Mr. Eyre decides to turn back |
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| Title : | Mr. Eyre decides to turn back |
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| Creator : | Eyre, Edward John, 1815-1901 | ||
| Source : | Journals of expeditions of discovery into Central Australia, and overland from Adelaide to King Georges Sound, in the years 1840-1 ... p. 130 | ||
| Place Of Creation : | London | ||
| Publisher : | T. and W. Boone | ||
| Date of creation : | 1845 | ||
| Format : | Book | ||
| Contributor : | State Library catalogue | ||
| Catalogue record | |||
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| Description : |
Edward Eyre had left Adelaide in 1840 to explore to the north of the colony. Whichever way he went it seemed to him that his progress forward was blocked by an enormous arc of unpassable salt lake which extended from west of Spencer Gulf around to the north and to the east. He compared the western and eastern arms of his vast horseshoe Lake Torrens, with all the streams and creeks draining into this central area. He could see no value in pursuing any exploration to the east or north of his current position. He decided to return to his main party some 100 miles to the south. He was bitterly disappointed. It appeared that there was no passage further to the north of the colony and on to the centre of the continent. Eyre returned to his main party and then continued south into Eyre Peninsula and Streaky Bay, where he hoped to make another attempt to go to the north. However once there he decided to travel to the west, to Albany in Western Australia, looking for a route for overlanding cattle to that colony. He sent back most of his men, keeping with him only his overseer John Baxter and three Aboriginal men. It was now January 1841 the height of the Australian summer, but Eyre persisted in travelling to the west. Baxter was killed and two of the Aboriginal men ran away, taking essential supplies including two guns. The intense heat was combined with severe water shortages. In early June they received welcome assistance from a French whaler, before travelling on. Eventually Eyre with his faithful Aboriginal companion Wylie reached Albany in July 1841. There was no commercial value in his pioneering route across the continent. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Eyre, Edward John, 1815-1901 Baxter, John, d. 1841 Wylie (Aboriginal man) |
| Coverage year : | 1840 |
| Period : | 1836-1851 |
| Place : | Central Australia |
| Region : | Flinders Ranges and Far North - Outback |
| Further reading : | Eyre, Edward John, Journals of expeditions of discovery into Central Australia, and overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound, in the years 1840-1 ... Adelaide: Libraries Board of South Australia, 1964 Dutton, Geoffrey, The hero as murderer: the life of Edward John Eyre, Australian Explorer and Governor of Jamaica 1815-1901 Sydney: Collins; Melbourne: Cheshire, 1967 Stokes, Edward, The desert coast: Edward Eyre's expedition 1840-41 Knoxfield, Vic.: Five Mile Press, 1993 |
| Internet links : | University of Adelaide Online books Journals of expeditions of discovery into Central Australia, and overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound, in the years 1840-1 sent by the colonists of South Australia, with the sanction and support of the government by Edward John Eyre. See Chapter VII.
Australian dictionary of biography online: Eyre, Edward John (1815-1901) Edward John Eyre (Wikipedia) |
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