625 



unexplored region would afford ample room for the extension 

 of pastoral pursuits. That without pausing to dwell upon 

 the desirability and importance of extending the limits of 

 geographical science, the further consideration and knowledge 

 of this extensive tract of country, may be reasonably expected 

 to lead in an important degree tO' a greater development of 

 our mineral resources, and thus open up new fields of enter- 

 prise and additional sources of wealth to our colonists." To 

 the memorial His Excellency gave a most sympathetic reply 

 and requested the Committee to submit to' him a plan for 

 such an expedition, together with an estimate of its probable 

 cost; also to ascertain whether a suitable leader could be 

 found to undertake the command of the party. 



A sheaf of correspondence between the Committee and 

 such experienced bushmen as Dr. J. H. Browne, J. McKinlay, 

 E. B. Scott (a friend of Eyre), Price Maurice, and many 

 others, shows that this request was promptly obeyed. As a 

 result, we see the plan of the expedition outlined in a letter 

 from the Committee to John Williams, of Black Rock, who 

 had written, that if possible he would ''be happy to undertake 

 the business, notwithstanding the present discouraging aspect 

 of affairs in that quarter." The plan was that an expedition, 

 consisting of about eight men, should be landed at Fowler's 

 Bay, make its way if possible due north to the north-east 

 corner of the Province, and return in a south-easterly line 

 to the head of Spencer Gulf. In the letter they asked per- 

 mission from Mr. Williams to mention his name to His 

 Excellency as a suitable leader. 



Despite the energy displayed by the Committee, this par- 

 ticular expedition did not eventuate, and the vote of <£3,000 

 was appropriated for other purposes. It is significant, how- 

 ever, that the plan of Hack's Expedition in 1857 was almost 

 identical with that advocated by the Society two years pre- 

 viously, except that it started from Streaky Bay. It is, 

 therefore, probable that the Government was not altogether 

 uninfluenced by the recommendation of the Committee. 



Hack's effort was followed, in 1858, by another Govern- 

 ment Expedition into the interior, under the leadership of a 

 former President of the Society, B. Herschel Babbage. 



Another matter of a public nature, which claimed the 

 early attention of the Society, was the establishment of a 

 South Australian Institute, which should be erected and 

 maintained by the Government, and should have for its 

 object the fostering of the arts, sciences, literature, and 

 philosophy. It was thought that one of the functions of 

 such an institution would be the establishment of a Natural 

 History Museum, and that it would also provide accommodation 



