The History of Australian Exploration From 1788 to 1888

Part I. Rumours of the Existence of a Southern Continent in the Sixteenth

Rumours of the existence of a Southern Continent in the Sixteenth Century--JAVE and JAVE LA GRANDE--Authentic Discoveries and visits of the early Navigators--Torres sails between New Guinea and Terra Australis--Voyage of the DUYFHEN in 1606--Dirk Hartog on the West Coast, his inscribed plate--Restored by Vlaming--Afterwards by Hamelin--Nuyts on the South Coast--Wreck of the BATAVIA on Houtman's Abrolhos--Mutiny of Cornelis--Tasman's second voyage--Dampier with the Buccaneers--Second Voyage in the ROEBUCK--Last visit of the Dutch--Captain Cook--Flinders; his theory of a Dividing Strait--Plans for exploring the Interior--His captivity--Captain King--Concluding remarks.

Part II

The Continent of Australia--Its peculiar formation--The coast range and the highest peaks thereof--The coastal rivers--The inland rivers-- Difference of vegetation on the tableland and on the coast--Exception to the rule--Valuable timber of the coast districts--Animals common to the whole continent--Some birds the same--Distinct habits of others--The Australian native and his unknown origin--Water supply--Upheaval.

PART I. Land Exploration

LAND EXPLORATION

Chapter I [1788-1803]

Expeditions of Governor Phillip--Mouth of the Hawkesbury found in Broken Bay--Second expedition and ascent of the river--Expedition of Captain Tench--Discovery of the Nepean River--Lieutenant Dawes sent to cross the Nepean, and to try to penetrate the mountains--Attempt by Governor Phillip to establish the confluence of the Nepean and Hawkesbury-- Failure--The identity settled by Captain Tench--Escaped convicts try to reach China--Captain Paterson finds and names the Grose River--Hacking endeavours to cross the Blue Mountains--The lost cattle found on the Cow Pastures--Bass attempts the passage of the range--Supposed settlement of a white race in the interior--Attempt of the convicts to reach it-- James Wilson--His life with the natives--Discovery of the Hunter River by Lieutenant Shortland.

Chapter Ii [1813-1824]

The great drought of 1813--The development of country by stocking-- Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains--Reach the head of coast waters and return--Surveyor Evans sent out--Crosses the watershed and finds the Macquarie River--Construction of road over the range--Settlement of Bathurst--Visit of Governor Macquarie--Second expedition under Evans--Discovery of the Lachlan River--Surveyor-General Oxley explores the Lachlan--Finds the river terminates in swamps--Returns by the Macquarie--His opinion of the interior--Second expedition down the Macquarie--Disappointment again--Evans finds the Castlereagh--Liverpool Plains discovered--Oxley descends the range and finds Port Macquarie-- Returns to Newcastle-Currie and Ovens cross the Morumbidgee--Brisbane Downs and Monaroo--Hume and Hovell cross to Port Phillip--Success of the expedition.

Chapter Iii [to 1830]

Settlement of Moreton Bay--Cunningham in the field again--His discoveries of the Gwydir, Dumaresque, and Condamine Rivers--The Darling Downs, and Cunningham's Gap through the range to Moreton Bay--Description of the Gap--Cunningham's death--Captain Sturt--His first expedition to follow down the Macquarie--Failure of the river--Efforts of Sturt and Hume to trace the channel--Discovery of New Year's Creek (the Bogan)--Come suddenly on the Darling--Dismay at finding the water salt--Retreat to Mount Harris--Meet the relief party--Renewed attempt down the Castlereagh River--Trace it to the Darling--Find the water in that river still salt--Return--Second expedition to follow the Morumbidgee--Favourable anticipations--Launch of the boats and separation of the party--Unexpected junction with the Murray--Threatened hostilities with the natives--Averted in a most singular manner--Junction of large river from the North--Sturt's conviction that it is the Darling--Continuation of the voyage--Final arrival at Lake Alexandrina--Return voyage--Starvation and fatigue-- Constant labour at the oars and stubborn courage of the men--Utter exhaustion--Two men push forward to the relief party and return with succour.

Chapter Iv [to 1836]

Settlement at King George's Sound--The free colony of Swan River founded--Governor Stirling--Captain Bannister crosses from Perth to King George's Sound--Explorations by Lieutenant Roe--Disappointing nature of the interior--Bunbury, Wilson, and Moore--Settlement on the North Coast--Melville Island and Raffles Bay--An escaped convict's story--The fabulous Kindur River--Major Mitchell starts in search of it--Discovery of the Namoi--The Nundawar Range--Failure of the boats--Reach the Gwydir River of Cunningham--The KARAULA--Its identity with the Darling--Murder of the two bullock-drivers--Mitchell's return--Murder of Captain Barker in Encounter Bay--Major Mitchell's second expedition to trace the course of the Darling--Traces the Bogan to its junction with that river--Fort Bourke--Progress down the river--Hostility of the natives--Skirmish with them--Return--Mitchell's third expedition--The Lachlan followed--Junction of the Darling and the Murray reached--Mitchell's discovery of Australia Felix.

Chapter V [to 1841]

Lieutenants Grey and Lushington on the West Coast--Narrow escape--Start with an equipment of Timor ponies--Grey wounded by the natives--Cave drawings--Return, having discovered the Glenelg--Grey's second expedition--Landed at Bernier Island, in Shark's Bay, with three whale-boats--Cross to borne Island--Violent storm--Discovery of the Gascoyne--Return to Bernier Island--Find their CACHÉ of provisions destroyed by a hurricane--Hopeless position--Attempted landing at Gautheaume Bay--Destruction of the boats--Walk to Perth--Great sufferings--Death of Smith--Eyre and the overlanders--Discovery of Lake Hindmarsh--Exploration of Gippsland--Eyre's explorations to the north--Discovery of Lake Torrens--Disappointment in the country bordering on it--Determines to go to King George's Sound--Repeated attempts to reach the head of the Great Australian Bight--Loss of horses--Barren and scrubby country--Final determination to send back most of the party-- Starts with overseer and three natives--Hardship and suffering--Murder of the overseer by two of the natives--Eyre continues his journey with the remaining boy--Relieved by the MISSISSIPPI whaler--Reaches King George's Sound.

Chapter Vi [to 1846]

Explorations around Moreton Bay--Development of the Eastern Coast--The first pioneers of the Darling Downs--Stuart and Sydenham Russell--The Condamine River and Cecil Plains--Great interest taken in exploration at this period--Renewed explorations around Lake Torrens--Surveyor-General Frome--Death of Horrocks, the first explorer to introduce camels--Sturt's last expedition--Route by the Darling chosen--Poole fancies that he sees the inland sea--Discovery of Flood's Creek--The prison depôt--Impossible to advance or retreat--Breaking up of the drought--Death of Poole--Fresh attempts to the north--The desert--Eyre's Creek discovered--Return and fresh attempt--Discoveries of Cooper and Strzelecki Creeks--Retreat to the Depôt Glen--Final return to the Darling--Ludwig Leichhardt the lost explorer--His great trip north--Finding of the Burdekin, the Mackenzie, Isaacs and Suttor--Murder of the naturalist Gibert--Discovery of the Gulf Rivers--Arrival at Port Essington--His return and reception-- Surveyor-General Mitchell's last expedition--Follows up the Balonne-- Crosses to the head of the Belyando--Disappointed in that river--Returns and crosses to the head of the Victoria (Barcoo)--The beautiful Downs country--First mention of the Mitchell grass--False hopes entertained of the Victoria running into the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Chapter Vii [to 1854]

Kennedy traces the Victoria in its final course south--Re-named the Barcoo--First notice of the PITURI chewing natives--Leichhardt's second Expedition--Failure and Return--Leichhardt's last Expedition--His absolute disappearance--Conjectures as to his fate--Kennedy starts from Rockingham Bay to Cape York--Scrubs and swamps--Great exertions--Hostile natives--Insufficiency of supplies provided--Dying horses--Main party left in Weymouth Bay--Another separation at Shelburne Bay--Murder of Kennedy at the Escape River--Rescue of Jacky the black boy--His pathetic tale of suffering--Failure to find the camp at Shelburne Bay--Rescue of but two survivors at Weymouth Bay--The remainder starved to death--Von Mueller in the Australian Alps--Western Australia--Landor and Lefroy, in 1843--First expedition of the brothers Gregory, in 1846--Salt lakes and scrub--Lieutenant Helpman sent to examine the coal seam discovered--Roe, in 1848--His journey to the east and to the south--A. C. Gregory attempts to reach the Gascoyne--Foiled by the nature of the country--Discovers silver ore on the Murchison--Governor Fitzgerald visits the mine--Wounded by the natives--Rumour of Leichhardt having been murdered by the blacks--Hely's expedition in quest of him--Story unfounded--Austin's explorations in Western Australia--Terrible scrubs--Poison camp-- Determined efforts to the north--Heat and thirst--Forced to return.

Chapter Viii [to 1861]

A. C. Gregory's North Australian expedition in 1855-56, accompanied by Baron Von Mueller and Dr. Elsey--Disappointment in the length of 'the Victoria--Journey to the Westward--Discovery of Sturt's Creek--Its course followed south--Termination in a salt lake--Return to Victoria River --Start homeward, overland--The Albert identified--The Leichhardt christened--Return by the Burdekin and Suttor--Visit of Babbage to Lake Torrens--Expedition by Goyder--Deceived by mirage--Excitement in Adelaide--Freeling sent out--Discovers the error--Hack explores the Gawler Range--Discovers Lake Gairdner--Warburton in the same direction--Swinden and party west of Lake Torrens--Babbage in the Lake District--His long delay--Warburton sent to supersede him--Rival claims to discovery--Frank Gregory explores the Gascoyne in Western Australia --A. C. Gregory follows the Barcoo in search of Leichhardt--Discovery of a marked tree--Arrival in Adelaide--The early explorations of M'Dowall Stuart--Frank Gregory at Nickol Bay--Discovers the Ashburton--Fine pastoral country--Discovers the De Grey and Oakover Rivers--Turned back by the desert--Narrow escape.

Chapter Ix [to 1861]

Across the continent, from south to north--M'Dowall Stuart's first attempt to reach the north coast--Native warfare--Chambers' Pillar-- Central Mount Stuart--Singularfootprint--Sufferings from thirst-- Aboriginal Freemasons--Attack Creek--Return--Stuart's second departure-- The Victorian expedition--Costly equipment--Selection of a leader--Burke, and his qualifications for the post--Wills--Resignation of Landells-- Wright left in charge of the main party--Burke and Wills, with six men, push on to Cooper's Creek--Delay of Wright--Burke's final determination to push on to the north coast--Starts with Wills and two men--Progress across the continent--Arrival at the salt water--Wills' account--Homeward journey--The depôt deserted--Resolve to make for Mount Hopeless--Failure and return--Wills revisits the depôt--Kindness of the natives--Burke and King start in search of the blacks--Death of Burke--King finds Wills dead on his return--Wright and Brahe visit the depôt--Fail to see traces of Burke's return--Consternation in Melbourne--Immediate despatch of search parties--Howitt finds King--Narrow escape of trooper Lyons--Stuart in the north--Hedgewood scrub first seen--Discovery of Newcastle waters--All attempts to the north fruitless--Return of Stuart.

Chapter X [to 1863]

Stuart's last Expedition--Frew's Pond--Daly Waters--Arrival at the Sea--The flag at last hoisted on the northern shore--Return--Serious illness of the Leader--The Burke relief Expedition--John M'Kinlay--Native rumours--Discovery of Gray's body--Hodgkinson sent to Blanche Water with the news--Returns with the information of King's rescue by Howitt-- M'Kinlay starts north--Reaches the Gulf coast--Makes for the new Queensland settlements on the Burdekin--Reaches the Bowen River in safety--Mystery of the camel's tracks--Landsborough's expedition-- Discovery of the Gregory River--The Herbert--Return to the Albert depôt-- News of Burke and Wills--Landsborough reduces his party and starts home overland--Returns by way of the Barcoo--Landsborough and his critics--His work as an Explorer--Walker starts from Rockhampton--Another L tree found on the Barcoo--Walker crosses the head of the Flinders--Finds the tracks of Burke and Wills--Tries to follow them up--Returns to Queensland--Abandonment of the desert theory--Private expeditions-- Dalrymple and others.

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