Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 488 pages of information about Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia .

Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 488 pages of information about Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia .

The creek, on a water-hole of which we encamped in lat. 16 degrees 54 minutes 50 seconds, was doubtless one of the heads of the broad salt-water creek we crossed, and which I called “Turner’s Creek,” after Cowper Turner, Esq. of Sydney: 

Sept. 3.—­We travelled about nine miles west by north, through an open tea-tree forest skirting the heads of those scrubby creeks which went down to the salt water, the dark mangrove line of which we had seen yesterday.  But we crossed four good sized dry creeks, lined with drooping tea-trees and white-gum trees.  Their banks and flats were covered with groves of Pandanus, whose stately crowns were adorned with red-fruited cones:  the seed-vessels contained in their stringy texture a rich mellow pear-like substance, which however was hot, and made our lips and tongues very sore.  We encamped on some water-holes, with excellent water, in a fifth creek, which lower down contained some fine reaches of brackish water covered with wild geese (Anseranas melanoleuca, Gould.) and black ducks.  As Charley was watching some geese, an emu walked up to him, which he shot; he succeeded besides in getting two geese, which were in most excellent condition, and weighed better than five pounds each.

A well beaten foot-path of the natives led up a broad salt-water creek, to the northward of the creek on which we were encamped, and which joined it lower down.  Charley, when going after the horses, saw a camping place of the natives with spears and the usual utensils:  but the inhabitants had either not yet returned from their hunting and fishing excursions, or had left it, frightened by the frequent discharge of our guns.

Sept. 4.—­We travelled about eleven miles west by north.  The first three miles and a half led us through scrub; we forded a salt-water creek about thirty yards broad, and then, for the next four miles, proceeded through a scrubby country, and came to a second salt-water creek as broad as the first, but containing only pools of water.  The scrub now opened, and the last four miles lay through a fine box-flat, bounded by long hollows surrounded with drooping tea-trees and the white water-gum, the bright foliage of which formed a most agreeable contrast with the dull green of the scrubs and the box-trees.  After crossing a small sandy creek, along which grew a few Sarcocephalus, we came to a large creek lined with drooping tea-trees and Sarcocephalus, and encamped on a fine pool of water, within its deep bed.  I named this creek after W.C.  Wentworth, Esq.  M.C. who had kindly contributed to the outfit of my expedition.

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Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.