314 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



little to the west of the DIVIDE BETWEEN the ARCHER and WATSON 

 RIVERS, and across the heads of MERKUNGA AND GUMBOL CREEKS, 

 tributaries of the Watson. CAMP 62 was on a little clay water-hole 

 with barely water enough for the men. 



On Jth January, the stage was 15 miles, across " numerous 

 small water-courses similar to those of yesterday." " It was strange," 

 remarks Frank Jardine, " to see the horses bogging leg-deep during 

 a thunderstorm and in five minutes after unable to get a drink of 

 water." The course lay across LAGOON CREEK, the principal 

 head of the WATSON RIVER (about 10 miles west of the modern 

 MERLUNA DOWNS cattle station, which has recently been 

 " nationalised " by the State Government), and SAY CREEK, a 

 similar tributary of the Watson, to the heads of MYALL CREEK, 

 which enters ALBATROSS BAY under the name of the MISSION RIVER. 

 CAMP 63 was on a small deep creek falling to NNW., but without 

 much water. Scrub turkeys, wonga wongas and Torres Strait 

 pigeons were seen. 



The next day's journey (8th January) added 18 miles of 

 northing between MYALL and Cox CREEKS, both here running 

 northward, the former to turn to the west and become the MISSION 

 RIVER l and the latter to fall into the BATAVIA RIVER, which runs 

 to the north-west and discharges into the Gulf. For the first 

 15 miles there was " good undulating forest country, timbered 

 chiefly with box and apple-gum and a few ironbarks, and intersected 

 with numerous canal-like creeks running north-west. The last 

 3 miles was wretchedly bad, being similar to the tea-tree country 

 of the Staaten " (de Jacto). " The whole country between the 

 Archer and Staaten is without water, save immediately after rain 

 sufficiently heavy to set the creeks running." CAMP 64 (lat. 

 12 38' 2" S.) was on a small shallow tea-tree water-pan. (SEE 

 MAP B.) The night was marked by heavy rain and high wind. 

 Two of the horses were knocked up. 



On tyh January, a distance of 16 miles was accomplished 

 to the north. A little more than half-way, a large RIVER was 

 crossed 20 miles west of the modern MORETON TELEGRAPH 

 STATION. The Brothers believed this to be the DUTCH COEN, 

 but Richardson identified it correctly as the BATAVIA RIVER. 



A digression becomes necessary at this point. 



It is distinctly stated in Carstenszoon's Diary of the Voyage of 

 the " Per a " that " the Coen Revier is in 13 7' latitude," but a 

 careful reading of the narrative shows that that was the latitude 

 of the anchorage of 7th May, 1623. A boat party landed next 

 morning, and followed northward the footprints of men and 

 dogs, which led them to a " revier " notable only for the fact that 

 esculent herbs a great prize for scurvy-haunted sailors grew 

 on its banks. They spent some time in walking, in collecting 



1 The Mission River was surveyed by Mr. Embley in 1897. 



