JOURNALS

OF

EXPEDITIONS OF DISCOVERY.

CHAPTER I.

FROM GANTHEAUME BAY TO THE HUTT RIVER.

WRECK OF THE SECOND BOAT IN GANTHEAUME BAY-EXPLORE IN ITS VICINITY-ESTUARY AND SCENERY ABOUT IT -PROVISIONS DIVIDED-START FOR PERTH-GEOLOGICAL REMARKS-CROSS A DISTRICT OF RED SANDSTONE-PLAINS ABOUNDING IN THE WARRAN PLANT-SUPERIOR NATIVE PATHS AND WELLS-ESTUARY OF THE HUTT-DESCRIPTION

OF

THE COUNTRY AND

SCENERY-PROGRESS

OPPOSED

BY NATIVES-THE HUTT RIVER-FIRST HILLS OF THE

SOUTHERN IRONSTONE FORMATION.

A FEW moments were sufficient to enable us all to recollect ourselves : two men endeavoured to keep the boat's stern on to the sea, whilst the rest of us lightened her, by carrying every thing we could on shore, after which we hauled her up. The custom had always been for the other boat to lie off until I made the signal for them to run in, and it accordingly was now waiting outside the breakers. Her crew had not seen our misfortunes, owing to the height of the surf, which, when we were under it, shut us out from their view, and now perceiving that we were on shore, and the boat hauled up, they concluded all

was right; and, notwithstanding I made every possible sign to them not to beach, running as far as I could venture into the sea, and shouting out to them,my voice was drowned by the roar of the surge, and I saw them bounding on to, what I thought, certain destruction. We, of course, were all turned to render assistance. They, fortunately, kept rather to the south of the spot on which we had beached, and where it was much less rocky, so that the danger they incurred in reaching the shore was slight in comparison to ours; yet some of the planks of this boat were split throughout their entire length.

Whilst all hands were employed in endeavouring to repair damages, I ascended a hill to reconnoitre our present position, and found we were in a country of a pleasing and romantic appearance, and although the land was not good, the nature of the soil made me aware that we were most probably in the vicinity of a large tract of better quality; indeed, this was the only part of South-west Australia in which I had met with the ancient red sandstone of the Northwest coast; immediately behind the sand-hills on which I stood was a thick Casuarina scrub, which sloped down into a deep valley, and beyond this rose lofty and fantastic hills. After I had for some time looked round on this scene, I returned to the party and received the report of the carpenters, who, having examined the boats, stated their inability to render either of them fit for sea. To this I had already made up my mind; and even if the boats had been uninjured, I doubt whether we could ever

COUNTRY ABOUT GANTHEAUME BAY.

3

have got them off again through the tremendous surf which was breaking on this part of the shore; whilst to have moved them to any distance would, in our present weak and enfeebled state, have been utterly impossible.

No resource was now left to us but to endeavour to reach Perth by walking; yet when I looked at the sickly faces of some of the party, and saw their wasted forms, I much doubted if they retained strength to execute such a task; but they themselves were in high spirits, and talked of the undertaking as a mere trifle. I gave orders for the necessary preparations to be made, and then started with two or three hands to search for water. On reaching the valley I have before-mentioned we found a small stream, and following this to the northward for about a mile, came out upon one of the most romantic and picturesquelooking estuaries I had yet seen: its shores abounded with springs, and were bordered by native paths, whilst the drooping foliage of several large sorts of Casuarina, the number of wild swans on its placid. bosom, and the natives fishing in the distance, unconscious of our presence, imparted to the whole scene a quiet and a charm which was deeply felt by those who had now for so many days been either tossed about by the winds and waves, or had long been wandering over barren and inhospitable shores. We did not, indeed, find much good land about this estuary, but there were rich flats upon each side of it, whilst the nature of the rocks, and the lofty and peculiar character of the distant hills, gave promise of the

most fertile region I had yet seen in extra-tropical Australia.

We followed the shores of the estuary to the northward and eastward until we saw a point, where it appeared to separate into two branches. The natives decamped as soon as they observed us coming, and Kaiber, who watched them with the most intense interest, indulged in various speculations as to the number they would bring back when they returned. We joined the party and traced the shores of the estuary to its mouth, which turned out to be the opening we saw in the morning: this mouth is completely sheltered by a line of breakers and reefs, which, although they present a most formidable appearance from the sea, can be doubled by keeping pretty close along the shore in approaching the mouth of the river. Owing to this reef there are no breakers on the bar, but its mouth is very narrow, and so shoal that I doubt if a boat could be got in at any other time than high water: some of the sailors with me, however, thought otherwise; but there is, at all events, convenient landing at this point under the shelter of the reef.

April 2.-The men not having quite completed their preparations for starting, I moved off at dawn to resume the survey of Gantheaume Bay and its vicinity. The estuary appeared this morning even more lovely than yesterday, and as the heavy morning mists arose, unfolding its beauties to our view, all those feelings came thrilling through my mind which explorers alone can know; flowering shrubs