670 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



For another mile I steered NW. over the same sort of country. I then altered my 

 course to NNW., soon coming on and following down a small stream falling to NNW. 

 In half a mile we came to a creek of the third, almost second, magnitude, with a fine 

 stream of water coming from the east and flowing WSW. This creek I named 

 McDonnell Creek, after the Under-Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department." 



Therecan belittledoubt that what Bradford namedMcDoNNELL 

 CREEK is the main head of what modern maps name the DALHUNTY 

 RIVER, which I take to be, de jure, the Jardine Brothers' SKARDON 

 RIVER. It is 13 miles south of what now appears on the map as 

 McDonnell Creek, which falls into the SKARDON RIVER, de facto 

 (believed by me to be the CARPENTIER RIVER, de jure) at the 

 MCDONNELL TELEGRAPH STATION. The misidentification of Brad- 

 ford's McDonnell Creek by the party which constructed the line 

 was, no doubt, responsible for the mistake. They knew from 

 Bradford's report that he had named a McDonnell Creek in the 

 neighbourhood, and they bestowed the name on a creek beside what 

 was fixed on as the site of the McDonnell Telegraph Station. 



Bradford crossed his McDonnell Creek, between his Camps 31 

 and 32, about 4 miles west of the JARDINE BROTHERS' CAMP 71 

 (1865) and about 7 miles east of the Telegraph line which was 

 afterwards constructed. 



After this creek had been crossed, Bradford's diary continues : 



" I now steered NW. for a quarter of a mile : then west for another quarter of a 

 mile : then we crossed another tributary gully from the north. Thick scrub on the 

 banks of the gully. I now steered NW. for a quarter of a mile over a grass-tree ridge ; 

 then NNW. for another quarter over similar country. We now came on a creek of the 

 fourth magnitude, coming from the NE. and with dense vine scrub on its banks. 

 We had to cut a track through the scrub to enable us to cross the creek, first, however, 

 following the creek up to ENE. for a quarter of a mile. After crossing I steered north, 

 over a grasstree ridge, and passing some fairly good bloodwood, if sound. In another 

 half a mile we came out on the summit of a barren stony heath-clad hill, with gigantic 

 ant-hills scattered upon it. On distant ridges we could see ant-hills of all sorts of 

 fantastic shapes. I now followed the crest of the ridge to the NW. for a quarter of a 

 mile ; then NNW. over scrubby hills and gullies. In half a mile we came on a narrow 

 stream flowing to westward. This place was very boggy. We had to make a crossing 

 for the horses here. After we had crossed I still continued NNW. for a quarter of a 

 mile to the top of a ridge. Seeing some forest country on hills away to the northward, 

 I steered due north. In half a mile we crossed the crown of another ridge, from which 

 the forest-clad range could be distinctly seen. In another half a mile to the north 

 we came on a narrow gutter carrying a stream of water. In crossing this, two of the 

 pack-horses got bogged, and we had much difficulty in getting them out. Two hours 

 were spent here. In another quarter of a mile north, we came on a creek of the fourth 

 magnitude falling to the west (this creek was subsequently named COCKATOO CREEK, and 

 with a patch of the best GRASS we had seen for days on its southern bank. As one of 

 the horses (z bay colt) had knocked up on the last ridge (three-quarters of a mile 

 back) and had to be left there, I camped on this creek. [What is named Cockatoo 

 Creek by the Telegraph Survey crosses the line 7 miles north of the McDonnell 

 Station and cannot be Bradford's Cockatoo Creek. R. L. J.] Distance travelled 

 to-day, 7 miles. Country for the most part a desert narrow belts of poor grass on the 

 banks of the larger creeks. The smaller ones had none only heather. Some fair 

 timber on the banks of the creeks bloodwood, iron wood, cypress pine (not much of this ) 



