Walking on a salt lake |
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| Title : | Walking on a salt lake |
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| Creator : | Hergott, Joseph Franz Albert David (1823 - 1861) | ||
| Source : | RGSSA ms 54c | ||
| Date of creation : | 1858 | ||
| Additional Creator : | Babbage, Benjamin Herschel, 1815-1878 | ||
| Format : | Artwork | ||
| Contributor : | Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc | ||
| The State Library of South Australia is keen to find out more about SA Memory items. We encourage you to contact the Library if you have additional information about any of these items. | |||
| Copyright : | This item is reproduced courtesy of Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc.. It may be printed or saved for research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc. and the State Library of South Australia. To request approval, complete the Permission to publish form. |
| Description : |
For 17 years it was believed that the route to the north of South Australia was blocked by a great horseshoe-shaped barrier of salt lakes, first seen by Edward Eyre in 1840-41. A number of attempts had been made to find a route through them. In 1858 the South Australian government financed the largest expedition to date and sent out Benjamin Herschel Babbage to explore the region between Lakes Gairdner and Torrens and to the north. The botanical collector on the expedition was Joseph David Hergott who was also a talented artist. Hergott's humorous sketches provided another dimension to the tedium of the long expedition as they surveyed the dry northern reaches of the colony. Here he has drawn an attempt to cross the salt lake, using long planks. Babbage stands on the salt lake itself, almost knee deep in the salt crust and mud beneath. Hergott's botanical collection was written up by Ferdinand von Mueller. Babbage was the first to discover one of the many mound springs that are a feature of the Lake Eyre region. He also mapped Lake Eyre South, naming it Lake Gregory. However the government considered the explorer was taking too much time, despite being equipped for 18 months by the same government. Babbage was therefore replaced by Peter Egerton Warburton. With the combined efforts of Babbage, Warburton and Augustus Gregory several paths to the north were discovered. There was not one salt lake stretching across the horizon from west to east, but many salt lakes with gaps between. Passage to the north was possible. |
| Subjects | |
| Related names : | Babbage, Benjamin Herschel, 1815-1878 Herrgott, Joseph Franz Albert David (1823 - 1861) |
| Coverage year : | 1858 |
| Region : | Flinders Ranges and Far North - Outback |
| Further reading : | Gill, Dawn Iron tracks and dusty trails: the life of Benjamin Herschel Babbage Henley Beach, S. Aust.: Seaview Press, c2002 Mueller, Ferdinand, Baron von Report on the plants collected during Mr. Babbage's expedition into the north-western interior of South Australia in 1858 Melbourne: Government Printer, 1859 Orchard, AE A History of Systematic Botany in Australia Flora of Australia volume 1 second edition Canberra Australian Biological Resources Study; CSIRO, 1999- Threadgill, Bessie South Australian land exploration, 1856 to 1880 Adelaide: Board of Governors of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia, 1922 |
| Internet links : | |
| Exhibitions and events : | State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge August 2004- |
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