Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South WalesMitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
History
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales
Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone), 1792-1855
We continued in a west or south-west direction, passing Goonigal,* a
large plain on our right, near which there was a fine tract of open
forest land. The ground afterwards rose in gentle undulations, and was
covered with kangaroo grass;** the soil changing also from clay to a red
sandy loam.
(*Footnote. This we found afterwards to be the native term for any
plain.)
(**Footnote. Anthisteria australis.)
We next arrived at a creek, or chain of deep ponds, called Coogoorderoy,
which appeared to come from the south-south-west. Further on we passed
plains on our left of the same name; and at length we crossed a fine one,
the native name of which was Turangenoo. On the skirt of it was a hill
named Boorr, which we kept close on our left, crossing its lower
extremities, which were covered with a forest of ironbark eucalyptus, and
forest oaks or casuarinae.
ARRIVE AT TANDOGO.
At four o'clock we reached Tandogo, a fine creek of water descending from
the south, and flowing to the Bogan.
A hill to the north-west, I was informed, was named the Bugamel.
ALLAN'S WATER OF OXLEY.
April 15.
I halted to lay down my survey, and connect it with that of Mr. Dixon of
the Bogan. At noon I found our latitude to be 32 degrees 45 minutes 30
seconds South and on making allowance for the difference between Mr.
Oxley's base (as to longitude) and my own, I supposed we were then upon
Allan's Water of Oxley.
ADVANTAGE OF ABORIGINAL NAMES ON MAPS.
In this instance, as in many others, the great convenience of using
native names is obvious. For instance, so long as any of the aborigines
can be found in the neighbourhood of Tandogo, future travellers may
verify my map. Whereas new names are of no use in this respect,
especially when given to rivers or watercourses by travellers who have
merely crossed them without ascertaining their course, or even their
sources, or termination. He alone should be entitled to give a name to a
river who explored its course or, at least, as much of it as may be a
useful addition to geography; and when a traveller takes the trouble to
determine the true place of hills or other features he might perhaps be
at liberty to name them also. The covering a map with names of rivers or
hills crossed or passed merely in traversing an unknown country, amounts
to little more than saying that so many hills and rivers were seen there;
and if nothing were ascertained further of the connections of the former,
or the courses of the latter, we derive from such maps little more
information than we had before; for that hills and rivers are to be seen
in any unknown part of a country is generally understood to be the case
before a traveller commences his journey. A future explorer determines
with much trouble the position of a river in the world's map. "This is my
river B---," says the man who crossed it first, or who, by merely
stumbling perhaps upon it, claims all the merit of its DISCOVERY, even
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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