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Horses are daily weaker
Title : Horses are daily weaker Horses are daily weaker
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Creator : Lindsay, David, 1856-1922
Source : Mr. D. Lindsay's explorations through Arnheim's Land, p. 16
Place Of Creation : Adelaide
Publisher : Government Printer
Date of creation : 1884
Format : Pamphlet
Catalogue record
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Description :

David Lindsay was commissioned in 1883 by the South Australian government to explore central and eastern Arnhem Land. Working in the region was one long struggle with the terrain, the climate and the Aboriginal people who fiercely defended their land from all. By 10 October he was struggling along the Liverpool River and endeavouring to find a way onto the tableland above the river. His horses are rapidly losing condition and breaking down. At camp 81, two days later, he threw away a quantity of horseshoes to lighten their load. On the 13th of the month, while trying to find a route up from the river his companion Cuthbertson discovered a waterfall some 50 feet high. Lindsay named the waterfall after him. In the large basin below it they caught enough fish for a meal. They struggled on through the tortuous country. The expedition concluded on 3 November 1883, and Lindsay surmised in his report that some of the country would be good for sugar production. He considered the Goyder River probably navigable for some 40 miles upstream, but disagreed with Captain Francis Cadell that the Blyth River would be the best site for the Territory's capital.

David Lindsay became one of Australia's most experienced explorers of the late 19th century. He was apprenticed as a surveyor in 1873 and in 1878 transferred to the Darwin Land Office. In 1882 he went into private business in the Northern Territory and conducted a number of private surveys and was also commissioned to explore by private syndicates and by the government. In 1891-92 he was commissioned by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch) to lead the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition and later, following the discovery of gold in Western Australia, Lindsay worked as a mining surveyor.
Subjects
Related names :

Lindsay, David, 1856-1922

Cuthbertson, Mr.

Coverage year : 1883
Place : Liverpool River (NT)
Further reading :
Champion, George Australia's forgotten explorer: David Lindsay, F.R.G.S. Killarney Heights, N.S.W.: G. and S. Champion, c1993
Day, Alan Edwin Historical dictionary of the discovery and exploration of Australia Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2003
Internet links :
Exhibitions and events :

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge August 2004-


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