There before him, the first white man to look upon the scene, lay the open way to two thousand miles of fair pasture-lands and brooding desert-wastes —­ of limitless plains and boundless rolling downs —­ of open grassy forests and barren scrubs —­ of solitary mountain peaks and sluggish rivers; and, though then hidden from even the most brilliant imagination, the wondrous potentialities latent in that silent and untrodden region.  If a vision of the future had been vouchsafed Deputy-Surveyor Evans as he stood and gazed —­ a vision of all that would cover the spacious lands before and beyond him before one hundred years had passed away —­ the entry he made in his diary would surely have reflected in its style his flight of imagination.  Instead, we have the prosaic statement:—­

“I came to a very high mount, when I was much pleased with the sight westward.  I think I can see 40 miles which had the look of open country.”

In a pleasant valley, he came upon a large “riverlett,” and on its banks they camped.  There they shot ducks and caught “trout” —­ as he called the Murray Cod —­ the first of the species to tickle the palate of a white man; fine specimens, too, weighing five and six pounds.  As he proceeded further and further, he became enchanted with the scenery:  “The handsomest I have yet seen, with gently-rising hills and dales well-watered” —­ and he finally notes that language failed him to describe it adequately.

Evans named the river that led him through this veritable land of promise the Fish River, and a river which joined its waters with it from the south he called the Campbell River.  The united stream he christened, as in duty bound, the Macquarie.  Unimpeded in his course, he followed the Macquarie until he was 98 1/2 measured miles —­ for they had been chaining since passing the limit of the first explorers —­ from the termination of Blaxland’s journey.  He then decided to return; for he had gained all the information he had been sent to seek; and though game was plentiful, his party were without shoes, and the horses were suffering from sore backs.

Thus was concluded in a most satisfactory manner the first journey of exploration into the interior.  Evans constantly saw, during his progress, unmistakeable traces of the natives; but he interviewed only a small party of five.  This representative band of the inland aborigines of Australia was composed of two lubras and some picaninnies, both the women being blind of the right eye.

The party reached the Nepean on their return journey on the 8th of January, 1814.  Mr. Cox was immediately intrusted with the superintendence of the work of making a public road over the range, following closely the same route as that taken by Blaxland’s party.  This work was completed in the year 1815, and on the 26th of April of the same year, Governor Macquarie and a large staff set out to visit the newly-found territory.  The Governor arrived at the recently-formed town of Bathurst on the 4th of May; but before his arrival Evans had been again ordered out on another exploring expedition to the south-west.