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The explorer, John Mcdouall Stuart, is well known as the first European to visit the centre of the Australian continent, hence Central Mount Stuart, near Alice Springs.
Stuart is also well known for his exploration of a route from Adelaide to Darwin, surveying for the overland telegraph line, a line that was followed also by the Ghan Railway from Adelaide to Alice Springs. And of course, Stuart is honored in the name of the Stuart Highway from Adelaid to Darwin.
John McDouall Stuart made six remarkable expeditions into Australia's interior. On all of the subsequent expeditions he traveled up the east side of Lake Torrens, between Lake Torrens and the Flinders Ranges, but on the first trip he chose a course that took him west, across the southern tip of Lake Torrens, then north to the vacinity of Lake Eyre South, west to Coober Peedy, an indirect route south to Ceduna, then east, back to the Flinders Ranges.
On his first expedition, John McDouall Stuart passed quite close to present day Andamooka. Here's the story, some of it told in Stuart's own words:
Heading generally in a northerly direction, Stuart, accompanied by Mr Forster and an unnamed Aboriginal youth, passed from Arcoona Station onto Andamooka Station around mid morning on Sunday 20 June 1858. He wanted to head north west but was prevented by the sand dunes averaging around five to six metres high and extreme lack of water.
Stuart was a surveyor, trained in the Scottish navy and well experienced in the areas being settled in South Australia. He had great bush sense, finding water where others failed. Stuart generally navigated from hill to hill and by observing the lay of the land from hill tops and high contry, he'd get an idea of where water might be found. He also observed kangaroo tracks and birds and looked out for the smoke from Aboriginal campfires. Kangaroos follow a fairly straight path to and from water, so their tracks are seen by the obsevant bushman as radiating like the spokes of a wheel from a waterhole.
The Aboriginal guide turned out to be not very satisfactory, perhaps a station Aboriginee with only second hand knowelledge of the country.
But shortly after midday, Stuart found a creek with two waterholes and made camp, about 35 kilometres south of present day Andamooka. On further examination of the creek, he found a third waterhole with the appearence of being permanent, so Stuart made note of it as a refuge in case he was forced to retreate and wait for rain.
It was 9.30 on Monday morning before the horses were caught and the party moved off, passing a couple of flat topped hills and crossing some ironstone country.
After a stage of about 15 kilometres in a north easterly direction, Stuart came to Andamooka Waterhole, which he also noted as permanent water of excellent quality to fall back on.
Stuart then traveled west for about 4 kilometres to investigate Willaroo Lagoon, a dry, salt lake, maybe one and a half kilometres wide and three kilometres long. Part of the cliff on the north western side has been open cut mined for slate.
Returning to Andamooka Waterhole, Stuart's party camped for the night.
Stuart notes that there are areas of salt an inch and a half thick, in the dry creek bed, above and below Andamooka Waterhole, encouraging him to believe the waterhole is fed by a spring. These salt patches can still be seen today. |
