Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume I Part 27

MACDONALD'S RANGE.

Our first encampment was on the banks of a small river at a spot 2,640 feet from the sea. This river ran through a deep and narrow valley, descending with a nearly regular slope from a tableland of sandstone, in which it took its rise about seven miles inland. At this encampment the height of the bed of the river above the level of the sea was 188.76 feet, as found by the mean of several very accordant observations, which, at the same average slope, gives an elevation of about 377 feet for the height of a spot on its banks distant only one mile from the sea; and if we conceive the average increase of elevation to the sandstone tableland to be only 200 feet in every mile (and I believe it to have been more) we shall have 1400 feet for the elevation of the tableland which formed one of the highest parts of Macdonald's Range.

ELEVATION OF HILLS.

After pa.s.sing across this range we again descended rapidly into the low country, the face of which is much broken by conical hills composed of basalt. The heights of some of these hills above their base, which had a considerable elevation above the sea level, were in three instances as follows:

February 28.

The measured height of a hill above its base was 331 feet.

March 4.

Measured the alt.i.tude of a hill above its base and found it to be 222 feet.

March 8.

Measured the alt.i.tude of a hill above its base and found it to be 229.5 feet.

None of these hills had apparently near so great an elevation as the sandstone range of which they were under-features. At this period our barometer was unfortunately broken. We now proceeded up the banks of the Glenelg and arrived at many hills and conical peaks, apparently much higher than those I had measured; yet on afterwards pa.s.sing the river and attaining the summit of the opposite sandstone range, we looked down upon them as hills of far inferior elevation to those on which we stood. From this circ.u.mstance, and from the very perceptible change of temperature we experienced, I should think the alt.i.tude of the farthest point of Stephen's Range which we reached must have been 2,500 or 3,000 feet above the sea.

CHARACTER OF THE RIVERS.

The rivers in North-western Australia much resemble in character those of the south-eastern parts of the continent. They rise at no very great distance from the sea. Near their sources they are mountain torrents, but in the lowlands they become generally streams with slow currents, winding through fertile and extensive valleys or plains which are liable to sudden and terrific inundations, caused, I conceive, by the rain which falls in that part of the mountains where the rivers take their rise; for at one period, when we had our encampment on the bank of the small stream near the sea at Hanover Bay, I was myself distant about fourteen miles in the interior in the direction of its source, where we had heavy rain; and on my return I found that the party at the station had been surprised by a sudden rising of the water for which there was no apparent cause as there had been no rain where they were.

The Glenelg River, in like manner, is subject to sweeping inundations, rising sometimes to the height of fourteen to fifteen feet above its usual level, as was evinced by the weeds and other substances we saw in the trees on its banks.

To show that these are characteristics of the Fitzroy River I shall quote the authority of Captain Wickham from a letter addressed to me just before our meeting at Hanover Bay:

It (the Fitzroy) appears to be very similar to the rivers on the south-east side of New Holland, subject to dreadful inundations, caused by heavy floods in the interior, and in no way connected with the rainy season on the coast. Our visit to it being in February and March, immediately after the rainy season on the coast, without our seeing any indication of a recent flooding, although there were large trunks of trees and quant.i.ties of gra.s.s and weeds lying on the bank and suspended from the branches of trees from ten to twelve feet above the level of the river. The bed is entirely of sand.

INUNDATIONS.

It will be clearly seen how nearly this corresponds with what we observed about the same season on the banks of the Glenelg. I have therefore little doubt that the Fitzroy takes its origin from the same mountain chain, and that the inundations described by Captain Wickham originate in the causes which I have here a.s.signed.

To demonstrate more clearly the similarity of character of these rivers with those of New South Wales I shall quote two pa.s.sages from the British Colonies of Mr. Montgomery Martin, regarding the Hawkesbury and Hunter Rivers of that colony:

The Hawkesbury, which is a continuation of the Nepean River, after the junction of the latter with a considerable stream, called the Grose, issues from a remarkable cleft in the Blue Mountains in the vicinity of the beautiful town of Richmond, about forty miles from Sydney. Along the base of these mountains the Hawkesbury flows in a northerly direction, fed by numerous tributary mountain torrents, descending from narrow gorges, which, after heavy rains, cause the Hawkesbury to rise and overflow its banks as it approaches the sea. In one instance it rose near the town of Windsor ninety-seven feet above its ordinary level. Volume 4 page 257.

Again he says, page 258:

Hunter's River, about seventy miles to the northward of Port Jackson, disembogues into the sea at the harbour of Newcastle.

There are three branches to the Hunter, called the upper, the lower, and the middle: the two former are navigable for boats for about 120 miles, and the latter for about 200 miles; but the branches are all subject to sudden and terrific inundations owing to the rapid descent of torrents from the Blue Mountains.

MOUTH OF THE GLENELG.

In concluding my remarks on the rivers of the north-west I should state that Mr. Stokes, the surveyor of the Beagle, after a careful examination of the coast did not succeed in finding the mouth of the Glenelg; and he imagines that it has several openings, consisting of large mangrove creeks, which fall into Stokes Bay; whilst it is my impression that it will be found to run out somewhere between Camden Sound and Collier's Bay, and that by some accidental circ.u.mstance its mouth was missed. That it joins the sea in a considerable body I should infer from a shoal of porpoises having been seen high up the river, and from the rise and fall of tide, which was twenty feet at the direct distance of thirty miles from the coast.

VALLEYS.

The valleys in this country are of two kinds: those which are almost ravines, bordered on each side by nearly inaccessible cliffs; and valleys of great width, bordered by fertile plains, often extensive, and which occur where the basaltic rocks are developed; although ravines of this formation are also of frequent occurrence in the mountainous parts.

CHARACTER OF THE VALLEYS. SOIL.

The soil found in the valleys of the former kind is extremely rich, but they are all subject to very heavy inundations. As an example of this kind of valley I may cite the one in which we first encamped. Its mean width was only 147 feet, and the rocky precipitous cliffs at half a mile from the sea rose above their base 138 feet. These deep valleys undoubtedly afford water at all seasons of the year.

The sandstone formation is intersected in all directions by valleys of this kind, which are seldom more than from two to three miles apart, while the top of the range between them is a tableland, divided by lateral valleys and gently rising towards the interior. Seawards they all terminate in salt.w.a.ter creeks, having the same narrow, rocky, and precipitous character as they present themselves.

These tablelands afford good timber, particularly pine. Sheep thrive upon the food there produced, but we found goats did not answer so well.

The richest land in this part of the country is found in the valleys of the second cla.s.s. The streams flowing through these valleys have generally almost imperceptible currents and often form wide reaches. The land upon their margins is thinly wooded; and I have often seen exposed fine vegetable mould of ten or twelve feet in thickness, through which these streams had worn their way. Good examples of this kind of valley are those through which run the Fitzroy and Glenelg rivers.

The northern banks of Prince Regent's River I conceive to offer no inducement whatever for the formation of a settlement, the whole of the country in that direction, as far as I have seen, consisting entirely of sandstone ridges. These ridges are continually intersected by valleys, or rather ravines of great fertility, but they are so narrow, and the good land contained in them is so very limited in extent, that from the first moment of the establishment of a colony here the individuals composing it must necessarily be scattered over a large s.p.a.ce of country. They would thus be separated from one another by considerable intervals, which separation would not only render them more liable to disagreements with the natives, but would for many other reasons be highly detrimental to the interests of an infant colony.

The same objection holds good with regard to the south bank of this river, as far as the longitude of 125 degrees 3 minutes east, and even after pa.s.sing this point the land immediately bordering the river is of the same sterile character; however a creek which trends nearly south runs up from thence into one of the most fertile countries I have ever seen.

HARBOURS.

The coastline to the south of Prince Regent's River is indented, as shown upon Captain King's chart, by numerous deep bays, many of which afford excellent anchorage; indeed I believe that there is no other part of the world in which an example occurs of three such fine harbours as Port George the Fourth, Hanover Bay, and Camden Sound, lying so close to one another.

These harbours alone render this a point of considerable consequence to Great Britain; but when viewed in connexion with the fine tract of country lying behind them its importance is very materially increased.

COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES.

Should this part of Australia be found eligible for colonization its commercial importance is well worthy of consideration.

PRODUCTIONS SUITED FOR CULTIVATION. COTTON TRADE.

The cultivated productions for the growth of which the country and climate seem best adapted are cotton, sugar, indigo, and rice.

A species of cotton plant grows wild in the greatest abundance, and if a colony was established and the proper cotton-plant introduced the following advantages would be obtained:

Great Britain would possess in Northern Australia a colony standing in the same relation to her manufacturies for cotton that her colonies in the south do to her wool-market.

This colony would also form a sort of entrepot to which the manufactured cotton would again be exported for the purpose of sale in the islands of the Indian Archipelago or its vicinity, and other parts where we have at present no trade, and where printed cottons now are, and from the nature of these countries must constantly be, in great demand.

Thus a fresh supply of cotton for our markets would be obtained, which, coming from an English colony, would give employment to British vessels alone, and the industry of our manufacturers would be called into operation by an entirely new market for cotton goods being thrown open to them, in which the demand for these articles is far greater than the supply could be for many years.

ARTICLES OF EXPORT.

The natural productions that are at present found in North-west Australia and might be available for exportation consist chiefly of timber, gum, lichens, and mimosa bark; all of which are abundant, and might be collected with a trifling degree of labour.

There are many varieties of useful timber. Among others, pine, fit for the purposes either of building or making spars for vessels, is abundant and good, and could be readily and cheaply exported if they were cut in the vicinity of the streams and floated down to the sea in the rainy season, whereby all land carriage would be avoided.