History

Here is just a taste of some of the history of the region, with brief summaries of the lives of Edward John Eyre and Matthew Flinders.

5/8/1815 Born Bedfordshire. His father a minister of religion, moved shortly after to Hornsea, Yorkshire where Eyre was christened.

At 16 years of age he left school and whilst awaiting for a commission in the army his father suggested that Australia was a better place for a man of ambition. When a capital of £800 had been raised he decided to go.

28/3/1833 He arrived in Sydney and presented his letters of introduction to officials and citizens, but no jobs were available so he bought some sheep and property before his 18th birthday.

1833-1836 He worked on other properties to gain experience mainly in the Hunter Valley and then set up his property "Woodlands" on the Molongo Plains (near present Canberra, SE of Queanbeyan).

1837-1838 A number of overland journeys were made with sheep and other stock to Melbourne and Adelaide.

1/4/1837-2/8/1837 he overlanded stock from "Woodlands" to Melbourne and then sailed to Tasmania for some weeks.

On 21/12/1838 he was the first to start with 300 cattle for Adelaide intending to follow Major Mitchell's tracks into the Wimmera and cross to Adelaide from that river. It was at this point Eyre became an explorer in his own right, with his first discovery being Lake Hindmarsh. He tried to penetrate north from there and only succeeded in travelling approximately 100 miles before he ran short of water. He must have been within a few miles of the Murray at this point, but he decided to retrace his steps and follow the Loddon to the Murray and continue on to Adelaide along the Murray.

On the 23/7/1839 he arrived in Adelaide and was back at "Woodlands" and departing for Adelaide with more stock on 17/10/1838 and arriving there on 25/2/1839.

Hawdon and Bonney beat Eyre's first trip to Adelaide with stock because they followed the Murray all the way.

1/5/1839 Eyre left Adelaide with a party to explore north finding the Broughton River and then continuing on to the foot of Mount Arden where he established a base camp. He only succeeded in travelling a further 36 miles to the north but decided he was at risk to continue due to a lack of fresh water. He did become the first European to set eyes on Lake Torrens. After walking 35 miles down the western side of Spencer Gulf he returned to Adelaide on29/6/1839 by crossing the ranges to the Murray and back over the Mount Lofty Ranges.

5/8/1839 He departed Port Lincoln and followed the coast to Streaky Bay via Mount Dutton and Coffin Bay. He travelled west as far as Point Bell, and spent 4 days without finding water, plus spending some of that time without food. After returning to Streaky Bay he then travelled east finding the Gawler Ranges and making the first record of a Sturt's Desert Pea. He crossed to the head of Spencer Gulf and then returned to Adelaide 15/10/39.

30/1/1840 He sailed for Albany on the "Cleveland" with 1000 sheep, 450 lambs, and 70 cattle he intended to overland to York. Many of the sheep were lost on the overland trip, following close to the present Albany Highway, with most of them being poisoned, possibly by the Pimelea Plant which is common in this area.

18/6/1840 He was back in Adelaide and departing to find the fabled inland sea and by 2/9/1840 he was at Mount Hopeless, where he decided there was a continuous salt lake surrounding the Flinders Ranges. He retreated to Mount Arden and then decided to explore to the west. 17/9/1840 he split his party at Baxter's Range sending the main body to Streaky Bay via his 1839 track. He then proceeded to Port Lincoln and then sailed to Adelaide and arranged for provisions to be delivered to Streaky Bay. He returned to Port Lincoln and travelled to Streaky Bay and awaited his supplies on the "Waterwitch", which he sent on to Fowlers Bay with the bulk of his provisions. He followed his old tracks to Point Bell and continued onto Fowlers Bay, arriving 17/11/1840.

Here he rested his horses and men and then finally succeeded in penetrating to The Head of Bight on his third attempt.

By 24/2/1841 he had sent the main part of his party back to Adelaide on the "Hero" which had been sent to pick him up. He departed Fowlers Bay with John Baxter and three aboriginals to cross to Albany. He arrived there on 11/7/1841 having lost all his provisions and horses. John Baxter was murdered by two of the aboriginals who the abandoned him, and he travelled for as long as 8 days without finding water, including several times being near death from thirst and hunger.

He returned to Adelaide and was Protector of Aborigines at "Moorundie" near Blanchetown until 1844, in which time he followed the Darling to Laidley's Ponds and accompanied Charles Sturt there in 1843 on his epic journey.

1847-1853 He was made Lieut. Governor of New Zealand under George Grey and married there in 1850.

1854 After returning to England he was appointed Lieut. Governor of St. Vincent's in the West Indies until 1860.

1862-1866 He was temporary Lieut. Governor of Jamaica, where he was recalled to England for a Royal Commission into the way he quelled a riot in 1866.

He was forced into retirement and lived in Devon until 1901 where he passed away.

23/10/1789 Started his Naval career on the HMS Alert as a “Lieutenant's Servant”. 6 months later he transferred to the Bellerophon under Captain Pasley.

8/5/1791 Transferred to the Providence under the command of Captain William Bligh.

3/8/1791 The Providence and the Assistant set sail for Tahiti, via Cape of Good Hope and Van Dieman’s Land, with James Wiles and Christopher Smith as Naturalists. They were appointed by Sir Joseph Banks who supported the expedition and also Bligh’s historic but unsuccessful voyage of the Bounty in 1789.

5/4/1792 Arrived Matavai Bay, Otaheite (Tahiti) and remained there for several months while Bread Fruit was gathered.

August 1792 Arrived at the entrance to Torres Straight, and crossed into the Indian Ocean in 19 days, opening one of the most navigable channels through these treacherous waters. They then returned England via Jamaica, arriving on 7/8/1793.

6/9/1793 Paid off the Providence and rejoined the Bellerophon and took part in Lord Howes First of June action aboard her.

15/2/1795 Left England for New South Wales aboard the Reliance under the command of Captain John Hunter and accompanied HM brigg Supply. Also aboard were his younger brother Samuel and ships surgeon and friend George Bass.

26/10/1795-3/11/1795 Voyage of the Tom Thumb from Port Jackson to the Illawarra district. The Tom Thumb was only 8ft. long.

16/01/1796 Promoted to Lieutenant while in Cape Town on a provision voyage from Port Jackson.

Oct. 1798 Sailed from Port Jackson in command of a 25 ton sloop, the Norfolk, charting the coast of Van Dieman’s Land, and confirming the existence of Bass Strait. It was this voyage that earned him a reputation as one of the best chart makers ever.

8/7/1799 Again on the Norfolk he sailed north to examine Moreton and Hervey Bays.

26/8/1800 Arrived back in England on the Reliance, and not long after with the support of Sir Joseph Banks, the Navy Board handed over the Zenophon, with instructions to provision her for 6 months. Banks appointed Robert Brown as naturalist, Ferdinand Bauer as painter and William Westall as landscape artist.

19/1/1801 The Admiralty confirmed Flinders’ as Lieutenant in command of the HMS Investigator, formerly the Zenophon.

17/4/1801 Flinders married Ann Chappelle of Partney Lincolnshire, and he intended to take her with him, so he kept the marriage a secret. When this was discovered by his peers, it nearly cost him the command and his wife stayed ashore.

17/7/1801 The Investigator sailed from the Spithead after receiving her orders and taking on board his ships Master, John Thistle.

3/8/1801 The Investigator had to put into Madeira to re-caulk the vessel due it taking on excess water. They reached Capetown on 17/10/1801 and set sail for New Holland on 4/11/1801 with the Investigator fully provisioned.

1/1/1802 Departed King Georges Sound (Albany) to re-map the coast first recorded by Dutchman, Pieter Nuyts in 1627. Vancouver and D’Entrecasteaux had visited some areas of this coast since then, but all the coast east of St. Peters Island of Ceduna was new discoveries.

22/2/1802 Eight men are lost near Memory Cove, including John Thistle, his Master (second in command).

25/3/1802 He anchored in Port Lincoln where he found a fresh water supply, and remained there until the 3/2/1802. He then continued to navigate and map Spencer and St. Vincent Gulfs as well as some of Kangaroo Island.

8/4/1802 Met the French vessel, Le Geographe, under the command of Captain Niclaus Baudin in Encounter Bay.

7/4/1803 The Investigator left Timor after retreating there from mapping areas in the Gulf of Carpenteria, due to bad weather and the poor condition of some of his crew and the Investigator.

8/6/1803 He sailed a crippled Investigator into Port Jackson, where she was condemned as unseaworthy.

9/8/1803 Flinders left Port Jackson in the Porpoise, which had been refitted to carry the collection of plants and also Flinders papers. They were accompanied by the Cato and Bridgewater. Eight days later disaster stuck with the Porpoise and Cato stricking uncharted reefs (Wreck Reefs).

27/8/1803 Flinders then rigged a small cutter to return to Port Jackson and raise a rescue mission, leaving surviving crew and the few things salvaged from his expedition. His flora collection was almost totally lost. All were eventually returned to Sydney. Flinders was given a small vessel, the Cumberland to attempt a return to England with the remains of his expedition journals and maps.

Dec. 1803 The Cumberland arrived in Mauritius, where General Charles DeCaen, commander of the island, suspected Flinders of being a spy. His papers were confiscated and Flinders was imprisoned, after he failed to attend a dinner when invited by DeCaen. Flinders health was failing and DeCaen refused his release even though papers signed by Bonaparte arrived in July 1807 ordering this.

13/6/1810 Flinders is finally released after a British raid on the island where he was a prisoner of war for, 6 years, 5 months and 27 days.

24/10/1810 Flinders finally set foot on English soil. He was appointed Post Captain and he then proceeded to sort his affairs and prepare his journals for publication.

19/7/1814 Matthew Flinders passed away after battling illness for many years of impoverishment on his voyages and imprisonment. He was 40 years of age. He did this knowing that “A Voyage To Terra Australis” was published., even though it was not the title he wanted. Sir Joseph Banks made him change it from “Voyage to Australia”, this being the first time the name had been given to the continent.

In 1837 Ann Flinders was presented with a bill for £51 33s 0d for unsold copies of the book.

Today many of Flinders charts are still the basis for navigation around the Australian Coast, and they even stand the test of modern devices, such as global positioning, or satellite navigation.

Then there is the history of the Aboriginal People which existed for 40000 years. You don't have to look far for signs left by these people.