Explorer Resumes Journey Westward

On December 30. 1840, Eyre again made 'Westward Ho,' accompanied by Baxter, the elder native boy, a man driving the dray and six horses. On reaching the well, signs indicated that a great number of natives had been there in the morning. The final day of the year was spent in resting the animals.

On New Year's Day, 1841, while Eyre and the men were watering the horses at the well, which was some distance from where the camp was situated, a party of natives arrived at the camp and made themselves at home with Eyre's native boy who had been left in charge. Two had been with the party that had keenly kept watch on Eyre three weeks previously. It was noticed that several of the spears were shod with flint, which the natives said was procured in the North-West. Again they asserted that there was no water inland, and that it was five days' journey to water along the shore. They showed Eyre a well, with a small supply about two miles away from the camp.

January 2 saw Eyre on the road again, but after travelling 14 miles, the horses were knocked up, so were sent back to the well for another spell and watering. On returning on the fifth, a forward movement of seven miles was made, burying supplies and water the whole way.

On the 6th, better progress was made, with a riding horse and packhorse, with one man and one native. The day was hot, a scorching North-East wind blowing, and the road was heavy sand, but by 11 a.m. Eyre had regained his previously furthest point. The hot wind, in Eyre's opinion could not come off an inland sea, neither could it have passed over high or snow clad mountains of the interior. Costelow, the only remaining white teamster, became exhausted, and lay down almost in agony. As they were near the sea, Eyre and the native went for a bathe, and felt considerably relieved but it was long before Eyre could persuade Costelow to follow suit ; his courage had failed him, and he lay moaning like a child. Towards evening they travelled another five miles and camped. During the night, the wind changed to the South- West and it became very cold.

HEAD OF BIGHT

January 7 is a day to be remembered, for on that date Eyre reached the head of the Bight, after so many attempts. He had sent the man back to the sandhill camp to bring up fresh horses, and Eyre and the black boy moved North-West for about 10 miles, where a native path was met and followed for eight miles, when it was lost in the bare sand drifts close to the head of the Great Bight, where Eyre had at last arrived.

Following the general trend of the lost track, Eyre came suddenly upon four natives by a small hole. Being taken by surprise they assumed an offensive attitude, but soon became friendly, offering Eyre some berries which they had gathered off a low brambly looking bush. These berries, and the mesembryanthemum, were an important article of food for the natives. The natives watched Eyre's futile attempts to sink a hole for water for some time, then the leader of the party instructed two of them to assist at the work, which in an incredibly short time was accomplished. Not content even with this generous act, the natives assisted at watering the horses, relieving each other in the narrow hole bailing the water out. Eyre recorded the deed as "In this instance we were indebted solely to the good nature and kindness of these children of the wild for the means of watering our horses." To repay the kindness Eyre gave the principal native a knife and offered them some food. The natives then led the party about five miles westward, where grass and water could be procured. The native name of this place was Yeer-kumban-kauwe, with various dashes and half-moons omitted. These natives assured Eyre there was neither fresh nor salt water, nor anything like a sea or lake inland, nor hills or timber, but further along the coast there were trees of larger growth, among the branches at which lived a large animal, which from the description Eyre readily recognised as the sloth of New South Wales: an animal whose habits agreed with the natives' description. One of the natives had a belt round his waist made from the fur of the animal, and an inspection of the length of hair and the color bore out Eyre's previous impression.

IDENTIFICATION OF ANIMAL

The mention of the sloth opened up a wide field of conjecture ; the koala bear — the opossum — the wombat — or some other animal unknown to us. I had an idea that the 'koala' was not found west of the River Murray in South Australia, and the subject seemed to be so interesting, that I wrote to the museum authorities in the three States concerned, and had very informative replies. Professor Wood Jones in his 'Mammals of South Australia,' applies to the 'Phaseolarctus cinerus' the three three common vernacular names of 'koala.' 'native bear,' or 'native sloth.' The subject matter may have been discussed in zoological magazines, but in my search of Eyre Peninsula history, I have not come across any mention of it, so for the benefit of readers and students I will quote the three opinions given to me : Mr. L. Glanert, of the Perth Museum, supplied the following:—

"In reply to your letter concerning remarks in E. J. Eyre's journal, which are supposed to refer to the koala, or native bear, I would point out that much information given by the blacks is unreliable. This has been proved time after time, and I certainly have no information which leads me to b-lieve that the native bear existed in Western Australia a little more than a century ago, although I must admit that I have found the remains in the caves of the Margaret River district between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, where large eucalyptus of several species formed extensive forests before man put in his little axe."

"It may interest you to note that when the country North of Israelite Bay was first taken up. the wambat (Western Australian spelling) still existed in that area, although it has been extinct in Western Australia, so far as we know, for over 50 years."

Mr. H. M. Hale, the director of a local museum, favored me with the information obtained from Mr. H. H. Finlayson. the honorary zoologist, who stated he had noted Eyre's remarks, and had previously made enquiries, but with the same results as Mr. Glanert. He did not know whether Eyre would recognise the koala pelt in the form of an aboriginal girdle, and he considers the animal more likely was the Triclosurus, the common opossum. Mr. Hale thinks it would be very difficult to determine the animal by the fur in a made-up belt, the hair of the opossum and the koala being so much alike.

WOMBAT RULED OUT

The secretary, on behalf of the director of the Australian Museum, Sydney, in reply to my request, in which I mentioned as a possible solution, the koala, the opossum and the wombat, gave a very full and exhaustive reply in which he wrote, "Though now merely a matter of conjecture, unless remains are found in the area mentioned, the weight of evidence suggests that the koala was known to the blacks in a living state. Apart from the fact that Eyre was satisfied that the fairly detailed description of the natives tallied with the koala, he actually examined fur which agreed with the identification, and which would be longer and finer than the wombat. Size, which the natives stressed, and the fact that the presence of a long tail would hardly be overlooked in their description to Eyre, appears to rule out your suggestion of a possum. The natives' statement that the animal lived amongst the branches of large trees, pf course, rules out the wombat, quite apart from the identity of the fur seen by Eyre."

"Regarding distribution in the early days, there is no reason to doubt the occurrence, as the fact of fossil remains being found in the extreme south-west, and the coincident range if many species such as the banded anteater or numbat which is probably now extinct in South Australia and he south-east of Western Australia, indicates that the mammal fauna was much richer prior to colonisation."

In thanking the secretary for his letter, I suggested that the koala might have been a survival of the sunken lands of the Indian Ocean, one stream of animals migrating along the north coast and then southerly, while another branch took the southerly coast, and neither stream reaching South Australia. To this he replied. "It is not thought that the koala (if it was a koala) of which the natives spoke to Eyre was a survival from the sunken lands of the Indian Ocean, There can be little doubt that the genus evolved in the Australian continent. It is more likely that at one time the animal existed in places where it is now extinct, and that in Eyre's time there were still a few survivors." Eyre never mentioned meeting or seeing the animal when he advanced westward. I appreciate the courtesy of the three directors for the information supplied.