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In 1839, he set off to reach the
centre. Lake Torrens was covered with salty mud. His way was blocked by
swamps in one direction and by sandhills in another, so he followed the
Flinders Ranges to Mount Hopeless, where he turned back.
Meanwhile, back in Adelaide,
plans were being made to form an expedition to open up a route between
South Australia and Western Australia. They were hoping to find good land
and to open up a route to take cattle overland from Adelaide to Western
Australia. Because of his skills in the bush, Eyre was made the leader the
expedition. He volunteered to lead it and pay half the costs. In 1840, he
set out from Adelaide. The party was made up of 6 white men, including
Baxter, his station manager, an aboriginal friend called Wylie and 2 other
aborigines. They took with them 13 horses, 40 sheep and supplies to last
them 3 months. They planned to be met at Spencer Gulf by a government ship
with more supplies.
Eyre travelled westward across what
is now known as Eyre Peninsula and along the coast. The harsh conditions
and lack of water forced him to send all of the members of his party back
to Adelaide, except for Baxter, Wylie and 2 other aborigines. Eyre thought
that a smaller party would have more chance of success. The 4 men left
Fowler's Bay with 11 pack horses and 6 sheep. They would have to travel 1
300 kilometres through harsh desolate country. Because the Nullarbor Plain
had no trees, there was no shade from the fierce heat of the sun. There
was little water and very few ways to reach the sea because of the huge
cliffs.
By the time the expedition reached
the top of the Great Australian Bight, they were desperately short of
water and were saved by friendly aborigines who showed Eyre how to find
water by digging behind the sand dunes on the shore. For five days
they travelled, but were unable to find any water. They travelled along
the Great Australian Bight, suffering terrible hardship. To the north of
them lay the Nullarbor Plain. Eyre was the first man to cross this plain.
Water was becoming very scarce when
they came upon some wells dug by the aborigines at the present site of
Eucla on the border of South Australia and Western Australia. They stayed
here for 6 days. After resting for 6 days, they travelled on, keeping
close to the beach. Water once again became scarce and the aborigines
showed them how to break off the roots of gumtrees and suck them to
relieve their thirst.
The pack horses found it difficult
travelling through the sand and so Eyre was forced to leave behind their
firearms, horseshoes, spare water bags and even clothing. One by one the
packhorses had to be left behind. Soon their water was finished.
The party used sponges to collect
early morning dew from leaves. Food was becoming scarce and so they killed
a sick horse for food. It made Eyre and Baxter very ill. The aborigines
tried to go on alone, but returned a couple of days later almost starving.
They were now about halfway to the
West Australian coast. It was winter and because they had been forced to
leave their clothes behind, they suffered from the cold at night. It was
around this time that 2 of the aborigines started to cause trouble,
refusing to work. One night while Eyre was keeping watch he heard a
gun blast and found Wylie running towards him in alarm. Two of the
aborigines had murdered Baxter and had disappeared with most of the
supplies and firearms. Wylie, however, refused to go with them and stayed
with Eyre. They were now feeling desperate. Eyre had seen no water for
three days and ahead lay almost 1000 kilometres of unknown barren country.
The aborigines, now armed, had taken most of their supplies. Eyre
could not even bury Baxter as the ground was solid rock, so he wrapped him
in a blanket and left him.
Eyre and Wylie trudged on and it was
seven days before they found a native waterhole. They survived by killing
and eating kangaroos. Wylie even ate a dead penguin he found on the shore.
For over a month, Eyre and Wylie continued to walk to Western Australia.
In June 1841, they came upon a French whaling ship anchored off the coast
and were able to rest for a fortnight. The captain, an Englishman, named
Rossiter provided them with food and even some wine and brandy.
After resting for two weeks, they
were now both fit and strong, well clothed and had plenty of food. The
journey became much easier. In July, they reached Albany, after travelling
through heavy rains and cold weather. Their journey had lasted four and a
half months.
Eyre was awarded a gold medal of the
Royal Geographic Society for this incredible journey. Despite his
hardship, Eyre lived to be 86. In 1846, he was made Lieutenant-Governor of
New Zealand. He was also made governor in various parts of the West
Indies. Eyre retired to England, where he lived until his death in 1901.
Wylie was rewarded with a pension,
and he remained in Albany, happy to be among his own people once again.
For more
information on Edward John Eyre, go to: |
