Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845Leichhardt, Ludwig
History
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia: From Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845
Leichhardt, Ludwig
Australia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Discovery and exploration
June 5.--We travelled, in a direct line, about nine miles west by north,
down the river, although the distance along its banks was much greater;
for it made a large bend at first to the northward, and afterwards, being
turned by a fine conspicuous short range, to the westward. I named the
Range after W. Kirchner, Esq., another of the supporters of my
expedition. The river was here, in some places, fully half a mile broad,
and formed channels covered with low shrubs, among which a myrtle was
frequent. Between the ranges, the river became narrower: and, before it
reached Kirchner's Range, a large creek joined it from the eastward; and
another from the southward, after it had passed the range. The flats
increased on both side of the river, and were openly timbered with box
and narrow-leaved Ironbark. The rock near our yesterday's camp was
talc-schist. Farther down sienite was observed, which contained so much
hornblende as to change occasionally into hornblende rock, with scattered
crystals of quartz. Granite and pegmatite were round some lagoons near
the creek from the southward. The clustered fig tree of the Burdekin,
became again more frequent; but Sarcocephalus was the characteristic tree
of the river. The Acacia of Expedition Range and of the upper Lynd, grew
to a comparatively large size in the open forest. We observed a cotton
tree (Cochlospermum), covered with large yellow blossoms, though entirely
leafless; and we could not help thinking how great an ornament this plant
would be to the gardens of the colony.
As the water-holes became larger, water-fowl became more plentiful; and
Brown succeeded in shooting several wood-ducks and a Malacorhyncus
membranaceus. The bean of the Mackenzie was very abundant in the sandy
bed of the river; we roasted and ate some of its fruit; it was, however,
too heavy, and produced indigestion: Mr. Phillips pounded them, and they
made an excellent substitute for coffee, which I preferred to our tea,
which, at that time, was not very remarkable for its strength.
June 6.--We travelled about nine miles west by north to latitude 17
degrees 30 minutes 47 seconds. The first part of the stage was over an
undulating country timbered with box and Ironbark; but the latter part
was hilly and mountainous: the mountains were so rocky, where they
entered the bed of the river, that we were obliged to leave its banks,
and travel over a very difficult country.
On the small flats, the apple-gum grew with a few scattered Moreton Bay
ash trees; on the bergues of the river we found the white cedar (Melia
azedarach), Clerodendron; an asclepiadaceous shrub with large triangular
seed-vessels; and, on the hills, the blood-wood and stringy-bark. The
rock, as far as I examined it, was of porphyry of great hardness, and
composing hills of an almost conical form.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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