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Alfred Giles and the other men of John Ross's party of explorers had been 36 hours without water, in Central Australia December 1870. The heat was scorching and the grass dry and inedible for thirsty horses. Giles compared it to a previous occasion when the party went 72 hours without water, but the temperature that time was considerably cooler and the horses had access to green feed. The party rested here a day to recoup the horses and attend to their shoes and mended some of their gear. They were also able to obtain a young emu which improved their diet. This was a previously unexplored part of the country and John Ross named some of the geographical features.

The construction of the Overland Telegraph Line was an enormous engineering feat, stringing a strand of copper wire across the centre of the Australian continent, to link it to the underwater telegraph cable that would enable almost instant communication with the rest of the world. However further exploration along the route was necessary. Alfred Giles had been appointed to John Ross's exploratory party 4 July 1870: his wages were one pound a week with food and kit which included 3 pairs of moleskin trousers, several shirts, 3 pairs of boots and 2 hats. The men would find the gear totally unsuited to withstand the harshness of the bush--poor quality canvas packbags would be torn to shreds quite readily; the saddle girths were not leather but webbing and the saddle trees were constantly breaking resulting in the horses' backs being rubbed. Tents were inadequate and the rest of their kit had been scrimped by the suppliers. Fortunately the quality of the horses was more than adequate as the selection of them had been closely supervised by John Ross. They set out from Beltana on 28 July.

Giles, Alfred, 1847?-1931

Ross, John, 1817-1903

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge August 2004-