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
it spread into many channels and isolated ponds; the latter being
sometimes in good grassy land, apart from the brigalow. Nothing could be
more sterile than the surface where the brigalow grew; but the first
indication of the river was an open space covered with luxuriant grass,
and we had to ride two miles along this, before Yuranigh and I could find
the river, having been guided to it chiefly by some smoke of the natives.
At the first place we approached, we found two ponds of excellent water,
under the shining boughs of lofty Yarra trees. Latitude, 22 deg. 10' 15" S.
Thermometer, at sunrise, 39 deg.; at noon, 64 deg.; at 4 P.M., 61 deg.; at 9, 36 deg.;--
with wet bulb, 28 deg.. (LXVII.)
6TH AUGUST.--I gave the jaded cattle a day's rest, and the men thus had
an opportunity to screw up and repair their carts.
7TH AUGUST.--The brigalow scrub obliged me this day to travel along the
river banks, upon which I found it pleasant to go, as they proved open
and grassy. Large lagoons and reaches of water appeared in the scattered
channels. At length, a deep broad reach, brim full of pure water,
glittered before us. Clouds of large ducks arose from it, and larger
water-fowl shrieked over our heads. A deep receding opening appeared to
the northeast, as if our river had been either breaking off in that
direction, or met with some important tributary from that side. I
continued to travel northwest, passing through some fine open forests.
The character of the country seemed changed. The grass was of a different
kind, and a refreshing breeze from the north-east seemed to "smell of
water," as Yuranigh expressed it. The dense line of Yarra trees appeared
still to be continuous on the right, and the more I travelled westward,
the more I was convinced that we still had the river at hand. We did at
length approach its banks after a journey of ten miles, when we found
this was a river FROM the west appearing fully as deep and important as
the one we had been following, and containing ponds of water. This new
tributary from the west, left no room to hope that the channel we had
been pursuing would turn westward--on the contrary, it became but too
probable that below the junction of this river, the channel would turn
towards the N. E. It could not well be doubted that this went to the
eastern coast; but, to remove all doubt, as Yuranigh was of a different
opinion, I sent Corporal Graham with him up the newly-found river, to
ascertain whether it did not come from the north-west, in which case we
could not expect that the other it joined would go in that direction.
Their report on returning, only rendered it necessary that I should take
a ride forward next morning. They said this river came from the S. W.,
and at two miles higher, had a very narrow channel. Lower down, it was
found to join the main channel, which, below the junction, still
continued northward. There, we found a beautiful new Grevillea.[*] The
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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