September 15
Australian Explorers Tuesday, September 15, 1846. : Explorer Thomas Mitchell discovers and names the Barcoo River, near the present site of Blackall. Major Thomas Mitchell was born in Craigend, Scotland, in 1792. He came to Australia after serving in the Army during the Napoleonic Wars, and took up the position of Surveyor-General of New South Wales. He […]
September 01
Australian Explorers Tuesday, September 1, 1846. : A camel shoots explorer John Horrocks. John Ainsworth Horrocks, born in Lancashire in 1818, was the first to employ camels as an aid to exploration. Nine camels were imported from the Canary Islands in 1840, but by 1846, only one still survived. This one, a bad-tempered beast by the name […]
September 02
Australian Explorers Wednesday, September 2, 1840. : Eyre names Mt Hopeless in South Australia in despair at the seemingly never-ending salt lakes. Edward John Eyre was born on 5 August 1815, in Hornsea, Yorkshire. After coming to Australia, he gained valuable bush skills whilst droving cattle overland through Victoria. Eager to explore further, Eyre set his sights […]
September 19
Born on this day Thursday, September 19, 1839. : Chocolate manufacturer George Cadbury is born. George Cadbury was born on 19 September 1839 in Edgbaston, United Kingdom. The son of a tea and coffee drinker, he was compelled at an early age to take over the business when both his parents suffered ill health. After 5 years, […]
September 18
Australian History Monday, September 18, 1797. : Coal is officially discovered in New South Wales, Australia, providing the foundation for the establishment of Newcastle. Newcastle is the second largest city in New South Wales, Australia. It was not a settlement at the time when a group of convict escapees discovered the first-known coal deposits in 1791. The […]
September 29
Australian History Thursday, September 29, 1791. : George Vancouver formally claims southwestern Australia for Great Britain. The area of Western Australia where Albany now stands was first discovered by George Vancouver in 1791. After being sent to explore the southern coastline of Australia, Vancouver first made landfall at Cape Leeuwin, then travelled southeast. On 28 September 1791, […]
September 16
Australian Explorers Sunday, September 16, 1770. : Captain Cook becomes the first European to note the appearance of the Aurora Australis Captain Cook, the first European to chart Australia’s eastern coast, was hired in 1766 by the Royal Society to travel to the Pacific Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun in […]
September 25
Born on this day Tuesday, September 25, 1764. : Fletcher Christian, the man who led the mutiny on the Bounty against Captain Bligh, is born. Fletcher Christian was born in Cumberland, England, on 25 September 1764. He went to sea at the age of sixteen, and two years later he sailed aboard HMS Cambridge where he met […]
September 09
Born on this day Monday, September 9, 1754. : Captain William Bligh, known best for his role in the mutiny on the ‘Bounty’, is born. William Bligh was born in Plymouth, south-west England, on 9 September 1754. He was only 8 when he first went to sea. At age 22, he was chosen to join Captain Cook’s […]
September 05
Australian Explorers Saturday, September 5, 1699. : Sea explorer William Dampier departs ‘New Holland’ after sailing along the western coastline for five days. The first European to “discover” Australia was not Captain Cook. Numerous Dutch and Portuguese explorers had mapped sections of coastline of the “Great South Land” prior to Cook. Nor was he the first English […]