Three men, one of them James Henderson with his mount 'Dusty', preparing to leave for a day's ride during the expedition with Capt. E.C. Frome to the area north of the Flinders Ranges. It is unlikely the scene shown is the expedition leaving Adelaide on Saturday 8 July 1843, as a light cart, which had been sent on ahead with two of the party, is shown in this sketch.

Born in Scotland, James Henderson came out to Australia for health reasons, travelling with a party of Royal Engineers under E.C. Frome. He was engaged in numerous surveys, particularly around Lake Alexandrina and the NW bend of the Murray River, and during this time developed a reputation as an artist. In 1841 he transferred to the Public Works Department where he remained until returning to England in 1851. He was a member of Frome's Expedition to Lake Frome, July 8 - April 29, 1843, and kept a journal (D 7504 L) and sketchbook (B 2434) of 42 drawings.

Captain Edward Charles Frome, Royal Engineer, arrived in South Australia in September 1839 to take up the task of surveying South Australia. The country blocks were his immediate priority. This was a task that the first Surveyor-General, William Light had been unable to complete because of interference from London. Frome had an onerous task as the colonists clamoured for their land. He had not only to revise the work that had been inadequately marked by George Kingston, Light's second-in-command, but also to undertake the commencement of the Special Surveys of very large country blocks. By 1841 Frome had laid out roads and secondary towns and taken accurate trigonometrical survey to the limits of settlement. Frome returned to England in 1849 and retired in 1877 with the rank of General.

Frome, Edward, Charles, 1802-1890

Henderson, James, 1821-1903

Auhl, Ian Journey to Lake Frome 1843 : paintings and sketches by Edward Charles Frome and James Henderson Blackwood, S.A. : Lynton Publications, [1977?]

Newland, B. C Edward Charles FromeProceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, vol. 63 (1962), p. 51-71