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European land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout the colonial period, 1788–1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such asBurke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well asHamilton Hume andCharles Sturt.
For many years, plans of westward expansion from Sydney were thwarted by theGreat Dividing Range, a large range of mountains which shadows the east coast from the Queensland-New South Wales border to the south coast. The part of the range near Sydney is called theBlue Mountains. After numerous attemptsWilliam Paterson led an expedition northward along the coast to theHunter Region in 1801 and up thePaterson River (later named in his honour by Governor King) and in 1804 Paterson led an expedition toPort Dalrymple, in what is now Tasmania, exploring theTamar River and going up theNorth Esk River farther than any European had previously gone.[1]
Despite King's pronouncement, some settlers continued to try crossing the mountains.Gregory Blaxland was the first to successfully lead anexpedition to cross them in 1813, accompanied byWilliam Lawson,William Wentworth and four servants. This trip paved the way for numerous small expeditions which were undertaken in the following few years.[2]
On 13 November 1813 GovernorLachlan Macquarie sent Government Surveyor,George Evans, across the Blue Mountains to confirm the findings of Blaxland's exploration party. Evans generally followed Blaxland's route, reaching the end of their route on 26 November 1813 at a point Evans namedMount Blaxland. Evans's party then moved on and discovered the Fish River area and further west near the junction of the now named Fish and Campbell Rivers and described two plains in his view, the O'Connell Plains and the Macquarie Plains.[3] On 9 December he reached the site of present-dayBathurst.[4] After the explorations that took seven weeks Governor Macquarie awarded Evans £100 and 1000 acres of land nearRichmond in Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). Evans departed for Tasmania in 1814.[3]
In 1814, GovernorLachlan Macquarie approved an offer byWilliam Cox to build a road crossing the Blue Mountains, fromEmu Plains, the existing road terminus west of Sydney, to the Bathurst Plains. The first road to cross the Blue Mountains was 12 feet (3.7 m) wide by101+1⁄2 miles (163.3 km) long, built between 18 July 1814 to 14 January 1815 using 5 freemen, 30 convict labourers and 8 soldiers as guards. Governor Macquarie surveyed the finished road in April 1815,[5] and as a reward Cox was awarded 2,000 acres (810 ha) of land near what is now Bathurst.
On 7 May 1815, Governor Macquarie proclaimed the name of the future town ofBathurst,[6] the first inland town in Australia and intended to be the administrative centre of the western plains of New South Wales.
Evans was back in New South Wales by 1815 to continue inland explorations.[3] In 1815, Evans was the first colonial explorer to enter theLachlan Valley, naming the area the Oxley Plains after his superior theSurveyor-General,John Oxley. He also discovered the Abercrombie and Belubula River Valleys. He was the first explorer through the areas that now include the towns ofBoorowa andCowra.
On 1 June 1815 in Eugowra, a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, George William Evans and his group marked a tree at the junction of Lachlan river and a creek which they named Byrnes Creek. This was the furthest west any Europeans had travelled into the country. On 1 June 1815 he was running short of provisions and returned to Bathurst where he arrived on 12 June. This journey opened the way for later explorations, mainly byJohn Oxley. Evans took part in some of Oxley's expeditions.
Evans returned to Tasmania in 1817 but was again to return to New South Wales to journey with his superior John Oxley on travels into theLachlan River areas, along the path of theMacquarie River to theMacquarie Marshes and eastwards to the coast toPort Macquarie.[3]
In March 1817, Oxley was instructed to take charge of an expedition to explore and survey the course of theLachlan River. He left Sydney on 6 April with Evans, as second-in-command, and Allan Cunningham as botanist. Oxley's party reached Bathurst after a week, where they were briefly detained by bad weather. They reached the Lachlan River on 25 April 1817 and commenced to follow its course, with part of the stores being conveyed in boats. As the exploring party travelled westward the country surrounding the rising river was found to be increasingly inundated. On 12 May, west of the present township of Forbes, they found their progress impeded by an extensive marsh. After retracing their route for a short distance they then proceeded in a south-westerly direction, intending to travel overland to the southern Australian coastline. By the end of May the party found themselves in a dry scrubby country. Shortage of water and the death of two horses forced Oxley's return to the Lachlan River. On 23 June the Lachlan River was reached:
They followed the course of the Lachlan River for a fortnight. The party encountered much flooded country, and on 7 July Oxley recorded that:
Oxley resolved to turn back and after resting for two days Oxley's party began to retrace their steps along the Lachlan River. They left the Lachlan up-stream of the present site of Lake Cargelligo and crossed to theBogan River and then across to the upper waters of theMacquarie River, which they followed back to Bathurst (arriving on 29 August 1817).[7]
Oxley travelled toDubbo on 12 June 1818. He wrote that he had passed that day "over a very beautiful country, thinly wooded and apparently safe from the highest floods..." Later in 1818 Oxley and his men explored theMacquarie River at length before turning west. On 26 August 1818 they climbed a hill and saw before them rich, fertile land (Peel River), near the present site ofTamworth. Continuing further east they crossed theGreat Dividing Range passing by theApsley Falls on 13 September 1818 which he named the Bathurst Falls. He described it as "one of the most magnificent waterfalls we have seen". He discovered and named the Arbuthnot Range, since renamed theWarrumbungle Range. Upon reaching theHastings River they followed it to its mouth, discovering that it flowed into the sea at a spot which they namedPort Macquarie.
In 1824, GovernorThomas Brisbane askedHamilton Hume andWilliam Hovell to travel from Hume's station, near modern-dayCanberra, toSpencer Gulf (west of modern-dayAdelaide). However, they were required to pay their own costs. Hume and Hovell decided that Western Port (in present-day Victoria) was a more realistic goal, and they left with a party of six men. After discovering and crossing theMurrumbidgee andMurray rivers, they eventually reached a site near modern-dayGeelong, somewhat west of their intended destination.[8][9]
After the Great Dividing Range had been crossed at numerous points and many rivers were discovered—the Darling, Macquarie, Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers—all of which flowed west, a theory was developed of a vast inland sea into which these rivers flowed. Another reason behind the idea of an inland sea was that Matthew Flinders, who had very carefully mapped much of Australia's coast had discovered no great river delta where these rivers should have emerged had they reached the coast. TheMurray-Darling basin actually drains intoLake Alexandrina. Matthew Flinders had noted this on his maps but viewed from the sea does not look like the outfall of a large watershed, but instead as a gentle tidal basin.
The mystery was solved byCharles Sturt, who in 1829–30 undertook an expedition similar to the one which Hume and Hovell had refused: a trip to the mouth of the Murray River. They followed the Murrumbidgee until it met the Murray, and then found the junction of the Murray and theDarling before continuing on to the mouth of the Murray. The search for an inland sea was an inspiration for many early expeditions west of the Great Dividing Ranges. This quest drove many explorers to extremes of endurance and hardship. Charles Sturt's expedition explained the mystery. It also led to the opening of South Australia to settlement.[10]
The theory of the inland sea had some supporters. MajorThomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, set out in 1836 to disprove Sturt's claims and in doing so made a significant discovery. He led an expedition to 'fill in the gaps' left by these previous expeditions. He set off along theLachlan River, down to the Murray River. He then set off for the southern coast, mapping what is now western Victoria. There he discovered the richest grazing land ever seen to that time and named itAustralia Felix. He was knighted for this discovery in 1837. When he reached the coast atPortland Bay, he was surprised to find a small settlement. It had been established by theHenty family, who had sailed acrossBass Strait from Van Diemen's Land in 1834, without the authorities being informed.[11] He was meticulous in seeking to record the original Aboriginal place names around the colony, for which reason the majority of place names to this day retain their Aboriginal titles.[12]
The Polish scientist/explorer CountPaul Edmund Strzelecki conducted surveying work in theAustralian Alps in 1839 and became the first European to ascend Australia's highest peak, which he namedMount Kosciuszko in honour of the Polish patriotTadeusz Kosciuszko.[13]
From 1858 onwards, the so-called"Afghan" cameleers and their beasts played an instrumental role in opening up the outback and helping to build infrastructure.[14]
The competition to chart a route for theAustralian Overland Telegraph Line spurred a number of cross-continental expeditions. Perhaps the most famous of these was theBurke and Wills expedition led byRobert O'Hara Burke andWilliam John Wills who in 1860–61 led a well equipped expedition from Melbourne to theGulf of Carpentaria. Due to an unfortunate run of bad luck, oversight and poor leadership, Burke and Wills both died on the return trip.[15]
Expeditions (in chronological order):
| When | Who | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1804 | William Paterson | Port Dalrymple,Tamar River,North Esk River (Tasmania) |
| 1813 | Blaxland,Wentworth, andLawson | From Sydney across theGreat Dividing Range via theBlue Mountains;first penetration into inlandNew South Wales |
| 1817–1818 | John Oxley[16] | Interior ofNew South Wales; discoveredLachlan River andMacquarie River |
| 1818 | Throsby,Meehan,Hume andWild | Throsby and Wild discovered an overland route from Sydney to Jervis Bay via theKangaroo and LowerShoalhaven rivers Meehan and Hume followed the Shoalhaven upriver and discoveredLake Bathurst and theGoulburn Plains[17] |
| 1820 | Joseph Wild[18] | discoveredLake George[19] |
| 1823 | Currie, Ovens andWild | Region south ofLake George;[20] discoveredIsabella Plains (now a suburb of Canberra), charted the upper reach of theMurrumbidgee River and discoveredMonaro[21] |
| 1824 | Hume and Hovell expedition | Sydney toGeelong; discoveredMurray River |
| 1828–1829 | Charles Sturt andHamilton Hume | Macquarie River area; discoveredDarling River |
| 1829 | Currie,Drummond, Dr Simmons and Lieut Griffin | South of Fremantle; explored region, now Rockingham and Baldivis, and sighted theSerpentine River[22] |
| 1829 | DrCollie and Lieut.Preston | discoveredHarvey,Collie andPreston rivers |
| 1829–1830 | Charles Sturt | Along theMurrumbidgee River; found and namedMurray River, and determined that western-flowing rivers flowed into the Murray-Darling basin |
| 1830 | John Molloy | Blackwood River, Western Australia |
| 1830–1834 | Alfred andJohn Bussell | Blackwood River andBusselton, Western Australia |
| 1831 | Robert Dale andGeorge Fletcher Moore | Avon River area in Western Australia |
| 1831 | Collet Barker | Mount Lofty and theMurray Mouth |
| 1834 | Frederick Ludlow | Augusta toPerth; discoveredCapel River |
| 1834–1836 | George Fletcher Moore | Avon River andSwan River; discovered that they are the same river; discovered rich pastoral land near theMoore River |
| 1839–1841 | Edward John Eyre[23] | TheFlinders Ranges andNullarbor Plain |
| 1840 | Paweł Strzelecki[24] | Ascended and namedMount Kosciuszko,New South Wales |
| 1840 | Patrick Leslie | Condamine River,New South Wales |
| 1840–1842 | Clement Hodgkinson[25] | North-easternNew South Wales, fromPort Macquarie toMoreton Bay |
| 1844 | Charles Sturt | North-westernNew South Wales and north-eastern South Australia; discovered theSimpson Desert |
| 1847 | Anthony O'Grady Lefroy andAlfred Durlacher | Gingin, Western Australia |
| 1854 | Austin expedition of 1854 –Robert Austin,Kenneth Brown | Geraldton,Mount Magnet,Murchison River |
| 1858–1860 | John McDouall Stuart[26] | North-western South Australia; discovered water sources used as staging points for later expeditions; found and namedFinke River,MacDonnell Ranges,Tennant Creek |
| 1860 | Burke and Wills expedition includingRobert O'Hara Burke,William John Wills | Melbourne toGulf of Carpentaria (traversing Australia south to north); determined non-existence of inland sea |
| 1897 | Frank Hann[27] | Pilbara region of Western Australia; namedLake Disappointment |
Other explorers by land (in alphabetical order):
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By the turn of the 20th century, most of the major geographical features of Australia had been discovered by European explorers. However, there are some 20th-century people who are considered explorers. They include:
A number ofIndigenous Australians participated in the European exploration of Australia. They include:
There are a number of naturalists and other scientists closely associated with European exploration of Australia. They include:
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