ag to commemorate the event, on top of Mount Sturt; the centre is
about two miles South South West at a small gum creek where there is a
tree marked facing the south.

(Signed) JOHN MCDOUALL STUART (Leader)
WILLIAM DARTON KEKWICK
BENJAMIN HEAD.

_21st April 1860,_

_Centre of Australia._

The name of the Central Mountain appears in the published journal as
_Stuart_. This is probably due to a mistake of the publisher's, which
remained uncorrected, as Stuart was very ill when his journal was
printed.

FROM WEST TO EAST. I. ALONG THE BIGHT

+Source.+--Explorations in Australia (John Forrest, 1875), pp. 83-94,
107-114, 121-135.

In 1870 Forrest set out to explore the country along the Bight. It
had previously been considered desert land, but the expedition
discovered valuable country behind the cliffs.

We started from Perth on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 30th of March
1870. His Excellency the Governor accompanied us for about three miles
on the Albany Road. We had fifteen horses, and provisions sufficient for
the journey to Esperance Bay, a distance of about 450 miles, where it
was arranged further supplies would await us.

_May 18th._ Esperance Bay. After starting the party went in advance with
Billy to prepare camp at Israelite Bay. When we reached it, were
delighted to find the _Adur_ lying safely at anchor there; proceeding on
board found all well. Procured abundance of water by digging one foot
deep in the sand-hills, and good feed a short distance from camp.

Our friends on the _Adur_ were looking anxiously for us. We were two
days behind the appointed time, and they feared some evil had befallen
us, not taking into consideration the many delays incidental to such a
journey through strange and difficult country as we had made.

On the 24th of May we determined to celebrate the Queen's birthday. All
hands from the _Adur_ came ashore, and I drew them up in line under the
Union Jack, which was duly hoisted near the camp. We presented arms;
sang "God Save the Queen" vigorously, and fired a salute of twenty-one
guns, finishing with three cheers. I venture to record that our vocal
efforts were as sincerely and heartily made in the Australian wilderness
as any which rang that day in any part of Her Majesty's wide dominions.
We were all highly delighted--not only feeling that we had done our duty
as loyal subjects, but other celebrations in more civilized places were
forcibly recalle