THE SEARCH FOR LEICHARDT.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 732, 7 August 1852, Page 3

THE SEARCH FOR LEICHARDT.

[From the Maitland Mercury, June 19.] A gentleman just down from the Balonne has kindly put us in possession of some interesting information respecting the movements of the party sent out, under Mr. Hely's superintendence, in search of Dr. Leichhardt. Our readers are aware that Mr. Hely, learning from the Crown Land Commissioner at Surat, Mr. Whitty, the reported murder of Leichhardt's party at Bunderabella Creek, had determined to proceed to that locality to ascertain the cor-i-ectness of the report. To aid him in this object he engaged Mr. Walker as one of his party. The journey to Bunderabella Creek from Surat, Mr." Hely thought could be best accomplished by a lightly equipped party. He accordingly started from Surat about the end of April with some nine or ten of his party including Mr. Walker, taking with them six weeks' provisions. The reached Mount Abundance, some fifty miles from Surat, but were unable to procure any blacks there to accompany them, From Mount Abundance they pushed on to Mount Bindango, a distance of some fourteen miles, but not being able to 'find any water, they were obliged to return the next day to Mount Abundance, having been 36 hours without water. This experiment satisfied Mr. Hely that it would be necessary to have the whole of his party and provisions to accomplish the journey. He accordingly retraced his steps to Uckabilla, the abandoned station of Mr. Macphersons, midway between Mount Abundance and Surat, and from thence despatched Captain AnJerson to Surat, to bring on the mules and the whole of the provisions. Owing i:o very heavy rains immediately, after, Captain Anderson was detained at Surat for a week ; but fortunately during his detention he succeeded in obtaining the services of an abo•riginal belonging to the neighbourhood of Bunderabella Creek, who undertook, on being satisfied that no violence would be offered to the blacks, to guide the party to where the bones of the murdered men and the iron work of the saddles, &c, were laying. The heavy rains which detained-Captain Anderson at Surat had evidently fallen in the direction of Mount Bindango and to the north-west, as ihe creeks from that direction came down bank high. On the 22nd May Captain Anderson started from Surat with the mules and provisions, accompanied by the black guide, and in due course arrived at the camp at Uckabilla. Before leav-l ing this camp Mr. Hely had a letter L cut on a ,tree, on seeing which the black guide immediately said he could show them plenty of trees with a similar mark on, and intimated that these marks had been made at the camps of the party who were murdered at Bunderabella .Creek. On the 28th of May two of Mr. Hely's party returned to Surat, having left the main body encamped about 35 miles from Surat. They brought word that the heavy rains had made the country heavy to travel over, but that no 'difficulty was now likely, to be experienced from

the want of water. The party had provisions sufficient for a few months : They expected to get back to Surat from Bunderabella Creek in about ten weeks — say the middle of August. Our informant, who left Surat on the 30th May, says that the general impression there is — that the report is well founded, and that the remains described by the blacks will be found to be those of Leichhardt's party, Our informant himself had taken considerable trouble in making enquiries from the black's; and he found that their various accounts were all in unison as to the main facts of the number of the pan y,»and their having been murdered in the uighjt ; 'and that even the children told a" similar story. There is thus, unfortunately, but too much reason to believe that Leichhardt and his party were murdered by the blacks at Bunnerabella Creek.