Ernest Giles
|
Yours faithfully, Ernest Giles
Photo in the frontespiece of his Australia Twice Traversed |
William Ernest Powell Giles (
July 7,
1835–
November 20,
1897), best known as
Ernest Giles, was an
Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia.
Ernest Giles was born on
July 7,
1835 in
England. At the age of 15, he emigrated to
Australia, taking up residence in
Adelaide. During the next few years, he took employment at various cattle and sheep stations, and developed a keen bush sense.
He was the first European to see the rock formations of The Olgas, now known by their
Aboriginal name of
Kata Tjuta, and
Lake Amadeus. He had wanted to name these Lake Ferdinand and Mt Mueller respectively, to honour his benefactor Baron
Ferdinand von Mueller, however Mueller prevailed on him to instead honour the
King of Spain and the
Queen of Württemberg.
He named the
Gibson Desert, after his travelling companion
Alfred Gibson who disappeared there. He crossed the desert from
Port Augusta to
Western Australia, then back again via a different route in order to search for any trace of Gibson. On a number of occasions, he was close to death from starvation or thirst, but managed to make his way through. He was made a fellow, and gold medallist, of the
Royal Geographical Society of
London. He published an account of his expeditions from
1872 to
1876 as
Australia Twice Traversed.
Despite his explorations, the various Australian governments at the time turned their respective backs on his achievements once they had been completed, and refused to patronise any further exploits or give him much in the way of financial reward.
He made a number of other minor journeys, but ended his days as a clerk on the
Western Australian goldfields. He eventually died of
pneumonia, virtually forgotten, on
20 November 1897, and is buried at
Coolgardie Cemetery. His descendents still live in
South Australia today.
*
Exploration of Australia*
Free ebook of Ernest Giles at
Project Gutenberg
