Hamilton Hume

Hamilton Hume

Hamilton Hume (born June 18, 1797 in Parramatta , New South Wales in Australia , † April 19, 1873 in Yass , New South Wales) was an Australian explorer and the first researcher born in Australia.

Life

Hume was the son of Andrew Hamilton Hume, who had come to Australia in 1790 as superintendent of the convicts and who soon after settled as a free settler. The mother was Elizabeth Moore Kennedy, who raised and taught him.

Even at a young age, Hume was interested in exploring the still largely undiscovered Australian continent. At the age of 17 he explored the district around Berrima (1814), in March 1817 the surveyor James Meehan took him on a research trip during which the Bathurst Sea in Argyle was discovered and the plains around the Goulburn River were explored. Subsequent trips with John Oxley and Meehan took him to Jervis Bay and by sailing ship to the east coast in search of other rivers.

Hume's grave in Yass

In 1824, on behalf of Governor Brisbane , he led his first own expedition over the Blue Mountains near Sydney , which should actually have the goal of reaching Spencer Gulf . Alongside him, the governor negotiated the expedition with William Hovell , but funding became a problem. Eventually, both men decided to make the trip at their own expense, with the exception of some government-provided pack saddles, weapons, clothing, and blankets. During this expedition by Hume and Hovell , Hume discovered the Hume River . After the end of the trip, a dispute arose among the researchers about who had taken the lead on the expedition. As a reward for their discoveries, both received only 1,200 hectares of land from the governor, but no reimbursement of their costs.

Hume settled on this land as a farmer and only accompanied Charles Sturt again on his first voyage of discovery in 1828 . He declined to participate in further expeditions and concentrated on agriculture .

In 1936 the Hume Dam was completed to protect the city of Albury from floods.

literature

• Dictionary of Australian Biography . Angus and Robertson, 1949. Available online at Gutenberg.net