COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY OF SOUTH SHORE OF THE GULF.

Mr. Fitzmaurice had fortunately, before he was disabled, completed his examination of the coast between the Flinders and Van Diemen’s Inlet, with his usual praiseworthy activity.  On leaving the former he found that the shore trended North 47 degrees East, with a large inlet at the end of ten miles.  This was only examined a short distance in a south direction; but from the bank being thrown out six miles from its mouth, with a channel nearly halfway through, it evidently disembogues a large volume of water, and we may reasonably infer it to be a river.  It is named in the chart Bynoe’s Inlet.  Seven miles beyond was another inlet, with a sandy beach extending for two miles to the south-west of it.  Five miles further, the trend of the coast changed to North 4 degrees East, continuing almost straight in that direction to Van Diemen’s Inlet, distant twenty-five miles; and, with the exception of the first five, is sandy throughout.  Thirteen miles from Van Diemen’s Inlet is an opening of some magnitude, near the south entrance point of which are ponds of fresh water.  Two and four miles south of it were small openings; and two and seven miles north of it, two others.

During his excursion Mr. Fitzmaurice had killed one of the rare species of kangaroo, seen for the first time by us at King Sound, called Macropus unguifer; this was a somewhat important discovery, as it showed the extent to which the animal is diffused over the continent.  I may here mention, that the night before we reached Van Diemen’s Inlet a flight of rose-coloured cockatoos,* several of which were caught and kept alive for some time, alighted on the rigging.

(Footnote.  Cacatua eos.)

Thus terminated our exploration of the southern shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, nearly two hundred miles of which had been minutely examined in the boats.* Twenty-six inlets had been discovered, of which two proved to be rivers, whilst three more were nearly as promising.  That all the others may contain fresh water in the rainy season there is every reason for supposing, from the fact of deep channels being found in their banks; from what I have already observed regarding the water being less salt towards the heads at low tides; and from the report we afterwards heard at Port Essington that Malay proas occasionally visit the southern shores of the Gulf, and fill fresh water from alongside, some distance off the land.  If we receive this statement as correct, we must suppose that at certain seasons the discharge from the various inlets and rivers we discovered is sufficiently powerful to force back the great body of seawater, as is the case at the embouchures of many large rivers.

(Footnote.  As the reader will perceive by a glance at the chart accompanying this work.)

The general appearance of the head of the Gulf is that of a low mangrove shore, between ten and thirty feet high, over which the interior is not visible from the offing.