I Called This River Or Large Creek,
"Smith's Creek," After Mr. Smith, A Gentleman Who Had Shown Us The
Greatest Kindness And Attention When We Were Staying At Darling Downs.
Our journey round the head of the gulf had shown that the "Plains of
Promise" of Capt.
Stokes extended from Big Plain River to the Nicholson,
and that they extended farthest to the southward, along two large salt
water rivers in the apex of the gulf, the more westerly of which was no
doubt the Albert of Capt. Stokes, and the Maet Suyker of the Dutch
navigators. These plains were bounded to the southward by box-flats, and
drained by numerous creeks, which in their lower course were tolerably
supplied with water. The most interesting fact, and which had already
been observed by Capt. Stokes, was the moderate temperature of this part
of the country. If my readers compare my observations on the weather from
lat. 15 degrees 55 minutes at the east coast, to lat. 17 degrees 39
minutes on the west coast of the gulf, they will be struck by the general
complaint of "cold nights." If they compare the direction of the winds,
they will find that at the east coast the southerly and
south-south-westerly winds were very cold, and that they became southerly
and south-easterly at the apex, and turned still more to the eastward, at
the west coast. In comparing these directions of the wind, I was led to
the conclusion, that the large plains were the origin and the cause of
these winds.
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