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Contrary to Torres', Moresby's approach, in the year 1873, was from the N.E. where the mainland of New Guinea was supposed to extend beyond Hayter, Basilisk and Moresby's Islands. Moresby and party then rounded the northern shores of what they thought might prove to be the "beginning of New Guinea," when, suddenly, a bay seemed to open towards the south.
Two mountain ranges were discovered; one at the northern extremity of the Darling Range and about thirty miles to the eastward of it, lofty and altogether differing in character from the Darling, which at this point, where its direction is nearly north and south, is called Moresby's Flat-topped Range.
Such an opinion, however, was quite a disinterested one on their part; as an extension of the colony northwards, and the establishment of a settlement near Moresby's Flat-topped Range, would have led to a result much desired by them, the occupancy, namely, of the intervening country.
Moresby's experiences help to show the difficulties that the Spaniards had to deal with, and also that Torres must have been compelled to leave his two ships at anchor somewhere to the south of the Baya de San Milian; San Francisco Bay, for instance; and use the only rowing boat he had for his excursions.
Now, by comparing the Spanish map given here, with Moresby's it will be seen how Moresby's work, on this point of the coast, had been forestalled by Torres.
I was forcibly struck with the resemblance between Moresby's Range, Sea Range on the Victoria, Cape Flattery on the north-east coast, and I may add, from Flinders' description, the cliffs forming the coast range at the head of the Australian Bight. The great similarity in the elevation, all being between 500 and 700 feet, is still more remarkable.
Behind these was a margin of brown arid-looking downs, receding to the foot of the uplands. Twenty miles of the coastline from Champion Bay trended North 29 degrees West. At noon we were in latitude 28 degrees 26 minutes South; the Menai Hills, a group lying just off the north end of Moresby's Flat-topped Range, bearing South 73 degrees East ten miles.
We here for the first time since quitting Moresby's Flat-topped Range saw that the one to the east of us became well wooded, the interval between these two points having been completely bare of trees. I now halted for about an hour and a half to rest the wearied men, and then again commenced our route over this barren waste.
Our course continued afterwards uninterrupted, over a gradually rising plain, of a sandy scrubby nature, until reaching the foot of Mount Fairfax, when we crossed another small watercourse, trending South by West where, for the first time, we noticed a solitary stunted casuarina. Mount Fairfax is the southern and most elevated part of an isolated block, forming Moresby's Flat-topped Range.
Weighed anchor and stood to the south to examine a bay opposite the southern part of Moresby's Flat-topped Range.
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