656 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



The names given by the Telegraph survey and the names 

 rightly or wrongly considered by the Surveyors to be identical with 

 Jardine's original names must, however, stand, as they have already 

 been sanctioned by long usage. 



DUCIE RIVER 



This is the first river of importance north of the Batavia. (SEE 

 MAP B.) On a generally westerly course, its heads are crossed 

 by the Telegraph line between 12 ic/ and 11 52' S. lat., and 

 include what the Jardine Brothers had originally named the South 

 Palm, Rocky, North Palm (Ducie, according to Telegraph survey), 

 South Alice and North Alice. Thirty miles west of the Telegraph 

 line, these heads have come together to form the Ducie River, 

 which 15 miles further west falls into the estuary of the Batavia 

 River, known as Port Musgrave. 



The river was named in honour of the Earl of Ducie, brother 

 of the Hon. Matthew Moreton, one of the contractors. It was 

 used in 1884 for the transport of supplies and material for the 

 construction, the depot, at the head of boat navigation, being at 

 the point where FRANK JARDINE afterwards formed his station of 

 BERTIE HAUGH. 



DALHUNTY RIVER, DE FACTO 



According to the Telegraph survey, the Dalhunty River, which 

 falls into the Port Musgrave estuary, crosses the Telegraph line 

 in 11 49' S. lat., and runs WSW. (SEE MAP B.) In one of the 

 chapters dealing with the Jardine Brothers' exploration of 1864-5, 

 I have given reasons for my belief that the DALHUNTY RIVER, de 

 facto (of the Telegraph survey), is the Jardines' SKARDON RIVER, 

 de jure. 



SKARDON RIVER, DE FACTO 



North of the Dalhunty River, the Skardon River, de facto (the 

 Skardon River of the Telegraph survey) crosses the Telegraph line 

 at the McDonnell Telegraph Station, and runs west-south-west- 

 ward to the Gulf of Carpentaria in lat. 11 45' S. (SEE MAP B.) 

 Where it crosses the line, Mr. Embley describes it as having a large 

 deep channel and carrying a large volume of flood water. I believe 

 it to be, de jure, the CARPENTIER REVIER of Carstenszoon, who 

 writes, in his diary of the " Pera's " voyage, under date nth May, 

 1623 : " We set sail again on a NNE. course along the land. In 

 the afternoon we sailed past a large river which the men of the 

 * Duyfken ' went up in a boat in 1606, and where one of them 

 was killed by the missiles of the natives. To this river, which is 

 in n 48' lat., we have given the name of Revier de Carpentier in 

 the new chart." (The latitude is about 3 minutes out, but 

 presumably it was only fixed by the estimated northing after the 

 latitude had been taken at noon.) 



