Viewing the general distribution of Banksia, it is a singular fact in the geographical distribution of this genus that its species, which have been traced through almost every meridian of the south coast, upon the islands in Bass Strait, in Van Diemen’s Land, and widely scattered throughout the whole extent of New South Wales to the north coast, at which extreme Banksia dentata has been observed as far west as longitude 136 degrees south, should be wholly wanting on the line of the north-west coast.

(Footnote.  Ibid.)

I observed a great variety of plants of the order Leguminosae.

Of the extraordinary Capparis resembling the African Adansonia I have already spoken in Chapter 6.

A species of Callitris (Pine) was common, as was the Pandanus; and the Araucaria excelsa was found on the heights, both near the sea coast and further inland.

CLIMATE.  ITS HEALTHINESS.

I conceive the climate of North-western Australia to be one of the finest in the world, and my reasons for thus thinking are grounded upon the following circumstances.

PROOFS OF ITS SALUBRITY.

I was resident there from the beginning of the month of December 1837 to the middle of the month of April 1838; a period of four months and a half:  and during the whole of this time the men under my command were exposed to great hardships and privations.  On one occasion three of us slept in the open air without any covering or warm clothes for five successive nights, during three of which we had constant showers of heavy rain, and yet did not in any way suffer from this exposure.

Other detached parties were on various occasions subjected for a shorter period to exposure of a similar nature, and no instance occurred of any individual suffering in the least from it.  One or two cases of slight diarrhoea occurred, but they could be always traced to some food that had been eaten the day before, and never were sufficiently violent to delay us for a single hour.

Whilst this perfect freedom from disease existed amongst the party they had not only to bear exposure of the nature above stated, but the provisions with which I was enabled to supply them were sometimes very insufficient for their wants.  During the whole month of March and part of April their daily full allowance of food was about 1 3/4 pounds of flour, first made into dough and then baked in the form of a flat cake upon a large stone.

This low diet, at the same time that they were compelled to work very hard, naturally rendered some of them extremely weak, and several were, on our return to the coast, in a very reduced state.

I should here state that we were (perhaps fortunately) unable to carry more than one pint of brandy with us, hence no spirits were issued to the men, and the non-appearance of diseases of an inflammatory nature may perhaps in some measure be attributed to this circumstance.