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.

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.

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.

Lake Eyre, Australia has a surface area of 9500km2

Edward Eyre discovered Lake Eyre on 27 August 1840. Lake Eyre was one of several salt lakes which blocked Eyre's attempt to cross from south to north. Other salt lakes which seemed to Eyre to form an impassable horseshoe-shaped barrier included Lake Blanche, Lake Torrens and Lake Callabonna.

After marrying in 1850, Edward John Eyre had 5 children: four sons and a daughter.

Yes. Edward Eyre was the first European to attempt to drive cattle and sheep from New South Wales to Adelaide. It was while he was on this expedition in 1838 that he came across Lake Hindmarsh and camped there. Eyre named the lake after the Governor of South Australia, Sir John Hindmarsh.

Christopher Columbus did. he was actually trying to find a new trade route to Asia, but along the way he stopped at land, and called it, Newfoundland. he thought that the world was a lot smaller than it really is, so he thought if he sailed around, it would quickly lead him to Asia. What he didn't know is, he landed on The land beneath The US. He was never actually known to step foot on what we now know the United States Of America.

Edward Eyre's father was Anthony William Eyre (vicar of Hornsea and Long Riston).

His mother was Sarah (née Mapleton).

Eyre married Adelaide Fanny, daughter of Captain Osmond, and together they had four sons and one daughter.

In 1840, Edward Eyre discovered Lake Eyre, which was one of several salt lakes which blocked Eyre's attempt to cross from south to north. Other salt lakes which seemed to Eyre to form an impassable horseshoe-shaped barrier included Lake Blanche, Lake Torrens and Lake Callabonna, also discovered by Eyre but believed to be part of an inland sea. Eyre incorrectly formed the opinion that they all formed one large salt lake. It was another couple of decades before further exploration showed that they were separate salt lakes, and not an inland sea.

Edward Eyre is better known for being the first European to cross Australia from Adelaide to Albany, or east to west, rather than for any great discoveries.

Lake Eyre changes so often due to climatic and environmental reasons.

Wylie was the Aborigine who faithfully accompanied Edward Eyre across the Nullarbor Plain, from Streaky Bay to Albany in the west.

Edward Eyre's journey was beset with numerous interesting events, some good and some bad.

Eyre sought to be the first to make the crossing through central Australia from south to north, but his way was blocked by saltpans. He was unlucky enough to not find any of the breaks between the saltpans, so he was convinced that a vast, horseshoe-shaped salt lake lay in central Australia, and maps of Australia reflected this error for many years. Eyre then made the choice to be the first to make the crossing west, as he did not wish to return to adelaide without having achieved anything at all.

Lack of water was a huge problem for Eyre on his initial attempt to go north, but he was helped by Aborigines of the Anangu tribe, who helped his party find and collect water. The Anangu was very generous, always sharing their food and water supplies whenever Eyre encountered them. Even after they showed Eyre's party how to dig for water, Eyre's men could not successfully dig, as the sand in the hole they dig kept falling in and refilling the hole. The Aborigines actually got into the hole for Eyre's men, with one supporting the sand wall with his back in what Eyre described in his journal as being in a cramped and uncomfortable position for some time, while he scooped out enough water for not only Eyre's men, but his horses as well.

Eyre took three Aborigines as guides with him on his trek. One, a Western Australian Aborigine named Wylie, remained a faithful companion. The other two wanted to return to their tribes in new South wales, so they murdered Eyre's overseer, John Baxter, and took off with most of the remaining food supplies, guns and gunpowder. Eyre couldn't even bury Baxter in the hard limestone of the Nullarbor Plain, but had to leave his body wrapped in a blanket on the surface. Baxter's body was never recovered, but the site of his murder is now marked by a cairn at Baxter Cliffs, along the great Australian Bight.

At one stage, Eyre and Wylie were starving so much that, when they exited the Nullarbor and found their way to the beach west of the Bight, they feasted on a dead penguin, and Wylie then proceeded to also completely demolish a dead wallaby.

Towards the end of his journey, Eyre was saved by Captain Rossiter of a French Whaling vessel. Rossiter brought Eyre and Wylie aboard, aloowing them to rest for two weeks, and even arranged for his horses to be freshly shod, fed and watered.

The Lake Eyre basin, meaning the rivers and creeks that feed Lake Eyre, covers almost a sixth of the Australian continent. Water reaches Lake Eyre from the Diamantina and Georgina Rivers in Queensland, which feed it in from the vast channel country of the north, the main catchment area, as well as from the Barcoo and Thomson Rivers in Queensland, parts of the Northern Territory, western New South Wales and, of course, South Austalia itself, via the Cooper Creek catchment.

Lake Eyre is most likely to have water following the monsoonal season in northern Australia. However, it fills only about once every decade, often remaining dry for longer periods than that.

No, he did not. Ayers Rock was named after the former Premier of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Explorer William Gosse, of the South Australian Survey Department, became the first European explorer to see Ayers Rock. His expedition into the central interior departed Alice Springs in April 1873, heading in a northwesterly direction. Gosse discovered the rock (now known by its native name of Uluru) by accident during an expedition through Australia's interior. The need to find water for his camels forced him to take a more southerly course than he had originally planned. It was on 18 July 1873 that he sighted Ayers Rock, recording that, "This rock is certainly the most wonderful natural feature I have ever seen". (source: today.wmit.net - July 18)

Edward Eyre was initially accompanied by three Aborigines, but only one stayed loyal to him and made the complete crossing with him over the Nullarbor Plain. This was Wylie, who was from Albany in Western Australia. The other two Aborigines, who killed Eyre's white overseer, John Baxter, and made off with most of the supplies, were Joey and Yarry.