Ferdinand von Mueller

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Annotated: ‘Despatch Book vol. 8 p. 148’. There is a copy of this letter at the National Archives, London, CO309/112, Despatches, Offices and individuals, 1874, Enclosure to despatch no. 5 of 8 September 1874, ff. 232-6.

Melbourne

5/9/74

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Date crossed through and Septr. 5. 1874 inserted in another hand.

To his Excellency Sir G.

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F. inserted in another hand.

Bowen, G.C.M.G., Governor of Victoria &c &c

Sir

1. I have the honor to acquaint your Excellency that, in accordance with your preliminary sanction, the Victorian Explorer

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Mr. inserted in another hand.

Ernest Giles, who has just returned from his second expedition, has, on

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on crossed through and replaced by at in another hand.

my request, bestowed the names of H. R. H. Prince Alfred

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(the Duke of Edinburgh) inserted in another hand.

and her Imperial Highness, the Princess Marie, on two important mountains discovered during this Central Australian journey.

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The Alfred and Marie Range, Gibson Desert, WA.

By this act of homage we were anxious to establish an imperishable geographic monument in her Majesty's territory to commemorate the auspicious nuptial union, which was celebrated about the time, when the discovery of these high ranges was accomplished.

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Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh married the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia on 23 January 1874.

2. Mr. Giles has only recently arrived in Adelaide, and as most of the discoveries of his last expedition occurred within the boundaries of South Australia, it was deemed by us desirable, that his journal and map should be published in Adelaide;

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Giles (1874).

copies of these I shall however probably not be able to submit to your Excellency prior to the departure of this month's mail for Europe. I beg, however, to attach to this letter a short account from the Melbourne "Daily telegraph", published about two weeks ago, giving a few data of this meritorious exploit.

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Daily telegraph (Melbourne), 27 August 1874, p. 3; see E. Giles to M, August 1874 (in this edition as 74-08-00g).

3. At present it remains for me only to add a few words on the origin and objects of this and Mr. Giles's previous expedition. They were suggested, and, to some extent, planned by myself with a view of connecting the far inland pastoral stations of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia by a traversable overland route, with the good harbours on the tropical and subtropical west coast; thus to enable the pioneer settlers to bring the surplus of their horses cattle and sheep on to the yet widely unoccupied pastural lands within near or moderate distances of safe shipping places. For these exploratory reconnoitrings across the breadth of our continent the comparatively recently established positions along the Australian transcontinental telegraph-line

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Completed August 1872.

afforded favorable starting points, and new facilities for retreat under adversities; — and of these also Colonel Warburton, Mr Gosse and Mr Ross

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Peter Warburton’s Western Expedition, 1872-4, Gosse's expedition of 1873 and John Ross's expedition of 1874 all used the Overland Telegraph route to take them into central Australia before striking west.

availed themselves, after Mr Giles had entered the field.

4. In advocating this line of march, I also cherished the hope of our gaining tidings of the fate of the long missing Dr Leichhardt and his unfortunate companions. And further I deemed it my duty as an explorer, to encourage also on this occasion as I have done during more than a quarter of a century's stay

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stay crossed through and replaced by residence in another hand.

in the Queen's Australian dominions (so far as I could,) scientific territorial investigations in this great continent; particularly for the completion of its map, and the examination of the productions of its natural wealth.

5. The first slender expedition of Mr Giles

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In 1872.

was mainly fitted out at his own and my private expense. The second journey for continuing the surveys west of Lake Amadeus (discovered during the first expedition) was supported by a reward from the South Australian Government for his prior discoveries; and by monetary contributions from a number of Victorian Gentlemen, whose generous interest I enlisted for the furtherance of these geographic field-services of so brave and experienced a man.

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Giles had been granted £250 from the SA Government on condition that he raise £350 by private subscription, and forward his journal and map to the SA Government at the end of the expedition (Threadgill, 1922, p. 145).

6. The results obtained by these two expeditions will prove of very high importance to subsequent territorial occupation and transcontinental Australian commerce, in as much as the now ascertained position of permanent waters and of extensive oases show not merely, that the Australian Central regions ought not to be viewed as almost hopeless and inhospitable, like the Sahara and Lybian desert; but also that Central Australia is likely to yield in its mountain-systems much of metallic treasures; that it affords in many fine pastural tracts space yet for very numerous settlements; and that it yields, even in its most cheerless portions, convenient halting-places for caravans; and more than all this, — by the dissemination of nutritious perennial grasses and fodderherbs, and by the formation of dams for rainwater even all, what now is regarded as desert-land, will become everywhere inhabitable for prosperous abodes of the next and following generations.