Western Australia, Perth,
July 12th, 1872.
SIR,
I have the honour to lay before you, for the consideration of his Excellency the Governor, a project I have in view for the further exploration of Western Australia.
My wish is to undertake an expedition, to start early next year from Champion Bay, follow the Murchison to its source, and then continue in an east and north-east direction to the telegraph line now nearly completed between Adelaide and Port Darwin; after this we would either proceed north to Port Darwin or south to Adelaide.
The party would consist of four white and two black men, with twenty horses, well armed and provisioned for at least six months.
The total cost of the expedition would be about 600 pounds, of which sum I hope to be able to raise, by subscriptions, about 200 pounds.
The horses will be furnished by the settlers, many having already been promised me.
The geographical results of such an expedition would necessarily be very great; it would be the finishing stroke of Australian discovery; would be sure to open new pastoral country; and, if we are to place any weight in the opinions of geographers (among whom I may mention the Reverend Tenison Woods), the existence of a large river running inland from the watershed of the Murchison is nearly certain.
Referring to the map of Australia you will observe that the proposed route is a very gigantic, hazardous, and long one; but, after careful consideration, I have every confidence that, should I be allowed to undertake it, there are reasonable hopes of my being able to succeed.
Minor details are purposely omitted; but, should his Excellency favourably entertain this proposition, I will be too glad, as far as I am able, to give further information on the subject.
Trusting you will be able to concur in the foregoing suggestions.
I have, etc.,
JOHN FORREST.
To this letter the Governor appended the following memorandum:--
Mr. J. Forrest, in a most public spirited manner, proposes to embark in an undertaking, the dangers of which, though not by any means inconsiderable, would be outweighed by the advantages which might accrue to this colony, and which would certainly result in a great extension of our geographical knowledge. Should he succeed in this journey, his name will fitly go down to posterity as that of the man who solved the last remaining problem in the Australian continent; and, whatever may come after him, he will have been the last (and certainly, when the means at his disposal and the difficulties of the undertaking are considered, by no means the least) of the great Australian explorers.
The honour to be gained by him, and most of the advantages, will ultimately fall to this colony, which is his birth-place; and for my own part I shall be very proud that such a design should be carried out during my term of office. I wish that the means of the colony were sufficient to warrant the Government in proposing to defray the entire cost of the expedition, and I think it would be a disgrace to the colony if it did not at least afford some aid from public funds.
These papers will be laid before the Legislature, and the Government will support a vote in aid, should the Legislature concur.
FRED. A. WELD.
July 20th, 1872.
This memorandum showed that his Excellency thoroughly sympathized with my reason for desiring to undertake the expedition. The proposition, supported by official approval, was acceded to by the Legislative Council, which voted the 400 pounds stated to be required in addition to the 200 pounds which I hoped to be able to raise by subscription.
Just at this time, however, South Australia was making great efforts to solve the problem I had undertaken to attempt, preparations being made for the departure of three expeditions. Stuart's great feat of crossing the continent from south to north had been followed by other successful efforts in the same direction. Another result was the establishing a line of telegraph from Adelaide to Port Darwin. This might therefore be considered the eastern boundary of the unknown districts, and moreover was the point of departure for the South Australian expeditions in a westerly direction. It was also the limit I desired to reach, and, reaching it, I should achieve the object I had so much at heart. Of the South Australian expeditions, only one was successful in getting to the western colony, and that one, led by Colonel Warburton, involved much suffering and was comparatively barren of practical results. Besides, as we afterwards knew, the route selected by him was so far to the north as not to interfere with my project.
The following letter to me expresses the official estimate of the result of Colonel Warburton's expedition:--
Surveyor-General's Office, Perth,
March 27th, 1874.
The gist of the information I have from Colonel Warburton may be summed up in a few words. From the MacDermot Ranges in South Australia to the head of the Oakoon River (about 150 miles from the coast), keeping between the parallels of 20 and 22 degrees south latitude, he traversed a sterile country, in which he states horses could not possibly exist--they would starve, as they could not live on the stunted scrub and herbage which the camels managed to keep alive on.
The general character of the country seen was that of a high, waterless, slightly undulating, sandy table-land, with in some parts sand deserts in ridges most harassing to traverse. There was nothing visible in the way of water courses in which water could be retained; but they were successful in finding, at long distances, sufficient to maintain themselves and their camels as they fled, as it were for their lives, westward over the Sahara, which appears to be in a great part a desolate wilderness, devoid of life, or of anything life sustaining. Though this is a grim picture put before you, yet I would not have you daunted. Your task is a different one, and one which all the colony is looking forward to see successfully completed by you.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) MALCOLM FRASER, Surveyor-General.
Governor Weld, however, decided that it might be better to postpone my expedition, as it would not be advisable to appear to enter into competition with the other colony; besides which it might be of considerable advantage to wait and avail ourselves of the results of any discoveries that might be made by the South Australian explorers. Another reason for delay was that I was required to conduct a survey of considerable importance, which it was desirable should be completed before undertaking the new expedition.
It may assist my readers to understand the references in the latter part of my Journal if I state that in April, 1873, Mr. Gosse, one of the South Australian explorers, quitted the telegraph line about forty miles south of Mount Stuart; that the farthest point in a westerly direction reached by him was in longitude 126 degrees 59 minutes East; and that Mr. Giles, a Victorian explorer, had reached longitude 125 degrees, but had been unable to penetrate farther.
Some records of these expeditions, and a copy of the chart made by Mr. Gosse, were in my possession, when at length, in March, 1874, I set to work on the preliminary arrangements for the expedition. Before leaving Perth I received from the Surveyor-General the following outline of instructions for my general guidance:--