THE ROPER COUNTRY.

Evening Star, Issue 2929, 9 July 1872, Page 3

THE ROPER COUNTRY.

The Argus says—'The following interesting description of the country at and beyond the Roper River, in the direction of Port Darwin, is from an authentic source “The Roper is on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. It empties into the g-ulf at Simmons Bight, in lat. 14 deg. 4;> secs. S. It is navigable for ships drawing 12ft. water for ninety miles from the mouth. A bar stops the navigation at this point, but a smaller craft, launched above the bar, could proceed up a long way. Just below the bar a river, named the Hodgson, comes in from the south ; we sailed up this about two mile?, and could not proceed further for timber overhanging the river. At the same place another river named the Wilson comes in from the north We did not go up it, but it looks like a tine river. We established a depot at the junction of the Hodgson and the Roper ; named it Todd’s Bluff. Plenty of fish and game, decent timber, and plenty of vegetation. No hot winds, and the north-west trades run into the bight, and up the valley of the Roper and other rivers like a funnel nine mouths out of the year, and 1 consider this the most healthy situation in the whole territory. Saw large masses of quartz like snow drifts ; the slate or sandstone, or whatever it may be, seems all laid flat upon each other, like stones built into a wall; in fact it does not look to have been disturbed at all, By the sea route the mouth of the Roper is about 700 miles to the south-east of Port Darwin, and is about 300 miles overland as the crow flies, to the port town—Palmerston - of Port Darwin, from Todd’s Bluff. From Palmerston to South Port, at the head of the south-east arm of Port Darwin, is twenty-eight miles, and from South Port to the Tumbling Waters six miles. The tide comes up to South Port, but the Tumbling Waters is permanent fresh fresh water. Game is not so plentiful at the Port aa at the Roper. Did not see any gold, Rut believe Mr Darwent’s party got 14 ounces in two days, on the Katherine, or in its neighbourhood. The Katherine is a large river crossed by the telegraph line at about 120 miies north-west of Todd’s Bluff, and had never been explored a mile north or south of the wires. Its source and its escape are both unknown. The country is good and game abundant, I believe this will be the best situation, together with the head of the Roper, for gold mining The river crossing (place?) at the Katherine is about 130 miles from South Port, The natives are not troublesome. The dry season is from April to December.” The large river the Katherine, alluded to above, is supposed to be one of the two large rivers believed to fall, the one into Blue Mud Bay, and the other into the bay near the Wessel Islands, at the extreme north-west point of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Private information has also been received to the effect that several ounces of gold from the head of the Roper River have been sent to Adelaide for assay. It is reported to be tolerably pure, and WOlth about L 3 105 per ounce. '1 be tinders of the precious metal have forwarded glow-

ing accounts of their discoveries to their friends in Adelaide and in this Colony, and express their conviction that the Northern Territory will ultimately prove a “great goldfield.”