Monday, 30th June, 1828
Arrived at Amity Point, Moreton Bay, in the ship Lucy Ann, and cast anchor in Rainbow Reach, after a passage of twenty-three days from Port-Jackson,
Tuesday, 1st July, 1828
At seven o’clock in the morning, proceeded across Moreton Bay, in company with Mr. Allan Cunningham, the Government Botanist, and entered the Brisbane River at ten o’clock, where we landed for an hour and refreshed the men, and then reached Brisbane Town at three o’clock.5
Wednesday, 2nd July, 1828
The banks of this river, until arriving at the islands, are clothed with Mangroves, Casuarinae, and Banksia Compar, entwined with many thick. climbers, and containing several interesting plants. Above the islands, the Casuarina disappears, and is succeeded by Gum Trees, (Eucalypti,) and extensive brushwoods, the latter exhibiting a profusion of Yellow Wood, (Oxleya xanthoxyla) and Tulip Wood, a few straggling Araucariae, Flindersia australis, and many other interesting timber trees, together with a vast variety of shrubs. The hills that rise behind the copses are open and stony, tolerably covered with grass, and with a few scattered Gum Trees.
On approaching Brisbane Town, the banks of the river become more elevated and rocky. The north side is formed of quartz rock and ironstone, the south of a peculiarly composed basaltic stratum, of which the basis is bright pink-coloured, with white spots: it is remarkably hard, and breaks into square blocks, and is used for the foundations of buildings at Brisbane Town, being reckoned exceedingly durable.
At nine o’clock, crossed the river to examine some dense forests on its southern bank, where I succeeded in collecting four species of Capparis, Carissa ovata, Exocarpus latifolia, Dendrobium tetragonum, and another new species. Here the Acrostichum grande (of Cunningham) forms a most striking feature. On my return to Brisbane Town in the afternoon, I accompanied Capt. Logan to the intended site of the New Garden,8 where we felled a magnificent tree of Flindersia australis, loaded with ripe fruit.
Employed this day in laying down the boundaries of the New Garden, and fixing the situation of a large pond in its centre.
Accompanied Capt. Logan to examine a forest on the banks of a stream. called Breakfast Creek, three miles north-west of Brisbane Town, noted for its gigantic timber, and the vast variety of its plants. In this interesting forest I observed several species of Ficus, upwards of 150 feet high, enclosing immense Iron Bark Trees, on which, originally, the seeds of these Fig trees had been deposited by birds. Here they had immediately vegetated, and thrown out their parasitical and rapacious roots, which adhering close to the bark of the Iron Tree, had followed the course of its stem downwards to the earth, where, once arrived, their progress of growth is truly astonishing. The roots of the Ficus then increase rapidly in number, envelope the Iron Bark, and send out, at the same time, such gigantic branches, that it is not unusual to see the original tree, at a height of 70 or 80 feet, peeping through the fig, as if itself were the parasite on the real intruder.
In the singular angles, or walls, as they are here termed, which are formed by the roots of these trees, and of which I observed many sixteen feet high, there is room enough to dine half-a-dozen persons. The fruit is eagerly sought by regent birds, (Sericulus chrysocephalus) blue pigeons, and swamp pheasants (Cuculus Phasianus) and the spreading and massy boughs support a number of superb parasitical plants.
This forest abounds in Urtica Gigas, as well as in an unpublished and most interesting new plant, producing fruit larger than a Spanish Chestnut, by which name it is here known. The legumens are large, solitary, and pendent, produced by the two-year-old wood: the leaves are impari-pinnate, each several leaflet being oval, lanceolate, and of a rich green, and the shade afforded by the whole tree excels any I have hitherto seen in New South Wales. By the natives the fruit is eaten on all occasions; it has, when roasted, the flavour of a Spanish chestnut, and I have been assured by Europeans who have subsisted on it exclusively for two days, that no other unpleasant effect was the result than a slight pain in the bowels, and that only when it was eaten raw.
The country intervening between Breakfast Creek and Brisbane Town is hilly, the higher grounds stony, but the valleys fertile, and abounding in water. We reached the town again at six o’clock.
Saturday, 5th July, 1828
This day was appropriated to the examination of a valley N. E. from Brisbane Town, by which this settlement is at present supplied with water. In this spot, which I found most fertile, was shown to me an extraordinary cemetery, if it may be so termed, of the aboriginal natives. It consisted of the hollow trunk of a dead Eucalyptus, in which were deposited human bones of all ages, consisting of leg, thigh, and arm bones, vertebrae, and some fragments of crania, all mingled together. I was informed that many of the skulls had been previously carried away by scientific persons. The hills are covered with nodules of quartz: their timber consisting of Eucalyptus and Casuarina.
Sunday, 6th July, 1828
At ten o’clock I proceeded with Captain Logan and Mr. Cunningham to the southern extremity of Glenmoriston’s Range.
The country which lies between Brisbane Town and the base of this range, is, to the north of the river, hilly, sterile, and devoid of interest. On ascending the high ground, the soil and grass improve, and continue to do so till the very summit of the range, which is clothed with Tristania robusta, Eucalyptus, and the Forest Oak, (Casuarina torulosa) the native Cherry (Exocarpus cupressiformis) also abounds here. On the summit was observed a remarkable tree of the Urtica family, which appears to be a new genus. In habit it resembles a tall Weeping Willow, the fruit hanging in pendulous clusters on the year-old wood; the foliage lanceolate and undulated. In the course of this day’s excursion, we observed many beautiful Orchideous plants, amongst them Caladenia carnea and alba.
The view from south-east to north-west was extensive and very grand, presenting an immense, thinly wooded plain, whose surface was gently undulated, and clothed with luxuriant grass.
Flinders’ Peak is seen to the westward, surrounded with numerous smaller ones. To the south and eastward arise a distant range of mountains, (since named Mount Lindsay) with very lofty peaks, one of which, (ascertained to be Mount Hooker) resembling a pigeon-house in form, is supposed to belong to the lateral branches of Mount Warning Ranges. To the south-west of this Peak appears the Dividing Range, with the gap, or pass, observed by Mr. Cunningham, in 1827, near Gen. Darling’s Downs, under which we remarked some extensive flats, perfectly clear of wood. In the centre of the plain rises a remarkable and detached table hill.
To the north, the eye extends over a tract of lofty and forest-covered hills, interspersed with extensive districts of Araucaria, (the Moreton Bay Pine) of which the sombre green colour forms a striking contrast to the brownish hue of the Gum Trees (Eucalypti.)
The view easterly is most commanding. It embraces Moreton Island and Bay, Stradbroke Island, the Glass Houses, with the meanderings of the Brisbane River, and the settlements about the town. Immediately at the foot of the range, the Oxley, or Canoe Creek, is seen winding through a tract of fine country.
Monday, 7th July, 1828
Sunday. [Actually a Monday, but likely confused due to illness]
Tuesday, 8th July, 1828
Confined by sickness.
Wednesday, 9th July, 1828
Recovering; but unable to make any exertion.
Thursday, 10th July, 1828
Convalescent. In the morning I investigated the banks of the Brisbane near the town, and found some plants of a superb and unpublished species of Bignonia: also a species of Limonia, and one of Ipomaea, whose immense tubers are here called Native Yams, and are eaten by the natives.
Friday, 11th July, 1828
Proceeded with Captain Logan and Mr. Cunningham up the Brisbane River to the Limestone Station, on the banks of the Bremer, which we reached at sunset, after having rowed for eleven hours. The south side of the Brisbane, as far as Canoe Creek, is covered with forests of Pine or Araucaria, to a considerable extent. The north bank, as far as Glenmoriston’s Range, is principally open forest, not reaching far, beyond which it is clothed with pine brushes, as on the south. These forests contain immense quantities of Yellow Wood, (Oxleya xanthoxyla) and Tulip Wood, with Figs of five or six different species, Grevillea venusta, Br. (the Silk Oak of the pine cutters) and a great profusion of magnificent trees.
Beyond Canoe Creek, the Pine partially disappears from both sides of the river, and its geographical situation is occupied by enormous Figs.
Two miles beyond Canoe Creek is an excellent quarry of freestone, which is conveyed by water to Brisbane Town, a distance of eleven miles.
Its quality is excellent, being granular, and when first cut quite soft, but exposure to the air renders it as hard as granite. Following the course of the river towards the termination of Oxley’s Range, the banks, which are comparatively divested of thickets, become more open and picturesque, and the nearer the Bremer is approached, the clearer is the country and the more precipitous the banks. These are interspersed with excellent Gum Trees, (Eucalypti) and occasional patches of Currijong, or Natives’ Cordage Tree (Hibiscus heterophyllus) which again are overhung with a new and beautiful kind of Passion Flower (Passiflora) whose blossom is greenish yellow, while the oval fruit, of which I partook, is produced in great quantities, and affords a grateful flavour.
On reaching the confluence of the Bremer the change in the character of the country is very apparent. On each side it is of the richest description, thinly wooded, and with abundance of water. The left bank is formed of flats gently sloping towards the Bremer, as well as towards a stream called Six Mile Creek, which takes its source in the mountains of Flinders’ Peak. These flats are of the richest black loam, and covered with an extraordinary species of Angophora, and an unpublished kind of Xanthorrhaea, which attains the height of twenty feet, averaging not more than fifteen trees to an acre. Over this tract we proceeded until we came to the limestone formation at the navigable source of the Bremer, a spot that will at no distant period be the principal key to the internal commerce of this interesting portion of Australia.
The River Bremer, at its confluence with the Brisbane, may be estimated at forty yards wide, an extent which it carries to within a mile of the limestone station. It is navigable for seventeen miles above its junction with the Brisbane, for vessels drawing six feet water; and as far as the limestone, which is fifteen miles, for small sloops or schooners. Numerous beds of coal, lying in veins of considerable thickness, are adjacent to the lime: they jut out from the banks of the streams, and fall into the Bremer within a few yards of its tide mark. The limestone is singularly disposed, in large masses, intermingled with nodules of silex and chalk: on the surface it presents ridges of detached portions, several of which are covered with hexahedral crystals, and in many instances it is observed to form a remarkable conglomerate with quartz and silex, while great quantities of chalcedony and carnelian, broken into small fragments, lie scattered on the surface.
The summits of the lime ridges are studded with various species of Ficus, many individuals of a genus belonging to the Meliaceae. From Brisbane Town to the Limestone Station, is estimated at 24 miles by land, and 50 miles by water.
Saturday, 12th July, 1828
At daybreak I started for Flinders’ Peak, distant about ten miles. The first three miles lay over a beautiful country, when the soil changed to a light red sand, and the ascent of the lateral branches of the Peak commenced. For the first two miles the rise is very gentle, afterwards it becomes much more abrupt, and with this change in the geology ensues a consequent alteration in the soil and its productions. Having climbed a very high range, we obtained a magnificent view of the Peak, with its terrific northern front of perpendicular rock. The southern side appeared to be more accessible, being clothed with thick brushwood to the very summit.
From the situation which we had now attained, we clearly saw the impossibility of reaching the top by sunset, and having made no preparations for remaining an additional day on the journey, we determined upon descending into the valley to bivouac for the night, some of the party endeavouring in the mean time to penetrate as far as its base by a valley which promised to be practicable, but which proved quite otherwise. At sunset we halted on the edge of a lagoon, and formed a hut of grass to sleep in, the whole party being completely exhausted through fatigue.
Sunday, 13th July, 1828
The morning was excessively cold. At break of day we retraced our way to the Limestone Station, where we arrived at ten o’clock. The rest of the day was devoted to the examination of the neighbouring district, and the coal seams, which are abundant. The view from the Limestone Hills is extensive, and the exact bearings were ascertained of the centre of the Pass in the Dividing Range, Flinders’ Peak, Sir Herbert Taylor’s Range, and Mount Forbes. The country between the Limestone Station and Brisbane Town, seems low and open.
Monday, 14th July, 1828
At eight o’clock, embarked for Brisbane Town, and reached it at half-past nine in the evening.
Tuesday, 15th July, 1828
Went to examine the lower part of Breakfast Creek, and discovered a gigantic species of Aspidium, bearing fructification only on the terminal pinnae. It is a native of salt marshes, and generally grows from 5 to 6 feet high. On the edge of the brushwood I found a Croton, with a remarkably ciliated calyx, and a kind of Ficus with digitated leaves. While following the line of the creek, I met with the females of a tribe of aborigines, who, on seeing me, set up a dreadful yell. Their cries brought the men, who, observing however that I was not a runaway convict, offered me no violence. At three o’clock, I returned to Brisbane Town.
Wednesday-Thursday, 16th-17th July, 1828
These days were devoted to procuring living plants in the vicinity of the town.
Friday, 18th July, 1828
Proceeded, in company with Capt. Logan and Mr. Cunningham, to Stradbroke Island, and reached Dunwich at one o’clock in the afternoon. Immediately on landing we ascended the hills to the east of the settlement, and found them covered with Callitris, Casuarina, Banksia Compar, and B. aemula, and the soil consisting of white sand. Among the new plants were a species of Boronia, one of Zieria, Callitris, Casuarina, and Persoonia. The soil on the lower part of Stradbroke Island is a red loam, containing much sand, but by care it might be made to produce good crops. The rock is a bright red sandstone or ironstone.
From the establishment at Dunwich, there is an extensive view of Moreton Bay, the Glass Houses, Flinders’ Peak, the lateral range of Mount Warning, and Sir Herbert Taylor’s Range.
Saturday, 19th July, 1828
Examined the Cotton Plantation, which I found much neglected, the stools being literally covered with weeds. All along the Plantation runs a beautiful stream, issuing from an extensive swamp, in which I found a pro- fusion of Melastoma Banksiana, with a species of Dacrydium. On the beach were thickets of Hibiscus tiliaceus, and Pandanus pedunculata: the latter is called Bread-fruit, and eagerly eaten by the natives. A beautiful species of Pinna, or Fan Muscle, was abundant on the mud flats, and I succeeded in obtaining a few specimens.
Sunday, 20th July, 1828
Returned to Brisbane Town.
Monday-Tuesday, 21st-22nd July, 1828
Employed in procuring plants on the river banks till eight o’clock, when I found the party proceeding to Mount Warning, on the south bank, consisting of Capt. Logan, Mr. Cunningham, one soldier, and five convicts, with their bullocks; but on arranging our provisions and luggage, we found that three beasts were inadequate to carry it all, and were therefore obliged to delay our departure till the following day, in order to procure another. At noon I returned to Brisbane, and assisted in laying out the walks of the New Garden.
Wednesday, 23rd July, 1828
At eight o’clock we started, but had not proceeded above a mile, when we discovered that one of our bullocks could hardly stand under his load, while another had reared so as to break a part of his harness. To relieve the first, we reduced our stock of flour by 112 lbs. which we sent back, and the necessity of getting the harness of the other animal repaired caused us to encamp for the day.
Thursday, 24th July, 1828
At seven o’clock, we set off towards Couper’s Plains, passing over a tract of indifferent land, composed principally of clumps of Iron Bark Trees, Eucalypti, and small valleys, abundantly watered. By eleven o’clock we had accomplished nearly six miles, and then halted till one, to rest our cattle, at the edge of the plain, or, more properly speaking, of the Flats, on the banks of a beautiful chain of ponds. Thence we continued our way across these flats, which are composed of excellent land, thinly wooded; and it appears evident to me, that the water must often stand here in many spots, on account of the numerous hollows in the surface. This district probably contains 5000 or 6000 acres. The timber is decidedly of little worth, but the ridges produce abundantly the Iron Bark and Blue Gum Trees, (Eucalyptus piperita).
Friday, 25th July, 1828
We encamped at three and a half miles from the entrance of the flats, on the west bank of Canoe Creek, by which they are bounded, having ac- complished a distance by the odometer of nine miles.
There was nothing novel in the botany of this district. The principal timber consisted of Banksia Compar, Tristania robusta, Iron Bark, some stunted Casuarinae, and a species of Acacia with long cylindrical spikes of flower.
The temperature delightful, and sky cloudy. At half-past eight we continued our course southward, which led us for a considerable distance along the banks of Canoe Creek, over a country varied with alternate strips of Tea Tree (Melaleuca linariifolia) of swamps and sandy forest land, the latter consisting of Honeysuckle Tree (Banksia integrifolia) the Forest Oak (Casuarina torulosa) and stunted Gum Trees (Eucalypti). The creek now taking a sudden eastward turn, we were obliged to ascend a range of low hills, leaving on the left some beautiful flats of rich land. The hills are formed of a light sandy soil, and clothed with a sward of good grass, and I remarked several encampments of natives, the shape of whose huts were different from any I had hitherto seen. At half-past seven we again fell in with the course of the creek, and rested our cattle. Having carried their loads across the creek, and reloaded, with some difficulty, the animals, we resumed our journey at one o’clock. The way lay over a tract of uninteresting country, interspersed again with swamps, clumps of Tea Tree, and flats of a poor argillaceous soil, which, however, produced some excellent timber. We again left the creek, and crossed several ridges of Honeysuckle Tree and Forest Oak, the latter overgrown with a magnificent species of Loranthus. At two and a half miles from the creek, we passed a grave of a high oval form, around which lay felled about forty large trees of Banksia Compar: they had evidently been cut down with a hatchet, and their tops were carefully laid over the grave, as if on purpose to conceal it. The most probable conclusion from this circumstance was, that the interment belonged to one of the runaway convicts from Brisbane Town. Beside the grave was a large hole, full of water, and a well-beaten path led to it. Beyond this spot an evident alteration was observable in the country. The Honeysuckles (Banksia integrifolia) disappear, and are succeeded by an open forest of sandy soil, after passing nearly two miles of which, we encamped for the night, on the margin of a small creek, having accomplished by the odometer, a distance of ten miles, and the reduced true course south being nearly nine miles.
Saturday, 26th July, 1828
The morning clear and piercingly cold, so that we found two blankets and a counterpane insufficient for our shelter. At eight o’clock we started, travelling agreeably over an extent of open and gently undulating forest ground, and after four miles and a half reached the River Logan, at its junction with a creek. At this spot it is a fine rapidly running stream of considerable magnitude, and in ordinary seasons must contain a large body of water: the immediate banks are bold and almost precipitous, clothed with thick brushes of creeping plants, containing a great number of the Castanospermum, or native Chestnut Trees. Having unloaded the bullocks, we got them across with some difficulty, and carried their burdens to the opposite shore. The country for some distance from the Logan River, is very rich, and produces fine gum trees. At noon we observed the latitude, which showed 27° 48′ South. An hour after, we pursued our way through fine forests, and once more arrived at the Logan, at the distance of but a mile and a half from our former crossing place. We found it impossible to ford the river again, and were obliged to hold on for two miles in a more easterly direction, until the windings of the stream should again permit us to proceed southward. Having passed two creeks which fall into the Logan, and reached a much improved country, we halted for the rest of the day: our progress was eight miles and a half, and the true reduced course to the south six miles. We had observed nothing new in the botanical features of this day’s journey.
On the banks of the Logan, and in the immediate vicinity of a native encampment, I noticed three sticks set upright in the ground, forming a triangle, and fastened together by a cord at top, on which was placed a sheet of bark; and seeing something suspended under shelter of this bark, my curiosity induced me to point it out to Capt. Logan, who informed me that it is customary for the tribes, when leaving a district, to deposit in such a situation their Kangaroo-Nets, Dillies, Bass mats, chissels, and superfluous implements, until their return. It is considered the greatest breach of faith among these rude nations to touch any of the articles thus placed; a degree of honesty which, it is to be feared, we might look for in vain among their white neigh- bours. On examining this depot, we found a Kangaroo-Net, 50 feet long and 5 feet wide, formed of the most excellent twine, as fine as any fabricated in Europe, but much stronger, and woven in a manner that would do credit to a professed net maker; – a fishing-net of a beautifully fine mesh, and dyed black, forming, when in the water, an inverted cone about 7 feet deep; – a Dilly, or luggage-bag, such as the females carry, made of the leaves of a species of Xanthorrhaea, and strong enough to bear any weight; Eillmans, or shields, of the wood of Urtica Gigas, or the Tree Nettle, as light as cork; two chisels edged with flint; and an iron wedge, evidently stolen from Brisbane Town.
Sunday, 27th July, 1828
The morning proved clear and pleasant; thermometer indicating 47°. We set off at the usual time, and travelled over a good and level country, of which some parts are swampy, and others varied by hills of small elevation, and covered with forests of Casuarina, Jacksonia or Dogwood, and fine Gum Trees. At two miles and a half from our encampment we crossed a large creek, whose swampy banks harboured many kangaroos. From this point we were again compelled to deviate in a westerly direction having, at the distance of another mile, crossed a second creek which falls into the Logan, and whose banks are remarkably fertile, and, half a mile farther on, a third creek, of which the sides are clothed with such dense forests of Araucaria, and Yellow Wood, that we found it impracticable to force the cattle through so that we were obliged to ascend the hills where this stream takes its source. At noon the latitude proved to be 27° 52″ South. Here we observed one of those remarkable battle circles, which seem peculiar to the natives of this part of New Holland. It consisted of an enclosure 33 yards in circumference, edged by a path 3 feet broad and 10 inches deep, from which another path of similar dimensions diverges in a direct line, frequently for half a mile in length. The history of the circumstance which led to the formation of these circles was narrated to me by an eye-witness, who had lived for nineteen months among these tribes; and his testimony is strongly supported by facts that have been recently elicited during the formation of the settlement at Brisbane Town.
It was discovered, by one of the tribes inhabiting the banks of Pumicestone River, that a neighbouring tribe had trespassed on their hunting and fishing stations, whereupon a warrior was sent to the aggressors, who resided at three days’ journey north, to demand satisfaction by battle. The challenge being accepted by the latter, they marched to meet their enemies in a body amounting to about 250 souls, including women and children, and when they had reached the territories of the aggrieved chieftain, they sent to request permission to cross his boundary-line. The chief was absent on a kangarooing expedition, but he immediately granted leave when he returned. The party, on passing the boundary-line upon the beach, made each a mark across with their toes, the meaning of which is not yet known; they then approached the scene of action, and encamped for the night. In the morning all the warriors were in readiness, and advanced to meet the enemy, followed at no great distance by the women and children, whom they gave in special charge to my informant, the European Finnigan, with strict orders that he should not quit them. Curiosity, however, urged him to approach the field of battle, when he states that the picked men on both sides, being armed, entered the pathway and marched into the circle. Here two were selected from each party to fight with spears and eillmans, and the contest lasted a long time, until both the men from the aggressors’ party fell, covered with wounds, on which a number of their friends rushed into the circle and carried the bodies away. Immediately on this an appalling cry was raised by the tribe which had originally been injured: they fell on the enemy with the utmost fury, and chased them for a considerable distance, keeping up a running fight, till night put an end to the combat.
The vanquished tribe immediately forsook their former encampment, and, carrying the dead bodies with them, removed to a spot two miles distant to the north, where they kept up the most horrible lamentations. Having encamped, they immediately commenced their operations by flaying and burying the bodies: they then carried the skins away to a considerable distance, where they formed a triangle of spears, around which they twisted the skins, leaving the face, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet suspended. A fire was then kindled beneath them, till the skins were dried to the consistency of leather, when one of the warriors took them down, and after performing some ceremony over them, carried them away, the whole tribe uttering a dreadful yell, and nothing farther was seen or heard of them.
Mr. Cunningham has in his possession the skin of one of the female aborigines, which was procured by Private Platt of the 57th Regiment, from the hut of a native on the banks of the Brisbane River, just above its junction with the Bremer. It consists of only the front of the body, arms, and legs; the fingers and toes have their nails perfect, but the face is wanting, although the ears remain. It had been deposited in the Dilly or luggage-bag of a female, carefully placed within one of their nets.
At one o’clock we continued to ascend the range, by which we were enabled to keep on our course; the rise was gradual, so that the cattle got up without difficulty, and the defiles on each side are clothed with Pine forests to the very summit, over which is the only practicable pass, and along which we found travelling very good. Our bullocks being extremely fatigued, we encamped at the northern extremity of the range: our progress was estimated by the odometer at nearly nine miles, its reduced true southerly course at five and a half miles. On the summit of the range we observed a rock of remarkably compact granular silex, which, on examining, we found to have been lately split by the natives, for the purpose of fabricating tomahawks and chissels; but by what means they contrived to break this rock yet remains a secret. An extensive view is obtained from this eminence, stretching to north and south-east, where the whole of the valley of the Brisbane and the shores of Moreton Bay appear to great advantage; while to the east may be seen the valley through which the first branch60 of the Logan passes, in the direction of Mount Warning. We found on this range of hills a beautiful new species of Acacia (A. podalyriifolia) with glabrous leaves, and Hovea acutifolia.
Monday, 28th July, 1828
Morning clear, and thermometer at 50°. At eight o’clock, we began to descend this range, which was named Birnam, and skirted its base through a tract of very fine forest land, where the Iron Bark and Apple Trees (Angophora lanceolata) abound. Here the character of the scenery changes, the hills and vallies assuming the richest verdure upon a soil of dark brown loam. Still descending, we traversed wide flats of prodigious fertility, which seem to extend to the Logan, whose course is here in a southerly direction. A magnificent valley now opens to the view, stretching southward almost as far as the eye can reach, and named the Vale of Aris, terminating by lofty peaked mountains, supposed to be Mount Warning and the Lindsay Range. From this point, Flinders’ Peak bore west by north half west, distant about fifteen miles, and the intervening country appeared low, fertile, and of easy access.
Descending into the valley, we crossed a lovely open plain of the richest verdure: its length we estimated at about two miles, and breadth one mile and a half. On the north and east it is skirted by beautiful open forest hills; on the west by the river Logan; and on the south by a considerable extent of low richly wooded ground, and is named Letitia Plain. From this situation we had a grand view of Flinders’ Peak. A mile farther on we arrived at a beautiful lagoon, where we found a new species of Villarsia, to which, on account of its orbicular leaves, we gave the appellation of nymphaeoefolia. Here we took the latitude, 27° 56″ South.
An eastward turn of the River Logan, at two and a half miles distance from the lagoon, intercepted our progress. It was joined by a creek, passing from Birnam Range, and the banks are so thickly clothed with brushes of Araucaria, that we found it quite impracticable to effect a passage for the cattle. We were consequently obliged to cross the River Logan, which we accomplished with difficulty, not because of the quantity of water, though the stream is wide, but on account of the dense thickets that fringe its almost perpendicular banks. The west bank seems to rival the east in the richness and extent of its flats, while, from the hilly nature of the former, Grevillea venusta shows to the greatest advantage. At half-past three we encamped, having completed, as we ascertained by the odometer, a distance of only nine miles, and but five miles directly to south-west.
Tuesday, 29th July, 1828
Weather exceedingly wet, with heavy squalls from the west: at noon it cleared up a little, which enabled us to ascertain the latitude, 27° 58′ 03′′ South.
Wednesday, 30th July, 1828
The morning fine and clear, with wind from the south-west. We started at the customary hour, and travelled over one of the finest tracts of country I ever beheld, stretching as far as we could see on both sides of the river, and towards Flinders’ Peak. Three miles from our encampment we traversed a small plain, from which Flinders’ Peak bore W. N. W., distant about fifteen miles. One mile farther south, a low ridge approached the river, from which we obtained a magnificent view of the middle district of the vale, as it may be termed. This range, and one immediately opposite, dividing it distinctly at the extremity of the valley, appear to be a magnificent chain of mountains, whose lofty summits are capped with clouds; Mount Warning, Mounts Hooker, Clanmorris, and Lindsay, are among the most elevated of the peaks. On descending this lower part, (named Dunsinane) we crossed a creek of considerable width, flowing from the north-west through an extensive valley, and then continued our way in the vale, the flats increasing in magnitude, and, if possible, improving in soil. The hills by which these plains are bordered, are of gentle ascent, and clothed with a lovely verdure: they seem eminently adapted for sheep grazing. At three o’clock we halted for the rest of the day, immediately on the bank of the river, having accom- plished ten miles direct south.
Close to our encampment we observed a number of fires, kindled by the natives, with quantities of Chestnuts (Castanospermum) and native Tarra (Caladium glycyrrhizon) in the process of roasting, and a considerable portion not yet prepared. A semicircle of stones is formed round each of these fires, over which two-thirds of the fire-wood is allowed to project, evidently for the purpose of cooking the fruit in the hot ashes. On seeing us approach, the people fled. I observed much variety in the construction of their huts, all of which were covered with grass. On a small detached conical hill, close to our encampment, the natives remained, apparently watching us. At four o’clock, we ascended this hill, which we found to be of basaltic formation; many of the columns measured seven feet of external length, their prisms perfect, both hexahedral and tetrahedral, with confused masses lying between them. Among these I found Polypodium diversifolium, Br.
In our descent, we surprised a native lying concealed under a log of wood, in the apparent hope of finding an opportunity to secure the provisions and implements which they had left behind in their encampment. He was dread- fully alarmed, and as soon as he got clear of us, precipitated himself into the river. Latitude 28° 06′ 19″ South, being exactly in the parallel of Point Danger, and Mount Warning, and Mount Dumaresq, on the borders of the Darling Downs. Evening exceedingly cold, with stormy breezes and showers from the south-west.
Thursday, 31st July, 1828
The cold was piercing this morning as we pursued our journey up the valley. I went, accompanied by Capt. Logan, to the summit of a lofty hill (Mount Edgar) immediately west of our last encampment, from which the view was particularly grand; the supposed Range of Mount Warning, (the correctness of whose situation we now began to doubt,) showed to great advantage, as did many of the peaks in the Dividing Range. In the north and north-east appeared the vale of the Brisbane and Sir Herbert Taylor’s Range, the low hills in the immediate vicinity of Brisbane Town, and the low ranges on the shores of Moreton Bay, and Birnam Hill with its pine-clad summit, which, from its situation at the entrance of the vale of Aris, bears some resemblance to the original hill of that name at the opening of the vale of Athol. To the east lay the upper ward, if I may so call it, of the vale, which seems of much greater extent than any of the others; in its centre is a plain of considerable magnitude (Innes Plain) through a part of which the Logan meanders, this tract not being less than ten miles across from east to west. From the sudden turn which the river took, we were enabled to cut off a considerable angle, by which we were led through a district of the richest sheep country I ever beheld. At ten miles from our last halt, we passed over a small plain covered with Emus, whence the view of the western cone of the supposed Mount Warning (Mount Clanmorris) rising 5000 feet above the level of the sea, was peculiarly imposing. At half-past three we paused for the remainder of the day, our progress being eleven miles and a half-ten miles and a half due south.
Friday, 1st August, 1828
Morning cold and frosty; thermometer at 35°. At a mile and a half from our encampment we crossed the Logan, having mistaken it for a stream descending from Mount Clanmorris, and holding a south-west course, by which our progress was shortly after arrested. The latter river, the Lyon, sweeps through a most beautiful valley, and seems to have its source at the foot of the eastern cone (Mount Hooker) of the high Range. We followed it upwards for two miles and a half, till the dense forests of Araucaria forbade our farther progress. We named this romantic valley Glen Lyon. Having regained, at one o’clock, our former track along the Logan, we proceeded for two miles and a half along its banks, through a fine flat country, above which the high central peak (Mount Lindsay) rose in great majesty, so that the tout ensemble of the whole upper ward of the Vale of Aris may compare with any scenery that I ever saw. Our walk this day was short, but eight miles, and its true southward progress only two miles and a half.
The banks of the river abound here with wild turkeys, and are thickly overgrown with forests of Cedar (Cedrela Toona) and Chestnuts (Castanospermum) which, with the roots of Caladium glycyrrhizon afford the chief aliment of the aborigines. The Chestnut Trees are of rapid growth, and yield a most grateful shade.
Saturday, 2nd August, 1828
A hoar frost added to the chilliness of the morning, and the quicksilver, at eight o’clock, stood at 40°. Two miles from our encampment, the Logan receives a rivulet from the north, and suddenly alters its westerly to a south-ward course. One mile farther, on the accession of the Benvie stream, it changes back again to the westward, and, sweeping round the base of Mount Clanmorris, passes through a magnificent valley, which, to save distance, we left on our right, the mountain bearing from us west by north. Through hilly forests, we entered a valley of the richest and most varied character, from which Mount Lindsay rises with a grandeur that baffles all description. Downwards from its summit, which is about 5500 feet above the valley, it presents a perpendicular front of rock at least 2000 feet high, and the whole springs, as it were, from a base-line of fine flat land, stretching for more than five miles, uninterruptedly, between Mount Clanmorris and McPherson’s Range.
We halted on the banks of the Logan at two o’clock, having accomplished eight miles to-day. An hour after, the Captain and I ascended a circular range of hills which seemed to gird the base of the mountain, in the hope of finding a path by which it might be possible to climb it. This range is composed of argillaceous trap, and I discovered on its summit a new species of Acacia, with uniform leaves. We regained our tent in the afternoon, having met with a tribe of natives in the way, who, as usual, took to their heels on our approach.
Sunday, 3rd August, 1828
Morning cold and frosty. At day-break, Capt. Logan, Mr. Cunningham, two men, and I began the ascent of the mountain. On attaining the summit of the ridge, over the lower part of which, as I mentioned, we had passed yesterday, we found that it conducted to the centre of the mountain’s northern front, at an elevation, assuredly, of 2000 feet from the Logan, which flows at its base. Here that front presents a really terrific appearance, being a perpendicular mass of rock, unvaried by even the smallest trace of vegetation, except a few straggling lichens may be so called. From the above-mentioned ridge, we scrambled, with considerable difficulty and some risk, over masses of detached rock, lightly studded with trees and shrubs, by which our progress was much aided for about 1000 feet farther, till we reached the summit of one of the defiles, where, for a while, all farther advance seemed to be forbidden. Hence we saw Mount Warning bearing east by south, and about twenty-five miles distant.
On a careful scrutiny of the fearful precipices which overhung us, Capt. Logan detected a path by which it appeared possible, and barely possible, to ascend, so, putting off our shoes and stockings, and leaving the rest of the party behind, he and I began scrambling on hands and knees to the first peak, a height of about 300 feet, with great difficulty, but having once attained a certain elevation, we had no alternative but to proceed, any attempt at returning in this direction appearing totally impracticable. To cast a glance. downwards was most perilous, for a dreadful chasm, 1600 feet deep, yawned below us; while to the right extended a trackless labyrinth of detached rocks: to look forward was enough to quell the firmest courage, by displaying the dangers and difficulties that beset our path; so that all we could do was, by clinging fast with our great toes, to trust ourselves to small nodules on the surface of the crags, and thus to effect an advance by suspending our weight on slender twigs of Casuarina and Metrosideros, whose appearance scarcely warranted them strong enough to support a goat. When the summit of this peak was gained, my nerves were so much agitated that I was forced to lie down on a rock, resting myself against a bush till I recovered.
Capt. Logan now proceeded towards the next peak, and, as soon as I possibly could, I followed him, leaving my shoes and collecting-bags behind. From the size of the detached portions of rock, and the stunted nature of the shrubs of Casuarina, Eucalyptus, and Banksia, which start up here and there between the fissures, our progress was both difficult and dangerous; and finding it hopeless to climb far on such ground without shoes, I returned for them, and was thus thrown considerably in the rear. I hallooed continually to Capt. Logan, who always answered me while within hearing, but the number of echoes, at least five, which repeated backwards and forwards the different sounds, had such an effect in confusing me, that I knew not whence the voice came; and it would have required the speed and agility of an antelope to overtake him. I continued scrambling onwards till half-past eleven, when I perceived Capt. Logan near the summit, and then relinquished all hope of joining him; I also struck into a brushwood of Eucalyptus mimosoides, Tasmannia insipida, Xanthorrhaea hastilis, Epacris grandiflora, and several Port-Jackson Ferns, among which I observed Gleichenia angustifolia.
From the dampness of the earth, I hoped to obtain here some water where- with to allay my parching thirst, but I was disappointed. Through this brush I at length penetrated, and advanced about 500 feet higher still, when my strength became so much exhausted, and the day so far advanced, that after waiting an hour in expectation of seeing Capt. Logan, I commenced my descent, the summit of the mountain rearing its gigantic head full 800 feet above me.
The descent proved a more difficult task than the climbing had been, from the narrowness of the ridges, in many places not exceeding six feet, with huge precipices on each side, and the danger of slipping between these masses when leaping from one to another, many of them being as slippery as a piece of ice, in which case an instantaneous death must have been my portion. After prodigious exertions, I succeeded in regaining the point where I had left my collecting-bags and shoes, and now I was still more puzzled how to descend thus encumbered; but, mustering all my courage and caution, I began sliding gently from bush to bush, often narrowly escaping being dashed to atoms, and by carefully lowering my boxes and shoes before me from one point to another, I at length got within sight of Mr. Cunningham and the rest of the party, by whose assistance I was lowered down the rocks, having almost all my clothes torn off my back.
During our journey towards this mountain, we had conceived it to be Mount Warning, allowing some considerable error to have occurred in laying down the geographical position of the latter, and not seeing any high land to the eastward of it; but having ascertained its true situation to-day, we named it Mount Lindsay, 9% in honour of Col. Lindsay of the 39th Regt. The view from this mountain is peculiarly grand: northward lies the vale of the Brisbane River, bounded in that direction by distant chains of lofty mountains, the outlines of whose peaks we could scarcely discriminate. To the north-west, the Dividing Range of the Interior Waters, with its lateral hills projecting into the plain, appear to great advantage, as well as Mount French, and the lovely plains in its immediate vicinity. To the north-east is Flinders’ Peak, with Moreton Bay and Island, and the Glass Houses, bearing north-east, half east. Eastward rises Mount Warning, distant about twenty-five miles, (with its lateral ranges) appearing at least 3000 feet lower than Mount Lindsay, and in the same direction lie several extensive tracts of perfectly open country. A magnificent district extends to the southward, exhibiting many wide and partially cleared plains, stretching as far as the eye can behold. To the west, the ground is high and rugged. I could perceive, south of me, the meandering of a stream (the Richmond River, so called by the Hon. Capt. Rous) which Capt. Logan surveyed from his loftier position, without any obstruction, and reports it to be a river of considerable magnitude. Mount Hooker, with its pigeon-house shaped summit, forms a striking feature in the landscape to the south-east, while Mount Clanmorris and Lloyd’s Hills, 100 on the north-west, add greatly to the interest of the country in the opposite direction.
On the north-west shoulder of Mount Lindsay, there is an extraordinary projecting precipitous rock, which was named Blantyre Head.
At four o’clock we were joined by Capt. Logan, who had encountered much risk and difficulty, and we regained our encampment, passing through the forest land, at six o’clock.
The botany is not much varied, the only novelties being a species of Kennedia, with one of Calythrix, Callicoma, and Elichrysum. It is worthy of remark, that on the upper regions of these mountains, the common productions of the South-head Road and Port Jackson predominate.
Sunday, 4th August, 1828
Weather cold and bleak. At eight o’clock, Capt. Logan proceeded to the base of Mount Hooker, for the purpose of examining the Pass (since called St. George’s) which we observed there yesterday, when upon Mount Lindsay. He returned at six in the evening, having advanced six miles to the south through the Pass, and reports that the path is accessible, though it requires some clearing. It may be approached either by Glen Lyon, or by the base of Mount Lindsay, and it will soon be the great entrance to the Shoal Bay Country, connecting those tracts with the Moreton Bay Country, which promises to be, ere long, the emporium of Australia. We took the height of Mount Lindsay above the valley, by trigonometrical survey, which gave an elevation of 4755 feet, and allowing that the valley itself, as calculated by the barometrical experiments, was 900 feet above the level of the sea, an altitude of 5655 feet will thus belong to the mountain; while Mount Hooker may be estimated at 4000 feet, and Mount Clanmorris at 5000. The latitude was 28° 15′ 21″ South, and allowing the centre of Mount Lindsay to be three miles south of the situation of our tent, its true position may be reckoned at 28° 18′ 21″ South, long. 152° 0′ 06″.
Monday, 5th August, 1828
The morning was clear and calm, and we started at the usual hour. Our course being altered from that of yesterday, we were led into a ravine, formed by the River Logan, between Mount Clanmorris and Lloyd’s Hill, through which we found it impossible to effect a passage. Capt. Logan and Mr. Cunningham having got through on foot, I returned with the cattle by the way that we had gone on the 2d, and rejoined them on the banks of the river, which here expands into a fine stream, and in which, a few miles farther on, there is no current whatever, the whole percolating through the gravelly bottom. After crossing the river, we again turned to the north-west, and climbed a lofty range of forest-covered land, of easy access, and where the soil and grass are excellent. At three o’clock we halted on a tract of the same forest ground, well watered: Hughes’ Peak bearing from our tent north 35°, having performed a distance of nine miles, and true north course four miles and a half.
Tuesday, 6th August, 1828
Morning clear and chilly. At a mile and a half from our encampment, we descended into a beautiful valley, watered by the Benvie, stretching to the south-west round the base of Mount Clanmorris, which frowns in awful majesty over the lovely vale beneath. The flats increase as we advanced, both as to breadth and fertility, and the stream winds beautifully through them. Our course lying to the north, we were obliged to quit this fertile valley, which I did with much reluctance; the magnificence of the mountain scenery, and the richness of the soil rendering this one of the most enchanting scenes in all New Holland. Again we crossed a considerable tract of high forest ground, which was of good quality, and continued for several miles. Some of the ridges seem formed of excellent lime. On attaining the northern boundary of this country, we saw a wide extent of open marshy flats, bounded by a range of picturesque hills, lying before us to the north. We named the latter Minto Craigs, and gave the appellation of the Teviot to a lovely stream which flows at their base. This tract, as well as that in the direction of Mount Lindsay, had been explored in 1827 by Capt. Logan. Hence Mount Shadforth is seen to much effect: this country is the commencement of Teviotdale, the stream being formed by the combined waters which descend from Mount Shadforth and the Dividing Range, and it is exceedingly fertile and picturesque. Here the emus followed us for a considerable distance, apparently fearless of any danger. At five o’clock, we encamped on the banks of the Teviot, having accomplished by the odometer eleven miles and a half, and the true reduced course being nine miles west, seventeen south.
Wednesday, 7th August, 1828
Our bullocks having strayed this morning, we were unable to start till ten o’clock. At eight o’clock, I ascended Minto Craigs, where I found an unpublished species of Acacia, one of Hovea, Lasiopetalum, Croton, Leptospermum, of Aspidium and Alyxia, with the Epidendrum proliferum. The hills are composed of a compact silicious trap, forming large precipices. To the west is an extensive valley, containing a plain of considerable magnitude, while the Teviot meanders to the south of Flinders’ Peak. On the north, I saw some large flats or plains, reaching to the base of Mount French. At the base of these Craigs, I killed an enormous brown snake, nearly eight feet long, in an almost torpid state. Our course (west by north) led us through a tract of rugged forest ranges, covered with ironstone and trap, the former in nodules, enclosing indurated clay, which rendered travelling difficult for our cattle. At twelve, we descended into the flats that I had descried from Minto Craigs (Dalhousie Plains) which proved exceedingly marshy. They abound in Emus, and enclose some of the largest ponds in the east coast of New Holland. Finding it impracticable to penetrate from this point to the Gap or Pass in the Dividing Range, seen by Mr. Cunningham in 1827, without rounding the eastern extremity of Mount French, (called Mount Dumaresq by Capt. Logan in 1827) on account of the impervious nature of the forests of Araucaria with which that mountain is clothed, though we felt most anxious to obtain a view of the country west of that Range, and to satisfy the curiosity of those persons who have been interested in the surveys of 1827 and 1828; we were, nevertheless, obliged to abandon it from that point, and to pursue a more easterly course. This determination arose from no willingness on the part of any of us to relinquish the former plan, but was forced on us by the reduced state of our resources, and the exhaustion of our bullocks, although Capt. Logan used every means that could be devised for their relief. I had been a determined enemy to the employment of those animals previous to this excursion, but I am now convinced, from what Capt. Logan has effected with them, as well as from my own experience, that celerity of movement is the only point in which they are inferior to horses.
At one o’clock, we encamped on the borders of the marsh. Captain Logan and two men went to ascertain the possibility of penetrating to the Dividing Range, and returned at six o’clock with an unsatisfactory report.
Thursday, 8th August, 1828
The weather was mild and clear this morning, and we pursued our way along the flats seen yesterday, which we found to stretch round the eastern base of Mount French. Their length is about seven miles, and their breadth from one and a half to two miles. Towards the north-east they are dry and well watered, and the chain of ponds that commences at their north-east extremity soon becomes united, and forms a beautiful stream, which was named the Esk. Passing down Eskdale, the flats increase in magnitude, stretching to the hills on either side of the stream. Two miles north-east of the first flats, is a second plain, firm and dry, which was called Rattray’s Plain; and to the east again, the valley opens in the direction of Flinders’ Peak.
Friday, 9th August, 1828
The brushes which commenced at Mount French accompanied us in all our day’s route, and, after considerably impeding our progress, completely arrested our intended course. The species of Xanthorrhaea seen to-day, with their extraordinary bee-hive tops, were truly superb. We halted at three o’clock: lat. at noon, 28° South: thermometer at six in the morning, 40°.
The air mild and clear: thermometer at 50°. We proceeded directly towards the high peak of Flinders, anxiously expecting to encamp at its base; but we had not gone above two miles, when we found ourselves bewildered in dense forests of Araucaria, from which the only outlet was by the banks of the stream, that here, taking a sudden turn to east north-east, observed the same direction to the close of this day’s journey, passing through an exceedingly broad and fertile valley, abounding in extensive ponds. At three o’clock, stopped, as usual, having walked ten miles and a half, the reduced distance being seven miles east north-east: the latitude at noon 27° 55′ 41″ South, and the thermometer at sunset indicating 60°.
Saturday, 10th August, 1828
During the continuance of this day’s journey, which began at the customary hour, and with agreeable weather, we traversed some magnificent forest land, beautifully watered, and lying chiefly at the base of the high peak of Flinders’ Mountain. Our halt did not take place till five o’clock, when we had travelled nearly twelve miles.
Sunday, 11th August, 1828
A strong desire to return by the first vessel to Port-Jackson, carrying thither the largest possible collection of living plants from the banks of the Brisbane River, induced me to quit the party this morning, and to accompany Capt. Logan back to Brisbane Town. We therefore set off at eight o’clock, and, travelling all day in a due southerly direction, reached the town at night, having traversed twenty-five miles of tolerably good country. Mr. Cunningham, with three men and two oxen, proceeded to the westward, in order, to connect his former survey with the present one.
From the period of my return till I embarked for Port-Jackson, I was busily employed in securing my collection of dried plants, completing that of living ones, and laying out the rest of the New Garden.