Source of text:
Royal Geographical Society, London, Archives, JMS/13/159, 1866The letter was published as Delisser (1865-6). The text given here follows the manuscript copy. The published version has several differences in punctuation and capitalization. To the MS there has been added in an unknown hand a title, and ‘(communicated by Dr. F. Mueller, F.R.G.S, Melbourne)’. The MS which was received at the RGS on 20 February 1866 was referred on 26 February to Sir Charles Nicholson whose report received on 9 March stated that ‘No reliable observations or reckonings appear to have been made as to the precise positions of the points reached. … The route they traversed is nearly Coincident with that followed by Mr Eyre many years ago…[The] last portion of the Expedition seems to have been through a Country hitherto unvisited by any Traveller – and I think that if another Evening shall be devoted to Australian Geography a short abstract of this paper may be read and printed in the Proceedings.’ The RGS cover folder records the decision made on 12 March as ‘Short Abstract in Proceedings’, but the complete letter was published