Thus ended a most successful trip, as the country found by Forrest is amongst some of the most valuable in the northern part of Western Australia, and has since been stocked with both sheep and cattle, and large mineral wealth has been developed. The whole of the northern part of the continent of Australia seemed for a time to suffer from a blight. The tracks of the explorers appeared to be checked by some fatal influence. The Victoria that was thought to be such a grand discovery turned out but an ordinary coast stream, and on its further investigation to lead to nothing but disappointment. This deduction, however, under fuller knowledge is gradually departing, and there is little doubt that the time is not far away when it will attain its greatest development as a pastoral and mineral country. There is no doubt that the east and west tracks of tile Queensland explorers, and of Alexander Forrest did more to throw open the country than did the north and south one of Stuart, although that was the most important ever made in the later days of Australia's history. Stuart showed the feasibility of crossing the continent in the centre, but even after the telegraph line was formed on his track, very little was known of the country on either side. The northern territory had, however, been the scene of many private expeditions beside those mentioned here. Some years before Alexander Forrest crossed over, two residents of the Northern Territory, Phillip Saunders and Adam Johns, accompanied by a third man, started from Roebourne in Western Australia, and crossed to the telegraph line successfully. They were prospecting for gold most of the way, but the line they took was unlucky, as although they passed through the now well-known Kimberly country, they failed to obtain anything like satisfactory prospects. They passed through much good pastoral country, but at that time stock country was of no value at such a remote distance from settlement. There now remains but a few more explorations, and those mostly in the northern part of Australia. Whatever the yet large unknown tract of country in the interior will show in the future it is impossible now to do more than conjecture.