Journals of Australian Explorations Part 48

Remained at the camp. The morning was cool and cloudy, but cleared towards noon, and at night got sights for lat.i.tude.

LEICHHARDT'S CAMP.

17th November.

Resumed our journey at 6.40 a.m. Followed the Mackenzie south-east through level country with much scrub till 9.25 a.m., when we crossed a large creek from the south, which proved to be the Comet River of Dr.

Leichhardt. The whole bed of the Comet did not exceed seventy yards, and the smaller channel only five to six yards wide, and even below its junction the Mackenzie only had a channel ten to thirty yards wide in the bottom of a bed 150 yards wide from bank to bank. Just below the junction of the Comet we found the remains of a camp of Dr. Leichhardt's party on its second journey. The ashes of the fire were still visible, and a quant.i.ty of bones of goats were scattered around. A large tree was marked thus:

DIG arrow pointing down L

but a hollow in the ground at the foot of the tree showed that whatever had been deposited had long since been removed. We, however, cleared out the loose earth, but found nothing. The river now turned east-north-east, and our course being east, we receded from it, and at noon we ascended a rocky hill of sandstone covered with scrub; we therefore steered north for an hour and came to the Mackenzie, and encamped in a fine gra.s.sy flat, but beyond the immediate flats of the river the country was covered with scrub. Near the camp a large flooded-gum tree had been marked:

Solid square [symbol ??]

some years before. The day was cloudy with easterly breeze. Marked a tree:

120 solid Delta

this being the 120th camp since starting from the Victoria River.

18th November.

Rain commenced at 7.0 a.m. and continued till noon; at 6.25 steered east and soon entered a dense scrub of acacia, box, sterculia, and Moreton-Bay ash. Ascending to the level tableland by a steep sandstone slope, at 11.25 pa.s.sed a gully with deep waterholes which appeared permanent, and at 1.40 p.m. encamped at a deep creek with a small pool of water. To the south-east of the camp about five miles distant a range of hills rose abruptly from the level country to a height of 800 to 1000 feet. The summits were flat and surrounded by high cliffs of red sandstone (Expedition Range).

Lat.i.tude by Procyon 23 degrees 33 minutes 40 seconds; variation of compa.s.s 7 degrees 50 minutes east.

19th November.

Resumed our route at 6.30 a.m.; steered east through dense scrubs with open patches of gra.s.sy forest, the soil a light loam, very sandy in the open forest. Small watercourses trended north; at 10.0 turned to south-east to avoid a large scrubby hill which lay detached from the princ.i.p.al range; at 11.0 again steered east, ascending a steep sandstone hill from which the country to the north and east appeared extremely level, we then crossed a series of ironbark ridges with scrub at intervals, and fine flooded-gum and box flats in the valleys; casuarina and cypress grew on some of the ridges, but the country generally was well gra.s.sed; at 3.30 p.m. encamped at a small pool of water in a shallow watercourse trending north-east.

Lat.i.tude by Saturn 23 degrees 37 minutes 23 seconds.

20th November.

At 7.40 a.m. steered east over open country, thinly timbered with box and ironbark; at 10.0 crossed a dry creek, on the banks of which were recent tracks of horses and cattle; at noon there was a heavy thunderstorm, and at the same time entered a dense scrub of brigalow and casuarina; at 2.0 p.m. the country was more open, and at 4.10 camped near a small gully with pools of rainwater; heavy rain during the night.

21st November.

Continued an east course; at 6.50 a.m. crossed some wooded ridges, from which ranges of hills were imperfectly seen about twelve miles to the east; descending the ridges, entered a brigalow scrub, and at 11.40 came to the Dawson River, about eighty yards wide, with long shallow pools of water, the scrub coming close to the bank on both sides, leaving a narrow gra.s.sy flat; followed the river upwards to the southward till 2.50 p.m., and camped on the left bank of the river. The flats on the bank of the river are here much wider and well gra.s.sed, and we observed the tracks of horses.

REACH THE FIRST STATION ON THE DAWSON RIVER.

22nd November.

At 6.15 a.m. resumed our route up the river south-east, and at 8.0 came to a dray-track, which was followed east-north-east two miles to Messrs.

Connor and Fitz' station, where we met with a most hospitable reception.

Lat.i.tude by Procyon 23 degrees 51 minutes 15 seconds.

The party having thus reached the occupied country travelled by the dray-tracks past Mr. Hay's station Rannes, on the 25th November, and thence by Rawbelle, Boondooma, Tabinga, Nanango, Collinton, Kilkoy, Durandur, and Cabulture stations, reached Brisbane on the 16th December, 1856.

1857. NEW SOUTH WALES LEGISLATIVE a.s.sEMBLY.

DR. LEICHHARDT, PROPOSED EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF.

ORDERED BY THE LEGISLATIVE a.s.sEMBLY TO BE PRINTED, 28TH OCTOBER, 1857.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ON THE 14TH SEPTEMBER, 1857, WITH RESPECT TO AN EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF DR. LEICHHARDT.

MINUTE NUMBER 57-44.

His Excellency the Governor-General, at the instance of the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, brings under the consideration of the Council a proposal which has been made to organise another Expedition to ascertain, if possible, beyond doubt, the fate of Dr. Leichhardt, who left Sydney some nine years ago with the intention of exploring the north-western interior of Australia. This proposal has its origin in a public meeting, held in Sydney on the 11th instant, at which resolutions were pa.s.sed invoking the a.s.sistance of the Government, and it is recommended to favourable consideration at the present moment by the circ.u.mstance that Mr. Gregory, who recently returned from a successful exploration in the same direction, has intimated his willingness to undertake the conduct of the proposed Expedition.

2. The Council express themselves desirous of seizing so favourable an opportunity of pursuing this inquiry, and they therefore advise that Mr.

Gregory should be at once invited to submit, for approval, a definite proposal having for its object: 1st, to ascertain the fate of the late Dr. Leichhardt; and, 2nd, to connect the exploring surveys of Mitch.e.l.l and Kennedy with his own; such proposal to be accompanied by an estimate of the probable expense which it will be necessary to incur.

EDWARD C. MEREWETHER,

Clerk of the Council.

Executive Council Office,

Sydney, 22 September, 1857.

A.C. GREGORY, ESQUIRE, TO THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.

Sydney, 15 September, 1857.

SIR,

Adverting to your verbal communication of yesterday, with reference to the proposed Expedition in search of traces of Dr. Leichhardt, I have the honour to furnish a memorandum of the arrangements I would suggest for the organisation and conduct of a party calculated to effect the objects in view, together with an estimate of the probable cost.

These doc.u.ments I have submitted to such of the gentlemen composing the Committee of the Leichhardt a.s.sociation as I have had the opportunity of consulting, and I have availed myself of their experience of the District in which the Expedition would be organised.

Although I have allowed extreme rates for many of the items of expenditure, yet, as in all undertakings of this description unavoidable and unforeseen contingencies are certain to arise, I should scarcely feel justified in naming the gross amount which should be available, though not necessarily expended, at a less sum than 4,500 pounds.

I have, etc.,

A.C. GREGORY.

The Honourable the Colonial Secretary.