78-510: Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia . He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and later from Adelaide . His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers, establishing that they all merged into the Murray River , which flows into
156-465: A boat to explore north-western New South Wales and to advance into central Australia. They travelled along the Murray and Darling rivers before being guided past the future site of Broken Hill by a local Indigenous teenager named Topar . They were stranded for months by the extreme summer conditions near the present site of Milparinka . When the rains eventually came, Sturt moved north and established
234-719: A born loser. He remained throughout his life an English Tory gentleman with an unshakeable faith in God and Jesus the true kings. Sturt is buried in Cheltenham Cemetery, Gloucestershire. Sturt is commemorated by: The Charles Sturt Museum is based in Sturt's former home "The Grange", in the Adelaide suburb of Grange . The museum illustrates his story with "not only ... displays of relics, but interpretive and multimedia displays". The Australian-born American actor Rod Taylor , whose middle name
312-518: A depot at Fort Grey (today this site is within Sturt National Park ). With a small group of men, including explorer John McDouall Stuart as his draughtsman, Sturt pressed on across what is now known as Sturt's Stony Desert and into the Simpson Desert . Unable to go further, he turned back to the depot. Sturt made a second attempt to reach the centre of Australia, but he developed scurvy in
390-638: A detachment from his regiment, Sturt escorted convicts aboard the Mariner to New South Wales , arriving in Sydney on 23 May 1827. Sturt was a cousin of the wife of Henry Dumaresq , brother-in-law of Governor Ralph Darling, which was later to complicate his relationship with Sir Thomas Mitchell , who resented those whom he judged were treated favourably by Darling. Sturt found the conditions and climate in New South Wales much better than he expected, and he developed
468-484: A great interest in the country. The Governor of New South Wales , Sir Ralph Darling , formed a high opinion of Sturt and appointed him major of brigade and military secretary. Sturt became friendly with John Oxley , Allan Cunningham , Hamilton Hume , and other explorers. Sturt was keen to explore the Australian interior, especially its rivers. Sturt received approval from Governor Darling on 4 November 1828 to explore
546-583: A high salt content and declining water quality . Increased rainfall in its catchment in 2010 improved its flow, but the health of the river will depend on long-term management. The Division of Darling , Division of Riverina-Darling , Electoral district of Darling and Electoral district of Lachlan and Lower Darling were named after the river. Aboriginal peoples have lived along the Darling River for tens of thousands of years. The Barkindji people called it Baaka or Barka , "Barkindji" meaning "people of
624-515: A massive search was conducted over eight days to find him. Days later both the Governor and his remainder of the party reached Adelaide on 28 December. Though Bryan was never found, his horse returned to Adelaide after several months. In September 1841, Sturt chaired a Bench of Magistrates that conducted an official inquiry into the circumstances of the Rufus River massacre . The inquiry concluded "that
702-534: A number of cross-continental expeditions. Perhaps the most famous of these was the Burke and Wills expedition led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills who in 1860–61 led a well equipped expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria . Due to an unfortunate run of bad luck, oversight and poor leadership, Burke and Wills both died on the return trip. Expeditions (in chronological order): Meehan and Hume followed
780-484: 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 of Bathurst , 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. In 1815, Evans was the first colonial explorer to enter
858-590: A road crossing the Blue Mountains, from Emu 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 by 101 + 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, and as
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#1732847743788936-466: A series of lakes that were once connected to the Darling River by short creeks. The Menindee Lake Scheme has reduced the frequency of flooding in the Menindee Lakes. As a result, about 13,800 hectares of lignum and 8,700 hectares of Black box have been destroyed. Weirs and constant low flows have fragmented the river system and blocked fish passage. The Darling River runs south-south-west, leaving
1014-650: 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
1092-518: A significant discovery. He led an expedition to 'fill in the gaps' left by these previous expeditions. He set off along the Lachlan 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 it Australia Felix . He was knighted for this discovery in 1837. When he reached
1170-437: 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. The Murray-Darling basin actually drains into Lake Alexandrina . Matthew Flinders had noted this on his maps but viewed from
1248-422: A way of restoring his reputation in the colony and London. Two days late while riding in very hot weather, with their water supply dwindling, both the men and horses were suffering. During the return journey to the river, Bryan's horse was slow, and was lagging behind the main group. When a dust storm occurred, Bryan got lost, was separated from his horse, and most likely died. His body was never recovered, although
1326-452: 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
1404-586: A weir was constructed at Menindee to mitigate flows from the Darling River. The north of the Darling River is in the Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion and the southwest of the Darling is part of the Murray Darling Depression ecoregion. Major settlements along the river include Brewarrina, Bourke , Louth , Tilpa , Wilcannia , Menindee , Pooncarie and Wentworth . Wentworth
1482-427: Is Sturt, was his great-great-grandnephew. Dowling, Peter (2017), "What Charles Sturt saw in 1830 – Syphilis beyond the colonial boundaries?", Health and History , 19: 44–59; doi : 10.5401/healthhist.19.1.0044 . European land exploration of Australia European land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout
1560-416: Is because water releases were made from the lakes when this simply shouldn't have happened. A worse fish kill occurred in 2023. Millions of dead bony bream, golden perch and silver perch, and Murray cod flowed down the river at Menindee . The cause was low oxygen levels and high temperatures. The whole Murray–Darling river system , one of the largest in the world, drains all of New South Wales west of
1638-482: Is summarised in the Australian Dictionary of Biography as follows: Although Sturt probably entered his career as an explorer through influence, his selection was justified by results. He was a careful and accurate observer and an intelligent interpreter of what he saw, and it was unfortunate that much of his work revealed nothing but desolation. He prided himself with some justice on his impeccable treatment of
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#17328477437881716-469: Is the dirge of the Darling River. He also wrote about the river in The Union Buries Its Dead and "Andy's Gone With Cattle". Other bush poets who have written about the river include Scots-Australian Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963) and Breaker Morant (1864–1902). The Australian band Midnight Oil wrote a song called "The Barka-Darling River" for their album Resist , drawing attention to
1794-619: The Australian Alps in 1839 and became the first European to ascend Australia's highest peak, which he named Mount Kosciuszko in honour of the Polish patriot Tadeusz Kosciuszko . 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. The competition to chart a route for the Australian Overland Telegraph Line spurred
1872-588: The Far West region of New South Wales, to join the Murray River on the New South Wales – Victoria border at Wentworth, New South Wales . The Barrier Highway at Wilcannia, the Silver City Highway at Wentworth and the Broken Hill railway line at Menindee, all cross the Darling River. Part of the river north of Menindee marks the border of Kinchega National Park . In response to the 1956 Murray River flood ,
1950-481: The Great Dividing Range , much of northern Victoria and southern Queensland and parts of South Australia . Its meandering course is three times longer than the direct distance it traverses. Much of the land that the Darling flows through are plains and is therefore relatively flat, having an average gradient of just 16 mm per kilometre. Officially the Darling begins between Brewarrina and Bourke at
2028-734: The Lachlan Valley , naming the area the Oxley Plains after his superior the Surveyor-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 of Boorowa and Cowra . 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
2106-965: The Macintyre River and its tributaries such as the Dumaresq River and the Severn Rivers (there are two – one on either side of the state border); the Gwydir River ; the Namoi River ; the Castlereagh River ; and the Macquarie River . Other rivers join the Darling near Bourke or below – the Bogan River , the Warrego River and Paroo River . South east of Broken Hill , the Menindee Lakes are
2184-465: The Murray River at Wentworth . Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is 2,844 km (1,767 mi) long, making it the longest river system in Australia. The Darling River is the outback 's most famous waterway. The Darling is in poor health , suffering from over-allocation of its waters to irrigation , pollution from pesticide runoff, and prolonged drought . During drought periods in 2019 it barely flowed at all. The river has
2262-458: The North Esk River farther than any European had previously gone. Despite King's pronouncement, some settlers continued to try crossing the mountains. Gregory Blaxland was the first to successfully lead an expedition to cross them in 1813 , accompanied by William Lawson , William Wentworth and four servants. This trip paved the way for numerous small expeditions which were undertaken in
2340-846: The Prince Regent and, on 9 September 1813, Sturt was gazetted as an ensign with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot in the British Army . Sturt saw action with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and against the Americans in Canada during the War of 1812 . He returned to Europe a few days after the Battle of Waterloo . Sturt was gazetted lieutenant on 7 April 1823 and promoted captain on 15 December 1825. With
2418-763: The confluence of the Culgoa and Barwon rivers; streams whose tributaries rise in the ranges of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range . These tributaries include the Balonne River (of which the Culgoa is one of three main branches) and its tributaries; the Condamine [which rises in the Main Range about 100 km inland from Pt. Danger, on the Queensland/New South Wales border],
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2496-484: The Aboriginals, and earned the respect and liking of his men by his courtesy and care for their well-being. Indeed his capacity for arousing and retaining affection was remarkable; it made him an ideal family man but a failure in public life. Without toughness and egocentricity to balance his poor judgment and business capacity he had little chance of success in colonial politics. In this sphere, he might well be described as
2574-569: The Barka". The Queensland headwaters of the Darling (the area now known as the Darling Downs ) were gradually colonized from 1815 onward. In 1828 the explorers Charles Sturt and Hamilton Hume were sent by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling , to investigate the course of the Macquarie River . He visited the Bogan River and then, early in 1829, the upper Darling, which he named after
2652-526: 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: Darling River The Darling River ( Paakantyi : Baaka or Barka ) is the third-longest river in Australia , measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with
2730-578: The Federal government purchased Toorale Station in northern New South Wales for $ 23 million. The purchase allowed the government to return eleven gigalitres (2.4 × 10 ^ imp gal ; 2.9 × 10 ^ US gal ) of environmental flows back into the Darling. In 2019, a crisis on the Lower Darling saw up to 1 million fish die. A report by the Australia Institute said this
2808-521: The Governor. In 1835, Major Thomas Mitchell travelled a 483-kilometre (300 mi) portion of the Darling River. Although his party never reached the junction with the Murray River he correctly assumed the rivers joined. In 1856, the Blandowski Expedition set off for the junction of the Darling and Murray Rivers to discover and collect fish species for the National Museum. The expedition
2886-625: The Interior of Southern Australia during the years 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1831 , of which a second edition appeared in 1834. For the first time the public in England realised the importance of Sturt's work. Governor Darling's somewhat tardy but appreciative dispatch of 14 April 1831, and his request for Sturt's promotion, had had no result. Sir Richard Bourke , who had succeeded Darling, was also unsuccessful in persuading Viscount Goderich to give "this deserving officer your Lordship's protection and support". Though
2964-456: The Lachlan River. They left the Lachlan up-stream of the present site of Lake Cargelligo and crossed to the Bogan River and then across to the upper waters of the Macquarie River , which they followed back to Bathurst (arriving on 29 August 1817). Oxley travelled to Dubbo on 12 June 1818. He wrote that he had passed that day "over a very beautiful country, thinly wooded and apparently safe from
3042-504: The Murray, until he reached the river's confluence with the Darling. Sturt had now proved that all the western-flowing rivers eventually flow into the Murray. In February 1830, the party reached a large lake, which Sturt called Lake Alexandrina . A few days later, they reached the sea, later named as the Southern Ocean . There they made the disappointing discovery that the mouth of the Murray
3120-531: The Shoalhaven upriver and discovered Lake Bathurst and the Goulburn Plains Other explorers by land (in alphabetical order): 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 of Indigenous Australians participated in
3198-495: The South Australian railheads at Morgan and Murray Bridge . But over the past century the river's importance as a transportation route has declined. In 1992, the Darling River suffered from a severe cyanobacterial bloom that stretched the length of the river. The presence of phosphorus was essential for the toxic algae to flourish. Flow rates, turbulence, turbidity and temperature were other contributing factors. In 2008,
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3276-596: The Southern Ocean. He was searching to prove his own passionately held belief that an " inland sea " was located at the centre of the continent. He reached the rank of Captain , served in several appointed posts, and on the Legislative Council. Born to British parents in the Bengal Presidency , Sturt was educated in England for a time as a child and youth. He was placed in the British Army because his father
3354-415: The area of the Macquarie River in western New South Wales. It was not, however, until 10 November that the party started out. It consisted of Sturt, his servant Joseph Harris, three soldiers and eight convicts; on 27 November Sturt was joined by Hamilton Hume as his first assistant. Hume's experience proved to be very useful. A week was spent at Wellington Valley breaking in oxen and horses, and on 7 December
3432-506: The army. The remainder of his family went to live at Dinan to economise after the expenses of education and fitting out. But they found the town to be unhealthy and in 1863 returned to Cheltenham. In 1864 Sturt suffered great grief in the death of one of his sons in India. In March 1869 Sturt attended the inaugural dinner of the Colonial Society, at which Lord Granville mentioned that it was
3510-551: The coast at Portland Bay , he was surprised to find a small settlement. It had been established by the Henty family , who had sailed across Bass Strait from Van Diemen's Land in 1834, without the authorities being informed. 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. The Polish scientist/explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki conducted surveying work in
3588-429: The colonial office did not seem to recognise the value of Sturt's work, publication of his book was important because it captured the attention of Edward Gibbon Wakefield , who read it. He chose South Australia for a new settlement then being contemplated by the government. In May 1834, based on his services, Sturt applied for a grant of land in Australia, intending to settle on it. In July instructions were given that he
3666-511: The colonial period, 1788–1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such as Burke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well as Hamilton Hume and Charles Sturt . For many years, plans of westward expansion from Sydney were thwarted by the Great Dividing Range , a large range of mountains which shadows the east coast from the Queensland- New South Wales border to
3744-415: The conduct of Mr Moorhouse and his party was justifiable, and indeed unavoidable in their circumstances". Sturt believed that it was his destiny to discover a great saltwater lake, known as 'the inland sea', in the middle of Australia. At very least, he wanted to be the first explorer to plant his foot in 'the centre' of Australia. In August 1844, he set out with a party of 15 men, 200 sheep, six drays , and
3822-639: The extreme conditions. His health broke down and he was forced to abandon the attempt. John Harris Browne , surgeon on the expedition , assisted Sturt, took over leadership of the party and, after travelling a total of 3,000 miles (4,800 km), brought it back to safety. Early in 1847 Sturt went to England on leave. He arrived in October and was presented with the Royal Geographical Society 's Founder's Medal . He prepared his Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia for publication; however, it
3900-475: The following few years. On 13 November 1813 Governor Lachlan 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 named Mount Blaxland . Evans's party then moved on and discovered the Fish River area and further west near
3978-532: The highest floods..." Later in 1818 Oxley and his men explored the Macquarie 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 of Tamworth . Continuing further east they crossed the Great Dividing Range passing by the Apsley Falls on 13 September 1818 which he named the Bathurst Falls. He described it as "one of
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#17328477437884056-505: The intention of the government to extend the Order of St Michael and St George to the colonies. Sturt allowed himself to be persuaded by his friends to apply for a knighthood (KCMG), but afterwards regretted he had done so, when he heard there were innumerable applications. Sturt's health had been very variable and on 16 June 1869, he died suddenly. He was survived by his widow, two sons, Colonel Napier George Sturt, R.E. and Major-General Charles Sheppey Sturt, and daughter Charlotte. Mrs Sturt
4134-414: 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 by John Oxley . Evans took part in some of Oxley's expeditions. Evans returned to Tasmania in 1817 but
4212-480: 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. On 9 December he reached the site of present-day Bathurst . After the explorations that took seven weeks Governor Macquarie awarded Evans £100 and 1000 acres of land near Richmond in Van Diemens Land ( Tasmania ). Evans departed for Tasmania in 1814. In 1814, Governor Lachlan Macquarie approved an offer by William Cox to build
4290-406: The lower reaches of Ginninderra Creek , near present-day Canberra . (Sturt named the property 'Belconnen', a name now applied to the nearby population centre .) In 1838 he, with Giles Strangways, a Mr McLeod, and Captain John Finnis , herded cattle overland from Sydney to Adelaide , on the way proving that the Hume and the Murray were the same river. In September 1838, Sturt led an expedition to
4368-426: The meantime, in December 1839, Sturt and his wife accompanied George Gawler , Julia Gawler, Henry Bryan and Henry Inman on a Murray River expedition, visiting Mount Bryan . Julia Gawler, Charlotte Sturt and Charlotte's maidservant became the first white women to travel the Murray. Sturt served briefly as the Registrar-General, but he soon proposed a major expedition with Henry Bryan into the interior of Australia as
4446-593: The most magnificent waterfalls we have seen". He discovered and named the Arbuthnot Range, since renamed the Warrumbungle Range . Upon reaching the Hastings River they followed it to its mouth, discovering that it flowed into the sea at a spot which they named Port Macquarie . In 1824, Governor Thomas Brisbane asked Hamilton Hume and William Hovell to travel from Hume's station, near modern-day Canberra , to Spencer Gulf (west of modern-day Adelaide ). However, they were required to pay their own costs. Hume and Hovell decided that Western Port (in present-day Victoria)
4524-450: The mouth of the Murray, which settled all dispute as to the suitability of Adelaide for the colony's capital. After returning to NSW to settle his affairs, Sturt settled at what is now Grange, South Australia in early 1839; he was appointed Surveyor General of South Australia and a member of the South Australian Legislative Council . When the London-appointed Surveyor-General Edward Frome unexpectedly arrived, Sturt had to step down. In
4602-499: 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. The theory of the inland sea had some supporters. Major Thomas Mitchell , the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, set out in 1836 to disprove Sturt's claims and in doing so made
4680-407: The oldest man-made structure on the planet. Australian poet Henry Lawson wrote a well-known ironic tribute to the Darling River. To quote another Henry Lawson poem: The skies are brass and the plains are bare, Death and ruin are everywhere; And all that is left of the last year's flood Is a sickly stream on the grey-black mud; The salt-springs bubble and the quagmires quiver, And this
4758-469: The party from starvation. But Sturt went blind for some months and never fully recovered his health. By the time they reached Sydney again, they had rowed and sailed nearly 2,900 kilometres of the river system. Sturt briefly served as Commander on Norfolk Island , where mutiny was brewing among the convicts. Because of his ill health, he went to England in 1832 on sick leave, arriving there almost completely blind. In 1833 he published his Two Expeditions into
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#17328477437884836-437: The real start into comparatively little known country was made. 1828–29 was a period of drought and the party had difficulty in finding sufficient water. They had followed the courses of the Macquarie, Bogan and Castlereagh rivers and, though its importance was scarcely sufficiently realised, had visited the Darling River . The party returned to Wellington Valley on 21 April 1829. The expedition proved that northern New South Wales
4914-416: The sea does not look like the outfall of a large watershed, but instead as a gentle tidal basin. The mystery was solved by Charles 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 the Darling before continuing on to
4992-400: The south coast. The part of the range near Sydney is called the Blue Mountains . After numerous attempts William Paterson led an expedition northward along the coast to the Hunter Region in 1801 and up the Paterson River (later named in his honour by Governor King) and in 1804 Paterson led an expedition to Port Dalrymple , in what is now Tasmania, exploring the Tamar River and going up
5070-424: Was Australia's busiest inland port in the late 1880s. Navigation by steamboat to Brewarrina was first achieved in 1859. Brewarrina was also the location of intertribal meetings for Indigenous Australians who speak Darling and live in the river basin. Ancient fish traps in the river provided food for feasts. These heritage listed rock formations have been estimated at more than 40,000 years old making them
5148-402: Was a maze of lagoons and sandbars, impassable to shipping. The party faced the ordeal of rowing back upriver on the Murray and Murrumbidgee, against the current, in the heat of an Australian summer. Their supplies ran out and, when they reached the site of Narrandera in April, they were unable to go any further. Sturt sent two men overland in search of supplies and they returned in time to save
5226-423: Was a more realistic goal, and they left with a party of six men. After discovering and crossing the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers, they eventually reached a site near modern-day Geelong , somewhat west of their intended destination. 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,
5304-422: Was a success with 17,400 specimens arriving in Adelaide the next year. Although its flow is extraordinarily irregular (the river dried up forty-five times between 1885 and 1960), in the later 19th century the Darling became a major transportation route, the pastoralists of western New South Wales using it to send their wool by shallow-draft paddle steamer from busy river ports such as Bourke and Wilcannia to
5382-495: Was again to return to New South Wales to journey with his superior John Oxley on travels into the Lachlan River areas, along the path of the Macquarie River to the Macquarie Marshes and eastwards to the coast to Port Macquarie . In March 1817, Oxley was instructed to take charge of an expedition to explore and survey the course of the Lachlan River . He left Sydney on 6 April with Evans, as second-in-command, and Allan Cunningham as botanist. Oxley's party reached Bathurst after
5460-483: Was carried with them; it was assembled, and on 7 January 1830 they began their eventful voyage down the Murrumbidgee. In January 1830 Sturt's party reached the confluence of the Murrumbidgee and a much larger river, which Sturt named the Murray River . It was in fact the same river which Hume and Hovell had crossed further upstream and named the Hume. Several times the party was in danger from Aborigines but Sturt always succeeded in propitiating them. Sturt proceeded down
5538-570: Was given a pension of £600 a year. He settled on 200 hectares (490 acres) of land close to Adelaide and the sea. But the gold discoveries had increased the cost of living there. On 19 March 1853 Sturt and his family sailed for England. Sturt lived at Cheltenham and devoted himself to the education of his children. In 1855 Sturt applied unsuccessfully for the positions of Governor of Victoria and in 1858 for Governor of Queensland . Sturt's age, uncertain health, and comparatively small income were against him. By 1860 Sturt's three sons were all serving in
5616-443: Was granted a civil list pension of £80 a year, and the queen granted her the title of Lady Sturt, as if her husband's nomination to a knighthood of the order of St Michael and St George had been gazetted. Reproductions of portraits of Sturt by Crossland and Koberwein were published in his biography, called Life, written by his daughter-in-law, Mrs N. G. Sturt . These suggest the charm and refinement of Sturt's character. Sturt's life
5694-536: Was largely due to the decisions by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority on instructions from the New South Wales government. It said the reasons for those decisions appeared to be about building the case for the new Broken Hill pipeline and the Menindee Lakes project. Maryanne Slattery, senior water researcher with the Australia Institute; "To blame the fish kill on the drought is a cop-out, it
5772-566: Was not an inland sea, but deepened the mystery of where the western-flowing rivers of New South Wales went. In 1829 Governor Darling approved an expedition to solve this mystery. Sturt proposed to travel down the Murrumbidgee River , whose upper reaches had been seen by the Hume and Hovell expedition . In place of Hume, who was unable to join the party, George Macleay went "as a companion rather than as an assistant". A whaleboat built in sections
5850-586: Was not published until early in 1849. Throughout this time he was suffering again with poor eyesight. Sturt returned to Adelaide with his family, arriving in August 1849. He was immediately appointed Colonial Secretary with a seat in the legislative council. There was no lack of work in the ensuing years. Roads were constructed, and navigation on the Murray was encouraged. However Sturt had renewed trouble with his eyes, which limited his ability to perform these duties. On 30 December 1851, he resigned from both positions and
5928-545: Was not wealthy enough to pay for Cambridge. After assignments in North America, Sturt was assigned to accompany a ship of convicts to Australia in 1827. Finding the place to his liking, he made his life there. Charles Sturt was born in the Bengal Presidency , the eldest son (of thirteen children) of Thomas Lenox Napier Sturt, a judge under the British East India Company , and his wife. At the age of five, Charles
6006-424: Was sent to live with relatives in England to be educated, as was customary for the children of the colonial upper class. After attending a preparatory school, he was sent to Harrow in 1810. In 1812, Charles went to read with a Mr. Preston near Cambridge, but his father was not wealthy, and had difficulty finding the money to send him to Cambridge University , or to establish him in a profession. An aunt appealed to
6084-429: Was to receive a grant of 5,000 acres (2,000 ha); in exchange, Sturt agreed to give up his pension rights. On 20 September 1834, Sturt married Charlotte Christiana Greene, daughter of a longtime family friend. Soon afterward, the couple sailed for Australia. Sturt returned to Australia in mid-1835 to begin farming on his own 20 square kilometres (4,900 acres) of land, granted to him by the New South Wales government on
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