Item #75326 Mr D. Lindsay's Explorations through Arnheim's [sic] Land. David LINDSAY.
Mr D. Lindsay's Explorations through Arnheim's [sic] Land
Mr D. Lindsay's Explorations through Arnheim's [sic] Land

Mr D. Lindsay's Explorations through Arnheim's [sic] Land

[Adelaide], Government Printer, 1884.

Foolscap folio, 21 pages plus a large folding map (575 × 855 mm).

Modern quarter leather and gilt-lettered cloth; a fine copy.

South Australian Parliamentary Paper Number 239 of 1883-84; one of only 680 copies. Leaving Katherine in late July 1883, Lindsay 'led a Government expedition of six men into Arnhem Land. He followed the overland telegraph ... to Roper Creek. He travelled east to the Chambers River and on to the Roper River. He surveyed along the north bank of the Roper to its confluence with Leichhardt's Wilton River and followed the Wilton upstream to the junction with the Mainoru River. Returning to the Roper, he went downstream until he reached its tidal flats, about twenty miles from Limmen Bight. A broad line of country was then explored to the north and the expedition reached the Gulf of Carpentaria near latitude 14° S, opposite Groote Eylandt. A general north-west course was taken and the Goyder River traced to the coast at Castlereagh Bay. Directing the expedition homeward, Lindsay crossed the Blyth River above its tidal influence, and reached the Mann River, a tributary of the Liverpool. Following a south-westerly course now, the party reached the banks of the Liverpool River and followed it to its source. Continuing south, they came to another stream, which Lindsay described as the "supposed Cadell River", but he had come again to the banks of the Mann, which was also followed to its source. Crossing the watershed between the northerly and westerly flowing rivers of central Arnhem Land the expedition came to the headwaters of the Katherine River' (Feeken, Feeken and Spate: 'The Discovery and Exploration of Australia') and thence back to Katherine in early November, having covered 1916 miles. 'Rivers and Creeks from my exploration' are overprinted with a wide grey-blue band on this most detailed map. Lindsay notes in his journal that the 'natives are very numerous, and inclined to be hostile', and he gives a detailed account of an incident when 'After seeing the coast we started west for the Liverpool, lost our horses in the tableland for five days, were attacked by natives and [were] compelled to fire on them in self defence'. McLaren 12615.

Item #75326

Price (AUD): $3,000.00