LEGENDS OF THE OUTBACK
John McDouall Stuart TREK THROUGH THE CENTRE
Described as the “Napoleon of all explorers”, John McDouall Stuart opened up the centre of Australia with his transcontinental journey of 1861.
Story John Dunn
Photos John Kruger
Even though it’s almost a century and-a-half since John McDouall Stuart and his party completed their epic crossing of the continent from Adelaide through the centre to the northern coastline, the memory of that momentous journey is very much alive, particularly in South Australia. An active group of descendants of members of Stuart’s party, and others appreciative of his feat, have perpetuated it over the years in a variety of ways. Of course, memorials have been erected in the past but, in more recent times, a society of Stuart enthusiasts has ensured his name is unlikely to ever be forgotten.
Members gather annually at his statue in Victoria Square, Adelaide, to honour
him and those who travelled with him, and to celebrate their achievements.
This was one of Australia’s most valuable explorations, paving the way for
the vital overland telegraph linking Australia’s isolated colonies to the
international network, proving the agricultural worth of the inland and opening
up the Northern Territory for European settlement. Society members listen
to discussion about Stuart and his men, commemorate significant occasions
and receive a regular newsletter that publishes material about the great
trek and its continuing connections that remains pertinent and informative.
This
year, as for the past 40 years, Stuart and his colleagues were remembered
with respect and feeling in Victoria Square, where the explorer, looking
resolutely towards the direction he took in 1861, stands with rifle, sextant,
quadrant,
journal and the Union Jack. And, as in the past, the occasion was marked
by a fully-fledged ceremony and wreath-laying, attended by the Lord Mayor,
Mr Michael
Harbison, followed by the society’s annual meeting at which vice-president
Rick
Moore delivered the memorial address that focused on the subsequent pastoral
and mining benefits that resulted from Stuart’s journeys.
Full story OUTBACK Issue 36 Aug/Sept 2004
