Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Volume 2Sturt, Charles
History
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Volume 2
Sturt, Charles
New South Wales -- Discovery and exploration; Sturt, Charles, 1795-1869
In the course of the day they passed round the head of a deep ravine,
whose smooth and grassy sides presented a beautiful appearance. The
party stood 600 feet above the bed of a small rivulet that occupied the
bottom of the ravine. In some places huge blocks of granite interrupted
its course, in others the waters had worn the rock smooth. The polish
of these rocks was quite beautiful, and the veins of red and white
quartz which traversed them, looked like mosaic work. They did not gain
the top of Mount Lofty, but slept a few miles beyond the ravine. In the
morning they continued their journey, and, crossing Mount Lofty,
descended northerly, to a point from which the range bent away a little
to the N.N.E., and then terminated. The view from this point was much
more extensive than that from Mount Lofty itself. They overlooked a
great part of the gulf, and could distinctly see the mountains at the
head of it to the N.N.W. To the N.W. there was a considerable
indentation in the coast, which had escaped Captain Barker's notice
when examining it. A mountain, very similar to Mount Lofty, bore due
east of them, and appeared to be the termination of its range. They
were separated by a valley of about ten miles in width, the appearance
of which was not favourable. Mr. Kent states to me, that Capt. Barker
observed at the time that he thought it probable I had mistaken this
hill for Mount Lofty, since it shut out the view of the lake from him,
and therefore he naturally concluded, I could not have seen Mount
Lofty. I can readily imagine such an error to have been made by me,
more especially as I remember that at the time I was taking bearings in
the lake, I thought Captain Flinders had not given Mount Lofty, as I
then conceived it to be, its proper position in longitude. Both hills
are in the same parallel of latitude. The mistake on my part is
obvious. I have corrected it in the charts, and have availed myself of
the opportunity thus afforded me of perpetuating, as far as I can, the
name of an inestimable companion in Captain Barker himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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