56 AUSTRALIA 
For twenty-five years after the establishment of a 
colony on the shores of Port Jackson, settlement was con- 
fined to the narrow strip of country shut in on the north- 
west and south by the Blue Mountains beyond which no 
one had penetrated, though many attempts to do so had 
been made. Along the sea the colony extended from Jervis 
Bay to Port Stephens, a distance of 165 miles. In 1813 the 
mountain barrier was successfully crossed by Messrs. Blax- 
land, Lawson and Wentworth, and the plains beyond were 
at once occupied. In 1815 a practicable road was made 
across the mountains, and exploration was thereafter pushed 
ou with great vigor. In 1817 Oxley discovered and traced 
the Lachlan River for about a hundred miles, and later he 
discovered the Macquarrie and other streams. In 1819 the 
Marrumbidgee was discovered. In 1824 Messrs. Howell and 
Hume crossed the district now forming the colony of 
Victoria, and reached the head of Port Philip. Allan Cun- 
ningham, the botanist, made extensive explorations in 1823 
and subsequent years, and the celebrated Captain Sturt 
commenced his arduous and wonderful undertakings about 
the same time. Nor should the names of Hume and George 
Macleay be forgotten. Major Mitchell continued the work 
uniting skill and science with much energy and good for- 
tune. Meanwhile the survey of the coast begun by 
Flinders was ably continued by Captain Parker, King and 
others. The north-west coasts were next examined by 
explorers, but with little result. From Sydney the centre 
of exploration was moved to Adelaide, and from that city 
several famous expeditious set out. It was from Adelaide 
that Eyre started on most of his journeys, and from there 
also that Captain Sturt began his survey of the Lower Mur- 
ray and Darling in 1844. Much exploration was done in 
Queensland about this time by Dr. Leechhardt, under the 
auspices of the Government of New South Wales. Leech- 
hardt lost his life in 1848 in an attempt to cross the con- 
tinent to the west coast. In 1860-1 a well equipped expe- 
