NE IV G UINEA E XPL OR A TION. 



C\^ March 15 last a private exploring Expedition, commanded 

 ^~^ by Mr. Theodore Bevan, left Thursday Island for New 

 Guinea in the steamer Victory, which had been placed for six 

 weeks at Mr. Bevan's disposal by Mr. Robert Philp, the owner. 

 Mr. Bevan's object in undertaking this expedition was to ascer- 

 tain whether it was possible to reach the mountains in the 

 interior of New Guinea by means of the Aird or other large 

 rivers flowing into the Gulf of Papua, and to establish, if possible, 

 friendly relations with the natives in the neighbourhood of the 

 gulf, with the view of paving the way for future explorations. 



We reprint from the Sydney Morning Herald of May 23 the 

 following account of the expedition : — 



The expedition has proved the existence of spacious water- 

 ways leading far into the interior of the island, the two most 

 important — and magnificent rivers they seem to be — having been 

 named the Douglas and the Jubilee. These discoveries may be 

 destined to be of considerable importance to Australia, for a 

 flourishing industri .1 European community may in the not very 

 remote future settle on the banks of these waterways. Northern 

 Queensland, from its situation, may naturally be expected to 

 reap the greatest advantages from the opening up of New 

 Guinea, but, directly or indirectly, the habitation of its fertile 

 plains and valleys with pioneer settlers must prove beneficial to 

 the metropolis of New South Wales. A comprehensive account 

 of the expedition will be published in due course, illustrated by 

 a chart showing the new discoveries, and by photographic views 

 of new mountain ranges and previously unknown tribes of 

 lives, but a brief description of some of the principal dis- 

 eries made will probably be read with interest. 

 Of the country in the vicinity of the Aird, very little up to the 

 present is known, and at Thursday Island old experienced 

 hands looked upon it as little short of madness, having regard to 

 the supposed treacherous channels existing, and the hostility of 

 the natives, to attempt to enter the rivers which discharge their 

 waters into the gulf Mr. Bevan, however, paid little regard to 

 the grim forebodings, and the Expedition was fortunate in reach- 

 ''": Cape Blackwood in the month of April, at a time when the 

 lers are invariably smooth, and when there is little reason to 

 ir tempestuous weather. The exploring party soon set to 

 work. Several minor streams were discovered, particulars con- 

 cerning which will be given in due course, but, as already indi- 

 ted, two new fresh-water rivers of magnitude were found, 

 cmboguing their waters through various mouths into the Gulf 

 v.i I'apua. Both these pursue a devious course amidst ranges of 

 I hills, washing the base at times of lofty mountains. The rivers 

 ! .are longitudinally about 60 miles distant from each other. 



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The first one — the Douglas — is rtached by the Aird, up which 

 the Victory steamed, and it became manifest that the Aird was 

 only one of several mouths of the main stream, which was navi- 

 gated for a distance of 130 miles, but which, however, in reality 

 took the party inland only about 80 miles, by latitude, 

 northward of Cape Blackwood. The explorers left this river 

 through a channel marked upon the Admiralty chart as dry land, 

 and this brought them into Deception Bay. The existence of 

 this passage, in which there is from four to eight fathoms of 

 water, proves Cape Blackwood to be an island. It may here 

 be stated that for the first 30 miles up the Aird the country 

 was found to be of deltaic formation, with alluvial islands 

 scattered here and there ; but beyond that the main stream of 

 the Douglas becomes a compact watercourse, flowing between 

 rising ground on either side. The country about the delta is 

 flat, covered with scrub, and the banks are well defined. On 

 the higher waters of the Douglas there is a practically unin- 

 habitefl forest country, which in parts could be easily cleared. 

 Two important fresh- water tributaries to the Douglas were dis- 

 covered, one of which has been named the Burns and the other 

 the Philp. A new range of mountains observed in this vicinity 

 was named by the leader after his uncle, Mr. Thomas Bevan, 

 an ex- Sheriff of London. 



The Gulf of Papua has been explored up to Orokolo, and to^ 

 the westward of that village are what appear to be fine rivers, 

 but these were reported by the natives to be separate mouths ot 

 one river, and the natives' report has been confirmed by Mr. 

 Bevan, who, proceeding up a sixth large channel to the west of 

 Bald Head, came upon the main river, which fed the delta and 

 cut inland at right angles into the five other rivers. There was 

 a heavy break on each bar of the first five openings, probably 

 due to south-east weather on the Queensland coast, but a smooth- 

 water passage was found into the sixth opening. The time at 

 the disposal of the party was too limited to enable them to 

 survey each opening of the river, so a westerly course was 

 pursued, and the Victory steamed up a large channel running in 

 a northerly direction from Bald Head to the point of its con- 

 fluence with other waters. A week was spent in examining the 

 rivers coming in from the north-west, but although high land 

 was seen it could not be reached by any branch in that direction. 

 The easterly passages were next tried, and a channel was found 

 running easterly and north-easterly, almost at right angles, into- 

 two other streams. Taking the branch running inland, they 

 proceeded a few miles further, and found it led into two other 

 streams, one going inland and the other with a current towards 

 the sea as before. Yet again did they meet two other streams, 

 and still steaming up the one leading inland, they, on going 5: 

 miles further, came upon another, and this time the last arm 

 leading seaward. Here they found themselves on a fresh-water 

 river nearly half a mile wide, with a steady current flowing towards 

 the sea. A magnificent panorama of rising country was now 

 opened up. Range over range of hills stretched into the dis- 

 tance, capped by some towering blue mountain peaks, and so 

 clear was the atmosphere that even the high mountains, which 

 must have been leagues away, seemed close at hand. They 

 were all clad with tree.s, and upon the face of them could easily 

 be distinguished the water-gullies, brightly illuminated by the 

 glistening rays of the sun. The river was navigated no miles 

 from Bald Head, or about 50 miles in latitude from Orokolo, its 

 chief trend being in an easterly and north-easterly direction, 

 although the course was unusually serpentine. In honour of 

 Her Majesty's having completed the fiftieth year of her reign, 

 this river, probably the finest in British New Guinea, has been 

 named the Jubilee. The ranges into which the waters carried 

 the little steamer, drawing 9 feet of water, were named the 

 Albert Victor. 



Very little trouble was experienced with the natives during 

 the expedition. Only once was the party attacked, and that 

 was when going up the Aird — about 20 miles from its mouth — 

 probably by the same tribe that attacked Capt. Blackwood 

 forty-two years ago. The hostile blacks fired several flights of 

 arrows, some of which fell harmlessly by the vessel's side, but 

 they dispersed at the sound of the steamer's whistle, and after 

 a few shots had been fired wide ; neither the attacking nor 

 attacked sustaining the slightest hurt. Through this untoward 

 circumstance Mr. Bevan was unable to obtain the name of the 

 tribe. Another tribe, who evinced their peaceful intentions by 

 carrying green bows in their canoes, were found inhabiting the 

 country behind Aird's Hill. A third tribe was met with 48 

 miles inland, as the crow flies, from Cape Blackwood, and these 



