232 
MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
In pursuance of our plan of publishing 
the papers which have been read before 
the Philosophical Society, we herewith 
present our readers with a paper on “ The 
Necessity for a Further Exploration of the 
Interior of the Australian Continent,” 
which was read at the Monthly Meeting, 
held December the 10th, T856, by John 
Thompson, Esq., Deputy Surveyor- 
General. 
Each succeeding year will of course 
render a paper of this character less in¬ 
teresting as many of the suggestions may 
have been acted on in the interval, and 
many of the conjectures have been set at 
rest by the continual progress of discovery. 
Since this paper was written two important 
exploring expeditions have been organised 
and are now in the interior. The result 
of their researches we shall look for with 
great interest, especially that one with Mr. 
Gregory at its head. Mr. Thompson in¬ 
forms us that Mr. Gregory accomplished 
far more on his late overland journey than 
he (Mr. Thompson) anticipated. 
THE NECESSITY FOR A FURTHER EX¬ 
PLORATION OF THE INTERIOR OF THE 
AUSTRALIAN CONTINENT. 
The object of the paper which I am about to 
read to you, is to point out the necessity for ob¬ 
taining further information on the geography 
of the interior of the Australian Continent. 
My paper will, I fear, he found to convey but 
a very slight and imperfect sketch of the subject, 
my desire being rather to awaken attention and 
promote discussion than to enter on any elabo¬ 
rate disquisition on the physical geography of 
this extraordinary Continent. 1 rather geek to 
show what remains to be done in the way of ex¬ 
ploration than what is already accomplished. 
The subject is one of great scientific importance, 
and Captain Sturt in a paper which he addressed 
to the Geographical Society, so recently as in 
the beginning of 1854, observes—“ That it is 
the greatest remaining geographical problem of 
the day.” 
The promoters of geographical discovery 
having at length exhausted their favorite fields 
for enterprise, namely, the North Pole, and the 
African interior, an opportunity is now pre¬ 
sented for turning their attention to the Aus¬ 
tralian Continent. It is really matter of sur¬ 
prise that so many valuable lives should have 
been sacrificed, and so much wealth expended, 
year after year, in obtaining geographical in¬ 
formation of a character so inferior in import¬ 
ance, or, at least, in utility, to that which would 
result from a more perfect acquaintance with 
tlie interior of this country. Indeed, any ad¬ 
ditional information on a subject of so much 
interest, cannot but present many attractions to 
this community as well as to the scientific world 
in general, involving as it does great commercial 
as well as geographical results. 
At present, all the geographical information 
we possess of the Australian Continent is con¬ 
fined to the coasts, and to the portions occupied 
as colonics at its South-east corner, where the 
features of about a quarter of the continent are 
known, otherwise, the whole interior is a blank 
upon the map of the world. 
As regards the coasts, we know that along the 
whole of the eastern side there is a range ex¬ 
tending almost parallel to its shores, and at an 
average distance of about 80 miles from the sea. 
This range, on its eastern side, throws down to 
the Pacific numerous rivers; on the western 
side, the waters which it throws down belong to 
the systems of the Murray, and the Victoria of 
Mitchell,® for the sources of some of the tribu¬ 
taries of the Murray, being very far to the North, 
hy running southerly, they receive nearly the 
whole of these western waters; whilst further 
inland we find some scanty watercourses (form- 
jpg the Victoria) coming as far from the north 
as the range at the back of Carpentaria, and 
finding an outlet by Lake Torrens, into Spen¬ 
cer's Gulf; thus much of the physical geography 
of Australia is pretty well determined, but we 
know no more. 
It is a singular fact that, although every 
country in the world has, I believe, been 
thoroughly examined and explored, and par¬ 
ticularly those countryB in which Great Hritian 
has any interest, we are still in entire ignorance 
as to the geography of three-fourths of the 
Australian Continent: so ignorant are we, that 
none of the numerous theories which have from 
time to time been put forth about the interior 
carry with them the conviction of even an 
approach to the truth, and one after another the 
hypotheses of our travellers have been over¬ 
thrown. The notion of a river flowing from the 
northern districts to the north west was ex¬ 
ploded by the journeys of Sir Thomas Mitchell 
and Dr. Leichardt; and the notion of an inland 
sea just in the centre of Australia, was exploded 
by the journey of Captain Sturt, who found 
instead a sandy desert. Mr Eyre, referring to 
his journey along the shore of the great 
Australian bight, which he found to he a dreary 
waste, with an elevation of from 800 to 500 
feet above the sea, says:—“ What can he the 
naturo of that mysterious interior H bounded as 
it is by a table land—without rivers or lakes, 
without watercourse or drainage of any kind for 
so vast a distance. Can it be that the whole is 
one immense interminable desert.” 
Eut to return to what I was remarking as to 
the extent of our geographical knowledge: On 
the north and north-west coasts the outlets of 
many rivers are found, still there is nothing to 
lead to the conclusion that they are of any mag¬ 
nitude, and consequently the ranges that throw 
down these rivers may be, and in all probability 
are, as on the eastern coast-, very close to the 
sea. This is borne out by the following extract 
from Gray’s Australia:— 
“ The rivers in North-Western Australia 
much resemble in character those of the south- 
* Eecent explorations lead to the conclusion that 
even the Victoria of Mitchell is a tributary of the 
Murray. 
