68 
Gipps Land. 
On entering Gipps’ Land the Count and his party crossed a 
beautiful stream—the first of the eastern waters—which soon 
swells into a river. Its source is marked by the cattle stations 
of Messrs. Butler and M‘Abater, who arc the first pioneers 
into the new country. Ascending a culminant ridge to the 
south of the river, there is a splendid view of the sea upon the 
S.E. horizon, with a fine undulating country in the fore¬ 
ground; tothcN.E. the scene changes to ridges and moun¬ 
tains. The river, after a course of 70 miles through a fine 
forest country, empties itself into an oblong lagoon of 100 feet 
in breadth, which joins an extensive lake bordering on the sea- 
coast. A south-eastern course leads to a second and a third 
lagoon; the latter, three hundred yards in width, spreads its 
waters for about twenty-two miles in a river-like shape, till it 
finally terminates in a river, with a gravelly bottom, about 
twenty yards in width. This river runs from the high north¬ 
westerly protuberances of the dividing range, and its banks are 
steep and hilly. Having crossed it, the scene opens at once 
upon a rich undulating country, which, sloping away to the 
south, shows a third large river. 
The banks of the above-mentioned lagoons arc accessible 
their waters being, with the exception of the middle one, fresh 
deep, and clear of timber. They appeared to be stationary 
but on a closer examination proved to be slightly affected by 
the action of the tide and of their tributaries. 
The lake, which has been already alluded to as affording 
facilities for inland navigation, was* named Lake King, after 
Captain P. P. King, R.N. It is a fine sheet of water fifteen 
miles in length, disemboguing in a broad sea channel, which 
does not appear, as far as could he ascertained by the telescope, 
to have any bar at its entrance. The first river was named 
River Thomson, in honour of Mr. Thomson, the Colonial 
Secretary ; and the last two rivers, Rivers Riley and M‘Arthur 
in honour of the Count’s two travelling companions. 
South west of M*Arthur River lies a fine forest, insensibly 
sloping towards the sea-coast. This section of Gipps* Land 
presents no difficulties to the explorer; and a direct course 
between the main range and the sea was accordingly main¬ 
tained for some days. 
Thirty-five miles from Arthur River was a fourth river 
twelve miles from that a fifth, and at four more a sixth; the 
largest of the three, after having received the two former 
follows the fall of the country to the S.E. coast. The last 
three rivers were named after Captain Perry, Surveyor-General 
Mr. Dunlop, of the Paramatta Observatory, and Major 
Barney. Two fine plains, one about thirty, the other about 
fifty miles, in breadth, lying contiguous to this last river, were 
named Barney Plains, The average depth of the rivers is 
about three feet. 
