Part 35 (2/2)

Rail to Adelaide

Reception at the Town Hall

A last address

Party disbanded

Reood friends at the Peake, we naturally re remarkable occurred on the road down At Beltana the camels were returned to their depot The Blinman Copper Mine is about thirty miles from there, and was then, the terminus of the mail coach line from Adelaide The residents of the Blinman invited Alec Ross and ood friend Mr JB buttfield, the Resident Police Magistrate Then we all took the mail coach, and reached the Burra-Burra Copper Mines, on the evening of the next day Here a banquet was held in our honour, at which a number of ladies attended, and I was presented with a very handsome address The Burra Mines are a hundred miles from Adelaide

Next day we took the train for the city At the town of Gawler, or, as it used to be called, Gawlertoenty-five entlemen were assembled to welcone, and an address presented toour journey, Adelaide was reached bythe arrival of the train, and e alighted elcoes were in attendance to take us to the Town Hall, where elcomed by Caleb Peacock, Esquire, the Mayor,--who first invited us to refreshments, and then presented us to the citizens, ere crowded in the large hall Mr

Peacock istic speech, and presented me with a very handsome address on behalf of himself, the Corporation, and the citizens of Adelaide The next day the party was disbanded, and the expedition was at an end

A few closing rereat family of civilised mankind; and if I have any readers who have followed hout its five separate phases, I ical detail is inseparable from the records of Australian, as well as any other exploration, because it uided by the experiences and led to places, and waters, that the first traveller discovers; and am I to be blamed if I have occasionally inative idea? These, I trust, will not in my reader's opinion detract from any merits it may possess I have collected eological specireat portion of the list of the former and all of the latter have unfortunately been lost, only a list of plants collected during my first and second expeditions now remains, which appears at the end of these voluret I have had to record the existence of such large areas of desert land encountered in rant, however, need have no fear on that account The scenes of his avocations will be far reration now than fifty years ago As a final remark, I may say my former companion in the field, Mr WH Tietkens, has just returned from a fresh exploration of the country in the vicinity of Lake Amadeus, and the report of his travels should be looked forward to with pleasure by all who take any interest in our Colonial dependencies

If my narrative has no other recommendation, it may at least serve to while away a vacant hour, and re better, they have read before It was not for what I had written, that I hoped to reap the good opinion of the world, but for what I have done, and that I have recorded Any one who is sufficiently interested to read these pages, ers that have beset my path The number of miles of previously unknown country that I have explored reaches to the sum of many thousands The time I expended was five of the best years of nition of my labours, I have received the Patron's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London; and the late King Victor Ehthood, of the Order of the Crown of Italy

To a man accustomed to canificance of a pighty shi+p of the desert, and assuredly had it not been for these creatures and their marvellous powers, I never could have performed the three last journeys which complete my public explorations in Australia

I have called my book The Romance of Exploration; the romance is in the chivalry of the achieveerous, if not alain be called on to enter the Field of Discovery, although to scenes remote from my former Australian sphere, I should not be the explorer I have representedthe perils ofnew An explorer is an explorer from love, and it is nature, not art, that makes hih not yet quite complete, is now so far advanced towards its end, that only , to fill the volust the first or greatest, yet I think I have reason to call myself, the last of the Australian explorers

As a last re lines s towards:--

AUSTRALIA

What though no hist'ries old, Rest o'er that land of gold; And though no bard has told Tales, of her clih no tow'r display, Man's work of other days; And, though her sun's bright rays In the old ti pains Of slaves, in galling chains, In the earth's priht land; By God's divine co to toil;

What though no song records, Deeds of herswords, Heroes subliolden fleece, And the fair earth's increase, From the rich soil

Hers is a flow'ry crown; Science and Hope look down On each new glitt'ring town, Whose structures rise;

And to Tie, Written by bard or sage, Be, 'neath the skies