ERNEST GILES, THE EXPLORER.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1619, 29 April 1879, Page 4

ERNEST GILES, THE EXPLORER.

[“Hamilton Spectator.”] At the time when the Rev. Julian Woods published his work on Australian exploration, the la f est explorer whose travels he chronicled was Mr John McDouall Stuart, who traversed South Australia from south to north, and whoso line of route has since become that of the transcontinental telegraph lino. Phis telegraph cuts the continent into two equal halves, which may bo termed respectively the explored and unexplored halves. In 1872 Mr Ernest Giles was the first to attempt to penetrate into the unknown portion, starting from Chambers’ Pillars on the telegraph line, and discovering a host of permanent waters, ranges of mountains, and tracts of good pastoral country. He also found some extraordinary and interesting geographical features, including the Glen of Palms, winding amongst the mountains for over 10 j miles, with magnificent palm trees, growing to a height of 60ft.; also a vast salt expanse, which he named Like Amadeus, after the then King of Spain, which apparently interminable obstacle prevented the further passage of the explorer in a westerly or southerly direction. Rallied also by the disorganisation of his small party, Mr Giles, after travelling over 1000 linea” miles, was compelled to return, the further distance reached from the telegraph lino being 300 miles, at two points about 100 miles apart. Just as he had returned to his starting point, two other exploring expeditions, both of them furnished with camels by the Hon. (now Sir) Thomas Elder, were preparing to start, one of these being equipped at the joint expense of Mr Elder and Captain Hughes, and commanded by Major Warburton, whilst the other was fitted out by the South Australian Government under the charge of Mr W. 0. Gosse. Mr Giles having placed his journal and map at the disposal of the South Australian Government, Gosse’s expedition was ordered to examine the country considerably to the north of Giles’s route, and the publication of the journal of the latter induced the late Mr 8. P. Winter, the late Hon. W. Skene, the Hon. T. M'Kellar, and a few other gentlemen of the Hamilton district, as also Sir Samuel Wilson and Mr W. J. to subscribe a new fund to enable Mr Giles to pursue his investigations. With a fresh party and equipment, he again left the telegraph line at a more southerly point, not many weeks after Warburton and Gosse, who both started a good deal further north. The novel fact of three exploring expeditions running a race against each other now occurred. Major Warburton reached the Do Grey River, on the western coast, with only two camels, after suffering great hardships. Mr Gosse, with the Government expedition, penetrated to the 127th meridian, or nearly half the distance to ho travelled, and then returned for about 200 miles on Giles’ outgoing tracks. Giles’s furthest on that occasion was also somewhere about the 127th meridian, but a good deal further south, and he was obliged to return as the party were attacked nine times by the natives, all the horses died but one, and the leader gave that one to his companion Gibson, to enable him to save Lis life, but Gibson was never again heard of, and Giles had to walk back, arriving in a sta'e of great exhaustion and semi-con-sciousness at the depot. The distance travelled was 700 miles irom the starting point? and four distinct ranges of mountains wore mapped out, watercourses innumerable, ai d largo tracts of good pastoral country. The South Australian Government was induced to contribute £250 toward this expedition, all of which, however, was swallowed up in paying wages and expenses. Mr John Forrest was next despatched by the West Australian Government to cross from the Murchison river in that colony to the South Australian telegraph, and he succeeded in coming upon Giles’ tracks of the year before, and gained credit for 1000 miles of exploration when 600 miles of the distance should have been credited to Giles, Forrest’s name being inserted on the maps of the Geographical Society. Giles’ third attempt to cross the continent was more successful. Sir Thomas Eider, who admired his plucky conduct in the two previous expeditions, fitted him out with camels for a new line of discovery. Giles started in May, 1875, and the country through •which he penetrated proved to be one of the most terrible deserts on the face of the earth, it being necessary to travel distances of 200 miles, and in one case of 325 miles, without water. After conquering all these difficulties, aa well as surviving a fierce attack from the natives, the party succeeded in reaching their destination, which was Perth, the capital of Western Australia, where they were greeted with a perfect ovation. The Governor, Sir William Robinson (brother to Sir Hercules), represented Giles’s achievements to the Secretary of State, and a small grant of land in Western Australia was the result. Bidding adieu to his new-made friends, Giles started back to endeavor to reach the South Australian telegraph by a route 400 miles to the northward of the one by which he had just arrived at Perth. Giles crossed the Murchison, the Gascoigne, the Lyons, and the Ashburton rivers, all much further up their channels than any former travellers had reached, but he found very little else than stony and sterile country, unfitted for the habitation of man. After encountering many privations our adventurer managed to roach Fort M'Kellar (one of his former depots, named after Mr T. M'Kellar), whither ho had wended his way in the hope of finding some trace of poor Gibson, who had been lost two years before. He was unsuccessful in learning anything about his unfortunate friend ; but being now within 200 miles of the telegraph line, Giles eventually reached it, having twice traversed Australia—a feat which no other explorer has ever attempted, once being sufficient for most travellers. On his arrival in Adelaide he was presented with—an address by the Mayor and town council, and this was the only acknowledgment made to him. Now, here is a man who has spent five years of his life in exploring and opening out unknown country, much of which will bo available for settlement when our population is large enough to push out towards the interior, and ho has not even received a Geographical medal. Olher explorers of his time were treated very differently. Warburton obtained the Royal Society’s medal, with a vote from the South Australian Parliament of £IOOO for himself and £SOO for his party. Sir Thomas Elder sent him to England and published his book, whilst her Majesty created him a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Gosse was appointed deputy surveyor-general of the colony of South Australia. Forrest received a vote of £SOO from the West Australian Government, with a grant of 5000 acres of land, and the Geographical Society also bestowed upon him the "Victorian medal.

As for Ernest Giles, we are sorry to say that his temporary engagements as a land classifier having expired, and there being no apparent prospect of getting anything else to do, he finds himself in very straitened circumstances. Foreign potentates, to whom he is entirely unknown, appear more inclined to acknowledge his service to science than the people amongst whom and for whom he has labored, for we find that King Victor Emmanuel has sent him a decoration, with the title of Chevalier, but those things, however gratifying, are unfortunately not good to eat.