The scrub disputed their passage the whole route, being often so dense as to defy the use of the axe, and many long detours had to be made before they reached their goal.
Every hope they had entertained of a change for the better was shattered by an inspection of the country to which they had so laboriously penetrated.

The range, destined to be associated with so many subsequent important explorations, was a mass of naked rocks, and from the summit they could see nothing but the interminable scrub thickets, and in the distance the thin blue line of ocean.

Fortunately they found a little grass and water, which saved the lives of their animals.

They had discovered a coal seam at the mouth of the Murchison River, and now, on their return journey, they found another at the Fitzgerald River.

This was Roe's longest and most important expedition, and it placed him in the front rank of Australian explorers.
Amongst the very early explorers who did as good work as the scanty opportunities permitted, was Ensign R.Dale, of the 63rd Regiment, who pushed east of the Darling Range.