The Murray River, by Arthur Kinloch: a Project Gutenberg eBook

TO
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR HENRY EDWARD FOX YOUNG, KNIGHT,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA,
WHO HAS KINDLY AUTHORISED
MY PUBLICATION OF A JOURNAL OF THE EXPEDITION ON THE MURRAY,
I RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATE THIS SHORT NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE
OF THE
FIRST STEAMER ON THE WATERS OF THAT NOBLE RIVER.

PREFACE.

Lest this description of the River Murray should appear in some points to differ from the accounts of other travellers, it may be necessary to observe that the present little work is merely a Journal or daily record of what the writer observed during his voyage up the River, which was at the time considerably flooded, though it had not then attained its highest elevation, which occurs about December.

The English reader may also bear in mind that rivers in England are not the scale whereby to estimate the streams of other portions of the globe, or even of Europe, and that some of the larger rivers of that Continent are in like manner subject to the vicissitudes of dry seasons and partial floods.

This occurs particularly in Spain and in the South of France, as, for example, in the Rhone, which is materially influenced by the seasons in its volume of water.

In more tropical climes the difference is still greater; thus, the rise of the Nile is sometimes not less than thirty-eight feet, that of the Euphrates twelve feet, that of the Tigris twenty feet; whilst in India the large rivers are also increased or diminished in a considerable degree during the dry and wet seasons.

The English reader, therefore, the writer would again repeat, should not be surprised at hearing of the easy navigability of the greatest Australian river, or wonder that other works have stated the stream of the Murray as quite insignificant and ill adapted for steamers.

The voyage of the Lady Augusta steamer has proved the fact of the navigation being open for at least six months during a very dry season, and no doubt can exist that in ordinary years the River Murray may be used by steamers for at least seven months.

A system of embankments and occasional canals at a more distant day, when labour shall become abundant, will probably lay open the course of the river for a still longer period, although the present navigability has been deemed sufficient for all immediate purposes of traffic.

The first Navigators by Steam of the River Murray; or, a List of the Passengers, Officers, and Crew of the “Lady Augusta” Steamer and the “Eureka” Barge.

JOURNAL
OF
VOYAGE ON THE MURRAY.

Amongst the anomalies which may be said to distinguish the continent of Australia from other inhabited portions of the globe, not the least remarkable perhaps has been the almost unnoticed existence of one of the longest and most navigable rivers in the world. This river is the Murray, which, deriving its sources from the deep gorges over which Mount Kosciusko, the loftiest of the Australian Alps, rears its snowy crest, pursues its placid course for upwards of two thousand[2] miles through the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, until, losing its channel in the broad but shallow Lake Alexandrina, it eventually finds a passage for its waters through the boisterous surges which beat upon the shores of Encounter Bay. This great stream, exceeding in the extent of its course the Ganges, the Indus, or the La Plata, three of the longest rivers in the world, and with thrice the development of the Rhine, the Rhone, or the Elbe, is fed also by tributaries, which, in magnitude and, during certain seasons, in navigability, may not be much inferior to those European streams. These are the Darling, the Lachlan, and the Murrumbidgee; of which the first, rising in the vicinity of Moreton Bay, in about latitude 28° and longitude 152° 30′ (and with tributaries reaching almost to the tropic), after stretching for about half its course, or near one thousand miles, in a west and south-west direction, descends at length to join its waters with the Murray, in latitude 34° 10′ and longitude 142°.

The second, the Lachlan, rising in the Blue Mountains, near Bathurst, trends to the north-west, but eventually unites with the main river, about 200 miles in a south-easterly direction from the junction of the Darling, and after having been previously swelled by the waters of the Murrumbidgee for a distance of 150 miles. This last river, which issues not far from the Maneroo Plains, east of the Australian Alps, at a point more distant still than the sources 6 of the Murray, has a tortuous course in a westerly direction for many hundred miles, with a stream described by Captain Sturt as rapid and impetuous until its junction with the Lachlan, in longitude 144° 20′. If it should prove navigable by steam, the advantages that would accrue to the adjacent province could hardly be inferior to those anticipated from the opening of the water communications of the Murray.

In addition to the streams which thus increase the waters of the Murray throughout its sinuous course, it enumerates among its tributaries many rivers which, from their length, if not from the varied country they traverse, cannot but be deemed interesting, if not important. Such are the Lodden, Campaspe, Goulburn, Mitta-Mitta, Ovens, and others, including the Lindesay, first noticed by Captain Sturt, and which, passing through much auriferous country, severally and conjointly water about two-thirds of the province of Victoria, or a superficial extent of more than 50,000 square miles.

Independent, moreover, of these minor affluents which swell the drainage amount of the river Murray—a basin stretching from near the 25th to the 36th parallel of latitude, and from the 139th to beyond the 152nd degree of east longitude, an estimated extent of 540,600 square miles,[3] or nearly seven times the superficial extent of Great Britain—there exists in close connection with the main stream a network of rivers which may perhaps have been destined to fulfil those purposes which the vagaries of Nature have transferred to the parent river. These are denominated the Edward, Logan, Wakool, and Neimur Rivers; which, having a more direct course than the Murray itself, would, but for their unfortunate termination, after some hundred miles in a shallow creek, at no very distant period, have proved themselves of inestimable value to the internal prosperity of the adjacent provinces. As it is, nothing but a superabundant population will probably succeed in turning these streams to a useful or, at least, a navigable end.

The Murray, thus combining within its basin nearly the entire drainage of the province of Victoria, with a large portion of that of New South Wales, and much of the eastern part of South Australia, appears to have been unknown to British Colonists before 1830, when Captain Charles Sturt, of the 39th Regiment—one of the most ardent and intrepid explorers the world has ever seen—whilst tracing the source, or rather course, of the Murrumbidgee, by order of the Sydney Government, came upon this noble river; to which, in honour of the then Colonial Secretary, the distinguished Sir George Murray, he gave its present name. His party, on this occasion, consisted, himself included, of no more than eight individuals, a portion of whom were convict prisoners, the main body of the expedition having been left 7 (January 7th) in depôt at the Murrumbidgee, with instructions to repair, after a few days’ delay, to the Goulburn Plains, from whence a communication might be maintained with Sydney. Captain Sturt’s means of transport were comprised in a whale boat and small skiff, built in seven days on the Murrumbidgee, and with these means and a stock of provisions barely sufficient, it afterwards appeared, for subsistence, this determined man did not hesitate to follow the course of the Murray to its mouth; this, after many obstacles, in the Murrumbidgee, from the “snags” or sunken logs with which it was encumbered, and, at that season, it appears from the rapidity of the current, and in the main river (which averaged 200 yards in breadth) from the unequivocally hostile demeanour of the numerous tribes of natives encountered on its banks, he reached in thirty-two days, from the depôt. Thence, after traversing the broad but shallow lake in which the Murray terminates before reaching the sea, finding it useless to attempt to force a passage in his frail boat through the dangerous navigation of the sea mouth, or hopeless of any advantage to his party, even were it effected, he took the decided, though perhaps inevitable, course of retracing his steps up the stream and thus returning to the depôt of his party; who, he conceived, would then be in search of him. With an aching heart, but a firm will, as Captain Sturt himself relates, was this resolution carried into effect, and after thirty-nine days from the sea, on the very day his stock of flour had failed him, and when his party were all but incapable of further exertion, he fell in with his people, who had been summoned to his aid by two of the heroic crew who had shared his dangers and privations; and whom, as a last resource, he had dispatched to seek the depôt.

The length of the water passage thus effected was eighty-eight days; and Capt. Sturt estimated the distance traversed on the different rivers at 2,000 miles, during which, with the exception of the timber on the Murrumbidgee, and the rare occurrence of a sandspit on the main stream, no obstacle to steam navigation was discovered. The official report was forwarded to Sydney, and published by the Government, and is to be found appended to Capt. Sturt’s own narrative of his adventurous voyage.[4] No steps, however, appear to have been taken by those in authority to render available the great discovery which the energies of this brave man had thus rendered patent to all.

At length, in the year 1850, Sir Henry Young, the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, an officer of enlarged ideas and considerable knowledge of geographical subjects, acquired during a lengthened service in many parts of the world, appears to have taken up the matter, and brought it before the Colonial Legislature. 8 In September and October, 1850, accompanied by the Surveyor-General of the Province, and some friends, including ladies, His Excellency ascended the Murray as far as its confluence with the Darling, or above 600 miles, and found it navigable with ease throughout that extent, with a breadth varying from 180 to 300 yards, and a depth of water of from two to four and even five fathoms. The project, in the mean time, had been opposed by the Legislative Council; who, actuated, it would seem, by mistaken views of the real interests of the Colony, objected especially to the appropriation of £20,000 from the Land Fund, in the construction of a tramline to connect the Murray at the Goolwa with the conveniences of the harbour at Port Elliot—a distance of nearly eight miles. Sir Henry Young was, however, fortunate enough to obtain the approbation of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the proposed scheme, as also the general good opinion of the Colony in favour of the Murray navigation; whilst, with regard to interference with the supply of labour, as alleged by the opponents of the project, the recorded opinion of Earl Grey, that “the execution of the work could not fail to promote the sale, at an enhanced price, of the land benefitted by the proposed communication,” must have been particularly gratifying to His Excellency. Moreover, as His Lordship observed, “the funds applicable to the purposes of emigration would assuredly be increased, and labour itself economised by providing for a more expeditious and less costly mode of conveying produce to a place of shipment, from an extensive and important district.”

The necessity of the harbour at Port Elliot arises from the difficulty of navigating the Murray sea-mouth at all times or seasons; nor, indeed, is it probable that any undertaking will thoroughly overcome this obstacle, until a crowded population or an overflowing treasury shall be enabled to cope with the difficulty by concentrating the waters of the Murray in a narrow and more rapid channel in place of their, at present, vague and diffused passage over the broad but shallow surface of Lake Alexandrina. A natural breakwater has rendered the formation of the port in this locality inexpensive; but to be perfectly secure in all winds, the barrier against the sea should be extended by a further addition to the present ridge of rocks, in the shape of a breakwater arm. Labour is, however, at present so costly, that no likelihood exists of this purpose being speedily effected. An application to the Admiralty for the assistance of a man of war’s crew in the formation of a secure port at a point likely soon to become of considerable importance, might perhaps be deemed irregular: though with the existing dearth of labour, if likely to be attended with success, it were well worthy the consideration of the Executive. Indeed, it may here, en passant, be observed that, in all human probability, the day is not far distant when to the exertions of the sister services of 9 the Mother Country—the British Army and Navy—Australia must owe the greatest and most beneficial changes her destinies have as yet demanded.

As to the tramline to connect Port Elliot with the Goolwa, it will probably be finished in less than six months’ time; and at a total cost, all necessary expenses included, of about £23,000.

To return to the more immediate subject of the Murray navigation. The descent of this river was partially effected from the township of Albury, situated 400 miles south-west from Sydney, by Mr. Richard Gerstacker, in a gum-tree canoe, at a time when “the stream was lower than ever it had been since the white man approached its banks.” Mr. Gerstacker, whose progress was stopped by the sinking of his canoe on a “snag,” informs us that he left Albury, on the 5th May, 1851, in a gum-tree canoe, drawing about eleven inches water; and that throughout the distance he accomplished, there would have been water for three or four inches further draught. The river, however, being unusually low, the stream appeared filled with “snags,” or dead gum trees, some of which obstruct the navigation to such a degree that steam power would be necessary to dislodge them. Below the Murrumbidgee these impediments, the writer reports, for the most part ceased, and after the junction of the Darling scarcely one was to be seen; whilst the sharp bends, so embarrassing to steam navigation, were no longer met with—the river, though tortuous, offering wide sweeps which afford plenty of “sea room” in mid-channel, even for steamers of considerable size. Sandbanks, however, occasionally occurred up to the North-west Bend, but not in mid-channel.

Mr. Gerstacker, whilst confessedly unacquainted with the resources of the Murray district, or the probable requirements of the settlers on its banks, is yet of opinion that the navigation of the river would be the means of drawing a largely increasing population to the Murray, not to say, the probable cause of augmenting in an incredible degree the zeal and efforts of the present inhabitants, no longer left in a state of isolation and comparative abandonment. Moreover, it may be added, the dray journeys for the transport of wool, produce, and supplies, being not only most tedious, but beset with difficulties, considerable returns for goods and passengers would be the certain result of a regular water communication.[5] Mr. Gerstacker, after referring to the energetic efforts which, in North America, have cleared almost impassable streams from the impediments of fallen timber, &c., concludes by saying, that except in an extraordinarily dry season, even the upper part of the Hume, or Upper Murray, as far as Albury, usually contains sufficient water, during eight months of the year, to float boats drawing four or five 10 feet; but he leaves it to those acquainted with the resources of the country bordering these rivers to decide whether sufficient remuneration would be afforded to steamers thus accomplishing the navigation.

The favourable statements of many settlers on the Murray might be added to the statements of Mr. Gerstacker, but the question has now received a more direct solution by the successful voyage of the Lady Augusta steamer; before narrating which, some retrospective glance is perhaps requisite.

The opposition in the Legislative Council of South Australia to the immediate navigation of the Murray and the consequent outlay at Port Elliot and the Goolwa appears, after a time, to have ceased; and in June, 1851, a premium of £4,000 was offered by the Legislature to the first and second iron steamboats of not less than forty horse power, or more than two feet draught of water, which should succeed in navigating the Murray from the Goolwa to, at least, the junction of the Darling. This liberal offer, it seems, however, was not taken up, possibly from the difficulty of providing boats of the requisite material, and the Murray navigation was apparently deferred sine die. At length, Captain Francis Cadell, formerly commander of the Queen of Sheba and the Cleopatra steamer (1,500 tons), entered into the matter with an evident determination to carry it through. He laid on a small steamer at Sydney, of above eighty tons burthen, forty horse power, and three feet draught of water when loaded[6]—proposed to the Legislature of South Australia to carry his boat through the sea mouth—to navigate the river to the Darling (600 miles) twelve times in the year; or to perform six trips as far as Swan Hill, a distance of 1,250 miles from the sea. For the first performance he was to receive £500; for the passage up to the Darling, £1,000; and for the subsequent eleven or six trips, a further sum of £1,000—the whole in quarterly payments. These terms, proposed by himself, having been recommended to Sir Henry Young by an address from the Legislative Council, were approved of by His Excellency, who gave his assent to the apportionment of the stipulated premium for the prescribed object.

Captain Cadell then proceeded to the river, carrying with him 11 from Melbourne a canvas boat, twenty-one feet in length and three in breadth, which, on arrival at Swan Hill, he put together, and having obtained a crew of four returning diggers, dropped down the Murray, and after visiting every station and ascertaining the probable traffic to be derived from each, in the matter of wool, produce, rations, stores, &c., reached the Goolwa in twenty-one days. There he arranged the construction of a small vessel of about 100 tons capacity, to accompany, as a lighter, the little steamer Lady Augusta, which in July, 1853, was navigated round from Sydney, by Mr. Davidson, formerly master of the Hawk schooner; and, indeed, not the least extraordinary portion of this undertaking has been the voyage in midwinter by so small a vessel, of nearly 1,100 miles, through a sea at all times boisterous, and often most adverse even to the best and most weatherly craft. The round-house which occupies three-fourths of the Augusta’s deck, renders her on this account by no means fitted for the open sea; whilst it affords admirable accommodation on board for sixteen cabin passengers, including ladies, for whom a commodious after-cabin has been reserved.

These preliminary matters having been duly arranged, and the Lady Augusta pushed through the sea-mouth by Captain Cadell, a party including His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, some Members of the Legislative Council, with ladies and other friends, was arranged to accompany the meditated expedition up the Murray, which, the return voyage included, it was supposed would occupy about five weeks.

August the 19th, accordingly, His Excellency, accompanied by Mr. J. Grainger, of the Legislative Council, and the writer, left Adelaide to ride to the Goolwa, a distance from the capital of rather more than sixty miles. The road—generally indifferent, after ascending some fine open downs—passes through Noarlunga, on the Onkaparinga, a thriving and most promising township; and the first day’s halt took place at Willunga. This is one of the prettiest spots in the province, and well adapted to become, at a future and not very distant day, the resort of those inhabitants of Adelaide, who shall have the good taste or the leisure to exchange the dust, the heat, and the glare of a provincial town for the pleasing verdure of a country scene, rendered here particularly attractive by park-like glades and a charming sea-view.

A new inn would, however, be required; the accommodation of the “Bush” being quite insufficient for the traffic. On this occasion, the house being otherwise occupied, His Excellency took up his quarters for the night at Mr. Kell’s; Mr. Grainger finding a bed with the clergyman of the district, a Mr. Burnett.

A few miles beyond Willunga, the country is of the richest description, combining the most attractive forest scenery with far extended land and sea views. From thence onward, however, it 12 deteriorates sadly, terminating in that dreary expanse of bush and sand, which is here denominated “scrub.” Descending to the Encounter Bay coast, a slight improvement takes place; and after emerging on the tract of land, over which runs the new tramline from Port Elliot to the Goolwa, some excellent pasture appears, which must soon assume a valuable character in connexion with the River Murray and the works in progress in this district. His Excellency repaired at once on board the Lady Augusta, which we reached about three p. m., there to await the arrival of Captain Cadell and party, who were to come down the following day and be present at the launching of the Eureka, as the new vessel built on the Goolwa by Messrs. Wisby (two brothers), formerly the carpenters of the Cleopatra steamer, had been styled. Some delay, however, occurring with regard to this ceremony, Sir Henry Young repaired to the house of Mr. Laurie, the harbour agent at Port Elliot, where, with Mr. Grainger, he remained some days. The launch commenced on the 23rd; but, rather to the disappointment of the young lady destined to perform the bottle-breaking ceremony, and with the expenditure of some pretty tri-coloured silk, the Eureka[7] was only finally brought alongside the steamer on the morning of the 24th.

On the evening of the 25th, the Lady Augusta, with a full complement of passengers, and including the Eureka, which was towed alongside, an aggregate number of forty-three persons, steamed off from the Goolwa Jetty, amidst the cheers of the assembled settlers of the district, many of whom had traversed long distances to witness the departure of the first steamer on the waters of the Murray.

It was calculated that 300 persons were present at the launch; and, previous to the departure of the boat, a déjeûner, by a large and respectable number of the community, had been given to Captain Cadell, in honour of the enterprise he had engaged in, and as a mark of the sense entertained by the public of the zeal and energy with which he had carried on his measures.

To particularize the features of this trip by a diary of the daily proceedings on board, or by the diurnal progress of the little vessel against the stream, would be tedious and uninteresting. Comprising good cheer in abundance, and, with hardly the exception of an unfavourable day, unvaried fine weather, our passage up the river could not afford much scope to the imagination, or offer a prolific subject even to the highest descriptive powers.

The Murray is a noble stream; but, at the present day, not a particularly interesting, or, at any rate, a highly picturesque river. The banks throughout are pretty, sometimes even romantic, but from the sameness of the forest trees—consisting chiefly of gum tree glades—and the expanse of flooded surface through which, at this season, the vessel passed, the scenery cannot but be regarded as generally tame. The reaches, nevertheless, at times are fine, and, here and there, cliffs of moderate height, varied colours, and perhaps grotesque shape, occur to break the monotony of an otherwise interminable flat. The volume of water rolled down by the Murray is imposing, the breadth of the stream after passing Lake Alexandrina (a sheet of water about thirty miles in length and twenty-five in breadth), averaging from 150 to 300 yards; the current is ordinarily from two to three knots per hour; and the course of the river, after the first 250 miles, tortuous in the extreme. The steamer generally came to anchor in the evening, about nine or ten o’clock; and started in the morning, before dawn. Wood had been provided, at certain stations, by previous arrangement; at other points, parties from the vessel went ashore to provide fuel, the consumption of which averaged about three fourths of a ton per hour. It took 168 hours steaming to reach the Darling, where we arrived at midnight, on the 6th of September, under sail and steam; the distance being calculated at about 650 miles from the Goolwa. On the point of reaching this station, we managed to upset a native canoe or “mungo,” propelled by a black and his “lubra,” or spouse. The former scrambled up the vessel, but the female was compelled to swim to the shore. The man being asked why he had not attempted to assist his dusky helpmate, answered, with the utmost composure, “Plenty cold; black lubra walk well!” So much for native gallantry. The blacks on the Murray are not now so numerous as formerly, infanticide prevailing among them, it is said, to a great extent; indeed, we observed but one child in our passage up to the Murrumbidgee.

The principal stations, up to this point of the voyage, had been Mr. Mason’s, Wellington; Mr. Walsh’s; Mr. Scott’s, Moorundee; Messrs. Chambers’, Wigley’s, Chapmans’, Moruna, the Jackson’s (commonly called Bob and Harry’s), and the inn at the Darling (McLeod’s). Here blacks were generally found in greater or less numbers; and, as far as we could learn, they had everywhere proved of service to the settlers. They are protected by the Government, and to a certain extent fed and clothed; but the issues of blankets and flour, in South Australia at least, are as yet too scanty. Several of these people were taken by Captain Cadell up the river, to assist his crew in procuring fuel, and they proved useful and obliging upon these occasions.

No accident, save the temporary indisposition of some of the ladies of our party, and Captain Davidson’s unfortunate entanglement of his foot in the machinery, occurred to interrupt the serenity of our voyage; some atrocities, however, committed by the natives upon white men, had, it appeared, disturbed the tranquillity of the river. Mr. Scott, the Government officer from Moorundee, we found, had been in pursuit of some of these malefactors, and from this gentleman, whom with his brother we encountered at Chapman’s Station (Paringa), we learned that one of these natives had been wounded desperately in an attempt to escape from the police; and that another had been killed by the settlers, whilst endeavouring to arrest him. A third, captured by one of the Adelaide police, we conveyed to the Darling, where he was handed over to Mr. Fletcher, a Magistrate of New South Wales[8], whose professional services (for he had formerly been a medical practitioner) had been called in request on Mr. Davidson’s account. This gentleman, who lived fifteen miles from McLeod’s, where a tolerable inn and some good horses were discovered, was sent for at His Excellency’s request, and in obeying the requisition unfortunately received a fall from his horse, which, though inflicting no severer injury than a bruised forehead and face, must have been sufficiently annoying to spoil the pleasure which, in common with all other settlers upon the river, he evidently derived at the arrival of the steamer. His services, I may also mention, were called into play by the sudden illness of one of the ladies of our party, whose rashness in bathing, at an early or unseasonable hour appears to have been followed by serious though brief indisposition. Mr. Fletcher spoke with some degree of feeling of a barbarous murder committed by a black, about ten days before, upon a white man, whose horse he had undertaken to guide through a ford. Indeed, these acts of reiterated villany call for the active interference of the Sydney authorities.

The land on the Murray to this point (the Darling) is all occupied, chiefly by large stock proprietors or squatters; for agriculture, whether on account of the excessive dryness of the soil, or for want of labour, appears little attended to. The settlers seem to want energy in their pursuits, but perhaps the badness of the communications hitherto with a market, and the uncertain tenure of their runs, may explain their inactivity. Irrigation and embankment could not fail to improve the land, but if there existed no means of disposing of produce, it is easily imagined why these labours have not been tried.

On this subject, or rather with regard to the present system of land allotment, I may here observe, that His Excellency, after proclaiming, as the “Hundred of the Murray,” the two miles 15 frontage on each bank, proposes to offer for public sale blocks of land of from ten to 640 acres, granting to the occupiers a commonage in rear of their property for pastoral purposes. It is probable that such an alteration in the existing system of leases may induce a larger proportion of settlers to look to the Murray for their locations.

With respect to the much-engrossing pursuit of gold digging, which now occupies so large a portion of the population of these two Provinces (Victoria and New South Wales), it would seem that further discoveries are likely to take place. A Mr. Paterson, or a Mr. Walsh (I am not certain of the name), who visited us at the Darling, mentioned as a fact that a nugget of three or four ounces weight had been picked up on the upper Darling, by one of the settlers, in the ranges which abut on that river, and as quartz hills exist still further back, it is not improbable that considerable gold deposits may be found in these localities.

The animal and vegetable kingdom of the Murray is apparently not productive in uncommon or very peculiar productions. Of the four-footed inhabitants of the bush, up to this point of our trip (the vicinity of the Thirteen Lakes[9]), I have heard of none being seen by our party, save and except one solitary kangaroo. Ducks and quail are abundant; the former comprising the musk, black, and wood duck, teal, and widgeon. These are netted by the natives with considerable success; the plan of action being, I understood, to spread the nets over the mouths of the creeks or brooks, and then drive the birds towards them. Wild turkeys are said to be plentiful near the lakes, which are numerous on some parts of the banks, but none have as yet been seen. The white cockatoos are numerous, and occasionally a pretty parroquet has been observed. These, with pelicans, cranes, and sometimes, though rarely, a swan, comprise the chief portion of the feathered inhabitants of the Murray and its banks, but very small birds, unknown by name to those on board, have been also seen.[10] The fish of the Murray consist chiefly of the cod, perch, and cray fish, with a few small turtles, and, in the adjoining lakes, a kind of smelt. The cod is of large size and weight, and well tasted. The most delicate fish is, however, found in the Darling—the name I could not gather.

The timber on the Murray is almost entirely confined to the gum, of which there are three varieties—the white, red, and flooded; and occasionally a few pines. Edible roots are found by the natives, and comprise a considerable portion of their food; but the only fruit, as far as I could learn, in use amongst the whites, is that called the “quandong”—a species of wild peach, which is largely used as a preserve. Wild flowers are generally abundant.

At MacLeod’s we embarked some cargo for Mildura; and several natives were taken on board, and one woman whose conjugal affection seemed very prominent. The males were, many of them, fine tall men, with very muscular limbs, huge beards, and unsightly countenances. It is a pity the Governments of the respective provinces, which occasionally issue blankets and rations to the Aborigines, do not extend their protecting cares still further. A supply of clothing, however scanty—were it only a long blue shirt—would be a blessing to these poor savages, who appear at times to suffer considerably from the keen cold air of the Australian wilderness; nor would it, we may presume, render them less disposed to the ameliorating influences of civilization and mental improvement.

In South Australia, considerable progress has been made in the intellectual and moral training of these degraded people, which has been chiefly owing to the exertions and indefatigable zeal of Archdeacon Hale, at Port Lincoln, where the seminary for their instruction exists. Many failures, of course, have taken place, particularly amongst the females; some of whom, after serving as domestics for several years, apparently most contented with their lot, have suddenly disappeared from their houses to seek refuge in the woods, and then relapse into their pristine barbarism—nature is invincible, it would seem.

From the Darling junction our course was marked by as few incidents as had hitherto fallen to our lot. I find my daily memoranda somewhat to the following effect:—

Wednesday, September 7th.—Left the Darling, which we found a fine broad stream with considerable depth of water,[11] after having taken in a large quantity of very indifferent wood—the steaming, in consequence, slow.

During the night and following morning, heavy rain fell, penetrating even to the interior of the cabin, probably owing to the excessive dryness of the decks, caused by the heat.

Thursday.—Towards four p.m., arrived at the Messrs. Jamieson’s station, Mildura, pleasantly situated on a turn of the river, about fifty miles by water from Macleod’s. Mr. Jamieson, who appears to be thoroughly acquainted with the resources and commercial statistics of the river, which he most obligingly has communicated without reserve to all on board, joined us here with a native servant, in order to accompany the expedition as far as Swan Hill, 600 or 700 miles further. About this man hangs a tale, establishing, I think, a fact, which, though generally credited with regard to native propensities, has not perhaps been thoroughly authenticated. I allude to their cannibal habits. The man, who goes by the name of Mickie, himself tells the story. He says, that, returning on one occasion from Melbourne, where he had been serving as a police trooper, he fell in with some natives of the Loddon tribe, one of whom, following him, and threatening to spear and eat him, he attacked and killed.[12] This effected, he was not content with his triumph, but did actually eat a portion of the man’s body—a part of his kidney fat—which he pronounced good eating, and not unlike pork and duck. Nor does it appear that Mickie was thus prompted for want of food, or from a specific predilection for such a meal; but rather because he imagined that thus would be infused into him his enemy’s strength; and that, moreover, the skin which he lavishly distributed amongst the natives of his tribe, would prove a charm for his fishing nets.

The settlers about the Darling appear desirous of coming under Adelaide jurisdiction. The fact is, they are so distant from Sydney, that they imagine themselves quite neglected by authority, and entirely cut off from all legal jurisdiction. What difference the advent of the steamer upon their waters may cause in their ideas, is yet to be seen. Undoubtedly, it is a source of unmingled satisfaction to all settlers here; indeed, we are told of some who actually meditated the abandonment of their runs, in utter despondency at the impracticability of transporting their wool produce to a port,[13] or even of obtaining the supplies necessary for their subsistence. Dancing on board the Eureka till half-past ten.

Friday.—Took in a quantity of pine wood, about five tons, for fuel; and, after passing Williams’s, arrived at (Carwarp) Messrs. McGrath’s, a station occupied by three brothers; who, from the condition of common labourers, have raised themselves, by their industry, to a position of comparative affluence. They are the possessors of 10,000 sheep on this run, about the numbers which are depastured at Mildura. The weather continues cold, though dancing was kept up for an hour in the evening. The cabin was 18 much crowded at this station; and some of our party addicted to going early to bed, complained a little of the disturbance on board.

Saturday.—Morning cold. Reached Messrs. Keane & Orr’s (native name Kulkyane), where we remained till early on Monday morning. The natives at this station were numerous, and some of them apparently intelligent, but in appearance disfigured, if that is possible, by the circles of white clay which they had drawn round their eyes and noses. This, we are informed, is symbolical of mourning for deceased relatives—perhaps the unfortunate children who are, it is said, so often slaughtered.

Monday.—Steamed on to wooding station, in a picturesque country with high banks.

At four a.m. on Tuesday, September 13th, the Captain reported a comet in sight, which, after considerable incredulity on behalf of some of our party, was at length acknowledged to be a most brilliant meteor. Euston Township (Nowong), so called after the Grafton family, we reached at ten a.m. It is a Government reserve, and seemed a fine clearing, though as yet the settlement is comprised in the Commissioner’s house, an inn, some huts, and a black encampment. Mr. Cole, the Crown Commissioner, received nearly all our party with great politeness, showed the ladies over his quarters—a log house, not impervious to the weather, but otherwise comfortable, if not pretty, which, indeed, none of the stations are; he then produced some wine, eggs, and lastly a salad. Here we obtained a sight of some newspapers, the latest from Melbourne, of the 23rd of the previous month.

The ladies were invited to see two specimens of the “lowen” or “luanna,” a bird resembling in some degree the pheasant of Europe, and also reckoned of delicious flavour.[14] The peculiarity of these birds is, that the hen does not hatch her own eggs, but buries them in layers of sand, whence, after a little time, the process is effected by heat. The Commissioner—whose district contains about 70,000 sheep, 15,000 or 16,000 head of cattle, and nearly 300 horses—complains of the impossibility of completing his establishment of white police, notwithstanding the liberal allowance of the Government to troopers, which amounts to 5s. 6d. daily, in addition to rations and quarters; he is, however, he tells us, to be joined by a European sergeant immediately.

From this point, Euston, there was, until lately, a post to Sydney and back, which, while it lasted, was conducted with rapidity; the floods, however, have been so troublesome, that it has been recently given up. The blacks here were numerous, and two-thirds of them, at least, disfigured with their mourning marks. Some of them were dressed in uniform as police troopers attached to the Commissioner. Mr. Cole, with a Mr. Morey, who has 7,000 sheep contiguous to the Government reserve (twenty-five square miles), came on board 19 to dinner, when our commander’s champagne flowed freely; they afterwards accompanied us up the river some miles. The comet was reported very brilliant about four a.m.

Wednesday.—We reached the station of a Mr. Ross at an early hour. Here some shearers, who were rather the worse of their early potations, were inclined to be troublesome. Captain Cadell turned one of them out of the fore cabin without ceremony; and, shortly after, three of these men, endeavouring to aggravate some of the crew whilst taking in fuel, and to prevent the natives from giving their assistance, received from them a well-merited chastisement, which, though to a looker-on it might appear unnecessarily severe, had yet a well-timed and useful result. Nothing but a rough and summary mode of proceeding would be effectual with such people, whose conduct might destroy the comfort of all decent classes of passengers. They were probably ci-devant convicts, or, as they are here termed, “old lags.” At this station, we heard that 7,500 store[15] sheep had been brought over from Bathurst (500 miles), for the convenience of shearing, and afterwards transshipping the wool clip to Adelaide. We took in a stock of wood lower down the river, and, after passing Mr. McCullum’s station (Wella), where there are 13,000 sheep, pursued our onward course towards Swan Hill.

From the junction of the Murrumbidgee, or rather of the Logan or Wakool,[16] up which we steamed a short distance, the volume of the Murray diminishes, and its sinuosity increases; but the steamer made good progress on her way, anchoring about half-past twelve a.m., on Thursday morning, the 15th September, in mid-channel, with a strong tide running. Here we had lain perhaps an hour and a-half, when all on board were awakened by an awkward lurch of the Lady Augusta, which upset the cabin tables, and created considerable confusion in the dark. Some inquiries were made as to the cause of the unusual position of the steamer (for she did not right herself), but no steps were taken to ascertain the real cause of the accident, and all was attributed to the strength of the tide. Some, however, were not satisfied with this solution, or found sleeping on an inclined plane disagreeable; and, after the lapse of nearly half an hour, it was discovered that the Lady Augusta had made considerable water, which, rushing to one side, had caused the “list” complained of. The pumps were then set to work, as also buckets, and the hold eventually cleared of water. It appeared that some valve connected with the engines had been left unclosed—whence the shipment of so much water. At dawn, we had been passed by a little steamer, called the Mary Ann, which indeed had been seen lying off-shore the previous night. We found her again at the station of a Mr. Phelps. She is an open boat, apparently about 20 fifty feet in length, carrying two masts, and fitted with an engine, by her owner, a Mr. Randall, whose enterprising talent, and skill in navigating his little craft, are highly to be lauded. At this station we found an old “man-of-war’s man,” a Mr. Reynolds, who had been so long away from civilised pursuits, that he said he hardly knew a steamer by sight. He supplied us liberally with milk and butter. I understood him to say that he had been thirty-six years in the Colony. Mr. Phelps’s brother is accounted a large sheep owner in this district, being the possessor of an extensive “run,” and about 17,000 sheep.

Lest the term “run” should not be clearly intelligible to some non-Australian readers, it may be here observed, that it is an extensive tract of country devoted to sheep-breeding, and held on lease from the Government for a term of years. Its chief excellencies are, of course, pasturage and good water; moreover, it must, at least, be capable of carrying 4,000 sheep, or an equivalent number of cattle—extra £2 10s. per annum for every additional 1,000 sheep, or proportionate increase of cattle.

For this run, the owner takes out a licence of occupation, at a rental proportioned to the number of sheep or cattle which the district is calculated to support. The capabilities of the location are estimated by a Commissioner of Crown Lands, and a half-yearly assessment is also laid on all the live stock at the station—a halfpenny per head for sheep, three halfpence for cattle, and threepence for horses. Formerly, the holder had the option of purchasing, at any time, the entire run at twenty shillings an acre; but this law has now been altered and, as some think, amended, by the impossibility, under the present system, of the existence of a race of licensed settlers, or leaseholders, in perpetuity, who might have been likened to the Crown feudatories of the middle ages, and paid an annual quit-rent for their possessions. These landholders are termed in Australia, “squatters.” In these runs, which sometimes equal in extent an English county, and usually about the centre or frontage, stands the homestead, a rude wooden building, with a garden, stores, offices, and adjacent stock or farm yards. A spacious grass paddock, and some smaller ones for tillage, all enclosed with a post and rail fence, with a large shed for shearing the sheep and storing the wool, are also necessary adjuncts of the head-quarters. The two great epochs of pastoral life are the lambing and shearing seasons; the latter duty having been performed annually by a distinct class of persons, who went about from station to station to be hired for this work. Since the gold discoveries, however, this duty has been in some degree performed, with considerable difficulty at times, by the settlers themselves. Independent of the head-quarters or head-stations on these runs, there are usually what are called “out-stations,” with small flocks of from 500 to 1500 sheep, in charge of two shepherds and a hut-keeper; 21 who, whilst the former tend the sheep, looks after the yards, cooks the victuals, and watches by night against the attacks of the “dingo,” or wild dog—the most destructive of Australian vermin.

The cattle grazing is carried on generally in a different part of the run, by a stockman, who is provided with a hut-keeper. The chief requisite here is a firm seat on horseback, and great activity of body, as the cattle are much disposed to run wild, and are often with difficulty collected. Both cattle and sheep were annually slaughtered in great numbers, and boiled down for tallow, which was readily bought up, by foreign merchants, for the London market, and became an article of large export. The price of wool and mutton has, however, now put an end, or nearly so, to this custom. To improve the feed of a cattle or sheep run, recourse is often had to firing the country; and this practice, apparently singular in so dry a soil, is said to be effectual.

As a remarkable instance of the nature of Australian occupations, or the ups and downs of fortune, the list of shepherds given by a writer, in a certain district, is worthy of notice. They comprise “an apothecary, a lawyer’s clerk, three sailors, a counting-house clerk, a tailor, a Jew, a Portuguese sailor, a Cingalese, a barman, a gentleman’s son, a broken-down merchant, a former Lieutenant in the East India Company’s Service, a gipsy, a black fiddler, a dancing master. Of these the gentleman’s son, the Jew, and the barman made the best shepherds.”[17]

This summary of sheep farming—the substance of which is taken from a series of very good papers upon Australia, relating chiefly to New South Wales—is also applicable, in most respects, to the banks of the Murray, and I therefore introduce it here.[18]

Leaving this digression, our first station yesterday (September 15) was that belonging to Mr. Hamilton. It appeared very populous. Towards evening the river became tortuous in the extreme; indeed, with the breadth the Lady Augusta and Eureka occupy upon the water (forty-two feet), steering the vessels, without a check, through the narrow curves and opposing branches, which continually met us at every point, was almost an impossibility. The weather, which had been lowering since morning, in the evening became perfectly tempestuous; and, amidst flashes of lightning, occasional peals of thunder, and sudden gusts of wind, little else was heard but the crashing of the opposing trees, or, in 22 the deep tones of our commander, the often repeated words, “stand by, below;” “stop her;” “turn a-head, slow;” and at length the welcome order, “full speed.” Thus, for some hours, did we advance, dimly lighted by an overcast moon; and the storm at length abating, without any other mishap than some slight damage to the Augusta’s funnel, and the destruction of part of the Eureka’s rails—thanks to Captain Cadell’s perseverance—we were enabled to hold on till two a.m., about which time we made fast alongside the station of a Mr. Coghill.

To-day (Friday, September 16), steamed on, with some difficulty, through the endless sinuosities of the river, now narrowed to an average breadth of seventy or seventy-five yards, but still affording near four fathoms’ depth of water. At some points, indeed, we were delayed a considerable time, from inability to stem the current in so contracted a space, without becoming entangled in the surrounding wood. Altogether, I am inclined to think that the passage of the river for steamers, such as that in which we now voyage, will be difficult above the Murrumbidgee, except during the flooded season, or about five months in the year. To improve the navigation, however, much might be done by the passage up the stream of a small boat (such, for instance, as the Mary Ann) provided with means to clear away the “snags” or sunken trees, to cut the overhanging branches, &c.

In course of time also, canals, were it only a few yards in length, might be formed for the purpose of connecting the stream by a more direct channel, instead of compelling ascending vessels to navigate the continued sinuosities of the river throughout its entire course.

Swan Hill, a green oasis rising amidst what is, apparently, a desert of reeds, is a valuable station, containing some excellent pasture. Indeed, from these very reeds, which are annually burnt, springs up a “second growth,” affording admirable food for cattle; whilst the flats, at present flooded in all directions, are in summer perfectly dry. On the crest of the hill, 119 feet only above the sea, is now building a sort of lock-up, or wooden gaol. Lower down stands the inn, which appears comfortable, and a store, where the prices of goods and articles were denounced by some of our party as extravagant, even for the neighbourhood of the diggings.[19] I heard 2s. mentioned as the price of a wine-glass of brandy, and 1s. 6d. or 2s. a pound for flour; but do not vouch for the correctness of my information.

We arrived at Swan Hill about mid-day on the 17th September, after 112 hours’ steaming from the Darling (a distance of about 600 miles), having left our consort, the Eureka, on the run of a Mr. Coghill, some miles behind, to commence loading wool for the return voyage. There being a police force here, consisting of six 23 mounted troopers, and a Lieutenant and Clerk of the Court, his Excellency availed himself of it to forward his report to the Secretary of State, and copies of the document to the Governors of New South Wales and Victoria. We remained on this station during the whole of Sunday, hearing Divine Service performed in the verandah of the latter by a travelling ex-member of the Church of England, who read us our beautiful Liturgy in a blue Jersey shirt, and had the good sense or good taste (which, perhaps, are synonymous) not to weary his congregation with too long a sermon.

The Mary Ann joined us on the Saturday evening, and both vessels remained stationary until Monday afternoon, September 19th, when the Lady Augusta proceeded up the river, stopping about twelve miles from Swan Hill to take in some fuel. The country continued reedy and flooded; but the banks of the river were lined with gum trees. Our party, I should mention, has been diminished by one member, a Mr. Bright, who left us at Swan Hill to ride to Melbourne (210 miles), where he purposes taking passage to England.

A few miles from Swan Hill, we observed several of the native turkey, or, more properly, the bustard; they are reckoned delicious eating, but are approached with difficulty on the open plains, where they love to feed. Birds are now more plentiful; and I should have said that three wild swans were seen near Swan Hill.

Tuesday, September 20.—After wooding for two or three hours where we had anchored the previous night, we steamed on as usual; the river widening and presenting beautiful reaches overhung with trees,[20] whilst the continued volume of this noble river, at so great a distance from the sea, has surprised all on board. This morning, we passed a connecting offshoot, or, as it is termed here, “backwater” of the Loddon, which flows into the Murray, near Swan Hill. We are now cramped a little on board for walking room, the deck being too high for many to promenade upon at once, as it causes the vessel to heel over from too much of what is termed “top-hamper;” nevertheless—the weather continuing delightful, even for Australia—and no European climate can surpass, I believe, the Australian mornings or evenings, nor Naples itself, at times, equal the wondrous tints of the sky—all get on, to use an expressive word, “swimmingly,” though none seem to know as yet to what distance our exploration is to extend. On Tuesday evening, the 20th September, we reached the station of a Mr. Hogg, and made fast for the night. A Mr. Dickens, who presented a letter of introduction to His Excellency, joined us here. He was one of 24 the Melbourne steamer passengers, but appears to retain no ungrateful recollections of his detention at Lisbon.[21] The country through which we have passed is flat and reedy, but occasionally sprinkled with gum trees, and now and then offering glimpses of forest scenery of a more open kind than the dense forests which distinguish the lower part of the river.

Wednesday, September 21.—We took on board wood and played some games of quoits; leaving Mr. Hogg’s station about noon. The river, as we advanced, passes through a flat but pleasing and open country, with occasional patches of reeds. “Snags” became rather frequent in this part, and doubtless, if the stream were low, would seem almost to interlace its bed; otherwise, the river is broad and fine. About dusk, we stopped for some wood at Gannewarra, the lands of a Mr. Campbell. This—about six tons weight—employed all hands yesterday; the Captain and Mr. Jamieson proceeding up to the house. The following morning, we found that Mr. Campbell had invited the whole party to his dwelling; and about ten o’clock, the arrival of eight horses and a double gig enabled every one to accept the invitation. To reach the settlement, distant about three miles from the river, we passed through a forest of fine open glades of very lofty timber, and partook of an excellent early dinner in Mr. Campbell’s rude but commodious habitation. Then we had some music from the piano, which must have tended to enliven us after a month’s imprisonment on board the steamer. Somewhat late, the boat of the Lady Augusta arrived with three of the party, who had pulled up the winding creek on which the settlement stands. Nothing occurred in the way of adventure, but the destruction of the shafts of Mr. Campbell’s gig; which, entrusted to a black, got smashed by the horse running into an adjacent pile of wood. Fortunately, no one was within. In the afternoon, we rode back, accompanied by Miss ——, Mrs. Campbell’s pretty sister, who remained on board, as also Mr. Campbell. This gentleman is the possessor of 4,000 or 5,000 head of cattle and 10,000 sheep, and has been in the colony eleven years.

Friday morning (September 23rd) was distinguished by the fall of two majestic trees, each exceeding 110 feet in height, and which, hollowed by age, had been set on fire, and then partially sawn asunder. The effect was very grand, for, truly, “great was the fall thereof.” About eleven, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and Miss C., we steamed a few miles up the river, returning to drop them near Gannewarra, where their horses, brought down by some natives, took them home.

Mr. Campbell seems to be one of the most flourishing settlers on the river; and complains only of his inability to grow vegetables—though his garden has been made on the banks of a fine creek.

His station—the farthest extent of the Lady Augusta’s exploration—may be estimated at about 1,400 miles from the sea-mouth of the Murray. Leaving Gannewarra, we proceeded down the river—the return homewards having been at length resolved. Our pace, going with the current, was rapid, but some malign influence appeared this day to beset the Lady Augusta. We had gone but a few miles when we encountered a huge tree, blocking up nearly the entire stream; this we broke through, by sheer force of steam, but not without almost sweeping the deck of the passengers, who with difficulty avoided the branches as they passed over the vessel. The after bulkhead was also stove in. Arriving at Mr. Hogg’s station, one of the funnels was considerably damaged, and slight injury received by the upper deck. Leaving this station, we did not leave our ill luck behind us, for, rounding a moderately sharp turn, a few miles below this run, we managed, when about to “haul up” for the night, to run so violently in upon the land, that the steamer, instead of floating alongside, as intended, remained hard and fast, nor could all the efforts of the crew get her off. In the morning, the wood being taken out of her, she floated without any difficulty, much to the satisfaction of the crew, who, both officers and men, have had hard work in carrying in our wood, splitting it, &c. Now we are going down the stream, at the rate of ten or twelve knots an hour. This is very good steaming for a small vessel like the Lady Augusta; though Captain Cadell is not, I understand, as yet quite satisfied, and purposes, or expects, by means of a condenser and feather floats, to obtain three miles an hour greater speed. This would be a great advantage on a river so circuitous as the Murray; and, as a further improvement, if a disconnecting engine, by which one paddle would work forward and the other backward, were provided, boats of greater length, power, and tonnage, might be employed. Whilst upon this subject, I perhaps ought to mention, that our engineer (Mr. Napier) has declared that, for boats of shallow construction—such as the Lady Augusta—tubular boilers should be used, by which means a space of from six to eight feet only would be required, where, at present, thirty or more is entirely occupied.

On Monday (September 26), we left Tyn-Tyndyer,[22] the station of a Mr. Beveridge, who is the owner of 11,000 sheep, 2,000 or 3,000 head of cattle, and what he calls a “mob” of horses, or about 100. The only thing remarkable about his run, which was some fifty miles in extent, appeared to me to be his garden, the aspect of which, adorned with some willows, introduced on the river by himself, was particularly refreshing to our eyes, fatigued as they had been with the endless monotony of the sombre foliage of the 26 gum tree. Shortly after leaving Tyn-Tyndyer, we rejoined the Eureka, which was lying very snugly in a pretty bend of the river, a few miles lower down, and adjacent to the run of a Mr. Coghill. The next morning, taking her in tow, the Lady Augusta proceeded down the stream for the purpose of ascending the Wakool, there to take in 220 bales of wool; a process, by effecting which, instead of waiting on the Murray, much time would be saved.

The navigation towards the junction was most intricate, and so continued throughout nearly the whole day. All the Eureka’s starboard rails were carried away, and continued stoppages, whether owing to the current, the sharpness of the bends, or defective steering, detained us for some hours. However, if the improvement of the navigation of the river be seriously taken up by the three Governments, many of the obstacles now experienced will be removed. During the last week we have passed several points where a little labour, concentrated in cutting fresh channels, would cause a saving of many miles’ distance, and, moreover, obviate the angles which at present it is so difficult to navigate, at least, with anything like speed.

The Wakool is a most navigable river,[23] not so broad, indeed, as the Murray, being scarcely ninety yards wide, but deep and without current, and singularly free from “snags,” or overhanging branches.

We passed Turora, Messrs. Grierson’s station, on the Tuesday evening, and the next morning the public house and ferry, kept by Mr. Talbot; the soundings gave four and a-half fathoms and “no bottom.” Very shortly afterwards, Poon Boon, or Westmeath, the station of the Royal Australian Bank, appeared in sight; and here, awaiting our arrival we found the wool, consisting of 220 bales, averaging 200 lbs. the bale. This, the first fruit of the river, and the first cargo of the Lady Augusta, was received with all due ceremony, the first bale being hoisted up with one of the crew to the mast-head of the Eureka, where “three times three” was given in its honour. Some bottles of champagne, and “Success to the commerce of the Murray,” followed in the cabin; and in the evening a dance, at the head station on shore, terminated the day.

The superintendent, or person in charge here, informs me that his drays, with the supplies for this year, have not yet returned; and that to transport his wool to Melbourne by that mode of conveyance would cost him £45 per ton. The arrival of the steamer has, however, to use his own expression, “quite set the settlers on their legs again;” and although the freight, £25 per ton, is as yet rather high, there is no doubt that it will soon fall, whilst the land-transport 27 from the Goolwa to Port Elliot will be performed per tramway, at the moderate rate of sixpence per ton per mile.

The stock of sheep belonging to the stations of this Company,[24] recently amounting to 50,000, is now reduced by extensive sales to 12,000, but the number, so rapid is the increase, it is expected will again amount to that quantity in two or three years. The present value of sheep (for sale) is from fifteen to eighteen shillings; during the bad times of the colony it was as low as two shillings and sixpence.

After leaving Poon Boon, we regained the Murray without any difficulty, save the passage of one shallow bar, where extreme precautions were exercised successfully.

At Canally, one of the stations of Mr. Phelps, wool to the amount of forty-nine heavy bales was taken in; and leaving this on Friday, September 30th, we again steamed down the river, having left the two carpenters and the Chinaman near the mouth of the Wakool, there to prepare the frames of two more barges, as tenders, to be used for the further navigation of these rivers. This day, however, was doomed to be one of melancholy remembrance to all on board, for an accident, not less sad from its sudden occurrence than by its tragical issue, did then happen, in a manner most painful to all who witnessed it. About four o’clock, or rather later, whilst sitting in the cabin, I was disturbed by hearing an outcry, and tumults on the deck above; and running out, I discovered by the preparations for casting off the boat, then towing astern, that a man was overboard. Looking further astern, the steamer having now reversed her engines, I discovered what must have been the top of the unfortunate man’s head floating about forty or fifty yards behind us, and distinctly saw his hands upraised, and as it were waving in a convulsive manner for help. This position he maintained for a minute or two, but the boat was not easily cast loose, and the steamer had drifted with the current, which here runs perhaps two and a-half knots per hour. Shortly afterwards I again looked, but nothing was visible, for the wretched man had sunk never again to rise; though one of those in the boat declared that they were so close to him that from the bow he might have been touched with an oar. It was, however, too late, and after waiting vainly for the chance of his reappearance, we were at length obliged to continue our course without even the satisfaction of discovering his body. The man’s name, I afterwards learned, was William Crewse Teague, a native, it was supposed, of Cornwall, and he had been employed as a stoker on board. The cause of the accident, as far as I could ascertain, was the giving way of 28 one of the gangway rails, against which the man must have leaned whilst drawing a bucket of water; the rail, which is usually fastened by a peg and chain, having fallen into the water with him.

On the first of October, we took in fifty-one bales of wool at Mr. Ross’s (Meilman), and remained alongside this station until Monday morning, the 3rd, when we proceeded down the river, touching at Messrs. Grant’s, who had some wool awaiting transport on the banks. The Captain’s previous arrangements prevented, however, his taking these bales on the present trip. Leaving this station (Bombany), Messrs. Grant and their friends being on board, the Eureka managed to tilt some of her load into the water, from whence it was rescued, not without considerable labour. It appears the two vessels had been kept on a level by two spars, one of which having been moved, the strain on the other became too great, and it snapped, thus destroying the equilibrium of the barge. In the evening, we reached Euston, the Commissioner’s station, where we halted for the night; the little steamer Mary Ann, which passed us during our difficulties, being anchored a short distance ahead. It seems, from the owner’s account, that she had reached Maiden’s Punt, about 250 miles beyond Swan Hill, without a check. At Euston, the Crown Commissioner, Mr. Cole (styled by some of our party “King Cole”) received us with his wonted urbanity; and some dancing was achieved in his quarters. The functions of this officer consist in superintendence of the lands belonging to the Crown, on which he is bound to prevent all trespass in the way of cutting timber or depasturing cattle. He is also authorized to prevent the intrusion of people on the lands of their neighbours; to estimate the capabilities of the land for grazing purposes; and he has allotted to him a certain force of police—white or native troopers—to assist him in his duties, which comprise those of a magistrate with extraordinary powers, together with a general supervision of an extensive district. The salary of these officers in New South Wales is £500 a year, and there are not less than fourteen of them.

Mr. Cole accompanies us to the Darling; which, after taking in 100 bales of wool the previous day, we reached on the evening of the 6th—having left McGrath’s before dawn in the morning, and Mildura (Messrs. Jamieson’s) about four p.m.

The weather, which yesterday was cold and boisterous, is now again “Australian,” and I have no recollection of a finer morning in any climate than to-day. Personally, perhaps, as in some degree invalided for the last five years, I feel more the luxury of this matutinal freshness; having passed, I am told by my next neighbour, Mr. Grainger, who sleeps in the berth under me, a most uneasy night; which I can attribute only to the deleterious effects of the tea, of which, contrary to my usual abstinence, I last night imbibed 29 rather more than one-third of a cup.[25] It is very annoying to be subjected thus to the caprices or the malicious propensities of cooks, stewards, or others whose duty it may be to infuse these our evening potations; and most unjust that the innocuous or even the independent members of society should be exposed to the chance of a nightmare or an apoplexy by such proceedings. Nor can the evil be without remedy; for, without coinciding with the Rev. Sydney Smith, “That a bishop must be burnt before railway accidents are prevented;” or agreeing with Mr. D’Israeli, “That an architect should be sacrificed to ensure a National Gallery worthy of a great nation;”[26] I must be pardoned for the suggestion, that society generally—and all are concerned in the suppression of such annoyances—might visit with a kind of moral decimation, all the perpetrators of these iniquities.

The country, as we approach South Australia, is now improving in appearance, as the waters having receded, the forest appears more open, and even the “Mallee scrub” is less monotonous than before. We learn, however, that this subsidence has not taken place on the upper part of the river, the Murray having risen some feet at Maiden’s Punt, probably from the floods on the Campaspe and Goulburn, for as yet the Alpine snows have not contributed their quota to the stream. With respect to the “Mallee,” which covers so large a portion of the vicinity of this river, it may not be uninteresting to mention that there is a root of a particular kind of this shrub well-known to the natives, which, being cut into strips and placed in a pannikin or other vessel, has the property of exuding water from within, which, slowly dripping out of the wood, is thus preserved for the thirsting traveller.

Friday, October 7th.—We reached the Darling last night, at eleven p.m., notwithstanding the cloudiness of the sky; and about one, despatches, papers, &c., came on board for His Excellency and some members of our party. The news does not seem of importance, the South Australian journals being too much occupied with our trip, and the English, especially the beautifully Illustrated London News, with the mimic war at Chobham.

This morning (Saturday), the steamer took in some tons of wood and nine bales of wool, which, besides some sheep skins and tallow, completes the cargo to 441 bales, of an average weight of 300lbs., and an aggregate value of £9,000 or £10,000, with which we trust 30 her owners will for the present remain satisfied. We are now steering on for Mooruna, the station of the Crown Commissioner of the Albert District, where we are to leave Mr. Cole—having dropped the Messrs. Jamieson, with most hearty farewells, at the Darling junction. One of these gentleman, the Mr. Hugh Jamieson, who has accompanied us thus far on our expedition, has been successfully exerting himself in moving addresses to His Excellency and Captain Cadell, which, with Sir Henry Young’s rejoinder, are as follows:—

At the same time was addressed to Captain Cadell the following letter, from the same place:—

Sunday, October 9.—The weather, rather oppressively warm during the day, is now overcast and threatens some continuance of rain. Having, however, fortified myself with Roscoe’s admirable Memoir of Lorenzo di Medicis, I feel in some measure independent of clouds and sunshine. The books we have on board are numerous, and many of them excellent, but, after seven weeks, some novelty is refreshing. We passed Mooruna, the station of the Albert Commissioner, about 3 p.m., and left there some articles and stores for that official. It has not a pleasing aspect, being, even at this season, almost denuded of verdure, and, moreover, fiercely red. About dusk, we were hailed by a native from Messrs. Rutherford and Crozier’s station, and accordingly “lay-to,” taking Mr. Crozier on board. This detention, though at the time it appeared unnecessary, was of service to the Captain, as he was enabled to obtain, through Mr. Crozier and the natives of the station, the exact “whereabouts” of a sunken rock,[27] which lies nearly in mid-channel, and opposite to Rutherford’s Ferry. During the night, heavy rain fell, which wetted us a little in the cabin; but has not, we trust, injured the cargo.

Saturday, October 8th.—The morning wet and cheerless, and so continued till we deposited Commissioner Cole at the station called Bob and Harry’s, which is not far distant from Lake Victoria—a sheet of water of some extent, connected with the Murray by a stream called the Rufus. At night, we anchored under some high sand cliffs, of singular formation, near the boundary of South Australia—which province, it is presumed, we have now entered. On Monday morning early, we expect to be at Mr. Chapman’s, remaining here all Sunday—which, to us, is a dies non. It now occurs to me, that I commenced these notes with a declaration and determination not to chronicle our daily proceedings on board, which, I had imagined, could not but prove “flat, stale, and unprofitable.” As, however, I have infringed on this rule, it may, perhaps, be now excusable to continue in transgression, by giving the routine of our river life. Pour commencer, then, we—that is, the gentlemen of the party, who sleep in the main cabin, the sofas of which form two tiers of berths—rise about six, sip some coffee, and dress in the fore cabin.[28] At a little before nine, is breakfast, a déjeûner à la fourchette; about twelve, bread and cheese, with a glass of ale or wine; at four is dinner, a substantial and most abundant meal, of which, good curry is a predominating feature; at seven, comes tea, which does not appear to be so favourite a 34 beverage as it deserves—partly, perhaps, for want of milk, which is only occasionally obtained; at nine, the beds are made up; and about eleven, most on board appear to sleep. These particulars will also answer, in most respects, for the ladies of our party, whose cabin (the after one) opens into the main saloon. The deck of the Lady Augusta is now the only place for walking on board, but it serves well enough for a few at a time; as, however, the vessel must stop almost daily to take in wood, there is no want of opportunities for exercise—the real mainstay of health, I certainly believe, in every climate. On this subject, however, I feel compelled to say, that though I most willingly accompanied His Excellency—as in deference to his wishes I was bound to do—and although, I doubt not, the river voyage may eventually prove of service to my health, yet, had I been aware of some of the dèsagrémens which I have since encountered, I might, perhaps, have been enabled to shorten my stay on board. “It is wrong to look a gift horse in the mouth;” and it would be ungenerous to find fault where no wrong has been intended; but though Captain Cadell’s attention to all his guests has been as unremitting as his navigating energy, the courtesy of his officers (who, from the extent of our party, must have been somewhat incommoded) universal, and the disposition of the crew most obliging, yet have we all, I think, without exception, been found at times to complain of the effects, it is to be presumed, of our daily meals. I believe, myself, the ladies have been the greatest sufferers; but they have borne their trials with such endurance through this picnic voyage of more than seven weeks, that it may seem a bold assertion to admit it all.

Sunday.—During the whole of this day we have had continual showers, and the weather has been altogether cold, and most unlike Australia, particularly at this season, and on the Murray, where it is said, it never rains. Most of our party, however, managed to climb the cliffs under which we lay, and from whence an extensive and pleasing view of the river was obtained.

On Monday morning, early, we cast off, having taken in a small stock of wood, which was procured by the officers and crew cutting down the pines above us, and hurling them over the cliff. The blacks, brought by Mr. Mason from Wellington, then carried it on board, and afterwards sawed and split it asunder. These three natives, I may add, have proved particularly useful whilst on board.

About one we reached Mr. Chapman’s (Paringa), conspicuous from afar by a tri-coloured flag with the words “Cead mille failthea” inscribed thereon—having passed this morning through a more open country, and if not more picturesque, certainly of a bolder character. This consisted of ranges of bold red cliffs, which, at a distance, bore some resemblance to the Avon or the Wye. On a nearer approach, however, their rugged aspect and scanty verdure—a 35 few scrub bushes, interspersed with pines and gum trees—belied so soft a simile; and, but for their waterworn appearance, I would now rather liken them in feature to the wilder scenery of portions of the rivers in the west of Brittany. We wooded again in the evening, and then steamed on till one or two a.m., of Tuesday, the 11th of October, having been all rather disturbed during the night by an awful crash amongst the gum trees; this, however, appeared more formidable than it really was, and committed no other havoc but an addition to the honourable scars which the Lady Augusta—now “stove in” in various places—bears upon her sides. Now, we pursue our way through a more varied country, particularly about Talibka (Mr. Wigley’s), to the “North-West Bend,” which we hope to reach this evening; the weather remaining cool and cloudy, and far more like an English than an Australian climate. Our wooding place this evening bears quite a resemblance, the sandy soil excepted, to an English park; and sweeping round it, above the stream, is a fine range of bold cliffs.

Last night we managed to get the Eureka aground, and she was not set afloat again without considerable exertion of steam force. The shadows cast by the trees, which overhang the water, render night navigation somewhat difficult, and though we pressed on with full power we did not succeed in reaching the Bend, as we anticipated. Meanwhile the stores are getting less, and yesterday we had nothing but champagne at dinner, instead of the accustomed layer of good draught port. This is something like the guardsman roughing it on his beefsteak and his bottle of port, but that, in this part of the world, there is never any fear of being without the staple commodity—good mutton.

The Lady Augusta left her boat this morning at the wooding station,[29] and we were consequently unable to land at Mr. Walsh’s, which appears one of the prettiest stations on the river. Mr. W., however, came on board in a nice little wherry, reminding one more of the Thames than the Murray, and left some newspapers, which have again put us in possession of the state of affairs in Adelaide. Our party, however, complain that they contain no news; though I have, myself, been much amused, I may say interested, by a journal of our trip up to Swan Hill, which appears in the Register; nor am I sorry to find therein, from the report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the proposed Civil List, that my salary, amongst others, is likely to be doubled.

We reached Moorundee about two p.m., and found it almost surrounded by water. Mr. Scott was from home, and the fair mistress of the demesne engaged, I suppose, within; as, however, I did not myself join the party on shore, I must delay, till the ladies return, my inquiries after Mrs. Scott and the news of the Murray.

We left Mr. Scott’s about five p.m., and steamed on all night, the weather still rather cold. About sunrise, I found the steamer had entered the magnificent valley below the Reedy Creek, comprising Mr. Baker’s “run”—a tract of great extent, named, I believe, Wall—and where, in point of scenery, the character of that river becomes wholly changed. Here, the Murray, leaving the confined channel of forest, which for so many hundred miles has enclosed its course, issues into a wide vale, terminating in an extended basin, which though much encumbered with reeds, yet in the contour of its outlines, and the diversified variety of its wooded or rocky slopes, far surpasses any other portion of the river we had as yet seen. The volume, too, of the stream is here very considerable, its breadth being nearly 350 yards; whilst sailing majestically on its surface we descry numerous black swans in close and amicable contiguity with flocks of unsightly pelicans. Continuing to pass through a country of this kind, we soon leave behind us the granite formation, with the huge “boulders” of rock which mark its character; and after meeting an island, in mid-stream, again enter upon an Arcadian country, which, undulating in small rounded hills, dotted with trees of moderate height, bears some resemblance to the shores of Greece. Strange to say, however, as the land appears good, even if occasionally rocky, there is scarcely a habitation to be seen; though here, one would say, is quite the scene to realize the poet’s dream, the

About twenty-four measured miles (according to Mr. Mason) from Wellington, in the vicinity of the granite masses, visible from the deck, is a large rock, at present under water, but visible when the river is low. The next object I find worthy of notice is a “mob” of sixty or seventy horses, seemingly lost in wonder at the smoking and noise-making intruder upon their wonted solitude. After a time they lose their fears, and, fascinated as it were with the novel sight and sound, follow us in wild confusion along the rugged shores.

Thursday, October 13th, quarter to one p.m.—We are now at Wellington, where, amongst the spectators on the sandy banks, I observe His Excellency’s police-orderly, who, coming on board, informs us that the horses are here. Sir Henry Young having, however, determined to terminate his voyage only at the completion of the 37 enterprise, by the arrival of the steamer with her first cargo, the Golden Fleece,[30] at her starting point, the Goolwa, the horses are ordered to that point. Being, however, myself, desirous of returning to Adelaide at once, and his Excellency spontaneously giving me the option of so doing, I here determine to bid adieu to the river, and place myself with the least possible delay on one of the horses which the trooper brought from Adelaide some days ago.

Here then, I leave the Murray! and I do so in the firm belief that, whether it is to become in the future—as it has been, perhaps prophetically, designated—the “Australian Nile;” or whether it is to be the connecting link and general highway of the Australian capitals, existing and to be; this river is of incalculable advantage to the whole of Australasia, and its steam navigation, thus far successfully accomplished, an event worthy of record and narration by far abler pens than mine.

After a glance at Captain Cadell’s canvas boat, I left Wellington a little after two p.m. on the 13th, mounted on a horse hired by Mr. Grainger, and by no means remarkable for speed. The excellent natural road runs for some miles over fine plains covered with wild flowers, and affording, I should imagine, rich pasturage, with some lakes adjacent. Thence you arrive at a tract of dreary and sandy scrub, rendered still more disagreeable by a road which is quite a reflection upon a civilized district, and from the number of stumps, which like “trous de loup” project from it, is really a most dangerous thoroughfare. At about eighteen or twenty miles from Wellington, is Langhorne’s Creek, a settlement, near which I was shown the finest wheat in the Colony, and where there is a tolerable inn, with moderate charges and prompt attendance. Leaving this, the road—one place excepted, a most superior natural one, passes through a fine open forest country, fed over by abundant cattle, whose condition testifies to the quality of their food. Strathalbyn is then reached; it is a most flourishing settlement, and boasts a good inn; in the vicinity are some mines, worked for seven years, and shortly to be turned to more profit by the introduction of expensive machinery, which, possibly may be transported thither via Wellington and the Murray, the approach from Adelaide, being, I am told, scarcely passable for heavily loaded 38 drays. I arrived at Strathalbyn a little after six! and about nine, a further detachment of our party, consisting of Messrs. Davenport, Andrews, and Allen, came in, having left Wellington just after me in a sort of dog-cart. The following morning between seven and eight, I left for Adelaide; the trooper, with his Excellency’s horses, proceeding onward to the Goolwa, distant about twenty miles. I found the country from Strathalbyn to the capital exceedingly beautiful, combining, indeed, every variety of forest scenery, water alone excepted. Its aspect is Devonian; but between Strathalbyn and Macclesfield is encountered a conglomerate of hills, heaped together in such wild and mountainous confusion, that to construct a highway might have puzzled General Wade himself. It must, however, at some time or other be done, for at present the road is execrable; and when the land is so fine, and the settlements between Adelaide and the Murray so important, it is perhaps bad policy, not to say almost an injustice, to leave the inhabitants without good means of communication. Some miles, however, beyond the Echunga diggings—a tract of gravelly waste, honeycombed as it were with pits, there is now constructing a new line of road, passing Crafer’s (ten miles from Adelaide), which, though cut through a difficult country, and not apparently formed in strict accordance with “Henry Law,” will, doubtless, be made highly available to the interests of the settlers of Mount Barker, Strathalbyn, &c.

About Glen Osmond, for a distance of some miles, the views are splendid, comprising the whole of the Adelaide plains, and a vast and magnificent sea-view extending completely across the Gulf of St. Vincent. The town itself lies spread out below the hills as upon a map; but perhaps from the want of spires or lofty buildings, the City of Adelaide is not, from a distance, very imposing in appearance. Descending Glen Osmond, three or four miles of hard, if not good, road, brings the traveller to the town, which—rather tired, I confess—I reached about half-past four p.m.; my horse being equally knocked up with myself, though the distance from Strathalbyn is not more than thirty-eight miles.

Sir Henry Young left the steamer the same evening (Friday, October 14), at the Goolwa, after a smooth passage across the Lake, and took up his quarters for the night at Port Elliot. The next day, accompanied by Mr. Grainger, His Excellency rode into Adelaide, a distance of about fifty-eight miles.

By way of postscript to my journal, I append a letter from Mr. Randell, the enterprising owner of the little Mary Ann.

APPENDIX.

Enumeration of the quantity of sheep to be shorn in the present year (1853), upon the Rivers Murray and Lachlan, as far as Swan Hill, in the Provinces of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales.

To this number may be added an unestimated amount of sheep upon the Darling River, amounting certainly, to 17,000; which at a very low calculation will give 460,000 sheep; yielding a supply of wool—at 2 lbs. per sheep, and an average of 250 lbs. weight per bale—of 3,680 bales; or, at a rough estimate of £20 per bale, £73,600; or, at the not unusual yield of 2¼ lbs. per sheep, £82,080.

In this calculation, out of 124 stations, seventy only have been put down as cattle stations, or unlikely to send their wool to Adelaide.

Owners.	Sheep.
Mr.	Pyke	20,000
	Westmeath	40,000
Messrs. Sylvester & Smith	15,000
Mr.	Lintott	6,000
	Grierson	3,000
Messrs. Phelps & Connolly	12,000
Mr.	Beveridge	10,000
	Hamilton	5,000
	McCallum	13,000
	Grant	6,000
	Ross	7,000
	Morey	7,000
	Gibbs	5,000
	McPherson	6,000
	Keane	16,000
	McGrath	10,000
	Jamieson	10,000
Messrs. Crozier & Rutherford	13,000
Mr.	Paterson	7,000
	Bagot	5,000
	Chambers	6,000
Mr.	Walker	6,000
	Coomar	5,000
	Hart	6,000
	Walsh	6,000
	Haywood	3,000
	Scoott	4,000
	Fletcher	12,000
	Scott	7,000
	McLennan	7,000
	McLean	6,000
	McFarlane	4,000
	Cameron	4,000
THE LACHLAN.
Mr.	Peters	10,000
Messrs. Phelps & Co	20,000
Mr.	Wentworth	50,000
	Laing	15,000
	Firebrace	6,000
Messrs. Firebrace and Brown	10,000
Mr.	Nyne	40,000
Total number of sheep	443,000

A third estimate of produce likely to go to the Adelaide market, and taking Swan Hill as a depôt, would bring in a very large quantity of wool, via Lake Lalbert to Swan Hill.

The stations producing this wool are situated on the Rivers Loddon, Avoca, Avon, Richardson, and the Wimmeira country, towards Lake Hindmarsh; and a good road, with a little trouble, might be made available to Lake Lalbert, which is distant only twenty-five miles from Swan Hill.

From the above enumeration, it is evident that the opening of the Murray navigation by steam cannot be otherwise than most advantageous to the interests of the settlers.

In previous years they were necessitated to forward their wool by dray to Melbourne, at a cost of £40 or £45 per ton. In many cases these drays, instead of bringing back the annual supplies of provisions, &c., have been detained, broken down, or delayed by the loss of bullocks, or other difficulties. The settlers are now to pay £20 or at most £25 per ton for the same purposes, and even this freight will gradually come down. In a word, as has been before observed, “the steamer has quite set the squatters on their legs again,” many of them having actually resolved, in consequence of the difficulties attending labour and transport, to abandon their runs.

It may, at the same time, be mentioned that, in all probability, the steamer’s profit returns will be highly remunerative, which, indeed, would be requisite, as the daily expenses during our stay have been estimated at £30.

SUPPLEMENT.

Referring to the remarks which, at the opening of this Journal, have been directed to the circumstance of the navigation of the Murray having been left so long unserviceable, in spite of the early exploration of the river, I am gratified to find myself supported in my conclusions by the high authority of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, whose opinions, extracted from a letter to a Mr. Hull, a gentleman at that time interested in forming a company to purchase land in the vicinity of the River Murray, are thus declared:

Speaking of Port Elliot, in the enclosure to the same Despatch (No. 77), his Excellency continues:—

Referring to the eligibility of Port Elliot as a mail-station, Captain Lipson’s report thus concludes:—

NAVIGATION OF THE MURRAY.

Message No. 24, from His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor to the Legislative Council.

Lieutenant-Governor Sir Henry Young has the gratification to announce to the Legislative Council the arrival, at the Goolwa, of the first river-borne wool, the produce of the vast basin of the Murray.

In congratulating the Council on this auspicious commencement of the steam navigation and commerce of the great River Murray, the Lieutenant-Governor is happy to state that Captain Cadell’s voyage reached to one hundred and fifty miles beyond Swan Hill, a distance of about fourteen hundred and fifty miles from the sea; and was also extended to sixty miles up the Wakool—an important 46 branch of the Murray. The first cargo comprises wool of the Murray, the Darling, the Murrumbidgee, and the Wakool Rivers.

To His Excellency Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor of Her Majesty’s Province of South Australia, &c. &c.

The Legislative Council has experienced sincere gratification in the announcement made to it by your Excellency, of the arrival, at the Goolwa, of the first river-borne wool, the produce of the vast basin of the Murray.

The opening up of the navigation of the Murray has long been anxiously desired; and your Excellency’s earnest and undeviating exertions to promote that important object well deserve the warmest thanks of this Council and of the Colonists of South Australia.

Your Excellency’s personal superintendence of the first practical experiment—which has resulted in demonstrating that that great river is navigable by steam, for commercial purposes, for at least fourteen hundred and fifty miles of its course—must necessarily connect the name of your Excellency with that successful enterprise; and the Council think that so great a public service should be appropriately acknowledged.

The Council, therefore, requests your Excellency to cause three Gold Medals to be engraved, with suitable device and inscriptions—commemorating the auspicious opening up of the steam navigation and commerce of the Murray, and the first arrival at the Goolwa of river-borne wool. And the Council requests that—as the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, whose personal exertions promoted this great enterprise, and in whose administration it originated and has been successfully accomplished—your Excellency would be pleased to receive one of the said Medals.

And the Council further requests that your Excellency will be pleased to cause one of the said Medals to be conferred on Captain Francis Cadell, who completed the first commercial voyage, as owner and commander of the Lady Augusta steamer and Eureka barge, with a cargo of Murray wool; and the remaining medal may be deposited with the records of the Legislature of South Australia, under whose sanction the necessary pecuniary aid was voted in encouragement of the steam navigation of the River Murray.

In conformity with your request, I shall cause Medals of South Australian Gold to be struck, in commemoration of the opening up of the commerce and navigation of the river Murray.

I shall have great pleasure in conferring on Captain Cadell the Medal by which the Lieutenant-Governor and Legislature desire to distinguish him with honour, in having successfully accomplished the first commercial steam voyage on the river Murray.

I concur with you in deeming this important event to be worthy of permanent record in the annals of South Australia; and I shall cause a commemorative medal to be placed conspicuously among the public archives.

I shall not fail to seek Her Majesty’s gracious permission to accept from the Legislative Council the honour of one of the Medals for myself, as a memorial of the happy fortune by which I have been privileged to be a co-operator with the Council in opening up the steam navigation of the river Murray, and thereby establishing a bond of commercial and social union between three prosperous Colonies of Australia.

PROCLAMATION

By His Excellency Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor of Her Majesty’s Province of South Australia, and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c. &c.

Whereas, in order to provide for the interests of future settlers, and the probable course of future settlement along the banks of the now-ascertained navigable waters of the River Murray, it is expedient, that as respects the River Murray, and its Lakes Alexandrina or Victoria and Lake Albert, in South Australia, there should be adopted and applied the principles recognised and acted upon in the Royal Order in Council of the 9th March, 1847, by which it was declared that in New South Wales and Victoria there shall not be included in leases for pastoral purposes any lands lying and being within the distance of three miles from the sea coast, and within the distance of two miles from either of the opposite banks of certain rivers then named in the above-mentioned Royal Order: And whereas, for these and other purposes, it is expedient that the portion of the Province of South Australia hereinafter described should be created a Hundred: Now, therefore, I, the Lieutenant-Governor, in the name and on the behalf of Her Most Gracious Majesty, by 48 virtue of the powers and authorities in me vested, do, by this my Proclamation, declare and appoint that the several parts of the said Province of South Australia, hereinafter more particularly described, and which are in part bounded by the shores of Lake Alexandrina or Victoria and Lake Albert, and by the banks of the River Murray, shall, from and after the first day of July next ensuing the date of this Proclamation, be, and I do by this my Proclamation constitute the same a Hundred of the same Province by the name of the “Hundred of the Murray:” And I do by this my Proclamation further proclaim and declare that—All those lands which lie within the distance of two miles from either of the two opposite banks of the River Murray, within the Province of South Australia, together with all those lands which lie within the distance of two miles from the north shore of Lake Alexandrina, between Salt Creek Trigonometrical Station and the Murray, and two miles from the east shores of Lakes Alexandrina and Albert, and also all the land in the County of Russell lying west of Lake Albert, as the same are respectively delineated in the public maps deposited in the office of the Surveyor-General of the Province, shall be within and shall constitute the said Hundred.

The margins of Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert, and each bank of the River Murray, for two miles inland, having been constituted and proclaimed the “Hundred of the Murray in South Australia:”

Notice is hereby given that applications will be received by the Surveyor-General for the survey of sections on the said lands, in blocks of 10, 80, and 640 acres, according to the wishes of intending purchasers.

Access from the back lands to the water, and necessary roads for the convenience of the public, will be reserved in the usual manner.

Purchasers of land will have the customary privilege of commonage within the Hundred, according to the regulations.

Footnotes

[1]This poor man was unfortunately drowned, September 30th.

[2]According to Balbi, the course of the Murray is nearly 3,000 miles.

[3]This calculation can only be approximate.

[4]Expeditions into the Interior of Australia: 2 vols.

[5]The return of supplies taken each trip up the river, it is calculated, will be equivalent to about one-half the value of the cargo brought down; the orders for goods amounting already to £3,000 and upwards.

[6]The dimensions of the Lady Augusta (so called in honour of Lady Young), are as follows:—Extreme length on deck, 105ft.; extreme length of keel, 98ft. 6in.; depth of hold, 5ft 6in.; breadth of beam, 12ft.; on the cross guards, 21ft. She is built altogether upon the American principle and model, and cost about £5,000. Her engines, furnished from Sydney, are of twenty horse power each, and of best workmanship. Her total tonnage, including engines which weigh thirty tons, is ninety-one tons. Her beams and planking are of New Zealand pine, and her timbers are of honeysuckle. She draws 3ft. water when full, and 2ft. 4in. when light. She possesses accommodation for sixteen first-class passengers and half as many second. There is also accommodation in the Eureka barge, which tows alongside.

[7]The Eureka launch is built of blue gum below, her upper planks of New Zealand pine, and her decks of Baltic deal. Entire length on deck, 106 feet; entire length of keel, 96 feet; breadth of beam, 12 feet; breadth of cross guards, 21 feet; depth of hold, 8 feet. Her dimensions were:—Estimated measurement tonnage, 87 tons; draught of water, with cargo, 3 feet; draught of water, without cargo, 13 to 15 inches. The deck, which is covered with an awning, is, from her peculiar construction, large enough for a vessel of 300 or 400 tons.

[8]This man, for want of evidence, was released, and sent back from whence he came.

[9]From those lakes, salt, in considerable quantities, is gathered and transported into the interior, or to the nearest towns.

[10]October 4th, above Euston, three emus or cassowaries were observed swimming across the river. Amongst the Australian aborigines there has been an evident desire to preserve this gigantic bird, and for this purpose its flesh is forbidden, it is said, to their young men. The Europeans, however, hunt it down without any consideration, unless it be for the sake of its feathers or for a steak of its flesh. An emu, we are told, with a kick can kill a dog or break a horse’s leg, and to judge from the size of their claws (some of which we have on board) this can be no exaggeration. Dogs are, however, trained to seize them by the neck, and, in this way, overpower them easily.

[11]The Darling, during more than half the year, would, it appears, be navigable for upwards of 150 miles from its junction with the Murray. A few years ago indeed, it was settled as far as Lake Minindie, a Government Reserve, 200 miles from the mouth; but the outrages of the blacks—the distance from an available market—or other causes—led to the abandonment of these runs. It has now only 50,000 sheep upon its banks; but would, it is said, depasture four times that number, and might be occupied up to Fort Bourke, 500 miles from the junction. The waters of the Darling, at times fordable, begin to rise about July, and subside again in February.

[12]According to Mr. Jamieson, Mickie had a companion; and the native was alone.

[13]In Victoria, as much as 35s. had been demanded for one day’s stabling and food for one horse.

[14]These birds were afterwards brought on board and conveyed to Adelaide.

[15]These “store” sheep, as they are called, are sent overland to be fattened on the banks of the river, whence the clip is easily transported to Adelaide.

[16]In the Wakool we found three and a-half fathoms water.

[17]As in some degree confirmatory of this last extract, it may be mentioned that on taking in wood, at the Great Bend, we were informed that, of the woodcutters who had been working for us, one had been a West India proprietor, and the other the nephew of a noble Earl, whose ancestors have borne a prominent place in Irish history.

[18]It is worthy of remark, that the sheep on the Murray appear to be singularly exempt from disease—neither catarrh, scab, nor foot rot, being now known amongst them.

[19]The nearest diggings to Swan Hill are the Koorong, about 100 miles distant.

[20]On this voyage, up the Murray, has been remarked by more than one of our party the singular resemblance to Gothic arches presented by the overhanging trees. It is not impossible that the idea of their construction has thus originated; at any rate, of the notion we may, I think, say with the Italian, si non è vero è ben trovato.

[21]The Company, it appears, allowed the passengers 8s. a-day during their detention.

[22]Near this station, on the borders of a lake, is found a quantity of a kind of gypsum or talc, perfectly transparent, which possibly may yet be turned to some useful purposes.

[23]Strange to say, the Wakool is stated in the dry season to be quite salt; if so, the salt springs must predominate over the waters of the Murray, of which it receives the “backwaters.”

[24]The Royal Australian Bank have two other sheep stations in the vicinity of the Wakool, as also two cattle stations on the Neimur and Murray; the whole being under the superintendence of Mr. Walter Murray.

[25]It is not fair to inflict upon the public the minutiæ of one’s daily ailments; but when one has not enjoyed a day’s health for five years—have suffered partial blindness for four years—and for nearly two years have lain down nightly with the chance of falling into a fit—as has been my case, I think this note may be pardoned.

[26]I crave the forgiveness of these gentlemen, if I have incorrectly quoted their opinions or their words; but am reminded, as I write, of the witty words of Voltaire, when told that Admiral Byng had been shot by order of the British Government,—“C’est pour encourager les autres.”

[27]The Captain called it a spiral rock, and I understood there is only four feet water over it.

[28]The excellent arrangement of which (small as it is), it is but just to say, was chiefly due to the exertions of Mr. Younghusband’s valet, groom, and coachman; for, I believe, “James” combines these three capacities in his own person.

[29]The trees on the Murray being of large size and lofty growth, it cannot be doubted that timber cutting and rafting in all its branches will erelong be introduced on the stream; on parts of which saw mills might with advantage be erected: the timber, when cut down and sawn, being formed into large rafts, and floated down, as on the rivers of Europe and America.

[30]The result of this expedition to the Colony of South Australia may truly be called the discovery of the Golden Fleece; for by the successful achievement of the navigation of the Murray by Captain Cadell’s steamer, Sir Henry Young has obtained an immediate increase to the exports of the Province of certainly 1,000,000lbs. of wool, of the value of about £80,000. I limit the amount to about this sum, because, for another twelve months, I doubt the steamer being able to carry the estimated quantity of wool even from Swan Hill—and amounting, with two years’ clip, to £162,000—unless, indeed, the boats navigated, as is expected, from England, for the Murray, should arrive. But when the boats are equal to the freight, I conceive the addition to the exports of South Australia will not fall short of £350,000.

[31]For these statistics, with much other information, I am indebted to Mr. Jamieson, of Mildura.

Transcriber’s Notes

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This estimate extends no further than Swan Hill, about 1,300 miles from the sea. To give a correct idea of the probable amount of wool to be derived from Swan Hill and north of the Murray, onwards, is not easy, but including the runs to Albury and Gundegai, and from thence again to near the junction of the Lachlan, it may be estimated at	280,000
Again, on the north bank of the Murrumbidgee there may be set down twenty stations, depasturing each 4,500 sheep, or	90,000
In Victoria, and on the south side of the Murray, from Swan Hill to Albury, not embracing the stations at the Campaspe, Goulburn, or Ovens, excepting those at their respective junctions	220,000
Total	590,000	[31]

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Murray River

THE MURRAY RIVER:

PREFACE.

JOURNAL
OF
VOYAGE ON THE MURRAY.

APPENDIX.

SUPPLEMENT.

NAVIGATION OF THE MURRAY.

PROCLAMATION

Footnotes

Transcriber’s Notes

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Murray River

THE MURRAY RIVER:

PREFACE.

JOURNAL OF VOYAGE ON THE MURRAY.

APPENDIX.

SUPPLEMENT.

NAVIGATION OF THE MURRAY.

PROCLAMATION

Footnotes

Transcriber’s Notes

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

JOURNAL
OF
VOYAGE ON THE MURRAY.