Narrative Of The Overland Expedition Of The Messrs. Jardine, From Rockhampton To Cape York, Northern Queensland By Frank Jardine And Alexander Jardine
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Sir, - Since the date of my last report the most important
intelligence which I have to communicate is the arrival of my sons,
Frank and Alexander Jardine, with their overland party, all safe and
well, after an extremely arduous and toilsome journey of five months,
almost entirely over country which for the greater part may be termed
barren, the distance travelled over being somewhat more than 900
miles.
2. The party, consisting of my two sons and four other Europeans
(including Mr. Surveyor Richardson, attached to the expedition by the
Government of Queensland), with four aborigines of the Rockhampton
district, made their final start from Mr. J. G. McDonald's station,
Carpentaria Downs, in latitude 18 deg. 37 min 10 sec S., longitude
144 deg. 3 min 30 sec. E, (the farthest out-station on the supposed
Lynd River), on the 11th of October, 1864, and reached this place on
the 13th of March, ult. Rockhampton was the first point of
departure, my second son leaving it, with the horses and men, on the
16th of May, 1864, making the journey for them about 1800 miles.
3. It would appear from the journals kept that a great portion of
the country on the west coast of the York Peninsula, especially in
the locality of the Mitchell River, is at times (I presume
periodically) subject to inundation; the water, however, soon
disappears from the flat and sandy land, and for the greater portion
of the year, till the next rainy season, the country is destitute of
water, and in other respects little better than an absolute desert.
4. It is a subject of great regret to myself, and in which I am sure
you will share, that this long journey should be, so far as at
present appears, productive of so poor a result to the public in
developing new resources to the colony. However, a large and
valuable addition to geographical information has certainly been
gained; but at the same time few of the important discoveries in
lands suitable for pastoral or agricultural occupation, or in
minerals, etc., etc., and which might in so large a tract of country
have reasonably been expected, have been made.
5. My sons have experienced a severe disappointment to their hopes
and expectations in the nature of the country around, and within a
reasonable distance of this place, as well as a heavy loss in
prosecuting their undertaking. However at their ages, 23 and 21
respectively, the spirit is very buoyant, and they are again quite
ready for another venture. Their journey, which, from the nature of
the country traversed, has been one of unusual difficulty and
hardship; and it is surprising to me that, hampered as they were with
a herd of 250 cattle, for which providing food and water in a barren
and unknown country is in itself no easy matter, they should have
come through so successfully.
6. Next to the general barrenness of the country, the difficulties
they had to encounter were - first, the destruction of a quantity of
their supplies and gear, through the camp being carelessly permitted
to catch fire during their absence in pioneering the route.
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