66 
new year’s range. 
of their contributing to the permanence of an inland sea, 
as Mr. Oxley had supposed. 
On the 17 th of January we encamped under New Year’s 
Range, which is the first elevation in the interior of Eastern 
Australia to the westward of Mount Harris. Yet when at 
its base, I do not think that we had ascended above forty 
feet higher than the plains in the neighbourhood of that 
last mentioned eminence. There certainly is a partial rise 
of country, where the change of soil takes place from the 
alluvial deposits of the marshes, to the sandy loam so 
prevalent on the plains we had lately traversed ; but I had 
to regret that I was unable to decide so interesting a ques- 
tion by other than bare conjecture. 
Notwithstanding that Mr. Hume had already been on 
them, I encouraged hopes that a second survey of the 
country from the highest point of New Year’s Range, 
would enable us to form some opinion of it, by which to 
direct our future movements ; but I was disappointed. 
The two wooded hills I had seen from Oxley’s Table 
Land were visible from the range, bearing south; and 
other eminences bore by compass S. W. and W. by S.; but 
in every other direction the horizon was unbroken. To the 
westward, there appeared to be a valley of considerable ex- 
tent, stretching N. and S., in which latter direction there 
was a long strip of cleared ground, that looked very like 
the sandy bed of a broad and rapid river. The bare possi- 
bility of the reality determined me to ascertain by inspec- 
tion, whether my conjecture was right, and Mr. Hume 
