Taking it to the edge - exploration in South Australia

 

Coast
Rivers
Land
Did you know?
South Australia's polar pioneers

The discovery and exploration of South Australia by Europeans began long before colonisation in 1836. The coast was charted in 1627 and 1802, but no further exploration occurred until Charles Sturt followed the River Murray from the Great Dividing Range in the east to the sea in 1829-30.

After the establishment of Adelaide in 1836, the colonists gradually pushed out the boundaries of settlement in their search for pastures and minerals.

The salt lakes of the arid interior barred initial progress, but 26 years after the first colonists landed at Glenelg, the north coast of Australia was finally reached by John McDouall Stuart.