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
To avoid as much as possible the heat which had proved very distressing
to the cattle, I ordered the party to prepare to move off this morning
soon after sunrise; and while the people were packing up and loading, I
again ascended Perimbungay. The range we had crossed at Turi was near us
to the westward, and a conical hill, called Uriary, in the direction of
Turi, was the most prominent feature to the south-west. The Peel
continued its course westward, passing through this range, which
presented a more defined and elevated outline where it continued beyond
the river. The highest summits there were Periguaguey, bearing west by
south, and Waroga. Turial, a hill still more remote, bore
west-north-west; and between it and Waroga appeared an opening, which I
judged therefore to be the best direction for our route, after crossing
the Peel, for I saw that it was impossible to pass to the westward of
that range at any part nearer the river; but by that opening we could
pursue the further course of the Peel, as the nature of the country
permitted. The land immediately beyond the Peel was inviting enough; one
green hill arose from a level country which lay between the river and the
base of these hills. The waters of the Peel, and the shady trees
overhanging its banks, were visible for several miles; and the varying
outlines of wood, tinted with the delicate lights, around which the deep
grey shadows of early morning were still slumbering, contrasted finely
with the rugged rocks of the hill on which I stood, already sharpened by
the first rays of the rising sun. This hill consisted of trap-rock.
FORD OF WALLANBURRA.
The passage between it and the river was not very safe for the carts, so
that we made a detour on leaving the camp, and did not again see the Peel
until we arrived near the ford of Wallanburra, distant from Perimbungay 4
1/4 miles. The bed of the river was here broad and gravelly; and the
banks on each side were low, qualities most essential to a good ford, but
by no means common on the Peel. Two emus, the first we had seen on this
journey, were drinking on the opposite side, as we approached the ford,
but they ran away on seeing the party. The current was strong, though the
water did not reach above the axles of the carts, and by half-past seven
A.M. everything was safe on the other side of the Peel. On quitting the
immediate banks of the river, we passed through a forest of the tree
resembling pine (Callitris) with bushes of the Acacia pendula
interspersed. There was also a tree new to us, having a small round leaf.
PLAINS OF MULLUBA.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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