Independent, moreover, of these minor affluents which swell the drainage amount of the river Murray—a basin stretching from near the 25th to the 36th parallel of latitude, and from the 139th to beyond the 152nd degree of east longitude, an estimated extent of 540,600 square miles,[3] or nearly seven times the superficial extent of Great Britain—there exists in close connection with the main stream a network of rivers which may perhaps have been destined to fulfil those purposes which the vagaries of Nature have transferred to the parent river. These are denominated the Edward, Logan, Wakool, and Neimur Rivers; which, having a more direct course than the Murray itself, would, but for their unfortunate termination, after some hundred miles in a shallow creek, at no very distant period, have proved themselves of inestimable value to the internal prosperity of the adjacent provinces. As it is, nothing but a superabundant population will probably succeed in turning these streams to a useful or, at least, a navigable end.
The Murray, thus combining within its basin nearly the entire drainage of the province of Victoria, with a large portion of that of New South Wales, and much of the eastern part of South Australia, appears to have been unknown to British Colonists before 1830, when Captain Charles Sturt, of the 39th Regiment—one of the most ardent and intrepid explorers the world has ever seen—whilst tracing the source, or rather course, of the Murrumbidgee, by order of the Sydney Government, came upon this noble river; to which, in honour of the then Colonial Secretary, the distinguished Sir George Murray, he gave its present name. His party, on this occasion, consisted, himself included, of no more than eight individuals, a portion of whom were convict prisoners, the main body of the expedition having been left (January 7th) in depôt at the Murrumbidgee, with instructions to repair, after a few days’ delay, to the Goulburn Plains, from whence a communication might be maintained with Sydney. Captain Sturt’s means of transport were comprised in a whale boat and small skiff, built in seven days on the Murrumbidgee, and with these means and a stock of provisions barely sufficient, it afterwards appeared, for subsistence, this determined man did not hesitate to follow the course of the Murray to its mouth; this, after many obstacles, in the Murrumbidgee, from the “snags” or sunken logs with which it was encumbered, and, at that season, it appears from the rapidity of the current, and in the main river (which averaged 200 yards in breadth) from the unequivocally hostile demeanour of the numerous tribes of natives encountered on its banks, he reached in thirty-two days, from the depôt. Thence, after traversing the broad but shallow lake in which the Murray terminates before reaching the sea, finding it useless to attempt to force a passage in his frail boat through the dangerous navigation of the sea mouth, or hopeless of any advantage to his party, even were it effected, he took the decided, though perhaps inevitable, course of retracing his steps up the stream and thus returning to the depôt of his party; who, he conceived, would then be in search of him. With an aching heart, but a firm will, as Captain Sturt himself relates, was this resolution carried into effect, and after thirty-nine days from the sea, on the very day his stock of flour had failed him, and when his party were all but incapable of further exertion, he fell in with his people, who had been summoned to his aid by two of the heroic crew who had shared his dangers and privations; and whom, as a last resource, he had dispatched to seek the depôt.
The length of the water passage thus effected was eighty-eight days; and Capt. Sturt estimated the distance traversed on the different rivers at 2,000 miles, during which, with the exception of the timber on the Murrumbidgee, and the rare occurrence of a sandspit on the main stream, no obstacle to steam navigation was discovered. The official report was forwarded to Sydney, and published by the Government, and is to be found appended to Capt. Sturt’s own narrative of his adventurous voyage.[4] No steps, however, appear to have been taken by those in authority to render available the great discovery which the energies of this brave man had thus rendered patent to all.
At length, in the year 1850, Sir Henry Young, the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, an officer of enlarged ideas and considerable knowledge of geographical subjects, acquired during a lengthened service in many parts of the world, appears to have taken up the matter, and brought it before the Colonial Legislature. In September and October, 1850, accompanied by the Surveyor-General of the Province, and some friends, including ladies, His Excellency ascended the Murray as far as its confluence with the Darling, or above 600 miles, and found it navigable with ease throughout that extent, with a breadth varying from 180 to 300 yards, and a depth of water of from two to four and even five fathoms. The project, in the mean time, had been opposed by the Legislative Council; who, actuated, it would seem, by mistaken views of the real interests of the Colony, objected especially to the appropriation of £20,000 from the Land Fund, in the construction of a tramline to connect the Murray at the Goolwa with the conveniences of the harbour at Port Elliot—a distance of nearly eight miles. Sir Henry Young was, however, fortunate enough to obtain the approbation of the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the proposed scheme, as also the general good opinion of the Colony in favour of the Murray navigation; whilst, with regard to interference with the supply of labour, as alleged by the opponents of the project, the recorded opinion of Earl Grey, that “the execution of the work could not fail to promote the sale, at an enhanced price, of the land benefitted by the proposed communication,” must have been particularly gratifying to His Excellency. Moreover, as His Lordship observed, “the funds applicable to the purposes of emigration would assuredly be increased, and labour itself economised by providing for a more expeditious and less costly mode of conveying produce to a place of shipment, from an extensive and important district.”
The necessity of the harbour at Port Elliot arises from the difficulty of navigating the Murray sea-mouth at all times or seasons; nor, indeed, is it probable that any undertaking will thoroughly overcome this obstacle, until a crowded population or an overflowing treasury shall be enabled to cope with the difficulty by concentrating the waters of the Murray in a narrow and more rapid channel in place of their, at present, vague and diffused passage over the broad but shallow surface of Lake Alexandrina. A natural breakwater has rendered the formation of the port in this locality inexpensive; but to be perfectly secure in all winds, the barrier against the sea should be extended by a further addition to the present ridge of rocks, in the shape of a breakwater arm. Labour is, however, at present so costly, that no likelihood exists of this purpose being speedily effected. An application to the Admiralty for the assistance of a man of war’s crew in the formation of a secure port at a point likely soon to become of considerable importance, might perhaps be deemed irregular: though with the existing dearth of labour, if likely to be attended with success, it were well worthy the consideration of the Executive. Indeed, it may here, en passant, be observed that, in all human probability, the day is not far distant when to the exertions of the sister services of the Mother Country—the British Army and Navy—Australia must owe the greatest and most beneficial changes her destinies have as yet demanded.
As to the tramline to connect Port Elliot with the Goolwa, it will probably be finished in less than six months’ time; and at a total cost, all necessary expenses included, of about £23,000.
To return to the more immediate subject of the Murray navigation. The descent of this river was partially effected from the township of Albury, situated 400 miles south-west from Sydney, by Mr. Richard Gerstacker, in a gum-tree canoe, at a time when “the stream was lower than ever it had been since the white man approached its banks.” Mr. Gerstacker, whose progress was stopped by the sinking of his canoe on a “snag,” informs us that he left Albury, on the 5th May, 1851, in a gum-tree canoe, drawing about eleven inches water; and that throughout the distance he accomplished, there would have been water for three or four inches further draught. The river, however, being unusually low, the stream appeared filled with “snags,” or dead gum trees, some of which obstruct the navigation to such a degree that steam power would be necessary to dislodge them. Below the Murrumbidgee these impediments, the writer reports, for the most part ceased, and after the junction of the Darling scarcely one was to be seen; whilst the sharp bends, so embarrassing to steam navigation, were no longer met with—the river, though tortuous, offering wide sweeps which afford plenty of “sea room” in mid-channel, even for steamers of considerable size. Sandbanks, however, occasionally occurred up to the North-west Bend, but not in mid-channel.
Mr. Gerstacker, whilst confessedly unacquainted with the resources of the Murray district, or the probable requirements of the settlers on its banks, is yet of opinion that the navigation of the river would be the means of drawing a largely increasing population to the Murray, not to say, the probable cause of augmenting in an incredible degree the zeal and efforts of the present inhabitants, no longer left in a state of isolation and comparative abandonment. Moreover, it may be added, the dray journeys for the transport of wool, produce, and supplies, being not only most tedious, but beset with difficulties, considerable returns for goods and passengers would be the certain result of a regular water communication.[5] Mr. Gerstacker, after referring to the energetic efforts which, in North America, have cleared almost impassable streams from the impediments of fallen timber, &c., concludes by saying, that except in an extraordinarily dry season, even the upper part of the Hume, or Upper Murray, as far as Albury, usually contains sufficient water, during eight months of the year, to float boats drawing four or five feet; but he leaves it to those acquainted with the resources of the country bordering these rivers to decide whether sufficient remuneration would be afforded to steamers thus accomplishing the navigation.
The favourable statements of many settlers on the Murray might be added to the statements of Mr. Gerstacker, but the question has now received a more direct solution by the successful voyage of the Lady Augusta steamer; before narrating which, some retrospective glance is perhaps requisite.
The opposition in the Legislative Council of South Australia to the immediate navigation of the Murray and the consequent outlay at Port Elliot and the Goolwa appears, after a time, to have ceased; and in June, 1851, a premium of £4,000 was offered by the Legislature to the first and second iron steamboats of not less than forty horse power, or more than two feet draught of water, which should succeed in navigating the Murray from the Goolwa to, at least, the junction of the Darling. This liberal offer, it seems, however, was not taken up, possibly from the difficulty of providing boats of the requisite material, and the Murray navigation was apparently deferred sine die. At length, Captain Francis Cadell, formerly commander of the Queen of Sheba and the Cleopatra steamer (1,500 tons), entered into the matter with an evident determination to carry it through. He laid on a small steamer at Sydney, of above eighty tons burthen, forty horse power, and three feet draught of water when loaded[6]—proposed to the Legislature of South Australia to carry his boat through the sea mouth—to navigate the river to the Darling (600 miles) twelve times in the year; or to perform six trips as far as Swan Hill, a distance of 1,250 miles from the sea. For the first performance he was to receive £500; for the passage up to the Darling, £1,000; and for the subsequent eleven or six trips, a further sum of £1,000—the whole in quarterly payments. These terms, proposed by himself, having been recommended to Sir Henry Young by an address from the Legislative Council, were approved of by His Excellency, who gave his assent to the apportionment of the stipulated premium for the prescribed object.