Christie Gosse, Deputy Surveyor-General of South
Australia.]

On the 23rd of April, about a week after the departure of Warburton,
William Christie Gosse, Deputy Surveyor-General of South Australia, also
left Alice Springs on an exploring expedition, having been appointed by
the South Australian Government to take charge of the Central and Western
Exploring Expedition. Like Warburton, he was frustrated by dry country in
his endeavour to reach Perth. He had with him both white men and Afghan
camel drivers, and a mixed outfit of horses and camels. He left the
telegraph line and struck westward, soon finding himself in very dry
country, where he lost one horse on a dry stage. He made a depot camp on
a creek which he called the Warburton, and while on an excursion from
this camp he had the singular experience of riding all day through heavy
rain and camping at night without water, the sandy soil having quickly
absorbed the downpour. On his return he found that the creek at the camp
was running, and though repeated attempts had been made by the Afghans to
goad one of the camels over, the animal obstinately refused to cross.
Probably the leader thought that it was fortunate for the progress of the
expedition that they were not likely to meet with many more running
streams. After passing both Warburton's tracks and those of Giles, Gosse
reached the extreme western point of the Macdonnell Ranges, where another
stationary camp was pitched. The leader made a long excursion to the
south-west, and at 84 miles, after passing over sand-ridges and spinifex
country, caught sight of a remarkable hill, that on a nearer approach
proved to be of singular limestone formation.

"When I got clear of the sandhills, and was only two miles distant, and
the hill, for the first time coming fairly in view, what was my
astonishment to find it was one immense rock rising abruptly from the
plain; the holes I had noticed were caused by the water in some places
causing immense caves."

This hill, which Gosse made an ineffectual attempt to ascend, he called
Ayer's Rock. He returned to his depot camp, crossing an arm of Lake
Amadeus as he did so, and moved the main body on to Ayer's Rock. Rain
having set in heavily for some days, he pushed some distance into Western
Australia, but soon reached the limit of the rainfall. After many
attempts to penetrate the sand-hill region which confronted him, the heat
and aridity compelled him to turn back.

His hom