Discoveries in Australia Volume II Part 35

KOOMBANAH BAY.

After touching at Swan River (where, finding His Excellency the Governor still absent, an account of our cruise was left with the Surveyor-General) we reached Koombanah Bay on the 27th. Mr. Forsyth, whom I had sent overland, had completed the survey of this anchorage, and Leschenault Inlet, which it joins in the south corner by a narrow boat channel. The wreck of a large whale ship in the head of the bay shows the folly of attempting to ride out the winter gales to which it is exposed; but this may be remedied by a breakwater thrown out from Point Casuarina, of which nature has laid the foundation in the reef that extends out across the bay in the desired direction. The strong outset from the estuary during the rainy season materially lessens the strain upon the cables of ships caught there by a gale. The peculiarity in the formation of this neighbourhood consists in some basaltic columns on the coast close to Point Casuarina.

We devoted the 28th to making observations,* etc.; and I was surprised to find that this part of the coast was laid down four miles too much to the northward.

(*Footnote. These observations were made on the beach, midway between Point Casuarina and the mouth of the estuary, which spot they place in lat.i.tude 33 degrees 19 minutes 10 seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 7 minutes 00 seconds West of Swan River. From a sandhill, 190 feet high, bearing South 11 degrees West, six-tenths of a mile from that spot, I found that the highest part of the Darling Range, Mount William, bore North 40 degrees 6 minutes East thirty-three miles, and was in height 1720 feet; and that Mount Leonard, another excrescence on this range bore South 81 degrees 44 minutes East distant thirteen miles and seven-tenths, and was of an elevation of 1270 feet; whilst the summit of Cape Naturaliste bore South 65 degrees West and the visible extreme South 66 degrees 50 minutes West which confirmed the error I had before remarked in the position a.s.signed it in the chart, being four miles too far north.

All the above bearings are true. The rise of the tide, and the time of high-water, are the same as at Swan River.

ARRIVE AT SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Daylight, on the 29th, found us outside Koombanah Bay, running to the westward before a light land breeze. From the offing, this part of the western sh.o.r.e of the continent was much more prepossessing than any we had before seen. The outline of the Darling Range, here approaching within fourteen miles of the sea, and broken only by Mount Leonard and the gorge of the Harvey, was sharply pencilled against the eastern sky that glowed with the pure light of morning; whilst the country between was clothed with trees of such magnitude that their verdant summits could be seen, over the coast sandhills, stretching away in one sea of foliage as far as the eye could reach.

The course we held led us within five miles of the north side of Naturaliste Reef,* in 29 fathoms; the depth we found sixteen miles west of it was 60 fathoms, and half a mile south of it 26 fathoms. It partakes of the error in lat.i.tude previously discovered in Cape Naturaliste, which is distant sixteen miles, and bears, when over the centre of it, South 2 1/2 degrees West (true).

(*Footnote. A circular patch of breakers half a mile in extent, with, according to report, six and nine feet water on it.)

Being desirous of confirming our meridian distances along the south coast, we visited for the purpose King George's Sound and South Australia, at which latter place we arrived on the morning of January 26th, 1842. Since our former visit, a change had taken place in the governorship of the colony; and though it was with great regret that we learnt Colonel Gawler had left for England, we were glad he had found a worthy successor in our brother explorer Captain Grey.

His Excellency and the merchants expressing a wish that the Beagle should visit the port, no man of war having yet done so; and being anxious myself to examine the capabilities of the place, as well as to complete our survey of twenty-three miles of the eastern sh.o.r.e of Spencer's Gulf, on the afternoon of the 29th the Beagle was running into Port Adelaide.*

The ladies of the Governor, the Surveyor-General, and others, honoured us with their presence on the pa.s.sage round.**

(*Footnote. Besides the light vessel off the bar at Port Adelaide, a flagstaff close to the southward at the pilot station serves to point out the entrance to strangers.)

(**Footnote. I have already given some account of this port; and here, therefore, I need do no more than refer the reader to the accompanying chart.)

PROPOSED RAILROAD.

It was the examination I made on this occasion of Colonel Gawler's excellent road between the port and Adelaide, which convinced me that a portion of it might easily be converted into a railroad, as there is sufficient width for a single line of rails without detracting from its present value. That such an undertaking would prove of great advantage to the colony there can be no doubt; and it is equally certain that it would be profitable to those engaged in it. The exports and imports of South Australia are, year by year, rapidly increasing; and now that its vast mineral resources have been discovered, and are in progress of development, no bounds can be set to its probable wealth and prosperity.

A railroad would be sure to attract a large amount of traffic even at present. As, however, the Port of Adelaide only admits vessels of moderate draught, large ships must discharge part of their cargo outside, or at Holdfast Roads; between which place and Adelaide a railroad might also be carried without any difficulty, there being a complete level the whole way.

VISIT MOUNT BARKER.

Being desirous of seeing a little more of this fertile part of the continent, I left Adelaide accordingly, after sunset, on January 31st, for Mount Barker,* and before sunrise next day visited its summit, nearly 1700 feet high, in order, if possible, to obtain a view in the clear atmosphere of early morning of Lake Alexandrina, or Victoria, and the river Murray. In this, however, I was disappointed, the weather being hazy in that direction, so that nothing could be seen but the extensive scrub on the eastern side of the river, stretching away like a brown-coloured sea. Mount Barker, which may be recognised by a saddle-shaped hill to the south of it, lies about thirty miles South-East by East from Adelaide; the latter part of the road between is hilly; from its foot a strip of very rich land, about one mile wide and three long, extends to the south-west, in the direction of Willunga, on our way to which I noticed several similar blocks. Following the southerly course of the Finnis, at that time a dry rich flat, we entered a hilly picturesque country with deep fertile valleys. Tracks of wild cattle were numerous on the ridges, but we saw none, and were again disappointed by the haze that prevailed throughout the day, of a view of the surrounding country. In the evening we reached Willunga, distant thirty-five miles from Mount Barker; though sight-seeing had taken us, during the day, over fifty miles of country. This township is prettily situated at the western foot of the hills on a woodland slope, bordered by the waters of the Gulf, at a distance of about six miles.

(*Footnote. Named after the unfortunate Captain Barker by his friend Captain Sturt.)

ENCOUNTER BAY.

Our party was to have been here joined by Governor Grey, who, however, did not arrive till late next morning; when, after examining the slate quarries in the neighbourhood, where the cleavage and quality equalled any I have seen in Wales, we left for Encounter Bay, bearing nearly south-east. The first three miles of the road lay over stony ridges; and the next eighteen traversed the worst part of the province, a sandy, scrubby, slightly undulating country, about five hundred feet above the sea. We were glad to find ourselves descending from this wearisome sterile tract upon some rich flats at the head of the river Hindmarsh, named after the first governor of the colony. These we followed four miles in a South-South-East direction, where meeting the river, its tortuous course led to the southward for about five miles. Where it joins the sea, in the north-western corner of Encounter Bay, a township, also named Hindmarsh, had been laid out, which will, doubtless, be a pleasant summer residence, as we felt a great change in the temperature; indeed the evening was quite bleak, with a moderate breeze from seaward.

I was naturally much interested in this part of my journey, being anxious to see if the shelter here existing merited the name, given in the chart, of Victor Harbour; but the only protection, excepting for a small vessel in the north-west corner, and from northerly and westerly winds, is under a little island, where it is possible one or two vessels may lie. From Hindmarsh I saw the entrance of Lake Alexandrina, among some sandhills at the entrance of which Captain Barker was murdered by the natives; a circ.u.mstance which gave rise to the name of Encounter Bay, and attached a melancholy interest to the spot.

NATIVE MODE OF FISHING.

Here for the first time, I met a Murray River native among a party of others. He was certainly the finest Australian in make I had ever seen, being robust and stout, like a South Sea Islander. A German Missionary, who had a native school at Hindmarsh, took us to see a curious method of catching fish resorted to at this place, which, as it has not been noticed by Mr. Eyre, I shall describe. A party of natives, each provided with a large square piece of net, rolled up, with a stick at either end, swam out to a certain distance from sh.o.r.e, and spread themselves into a semicircle. Every man then relinquished one of the sticks round which his piece of net was rolled, to his right-hand neighbour, and received another from his left; when, bringing the two together, a great seine was formed. They now swam in, followed by other natives, who, by throwing stones and splashing the water, frightened the fish, and prevented them from getting out.

VISIT RAPID BAY.

Leaving Encounter Bay, we for some distance followed the left bank of the Inman, when the road turned off to the westward. The country was good in patches, till we made a cattle-station of Mr. Hacks, near Yankalilla Bay; when, instead of a succession of forested hills and dales, we pa.s.sed over extensive treeless downs, contrasting strikingly in appearance with the woody country around. Here we pitched our tents for the night: and next morning were deprived of the company of His Excellency, who was obliged to return to Adelaide; whilst Messrs. Macfarlane, Burr, and myself, who were mounted from the station, went to Rapid Bay, lying about fifteen miles South-West by West. As there was some difficulty in catching the horses, it was 10 A.M. before we got away. I was by no means pleased with my mount; I had suspected that all was not right by an exchange of looks, I caught the overseer and stockman indulging in, as I threw my leg over as ugly a hammer-headed, standing-over brute as ever man crossed; but with the aid of a severe bit and a sharp pair of spurs I kept him alive, and he only came down twice during the journey, which, although over a very hilly country, was performed in four hours. After taking some refreshment, we started at 4 P.M. for Adelaide, distant nearly sixty miles.

MOUNT TERRIBLE.

We crossed the Myponga; and led our horses down a winding path on the almost precipitous side of Mount Terrible, well worthy its name, just as the sun was shedding his last rays over the waters of the Gulf, that stretched away westward, apparently, from our feet; the white sails of a coaster here and there dotting the blue expanse. Hitherto the road had been over a succession of hills and dales, with occasionally a patch of pretty scenery; but from the foot of Mount Terrible a level, lightly-timbered piece of country extended to the Unkaparinga, which we crossed, pa.s.sing through the township of Noarlinga, on its north bank.

After stopping to bait the horses, we continued our ride; but it was now so very dark that I lost all the beauty of this part of the country, and from the undulations in the road I could easily imagine that many a pretty glen was veiled from us by the darkness. Getting off the track, we became entangled among some high five-railed fences, from which we were extricated by the sagacity of my horse, belonging to the mounted police; on being given his head, he soon brought us back upon the road to Adelaide, where we arrived about midnight, having ridden, since 10 A.M., nearly ninety miles. We had scarcely reached the town before a hot wind set in, which lasted forty-eight hours, when a squall from seaward relieved the gasping inhabitants: at one time the thermometer at the public offices was 158 degrees.

SAIL FROM SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

We sailed from South Australia on February 7th, but it was not until the forenoon of the 9th that we cleared Backstairs Pa.s.sage, pa.s.sing half a mile from the reef fronting the east end of Kangaroo Island, in 16 fathoms; the south-eastern part of this island is a steep rocky sh.o.r.e, with few sinuosities. Southerly winds brought us in sight of the land at daylight on the 11th. The most remarkable features were Mounts Gambier and Schanck; the summit of the latter, the least conspicuous, is flat, with a hollow in the centre. According to my observations, it is in longitude 10 degrees 29 minutes West of Sydney. The ship's position, just before dark, was ten miles North 65 degrees West from Cape Bridgewater, which is a hummocky cliff-faced point of land, separated from the main by a low neck.

ARRIVE AT PORTLAND BAY.

February 12.

Finding ourselves still off this part of the coast, which was laid down three miles too much to the northward, I resolved, for the better means of determining this fact by observations on sh.o.r.e, to go to the nearest anchorage, Portland Bay, where we arrived in the evening. I had another object in visiting this place, namely, that of helping to determine the 141st meridian, which had been fixed on as the western boundary of the colony of New South Wales.

The approach to this anchorage is remarkable, and cannot escape the memory of anyone who has seen it; for the information of those who have not, I give a woodcut.*

(*Footnote. Lawrence Isles lie off the point forming the south side of Portland Bay.)

Our anchorage was in 7 fathoms, midway between the bluff on either side of the settlement, which we were surprised to find had already a.s.sumed the appearance of a town, lying in the western corner of the bay, on a sloping gra.s.sy bank.

Here I met Mr. C.J. Tyers, government surveyor, who had laid out the township of Portland. As he had also made an accurate survey of the Bay, little remained for us except to test its qualities, which the prevalence of easterly winds gave us an opportunity of doing. They at first caused a little anxiety, as the anchorage was exposed in this quarter; but this feeling rapidly subsided on our discovering the excellence of the holding ground--mud with a coating of sand, out of which we had some difficulty in weighing our anchors.

NEW SOUTH WALES BOUNDARY. SQUATTERS.

At Portland I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Stephen Henty,* the leader of an enterprising family who had been the hardy pioneers of civilization, in discovering and laying open the fertile districts of this part of the continent, and under whose fostering care Portland has risen from a mere whaling station to its present prosperity.

Such being the case, it is with regret that I am obliged to say that Mr.

Henty received no consideration from Government when the land was put up for sale, being obliged to bid against the public for ground he had brought under notice, and spent years of labour in getting into cultivation.**

(*Footnote. My observations refer to this gentleman's new house, which they place in lat.i.tude 38 degrees 20 minutes 45 seconds South and longitude 9 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds West of Sydney, by satisfactory meridian distances to the latter place, and from South Australia.

Preferring Mr. Tyers' difference of longitude by triangulation to the east entrance point of the Glenelg River, 37 minutes 29 seconds, which is 1 minute 27 seconds more than his chronometric measurement; the mouth of the Glenelg will be 10 degrees 13 minutes 51 seconds West of Sydney. By Mr. Tyers' triangulation, calculated by Captain Owen Stanley from Port Phillip, Batman's Hill, with my longitude of the latter 6 degrees 16 minutes 17 seconds West of Sydney, the Glenelg is West of Sydney 10 degrees 14 minutes 02 seconds, which is 57 seconds less than Mr. Tyers'

calculation. The longitude of Sydney, by different observers, ranges between 151 degrees 12 minutes 0 seconds and 151 degrees 17 minutes 0 seconds; but, as I myself believe 151 degrees 16 minutes to be within a minute of the truth, the Glenelg will, accordingly, by my observations be in 141 degrees 02 minutes 09 seconds East and therefore within the New South Wales territory, the limit of which it had been supposed to mark.

If the 141st degree had been selected as the boundary of the colony, with reference to the longitude of Sydney, there would not be much difficulty attending its determination.)

(**Footnote. The squatter, who often at great risk locates himself in a remote spot, and renders such essential service to the mother country by finding new lands, yea new homes, for the surplus population, merits much greater encouragement than he receives, particularly in instances similar to that of Mr. Henty, whose station at Portland was, for years, hundreds of miles removed from other occupied parts. This gentleman's case makes it clear at once that something ought to be done for the squatter. His comfortable house and garden he was obliged to leave to make room for a street of the new township; but this would not have been very hard had he been given an allotment in lieu; which, however, as I have stated, was not done; and he was compelled to witness the labour of his hands entirely swept away, and found himself, after years of toil, placed exactly in the same position with those who came to enjoy the fruits of his enterprise.

But the greatest hardship sustained by the squatter is the Special Survey system, according to which, anyone desirous to become a purchaser to the extent of twenty thousand acres may choose his land where he pleases. A party clubs together and finds out spots, that have been improved by squatters, with a view of purchasing them when able; many of these are often included in one special survey block: and even if the squatter is able to purchase the rich and hardly-won small patch he occupies, the special survey party, generally a knot of jobbers, have the preference.

This is apparently for the benefit of the crown, twenty thousand pounds being thus added to the revenue under the pound per acre system; but it is certainly not advantageous to the country, as the large purchasers seldom buy for occupation, but for sale; and the smallholder, the squatter, is driven from the land in distress. I have seen instances of persons being utterly ruined in this way. My own opinion is, that the squatter ought to be allowed to purchase the land he occupies by private contract from government; or that an allowance should be made him, equivalent to his improvements.)

The detention we had experienced afforded me an opportunity of visiting the country; and having just seen between two and three hundred miles of the Province of South Australia, I was glad of the chance of comparing these two parts of the continent. Accordingly, after making a series of magnetical observations, and others for the errors of the chronometers, I left Portland one morning in company with Mr. Tyers. Taking Mr. Henty's road to the northward we soon pa.s.sed the rich land surrounding Portland, and entered a stringybark forest, eight miles in extent. Then crossing a heathy tract we came to the Fitzroy, distant fifteen miles from Portland.

Here, as elsewhere, the presence of water improves the soil, for along the banks of the river there was some good land. This was also the case near a hill just beyond it, called Mount Eckersley. where I saw Sir Thomas Mitch.e.l.l's initials cut in a tree at the time when he explored this country, and found to his surprise that Mr. Henty had a station in Portland Bay.

EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR.

With the exception of the flats near the Crawford, twenty miles from the Fitzroy, the road lies through a poor country, until it approaches Mr. J.

Henty's station, fifteen miles further. Here we appeared to have turned our backs on the bad land; and entered a tract of country in which the herbage is so excellent that an acre is capable of feeding one sheep, whereas in other parts three or four are required.