5 
Sunday, 2nd. — This camp is the worst place for burs imaginable ; all sizes and varieties are found 
nere; some are as big as a small egg, and others again are just small enough to escape detection until 
you turn into your blankets at night, when you are soon made aware of their presence. We started from 
here at about 7'30, on a N.N.W. course, over spinifex and cane-grass sandridges and fine hard flats ; the 
latter are well grassed and covered with an abundance of splendid herbage. Rain must have fallen here 
quite recently to cause these plants to spring up in such abundance. At ten miles or less, however, all 
these fine flats and succulent plants disappear, and nothing is seen but high spinifex, a few tufts of cane grass 
which generally grow on the top of the sandridges, and low bushes such as wattle, gidea, grevillia, poplar, and 
a few stunted inferior mulga. This kind of country continued until we camped at about thirty miles. I 
am very ill, and could scarcely sit on my camel during the day. 
Monday 3rd. — I started about 7 - 30, on a N.N.W. bearing. I am still scarcely able to sit on 
my camel, but we cannot possibly camp here in the midst of these horrible sandridges. At four miles 
wc altered our course to N.N.E. During the first few miles we crossed high spinifex sandridges and sandy 
valleys densely overgrown with spinifex ; we then crossed numerous flooded box flats and low spinifex sand- 
ridges for about six miles, which then again change into high spinifex sandridges and sandy valleys ; the 
latter contains a fair quantity of low bushes, such as gidea, wattle, grevillia, &c. We continued to travel 
over this wretched country until about three hours after sundown, when, having come twenty-seven miles, we 
camped. Observed for latitude, &c., which occupied me until 2 a.m. 
I uesday, 4th. — Made a fresh start this morning about 7 a.m. I have just had two hours’ sleep ; we 
travelled all day and until long after sundown in a N.N.E. direction ; many stoppages occurred during the 
day owing to the camels breaking their nose ropes and shifting their loads in crossing the sandridges. We 
camped at twenty-one miles. The country passed over to-day consists of nothing but high sandridges and 
spinifex, with a few low bushes such as wattle and different kinds of acacia; towards the end of our stage, 
however, or in the last few miles, the sandy valleys change into fine hard flats, thinly covered with small 
pebbles of quartz, cornelian, and different kinds of porphyry ; these flats are splendidly grassed and nicely 
covered clumps of gidea and isolated bloodwood trees which would make splendid material for huts and 
stockyards. The latitude of this camp is 23° 59' 56". 
Wednesday, 5th. — We started early, our intention being to make Sandringham Station before 
sunset; in this, however, we were disappointed through no fault of ours. We continued on a N.N.E. 
course, across high spinifex sandridges and fine hard and splendidlv-grassed flats. At about five miles, on 
reaching the top of a high sandridge, we found a few small stony bare mounds stretching across our course. 
These hillocks are composed of a kind of conglomerate rock, now rapidly decomposing through denudation. 
The flats or gullies between the mounds are thickly timbered with gidea. At about six miles we crossed a 
portion of the Mulligan River in the shape of a salt claypan or lake, which was extremely boggy ; the camels 
only just managed to struggle through, leaving tracks and holes in the lake which will be visible for years to 
come. W e now crossed a gidea flat, well grassed with numerous tufts of Mitchell grass, cottonbush, salt- 
bush, and other salsolaceous plants. At about ten miles we ascended a high sandridge which occupies the 
exact position in which Sandringham Station is marked on the plans. No station is visible ; we therefore 
continued westward for six miles, across high spinifex sandridges and well-grassed gidea flats, in hopes of 
again crossing the Mulligan River, but no creek channel is observable in any direction. Continued in a 
south-easterly direction ; at two and half miles passed a small salt lagoon ; the station people have been 
gathering salt here some time ago. We now followed an old buggy track to a point where we had previously 
crossed it, then, having come twenty-three miles, we camped at the intersection of all the different tracks, 
everyone well pleased at the prospect of making the station to-morrow. 
Thursday, 6th. —Started early this morning, still following the old buggy track across the gidea flat 
previously mentioned. At about two miles crossed a few low spinifex sandridges, and shortly afterwards came 
to a flooded Mitchell-grass and samphire flat ; a fine large waterhole is observable to the south, about a mile 
distant ; we however did not examine it, but continued to travel to the eastward. At five miles we struck 
fresh dray tracks. At seven miles, the last two miles across a heavily-flooded flat densely overgrown with 
samphire, mint, polygonum, and other water plants, we arrived at Sandringham Station, which is situated 
neai Bmdiacka M aterhole in Sylvester Creek, near its junction with the Mulligan River. A large mob of 
natives were camped here; most of them, however, seemed terribly afraid of our camels and would not 
approach us, preferring the stockyards as a safe retreat; after a time several boys, who apparently bclono- to 
the station, came to our camp and informed us that all the white people were absent from the station 
towards evening Mr. Barrington arrived, and treated us with extreme kindness and in a most hospitable 
mannci. Mr. Ridley W illiams and several other Queensland gentlemen also arrived at the station from the 
Herbert River ; they are endeavoring to take 2,000 head of cattle across country to the telegraph line to 
form a cattle station at Barrows Creek, for Messrs. Wooldridge, Murray, & Spence. 
Friday, 7th. We were busily employed in sorting and arranging our rations and other equipage for an 
early start into the country to the westward ; my plans occupied me most of the day. I find, after carefully 
taking a series of observations, that Sandringham Station is shown nine miles out of position on the Govern- 
ment plans. 
. , Monday, 10th.— Mr Field arrived at the station this afternoon. I received a great deal of very valuable 
information from him, and also made my final preparations for a fresh start, I fully expected to be joined 
here either by Mr Hay or his manager with horses ; but I find that the latter has been here several weeks ago — 
m fact before I left Adelaide— and after getting tired of waiting he returned to Palparara for fresh instructions 
r ? 1 , n ;/ r ‘ * ay ’ ta ^ ln 8 the horses back with him. To avoid any further delay I shall complete the work 
with the camels alone. 1 
n •, l ' U i! Sda u y ’ ^th.-We managed to get a start from Sandringham Station, or Bindiacka as the natives 
call it, by about 7 a.m. I have a black boy, who has been named “ Blucher,” mounted before me on my 
camel; he has expressed his willingness to act as our pilot into the country to the westward; but as he 
cannot speak a word of English, and moreover his only knowledge of the country consists in what has been 
told him by other natives, I presume he will not be a very valuable acquisition to the party. We effected 
a start after some little difficulty. I had to hold our pilot at first to prevent him from breaking his neck as 
my camel decidedly objected to carry a double load; our course was about S.W. by S., a cross'" flooded flats' 
covered with samphire and herbage. At seven miles we finally saw the last of the floodmarks of the Mulligan 
iver, which has no defined channel here, and is only a succession of wide flats subject to heavy inundations 
At nine miles we again entered the spinifex sandridges. At eleven miles we passed a claypan full of waterj 
No. 39. which 
