The latter was never
heard of.
Next day Finnegan turned up, and both he and Pamphlet, agreeing that at
the south end of the bay there was a large river. Messrs. Oxley and
Stirling started the following morning in the whale boat to look for it;
taking Finnegan with them. They found the river, and pulled up it about
fifty miles, being greatly satisfied with the discovery. Not being
provided for a longer trip, Oxley turned back at a point he named
Termination Hill, which he ascended and from which he obtained a fine
view of the further course of the river. Still haunted by his inland lake
theory, and as usual drawing erroneous deductions, he writes:--
"The nature of the country, and a consideration of all the circumstances
connected with the appearance of the river, justify me in entertaining a
strong belief that the sources of the river will not be found in
mountainous country, but rather that it flows from some lake, which will
prove to be the receptacle of those interior streams crossed by me during
an expedition of discovery in 1818."
This river Oxley named the Brisbane, and taking with them the two rescued
men, the MERMAID set sail for Sydney, where the party arrived on December
13th.
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