Ou the physiography of Northeastern Australia. 7 



From ail I read about the southwestern Queensland; the niiddle 

 course of îhe Cooper's Creek and the Bulloo, I may contend that the 

 perioclical lake basins in that country as Lake Yamtna, Lake Willara, 

 Lake Goyder, Lake Bulloo and Curryapundy Swamps are only relies 

 of such. independent basins without outlet, the connection of which 

 with the great inland basin is not yet established or is only in its 

 incipient stadium. 



Dwelling upon the physiography of the southern part of the 

 York Peninsula Mr. Taylor ingeniously explains the problém of the 

 Barron Hiver and attributes also the Upper Herbert as a former head 

 river to the Burdekin systém, only lately captured by the short coa- 

 stal Herbert. (Page 9. — 10.) However I cannot agrée with his opinion 

 concerning the Kennedy River. No doubt it is the „relie of a drai- 

 nage systém anterior to the modem coast-line," but the curious posi- 

 tion and character of the Upper Palmer I should like to explain in 

 quite a opposite way. I suppose that the Upper Mitchell has been 

 formerly the head river of the Kennedy systém, as its gênerai di- 

 rection shows, and that it has been captured by the Carpentaria river 

 only lately and that also the Upper Palmer was eating back into 

 the former Divide, that it captured a smaller part of the Kennedy 

 River basin and only recently became direct neighbour of the short 

 and steep conséquent coastal drainage to the Pacific coast, which 

 without any doubt will be victorious in a future contest for a sui- 

 table Divide. 



I may only refer to my preliminary paper, where I attempt to 

 point out that the upper courses of îhe eastern Carpentaria river Systems 

 hâve mostly a northerly direction and hâve been probably only lately 

 captured to their présent drainage Systems. 



In the review of the Burdekin systém Mr. Taylor (Page 10.) 

 again déclares the Buchanan and Galilée lakes as „loose end" of 

 the Thomson relying upon my information that they are true warp 

 lakes. I cannot but maintain my conviction that they are the last 

 witnesses of a formerly more widely spread phaenomenon, of in dé- 

 pendent basins without outlet. 



About the south western part of the Burdekin basin Mr. Taylor 

 says „three facts make us suspicious of this présent drainage (by an 

 impassable gorge through the Clarke Range to the Pacific). Firstly 

 many of the secondary tributaires of the Belyando (on the Cape 

 River, Suttor etc.) hâve a much stronger tendency toward the west 

 than to the east, although it is only their headwaters (Verbena, Ro- 



