Matthew Smith's Exploration

Matthew Smith, solicitor, who, about October, 1839, had been appointed resident magistrate at Port Lincoln, formed a party to inspect the country for the purpose of reporting to Capt. Charles Sturt, the Assistant Commissioner. He considered that in the multitude of opinions, there is wisdom.

To get a varied opinion, the party was made up of himself, a solicitor : Dr. J. B. Harvey, Collector of Customs, and so on, and one thoroughly interested in natural history ; Mr. Charles Driver, a visitor, and subsequently Government Resident, who features prominently in connection with the native murders ; Mr. C. C. Dutton, of whom we have heard a little and will hear a good deal more in the near future ; and Capt. Johnson, of the ship Recovery (483 tons), which had just arrived in Port Lincoln.

This boat left Port Adelaide on Friday, December 6, 1839, for Port Lincoln and the East Indies, with 1,600 sheep and 1,000 tons of cargo. The sheep and portion of the cargo were landed at Port Lincoln. This ship came into the harbor by one opening and left by the other. The sheep, four horses and 20 tons of cargo, were unloaded in nine hours, using the ship's two cutters and gig. She took in 32 tons of water "from the fine spring close to the boat" and 20 tons of ballast. Matthew Smith stated that the ship left the harbor in five days, presumably five days after arrival, but the captain's letter to Capt. Walker seems to indicate a much longer stay. He said he left the Bay (Holdfast ?) on Friday (shipping news records the Recovery leaving Port Adelaide on Friday, December 6) and arrived at Port Lincoln on Sunday (presumably the 8th). At the time of writing from Port Lincoln (December 25) he said the wind had been blowing from the sea for some time, but he hoped to have a fine start when the wind came around. It is possible that the ship did not arrive at Port Lincoln until the 15th, but even that would make the stay over 10 days in the port.

EXTENSIVE PLAINS SEEN

Matthew Smith's party, travelling on horseback, left Happy Valley on December 19, 1839, at an early hour, and after travelling about 15 miles reached Cowan Vale. They followed up the valleys for nearly 30 miles without ascending a hill. Somewhere they came across, a valley not previously seen, and which they named Recovery Vale in compliment to the first English ship which had visited the new settlement. The valleys terminated in extensive plains called the Port Lincoln Downs, which extended about 30 miles along the coast and varied from seven to 15 miles in width from the sea. These plains of about 1,000 square miles in extent are varied by undulating hills, lightly timbered with sheoak and a few small strips of scrub ; and all is excellent agricultural and pasture land and well adapted for sheep walks. A creek ran through the downs. In the bed of the creek were a few holes of excellent fresh water, amidst many of a saltish taste. Matthew Smith said that Dr. Harvey accounted for the salt by supposing that the rock bottom of most of the holes were of basalt. He said that "the tract of country I have described runs to the north-east, and the good land appears to be confined to that coast" and that an "examination of the whole line of coast along the western side of Spencer's Gulf up to Mount Arden is in contemplation and will be undertaken as speedily as possible. I cannot trace that it was done ; possibly before plans could be completed E. J. Eyre made the trip down from Mount Arden to Port Lincoln, so that the contemplated examination was unnecessary. Accompanying Matthew Smith's report to Capt. Sturt. was a report by Dr. J. B. Harvey in which he says he visited Sleaford Bay in October, 1839, passing the head of "Port Lincoln Proper" — the second record in print of the use of that term.

BEAUTIFUL SLEAFORD MERE

Sleaford Mere, that "beautiful sheet of water," was visited. It was stated to be about six miles long by an average of two and a half miles broad, containing several islands. It was surrounded by a swamp, containing very rich black alluvial deposit and in some places, at least a mile or more in breadth. In the swamp there were several fresh water reeds. This fact and that the water in the Mere was very slightly brackish, induced Dr. Harvey to make a detailed examination, and he found that there was abundance of fresh water everywhere, even within 18 inches of the water's edge, and a few inches below the surface. It was only necessary to scrape a hole in the sand, to obtain water of the purest kind. The Mere runs to within a third of a mile of the sea. Dr. Harvey said it was below the level of the sea at high water mark, and in consequence the salt water infiltrated through the sand into the Mere and caused the brackishness. In his opinion the Mere was a freshwater lake, and by cutting a drain between it and the sea, to intercept the salt water, the Mere would become absolutely fresh. Dr. Harvey considered it the largest fresh water lake in the province, and that the country in the neighborhood was adapted for sheep and cattle.

In the country further westward, the land became more barren, being covered with large stones of imperfect trap and granite. At the western end of Sleaford Bay, where the whaling station was then located, there is some good garden ground in which melons, cabbages, potatoes and various vegetables were growing in "tolerable perfection." He found the "South Australian native peach" [quandong] growing there, and doubtless he was delighted with the picture the trees presented with the bright crimson colored fruit hanging on the branches. The doctor surmised that the tree be longed to the mimosa (acacia) family, presumably on account of its leaves. His surmise was wrong, but that is no discredit to him. Robert Brown gave it the scientific name " Fusanus" Acuminatus ; then in 1839 T. L. Mitchell called the genus "Eucarya"; technically Fusanus could not be used, so Mitchell's name has in recent years been brought into use, so the peach that Harvey saw is known as 'Eucarya Acuminatus' and is placed in the 'Santalaceae' family (the sandalwoods) whereas the mimosa belongs to the 'Leguminosae' family (having legumes or pods like a pea). "Eucarya'' probably means large or fine nut.

MANY PONDS DISCOVERED

The doctor picked about a thousand of the fruit, casting away the pulpy covering and like a school boy taking the stones to Port Lincoln. Writing of his trip with Matthew Smith, Dr. Harvey said he counted, on his return journey, from the head of Recovery Valley, through Rossiter Vale to Gawler Pond (which I think is the same as Cowan Lagoon), 35 large ponds of water without counting the smaller waterholes. The pond at the opening of Smith's Valley contained about 10 acres, and the Gawler Pond about four acres of water.

Some of the large deep gullies in the Port Lincoln Downs gave the impression that they could be capable of being dammed to retain large sheets of water, or alternatively to construct large tanks and fill them by drains controlled by sluice gates. He also envisaged a miller operating his mill on some of these creeks or rivers, north of Mount Gawler, picturing him working the water wheel mill for three months of the year and tending sheep or other farming activities during the remainder of the year.

He goes a little deeper into the problem of the salt water than did Matthew Smith. He states that the beds of the creeks are formed of granite, iron, clay and so on, the action of the sun's rays and water soon splits the rocks, all of which contain a quantity of iron, which are then easily decomposed, and the water becomes brackish. He was certain that the water running down these creeks was fresh, draining as they did the extensive mountains to the North-West. It was evident that the water was fresh, as some holes contained fresh water, while above and below there were brackish holes.

SALT DUE TO VAPOR

Three quarters of a century later Mr. J. Lockhart Jack made an investigation of portions of the Peninsula, and he disagrees with Dr. Harvey's version. His theory is that the salt vapor from the sea is accountable for the salty nature of the water on the Peninsula.

Capt. Johnson wrote to Capt. Walker (would this be the gentleman after whom Walkerville was named ?) his views of Port Lincoln and of his trip accompanying Matthew Smith. His views of the harbor are interesting, as his was the first English ship; to use the harbor commercially. According to the captain, the Recovery left the bay (Holdfast ?) on a Friday (December 6, 1839) and arrived at Port Lincoln on Sunday morning and in writing to Capt. Walker he said : "This really is a splendid harbor ; I think it one of the best I have ever been in, it is so easy of access, and not a hidden danger about its bay ; in fact the largest ships of the line might sail all around the bay within a few fathoms of the shore in 6 or 8 fathoms of water, without the slightest risk and the whole British navy, might be moored here in perfect security."

He states in the exploratory trip that they went about 60 miles North East, "through a great deal of fine country." He gives us the only intimation, that the party on their return trip, crosses Eyre's tracks of 1839 going to the west, twice, and in his letter (which by the way was written on Christmas Day, 1839), he wrote: — " On the whole I have been very much pleased with the country we passed over, from one end of the journey to the other." In checking up some dates I find that the calendar of 1839 would suit this year of 1935 ; that is, December 6 of 1839 was a Friday and December 6 of this year will also come on a Friday.