viii Proceedings, tyc. 



until the permanent settlement of that portion of Australia has been 

 effected. 



"On the South East side the desert is bounded by the Cooper 

 River, and, therefore, some spot on its banks would be the best to 

 select as a centre of operation. The general character of the country 

 on its banks renders the upper portion of its course unsuited to the 

 object, and it is only on the lower part, or "Cooper Creek" of Sturt, 

 that the requisite supply of water and grass exists. Taking every- 

 thing into consideration, the most eligible point is where the Strez- 

 lecki Creek branches off from the Cooper River, in its course South 

 to Lake Torrens. Here there is a fine reach of water in the River, 

 and sufficient grass for the stock even if detained through the dry 

 season. Were a depot formed at this place the stores and equipment 

 could easily be brought up from Port Augusta, as only 150 miles of 

 desert intervene between the out stations of South Australia and 

 Cooper River, and, by following the channel of Strezlecki Creek, 

 water would probably be found by deepening the native well, in 

 lat. — . From this depot, two days' journey would take a party into 

 the unexplored country, nearer the centre of the Terra Incognita than 

 any other that could be selected, with a due regard to the existing 

 facilities of approach. Of the subsequent proceeding of the expedi- 

 tion, only a N.W. and W.N.W. course can be indicated, as so little is 

 known of the country, that there is nothing to indicate the exact 

 course on which fewest obstacles would be encountered. With re- 

 ference to the time of year that the expedition should commence, the 

 party should be fully equipped and at the out stations not later than 

 March, and, if practicable, return before the ensuing summer, and not 

 remain out at the depot during the hot season, for it would be 

 cheaper and better to send another party out the following year, than 

 to keep the first out in the field, if the equipments were stored at one 

 of the out stations. 



" The equipment should be carried entirely on pack horses, drays 

 being worse than useless in the sandy country to be traversed. If a 

 few camels could be procured, they would, I think, prove invaluable, 

 though the public seems (?) to put too much confidence in the results, 

 over-rating their powers of endurance, &c. They should not be over- 

 worked by carrying heavy loads, but reserved for reconnoitring the 

 country before bringing up the main party. Even if a sufficient 

 number of these animals were to be procured, it would ziot be pru- 

 dent to employ them to the exclusion of horses, in the present un- 

 certainty with regard to their adaptation to the country and liability 

 to suffer from poisonous plants, which may be expected to be found 

 as we approach the Western Coast, where they are so abundant. The 

 number of pack and saddle horses required to convey a party and its 

 equipment fully supplied for a period of six months, is from four and 

 a half to five horses to each man, but this calculation is based on the 

 supposition that all unnecessary encumbrances are avoided. In one 



