Ferdinand von Mueller

Melbourne, 27/3/85

When I received your kind letter of the 23 March,

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Letter not found.

dear Sir Edward, I deemed it best, to send a preliminary reply telegraphically,

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See M to E. Strickland, 25 March 1885.

and I now will endeavour, to answer more fully the various questions, to which you refer, thanking you at the same time for the generous spirit in which you and your honored Colleagues entertained the views, which we expressed here. We will have a formal meeting here on next Monday evening, when probably final decisions will be arrived at, so far as we here are concerned. As both branches seem now happily in accord on all main-points, there should be no further difficulties about your effecting executive arrangements there, so far as I can see individually. Speaking only for myself the matter, as it now stands, presents itself thus to my view, and that will probably [be]

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editorial insertion.

also the idea of my colleagues here.

1, We set apart £500 of the general fund (at present £2000) for Forbes Expedition, to which subsidy we are committed by our communications to him; we allow him to follow out his own plans, refrain from undertaking responsibilities, claim a share of his proceeds litterary and material and disburse the subsidy through the Rev. Mr Lawes, who will thus audit all expenditure concerning Mr Forbes, saving also the cost of his coming to Sydney.

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Henry Forbes' expedition was originally funded by British societies; see M to W. Sewell, 23 October 1885. A sum of £500 had been committed by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia as an additional subsidy (Argus, 9 November 1885, p. 6; M to W. Carruthers, 21 October 188 (in this edition as 85-10-21a); M to H. Forbes, 26 October 1887).

2, We endeavour to equip an independent highland-party, to start from Port Moresbye,

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Port Moresby.

and start it in a direction different to that of Mr Forbes, the Rev. Mr Lawes (and the Rev Mr Chalmers if he has not already left) to be consulted on the routes finally by both leaders in New Guinea, where they can by seeing the ranges themselves come best to conclusions about the two best lines of exploration.

3, We endeavour to get at once positive promises from the Gov. of S. Australia and Queensland for their respective £1000 each, by which probably the second thousand of your N.S.W. Vote could be rendered available for a reconnoitering voyage up the Aird,

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Aird over Ayrd, or Ayrd over Aird, i.e. Aird River, Papua New Guinea.

which would be very desirable indeed and for which — plain and simple — the cost would be not so very great, if by some means a steam-launch could be obtained. We would then learn:

a, how far the Aird would be navigable with safety at any season

b, whether the proclamation of the British protectorate has had its effect already so far inland, as to render the navigating party safe against the natives.

c, whether from the last points attainable by navigation any ranges come at all into view, and whether any practicable route from such points to the ranges presents itself, or whether the explorers have only intricacies of jungles, watercourses &c before them.

d, whether any land-party, proceeding from the last point of navigation could risk to ascend any distant ranges, should such come into view, without fear of having their retreat cut off; and whether the steamer party could maintain its position during the very lengthened absense of the explorers in the mountains unendangered by Hostilities of the natives and fever.

There is of course, as I need hardly say, dear Sir Edward, a wide difference between a mere steamer-party running quickly up the river and then returning, and between an exploring party by land depending on a steamer, while a mere reconnoitering river party can turn back at any moment, as now probably no further hostilities of the natives will arise at the estuary of the Aird.

Mr Chalmers has been up already high on Owen Stanley's Range and ascended other ranges; therefore we do know, that exploration up to the highlands is possible from Port Moresbye, and absolute failure of land-exploration could not take place from there. The reconnoitering party on the Aird would do meanwhile good preliminary work, on which larger plans for next season could be based. — While frankly offering my own views, I wish you kindly to consider, that I am quite willing to abide by any other plans, which your Committee can demonstrate as more feasible, especially as you there must have fuller information on the Ayrd &c as we here.

Kindly remember that the hon the Premier here told the Deputation, that there should be "only one fund". So we could sever the fund for Forbes as dist[inct]

I know your hon. Col. Treasurer personally as I voyaged with him to what is now called the Kimberley District

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WA. The NSW Treasurer at this time was G. R. Dibbs, who as a young man had sailed with the North Australian Exploring Expedition to the Victoria River before continuing on with the supply ship to Singapore.