the deserts of Western Australia , South Australia , and the Northern Territory , opening up 2.5 million square kilometres of previously unknown land . With that came the first official east-west link across the continent ; the Gunbarrel Highway . And although less than 70 years ago , I can ’ t help wonder what this exploration meant for the indigenous peoples .
My mind wandered back to that speck in the sky and wondered whether it had picked up the subtropical jetstream and was now well on its way toward Australia ’ s east coast . A daily expedition for a very modern traveller sent to explore the extremes of one of the harshest weather environments on Earth .
It seemed fitting that close a century after the original European explorer had traversed this land that finally something had been named for him , something that took nothing from the original names yet perhaps set up a serious of events that took much more from a people who knew of this area for a greater time than many can comprehend .
Making our way back to our camp of the previous night , the Warakurna Roadhouse , I thought what Ernest Giles would think of what had become of this region .
You see , Giles was the explorer who ventured into the lands of the Ngaanyatjarra to name the Gibson desert . And while he considered this exploration to be of no success he did discover Kata Tjuta , and described in greater detail the appearance of Uluru as well as Artilla ( Mount Conner ), in a way that indicates likelihood that its European discoverer , Gosse , in fact didn ’ t discover it ; “ to the north-westward was a flat-topped hill , rising like a table from an ocean of scrub . It was very much higher , than such hills usually are . I have since learned that it was called Mount Conner by Mr
Gosse .”
Three further expeditions took Giles through areas of South Australia , Western Australia , and the Northern Territory , discovering areas that would only become somewhat opened up a century or so later with the testing of weapons of mass destruction , ironically giving name to one of the very few things named in his honour . In fact , at the time of his explorations many Australian colonial ( state ) governments turned their backs on his exploits , citing he was a man of “ ill character ”. And despite an early fear of Aboriginal people when in large numbers he seems to have grown to appreciate the knowledge of land and culture that they possessed , as well as that of navigation without the modern ( 19th century ) scientific equipment at their disposal . A tribute to Giles almost half a century after his passing read , “ with the waters behind dried out and those ahead still to find , is
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