The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-19 00:00:00

CENTRAL AUSTRALIA.

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

A very numerously attended meeting of this society was
held on Monday evening—Lord Ashburton, president, in
the chair.

The PRESIDENT explained that this expedition had been
undertaken at the joint charge of two of our countrymen
in Australia—Messrs. Chambers and Finke, and Mr. Mac-
dougall Stuart* was appointed to conduct the expedition,
which oonsisted only of himself and two attendants, accom-
panied by 13 horses. Messrs. Chambers and Finke, knowing
the great interest which Sir Roderick Murchison took in
Australian discovery, had forwarded Mr. Stuart's journal
to him, from which extracts would be read.

The Secretaries then road brief extracts from the journal,
from which it appeared that Mr. Stuart left Chambers'
Creek, in South Australia, at the beginning of March, with
Mr. Keckwick and one other man, and proceeded in a
north-westerly direction, the object being to penetrate the
continent to the Cambridge Gulf, on the north-western
coast. As he proceeded, instead of meeting with an arid
desert, as geologists had predicted, he found a well-
watered country, with numerous creeks, several rivers,
abun-
dance of grass and scrub. The geological character of the
country was for the first 400 miles tertiary and secondary,
and occasionally he saw large masses of sandstone. He then
crossed a high primary range, and for the remainder of his
advance met with little else than the older rocks or those of
a volcanic formation. He proceeded without meeting any
serious obstacle, and without encountering any of the
natives, until he reached the centre of Australia. There he
erected a pile of stones, planted the British flag, and en-
closed within the pile a bottle containing a paper with the
notice of the fact. This occurred on the 15th of June. On
his progress north-west his difficulties commenced. The
scrub was in places impenetrable, and he was obliged to
make his route more easterly towards the Gulf of Car-
pentaria. Water became scarce and the soil sandy. The
vegetation hitherto met with had been principally scrub
and gum trees, but on approaching the central regions he
saw palm trees. Water was procured at a short distance
underground, but there was none en the surface. The
country Mr. Stuart had passed through after the first, or
M‘Donnell, range had been undulatory or flat, but on ad-
vancing north he came to ranges of mountainous hills, the
principal of which he called the Murchison range, and from
these hills the rivers that flow north •west and north-east
take their :rise. Looking from an eminence towards the
west, he saw a high mountain and elevated ground. The
valleys between the ranges of hills were fertile, and one
river, which was flowing towards the north by west, was
about 10 chains wide, and had the appearance of being a
constant stream. This he conceived to be the character of
many of the creeks and springs that he came to. On look-
ing towards the east there were indications in the atmos-
phere of the presence of a large body of water behind the
high land, which bounded the horizon in that direction.
Until he had reached the range of hills he had not seen
many natives, although numerous traces of them were fre-
quently observed ; but they then began to show themselves
and make hostile signs. Two of them were first seen near
the scrub ; but as soon as Mr, Stuart approached they ran
away. A few days afterwards they, appeared in greater
numbers, and with menaces made signs to his party to go
back. It was in vain that Mr. Stuart made friendly de-
monstrations, and at last the natives threw a shower of
boomerangs at him. His men were ordered to load their
guns, and as the savages approached nearer for the purpose
of surrounding the little party they were compelled to fire.
The savages did not desist from their attacks, and a second