Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

C >> Charles Sturt >> Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

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Experience, therefore, of the value of the two soldiers, whom General
Darling was good enough to permit me to take on the strength of the party,
fully bears me out in recommending that one man, at least, of general
responsibility shall be attached to all future expeditions. The success of
an expedition depends so much on the conduct of the persons of whom it is
composed, that too much attention cannot be given to the selection even of
the most subordinate. Men of active intelligent minds, of persevering
habits, and of even temper, should be preferred to mechanics who do not
possess these most requisite qualities. On the other hand, it is
impossible to do without a good carpenter, however defective he may be in
other respects. I was indebted to Mr. Maxwell, the superintendent of
Wellington Valley, for some excellent men, both on my first and on my
second journey, because he understood the nature of the service for which
they were required, and the characters of those whom he recommended.
But however well selected the party, or the men rather, might be, I still
consider a man of general responsibility necessary for its complete
organisation. I would have him somewhat superior to the rest in his
station in life. Him I would hold answerable for the immediate discipline
of the camp, whilst I was present, and for its safety when absent. The
assistant to the leader I would put entirely out of the question. He
has other and most important duties to perform. I would rate this man
wholly independent of him.

DANGER OF COLLISION WITH THE NATIVES.

In reference to what I have already said with regard to the natives, it
was supposed that they were so little to be apprehended, that when I went
on the first occasion into the interior, I applied for a limited number of
men only, under an impression that with a few men I could carry provisions
equal to a consumption of a greater number, and by this means be enabled
to keep the field for a greater length of time. But I do not think it
would be safe to penetrate into the distant country with fewer than
fifteen men, for although, happily, no rupture has as yet taken place with
the natives, yet, there is no security against their treachery, and it is
very certain that a slight cause might involve an expedition in
inextricable difficulty, and oblige the leader to throw himself on the
defensive, when far away from other resources than those with which he
should have provided himself, and that, perhaps, when navigating a close
and intricate river, with all the dangers and perplexities attendant on
such a situation. It is absolutely necessary to establish nightly guards,
not only for the security of the camp, but of the cattle, and at the same
time to have a force strong enough to maintain an obstinate resistance
against any number of savages, where no mercy is to be expected. It will
be borne in mind, that there is a wide difference between penetrating into
a country in the midst of its population, and landing from ships for the
purpose of communication or traffic. Yet, how few voyages of discovery
have terminated without bloodshed! Boats while landing are covered by
their ships, and have succour within view; but not so parties that go into
unknown tracts. They must depend on their immediate resources and
individual courage alone.

PACK-OXEN, HORSES, WHEEL-CARRIAGES.

With regard to the animals, I should recommend an equal number of horses
as of bullocks; since it has been found that the latter, though slow,
travel better over swampy ground than horses, which, on the other hand,
are preferable for expeditious journeys, to which bullocks would never be
equal. One of the colonial pack-saddles weighs fifty pounds complete, and
is preferable to those sent out from England. This, with a load of
250 lbs. is sufficient for any animal, since it enables the men to place a
part of their provisions with the general loads. The difficulty of keeping
the backs of the animals free from injury, more especially where any
blemish has before existed, is exceedingly great. They should undergo an
examination twice a-day, that is, in the morning prior to moving off,
and in the afternoon before they are turned out to feed; and measures
should then be taken to ease them as circumstances require. I never
suffered the saddles to be removed from the backs of the animals under my
charge for twenty minutes after the termination of the journey for the
day, in order to guard against the effects of the sun; and where the least
swelling appeared the saddle was altered and the place dressed. Yet,
notwithstanding all this care and attention, several both of the horses
and bullocks were at one time in a sad condition, during the first
journey,--so much so as almost to paralyse our efforts. It would be
advisable that such animals as are entirely free from blemish should be
chosen for the service of expeditions, for, with proper management they
might he kept in order. The anxiety of mind attendant on a bad state of
the animals is really quite embarrassing, for it not only causes a delay
in the movements, but a derangement in the loads. Other animals are
overburdened, and there is no knowing where the evil will stop.

In addition to the pack-animals, I would recommend the employment of a
dray or cart under any practicable circumstances. It serves to carry
necessary comforts, gives an expedition greater facility for securing its
collections, and is of inconceivable advantage in many other respects.

ISSUE OF PROVISIONS.

Constant and most earnest attention should be paid to the issue of
provisions, on the discreet management of which so much depends, and the
charge of them should be committed to the second in command. The most
important articles are flour, tea, sugar, and tobacco. All should be
husbanded with extreme care, and weighed from time to time. The flour is
best carried in canvass bags, containing 100 pounds each, and should at
the termination of each day's journey, be regularly piled up and covered
with a tarpaulin. Tea, sugar and tobacco lose considerably in weight, so
that it is necessary to estimate for somewhat more than the bare supply.
With regard to the salt meat, the best mode of conveying it appears to be
in small barrels of equal weight with the bags of flour. Salt pork is
better than beef. It should be deprived of all bones and be of the very
best quality. I have heard spirits recommended, but I do not approve their
use. Tea is much more relished by the men; indeed they could not do well
without it. A small quantity of spirits would, however, of course be
necessary in the event of its being required.

LIVE STOCK.

Mr. Cornelius O'Brien, an enterprising and long-established settler, who
has pushed his flocks and herds to the banks of the Morumbidgee, was good
enough to present me with eight wethers as I passed his station. It may be
some gratification to Mr. O'Brien to know, that they contributed very
materially to our comforts, and he will, perhaps, accept my
acknowledgements in this place, not only for so liberal a present to
myself, but for his attention and kindness to my men as long as they
remained in his neighbourhood. It was found that the sheep gave but little
additional trouble, requiring only to be penned at night, as much to
secure them from the native dogs as to prevent them from straying away.
They followed the other animals very quietly, and soon became accustomed
to daily movements. They proved a most available stock; no waste attended
their slaughter, and they admitted of a necessary and wholesome change of
fresh food from the general salt diet, on which the men would otherwise
have had to subsist.

The provisions should, if possible, be issued weekly, and their diminution
should be so regulated as to give an equal relief to the animals.

For general information I have annexed a list of the supplies I took with
me on my first expedition. It may appear long, but the articles were
packed in a small compass, and their value immaterial.

As a precautionary measure I should advise, that one of the pack animals
be kept apart for the purpose of carrying water. Two casks of equal weight
are the best for such a purpose. In long and hot marches, the men
experience great relief from having water at hand.

INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES.

In reference to the natives, I hope sufficient has been said of the manner
of communicating with them to prevent the necessity of a repetition here.
The great point is not to alarm their natural timidity: to exercise
patience in your intercourse with them; to treat them kindly; and to watch
them with suspicion, especially at night. Never permit the men to steal
away from the camp, but keep them as compact as possible; and at every
station so arrange your drays and provisions that they may serve as a
defence in case of your being attacked.

The natives appeared to me to be indifferent to our presents, in most
cases. Tomahawks, knives, pieces of iron, and different coloured ribbons
for the forehead, were most esteemed by them. They will barter and
exchange their fish for articles, and readily acquire confidence.

I believe I have now touched on all the more important points: on minor
ones no observation I can make will be of use; men must, in many things,
be guided by circumstances.

* * * * *

WHALE BOAT EMPLOYED ON THE SECOND EXPEDITION.

I may here notice that, in my second expedition, as it was anticipated
that I should require adequate provision for water conveyance, at one
stage or other of my journey down the Morumbidgee, I was furnished with a
whale-boat, the dimensions of which are given below. She was built by
Mr. Egan, the master builder of the dock-yard and a native of the colony,
and did great credit to his judgment. She carried two tons and a half of
provisions, independently of a locker, which I appropriated for the
security of the arms, occupying the space between the after-seat and the
stern. She was in the first instance put together loosely, her planks
and timbers marked, and her ring bolts, &c. fitted. She was then taken to
pieces, carefully packed up, and thus conveyed in plank into the interior,
to a distance of four hundred and forty miles, without injury. She was
admirably adapted for the service, and rose as well as could have been
expected over the seas in the lake. It was evident, however, that she
would have been much safer if she had had another plank, for she was
undoubtedly too low. The following were her dimensions:--

Breadth across 7th timber aft, 5 ft. 1/2 an inch outside.
Across 12th timber, 5 ft. 11 1/4 in.
Across 17th timber forward, 5 ft.
25 ft. 8 in. in length inside.
Curve of the keel No. 1, from the after side of each apron, 3 ft. 3 3/4in.
No. 2, from head to head of the dead wood, 13 1/2 in.
No. 3, from one end of keel to the other inner side, 3 in.
No. 4, round of keel from the toe of each dead wood, 7/8 1/16th.
The timbers were marked, beginning from the stern to the bow on the
starboard side, and from bow to stern on the larboard.

APPENDIX No. I.

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS.

By His Excellency Lieutenant General Ralph Darling, Commanding
His Majesty's Forces, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the
Territory of New South Wales, and its dependencies, and
Vice Admiral of the same, &c. &c. &c.

TO CHARLES STURT, ESQ. CAPTAIN IN THE 39TH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Whereas it has been judged expedient to fit out an expedition for the
purpose of exploring the interior of New Holland, and the present dry
season affords a reasonable prospect of an opportunity of ascertaining the
nature and extent of the large marsh or marshes which stopped the progress
of the late John Oxley Esq, Surveyor General, in following the courses of
the rivers Lachlan and Macquarie in the years 1817 and 1818. And whereas I
repose full confidence in your abilities and zeal for conducting such an
expedition, I do hereby constitute and appoint you to command and take
charge of the expedition now preparing for the purpose of exploring the
interior of the country, and for ascertaining, if practicable, the nature
and extent of the marsh or marshes above mentioned.

In the prosecution of this service, you will be guided generally by the
following instructions.

1. You will be accompanied on this expedition by Mr. Hamilton Hume, whose
great experience in travelling through the remote parts of the Colony,
cannot fail to be highly useful to you. You will also be attended by two
soldiers and six convicts, of whom one is to understand the shoeing of
horses, one to be a carpenter, one a harness-maker and three stock-men,
and you will be provided with six horses and twelve bullocks.

2. A small boat has been built here for the use of the expedition, and for
its conveyance, there is provided a light four-wheeled carriage to be
drawn by two bullocks.

The deputy Commissary General has received orders for supplying the
expedition with provisions of the best quality sufficient for six months'
consumption, together with tents, blankets, clothing, pack-saddles,
utensils, instruments, tools, and necessaries of all kinds of which you
are likely to stand in need. Orders are also given for providing you with
arms and ammunition, with rockets for signals, and an ample supply of
simple medicines--You are to consider it an important duty to attend to
the providing of all these supplies, and to take care that not only every
article is of the best quality that can be procured, but also that no
article be wanting with which you may desire to be provided.

3. Orders are given for forwarding without delay all your provisions,
stores and supplies of every kind to Wellington Valley, at which place,
you, Mr. Hume, and all your men are to rendezvous as soon as possible.
Mr Maxwell, the superintendent, will furnish you with well-trained
bullocks, and afford you all the assistance you may require in arranging
every thing for your departure from that station.

4. After you shall have completed all your arrangements, you are to lose
no time in finally departing from Wellington Valley in prosecution of the
immediate objects of the expedition.

5. You are first to proceed to Mount Harris, where you are to form a
temporary depot, by means of which you will have an opportunity of more
readily communicating with Mr. Maxwell.

6. You are then to endeavour to determine the fate of the Macquarie River,
by tracing it as far as possible beyond the point to which Mr. Oxley went,
and by pushing westward, you are to ascertain if there be any high lands
in that direction, or if the country be, as it is supposed, an unbroken
level and under water. If you should fail in these objects, you will
traverse the plains lying behind our north-west boundaries, with a view to
skirt any waters by which you may have been checked to the westward; and
if you should succeed in skirting them, you are to explore the country
westward and southward as far as possible, endeavouring to discover the
Macquarie beyond the marsh of Mr. Oxley, and following it to its mouth if
at all practicable.

7. There is some reason to believe that the over-flowing of the Macquarie
when visited by Mr. Oxley, was occasioned by heavy rains falling in the
mountains to the eastward, and that as you are to visit the same spot at a
different season of the year, you may escape such embarrassment; but
although you should get beyond the point at which Mr. Oxley stopped, it
would not be prudent to risk your own health or that of your men, by
continuing long in a swampy country. Therefore it may be advisable for you
in the first instance to leave the greater part of your men, bullocks, and
baggage, at Mount Harris, and if you should see a probability of your
being able to cross into the interior, you will then return to Mount
Harris for such additional supplies as you may judge necessary. You can
there communicate with Mr. Maxwell respecting any ulterior arrangements
which you may be desirous of making.

8. The success of the expedition is so desirable an object, that I cannot
too strongly impress upon you the importance of perseverance in
endeavouring to skirt any waters or marshes which may check your course as
long as you have provisions sufficient for your return; but you must be
cautious not to proceed a single day's journey further than where you find
that your provisions will be barely sufficient to enable you to reach the
nearest place at which you can depend upon getting supplies.

9. If after every endeavour you should find it totally impracticable to get
to the westward, you are still to proceed northward, keeping as westerly a
direction as possible; and when the state of your provisions will oblige
you to retreat, you will be guided by your latitude, as to the place to
which you are to make the best of your way, but you are not to make for
any place on the coast, if Wellington valley should still be nearer.

10. You must be aware that the success of the expedition will greatly
depend upon the time for which your provisions will hold out, and
therefore you will see the great importance of observing every possible
economy in the expenditure of provisions, and preventing waste of every
kind.

11. You are to keep a detailed account of your proceedings in a journal,
in which all observations and occurrences of every kind, with all their
circumstances, however minute, are to be carefully noted down. You are to
be particular in describing the general face of all the country through
which you pass, the direction and shape of the mountains, whether detached
or in ranges, together with the bearings and estimated distances of the
several mountains, hills, or eminences from each other. You are likewise
to note the nature of the climate, as to heat, cold, moisture, winds,
rains, &c, and to keep a register of the temperature from Fahrenheit's
thermometer, as observed at two or three periods of each day. The rivers,
with their several branches, their direction, velocity, breadth, and
depth, are carefully to be noted. It is further expected that you will,
as far as may be in your power, attend to the animal, vegetable, and
mineral productions of the country, noting down every thing that may occur
to you, and preserving specimens as far as your means will admit,
especially some of all the ripe seeds which you may discover; when the
preservation of specimens is impossible, drawings or detailed accounts of
them, are very desirable.

12. You will note the description of the several people whom you may meet,
the extent of the population, their means of subsistence, their genius and
disposition, the nature of their amusements, their diseases and remedies,
their objects of worship, religious ceremonies, and a vocabulary of their
language.

Lastly. On your return from your journey, you are to cause all the
journals or other written documents belonging to, and curiosities
collected by the several individuals composing the expedition, to be
carefully sealed up with your own seal and kept in that state until you
shall have made your report to me in writing of the result of the
expedition.

Given at Sydney, this eighteenth day of November, 1828.
By Command of His Excellency the Governor,
ALEXANDER M'LEAY.

APPENDIX No. II.

LIST OF STORES SUPPLIED FOR THE EXPEDITION.

List of Articles delivered from His Majesty's Stores,
in charge of D. A. C. Goodsir, to Captain Sturt, viz.--

1 Hack saddle. 9 Harness casks.
1 Bridle. 23 Canvas bags.
2 Tents. 4 Tin cases.
14 Pack saddles. 16 Padlocks.
14 Pair hobbles. 6 Tarpaulens.
24 Sets horse shoes. 10 Haversacks.
2000 Horse nails. 113 Fathom one-inch rope.
113 Fathoms 1 1/2 inch rope. 1 Boat compass.
1 Hammer, (Blacksmith's) 1 Telescope.
1 Paring knife. 1 Spare glass for ditto.
2 Chipping do. 1 Tin case (for charts.)
2 Rasps. 100 Fish-hooks, (large.)
1 Pair pincers. 12 Fishing-lines.
1 Cutter. 10 Knives.
2lb. Pack thread. 10 Forks.
24 Needles. 10 Spoons.
1/4lb. Bristles. 2 Frying-pans.
7lbs. Leather. 2 Tinder-boxes.
1/2lb. Thread. 1 Tea-kettle, (tin.)
1 Pair of steelyards. 10 Tin dishes.
10 Tin pots. 8 Jackets.
1 Flour seive. 8 Duck frocks.
2 Felling-axes. 8 Shirts.
4 Tomahawks. 16 Trousers.
2 Hammers. 24 Pair shoes.
1 Hand-saw. 16 Blankets.
3 Bill-hooks. 16 Pair stockings.
3 Awls. 2 Bullock collars.
3 Broad hoes. 2 Do. back-bands and pipes.
4 Razors. 2 Leading cruppers.
4 Brushes. 1 Boat with sail and oars.
4 Combs. 1 Do. carriage.
3 Iron pots, (camp kettles.) 1 Canvass boat-cover.
1 Pair scissors. 3 Water breaker.

COMMISSARIAT OFFICE, SYDNEY, NOV. 10TH, 1828.

P.S.--l Tarpaulin.
Large Fish-hook.
1 Tin tea-kettle.
1 Camp kettle.
Pitch and oil.
Hemp or twine.

APPENDIX No. III.

SHEEP-FARMING RETURNS, SHOWING THE INCREASE IN FOUR YEARS,
from two Breeding Flocks, consisting of 670 Ewes in Lamb.

(A.)--1st JUNE, 1828.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flocks. Breeding Ewes. Lambs. Total. Remarks.

2 yrs. old. 3 yrs. old. Male.-Female.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lambs.
No. 1 330 148 149 627 Deaths 6. Incr.297
No. 2 330 154 154 638 4 308
---- -- ---
* 1265 10 605
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

* The increase throughout these returns is calculated at from 270 to 290
Lambs, to 300 Ewes, which is the usual average in N.S.W.

ABSTRACT.

Purchased two Flocks of Ewes, at 84s.............................670 Ewes.
Increase of Lambs.......................................... 605
Casual Deaths............................................... 10
595
---
Total as per Return............................................ 1265

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(B.)--1st JUNE, 1829.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks.
| Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. Lambs.
1 3-yr. 327 154 154 635 Deaths 3 Incr.308
2 4-yr. 326 155 155 636 4 310
3 1-yr. 302 302 1 ---
4 1-yr. 302 18 320 -- 618
---- 8
1893
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

ABSTRACT.

Return (A) Total...............................................1265
Increase by Lambing....................................618
Ditto Rams purchased....................................18
---
636
Casual Deaths......................................... 8 628
----
Total as per return............................................1893
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(C.)--1st JUNE, 1830.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks.
| Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. Lambs.
1 2-yr. 296 133 154 562 Deaths 6 Incr.266
2 4-yr. 325 150 155 625 2 300
3 5-yr. 326 160 646 320
4 2-yr. 302 27 329 ---
5 1-yr. 309 309 886
6 1-yr. 309 309 ---
---- 3 Rams died
2780 12 ditto purchased
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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