Thread: Which Australian Explorer?

Originally Posted by DeanoH

I'm madly trying to recall the famous Australian aviator killed in an aeroplane crash in the Italian? alps who was also a very under recognised explorer.

Deano

Bert Hinkler?

My opinion is that ALL of australias explorers/ adventurers require a mention; both for their success and failures. The diametric opposite 'results' of some of the above mentioned expeditions show the amazing fortitude and in some cases pure luck of the great era of exploration in this country.

we embarked on a guided retrace of Bourke and Wills' expedition in 2012 (only managed the first 3rd of the trip due to time constraints from work) and thoroughly enjoyed the history and hardship/ folly that befell this expedition.
Chris Boden, author of Untitled Document led the trip and provided an amazing resource of mapping, background reading/ studies and commentary on the trip. Yesterday I was invited back for another Bourke & Wills this year, but again, work is in the way.

I would say, judging by what I have seen and read I would be happy to have all kids taught everything about the early explorers, both the well prepped and not so well. It will give a full rounded view of the times and hardships faced, hopefully will make them appreciate their surroundings more!

JC

Originally Posted by vnx205

Bert Hinkler?

Got it in one.

Just found this snippet in Wikipedia (encyclopaedia by consensus, a scary concept).................

A small piece of wood, a relic from one Hinkler's hand-made gliders, was presented to the U.S. astronaut Don L Lynd in early 1986 as a token of appreciation for his coming to Bundaberg to contribute to the Hinkler Memorial Lectures. Lind in turn gave it to Dick Scobee, the captain of the ill-fated final Challenger mission. Scobee took the wood with him on board the Challenger, inside a small plastic bag that he placed in his locker. After the explosion, the bag and the wood were recovered from the sea, identified, mounted, and later returned to the Hinkler Memorial Museum

...............well there you go.


Deano

One thing that seems to becoming apparent is the huge number of people who made a significant contribution in the filed of exploration. Some of them are well known; others are less well known and some of them don't appear in any of the official records.

Comments by JustinC and Bob10 give me an excuse to explain who my favourite is and why.

i will start by saying it is a decision based almost entirely on my heart rather than my head. It is not based entirely on logic.

Bob suggested that explorers relevant to the local area could have greater appeal and Justin mentioned the enjoyment to be had by walking (or driving) in the footsteps of some of the explorers. Just as an aside, when I visited the Dig Tree many years ago with a friend, he said that he and some others had walked the same route that Burke, Wills and King walked on their last day to arrive at the Dig Tree. He thought he was pretty fit, but found it an effort to complete what those explorers had done that day.

I believe that there is nothing like feeling some personal attachment or connection to make something seem more interesting or important and I think that is part of the message of Justin's and Bob's posts.

When I retired, my colleagues gave me a facsimile copy of Ernest Giles' "Australia Twice Traversed", which I found fascinating reading. On my first trip to Alice Springs, I took a few photocopied pages from the book with me. There was something special about sitting in Palm Valley reading Giles' description of the place. I have also visited a couple of other nearby places that were important to Giles, such as Chamber's Pillar and Peake Station.

I suppose I could argue that it was Giles persistence that appealed to me or the fact that he probably wrote more eloquently than most explorers. I could argue that it was his ability to emerge alive on foot from the desert that claimed Gibson (with Giles' horse and compass) that I admire. However I think it is largely that having been to a few of the places that Giles visited, made him more real, more significant or more alive for me.

I have read Leichardt's journal and visited the Dig Tree and the other historic sites around Coopers Creek, but for some reason Giles comes ahead of them on my list.

Originally Posted by vnx205

One thing that seems to becoming apparent is the huge number of people who made a significant contribution in the filed of exploration. Some of them are well known; others are less well known and some of them don't appear in any of the official records.

Comments by JustinC and Bob10 give me an excuse to explain who my favourite is and why.

i will start by saying it is a decision based almost entirely on my heart rather than my head. It is not based entirely on logic.

Bob suggested that explorers relevant to the local area could have greater appeal and Justin mentioned the enjoyment to be had by walking (or driving) in the footsteps of some of the explorers. Just as an aside, when I visited the Dig Tree many years ago with a friend, he said that he and some others had walked the same route that Burke, Wills and King walked on their last day to arrive at the Dig Tree. He thought he was pretty fit, but found it an effort to complete what those explorers had done that day.

I believe that there is nothing like feeling some personal attachment or connection to make something seem more interesting or important and I think that is part of the message of Justin's and Bob's posts.

When I retired, my colleagues gave me a facsimile copy of Ernest Giles' "Australia Twice Traversed", which I found fascinating reading. On my first trip to Alice Springs, I took a few photocopied pages from the book with me. There was something special about sitting in Palm Valley reading Giles' description of the place. I have also visited a couple of other nearby places that were important to Giles, such as Chamber's Pillar and Peake Station.

I suppose I could argue that it was Giles persistence that appealed to me or the fact that he probably wrote more eloquently than most explorers. I could argue that it was his ability to emerge alive on foot from the desert that claimed Gibson (with Giles' horse and compass) that I admire. However I think it is largely that having been to a few of the places that Giles visited, made him more real, more significant or more alive for me.

I have read Leichardt's journal and visited the Dig Tree and the other historic sites around Coopers Creek, but for some reason Giles comes ahead of them on my list.

Right on brother!, Agree with you. And I'm not trying to make light of an important subject. How hard were those men. That is why our youth should be taught . Bob

The travels of John Oxley hold a great deal of interest and admiration for me. The early explorers must have had balls of cast iron. History is a wonderful insight of our inner beings and I find it fascinating.
Regards
Robbo

Originally Posted by bob10

Right on brother!, Agree with you. And I'm not trying to make light of an important subject. How hard were those men. That is why our youth should be taught . Bob

Better idea - thanks to JustinC - don't teach them in a classroom: rather they should go out and retrace a route of one to actually bring it to life!

Originally Posted by Quarks

Better idea - thanks to JustinC - don't teach them in a classroom: rather they should go out and retrace a route of one to actually bring it to life!

Totally. my only regret was that both my girls (15 and 20) were 'too old' to really enjoy travelling and experiencing these things with their parents

as a young'n, i would've given my right arm for these experiences, i was blessed from time to time as we spent a lot of fossicking time in the WA goldfields with the parents

jc