Map of Central Australia showing the route taken by John McDouall Stuart in 1860. Relief shown by hachures.

This map was produced by the German cartographer August Heinrich Petermann (1822-1878) who had a great interest in exploration around the world, especially in the Arctic, Africa and Australia. The Petermann Ranges in the Northern Territory are named after him.

The map shows the path of Stuart's fourth expedition, which took them into the centre of Australia. Stuart and his party left Chambers Creek, beyond the Flinders Ranges and south of Lake Eyre in South Australia, on 2 March, 1860. Stuart had two men with him, William Kekwick and Benjamin Head, and 13 horses.

Along the journey Stuart found and named many well known landmarks, such as the Finke River, MacDonnell Range, the Waterhouse Range. The inset map indicates how far across the Australian continent the expedition reached.

Detailed notes and illustrations are included at various points on the map about the type of country crossed and the types of vegetation seen there. Presumably there is no equivalent in the German language for descriptions such as mulga, spinifex and saltbush.

There are also notes which show the date at which certain points were reached. Stuart calculated that the centre of the continent had been reached on 22 April 1860. At the spot the party raised a British flag and marked a tree. A mount a few miles away was climbed and here they raised another flag and buried a message in a cone of stones. Stuart named the hill Central Mt Sturt, after Charles Sturt, who had previously tried, but failed, to reach that far. Interestingly, the government in Adelaide changed the name to Central Mount Stuart soon afterwards, and this is the name that Petermann has shown on the map, along with a drawing of a little flag and notations about the event.

The expedition continued northwards from the central point and came within 200 miles of the north coast. The map indicates the many landmarks found and named along the way. A lack of water, poor diet (leading to scurvy) and the increasing hostility of Aboriginal people they encountered in competition for scarce water supplies, led Stuart to decide to return home.

Stuart, John McDouall, 1815-1866

Petermann, A. (August Heinrich), Karte von J. Mac Douall Stuart's reise durch das Innere von Australien, 6. Marz bis 25. August 1860 Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1861

Stokes, Edward, Across the Centre: John McDouall Stuart's expeditions, 1860-62 St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 1996

Webster, M. S. John McDouall Stuart with maps by Mary Quick [Carlton]: Melbourne University Press, 1958

Wikipedia August Heinrich Petermann

Australian dictionary of biography online: Stuart, John McDouall (1815-1866)

John McDouall Stuart Society

SA Memory: Taking it to the Edge: Land: John McDouall Stuart - third and fourth expeditions

Treasures Wall: John McDouall Stuart: Letter from Moolooloo