Volume 01: Production and resources of the northern and western districts of New South Wales, 1854 [ca. 1850-1857] - Page 584

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in the twenty third degree of South latitude that he "felt for the last time a hot sun[?] from the west, and South west which direction points to that desert interior which even the persevering boldness of Captain Stuart has not been able to Conquer".
My Conviction is that the great Australian desert ceases in the twenty third degree of South latitude, or that there its narrow & Confined stripe has no influence upon the Climate of that part of the north eastern interior.
My opinion is that the land between the Gulfs of Spencer and Carpentaria situated to the north of this latitude is elevated and that the greatest width of the desert is in the 30th degree of latitude. The grounds on which I make these deductions are to known facts as to the Climate, from observation made by Leichhardt and others, as also the meteorological observations of Sir Thomas Mitchell and Mr Kennedy at elevations in North
Australia compared with those made by myself in the thirtieth degree of South latitude.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE IN NORTH AUSTRALIA BY SIR THOMAS MITCHELL
JUNE 1846 IN 25º SOUTH LATITUDE AND 147º 23'
EAST LONGITUDE

I have found the syphon barometer of M. Bunten of Paris of great utility in these researches affording the only means of judging of the relative height of the various ranges. thus I ascertained, when far up the Balonne, that we were but little higher than the bed of the Darling; that the Narran has scarcely any inclination at all; that Belyando, at the lowest point attained by me, was not
[?] above the level of the sea; and in the recent case, that the range under the parallel of 25º South, is the highest we have crossed, extending into the western interior; our route across it is in longitude 147º 23' east, where the mean height above the sea exceeds 2000 feet; Yet this we were only made aware on by the extreme cold, or by the barometer, for there is nothing in the appearance of the country to lead to such a conclusion.
On almost every clear night Farenheits thermometer fell to 9º and occasionally at 4 A.M. the mercury was as low as 7º. The height of this spinal range throwing off to the
south - west all rivers south of it, and the course of the
Belyando northward indicating an impulse so far in that direction, reduce the probability that the waters falling from that portion of it still further westward form a river running to the Gulf almost to a certainty"

1848 MR KENNEDY JULY 5TH ON THE WARREGO RIVER 25 º 20' 7" SOUTH LATITUDE.

On the morning of the 5th July the thermometer stood at the minimum height observed in this journey, i,e. 8½ at sunrise, my meteorological table will show that it had frequently fallen to 9º

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Volume 01: Production and resources of the northern and western districts of New South Wales, 1854 [ca. 1850-1857] - Page 584

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