The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 Part 44

"It would be impossible for his Excellency, consistently with his feelings, to announce the decease of the late Surveyor-General without endeavouring to express the sense he entertains of Mr. Oxley's services, though he cannot do justice to them.

"From the nature of this colony, the office of Surveyor-General is amongst the most important under Government, and to perform its duties in a manner Mr. Oxley has done for a long series of years is as honourable to his zeal and abilities as it is painful for the Government to be deprived of them.

"Mr. Oxley entered the public service at an early period of his life and has filled the important situation of Surveyor-General for the last sixteen years.

"His exertions in the public service have been unwearied, as has been proved by his several expeditions to explore the interior. The public have reaped the benefit, while it is to be apprehended that the event, which they cannot fail to lament, has been accelerated by the privations and fatigue he endured during the performance of these arduous services.

Mr. Oxley eminently a.s.sisted in unfolding the advantages of this highly-favoured colony from an early stage of its existence, and his name will ever be a.s.sociated with the dawn of its advancement. It is always gratifying to the Government to record its approbation of the services of meritorious public officers, and in a.s.signing to Mr. Oxley's name a distinguished place in that cla.s.s to which his devotion to the interests of the colony has so justly ent.i.tled him, the Government would do honour to his memory in the same degree as it feels the loss it has sustained in his death."

(See page 74.--Chapter II.)

LIST OF THE MEN COMPRISING SIR THOMAS MITCh.e.l.l'S PARTY ON HIS EXPEDITION TO THE VICTORIA (BARCOO), 1846.

Sir T. L. Mitch.e.l.l, Kt., Surveyor-General--Chief of the Expedition.

Edmund B. Kennedy, Esq., a.s.sistant Surveyor--Second in Command.

W. Stephenson, M.R.C.S.L--Surgeon and collector of objects of natural history.

Peter M'Avoy, Charles Niblett, William Graham--Mounted videttes.

Anthony Brown--Tent-keeper.

William Baldock--In charge of the horses.

John Waugh Drysdale--Store-keeeper.

Allan Bond, Edward Taylor, William Bond, William Mortimer, George Allcot, John Slater, Richard Horton, Felix Maguire--Bullock-drivers.

James Stephens, Job Stanley--Carpenters.

Edward Wilson--Blacksmith.

George Fowkes--Shoemaker.

John Douglas--Barometer-carrier.

Isaac Reid--Sailor and chainman.

Andrew Higgs--Chainman.

William Hunter, Thomas Smith--With the horses.

Patrick Travers--Carter and pioneer, Douglas Arnott--Shepherd and butcher.

Arthur Bristol--Sailmaker and Sailor.

Eight drays, drawn by eighty bullocks, two boats, thirteen horses, four private horses, and three light carts, comprised the means of conveyance, and the party was provided with provisions for a year; two hundred and fifty sheep (to travel with the party) const.i.tuting the chief part of the animal food. The rest consisted of gelatine, and a small quant.i.ty of pork.

(See page 105.--[Chapter IV.])

RICHARD CUNNINGHAM's FATE.

REPORT OF LIEUTENANT ZOUCH, OF THE MOUNTED POLICE, REGARDING THE DEATH OF RICHARD CUNNINGHAM.

"SIR, "Bathurst, December 7th, 1835.

"I have the honour to state that, in conforming with the instructions contained in the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 16th October, together with your orders, directing me to proceed to the interior for the purpose of ascertaining the fate of Mr. Cunningham, I proceeded with the party on the 24th of October for Buree, which place I left on the 29th, accompanied by Sandy (the native black mentioned in my instructions). On the 2nd of November I fortunately met with two blacks who knew the particulars of a white man having been murdered on the Bogan, also the names and persons of the perpetrators of the deed. They likewise offered to accompany the police to where the tribe to which the murderers belonged were encamped. I accordingly took them as guides, and on the evening of the 6th they informed me they could see the smoke from the fires of the Myall blacks, on the borders of a lake called Budda.

"On arriving at the banks of the lake, we found a tribe encamped consisting of upwards of forty men, women, and children, all of whom we succeeded in making prisoners, without any resistance on their part.

Having questioned them as to the murder of a white man, they acknowledge to one having been killed on the Bogan by four of their tribe, three of whom they delivered up; the fourth, they stated, was absent on the Big River. On searching the bags of the tribe, we found a knife, a glove, and part of a cigar case, which the three blacks acknowledged they had taken from the white man, and which Muirhead said he was sure belonged to Mr. Cunningham.

"The three murderers, whose names are Wongadgery, Boreeboomalie, and Bureemal, stated that they and another black, about six moons ago, met a white man on the Bogan, who came up and made signs that he was hungry; that they gave him food, and that he encamped with them that night. The white man repeatedly getting up during the night excited suspicion, and they determined to destroy him the following morning, which they did by Wongadgery going unperceived behind him and striking him on the back of the head with a nulla-nulla. The other three men then rus.h.i.+ng upon him with their weapons, speedily effected their purpose.

"I then determined to proceed to the spot where the murder was committed, which I was informed by the blacks was distant three days' journey, but, learning from them that there was a great scarcity of water, Muirhead, and one of the prisoners (Burreemal) as a guide across to the Bogan, leaving the other two prisoners in charge, under the command of Corporal Moore, to proceed to a station about thirty miles distant from Wellington, there to await my return.

"On Tuesday, the 10th, I arrived at a place called Currindine, where the black showed me some bones, which he said were those of a white man they had killed, and pointed out a small portion of a coat, and also of a Manilla hat. Being thus convinced of the truth of their statement, and also of the spot where the melancholy event had occurred, I collected all the remains I could discover, and having deposited them in the ground, raised a small mound over them, and barked some of the nearest trees, as the only means in my power of marking the spot.

"Having thus accomplished the object of my expedition, I proceeded on my return, and on rejoining the party under Corporal Moore, I learned the escape of the two prisoners, which took place on the night of the 11th November, when trooper Lard was on sentry, against whom I have forwarded a charge for neglect of duty. The fulfilment of my instructions being thus partially defeated, I considered it my duty to proceed in search of the runaways, and continued the pursuit, I regret to say, without success, until I was obliged to return, our stock of provisions being consumed. I arrived here with the party yesterday, and shall forward the prisoner, 'Bureemal,' to Sydney, together with the articles I was enabled to collect, supposed to have belonged to the late Mr. Cunningham.

"I have the honor to be, etc., "W. ZOUCH, "Lieut. Mounted Police."

"To CAPTAIN WILLIAMS, "Commandant of Mounted Police."

(See page 106.--[Chapter IV.])

CAVE DRAWINGS.

The singular cave paintings found by Lieutenant George Grey near the Glenelg River, in Western Australia, during the expedition of 1838.

"The cave was twenty feet deep, and at the entrance seven feet high, and about forty feet wide. As before stated, the floor gradually approached the roof in the direction of the bottom of the cavern, and its width also contracted, so that at the extremity it was not broader than the slab of rock, which formed a natural seat. The princ.i.p.al painting in it was the figure of a man ten feet six inches in length, clothed from the chin downwards in a red garment, which reached to the wrists and ankles; beyond this red dress the feet and hands protruded and were badly executed.

"The face and head of the figure were enveloped in a succession of circular bandages or rollers, or what appeared to be painted to represent such. These were coloured red, yellow, and white, and the eyes were the only features represented on the face. Upon the highest bandage or roller, a series of lines were painted in red, but although so regularly done as to indicate they have some meaning, it was impossible to tell whether they were intended to depict written characters, or some ornament for the head. This figure was so drawn on the roof that its feet were just in front of the natural seat, whilst its head and face looked directly down on any one who stood in the entrance of the cave, but it was totally invisible from the outside.

"It would be impossible to convey in words an adequate idea of this uncouth and savage figure; I shall, therefore, only give such a succint account of this and the other paintings as will serve as a sort of description. Its head was encircled by bright red rays, something like the rays which one sees proceeding from the sun, when depleted on the signboard of a public house; inside of this came a broad stripe of very brilliant red, which was coped by lines of white, but both inside and outside of this red s.p.a.ce were narrow stripes of a still deeper red, intended probably to mark its boundaries. The face was painted vividly white and the eyes black; being, however, surrounded by red and yellow lines, the body, hands and arms were outlined in red, the body being curiously painted with red stripes and bars.

"Upon the rock which formed the left hand wall of this cave, and which partly faced you on entering, was a very singular painting, vividly coloured, representing four heads joined together. From the mild expression of the countenances, I imagined them to represent females, and they appeared to be drawn in such a manner, and in such a position, as to look up at the princ.i.p.al figure which I have before described; each had a very remarkable head dress coloured with a deep bright-blue, and one had a necklace on. Both of the lower figures had a sort of dress, painted with red in the same manner as that of the princ.i.p.al figure, and one of them had a band round her waist. Each of the four faces was marked by a totally distinct expression of countenance, and although none of them had mouths, two, I thought, were otherwise rather good looking.

"The whole painting was executed on a white ground. The next most remarkable drawing in the cave was an ellipse, three feet in length, and one foot ten inches in breadth. The outside line of this painting was of a deep-blue colour, the body of the ellipse being of a bright yellow, dotted over with red lines and spots, whilst across it ran two transverse lines of blue. The portion of the painting above described formed the ground, or main part of the picture, and upon this ground was painted a kangaroo in the act of feeding, two stone spear-heads, and two black b.a.l.l.s. One of the spear-heads was flying to the kangaroo, and one away from it, so that the whole subject probably const.i.tuted a sort of charm, by which the luck of an enquirer in killing game could be ascertained.

"There was another rather humorous sketch, which represented a native in the act of carrying a kangaroo, the height of the man being three feet.

The number of drawings in the cave could not altogether have been less than from fifty to sixty, but the majority of them consisted of men, kangaroos, etc., the figures being carelessly and badly executed, and being evidently a very different origin to those which I have first described.

"Another very striking piece of art was exhibited in the little gloomy cavities, situated at the back of the main cavern. In these instances some rock at the sides of the cavity had been selected, and the stamp of a hand and arm by some means transferred to it. This outline of the hand and arm was then painted black, and the rock about it white, so that on entering that part of the cave it appeared as if a human hand and arm were projecting through a crevice, admitting light."

(See page 118--Chapter V.)