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Explorer

Occupation - Explorer
Arago, Jacques
Banks, Joseph
Bass, George
Baudin, Nicolas
Bell, Archibald (1804-1883)
Blaxland, Gregory
Bungaree
Caley, George
Cook, James
Cunningham, Allan
Dixon, Robert
Dumont d'Urville, Jules
Duperrey, Louis Isidore
Evans, George William
Fitzpatrick, James
Flinders, Matthew
Franklin, Jane
Grimes, Charles
Hacking, Henry
Holroyd, Arthur Todd
Hovell, William
Howe, John
King, Phillip Parker 1791-1856
La Pérouse, Jean-François
Lawson, William
Leichhardt, Ludwig
Macleay, George
Mawson, Douglas
Milius, Pierre Bernard
Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone
Nomura, Naokichi
Oxley, John
Peron, Francois
Rous, Henry John
Shirase, Nobu
Singleton, Benjamin
Stirling, James
Strzelecki, Paul Edmund de
Sturt, Charles
Taizumi, Yasunao
Throsby, Charles
Von Hugel, Charles
Warby, John
Wentworth, William Charles
de Bougainville, Hyacinthe

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Explorer

Arago, Jacques

French writer, explorer and artist who accompanied Freycinet on his voyage around the world in 1817.

full record »

Banks, Joseph

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Botanist on the Endeavour who recommended Botany Bay for penal settlement.

Bass, George

Surgeon and sailor who explored much of early Sydney and surrounds.

full record »

Baudin, Nicolas

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French hydrographer and naturalist who surveyed much of the Australian coast between 1801 and 1803.

Bell, Archibald (1804-1883)

Explorer who was only 19 when he followed an Aboriginal woman to discover a route across the Blue Mountains from Richmond to Mount Tomah. His name is commemorated in Bell's Line of Road.

full record »

Blaxland, Gregory

Farmer, speculator and explorer who crossed the Blue Mountains with Lawson and Wentworth in 1813.

full record »

Bungaree

Aboriginal man from Broken Bay who accompanied Flinders on his voyage of circumnavigation around Australia in 1802. An skilled negotiator, he was held in high esteem by various governors.

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Caley, George

First naturalist to study eucalypts, he made an early attempt to cross the Blue Mountains and explored much of the Sydney region with Aboriginal help.

full record »

Cook, James

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Navigator who led the first European expedition to visit Botany Bay in 1770, after observing the transit of Venus near Tahiti.

Cunningham, Allan

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Botanist and explorer who collected plant samples of northern and western Australia on four voyages with Phillip Parker King, and was responsible for extensive botanical exploration around Bathurst and the Liverpool Plains. He was briefly Colonial Botanist under Governor Gipps.

Dixon, Robert

Surveyor who explored much of the Sydney basin and hinterland.

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Dumont d'Urville, Jules

French naval officer and explorer on board La Coquille, who visited Sydney in 1824.

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Duperrey, Louis Isidore

French sailor and explorer who visited Sydney on his voyage around the world.

full record »

Evans, George William

Surveyor, artist and explorer who opened up the land beyond the Blue Mountains and influenced settlement at Jervis Bay and in Van Diemen's Land.

full record »

Fitzpatrick, James

Convict who accompanied Hume and Hovell on their expedition to Port Phillip Bay and returned to become a prosperous farmer in the Camden area.

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Flinders, Matthew

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Navigator and cartographer who circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent.

 

 

Franklin, Jane

Explorer and early agitator for women's rights. Lady Jane Franklin was married to Sir John Franklin, Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land between 5 January 1837 and 21 August 1843. In 1839 she travelled overland from Melbourne to Sydney, possibly the first woman to do so.

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Grimes, Charles

Surveyor-general who drew up a general plan of all the settlements, names and locations in the colony as well as undertaking administrative roles at Norfolk Island and Parramatta.

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Hacking, Henry

Sailor and ship's pilot who explored extensively before he was convicted of theft and transported to Van Diemen's Land. Port Hacking is named for him.

full record »

Holroyd, Arthur Todd

African explorer, physician and barrister who held several turbulent positions in the judiciary and parliament.

full record »

Hovell, William

Explorer who with Hamilton Hume opened up the land between lake George and Bass Strait before settling near Goulburn.

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Howe, John

Early settler at Windsor who was appointed Chief Constable and Coroner for the district, and among his occupations were those of bridge-building, keeper of the ferry, settler, storekeeper and auctioneer. In 1819-1920 he led exploring parties which opened up the Upper Hunter .

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King, Phillip Parker 1791-1856

Naval officer and hydrographer who in four voyages surveyed much of the northern and western coasts of Australia, contributing significantly to Australian exploration.

full record »

La Pérouse, Jean-François

French navigator and explorer who arrived in Botany Bay in 1788, just days after the First Fleet, and stayed for six weeks. His expedition was never heard from again.

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Lawson, William

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Explorer and pastoralist whose journeys did much to open up the land west of the Blue Mountains.

Leichhardt, Ludwig

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Naturalist and explorer who made Sydney his base between expeditions during the 1840s.

Macleay, George

Explorer and wealthy grazier who was politically active in the 1850s before retiring to Europe.

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Mawson, Douglas

English-born geologist best known for his exploratory expeditions to Antarctica.

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Milius, Pierre Bernard

French mariner who was part of the Baudin expedition that arrived in Sydney in April 1802. Lieutenant and second in command on board the Naturaliste, he was promoted to the rank of commander at Timor on 20 October 1801. The expedition arrived in Port Jackson in April 1802 but due to illness he left the expedition in Sydney on 18 May 1802. He travelled via China to Mauritius where he rejoined the expedition. Baudin had died in September 1803 and Milius was given command of the Geographe for the remainder of the expedition.

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Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone

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Surveyor and explorer whose expeditions opened up large parts of the interior to settlers.

Nomura, Naokichi

Japanese sailor who was the captain of the Japanese Polar expedition's ship Kainan Maru.

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Oxley, John

Naval officer and businessman who surveyed many new areas in New South Wales and was the leader of several exploratory trips, ultimately holding the office of Surveyor-General.

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Peron, Francois

Naturalist, explorer and historian who visited Port Jackson as part of the Baudin expedition. His collection of specimens and observations contributed fundamentally to an understanding of Australian zoology.

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Rous, Henry John

Naval officer who explored the northern rivers and promoted horse breeding in the colony.

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Shirase, Nobu

Lieutenant Shirase was the leader of the Japanese Antarctic expedition in 1910-1912. His name is also given as Naoshi or Choku Shirase.

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Singleton, Benjamin

Settler and miller who came to Sydney with his parents and brothers after his father was transported in 1791. He built water mills to grind wheat for the government stores and helped open up the Hunter Valley for farming. The town of Singleton in the Hunter is on part of his original grant.

full record »

Stirling, James

Naval officer and explorer who travelled briefly inland from Sydney before exploring and promoting settlement on the Swan River in Western Australia in 1827.

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Strzelecki, Paul Edmund de

Polish explorer and scientist, who although self taught, conducted an extensive geological survey of the colonies and laid the basis of Australian palaeontology.

full record »

Sturt, Charles

Explorer, soldier and public servant who opened up much of the rich agricultural land south and west of the colony by following the Darling, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers.

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Taizumi, Yasunao

Cinematographer who joined the Japanese Polar expedition in Sydney in November 1911 before the second attempt was made to reach the Antarctic.

full record »

Throsby, Charles

Surgeon and explorer who became a landowner and pastoralist.

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Von Hugel, Charles

Austrian noble, army officer, botanist, and explorer, celebrated for his botanical garden and the introduction of plants and flowers from Australia to Europe's public gardens.

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Warby, John

Convict and explorer who became a respected guide to the Cowpastures, Bargo and the Burragorang Valley, visiting inland Aboriginal tribes and arresting bushranger Patrick Collins.

full record »

Wentworth, William Charles

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Explorer, barrister, landowner and author who championed the emancipists and free settlers and campaigned for radical political reform.

de Bougainville, Hyacinthe

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French explorer who visited Sydney with Baudin in 1802 and again in 1825 when he arranged for monuments to La Perouse and Father Receveur to be built at La Perouse.