The Sun.
London, England, 1830-09-25 00:00:00

t

DISCOVERY of the TERMINATION of tile
GREAT INTERIOR RIVERS of AUSTRALIA.
ErrnAcr tw A LETTER. FRAM NEW ScotYrit WAT,Es,
The long puzzling problem, relati,e to tile 'et ini-
tiation of the great interior river, of A ustrolia
length solved. In the,Ltter end of 1S:?S Governoi
Darmig, in order to itgl;le this impifi taut point, re-
well as to ascertain ihO,Capabilitieti of the lin ex [doted
interior for colonize 011, despatched nn expedition
to trace the 'waters of the Macquarie, under the
guidance of Captain Stirrr,..--titt able - and indefati:
gable officer, enthit rilif siastie titiroted to the service
he tvae jediciously'Stleeted'l6l3erform, At the pe-
riod of his departure tin onprectedented drought had
prevailed for more than tiVollehiS In the'iblooy,
parching up the great interior livers, found so. full
•
and overflowing 111. the lamented Mr. 'Oxley's join.-
ney, into cueing of stugnant ponds for the greatei
portion of their course, and rendering, indeed, then
4de,. for scores of miles towards their tetminatiiii,
in the
:interior swatnpi, as dry as the arid-soil through
which they winded. Notwithstanding all-the diffi-
culties that opposed, Coptain Stun finally pene-
trated beyond these great swamps, into which the
Macquarie was traced by Mr. Oxley, their bed.
being now dry and firm, and the reeds that covered
them withered and demi from the. total deprivation
of moisture. The country here, instead of being a
dead level, was found compoild of moderately eh,
;entail undulations, among 440 the Waters of the.
Macquarie evidently spread ottt in floods. No other
outlet, however, to these marshes eould,he
vered, except a very insignificant one communicut»
ing with the Castlereagh, which latter river Captain
Start then traced into a'new,ri'ver of considerable
magnitude, running to the Sotitli-west; named by
him the Darling, whose Waters were found to be salt;
bring springs bubbling out nt intervals from the
"lAA*, which were 'covered with saline incrustations.
Pliable to t; ace this river to its termination, from
the total. absence of fresh water, Captain Stull
lortir;fith returned to Sydney, and arm recruiting a
M01441;00,4 considerably shattered by the hardlthiP,
undergone, set out again toward*, thel end of Is2o,
to examine the Murrumbidgee, a .large river taking
its origin in the Southern mountains beyond Argyle,
and running Westerly towards the interior in a line
with the Lachlan.
In the first expedition Captain Slur!. was scent!).
ponied by Nit. 11amilton Mime, a native of the'co-
lony, and in the second by %Ir. George Murray* sort
of oar highly-esteemed ',Colonial SOivery. hTis
first despatch in the last expedition spephs of the
Murrumbidgee and the adjoining country- in the bit!
lowing terms:—
" At our depot it is front two hundred to two 'hundred
and fifty feet broad, with a depth that varies from twelve
so twenty. Its banks are about nine feet high, and. its
'carman' at About a mile And a quarter per bow. In-
dettl, excepting under the firmest impression 04 my mind
Ant it carries en uninterrupted channel below tire marshes
that ere in front of us, which I previouhly examined, I
should not have ordered the law boat to be built. lam
not under any apprehension titit our ,progrese down the
river will speedily terminate. ,
I cannot write in too high terms of the upper
branches of the Murrumbidgve. With lieainifid 'cowry
they combine richness of Nod, a sufficiency of water, anal
exnellent grazing tracts. Alluvial flats continue tor more
than one hundred and forty miler below .Kurigiong, the
station of Mr. °Trial ; and to that, distance there, iii
,an
ribundence of paqurebehind them. . Below the Itits, hOw.
ever, the plains take up the character of the more northern
interior. Their depressed situation reuses diet...! thoughts
tinder the effects of which Vegeta! ion kits tic ri•.lied upon
them. The only favourable point iia which that, eouotry
ertn'be viewed 10, that the rival gets A deeper bol and be-
comes mere navigable in •ilow ing throe gh if. The soil of
this remote interior is of the first de,vriprion, ;nail is c, r•
teinly preferable to that 'whiCh lnterverit a it 1,1111
the upper districts ; bait is to the issue of this jeniney
only that we must hank 'for dui, importance that is to he
attached to any local advantages nu the Morrnmhidgee,
nnfrequented and unimproved, is min n noble fee-
tare in the country." j
The suttjoined condensed extract from his our-
nal, with which I was favoured by a gentleman who
had access to it, testifies as to tho COtniiiute success
that has attended his Most meritorious exertions P—r!
"Vet love lust. heard of gotten', iiturt's return to
,his
depot on the Blurrumbisigee. Ile .Ated Irisl,4l. Party "1
again rewired
,the settled party (if the coloy, after very
. .

• ,„ • '
great fittigue and pivation. In the beginning of Januaryemberked on the unknown widen of thu Aluteurn.

bidgre, and follotVed,,their course until the I lth of that
month, when they fell iota those of a much larger river
and on the 2841 these received, the waters of Another
stream :loving from the eastward. This latter lie eon
eludes to he the Darling, discovered in hie Lent expedition,
These united stream% which be nettled the Mutray,flowed
through a channel of one hundred yards wide, and twelve
fret deep. The hanks of die river were cove red with Yet,.
dare, and cialied with very fine deserii,tion timbre.
On the 2d February, he passed under_ cliffs of valeaniCiort,
'gin, and 'immediately aftcrWards entered a linierine
exinnury, of most singular fOrmatin. Lip to this
Abe bed Of the river had maintained a sanity elcirsetee';
but it now forced itself threugh a glen, bounded by lime.
',tone rocks arid struck precipieu a of more
than 200 /eel of perpendicular dee:Alum. Varieties of
'fossil refrains were embedded in these Ego., which hail
*a coral bale; cud the river here changed Its character,
running to the eastward of south, in r-caelieS, varying from
two to four miles in length, and losing Ita sandy hed, be.
'tame deep, still. and turbid—the glen expanded
more open space, and the alluvial flats became protn.-
Atonally extensive. The river, it the point it reached 1111
the fad February, was 900 yards in Width, with 'll depth
of twenty feet of water. On the oth, the al pearance of
cliffs gradually cussed ; nu the 7th they gave parts
to undulating and picturesque bills; at the bare of Which
extended alluvial fiats • of the richetit - On the Pith,
at ncon, land could not be diseoversd, at the roil of a
reach which hail been gained, by reason. of the high
reeds, but gentle hills continued tolorm the left bank.
1* 00" aseending en etninenre, Captain Stint discovered
Ault he was about . to enter ,an' Meniiiiviako,4ootiliing
away to the S. W., inAibith direction the line of water
met the borison. This kiwi, or estuary as it proied,- which
is about sixty miles In length, by about thirty sr fiwty in ,
width, was passed is the beat, which. Captain Sturt Pre-
pared at Sydney,' and cat tied 'with him in pieces: ready to
put together ; ,and in which 'mend his narty.lntd incomes-
fully reached the position now.deseribtal, in.spite.of nuns..
bedew obatscbc The skiff he
.constructed at. his dePot
on the Murrumbidgees, to, sherry the provisions, upset on
the day after they embarked, and the provisions and stores
it contained were only, recovered by diring to the bottom
of the river. In eonatquence- of this dientster, the whisk
patty shbaiiided 00 a small allowance of flour tinly; during
aire Stealer iiiitassf, their vs:curium, .= aim filth of 14s.
Annoy, the further preserve* tot the boat will impeded by
mud fiats aril shoals; Captain, S. consequently landed,
and ,proettetleti show the margin (if the estuary to the
southward and eastward, until- he eeschedits entrance 1
from the. sea. He found that he haul roads thus coast at
Encounter Say, 111. little to the South, tool Westward
(1411 Bt. Vincent, Sbi ti. lb., long; 180. Ul. ;
and haring taken a, series of beatings to fix his position
preeteily,.be.linried back; not having a moment to, lose
as he had been Altirty.two• days in reaching that point,
aided by the current ; end . had now to toil
in his homewerd, conrse against this turto'crist

hich itterided -1);*"
Thr gond fortune w luta on his re,
aerials the lake, accompan
1.
3.
sage
turn, and the evening. of the day on he. e
Jelled the ontrariat of the Mur.
the mut, ho had
4regs"l to the depot Geeupfieg thirty-
uturaff° the
n. incident of . Stirrer journey
nine drys. must give you a
of the thottrand and ono which occurred., tio!
_CM
yof
the n eceedoig down the Altura y,
Vrirjittri hsrlsii. b°rialitti:evarie bad sal recto. bled on the rigtoara bvoiohm;
tibrtnkof
the titer, with reetniffif Plenic4"/"I i
Thia appeared the more remarkable, as no tau ITt had
Wye
an previously evincedir BM., on this *earn% they
"'PAO toolved r' to ittreki she Tarty, and had wor
t hamar-leo into a,, gate, ef freney, by loud and vehement
',ll'4'init.Aototther -with otlow towage means el-excitement.
Party' in the bort were mortared to offer every ro.
eittanre, Awl lady ttwititell the mower approach of the
VoPle (wl,O Lett enterrAi the wittor) to diacharge their
tnil4ketit, wl.ett, tooter imlirektion that Stud sass it ti
itoluoteilde for him to account, Unit hoprtuabity WM Sod-
denly tett:44l(4l, arci by the nowt onltna.,,d for and on
vaperred interfereneo they lu l l }weir, nevi in deep *Renee
permitted the poly to lona. ho boat then immediately
grountlett ; hut for thie sodden toureßion, tiorefore,
hoatile intention* to a front
petkcfnl tet.i.nt y, at thia point
Mit have lir-ilea the voyage and tho !Net a our adven.
torero. I should have mentioned th.qt. attar travinThe
depot on the Morrumbidgee, twtt large er.,-eka wore ol4frved
to johr this river from the N. F,, which 'were kuppo,,,i
commonlerte with the mother el the Latiblan, situated in

that direction ; u also that the natives been on the Mar-1
ray atone, were ealcula.ed to amount to 4,000.1! 1,
To the above I have to add a few further p IN i-
elders gleaned from Utte.: of the party :•;"--The Mar-
rumbidgee was estimated to have a depth of at least
weave feet from the depot, until its' junction with
-,,,
the Murray, beeterniug aft-Oiwsioht on a level with the
banks, composed of red Porous- earth, through which
it was conjectured the water laterally oozed,. So
nert•ow was the stream indeed in tieree place; that
fallen trees 'wre *Ad resting across it, unah
which the boat was rowed. From a considerable
distance drove the depot to the. sea, no high
.moun-
rainies were visible near, the adjoieing country being
generally, (lit-y.0,04i ollew podulating hills of a light
red porous', earth covered 'with a small species of
er pie.s4- ana. of rich alluvial fiver flats of moderate
breadth, studded with gigantic, gurn-treee. The dis-
tance from the river depot to the sea was computed
at l,tloo inks by tb river, and at 300 in it Straight,
line. The 'Merrey joined the MerruMbidgee front
the ~out It about 30() miles below thedepotoowhich
junction the milted .;ntreate was navigable by means
of steam-boats from the lake into which the waters
were emptied. A number of logs wed- rocks being
visible in the bed of the river on ssiending,Avhicli
acre not seen on descending, showed there had heea
a fresh in it at the letter period. The travellers pro-•
ceeded on` horsebaek along the north bank of the
NurruMbidgee to the -depot, where the marshes
Obliged them tdemberk ie the bout. Although this
distance extended to several hundred miles, not a
single running strewn Wag crossed, the superfluous
water between and the. Lachlan Whig drained eli
into the Muriumbidgee: by a series of lateral creeks
whose bads formed, chains of ponds. The hind
and the pasture below the depot. seemed inferior to
that above, having, by reason of its lower level,ltei-
donde sidt;red ', more' levereit from the deoug,l4
which had so long prevailed.. Indeed, thoUsh rain,
.
writ plentiful in the mountain country during the
progress of the expedition, scarcely a drop fell in
the lit' lands, the ia;n clouds drifting; over head to,
ward the Monutains., The water its. the river stp-
iiacied to be the Darling, was'qiiitifres/i---a eircum-
stenee rendering ite,ithintity,yeith the river, of that
naive doebtfol, - The influx .of fresh water, how-
ever, (rem the other rivers fall:eg into the Derlieg
after the equinoctial rain, night have freshened its
current. The, lake in which the . rivers terminated
wits found to be fresh for. seven miles hem their em-
bouchure into it, and rose twelve inches 'daring the
night; , oppeeed to be owing toe tide. It was ,co.
vexed with, rebels; abounded icr 'dry mud batiks, and
was 'generally so shallow as seldom . to exceed four
feet in depth.; but it is not improbable that the
voyageure, lost the main channel. The commuoitee.
Lion. of the lake with the sea was about three-fourths
of a mile broad, ovete sandy beach, and too shellow '
to admit anything larger than a boat.: Encounter
thy affords too dangerous an, anchorage also, ever to
admit of a seaport. there, but it is not improbable
that the lake hen an entrance into (Jolt Saint Vin-
cent, which immediately adjoins; to ascertain which
point, as well as the capabilities of the surrounding
comitry,atiother expedition is about toter despatched.
The mountain natives were found to be a very su-
perior rare, in symmetry and muscular :power, to
those of the low country ::t he latter atipeariug gene,
rally diseased and emaciated; the prevailing ;com-
plaint being a scabby eruption over their bodies.
The .low, country Hativesi were, however,. inti,
nicely mere . numerous ;than
.those of the
mountain; . subsisting prittcipully upon fish, with
which the rivers , abounded-41m .13ethorst. cod
being the most common, Thu eimilarity of appeer-
Alice, in dries, in inOernentlig in pipe,elay establish-
ments, and in luttgutige; identified these, western na-
tives with those of the cuter,' coast,----the dialect of
the mountain and low' canary natives
,varyieg,howe
ever, considerably. !,It, is now found, iudeed, as far
es examination hail exteoded,, that the mune radical
language extends, over . the. whole of the Australian
cootinent, varying onlyililte the patois.of other scuff.
tries. Pipe-clay ;teemed to be an article of high
value with the savages of the Peilieg, from the care
with which: it wee
.stored up; in huts knotted for it,
trenched carefully raped to defetgl,h from the 44reeteit,
wetter, Comfortable 4welling huts Aptlisuperjpr im-
plements seemed to argue. a superior degree of civie
fistation on the part ertbe naives of the Darling over
the wandering 4riVes le. the; other port-forts of the
continent ; a net of, excellent ' worlpeaoel4„hoftg
found stretched,ecroes the river whore, it, vvOt !ow&
hundred feet bread...,,. The petty. hatran abundant
supply of fish ae they pi occeded, the rivers seeming'
to swarm with them, and the Whole surfuee of 'the ~
hike being covered with their dead bodies, toying in
nil likelihood been destroyed, as I conceive, by the
muddy o titer on .the first rush of rain from the menu-
tains after the lortg drought, how having observed
Ile, same effect produced by the same causes in the'
liver Hunter. 'Several islands in the hike were,ite,
deed, perfectly white with their bone; the carcases
having probably been curried there for the purposes
elfood; by' the birds, lice. ' It was in the lower part
of the lake, where the water was brackish., that the
dead 641 principally abonnded. This lake was die-'
covered some months preview to Captain Stunt's
entering it, by: a party of Oak e in, is whale-boat,'
Who, rowed up the inlet in ,quest of Sods, with
which it was, found to abound. These. described
the surrounding colliery es. overrun ;with kangaroos,
hevingoett the itqieeti surround and drive upwards
of twenty into the lake at one swoop. If this re-
port
,be eorrect, there ran be little doubt as to the
pastotal cupebilitiets of the lend surrounding the late
Itemise kongeroos are only foiled where pasture and
water are, abundant leagued. The natives of
,the
vat ions trilteelvith Which the travellers came in con-'
tom, unifortnly•diepleyed the most friendly feeling,
whenever an introduction was secured from a Neigh.
housing; tribe. The first consideration of Captain
slum %as to steed two of the moat evidently intern-.
gent and .4410111 W of the tribe, and gain them over by
presentreand little atteetiona to apt as guides to the
territory of another tribe. Even, however, when an
introduction could not be obtained, the curiosity of
many . of the teiveges to exemietemere closely. Ituch
seemingly extraordinary beings as our travellers, was
quite irresistible, either ridvencing cautiously- with
the onivernel emblem of peace, a green bough, or
dodging inquisitively from tree to tree, with many
an .imploring gesture and whining exclamation of
woo-woo-woo, -wield clostrgradmilly open the party
often, in spite of all their pretended menaces to keep
them at bay„ iron was the article MOM coveted,
one of the guide, trequerttly pressing to his hewn) a
tomahawk presented to him, with an expression of
the 'tone, fundling.delight tithe a father would a fte-
vaerite 'babe. . Beads,,eombs, awl other ornament;
woo of no .eatifnatioll its the eyes of 'the' (melee,
tieing always thrown 'away.aftet. their-curiosity had
been satisfied in gazing upon them. . Nothing could
exceed Aftir aittinishment and curiosity on first irt--
troduction to their EttrOpetin- friends. First, they
would place themselves face' to face to corepere' the
forth of feature, then lay palm to palm to see if the
augers corresponded, then snake' our travellers grin
atithgtipe to nicertain if tint inontli and teeth agreed
with their own -then peep down their breasts anti
barks, weal- lastly, iota tip their sleeves, and un-
button their waistcoat; to be assured Whether or not
their vestrtients formed-e' conipotent part of their
Willett, When, finding, that though of different co.
lour, and differently cheesed,' our travellers were tai-,
miltely constructed with themselves , their joy knew
tio hounde., Though the firieg of the muskets caused
great eonatepation among some, in , others the af-
fectetleteleitim put on to conceal their terrors was
often exeeediegly amusing. Though raising a sort
of hysterical laugh- in =- some instances, and scarcely
not-icing the musket re-port in others, yet they were
iireeriably seen approaching the' tree fired at when
they supposed no notice was taken, and examining
the impression niade•by the ball With the Most evi-
dently marked astonishment. The most' capthating
plan for gaining the- good graces of those savages,
was by grimacing and cutting all manner of unties,
before them, while the most successful inidluring to
an interview when thyin approaching, was by taking
00-tiotiee of •them,' When by- degrees they would
draw nearer and nearer,- endinitily Slip in one by

one among the European group, An umbrella slid-
`denly jerked out threw a Whale mob prostrate in
perfect agony of terror, which was quickly converted
into mirth on perceiving the jocularity of, their White
friends on the subject, and that neither bones •*ere
hooken nor blood spilt; I have, before stated hat
the guides were generally furnished by each
tive tribe through whose territory the party passed, to
conduct them safely into the territory of the next
-adjoining tribe, and introduce them to their friendly
Dikes -and protection. Thom guides were ; et- all
times fiighly useful, most faithful to their trust, and
most anxious to insure the party a kindly welcome
as therproceededelong.' •- ,
To'their zeal, conrege, anti fidelity; the travellers,
were, indeed, on one eventful•OteaSioe, saved feam•
an indiscriminate massaere. The boat having nee'.
dentally "got a little way a'-head of the 'guides, ate,
fortunately, grounded in a shallow part of the river,
when 'suddenly le hideous yell assailed them froM an
adjoining thicket, followed by a darkening, rulh cif'
a hundred naked savages into the river before them;
their dusky demon-like locksflutteringin'iong matted
masses in the wind, as with writhing hotheadddeoue
:contortions of face, piercing screams, end brandished
clubs,. they,pounced upon their:victims.. Scareely,
however, had the party time to seize 'their muskets
with'a view to defence, when rushing' between them
and the murder-threatening weapon of the foe,
their friendly guides gave a new tuni animated clia•
meter to, the scene. Brandishing their clubs, they
new appeared•to answer menace' with menace : now
pointing at the party, ! seemed, with feeling tone,.
to demand that protection for them neentded by;
all the other tribes; 'end new pointing their spears
in the direction of their own' tribe, as if threat
titling a reprisal, all 'the while their gestures
!and gesticulations being so vehement and wild,'
as to force the, perspiration in • streams from
every pore. By degrees a calmer voice and move-
' ment showed the favourable impression made, when
it tomahawk plucked froM tyre girdle of one of the
guides was passed arouncbtiiith hand to hand, a low.
muttering debate ensuing' among the hostile tribe as
the owner Of. the 'ouch prize((. weapon, seemed expa-
tiating ou its-various tises, and the great benefits to
be derived from cultivating II friendly understanding
with a people, capable of- supplying implements of
such singular value. At length all eyes turned to-
ward the party, about whom the guides seemed to
be particularly Inestioned, the occasional smiles and
softening tones and glances 'evidencing the favour-
able' impression made when suddenly clubs and
! spears were thrown aside, and the whole hostile
group, with a'siMultaneons shout, retitled into! the
water around the party, and commenced the usual
rude examination of their persons. On examining
the Australian map, it will be seen that the interior
rivers now traced drain scarcely a fifth of this sin-
gular continent, and therefore that Captain Stunt
has an extensive unexplored territory yet left for sig.
utilizing his enterprize and talent upon.

BANK OF ENGLAND.