, there
is every reason to believe, is, in ordinary seasons, of considerable
magnitude.
Should this, as Captain Sturt supposes, prove to be the same river as
that above-mentioned, as uniting with the "Murray," the existence of an
interior water communication for several hundreds of miles, extending
from the northward of "Mount Harris," down to the southern coast of the
colony, will have been established.
It is to be regretted, that circumstances did not permit of a more
perfect examination of the lake, (which has been called "Alexandrina"),
as the immediate vicinage of Gulf St. Vincent furnishes a just ground
of hope that a more practicable and useful communication may be
discovered in that direction, than the channel which leads into
"Encounter Bay."
The opportunity of recording a second time the services rendered to the
colony by Captain Sturt, is as gratifying to the government which
directed the undertaking, as it is creditable to the individual who so
successfully conducted it to its termination.--It is an additional
cause of satisfaction to add, that every one, according to his sphere
of action, has a claim to a proportionate degree of applause. All were
exposed alike to the same privations and fatigue, and every one
submitted with patience, manifesting the most anxious desire for the
success of the expedition. The zeal of Mr. George M'Leay, the companion
of Captain Sturt, when example was so important, could not fail to have
the most salutary effect; and the obedience, steadiness, and good
conduct of the men employed, merit the highest praise.
By his Excellency's command,
ALEXANDER M'LEAY.
* * * * *
BANKS OF THE MORUMBIDGEE, APRIL 20TH, 1830.
SIR,--The departure of Mr. George M'Leay for Sydney, who is anxious to
proceed homewards as speedily as possible, affords me an earlier
opportunity than would otherwise have presented itself, by which to
make you acquainted with the circumstance of my return, under the
divine protection, to the located districts; and I do myself the honour
of annexing a brief account of my proceedings since the last
communication for the information of His Excellency the Governor, until
such time as I shall have it in my power to give in a more detailed
report.
On the 7th of January, agreeably to the arrangements which had been
made, I proceeded down the Morumbidgee in the whale boat, with a
complement of six hands, independent of myself and Mr. M'Leay, holding
the skiff in tow. The river, for several days, kept a general W.S.W.
course; it altered little in appearance, nor did any material change
take place in the country upon its banks. The alluvial flats had
occasionally an increased breadth on either side of it, but the line of
reeds was nowhere so extensive as from previous appearances I had been
led to expect. About twelve miles from the depot, we passed a large
creek junction from the N.E. which, from its locality and from the
circumstance of my having been upon it in the direction of them, I
cannot but conclude originates in the marshes of the Lachlan.
On the 11th, the Morumbidgee became much encumbered with fallen timber,
and its current was at times so rapid that I was under considerable
apprehension for the safety of the boats. The skiff had been upset on
the 8th, and, although I could not anticipate such an accident to the
large boat, I feared she would receive some more serious and
irremediable injury. On the 14th, these difficulties increased upon
us.--The channel of the river became more contracted, and its current
more impetuous. We had no sooner cleared one reach, than fresh and
apparently insurmountable dangers presented themselves to us in the
next. I really feared that every precaution would have proved
unavailing against such multiplied embarrassments, and that ere night
we should have possessed only the wrecks of the expedition. From this
state of anxiety, however, we were unexpectedly relieved, by our
arrival at 2 p.m. at the termination of the Morumbidgee; from which we
were launched into a broad and noble river, flowing from E. to W. at
the rate of two and a half knots per hour, over a clear and sandy bed,
of a medium width of from three to four hundred feet.
During the first stages of our journey upon this new river, which
evidently had its rise in the mountains of the S.E., we made rapid
progress to the W.N.W. through an unbroken and uninteresting country of
equal sameness of feature and of vegetation. On the 23rd, as the boats
were proceeding down it, several hundreds of natives made their
appearance upon the right bank, having assembled with premeditated
purposes of violence. I was the more surprised at this show of
hostility, because we had passed on general friendly terms, not only
with those on the Morumbidgee, but of the new river. Now, however,
emboldened by numbers, they seemed determined on making the first
attack, and soon worked themselves into a state of frenzy by loud and
vehement shouting. As I observed that the water was shoaling fast, I
kept in the middle of the stream; and, under an impression that it
would be impossible for me to avoid a conflict, prepared for an
obstinate resistance. But, at the very moment when, having arrived
opposite to a large sand bank, on which they had collected, the
foremost of the blacks had already advanced into the water, and I only
awaited their nearer approach to fire upon them, their impetuosity was
restrained by the most unlooked for and unexpected interference. They
held back of a sudden, and allowed us to pass unmolested. The boat,
however, almost immediately grounded on a shoal that stretched across
the river, over which she was with some difficulty hauled into deeper
water,--when we found ourselves opposite to a large junction from the
eastward, little inferior to the river itself. Had I been aware of this
circumstance, I should have been the more anxious with regard to any
rupture with the natives, and I was now happy to find that most of them
had laid aside their weapons and had crossed the junction, it appearing
that they had previously been on a tongue of land formed by the two
streams. I therefore landed among them to satisfy their curiosity and
to distribute a few presents before I proceeded up it. We were obliged
to use the four oars to stem the current against us; but, as soon as we
had passed the mouth, got into deeper water, and found easier pulling,
The parallel in which we struck it, and the direction from which it
came, combined to assure me that this could be no other than the
"Darling." To the distance of two miles it retained a breadth of one
hundred yards and a depth of twelve feet. Its banks were covered with
verdure, and the trees overhanging them were of finer and larger growth
than those on the new river by which we had approached it. Its waters
had a shade of green, and were more turbid than those of its
neighbours, but they were perfectly sweet to the taste.
Having satisfied myself on those points on which I was most anxious, we
returned to the junction to examine it more closely.
The angle formed by the Darling with the new river is so acute, that
neither can be said to be tributary to the other; but more important
circumstances, upon which it is impossible for me to dwell at the
present moment, mark them as distinct rivers, which have been formed by
Nature for the same purposes, in remote and opposite parts of the
island. Not having as yet given a name to the latter, I now availed
myself of the opportunity of complying with the known wishes of His
Excellency the Governor, and, at the same time, in accordance with my
own feelings as a soldier I distinguished it by that of the "Murray."
It had been my object to ascertain the decline of the vast plain
through which the Murray flows, that I might judge of the probable fall
of the waters of the interior; but by the most attentive observation I
could not satisfy myself upon the point. The course of the Darling now
confirmed my previous impression that it was to the south, which
direction it was evident the Murray also, in the subsequent stages of
our journey down it, struggled to preserve; from which it was thrown by
a range of minor elevations into a more westerly one. We were carried
as far as 139 degrees 40 minutes of longitude, without descending below
34 degrees in point of latitude; in consequence of which I expected
that the river would ultimately discharge itself, either into St.
Vincent's Gulf or that of Spencer, more especially as lofty ranges were
visible in the direction of them from the summit of the hills behind
our camp, on the 2nd of February, which I laid down as the coast line
bounding them.
A few days prior to the 2nd of February, we passed under some cliffs of
partial volcanic origin, and had immediately afterwards entered a
limestone country of the most singular formation. The river, although
we had passed occasional rapids of the most dangerous kind, had
maintained a sandy character from our first acquaintance with it to the
limestone division. It now forced itself through a glen of that rock of
half a mile in width, frequently striking precipices of more than two
hundred feet perpendicular elevation, in which coral and fossil remains
were plentifully embedded. On the 3rd February it made away to the
eastward of south, in reaches of from two to four miles in length. It
gradually lost its sandy bed, and became deep, still, and turbid; the
glen expanded into a valley, and the alluvial flats, which had hitherto
been of inconsiderable size, became proportionally extensive. The
Murray increased in breadth to more than four hundred yards, with a
depth of twenty feet of water close into the shore, and in fact formed
itself into a safe and navigable stream for any vessels of the minor
class. On the 6th the cliffs partially ceased, and on the 7th they gave
place to undulating and picturesque hills, beneath which thousands of
acres of the richest flats extended, covered, however, with reeds, and
apparently subject to overflow at any unusual rise of the river.
It is remarkable that the view from the hills was always confined.--We
were apparently running parallel to a continuation of the ranges we had
seen on the 2nd, but they were seldom visible. The country generally
seemed darkly wooded, and had occasional swells upon it, but it was one
of no promise; the timber, chiefly box and pine, being of a poor
growth, and its vegetation languid. On the 8th the hills upon the left
wore a bleak appearance, and the few trees upon them were cut down as
if by the prevailing winds. At noon we could not observe any land at
the extremity of a reach we had just entered; some gentle hills still
continued to form the left lank of the river, but the right was hid
from us by high reeds. I consequently landed to survey the country from
the nearest eminence, and found that we were just about to enter an
extensive lake which stretched away to the S.W., the line of water
meeting the horizon in that direction. Some tolerably lofty ranges were
visible to the westward at the distance of forty miles, beneath which
that shore was lost in haze. A hill, which I prejudged to be Mount
Lofty, bearing by compass S. 141 degrees W. More to the northward, the
country was low and unbacked by any elevations. A bold promontory,
which projected into the lake at the distance of seven leagues, ended
the view to the south along the eastern shore; between which and the
river the land also declined. The prospect altogether was extremely
gratifying, and the lake appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the
whole stream which had led us to it.
In the evening we passed the entrance; but a strong southerly wind
heading us, we did not gain more than nine miles. In the morning it
shifted to the N.E. where we stood out for the promontory on a S.S.W.
course. At noon we were abreast of it, when a line of sand hummocks was
ahead, scarcely visible in consequence of the great refraction about
them; but an open sea behind us from the N.N.W. to the N.N.E. points of
the compass. A meridian altitude observed here, placed us in 35 degrees
25 minutes 15 seconds S. lat.--At 1, I changed our course a little to
the westward, and at 4 p.m. entered an arm of the lake leading W.S.W.
On the point, at the entrance, some natives had assembled, but I could
not communicate with them. They were both painted and armed, and
evidently intended to resist our landing. Wishing, however, to gain
some information from them, I proceeded a short distance below their
haunt, and landed for the night, in hopes that, seeing us peaceably
disposed, they would have approached the tents; but as they kept aloof,
we continued our journey in the morning. The water, which had risen ten
inches during the night, had fallen again in the same proportion, and
we were stopped by shoals shortly after starting. In hopes that the
return of tide would have enabled us to float over them, we waited for
it very patiently, but were ultimately obliged to drag the boat across
a mud-flat of more than a quarter of a mile into deeper water; but,
after a run of about twenty minutes, were again checked by sand banks.
My endeavours to push beyond a certain point were unsuccessful, and I
was at length under the necessity of landing upon the south shore for
the night. Some small hummocks were behind us, on the other side of
which I had seen the ocean from our morning's position; and whilst the
men were pitching the tents, walked over them in company with Mr.
M'Leay to the sea shore, having struck the coast at Encounter Bay, Cape
Jervis, bearing by compass S. 81 degrees W. distant between three and
four leagues, and Kangaroo Island S.E. extremity S. 60 degrees W.
distant from nine to ten.
Thirty-two days had elapsed since we had left the depot, and I
regretted in this stage of our journey, that I could not with prudence
remain an hour longer on the coast than was necessary for me to
determine the exit of the lake. From the angle of the channel on which
we were, a bright sand-hill was visible at about nine miles distance to
the E.S.E.; which, it struck me, was the eastern side of the passage
communicating with the ocean. Having failed in our attempts to proceed
further in the boat, and the appearance of the shoals at low water
having convinced me of the impracticability of it, I determined on an
excursion along the sea-shore to the southward and eastward, in anxious
hopes that it would be a short one; for as we had had a series of winds
from the S.W. which had now changed to the opposite quarter, I feared
we should have to pull across the lake in our way homewards. I left the
camp therefore at an early hour, in company with Mr. M'Leay and Fraser,
and at day-break arrived opposite to the sand-bank I have mentioned.
Between us and it the entrance into the back water ran. The passage is
at all periods of the tide rather more than a quarter of a mile in
width, and is of sufficient depth for a boat to enter, especially on
the off side; but a line of dangerous breakers in the bay will always
prevent an approach to it from the sea, except in the calmest weather,
whilst the bay itself will always be a hazardous place for any vessels
to enter under any circumstances.
Having, however, satisfactorily concluded our pursuit, we retraced our
steps to the camp, and again took the following bearings as we left the
beach, the strand trending E.S.E. 1/2 E.:--
Kangaroo Island, S.E. angle S. 60 degrees W.
Low rocky point of Cape Jervis S. 81 degrees W.
Round Hill in centre of Range S. 164 degrees W.
Camp, distant one mile S. 171 degrees W.
Mount Lofty, distant forty miles N. 9 degrees E.
Before setting sail, a bottle was deposited between four and five feet
deep in a mound of soft earth and shells, close to the spot on which
the tent had stood, which contained a paper of the names of the party,
together with a simple detail of our arrival and departure.
It appeared that the good fortune, which had hitherto attended us was
still to continue, for the wind which had been contrary, chopped round
to the S.W., and ere sunset we were again in the mouth of the river,
having run from fifty to sixty miles under as much canvass as the boat
would bear, and with a heavy swell during the greater part of the day.
The lake which has thus terminated our journey, is from fifty to sixty
miles in length, and from thirty to forty in width. With such an
expanse of water, I am correct in stating its medium depth at four
feet. There is a large bight in it to the S.E. and a beautiful and
extensive bay to the N.W. At about seven miles from the mouth of the
river, its waters are brackish, and at twenty-one miles they are quite
salt, whilst seals frequent the lower parts. Considering this lake to
be of sufficient importance, and in anticipation that its shores will,
during her reign, if not at an earlier period, be peopled by some
portion of her subjects, I have called it, in well-meant loyalty, "The
Lake Alexandrina."
It is remarkable that the Murray has few tributaries below the Darling.
It receives one, however, of considerable importance from the S.E., to
which I have given the name of the "Lindesay," as a mark of respect to
my commanding-officer, and in remembrance of the many acts of kindness
I have received at his hands.
Having dwelt particularly on the nature of the country through which
the expedition has passed in the pages of my journal, it may be
unnecessary for me to enter into any description of it in this place,
further than to observe, that the limestone continued down to the very
coast, and that although the country in the neighbourhood of the Lake
Alexandrina must, from local circumstances, be rich in point of soil,
the timber upon it is of stunted size, and that it appears to have
suffered from drought, though not to the same extent with the eastern
coast. It is evident, however, that its vicinity to high lands does not
altogether exempt it from such periodical visitations; still I have no
doubt that my observations upon it will convince His Excellency the
Governor, that it is well worthy of a closer, and more attentive
examination, than I had it in my power to make.
In a geographical point of view, I am happy to believe that the result
of this expedition has been conclusive; and that, combined with the
late one, it has thrown much light upon the nature of the interior of
the vast Island; that the decline of waters, as far as the parallel of
139 degrees E., is to the south, and that the Darling is to the N.E. as
the Murray is to the S.E. angle of the coast, the main channel by which
the waters of the central ranges are thrown or discharged into one
great reservoir.
Our journey homewards was only remarkable for its labour: in
conclusion, therefore, it remains for me to add that we reached the
depot on the 23rd of March.
Our sugar failed us on the 18th of February, and our salt provisions,
in consequence of the accident which happened to the skiff, on the 8th
of March; so that from the above period we were living on a reduced
ration of flour; and as we took few fish, and were generally
unsuccessful with our guns, the men had seldom more than their bread to
eat.
I regretted to observe that they were daily falling off, and that
although unremitting in their exertions they were well nigh exhausted,
ere we reached the Morumbidgee.
We were from sunrise to five o'clock on the water, and from the day
that we left the depot to that of our return we never rested upon our
oars. We were thirty-nine days gaining the depot from the coast,
against a strong current in both rivers, being seven more than it took
us to go down. From the depot to this station we had seventeen days
hard pulling, making a total of eighty-eight, during which time we
could not have travelled over less than 2000 miles. I was under the
necessity of stopping short on the 10th instant, and of detaching two
men for the drays, which happily arrived on the 17th, on which day our
stock of flour failed us. Had I not adopted this plan, the men would
have become too weak to have pulled up to Pondebadgery, and we should
no doubt have suffered some privations.
This detail will, I am sure, speak more in favour of the men composing
the party than anything I can say. I would most respectfully recommend
them all to His Excellency's notice; and I beg to assure him that,
during the whole of this arduous journey, they were cheerful, zealous,
and obedient. They had many harassing duties to perform, and their
patience and temper were often put to severe trials by the natives, of
whom we could not have seen fewer than 4000 on the Murray alone.
I am to refer His Excellency the Governor to Mr. M'Leay for any more
immediate information he may require,--to whom I stand indebted on many
points--and not less in the anxiety he evinced for the success of the
undertaking, than in the promptitude with which he assisted in the
labours attendant on our return, and his uniform kindness to the men.
I have the honour to subscribe myself,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
CHARLES STURT,
Captain of the 39th Regt.
The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
END OF VOLUME II