Explorations in Australia: The Journals of John McDouall Stuart During the Years 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, and 1862, When He Fixed the Centre of the Continent and Successfully Crossed It from Sea to SeaStuart, John McDouall
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Explorations in Australia: The Journals of John McDouall Stuart During the Years 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, and 1862, When He Fixed the Centre of the Continent and Successfully Crossed It from Sea to Sea
Stuart, John McDouall
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Stuart, John McDouall, 1815-1866
Friday, 11th July, Adelaide River, North-west Side, Table Land. The
horses being close at hand, I got an early start at 7.20, course
north-west. In a mile I got greatly bothered by the boggy ground, and
numbers of springs coming from the table land, which I am obliged to
round. At two miles got clear of them, and proceeded over a great number
of stony rises, very steep; they are composed of conglomerate quartz,
underneath which is a course of slates, the direction of which is
north-west, and lying very nearly perpendicular, and also some courses of
ironstone, and a sharp rectangular hard grey flint stone. My horses being
nearly all without shoes, it has lamed a great many of them, and, having
struck the river again at fifteen miles, I camped. They have had a very
hard day's journey. The country is nearly all burnt throughout, but those
portions which have escaped the fire are well grassed. I should think
this is a likely place to find gold in, from the quantity of quartz, its
colour, and having so lately passed a large basaltic and granite country;
the conglomerate quartz being bedded in iron, and the slate
perpendicular, are good signs. The stony rises are covered with
stringy-bark, gum, and other trees, but not so tall and thick as on the
table land and close to it, except in the creek, where it is very large;
the melaleuca is also large. Since leaving the table land we have nearly
lost the beautiful palms; there are still a few at this camp, but they
are not growing so high; the cabbage palm is still in the creek and
valleys. Light winds from south-east. Country burning all round.
Latitude, 13 degrees 38 minutes 24 seconds. This branch I have named the
Mary, in honour of Miss Mary Chambers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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