to the east and north-east appeared scrubby
and indifferent. The return was on the north side of the Murchison; and
here a large extent of good grassy land was found, not on the bank, but a
mile and a half from the river, and reaching four or five miles in width
to the base of some hills, and reaching westward to the large northerly
bend of the river in longitude 115 degrees 30 minutes about forty miles
from the Geraldine Mine; the good land in all cases was very flat, the
soil a red loam, which when dry was very open; the whole country is
singularly infested with white ants, of which every tree living or dead
appeared to have its colony. Mr. Trigg regards the country around Mount
Murchison as auriferous.

...

The striking difference there is between this account of the country on
the Murchison and that given by Mr. Austin may be accounted for in
several ways: first, Mr. Austin does not appear to have crossed, but
skirted the country intervening between Mount Welcome and Mount
Murchison, but he describes the land about the latter as improving, and
found water; while it was the feed and water at Mount Welcome which, in
all probability, saved his party from perishing. The land on the north
side, spoken of so favourably by Mr. Trigg, was not seen by Mr. Austin,
and also his party was so exhausted that it was out of his power to
diverge from a direct line in order to examine the nature of the country
on either side; whereas Messrs. Gregory and Trigg made such an
examination whenever any favourable appearance presented itself, and thus
determined the quantity of valuable land for a distance of six or seven
miles on each side of the river, and have thus been the means of
conferring on the Colony one of the greatest benefits it has received
since the northern district was first opened by Mr. A. Gregory.

***

GASCOYNE RIVER.

1858.

PERTH TO CHAMPION BAY.

In consequence of the very satisfactory results of the exploration of the
Upper Murchison River by Messrs. Gregory and Trigg in 1857, a number of
settlers in the northern districts subscribed horses and equipment for an
exploring party to examine the country still further to the east and
north, and with the sanction of the Government, the Expedition was placed
under the command of Mr. F.T. Gregory, the result being the discovery of
a considerable area of available country on the Gascoyne and Lyons
Rivers, as described in Mr. Gregory's journal, of which the follow