In 1832, aged just seventeen, the future colonial governor Edward John Eyre (1815–1901) set sail from London for Australia. The farming life that awaited him laid the foundations of an enduring interest in the topography, anthropology and zoology of his adopted homeland. Following an initial expedition in 1839, in 1840 Eyre set out on his pioneering trek from Adelaide to Western Australia. The year-long adventure financially ruined the explorer, but won him the coveted gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society for discovering Lake Torrens. Published in 1845, this two-volume account of the expedition made Eyre a household name in Britain and fuelled popular interest in the former penal colony. It reveals the hardship experienced on the journey, including conflicts within the party, desperate searches for water, and the murder of an overseer. It concludes with a fascinating account of the celebratory aborigine reception that awaited the survivors.
Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia, and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound, in the Years 1840-1 2 Volume Set
Description
Table of Contents
Volume 1: Preface; 1. Origin of the expedition; 2. First night's encampment with party; 3. Spring Hill; 4. Make arrangements for getting up stores from the Waterwitch; 5. Break up the encampment; 6. Causes of hostility of the natives; 7. Excursion to the north-east; 8. Proceed to the westward; 9. Boy speared by the natives; 10. Country between Streaky Bay and Baxter's Range; 11. Embark stores; 12. Land the stores and send the cutter to Denial Bay; 13. Future plans; 14. Proceed to the westward; 15. Return of Mr. Scott in the Hero; 16. Go back to meet the overseer; 17. Horses begin to knock up; 18. Go back with a native; Appendix. Volume 2: 1. The camp plundered; 2. Reflections upon situation; 3. Heavy road; 4. Go on board the Mississippi; 5. Large watercourse; 6. Concluding remarks; Manners and Customs of the Aborigines of Australia: 1. Preliminary remarks; 2. Physical appearance; 3. Food; 4. Property in land; 5. Ceremonies and superstitions; 6. Numbers; 7. Language, dialects, customs, etc.; 8. Effects of contact with Europeans; 9. Suggestions for improvement of system adopted towards the natives; Explanation of the plates of native ornaments, weapons, implements, and works of industry.