Giles now retraced his steps from Western Australia to the overland line, following a track to the north of Forrest's route. He went by way of the Murchison, and crossed over to the Ashburton, which river he followed up to the head. Then striking to the south of east he came on to his former track of 1873, at the Alfred and Marie Range; the range he had so vainly striven to reach when the unfortunate man Gibson, met his death. He finally arrived at the Peake station, on the telegraph line.
Few watercourses were crossed, the country was suffering from extreme drought, and no discoveries of any importance were made.
The journeys of the late explorers had greatly lessened the area of the country in which fresh discoveries could be looked for; true, the results had not been encouraging. The utter and complete want of a river system, even of the rudest kind, in the western half of the interior of Australia, was plainly shown. No continuous line of country could even be traced as corresponding on the routes of the different travellers, and unfortunately, where good country was found, the want of surface water held out no encouragement for the grazier to follow up the explorers' footsteps. The reclamation of this country it was evident would have to be a work of time, and would be dependent greatly on the facility with which the underground supplies could be tapped. That these supplies exist, the pioneer work carried on, on the outskirts of the desert, has proved beyond a doubt; how far they will be carried into the interior remains to be seen.
CHAPTER XIII.
Further explorations around Lake Eyre—Lewis equipped by Sir Thomas Elder—He traces the lower course of the Diamantina—Expedition to Charlotte Bay under W. Hann—A survivor of the wreck of the Maria—Discovery of the Palmer—Gold prospects found—Arrival on the east coast—Dense scrub—Return—The Palmer rush—Hodgkinson sent out—Follows down the Diamantina—Discovery of the Mulligan—Mistaken for the Herbert—Private expedition—The Messrs. Prout—Buchanan—F. Scarr—The QUEENSLANDER expedition—A dry belt of country—Native rites—A good game bag—Arrival at the telegraph line—Alexander Forrest—The Leopold Range—Caught between the cliffs and the sea—Fine pastoral country found—Arrival at the Katherine—The Northern Territory and its future.
But although the country to the east of the telegraph line had up to the year 1874 received such a large share of attention, in fact, the principal share, there yet remained much unknown territory to investigate, and many geographical problems to determine. Chief amongst these was the definition of the many affluents of Lake Eyre.
The western district of Queensland was drained by rivers of great magnitude, that found their way through South Australia into the lake; but their many channels, and the direction and size of them had never been fully determined. To further this end, Sir Thomas Elder equipped Mr. Lewis, who, it will be remembered, did such good service on Colonel Warburton's expedition, and under his leadership an expedition was undertaken which resulted in much valuable information being gained. Starting from the overland telegraph line, Lewis skirted Lake Eyre to the north, and penetrated to Eyre's Creek, in Queensland territory, and traced that creek and the Diamantina into Lake Eyre; also confirming the opinion so often advanced that the waters of Cooper's Creek found their way into that receptacle, as well as the more westerly streams.
In Queensland the Government had decided upon further exploration of the northern promontory ending in Cape York. More than eight years had elapsed since the Jardines had made their dashing trip, and their report taken in conjunction with Kennedy's did not offer much inducement for anyone to follow up their footsteps; but as there was yet a tract of country at the base of the promontory comparatively unknown, a party was organised and placed under the leadership of Mr. William Hann, one of the pioneer squatters of the north of Queensland.
The object of the trip was in the main an examination of the country as far north as the 14th parallel, with a special view to its mineral and other resources; the discovery of gold so far north in Queensland having caused a hope to be entertained that its existence would continue along the promontory.
Hann had with him as geologist a Mr. Taylor, and as botanist, Dr. Tate, a survivor of the melancholy New Guinea expedition that left Sydney in the brig MARIA, only to suffer wreck on the Barrier Reef, where, in the sea and amongst the cannibals north of Rockingham Bay, most of the unfortunates left their bones. Apparently, his ardour for exploration had not been damped by his narrow escape.