Eyre's 1839 expeditions

Eyre's 1839 expeditions

Edward John Eyre's two expeditions of 1839 to the interior of South Australia were his first expeditions as an explorer, if one discounts the two earlier trips he made down the Murray River to Adelaide, herding cattle and then sheep.

North

Having made a tidy profit of several thousand pounds from his second overlanding trip, the young Eyre (then only twenty-three years old) turned his attention to the interior, and the speculation surrounding the possibility of an inland sea. Planning a three-month expedition to the head of the Spencer Gulf, he left Adelaide with five other men on May 1, 1839, taking two drays and travelling north for the coastal plain west of the Flinders Ranges. He named the Broughton River after William Broughton, the Anglican Bishop of Australia, and proceeded northward past the head of the gulf to establish camp halfway between the Dutchman's Stern and Mount Arden at a small creek with permanent springs in it: he named this Depot Creek and was to return to it several times in future years.

From this camp he espied a low range of hills to the west, and sent his companion John Baxter to investigate - this range he later named the Baxter Range; it lies north of the town of Iron Knob. Eyre himself set off north along the margin of the Flinders. Finding little water (the pools of water in Willochra Creek were salty), he made for a hill some 30 km north-west of the later town of Hawker. From the summit he had his first view of Lake Torrens; he later wrote that it "seemed to be water", but he realised it was merely the "dry and glazed bed of where water had lodged" - a salt lake. To the north-east he noted that the ranges continued; "tier behind tier of very rocky appearance as far as the eye could reach". This was almost certainly the first time that a European had glimpsed the peaks of Wilpena Pound.

After returning to camp and a brief foray 50 km down the western side of Spencer Gulf with Baxter, Eyre decided to return southwards. He was dissatisfied with the saltbush country (as he described it, "sandy desert interspersed with scrub"), not realising the grazing potential of the saltbush.

On his return trip he turned east after leaving the Flinders behind and instead travelled back to Adelaide down the River Murray, reaching home on June 29th. The Governor soon named his northernmost point Mount Eyre.

West and north again

Restless, Eyre dallied little before setting sail for Port Lincoln on his 24th birthday, August 5th. His small party travelled along the coast to the vicinity of Streaky Bay before Eyre struck out alone with an indigenous companion. They reached their furthest point some 50 km west of the modern site of Ceduna, forced back by lack of water.

Eyre then led his party across country back to the head of Spencer Gulf and their old campsite at Depot Creek, discovering and naming the Gawler Ranges (for the Governor) on the way. Determined to explore further, he travelled north alone, this time going about 80 km further than Mount Eyre, reaching a peak a little south-west of modern-day Leigh Creek. From here he saw that Lake Torrens was now filled with water, but it still blocked his path. He was compelled to return, being without any support. Back at camp he conferred with Baxter, whom he had sent east. Baxter is assumed to have crossed the Willochra Plain, and after travelling some 100 km, he had seen what he called nothing but a "low flat sea of scrub".

Eyre returned to Adelaide directly, visiting and giving glowing reports of what was to become the Clare Valley.

References

* Hans Mincham, "The Story of the Flinders Ranges", Rigby, 1962.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 1839 in the United Kingdom — Events from the year 1839 in the United Kingdom.Incumbents*Monarch Victoria of the United Kingdom *Prime Minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Whig Events* 19 January British East India Company captures Aden. * February Report on the… …   Wikipedia

  • Eyre Creek (South Australia) — Eyre Creek is a short waterway which is located in the Clare Valley. It runs along Main North Road, south from Leasingham and enters the Wakefield River just north of Auburn. It was named in honour of the explorer Edward John Eyre, who explored… …   Wikipedia

  • Eyre — (spr. ǟr), Edward John, austral. Forschungsreisender, geb. 5. Aug. 1815 in Yorkshire, gest. 29. Nov. 1901 in Tavistock (Devonshire), ging 1833 nach Sydney, dann nach Südaustralien, bereiste 1839 vom Spencergolf aus die Flinderskette, sah den… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Edward John Eyre — (* 5. August 1815 in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, oder Hornsea, Yorkshire; † 30. November 1901 in Walreddon Manor in Devon) war ein englischer Forschungsreisender in Australien und Politiker. Bekannt wurde er durch seine Expedition …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Edward John Eyre — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Eyre. Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre né le 5 août 1815 dans le Bedfordshire et mort le 30 novemb …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gawler Ranges — The Gawler Ranges are a range of mountains in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The ranges were named by Edward John Eyre after the Governor of South Australia, George Gawler in 1839 …   Wikipedia

  • European exploration of Australia — Exploration by Europeans till 1812   1606 Willem Janszoon …   Wikipedia

  • India — /in dee euh/, n. 1. Hindi, Bharat. a republic in S Asia: a union comprising 25 states and 7 union territories; formerly a British colony; gained independence Aug. 15, 1947; became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations Jan. 26, 1950.… …   Universalium

  • STURT, Charles (1795-1869) — explorer was born in India on 28 April 1795, the second son of Thomas Lenox Napier Sturt, who became a judge in Bengal under the East India Company. The judge always known as Napier Sturt married Jeanette, daughter of Dr Andrew Wilson, who became …   Dictionary of Australian Biography

  • Exploration De L'Australie Par Les Européens — L exploration de l Australie par les Européens se fit progressivement, en plusieurs vagues d expéditions terrestres et maritimes. On croit souvent que l Australie a été découverte par le lieutenant de la Royal Navy James Cook en 1770, mais il n… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”