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Land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout the colonial period, 1788-1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such as Burke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well as Hamilton Hume and Charles Sturt.
Crossing the Blue Mountains
For many years, plans of westward expansion from Sydney were thwarted by the Great Dividing Range, a large range of mountains which shadows the east coast from the Queensland-New South Wales border to the south coast. The part of the range near Sydney is called the Blue Mountains. Governor Philip Gidley King declared that they were impassable, but despite this, Gregory Blaxland successfully led an expedition to cross them in 1813. He was accompanied by William Lawson, William Wentworth and four servants. This trip paved the way for numerous small expeditions which were undertaken in the following few years.[1]
Inland exploration
After the Blue Mountains had been crossed, in 1824, Governor Thomas Brisbane asked Hamilton Hume and William Hovell to travel from Hume's station, near modern-day Canberra, to Spencer Gulf (west of modern-day Adelaide). However, they were required to pay their own costs. Hume and Hovell decided that Western Port (in present-day Victoria) was a more realistic goal, and they left with a party of six men. After discovering and crossing the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers, they eventually reached a site near modern-day Geelong, somewhat west of their intended destination.[2][3]
Inland sea
After the Great Dividing Range had been crossed at numerous points and many rivers were discovered—the Darling, Macquarie, Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers—all of which flowed west, a theory was developed of a vast inland sea into which these rivers flowed. Another reason behind the idea of an inland sea was that Matthew Flinders, who had very carefully mapped much of Australia's coast had discovered no great river delta where these rivers should have emerged by had they reached the coast. The Murray-Darling basin actually drains into Lake Alexandrina. Matthew Flinders had noted this on his maps but viewed from the sea does not look like the outfall of a large watershed, but instead as a gentle tidal basin.
The mystery was solved by Charles Sturt, who in 1829–30 undertook an expedition similar to the one which Hume and Hovell had refused: a trip to the mouth of the Murray River. They followed the Murrumbidgee until it met the Murray, and then found the junction of the Murray and the Darling before continuing on to the mouth of the Murray. The search for an inland sea was an inspiration for many early expeditions west of the Great Dividing Ranges. This quest drove many explorers to extremes of endurance and hardship. Charles Sturt's expedition explained the mystery. It also led to the opening of South Australia to settlement.[4]
The theory of the inland sea had some supporters. Major Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, set out in 1836 to disprove Sturt's claims and in doing so made a significant discovery. He led an expedition along the Lachlan River, down to the Murray River. He then set off for the southern coast, mapping what is now western Victoria. There he discovered the richest grazing land ever seen to that time and named it Australia Felix. He was knighted for this discovery in 1837. When he reached the coast at Portland Bay, he was surprised to find a small settlement. It had been established by the Henty family, who had sailed across Bass Strait from Van Diemen's Land in 1834, without the authorities being informed.[5]
Perhaps the most famous Australian explorers were Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills who in 1860–61 led a well equipped expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Due to an unfortunate run of bad luck, oversight and poor leadership, Burke and Wills both died on the return trip.[6]
Expeditions (in chronological order):
When | Who | Where |
---|---|---|
1804 | William Paterson | Port Dalrymple, Tamar River, North Esk River (Tasmania) |
1813 | Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson | From Sydney across the Great Dividing Range via the Blue Mountains; first penetration into inland New South Wales |
1817–1818 | John Oxley[7] | Interior of New South Wales; discovered Lachlan River and Macquarie River |
1818 | Throsby, Meehan, Hume and Wild | Throsby and Wild discovered an overland route from Sydney to Jervis Bay via the Kangaroo and Lower Shoalhaven rivers Meehan and Hume followed the Shoalhaven upriver and discovered Lake Bathurst and the Goulburn Plains[8] |
1820 | Joseph Wild[9] | discovered Lake George[10] |
1823 | Currie, Ovens and Wild | Region south of Lake George;[11] discovered Isabella Plains (now a suburb of Canberra), charted the upper reach of the Murrumbidgee River and discovered Monaro[12] |
1824 | Hume and Hovell expedition | Sydney to Geelong; discovered Murray River |
1828–1829 | Charles Sturt and Hamilton Hume | Macquarie River area; discovered Darling River |
1829 | Currie, Drummond, Dr Simmons and Lieut Griffin | South of Fremantle; explored region, now Rockingham and Baldivis, and sighted the Serpentine River[13] |
1829 | Dr Collie and Lieut.Preston | discovered Harvey, Collie and Preston rivers |
1829–1830 | Charles Sturt | Along the Murrumbidgee River; found and named Murray River, and determined that western-flowing rivers flowed into the Murray-Darling basin |
1830 | John Molloy | Blackwood River, Western Australia |
1830–1834 | Alfred and John Bussell | Blackwood River and the Vasse, Western Australia |
1831 | Robert Dale and George Fletcher Moore | Avon River area in Western Australia |
1831 | Collet Barker | Mount Lofty and the Murray Mouth |
1834 | Frederick Ludlow | Augusta to Perth; discovered Capel River |
1834–1836 | George Fletcher Moore | Avon River and Swan River; discovered that they are the same river; discovered rich pastoral land near the Moore River |
1839–1841 | Edward John Eyre[14] | The Flinders Ranges and Nullarbor Plain |
1840 | Paweł Strzelecki[15] | Ascended and named Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales |
1840 | Patrick Leslie | Condamine River, New South Wales |
1840–1842 | Clement Hodgkinson[16] | North-eastern New South Wales, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay |
1844 | Charles Sturt | North-western New South Wales and north-eastern South Australia; discovered the Simpson Desert |
1847 | Anthony O'Grady Lefroy and Alfred Durlacher | Gingin, Western Australia |
1854 | Austin expedition of 1854 – Robert Austin, Kenneth Brown | Geraldton, Mount Magnet, Murchison River |
1858–1860 | John McDouall Stuart[17] | North-western South Australia; discovered water sources used as staging points for later expeditions; found and named Finke River, MacDonnell Ranges, Tennant Creek |
1860 | Burke and Wills expedition including Robert O'Hara Burke, William John Wills | Melbourne to Gulf of Carpentaria (traversing Australia south to north); determined non-existence of inland sea |
1897 | Frank Hann[18] | Pilbara region of Western Australia; named Lake Disappointment |
Other 19th-century explorers
Other explorers by land (in alphabetical order):
|
20th-century explorers
By the turn of the 20th century, most of the major geographical features of Australia had been discovered by European explorers. However, there are some 20th-century people who are considered explorers. They include:
- Ted Colson (First to cross the Simpson Desert in 1936.)[28]
- Donald George Mackay (Five major expeditions to survey and accurately map the Northern Territory, discoverer of Lake Mackay)[29]
- Cecil Madigan (Major scientific expedition to the Simpson Desert in 1939. In 1930, Madigan coined the name "Simpson Desert" after Alfred Allen Simpson, following an aerial survey.)[30]
- Len Beadell (Surveyor, road builder, author.)[31]
Indigenous Australians participating in European exploration
A number of Indigenous Australians participated in the European exploration of Australia. They include:
- Jackey Jackey (aka Galmahra), who accompanied Kennedy's expedition.[32]
- Tommy Windich, who joined John Forrest in his search for Ludwig Leichhardt
- Wylie, who accompanied Eyre's expedition across the Nullarbor
Naturalists and other scientists
There are a number of naturalists and other scientists closely associated with European exploration of Australia. They include:
- Daniel Solander, accompanied Cook's 1770 expedition.[33]
- Jacques Labillardière, accompanied Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.
- Allan Cunningham, accompanied Oxley's 1817 expedition.[34]
- John Gilbert, accompanied Leichhardt's expedition.
- Ferdinand von Mueller, accompanied Augustus Gregory's expedition.[35]
- Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour, François Péron and Charles Alexander Lesueur, accompanied Baudin's 1801 expedition.
- John Lhotsky[36]
- Gerard Krefft[37]
- Olive Pink[38]
- Scientists of the Horn Expedition of 1894, including Walter Baldwin Spencer, Edward Charles Stirling and Ralph Tate[39]
Uncategorised explorers
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References
- ^ Gregory Blaxland:"A Journal of a Tour of Discovery across the Blue Mountains, New South Wales in the Year 1813", in George Mackaness (Ed.)(1965) Fourteen Journeys Over the Blue Mountains of New South Wales 1813–1841, Horwitz Publications, The Grahame Book Company, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ See full article Hume and Hovell expedition and numerous summaries such as; Jan Bassett (1986) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Australian History. p. 136. Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0-19-554422-6
- ^ Hamilton Hume and William Hovell (1831) Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip District at Project Gutenberg [1]
- ^ H.J. Gibbney (1967) "Sturt, Charles (1795–1869)" Australian Dictionary of Biography [2]
- ^ D.W.A. Baker (1967) "Sir Thomas Livingstone (1792–1855)" [3] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Alan Moorehead (1963) Cooper's Creek. MacMillan, Melbourne and Sydney. ISBN 0-333-22909-6
- ^ E.W. Dunlop (1967) "Oxley, John Joseph William Molesworth (1784?–1828)" [4] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Year Book Australia 1931 – Canberra Past and Present
- ^ Vivienne Parsons (1967)"Wild, Joseph (1773?–1847)" [5] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ NSW Government Collections, Joseph Wild
- ^ M.J.Currie, Journal of an excursion to the south of Lake George 1823
- ^ The Discovery of Monaro
- ^ Reference to the Serpentine in Murray River (Western Australia)
- ^ Geoffrey Dutton (1966) "Eyre, Edward John (1815–1901)" [6] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Helen Heney (1967) "Strzelecki, Sir Paul Edmund de [Count Strzelecki] (1797–1873)" [7], Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ K.A. Patterson (1972) "Hodgkinson, Clement (1818–1893)" [8] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ Deirdre Morris (1976) "Stuart, John McDouall (1815–1866)" [9] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ G.C.Bolton (1972) "Hann, Frank Hugh (1846–1921)" [10] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ G.C.Bolton (1981) "Forrest, Alexander (1849–1901)" [11] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ F.K.Crowley (1981) "Forrest, Sir John [Baron Forrest] (1847–1918)" [12] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ Louis Green (1972) "Giles, Ernest (1835–1897)" [13] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ P.Serle. (1961) "Grey, Sir George (1812–1898)" [14] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ Edgar Beale (1967) "Kennedy, Edmund Besley Court (1818–1848)" [15] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ E.W. Dunlop (1967) "Lawson, William (1774–1850)" [16] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ Renee Erdos (1967) "Leichhardt, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (1813–1848)" [17] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ Tim Flannery (Ed) (1996) Watkin Tench, 1788; Comprising a narrative of the expedition to Botany Bay and a complete account of the settlement at Port Jackson. Text Publishing, Melbourne. ISBN 1-875847-27-8
- ^ Denison Deasey (1976) "Warburton, Peter Egerton (1813–1889)" [18] Dictionary of Australian Biography
- ^ C. J. Horne (1993) "Colson, Edmund Albert (1881–1950)" [19] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ David Carment, (1986) "Mackay, Donald George (1870–1958) [20] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ L. W. Parkin (1986) "Madigan, Cecil Thomas (1889–1947)" [21] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ ABC TV, George Negus Tonight. Broadcast 21/06/2004
- ^ Edgar Beale (1967) "Jackey Jackey ( –1854)" [22] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ L.A. Gilbert (1967) "Solander, Daniel (1733–1782)" [23] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ T.M.Perry (1967) "Cunningham, Allan (1791–1839)" [24] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Deirdre Morris (1974) "Mueller, Sir Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von [Baron von Mueller] (1825–1896)" [25] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ G.P.Whitley (1974) "Lhotsky, John (1795?–1866?)" [26] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ G. P. Whitley, Martha Rutledge(1974) "Krefft, Johann Ludwig Gerard (Louis) (1830–1881)"[27] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Julie Marcus (2002) "Pink, Olive Muriel (1884–1975)" [28] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ Treasures of the Museum Victoria
- ^ A.H. Chisholm (1969) "Calvert, James Snowden (1825–1884)" [29] Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ^ See numerous books by Michael Terry, dating from (1925) Across Unknown Australia, Herbert Jenkins, London, to (1974) War of the Warramullas. Rigby Limited, Australia. ISBN 0-85179-790-3
Further reading
- Bennett, S. (1867). The history of Australian discovery and colonisation. Sydney: Hanson and Bennett.
- Ridpath, J. C. (1899). Ridpath's universal history; an account of the origin, primitive condition, and race development of the greater divisions of mankind, and also of the principal events in the evolution and progress of nations from the beginnings of the civilized life to the close of the nineteenth century. Cincinnati: Jones Brothers Pub.