Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2), George Grey [robert munsch read aloud txt] 📗

The Height Of Fourteen To Fifteen Feet Above Its

Usual Level,  As Was Evinced By The Weeds And Other Substances We Saw In

The Trees On Its Banks.

 

To Show That These Are Characteristics Of The Fitzroy River I Shall Quote

The Authority Of Captain Wickham From A Letter Addressed To Me Just

Before Our Meeting At Hanover Bay:

 

It (The Fitzroy) Appears To Be Very Similar To The Rivers On The

South-East Side Of New Holland,  Subject To Dreadful Inundations,  Caused

By Heavy Floods In The Interior,  And In No Way Connected With The Rainy

Season On The Coast. Our Visit To It Being In February And March,

Immediately After The Rainy Season On The Coast,  Without Our Seeing Any

Indication Of A Recent Flooding,  Although There Were Large Trunks Of

Trees And Quantities Of Grass And Weeds Lying On The Bank And Suspended

From The Branches Of Trees From Ten To Twelve Feet Above The Level Of The

River. The Bed Is Entirely Of Sand.

 

...

 

Inundations.

 

It Will Be Clearly Seen How Nearly This Corresponds With What We Observed

About The Same Season On The Banks Of The Glenelg. I Have Therefore

Little Doubt That The Fitzroy Takes Its Origin From The Same Mountain

Chain,  And That The Inundations Described By Captain Wickham Originate In

The Causes Which I Have Here Assigned.

 

To Demonstrate More Clearly The Similarity Of Character Of These Rivers

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 169

With Those Of New South Wales I Shall Quote Two Passages From The British

Colonies Of Mr. Montgomery Martin,  Regarding The Hawkesbury And Hunter

Rivers Of That Colony:

 

The Hawkesbury,  Which Is A Continuation Of The Nepean River,  After The

Junction Of The Latter With A Considerable Stream,  Called The Grose,

Issues From A Remarkable Cleft In The Blue Mountains In The Vicinity Of

The Beautiful Town Of Richmond,  About Forty Miles From Sydney. Along The

Base Of These Mountains The Hawkesbury Flows In A Northerly Direction,

Fed By Numerous Tributary Mountain Torrents,  Descending From Narrow

Gorges,  Which,  After Heavy Rains,  Cause The Hawkesbury To Rise And

Overflow Its Banks As It Approaches The Sea. In One Instance It Rose Near

The Town Of Windsor Ninety-Seven Feet Above Its Ordinary Level. Volume 4

Page 257.

 

Again He Says,  Page 258:

 

Hunter's River,  About Seventy Miles To The Northward Of Port Jackson,

Disembogues Into The Sea At The Harbour Of Newcastle.

 

There Are Three Branches To The Hunter,  Called The Upper,  The Lower,  And

The Middle: The Two Former Are Navigable For Boats For About 120 Miles,

And The Latter For About 200 Miles; But The Branches Are All Subject To

Sudden And Terrific Inundations Owing To The Rapid Descent Of Torrents

From The Blue Mountains.

 

...

 

Mouth Of The Glenelg.

 

In Concluding My Remarks On The Rivers Of The North-West I Should State

That Mr. Stokes,  The Surveyor Of The Beagle,  After A Careful Examination

Of The Coast Did Not Succeed In Finding The Mouth Of The Glenelg; And He

Imagines That It Has Several Openings,  Consisting Of Large Mangrove

Creeks,  Which Fall Into Stokes Bay; Whilst It Is My Impression That It

Will Be Found To Run Out Somewhere Between Camden Sound And Collier's

Bay,  And That By Some Accidental Circumstance Its Mouth Was Missed. That

It Joins The Sea In A Considerable Body I Should Infer From A Shoal Of

Porpoises Having Been Seen High Up The River,  And From The Rise And Fall

Of Tide,  Which Was Twenty Feet At The Direct Distance Of Thirty Miles

From The Coast.

 

Valleys.

 

The Valleys In This Country Are Of Two Kinds: Those Which Are Almost

Ravines,  Bordered On Each Side By Nearly Inaccessible Cliffs; And Valleys

Of Great Width,  Bordered By Fertile Plains,  Often Extensive,  And Which

Occur Where The Basaltic Rocks Are Developed; Although Ravines Of This

Formation Are Also Of Frequent Occurrence In The Mountainous Parts.

 

Character Of The Valleys. Soil.

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 170

 

The Soil Found In The Valleys Of The Former Kind Is Extremely Rich,  But

They Are All Subject To Very Heavy Inundations. As An Example Of This

Kind Of Valley I May Cite The One In Which We First Encamped. Its Mean

Width Was Only 147 Feet,  And The Rocky Precipitous Cliffs At Half A Mile

From The Sea Rose Above Their Base 138 Feet. These Deep Valleys

Undoubtedly Afford Water At All Seasons Of The Year.

 

The Sandstone Formation Is Intersected In All Directions By Valleys Of

This Kind,  Which Are Seldom More Than From Two To Three Miles Apart,

While The Top Of The Range Between Them Is A Tableland,  Divided By

Lateral Valleys And Gently Rising Towards The Interior. Seawards They All

Terminate In Saltwater Creeks,  Having The Same Narrow,  Rocky,  And

Precipitous Character As They Present Themselves.

 

These Tablelands Afford Good Timber,  Particularly Pine. Sheep Thrive Upon

The Food There Produced,  But We Found Goats Did Not Answer So Well.

 

The Richest Land In This Part Of The Country Is Found In The Valleys Of

The Second Class. The Streams Flowing Through These Valleys Have

Generally Almost Imperceptible Currents And Often Form Wide Reaches. The

Land Upon Their Margins Is Thinly Wooded; And I Have Often Seen Exposed

Fine Vegetable Mould Of Ten Or Twelve Feet In Thickness,  Through Which

These Streams Had Worn Their Way. Good Examples Of This Kind Of Valley

Are Those Through Which Run The Fitzroy And Glenelg Rivers.

 

The Northern Banks Of Prince Regent's River I Conceive To Offer No

Inducement Whatever For The Formation Of A Settlement,  The Whole Of The

Country In That Direction,  As Far As I Have Seen,  Consisting Entirely Of

Sandstone Ridges. These Ridges Are Continually Intersected By Valleys,  Or

Rather Ravines Of Great Fertility,  But They Are So Narrow,  And The Good

Land Contained In Them Is So Very Limited In Extent,  That From The First

Moment Of The Establishment Of A Colony Here The Individuals Composing It

Must Necessarily Be Scattered Over A Large Space Of Country. They Would

Thus Be Separated From One Another By Considerable Intervals,  Which

Separation Would Not Only Render Them More Liable To Disagreements With

The Natives,  But Would For Many Other Reasons Be Highly Detrimental To

The Interests Of An Infant Colony.

 

The Same Objection Holds Good With Regard To The South Bank Of This

River,  As Far As The Longitude Of 125 Degrees 3 Minutes East,  And Even

After Passing This Point The Land Immediately Bordering The River Is Of

The Same Sterile Character; However A Creek Which Trends Nearly South

Runs Up From Thence Into One Of The Most Fertile Countries I Have Ever

Seen.

 

Harbours.

 

The Coastline To The South Of Prince Regent's River Is Indented,  As Shown

Upon Captain King's Chart,  By Numerous Deep Bays,  Many Of Which Afford

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 171

Excellent Anchorage; Indeed I Believe That There Is No Other Part Of The

World In Which An Example Occurs Of Three Such Fine Harbours As Port

George The Fourth,  Hanover Bay,  And Camden Sound,  Lying So Close To One

Another.

 

These Harbours Alone Render This A Point Of Considerable Consequence To

Great Britain; But When Viewed In Connexion With The Fine Tract Of

Country Lying Behind Them Its Importance Is Very Materially Increased.

 

Commercial Advantages.

 

Should This Part Of Australia Be Found Eligible For Colonization Its

Commercial Importance Is Well Worthy Of Consideration.

 

Productions Suited For Cultivation. Cotton Trade.

 

The Cultivated Productions For The Growth Of Which The Country And

Climate Seem Best Adapted Are Cotton,  Sugar,  Indigo,  And Rice.

 

A Species Of Cotton Plant Grows Wild In The Greatest Abundance,  And If A

Colony Was Established And The Proper Cotton-Plant Introduced The

Following Advantages Would Be Obtained:

 

Great Britain Would Possess In Northern Australia A Colony Standing In

The Same Relation To Her Manufacturies For Cotton That Her Colonies In

The South Do To Her Wool-Market.

 

This Colony Would Also Form A Sort Of Entrepot To Which The Manufactured

Cotton Would Again Be Exported For The Purpose Of Sale In The Islands Of

The Indian Archipelago Or Its Vicinity,  And Other Parts Where We Have At

Present No Trade,  And Where Printed Cottons Now Are,  And From The Nature

Of These Countries Must Constantly Be,  In Great Demand.

 

Thus A Fresh Supply Of Cotton For Our Markets Would Be Obtained,  Which,

Coming From An English Colony,  Would Give Employment To British Vessels

Alone,  And The Industry Of Our Manufacturers Would Be Called Into

Operation By An Entirely New Market For Cotton Goods Being Thrown Open To

Them,  In Which The Demand For These Articles Is Far Greater Than The

Supply Could Be For Many Years.

 

Articles Of Export.

 

The Natural Productions That Are At Present Found In North-West Australia

And Might Be Available For Exportation Consist Chiefly Of Timber,  Gum,

Lichens,  And Mimosa Bark; All Of Which Are Abundant,  And Might Be

Collected With A Trifling Degree Of Labour.

 

There Are Many Varieties Of Useful Timber. Among Others,  Pine,  Fit For

The Purposes Either Of Building Or Making Spars For Vessels,  Is Abundant

And Good,  And Could Be Readily And Cheaply Exported If They Were Cut In

The Vicinity Of The Streams And Floated Down To The Sea In The Rainy

Season,  Whereby All Land Carriage Would Be Avoided.

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (Physical Geography Commercial Prospects) Pg 172

 

I Sent To England Specimens Of Five Different Gums In Order That They

Might Be Examined. These Consist Of An Elastic Gum,  Closely Resembling

Indian Rubber,  Gum Tragacynth,  Another Gum Yielded By A Sort Of Capparis

And Which I Believe To Be Hitherto Unknown,  And Two Kinds Of Gum Resin.

 

The Mosses Are Of Various Kinds,  Many Of Which Would Afford Useful Dyes;

And These,  Together With The Gums,  Would Probably Be Found Valuable

Articles Of Export; For The Collecting Of