Crossword-Solution: BALONNE 7 letters, 1 clue 🏆 scrabble score: 9

During the earlier part of the year, Commissioner Mitchell (a son of Sir Thomas) made an exploration towards the Darling, and the discoveries of the Narran, the Balonne, and the Culgoa have been attributed to him; but, as will be seen by Bagot's letter, they were known to the settlers a year before; no special interest beyond this is to be found in the narrative of the journey.

The first river the party struck, west of the Darling, was the Narran, and this was followed up until the Balonne was reached, which Mitchell pronounced the finest river in Australia, with the exception of the Murray.

Beyond this, they made the Culgoa, and, crossing it, struck the river again above the separation of the two streams, which from thence upwards preserved the name of the Balonne.

Soon after leaving the camp, Mitchell crossed the junction of the Maranoa, but did not at that time like its appearance, and only followed it a few miles, returning and keeping the course of the Balonne until they reached the junction of the Cogoon from the westward, when they followed the course of that river, which led them into a beautiful pastoral district around a solitary hill, which the leader named Mount Abundance, and here Mitchell first noticed the bottle tree.

The final return was made down the yet unexplored Maranoa, at the head of which the depôt had been fixed so long; and on the 4th November they arrived at the Balonne, having passed through splendidly-grassed and well-watered country the whole way.