March 12, I860.] NEW HARBOUR ON THE N.E. COAST OF AUSTRALIA. 83 



lat., the only wind was the south-east trade-wind. This wind was always 

 blowing from the south-east or from the east-south-east ; while at the same 

 time a strong, fierce westerly wind, generally south-westerly, though some- 

 times north-westerly, was blowing along the southern part of the country. 

 Up to about SO*^ lay within the region of the westerly wind. The interme- 

 diate tract between 30° and 25° was subject to variable winds, according to 

 the season. In our winter, viz., in the December part of the year, there was 

 a north-west monsoon blowing upon the north-west coast. He believed he 

 might say without contradiction, that within the tropics invariably low land 

 was desert unless there were some lofty ranges of mountains in the neighbour- 

 hood, so that rivers could flow from them into the low land. He believed 

 this was the case without exception in eveiy part of the world. It cer- 

 tainly was the case with regard to the northern part of Australia during one 

 six months of the year at all events. The only high land was directly upon 

 the eastern coast ; the consequence was that the easterly wind striking upon 

 that was drained at once of all the moisture that the high land could extract 

 from it. The wind had to climb over that high land to get into a compara- 

 tively cold region up above : that cold condensed the moisture, and the current 

 of air was drained of as much of its moisture as could be got out of it at that 

 altitude. After it had passed over that range it met with no other high land 

 whatever, for, so far as we knew, the generality of the country was low. Even 

 that high country south of Port Essington, according to Leichhardt, was not so 

 high as the eastern coast. Therefore there could be no precipitation during all 

 that part of the year, at all events during the prevalence of this easterly wind ; 

 on the contrary, this low land, being heated by the burning rays of the sun, 

 caused the air to expand, and therefore made it rise, and put it into a state 

 to lick up any moisture that there might be, rather than to deposit it. There 

 was constantly a current of air rising up from this northern half of Australia, 

 and taking up any moisture that presented itself ; and it did not impinge upon 

 the Indian Ocean again until it got 150 miles out into the sea. At least they 

 found it so in the Fly. IS'ow, during all this time, and during the rest of the 

 year, the westerly wind was blowing along the south coast where there were 

 these broken ranges — these comparatively short ranges of mountains that he 

 spoke of — and the southern part of the eastern coast range. What did they 

 find ? On the west side of each of the ranges you found a fertile country. 

 There was a comparatively fertile country on the strip of low land lying west 

 of the Darling range. It was a grassy and woody country, and precipitation 

 of moisture frequently occurred ; but on the east side of that range you got 

 a desert, a sandy plain, which no one had ever succeeded in getting across. 

 Then you came to that great tract of low country which Mr. Eyre attempted 

 to cross, where he had to carry water with him for several days at a time, for 

 he found no river running out towards the coast, and could only get w^ater 

 trickling at certain spots from the cliffs of the sea-shore. But when you 

 crossed this flat, and approached the ranges of South Australia, you expected 

 a precipitation of water from the westerly wind. And there you found it. 

 Mr. Stuart stated that he had found a tolerably well-watered country just where 

 it was to be expected. But observe that when you once passed over these 

 north and south ranges of South Australia, and got on their eastern side, you 

 again came upon a desert — that very desert country through which the 

 Darling river occasionally ran, but where the rivers were mostly all dried up, 

 often forming merely a succession of water-holes. Crossing these great flat 

 plains, which were more or less desert, you at last struck on the eastern coast- 

 range, and again got into a well- watered country, where you found the Murray 

 and other rivers. 



It followed from all this that he was compelled rather to difler in opinion 

 from Colonel Gawler on one point. Taking for granted that Colonel 

 Gawler's idea of the structure of the country— that the high land was ranged 



