Land routes for exploration of the western country

As in the legendary tales of old, and the true histories of modern times, the heroes of exploration and adventure turn their faces to the setting sun ; so those who seek to develop the comparatively little known mineral resources of Tasmania are turning to the West as to a Promised Land, and the time seems Opportune for bringing under the notice of the Royal Society a subject in which the whole community is interested, whether it be regarded from an economic or a scientific point of view.
An irregular line drawn from Port Sorell in a southerly direction, between the 146th and 147th meridians, by the head waters of the River Mersey and the ranges west of Lake St. Clair, and along the western slopes of the King William Range and the Hartz Mountains to South Cape, divides Tasmania into two portions of nearly equal area, but unlike in all other respects. In the eastern half, except for a fringe of settlement along the North-West Coast, are all the agricultural and pastoral lands and chief centres of population , in the western half, the general physical conditions are unsuitable for farming or stock raising, and, with the exception just noted, the population consists exclusively of those who are engaged more or less directly in exploiting such of its mineral wealth as has come under the prospector's notice.