Australian Explorers

John Oxley was one of Australia's early explorers and a Surveyor-General at the time he explored. John Oxley contributed a great deal to the exploration of Australia, and his achievements are his many great discoveries..

In 1817, Governor Macquarie ordered Oxley to follow the course of the Lachlan River, to determine where it led. Oxley followed and mapped much of the course of the Lachlan, although he was thwarted by marshes, and could not complete the expedition to its conclusion. However, he discovered and named the Bogan River, on 13 August 1817.

On 26 August 1818 Oxley and George Evans climbed a hill and saw before them rich, fertile plains which they named the Liverpool Plains after Lord Liverpool, the British Prime Minister. This countryside is now some of the richest in New South Wales.

On 23 October 1823, John Oxley sailed from Sydney to travel north along the coastline, with the aim of finding a suitable settlement for convicts in the north. Less than two months later, on 2 December 1823, Oxley came across the entrance to the Brisbane River, which ticket-of-leave convict timber-getters, Parsons, Pamphlett and Finnegan had already discovered by accident. Oxley was subsequently credited with the discovery of the Brisbane River.

It depends on which journey is meant. Sturt departed in late 1828 to trace the Macquarie River. Following the Macquarie inland, he and his party came to a smaller river which he named the Bogan, after an Aboriginal word meaning "birthplace of a king". Sturt followed the Bogan downstream past the site of today's Bourke, until he arrived suddenly at what he described as "a noble river", on 2 February 1829. This was the Darling, which Sturt named after Governor Darling. The discovery of the Darling brought a new element to the mystery of the rivers: its banks clearly showed that during flood-times, it would carry huge amounts of water. Later in 1829, Sturt departed Sydney to trace the course of the Murrumbidgee River, and to see whether it joined to the Darling. On this expedition, Sturt discovered that the Murrumbidgee River flowed into the Murray (previously named the Hume), as did the Darling. By following the Murray in the whaleboat, Sturt found that it flowed to the southern ocean, emptying out at Lake Alexandrina on the south coast. However, these discoveries were made in 1830, rather than 1829.

Charles Sturt did not sail a ship for his discoveries. Whilst he came to Australia aboard a ship, there being no other method for travelling across the seas in those days, his exploration down the Murray was done in an unnamed whaleboat towing a skiff.

No Charles Stuart did not have any children. Charles was an explorer and most known for exploring parts of Australia.

in 1817

The ship used by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills for their expedition to cross Australia in 1860 was called the "Victoria." It was part of the expedition's supplies and transportation, which aimed to traverse from Melbourne to the northern coast of Australia.

He wanted to help advance the new colony in South Australia

Edward Eyre was the first European explorer to cross the Australian continent from east to west. Born in 1815 in Hornsea, Yorkshire, he came to Australia as a young man and gained valuable bush skills whilst droving cattle overland from Sydney through to the Liverpool Plains, Molonglo and Port Phillip.

Eyre originally intended to cross the continent from south to north, taking with him his overseer, John Baxter, and three Aborigines. He was forced to revise his plans when his way became blocked by the numerous saltpans of South Australia, leading him to believe that a gigantic inland sea in the shape of a horseshoe prevented access to the north. It was then, in 1840, that he set out from what is now called the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, making his way across the Nullarbor Plain to Albany in the the west.

Thomas Mitchell(explorer) died on the 5th of October, 1855. He died at his home, Darling Point, New South Wales. He was 63 when he died.

Charles Sturt travelled on the Murray River in a whaleboat and a skiff. He was the first explorer to trace the Murray to its mouth, at Encounter Bay, on the southern coast.

45!!!

John Oxley, the explorer, married Emma Norton on 31 October 1821, with whom he had two sons. Prior to this, he also had two daughters by Charlotte Thorpe and another daughter by Elizabeth Marnon.

Charles Sturt's second journey was sponsored by Governor Darling who commissioned Sturt to trace the course of the Murrumbidgee River, and to see whether it joined to the Darling. This was in December 1829- February 1830. On this expedition, Sturt discovered that the Murrumbidgee River flowed into the Murray (previously named the Hume), as did the Darling.

It remains uncertain when John Oxley was born. Biographies written about him variously list him as being born in 1783 or 1785.

Persistence.

Between 1790 and 1810, most explorers tried to follow the ravines, creeks and gullies, hoping they would lead to a route through the mountains. In the end, a route across the ridges of the Blue Mountains was found by William Lawson, William Wentworth and Gregory Blaxland.

Australian explorer Gregory Blaxland died on 1 January 1853. Always a turbulent and erratic-tempered man, he committed suicide by hanging himself.

Major Thomas Mitchell was born in Craigend, Scotland, in 1792. He came to Australia after serving in the Army during the Napoleonic Wars, and took up the position of Surveyor-General of New South Wales. In this capacity, he undertook numerous expeditions of exploration into the NSW interior.

Mitchell's first expedition was to investigate rumours of a north-flowing river situated in northern New South Wales: a river that did not exist, but stories of which were spread by an escaped convict. He departed in November 1831. He discovered the lower courses of the Peel (Namoi), Gwydir, and Dumaresq Rivers and identified the Upper Darling.

Mitchell's second journey set out on 7 April 1835 from Boree Station, to follow and map the course of the Darling River which Sturt had discovered some years earlier. Mitchell was determined to prove Sturt wrong in the latter's belief that the river flowed southward into the Murray, as Mitchell believed it must flow northwest. After travelling for several months and following the Darling for almost 500km, Mitchell was forced to admit that Sturt was indeed correct.

On his third journey, Mitchell discovered the rich farming country of western Victoria, which he named "Australia Felix", or "Happy Australia". Prior to reaching this district, Mitchell found significant grazing land south of the Murray River. South of the Murray he discovered the Avoca and Glenelg Rivers. He then went on to discover the Campaspe and Wimmera Rivers and reached the coast near Cape Northumberland. This journey was in 1836.

Mitchell departed on his fourth and final expedition on 16 December 1845, with Edmund Kennedy as his second in command, in search of a great river that he believed must flow from southern Queensland to the Gulf of Carpentaria. He left from Orange in central New South Wales, and headed into what is now western Queensland. Mitchell discovered and named the Balonne, Warrego, Culgoa, Barcoo and Belyando rivers, which mostly flowed south-west into the Darling.

Captain Charles Sturt was born in India in 1795. He came to Australia in 1827, and soon after undertook to solve the mystery of where the inland rivers of New South Wales flowed. Because they appeared to flow towards the centre of the continent, the belief was held that they emptied into an inland sea. Drawing on the skills of experienced bushman and explorer Hamilton Hume, Sturt first traced the Macquarie River as far as the Darling, which he named after Governor Darling. In 1829, Governor Darling then sent Sturt to trace the course of the Murrumbidgee River, and to see whether it joined to the Darling. Sturt followed the Murrumbidgee in a whaleboat and discovered that the Murrumbidgee River flowed into the Murray (previously named the Hume), and that the Murray flowed to the southern coast, being joined by the Darling along the way. Sturt's discoveries were significant, for they allowed for the development of paddle-steamer transportation of goods and passengers along Australia's inland waterways. The exploration also allowed for the opening up of more fertile pasture and grazing land in southern Australia.

Eyre wanted to be the first to drive cattle overland from Sydney to the new colony of South Australia. He first explored in 1837, when he departed from Limestone Plains (today's site of Canberra), with over a thousand sheep and cattle. He travelled first to Melbourne, then tried to head directly west to Adelaide. Conditions were difficult, as it was a drought year, so he could not get through the mallee country of western Victoria. Eyre had to retrace his steps to the Murray River, and his first explorations were not successful.

In 1839, Eyre left Adelaide to explore north. He discovered excellent countryside just north of Adelaide and around today's Hutt River. It was on this journey that he discovered and named Mount Remarkable. Eyre finally arrived at the head of Spencer Gulf on 15 May 1839, where he discovered and named Depot Creek.

Eyre left Adelaide in June 1840 to explore north towards the centre of Australia. He did not get very far as he was blocked by salt lake after salt lake: each time he attempted to go around a salt lake, he found his way barred by yet another. This led to Eyre's theory that Adelaide was surrounded by a vast horseshoe-shaped salt lake. By sheer bad luck, Eyre was unable to locate any of the breaks between the numerous salt-lakes which encircled the area. In September 1840, Eyre climbed and named "Mt Hopeless".

Following this unsuccessful attempt, Eyre returned to Streaky Bay, on the western coast of the Eyre Peninsula. From there he then travelled to past where Ceduna is today, reaching Fowler's Bay on 17 November 1840. At this point, he chose to go west, which no-one had ever tried before. He finally reached Albany in June 1841 in an amazing journey of courage and endurance across the Nullarbor Plain.

Edward John Eyre was born on 5 August 1815 in Hornsea, Yorkshire, England.

Edmund Kennedy did three expeditions. 1. In 1845, he was appointed second-in-command to Sir Thomas Mitchell for the expedition to search for an overland route to the Gulf of Carpentaria, although he did little more than maintain Mirchell's base camp for four months. 2. In 1847, Kennedy volunteered to continue where Mitchell's previous expedition had left off, exploring the Victoria River. After finding that the Victoria River flowed into Cooper's Creek, he renamed the 'Victoria' the Barcoo, and discovered and named the Thomson River. He then traced the Warrego River as far as he could, until there was nothing left to trace. 3. His final journey was in 1848, when he was to chart the northern coastline from Rockingham Bay to Cape York Peninsula - this was the journey on which he speared to death by hostile Aborigines. Only his own aboriginal guide, Jackey-Jackey, survived this trek.

Edward Eyre died of natural causes at the age of 85.

Like some of the other early Australian explorers, Eyre faced exhaustion, starvation and thirst. on his attempt to cross Australia from south to north, he was blocked by a series of salt lakes. These forced him back to Fiwler's Bay, where he made the decision to cross from east to west. The Anangu people (Aborigines) saved his party on this journey by showing him how to find water, and even digging the well for him when it became apparent that his men were incapable of doing it properly.

The journey west was particularly arduous, and Eyre was forced to offload every last bit of non-vital equipment - even his prized copy of Sturt's explorations which Sturt had given him. Eyre's major problem, however, was the murder of his overseer John Baxter, by two of the Aborigines who accompanied him. He was forced to continue on with just one faithful companion, Wylie, a Western Australian Aborigine.

Sturt crossed what is now known as Sturt's Stony Desert in 1845.