Horn expedition

Members of the expedition upon arrival in Alice Springs (1894), from right: Francis W. Belt, C. Laycock, Edward Stirling, Ralph Tate, J. Alexander Watt, Walter Baldwin Spencer, Charles Winnecke, GA Keartland, Harry (prospector ), Afghan camel drivers Moosha and Guzzie Balooch, another camel driver

The Horn Expedition was the first scientific expedition to study the natural history of central Australia , which took place from May to August 1894.

Expedition participant

The participants of the expedition traveled from Adelaide to the train station in Oodnadatta , South Australia , in order to then ride on Australian camels to the sedimentary basin of the Finke River near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and the Macdonnell Range .

This expedition was equipped and financed by William Austin Horn, a wealthy land and mine owner, who accompanied the expedition at the beginning. The area that was explored was in the land of the Aborigines of Arrernte and Luritja , who supported the participants of the expedition and explained natural and historical features to them, as well as readily provided artifacts and information.

Participating scientists of the expedition were Walter Baldwin Spencer ( zoologist and photographer), the Edward Charles Stirling ( anthropologist ), Ralph Tate ( geologist and botanist ), JA Watt (geologist and mineralogist ), C. Winnecke ( meteorologist ), who led the expedition. The expedition was joined by Francis James Gillen and other participants were George Arthur Keartland ( ornithologist ), a cook and four Afghan camel drivers. In addition, native Aborigines were hired as guides in parts of the expedition.

research results

Sminthopsis macroura

Among the results of the expedition were numerous new species of mammals such as the pouch mouse species Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis and Sminthopsis psammophila and Sminthopsis macroura , Kowari , Central Rock Rat , Shark Bay Mouse , Sandy Inland Mouse , Spinifex Hopping Mouse . Furthermore, fish from Central Australia were collected and described for the first time. Findings have shown that fish in the desert survive the dry season by resting in summer and that the flood is of great importance for their survival.

literature

• Spencer, Baldwin. (Ed). (1896). Report on the Work of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia . (4 vols). Dulau and Co: London; and Melville, Mullen & Slade: Melbourne.

Web links

Commons : Horn Expedition  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ SA Museum - Speaking Land ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 12, 2010  
2. ^ EH Eaton (1900): The Zoology of the Horn Expedition. American Naturalist 34 , No. 397, pp. 25-31
3. ^ Museum Victoria - Walter Baldwin Spencer and the Horn Expedition , accessed on February 12, 2010.
4. ^ Desert Fishes - Past and present ichthyological work in central Australia , accessed February 12, 2010