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 set forward on a bearing of east-south-east, which I took to be the
general direction of the Bogan, considering the position of Croker's
range on the east, and that of the hills in the south, which I had
traced. We travelled through forests of magnificent pine trees (Callitris
pyramidalis) and crossing, at twelve miles further, a dry creek which
appeared to be that of Tandogo, we encamped on the Bogan where there was
a good pond of water. This abundance was the more acceptable as we had
now left behind a part of the bed of this little river which for thirty
miles was quite dry; the total want of water there being chiefly owing to
the absorbent nature of the subsoil. We were now drawing towards its
sources amongst the hills, and the same scarcity no longer prevailed. The
height and girt of some of the callitris trees were very considerable.
Thus we found that Australia contains some extensive forests of a very
good substitute for the cedar of the colony (Cedrela toona, R. Br.) which
is to be found only in some rocky gullies of the Coast range and is
likely to be exhausted in a short time. The Acacia pendula adorned the
immediate banks of the Bogan, but the grass was old and dry, being a crop
of two years' growth; the cattle consequently did not feed well on it,
and at last grew so weak that they could not be worked more than four
hours, and thus our progress was limited to about eight miles a day.
HERVEY'S RANGE IN SIGHT.
September 7.
We followed the bearing of 139 1/2 degrees as the direction in which we
were most likely to find the Bogan, considering its general course and
the position of the hills to the southward. After travelling eight miles
a sight of the highest point of Hervey's range enabled me at once to
determine my place on the map.
IMPROVED APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.
We then proceeded on the bearing of 103 degrees, and made the Bogan at a
spot where its banks were beautiful, and the grass of better quality than
any we had seen for some time. The Acacia pendula grew there in company
with the pine (or callitris) the casuarina and eucalyptus, besides many
smaller trees in graceful groups, the surface being very smooth and
park-like.
September 8.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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