Journals of Australian ExplorationsGregory, Augustus Charles
History
Journals of Australian Explorations
Gregory, Augustus Charles
Australia -- Discovery and exploration
Our horses having had a rest, the previous day being Sunday, we made an
early start, and by noon halted on the Lyons River, a short distance
above its confluence with the Gascoyne; its channel here was equal in
magnitude and similar in appearance to the main river; a small stream was
still flowing through the wide sandy bed, and gradually increased in
volume for nearly eighty miles up the river. Three miles to the north of
our midday halt Mr. Roe and myself ascended a deep sandstone peak, from
which we had a fine view of the Kennedy Range, the nearest part of which
lay about six miles to the west, extending for nearly thirty miles to the
northward; the eastern face presents an almost unbroken line of nearly
perpendicular sandstone, of probably 500 or 600 feet elevation. To the
north a few remarkable peaks served as valuable points to carry on our
triangulation, which had been continued almost uninterruptedly from Mount
Hope, on the Murchison.
To the east were several ranges of flat-topped hills, filling in the
space between the Lyons and the great southern bend of the Gascoyne;
while to the south, with the exception of a few very distant peaks, it
appeared, as far as the eye could reach, to be an uniform plain of open
but almost grassless scrub.
Having completed our round of angles, we struck south-east to a patch of
forest on the banks of the river, which we did not reach until sometime
after dark.
25th May.
From this point to latitude 23 degrees 56 minutes the Lyons maintains a
general course of north-north-east. The country passed over during to-day
had evidently been tolerably grassy, but the floods had been quite as
destructive here as on the Gascoyne, the bed of the river and flats for
half a mile on each side being mostly choked up or buried under fields of
fine white sand, which had been brought down by the inundations. In
several places we observed beds of gypsum and fossil shells with other
strong indications of the existence of coal in the vicinity. Bivouac in
latitude 24 degrees 41 minutes 18 seconds.
26th May.
A few miles along the river brought us to a gorge in the eastern edge of
the sandstones, to the east of which it opened out into extensive plains
in some parts well grassed, and in others much washed by the river.
Several trap and granite hills were visible at some distance to the
northward and eastward. Our bivouac was in latitude 24 degrees 31 minutes
0.5 seconds, about three miles south of a bold trap-range, the summit of
which was named Mount Sandiman.
27th May.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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