An/Year: 2002
Auteur/Author: Sturt Charles
Editeur/Editor/: Hakluyt Society London
Langue/Language: United Kingdom
Format: Hardcover
Dimension: 25 x 18 cm
Condition: Used - Very Good

The Central Australian expedition 1844 - 1846. The journals of Charles Sturt. Edited by Richard C. Davis. London 2002.

• Condition : very good, minor shelf wear to dust jacket, otherwise as new.
  Illustrations : five illustrations and 1 map in the text.

  Works published by the Hakluyt Society. Third series, no. 10.

  Transcription and annotated edition of Sturt's journals from a private manuscript. With an introduction and critical evaluation of the expedition and appendices of additional material.

  In August 1844 a heavily laden party led by Captain Charles Sturt left Adelaide, the administrative headquarters of the young colony of South Australia. The seventeen men of the expedition had just been feted at a public breakfast and soon afterwards they headed north towards the centre of the continent. Among the procession of saddle horses, oxen, sheep and wagons loaded with scientific equipment and a year's worth of supplies, a light wagon with a boat on it rolls by.While many geographers have given up on the idea of an inland sea in the interior of Australia, Sturt did not. He set out to find it, convinced that he would discover arable land and boost the island's pastoral economy. He was also certain that he would be amply recognised and rewarded for this valuable public service. Six months later, trapped at an isolated waterhole and surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of parched land, the group waited for rain. No inland sea had been revealed during the journey inland; in fact, permanent water of any kind was scarce. The parched creek beds remained dry for months. Finally, in July 1845, after being unable to advance or retreat from the waterhole, the group welcomed the rain that fell. But by this time provisions were almost exhausted and the men still faced the long journey back to Adelaide. One man died of scurvy, a debilitating plague that also consumed the leader. Nevertheless, Sturt took some of his healthier men and pushed on towards the centre, until - barely able to stay astride his horse - Sturt ordered the whole party home. Although he did not find an inland sea or reach the centre of the continent, Charles Sturt's considerable efforts revealed the nature of much of this mysterious land. And in a manner uncharacteristic of his time, he established respectful and cooperative relationships with the indigenous peoples he met along the way.