Although Queensland herself had little or no territory within her own borders left to explore, the energy and enterprise of her pioneers led to many private explorations being organized across the border into the colony of South Australia, or rather into the northern territory of that colony. Amongst those undertaken in the year 1878 may be instanced one which resulted in the loss of the entire party.
Induced by the favourable terms offered by the South Australian Government to pastoral lessees in the Northern Territory, two brothers named Prout started out with one man, looking for country across the Queensland border. They never returned, and it was not until they had been given up for months that some of their horses, and finally the bones of one of the brothers, were discovered by Mr. W. J. H. Carr Boyd.
It was evident, from the fragments of a diary recovered, that they had extended their researches far into South Australian territory, and met their death by thirst on their homeward way, probably from some of the waters they depended upon for their return having failed them.
In the same year Buchanan made an excursion to the overland line from the border of Queensland. Crossing from the Ranken—one of the main heads of the Georgina River, and so called after one of the pioneers of that district, J. C. L. Ranken—Buchanan on a westerly course, came to the head of a creek, running through fine open downs; following it down for some days he eventually lost its channel in flooded country, and striking across a belt of dry country arrived at Tennant's Creek station on the overland line. This creek, which received the name of Buchanan's Creek, was a most important discovery, affording in future a highway and stock route to the great pastoral district lying between the Queensland border and the overland line.
The next to attack this unknown strip was Frank Scarr, a Queensland surveyor. He tried to cross the line, to the south of Buchanan's track, but was prevented by the waterless belt of country existing there. During one of his excursions he found the horses of the ill-fated Prout Brothers, already alluded to.
Finding he could not reach the country he desired to, from the Queensland border, Scarr made north, and by means of Buchanan's Creek arrived at Tennant's Creek station; but owing to the dry season, did not extend his researches further.
In the same year, 1878, a project for an overland railway line, between Brisbane and Port Darwin, was inaugurated in the former city. The principle of building the line by means of land grants being one of the chief features of the scheme. Mr. Gresley Lukin, the then proprietor of the leading Brisbane newspaper, organised and equipped a party to explore a line of country, the object being to find out the nature and value of the land in the neighbourhood of the proposed line, and the geographical features of the unexplored portion.
The party left Blackall, then the furthest township to the westward in
Queensland, the leader being Mr. E. Favenc, accompanied by Messrs. S. G.
Briggs (surveyor), G. R. Hedley, and a black boy.
From Blackall the party struck across the settled pastoral districts until they arrived at Cork station, on the Diamantina. From there they kept a north-westerly route through the then unexplored country lying between the Burke and Herbert Rivers. From the Herbert the Ranken was followed up for some distance, and the route was then to Buchanan's Creek, and down that creek to the last permanent water. From here the party struck north, and some permanent waters were discovered, amongst them being the Corella Lagoon, the finest lagoon in that district. Two lakes of large extent were also seen and named, but, although at the time of the explorer's visit they were extensive sheets of water, seven or eight miles in circumference, they were so shallow for a mile from their shores, that at that distance, they were only knee deep.
A singular feature of the lakes of this depressed region, was the fringe of dead trees that surrounded them. From the age of the trees, and even borders of all the lake beds seen, both dry and full, it was evident that this must have been the result of an excessive flood, which had inundated this district during some past year.