348 



Dr. Neumayer on a Scientific 



[May 14, 



during the years following A. C. Gregory's exploration of the interior, and 

 his expedition in search of Dr. Leichhardt, as at that time it was generally 

 believed that the arid plains and stony deserts met with in the east and 

 south, and the sandy desert in the north-west, were but the outskirts of 

 a desert country unparalleled on our globe. 



Fortunately, however, for the progress of civilization and geographical 

 knowledge, this unfavourable opinion as to the nature of the interior was 

 not universally entertained. Many men, well versed in terrestrial physics, 

 especially with reference to the Australian continent, could not, from rea- 

 sons based upon meteorological observations made in the south-east, concur 

 in the prevailing belief. They urged the possibility of tracts of fine coun- 

 try interspersing the so-called desert, and the necessity, in any case, of 

 clearing up the mystery still surrounding this important geographical 

 question ; and in this view they were strongly supported by the improba- 

 bility (generally speaking) of the existence of a desert country of such 

 enormous extent and such a description in any part of the earth's surface. It 

 would be useless to enter now upon the arguments for and against the various 

 opinions set forth during that period of uncertainty, except that they might 

 in some instances serve to put us on our guard against advancing or accepting 

 bold conjectures which may be put forward at any future time, and more par- 

 ticularly in the special case we have to deal with in this paper. Suffice it 

 to say, that the spirit of enterprise and the desire of increasing our geogra- 

 phical knowledge triumxphed at last. The year 1860 gave a fresh impulse 

 to Australian exploration, and will for ever be memorable as having inau- 

 gurated a new era in this respect. In the end of that year and the begin- 

 ning of 1861, Burke and Wills crossed the continent with comparative 

 ease. It was now said by many of the adherents of the old desert doctrine, 

 that Burke had merely hit upon a narrow strip of good country, which 

 carried him across ; had he but deviated to the one side or the other of 

 his path he must have failed in his attempt. But when M'Dougal Stuart 

 three times crossed and recrossed the continent in other parts, and the last 

 time from shore to shore — when M'Kinlay made his way from South 

 Australia, by way of the Gulf of Carpentaria, to the coast of Queens- 

 land, driving before him a flock of sheep — when Walker and Landsborough 

 had accomplished their journeys through the imaginary desert country — 

 the old opinion could no longer be maintained, and the desert theory fell 

 utterly into discredit, at least as far as the eastern part of the continent is 

 concerned. Since that time this once so much dreaded task has been several 

 times successfully accomplished, so that we are now enabled to give a pretty 

 accurate description of the features of the country forming the scene of 

 these glorious achievements ; and as it will doubtless prove of material 

 assistance to the complete understanding of the following exposition and 

 plan, I may here be permitted to give in a few words an outline of the 

 main character of the ground to the north of the parallel of latitude 26°, 

 between the coast-ranges of Queensland and Stuart's route through the 



