852 



Dr. Neumayer on a Scientific 



[May 14, 



since this grand idea was conceived and attempted to be carried out. The 

 last news of Dr. Leichhardt is dated April the 3rd, 1848. Subsequent to 

 this date nothing has been heard of him ; and deep mystery still surrounds 

 his fate, notwithstanding the many efforts which have since been made, 

 originally to rescue the explorer and his party, and subsequently, when all 

 hope of again seeing any of them alive was abandoned, to ascertain the 

 manner in which they perished, and the locality where it occurred. No 

 doubt, to many it may have appeared premature on the part of Dr. Leich- 

 hardt to have entered upon such an undertaking at a time when so little 

 was known of the nature of the interior as to make it utterly impossible to 

 lay down a route across the continent on any other ground than tliat of 

 mere conjecture. Circumstances, hov/ever, have since that time changed 

 considerably ; at least one half of the continent has since been explored in 

 such a way as to make us acquainted with the natural resources an explorer 

 may expect to meet with and turn to account, whilst even from the western 

 coast numerous expeditions have tended to diminish the risk with which 

 such an undertaking would be invested. And in directing the attention of 

 this Society to Dr. Leichhardt' s idea, with the view of seeing it carried out, 

 I do so with the conviction that now the proper time has arrived for taking 

 in hand an enterprise of such importance for the future of the Australian 

 colonies, and especially for the advancement of science, and thereby mani- 

 festing alike our appreciation of the various interests at stake, and of the 

 noble mind who risked all he had in their furtherance. In the execution 

 of such a work, its scope may now be materially extended. Instead of a 

 rough survey on a single line from north-east to south-west, with an appa- 

 ratus which allowed of but a limited attention being paid to strictly scien- 

 tific matters, it is now proposed to form a base-line for the various branches 

 of science through the interior of a vast continent. That such a work can 

 now no longer be regarded as impracticable or premature, and that its suc- 

 cessful completion cannot be otherwise than replete with the greatest inte- 

 rest, I hope to be able to show in the course of this paper. 



After these introductory remarks, I shall proceed to detail the plan 

 which I propose to follow in carrying out the exploration of the western 

 half of the continent, and the scientific survey of the line of route to be 

 followed in traversing the interior from, the east shores of Queensland to 

 Western Austraha. 



It is proposed that the expedition be organized in Queensland, probably 

 on the Burdekin, near Port Denison, in 20° south latitude. From a point 

 in 20° South and about 148° East it will strike out for a point in 24|-° 

 South on Stuart's track. So far the interior has to some extent been 

 explored already, and it can be predicted with some degree of certaint}^, 

 with what difficulties and with what facilities the expedition will probably 

 meet*. From this point, v/hich I designate on the accompanying map 

 by the letter B, the original starting-point being A, to the south-western 

 The greater part of the country between the east coast and Burke's track will pro- 

 bably have been taken up for squatting purposes in a very few_^ years. 



