Part 39 (1/2)

The te than on any other day since landing in North Australia, being only 41 degrees A little dew on the grass, and a light air from the east At 650 am started and followed up the creek to the east-north-east till 10 pm, e ca Our attempts to procure fish were unsuccessful The country consisted of low stony hills, thinly wooded, and the flats of the creek from a quarter to three quarters of a rassed On the north side of the creek a few reater elevation, and formed table-topped hills; some with cliffs of sandstone near the surassy slopes The latter, frorass, appeared to be of trap forments of this rock were found in the bed of the creek Soft shales were exposed in the gullies and on the sides of the hills, and were overlaid coray sandstones

Latitude by b Centauri, a2 Centauri and Arcturus 15 degrees 37 minutes 15 seconds

28th June

Left the camp at 715 am, and followed up the creek to the east-north-east till noon, e reached the last water in its channel near a steep range of sandstone hills, or rather tablelands; the country traversed was an undulating plain of trap forray sandstone; it is thinly wooded, and well grassed; water was abundant in the creek below the caullies; in the afternoon ascended a hill three-quarters of a mile north-west of the camp; the lower portion was a dark compact trap or basalt, and the summit a horizontal bed of sandstone about 200 feet above the camp; the country to the north was very level, and only occasionally interrupted by flat-topped sandstone hills, the view extending at least thirty miles; to the south and south-west a country of trap formation extended for twenty miles, and to the east the tableland rose about 300 feet above the camp, and was composed of the sainous conglohest rock of the new red sandstone series

Latitude by b Centauri, a Centauri and Arcturus 15 degrees 33 minutes 13 seconds

ARNHEIM LAND DALY RIVER

29th June

At 645 aory to reconnoitre the country to the east; ascending the tableland, steered east till 100 through a level forest of stringybark and other eucalypti; the soil a light gravelly loarassed; we then turned north-north-east for one hour, along a shalloatercourse, and then east through level forest country till 320 p north-north-east, tracing it through wide grassy flats, which were on fire; at 440 found a sht

30th June

As this appeared to be a spot to which the party could be advanced with safety, we left our bivouac at 650 a across the tableland, reached the camp at 430 pe course of 80 degrees netic, and reached the waterholes in the small creek at 330 pm with the whole party, and camped at our bivouac of the 29th June

Latitude by b Centauri 15 degrees 30 minutes 19 seconds

2nd July

At 630 am left the camp and followed the creek down to the east-north-east till 110 am; it then turned more to the northward, and was nearly lost in wide level flats covered with high grass; the back country level stringybark forest, with good grass; at 225 pain collected, and we found a s and four feet deep, at which we camped; here we observed the fires of a party of blacks who had camped at the waterhole the previous day; s the banks of the creek, though the channel was perfectly dry; but it appears that during the last wet season less rain has fallen than usual, and the soil has not been fully saturated, and consequently the waterholes have dried up sooner than in average years; although froical features of the country, we are now on the tableland which divides the waters flowing to the north-west coast from those which fall into the Gulf of Carpentaria, the elevation of the country does not exceed 800 feet above the sea

Latitude by Centauri and Arcturus 15 degrees 18at 730 am, followed the creek to the north-east by east till 825, when it was joined by a small creek from the south; thus increased water was abundant in the bed of the creek, but the pools were shallow and not permanent Grassy flats extended for a mile on each bank of the creek, beyond which the level forest of stringybark, bloodwood, and box ell grassed; the soil a good red loaate were strewed over the surface, and an occasional ridge of ironstone conglorass was indifferent At 1245 p been burnt early in the season, had sprung up again quite fresh and green

Latitude by a2 Centauri 15 degrees 11 rees 10 ain in the saddle at 710 aed froybark with abundance of green grass; at 80 turned north-east; the forest becaybark was replaced by bloodwood and box; limestone rock was frequent, and rendered the surface of the country very rough; and frequent depressions of the surface appeared to result fro-in of the roofs of caverns beneath which were farther indicated by deep clefts and holes in the rock, into which the surface waters flow during the rains At 110 aradually turned to the north-north-east; limestone formed the banks, and only one small pool was seen till 450 pm, e found a little water in the sandy bed of a tributary creek from the south-south-east, at which we encamped On the bank of the creek we this day first observed the casuarina, which is so frequent on the banks of the creeks trending towards the Gulf of Carpentaria

Latitude by Arcturus and a Coronae Borealis 14 degrees 54 minutes 2 seconds

5th July

As the course of the creek was to the north-west, and we had already been driven further north than was desirable, we left the creek and followed up the tributary to the east-south-east, leaving the carassy flats, in one of which was a fine waterhole covered with nymphae, near which a party of blacks were encamped On our approachtheir valuables, while the ht, as we passed the up the creek, the course of which was only etation, which indicated occasional inundations, it again forular channel in the centre of an open box flat, and at 130 pm camped at a small waterhole in the channel

Latitude by rees 55 minutes 15 seconds

TABLELAND