The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 | Page 5

Voyage--Early misadventures--Examines North-West

coast closely--The Mermaid careened--Unforeseen result--Return to
Sydney--The Bathurst--King's Fourth Voyage--Last of the
Mermaid--Love's stratagem--Remarkable cavern--Extraordinary
drawings--Chasm Island--South-West explorations--Revisits his old
camp--Rich vegetation--Greville Island--Skirmish at Hanover
Bay--Reminiscence of Dampier--His notes on the natives and their
mode of living--Cape Levêque--Buccaneers' Archipelago--Provisions
run out--Sails for the Mauritius--Survey of South-West
re-commenced--Cape Chatham--Oyster Harbour anchorage--A native's
toilet--Seal hunt--Friendly intercourse--Cape
Inscription--Vandalism--Point Cloates not an island--Vlaming
Head--Rowley Shoals--Cunningham--Botanical success--Rogers Island
closely examined--Mainland traced further--An amazing escape from
destruction--Relinquishment of survey--Sails for Sydney--Value of
King's work--Settlement on Melville Island--Port
Essington--Colonisation--Fort building--A waif--Roguish
visitors--Garrison life--Change of scene--Raffles Bay--Dismal
reports--Failure of attempt.
Chapter XIX
Cruise of H.M.S. Beagle--Passengers Grey and Lushington--Swan
River--Northern coast survey commenced--Supposed channel at
Dampier's Land non-existent--Lieutenant Usborne accidentally
shot--King's Sound--Effects of a rainy season--Point
Cunningham--Skeleton of a native found--New discoveries--Fitzroy
River explored--Exciting incident--Boat excursion to Collier
Bay--Swan River--Native steward "Miago"--Amusing
inspection--Meeting with the explorers at Hanover Bay--Lieutenant
Grey's description of native tribes--Miago's
memory--Fremantle--Needed communication--Beagle at Hobart
Town--Survey work at Cape Otway--Exploration of northwest
coast--Reminiscences of colonisation--Discovery of the Adelaide
River--A serious comedy--Port Essington and Clarence
Straits--Harbour of Port Darwin named--The Victoria
River--Extravagant hopes--Land party organized--Captain Stokes
speared--Return to Swan River--Beagle again North--Examination of

Sweer's Island--Flinders and Albert Rivers discovered--Inland
navigation--Gun accident--Native mode of burial--Fallacious
Theorising--The Beagle's surveying concluded--Maritime exploration
closes.
Chapter XX
Nationality of the first finders of Australia--Knowledge of the
Malays--The bamboo introduced--Traces of smallpox amongst the
natives in the north-west--Tribal rites--Antipathy to pork--Evidence of
admixture in origin--Influence of Asiatic civilisation partly
visible--Coast appearance repelling--Want of indigenous food
plants--Lack of intercourse with other nations--Little now left of
unexplored country--Conclusions respecting various geological
formations--Extent of continental divisions--Development of coastal
towns--Inducements for population--Necessity of the first
explorings--Pioneer squatters' efforts--First Australian-born
explorer--Desert theory exploded--Fertile downs everywhere--Want of
water apparently insurmountable--Heroism of explorers--Inexperience
of the early settlers--Grazing possible--Rapid stocking of country--The
barrenness of the "Great Bight"--Sturt, the Penn of
Australia--Results--Mitchell's work--Baron von Mueller's
researches--A salt lake--Stuart first man across the continent--Burke
and Wills' heroism--Services of McKinlay and Landsborough--John
Forrest's journeys--Camel expedition by Giles--The Brisbane Courier
expedition--Further explorations--Stockdale at Cambridge
Gulf--Carr-Boyd and O'Donnell open good country in Western
Australia--Work done by explorers--Their characteristics--Conclusion.

APPENDIX
The Pandora Pass Death of Surveyor-General Oxley List of Men
Comprising Sir Thomas Mitchell's Party in 1846 Richard
Cunningham's Fate Cave Drawings Smith, a Lad of Eighteen, Found
Dead, May 8th, 1839 Eyre's Letters Extract of Letter from Major
Mitchell Extract of a Letter from Mr. Walter Bagot The Last Letter

Received from Dr. Leichhardt The Nardoo Plant The Finding of John
King Poison Plants
Index of Names, Dates and Incidents
Chronological Summary

MAPS AND FAC-SIMILES (Not included in this eBook)
Exploratory Map of Australia Dauphin Map Map of Tasman's Track,
1644 Captain Flinders' Letter to Sir J. Banks Map of Australia in 1818
Extract from Letters--E. J. Eyre, Sir G. Gipps and Sir Thomas Mitchell
Fac-simile of Signatures Fac-simile of Cave Paintings and Drawings,
discovered by Lieutenant George Grey, 1838

INTRODUCTION


Part I
Rumours of the existence of a Southern Continent in the Sixteenth
Century--JAVE and JAVE LA GRANDE--Authentic Discoveries and
visits of the early Navigators--Torres sails between New Guinea and
Terra Australis--Voyage of the DUYFHEN in 1606--Dirk Hartog on
the West Coast, his inscribed plate--Restored by Vlaming--Afterwards
by Hamelin--Nuyts on the South Coast--Wreck of the BATAVIA on
Houtman's Abrolhos--Mutiny of Cornelis--Tasman's second
voyage--Dampier with the Buccaneers--Second Voyage in the
ROEBUCK--Last visit of the Dutch--Captain Cook--Flinders; his
theory of a Dividing Strait--Plans for exploring the Interior--His
captivity--Captain King--Concluding remarks.

The charm of romance and adventure surrounding the discovery of
hitherto unknown lands has from the earliest ages been the lure that has
tempted men to prosecute voyages and travels of exploration. Whether
under the pretext of science, religion or conquest, hardship and danger
have alike been undergone with fortitude and cheerfulness, in the hope
of being the first to find things strange and new, and return to civilized
communities with the tidings.
In the days of Spain's supremacy, after the eyes of Europe had been
dazzled with the sight of riches brought from the New World, and
men's ears filled with fairy-like tales of the wondrous races discovered,
it was but natural that the adventurous gallants of that age should roam
in search of seas yet to be won.
Some such hope of finding a land wherein the glorious conquests of
Cortes and Pizarro could be repeated, brought De Quiros on a quest that
led him almost within hail of our shores. What little realization of his
dreams of cities rich with temples, blazing with barbaric gold, inhabited
by semi-civilized people skilled in strange arts he would have found in
the naked nomads of Terra Australis, and their rude shelters of boughs
and bark we now know; and perhaps, it was as well for the skilful pilot
that he died with his mission unfulfilled, save in fancy. His lieutenant,
Torres, came