Chevert expedition
Scientific specimens collected included approximately 1,000 birds, 800 fish, reptiles, insects, molluscs, plants and ethnographic objects.
[9] Upon the return of Chevert, critical comments regarding the expedition were promulgated in newspapers due to its short duration, despite an absence of communication regarding the length of the voyage.
[10] Further, condemnation was directed as Macleay, as the perception of New Guinea as a suitable colonial endeavour, which was a popular contention at the time, was a notion that he did not engage with.
[6] Macleay sought ships for his expedition with Captain Edwards, and at Mort's Dock on 22 February 1875, they encountered the barque Chevert.
[12] The boat was constructed between 1850 and 1863 and had historically been a transport vessel used for colonial advancement under the rule of both the English and French within the Pacific and Indian Ocean.
[12] In further preparation, guns and additional apparatus were organised, personnel were assigned, food was stocked, and units of sample storage were assembled, as was a steam launch.
[22][23] William Frederick Petterd was a scientist and boot importer by profession; on the expedition his assigned role was zoological collecting.
[5] Chevert then continued, reaching the coral encircled sand-bank, which was labelled the "Low Wooded Isle", which was then followed by Turtle Reef and Number 4 Howick Group.
[29] Cape Grenville and the surrounding terrain was arid, with the distribution and variants of vegetation on the lower and higher ranges exhibiting differences.
[5] Yule Island comprised a range of plantations belonging to the Indigenous inhabitants, and the nature varied in appearance from that which was observed in New Guinea.
[30] For example, the topography varied, as Yule Island did not contain smooth surfaces, but rather, elevated formations, and additionally, the forests were not as impenetrable as those encountered prior.
[30] The personnel returned to Somerset on 8 September 1875, and Macleay journeyed back to Sydney on a separate ship, named Singapore.
[29] Further, in 1875, he published a paper in the journal, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales titled "Notes on the Zoological Collections made in Torres Straits and New Guinea during the cruise of the Chevert".
[31] The outliers of this observation are listed as Sus Papuensis (New Guinea Pig), specific murdiae, and various species of frugivorous bats.
[31] He mentions the bee-eater Merops ornatus and the Torres Strait pigeons, noting that both travel from New Guinea to Australia during the summer months.
[33] While in the Torres Strait, Macleay observed that sharks and rays were the most heavily populated type of fish, and he was able to collect numerous samples of both organisms.
[33] Macleay notes that he encountered the colourful Labridae; and he observed Percoid fishes, including Pristopomatidae, and Squamipennes, which he detected in large quantities.
[33] Regarding marine mollusca, Macleay comments that the collections were plentiful, and that they were made on the north-east coast of Australia and the Torres Straits.
[36] Referencing an anonymous source from 1875, terrestrial ecologist[38] Graham R. Fulton states that the follow-up expedition was self-funded by the personnel, and that they travelled in a boat, named Ellangowan.
[29] In January 1876, Macleay put Chevert up for sale, and it eventually operated under Captain Livingston, moving coal between Newcastle and Melbourne.
