End of E. J. Eyre's Second Journey

Whilst Edward John Eyre was going westward from Streaky Bay, in August, 1839, Baxter the overseer had been instructed to examine the country towards "a high and very distant peak to the eastward," which had been seen from Mount Hall, and which was very shortly afterwards named by Eyre as Mount Sturt. 

Baxter on his return reported that he had found water at intervals, left by the rains, but it was rapidly drying up. Eyre rejoining the party at the depot, and finding no sign of the vessel promised by the Governor to meet the party with supplies, found himself in a quandary. The boat was overdue, and he had no means of ascertaining whether she was on the way or if anything had happened. To retire to Port Lincoln was an unthinkable proposition. 

Two other schemes were considered; one to await the uncertain arrival of the boat, the other to endeavor to cross the country to Mount Arden, his old depot. Plentiful rains had fallen and filled up rock holes, clefts and so on, so, in view of "rather a low ebb" in their supplies, Eyre decided to evacuate the camp and cross the head of the Peninsula.

For the next 10 days, we have a day by day journal of his doings. Streaky Bay camp was evacuated on September 18, 1839, three days after the Ranger was due, and the course was nearly due east for 18 miles, through brush and open grassy plains, skirting a few casuarina. The camp was fixed in a good grassy plain, but there was no water. Mount Hall was nearly south, and Mount Cooper south-east. These two hills had been named by Eyre, after the private secretary to the Governor and the judge respectively. 

The track for September 19 was 15 miles to a camp about south of Parla Peak, through the same class of country as on the previous day, with the addition of large sheets of granite on the surface. From these outcrops they procured a supply of water. This day was notable for the first sight from the west of the Gawler Range, which Eyre named in honor of the Governor, as it constitutes the principal feature of this part of the country, and forms a striking contrast to the low and level waste around. "One very high peak in this range I named Mount Sturt after my friend Captain Sturt," said Eyre. This outstanding peak had been seen from Mount Hall about August 24, but apparently the range itself was not distinguishable from that distant point. 

HORSES KNOCKED UP 

The road for the 25 miles travelled on September 20, was through a "perfect desert, very scrubby and stony with much prickly grass growing up on the sand ridges." The last five miles was through dense scrub and heavy sand, and the horses were completely knocked up with the day's exertions. A better view of the range was obtained, presenting a "broken and picturesque outline of a vast mountain mass rising abruptly out of the low scrubby country around." Eyre considered the principal elevation could not be less than 2,000 feet. The hills appeared to increase in height towards the northwest, and decrease towards the east. That night's camp would be near Minnipa Hill. 

The afternoon of September 21 brought the party under the Gawler Range. The day's journey was 20 miles, over, if possible, according to Eyre, a worse road than that encountered the previous day, being steep sandy ridges and dense eucalyptus scrub, so bad that the riding horses had to be hitched to the dray or drays to assist the teams. Fourteen miles after starting, salt lakes were encountered, but there was no sign of permanent fresh water. (J. C. Darke mentioned that he passed three tracks of Eyre near a big salt water lagoon. This will be dealt with very fully in a paper on the life of J. C. Darke, which it is hoped the South Australian branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia, will publish. I hope to be able to give a resume of it in "The Port Lincoln Times." — J.D.S.) 

On the morning of September 22, Eyre climbed one of the hills in the Gawler Range, and found the country to the south of a general low level, with occasional hills. To the north the view was obstructed by the apparent succession of detached ridges of the Gawler Range. The hills were of porphyritic granite lying in huge bare masses on the surface and were without timber or shrubs; the front slope was steep and covered with loose stones. Several salt lakes were seen in various directions. The day's journey was 25 miles on a course east 17 degrees North over better country than the previous day, there being many open grassy plains under the hills. The night's camp, which was waterless, was in the vicinity of Mount Double or a little to the east of it. 

STURT PEA DISCOVERED 

On this day, Eyre made the first discovery in South Australia of the Sturt pea; Dampier and Cunningham had found it previously in other parts of Australia. Eyre gives a very minute description of this now well known plant. Eyre likened it to the sweet pea, but the flower bright scarlet with a rich purple centre and "altogether it was one of the prettiest and richest flowers I have seen in Australia." The botanical generic name of 'Clianthus,' the 'glory flower,' indicates what the namer thought about it. The great botanist Robert Brown himself goes into raptures over the plant, for he said: "It is one of the greatest ornaments of the desert regions of the interior of Australia." Dampier was the first to discover the plant, in the north west of Western Australia, but he did not name it. Then Cunningham in 1817 found a specimen on the River Lachlan, and in the following year he found it again in Dampier's Archipelago (or the Isle Malus of the French). The next record is Eyre's discovery in the Gawler Range, and five years afterwards Sturt found it in the Barrier Ranges. From this latter discovery the flower takes the common name of Sturt pea. 

The route of 15 miles on September 23 on a course east 20 and north was over firmer soil, with much scrub and prickly grass, and still under the hills. Eyre again ascended one of the heights in the range. but could not obtain a good view because of the haze. Ridge behind ridge still appeared to the north, and several salt lakes were seen among the hills at intervals. Eyre was probably misled here by seeing the many arms of Lake Gairdner and considering them separate lakes instead of one large one. The Governor in 1857 gave the lake the name it is now known by. On this day Eyre noticed that the rocks were now of a reddish quartz, the hills being covered with loose fragments. 

On September 24 the road again improved, but only eight miles were travelled, a fortunate find of a pool of water deciding the site for that days halt. Eyre climbed a high peak near the camp, and found he was surrounded by hills on every side, but they were becoming detached in the north-east. Making an early start on September 25 over an excellent road, 25 miles nearly due east brought them to the day's camp; which was made under a high red hill. A little rain water was found, but no grass. Eyre ascended the hill near the camp, and saw Mount Brown and the range of hills in the far distance. Northward was a sea of level scrub, and therein a lake, seemingly of no great size (most probably Lake MacFarlane). The camp was somewhere near Nonning head station. 

JOURNEYS END 

The road next day took them up a barren valley, between low hills, at first good, but afterwards stony and they encamped after travelling 15 miles, having left the hills to the northward. From a hill near the camp a large lake (Lake Gilles) was seen, nearly due south, and Baxter's Range was distinctly visible on a bearing E20S. Feed was good at this camp, but only a little water was obtainable for the horses. September 27 saw Eyre out of the unknown into the known country. Sixteen miles of travelling over a bad stony road brought them to Baxter's Range, where the overseer had been about four months earlier. The party passed around the southern end of the range, and camp was fixed in a gorge on the eastern front with plenty of grass and water. 

Eyre sums up this part of the journey by saying: "We had thus by taking advantage of the rain that had fallen, been enabled to force a passage from Streaky Bay to Spencer's Gulf, but we had done so with much difficulty, and had we been a few days later we should have failed altogether for though travelling, for the greater part of the distance under very high rocky ranges, we never found a drop of permanent fresh water nor a single spring near them. There are no watercourses and no timber, all is barren and naked in the extreme." 

Two days more brought the party to the old depot at Mount Arden, where a halt was called for a week, while Eyre proceeded northwards again. From the hills he now found what he thought was the bed of a dry lake, proved to be a lake of considerable size, and he named it Lake Torrens. To the westward of the lake was a low flat-topped range extending north-westerly as far as he could see. During Eyre's absence the overseer explored for about 60 miles east of Mount Arden, after which the reunited party returned to Adelaide, arriving there on October 15, 1838.