The
Austin expedition of 1854 was an
exploring expeditionExploration is the act of searching or traveling a terrain for the purpose of discovery, e.g. of unknown people, including space , for oil, gas, coal, ores, caves, water, , or information.Although exploration has existed as long as human beings, its peak is seen as being during the Age of Discovery...
undertaken in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
by
Robert AustinRobert Austin led the Austin expedition of 1854, one of the first European inland explanations of Western Australia with Kenneth Brown. They explored Geraldton, Mount Magnet, and the Murchison River area....
in 1854. Other members of the party included
Kenneth BrownKenneth Brown was an explorer and pastoralist in Western Australia. He was hanged for murdering his wife.Kenneth Brown was born in England in 1837. The eldest son of Thomas Brown, he would later become the older brother of Maitland Brown. In 1840, The Brown family emigrated to Western...
.
The expedition explored the large lakes inland from
GeraldtonGeraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth. According to the 2006 census, Geraldton has a population of 31,553, making it the fourth-largest city in Western Australia....
known as
Cow-Cow-ing, before heading north through the interior, where
Mount MagnetMount Magnet is an old Western Australian gold rush town. The name was chosen during exploration of the region due to an isolated hill 5km north west of the town current townsite. This hill has an extremely high iron content and affected the compasses of explorers...
was discovered and named. They intended to reach the coast at
Shark BayShark Bay is a World Heritage listed bay in Western Australia. The term may also refer to:* the locality of Shark Bay, now known as Denham* Shark Bay Marine Park* Shire of Shark Bay...
, but were driven back by heat, fatigue, lack of water, and the loss of a number of their horses at Poison Rock.
The
Austin expedition of 1854 was an
exploring expeditionExploration is the act of searching or traveling a terrain for the purpose of discovery, e.g. of unknown people, including space , for oil, gas, coal, ores, caves, water, , or information.Although exploration has existed as long as human beings, its peak is seen as being during the Age of Discovery...
undertaken in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
by
Robert AustinRobert Austin led the Austin expedition of 1854, one of the first European inland explanations of Western Australia with Kenneth Brown. They explored Geraldton, Mount Magnet, and the Murchison River area....
in 1854. Other members of the party included
Kenneth BrownKenneth Brown was an explorer and pastoralist in Western Australia. He was hanged for murdering his wife.Kenneth Brown was born in England in 1837. The eldest son of Thomas Brown, he would later become the older brother of Maitland Brown. In 1840, The Brown family emigrated to Western...
.
The expedition explored the large lakes inland from
GeraldtonGeraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth. According to the 2006 census, Geraldton has a population of 31,553, making it the fourth-largest city in Western Australia....
known as
Cow-Cow-ing, before heading north through the interior, where
Mount MagnetMount Magnet is an old Western Australian gold rush town. The name was chosen during exploration of the region due to an isolated hill 5km north west of the town current townsite. This hill has an extremely high iron content and affected the compasses of explorers...
was discovered and named. They intended to reach the coast at
Shark BayShark Bay is a World Heritage listed bay in Western Australia. The term may also refer to:* the locality of Shark Bay, now known as Denham* Shark Bay Marine Park* Shire of Shark Bay...
, but were driven back by heat, fatigue, lack of water, and the loss of a number of their horses at Poison Rock. They were eventually forced to return to the coast along the
Murchison RiverThe Murchison River is the second longest river in Western Australia. It flows for about 780 km from the southern edge of the Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri...
.
The expedition reported large areas of land that were potentially
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
-bearing, but nothing suitable for
pastoralPastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, sheep, and so forth. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh...
settlement.