20 



NOTES OF A TRIP TO MOUNT SEAVIEW, UPPER 

 HASTINGS RIVER. 



By J. H. Maiden, Botanic Gardens, Sydney. 



In ordinary weather, looking west from Port Macquarie, one 

 sees a conical peak in the clouds, perhaps sixty miles away, which 

 is a beautiful object, particularly at the time of the setting sun. 

 This is what is usuallj^ pointed out to visitors as Mt. Seaview, 

 but few persons have been close to it, and I could not interview 

 anyone who had ascended it. It is a topographical feature of 

 much interest. 



I ascended Mt. Seaview in November last, doing Oxley's cele- 

 brated journey from the Apsley to Port Macquarie in a reverse 

 direction. In another paper, which will appear in the Agricul- 

 tural Gazette of N.S.W., I have given a popular account of my 

 trip, with especial reference to the plants observed in the Mount 

 Seaview District. As the information is not repeated in the 

 present paper, the attention of those interested in the subject is 

 invited to it. 



Mt. Seaview was discovered by Oxley on September 23rd, 

 1818, and the name was given on account of the magnificent view 

 of the ocean to be obtained from the summit. He left Bathurst 

 on the 28th May, and followed the Macquarie down to Mt. 

 Harris; he then turned eastward, crossing the Castlereagh just 

 above where Coonamble now stands. He ascended the Warrum- 

 bungle Mountains (named by him Arbuthnot Range), and, still 

 travelling east, he crossed the Peel River near its junction with 

 the Cockburn. He next discovered the Bathurst Falls and 

 Apsley River, and, after some terrible experience in the scrubby 

 ranges, he came on " Sea View Mount," with the Hastings 

 flowing at its foot. The following extract from his Journal may 

 be interesting as showing his method of obtaining the height of 



