The Express.
London, England, 1846-12-23 00:00:00

COLONIAL.

NEW SOUTH WALES. ATTEMPTS AT DlB-
- IN AUSTRALIA FEhlx.—The Galway Advertiser of
Bth of Animist has the following account of a frustrated ex-
pedition of Mr. Smythe, colonial surveyor .—" Yesterday
this indefatigable explorer returned from his second expedi-
tion to Cape Otway. His return has been hastened in con-
sequence of the murder of one of his men by the blacks.
After the expedition left the Barwon Heads, about a month
ago, they encountered a succession of westerly gales, and
made several ineffectual attempts to get round the cape.
They at last landed on the eastern side and encamped, while
Mr. Smythe, accompanied by four men, penetrated to the
westward to survey the Eyre River. Mr. Smythe started on
the 26-th of July. Proceeding along the shore they fell in
with a tribe of blacks, composed of one man, four women,
and three boys, all of whom had been at the tent some days
before. Mr. Smythe prevailed on the man and one of the
boys to act as his guide to Gunna-waar, or Eyredale. After
travelling for about three hours, they came to a part of the
country with which Mr. Smythe was familiar, and as he had
no further use for the blacks, he sent them to the tents, first
giving them a supply of tea, and a note to the coxswain,
directing him to give them some flour. Mt. Smythe re-
turned on the es ening of the 31st, when he learned that one
of the men, named Conroy, had been barbarously murdered
about 200 yards from the tent, where he had gone to cut
wood. This happened on Sunday morning between nine
and ten o'clock. The blacks had arrived at the teut early
that morning, and had been supplied with damper. They then
went away along the beach ; and just previous to the per-
petration of the murder, they were seen returning, making a
great noise. On their again retiring, the body of the deceased
was found by his companions drenfully mangled absut the
head, and life entirely extinct. A tomahawk was found near
the spot, with which no doubt the blows had been inflicted.
The left jaw was broken, and there were several deep gashes
on the left temple ; there were three deep cuts on the neck
and throat; theclothing had been stripped from the body and
carried off—even the boots were not left behind. The body
was not mutilated in any other manner, so that it appears
the only object of the murderers was to possess themselves
of the clothing worn by the unfortunate man. The body
was buried. After this event, Mr. Smythe finding his stock
of provisions nearly exhausted, deemed it advisable to return.
The party, therefore, re-embarked, and sailed eastward to
Loutit Bay (under Plattopped Point), a well-sheltered bar-

hour, where they beached their whale-boat, and secured it
above high-water mark, Mr. Smythe determining to make
his way to Geelong by Lind. It is his intention, we believe,
to make a third excursion to the Cape Otway country as soon
as ho has given in his report to government. Under the cir-
cumstances of Mr. Smythe's return, he was prevented from
bringing many geological specimens. On one part of the
coast the cliffs area pure chalk, and he has ascertained that
the coal formation extends to the westward of the Cape, to-
wards Moonlight Bead. In the neighbourhood of Loutit
Bay there are immense beds of rottenstoue, used for polish-
ing brass, tic. The rivers and water courses were almost
impassable from the floods."