distant view of the ocean; the river was observed 1 mile to the S., and a large branch appeared to join it about 2 miles below our bivouac. At 9 h. 30 m. steered N. 267° E., over open sandy downs; at 10 h. 35 m. struck the river, running northward through beautiful grassy flats, timbered with York and white gum and wattles; there were many fine pools of water, which appeared to be of a decidedly permanent character. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the stream from the soft boggy nature of the channel, we followed it N. till 11 h. 0 m., when it turned W.N.W.; at 11 h. 20 m. W.S.W; at 11 h. 45 m. crossed to the S. bank; it now trended W. b. S. till 25 m. P.M., through a rich limestone valley; the river then turned W. Steering W. by S. we ascended a sandy limestone hill, with scrub and a few small Banksiæ; after a halt of 15 minutes, at I h. 5 m. left the hill, and turned N. 248° E.; at 1 h. 30 m. struck the river, and again halted for 20 m. We then followed the stream, the general course being N. 260° E., and at 3 h. 40 m. arrived at the mouth of the river, which was choked up with sand and rocks. I conceive this river to be the Irwin' of Captain Grey, as this spot is only 13 mile S. of the position assigned to that river on Arrowsmith's chart of this part of the coast. At 4 h. 30 m. we left the beach, and retracing our steps at 5 h. 50 m. bivouacked at the spot where we crossed the river at 1 h. 30 m. Lat. by account 29° 15′ 10′′; long. by account 114° 59' 0".

12th.-At 7 h.50 m. resumed our journey up the river, steering N.E. till 8 h. 25 m., and then E. along the N. bank of the river, through rich flats covered with fine grass, and timbered with York gum. At 10 h. 20 m. left the river and entered the sandy downs on the N. side of the stream; at 10 h. 30 m. crossed a small valley with some fine springs; at 11 h. 0 m. changed the course to E. by S., and at 11 h. 50 m. passed mile N. of the sandstone cliff we had ascended at 9 h. O m. the preceding day. Altering the course to N. 83° E., at 12 h. 50 m. crossed the river, where it is joined by the S. branch, which is of equal size with the northern one. Following the southern branch, which runs through wide grassy flats backed by sand-downs, at 2 h. 0 m. halted for the remainder of the day. Lat. by account 29° 11 20"; long. by account 115° 17′ 45′′.

13th. At 7 h. 55 m. crossed the river, and holding a course N. 160o E. over a sandy country of considerable elevation, at 11 h. 45 m. halted for half an hour, and shot a large kangaroo, which proved a welcome addition to our stock of provisions. At 1 h. 30 m. changed the course to N. 142° E., and at 2 h. 30 m. struck a running stream 3 yards wide trending to the W. This is probably the Arrowsmith River' of Captain Grey. Here we bivouacked, as it did not appear likely we should meet with water again for

6

the next 10 or 15 miles. The country on the banks of this stream is sandy, without timber, and covered with scrub, except in the bed of the river, where the grass is abundant, but rather thick with brushwood. Lat. by observation, 29° 27'9"; long. by account,

115° 27' 45".

14th. At 8 h. 35 m. left the bivouac, steering N. 160° E. over sandy downs, with ridges of red sandstone, till 3 h. 0 m., when we altered our course to N. 220 E., and, following down a valley, at 4 h. 0 m. turned W.S.W., and bivouacked at 5 h. 15 m. by a swampy patch with good grass, and water by digging. Lat. by account, 29° 48′ 10′′; long. by account, 115° 32′ 30′′.

15th. Leaving our bivouac at 8 h. 0 m., steered N. 214° E. through a scrubby country, with patches of white gum forest. At 9 h. 50 m. turned N. 160° E., over a sandy and ironstone country, covered with scrub, and of considerable elevation; at 3 h. 30 m. turned N. 170° E., and followed down a valley; at 5 h. 0 m. turned N. 115° E.; and at 5 h. 30 m. bivouacked at a native well in a patch of York gum.

16th. As the only food for the horses at this place consisted of white everlasting flowers and scrub, we determined to proceed, although they showed some symptoms of fatigue; we therefore started at 7 h. 20 m., steering N. 160° E. The country was more broken by valleys than any we had passed over since we left the Irwin; the soil generally sandy, with ironstone-gravel, producing scrub, a few Banksia and grass-trees, and occasional patches of gum forest. At 10 h. 30 m. turned N. 135° E.; and at 11 h. 40 m. N. 138 E. towards a high hill about 12 miles distant; at 2 h. 20 m. turned N. 180° E., and entered an extensive piece of level sandy country surrounded on all sides by hills; at 3 h. 40 m. changed the course to S.W.; at 5 h. 0 m., one of the horses being unable to proceed farther, we were compelled to leave him, and continue our route in search of water, the only chance of saving him; at 5 h. 50 m. passed a small salt lake with some grass on the western side; at 6 h. 0m., finding the country more scrubby and less chance of obtaining water or grass, returned to the salt lake and bivouacked at 6 h. 30 m. on the western side.

17th. After digging in ten or twelve places around the lake, we succeeded in obtaining fresh water on the N. side; we therefore went back to the horse we had left the preceding evening, and, finding him able to move, brought him up to the well. Having an abundant supply of water and grass, we determined to rest the horses this and the following day.

19th.-Leaving our bivouac at 8h. 5m., steered N. 160° E., and soon ascended elevated sandy downs, with a few Banksiæ and floribundæ; at 11 h. 45 m, crossed a valley trending W.; at 1 h. 5 m. observed a range of high wooded hills to the E. and S., and

altered our course towards a remarkable gorge which bore N. 129o E.; at 3 h. 30 m. entered a gum forest; at 3 h. 50 m. struck a large stream-bed with many pools; following down this stream to the S., at 4 h. 40 m. bivouacked on its right bank. Lat. by observation 30° 42' 39'; long. by account, 116° 0′ 0′′.

20th.-At 7 h. 30 m. A.M. crossed the river, which appeared to be a branch of the Moore River, and, steering N. 160° E. through a grassy gum forest, at 8 h. 0 m. came on an open scrubby hill, at the top of which we arrived at 8 h. 20 m. Here the country changed to a grassy forest. At 8 h. 55 m. ascended a rich grassy hill, the soil a brown loam, with fragments of trap and granite rocks in great abundance. This description of country continued till 12 h. 0m. The hills were timbered with York-gum and jamwattle. Many large stream-beds were crossed, all trending to the W. At 12 h. 15 m. the country became scrubby, the hills were ironstone, gravel, and sand, timbered with white gum; at 2 h. 20 m. entered a valley of better character, with quartz and granite rocks; after crossing several steep rocky ridges, at 3 h. 20 m. crossed the main branch of the Moore River, and bivouacked at 3 h. 25 m. This was the first place where we had observed the poisonous Burtonia. Lat. by observation, 31° 0′ 39′′; long. by account, 116° 12' 45".

21st. Leaving our bivouac at 7 h. 40 m. A.M., followed up the stream N. 130° E.; at 8 h. 0 m. passed a deserted sheep station. Here the river made a sudden bend to the N., we therefore left it, and continued N. 130° E., over broken ironstone country, timbered with white-gum and grass trees. A few grassy hills were seen to the northward. At 10 h. 0m. the country became more level and sandy; at 11 h. 45 m. came on the road from Bolgart Spring to Victoria Plains. Following the road S., at 11 h. 55 m. halted for an hour and a half at a small stream-bed trending to the N.E. We then continued our journey along the road, the general direction being S.E. by S. The country is level, and timbered with white and red gum. At 3 h. 35 m. crossed a small stream-bed, one of the heads of the Toodyay Brook. The country here improved. At 4 h. 5 m. bivouacked at a spring close to the road. Lat. by observation, 31° 14′ 19"; long. by account, 116° 34' 0".

22nd. This morning an hour's ride brought us to Bolgart Spring, after an absence of 47 days, during which we had travelled about 953 miles, traversing 3 degrees of latitude and nearly 4 of longitude.

V.-Report by Lieut. Helpman, R.N., Commander of Colonial Schooner Champion, on an Expedition to examine Coal discovered on the Irwin River. 1846.

[Read 13th Dec. 1847.]

HAVING received the horses and cart, together with the necessary supplies, on board, left Fremantle at 5 A.M., December 4th, and, with a fine steady breeze from the S. E., kept well in sight of the coast as far as Jurien Bay, keeping up a chain of bearings. Numerous small islands and reefs front the coast about 4 or 5 miles off shore, from a few miles north of the Winding Sheet to this bay.

December 6th.-At 9 A.M. we anchored in Champion Bay, and immediately commenced landing the horses, cart, &c. We saw several native fires in the Chapman, and at 11 A.M. were met by 17 natives, who were particularly friendly, and showed us water at the back of the large white sand-patch. This was very fortunate, as we failed in getting any by digging. At 2 P.M. another party of natives joined, making 26 in number: they were remarkably fine men. Whilst we were at dinner, they succeeded in stealing three small tomahawks, and had got clear away with two before discovery; the third we found partly buried in the sand. When they first came down the horses astonished them very much, particularly when they came swimming on shore.

7th. At 5 A.M., having all quite ready, we left, and keeping SS.W. 1 mile, came on the beach at Port Grey, which we followed to Point Grey, a small, low, rocky point. We turned E., and immediately came to the dry sandy bed of the Greenough. That this bay is the Port Grey I am confident, and its appearance fully bears out Captain Grey's opinion. It has an extensive reef running S. from Point Moore, and one to the N. from Point Grey, and a centre one leaving a clear opening on each side. Excepting from the high ridge of sandhill and the wide beach, I should have felt positive a good harbour was to be found here. The northern part offering a snug appearance, I was anxious to have it sounded.

The natives who had been with us yesterday followed to the Greenough, and on this occasion brought their women. They showed a small well of water, which was very indifferent. The - water of the river lay back about 150 yards, and was quite salt. We kept on the left bank of the river, which for the first 3 miles was about 50 yards wide. From a high sand-hill we saw the river still trending to the S.E., and the coast-line was quite visible, having a small ledge about 6 miles off. At 4 h. 15 m. we halted at the bed of the river, where we found a native well, and, clearing it out 4 feet deep, we obtained good water.