Celebrating Australia Day - 26th January (How some early explorers went walkabout in Australia)

This Monday, the 26th January, will see Australians worldwide celebrating Australia Day. Given that the day is also known as Invasion Day, it is clear that not all Australians see it as a day for celebration. However, here at Collins Geo we are celebrating the day by posting a few interesting map images depicting the inland exploration of the continent.

The first map shows the period 1828 to 1830 and shows the expeditions undertaken by Captain Charles Sturt. He was one of many early explorers to believe that a vast inland sea lay to the west of the Great Dividing Ranges.




The second map shows the period 1859 to 1862 and includes the route taken by two of the best known Australian explorers, Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills. In their 1860-61 expedition they crossed the continent from south to north (Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria), and in so doing determined that there was no great inland sea lying west of the mountains.

European explorers had discovered most of the major geographical features of Australia by the turn of the 20th century, although it is worth noting that it was not until 1936 that the Simpson Desert was crossed by an expedition led by Ted Colson.

The maps were scanned from the 4th edition of the Australian School Atlas published in 1959 by O.U.P. and produced by John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. They belong to a series of 12 maps in this atlas charting the inland exploration of Australia.

The current range of educational atlases from Collins can be found at the Collins Education website.

By David Jamieson, Librarian, Collins Geo