land, but yet, in places, much occupied by tracts of almost impervious scrub of various extent.  We met frequent traces of the natives, who had recently gone down the river, having previously burned the grass, leaving very little for our horses and cattle.  At 8 o’clock P.M. a fine strong northerly breeze came up the river, flowing along its broad open valley, and which I supposed to be the sea breeze.  This supposition was somewhat confirmed by a similar breeze occurring at the same time on the following evening.

The plains are basaltic, and occasionally covered with pebbles of white and iron-coloured quartz and conglomerate, and are in the vicinity of slight elevations, which are probably composed of sandstone and conglomerate, and usually covered with low scrub and cypress-pine.  Sandstone crops out in the gullies of the valley, in horizontal strata, some of which are hard and good for building, others like the blue clay beds of Newcastle, with the impressions of fern-leaves identical with those of that formation.  At the junction of Comet Creek and the river, I found water-worn fragments of good coal, and large trunks of trees changed into ironstone.  I called this river the “Mackenzie,” in honour of Sir Evan Mackenzie, Bart., as a small acknowledgment of my gratitude for the very great assistance which he rendered me in the preparations for my expedition.  Farther down the river, the country became better watered, even at a distance from the river; some small creeks, winding down between scrubby sandstone hills, were full of water, and a chain of fine lagoons was crossed, covered with splendid blue Nymphaeas.  Large coveys of partridge-pigeons rose from the burnt grass as we passed along, and ducks and pelicans were numerous on the stretches of water in the bed of the river.  Heaps of fresh-water muscles lined the water-holes, which were teeming with fish, apparently of considerable size, as their splashing startled me several times during the night, and made me believe, for the moment, that a large tribe of natives were bathing.

A very stiff high grass became very general along the river.  On the plains there were fields of native carrots, now dry; also of vervain and burr.  The long-podded cassia was plentiful, and its young seeds tasted well, but considerably affected the bowels.

Cumuli passed from the north-east during the morning:  the afternoon was clear, and the night bright.

When I returned to the camp on the 11th January, my companions told me, that upon their journey across the high plains they had observed a high range to the north-west.