Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia, in Search of a Route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1848)Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
History
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia, in Search of a Route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1848)
Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
New South Wales -- Discovery and exploration; Queensland -- Discovery and exploration
11TH JUNE.--Keeping along the bank of the rocky river, we were obliged to
turn southward, and even S.S.E., such was the direction whence the river
came. I therefore encamped the party, after a journey of only 31/2 miles,
and proceeded to explore again, towards the N. W. I thus came upon the
rocky river where the rock formed a bridge affording an easy means of
crossing it, and this I valued more, as being the only passable place I
had seen in it, so deep and rocky was the bed elsewhere. The strata at
this bridge dipped N. N. E., a circumstance which induced me to travel
westward instead of N. W., in hopes to cross thereby sooner, a synclinal
line, and so arrive at the sources of some northern river. We passed
through some scrub, and attained, by gradual ascent, considerable
elevation. The country in general consisted of open forest, and contained
grass in great abundance. At nine miles, I came upon a chain of ponds
falling northward, and in which were two good ponds of water, whereupon I
returned to the camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38 deg.; at 9 P.M., 38 deg..
Height above the sea, 1287 feet. (XXXV.)
12TH JUNE.--The rock about the river here was deeply impressed with
ripple marks, and also dipped N.N.E. or northward. It consisted of a
yellow sandstone in thin strata, covered in some parts with beds of
waterworn pebbles. These consisted chiefly of quartz, felspar, and a
silicious petrifaction of woody appearance. We proceeded along my horse
track of yesterday. In crossing what seemed a principal ridge on which
grew brigalow scrub (through which we had, in parts, to cut a way), we
came upon a fine specimen of the Bottle Tree (DELABECHEA); near it grew
the GEIJERA PARVIFLORA, which did not attain a greater height than 10
feet. I found by the syphon barometer that our height above the sea was
here 1579 feet. By the same gauge I found that two other ridges further
on were still higher (1587 feet). In the afternoon, the sky became
overcast with dark, round, heavy clouds, and in the evening, slight
showers fell. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20 deg.; at noon, 74 deg.; at 4P.M., 73 deg.;
at 9, 60 deg.. The wind and clouds came from the west.
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