Travel Australia

Are you intrigued by tales of fearless wanderers and explorers, settling new lands and frontiers in distant places?

Having migrated from England to Tasmania, I saw for myself, the wild untamed West Coast, where convicts were sent to Sarah Island, having been sentenced to hard labour for some of the worst crimes imaginable – both in England and colonial Australia, in the nineteenth century.

I have spent much time, working and travelling through most parts of Australia. The beauty and remoteness of these areas are legendary, and my favourite place is the Nullabor Plain, where Wedgetail Eagles soar over scorched land that was once an impenetrable dry and desolate wilderness.  Vertical cliffs reaching 100 metres from the sea provide a hiding place for numerous caves and blow-holes, ideal for nesting birds to seek refuge from the gusty winds and changeable weather.

Travelling these areas today, I can imagine the first white explorers covering thousands of kilometres – the journey made more difficult by lack of fresh water. 

Aborigines they encountered were generally helpful, but sometimes a hindrance. After all, what is exploring for one culture becomes an invasion as seen by the native people, who have lived in the area for 100,000 years.

One such explorer was the Englishman, Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870).  He lived in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia – no mean feat for those days.

He is regarded as the “National Poet of Australia”, and has been honoured by a bust in Westminster Abbey.  He was also a politician and horseman, and was fearless in the face of danger. 

He had more than his fair share of bad luck, and was afflicted with acute shyness and reserve. Although involved in outback work and the horse racing industry, he did not drink, and he did not gamble.

They say he committed suicide on Brighton Beach, near Melbourne, on the 24th June 1870.  It was early morning, and one day after his book of poetry was published.

We will never know whether he was prepared to end his life, with a gunshot to the head. Or was the victim of foul play? Follow the trail of this Australian legend, by travelling across three states.
Make up your own mind.

Stefan N.