Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete

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

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34

Immediately below the point on which they stood, Mr. Kent says, a low
undulating country extended to the northward, as far as he could see.
It was partly open, and partly wooded; and was every where covered with
verdure. It continued round to the eastward, and apparently ran down
southerly, at the opposite base of the mount Barker Range. I think there
can be but little doubt that my view from the S.E., that is, from the
lake, extended over the same or a part of the same country. Captain Barker
again slept on the summit of the range, near a large basin that looked
like the mouth of a crater, in which huge fragments of rocks made a scene
of the utmost confusion. These rocks were a coarse grey granite, of which
the higher parts and northern termination of the Mount Lofty range are
evidently formed; for Mr. Kent remarks that it superseded the schistose
formation at the ravine we have noticed--and that, subsequently, the sides
of the hills became more broken, and valleys, or gullies, more properly
speaking, very numerous. Captain Barker estimated the height of Mount
Lofty above the sea at 2,400 feet, and the distance of its summit from the
coast at eleven miles. Mr. Kent says they were surprised at the size of
the trees on the immediate brow of it; they measured one and found it to
be 43 feet in girth. Indeed, he adds, vegetation did not appear to have
suffered either from its elevated position, or from any prevailing wind.
Eucalypti were the general timber on the ranges; one species of which,
resembling strongly the black butted-gum, was remarkable for a scent
peculiar to its bark.

AUSTRALIAN SALMON.

The party rejoined the soldiers on the 21st, and enjoyed the supply of
fish which they had provided for them. The soldiers had amused themselves
by fishing during Captain Barker's absence, and had been abundantly
successful. Among others they had taken a kind of salmon, which, though
inferior in size, resembled in shape, in taste, and in the colour of its
flesh, the salmon of Europe. I fancied that a fish which I observed with
extremely glittering scales, in the mouth of a seal, when myself on the
coast, must have been of this kind; and I have no doubt that the lake is
periodically visited by salmon, and that these fish retain their habits of
entering fresh water at particular seasons, also in the southern
hemisphere.

Immediately behind Cape Jervis, there is a small bay, in which according
to the information of the sealers who frequent Kangaroo Island, there is
good and safe anchorage for seven months in the year, that is to say,
during the prevalence of the E. and N.E. winds.

SURVEY OF THE COAST.

Captain Barker landed on the 21st on this rocky point at the northern
extremity of this bay. He had, however, previously to this, examined the
indentation in the coast which he had observed from Mount Lofty, and had
ascertained that it was nothing more than an inlet; a spit of sand,
projecting from the shore at right angles with it, concealed the month of
the inlet. They took the boat to examine this point, and carried six
fathoms soundings round the head of the spit to the mouth of the inlet,
when it shoaled to two fathoms, and the landing was observed to be bad,
by reason of mangrove swamps on either side of it. Mr. Kent, I think, told
me that this inlet was from ten to twelve miles long. Can it be that a
current setting out of it at times, has thrown up the sand-bank that
protects its mouth, and that trees, or any other obstacle, have hidden its
further prolongation from Captain Barker's notice? I have little hope that
such is the case, but the remark is not an idle one.

BEAUTIFUL VALLEYS.

Between this inlet and the one formerly mentioned, a small and clear
stream was discovered, to which Captain Barker kindly gave my name. On
landing, the party, which consisted of the same persons as the former one,
found themselves in a valley, which opened direct upon the bay. It was
confined to the north from the chief range by a lateral ridge, that
gradually declined towards and terminated at, the rocky point on which
they had landed. The other side of the valley was formed of a continuation
of the main range, which also gradually declined to the south, and
appeared to be connected with the hills at the extremity of the cape.
The valley was from nine to ten miles in length, and from three to four in
breadth. In crossing it, they ascertained that the lagoon from which the
schooner had obtained a supply of water, was filled by a watercourse that
came down its centre. The soil in the valley was rich, but stony in some
parts. There was an abundance of pasture over the whole, from amongst
which they started numerous kangaroos. The scenery towards the ranges was
beautiful and romantic, and the general appearance of the country such as
to delight the whole party.

Preserving a due east course, Captain Barker passed over the opposite
range of hills, and descended almost immediately into a second valley that
continued to the southwards. Its soil was poor and stony, and it was
covered with low scrub. Crossing it, they ascended the opposite range,
from the summit of which they had a view of Encounter Bay. An extensive
flat stretched from beneath them to the eastward, and was backed, in the
distance, by sand hummocks, and low wooded hills. The extreme right of the
flat rested upon the coast, at a rocky point near which there were two or
three islands. From the left a beautiful valley opened upon it. A strong
and clear rivulet from this valley traversed the flat obliquely, and fell
into the sea at the rocky point, or a little to the southward of it.
The hills forming the opposite side of the valley had already terminated.
Captain Barker, therefore, ascended to higher ground, and, at length,
obtained a view of the Lake Alexandrina, and the channel of its
communication with the sea to the N.E. He now descended to the flat, and
frequently expressed his anxious wish to Mr. Kent that I had been one of
their number to enjoy the beauty of the scenery around them, and to
participate in their labours. Had fate so ordained it, it is possible the
melancholy tragedy that soon after occurred might have been averted.

OUTLET OF LAKE TO THE SEA.

At the termination of the flat they found themselves upon the banks of the
channel, and close to the sand hillock under which my tents had been
pitched. From this point they proceeded along the line of sand-hills to
the outlet; from which it would appear that Kangaroo Island is not
visible, but that the distant point which I mistook for it was the S.E.
angle of Cape Jervis. I have remarked, in describing that part of the
coast, that there is a sand-hill to the eastward of the inlet, under which
the tide runs strong, and the water is deep. Captain Barker judged the
breadth of the channel to be a quarter of a mile, and he expressed a
desire to swim across it to the sand-hill to take bearings, and to
ascertain the nature of the strand beyond it to the eastward.

It unfortunately happened, that he was the only one of the party who could
swim well, in consequence of which his people remonstrated with him on the
danger of making the attempt unattended. Notwithstanding, however, that
he was seriously indisposed, he stripped, and after Mr. Kent had fastened
his compass on his head for him, he plunged into the water, and with
difficulty gained the opposite side; to effect which took him nine minutes
and fifty-eight seconds. His anxious comrades saw him ascend the hillock,
and take several bearings; he then descended the farther side, and was
never seen by them again.

CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE LOSS OF CAPTAIN BARKER.

For a considerable time Mr. Kent remained stationary, in momentary
expectation of his return; but at length, taking the two soldiers with
him, he proceeded along the shore in search of wood for a fire. At about
a quarter of a mile, the soldiers stopped and expressed their wish to
return, as their minds misgave them, and they feared that Captain Barker
had met with some accident. While conversing, they heard a distant shout,
or cry, which Mr. Kent thought resembled the call of the natives, but
which the soldiers positively declared to be the voice of a white man.
On their return to their companions, they asked if any sounds had caught
their ears, to which they replied in the negative. The wind was blowing
from the E.S.E., in which direction Captain Barker had gone; and, to me,
the fact of the nearer party not having heard that which must have been
his cries for assistance, is satisfactorily accounted for, as, being
immediately under the hill, the sounds must have passed over their heads
to be heard more distinctly at the distance at which Mr. Kent and the
soldiers stood. It is more than probable, that while his men were
expressing their anxiety about him, the fearful tragedy was enacting which
it has become my painful task to detail.

Evening closed in without any signs of Captain Barker's return, or any
circumstance by which Mr. Kent could confirm his fears that he had fallen
into the hands of the natives. For, whether it was that the tribe which
had shown such decided hostility to me when on the coast had not observed
the party, none made their appearance; and if I except two, who crossed
the channel when Mr. Kent was in search of wood, they had neither seen nor
heard any; and Captain Barker's enterprising disposition being well known
to his men, hopes were still entertained that he was safe. A large fire
was kindled, and the party formed a silent and anxious group around it.
Soon after night-fall, however, their attention was roused by the sounds
of the natives, and it was at length discovered, that they had lighted a
chain of small fires between the sand-hill Captain Barker had ascended and
the opposite side of the channel, around which their women were chanting
their melancholy dirge. It struck upon the ears of the listeners with an
ominous thrill, and assured them of the certainty of the irreparable loss
they had sustained. All night did those dismal sounds echo along that
lonely shore, but as morning dawned, they ceased, and Mr. Kent and his
companions were again left in anxiety and doubt. They, at length, thought
it most advisable to proceed to the schooner to advise with Doctor
Davies. They traversed the beach with hasty steps, but did not get on
board till the following day. It was then determined to procure assistance
from the sealers on Kangaroo Island, as the only means by which they could
ascertain their leader's fate, and they accordingly entered American
Harbour. For a certain reward, one of the men agreed to accompany Mr. Kent
to the main with a native woman, to communicate with the tribe that was
supposed to have killed him. They landed at or near the rocky point of
Encounter Bay, where they were joined by two other natives, one of whom
was blind. The woman was sent forward for intelligence, and on her return
gave the following details:

ACCOUNT OF HIS MURDER.

It appears that at a very considerable distance from the first sand-hill,
there is another to which Captain Barker must have walked, for the woman
stated that three natives were going to the shore from their tribe, and
that they crossed his tract. Their quick perception immediately told them
it was an unusual impression. They followed upon it, and saw Captain
Barker returning. They hesitated for a long time to approach him, being
fearful of the instrument he carried. At length, however, they closed upon
him. Capt. Barker tried to soothe them, but finding that they were
determined to attack him, he made for the water from which he could not
have been very distant. One of the blacks immediately threw his spear and
struck him in the hip. This did not, however, stop him. He got among the
breakers, when he received the second spear in the shoulder. On this,
turning round, he received a third full in the breast: with such deadly
precision do these savages cast their weapons. It would appear that the
third spear was already on its flight when Capt. Barker turned, and it is
to be hoped, that it was at once mortal. He fell on his back into the
water. The natives then rushed in, and dragging him out by the legs,
seized their spears, and indicted innumerable wounds upon his body;
after which, they threw it into deep water, and the sea-tide carried it
away.

HIS CHARACTER.

Such, we have every reason to believe, was the untimely fate of this
amiable and talented man. It is a melancholy satisfaction to me thus
publicly to record his worth; instrumental, as I cannot but in some
measure consider my last journey to have been in leading to this fatal
catastrophe. Captain Barker was in disposition, as he was in the close
of his life, in many respects similar to Captain Cook. Mild, affable, and
attentive, he had the esteem and regard of every companion, and the
respect of every one under him. Zealous in the discharge of his public
duties, honourable and just in private life; a lover and a follower of
science; indefatigable and dauntless in his pursuits; a steady friend,
an entertaining companion; charitable, kind-hearted, disinterested,
and sincere--the task is equally difficult to find adequate expressions of
praise or of regret. In him the king lost one of his most valuable
officers, and his regiment one of its most efficient members. Beloved as
he was, the news of his loss struck his numerous friends with sincere
grief, but by none was it more severely felt than by the humble individual
who has endeavoured thus feebly to draw his portrait.

From the same source from which the particulars of his death were
obtained, it was reported that the natives who perpetrated the deed were
influenced by no other motive than curiosity to ascertain if they had
power to kill a white man. But we must be careful in giving credit to
this, for it is much more probable that the cruelties exercised by the
sealers towards the blacks along the south coast, may have instigated the
latter to take vengeance on the innocent as well as on the guilty. It will
be seen, by a reference to the chart, that Captain Barker, by crossing the
channel, threw himself into the very hands of that tribe which had evinced
such determined hostility to myself and my men. He got into the rear of
their strong hold, and was sacrificed to those feelings of suspicion, and
to that desire of revenge, which the savages never lose sight of until
they have been gratified.

FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, AND CAPABILITIES OF THE COAST.

It yet remains for me to state that when Mr. Kent returned to the
schooner, after this irreparable loss, he kept to the south of the place
at which he had crossed the first range with Captain Barker, and travelled
through a valley right across the promontory. He thus discovered that
there was a division in the ranges, through which there was a direct and
level road from the little bay on the northern extremity of which they had
last landed in St. Vincent's Gulf, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay.
The importance of this fact will be better estimated, when it is known
that good anchorage is secured to small vessels inside the island that
lies off the point of Encounter Bay, which is rendered still safer by a
horse shoe reef that forms, as it were, a thick wall to break the swell of
the sea. But this anchorage is not safe for more than five months in the
year. Independently of these points, however, Mr. Kent remarks, that the
spit a little to the north of Mount Lofty would afford good shelter to
minor vessels under its lee. When the nature of the country is taken into
consideration, and the facility of entering that which lies between the
ranges and the Lake Alexandrina, from the south, and of a direct
communication with the lake itself, the want of an extensive harbour will,
in some measure, be compensated for, more especially when it is known that
within four leagues of Cape Jervis, a port little inferior to Port
Jackson, with a safe and broad entrance, exists at Kangaroo Island. The
sealers have given this spot the name of American Harbour. In it, I am
informed, vessels are completely land-locked, and secure from every wind.
Kangaroo Island is not, however, fertile by any means. It abounds in
shallow lakes filled with salt water during high tides, and which, by
evaporation, yield a vast quantity of salt.

I gathered from the sealers that neither the promontory separating
St. Vincent from Spencer's Gulf, nor the neighbourhood of Port Lincoln,
are other than barren and sandy wastes. They all agree in describing Port
Lincoln itself as a magnificent roadstead, but equally agree as to the
sterility of its shores. It appears, therefore, that the promontory of
Cape Jervis owes its superiority to its natural features; in fact, to the
mountains that occupy its centre, to the debris that has been washed from
them, and to the decomposition of the better description of its rocks.
Such is the case at Illawarra, where the mountains approach the sea; such
indeed is the case every where, at a certain distance from mountain
ranges.

ADAPTION OF THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY FOR COLONISATION.

From the above account it would appear that a spot has, at length, been
found upon the south coast of New Holland, to which the colonist might
venture with every prospect of success, and in whose valleys the exile
might hope to build for himself and for his family a peaceful and
prosperous home. All who have ever landed upon the eastern shore of
St. Vincent's Gulf, agree as to the richness of its soil, and the
abundance of its pasture. Indeed, if we cast our eyes upon the chart, and
examine the natural features of the country behind Cape Jervis, we shall
no longer wonder at its differing in soil and fertility from the low and
sandy tracks that generally prevail along the shores of Australia. Without
entering largely into the consideration of the more remote advantages that
would, in all human probability, result from the establishment of a
colony, rather than a penal settlement, at St. Vincent's Gulf, it will be
expedient to glance hastily over the preceding narrative, and, disengaging
it from all extraneous matter, to condense, as much as possible, the
information it contains respecting the country itself; for I have been
unable to introduce any passing remark, lest I should break the thread of
an interesting detail.

The country immediately behind Cape Jervis may, strictly speaking, be
termed a promontory, bounded to the west by St. Vincent's Gulf, and to the
east by the lake Alexandrina, and the sandy track separating that basin
from the sea. Supposing a line to be drawn from the parallel of 34 degrees
40 minutes to the eastward, it will strike the Murray river about 25 miles
above the head of the lake, and will clear the ranges, of which Mount
Lofty and Mount Barker are the respective terminations. This line will cut
off a space whose greatest breadth will be 55 miles, whose length from
north to south will be 75, and whose surface exceeds 7 millions of acres;
from which if we deduct 2 millions for the unavailable hills, we shall
have 5 millions of acres of land, of rich soil, upon which no scrub
exists, and whose most distant points are accessible, through a level
country on the one hand, and by water on the other. The southern extremity
of the ranges can be turned by that valley through which Mr. Kent returned
to the schooner, after Captain Barker's death. It is certain, therefore,
that this valley not only secures so grand a point, but also presents a
level line of communication from the small bay immediately to the north of
the cape, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay, at both of which places
there is safe anchorage at different periods of the year.

HINTS FOR FUTURE EXPEDITIONS.

The only objection that can be raised to the occupation of this spot, is
the want of an available harbour. Yet it admits of great doubt whether the
contiguity of Kangaroo Island to Cape Jervis, (serving as it does to break
the force of the prevailing winds, as also of the heavy swell that would
otherwise roll direct into the bay,) and the fact of its possessing a safe
and commodious harbour, certainly at an available distance, does not in a
great measure remove the objection. Certain it is that no port, with the
exception of that on the shores of which the capital of Australia is
situated, offers half the convenience of this, although it be detached
between three and four leagues from the main.

On the other hand it would appear, that there is no place from which at
any time the survey of the more central parts of the continent could be so
effectually carried on; for in a country like Australia, where the chief
obstacle to be apprehended in travelling is the want of water, the
facilities afforded by the Murray and its tributaries, are indisputable;
and I have little doubt that the very centre of the continent might be
gained by a judicious and enterprising expedition. Certainly it is most
desirable to ascertain whether the river I have supposed to be the Darling
be really so or not. I have stated my objection to depots, but I think
that if a party commenced its operations upon the Murray from the
junction upwards, and, after ascertaining the fact of its ultimate course,
turned away to the N.W. up one of the tributaries of the Murray, with a
supply of six months' provisions, the results would be of the most
satisfactory kind, and the features of the country be wholly developed.
I cannot, I think, conclude this work better than by expressing a hope,
that the Colonial Government will direct such measures to be adopted as
may be necessary for the extension of our geographical knowledge in
Australia. The facilities of fitting out expeditions in New South Wales,
render the expenses of little moment, when compared with the importance of
the object in view; and although I am labouring under the effects of
former attempts, yet would I willingly give such assistance as I could to
carry such an object into effect.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX No. I.

GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS FOUND TO THE SOUTH-WEST OF PORT JACKSON.

Considering the nature of the country over which the first expedition
travelled, it could hardly have been expected that its geological
specimens would be numerous. It will appear, however, from the following
list of rocks collected during the second expedition, that the geological
formation of the mountains to the S.W. of Port Jackson is as various as
that to the N.W. of it is mountainous. The specimens are described not
according to their natural order, but in the succession in which they
were found, commencing from Yass Plains, and during the subsequent stages
of the journey.

Sandstone, Old Red.--Found on various parts of Yass Plains.

Limestone, Transition.--Colour dark grey; composes the bed of the Yass
River, and apparently traverses the sandstone formation. Yass Plains lie
170 miles to the S.W. of Sydney.

Sandstone, Old Red.--Again succeeds the limestone, and continues to the
N.W. to a considerable distance over a poor and scrubby country, covered
for the most part with a dwarf species of Eucalyptus.

Granite.--Colour grey; feldspar, black mica, and quartz: succeeds the
sandstone, and continues to the S.W. as far as the Morumbidgee River,
over an open forest country broken into hill and dale. It is generally on
these granite rocks that the best grazing is found.

Greywacke.--Colour grey, of light hue, or dark, with black specks.
Soft.--Composition of a part of the ranges that form the valley of the
Morumbidgee.

Serpentine.--Colour green of different shades, striped sulphur yellow;
slaty fracture, soft and greasy to the touch. Forms hills of moderate
elevation, of peculiarly sharp spine, resting on quartz. Composition of
most of the ranges opposite the Doomot River on the Morumbidgee, in
lat. 35 degrees 4 minutes and long. 147 degrees 40 minutes.

Quartz.--Colour snow-white; formation of the higher ranges on the left
bank of the Morumbidgee, in the same latitude and longitude as above;
showing in large blocks on the sides of the hills.

Slaty Quartz, with varieties.--Found with the quartz rock, in a state
of decomposition.

Granite.--Succeeds the serpentine, of light colour; feldspar decomposed;
mica, glittering and silvery white.

Sandstone, Old Red.--Composition of the more distant ranges on the
Morumbidgee. Forms abrupt precipices over the river flats; of sterile
appearance, and covered with Banksias and scrub.

Mica Slate.--Colour dark brown, approaching red; mica glittering.
The hills enclosing Pondebadgery Plain at the gorge of the valley of the
Morumbidgee, are composed of this rock. They are succeeded by

Sandstone.--Which rises abruptly from the river in perpendicular cliffs,
of 145 feet in height.

Jasper and quartz.--Colour red and white. Forms the slope of the above
sandstone, and may be considered the outermost of the rocks connected with
the Eastern or Blue Mountain Ranges. It will be remembered that jasper and
quartz were likewise found on a plain near the Darling River, precisely
similar to the above, although occurring at so great a distance from each
other.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34