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Unknown artist
[Portrait of Charles Sturt c.1805]
watercolour and bodycolour on paper; 14.5 x 17.5 cm
Pictures Collection;
nla.pic-an23236452

This portrait shows the Australian explorer Charles Sturt (1795-1869) standing next to his younger brother, Napier. After settling in New South Wales in 1835, Sturt decided to undertake a search for the great inland sea, the existence of which he had been convinced since his explorations in 1828-31. The expedition left Adelaide on 10 August 1844 on an epic journey towards the centre of the continent. Sturt finally abandoned his belief in an inland sea when they were stopped by the sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. The return journey, beset by thirst and scurvy, was a trial of endurance. Using Aboriginal food sources (and probably Aboriginal assistance) the parry finally made it back to Adelaide in January 1846. Sturt was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Sociery in 1847, and travelled to England in that year to publish an account of the expedition, a copy of which is held in the National Library.

 

December 2003 Volume XIV Number 3

WANDERINGS AND GATHERINGS: TRAVELS OF A SURGEON-NATURALIST

Jennifer M.T. Carter discusses the exploits of Dr George Bennett in the South Seas

IT'S AUSTRALIAN--AND IT'S GOOD!: THE AUSTRALIAN MUSICAL COLLITS' INN

John Thomson explores the history of one of the earliest Australian musicals

BUYING BOOKS IN MY GARAGE: MEMORIES OF AN INDONESIAN ACQUISITIONS LIBRARIAN

Andrew Gosling describes his time working for the National Library in Indonesia

ETHNIC PRESSES: ASIANS AND ARABS, 1980s-1990s

In the second and final instalment, Barry York looks at the Library’s collection of ethnic community newspapers published in the 1980s and 1990s

CHEAP LIVERS AND DEATH DODGERS: VEGETARIANISM IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY

Edgar Crook finds in the National Library a wide variety of material relating to vegetarianism

FRIENDS

A regular news page about the activities of the Friends of the National Library of Australia

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