CHAPTER 3.8.

MOUNT HOPE FROM THE NORTH.

This hill consisted of immense blocks of common granite composed of white felspar and quartz and black mica; and it appeared to form the western extremity of a low range. It was indeed a welcome sight to us all after traversing for several months so much flat country; and to me it was particularly interesting for, from its summit, I expected to obtain an extensive view over the unknown region between us and the southern coast. I accordingly named the hill Mount Hope.

WHITE ANGUILLARIA.

On the verdant plain near its foot we found a beautiful white anguillaria, a flower we had not seen elsewhere and which, notwithstanding the season, was in full bloom and had a pleasing perfume. It might indeed be called the Australian snowdrop for its hardy little blossom seemed quite insensible to the frost.

VIEW FROM MOUNT HOPE.

On reaching the summit of Mount Hope I saw various higher hills extending from south-south-west to west-south-west at a distance of about 35 miles. They were not all quite connected, and I supposed them to be only the northern extremities of some higher ranges still more remote. I perceived along their base a line of lofty trees, but it was most apparent on the horizon to the westward of the heights. The intervening country consisted, as far as the glass enabled me to examine it, of open grassy plains, beautifully variegated with serpentine lines of wood. In all other directions the horizon was unbroken and, as the trees of the Murray vanished at a point bearing 143 1/2 degrees from North on the border of a very extensive plain, I concluded that an important change took place there in the course of that river or the Goulburn (of Hovell and Hume); for it was uncertain then which river we were near. The granitic range of Mount Hope terminates in the plains, one or two bare rocks only projecting above ground on the flats westward of the hill. On its summit we found some plants quite new to us and, among the rocks on its sides, a species of anguillaria different from that on the plains, being larger in the stem and having a dark brown ring within the chalice, the edge of the leaves being tinged with the same colour.* We found here again the Baeckea micrantha seen on the 24th instant, also a remarkable new species of Eriostemon forming a scrubby spiny bush, with much the appearance of a Leptospermum,** and a new and very beautiful species of Pleurandra, with the aspect of the yellow Cistus of the Algarves.*** A remarkable hill of granite appeared 5 1/3 miles from Mount Hope, bearing 30 degrees 10 minutes West of South. It is a triangular pyramid and, being quite isolated, it closely resembles the monuments of Egypt.

(*Footnote. Anguillaria dioica.)

(**Footnote. E. pungens, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis teretibus pilosulis, foliis acerosis pungentibus glandulosis, pedicellis solitariis axillaribus brevibus unifloris, staminibus glabriusculis, antheria inappendiculatis.)

(***Footnote. P. incana, Lindley manuscripts; foliis linearibus obtusis tomentosis marginibus revolutis costam tangentibus, floribus sessilibus terminalibus, staminibus 6 ima basi monadelphis.)

Soon after my return to the camp Mr. Stapylton came in with his party, having succeeded in finding the river by tracing the branch upwards of thirteen miles. This branch was connected with others on both sides, so that Mr. Stapylton was obliged at last to cross it, and make direct for the river which, at the point where he fell in with it, was running at the rate of 2940 yards per hour, and was 99 yards wide, being therefore probably still the Murray itself.

RETURN OF MR. STAPYLTON.

The country which I had seen this day beyond Mount Hope was too inviting to be left behind us unexplored; and I therefore determined to turn into it without further delay, and to pursue the bearing of 215 degrees from North as the general direction of our route, until we should fall in with the line of river trees before mentioned.

The Party quits the Murray.Pyramid Hill.Beautiful country seen from it.Discovery of the river Yarrayne.A bridge made across it.Covered by a sudden rise of the river.Then cross it in boats.Useful assistance of Piper.Our female guide departs.Enter a hilly country.Ascend Barrabungalo.Rainy weather.Excursion southward.The widow returns to the party.Natives of Tarray.Their description of the country.Discover the Loddon.The woods.Cross a range.Kangaroos numerous.The earth becomes soft and impassable, even on the sides of hills.Discover a noble range of mountains.Cross another stream.Another.General character of the country.Proposed excursion to the mountains.Richardson's creek.Cross a fine stream flowing in three separate channels.A ridge of poor sandy soil.Cross another stream.Trap-hills and good soil.Ascend the mountain.Clouds cover it.A night on the summit.No fuel.View from it at sunrise.Descend with difficulty.Men taken ill.New plants found there.Repose in the valley.Night's rest.Natives at the camp during my absence.

THE PARTY QUITS THE MURRAY.

June 29.

The party moved forward in the direction of Mount Hope and, leaving it on the left, we continued towards Pyramid Hill where we encamped at about three-quarters of a mile from its base. We were under no restraint now in selecting a camp from any scarcity of water or grass; for all hollows in the plains contained some water and grass grew everywhere. The strips of wood which diversified the country as seen from the hills generally enclosed a depression with polygonum bushes, but without any marks of having had any water in them although, in very wet seasons, some probably lodges there, as in so many canals, and this indeed seemed to me to be a country where canals would answer well, not so much perhaps for inland navigation as for the better distribution of water over a fertile country enclosed as this is by copious rivers.

PYRAMID HILL.

June 30.

Having seen the party on the way and directed it to proceed on a bearing of 215 degrees from North I ascended the rocky pyramidic hill, which I found arose to the height of 300 feet above the plain.

BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY SEEN FROM IT.

Its apex consisted of a single block of granite, and the view was exceedingly beautiful over the surrounding plains, shining fresh and green in the light of a fine morning. The scene was different from anything I had ever before witnessed either in New South Wales or elsewhere. A land so inviting and still without inhabitants! As I stood, the first European intruder on the sublime solitude of these verdant plains as yet untouched by flocks or herds, I felt conscious of being the harbinger of mighty changes; and that our steps would soon be followed by the men and the animals for which it seemed to have been prepared. A haziness in the air prevented me however from perceiving clearly the distant horizon from that summit, but I saw and intersected those mountains to the southward which I had observed from Mount Hope.

PYRAMID HILL.

The progress of the party was still visible from that hill, pursuing their course over the distant plains like a solitary line of ants. I overtook it when a good many miles on; and we encamped after travelling upwards of fourteen miles in one uninterrupted straight line. Our camp was chosen on the skirts of a forest of box, having a plain on the east covered with rich grass, and where we found some small pools of rainwater.

July 1.

Proceeding still on the bearing followed yesterday we reached at three miles from our camp a fine chain of ponds. They were deep, full of water, and surrounded by strong yarra trees. Passing them we met a small scrub of casuarinae which we avoided; and we next entered on a fine plain in which the anthisteria or oatgrass appeared. This is the same grass which grows on the most fertile parts of the counties of Argyle and Murray and is, I believe, the best Australian grass for cattle: it is also one of the surest indications of a good soil and dry situation.

DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER YARRAYNE.

Beyond the plain the line of noble yarra trees, which I had observed from Mount Hope, gave almost certain promise of a river; and at 6 1/2 miles our journey was terminated by a deep running stream. The banks were steep and about twenty feet high, but covered thickly with grass to the edge of the water. The yarra trees grew by the brink of the stream and not on the top of the bank. The water had a brown appearance as if it came from melted snow but, from the equality of depth (about nine feet) and other circumstances, I was of opinion that it was a permanent running stream. The current ran at the rate of four chains in 122 seconds, or near 1 1/2 mile per hour; thus it would appear from what we had seen that there is much uniformity in the velocity of the rivers, and consequently in the general inclination of the surface. The banks of this little river were however very different in some respects from any we had previously seen, being everywhere covered thickly with grass. No fallen timber impeded its course, nor was there any indication in the banks that the course was ever in the least degree affected by such obstructions.

PLATE 30: THE RIVER YARRAYNE, WITH THE SHEEP OF THE PARTY FIRST APPROACHING IT.Major T.L. Mitchell del. G. Barnard Lith. J. Graf Printer to Her Majesty.Published by T. and W. Boone, London.

A BRIDGE MADE ACROSS IT.

It was so narrow that I anticipated little difficulty in making a bridge by felling some of the overhanging trees. Finding a large one already fallen across the stream where the slopes of the banks could be most readily made passable, we lost no time in felling another which broke against the opposite bank and sunk into the water. No other large trees grew near but the banks were, at that place, so favourable for the passage of the waggons that I determined to take advantage of the large fallen tree; and to construct a bridge by bringing others of smaller dimensions to it, according to the accompanying plan, and not unmindful of the useful suggestions of Sir Howard Douglas respecting temporary bridges.

PLAN OF TEMPORARY BRIDGE ACROSS THE YARRAYNE.

July 2.

Late in the evening of this day we completed a bridge formed of short but strong sleepers, laid diagonally to the fallen tree which constituted its main support, and the whole was covered with earth from cuttings made in the banks to render it accessible to the carts. At length everything was ready for crossing and we had thus a prospect of being able to advance beyond the river into that unknown but promising land of hill and dale.

COVERED BY A SUDDEN RISE OF THE RIVER.

July 3.

This morning our bridge was no longer to be seen, the river having risen so much during the night that it was four feet under water. Yet no rain had fallen for five days previous, and we could account for this unexpected flood only by supposing that the powerful shining of the sun during the last two days had melted the snow near the sources of the stream. At noon the water had risen fourteen feet. A whispering sound much resembling wind among the trees now arose from it and, however inconvenient to us, the novelty of a sudden rise in the river was quite refreshing, accustomed as we had been so long to wander in the beds of rivers and to seek in vain for water. Our little bridge continued to be passable even when covered with four feet of water but, as it had no parapets, we could not prevent some of the bullocks from going over the side on attempting to cross when it was thus covered.

THEN CROSS IT IN BOATS.

The river still continuing to rise, we were compelled at last to launch the boats, and by this means we effected the passage of the whole party and equipment before sunset; the boats having been also again mounted on the carriage the same evening. The carts and boat-carriage were drawn through the bed of the river by means of the drag-chains which reached from the carriage on one side to a strong team of bullocks on the other.

USEFUL ASSISTANCE OF PIPER.

This was a very busy day for the whole party, black and white; I cannot fairly say savage and civilised for, in most of our difficulties by flood and field, the intelligence and skill of our sable friends made the whitefellows appear rather stupid. They could read traces on the earth, climb trees, or dive into the water better than the ablest of us. In tracing lost cattle, speaking to the wild natives, hunting, or diving, Piper was the most accomplished man in the camp. In person he was the tallest, and in authority he was allowed to consider himself almost next to me, the better to secure his best exertions. When Mr. Stapylton first arrived Piper came to my tent and observed that "That fellow had TWO coats," no doubt meaning that I ought to give one of them to him! The men he despised, and he would only act by my orders. This day he rendered us much useful assistance in the water; for instance, when a cart stuck in the bottom of the river, the rope by which it was to be drawn through having broken, Piper, by diving, attached a heavy chain to it, thereby enabling the party to draw it out with the teams.

OUR FEMALE GUIDE DEPARTS.

At this place The Widow, being far beyond her own country, was inclined to go back and, although I intended to put her on a more direct and safe way home after we should pass the heads of the Murrumbidgee on our return, I could not detain her longer than she wished. Her child, to whom she appeared devotedly attached, was fast recovering the use of its broken limb; and the mother seemed uneasy under an apprehension that I wanted to deprive her of this child. I certainly had always wished to take back with me to Sydney an aboriginal child with the intention of ascertaining what might be the effect of education upon one of that race. This little savage, who at first would prefer a snake or lizard to a piece of bread, had become so far civilised at length as to prefer bread; and it began to cry bitterly on leaving us. The mother however thought nothing of swimming, even at that season, across the broad waters of the Millewa, as she should be obliged to do, pushing the child before her, floating on a piece of bark.

ENTER A HILLY COUNTRY.

July 4.

At the distance of about a mile to the southward a line of trees marked the course of another channel which, containing only a few ponds, we crossed without difficulty. Beyond it we traversed a plain five miles in extent, and backed by low grassy hills composed of grey gneiss. The most accessible interval between these hills still appeared to be in the direction I had chosen at Mount Hope, as leading to the lowest opening of a range still more distant: I therefore continued on that bearing, having the highest of those hills to our left at the distance of five or six miles. On entering the wood skirting the wide plain, our curiosity was rather disappointed at finding, instead of rare things, the black-butted gum and casuarinae, trees common in the colony. The woolly gum also grew there, a tree much resembling the box in the bark on its trunk, although that on the branches, unlike the box, is smooth and shining. In this wood we recognised the rosella parrot, and various plants so common near Sydney but not before seen by us in the interior.

At ten miles we travelled over undulating ground for the first time since we left the banks of the Lachlan; and we crossed a chain of ponds watering a beautiful and extensive valley covered with a luxuriant crop of the anthisteria grass. Kangaroos were now to be seen on all sides, and we finally encamped on a deeper chain of ponds, probably the chief channel of the waters of that valley. A ridge of open forest-hills appearing before us, I rode to the top of one of the highest summits while the men pitched the tents; and from it I perceived a hilly country through whose intricacies I at that time saw no way, and beyond it a lofty mountain range arose in the south-west. To venture into such a region with wheel-carriages seemed rather hazardous when I recollected the coast ranges of the colony; and I determined to examine it further before I decided whether we should penetrate these fastnesses, or travel westward round them, thus to ascertain their extent in that direction and that of the good land watered by them.

July 5.

I proceeded with several men mounted towards the lofty hill to the eastward of our route, the highest of those I had intersected from Mount Hope and the Pyramid-hill, its aboriginal name, as I afterwards learnt, being Barrabungale.* Nearly the whole of our way was over granite rocks. We had just reached a naked mass near the principal summit when the clouds, which had been lowering for some time, began to descend on the plains to the northward, and soon closing over the whole horizon compelled me to return, without having had an opportunity of observing more than that the whole mass of mountains in the south declined to the westward. This was however a fact of considerable importance with respect to our further progress; for I could enter that mountain-region with less hesitation as I knew that I could leave it, if necessary, and proceed westward by following down any of the valleys which declined in that direction.

(*Footnote. Warrabangle is a very similar name and belongs to a hill similarly situated five degrees further to the northward. See Map.)

ASCEND BARRABUNGALE. RAINY WEATHER. EXCURSION SOUTHWARD.

July 6.

The morning being rainy, I could learn nothing more by ascending Barrabungale as I intended; but I rode into the country to the southward in order to examine it in the direction in which I thought it most desirable to lead the party. After passing over several well-watered grassy flats or valleys, each bounded by open forest-hills, we crossed at six miles from the camp a range the summit of which was covered by a low scrub, but it did not much impede our way. Beyond this range we again found open forest land, and we saw extensive flats still more open to our right, in which direction all the waters seemed to fall. At length, after travelling about twelve miles, we came upon a deep chain of ponds winding through a flat thickly covered with anthisteria and resembling a field of ripe grain. Smoke arose in all directions from an extensive camp of natives but, although I cooeyed and saw them at a distance, they continued to crouch behind trees and would not approach. I did not disturb them further, but returned with the intention of leading the party there the next day when I hoped to see more of these natives. An abundance of a beautiful white or pale yellow-flowered, herbaceous plant reminding me of the violets of Europe, to which it was nearly allied, grew on the sides of hills.*

(*Footnote. This has been ascertained to be a new species of the genus Pigea. P. floribunda, Lindley manuscripts; caule erecto ramoso, foliis alternis linearibus et lineari-lanceolatis obtusis glabris, racemulis secundis paucifloris foliis brevioribus, sepalis petalisque glandulosis ovatis acutis, labelli lamina obovata rotundata basi bilamellata, antheris sessilibus syngenistis apice lamina oblonga membranacea acutis, processibus 2 corniformibus basi staminum 2 anteriorum.)

THE WIDOW RETURNS TO THE PARTY.

In the evening The Widow returned with her child on her back. She stated that after we left our late encampment a numerous tribe arrived on the opposite bank of the river and, seeing the fires on her side, called out very angrily, as Piper translated her tale, "murry coola" (very angry); inquiring who had made those fires, and that, receiving no reply (for she was afraid and had hid herself) they danced a corrobory in a furious style during which she and the child crept away, and had passed two nights without fire and in the rain. Piper seemed angry at her return, but I took particular care that she should be treated with as much kindness as before. She was a woman of good sense and had been with us long enough to feel secure under our protection, even from the wrath of Piper as displayed on this occasion; and I discovered that her attempted return home had been suggested by Piper's gin who probably anticipated a greater share of food after The Widow's departure.

NATIVES OF TARRAY. THEIR DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.

July 7.

The party moved to the creek where I had before seen the natives; and Piper found at their fires an old woman and several boys. They said, pointing far to the south-east, doubtless to Port Phillip, that a station of whitefellows was there and that they had been themselves to the sea, which was not very distant. The old woman spoke with expressive gestures of a part of the coast she called Cadong, where the waves raged; and of a river she named Woollamaee running into it. It appeared that the rest of the tribe were at that time in search of opossums; but she promised that when they returned in the evening or next day some of them should visit our camp.

July 8.

This morning Piper prevailed on an old man with his gins and some boys to come to us. The former pointed towards Cadong in the direction of 232 degrees from North and, in reply to my queries through Piper, said it was not Geelong (Port Phillip) but a water like it; and that no white men had ever been there. On mentioning lake Alexandrina by its native name Keyinga, he said that it was a place filled sometimes with rain (i.e. river-) water and not like Cadong which was saltwater. He described the whole country before us as abounding in good water and excellent grass; and he said that in the direction I was pursuing there was no impediment between me and the sea coast. Piper's countenance brightened up with the good news this man gave him; assuring me that we should "find water all about: no more want water." In return for all this intelligence I presented the old man with an iron tomahawk which he placed under him as he sat; and he continued to address me with great volubility for some time. I was told by Piper that he was merely saying how glad he was, and enumerating (apparently with a sort of poetic fervour) the various uses to which he could apply the axe I had given him. I left these natives with the impression on my mind that they were quiet, well-disposed people.

FINE APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.

Proceeding a little west of south-west we intersected this creek (Tarray) three times, leaving it finally flowing southward and to our left, into that of Dyoonboors which it joined at a mile and a half from where we had been encamped. At three miles, having crossed a low ridge of forest land, we entered a fine valley, backed on the west by romantic forest hills, and watered by some purling brooks which united in the woods on the east. The flat itself had a few stately trees upon it, and seemed quite ready to receive the plough; while some round hillocks on the north were so smooth and grassy that the men said they looked as if they had already been depastured by sheep. From an extremity of the clear ridge I obtained an extensive view of the mountain chain to the south-east; and I intersected most of its summits. The whole seemed smooth (i.e. not rocky) grassy, and thinly timbered. Crossing the lower or outer extremity of this forest ridge, we entered another fine valley watered by a creek which we passed at six miles from the commencement of the day's journey. This little channel was grassy to the water's edge, and its banks were firm and about eight feet high, the course being eastward. In the valley I saw the Banksia for the first time since we left the Lachlan. A calamifolia, or needle-leaved wattle, occurred also in considerable quantity. After crossing two more brooks and some flats of fine land with grassy forest-hills on our right, we reached the crest of a forest-range which afforded an extensive view over the country beyond it. The surface seemed to be low for some distance, but then to rise gradually towards some rocky points over which were partially seen the summits of a higher range still further southward.

DISCOVER THE LODDON.

The descent to the low country was easy for our carts; and we found there a beautifully green and level flat, bounded on the south by a little river flowing westward. The banks of this stream consisted of rounded acclivities and were covered with excellent grass. The bed was 18 or 20 feet below the level of the adjacent flats and, from its resemblance in some respects to the little stream in England, I named it the Loddon. We encamped on its bank in latitude 36 degrees 36 minutes 49 seconds South, longitude 143 degrees 35 minutes 30 seconds East.

July 9.

By continuing the same line of route we crossed several minor rivulets, all flowing through open grassy vales bounded by finely undulating hills. At about three miles we came to a deep chain of ponds, the banks being steep and covered with grass. Keeping a tributary to that channel on our left, we passed some low hills of quartz; and a little beyond them we crossed poor hills of the same rock bearing an open box-forest.

THE WOODS.

After travelling through a little scrub we descended on one of the most beautiful spots I ever saw: The turf, the woods, and the banks of the little stream which murmured through the vale had so much the appearance of a well kept park that I felt loth to injure its surface by the passage of our cartwheels. Proceeding for a mile and a half along the rivulet and through a valley wholly of the same description, we at length encamped on a flat of rich earth (nearly quite black) and where the anthisteria grew in greater luxuriance than I had ever before witnessed in Australian grasses. The earth indeed seemed to surpass in richness any that I had seen in New South Wales; and I was even tempted to bring away a specimen of it. Our dogs killed three kangaroos, and this good fortune was most timely as I had that very morning thought it advisable to reduce the allowance of rations.

July 10.

Tracing upwards the rivulet of the vale we left this morning we passed over much excellent grassy land watered by it, the channel containing some very deep ponds surrounded by the white-barked eucalyptus.

CROSS A RANGE.

A hill on its bank consisted of a conglomerate in which the ferruginous matter predominated over the embedded fragments of quartz. The ground beyond was hilly, and we at length ascended a ridge, apparently an extremity of a higher range. On these hills grew the varieties of eucalypti known in the colony, such as ironbark, bluegum, and stringybark. The lower grounds were so wet and soft, and the watercourses in them so numerous, that I was desirous to follow a ridge as long as it would take us in the direction in which we were proceeding; and this range answered well for the purpose. Its crest consisted of ferruginous sandstone much inclined, the strike extending north-north-west. I found the opposite side much more precipitous, and that it overlooked a much lower country. In seeking a favourable line of descent for the carts, I climbed a still higher forest-hill on the left, which consisted chiefly of quartz-rock. I not only recognised from that hill some lofty points to the eastward, and obtained angles on them, but I also perceived very rugged summits of a range at a great distance in the south-west. Having selected among the various hills and dales before me that line of route which seemed the best and, having taken its bearing, I returned to conduct the carts by a pass along one side of that hill, having found it in a very practicable state for wheel-carriages. At three miles beyond the pass we crossed a deep creek running westward which I named the Avoca, and we encamped on an excellent piece of land beyond it.

KANGAROOS NUMEROUS.

This day we had even better fortune in our field sports than on the one before for, besides three kangaroos, we killed two emus, one of which was a female and esteemed a great prize, for I had discovered that the eggs found in the ovarium were a great luxury in the bush; and afforded us a light and palatable breakfast for several days.

July 11.

At the end of two miles on this day's journey we crossed a deep stream running westward. The height of its banks above the water was twelve feet, and they were covered with a rich sward. The land along the margins of the stream was as good as that we were now accustomed to see everywhere around us, so that it was no longer necessary to note the goodness or beauty of any place in particular. At four miles we passed over a forest-hill composed of mica-slate and, after crossing another good valley at six miles, I saw before us, on gaining a low forest ridge, other grassy hills of still greater height, connected by a rock that cost us less trouble to ascend than I expected.

THE EARTH BECOMES SOFT AND IMPASSABLE, EVEN ON THE SIDES OF HILLS.

It was in the valleys now that we met most difficulty, the earth having become so soft and wet that the carts could be got through some places only by the tedious process of dragging each successively with the united strength of several teams.

DISCOVER A NOBLE RANGE OF MOUNTAINS.

From a high forest-hill about a mile east of our route I first obtained a complete view of a noble range of mountains rising in the south to a stupendous height, and presenting as bold and picturesque an outline as ever painter imagined. The highest and most eastern summit was hid in the clouds although the evening was serene. It bore West of South 26 degrees 54 minutes; and the western extremity, which consisted of a remarkably round hill, bore 16 degrees 30 minutes South of West. Having descended from the range by an easy slope to the southward, we passed through a beautiful valley in which we crossed, at a mile and a quarter from the hills, a fine stream flowing also westward; and in other respects similar to those we had already met. I named it Avon water and we encamped on its left bank.

CROSS ANOTHER STREAM.

July 12.

At two miles and a half from the spot where we had slept we crossed another stream flowing west-north-west which I named the Small-burn. Beyond it the ground was good and grassy, but at this season very soft, so that the draught was most laborious for the cattle. At seven miles we crossed a wet flat with ponds of water standing on it, and beyond we entered on a clay soil altogether different from any hitherto passed on this side the Yarrayne.

ANOTHER.

About eight miles from our camp we reached a fine running brook with grassy banks, its course being to the north-west. The bed consisted of red-sand and gravel, and the banks were about fourteen feet high, presenting fine swelling slopes covered with turf. On this stream, which I named the Dos casas, I halted, as it was doubtful whether some of the carts could be brought even so far before night, the ground having proved soft and rotten to such a degree, especially on the slopes of low hills, that in some cases the united strength of three teams had been scarcely sufficient to draw them through. It was night before the last cart arrived, and two bullocks had been left behind in an exhausted state.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.

July 13.

We had at length discovered a country ready for the immediate reception of civilised man; and destined perhaps to become eventually a portion of a great empire. Unencumbered by too much wood, it yet possessed enough for all purposes; its soil was exuberant and its climate temperate; it was bounded on three sides by the ocean; and it was traversed by mighty rivers, and watered by streams innumerable. Of this Eden I was the first European to explore its mountains and streams, to behold its scenery, to investigate its geological character and, by my survey, to develop those natural advantages certain to become, at no distant date, of vast importance to a new people. The lofty mountain range which I had seen on the 11th was now before us, but still distant between thirty and forty miles; and as the cattle required rest I determined on an excursion to its lofty eastern summit. Such a height was sure to command a view of the country between these mountains and the sea in the direction of Lady Julia Percy's Isles; and of that region between the range and those less connected forest-hills I had seen to the eastward.

PROPOSED EXCURSION TO THE MOUNTAINS.

When I first discovered these mountains I perceived that the land immediately to the eastward of them was very low and that, if I found it necessary, I might conduct the party in that direction to the coast. I was however more desirous to level my theodolite on that summit first, and thus obtain valuable materials for the construction of an accurate map of the whole country around it. I accordingly left the party encamped and proceeded towards the mountain, accompanied by six men on horseback, having previously instructed Mr. Stapylton to employ the men during my absence in forming a way down the bank, and a good ford across the stream in order that there might be no impediment to the immediate advance of the party on my return.

RICHARDSON'S CREEK.

Pursuing the bearing of 193 degrees we crossed, at three miles from the camp, a deep creek similar to that on which it was placed; and the first adventure of the morning occurred here. The fordable place was so narrow that the horse of one of the party plunged into the deep water with its rider who, while the animal was swimming, incautiously pulled the bridle and of course overturned it, so that they parted company in the water, the horse reaching one bank, the rider the other. The latter, who was my botanical collector Richardson, took his soaking on a cold frosty morning so philosophically, talking to his comrades as he made his way to the bank, partly swimming, partly floating on two huge portfolios, that I gave his name to the creek, the better to reconcile him to his wet jacket. We entered soon after upon one of the finest tracts of grassy forest land we had ever seen. The whole country recently crossed was good, but this was far better, having several broad and deep ponds, or small lakes, in the woods, and all full of the clearest water. At eight miles I perceived a forest-hill on my left (or to the eastward) and the country before us was so open, sloping and green, that I felt certain we were approaching a river; and we soon came upon one, which was full, flowing and thirty feet wide, being broader than the Yarrayne but not so uniformly deep. Unlike the latter river, reeds grew about its margin in some places, and its banks, though grassy and fifteen feet high, were neither so steep as those of the Yarrayne, nor so closely shut together.

CROSS A FINE STREAM FLOWING IN THREE SEPARATE CHANNELS.

We swam our horses across, but our progress had scarcely commenced again on the other side when it was impeded by another similar stream or channel. In this we managed, with Piper's assistance, to find a ford but, at less than a quarter of a mile, we met a third channel, more resembling the first in the height of its banks and velocity of the current, and also from its flowing amongst bushes. This we likewise forded, and immediately after we ascended a piece of rising ground which convinced me that we had at length crossed all the branches of that remarkable river. It is probable we came upon it where it received the waters of tributaries, and some of these channels might be such.

A RIDGE OF POOR SANDY SOIL.

We next fell in with some undulating ground different in many respects from any that we had traversed during the morning. The soil was poor and sandy; and the stunted trees and shrubs of the Blue mountains grew upon it, instead of the novelties we expected at such a great distance from home. We also recognised the birds common about Sydney. On reaching the higher part of this ground (at nine miles) I again saw the mountain which then bore 196 degrees. The intervening ground seemed to consist of a low ridge rather heavily wooded, its crest presenting a line as level as the ocean. At eleven miles I supposed we were upon the dividing ground between the sea-coast country and that of the interior, and on what appeared to be the only connection between the forest mountains to the eastward and the lofty mass then before us. We found upon this neck huge trees of ironbark and stringybark; some fine forest-hills appeared to the eastward and distant only a few miles.

CROSS SEVERAL FINE STREAMS.

At the end of sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-one, and twenty-three miles we crossed small rivers, all flowing westward, and the third over sandstone. After passing the last or fifth stream, we halted on a very fine open, dry and grassy flat. We found a large fallen tree which we set on fire and passed the night, a very mild one, most comfortably on the ground beside it, with the intention of renewing our journey at daylight in the morning.

TRAP-HILLS AND GOOD SOIL.

July 14.

On leaving our bivouac we crossed some hills of trap-rock which were lightly wooded and covered with the finest grass in great abundance. The scenery around them, the excellent quality of the soil, the abundance of water and verdure, contrasted strangely with the circumstance of their lying waste and unoccupied. It was evident that the reign of solitude in these beautiful vales was near a close; a reflection which, in my mind, often sweetened the toils and inconveniences of travelling through such houseless regions. At the foot of the last hill, and about a mile on our way, we crossed a chain of deep ponds running to the south-west. Beyond them was a plain of the very finest open forest-land, on which we travelled seven miles; and then came upon a river with broad deep reaches of very clear water, and flowing towards the north-west. We easily found a ford and, on proceeding, entered upon a tract of white sand where banksia and casuarinae were the chief trees. There was also some good grass but it grew rather thinly upon it. The next water we crossed was a small mountain-torrent hurrying along to the eastward in a deep and rocky channel overhung with bushes.

ASCEND THE MOUNTAIN.

Being now close under the mountain, we dismounted and sent our horses back for the sake of food to the bank of the last-mentioned river. The first part of our ascent, on foot, was extremely steep and laborious, although it was along the most favourable feature I could find. Above it the impediments likely to obstruct our further ascent were two high and perpendicular rocky cliffs; but I had observed before ascending those crevices and intervals between rocks where we might most easily effect an ascent; and through these we accordingly penetrated without much difficulty. The upper precipice consisted of cliffs about 140 feet in perpendicular height. Fortunately the ablest of the men with me was a house carpenter and, being accustomed to climb roofs, he managed to get up and then assist the rest.

CLOUDS COVER IT.

Having gained the top of this second precipice, we found winter and desolation under drizzling clouds which afforded but partial and transient glimpses of the world below. The surface at the summit of the cliffs was broad and consisted of large blocks of sandstone, separated by wide fissures full of dwarf bushes of banksia and casuarinae. These rocks were inclined but slightly towards the north-west and, the bushes being also wet and curiously encrusted with heavy icicles, it was by no means a pleasant part of our journey to travel nearly half a mile upwards, either on the slippery rock or between fissures among wet bushes. At length however we reached the highest point and found that it consisted of naked sandstone. The top block was encrusted with icicles, and had become hoary under the beating of innumerable storms. At the very summit I found a small heath-like bushy Leucopogon, from six inches to a foot high. It was in flower although covered with ice.* Also a variety of Leucopogon villosus, with rather less hair than usual, and another species of the same genus, probably new. Near the highest parts of the plateau I found a new species of eucalyptus with short broad viscid leaves, and rough-warted branches.**

(*Footnote. L. glacialis, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis pubescentibus, foliis lineari-lanceolatis erectis contortis acutis ciliatis margine scabris, floribus terminalibus solitaririis et aggregatis, pedicellis pubescentibus distanter squamatis, calcibus glabris.)

(**Footnote. E. alpina, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis brevibus rigidis angulatis, foliis alternis petiolatis ovato-oblongis viscosis basi obliquis, umbellis axillaribus paucifloris petiolis brevioribus, operculo hemisphaerico verrucoso inaequali tubo calycis turbinato verrucoso breviore.)

A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT.

All around us was hidden in mist. It was now within half an hour of sunset, but the ascent had cost so much trouble, and the country this summit commanded was so interesting to us that I was unwilling to descend without trying whether it might not be clear of clouds at sunrise. We had not come prepared in any way to pass the night on such a wild and desolate spot, for we had neither clothing nor food, nor was there any shelter; but I was willing to suffer any privations for the attainment of the object of our ascent. One man, Richardson, an old traveller, had most wisely brought his day's provisions in his haversack, and these I divided equally among FIVE. No rocks could be found near the summit to shelter us from the piercing wind and sleet.

NO FUEL.

The thermometer stood at 29 degrees, and we strove to make a fire to protect us from the piercing cold; but the green twigs, encrusted with icicles, could not by our united efforts be blown into a flame sufficient to warm us. There was abundance of good wood AT THE FOOT OF THE CLIFFS--huge trees of ironbark, stringybark and bluegum but, had we descended, a second ascent might have appeared too laborious on a mere chance of finding the summit clear; so we remained above. The men managed to manufacture some tea in a tin pot, and into the water as it boiled I plunged a thermometer which rose to exactly 95 degrees of the centigrade scale. We got through that night of misery as well as might have been expected under the circumstances, and we succeeded in keeping the fire alive although, while twigs were blown into red heat at one end, icicles remained at the other, even within a few inches of the flame. In order to maintain it through the night we divided, at eleven o'clock, the stock of branches which had been gathered before dark into eight parcels, this being the number of hours we were destined to sit shivering there; and as each bundle was laid on the dying embers we had the pleasure at least of knowing that it was an hour nearer daylight. I coiled myself round the fire in all the usual attitudes of the blacks, but in vain; to get warm was quite impossible, although I did once feel something like comfort when one of the men gave me for a seat a flat stone on which the fire had been blown for some hours. Partial cessations in the fall of sleet were also cheering occasionally; but the appearance of stars two hours before daylight promised to reward our enterprise and inspired me with hope.

VIEW FROM IT AT SUNRISE.

July 15.

At six o'clock the sky became clear, the clouds had indeed left the mountain and, as soon as it was day, I mounted the frozen rock. In the dawn however all lower objects were blended in one grey shade, like the dead colouring of a picture. I could distinguish only a pool of water, apparently near the foot of the mountain. This water I afterwards found to be a lake eight miles distant and in my map I have named it Lake Lonsdale, in honour of the Commandant then or soon after appointed at Port Phillip. I hastily levelled my theodolite but the scene, although sublime enough for the theme of a poet, was not at all suited to the more commonplace objects of a surveyor. The sun rose amid red and stormy clouds, and vast masses of a white vapour concealed from view both sea and land save where a few isolated hills were dimly visible. Towards the interior the horizon was clear and, during a short interval, I took what angles I could obtain. To the westward the view of the mountain ranges was truly grand. Southward or towards the sea I could at intervals perceive plains clear of timber and that the country was level, a circumstance of great importance to us; for I was apprehensive that between these mountains and the coast it might be broken by mountain gullies as it is in the settled colony and all along the Eastern coast. If such had proved to be the case the carts could not have been taken there; and I must have altered the plan of my intended route. Before I could observe the angles so desirable clouds again enveloped the mountain, and I was compelled to quit its summit without completing the work. The wind blew keenly, the thermometer stood as low as 27 degrees, and in the morning the rocks were more thickly encrusted with ice.

DESCEND WITH DIFFICULTY.

The difficulty of our descent under such circumstances was therefore increased but no impediment could have arrested us then, the lower regions having so many attractive charms for such cold and hungry beings.

MEN TAKEN ILL.

That night on the summit materially injured the health of two of my best men who had been with me on all three of my expeditions. Muirhead was seized with ague and Woods with a pulmonary complaint; and although both recovered in a few weeks they were never so strong afterwards.

NEW PLANTS FOUND THERE.

We found upon the mountain, besides those already mentioned, various interesting plants which we had seen nowhere else. Amongst them:

A most beautiful downy-leaved Epacris with large, curved, purple flowers, allied to E. grandiflora but much handsomer.*

(*Footnote. E. tomentosa, Lindley manuscripts; foliis ovatis acutis planis crassis tomentosis, floribus cernuis, corolla arcuata infundibulari laciniis obtusis apiculatis.)

A most remarkable species of Phebalium* with holly-like leaves and bright red flowers resembling those of a Boronia. It was related to P. phylicifolium but quite distinct.

(*Footnote. P. bilobum, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis tomentosis, foliis glabris cordato-ovatis retusis bilobis dentatis margine revolutis, pedicellis axillaribus pubescentibus folio brevioribus, ovario tricorni.)

A new Cryptandra remarkable for its downy leaves.*

(*Footnote. C. tomentosa, Lindley manuscripts; undique dense tomentosa, ramulis racemosis, foliis fasciculatis linearibus obtusis marginibus revolutis contiguis, capitulis terminalibus congestis, calycibus campanulatis bracteis acutis scariosis parum longioribus. Next to C. propinqua.)

A beautiful species of Baeckea, with downy leaves and rose-coloured flowers resembling those of the dwarf almond.*

(*Footnote. B. alpina, Lindley manuscripts; tota pubescens, foliis lineari-ovatis petiolatis obtusis concavis, pedicellis axillaribus et terminalibus foliis longioribus supra medium bibracteatis: bracteis oppositis obovatis cucullatis, laciniis calycinis cordatis obtusis petalis denticulatis duplo brevioribus, antheris apice verruciferis.)

A new Pultenaea allied to P. biloba, but more hairy and with the flowers half concealed among the leaves.*

(*Footnote. P. montana, Lindley manuscripts; foliis obcordatis muticis lobis rotundatis supra scabris utrinque ramulisque hirsutis, capitulis solitariis terminalibus sessilibus foliis parum longioribus, calycibus villosis laciniis subulatis appressis.)

A new species of Bossiaea which had the appearance of a rosemary bush, and differed from all the published kinds in having linear pungent leaves.*

(*Footnote. B. rosmarinifolia, Lindley manuscripts; ramis teretibus villosis, foliis linearibus pungentibus margine revolutis supra glabris subtus pallidis pilosis, floribus solitariis axillaribus.)

A beautiful new and very distinct species of Genetyllis, possessing altogether the habit of a Cape Diosma, the heath-like branches being terminated by clusters of bright pink and white flowers.*

(*Footnote. G. alpestris, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis piloso-hispidis, foliis linearibus tetragonis scabro-pilosis, capitulis sessilibus terminalibus nudis rachi lanata, tubo ovarii pentagono pubescente, sepalis petalis pluries brevioribus, stigmate glaberrimo.)

Several species of Grevillea, particularly a remarkable kind with leaves like those of a European holly, but downy.*

(*Footnote. G. aquifolium, Lindley manuscripts propria; foliis oblongis extra medium incisis: lobis triangularibus apice spinosis; adultis super glabratis: subter mollibus pubescentibus, racemis pedunculatis, calycibus villosis, ovario hirsutissimo, stylo glabro.)

Another fine new species with leaves like those of a European oak.*

(*Footnote. G. variabilis, Lindley manuscripts propria; incana, foliis cuneatis angulatis oblogisve basi cuneatis pinnatifidis sinuatis angulatisque subtus tomentosis lobis mucronatis triangularibus vel rotundatis, racemis tomentosis pedunculatis.)

And a third with brownish red flowers and hoary leaves; varying from an erect straight-branched bush to a diffuse entangled shrub.*

(*Footnote. G. alpina, Lindley manuscripts Ptychocarpa; foliis lineari-oblongis tomentosis muticis margine revolutis supra subtus pilis appressis sericeis, racemis paucifloris, pistillis basi hirsutissimis, calycibus ferrugineis tomentosis. alpha, ramis erectis, foliis longioribus angustioribus. beta, ramis diffusis intricatis, foliis brevioribus nunc mollibus nunc supra scabris.)

Lastly a new Leucopogon, besides that found on the summit as already mentioned.*

(*Footnote. L. rufus, Lindley manuscripts; ramulis foliis que subtus pubescentibus, foliis ovatis acuminatis apice spinosis erectis concavis supra laevigatis subtus striatis margine laevibus, floribus subsolitariis sessilibus axillaribus, barba corollae cinnamomea.)

ON THE APPLICATION OF NAMES.

In adding this noble range of mountains to my map I felt some difficulty in deciding on a name. To give appellations that may become current in the mouths of future generations has often been a perplexing subject with me, whether they have been required to distinguish new counties, towns, or villages, or such great natural features of the earth as mountains and rivers. I have always gladly adopted aboriginal names and, in the absence of these, I have endeavoured to find some good reason for the application of others, considering descriptive names the best, such being in general the character of those used by the natives of this and other countries. Names of individuals seem eligible enough when at all connected with the history of the discovery or that of the nation by whom it was made. The capes on the coast I was then approaching were chiefly distinguished with the names of naval heroes and, as such capes were but subordinate points of the primitive range, I ventured to connect this summit with the name of the sovereign in whose reign the extensive, valuable, and interesting region below was first explored; and I confess it was not without some pride as a Briton that I more majorum* gave the name of the Grampians to these extreme summits of the southern hemisphere.

(*Footnote.Procedo, et parvam Trojam, simulataque magnisPergama, et arentem Xanthi cognomine rivum,Agnosco. Aen. lib 3.)

REPOSE IN THE VALLEY.

We reached the banks of the little river where the horses awaited us in three hours, the distance being eight miles from the summit of Mount William. There we found a large fire and, under a wide spreading casuarina during a delightful interval of about twenty minutes, I enjoyed the pleasures of eating, sleeping, resting, and warming myself, almost all at the same time. To all who would know how to enjoy most intensely a good fire, shelter, sunshine, and the dry soft turf I would recommend, by way of whet, a winter night on a lofty mountain, without fire, amidst frost-covered rocks and clouds of sleet. I shall long remember the pleasure of those moments of repose which I enjoyed on my arrival in the warm valley after such a night. We could afford no longer delay however, having brought provisions only for one day with us, whereas this was the morning of the third of our absence from the camp. Retracing our steps we reached the little river only at eight in the evening and, as I hoped to find a ford in it at daylight, we lay down on its bank for the night.

NIGHT'S REST.

July 16.

I slept on a snug bit of turf within two feet of the stream; so that the welcome murmur of its rippling waters assisted my dreams of undiscovered rivers. As soon as morning dawned I succeeded in finding a ford on that branch across which we swam our horses on the 13th. We thus met with less cause of delay and reached the camp at an early hour, with excellent appetites for breakfast.

NATIVES AT THE CAMP DURING MY ABSENCE.

Two natives had visited the party during my absence and had slept by the fires. They had been at cattle stations and could say "milk." They consequently approached our camp boldly, and during the night showed much restlessness, endeavouring to decoy the gins away with them. But The Widow gave the alarm, and very properly handed over these insidious wooers to the especial surveillance of the man on duty. Notwithstanding they were vigilantly watched they contrived to steal a tomahawk, and went off leaving their wooden shovels at our camp, saying they should return. I had now several men on the sicklist, but under the treatment of Drysdale, our medical attendant, they speedily recovered.

Plains of stiff clay.The Wimmera.Difficult passage of its five branches.Ascend Mount Zero.Circular lake, brackish water.The Wimmera in a united channel.Lose this river.Ascend Mount Arapiles.Mr. Stapylton's excursion northward.Salt lakes.Green Hill lake.Mitre lake.Relinquish the pursuit of the Wimmera.The party travels to the south-west.Red lake.Small lakes of fresh water.White lake.Basketwork of the natives.Muddy state of the surface.Mr. Stapylton's ride southward.Disastrous encounter of one man with a native.A tribe makes its appearance.More lakes of brackish water.Escape at last from the mud.Encamp on a running stream.Fine country.Discovery of a good river.Granitic soil.Passage of the Glenelg.Country well watered.Pigeon ponds.Soft soil again impedes the party.Halt to repair the carts and harness.Natives very shy.Chetwynd rivulet.Slow progress over the soft surface.Excursion into the country before us.Beautiful region discovered.The party extricated with difficulty from the mud.

PLAINS OF STIFF CLAY.

July 17.

The ground on the sides of the low hills was still so soft (and in this respect I had found the country we had lately crossed even worse than that previously traversed by the carts) that the only prospect which remained to us of being able to continue the journey was by proceeding over the plains extending along the interior side of the Grampians of the South. The soil of such plains consisted chiefly of clay, and we had recently found that it bore the wheels of the waggons much better during the winter season than the thin and loose soil on the sides of hills; apparently because this lay on rock, or a substratum so tenacious as to support the water in or just under the surface. The wheels and also the feet of the cattle sunk at once to this rocky subsoil whatever its depth, and up came the water, so that on level parts our track resembled a ditch of mud and water, and on slopes it formed a current of water and a drain from the sides of hills. I had observed the plains during my reconnaissance of the interior from the side of Mount William, and I now directed our course towards them. We crossed without difficulty the little river by the passage Mr. Stapylton had prepared during my absence and, after travelling about four miles first west and then north-west, we came upon an extensive plain. The soil consisted of good strong clay on which the cattle travelled very well, and it was covered with the best kind of grass. On reaching it I resumed my former course which was nearly west-south-west towards Mount Zero, a name I applied to a remarkable cone at the western extremity of the chain of mountains. After travelling 2 1/2 miles over the plain we again reached the banks of Richardson's creek, and forded it after some delay and considerable difficulty on account of the softness of the bottom. We next entered on a tract of grassy forest land, the trees being chiefly box and casuarinae. At 2 1/2 miles beyond Richardson's creek we crossed a small run of water flowing west-north-west, apparently towards it. After passing over similar ground for some miles further and having had another plain on our right, we at length encamped near a large serpentine pond or lake which was broad, deep, and bordered with lofty gum trees.

July 18.

We continued for five miles along good firm ground on which there was open forest of box and gumtrees; and part of the bold outline of the Grampians appeared to our left.

THE WIMMERA.

At nine miles we fell in with a flowing stream, the water being deep and nearly as high as the banks. I did not doubt that this was the channel of the waters from the north side of these mountains, and I was convinced that it contained the water of all the streams we had crossed on our way to Mount William, with the exception of Richardson's creek, already crossed by the party where it was flowing to the north-west. The richness of the soil and the verdure near the river, as well as the natural beauty of the scenery could scarcely be surpassed in any country. The banks were in some places open and grassy and shaded by lofty yarra trees, in others mimosa bushes nodded over the eddying stream.

Continuing along the right bank in a north-west direction we travelled two miles on a grassy plain; and we then turned towards the river, encamping on its banks in latitude 36 degrees 46 minutes 30 seconds South, longitude 142 degrees 39 minutes 25 seconds East. Magnetic variation 5 degrees 21 minutes 45 seconds East.

Some natives being heard on the opposite bank, Piper advanced towards them as cautiously as possible; but he could not prevail on them to come over, although he ascertained that the name of the river was the Wimmera.

DIFFICULT PASSAGE OF ITS FIVE BRANCHES.

July 19.

On examining the Wimmera with Piper's assistance I found that it was fordable in some places; but in order to effect a passage with greater facility we took over several of the loads in one of the boats. Thus the whole party had gained what I considered to be the left bank by ten A.M. On proceeding I perceived some yarra trees before me which grew, as we soon discovered, beside a smaller branch, the bottom of which was soft. We had however the good fortune to pass the carts across this branch also. At a quarter of a mile further we came upon another flowing stream, apparently very deep and having steep but grassy banks. The passage of this occupied the party nearly two hours, one of the carts having sunk up to the axle in a soft bank or channel island. While the men were releasing the cart I rode forward and found a FOURTH channel, deep, wide, and full to the brim. In vain did Tally-ho (trumpeter, master of the horse, etc. to the party) dash his horse into this stream in search of a bottom; though at last one broad favourable place was found where the whole party forded at a depth of not more than 2 1/2 feet. Beyond these channels another similar one still obstructed our progress; but this we also successfully forded, and at length we found rising ground before us, consisting of an open plain which extended to the base of the mountains. On its skirt we pitched our tents at a distance of not quite one mile and a half from our last camp; a short journey certainly, but the passage of the five branches of the Wimmera was nevertheless a good day's work. I had frequently observed in the Australian rivers a uniformity of character throughout the whole course of each, and the peculiarities of this important stream were equally remarkable, it being obviously the same we had crossed in three similar channels when on our way to Mount William, twenty miles above this point. The shrubs on the banks at the two places were also similar.

ASCEND MOUNT ZERO.

July 20.

While Mr. Stapylton conducted the party across the plains in a west-south-west direction I proceeded towards Mount Zero, the most western extremity of the mountain range and distant from our camp 8 1/2 miles. I found this hill consisted also of highly micaceous sandstone; the whole being inclined towards the north-west. Having planted my theodolite on the summit I intersected various higher points to the eastward, and also a very remote, isolated hill on the low country far to the northward which I had also seen from Mount William, and from several stations on our route. Several specimens of shrubs and flowers that had not been previously seen by us were gathered on the sides of this rocky hill. Among them was a very singular hairy Acacia covered with a profusion of the most brilliant yellow flowers. In some respects it resembled A. lanigera, but it proved upon examination to be undescribed.*

(*Footnote. A. strigosa, Lindley manuscripts; glanduloso-hirsuta, phyllodiis linearibus v. lineari-oblongis obovatisque uninerviis eglandulosis apice rotundatis mucronatis obliquis, stipulis subulatis villosis, capitulis solitariis sessilibus.)

An isolated mass appeared to the westward, having near its base a most remarkable rock resembling a mitre. Beyond this the distant horizon was not quite so level as the plains of the interior usually are and, as far as I could see northward with a good telescope, I perceived open forest land and various fine sheets of water. I observed with great satisfaction that the Grampians terminated to the westward on a comparatively low country. This was an important object of attention to me then as it comprised all that intervened between us and the southern coast; in which direction I perceived only one or two groups of conical hills. I resolved however, before turning southwards, to extend our journey to the isolated mass already mentioned, which I afterwards named Mount Arapiles. After descending from Mount Zero I proceeded towards the track of the carts and found that the plains, unlike any hitherto seen, undulated so much that in one place I could perceive only the tops of trees in the hollows. On these plains I found small nodules of highly ferruginous sandstone, apparently similar to that which occurs near Jervis Bay and in other places along the eastern coast.

CIRCULAR LAKE, BRACKISH WATER.

Reaching at length a low green ridge of black soil very different from that of the plains, I found it formed the eastern bank of another of those remarkable circular lakes of which I had seen so many near the Murray. The bed of this hollow consisted of rich black earth and was thirty-two feet below the level of the adjacent plain. It seemed nearly circular, the diameter being about three-quarters of a mile. One peculiarity in this lake was a double bank on the eastern side consisting first of a concentric break or slope from the plain, the soil not being clay as usual, but a dry red sand; and then arose the green bank of black earth, leaving a concentric fosse or hollow between. A belt of yarra trees grew around the edge of this singular hollow which was so dry and firm that the carts, in the track of which I was riding, had traversed it without difficulty. I learnt from Mr. Stapylton, on reaching the camp, that the party had previously passed near two other lakes, the largest containing salt water; and in the neighbourhood of these he had also remarked a great change of soil; so that what with the verdure upon it, the undulating surface, and clumps of casuarinae on light soil, or lofty yarra trees growing in black soil, that part of the country looked tolerably well.

THE MACKENZIE AND THE NORTON.

July 21.

At a quarter of a mile from the camp we crossed a running stream which also contained deep and apparently permanent pools. Several pine or callitris trees grew near its banks being the first we had seen for some time. I named this mountain stream the Mackenzie. Beyond it were grassy undulating plains with clumps of casuarinae and box trees (eucalypti). At three miles and a half we crossed another chain of ponds, and at four miles we came to a deep stream, running with considerable rapidity over a bed of sandstone rock. It was overhung with mimosa-bushes; and it was not until after considerable search that I could find a convenient place for fording it. This I named the Norton. Good grassy hills arose beyond, and after crossing them we found an undulating country and sandy soil where there were shallow lagoons and but little grass.

THE WIMMERA IN A UNITED CHANNEL.

At nine miles I was aware, from the sloping of the ground, of the vicinity of a river; and we soon came once more upon the Wimmera, flowing in one deep channel nearly as broad as the Murrumbidgee, but in no other respect at all similar. The banks of this newly discovered river were not water-worn but characterised by verdant slopes, the borders being fringed with bushes of mimosae. The country was indeed fine adjacent to the Wimmera, and at the point where we came to it the river was joined by a running creek from the south which we crossed, and at two miles and a quarter further we encamped on a spot overlooking a reedy lagoon, from which some long slopes descended towards the river, distant from our camp about half a mile. When we thus again intersected the Wimmera I was travelling due west, partly with a view to ascertain its ultimate course.

LOSE THIS RIVER.

The isolated hill lay before me, and it was now to be ascertained whether the course of the stream was to the south or north of it. The appearance of the country from Mount Zero certainly afforded no prospect of our falling in with the river where we did, but at this camp Burnett, having climbed to the top of a high tree, thought he could trace the course to the southward of the hill before us, which bore nearly west. This prospect accorded with my wishes, and I hoped to trace it to the coast without deviating too far to the westward of my intended route.

July 22.

A small stream from the south crossed our way when we had proceeded about half a mile. At six miles and a half we met with another; and three miles beyond it I perceived a change in the appearance of the country. We had been for some time travelling through forest land which now opened into grassy and level plains, variegated with belts and clumps of lofty trees giving to the whole the appearance of a park. We had now the hilly mass of Mount Arapiles on our right, or north of us, but to my surprise there was no river flowing between us and those heights as I had reason to suppose from what had been seen from the tree by Burnett. Turning towards the north-west therefore and at last northward, we finally encamped on a spot to the westward of the hill after a journey of sixteen miles. Much of the ground near this hill was so soft that one of the carts could not be brought in before midnight, although assisted by several teams sent back from the camp. We were now encamped on a dark-coloured soil from which arose the same peculiar smell that I had remarked at Cudjallagong (Regent's Lake of Oxley). What had become of the Wimmera I could scarcely imagine but, anxious to ascertain its course, I hastened before sunset to a western extremity of the hill; but instead of the river, of which I could see no trace, I beheld the sun setting over numerous lakes: the nearest, two miles and a half to the northward, being apparently six miles in circumference. It seemed to be nearly circular and a group of low grassy hills formed a concentric curve around the eastern margin, and from the total absence of any reeds, trees, or smoke of natives, it was too obvious that the water was salt. From the spot where I then stood I counted twelve such lakes, most of them appearing to have a crescent-shaped mound or bank on the eastern side. This certainly was a remarkable portion of the earth's surface, and rather resembled that of the moon as seen through a telescope. The eastern and principal summit of the hill was at some distance; and I returned to the camp in hopes of being able to discover from that point in the morning some indication of the further course of the Wimmera.

ASCEND MOUNT ARAPILES.

July 23.

Having ascended the highest summit I counted from that height twenty-seven circular lakes, two of the largest being about seven miles to the north-east, the direction in which I expected to see the river. Beyond these however I observed an extensive woody valley whence much smoke arose, marking, to all appearance, the course of the Wimmera which must have taken a turn in that direction, not far below the junction of the last creek crossed by the party. Beyond that supposed bed of the Wimmera the country appeared to be undulated, open, and grassy; and it was probably covered with lakes similar to those on this side, for I had observed from Mount Zero patches of water in that direction. From this summit I had a good view of the Grampians of the South and, discovering that a lofty range extended from them southward, I named it the Victoria range having also recognised and intersected Mount William, distant 53 1/2 miles. I could see no high land to the westward, and the hill on which I stood seemed to divide the singular lacustrine country from that where the character of the surface was fluviatile. Mount Arapiles is a feature which may always be easily recognised both by its isolated position and by its small companion the Mitre Rock, situated midway between it and the lake to the northward, which I named Mitre Lake after the little hill, its neighbour. Like the mountains in the east Mount Arapiles consists of sandstone passing into quartz, the whole apparently an altered sandstone, the structure being in one part almost destroyed, in others perfectly distinct and containing pebbles of quartz. At the western extremity this rock occurs in columns, resembling, at a distance, those of basalt. (See Plate 31.) On the steep slopes grew pines, casuarinae, and a variety of shrubs among which we found a new species of Baeckea, forming a handsome evergreen bush, the ends of whose graceful branches were closely covered with small white delicate flowers.* This mass occupies about two square miles, its highest summit being elevated above Mitre Lake 726 feet. I ascended this hill on the anniversary of the battle of Salamanca and hence the name.

(*Footnote. B. calycina, Lindley manuscripts; glaberrima, foliis planis sparse punctatis oblongo-cuneatis acutis, floribus pedicellatis terminali-axillaribus, laciniis calycinis petaloideis petalis longioribus. Near B. virgata.)

MR. STAPYLTON'S EXCURSION NORTHWARD.

July 24.

While Mr. Stapylton rode northward in search of the Wimmera I proceeded to examine and survey some of these remarkable lakes.

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