STURT (Capt. Charles).
A Condensed Account of an Exploration in the Interior of Australia...
Sturt first arrived in Australia in 1827 whilst his regiment was in charge of one of the convict convoys. During his first period in Australia, Sturt participated in many of the expeditions arranged by amongst others Oxley and Hume which greatly expanded the white man’s knowledge of Australia. Some ten years after returning to the continent in 1834 Sturt set out from Adelaide with fifteen men heading towards the Barrier Range. Having reached the Great Stony Desert his expedition was forced to withdraw due to the extreme heat and illness, and return to Adelaide. In the months between August 1844 when they left and their return in January 1846 the party covered approximately 3000 miles.
This extract from his diary is one of the first appearances of this expedition in print, preceeding the official account by two years. The map, stretching from the Murray River to Eyre Creek, is in pristine condition showing not only Sturt’s route but also interesting geographical notes.
