![Carnegie Memorial - Old Halls Creek]()
Carnegie Memorial - Old Halls Creek
David
Carnegie successfully led a party of four - Joe Breaden, Charles Stansmore, Godfrey Massie and Aboriginal companion Warri, across the
Great Sandy Desert over five months in late 1896. From
Coolgardie in the south to
Halls Creek in the north, they were the first Europeans to do so. The arduous crossing was not without tragedy with the accidental death of Charles Stansmore fatally wounded whilst hunting only a few days short of their triumphal arrival in
Halls Creek.
![On the track - Crossing the Dennison Plains, Sturt Creek Station]()
On the track - Crossing the Dennison Plains, Sturt Creek Station
Arriving at
Halls Creek in early December, the party recuperated during the hot summer and resupplied themselves for a planned return back through the fearsome desert country. After nearly 4 months at
Halls Creek ,
Carnegie and his party left
the settlement at noon on the 22nd March, 1897. With
Carnegie as leader, the three remaining members of the northward expedition: Breaden, Massie and Warri set off on a southerly route across the continent a good deal east of the route they had taken on their northward journey. Leading eight camels, three horses and a dog,
Carnegie followed the route of only a few before him along the semi-permanent waters of the
Sturt Creek and onto the vast plains of the
Tanami Desert just east of
Lake Gregory. Arriving at
Mount Wilson Carnegie had reached the southerly most point of the route taken by Augustus
Gregory in 1856. The view from Mt
Wilson across the dry, unrelenting country would have been enough to melt even the sternest resolve but
Carnegie did not falter opting to begin his trek to the east and into country that had been visited only by the explorer
Warburton before him, in 1873;
![Near Mulan]()
Near Mulan
"From
the summit of the
hill (
Mount Wilson) nothing was visible but one unbounded waste of sandy ridges and low, rocky hills, which lay to the South-East of the
hill.
![Gaining advice from the elders]()
Gaining advice from the elders
All was one impenetrable desert; …the vegetation on this part of the country was reduced to a few stunted gums, hakea bushes, and Triodia (spinifex), the whole extremely barren in appearance… The remaining portion of the horizon was one even, straight line: not a
hill or break of any kind, and except the narrow line of the creek, was barren and worthless in the extreme, the red soil of the level portions of the surface being partially clothed with Triodia and a few small trees, or rather bushes, rendering the long, straight ridges of fiery-red, drifting sand more conspicuous."
The journal of Augustus
Gregory, 1856.
![In the wild country - Great Sandy Desert]()
In the wild country - Great Sandy Desert
Carnegie knew a suspect timepiece had caused significant inaccuracy in
Warburton’s navigation and that locating any of
Warburton’s water sources along this route
![Carnegies Rocky Knoll]()
Carnegies Rocky Knoll
would be problematic.
Carnegie opted to do it ‘his way’ and headed off largely into the unknown. For survival,
Carnegie relied upon the cooperation of the local inhabitants to identify water sources in their country. In many cases this cooperation was coerced or forced. Although considered inappropriate by some, it proved a successful methodology and allowed
Carnegie to move with good speed through the country relying largely on the collective wisdom of a thousand generations to draw subsistence from.
![Sunset - Thomas bluff]()
Sunset - Thomas bluff
So how does this affect we modern day
explorers? So much has changed in the century since
Carnegie’s expedition. The country no longer sustains the desert nomads the way it once did. The original custodians of the land are now infrequent visitors to the more remote areas of their country.
![His masters voice (and pose) - That-a-way!]()
His masters voice (and pose) - That-a-way!
Camels have been replaced with four wheel drive vehicles and diesel quad bikes, the sextant with computer based navigation systems and space borne positioning satellites. Despite these advances, much remains the same. You are reliant on your own skills and on that which you can carry. Water and food are still finite commodities. Poison bush won’t kill your modern mechanical pack animal but a spinifex fire or mechanical mishap stops it just as dead and leaves you in the same predicament as the earlier
explorers. In a country where even in the last throws of winter, the day time temperature soars to the mid 30’s and the stark radiance of the sun bores through you as if standing by a blast furnace, water is precious. The relentless easterlies are a blessing and a curse, cooling and constantly evaporating valuable moisture from you. Finally, as it has been for time immemorial, there are any number of mishaps waiting to rear up and bite the unwary, the careless or the plain unfortunate. Some things never change!
![Expeditioners bold]()
Expeditioners bold
2013 saw our group of intrepid adventurers gather together at
Halls Creek in late July to retrace as faithfully as possible, the southerly route taken by David
Carnegie across the Tanami, Great Sandy and Gibson deserts. Our leader and instigator of this modern day expedition was the irrepressible Alan ‘Equinox' McCall. He would be joined on the quads by
John![Searching the Erica Range for water]()
Searching the Erica Range for water
“Jaydub” Whithorn, a man who’s mechanical and problem solving skills are second to none. I was to be the final member of the tripartite filling the role of
camp jester and chief cordial mixer. Using
Carnegie’s own journals, jottings and maps, we sought to enhance our chances of success using satellite images and maps, tools that our predecessors could only dream of, to identify possible locations of
Carnegie’s landmarks. Our three diesel all terrain vehicles (ATV) or ‘quads’ as we Aussies like to call them, would take the place of camel and horse as we tracked across harsh, inhospitable country. Our support crew, Suzette, Alan 'The
Dingo' Kennedy, Big
John McCall, Petey and Larry P would bring on a convoy comprising 4 vehicles and a Unimog truck tracking us from the west using a combination of known and not so
well known tracks, meeting us at various rendezvous points along the way and dodging hazards of their own. In many cases we would be the first to follow sections of
Carnegie’s route since he did, and one of very few sets of European eyes to gaze across the country.
We left
Halls Creek on the 23rd July and after days spent wending our way south along the many fine pools of the
Sturt Creek, we three found ourselves atop
Mount Wilson staring pensively south east, the quiet moment spent reflecting on the task ahead of us broken by a shout;
”Hey knackers, these sand dunes aren’t going to cross themselves. Let’s get moving!”
Authors Note; Our group are indebted to the Walmajarri People, Tjamu Tjamu People and Parna Ngururrpa People for their consideration and understanding in providing us access to their lands. We also thank Jim and Sarah from
Sturt Creek Station for allowing access to their property.
Here is a fantastic "teaser" or trailer put together by Peter Blakeman. Hopefully between his full time job, his photographic interests and a bit more travel, he will produce a full scale documentary.
The following photos by M. Olsen, J Whithorn, S. Cooke, A. McCall.
![A quick rest in whatever shade is available]()
A quick rest in whatever shade is available
![The view for Mount Wilson]()
The view for Mount Wilson
![Carnegie Bluff - GSD]()
Carnegie Bluff - GSD
![Cutting through the Stansmore Range]()
Cutting through the Stansmore Range
![On the edge of a salt pan]()
On the edge of a salt pan
![Looking across the dunes towards a salt lake]()
Looking across the dunes towards a salt lake
![At work fixing a mishap]()
At work fixing a mishap
![Camp in the spinifex at Mt Hughes]()
Camp in the spinifex at Mt Hughes
![Alan in burnt out turpentine]()
Alan in burnt out turpentine
![Taking a break]()
Taking a break
![Jaydub in his element]()
Jaydub in his element
![Breakfast in the Tanami]()
Breakfast in the Tanami
![Dwarf Well Rendevous (Claypan camp)]()
Dwarf Well Rendevous (Claypan camp)
![Expedition camp in the Tanami Desert]()
Expedition camp in the Tanami Desert
![Desert Nights]()
Desert Nights
![Toutured Rock - Unnamed range near Kiwirrkurra]()
Toutured Rock - Unnamed range near Kiwirrkurra
![Massie helping out]()
Massie helping out
![Somehwre near Carnegie Bluff]()
Somehwre near Carnegie Bluff
![Wilson Glen]()
Wilson Glen
![The camp at Wilson Glen]()
The camp at Wilson Glen
![The Stansmore Range and Wilson Glen]()
The Stansmore Range and Wilson Glen
![Looking towards the Stansmore Range]()
Looking towards the Stansmore Range
![Mount Hughes]()
Mount Hughes
![Grindstone near the Erica Range]()
Grindstone near the Erica Range
![Grindstone in the desert]()
Grindstone in the desert
![The crew near Kiwirrkurra]()
The crew near Kiwirrkurra
![Modern Day Camel in the dune country]()
Modern Day Camel in the dune country
![Thomas Bluff Rendevous]()
Thomas Bluff Rendevous
![Crossing the Dennsion Plains]()
Crossing the Dennsion Plains