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The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888

E >> Ernest Favenc >> The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888





It will be needless to follow the progress of the party through the
settled districts that now extended to the banks of the Morumbidgee: on
the 27th, we find them preparing to start from Mr. Whaby's station, the
last outpost of civilization. From thence they followed the river down,
maintaining constant and friendly intercourse with the natives on the
banks. For some time they passed through rich available country, and at
one point they made a slight excursion to the north to connect with
Oxley's most southerly limit; although they did not actually verify it,
Sturt was of the opinion that they were within at least twenty miles of
the range seen by Oxley. Still following the river they now found its
course leading them amongst the plains and flat country with which they
were so well acquainted, and naturally travelled in the constant dread of
the stream conducting them to the lame and impotent conclusions of the
Macquarie and Lachlan.


"OUR ROUTE WAS OVER AS MELANCHOLY A TRACT AS EVER WAS TRAVELLED. THE
PLAINS TO THE N. AND N.W. BOUNDED THE HORIZON; NOT A TREE OF ANY KIND WAS
VISIBLE UPON THEM. IT WAS EQUALLY OPEN TO THE SOUTH, AND IT APPEARED AS
IF THE RIVER WAS DECOYING US INTO A DESERT, THERE TO LEAVE US IN
DIFFICULTY AND IN DISTRESS."


Sturt now was constantly haunted with the thought of once more finding
himself baffled and perplexed in some vast region of flooded country,
without a defined system of channels. Every time he looked at the river
he imagined that it had fallen off in appearance, feeling certain that
the flooded spaces over which he was travelling would soon be succeeded
by a country overgrown with reeds. The flats of polygonum stretched away
to the N.W., and to the S., and the soil itself bore testimony to its
flooded origin. Some natives here met with spoke of the COLARE, a name
which Sturt had beard before, and which he took to mean the Lachlan, from
the direction in which the blacks pointed. These men indicated that they
were but one day's journey from it. Sturt and M'Leay, therefore, rode to
the north to examine the country; they found a creek of considerable
size, and from its appearance and the nature of the surrounding flats,
deemed it to be a similar channel from the Lachlan marshes to the
Morumbidgee, as the one Sturt and Hume had formerly noticed to the north,
leading from the great marsh of the Macquarie to the Darling. In point of
fact they actually crossed the Lachlan, and went some distance beyond it,
passing close to Oxley's lowest camp, as the natives afterwards testified
to Major Mitchell.

The extract from the Major's journal bearing on the subject runs thus:--


"The natives further informed me that three men on horseback, who had
canoes (boats) on the Murrumbidgee, had visited the Lachlan thereabouts
since, and that after crossing it, and going a little way beyond, they
had returned."


Sturt mentioned seeing the fires of the natives during this trip, but he
did not see them, although it was evident that they had a good look at
him.

On the 26th of December, it seemed that their gloomiest hopes were to be
realised. Traversing plains like those described before, Sturt says:--


"The wheels of the drays sank up to their axle-trees, and the horses
above their fetlocks at every step. The fields of polygonum spread on
every side of us, like a dark sea, and the only green object within range
of our vision was the river line of trees. In several instances the force
of both teams was put to one dray, to extricate it from the bed into
which it had sunk, and the labour was considerably increased from the
nature of the weather. The wind was blowing as if through a furnace, from
the N.N.E., and the dust was flying in clouds, so as to render it almost
suffocating to remain exposed to it. This was the only occasion upon
which we felt the hot winds in the interior. We were, about noon,
endeavouring to gain a point of a wood at which I expected to come upon
the river again, but it was impossible for the teams to reach it without
assistance. I therefore sent M'Leay forward with orders to unload the
pack animals as soon as he should make the river, and send them back to
help the teams. He had scarcely been separated from me twenty minutes,
when one of the men came galloping back to inform me that no river was to
be found--that the country beyond the woods was covered with reeds as far
as the eye could reach, and that Mr. M'Leay had sent him back for
instructions. This intelligence stunned me for a moment or two, and I am
sure its effect upon the men was very great. They had unexpectedly
arrived at a part of the interior similar to one they held in dread, and
conjured up a thousand difficulties and privations. I desired the man to
recall Mr. M'Leay; and, after gaining the wood, moved outside of it at
right angles to my former course, and reached the river, after a day of
severe toil and exposure at half-past five. The country, indeed, bore
every resemblance to that around the marshes of the Macquarie, but I was
too weary to make any further effort; indeed it was too late for one to
undertake anything until the morning."


The following day, accompanied by his friend, Sturt proceeded to examine
the river. He found it still running strong, without any sign of
diminution in its flow, but the reedy flats were so dense and thick that
no passage for the teams was practicable. At noon the leader halted, and
announced his intention of returning to camp. He had come to the
determination to construct the whaleboat he had with him in sections, to
send the teams back, and, with six men and Mr. M'Leay, to start down the
river, and follow it wherever it went; whether ever to return again or
not was for the future to determine.

Clayton, the carpenter, was at once set to work upon the boat, or boats,
for a tree was felled, a sawpit rigged up, and a small boat half the size
of the whaleboat built. Everybody worked hard, and in seven days the
boats were afloat, moored alongside a temporary wharf, ready for loading.
Six men were then chosen to form the crew, who were about to undertake
one of the most eventful and important voyages in Australia's history.
They were Clayton, the carpenter, Mulholland and Macnamee, the three
soldiers, Harris, Hopkinson and Fraser, the leader, and M'Leay--eight in
all. The remainder of the party, under Robert Harris, were to remain
stationary one week, in case of accident, then to proceed to Goulburn
Plains and await instructions from Sydney.

On the 7th of January, 1830, the voyagers started, towing the smaller
boat, the men all in high spirits at the wide prospect of adventure
before them.

Going with the stream they made rapid progress, using only two oars, but
the first day did not suffice to carry them clear of the reeds, in fact,
at night when they landed to camp, they could scarcely find room to pitch
their tents. On the second day, an accident happened to the skiff they
were towing; she struck on a log, and immediately sank with all the
valuable cargo she carried. Two days were spent in recovering the things,
as the boat had gone down in twelve feet of water, and during the time
they were so employed, the blacks robbed the camp of many articles.

Once more on the move, they found the river still winding its way through
a flat expanse of reeds, and threatening to end as the other rivers had
done. On the afternoon of the next day a change for the better took
place; the reeds on both sides of the river terminated, and the country
became more elevated, and bore the appearance of open forest pasture
land; a tributary creek of considerable size joined the river from the
S.E., and the spirits of the voyagers rose again. More tributaries now
came in from the south-east, and the dangers of navigation increased, the
river being full of snags and fallen timber, and the utmost care had to
be used to keep the boat clear. On the second day of this distressing
work, they were destined to meet with a surprise.


"About one we again started. The men looked anxiously ahead, for the
singular change in the river had impressed on them the idea that we were
approaching its termination, or near some adventure. On a sudden the
river took a general southern direction, but, in its tortuous course,
swept round to every point of the compass with the greatest irregularity.
We were carried at a fearful rate down its gloomy and contracted banks,
and in such a moment of excitement, had little time to pay attention to
the country through which we were passing. It was, however, observed that
chalybeate springs were numerous close to the water's edge. At three
p.m., Hopkinson called out that we were approaching a junction, and in
less than a minute afterwards we were hurried into a broad and noble
river.

"It is impossible to describe the effect of so instantaneous a change
upon us. The boats were allowed to drift along at pleasure, and such was
the force with which we had been shot out of the Morumbidgee, that we
were carried nearly to the bank opposite its embouchure, whilst we
continued to gaze in silent astonishment on the capacious channel we had
entered; and when we looked for that by which we had been led into it, we
could hardly believe that the insignificant gap that presented itself to
us was indeed the termination of the beautiful and noble stream whose
course we had thus successfully followed."


Sturt had now succeeded beyond his hopes--his bold adventure had been
rewarded even sooner than he could have expected. He felt assured that at
last he floated on the stream destined to bear him to the sea. The key to
the river system of the south-east portion of the continent was in his
grasp, and all former fallacies and fanciful theories were answered for
good. The voyage down the Murray, as this river was named, after Sir
George Murray, then the bead of the Colonial Department, now continued
free from some of the difficulties that had beset them in the
Morumbidgee. The natives again made their appearance, and were constantly
seen every day, some betraying great timidity, others appearing more
curious than frightened. Four of these natives accompanied them for two
days, during which time the explorers narrowly suffered wreck in a rapid
in the river.

They now approached the confluence of the Darling, although of course
they were not then able to verify the supposition that it was their old
friend, and at this point one of the most singular adventures ever
narrated in the intercourse with native tribes happened.

The wind was fair, and with the sail set, the boat was making rapid way
when, at the termination of a long reach, they observed a line of
magnificent trees, of green and dense foliage. A large number of blacks
were here assembled, and apparently with no friendly intentions, armed,
painted, and shouting defiance. Anxious to avert hostilities, Sturt
steered straight for them, thinking to make friends; but when almost too
close to avoid a meeting, he could see that the matter was serious. The
blacks had their spears poised for throwing, and their women were behind
with a fresh supply. The sail was lowered and the helm put about, and the
boat passed down the stream, the natives running along the bank, keeping
pace with them, shouting and attempting to take aim.

To add to their danger the river shoaled rapidly, and a sandspit appeared
ahead, projecting nearly two thirds of the way across the channel, and on
this spit the blacks now gathered with tremendous uproar, evidently
determined to make an assault on the boat as she ran the gauntlet through
the narrow passage. Amongst the four blacks who had accompanied them for
two days was one of superior personal strength and stature. These men had
left the camp of the whites the night before, and it was believing in
their presence in the crowd before them that led Sturt to disregard the
hostile demonstrations.

A battle now seemed inevitable. Arms were distributed to the crew, and
orders given how to act when the emergency arose.

We will let Sturt tell his own story:--


"The men assured me they would follow my instructions, and thus prepared,
having already lowered the sail, we drifted onwards with the current. As
we neared the sand-bank, I stood up and made signs to the natives to
desist, but without success. I took up my gun, therefore, and cocking it,
had already brought it down to a level; a few seconds more would have
closed the life of the nearest savage. The distance was too trifling for
me to doubt the fatal effects of the discharge; for I was determined to
take deadly aim, in hopes that the fall of one man might save the lives
of many. But at the very moment when my hand was on the trigger, and my
eye was along the barrel, my purpose was checked by M'Leay, who called to
me that another party of blacks had made their appearance upon the left
bank of the river. Turning round, I observed four men at the top of their
speed. The foremost of them, as soon as he got ahead of the boat, threw
himself from a considerable height into the water. He struggled across
the channel to the sandbank, and in an incredibly short space of time
stood in front of the savage, against whom my aim had been directed.
Seizing him by the throat, he pushed him backwards, and forcing all who
were in the water upon the bank, he trod its margin with a vehemence and
an agitation that were exceedingly striking. At one moment pointing to
the boat, at another shaking his clenched hand in the faces of the most
forward, and stamping with passion on the sand; his voice, that was at
first distinct, was lost in hoarse murmurs. Two of the four natives
remained on the left bank of the river, the third followed his leader
(who proved to be the remarkable savage I have previously noticed) to the
scene of action. The reader will imagine our feelings on this occasion;
it is impossible to describe them. We were so wholly lost in interest at
the scene that was passing, that the boat was allowed to drift at
pleasure.

"We were again aroused to action by the boat suddenly striking upon a
shoal, which reached from one side of the river to the other. To jump out
and push her into deep water was but the work of a moment with the men,
and it was just as she floated again that our attention was withdrawn to
a new and beautiful stream, coming apparently from the north. . . . A
party of about seventy blacks were upon the right bank of the newly
discovered river, and I thought that by landing amongst them I might make
a diversion in favour of our late guest, and in this I succeeded. The
blacks no sooner observed that we had landed than curiosity took the
place of anger. All wrangling ceased, and they came swimming over to us
like a parcels of seals . . . It was not until after we had returned to
the boat, and had surveyed the multitude on the sloping bank above us
that we became fully aware of the extent of our danger, and of the almost
miraculous intervention of Providence in our favour. There could not have
been less than six hundred natives upon that blackened sward."


After presenting their friend who had acted so effectively on their
behalf, and whose energetic conduct and prompt interference to preserve
peace is unparalleled in native annals, with suitable gifts and refusing
them to the other chiefs, the boat's crew proceeded to examine the new
river they had discovered at such a critical moment.

Pulling easily up for a short distance they found it preserved a breadth
of one hundred yards, and a depth of rather more than twelve feet, The
banks were sloping and grassy, crowned with fine trees, and the men
exclaimed that they had got into an English river.

To Sturt himself the moment was a supreme one; was it, or was it not that
mysterious Darling, whose course through the far interior had been a
subject of speculation ever since its discovery? He felt sure that it
was.


"An irresistible conviction impressed me that we were now sailing on the
bosom of that very stream from whose banks I had been twice forced to
retire. I directed the Union jack to be hoisted, and giving way to our
satisfaction we all stood up in the boat and gave three distinct cheers.
It was an English feeling, an ebullition, an overflow, which I am ready
to admit that our circumstances and situation will alone excuse. The eve
of every native had been fixed upon that noble flag, at all times a
beautiful object, and to them a novel one, as it waved over us in the
heart of the desert. They had until that moment been particularly
loquacious, but the sight of that flag and the sound of our voices hushed
the tumult, and while they were still lost in astonishment, the boat's
head was turned, the sail was sheeted home, both wind and current were in
our favour, and we vanished from them with a rapidity that surprised even
ourselves, and which precluded every hope of the most adventurous among
them to keep up with us."


Once Pore down the now united streams of the Murray and the Darling the
party made rapid progress, landing occasionally to inspect the country,
but finding always a boundless flat on either side of them.

Provisions now began to get scarce with them, the barrels of salt pork
that had been in the skiff when she sank in the Morumbidgee had their
contents damaged by the admission of the fresh water. The fish, though
abundant, were more than unattractive to their palates, and the men took
no trouble to set the night lines. The strictest economy had, therefore,
to become the order of the day. The skiff being only a drag to them, she
was broken up, and burnt for the sake of the nails and iron-work.

On the 24th of January, the whale-boat continued its voyage alone, and
the record from day to day was only broken by their intercourse with the
different tribes, with whom a regular system of communication was now
established. Deputies were sent ahead, from one tribe to another, to
prepare them for the visit of the strangers. These deputies, by cutting
off the numerous bends of the river, were enabled to travel much quicker
than did Sturt, frequently doing easily in one day what it took the boat
two to accomplish. Their black friends were, however, becoming rather a
nuisance; little or no information could be obtained from them, and the
constant handling and embracing, which they had from policy to submit to,
became horribly distasteful to all of them, particularly as Sturt
describes all the tribes he met with as being beyond the average filthily
dirty, and eaten up with skin diseases.

On the 25th, the wanderers thought they sighted a range to the N.W., and
the blacks confirmed it, pointing in that direction when Hopkinson piled
up some clay in imitation of mountains.

On the 29th, the leader calculated that they were still one hundred and
fifteen miles from the coast, and as they had been now twenty-two days on
the river, their return began to be a matter for serious thought. From
what he saw of the country, Sturt imagined that it was, for the most
part, barren and sandy, and would never be utilised. But, of course, he
had little or no opportunities, travelling as he did, of forming a
correct judgment.

The cliffs on the river bank now showed fossilized sea shells in their
strata; chains of hills, too, became visible, and one of the natives,
[This old native, after the settlement of the country, was shot in cold
blood by one of the South Australian police.] an old man who had taken a
strange fancy to Hopkinson, described the roaring of the sea and the
height of the waves, showing that he had visited the coast. None, it may
be certain, were more glad than the leader to hear of their proximity,
for his thoughts were always busy with the failing condition of his men,
and the accumulating difficulties of his return.

True, it had been partly arranged that a vessel should proceed to the
south coast, but Sturt had little hope of meeting her, even if one had
been sent. The frequent bends in the river greatly delayed their advance,
but they were cheered by the flight of sea-gulls over their heads. The
river, too, widened day after day, and a constant strong wind from the
S.W., raised a chopping sea that almost stopped their way; the blacks they
met all assured them that the ocean was at hand. On the 9th February,
Sturt landing to examine the country, saw before him the lake that
terminated the Murray. He had reached his goal, thirty-three days after
separating from his party, at the Morumbidgee. Crossing the lake the
little band landed on the southern shore, and ascertained that the
communication between it and the sea was impracticable on account of its
extreme shallowness; they found their position to be in Encounter Bay,
east of Spencer's Gulf, and from what they saw it was evident that no
ship could enter it during the prevalence of the S.W. winds. All hope of
a safe return centred in themselves. The thunder of the surf, that they
had so longed for, brought no message of succour, but rather warned the
lonely men to hasten back, while yet some strength remained to them; and
above all they were surrounded by hostile blacks. Sturt had now a
terrible task before him. His men were weakened and on half rations;
there was every probability that the fickle natives might be troublesome
on their homeward route, and worst of all they would have to fight the
steady current of the river the whole way; nor would their spirits be
cheered by any hope of novelty or discovery. Under these gloomy auspices
Sturt re-entered the Murray on his return on the 13th February.

The homeward journey is simply a record of unrelaxed toil day after day,
Sturt and M'Leay taking their turn at the oar like the rest; added to
which the blacks gave them far more trouble than before. At the fall
above the junction of the Darling they once more met the friend who had
saved them from coming into conflict with the natives on the 24th
January; he and some of his tribe assisted them to get the boat up the
rapids. On the 20th of March they reached the camp on the Morumbidgee
from whence they had started, but it was now abandoned, and the hope that
the relief party had pushed down there to meet them was destroyed; there
was nothing for it but to pull on, but human nature was rapidly giving
way; the men though falling asleep at their oars never grumbled, but
worked steadily, if moodily, faithful to their duty to the last. Then the
river rose, and for days they struggled vainly against it. One man went
mad, and had to be relieved from the oars. At last, when ninety miles
from Pontebadgery, the place where Sturt believed the relief party to be
camped, he determined to dispatch two men for provisions and await their
return.

After six days, when the last ounce of flour had been served out, the men
came back with horses and drays, and all trouble was at an end. This was
on the 18th April, eighty-eight days after their departure from the
depôt, during which they had voyaged two thousand miles.

This expedition, from whatever light it is regarded, either as the most
important contribution ever made to Australian geography, or as an
example of most wonderful endurance, and patient heroism is equally one
of the most glorious records in this history. The leader and his men were
alike worthy of each other.

We have now had in review the opinion of many men on the future of the
great interior, and seen how they all alike predicted for it barrenness
and desolation. Even the satisfaction that Sturt felt at accomplishing
the descent of the Murray was qualified by a consideration of the
valueless country it flowed through. The question will naturally be
asked, how could men of such ability and more than average shrewdness
make such a gross mistake as the succeeding years have proved their
opinion to be? The principal reason will be found in their want of
experience in witnessing the development and improvement of land by
stocking, and their ignorance of the value of the vegetation they
condemned as worthless. Hume was the only man amongst them exceptionally
fitted by training to judge of the capability of the land, and we do not
often get at his direct opinion, nor is it likely that, with the memory
of the green meadow lands and sparkling waters of the Morumbidgee fresh
in his mind, it would be a very favourable one. Oxley and Sturt both
wrote smarting under disappointment, and both had been suddenly
confronted with a new and strange experience which they could associate
with nothing but the idea of a desert. That all this seemingly desolate
waste should one day have a distinctive value of its own was what they
could hardly dream of.




CHAPTER IV.



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.

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