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
This evening, by moonlight, I conducted a dray, carrying two platforms,
to the place where the narrow channel, feeding the swamp, could be passed
without our meeting beyond any other impediment to the drays. The
sleepers used for this purpose were made of pine (CALLITRIS PYRAMIDALIS),
found half a mile back from our camp. They were fourteen feet long, two
feet wide, being composed of cross-pieces, two feet long, fixed at each
end between two sleepers, so that they somewhat resembled a wooden
railway. These, when laid at the proper distance apart to carry both
wheels, were bedded on the soft earth, and the interval between was
filled to a level with them, by layers of polygonum and long grass,
alternate with earth, forming together a mass of sufficient resistance to
support the feet of the draught oxen. The whole formed a compact bridge
or gangway. Thermometer at sunrise, 51 deg.; at noon, 95 deg.; at 4 P. M., 107 deg.;
at 9, 70 deg.;--with wet bulb, 61 deg..
13TH MARCH.--The party once more moved onward, and the drays trundled
across the swampy arm by means of our bridge, which, even in the event of
an accession of water there, might have proved serviceable on our return.
Three miles beyond it we had to ford the Narran, passing over a gravelly
bottom to the eastern bank, and encamping there. The drays were slow in
arriving at this ford and camp, as the ground was soft and hollow, but by
sunset all had crossed, and our camp established on the Narran.
Thermometer at sunrise, 71 deg.; at noon, 100 deg.; at 4 P. M., 100 deg.; at 9,
71 deg.;--with wet bulb, 65 deg.. The height of this camp above the sea,
according to ten registered observations, is 487 feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account