Three explorers set out |
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| Title : | Three explorers set out |
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| Creator : | Hergott, Joseph Albert Franz David, (1823 - 1861) | ||
| Source : | Sketches RGSSA ms 54c | ||
| Date of creation : | 1858 | ||
| Additional Creator : | Babbage, Benjamin Herschel, 1815-1878 | ||
| Format : | Artwork | ||
| Contributor : | Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc | ||
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| Copyright : | This item is reproduced courtesy of Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc.. It may be printed or saved for research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc. and the State Library of South Australia. To request approval, complete the Permission to publish form. |
| Description : |
Benjamin Herschel Babbage was sent out in 1858 by the South Australian government to explore and survey the area between Lakes Torrens and Gairdner, and to the north. He was equipped for 18 months with provisions and heavy drays, and was expected to make a thorough survey of the region. In the end he was recalled by the government for being too slow and was replaced by Peter Egerton Warburton. His botanical collector on the expedition was Joseph David Hergott, who was also a talented artist. Hergott's humorous sketches give an extra insight into expedition life. In this drawing Babbage sets out with Thomas Warriner and Hergott (smoking a pipe) to explore the upper end of Lake Torrens. They are equipped with tools to sink wells, if necessary, in the dry salt lake region. Hergott's botanical collection was assessed and written up by Ferdinand von Mueller, Australia's leading botanist of the period, and keenly interested in the exploration of the country. Hergott's specimens are held in several herbariums in Australia. He later served with John McDouall Stuart on his expedition of 1860. Hergott Springs (now Marree) was named for him by Stuart. While Babbage himself was recalled by an impatient government, he did discover Emerald Springs, one of the series of mound springs that are a feature of the Lake Eyre region. The work of Babbage and his succesors Warburton and Augustus Gregory showed there was a route through the barrier of salt lakes that had blocked northern progress for 17 years, since the first exploration of the region by Edward John Eyre in 1840-41. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Herrgott, Joseph Franz Albert David (1823 - 1861) Babbage, Benjamin Herschel, 1815-1878 Warriner, Thomas, fl. 1858 |
| Coverage year : | 1858 |
| Region : | Flinders Ranges and Far North - Outback |
| Further reading : | Mueller, Ferdinand, Baron von, Report on the plants collected during Mr. Babbage's expedition into the north-western interior of South Australia in 1858 Melbourne, 1858 Gill, Dawn, Iron tracks and dusty trails: the life of Benjamin Herschel Babbage Henley Beach, S. Aust.: Seaview Press, c2002 Orchard, A. E. A History of Systematic Botany in Australia Flora of Australia volume 1. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study; CSIRO, 1999- 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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