Thread: Which Australian Explorer?

Maybe not explorers as such, but I reckon they could base much of the Aussie history curriculum on the writings of Ion Idriess-covering both Australiana history as well as Boer war and World War 1 history.
Flynn, Kidman, some small time boundary rider named Charles Rasp and so on. Even Lasseter for a bit of interesting speculative learning.

There's a lot of history associated with 'The Last of the Australian Explorers' - aka Len Beadell.

For me it's Giles, Shackleton and Len Beadell with a very honourable mention for Alfred Gibson and Frank Hann.

Deano

The leyland brothers

Since the phrase 'last explorer" (or something like) that has cropped up, I wonder how many people have heard of the Australian explorer on whose exploits the book, "The Last Explorer" was based.

He had quite a few "firsts" to his name, but the majority of Australians have never heard of him.

My personal favourite has had one mention so far.

A difficult question to answer, one mans fish is another mans poisson. Take your choice from any of these, But I dare say each state would gravitate towards their particular area of interest, Bob

Project Gutenberg Australia gratefully acknowledges the significant contribution of Sue Asscher in preparing many of the eBooks relating to Australian Explorers, which are available from this page.
Journals of Australian Land and Sea Explorers and Discoverers

In March1606 Willem Janszoon, on board the Duyfken, charted about 300 km of the west coast of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. He is the first authenticated discoverer of Australia. From that time many seafarers made contact with the Australian coast including Torres, Hartog, Pelsaert, Dampier and Cook.
From the landing of the first fleet in 1788, the "new" inhabitants of Australia were desperate to know what lay beyond the mountains which rose about 50 kilometres inland from the coast and which formed a seeminly impenetrable barrier to exploration of the continent. There was a very practical reason for this need to know: their very survival seemed to depend on finding suitable land for grazing and cultivation. Beyond that, however, was the curiosity which has always driven men to discovery.
Gradually the map of the inland of the continent was drawn, first with the discovery, by Blaxland Lawson and Wentworth, of a way across the Blue Mountains, and then by men such as Sturt, Oxley, Eyre, Stuart, Giles, Leichhardt, and Burke and Wills. The outline of the continent was mapped by navigators including Cook, Flinders, King and Stokes.
At the time of their discoveries there was great interest in the exploits of these explorers and it was a was a common practice for them to prepare a journal of their expeditions for publication in England. Then, for more than a century afterwards, their exploits were taught in schools.
A reassessment has since taken place, where settlement is seen as invasion and exploration is seen as expropriation. Of course, these were men of their time and as such behaved in a way which would be unacceptable to us now. However, their courage, determination and curiosity shine through in their writing. Furthermore, in reading their journals we are able to take part in the journeys which they made. Sue Asscher, who prepared many of the ebooks listed below, summed it up very well when she commented "I do love and hate the explorers: they kill anything that moves, turn turtles over, poke through graves, look up grass skirts, take things for further examination never to be returned, scoff at anything superstitious, etc. taking notes all the time...and then call, with a sneer, some native girls who come to take a look at them, the explorers, 'the inquisitive sex'".
We have here at Project Gutenberg Australia, in ebook form, one of the most comprehensive collections in the world of the journals of Australian explorers. Furthermore, the 'HTML' versions contain the illustrations which were included in the original publications. Click on the explorer's name to see an image of the explorer, biographical information, and a sketch map of the routes travelled. Also see the Australian Explorers page for more information about Australian land and sea exploration.









Gregory BLAXLAND (1778-1853)

• The Journal of Gregory Blaxland, 1813 (1913)--Text-- ZIP--HTML--ZIPPED HTML Includes a number of photographs taken in 1913, at the time of the centenary of the crossing, edited by Frank Walker (1861-1948)
  (Incorporating "Journal of a Tour of Discovery Across the Blue Mountains, NSW, in the year 1813".)

David CARNEGIE (1871-1900)

• Spinifex and Sand

William CARRON (1821-1876) (A survivor of Kennedy's Expedition to Cape York in 1848)

• Narrative of an Expedition Undertaken Under the Direction of E. B. Kennedy (1849)--Text--ZIP

James COOK (1728-1779)

• Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World made in H.M. bark "Endeavour"
• A Voyage Towards the South pole and Around the World--Volume I--Volume II

William DAMPIER (1651-1715)

• A New Voyage Round the World--Text-- ZIP--HTML
• A Voyage to New Holland, etc in the year 1699
• A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland, etc in the year 1699

Edward John EYRE (1815-1901)

• Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia, etc., Volume 1 and 2
• (An account of the manners and customs of the Aborigines and the state of their relations with Europeans is also included in Volume 2, above.)

Matthew FLINDERS (1774-1814)

• A Voyage to Terra Australis, Volume 1 (Includes an account of Bass and Flinders discoveries on the east coast of Australia--See Part II.)
• A Voyage to Terra Australis, Volume 2

John and Alexander FORREST

• Explorations in Australia

Ernest GILES

• Australia Twice Traversed

Frank and Augustus GREGORY

• Journals of Australian Exploration

George GREY

• Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume 1
• Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume 2

William HOVELL and Hamilton HUME

• Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip--Text--ZIP--HTML

Alexander and Frank JARDINE

• Narrative of the Overland Expedition of the Messrs Jardine, from Rockhampton to Cape York, Northern Queensland
  (Edited by F. J. Byerley).

Phillip Parker KING

• Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia, Volume 1
• Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia, Volume 2

William LANDSBOROUGH

• Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria, in Search of Burke and Wills, 1862.

Ludwig LEICHHARDT

• Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia 1844-1845
  [A. H. Chisholm's research and discovery of Gilbert's diaries and letters throws a new light on Leichhardt's expedition. Refer to Chisholm's book, "Strange New World," (Syd, 1955).]

David LINDSAY

• Journal of the Elder Exploring Expedition, 1891-2

John MacGILLIVRAY

• Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, 1846-50, Volume 1
• Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, 1846-50, Volume 2

John McKINLAY

• McKinlay's Journal of Exploration in the Interior of Australia (Burke Relief Expedition)

Thomas MITCHELL

• Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
• Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1
• Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2

John OXLEY

• Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales

John Lort STOKES

• Discoveries in Australia, with an Account of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea.)Volume 1 Volume 2

John McDouall STUART

• Explorations in Australia

Charles STURT

• Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia
• Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia

Abel TASMAN

• The Journal of Abel Jansz Tasman, 1642, with Documents Relating to his Exploration of Australia in 1644

Frederick WALKER

• Journal of Expedition in search of Burke and Wills

Peter Warburton

• Journey Across the Western Interior of Australia (1873)
• Major Warburton's Explorations in 1866

William John WILLS

• Successful Exploration through the Interior of Australia

Don't forget Augustus Gregory, William Landsborough, Nat Buchanan, Harry Redford, and Fred Diehm. Fred was one of either Gregory or Landsborough expeditions. There are still Diehms in the Winton, Cloncurry, Mt. Isa districts. Hard bush people, the Diehms, tank sinkers, fencers, delvers, bore drainers, land clearers. Any hard physical bush work and there was likely a Diehm there with axe, shovel and callouses. These guys went out into the unexplored areas of Western Queensland and the NT, and, true bushmen, survived where the big time names and their well equipped parties perished.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Since the phrase 'last explorer" (or something like) that has cropped up, I wonder how many people have heard of the Australian explorer on whose exploits the book, "The Last Explorer" was based.

He had quite a few "firsts" to his name, but the majority of Australians have never heard of him.

My personal favourite has had one mention so far.

Absolutely no argument that Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins was a/. an Australian and b/. an explorer of great courage and achievement. Unfortunately for him he was born about 100 years too late, ie. he came at the end of the 'great exploration era' with plenty of 'explorers' both great and otherwise lauded before him.
From an 'Australian' aspect, the majority of his achievements/fame were not to do with Australia.
Mt. Bryan, a fly spot town in SA is a place I've driven through often which proudly proclaims itself as "The birthplace of Sir Hubert Wilkins", is a place I have not stopped in to 'have a look'.

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