9 
prosper in the land, they will no doubt allow 
their natural feelings full play, and will heartily 
rejoice in those children with which the Almighty 
may have blessed them, still many err from 
want of consideration and self-control, and from 
a neglect of those remedies which the Deity may 
have placed at their disposal. 
And now gentlemen, I must conclude. I wish 
I had had some books of reference in order that 
I might have made this paper more interesting : 
however if my life be spared, and nothing pre- 
vent, I may perhaps, some few years hence, un- 
dertake to read a paper on a similar subject 
which shall be mere comprehensive, and more 
likely to gratify my hearers. 
GEOLOGY OF NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. 
* 
A PAPEE COMPILED BY MB. A. C. GEE GOBY, AND BEAD BEEOBE THE MEMBEES OP THE PHILO- 
SOPHICAL SOCIETY OP QUEENSLAND, ON TUESDAY, JULY 2. 
ON THE GEOLOGICAL CHAEACTEB OP NOBTHEBN 
AU STB ALIA, AS AFPECTING ITS GEOGRAPHI- 
CAL PEATUBES. 
The following paper has been compiled from 
my notes and journals, during the period I was 
in command of the Expedition, which was des- 
patched by the Imperial Government to explore 
the N.W. portions of Australia in the years 
1855-6; and although already in substance 
printed in England, by order of the Parliament, 
has not been available to the Queensland public. 
As the settlement of the northern portions of 
the continent is a subject of great importance to 
this eolony, it appears desirable to facilitate the 
access to every source of information which may 
exist with reference to its general character and 
facilities for occupation. 
The portion of the continent to which I pur- 
pose to confine my remarks is that which lies to 
the northward of latitude 23^ deg., or in other 
words, tropical Australia, and this I shaU sub- 
divide into two portions, the eastern and western, 
divided by the 143 deg. of longitude. The 
former consisting of a series of elevated ranges 
of hills, in which the older rocks are largely 
developed, and the latter an almost unbroken 
table-land of sandstone, belonging to the upper 
series of the carboniferous system. 
The most remarkable feature of the western 
division of tropical Australia is, that it consists 
of an elevated tableland without a single known 
hill or range rising above the general level of its 
surface, and though when traversing the wider 
valleys they appear to be bounded by ranges of 
hills, yet on ascending any of the higher ground 
it at once becomes evident that the valleys are 
simply excavated and that the whole has origin- 
ally been one vast plain, portions of which have 
been removed and the hills are only portions 
which have not yet yielded to the action of the 
elements. 
From Roebuck Bay on the NEW. coast to 
nearly the southern part of the Gulf of Carpen- 
taria, the country rises abruptly within a few 
miles of the coast to an elevation of from 500 
to 800 feet ; beyond this the rise is so gradual 
as only to be detected by barometrical observa- 
tion, the greatest elevation being in latitude 18 
deg., where it is about 1200 to 1600 feet above 
the sea level ; to the south of this it gradually 
declines, so that in latitude 20 deg. the general 
elevation does not exceed 1000 feet. 
Thus the 18th parallel of latitude becomes 
the line of division between the waters flowing 
to the coast, and those wliich descend into the 
desert interior. It also appeal’s to be the limit 
