T. B. Strangwaya, Esq.
G. Hamilton, Esq. Capt. Sturt, Ass. Com.
Ephraim Howe, Esq. John Walker, Esq.
The very great importance of the undertaking as leading to results, and
in all probability to discoveries, the benefits of which are at present
unforeseen, but which, like the opening of the Murray to this Province,
may pave the way to a high road from hence to Western Australia, will, it
is hoped meet with that support from the public which undertakings of
great national interest deserve, and which best evince the enterprise and
well-doing of a rising colony.
That Captain Grey, being about to embark for England, the Committee
cannot allow him to quit these shores without expressing their regret
that his stay has been so short, and the sense they entertain of the
great interest he has evinced in the welfare of the colony, and the
disinterested support he has given an enterprise which is likely to lead
to such generally beneficial results as that under consideration.
CHAS. STURT, Chairman.
CHAS. BONNEY, Secretary.
LIST OF SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED YESTERDAY.
The Government of South Australia 200 pounds
His Excellency the Governor
(absent at Port Lincoln)
and the Colonists 349 pounds 10 shillings
Such was the state in which I found the question on my return from
Western Australia. All had been done that was practicable, until answers
were received from the other Colonies, replying to the applications for
assistance and co-operation in the proposed undertaking.
Having been always greatly interested in the examination of this vast but
comparatively unknown continent, and having already myself been
frequently engaged in long and harassing explorations, it will not be
deemed surprising that I should at once have turned my attention to the
subject so prominently occupying the public mind. I have stated that the
principal object proposed to be attained by the expedition to the
westward, was that of opening a route for the transit of stock from one
colony to the other - nay it was even proposed and agreed to by a majority
of the gentlemen attending the public meeting that the first party of
exploration should be accompanied by cattle. Now, from my previous
examination of the country to the westward of the located parts of South
Australia, I had in 1839 fully satisfied myself, not only of the
difficulty, but of the utter impracticability of opening an overland
route for stock in that direction, and I at once stated my opinion to
that effect, and endeavoured to turn the general attention from the
Westward to the North, as being the more promising opening, either for
the discovery of a good country, or of an available route across the
continent. The following extract, from a paper by me on the subject, was
published in the South Australian Register of the 23rd May, 1840, and
contains my opinion at that time of the little prospect there was of any
useful result accruing from the carrying out of the proposed expedition
to the Westward: -
"It may now, therefore, be a question for those who are interested in the
sending an expedition overland to the Swan River to consider what are
likely to be the useful results from such a journey. In a geographical
point of view it will be exceedingly interesting to know the character of
the intervening country between this colony and theirs, and to unfold the
secrets hidden by those lofty, and singular cliffs at the head of the
Great Bight, and so far, it might perhaps be practicable - since it is
possible that a light party might, in a favourable season, force their
way across. As regards the transit of stock, however, my own conviction
is that it is quite impracticable. The vast extent of desert country to
the westward - the scarcity of grass - the denseness of the scrub - and the
all but total absence of water, even in the most favourable seasons, are
in themselves, sufficient bars to the transit of stock, even to a
distance we are already acquainted with. I would rather, therefore, turn
the public attention to the Northward, as being the most probable point
from which discoveries of importance may be made, or such as are likely
to prove beneficial to this and the other colonies, and from which it is
possible the veil may be lifted, from the still unknown and mysterious
interior of this vast continent."
On the 27th I dined with His Excellency the Governor, and had a long
conversation with him on the subject of the proposed Western Expedition,
and on the exploration of the Northern Interior. With his usual anxiety
to promote any object which he thought likely to benefit the colony, and
advance the cause of science, His Excellency expressed great interest in
the examination of the Northern Interior, and a desire that an attempt
should be made to penetrate its recesses during the ensuing season.
As I had been the means of diverting public attention from a Western to a
Northern exploration, so was I willing to encounter myself the risks and
toils of the undertaking I had suggested, and I therefore at once
volunteered to His Excellency to take the command of any party that might
be sent out, to find one-third of the number of horses required, and pay
one-third of the expenses. Two days after this a lecture was delivered at
the Mechanics' Institute in Adelaide, by Captain Sturt, upon the
Geography and Geology of Australia, at the close of which that gentleman
acquainted the public with the proposal I had made to the Governor, and
the sanction and support which His Excellency was disposed to give it.
The following extract is from Captain Sturt's address, and shews the
disinterested and generous zeal which that talented and successful
traveller was ever ready to exert on behalf of those who were inclined to
follow the career of enterprise and ambition in which he had with such
distinction led the way.
