Edward John Eyre

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Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 30 November 1901) was an English

England

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
.

South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
's Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia....
, Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges....
, Eyre Creek, Eyre Highway

Eyre Highway

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(the main highway from South Australia to Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a States and territories of Australia occupying the entire western third of the Australia . The nation's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.1 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state....
), and the Eyre Hotel in Whyalla are named in his honour, as are the villages of Eyreton

Eyreton

Eyreton, originally known as Eyretown, is a small village in the Canterbury, New Zealand region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Edward John Eyre, who at one time was the lieutenant governor of the South Island ....
and West Eyreton

West Eyreton

West Eyreton is a small rural village in the Canterbury, New Zealand region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located west of Kaiapoi and northwest of Eyreton and is named after Edward John Eyre, a 19th century lieutenant governor of the South Island ....
in Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The Regions of New Zealand of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council and the University of Canterbury....
, New Zealand

New Zealand

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Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 30 November 1901) was an English

England

Australia

Jamaica

South Australia

Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia....
, Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Highway

Sorry, no overview for this topic
(the main highway from South Australia to Western Australia

Western Australia

Eyreton

West Eyreton

Canterbury, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
.

Edward John Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire on the 5th August 1815 and died on the 30th November 1901. Shortly after he was born his family moved to Hornesea, Yorkshire and he was christened there. After he completed high school he moved to Sydney instead of joining the army or going to university. He then bought 400 lambs just before his 18th birthday. When South Australia was found he bought 1000 sheep and 600 cattle over from New South Wales to Adelaide he sold them for a large while he was getting the cattle he came across Lake Eyre. With this money from the cattle he set out to explore South Australia and with a team of men and his aboriginal companion Wylie he set out across The Great Australian Bight across to Albany Eyre was born in Whipsnade

Whipsnade

Whipsnade is a small village in the county of Bedfordshire. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, about 2.5 miles South-South-West of Dunstable....
, Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in England that forms part of the East of England Regions of England.Its county town is Bedford, Bedfordshire. It borders Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire....
, shortly before his family moved to Hornsea

Hornsea

Hornsea is a small seaside resort town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a Historic counties of England of northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Because of its great size, over time functions were increasingly undertaken by its subdivisions, which have been subject to History of local government in Yorkshire....
, where he was christened. His parents were Rev. Anthony William Eyre and Sarah (née Mapleton). After completing grammar school at Louth

Louth, Lincolnshire

Louth is a market town within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. ...
and Sedbergh

Sedbergh School

Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is renowned for strong sporting sides, especially its Rugby Union 1st XV....
, he moved to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
rather than join the army or go to university. He gained experience in the new land by boarding with and forming friendships with prominent assholes and became a flock owner when he bought 400 lambs a month before his 18th birthday. When South Australia

South Australia

Monaro, New South Wales

Monaro is the name of a region in the south of New South Wales, Australia. A small area of Victoria near Snowy River National Park is geographically part of the Monaro, whilst the Australian Capital Territory is frequently considered part of the region: most towns have very close links with Canberra....
to Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the List of Australian capital cities and most populous city of the Australian States and territories of Australia of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million....
and sold them for a large profit. He also discovered Lake Eyre.

South Australian expeditions

With this money, Eyre set out to explore the interior

Eyre's 1839 expeditions

Edward John Eyre's two expeditions of 1839 to the interior of South Australia were his first expeditions as an explorer, if one discounts the two earlier trips he made down the Murray River to Adelaide, herding cattle and then sheep....
of South Australia, with two separate expeditions north to the Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 200 km north west of Adelaide, Australia. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna....
and west to beyond Ceduna

Ceduna, South Australia

Ceduna is a small town in the West Coast region of South Australia. It is situated in the northwest corner of Eyre Peninsula, west of the junction of the Flinders Highway, South Australia and Eyre Highways around 786 km northwest of the capital Adelaide....
.

Eyre, together with his Aboriginal companion Wylie

Wylie (person)

Wylie was an Indigenous Australians originally from the tribes around Albany, Western Australia in Western Australia. He accompanied Edward John Eyre to Adelaide by sea in May 1840, and would have left with Eyre on his expedition to penetrate to the interior in June of the same year, but Wylie was ill....
, was the first European to traverse the coastline of the Great Australian Bight

Great Australian Bight

File:Great Australian Bight map.pngThe Great Australian Bight is a large bight , or open bay located off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia....
and the Nullarbor Plain

Nullarbor Plain

The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country immediately north of the Great Australian Bight. The word Nullarbor is derived from the Latin nullus for 'nothing' or 'no one' and arbor for 'tree', and is pronounced "NULL-uh-bore" ....
by land in 1840-1841, on an almost 2000 mile trip to Albany, Western Australia

Albany, Western Australia

Albany is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated around a port on the southern coast.Its metropolitan area has a population of 25,196 as of the 2006 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state....
. He had originally led the expedition with John Baxter

John Baxter (explorer)

John Baxter was a friend and companion of Edward John Eyre on his crossing of the Nullarbor Plain in 1840-1841. When the party was low on supplies and in desperate need of water, somewhere near present-day Caiguna, Western Australia, Baxter was murdered by two of the aboriginies with the group, who then left only Eyre and Wylie to complete...
and three aborigines. Two of the aborigines killed Baxter and left with most of the supplies, and Eyre and Wylie were only able to survive because they were rescued by a French whaling ship which at Rossiter Bay

Rossiter Bay

Rossiter Bay is located on the southern coast of Western Australia, in the Cape Le Grand National Park east of Esperance, Western Australia. The bay is noted as the place where explorer Edward John Eyre and his Aboriginal companion Wylie met the crew of the France whaling ship Mississippi in June 1841, having completed a crossing of the...
, under the command of Captain Rossiter, chanced to be there. Eyre named the bay after the captain.

In addition to exploring inland South Australia and New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
, Eyre was instrumental in maintaining peace between white settlers and aborigines along the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
.

Colonial Governor

From 1848 to 1853, he served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster

New Munster

New Munster was originally the name of the South Island of New Zealand. It was given the name by Captain William Hobson Governor-General of New Zealand, in honour of Munster, the Irish province in which he was born....
province in New Zealand

New Zealand

George Edward Grey

Sir George Grey, Order of the Bath was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor-General of New Zealand, History of Cape Colony from 1806 to 1870#Sir George Grey's Governorship , Prime Minister of New Zealand and a writer....
. He married Miss Adelaide Ormond in 1850.

From 1854 he was Governor of several Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
island colonies.

Colonial Governor in donkeys testicles

As Governor of the Colony, Eyre, fearful of an island wide uprising, brutally suppressed the Morant Bay Rebellion

Morant Bay rebellion

The Morant Bay rebellion began on October 11, 1865, when Paul Bogle led 200 to 300 black men and women into the town of Morant Bay, parish of Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Jamaica....
ruthlessly, and had many black peasants killed and hundreds were flogged. He also authorised the execution of George William Gordon

George William Gordon

George William Gordon was a Jamaican businessman and politician. On the centenary of his death, he was proclaimed a Order of National Hero . Born to a white planter and a slave in 1820, Gordon became a businessman and a landowner in the parish of St Thomas-in-the-East....
, a mixed-race colonial assemblyman who was suspected of involvement in the rebellion.

These events created great controversy in Britain, resulting in demands for Eyre to be arrested and tried for murdering Gordon. John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill , United Kingdom philosopher, political economy, civil servant and Parliament of the United Kingdom, was an influential liberalism thinker of the 19th century....
organised the Jamaica Committee

Jamaica Committee

The Jamaica Committee was a group set up in 1866, which called for Edward Eyre, Governor of Jamaica, to be tried for his excesses in suppressing the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865....
, which demanded his prosecution and included some well-known British liberal intellectuals (such as John Bright

John Bright

John Bright , Quaker, was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Radicals and Liberal Party statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League....
, Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin Royal Society was an English people natural history who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolution over time from common descent, through the process he called natural selection....
, Thomas Huxley

Thomas Huxley

Thomas Henry Huxley Privy Councillor Royal Society was an English people biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
, Thomas Hughes

Thomas Hughes

Thomas Hughes was an England lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's School Days , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended....
and Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer was an England philosopher, prominent Classical liberalism political theorist, and sociological theorist of the Victorian era....
). A rival committee was set up by Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle was a Scotland satire writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics the "dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator....
for the defence, arguing that Eyre had acted decisively to restore order. His supporters included John Ruskin

John Ruskin

John Ruskin was a British art critic and social thought, also remembered as an author, poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian era and Edwardian period eras....
, Charles Kingsley

Charles Kingsley

Charles Kingsley was an England university professor, historian, and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and north-east Hampshire....
, Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens, Royal Society of Arts , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English people novelist of the Victorian era, as well as a vigorous Reform movement....
and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Twice Eyre was charged with murder, but the cases never proceeded.

The case went to the UK Court of Exchequer as Phillips v Eyre

Phillips v Eyre

Phillips v Eyre, LR 6 QB 1 is a famous English decision on the conflict of laws in tort. The Court developed a two prong test for determining whether a tort occurring outside of the court's jurisdiction can be actionable....
(1870) LR 6 QB 1, Exchequer Chamber. The case was influential in setting a precedent in English and Australian law over the conflict of laws, and choice of law to be applied in international torts cases..

Edward John Eyre

South Australian expeditions

Colonial Governor

Colonial Governor in donkeys testicles

See also

Further reading

External links