470 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



On 26th November, 1879, tne combined geological and pros- 

 pecting parties left Cooktown. My party consisted of Joseph J. 

 Macdcnald (since deceased), my stepson James S. Love and Charlie, 

 an aboriginal from Townsville. The prospectors were James 

 Crosbie, John Layland, George Hume and John Hamil, all of 

 whom have since joined the majority. By a route further west 

 than my previous " out " and " home " tracks, we reached the 

 Peach River (13 27' S.) on 2Oth December. The Peach has 

 since proved to be one of the heads of the Archer River, named by 

 the Brothers Jardine in 1865. Here began a series of wanderings 

 on the heads of the Archer in the range which I named the 

 Mcllwraith in honour of the then Premier of Queensland. The 

 wet season set in soon afterwards with unwonted severity and the 

 difficulties and dangers of travelling caused by bogs and floods 

 were shortly afterwards aggravated by the starving condition of 

 our horses and the hostility of the natives. Further north, when 

 the auriferous country had come to an end with the spread of the 

 Desert Sandstone and other comparatively recent sedimentary 

 formations over the whole peninsula, it was agreed between the 

 prospectors and myself that it was better to chance the unknown 

 2 degrees of latitude lying to the north between us and Cape 

 York (Somerset) than to face the known danger of crossing several 

 great rivers in a flooded condition. After many struggles we 

 emerged at Somerset on 3rd April, 1880. The observations made 

 during the first and second journeys are detailed in subsequent 

 pages. 



The first of my reports to reach the Minister for Mines was 

 dated Temple Bay, i6th February, 1880, when we came in sight 

 of the Piper Island lightship (120 13' S.). This "First Pre- 

 liminary Report " was taken off by the lightship's boat on the i8th. 

 The " Second Preliminary Report " was dated Townsville, I4th 

 April, 1880, and gave a short account of the proceedings of the party 

 up to its arrival at False Orford Ness (n 22' S.) on loth March. 

 The " Third Preliminary Report " was dated Brisbane, 24th April, 

 1880, and brought the " preliminary " narrative up to the arrival 

 at Somerset. 



These three preliminary reports were given to the newspapers 

 as soon as they were received in Brisbane, but were not officially 

 issued till 5th July, I88I, 1 when they were "presented to both 

 Houses of Parliament " as a blue book entitled " Further Reports 

 on the Progress of the Gold-Prospecting Expedition in Cape York 

 Peninsula," which contained also my report on the Wild River 

 Tin Mines dated 27th October, 1880. 



Although sufficient justification for the delay in writing my 

 second and third preliminary reports will be found in the follow- 



i I have a cutting of the Temple Bay report of i6th February, 1880, from the 

 Cooktown Courier of yth April, 1880. 



