Sturt, Charles

Sturt, Charles (stûrt), 1795–1869, English explorer and administrator in Australia, b. India. In 1827 he arrived in Sydney with a detachment of the British army. While in command of an expedition (1828–29) to find the source of the Macquarie, he discovered (1828) the Darling River. On a second journey (1829) he explored the Murrumbidgee and found its junction with the Murray, which he followed by boat to its mouth in Lake Alexandrina. He resigned (1833) his commission because of impaired eyesight and settled in Australia. In 1844 he continued his exploration of the river system of S Australia, traveling up the Murray and Darling rivers and penetrating (1845) almost to the center of the continent. He was colonial treasurer (1845) and colonial secretary (1849–51). In 1853 he returned to England. He wrote Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia (1833) and Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia (1849, repr. 1969).

Bibliography

See biographies by G. Farwell (1963) and M. Langley (1969).

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Sturt, Charles 

Born Apr. 28, 1795, in Bengal; died June 16, 1869, in Cheltenham, England. English military officer and topographer. Explorer of Australia.

In 1829. Sturt discovered the Darling River. In 1829 and 1830 he traced the course of the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers. On this expedition he ascertained that the Murray emptied into Lake Alexandrina, a lagoon, and that the Darling was a tributary of the Murray. Between 1844 and 1846, proceeding north from Adelaide, he crossed all of South Australia. Passing Lake Eyre, he traveled through central Australia to 25° S lat. and reached the southern edge of the Simpson (Arunta) Desert.

REFERENCE

Sturt, N. Y. The Life of Charles Sturt. London, 1899.