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In the case of the British, it was the desire to conquer more lands and increase the size of the British Empire. They were particularly keen to prevent France from laying claim to more lands. The Dutch and Portuguese often explored new land they came across by accident whilst trading with Asia and the East Indies. They sought new items to trade, but were not interested in Australia for its own sake, so never explored beyond its immediate coastline. Some sought simply to be the first to make a particular journey, gaining fame and fortune. The Australian explorers Burke and Wills fall into this category. They responded to the Victorian government's offer of money to explore. Similarly, When the South Australian government offered a reward to the first person to cross the continent from south to north, this was the lure for Stuart. Some would not gain any fortune, but they wished to be the first to do something noteworthy that no-one had previously done, to fill in the gaps of knowledge. This was Eyre's motivation. Major Mitchell was one who was driven to be the best at the many things he undertook, including exploration. He was an ambitious man who wanted to "conquer" the land, and he spent months and months trying to disprove Sturt's theory of where the rivers flowed. Others desperately needed new land. This was the motivation behind the first Australian crossing of the Blue Mountains, by Lawson, Wentworth and Blaxland. Continuing on from this, others sought still more fertile lands that could be settled - many Australian explorers such as Evans, Sturt and Cunningham explored for this reason. For some, it was just the excitement of the unknown: finding a river and wishing to trace it to its source, or climbing a mountain just because it was there.

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16y ago

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