Coulthard found |
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| Title : | Coulthard found |
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| Creator : | Babbage, Benjamin Herschel, 1815-1878 | ||
| Source : | PRG 404/19/3/5A | ||
| Date of creation : | ca. 1858 | ||
| Format : | Artwork | ||
| Catalogue record | |||
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| Description : |
On the reverse of his sketch of Pernatty Creek, Benjamin Babbage has written two notes. The first refers to the earlier visit when he made the sketch, 25 May 1858. He mentions camping overnight and sleeping in the rushes. He also refers to the owl which he shot and which can be seen hanging in a tree on the right hand bank. The second note was added after he found William Coulthard's body on 15 June. He was just three miles further up the creek, and only a short distance (half a mile) from a waterhole. Even if Babbage had found him on the earlier date, it would have been too late for Coulthard who had been missing since March. Benjamin Babbage had been sent out by the South Australian government in 1858 to explore the northern portion of the colony, and to find a path through the arc of salt lakes that blocked the way to the far north. In 1840 Edward Eyre had explored this region seeking a route to the north, and had been blocked by an apparent horseshoe shaped salt lake that shimmered across the horizon from west to east. Mirage had magnified the extent of the salt lakes, and foiled a number of later explorers. Babbage had just discovered a path through the lakes when he was recalled by the government, and replaced by Peter Egerton Warburton. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Babbage, Benjamin Herschel 1815-1878 Coulthard, William, d. 1858 |
| Coverage year : | 1858 |
| Region : | Flinders Ranges and Far North - Outback |
| Further reading : | Gill, Dawn, Iron tracks and dusty trails: the life of Benjamin Herschel Babbage Henley Beach, S. Aust.: Seaview Press, c2002 Babbage, B. H. 'Northern exploration', South Australian Parliamentary Papers, no. 25, 1858. Threadgill, Bessie South Australian land exploration, 1856 to 1880 Adelaide: Board of Governors of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia, 1922 |
| Internet links : | |
| Exhibitions and events : | State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge August 2004- |
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